Chapter Text
Izuku panted, hands on his knees as he recovered from the fight. He hadn't planned on encountering one at half past four in the morning, but, unfortunately, this was Musutafu. It was almost impossible to avoid them in such a populated place, and he'd already gotten rid of two others on the way here. Thankfully, those ones were grade five, but the one he'd just finished cleaning up was at least a grade three. A little above his level, but there had been minimal damage to the area around them and he didn't think anyone had seen it. Well, the fight.
Yes, he was talking about curses here. They'd been popping up more frequently around here, probably due to some villain group stirring up trouble.
Hero and villain society and sorcery and curses didn't really go hand in hand. Even before the dawn of quirks, cursed spirits had always been an issue. People's fear of natural disasters, their hatred of schools, unease around other people, and unpleasant memories of hospitals - just to name a few - had fueled these creatures that pretended to be living things for a very, very long time.
However, now, there was also even more fear going around due to villains, and it wasn't just kept to hospitals and schools and specific locations like other fears; even just walking around on the street, there was a warranted fear of being mugged, stolen from, or caught up in a fight. Having heroes around helped ease those fears, and it wasn't always at the forefront of people's minds, but it was still a strong fear.
Safe to say, within the past two centuries of quirks existing, curses had gotten a lot more powerful and a lot more frequent.
And, unfortunately, sorcerers a lot less so.
Once Izuku felt less like he was going to fall over and pass out, he straightened up, took a final deep breath, and then continued on in his travels.
It took about fifteen more minutes, but he finally arrived at Takoba Municipal Beach Park, where a hooded figure was already waiting for him. Izuku hadn't meant to be late, but he also hadn't meant to run into curses on the way, so he felt justified. Besides, he knew he wouldn't be reprimanded for it.
(It was still so odd to him, even now. He was often late to school or events, even if he left early to make up for any curses he met along the way, and was used to being dealt with harshly by teachers with students following in kind.)
“Ah, Itadori-san!” Izuku called as he ran towards the man, waving frantically and receiving a small smile.
“You’re a bit late, Deku-kun,” came Itadori's reply from where he sat on the little limestone wall. There wasn't any malice in it, though. Izuku was thankful for it. Itadori couldn't talk, anyway. He could deal with things much quicker than the little greenet could, but that didn't mean he wasn't late himself on the odd occasion.
Izuku sat down next to him and shrugged his backpack off, still catching his breath but doing much better. He let out a soft chuckle, finally allowing himself to relax a little around the man. It had been a while, and Izuku's constant anxiety was warranted. Not just because of curses, but also people. Around Itadori, it was a bit better. He still didn't feel entirely safe around him, but it was a lot easier after training with him for so long and witnessing him put himself in danger for the boy. Nobody had done that in.. well, a long time.
“I am, sorry. But- but I couldn't really help it this time!” The boy tried to defend himself, knowing it was useless. Though, not for the reason it usually was.
The older man ruffled his green rat’s nest he called hair before standing up, stretching his arms over his head.
“Don’t worry, I won't chastise you. I'm used to people being late. At least you've got a reason for it.” He grinned. “Now, what do you say we get started, hm?”
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“Okay, that's enough. For now.”
After several hours of working out and getting beaten up by an old man, the poor kid was left laying on his back in the sand. He knew Itadori was holding back (if he hadn't been, the kid would be dead), but damn, It didn't feel like it. They hadn't even gotten into the sorcery aspect of these sessions, just focusing on regular sparring.
“Well, you did better than last week,” the man chuckled, tossing a water bottle from Izuku's bag on the sand near his head and cracking into his own one, “but there's still room for improvement. You're quick and good at dodging and defence, but your hits are way too light.” Itadori paused for a moment, mentally debating with himself before speaking up again in a slightly softer tone. “I know you're exercising enough, but are you eating well? You'll do yourself no favours on an empty stomach, y'know.”
‘Ah. Here we go again,’ Izuku thought, though he didn't let it show on his face. Instead, he sat up and shrugged, opening the bottle and taking a long drink.
This was a frequent conversation. Izuku had been getting a little sick of it, but he couldn't blame Itadori for his concern. He was rather thin, but it wasn't something he could do much about.
“Yes, I'm fine, Itadori-san. But, thanks for asking.”
The pink haired man hummed, taking another sip of his drink. Whether it was coffee or water, Izuku couldn't tell from where he'd collapsed on the beach.
“Mm… Well, if you say so. But, keep in mind, my door’s always open, even if you just need one thing.”
Itadori was too kind, in Izuku's opinion. Well, more like too sensitive and empathetic. Izuku knew that if he could, he'd pick up every stray kid off the street (he tried, but without a crap tonne of money, he could never put a dent in the population of children forced on the streets due to losing their families, a terrible system, or because they were literally abandoned due to quirks - or lack thereof). If he could, he'd have already taken Izuku home with him.
Izuku sighed quietly, but still gave the man a lopsided smile.
“Thanks again, but I'm really fine. I don't want to bother you, Itadori-san.”
Izuku watched as Itadori's expression changed, but he couldn't quite make out its components. It seemed to be a mixture of pity and resignation, but there was a menagerie of other, unidentifiable things. Izuku's ability to read people at a glance was useless against someone over two centuries old (despite looking sixteen), even if the older man didn't realise it.
“Why don't we go grab lunch then, hm?” Itadori suggested instead as his smile returned, albeit a bit dampened. That was probably the best he was going to get to helping Izuku.
Izuku immediately perked up, nodding as he stood and put his water bottle back in his yellow bag. He didn't want to bother the man, as previously stated, but this was something he caved on often. Ever since their first training session, Itadori had always offered to get lunch for the kid. Izuku used to refuse, but the more it was offered, the more it became a losing battle.
Itadori's smile widened a bit as he got up, walking with the boy a few streets away from the beach to a convenience store. They went there every time, since it was nearby and cheap.
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After acquiring some much needed lunch, Yuji sat outside on the sidewalk with Deku, lunch in hand. Yuji hadn't been that hungry, so he'd just gotten himself a couple of rice balls, while Deku got a boxed katsudon and a salad. On Yuji’s tab, of course.
‘Good.’
Yuji didn't mind Deku picking out something bigger. In fact, he much preferred it. No offence to him, but the kid was a twig. He really needed to eat more, and probably take more breaks. It wouldn't end well if he kept running himself ragged on little food and sleep. Yuji knew from experience. What had been two months of his life was this kid's every day. It wasn't good.
He tried shoving that to the back of his mind, failing as per usual. He'd attempted to convince Deku to let him help many times before, but he'd always turned Yuji down. At this point, he was tempted to just pick him up and bring him back to his home, but he knew that was a bad idea. The kid was slippery as hell, and he was worried he'd lose whatever trust he'd gained so far. It had taken ages just to start training and giving the greenet food, and he'd probably never see Deku again if the boy willed it. It was too risky.
So, with his failure, he decided to try and bring up a subject that had been nagging at the back of his mind for a while.
“So, Deku-kun,” he started, crumpling the wrapper of his onigiri while Deku still had plenty in his box. “School’s out in a month. Then, you get a two week break.”
Deku tilted his head, too busy chewing a piece of pork to question the elder, so he let him continue.
“... What are you doing for high school? You're around that age, right?”
By the kid's expression, he could tell when his confusion was joined by thoughtfulness. A slight hint of irritability, probably due to Yuji's prying, but he didn't mind that. It was fair.
Deku finished his pork, setting his wooden fork back in the box before holding his chin with his thumb and index.
“Well…” He trailed off, a slight rosiness brushing his cheeks. “I was.. was sorta hoping to get into…” He mumbled the last part, too quietly for even Yuji's sensitive ears.
“Hm? What was that?” Yuji smirked, holding a hand to his ear mockingly. “Sorry, Deku-kun, but my old ears can't hear too well.”
Deku blushed a little more, definitely embarrassed but trying to keep his cool. Poor kid. He got embarrassed over the smallest things. Yuji definitely had taken advantage of this in the past, and would absolutely continue to.
“... UA,” Deku finally mumbled, keeping his eyes trained on the food in his lap. “I don't think I'll get in, though. I'm not a great fighter outside of sorcery, and the hero course is all about combat. Even if I tried to go for Gen Ed or something and get into the hero course through that, I'm pretty sure I need to have finished middle school, and have a legal guardian and address on record.” He ran a hand through his mop of hair, obviously having thought about this extensively. “I could probably forge a lot of it, but I doubt anything I do will fool the Rat God, and there isn't anything I can do if they decide to make a home-call.”
Yuji snickered at the title Deku had given the chimera, but remained mostly serious. Mostly.
“Well, you can give it a shot. I've seen your forgery skills. Worst case, Nezu finds out and calls the police, and you've slipped away from them before.” He stuffed his wrapper in his pocket, leaning back on his hands. “You can put me down as your legal guardian. If they make a home-call, just come over for a bit. I'll set up a fake room or something. We can work things out.”
Deku tilted his head again, more confused this time around. Though, Yuji knew that Deku already had the answers he wanted.
“Why help me out like that? You could get in trouble, too.”
Yuji let out a laugh, a sound that had become rarer and rarer over the past two centuries. It seemed a bit easier around the kid, though.
“Deku-kun, I don't care about getting in trouble. I'm not too bad at avoiding the police myself, y'know.” He finally stood up, Deku rushing to finish his lunch before following suit. “I’ve got a few years under my belt. Besides, I've gotten in trouble for much worse than simply helping a kid make some fake documents to get into a school.”
He wouldn't tell the kid about how he'd been set to be executed in the past, nor the fact that the execution had actually succeeded. He didn't need to know that. That was way in the past.
(Even if he still remembered the day he'd learnt of his delayed execution.)
He led Deku to a bin outside the convenience store, dumping their rubbish before making his way back to the beach. He ignored the stare.
“C’mon, let's get back into things. I'll test you on some cursed energy drills, and send you home with a couple of movies. Take a couple days off, cause I'm not gonna go easy on you today.”
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When Izuku got home, he took off his shoes, dumped his bag and immediately crashed onto his futon. Was it a little painful because of how thin it was? Yes. Was he too tired and numb from drills to care? Also yes.
He didn't know why he bothered to take off his shoes by the door. The apartment wasn't exactly the cleanest, even with his efforts. It smelled faintly of alcohol and much, much more heavily of smoke, and there were small burns on the wooden floor. Sweeping didn't do much to get rid of the ash and dirt that had built up, but Izuku had done his best.
Too bad his best didn't do anything about the thin walls or leaky ceiling.
At least he wasn't on the bottom floor.
Izuku groaned as he reluctantly sat up, knowing he should probably shower or something. A thick layer of sweat had left his skin shiny, and made sand stick anywhere he'd fallen onto. He definitely shouldn't have laid on his bed. Damn, he'd need to wash it again. At least it gave him an excuse to do laundry.
Or, he could just go to sleep and leave the consequences to future Izuku. It wasn't even sunset yet, but he didn't mind getting a bit of extra sleep or waking up early. Either was a bonus. So…
He laid back down, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders as he let himself doze off. The other tenants and traffic were noisy, but he was used to it at this point.