The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante

by thorn_in_ur_side

Summary:

“Since we’re telling jokes,” Hawks hummed, turning back around, teeth glinting in the night. “I’ve got a funny one. You ready?”

Izuku nodded, not sure if the question was rhetorical.

“Great.” Hawks clapped his hands together. “The commission wants you dead.”

---

Or: My twist on vigilante Izuku.

 

EDIT (2/2/25): Hey guys, some stuff happened (nothing huge) but I did also lose my journal that was full of everything for part two so that really sucked. Part two is still a work in progress rn, and as soon as I am finished with the chapter I am working on rn, I will publish! I know I said December/Jan but unfortunately that did not happen.

Chapter 1: Grey is Everything

Summary:

If that had been Eraserhead’s capture weapon, that would mean Izuku was now trying to escape an underground hero.

No big deal.

Notes:

I didn't change too much when I rewrote/edited this chapter, but I still think it's significantly better. I hope y'all like it too!

“Midoriya Izuku, take a seat.” Takashi Koi didn’t look up from his computer, even when he saw Midoriya out of the corner of his eye. “Stop muttering.” The kid nodded jerkily, mouth snapping shut with a click that made Takashi’s jaw hurt. 

If it wasn’t for the promise of free drinks, Koi never would have agreed to give the resident quirkless kid quirk counseling. The entire thing was an even bigger headache than the kid in question; the district required everyone to have quirk counseling for some reason. 

Utter bullshit if you asked any sensible person at Aldera. 

The only people who needed quirk counseling were quirked people. The Quirkless, like Midoriya, had no right to act as if they were included. 

Koi didn’t hate helping out with quirk counseling, in fact, there was nothing quite like seeing a kid finally understand the basics of their quirk. However, the idea of having to sit with Midoriya for half an hour and explain the laws that were in place to protect Quirkless was less than ideal. 

“Sensei?” Midoriya’s hand was twitching on his lap like he wanted to be anywhere else. The feeling was mutual. “Am…” He ducked his head at Koi’s stare. “Am I here to help with someone’s quirk?” The kid wouldn’t look back up, but his hand twitched toward his backpack again. No doubt, trying to reach for that mess of a notebook full of fancy words and gibberish. The thought almost made Koi smile. 

Here was a kid who was a prime example of just what was wrong with their society, thinking his little analyses actually helped. 

It was damn laughable. 

“You are here for yourself,” Koi sighed, counting the seconds until he could force Uda to buy him drinks for the rest of the night. Not even that would be enough for having to deal with Midoriya, but it’d have to do. “What?” He snapped, finally getting tired of the kid’s staring. 

“For…me?” He was pointing at himself, just as confused as anyone else would be. “Quirk counseling? Why do I need quirk counseling?” 

“Question of the hour, Midoriya.” Koi briefly looked back at the email from the district. “I’m supposed to be teaching you all about your rights and what to do when someone with a quirk sparks a dangerous situation around you, yadda, yadda, yadda.”

“Oh.” The kid’s face smoothed out like this was the one thing he could comprehend. “I already know the law-” 

“There aren’t any for you.” 

Midoriya looked like he had just been slapped. “What?” 

“Sure,” Koi hummed, deleting the damned email from his inbox. “The government wrote some fancy words down to appease your ancestors, dressing it all up as a way to make sure they couldn’t be attacked, but that's all they are, just words. You can read all the law books you want, Midoriya but that doesn’t mean you’ll actually have those rights.” It was common knowledge that the HPSC and the government cared little for Quirkless. 

And as they fucking should. 

Talking about laws and how students, literal children, were supposed to take them into account in their daily lives tended to be the worst part for Koi. However, he did suppose he could understand the importance when it came to showing this kid why he couldn’t be a Hero. 

“When it comes to Quirkless, you have no rights. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or if there are some bleeding hearts out there.” Koi leaned back in his seat, seeing the surprise on this kid’s face was kind of sad. It almost made him want to comfort him, almost. “There’s always going to be people out there who will know there isn’t anything you can do. It may not be the best thing to hear but it’s the truth, no matter what you hear Midoriya, the moment they find out you are Quirkless you’ll be written off.” 

“Bu-” 

“No, it’s the truth. Just look at how you are treated here. No one wants you around, because Quirkless terrifies everyone. You are an illness that, thankfully, is happening less and less.” Midoriya’s eyes watered, and Koi realized he was too tired to even relish in the kid’s ever-growing acceptance. 

This should be something he felt pride in. He was teaching, molding young minds to understand their situations. It wasn’t an easy thing to do.

Koi looked at the time, only ten minutes had passed. He still had about twenty left, twenty minutes he had to fill the time with. He really hated this, but he didn't have to pay for drinks tonight. 

Good and evil. 

“So what are we going to do for the rest of this time, you ask?” Koi leaned back in his seat, rapping his knuckles on the back of Midoriya’s file, eyes roaming over all the useless information that had been recorded over the past four years. “You have what, ten months until entrance exams for you?” 

“Yessir,” Midoriya nodded jerkily, trying to subtly read the papers on the desk, eyes bloodshot. “Next April.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Koi looked back down to the photocopied high school career assignment that all the second years had filled out a few weeks ago. “You said you want to apply to Yuuei?” 

“Yes,” Midoriya’s answer came out as a whisper. It seemed even he knew he messed up. “I…I did.” 

“You said you want to be a hero.” It wasn’t a question. 

“Yes.” And that damn kid had the nerve to pretend that this make-believe dream was okay. 

“You cannot be a hero.” 

“But-” 

“Quirkless!” He yelled, pushing himself out of his chair. “You understand what that word means, right?” Midoriya’s jaw snapped shut, and he ducked his head down.

Good. 

“You would die in that entrance exam if Yuuei even allowed you in.” Koi tapped the school’s name under his finger. “If your application even made it in.” 

“Made it…in?” The kid slowly raised his head, eyes less watery than Koi anticipated. It was almost scary the way the kid stared through him.  

“Who knows what will happen once you fill out your application.” Koi shrugged, not feeling the slightest bit guilty over the idea of dropping Midoriya’s papers into the shredder. “And with your track record?” 

He lifted Midoriya’s most recent grade report up, cocking a brow at all the disturbances written on it. The one thing that was okay was the kid’s damn grades. They couldn’t outright fail him, fearing the wrath of Bakugou-San and her husband, but they could just barely let him pass. 

“I doubt they would even make it to your quirk status before they tossed your application.” He smiled, politely. “You wanna know why?” 

Koi didn’t give the kid a minute to figure out the answer. 

“Because Nedzu, the smartest fucking being alive won’t allow Quirkless like you to be a hero because he knows you lot can’t make it and don’t deserve to.” Midoriya’s eyes welled up with tears, his face turning a dark red as if he were struggling to hold back his thoughts on the matter. 

Good. 

“Do you understand?” Koi lowered his voice, a soft kind of eerie tone to it, as he stood over the kid. He hadn’t even realized he had moved closer in his anger. 

Midoriya squeezed his eyes shut, looked back down to his pants, and nodded jerkily. “Yes, Sensei.” 

“Okay,” He breathed out, mentally checking that off of his list. “I’ve known you a while Midoriya, I’m not going to kid myself and think you finally got it through your thick skull. I know you probably think you could become a hero eventually. Whether it’d be by a Hero school or those shoddy exams as an adult. I don’t know much about Heroes, but even I know you need a Hero mentor if you take the exams as an adult.”

Koi finally stepped back, ticked off by the way Midoriya’s eyes hardened at his words. “Be honest, kid, what Hero would mentor a Quirkless.” The kid’s face cracked, and he quickly looked away from him. “No matter what you try to accomplish, you will be stopped. The laws don’t allow you to do anything, be anything. Yuuei may claim to allow Quirkless into their school, but I haven’t seen one. Have you?” 

He let his words sink in for a moment before continuing. 

“Do you know what a Hero is?” 

Midoirya looked up through his frizzy curls, face still red. “Someone who saves people.” 

He said it so matter of factly. It was so adorably childish. 

And wrong. 

“No,” He tsked, leaning against the edge of the desk, still close enough to hear Midoriya’s shaky breaths. “A Hero is someone who uses their quirk to save someone. That doesn’t sound like something you can do.” 

Midoriya didn’t move, just staring at Koi. 

“Do you know what a vigilante is?” 

Midoriya shrugged, refusing to look away. 

“A person who uses their quirk illegally to act as a Hero. How about a villain, do you know what classifies one?” He grinned at Midoriya’s crestfallen expression. “Someone who uses their quirk to commit crimes.” 

He couldn’t imagine who had been filling this kid’s head with all these fake ideas and dreams. They were impossible to attain, no one would allow it. 

“Do you finally understand, Midoriya?” Koi raised his brows. “You can’t be a Hero, a vigilante, or even a villain. It’s in the definition, the requirements, to have a quirk. At the very least you’d be a petty criminal. Don’t you see?” He smiled at Midoriya’s nod. 

“Good,” Koi breathed out before walking back over to his seat and pulling out papers. “Now, let’s discuss your punishment since you decided to make a joke out of your assignment.” 

He almost felt bad for the kid, but he was only a child who didn’t understand. Midoriya would realize one day how unattainable his dreams were. 

“I’m thinking about detention and an essay on a book of my choice.” 

…

Almost an hour after Midoriya’s counseling, Koi dragged himself through the bustling crowd of people in the dark bar. It seemed everyone wanted to get drunk, too. He may have been bone-dead tired, head pounding from Midoriya’s meeting, but like hell would he miss out on free drinks. He deserved those damn drinks. 

Uda had no idea what he had promised, not having the slightest clue how many drinks Koi could handle before he started to feel the buzz. After the day he had, he wanted to get black-out drunk before he wandered back home. 

“The man of the hour!” Uda yelled, slapping his back, ignoring Koi’s grimace. “You survived.” 

Asshole. 

Uda just laughed at Koi’s silence, acting like a hyperactive child. “Bartender! A drink for my friend.” 

“Not your friend,” Koi muttered to himself, slipping out from under Uda’s arm. He side-eyed the man, shrugging out of his jacket. “You owe me drinks, that’s all.” 

“Aw,” Uda sighed, downing his drink. “I remember Keichi-sama saying you were a prickly bastard.” Koi turned his nose up at the comment, signaling the bartender for another drink. 

He couldn’t stand Uda Fumihiro  as far as he could throw him. He was brash, unprofessional, nasty, and a sadistic bastard. Everyone else ignored those horrible qualities, just paying attention to how he could be charming, and funny, and somehow make friends with the rest of the staff even though he just started early in the year. 

Seeing the bastard’s face just made Koi’s blood boil. 

“You look like hell.” Uda was wearing an ear-splitting grin, probably enjoying his afternoon since he didn’t have to crush a kid’s dream.  

Asshole.

“I just got back.” He muttered a small thanks to the bartender as he slid a third drink. 

“Ah yes.” Uda’s grin took on a more sinister look. “Dealt with Midodriya then?” 

“Yeah, the whole thing gave me a headache.” Koi grabbed Uda’s drink, downing it and choosing to ignore the man’s protesting squawk. 

“Asshole,” Uda muttered. He would definitely know, wouldn’t he? 

Koi frowned. “It’s exhausting just teaching him how he’ll survive in the world for thirty minutes, I can’t imagine having to teach him all day.” He waved down the bartender thinking back to Midoriya’s shaking frame when he left the classroom at the end of the meeting.

“I’m a saint, I know!” Uda struggled to contain his laughter while Koi ordered a drink. “Please, I’ll be surprised if he survives through the end of the year or even high school.” 

“Fair enough. Quirkless have no place in this world.” Ignoring his coworker, Koi downed the drink the bartender slid over towards him before ordering another one. “I hope you know you’ll be going home with an empty wallet tonight.” 

Koi called the bartender over for yet another one, smirking at Uda’s babbling. He was beyond exhausted, ignoring the small feeling of guilt in the back of his mind. He was helping the kid, there was no reason to feel guilty, he was just doing his job as an adult, as an educator. Anyone who thought Quirkless belonged in society, let alone could thrive in this world, was crazy. Straight-up delusional. 

Poor fucking kid is probably going to die with that pathetic dream of being a Hero. 

…

“It’s going to rain.” Izuku could just barely make out the rain clouds, straining his eyes to see the way they just barely blended in with the night sky. The cold air that nipped at his exposed ears and neck smelled like the premonition of rainfall, too. It would eventually ruin the solace he found from quiet nights on the roof, like this one. 

If he were smart he’d probably move, maybe go inside and find shelter from the rain. But, it felt as if he were glued down to the rooftop, forced to welcome the rain. 

He could go inside and do that dumb fucking essay that Takashi-Sensei had assigned. The bastard just had to pick one of the most quirkest and most outdated books about Quirkless people. It wouldn’t be due until Monday, but it was better than sitting on a rooftop while it rained. Busy work was always a welcomed distraction.

A drop of rain fell on his knee causing a bitter smile to stretch across his face. If he didn’t leave soon he’d get sick. Money was already hard enough to come by without the worry of cold medicine, but still, he didn’t move. 

Izuku’s only saving grace from the rain would be his All Might hoodie his mom had given him years ago, a look-a-like of All Might’s Golden Age costume. It was fraying at the seams and falling apart. The colors were faded from the years of abuse and would do next to nothing to keep him warm, but still, he didn’t move. 

He was on the roof of the building he was staying in, currently. It was run down, something about structural integrity or other. He had another few months until the city would bulldoze the place. If it was a nicer side of town, it would have been taken care of months ago. He considered himself lucky that it wasn’t. 

It was late; the only sound Izuku could hear were his own thoughts. It was a poor side of town, hardly anyone here had cars or vehicles. Probably the only reason why he was able to squat in the building without some snoopy neighbor calling the cops on him. 

He had originally tried staying close to Aldara once, but any buildings that were abandoned were quickly fixed within a few months. Izuku realized early on that if he wanted to stay out of Child Protective Services’ radar he would have to rough it out farther from the school. 

He swung his feet back and forth off the edge of the roof, more concerned about what came Monday. He had detention for putting Yuuei as his top choice. It was a stupid thing to do, a stupid dream to have. Still, he knew it didn’t matter if he got into the support or the general education course. It would be the best thing to show potential employers. 

Quirkless people didn’t always have the best of luck when it came to education after middle school, let alone employment. But Yuuei had just lifted their ban on Quirkless students and regardless if they actually wanted to support Quirkless people or not, he had a chance to get in since it would probably make them look supportive. 

After high school, he could probably get any type of janitorial or service industry job with Yuuei on his resume. 

It was something his mom wanted for him. She always drilled into his head how important getting his education was, especially for someone like him. 

“The world is against you, Izu.” She’d say wiping her hands on her apron after dinner, or switching the news off when they would talk about a new Quirkless suicide, always having that fragile smile on her face. Her big green eyes would water as she’d run her hands through his hair. “ You need to work harder to get through school. Your education is the most important thing, nothing anyone can say can take away your brain. And once you’ve finished school, then you can work hard to support me.”

She was always sick, working as hard as she could until she was forced to get money from the government each month because she couldn’t work. She always worked so hard just to send Izuku to school, so even if he didn’t care about homework or high school anymore he had to do it. 

He used to love school and loved being able to analyze and show that he would help his mom. Back then, life felt so much more colorful. Green didn’t feel like his mom’s dying wish, and he didn’t feel so… gray. 

He wasn’t there when she died, he’d been at school when his mom had been trapped inside a burning building. He didn’t even know anything about it until he was pulled out of class by a few police officers and told that he would have to identify her. 

But even if he hadn’t been there, her last thoughts probably had to do with him. She had always worried about him more than herself, she could have been burning to death and still would have been worried about his schooling. He couldn’t ignore her wish. 

He would let go of wanting to be a Hero someday, hopefully, finish middle school, go to high school, and then get a job. 

After that…he wasn’t so sure. 

He just wanted to do what his mom wanted for him. 

Izuku raised a hand over the edge, feeling the rain droplets fall into the palm of his hand. It was really, really late. He hadn’t even left school until a few hours after class had ended. He was just so fucking tired. The silence was deafening to Izuku and probably Heroes straining to hear anything. The occasional sounds of people in their homes would orbit around but, with how late it was, hardly anyone was up. 

It was just so quiet. 

Izuku was pretty sure it was usually louder than this, the bustling noise of Heroes and civilians, the comforting buzz that came from the twenty-four-hour quickie mart sign, even the rain would make more noise. Izuku wouldn’t be surprised if he was just off his game right now, a crappy conversation, Kacchan’s suicide baiting, and the usual ever-present hunger could just be dulling his senses. 

The city at night felt eerily empty, but everyone knew Heroes still patrolled at night because crime never stopped. Izuku liked to come to the roof at night to look out into the city. Especially after long days when he felt so wound up, where every breath would grate on his nerves, sitting on the roof of whichever building he was living in was the closest he could get to relief. 

He was usually able to see people rushing home after a quick store run; Heroes running around at night, if he were lucky enough he was able to see Underground Heroes; he could take notes, in fact, most of his more enlightening notes happened while he was surveying at night. But right now it was getting too wet to take notes, his notebook already had taken a bath with the koi fish today, and he was pretty sure it didn’t need a shower right now. 

If he were being honest with himself, he’d probably admit that he didn’t even have a real reason to still be out. He was exhausted, his arms felt as heavy as lead and his brain felt like it was moving slowly. It just had been a really long day, and it definitely didn’t help his mood that he had missed out on meeting All Might. Apparently, the Hero had saved a civilian from a villain right around the path Izuku took home. If he hadn’t been in that stupid meeting with Takashi-sensei, then he probably might have met the Number One Hero. 

If he had met All Might, Number One Hero, Symbol of Peace, could he have talked to him? Would he have been able to ask the Number One Hero if an odd, Quirkless, kid could be a Hero? 

“A Hero is someone who uses their quirk to save someone. That doesn’t sound like something you can do.” 

It hurt, knowing that Takashi-Sensei was right. By textbook definition, Izuku could never be a Hero. It hurt in a way that made Izuku want to start clawing at his chest to try and dig the hurt out. All he ever wanted to do was to help people. He wouldn’t be able to do that without a quirk. It was quite literally the textbook definition of being a Hero. 

“Just pray for a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building.”

Izuku shuddered, his eyes watching the street below his red shoes. Is that why he came up here? That would be so stupid. But still, had he been subconsciously thinking about what Kacchan had told him? 

If he did follow through with Kacchan’s advice, he would get in trouble. Even for a Quirkless kid, he’d have a lot of bad press. 

He couldn’t silence the whisper in the back of his mind that pointed out no one would tattle on Kacchan for finally joining in on telling Izuku to off himself. 

Izuku reached back out into the rain, letting his palm collect the rain as he imagined what it would be like to simply fall. How would it feel for those last few seconds before he finally would be able to rest? How would the rain fall on his face as he would look up to the sky one last time? 

He opened his hand, letting the raindrops he collected fall. It was enough to imagine that the rain could be him. The rain falling from the sky hitting the floor and splitting apart in smaller droplets felt like a metaphor. 

Of course, he wouldn’t do that, he couldn’t. If he actively went out to kill himself right now, it would be like everything his mom did would have been for nothing, it would have been like all the years Izuku survived and outlived the statistics would have been for nothing. 

Each day felt harder to stay strong and keep getting up just to get pushed back down again. He had nothing tying him here but his own spite and his mother’s wish. 

But, it was enough. 

It had to be. 

Though, Izuku watched the lights in the other buildings, if he were killed it would save him the trouble of going against his mom’s wishes. Sure, he had a higher chance of getting murdered than someone like Kacchan or that kid in 2-D with the eye color-changing quirk. It was all because he was missing something important because people thought he wasn’t important. Just because he didn’t have a quirk didn’t mean he’d get lucky enough to be killed. 

You can read all the law books you want, Midoriya but that doesn’t mean you’ll actually have those rights.

Any thoughts of jumping vanished at knowing the sick satisfaction his teachers would have. They would hold an assembly, pretend they cared about the poor, weak, orphaned, Quirkless boy. Everyone there would ignore the fact that they drove him to the edge of this roof. 

He couldn’t die if it meant they would get to lie and pretend he had belonged. 

No one would know the truth. 

Izuku scoffed, pulling at his hood to try and protect his hair. Takashi-Sensei had a whole bucket of issues if he really just enjoyed rubbing Izuku’s own Quirklessness in his face. Of course, dumb assholes that were too much of a bigot to see their own problems would need to point out how half of the laws in today’s society wouldn’t even help him because Quirkless people weren’t even considered a long-term issue. 

Maybe the next time Izuku saw a hero fight there would be the off chance he didn’t move out of the way fast enough, perhaps the next time Izuku wasn’t able to buy food he would just fade, or he could just try to find the villains and go out in a heroic kind-of-way. 

If he just let it happen, how would it be any better than actively taking his shoes off and falling with the rain? How would the staff at Aldera be able to spin that kind of death in their favor? 

He couldn’t just let it happen, his mom would want him to fight to live. She would want him safe in a little bubble, but…life didn’t want that for him. He’d have to try to stay alive, he’d have to do dangerous shit knowing no matter how hard he tried it would get him in the end. He’d have to fight bad guys like a vigilante if he wanted to be a Hero without a quirk. 

“You can’t be a Hero, a vigilante, or even a villain. It’s in the definition, the requirements, to have a quirk. At the very least you’d be a petty criminal.”

So Izuku wouldn’t even be able to be a vigilante. He sighed, lifting his head and letting the rain wet his face before he scrubbed it. He attempted to clean it as best he could. He could still act like a vigilante. 

Right? 

He would be able to be like Spider-Man from those Pre-Quirk Era comics. 

“I wouldn’t last long.” That much was obvious, he was a scrawny kid who never even got a full meal a day. He would try his best and then…he’d be done. His mother would hate it, she’d cry, but if he fought tooth and nail until his last breath…he would have tried. Right? “I could do some good, even just a little bit of it.” 

And then at the end of the day, he would know he helped someone or at least tried to. 

“I wouldn’t be a vigilante, I can’t be one without a quirk…just a good Samaritan.” He laughed, feeling the hunger and exhaustion catch up to him. “It would be the easiest way to die. I wouldn’t even have to kill myself.” It was almost too perfect. 

He felt all the energy drain out of him, making him sigh. He’d be lucky to make it through a single night. 

“Hey, kid.” A voice made him jump, his eyes bouncing from the empty street to other rooftops concerned about how he managed to not hear someone come up behind him. It's not like he was trained to be able to detect when someone was coming up from behind him or anything, it’s just living on the streets long enough makes it where you have to be on edge all the time. 

Izuku was sure that if they came through the fire escape he would have heard them. If they came from the roof access door he would have heard them too. So who the hell got the jump on him? 

“Why don’t you move away from the ledge.”

Oh. 

This guy thought Izuku was going to jump. He almost laughed again, if he had been maybe five minutes sooner, he would have caught Izuku thinking about jumping. “Okay? We can get you warmed up, and get you some food.” The guy sounded tired. And tired in Izuku’s book meant sloppy, or at least sloppy enough for Izuku to slip away. 

Izuku made a noise of acknowledgment, slowly placing his hands on either side of his body, and then he pushed himself off. For the split second that Izuku was in the air, it was terrifying and quite literally what he imagined, but then he grabbed onto the fire escape as he fell and swung himself into the open window below the roof. The fire escape was slippery because of the rain, causing Izuku to land in a heap on the floor. He swore he could feel his brain rattling in his head. Of course, Izuku and his Deku luck wouldn’t survive unscathed. 

Still, his stuff was right here and that’s all that mattered. He wasn’t sure if the stranger was going to follow after him, so he knew he wouldn’t have time to grab his ruined Gakuran and a few All Might comics that were thrown around haphazardly around his ‘living space’. He needed to leave now. 

Out of the corner of Izuku’s eye, he saw a thin scarf shoot past his window making his eyes widen in realization of the severity of the situation. 

“Oh shit!” If that had been Eraserhead’s capture weapon, that would mean Izuku was now trying to escape an underground hero. 

No big deal. 

He nearly tripped as he spun around to run for the front door of the apartment. He didn’t even slow down while he grabbed his backpack and makeshift laundry bag that held everything he owned. Anything from his school supplies to hygiene products were in that bag. 

Rule number one of survival on the streets: Always be ready to run. 

He could hear a body roll on the floor from the window and Izuku cursed again. 

Taking a sharp right through the hallway, Izuku slammed a closet door shut behind him. As quietly as he could, he ran for front door, leaving it just barely open. 

He was banking on the Pro Hero getting stupped for at least eight seconds. 

Thank Kami for small miracles. He thought a little hysterically when he heard Eraserhead slam open a door and curse at finding nothing. 

He didn’t want to risk testing his luck, so without any preamble or semblance of a plan, he dove into one of the side apartments and threw open in the back bedroom window. 

Six…Seven…Eight. He flinched at the way the noise from the window echoed in his ears. Time’s up.

Eight seconds. 

He stared outside the window, looking through the rungs of the fire escape toward his escape: The Dumpster. From eight floors above, Izuku gulped. 

The sound of footsteps spurred Izuku into action, quickly clamoring out of the window and softly closing it behind him to buy himself at least three seconds. 

If Izuku was right, the moment he’d fall into the dumpster, Eraserhead most likely would call it in instead of giving chase. 

Pro Hero: Eraserhead was just that, a Pro Hero. Based on the few things Izuku could find on him, he knew one thing for certain, Eraserhead would realize that Izuku had no qualms about injuring himself or potentially getting himself killed just so that he could run away from the Hero. Therefore, the Hero would take a step back and try to catch him by working a different angle. 

Izuku sent a small thanks out that it was Eraserhead who had found him and not someone like Endeavor. Endeavor, though an awesome Hero, would certainly lack the grace to work a different angle. 

He was also grateful that Eraserhead had no idea that Izuku had already figured out the Hero’s plan before he even thought it up. It’d buy him enough time to hopefully have the Hero forget him. Or he’d be dead by the time the Hero found him. Honestly, a win either way. 

“Can’t think like that,” He hissed, slamming his wrist against his head a few times in an attempt to get rid of the idea. 

He wasn’t suicidal, he wasn’t going to try and get himself killed, and he wasn’t going to act like he wanted to die. He was trying to live as long as he could so that he could make his mother proud. 

Was it smart to plan to try to be a vigilante even though he knew he had no quirk and no way to defend himself? Yes. Did he know he’d probably get killed early on? Maybe. 

He wasn’t suicidal, he just wanted to be able to do something before he fell victim to the statistics. 

One… He held his breath, feeling a bit dizzy at how far away the dumpster looked. He watched as his backpack and laundry bag fell into the dumpster below. Two and a half seconds to the dumpster. He could do that, easily. 

Two… He climbed over the fence of the fire escape, holding himself up by balancing on the tiny bit of platform on the other side of the fence and by using his hands to hold the rungs of the fence. Kami, if he fucked this up, he wouldn’t even be able to help anyone. 

Three… He blew out the breath he had been holding just as the window was thrown open. The sound (or maybe the fear of getting caught) caused him to throw himself from the fire escape without thinking. 

He hadn’t even removed his right hand from the rung, too absorbed with the thought of I can’t get caught, I can’t get caught, I can’t get caught.  

Something cracked. Once Izuku screamed, he registered the crack had been his hand from between the rungs of the fire escape. He barely had enough time to clutch the broken hand to his chest before his back hit the garbage bags, forcing all the air from his lungs. 

His scream cut off from the landing and all he could do was gasp, choking on the air he wasn’t able to get. 

His wrist was burning, his head felt heavy, his back was throbbing from whatever he landed on, he couldn’t breathe, and his whole body felt like it was on fire. 

But, he couldn’t afford to stay there cradling his injured wrist and trying to soothe all his other injuries. He had to move, he had to get out of there. 

Five seconds. You’ve got five seconds and then you’ve got to run, Izuku. 

One…Two… He closed his eyes. 

Three… He inhaled sharply. 

Four… He sputtered into a cough. 

Five…Time’s up. His eyes flew open and forced himself to move.

He couldn’t breathe properly, looked like garbage, and could hardly run, but he kept moving. His feet hitting the pavement sounded like bombs to his ears, it was only the fear of getting caught that kept Izuku running.

Notes:

Okay, a few things:
1. The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante name is a nod to the original fic name (Hopeless Hero Realistic)
2. Part one of Color Theory is already finished. There are fifteen chapters
3. Canon-wise, Part One ends right before final exams for 1A (aka the Izuku&Katsuki All Might fight)
4. Colors are going to be an integral part of this ENTIRE series (hence the series name: Color Theory), so most chapters are going to have some sort of color theme??
5. Also, I have some words like Hero and Quirkless always capitalized in Izuku's POV, because of the importance that those words hold for him. It's a little funny, but quirks don't hold that same weight.

Also please feel free to comment, I am ALWAYS reading every single comment the moment my Gmail notifies me about them. Istg, if reading your comments does the same thing to me that crack does to crackheads, I might have to try crack.

Chapter 2: Orange is Anger

Summary:

“Hm?” Izuku stopped, looking back to Kacchan who was holding out a black hoodie.

“The hag got it for you! Don’t you dare think this shit is from me.”

Izuku laughed, taking the black hoodie. It was soft. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Kacchan.”

Months, months, down the drain all because Izuku had been too busy moping to notice Eraserhead. He pulled at the roots of his hair, rocking back and forth behind a dumpster in an alleyway a few blocks away from a homeless shelter. 

“You idiot,” He seethed, feeling his eyes sting. He couldn’t believe that he had managed to lose that building all because he had been so caught up in his own head. 

It had taken months to find that building. He hadn’t been able to find a place that had provided that much space and safety in a long time. Managing to get an entire apartment building to himself was pretty fucking rare. Before that, he would have been considered lucky to find a room for himself. 

More often than not, most buildings were taken down as soon as possible. It’s what happens when a city like Musutafu has an ever-growing number of residents. So, if he wanted a spot that wouldn’t be snatched up, he usually had to tough it out in crowded spaces with everyone else who wanted a safe place to sleep. 

He, most of the time, tried to steer clear of shelters or crowded pop-up homes. He didn’t want to risk someone feeling sympathetic because of his baby face and night terrors. The few times he did stick around shelters, it usually was because he was sick and needed an easy place to rest or because he had been getting harassed for his Primordial Shoes. 

Though, that wasn’t to say that he didn’t get harassed in the shelters – just another reason he tried to hole up somewhere by himself. 

His trusty list of places he could, in theory, squat at without worry of being caught – for at least a few weeks – were: rundown minimarts that had the Uniex construction company signs around (they never got around to the buildings, Izuku was sure they were more of a front than anything else), houses that were boarded up, and behind dumpsters in alleyways that weren’t dead ends. 

The point was, that he had lost a building that had taken a little bit of Izuku’s anxiety over the idea of where he was going to sleep away . He was back to huddling behind dumpsters, jerking away at every sound, and trying to pretend like he was okay. 

Who knew when the next time he’d be able to find a spot he would feel safe at? It took so much time and effort to look for places that were safe enough for him to sleep. Well, he could actually sleep almost anywhere – like the dumpster he was hiding behind for example. But there was a difference between falling into a restless sleep, holding both your bags in your lap so that you could bolt down the alley at a moment’s notice, and being able to truly sleep in a smelly building.

He was so pissed. 

Even in his nice, comfortable, smelly, abandoned building, he had to be on his guard. You couldn’t be living like he did and feel the safety of being able to breathe comfortably. 

But it was fine, he was used to it. 

He always had to be ready to run. It never mattered to him who he was running from; Kacchan, bullies, Heroes, Police, muggers, or the creepy other homeless people. 

The point was that he couldn’t risk someone getting the jump on him. Crashing in an abandoned building just increased the chances of getting a full night of sleep. 

He was stuck behind a dumpster, too terrified of someone catching him to be able to sleep. Just staring out to the rooftops, afraid he’d see a familiar gray scarf. 

At some point, Izuku had fallen asleep, the adrenaline from the night probably fading away and making him pass out from a mix of exhaustion and pain. He hadn’t realized he had fallen asleep until he was blinking awake and noticing the bright sky that most certainly hadn’t been there before. 

He sent a small thanks out, grateful that Eraserhead never found him. There wouldn’t be much he, a scrawny, little, Deku could do against a Pro Hero. He had only managed to escape Eraserhead because he got lucky, had more knowledge of the situation than Eraserhead did, and had been willing to risk anything to get away. 

If he had panicked and ignored the few escape routes that he had already planned out as fallbacks, he’d be dead. Not that Eraserhead would have killed him or anything. He probably would have jumped from the roof to get away and then he would have most likely died. If he hadn’t stayed as calm as he did inside the building he would have gotten caught and then put back into the foster system. 

Then he would have killed himself. 

It wouldn’t be his first time in that place. He had been a possession of the state, or whatever you call it since he had no family to take him in after his mom died. Or, at least, none that wanted to. His father was somewhere in America, passing out from booze every other night and most likely blaming all his life failures on Izuku. His Grandma had cut herself out of his life the moment he got diagnosed as Quirkless. So, yeah, no family after his mom died. 

The day his mom died…the officers came to retrieve him from school to identify her. They explained she was gone. Their apartment had been burnt down, and everything inside was destroyed because the newly married neighbors that had moved in next door to them had been fighting. 

Or something like that. 

Izuku didn’t know the full story. He still couldn’t bring himself to research everything that had happened. What he did know, though, was that the lady next door had been arrested for arson, murder, and domestic abuse. 

A lot of people had been able to get out of the building in time, but not everyone survived. His mom had been too sick and somehow never woke up during it all. That’s what they had told Izuku, at least. There hadn’t been a struggle, just peacefully sleeping, and then…nothing. 

He hadn’t been able to plan a funeral for his mom. All the money she had left him had been stolen by his father before he hopped on a plane and left, but not before reminding Izuku who had worked Midoriya Inko to death. His aunts, uncles, and grandma had seized her body and planned everything without him. 

He still didn’t know where she was, almost three years later. 

Midoriya Inko was the best mother anyone could have. She never took him to see her family, saying if they didn’t respect Izuku then she wasn’t going to respect them. She always told him that they had each other and that was enough for her. 

Look at what having Izuku did to her.

His mom had wanted them to start their own family grave, she was a heavy believer in starting anew with death. She said it would be a resting spot for just them and whatever family Izuku would make when he was older. 

Who would want a family that included Izuku? He had already caused the death of the only person who cared about him. If he hadn’t been around, she wouldn’t have gotten so sick by overworking herself. If she hadn’t been that sick, she probably could have gotten out of the building alive. 

But, no, she had a Quirkless son whom she chose to love and take care of. She never resented him for how much she had to work, she never hated him for how her life turned out. In the end, he guessed it was okay, he resented himself enough for both of them. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his head into his arms, hoping he wouldn’t have to wake up again. 

…

He had spent the entirety of Saturday and Sunday moving from one alleyway to another until he was just a few blocks away from Aldera. He couldn’t risk being caught by Eraserhead again, so he had to stick through the shadows and stay hidden at night. 

Izuku was freezing as he tried to work on his homework in the crappy light of the alleyway. It was nighttime and cold but he couldn’t risk wearing his hoodie since it had been the last thing Eraserhead saw him in. He had stashed the All Might hoodie into his bag, ignoring the way he shivered and tried to ignore the throbbing in his wrist. 

A healing quirk would be so, so , awesome. 

Izuku had slid a slightly discolored yellow glove over his broken wrist, breathing through his mouth throughout the entire endeavor, trying to not pass out from the pain. Izuku’s vision flashed white but it was finally on and covering the nasty purple swelling. 

So, he considered that a win.  

He was finally far away from the building he had been staying in, and he was far away from Eraserhead’s usual patrol route near Yuuei, so he considered himself safe. Ish. 

There would be class the next day, detention for putting Yuuei down in his Career assignment, and most likely dealings with Kacchan and his friends until the blond would back off. But, after school, he would finally feel comfortable enough to be able to search for a new place to stay. 

At least for a little bit. 

…

When Izuku had finally walked into class Monday morning, squeaky clean from using the gym’s showers while the boys’ rugby team was out on the field, his desk had already been littered with Spider Lilies and Sharpie. He screwed his mouth shut, ducking his head, and kept his eyes on the floor as he shuffled closer to his desk. He knew exactly how the little Quirkless kid was supposed to act. He wasn’t a threat, he was small, he was meek, he was invisible until you wanted to put him in his place. He could be all of that; it was definitely easier than having to constantly get into trouble for standing up for himself. 

He took all that anger he could recognize in Kacchan and stuffed it down until he felt like he was choking on it. 

“Hey, Deku.” 

Izuku ducked his head lower, hands twitching at his side at the interruption in his normal morning routine. He was supposed to be cleaning his desk off, right now. If he took too long, he’d get in trouble with Uda-Sensei. 

“Did ya hear that Bakugou met All Might on Friday?” His neck snapped up toward Tsubasa at the mention of the Number One Hero, the usual feeling of amazement swelling up inside him left a bitter taste in his mouth at the reminder of failing to meet the Hero on Friday. 

“Shuddup!” Izuku cringed at Kacchan’s yell, ducking his head immediately. “Stop singin' my praises when ya pansies ran off at the sight of that D-list villain.” He clapped a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, most likely enjoying every second of this. 

Izuku couldn’t fault him for that, exactly. He would relish the idea of meeting All Might, too. The only difference was, that, Kacchan was someone All Might would want to meet where as Izuku… wasn’t exactly someone that most people liked to talk to. 

“Wanna know what All Might told me, Deku,” Kachhan was gloating, holding over this chance meeting with the Number One Hero over Izuku’s head. The message was clear: I met him and you didn’t, but I’ll be gracious and tell you all about it . 

Izuku gave a jerky nod, wincing slightly when Kacchan’s grip tightened. 

“He said I’d be a damn good Hero.” 

Of course. Izuku did doubt that the Hero had used those words exactly, but Kacchan always heard what he wanted to. 

“And I said I’d be even better than him.” Izuku rolled his eyes, that was Kacchan. Always trying to pick a fight. Izuku kind of envied him for his confidence to be able to do that. He couldn’t help staring up at Kacchan with admiration. 

There was no doubt in his mind that Kacchan would grow up to be an amazing Hero, probably even the Number One Hero. Once he stopped looking at everyone like stepping stones, he’d be set. 

“That’s so cool, Kacchan!” He squeezed his eyes shut, grinning up at his childhood friend. Izuku never had to act when it came to gushing over how cool Kacchan was to him, he couldn’t help but be amazed by every part of the blond. “You’re totally going to be cooler than All Might!” 

“And what about you, nerd?” Kacchan smirked, letting go of Izuku’s shoulder. “Are you still thinking about Yuuei?” 

His smile fell, instantly, at the mention of the Hero school. He still remembered Uda-Sensei calling him out in class and letting everyone know that the little, orphan, Quirkless , kid wanted to apply to the most sought out school in the country. 

Kacchan had looked angrier than Izuku had ever seen him, he had practically been foaming at the mouth, spewing the usual crap about how no one but him would make it into Yuuei. 

“No,” He muttered, biting his bottom lip. He wasn’t going to cry and give everyone here the satisfaction of seeing Quirkless Deku finally accept his stupid role in society. “No. I’m just…no.” He looked away, feeling a part of himself break at admitting that he wasn’t going to be able to go to Yuuei. He didn’t have the grades for it, he wouldn’t be able to afford Yuuei, there would be no one to write a letter of recommendation for him, and he was Quirkless . 

He thought of his meeting with Takashi-sensei, knowing that the man would hold true to his threat and destroy any attempt to apply to Yuuei. His fallback had been to shoot for general education at Yuuei when he failed the Hero Entrance Exam. But, now knowing that Takashi-sensei would destroy his applications meant that he’d have to come up with a new plan. 

He still had to go to high school for his mom, it was one of the only things she wanted for him. He had to do it. 

His next fallback would be the high school that Aldera fed into. His life would turn into literal Hell without Kacchan leading his torment, and that wasn’t something he wanted but it’d be something he’d have to endure for his mom. 

Kacchan seemed to enjoy tormenting Izuku but he hadn’t seriously hurt Izuku since they were kids. And because Kacchan always seemed to step in when someone got too rough with Izuku, none of the other kids hurt him too much, either. 

Nothing would guarantee that Izuku would be able to survive high school if Kacchan wasn’t there. 

“D’aw,” Kacchan’s gleeful tone pulled Izuku from his musings, his face not really matching his tone. “Too bad, nerd. Too bad.” 

The teacher walked inside, tutting the class. Only three kids were in their seats, while everyone else seemed to be too absorbed in their own conversations to care. “Midoriya, to your seat.” 

Izuku breathed deeply, nodding his head. “Yes, Sensei,” He murmured, ignoring Kacchan’s stare, just hunching his shoulders and hoping he’d get through the day. 

He still had detention after school, Takashi-Sensei took the essay Izuku wrote with an unimpressed hum. 

“So?” Takashi raised a brow, staring down Izuku. He sighed, almost as if speaking to Izuku was mentally taxing. 

Well, at least the feeling is mutual.  

“What have we learned?” His voice was laced with faux interest. 

“Yuuei would never take someone like me,” He paused, voice monotone, trying to smother that anger and rage that was crawling its way up his throat. “Yuuei would never allow a Quirkless person into their school.” 

Takashi nodded, tossing the essay that Izuku had spent hours on into the bin without so much as a glance at the quirkist propaganda that he had subjected Izuku to. That stupid fucking paper was sitting in the can, staring right back up at Izuku, taunting him. 

He could never win, could he? 

“And why’s that?” Takashi’s question tore Izuku’s attention from the essay back to him, a permanent frown etched onto his face. 

“Because,” Izuku breathed, his throat felt tight, and he gave himself three seconds before he forced himself to answer as calmly as he could. “Because Yuuei knows Quirkless are…” Izuku screwed his lips shut, not wanting to feed into this man’s horrible ideology. 

“Are, what?” Takashi leaned against the whiteboard, and it took every minuscule of his strength to hold back what he actually thought. 

“Are dying out,” He murmured instead of giving his Sensei what he wanted. He refused to say anything more than that. He quite literally couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. It almost felt like his throat was tearing itself apart. 

Takashi gave a disappointed sigh. “Close enough, Midoriya.” He walked past Izuku before pausing at the door. “Clean up the mess in here, and then you can leave.” Izuku waited for Takashi’s footsteps to die down before he let the controlled expression on his face fall, feeling his whole body sag with relief and equal parts sadness. He buried his face in his hands, breathing deeply, and trying his very best not to fall apart. 

He really, really, wanted to sleep. 

It really didn’t take long to clean up the classroom, the same old routine, and dance. And speaking of old routines, Izuku found a note stuck under his desk. There was just one word written on it, in that obnoxious orange ink that Kacchan loved to write with. 

Dinner . 

Izuku squeezed his eyes shut. Every once and a while Mitsuki and Masaru would tell Kacchan to invite Izuku to dinner. It was always nice, he would get free food for a few days because they always sent him home with leftovers. The few hours that they were forced to be in close proximity with each other always made Kacchan act like those cats that were forced to take a bath.

He could always try to ignore the message, claiming he never saw the note, but the idea of his auntie’s curry was too enticing. He folded the note up and shoved it in the trash with the rest of the petals he had collected underneath his desk, before grabbing his backpack and rushing outside. 

Kacchan was going to be pissed that he had to wait as long as he did. 

Not like it was my fault. 

“What took so damn long?” Izuku’s face screwed up, almost finding it funny how easy it was to predict Kacchan’s mood, matching Kacchan’s pace. “Took fucking forever.” 

Izuku bit his lip. “Sorry, I had detention.”

Kacchan scoffed. “What about this time?” 

Izuku watched him, unsure why he cared. “Because I had put Yuuei on my application last week.” 

Kacchan didn’t dignify that with a response, just shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking faster. Izuku cursed, practically having to run to keep up with Kacchan’s strides. 

Izuku’s finger started pulling at the skin around his thumbnail. “I-I meant what I said earlier, I won’t try to apply to Yuuei.” He shrugged his shoulders, shoving that pain alongside that anger he couldn’t get rid of. 

“What happened to your hand, moron?” Kacchan side-eyed him, eyes catching the brace that Izuku had bought from a corner store on his way to the school. He smiled, trying to keep the look of the good, little, Quirkless, Deku before he tugged his sleeve over his hand. 

“Does it matter?” He bit his tongue, ready to just slam his head against the pavement. He wasn’t trying to intentionally rile up the other boy, but it seemed he had a knack for it. “I-I mean, nothing new, right?” 

“If the hag asks and I don’t know the answer she’ll lose her shit.” He stopped, raising a brow at Izuku. “So what happened?” 

Izuku frowned and shrugged. “Just fell.” He almost smiled, knowing it was the closest to the truth he would admit. 

“You’re fucking clumsy, nerd.” Izuku bit his lip and chuckled, hating how natural it felt to be this version everyone expected him to be. He knew Kacchan knew he wasn’t as docile as he acted, hell the moment he was with Mitsuki he kind of let that fade away and would actively speak his mind. Kacchan was smart, smarter than Izuku, he definitely knew Izuku’s acts. He just didn’t care, he benefited from them. 

“Did,” Izuku trailed off, feeling nervous under Kacchan’s stare. “Did you really meet All Might?” 

“Tch.” Kacchan started walking again, obviously set off by Izuku’s question. “Stop it! With your fucking questions, with the mumbles, and the fucking Deku crap!” 

Izuku rolled his eyes, wincing when he realized what he had just done. “What Deku crap?” 

Kacchan stopped again, grabbing Izuku by the collar of his shirt. “I mean leave that worthless, crybaby shit at school, stop acting like you give a rat’s ass about me meeting All Might. Stop acting like you aren’t going to apply to Yuuei, and stop acting like you are better than me!” 

Izuku waved his hands around, face gaining heat. He felt so stupid. “I-It’s not an act!” 

“The-” 

“The shit at school! Of course, that is!” Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for…something. “I’m not going to grow up the way I did and have dinner nights with your mom and genuinely act like that. But I’m not throwing an act around when it comes to you.” 

Kacchan’s grip loosened, and Izuku pushed himself away from him, ready to flee at any moment. 

“I’m not applying to Yuuei either, okay?” He looked away, eyes downcast. Sometimes, the hardest part of acting like society wanted him to, was that he found himself doing it even when he didn’t have to. “It was stupid of me, I know that. I can’t afford it, even if I could somehow make it in.” 

“De-” 

“And I know!” He gripped his backpack, holding back tears. “I know I wouldn’t be able to make it in. Their Quirkless rule is just a formality! And it’s not like it matters, I-I…” 

Izuku stopped, refusing to look at Kacchan. It didn’t matter, he wasn’t ever going to be a Hero. He didn’t have a quirk, he couldn’t even be considered a hero. Even if he got a license, even if he somehow managed to graduate from any Hero program. His closest shot would be to be a vigilante, and even then he wouldn’t be considered an actual one when people realized he didn’t have a quirk. 

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” He sighed, walking up the steps to Bakugou’s house. “Just let it go, Kacchan.” 

He knocked on the door, not wanting to let Kacchan try to continue the conversation. Masaru opened the door, his face brightening at the sight of Izuku. “How was school today, you guys?” 

“It was fine.” Kacchan sounded irritated, and Izuku grimaced. He was probably going to have to deal with that later. “Deku and I have homework, let the hag know he wants her curry.” 

“Oh, we finally have started our high school ap-” Kacchan snatched Izuku by his backpack the moment he had taken his shoes off, ignoring his squawks in protest or Masaru’s reprimanding. 

Izuku flinched when Kacchan slammed the door, really not wanting to finish their conversation from outside. But, surprisingly enough, Kacchan just sat at his desk and started working on the history assignment that had been assigned. 

“What’d you get on the math test?” Kacchan didn’t bother to look at Izuku as he asked. 

“A 67,” He sighed. “Luckily, Sensei was kind enough to bump it to a 70.” 

“That’s bull.” Kacchan whipped around, holding out a hand to Izuku. “Lemme see that shit.” 

Izuku eyed his hand for a moment before sighing. He pulled out a folder full of his assignments, dug through the work they got back today, and then handed it to him. They both weren’t stupid. They both knew Izuku didn’t actually get a 67. It was the usual song and dance. 

“You got C for 5?” Izuku shrugged, not bothering to answer him vocally. “That’s the one I missed. I had put A.” 

“Oh.” Izuku left it at that, never sure why Kacchan did this. He had the perfect personality to match a quirk like his. He was always running on a short fuse, sometimes he would admit that Izuku was just as smart as him, or would shit talk whatever punishment Izuku got from their teachers. And other times, he would destroy all of Izuku’s belongings and tell him to kill himself. 

He could never figure it out. 

“How many did I get right?” He lifted a brow, not looking up from his English homework. 

“All of them.” And that was that. 

…

“‘Zuku!” Mitsuki had thrown her arms around Izuku, practically squeezing the life out of him when they had come down for dinner. “It’s been a long time, Squirt.” She ruffled his hair, smiling like she was happy to see him. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Auntie.” He sat down, keeping his broken hand under the table. He wasn’t stupid enough to think she hadn’t caught it, but he didn’t wanna draw attention to it. 

“You should visit more often.” She smiled, the same thing she said every single time. 

“I’ll try, Auntie.” The same response he gave each time. 

Dinner passed by quickly, Izuku eating half his plate and claiming he was too full. He ate the dessert she came out with though, and of course, no one mentioned it. It was a custom. Izuku only ever ate half his food, deciding to save the other half for later. He was never sure when he was going to need food again. 

And even with half his plate left over, Mitsuki would still pile in at least three helpings for a normal person. And every time he promised to return the Tupperware. 

This was a tradition he cherished. And he realized when they were mentioning high school applications that he wouldn’t have these for much longer. He wasn’t going to be going to school with Kacchan any longer, and if his plan worked out, he wouldn’t be here any longer. 

“I…I um,” Izuku paused, smiling respectfully to Mitsuki and Masaru. “I should be going, it’s late and I’ve gotta get home.” 

Mitsuki smiled softly down at him, and he briefly wondered if she saw Inko in him as he saw in her. “Of course, honey. Let me get you some leftovers.” 

Izuku nodded and grabbed his backpack, leaving the graded math assignment on Kacchan’s desk. He hugged Masaru, relishing in the head pats from the man. When Mitsuki gave him his food, she smiled in such a soft way he saw a flash of green. He turned away, smiling. “Thank you, Auntie.” 

“I’ll walk him out.” Kacchan pushed past Mitsuki, cutting their moment short. Izuku stepped outside, the smell of rain reminding him nothing could be easy. “Deku.” 

“Hm?” Izuku stopped, looking back to Kacchan who was holding out a black hoodie. “The hag got it for you! Don’t you dare think this shit is from me.” 

Izuku laughed, taking the black hoodie. It was soft. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Kacchan.” Izuku set his backpack down, slipping into the hoodie with a grin. It was big, bigger than his All Might hoodie. But it was warm. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kacchan.” 

“Deku!” He didn’t even make it two steps before Kacchan yelled. Izuku turned, raising a brow. “A-About what I sa…About Friday,” He trailed off, but Izuku felt that anger again. 

"Just pray for a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building."

He swallowed, unsure of what Kacchan was going to say. He knew Izuku better than anyone. 

Probably because there isn’t anyone else. 

What if he figured out Izuku’s plan? What if he knew that Izuku would entertain the idea, not because he wanted to die, but because what was the point if he was going to die young anyway? 

Izuku wiped any indication that he was angry off his face, swallowing the rage he felt at Kacchan’s cowardice. Kacchan was supposed to be the braver one, he was the one who had always been destined for great things. Kacchan was everything Izuku wished he was, and he used it all to be cruel and mean, and a coward when he was too ashamed to say he had been wrong about something. 

He smiled at Kacchan, face painfully devoid of any emotion, smiling at his bully as he would smile at his classmates and teachers. “I have to go.” 

He wasn’t going to give Kacchan forgiveness if he couldn’t even say the words that he had no problem saying Friday. He couldn’t forgive him if Kacchan couldn’t even say ‘ I’m sorry’ . He turned on his heel, leaving Kacchan standing there, just as angry as he was. 

He slowly made his way back to the alleyway he had been squatting in, digging his laundry bag out of the dumpster. He always threw it into a large trash bag before throwing it into the dumpster. 

The sun was setting, so he most likely had two hours to find a semi-permanent place to stay.

There were a few empty houses, but each of them had a sign trying to get people to buy them. He tried a house once that was on the market, he probably should have realized that if no one else was trying to squat there he shouldn’t be either. But he was younger and stupider, it had been his first year out on the streets. 

After a few weeks of staying in the homeless shelters, he decided he should probably look for places where people wouldn’t care that a kid was homeless. 

It had been a house near Aldera, that way he could get to school easily. He hadn’t thought of people wanting to buy it. He had genuinely been lucky, it was a weekend and Izuku had been in one of the rooms in the back of the house doing homework when he heard the real estate agent speaking to someone. 

All of his food had been sitting on the counter in the kitchen, and Izuku had been so angry for weeks over losing all of it. The lady had seen the food and seemed to immediately put the pieces together, that someone had been squatting there. He had already thrown both of his bags outside, clambered out of the window, and had been sprinting away by the time the lady had burst into the back bedroom Izuku had been occupying. 

So yeah, he passed by a house for sale ignoring the little kid in the back of his mind begging for a warm place to sleep. Of course, he was tired, hungry, and wanted nothing more than a shower but he wasn’t going to risk the last three years for one night in a house for sale because it might have running water. 

What he needed to do was look around areas where the crime was probably overlooked or look for places that the city hadn’t taken control of in years. He couldn’t keep living behind dumpsters all the time if he wanted to keep his grades up. It was next to impossible to keep a level head when each night he would wake up by footsteps. 

He made sure to put his hands at his sides, doing his best to seem normal. As long as he just kept to himself no one should care. Though watching a dad twirl his kid around, both smiling and laughing while the mom was holding the baby, he knew no one really would. 

He pushed on forward, cutting streets when he saw cops and going out of his way to avoid Police Precincts and Hero Agencies. Izuku had memorized the grid systems of the city when he was younger, it was supposed to be for fun. He had a project on the modernization of infrastructure, and he decided to compare the grid systems from a few years ago to before his mom was born. 

At least now, Izuku didn’t have to worry about accidentally running into the police or the Heroes. And if any Heroes did show up, he was probably just as ordinary-looking as anyone else. He kept scanning the area, turning down an alleyway towards the beach just in time for a police car to roll down the street. He turned the corner quickly, sagging against the wall with relief when he realized the cop never noticed him. 

Allowing him a few minutes with his broken wrist, Izuku lifted it above his head. He faintly remembered his mom telling him to do that as she drove to his elementary school to demand to know what happened to his arm after an accident with some of the other kids. 

The sound of a car horn pulled him back from the past forcing him to drop his hand back down before pushing himself off the wall and walking onto the beach. It was rather empty, but it made sense, Dagobah Beach was close by. The beach was always trashed, and the city didn’t care enough to clean it up. 

He almost tripped the moment he realized that was probably the best thing he could get. Dagobah Beach got no visitors, people who were homeless steered clear because of the rumors of the place being haunted, and the city wasn’t planning on changing it anytime soon. 

He started running, feeling ridiculous at how hard running through the sand felt. The beach looked just as trashed as he heard, as happy as he was that he found a place to sleep. He couldn't help but feel guilty for ignoring the problem that everyone else was ignoring too. 

Maybe he could clean up the trash, little by little. 

He could do this, living in an abandoned car surrounded by trash on Dagobah Beach. He’d finish his school work, maybe clean up around the car, and scout the area the next day before school for escape points. He’d need a fallback in case someone caught him here, and escape points were always a good, trusty, fallback. 

…

School, surprisingly, after that got easier. He wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth (or whatever the saying was), but he couldn’t help but feel like Kacchan’s fuse was going to blow any day now. It had only been a week since he visited the Bakugou household, but since the next day at school, no one really bothered Izuku. Of course, the teachers still graded him unfairly or chewed him out for mumbling, but Kacchan and the other kids left him alone. High school entrance exams were about nine months away, so he assumed that could just be it. And frankly, as much as he wanted to know why, he didn’t need to know what had changed. 

He just kept his head down during the day at school, and then at night would wander around in the black sweatshirt Mitsuki gave him and a mask to hide his identity. He had found an old box of All Might-O’s (a horrible name for a cereal brand, but it had All Might on the front so it sold like crazy), and knew the cutout Hero faces on the back of the box were perfect for what he needed. 

There were a bunch of different heroes. Anyone from All Might to lesser-known Heroes like Vlad King. It was really popular amongst younger children, but Izuku thought it would be kind of funny to run around quite literally pretending to be a hero. 

He had cutouts of All Might’s, Present Mic’s, and Hawks’ faces. The other ones were fallbacks in case something happened to his All Might mask, but they were still heroes he enjoyed watching fight. 

And at night He’d put the All Might mask on, and put the hood on, (tying it under his chin so that his mask and hood couldn’t be pulled off easily). Not that he had necessarily done anything that would warrant someone trying to tear his mask off, but it was a good precaution. 

He wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting when he decided to do this, but he definitely thought he would be running into bad guys pretty fast. It was stupid, shit he read from Spider-Man and Batman comics, stuff like that wasn’t going to happen. And it's not like he had an issue helping people. There was an older lady that he helped by carrying her groceries home, there was this guy who owned a mini-mart that needed Izuku’s help to reattach the opening sign to the building, and there was a kid who had been looking for his cat the night before. Helping those people made him feel good, he always fell asleep easier knowing that he was being heroic. 

Obviously, he wanted to prove people wrong and show he could fight as a hero, but he never realized how much he just wanted to help. 

Even though it took a few days to actually start going out like this, this felt like one of the most impulsive decisions he ever made. A few people asked if he was a vigilante, and each time he said no. Someone asked his name once, and he just bolted.

How does someone decide to become a non-vigilante and somehow forget he needs a name? He couldn’t use the name Deku, that would make Kacchan realize who he was immediately. 

“Hey! Let go!” He froze, because of fucking course he would freeze. He’s never fought anyone before! He only ever ran away from Kacchan and the bullies at school. 

All you do is run. 

He blinked, watching a guy with flame-colored hair standing in between a smaller guy who was gripping the briefcase in his arms and the exit of the alleyway. He could run and get help, he knew that Night Shade should be patrolling about a mile over from Izuku. But he couldn’t imagine leaving this guy here, by himself. Who knows what would happen in the time it took Izuku to find Night Shade, convince her to follow him, and bring her back? 

He couldn’t just stand here scared. 

“Hand it over.” Light came to life in the guy's hand, the flame wasn’t large, it was a gamble but Izuku was betting Flame-guy was better for close range than far-range fighting. “Ya give it to me, and I won’t even kill ya, okay?” 

The guy with the briefcase tightened his grip. “Uh...” 

Izuku gathered some of the grovel off the ground and threw a pebble at Flame-guy’s head. He ducked behind the dumpster just before Flame-guy turned around. He inhaled sharply and then turned quickly and threw another one before hiding again.

“Who threw that!” Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the pebbles in his hand. He had about three more good-sized pebbles. Izuku knew the best way to get someone to chase you was to piss them the fuck off. 

He had always been good at that. 

When Izuku didn’t hear footsteps, he peaked around the corner of the dumpster he had his back to, he threw another pebble before hiding again. 

“What the actual fuck!” Izuku could hear his own heartbeat roaring in his ears. “Is this shit you,” The villain demanded, most likely toward the guy with the briefcase. “You think this is gonna save your ass? Hand over the briefcase!”

“I-I…No!” Izuku lifted his head over the lid of the dumpster, making eye contact with the Briefcase Guy. His eyes widened at Izuku, probably more than freaked out at a cardboard cutout of All Might’s face. “It-It’s not me!” 

Izuku wound up, breathing deeply, and threw another pebble. He hesitated for just a second, making sure Flame-guy caught sight of him before he ran. “You little bastard!” 

Izuku smiled, feeling absolutely terrified but he could hear Flame-guy’s running footsteps behind him. If there was one good thing about Izuku, it was that he could outrun someone chasing him. 

He skidded around a corner, catching sight of Night Shade, and throwing his last pebble. 

It hit!

Izuku pumped a fist in the air, completely forgetting that he was in danger. Flame-guy bulldozed right into him. Izuku’s head cracked against the ground, making his vision blur. He could feel the weight of Flame-Guy on his back, a very hot hand holding his head against the ground. He could, just barely, turn his head to the side, eyes widening at the glowing palm aimed right at his head. Before Flame-Guy could cause any real damage, aside from the throbbing headache Izuku was sporting, the Briefcase-Guy hit Flame-Guy in the head with the corner of his briefcase.

“Oof!” Izuku felt the air leave his lungs when Flame-guy’s full body weight crashed on top of him for the second time that night. “T-Thank…” He coughed, pushing Flame-guy’s body off him. “Thank you.” 

“Whoa!” Izuku jumped up, keeping his eyes on Night Shade and Briefcase Guy. “What the hell was that?” Night Shade was looking at him, and the only thing Izuku could think was he had to get out of there. He couldn’t risk getting caught. 

“This guy tries robbing me!” Night Shade looked down at Flame-guy as Briefcase Guy pointed at him. “And then…” Izuku was already running, not caring to stick around for a questionnaire. He heard a yell, but with a victim and a villain, Night Shade should have her hands full. He kept running, adrenaline in his veins. He hollered, feeling like a kid getting too loud. He couldn’t help it. Izuku helped someone.

Izuku saved someone.

He’s been helping people for a week, but he actively stopped someone from getting hurt. His head might be throbbing, but it just added to his excitement.

As much as he wanted to stick around and make sure that Briefcase-Guy was alright, he knew Night Shade most likely had it handled. 

Night Shade was an up-and-coming Pro who just branched off from being a sidekick for Nighteye. She probably had a lot of experience, and Izuku counted himself barely lucky to survive this encounter. Who knows how long it would have taken for Night Shade to incapacitate Flame-guy, and who knows how much damage Izuku would have sustained in the process? 

Just thinking about it got him excited again. He wanted to keep going, keep trying to find fights, and keep helping people. But the more logical part of his brain was admitting he should turn in. Night Shade could have easily called in reinforcements to find Izuku. 

Hating the fact he knew there was a high chance of being caught if he stayed out longer, Izuku made his way back to Dagobah Beach. As he was settling inside a run-down car that was insulated on the inside, he noticed movement from the corner of his eye. He froze, hands inching to his bags, ready to run. There was a figure watching the ocean, their attention split between the water and the trash Izuku was currently hiding in.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, Izuku watching this unmoving person, but as the sun started to come up, Izuku caught sight of the man’s yellow hair before he disappeared behind a building. Izuku still watched the spot the man had been at, unsure if he ever saw Izuku. 

It left a bitter taste in Izuku’s mouth. 

Notes:

So I hope y'all liked this chapter just as much if not more than the first one. My sister is not a big fan of chapter one, but she seemed to like this one.

But we have some of my favorite moments in this chapter; Katsuki failing to apologize even though we see he really wanted to, Katsuki's and Izuku's weird/complicated relationship, Izuku's first night out as a not-vigilante, and now our first peak at All Might!

I just want to put it out there real quick, but this is NOT a BakuDeku fic. Nothing against them or anything, but in this story, their relationship is 1: more brotherly than anything and 2: too complicated for romance between one another.

Plus, I already know who Izuku is going to end up with, and once you meet them, you'll know too.

Once again, please let me know what you all think! I LOVE getting to read anything from a 'Thanks' '<3' to a whole-ass essay about your thoughts on everything. I will pour them all into my coffee as if it were creamer.

Also, next chapter will be posted on January 22nd.

Chapter 3: Heroes Hunt Vigilante for Sport

Summary:

That’s right folks, a child is rushing about the streets of Japan at night playing hero.

By: Honda Shui – Editor of Herolytical

“You’re the vigilante that’s been saving people for months,” I had said. 

“I’m not a vigilante,” He insisted. 

…

Almost four months ago, a new vigilante popped up in the streets of Musutafu. Police and Heroes, throughout the city, have been getting calls about a kid who runs through the streets in a cardboard cut-out All Might mask. He swoops in, trying to save and help anyone he seems to come across. 

Our new vigilante has been single-handedly leading anyone from villains to muggers (though, really what’s the difference) straight into the Heroes’ waiting arms. Since mid-April, there has been a twenty-one percent decrease in successful muggings. Now, of course, this doesn’t immediately point to Musutafu’s newest vigilante. However, ninety-eight percent of these unsuccessful muggings led to an arrest, and ninety-two percent of those arrests had been called in by Heroes who hadn’t been the ones to catch the criminals. 

It kind of makes you wonder, if it was this easy to begin with, why has it taken so long to get these criminals to justice? And before anyone points out the obvious, the heavy restrictions that the Police and Heroes have to abide by, we all already know. 

The first case about the kid, that most people know about, is when he saved Kishibe Hajime. Kishibe-san had been in the middle of getting mugged when our masked vigilante had shown up and distracted the villain.

“My work is rather top secret,” He had started off, seemingly nervous. He had been tight-lipped in the beginning of the interview, claiming he didn’t want to lead to someone’s arrest when that person had gone out of their way and saved his life when they didn’t need to. “I work for the commission, so I doubt that my assault was just poor luck. I had been terrified, convinced I was going to die, but then this kid was just throwing pebbles at the villain’s head.” 

“Kid,” I had repeated, trying to wrap my head around the idea that this vigilante was a child who was risking his life each night. “Wait, did you say pebbles?” 

Kishibe-san laughed, eyes crinkling, and nodded. He said he hadn’t believed it, at first, either, but the vigilante was indeed throwing pebbles at the villain. Koi Matsuma, the villain who had been apprehended by Night Shade (a new and upcoming Hero who just finished working as a side-kick for Sir Nighteye), confirmed the story. 

That’s right folks, a child is rushing about the streets of Japan at night playing hero. 

“I mean yeah, he couldn’t be anything else but a child. He was short, probably barely over five feet, and his coat was way too big for him.” Night Shade had also agreed that the new vigilante was a kid. 

I looked a little deeper into all the posts about him and found out that the public has now started to call him: Pebble Kid. 

Now, of course, a one-time hit from a kid trying to do good doesn’t make the headlines. But, ever since Kishibe was saved by this vigilante, we have seen many Twitter threads and Instagram posts. People have even called us to talk about the kid. Lots of people have questions: How has a child evaded the heroes for this long? How much longer do we think he can survive? Where did he come from? Is he really a vigilante if we haven’t seen him use his quirk?

Now I can’t answer all of those questions, but I can answer a few. After all, I did meet him.

From all that I had heard before I ever ran into him, was that he did anything from walking your groceries home to turning criminals’ attention on him. I already had over half of this article typed out, waiting for the perfect time to send it in, and then like a miracle I was saved by the kid. 

This kid, like Night Shade, said, cannot be seen as anything other than one. He doesn’t want to be known as a vigilante. When asked, he adamantly claimed he ‘wasn’t one’. 

What???

I hardly got two minutes to talk to him before the kid ran off, but I know a few things. 

1. The kid doesn’t have a name for himself
2. The kid doesn’t know he’s been coined ‘Pebble Kid’
3. He does not consider himself a Hero, Vigilante, or anything in between
4. He’s a huge All Might fan (obviously)
5. He loves to rush in without a plan, weapon, or any back-up

I had been walking home a lot later than I should have been when I got attacked. It was late, I was a little drunk, and I was terrified. But, like a guardian angel, Pebble Kid dropped from the roof. He had tackled the criminal who had cornered me, grabbed a can of beans off the ground, and bashed the criminal’s head in. 

He had stayed with me until he heard the sirens. He made sure I felt safe and would be fine alone, and that’s probably one of the reasons he stands to be one of my favorite Heroes/Vigilantes. That, and, he doesn’t focus on just saving people. It’s obvious to anyone who meets the kid, that he’s got a heart of gold that is much too big and much too pure for this world. He just wants to help. He’ll help old ladies across the street, get cats out of trees, bash in criminal’s heads with a can of beans, and even sit with you while the police (who are trying to catch him) arrive. 

It’s only been four months, but this kid is already catching our attention. Seems that this kid really is a hero, well at least to me. 

And as always, if any of you lovely readers catch sight of the mysterious masked hero who is not a vigilante, call XXX-XXXX-XXX. 

For more news on the kid running around as a hero at night, click the profile or just dm us @Herolyticaltwt

_

Lwbhy67 → @Herolyticaltwt: A kid? You’re expecting Japan to believe that the vigilante that’s running around areas where heroes aren’t patrolling is a kid?! 

Lukeiamurfather → @Lwbhy67: I mean yeah? I met the kid, he helped me fix a sign for my store. Real nice didn’t even accept any of the food I tried giving him. Super shy too. 

Midnight’snose → @Lwbhy67: That’s what I’m saying!

Catgoturtongue → @Lukeiamurfather: I met him too! He saved me the other night from some creeps, though has anyone seen this kid win a fight? All I hear about him is that he runs to get heroes. How is that being a vigilante? 

Lukeiamurfather → @Catgoturtongue: I haven’t seen him fight, but the article said he blundered a guy’s head in with a can of beans. And from some other Twitter threads I’ve seen, the kid always is just using whatever he can to attack the criminals. 

Lostinspace → @Herolyticaltwt: Does anyone know if this kid has a signature weapon or smth? I mean a can of beans? Pebbles? I saw him pick up a beer bottle and smash it over this girl’s head before accidentally stabbing himself with it. Totally wild bro. 

Weruletheworld_ordowe → @Lostinspace: HELP?! HE STABBED HIMSELF? 

Thehypeisdead → @Lostinspace: He hit a woman over the head with a beer bottle? What’s his problem? Sounds like a typical man to me lol

Lostinspace → @Thehypeisdead: I’m sorry?? The lady literally was holding a knife to me? She was gonna seriously maim me. The kid saved me. And I’m a girl too, so i don’t see how it’s sexist???

Hellfollowsmysteps → @Weruletheworld_ordowe: OMG! No, because one time he was running from a criminal who was attacking me and my brother, but he tripped over his own shoe??? Absolutely ate shit, funniest thing I saw. He jumped right back up, blew a raspberry at the guy and then took off. 

Hellfollowsmysteps → @Hellfollowsmysteps: I also follow a subreddit that talks about him (it’s called r/pebblekid) and someone said they saw him trying to run from a hero once, but only managed to escape because when the kid turned a corner too quickly he ran right into a drug deal. Basically leading the hero to break it up. Total accident apparently, but the kid got hurt. 

Allmight’sbf → @Lostinspace: I don’t think he has a weapon? I’ve only ever seen him with duct tape. I genuinely think this kid runs into fights unarmed and just picks anything he can up????

Lostinspace → @Allmight’sbf: Nah this kid is fr unmatched. 

Herokillerfan → @Lostinspace: Unmatched? Didn’t we just cover the fact that this kid has never actually fought anyone? Just alwaus using sneak attacks, and still, somehow manages to injure himself? 

Lostinspace → @Herokillerfan: always*

<More Replies>

Notes:

Listen, I know how short this chapter is...just wanted to put that out there. To make up for it, the next chapter will be published on the 29th, so exactly in one week.

One thing about The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, and Color Theory as a whole, is that there will be a good handful of social media posts and articles. It is an extremely important part of this story. At the very least, I hope you guys enjoyed the comments of this chapter.

Chapter 4: Yellow is Heartbreak

Summary:

“You could be like the first Quirkless student and then like the first Quirkless Hero.” He slapped Izuku on the back, grin matching the sunset behind him, before walking past him. “That’d be rad.”

Notes:

Hey guys! I know I was supposed to post this yesterday, but then my tooth broke and I had to get emergency dental care or whatever it's called. Yk, adult stuff. Anywho, I'm in incredible pain but I really wanted to post this.

The perks of high pain tolerance.

Also, school just started up for me /and/ I just started my second job too, so I've been trying to grapple with the concept of time.

Anywho - Onto the chapter

...

TW: Blood, injury, suicidal ideation, and violence.

Entrance exams were just around the corner

Or, regular, boring, high school entrance exams were around the corner. Yuuei’s entrance exam was most likely happening at that very moment. Izuku knew they were today, hence Kacchan’s absence from the classroom. 

So, Izuku wasn’t concerning himself with Yuuei’s entrance exam, he already knew better than he did ten months before. He wouldn’t kid himself over being able to apply to Yuuei, let alone getting in. 

Right now, Izuku was concerned with the entrance exams for the high school that Aldera fed into. The entrance exam was about three weeks away, and Izuku knew he was already cutting it close, but the problem was that he didn’t know if he was even going to go. He needed money for high school – money he didn’t have. His foster parents would have to fill out the paperwork. And to be honest, he wasn’t sure what he wanted anymore. 

Obviously, he still wanted to go to school. It had been what his mother had worked so hard for, it was one of the few things he needed to do before he wouldn’t be able to see a point to it all anymore. 

So what if he still wanted to go to school? He couldn’t afford it. He had to get a job, he needed to save up money for it. He wouldn’t stop helping people, he just wasn’t entirely sure how he would be able to add high school to his plate. Izuku wasn’t the smartest person out there, sure, but even he knew high school was going to make middle school seem like a dream. 

He really didn’t want to go through that. 

“Midoriya.” Izuku watched Uda pace in front of him, probably wanting to leave as much as Izuku wanted to. “You really need to think about this, are you applying?” 

“Do I have to have an answer right now?” He could always wait until the last possible moment, putting off the…inevitable. If he didn’t attend high school, what would all of this have been for? 

“You have to submit applications by tomorrow night. If you don’t have an answer in the morning, I’ll have to call your parents and discuss it with them.” Izuku’s eyes widened, and Uda tilted his head. “Unless you already have made a decision?” 

Izuku sighed, knowing that his decision had been made a long time ago – he just never had wanted to admit it. 

He could always save up. He could end up working for a few years before he enrolled in an online course. It wouldn’t be the worst thing imaginable, not like there would be anyone who could physically hurt him. He’d just have to push the death by not-vigilante-ing off by a few years. 

“Midoriya?” Uda snapped in front of his face, using the distraction to grip Izuku by the jaw and force eye contact. “Stop playing games. Do you have an answer or not?” 

“No.” Izuku’s shoulders hiked up, fighting the urge to rip his face from Uda’s hand. “I…I’m not going to apply. I don’t think high school is for me.” 

“See?” Uda let go of Izuku, wiping his hand on his pants as if Izuku was the disgusting creature between the two of them. 

You just might be . 

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Uda marked something off on his clipboard and tossed Izuku’s high school plan into the trash. “You’re free to go now.” 

…

Usually, when school would get out, Izuku couldn’t get back to Dagobah Beach fast enough. Since he started going out at night, he started to feel…less grey. Helping people, saving them, and cleaning up the trash at the beach, it made him feel something. He had started to get excited each night, but he hadn’t been realistic. 

He was living off the streets, stealing showers from his school gym when he got the chance, and he thought he would be able to afford school without any actual money. Kami, he could almost laugh at his own delusions. 

The entire time, ever since his mom had died, Izuku had been so caught up in surviving and doing what she wanted him to do that he never stopped to think about how realistic it truly was. He always found himself thinking about the far-off future, and because of that, he hadn’t thought to pay attention to what had been right around the corner. 

How was he supposed to continue at this rate? He needed a job, he needed money, and he needed his mom. But how was he supposed to get a job? How was he supposed to get money if hardly anyone hired Quirkless people

Izuku was just tired. 

He slowly made his way to Dogobah, using his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He couldn’t even see the point in going about his usual schedule: complete his homework, nap for a bit, and then go out at night. 

Izuku still wanted to help, he still needed to know that being alive had to have some sort of positive affect for others. What was the point, if his existence did nothing for anyone else? 

What was the point of schoolwork, though? 

He wouldn’t be able to afford school, he wouldn’t be able to ever have Uda-sensei properly grade his work, and he’d never have anyone to care how well he did on something. 

He climbed inside his makeshift home, closing the car door to block out the cold wind. It was still really bright. It made Izuku feel even more exhausted at the thought of how long until it would eventually be dark enough so that he would be able to walk the streets of Musutafu with a sense of purpose.  

Izuku’s eyes drifted to his backpack, knowing he probably should be doing his school work, knowing in the long run it’d pay off. He knew, realistically, that the moment he’d made the conscious decision to ignore it, he’d be proving everyone right. Little, Quirkless, Deku wasn’t smart enough, wasn’t ambitious enough, to keep up with everyone. 

What was the point if it’s what everyone thought, anyway? 

He sighed, looking away from his backpack, and curled up into a ball. He would just lay there, trying to ignore Uda-sensei and Takashi-sensei’s voices in his head, whispering to him. He wouldn’t give up forever, just for today. He’d rest for a few minutes before throwing himself into some task or exercise. He’d do anything to try and chase away the voices in the back of his mind. With enough effort, he’d forget about Uda-sensei, forget about high school, and maybe get lucky enough to forget about…everything. 

Just for a little bit, at least.

By the time he opened his eyes, again, it was dark out. 

Izuku jumped up with a start, trying to remember when he had fallen asleep. There was drool drying on his cheek and he could feel crust in the corner of his eyes. He grappled around for his bag, feeling around blindly for his watch and a flashlight. 

His eyes protested at the sudden bright light, but he could just barely make out the time through the cracks in the glass. Ten O’clock at night. 

He switched the flashlight off, letting his head drop against the steering wheel, mentally berating himself for sleeping for so long. It had been close to six hours since he had made it to Dagobah, so he had to have been asleep for nearly that long. 

Izuku ran a hand down his face, sighing, and stuffed the watch and flashlight back into his bag. He had slept too long to be able to go back to bed, he still felt exhausted, but he knew all he was doing was running away from the reality of his situation. 

He could go out, don his All Might mask, and not be Midoriya Izuku. Even for just a few hours, when he wore that cardboard cut out of All Might’s face, he liked himself better.  When he was walking around with his bright red shoes and head down, he knew everything wrong with himself, but when he was parading around in All Might’s face, he almost felt like a Hero. 

He dug around in his bag blindly, again, not wanting to waste the batteries in his flashlight. Those things were expensive. 

He shimmed out of his gakuran, changing into his less recognizable clothes, and feeling the beginnings of excitement thrum through his veins at the knowledge that he’d be out helping people. He threw on the hoodie Kacchan had given him all those months ago, grateful for the warmth it promised, and dusted off his sweats that he always threw on, on nights he’d go out. 

The newest, and most important, addition to his get-up, was his extra wide Converse that helped protect his identity and quirk status. 

Izuku was not ashamed to be Quirkless, but there was an extremely low percentage of Quirkless people in the world. The percentage only decreased when you looked at Musutafu, and it got even smaller when you looked at his age group. It’d be pretty easy for someone to find Izuku if they made the connection between his Primodorial shoes and his lack of an apparent quirk. 

He slipped his All Might mask on, over his head, and tied his hoodie under his chin in a practiced fashion. Tonight, he’d forget about Uda-Sensei, he’d forget about high school, he’d forget about how Quirkless people were supposed to act. 

Which was how he found himself running away from a mugger on a rooftop. 

Just like he planned, of course . 

Izuku had been walking around, making sure to stick to areas he knew were lacking Heroes and backup, when he heard a shout. He had ran as fast as he could, but before he could make it over, a guy with wings came rushing out of a dark alleyway and grabbed Izuku. The guy’s talons pierced through Izuku’s skin, making his shoulders feel like they were on fire. 

Panicked, Izuku struggled in the guy’s hold, clawing at the skin that was already coated in Izuku’s blood. He had just been able to cut the guy with his nail when the villain dropped him on top of a roof. 

“Hand over all your money, kid. I’ll go on my wa-” He stopped mid-sentence, his grin growing even wider when Izuku managed to roll away from the villain and look up. “Oh, you’re that Pebble Kid.” 

“The fucking what?” Izuku jerked back when the villain reached toward him. He felt around him, hands getting scratched up in his attempt to quickly find something and get away. His hand gripped a potted plant, and without a second thought, he lugged it toward the guy’s temple. The moment it made contact, Izuku scrambled away from the guy, eyes jumping to each side of the building in a desperate attempt to survive. 

There weren’t any fire escapes and no roof access door, effectively trapping him to the top of this roof. The only way to escape this guy was the building next door. Izuku’s head snapped toward the villain at his garbled shout, just barely managing to open his eyes, and essentially giving Izuku two options. 

1. Try to come up with a plan → give the guy time to collect his bearings and catch him
2. Start jumping to the other roofs and try his damndest to get away

He could barely run on the street without tripping and eating shit, how was he supposed to jump from roof to rooftop without any prior training or parkour experience? However, he didn’t have the time or luxury to try and jump off the building like he had done when Eraserhead had found him last April. 

Back then, he knew when the dumpster was emptied, he knew exactly where it was in correspondence to the rooms and windows. Here, he knew none of that. He couldn’t afford to try and escape in the same way. 

You could just jump.

Izuku shook the thought away, ignoring the way the thought sounded more rewarding. He couldn’t die, not yet . 

He took a few steps back, knowing he was running out of time, and shook out his arms. He set his head straight, eyes narrowing at the lip of the rooftop, and breathed out deeply. He never had jumped to a different rooftop before, but he also had never hit a guy with a potted plant.

First time for everything, and all that. 

It had only been a few seconds, but the villain was already trying to stand back up. He was out of time and only had one option on how to escape. 

Izuku inhaled sharply, and ran, jumping at the last second toward the rooftop across from him. His eyes flew open the moment he jumped, eyes taking in the way everything looked when he was high in the air without any guarantee of solid ground. He barely missed the roof, trying to grab at the lip of it, as he felt gravity pull his body down. 

He managed to land on the fire escape, hacking on saliva and air as he bit his tongue, he felt the pop in his shoulder and he screwed his eyes shut as he clambered to the roof. He still had to get away, a hurt back, a bleeding collarbone, and a hurt arm weren’t going to stop him or the villain. 

“Fuck,” He breathed out, tasting copper in his mouth. The villain seemed to have realized Izuku was gone, and that was all it took for Izuku to know he might not make it out of this. “Gotta go, come on.” 

He gritted his teeth, ignoring how his arm burned before he continued to run. He had gotten a bit faster these past few months, he knew it was partly from running from the criminals but he hoped part of it was from his morning runs on the beach. Running on the sand was supposed to help speed and stamina…or something like that. 

The distance to the next roof was a lot larger than the first one had been, but it didn’t matter to Izuku. The distance wasn’t nearly enough to make him falter in his escape. He could taste blood coating his mouth, feel the burn from where the guy punctured his collarbone and could feel the way his arm was throbbing. It didn’t matter how long one roof was from another, he had to jump. 

He wanted to make sure he’d die helping someone. If he died by getting robbed it would be too cruel. He would just be another statistic. 

He couldn’t afford to be another statistic. 

Izuku took a deep breath, greedily filling his lungs, and tried his best to ignore the danger that was encompassing him from all sides. Running starts were crucial when it came to long jumps, right? He tried wracking his brain for any Hero he had seen use their body to jump without the help of a quirk or weapon, but he came out empty-handed. Eraserhead had his Capture Weapon, Midnight had her signature Whip, and All Might’s quirk assisted him with travel. He couldn’t think of a single Hero he saw move without some sort of assistance. He knew there were some, but his mind was drawing a blank and he didn’t have the time to try and remember. 

He’s seen parkour videos before, though. Kacchan had shown them to him a few times when they were kids, before…everything. Izuku could still remember how cool those people had been, he could remember how scary it had seemed, too. 

He just had to do what he saw in those videos. Run, jump, roll, get back up, and run again. 

Easy, right? 

“Hey, Pebble Kid!” Izuku swallowed that fear, reaching the edge of the roof and just jumping as far as he could.

He wasn’t even close. It felt almost cruel to see how far he had been before his body began to fall. 

His face smashed into the bricks on the wall before he continued to fall. He could feel wet, warm, blood from where his face had hit the bricks, but what he could do? 

Was this how he was really going to die? He screwed his eyes shut, ignoring the way he could feel his body relax in mid-air, and tried to only think of seeing his mom again. If he was going to die right now, he wasn’t going to die scared. 

How could he be scared if he was going to see his mom? 

Something hit him from the side, knocking the air from his lungs. His eyes flew open able to make the distinction between whoever caught him and the villain who had grabbed him earlier. He was able to see that they were headed for another rooftop. Izuku felt his whole body slump in defeat as the urge to sob choked him. 

He had been so, so , close. 

The moment the stranger landed on the roof, they rolled, using their arms to protect Izuku’s head from any more damage. Izuku scrambled away the first chance he could, nearly swaying at the action. 

He greedily sucked in the air, happy to be able to breathe, again. Even with the mixed feelings about being alive, he was grateful. 

He groaned, rolling onto his stomach, trying to put as much distance between himself and the stranger as he could in his state. He began to push himself up before his shoulder gave out, confirming Izuku’s guess on dislocating it earlier. 

He was pretty sure the punctures in his collarbone from the villain weren’t helping matters, either. 

Izuku felt his fear spike at the reminder of the villain who had been chasing him.  He could hardly see whoever was in front of him, trying to get attention. He hadn’t realized the ringing in his ears until he noticed the stranger’s mouth had been moving, trying to talk to him. He could just barely hear him.

“Kid, you okay?” Izuku coughed, and the guy audibly sighed. Izuku felt a little guilty over not being able to hear the guy earlier. Izuku lifted his head, trying to clearly see the stranger through the fuzziness and blood. “Kid?” 

The guy moved his hand from side to side in front of Izuku’s face, probably thinking Izuku still couldn’t hear him. 

“You okay?” 

“Oh…” Izuku could feel the blood on his head, it was sticking to his All Might mask. “I’m all peachy.” He forced himself up, making sure not to put weight on his dislocated shoulder. 

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Izuku blinked again, eyes bouncing from the three fingers the guy was holding up, the yellow goggles, his capture weapon, the array of knives that lined the Hero’s waist, and the villain flying straight at them. Izuku bit his tongue, holding back a yelp as his shoulder twinged when he grabbed Eraserhead around the middle. He dived to the side, immediately regretting it when he landed on his bad shoulder.

“Three,” He guessed, trying to remember the number of fingers he had counted. He was breathing heavily, seeing white as his shoulder, collarbone, and head protested at the pain. Eraserhead had already stood up, walking away from Izuku, and gripping his Capture Weapon when Izuku had worked up enough strength to crack open an eye. 

“Correct,” The Hero muttered, sounding equal parts pained and relieved. Izuku decided to count that as a win, carefully making sure to pocket the knives he had slipped off Eraserhead when he moved them out of the villain’s way. 

He had to get out of there. 

If he wasn’t going to die tonight, he wasn’t going to Foster Care, either. He stood up again, doing everything in his power to keep his pained groans quiet. He didn’t want to distract Eraserhead because he was a little hurt. 

Izuku eyed the fight between the Hero and villain, drinking in every bit of knowledge he could gather from them. Eraserhead wasn’t using his quirk, only utilizing his Capture Weapon, against the villain. It made Izuku realize that the Hero couldn’t erase mutation quirks. It was something lots of people theorized about, but now he knew for sure. 

As much as he wanted to leave, Izuku didn’t want to leave this guy to Eraserhead when he had an obvious disadvantage. Izuku leaned against the roof’s access door, watching between the Hero and villain, trying to notice any sort of pattern in their fight. 

Every time Eraserhead got a hit in, the villain would move slightly higher toward the left. Shakily, he took out one of the knives he had already pocketed from Eraserhead and inhaled sharply. He had one chance to help the Hero before he would inevitably escape and go home to nurse his wounds. 

Izuku counted to three, pressing his head against the wall and watching the fight continue as he felt the weight of Eraserhead’s knife in his palm, trying to gauge where to throw it. All he had to do was throw the knife and then get out of there. He closed one eye, tilted his head, and waited with bated breath for Eraserhead to land a hit.

The moment the Hero made contact, Izuku hefted the knife, wound his arm back, and threw the blade, effectively cutting through the villain’s cartilage in his right wing. 

A blood-curdling scream left the guy’s lips as he crumpled and started to fall. Eraserhead was quicker than gravity for the second time that night, managing to wrap the villain in his Capture Weapon and pull him up to the roof before the guy crashed into the ground. 

Izuku didn’t care enough to stick around after that, quickly stepping inside the building to get away. He walked through the bright halls, making sure not to touch the walls or leave any evidence. The elevator at the end of the hall was climbing its way up higher and higher, making Izuku’s hair stand on end at the realization that someone was going to come out of that elevator and see a bloody All Might mask and a kid gripping his dislocated shoulder. 

He hesitated for just a moment before he opened a trash chute beside the elevator. The idea of falling down a metal chute didn’t sound too enticing, but it was better than getting caught. He made sure to use his unbloodied sleeve to hold the chute open as he climbed inside. 

The elevator dinged just as Izuku let the door close behind him, trapping him in darkness. He could hear multiple footsteps and someone laughing, and then he let go of the wall, letting himself fall. 

Izuku was fairly certain he blacked out for a few seconds on the way down the trash compactor. One moment he was falling down the chute with laughter echoing in his ears, and then the next moment he was sitting in the dumpster, surrounded by a bunch of garbage. 

He was giggling. It took a moment for Izuku to register the sound, and even longer for him to realize that he was the one making it. As he was sitting in the garbage, covered in blood, terrified of Eraserhead catching him, but he was giggling . 

Oh, Izuku thought, trying to smother the giggles. You’re delusional now, Deku . 

Izuku giggled again, his eyes starting to feel heavier and heavier with each passing second. 

He couldn’t afford to stay there, giggling, all night. Eraserhead had most likely called the police, having apprehended a villain and spotting a vigilante in one incident would be more than enough to warrant a call to the police. 

Izuku didn’t want to get caught, and if he chose to stay in the dumpster all night, he definitely would. He used his good arm to pull himself up, watching the roof for any sign of Eraserhead as he slowly climbed out. 

He couldn’t hear any sirens yet, so he still had time to get back to Dagobah before they showed up and would inevitably search the area for him. 

He walked through the alleyway, using the wall as a crutch. Izuku knew that even with the amount of pain he was already in, it would be nothing in comparison to when he would have to pop his shoulder back in. So, in some sort of twisted way, he welcomed the pain from the bricks digging into his arm. 

After he’d pop his shoulder back in, he could always use a shoulder sling he had from previous injuries. It wouldn’t do much, but it would help with securing it so that Izuku wouldn’t jostle it too much while he slept. 

He could also use those god-awful showers at the edge of Dagobah to rinse the blood off him, too. They were horribly cold and their water pressure wasn’t enough to fully clean him, but it would help him appear to be passable until he’d be able to take an actual shower at school.

God, he still had school! 

Izuku stopped walking, just letting his body sag and slide against the wall. He buried his head in between his knees, lacing his fingers together over his neck as he just breathed. He was so, so tired. But he probably had a concussion. He shouldn’t sleep, not yet at least. He bit his knuckle, only stopping when he started to draw blood. 

“Okay,” Izuku sighed, struggling for a minute before he was able to force himself up. “Okay, let's get home.” 

…

After Izuku finally got out of school the next day he really wished he had died from that jump. 

Screw Eraserhead for catching me, should have just let me fall. 

He almost didn’t end up going to school, knowing he looked like he had just gotten jumped. Half of his face was scabbed, he had a black eye, and the puncture wounds from the guy before kept reopening and bleeding through his uniform. There were probably a lot more that Izuku hadn’t cared enough to notice, but he at least popped his shoulder back in. It was going to be sore for a few days, but at least he could use it. He had only shown up because he really wanted to shower. He was trying to ignore the little voice that kept whispering: why are you still showing up if you aren’t even going to go to high school? 

He was going to go. He was! He just needed a year or two to save up until he could maybe own a small apartment and enroll in online courses. 

“Deku!” Izuku sighed, stopping and tossing Kacchan a look over his shoulder. He was rushing at Izuku, quirk popping off as he grew closer. That alone was enough to make Izuku sweat. 

His face soured as Kacchan’s usual fans were watching gleefully from Izuku and then back to him. 

It seemed his fuse finally blew, though Izuku had no clue how he had anything to do with that. 

With a groan, Izuku started to run. “Get fucking back here!” 

Izuku made his way through the gym, knowing about a small little exit by the south field. He just needed to make it that far. But like some cosmic entity just wanted to laugh at Izuku’s suffering, he tripped over his other shoe and faceplanted on the blacktop. 

He groaned, rolling to the side and pushing his hand against his forehead. Of course, he would injure himself again in less than twenty-four hours. 

“Running from me, Deku?” Kacchan grabbed Izuku by the collar of his uniform and threw him against the brick wall next to the dumpster. 

“Yeah, he was,” Tsubasa laughed. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, his head was throbbing. 

“Like a little coward,” Another one crowed. 

“Shut the fuck up!” Izuku almost thought he slipped up and said it himself, but before he could say anything Kacchan continued. “Get the fuck out of here, ya dicks. All you do is follow me around like you’re on my level.” 

Izuku rubbed at his throat, watching the two guys look confused between one another. Kacchan popped an explosion aimed at the other two, issuing a final warning. He ignored the way Izuku flinched at the sound and smell of his childhood friend’s quirk. It had been a long time since Kacchan had used his quirk on Izuku, let alone near him. One pop from Kacchan’s quirk was enough to make the two bullies run off. 

Izuku didn’t even get a second to breathe before Kacchan tightened his grip on Izuku’s collar, holding him against the wall. He was pushing him against it so hard, hard enough that Izuku could feel the corners of the bricks cutting into his head. 

“Where the fuck were you, yesterday?” Izuku groaned, head swimming with Kacchan’s question and the burning pain from his head. “Hah?!”

“Wh-” He coughed, groaning when Kacchan practically growled at having to wait for Izuku’s answer. “At school and then I went home.” He coughed again. 

“The Yuuei entrance exam was yesterday!” Izuku screwed his eyes shut, struggling to understand what that had to do with anything. 

“So?” Izuku blinked a few times, Kacchan’s face was red. 

“You weren’t there.” It wasn’t a question. 

“I told you I wasn’t-” He groaned under the pressure of Kacchan’s grip on his shoulder. “I said I wasn’t going to apply.” 

“I thought you were fucking lying!” Izuku’s face screwed up, confused why he cared. 

Why did he care? 

“You’ve always wanted to be a Hero!” Izuku’s breath stopped short, that usual anger he always kept a tight lid on was hot. So much hotter than before. Izuku’s thoughts were racing as he tried to figure out what angle this was, but he couldn’t make it past the fact that he was just so angry. 

“Oh fuck you, Katsuki!” He snarled, using his hand to grip the arm Katsuki was using to hold his collar. “You make no sense. I’m Quirkless! I can’t be a Hero! It’s Hopeless for someone like me! You’ve been teaching me that lesson since we learned I didn’t have a quirk.” He pushed him away. “You are fucking crazy! You want to shit-talk the teachers, telling me I am as smart as you? You admit the school fucks me over all the time, and you stop the other kids from using their quirks on me, sometimes .”

He wiped at his nose, his hand coming back with blood. Izuku scoffed. He didn’t even acknowledge that he called him Katsuki, that he wasn’t thinking of him as Kacchan anymore. 

“You do all that, try to act like you don’t hate me nearly as much as they do. That you aren’t scared of me being Quirkless like they are.” Katsuki dropped Izuku’s collar, flinching back at Izuku’s words. He looked like he couldn’t decide if Izuku was right or wrong. “You, Katsuki, are just as bad as them. You bully me, you bully everyone, you’re cruel, you threaten me not to take the Yuuei exam, and you tell me to kill myself.” 

Katsuki’s face screwed up, flinching again like Izuku’s words were physical hits. Izuku couldn’t even find it in himself to feel bad. 

“When I finally fucking listen,” He realized a second too late how he made that sound, but he couldn’t feel any ounce of guilt. “You are confused why I finally gave in?” 

Katsuki was staring at him, it would actually be comical if Izuku wasn’t so pissed. How dare he have the nerve to threaten Izuku if he took the Yuuei exam and then turn around and demand to know why he didn’t show up? 

“Grow the fuck up, Katsuki.” He fixed his backpack, kind of surprised he hadn’t already started laying into Izuku. “You can’t keep acting like you’re innocent forever.” 

He didn’t wait for a response, just pushed past him trying to wrangle the rage he could feel coursing under his skin. He had a shitty few days, hadn’t gotten any sleep, almost died, somehow fucking survived, and now had to deal with this shit? 

He had been planning on going to the library after school, he had some assignments that needed to be typed up, but after this shit day, he just wanted to go back to Dagobah Beach and sleep. 

…

With everything going on, Izuku shouldn’t have been surprised that there was someone at the beach cleaning up all the trash that was Izuku’s secret haven. He froze, feeling the need to flee at any second. 

Were they cleaning it up because they were trying to find him? 

His eyes swept over the beach but there was only one guy. He was just moving the trash to a dumpster that hadn’t been there when Izuku left in the morning. That meant that someone was just there to clean the place, right? 

Izuku’s hand twitched, he was going to have to move again. 

He should leave, go back to a homeless shelter, or try to find another place to sleep, but instead, he found himself walking toward the other person. He had felt so angry before this; the rage from his encounter with Katsuki, the anger toward his teachers, and his anger at Eraserhead for saving him had been festering inside of him all day. If not longer.

And yet, as he dropped his backpack in the sand, he had never felt calmer. 

“Oh,” Now that Izuku was closer, he could tell he was probably around Izuku’s age. He had yellow hair and blue eyes. “Hello.” The kid smiled, and Izuku realized he looked like All Might. 

“Hi.” Izuku looked around, the car he slept in the night before was gone. “You’re cleaning the beach?” 

“Yeah!” The guy’s smile widened, tossing the trash he had in his arms into the dumpster next to Izuku. “My mentor wants me to understand that Heroics is not just about fighting.” 

“It’s about helping people.” Izuku finished, and he grew up listening to All Might’s videos. He knew pretty much every story from up until a few years ago. He sized the kid up in front of him, he was definitely older than Izuku was, but could his mentor really be All Might? 

“Yeah!” Izuku cracked a smile at his personality. It was pretty sunny. 

“Can…” Izuku felt like shit, he was exhausted and wanted to sleep so badly but this guy was doing something good. Izuku wanted to be good like that. It wouldn’t hurt that it could count as strength training since Izuku could hardly lift his own weight. 

His finger was tearing at the skin around his thumb as he smiled shyly at the older kid. All he could think about was Katsuki and Takashi and Uda and Tsubasa and and and and and. He didn’t want to keep thinking about how they always reminded him that he couldn’t be a Hero. He didn’t want to think about how he was starting to agree with them. 

Was he really trying to prove them wrong? Or was he just trying to convince himself they weren’t right? 

“Can I help?” 

The other boy’s eyes lit up as he smiled, it was blinding. “Of course! I don’t see why not.” He held out an arm to Izuku, smiling just so genuinely. “I’m Toogata Mirio!” 

Izuku extended his own arm, finding his own smile genuine. “Midoriya Izuku.” 

Toogata let go of Izuku’s hand and nodded toward the piles of trash. “So, do you live around here?” Izuku watched how he picked up heavier items, squatting down and then lifting. 

“Uh, yeah.” Izuku mimicked Toogata’s movements. “I used to. Not anymore though.” 

“Oh. So just visiting?” Izuku raised a brow at his question, though he couldn’t fault Toogata for asking. It would seem odd for a random person to show up at Dagobah Beach, it wasn’t a really popular spot. 

“Oh no,” Izuku laughed, trying his best to match Toogata’s energy. How was he so happy? 

Probably because he might be training under All Might. 

“I just got out of school.” He stood up with an old microwave, feeling very embarrassed by how little he was carrying compared to Toogata. “I like to come here after school to run on the beach.” 

“Oh, you train?” Izuku tossed the microwave into the dumpster, flinching when he heard Toogata hiss. “Careful, you don’t want to hurt yourself like that. You should lift it up and then drop it, instead of throwing it.” 

Izuku’s face heated up, embarrassed. “Thank you.” He made sure to do that with his next trip, pretending he didn’t notice Toogata watching him. “And no, I don’t really train besides running. Supposed to help increase stamina and speed, right?” 

Toogata blinked before nodding, dropping a pile of junk into the dumpster. “Yeah. So, you’re in middle school?” 

Izuku looked down at his gakuran with a small smile. “Yeah.” 

“What year?” 

“Third year.” 

“Oh, so it’s time for high school exams for you guys.” Mirio tossed a fridge in the dumpster, and at that moment Izuku added being able to carry a refrigerator to his list of things to do before he died. 

“Yeah.” Izuku shrugged his shoulders, hardly realizing they had cleared a good portion of the beach throughout their small conversation. “And you are in high school? At Yuuei?” He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but he felt a little bad that Toogata was the only one asking questions. 

“Yeah, how’d you figure that out?” Toogata laughed. “Come on, sit down. Let’s take a break.” 

Izuku’s face scrunched up, but he nodded and sat beside Toogata, just far enough that if Toogata made one wrong move Izuku would already be running. There was no guarantee he would outrun him, but at least he wouldn’t go down easily.

“How’d you know I go to Yuuei?” Toogata pulled out a Tupperware and a bottle filled with, what Izuku could guess was a protein shake. He held out the Tupperware towards Izuku but he quickly shook his head. 

“Oh,” He wrapped his arms around his legs, shrugging softly. “That thing your mentor says? It’s All Might, right?” He averted his gaze before quickly looking back to Toogata, he didn’t want to act like good, little, Quirkless, Deku. “I just assumed that since you are probably learning under him and that you are talking about being Heroic that you were training to be a Hero. You look older than me, and Yuuei is closer to here than Shiketsu or any other Hero school is.” 

“Oh wow.” Izuku blinked in confusion at Toogata’s awed tone. “You figured that all out from our conversation? You’re really smart, I think Sir would like you.” 

“Ah,” Izuku ducked his head, face gaining color. “I’m not so sure, just guesswork and analysis.” 

“No, it’s really impressive!” Izuku didn’t really agree but he chose to just smile shyly. “Are you wanting to be a Hero?” 

Izuku’s hand, which had been previously tapping on his thigh, froze. He bit his bottom lip and looked back towards the trash on the beach. “I mean, who doesn’t?” 

“Fair enough.” Toogata laughed and smiled again, he really smiled a lot. “Are you taking the exam at another school?” 

“Ah no.” Izuku smiled bitterly. It had been a nice part of his day. Toogata was probably going to be a great Hero, and Izuku should count himself lucky that he ever got to meet him. He was being taught by All Might, he was being nice to Izuku, and he didn’t even mention that he looked like a mess. “I’m Quirkless,” He admitted. 

Izuku moved to get up, ready to leave, ready for Toogata’s wrath that would most definitely come. He felt a little bitter at how he’d have to find a new place to stay but he didn’t mind letting someone like Toogata take it from him. 

“It was nice to meet you,” He muttered, grabbing his bag and flinching the moment Toogata grabbed his wrist. He wasn’t exactly sure what he had been expecting Toogata’s reaction to be, maybe something similar to how his teachers or classmates would act, but he hadn’t expected to see the older boy give him a smile so reminiscent of All Might. 

“I’m going to be coming back here again tomorrow and then next week, too.” He let go of Izuku, shrugging his shoulders. “Every Friday and Saturday until it’s clean. You should come back, you might even meet All Might tomorrow.” 

Izuku’s brows furrowed as he scanned Toogata for any sign that he was just teasing Izuku. Did he just not understand? “I…I don’t have a quirk.” 

“Yeah, you said that.” Toogata was packing his own bag, not even looking at Izuku as he placed his empty Tupperware and bottle in the bag.

“Uh.” How was he supposed to respond to that? 

“If you train enough maybe you can try to get into Yuuei next year. Yeah?” Izuku only blinked at him. “I mean I think Yuuei is the only school that lets Quirkless people apply right?” 

“So they say.” He felt choked, what the hell? Did he die by Katsuki’s hands next to Aldera’s dumpster? 

“You could be like the first Quirkless student and then like the first Quirkless Hero.” He slapped Izuku on the back, grin matching the sunset behind him, before walking past him. “That’d be rad.” 

Izuku stumbled, trying to understand what was wrong with this guy. He was just so fucking earnest! 

“Hope to see you again, Izuku!” Izuku jolted, eyes catching Toogata run off and out of sight. He used Izuku’s given name. He knew Izuku was Quirkless and still smiled like that at him. Did he just meet the literal fucking sun? He felt bile in his mouth and barely managed to climb the dumpster before he puked. 

…

The next day Izuku found himself at Dagobah Beach again. He wasn’t exactly sure why he even showed up. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had been making fun of Izuku, but when Izuku showed up he saw Toogata moving a refrigerator while All Might was sitting on it. 

Izuku hid behind the dumpster, eyes feeling like they were about to bug out of his head. How the hell was he supposed to do this? He looked like a mess! He had barely slept the night before, instead deciding to go out vigilante-ing. Needless to say, he had stumbled into a shelter in the early morning with new injuries before just passing out on the first available spot he could find. 

His injuries weren’t on the same level as they had been with Eraserhead and the guy with the wings, but still, normal people didn’t walk around looking like they just escaped death. 

“Izuku?” Izuku jumped, his head hitting the back of the dumpster just in time for Toogata to peek his head around the corner. “Yeah, thought I saw you!” 

Izuku gave a shy smile, ready to bolt. “Heh, sorry. I really wasn’t expecting All Might to be here. I guess I freaked out?” 

“No need to fear, my boy!” Izuku jumped again, whipping his head to the other side to see All Might standing beside him. 

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, it was All Might. 

“For I am here!” Izuku laughed at the Hero’s antics, feeling completely delirious. 

“Oh Kami, I really am dead.” He felt his breathing quicken. He looked back to Toogata, trying not to pass out. “You see him too?” He had to make sure he wasn’t losing his mind. Hell, it might have just been an illusion from one of his many head injuries. 

How many head injuries could someone get before they just died? 

“I’m not imagining him, am I?” 

Toogata laughed, clapping Izuku on his back just like he did the day before. “No, he’s here all right.” He held a hand out for Izuku, helping him up after Izuku hesitantly took it. His attention turned from Izuku to All Might who was still standing behind him. “This is the kid I told you about yesterday.” 

“Young Toogata did indeed tell me about you, young man!” Izuku’s shoulders tensed as he looked to All Might unsure of what he saw. Did he see a kid or a Quirkless kid? “It’s quite admirable and Heroic that you want to help.” 

“Ah,” Izuku waved his hands around, face heating up from being complimented by All Might. “No, it was nothing! I mean, Toogata was already doing it and I couldn’t just not help. Anyone wou-” 

“Nope!” Izuku blinked, being cut off by Toogata. “A lot of people walked by here yesterday before you came. Some talked to me because they recognized me, and others just kept walking home. You, though, asked to help. Not everyone would do that.” 

Izuku mumbled a small oh , feeling very embarrassed. 

“That reminds me!” Izuku flinched as Toogata began to drag him to his bag pile. “Sensei helped me with a meal plan when I started training, and well I thought I could help you with one too.” 

“No, uh that’s…I can’t ask you to do that.” Izuku blinked back tears, watching All Might from the corner of his eye answer a phone call a few steps away from them. 

“Oh,” Toogata whispered, leaning closer to Izuku. “I didn’t tell Sensei you are Quirkless.” At Izuku’s surprised expression, Toogata frowned. “Not my place, ya know?” 

“Young Midoriya! Young Toogata!” All Might jogged up to them, smiling wide. “I, unfortunately, have to go, but I hope to see you again, young man!” He patted Izuku on the shoulder, and even though the motion caused sparks of pain to dance along Izuku’s collarbone until he could taste it, he felt like he was about to pass out from excitement. 

Toogata had turned back to his bag, shouting goodbye to All Might as Izuku quickly jogged to the Hero’s side. He gripped All Might’s sleeve before he could leave forcing the Hero to look at him. He quickly let go of the sleeve, feeling severely overwhelmed. “I’m sorry sir, but I wanted to ask you a question real quick.” 

“Of course!” Izuku averted his gaze, under All Might’s stare. He felt scared now that he was standing there. 

“I don’t have a quirk.” He looked up, holding eye contact with All Might, hating that look of understanding in the Hero’s eyes. “Could I still be a Hero even though I don’t have one?” His question was quiet. He was scared if he spoke any louder that All Might and Toogata would just laugh and tell him this was a huge joke. 

“Ah,” All Might knelt in front of Izuku, smiling sadly as if he could somehow understand Izuku’s fear. “I’m afraid it’s not realistic, my boy.” He lifted the hem of his shirt, showing Izuku a gruesome injury on his torso before he dropped the shirt with a sigh. “I got this injury years ago. I’m showing you this to explain, not because I want to scare you, but because I don’t believe you can be a Hero without a quirk. There are villains out there that I have a hard time fighting, Young Midoriya, it’d be cruel to expect you to fight them as well.

“I’m sorry, Young Midoriya, I know you want to help people, but you might have to pick a different career instead. You could be a police officer or a doctor, but it’s a hopeless dream. You should look for something more realistic.” 

All Izuku could do was dumbly nod as All Might droned on, saying something about having to leave before he left Izuku standing there blinking at the sand, confused as to why he ever thought All Might would say differently. 

He grew up listening to All Might say that anyone could be a Hero. He felt his finger start tearing at the skin around his thumbnail. How was he not crying right now? 

“I can’t be a Hero! It’s Hopeless for someone like me!”

Oh. 

Oh. 

Izuku felt that anger flare like it had yesterday. He was pissed. He was angry. But at whom? Was he angry at All Might for claiming anyone could be a Hero except for Quirkless people? Or was he angry at himself because he realized he had been conforming to society more than he thought? 

It was probably the latter. All Might said the same thing to him that he had said to Katsuki the day before. 

“Izuku!” Toogata called Izuku out of his thoughts. “I found the training regime!” Izuku had three options. He could continue to stand there, feeling so grey. He could leave, never coming back because he was embarrassed he thought he could ever be a Hero. Or, he could turn back to Toogata and try to prove his confidence in Izuku wasn’t misplaced. 

He tore his eyes from the sand, looking back to Toogata with his chin held up high. It didn’t matter if no one in the world believed in him. All Might didn’t matter. He needed to prove to himself that society was wrong. And he really wanted to keep being around Toogata. It was addictive being around someone who was just so genuine, so earnest. 

“What do I need to do?” 

…

By the time Izuku had crawled into a small cot at a homeless shelter for high-risk teens, he felt completely wiped out. Whether it had been from training and cleaning the beach all day or from everything just reaching a threshold from the last few days, he didn’t really care. He was grateful to be able to sleep in a bed, even if it was uncomfortable, for even just a little bit. 

He, originally, hadn’t planned to spend his entire day at Dagobah, planning to work on homework later in the afternoon…but All Might happened, and Izuku did anything he could to bury the resentment he felt toward the Hero. He had stayed at Dogobah until the sun started to set, only leaving when he noticed how hard it felt to blink. 

Izuku buried his head into his arms, trying to forget All Might’s speech, and just hoped he could wake up to the sight of his Mom and everything had been a dream. 

…

It was a little after midnight on Monday morning when Izuku realized he had spent the entire weekend hiding away and sleeping his injuries off, instead of working on his assignments for school. If he didn’t do another assignment, his grades would fall below his barely passing grade. He couldn’t afford to let that happen. 

He still felt exhausted, even after sleeping through the majority of Sunday, he just wanted to keep dozing off for eternity, or until he would be forced to leave. But, his schoolwork was still important if he wanted to abide by his mother’s wish, so he rolled out of the cot and made his way to the closest library. 

He spared a small hello for the older man behind the counter, nodding his head in a greeting and then turning back to his book. Izuku made his way to a computer hidden in the back, already feeling the deep-set exhaustion catching up with him. 

He hadn’t even started the assignments yet, and he was already ready to sleep again. The thought of his teachers and peers thinking he was falling behind was the only thing that made Izuku start up the computer to do his work. He wasn’t a statistic. 

The computer logged in to whoever had the computer before him, opening Chrome and showing Izuku the person’s latest essay. He clicked his tongue, exiting the person's tabs, about to log out of the account saved onto the computer when a notification caught his attention. 

Twitter → Edgeshotsleftbigtoe retweeted LuLemon07’s tweet : I hate vigilantes. They act like they are better than a common villain.

Izuku’s brows furrowed, clicking on the notification without even thinking. LuLemon07’s tweet had been a quoted retweet from an article that had been published by Herolytical’s Twitter. Izuku tilted his head to the side, remembering when he had met the author of one of his favorite blogs months ago. 

He opened the article, face burning the moment he realized that she had written about him. She wrote about him being Heroic, she wrote that she liked him. She had seen what he wanted to do and fully supported it. 

He quickly sat up, remembering where he was, eyes glancing around the library as if someone was going to catch him reading the article and realize he was the Pebble Kid. The only person who could possibly see him was the librarian, but he was just reading a book, completely oblivious to Izuku’s stare. 

After a moment, Izuku looked back to the article, and he read through everything she said. He felt even more embarrassed than he had been before. 

Embarrassed in a good way, though. 

He hovered the mouse over the comment section, eyeing the insanely large number of comments knowing he was just going to hurt his own feelings. It was always a bad idea to look through a comment section about yourself. Especially if you are Izuku. 

He clicked on the comments, regardless, curious enough to hardly care about the cruel words people tweeted. 

He scrolled down, reading a lot of comments of people talking about how he was clumsy but in an endearing sort of way. He found that odd, but decided it was better than nothing. 

Herokillerfan → @Lostinspace: Unmatched? Didn’t we just cover the fact that this kid has never actually fought anyone? Just alwaus using sneak attacks, and still, somehow manages to injure himself? 

Thisjustin → @Herolyticaltwt: You guys need to focus less on what he’s doing and more on how he’s doing it. He isn’t a hero, he never even fights. What kind of vigilante is that?

Urmom → @Herolyticaltwt: Do you guys know his Quirk? Has anyone ever seen him use it? 

Icecream → @Urmom: No one has ever seen him use a Quirk. At least there hasn’t been any proof or cohesive stories. Someone said super strength, someone said some sort of speed Quirk, and someone claimed he had enhanced hearing, I personally think the kid probably can manipulate the speed of his body and things around him. It’d make sense why he is able to outrun heroes and criminals. Or maybe a high pain tolerance Quirk. 

Izuku’s face pinched. Why did his Quirk matter more to the public than the fact that he was trying to save people? What did having a Quirk have to do with him wanting to help people? Why did it matter if he wasn’t actually fighting these criminals that he kept leading to the Heroes? He was just trying to help someone . 

He closed the Twitter tab, eyes focusing on the article again. 

He stared at Honda’s article, trying to see himself through her words. The way she wrote him made him sound a lot more Heroic. Pebble Kid through her words seemed like a Hero. 

He desperately wished he could see what she saw, wished he could be Pebble Kid when he was just Midoriya Izuku, but you can’t have your cake and eat it. 

Or so they said. 

Izuku shut the computer off, mood plummeting, not because of the comments or because people didn’t like him, but because he couldn’t fathom how he and Honda could see two different people when it came to the Pebble Kid. 

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, freezing in place at the feeling of a piece of paper in his front pocket. He pulled it out, staring at the numbers on the page, trying to figure out what Toogata, or Mirio as he had been insistent on Izuku using his given name, saw in him, too. 

When Mirio had left Daogobah before Izuku, he had slipped him a note with his phone number, grinning at Izuku like it wasn’t a big deal. 

Izuku couldn’t understand that. 

Maybe Izuku was the problem. He couldn’t see what Honda and Mirio saw, but he knew himself better than they did. Or maybe, they saw something Izuku could be. 

He pinched the paper in between his thumb and forefinger, feeling the realness of Mirio’s phone number. He had told Mirio that he didn’t have a phone, claiming he had broken it a while back and he was saving up for a new one. Mirio had just shrugged, oblivious to the guilt eating Izuku up from the inside about lying, and told him “ Then put it in your contacts when you get a new one. I can wait.”

Izuku wasn’t really sure what made Mirio really want to befriend him, but he wasn’t about to take it for granted. Even though he hadn’t ever planned on getting a phone, he added it to his list of things to get done before he died. 

 

• Being able to lift a refrigerator 

• Go to high school 

• Get a phone

• Find Mom’s grave

 

Izuku had only just met Mirio on Friday. It had only been three days, two interactions, and yet he somehow had Izuku adding multiple things to his bucket list. 

He thought about Mirio and how he believed Izuku could be a Hero for some reason, about Honda’s article and how she called him a Hero to her. He thought about All Might who said it’d be Hopeless for him to try, and how he said the same exact thing to Katsuki. 

It was Hopeless to ever think he could ever be a Hero, he couldn’t even be a vigilante. Everyone wanted Izuku to be realistic. 

Izuku slowly blinked as he thought through those words again, feeling irritated that he was always adhering to how society wanted him to think. 

Slowly, he made his way up to the front of the library, feeling nervous at the beginning of a plan. 

“Uh, Sir?” He raised a brow, recognizing Izuku. He was probably one of the only people who came here this late and stayed quiet. “Do you happen to have a few quarters so that I can use the library phone to call my foster parents?” 

The man’s eyes softened, and Izuku almost struggled to stay composed. He nodded and fished around underneath the counter before dropping the three-quarters into his hand and he smiled so wide his cheeks hurt. 

“Thank you, Sir.” 

“Oh, of course, son.” He went back to his book. 

Izuku nervously made his way to a payphone toward the front doors. It was a good distance away from the librarian, so he wouldn’t be able to overhear him. The cameras in this building were just for show, they had been for years, in a building on this side of town you were considered lucky to have fake cameras. 

He slipped two quarters into the phone, dialed the number, and waited with his heart in his throat as the phone rang. It was almost eleven pm, there was no way-

“Hello?” Izuku froze, unsure if this would really work as he planned. “Hello?” 

“Hi,” Izuku cleared his throat, eyes watching the librarian across the room. “Is this Honda Shui?” 

“Yes?” He heard papers clatter on her side. “May I ask who this is?” 

“Yeah.” Izuku couldn’t back out now. He was going to prove everyone wrong. He was going to start by showing everyone that Quirkless people could be something, that they could do something. “I’m the Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, and I’ve got a story for you.”

Notes:

How'd y'all like it? I love this chapter so much, because of All Might, Mirio, Kacchan becoming Katsuki, and Izuku finally becoming The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante.

Fic name mention!

Also, another reason I really love this chapter is because of the words that hold significance to Izuku. In the beginning, words like quirkless and hero are always capitalized because Izuku views them as important. However, due to All Might, Izuku's unconscious submission to society's views, and the scene between Izuku and Katsuki, Izuku now views quirks as important. Once he talks to All Might, the word 'quirk' is always capitalized because of Izuku's downward spiral.

Remember guys, it gets worse before it gets better.

I'll be posting two chapters on Feb. 20th!

See you then!

Chapter 5: The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante

Summary:

Think back, how many Quirkless people have you ever met?

Notes:

Here's the first chapter of the day for you guys.
I wanted to cover a few songs from the playlist for this fic:
Catch me if you can (Set it off)
Way Up (Jaden)
Freaks (Surf Curse)
Can't Slow me Down (Valorant)
You Say Run (Yuku Hayashi)
Americano (Lady Gaga)
Don't Try Suicide (Queen)
-All these songs mostly fit The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante as a whole.
Death of a Hero (Alec Benjamin) really fits Izuku's interaction w/ All Might.

Anyways, I hope y'all like this new chapter! See you all soon!

By: Honda Shui – Editor of Herolytical

“Not every hero has to fight villains on All Might’s level,” He whispered over the receiver, making my heart break at the realization of why he called. “I grew up with All Might’s interviews where he would say anyone and everyone could be a hero if they wanted to be. Apparently, he forgot to mention anyone could be a hero as long as they had a Quirk.” 

– 

When I finished college, I turned down many job opportunities because I wanted to have my own blog. If you had told me, nine years ago, that Herolytical would be even half as popular as it is, I would never have believed you. 

I grew up believing that no one wanted to hear the truth, and those who did, wouldn’t have the power to change the status quo. That’s why I wanted my own blog, I wanted to be someone who gave the little people a voice. Someone who wrote about real topics that people wanted to shy away from, who wrote about sensitive issues without the worry of their articles being taken down. 

It is, of course, insanely difficult to have a stable income with a lower-level blog. But, as someone who has been there and done that, I fully believe it is worth it. 

As the sole owner of Herolytical, I know I could publish this piece without worrying about losing my job. And since that’s a luxury that I have, I have to utilize it to the best of my ability. 

It’s a responsibility that I cannot shy away from.

I got a call from Musutafu’s most famous vigilante. I guess the kid found my article and wanted to let you all know some invaluable information. This kid called me up to tell me two things: One, he finally has a name of his own choosing. Two, he is not a fan of society’s Quirkest ideals. Which I can personally agree with. 

But first, let's start with his name, The Hopless Hero: Vigilante. 

A crazy name for someone who claims to not be a vigilante, right? Well, my guess is it’s a joke about how no one accepts that he doesn’t want to be seen as one. But what do I know? As for the Hopeless Hero part, well you can thank All Might for that. 

In The Hopeless Hero Vigilante’s words, “All Might believes anyone and everyone can be a hero except for Quirkless people. I know I’m going to get a lot of hate for this, but I don’t see why Quirkless people can’t be heroes. I know someone who got to meet All Might and when he had asked him if he could be a hero without a Quirk, All Might told him no. He said it was hopeless to want to be a Hero. And I say screw that! I’m not All Might, and I’m not that kid who has to have his dream’s broken because he doesn’t have a Quirk, but I can do something. My Quirk doesn’t help with combat or fighting at all, but I still feel the need to say I think All Might is wrong. I think he’s trying to be nice and he probably believes he was helping him, but all he’s doing is adding to society’s belief that Quirkless people are useless and won’t amount to anything. He can’t keep acting innocent forever. You know if you look up Quirkless the only people mentioned are those who killed themselves or got murdered. I chose this name because if it’s hopeless for someone without a Quirk to be a hero because they can’t fight All Might level villains, then it’s hopeless for me to be a Hero or a Vigilante at all.” 

Now I personally don’t think this name fits him because when I think of The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, I don’t think hopeless or Vigilante. I think of hope, and I think he’s a Hero. 

I had a Quirkless sister. She was a few years younger than me, but she was killed when she was seven years old. Everything The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante said is true; Quirkless people are treated horribly in society. Anything from schoolyard taunts to suicide baits. Statistically speaking, there is about 20% of the world that are Quirkless. And in Japan, that number decreases to about 7%. And in the younger generations, the numbers decrease to less than 3%. 

Think back, how many Quirkless people have you ever met? 

My sister, whose name is Yachi, was killed by her elementary school teacher. We went to court, selling everything we could for a lawyer, and her teacher still managed to walk out of that courthouse without so much as a fine. 

In fact, she still teaches to this day. 

So even though I grew up listening to All Might’s speeches and watching his Hero fights, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see him the same way again. 

I think The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante is a good person. 

I don’t think anything else matters besides that. 

I’m changing my work phone number and when this article gets published and ridiculed in the morning, I hope you all know you are only proving us right. 

— The comment section has been disabled—

Notes:

Super short, I know.

Sorry.

But! The next chapter is longer, thankfully. Still, regardless of the length, I hope you all enjoyed this new part.

Chapter 6: Red is Panic

Summary:

Mirio wore an apologetic expression, shaking his head. “I can’t let you go, Izuku.”

Notes:

I wanted to take a moment to talk about Palestine. This is one of the only platforms that I know people look at, and it would be a crime to stay silent. I repost stuff on TikTok, duet videos, make some of my own, I share stories, and watch and save all the videos I can, but still it's never going to be enough. Here is a link to @jordxn.simone's linktree full of resources, scripts, and petions. You could even go and watch her videos. She's extremely informative.
All Eyes on Rafah
Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Ukraine, Free Haiti.
From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.

The morning after Izuku had called Honda led to multiple breakdowns. He hadn’t thought through what consequences were lined up because of their talk. He hadn’t considered Honda could have been quirkest, thankfully she wasn’t. He didn’t stop to think they she might not believe him, thankfully she did. 

All he knew was that he had been angry. 

He was just so tired. He was tired of everyone being fine with the idea of someone being a Hero, being something  until they found out that they were Quirkless. But more than that, he was mad. He was mad that he had been starting to internalize and accept that there were restrictions simply because he didn’t have a goddamn Quirk. 

And maybe, he was a little sad because, at the end of the day, he didn’t know how to stop letting Uda-Sensei and Takashi-Sensei take root in his mind.

He had left the library with no homework done, a phone call finished, and a new sense of urgency that made him jittery all night. 

All he had ever wanted to do was help people. And yeah, there were probably a lot of Quirkless people or people who didn’t have ‘Quirks that suited a Hero’ that felt seen right now because of Izuku’s message, but Izuku was only a fraud. He wasn’t being noble when he called Honda in the early hours of the morning, he wasn’t being Heroic or filling people with hope. He had been angry, he had been hurt, and he had wanted people to know that All Might was a hypocrite. 

He wanted Honda and everyone who read her article to know that All Might didn’t believe in them , he wanted them all to know that Izuku wasn’t sure if he believed in All Might anymore, either. 

He hadn’t been able to sleep after that, an impending sense of doom making him sit on edge all night, terrified of the other shoe that had yet to drop. By the time the sun started to rise, Izuku could feel the exhaustion pulling on his body that made him just want to sleep for the rest of the day. 

It was Monday; he had school – school he had to go to because his mom would want him to go. And yet, he continued sitting in the corner of the shelter, falling into fitful naps for a few minutes and jerking awake at any noise. 

He didn’t want to go to school, too tired and too raw to deal with anything that Aldera promised. He was ahead of his classmates, ahead of their curriculum, missing one day wouldn’t ruin everything. In fact, it could be just what he needed. 

He couldn’t imagine how it would feel to go to school only to be tormented by whatever Honda ended up writing. Tsubasa or someone else would crow and shove the article into Izuku’s face, if they had seen it, taunting him about All Might’s words. They would tape it to his desk and wait until he cried. They would laugh if he did, laugh if he didn’t, and he really just didn’t want to deal with that. 

He didn’t have the energy to get off the floor, so how was he supposed to have the energy to deal with Aldera? How would he have the energy to deal with Katsuki after everything that had happened on Friday? 

He buried his head in his arms, relishing in how it didn’t pulse in pain at any movement. He would have to move soon, he knew that, and yet he still laid there, ignoring all his responsibilities. He would go to school tomorrow, he decided. He’d spend the day resting and mentally preparing for all the trouble and chaos that Tuesday would bring.

It was glorious, being able to just relax the entire day. He wasn’t running through the streets, hiding behind the dumpsters in alleyways, or sleeping in run-down cars on the beach. 

“Want half of my Pop Tart?” There was a kid sitting in a spot next to him, Izuku couldn’t really remember when she had shown up, but he didn’t really mind. There was an unspoken agreement when it came to seeing other teenagers or kids, they kind of banded together. Even though they all had their own issues, they understood each other more than anyone else could. 

Izuku blinked at her, lazily, almost about to turn it down, never able to handle food he knew someone else was struggling to get to. But like a little traitor, his stomach grumbled and he shrugged before accepting the half Pop Tart. 

It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. He hadn’t realized it at first, but he hadn’t eaten since Thursday. On Friday he could hardly stomach the smell of food, let alone the taste of it, after that whole fiasco with the winged villain and Eraserhead. On Saturday he had shown up at the beach and couldn’t eat without thinking about All Might, no matter how much his stomach cried for food. And then yesterday he had slept throughout most of the day. 

“Thanks.” He leaned his head against the wall of the building. 

“No problem.” She tilted her head to the side, her short black hair following her movements. “You don’t have school?” 

He frowned at her. “Not today. Been a shitty week. You?” 

She smiled. “Nah. I finished middle school a while ago.” 

“No high school?” 

“Not in the cards for me.” She shrugged. Izuku frowned, wondering what had stopped her. Did she want to go to school? Did she have someone in her life that stopped her from applying or attending? There was no obvious or subtle hint of a Quirk, but that didn’t always equate to being Quirkless. She looked even plainer than he did with her short black hair and brown eyes. He wondered if they could be in the same sort of situation, his eyes trailed down to her shoes. 

Her Primodorial, red, shoes. 

He thought back to his call with Honda, to his meeting with All Might. Would she really care that The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante spoke out against something as large as Quirkless discrimination? Would she feel hopeless reading over All Might's words?

Izuku uncrossed his legs, showing his shoes with a sad smile. He caught her eyes and shrugged. “Not in the cards for me either.” 

“Oh.” She nodded, watching his shoes, something akin to hope swimming in her eyes. “I haven’t seen you here before. Are you gonna stay?” 

He frowned, burying the guilt he felt at leaving her alone. “Probably not. I just really needed a place to sleep for a bit. I’ll probably be gone tomorrow. Know anywhere I can stay?”

She hummed, face smoothing out into a bored expression. “I usually stick to this area so I don’t get out much, but I have heard of places to avoid if that helps.” 

…

The next morning, Izuku left the shelter just as the sun began to rise. The shelter he had crashed at had been across town from Aldera, and if he wanted to get to school on time, he’d have to leave earlier than he would’ve when he had been staying at Dagobah. 

Skipping school the day before was probably one of the best decisions he had made in a while. He felt loads better than he had before; the wounds from the winged villain on his collarbone had scabbed over, his head wasn’t throbbing every time he breathed, and his bruises were yellowed out. It had been a while since he had felt that good.

Izuku wouldn’t have time to shower. He had too much to do; making his way across town, rushing through his incomplete assignments, and he would still have to clean his desk off before Uda-Sensei would blame him for it. So…no time for a shower. It was fine though, he was fairly confident that he didn’t smell too bad. Sure, he probably smelled a bit like B.O., but there was little he could do about that.

He did hate smelling bad, though. It was something that always reminded him of his mom; she always believed in taking pride in yourself because no one else could for you. Izuku could understand that line of thought, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. 

And he was most definitely a beggar. 

The thought of his mother’s horror at the knowledge that he went to school, regularly, without access to a shower and clean clothes did make him feel a bit guilty. He stuffed the feeling down, ignoring the way his face heated up on top of it all. It didn’t really matter, at the end of the day, he didn’t even want to go to school. But, he had to do it for his mom. Otherwise, what had it all been for? 

He felt jittery, fingers making small movements akin to writing in the air, he felt like he was trembling, and his eyes kept flitting around, surveying everything around him. Izuku hadn’t gone out as The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante since before he met All Might, still able to hear All Might’s voice in the back of his mind, telling him he couldn’t be a Hero. He had spent the entirety of Saturday running away from All Might’s words, all of Sunday sleeping away in the shelter, the early hours of Monday stalking Herolytical’s Twitter and then calling Honda and the rest of Monday falling into restless naps.

So yeah, Izuku felt antsy. He felt like he should run like he was going to come across one of those big bad villains at the end of a videogame. He felt like this was the scene before some big tragedy when the music frequency was at the perfect decibel to make you subconsciously afraid of something that you didn’t know. What he needed was to go out, he needed to move . 

After school, he decided. He’d stash his bags somewhere, go run on Dagobah Beach for a while, maybe clean up some more trash, he’d take a nap at some point, and then The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante would go out once it got dark enough. 

To buy time, he could start practicing throwing Eraserhead’s knives. He still had them on his person, excited to be able to learn to use them. He wouldn’t use them on villains or criminals if he could help it, Izuku didn’t want to unnecessarily hurt someone, but it’d be something good to learn. He could use them to get out of sticky situations…or something. 

Izuku nodded to himself, feeling slightly less on edge with a solid plan set in place; school, Dagobah, exercise, clean, throw some knives, nap, and then go running a bit at night in his Present Mic mask. 

His run-in with the winged villain on Thursday made his All Might mask way too bloody to use, meaning Izuku had to throw it away. He had felt sad, practically mourning that stupid piece of cardboard when he had thrown it away. 

What a joke. 

He was kind of glad that he didn’t have All Might’s face in his back pocket anymore. He didn’t hate the Hero – in some sort of twisted way, he was still Izuku’s favorite Hero. Izuku just didn’t want to be associated with his ideals anymore. 

Izuku’s eyes snapped to the entrance of Aldera, which had been bathed in flashing red and blue lights. Izuku froze, using a hand against the bricked wall to steady himself as his eyes swept through the three police cars parked in front of the school. 

Why were they there? 

It took a second and a half for Izuku to realize that a kid standing in the mouth of an alleyway, jaw dropped, staring at the police would warrant anyone’s attention – let alone, the police. He quickly moved, merging into a group of kids who looked a few years older than him. All their faces were glued to their phones, so Izuku kept his head down and moved with them until he was able to safely slip into a different alleyway and look back toward Aldera. 

Why were the police there? 

He pressed himself against the wall, eyes scanning the crowds gathered in front of the school before he saw a very familiar man with a very familiar Capture Weapon, talking to a very familiar family.  

There could be a thousand reasons the police were at Aldera. There were a little less than a thousand reasons why Eraserhead, a Pro Hero, was at Aldera Middle. And, there were only two reasons why Eraserhead and the Police were with the Bakugous at Aldera. 

Izuku caught sight of Katsuki, immediately feeling relief wash through him before the nauseating fear coursed through him. 

There was only one reason why Katsuki, Mitsuki, and Masaru were at Aldera Middle with Eraserhead and the Police: Someone figured out that he was The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. 

They somehow knew. He didn’t know how. 

The All Might article probably gave it away. 

Izuku cursed under his breath. He had to get out of there, he didn’t want to get arrested, he couldn’t get caught. He had prepared for this – well, not this exactly, something similar– he had a fallback: Okinawa. The city had about a thirty percent Quirkless population, the city was forty-two hours away, and no one knew where he would have run off to. 

He wasn’t entirely sure what made him so interested in Okinawa. From the outside, it was just a city like Musutafu. But, Okinawa always seemed like the perfect place to be. Maybe it had been the Quirkless population that had interested him, maybe it was the distance, or maybe it was something smaller – something insignificant compared to everything else – like Tsubaki flowers. 

His mother loved all types of flowers, her face would always light up when she came home to flowers that Mitsuki would help Izuku pick out, but she had a special love for Tsubaki flowers. She never explained why they were her favorite out of everything, but he wished he had asked her why she loved them so much. He wished he had asked what the flowers that beheaded themselves meant to her if just to know a little more about her. He wished he knew what made them so special, just so he could have had more time with her. Even if it had been one question, one conversation, one flower. 

Okinawa. Tsubaki flowers. Quirkless population. Fallback, fallback, and fallback. 

He didn’t want to risk getting spotted, just a street away from his school, so he stepped further into the shadowed alleyway. He had a fallback, a means to escape, but he still felt unsure of what to do next. 

“Breathe, idiot,” He muttered, keeping himself hidden in the shadows. He dug through his laundry bag, pulling out his All Might hoodie and shrugging it on. If they were looking for him, then they were either looking for a kid around his build in a black hoodie or in his school uniform. 

He was positive no one would recognize his All Might hoodie. 

...

Showing up at Dagobah Beach had been unplanned. He had bought his train ticket to Okinawa, depleting all of his money. His emergency stash had been planned just for this, he never touched it. Even when he was hungry with no food, even when he needed medicine, eveneveneven . He never touched the emergency money unless it was an emergency (hence the name). 

And right now, this was an emergency.

Multiple trains, multiple taxis, multiple buses, and a ferry had taken all but three hundred yen from his stash. His trip would start in two days, at three in the afternoon, he’d already be on his way to Okinawa with nothing but Musutafu behind him. 

If this was an ideal world, he’d be on a bus the moment he bought the tickets, and wouldn’t have to worry about escaping jail, foster care, or death. But, it wasn’t an ideal world hence the fallback. 

So, Izuku had two days and four hours until he would have to leave town. He had fifty-two hours to stay hidden, stay out of sight, and stay safe before he’d leave Musutafu. The whole city was probably looking for him, so he couldn’t risk being seen anywhere else. He couldn’t risk someone recognizing him and turning him over to the police. 

He’d just hide out at Dagobah Beach until Thursday at two in the afternoon, then he’d make his way to the bus station, board his designated bus, and leave toward Okinawa. He never thought that he’d actually go there, never thought he would go alone, either. But drastic situations call for drastic measures and all that. 

No better place to hide than Dagobah. Izuku sat, huddled behind the dumpster, hiding from the world, it felt like. No one knew he had come there. Except…

“Izuku?” His body tensed, realizing this was it. He had rushed for a place he felt safe, a place he knew, and hadn’t remembered the two people who knew about his connection to this beach. Mirio and The Number One Pro Hero: All Might. Izuku, timidly, lifted his head, meeting Mirio’s eyes. “Thought I’d find you here.” 

Izuku’s eyes swept behind Mirio’s shoulders, trying to catch sight of All Might. No one else was there but the Yuuei Student. Izuku took a step back, hands tightening on his backpack, grateful he had the foresight to hide his laundry bag near the train station before making his way to Dagobah. Mirio mirrored Izuku, taking a step closer with every step Izuku took back. “I’m sorry,” Izuku whispered, terrified of whatever Mirio was planning. 

“It’s okay.” Mirio smiled tightly. His hands were spread out, probably trying to lead Izuku into a false sense of security. It wouldn’t work. He’d tell Izuku something stupid about wanting to help him, he’d ask Izuku to trust him, he'd say everyone cares, but Izuku knew better. “I just want to help you, you’ve gotta trust me, Izuku. Everyone’s looking for you, right now.” 

Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, groaning at the predictability of the situation. He took another step back, cracking an eye open to watch Mirio for any sudden movements. “You gotta believe me, I didn’t know anything about that article,” He lied, the words tasting like dust on his tongue. “It was an honest mistake. I was just angry with what All Might said and I was ranting wi-” 

“All Might?” Mirio’s confusion made Izuku freeze. “What article? Izuku, what are you talking about?” Mirio was squinting at Izuku. 

“I…” Izuku paused, trying to figure out what Mirio was confused about. If he didn’t know about the article if he didn’t know about All Might, if he didn’t know about The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, why would anyone be looking for him? “All Might said I couldn’t be a Hero without a Quirk. And then the next day, The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante says the same thing?” Izuku had to play this the right way, he had to make sure no one could tie it back to Izuku. “I don’t know who he is, if I did, I would tell someone!” 

“Oh. Oh .” Mirio’s face was pinched, making Izuku squirm. “I didn’t…Izuku, no one cares about Pebble Kid or The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, right now. Everyone is looking for you .” Mirio took a step closer, and Izuku faltered. 

People were looking for Midoriya Izuku? 

Why?

Izuku stopped walking backward, feeling like he couldn’t tell up from down. “Why else would people be looking for me? Why else would they care?” 

Mirio blinked, taken aback, face twisting up in pain. “Because you’re a kid living on the street.” 

It was like all the air had been stolen from Izuku’s lungs at that moment, making Izuku feel light-headed. People were looking for him because he was homeless. It was literally because of that? That couldn’t be right. 

Izuku’s brows furrowed, trying to figure out how that would have even come to light. Last he knew, the Kimura’s were more than fine accepting a paycheck each month. They hadn’t reported him running away three years ago, what made them report it now? 

“Izuku, why didn’t you say anything?” Mirio’s question tore Izuku’s attention back to the present, making him blink down at Mirio’s hand clasped around Izuku’s wrist. The older boy had used Izuku’s momentary confusion to close the distance between them. Izuku had been so stuck in his head that he hadn’t even realized until it was too late.

He started to squirm, irritating the skin around his wrist. “Let me go,” He pleaded, desperately trying to stay calm. Maybe he still had time to convince Mirio that he should let him leave. 

Mirio wore an apologetic expression, shaking his head. “I can’t let you go, Izuku.” 

Izuku’s face screwed up. “I can’t go back.” He tried pulling his hand away, but Mirio just grabbed his arm. Izuku’s alarm bells were going off, making the air feel a lot thinner than he logically knew it was. “I can’t go back. You don’t understand. I have to go, you have to let me go, Mirio!” 

“Izuku.” Mirio’s grip tightened. “I don’t want to hurt you, please just calm down.” 

“No!” Izuku threw himself back, managing to free himself in the process. “You don’t get it, Mirio!” 

He couldn’t breathe, his face was on fire, his eyes burned, and he was so, so scared. 

“I’m Quirkless. You don’t understand what will happen to me.” He had to get out of there. Mirio was only trying to help, but he wouldn’t understand the difference between them. “There was a reason I didn’t say anything. I was fine. I was okay. I am okay! I-I can’t go back!”

Izuku knew, logically, he wasn’t making any sense. He was too panicked to fully process anything, he was too scared of going back to foster care to really care. He couldn’t even hear anything over the sound of his own voice and heartbeat. Mirio tried saying something, his mouth was moving, but the sound of sirens drowned out the boy’s words. 

Izuku straightened, eyes snapping to Mirio. “You called them before I saw you, didn’t you,” He asked, betrayed. Mirio was just doing his job, he was doing the right thing for all intents and purposes, but Izuku would kill himself on that beach before he’d let them put him back in foster care. 

Mirio looked pained. “Izuku. I need you to breathe, we can help you. You won’t have to go back to that place. They’ll find a better-” 

“You don’t get it!” Izuku shouted, eyes twisting up in frustration. He desperately wished Mirio would understand, he wished Mirio would see what Izuku was trying to say, but he knew better. Mirio was a Hero, he had a Quirk, and All Might believed in him far more than he ever would Izuku. Mirio would never be able to understand. 

His whole body was trembling as he took another step back, another step toward the mounting pile of scrap metal and trash. Izuku knew the pile like the back of his hand, he had spent weeks searching through it for escape points, for fallbacks in case someone showed up at night. He never thought he’d be using the fallbacks he had set up in place to run away from Mirio and the Police. But then again, ten months ago, he didn’t think he would have been using the fallbacks and escape points he had set up to run away from Eraserhead. 

It seemed like life was full of surprises. 

“I’m Quirkless,” He repeated, softly, feeling Hopeless at the determined look in Mirio’s eyes. “There will never be a better place for me. To everyone else, Quirkless people aren’t the same. To everyone else, we are Hopeless.” The sirens were closer now. 

He just needed to take one more step. One more step, and then he’d be out of there before Mirio would even know where to start. 

He stepped back, eyes bouncing from the street and back to Mirio like he was watching ping pong. “I’m sorry. I know you’re only trying to help, but I can’t go back.” Mirio lunged again, and Izuku threw open a refrigerator door. He didn’t want to hurt him, but he needed to get away. 

But the moment the door was supposed to make contact with Mirio’s face, he phased through it. Izuku’s eyes widened and he realized his chances of escaping had just decreased significantly. He dove underneath a rundown truck, crawling until he was out. He moved quickly, retracing the routes he had spent hours memorizing. He knew of a few ways to get out of the pile, to the other side that he'd be able to hightail to the busy street from. Izuku couldn't risk Mirio following him, though, so he moved toward side, shimming in a narrow space that Mirio wouldn't be able to fit through. Most people wouldn't be able to fit through it, actually, but since Izuku was small he only managed to get a few cuts for his efforts.

He hissed at the sound of his shirt being cut, more alarmed by the sound than the pain. He couldn't even feel the pain if he were honest. Maybe it was because of the adrenaline.

Izuku could feel the pressure of the hot metal pressing against his skin, but he ignored it and continued to move through the trash and scrap. He had to make it out of the pile before Mirio followed after him. Based on the lack of sound or faces popping up around him, Izuku was pretty confident that Mirio was able to increase the speed of his atoms to the point where he could phase through matter entirely. That would mean that he couldn't see or breathe while he would use his Quirk, which meant that Mirio wouldn't rush in without a plan.

So Izuku's plan, get out before anyone else got in. He'd have to stall them and make them not follow after him. The answer seemed pretty simple.

Make the insanely unstable and dangerous pile of trash fall. 

The only problem, though, was that Izuku knew there was nothing outside of the pile he'd be able to use to make it collapse. The height of the trash had to be at least eight or nine feet, not to mention how large the circumference of the pile was. Nothing on the outside would be large enough or strong enough to cause the chain reaction Izuku wanted, which meant he'd have to make it collapse while he was still underneath it. 

High-risk high reward, right?

Izuku stopped, trying his best to get his breathing under control. He was in the biggest open area of the pile, looking up at the roof of it, trying to trace anything he could see to something that held most of the weight. He came up empty, finding absolutely nothing but a bent flagpole that was too high to be able to reach, let alone irritate it enough to make the trash collapse. Irritated, he kicked at a small bolt that bounced off his foot and hit a small tire on the ground. Izuku froze at the sound of voices near the pile. He could hear Mirio's voice among them.

Izuku was out of time.

Maybe it was the few seconds he had given himself to calm down, or maybe it was the fact that he was out of time, but he felt a weird sort of calm settle itself onto his shoulders. He didn't even blink, moving toward the small opening that would be his promised escape out of the rubble. He stopped a few feet away from it, looking back at the tire he had seen earlier. 

He reared his foot back before hitting the side of the tire and dislodging it partly from the rest of the pile. He took a breath and did it again. He moved his focus to a splintered table at the bottom of the 'wall' of the pile and kicked at it until it was dislodged, too. The pile was shaking, making Izuku's hair stand on end. 

One more kick. 

He looked back to the flagpole, tracing it's path at the top of the pile, and figuring out which items below it and above him would have the most impact. A block, no larger than Izuku's face was right above his head, and holding up the bottom part of the flagpole. He swallowed, knowing he only had one shot, one chance to do this and get out. One chance was all that he needed, though. 

Izuku crawled backward, like the crab exercises they'd do in gym class. The moment he couldn't see the block anymore, he raised his foot straight up, hitting the corner of the block and knocking it out of place. He heard the flagpole slide down, he could feel the ground shake even more, and he didn't waste a second to check, just rushing out of the pile just as it all came crashing down.

If Izuku timed it right, they’d assume the pile had crumbled on top of him. 

A little morbid, sure, but Izuku couldn’t risk getting caught. 

With that in mind, Izuku ignored Mirio’s frantic calls for him. He stood up, dropping the metal pole back into the sand with a trembling hand, picked up his soot-covered backpack, and hightailed out of there. 

…

It took nearly all day to make it back to the dumpster he had thrown his laundry bag into, too scared to move too far at once. He didn’t want to risk being followed to his bag, didn’t want to risk anyone noticing him, and didn’t want to risk getting caught. The moment he had torn his laundry bag from the trashbag, he shimmied out of his All Might hoodie and slipped his Hopeless Hero: Vigilante one on. 

The All Might hoodie and his backpack went into his nearly empty laundry bag, making him feel safer at the knowledge that he wasn’t walking around in anything that someone had seen him in. If Mirio’s word was to be trusted, and it was, then they weren’t searching for The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. They were searching for Midoriya Izuku. 

That wasn’t a problem, though. He had spent his entire life being invisible. He could easily be invisible for another dozen hours. He would just have to keep to himself, hide away from everyone, and not seem suspicious. 

Izuku drummed his fingers on the straps of his laundry bag, slowly making his way to the library nearby, faintly wondering what people were even looking for. Most likely it was just a kid with green hair, green eyes, and freckles. People would know he was Quirkless, so those who knew anything about Quirkless people would be looking for a kid with Primordial red shoes. Izuku dropped his gaze to his shoes, his pinched expression smoothed out at the black soot that had seemed to make his shoes look more black than red. 

His lips stretched to a bitter smile, making him feel a little more relieved at not exactly fitting the criteria for Midoriya Izuku. He covered his hair with his hood and pushed his way into the library with a polite smile aimed at the librarian behind the desk. 

The lady hardly looked up, mumbling out a greeting as she continued typing away on her computer, completely unaware that a missing child was strolling past her and heading straight toward the computers in the back. 

Midoriya Izuku…about 23,000 search results…

Izuku blinked when the webpage loaded, eyes skipping past the first couple of websites that Google pushed forward for revenue. His eyes landed on a news article. It had been published nearly twenty-four hours before, making Izuku pause as soon as the mouse clicked the link. 

The Bakugous had to be the only reason that anyone was looking for him. CPS couldn’t care this much for one kid, Aldera definitely didn’t, and the Kimura family seemed highly unlikely to report Izuku as missing nearly three years after he ran away. However, the Bakugous had a reason to care. Mitsuki cared about him, as did Masaru. They probably were blaming themselves for Izuku’s living conditions…but there wasn’t really much he could do for them. 

They had figured something out the day before, meaning something had tipped Mitsuki and Masaru off. The only thing Izuku could think of was Katsuki. But, how did Katsuki find out? 

Izuku scrolled through the article, mostly skimming through the interviews and words written into the piece, hand stilling when a picture stood in the center of the computer screen. It was of Izuku, of course, but it had to be at least three years old. His All Might hoodie was brand new in the photo, and the Izuku in the picture was smiling so wide that it made his own cheeks hurt at the sight. The Izuku in the picture looked so…happy. 

Izuku briefly wondered when he stopped looking like that, and then he found himself wondering if he’d ever be able to look like that again. He’s got to smile like that at least once, before he dies, right? 

He exited the tab, not wanting to see any more. He scrubbed at his eyes, opening the search engine again and typing in Honda’s name. He navigated his way to her website and opened her recent article. A lump formed in the back of Izuku’s throat as he read her words, read how she portrayed him, read about her little sister. He read about Yachi and hung his head as he realized two things. 

1. It didn’t matter if he had selfish reasons to let everyone know what All Might believed. All these people deserved to know the truth, all these people deserved better than some twisted justice
2. He would do anything so that people like Yachi and the Izuku in the picture would never grow up to feel useless

Izuku opened Twitter, gnawing on his lip nervously as he made a new account that had no ties to Midoriya Izuku. He had about twenty-threeish hours to use up before he was supposed to be on a bus that would be leaving Musutafu. Right now, though, he was slightly curious about how people took Honda’s article. He wasn’t going to kid himself and believe that people believed him, that people had read what Honda wrote and cared, but he still wanted to know. 

Curiosity killed the cat and all that. 

The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante…

A bunch of tweets, retweets, and quoted retweets rolled across his screen, making him extremely nervous at the accessed information about…himself. Not himself, himself, but the better version of him. 

Lou  @liOB_2  3 hours ago

–

Somehow, Pebble Kid avoiding a name just to come and drop a bombshell about All Might being quirkist definitely wasn’t in my bingo card but TELL US MORE #pebblekid #thehopelessherovig #thhv #Quirklessrights

–

Biwa  @Girlwabiwa  7 hours ago

–

Idk are we rlly trusting the word of an illegal vigilante over The All Might? Like cmon. 

–

Izuku pursed his lips but didn’t feel angry. He could understand the distrust. All Might was The Number One Pro Hero. Everyone loved him, even Izuku. It didn’t matter that All Might had held Izuku’s fragile hope, his dreams that he had to constantly tape and glue back together, and destroyed it. Izuku still admired the Number One Hero. 

In a few days, it wouldn’t matter. The moment Midoriya Izuku disappeared and The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante appeared in Okinawa, he’d be found out. He’d have to be. 

It would go like this: He, Midoriya Izuku, was going to disappear across the country, and then all of a sudden The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante would start crime-fighting in Okinawa until suddenly he tragically died while trying to save someone. He’d get unmasked, and everyone would realize it had always been a Quirkless loser behind that mask. After a while, people would stop caring about him. But there would always be his name in the Quirkless community, not Midoriya Izuku, that didn’t matter. But a kid would be diagnosed Quirkless in the future, and look up Quirkless people, and in the mass of deaths, there would be The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. 

It would have been enough to have given him hope as a kid, and maybe that’s all that mattered. 

He shut the computer down, making sure to exit out of everything he had opened first – not wanting anyone to be able to see what he had been looking at. He couldn’t hide out in the library for the rest of his time, it was too suspicious. Right? 

He was still scared of being caught, though. What if he walked outside and someone noticed him? What if they called him out? He was downright terrified. But, he’d rather be closer to the train station, plus the soot from Dagobah had also tinged his hair black. 

People were looking for a third-year middle school student with green hair, green eyes, freckles, and red Primodorial shoes. Thanks to running into Mirio, though, Izuku’s shoes were stained black, and his hair was stained black, and he considered that a win. 

Most of the time, he had backup plans, he had fallbacks. But this was an escape, his escape was the fallback. He didn’t know what to do until the train ride, especially now that Dagobah was out of the picture. 

Something, or someone really, grabbed at his laundry bag. Izuku was pulled back by the action since his bag had been looped around his shoulders. He stumbled, not having enough time to catch his balance before he was shoved to the ground and a hand splayed across his cheek, smooshing his face against the pavement. 

Izuku cracked an eye open, his vision swimming slightly, making him frown. He didn’t think she had hurt him enough to make his vision swim, but the evidence was clear…or maybe that wasn’t the best metaphor. 

“Got any money, kid?” He couldn’t see the villain’s face, but he could hear her voice above him. She was hiding her face from him, which meant that she most likely wasn’t planning on killing him. 

Man. 

“You deaf?” She kicked him, making him wheeze – not from the pain but from the feeling of Eraserhead’s knives digging into his skin. That and the weird stench that was in the air. He hadn’t smelled it before, but it must have had something to do with her Quirk. It didn’t smell horrible, just chemically. 

Could he not go a week without being mugged? Or almost mugged? 

“I have money,” He coughed out, hating the feel of the villain’s nails digging into his cheek. All five of her fingers were digging into his face making him nauseous. His mind was racing to come up with ideas on how to get out of this with the little money he still had. “I-I’ll grab it!” 

“Try anything, and you’re dead, kid,” She promised, easing her grip a little so that Izuku could somewhat move. 

Izuku smartly kept his mouth shut, knowing better than to piss her off when he was already in such a compromising position. He dug into his pants, dragging out one hundred yen from his pocket, and flicking Eraserhead’s knife right underneath the cash. He just needed her to be close enough that he’d be able to utilize the knife. He didn’t want to risk letting her see the knife and give her enough time to avoid the hit. Was it a little violent to use the knife? Yeah, but she was the one robbing a middle schooler. 

Actions and choices and all that. 

She lifted her hand off his face, and Izuku’s whole body sagged in relief as if she had been torturing him. He worked his jaw, trying to blink away the spots in his vision. It had to have been her Quirk. Her hand appeared in front of his face, demanding the money. It’d be a little difficult to stab her while lying on the ground with an unknown Quirk affecting him.

The moment his hand shakily lifted, the villain’s hand was snatched back by an oh-so-familiar Capture Weapon. Izuku took the distraction as his chance, pocketing Eraserhead’s knife and cash in hand back into his pocket as quickly as he could. 

Izuku hissed at the sharp pain that bloomed in his palm. He looked down as Eraserhead landed a kick to the villain’s head, effectively knocking her unconscious. His eye twitched at realizing he had fucking cut himself with the Pro’s knife. 

How sharp were Eraserhead’s goddamn knives? 

Eraserhead stood up straight, his back to Izuku, and drawing Izuku’s attention to the finished battle. With dawning horror, Izuku realized if he continued staring at his hand in surprise, Eraserhead was going to turn around and see Izuku’s face. Some stained hair and shoes wouldn’t fool a seasoned Pro Hero. Izuku scrambled, shoving the Present Mic mask on his face and throwing his hood on just in time for the Pro to speak. 

“Are you okay, kid?” Eraserhead tossed a look over his shoulder before looking back to the villain only for his head to snap back toward Izuku in realization of who Izuku was. Or, the realization of who The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante was. Izuku didn’t feel too stressed ( a big, fat, fucking lie), the Pro Hero was not blocking the exit of the alleyway. The only light was a neon blue sign for the bar next door. 

His face hadn’t been facing the direction Eraserhead had come from. The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante’s identity was still a secret. He was still safe-ish. 

“I had that under control.” The Pro didn’t seem to believe him, eyes roving over Izuku. He was probably looking for any sort of physical feature he could use to report to the police. The Hero sighed, rolling his eyes, and turned back toward the villain, leaving his back to Izuku. 

“Sure you did, Kid.” Izuku’s lips quirked at the humor in the Hero’s voice, only slightly irritated at the Hero’s disbelief. He made a move to leave, but without looking back, Eraserhead used his Capture Weapon to wrap itself around Izuku’s upper arms, effectively forcing his arms at his sides. 

Izuku didn’t waste a second, immediately setting to work to get the Capture Weapon off. He angled his head toward the weapon, trying to gnaw at the fabric with no success. All it was doing was making his jaw ache and his gums bleed. 

Eraserhead turned again, the smug expression on his face morphing into a pained look at the sight of The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante gnawing at a Pro Hero’s weapon unabashedly. He watched Izuku for an extra moment, sighing. “Glad to see you up and walking. Took a real beating, last I saw you.” 

Izuku set his chin, glaring at the Hero through the holes in his Present Mic mask. He swallowed, finally giving up on escaping Eraserhead’s Capture Weapon via teeth. It was, frankly, embarrassing that Eraserhead would say that in front of a villain. 

A concussed villain, but a villain nonetheless. 

“Aw,” Izuku drawled, always feeling more confident behind his Hopeless Hero persona. “Worried about little old me?” Izuku smirked, almost giddy at the thought of Eraserhead knowing who he was. A second later, he remembered Eraserhead was also holding him against his will, and suddenly the Hero knowing him wasn’t as cool. “I’ve dealt with worse. That guy with the wings? He was nothing too bad.” 

“Not as reassuring as you think that is, Problem Child.” Eraserhead turned back toward the villain, completely ignoring Izuku’s indigent spluttering at Eraserhead’s nickname for him. 

“I am not a child,” Izuku tried to protest. 

The Pro Hero gave Izuku a dry look over his shoulder, once again looking Izuku up and down. “Right.” 

Izuku glared at the Hero, frowning, but still nodding his head toward the waking villain. “Careful with her. Her Quirk is probably some sort of five-point activation poison, toxin, or something similar. She had taken me down, but all five fingers in my face had been purposeful.” 

Eraserhead hummed, still watching the villain. “Symptoms?” 

“My vision is swimming,” Izuku started off, his tongue still sitting heavy in his mouth. “My heart rate is slow, my head is pounding, and I can’t stop drooling.” He kept the nausea and the struggle to stay upright to himself. Izuku rolled his shoulders, tilting his head to the side, flinching a little when he noticed Eraserhead had been watching him. “She’s waking up.” 

The Hero eyed him for a moment before pulling some Quirk suppression cuffs out of… nowhere. Eraserhead lifted an eyebrow at Izuku, jingling the cuffs like they should scare him. 

Izuku almost laughed. 

“Am I going to need to grab some for you, too?” He sounded so serious, it was almost funny. 

“No,” He laughed humorlessly, shaking his head. “My Quirk is no threat.” He nearly spat the word out, hating the look of understanding that passed through Eraserhead’s eyes. 

He didn’t understand shit . 

The moment Eraserhead turned around, Izuku felt a ton of bricks hit him with an epiphany. Eraserhead’s Capture Weapon was extremely strong. Eraserhead’s knives were extremely sharp. One plus two equals three. 

“Hey, Eraser,” Izuku called, pulling the knife from his pocket and grinning at the Hero’s back. “Ever get stuck in your own Capture Weapon?” 

At the Hero’s silence, Izuku’s grin widened and he used the moment the Hero opened the Quirk suppression cuffs to slice through the taunt part of the Capture Weapon to free himself. 

“I’ll see you around sometime, Eraser!” He grinned, knowing that where he was going, he would never see him again. 

He stumbled into a man in a trenchcoat and fedora the moment he rounded the corner, nearly knocking the man off balance. Izuku quickly caught the man, giving him a sheepish smile, and a quick apology. He laughed, dashing past the man and straight into the maze of alleyways to escape Eraserhead’s footsteps behind him. 

“Watch this one,” Eraserhead ordered to someone. “I’ll get the Kid.” 

Izuku’s smile widened at the challenge from the Pro, unable to fight the giddiness at the situation. He ran and ran, and ran, making sure to use every opportunity to dash into the street and then back into alleyways or try to block the path behind him. It seemed that Izuku cutting through Eraserhead’s Capture Weapon had severed whatever control the Hero had over it.

This was the first and only time Izuku was able to escape Eraserhead on his own. The first time, Eraserhead had stopped chasing Izuku. Last week, he only escaped because Eraserhead had been too busy with a villain. Now though, Eraserhead was chasing Izuku, and Izuku was winning. He didn’t care about where he was heading, not even slowing down when he realized he didn’t recognize any of the signs or places around him. He just kept running until he was sure he had lost the Hero, and then he still kept running. He wasn’t sure what it was, the drugs from the villain’s Quirk, the adrenaline rush from Eraserhead and Mirio, or the knowledge that this was one of his last days in Musutafu. 

He only stopped once it had started to rain and he saw a police cruiser turn onto the street he had been walking on. Quickly moving, Izuku shoved the Present Mic mask into his back pocket and cut another piece off of Eraserhead’s Capture weapon, that Izuku had somehow managed to hold onto. He wrapped the cloth around his bleeding palm and stepped inside the convenience store right next to him. Izuku dropped his laundry bag, removed his hood, and felt extremely grateful for the safety that the convenience store promised him from the rain and the police. 

It was dark and raining outside, so it wouldn’t be weird that he had moved inside one of the only open stores at this time of night. It might be weird that a kid was out this late at night, but it wasn’t like the police were going to check this specific store. 

Izuku nodded in greeting to the cashier, bee-lining to the back of the store. He needed to buy something sterile to wrap his hand with, so he quickly grabbed some antiseptic and a wrap just in time for the door to open. 

The bell above the door rang again. Izuku’s head snapped up toward the mirror in the corner of the store, eyes widening at the sight of a police officer waving at the cashier. Izuku dropped the first aid supplies and moved toward the umbrellas further down the aisle. 

A kid plus rain equals a need for an umbrella. 

“You seen a kid?” Izuku stopped breathing. “Uh, green hair and green eyes.” 

“I’ve only seen that kid over there.” Izuku cursed under his breath, pretending he hadn’t heard them, acting as if he was really struggling between which designed umbrella to buy. His eyes swept around the room as the officer’s steps grew closer to him. 

“Hey, kid.” Izuku looked up, hopeful that the rain hadn’t cleaned his hair. The officer took one look at Izuku and sighed, he literally sighed, before turning back toward the clerk. “Forgot to mention, he’s in middle school. About to graduate. He’s gonna look older than this.” 

Izuku wanted nothing more than to chew this guy out, but instead, he tilted his head to the side in confusion. “I’m sorry?” 

“Ah, don’t worry about it, little guy.” He patted Izuku on the shoulder before taking Izuku’s umbrella he had just been holding as an act. “Lemme get these for you, yeah?” 

Izuku wasn’t exactly sure how to respond, head spinning from nearly being caught three times today and somehow managing to escape each time. “Uh, my dad says not to talk to strangers.” 

“And he’s exactly right.” The officer winked, and Izuku had never been happier to look so small and young. The officer set Izuku’s things down along with some soda and nodded to the clerk. “And two servings of Takoyaki.” 

Izuku’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ah, thank you, Sir.” Izuku bowed, feeling absolutely starved. 

“Don’t sweat it, kid.” The officer paid for the items and gave the bag to Izuku. He had just bought all of that for him. If Izuku had enough energy, he probably would have started to sob. 

He just watched, completely stunned as the officer told the clerk to call if he saw anyone fitting that description and then left. He felt like he was on autopilot as he walked out of the store, shoving half of the Takoyaki into his mouth and then hastily shoving everything into his bag.

He put the Present Mic mask that he had taken off earlier, and Eraserhead’s capture weapon in the bag, too. He would wrap his hand better when he found his way back to the train station. 

Which brought up a really good point. Where was he? 

All the buildings around him looked really nice, too nice for him to be at. Izuku worriedly took notice of the quiet street. The neighborhood looked like something straight out of a magazine. And places like this should definitely have Heroes patrolling. It wasn’t news that Heroes would stick to nicer areas, they always called them ‘first priority.’ It was a bunch of bullshit that Izuku hoped would change one day. Huddling under the lip of a building, Izuku’s eyes widened at the cobblestone path that paved the way to Endeavor’s house. 

Now it made sense why it was so quiet. The Number Two Hero lived in this fucking place. No one would think of trying anything here. 

Endeavor had to be one of the only Heroes who broadcasted where he lived – most Heroes had more sense than to do something so reckless. The article that was published hadn’t even been out twenty–four hours before some thieves tried breaking in. 

It only took three attempts before Endeavor’s house was marked too low a reward for such a high risk. Years ago, when Endeavor had said where he lived in an interview, a lot of people thought it would be a good idea to try and break into his home. The first two attempts had ended with Endeavor arresting them. The third one, no one really knows. Apparently, six people had tried to stage a robbery, but then Endeavor killed them. No one has tried anything since.

Everyone took the news like it made perfect sense. But the oddest thing to Izuku was that the thieves’ bodies weren’t recovered, just their ashes. He never said anything, obviously, but he was pretty sure that Endeavor’s Quirk wouldn’t have been able to do that without causing a lot more damage. 

“Hey, kid.” He wrenched his attention away from the Todoroki house, eyes snapping to the person who spoke. Izuku’s eyes widened at the sight of someone standing in the shadows, making Izuku’s hair stand on end. He quickly spun around, making his head throb even worse than it had been before. Izuku stumbled, catching himself before he could fully tip over. He was having a hard time focusing on the man who spoke; it could have been because of that villain’s Quirk, it could have been this guy’s Quirk, or even something as simple as exhaustion hitting him. “Hope you aren’t planning on doing anything stupid.” 

Izuku’s shoulders hitched up, dropping the umbrella to raise his hands in an act of peace, shaking his head back and forth rapidly. The action, itself, was doing absolutely nothing to help his pounding headache. “No.” He stared down at the floor, trying to ignore the rain running down the inside of his hoodie. His head was swimming now, and even though he could feel that usual rush of energy whenever he felt like he was in danger, his entire body felt sluggish. “I-I wasn’t, sorry.” He took another step backward, trying his best not to aggravate whoever this was. 

When all else fails, he could just pull out the rules he set in place to try not to piss off one of his peers: 

1. No Eye Contact
2. Apologize
3. Don’t speak
4. Wait for a moment to run

Not always the best, but it worked more often than not.

“What were you staring at that house for, then?” Without lifting his head, Izuku managed to look up through his bangs, swearing he had seen blue flames dancing on the guy’s palm before he had actually got a chance to look. The sight made him nauseous. Kami, he felt like he was seconds from puking.

“That house?” Izuku found himself looking over his shoulder at Endeavor’s home, he could hear the guy take a step closer. He whipped back around, eyes wide, and hands were thrown out trying to ward off the threat. “No, no. I-I got lost in thought, I was running and…and I-I just, ya know got lost.” 

“Lost? And found your way to The Endeavor Mansion.” Izuku flinched at the tone, he could almost smell the danger when they took a step closer. There was something more dangerous about this guy than anyone else Izuku had interacted with. “Huh, interesting.” 

Izuku stepped back again. He had to get out of there, but the moment he went to take another step back he realized far too late that he ran out of sidewalk. His foot slipped off the curb, and time almost felt like it was slowing down around him. His mouth was open in a silent shout, his arms were waving around to try to grab onto anything, and he could feel his bag start to slip off his shoulder. And then, a sharp pain exploded in the back of his head before it all went black. 

But, hey, at least he hadn’t puked.

Notes:

Izuku not realizing people would care about him being homeless is something that destroys me daily.

I don't know how to explain it, exactly, but chapters 1 through 5 were purely introductions to the rest of the story. Now, the real shit happens.

I wonder who the hell that guy was at the end. It's not suuuuper obvious or anything.

Are you excited?

---

Also, just as a note for you guys, once I'm fully finished The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, Part 2, 3, and 4, I will be uploading them all compiled into a singular multi-chapter fic. My sister really wants that and I would probably put an apple on my head if she said she wanted to learn bow and arrow, so.

---

Please let me know your guys' thoughts and everything. They quite literally fuel me to write more. Plus I am Gen Z meaning they give me the serotonin I need but very much lack.

LATE P.S. : Next chapter will be out March 12th <3

Chapter 7: Green is (not) Blue

Summary:

"Call me Dabi."

"Call me Akatani, then."

Notes:

Fair warning, this chapter has been heavily changed from the original one that had been published. I don't know if anyone who has read The Hopeless Hero: Realistic is reading this one, but in the original idea of this story, I hadn't ever planned on Dabi being a villain. It was originally supposed to be a brotherly relationship between them and Dabi being a good person. The plot, truly, did get away from me.

Don't fear, though, I do have other stories planned for good brother Dabi.

...

Also, even though we are lucky enough to be able to giggle at silly words and stories on Ao3, lets not forget about everyone in Sudan or Congo or Palestine who are going through unimaginable, real-life, horrors. All eyes on Rafah. No one is free until everyone is.

...

Enjoy the story!

You know when the main character in a book, or a movie, or a television show has a really shitty day? When it seems like nothing can go their way, no matter how hard they try? Yeah, that was a perfect example of how Dabi’s day had been going so far. 

It was one of those picturesque type days, where he gets fired from his job for endangerment of clientele or poor attitude or some other poorly thought out excuse. One of those days where he couldn’t sleep only being able to toss and turn. One of those days where he woke up in cold sweats with nightmares that belonged to someone not named Dabi. And one of those fucking days where his cigarettes got soaked from the rain. 

Should he have left his cigarettes on the window seal with the window cracked open, even when the air smelled like rain? No, but it still wasn’t his fucking fault. 

The universe just wanted to make everything difficult for him, it always had. 

It was hard to pay rent when he lost another job all because of his dumb scars. Was he told it had been because of his attitude and threatening nature towards his clients? Yeah, but Dabi could read between the lines. He wasn’t the nicest person around, but that didn’t mean he was a monster, he didn’t go around threatening people.

Just to add salt to the wound, or scars in his case, the spot where his skin met his scars had been irritated all day, leaving him on edge. His joints would creak, making his scars itch, throb, and burn with every breath he took. It was a constant reminder of how he looked like a patchwork art project made by a three-year-old.

And now he was carrying a kid that weighed less than a sack of potatoes over his shoulder, and the kid’s bag over his other.

So, yeah, shit day. 

With a groan, Dabi shifted the kid’s weight to the side to unlock his door, acutely aware of how insane he looked. If this had happened while the sun was out, he probably would have been arrested at least three separate times for carrying an unconscious child home. He hadn’t necessarily thought it all through, more panicked by the amount of blood that had been surrounding the kid's head than he should have been. Head injuries typically resulted in an abnormal amount of blood , he knew that. 

Still, the kid felt dead in his arms making Dabi’s skin crawl. “I feel like you are going to be a lot of fucking trouble,” He muttered to the unconscious kid, more than fully aware that the kid wouldn’t have been able to answer or respond. Dabi had to use his elbow to close his door, not wanting to bonk the kid’s head any more than he already had, and he wasn’t too inclined to leave blood on the wood of his door for him to have to clean up later. 

Not entirely sure the kid is even worth the fucking effort , he thought bitterly, pushing all the trash and junk off his counter and to the floor. Was it a little loud for the time? Yeah, but Dabi didn’t care. He laid the kid down on the now clean-ish countertop, doing his best not to jostle anything. He wasn’t exactly keen on having to dispose of the kid’s body if anything went south. 

The light above the stove was the only source of light in Dabi’s dark apartment, at that moment, it was shrowding the kid in a haunting shadow. The horrible lighting did nothing to help Dabi see where all the kid’s bleeding had come from, either. 

His eyes snapped to the open window. The sun was slowly rising, basking the sky in an oddity of colors that made Dabi’s mouth twist. He looked back to the kid for a few moments, carefully making his way over to close both the window and the curtains so as to avoid any unwanted onlookers. He didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea and think he was like maiming a dead kid or something equally morbid.

He ran a hand down his face, staring at the slow rise and fall of the kid’s chest before he got to work. Dabi locked the door, flipped the light switch on, and had to blink a few times so that his eyes could adjust to the new lighting. A flash of red caught his eye, and he looked down to see his jacket covered in a small sheen of blood and rain, making his jaw ache from how hard he had been clenching it. 

“Shit!” He peeled his jacket off as fast as he could, throwing it toward his bedroom, making a mental note to throw it into his laundry basket later. He pointed an accusing finger at the unconscious child who had been the source of all that blood on his jacket. “If you die after all this, I’m going to strangle you myself.” 

The kid didn’t respond. 

Dabi sighed, shaking his head, and moved into the kitchen. He turned the stove light off, not needing it as a light source anymore. The kid didn’t so much as stir while Dabi maneuvered the kid’s hoodie off his head, making his face twist at the mess of curls that were covered in blood. 

He shook the disgust away, clearing his sink of dirty dishes and sanitizing the bottom and sides of it so it wouldn’t make the kid’s injury infected. He didn’t want to deal with going through all this effort, just to have the kid die of an infection. 

Though, if the kid did, no one would have been able to tie it back to him. But still, he expertly cleaned his sink. He was prepared for this kind of situation – well, not this exact kind of situation, but something similar. He’s had to patch himself up plenty of times before, coming home with a wound in need of stitches or something closer to the kid’s head wound.

Dabi moved quickly, grabbing the few things he knew he’d need. He wasn’t entirely sure if he was calmer or more anxious at having to attend to someone else’s injury. It seemed easier to clean the kid’s bleeding head than it would have been to do it on himself, but he also never had tried to play nurse for someone else. 

He paused, blinking down at the kid’s plain face, confused by his own actions. Why did he care if the kid lived or died? Maybe that question wasn’t right, because he wasn’t entirely sure if he cared about the kid living, but he still stepped up to make sure the kid wouldn’t die. He had never done anything like this before, he never had thought ‘hey, let me make sure this person doesn’t die’. That just wasn’t him. 

It wasn’t the kid’s age that was appealing to his guilt, he didn’t care about kids dying the same way he didn’t care about people dying. But, still, for some reason, he had brought the kid home with the intent to help. Dabi stared at his, now, gloved hands, knowing it was too late to back out. 

“Just,” He sighed, pulling the kid’s body closer to the sink, frowning at the streak of blood that followed after him. “Don’t die, or I’m going to be billing your parents for all this shit.” He moved the kid’s head around until he found where it had cracked open. 

Though, cracked open was a bit too extreme of a description for the kid’s injury. 

With careful, practiced, moves, Dabi moved the hair around the area and used the running water to wash away as much blood and dirt as he could. 

Dabi’s face twisted in disgust at the amount of dirt that the kid had cacked in his hair. When was the last time the brat had showered? He blinked at the black and red mixing together in the water, cleaning both the blood off the kid’s scalp and the black dye off the kid’s hair. 

“Green,” Dabi muttered to himself, feeling like that should have been important. He couldn’t really care, though, more focused on the fact that the kid had dyed his hair black. “What are you running from, Brat?” 

He shook the thought away, picking up a pair of tweezers, and made sure to clear away all of the debris and dirt that would have been irritating the kid’s injury if they had been left alone. And then he turned the faucet back on, to fully clean the kid’s head.

He took his time, rinsing the dried blood, that had been surrounding the actual bleeding wound, and soot out. He made sure the water pressure was low enough before running it through the green curly hair. When he started working with the actual wound, he decided it was safer to just fill a cup with water and trickle it over the kid’s head, definitely a lot less pressure that way. 

“Well,” Dabi gently rubbed shampoo in the kid’s hair, a small smile on his face. “At least it isn’t still bleeding, got lucky there, kid.” It didn’t take long to rinse the shampoo out of the kid’s hair, that was the easy part. 

Once he had dried the kid’s head, to the best of his abilities, he tossed the damp towel toward his room. Thankfully, since the kid was unconscious, and wouldn’t squirm, Dabi used a Q-tip dipped in iodine to outline the kid’s wound. He had already cleaned it, so there wasn’t really a need to use the antiseptic on the kid’s injury and risk irritating it further. But, he still didn’t like how dirty the surrounding area of the kid’s wound had been, so just to play it safe, he used the antiseptic around it but not on it. 

He never had been trained in first aid or anything, so it’d have to do. 

Dabi grabbed his gauze, liberally wrapping the kid’s head to not only apply pressure and bandage the kid’s injury but to protect it from the mess that was the kid’s dirty ass head. 

He folded up a clean-ish towel and had the kid’s head lay on it, careful to make sure he wasn’t lying on the spot that had just been wrapped. He stared at the child, still a little more unnerved at how he had reacted the moment the kid had passed out a few feet away from him. His hands were trembling, he realized faintly, feeling disturbed at the reaction. This was far from his first time dealing with such an injury. It didn’t really make a difference to him, before, when it had come to it came to a kid who was dying. 

Sure, this kid was small, but that didn’t matter to him either, usually. 

He’s smaller than Shouto would be, right now.  

Dabi pinched the bridge of his nose. He grabbed any extra sheets and towels that he wouldn’t mind getting bloody and tried his damndest to chase away the names of people and the memories that Dabi shouldn’t know. He took his time, tucking the sheets around his couch cushions and laying everything out.

Carefully, Dabi picked the kid up, quickly depositing him on the couch and nodding to himself in approval. With the job done, he could feel all of his adrenaline rush out of him, leaving him feeling antsy and exhausted.  

Even with the windows closed and curtains pulled, Dabi could tell the sun was now fully out in the sky. It was most likely a little after seven in the morning. It was usually around the time that Dabi would start getting ready for bed if he hadn’t been busy with a job. He eyed the kid’s deep breathing and sighed. The kid, obviously, wasn’t going to be getting up anytime soon. 

Dabi wasn’t entirely sure if that made him feel grateful or on edge. On the one hand, the kid sleeping for a while would give Dabi time to shower and clean up a bit before he’d inevitably doze for a bit at his kitchen table. On the other hand, the kid staying and sleeping meant that he’d leave Dabi on edge and nervous – he’d spend the entire time getting lost in memories that didn’t belong to a person named Dabi. 

He rubbed at the skin that met his scars, knowing a shower would definitely make the pain and itchiness beneath his skin more bearable. It would definitely beat just sitting out at the table, watching the kid sleep and drinking the mugs of old coffee that were sitting around while he waited for the kid to wake up. 

With a sigh, he shouldered his way through the bathroom door, set the shower to the hottest setting it’d go, and made a promise to only get out once he felt like he was on fire. 

…

All the hot water had run out before Dabi could feel even a semblance of being on fire. He was shivering by the time he had left the bathroom, hair damp and weighed down. 

He tossed a cursory glance to the kid, less than surprised to see him still sleeping. The kid had been trembling before Dabi had even made his presence known, when they had been outside The mansion. The kid’s eyes had been blown wide, and he had been sporting a nasty injury. So a junky suffering from blood loss would equal lots of sleep. 

The kid’s body, obviously, needed it. 

He looked down at the clock, trying to count back the hours that the kid had been sleeping. It was close to an hour and a half walk from His mansion, Dabi had spent close to an hour cleaning and wrapping the kid’s head, and he had spent nearly two hours in the shower until all the hot water had ran out. 

It was eleven in the morning, meaning that Dabi had been watching after an unconscious junky for the last six or so hours. 

He needed a cigarette. 

Badly . 

He knew it’d be better, more logical, and more respectful to go out to the fire escape to smoke since the kid was sleeping unaware on the couch, but Dabi couldn’t really find any real reason to care. It was his fucking apartment, he paid rent, and he’d just as easily smoke at the table while the kid was awake, too. He flicked his cigarette, watching the ash fall in flakes over his table, leaving small markings of Dabi’s carelessness. He swept at the evidence, face twisting in displeasure at the way it stayed burnt into the wood.  

He had long since turned the ceiling lights off, instead, opting to use a tall standing light beside the couch to illuminate the dimly lit apartment. He didn’t need too much light during the day, his curtains were not nearly as wide as his windows – meaning that no matter how hard he tried, the light from the outside always cut through the apartment like swords of sunlight.

He swirled a coffee mug that had been sitting on the table. It was about a quarter of the way filled with coffee from like two days ago. He sniffed it, not smelling anything sour, and deciding that would have to be good enough for him. He gulped it down, shivering at how cold it was compared to how hot he liked to have it. 

Dabi pursed his lips, glaring at the drink. It tasted closer to four days old. 

He looked over to his little couch, eyeing the kid. He couldn’t be older than Shouto, in fact, he looked like he was still in grade school. And he most certainly wasn’t dressed like a kid back on Endeavor’s block. 

He rubbed at the skin that met his scars. 

That was more than enough emotional turmoil for Dabi. He didn’t want to focus on it any longer. So, he stood up, carrying all his dirty dishes and mugs that he had been letting pile up for weeks. He had nothing better to do than to finally start doing the chores and busy work that he had been avoiding. 

…

Even once all the dishes had been done, the kid was still sleeping away on Dabi’s couch. He looked so peaceful and calm but it was irritating that he was still there . Dabi bit the inside of his cheek, looking away from the kid and deciding since he had washed all the dishes, he should probably dry them and put them away. 

Once he had finished that, he realized the kitchen was still a bit of a mess, so he grabbed his rubber gloves, and a spray bottle, and got to work. It didn’t take long, to move things off each counter and wipe them down. He had finished before the hour was even up, making him even more irritated. 

He could organize a bit, while he waited for the kid to wake up. 

So he did just that, starting with the fridge and cleaning it out; washing the shelves, and putting everything away. He moved to the pantry cabinets next, and once that was done he reorganized his pots and pans. 

It was a little after four in the afternoon by the time his entire kitchen was sparkling and the kid was still sleeping. 

“Never again,” He muttered, stalking to his room and grabbing his computer. He had spent as much time as he could on anything but job hunting and with the nearly four hours he spent deep cleaning his kitchen, it felt a little pathetic to push it off any longer. 

“Never watching over a brat, again.” 

With one last glance at the sleeping kid, he sat back down at his kitchen table, lit another cigarette, and got to work.

…

“Fuck!” Dabi’s back straightened at the sound, eyes zeroing in on the kid’s tense body. It seemed nearly twelve hours later, sleeping beauty had finally woken up. The kid was trying to slowly sit up, eyes bouncing around the room, no doubt, trying to see if anyone was around. 

Dabi dimmed his screen to black, watching the kid try and fail to see anyone through the bright lamp sitting beside him. He was a little curious about the kid, he wanted to know if he’d see the thing that made him take the kid home and tend to his wounds. But, as the Brat sat up on the couch, cradling his head in a confused manner, Dabi just saw a child. 

Nothing about the kid screamed special. He looked plain, not eliciting any sort of familiarity in the back of Dabi’s mind. 

He was just a kid. 

Dabi rolled his eyes, not entirely sure what he had been expecting to see when the kid finally woke up. But he had been hoping for something. With a sigh, he had to admit to himself that he had just been weak and did something stupid. 

The kid’s head snapped toward the kitchen table, and Dabi saw those green eyes that had been blown wide outside of Endeavor’s mansion were now just squinted and…didn’t look like the kid was a full-time junkie anymore.

“Hello,” The kid called out, no doubt somehow hearing Dabi’s sigh but still failing to see him through the shining light beside him. He looked torn between being confused and trying to bury his fear underneath a layer of confidence that Dabi could see through a mile away. 

“Morning, kid.” Dabi leaned to the left, and flicked the light switch on beside the front door, bathing the apartment in a soft yellow light. “You slept for a while.” 

The kid immediately squeezed his eyes shut, obviously, not ready to adjust to the lighting. After a moment, the kid’s eyes cracked open and Dabi found himself interested in how the kid’s gaze roamed over him before doing the same to the entire apartment. 

Seeing Dabi in all his glory didn’t seem to faze the kid at all.

Dabi was fairly certain the kid had never caught sight of him, outside the Endeavor mansion. He had kept to the shadows, trying to scare the kid away from whatever stupid plan he had. The kid not seeing his face or Quirk were the only reasons that Dabi even hefted the kid up and nursed his wounds…or something. 

And yet, the kid had seen his face now, the kid had seen his patchwork of scars and looked at the rest of the apartment with the same curiosity. 

Interesting.

“Whe-” A sneeze cut the kid off. “Where is my bag?” 

Dabi jerked his head toward the seat across from him, where the bag sat. The kid hesitated for a moment, taking his time to make his way over to the table. He eyed Dabi the entire time, hands trembling at his side. They kept twitching toward the bag, before inevitably staying at his side like he wasn’t sure Dabi would let him actually get his bag. 

Waiting for my command , Dabi thought, interesting . 

“It’s your bag, kid.” The moment the words had left his mouth, the kid snatched the bag off the chair. Quick as a mouse, he moved back, eyes still on Dabi until he looked back down into his bag to check through his belongings. 

Oh . 

The kid was homeless. Or at the very least, a run away. 

Dabi smiled, taking a sip of his scorching cup of coffee, not exactly hating the way the kid made him feel. 

A runaway with dyed black hair sounded like a story Dabi had heard before. 

He wondered what other similarities they shared. 

“T-Thank you,” The kid whispered, gripping his bag like a lifeline. He clutched it to his chest, looking like a feral cat with a head wound. 

Dabi fought back a snort at the imagery that thought brought; a shaggy cat with its head wrapped in gauze. 

“Thank you for taking care of my head,” He continued before Dabi could get a word in. “I only have a couple hundred yen.” The kid looked like the offer physically pained him. “But that’s all I will give you.” The kid’s eyes hardened like he expected Dabi to try some shady shit. 

He narrowed his eyes at the kid. “I don’t need your money, Short Stack.” He scoffed, taking an angry swig of his coffee. Dabi paused, eyeing the kid’s face. It was still soft from sleep, but there was a sharpness that Dabi could recognize. 

Trust issues. 

“You were asleep on my couch for twelve hours, after all.” He raised a brow at the kid’s bewildered expression. “I think if I wanted to do what you are insinuating , it already would have happened.” 

Fear flashed through the kid’s eyes before it was immediately replaced with understanding. “Not a lot of people help for no reason,” The kid justified, hands slackening around the straps of his bag. 

“Yeah,” Dabi agreed. “A lot of people are fucked up, though, so don’t sweat it.” He stood, ignoring the way the kid’s eyes tracked him. They were strangers, and the kid had no idea how dangerous Dabi truly was. The cautiousness from the kid was a good thing, it meant the kid had some sort of survival instincts. 

The silence while he washed and dried his mug didn’t bother him, and neither did the way the kid kept jerking at every other move Dabi made, but he didn’t care for the way the kid’s eyes hadn’t left Dabi once since he started talking. 

“It was my fault for your injury,” Dabi was a little surprised that he spoke at all, but the kid was listening intently so Dabi couldn’t leave it at that. “I couldn’t just leave you there. I had to make things right .”

“Oh.” The kid didn’t look like he understood. 

“Oh,” Dabi agreed, not quite understanding it either. He had always had that sort of mentality, but he never felt the need to utilize it when there was no added benefits for himself. He warily eyed the kid’s blood-soaked hoodie. “I’m going to be doing some laundry. If you want, you can add your shit to the load and shower while you wait.” 

Apparently, offering the kid some sort of semblance of being clean was the wrong approach. Dabi watched in real-time as the kid built up metaphorical walls, standing up straighter and watching Dabi warily. “Why?” 

Dabi felt a flash of anger, but it was washed away with understanding the kid’s hesitance. He had been this kid once, the kid living out of a bag and making enemies with dangerous people. He had turned down many offers of kindness because he had fallen for one too many tricks dressed up as a kind offer. 

The kid wasn’t aware that Dabi already had him figured out, and he wasn’t entirely sure if the kid would take kindly to the fact that this stranger knew him so intimately even without knowing his name. 

“Well,” Dabi sighed, watching as the kid shrunk back at the disappointment in Dabi’s tone. “Unless you wanna go home and let your parents see all this blood, I figured you’d like to shower.” 

The kid blinked, once, twice, and then he smiled. It was a soft smile, one that surprised Dabi. It looked too pure, too innocent, too unscathed to be a runaway kid’s smile. 

Interesting. 

“Thank you,” He murmured, face flushing under Dabi’s stare. “A shower would be…it’d be nice.” 

“Don’t sweat it.” He dried his hands, jerking his head to the bathroom door. “I’ll get you some temporary clothes for the time being. Once you’re done, I’ll get started on the laundry.” 

“Laundry, right.” The kid nodded his agreement, digging into his pocket and pulling out a wad of cash. “I hope this is enough for the load. The laundromat I usually go to costs a bit more.” 

“Thanks.” Dabi took the money, eyes widening at the three hundred yen the kid had just willing forked over. Where was he doing laundry that cost over three hundred yen? “This should be enough,” He finally said, knowing a load would be half that amount, but he chose to keep quiet about it. The kid did owe him, and this was good enough since the kid was…an oddity to say the least. 

Dabi jutted his chin towards the door to the right of his couch. “Have a blast kid.” His eyes narrowed at the kid. “And don’t you dare use all the hot water.” Hopefully the kid wouldn’t even know that he had already used all of it while the kid slept. 

“I won’t.” The kid ducked his head and made his escape to the bathroom, casting one last glance around the apartment before the door closed. 

“Fuck,” Dabi groaned, leaning against a counter and pulled his phone out. He hadn’t had much luck with finding some sort of job that required his…skills, which meant he’d have to go crawling back to an old contact. 

“Dabi,” The voice greeted, sounding smug. He rolled his eyes, knowing the bastard had every right to be smug. He had told Dabi over a year ago that he’d come crawling back for any job that the man had. 

“Giran,” Dabi greeted back, yawning through the name. “Seems you were right.” 

“I typically am.” 

…

A new job, a new residing sense of accomplishment, and a new wave of exhaustion had Dabi start moving the moment he got off the phone with Giran. He collected the towels and sheets he had used as a barrier for his couch and grabbed the clothes he had been meaning to wash for a while. The dirty clothes and the bloody clothes from the kid made more than enough laundry for Dabi to justify going down to the washroom. 

All he had to do, then, was wait for the kid to leave the bathroom so that he could wash the kid’s bloodied hoodie and jeans. 

He dropped the laundry by the front door and sat down at the table with a yawn. He was encroaching the twenty-fourth hour of being awake, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep, but with the kid still in his apartment, he couldn’t afford to nod off. So, with nothing better to do, he lit another cigarette and watched the way the smoke danced. Since his cigarettes had been soaked from the rain, earlier that morning, he had to crack into his expensive cigarettes that he only saved for when he was especially stressed out.

This was special cigarette number three– he’d say the kid did plenty to stress him out. Who knew how much of a headache the kid would be before Dabi would be able to get him out of his apartment.

Too soon, he finished it. He almost lit another one, but it would be smarter to save it. Dabi leaned against the wall, rhythmically tapping on the table, and doing his best to ignore his exhaustion.

It was only a second. Dabi swore he had only closed his eyes for a second, but when he opened his eyes the kid was already out of the bathroom and was cleaning the blood on the side of the counter where the kid’s bag had been lying, before. 

His right arm was numb. “How long was I asleep?” He stood up, stumbling slightly. It seemed his left leg was, too. 

The kid jumped when Dabi stood, eyeing him warily. “I got out about five minutes ago and showered for about ten. So,” He trailed off, pulling at his fingers. 

He nodded, rubbing at his eyes with the pads of his thumbs, trying to get rid of the blurriness that always came with a much-needed nap. “I thought you would have taken a lot longer.” Kami knows how he used to shower for hours on end when He tried to beat his Quirk into submission. He couldn’t remember much from back then, but he did remember all the blood. Even after it had all washed down the drain, Dabi had felt like he had been encrusted in blood for weeks after. 

He couldn’t imagine a fifteen-minute shower helping the kid’s psyche much, but what did it matter to him? 

“You didn’t use all the hot water, right?” He asked, feigning ignorance about the lack of hot water. Not planning to admit to the kid that he had known that he wouldn’t be able to use any hot water since Dabi had, rightfully, used it all. 

The kid shrugged, looking away from Dabi. “I said I wouldn’t,” He pouted, actually fucking pouted. “Plus, hot water wouldn’t do anything but irritate my injuries.”

“Injuries,” Dabi questioned, eyes falling to the burns that were running up and down the kid’s arms. He had just given the kid a small tank top and some sweats, he hadn’t thought that he would have been able to see burns and hardened scabs when he had grabbed the clothes. 

He frowned, slightly concerned about how he hadn’t noticed the physical proof of the kid’s injuries until they had been pointed out to him. He brushed it off, feigning worry. 

“How’d you get burned?” Dabi already could tell it hadn’t been from him, the burns looked like nothing worse than friction burn. He couldn’t see any proof of anything serious, anything that could be tied back to him, so he didn’t necessarily care. But, he was a bit nosy. 

He couldn’t help it. 

“And those wounds,” Dabi pointed to his own clavicle, more interested than concerned to hear the kid’s story. “How’d that happen?” 

“Accident at school,” The kid lied. His movements were robotic, dropping a bloody rag on top of the rest of Dabi’s laundry. The brat was, obviously, uncomfortable with the prodding. 

It only made Dabi want to know more. 

“I can wash my clothes at home, if you’d rather sleep, Sir.” The kid was fidgeting, probably trying to be respectful, but desperately wanting to be able to clean his clothes. 

Dabi couldn’t help but snort at the notion of being called ‘sir’. He was probably ten years older than the kid, maybe even less. He was one-hundred percent, not a sir. 

He waved him off, shaking his head and grabbing the clothes. “Don’t sweat it, kid, even if you left I’d still be up doing my own laundry.” He jerked his head to the bathroom. “There’s some soap underneath the counter, grab it.” 

The kid moved, quickly disappearing into the bathroom and reappearing a few moments later with the soap and a red face. Dabi smiled, amused at the kid’s obedience, it seemed like it was practically engraved into his whole personality.

Maybe he didn’t hate everyone, after all. 

“Won’t your parents be worried about where you’ve been this entire time?” He held the door open for the kid, pretending to not know about the kid’s whole shtick. He was a little curious to see how the kid would react. He wanted to know if anyone really was expecting this kid back. 

“They won’t know.” The kid refused to meet his eyes, deciding to give Dabi nothing to go off of. Now, sure, Dabi wasn’t known for being overly subtle, but even he could see how obvious the kid was making it. 

He accepted the answer, knowing better than to push while they were out in the open. If he kept dogging the kid for answers, he probably would just run off. But, if Dabi waited until they were back in his apartment, the kid would be forced to answer. 

They stayed silent while they walked past a few other residents, making Dabi’s eye twitch every time one of them stared at the kid and then him, trying to figure out how they knew one another. He was used to the stares, to the unwanted attention, but he didn’t want anyone else to see the kid. The kid was something he had to figure out, he had to find out what about a homeless kid who made Dabi take him home and not…hate him. 

At least no one was in the washroom. Dabi’s shoulders unfurled, making him realize for the first time how tense he had been. There was more than a single washer or dryer, but if there were people in the room, he’d have to deal with people staring at his scars. Or worse, they’d distract the kid from Dabi. 

He looked back to the kid, watching as the brat measured out the soap, completely unaware of Dabi’s star. The kid hadn’t spared Dabi’s scars a single horrified or fascinated glance. He didn’t doubt the kid was curious, he probably had questions, but he hadn’t done anything about it. 

It was the closest thing he’d had to a normal interaction since his… accident . 

…

“Let me see those burns.” Dabi hadn’t said anything to the kid after their conversation in the hallway, more than a little irritated at not knowing how to continue questioning the kid. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to know, but he knew he at least wanted to figure out what part of the kid made his subconscious want to save him for no reason. 

So far, nothing stood out about the kid. He was homeless, obviously on the run from someone, but Dabi couldn’t say that he really cared. He wanted answers, and he figured this would be better than shaking the kid until he made it make sense. 

“What?” The kid froze, eyes snapping toward him. 

“Your burns,” Dabi said, deliberately, slow. “Let me see them. I have some cream that can help.” He didn’t wait for the kid’s likely refusal. He stepped into the bathroom, only long enough to grab the burn cream he kept in the top drawer. 

Dabi strolled out of the bathroom, fully expecting to see the kid still standing by the counter with a dumbfounded expression, but found the kid sitting at the couch. His back was to Dabi, but even still, he could see the anxiety coming off the kid in waves. 

The sight made him pause. The kid, obviously, didn’t want to let Dabi so close to him, but he still did as he had been told. The question was why. Why was this kid completely disregarding his feelings and wants? Was it that engraved into this personality? Was he afraid of seeming rude? 

Whatever it was, only made Dabi more desperate to figure out why he even cared. What about this kid interested Dabi? 

Everything . 

“So,” Dabi broke the silence, ignoring the way the kid jumped at the sound of his voice. He sat down next to the kid, turning so that he’d be facing the kid’s back. “You got a fire Quirk, then?” 

“ No, ” The kid’s voice was hard, defensive, almost…harsh. Dabi paused, cream smeared on the kid’s upper arm. The kid seemed to notice Dabi’s disapproval at being talked to like that because in the next moment he, honest to god, shrunk down on himself. 

Dabi blinked, watching as the kid’s whole demeanor changed in a split second. It was fascinating, to say the least. 

“I mean, no,” He whispered, voice much softer this time. “No…no fire Quirk.” 

Dabi hummed, starting to move again. He took his time, rubbing the cream over the kid’s burns and trying to figure out how in the ever-living hell the kid got them. They weren’t horrible, by any means, but obviously painful. There were blisters running up and down the kid’s arms. 

Dabi wouldn’t be surprised if there were more under his shirt, but he chose to ignore that hypothesis. 

The burns weren’t anything like electrical or chemical burns. And they truly didn’t look like he had been burned by fire. At worst, or best, it looked like a thermal or friction burn. 

His eyes drifted to the kid’s scabs. He had seen the ones on his chest, laying like twin marks above his clavicle, but now he found himself even more curious about that injury. It looked like the kid had suffered from some sort of attack that had pierced clean through the muscles that resided right above the clavicle, but that would be unlikely. If the kid had suffered an injury like that, one that was still fresh enough to be scabbed over, then the kid wouldn’t be able to lift his arms let alone carry the soap Dabi had sent him to grab. 

The most likely conclusion was that the kid had been cornered from both sides. It was most likely some sort of Quirk that had caused the injury. 

“Any other burns?” Dabi had already capped the cream, expecting the kid to lie and claim Dabi had attended to them all. A breath later, though, the kid had pulled the tank top up to show more burns on his back. “Oh,” He muttered, trying to act nonchalant. 

The kid was not surprising him. Dabi was an adult, he didn’t get gobsmacked by a single kid. 

“These look…” Dabi’s voice trailed off, eyes sweeping over the physical proof of the kid’s injuries. He had expected, maybe, a few more burns of the same caliber. But, he was staring at the same type of blistering burn from before, and some sort of heavy scarring. “Serious.” 

His eyes tried to make sense of the scars on the kid’s back. It probably was mostly just from living on the streets, right? Why else would the kid be injured? 

“That all,” He asked. 

“Yeah.” The kid stood, turning toward Dabi to grab his shirt. The sight of the kid’s torso made Dabi’s jaw drop open. He froze, eyes trying to discern the shape of the scar that was licking the kid’s side and crawling its way up toward the kid’s sternum. 

“Where did you get that?” Dabi pointed to the star-like explosions on the kid’s body, memories of training rooms and Quirk control making him nauseous. 

“What?” The kid froze, looking down to where Dabi was pointing. The kid’s face screwed up in confusion, staring at the scar as if he had never seen it before. It was intense, Dabi could tell the kid had probably had to spend months healing from that one injury, but the kid looked like he didn’t even recognize it. “I don’t…I don’t know. I don’t remember,” The kid whispered, blinking at the scar. 

It made Dabi uncomfortable, the confusion and lost look in the kid’s eyes. 

Who got hurt that badly but then completely forgot about it? 

“Everything okay at home,” He asked, mostly to break the kid out of whatever trance the scars had put him under. 

“Everything is fine,” The kid answered quickly, more focused on the tears that he was trying to wipe away. Dabi looked away, quickly, ignoring the confused expression the kid had at the idea of crying. 

The kid was a whole jumble of confusion. 

“What’s your name, Sir.” 

Dabi blinked. It was probably the first time the kid had prompted conversation. He smirked, after a moment, being able to recognize a desperate need for a distraction. “Call me Dabi.” 

“Call me Akatani, then.” Dabi almost laughed, assuming the kid was also lying about his name. Every time he thought he was getting comfortable with Akatani, the kid went and did something else to spark Dabi’s interest.

“Akatani, then,” Dabi agreed, standing up and tossing the crumpled tanktop back at the kid. “So your parents, then. If nothing is going on at home, why aren’t they worried sick that you aren’t there?” The kid was slowly trailing after him, trying to not make it obvious. 

“They wouldn’t know I’m out, right now.” Akatani avoided Dabi’s incredulous stare. The kid’s green eyes were locked onto the floor, staring at tiles in the kitchen like they were sooo interesting. 

“Huh,” He finally said, watching the kid out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t force the kid to give him all the answers, unfortunately. So, he had to get the kid to trust him enough to tell him everything. 

How long would that take, though? 

“You hungry?” 

“No.” Akatani’s stomach rumbled. 

That was enough to make Dabi laugh, pulling out a few leftovers from a restaurant that was no longer up and running. They had been open a few days ago, but now…they were officially out of business. Their reputation had burned to the ground if you would. 

He tossed one into the microwave, letting it warm up before he heated the second one. “Well damn,” He sighed dramatically. “I just heated up two servings of food. Accident.” 

The kid’s face was screwed up in confusion as if he couldn’t understand Dabi. 

That made two of them, it seemed. 

“How is that an accident?” Akatani narrowed his eyes at the microwave. “I just watched you-” 

“Hey,” Dabi interrupted, setting the warmed leftovers in front of the kid. “It could happen to anyone.” 

Akatani stared at the food, eyes jumping from the noodles and then to Dabi and back like he wasn’t sure if this was a test. It was amusing, that much, Dabi could admit.

What was the saying, don’t feed strays? 

Well, Dabi had never been good at following rules. 

The kid didn’t move a muscle as Dabi started to eat. He ignored the kid, just enjoying the food, trying to figure out a way to get the kid to eat. If the kid ate, he’d slowly trust Dabi. If he trusted Dabi, he’d finally be able to understand why Akatani interested him so much. 

“Laundry,” Dabi said through a mouthful of food. He set the container down, raising a brow at Akatani. “You stay here, I’ll be right back. Gotta switch the load.” He didn’t wait for the kid’s response before he stepped out of the apartment with a grin on his face. 

It was less than two minutes later before he was back. To his surprise, Akatani had started to eat, chopsticks freezing in the air when Dabi stepped through the door. The kid looked shocked like he wasn’t sure if he was still allowed to eat while Dabi was there. 

“To your taste?” He locked the door, turning away from the kid and hearing the sound of Akatani shoveling more food into his mouth with a hum. He had the door locked now, the kid showered, was eating, and would probably be feeling extremely grateful toward Dabi. 

As he should, and all that. 

“What were you doing out so late, yesterday?” Dabi finally turned back to the kid, done with pretending like he had been oh so busy . He had realized the kid was never actually attempting to break into His Mansion when the kid had literally knocked himself unconscious. 

“Yesterday?” Akatani blinked, turning his head toward the closed windows. “Wha- wait, I actually slept for twelve hours? What time is it?” 

“A little after eight,” Dabi supplied, jabbing a thumb to the analog clock hung on the wall. 

“Pm,” The kid asked, already knowing the answer. Akatani groaned, fingers digging into his hair and pulling. Hard. 

“Hey,” Dabi snapped, eyes narrowing at the kid’s outburst. “Don’t fuck up my handiwork.” 

“Right, right. Sorry.” The kid ducked his head, fingers slipping from his hair and dropping to his side. “I didn’t mean to mess it up.” 

Dabi sighed, almost feeling bad for making the kid feel so guilty. He brushed it off, though, shaking his head. “You never answered my question, though.” 

The kid looked like he was torn between being honest with Dabi and continuing with whatever story he had been trying to sell all night. “Running away from Eraserhead.” 

Dabi blinked, tilting his head to the side to size the kid up. He knew about underground Heroes? He rolled his eyes, though, at the blatant lie. He couldn’t say he was all that surprised by Akatani’s choice to lie. “Surprised you know who he is.” 

“He’s one of my favorite heroes.” There was a sour look on the kid’s face, almost as if he was beginning to see how horrible most heroes in their society were. Still, horrible heroes aside, Dabi found the answer acceptable. There were worse heroes to like. 

“One of?” Dabi couldn’t help the curiosity at the kid’s wording. “Who else do you like?” 

The kid’s face pinched, looking more hesitant than thoughtful. For a horribly long moment, Dabi was convinced Akatani would say Him . “All Might,” The name was whispered. “He…He’s always been my favorite Hero.” 

Dabi nodded, another All Might lover was another fuck you to HIm . “He is a fan favorite, not all that surprising.” What was surprising, though, was the kid being a fan of Eraserhead. Not only did he know about the underground hero, but he most likely knew enough to have the man be one of his favorites.

“Hawks is another one that I really like.” Akatani gave a crooked smile, fingers pulling at each other painfully. 

“Hawks?” Dabi frowned, thinking about the three heroes that the kid liked. He couldn’t see a common denominator between all three of them. “He’s popular, too.” 

“No,” The kid sighed, shaking his head. “Eraserhead, All Might, and Hawks are among very few Heroes that save to win, instead of winning to save.” 

Dabi tilted his head, trying to understand what the kid was saying. 

What was the difference?

They fell into a comfortable silence after that. Akatani returned to eating more of his food until he had half the plate left. The kid pushed the food away, claiming to be full, but Dabi knew better. He had been that kid once, he had been the kid who grew nauseous at the notion of eating all the food he had left. 

Dabi aimlessly scrolled on his phone until his alarm for the laundry went off. He gave a quiet be right back when he went to grab the load from the dryer. 

“Thank you,” Akatani muttered, ears red as he took his clothes back from Dabi. He made a move to go to the bathroom, to change back into his own clothes before Dabi held a hand up, stopping him in his tracks. 

“Let me cover those burns again.” Dabi jerked his head back to the couch. “We’ll wrap it before you put your shirt on.” 

Akatani blinked, eyes sliding past Dabi’s face to look at his own burns that Dabi had attended to earlier with the burn cream. By now, the cream had dried into the kid’s skin, leaving nothing behind but a slight discoloration in certain lighting. The kid blinked at the burns as if he had hardly noticed them. “Oh, okay.” 

Dabi nodded, moving to the couch and situating himself toward Akatani so that he’d be able to apply the cream comfortably. He made sure to keep his movements slow so that he wouldn’t scare the kid off. He had managed to learn a lot more about the kid while they had waited for the laundry, but he still felt greatly disappointed at not knowing why he was interested in the kid. 

“So,” He started off, slowly, just wanting to tease the kid. “On the run from an underground hero? You have an agility quirk or something?” It was a joke, just to poke fun at the kid’s tall tale. 

Though, Akatani flexed his fingers, eyes gaining a distant look in them. “No.” His face was pinched together like Dabi had gotten close to…something. The realization that the kid had been telling the truth made Dabi pause in his ministrations. 

He wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to respond to that, not sure how he was supposed to broach the topic of a kid his age (like twelve) being on the run from a hero. Why would he be running from a hero? 

Was he a criminal? 

The thought was enough to almost make him laugh. The kid looked like a literal puppy, a really beat-up puppy, but a puppy nonetheless.  

“So the injuries?” He closed the cream, carefully moving, afraid anything he’d say would set the kid off. 

“School.” The kid’s voice was clipped. Akatani hardly seemed angry though. Yeah, his hands were clenched at his sides, gripping his bag tightly, but his eyes were bouncing around the room. He looked ready to run. 

“And home?” The kid inhaled, and Dabi leaned back. “You don’t have to answer, but I can’t really let a kid go off to an abusive home-” 

“You aren’t.” Akatani was as stiff as a board, seemingly worried about what could happen next. 

It hit Dabi, suddenly, that the kid was going to leave and he wouldn’t be able to learn more about Akatani. If Akatani left, he wouldn’t be able to explain why Dabi was so… invested in this random kid.

“Or…” Dabi moved his hands into the kid’s eyesight. “Send a kid out to the streets.” 

It was minuscule, but the kid might have well nodded. “You don’t need to worry.” 

Dabi shrugged. “You’re right, I don’t.” He stared, green eyes staring back. “But I can. And you can stay here.” The words had left his mouth before he had even thought of the idea, nearly making him stagger. Letting a random kid live with him was a recipe for disaster. 

The kid’s fingers were drumming a pattern on his own legs. “Why?” 

He sighed, he was really itching for that cigarette right now. It was too late to back out now, too late to tell the kid that he wasn’t exactly sure why he had offered it in the first place. “I was on my own as a kid and didn’t have anyone to help me.” 

Akatani seemed to genuinely be confused. “Would you have taken the help?” 

“Probably not? Maybe?” He was fucking exhausted, but he knew he never would have taken the help. “Look you don’t owe me anything kid, I don’t want anything back. But it has to be better than eating old chips and washing your clothes in water fountains.” 

The kid frowned. “But I….” He stopped, chewing on his bottom lip, looking at Dabi like he was almost looking through him. “I-okay, I’d like that.” 

“Great.” Dabi clapped his hands together, the sound seeming to snap the kid out of whatever he was thinking. “Let me grab some blankets, and you can crash out here.” 

The relief was instant on the kid’s face, and Dabi vaguely wondered when the last time the kid had been able to sleep on something that wasn’t the floor. He almost offered his bed, but he really didn’t want the kid’s blood to get all over his shit if the kid’s head injury or frankly any of his other injuries decided they wanted to be a problem. And it wasn’t like he could trust the kid to not go through his shit. 

“We’ll figure out the rest later.” A look crossed Akatanki’s face, but it was gone as soon as it came. Dabi almost expected the kid to argue, and question his kindness, but he nodded. 

“Thank you.” Dabi wasn’t sure what the kid was exactly thanking him for but he didn’t need it. 

“Don’t sweat it.” He grabbed some blankets, and an old pillow Dabi hadn’t gotten to throwing out yet. “Can you make up the couch yourself?”

“Of course,” Akatani’s voice was soft, but he was smiling softly at Dabi’s ratty old couch. 

“Okay,” Dabi watched as the kid did as told, the blankets engulfing him. In the dark, he could only see the bandage around the kid’s head. “G’night, Dabi.” 

“Night, Akatani.” He grabbed the handle, nodding to the kid. “Sleep well.” 

…

Notes:

OKAY WHAT DID WE THINK?!

I had a lot of worry for this chapter, ngl. It's really hard to write Dabi because I kind of wanted to make it completely obvious from the beginning that he isn't a good guy. Originally, it was going to be a plot twist, but unless I wanted to do a one-eighty on his character, this made the most sense.

Also, how do y'all feel about the Akatani name? I always imagine there are a few checklists that have to be in my fics: Akatani (name drop), It's your power, Hosu(Stain and Izuku being labeled a true hero), Problem Child, Eri, and Dagobah Beach. Oh, and the complex and mindboggling Bkdk relationship -- whether it is platonic or romantic it's the same.

Anywho, hope y'all enjoyed this! Please keep an eye out for the next update: April 1st!

Lemme know what y'all think in the comments, I love reading and replying to them <3

 

PS. THIS IS CRYSTAL JEMMS SISTER, HI. YESTERDAY, MARCH 12TH WAS THEIR BIRTHDAY!!!!! THEY JUST TURNED 21 YAAASS!! SO MAKE SURE TO TELL THEM HAPPY BDAY IN THE COMMENTS! Okay, love yall mwah.

Chapter 8: Meow

Summary:

Stay with me, fazgang

- April fools

Notes:

Happy April first!

Izuku Himdoriya had woken up to the sun in his eyes.

It had taken a solid three seconds before he had shot up off the couch, head swiveling from side to side to try and find Dopey. When there had been no sight of the man, izuku grabbed his clothes and stuffed them into his bag and made his escape.

He originally had planned on leaving once Dobby fell asleep. He shouldn’t be surprised that he fell sleep though. He still felt exhausted,, but he couldn’t afford to waste another moment feeding into his stupid desires like sleep.

Heh guess thats just how it is for tough guys like deku the vigilante…

Izuku rub the back of his neck, dang he really should’ve taken Derby up on his offer to live with him. But anyway he couldn’t risk making Dummy mad and izuku just is not like other girls and hes sure Dingy wouldn’t like that. But he knew that if he said no Doubty would get mad so he had to say yes to stay. and originally he wanted to leave immediately but he knew Dorky wouldn’t let him so he wanted to wait till he fell asleep but it takes a lot of energy to be so petite.

Every day at least half of his energy goes into being so small and trying to make it through the world. Which made him fall asleep and only woke up because the sun was rising.

He did feel a little bad, however why would Dainty be leave izuku alone without knowing what kind of person he truly was? What is izuku was the alpha what if he pissed all over dobbies bed while he was gone?

Now stay with me fazgang!

An hour and 40 minutes later izuku stumbles off the bus in Mustafu. After practically running away from Ditsty‘s place he decided his best bet would be go to a place familiar to him. Now all he had to do was try and figure out how to get to okinawa. Izuku figured it would be best to hang around near the train station until the next train departs in two hours, but not close enough to be suspect. 

He found a small park that he used to go to as a kid, before his mom died and left him all alone. He sat on a bench and shivered trying to ignore his hunger pains.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a movement. he felt his shoulders tense and he really hoped he wasn’t about to get arrested or worse. Keeping his head straight he let his eyes flick over just once before he did a double take, it was just a small rabbit. he felt the tension bleed away from him.

The rabbit seem really skittish. Izuku peered at it.

Izuku looked up at the sun and notice it was in a different spot than when he first got at the park, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to deduce how long hed been there. He turned to start rummaging through his bag to find his old watch, when the rabbit suddenly made a rather loud squeaking noise. Izukus head whipped over to look at it expecting to see it already be sprinting away. What he wasn’t expecting was to see the rather small rabbit holding his watch. He felt his eyes widen and his breath hitch.

“What the…” Izuku asked him self. The rabbits tiny paw clutching the wrist ban of his watch, slowly extended as if offering it to him. Izuku looked around before looking back down at the rabbit seeing it’s a little paw still extended. Slowly izuku put his bag on the floor and stood as to not startle the little rabbit. 

Izuku lowered himself to a crouch and held his arm out to the rabbit as if to accept the watch, however the small creature jerked back suddenly. Izuku fearing the creature running away with his only way to tell time shot forward. The rabbit turned and hightailed it.

Izuku leaving his bag behind shot after the rabbit. As they were nearing the edge of the park izuku tried to throw himself over the grass to catch the rabbit, but barely missed. While izuku was scrambling out of the dirt and dusting his pants off the rabbit dove under a bush. Izuku felt Hopless as he knew there was only a riverbed behind that bush. After all he used to hide behind that very bush when he was being chased by bullies as a kid.

In a last ditch effort izuku dropped to his knees and lifted the bottom branches of the bush. he felt his breath hitch as he saw not the water he was expecting behind but rather a large hole. Izuku felt Hope fill his chest as he realized he may have found the rabbits burrow which means his watch was probably right below his feet. If he could fit in he could probably get his watch, get out, and still make it in time to catch the train to Okinawa.

Izuku took one last look back to his bag to make sure it was still on the floor where he had left it. Taking a big breath izuku lifted the branches again and started to shimmy himself down the hole.

Expecting a sharp curve leading back to where his bag was izuku felt confused when he lifted his knees and felt only dirt. It was on all sides it seemed. It seemed maybe this was a tad deeper of a hole then he was expecting.

Izuku felt tears brim his eyes as he started letting the frustration take him over. Somehow this rabbit came and took his watch from him, he didn’t have very many material things left in this world to his name. And worse this was a genuinely important thing, especially today. And not only that the rabbit somehow manages to escape him, izuku foolishly enough let his hopes up that he can crawl in a hole and get The watch back…like an idiot. Maybe izuku isn’t izuku himdoriya :(

Izuku takes a breath in and prepares to pull himself back out of the hole and take the L. However the ground is soft and as he clenches his fingers and prepares to pull himself up the very dirt he’s holding starts to crumble under his fingers. Izuku feels a lurch of fear in his chest not knowing just how deep this Hole goes. In a last ditch effort to not fall down a hidden hole in a hidden bush in a hidden park, izuku tries to move his fingers to a different patch of dirt, he ends up accidentally grabbing the roots of the bush, giving himself a splinter. Hissing as he pulled his hand back due to the pain, unintentionally giving into the fall.

...

Izuku feels wind rusteling his hair and opens his eyes. Wait that’s not right, his hair is not moving so much as a standing on end as if there were no gravity. But he looks at the floor that his hands are touching, clearly that’s not right. Izuku sits up and take stock of his surroundings.

Just where is he?

Izuku notices on the ceiling a table. Wait… there’s a table… On the ceiling. Izuku gets to wobbly feet looking around trying to see where he can find his way out. When suddenly he feels a lurch in his stomach.

Suddenly he falls but not back to the very ground he was just standing on but rather to the ceiling. Izuku gets his bearings and makes his way to his feet again and take stock. this time things seem to make a bit more sense. His eyes widen as he realized that somehow he had woken up on the ceiling of the strange room. 

Izuku can’t help but wonder again just where did he find himself?

Izuku walks over to the table and sees a small snack and a drink. He rolls his eyes knowing better than to eat or drink unattended food. He looks around and sees a few doors. After trying a few of them he starting to feel a bit panicked how did he even end up here he was just chasing a rabbit? Somethings nagging at the back of his brain something a bit familiar about all this.

After trying each door izuku succomes to his suspicion that he’s going to have to wait for someone to come let him out. So he sits in The farthest part of the room away from the doors and waits.

As he sits there he starts to feel drowsy, his earlier exhaustion overtaking him. Without quite realizing izuku succumbs to sleep.

...

Blearly blinking Izuku lift his head expecting to find that strange man’s apartment. Izuku had not been expecting the strange room with all the locked doors to be real. After a moment of panic he slowly stands up and decides to try the doors again. After the final door handle remained firmly locked, izuku rested his head against the wood and let a few tears fall. 

After all God gives his hardest battles to izuku

Izuku returns to take another look at the table feeling his stomach rumble yet again. Usually he’s pretty good at ignoring the hunger pains, but there’s food right there and there’s no one around. Izuku walks up to see just what the snack and drink even are.

Each item seems to have a small label hanging off the side. Izuku lifts the small square shaped desert to read the label. he lets out a startled laugh as the only thing written on the paper is eat me. He sets his sights on the drink next. Seeing similarly, drink me.

Izuku takes a quick glance around the room before smacking his dry lips and throwing back what appears to be water.

However uh oh!!

Izuku feels that familiar gut lurch and looked toward the ceiling in fear that he’s going to be thrown again. However strangely enough it seems like he’s going farther away from the ceiling. When izuku feels the shoulder of his jacket slip off he looks down and notices he seems to be… Shrinking. His jacket seems to be the only thing that didn’t shrink with him. But that just might be because he’s a minor.

He crawls out of the mountain of a jacket and takes a look around the room from this angle. Now he notices a small curtain, how in the world he didn’t notice it before is beyond me. 

Izuku gets up and walks for about five minutes over to the curtain. He peels back the heavy drapes and notices a door just big enough for him to fit through. If Izuku didn’t know any better he would think he was supposed to drink that and get through here. Taking a breath and holding it, he tries the handle, only to feel white hot anger course through him as this handle along with all the others in this godforsaken room are locked.

Izuku sinks to the floor and cries, head in hands gut wrenching sobs. 

Blinking open crusty eyes izuku realized he had cried himself to sleep on the strange unfamiliar floor. Like damn how many times does this bitch take a nap during the day. Izuku feeling a bone deep exhaustion despite just sleeping can only commit to sitting not fully standing up.

Izuku lazily glances around the room not quite expecting anything different after all who knows how long he’s been here and yet it all seems to be the same, ignoring the fact that he didn’t even notice the curtain until he shrunk. Izuku hold back a gasp because he notices some thing on the floor underneath the table.

Izuku stands up and marches over to investigate. After about five minutes he makes it to the table, throwing a disgruntled look over to his overly large jacket, he sees a chain. His eyes follow the chain up through to the center of the table where there seems to be a hole and it’s connected. To a key. 

Izuku shoots forward and grabs a hold of the chain and starts tugging with all his might. However it’s all for naught it seems. While izuku was significantly petite before this he is just simply too small to have any effect on the silver chain. Immediately izuku starts climbing the chain fast, and angry.

He feels hot angry tears fall down his face has his hands cramp on his way up to the table. After many pauses, 10 minutes later izuku makes it to the top. Pulling him self through the top of the hole is he looks down through the glass table to see the height at which he just climbed. He feels his stomach turn and briskly looks up. His eyes meet the eat me pastry. Being as petite as he is in this moment. Izuku could make that one pastry last nearly a month. He feels his mouth fill w saliva as he sprints forward to start eating it. Izuku grabs a handful of it and shoves it in his face but as the first bite hit his tongue, he spits it out and makes a face. It’s lemon flavored, God izuku hates lemon flavored pastries.

Angrily strapping the large key to his back, and having to suffer being hungry, izuku starts his trek again down the chain. Halfway down izuku considers, that may be lemon isn’t so bad. No who is he kidding.

Reaching the bottom izuku gives a quick stretch, and starts his trek over to the door. After five minutes, izuku marches up and yank the curtains back with vigor. Holding the large key up to the door izuku feels his stomach drop. How did he not even notice this key is too big for this door. 

Izuku having no other choice he turns to head back to the table. He begins climbing the chain and starts to think of any story books he could remember his mother reading to him before she died and left him all alone. He can faintly remember one about a blonde girl, what was her name again he believed it started with an a oh yes. Aurora. That story was boring. 

Reaching the top now running straight on anger, izuku marched up to the cake realizing that he would have to suffer through eating the lemon pastry. He shoved a few bites in his mouth and made sure to hold on tight to the key as he stretched back up to size. He felt the table crack beneath his feet and gently stepped off back onto the floor. Starting from one end izuku tried the key in all of the doors. And finally it worked in the last one.

Izuku holding his breath turned the knob and pushed the door outward feeling a cool breeze brush his face. He blinked making eye contact with the rabbit from earlier. However he was rather large.

In fact he was larger than Izuku.

Izuku let his eyes trail down the rabbits form in shock, gaze stopping on the watch held in that creatures paw. Feeling the rage and confusion from this horrible no good very bad day, izuku lunged.

Unfortunately he never managed to make the rabbit pay for putting him through this, somehow these 8 foot tall flowers held him back before he could land a single hit on that stupid creatures face. The rabbit did end up returning the watch to him, apologizing over and over saying he mistook izuku for someone else. Izuku pitied whoever that other poor person may be. 

After getting his watch back, he demanded the rabbit show him how to get back home. A tiny mouse with a big attitude told izuku she knew exactly how to get him home. She told him to close his eyes and count to three, which he did. Before he even reached three he felt a sharp pain to the back of his head and nothing more. 

...

Izuku had woken up to the sun in his eyes. He had taken a solid three seconds before Izuku had shot up off the couch, head swiveling from side to side to try and find Dabi. When there had been no sight of the man, Izuku grabbed his clothes stuffing them into his bag, and made his escape.

Notes:

April fools <3 - Crystaljemms' sister

Chapter 9: Blue is Interest

Summary:

"I lied…I am the vigilante, but I’m not Quirkless.” 

Notes:

Here's the real chapter ~

Sorry about the joke, everybody. My sister is obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and really wanted to write a crack chapter for April Fools. It wasn't even planned until I had published chapter seven.

Anyways !!!

This chapter is shortish but soooo important for plot. Hope you all enjoy! <3

Izuku had woken up to the sun in his eyes. It had taken a solid three seconds before Izuku had shot up off of the couch, head swiveling from side to side to try and find Dabi. When there hadn't been any sight of the man, Izuku grabbed his clothes, stuffed them into his bag, and made his escape. 

He never truly meant to fall asleep. He originally had planned on leaving once Dabi fell asleep.  He shouldn’t be surprised that he fell asleep, though. He still felt exhausted, if he were being honest with himself, but he couldn’t afford to waste another moment feeding into stupid desires like sleep. 

When Dabi had offered Izuku a place to stay, Izuku wanted to say no, but he knew better than that. He didn’t know Dabi but he did know how dangerous the man was. Turning down a generous offer like that probably would have made the man fly off the handle. 

Izuku wouldn’t risk that. 

So he had said yes, he had accepted Dabi’s offer, and had planned on hightailing it out of the there moment Dabi went to bed. But that never happened, because he had fallen asleep and woke up only because the sun had been cutting through Dabi’s windows. 

At least he was lucky, he supposed. He had managed to wake up before Dabi did, and managed to escape with all of his own things. 

Izuku did feel a little bad, leaving when the man seemed so genuine, but he couldn’t risk it. Why he would leave Izuku alone without knowing what kind of person he truly was? What if Izuku had been a thief, waiting for the perfect opportunity to steal all of Dabi’s valuables and run? 

Izuku shook the thought away, covering his green hair with the hood of his hoodie, trying to remain inconspicuous. The only problem was that he had no fucking idea where he was. He knew that he sure as hell wasn’t in Musutafu. 

Izuku shivered, wrapping his arms around himself to try and fight the cold winds. He tried to ignore the voice in the back of his mind, demanding that he go back to Dabi’s warm apartment. He refused to, though, knowing better than to pretend like he’d be any safer there than he was right there on the street. 

Izuku didn’t want to find out if the man’s kindness only went as far as if did because he had assumed Izuku had a Quirk. He wasn’t going to start hoping that Dabi would be one of the select few who didn’t seem to care that he was Quirkless. 

There were a few different types of responses a Quirkless person could expect when a Quirked person found out:

One: The Quirked person would see the Quirkless one as something fragile, something that needed to be protected (i.e. a doll or small, defenseless, child). These people would feel obligated to protect Quirkless people, even if the Quirkless person never asked nor wanted that sort of attention or protection. 

Two: The Quirked person would act in a similar fashion to the usual teachers and students that you would expect to see at school. These people would see Quirkless people as something subhuman, as something disgusting, and they would justify their hatred with evolution. 

Three: The Quirked person would see Quirklessness as some sort of novelty. These people would go out of their way to find and befriend Quirkless people because the absurdity of Quirklessness interested them so much. 

And four: The Quirked person would see Quirklessness as nothing more than just a label. These people wouldn’t care about someone not having a Quirk, in the same ways they didn’t care about someone having one. 

The fourth group was something rare to find. Not because everyone else was one of the first three, but because most people who fell under the first three categories had originated from the fourth one. Most of the time, people didn’t care until they did. 

Izuku had never been able to understand that, he didn’t understand how people like Katsuki could go from not caring that Izuku was Quirkless to despising Deku. Because…there had been a time when Katsuki had cared about him even knowing that Izuku would never get a Quirk. 

Izuku didn’t care how Dabi would have reacted to finding out that Izuku was Quirkless. 

He didn’t.

At the end of the day, it wouldn’t even matter. He had a bus to catch and a forty-two-hour ride to Okinawa. At least, it was that long if he was still in Musutafu. He’d just have to figure out where the hell he was so that he could make his way back to Musutafu. 

If he could have easily jumped on a bus out of wherever he was to Okinawa he would do it, but with a ticket already bought, he had to make his way back to Musutafu so that he’d be able to leave for Okinawa by three pm. 

So where the hell did Dabi live? 

He knew Endeavor lived a little outside of Musutafu, so with that, Izuku knew that Dabi would have to have lived relatively close to be able to carry Izuku all the way back without anyone noticing, right?  It had been in the middle of the night, though. That meant that Dabi could have walked for a whole hour without someone seeing him with an unconscious kid over his shoulder. 

Izuku walked past a morning jogger, ducking his head further and pulling at the lip of his hood, afraid that his hair was somehow peeking out. He made sure not to aggravate his injury any further, just trying his best to seem as unassuming as he could. 

Not many other people were out, so he managed to find a bus stop without having to worry about getting noticed. The sign at the bus stop read the different times specific buses would pass through that stop. He froze the moment his eyes registered the city name at the top of the sign. 

Naruhata. 

Izuku was in Naruhata. 

Naruhata was close to a two-hour drive from Musutafu, and Izuku was there when he was supposed to be in Musutafu by three pm. 

Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, inhaling deeply and exhaling before he’d do something stupid like scream at the absurdity of it all. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself, and if he just kept his head down, no one would even look his way. Izuku would just have to stuff all that rage that mirrored Katsuki’s own so far down so that it wouldn’t make its way out. 

So he was in Naruhata, which was so far from Musutafu. Perfect . 

He didn’t even want to begin to think about how Dabi had walked from Endeavor’s Mansion to Naruhata without being caught, so he didn’t. 

Izuku shoved those thoughts down and looked back to the sign, trying to discern when the bus would come. It was Thursday, so the first bus would have passed through a little after seven am. Izuku frowned, eyeing the sky. It was definitely after seven, probably even after eight. He had to get to Musutafu sooner rather than later.

He was cutting it pretty close, almost certain that by the time he would make it to Musutafu’s bus center, he’d have to run for the first bus that he had reserved a seat for. 

He looked back to the list, reading the times after eight am and finding that the bus most likely to come next was the forty-six at nine-fifteen in the morning. Izuku had never really taken buses before, he used to walk everywhere or take the subway with his mom or the Bakugous, so he wasn’t exactly sure if Musutafu had a bus route for forty-six.

But what other choice did he have? 

He waited until the bus pulled in front of him, doors opening, and making his stomach tie itself in knots. He was nervous, he realized. He was terrified that this wasn’t going to work, that he was going to get caught, and that he’d end up right back where he started. 

“Getting on?” The driver raised a brow at Izuku, looking more tired than irritated. 

“Does this bus go to Musutafu?” 

The driver blinked, nodding his head. “Yeah, it’ll be close to an hour, though. First time on the bus?” 

“Yeah,” Izuku breathed out, hesitating for just a moment before he stepped inside, allowing the doors to close behind him. 

…

An hour and forty minutes later, Izuku tumbled out of the bus at the first stop he had recognized as Musutafu.

“Close to an hour my ass,” Izuku muttered to himself, watching the bus continue on it’s route toward Musutafu’s bus station. Izuku screwed his eyes closed, breathing deeply in an attempt to wrestle that familiar rage he always associated with Katsuki. 

Never again would he take a bus, if he could help it. It had been crowded and he had to sit next to strangers who obviously had no idea what boundaries or personal space meant. 

He was nowhere near the train station, not wanting to spend one more moment stuck on that bus with his face smushed against the window. He was used to bad smells, living on the street for three years would do that, but there was something significantly worse about being trapped with the stench of other people on a bus for over an hour. 

Once he got to Okinawa, he’d try his best to never take a bus again. 

Izuku ducked into an alleyway, moving through the alleyways behind and between buildings like it was second nature. At this point, it probably was. 

He grew up in Musutafu, so of course he was familiar with the city. He knew the city like the back of his hand because it had been important to his survival to learn anything he could. The project he did as a kid kickstarted his knowledge, sure, but that never helped him in terms of not getting caught. 

Part of it, a large part of it, had always been luck. Izuku knew that, but he also knew that he had spent a long, long , time researching and observing patrol routes for Heroes and police. If he didn’t want to get put back into foster care, he’d have to know the areas he was supposed to avoid. 

He didn’t know any of that for Okinawa. All he knew about Okinawa was where the closest shelter and library were in relation to the metro station. Once he finally made it there, he’d have to spend a few days researching, learning, watching, and building his knowledge about patrol routes, and crime spots, and find a play to stay. 

It was hard to get patrol routes. Izuku always started with basic patterns, paying attention to where heroes usually were and how often the public saw them. It was harder to find patrol routes for heroes like Eraserhead, Rock Lock, or Ms. Joke. He usually had to spend days, if not weeks stalking every Reddit page or Discord channel to find what everyone knew about Heroes in the area. If it were easy to learn patrol routes, villains and criminals everywhere would learn them so they could avoid being caught. 

He was going to have to relearn everything in Okinawa. It would be hard, but not impossible. 

Izuku had looped Eraserhead’s capture weapon over his shoulders. Izuku was slightly surprised at how well it worked as a scarf, fighting off the cold. So Eraserhead was probably a practical guy – that meant he probably walked around with his Capture Weapon while he was off the clock. 

Izuku’s hands itched at his side, desperately wanting to write it down. 

He used the now-glorified scarf to cover part of his face. It worked well to protect him from the cold and to hide his recognizable face. The scarf smelled like Dabi’s laundry detergent and coffee. Izuku was pleasantly surprised to find there had been no blood left on the Capture Weapon. Now, it was just a scratchy scarf. 

Izuku buried his nose into it, making his way out of the alleyway, and walking with the crowd toward the train station. He was only about a block away, but the quiet thrumming anxiety he had been feeling since he had woken up, came back a lot stronger. His stomach was in knots, his throat was dry, and he felt so close to puking. 

It would have been easier to stay on the bus until he made it to the station, but Izuku was afraid of two things. One, staying on that goddamn bus. Two, getting off at the station and being surrounded by police and Heroes. 

It was unlikely, highly unlikely, but Izuku always wanted a fallback. He always needed to be prepared to do something extreme. With walking, he would be able to notice the police before they noticed him. 

Right?

He did stop, for just a moment to think about Dabi. He wondered what living with another person would be like, again. He wondered what it would be like to know someone who didn’t purposely scare him or harm him. He shoved that thought down, burying his nose deeper into Eraserhead’s scarf. He couldn’t live with Dabi. He had just met the guy, he had run away the first moment he could, and it looked like Dabi had his own demons he had been running from. 

Izuku didn’t want to get caught up in all that. 

Izuku stopped a street from the station, tossing his school books and unneeded supplies into a random dumpster, and keeping his hero masks in his pant pockets. His bus ticket was in his there too; only the necessities and Hero masks were kept, while everything else was thrown away. 

“Aw,” A voice tore Izuku’s attention from the sight of the train station a couple of dozen meters away. He looked to the opposite end of the street, eyes trying to find who was talking for some reason. “I hope they find him soon.” 

Izuku nearly froze when he found the girl who spoke. She was sitting outside a cafe, a few meters in front of Izuku, with two other teenagers. Izuku recognized Mirio immediately, but he couldn’t force his feet to move. He was standing there, frozen, as people had to move around him. 

The girl was stirring her straw, trying to drink from her empty cup. There was a dark-haired guy sitting next to her, not even blinking when the girl stole his cup and switched it with her empty one. Izuku didn’t recognize either of them, but he definitely recognized Mirio. 

It didn’t take a genius to realize that the other two older teens were Yuuei students, too. They were all lounging at the table, drinking and talking, but there was some sort of tension that surrounded their table. Izuku could see the way they looked prepared to start fighting at a moment’s notice. 

Izuku sized the three of them up, face burning with the realization that he would never be like them. He’d never be able to interest All Might in the same way that Mirio had. 

Mirio was just staring at his drink, almost as if he were stuck in his own world, completely oblivious to his friend’s trading worried looks.

“He was that little kid you met at Dagobah, right?” The girl propped her chin on her hand, sighing. 

“Yeah,” Mirio sighed, lifting his head. Izuku quickly moved to the side, hiding behind a bus stop shelter, so that he’d still be able to hear the conversation. 

“He must have been something super-duper special for you to talk to All Might about him, right?” The girl spoke again, stirring her new drink with her straw. “Didn’t you also tell Sir about him?” 

Sir? Izuku blinked, eyes widening in a slow realization of who she was referencing. 

“Yeah!” Mirio seemed more enthusiastic, sitting up a bit straighter. 

Izuku’s jaw dropped, staring through the darkened glass of the bus stop shelter at Mirio. He had told Sir Nighteye, the only person who had ever sidekicked for All Might, about Izuku?

“Izuku is really smart, like Sir-level smart. He had realized I was a Yuuei student training under All Might without me saying a word about it. I’m pretty sure he even realized the drawbacks to my quirk, using those against me when he ran off. And, he had been able to delay the search party for him because we all thought he was slowly being crushed to death!” 

Izuku cringed, not sure if he was more embarrassed about his stunt or about Mirio telling his friends about it. 

“Whoa,” The girl whispered, eyes wide. 

“He managed to get out, though.” The other kid, finally spoke up, voice timid. “We’ll find him. Isn’t that why we’re here?” 

What? 

Izuku watched the other boy give Mirio a small, reassuring, pat.

“Yeah,” Mirio breathed out, giving the other boy a smile. “Aizawa-Sensei found out I was looking for Izuku, too. Apparently, Sensei had already ran into Izuku, before. He is working on the case, right now, and some family friend of Izuku’s told him that he’d try to leave the city.” Mirio tapped his cheek, taking a sip from his cup before his friend could try and steal his drink, too . 

“But I’m thirsty,” She whined. 

“There are a few officers already waiting at the station,” Mirio spoke, grinning at the girl. “Sir found Izuku buying some tickets to Okinawa on Tuesday. The bus is supposed to leave at three pm, today. If he isn’t here, then they are going to talk to the police in Okinawa.” 

They knew where he was going, they knew his fallback, and they were going to catch him. He was on the run from how many Heroes now? There was no way he’d get out of there without being put back into foster services. 

“I believe in all of them,” Mirio said, words already getting drowned out by the blood rushing to Izuku’s ears. “But I couldn’t just wait and do nothing.” 

Izuku staggered back, bumping into strangers, nearly tripping over himself in his haste to run away. 

If he had been paying attention, Izuku would have realized he had forgotten to pick his backpack off the ground. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed the police cruiser slowing down when a kid started stumbling into strangers on a crowded sidewalk. If he had been focusing on anything other than Mirio, he would have realized that running only made people look. 

But of course, Izuku didn’t realize any of this. He was panicked, tired, and still very much hurt. All he could think about was that Mirio was looking for Izuku. Katsuki or Mitsuki told this Aizawa person, that he had never run into, that he would leave the city. 

His fallback fell through. He needed another plan. He could always take another train, but then who's to say that there aren’t people looking for him there too? 

“Midoriya Izuku?” Izuku’s eyes widened, he had stumbled, practically giving away that it was him to the police. 

He felt a hand grab onto his laundry bag, forcing him to stop. After the mugging and now this, Izuku was never going to wear his laundry bag on his back again. It was like a cape, it kept getting him caught. 

“Come on, kid.” Izuku looked up, meeting the officer’s eyes. He panicked, slipping his arms from the bag straps. He had to get out of here. All his money, clothes, and food were in that bag, but losing it was better than being caught. 

Anything was better than being caught.

The moment he was free from his laundry bag, he ran. He didn’t stop running when he heard the cop fall from the sudden loss of weight, he didn’t stop running when he heard someone chasing him, and he didn’t stop running even when he knew he lost them. 

He just kept running. 

It was all he could do. 

…

Ever since Izuku was a kid, he never had been able to grasp time in the same way everyone else could. For him, minutes felt like hours while days felt like seconds, and he always felt like he was grappling to keep his head above water. 

Right then, he felt like he was drowning. 

The sun had set, making it dark out. The day had passed Izuku in a blur, only realizing that the sun was not out when the rain had started. He didn’t even have the energy to care about the raindrops wetting his hair and soaking him to the bone without the protection of his hoodie. 

He had trashed it the moment he felt safe enough to stop running. Izuku hadn’t even thought about the repercussions of not having something to cover his hair or something to keep him warm, all he knew was that the Heroes and police knew that he was using a black hoodie to hide in plain sight. He had torn it off, stuffing it into the nearest garbage he could find, and then ran in a different direction. 

He didn’t want to lead the Heroes to him. If they ended up finding his hoodie, it’s only logical to assume he had continued in that direction. So, he went the other way. 

But then it got dark and he was losing his mind because he didn’t have anything . 

All his money was gone. 

All his clothes were gone. 

All his food, water, and containers were gone. 

All his medical supplies were gone. 

And he still didn’t know what time it was, because his mom’s watch was now gone. 

Gone forever. 

The only thing that the police didn’t seem to have were his Hero Masks. The realization made Izuku feel a bit hysterical. The only thing he hadn’t lost were the only things that would out him as The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. 

Maybe he did have a quirk, after all, something like bad luck. It would explain everything. How many times had he gotten injured in the last week? How many times had he stressed his body to the point of exhaustion? 

Bad luck. The idea was laughable because Izuku didn’t have bad luck, he was Bad Luck. 

In less than a week, he had his dreams crushed by All Might, met Eraserhead, had to be on the run from the police as Midoriya Izuku, and now he was sick. 

It was a little pathetic, Izuku thought. Going through everything, fighting tooth and nail to stay free, just to get sick when he needed to be at the top of his game? 

He could feel his body fighting the sickness. His eyes felt heavy like they were in the process of being glued together. His throat was scratchy and he couldn’t stop shivering. He felt, and probably looked, like shit. He felt hot all over. His face was pressed against a street light pole, relishing in the slight reprieve of feeling hot. 

He hardly knew where he was, but he could recognize Naruhata well enough to figure out where he was subconsciously heading. He only knew Dabi for a day, but he still took better care of Izuku than anyone had since his mom. 

He wouldn’t have to stay with him for long, just until his fever broke. Hopefully, by then the Heroes and police would have stopped looking for Izuku. He could stay in Naruhata until he saved up enough to leave, and then he’d be on his way to Okinawa. 

Kami, his head was killing him. 

Someone grabbed Izuku’s arm. The motion made him stagger, half falling, and his knees hit the pavement, hard . The entire ordeal made his nausea a million times worse. 

“You run into us and can’t even apologize?” Izuku turned his head, to find who spoke. There were two guys with bright pink hair. 

Twins , Izuku’s mind helpfully supplied. 

“Well?” The guy tightened his grip on Izuku’s arm, shaking it. 

Izuku immediately realized that he didn’t even remember what the guy’s question had been. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling on the verge of sobbing. He was so tired, his entire body was hurting, he was scared, and he didn’t even know who these guys were and why they were so upset with him. “Let me go,” He whined, trying and utterly failing to free his arm. 

“Maybe he’s high,” One supplied to the other, making Izuku snort. A few nights ago he had been high from that villain’s quirk. Right then, he was just pathetically sick.

“High?” Izuku’s brows furrowed, confused about how they forgot about him being high the other night. “You’re high, ‘m not high,” He replied, petulantly. 

The guy let go of Izuku’s arm, and without someone supporting his weight, he face-planted into the concrete. 

“Mother fucker.” He could taste blood, the usual feeling of pain making him feel just slightly more aware. 

“The hell you just call us?” Izuku didn’t move, groaning. The floor was cold, if he could he’d probably kiss it. 

“I wasn’t talkn to you.” Izuku’s eyes slipped shut. “Not ev’rything ‘s ‘bout you.” 

“This kid has a death wish.” That was the one who hadn’t been holding him.  

Izuku snorted, the action causing his bruised ribs from the villain a couple of nights before to twinge in pain. “Yeah. You’re ‘marter than you seem.” 

He was so out of it, that he didn’t see the problem with his response until he heard a crunch. It took a second, but the moment pain exploded from his right hand, he opened his mouth in a silent scream. 

He tried to move, hand still stuck under the guy’s foot. 

“Ready to apologize yet, kid?” Izuku hissed when the guy started grinding his foot into Izuku’s hand. 

“Shit, shit, shit.” Izuku felt hysteric. Could he not catch a fucking break? “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” He definitely felt aware of his surroundings now. He lifted his head slightly, trying so hard to seem sincere.  

“And?” 

“Abi!” The one from behind Izuku hissed out. “He’s a kid, man.” 

“Shuddup, Doi.” The guy swiveled his foot again, drawing a pained gasp from Izuku. 

“I-I didn’t mean to run into you!” He could taste blood from biting his tongue to hold back from saying anything that would make his situation worse. 

“Abi he apologized already!” Using Doi’s distraction, Izuku slipped his free hand into his pocket, grabbing Eraserhead’s knife. 

“Yeah well, his kind pisses me off!” Izuku tensed, eyes sliding to his now bright red shoes – courtesy of the rain cleaning off the soot from Dagobah.

Not giving either brother a chance to make another move, Izuku dug the dagger into the meat of Abi’s calf. He wasn’t left-handed, and he could only hope he hadn’t just stabbed Abi in his artery. 

The moment Abi staggered back, Izuku shuffled back to his feet. He pulled out the last dagger, eyes narrowed at both brothers. He threw his back against the nearest wall, making sure both of them were in his sight. The blunt side of the blade rested against his forearm, making him shiver even more.

“What the fuck!” Doi went to pull the dagger out, but Abi stopped him, eyes cutting to Izuku. 

“Don’t pull it out, dumbass!” Doi looked back to Izuku, face twisted in a scowl. 

Izuku bared his teeth, probably looking more like a wet cat than anything else. “If you get him to a hospital quickly, they can figure out what kind of poison is laced in that knife.” 

“Poison!?” Abi looked sick. 

Good. 

“Shit, come on man, let’s go.” Doi hefted Abi up, glaring at Izuku. Izuku returned it, back against the wall of the alley, watching the brothers until they were out of sight. 

The moment they were gone, all of the fight in Izuku’s body vanished. He felt boneless, but obviously being outside was more dangerous right now than he originally anticipated. He wanted nothing more than to give himself a few minutes to calm down but he had to keep moving.  

As quickly as he could, which wasn’t quick at all, he made it to Dabi’s apartment via the fire escape. It took him a lot longer than he would have liked, struggling to climb up the ladders with one hand, and bruised ribs, and it didn’t help that the rungs were still wet from the day before. 

Izuku wanted to cry because he finally made it but no one was in the apartment. All the lights were off and he couldn’t see Dabi anywhere. Of course, wanting someone to be there would be asking too much. 

He sighed, resting his head against the cool glass of Dabi’s window. His eyes were burning, and he couldn’t feel his hand anymore, but he felt thankful that the rain had stopped at some point.

Silver linings and all that jazz. 

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness and consciousness, but he found himself blinking awake when he felt tapping on the window. His vision was blurry, but Izuku recognized the patchwork of scars. 

He hummed, starting to close his eyes again before Dabi tapped the window again and then made a little shooing motion. “Can’t open the window with you against it, Akatani.” 

Izuku swallowed, shifting his weight so that he could move out of the way without giving away he was injured again. Now that he had time to rest, adrenaline long gone, everything ached. 

“You look like shit.” Izuku blinked, confused about how the window was open. When had Dabi opened it? It took Izuku a minute to process Dabi’s words and instead of saying anything, he just smiled up at the man. “Come on, kid, let’s get you inside.” 

“Thank you,” Izuku mumbled, not so gracefully stumbling through Dabi’s window. He face-planted for the second time that day, but this time he was more than happy to just lay there for hours. 

“Akatani?” Izuku hummed. “Kid, you have to get up. You can’t just lay there. Come on.” Dabi helped Izuku up. 

“Thank you.” 

“Ya keep saying that.” Dabi took a step back once Izuku gained his own footing. “What the hell happened? You weren’t here when I woke up and now you show up looking like you barely escaped death.” 

Izuku couldn’t help it, he snorted. “I did.” He sighed, clutching his broken hand against his chest. “Sorry, just had a real shit day. If…” 

He chewed his bottom lip, watching Dabi as he thought through his options. He hadn’t exactly thought it through, but he had just assumed Dabi would let him stay since he had offered it the day before. But now? What if it was a limited-time deal? 

“Is the offer for me to stay here still on the table?” Izuku’s back was still against Dabi’s open window, it would suck to go back out to the cold when Dabi’s apartment felt so nice and warm. “Just until I stop tasting colors.” 

Dabi snorted, the tension bleeding out of his body. “Yeah kid, you can stay here.” 

“Thank you.” Izuku bowed, head rushing at the movement. “I’ll be out of your hair in a week.” That would be more than enough time for his cold to pass, by then he’d only have to worry about his hand. But so is life. 

“Don’t worry about it, kid.” Dabi ushered Izuku from the window, hands freezing when he caught sight of Izuku’s back. “Holy shit.” 

“What?” Izuku frowned, twisting around and catching sight of the Hawk’s mask in his back pocket. It usually sat in his front pocket, safe from prying eyes, but with everything that had happened, he hardly cared about the specific pocket he had been shoving his masks and tickets into. “Oh.” 

“You’re…” Izuku scrambled away from Dabi’s hand, shoving the mask back into his pocket, not even giving himself a moment to realize he had done so with his broken hand. It throbbed under the weight of use. “You’re that vigilante kid everyone’s been talking about? Holy shit!” 

“N-No!” Izuku shook his head quickly. “No, I’m not. Look at me, does it look like I can run from anyone let alone catch criminals?” 

“Oh my god,” Dabi’s voice was soft, almost full of awe. “That means you’re Quirkless.” 

“No!” Panic seized his throat. He almost threw himself right back out the window until he remembered Dabi was in his way. “I am not Quirkless.” 

Dabi didn’t look convinced. 

“I have a Quirk.” 

“Ki-” 

“I do!” Izuku’s hands were shaking. 

Dabi took a step closer to him and Izuku copied him by taking another step back. 

“Okay, I lied!” He threw his hands out in front of him, his right one nearly giving out on him if not for the adrenaline. “I lied…I am the vigilante, but I’m not Quirkless.” 

“Aka-” 

“No!” Izuku was shaking, he faintly registered as he brought his hands back to his side. “I have a Quirk, I do. I have an analysis, Quirk.” 

“An analysis quirk.” 

“Yeah.” Izuku nodded his head, the lie sounding even more pathetic to him. “I know you have flames that hurt you.” 

Dabi’s eyes were wide. It seemed like Izuku’s original assumption that Dabi hadn’t known Izuku saw him using the flames in the alleyway was true. Dabi obviously still didn’t believe Izuku, but that was fine. He just had to plant the seed. 

“This means that you are either the prime example of the singularity quirk theory, just a genetic mutation by chance, or a genetic mutation because of your parents. So it’s highly likely you came from a family with either a long lineage of fire quirks or a long lineage of ice quirks. Because of this, your body was ill-equipped for your quirk. Or your parents possibly had opposing quirks. Like Endeavor and Todoroki Rei. His fire and her…ice…” Dabi looked terrified all the while looking terrifying, completely solidifying Izuku’s panicked gibberish. 

His words died in his throat, and once again his mouth worked faster than his brain. They did meet right outside of Endeavor’s household. And the genetics would add up to the singularity quirk theory…but obviously, Dabi didn’t want Izuku to know about that. 

“I mean…” He was staring at Dabi and realized this could mean two things. He would either kill Izuku for knowing who he was, or they both pretend they didn’t know the other’s secrets. “I have a Quirk.” 

Dabi watched him for a moment before nodding, an unspoken agreement. “My mistake, kid.” 

Notes:

Thoughts??

Fun fact: The Hopeless Hero: Realistic was the OG name for this fic. After my sister and I talked about the fic and planned everything out, we were going to name it The (Unspoken) Agreement but then settled on Color Theory for the story. Then when I proposed splitting the story up into three parts (my sister proposed four and she was right ofc), we labeled the series Color Theory and parts one through four as follows:
The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante
boys will be bugs
The (Unspoken) Agreement
method acting

So that little part at the end was a name drop !!!

Hope you all liked this chapter. It's def not my favorite, but I do love it.

Next chapter is out on the 22nd of April!

Chapter 10: Blue is Stress

Summary:

Is it Hopeless to beat the shit out of a guy with a trashcan lid?

Notes:

Enjoy the chapter!

After that first night when Izuku actually chose to stay, he had sworn to Dabi and to himself, that he would only stay for a week. He only planned on staying long enough to let his fever calm down, but by then, Dabi pointed out that Izuku still needed to let his hand heal. He had insisted that Izuku stay longer so that he would be in perfect condition before he left. 

Izuku couldn’t deny the sound logic in the man’s argument, which was why he didn’t argue when Dabi told Izuku he shouldn’t patrol until it was healed. 

It sucked, sitting in an apartment he hardly knew, but it was the most relaxed Izuku had managed to feel in a while. 

That was how the promise of one week turned into two, how two weeks turned into a month, and how a month turned into five. 

…

…

Wednesday; March 22nd

Two weeks later, Izuku’s hand had finally healed. It wasn’t in perfect shape, definitely not as good as it once had been, but he could close it and carry over five kilograms. He had been excited, knowing that since his hand was better, he could go back out as The Hopeless Hero. 

It had been a long two weeks of sitting around Dabi’s apartment, watching the television, reading the whopping three books that Dabi had, going to the library to read more, and sleeping a lot . 

Patrolling around Naruhata, learning the area, and meeting the people sounded like heaven after fifteen days of being forced to heal. 

…

Dabi had walked into the kitchen, though walk was a gracious descriptor for the way he had dragged himself around the room, to make some coffee. He hadn’t even blinked at Izuku, just groaning and running into multiple cabinets in his attempt to get to the coffee pot. 

Izuku had learned on his first morning staying with Dabi, that the man was in no way a morning person. Dabi resembled more of a sleepy child forced to get ready for school, no matter what time he got up. Izuku has seen him get up anywhere from eight in the morning to two pm, and Dabi still grunted and groaned until he had his morning coffee. 

The notion actually made Izuku smile, a bit. 

“Well,” Dabi’s voice dragged Izuku’s attention from the breakfast on the stove. He was grinning over his cup of coffee, eyes zeroed in on Izuku’s working right hand. It still looked a bit stiff, but that was still leagues better than before. “Little Hero, this calls for a celebration. What’d ya want?” 

Izuku’s eyes widened in surprise, mind running a mile a minute to figure out what to ask for. “Do you have any office supplies like notebooks or some sort of stationary?” He had been in Naruhata for two weeks, and hadn’t spent any of that time learning the area and patrol routes around him. 

“No?” Dabi grabbed the bowl of rice Izuku pushed toward him. “But I’ll grab some on my way home tonight.” 

Izuku nodded, humming under his breath. “Okay, I think I’m gonna go out tonight.” The where was left unsaid, though both knew what Izuku meant. “Is it okay if I use the window to get in?” He didn’t want to risk trying to sneak inside through the halls, all battered and bruised.

“Sure. It’s better than the neighbors seeing a kid wander around the hall.” 

And that was that. 

...

Thursday; March 23rd

When Izuku finally got back to Dabi’s place, the sun was starting to rise. He hadn’t ever stayed out that late before as The Hopeless Hero, but it wasn’t so bad. He actually enjoyed it, a lot. It felt freeing, being able to leave Midoriya Izuku dressed up as Akatani at Dabi’s apartment and just be The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante throughout the entire night. 

He had never felt so important. 

On the coffee table, sitting right in front of Dabi’s ratty couch, were a stack of notebooks and a few highlighters and pens. The sight nearly made Izuku stumble in his attempts to get through the window, getting overwhelmed with an emotion he couldn’t name. 

Dabi didn’t owe Izuku anything . He had no reason to treat Izuku with the kindness he had, no reason to allow Izuku to take comfort in his home, but he did anyway. Izuku tore his eyes from the stationary that Dabi had gotten for him, instead making his way into the bathroom to take a shower. 

He was sweaty, bruised, achy, and really wanted to feel clean. He had access to a shower, what was he suppose to do, not use it? Izuku didn’t think he’d ever be able to take the access to running water for granted. 

…

Fifteen minutes later, Izuku quietly left the bathroom, making sure to keep the bathroom door ajar so that it would be able to air out. He didn’t want to repay Dabi’s kindness with making his bathroom grow mold. 

The sun was starting to peak out over the rooftops, making Izuku realize how tired his body felt. His mind was running a mile a minute, but it felt like every breath made his body feel heavier. Izuku made his way into the kitchen, hands moving in a practiced motion to brew coffee. If his mind was going to keep him up for Kami knows how long, he’d need something to keep the rest of his body awake. 

The clock hit seven in the morning just as Izuku got himself situated on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. He still had some things he wanted to note down about the area before he inevitably went to sleep. He wouldn’t have to worry about Dabi breaking his concentration since it hadn’t even hit the double digits yet. 

Izuku unfolded a stack of papers he had printed from the library, smoothing out the creases. He had managed to scrounge up enough pocket change to print four pages with sections of Naruhata on each one. Carefully, he laid them out on the coffee table, aligning the different roads together so that the four pages made one large map. 

Izuku scrutinized his handiwork, eyes narrowing at the deformity where all the four pages met. It was just slightly harder to make out, compared to the rest of the streets, alleys, and buildings. He pulled up a travel site on Dabi’s computer, carefully labeling the easy things; schools, precincts, business, street names, etc. 

By the time he got to the middle of the paper, Izuku was able to make out the blurry image: Mizu’s Donuts . 

Izuku had finished the basic knowledge of Naruhata a lot faster than he had originally anticipated. His brain was still wide awake, and with no sign of relaxing in sight, Izuku got started on his next order of business: Heroes and their patrol routes. 

Heathen, for starters, was an Underground Hero who was pretty known since she worked with the police on lots of raids. The only thing that really made her an Underground Hero and not a LimeLight Hero was her not being ranked. 

Heroes, SpotLight and LimeLight Pros, were typically ranked in popularity. There were other types of rankings; mortality rank, destruction of public property ranks, powerful quirk ranks, and so many more. Those were less of a public consensus ranking system, and more of a ranking system created and run by The Hero Public Safety Commission. 

Heathen – like many other Underground Pro Heroes – wasn’t ranked on the popularity poll, or if she was it was in the hundreds of hundreds. At that point, those Heroes were typically considered LimeLight bordering on Underground Heroics. Izuku was sure it helped the Hero keep her own anonymity and privacy.  

Izuku had seen Heathen while he had been on his way back from the library, and his hand was still itching to create a new profile for her in his new notebooks. He had an old one for her from about a year and a half before – courtesy of internet stalking and other Underground Hero fans making up the entirety of his data. His researching and analysis skills had grown a lot since then, or Izuku thought as much. 

He hadn’t been able to analyze and research into Heroes as much as he wanted to since his main source of information came from library and school computers. Now, though, with Dabi’s computer, he could research as much as he wanted to without someone thinking Izuku was up to no good. 

Izuku grabbed a marker, pulled up a few discord servers and a few sub reddits mentioning where people had seen her. Underground Heroes were unknown , sure, but that really only applied to the majority of popular votes. 

In the little corners of the internet where kids like Izuku or kids who had quirks that were more suited for Underground Heroics, these Heroes were as popular as All Might. With enough luck and too many open tabs, Izxuku was bound to find as much information about Heathen’s patrol routes as he could. 

He’d only have to double check those routes himself, but that would be a later thing for when he was more confident in his ability to tail a Hero without getting caught. 

“Whatcha doing?” Izuku jumped, eyes widening when he realized Dabi was standing in front of Izuku, probably trying to read the map upside down. He had his own coffee meaning he had been up and Izuku just…didn’t realize. 

God, that was a horrifying thought. Izuku looked to the window, eyes widening when he saw how high the sun was in the sky. 

“Didn’t picture you as a geography buff.” 

“Oh!” Izuku shook his head, capping his pens and highlighters under Dabi’s stare. “I don’t know Naruhata like I knew Musutafu. I’m learning the Prefecture.” 

“Huh,” Dabi’s head was tilted to the side. He glanced from Izuku, the computer, to the map, and then back to Izuku. “You haven’t slept have you?” 

Izuku looked down to the time on Dabi’s computer, internally cringing at realizing it was well past ten am and he was still awake. “No.” 

“Time for bed then.” He made a fanning motion at Izuku. “Plus I need the computer, anywho.” 

“Oh my All Might, I’m so sorry.” He ignored Dabi’s snort, quickly closing all the tabs he had open. He closed the computer, balling up the charger before passing it over. “I didn’t mean to hog it. I got way too absorbed by my research that I hadn't even noticed.” 

“Don’t worry, kid.” 

…

Friday; March 24th

“Let me help with those,” Izuku offered, grinning under his  Present Mic mask. He waited a moment, guaging the store owner for any sort of hostility before he hefted two stacked boxes up. It had taken a few minutes of watching the store owner struggle to fully bend down before Izuku managed to find the courage to offer his help. 

The man all but jumped at the chance to not have to bend down, smiling at Izuku with a knowing grin. “You’re that Pebble Kid, aren’t you?” He grabbed the box stacked on top, leading Izuku through the store to the back. “I thought you stuck to Musutafu.” 

Izuku cringed at the name, grimacing at the reminder. “It’s the Hopeless Hero: Vigilante,” He corrected, carefully dropping the boxes down in turn. “I just moved. I’m still trying to get used to the area here. Naruhata is very different from Musutafu.” 

And Izuku saw those differences, daily. From the moment he woke up to the moment he went to bed, everything was different. Even the sun looked different from Naurhata’s rooftops. Sure, taking notes helped him get an idea of the differences between his home and this new place, but he had never thought about the reality of living somewhere outside of Musutafu.

At times when Izuku was out patrolling without worry of being caught, he was grateful there weren’t as many Heroes patrolling around at night. But when Izuku took a step back and focused on the crime rates – how they were higher than they were in Musutafu – he questioned where they all were. 

The worst part was that Izuku was able to realize how some of Dabi’s hatred for the Heroes held some weight. 

People in Naruhata needed Heroes just as the people in Musutafu did, and yet where were they?

“You can say that again, kid.” Izuku blinked, dropping another box down. 

A girl with orange hair popped in, blinking her large black eyes at Izuku. He took a half step back, knowing she hadn’t been there when he dropped the first two boxes off. She sized him up, blinking owlishly, and tilting her head to the side. “Did you leave because of the Hero Killer?”

Izuku jerked back, eyes widening at the question. “What?” 

“Yeah, I’m right, aren’t I?” She was younger than the owner, probably in her twenties if Izuku had to guess, peaking around the corner. She was grinning at Izuku like she had known the truth all along. Her nails, a dark purple, tapped against the door frame of the storage room.

She stayed quiet for a moment, watching Izuku move heavier things around. She probably thought if she waited long enough, he’d confess. It was funny, though, because she was completely wrong.

“Word on the street is that he showed up in Musutafu a few nights after your All Might piece,” She finally spoke when Izuku had been fiddling with small items, unsure how to ask what the hell she was talking about. 

He blinked, processing the information like a sponge would with water. “After me,” He asked after a beat, unable to fathom the idea of a serial killer after him. 

“Duh.” She rolled her eyes, finally moving from the doorway to help Izuku with the boxes instead of just grilling him. “It’s because you hate All Might.” 

“Hate All Might?” Izuku stumbled, mouth agape. “I hate All Might??” He demaned. 

The girl raised a brow, looking confused. 

“I do not hate All Might,” He corrected, feeling a bit hysterical. 

“You don’t?” She frowned, starting to open a few of the boxes and moving their contents to the shelves. The older man was back, watching Izuku with concern. 

“Of course not!” He was waving his hands around, flailing and panicking. How many people thought he hated All Might? He never wanted that, he just wanted him to be held accountable for his quirkist beliefs.

“Oh,” She hummed, passing Izuku a warm taro bun with a sympathetic smile. “Good luck with that then, almost everyone thinks you do.” 

...

Wednesday; March 29th

“Help me,” Izuku moaned, knowing this was probably one of the stupidest things he had ever done.  

Was it smart to walk right up to the criminal holding a large blade? No. 

That wasn’t going to stop Izuku, though. 

“Please,” Izuku rasped out, wincing from the pain in his lower leg.  He made sure to keep his face angled downward so that the criminal wouldn’t recognize the Present Mic mask he wore, trying to get just a little bit closer. 

“Stop!” The criminal swung his knife toward Izuku, effectively taking his attention of the victim still trembling behind him. Izuku considered his options: 1. Stopping and risk letting the criminal turn his atention back to the victim who was slowly making his way out of the criminal’s swining range. 2. Keep moving forward, crying and acting like an insane lunatic, even though the criminal had made it abundantly clear he wasn’t against hurting Izuku. 

Not a hard choice to make. 

He took another step forward, suppressing a sniffle, and ducking his head further down when the criminal inhaled sharply at Izuku’s movement. The action should have worried Izuku. But with the way the guy was holding the knife in his hand tightly, Izuku was betting the criminal had little skill with using the blade in an actual fight.

That was a good thing for Izuku. It’d be even better if Izuku knew how to actually fight too, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. 

He would have to take his chances on being able to avoid any wide arcs of the blade when the criminal swung again. That didn’t sound too hard. But, applying Izuku’s limited knowledge of fights and imagining them were very different. 

After all, HeroTube vidoes only did so much. 

“I said stop!” The villain raised his hand just as Izuku lifted his head. Izuku could tell the moment the criminal recognized him. His eyes widened, hand dropping slightly, only realizing his mistake too late. 

Izuku lunged forward, grabbing a wad of wet trash off of the floor. He didn’t give the criminal a moment to register what Izuku was about to do before he shoved the trash into the guy’s face, using it as a way to distract him, stun him, and throw him off his guard.

Izuku grinned under Present Mic’s cardboard smile, ducking under the criminal’s blind jab. It seemed that the trash had blinded the criminal, too. 

Anything helps . 

Izuku heard a gag from behind, and he spun around realizing the victim had never left. 

“Get out,” He snapped, slightly irrated the man was just watching instead of getting to safety. Was he expecting Izuku to incapacitate the guy or something? He needed to leave so that Izuku could lead the criminal to the Pro Hero: Rust. 

As long as Izuku got the criminal to chase him in the next three minutes, they’d be intercepted by Rust two and a half blocks from where they were right then. 

“You're just a kid,” he cried, obviously torn between getting to safety and protecting Izuku. 

“You've got to be kidding me,” He muttered darkly, eyes narrowing at the man. “Listen, I have a-”

The words were ripped away by a strangled scream leaving Izuku’s lips. He had gotten so distracted with the victim that he had let the criminal not only get his bearings but he has also given him the opportunity to attack him. 

He staggered forward, knees hitting the concrete hard enough to make his teeth chatter. There was nothing he wanted to do more than to just lay there and hold his bloodied side until the wound would close around his hand, but he couldn’t risk letting the criminal attack again. 

“Fuck,” He hissed, moving to the side at the sound of the criminal’s blade cutting through the air. Izuku had moved just fast enough to avoid most of the cut. The blade sliced open a part of his upper arm, electing a gasp from Izuku. 

His mind was racing, trying to figure out why the hell this felt so bad. He had been stabbed before, he had suffered worse injuries, right? So why the hell was he so close to sobbing? 

It hurts it hurts it hurts ithurthurthurthurts.  

Izuku’s eyes flew open, throwing himself to the side and effectively dodging the criminal’s blade. He checked his arm, jaw clenching at the sight of a small cut. He’d bet if he had the time to look at his side, he’d see the injury wasn’t nearly bad enough to make him be in this much pain. 

Oh.

This guy didn’t need to know how to use his knife effectively, because his Quirk took care of his limited skill. He had some sort of mental Quirk that made a person’s pain receptors ignite with little injury, if he had to guess. 

Izuku wasn’t entirely certain about the triggers, but figuring those out would do nothing but satisfy his curiosity. He could figure out the villain’s Quirk once Rust had him arrested. 

“You underestimated me,” The man boasted, drawing himself up to full height. He wasn’t just a petty, malicious criminal, he was a villain who used his Quirk to make easy cash. He didn’t even care who he was attacking, not even hesitating to threaten Izuku when he had appeared as nothing more than a terrified child. “You got a little famous and suddenly thought you were the shit?” 

Izuku grunted in pain, trying to ignore the way his arm and side were screaming in pain. He couldn’t care less what this guy thought, let alone whatever the hell he was saying. 

“Haf’ta say,” The villain kept talking, making Izuku feel like his head was splitting open from the sound of the guy’s voice and the pain melding together. “I feel sort of honored to be regonized by you.” 

What?

Izuku groaned, trying to ignore the absolute nonsense that was coming out of this guy’s mouth. He needed a plan to get the guy to follow him to Rust, and he was having a hard time thinking up a plan while his nerves were on fire. He struggled to imagine a way he could avoid the guy’s blade. How was he supposed to run to Rust without being killed if he couldn’t even avoid this oaf’s movements? 

You need a plan Izuku.

The villain drove the knife toward him again, and in a moment of desperation, Izuku caught it in between his palms. The blade was cutting into his hand, but he ignored the feeling. He didn’t have many options on how to stop the big, bad, villain; both of his hands were metaphorically tied to the knife, he was too short to do something stupid like head-butt the guy, and he had no weapon or Quirk to help him even the playing field between them. 

He didn’t think, hardly blinking before he lunged toward the guy’s wrist, just biting at the skin as hard as he could. 

The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante’s amazing plan was – bite.

That’s it. 

Bite. 

Izuku could taste blood in his mouth, but that didn’t stop him. He jerked forward, bitting harder, and jerking his hands back with the knife. Izuku tossed it somewhere behind him, too concerned on the villain to care to look where it fell. As long as that damned knife was out of this guy’s hands, he wouldn’t be able to cause futher injuries. 

Who needs a plan when you could bite? 

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” The man bellowed. It was a little hard to feel scared of him when his voice cracked over every syllable. The villain fisted Izuku’s hair through his hoodie, tearing Izuku off his hand. 

Izuku spluttered, face screwing up at the feeling of the man’s flesh stuck to the back of his teeth. He spat out as much as he could, blindly backing away from the villain, and trying to get some space between them before the guy would inevitably attack again. 

“That was the stupidest…” The villain’s sentence broke off, causing Izuku to tense up in anticipation for the villain’s retaliation. Izuku glared up at him, but the villain’s eyes were zeroed in on his own bleeding hand that was pointing accusingly at Izuku. “You made me bleed?” 

The villain’s eyes rolled back before his body dropped. Hard . 

Izuku winced at the sound of the guy’s face crunching against the floor. 

Huh.

…

Thursday; March 30th

Someone was poking Izuku’s cheek. The feeling only made him want to curl further up in “bed” and welcome the sweet embrace of sleep. The poking wanted him to be awake, apparently. 

Izuku blinked his eyes a few times, trying to make Dabi’s face focus in his sight. The older man’s finger was poised like he was about to poke Izuku again. 

Izuku grumbled, trying to turn away from Dabi, trying to go back to sleep. 

“Nu uh, Little Hero,” Dabi sounded amused. “I’ve got food and you need to eat.” Dabi’s kind gesture was followed by a thud against the couch. Dabi kicked again, no real heat behind it. 

It didn’t take long for Izuku to realize Dabi was not going to let him go back to sleep. “Can I sleep after?” 

“Sure,” Dabi yawned. “But you didn’t eat anything yesterday. Then you went out, like an idiot, and I don’t have to be a Little Genius to know you didn’t eat since you’ve been back.” 

Izuku smooshed his face further into the cushions of Dabi’s couch while stretching his limbs out. He had a hard time hearing whatever else Dabi continued to say over the static-y noise that filled his ears as he stretched. 

“Yeah, okay,” Izuku yawned in turn, sitting up and running his fingers through his frizzy, dry, hair. He winced as his fingers passed over the soft, tender, spot on his head from a villain who had tried pulling out his hair. 

“Glad we aren’t doing this the hard way,” Izuku could hear Dabi’s smirk in his voice. He could imagine the hard way would shock Izuku awake more than anything. Maybe a bucket of water, maybe loud noises. 

He was also glad they didn’t have to do it the hard way. 

Izuku was grateful, really. He had been hungry, even the day before, but he couldn’t stomach the idea of food. His stomach felt like it was in knots and making him nauseous even when food wasn’t in the equation. 

But yeah, two and a half days without proper food was only going to make it harder for The Hopeless Hero to help people. His hands wrapped around the take-out container that Dabi handed him. The smell of oily chicken and a fried egg made him salivate and dizzy. 

Izuku had spent years on the street starving. He wasn’t going to take free food for granted – regardless of how horrible he felt. 

“Thank you, Dabi.” He smiled up at the man. 

…

Friday; March 31st

It started off with a simple comment. One of those small ones where you mention something and then forget all about it, because it isn’t significant. 

Dabi and Izuku had been sitting in the living room, Izuku on the floor surrounded by his stationary, and Dabi on the couch half watching Izuku work on his Naruhata notebook and half watching the television. 

“You have a lot of stuff.” Izuku jolted at Dabi’s voice, still not used to someone striking up a conversation with him. His sharp blue eyes looked like they were counting all the items surrounding him. “Where do you put it?” 

Confused, and not entirely sure what to say, Izuku started to gather all the materials. He folded up the Naruhata map that he had taped to the first page of his notebook. He stacked the notebooks on top of one another, placing all the books into an empty plastic bag, and then dropping all of the stationary into the same bag before he tied it up and slid it under the couch. 

Dabi hummed, leaving it at that. 

Izuku had almost forgotten about it, after all, it didn’t really matter that much to Izuku that Dabi knew where his stuff was. Hell, Dabi had bought most of it anyways. 

It wasn’t until the next day that Dabi dropped a bright blue backpack in his lap that Izuku looked at him confused. 

“For all your shit.” Dabi waved a hand, handing Izuku a key to the apartment too. “That way you don’t have to shove it under the couch.” 

Izuku buried his face into the bag, pushing the tears back, feeling touched by Dabi’s kindness.  

…

Saturday; April 1st

It took almost a month for Izuku to finally start watching TV without Dabi. The older man insisted it was fine, that otherwise, he was wasting money if no one was watching anything, but it still made Izuku feel queasy and constantly watch the door when he would pick up the remote. 

Now, though, Izuku didn’t feel as bad. He switched Dabi’s sports to a random news channel, always falling into a comfortable rhythm with it as background noise. He had finished the map earlier in the morning, pretty much exhausting all of the online resources he could on Heroes and their patrol routes. 

With that finished, he could move on to crime statistics in Naruhata. The crime rate was slightly worse than it had been in Musutafu, which made sense. Yuuei and a lot of top-level Heroes reside in Musutafu. Naruhata didn’t have that luxury. 

It wasn’t exactly the most difficult research. He would go off the city’s website first, making a scatter plot graph full of the data it gave out, marking outliers and any odd cases Izuku noticed before he would move on to public records and reports. He’d cross-search that with the graph, referencing the times on the reports, and just keep going until he ran out of crime or websites that provided good information. 

And crime never stopped. 

“Wasn’t expecting you to be up.” Dabi was back, with what smelled like udon. Kami, was Izuku hungry. 

“Couldn’t sleep.” He didn’t look up, trying to finish the sentence he was writing down. 

“Oh, of course,” Dabi was using his sarcastic voice. Izuku didn’t have to look anymore to see him roll his eyes or shoot that crooked smirk. “Because when I can’t sleep I, too, love doing math.” 

Sighing, Izuku closed his notebook. He still felt his skin crawl when Dabi would read over his shoulder, but he had to remind himself that Dabi was letting him stay here for free. Dabi wasn’t going to read his notebooks in the same way his classmates had, he was just simply curious. He had also bought Izuku his materials and a backpack, so what if Dabi was interested in Izuku’s garbled writing? “It’s statistics of crime in the area.” 

He carefully shoved his stuff into the backpack. “Right.” 

“How was your day?” A week or so before, Dabi had gotten a new job. Something like a personal guard or a bouncer? Izuku wasn’t really all that sure, and it wasn’t like Dabi was exactly forthcoming about what he did. Which was fair, they were allowed their secrets. 

“Fine.” He passed him a bowl, Izuku noticed the udon was from a restaurant that was closer to Endeavor’s house than it was to their apartment. He dropped some napkins for Izuku, rolling his eyes at the gratitude. “What are you watching.” 

“Oh, nothing really. Just background…” The words died on his lips because the moment he turned to the TV to start explaining, he was met with a picture of younger Izuku smiling in that damned All Might hoodie.

“Midoriya Izuku has been missing since the end of February.” The news anchor’s voice was lifeless. “The police are concerned for the young boy’s safety. He’s Quirkless and is said to have green hair and green eyes. Onto the-” 

The channel was switched to some random sports channel. 

Izuku stared at Dabi who was watching the TV as if he hadn’t just seen the same thing Izuku had. “Eat your food, Akatani. It’ll get cold.” 

With shaking hands, he listened.

…

Sunday; April 2nd

The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante jumped. 

His fingers caught onto the lip of the next of the roof, his feet scrabbling against the wall of the building. If he wanted to keep up with moving around across rooftops, he’d have to work on his core strength so that he’d be able to pull himself up without a worry. 

Izuku’s eyes dropped to the street below, watching the way it came in and out of focus around his feet. He stared for a second longer before pulling his body up, ignoring the way the bricks on the lip of the roof dug into his finger tips making them sting. 

“Oh god,” Izuku breathed out, rolling over the ledge and laying on his back just staring at the stars. He took a moment to catch his breath, just feeling the dirty, gravel-ly, rooftop digging into the back of his head and his shoulder blades. 

He lifted his hand up toward the sky, the palm facing toward him. Izuku’s eyes stared at the blood on his finger tips, showing as physical proof that he was getting better. He squeezed his hand closed, feeling the sting, feeling alive. 

 …

Monday; April 3rd

It didn’t matter how busy Izuku tried to make himself, he couldn’t pretend like Katsuki wasn’t starting Yuuei today. 

April third, the first Monday of April, and Katsuki was on his first steps toward becoming a Hero while Izuku nursed a sprained wrist. He could feel the stupid dream of being a Hero slip through his fingers. 

He would spend the rest of the day, week, month, and the rest of his life out on the street each night trying to pretend like his life didn’t spin out of control to the point where his mom wouldn’t recognize him anymore. 

He couldn’t go to an online high school because his money was sitting in his backpack probably already processed for evidence. He had a fake name and it would just make his mother sob at the sight. He wouldn’t ever be able to cross any wish or desire off his imaginary list. 

He was Quirkless, not exactly sure why he had been so convinced that he would be able to accomplish anything. Maybe he was finally growing up? It wasn’t the fact that Quirkless people couldn’t do anything, it’s that they weren’t allowed the ‘luxury’ of doing anything. 

Maybe he had finally accepted it like everyone wanted? 

It didn’t matter what he was and wasn’t allowed to do, because when he was behind the mask he was allowed to save people or at least try. 

He didn’t exactly want to die, but if he died saving someone is that really such a bad way to go? 

…

Wednesday; April 5th

“Thought this might help.” Izuku narrowed his eyes at the bag Dabi dropped on the ground beside him.

“Huh?” He closed the computer, eyes jumping from the bag and then back to Dabi. “For me?” 

“No,” Dabi said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Open the bag, kid.” Dabi looked exhausted, eyes closed as Izuku reached for the bag. 

Hesitantly, Izuku opened the bag pulling out a box of Black Hair dye. “Hair dye?” 

Dabi cracked open an eye, tilting his head to the side. “Figured you’d want to re-dye your hair. If you ever want to be out during the day, your green hair is a dead giveaway.” 

“Re-dye my hair?” Izuku pinched his lip in thought, trying to remember when he would have made Dabi think he dyed his hair. He didn’t remember saying anything along those lines, but there were a few days when his fever had made him delirious. He might’ve said some stupid shit by accident. Yes, he was living here under a fake name, but Dabi knew his real name. Yes, he lied about not being quirkless, but Dabi knew the truth. Izuku wasn’t the biggest fan of lying. There were times when he would evade the truth, but not over anything stupid like dying his hair. 

“You had black hair when we first met.” Dabi was scrolling on his phone, hardly tossing Izuku a glance. 

“Oh.” Izuku laughed, opening the box of dye for its instructions. “No that was just an accident. It was just a bunch of soot.” 

“I knew that it was soot, dumbass.” Izuku flushed in embarrassment. “I washed your hair. I just thought it was a last-ditch effort to disguise yourself, cause you are smart and all. My mistake, though.” 

Izuku ducked his head, eyes focusing on the instructions. 

…

Sunday; April 9th

Dabi bringing Izuku hair dye got him thinking. 

Did Dabi dye his hair? It could just be a coincidence that he had black hair, but Izuku wouldn’t be surprised if it was unnatural. 

Did Dabi have red hair? White hair? 

He tried burying the curiosity. It wasn’t any of his business. Dabi was kind enough to let Izuku stay, he didn’t have to know anything more about him. 

But a week had passed since Izuku dyed his hair and no matter how much Izuku tried to ignore the curiosity, he couldn’t help but wonder about Dabi’s life as a Todoroki. 

How long had he been gone? How long had he been watching Endeavor’s mansion? 

It wasn’t like he could ask Dabi about it. Something about Dabi always left Izuku feeling on edge, but it was probably because they were strangers who didn’t know anything about one another. 

Not everything had to be some sort of horror story. 

Still, though, Izuku decided if he was going to snoop it would be better to do it somewhere public and not with Dabi’s own personal computer. 

“Good mor–oh! Hello, son.” Izuku grinned at the guard just inside of the library around the corner from Dabi’s apartment. “Suprised that you’re here while the sun is out and about. Thought you preferred the life of a night owl.” 

“Good morning, sir.” Izuku smiled, relishing in the kindness of strangers. A week ago Izuku had come home to see a fake ID on the couch with a picture of his newly dyed hair, new name, and supposed quirk. “I realized I had an assignment I forgot to do.” He laughed, moving away from the doors and to the computers with an easygoing rhythm. 

He wasn’t stupid. They probably would be cruel if his ID said Quirkless instead of analysis, but it didn’t. He wasn't sure how Dabi managed to get a fake ID, but he wasn’t going to gift a horse in the mouth or whatever the saying was. 

He nodded to a few of the people he passed before seating himself at his usual computer. Using the typical guest login, he opened an incognito window and googled the Todoroki family.

…

You know, Izuku really should consider himself lucky that he didn’t get himself caught more often. He liked to the think he was smart, observant, and that he had enough common sense to know when the throw the towel in and back out before he got caught. 

Izuku’s ankles were being held by the shadows. Usually, Izuku found refuge in how dark and shadowy the nights were, but when the Hero he had been tailing could control them, he felt terrified. 

The moment the shadows stopped his momentum, Izuku had face planted directly into the concrete. It had taken less than a second to realize that Shadewalker ambushed him, and less than half a second for Izuku to rip his Present Mic mask off and to hide it underneath his hoodie. 

Shadewalker knowing that someone was watching them wasn’t the same as knowing The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante had been tailing them. 

“You’ve been following me all night,” Shadewalker’s voice came from the deepest part of the shadows, making Izuku’s heart rate double in speed. 

Izuku’s only saving grace so far was that Shadewalker didn’t know that Izuku had actually been tailing them for weeks. He wanted to make Shadewalker’s patrol route as accurate as possible. 

“What do you want?” 

“I’m sorry,” Izuku whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his head with his arms. “I was trying to work up the courage…” The words died on his tongue when he felt the shadows loosen their grip. 

“Courage for what?” Izuku jumped. Shadwalker’s voice came from Izuku’s other side. “I don’t take kindly to being stalked.” The Hero’s voice was cool, making Izuku shiver at the implication of Izuku having some sort of malicious scheme. 

“I just wanted to get your autograph,” He cried, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. Would an autograph from Shadewalker be awesome, yes, but that wasn’t the truth. 

“An…” The Hero sounded dubious, obviously thrown off by Izuku’s lie. “Autograph?”

Izuku swallowed down his embarrassment and nodded meekly. “I’m a really big fan actually,” He started off slowly, trying to calm his nerves down. 

He wasn’t exactly lying about being a fan of Shadewalker – they debuted two and a half years before, but mostly stuck to underground work. When they first became a Hero, it had been under the name Realm Keeper, Izuku didn’t know why the Hero changed their name, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it had been to keep Realm Keeper, the Underground Hero, and Shadewalker, the Spotlight Pro, separate. 

“You became a Hero without going to a Hero school…” Izuku trailed off. “I just thought that was really cool, being able to become a Hero through the Hero Mentor program. And two years ago, you helped uncover a trafficking ring for kids with mental quirks. I don’t know who wouldn’t want your autograph.” 

“You…” The shadows unfurled around his ankles, making Izuku feel significantly more relaxed now that he wasn’t trapped. “Wow, kid, I…You know about that?” 

“Yeah,” Izuku mumbled, looking away. He didn’t want Shadewalker to recognize him. “I know you had a different name and everything, but I’ve just been a really big fan. 

“I’m sorry, kid,” Shadewalker sighed, materializing out of the shadows and squatting down in front of Izuku. “I shouldn’t have attacked you like that.” 

“No,” Izuku spoke quickly, shaking his head and hiding a relieved smile. “I’m sorry for seeming nefarious.” 

The Hero laughed, standing up and holding a hand out to Izuku. “Still want that autograph?” 

…

Thursday; April 11th

The door slammed open, jolting Izuku out of the calm he felt when he usually cooked. 

“Welcome back, Dabi.” Izuku smiled without looking up at Touya, his eyes were focused on making sure the breaded chicken didn’t get burnt. 

He was making dinner for them, again. It made sense he was the one who cooked and cleaned since Touya was the one with an actual job. Plus, it reminded him of how he used to take care of his mom before she died, so he really didn’t mind. 

“How was your day?” While he was placing the freshly fried chicken on a double-folded paper towel to blot out the oil, he tossed his smile over his shoulder to Touya. It immediately dropped at the enraged look he was giving Izuku. 

Did he find out about Izuku’s snooping? Did he somehow figure out Izuku knew his real name? Maybe he had found Nightwalker’s audtograph hidden underneath the floorboards. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Touya scoffed, slamming the door shut. “Nothing.” 

Izuku waited for him to continue or at least say something, but when he realized Touya wasn’t going to say anything Izuku sighed. “Are you hungry? I ma-” 

“No. Does it look like I’m fucking hungry?”

 Izuku felt a familiar cold grey wash over him when he heard Touya’s bedroom door slam shut. 

This definitely wasn’t the first time he came back to the apartment pissed, but that didn’t make it any easier for Izuku to adjust. He scowled at the two servings he had whipped up, berating himself for making too much, before he just started to box up the second serving. 

He plated his own, sitting against the window with one of the books he had grabbed from the library. The sun was going to set soon and he had been hoping he’d be able to at least finish the third chapter before he ran out of light. 

Touya’s job didn’t pay him much, so Izuku made it his mission to only read or work on his notebooks when the sun was out. He didn’t turn the lights on unless Toyua was around and wanted them on, because he wasn’t the one paying for them. 

Touya slammed the door open, causing Izuku to drop his book. Touya’s scowl deepened at Izuku. “Where’s the food?” 

“Oh.” Izuku scrambled up, making sure to close the book and not lose his page. “I put it away.” 

“Why?” 

“You said you weren’t hungry.” 

“Well you didn’t give me a chance to fucking rest, did you?” Touya’s voice was cold. His anger was different than the kind Izuku was used to with Katsuki. Where Katsuki was quick to lose himself to rage, Touya let it steep and tried to bury it until he couldn’t keep a lid on it anymore.

Izuku frowned. “Sorry. Let me plate it.” He danced around Touya, making sure he was just out of reach as he unboxed the food and placed it in a bowl. He set the food down in front of Touya before placing the Tupperware in the sink. “Sorry about that.” 

Touya just hummed, watching Izuku skirt back to his own bowl before making his way to the couch at Izuku’s side with slow, purposeful steps. 

“How was work?” 

“I got fired.” Touya’s jaw was clenched, glaring at Izuku like he was somehow at fault. “Again.” 

“Oh,” Izuku mumbled, eyeing the patchwork of scars. “Was it because of your sca-” 

“Of course it was!” Izuku flinched at Touya’s volume. 

“They can’t do that.” 

“Well, they did.” Touya stabbed at the chicken with his chopsticks. “And they have, and they will.” 

Izuku stayed silent, staring at his own food, unsure how he could even begin to help Touya. This was apparently the fourth job that fired him for his scars. It wasn’t fair. 

Touya scoffed, dropping the bowl on the coffee table in front of Izuku alongside an envelope. 

“Money for food. Don’t fucking spend it all.” 

…

Thursday; April 13th 

“I’m sorry for snapping at you.” Izuku blinked owlishly at Touya, confused. 

“It’s…it’s okay.” Closing his book, Izuku put it in his backpack, giving Touya his full attention. “I don-didn’t mind.” 

“Yeah, I see that.” Touya was looking him up and down with something Izuku couldn’t name. “I just…without a job things are gonna be pretty tight. I’ve been losing jobs since I was a kid because of my scars. It scares people, makes then realize there’s plenty fucked with the world.” 

He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond to that. Hell, Izuku wasn’t even sure why Touya was telling him this at all. Maybe Touya had been wanting to talk about this for a while, but didn’t have anyone that would listen. 

“I’ve done bad things, kid.” Touya was staring right at Izuku, as if he were able to see through him. “That’s why I offered to take you in.” 

“Really?” It was getting darker, and harder to see Touya fully. 

“Yeah. I left my home when I was a kid, a little younger than you, and because of that I didn’t have anyone to help me. No home, source of income, no education, no food, nothing.” 

Izuku ducked his head, cheeks coloring with shame. Here he was acting like he had it really bad when he had been able to keep going to school and he had been able to get food from the Bakugous. 

“I did some bad things to survive, and I didn’t want you to have to do that.” Touya’s hand landed on Izuku’s shoulder, an added weight. “Like squatting in illegal spots, staying in homes that are on the market, stealing food to survive, using your qu- or well you know.” 

He still had his head down, eyes imossibly wide with the realization of what Touya was saying. Izuku was a criminal. He spent nights or even longer in places he wasn’t supposed to be living in. 

He never thought about it like that, he just needed a place to sleep, and it wasn’t hurting anyone. 

But he was a criminal. 

…

Friday; April 14th

Nishi looked about two seconds from keeling over at any moment. Maybe that’s why he decided to hire any sad sap who decided to roll into his gym without question. And maybe that was why Izuku stepped into the horribly smelling gym in the first place. 

“How old are ya?” His accent was thick, probably from somewhere in the countryside. 

“Does it matter?” 

“Heh.” Nishi slapped Izuku on the back with a grin, Izuku wanted nothing more than to peel his own skin off at the feeling of the man’s palm leaving residual sweat on his shirt. “I like ya already kid. Ya know what, you have the job.” 

Izuku cracked a smile, tension bleeding out of his shoulders. “Would I be able to work night shifts? I usually have a really packed day.” 

Lie . Usually, his day consisted of reading whatever book he had gotten his hands on that time, research, and random cat naps. He was just more accustomed to working at night. He’d be able to patrol a bit, work, patrol a bit more, and then head back to Dabi’s apartment. 

“Though, of course, if that isn’t o-” 

“Nonsense works better for me anyway. At least I don’t have to hire security, right?” Nishi wheezed, slapping Izuku on the back again. “Though I don’t expect you to be able to fight someone if they do, just try to memorize their faces.” 

Izuku grimaced but nodded, all the same, being underestimated was an advantage. Though, he could hardly see why anyone would want to try and break in to Nishi’s gym. Izuku would get paid to be here and still felt hard-pressed to come back. 

He needed a job to help Touya around the apartment, and Izuku had been getting less and less sleep the more he remembered that he had lost his emergency fund. He didn’t feel the need to run away from Touya, he knew that without him he would not be able to survive, but it was for his own piece of mind. 

At least this way, he’d be able to help. 

…

Saturday; April 15th

“You’re later than usual.” Touya was lounging on the couch, watching Izuku struggle his way inside. 

He wasn’t exactly wrong. It was almost noon. 

Izuku grunted in agreement, smearing some of the blood on the window. He was exhausted, hurting, hungry, and really cold. All he wanted to do was sit in Touya’s shower until he couldn’t feel his own skin anymore. 

“Well?” Touya sounded frustrated, but Izuku barely had the energy to turn to look at him. “What happened?” 

“Jumped in a dumpster, got stabbed by something. Or…more like fell on something.” His side ached with protest at his movements. “Still not sure what it was, it was probably some broken metal that someone threw away.” 

Touya grumbled under his breath, pushing himself up off the couch before opening the bathroom door for Izuku. “Stop getting blood everywhere, Akatani.” 

Izuku winced. “Sorry, Dabi.” 

Touya just rolled his eyes, a smile on his face to counter his words, and helped Izuku lay out his new clothes before leaving him alone in the bathroom. 

…

Izuku would have ran straight into the brick wall of the alley if he hadn’t tripped over the uneven pavement. He had managed to catch himself, before his head would hit the ground, and scraped his hands in the process. He hissed under his breath, scrambling up to try and run again before he realized he was staring at a dead end. 

Fuck . Even after a month of learning Naruhata’s streets, he still didn’t know it like he knew Masutafu. He had thought this alley lead to Jingu-dori street, but he had only trapped himself.

He could feel her anger before he even heard her footsteps. He spun around, feeling panicked at the sight of the criminal blocking his escape. 

Why does this always happen? 

“Listen,” Izuku started, hands raised in surrender toward the lady walking toward him. “We can talk about this, right?” 

“Talk about this,” She spat mockingly, spitting a broken tooth at Izuku’s feet. “After you attack me?” 

Right, because Izuku was the one who started it. He may have attacked her first, but he had stumbled into her attacking another person. Plus, if he hadn’t thrown the book at her first, she would have attacked him, if the way she had lunged at him meant anything. 

Her hand closed around his throat, slamming him against the wall he was trapped against. His eyes widened, staring up at her in horror, trying to figure out when she had moved. He wasn’t sure if it was her Quirk or if she had been a lot closer than he had originally realized. 

“Fast,” Izuku mumbled in spite of himself. 

“Slow,” She mocked, bringing her face near his, a cruel grin stretching across her lips. “I don’t have a speed Quirk, dipshit.” 

He racked his brain for an idea on how to escape this situation without revealing his identity as The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. He was supposed to be heading to the a corner market for cigarettes for Dabi. 

It had been almost instinct to interfere when he had heard this woman spitting insults at her previous target. From the little that Izuku had heard, it sounded like they knew each other, but that still did nothing to justify Izuku finding her kicking the shit out of a person curled up on themselves. 

They had been covering their head, whimpering and they just kept apologizing to her . Izuku had been planning on going to find help, was going to call for help, knowing better than to think that he could somehow take this girl down. 

Izuku and The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante were two different people, they had different strengths, and saving people wasn’t a strength that Izuku had. 

But, the victim had caught sight of Izuku, their bloodied face screaming for help even without saying a word. Izuku didn’t even blink, didn’t even breathe, as he had moved forward, sweeping up a book that had probably spilled from the younger girl’s backpack, he just moved. 

And now the criminal, this horrible person, was holding Izuku by the neck, and forcing his cheek against a wall. 

She was probably going to kill him. Or, she would kill him if he didn’t escape soon. 

Immediately, Izuku started to loudy sob, eyes crinkling and face twisting up in pain. Tears started streaming down his face and he could feel snot starting to dribble. “Please,” He whined, voice cracking over the word. “I don’t want to die, I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry,” He babbled incoherently, before sobbing loudly again. 

The woman loosened her grip on Izuku in surprise, blinking at the one-eighty in Izuku’s emotions. He couldn’t blame her for being caught off guard by a sobbing kid, especially one as messy as he was. 

Izuku dropped, using his body weight to jerk out of her hand, and he lunged past her before she could grab him again. He didn’t care to wait and see if she was following him, just escaping out of the alleyway and running as fast as he could. 

Izuku shoved his body through the first open shop he saw, throwing his body behind an aisle of shelves. He stared through the small holes that looked out into the street, watching as the lady passed the store a few minutes later. Her head was snapping from left to right, most definitely looking for him. Izuku held his breath, afraid that his heartbeat would somehow give him away. 

Her form disappeared down the street, making his body sag with palpable relief. 

“Excuse me,” A woman’s voice made him jump, an embarrassing sort of quiet scream leaving his lips. “Are you…” Her voice trailed off, making Izuku tense up at the silence that stretched for a beat too long. He kept his head down, trying to avoid making eye contact with this stranger. “Are you okay?” 

Izuku flinched, giving a jerky nod to try and cover his ass. 

He was fine, a little shaken up, but he wasn’t going to cry over a successful escape. He wasn’t.

“You’re that kid Nishi-kun hired, aren’t you?” Izuku’s head snapped up to the lady, eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t recognize her, almost certain he had never seen her at Nishi’s gym before. Plus, he hardly was at Nishi’s gym when it was open. 

How the hell did she know who he was?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to search for any sign of familiarity in her face. He couldn’t place her, though. She had high cheekbones and yellow feathers protruding from her skin most likely due to an avian Quirk or something. Her eyes were angled toward the middle of her nose, stretching to an inch or two below her temple, they were a light brown almost a caramel color. She was also extremely tall, much taller than any woman Izuku had met before. 

Nearly all her features screamed unique, and yet he couldn’t place her. 

“Don’t look so worried,” She laughed softly, not in a cruel way, somehow sounding almost reassuring. “I’m good friends with your boss, Akatani-kun, he’s mentioned you a few times.” 

“Oh.” 

Her lips stretched into a wide smile, making Izuku feel slightly less tense. “Do you need some help, Akatani-kun?” 

“Uh,” Izuku’s voice trailed off, eyes sliding back to the window almost afraid he’d catch sight of that girl again. 

“She’s long gone now,” The lady, as if reading Izuku’s mind, spoke up. 

“Right.” His eyes snapped back to her, giving an apologetic smile. 

“Maybe you’d like some help with your injuries?”

“Injuries?” 

The lady touched her own cheek, and Izuku mirrored her feeling gravel and bloodied dirt on his face. He drew a blank when he had gotten hurt, hadn’t even felt it during his run in with that criminal. 

“No, ma’am,” Izuku muttered, a bit embarrassed. “Sorry, I’m okay.” 

She raised a brow, looking thoroughly unimpressed. Izuku chose to ignore the look, turing his head in a way to avoid her being able to see his injured cheek. 

“Oh, acutally,” Izuku started smiling slightly. “Could you point me to Moe’s Corner Shop?” 

Izuku thought Moe’s Corner Shop was somewhere nearby, being able to recognize some of the buildings from his research. But he was a little less than confident in his ability to get a feel with Naruhata’s infrastructure since he managed to get himself trapped in a dead end alleyway he had thougth fed into a street. 

His next best bet, ask a local. 

“Moe’s Corner Shop?” The lady’s grin was back, only slightly different than before. She looked like she was holding back a laugh, like she knew something he didn’t. “That’s my store.” 

“Your store…” Izuku’s eyes bounced around the little shop he was in, slowly understanding what she was telling him. 

“Well met, Akatani-kun,” She didn’t bother to hide the amusement in her voice, holding out a hand for Izuku to shake. “My name’s Moe.” 

Izuku hesitantly took her hand, sparks of pain dancing up his arm as she squeezed his scratched up hand. He faintly recalled messing up his palms when he caught his fall. 

“How about we clean those hands up before we take a look at your face,” Her tone left no room for argument.

…

Sunday; April 16th

“How often am I supposed to expect this?” Izuku flinched at Touya’s glare. He was leaning against the railing of the fire escape, holding a dislocated shoulder with his sprained wrist. 

“It’s not like I can just call you…and honestly? I’m surprised it hasn’t happened more often.” Izuku gave a wobbly smile, trying to pass his injuries off with a grin. He ducked his head at Touya’s unamused stare. “Can I come in?” 

“Shit kid,” Touya groaned, taking a step away from the window and letting Izuku crawl inside. “What the hell happened?” 

“Parkour.” Izuku bit back a hiss when he shrugged. “I accounted for this.” 

“Accou- what?” Touya slammed the window shut, closing the curtains. The only light was from the sliver of sunlight that Touya hadn’t closed off because his curtains weren’t exactly the right size for his windows. “You figured you would get hurt?” 

“Yeah?” Izuku tilted his head to the side confused. “I don’t know how to efficiently run from rooftop to rooftop, I don’t have a teacher to guide me, YouTube videos can only do so much when I lack so much experience, and it’s not like I thought I would be able to do it after the first couple tries.” 

“Okay smartass,” Touya snapped, glaring like Izuku didn’t just answer his question. “How injured are you?” 

Izuku gave another wobbly grin.

…

Monday; April 17th

“What’s this?” Izuku poked the box that Touya had left on the table. It was rectangular and Izuku wasn’t entirely sure it was safe with the way Touya was grinning at him. He looked excited, and there was nothing wrong with that, but still…Izuku was used to being frightened by almost anything. 

“Fucking open it, dumbass.” Touya pulled at Izuku’s hair, snickering at his yelp. “It’s not gonna bite your finger off.” 

“Okay, okay!” Making a show of opening it, Izuku held the box away from him before opening the flap. “T- Dabi tell me this is not a phone.” 

“It’s not a phone,” Touya lied, like a liar. 

Izuku gaped, head swiveling between the phone and Touya until he was sure his head was about to spin off. His eyes welled up. “I-I can’t…Dabi this is a phone.” 

“Yeah.” Touya raised a brow, giving Izuku the most ‘ I fucking knew that, dumbass’ look. 

It was a small flip phone, Izuku wouldn’t be able to join the Quirkless forum his mom helped him find when she was alive, but it still made his eyes water. 

“Don’t fucking cry, kid.” 

Izuku’s lip trembled, fighting back the tears. “This is expensive. I can’t-” 

“Yeah, you can.” Touya patted his head with a smirk. “It didn’t cost shit.” 

“How did you get a phone for free?” 

Touya shrugged, ruffling Izuku’s hair again. “Not gonna thank me, little Hero?” 

Grinning, Izuku bounced on the balls of his feet. “Thank you, Dabi.” 

...

“Breaking News: Yuuei’s first year’s heroics class attacked!” 

The glass in Izuku’s hand slipped from his fingers and shattered against the floor.

Touya didn’t seem to care about the news. He had been more pissed that Izuku broke the glass. Izuku wasn’t supposed to know that Shouto was Touya’s brother. They both knew he knew about it, but it was an unspoken agreement to never cross that invisible boundary. 

All day he had been on the edge of his seat, worrying about Katsuki and Shouto. How had Touya been able to sit still knowing his kid brother had almost been killed? 

He couldn’t fathom how he would feel if Katsuki would get hurt or died, and he wasn’t even related to him. Touya always seemed so closed off, he was like this wall of ice that never allowed anyone to see how he felt about something. 

Sure, he acted like he didn’t care about Shouto or his other siblings, but that couldn’t be true. Touya was a good person, he cared about Izuku when no one else did. 

The first chance Izuku got, he slipped out of Touya’s apartment. All day he had sat in front of the TV, clicking through channel after channel hoping to see some sort of news that Katsuki and Shouto had made it out safely. 

No one died, that was all the news would release. Only a few students had been hurt, but, the two teachers accompanying the class had suffered major injuries and were in critical condition. 

Apparently, All Might had shown up right at the end, saving the class and teachers. 

But had he been able to save Katsuki and Shouto? 

He couldn’t just keep sitting inside with Touya and pretend like he didn’t care about the students that got attacked. He had to see with his own eyes that Katsuki was fine. 

He wanted to check on Shouto too but wasn’t sure how Touya would react if he had been caught. Plus, if the son of the Number Two Hero had been injured, it would have had to have been on the news.

Right? 

He didn’t know Shouto like he knew Katsuki, he couldn’t just go check on Shouto with the good wishes of his dead brother, could he? Plus, Touya was bound to check up on Shouto at some point or other. He probably was just waiting for Izuku to leave so that Izuku wouldn’t know. 

He had loads of time since it was a four-hour walk to Musutafu. 

…

“Get off my back, I’m fine.” Katsuki didn’t snap or yell, it made Izuku pause. Was he really hurt to the point where he couldn’t raise his voice? 

“Don’t be like that you brat. I don’t care if you don’t have a single scratch, you are eating this and then going up and getting lots of rest.” Auntie snapped, her voice incredibly soft. 

It was enough to make Izuku’s eyes water. He missed coming over for dinners and eating food with them all, even if it meant dealing with Katsuki and all his confusion. 

“If you can’t eat-” 

“I can fucking eat!” It felt silly to feel so calm when Katsuku snapped, but at least he wasn’t too injured. 

Izuku scaled the tree outside of Katsuki’s room, just wanting to make sure he wasn’t brutally marred or something. There’s nothing Izuku could do or could have done to help but still, he just wanted to make sure Katsuki was okay. 

He didn’t want to be caught, so he dressed like The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, hoping that if someone had caught sight of him, they wouldn’t immediately assume that he was Midoriya Izuku. He couldn’t just ignore his oldest friend being attacked, he couldn’t just sit in Naruhata and tell himself that Katsuki was fine without seeing him. Even if Katsuki didn’t get hurt, didn’t have a scratch, and was saying he was fine, Izuku knew better. At the very least he had quirk exhaustion and muscle spasms. 

He could still hear the three Bakugous eating dinner, Katsuki and Mitsuki bickering in the way that spelled out comfort for Izuku. 

Careful not to make any noise, Izuku managed to land in Katsuki’s room as quietly as he could. He would think even Eraserhead would be impressed by how quickly Izuku was learning. 

Izuku tore off his Present Mic mask, drinking up the familiar sight of Katsuki’s bedroom. Izuku had spent more time in that one room than he had anywhere else in his entire life. It was a little jarring, seeing it after such a long time. He dropped his backpack, quick to dig through all his new belongings, and dropped two ICY HOT sleeves on Katsuki’s pillow. Inko and Izuku had been buying them for Katsuki for as long as he could remember. 

It was unnecessary, but he had also stopped by the convenience store around the corner and bought Katsuki some spicy candy and a watermelon stress toy. He didn’t exactly have money for the real thing. And lastly, he left a small note he had written in advance. 

It’s not pity. Never has been.

It’d have to be enough for now. 

He closed his bag, sitting on Katsuki’s bed for a moment, dropping his mask to run his fingers along Katsuki’s beside table. Even after ten years, the other boy still had an All Might: Golden Age figurine in it’s box beside his bed. He stood, after a moment, knowing if he stayed sitting any longer, sitting in a room that was practically his own childhood bedroom just as much as it was Katsuki’s, he’d never leave. He already almost wanted to stay, just stay there for years smelling the familiar scent of burnt caramel that he never thought he would miss one day. 

It had only been a month since he disappeared, but now he was supposed to stay away for good. Or at the very least until he turned eighteen. He missed Mitsuki and Masaru almost as much as he missed his mom, and he surprisingly missed Katsuki too. 

But he couldn’t stay. They would send him back to those horrible foster homes. 

Plus, what about Touya? It's not like anyone would accept him like he had. No one else ignored Izuku’s Quirklessness like Touya did, no one else made him feel as normal. It wasn’t like he could just leave Touya without a word. It’s not like he wanted to. 

He waltzed over to Katsuki’s closet, grabbing the warmest coat his old friend owned. Conveniently enough, it was Katsuki’s favorite one too. He had forgotten to grab one of his jackets that weren’t his vigilante attire. Plus, it smelled like familiarity.

Izuku threw it on, left a small apology note on the empty hanger, and climbed out the window and back up the tree the moment he heard Katsuki’s grumbling. 

He hid behind a bunch of leaves, heaving out a sigh of relief at the sight of Katsuki. He looked the same, just tired and maybe he was taller? It was enough to make Izuku smile. 

Katsuki froze at the items on his bed, head whipping around back and forth as if Izuku would materialize in front of him. It was kind of silly until Katsuki stared at the tree Izuku was hiding in. Izuku’s breath froze in his lungs, afraid if he blinked it would give away his location. 

Katsuki just sighed, flopping on the bed, and opening the note Izuku left on it. 

“You fucking idiot,” Katsuki grumbled, crumbling the note in his hand and covering his face with his arms. It was a familiar sight for Izuku, familiar enough to make him ache. 

But what wasn’t familiar was the tears that escaped from his arms. It glued Izuku to his spot, unsure what to think. 

“Come home, you fucking dumbass.” 

…

Thursday; April 20th

“If you could go anywhere, where would it be?” Touya was tossing his peanut shells in Izuku’s direction. They were both lounging in the living room, Touya in his respective spot on the couch and Izuku on the floor, an older movie playing on Touya’s TV. 

“Hm?” Izuku blinked, ruffling his hair and dislodging the shells that managed to stick to his frizzy curls. “I’ve always hoped one day I would be able to move to Okinawa.”

“Okinawa?” Touya squinted at Izuku like he was a puzzle that needed to be figured out. “That’s kind of far, Little Hero.”

Izuku grinned up at him, shrugging sheepishly. “My mom and I used to talk about Okinawa a lot when I was younger. She loves Tsubaki flowers, and Okinawa has a lot of them…ya know being on the coast and all, plus they have a high percent of Qu-” 

Izuku snapped his mouth shut, face coloring in shame. Touya knew he was Quirkless, but still…the way Touya’s face would screw up with the word Quirkless made Izuku bring it up less and less. 

“She loved the idea of moving there one day, making a new family grave for us.” 

With narrowed eyes, Touya nodded. 

…

Monday; April 24th

Izuku fell face-first onto the couch with a groan. “Kill me.” 

“You look like hell.” Touya had taken to poking Izuku’s back. 

“Just got back.” His voice was muffled by Touya’s musty couch cushions but even thinking about turning his head to the side took too much effort. He had officially started working for Nishi just over a week ago, and he had never felt so tired in his whole life. 

“I’m surprised actually.” Touya nudged Izuku until he rolled off the couch like a pathetic worm and then sat down on the couch with a cup of coffee and a cigarette. “You haven’t been coming back with injuries lately.” 

“I have hardly been patrolling.” It was true. For the last week and a half, Izuku had mostly been between analyzing the Heroes in the area, working, and actually working out at work. One upside to his boss being a penny pincher meant that there weren’t any cameras or any coworkers to see him use the gym’s equipment without a membership. 

“The hell have you been doing then?” 

“I’ve been working.” He shrugged. 

It was quiet for a moment. “You’ve been working?” Izuku cracked an eye open at the stiff question, brows furrowed. Touya’s face was blank, but Izuku recognized that cold look in his eyes. 

“Yes.” Izuku moved back, keeping his eyes on Touya. “After you lost your job I wanted to be able to help o-” 

“Help?” Touya stood, face still impassive. “You probably are just trying to save up to run away. Aren’t you?” 

He scoffed, stepping past Izuku. 

“How did you even get a job?” Touya tilted his head to the side. “You don’t even ha-” He snapped his jaw shut, glaring at Izuku before scoffing. “How long?” 

Izuku ignored the unfinished sentence. Touya wouldn’t say something like that, Izuku was just projecting his past onto Touya. “A week and a half ago. I was waiting until I got my paycheck to tell you. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Sure you did.” 

Izuku flinched at the words. The more he got to learn about Touya the more he started to realize there were times when he was Touya and times he was Dabi. It was the same person, but there were times when Touya smiled and Izuku felt warm and times when Dabi smiled and Izuku felt cold. Maybe he just didn’t want to think of Touya as someone cruel to him.

It wasn’t until a few hours later that Touya walked out of his room, nodding to Izuku that he finally felt like a weight had been lifted. Touya wasn’t upset with him anymore. 

…

Thursday; April 27th

“How does moving sound?” Touya placed a bowl in front of Izuku. 

“Moving?” Izuku’s chopsticks froze in midair, trying to figure out the angle. “Why would I want to move?” 

“Are you wanting to stay in this shit hole forever?” Touya scoffed, stealing some of Izuku’s pork.

All Izuku could do was smile. 

“I mean I thought you wanted to move to Okinawa or something, didn’t you?” Touya’s voice was clipped like he was expecting Izuku to lie or start calling Dabi crazy. 

“I don’t know,” Izuku mumbled, feeling his face warm under Touya’s scrutiny. “Okinawa is like a daydream, I guess. It feels weird to move somewhere so far away from where I grew up. Plus, I’ve established a network here.” 

It was true, both in Musutafu and Naruhata, Izuku, or rather The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante was well known. People gave Izuku tips and information if they knew anything. They trusted him. 

“I’ve gotten comfortable with Naruhata, it’s not too different from Musutafu, and not too far either.” 

“It’s a two-hour bus ride.” Touya did not sound too impressed. 

“And a four-hour walk, I know.” Izuku bit back a complaint when Touya took the last of his pork. “I’ve taken the walk before.” 

“Fucking when?” Oh great, Touya was pissed. He always acted like Izuku was trying to hide information from him. 

“At the beginning of the month.” He cringed at the scathing look Touya was giving him. “It was the day of the USJ attack, I have a friend in the Hero course. I wanted to make sure he was okay.” 

“Oh…” The word hung in the air, prickling at Izuku’s skin. There was a cruel smile paired with an amused glint in Touya’s eyes. “You have a friend?” He rolled his eyes, grabbing one of Izuku’s vegetables probably just to be petty. 

Izuku kept his mouth shut, knowing better than to answer that question. Not only was Katsuki not even Izuku’s friend, but Touya didn’t even care. He was just pointing out something he knew dug at Izuku’s wounds. 

And what would he even say? 

…

Monday; May 8th 

“I’m back, I’m back!” Izuku shut the door with the back of his foot, stumbling as he kicked his shoes off toward the corner behind Touya’s door. “Did you start it yet?” He skidded into the living room, arms full of paper bags, eyes falling on the TV right as he saw Katsuki pass the finish line. 

“Huh?” Touya turned toward Izuku, eyes still glued onto the TV just as Shouto passed the finish line for second place. “Oh yeah, sorry. Got bored.” 

Wrestling with the irrational irritation, Izuku smiled bright and wide. “That’s okay!” It wasn’t like he asked Touya to wait for him, or that he reminded him right before he left that he liked watching from the beginning. 

Oh, but he did do just that. 

“How much have I missed?” 

“Uh, the students ran?” Touya shrugged his shoulders and Izuku’s mouth dropped open in shock at Touya’s horrible explanation. “You got any chips?” 

Clicking his mouth shut, Izuku sat the bags down on the coffee table, rummaging through them until he found the lemon chips Touya told him to get. “Here.” 

He could hear Present Mic talking animately in the background about the people who were placing. And if he were fast enough, he would be able to start taking notes before the second round even started. 

He grabbed a protein bar he had bought from the store, sat on the couch, and opened his notebook quickly. There were only twenty names on the screen out of the fourty-two spots listed. It was probably a precautionary measure that Yuuei had. Most people would assume the two classes of Hero Students would all make it to the second round, and since some students in other courses wanted to get transferred into the Hero Course, there was essentially only two spots left to make it to the next round. 

“Oi!” Izuku jumped, hand freezing on the page. “You gonna keep muttering like that? I can hardly hear what they are saying.” 

“Oh,” Izuku flushed, laughing nervously. When had been the last time he had mumbled to himself? He could always rewatch the festival and take notes then. If he waited for Touya to be gone or just watched it at the library he should be fine to do his creepy muttering and notes in peace. “My bad, sorry.” 

“Are you just going to leave all this shit here?” Touya jabbed a finger at the groceries that Izuku bought. 

“Right.” He closed his notebook, stuffing it back into his bag and did his best to hold back complaining. Right now all he wanted to do was sit down next to Touya and watch the sports festival. He’s made sure not to watch anything lately since Izuku knew they would be watching it later than everyone else. “I’ll do that right now.” 

“Great, oh also, could you get started on some dinner too? I’ve got somewhere to be later, so I can’t be here after the festival is over.” 

Taking in a deep breath, Izuku bit his tongue and nodded. 

He cooked as fast as he could, just barely missing the start of the second challenge. Touya took up the entire couch while Izuku was cooking so he sat on the floor and handed Touya his bowl. 

“A calvary battle?” 

Touya hummed in response, eyes trained on the TV.

“What’s the catch?” Izuku quickly ate the protein in his bowl, not wanting to give Touya the chance to take his food. 

“Point system.” Touya took a carrot. 

“So everyone wants to get Katsuki’s headband, makes sense.” He finished half of his bowl, setting it on the coffee table for Touya to take the rest. “How many points did he have?” 

“Ten million, I think?” Touya poured the rest of his bowl into Izuku’s leftovers. “Something like that. You know the kid that got first?” 

Izuku shrugged, pretending not to notice Touya’s stare. “Went to middle school together.” 

“Ah.” Touya finished both bowls, stacking them in front of Izuku. “He’s an ass.” 

“You know him?” The hairs on Izuku’s arms raised.

“No, nothing like that.” Touya pulled out a cigarette, rolling his eyes. “He came in first for the entrance exam or something, so he had to make a speech. It was real shitty, too. Said something like I’m gonna win. ” 

Izuku chuckled, writing Katsuki’s name and points down in his notebook. “That doesn’t surprise me.” 

“Oh?” Shouto’s team was on the screen right now, trying to grab Katsuki’s headband. The camera was focused on Shouto’s face, specifically. “You think he’s going to win then?” 

“Yeah.” Izuku grimaced at the cold air. It felt like he was spitting in Touya’s face, like he was telling Touya that his little brother wasn’t good enough. 

“You really think so?” 

Izuku thought of explosions and ten years of history. “Yeah.” 

“How about a bet, Little Hero.” Touya grinned, eyeing Izuku like he knew something that Izuku didn’t. The smell of burnt carmel was surrounding Izuku. Katsuki’s was letting off explosions because his team came in second place right behind Shouto’s.  

“Okay.” 

…

Izuku checked the bracket in his notebook against the one displayed on TV. 

Shinsou Hitoshi vs. Iida Tenya 

Hatsume Mei vs. Kaminari Denki 

Aoyama Yuuga vs. Ashido Mina

Jirou Kyoka vs. Yaoyorozu Momo

Ojiro Mashirao vs. Kirishima Ejirou 

Sero Hanta vs. Todoroki Shouto

Asui Tsuyu vs. Tsunotori Pony 

Uraraka Ochako vs. Bakugou Katsuki 

He didn’t get to see many of the contestants and their abilities between shopping and cooking food, but since there was a strong thirty-minute intermission for the participants, he had some time to look them up online and draw his own ideas on how the match-ups would go. 

“So how long did you know the explosion brat for?” Touya’s voice broke Izuku’s concentration. He had made it to Ashido’s performance in the second round. 

“Oh, Katsuki?” Izuku’s brows were furrowed in concentration as he scribbled down flexible under her name. It took him a second to realize that Touya was irritated with either Izuku’s lack of response or his lack of attention to Touya. 

Hell, it could be both. 

“My whole life, pretty much.” He closed his notebook, figuring if he tried writing in it again, Touya would get pissed. “We grew up near each other, and well school and families…yeah.” 

“Oh, so that’s the friend that was caught up in the USJ?” Touya lit another cigarette. 

“Yeah, something like that.” Izuku rubbed his shoulder, thankful Katsuki made it out perfectly fine. 

“You had some starburst scars too…” Touya let the sentence hang in the air, probably giving Izuku the opportunity take the lead. But Izuku was a coward who was so tired of showing how weak he was all the time. 

He just palmed the heavy scar tissue that Touya had pointed out the night they first met. He still couldn’t piece when it had happened, what had happened, or why he couldn’t remember, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out it had come from Katsuki. 

…

“I really didn’t expect Shinsou to defeat Iida. His brother is Ingenium, right?” Izuku pinched his lip in thought, surprised by the turn of events. And if the crowd’s reaction were anything to go by, they were all shocked too. 

“Just because his brother is a Hero you thought that he would win?” Touya scoffed, muttering something under his breath. 

“No, not like that,” Izuku sighed. “Shinsou seems to be reliant on his quirk. I understand why, it’s an easy win once he uses it, but he doesn’t look like he’s trained at all for this event or even before. I mean he probably only beat Iida because he had the element of surprise, his next oponent will probably be better prepared.” 

“Better prepared?” Touya grabbed the remote, muting the commercials, seemingly actually interested in Izuku’s rambles. “How?” 

“Well anyone can see that he has a brainwashing Quirk. It’s a bit harder to figure out since I’m not there, there’s some interference with watching a Quirk in action through a device. Weather it be a television, phone, computer, or whatnot. I am assuming here that his Quirk relies on a response, but it seemed like Shinsou doesn’t want anyone to know how his Quirk works. We saw Iida and Shinsou talking for a bit, but we can’t hear anything that they are saying, so he probably got him under control early on and then gave a fake tell to make people think they know how his Quirk works.” 

The commercial was over, but Touya paused the recording. “Fake tell?” 

“Yeah, he snapped his fingers right before Iida stepped out of bounds.” Izuku could feel his body vibrating with excitement at the chance of being able to analyze someone’s Quirk and thought process in using it to someone else. “He probably wants people to think it’s a five-point activation with a time limit. They shook hands at the beginning of the match, and it was about a minute and a half into the fight before he snapped his fingers.” 

“Huh,” Touya pressed play, watching Izuku with interest in his eyes. “You got one interesting Quirk there, kid. I don’t think anyone would have been able to figure that out.” 

…

“So,” Touya spoke as the names flashed across the screen. “Electro kid or the girl from the support course?” 

Izuku tilted his head to the side. “Hatsume will win. But then again, I am probably wrong. I thought Iida would win in the first round.” 

“Not the kid with electricity?” Snippets of Kaminari’s performance so far was shown on the screen as Present Mic introduced him to the arena. “Kid looks powerful to me.”

“Yeah, that’s the point.” Izuku scratched his cheek. “This sports festival is supposed to showcase future Heroes and Heroes in training to agencies for internships. A downside is that a lot of people know how these students use their Quirks or even just what their Quirks are. That means criminals, villains, or even just students from other courses or schools. It also has the benefit of helping the students jump start on growing a fan base for their Hero personas.” 

Izuku quickly typed in Katsuki’s name knowing better than to search up Shouto. And hundreds of pictures, articles, and fan pages had already been made. 

“See Katsuki came from a poor middle school with no popular name outside of his parents’ fashion industry. But because of the first two rounds so far and his speech before the sports festival started, there are already plenty of people creating both fan bases and hate pages for him. It’ll be the same for anyone in the third round, right now.” 

He searched up Shinsou’s and Iida’s name for proof. 

“Kinda sucks for the girls so far, look.” He searched up Uraraka, Tsunotori, Asui, Jirou, and Yaoyorozu on different tabs. “There is a lot more hate for them because of how gross and hateful society is. The guys definitely have better fans and their hate pages are just a bunch of words that can’t stick but with the girls they are being called horrible names or just people making fan pages because of their bodies.” 

“What does this have to do with the electricity kid?” Touya’s face was pinched in the same way Izuku’s old teachers had been. Izuku flushed, realizing he had completely gone off topic. 

“Sorry, I derailed.” He exited out of all the tabs, closing the computer down with a warm face. “My point is that because this is about showing off the students to the public they don’t show the parts where Kaminari overloaded himself in the second round during the re-runs.” 

“So you think-” 

“Yes!” Izuku cringed when he realized he cut Touya off. “Sorry, but yeah. I’m also thinking that Hatsume will be wanting to showcase her inventions off to companies, business students, and/or investors. So she could, in theory, just want to do one round and then let Kaminari go forward. But I mean unless she only has a few inventions or is able to show them all off in one go, she’ll probably want to continue fighting opponents to show off what she’s created.” 

“Oh.” Touya looked interested as Hatsume and Kaminari walked onto the stage both saddled up in Hatsume’s inventions. “Did you think this would happen?” 

“Not at all.” Izuku tilted his head to the side, eyes trying to count all the inventions in the arena. 

“Is she wearing a jetpack?” 

They both tilted their head to the other side trying to discern if that was really a jetpack. “I believe so. I thought her original one had been destroyed durning the second round…Oh! She will probably also showcase how easily fixable it is in tight situations like that? Unless this happens to be a completely new jetpack that she had on hand in case something happened to the original one? But that could also make that seem like they break very ea-” 

“You gonna keep talking over the match, motor mouth?” Touya’s voice sliced through Izuku’s thought process like a knife in room-temperature butter. 

“Ah sorry,” Izuku muttered. “My bad.” Touya rolled his eyes, pressing play on the screen.

“Is it working?” Hatsume’s voice cut through the audio, making Izuku blink in shock. “Hello, Yuuei and ultimately, Japan!” 

“She hijacked the Yuuei speakers,” Izuku whispered, awe lacing his voice. “She’s insane.” 

“I am here today to show you all what my babies can do!” Kaminari said something that couldn’t be heard, but it caused Hatsume to grin from ear to ear. 

“I fear she would be too powerful if she turned into a villain,” Izuku muttered to himself. 

“I have a few of my babies on my opponent here, to showcase as many babies as I can in this round.” She threw her hands out towards Kaminari and his cocky grin. It felt almost painful to watch how confident Kaminari was. Izuku was over eighty percent sure that Hatsume was going to win this round. 

“It sounds like she’s only planning one fight.” Touya lifted a brow. “Still placing your vote on her?” 

Izuku grinned shyly up at Touya. “Yeah, I am.” 

Kaminari raised both of his hands above his head, Hatsume’s mic managing to pick up “Take this! TWO MILLION VOLTS!!” While Kaminari was charging up, Hatsume’s jetpack ejected long metal poles and lifted her into the air the moment the ends of the poles pushed against the ground. 

“With my hydraulic attachments, I can easily evade attacks from all sides and angles. Even my blind spots are covered due to these installed sensors that can catch someone coming from behind!” She landed safely on the floor, facing the spectator’s booth, showing her back open to attack. Though, she hadn’t seemed to realize Kaminari was out of commission. “Another added bonus is that due to the rubber feet and the stainless steel attachments, I am safe from my hydraulic attachments conducting electricity and shocking me-”

“Kaminari is unable to fight, so the winner by default is Hatsume Mei!” 

Hatsume’s mouth fell open, her head swiviling over to Kaminari who was holding two thumbs up. “What?” 

“Okay,” Touya scoffed. “Whatever. I guess you guessed correctly, Little Hero. Even though you had a fifty percent chance of being correct.” 

Izuku could only grin. 

…

“It could go either way.” Izuku drew an imaginary question mark in his head. “I’m sure both Jirou and Yaoyorozu could win, not so easily.” 

“What are you thinking?” Touya tapped the remote on the crown of Izuku’s head. 

“It seems like Yaoyorozu would win because of her background, range of ability, and performance so far.” As he spoke, Yaoyorozu’s seamless teamwork from the second round and her creative thinking from the first challenge were shown during Present Mic’s introduction. “And without support gear, it doesn’t seam like Jirou really stands a chance unless her earjacks are like crazy strong?

“But look at the way Yaoyorozu is holding herself right now.” Izuku catalouged her stance as he pointed it out to Touya. “It’s obvious she’s nervous.” 

“She’s survived an attack from the Leauge of Villians, but a little school sanctioned fight has her scared?” Touya scoffed. “What a pathetic waste of time.” 

“Well,” Izuku drew the word out, curling in on himself a bit under Touya’s stare. “She’s just a kid and those are very different scenarios.” 

It was unfortunately a common opinion. Izuku even thought like that a lot, but he started to realize there were certain things he was more scared of than criminals. He was terrified of Touya and upsetting him, more afraid he would end up on his own again just like ha had been before he met Touya. Fighting and running from criminals and villains weren’t nearly as scary. 

“I’m sure there was a huge adrenaline rush during the USJ, the first round, and even the second round because of they had about five minutes to form teams and start the challenge. Now, though, they had a thirty minute break before the third challenge even started. Plus, she had to wait through three different fights, it would make sense that her adrenaline rush is long gone.

“It must be part of why it’s done this way. Not every fight you’re in is going to be run on a level head, just like not every fight is going to happen in the middle of an adrenaline rush.” 

“I think…” Touya placed a hand on Izuku’s head, it made the hairs on the back of Izuku’s neck stand up. “You are reading into this a bit too much, Einstein.” 

Izuku shrugged, greatful for the moment Touya let go of him. “Probably.” 

Jirou launched herself at Yaoyorozu the moment Mic called the start of the battle. Her approached seemed to be stopping Yaoyorozu from making any sort of help. A solid strategy since they were both beginners, they had only been at school for about a month now, unless they has crazy control over their quirk and ability to think on the spot, it was anyone’s game. 

If Yaoyorozu was more confident in herself Izuku would have most likely assumed she would win, hands down. But they are first years, this was a major part of having the beginners be apart of the festival. It got them ready for fights, not all fights were planned, not all fights were solo, and it prepared them to think on their feet. 

Yaoyorozu ducked under a punch, sweeping her foot to knock Jirou down. The moment Jirou’s back hit the concrete, the camera zoomed in. Jirou was smiling. She said something to Yaoyorozu that had the girl’s face set in determination. 

A handful of white balls came out of Yaoyorozu’s palm and a cylindrical can came out of her other one. 

“What is she-” Touya’s question was cut off the moment Yaoyorozu dropped the cylindrical can on the ground and a cloud of smoke exploded around the two contestants. 

“It looks like she’s trying to make Jirou depend purely on her quirk to find out where she is.” If that were true she would have to find a way to disrupt Jirou’s ability to pinpoint where she was. 

“Okay, but now she can’t see in it either.”

Izuku rolled his eyes. “She’ll probably just make goggles or something to be able to see through the smoke. Or maybe she didn’t think about that.” 

“You act like you know fucking everything!” Izuku flinched, instantly regretting everything from the past hour. He was so incredibly stupid. He knew better than to make Touya think that he thought he was smarter than him. 

And rolling his eyes? Maybe he actually was trying to get Touya to kill him. 

“So fucking what, you managed to get two out of three of the matches right, and now you think you’re the shit?” Touya was standing over Izuku now, blue eyes practically glowing in the dark room. 

“No, no!” Izuku cringed at his voice cracking. “I don’t think that at all! I’m just lucky with my guesses, and outside of that, it’s literally my Quirk. I swear, I know you’re leagues smarter than I am. I’m a middle school dropout!” 

He decided to pretend like he didn’t know Touya was practically a grade school dropout. 

“I’m sorry.” Izuku raised his hands, and to his horror they were trembling. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” 

“Whatever,” Touya scoffed, grabbing his pack of cigarette, both of them ignoring Izuku’s muted flinch at Touya’s movement. “I need a fucking smoke break, pause the fucking festival.” 

Touya stalked out of the room, leaving Izuku sitting there with his hands held up and head still bowed. 

“Wow! What a show fol-” Izuku scrambled, grabbing the remote and pausing the screen so that Touya wouldn’t get even more upset with him. 

He lifted his head, noticing Yaoyorozu had won. A small smile made its way to his face, happy for her, at least. 

…

The rest of the matches pretty much went how Izuku expected them to go. They were still crazy interesting to watch. 

Shinsou won against Hatsume, even though it seemed she knew his quirk. He started talking crap on on her inventions until she responded, promptly forcing her out of the ring. At that point though, everyone knew how his quirk worked. 

Since Yaoyorozu defeated Ashido in the second round, she had to fight Shinsou in the third round of fights. As impressive as it was that Shinsou got that far, without proper training he didn’t stand a chance against Yaoyorozu. But he still got third place, a shock to many people. 

It wasn’t a surprise to Izuku or Touya that Shouto defeated Sero. It seemed to piss Touya off that Shouto was only using his ice, though. Which was understandable, he was kind of shitting on everyone’s hard work. He also had defeated Kirishima just as easily in the second round. 

But just like Izuku predicted, Katsuki beat Shouto. It was almost too easy, and it seemed Katsuki knew that too. He had started screaming and shaking Shouto’s unconscious body after the battle had been called. It was a bit horrifying to watch. 

And of course, Katsuki beat Yaoyorozu. It seemed like all that confidence she had built up since her match with Jirou dissipated along with her chance at first place. 

He kept his own mouth stubbornly shut unless Touya prompted a question, and even then he gave wrong answers. 

Who was gonna win, Tsunotori or Asui? 

He would say he thought Asui would win. 

Did he think Ojiro or Kirishima had a better chance? 

Obviously, he said Ojiro was going to win. 

Even if he thought differently, he kept his opinions to himself and let Touya make a fool of him.

“Well, kiddo,” Touya held a hand out, brow raised at Izuku’s confused stare. “The bet. I said that explodo brat would win, pay up.” 

Izuku froze, eyes jumping from Touya’s hand to his face in absolute astonishment. 

“I won, didn’t I?” 

With a bowed head, Izuku placed the money in Touya’s awaiting hand.

…

The moment Touya had left, Izuku shut the television off. He had shoved his Hopeless Hero: Vigilante hoodie on, covered his face with the Hawks mask, and closed Touya’s window behind himself. He had lost the Present Mic one almost three weeks ago, having no clue where he had last left it. 

He didn’t even care enough to watch the part where All Might awarded Katsuki his first-place medal, too anxious to sit there, knowing Touya was upset with him. 

When he was feeling better, he’d be able to watch it on HeroTube. He’d be happy for Katsuki later. But right then, he had to get out of the apartment before he started pulling his hair out. Sitting still and waiting for Touya to get back from his shift would only leave him antsy. 

He had been so excited to watch the sports festival with Touya, it had been years since he had actually watched the festival instead of just snippets from videos on HeroTube, let alone watched it with someone. 

But of course, he fucked it up. He couldn’t keep his fucking mouth shut, could he? 

He heard a cry for help and shoved all that frustration down. 

He jumped to a different rooftop, rolling to soften his landing, and took off running in the direction of the yell. He was The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante now, he didn’t have to worry about how bad he fucked up with Touya until he was just Izuku again. 

…

Saturday; May 13th

Izuku leaned against the alleyway wall, letting the bricks imprint their dirt and grime onto his sweater. It was one of his nights off from Nishi’s gym which meant he could start his patrol earlier than usual. Before that, though, he had to meet up with an ‘informant’. Informant was used loosely in Izuku’s mind since they hardly ever gave Izuku anything but a pleasant conversation.

“Hey, kid.” Umie grinned, canines glinting in the dark. Izuku had met Umie a month or so earlier, saving both her and her young nephew from some pretentious assholes who had issues with mutant and animal quirks. Umie’s quirk was Jackal, or something like that since he never asked and she never offered. Her nephew had loads of different colored scales along his arms and face, but no other obvious ties to a reptile as far as Izuku could tell. 

Umie, apparently, used to work as an informant before Izuku met her. Now though, she worked for Moe in her little corner shop. After The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante had saved her and her nephew, he started to run into her. She gave him little bits of information about drug rings, about smugglers, about anything she would come across. 

He was always grateful for her knowledge, grateful that she valued his help. Still, even with her giving him that information, he knew better than to think he could take them on. He wasn’t a Hero, wasn’t an officer, wasn’t someone who could take on serial kidnappings or smugglers. But, he could compile everything he learned from Umie, he could disrupt drop offs to buy the police and Heroes more time. It wasn’t much, but it usually was just enough until the Heroes and police had formed some sort of raid group. 

Umie telling him about these people, about these dangerous situations, meant she believed he could take care of it. She believed in The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, just like Honda, just like Mirio. He couldn’t betray that kind of trust, that kind of hope. 

It helped that she never gave him anything too difficult. Every piece of information that she had provided, had been something he had been able to take care of or pass on with a comfortable amount of difficulty. 

“Good morning, Umie-san.” Izuku grinned from behind his Hawks mask, making room for Umie under the restaurant’s back door canopy. “How’s Liu-kun?” 

“The same as before.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets, leaning against the wall beside Izuku. “Want a smoke?” 

“I’m good.” He always felt embarrassed and lame to turn stuff like that down, but he wasn’t sure how Touya would react if he walked in smelling like booze or cigarettes. 

Probably assume he stole some from him.

“Got anything new for me, Umie-san?” He didn’t feel uncomfortable with Umie or anything, but he just didn’t want to stay here all night when he could be out doing something. He didn’t think he could make a real difference or anything, but if he could help someone why wouldn’t he? 

Umie blew out some smoke, eyeing Izuku. “Have you heard the news about the Hero Killer?” 

Izuku groaned, thumping his head against the bricks, wincing the moment the corners dug into his skull. “He’s here?” 

“No, not here.” Her fur was starting to glisten in the dark, most likely due to the raindrops reflecting off of the business signs out on the street. “He took down Ingenium less than a week ago.” 

Izuku wasn’t a Hero. 

Heroes stopped incidents before they happened, they went out of their way to stop dangerous situations before they happened. That wasn’t what Izuku did. He found danger and disrupted it. He couldn’t go after Stain like that. He couldn’t try and wait until Stain was trying to kill or maim another Hero, which meant Izuku would have to try and find Stain before the villain added anyone else to his ever-growing list of Fake Heroes .

It helped that The Hero Killer had lost interest in Izuku or better said, The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. He had most likely heard of how Izuku ran, how he was just a dumb kid who was probably going to get himself killed. That would give him an upper hand, it would give him the element of surprise. 

He shouldn’t do anything to provoke Stain’s anger again. 

But…why Ingenium? What about Ingenium made him a fake Hero? 

“Why are you telling me this?” Izuku lifted his head, trying to make out the lights across the street, outside of this dark alley. “People here support Stain. Everyone knows that.” 

“Nah,” She paused to exhale the remnants of her cigarette. “Everyone here just wants something to believe in, someone to stand behind.” 

She dropped the cigarette on the wet ground. 

“Stain has never been here to stop people that would hurt Liu or rob Moe’s shop on the corner by Nishi’s gym.” She ground the dying embers of the cigarette with the heel of her boot. “No payment needed for this one.” 

It was almost funny she said that, taken as she never accepted payments from him. 

…

Sunday; May 14th

“Don’t kids like you got things to do on weekends?” Nishi handed Izuku’s check over. The same old routine every Sunday. 

“No,” Izuku laughed, stuffing Katsuki’s sweater in his locker, grateful that with Nishi he was just some kid who needed money. He didn’t have to talk to the man more than the few minutes they spent on Sunday evenings getting ready to clock in. “No, I don’t think anyone really cares about Sunday nights.” 

“Ah, I’m just old.” Nishi slipped the keys into Izuku’s hand. “Don’t mind me, then. Haru will get the keys from you in the morning.” 

Izuku closed his locker with a nod. “Okay.” 

“You know the drill, kid,” They were at the back door, waiting for Nishi to finish his usual spiel of what to clean and to just grab the money box and run if trouble came about. “You don’t gotta wax the floors tonight, that can wait till Wednesday, and don’t forget-” 

“Moneybox and run if I hear anything.” Izuku smiled, nodding at Nishi. “I’ve got it, Nishi-san.” 

“If you say so, kid.” Nishi shrugged his shoulders and stepped outside, letting the locked door close behind him and leaving Izuku to his own devices. 

Finally. 

…

Wednesday, May 17th 

Touya still wasn’t able to find a job, but he was out every day trying. Izuku found that impressive, he couldn’t imagine having to be that strong. 

Lately, Izuku had the apartment pretty much to himself during the day because Touya was out job searching. That meant he had all the time in the world to himself. Just like today, Touya left a little before Izuku got back, he had the place to himself and the ability to watch the Hero News in peace. 

That’s not to say he couldn’t watch it in peace with Touya around, but it’s just every time Izuku tried…well it would hardly last for five minutes before Touya started angrily muttering about Izuku and his admiration for Heroes. 

It was just easier to wait until he was alone or find articles online at the library. 

He much preferred being able to watch it comfortably in solitude than out in public, nothing would match being able to watch it with his mom, though. Even though she didn’t want Izuku to be a Hero, just wanted him safe, she never forced him to stay away from it. 

Maybe in a different world, one where she wasn’t sick and one where he didn’t feel guilty for not wanting to do something she worked so hard for, he would have become a Hero. But that wasn’t this place. 

And it never would be. He wasn’t a Hero. 

“Heroes have begun to speculate that The Hero Killer, otherwise known as Stain has moved from Hosu due to the backlash of his attack against Ingenium, and is on the move to a completely different city.” The newscaster was narrating while a large image of Ingenium was displayed across the television. 

“He still has work to do,” Izuku muttered, rolling his eyes and staring down at his notebook, drowning out the man’s voice. After his conversation with Umie, he started a deep dive into anything he could find on Stain. “He won’t stop, not yet.” 

It felt good to be trying to stop something, instead of just interrupting the act of a crime. It felt more significant, more like Izuku was at least attempting to make a difference. But outside of just feeling good about it, he felt guilty. 

He could have been trying to do this the whole time, but he hadn’t. He had been scared, too scared to try and be a Hero. 

Was it because he was scared of failing, or was it deeper than that? 

He pushed those thoughts away, circling Ingenium’s name in his notebook. Stain attacked four people in each city he was in, the public’s opinion never mattered to him before. If it had, then Stain would have changed his stupid approach by now. 

He never agreed with Stain’s methods and never liked what he’s done. He had always hated how he dressed murder and maiming in fancy words, but he never tried to do anything about it before. 

Didn’t that make him just as bad? 

He couldn’t just sit here anymore and pretend like he was doing enough. He hadn’t been coming back hurt anymore, wouldn’t that mean he should take the next step? Kind of like when you work out, you have to constantly keep pushing limits. 

His mind had already been made up about this, but he just wanted to check all of his bases. He had to get his things ready, let Touya know, and then head over to Hosu to start tracking Stain.

It’s not like he thought he could fight Stain, he already knew he stood no chance against him. He wasn’t a Hero, he couldn’t do the things they could, but he’s always been good about getting criminals to chase him. He knew Stain wouldn’t fall for that, so he would probably have to get a Hero to chase him to Stain. 

Not many Heroes liked Izuku, and that was fine. He didn’t care if they liked him, he just wanted to save people. 

“Since you have been known to step in when Heroes in certain prefectures are struggling, are you planning on doing anything to stop The Hero Killer?” Izuku’s pen froze against the page at the lady’s voice, he raised his head slowly. Endeavor was being interviewed outside of his agency. “Your son is interning with you too, isn’t that right? Would he be going with you?” 

“Yes.” Endeavor nodded, apparently finding his response to be more than enough to satisfy her questions. 

Undeterred, the lady smiled at the camera. “Isn’t that a bit dangerous for a child?” 

“A bit?!” Izuku slammed his notebook shut, stuffing it in his bag. If Endeavor was really going to be taking Shouto to Hosu to find the Hero Killer, then Izuku couldn’t wait a few days to get ready. He would have to leave today. 

“Not at all,” Endeavor’s voice was stoic, almost as if he wasn’t talking about having his youngest son trail after him as they tried to find a bloodthirsty serial killer. “My Shouto hasn’t yet fully realized how dangerous this job truly is.” 

“Ah, so you’re-” 

“In the Sport’s Festival at Yuuei, he refused to use his fire, he-” Izuku shut the TV off, hands trembling around the remote. 

His mind was running a hundred miles a minute, trying to figure out what kind of parent would do something like that. Is that why Touya left? 

He shoved the thought away, knowing that if he dwelled on it, he wouldn’t be helpful to anyone. Touya’s relationship with Endeavor was over, but Izuku couldn’t let Shouto end up like that. He felt like he owed it to Touya’s little brother, and felt like it was his responsibility to make sure Shouto wouldn’t end up like him or Touya. 

With Endeavor leading Shouto into Stain’s bloody hands, Izuku didn’t have time to hypothesize about Touya’s past. 

He made sure Eraserhead’s remaining knife was properly secured in the hole he had sewn into his sweater. He only had one out of the three knives he had stolen from Eraserhead; losing one the same night he threw it at the winged villain and losing the second one to the twins that had broken his hand. Since then, he had been practicing with the Hero’s knife. 

That first night, he had assumed that it had been luck that made him able to pierce through the villain’s wing, but he found that he wasn’t half bad. Sure he wasn’t anything like Snipe, but he actually impressed himself with the way he was able to wield the Hero’s knife. With practice, he had only gotten better with his aim. He spent his free time watching anything he could about Heroes with aiming Quirks and how they strengthened them. 

It felt like he was taking it all a bit more seriously. With Eraserhead’s sole remaining knife as a fallback, he felt as close as he could to being prepared for a fight. He hadn’t ever used it, never had to pull it out of the fake back of his hoodie, but still…it was a fallback. 

Hopefully, he’d never have to use it.  

The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante usually fought with whatever was around at the time, but he couldn’t afford to walk into a fight with Stain unprepared. He was confident enough with his ability to wield a knife or dagger. He didn’t have a Quirk like Stain or any other Hero did, but he wouldn’t be totally useless if he ran into him. 

What was that saying…fight fire with fire? Knives would also apply, right? 

But with Shouto added into the mix, his first priority was making sure Shouto did not have to fight Stain. 

He reached for his Hawks mask, hand hesitating over the cardboard cut-out. If he took his mask to Hosu, he’d just be asking for the Heroes and police to chase him. It would be impossible to escape the city once word got out. 

He grabbed a surgical mask instead. At least that way he’d be able to keep his face covered. 

He turned the lights off, stuffing the surgical mask into his back pocket, shoved Katsuki’s green hoodie over his Hopeless Hero one, and slipped outside. 

… 

He made it onto a train headed to Hosu with ease, not having to worry about security. 

He had no idea when Endeavor would decide to leave for Hosu, but Izuku had to get there first and make sure not to fall behind. 

It was later than he would have liked, having left a little before eight at night. He had stopped at the gym, letting Nishi know he was going to be gone for a few days. He had also left a note for Umie at Moe’s shop on his way to the station.

He still had to let Touya know and figure out a way to track Endeavor’s movements. But he didn’t have time to waste, so those were jobs for him while he was headed out. 

[Akatani]: I’m gonna be gone for a few days. Money is on the counter under the empty tissue box. I won’t be able to answer or check any messages until I get back. I don’t know when that’ll be but it should only take a few days. 

He immediately deleted their chat, blocked Touya’s contact so that any questions wouldn’t be seen, deleted Touya’s contact, and made sure to memorize the number. He wanted to make sure no one would be able to tie Touya to Izuku if he ended up getting caught. Once that had been taken care of, Izuku opened a Hero forum specifically centered around Endeavor and what he was doing. If Izuku knew anything about Hero nerds, and he did, he knew they would find out the moment Endeavor left for Hosu, stepped foot in the city, and the moment he caught sight of Stain. 

He subscribed to the channel with a shiver, feeling like he was betraying Touya somehow, but it needed to be done to make sure Shouto was safe. 

Surely, Touya would understand. 

Right? 

By the time the train pulled into Hosu, it was a little before ten at night. Hosu was rather close to Naruhata, only an hour and a half due to the amount of stops the train made. Luckily, no news had been said about Endeavor over the forum. 

No news was good news, Izuku mused.

So it seemed that Izuku had beat them to Hosu. 

The first order of busines in any new city was to find a safe place to sleep. 

He was nervous, unsure how he was going to accomplish anything in a city he knew nothing about. He hadn’t been able to research Hosu’s infrastructure and patrol routes like he had wanted to. Even if he did know Hosu’s patrol routes, it’d be hard to predict how they would have changed in response to Ingenium’s attack. Heroes were working overtime, trying to give the civilans in the area peace of mind and trying to stop Stain fanatics from wreaking havoc. 

Izuku didn’t even know where any shelters were, where any Hero agencies were, where anything was. He was almost overwhelmed by how off kilter he felt. His plan, to gain a feel for Hosu, had gone down the drain the moment Shouto had been added to the mix. 

He owed it to Touya to make sure his little brother was safe. After everything he did to make sure Izuku was okay, Izuku could at least make sure Touya’s little brother didn’t die by a serial killer’s hand. 

Izuku had panicked. He had seen Endeavor boasting about dragging Shouto to Hosu, and he moved without a second thought. 

His hands were trembling, he realized faintly. Terrified, out of his element, and alone, Izuku almost felt comforted by the sheer fact that those three things were nothing new for him. He’s always been terrified, out of his element, and alone. 

At least nothing had changed. 

He stuffed the phone into his pocket, and shouldered his way through the crowd of people probably trying to get home after a long day of work. For Izuku, the work was just starting. 

He avoided a few officers questioning anyone with Stain merch and decided it would be best to keep walking. There were a few alleyways he could have probably taken refuge in, but it would be best to avoid such high trafficked areas. Plus, one thing he knew about Stain was that the Villain tried to operate in less trafficked areas. 

He was nowhere close to Stain.  

Even without Stain’s presence, lots of Heroes patrolled through Hosu. Heroes like Manuel, Native, Kawari, and Ingenium were often seen. Even just their sidekicks and interns brought a sense of peace to the civilians in the area. He didn’t want to risk any Hero, officer, Intern, or Sidekick catching sight of him before he was ready. 

A few hours later, and a good distance away from any Hero agency, Izuku found a good enough spot to squat until he made sure Shouto was safe. And if he was lucky? He would be able to help the Heroes catch Stain. 

But, one task at a time. 

Another thing Izuku had managed to figure out before he left Naruhata was that Stain didn’t always operate at night like most believed. Ingenium had been attacked during the sports festival. He got Heroes by themselves and would either maim or kill them, typically in dark alleys. 

So, he had to stay on his toes while in Hosu. At any moment Stain could find him cuddled up on the corner of a little rooftop, and strike. Even though he knew there was a small, small chance that Stain would find him, he prepared himself for a long night of playing the waiting game. 

Izuku made himself as small as possible, hugging himself, and holding Eraserhead’s knife close to his chest. He stared out, over the rooftops, unable to stop his hand from trembling. He came to Hosu for two reasons: save Shouto and stop Stain. 

Izuku came to Hosu, not The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. 

Stain wanted to kill The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, he wanted to mark the ground with his blood, and probably deliver the vigilante’s body to All Might personally. But that was okay, no one would know he was The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. 

He wouldn’t even run into Stain. He’d find a Hero, get them to chase him, and bring them to Stain. He’d make sure to call the police, make sure there was more than one Hero, and he’d make sure to get out of there before anyone would figure out what he had done.

Izuku would make sure that Shouto survived Stain. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that Shouto wouldn’t run into the serial killer, but he was crazy enough to believe that he could do something about it. 

If The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante could do it, why couldn’t Izuku? 

They were the same person after all, weren’t they? 

…

Thursday; May 18th: 

When Izuku first planned on tracking down The Hero Killer, he hadn’t planned on letting the people of Hosu know that The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante had been there. He didn’t think he’d be doing anything other than lead a Hero to Stain. 

He had prepared to look like Midoriya Izuku and lead them further off their trail in their search for him. He had been planning, and planning, and planning on what he was going to have to do. He had prepared on how to help , but ultimately he was going in blind. 

His original plan, his original fallback, was nothing more than a failed thought the moment Shouto came into the equation. 

He had spent almost the entire day glued to the corner of a roof, phone in hand, watching Endeavor’s forum like a hawk. A little after six in the afternoon, fans started uploading photos of Endeavor, Shouto, and three sidekicks. 

Izuku knew they would get to Hosu faster than Izuku would have, just due to personal versus public transportation. Which meant that Izuku had to not only get to Hosu before them, but be ready for them.

The dumpster in the alley below Izuku had been picked up before the sun had risen, so he had a low risk of losing his bag once he had hidden it amongst the other trash. 

He had already changed out of Katsuki’s dark green sweater and into his usual plain blue one. Even without planning to fight anyone, he still stuffed Eraserhead’s knife back into his sweater. He couldn’t afford to be caught, couldn’t afford to die where no one would find him in Hosu. 

Eraserhead’s knife was something he really didn’t want to part with. Maybe it was because it was the only thing he still had from Musutafu, it also helped that it was the nicest thing he owned alongside an All Might figurine he had as a kid, but he really didn’t want to use it. 

It’d be a last resort kind of thing, something he’d hopefully never have to use. Everytime Izuku had used one of Eraserhead’s knifes, he lost it to that fight. He didn’t want to do that with his last one, he didn’t want to lose it. 

He pulled the phone out, thumbing through the pictures of Endeavor and Shouto outside of Hosu’s Police Station. He pulled his hoodie over his head, and jumped to the next roof with a half-baked plan in mind.

A block away from the police station, everything went to shit. One moment, the city was calm, and the next, the city erupted into chaos. A portal opened over the street, dropping a huge monstrous form. It’s brain was exposed, eyes bugging out of it’s head, and it’s whole presence screamed death. 

Izuku moved, shooting down the fire escape. He lunged at a little boy, standing, petrified, as the monster bulldozed toward the kid. Izuku wrapped his arms around the boy’s head, just as Eraserhead had done for Izuku months ago, and rolled to the side. He didn’t even check to see if the monster was still after the little boy, just quickly stood up and ran along with the crowd. 

“Where are your parents?” Izuku looked down the little boy, swallowing at the realization that this little boy could have died . Izuku had been starring at all the chaos and destruction while people had been getting hurt. 

“Hakari!” The kid perked up, his brown eyes tearing away from Izuku and turning to where the voice had come from. 

“Is that your dad calling for you,” Izuku asked, following the sound of the voice. 

“Yes.” The kid scrambled out of his arms. Before Izuku could do anything, the kid was interlocking his hand with Izuku’s and dragging him toward the man yelling. “Dad!” 

“Hakari,” The man’s voice sounded so relieved the moment he zeroed in on Izuku and Hakari. Izuku could see the resemblance between the father and son. The only difference was the third eye on Hakari’s forehead. “Where did you go?” 

The man appeared in front of Hakari, making Izuku’s eyes widen in surprise. 

Teleportation, Izuku thought. He eyed the spot where Hakari’s father had been a moment before, feeling excited at the prospect of seeing a teleportation quirk being used. That was a pretty rare quirk, and Izuku thought the man was lucky enough that it wasn’t too powerful. It seemed maybe he could only teleport to somewhere he could see-

“Thank you.” Izuku stumbled back at the man’s gratitude.. “Thank you,” Hakari’s father repeated, squeezing Izuku’s hand before grabbing the boy and running with the crowd. 

Izuku stood there, frozen, trying to think over the loudness of the chaos. 

The creature from before was back, flying toward Izuku. An explosion from behind the creature snapped Izuku back into reality. The explosions, the screams, the creature aiming toward Izuku all felt like background noise to the realization of how stupid his plan had been.

Who the hell was he to try and take down a serial killer? Who the hell was he to pretend like he could save Shouto, a Hero in training with an incredible Quirk, from any sort of danger. 

He dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the creature’s large hands. Izuku threw his arms over his head, realizing he could hardly breathe. His breaths were coming in shorter and farther apart, his head was swimming, and he felt so close to crying. 

Why the hell was he in Hosu? 

Why did he ever become The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante? 

He wasn’t like Katsuki, Shouto, or Mirio. He couldn’t do what they could, he couldn’t be a Hero. 

The sharp pain from the gravel digging into his side made him jolt, realizing that he was still in immediate danger. He didn’t have time to cry and panic, he didn’t have time to stay curled up when there were monsters everywhere.

Whatever the fuck was happening, was a lot larger than he ever anticipated, and that meant he couldn’t stay on the floor. 

Izuku threw himself up, head snapping from side to side, trying to find the creature that had nearly killed him. But…it was gone. It didn’t even care about Izuku, it was just wanting to cause harm. 

Izuku slowly turned to look where everyone had been running from, and Izuku nearly joined them. Instead of seeing a single monster, Izuku saw at least three dozen creatures like the one he had already seen. 

“Oh shit,” Izuku whispered eyes widening; The monster that attacked Hakari hadn’t had wings, the one that flew at Izuku had been an entirely different monster. 

Portals of black and purple discs opened in random spots, dropping large creatures all throughout the city. 

Izuku froze, body trembling at the mere sight of the monsters. They were all different shapes and sizes, making Izuku’s head spin in an attempt to understand what the fuck was happening. Outside of the mindless look in the monsters’ eyes, they all looked different. Some were flying through the air while others immediately got to work on destroying buildings and hurting people. 

How could he help? 

How could Izuku, just some Quirkless, middle-school dropout, help anyone? 

He backed away from the sight of Heroes fighting, of people running away. His feet tripped over nothing as he tried to scramble away from all of it. He couldn’t do anything to help, he would just be getting in the Heroes’ and police’s way. If they saw him, they might even stop helping people just to try and catch him, and could he live with that guilt? 

Could he stomach the thought of people dying over him? 

He wasn’t even supposed to be here. Hosu was a foreign place to him, an unfamiliar place that should have stayed unfamiliar. He kept taking shaky steps away from the concentrated chaos. 

What was he thinking trying to help people? 

He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t do any of this. 

‘There are villains out there that I have a hard time fighting, Young Midoriya, it’d be cruel to expect you to fight them as well.’

All Might; He’d be able to take these creatures down, he’d be able to fight them. 

When All Might had first told Izuku that he couldn’t be a Hero because of ‘All Might level villains’, Izuku had been angry. He had been pissed, because why would Izuku have to fight those types of villains? 

He could understand what All Might had meant, now. 

Even if Izuku somehow had been able to become a Hero, he would have fought these creatures if it meant protecting someone. It would be cruel to expect someone so underprepared to fight something like this. 

“Tenya, where are you!?” The cry jerked Izuku out of his spiraling thoughts. He stumbled to a stop, the rest of the crowd pushing past him in a rush to get out. 

What was wrong with him? Why was he freaking out like he didn’t know how to help? Izuku wasn’t a Hero, he couldn’t save people from disasters. The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante could save someone, though. He could easily help civilians, it didn’t matter how scared he was. He had been terrified of using knives and jumping from roofs before, but now he didn’t even blink. 

“Where did you go?!” Izuku searched for the voice, heart-stopping in his chest as he recognized Manuel standing next to Endeavor. Shouto wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “Tenya!!” 

Iida and Shouto were missing…and in the midst of his panic and fear, Izuku had completely forgotten why he even came to Hosu in the first place. He cursed Yuuei in his head, why the hell did they let Ingenium’s little brother come to the same city that his brother had been brutally paralyzed in? 

He pushed against the crowd, walking toward the alley he just left, he wasn’t going to run away anymore. He was tired of just running away instead of fighting. Yeah, he had fought in the past to save people like Umie and Liu, but Izuku had always been reluctant, too scared to fight unless absolutely necessary. 

Was he prepared to sit and let people die because he wanted to run? 

No. No, he wasn’t. 

He climbed the fire escape again, practically flying up the ladder to the roof before he took off toward the edge of the chaos. Stain wouldn’t want to be caught, he would want to make sure he could get rid of any ‘fake Heroes’, so he’d want to be away from where all the Heroes were. 

“You idiot!” Izuku nearly missed his jump at the sound of Shouto’s voice. For such angry words, they sounded so apathetic. “You waste time trying to find Stain when half the city is in chaos?” 

Izuku crouched on the ledge, squinting his eyes to watch Shouto berate Iida. Stain was under Shouto’s foot, encased in a thin layer of ice. Izuku blinked, eyes widening in surprise at the way Shouto had the situation under control. 

Iida wasn’t responding to Shouto’s words, though, face down on the ground. Izuku’s stomach dropped at the sight. He was…he was still alive, right? 

“You’re lucky I showed up when I did.” Izuku frowned at Shouto’s horrible timing. “Stop moving.” Izuku flinched as Shouto dug his foot harder into the Hero Killer’s chest. “I have to let the old man know you’re down.” Shouto pulled a phone out of his pocket, failing to notice the blade glittering in Stain’s hand. 

It felt like years to Izuku, eyes catching the silver of the blade from the roof. He thought he’d freeze on the spot if he actually came into contact with Stain, but Shouto was in danger, and that meant Iida was too, and every other Hero Stain would go after once he finished with them both. 

He couldn’t think, all he knew was he saw the blade and his body moved.

Notes:

Thoughts?? How did we like it?

Also, I know the way Dabi acts seems dramatic and unrealistic, but I'm actually writing a lot of the things he does off of my ex-stepmother. She was a horrible person who loved to beef with literal thirteen/fourteen-year-olds. So it seems crazy and dramatic, and it is, but art imitates life and all that.

Let me know your thoughts on everything so far!

Have a great day and drink some more water.

Next chapter will be out on: May 12th!

Chapter 11: Green Eyes, Freckles, & Dark Curly Hair

Summary:

“Todoroki Shouto took down Stain with his own quirk. It wasn’t you that took him down, Endeavor. He did it with his own quirk, his own power.” 

Notes:

I like to think that in every universe, Izuku tells Shouto it's his power. So take that information as you will and enjoy the chapter!

The original plan had been to intern with Him to prove that he could fight without His Wretched Fire. 

It wasn’t like he could refuse to intern with Him. He would never allow it. He would refuse to let his Creation intern with any other hero. To add salt to the wound, people would question why Todoroki Shouto hadn’t interned with the number two hero. 

So, three birds, one stone. 

That was how the saying went, right? 

That plan was slowly warping itself into a far larger, far better plan in Shouto’s mind. The moment Endeavor told him they were going after The Hero Killer, his plan started to reshape itself into one of the best things he had ever thought of. If he took Stain down without using his old man’s cursed Flames, his horrid father would have no choice but to acknowledge Shouto’s resolve and strength. 

It was flawless, perfect, but he just couldn’t figure out how he was supposed to sneak away from Endeavor to begin with. 

“Shouto?” He tore his attention from Endeavor and Hosu’s Chief of Police and looked at Burnin who had just finished ordering Endeavor’s two other interns to do…something. 

Shouto wasn’t exactly sure. 

“You really picked your hero name as Shouto? Isn’t that a little…” She tampered off, eyes jumping back to Endeavor. “Odd for someone like you?” 

“No.” Shouto shrugged, opening his phone again and reading through the new articles released about Stain’s whereabouts. 

“No?” Burnin covered Shouto’s screen with a portion of her flying hair. It’d be a problem if his phone wasn’t specifically picked out because of Endeavor’s wretched Fire. “Man, I swore they said it was Shouto.” 

“It is.” He tilted the phone to the side, blocking HeroWeekly from his emails since they just kept going on and on about Endeavor’s Heroism and how fatherly he was being right now. 

“It is?” Burnin’s hair left his space, allowing him full access to his research. “Then why did you say no?” 

“It’s not odd to use my name.” He opened a website for articles written by Herolytical, trying to find something relating to Stain. “Another kid in my class did the same.” 

“Oh!” She clapped her hands, laughing to herself like she realized something. What she realized, he had no clue. “Is it because you’ll be taking the Endeavor name when your father retires?” 

He opened an article circled around Stain’s ideals, eyes looking at the number two hero through his hair with a frown. “I’m supposed to.” 

“Burnin you’ll be taking Mosaic and Light Ring, and I will be taking Shouto.” Endeavor tossed Shouto a look, probably just trying to make sure he wasn’t on his phone or slouching. 

But, with Endeavor separating Shouto from the interns and Burnin, that made his sneaking away plan significantly easier than before. 

“You three will be going with Tsuragamae to aid Ingenium’s agency while we work our way back.” The chief of police nodded his head to them, eyeing Shouto for a moment before leaving. 

Shouto nodded to Burnin as she left with the group, effectively making his plan possible.

“And you,” Endeavor ground out, starting to walk toward the west district. “You will be using your fire by the end of the night.” 

Shouto frowned, glaring at his father’s back, feeling something in his gut plummet at the declaration. 

There was no way in a million years would he ever use His Fire. Not even Stain would make him use it, he would prove it to Endeavor and everyone else. That Cursed Fire was not needed. 

His father’s declaration didn’t feel like empty words or some sort of threat, though, it felt like a promise he didn’t know he was making. 

“You’ve probably thought I have forgotten about your childish rebellion during the Sports Festival because I’ve been busy lately.” Endeavor didn’t bother to look at him, not that Shouto thought he would. 

He didn’t dignify him with a response. 

“I will make sure you use your Flames before we’re done here.” Shouto’s face was completely blank, already knowing better than to make a scene in public. The halls of Yuuei’s stadium were one thing, walking the streets of Hosu was another. 

“You said by the end of the night before.” Shouto tilted his head to the side, not looking up. “Are you losing confidence?” 

“You think you’re smart?” Endeavor’s flames grew, causing fans and civilians on the street to give them more space. 

“I am at the top of my class.” Shouto shrugged, thumb rubbing against the outside of his pointer finger. “But I will not be using Fire.” He would only be using Her Ice, he would never use His left side in battle. 

He would never allow himself to become who his father wanted him to end up being.

“Not tonight and not ever.”

…

“Who was killed here, boy?” Endeavor crossed his arms, once again testing Shouto’s knowledge. 

“Slugger.” Shouto walked further into the alleyway. “He mostly works in Musutafu, but while working with some of the police here, he ended up getting murdered by Stain.” 

Endeavor nodded, eyes bouncing around the alley. “Seems you’ve studied in advance.” 

“Of course.” There was no way in hell he was going to walk into an assignment without knowing what questions Endeavor would ask. 

“Mark this spot on your map and then we are going to the next crime scene.” With quick placements on his digital map, Shouto nodded to his father. “Take me to the second kill, since you apparently have studied.” 

And once again, Shouto prepared for this. “Right.” He pocketed his phone, sidestepping past Endeavor, and started walking alongside the general public again. 

“The second scene was toward the East district.” Endeavor had started glaring at all the civilians that were getting too close, or just watching from afar. 

“Yes. But he was spotted a few days after Slugger’s murder and before he injured Sliden’ Go.” Shouto tilted his head to the side, nodding to a different alley. “So the second kill that you want me to take you to hasn’t happened.” 

He passed the alley, walking toward Sliden’ Go’s attack sight with a sense of victory. He didn’t need any Fire to fight or better himself, he was already leagues better than most, and soon enough he would be able to prove he would be good enough with just Her Ice. 

“Did I pass your trick question, Endeavor?” 

Most would probably get upset with Shouto’s petty response, but Endeavor always took it as some sort of victory in his favor. It really pissed Shouto off. If he didn’t care about having to ice bruises and apply cream to new burns, he’d really stop going above and beyond.

…

Before they had the chance to make it to Stain’s second attack in Hosu, all hell broke loose. One second, Shouto was tuning out Endeavor’s blabbering about being the one to become the number one hero, and the next, Nomu and explosions were everywhere. 

Originally, Shouto thought the League of Villains were a bunch of amateurs who got lucky with the Nomu at the USJ, but seeing the level of destruction happening in Hosu made him realize how little they showed during their debut attack. 

Whatever the League was planning involved destroying Hosu and their people. 

It was worse than Shouto had ever imagined. 

“This way,” Endeavor barked out, taking off toward a large Nomu surrounded by a few other heroes. Shouto didn’t waste a moment, following him toward the threat. He iced over a few open fires, following Endeavor’s route because even if his father was a horrid person he was an efficient hero. “That’s what attacked your school, correct?” 

Shouto studied the Nomu, it definitely looked similar. “No, it’s a different one than the one at the USJ. But if it is similar enough, it should also have multiple quirks.” 

Endeavor stopped, snapping his head to Shouto. “Multiple quirks?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Endeavor’s lips stretched into a grim smile. “Watch how a true hero fights.” 

The moment Endeavor moved, Shouto shot off in the opposite direction. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but he had overheard Iida had chosen to intern with The Normal Hero: Manuel, and since Manuel was by himself with no intern, fighting alongside the other heroes against the Nomu, Iida had disappeared. 

There was a high chance that Shouto would be having some competition tonight against Stain. But he didn’t find himself worried, because he’s seen firsthand how blind you become when overcome by rage in a battle.  He would only have to worry if Iida showed up before Shouto could finish off Stain because then he’d essentially be fighting two people. So that just meant he had to be faster than Iida. 

…

He found Stain because Iida was screaming. 

There was blood everywhere. It was dark, very dark, but Shouto could still make out a blade glinting in the light as Stain prepared to kill Iida. He shot forward, using the momentum of Her Ice to ram his shoulder into Stain’s stomach, kicking the blade away with frost-covered shoes. 

His father would have spotted at least three things wrong with that attack, probably more since Shouto had already chewed himself out for two things he noticed. 

“Another child.” Stain staggered, pulling a blade out of nowhere. “Here to join your friend? I already told him I don’t kill children, but he just would-” 

“We’re not friends.” Shouto created a small plane of ice on the ground, knowing he would still be able to fight whether he was on ice or on a dirty alleyway floor. Based on Stain’s strategy of using his katanas as a crutch, he couldn’t. “I’m here to defeat you.” 

“And to leave these victims here with open wounds? Not to mention your-” Shouto didn’t let him finish, already feeling the effects of using only his right side in such a closed environment. He had to finish this quickly. 

He encased Stain’s fallen blade in a block of ice, effectively trapping it alongside his other two katanas to stop him from being able to find any leverage on his ice. Confident Stain couldn’t move around freely, Shouto threw a glacier at the villain. 

Just as he had predicted, Stain moved at the last second, not expecting a second wave of ice to wrap its way around his body. It was over a lot quicker than Shouto anticipated, Stain was trying as hard as he could to free himself, but he’d have to do a lot more to break out of it. 

Or so he had thought. 

The ice around Stain shattered, and the villain didn’t waste a second before charging straight at Shouto. It would have been a little intimidating if he looked like the number two hero. 

Shouto slid to the side, ducking under a blade before using an ice-covered fist to punch Stain to the ground. Before Stain had a moment to move, Shouto place his right foot over Stain’s chest, allowing ice to encase his foot and Stain’s body. Trapping them both to the ground. 

His body was trembling with the cold, he could see his breath even in the dark, and he knew he had to use his left side now that it was over. Shouto’s left side warmed up, melting the ice behind Stain and the ice that was surrounding Iida. 

“You idiot!” Shouto cleared the rest of the ice, glaring down at Iida’s unmoving form. Probably due to Stain’s quirk. “You waste time trying to find Stain when half the city is in chaos?” There was a difference between Shouto doing it, and Iida doing it. Iida was wanting some petty revenge when he couldn’t even back it up. Shouto had something to prove. 

And now that he took down Stain, his father would have no choice but to accept that his left side was not needed. 

“You’re lucky I showed up when I did.” If he had been even a second late, Iida probably would have died. 

He sighed, glaring at Stain as the villain tried to break out again. More ice encased him, just as Shouto released his own foot. “Stop moving.” He twisted his foot, letting the ice crawl its way up Stain’s chest. “I have to let the old man know you’re down.” 

He grabbed his phone, barely having time to open it before he was knocked off his feet and onto his back. A hooded figure had their back to him, standing on Stain’s chest like Shouto had just been, but their other foot was holding the criminal's wrist down. 

“Next time,” The guy spoke up, bending down to pick up a dagger that had most likely been in Stain’s hand. “You should also immobilize a criminal’s arms and legs if they are known to be resourceful.” 

Shouto shook himself out of his shock, lunging toward the figure on top of Stain, and tackling him to the ground. How dare this guy just show up and try to steal his thunder. “Who are you!?” 

The guy’s head hit the ground, a mask covering the bottom of his face, the only identifying thing about him were his green eyes. “I don’t see how that…Behind you!” Shouto dove to the side in the last second, looking back to see the guy being held at knifepoint by one of Stain’s katanas. How many knives did this guy have? 

“Another child?” Stain’s mouth pressed in a thin line. “What are they teaching you guys to just come running into an alleyway with a killer?” 

“Well,” The masked guy shrugged, kicking the katana before ramming his head into Stain’s stomach. “I don’t exactly have a teacher.”

The stranger dove out of the way of Stain’s katana and Shouto’s ice, diving through Stain’s legs. He was making his way toward Iida. 

“Also I didn’t run at you.” The masked guy picked up another blade on the ground, pocketing it before hefting the ice-covered katana and throwing it at the exit of the alleyway. “I jumped from the roof.” 

“You let him go!” Shouto threw up an ice wall, aiming for Stain. “I had it all under control.” 

“Oh, did you?” The guy wasn’t even looking at him, using the garbage bags from the ground as a barrier from Stain’s stabs. “Because from where I was, it looked like you were about to be stabbed, Todoroki-san.” 

“I could have dealt with it!” He threw some ice at the stranger. Obviously, he wasn’t one of the good guys. “But you let him escape, how do I know you aren’t-” 

“Shut up.” The masked guy had finally made his way to Iida, head swiveling from Iida and then back to Stain. “Why didn’t you get them out of here?” 

“Them?” Shouto laid a cooled hand on a cut on his arm, trapping Stain against the wall with some more ice. 

Shouto couldn’t stop shaking. 

“Who?” 

“Your classmate?” The guy was checking Iida’s pulse, moving slightly out of Shouto’s sight. “And Native is here too. He is awake, can’t talk, though.” 

“I didn’t see him.” 

“You definitely saw Iida-san,” He groaned at Shouto. “Look, they both are alive, but you need to get them out of here. You are torturing them.” 

“Me?” Shouto dodged a knife thrown at him. “How is that even clos-”

“You have a slight resistance to your ice, right?” The boy , because this guy couldn’t be older than him. He was incredibly short, probably younger than Shouto. “They don’t, you’ve been fighting with your ice this entire time, not using your fire once, they are getting hypothermia.” 

Shouto blinked, trying to process the stranger’s words. “Who even are you?” 

“That doesn’t matter!” He threw one of the knives he had picked up, knocking a blade, Shouto hadn’t even noticed, out of the air before it could hit Shouto. “You have to get them out of here and warm them up. Quick, use your fire to melt this ice. They need medical attention.” 

“You do it,” Shouto rolled his eyes, getting rather annoyed with him having to fight two different people at once. “I’m busy with something important.” 

He incased a fist in ice, aiming it at Stain, but again before anything could happen he was tackled. His back hit the wall, the stranger’s bright green eyes practically glowing in the dark, with the guy using an arm to keep him against the wall. “Important!?” 

“What?” 

The guy was staring down Stain who had stopped attacking, watching the stranger with a renewed sense of curiosity. “You are telling me that getting these victims out of here safely, is less important than you taking down Stain?” 

“You’re talking to me?” Shouto blinked, confused. This guy was staring Stain down like he was talking to him, but was chewing Shouto out for trying to take down a serial killer? 

“Who else is acting like the victims’ safety is less important than their pride?” Shouto widened his stance, prepared to incase both this stranger and Stain in ice. “Don’t! I already told you, you’re hurting them.” 

“If you let me go, I can finish this quickly and then warm them up.” He was starting to get a headache from how annoying this guy was. “But you’re prolonging this!” 

“No!” The guy took a step back from Shouto, releasing him. “You are. You’re shivering, there’s ice up and down your arm right now, you’re making Iida-san’s and Native-san’s lips turn blue, you keep trapping Stain against the walls knowing the last time you did that he escaped. “What the hell are they teaching you guys at Yuuei? Just run after a killer even though you aren’t licensed, just because you have an overpowered quirk?” 

“Ah.” They both froze, Shouto turning to look at Stain who was…smiling. It was horrifying how far his lips stretched across his face.

The guy stayed quiet, widening his stance. In all honesty, Shouto had no idea how this guy was able to last in a fight this long, his form was horrible. But, he was never able to predict what he was going to do next. 

“You are The Hopeless Hero, aren’t you?” The stranger cringed, confirming Stain’s words and making Shouto’s eyes widen. This was the big, bad, vigilante his father hated so much? “I’ve been looking for you.” 

“Yeah, I heard.” The Hopeless Hero’s body was tense, eyes jumping around the alleyway. “I kinda skipped town.” 

“You’re in Naruhata now, aren’t you.” Stain brandished a blade, pointing it at the vigilante. “I was planning on making my way toward you, but here you are.” 

“Yeah, well you’ve been hurting a lot of people.” The vigilante shrugged, pocketing his hands. “Couldn’t ignore it.” 

“You don’t agree?” 

“With killing and maiming people in the name of your so-called ideals?” The vigilante scoffed. “No. You are not only doing more harm than good, but you are kind of fighting against yourself.” 

“Against myself?” 

“Yeah, of course, your fans and fanatics wouldn’t care if you killed Eraserhead or a child, but everyone else sees them as a martyr. You’re only fueling chaos, that’s it.” 

Before either of them could keep at it, Shouto planted a foot on the ground, trapping Stain’s feet to the ground. 

“Are you really debating with him right now!?” Shouto glared at the vigilante. “He’s after you, so you need to take them out of here safely.” 

The Hopeless Hero rolled his eyes. “You really think he’ll let me leave with them. I can’t get them out of here safely like you can. I can’t warm them up like you can. But, I can distract him.” 

“Distract him?” Shouto covered his hand with ice, grabbed the blade that was aimed at his ally at the moment, and tossed it toward the one that The Hopeless Hero had thrown earlier. The vigilante had, probably, been trying to minimize the number of weapons available to Stain. 

It was a smart move, making sure Stain didn’t have many options. Though…Shouto side-eyed the way The Hopeless Hero grabbed a trashcan lid, hitting Stain in the temple with it…he desperately hoped Stain wasn’t nearly as resourceful as the vigilante. 

“You’re spouting your plan in front of him?” Shouto threw a wall of ice up to catch a knife aimed at The Hopeless Hero. 

“You are totally making this fight a lot harder than it has to be!” The vigilante kicked rolled backward, sidestepping over Iida’s unconscious body, and then throwing himself at the villain with no regard for his well-being. “Your ice is making it hard to fight.”

“Then leave!” He couldn’t keep holding back because this guy wouldn’t go. “Get them out of here.” 

He threw a spike of ice at Stain, trying to move to the side when Stain aimed a swing at him. He had ice on either side of him, though, unable to move quick enough. In the last second, he was pulled back by his left arm. 

Without meaning to, he released the Flames. They immediately melted the ice surrounding Shouto. 

“Ow, shit!” The vigilante immediately released Shouto, face twisted in the light of His Flames. “Forgot how not fun that was.” 

A green eye cracked open, catching sight of whatever must’ve been on Shouto’s face. 

“Ah, my bad…” He stepped back, holding his hands up. “Didn’t mean to scare you, just the katana and all the ice…ya know.” 

“How…” Shouto felt like he was falling, like his world was tilted on its side as he strangled the Flames back under control. “How did you do that?” 

“Do…what?” The vigilante’s eyes kept flicking over his shoulder, which was really annoying him. Why couldn’t he just focus on Shouto right now? “Uh…did you hit your head?” 

The light in the alley died, meaning the open Fire behind him must’ve gone out. 

“Oh…” The vigilante grabbed Shouto’s right arm this time, moving them both out of the way. “That’s why you don’t use your Fire? Because it’s hard to control?” The vigilante let go, pinching his mask in thought, completely oblivious to Shouto's mental screaming. “I mean that makes sense, your quirk is insanely over-” 

“No.” Words felt like cotton against his tongue, or maybe his tongue was too big for his mouth. Maybe the Fire made his mouth dry? “I don’t use my fahter’s Flames, just my mother’s ice.” 

Shouto stared at his left hand, feeling the heat still in the spot the vigilante had grabbed him. Why did his His Fire react? Why did he hurt The Hopeless Hero? 

“I didn’t mean to do that.” 

“You…” The vigilante’s hand spasmed, staring at Shouto. Completely ignoring Stain. “You’ve been repressing your quirk? For how long? Do you even realize how dangerous that is? What the hell is wrong with you!?” His voice got louder with every word before he grabbed Shouto’s shoulders and shook him. 

“Me?” Shouto pushed him off, taking a step back. “I just burned you and you keep grabbing me! What is your problem?” 

“That’s not the point right now!” The vigilante was grabbing at his hood, muttering words under his breath about fire and a…Dabi? “You are hurting yourself by not using your Fir-” 

“It’s His Fire.” Shouto glared at the vigilante, hating how warm his whole body felt right now. “I got both my father’s and mother’s quirk like He wanted, I refuse to use His Fire.” 

“This is about spite?” The Hopeless Hero’s eyes widened as he stared at Shouto. “It’s not His Fire…It doesn’t matter if he also has flames, so many people do! I know someone who has the perfect mix of his father’s and mother’s quirks which morphed into his explosion quirk.” 

Shouto blinked…there was another person out there with Bakugou’s quirk? 

“His father has an acid quirk, yeah? And his mom has a Glycerin quirk. They essentially merged and their son got a quirk where he can sweat Glycerin and acid properties to be able to control his explosions. His dad can’t force the explosions like he can.” 

“That’s different.” Shouto frowned. 

“It is!” The vigilante nodded. “But it’s the same. Your father can’t use your Ice, he can’t utilize Fire in the same way you can. Can you use Fire with your right side?” 

Shouto blinked, shaking his head. “No…” 

“Exactly!” The Hopeless Hero pointed to Iida’s body on the ground. “The Iidas have all had engine quirks for a while, they are all different from each other, though. Iida-san has engines in his legs while Ingenium has them in his arms. They are similar but drastically different.” 

Shouto was starting to get pissed. “It’s not the same…I will never use His Fire!” 

“Oh for fucks…” The vigilante cursed again under his breath. “It’s not His Fire, Todorki-san!” The vigilante didn’t even blink as a blade sailed past his head, chopping some of his hair and cutting the skin right beside his eye. “It’s yours, it's your Fire. It never was His . Your Ice isn’t your mother’s either. It’s completely your power!” 

“As enlightening as this is…” The vigilante’s body tensed like he just remembered they were in the middle of an actual battle. “I still have some business to settle here.” 

Shouto mind was screaming at him a mantra of it’s your power it’s your power itsyourpoweritsyourpower over and over again, but he pushed it to the back to grab the vigilante’s hoodie and pull them out of the way. 

The Hopeless Hero’s hood got tugged down by Shouto’s pull, unleashing a head of fuzzy hair. Shouto blinked, trying to discern if his hair was curly or just really messy right now. 

“You’ve got…hair.” Shouto’s finger twitched. 

“Nice observation?” The vigilante covered his curly hair again, shooting Shouto a weird look. “Look, I need you to get them out of here, you can’t keep putting it off. He wouldn’t just let me leave with them when he’s wanting to kill me.” 

“I can hold him back.” Shouto couldn’t wrap his head around why The Hopless Hero was continuously putting himself in danger. “You even said he’s trying to kill you.” 

“It’s fine.” The vigilante shrugged, pushing Shouto toward Iida and Native. “Use your ice as a means to escape, he won’t be able to maneuver on it like you can. That should be able to stop him from following you guys.” 

“I can’t leave you here knowing he’s trying to kill you!” 

“You totally could!”

“What is wrong with you?” Shouto threw another ice-covered blade toward the exit of the alley. 

“Too much for one talk,” The vigilante grunted as Stain kicked him back. “Listen, I get it. You have issues with your father. It’s probably why you’re doing this, but you need to set that aside and get them some help. Plus, if I go then they will just try to capture me instead of helping them. That’s not worth the risk.” 

Shouto planted his foot on the floor, a few inches behind the vigilante, creating a sheet of ice on the ground so they could slide the victims out easily. “Okay.” 

“Okay?” The Hopeless Hero looked at him, the cut from earlier looking a lot worse with the amount of blood on the side of his face. “That’s it?” 

“Yeah.” He wasn’t going to risk letting Stain kill this guy. He wasn’t confident that this guy could escape the villain or if he would even try. He was fairly certain that he’d be able to escape whoever found him with Iida and Native, though. “That’s it.” 

“What the hell?” He extended the ice under the vigilante’s shoes, using his hand to push him further on the ice toward Iida and Native. The guy snapped his neck toward Shouto, his eyes looking like they were glowing again. “Todoroki-san, I can’t move on here!” 

Shouto froze, realizing what he hadn’t accounted for before. He had just assumed that he could move on the ice just as easily as Shouto could for no reason. He felt like such an idiot because he had been so focused on trying to make sure this guy wasn’t killed that he hadn’t even noticed Stain’s knife against his neck. 

Was this true fear? He’s never felt this way with Endeavor, never felt this way at the USJ, hadn’t felt like this since his mother poured the boiling water over his eyes effectively trapping him in place because he was so afraid. 

“I seriously thought you were going to start taking this serious-” The words on the vigilante’s lips died the moment they made eye contact. 

“Now,” Stain’s voice was gravelly, it felt like his words were cutting into his eardrums. “Come here, little hero.” 

The Hopeless Hero had only managed to push Native out, not having time to get Iida fully out. Hopefully, someone would find Native before Stain killed all of them. “I’m not a hero.” The vigilante slipped on the ice, head slamming against the ground. “Ow, what the fuck.” 

“I’d advise you to hurry, little not hero. Otherwise, I’ll use my quirk on your little friend here.” He cocked a brow at Shouto with a smirk. “Or is he also not your friend. Ah, no talking from you. And don’t think of using your quirk. The moment you freeze me, my blade moves.” 

“I told you to leave.” The vigilante’s voice sounded wrecked. “I tried to tell you that you couldn’t do it, that he wanted me. You just wouldn’t listen.” 

The Hopeless Hero got up on shaky hands and knees, grabbing something on the ice before he started crawling toward them both. 

“You think just because you have an overpowered quirk that you could stop him? That you could distract him without dying?” He laughed, muttering a few curses under his breath when his hands slipped on the ice, making his chin hit the ice hard. It hurt to watch how much his mother’s ice was hurting the vigilante. 

It’s your power. 

“Kami, I wish I could do that.” The vigilante muttered, his words most likely not meant to be heard by how quiet they were. “I wish I had some sort of quirk so that everyone would think I had everything under control.” Shouto’s blood turned to ice. The vigilante was quirkless. There was speculation, sure, but no one thought it was true. 

His father thought he had some sort of weak quirk but Shouto never cared about the vigilante or his quirk. Or lack thereof? 

“Ya know, if I had a quirk people would listen to me. They would take me seriously and by god that’d be nice.” The vigilante kept muttering to himself, the words being drowned out by the static in his ears as he realized the reason he felt terrified and frozen was because he couldn’t move. 

“Heh,” Stain licked his lips, blood stains on his mouth as he held a finger up. “Shh.” 

Stain had a paralyzing quirk, how it worked, Shouto wasn’t exactly sure. He couldn’t talk, couldn’t move, could only watch as the Hopless Hero got closer without knowing he had already been paralyzed. He couldn’t warn him or anything.

“Ya know,” The vigilante stood up once he made it off the ice. “I really don’t want to go all the way over there if you have all those blades.” 

Shouto blinked, trying to understand what he was even asking. 

“Why don’t you come over here instead.” Shouto’s eyes widened as he realized the vigilante’s mask was gone. The Hopeless Hero grinned, blood-caked teeth glittering in the dark. 

“I would bring my katanas.”

“Man.” The vigilante smeared the blood across his face, Shouto blinked trying to see if those were really freckles on his face. You didn’t really see many people with freckles these days. 

“I’m not going to leave your little friend unattended here, either.” Stain’s katana dug a bit into his skin. 

“Why not?” The vigilante tilted his head to the side, eyes bright even in the dark. It was mesmerizing. “You’ve already paralyzed him.” 

Shouto’s eyes jumped from The Hopeless Hero to Stain, glad the vigilante had realized. “Paralyzed him?” 

“Your quirk.” The vigilante’s arms crossed. “You thought I wouldn’t notice? Just because you told him not to use his quirk you thought I would think he’d listen?” Shouto didn’t find that deduction as impressive. “You don’t have to babysit him…unless you have reason to believe he’ll be released sooner than the other two.” 

The Hopeless Hero tapped his chin in thought. 

“I’ve been here for maybe three minutes?” He narrowed his eyes at Shouto. “I’m assuming your quirk has an overall time limit, something to negate an overpowered non-flashy quirk. Not everyone can have quirks like Todoroki-san or All Mig-” 

“You don’t get to talk about him!” The vigilante’s arms raised again, trying to placate the villain. 

“Why not? He’s like my favorite hero, I’ve spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours consuming any kind of All Might media I could get my hands on.” The vigilante knocked his foot against a large rock. 

“Why criticize him, then? If he’s your favorite.” Stain’s hand let go of Shouto’s shoulder, making him realize the vigilante’s plan.

“Why kill heroes if you still believe in some like All Might?” The Hopeless Hero countered, frowning. “Just because I don’t agree with some of All Might’s ideals or am upset with how he is old school and quirkiest, doesn’t mean I hate him.” 

“He’s not quirkist!” Stain’s body was trembling. “You know nothing ab-” 

“Nothing?” The vigilante’s voice was low, he was smiling in the same way Shouto has seen Natsuo smile at their father’s back. “Let me ask you something, Stain .” 

The Hopeless Hero let his arms fall to his side. 

“Have you ever met All Might?” The vigilante took a step forward. “Have you ever talked to him? Asked him if you could be a hero and he said yes?” 

The vigilante’s smile was gone. 

“Until he found out you were quirkless?” He stopped walking. “Told you it was unrealistic and hopeless. That you needed to find a different career path because you couldn’t be a hero? All because you didn’t have a quirk?” 

If Shouto wasn’t already paralyzed, he would have been frozen by those words. It seemed Stain was too. All Might never said anything like that at school, it was unbelievable that he would think it let alone tell someone that. He always said anyone could be a hero. 

“I don’t hate All Might, he’s still my favorite,” The vigilante, The Hopeless Hero because Shouto could see why he picked the name now, sighed. “I just needed other kids like me, other quirkless kids, kids without powerful quirks, kids without flashy quirks, kids with villainous or mental quirks, to know that he doesn’t believe in us. I was angry, and I wasn’t thinking when I released that information to Herolytical, but I can’t and won’t take it back.” 

“You’re lying!” Stain gripped his katana a bit tighter. “He’s a true hero! The only one!” 

“No.” The Hopeless Hero shook his head. “I’m not lying, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me. All Might knows what he believes and I know now too. I know I can’t be a hero because I don’t have a quirk, I can’t be a vigilante because I don’t have a quirk, and I know no one is going to believe a quirkless kid.

“He is still a true hero because all heroes are still human and make stupid choices. People believe dumb things, and you can’t do anything about it.” Shouto’s body felt like it was being submerged in ice water. “There’s no such thing as a true hero all the time because they are separate from their identity. It doesn’t matter if they want to be a hero for money or to be able to use their quirks, they are still helping people!” 

“You don’t understand it, they’ve corrupted you.” Stain’s voice was trembling.

“They’ve definitely tried.” He laughed, coughing a bit of blood. “Bu-” 

The Hopeless Hero’s eyes widened, snapping his head toward Iida. He turned his head away from Iida, probably realizing his face wasn’t covered up. 

“You’re awake.” 

“Don’t talk to him!” Stain pointed his katana at The Hopeless Hero. “Walk over here.” 

“Iida-san, can you move?” The Hopeless Hero ignored him, eyes locking with Shouto’s. “Can you move?” 

“N-...No.” Iida’s voice was strained like he was trying to claw his way out of the ground. “G-...Go. Lea…Leave.” 

“Are you fucking serious right now?” The Hopeless Hero’s mouth fell open, glaring at Shouto like it was his fault. “You need medical attention and you want me to leave?” 

“T-Yo…You are…a crim-” Iida groaned, struggling to formulate words while under Stain’s quirk. “Th-Th…My fi…fight.” 

Okay, even Shouto had to admit how stupid it sounded from the outside. 

“Th…This has nothing to do…with you.” Iida’s fingers were twitching against the ground. 

“Well, that really sucks for you, then.” The Hopeless Hero looked back to Stain. “I’m staying. Meddling when I don’t need to, that’s what it takes to be a hero!” 

He snapped his head toward Iida. 

“What are they teaching you! Don’t you have All Might as a teacher?! It’s literally his saying!” Iida didn’t respond, just staring at the ground, unable to move. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You guys are going to fail your teamwork portions in school.” 

Shouto had been so wrapped up in his own head before that he hadn’t realized how hard it had been to fight Stain. He had just been so convinced he was right, that he had to take him down. He didn’t think about what The Hopeless Hero had actually been saying. 

They were going to die here because Shouto was too prideful to ask for help. 

Wasn’t he being just like his father? 

“So,” He sighed, holding his arms up in surrender to Stain. “Can’t you go a little easy on me here? I mean, am I really a big threat? It’s just me now that everyone else is paralyzed.” 

He took a small step forward. 

“I’m useless.” 

“Drop the knife.” 

“Should’ve known you saw that.” The Hopeless Hero pulled the knife from his sleeve, dropping it on the floor. “Now I really can’t do anything.” 

“No,” Stain’s eyes were narrowed at the vigilante’s raised arms. “I’ve heard that you always have something up your sleeve.” 

“Up my sleeve?” The Hopeless Hero grinned, shaking his head and arms. “Nothing up there this time, you already caught my knife.” 

“St-...Stop!” Shouto groaned, realizing how hard it was to actually talk while under Stain’s quirk. “H…He’s going…to kill you.” 

“I know.” The Hopeless Hero took another step forward. “But not before I get you guys out of here.” 

“Interesting,” Stain muttered, watching The Hopeless Hero move closer. “You claim not to be a hero or vigilante, but you are.” 

The Hopeless Hero tore his eyes from Shouto, blinking up at Stain with a dazed expression. “What?” 

“You are a true hero, little one.” Stain grinned, eyes wide. “I’ll let you live, but the others are still going to die.” 

“I can’t let you do that.” The Hopeless Hero’s mouth set in a line as he reached behind his head, pulling a familiar-looking dagger from his back and using the handle to hit Stain in the temple. The villain didn’t have time to move before The Hopeless Hero grabbed the katana by the blade, wrapping his hand around it and tugging it toward him, and kicking Stain in the gut. 

Stain’s back hit the wall next to Shouto, wheezing out at the kick. The katana was in The Hopeless Hero’s hand, blood dripping from the weapon and his hand. 

“Todoroki-san,” The Hopeless Hero staggered, gripping his head with his other hand. “Can you-” 

Shouto couldn’t move, but he let his ice incased Stain’s body. 

“Great.” The Hopeless Hero dropped the katana, and Shouto could make out the spots where the villain's blade dug into his palm. “I’m…Kami, I’m going to find some rope.” 

He stared at Shouto for a moment.

“Just stay there.” He moved toward the dumpster, digging through the trash. 

“Stop!” Shouto’s voice sounded wrecked even to himself. He was already able to move, but it looked like Iida was still paralyzed. “How…”

“Probably something like a cap on the number of people but if it was that then Native or Iida would be able to move before you.” The Hopeless Hero hadn’t stopped digging through the garbage with his open wound. “It’s most likely your blood type. You’re what, type O?” 

“You guessed correctly, little hero.” Stain’s laugh was cut off by a wet cough. 

“I’ve already told you, I’m not a hero.”

“Didn’t you hear me?” His body was still trembling from the effects of Stain’s quirk even though he could still move. He grabbed The Hopeless Hero’s arm. “You’re going to get an infection if you keep going.” 

“Oh…” The Hopeless Hero frowned down at his hand. “Well unless you are going to go digging through the trash for ropes then-”

Shouto pushed him to the side, digging through the trash, finding himself a little victorious at getting The Hopeless Hero to shut up. 

“Oh…okay.” He took a few steps back. 

“Where are you going?” 

“I already called the police.” He shrugged, watching Shouto with something he couldn’t name. “I was trying to escape before they show up or you decide to catch me.” 

“I’m not going to catch you.” 

“You're not?” The Hopeless Hero’s eyes were kind of nice when he wasn’t yelling at Shouto. “But aren’t you-”

“I’m not a hero.” Shouto feigned a frown, feeling comfortably warm surprisingly. “I’m not allowed to track down vigilantes without any license.” 

The guy blinked at Shouto’s words, fighting a smile. “I see, thank you. I guess I can stay unt-”

“Shouto!” He flinched at his father’s voice, the warm feeling being washed away by the usual cold one. 

He stepped back from The Hopeless Hero, facing his father. 

“Where have you-” His father stopped in his tracks, taking in the scene. And it must’ve been a glorious sight with how dumbstruck his father looked. 

Shouto’s left sleeve was burnt, a Yuuei student was paralyzed on the ground, The Hero Killer was iced to the wall beside Shouto, and The Hopeless Hero had his back to the Pro Hero. 

Shouto’s eyes snapped to The Hopeless Hero, remembering his mask was gone. He wouldn’t be able to get out his identity being released. 

He saved Shouto’s life, he couldn’t just let him get caught. 

“Yes!” Shouto cringed at his father’s shout, tearing his eyes from The Hopeless Hero. “You’ve finally used your flames! 

His face crumbled at the realization that he would never be able to back out of this. He had used his flames. 

“My masterpiece!” 

“What the fuck?” Shouto looked back at The Hopeless Hero, his face twisted up like he had tasted something sour. “Your masterpiece?” 

Shouto’s eyes widened at the anger in this guy’s voice. He hadn’t sounded like this when he was arguing with him or Stain. 

“He’s not yours.” The Hopeless Hero was staring at Shouto as he spoke to Endeavor. 

“Shouto! Who-”

“This is a civ-”

“I’m The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante.” He grinned at Shouto. “And he took down The Hero Killer.” 

Shouto felt his heart drop. He did not take Stain down, all he did was bind him to the wall while The Hopeless Hero quite literally tore open his hand to take him down. “That’s not tr-”

“Todoroki Shouto,” The vigilante interrupted Shouto. “Took down Stain with his own quirk. It wasn’t you that took him down, Endeavor. He did it with his own quirk, his own power.” 

Shouto’s heart climbed its way into his throat and lodged itself against his tongue, unable to find any words. 

It’s your power. 

Even now, he was trying to show Shouto he wasn’t his father. Even now he was saving Shouto. Why? What did he ever do to deserve it? 

“Shouto,” Endeavor’s voice boomed throughout the alleyway, ignoring the heroes and medics attending to Iida and Native. “Capture this vigilante, and release Stain.” 

There were cracks of ice behind him, he didn’t even have to look to realize Stain was breaking through the ice again. He couldn’t focus on that though, eyes staring impossibly wide at the vigilante. 

Capture him? 

“I don’t have a lic-”

“I’m ordering you! If you won’t, I will Shouto. Status report, what’s his quirk, his height, and distinct features.” 

“I don’t know his quirk.” His voice was shaking, unable to move from his spot. It almost felt like he was under Stain’s quirk again, if not for the way his body was trembling from the cold. 

If he was shaking this bad, how bad was it for The Hopeless Hero with his injuries? 

The Hopeless Hero’s eyes were wide, probably realizing Shouto was lying to his father. 

“I haven’t noticed any distinct features. He has a mask on, but…” He frowned, thinking of freckles, green eyes, and curly dark hair. “I think he has brown eyes.” 

“I’m quirkless.” The Hopeless Hero raised his head, smiling at Shouto. “The people are going to read that a quirkless person escaped Endeavor; the number two hero.” 

He turned his head to the side, just slightly. Enough to show that this was meant for the heroes. 

“I can’t wait to see the headlines.” The Hopeless Hero bent down, hands grabbing onto something dark. 

The Hopeless Hero wouldn’t have a way to escape without his face being seen. Shouto had to do something to distract them. 

The ice beside him was still cracking. 

An idea struck him. A risky, dangerous, painful plan, but a plan nonetheless. 

“Shouto!” And then all hell broke loose.  The ice next to Shouto broke, The Hopeless Hero threw what he had picked up at Stain’s head, knocking him out, and Shouto’s left arm erupted.  His fire and ice combined made a so-so smokescreen. He turned, seeing Stain out cold on the floor. He was still breathing, so at least The Hopeless Hero’s crimes didn’t have murder on them. 

He breathed out a sigh of relief, looking up and seeing The Hopeless Hero still there. He was in front of Shouto. 

“Are you oka-”

“You dumbass!” Shouto whisper-shouted, grabbing The Hopeless Hero’s wrist before dragging him out of the alleyway. “I did that to help you get out!” 

“Me?” The Hopeless Hero blinked, eyes bright, much brighter now that they weren’t fighting for their lives. “You used your Fire to…”

“You have been yelling at me to use my Fire all night and now you’re surprised that I used it?” Shouto almost laughed, he might’ve too if it wouldn’t give away their position. 

“I just…” He looked away, smiling to himself again. “Most don’t listen to what I say. You’re a nice change of pace.” 

“If you’re saying something that makes sense, why wouldn’t someone listen?” 

“Maybe because they want to fight a serial killer with only half their power instead of getting help?” He shrugged, grinning at Shouto. “Your father…is he…” He trailed off. 

“Horrible?” Shouto smiled, eyes widening at the sound of voices. “You’ve got to go. The city’s officials are going to be after you since the League’s attack is over.”

“And since you took down Stain.” 

“I did-”

“Thanks for the save, Todoroki-kun!” The Hopeless Hero waved a hand, running off toward the smoke. 

…

“You let him get away.” Endeavor was pacing back and forth in Shouto’s hospital room, Shouto and everyone else having to quietly watch his father berate him. He had a concussion and a few cuts that had already been healed. 

He was still there as a precautionary measure now. 

“You are very lucky that The Hero Killer didn’t escape with him.” Once the panic had died down in the alley, they found Stain conscious but unable to move with a blood rock next to his head to help connect the dots. He had been shouting at everyone, claiming none of them had the right to take him in. That only All Might and The Hopeless Hero were the true heroes. 

“With him?” Shouto frowned, looking up from his left hand. It was still warm. 

“They were obviously working together. With that brat in the city at the same time as The Hero Killer? The same time as The League? With The Hero Killer calling him a true hero?” Endeavor scoffed. 

“They weren’t working together.” His father stopped and everyone stared. The chief of police, the interns, Burnin, Manuel, and Iida. 

“How do we know this?” The chief spoke before Endeavor had the chance. 

“He’s the one that took The Hero Killer down before you showed up.” Shouto fought back a smile, knowing it wouldn’t make sense to any of them. “And once Stain escaped the ice and I was struggling with controlling my fire, he knocked him out again.” 

“He said it was you.” 

“He lied.” Now that The Hopeless Hero wasn’t here to try and make Shouto claim something he didn’t do, he was going to make sure anyone he could tell heard the truth. He knew once he finished telling all the information, he wouldn’t be allowed to tell anyone else, and that was fine. 

There were plenty of fans who probably could overhear Shouto just fine. 

“All I did was bind him to the wall after The Hopeless Hero-”

“Don’t!” His father glared down at him. “He is no hero, he’s nothing. He’s only getting in the way of actual hero work.” 

“Are you expecting us to believe that he took Stain down with no quirk?” Tsuragamae was frowning? Shouto wasn’t exactly sure, he never saw a dog frown before. 

Shouto couldn’t fight back the smile anymore. “And a rock.” 

Notes:

One of my favorite things about writing Shouto, doesn't matter if it's before he uses his fire or not, is that he's very dumb in a very smart way.
...
Shouto: No one can make me use my fire
Izuku: ...
Shouto: shit
...
Also sorry if this chapter feels weird, I am trying to get better at writing fighting scenes. Hope y'all liked this chapters!

Chapter 12: PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Public Relations

_______________________________

May 19th, 2XXX

After the most recent attack, our hearts are with all the people of Hosu and anyone harmed in the chaos. The League of Villains that had attacked Yuuei’s Unforseen Simulation Joint, had been the main perpetrators behind the attack. However, due to our employees working endlessly to investigate the chaos in Hosu, it has come to light that not only was Stain working alongside the League, but an illegal vigilante was as well. He has been operating in Naruhata for the last few months and has also been working with them. 

He looks to be 19, has green eyes, no distinctive features, and has a weak agility quirk. 

If you see this individual, DO NOT ENGAGE . Find safety as soon as you can and make sure to call the authorities. He is highly dangerous and now is considered a(n) SSS tier villain. 

After Endeavor took down Stain, the illegal vigilante had managed to slip through the hero’s fingers in the middle of the chaos. 

On behalf of the heroes in Hosu, the ones in Naruhata, and Musutafu, from before the illegal vigilante relocated, we apologize for not being able to bring the citizens of Japan peace of mind. 

We, here at the Hero Public Safety Commission , and our trusty heroes will be doing everything in our power to bring this villain to justice. 

With your best interests, 

Hero Public Safety Commission

Chapter 13: Public Outcry

Summary:

So we've all seen the letter, right?

Notes:

OH MY GOD HAVE Y'ALL SEEN THE LEAKS!? This chapter was not supposed to be updated for another two weeks but I've been reading through the newest chapter in the manga and had to do something so here you go!

Also I am now totally planning a fic for after the war.

The Hopeless Hero 

By: Honda Shui – Editor of Herolytical

So we’ve all seen the letter, yeah? Obviously, we all have opinions. I can’t exactly state mine and I’m assuming if you’ve been reading my articles, without sending me those lovely death threats, you share my opinions. 

But with the most recent turning news, The Hopeless Hero is an SSS tier villain??? I mean, that guy apologized to the villain he took down the night we met. But okay? 

You gotta love our trusty heroes and HPSC, right? 

This article is just going to stay really short because well…it only has one purpose. To let you know we stand with you. We believe in you, we believe in the truth that happened in Hosu, we believe your words about the quirk status, and we support you. 

See you next time. 

For more news on recent events, click the profile or just dm us @Herolyticaltwt

-

Lwbhy67 → @Herolyticaltwt: I commented on your first piece about the kid. It’s crazy to think the HPSC has ‘found’ so much about him. 

AllMight’sgf → @Herolyticaltwt: Kinda sucks people can openly support Stain but the moment the HPSC releases a statement on a kid vigilante we can’t speak anymore???

                     Delulu → @AllMight’sgf: Bro they will find you, gotta keep those opinions to youself. 

IHateMyFather → @Herolytical: He’s not a SSS ranked villain, he’s a quirkless vigilante. He proclaimed it to Endeavor himself. He took Stain down and saved three people’s lives, if not more. 

                    YuueiAlumni → @IHateMyFather: That’s all speculation though. Not saying I don’t believe you, but yk…gotta be careful disagreeing with the HPSC. 

                    IHateMyFather → @YuueiAlmuni: I’d like to see them try to do something. They can try until they realize who my father is. 

                    YuueiAlumni → @IHateMyFather: Lmao okay. 

TrueHeroesOnly → @Herolyticaltwt: And did you hear that Stain said the kid is a true hero? Kind of funny since he keeps claiming he can’t be a hero. 

                    IHateMyFather → @TrueHeroesOnly: He did say that, I heard him say it myself. 

                   TrueHeroesOnly → @IHateMyFather: Same bro. 

…

LiveStain – Anonymous chat

Porkbeans: So…

Blood:): So…

Just4kicks: He said a quirkless kid is a true hero? Like actually? How do we even know he really is quirkless? The HPSC’s letter said he has an agility quirk. 

Porkbeans: No, listen, I live in Naruhata. The kid works for me, he’s a good kid. He is one-hundred percent quirkless. We’ve got monitors for when quirks are used at my business, not once in the last four months has he tripped them up. Also he claims to have a different quirk, it’s a fake obviously, but no the HPSC is lying. 

Just4kicks: So who’s the guy? 

Porkbeans: Not saying shit. There’s a lot of fucked up people in this server. Just saying though, he’s not 19 either. Probably around 16. 

Skar: You’re lying. There ain’t no way. I was saved by the kid. He’s like younger than 13. 

Porkbeans: No he’s not you dumbass. 

…

Umie sighed, pulling out another cigarette from her bag. Her ears were twitching for any sound of that kid’s anxious little heartbeat. It had been two and a half days since she got Akatani’s little note, and she hadn’t stopped worrying since. 

Moe let her work shifts at the corner store while Liu was in school. It was a nice little job, real easy too. It would be a whole lot easier if she could actually focus on her work and not her night job. 

She’s been an informant for years now, mostly just petty stuff. No hero has ever wanted information from a dirty jackal. She didn’t really think too much about the information she used to give out, as long as it put food in Liu’s stomach it was good enough for her. 

She used to want to do good, of course, she did, but good didn’t always pay money. She couldn’t afford to stick to the hard lines of the law. But now…now there was someone who she looked up to. 

It felt silly that she looked up to a kid younger than her nephew who worked at Nishi’s little gym. 

Some people wanted information on him once, before she ever met him, before she ever had a name behind the mask. She could hardly remember what they wanted it for, she hadn’t cared, just wanted the money. But then, she gave them some information about a drug ring they were interested in and she had effectively put both her nephew and herself in danger. 

They had been part of that drug ring, trying to silence anyone who knew anything about their new product. 

Trigger. 

It seemed she knew too much, and they waited to ambush her later that night when she was walking with Liu to Moe’s shop for some stupid fucking cheese. She thought that was it, that she and her bent morals were going to get her nephew killed, but then The Hopeless Hero showed up. 

He really wasn’t so hopeless when he was saving your life. Or hopeless at all, actually. 

He was the opposite. 

Akatani had rescued them both, calling the police from a payphone, and calmed Liu down. She had been saved by heroes before, hardly anyone in this day and age hasn’t, but this was the first time she had seen someone treat Liu with pure compassion. It didn’t seem to matter to the kid that he had rescued people with mutant quirks, one a jackal and one a rainbow snake. 

He walked them home, and bought them a new container of cheese. None of it had been an act. She started meeting him weekly under the pretense of giving him information, but she really wanted to be around his kindness. 

And something told her he needed some, too. 

Every week he had a sandwich for her and Liu, and every week he asked how Liu was. The last time they met, he didn’t have a sandwich. Something had happened, but she couldn’t pry. Anytime anyone tried he suddenly had business somewhere. 

She wanted him to realize how much he was appreciated. 

But she had just sent him to his death, just like she had done with Liu. Except this time, no one would save him. 

Her cigarette was at its end, just perfect. She stubbed it out with a sigh and pulled another one out. 

“Yeah, no.” Moe’s talons grabbed her cigarette and box with a tsk. “No more for you.” 

“I need them.” Umie made a half-assed attempt at grabbing them back, secretly glad that she wasn’t going to have to buy a second box yet. “They help me relax.” 

“No, they don’t. I’ve never seen you this stressed.” 

“They help me focus?” 

“Nope.” Moe rolled her eyes, feathers flaring out. “Got more to try out.” 

“Nah,” Umie sighed, hoping any second now Akatani would walk inside the shop and claim that this was all an elaborate prank and he had never actually left Naruhata. “All outta excuses.” 

“And sighs.” Moe shoved the cigarettes into her cabinet and locked it. “Girl, you are sighing enough for the neighborhood. What is your problem?” 

Moe held a talon up, walking to the entrance of the store and switching the sign to closed . 

“Is it because of public enemy number one, right now?” 

“And bingo.” Umie covered her head with her arms, feeling so frustrated. 

“He’ll be back-” 

“You really think he survived The Hero Killer?” Umie’s neck might have well snapped with how quick she looked at Moe. 

“Umie,” Moe sighed, running her talons through her yellow feathers, trying to flatten them back down. “We can just hope.” 

“You don’t understand!” Umie wailed, pulling at her ears. “I sent him there!” 

“You what?” Moe grabbed her hands, a little more forceful than needed. “What do you mean?” 

“I told him about how Stain injured Ingenium.” Umie hung her head, too ashamed, too scared to look back at Moe. “I told him how we support him not Stain.” 

“And then you told him to go to Hosu?” 

“What?” Umie pulled her hands back, gaping at Moe. “Of course not!” 

“Umie, I’m going to kill you. I swear that I can make it look like an accident.”  Moe flipped the sign back to open, glaring at Umie and muttering curse words in French under her breath. “Look, Aka…He is a kid. He’s going to do stupid ass shit, especially when he thinks it’s not a problem if something happens to him.” 

“Even if what they are saying about him defeating Stain is true, the HPSC is after him now.” Umie’s eyes felt like they were burning. 

“Why do you think that is?” Moe frowned, tapping away at the counter. 

“Because he’s quirkless.” Umie straightened her back at the sight of the usual school kids making their way to their corner store. “It’s always going to be that first and what he does second.” 

…

Kisihibe Hajime took pride in his work. It was his hard work and dedication to the HPSC that supported his family. His wife had died years ago in an attack at city hall in Musutafu, leaving him alone with their three kids and years of grief to match. 

He made sure to work as much and as hard as he could until it was time for his kids. He had always loved children, even before he had any, they always made him excited for the future. His kids were no exception, two of his children were adults now and his youngest was just seventeen. Right on the cusp of leaving him alone in a house for five people. 

He had never questioned the HPSC, always fully believing in their hard work and dedication to keeping the people of Japan safe. He had always been one of the good guys, never once questioning what his superiors said. 

But…with their released letter, he wasn’t so sure. 

He had been saved by that kid, and he knew that had been a fucking child. Younger than his little boy. But here the HPSC was, here he was, claiming that The Pebble Kid was an adult who was working to hurt people. 

He had seen that kid, and he had moved to save the kid when he realized how small he had been, he had seen his son in The Hopeless Hero when that mugger had tackled him to the ground. 

And now he had signed this kid’s death sentence. Even if he didn’t write the letter or agree with it, this kid’s blood would be on the HPSC’s bloody, bloody hands. 

…

“Well,” Nedzu tapped a rhythm onto his desk, watching Shouta brood in the seat across from him. He could understand Shouta’s irritation, or better said, he could rationalize it. He knew from the moment he figured out Midoriya Izuku, the homeless kid Shouta was looking for, was The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, that Shouta would be upset at not being told. 

Nedzu could recognize a poor choice, even for the right reason. Maybe, he did make the wrong one now that The HPSC was interested in the young boy, but it would be far too late to change anything. 

“It seems even with the HPSC’s attempt to control the narrative, the public still believes our little vigilante.” Nedzu watched Shouta, wondering if he should have said something sooner. 

Would it help anything at all? Would anything have been different? 

He did not want to risk the kid’s life, but he knew full well the lengths Midoriya would go if he got caught. He knew trying to help Midoriya too early could lead to the young boy’s death. 

“So it’s really Midoriya Izuku.” Shouta was pinching the bridge of his nose, glaring at Nedzu. “I was almost hoping our hypothesis was wrong.”

It may have been a hypothesis to Shouta, but Nedzu was far too intelligent to believe something without proof. 

Midoriya Izuku grew up Quirkless in a Quirkist society, to no fault of his own. He lost his mother when he was ten, forced to grow up even faster than he already had been. He had been thrown into foster care, spending months in an orphanage, no doubt beaten and abused before he had been placed into the Kimura family’s care . Nedzu had calculated that Midoriya had most likely ran away after a month, and had been living on the streets ever since.

His foster family had not called in his disappearance, just pocketing the money that came from taking care of a Quirkless boy. Midoriya’s social worker, obviously, never had done her job. 

There would be very little reason for Midoriya to want to be saved . He had been independent for the last three years, if not longer, Yuuei trying to help him would only do more harm.

For the time being, that was. 

“I’m assuming this has ruined your carefully crafted plans against the HPSC?” 

“Not quite,” Nedzu gave a sharp grin, sharp nails tapping against the printed Public Service Announcement. “With the young vigilante’s unintended work, he has opened up a few alternatives. A few quicker ones, too. I’m estimating at least five years now, instead of the seven that I had previously calculated.” 

Nedzu lifted the paper, eyes roaming over the HPSC’s Ludacris words, again. Midoriya may have unintentionally helped Nedzu in his silent war against the HPSC, but Nedzu knew better than to assume Midoriya didn’t have his own plans against society. 

That was the whole point of The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, wasn’t it?

“All because of one boy?” Shouta didn’t look convinced. “I don’t understand.” 

“I’ll explain in due time,” Nedzu promised. “For now, though, you have other worries, I would assume.” 

“Other worries,” Shouta’s question was answered by the man’s phone buzzing on the table. Nedzu grinned, manically, the moment Shouta turned his attention to his device. 

If Nedzu knew the horror that was the HPSC, and he did, he knew Shouta would be learning the commission’s plan on how to deal with Midoriya Izuku. Nedzu tapped the same rhythm onto the desk, hoping that Midoriya would accept help once Shouta put the dots together. Hopefully, they wouldn’t drive the young Hero to killing himself. 

Notes:

This is one of my favorite chapters mainly due to seeing how much impact Izuku/Akatani/The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante/ The Pebble Kid has on society and the individual. I hope you all like it as much as I do.

Let me know what you think ! And don't forget to drink some water and eat something !!

<33

Chapter 14: Purple is Satisfaction

Summary:

“You’re very hard to find.” Hawks leaned forward, lowering his voice. “You need to be hard to find.”

Notes:

Hollly Shit, it's been a while. Sorry about that.

I don't wanna hold y'all too long, so hopefully you enjoy this chapter as much as I do. <333

#longestchapterofpart1

Friday; May 19th

When Izuku had planned on leaving for Hosu, he had planned a few fallbacks, a few escape routes so that he wouldn’t get caught. It would have been easy because the Heroes and police were going to be looking for Midoriya Izuku. He didn’t wear Primordial shoes anymore, cramping his feet into a pair of black Converse a few days after he had started living with Touya. His hair was a different color, he didn’t look like he was in middle school, and he had an entirely new identity. 

Then, all his plans, all his fallbacks fell through the moment Shouto entered the equation. Izuku had panicked, and rightly so. If he hadn’t left when he did, Shouto could have been killed. 

But, because he had panicked and didn’t prepare himself for heading out to Hosu, Izuku had no plan on how to get back to Naruhata. Police and Heroes were searching every train car before they departed, looking for hide or hair of The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. 

If it had been Midoriya Izuku they were looking for, there wouldn’t be nearly as much man power. That had been what Izuku had been banking on. 

Now, though, he was stuck in Hosu with no plan, no way to Naruhata, and a target on his back. There was no way for him to get back to Naruhata like any other person 

Izuku was smart, smarter than he admitted most of the time, he could acknowledge that when his back was against the wall. He knew the Heroes and police were looking for someone of his stature, age range, Quirk status, and someone with the injuries that he had sustained. 

He couldn’t run, he couldn’t hide forever, and he couldn’t take a train to Naruhata without giving himself away. The sleeves to his sweater were burnt, he had dried blood coating the left side of his face, and his hand…his hand was fucked. 

Izuku cradled the sorry excuse for a hand against his chest, keeping it tightly wrapped up in Katsuki’s green hoodie. He felt a little bad, staining such a nice hoodie, but he had bigger worries, sitting in an alleyway directly across the street from a small gas station. A few hours of hiding after Stain’s defeat was more than enough time for Izuku’s adrenaline to fade. The pain from his hand hurt . He thought he had been used to pain, thought he was stronger than crying the moment his neurons flared, but he had been so, so wrong. 

It was nauseating, feeling the way his hand would tremor on its own. It was worse than nauseating with the way the bones inside his hand would vibrate with each breath. 

He couldn’t ever remember feeling so hurt, couldn’t remember a single injury that could even begin to compare to the absolute lack of feeling in his hand. But, he almost felt like he had survived worse. His good working hand rested itself against the heavy scar tissue that was wrapped around his torso. 

He didn’t have time to worry about his injuries, he needed to get out of Hosu as fast as he could. It was only a matter of time before the Heroes and police sent more people to search for him. The only thing that was stopping them, right then, was the effects of the League’s attack. 

He didn’t even know how he was supposed to make it back to Naruhata. 

All he knew was that Touya was going to kill him.  

He had run into Endeavor, he had publicly run into Endeavor. Everyone had to have known by now.

Touya hated Endeavor, and now Izuku knew why. He was pretty sure he hated him too. Which felt absurd. He knew next to nothing about Endeavor, he didn’t have any concrete proof of what he was suspecting. 

Izuku knew that Shouto hated his father so much that he refused to acknowledge half of his power, half of himself. Would that be enough to make Touya run away and fake his death? Or would it have to be worse for him to leave? Would it have to be his mother too? 

Izuku didn’t know much about the Todoroki family, but he knew Todoroki Rei was gone, and he knew fire wouldn’t make the scar on Shouto’s face. 

He didn’t know Shouto, but he almost wanted to. 

Maybe if he had a Quirk he could have been someone worth knowing to someone like Todoroki Shouto. 

Maybe even without one, he could do something to help him.

He had been completely caught up in the moment. His anger toward Endeavor and his want to make Shouto safe far outweighed his fear of what Touya was going to assume had happened in Hosu. 

If the news of Endeavor and The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante weren’t enough to set Touya off, the fact that he had been there with Stain would do it. Never in a million years would Touya think Izuku was working for or with Stain, he knew Izuku wanted to do good. And outside of that, he knew Izuku didn’t agree with Stain. He definitely would have figured out that Izuku went to Hosu to take Stain down. 

Izuku knew Touya was a Stain fanatic. He would have to be an idiot to not realize it. 

Maybe if Izuku grew up differently, if he had a Quirk, and was abused, maybe he would have believed in Stain’s ideals too. 

But he didn’t, and he wouldn’t. 

Yes, Endeavor was quite obviously a horrible person from that single meeting alone, but still Izuku couldn’t agree with Stain. Obviously, the man had a few screws loose since he called The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante a True Hero even after finding out he was Quirkless. 

Who even thought a Quirkless Person could be a Hero?

A light blue truck parked at the gas station, stealing Izuku’s attention from his spiriling thoughts. Sitting down and running his mind in circles wouldn’t help him escape.  Izuku moved slowly, watching an older man exit his truck and make his way inside to pay for gas. He wasn’t sure where the man was heading, but he could see the fruit under the tarp in the bed of the truck. He knew a merchant’s truck when he saw one. 

He’d have to smuggle himself out of the city, without a single clue of where he was headed. He didn’t necessarily want to hitch a ride in the man’s truck without permission, but sometimes he was a criminal like Touya had said. 

Sometimes, was starting to become more often than not. 

…

Sunday; May 21st

He saw a familiar neon sign. 

Izuku didn’t even wait for the bus to stop before he was rolling off the roof of the vehicle and using the friction between the palm of his good hand and a light pole to safely land on the ground. He stumbled, knees scraping against the ground, but had managed to catch himself before he could faceplant. 

He had spent the better part of two days jumping from vehicle to vehicle in an attempt to make it back to Naruhata. The first truck he had hidden in, had taken him an hour outside of Hosu before Izuku jumped out. He had traveled further than he had wanted to, ending up in Maebashi, but he had made it out of Hosu. 

At the end of the day he had considered that a win. 

After Maebashi, Izuku had jumped on any transport that had been heading south. Hosu was just slightly West of Naruhata, not nearly as far out as Maebashi was, but a good way north from both. 

After two big rigs, a good distance of walking, and a bus, Izuku was back in Naruhata. He stared up at Moe’s shop, glowing in the light of the neon sign. He had been sure that Moe’s store didn’t open until eight in the morning, but who was he to question questionable luck. 

Izuku’s eyes stung, fully realizing he wasn’t in danger anymore. Naruhata was safe, or safer than Hosu. At the end of the day, he was just happy to be back in Naruhata.

Going to Hosu had to have been one of the stupidest things that he had ever done. He should never do something that stupid again. Izuku knew how lucky he was to not only survive Stain, take him down, but also escape the Heroes. 

He couldn’t risk trying something like that again. 

Izuku had thought he had been terrified while fighting Stain. He had been convinced nothing could be scarier than the Serial Killer’s blade only inches from his chest, but that had been before Endeavor showed up. The moment The Number Two Hero arrived, Izuku had been sure that was it. He had been sure that The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante was going to be killed. Or worse, get caught. 

He should have pretended to be a civilian, should have kept his mouth shut. But, Izuku knew if he had been forced to do it all a second time, he would have revealed himself again. He couldn’t have stayed quiet. Endeavor needed to know who he failed to catch. 

Shouto needed to know it had been his own power all along. 

There was something so freeing in admitting the truth about his Quirk status, there was something about proving to Shouto that he wasn’t his father. 

Even if he had kept his mouth shut, Stain still would have freed himself at the last minute, and Izuku still would have nearly killed the man with the large rock that had been by his feet. It had been the only thing Izuku thought could stop the man. 

And stop him, he did. 

And Shouto…

Shouto used his fire to save Izuku. He wasn’t entirely sure how he had managed to run off successfully, but he did know he never would have been able to get out of that alleyway without him. 

Something about Shouto had captivated Izuku. At first, Izuku had thought it was because he was Touya’s little brother, he thought it was because he was responsible for making sure Shouto didn’t die. Then, when he had watched Shouto’s performance during the Sports Festival, Izuku had noticed how sad he looked. 

He wanted to know why, and all those other cliche things. He wanted to understand why Shouto wouldn’t use his fire, he wanted to see the Hero in training use it. At the end of the day, Izuku guessed he had to consider himself lucky for somehow stumbling across all those answers. 

Izuku knew why Shouto looked sad, or at the very least he partly knew why. He knew why Shouto didn’t use half of his Quirk. He even got to see Shouto use his Quirk, twice. Shouto chose to use his Quirk to save Izuku, choosing to push past his obvious trauma to save him of all people. 

Learning why Shouto was sad, why he didn’t use his Quirk, and seeing him use it didn’t make Izuku any less curious about him. It almost made his curiosity worse. 

Thoughts of Shouto and his flames were washed away by the sound of Moe’s bell ringing with the movement of her shop’s door. Izuku cringed at how the noise cut through the silent morning, only making him realize how bad his head was throbbing.

He could focus on nursing his wounds after he got something for his hand. It had been two and a half days since he had torn open his hand on Stain’s jagged katana, and it still hadn’t stopped bleeding. 

He needed gauze, at the very least. Some antiseptic would be nice, too. After all, if Shouto had been worried about his hand, Izuku had to make sure it healed as well as it could.

“Akatani!” Moe’s shout made Izuku take a step back, double checking that the sign still said ‘open’. 

“I’m sorry,” He muttered, ducking his head. “I thought you were still open.” 

“No, we are!” Moe was staring at Izuku with wide eyes, hands hovering in the air. “What happened to you, kid?” 

“I slipped on the fire escape earlier,” He sighed, hoping that excuse was good enough. “I just needed to grab some things.” Neither of them mentioned that it wasn’t even six in the morning. 

“Of course!” Izuku’s skin was prickling under Moe’s intense stare. He moved to the back of the store, tuning out the conversation she was having on the phone upfront. He picked out a few things, adding them all up in his head before bringing them to her at the register. 

“You guys aren’t usually open this early, are you?” 

“Ah no,” She laughed, feathers ruffling a bit. “I thought I’d try it out for a bit.” 

“Oh.” Izuku nodded. “Wouldn’t it make you lose more money since most people are asleep?” 

“Most are.” Moe shrugged. “Not the important customers, though.” 

“I see.” Moe’s shop also ran as a small underground clinic, those clients would be more important. 

“Five-hundred yen, kid.” 

“No,” Izuku frowned, furrowing his brows as he ran through the math in his head again. “It should be closer to eleven hundred?” 

“You’re asking to pay more for first aid items?” Moe blinked at him.

“Yes, ma’am. I have the money for it all.” He held up the proof, wilting a bit under her stare. 

“How about this,” She started, closing the register, and leaning over the counter. “Lemme patch you up and I’ll let you pay for everything.” 

“I can do it myself Moe-san.” 

“You can, but you shouldn’t have to. I don’t know how you hurt your hand that badly, but it’d be better and easier if I cleaned you up. Please?” 

Izuku frowned, forehead creasing as he tried to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. He’s come into Moe’s shop plenty of times, injured from his nighttime activities and she’s made sure not to push before when she had seen a bruise or an unusually large cut. 

He could always say no, pay the five-hundred yen, leaving the rest in the tip jar, but…it did sound nice to have someone else do it. Almost like how his mom used to, but back then it had been bullies, not serial killers. 

“Yeah, okay.” 

Moe’s grin was nothing short of triumphant.

…

There was a lock on the window seal when Izuku got back to the apartment. It was probably meant to keep him out until Touya could either grill him for questions or grill him alive, but he was too tired to care about sitting on the fire escape for however long it took Touya to get home. 

It took him the better part of an hour before the lock clicked under his hands. 

“Finally.” He rolled inside, locking the window again before face-planting on the couch. His eyes were already closing before he had the chance to kick off his shoes or take his backpack off. 

…

“You’re like a fucking stray.” Fingers twisted themselves into Izuku’s hair, waking him up pretty quick. The pain that came from the fingers pulling at the roots of hair, and the force of his body being pulled off of the couch were more than enough reasons for Izuku to feel wide awake.

“Ow, ow, okay ow.” Izuku moved with Touya’s hand, trying to alleviate the pain. “Shit, Dabi stop!” He grabbed at Touya’s wrist, face twisting up in pain before Touya let go. The moment Dabi’s scarred hand had left, Izuku felt his body involuntarily sag with relief.

“How did you get inside?” Dabi looked pissed, borderline murderous. Izuku had to be careful not to aggravate the older man, more than he already was.

“I have a key?” Izuku frowned, just remembering it, but also slightly miffed that he had spent the better part of an hour breaking into Touya’s apartment when he could have just walked through the fucking door.

“You’ve been gone for days,” Touya yelled, eyeing Izuku like he was a stranger. It hurt to see Touya look at him so coldly. 

Izuku took a small step back, eyeing Touya wearily. He was tired, and hurt, and it was starting to make him feel overly emotional. “I told you I was going to be gone for a while.” Izuku ducked his head. “I also told you when I was on my way back.” 

“How did you get back?” Touya took another step toward Izuku, brow raising high enough to signify that this wasn’t a rhetorical question. He looked smug, like he had finally recognized Izuku for who he was, a pathetic kid . It made Izuku’s hair stand on end, being stared at like his teachers in middle school did, knowing Touya was slowly seeing Izuku the same way everyone else did. It hurt, knowing that he was right, too. “Last I checked, you’re wanted by the whole country,” Touya continued on, completely unbothered by Izuku’s obvious discomfort.  

“I hitched a-” Izuku blinked, pausing mid-sentence as his brain slowly absorbed Touya’s words. “I’m what?” 

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Touya smirked, sitting on the couch and spreading his legs across the cushions the moment Izuku drew closer. “You are a triple ‘s’ tier villain.” 

“You’re joking.” Izuku dropped to the floor, grabbing Touya’s computer and immediately searching up his other name, hardly focused on how Touya seemed to be enjoying this.

He almost dropped Touya’s computer the moment the HPSC’s letter popped up at the top of the page. It was short, most small public announcements were, but this wasn’t like most small public announcements that Izuku grew up reading. This was an actual service announcement labeling Izuku of all people as…dangerous. 

“What the hell…” Izuku reread it and reread it again, and when it didn’t change he read it a fourth time. “This isn’t…I mean, no this can’t be…” 

“Seems it is, little Hero…oh.” Touya flicked Izuku’s head, just adding to the static that was filling his ears. “Little Hero doesn’t really fit anymore does it?” 

Izuku was hardly paying attention, staring at his description in the announcement. His fake description. 

Touya was mocking him about being a villain but all Izuku could think were two things. One, the HPSC was trying everything they could to make sure no one knew Quirkless people could do anything. 

Two, the HPSC knew who he was. 

Shouto had lied about Izuku’s identity, his description, and his Quirk, but the announcement didn’t fit what Shouto had told the other Heroes in Hosu. Shouto had told Endeavor and whoever else had been there, listening, that The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante had brown eyes. In the announcement, they told all of Japan, if not the world, that The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante had green eyes. 

Sure, Shouto could have changed his story, the Hero-in-training could have come clean, but Izuku found both of those ideas highly unlikely. Izuku knew what this meant, he knew that the HPSC knew who was behind the mask. Izuku knew they had figured out the truth behind Akatani Mirikumo. 

They were going to kill him, weren’t they? All because he wanted to help, because he stood against their ideals. He wasn’t nearly dumb enough to think he could somehow survive a hit from the HPSC, but he kind of wished he felt scared or at the very least sad. 

All he could feel was cold.

“I told them I was Quirkless.” Izuku shakily closed the computer, standing up on shaky legs, stumbling away from the couch, away from that damn letter. 

“Told who?” 

“Endea-” He was body slammed into the wall, quite literally knocking the sense back into him. 

“You told who?” Dabi’s eyes were a bright blue, just like Endeavor’s, just like Shouto’s left eye. 

“I told Endeavor-san!” Izuku whimpered at how abnormally warm Dabi’s hands were. “I told Stain and Sho-” 

Dabi’s hands were getting hotter on his shoulders, making Izuku uncomfortably hot. 

“I told Todoroki-san and The Hero Killer.” He squeezed his eyes shut when Dabi let go, finding the lack of heat even worse. 

“But he called you a True Hero.” Izuku flinched, hearing the blatant disgust in Touya’s voice as the knowledge of Stain calling a Quirkless freak a True Hero. 

“I know! He didn’t until after I told him. I wanted everyone to know that Endeavor couldn’t catch a Quirkless kid, that The Hero Killer couldn’t kill me, I wanted them all to know!” 

Dabi’s hand twitched toward him and Izuku immediately flinched before it even touched him. A much cooler hand landed on his head, in a mock gentle way. It stole Izuku’s breath away, making him tremble while he was still trapped between Touya’s quick temper and the wall. “And you managed to escape,” Dabi’s voice was soft, making Izuku’s heartbeat increase tenfold. “How did you manage to escape The Number Two Hero?” 

Izuku looked up at Touya through his bangs, thinking through his options. 

He could tell the truth about how Shouto helped him out of there, how his brother was an amazing person and would be an amazing Hero too. But his shoulder hurt, and Katsuki’s sweater was smoldering, all because Izuku had almost said Shouto’s given name. 

He could lie, make something up. 

“He underestimated me,” He spoke softly, hardly breathing from underneath Touya’s hand. 

Touya stared at him, tilting his head to the side for a moment before removing his hand with a laugh. “Sounds typical.” 

The moment Touya stepped back, Izuku felt the panic come rushing back full force. His knees buckled, causing him to nearly fall back if not for the wall. Izuku forced himself to breathe, going through the same motions he helped victims through. They weren’t working though, he was trembling, terrified, borderline crying, and unable to fucking breathe. 

Why couldn’t he fucking breathe?

“Why were you in Hosu?” Right as Touya turned back toward him, Izuku felt his body unconsciously relax. He couldn’t explain it, but in less than a second, he was calm. Touya, unaware of Izuku’s dilemma, sat back down on the couch. He didn’t look angry anymore, which would probably explain why Izuku didn’t feel panicked anymore.

Touya raised an eyebrow at Izuku’s silence, mockingly patting the floor in front of the couch with the heel of his shoe. 

Izuku really, really, didn’t want to sit near Touya while his whole body trembled and throbbed in pain. He would rather shower, and scrub at his skin until it looked pink and raw, but he didn’t want to risk pissing Touya off again. 

So, he sat.

“Stain went after Ingenium.” Izuku was sitting straight, unsure why Touya wanted a conversation where Izuku would have to contort his body to face him. He couldn’t find the courage to turn back and look at Touya, instead staring at the television, and watching Touya’s movements through the reflection in the screen. He felt tense, sitting there and waiting for Touya to blow a fuse, not necessarily sure what would piss him off next. “I went after Stain in turn.” 

“So you really weren’t a part of the Leauge’s attack?” There was a questioning lilt in his tone, almost as if he could imagine Izuku doing something so horrible. It made him feel queasy and terrible at the notion of being on the League’s side of the attack. 

“Of course not,” Izuku squeaked out, trying his best to stay cool and collected. 

“And you weren’t working with the Heroes?” 

Izuku thought of ice and fire attached to an amazing Hero before he shook his head. 

“So why not tell me?” Touya sounded…hurt? 

“I know you respect Stain.” Izuku shrugged, feeling himself relax down at Touya’s familiar tone. “I didn’t know if I would get killed by him or caught by police so I didn’t want you attached to it at all. I cleaned the phone right after I messaged you, and was just trying to do the right thing.”

“But now all of Japan thinks you’re a triple ‘s’ tier villain,” Touya repeated Izuku’s thoughts, rapping his knuckles on the back of Izuku’s head. “Stop fucking flinching like I’m going to kill you or something.” 

“Right,” Izuku laughed, trying to calm his heart. “Sorry, I'm still jittery over the fight with Stain.” 

…

Saturday; May 27th 

Izuku had to rest for a few days before he allowed himself to go out as The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. His hand had stopped opening up a few days after Moe initially wrapped it up, giving him some pills that were made from someone’s quirk. It would speed up his healing process while he slept. 

So per the doctor’s orders, he had to get lots of sleep. 

He went to work, surprised that Nishi didn’t have much for him to do outside of security. Since no one ever cared to try and rob Nishi’s gym, that meant Izuku had lots of time to sleep. 

So, after days of losing his mind in Touya’s apartment and at work, he finally healed enough to go out. His hand was horribly scarred, but he could move it just fine. 

It had been over a week since he had been on the streets of Naruhata. 

It didn’t matter to him if he was classified as a villain or not, because he was still going to help people as much as he could. 

He had to fix his outfit again since Shouto had burned his sleeves. 

He had spent the day cutting the sleeves off of his black sweater, whispering a silent apology to Mitsuki for destroying the perfectly nice hoodie they gave him. But besides the new cut, the rest of it was still the same. He hadn’t grabbed his hat when he had left for Hosu, so it was still in perfect condition. Or…as perfect as a hat that Izuku found in the dumpster could be.

It had originally been a Present Mic hat, saying Hands Up for his radio show, but when Izuku found it, it was missing a few of the letters. He originally had been planning on fixing it, but decided against it because Touya didn’t like Heroes and fair enough. He also thought it would have been funny to make a joke, so his hat said Heads Up . 

He had a box of medical masks, so it never was a big deal if he needed more than one. Though he should start bringing extras when he went out so that he wouldn’t have to deal with people seeing his face if he destroyed it again. 

He changed his clothes after Touya went to bed and slipped outside ready to start helping people. 

…

Before Hosu, he never felt…like he was doing anything important. He obviously knew he was helping people, he knew if he hadn’t been there they could have died, but it still didn’t feel like Midoriya Izuku was doing anything. 

Even after he helped Shouto take Stain down, it didn’t feel like he did anything.

If taking down a serial killer didn’t make him feel like a Hero what would? Did it matter if he felt like one? Would he even know if he felt like a Hero? Would it feel like this gray feeling that’s never quite left him? Something told him it wouldn’t. When Shouto used his fire, Izuku hadn't felt gray at all. 

It felt like he accomplished something important. It wasn’t taking down a serial killer level, but it felt like he saved someone just to save them. 

Izuku jerked up at a sound, jumping to the next roof and rolling to soften his landing. He scaled down the fire escape, landing between a person on the ground and two masked figures. “Oh thank god, it's you, kid.”  

Izuku lifted a brow, looking back to the victim recognizing Sajou. Sajou worked at the barber shop across the street from Nishi’s gym, he didn’t look too bad, just a bit rumbled and was sporting an early black eye. “You okay?” 

“Fine, but these assholes keep tryna shake me down for money!” 

Izuku looked back to the assholes in question. “You think he’ll carry money around this time at night? Who does that?” 

The guys in masks traded a look, obviously surprised at Izuku’s response. 

“Hey, Sajou-san, call the cops and then get outta here.” Izuku always tried to get the victims to call the police or sometimes he would use the criminals’ phones. He didn’t want to risk his phone being tracked if that was an actual thing or just something in television shows. 

“Sure thing, kid.” Sajou took a step back, running off. 

“So,” Izuku tilted his head to the side, frowning under his mask. “You wanna wait for the police or is the usual ‘you’ll regret that’ kind of hard way?” 

“You talk too fucking much!” The guy on the right threw a punch, his arm growing. Izuku ducked under the punch, rolling to the side and moving out of the way of the second guy’s bone…? 

“So what? Don’tcha need social interactions to be well rounded? That’s what my mom said, maybe that’s why you turned into a masked thief with a balloon arm?” Izuku grabbed a rock the size of his palm off the ground, knocking the guy with the arm quirk out a lot quicker than he anticipated. 

“Nion!” The guy with a bone quirk froze the moment he realized his buddy wasn’t going to be able to help. “We just wanted money! You didn’t have to kill him!” 

“Kill him?” Izuku blinked, dodging another bone. “He’s knocked out, not dead!” Izuku dove under the guy’s legs, quickly spinning around to kick him in the back of his knees as hard as he could with one foot and in the small of his back with the other. 

The moment he fell, Izuku hit him upside the head with the same rock. 

“Now, stay there until the cops get here!” He used some zip ties he brought with him, hoping it’d be enough for now. He couldn’t afford to wait if he was an enemy of the country. 

…

Thankfully, not a lot seemed to be going on. Yeah, it was a bit boring when he couldn’t help someone but it was always better if they were safe in the first place, right? 

He still did the usual of moving animals out of the road, helping cats out of trees, picking up trash, and just little things that made him wonder if Shouto ever did that stuff. 

Probably not since his father was a fucking asshole. 

“Oh, kid!” Nimu, an older lady who ran a bakery that ran all night, waved him over. “I need your help!” 

Izuku jogged across the street after looking both ways, of course, smiling at her from behind the mask. “Hello, Nimu-san. What can I do for you?” 

“Oh, you’re always so polite!” She pinched his cheek. “Chacha got out again.” Chacha was Nimu’s cat. She lived right above the bakery, so it wasn’t that uncommon for her cat to escape in the middle of the night. She always came back, but Nimu said she preferred finding her if she could.

“Oh no.” Izuku frowned, nodding. “I’ll go check the park, I’ll find her for you, Nimu-san.” 

“You always do, son.” She smiled, something resembling sadness in her eyes. 

“Don’t look sad, I’ll be right back with Chacha!” He waved off to her, quickly backtracking toward the park he had passed by. It was Chacha’s favorite spot because of the koi pond. 

Honestly, he was lucky that Chacha was such a polite cat. She just wanted to watch the koi fish. She never ran or tried to hide when he grabbed her, just mrrped at him and then would rub against his chin until he brought her back. 

“Just like I promised!” Izuku walked inside the shop, handing Chacha over to Nimu with a smile. “She was just looking at the koi fish again.” 

“Just like she always does.” Nimu took Chacha back, setting her down in a cat carrier. “How about a donut for the road? On the house.” 

“No, I can’t.” Izuku scratched at the back of his neck. “I’m patrolling ma’am.” 

“Wow,” Izuku’s whole body tensed at the sound of the new voice. Something about it was eerily familiar. “You’re better than me kid, I can never say no to free food.” 

A hand landed on his shoulder, and Izuku looked up, coming face to face with Hawks. As in Hawks the Number Three Hero. As in someone totally wanting to bring in an Enemy of the Country. 

“Whatcha doing there, kiddo?” His smile held no malice, but maybe that’s why he smiled with his eyes closed. 

“Just…” Izuku faintly registered his body was trembling. “Just walking…sir.” 

“Oh yeah,” Hawks laughed, nodding his head to the side. “How bout we take a walk, then?” 

What was he supposed to do? Say no? “O…Okay.” 

“Nimu, we’ll be going out the back.” Hawks smiled again, and Izuku realized she wasn’t looking at Izuku at all. He had completely fallen for the HPSC’s trick. 

“Of course, Hawks-sama.” She bowed, knuckles white, waiting for them to pass before standing up. 

“So,” Hawks’ hand tightened on Izuku’s shoulder. “Isn’t it a bit late for a kid like you to be out? Don’t you have school in the morning?” 

He opened the door for Izuku, letting him out first. “What are you, a cop?” 

Hawks just kept smiling, turning around to close the door. “Funny.” 

The moment the door clicked, it felt like all the air in the alleyway was vacuumed up. There was a heavy silence that descended over them both for a few seconds and it was all Izuku needed to realize that this was it. He was going to die in this alleyway. 

He wasn’t even shaking anymore, he just…wasn’t. 

He was going to die by a Hero’s hand. 

How twisted was that? 

Izuku could feel pins on his back, he turned his head to the side, eyes catching probably about twenty feathers all pointed at him from behind. For some reason, not even that terrified him. He still felt abnormally calm. 

“Since we’re telling jokes,” Hawks hummed, turning back around, teeth glinting in the night. “I’ve got a funny one. You ready?” 

Izuku nodded, not sure if the question was rhetorical or not. Always better to answer a rhetorical question than not to answer a real one. 

“Great.” Hawks clapped his hands together. “The commission wants you dead.” 

Izuku stared, he had already figured that out when he read the letter. Why else would they release a public announcement if they weren’t trying to kill him? 

“Oh…not funny?” Hawks sucked in a breath. “Yeah it wasn’t a joke, my bad, I forgot.” 

He took a step toward Izuku, raising a brow when Izuku made no move to get away. 

“But,” He paused, tilting his head to the side. “How about we just stick to being Heroes since we can’t tell a decent joke.” 

He hesitated. “What do you want?” He was so incredibly confused and didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing, but he doubted that letting Hawks be the only one to talk before he killed him was it. Also, he felt more offended that Hawks was critiquing his joke-making more than his threat to kill him. 

“Lemme lay it all out for you because you know what really irks me?” Hawks held his hands out like he expected Izuku to know the answer. 

“Um, no?” 

“Misunderstandings. We’re not gonna have one of those here, okay?” He didn’t give Izuku the chance to respond. “Great!” 

His feathers came back to his side, disappearing into his jacket and making Izuku feel like he was in less danger. Though he wasn’t stupid, he knew he was far from safe. 

“So, I’m not going to kill you. You can calm down a little bit.” Izuku eyed him warily. “Unruffle your feathers, ya know?” He patted Izuku’s shoulder with a grin. 

If his head wasn’t pounding and his hand wasn’t still throbbing in pain, Izuku was convinced this would have been a dream. A horrible, terrible, dream, but a dream all the same. 

“Like, I said, the commission wants me to kill you. So I am currently hunting you down as we speak.” Hawks put quotations over the hunting you down part, only adding to Izuku’s headache. “But you’re a little sneaky thing aren’t you?” He stared at Izuku. 

“Uh, yes.” Hawks nodded, patting Izuku’s shoulder. 

“You’re very hard to find.” Hawks leaned forward, lowering his voice. “You need to be hard to find.” 

“I can…I can do that, sir.” He couldn’t do that, if he needed to be hard to find that meant he needed to stop being The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante. He couldn’t stop helping people. 

Hawks’ smile this time looked more like he was entertained. “No, you can’t. Don’t lie, no misunderstandings, right?” 

Izuku blinked, confused why he would tell Izuku to be hard to find but then not be upset if he knew Izuku wouldn’t not…be easy to find. “Uh, right.” 

“So anyways, I flew by Musutafu. Spoke to the Bakugous!” He clapped his hands and Izuku felt his heart plummet. 

Of course, the commission would talk to the Bakugous. They knew who he was, they had so many resources! They had purposely released the wrong information about him so that the people of Japan wouldn’t realize that the HPSC was gunning for a fourteen-year-old Quirkless boy. 

“I would say it was lovely, but it really wasn’t. Not a lot of nice things to say about you, but also a lot of nice things to say? Quite confusing. Mom’s dead, yikes,” He inhaled sharply, clicking his tongue when Izuku made no reaction. “Sorry about that.” 

He did not think this through before he did this. He never thought that a stupid wish of helping someone and then dying in a Heroic way would lead to the HPSC trying to kill him. 

“Typically, when we try to find someone we try to go through family but you don’t really have a lot of that left. So, we thought of using the Bakugous but Katsuki’s in Yuuie so that is a little messy.” 

Using the Bakugous? Was Izuku putting them in danger? 

“It’s a long heated battle between the HPSC and Nedzu so it’d be hard for the HPSC to touch the Bakugou family.” Izuku literally sagged in relief, his hand coming up to stabilize himself against the bakery’s wall. That was the first bout of good news he got since he ran into Hawks. 

“You don’t have a lot of personal connections, which works for you.” He patted Izuku’s shoulder again, completely ignoring Izuku’s emotional turmoil. “It really does, but here’s the thing. You should leave town. Not now, that’d be too obvious, but in a month or two.” 

He grinned. 

“Try to be smart about it.” He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Or as smart as a twelve-year-old can be about this.” 

“Excuse me?” Izuku sputtered, standing back up. “I’m not twelve?” 

A quick look up and down. “Sure you’re not.” 

“I’m not!” Wasn’t Hawks supposed to know his identity? 

“Right, you’re just malnourished or something.” He said flippantly. 

“I am?” Izuku threw his arms out. “I’m homeless.” 

“Haha.” Hawks smiled with his eyes closed again. “Not something you wanna say when I’m hunting ya down, kid.” 

Izuku immediately ducked his head, face heating up in embarrassment. 

“So now I’m going to walk you home.” Hawks gripped Izuku’s shoulder again. 

“Is this a homeless thing?” 

“Thought we said not to make jokes?” Hawks patted Izuku’s shoulder leading him out of the alleyway. “It’s a good thing we happened to run into each other where there were no cameras.”

Right, because Izuku one-hundred percent believed it was purely a coincidence that Hawks found him. Not like it was a trap or anything. 

“Now, you’re gonna go home and get lots of sleep before school tomorrow.” Hawks let him go. “Right kid?” 

“I thought you said not to make jokes.” 

“Heh,” Hawks laughed, turning away. “Nice one, Greenie.” 

The moment Hawks flew off, Izuku ran. He ran and ran, and once he felt like he couldn’t run anymore he kept running. 

His body was on autopilot, hardly aware of his surroundings but still, he knew where he was going. There was only one place he could even think about right now. The Bakugous. He couldn’t do anything for them, even if he stopped. If he threw away the outfit and didn’t go out anymore, he was still wanted by the commission. 

Everyone knew Midoiriya Izuku was missing, but the commission knew where he really was. Would the commission still have Heroes like Hawks hunt him down if he really stopped? 

It didn’t sound likely. 

How many other Quirkless people got close enough to make a difference before the commission killed them? How many of the public announcements that Izuku read were actually fake? How many people had Izuku thought were evil or criminals when they weren’t? 

He wasn’t sure if he would figure out the answer, if anyone would ever know the truth behind the public service announcement. 

If Katsuki really did know he was The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, if he had actually put the pieces together, did he believe the commission? Did he think Izuku had been working with Stain? With the League? 

The same people who had shamelessly attacked Yuuie’s Hero Course, hoping to kill All Might and a few students? 

Did he think Izuku was a villain? 

Probably not. 

He needed to have a Quirk to be a villain, at worst all he could be was a criminal. 

He leaned against a light pole across the street from the Bakugou household, probably looking like a creep staring at a house in the early morning. The sun wasn’t even out yet, but he still watched for any movement, any sign this had all been some trap or something. 

But nothing moved. 

Everyone kept sleeping and the world kept moving while Izuku waited. 

It was ridiculous, waiting across the street, watching Katsuki’s house like it wasn’t four in the morning. Like he had any right to worry about any of them when he was the reason they were in danger. 

Izuku sighed, shoving his hands in his pocket and quietly passing by the tree outside Katsuki’s window, hoping to see some sort of proof that Hawks had been telling the truth. He just wanted to make sure that Katsuki was okay, that he hadn’t set him up for failure. 

He waited for a moment, listening for Katsuki’s breathing, feeling his shoulders unfurl at the usual sound of steady breaths. He hadn’t heard it in a while, but he would probably recognize it anywhere. Aunt Mitsuki had the same raspy snore like Katsuki, it was comforting to hear. 

It had been years since he had slept over, but he could still recall Masaru’s soft breathing like it was yesterday. Maybe it was because it was tied to a time he could hear his mom’s shallow breathing while she slept, or maybe it was because he really was creepy and memorized people’s breathing patterns. 

Either way, he forced himself to keep moving, not wanting to risk being seen. 

He had panicked, just running without thinking, and now he was stuck in Musutafu until the buses started up in a few hours. 

Well, he could always help around Musutafu. 

…

Maybe…just maybe he overestimated his ability to finish a fight without an injury. He thought if he had been able to deal with Stain, without dying, he’d be able to at least get through most petty villains and criminals unscathed.

That had been pretty stupid of him, though. 

He turned to the kid in the alleyway, smiling beneath the mask. “Are you okay?” 

She looked older than him, actually, hands gripping her school bag to the point where her knuckles were white. 

She was scared…of him. 

He looked back to the unconscious criminal, sighing before realizing this was what the commission wanted. 

“Stay safe.” He murmured. If the sirens in the distance were any clue, she had probably already called the police. 

He gripped his side, using his other hand to climb the fire escape. He could feel the blood seeping through his hoodie and sticking to his hand. He probably wouldn’t be able to patch himself up until he made it back to Dabi’s apartment. 

His only saving grace was that his hoodie was black, you could hardly see the blood from the stab wound soaking through. 

He still had to wash his hands off, though. 

He grunted in pain, squeezing his side as he jumped to the next roof. He stumbled, tripping over his feet, barely having time to catch himself. His side felt like it was on fire. 

He silently cursed himself for cutting the sleeves off the night before. He had nothing to cover his bloody hand with while he climbed down the fire escape, just leaving his sticky blood on the railing, trying to ignore how tired he felt.  

He still had over an hour until the buses started to run, and he didn’t think he would be able to keep running around trying to help people while his stab wound kept screaming at him with every step he took. 

He slid down against the alley wall, listening to the sirens draw closer. He had to leave now, if he didn’t want to get caught. 

And he really didn’t want to get caught. 

He coughed, hating the farting noise coming from the stab wound, and pushed himself up. He didn’t have time to rest with the cops on their way, he had to find somewhere to hide until the buses started to run. 

…

There was someone at Dagobah Beach. 

They looked like they were practicing their form? Izuku vaguely could already see the difference between what this guy was doing and what he usually tried. 

He mimicked the stranger, following their movements, finding it to be more fluid than what he usually did. 

“Who’s there?” The stranger was staring in his direction. “Hello?”

Izuku took a few steps forward, finally realizing he had seen the kid before. He was that general education student who got third in the sports festival. 

“Holy shit.” Izuku blinked at the surprise in the guy’s voice. What was his name again? Something that started with an S? “You’re…” His eyes were wide, he didn’t look scared of him like that girl did. Wasn’t he a Hero Student? Shouldn’t he be trying to attack Izuku?

Well, he wasn’t a criminal, but if the HPSC called him one who wouldn’t believe them? 

“I thought you operated in Naruhata.” Operated? That made it sound so official, like he was actually accomplishing something besides pissing off the government. 

“Had some business to take care of,” Izuku lowered his voice, cringing at how fake it sounded to his own ears. “Aren’t Yuuei students under strict supervision?” 

“You know who I am.” It wasn’t a question. 

“I watched your performance in the Sports Festival.” 

Why wasn’t he running away? Why was he standing here talking to some kid? 

Izuku tilted his head to the side, trying to remember what he had written in his notebook, what name he had paired with Ingenium’s little brother. 

It was on the tip of his tongue…Shiko? 

No that definitely wasn’t it. 

Shinsou? 

That sounded right.

“I don’t think anyone would be able to forget it for a while. You must have impressed a lot of people.” 

“Impressed people…” There was almost a questioning lilt in his voice. 

“You obviously didn’t know how to fight at the festival, but you were just practicing weren’t you?” Izuku shrugged, biting his tongue when his side twinged in pain. 

“They did say he was smart.” He probably wasn’t meant to hear it, what with the way Shinsou practically whispered the words to himself. 

He ignored it, regardless if he was expected to respond or not. 

The sun was slowly rising, just enough of it was out for the light to reflect off of the water’s surface. There was a cut on the kid’s face, almost like someone had scratched him. 

“Where’d you get the scratch?” Izuku tapped the edge of his mask, watching the kid’s eyes widen. 

He must not have known he was bleeding. 

It was too fresh to be from something at school, it would have already scabbed if that was the case. Didn’t they have healing quirks there too? 

“School. Training. You don’t look too hot, yourself.” Shinsou held his own hands up, raising his brows at Izuku. 

Izuku immediately flushed, glaring at Shinsou. “Just a little blood.” He winced at the stab of pain in his side. “Blood never hurts anyone.” 

“Uh, I don’t think that’s how it works.” Shinsou looked skeptical. 

“I think I would know.” Izuku kept his eyes on Shinsou as he moved toward the water, rinsing his hands in the ocean. “Unless you also have blood on your hands right n-”

Izuku cringed. 

“That sounds really bad.” It really painted the picture the HPSC was pushing. Kami, who needed the HPSC to spread misinformation about him if he did it himself just fine. 

Shinsou didn’t say anything, watching Izuku carefully wash the blood from under his nails. 

“You didn’t answer me.” Izuku cocked a brow. 

“Huh?” He took a step back, seemingly confused. 

“You were practicing right now, weren’t you?” Izuku quickly mimicked the movement he saw earlier, his side spasming at the motion. “Which means you have someone training you.” 

Again, Izuku was hit with the feeling that he recognized the style. His brain was just too fried to place it. 

“Someone…who obviously knows what they are doing.” 

“I don’t have to answer to-”

“Criminals?” Izuku smirked from under the mask, trying to ignore the way his voice cracked over the word. 

Shinsou looked unimpressed, and Izuku was almost sure that he wouldn’t answer that either. 

But he sighed, rolling his eyes like Izuku was immature and missing the point. 

“Hero Students and Heroes alike aren’t to associate themselves with vigilantes.” He sounded like he was quoting a rule book. 

“Vigilantes?” Izuku’s face twisted, too focused on correcting Shinsou to realize he wasn’t trying to lower his voice like he usually did. “I’m not a vigilante.” 

“That’s right.” Shinsou tsked, looking as if he were trying to read Izuku. “Seems I’m not breaking any rules then.” 

This had to be a trap.

Izuku narrowed his eyes, trying to listen for any sound of sirens, trying to subtly make sure there weren’t any Heroes trying to sneak up on him. 

There was no way this…kid was being serious. He had to be the only person to sound so serious when claiming Izuku wasn’t a vigilante. Most people joked, coming off as sarcastic or trying to paint him as a Hero, but not this guy. 

“Well, this was fun.” Shinsou was typing on his phone, eyes jumping from the device and back to Izuku before he shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pocket. “I do have to go before Mommy Dearest wakes up.” 

Izuku blinked, trying to place the name, it sounded familiar. 

“You staying in Musutafu?” For a second, Izuku imagined that Shinsou looked excited. 

“Anything I’d say would give more information away.” Izuku held up his now clean hands, grinning underneath the mask. “But…you might see me around.” 

Hawks said he had to make himself hard to find. What was harder than randomly patrolling in different cities? 

If he really was going to have to run, he might never see Musutafu again. He would never see Katsuki again, only watching him and Shouto through television screens and news articles.

“Okay.” Shinsou shrugged. “See you around, then.” 

Izuku watched him leave, frowning. “Yeah right,” he muttered to himself. 

…

Touya was sitting on the couch, when Izuku finally made it back a few hours later. 

He didn’t turn to look at Izuku, even when he closed and locked the door. The air in the room felt heavy, almost reminiscent of how tense the atmosphere had been in the alleyway with Hawks.

That wasn’t true, Izuku almost felt more afraid now. That was stupid, wasn’t it? Touya took care of Izuku, he cared about Izuku, and Izuku was scared of him? 

No…no, he wasn’t scared of Touya. That’d be dumb. He was just afraid of making Touya hate him. He was just afraid of being alone again. 

He was the one putting Touya in danger. When Hawks would eventually find him, what would happen to Touya? Would he hate Izuku for unintentionally leading the Heroes to them?

Would it even be unintentional if he had been warned? 

“Good morning,” Izuku murmured, feeling guilty about being scared. Touya was allowed to be upset about things, it shouldn’t affect Izuku. 

“Hm,” Touya hummed, head tilting to the side. His bright eyes always looked like ice when the sun hit them, directly. “You’ve been gone a while.” 

“I was out last night. Got hurt, took a while for the buses.” Izuku grabbed his bag with his clean hand. “I’m going to shower now.” 

“Buses?” Izuku’s hand fell from the bathroom door handle, turning back to Touya. “Where were you?” 

“Patrolling. I helped a few people.” Izuku shrugged, feeling the hairs on his arms prickle under Touya’s stare. 

“I didn’t ask what you were doing,” He scoffed, pushing himself off of the couch and stalking toward Izuku. “Where were you?” 

Izuku cringed, hand gripping at his side a little tighter than necessary. He wasn’t sure what was making him hesitate, why he was scared to tell Touya the truth. He couldn’t mention Hawks, it didn’t matter the mood he was in, telling him about Hawks was only going to get Touya more angry. Even on the first night they met, Izuku knew Touya hated Heroes. If Izuku didn’t know how good of a person Touya was, he’d think he was probably a villain or criminal with how much he bad mouthed all Heroes. All Might and Eraserhead had originally been a safe topic for Izuku but as time went on, Touya stopped wanting to hear about any Hero. He didn’t want to know about Izuku’s patrols. If Touya was talking about Heroes, it was about which one had just been attacked by Stain. But now Stain was in jail and the longer that it had been since The Hero Killer’s last attack the more and more frusterated Touya seemed to get.  

“I was in Musutafu.” He hung his head when Touya grabbed at his elbow. He use to hate it when Touya would randomly grab his arm or get in his personal space, but now he just…now it didn’t matter. 

It didn’t bother him anymore. 

“I didn’t mean to go all the way-” 

“Four hours away?” Touya lifted Izuku’s arm, narrowing his eyes at Izuku’s side. “You just accidentally found yourself in Musutafu.” 

“I just kept going.” Izuku drew his hand back to his side, hoping that would be enough to satisfy Touya’s curiosity. “I didn’t plan on going all the way out there, I’ve just been on edge since the HPSC’s letter. I’m terrified that they are going to find me at any moment.” 

“So you weren’t with any Heroes?” 

Izuku felt all the nervousness and fear disappear at Touya’s question. He knew something, he was assuming something…something Izuku couldn’t even guess.

He could understand Touya’s hatred for Heroes, he didn’t agree with him, but he could understand it. There were times when he was out at night, comforting a victim, almost cursing the Heroes for failing them. 

He couldn’t tell if it was Touya’s influence or if he was just becoming bitter like everyone else. But, sometimes he kind of wished he really did hate Heroes like Touya did. 

It would make the disappointment at being left behind a little more bearable. 

But even with Touya’s hatred, Izuku couldn’t understand his paranoia. 

Was it because of his father? 

It almost felt ironic. Izuku was the criminal, he was the one who the Heroes were after, not Touya. 

“Heroes?” Izuku felt eerily calm. “Why would I be with Heroes? They are trying to kill me.” 

“That didn’t stop you in Hosu.” Touya walked back to the couch, also appearing calm. He didn’t look upset anymore…that was a good thing, right?

Then why did he feel so on edge? 

“I heard Hawks is in town.” He was watching Izuku again, probably trying to gauge his reaction. 

“Hawks?” Izuku blinked, trying to figure out how Touya managed to find out this quickly. It was always unsettling how fast Touya heard a rumor. “Like the Number Three Hero?” 

“That’s the one.” 

He knew something…or at the very least, he thought he knew something. Izuku wasn’t sure how he would convince Touya he was innocent if he wasn’t even aware of what Touya was thinking. 

Was he even innocent? He did have a deal with Hawks and that would probably be enough to set Touya on edge. 

“Does anyone know why he’s here?” Izuku faintly registered that he was trembling. Was this it? Would Touya throw him out? Would he turn him in? He literally hadn’t stopped moving since he left in the early morning, and it just felt like one thing after another. 

“No.” Touya looked back to the TV. It felt like the moment Touya wasn’t looking at him, all the pressure and tension Izuku had felt was gone. 

That had to mean Touya wasn’t upset, right? 

“Not yet, at least.” He flicked the TV on, silently dismissing Izuku. 

That was all he needed. He didn’t waste a moment, shouldering his way into the bathroom and locking it behind him with shaky hands. He slid down the side of the door, burying his head into his knees, just hoping Touya wouldn’t hate him. 

…

“Come here.” Touya beckoned him over toward the couch, sitting Izuku on the cushions. “Lemme see it.” 

“See it?” Izuku blinked, trying to comprehend Touya’s actions. He was kneeling in front of Izuku on the floor. “See what?” 

“Your side.” Touya held up a handful of first aid items, setting them down on the cushion next to Izuku. 

Izuku could only stare, trying to figure out how he hadn’t seen them. 

“Are you going to let me stitch you up, or not?” Touya knocked on Izuku’s head. 

This whole thing was making his brain hurt. He shrugged his shirt off, peeling away the gauze he had used to cover the wound. He felt silly, now, for not stitching it. 

“Yikes, how’d that happen?” Touya covered a gray rag in hydrogen peroxide. 

“I saved this girl, probably a college student, from a creep.” He exhaled slowly when the hydrogen peroxide began to sting. 

It felt ridiculous to hate this more than the feeling of being stabbed. 

“She got scared. Probably thought I was gonna do something, too.” His ears were burning at the reminder that people out there believed the HPSC. 

“Oh,” Touya hummed, threading the now sterilized needle. “She stabbed you? A random girl?” 

“A scared girl.” Izuku corrected. 

The HPSC made him out to be a villain, and right now he really felt like one. 

“Do you…” Izuku hissed under his breath when Touya forced the edges of his wound together. 

“Deep breath, kid.” Touya didn’t waste a second, using the instruction as a distraction to start stitching. 

“Do you think he’s here because of me?” He felt out of breath. 

Touya paused, hesitating a moment before continuing the suture. “It wouldn’t be unlikely.” 

He could tell him the truth, admit he really was after Izuku, but something stopped him. 

“It’d probably be best to move soon, then.” 

“We don’t have money to move.” Izuku was barely able to pay the rent with his paychecks. Even with his emergency fund, it still wouldn’t be enough. 

“Well…” Touya’s tongue poked out as he wrapped the thread around the needle, pulling Izuku’s skin taunt. 

Izuku grunted, doing his best to breathe like Touya said. 

“I might’ve found a new job.” He finished the last throw, setting the needle on a paper towel before grabbing a pair of scissors. He grinned up at Izuku, shrugging at Izuku’s excited stare. “Don’t get all excited, kid, it’s still up in the air. The pay will suck, but food and board should be good enough.” 

“Really?” Izuku’s lips stretched into a wide smile. “That’s great Dabi! What will you be doing?” 

Touya snipped the scissors playfully toward him, shaking his head. “Can’t say yet. I don’t wanna jinx it.” 

Izuku nodded, pouting slightly at the news. Regardless of what it was, Izuku couldn’t help but feel proud of him. “Whatever it is, you’ll get it. They’d be stupid not to hire you.” 

Touya just grinned, dropping the bandages and antiseptic in Izuku’s lap. “Maybe.” 

…

Sunday; May 28th

“Hey, Nishi-San?” Izuku rapped his knuckles against the door frame to Nishi’s office. 

“Akatani?” Nishi pushed himself up from his desk, throwing a glance at the clock above the doorway. “What are you doing here, it’s the middle of the day.” 

Izuku smiled a bit, shrugging sheepishly. “I was wondering if I could adjust my schedule?” He leaned against the door, using his hand to apply pressure against the day-old stitches. 

He wasn’t really supposed to do that, Touya had been chewing him out about it whenever he caught him. 

“Sorry, sir,” Izuku mumbled, ducking his head. “With school and everything, I’ve got more time during the day than at night.” 

The truth was he wanted to be able to travel to Musutafu and back at night. If he was working nights, he’d only be able to go once or twice a week…eventually Hawks would be able to estimate which days Izuku was in town or just get lucky.  

“I completely understan-”

“Quit all that.” Nishi grinned, walking toward his giant calendar on the wall. “What hours work for you, kid?” 

…

Monday; May 29th (after midnight)

“Can I use your computer?” Izuku pointed to the cluttered table. 

“Now you’re asking?” Touya rolled his eyes, picking the device up and dropping it in Izuku’s lap. 

Izuku shrugged, picking at the skin around his thumbnail. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t wanting to use it.” 

“You’re fine.” Touya nabbed some pork from Izuku’s plate. “Just finish the food first, I don’t want to find bits of meat and rice in the keyboard.” 

Izuku nodded, sliding the computer away from him. He took a few more bites before pushing half of his plate toward Touya. 

“All done?” Touya raised a brow. 

“Yeah.” It was common for Touya to eat Izuku’s leftovers unless Touya didn’t like it. He still couldn’t get himself to eat a full plate in one sitting, and it was better for Touya to eat it than for it to go to waste.

“Thanks!” He grabbed the computer and scooted until he was near the outlet. Charging the laptop was good for two things, the computer wouldn’t die and Touya wouldn’t see what he was researching. 

It had only been two days since he met Shinsou, but he couldn’t stop thinking about why he hadn’t tried turning Izuku into the authorities. 

He was a Yuuei student, and most likely a Hero Student. He didn’t seem to believe the Commission's words, but that could just be an act. If he really had been a triple ‘s’ tier villain, would a first-year Hero Student (who really had only been in the Hero Course for like a week) try to take him down? 

No, probably not. It’d be stupid for them to try and fight someone who was that dangerous. Plus, they could be barred from getting their licenses. 

Though…he thought of fire, ice, and split hair. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought. He hoped maybe not all Hero Students were as reckless as Shouto was. 

Did Shouto and Shinsou know each other? 

Were they friends? 

It was hard to imagine Shouto being friends with anyone before the Hosu fight, he had been shocked that Izuku was helping him. 

He pushed Shouto from his mind, focusing back to the topic at hand. 

Shinsou Hitoshi. 

“What’s this?” Izuku turned the computer toward Touya, pointing at the image on the screen. He could recognize it, easily. “Is this the Beast Forest?” 

Izuku frowned, narrowing his eyes at the image, unaware of how quickly Touya was coming toward him. 

“Isn’t this where the Wild, Wild, Pussycats op-” The computer was snatched out of his lap before he could finish his question. 

“You going through my shit, Akatani?” Izuku froze, trying to figure out where he messed up. 

“N-no!” Izuku shook his head, pushing himself closer to the wall. “It was there when I opened the computer!” 

He needed to de-escalate this, quickly. 

“Is this where we are moving to?” Izuku forced a laugh out. “Isn’t it noisy there?” 

Touya’s sneer smoothed out, staring at Izuku in confusion. 

“The trees bark…” He gulped, feeling his hands trembling against the floorboards. 

“Did you…? Sometimes, I almost forget how childish you truly are,” Touya sighed, closing the computer, shoulders losing all their tension. “That was horrible.” 

“Ha,” He felt hysterical, trying to regain his breath. “S-Sorry, I’ve been stumped with how to tell you that one.” 

“Oh my god, shut up.” 

…

Touya didn’t give Izuku the computer back, and Izuku made sure not to ask about it. He didn’t need to use Touya’s computer to find answers about Shinsou. 

It’d make things easier, sure, but he didn’t need it. 

He could always just do any research at one of the twenty-four-hour libraries. They were open throughout the night because college students never slept, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t use their computers too. 

He slipped out of the apartment, careful to remember his keys and backpack. He never knew if Touya would get upset and try to read through his notes, and he really didn’t want to let that happen. 

Plus, when he went out as Akatani Mikumo, he made sure not to look like The Hopeless Hero. He wouldn’t wear long sleeves, just a compression glove for the hand he tore open, he didn’t have a hat or mask on, and he kept a broken pair of earphones in his ears. 

The logic was that if he was a vigilante, why would he inhibit himself from being able to hear someone call for help? 

It probably didn’t do what he wanted it to do, but it worked. 

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and walked the small distance from Touya’s apartment to the local library that was still open. 

“Welcome,” The attendant whispered without looking up from her book. “If you need anything just let me know.” 

“Thanks.” He ducked his head and made his way to the computer section, keeping his eyes peeled for any red feathers and closed-eyed smiles. 

Feeling safe and undetected, he used a guest login and looked up Shinsou’s name. 

Of course, there were hundreds of fan pages for him already. He got third place in the Sports Festival, after all. Even if you ignored how far he got he would still be popular, there were probably hundreds of people with mutant or mental quirks that had been cheering him on the whole time. 

He found a clip of Shinsou’s first round, something he hadn’t been able to watch since Touya started it while he was gone. It matched up with Izuku’s prediction of why so many people underestimated him. It didn’t seem like he enjoyed being underestimated. 

He probably didn’t realize how effective it could be. 

Or maybe he just didn’t care. 

He opened a news article that had, honestly, way too much information on Shinsou. He was a little surprised that no one had gotten it taken down yet. Most of the time, parents would have to take reporters and journalists to court and sue since their kid was still a minor. 

It spoke of his childhood, how his parents died right before he went to middle school, and how he had been living in the same foster home for the last four years. The author apparently had spoken with Yuu Koichi, his foster mom, retelling how innovative and responsible Shinsou was. 

None of it answered why he wouldn’t turn Izuku in. 

He tapped his fingers on the table, feeling like he was forgetting something important. 

He needed to look at this from a different perspective, he needed a fresh set of eyes. But since he was doing this himself, he’d have to settle for changing tactics. If he wasn’t getting anywhere by looking into news articles, he’d have to look a little deeper. If that wouldn’t garner any success, he’d have to figure something else out.

…

Thursday; June 1st

When Izuku turned seven, he started making excuses about why he didn’t want to go over to the Bakugou household. He had gotten away with it for a few weeks until the adults finally put the pieces together.

He wasn’t sure how they found out about Katsuki using his quirk on Izuku, but he remembered how much trouble Katsuki had been in. Katsuki had to apologize to Izuku at the school entrance, embarrassing himself and probably making him hate Izuku a little more, and he had started to see a quirk counselor outside of school for a month. 

For that month Katsuki couldn’t use his quirk. He didn’t remember much of what happened, but he could distinctly recall two things. 

One; Katsuki never used his Quirk on or around Izuku ever again.

Two; He made the restriction of his quirk use seem like torture. 

Izuku could never understand what he meant. He couldn’t fathom the itch under Katsuki’s skin or the withdrawals from not being able to release nitroglycerin all the time. He hadn’t been able to wrap his mind around how Quirk Counseling had been a punishment. 

It made sense to seven-year-old Izuku, after all, it was against the law to use your Quirk without a license. 

But that was also before Izuku studied Quirk Science. 

Back then he didn’t realize that the Quirk Factor was as important as the ability to breathe for a Quirked person. He didn’t know that most people didn’t mind the restrictions on their quirks because they didn’t remember how it felt to use it. They didn’t know the itch under their skin that would eventually make their Quirk unstable when it hadn’t been used in a while. 

Katsuki knew how it felt. 

Shouto knew how it felt. 

Shinsou knew how it felt. 

All those kids that Yuu Koichi took in knew how it felt. 

It was just speculation, but Izuku was sure that she wasn’t a good person. On paper, she looked like a saint, she took in kids with villainous Quirks and mutant Quirks alike. She gave them a home, boasted about them on Facebook, and waxed poetry about them to news stations. 

But…there was something Izuku couldn’t place. 

He knew foster systems. Even though he had left his foster home, quickly, he picked up on how the other kids talked about their experiences. 

Mai was practically the mother to all the kids that his foster parents had taken in, she took care of them all. She was the oldest of them all, living with those horrible people for a few years before Izuku was dropped off at their doorstep. 

She had told him about her previous home, an older couple had taken her in, and treated her as if she were their own. She would whisper about how they saved her from her first foster mother who only took kids in for the money, only wanting kids that didn’t have good Quirks since the government gave more money for them. 

He had found a group of adults who had moved away from Yuu Koichi’s home the moment they turned of age. They were part of a Facebook and Discord group for foster kids in bad homes. 

Now, it could be a coincidence. They could have been in bad homes before Yuu Koichi took them in, but Izuku didn’t know if that was the case. 

“What are you thinking so hard about, Einstein?” Touya knocked his beer bottle against the crown of Izuku’s head, eyes glued to the TV. “You definitely don’t care that much about the basketball game, do you?” 

“No,” Izuku sighed, rubbing at his temples. He felt like he was forgetting something important, something that would help him finish this puzzle. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Shinsou’s behavior at the beach, about why he was out so early, or the scratch on his cheek. 

The scratch on his cheek could have been an innocent accident. Maybe he has a cat? Maybe he got into a fight or did something stupid, who knew? 

But he lied to Izuku about what happened, and he lied about when he got scratched. 

I do have to go before Mommy Dearest wakes up.

“I’m just trying to figure out where I’ve heard Mommy Dearest before.” He bumped Touya’s knee with his shoulder, smiling slightly. 

“Mommy Dearest?” Touya tore his eyes away from the game, looking at Izuku with a glint in his eyes. 

“Yeah,” Izuku rolled his neck, sighing. “I heard someone say it, now I can’t stop thinking about it.” 

“Well…” Touya sounded excited. 

Izuku couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not. 

“Why don’t I show you?” He paused the game, grinning like a mad man. 

“Show me?” Izuku watched the screen. “It’s a show?” 

“A movie,” Touya corrected. “And a really old one, at that.” 

He clicked on it, shooting Izuku a smile. 

“Ready, kid?” 

“Sure.” 

…

Saturday; June 3rd (nearing midnight)

“Hey, kid,” Umie was in her usual spot, huddled underneath the restaurant’s back door canopy. “You’ve been gone a while.” 

“Heh,” Izuku tossed two wrapped sandwiches from a small deli a few streets over. “Sorry about that, just been a bit busy.” 

He leaned against the back door, thankful it wasn’t drizzling tonight. 

“How’s Liu-kun?” He tilted his head to the side, watching for movement on the street. “The first term is ending soon, bet he’s got lots of work.” 

“Yeah,” Umie sighed, stubbing out her cigarette. “He’s stressed beyond belief.” 

Izuku nodded, grimacing slightly as she lit a second cigarette. The smell wasn’t bad, but he couldn’t imagine how expensive it must be to constantly buy more. 

“So what information do you need, kiddo?” She raised a brow, flicking the ashes off her cigarette. “You’ve never really initiated these meetings.” 

Izuku ducked his head, feeling embarrased. She was right, he never wanted any information she gave him. He always claimed he wasn’t a Hero, that if he needed to figure something out he would have to do it himself.

It felt like he was cheating if he got information from someone else. 

He wanted to do this to prove Quirkless people were just as capable…and he thought that if he accepted help he would be proving everyone else right. But then with Stain…he realized how much he couldn’t do. Fighting alongside Shouto didn’t feel like cheating, it felt like…helping. 

And maybe he needed a little more help. 

“I need some help.” He dug his hands deeper into his pockets, fighting against the shame that was flaring it’s head. “I don’t know how to get information to the police.” 

“The police?” Umie was staring at him, Izuku didn’t need to double check what he already knew. “What are planning on doing?” 

“There’s this woman who abuses the kids she fosters.” Izuku shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem nonchalant. “I’ve been looking into her for the last few days, and I’ve got tons of proof and loads of evidence. It’s just…” 

“What?” 

“She fosters kids with mutations and mental quirks.” He finally looked back to her. “The last time she was reported was a few years ago. Nothing happened. The kids grew up, moved out, and she’s got more now.” 

Umie smiled sadly, her teeth bared. “I don’t think there’s much you can do, kid, unl-” 

“Unless one of her foster kids attends Yuuei and is now in the Hero Course?” He grinned toothily at her from under the mask. 

Umie’s eyes widened, smile morphing into a Cheshire grin. “That could work.” 

…

Monday; June 5th

“What are they feeding you guys at Yuuei?” Izuku had already spent the last ten minutes trying to convince himself not to chicken out when he saw Shinsou on the beach. 

“All the Hero Students have separate meal plans. Luckily enough for us, the food is free too.” Shinsnou laughed, not seeming scared by Izuku’s sudden appearance. “I’m really far behind, so my meal plan is drastically different from the Hero Students.” 

“The rest of them, you mean.” Izuku took a half step back at Shinsou’s stare. He immediately regretted saying anything, suddenly wary if he had said the wrong thing. 

“What?” Shinsou stopped his movements. 

“You said the Hero Students like you aren’t one.” Izuku blinked at Shinsou’s wide eyes, wondering if he was crossing a line or if he had completely misread the situation. “But you are one, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Shinsou whispered the word out. He sat down, starting to do some butterfly stretches, refusing to look at Izuku. “My meal plan is drastically different from…” 

His words died off, almost making Izuku think he had given up on their conversation. His body was tense like Izuku had struck a nerve, and he just kept staring at his hands in bewilderment. 

“I’m really far behind, in all aspects.” Shinsou shrugged a shoulder, his back to Izuku. “I need to catch up to…my classmates.” 

Izuku frowned, not understanding the somber mood or the small smile on Shinsou’s face. It felt like he was missing some vital piece of information that only Shinsou had. Which…made sense. He wasn’t Shinsou, he didn’t feel things the way he did, he was never going to understand why he felt like he didn’t belong in Yuuie’s Hero Course when he had proved it to millions of people. 

“I’m actually surprised you’re here,” Shinsou’s mood seemed to brighten slightly, finally looking back at Izuku. “I thought you would have steered clear of me.” 

“I would have thought so, too.” 

That had been the plan. He couldn’t afford to risk his freedom, safety, and life just because he liked talking to someone who didn’t treat him like a criminal…someone who wasn’t scared of him. Umie wasn’t scared of him, but that was different. She treated him like a kid. 

His plan of avoiding Shinsou was ruined when Touya showed him Mommy Dearest . He couldn’t ignore him now, he couldn’t pretend he didn’t know something was wrong…and maybe he did like the idea of someone just talking to him. 

Kami, how lonely and desperate did he sound? 

“I’m surprised this wasn’t a trap.” Izuku muttered, taking a single step closer toward the Hero Student.

“Still?” At least Shinsou didn’t seem hurt by the knowledge. 

“Still,” Izuku admitted, face warm from embarrassment. “I thought maybe you were exhausted and would come to your senses eventually.” 

He took a few more steps closer, stopping when Shinsou turned to look at him. 

“Seems I still have more time.” Shinsou grinned, turning to face Izuku with mirth in his eyes. Izuku had never felt more nervous in his life, well…except for when he was in Hosu with Shouto. 

“You know…” Shinsou’s body relaxed when Izuku finally sat down a few feet away from him. “A lot of people don’t believe the HPSC’s announcement.” 

“Right,” Izuku scoffed, hand absentmindedly hovering over the still healing stab wound he got from that college girl. If he closed his eyes, he could still see how scared she had been of him. She believed the HPSC and he couldn’t fault her for that.

“I don’t know what people you’ve run into,” Shinsou whispered, tearing his eyes away from Izuku’s scarred hand when Izuku caught him looking. “But I know a few Heroes who don’t believe it. If you were really what they said you were, a lot more concrete evidence would have been released to the public. Plus, the Heroes would have gotten a debrief before the announcement.” 

“You seem to know a lot about this.” Izuku couldn’t help but feel a little interested in what Shinsou was saying. The public didn’t know much about the way Heroes worked. It was intentional. The very little that people knew was usually leaked from Hero Students who either failed Licensing Exams or those who just didn’t want to pursue that career anymore. The HPSC always did their best to scrub any unofficial information off the internet. 

“Yeah,” Shinsou sighed. “My homeroom teacher made an impromptu lesson the day the HPSC released their announcement.” 

Izuku stared at Shinsou with wide eyes. “You’re telling me your teacher debunked the HPSC to Yuuie’s future Heroes?!” He was getting goosebumps, trying to wrap his mind around this. “They told your class why they thought it was fake?” 

“No. Nothing like that.” 

Izuku instantly let out a sigh of relief. 

“The principal held an assembly, and my homeroom teacher explained in explicit detail why Yuuei’s staff knew the HPSC was lying.” Shinsou’s smirk grew. 

“Do your teachers have a death wish?” Izuku pushed himself up, hands shaking by his sides, unsure what to do with them. “The HPSC is going to kill them…or at least send people to do it.” 

“Wha-” 

“Why would they do something like that?” He gripped at his hat, digging his fingers into the material of the cap. He was hyperventilating now. “You’re joking right? I mean you have to be. All of Yuuie? There’s no way-” 

“Whoa, calm down!” Shinsou’s hands were splayed out in front of him. “I don’t really get it either, but apparently Heroes who work through Yuuei are under some sort of protection clause with Nedzu. Why would you think the HPSC was going to kill them? That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?” 

He could feel the phantom feathers on his back, forcing out a laugh. “I guess yeah.” His hands were still shaking right now, but he shoved them in his sweatshirt to hide them from Shinsou’s knowing look. “Just…hard to believe.” 

“What is?” 

“You really don’t think I’m a villain?” Izuku looked back to Shinsou, hearing Touya’s jokes whisper in the back of his mind. 

“Sorry, dude, but I’ve met some fucked up people. You don’t seem like them at all.” Shinsou shrugged, going back to his stretches. 

Right. 

That’s why he came here to begin with. 

He wasn’t here to feel better about himself. He came to check on Shinsou while the police were getting debriefed on Izuku’s file of information on Shinsou’s foster mother. If everything went according to plan, Shinsou would be going back in time to see red and blue flashing lights. 

He obviously couldn’t say with a hundred-percent certainty where Shinsou would go, but he had a rough idea. 

Honestly, he was banking on Nedzu being informed about it all. Shinsou was a student at Yuuei, so if he was being taken out of his home, he would become a ward of the school. 

Hopefully that meant Izuku didn’t royally screw up Shinsou’s life. 

“Can you tell me what It’s like?” Izuku drew a mini All Might in the sand, still making sure to stay aware of anything Shinsou could do. “Yuuei, I mean.” 

“Yuuei?” Shinsou was watching him. Izuku could feel the stare, but he stubbornly ignored it to draw a small Mirio in the sand next to All Might. “Honestly, it’s…” 

His voice died down, looking away from him. Izuku looked up, watching the way Shinsou tilted his face toward the sky with his eyes closed. How could he look so peaceful? 

“It's so big,” he whispered. “I mean…you can’t see all of it at once. Even if we take out all the training grounds, facilities, gyms, parking lots, or anything else, the building itself is so massive you can only see parts of it at a time.” 

Izuku tried to imagine it. He’s seen Yuuei before, who hasn’t seen it? But he’s never looked at it the way Shinsou described. 

“The Hero Students,” he paused, frowning slightly. “The other Hero Students aren’t what I expected them to be like.” 

“What were you expecting?” Even though he asked, he had a rough idea of what Shinsou meant. He’d imagine them like everyone from middle school. He’d imagine a few dozen more Katsuki’s who hated the idea of a Quirkless Deku, wanting to be a Hero. 

But then he met Mirio. He had assumed it was a fluke, that Mirio was an exception. Izuku had been sure that’s why All Might was mentoring him, but then All Might had been like all the rest. 

And then…he wasn’t so sure. 

If All Might didn’t think he could be a Hero, how could Mirio or anyone else think he could be?

But then he met Shouto and once again was blindsided that he didn’t care that he had been Quirkless. He wanted to make sure Izuku’s hand didn’t get infected, he made sure Izuku escaped Endeavor and all the other Heroes, and he lied about what Izuku looked like. 

He stared at his scarred palm, slowly turning his hand over to look at the same scars on the back of his hand. He still couldn’t use his hand the same way he had been able to before, he had fucked up a ton of his muscles and nerves, but he wouldn’t go back and change it. 

And now he had met Shinsou. He wasn’t what Izuku expected either. 

“1-A got attacked at the USJ by the League of Villains,” Shinsou’s voice was soft. “Pretty much every other first year class hated them for it. Even the other Hero Class.” 

Shinsou sighed, drawing something in the sand Izuku couldn’t make out. 

“A week before the Sports Festival, everyone swarmed class 1-A and harassed them. I did too. I told them I was going to take one of their spots. Everyone already knew there were two empty spots, one kid was expelled on the first day I guess, and this other kid dropped out after the attack. I knew I could just get one of those empty seats, but there was this guy who was calling everyone extras and was shitting on everybody.” 

Izuku grimaced under his mask, already knowing that he was talking about Katsuki. 

“I told them I was coming for their seats. I agreed with this other kid who called them attention seekers because they had been attacked at the USJ. I hated them.” Shinsou curled his hand into a fist, refusing to look up. “And even though I was so rude to them, even though I only got through the Sports Festival by pure luck, they were so nice to me.” 

Izuku thought of Mirio, he could still see Shouto’s soft smile when he helped him escape, and he knew exactly what Shinsou meant. 

“They welcomed me with open arms.” Shinsou shrugged half heartedly, smiling. “I still don’t know why.” 

He was lying, Izuku could see it in the glossy look in his eyes. They both knew why class 1-A welcomed him in. 

They were Heroes. 

…

r/fostersurvivors 

The Witch is Dead! - Thursday 8th, 2XXX

Anyone who’s seen my posts knows about Koichi. Evil incarnate, she has spent decades painting herself to be an angel. She took in a kid with a blood quirk, a kid with needles for hands, how could she be anything but pure of heart? 

I (27F) left that god awful house nine years ago, and I found out last night she has been arrested. I am crying for the young girl I used to be who hoped I would be saved from that evil woman, but I made it out regardless of being saved. 

If anything, I am so happy that those kids she still had are safe now. They are free from her, they are going to be able to live in healthy homes, and she won’t be able to lay a hand on another child ever again. 

I don’t know why the police finally listened, but thank kami they did. 

…

Monday; June 12th

“What are you doing?” Touya’s voice made Izuku jump, heart beating erratically in his chest. 

“You scared the crap outta me.” Izuku paused the news, feeling embarrassed because he hadn’t even heard Touya get back. “What is that?” Izuku poked the plastic bag in Touya’s hand, frowning when it was moved out of his reach. 

“Answer my question first, and then I might tell you.” He tugged on a strand of Izuku’s hair with a smirk. 

“Watching the news.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the TV. It was a grainy picture of Yuu Koichi in handcuffs being pushed into a cop car. He couldn’t help but feel satisfied with the outcome. He had no idea where Shinsou was now, but Yuuei had already held a press conference claiming that Shinsou Hitoshi was now a ward of Yuuei. 

Everything was falling into place rather well. 

“So what’s the bag? This isn’t another tarantula incident is it?” He shot the bag a wary look, prepared to dive out the window if Touya pulled out another fuzzy creature. He didn’t hate spiders or anything, but the idea of feeling their fuzzy little legs made Izuku want to gouge his eyeballs out of his skull. 

“No, no.” Touya rolled his eyes, dropping the bag in Izuku’s lap. “It’s food from a cafe. Had a little interview for that job I told you about.” 

“Oh?” Izuku clapped his hands together, smile growing at the news. He couldn’t help but be excited for him, he had seen how hard it was to get a job with his scars. “That’s great, Dabi!” 

Everything seemed to be going really, really well. He got Yuu Koichi arrested, Shinsou was in Yuuei’s hands, the Bakugous were safe because of Yuuei, he had managed to help Shouto stop Stain, and he hadn’t been caught by Hawks yet. 

He ignored the whispers that something was going to end up going horribly wrong. 

Soon. 

Soon. 

“How did it go?” He scooted to the side, giving Touya room to sit down. “Did it go well?” 

“I think so, yeah.” He nudged Izuku with his shoulder, grabbin the bag from his lap with a grin. “They were impressed with my…skills. They also don’t mind having to make room for you, too, as long as you help out every once and a while.” 

Izuku held back a frown, trying to imagine moving. Did he want to leave Naruhata? Hawks was after him, sure. Who knew how long the commission was going to wait until they sent another Hero after him. He had been lucky so far, he had no idea when his luck would run out. When would Hawks find him? 

Wasn’t that part of their deal? Wasn’t he supposed to leave Naruhata? 

But did that mean he wanted to leave with Touya? 

How horrible was that thought? He owed Touya so much, he couldn’t just abandon him. 

But he wanted to go to Okinawa. He wanted to not be the only Quirkless Freak. He wanted to be able to say he was Quirkless without Touya’s sneer in the back of his mind. 

“You gonna take it, or are you saying I can have your daifuku?” Touya’s smirk grew when Izuku snatched the box from his hand. 

“Thank you!” He hugged the packaged food to his chest, face red from Touya’s teasing, but ultimately happy Touya got him something. “I haven’t had daifuku in a while!” 

Mitsuki made it for him and Katsuki when they were younger, and it was always the best. 

He paused, frowning at the box. “You went to Musutafu?” 

“What?” Touya nearly dropped his yokan, managing to readjust his grip just in time, staring at Izuku with wide eyes. “No? I was a few-” 

“This is the cafe across the street from Yuuei.” Izuku pointed to the name on the cardboard box, looking back to Touya. “It’s a small local cafe, so there’s only one. I think so at least. I could be wrong, though."

Izuku grabbed his daifuku, remembering when his mom used to take him to get some warm drinks during the sports festivals at the cafe because it wasn’t nearly as loud as the stadium.

“I use-” The daifuku was snatched out of his hand. Izuku blinked, watching Touya shove the whole thing into his mouth before snatching Izuku’s box off his lap too. 

“I do something nice for you, and you call me a liar?” Touya muttered a few curse words under his breath before shooting Izuku a glare. He didn’t say anything else before he carried the bag of items into his room and slammed the door shut leaving Izuku in the living room, the starch still stuck to his fingers and a bad taste in his mouth. 

Soon. 

…

Saturday; June 17th 

“How’s Liu-kun?” Izuku handed over two sandwiches with a smile under his mask, leaning against the door beside Umie. “Finals kicking his ass?” 

“Language,” She chided with a catlike grin. “Yeah. He’s doing well, though.” She rolled her eyes at the sandwiches before taking them and putting them in her bag. 

“Thank you,” He made sure to watch the street, knowing that she was just going to wave off his gratitude. 

“D-” 

“I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without your help.” He ducked his head, trying to fight off the shame. He knew if the police caught wind that the information had come from him, they wouldn’t have taken it seriously. “Anyways, here.” He held out money, finally working up the courage to look back at Umie. 

“Nope.” She shook her head back and forth, cocking a brow at Izuku. “I know you’re not tryna pay me right now.” 

“Of course I am!” Izuku held back a smile, knowing this would happen. He had snuck the actual three thousand yen payment in between the sandwiches he gave her earlier. “It’s your jo-”

“I have a real job now!” She flicked her cigarette. “You don’t owe me anything. Think of my services as payment for saving my nephew’s life.” 

“Then how about this for some more information?” He raised a brow. 

“What information?” She looked intrigued. 

“Hawks.” Izuku handed her the money, hands trembling at the reminder of the target on his head. 

“He’s in town.” 

“I know,” Izuku sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “He’s been in town since I was in Hosu. I need to know his patrol route patterns. I can’t find anything conrete online.” 

Which was probably the commission’s doing. They didn’t want him to know how to evade the winged hero. 

“I need to know pretty much anything you can find.” 

“I know why he’s here,” She whispered, a strong hand resting on his shoulder. “You have to get out of town, kid.” 

“I can’t.” He shook his head, thinking of all the people he’s helped. “I know why he’s here, too. We…talked.” 

“When?” Her cigarette dropped, grabbing both of his shoulders, concerned eyes jumping around his exposed face. “What happened?” 

“Nothing.” He stepped away, ignoring the look of pain that crossed Umie’s face. “He told me I need to leave town, too, but I can’t. I…What about everyone here?” 

“You need to think about yourself, for once.” She leaned against the door again. “You save a lot of people, Akatani, you should start saving yourself for once.” 

Akatani, Akatani, Akatani.  

Umie gave him a knowing smile. “We all care about you here, we don’t want to see you die in this city.” She lit another cigarette. “So run, leave town, and get out of here as fast as you can.” 

She flicked the ash off the end of her cigarette, watching how the embers died before they touched the ground. 

“And, kid?” She didn’t wait for a response. “Don’t trust, Dabi.” 

He turned on his heel and ran, heart thundering in his chest, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. She knew who he was. She knew Akatani was The Hopeless Hero, which meant she knew Akatani was quirkless. 

He hid in the alleyway outside of Touya’s apartment, curling up underneath the fire escape, trying to catch his breath. He couldn’t breathe, though. He couldn’t think, either. 

Akatani. Akatani. Akatani. 

Who else knew? 

…

Monday; June 19th

“What color do you want your room?” Touya held up two grey colors when Izuku got back from work, laughing at Izuku’s confused stare. “Joking, joking, there’s no color for the rooms. Unless you wanna buy paint and do it yourself.” 

He tossed the colors back onto the table, turning his attention back to the TV. He seemed distracted enough before he realized Izuku hadn’t said anything. 

“What’s your deal? If the paint thing bothers-” 

“I don’t think I’m going to move.” He cringed at cutting Touya off. 

Don’t trust Dabi.  

“I’ve got a job here, I pay the rent already, and I’ve got stuff I do.” He didn’t know if he would stay in Naruhata, but he knew that Umie had the best intentions. She told him not to trust Touya, but he couldn’t listen. He trusted him, a lot, but he couldn’t move with him.He made Touya upset more often than not, and he didn’t like pretending to have a quirk. He felt trapped. 

“Its free board and food?” Touya tilted his head to the side. “That shit not good enough for you?” 

“It’s more than good,” Izuku sighed, dropping his bag on to the floor. He had been out all night after he spoke with Umie. He couldn’t sit still. Then he went to work and now he just wanted to sleep. “I already have a job. I-” 

“So what? Why do you need a job if we could have somewhere to live?” 

“I still need to finish school.” He shrugged. “I need money for school, I just…” He trailed off, not sure how to explain that he felt safest when he was alone. He was always on edge, always scared of setting Touya off. 

Plus, Hawks was after him. It was only a matter of time before Izuku got Touya caught up in his mess. 

“I like it here.” 

“Oh, you like it?” Touya scoffed, turning back to the TV with a sour look. “Sure, whatever you want, Akatani.”

…

Tuesday; June 20th

Shinsou was at the beach. 

Again. 

“Shinsou?” Izuku blinked, trying to figure out why he was here so late. It was just after midnight, and he shouldn’t even need a reason to sneak out anymore. “What are you doing here?” 

“So it was you.” Shinsou looked over to Izuku, already looking healthier than he did over a week before. “I wasn’t sure, but then I found out all the evidence fell into the Police’s laps.” 

“What was me?” He rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling his face warm at being caught. He wasn’t supposed to know that Shinsou got relocated. Even with Yuuei’s press conference, they didn’t name drop Shinsou. 

“Hm.” Shinsou narrowed his eyes, still smiling. “I don’t know how you did it, but…thank you.” 

Izuku ignored the gratitude, looking out to the dark water. “Why are you out here so late?” 

“I got permission from my guardian.” Shinsou shrugged his shoulders. “This’ll be the last time though, he’s rather strict. I’ve got a curfew now.” 

“Oh?” Izuku couldn’t help but laugh. He made it sound like torture, it almost made Izuku feel normal to hear someone complain about something so mundane. “Why did he let you out then?” 

“You make it sound like I’m a prisoner or something.” Shinsou laid back on the sand, staring up at the sky. Izuku copied him, trying to see the stars past all the lights and pollution. “I told him I had to thank you.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. If I did anything, the police wouldn’t listen to a villain. You should just ask them who gave them the evidence.” Izuku was grateful for his mask, able to hide his smile away from the rest of the world. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Izuku could hear the humor in his voice. 

“Do you like it there?” Izuku sat up, brushing the sand off his back. “With your guardian?” 

“I do.” Shinsou ears were pink, even in the dark. “It’s embarrassing because he’s my homeroom teacher. So now he sees me do embarrassing shit all the time.” 

Izuku laughed, trying to imagine what he did that could be embarrassing. 

“Do you like it where you are?” There had been a red feather outside of Moe’s shop the night before. He didn’t like that he was scared to leave the apartment now, terrified that it was going to be his last time doing good before they killed him. 

“It works for now.” Izuku’s laugh died out, and he looked toward the ocean. He didn’t come to Musutafu to hang around and talk out his feelings. He came to patrol and try to help someone. He already helped Shinsou, so he didn’t need to hang around the beach like a lonely kid anymore. 

He stood up, dusting off the back of his legs and ignoring Shinsou’s stare. 

“I hope it works out for you.” He smiled behind his mask, glad Shinsou was safe now. 

“Wait!” Shinsou hurriedly pushed himself up, nearly tripping and eating shit for a moment before he regained his balance. “I wanted to ask you something.” 

“What is it?” 

“Last time you were here, you said something about the commission sending someone to kill my teachers.” Shinsou reached a hand out, freezing when Izuku took a step back. “Why would you think that?” 

“I was being stupid.” The answer felt flat, but he wasn’t going to traumatize Shinsou by admitting the commission had assigned the number three hero to kill him. “I was just spouting bullshit.” 

He adjusted his mask, knowing Shinsou wouldn’t believe the lie, but that didn’t matter to him. 

…

Izuku glared at Eraserhead. “I had that under control.” 

“I’m getting deja vu.” He tightened his capture weapon around the villain, texting something on his phone before looking back to Izuku. 

“Ha, ha,” He deadpanned, remembering the last time they ran into each other it had been almost the exact thing. He had taken a few steps back when Eraserhead was texting, freezing when he looked back at him. 

“You can go.” He shrugged. “I’m not going to capture you.” 

“You’re not?” Izuku found that hard to believe. “Aren’t I, like, first priority or something?”

“Something like that.” He latched the quirk canceling cuffs on the villain. “Ya know, kid, we can help you.” 

“I’m good,” He felt downright suspicious, carefully backing up before he felt less trapped. “Catch ya next time, Eraser!” He saluted the Hero and ran off. 

No way in hell would he risk letting Eraserhead change his mind. If he had his way, he’d never run into Eraserhead again. 

Hawks might end up killing him, but he was more afraid of being caught by Eraserhead and brought before Mitsuki and Masaru.

…

Monday; June 26th 

“You have anything on Vlad King or Eraserhead?” Touya snatched up Izuku’s journal, flipping through the pages. “What is all this?” 

“Statistics of crime and their correlation to Heroes, police, and vigilantes?” He closed the notebook when Touya gave it back, wrestling with his annoyance. “I don’t have my old notes on Eraserhead, but I have Vlad King’s.” 

Touya held out a hand. 

“Why?” He really hated giving people his notebooks.

“Just fucking let me see it.” 

Izuku gritted his teeth, but decided this was not the hill to die on. He grabbed his fifteenth notebook, flipping through the pages until he found Vlad King’s drawing. He had redone Vlad King’s notes when Izuku realized he taught Yuuei’s 1-B Hero Course. 

“Huh,” Touya frowned, reading through Izuku’s notebook. “This is shitty.” He dropped the notebook on the floor next to Izuku and turned his attention back to his phone. “Thanks though, I guess.” 

…

Friday; June 30th 

“Duck!” Izuku immediately dropped at Erserhead’s order, nearly getting cleaved in two, before the Pro’s capture weapon wrapped around his midriff and pulled him out of the way. 

“Are you following me or something, now?” Izuku put some distance between him and the Hero, glaring at his scarf, trying to figure out how Eraserhead kept finding him. He started to patrol in Musutafu every night since he found Hawks’ feather outside Moe’s shop, and everytime he was in a tough fight, Eraserhead showed up. 

Eraserhead didn’t dignify him with a response, just going straight for the villain with laughably large fish knives for arms. 

“This is feeling a lot like you’re stalking me.” He picked up a beer bottle, smashing it over the guy’s head since he was focused on the actual Hero. He dove to the side as the guy turned to him, leaving himself open and vulnerable to Eraserhead’s capture weapon. 

“Out again tonight?” Eraserhead snapped the cuffs on the man’s wrists, being careful not to nick himself on one of the sharp blades. “You’re going to tire yourself out at this rate.” 

“No I’m not,” He said petulantly, already tired out from the constant work and stress. “And you’re ignoring my questions. How are you finding me?” 

He narrowed his eyes at the Hero’s lack of a response. 

“At this rate, I’m going to think the HPSC sent you after me, too.” He grumbled under his breath, trying to act like the idea didn’t petrify him to the spot. If Eraserhead was tasked with silencing him, not only was his doing a piss poor job but it meant he had to worry about more than just Hawks. 

“I don’t work for the HPSC.” Eraserhead pocketed his phone, tilting his head to the side. “The HPSC has sent people after you?” 

“Including you?” Izuku wasn’t going to believe that Eraserhead had no ties to HPSC, all heroes did. He wasn’t sure why he was playing cat and mouse with Izuku, but he’d take it over dying by a Hero’s hand any day. “Just two, though you already knew that.” 

“We can help keep you safe.” Eraserhead reached out, but Izuku jerked back, warily watching for any other movement. “We can protect you, get you food, get you somewhere safe.”

The commission wants you dead. 

He wasn’t sure if Eraserhead knew the real reason he was sent after The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, but it definitely wasn’t to protect him. He sure as hell didn’t feel safe around him, either, so he took another step back. 

“I’m assuming you’re going to let me leave, again.” He was still backing up, knowing he’d run even if Eraserhead said no. 

The Hero sighed, stepping back, and nodded. “Get out of here before the police show.” 

…

Sunday; July 2nd:

Touya dropped onto the couch next to Izuku, flipping through one of his older notebooks again. Touya’s hand was blocking the number, but he was confident it was his thirteenth notebook because of the damage on the cover. 

“Wanna hear something interesting?” Touya flipped the page, humming under his breath. Izuku didn’t like his tone at all. It felt like a string pulled taut, about to break at a moment’s notice. 

“What is it?” He turned back to his book, trying to seem like he wasn’t on edge at all. He was as cool as a cucumber. 

“You’ve been working with Heroes.” Touya slammed Izuku’s book shut, ignoring Izuku’s indigent cry at his fingers being caught between the pages. “Isn’t that right, Akatani?” 

“No!” He scrambled back, cradling his hands close to his chest, trying to put some space between him and Dabi. He thought of Eraserhead letting him go and making sure he didn’t get cleaved to death, but he pushed that away. “I am a villain, no Hero is going to work with me.” 

Except Hawks, the occasional save from Eraserhead, or his old conversations with Shinsou, or fighting alongside Shouto and getting to see him smile. 

“I don’t trust any of them.” He froze when he realized how honest those words were. He didn’t trust any Pro Hero, he was terrified they were going to kill him, he had called Eraserhead a liar to his face. It didn’t matter how many times he had offered warm food or protection, he didn’t trust the Pros anymore. 

He could almost sob, because that was something he had always had. He always trusted the Heroes, he always could rely on them. 

How much had he changed in mere months? 

He dropped out of middle school, lived with a strange man in a crappy apartment, worked a crappy job, couldn’t trust Heroes, and he was a villain. 

He couldn’t imagine what his mother would say. 

Would she be scared of him? 

Would she look at him like everyone else did? 

“Then why I have I heard about you and Eraserhead being all buddy, buddy?” Dabi either didn’t seem to realize Izuku’s world was tilting on its axis again, or he just didn’t care. 

“He’s trying to catch me, I don’t know.” He couldn’t say Eraserhead was trying to trick him into trusting him, that would only set Dabi off. “Look!” He held up his wrist where Eraserhead had used his capture weapon to maneuver him out of the way again. The skin was still irritated, and the perfect way to placate Dabi.

“You can’t even avoid a little scarf?” Dabi laughed, dropping Izuku’s book back into his lap. “Kami, you can’t even be a decent villain, can you?” He switched out Izuku’s thirteenth notebook for his fourteenth, rolling his eyes at Izuku’s red face.

The moment Touya closed his door, Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, trying to regain his breath. 

…

Thursday; July 6th (a little after midnight –  somewhere in East Musutafu)

Izuku wasn’t sure how he got in this situation, but he was in serious danger. 

“The name’s Giran,” The man tipped his hat to Izuku, holding a hand out to Izuku. “I have been waiting to meet you.” 

Izuku kept his hand in his pocket, knowing he shouldn’t touch this man. He didn’t look dangerous, but this was the fourth time he tried to initiate skin to skin contact with him. Whatever his quirk was, it was dangerous. “Do I know you?” 

“No, no,” He laughed, moving his hand back, narrowing his eyes when Izuku took a small step back. “I’ve come with a job offer, though.” 

“Job?” He was blocked from the exit of the alleyway, and he wasn’t confident he’d be able to get out without triggering Giran’s mysterious Quirk. “What is it?” 

“Ever heard of the League of Villains?” Giran’s smirk grew, completely oblivious to the way Izuku froze at the name. “The League has been gathering new members, and I’m sure you’d be interested once you hear what’s being offered.”

Izuku raised his head, eyes jumping over Giran’s shoulder afraid of someone else showing up. No one was coming though, and he was afraid how he was going to get out of here unscathed. 

If the League of Villains were trying to recruit him, he’d have to use the information to his advantage. 

“Why would I join you guys?” He scoffed, leaned against the wall, pretending like he wasn’t terrified. “I work on my own.” 

“Oh, don’t mistake me as part of the League,” Giran laughed, leaning against the wall opposite of Izuku, which meant his ability to escape successfully increased. “Aren’t you a bit interested as to what the League of Villains could offer?” 

“What could they offer?” He couldn’t lie, he was a bit interested to know what they had up their sleeves. 

“A Quirk.”

Notes:

- Izuku immediately calming down when Dabi looks at him when he first got back from Hosu is a very real thing. Him relaxing does not mean he's safe around Dabi, in fact it means the exact opposite. Your body can tell when you are in an unsafe environment, it can tell when it's harmful to be vulnerable
- If the timeline doesn't seem to add up, please point it out. I have extensive, extensive, notes and I don't wanna fuck it up
- Please, if you happen to have a relationship with someone like Izuku does with Dabi, please know that is not a healthy relationship. We don't have to get Dabi's POV to know that doesn't really care about Izuku. I've seen a few people mention that they have someone in their life like Dabi, but please, you deserve so much better.
- I love the idea of how twisted and evil the commission is. They already are in canon, so it's not that much of a stretch imo. Back before this story had fully come to life, it was always about Izuku taking on society because he wanted to prove them wrong. Yet, somehow he never truly believed his actions would make any difference.
- The interactions between Izuku and Hawks are always my FAVORITE to write. It's so upsetting, though, because I wanna write more but it doesn't make sense for the story.
- Also lmk if you guys are interested in other people povs.
- That part where Izuku and Shinsou are talking about Class A and Shinsou's relationship with them is one of my favorite scenes I have ever written.
- Also, Shinsou's new guardian did NOT let him out. Please he's lying through his teeth lol. He just wanted to see Izuku to thank him.

Thoughts on this chapter????

Also drink some water and eat smth <33

Chapter 15: Blue is Horror

Summary:

Hawks leaned forward again, not quite close enough to make Izuku uncomfortable but close enough to make him sweat. “Why go and tell your executioner?”

Notes:

Second to last chapter, oh my god!!

I love this chapter, so, so much. I hope you all do, too !!!

Izuku had spent the last fourteen, almost fifteen, years doing some real stupid shit. He used to let Katsuki see his new All Might figurines, knowing how he had exploded the last one Izuku let him see. He would try and make friends with transfer students before they inevitably found out he was Quirkless. 

Hell, he became a not-technically-vigilante. 

But, he was pretty sure that showing up to Nimu’s bakery in broad daylight, out of his vigilante gear, had to be at the top of his stupid ideas list. 

The shop was empty, which helped calm Izuku’s nerves. 

“Hello,” Nimu greeted him warmly, still attending to some of the sweets under the counter. He still had time to run, still had time to leave before Nimu would see him and have to choose between turning him in or hearing him out. Wasn't that just a nice morality test? "I'll be right with you." She gave a small wave over the counter, still unable to see him.

Izuku swallowed, and forced his feet forward, making his way closer to her. He really didn't want to be caught, really didn't want Nimu to hand him over to Hawks, but this was more important than his freedom.

If what Giran said was true...

He shook the thought away, not trying to entertain the idea of somehow fighting the League of Villains. Stain, The Hero Killer, was one thing. A really stupid and highly unrealistic thing, sure, but trying to fight the League? That was beyond suicide. Izuku knew better than trying to do anything himself. The only person who he trusted with the information he had, was unfortunately Hawks. 

Nimu stood, grunting with the effort, and Izuku found himself almost embarrassed he was so scared of her. She had always been so kind to him, so nice. He was the criminal, the alleged villain. 

"Now, what can I do for-" She froze, turning to Izuku, her eyes widening the moment see registered who he was. 

There had been a small part of him that had been hoping that The Commission didn't actually know who he was, which was stupid. Hawks had brought up Katsuki, he had known about his mom, and he had even called him Greenie. He was being foolish to try and hold onto the hope that it was somehow a really large misunderstanding. That small hope died right there, watching the color drain from Nimu's face.

"What are you doing here," Nimu's question came out as a whispered, a haunting note in her voice. It made the hairs on Izuku's arm stand on end, because she didn't sound scared...she sounded guilty. He wanted to laugh, wanted to ask why she looked so worried when she had had been the one to let him walk straight into Hawks' hands. 

The feeling washed away almost immediately at the sight of her. Izuku looked at the wrinkles around her mouth, the callouses on her hands, the grey hairs already showing despite her black dye. Even if she had handed The Hopeless Hero over to Hawks without knowing the Hero's plan, he couldn't fault her. You were supposed to trust the Heroes. She had probably just been looking out for herself. He wouldn't have wanted her to risk her own safety to keep Izuku of all people safe.

"You work for Hawks, don't you?" Izuku scratched at the back of his neck, avoiding her face. He wasn't upset with her, couldn't fault her for what she had done, but he couldn't look at her without feeling at overwhelming fear. He couldn't look at her without seeing Hawks' close-eyed smile. "Or, at least know how to get into contact with him?" 

He hoped on hope that she didn't work for The Commission. He didn't want to have to force her to choose between her safety or The Hopeless Hero's freedom. He was honestly banking on her feeling guilty enough to let him say what he needed to say and let him leave without any worry of being caught. 

"I-" 

"I am not going to sell you out to him," She snapped. Her eyes were narrowed at him, looking far older than she had mere seconds ago. He felt a little bad for worrying her, but also far more embarrassed by the fact that she thought he was trying to actively kill himself. He wasn't ready to get arrested or killed, yet. He still had far too many things to do before he could die without upsetting his mom. 

Even he wouldn't go as far to turn himself over to The Commission. 

He ducked his head, ears warming at the accusation. Embarrassment might be too soft a word for how he was feeling. 

"No," He squeaked out. "I don't want that, either." 

He pulled out a small, folded, piece of paper from his pant pocket. It was bluing around the creases from how often he kept opening it to either read it or rewrite the note, before he would fold it and repeat it all again. He hadn't slept since Giran cornered him in Musutafu, hadn't been able to stop shaking long enough to calm down. He still felt trapped, still felt like any move could be his last. 

Izuku stared at the folded note, not necessarily second guessing his decision to tell Hawks, but second guessing if he was just jumping the gun. He didn't want to waste the Hero's time, but ignoring something on this scale would be worse. He couldn't even fathom how someone could just get a Quirk. 

"I need you to make sure he gets this," His voice sounded foreign to his ears. It didn't even feel like he was the one speaking. Whoever spoke was calm, was confident. It sounded like he wasn't scared. "As soon as possible. Please." He released the note to Nimu, feeling cold when her fingers closed around the paper. 

She looked at him curiously, eyes bouncing to the note and back. 

"It doesn't matter to me if you read it, Nimu-San." Izuku shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to pretend he wasn't shaking. He needed Nimu to take him seriously, he needed her to believe it was in her best interest to pass this information to Hawks. If Izuku could somehow flag the Hero down, he would have. But...he had to leave it up to Nimu. 

Kami, he prayed he didn't read her the wrong way. 

All he needed, was to make sure a Hero knew what was happening. At the moment, Hawks was the only Hero Izuku trusted. 

Kind of trusted.

Ish. 

Hawks may be assigned to kill him, may terrify him with his close-eyed smiles and red feathers, and he may not be telling Izuku everything, but Izuku was doing the same. He had accidently told Hawks he was homeless. At the end of the day, he could live with the knowledge that Hawks had his own secrets. He could trust that Hawks would do something about this. 

Because if Hawks was willing to defy The Commission when he was ordered to kill The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante, Izuku was sure that meant Hawks was a Good Hero. And Izuku was supposed to be able to trust Heroes. Because Heroes were Good. If he lost that, and he was so very close to losing his ability to trust any Hero, he wasn't sure who he would be anymore.

Would he be bitter and mean like Dabi? Would he be skeptical like Umie?

He didn't want to be like that, he wanted to be able to believe in the Heroes.

And the first step was giving Hawks this information. Even if he already knew about this, already knew about whispered promises about giving people Quirks, it would be better to tell him than to keep it quiet.

Nimu didn't move, just stared at Izuku with a pained expression. "You're supposed to be leaving town, kid." She looked down at the folded note, obviously conflicted. Her fingers were white against the paper, and Izuku suddenly realized how much she was risking just by letting him stand there. "I can get it to him," She promised. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line, brows furrowed, but she didn't seem angry. 

"Thank you," He breathed out, feeling his shoulders relax at her promise. He hoped he sounded genuine, hoped she realized how important Izuku thought this was. It took him a moment to realize that his part was done. There was no reason to stick around and find out how long Nimu's good grace would last. He bowed his head, and took that as his cue to get the hell out of the bakery. 

"Wait!" Izuku froze, probably against his better judgement. He looked back to Nimu, only a few steps away from the door. The note in her hand was opened and he relaxed. "We already know about this." 

"Still give it to him, please." He couldn't guarantee that she would, couldn't force her to take him seriously. All he could do was hope she would give Hawks his note. Because, sure, he had already expected or at least assumed that The Commission knew that The League of Villains were recruiting new members. If they knew about offers of Quirks, he couldn't say. 

That promise, offer, whisper, whatever you want to call it, felt forbidden. It felt like Izuku was marked or cursed with that knowledge. It was dangerous carrying around this secret, and he didn't want to put Nimu in danger by telling her what Giran had told him. At the end of the day, he hoped Hawks would see the importance of Izuku's note, he hoped the Hero would realize Izuku wasn't telling him everything. 

Even if it was fake, if Izuku was being duped, he couldn't keep quiet. Someone had to know. 

“Have a good day,” He called out, leaving the store, and popping both earphones back in. 

Soon. 

…

Touya was cooking when Izuku got back, which was...weird. There was maybe a handful of times Touya had cooked in the time Izuku had known him, and he was counting the instant ramen Touya had given him on that first night. "You were out late, again." Touya tossed him a look, a single eyebrow raised. "Did you go to Musutafu?" 

"Yeah," He sighed, kicking his shoes off and slumping down at the table. He felt jittery and transparent with no mask to hide behind. Now he was just Mikumo Akatani, sitting in Touya's kitchen, knowing far too much but somehow not knowing anything at all. He wanted nothing more than to start researching everything he could about The League of Villains, trying to figure out every bit of information he could, so that he could help Hawks. But, his bag was still stashed at Nishi's gym. He didn't want to bring it back to the apartment and risk Touya seeing it. So now he was restless, anxious, and stuck with nothing to do. "I came back earlier this morning to change before work. You were still sleeping." 

"Oh." Touya nodded, smiling gently. It was an interesting sight, seeing Touya being so soft and domestic. It felt odd, sure, but Izuku ignored that in favor of being happy about it. 

Touya flipped a pancake, and Izuku tilted his head to the side. "You're making pancakes?" He rested his chin in his hand, wondering what got Touya in such a good mood. "You hate American food." 

"It's not American food if they originated from the Greeks." He switched off the burner, placing the pancake on a plate stacked with more of them. "They're for you, you said you like them." 

"I did?" Izuku blinked, watching in stunned silence as Touya carried the plate to the table. He placed it in the center with some honey and dropping an empty plate in front of Izuku with a grin. He felt all tingly, like he wasn't actually in his own body. It was as if he was watching this interaction from outside of his body, watching the way he slowly smiled at the food before looking back to Touya. "What's the occasion," He asked, fingers twitching by his side. 

"No occasion. I was bored." Touya grabbed his coffee off the table, turning back to the kitchen. Izuku's nose scrunched up, watching Touya drink from the mug. He was pretty sure that coffee was a few days old. "What's that face for?" Touya turned back to him, holding a fork in one hand and his mug in the other. 

"Nothing," He answered quickly, embarrassed at being caught. "My nose was itchy." 

"Right," Touya mocked, putting the fork down on the table before knocking the back of Izuku's head with his knuckles. "Eat up, kid." 

"Of course!" Izuku scrambled quickly to plate three pancakes, generously adding the honey to the food. He could feel his lips stretching out into a genuine smile at Touya's surprise. He looked up, the gratitude on the tip of his tongue when he caught sight of Touya's expression. It was similar to how he had been watching Touya drink the coffee earlier. "What's the face for?" His own smile only grew at the harmless glare Touya threw his way. 

"Nothing," Touya stretched the word out. "My nose was itchy." He grinned, repeating Izuku's own lie at him. 

Izuku just ducked his head, smiling down at his sopping pancakes. "Right," He mocked, feeling giddy at Touya's snort. 

"How was work?" 

"Huh?" Izuku blinked, looking up to see Touya washing the dishes. "Oh, it was fine. Just cleaning around the place." 

"You work too hard for a job like that Tani." The nickname made Izuku pause, blinking rapidly. "You could always get a better job than janitor." 

“Thanks,” He mumbled, shyly, digging into his pancakes. “I like my job though, it’s got good pay and Nishi-san doesn’t mind when I use the equipment.” 

“Yeah, but some other people give their employees better...benefits.” Touya shrugged, drying his hands. He turned back toward him with a curious look. "I feel like I'm learning more about you, everyday, Akatani."

“What,” Izuku laughed, finishing the last bite. “Did I say something?” 

“No,” Touya admitted, taking the plate from Izuku. “Just saw a small documentary on Quirkless people.” 

Izuku froze, staring at Touya’s back. This was the first time in the six months that he had met Touya that he spoke about Quirkless people. 

“Yeah, made me realize why you lied the first time we met.” He started washing the dishes again, finally bringing up the night Izuku lied about his Quirk status. “There were some kids and adults talking about how they would give anything for a Quirk. I hadn’t even realized that there were Quirkless adults.” 

Izuku flinched, nails digging into his thighs as he felt the overwhelming shame consume him. “You’re not upset I lied?” Even though Touya had obviously known he was Quirkless for a while. The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante had also proclaimed he was Quirkless, but it was still a different thing for Touya to acknowledge the lie. 

“I was at first.” Touya dried his hands, leaning against the sink to finally look at Izuku. “I had been wondering how long you would keep the charade up.” 

Izuku found that a little funny knowing about Touya’s little identity change. Though, he had to remind himself, he was also lying about his identity too. 

“But the documentary went over all the statistics and everything.” Touya shook his head. “Crazy numbers. That’s why you wanted to move to Okinawa, right? They’ve got like a solid nine-percent Quirkless population.” 

It was actually closer to thirty-percent, it hadn’t been nine-percent for five years, but Izuku just nodded. 

“If you did have a Quirk, would you have wanted to have Quirk Analysis?” 

It was an innocent question, but it felt like a blow to the chest. “No,” He admitted. “It’s just easy to fake. I’m smart enough for my age, so it gets by.” 

“Oh,” Touya was doing that gentle smile that made Izuku’s hair stand on end. “Then what would you want?” 

“I’d want tel-” He stopped, thinking back to Giran and his offer. If he was desperate enough for a Quirk, would he want to taint the memory of his mother’s Quirk like that? It almost felt like selling his soul for a Quirk. Maybe even worse, like he was betraying his own mother for a damn power.

He would, if he was desperate. 

“There’s so many,” He breathed out, grateful for this conversation. If there had been any part of him compelled by Giran’s offer, this conversation would have cleared it up. 

He would never work with the League of Villains, no matter what they promised. 

“When I was younger I wanted fire breathing.” He smiled softly. “My mom told me that had been my dad’s Quirk.” 

“Your dad?” 

“Yeah.” Izuku frowned, realizing he practically forgot all about his dad. The Bakugous hated whenever Izuku or his mom brought Hisashi up. “He left my mom when I got diagnosed. He lives in America.” 

“Oh,” Touya mimicked Izuku’s frown. “That sucks.” 

“I guess.” He shrugged. “How was your day?” He really didn’t want to go down memory lane anymore. 

“Not bad,” Touya smiled. “Just got up an hour or so ago. Anything happen with you?” 

“No,” He pushed himself up, pausing slightly in thought. “Actually I might be out more than usual for a while. Got a few things I need to do and take care of.” 

“Oh?” Touya turned away, nodding, but not before Izuku caught him trying to hide a smile. “Whatever you need to do, Akatani.” 

…

There was a red feather in the alleyway. 

Izuku was watching the sky from behind the dumpster, hoping he’d have at least had the chance to talk to the Hero. He should have expected Hawks to check it out first thing. He didn’t need to be secretive about it like Izuku did. 

He scooped the feather off the ground, brushing the dirt from the bristles with a frown. 

How was he supposed to tell Hawks about the League’s offer now? 

Izuku had hoped that Hawks would have checked the alleyway out in the middle of the night. But even when Izuku showed up thirty minutes till sunset, the feather was already there. 

“Well fuck,” He muttered, spinning the feather a few more times. It started to buzz in his hand, shaking back and forth. He quickly let go, taking a step back. “What the fuck?” 

The feather was floating in the air by itself, intimidating Izuku. He poked it, tilting his head to the side in bewilderment. He remembered Hawks had been able to control all those feathers outside of Nimu’s bakery, but he had assumed he’d have to be able to see it. 

He snapped his head up toward the sky, failing to see two other feathers fly from around the corner before pinning him to the wall by his sweatshirt. He flailed, panicked, briefly wondering if he had just signed himself over to the HPSC. 

All he wanted to do was help. 

He heard a footstep, and all he could think was that he had to get out of there. He didn’t even care about losing his sweatshirt, shimming out of it and rolling onto the ground. He pressed himself against the wall behind the dumpster, evening out his breath. He shivered, pushing himself closer to the wall, skin digging into the bricks. 

A shawdow was coming from the street. 

He couldn’t see any wings in the shadow. 

He was going to die. 

Maybe Hawks had given the information to the commission. Maybe another hero like Endeavor was working with Hawks. They probably assumed they caught Giran or another villain, unaware it had been Izuku. 

The person was walking deeper into the alleyway, toward Izuku’s sweatshirt, completely unaware he had managed to escape. The moment a foot passed his field of view, Izuku threw himself past his attacker. A hand reached toward him, but he grabbed a trashcan lid, using the lip to hit their face and block the hand from him. 

“What the hell?” Izuku froze, peeking over the lid, coming face to face with Hawks. 

“What?” Izuku blinked rapidly. “Where are your wings?” 

“Scouting,” Hawks garbled out through a bloody nose. Hundreds of feathers appeared, flocking  around Hawks. His wings were back?? Izuku needed to add that to his notebook. “I figured this was supposed to be a secret.” 

“Then why did you attack me?!” Izuku dropped the lid, glaring at the bleeding hero. As much as he wanted to apologize for hurting him, he literally terrified the life out of Izuku. He pulled the feathers out of his sweatshirt, tugging it over his head and dusting it off. 

“Better to attack you then to let that other guy leave.” Hawks’ head was tilted toward the sky. “Damn kid, you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve.” 

“So I’ve been told,” He grumbled. “And this wasn’t where I met Giran.” 

“What?” Hawks brought his hand down, staring at Izuku with wide eyes. “You lied?” 

“Uh yeah?” Izuku narrowed his eyes, frankly concerned why Hawks didn’t think about that. “If I wanted to meet you, why would I try to meet you in the same alleyway that Giran cornered me in? They’d find out. I can’t afford that, you can’t afford that, and it’s easier to meet here.” He genuinely had thought that Hawks knew where he was all the time. This was a good thing. 

“They think you are joining?” As scary as Hawks was without any humor, it was better for him to be more serious. 

“Yeah, I kept saying no and that I work alone and-” 

“Yeah, yeah, your teenage angst. Why would you let them think that?” Hawks pinched the bridge of his nose, blood staining his hand and upper lip. It was a surreal experience to know he had done that. “The Commission probably knows by now.” 

“I don’t care. They already are sending people after me.” He pulled out a small package of napkins and handed them over to Hawks, grimacing slightly at the mess he caused. “I was trying to find out more information.” 

“That’s dangerous.” Hawks took the napkins stuffing one up his nose and using the other to wipe the wet blood off his hand. “You’re a kid, you shouldn’t be putting yourself in that kind of situation.” 

“You realize how unbelievably ironic it is that you are saying that, right?” Izuku crossed his arms, glaring at the Pro who has made his life a hundred times more difficult over the last month. Not even to mention how Hawks became the Hero he was today.

“Where was all this sass before?” Hawks’ eyes were twinkling. 

“I had just been told there was a target on my head,” Izuku sputtered. “I thought I was going to die.” 

“Details, detai-” 

“Do you want the information or not?” He crossed his arms. He should have just left everything with Nimu and hoped for the best. 

“What do you know?” 

“This is what I put together on Giran.” He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket, handing it over to the hero. “We only spoke for a few minutes, but this was all I could get on him.” 

“Yeah, I can’t read this. The light here sucks ass.” Hawks stuffed the paper in his pocket and turned on his heel. “Come on.” 

“What?” Izuku took a step back, wary of Hawks’ plan. “What if we’re seen together?” 

“Oh right!” Hawks snapped his fingers together, and his feathers flew off again. “Gimme your cap, will ya?” 

“My cap?” Izuku stubbornly covered his head, narrowing his eyes at the hero. “Why?” 

“We need to be incognito. So give me your hat. And take off your mask.” He beckoned Izuku closer, taking the hat. A feather that had been hovering by Hawks was snatched out of the air and used to rip the stitches on Izuku’s hat. 

“Hey!” 

“Hush,” Hawks muttered, pulling out the leftover threads before fitting it over his head. “You got any extra masks?” 

“Uh...yes.” He was slowly learning that Hawks’ smile just spelled trouble. 

…

“Welcome,” The hostess of the diner smiled at them, completely unaware that she was actually leading Hawks: The Number Three Hero and The Commission's most wanted villain to a little booth in the back. “Here are your menus, when you’re ready just order through the tablet. Holler if you need anything.”

“Why are we here?” Izuku hissed, fingers twisting his hair nervously. He felt a little self conscious with it up in a braided ponytail. He hadn’t realized how long his hair had grown in the last few months. He wasn’t even sure if his green hair was showing. 

When was the last time he looked in a mirror?

“We’ve got more important things to discuss then…” His eyes danced around the words on the menu. “How good their pasta is.” 

“Oh is that what you’re going to get?” The bastard was grinning behind the mask Izuku gave him, he just knew it. “My personal favorite is their fried chicken.” 

“Hawks!” He snapped through clenched teeth. 

“No, no. I told you, it’s Keigo.” He swatted at Izuku’s hand that was still tugging at the few hairs that hadn’t been forced into a braid. “Stop messing up my masterpiece, your hair is more unruly than it looks.”

It was. Izuku had grown up with the damn thing. Even with the length of his hair braided, Hawks still had to use his yellow tinted glasses covered with Izuku’s used mask to act like a headband. It was doing an okay job at flattening his poor, poor, curls.

Izuku inhaled sharply, holding his breath for a few seconds and briefly debating holding it till he passed out, but instead he ultimately exhaled. “What are we doing here?” 

“To eat and discuss.” Hawks pointed to the menu. “You should pick something, they do have really good food.” 

Screw the commission sending Hawks to kill him, he was this close to just doing it himself. Still, he was hungry and Izuku didn’t think Hawks was going to make him pay. Plus, he doubted he’d be able to get Hawks to cooperate with him like this. 

He looked over the menu, eyeing the Katsudon before he moved to the cheaper meals. Just because Hawks was pissing him off didn’t mean he would use him like an open wallet. That, and when he would inevitably not finish his Katsudon, he didn’t want Touya to question where the leftovers came from. 

“I’ll get the fried chicken.” 

“Oho?” Hawks winked. “Trust my word, do you, Zu?” 

“What did you just call me?” He almost considered leaving Hawks here with the small analysis on Giran, but then reminded himself that Hawks needed to hear this. “Never mind. Can we just order so I can tell you everything and then leave?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Hawks sighed, punching in two orders for fried chicken. “Drink?” 

“Just water.” 

“Got it! Your last meal has been placed.” Izuku stared blankly. “Get it? Because your a supposed villain and-”

“I thought you said not to tell jokes anymore. You should leave that to Ms. Joke.” 

“Oh you’re funny.” Hawks drummed his fingers on the table top with a sigh. “But fair enough, kid.” 

He pulled the analysis from Izuku out of his coat pocket, unfolding it and laying it flat on the table. It honestly wasn’t much, just a drawing of what Giran looked like, where Izuku had followed him to, and theories about his quirk. 

“So what was his Quirk, then?” Hawks tapped the section at the bottom. 

“I don’t know.” Izuku sighed, resting his cheek against his hand. “He didn’t use it.” 

“But you know its touch activated? And not five point contact, but skin to skin?” Hawks finally looked up, folding the paper in half. “How?” 

“He kept trying to touch my face at first or tried to get me to shake his hand.” He held up his scarred hand, face heating up at Hawks’ frown. “But not this one, I usually have it covered by a compression glove. He tried to initiate a handshake twice with my bare hand.” 

He let his hand drop, averting his eyes when he realized Hawks wasn’t saying anything. 

“I doubt it’s a violent quirk. It’s highly unlikely for a violent touch-activated quirk to be skin to skin contact and not five point activation.” He tapped his fingers on the table before pulling out another folded piece of paper from his pocket. “It isn’t much to go off of, but I did find some stuff online about other people wanting to join the league, supposed to meet up with someone, but suddenly can’t remember what happened.” 

“Where’d you find this? The dark web?” Hawks laughed, taking the papers and reading them over. “So you think it’s a memory quirk? Makes people forget things?” 

“Close.” Izuku nodded, thankful Hawks was taking him seriously. “If it was just a memory erasing quirk, why would he let people remember that they had met with him at all? That is if these are related to Giran. It’s probably just something that makes peoples’ memories fuzzy, his Quirk that is.” 

Hawks stared at him for a few moments. “And he didn’t use his Quirk on you or in front of you?” 

“No.” Izuku frowned. 

“Well,” Hawks laughed, stashing the papers in his coat as the waitress walked over with two plates of fried chicken. “I can see why you’d say it’s Quirk Analysis.” 

“It’s purely hypothetical.” Izuku bowed his head, hating that he didn’t have the safety of his mask to cover his blush. “We don’t even know if it’s right.” 

“Still, Giran is an underground broker that we’ve spent over a decade trying to catch.” He paused when the plates were placed in front of them. 

“Enjoy.” She bowed and left them to eat. 

“Like I was saying,” Hawks spoke through a mouthful of fried chicken. “This is more information then we’ve had before. We needed this.” 

“Oh,” Izuku muttered, biting into his own chicken to escape his embarrassment. “I see.” 

They ate in silence for a few minutes, until Izuku had ate half of his chicken and pushed it toward Hawks. “All done, Little Bird?” 

“Not hungry anymore,” He lied, nodding to the plate. 

“If you say so.” Hawks took the plate and piled it onto his, before pushing it to side. “So what’s the rest of the news?” 

Izuku grimaced, eyeing Hawks’ food. “You done eating?” 

“Yeah.” He nodded, serious as the first night Izuku met him. 

“He kept pushing me to join the League. I said I wasn’t interested, that I don’t do that kind of thing, and that I worked alone. But he told me they were offering something,” He hesitated for just a moment, almost scared Hawks was going to laugh at him. “He said they would give me a Quirk.” 

“A Quirk.” Hawks ran a hand down his face, leaning back. “He said that they would give you a Quirk?” 

“Yes.” 

“And you turned him down?” 

“Not…exactly?” He cringed. “He thinks I’m going to meet him somewhere Kamino.” 

“Kamino,” Hawks muttered under his breath. “When?” 

“On the eleventh.” It was less than a week away from now. That was probably going to have to be his timeline to getting out of Naruhata. 

“Why tell me?” He leaned forward, folding his hands in front of him on the table. 

“I’m sorry?” 

“Did you even consider taking the offer?” Hawks tilted his head to the side, looking at Izuku like he could see through him. “You didn’t, did you?”

Izuku wasn’t sure what Hawks was getting at but it felt like he was making fun of him. 

“It’s a shame that you’re a supposed villain. You’d make a damn good informant if not a Hero in a few years.” 

“I’m not a Hero.” Izuku glared at his water, wanting to be mad at someone or something because he kept having this conversation. “I can’t be.” 

“Oh, yeah.” Hawks tapped on the table a few times. “I heard that you keep saying that. How come?” 

“I’m Quirkless?” Izuku gave Hawks the driest look he could muster. “The commission obviously wouldn’t allow me to take the Licensing Exam as an adult. If they weren’t trying to kill me now, they would try to kill me then.” 

“Dark!” Hawks shook his head. “Why not go to a hero school? Yuuei would be able to bypass the Commission when it comes to the licensing exam.”

“What makes you think that the Quirkless, orphaned, homeless, kid could afford the top Hero School in the country? Let alone if I would even be able to apply or pass the entrance exam or test.” He angrily took a chicken off of Hawks plate, biting into it. “And let’s say I could afford to get an application into Yuuei without my teachers trashing it and I pass the entrance exam but not the practical. I could, in theory, go through the sports festival and maybe impress the teachers, country, principal, and the students.” 

He finished the chicken, refusing to look Hawks in the eyes. He was watching Izuku with the same look Mitsuki did whenever he brought up his mom. 

“But then you have to remember I don’t have a Quirk.” He looked out to the other customers, wondering if any of them would understand. “So it would never happen.” 

“Why?” Hawks tilted his head to the side. “Yuuei accepts Quirkless kids.” 

“That’s just a formality,” He bit out, keeping a calm face. The last thing he wanted to do was cause a scene and reveal themselves to everyone. “Nedzu wouldn’t allow a Quirkless student to be in this school. He knows we wouldn’t be able to make it, that we’re dying out, what would be the point?” 

“What kind of Quirkiest bullshit is that?” Izuku flinched, snapping his head back to Hawks with wide eyes. “I get most of your points. Society, money, homelessness, assassinations, but saying Quirkless people wouldn’t make it?” 

Izuku’s mouth fell open at hearing it repeated back to him. He distinctly remembered Takashi-Sensei saying those same words to him at their Quirk counseling meeting over a year ago. Had he really absorbed what Takashi had rammed into his skull over and over again? No, because he didn’t believe it when All Might told him he couldn’t be a hero. So what changed? Why did he start to believe it like everyone else? 

“Haven’t you made it?” Hawks stirred his ice tea with his straw, not looking at Izuku. “I mean I know you aren’t a Hero legally, kid, but you’ve made it this far. You’re doing more than those kids at Yuuei.” 

Izuku bit into his bottom lip until it drew blood, looking away to try and hide his glassy eyes. Kami, he used to cry at the drop of a hat, and now he couldn’t even muster up a tear?

“Onto different topics.” Hawks sipped his tea until it started to make that godawful slurping noise. “Why bring it to me?” 

“That’s the second time you’ve asked that,” Izuku sighed. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

“It’s a pretty simple question, kid.” Hawks’ fingers were drumming against the table. “Why tell me? You could have taken the Quirk, could have left the information for the police like you did with that foster mom-”

“I don’t know what yo-”

“Could have ignored it, or you could have given it to someone else.” Hawks leaned forward again, not quite close enough to make Izuku uncomfortable but close enough to make him sweat. “Why go and tell your executioner?” 

“I knew you would do something. I don’t know what, or how you’ll do it, but I knew you would.” He brought his cup in front of him, using it as a pretend barrier between him and the Hero. “I knew you would listen to me, take what I had to say seriously. Out of any other Hero I’ve worked with, I trust you more than I don’t.” 

“High praise,” He murmured.

And it was. 

“What other Heroes have you been working with?” 

“Shou-“ He froze, face warming up when he realized he was using Shouto’s given name in front of the hero. “Todoroki-San, he took down Stain. He’s not a licensed pro, but he’s a Hero.” He drew doodles on the table. “Better than his father, too.” He mumbled. 

He tapped on the table. 

“And you know about Eraserhead.” He shrugged. “That’s it, though.” 

“Eraserhead?” Hawks frowned. “Know what?” 

“He was sent after me too?” Izuku narrowed his eyes. “You in Naruhata, him in Musutafu?” 

He paused when a new waiter came over to refill Hawks’ tea. 

“It’s getting annoying how often he’s following me, now.” He shrugged. “But I wouldn’t exactly call it working with him, if I’m being honest. He follows me around, takes down the bad guys I fight, and I run off.” 

“Huh,” Hawks tilted his head to the side. “I see.” 

…

“Welcome back,” Touya called from the couch without looking over. 

Izuku paused, worried this would turn into one of those times Touya somehow knew Izuku had been running into a Hero. Every other time, Izuku had been able to avoid suspicion because he really hadn’t been working with a hero. 

Now though?

He willingly reached out to Hawks and asked to meet. He handed over information and literally played dress up so they could eat in public. But, even as he hesitated by the door, Touya didn’t give him anymore attention. 

And honestly, that would work for him. 

“Gonna shower,” He muttered, scurrying off the bathroom. 

…

“Finally getting some rest?” Eraserhead, once again, was cuffing a criminal that Izuku had taken down. “You’ve been gone the last few days.” 

“No.” He had been gone, but he still had other matters to attend to. “Been doing a bit of this, a bit of that.” 

“Sounds important.” 

Izuku just narrowed his eyes, making sure to keep at least seven feet between him and the Pro Hero. This was why he wanted to meet with Hawks in Naruhata. He couldn’t risk Eraserhead overhearing them and then reporting back to the HPSC that Hawks was going against orders. 

“You can go,” The older man sighed like Izuku was being the stubborn one. “I’m not-” 

“Why?” Izuku didn’t even feel the least bit sorry for cutting him off. “Why do you keep letting me leave if you’re supposed to kill me?” 

“Kill you?” Eraserhead blinked. 

Izuku most certainly had a death wish. Why was he poking the bear? Maybe he wanted to push his luck? Or maybe, just maybe, he could tell Eraserhead was being honest.

It didn’t matter, he wasn’t going to risk it any longer. He looked over Eraserhead’s shoulder to the street. “Just go,” He sounded tired. “The police are on their way.” Izuku hesitated for a moment until Eraserhead stepped to the side, giving Izuku enough room to skirt around him like a stray cat. 

…

It was a few hours until the eleventh and Izuku still hadn’t heard anything from Hawks, which was both a good thing and a bad thing. Hawks was supposed to be focusing on catching Giran, and Izuku hadn’t got any updates on how that was going. 

Was he supposed to be getting updates? No. 

Did he want to know what was happening? Absolutely. 

At the same time, though, Hawks was also supposed to be hunting down Izuku. If Izuku hadn’t heard anything, that meant he was safe. 

He had to do something to distract himself, unable to sit still at home and watch the tv or read a book. He couldn’t focus on anything for longer than a minute. But out as The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante was a different story. 

The cold air was burning his lungs, his calves burned as he ran from Eraserhead across the rooftops, and the stab wound kept pulsing with every breath he took. 

It was exhilarating. 

It seemed Eraserhead’s streak of letting Izuku go free had conditions. 

1. Don’t get stabbed. 

Apparently that was all it took for Eraserhead to try and capture Izuku. He claimed it was for medical attention but Izuku could read between the lines. Eraserhead was just waiting for Izuku to slip up, but Izuku was smarter than that. 

He kept a hand on the dagger in his side, quickly running from roof to roof, doing his best not to jostle the sharp object in his body. As painful as the experience was, he couldn’t help but bare a grin toward the sky. He was happy. 

For just a moment. 

He miscalculated the timing for his jump, foot slipping off the edge before he could fully push off, and now he was paying for it. He gave a shout, eyes wide, feeling a sense of deja vu. Except this time, Eraserhead didn’t have time to catch him. His body hit the ground, lodging the dagger deeper into his side, and making his vision white out for one, two, three seconds. He could hear Eraserhead running on the roof still, closer to capturing Izuku. 

He stayed there, laying on the floor, wondering if Eraserhead would consider him dead and leave him. He pushed himself up, spots dancing all around him, but he had to keep moving. He couldn’t get caught. He could imagine Hawks laughing at him from dying like this. Kind of shitty, because he knew Hawks wouldn’t laugh. 

He was weird like that. 

“Kid?” Eraserhead dropped down in front of Izuku, freezing when Izuku started scrambling back. “I’m not going-“ 

Izuku couldn’t hear the rest of his sentence, too busy falling back in his panic to escape the Hero. He kept moving backwards, heart in his throat, glaring at Eraserhead through bloody bangs. 

“Kid?” 

“St-“ He wretched out a cough, gripping the dagger tighter like it would help. “Stay back!” 

Eraserhead held his arms up in mock surrender. 

“I mean it!” His voice was cracking over every other syllable, making him cringe in embarrassment. “If you come any closer…I’ll pull the dagger out!” 

“Let’s not do that, okay?” Eraserhead took a small step forward, not taking Izuku’s threat seriously. He was sick and tired of people not taking him seriously. He fought to keep his eyes open, glaring at Eraserhead, and slowly pulled the dagger. Eraserhead froze when Izuku screamed, vision whiting out again from the pain. “Don’t do that!” 

“Don’t come closer, I mean it!” Eraser was probably looking at him like he was crazy. But that meant he was taking him seriously. 

“You’ll kill yourself!” Eraserhead grabbed his capture scarf. 

“I know that already!” He used the bricks on the alleyway wall to push himself up, leaning heavily on his good side but still glaring at Eraserhead. “Why should I let you do it!?” His voice sounded horrible even to his own ears. 

“I’m not here to kill you!” Eraserhead pinched the bridge of his nose, doing a small breathing exercise before grabbing a small card from his pocket. “Look, I don’t work for The Commission.” 

He placed it on the floor and backed away from Izuku.

“I just want to help.” He nodded to the card. “Just look at it, kid.” 

Izuku set his jaw, slowly inching forward, carefully watching Eraserhead for any sudden movements. He crouched down, doing everything he could not to aggravate his wound. 

Kami, Touya was going to kill him. 

He picked up the card, staring at it, trying very hard to make the words stop swimming. He couldn’t read this for shit, but he nodded, pocketing it. If Eraserhead went this far to show him he wasn’t one of the ones sent after him, he kind of felt obligated to believe him now. Still, he couldn’t exactly hobble with him. Yeah he probably wanted to get Izuku some medical attention, but then what? Foster homes? Orphanages? The police? 

He couldn’t go back to that. He’d have to figure out a way out of this. 

“Come on, kid. We just want to help you. We can make sure you’re fed and safe.” He wasn’t sure who We was, but at this point those were just details. “Hey, it’s okay, don’t cry.” Izuku’s face was wet from blood, not tears, but he could use that to his advantage. 

“I’m scared,” He whispered with a shaky breath, tears pouring down his face on command. “It hurts so much, Eraser.” 

He flinched when Eraserhead went to touch him. He looked away, making sure to walk beside the Hero. If Eraser was holding him, it would make escape a lot harder.

“My bag is in an alleyway a block away,” He mumbled. “Can we go get it?” 

Eraserhead looked pained at the question. “Okay.” 

He nodded, waddling a little faster, hoping Touya would help him stitch this wound up, too. 

“It’s just down here,” he inhaled sharply, pointing to the narrow alley. “I’ll grab-“ 

“No,” Eraserhead sighed. “I don’t want your wound to get infected. I’ll grab it.” 

“It’s in the dumpster, wrapped in a black trash-bag.” 

That pained look passed over Eraserhead’s face again. “Okay.” 

Izuku leaned against the wall, gripping his side. “Thank you.” 

Eraserhead didn’t dignify that with a response, going deeper into the alley, completely unaware that Izuku was already on the move. 

He couldn’t move as fast as he usually did, so he had to resort to hitching a ride again. He didn’t have the luxury of knowing where they were headed, though. He just waited by a gas station, watching for people who grabbed a map heading toward Naruhata or further. 

There was an older lady with a truck who grabbed the pamphlet, when she was paying for her gas, and luckily enough, she had to go back in for her change. He winked up at the camera that was watching the gas pump, and climbed into the bed, praying and hoping she wouldn’t see him. 

Some one must have been listening to his wish, because they were on the road and toward Naruhata with no problem. 

…

He was in Naruhata in record time. He was used to the long trip by bus, but by car it felt so much faster. He had clambered out of her truck at a red light, much like the first time, but he had managed to land on his feet this time. 

Now, he was back at Touya’s apartment. The light under the door was on, which was odd. Touya had either been going to bed early or going out for his new job. Izuku smiled at the thought of him being here, though. Maybe once he cleaned himself up they could eat ramen and watch some stupid old movie that Touya liked. It would be a good way to end such a shitty day. 

“You!” Izuku’s smile dropped the moment the door opened. The place looked like it had been robbed. “Where have you been?!” 

Touya was throwing clothes and random items into a suitcase and trashbags, suddenly making Izuku remember he forgot to grab his backpack from Moe’s shop.

“I’ve been trying to call you for hours!” He was staring at Izuku with wide, buggy eyes, waiting for a response. 

“I was kind of in the middle of something.” He coughed, wincing in pain. “Eraserhead was chasing me. And now I’ve got a dagger inside of me.” 

“We can deal with that later.” Touya snapped his fingers. “Pack, now!” He ordered. 

“Whoa! Why?” He picked up the scissors on the counter, using them to cut a line from the dagger to the bottom of sweatshirt. He had barely finished before Touya was snatching them out of his hand and tossing them into a random duffle bag. 

“Hurry!” 

“You aren’t explaining anything.” Izuku pulled his hoodie off, not caring when Eraserhead’s stupid card fell out of the pocket and landed on the floor. Hell, next time he takes a criminal down and calls the police, he’ll leave the stupid card with his signature. 

“It was you…” Touya’s voice sent a shiver up Izuku’s spine, making him freeze. Izuku couldn’t see him, most of his sweatshirt blocking his field of vision. He slowly pulled the rest of it off, staring back at Touya, completely lost. 

“What…was me?” 

“Eraserhead, Hawks, probably Endeavor, and every other fucking Hero scum you’ve come across!” Blue flames danced on Touya’s fingers, burning the card in his hand. “How long have you had his phone number?” 

“I just got it tonight!” Izuku backed up every time Touya took a step closer. “I was trying to run away from him. He gave it to me, trying to build trust or whatever!” His voice was growing in pitch with every word and every step. “Look at me! Why would I look like this if I was working with Eraserhead! And why would you care? You’re not the villain!” 

“What about this?” Touya pulled out a single red feather, dropping it into Izuku’s hand. 

Izuku gasped, scrambling away from it, trying to figure out how Touya got his hands on one of Hawks’ feathers. Why was it here? 

He and Hawks had a deal. 

He just gave Hawks invaluable information. 

Was that all Hawks needed from him? Was he going to kill him now that he figured out a step closer to eliminating the League? 

No…no that couldn’t be it. He reached out, fingers brushing the bristles of the feather and feeling them buzz in response. It was a message. He picked it up, gently closing his hand around it. 

He got Giran. 

“You are working with the Heroes.” Touya took a step back, staring at Izuku like he was a stranger. “I knew Giran shouldn’t have talked to you! But what was I going to do, tell them I was living with a Hero lover? A fucking BACKSTABBER!?” 

Izuku froze on the spot, eyes widening as he realized what Touya was saying. He didn’t even try to move when the man snatched him up by the hair on the nape of his neck. Hand hot enough to make Izuku’s hair smell like smoke. Izuku couldn’t move, couldn't feel the pain, eyes staring into Touya’s as he slowly started connecting the dots of the last few months. 

“N-No,” He chocked out, hand grappling onto the arm holding him in the air. “Y-You aren’t with…with them!” 

He could feel the hot tears running down his face, just blubbering random words out to Touya. 

“Y-You took care of me! You are nice! You…” He squeezed his eyes shut, wailing. “The League tried to kill your brother, twice!” 

“He’s not my brother!” Touya roared, throwing Izuku toward the couch. His back his the coffee table, knocking the air out of his lungs. “I had hoped we could have eventually come to an agreement.” 

Izuku felt like he had been dropped in ice cold water, realizing Touya had been planning on taking Izuku to the League regardless if he agreed or not. Now, though, he was going to kill him. He rolled to the side when blue fire was aimed for where his head had been. 

“Tou-” 

“THAT’S NOT MY NAME!” He dove toward Izuku, flaming hand gripping the left side of his face. 

Izuku screamed, the fire burning him just as much as it burned Dabi. For a moment, it was cold, and that was enough for Izuku to aim a kick at Touya’s nose. The moment Touya stumbled back, Izuku threw himself at the window, body breaking through the glass and his back hitting the fire escape railing. 

He didn’t give his body a moment to register the pain, just rolled back to his feet, careful to avoid the dagger, and started down the fire escape as fast as humanly possible. A blast of fire hit his back, shattering the windows Izuku was passing by the sheer force of the heat. He jumped from last one, rolling back onto his feet and took off running as fast as he could. There wasn't a coherent thought in his head outside of getting the hell out of there.

...

Laying on the ground outside of a small, cheap, apartment complex, covered in blood, and burnt to a crisp, had once been a beautiful red feather. 

Notes:

- I came to a revelation when I was reading some Spider-Man fanfics a few months ago; I write Midoriya's character a lot like Peter Parker's, and I write Shinsou's character a lot like Harley's. Do with that information as you will.
- The scene where Touya is obviously trying to plant the seed of getting a Quirk from the league in Izuku's head is one of my favorites. My sister and I are obsessed with The Hunger Games and how beautiful Miss Collins' writing is. There is this running theme in the series where Snow tries to scare or intimidate Katniss into stopping this rebellion or submitting to society, but everything he tries only makes everything worse. When Touya was trying to get Izuku to think about getting a Quirk, it only does the exact opposite. Idk if that makes any sense but it's special to me.
- As a writer, you become obsessed with small details that no one else really notices. My favorite little obsessed detail is how Izuku refers to Hawks' close-eyed smile. It's horrifying and bone chilling to not see someone's true intentions behind a smile.
- Izuku and Keigo going to the diner was never in the original plan actually, but you can try and pry it from my cold dead hands.
- Also Izuku absorbing society's idea of what a Quirkless person can and cannot do was always going to happen. It's only natural. He held out for so long, but subconsciously was attaining that information.

We have one chapter left for part one. It's been crazy writing this and hearing your guys' thoughts on it. I hope you all like this chapter as much as I do. Let me know your thoughts and theories <3

Chapter 16: Blue is Hurt

Summary:

"So this is goodbye."
"And hopefully, it stays that way."

Notes:

AND WE HAVE THE LAST CHAPTER !!

I cannot begin to explain how happy I am to finally give this to you guys. The first time I wrote this chapter I was losing my mind. It wasn't bad, but it definitely had been lacking. Originally, this chapter had been 5k words but now it's more than double that. Even after rewriting and editing all of it, I left the very last scene alone. It was actually one of the very original things I wrote for this entire story. I wrote the very original summary for Color Theory first and then one second. It's not as well written as the rest of the story, but it's a bit nostalgic.

Rain this late in July was an oddity, to say the least. One could expect rain from the end of April to the middle of June, with the occasional days of drizzle leading up to July. It almost seemed like a bad omen, a call of worse things to come. It would be a little scary if shit hadn't hit the fan already. Now, it only felt like a fucking joke. 

Izuku rested his head against the window, unable to feel the cold through his fresh scars. Touya had really done a number on him, burning the left side of his face to the point where his skin looked warped, melted. Even without feeling the cold, though, the rest of his body started to shiver. Forcing his body to endure the cold wasn't going to do his fever any favors, but he still didn't move. His eyes just looked out past the people walking past Moe's store, past the tall buildings, all the way to the sky. He watched the rain fall from the clouds, watched as they passed rooftops and peoples' heads until they crashed against the ground or window. 

It was all he could focus on; watching the sky, watching the rain, ignoring the pain and shivers. 

Everything hurt like an echo in a loud room. He had a cold, a fever, something due to his stab wound being infected and his body going into shock. Whether the shock came from infection or Touya, he wasn't entirely sure. He only knew as much as Moe had told him, and not even all that. 

For however long he had been there, sitting in a small cot against a window looking up to the street level in Moe's underground infirmary, he hadn't been entirely lucid. He could remember her mentioning infection and shock leading to a fever, he could remember her giving him Quirked medicine, but he couldn't remember much else.

With a shaky left hand, the hand that hadn't been burned and scarred by Touya, he drew a small smiling face in the condensation of the window. His hand was shaking, which could have been from the shivers and fever or from how much he had fucked it up in his fight with Stain. It left the smiling face in the window looking more like an anxious mess. 

Windows and Mirrors. 

“Akatani.” He flinched, pulling away from the window and turning to see Moe frowning. “You can’t rest against the glass like that. You're shivering and it  certainly won’t help your…” She hesitated.  

“My scars.” He shrugged, looking back outside. It wasn't like the cold bothered him against his scars. The fire had damaged the nerves on the left side of his face to the point where he couldn't feel much of anything. If he were honest, the scars looked worse than they felt. He could see the way the warped skin, scars not nearly as bad as Touya's had been, pulled his skin taunt. The right side of his face still had his freckles, still had the baby fat that his mom and Uncle Masaru loved to pinch, but on the left side, it was all gone. Freckles were replaced with marbled flesh and the baby fat was stretched out in uncomfortable ways. His ear was folded against his cheek, making him look like an even bigger freak. He looked like that one serial killer with knives in his hands and a melted face.

Izuku couldn't remember much outside of the fact that Touya had liked the movie.

"You're finally talking," Moe breathed out a sigh of relief. She was scouring through the medicine cabinet, most likely getting him more Quirked pills. 

He was only allowed to take two every few hours otherwise he'd run the risk of...he couldn't exactly remember what Moe had told him. But still, he knew it was better to just take the allotted amount. He didn't want to somehow overdose on Quirked medicine, didn't want to make Moe and Umie have to deal with that on top of everything else. 

He wasn't entirely sure how long he had even been in Moe's clinic, not sure how long it had been since Touya. It could have been weeks, could have been a few hours. Time wasn't really cooperating with him. To be fair, it never had, but it felt worse this time. 

He blinked and Moe was at the sink in the corner of the room. He couldn't see her anymore, a small curtain hanging from the ceiling blocking her from his view, but he could hear the sink running.

The longer he spent around Naruhata, the more danger he posed to everyone he associated himself with. Maybe more. Touya had no qualms about using his fire when he had been on the fire escape. If Touya found him, who's to say if there wouldn't be civilian casualties. No matter how he looked at it, Touya was a Villain. No matter how much he tried to remind himself of all the good things Touya had done, all he could focus on was that Touya was part of The League of Villains. The same League who attacked Shouto. The same League that wanted to not only dismantle society, but destroy it. 

He didn't want people to get hurt because of him. 

He posed a danger to everyone. Strangers and people he knew, alike. 

He had to get out of Naruhata, had to disappear. 

Hawks and The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante had a deal. If he didn't want to force Hawks to have to kill him, he had to leave. Touya had some twisted idea that he was going to join the League, too. If he didn't get the hell out...he'd only bring more trouble for everyone he wanted to help. 

At the end of the day, he needed Midoriya Izuku to disappear for real, he needed Akatani Mikumo to be impossible to find, and he needed The Hopeless Hero to...

If he left Naruhata, if he ran away to try and stop The Commission from killing him, would he even be able to pick up the persona again? What would happen to The Hopeless Hero? 

What would happen to Izuku? 

"This seems to be the first time you've been coherent since we found you." Moe stepped around the curtain, watching him with an expression that made him feel so small. He felt like she could see through him, could see through The Hopeless Hero mask, through the Akatani Mikumo mask, all the way down to Midoriya Izuku. She could see how small, how pathetic he was. 

He had to get out of there. 

He looked away, eyes trained on the marbled skin that wrapped around his hand. He could still remember how he had been holding onto Touya's arm, gripping onto his sleeve, trying to understand why Touya had done what he did. He could still remember the way Touya's arm exploded into blue flames, how hot it had been for a mere second before all he could feel was cold panic. 

He wasn't sure how to respond to Moe. He couldn't remember them finding him, couldn't remember anything after jumping off of the fire escape. He doubted she wanted to hear that, though. "Sorry." 

"No," She sighed, face pinched tight. "That's not what I meant." Moe moved closer, one hand in a closed fist most likely holding the pills and a cup in the other hand. 

"Thank you," He whispered, ignoring the way his throat spasmed in irritation. 

"I don't know what happened, Akatani-kun, and you don't have to tell me." She sat down on the small cot across from him. Her fingers were combing through her feathers, flattening them. "But I know you're an incredibly strong kid. I saw it when you stumbled into my shop all bruised and bloody, and I see it now. Whatever happened before, we know you went through something traumatic." 

She was watching him with that expression, again. Looking at him like she knew something he didn't. 

"And I don't mean just physically," Her tone made it sound like he truly did go through something horrible. As if he had any right to be feeling grey. Because he went through something traumatic according to her. 

Did he? 

Nothing felt traumatic. 

Nothing felt like...anything, really. 

Sure, his face is fucked. He has all these stupid fucking scars wrapping themselves around the left side of his face. He had one hand wrapped in a disgusting array of burn scars matched with crooked fingers from when his hand had been broken back in February. His other hand had three matching jagged scars on either side of his hand from Stain's katana. His hair was burnt, frazzled and a far cry from his old curls. His back was a mystery of scars that he hadn't even seen yet. But, still, he felt like he made it out relatively unscathed. His hearing was fine. His eyesight wasn't messed up. 

He wasn't sure what Moe saw, but he sure as hell didn't agree with her. 

He wasn't traumatized. 

"Take your time, okay?" Moe gripped Izuku's knee, a kind smile pointed at him. "We'll be here when your ready." 

He hummed, turning back toward the window, feeling exhaustion cling at his arms and legs. He blinked, turning back to the other bed, finding Moe already gone. He looked back outside, unable to tell how much time had passed. Clouds were blocking where the sun was, and it was still light out. 

The door opened and he stiffened, not needing to turn around to know it was Umie. He knew, logically, that he had seen her when they found him. He must have also seen her while they tended to his wounds. It didn't feel like it counted since he hadn't been lucid. For him, and maybe even for her, he hadn't seen her since she admitted to knowing The Hopeless Hero was Akatani. He hadn't seen Umie since she told him not to trust Dabi.

Dabi, who was Touya.

Dabi who was Touya, who Izuku trusted so much. 

Dabi who was Touya, who Izuku trusted so much, who ended up being a Villain.

He was ashamed. Or maybe even worse than that, he was afraid she hated him as much as he hated himself. 

"I should have told you," Umie's voice wavered, nearly breaking at the end of her sentence. She sounded distraught, and it only made him feel worse. Because, yeah, of course he wanted to be upset with her. Of course, he wanted to blame her for Touya's betrayal. It wouldn't be fair to pretend like it was her fault, though, he was the only one to blame for ignoring the truth. 

"You did," He nearly choked on the words, still feeling that terror claw its way up his throat. "I didn't believe you." 

"No, I didn't." She moved closer, only freezing when he unconsciously tensed. "I...I should have been harsher with you, kid. I should have given you proof. I should hav-" 

"It wouldn't have mattered." Izuku drew a small smiling face in the window. It was better this time around. Less shaky lines and more of a curved smile. He tried his best to reciprocate it. "I wouldn't have listened." 

That was the worst part. He had trusted Touya so much. Even when Touya hurt him, even when Touya was mean. Never once did he consciously think Touya was a Villain, never once did he think this would happen. 

"I think I realized a long time ago," He spoke slowly, trying to swallow down the bitter truth of the situation. There was a time when he hadn't been scared of Touya, a time where he didn't fear for his safety around him. "I had just convinced myself that I was the criminal, the villain. I ignored every fucking sign." 

"Akatani," Umie's voice was soft, almost chiding him. "You didn't know."

"I should have," He whispered, every word clawing their own place in his throat, making him choke. He finally turned, looking back to her. She was closer now.  "He hated Heroes. Every single one of them. He hated that I liked them, hated that I wanted to help people, that I wanted to be a Hero. He hated that I didn't hate Heroes." 

He dropped his gaze, unable to stand how wet Umie's eyes were. 

"He loved to hold The Commission's letter over my head. Loved that I was labeled not only a Villain, but a Triple 'S' Tier Villain." He slowly curled his hand into a fist, giving it an experimental squeeze. Surprisingly, it felt...okay. "I was convinced he was going to kill me when I got back from Hosu. He was just so, so angry." 

Umie didn't say anything. She slowly moved, sitting in the same spot that Moe had sat earlier. 

"He wasn't angry that I left without saying anything. Hurt, maybe...He was angry that Stain called me a True Hero. He was pissed that I helped take down The Hero Killer. He was angry I was around Heroes." He looked back to Umie, not entirely sure why he was telling her all of this. Maybe he wanted her to realize how stupid he had been. Maybe he wanted her to be angry at him too. "He hated that I'm Quirkless. The one time he brought it up, it was because he thought I was interested in joining the League." 

And wasn't that the kicker? The same day he had been offered a Quirk was when Touya suddenly understood Izuku's Quirklessness. 

"And the worst part?" He was almost laughing, feeling hysteric. "He wasn't even good at hiding it. He didn't even try. I was just fucking stupid and he knew it." He turned away, again, feeling exhaustion pull at his bones. He could hear Umie saying something, trying to argue, but the words were too far away. He just sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against the window.

...

He blinked and it was dark out. It hadn't been that way before. He was at least a little sure of that. 

So it had been at least a few hours. He looked to the bed across from him. It was empty. Umie must have left after she realized Izuku wasn't listening. Or...maybe she stayed until he fell asleep. 

"Knock, knock?" The door creaked open slowly. He looked back to the entrance, panic dying down at the sight of Liu. He was a bit surprised by the boy's presence, it had been a long time since Izuku saw him. 

"Don't you have finals to be studying for?" He had blurted the question out, hardly registering that he should have greeted the older boy, first. He felt too anxious to be worried about being impolite. If Liu was here checking on him, that meant he knew that Izuku was...

Did he know the truth? 

How many other people knew? 

He wanted to know, wanted to ask, but he was too scared to actually do anything. 

Ignorance is bliss. 

Liu, ignored his panic, just grinning mischievously. He was carrying a bowl full of soup, carefully placing it down on the beside table. There were more Quirked pills left there, too. Izuku blinked down at them, confused. 

"I've done enough studying for a lifetime," Liu's voice pulled his attention back toward him. He sat down on the same bed Umie and Moe had occupied before. He looked healthy, maybe a bit pale, the skin around the scales on the side of his face looked a little dry but that was probably just because he had been buried in school books. "You look like shit." 

He couldn't even argue with him. 

"Time to eat up, kiddo." Liu held the soup out, proud smile falling when he looked away. 

"I'm not hungry." He pulled his legs up, wrapping his arms around both of his knees. "Than-" 

"That's too damn bad," Liu huffed, nose held up high in the air. "If you don't eat your soup, I'm not helping you get out of here." 

"You're..." Izuku blinked, brows furrowing. He lifted his head, looking back to Liu. "You're what?" 

"Helping you escape," Liu repeated the words slowly, that mischievous smile growing, again. "Which I won't do if you don't eat. But, it's a good thing you're gonna eat it, right?" 

Izuku just stared, mouth open. He was surprised to say the least. Based on how Moe was acting, he hadn't been sure when they would let him leave. He could understand, really. They...cared for him, in some aspect or another. They wanted what was best for him. But that wasn't here. And yet...Liu was going to help him escape? 

He looked back to the bowl of soup, feeling sick at the idea of eating all of that.  But, if it meant Liu would get him out...

"How about this," Liu sighed, soup sloshing out of the bowl and landing against his scales. He didn't even seem to notice. "You eat at least half of this, yeah? Because if Moe had her way, you'd only leave wrapped in bubble wrap." His smile hadn't faltered in the slightest. 

With trembling hands, he reached out. With scrabbling fingers, he gripped at the bowl. He felt almost giddy, smiling back at Liu. "Yeah...okay." 

…

Light flooded the small little hallway they were quietly moving through. Izuku froze with Liu freezing half a second later. Umie was standing at the far end of the hall, watching them with an unreadable expression. She didn't look upset, but that didn't mean she wasn't. 

"Standing still doesn't mean I can't see you," She finally spoke, folding her arms across her stomach with a raised brow. 

Izuku felt his body untense, releasing a small breath he had been holding. He smiled slightly, ducking his head under her stare. "Sorry. I asked Liu-kun to help-" 

"Oh would you shut up," Liu hissed, stepping on Izuku's foot. Hard. "Get over yourself with that Hero complex shit, dud. I don't care if you're injured, I'll beat your ass for trying to take the blame." 

"Hero complex?" He sputtered the words, blinking incredulously. "I'm the one who's leaving, it wouldn't matter what they thought!" 

"Boys!" Umie spoke with a commanding but soft tone. It was more than enough to silence the both of them. He shot Liu an apologetic look before turning back to Umie. Maybe Liu was right, maybe it was some sort of Hero Complex that makes him try to throw himself to the wolves, but he frankly didn't care. 

"Umie-" 

"I'm not upset," She cut off his additional attempt to try and shoulder the blame. "You aren't in trouble, don't worry." 

"I'm not worried," The words left his mouth involuntarily. His shoulders hiked up to his ears, face rapidly growing color. 

"Be that as that may," She sighed, smiling. "You don't need to run away like a prisoner. I do admit, Moe has gone way overboard. We both have, but we both knew you'd be leaving." 

He didn't know what to say to that. He wasn't sure how he was going to repay them for their kindness. Moe and Umie had provided him so much safety and care, that he felt like he was betraying them by leaving. But he was also putting them in danger by staying. 

He ducked his head, feeling ashamed, feeling conflicted. "I'm sorry, Umie-san, but I can't stay." Who knew when Touya would find him? Who knew how long Keigo could satisfy The Commission until they got tired and sent someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill him? Who knew what they would do if they found people helping him? 

He couldn't risk it. 

And...he did have a deal with Keigo. 

He had to get out of Naruhata. 

For everyone. 

"I know," Umie whispered, kneeling down. She was looking at him so gently, looking at him like she knew everything he was thinking without even having to say it. Slowly, as if to give him enough time to jerk away, she gripped his hand in her own. "You have been through so much." 

"Please," He choked out, eyes watering. "Please don't say that." 

"Okay...okay," She whispered, her other hand gently tucking some hair behind his good ear. It reminded him of his mom, of his Auntie. It made his chest tighten. "Everyone here wants what is best for you. That isn't here, is it?" 

He looked away, shaking his head. “I don’t want to put any of you in danger.” 

“That’s not what I mean,” She sighed, rubbing circles on the back of his hand. “You’ll realize one day, I’m sure.” She stood up, raising an eyebrow at Liu. “And you? What were you planning on telling us?” 

“I’ve been studying.” Liu shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets with a grin. “I didn’t even know he was gone.” 

“Oh, you...you're just like your mother.” She smiled, running her fingers through Liu's hair. Watching them stand there, smiling at one another made Izuku's heart hurt. It only solidified why he was leaving.

"Akatani." Umie wrapped her arms around him, removing her hand from Liu's head in the process. "Stay safe, out there, kid." 

Hesitantly, he returned the hug, shrugging in her arms. He didn't think he could promise that, didn't think he'd even make it another few months. He couldn't say that, though. He didn't want to worry them. "Okay."

…

There...wasn't a plan. No fallback. It was like everything he had planned, everything his mom had wanted for him was gone. His fallback had always been Okinawa. He wanted to honor his mom's memory, living somewhere that she had dreamed of for them, but Touya knew about it. He couldn't risk all those lives in Okinawa, simply because he was tired of being alone. 

And that's exactly what he was, wasn't it?  

Since his mom died, he's been alone. He thought that he had found company in Touya, found someone he could look up to, but it wasn't the case. He had just been an idiot, had believed the first person who came along and been nice to him. 

He missed Katsuki, a lot. Even around the foul-mouthed, ill tempered, blonde, Izuku didn't feel lonely. Even when Katsuki was an ass, which was almost always. 

Desperately, he wished he had a Quirk, not because he really wanted one, but because he knew if he had one, he would probably be in Yuuei. He might know Shouto more intimately, might be able to talk to Shinsou outside of The Hopeless Hero persona. If he had a Quirk...he wouldn't be alone. 

"What kind of Quirkist bullshit is that?" 

Almost violently, Keigo's words slapped Izuku back into reality. He didn't need a Quirk, didn't want one. Obviously he wouldn't be alone if he had a Quirk; his mom wouldn't have had to work herself to death, Katsuki wouldn't have hated him so much, people would believe he could be a Hero...to an extent. Because it wasn't just about having a Quirk, it was about having a Flashy, Heroic, Quirk.

It was all bullshit.

Quirkist Bullshit.

He could be just as alone if he had a Quirk.

Touya and Giran and Takashi and All Might and Katsuki and and and and...all of them had slowly succeeded in making Izuku think he needed a Quirk. Whether it was to be a Hero, to have value, or simply so he wouldn't be alone. But it wasn't true.

Mirio, Umie, Liu, Moe, and Shouto, knew he didn't have a Quirk. None of them seemed to care.

And then there was Keigo...Keigo had not only cared but had shut down the Quirkist Bullshit he had been reciting. He had thrown The Hopeless Hero's, Izuku's, accomplishments in his face.

He couldn't dwell on the what if's of having a Quirk. Couldn't allow Giran's offer or Touya's meddling to tempt him.

He didn't have a Quirk.

End of story.

He looked up at the apartment building he had foolishly called a safe haven for the last handful of months. He didn't have a fallback, nothing concretely planned, but he'd have to make it up as he went. No Okinawa. No High School.

Maybe, just maybe, he could look for his mom. Jump around rural towns until he found her. Once he did that, he hopefully would have a plan. He didn't have the Tsubaki flower for her grave, anymore. He'd lost it when the police got his backpack in Musutafu. He'd have to get a new one. That could be easily done. 

So he had a plan, or at least a semblance of one. Now, the only thing he needed was money. All his money was underneath a floorboard in Touya's apartment. Hence why he had come back. 

He had a bright yellow hoodie lent to him by Liu that wasn't all that conspicuous, but it was the thought that counts, he had a cloth mask to cover part of his face, which luckily hid some of his scars. This was as good as a disguise as he'd get. 

He forced his feet to move, to get closer to the scene of the crime. The smell of smoke was still strong. It could be worse; he had been worried about cops and still being able to smell the scent of burning flesh, but lucky him. 

"At least no one called the cops," He muttered, eyeing a few boarded up windows. Touya's fire had caused them to shatter, Izuku could remember that much. He dug his thumbnail into the meat of his forefinger, almost too scared to keep going. 

What if Touya didn't leave? What if he did and he was staking the apartment out? 

Well...he could just go, try and bounce from town to town without getting his money. Even while thinking it, though, he forced himself to move. One foot in front of the other. It wasn't just about getting money to leave, it was also about tying up loose ends. 

Plus, he didn't want to keep jumping into the bed of people's trucks or stealing himself away on train cars, so the money for tickets was kind of important.

He stopped two floors before Touya's apartment, feeling like a kid dragging himself to the principal. Even if Touya was waiting for him to return upstairs, even if he knew every step he was going to take, Izuku knew that Touya never would've given Tsuchiya their notice of moving. Hell, Touya had a hard time even walking down stairs to give him the rent. 

So, of course, it was left to him. 

He knocked on the door, heart in his throat. Tsuchiya, their landlord, was a burly old man. Before he met him, everyone told Izuku that Tsuchiya was a grump a grouch, and a low level thug. He hadn't ever experienced any rudeness from the man. In fact, he had always been nice and warm whenever Izuku saw him. The door opened and he ducked his head to the side. "Wanna explain what all that commotion was about?" 

"Sorry, Tsuchiya-san." He bowed slightly, feeling ashamed. "Uh, Dabi left town. I figured I should let you know. I'm going up to grab a few of my things, but I can pay for the damages." The last part slipped out before he could even think. 

Fuck. 

He wouldn't be able to afford paying for the damages and getting out of town. Hell, he probably wouldn't even have money to afford to pay all of the damages. He hadn't seen the apartment, hadn't been entirely aware of what Touya had burned and what had been broken, but he already knew it was a lot. 

"I might not have enough," He started backtracking, looking up to Tsuchiya, hands raised in a placating manner. "But-" 

"What the hell happened, kid?" Tsuchiya was staring at him in horror, suddenly making him remember how bad he looked. Tsuchiya's eyes were jumping all around, tracking every visible injury. 

"Ah," He sighed, dropping his hands. "Sorry about that, uh, I'll be quick grabbing my things." He held the keys out, knowing he wouldn't need them with how Touya never locked the door. 

"Give me a second," Tsuchiya spoke up, ignoring the keys. He disappeared behind the door, leaving Izuku standing out in the hall blinking like an idiot. 

"Uh..." He dropped his arm, confused. 

"Here we are." Tsuchiya was back, holding an envelope in one hand and a wad of cash in the other. "Your rent." 

"My what?" His hand closed around the envelope Tsuchiya pushed into his hands. "Sir, I'm confused." 

"Just take the money kid," The older man sighed, coughing slightly. "Get yourself somewhere safe. I'll take care of the damages, don't worry about it." 

"Don't worry about it?" Izuku blinked, feeling like he had been slapped. 

"Pretty much, yeah." Tsuchiya nodded looking entirely unperturbed. "The three thousand yen you gave Umie, too." He pushed the cash into his hands, too, forcing him to take it. 

He blinked, just then remembering the three thousand yen he had snuck in between the sandwiches a month ago. 

"And do me a favor, kid." Tsuchiya grabbed the keys, pointing a finger toward him. "Don't let those Commission assholes get you, okay?" 

His mouth dropped open from behind the mask. Eyes as wide as saucers. 

Did everyone fucking know? 

"It's my building, kid." Tsuchiya laughed. "You've been leaving through the window every night since that new Hero popped up." 

Hero. Tsuchiya said Hero. 

"Stay safe, kid." Tsuchiya gave him a grin, and then closed the door. The locks clicked in place a moment later. 

He just stared at the cash and envelope in surprise. Shock, too. He numbly made his way upstairs. Now, he had more than enough money to travel. At first, he had been expecting to leave with only a few hundred, but now he might even have enough to find places to stay once in a while. 

Some place with warm water and pillows. Might even get to sleep in a bed. When was the last time he had even been able to sleep in a bed? An actual bed, not a couch, not the cots at the shelters, and definitely not the fucking floor behind dumpsters. An. Actual. Bed. 

The thought was almost enough to bring a smile to his face. 

He pushed the door open, only partly surprised he had been right about Touya leaving it unlocked. When he had come back from Hosu, the door and window had been locked to try and keep him out. Maybe Touya really hadn't expected him to come back. 

Huh. 

A red feather was on the floor. 

Izuku stared at it, head cocked to the side. That feather is what started all of this. It wasn't Keigo's fault, of course, it had just been unfortunate timing. The final straw that broke the camel's back. 

He wondered for just a moment how long Keigo had known where he lived? Did the whole Commission know? 

He set down the envelope and cash on the counter, being careful not to make too much noise. He was positive Touya wasn't hiding in the shadows but still, he felt like he was being watched. As if at any moment, he'd be jumped. 

He picked the feather up, honestly surprised that it had survived Touya's rage. It felt different in his hand, but that was probably cause of the damage done by Touya's flames. Still, even without being able to feel the bristles, he could feel it vibrate in his hand. 

Spooked, he dropped it, heart racing in his chest. Maybe it was because he had experienced it before, or maybe it was simply because of how on edge he was, but he ducked down at the high pitched sound whistling through the air. Two more red feathers flew right above him, right where his shoulders would have been, just as he moved. They lodged themselves into the hard wood of the door. 

His eyes widened, staring up at the door, staring up at the two red feathers deeply lodged into it. Those would have maimed him if they had his his shoulder, hell they might've paralyzed or killed him depending on where they were even aimed for. 

Unlike the last time he had felt that cold fear that made him afraid, all he felt was burning anger he only recognized as Katsuki's own. 

His head whipped to where the feathers had come from. It wasn't Keigo standing in the doorway of Touya's room, it was Hawks. It was dark, but he could still see enough to see something cold, meticulous, and bone chilling in the Hero's presence. This was what Hawks hid behind his closed eyed smiles, this was why Hawks set Izuku so on edge. 

"What the fuck," He demanded, feeling almost hysterical. 

All at once, Hawks' menacing aura disappeared. Keigo was there instead, stepping forward, eyebrows screwed together. "Little Bird? What the hell happened to you?" 

Keigo's worry didn't do anything to calm him, in fact it did the exact opposite. His anger felt suffocating, felt like it was choking him. He was pissed, suddenly. All of the numbness that he had felt, all that grey that had been surrounding him since Moe and Umie found him, was finally gone. He could finally feel the pain that had been nothing more than a dull ache or loud echos. It was mind numbing, almost like he was still burning, but he could fucking feel it now. 

Maybe if he wasn't unbelievably pissed, he'd be more scared. But, all he could focus on was that this was the second time Hawks attacked him. 

Well, the third if you were to count their first meeting. 

"Again?!" He yelled, voice sounding foreign to his own ears. It was gravelly, sounding like his vocal cords had been burnt along with the rest of him. He had known, logically, how smoke could damage his lungs, but he hadn't realized how bad it actually was. Theory and practice were two very different things.

Keigo didn't say anything. He was just standing there, staring at him like he wasn't sure if he was actually there. It made the hairs up and down his arms stand on end. 

"You almost killed me again," His voice was quieter this time, not wanting to alert anyone. 

"Shit, kid," Keigo groaned, moving closer. He tensed causing the Hero to stop. "I...I thought you were already dead." Keigo winced, as if he had said something insensitive. 

Izuku could only just sigh, not offended. "That's...fair." His shoulders untensed.

"Holy shit," Keigo breathed out, switching the lights on. His eyes watching him as he moved toward the couch. "You look like shit, kid." 

He rolled his eyes, actually grateful for Keigo's bluntness. It was something he actually appreciated, especially when everyone was acting like he was fragile.  

"Did you touch the feather?" Keigo was looking around the place, as if he was about to find someone else. It took him a moment to realize that Keigo was serious, he genuinely was asking. 

"Yes," He breathed in deeply, trying keep calm. It felt like he was only a few seconds away from losing his shit. "Why?" 

Keigo didn't answer. He was holding the feather that Izuku had dropped earlier, looking at it like it was a puzzle. It set him on edge again, making him feel cornered. He tried to ignore it, just picking up the couch and moving it to the side with a grunt for the effort. He started counting the floorboards from the wall, trying to ignore the way Keigo was now staring at him. 

"What are you looking at me for?" He spun around, grateful for a chance to take his anger out on something. It's been festering for days, hiding and disguising itself as numbness or sadness. He felt volatile. 

"What happened to you hand?" Keigo didn't take the bait, didn't raise to Izuku's anger. He was calm, head tilted to the side in interest, but nothing more. 

"What happened to my..." He shook his head, laughter bubbling out hysterically. There was soot everywhere, the smell of smoke was still heavy in the air. How many fucking guesses would it take Keigo to guess? He just shook his head, kneeling down to pry the floorboard up. 

"What happened to your hand," Keigo questioned again, just as calm as before. 

Izuku just ignored him, pulling out the money he had been saving. Touya had been right, in a way. Every paycheck, one-hundred and fifty yen went under the floor in case of emergency. He shoved it into his pocket, reaching back to the ground to grab the small spool of Eraserhead's Capture Weapon he cut off months ago, and a small All Might figurine he had found in the trash a few weeks into his stay with Touya. Even as far as back then, he knew it wasn't smart to let Touya see the All Might doll or Eraserhead's support item. How had he been so stupid? 

"Tell me," Keigo begged. Hawks, The Number Three Hero of Japan, was begging him. 

"Nothing. Happened," He bit out, refusing to look back. 

"Then why didn't I know it was you?" Keigo's voice jumped up an octave. He almost sounded desperate.

It kind of made Izuku feel like shit.  

"I can feel everything my feathers feel," Keigo spoke faster this time, taking a step toward him, two, three steps until he was in Izuku's bubble of personal space. "Everything. Vibrations, the ridges in a person's fingerprint, different textures, you name it. What happened to your hand, kid?" 

He blinked, trying to process that information, realizing the extent of Hawks', Keigo's, abilities. "Does it hurt you when they get damaged?" He had been holding Keigo's feather the night Touya went crazy. He couldn't even remember what had happened to it. The moment he had pieced together the the truth, he hadn't even been aware of the feather anymore. 

"That's," Keigo sucked in a sharp breath, turning away, obviously frustrated. "That isn't the point, kid." 

"My hand," He muttered, feeling like an asshole. He was angry and was taking it out on Keigo when he didn't even deserve it. It wasn't fair. And not answering his questions when he was worried was rude. "It got burnt." He raised it, letting the sleeve of Liu's hoodie fall and reveal more of the burn scars before dropping his arm back down. 

"Right." Keigo was staring at the broken table in front of the couch. Part of it was burnt so badly that it looked like it would crumble if you touched it. 

Part of him wanted to snap at Keigo, wanted to throw the fact that he asked what happened back at him, but he didn't. He knew what Keigo had been asking, knew that Keigo obviously had figured out that he got burned, he just didn't want to admit it. 

"I know a new League member," He said instead of explaining anything. "He goes by Dabi." 

"Dabi?" Keigo's head was tilted to the side, eyes sliding around the room. "He's a low level Villain. The Commission knows about him, but outside of his existence, we don't have much information. Or, at the very least I don't." 

"Villain," He repeated the word, feeling grey at the confirmation. Touya, was joining the League now, but Dabi had been a Villain for who knows how long. "What...What has he done?" His mouth felt dry.

"He's been mostly a petty Villain for the last few years, up until recently." Keigo tapped his chin, looking back to him. "Things like robberies, property damage, the likes. Though, we found those missing twins a while back. Burnt to nothing but ash." 

"Twins?" 

"Pink hair, twenty-six, they were on probation. They missed a check in back in February." Keigo shrugged, shoving his hands into his jacket. "We're trying to figure out what happened. Dabi was always on The Commission's radar, but he wasn't a killer. Now, though..." 

He was going to be sick. His eyes slid down to his hand, the same hand that had been crushed by those twins the night he moved in with Touya. "Oh my god," He whispered out, feeling nauseous. Touya killed them because of him. He was the reason why they were dead. "I...know why." 

He lifted his hand again, eyes wet. 

"They broke my hand the night after I met him. I was deliriously sick, pissed them off, and they crushed my hand." He blinked rapidly, trying to remain calm. "I told T-Dabi about it, but..." He took a step back, trying to put space between him and literally everything. 

"Kid?" Keigo looked worried. 

"I know his real identity." He dodged Keigo's stare, turning to the bathroom to try and scavenge anything Touya left behind. He'd need hygiene products and it'd be nice to not have to waste his money. "It's, uh, Todoroki Touya." 

“Tod-” 

"Endeavor's eldest son." He looked back before immediately looking away. His eyes landed on the broken window, the window he broke by jumping through it. Moe had spent hours digging all the shards of glass out of his back. Staring at it made his back feel itchy, so he just pushed himself into the bathroom. 

His skin was crawling, making him feel on edge. He felt insane. This entire time, he had known Touya was Endeavor's son, had known who Dabi really was, but he hadn't ever said it out loud. He felt crazy for finally saying it. Like a conspiracy theorist with a few screws loose. 

"He's...He's dead," There was almost a desperate tone in Keigo's voice. Great, he thought Izuku was losing it. 

"Allegedly," He agreed, only slightly. Now, months after their first meeting, did he truly understand Touya's paranoia. If he had even uttered his name once, it would have been game over for whatever Touya was planning. So why the hell didn't Touya kill him? "The body was never found, right?"

He opened the mirror above the sink, grinning to himself at the tooth brushes and toothpaste. Touya had been too rushed, too angry to get everything. 

Maybe there was still food. 

"What are you trying to say?" Keigo's face was twisted up in anger, demanding answers and frankly...scaring Izuku. "You think Endeavor covered up-" 

"No," He was quick to cut off the Hero's angry questions, quick to put a stop to Keigo's disbelief. He hesitated, not sure how to convince Keigo of what he knew...what he suspected. With how agitated Keigo was, Izuku wasn't sure how much he'd listen to. He hadn't accounted for Keigo being an Endeavor fan, hadn't planned on having to jump that hurdle. "I don't think he knows. I am pretty sure Dabi's plan involves Endeavor, somehow." 

"How?" Keigo was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, looking far too biased. Izuku's heart dropped, because how the hell was he supposed to convince Keigo what he suspected. 

"I don't know anything concrete," He started off slowly, not wanting to piss the Hero off by giving him information and then telling him that he didn't have any proof. "But he's planning on killing and exposing Endeavor, at the very least. He probably wants to kill his youngest brother, too." He could still feel hot fingers digging into his shoulder blades after Hosu, could still remember how quickly everything went to shit when Izuku called Shouto Touya's brother. 

"Expose Endeavor, how?" 

"I'm pretty sure Endeavor abuses his family." He shrugged, making his way into the kitchen. "He wanted a perfect masterpiece or some shit. Todoroki Touya being Dabi and then revealing himself to the public and everything his father did is a surefire way to get, at the very least, his license revoked. In theory, at least. I wouldn't be surprised if The Commission helps keep it under wraps. No one knows for certain what happened to Todoroki Rei, after all." 

"That doesn't mean..." Keigo was sputtering, face twisted up like he had eaten something sour.

"You're right, it doesn't," He snapped, spitting the words out at the Hero, just as angry as he was the night he heard Endeavor call Shouto his 'masterpiece'. Endeavor saw his son as nothing more than a project, as his property. "But I'm pretty sure Todoroki Shouto's scar wasn't made from fire. I know he also refused to use half of his Quirk. He kept calling it Endeavor's fire." 

He looked away, breathing heavily, trying not to yell. 

"He also admitted that his father is horrible. I was there, I saw the way he looked at Endeavor and the way Endeavor was looking at him." He angrily shoved ramen packets and rice crackers into a trashbag.

Keigo had no reason to believe him. Izuku was, for all intents and purposes, talking crazy. 

"The first night I met Dabi was across the street from the Endeavor Mansion." He slumped against the counter, looking back to Keigo. "He almost killed me, thinking I was there for some reason. At first, I thought he had some sort of weird idea of protecting his family. But, he's joined the League. He pretends Shouto isn't his brother, and he was...erratic when I got back from Hosu. He had been convinced I was working with Endeavor, constantly paranoid." 

"Hold up. You said when you got back from Hosu." Keigo held up a hand, staring at him. His eyes roamed around the apartment, and Izuku could see the moment he had connected the dots. "You were living with him." 

"I didn't know," He was quick to defend himself, flinching at the accusation. "I was so stupid. I didn't...That's not the point right now. I think he wants to kill Endeavor and maybe Shouto, too." 

Keigo didn't say anything. 

"I sound crazy, I know. It's insane, but even if I'm wrong about Endeavor-- which I know I'm not --I'm not wrong about Touya." He wasn't sure why he was fighting so hard to convince Keigo, wasn't sure why it mattered to him so much to have the Hero believe him. "He figured out who I was the night I got attacked by those twins. He saw my Mask. I tried to backtrack, tried to convince him he was wrong, but then he realized I was Quirkless." 

He looked away, remembering how scared he had been that night. 

"I was terrified, Keigo. I had just got my ass beat by those guys because they realized I was Quirkless, and Dabi had been one of the first people to treat me nicely. I was scared. I told him I wasn't Quirkless, that I had a Quirk." 

"Quirk Analysis," Keigo breathed the words out, seeming to figure out the rest. 

"Yeah," He swallowed. "I was rambling, analyzing his Quirk. I had seen him use it, but he never knew. I ended up realizing who he was. He realized I knew and instead of killing me, he pretended to believe I had a Quirk, and I pretended I didn't know he was Todoroki Touya." 

Keigo was massaging his temples, looking a second away from an information overload. 

"Look, at this point, it's just speculation." He shrugged, tying the bag shut. "I don't have any evidence, just a hunch." 

"Fuck," Keigo groaned, looking pained. "If you're saying that, you're most likely right." 

He fought back a smile, feeling his body unconsciously relax now that Keigo believed him. 

"So you're leaving?" Keigo pulled his feathers out of the door. 

"Yup," He almost whispered the word out, looking over the place he had spent half a year at. He had been living with an actual Villain for six months. He felt so stupid, so betrayed. "We had a deal, after all." He turned back to Keigo, grinning widely, trying not to seem as affected as he was. 

"Where to now, kid?"

"Okinawa, probably." He thought of his mom's whispered promises, thought of the Tsubaki flowers that lined the coast.  "They have a high Quirkless population." 

"Heh," Keigo laughed, smiling with his eyes open. He looked younger like that, less...haunted. "You shouldn't tell me where you're flying to, Little Bird." 

He laughed, something loud and real, feeling a sense of déjà vu. It was just like that first night they had met. God, that felt like a lifetime ago. "It's a good thing, then, that you won't know if I'm lying or not."

"Well," Keigo, sighed, shoving his hands back into his pockets, looking extremely out of place in the beat up, burnt down apartment. "You've got time. I've been away from Kyushu for too long. My interns are driving my sidekicks and staff crazy, without me." 

"But people have seen you in Kyushu?" 

"I have to keep up appearances, kid, but you are top priority with a capital 't'." And wasn't that crazy? "I haven't been at my agency in a while, it's time I get back. Especially since The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante disappeared a few days ago. Last known appearance was Musutafu on the tenth. He was being chased by someone." 

"Oh." He blinked, hardly realizing how perfect it had turned out for Keigo. He wished he could take credit, but it had all been luck. 

They paused, watching each other in silence for a moment. He almost wanted to tell the Hero what had happened. He was surprised by how badly he wanted to show Keigo what Touya had done. Maybe, he even wanted to ask him to fix his horrible hair. To braid it again. 

But he didn't. He stayed quiet, burying all those incessant wants as deep as he could. 

"So this is goodbye." 

"And hopefully, it stays that way." 

…

He couldn't stop thinking about his conversation with Keigo. Everything he said had been true, or at the very least he believed it to be true. He thought of Touya, Dabi, joining the League. He thought of how they would attack Yuuei next. 

How could he just pretend to not know anything? 

"Nishi-San," He greeted the man, knuckles on his left hand tapping against the door three times. He smiled under his mask, feeling...not great but not as angry as he had been. He was still angry, still fuming with rage, but it was boxed up and buried deep down. "You busy?" 

"Not at all!" Nishi beckoned him over, not even giving him a second glance. The scars seemed to have no affect on the older man. "What can I do for you, my boy?" 

"I'm leaving town." He readjusted the strap of his backpack, settling it slightly to the left. His bag had been safely locked away in one of the unused lockers in the back of Nishi's gym -- a much needed upgrade from where he used to leave them. "I wanted to let you know. Sorry, I know it's last minute, sir. I didn't want to ghost you, though." 

"Ghost?" Nishi shook his head, already continuing to talk before Izuku could explain the term. "That's alright, I understand. Just give me a moment, okay?" He held a hand out, muttering under his breath. 

Izuku just leaned against the door frame, looking around Nishi's office one last time. When he started working for Nishi, he never thought he would genuinely care about the older man, never thought Nishi was as kind as he actually was. He had thought Nishi was a penny pincher and just a smelly old man when he first met him. Now...now he felt sad, knowing he wasn't going to see him again. So, yeah, he could wait for however long Nishi wanted him to wait, pretend like this wasn't goodbye.  

"Here you go, son." Nishi placed a stack of cash on the desk, grinning. 

"Nishi-san?" 

"Take the money, Akatani," Nishi sighed good naturedly, nudging it closer.

"I...I" 

"It's just the money for the hours you've worked." He gave Izuku and encouraging nod. "I'm sure you'll need it for the trip." 

Slowly, he picked the money up with shaky hands, doing his best to blink back tears. 

…

In all his time living on the streets and running around pretending to be a vigilante, he never once stepped foot into a pawn shop. There really wasn't a point to, he never had anything to sell, never had money to buy anything. Pawn Shops were kind of a scam, everyone knew it -- you only sold things if you wanted to make quick money or if you stole whatever it was you were trying to sell. 

"Hello?" He tapped the bell at the counter, eyeing all the warding masks and large quantity of bikes. 

"I'll be right with you," Someone from the back called out, followed by a large crash and a few curses. Izuku winced at the noise. He tapped his fingers on the counter in a rhythmic one, two, one two, type beat. He had twenty-four minutes until his bus left. He could spare waiting a minute or two for the shop keeper. 

Plus, he thought wryly, if making the shop keeper rush around would end up up in loud crashes, I can be a bit patient.

"Hey, there, kid." A younger man stepped out from the back, almost fighting the curtain in attempts to keep it closed away from prying eyes. "What'cha need help with, little guy?" 

Izuku pressed his lips together, ignoring the jab at his age. He didn't really care how old this guy thought he was, and he didn't really want to be there any longer than he had to be. He gently placed the flip phone Touya got him on the counter. "How much can I get for this?" 

"Huh," The owner picked it up, carefully looking it over from front to back. He flipped it open, letting the phone load up. "What's wrong with it?" 

"Nothing." He shrugged, putting his hand back into his pocket. The shop keeper started mashing buttons, testing out that they all worked. "I just need the money more than I need the phone." 

"It's a bit outdated," The shop keeper hummed, eyes flickering between him and the phone. "You won't get as much as you want for it." 

He kept a blank expression, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. This guy had no idea how much he'd settle for. He just wanted to rid of the damned thing. Who knew if Touya bugged it or something? He didn't really want to risk finding out. "How much can I get for it," He repeated, sighing. 

"Uh...about fourteen-hundred yen." He flipped it shut with a grin pointed toward him. "That's the highest I'll go." 

He nodded, making sure not to let his surprise show. He thought he'd get lucky with eight-hundred yen, but this was even better. That also meant it was probably worth a lot more, but he didn't want it anymore. "Okay," He sighed, feigning disappointment. "I'll take it." 

…

"Next," The driver announced, hands cupped around his mouth to make his words louder. Though, with how close Izuku was to the front of the queue, he had ducked his head in a wince at how shrill and loud the driver sounded. He moved forward, head ducked low, holding his ticket out to be scanned, trying not to let his nerves get the best of him. "All good." 

He gave a small nod in response, burying his face into Eraserhead's Capture Weapon, before scurrying toward the back of the bus. 

He had spent the entire day tying up loose ends, taking care of unfinished business. He couldn't risk Touya finding him. He wasn't as worried about Keigo, knowing he wouldn't really look for him and that the Hero had his own matters to attend to. All he had to worry about, was making sure Eraserhead didn't catch him, because he was going back home. 

"Last call for Musutafu," The driver called again, waiting by the door of the bus for any stragglers. 

Izuku leaned his head against the window, fingers tapping against his knee. He needed to sleep, knowing how much work he had to get done once he was back in Musutafu. He had far too much money to be carrying around, two brand new notebooks, three energy drinks, and a plan. 

He was going to warn Yuuei about the League, and then get the hell out of Musutafu before Eraserhead found him. 

…

It was almost midnight when the bus finally stopped in Musutafu. Besides Izuku, there were three other passengers getting off the vehicle all giving the driver a small nod of thanks. Two of them paired off together, walking toward the bathrooms, giggling and sharing muted whispers. The other passenger was waved down by someone waiting in the carpool lane, grinning all wide and bright. 

He watched them all leave, watched the bus driver close the doors and pull away from the curb, feeling an overwhelming feeling of familiarity in being back. He's run to and from Musutafu since he started to live with Touya, sure, but that had always been as The Hopeless Hero. Now, he wasn't even Akatani Mikumo anymore. 

Midoriya Izuku was back in Musutafu. 

He stuffed his hands into the front pocket of Liu's hoodie, making his way toward the closest library. He was aching, tired beyond belief, but he had to get started. Who knew what the League had planned, who knew how long Yuuei had before they struck. He had to get everything he knew about Touya down, had to research anything and everything he could about the League, and get it to the Heroes. 

Once that was done, then he could mindlessly waste time. Until then, though, he didn't have time to get lost in thought. 

He pushed open the doors to the library, quietly making his way to one of the kiosks. He didn't want to leave an impression, just wanted to rent the computer and study room he needed for privacy reasons. He clicked a random room and booked it for the maximum of four hours he was allowed. The screen glitched before switching to the processing screen. After a few seconds, it gave a small chime and the go ahead to find the study room. 

He kept his head down, making his way to one of the computer carts, signing a random name next to the corresponding computer number. 

With those two done, he was officially ready to get to work. 

The plan was as follows: 

1. compile everything he knew about Endeavor and the LOV

2. research both the Hero and the League to gather anything else that would help his case

3. make connections between Dabi and Touya

4. figure out how to order the information and get it lined out perfectly for the notebooks

5. drop everything off for Nedzu to find 

6. get the hell out of Musutafu 

So, he got to work. 

...

Apparently, when compiling and researching information on a handful of different people, four hours wasn't anywhere close to enough time to finish everything. So he had checked the computer back into place, giving the librarian a polite nod, and left the building. It was late, late enough to raise interest if he waltzed into another library. Even though he wanted to just keep jumping from library to library, he couldn't risk someone paying too much attention to him. 

He did find the next closest library, only having to walk for twenty-six minutes, but instead of going inside he hid himself away behind a dumpster a few blocks away. He didn't feel tired at all really, but he needed to sleep, needed to do something besides sitting there fretting over whatever would happen next. And yet, he was still awake when the sun began to light up the sky, unable to quiet his thoughts or his restless body. 

He felt exhausted, but still not the kind of tired he needed to be to be able to sleep. 

When a few joggers ran past the dumpster he was behind, he figured it was late enough in the early morning to not seem too suspicious if he showed up to the library. 

…

Four hours later, and he still wasn't anywhere close to the end. Another three and a half hours later had only been enough time for Izuku to print everything he had been researching. It took almost an additional twelve hours split between three different libraries before Izuku ended up having to admit to himself that he might have underestimated the amount of information he was compiling. 

Maybe he wasn't underestimating the amount of information he needed, but was overestimating his ability to pull it all off. He had to create and put together a perfect, seamless, book of evidence. He wouldn't be around to explain what anything meant, wouldn't be able to clear up any confusion, so he had to make sure that everything made sense. 

He was so very close to pulling out the rest of his hair. 

He didn't know Shigaraki, the League of Villains' so called 'ring leader'. He didn't know the man's Quirk, how he used it, how the Villain thought, or anything helpful. All he knew, was one of the League's new members, their hide out, and how one of Yuuei's Hero Students was being abused by The Number Two Hero of Japan. 

People's lives were at stake, though. He couldn't fuck this up. 

…

It took a day since stepping back into Musutafu to finally get all the information he needed. He had probably hit up all the free libraries in Musutafu by that point. He wouldn't even be surprised if he had also ended up drying all the ink out of every printer along the way. He still wasn't anywhere close to being finished. He still had to organize everything, figure out how he wanted to lay it out to make sense. He'd have to glue it all into the notebooks, going through and writing page numbers down so that the Heroes would be able to quickly jump between references he wrote down. 

If they even take it seriously. 

He ignored that thought in favor of fishing a pen out of his back pocket. He quickly scribbled the word glue on the side of his wrist so that he'd remember to buy some once the sun rose. It was a little hard to see if he had made the word legible or if if he wrote it on top of another word. Over the past twenty-four hours, anytime he needed to remember something for later, he wrote it anywhere on his hand. Most of the words were hard to make out, either they were getting more and more washed away with each time he went to the bathroom, or just because he had to quickly rub it away to replace it with another word. 

He looked like a mad man. His face was covered in scars, ear melted against his cheek bone, brittle hair that wasn't beyond saving, hands not only covered in scars and burns but also now covered in a multitude of words -- anything from names of Hero Analyses that Touya had read to dates and places. He had too much information to work with for one person and not enough time. 

But...he was one step closer to getting the hell out of Musutafu. 

He left like time was slipping away from him. Even with rented out time slots for private study rooms, he couldn't wrap his mind around how much had actually happened in the last week. He had wasted so much of that time hardly aware of anything. It was the sixteenth of July, just two days short of a week since Touya. He could remember running away from the apartment, but couldn't remember how the hell he had found Moe. He couldn't remember spending three days being treated by Umie and Moe, couldn't remember anything. 

It made him angry. 

He had spent so much time licking his wounds, so much time acting like a child, when he should have been doing something. Touya and the League were out there already days ahead of Izuku. 

He had to finish this fast. 

But, he was also really tired. 

"Just a small nap," He argued against nobody, eyes already closing. He had dozed off every few hours since he got back to Musutafu, but that was not enough. He was exhausted to the point where his eyes hurt from how long it had been since he got proper rest. He smelled bad, bad enough that even he could smell it. 

Just a few more days, he told himself, then you can be done. 

...

The sun was shining brightly when he finally woke up. 

"Almost noon," He muttered to himself, eyeing how high the sun was from the horizon. He had slept too long, but he couldn't feel too angry about it. It had been at least three days since he had slept that well, and that felt a little sad -- taken as he had slept while sitting up behind a dumpster. He stayed there, sitting on the ground, sitting uncomfortably between the wall and trash, too exhausted to want to get up and keep working. He slept long enough, but he was just so tired. 

Too damn bad. 

He pushed himself up, eyes catching the words all around his hand and wrist. Glue. Before he did anything, he needed to get glue for the notebooks. All the information he printed out and researched did nothing useful unless he organized it in a comprehensive way. He couldn't let the Heroes have any sort of excuse or reason for not understanding the notebooks. 

With his hood up, bag secured on his shoulders, Izuku made his way to the first convenance store he could find.

"Welcome," The cashier greeted, not even looking up from their book. "Let me know if you need help finding anything."

Izuku hummed appreciatively, making his way to the pens and notebooks. He grabbed the first glue stick he found, not really having the time to see if there was a better option. "Just this."

"Two-hundred and twelve." The cashier took the money, eyes jumping back to his face. She didn't try to hide her staring, didn't try to subtly look. 

"Keep the change," He muttered, snatching the glue stick off the counter and hightailing it out of the store. He narrowly avoided bumping into another person at the door. "Sorry, sorry." He ducked his head down, stepping past them. 

He didn't want to be stared at, didn't want people to do a double take at the sight of his burns and scars. Granted, not everyone did -- in fact, he was expecting most people to stare or look disgusted. Still though, he didn't care if it was just one person a month who stared, he didn't want to deal with it. His whole life had been spent being practically invisible. He had grown up only noticed if people wanted to pick on Quirkless, Orphan, Deku. Now, though, that hostility wasn't there, but that same chilling fear would hit him when someone couldn't look away. 

He wasn't some fucking display for their curiosity. 

Izuku nearly tripped over a wallet. He squatted down, opening it. The ID had a picture of the same woman who had walked into the store right when he walked out. 

Without thinking, he pocketed it and made his way back to the store. He froze with his hand on the door, staring at the woman holding the cashier at gun point. Neither one of them could see him, neither one of them were aware of his presence. He could jump in, surprise them both, try to fight off the criminal, but then what? What about Touya or the Commission hearing about it? What about them connecting the dots and finding him? 

He couldn't risk that. 

He stumbled back, nearly falling back in his haste to get away. He ran, straight for the payphone on the side walk. 

The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante was someone who could jump in and help that cashier. The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante was brave, smart, confident. 

But Midoriya Izuku wasn't. Midoriya Izuku, was a coward, was someone afraid of dying, afraid of making his mom cry. He was someone who took a step back and realized that if he tried to step in and help, the Commission would find out. 

"Police hotline," A voice spoke over the receiver, making his hart jump into his throat. 

"H-Hello," He coughed, fishing the wallet out of his back pocket. "There's a store being robbed out here. She's making the cashier give her money, she's got a gun." 

"Okay," The voice softened. "Did you happen to see what the criminal looked like? " 

"Short pink hair, brown eyes, but she's got three sets of eyes. I found her wallet, her name is Hirose Aoi." He was talking too fast, feeling too nervous. 

"Okay, kid, breathe." There was clacking in the background. He could hear police sirens. "Just stay where you are, okay? We have an officer less than a minute out. You'll be okay." 

Numbly, Izuku dropped the phone, eyes trailing over to the store. 

He'll be okay? 

"What about her?"

"Kid? Kid?" The voice was muffled, just barely loud enough for him to hear.

He started running toward the store, stopping once he saw a police car turn the corner. He couldn't get caught, not when he was so close to finishing the information Yuuei needed, not when he still needed to find his mom. His eyes turned back to the store. He couldn't help, couldn't do anything but run away like the coward he was. 

I'm sorry. 

...

Eight hours later and everything was nearly finished. Almost obsessively, he tried to avoid any news outlets on the off chance that it would report a cashier dying in a shoot out. 

"Your coffee." A mug was set down next to him, making him nearly jump out of his seat and slam the notebook close. "Sorry for the scare, kid. Studying for finals?" The waitress was smiling good naturedly. 

"Finals...uh, yeah," He swallowed, hands immediately grasping the mug of coffee to try and drink in the warmth it provided. He was shivering, but the warm drink helped...slightly. "Uh, thank you." He didn't want to be rude, didn't want to be so obvious with wanting her to leave but he also didn't want to keep sitting there wasting time. 

She made him uncomfortable, extremely so. Since he stepped foot inside the cafe, she had been watching him. After finally calming down from abandoning that cashier, he had sat down in the cafe across the street from Yuuei with a plan: Figure out when to drop the notebooks off. 

He felt weird, almost like he was mimicking Touya. He could imagine it, Touya stalking out Yuuei, watching for whatever information the League had wanted, and then coming back to the apartment with the food. Izuku now knew why Touya had been so angry when he had asked him why he was at Yuuei. Back then, he couldn't imagine Touya doing anything nefarious. Now, though, he briefly wondered if what he was doing could be categorized as that too. Awkwardly, the waitress walked away. 

After a few seconds, he opened the first notebook, staring down at Touya's obituary. At thirteen years old he 'died'. He had been a kid, who saw living alone on the streets better than returning to Endeavor. Hadn't Izuku done nearly the same thing? He had a home with the Kimura's, had a roof over his head and running water. Instead of dealing with his foster father, he had left. Instead of trusting Mirio, trusting Mitsuki or Masaru, he had decided to run away. Had he been going down the same road Touya had?

Sure, Touya was a villain, but who was to say that he wouldn't reach the same ending.

Would he have become a villain? Of course he wanted to say no, but he also knew how in the last year he had been internalizing all the Quirkist comments he had been hearing. Keigo had pointed it out, and even now he still thought of it. He wondered if people saw him or Quirkless. If he hadn't met Keigo, hadn't met Umie or Moe, would he have eventually been as desperate for change as Touya was? 

Thirteen years old...

Izuku took a bite of his daifuku, staring out at Yuuei from his cozy little seat inside the cafe. The starch left a bitter taste on his tongue, despite how sweet it really was.  

Nedzu walked out of the school grounds, head held high, completely oblivious to Izuku's presence. The Principal of Yuuei stood there for a moment, staring down at his watch for fourteen seconds before he clicked his shoes together and walked away. Izuku watched, hardly breathing, eyes watching Nedzu until he turned a corner, disappearing from sight. He sat there, eyes watching the corner, waiting for some reason that Nedzu would turn back around.  He counted the seconds, counted the minutes until he was certain Nedzu was gone. 

Nine fifty-two. 

Why the principal of Yuuei was at school that late, Izuku didn't know or care. All he knew, was that Nedzu left campus around ten and showed up three minutes before five in the morning. All he had to do was make sure Nedzu showed back up in the morning right before five, and then tomorrow night he'd leave the book for Nedzu to find when he'd stroll back onto campus Thursday morning. By then, Izuku would already be on the first bus headed literally anywhere. All he would have to do is not trip over some security measure and get caught.

What could go wrong?

He looked down at the half eaten daifuku, feeling so close yet so far from finishing everything. He stuffed the books into his bag, heading straight for the counter. "Can I get a to-go box?" He nodded his head in thanks, heading back to his table, boxing the remainder of the food, and then leaving the cafe. 

Slowly, he walked the toward the gate of Yuuei. It was open, so inviting, as if he could just waltz in even though no one was on campus. He knew better than to try and walk inside or too close. Nedzu was the smartest being on the planet, if his gate was open with no guards in sight, that meant that it was far from unguarded. And even if it wasn't, he wasn't stupid enough to try. Cautiously, almost stupidly, he picked up a rock off the floor. It was small enough to fit in his palm, but large enough to stop his hand from being able to fully close. 

He tossed it through the gate, ready to bolt at the first sight or sound of alarm but nothing happened. 

Izuku froze, staring at the gate. He could throw the notebooks in right then, could finish this all and run, but he wasn't one-hundred percent sure if Nedzu would show up at the same time in the morning. What if he wasn't the first one to the grounds? What if some other Hero wouldn't be as interested in the information that they'd find? 

Because that was the point of leaving it for Nedzu to find. Even if he didn't believe the information at first, he wouldn't throw it aside. The Principal of Yuuei would be far too interested. 

So, he'd wait, he would make sure Nedzu entered and left the school at the same time tomorrow night, and then it would be over. 

What could go wrong? 

…

"Back again? So Soon?" 

Izuku froze, staring at the waiter who spoke. "I'm sorry?" He was pretty certain he hadn't seen him before. 

"Sorry," The waiter laughed. "My coworkers had mentioned you. After spending all that time, you have still more work?" 

Slowly, he nodded, swallowing nervously. He had been so worried about people finding him suspicious in the libraries, why hadn't he been worried about drawing attention in a small cafe? He had stayed for an hour when Nedzu got to the school, left to finish the notebook, and showed back up around the time it would be ending. Now he was back, four in the morning, only six hours after leaving. Of course he would draw attention, he had been stupid not to realize it. It was fine though, he wasn't going to be caught because of this. If anyone happened to connect the dots, he'd be long gone by then. 

"Just a coffee, please." He paid for the drink and found a good spot to settle down while he waited for Nedzu. He looked back over the notebooks, trying to make sure everything was in order, trying to double check everything. Triple checking them. 

Nedzu walked around the corner. Izuku straightened in his seat, watching the principal walk through the open gates of Yuuei. He looked to the cafe's clock, hanging on the wall. 

Four fifty-seven.

Same time as the day before. Which, hopefully meant that Nedzu would leave at the same time. All he had to do was wait. 

... 

He had fucked up. He fucked up big time. 

Nedzu was the first to arrive to campus, and the last the leave. Simple. Easy. All Izuku had to do, was wait until Nedzu left the campus. It should have been a walk in the park, shouldn't have had any hiccups. And yet, Izuku had woken up six minutes before ten and across town. By the time he made it to Yuuei, it was fifteen minutes after ten at night. He was panicked, shivering and cold, and feeling like he had failed. He wasn't one-hundred percent sure if Nedzu had left the school yet. He couldn't wait another day to try and make sure that Nedzu left. He had a ticket booked to leave Musutafu in an hour. 

He was out of time. 

He threw down his backpack, grabbed the notebooks out, and tossed them through the open gate with bated breath. Nothing happened. He waited a few more seconds before he felt a smile start to grow. 

He had done it, he had pulled it off. 

"What was that?" 

Izuku froze, knowing that voice, recognizing that voice. Slowly, he turned around, looking to see Nedzu watching him with his held tilted. 

Fuck.

…

“And you don’t know where this came from?” Nedzu sounded curious. Izuku shook his head, following the principal into his office. “You just came across it?” The Principal was running his hands over the front of the notebook, eyeing Izuku. 

“Yes, sir.” He kept his chin tucked to his chest, trying everything in his power not to run. “I tried to make sense of it, but I figured I should bring it to some Heroes instead. It looked important.” He sat down in the chair, fidgeting with his backpack in his lap. 

“Oh,” Nedzu sighed, warming up a pot for tea. “Well let me take a look, then.” He separated the books, opening the first one and flipping through the pages too quick to fully process everything laid out. “I see.” 

Izuku felt his shoulders sag in relief. All that work hadn’t been for nothing. He could leave this in their hands, knowing all their students would be safe, and get out of Musutafu before someone got hurt because of him. 

“However,” Nedzu drawled the word out, making Izuku’s hairs stand on end. “I fail to see how any of this correlates to one another.” Izuku’s eye twitched, he had to be joking. Nedzu, the smartest creature, was toying with him. Izuku hadn’t slept in days- 

None of this would have happened if he hadn’t fallen asleep, though.  

He bit his tongue and counted to five to calm himself down. This was his own fault. He shouldn’t have rushed himself. Izuku had been so worried about getting everything finished, he hadn’t been sleeping, hardly eating, and because of all of his paranoia he rushed into this and got caught. 

He was usually a lot better at this. 

“Oh, well I was looking at it earlier,” Izuku’s voice came out almost timid. He averted his gaze from Nedzu, bowing his head, acting as if he had no clue that Nedzu was testing him. “Uh, can I see the notebook?” 

“Oh, of course,” Nedzu chirped, smile gentle, playing the same game Izuku was. “Let me finish making a pot of tea.” Izuku would rather shoot himself in the head with one of Snipe’s guns than drink tea, but he nodded. 

“That sounds lovely, thank you.” He gritted his teeth, trying to look through the information he had piled all together. It was seamless, perfectly organized, and even had his own guesswork included. He needed to figure out which piece would be the easiest for someone to understand because he couldn’t just start spouting the shit he knew. 

He had to keep his cards close to his chest, it was already dangerous enough being here. He watched Nezu’s tail flick back and forth as he brewed the tea, his back to Izuku. There was a high chance Izuku wouldn’t be able to leave this place. But he had to, he had to leave the city. He had only one job, warn the heroes, and then get the fuck out of here. 

“I think…” He trailed off, nervous and exposed underneath Nedzu’s piercing gaze. Izuku’s hand was shaking as he pointed to the printout of Touya’s obituary and Dabi’s crime scenes. “I think that the analysis here is claiming that Todoroki Touya never died.” 

“Who?” The principal just blinked at Izuku’s words like it wouldn’t be one of the biggest deals of the decade. 

“Uh…” Izuku’s mouth fell open behind his mask, fully lifting his head, not caring about his scars being seen anymore. This had to be some sort of sick joke. 

“Let me see.” The principal left the pot of tea steeping in front of Izuku. “Hmm,” Nedzu hummed, typing something on his computer. “Oh.” 

Izuku felt his heartbeat increase tenfold. 

“Endeavor’s son,” The principal sounded skeptical. “Really?” Nedzu looked up, and Izuku couldn’t look away. 

“The writings here seem to show similarities between Todoroki and…” He paused, eyes focusing on Dabi’s name. “The Villian, Dabi. Their Quirks seem to be similar. Apparently, he’s joined the League of Villains? .” 

He looked up, shrugging his shoulders and setting the notebook back down on the table next to the tea. If nothing else, the Heroes had to at least know that Endeavor’s son was alive and…a villain. 

“At least, I think that’s what it means.” It’s exactly what it fucking meant. If Nedzu just stopped playing games for half a second, he could flip to the page where Izuku analyzed Dabi’s Quirk and used a gross simplification of genetics to show the likeability that Dabi was Enji and Rei Todoroki’s son. “I’m not so sure though.” 

“I think that’s an excellent summary.” Nedzu filled Izuku’s cup up, and Izuku’s hand twitched under the table. 

“T-Thank you, sir.” Izuku scratched at his cheek, eyes glancing at the clock on the wall. It was after twenty till, now. “I should really be going. My mom is probably awfully worried about where I’ve been.” 

Nedzu’s eyes gleamed, and before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door. “Ah, perfect timing, Aizawa-kun.” 

Izuku tensed, not prepared for another person to be here. To be fair, he wasn’t prepared to be here at all. He turned slowly, eyes widening when he recognized the person behind him. 

Eraserhead. 

Eraserhead fucking worked here. 

His side twinged in pain. 

If he had known Eraserhead worked at Yuuei, he would have just dropped this notebook at a police station. He never would have been caught dead in a fifteen-mile radius of the fucking school if he had even thought he would run into the Hero.

But now, it was starting to make sense why Eraserhead said he didn’t work for the Commission.  

“This young man,” Nedzu paused, waiting for Izuku to introduce himself. 

“Akatani.” He dropped his head, almost ashamed at Eraserhead seeing him like this. Izuku desperately wished Snipe and his guns were close by. He hoped his voice wasn’t noticeable. He knew for sure his face wouldn’t be. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.” 

“As I was saying.” Izuku lifted his eyes back to Nedzu, feeling cold. He wasn’t stupid either, Nedzu could have called anyone in here. Nedzu was grinning, he knew exactly who Izuku was. Izuku didn’t know how he knew or how long he’s known, but the answers wouldn’t help him. He was never going to be able to leave now. “Akatani, here, brought us this.” He held the notebook out for Eraserhead. 

“Oh.” It was silent for a minute as Eraserhead flipped through the pages. Izuku could feel the Hero’s eyes on the back of his head. “I see.” 

Notes:

Fun fact! I had to rewrite chapter ten after I wrote this chapter because I realized that I needed Izuku not to know that Eraserhead worked at Yuuei. Originally he got to rewatch the sports festival and realized Eraserhead was there, but I had to scrap that idea when I realized Izuku never would have gone close to Yuuei if he had known.

I purposely wrote Keigo's and izuku's goodbye without any indication of who said what. You get to decide who said what.

This is still a work in progress, taken as this is only part one out of a four part series (five parts ig if you count the final version of all four parts being put into one part tgt). As I continue to write future chapters and whatnot, I will end up making additions or changes to this part. Nothing major (hopefully), but I already am planning on writing in the first time Umie and Izuku met for the complete collection of the story. If things don't make sense, lmk and I will try to rework stuff or explain it better.

I don't know if anyone happened to notice, but Izuku got back into Musutafu around 12:00am on July 15th. He was back home for his fifteenth birthday, and he genuinely didn't even realize his bday passed.

Is it logical that Musutafu has so many libraries? Idk and Idc

I haven't been able to read this chapter to my sister yet. If I notice anything that needs to be fixed when we read it, it'll be fixed by then.

I had a really hard time writing the scene where Izuku runs away from the corner store robbery. It's completely out of character for him, and that is the point. Izuku doesn't know who he is, doesn't know what kind of Hero he really wants to be. All he knows is that he's angry and losing himself. There's this thing I tell my sister; in part one we meet The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante -- we won't meet Midoriya Izuku until later.

I really, really hope you guys like this chapter and this story just as much as I do. I think part two will start being uploaded by December/January.

Yell at me in the comments, lmk what you all think !!!

EDIT (2/2/25): Hey guys, some stuff happened (nothing huge) but I did also lose my journal that was full of everything for part two so that really sucked. Part two is still a work in progress rn, and as soon as I am finished with the chapter I am working on rn, I will publish! I know I said December/Jan but unfortunately that did not happen.

Notes:

Hey guys, I have a playlist for this fic! I'll link it for you:
The Hopeless Hero: Vigilante (Playlist)

Also, I have a tumblr too! crystal-j3mms

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of The Color Theory