Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku was having the worst day of his life. U.A had informed him he couldn’t apply simply due to his quirklessness, his best friend burned his hero analysis notebook, his best friend then told him to kill himself, Izuku’s number one idol All Might said he couldn't be a hero without a quirk, his best friend got attacked by a villain which was Izuku’s fault then yelled at him when he saved him.

The heroes at the scene all yelled at him too, saying he was reckless because 'what could a quirkless kid do to help’? On his walk home Kacchan just yelled at him more, saying that Izuku didn't save him, then he didn't help at all. So here he was, walking home drenched in weird sludge after everything that happened. He might just be delusional but Izuku felt like something good should've happened. Like someone would just appear out of nowhere, telling him he could be a hero and Izuku getting a quirk somehow. 

Nothing like that happened though.

He got to his house feeling emptier than usual. His mom was still at work, she always worked longer hours to keep them afloat. When his mom wasn't around, the house always felt cold and lifeless. The silence grated on him, he couldn't stand it. His mom was the only reason he kept on living, even though he knew he disappointed her. She tried her best, but with a useless quirkless kid like him he was just holding her back. She wouldn't have to worry about money so much if he was gone. He hated burdening her more than anything.

He cleared his thoughts and trudged to his room like a zombie, closing the door silently.

He felt worse than usual, he knew why, but every day before this he could pick himself back up. No matter what fucked up shit happened to him he was able to be happy and hopeful the next day, same as always. Izuku didn't think he could do it this time, it was just too much. Everyone has their limits, this was just the moment Izuku reached his.

He looked at all the All Might and hero merch around his room, it made him sick just looking at it. Could they really call themselves heroes? When Kacchan was suffocating they all just waited around for the ‘right quirk’ or ‘right time’. How long would they have waited? What if Kacchan died before the right quirk or right time came around?

Disgust ran through Izuku's body, disgust and contempt.

He left his room to get a trash bag, he wasn't going to idolize false idols.

He dumped every figurine, poster, comic book, and whatever other merch he had laying around into the trash bag. He didn't want it anymore. Posters were torn off walls, figurines tossed to the side, pristine collectors items now ruined. The only thing spared were his clothes, if only because he didn't have much else besides hero merch. He tossed the trash bag of hero merch outside his door and faced his room again. Now, without it all, it was painfully empty. Izuku liked it though, it fit how he was currently feeling.

Izuku realized he didn't have many interests besides heroes, it was a little pathetic now that he thought about it. Did he even know what he liked? He idolized All Might so much, wanted to be his exact copy, now he was lost as to who Izuku even was in the first place.

He laid on his now sheetless bed, staring at the ceiling above. Izuku expected himself to be sad, he usually was. Being a crybaby was a Midoriya family staple. He didn't though he just felt… empty. Izuku didn't know how he was going to make it through tomorrow. He'd just have to push through like he always did he supposed…

He closed his eyes, he tried to keep his thoughts from spiraling but it never worked. What was the point of it all? Why should he continue to live when nothing would come of it? Izuku knew he likely wouldn't see his eighteenth birthday. Quirkless people had the highest current suicide rates.

He turned to lay on his side, he was just so excruciatingly tired. He curled up in a ball and focused every thought on just going to sleep. It didn't work of course. Izuku still spent another 3 hours stuck in his own head before he actually fell asleep, still in his gakuran.

Izuku woke up to a knock at his door.

“Izuku, time to get ready for school.”

Guess dread was the first emotion Izuku was feeling today. He didn't want to make his moms life difficult though, so he pulled himself out of bed to brush his teeth and get ready, technically he was already dressed.

He brushed his teeth and tried to tame his hair down, but with how long it was getting it was impossible. He gave up on trying to control his hair and grabbed his bag, quickly making his way into the kitchen. He absently noted the trash bag of hero merch was gone. Good riddance.

“Good morning, Izu!” 

He and his mom sat down for breakfast. Izuku reminded himself to smile, he didn't want to worry her with whatever nonsense was going on with himself. Try as he might, his mom was perceptive.

“So, Izuku… What happened? There was a trash bag with all your hero stuff in it, did you do that?”

Izuku swallowed his food before speaking. “Uh, yeah, I did. I think I'm just getting a little old for it. Maybe I could be something other than a hero, it'd be safer for me right?”

Izuku wasn't concerned with how easily the lies came out his mouth, he's been lying for a majority of his life.

Inko hummed, tapping a finger against the table.

“That's true, but you know I want you to chase your dreams right? I'd never deny you that.”

Izuku smiled, a surprisingly honest one at that.

“I know, Mom. Thank you for that but I really do think I should look into other stuff. Dreams change, you know? There's a different job that would suit me better.”

Izuku knew how to placate his mother, what words to say and what tone to say them in. It wasn't something he was proud of but it was useful.

“Alright, I believe you. Let me know if there's any way I can support you, okay?”

Izuku nodded knowing he wouldn't say a thing to her. Not because he didn't like or trust her but just because he didn't need to concern her with his problems. She had enough to deal with.

Izuku finished his breakfast quickly and left for school, his mom giving him a big hug before she left for work.

As soon as he left the house the smile he wore for his mother fell. Usually when this happened he'd put on his ‘in school’ smile. It didn't work, Izuku's face scrunched in frustration. There weren't many things Izuku liked about himself but his ability to pretend and fake his emotions was one of those things.

He shook his head, it didn't matter. It's not like smiling stopped the bullying or anything.

He arrived at school. He always arrived earlier than most kids just to avoid them. Not early enough apparently because when he saw his desk it was covered in writing and there was a vase of red spider lilies on his desk. Izuku wasn't surprised. He wouldn't make a fuss, he'd just deal with it.

He placed the vase on the ground by his desk (who even brought that?) and got some cleaning wipes to get rid of the graffiti.

As he cleaned his desk more students piled in, a few threw random things like pencils or balls of paper at him. Izuku ignored them, they didn't matter. The feelings of sadness, confusion, anger, and embarrassment weren't there anymore. He just felt done with it all.

He sat at his desk and stared at his shoes. If he could get through today, he could get through tomorrow. He just needed to repeat it until it was true.

School was finally over. Izuku had some bruises and burns from Kacchan he'd have to take care of but that was normal to him. Izuku thought the daily abuse was over, that he could head home to his mom and be a somewhat normal teenager. Of course not, why would he ever think anything would go his way?

“Hey, Deku.”

Izuku was about to start sprinting home but Kacchan placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder.

“Come here, I just wanna talk.”

The feral look on his face told a different story. Strangely, Kacchan was alone. None of his lackeys hanging around him.

Izuku was dragged into a corner behind a building, wincing as his shoulder was pushed into concrete.

“Fuck’s wrong with you now?”

Izuku looked up at the explosive boy and couldn't help his eye twitching. Izuku really didn't feel like dealing with this. Izuku just kept his gaze on the ground; he'd let Kacchan say whatever he wanted and be done with it.

“I’m talking to you dumbass!”

Izuku couldn't help the scowl on his face. The numbness faded away and anger took its place. Izuku was surprised by that, he normally wasn't the type to get angry at all, but with how Kacchan and the world had been treating him he was getting tired of it. Izuku glared at Kacchan, he wasn't going to be a pushover this time.

“Hah? What's that look for?” A smug grin appeared across his face. “You wanna fight? Well if you wanna get your ass kicked who am I to deny-”

Izuku’s body moved on its own again, but instead of rushing to save Kacchan he punched the boy across his face. 

Kacchan took a few steps back, a hand placed on his cheek and he glared at Izuku. Izuku partially regretted his decision, but also felt reinvigorated. He deserved a punch to the face. 

Kacchan’s smile was downright manic.

“So that's how you wanna be then?”

His palms sparked and Izuku knew he'd be going home with worse injuries than he'd ever had before.

Kacchan threw the first punch, of course. Izuku ducked beneath it and scrambled to get behind the boy. Izuku didn't know what he was doing, he's never fought anyone ever. He'd tried to when he was little, but after the first hit he would just curl into himself. Not this time, Izuku was done with it, he'd fight back even if he wasn't able to get a single hit on Kacchan.

Speaking of, the explosive boy turned around and decked Izuku. He was used to it though, he'd been hit enough times to be able to brush it off.

Izuku reached forward and grabbed Kacchan’s arm, pull him off balance and dragging him to the floor.

Izuku kneed the other boy in the stomach and tried to throw another punch but Kacchan caught it. Izuku winced at the stinging of little explosions along his skin.

It was a bloody and lawless fight. Izuku suffering for most of the fight, new bruises, a lot of new burns, and probably a concussion. That didn't mean he just laid around and took all the hits, he'd gotten his fair share of punches in too. Even managing to get the taller boy in a headlock, suffocating Kacchan longer than he'd meant to.

Kacchan had panicked and brought his hand up to Izuku’s face, sending out an explosion; but neither of them realized how much sweat had accumulated in Kacchan’s palm.

The explosion that resulted from it left Izuku writhing on the ground. Kacchan had scooted back, looking on in horror. 

Izuku kept a hand on his face, he didn't feel any pain yet but there was so much blood he couldn't see.

“Shit, Izu-”

“Don't say shit!” Izuku screamed, he'd never even heard himself yell before.

“I don't wanna hear it!”

Izuku looked up at the other boy through blood and hair; Kacchan looked scared. Scared like when he was trapped by the sludge villain. Izuku’s anger simmered, why was he freaked out? He's the one who did this!

“Just… leave me alone, Kacchan. Don't talk to me unless it's to apologize.”

Before Kacchan could respond Izuku took his leave, rushing out of whatever dead end corner they'd found themselves in to go home.

Suddenly, Izuku wasn't so sure he'd be able to get through tomorrow.

Izuku shuffled into his house as quickly as he could, he had the over shirt of his gakuran wrapped around his head to stop the bleeding. Izuku didn't know what a concussion felt like but he assumed he had one.

He made his way to the bathroom, stumbling over himself. His mom hadn't called his name so she must still be at work. That was better for him then, he didn't want to freak her out or make her clean up his blood.

Izuku grabbed the first aid kit from under the bathroom sink, he didn't have any professional first aid experience at all but he refused to go to the hospital. His mom, the doctors, they'd ask questions that Izuku couldn't answer. Izuku’s thoughts swirled as he carefully washed and bandaged his wounds. The most noticeable one was the giant burn on his face, that one was unintentional, at least Izuku thinks it was. He could admit their fight had gotten more emotional than intended but still, it was over kill. His right eye was partially damaged, he could still see out of it, but it was more sensitive to the bright bathroom light and everything was slightly blurry. Even his eyelid felt worse, harder to blink, more sluggish.

Izuku would just deal with it though, it's the only thing he knew how to do. He took off his shirt to assess the rest of the damage; lots of starburst shaped burns and tons of bruises but nothing too concerning. His body was already littered in starburst scars from every other beating Kacchan gave him. Izuku lifted himself onto the kitchen sink and started applying the burn ointment he'd gotten, it worked well enough for any damage Kacchan’s quirk caused. He took a deep breath, his heart was still racing, he needed to calm himself down.

He still wasn't sure what he'd say to his mom. Izuku didn't know why but he still didn't want to tell her it was Kacchan, he really, really, didn't know why. Maybe he could still say it was him but say it was an accident? It was technically true. Izuku shook his head, he didn't know. He could figure it out later, for now he should focus on his wounds. Nearly everything was bandaged except his head, he wasn't sure how to bandage it. He settled for wrapping it around and tying it in a knot in the back, he feared what his mother would think of it; she was known as one of the more stricter nurses at the hospital.

He hopped off the counter and looked at himself again.

…

It could be worse? 

He shrugged his gakuran on again, he probably should've taken a shower before bandaging everything but it was too late now.

He sat in his empty room again, staring blankly at the floor. Life really seemed to hate him lately. He glanced at the fire escape exit outside his window. He could just… leave. Kacchan didn't want him around if he told Izuku to take a swan dive off the roof, his mother wouldn't have to struggle so much if he was gone, no one else would care about him or even notice he was missing. Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru would be there for his mom, so he didn't have to worry about her being lonely.

It all seemed perfect. He wasn't sure where he'd go or what he'd do once he left, maybe take Kacchan’s advice, maybe become a vigilante, maybe just live a quiet life. No matter what it was, it all sounded better than how he was currently living. Izuku would've thought it over more if he wasn't so emotionally exhausted, but currently he needed a quick fix. The quick fix happened to be running away.

Sure, it was cowardly, but that's typical for Izuku ‘Deku’ Midoriya. The world shunned him so he'd shun the world, it was only fair. He grabbed his bright yellow bag and emptied it, only keeping his hero analysis journals. Even though he revolted them since they were proof he was the ‘creepy villainous stalker’ Kacchan always said he was, they were his. They were important to him even if they showed he was a freak.

He packed whatever else he thought he'd need. Some clothes, some toiletries, some food, his metal water bottle, his phone, laptop, their respective chargers and the house's first aid kit. The last thing he packed was extremely embarrassing and probably weird, but it was the All Might trading card he got when he was younger. Kacchan had a matching set and as much as Izuku hated the other at the moment, the card was still too special to leave behind. 

He covered himself head to toe, wearing a custom eraserhead hoodie he made himself, black sweatpants, a green sponge mask and his stupid red quirkless people shoes. He hated them, but they're the only thing he can wear without crushing his pinky-toe, so they had to stay.

He slid his backpack over his shoulder and checked his phone for the time: 8:52 pm. His mom would be home around 10. Izuku wondered if he should leave her a note. Wouldn't it just hurt her? Or would it hurt more not knowing what happened to him? In the end he left a single note on his bed, just two short sentences.

'It's not your fault. I love you.’

Izuku took a few deep breaths, wincing as his ribs ached from the bruises. He’d do this, and if it turned out for the worse he'd come back home. Despite him making his mom's life harder she always took care of him regardless. He knew she'd accept him if he came crawling back.

He pulled open his window and hopped out into the fire escape, walking down the metal stairs slowly so as to not make too much noise. He got to the final step and looked around aimlessly, he really didn't know where he was going… he started in a random direction, he'd figure it out eventually.

Izuku walked for around two hours, again not in any direction just away from home. He ended up on the outskirts of the city where an abandoned warehouse resided. Izuku poked around the outside a bit just to make sure it was really abandoned before pushing a broken metal door aside to enter. 

The warehouse was huge, decrepit and empty. Izuku spun in a circle as he walked to see it all. He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight; he didn't want to waste the battery but he needed to know what the warehouse made in the past. It was hard to see with one of his eyes being bandaged and the lack of light but he made his way over to some piled up storage containers and looked inside, it was full of hero costumes and support gear! Izuku placed his phone on the ground, the light shining upwards. He grabbed a garment from the box, the fabric felt expensive, not like a cheap knockoff costume. Was this place really a genuine hero gear warehouse? He hadn't heard of the name plastered at the front of the building, maybe it'd gone bankrupt a long time ago.

Izuku placed the item back in the box, he doubted there'd be anything he actually needed here like a comfortable place to sleep or free food. He picked his phone back up and wandered around more, peeking into any unlocked doors. Most had raw materials for support items, some housed fabrics, others had documents and paperwork. Guess the place acted as more than just a warehouse.

Izuku stumbled across a room that had foam mats set up on the floor, he couldn't tell what the use of the room was but it had an open window, a dimmed out light, and a relatively comfy place to sleep. Izuku claimed it as his own and set his bag down. He turned his phone off and laid down on the mat, careful not to aggravate any wounds on his back.

Izuku still wasn't sure if this was the best choice, but he'd find out soon enough. He wanted to be a hero and if U.A, Kacchan, All Might, the world denied him, he'd just find his own way.

Katsuki was eating breakfast when his mom asked him something weird. 

“When’s the last time you saw Izuku?” She said it innocuously but Katsuki could hear an edge in her voice. He raised an eyebrow, why the hell would the hag be asking about Deku?

“Yesterday, after school. Why?”

Mitsuki sighed. “Inko says she didn't see him at all yesterday, and he hasn't shown up today either. Let me know if you see him at school.”

Katsuki scrunched his face at that. He'd definitely seen Deku run home after Katsuki… lost control of his quirk. Why wouldn't he go home? Katsuki doubted the freak had any friends who’d take him in. Regardless, he just nodded at the hag's words.

“Yeah, whatever, I'll let you know.”

Katsuki rushed down the rest of his breakfast, itching to get his hands on Deku. There was no way he of all people ran away. Deku was a spineless coward, throwing a few flimsy punches didn't suddenly make him tough. Katsuki kicked on his shoes, grabbed his bag, said bye to his dad on the way out and yelled to the hag that he was leaving. He needed to see Deku so he could yell at him.

He even walked a little faster on his way to school, he wasn't nervous, he didn't get nervous. He was just angry, even if he hypothetically was worried he could just turn that worry into anger anyways. He got to his classroom and shoved the extra nobodies aside to open the classroom door, expecting to see Deku sitting in his seat mumbling as always; except he wasn't there. Katsuki looked around the rest of the room, no sign of the green-headed weirdo at all… his desk had the same graffiti it had every morning but that was it.

After telling the extras that followed him around to fuck off Katsuki took his own seat. Bouncing his leg in anger and not anxiety as he eyed the door, waiting to see Deku.

He hadn't seen Deku for the entire day. Not in any classes, not in lunch, didn't see him leave the school at all. He hadn't shown. Katsuki was certainly not freaking out. The freak went missing? Okay? Who cares? It's not Katsuki’s fault that useless, quirkless, Deku couldn't handle it. Katsuki ignored any thought that even suggested he was at fault, or that Izuku bled out in an alley because of what Katsuki’s quirk did. He was standing at the school gates, waiting for Deku to walk out, but it never happened. 

He only decided to go home when the sun started setting.

Katsuki walked home silently. He didn't like whatever he was feeling, if he could just take whatever emotion this was and turn it into anger he'd be fine. Katsuki took his hand out of his pocket, that one that burned Deku’s face, and glared at it. For once in his life, Katsuki resented his quirk. He didn't like the feeling at all. Katsuki always had amazing quirk control, he trained with his quirk constantly to make sure of that fact, which is why him losing control made no sense. He balled his hand into a fist and shoved it in his pocket again. He could feel the All Might card he and Deku got when they were kids. 

Katsuki ran a hand down his face, he was not about to get sentimental over some quirkless nobody. He doesn't need Deku. He. Does. Not. Need. Deku. He'd do just fine on his own, he always planned to become the future number 1 hero, Deku throwing a tantrum wasn't going to stop him. Katsuki didn't feel sad, he didn't feel worried, he didn't feel guilty, he could replace all of that with anger and get by just fine. He'd tell the hag he didn't see that stupid Deku and move on with his life. Deku had no impact on it, he'd continue on as normal…

He hadn't realized he was already home until he was on the doorstep. He pushed open the door, dropped off his bag—which he'd return to get later because he always did his homework—and rushed to his room, ignoring the calls of his mom and dad. He was gonna get changed and head to the gym early today, he needed to blow off some steam.

Katsuki wasn't worried, Deku would show up tomorrow, he always did.

Chapter Text

Izuku squinted his eyes as sunlight from the window shone directly in his eye. He sat up and looked at the window, confused for a moment as to where he was. It didn't take long for the memories to return, his impulsive decision to leave home… Izuku didn't feel like going back though, not yet. 

He sat up straighter and stretched his arms above his head, relaxing with a sigh. If there was one thing Izuku was good at; it was planning. He pulled his bag closer and grabbed his notebooks and a pen, then scooted against the wall and got to planning.

‘            Izuku’s Plan For The Future          ‘

Izuku tapped his pen against his chin, he'd just write down whatever came to mind.

‘ Hero Stuff:

• Become a hero/defeat villains/save people. • Learn how to fight (important)  • Find/make a hero costume • Decide on a hero name

Living stuff:

 • Find a steady source of food (preferably without stealing) • Get new clothes • Learn first aid and take care of wounds • Find a place to take showers • Avoid being recognized (already unlikely) ‘

Izuku couldn't think of any more broad topics to write down, so he'd work on specifics. Although he wanted to work on hero stuff he knew it'd be best to prioritize his own survival first. The two he wanted to focus on were food and showers, though the latter would be pretty easy to solve. He knew there were public bathhouses and showers nearby, the problem was they cost money. Food though? Izuku had no idea what he'd do about that without money. He didn't want to steal but he would if he had to.

He couldn't go out today, he knew his mom would be out looking for him and it's be best if he just stayed away. So, he had a solution for hygiene, the food situation would be worked on later at night, although it wasn't the most reliable there were plenty of first aid videos on YouTube he could watch to make sure he was properly taking care of his wounds. He wasn't concerned about being recognized much at all, the only people who really cared were his Mom, Auntie Mitsuki, and Uncle Masaru. As long as he could avoid them and Kacchan there wouldn't be a problem. 

Izuku placed the notebook down and stood up stretching once more. Now that there was daylight he could look through the warehouse more thoroughly, it was a hero warehouse so there had to be something Izuku could use for his future heroism/technical vigilantism.

He checked his phone as he left what was now his bedroom. He purposefully ignored all the missed calls from his mom, he just couldn't bring himself to answer… The time was 9:17 am so Izuku still had lots of time to burn before he could sort out the food situation. He put his phone in his pocket and jogged over to the various warehouse containers from yesterday, able to properly see what each item is with the sunlight filtering through holes in the warehouse's roof.

It was miscellaneous hero costumes, nothing Izuku recognized. The warehouse likely made things for students or up-and-coming heroes rather than well established pros. It was still interesting to look through, and in surprisingly good condition for having been left out for who knows how long. Something in particular caught his eye; a dark green costume with black accents, it even had a red utility belt folded between it. Izuku refolded the costume and set it beside him, he liked it the most out of everything else he saw and could use it for hero/technical vigilante work. He was able to fish out another item he considered using, it was a green fabric mask made to resemble a rabbit. It'd only cover his upper face but Izuku thought it was cool. It had rabbit ears sticking out from the top, one was bent while the other stayed upright, he guessed there were wires between the fabric and that one had bent due to being squished under so many other things.

Izuku looked at his randomized, run-down, impromptu hero costume. Call it pathetic but he actually really liked it! It needed to be cleaned, definitely, but Izuku thought it fit him well enough, rabbits were cool and green was his favorite color after all. Maybe he could learn how to make his own support gear? He'd write it down for later. He scooped up his scavenged hero costume and set it inside his room. He wasn't stupid enough to think he could take down villains currently, he had a lot of work to do before he could even consider fighting bad guys.

He checked his phone again, 9:32 am. Izuku sighed, it was gonna be a long day. He rubbed at his injured eye, his body still ached all over because of course it did, there was no getting out unscathed when it came to Kacchan. He sat back down on the foam mat, which was now his bed, and opened YouTube. Even if he didn't have the right resources or access to a hospital he could do what he could to prevent infections, plus heroes were always trained in first aid so he'd have to learn eventually.

He searched up general and basic first aid, along with more specific things about bruises and burn injuries. He'd brought the burn ointment which would be his saving grace. He reached up to his right eye and carefully unraveled the bandages. He pulled his phone's camera up to look at it more closely.

It hadn't gotten any better from how it looked yesterday, bloody and raw. Skin peeled where the damage of Kacchan’s explosion faded out. His eyelid wasn't fully open either, it settled just a little lower than it usually did. Not enough to impact his field of view much but enough to be noticeable to anyone else. Everything was still slightly blurry, Izuku sighed, he was really hoping that it would get better… maybe he'd just give it more time. He returned to the video he was watching and used the water from his water bottle to carefully clean it. Kacchan’s burns usually faded after 2 weeks, with how bad this one it'd likely be a month or more before it started clearing up. He sighed again, internally cursing Kacchan out. He knew it was- probably- an accident but he still didn't forgive Kacchan for it yet.

Following along with the video's instruction, as many as he could physically follow at least, he re-bandaged his eye and moved onto his torso. The wounds there were more par for the course, small, scattered starburst burns that'd fade quickly. Those, he knew how to handle.

With his very shabby, very inexperienced self check-up over he paused to snack on the food he brought with him. He was more snacks than anything but it was better than starving. Izuku felt strangely at peace, he thought that when reality caught up with him and he had to deal with all these new struggles that he'd immediately fold and run home, but he actually felt really good. Well, maybe not physically, but mentally he felt better. There was no one to yell at him, push him down, give him new injuries he'd have to hide from his mom, no teachers to antagonize him, no spider lillies or suicide baiting, it was the most at peace he'd been since his diagnosis. His situation wasn't normal in any way, but he felt more normal than he ever had before. He couldn't help but smile at the fact. It was refreshing, it was exciting! He was finally gonna be a hero, no matter what anyone said; he'd help people. It's what he was meant to do, he just knew it. He finished his snacks and crumbled the trash to throw away later.

Feeling suddenly very energized and very excited he wanted to do more physical stuff. Sure, trying to work out after you suffered a beating the day prior went against all the first aid videos he'd just watched, Izuku was too hyped up to care.

So he walked out to the main warehouse area and pulled up some at home workout routine videos, it wouldn't be as good as going to the gym or being professionally trained but he'd make do.

He followed what the person in the video did, starting with stretching and warm ups before doing simple exercises that didn't need any equipment like push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and the like.

Izuku regretted his decision almost instantly after the first workout set. Izuku reminded himself that trying to go from 0 to 100 never worked. If he wanted to actually start working out he'd need to start slow, painfully slow with how unmuscular he currently was. Instead of trying to go from no workout, to full workout three times a week, Izuku decided he'd do warm-ups and stretches everyday to start. Once he got used to the warm ups and stretches he could move on to simple stuff like said push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks, not too much to over exert himself but enough to build up muscle. 

Izuku nodded to himself proudly, he really liked making plans and routines. Unfortunately, this made the food problem more prevalent. If he started working out without a consistent diet he might end up underweight or malnutritioned, which wouldn't be good if he was going to be saving people…

He'd stick with the warm ups but hold off on working out til he found a steady source of healthy food. Izuku’s hands itched to write it all down so he walked back to his room and hastily grabbed his notebooks.

As Izuku wrote his plans and everything he'd need to do to become a hero he felt something he hadn't felt in years; hopeful.

Izuku didn't regret his decision to run away so far.

It was 6:22 pm when Izuku considered leaving his hideout. The whole day he'd spent digging through warehouse items, doing random warmups, watching video after video on first aid, hero laws, workout routines, villain news and whatever else he came across. With the sun setting, Izuku figured he'd have a better chance going out and looking for a source of food without his mom or Kacchan’s family looking for him. He slipped on an all black hoodie, black jeans that he had no recollection of ever buying, his signature red shoes and the same green sponge mask he'd worn yesterday. Izuku wondered if it'd be enough… He eyed the fabric rabbit mask he'd found in the support gear box, that could work!

He grabbed the rabbit mask from the folded hero costume pile. He flipped it over in his hands, inspecting it. It was all a thin, somewhat stretchy green fabric, the same color as the costume he'd found if he wasn't mistaken. The only solid part of it were the wires that held up the ears, though one was bent halfway he couldn't tell if it was a choice or just general damage. He didn't mind either way. He slipped it over his face and tied it behind his head. It fit him snugly, but not in an uncomfortable way. He took out his phone to see how it looked and was surprised to see that somehow the mask’s eyes blinked with his own. Not only that but with the mask on it looked like his sclera was black with white irises and no pupils. Izuku took the mask off to look again and found his normal eyes. A smile spread across his face. A mask that could match his eyes was so cool, he wondered if it was a quirk, he didn't feel any kind of solid parts around the eyes and there wasn't any room for electrical parts. He slid the mask on again and looked as the mask’s eyes matched his own. He spent a few minutes goofing off, closing one eye, then the other, squinting, widening his eyes and watched in awe as the mask matched every single one. The mask was now his favorite thing he owned. 

With the rabbit mask and sponge mask together his face was fully covered—including the bandages over his right eye—it might be a bit over the top but Izuku never liked showing his face anyway, he was rather plain looking. Though, with the new starburst scar that covered the right side of his face he's much more recognizable than before, and to think all he had to do was receive a grotesque burn injury.

He shook the thought away, he had to focus. He pulled his hood up to cover his unruly green hair, stuffed his phone—and the All Might trading card—in his pocket, and left the safety of his hideout for the first time since he'd gotten there.

Izuku couldn't say for certain but he thought he'd seen something of a food bank when he was aimlessly walking around last night. If he could find out where it was again he could get dinner for tonight and see if they had any limits or policies against going there daily. Izuku was nervous when he stepped into the main streets, he hadn't realized how attached and used to isolation he'd been, even before he left home he never really went anywhere outside of school or home. Where would he go? Who would he go with? Why would he go when home is safer? It led to him being a sort of shut-in, which he was now facing the consequences for. Luckily him being on the shorter side let him move through crowds pretty easily, people were also less likely to pay attention to him.

Izuku was about to start aimlessly walking in an attempt to find the food bank when he remembered technology existed. Although his phone was starting to run low on battery he quickly looked up local food banks in his area and lo and behold, the one he saw before was only a few blocks away. He picked up the pace as he moved towards it, it was only around 7pm but they could have an early closing time.

By the time he arrived at the food bank he was only slightly out of breath, He pushed open the door and slowly stepped inside, there were few other people inside but it wasn't packed or anything. He saw… Present Mic?? Izuku blinked multiple times to try and see if he was hallucinating but no, that was definitely the pro hero Present Mic. Izuku would listen to his radio show every day. While Izuku was standing in the doorway gaping at the hero he noticed Izuku and gestured him over.

“Welcome in, little listener! Need something to eat?”

Izuku shook himself out of his stupor and walked to the counter, fidgeting nervously with his hands.

“U-uhm, yes please, if you could.”

Present Mic laughed loudly, but to be fair he did everything loudly.

“Coming right up? How does chicken and rice sound?”

“Oh! Good! Sounds very good, sir.”

As Present Mic prepped the food Izuku could see him eye the bright red shoes he had on. Izuku tensed, they wouldn't deny him because he was quirkless right? It wouldn't be the first time he was denied for it… He looked at Present Mic but the hero didn't say anything, instead he just stepped back to open up a pot. Steam flowed out as he filled a plate with food. “Here ya are, and no need for formalities, little listener. Any allergies I should worry about?” Present mic held out the plate of food, Izuku took it carefully in both hands.

“Oh, n-no, no I don't think so?”

“I'll take your word for it, any questions before you eat.”

Izuku eyed the floor, looking everywhere except the hero's eyes. “Oh yes, um, is th-there a-a limit like… c-can I come back e-every day or o-only s-somet-times?” Izuku cursed himself for how much he was stuttering, it usually wasn't this bad.

Present Mic laughed again, a tiny bit quieter than before.

“No, no, nothing like that! Anyone is allowed to stop by for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Open from 8am to 12am, ‘kay? Usually it isn't me here though, I just happen to have the week off.!” 

Izuku nodded, it was an ever better offer than expected. Chicken and rice was an amazing meal for being completely free. 

Izuku bowed politely and took his leave, sitting at an empty table in the corner. Izuku was still reeling from meeting a hero up close like that! He'd always spectated fights but police tape and barricades always prevented him from getting too close.

Izuku pulled down his sponge mask and pulled up the rabbit mask; a little worried Present Mic would notice the bandages and ask questions but was otherwise excited to eat. He was surprised Present Mic didn't ask about it, he didn't really ask any questions at all. No ‘What do you need food for?’ ‘Where are your parents?’ ‘Why are you so nervous?’ Why are you wearing a mask?’ Why do you need to come back everyday?’ All of which Izuku had lies and half truths prepared for. It was a big relief he wasn't interrogated when all he wanted to do was eat. 

Izuku stopped stalling and finally took a bite of the food. It was delicious which didn't really surprise him, Present Mic seemed like the type to be really reliable and be able to do lots of things including cooking. Izuku ate peacefully, occasionally checking the others in the room. There were only two others, a boy with purple hair that seemed to stand up on its own, and a girl with black scales along her body. Izuku silently wondered what the two’s quirks were. The boy didn't have any kind of physical aspect from what he could see so he went on to theorize about the girl's quirk. He wished he would've brought his notebooks even if all he did was doodle in them.

Izuku ended up finishing his meal quicker than he thought so he put his sponge and rabbit mask back on to return his plate to Present Mic who took it with a big grin on his face.

“So? How was it? Come on, five stars!”

Izuku smiled and even if Present Mic couldn't see it; It was clear in his voice. “Yeah! F-Five stars!”

“Glad to hear it. Can I expect to see you tomorrow? If we know how many people are gonna show then we know how much food to make.”

Izuku nodded sheepishly. “Y-yes, I'll be here tomorrow too. F-for all three meals hopefully.”

Present Mic gave an odd look to the ‘hopefully' part but didn't say anything.

“Alright, i'll see ya tomorrow then little listener. Be safe.”

Izuku nodded as he left the food bank, overall it was a way more pleasing experience than he thought it'd be. He was expecting to be asked a million questions, having to lie and explain himself, then asked why he was wearing a mask, maybe be accused of being a villain before figuring out he was quirkless and kicking him out. So yeah, way better.

Izuku walked back to hideout with more energy than before, the floppy ear of his mask bouncing with every step, it was oddly calming to look at. Izuku checked the time: 9:32. He'd spent more time there than he wanted to, but it didn't really matter in the end. He made it back home without any issues and was able to let out a huge sigh of relief at being in ‘familiar’ territory.

Izuku slid into his room, the dim, flickering light didn't help him see much but at least it wasn't pitch dark. His phone was really running low on battery, he would've asked Present Mic if he could charge it there but one, he didn't bring his charger and two, Izuku thought it'd be rude to ask. His laptop however was still at full charge. He sat in his foam mat bed and pulled it out of his bag, the light from the screen momentarily blinding his only usable eye.

After getting used to the light he looked something up he probably shouldn't have. His own name. A bad idea, he knew, but he needed to know. He typed his name and scrolled, reading through article titles. It was clear his mom reported him missing, which he was thankful for. It made his secret hero thing harder but it showed she cared. There were a a few posts about him that were just straight up nonsense though, some saying he was kidnapped (probable) others saying he became a villain (not true!) and others saying he had killed himself (the most likely if we’re being painfully honest)

Izuku clicked off the tab, he saw what he wanted to. There were more important things he needed to inform himself on, like laws. Now Izuku wasn't stupid, he knew what he was doing was vigilantism and not heroism, strictly by law. He knew heroes would try to stop him, that he'd be their enemy in some way, shape, or form. He dreaded it, of course he did, he didn't want to go against heroes even if they've severely disappointed and failed him in every way possible, There were fucked up heroes, people who Izuku didn't think deserved to be called one—Endeavor and those useless heroes who stood around while Kacchan suffocated—but there were also plenty of amazing heroes too. It was a complicated grey area. Not all heroes were good, not all villains were bad, and vigilantes thrived in the grey area. Izuku knew he'd be going against the law and he was prepared to, that's why he'd learn about them that way it'd be easier for him to exploit loopholes.

If there was one upside to being quirkless, it's that sometimes people forgetting about you actually works in your favor. In pre-quirk times, vigilantism was trying to take down any threat yourself without calling authorities. In current times, in order to be charged with vigilantism you had to have used a quirk to fight. Izuku didn't have one at all so technically he wasn't committing vigilantism. He'd still go over the laws regardless, and maybe gather some more info on the local heroes. He’d be spending a lot of time with them after all so he'd better get familiar with them.

Izuku sincerely regretted how much time he spent on his laptop, he didn't even know so much time had passed until the thing literally died. Izuku rubbed his eye, the screen lights having long irritated it, Izuku just ignored the feeling as long as possible. He yawned, he knew he was tired, he was just putting it off to keep browsing online hero, vigilante, and villain forums. He tried to check what time it was but with his phone and laptop dead he had no luck. It didn't really matter, Izuku knew it was time to go to sleep.

He set his laptop aside and laid down the foam mat, facing upwards. He made a mental note to try and get a real bed, or some pillows and blankets. And also a light, and maybe some books. Izuku just reminded himself to make his new home feel like home. It would eventually. And eventually he'd be a hero, he'd help people, he'd be worth something, he wouldn't be a burden, he could be loved properly. Izuku could only dream of the day.

And so, dream he did. Dreams of heroes actually saving him, of Kacchan being nice, of him having a pyrokinesis quirk, of him being normal, of him being a hero… He was absolutely sure it would happen, he'd make it happen. He was tired of being put down, of people ignoring him. He'd make himself known despite the world ignoring him. He wasn't going to let people deny him anymore. One day… one day, it'd be his turn to be a hero. 

Chapter Text

Katsuki was sitting in class thinking about how his life was crumbling around him. He was dealing with it in the only way he knew how; be angry at everyone and anything and always double down. It wasn't working very well.

After Deku fell off the face of the earth his parents and Auntie Inko found out how he treated Deku. He'd never seen Auntie Inko look so devastated and betrayed, Katsuki wouldn't ever admit it out loud but he felt guilty. Not guilty over Deku, just guilty over Auntie Inko. Deku was the problem, Inko just happened to be his mom.

So now he has to go to ‘therapy’ and ‘anger management classes’ to avoid getting permanent marks on his record. They kept interrogating him on where Deku went but he really didn't know, he accidentally blasted the fuckers face then he left and ran away of his own volition, Katsuki had no part in it.

That didn't matter to everyone else though, people kept saying he killed Deku. Which is bullshit cause the fuckers not even dead! Katsuki refused to believe Deku would actually give up, he was almost as stubborn as Katsuki himself sometimes. Katsuki knew Deku more than anyone else, he knew how Deku acted more than his mom did. Katsuki knew he was alive, he just didn't know where. He still convinced himself he didn't care, the quirkless freak could run off and play pretend hero in the dark for however long he wanted, it didn't affect Katsuki. If he kept telling himself that, it'd become true eventually.

It's not like he was actually gonna get better anyway, he didn't know why everyone else was trying. If anything, he was getting worse. More angry, more combative, more closed off. He still couldn't get rid of the sick, sunken feeling in his chest and it was pissing him off. It got more suffocating every day, he was missing something, he just didn't know what.

He eyed the matching All Might trading card he and Deku had. Katsuki would ignore everything and push through middle school, then U.A, then become the number one hero. Nothing else mattered. Izuku didn't matter.

Izuku awoke to blinding sunlight. He quickly sat up and glared at the window. He'd find a way to get curtains later…

He took a few minutes to stretch, yawn, and generally allow himself to wake up properly. He went to check his phone for the time when he remembered it was dead, he'd have to see if he could charge it at the food bank later. He took a sip from his water bottle, which needed refilling soon too, and got ready to head to the food bank. He had no way to tell what time it was but considering how late he fell asleep, it should be late enough for the food bank to be open. 

He switched into some new clothes, a dark blue mirko hoodie and tan cargo pants. Before covering his face he took a few minutes to take care of his face wound. Using his last remaining water to clean it and apply more ointment, careful about avoiding blisters. Izuku would have to see if he could find pain killers at some point too because his body still hurt all over…

Anyway, with his wound rebandaged he put on the sponge and rabbit mask, grabbed his phone, phone charger, the All Might card, and left his hideout for the second time. He pulled his hood up as he walked to the main street, his face might be covered but not a lot of people had green hair like his so it'd be best to cover it. The main street was busier than last night, Izuku carefully made his way through the crowds. Wincing in pain a few times as people bumped into his right side, he resorted to keeping a hand on his face to prevent aggravating it any more. He slowed his pace when the food bank entered his view, he was right about it being open. There were far more people from last night, around 8 other guests sat inside.

Izuku pushed the door open and walked in, hand still on his eyes.

“Hey again little listener. Everything all right?”

Izuku involuntarily flinched at the voice. He quickly pulled his hand away from his face and wiped it on his hoodie despite there being nothing to wipe off.

“Y-yes, sir! I’m okay.” He walked to the counter again. 

“If you're sure… if you need a first aid kit we've got one in the back?”

Izuku shook his head, it would be helpful but he didn't want to burden Present Mic of all people.

“N-no, you don't have to worry, it's all t-taken care of. May I have breakfast please?”

Izuku begged the conversation to be over, luckily Present Mic obliged with no more questions as he grabbed a clean bowl from under the counter. “Coming right up.”

Izuku looked around the room as the hero prepared his food, the two people he saw yesterday weren't here, it was all new people. There were a few adults but most of the people looked younger than 20. Izuku silently wondered why they were here, if any of their stories were similar to Izuku’s. He returned his eyes to the counter when he heard a small clank. He saw a bowl of miso soup waiting for him.

“Hope you like it!”

“I-I will, but I uh, also had a question..?” Izuku carefully took the bowl in his hands.

“What's up?” Present Mic leaned an elbow on the counter. 

“Uh, could I charge my phone here? I wasn't sure if it was allowed or not but my phone's dead.” 

“For sure! This place is here to help everyone, whether they need food, or a place to charge something, or a public bathroom. It's no problem for us!”

Izuku quickly nodded, that was good to know. “O-okay, thank you!”

 He made sure to thank the hero as he grabbed his food and made his way to the same table he sat yesterday which thankfully, was empty.

He set his food down and pulled out the charger from his hoodie pocket, he plugged it into the nearby outlet, once he confirmed it was actually charging he sat back down. He pulled his masks off, being more careful of the bandages since it’d be jostled so much earlier. Izuku winced as he prodded the bandages, he really wanted pain killers. He’d just have to deal with it for now. He took the first bite of his food, just like yesterday it tasted amazing. As he ate, he wondered if the food bank was more of a net loss than a net gain, he wasn't sure how it worked but surely serving so many people three meals a day for free cost a lot? Izuku didn't want to be ungrateful though so he just accepted and mentally thanked Present Mic for what he was doing.

When he noticed his phone light up, he reached across the table to grab it. He had even more missed calls from his mom which he continued to ignore. There were even calls from Auntie, Uncle, and Kacchan. Izuku guessed Auntie stole Kacchan's phone to make the calls, he doubted Kacchan would try calling Izuku of his own free will.

Moving past all the missed phone calls he checked the date. It was April 20th, 10:43 AM. Izuku hummed and noted the date away. His main focus was going back to the hero, vigilante, and villain forums he'd be reading last night. The hero forums were par the course, Izuku was familiar with them since that's where he spent a majority of his screen time at. The vigilante and villain forums were new and interesting, there were a lot of complex and in-depth discussions about law, discrimination, what categorizes someone as a vigilante or villain, and so on. Izuku loved reading those discussions and even joined in on a few, it was really informative.

He checked the latest post in r/villains.

‘ Hero Killer “Stain” on the rise once again ‘

‘ As per public police documents, many reports of the Hero Killer Stain have been filed. Mostly bystanders and civilians report the sighting but there have been a few heroes who were attacked. Please read more ‘here’ to stay informed. As always, be safe. Stain has yet to attack any innocent people but he's still an unpredictable killer and it's better to be cautious! '

Izuku clicked on the link in the post, it led to an article about the villain mentioned. It wasn’t a new name to Izuku, as someone who was obsessed with heroes of course he'd hear about the villains killing and permanently injuring them. He skimmed through the article, he already knew most of the information there so he switched back over to the Reddit post. He scrolled through comments as he ate his food.

@ucldnvrbme ‘are we sure he’s classified as a villain? this seems more like vigilant work to me :p’

@TheeOneTheeOnly replied to @ucldnvrbme  ‘Yes, it’s villainy. Killing people is never acceptable no matter the reasoning.’

@shestrogenoffmybeef replied to @ucldnvrbme ‘idk i think if he just didn't kill them then it'd be vigilantism yk?’

@TheeOneTheeOnly replied to @shetrogenoffmybeef ‘So permanently injuring people so severely they're forced to retire early is considered vigilantism and not villainy to you? Are skewed morals trendy now?’

The comment section devolved into arguments over what counted as vigilantism and what counted as villainy, arguments like that were way too common in Izuku’s opinion. He shut his phone off as he finished his food. He could continue browsing when he was home. He walked back to the counter and handed his bowl off to a random employee. He used the food bank's bathroom and cleaned himself up a little, he'd make sure to bring his toothbrush and toothpaste tomorrow.

He stepped out, and returned to his seat. His phone was nearly fully charged which was good enough for Izuku. He unplugged it and stuffed it back in his pockets. With one last look over the room Izuku left the food bank, he has a lot of things he needs to do to become a proper hero! …vigilante, well, whatever, he would still save people.

Katsuki stared at his phone, it'd been two weeks since Deku up and left and there was still no sign of him. Katsuki tried being his usual self but some time after the first week he started feeling… off. He couldn't pinpoint the emotion which just pissed him off even more. Katsuki felt like he was waiting for something and it was not Deku. It had to be something else.

The mandatory therapy was starting to get to him to, he'd tried to be angry and push the dumbass therapist away but her and her fuck ass star eyes were persistent as hell. He didn't know how many times he could tell her to fuck off only for her to respond with 'that's not something we say to people trying to help’. The urge to explode her exceeded any urge he’d had to explode Deku. 

He was seriously exhausted, everything seemed to tire him out now when before he had an endless amount of anger to fuel him. Star girl, therapist, whatever her name was, says he's ‘worried’ and feeling ‘guilty’ and ‘panic attacks are normal’ like she knows what the heck is going on in his head. Not even he knows what the hell is going on in his head! He vehemently ignored anything and everything she said, as long as he didn't get those permanent marks and was allowed to go to U.A, she could say whatever she wanted.

Throughout all this seething he was doing his homework, he wasn't going to slack off just cause some quirkless nobody left his side, he needed good grades to get into U.A. Honestly with Deku gone everything seemed to annoy Katsuki, his parents, his teachers, his therapist, the annoying extras that followed him around, school annoyed him, his house annoyed him, being outside annoyed him, somehow even training was starting to annoy him. Katsuki needed it to stop, he needed things back the way they were before. Katsuki was even having trouble using his quirk which had never happened before. Anytime he flexed his palm to get sparks going they fizzled out almost immediately. He didn't understand what was going on. The most he could do was burn excess sweat, anything more and it just fizzled out like a dying star. And no ‘trauma from hurting other people with your quirk seems to be limiting you physically’ was not a real reason, his therapist really just said whatever she wanted. It was agonizing, he wanted to train and get stronger, work on his quirk control, but he couldn't do that if he couldn't even activate his quirk!

Katsuki faced planted into his desk. Life was bullshit, who cared?

He looked at his All Might card again, it'd become a habit at this point. He knew that the loser was still alive, Katsuki would wait until he showed his face again, then he'd yell at the freak for leaving him behind and running off to who knows where.

…He’d wait for Izuku, no matter how long it took.

Izuku looked at his phone, it'd been two weeks since he left home. He'd say he made a lot of progress! He was finally starting to build up some muscle, most of his wounds had healed—save for the one over his right eye—and he'd been learning how to fight. He couldn't say whether or not he was good since he didn't have anyone to spar with, but he certainly wasn't as helpless as before. He even learned what style fit him best, turns out it was kicks. Being light on his feet came naturally to him. He even got into parkour, and while he was still an utter train wreck at that he knew it'd be useful in the future.

With all his new free time came even more hobbies, one of which included making support items. He'd watched this pink-haired girl on YouTube who made her own support items, sure they always blew up, but she would always fix it so it didn't blow up. He used scrapped and damaged parts from the warehouse to make his own, much simpler, items; most of which were actually clothing and not mechanical.

The one mechanical item he did have was a respirator, he'd repaired a broken one to a usable state and even painted it using some paint he'd stolen.

And yes, Izuku was not able to avoid stealing things, he tried, but it had to happen eventually.

Aside from the respirator, he'd also patched together some leg braces that went up to his thighs, gloves with a rough texture on the palm for better grip and claws that could dig into metal! He was proud of that one. He also found some red bandages that were supposed to increase the body durability when wrapped around it, he hadn't been able to test it yet but he would when he went on his first patrol. Which he planned to do tonight, he'd had breakfast and lunch at Present Mic’s food bank but he'd be skipping dinner in favor of hyping himself up for his first patrol

He gathered his ‘hero’ costume and began putting it on. It fit him near perfectly, the suit itself was a little loose but it didn't bother him. Izuku set his phone against some machinery in the warehouse to get a better look at himself. 

The suit itself was a dark green with dark blue accents, it had short sleeves that ended in white cuffs. He had the red bandages wrapped around his arms to help with the few gymnastic moves he'd incorporated into his style, along with the clawed gloves that had a green texture on the palms that allowed for better grip. He'd practiced with the gloves and was able to scale walls easily. He had a red utility belt around his waist, it had an assortment of items from bandages, medical wipes, a burner phone he'd stolen for police calls, his own personal phone, and of course the All Might card he also carried around. He wanted to bring a notebook for on the go analysis too but it was too big to fit, he'd settled for stuffing it in the space between the suit and the belt, it dug into his side a little but it wouldn't be obstructive. In the middle of his thighs were where the dark blue leg braces started, it went all the way down to his ankles where he tucked it into his red high-tops. Around the knee there was a second brace in the same green color as the suit. 

Overall Izuku thought it looked kinda professional. It was frankenstein’d using bits and pieces of actual professional costumes and support gear so he technically wasn't lying. He moved the respirator that hung around his neck over his mouth, he was able to breathe clearly and it'd hopefully block out any gas or chemical based quirks. After that he slipped on the rabbit mask, he had to push his hair out of his eyes to get it on; he hadn't realized how long his hair had gotten either, it was starting to rest on his shoulders instead of ending at his neck.

Izuku patted himself down, he thought he was ready but he went over a mental checklist anyway. After this patrol, once he started becoming more well known, things would have to change. He wouldn't just be able to stroll into Present Mic’s food bank if he was a vigilante, he'd have to sneak into public showers, steal even more things. He wasn't happy about it, but if it meant he could save people then he'd just have to accept it. Izuku flapped his hands up and down to calm himself down, he could do this. He glanced around his room, now personalized to Izuku. The foam mat had been replaced by a cheap mattress, he had actual pillows and blankets, and fairy lights hung around the room that ran off of solar energy. It felt like home to Izuku and that was all that mattered.

Now that he was sure everything was ready, and double and tripled checked everything he already checked, he could actually start his patrol.

He left his hideout and took to alley ways first, it was 10 at night and if Izuku was a villain (he wasn't)  he'd make sure his crimes were committed under the cover of darkness. He went to the busier streets first, more people meant more opportunities for villains to seize. Once he got to the main streets he scaled a building to get to the roof top, he'd rather have the drop on any villains he found; quite literally.

Using his very mediocre parkour skills he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, keeping an eye and ear out for anyone who needed help. It was difficult with his right eye still being damaged and it being night, but he'd manage.

Izuku spent ten or so minutes hopping around like a lost rabbit before he considered switching locations, that is until he heard a shriek. He flinched and looked in the direction it came from. He moved quickly, hopping over rooftops, under stray balconies, ducking through power lines until he arrived at the scene of the crime. From the rooftop he was perched on he could see a tall lanky man with long, clawed, fingers cornering a woman with short blue hair. 

The man was going on and on about how the woman disrespected him, and he needed to teach her a lesson. He put his hands on her and she pushed him back, causing the two to start fighting.

Izuku didn't waste any time, he leaped off the building and aimed his legs directly at the man's head.

Izuku felt and could almost hear the impact. Izuku landed in a crouch, his hands placed on the floor between his legs. The man stood up on shaky legs, rubbing his jaw where Izuku hit him. He looked incredibly dazed but shook his head and turned to glare at Izuku. Izuku eyed the woman behind him, motioning with his hand for her to leave. She nodded and ran down the alley away from the two. 

Nothing changed about Izuku on the outside but on the inside he was giddy, feeling all sorts of pride and accomplishment at having saved someone for the first time. He snapped back to the fight when he heard footsteps quickly approach.

The man was sprinting towards Izuku, his clawed hands flexed and ready to stab. Izuku dodged the first swipe, then the second, then landed a kick in the man’s side. It didn't stall him for long though as he kept swinging his claws wildly. Izuku steadied his breaths, he was doing good! The man was clearly emotional and it was making him leave himself open, Izuku just had to stay calm and take advantage of it. After ducking under another clawed swipe Izuku grabbed the man's shoulder, pulled him down, and promptly kneed him in the stomach. That caused the man to stumble, tripping over himself and nearly losing his balance. Izuku took the chance to get another hit in, if he could just restrain him.

Izuku landed another kick in the man's side, causing him to fall and hit his head on the concrete. Izuku internally apologized… he hadn't meant to do that.

With the man on the ground Izuku flipped him so his face was to the ground and grabbed his arms, placing them behind the man's back as if Izuku were actually arresting the villain. It was at this moment Izuku realized he didn't have handcuffs… he reached into his utility belt and pulled out the bandages, they'd do for now, he'd just have to bring rope next time.

The man squirmed beneath Izuku but he ignored it, focusing on tying the man's hands and legs together to prevent him from running. The entire time the man swore like a sailor, saying Izuku 'wouldn't get away with this’ which caused Izuku to roll his eye. 

Izuku stepped back from the now restrained man and got out his burner phone to properly report the crime, Izuku couldn't hold back the grin on his face as it rang. He actually did it! He defeated a villain and saved someone! He heard his phone stop ringing and a voice on the other side speak, asking him what the emergency was. Izuku stuttered a bit before he found his words.

“O-oh yes! Uhm, I’m over in an alley by uh, what was it again… oh, an alley behind ‘Aimono’s clothing and accessories' store. By block 27th. I-I’m reporting a villain, who was threatening and attacking a woman, I, eh, didn't get her name…”

The operator asks him a few more questions, whether he's still in danger or if anyone's injured. Izuku proudly admits he took down the villain and that everything's alright. The operator informed him they're sending police over, Izuku thanked them and hung up.

Although Izuku believed he did the right thing, vigilantism is still illegal and it'd be stupid for him to stand around and get detained by police, not to mention he's technically considered missing… So, he used his clawed gloves to climb up a building and make his way home.

Izuku landed in front of his warehouse with a thud. Brushing off whatever dirt managed to get on his costume he ran inside, practically tripping over himself with excitement. He did it! He really did it! He couldn't believe it, he was finally gonna be a hero. He made his way back into his room, he wouldn't be able to sleep with the traces of adrenaline in his system so he'd spend more time online. Who knows? Maybe the person he saved would post about him?

He changed into more comfortable clothes, a shirt that said ‘shirt’ in English and some basketball shorts. He sat on his dingy mattress and pulled out his laptop. Sure it hadn't even been more than twenty minutes since he defeated the villain but in this day and age Izuku wouldn't be surprised if someone was live tweeting their own death.

He pulled up all three forums, hero, vigilante, and villain, and scrolled through each to see any mention of him and his own vigilante escapades and… there! He pulled up a post from someone named ‘FishGirlSummer’.

‘ New vigilante? ‘

‘ Hello everyone! I've been lurking in this forum for a long time and wanted to know if anyone knew about this. So I’m in Musutafu and I went on this date with a guy (he had a billion red flags that I should've ignored but hindsight is 20/20) So anyway, date went horribly, he's a complete asshole so I walked out of the store we were shopping in. (he really took me out to buy clothes cause he didn't like the way i dressed like??) 

So i go through a side door into this alley and he follows me so now I'm starting to freak out for obvious reasons. He starts yelling at me about how I'm not being respectful to him and that he's an amazing guy who I need to give a chance to. He puts an arm on my shoulder which like, fuck no? So I pushed him off and we started fighting. 

I think I'm 100% gonna die in this alley right? Then from above, like probably from the roof, someone jumps down and just dropkicks the creep in his face. So now we’re both frozen because, what the hell? The person was dressed in green and had a rabbit mask, couldn't tell how old they were, or whether they were a boy or girl or anything. (but their hair was on the longer side if it helps identify them?) Anyway they tell me to leave and I do, no reason for me to stick around.

I have no idea who they were but I looked up ‘green rabbit hero’ and nothing showed up, so are they a vigilante? I haven't seen them on this sub either but I'm really curious now. I’ve just been calling them Jackrabbit but if anyone knows what they actually go by then let me know!

And if they somehow find this, thank you for helping me Jackrabbit! ‘

By the end of it Izuku could feel himself tearing up. He sniffled and tried to clear the water from his eyes. He wasn't expecting anything like this. he thought maybe they'd just say they saw a new vigilante, but they thanked him! The name Jackrabbit swirled in his head, it felt special knowing it was a name given to him and not something he chose. He scrolled down to the comments.

@ProYouKnow223 ‘ I’ve never heard of them, probably new then. Do you know if they used excessive force to take down the creep? Some vigilantes take it way too far. ‘

@FishGirlSummer replied to @ProYouKnow233 ‘ Sorry I don't know, I left when they told me too and didn't see the rest. I did look up the creep's name though and found he got arrested! His face is a little bruised but he seems fine otherwise. ‘

@ProYouKnow223 replied to @FishGirlSummer ‘ That's good then, sick of seeing people who claim to be vigilantes killing people and using unnecessary force. ‘

@Catxtravaganza ‘ LETS GOOO NEW VIGILANTE AND IN MUSUTAFU?? ‘

@imtheflyonthewall ‘ Alright everyone, time to make a page for them on VigilanteWiki. ‘

@Whydotheycallitofin replied to @imtheflyonthewall ‘ yeah but it's not like we have enough info on them, it'd help if op could give more details ‘

@FishGirlSummer replied to @Whydotheycallitofin ‘ Sorry! What do you want to know? The whole interaction went by quickly but I'll still see if I can answer anything. ‘

@Whydotheycallitofin replied to @FishGirlSummer ‘ Can you give a more detailed physical description? Like height/build, maybe skin/hair/eye color? ‘

@FishGirlSummer replied to @Whydotheycallitofin ‘ Sure. They were shorter than me and I'm 5 ‘7. They looked skinny, now that i think of it they were probably a child or at least really young.. They were covered head to toe but I think they had lighter skin? And don't know if it was their mask but their eyes were black with white irises and pupils, they had green hair too. Does that help? ‘

@Whydotheycallitofin replied to @FishGirlSummer ‘ Yeah, that helps. I'll add it to their page ‘here’. ‘

@L14R_L14R ‘ Jackrabbit’s a pretty cool name, wonder why they chose a rabbit theme in the first place? ‘

@FishGirlSummer replied to @L14R_L14R ‘ Not sure but the way they landed on the ground after they kicked the creep was kinda like a rabbit? ‘

Izuku scrolled on, reading more miscellaneous comments, most simply curious about him. He clicked on the link that ‘Whydotheycallitofin’ added and it brought him to a VigilanteWiki page. He'd seen a ton of HeroWiki pages but hadn't taken the time to browse the Vigilante’s pages.

His was incredibly bare bone, just the description ‘FishGirlSummer’ gave alongside estimated age/height with his gender labeled N/A.

Izuku got an idea and a grin spread across his face, was it stupid? Definitely. Would he do it anyway? Definitely.

He signed out of his main account (his username was literally AllMight and you wouldn't believe what it took to actually get it, so even if All Might sucked and personally killed Izuku’s childhood dream, he still kept the username.) And he made a new account and named it ‘Jackrabbit’, he was pleasantly surprised to find out the username was available. He would've hated it if he had to name it like ‘Jackrabbit123456789’ or something…

With his new account he went back over to ‘FishGirlSummer’s post and commented.

@Jackrabbit ‘ im glad you were able to get away safely ^_^ i really like the name Jackrabbit, i think i'll use if you don't mind :D ‘ 

click to see image

He included a picture for proof, it was just the upper half of his head showing his mask and green hair in front of a blank concrete wall. He hoped it would suffice. Nearly immediately he started getting comments.

@FishGirlSummer replied to @Jackrabbit ‘ OH MY GOODNESS?? Hi! Omg I’m so glad you found this. Really, thank you for helping me! ‘

@Fridge_DJ ‘ Holy shit, is it actually them? ‘

@FishGirlSummer replied to @Fridge_DJ ‘ I think so! The mask and hair look exactly the same. ‘

@Whydotheycallitofin ‘ Permission to post this photo on your VigilanteWiki page? ‘

@Jackrabbit replied to @Whydotheycallitofin ‘ Permission granted! Go for it! ‘

@BBQBBY replied to @Jackrabbit ‘ pls don't get arrested 🙏 Musutafu has like no vigilantes and the hero's slack off around here so we need u 💔🥀 ‘

@Jackrabbit replied to @BBQBBY ‘ I’m happy to help! ‘

Izuku stayed up til almost 3 am responding to random comments and queries, careful not to give out any info that'd make him easy to identify outside of his vigilante persona. He was starting to get tired, if he wanted to patrol again tomorrow he'd need to get at least a few hours of sleep.

He closed his laptop and set it next to his bed before curling up in the blankets, the green fairy lights around his room lulling him to sleep.

He didn't regret his decision at all. Now he was really starting his vigilante life.

Chapter Text

It’d been a few days since he debuted as a vigilante and Izuku had figured out a routine for himself, not only for his vigilante work but his day to day stuff too. There were still things he had to sort out before he could say he has a “stable” life but compared to how things were his first day running away, it was a major improvement.

With his vigilantism on the rise Izuku stopped going to Present Mic’s food bank, it was too risky since the hero could end up recognizing Izuku. So he'd resorted to stealing again, he paid when could using whatever money he could get from villains but most of the food always went unpaid for. For hygiene he’d just sneak into the public baths and showers and leave before anyone noticed him. Now, Izuku wasn’t sure if should be proud to admit this, but he'd also stolen a generator and solar panels and figured out how to hook everything together for iffy yet reliable power. It was one of the best things he did too.

Izuku was a bit worried over how not-guilty he felt over stealing all these items, as well as technically breaking into places he shouldn't be in. He was committing crimes which would mark him as a villain regardless of if he saved people. He'd just have to hope the heroes didn't mind too much.

Either way, semi-stable solo living! Izuku was proud of himself and of how resourceful he'd been. It'd been a week since the first time he'd defeated a villain and he made it routine to do nightly patrols at around 9-10 pm. The number of villains ‘Jackrabbit’s caught has gone up to 12, and more people are mentioning him online. Izuku didn't think things could get much better than they are now.

On the subject of his vigilantism, he was currently getting ready to go on patrol. It'd be his 8th day of vigilantism. (or pseudo-heroism as he liked to call it)

The downside to becoming more well known online meant villains were also more likely to recognize him, it made fighting villains a bit harder but not by much. They knew who he was but they'd never fought him before and there weren't any recordings of Izuku online, only the one cropped photo he'd uploaded on his Jackrabbit account.

Izuku shook his head to clear his thoughts, he had his full vigilante outfit on and was ready to start his patrol, it was a little earlier than he normally went out but by the time he was in the twisting alleyways of Musutafu it's be late 9 pm so it worked out.

He left his hideout, readjusted his rabbit mask, and scaled a nearby building to make his way deeper into the city. Musutafu’s night life had been thriving lately, it probably had something to do with Midnight’s new late night talk show. Izuku made a mental note to check it out when he got home. Izuku continued hopping from building to building, eventually climbing atop a five story and perching on the end of it. He didn't really know why or how his habits became more animal-like, but personally he blamed the reddit threads that theorized about his having 'rabbit habits'.

He looks down at the city and scans the darkened streets for any shady behavior. A block away he could see two men talking, one holding a wad of cash and the other had a briefcase. Izuku squinted his eye, a drug deal? He hopped off his perch and hopped across the stoplight, ignoring the surprised looks of the driver beneath him, to position himself above the two men, intent to listen in. He didn't want to jump in before he knew the situation.

“I’m telling you it works. I’d even be willing to let you try it out now, a free sample, yeah?” The man with the briefcase spoke, he had long, slicked back black hair, shark teeth and sounded like he'd been smoking cigarettes since the age of 5.

The other man, who was as skinny as a skeleton and had a third eye on the center of his forehead, rubbed his neck.

“I dunno man… heard the heroes been tracking this shit down, I don't wanna get arrested for having it.”

The ‘businessman’ laughed. “Now don't worry about something like that! Trust me, Kiruto, with this the police wouldn't be able to stop you in a million years.”

‘Kiruto’ sighed. “A-alright. It’s called Trigger, right? You can get me it whenever?”

Businessmen smiled widely and took Kiruto’s money. “Yup, Trigger, and I'm your best bet if you ever wanna get your fix. Don't forget I'm selling to you at a lower price than anyone else.”

Kiruto nodded and took the briefcase.

Izuku thought now was a good time to intervene seeing as he just witnessed a completed drug trade. He hopped down from the building and landed on top of Kiruto, grabbing the briefcase of trigger and tossing it up the building he was just one. Izuku didn't know what Trigger did but he wasn't going to let either of the villains use it.

The businessman stalled, clearly not expecting Izuku’s company. Wanting to make this fight a quick one Izuku leaned down and grabbed Kiruto by the arm and threw him over his shoulder towards the businessman, he was lucky the guy was scrawny enough for him to lift.

Izuku pulled out some restraint tape and tied the two men up before they could untangle themselves from each other. Both of them looked at Izuku dazed and confused. The way Izuku took down villains was unconventional but it certainly worked. He ignored the men's insults and threats as he used his burner phone to report the crime. 

With police on the way Izuku clawed his way up the building and opened the briefcase, he'd have to investigate what Trigger was when he had the time and see if it was something he should pay attention to. The box had vials that looked like it could be injected directly into the body. Izuku turned the vial around in his hands. The businessman said if Kiruto used this the police wouldn't be able to stop him, that meant it was likely a stimulant or steroid made to increase a person's strength or quirk in some way.

He placed the vial back in its place, locked the briefcase up, and dropped it back down where the two men were tied up. He'd let the police handle the drugs. Speaking of, Izuku continued on with his patrol as he heard the police sirens near. With twelve—now fourteen—villains restrained by him, the police and heroes were taking notice. He wasn't a huge case since he avoided hurting the villains too much, but the same could not be said for his theft cases. He was more infamous for the strange and difficult things he'd steal than his vigilante work, which did make him upset. He put way more effort in saving people than he did with stealing, security just happened to be incredibly lax in Musutafu. He had feeling that'd change due to him and all the odd things he'd stolen so easily.

Izuku did laps around the city, there were a few muggers or thieves but they were easy to take care of. Izuku was only slightly bothered when a thief he'd restrained said Izuku and her were in the same situation. Izuku was not a villain. He'd dialed in 4 more cases to the police, who knew him as Jackrabbit by now, before calling it a wrap and making his way home.

He made his way home slowly, enjoying the city’s night life and the sound of people going about their day. Izuku knew his life was strange, even from the beginning, he never lived a normal life. Sometimes he wondered what it would've been like if he was born with a normal quirk.

Would Kacchan have been nicer? Could he have actually been a hero?

He pushed the thoughts away, it didn't matter now. He was a hero in his own way, a quirkless vigilante, and proud of it.

Izuku finally saw his warehouse come into view, but with it came another silhouette. Izuku lowered his stance, looking down from a building at the figure. It was an older looking man in a tacky purple suit with short grey hair and small round glasses. Izuku had an idea of who it was; since he'd taken to prowling more low-level villain files he was pretty sure the man was the C-rank villain Giran.

Izuku hopped down, the man wasn't known to be a fighter, Izuku would probably be alright.

The man welcomed him with open arms and a cheshire grin.

“Ah, Jackrabbit, there you are!”

Giran wouldn't be able to tell with the mask but Izuku was glaring at him.

“Why are you in front of my house? Do I need to turn you in?” He crossed his arms, thumping his foot against the ground in annoyance. Seriously, who just shows up like this?

“Don't be like that, I doubt you'd call in a villain so close to your home.”

“I could just drag your body?”

Giran paused, then ignored what Izuku said and continued.

“Like I said, there's no need to be like that. I come in peace.”

He held both his hands up beside him.

Izuku was still skeptical but Giran kept speaking.

“Ahem, I came with an offer. Vigilantes and low-level villains aren't too different. Both steal and do what they can to survive only to get chased down by the police. I’m just here to offer a helping hand, really.” Izuku kinda felt like punching him, he was not similar to a villain.

Giran pulled a paper card from his back pocket and held it out, allowing Izuku to walk towards him.

“Think about it?”

Izuku walked forward with a raised eyebrow and took the card, only one side had anything on it. It read;

‘ One-Stop-Shop ‘

‘ As villains vigilantes, the world may deny us things such as easy access to things like food, hygiene, or electricity. One-Stop-Shop is a place where villains vigilantes, such as yourself can use a plethora of resources for free, including everything listed previously. The only rule is that you play nice while you're in the facility, is you have a problem with a fellow villain then take it outside or deal with it on your own time ‘

Below it listed direct coordinates instead of a block or building number. Izuku deadpanned at the informant. The word ‘villain’ was scribbled out in sharpie and above it was the word vigilante instead, he could've at least made Izuku a custom card.

“...Right… I’ll consider it. How did you find this place?” Shitty business cards aside, the most concerning thing was how the man knew where his home was.

Giran laughed casually. “I’m an information broker, kid. It's my job to know things I shouldn't.”

Izuku put the card in his utility belt. He wasn’t gonna let this go.

“No, I asked you how you knew, not why you knew. Did you follow me? Did someone else follow me?”

He stalked closer to the villain, there was no reason Izuku shouldn’t turn him in to the police. 

Giran laughed nervously.

“Now, now, no need for that… if you must know; I have a friend who makes gadgets, I borrowed one of their drones to follow you on one of your patrols. Swear on my heart, I'm the only one who knows.”

He put a hand over his heart and closed one eye. Izuku was not gonna play this game, he'd read up on how information brokers worked.

“But you'd sell that info in a heartbeat if someone paid the right price?”

Giran laughed in mock shock.

“No, of course not. I have standards. I would never put you at risk, you have my word.”

A villain’s word meant nothing to Izuku but he didn't say that out loud. Instead he just sighed.

“Alright… but if you don't leave in five minutes I'm gonna punch you.”

Giran bowed dramatically and walked towards the city, Izuku stayed and watched until the man's silhouette faded into the distance.

When the broker was finally gone Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Izuku walked to his room, now paranoid over whether or not someone knew where he was. Maybe he should invest in some home security…

Shouta took a sip off his coffee as Tsukauchi spoke about his current case. Over the last few weeks there's been a new vigilante running around the streets and Shouta was supposed to help catch them. He didn't know the police needed him specifically, but work was work so he obliged.

“So, that's four villains arrested today thanks to them. Same as before, restrained with restraint tape with minor injuries like bruises or scrapes.”

Shouta nodded, only half listening.

“And they're name is…?”

“Folks online are calling them Jackrabbit; no known real name, of course.”

Shouta hummed. He'd heard the name before on online spaces, people seemed excited by the new vigilant. Shouta didn't have anything against vigilantes, sometimes they were even helpful. But that was only if the vigilante knew what they were doing, was an adult, and didn't cause Shouta trouble. Even then, it was still an illegal use of a person's quirk and generally dangerous. Jackrabbit was likely a child, had no professional training, would definitely get in Shouta’s way, and put themself in increasingly dangerous situations. So he agreed to get the kid off the street, though they hadn't made much progress.

The kid stuck to the same areas, and times, but were tricky to pinpoint where they were at the exact right time. Shouta had just been instructed to go on his usual patrols and follow Jackrabbit if he spotted them. That was an issue for tomorrow Shouta though, today he was just listening to Tsukauchi list off what they knew.

“It’s believed that Jackrabbit is a child, hopefully not true but it seems likely. No information or sighting of their quirk but they don't seem to have any physical manifestations of it, the rabbit ears are just part of their mask. So far they've only dealt with low-level villains, muggers, thieves, drug dealers and the like.”

Shouta nodded, sounded about right. Most vigilantes picked easy fights, which was for the best. Dangerous villains should be left to the pros. At the end of the day, pro heroes had support systems to fall back on while vigilantes almost always worked solo. 

“They’ve only ever been spotted in Musutafu, sticking to back alleys and the rougher parts of town. It should be easy to catch them with how much we know about their routine.”

Shouta hoped that was the case, it didn't sit right with him, there being a child fighting villains, no matter how ‘good’ the kid was at it.

He’d just have to wait and hope for the best.

Izuku woke up late afternoon on May 11th, around 1pm. Last night had taken more out of him than he thought it did, not to mention Giran appearing and making Izuku paranoid about his home.

He got up and stretched, sighing in relief as some of his stiff joints popped. He sat on his mattress, his first order of business was tending to his eye wound. It’d been clearing up nicely the last week, less raw looking and not as sensitive. He still kept it wrapped just to be on the safe side. His right eye's vision hadn't gotten better with time and his right eyelid was still a tad lower than his left’s, he was just glad he was able to see out of it at all. After rewrapping his eye he dug through his utility belt on the floor and pulled out Giran’s card, Maybe Izuku should check it out. He said that anyone would get to use anything in the facility for free but Izuku was rightfully skeptical about that. A food bank giving away food made sense, a random villain giving away food? Suspicious.

Izuku set the card on a desk—which was also stolen, pretty much every piece of furniture in his room was—and sat in a metal chair. His laptop was already set up on the desk, Izuku opened it tiredly. He’d do some more digging on Giran before deciding whether or not he'd check out the villain’s facility, any new info would be added to the cork board hung above the desk.

The usual info came up, a list of the villain's crimes which was mostly blackmail and extortion, along with info on the man's quirk. Izuku got out his notebook, he might as well add Giran’s quirk to his analysis’.

Everything considered, it was a calm start to his day. It was one of his days off from working out, Izuku had made lots of progress in that regard. And his patrols weren't until late at night meaning he had the entire day free. He considered doing daylight patrols but decided against it, heroes were more likely to spot him and he didn't need the trouble. He'd have to leave around mid-day to steal some food, which he hated doing. It was the reason he was considering Giran’s offer in the first place. Stealing was inconvenient and more importantly, tainting his heroic record.

He hummed as read through a few articles on Giran. Izuku had a feeling today would be interesting somehow.

It was hours later when Izuku saw the golden glow of the sun filter through his window that he realized how much time had passed. He'd added a lot of info on Giran to his cork board, more than he expected. Izuku stood from the chair and stretched his back, cursing himself for having such terrible posture. He checked the time, it was around 6pm. Izuku set his notebook and laptop aside to change into his vigilante costume, he had errands to run.

It was after the sun had set when Izuku went out, he was in his vigilante outfit but wasn't starting his patrol just yet. He had a duffel bag full of extra clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and dirty clothes as well. There were a few things he planned for his outing, sneaking into the public showers to well… shower. Then a public laundromat for his clothes, then probably steal a premade meal from the local convenience store. All of which had to be done if there was no one else in the building, or if he snuck through back doors or vents. It was a little tedious but it worked for him.

It didn't take long for him to get through the first two errands, the shower had been refreshing and the duffel bag smelled of clean laundry. He was trying to dry his damp hair as he walked to the back door of the convenience store. He made sure his mask and respirator were on properly before picking the lock, yet another villainous skill he learned on Youtube.

Once in the back of the store he grabbed a few prepackaged sandwiches, simple ham and cheese ones, and left before the cashier knew he was there. He'd make his way back home, drop off the duffel bag and extra food, then start his patrol. He casually strolled through alleys and munched on his sandwich. He was starting to feel more and more at home in dark alleys, now being in daylight was something he tried to avoid. 

He guessed that's just what happened when you became a vigilante, living a normal life became difficult, trying to balance a vigilante and normal life even more so.

Izuku finished his sandwich and wiped the crumbs from his gloves. It didn't concern him, he chose his life and he was enjoying it despite the struggles.

He arrived at the warehouse and made his way to his room, dropping off the duffel bag full of clothes and food. He grabbed his notebook off the desk and stuffed it into his utility belt. He hadn't had much time for on-the-go analysis between taking down villains but he still enjoyed having it on him.

After doing a final check and making sure he had all his gear he stepped out of his hideout to start his patrol.

After doing a final check and making sure he had all his gear, Shouta stepped out of the police station to start his patrol. His goal tonight was to try and encounter Jackrabbit, he was told to try and gain their trust, see if they could take the vigilante in peacefully. Shouta doubted that's how things would go but he'd try.

Shouta quickly made his way up a nearby building, the cool night air causing his scarf to flow wildly behind him. According to data gathered from Jackrabbit taking down villains, they seemed to do a large circle around Musutafu and target any villains or crimes they happened across. There wasn't enough info to pinpoint an exact route so Shouta simply went in one direction and hoped for the best.

He did laps around different blocks, taking down the occasional thug and reporting it to Tsukauchi. The night was rather tranquil, Shouta wasn't even sure if Jackrabbit would be out on this day. He’d spend another few hours looking and if Jackrabbit didn't show before then, he'd call it a day.

On the other side of the city, Izuku had just taken down another villain, the fourth one this night. The villain had been attacking someone, maybe for money or maybe out of anger. Izuku ran to the victim and leaned down, they were unconscious but still breathing. Izuku checked their wounds carefully, there was no blood anywhere but they did have a large bruise on their forehead. Izuku would stick around until he could hear police sirens.

He got out his burner phone and reported the crime, keeping his eye on the tied up villain. Izuku had made it a habit to tie their mouths up to stop the barrage of annoying insults and threats, but only if it wouldn't suffocate them. Once the crime was reported and the operator said police were on the way, he slid down the wall to sit beside the victim, who Izuku had carefully positioned on their back. It shouldn't be too long before police arrived, they'd started recognizing his voice over the phone and knew when it was him who called in a crime.

Izuku was almost flattered, though he probably shouldn't be. The police knowing him meant they'd be paying more attention to him and his technically-not-illegal vigilantism. Not illegal but still not legal either… If vigilantes tended to exist in grey areas then Izuku was completely monochromatic. Izuku really wished he could get a pro license, one little card saying he was a hero would fix all his problems, but again; he chose his life and he was enjoying it.

When Izuku heard police sirens he stood up and scaled the building, he knew the victim would be taken care of. Normally he'd head home around this time (around 1:09 am) but he wasn’t tired so he'd continue on for maybe another thirty minutes. He hopped from building to building, going the opposite direction of the villain he'd just defeated, it worked well to keep the cops and heroes off his tail.

He was prowling around the alleys near the main city street when he heard someone clear their throat. Thinking it was a villain he hopped backwards and lowered himself to the ground, ready to fight. When he didn't see anyone in his immediate line of sight he turned to look in every direction, lastly, looking up. There on a building's ledge was the underground pro hero Eraserhead. Izuku was split between feeling in awe or fear because oh my god it's Eraserhead! And oh my god it's Eraserhead… Tonight was either going to be the best or worst night of his life depending on where the interaction went.

Eraserhead jumped to the ground and stood a few feet in front of Izuku.

Shouta actually found Jackrabbit, he wasn't expecting to, but he did. They looked just like the images Tsukauchi got of them on surveillance cameras. Shouta put his hands in his pockets, he was just here to talk for now. Luckily, his little tactic worked as he saw Jackrabbit's shoulders relax a bit.

“Jackrabbit.” 

He watched the kid straighten up and nervously fidget with their hands.

“O-oh, yes. Uhm, hi! Mr. Eraserhead…” 

The kid’s eye flicked around the alley, they were nervous but they didn't seem flighty. Shouta was upset at how young they sounded, he was expecting them to be around 16 or 17, they sounded 14.

“You know who I am?”

“Huh? Y-yes, of course. I know a lot about heroes.” A hero fan? Shouta didn't think they sounded excited about it. They sounded more.. defeated. They could've been let down by heroes. 

Shouta nodded. “Why don't we talk for a bit?”

Jackrabbit tilted their head and shrugged.

“Your name?”

Jackrabbit crossed their arms. Shouta expected that. “Of course. The station knows you as Jackrabbit, is that alright?”

They nodded. “Yeah, that's fine. I like the name.”

“Then about your age, how old are you?”

They crossed their arms again. “I won't give an exact age but it's pretty clear I'm not an adult.”

Shouta hummed tiredly. Again, he wasn't expecting a lot of answers tonight.

“Then what's a… young man like yourself doing fighting villains?” He guessed their gender, he'd find out if he was right or not by their response.

“I’m just trying to save people. That's what every hero does, right?”

They’re male then, he'd tell Tsukauchi later. 

“You are a vigilante, something very different from a hero.”

Jackrabbit huffed. “Not that different…”

“Why not try to get a hero license?” If the kid was so eager to be a hero then he just needed to go about it the proper way.

“I… can't.”

Shouta sighed, kids. Always being difficult. 

“And why can't you? If it's about your quirk I assure you any quirk can be useful when applied correctly.”

Jackrabbit didn't say anything but he did look at his shoes, then to Shouta. Shouta dug through his head for what those red shoes meant, he knew he'd seen them before…

It suddenly clicked, the problem child is quirkless. Shouta narrowed his eyes at Jackrabbit. A quirkless vigilante? Shouta knew people often claimed he was like a quirkless hero because of his fighting style, but that simply wasn't true. Shouta’s quirk allowed him to level the playing field in most situations, essentially making it a fight between quirkless people as long as he continuously erased the other person’s quirk. Even just that small difference made it easier for Shouta to be a hero. Someone who was actually quirkless wouldn't have such an advantage, they'd have no advantages. Shouta didn't believe it was impossible for a quirkless person to be a hero, but certainly not some untrained teenage kid on the streets.

“I don't believe this is a good idea, Jackrabbit. When you have no quirk to assist you in battle you're putting yourself in an even more dangerous situation than it'd normally be..”

Shouta clearly said the wrong thing as Jackrabbit stiffened, their voice eerily quiet and monotone. Nothing like that excited yet nervous voice from before.

“Is that so… I see. I’ll keep that in mind, Aizawa. I should get going though.”

Jackrabbit bowed and made his way up the building Shouta was previously on before disappearing from view.

Shouta sighed deeply, he'd have to find a way to apologize some time. He didn't want to discourage or invalidate Jackrabbit, he simply wanted the kid to be safe.

Izuku hopped from building to building, his breath catching in his throat. It was embarrassing but he felt tears welling in his eyes. He hopped down the building he was on and landed on the ground with a thump. He took off his mask and respirator to wipe the tears that had started falling. The warehouse was close by, he'd just run the rest of the way.

By the time he did get home his eyes were puffy and the quiet tears turned to audible sobs. Izuku felt pathetic, crying just because one of the few heroes he still liked also denied him. It was ridiculous. He'd just have to throw out any Eraserhead clothes he happened to still have. 

He shoved his way into his room and dug through the basket of clothes he had, tossing anything even remotely Eraserhead related behind him. Izuku would show him, show all the heroes how great he could be. It didn't matter if one more person said he couldn't, Izuku would persist anyway. Their opinions of him didn't matter, he'd decide what he did and how he did it.

Izuku dropped the pile of Eraserhead merch out of his room, he'd throw it all out tomorrow. He was tempted to scratch out Eraserhead’s page in his hero analysis book but decided not to, he could use that information against the hero. Izuku flopped down on his bed, the tears had finally stopped but now he was exhausted. 

Izuku laid silently, just looking up at the ceiling. He needed to remind himself why he was doing this, why he wanted to be a hero, why he couldn't listen to anyone who said otherwise. He needed to remind himself to keep living. If he died, by his own hands or an enemy's, he'd be proving everyone who hurt him right. If nothing else, Izuku would live out of sheer spite.

Izuku took a deep breath to calm himself, he could feel his eye and eyebrow twitch with irritation. He eyed the little paper card hanging off his desk. Right, the ‘One-Stop-Shop’ he said he'd check out today. He'd go, even if it was almost 2am, he needed a distraction and maybe an excuse to beat up villains if that's how it ended up going.

He put back on his rabbit mask and respirator and grabbed the card to look up the coordinates. He left his hideout and typed the numbers into a map app and made his way over. Maybe he'd be able to eat some real food there as insufferable as being surrounded by villains would be.

Izuku stood outside the facility. It looked surprisingly high quality, not run down and sad-looking like Izuku was expecting. It didn't have a drab atmosphere like he thought it would either, instead the vibe it gave off was weirdly warm and welcoming. Yellow light shone through the windows and Izuku could hear laughter from inside. He mentally prepared himself to walk in and wait as everyone stopped enjoying themselves solely because of his presence. He took a step but was cut short by the sound of Giran’s voice.

“Jackrabbit!”

The man walked over with his arms out to the side.

“Welcome, welcome. I’m surprised you came so soon.”

Izuku didn't respond to the man, still mad he knew where the warehouse was. Giran cleared his throat nervously. “Ahem, right. Still, I'm glad to see you here. Come on in!”

Giran pushed the double doors and Jackrabbit followed closely behind, readjusting his mask and respirator to make sure his face was fully covered. 

The place was filled with people, either at tables, booths, bar stools, or just hanging around.

The place was huge, Izuku had to turn his head to see from one side to the other. The floor was wood and the walls were covered in an autumn forest theme wallpaper. There were lots of tables, a mix of round and rectangular ones, all with four or more seats to each. Along the walls were booths with padded seats, and along a bar in the back were bar stools. What looked like waiters made their way through the cramped spaces between the tables, delivering food and drinks to the people sitting down. There were a lot of decorations too, from fake katanas plastered on the walls, to one of those weird talking fish things, to nets and hammocks strung up from the ceiling. There were even people in the nets and hammocks, some sleeping and some just relaxing. At the very back was a bar that spanned the entire room from one end to the other, hundreds of different drinks and glasses filled the shelves on the back wall.

Izuku was awestruck. He would've thought this place was a 5-star underground bar run by rich people if he hadn't been explicitly told it was by villains, for villains. Apparently villains love presentation more than anything. Izuku looked around wildly, trying to take everything in. Beside him, Giran laughed proudly.

“Haha, I know, right? I put a lot of work into this place. Even more work to keep it self sufficient and away from the heroes.”

Izuku hated to admit it, but this place was really cool. He was still nervous though, through the corner of his eye he could see people looking at him only to turn away when he went to meet their gaze. There were also a few faces he recognized, having turned them into the police before, he wasn't sure how they were already let out... Izuku really hoped the villains here would respect the ‘play nice’ rule as much he would.

Giran stepped forward and motioned Izuku to follow. Giran turned his head to the side so he could walk and look at Izuku at the same time.

“Like I mentioned, this place has anything you need and all for free. Funded by tax fraud and money laundering of course.” 

Izuku’s eye twitched. He’d just ignore the fact Giran said that… as far as Izuku knew this place was funded legally.

“So, what didja come here for?” Giran turned to face him and leaned against the bar counter.

“Ah, j-just something to eat.” Izuku was really starting to feel claustrophobic, being literally surrounded by villains was freaking him out. He'd just eat and leave as soon as possible.

Giran spoke with the bartender for a bit before grabbing a menu and handing it to Izuku.

“Just tell Wendigo here what ya want and she’ll make it for ya. She's the best cook we have, i'm sure you'll love it.”

Izuku grabbed the menu and nodded, looking over the options.

“Oh and don't worry about the villains here, they know not to start any fights in my place. Though, can't do anything about them starting fights outside so be careful on your way out, yeah?” Giran gave a wink and took his leave, ducking into a ‘staff only’ door. 

Izuku sat on one of the bar stools and lazily looked over the menu, he was already tired and being here was not helping. Seeing that katsudon was on the menu he ordered that. Wendigo took the menu back from him. She was a tall, muscular lady wearing a deer skull as a mask. Izuku thought the skull mask was a really cool idea but kept the compliment to himself. He'd avoid talking to anyone here for as long as he could.

He waited idly, tapping his finger and messing with his mask's floppy ears as his food was being made. Wendigo didn't say how long it'd take but he didn't want to leave and risk his food being thrown out or something. There was a lot of clanking in the kitchen, he could actually see what was going on if he looked in between all the glasses of wine and beer on the shelf. He was a little concerned when he saw fire rise from a stove but the chef wasn't bothered…

He looked over the sea of villains. Things were surprisingly peaceful, it was just people talking and enjoying themselves with friends. It was so… normal. A kind of normal Izuku’s always been chasing after. They looked less like villains the more he looked at them. Izuku laid his head on the bar counter. He wondered if he'd ever be able to achieve a normal life. He liked how he was doing currently, but if there was one thing he'd change it was having friends. He and Kacchan had a complicated relationship. Izuku would be lying if he said they were traditional friends. He didn't have any friends in elementary school either, and becoming a vigilante made it difficult to meet new people since he was always keeping his identity a secret. Izuku's only ever had one person by his side through thick and thin; Kacchan. So even if he was mean, or said awful thing, or hurt him, Izuku just didn't have it in him to completely throw away his lifelong relationship with the other boy. Their lives were intertwined more deeply than Izuku realized.

These villains spoke with each other so freely, Izuku envied them. He wanted that kind of comradery too, but vigilantes weren't all that common, he didn't want to befriend villains, and heroes would try to arrest him.

…It’s fine. He chose this life, if being a vigilante means he has to be alone, he'd accept that, he was already mostly alone before. Now he was alone and saving lives, an improvement. He was brought out of his thoughts as a glass bowl clanked against the counter. He lifted his head up and pulled it closer to him.

“O-oh, thank you very much!” 

He looked up to see Wendigo again, leaning an elbow on the counter.

“Hmm… Jackrabbit, huh?”

Izuku looked off to the side and nodded.

“Uhm, yes?”

Izuku internally begged her to stop talking to him, it didn't work.

“Giran talks about you a lot.”

“G-good things, I hope?”

She pushed herself off the counter and made a ‘so-so’ gesture with her hands.

“You enjoy your food then, Cottontail.”

…Cottontail?? Izuku brushed aside the nickname, not entirely sure what she meant by it. He was hungry and tired, he'd eat then leave.

He pulled his respirator down but kept his rabbit mask up, luckily it covered his freckles. It did show the bandages that still covered his right eye though. He'd just have to eat extra quickly.

He scarfed down his Katsudon, keeping his head low to try and prevent anyone from seeing his bandages. Most of the people who had looked at him when he first entered were now minding their own business, even the ones he previously got arrested. He did want to arrest them again, but again he was tired and didn't want to break the ‘play nice’ rule. When he finished his katsudon he quickly fit his respirator back on his face and double checked his mask. When he was sure he was covered he called over Wendigo again.

“What’s the tale, Cottontail?”

??? Izuku didn't know what to say to that so he said nothing.

“I-i’m just done with my food and wanted to know what to do with my dish…”

She held out her hand and he passed the bowl over.

“I’ll take care of it for you, you leaving early then?”

“It's 3 in the morning…”

“Exactly. Come back again sometime, Loppy.”

The rabbit nicknames were getting out of control but he wasn't going to say anything, she might get mad if he did.

“Right… bye…” 

He scurried out of the One-Stop-Shop right after she left his line of sight. No one followed him out either, he’ll admit Giran saying he couldn't stop fights outside had made him paranoid. He clawed up a building and hopped through buildings as usual to get home.

Izuku fell backwards onto his mattress. He was so tired he might just fall asleep in his vigilante outfit… no, it was too uncomfortable. Trying to move as little as possible and refusing to leave his bed, he changed into some pajamas. His outfit, which was normally folded and placed on the desk, was thrown into a pile beside his bed.

Today felt way longer than it should have been. It was time for Izuku to go to sleep.

Chapter Text

By the time Izuku woke up it was already 1pm. Izuku was twisted up like a pretzel in his blankets. He'd slept well, but too well apparently since he'd slept a total of 10 hours. He untangled himself out of his blankets and sat up sluggishly. No time to waste though, if he wanted to be able to get in a workout and stretching and a meal before his patrol he'd have to start his day right this second.

He stood and stretched. He had a few things he wanted to get through today, first up was learning more about Trigger since it seemed to be a big deal amongst villains. Izuku absently wondered if he could ask around One-Stop-Shop and see if anyone there knew anything before coming to the realization that the villains would just get mad at him, obviously. Izuku slumped into his desk chair and opened his laptop, after a bit of info digging he'd eat one of the convenience store sandwiches he still had, do his routine workout, and see if he can steal some clothes from Aimono’s after trashing the Eraserhead merch he set outside his door. Despite waking up in the afternoon Izuku felt like it'd be a productive day.

Katsuki has been spiraling. Not something he liked to admit but it was true. Another week went by with no sign of Izuku. Katsuki was all kinds of pissed off, confused, worried, and betrayed. He could admit that in his head, just not out loud. His therapist said it was ‘progress’ Katsuki called it annoying emotional bullshit that got in the way of everything. His quirk was still finicky. He'd been able to spark off access and damage things like inanimate targets, but only if there was no one else around. If there were people in his vicinity his quirk just… wouldn't. It just wouldn't.

Katsuki had done enough thinking to know the reason why, he just didn't like the reason. Yes, he was being overly stubborn, but if he wasn't stubborn—wasn't angry—what else was left? Sadness, grief, guilt, jealousy? Katsuki didn't want to feel that shit. He was trying to double and triple down, it just hadn't been working as well this past week.

So yeah, he was spiraling. His therapist and parents knew, of course they did. Katsuki couldn't hide shit from his parents no matter how hard he tried. His teachers or the class extras in class though? They knew him as the same old Katsuki as always. He still had an ego to uphold after all.

His therapist had recommended him to train at his local gym, one of the fire proof, single-person, lockable ones. He didn't like his therapist—solely because of her occupation as his therapist and not because of her personally—but he decided to listen to her advice. He texted his mom he wouldn't be home for a few hours and made his way to the gym, it was only a few blocks away.

As he walked he checked his phone, he constantly did for any updates on Izuku, which of course there never were any. He was scrolling through some hero forums when he saw something interesting. A post about a new vigilante in Musutafu. A green rabbit… it infuriatingly reminded him of Izuku. He knew it was ridiculous. The color green reminded him of Izuku, any quirk analysis reminded him of Izuku, red shoes reminded him of Izuku. Katsuki was sick of it. He shut his phone off and stuffed it in his pocket, he wasn't gonna read a stupid article about a stupid green rabbit villain!

He shoved the door to the gym open with his shoulder. He was already pissed off and if his quirk started being difficult again he might just punch the first person who approaches him. He ignored the girl at the front desk and walked to one of the fire-proof rooms.

Inside were a few hung up sandbags, blue foam mats, as well as some weights and training dummies standing around the room. He dropped his school bag by the floor and walked up to one of the sandbags. He let off a few sparks from his quirk, it was working well enough. He'd burn off some steam and work on quirk control for a few hours. That should help him with the mess going on in his head.

Katsuki stayed much longer than he planned to, around 3 hours in total. He meant to stay for only 30 minutes or an hour. It didn't matter how long he stayed anyway, he didn't actually feel any better than before, only more tired. At least he'd be able to fall asleep at a reasonable time. He was sweating head to toe by the time he was done, and breathing hard too. He didn't cry at all while he trained either, anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

He wiped the sweat off of his brow and walked back to the door, scooping his bag off the floor. The gym’s main room was bathed in a golden glow. Katsuki was ready to walk home to do his homework when some random guy grabbed his shoulder. Katsuki involuntarily recoiled at the touch.

“Oh! Sorry, sorry! Right, should've asked first haha!”

Katsuki turned to see some red haired loser smiling like life was good. Katsuki scowled, the hell did this guy want?

“Hey so, you were training right? Think we could spar?” He looked so damn happy just asking, it was pissing Katsuki off. 

“Hell no.” 

Katsuki left before shitty hair could say anything more. He wasn't going to be a part of whatever that was. He had shit to do and it's not like he could use his quirk against another person anyway. The loser'll have to find someone else to be his sparring buddy. Katsuki sped-walked home, silently seething the whole time. Why the hell was that guy so happy? Why was he pissing Katsuki off? He knew why, but he refused to say it.

He got to his house and stepped inside, and as soon as he did his shoulders relaxed a little. The hag hadn’t been as harsh as she was before Izuku disappeared. A part of Katsuki wanted to yell at her, fight back and say he didn't need her pity, another part of him desperately craved that soft and gentle touch, the reassurance he'd be okay, that Izuku would be okay.

He blinked a couple times, god he was almost crying as often as Izuku now, it was god damn pathetic. Apparently he spent too much time wallowing in self pity in the doorway because his dad walked over to him.

“Welcome home, Katsuki. Everything okay?”

Katsuki growled under his breath, between fighting back and accepting comfort he'd made his choice.

“Fuck off! I’m fine!”

Without even taking his shoes off Katsuki stormed to his room, the hag called after him to come back out for dinner soon. He dumped his school books on his desk and slumped into his chair. He was restless and exhausted at the same time. Not exactly a new thing but annoying all the same. He laid his head on top of the books and sighed. Everything sucked and nothing mattered and his life was falling apart and who cares? He buried his head in his arms, he probably just needed some sleep.

Maybe he really should spar with that red-haired kid.

Izuku had made lots of progress on finding out about Trigger. His cork board was filled with new names and sketches of villains he thought were heavily involved with Trigger. Izuku closed his laptop, put the sketch in his utility belt and put on his vigilante outfit. He was starting his patrol early again but with how many villains he was going to go after it was for the best.

He adjusted his leg braces and fixed his masks. He'd taken the bandage off his right eye so he could see through both eyes. The wound had healed enough for him to wear the mask and respirator without irritating it. His vision was blurry, but field of vision and depth perception seemed fine: his right eyelid stayed droopy and lower than his left. Izuku sighed and accepted that the wound was pretty much fully healed, and that's how his eye was from now on. Unfortunate, but what’s done is done.

Izuku stuffed a small notebook in his utility belt, he had a list of names of villains connected to Trigger. He planned on trying to find them, question them, restrain them and leave them for the police. He’d scratch out the names as he went down. Izuku left his hideout and stretched as he walked towards the city. Sure what he was about to do would be more dangerous than his previous patrols but he was almost excited. It was the same feeling he had on his first patrol, giddy and eager to fight despite his total lack of professional training.

Izuku clawed his way up a building and looked over the city, the sun setting behind all the buildings. Izuku took a deep breath. He’s got this.

Izuku was currently stalking a villain, the fifth one on the list. He was following the woman from above, walking along the building's edge. The woman was supposedly a well known Trigger dealer who was on her way to sell her current briefcase full of the drug. Izuku stayed low and kept his footsteps silent. She had walked beneath a particular light in the alley, the yellow lighting casting an ominous glow over her.

Izuku made his way to the building she was leaning against to watch from above, people were always less likely to look up when doing anything shady. Izuku sat criss-cross on the building, he might as well get comfortable. He took out the notepad and went over what he knew about her: she was in her early 40s, her quirk was a hypnosis quirk that needed the victim to look into her eyes for five seconds or more to take effect, she doesn't make Trigger, she only distributes it. In other words, she was low on the ladder. Izuku was trying to make his way to the source but in order to get there he'd have to get information from villains easier to find.

Izuku put his notepad away when an older man approached the woman, the man had a heteromorphic quirk, he had a multitude of shark features across his body. The man stood next to the woman and leaned against the building as well. Izuku was confused as to why they were acting all nonchalant and innocuous when to their knowledge, no one else was around. Either way, they started speaking.

“You got it for me?” The man spoke gruffly. 

“You know it. Still want the entire briefcase?”

The man nodded silently. The woman continued.

“Full price, you know how much.”

The man grumbled but pulled out a few wads of cash and handed them to the woman without looking in her eyes. She took it and counted it, humming in satisfaction. “Good. Here.” She held the briefcase out and the man snatched it from her.

Izuku hit the stop record button on his burner phone, he was glad he thought to record it. Now he had to figure out how to deal with the two. The woman had a mental quirk and from what Izuku could find, never fought physically. He’d prioritize the shark man then. Izuku put his phone in his utility belt and knelt down, getting ready to leap down.

He pushed off the building and aimed to land on the shark man's back. He pushed off the man, causing him to face-plant into concrete and drop the briefcase. Izuku heard the woman gasp behind him but ignored her. He grabbed the briefcase and tossed it to the roof of the building. Izuku couldn't let any of the villains he was hunting down tonight inject themselves with Trigger, if that did happen Izuku wasn't sure he’d be able to handle them.

Back to the fight, the woman seemed to have fled. Izuku’s eye twitched. That was where he was supposed to get more info from… He’d try and find her later.

The shark man had recovered and started barreling towards Izuku. He hopped up, jumping over the man. Izuku had to keep dodging, the man would occasionally ram into a wall but it didn't hurt him much. He was clearly durable… Izuku wasn't sure if he'd be able to actually hurt the villain at all.  Izuku ducked when the man tried to charge him again, he had run into so many walls his head started bleeding. 

“You should really stop running into walls… You’re gonna give yourself a concussion.”

The man told Izuku to shut up. Fine then, Izuku would just play the dodge game as the man gave himself brain damage. It'd help Izuku if anything. 

The man had started swaying, he wouldn't be on his feet for long. Izuku may or may not have quickened the process by kicking the back of the guy’s legs. The shark man fell to the floor, unconscious. 

Izuku made his way back up the building, grabbed the briefcase, and ran in the direction the woman had gone in. As he jumped between buildings he pulled out his burner phone to report the shark man. He was sure the operator could tell he was on the move not only by his panting but also because Izuku mistimed a jump once. Either way, the police were on the way to where the shark guy was. 

Izuku had found where the woman had run off to and was currently chasing her. She was fast and kept making erratic turns to th and lose him. Every few minutes she’d look up to him and try to activate her quirk, Izuku just made sure to look to the side of her whenever she tried it.

Eventually she ran down a dead end, Izuku hopped down in front of her, briefcase in hand. He kept his eyes on the ground to avoid her quirk. He dropped the briefcase to the ground and kicked it away with his foot. He should be able to retrain her quickly, then interrogate, then move on to the next villain on the list. Izuku had spent more time than he wanted to on the two villains.

“What the hell?! What do you want? If you wanted some you could've just bought it!”

Izuku ignored her instigations and ran forward. He kicked her in the side and while she was off balance he pulled out the restraint tape and tied her hands behind her back. She tried to wriggle out of them and shake Izuku off but that just made him wrap the tape around her entire torso.

In her struggle she fell to her side, Izuku tried to catch her but when he did she bit him.

“Ow! Hey! Ugh, calm down…” He rubbed his hand, his glove helped lessen the bite but it still hurt.

“Stay there.” He pointed at the woman. She had a horrifying expression on her face and Izuk quickly turned away to grab the briefcase.

He leaned down to it and opened it, making sure to look back at the woman every few seconds to make sure she didn't try anything. The briefcase was similar to the one he found before, the only difference is this one had more vials in it. Izuku held one of the vials in his paw and swished it around. He wondered what would happen if he took Trigger, it was supposed to enhance someone's quirk and make low-level quirks stronger by affecting the person’s quirk factor directly. Izuku didn't have a quirk factor, so what would it do to him? Nothing, probably. He placed the vial back in the briefcase, he'd be taking it with him, it could be useful as a bargaining chip in future interrogations. Speaking of, he needed to ask the woman questions.

He walked over and sat in front of her, looking at her forehead instead of her eyes. Her quirk was very interesting but very bad for him.

“Okay, I have a few questions I need to ask.” He placed the briefcase in his lap.

“I have nothing to say to you.” She was staring directly into his eyes, he just had to make sure to not look back.

“Surely there's something you could say… Why are you selling Trigger? Don't you know what it does to people? And who did you get your supply from?”

She didn't respond. Izuku sighed. God damn it, nothing was working in his favor.

“Okay… I’ll just call the police.”

That got the woman's attention.

“What? You’re actually gonna turn me in? But I swore I saw you at Giran’s place.”

Izuku took out his burner phone and paused.

“Yeah? I was there but I'm still a vigilante. You didn't know that?” Izuku wasn't famous but he'd taken down a number of villains, and he was sure villains would’ve gossiped about him.

“Why the hell is Giran letting a vigilante in there?! Trust me, I'll make everyone know damn well who you are…”

Izuku shrugged, he was already working under the assumption that villains knew who he was, some lady tattling to all the other villains didn't mean a lot to Izuku. He returned his attention to his phone, finally calling the police to report the woman as well. Izuku wouldn't admit to this but he'd also taken the wads of cash the shark man gave her, then ignored all the complaints she yelled at him.

Izuku made his way up the dead end the woman ran into. He was pissed, she didn't give him any leads at all. With the briefcase full of Trigger in one hand and his notebook in the other he went down the list of villains. There was another villain who could tell him where Trigger came from, apparently he went by Obsidian. If he remembered correctly their quirk allowed them to sharpen any part of their body to be as sharp as well, obsidian. It'd be a difficult fight but Izuku really wanted to progress on this investigation.

He readjusted his grip on the briefcase and headed in a random direction. He’d find out Obsidian’s location somehow, even if he had to pay Giran for the information.

After 30 minutes of fruitless searching Izuku really did have to pay Giran for the information… at least the money he stole from the woman’s drug deal made up for it. Now he could focus on getting information on Obsidian.

Izuku hastily made his way over buildings, Obsidian was close by, now it was just a matter of finding him. 

That didn't take long either. Izuku heard crashing sounds and went to investigate thinking someone was in danger, but it was just Obsidian shredding apart a random trash can. The man had bright, white, buzz cut hair, red piercing eyes, and teeth sharp enough to bite through metal. His clothes were all kinds of torn up, a side effect of his quirk no doubt. Izuku smiled under the respirator, found him. 

Izuku set the briefcase of Trigger on the building and jumped down to drop kick the villain. He was able to land the hit but Obsidian remained upright. He stood in the mess of shredded metal and turned to Izuku. Obsidian's quirk was already activated, the man's entire body being knife-sharp. He took a step towards Izuku with a hunched posture and a manic smile.

“Now what's this? Some little rabbit? Aw, how cute.” The man’s voice started off sickeningly sweet but quickly deepened. “What are you here for, brat? I’m busy.” He spat out.

Izuku lowered himself to the floor and braced himself for a fight.

“I want to know where you get Trigger from. I’m doing an investigation of sorts…” He wasn't sure how his voice was so steady, but he was thankful he wasn't a stuttering mess.

Obsidian laughed. It was a deep, mocking kind of laugh.

“Ahahaha… That’s funny. You think i'd tell you? I know who you are, rabbit.”

Izuku figured that was the case, but it still made things more difficult. 

“So… you won't answer my question?”

Izuku took a deep breath, sure the atmosphere felt more suffocating than any other time he fought a villain but he'd probably still be fine.

Obsidian laughed again. “I’ll answer you if you can actually defeat me. Let’s make it a game. “

Izuku didn't agree to the terms but it didn't matter. Obsidian started charging forward anyway.

Izuku duck and rolled out of the way, practically throwing himself into a wall. Obsidian was quick to course correct though, he spun on his heel and ran for Izuku again. Izuku tried to jump out of the way again but Obsidian was quick, he'd turned around at just the right time to cut Izuku’s leg mid jump. The cut ran from his ankle to just below the knee. Izuku cursed internally, he'd gotten bruises and cuts before but nothing like this.

Obsidian didn't let up, he kept charging at Izuku time after time. More and more cuts littered Izuku’s legs, tearing through his leg braces.

Obsidian stopped charging and stalked forward, slashing sharpened hands at Izuku. He was eerily reminded of the first villain he'd fought. Izuku continuously backed up but eventually his back hit a wall. He was panicking. Obsidian could sharpen any part of his body, every part of him was a weapon. Izuku always fought bare handed but right now trying to land any kind of punch or kick would only cause him more pain and wounds. What was he supposed to do? Shit... he definitely miscalculated...

Obsidian pressed his fingers together and aimed for Izuku’s head. Izuku ducked in the nick of time, rolling out to the side and circling around the villain.

“Stay still, rabbit.”

Izuku kept his distance, he needed a weapon, any kind of weapon… he eyed the torn apart garbage can, there were large pieces of sharpened metal strewn across the floor. Even if it wouldn't pierce Obsidian’s body he could use it for protection. Dodging another one of Obisidian’s attacks, Izuku grabbed a large sheet and stuck it beneath his arm. Obsidian was still chasing Izuku, eventually catching the boy at a dead end. Izuku kept his back to the wall and his eyes of Obsidian, he needed a way out or… or.. something! Izuku really didn't know what to do. The villains he always fought had unhelpful or easy to counter quirks, no professional training and no fighting experience. Obsidian looked like he was made to fight, Izuku remembered some other villains saying he was in professional boxing at one point.

None of that mattered here, what mattered was his survival. Obsidian stalked closer, slowly. It was clear he was enjoying Izuku’s fear, it really was a game to him… 

Obsidian suddenly leaped forward, jumping several feet in the air and aiming his sharpened fingers right at Izuku’s neck. He fumbled for the piece of metal under his arm and stuck it between his face and Obsidian’s claws. It worked. There was a grating scratching sound as Obsidian’s claws dug through the metal.

Obsidian laughed. Izuku was downright horrified at this point, what the hell was even happening?

“Clever rabbit. I’m getting bored though…” 

Obsidian pulled his hand back, taking the sheet of metal—and Izuku—with it. He was flung from one alley to another, rolling across the ground before his head hit concrete. Izuku scrambled to his feet as Obisidan approached but he wasn't fast enough.

Obsidian stabbed his fingers through Izuku’s shoulder and lifted the boy up. Izuku couldn't bite down the yell of pain as he tried to squirm out the villain's grip; all the moving simply made the sharpened ends dig deeper into him, blood dripping down his costume.

“Isn’t this fun?”

Izuku tried to reach his hand up to the wound, to pry it off or get Obsidian off or anything!

Nothing worked, Obsidian angled his fingers down causing Izuku’s body to fall to the ground, like a piece of meat sliding off the hook it was hung on.

Izuku’s head hit concrete for the second time, he tried to push himself up but the pain in his shoulder was too much.

Obsidian leaned down and glared at Izuku.

“Aw, better luck next time, right? You shouldn't bite off more than you can chew.”

Izuku’s vision was shaky but he could clearly see Obsidian raise his hand. Izuku was sure he would die. It certainly felt like it.

Three sharp fingers slashed his left side, digging far deeper into his body than his shoulder wound did. Immediately, blood pooled around him, tainting the trash scattered around the two.

Obsidian laughed one last time before turning away. 

“Have fun bleeding out, I'll be back for rabbit stew later.”

Izuku squirmed and shifted in the dark uselessly. He was trying to move, crawl, shuffle, drag himself, but it was no use. Izuku tried to calm his thoughts, his mind was so frantic and erratic, he had a headache. He needed to… take care of his wounds… He tried to recall the first aid he knew. Right, put pressure on the wound, the problem was both wounds were on his left side. He focused on the more lethal wound. The three slashes. He wrapped his hands around his side, wincing as he had to move his injured shoulder. If he could just get the bleeding to stop… he reached into his utility belt and pulled out some bandages, he just needed to stop the bleeding. He could figure everything else out after. He wrapped the bandages around his side loosely before grabbing the end and tightening it as much as he could. He groaned at the sudden pressure and pain that came from it, but he knew it was for the best. Next was his shoulder, he did the same, wrap it loosely then pull it tighter.

With both major wounds wrapped his arms fell beside him weakly. Izuku shifted to lay on his back, looking up at the night sky above him. He was gonna die here, he was gone prove the world right, he couldn't be a hero, it was too dangerous for him, he should've never tried. 

Izuku closed his eyes, he missed his mom.

Izuku opened his eyes to see the night sky. That didn't seem right. Wasn't he dead? Izuku slowly turned his head to the side, same alley… Okay, so he wasn't dead. 

Izuku didn't want to move, didn't want to get up or even think. But he had too. He remembered Obsidian saying he'd come back and Izuku was not going to stick around for that. So despite the immense amount of pain it brought, Izuku sat upright, his face scrunched in pain the entire time. Okay… Izuku needed a plan. He would… try to sew up his wounds? That sounded good. He shouldn't walk around with open wounds.

He positioned himself against the wall and slowly, and painfully, took off the top part of his vigilante costume. He could get a good look at the wounds now. The ones on his side were deep and utterly flooded with blood, Izuku had no idea how he was still alive or if his living status would last the rest of the day. His shoulder wound wasn't as bad, but still awful to look at. Red, raw, and blood gushing out. Izuku numbly got out a needle and thread, he didn't think he'd ever have to actually use it but here we are.

It was difficult, with the wounds being in rather hard to see or hard to reach places, and with Izuku having never sewn anything before, but he made it work. It was shabby, and quite literally tearing at the seams, but his wounds were stitched. He even got to the one that spanned his lower leg, just to make walking a little easier.

He wrapped his poorly stitched wounds in bandages, and all the other smaller wounds he missed while bleeding out, and put his shirt back on. He had an idea of where to go, he wasn't sure if they'd actually help, but he didn't know anyone or anywhere else that’d help.

Izuku used the wall to help himself to his feet, from there it was just a matter of limping all the way to the One-Stop-Shop at 4 in the morning.

Izuku made it, he actually did. He stood in front of Giran’s place, a bloody, barely standing mess. It was quiet, so quiet that Izuku assumed it was closed. Whether or not it was closed didn't matter to Izuku’s delirious mind though, so he walked in anyway. He made his way past the empty tables and to the bar, he looked around but Wendigo wasn't there. He didn't know what else to do so he sat on one of the stools and laid his bloodied head down.

A few minutes of delirium filled thoughts and daydreams later he felt someone tap his shoulder. He looked up to see Wendigo.

“Jackrabbit?”

Izuku sluggishly lifted his head.

“Wendigo?”

She made her way out from behind the bar and walked over to him.

“...Yes?”

Izuku tapped her skull mask with his finger. “I like your mask.” 

He laughed, a bit deliriously.

“Everything okay, Jackrabbit?"

Izuku planted his face into the counter. “Doctor.”

“Okay.”

Being careful of his bloodied injuries Wendigo picked Izuku up bridal style and brought him through the staff only door.

Izuku was only partially conscious. He could hear Wendigo and Giran’s voices but didn't understand whatever they were saying. It didn't matter, Izuku was tired, he'd just go to sleep.

The last thing he felt was his bare back on a cold metal surface, too tired to care, Izuku just fell asleep.

Hizashi didn't know why he was up at 5 in the morning. He was a morning person sure but the sun wasn't even up yet. Maybe it was the random anxiety he'd felt lately. There's been a very specific issue that's been bothering him, something he and Shouta both worried about constantly. It was Jackrabbit.

Hizashi knew him before he was a vigilante, when he was just some nervous kid with a rabbit mask asking for food. When he'd come in two, maybe three times a day to fidget nervously as Hizashi prepared his food. He was worried sick over the kid. Since the first report Jackrabbit made, he didn't show up at the food bank at all. He spent days thinking the kid had gotten hurt or killed, but then Shouta spoke about picking up the case. He was still worried, maybe even more so, but at least he knew the kid was alive now.

At least the kid was safe.

Chapter Text

Izuku blinked blearily. He had no idea where he was but his entire body hurt all over. The room he was in was blindingly white, it took a while for his eyes to adjust. When they did he eyed his surroundings, it was a hospital or clinic of sorts. He replayed yesterday's memories, right, all of his stab wounds. He couldn't remember how he got here though. Did someone find him? Did he crawl to find help? He guessed it didn't matter much. He could feel his mask and respirator still on his face, he reached up to take it off but someone—he he hadn't noticed was there until just this moment—spoke up.

“Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Of course, I wouldn't share your identity with anyone else but it's best to be careful, no?”

Izuku let his hands fall to his side as he turned his head. Beside the hospital bed he was lying on was a tall man with long brown hair and large circle glasses. The man’s eyes were swirled and for a moment Izuku thought he was seeing things when he realized it was likely just the man’s quirk. Izuku tried to sit up but the pain in his side prevented him.

“Yes, it's only been 13 hours since you sustained your wounds so movement is still very much restricted. Would you allow me to help you up?”

The man hadn't done anything wrong but something about him freaked Izuku out, so he shook his head.

“Very well, but I must ask that you stay as still as possible. We wouldn't want you tearing your stitches.”

Izuku nodded weakly. What the hell was even happening? Who was this?

“Ah, forgive me. I’ve yet to introduce myself. You may call me Clockwork. I won't be sharing my real name of course. You are Jackrabbit, yes?”

Izuku nodded again.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, then. I’ll be the one taking care of your wounds for now. Though do know, I have no control over you. While I recommend you stay bed-ridden for a few weeks at least, if you choose to leave, I can't stop you.”

Izuku hummed, he was glad he wasn't trapped here against his will, he still didn't know where ‘here’ was. 

“Uhm, where… am I?” His voice was rough and scratchy, he wished he had some water.

“You are at Giran’s. I am his only employed medical staff, I treat anyone who needs it regardless of villain or vigilante status.”

Knowing he was at the One-Stop-Shop actually made him feel better, at least he wasn't in an actual hospital or a stranger’s house. Clockwork leaned down and pulled a plastic water bottle from a bag.

“Water?”

Izuku still felt uneasy around the ‘doctor’ but nodded.

Clockwork helped him sit up on the hospital bed and handed Izuku the water. He pulled down the respirator but kept the rabbit mask up and drank the water. He nearly chugged it but left about a quarter of water still in the bottle.

He looked down at himself, the only remaining part of his vigilante outfit were his pants, now rolled up to his knee. His shirt, gloves, utility belt, leg braces, and arm wraps and shoes were all placed on the nightstand beside him. It made sense, his wounds were focused around his torso and legs. Clockwork said he could leave whenever but, could he? His lower legs were covered in cuts, a few of them pretty deep too. Izuku sighed, he wanted the pain to go away and to go home…

He eyed Clockwork again, the man gave off an unsettling vibe and Izuku couldn't pinpoint why. Unfortunately, it seemed he noticed Izuku’s hesitance.

“I see I’m frightening you. I apologize, It seems to be part of my quirk. People have told me that closing my eyes helps, would you like me to do that?”

Izuku shrugged. “...Sure? And c-could you get Giran?”

Clockwork closed his eyes and nodded. Despite not being able to see he was able to leave the room without issue. Izuku sighed, taking in the silence. He finally had some time to think.

He looked down and gingerly touched the stitches, wincing as he did. It was three slash marks, starting just under his last rib and ending above his pelvis. It went from his front side and wrapped around to the edge of his back. He moved onto the stab wounds through his shoulder, four little holes that were stitched up. It went completely through him, front of his shoulder and all the way through his muscle to his back. He couldn't even lift his arm up an inch without burning pain spreading across his entire left side. He ignored the multitude of starburst scars across his body, he didn't need to be reminded of Kacchan right now...

On his right leg, there was a line of stitches from his ankle to just below his knee. Izuku tested putting pressure on it by pressing his foot on the floor, predictably, it hurt like hell.

Izuku's eyebrows furrowed. Not even a month into his vigilante work and this happens? He’d undoubtedly have scars but what if the damage was bad enough to affect him permanently? Could he still be a vigilante? The answer to that was easy, yes. He’d still save people no matter what, even if he had scars all over his body or a thousand broken bones, he’d help anyone he could.

Izuku leaned against the back of the bed again, sitting up put too much pressure on his side. He didn't want to stay in this… underground illegal clinic?— any longer than he had to but with his injuries he might have to.

He flinched involuntarily when he heard the door open. He looked over to see Clockwork and Giran enter.

“Hey kid, how was almost dying?” The man stood with his arms in his pockets by the hospital bed.

Izuku glared and didn't dignify the question with an answer.

Giran laughed off the silence. “Right, right, too soon. Anyway, I see you've met Clockwork.”

He wrapped an arm around the supposed doctor.

“He’s a bit of a freakshow but he's saved a ton of lives. You're in good hands, I can promise you that.”

Izuku slowly nodded. Clockwork’s eyes were still closed and he had to admit, it did make the doctor feel less scary.

Giran shifted to see at the end of Izuku’s hospital bed. Clockwork stayed standing still, eyes closed and arms behind his back. What a strange individual…

Giran cleared his throat. “You’re probably gonna be here awhile, you should at least stick around until you're well enough to walk, right? I mean come on, top-tier medical care-” Clockwork seemed to beam at that. “-three well cooked meals a day, unlimited wifi, and you get to watch as many bar fights as you want. They’re prescheduled, don't worry.”

Izuku was confused and tired, why can't people just make sense? 

Giran got out his phone and began tapping away at it. Izuku noticed the case had little bunny ears on it and thought it was cute, if odd.

Suddenly, Clockwork walked over to a desk along the wall and gathered up some papers. He walked up to Izuku and handed the papers over, his eyes still closed.

“Here. More information on your injuries and the suggested treatments. Of course, if you stay here I'll be the one taking care of everything medically but if you do choose to leave when you can then please listen to the instructions I've written for you.”

Izuku took the papers in his hands. It was a few packets, all stapled together. Each page detailed a few of his injuries and how he should avoid making them worse and things to do to quicken his healing. Izuku was too tired to actually take in any of the information but he nodded anyway.

“Uhm, so about those well cooked meals?”

Giran pulled his gaze away from his phone. “Ah, right. I'll have Wendigo make it for you. She said that you got Katsudon last time, want that again?”

“Yes, please.”

Giran nodded and stood off the bed, cracking his spine as he stretched.

Giran took his leave and shortly after, Clockwork followed. He told Izuku to call him if he needed anything, then handed Izuku a piece of paper with his phone number on it. 

Izuku sighed. He wasn't enjoying the consequences of his actions. Since he’d have to stay in bed he might as well go back to the drawing board. Izuku now knew he was wholly unprepared when he went looking for Obsidian. As distressing as it was, he replayed the fight in his mind. Obsidian was stronger, faster, reacted quicker… had a quirk. Maybe he was just fated to lose the fight…

He pushed those thoughts away, he couldn't let himself spiral. He failed, but he'd improve.

Right, so he'd need to continue training after he was healed. He should try to find real support gear too, maybe learn to use weapons? 

The only thing he was sure of was that something needed to change if he wanted to avoid dying.

He was broken out of thoughts by the sound of the door opening, thankfully he didn't flinch this time. 

Clockwork walked forward and pulled a tray from beneath the hospital bed and set it up so Izuku wouldn't have to hold the bowl with his hands. Clockwork placed the food and chopsticks on the tray.

“Here you are. I will be right outside in my office. Do let me know if you need anything.”

Izuku thanked him as he left. He had a lot to think about as he ate. He needed to change the way he fought if he wanted to take down more dangerous villains. He made a new mental checklist; focus on recovering, after that focus on working out and his body, then find some way to learn actual fighting basics, lastly invest in support gear or weapons. He’d be more prepared next time, he’d be stronger.

He should make sure he doesn't die first though..

It was 11am and Katsuki was skipping school. It wasn't unusual for him, he still kept his grades up and the teachers never reported if he was tardy or absent anyway.

He just didn't want to be around all those damn extras.

Instead, he was making his way to the gym again. There was still 9 months until the U.A entrance exam but if Katsuki wanted to actually have a chance then he'd need to get his quirk back to how it was before. His therapist said if that's what he wanted to do then he'd need someone to spar with, to get over the ‘quirk not working when he tries to use it against someone thing’.

He flexed his hand as he walked, watching sparks dance across his palms. Like hell he'd let stupid feelings prevent him from being a hero.

He pushed the door to the gym open and made his way inside. He made his way to the locker room and showers first, he didn't want to train in his middle school uniform so he'd made sure to bring gym clothes. The changing room was empty too, it was almost eerie. Maybe it was just too early for most people.

He put on a simple black tank top and gym shorts and entered the same fire-proof gym room as before. He dropped his bag by the door and cracked his knuckles. He’d keep at it til the damn sun set if it meant he could get his quirk under control.

It was hours later, when school ended, that the red-haired kid from before appeared again. He peeked into the room Katsuki was in and lit up when he saw the blonde.

“Yo!”

Katsuki stopped sparking his palm as the redhead ran up to him. Katsuki was instantly irritated. 

“Good to see you here again. Hey, I realized we never introduced ourselves! I’m Ejiro Kirishima.” He pointed a thumb at himself and smiled brightly. Katsuki rolled his eyes but responded anyway. “Katsuki Bakugo.”

“Alright! Nice to meet ya, Bakugo!”

Katsuki just nodded, again.

“Sooo… training again? Can I join?” Kirishima had an expectant smile on his face.

Katsuki’s eyebrow twitched in irritation but shrugged. He didn't care as long as the other boy minded his own business.

“Alright, nice.”

Katsuki returned to his own training, practicing outputting his quirk at different levels while Kirishima moved to one of the sandbags beside Katsuki.

The two boys trained in silence for only 25 minutes before Kirishima started talking again.

“So what’re you training for? I’m trying to get into U.A! I know my quirk isn't really that flashy but it's really good for offense and defense. Oh, right, my quirk’s called Hardening, I can harden any part of my body which makes it kinda rock-like!” He hit his sandbags a few more times, his quirk active.

Katsuki hummed, just to show he heard. “I’m getting into U.A too.”

Kirishima stopped hitting his sandbag to smile at Katsuki.

“Woah, really? That’s amazing. Even more reason to train together right? I don't really have any training partners right now.”

He returned to punching the sandbag.

Katsuki’s quirk flickered at just the implication of sparring. He’d be fine doing quirkless spars for now though… It wasn't an entirely bad idea.

“We can do quirkless spars?” He raised an eyebrow at the other boy, who immediately lit up.

“Hell yeah! Fine by me!”

He abandoned the Sandbag he was at to run to one of the foam blue sparring mats. Katsuki huffed but walked over as well, clenching and unclenching his fists in preparation. Maybe it'd be nice to spar again…

The two boys stood opposite of each other, both in a fighting stance. Katsuki, ever impatient, started forward to get the first hit in. Kirishima brought his arms up to block Katsuki's hit and stepped to the side. The two spun around each other, each one getting hits, blocks, and dodges in. The only sounds in the gyms were the sound of shoes squeaking against the foam mat and their ragged breaths as they fought.

They weren't professionals by any means but they were still competent fighters. The fight ended when Katsuki kicked Kirishima’s leg and pinned the other boy to the mat.

“Aw, what!”

Katsuki stood and cracked his knuckles proudly.

“Ha! You never stood a chance, Shitty Hair.”

Kirishima got to his feet, stretching his arms. “My name is Kirishima! Let's go again.” 

Katsuki nodded and the two got back on the mat. They continued with spar, after spar. Both boys had a few wins and few losses, though Katsuki was in the lead with more wins than losses. As the sun started setting and a golden glow poured in through the gym's window the two agree to take a break.

Breathing deeply after all the non-stop sparring, Katsuki grabbed a plastic water bottle from his school bag. Katsuki saw Kirishima didn't have a water bottle of his own, idiot. Katsuki grabbed a second and tossed it to the redhead. Kirishima fumbled with the water bottle for a few seconds before finally grabbing it. “Yo! Thanks man, super manly of you to share.” 

Manly? Whatever.

Katsuki sat on a bench beside Kirishima and chugged his water. When Kirishima was done with his own he sat beside Katsuki.

“Man, you're a really good fighter. I could barely get any hits in!”

Katsuki couldn't hold back the prideful smile that spread across his face.

“Hell yeah I am. U.A only accepts the best.”

Kirishima nodded. There were a few minutes of semi-awkward silence before he spoke again.

“Hey, uh, can I ask a question? It might be uh, like, sensitive?”

Katsuki scoffed. He doubted whatever the boy was gonna ask would bother him.

“How come you don't use your quirk? I-I mean, I've seen it before. Sparks right? But everytime i see your quirk it kinda fizzles away. Y-you don't have to answer if you don’t want to!” He rubbed his neck sheepishly and looked away from Katsuki.

Katsuki’s jaw clenched involuntarily and he had to focus to avoid crushing his water bottle. Katsuki scowled as his leg started bouncing anxiously. Who the hell just asks that? Katsuki was ready to deck the extra across the face and never enter the gym again.

“None your fucking business is it?” He glared at the other. Kirishima looked at Katsuki and nodded.

“Yeah you're right. I shouldn't worry about that.”

Unsurprisingly, Kirishima apologizing just pissed Katsuki off more. He was going to stay silent, but it seemed his therapist’s personality was rubbing off on him because he felt the urge to talk instead of ignoring everything.

“Tch. My quirk is called Explosion. My sweat has nitroglycerin-like properties and my palms can ignite it. The answer to why it's being difficult is the same as before, none of your god damn business.”

Instead of being put off by Katsuki’s attitude, Kirishima smiled. “That's an amazing quirk! I’m sure you’ll be a great hero!”

Katsuki’s stomach lurched. He’s pretty sure Izuku’s said those exact same words before, same hopeful eyes and wide smile... Katsuki managed to scowl even more. Kirishima was eerily similar to Izuku in lots of ways, it was grating. The sickening optimism, the bright smile, the unwavering determination…

Katsuki's breath hitched in his throat, he couldn't be here anymore. He stood up a little too quickly for it to be normal. “I’m leaving.” He walked to the door, grabbed his back and left. Ignoring the confused and hurt look on Kirishima’s face.

Katsuki sulked home, texting the hag that he’d be there soon. He’d have to avoid Kirishima, for his own sanity. He just couldn't look at the other boy without being reminded of Izuku. He hated the constant reminders, but also couldn't let himself forget either. He huffed, he hated emotional contradictions. Why couldn’t his head just make sense?

He pushed his way into his house. “I’m back.” He kicked off his shoes and walked into the living area. His mom was on the couch, working on something on her laptop. His dad was in the kitchen, and it seemed like he was making nikujaga.

“Welcome home, brat.” The hag didn't even look up from the laptop.

“Uh-huh.” He walked through the living room towards his own room, feeling the gaze of his parents as he went. He ignored them, parents and their weird ass sixth sense to know when something’s wrong.

He sat at his desk again and got his workbooks out. He was ready for the day to be over. He'd try to avoid Shitty Hair for as long as possible, but judging from the boy's personality it wouldn't last long.

Katsuki sighed, his face squished against the palm of his hand. He couldn't help but begin to stare out the window... just like he always had.

God damn it, Izuku... where are you?

Izuku was feeling much better. Clockwork had given him some pain medication which really helped with the agony he was feeling before. He’d been given clean clothes to wear—simple light blue t-shirt and pants-while his vigilante costume was being washed, Clockwork even said he could sew it up for him.

The doctor was still… weird. He said it was an effect of his quirk. His quirk allowed him to see the specifics of a person’s physical and mental well-being, it wasn't a surprise he worked in the medical field. Izuku thought the quirk was interesting for sure, he even made a page for Clockwork in his quirk analysis journal. Maybe the weird feeling he got was because the quirk technically looked into the person’s mind? Sometimes people have a sixth sense for danger, maybe the nature of Clockwork’s quirk sets off that sixth sense?

Enough about Clockwork though. Izuku had all of his gear back—minus the briefcase of Trigger which Giran ‘confinscated’—so it was back to planning in his journal. For the last few hours he'd been going over what kind of support gears and weapons would help him the most. For support gear, Izuku thought about things like retractable rope or a grappling hook of sorts, smoke bombs or other chemical-based gear, better restraining gear, maybe something to help with his vision as well… there were so many different directions he could go in. For weapons, Izuku thought about something long range, but a bow or crossbow would be a hassle to carry around considering he was more of a quick-paced close combat kind of person. Knives or daggers could work, he’d be able to use them in tandem with his kicking style nicely. Maybe something electrified as a back-up? He definitely wanted a way to incapacitate villains more easily.

But then there was a rather glaring dilemma. Was it bad to rely on so much support gear? Most heroes had very few items to assist them, most only fought with their quirks. Izuku didn't have one. Maybe Eraserhead was right, was it really just too dangerous? Even if he does gear up, if he were to lose that gear he'd be in the same position as when he fought Obsidian. Helpless and at the mercy of a villain, It was a twisted stroke of luck that Obsidian was crazy and weird enough to leave Izuku bleeding out.

Izuku sighed. So many problems and so few solutions. It wasn't the first and it wouldn't be the last time Izuku remembered that he wouldn't have any of these issues if he just had a quirk.

He let himself fall back into the cushions of the hospital bed. All his problems would be solved if he had a quirk, but he doesn't, and he can't change that. He has to find his own way of doing things. He looked down at his notebook of ideas, he had nothing to lose. He’d go through with the support gear and weapons and see how it went. Clockwork said Izuku could leave as soon as his leg was ‘not mere moments away from falling apart’ which happened to be a week, after that he could use crutches to make it home.

Alright. He has a week to brainstorm! And learn how to make blueprints and weld and find out how to use knives and make chemical weapons… he’d figure it out.

Shouta was not having a very good day. Last night, a large pool of blood was found in an alley. There were drag marks but it looked like the victim moved themself instead of being dragged by the criminal. Either way, it didn't look good, made even worse by the fact Tsukauchi theorized the blood was Jackrabbits. Earlier that day, Jackrabbit reported a Trigger drug trade, the area the blood was found was also known for Trigger dealings. Specifically by a villain named Obsidian, who'd been slipping under the heroes radar recently.

Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew Jackrabbit would get himself hurt at some point but Shouta wasn't expecting it to be this bad. There was so much blood. He wasn't even sure if the kid was alive, if he was it’d have taken some serious medical attention. Tsukauchi and him had gone from hospital to hospital, seeing if any patient with stab wounds and green hair was admitted. Nothing, and nothing from the blood they found either.

They had no evidence, no lead to chase, no area to search. Shouta would continue his patrols but he had a feeling he wouldn't be seeing Jackrabbit for a long time. If the kid was alive, wounds like that would take time to heal. 

Shouta stood in the police lounge, waiting for coffee to fill his cup. He dreaded telling Hizashi that the kid was injured and missing. He sighed, sometimes he loved his job but it was times like these that made him remember why he hated it too.

Chapter Text

Izuku was glad to be home. It was May 20th, a week after his run in with Obsidian. Clockwork hadn't technically cleared him, but Izuku just took advantage of the ‘you can leave whenever’ rule, stole a crutch, and left. It took him an embarrassingly long time to get home, but he was finally here.

He limped his way to his room, then proceeded to drop everything he was carrying, which was his vigilante costume, gear, and the briefcase of Trigger that Giran had actually returned. Giran had stated ‘I mean, I do want it for myself but I'm not the one who stole it—found it, or whatever. All yours kid.’ then threw the briefcase at him…

If he wasn't physically and mentally exhausted he'd get to researching right away, but yesterday Giran made him watch 7 different back to back bar fights until it was 3 am, so Izuku was tired. Falling asleep at 9am seemed to be his new norm anyway.

He carefully laid himself on his bed, while his foot was okay enough to limp on, his side and shoulder still pained him everyday. He took off his masks and laid his head on his pillow. He was still in the light blue hospital-esque outfit Clockwork gave him despite his costume being repaired.

It didn't take long for Izuku to fall unconscious. He hoped he slept longer than usual, he needed the extra energy for the next few days.

When Izuku woke up, it was dark out. Not unusual for him in the slightest. He untangled himself from his blankets and stood up. He might as well sneak into the public showers since it was nighttime. He grabbed some casual clothes, a black shirt with a rabbit shadow puppet on it, and some baggy grey sweat pants. He made sure to grab boxers and a towel as well before slipping his sponge and rabbit mask on. He stuffed his spare clothes and towel into a duffel bag and slung it over his good shoulder and grabbed his crutch. Would it be stupid, reckless, and dangerous for him to try and break into places with still-healing wounds? Yeah. But he hadn't had a shower in a few days and was filthy with blood that hadn't been fully scrubbed away, so he was gonna do it anyway. 

Luckily he'd had time to practice with the crutch before he left the One-Stop-Shop so it wasn't like he was falling or anything. The public showers were on the edge of town anyway, he'd be fine.

He made his way over, surprisingly quietly. He took his usual way in, lock picking the back door. It was late enough that the employees were out, but the water was hooked up 24/7 so he didn't have to worry. 

He chose a random empty shower and leaned his crutch against the wall. He’d take a quick shower, sure what he was doing was technically already illegal, but he didn't want to ramp up the place's water bill too much. It’d be impolite.

He’s careful washing around his many, many, wounds. Painful, but necessary.

When he’s done he pats himself down with the towel, balancing halfway on one leg. Izuku has never been in so much pain in his life, even injuries Kacchan caused weren't this bad, aside from his face but that was an accident.

He slipped the comfortable clothes on and sighed in relaxation. The shower made him feel much better, like things were better than they actually were.

He slung the duffel bag back over his good shoulder shuffled to his crutch. He made his way out through the back door again and limped home, sticking to unpopulated alleys and back routes.

He made it back to the warehouse, it hadn't been more than 40 minutes. He stopped in front of his room, the bag of Eraserhead merch he meant to throw out was still there. Izuku shrugged, he'd throw it out later… probably.

Back in the familiarity of his room Izuku sat at his desk. Even with the constant pain he was in, he had important things to do. He was completely helpless against Obsidian, he'd have to work on his everything if he wanted to last as a vigilante. Izuku had lots of plans he had to get started on. From upgrading his base costume to making more support gear to hopefully figuring out how to use weapons. He was excited for the end result, but dreaded the process. He'd have to learn how to invent things and he could already imagine all the explosions.

He might as well get a head start. He flicked open his laptop, he remembers watching a pink haired girl work on inventions when he first arrived at the warehouse. Sure, everything she made blew up at some point, but she said it was a learning experience and Izuku had to agree. He'd rather what he was inventing blow up while he was still working on it than say it's complete and watch as it explodes out on the field. He didn't have the energy to actually start working, but he could start learning the basics.

He yawned, somehow tired even after sleeping all morning. It'd be a long night, but he was excited for it.

Izuku had promised himself he'd only watch some videos to learn the basic skills and wouldn't be actually working with any gear; he lied. He had moved himself and his laptop into the wider warehouse area and gathered the plethora of unused and abandoned support gear he wasn't using. He’d found plenty of tools in a storage closet and was taking apart a random grappling device he'd found while listening to one of the pink-haired girl’s—Mei, as he found out—videos. The thing she was working on had already exploded twice while Izuku barely managed to get a panel off his project. Still, even if he was just unscrewing things and taking out all the parts it was really fun. Plus, it wasn't too taxing on his wounds, since his side and torso wounds were on his left side and he was using his right hand.

It was oddly comforting, sitting in his warehouse and just tinkering away. This was his home, he could say that confidently by now. Still, as he thought that, he couldn't help but think of his mother. 

She really was amazing, well, is. It’s not like she's gone. If anything he’s the one who’s gone. He knows she misses him, he'd be delusional to think she's just moved on, even if he hoped she would. 

As he laid out the parts of the grappling device out, he let himself get lost in thought. Thinking of his mom always led him to the other most important person in his life, Kacchan. He still didn't completely like the explosive boy, but Izuku would always hope for him. Hope he became a better person, hope he became a hero, hope things turned out well for him. Maybe Izuku was just messed up in the head, rooting for someone who'd been so cruel to him, but he truly believed Kacchan could be a great hero. It was just that attitude of his…

He wondered how Kacchan was. Was he the same brash, stubborn boy as before? Or had Izuku’s disappearance changed something? Izuku couldn't say for sure, Izuku and Katsuki knew each other better than anyone else in the world, and yet they also knew nothing about each other. It was an odd relationship.

He was pulled from his thoughts as the device in his hand began whirring, parts of the rope in the device getting caught and tangled within itself. Before Izuku could get it to stop or untangle it… it exploded.

Izuku coughed and fanned the smoke away from his now smoke covered face. He looked at Mei’s video, she'd also blown something up somehow. At least he wasn't the only one. Izuku placed the exploded remains of the device to the side, there were plenty of other stuff to tinker with. If Izuku ignored the pain throughout his body then he'd say he was having fun. Maybe his forced downtime wouldn't be so bad.

He rifled through the box of spare support gear and picked up what looked like a smoke grenade. It had to be a smoke grenade because most support gear is made to be non-lethal. He knew it had to be a smoke grenade, so he pulled the pin and tossed it to a corner of the warehouse. No explosions rang out, he saw black smoke billowing out from the small, now used, grenade. Izuku wobbled his way over and grabbed the now empty grenade. He’d have real fun with this.

Smoke or paralyzing grenades were on the list of gear Izuku wanted to have. If he could figure out how to make them himself then he wouldn't have to associate with villains for gear. He sat back down in front of his laptop, a new video from Mei playing automatically, it was good background noise. 

He set the empty grenade down and grabbed another from the box. He didn't know how to open without pulling the pin but he'd figure it out. It was oddly relaxing. Sitting in the dark, empty warehouse with only the laptop giving him light as he tinkered and messed with whatever gadgets he could get his hands on. It’d be difficult to learn a new skill, especially something as complex as inventing, but he was excited for it. 

He was going to upgrade his vigilante gear and get a rematch with Obsidian. Next time, he'd win. Izuku let that competitive spirit fuel him, the spite to prove people wrong, the determination to show people just how strong he could be. He wouldn't wallow in pity and whine over not having a quirk. He was going to be an amazing hero, and he'd do it quirkless.

Katsuki officially decided he hated Kirishima. He was just too similar to Izuku. It was fucking scary. Like Izuku disappeared and suddenly someone just like him except with a kinda good quirk appears. There were countless ways Katsuki could compare the two. Kirishima mouthed off about heroes constantly, he always had a blinding smile on his face, always worried about Katsuki, was a total nerd, followed Katsuki around everywhere, didn't get mad when Katsuki yelled or pushed away. It was… scary. Katsuki already hated being reminded of Izuku and now some shark-toothed moron who was his exact copy personality-wise decides they're friends.

Now, Katsuki wasn't hiding in the gym locker rooms to avoid the redhead, he was strategically assessing the situation and waiting for the right moment.

It didn't matter how long he waited, or where he was to try and avoid it; just like Izuku, Kirishima always found him.

Katsuki was leaning against the wall of the gym, still in his gakuran, when Kirishima rounded the corner and stopped suddenly when he noticed the blonde.

“Woah! Bakugo! That's funny, I was just looking for you. What are you doing back here?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes and tried to sink deeper into the wall. He couldn't even look Kirishima in the eyes now, too similar...

“Nothing.”

Kirishima just tilted his head and smiled. “Alright? You ready to train, then?”

Katsuki pushed himself off the wall, his hands still in his pockets. “Nope, leaving.”

Kirishima sputtered and chased after him. “Already? Come on man, what's up?”

Katsuki’s scowl deepened. “Nothing.”

Kirishima frowned but didn't stop following Katsuki. The two stepped out of the gym, Katsuki didn't know where he was going, he was trying to get away from Kirishima but clearly that wasn't working.

The redhead just followed behind Katsuki where ever he went. Always just a few feet behind, not a care in the world. Acting as if Katsuki was the best damn person in the world.

Just like Izuku.

After a while Kirishima started going on about his favorite hero. Listing every fact possible, things no one should even know. Mentioning recent fights and random trivia.

Just like Izuku.

Katsuki found himself at the park he and Izuku used to play at. He hadn't meant to walk here. Kirishima wouldn't stop asking questions, about him, about heroes, about random things he thought Katsuki would know... just like Izuku. Katsuki was having a hard time breathing, he didn't know if it was anger or anxiety.

“This park is pretty cool! Why’d ya come here, Bakugo? Is it special or something?”

God, he just needed Kirishima to stop talking. His fingers twitched in his pockets, he could feel smoke start to waft up. He balled up his fists. It’s whatever, he'd being dramatic. It's just Kirishima talking.

Speaking of, the other boy was aimlessly wandering the park, climbing on some monkey bars that'd been set up for the kids around town. He remembered him and Izuku daring each to climb above the bars, neither of them ever did. One of their parents would always stop them before someone got hurt.

Kirishima walked over to the monkey bars. “Y’know, I don't think I've ever actually made it to the other side when i was little.” He hoisted himself up the first bar and very clumsily made his way over. He dropped on the other side, arms held out like he'd done something impressive.

Katsuki should go home, he was wasting time not only goofing off with a moron, but sulking in his feelings too.

Before Katsuki could leave Kirishima noticed something etched into the bars. “Oh, hey. There's something written here.”

Katsuki stood a few feet from the other boy and raised a brow, who cared? It wasn't like it'd be anything important. 

“I think it might be about you, Bakugo.”

Katsuki stalled at that, about him? The hell was Kirishima talking about now? Kirishima stood up and walked over to Katsuki, pointing at where the monkey bars were.

He saw the skeptical look on Katsuki's face. “I’m serious! There was writing etched into the metal and it looked like it was from years ago. The first one had a name I didn't know but the second word said Kaccha-”

Katsuki flinched as he heard the name, his nickname. Time seemed to still for a few seconds. His body reacted instantly. Suddenly, he could feel pain bloom across his knuckles. He blinked a few times, incredulously. 

Kirishima hit the ground with a thud. He held a hand to his cheek and looked up at Katsuki.

His breath hitched. He… he hadn't meant to- He didn't meant to hit Kirishima, he was just- freaked out!

Katsuki looked down at the other boy with a mix of confusion, guilt, and of course, anger. He’d been doing well controlling his emotions. He'd been doing so well not hurting anyone and yet… Kirishima was just so much like him that Katsuki couldn't stop himself. He was like Izuku in so many ways yet none at all, like he was a soulless copy of his childhood friend.

Katsuki could feel his breath quicken as Kirishima looked up in concern. Katsuki didn't know how to fix this, what was he supposed to do? Apologize? What would he say? 'Sorry you kept reminding me of my missing, probably dead, ex-best friend that I bullied so much he ran away so I decided to punch you. My bad.’

He needed to leave, escape, he needed to get out of this situation. Before Kirishima could get a word out Katsuki turned on his heel and sprinted away from the park the two were at. He wasn't going to deal with it. He'd just never go to the gym again, never go to that park again, never think of Kirishima again. He wouldn't deal with it, he was good at avoiding things. It wasn't Kirishima’s fault, Katsuki knew that, but the similarities were sickening. He didn't want Kirishima he wanted Izuku back. Nothing else would suffice.

He remembered what his therapist said, 'Don't let the absence of someone leave a hole in your heart, it's okay to miss them but if their absence causes you to spiral, then you rely on them too much’ ,that's what she said. He didn't care. He didn't care if it was unhealthy, Izuku was his best friend, Izuku has been with Katsuki since forever! And people expect Katsuki to what? Move on? Really? Give up on finding Izuku, just stop thinking about him? They'd been friends, or well, they were something since the first time they ever saw each other!

It was disgraceful. The world was going on without Izuku, and now it was going on without Katsuki. It shouldn't. When Izuku disappeared the world should've stopped and waited for him.

Maybe the world should've done something even before that. Katsuki should've been a better person, his teachers should've discouraged his bullying, the world should've liked quirkless people more. Why the hell did Katsuki tell Izuku to kill himself? Not even he knew the answer.

Maybe the world moving on is what Katsuki deserved. He did this to Izuku, he made his best friend disappear. It was only right…

Katsuki stumbled to his knees, he didn't know where he was, just that he hadn't stopped running. It was dark out, he was in some random alley. 

Katsuki leaned against the cold concrete wall, his breaths short and quick, it hurt his throat. He couldn't get his breathing under control and it was only upsetting him more. He tried to hold his breath, he knew it was a bad idea but his brain was too panicked to remember the breathing lessons his therapist taught him.

Katsuki clutched his shirt. Breathe damn it! He was Katsuki Bakugo he shouldn't be struggling, he shouldn't be panicking!

He could feel parts of his body start to numb, his lips and fingers having an odd tingling sensation. He needed to calm himself.

What did his therapist say to do… ground himself?

He opened his eyes and looked around the alley, he couldn't remember the specifics but she said to name things… things he could see or hear?

He eyed the alley around him, really looking at it this time instead of just panicked glances. Right, things he could see… His clothes, obviously, the building in front of him, an AC unit above, people walking by at the end of the alley… and his shaking hands. And things he could hear… his breath, footsteps, people talking, the same AC units low buzzing. Things he could feel. His clothes again, his skin, and the rough concrete beneath him.

There was something else right? Things he could smell. His nitroglycerin, and the smell of coffee.

He was kinda sure that was all. Either way, whether he did it correctly or not, it did slow his breathing. Katsuki shuddered a breath as the numbing started to fade away. He brought his chest to his knees and laid his head in his arms. God, he was a mess, it was pathetic. He shouldn't be freaking out over stupid stuff…

He wiped stray tears from his eyes. His therapist said it was good to cry, let it out or whatever, but Katsuki didn't feel very good right now.

To make matters worse, he heard the same voice that started it.

“...Hey, Bakugo?”

He turned to see Kirishima standing at the entrance of the alleyway.

Izuku had moved on from tinkering and taking apart, to field testing. It was incredibly stupid for someone who still relied on a crutch to be on a rooftop but Izuku simply felt more at home up there. He’d made his way up a closed store with various smoke grenades in his duffel bag. He’d made minor adjustments to them but now it was time to see if they worked. Or, he was going to, until he heard something.

“...Hey, Bakugo?”

Izuku flinched and nearly dropped the smoke grenade he was holding. Kacchan? Was he around here?

Izuku stuffed the grenade in the duffel bag and made his way to the edge of the building, leaning over and looking down. He had his rabbit mask and respirator on but Izuku wouldn't be surprised if Kacchan recognized him anyway if he saw Izuku. He looked over the edge to see an alley. Near a dead-end was Kacchan, sitting curled up with tear tracks down his face. …That was strange, it wasn’t something Kacchan would do at all. At the entrance of the alley was another boy, with spiky red hair and shark-sharp teeth.

Izuku held his breath. What in the world was happening? He stayed still and let the scene play out.

Katsuki, upon seeing the other boy, looked in the other direction. “Fuck off, Kirishima.”

Kirishima didn't listen, instead he walked forward and sat beside Katsuki. Izuku noticed one of Kirishima’s cheeks was red, as if he'd been hit. Izuku felt anger bubbling beneath his skin. Was Kacchan seriously still beating people up?

Kirishima looked to the side as well and rubbed the back of his neck. “Did I do something wrong? Was it… the name?”

Katsuki tensed. 

The name? What name? Izuku felt bad for eavesdropping but also felt he needed to find out what happened.

Katsuki shuffled and stayed silent for a bit. “It… you can't call me that.” His voice sounds raw, clearly he'd been crying but… why? Izuku couldn't even remember the last time Kacchan cried, not even when he was attacked by a villain. Surely a name didn't make him cry, that'd be ridiculous. 

Kirishima smiled and nodded. “Alright. Now I know. I won't ask about the other name then.”

Katsuki tapped his foot. “Did you read it?”

Kirishima nodded again. “Izuku, right?” Izuku paled hearing his own name, he had a feeling they were talking about him but it was still odd to hear.

Katsuki looked down at the ground. His voice was unusually quiet for someone so normally brash and loud. “Yeah. What you read was his name… and the nickname he made for me.” He avoided looking at Kirishima, he just couldn't bring himself to.

Izuku’s face scrunched with worry. This is how Kacchan reacted when Kirishima called him the nickname? It felt so out of character, but it also made complete sense. Kacchan was a walking contradiction like that. Izuku’s heart felt heavy. Did Kacchan think he was dead? It was possible but, for some reason he thought Kacchan would believe he was alive no matter what. Was Kacchan actually different? Had he changed for the better like Izuku had always hoped?

Kirishima moved his foot side to side and smiled. “Do you… wanna talk about it? It doesn't have to be bad stuff, you can just talk about good stuff.”

Katsuki didn't answer for a while, but eventually sighed. “You- you're too much like him. It pisses me off.” He grumbled the last part of the sentence.

“Is that why you hit me?” Kirishima didn't sound angry or even upset, just genuinely curious.

“Mostly. You talk like him, smile like him, love heroes like him, are as optimistic as him, It’s freaky. And the nickname… I just- it wasn't right hearing you say it so…” He trailed off, his thought having never been finished.

Kirishima put a hand to his chin. “Hmm… I dunno what I can do about that? Not like i can change my whole personality overnight.”

Katsuki groaned beneath his breath. “You don't have to! Did i fucking say that? No? Then don't just put words in my mouth. Fucking- I’ll figure it out… It's my damn problem.”

Kirishima smiled sadly. “Alright. I’m sure you can handle it then.”

The two returned to silence. More comfortable than before.

Izuku blinked. He wasn't too sure what happened. One, Kacchan made a new friend. Izuku was both excited and saddened by that, but he pushed the emotions down. Two, Kacchan was improving. Izuku was very happy to see that, it's what he always hoped for after all. Three, Kacchan was upset, specifically because Izuku was gone. That made him feel very conflicted.

He figured Kacchan would be affected by Izuku’s choice to run away just… not like this. He didn't want to hurt Kacchan by leaving, he didn't want to hurt anyone! But he ran away just to selfishly help himself. Seeing how hurt Kacchan was, Izuku was suddenly very worried about his mother. Surely Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru were helping her? He nervously tapped a finger against his cheek.

He looked down at the boys again. Kirishima nudged Katsuki, who scowled. “What?”

“C’mon. We should go.”

Katsuki nodded silently and the two stood and left the alleyway. Izuku watched them leave solemnly. A part of him wanted to yell out to Kacchan, to talk to him. But that'd blow his cover. Izuku didn't realize how much of an isolated bubble he was in. He really did tune out everything from his old life, his mom, Kacchan, his love for heroes… It was all left behind. Izuku had an upsetting thought; had he abandoned them? By technicalities alone of course he did. He left without any explanation other than it wasn't his mother’s fault. But there was a deep part of him that felt like he’d been abandoned as well. The world abandoned him, or at least turned its back on him, and then in turn he abandoned his mother who’d done nothing wrong.

Izuku edged away from the ledge. He should get back home.

He slung the duffel bag over his good shoulder and grabbed his crutch that laid on the floor. His legs wobbled beneath him, not only because of his injury but the anxiety coursing through him as well. 

He made it back to the warehouse eventually, only to find, once again, someone outside his door. He wasn't too upset though, it was Clockwork. He walked towards the man, difficult when he was trying to hold a duffel bag and crutch at the same time. Clockwork saw him and put a hand over his mouth. “Oh dear.”

Izuku tilted his head. ‘Oh dear’? 

Clockwork cleared his throat. “Ah, disregard my previous exclamation. Please go inside and sit down. Frankly I'm upset you're walking this much, and outside your house no less. Did all the work I put into keeping you alive mean nothing? You wound me.”

Izuku ignored the man's theatrics, he was too tired to deal with it. He went inside the warehouse. He has too much on his mind.

Izuku let the duffel bag fall to the ground, luckily none of the smoke bomb pins had been pulled so they were all intact. He pushed himself onto a box to sit, he figured Clockwork was here for a kind of check-up. As soon as Izuku had a moment to breathe, exhaustion flooded him. Pairing physical pain with mental stress was bad, who knew?

Clockwork walked up to the boy. “Hello again, Jackrabbit, I sincerely apologize for intruding upon your residence but I am a worrier. I simply had to check up on you and Giran was sleezy and/or kind enough to provide me with your location.”

Izuku sighed. Of course. He knew Giran would give away info even if it was for a good cause.

“But I see there is a more concerning matter… Say, has anything happened recently?”

Did Clockwork double as a therapist or something? Izuku shrugged. “I guess? Why?”

“It's a part of my quirk. It allows me to see the well-being of a person, not only physically but mentally as well. It is likely the reason people are ‘freaked out’ by me. Those with mental quirks often are frightening to others.”

Izuku nodded. Hearing that Clockwork could tell Izuku was faring horribly mentally wasn't surprising, but it was still disconcerting.

Izuku crossed his arms, Clockwork might be able to tell something was wrong but Izuku wasn't going to tell him anything about it, he was just the doctor. “Well, it's not something you need to worry about. If you could just make sure I didn't get an infection or whatever you were for?”

“Ah yes. Technically I am here to yell at you. You shouldn't really be walking let alone galavanting who knows where. I really do insist you stay home.” 

Despite saying the word ‘yell’ Clockwork’s voice remained as monotone as ever. Izuku understood he should stay home, he just didn't want to. But if a doctor said it, even a somewhat sketchy one, he should listen…

“Right. I was planning on working on inventions and stuff anyway, I'll try and stay home.”

Clockwork clasped his hands together. “That’s wonderful to hear. You wish to heal quickly, yes? My quirk lets me know how to best fix an issue, within reason of course. If you have any errands to run outside your home you can always ask myself or Wendigo to assist. May I see your phone, please?”

Wanting the man out of his home he handed his phone over. Clockwork took a few minutes to input three contacts; Giran, Wendigo, and himself. “Here we are.” Clockwork handed the phone back to Izuku.

“Make an attempt not to perish. And do be careful with whatever future projects you'll be working on.” Clockwork gestured to the duffel bag of smoke bombs.

Izuku nodded while internally begging him to leave.

Clockwork bowed and walked to the door but stopped and looked back at Izuku. “You're certain you'll be alright, Jackrabbit?”

Izuku was a little off put by his intensity but he could tell Clockwork was just concerned. He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be alright.” He was near positive Clockwork knew he was lying, but the man didn't call his bluff.

“Very well, then. Please get an adequate amount of rest.” And with that Clockwork had left. Izuku heaved a sigh, he didn't like unprompted visitors one bit.

Izuku leaned backwards, his head meeting cardboard as he was still atop the box of support gear. Clockwork was a minor distraction but the only thing on Izuku’s mind was what happened with Kirishima and Kacchan. Had things really changed that much since he became a vigilante? Izuku felt guilt pool in his mind, maybe his mom thought he was dead too. He didn't want to let her believe that, he'd have to write a note or find some way to tell her.

He sluggishly pushed himself off the box, making sure to land on his good leg.

He stepped into his room and got out his notebook. He didn't have to write a lot, just something for the people he knew, those who were important. It wasn't a lot, just his mom and the Bakugo family. Still, it was important to Izuku that he told them he was at least alive.

He sat in his chair and laid his notebook flat on the desk. He tapped his pencil against the page. Here goes…

‘Hi Mom. I know you weren't expecting something like this, but I think it's important to write this. I want you to know I’m alive and okay’ He felt bad for lying and ended up scratching out the last part. 'but I’m injured right now. Don't worry, though! I have someone helping me. He's a doctor, he saved my life. I've been really busy since I left, doing things you probably wouldn't be proud of. I'm really sorry for that. But I'm going to help people, I'm becoming a hero! It’ll take a while, but you'll see. I just wanted to write this to ease your worry, I’ll be okay, really. It isn't your fault, it isn't anybody's. 

I’m going to prove everyone else wrong. I’ll be the greatest hero.

Love you always, Izuku.’

He tore the page out carefully, trying to keep the tear as even as possible. He folded it and set it to the side. Two more, one for Kacchan and the other for Auntie and Uncle.

‘Hi Kacchan. This is gonna sound weird but I heard you and Kirishima talking about me. It wasn't on purpose, promise! I just happened to be nearby. I didn't know you'd be so upset about me leaving… I thought you'd be fine by yourself like when we were little. I guess I was wrong. I hope you can feel better knowing I'm alive? I'm not going home, not yet and maybe not ever. I want you to look after my mom though, I know she must be really upset. It'd mean a lot to me if you could be there for her.

I want you to be friends with Kirishima. I know we’ve always been by each other's sides, even when you were hurting me, but I think you should be friends with more people. 

I’m not just a useless Deku anymore, and I'll prove it. I'm going to become a hero, so you make sure you become a hero too. I know you'll be a good hero Kacchan, you were always my personal hero.

Still your best friend, Izuku.’

Same as before, he tore the page and folded it before setting it on top of his mom’s letter. Last was Auntie and Uncle’s.

‘Hi Auntie, Hi Uncle. I know it’s been a really long time since I last saw you both, I'm really sorry for that. But I'm working to become a hero right now, so I've been really busy. I know you two must be busy helping Mom, thank you for that. Please, please, always be there for her because I can't be. 

I don't know if you guys know what Kacchan did, if you do know then don't think it's your fault. I don't think any one person is to blame. Or, well, I don't blame you.

I think Kacchan’s improved. I think he's becoming a better person and I'm really glad. You should be proud, your son is going to do great things one day, even if he did awful things before I know he can move past it.

Your favorite and only nephew, Izuku.’

Izuku tore the last page out and folded it with the rest. He could ask Clockwork to deliver them tomorrow. He was anxious, but excited. He hoped the notes would put them at ease.

Izuku considered falling asleep at his desk but the ache in his side persuaded him otherwise. He pushed himself out of his chair to roll into his bed. He didn't know what time it was, probably past 1am. He took a deep breath and relaxed his body, feeling the stress wash away.

Delivering notes and accidentally exploding inventions were tomorrow's tasks. He’d worry about it all tomorrow. He let out a yawn; now was his time to rest. Maybe he'd wake up at a reasonable hour this time…

Chapter Text

It was early afternoon on May 21st when Inko had gotten home after a long day at work. She was tired, more tired than she'd ever been. Not because of work, but because her baby boy was still missing. The police still didn't have a clue where he could be, no security footage to go off of, no sightings or reports, he simply vanished. She tried to stay strong, but it was a struggle. She stepped into the eerily silent house, it's been that way since Izuku disappeared. She was surprised to see a small white piece of paper on the floor when she closed the door.

She set her purse on the drawer in the hallway and picked the paper up. She flipped it in her hands, there was nothing written on the outside. It was unlabeled, but it made her nervous. Slowly, she walked to the kitchen and sat down, she might as well see what it was.

Her eyes widened and she gasped as she read the first two words. ‘Hi Mom.’

“...Izuku..?” Her voice broke halfway through saying his name; her voice was quiet, it would be unheard even if someone were right beside her.

Her hands started shaking, slight as first. She took a deep breath and kept reading. Her shaking worsened as she read on. He was injured? She closed her eyes and held the note closer, she couldn't help the intrusive thoughts that flooded her head. How wounded was he? Would he make a full recovery? Who hurt her baby boy so badly? Was he doing dangerous things? Why won't he come home where it's safer..?

The tears welled up in her eyes before she even got halfway through the note. She carefully set the note down as her tears turned into sobs. Tears streaming down her face, her cries echoed through the empty house. Her son was alive, Izuku was alive. She felt so relieved, yet still so worried. He was alive, but he wasn't coming home. 

She picked up the note again, now damp with her tears. Why wasn't he coming home? He said it wasn't her fault, but she knew it was. She'd failed as a mother. She didn't give enough support to Izuku. She could have prevented this, could have protected her son like a good mother, but instead he felt so helpless that he had to run away instead of tell her what was wrong. If she'd been better, maybe he would've let her help him…

She knew about the bullying yet she'd done nothing. She felt utterly ashamed. She didn't help her son when he needed it and this is what happened. He ran off to who knows where, somehow getting injured so badly he owes his life to someone. Inko took in a sharp cold breath, her exhaled ragged and stuttered. The atmosphere around her felt cold and heavy. It was like the house was drowning in despair.

Her baby, her darling Izu, her little mighty man. She laughed sadly at the nickname, old memories running through her head of when he was little.

Smiling at the TV while he recited the All Might movies he'd watched and rewatched dozens of times, the little All Might onesie he wore all the time, the way he'd run up to her and ask questions about her quirk and tell her all the ways her quirk could help people… 

She sighed deeply. She knew it was unlikely, but she hoped, wished, prayed, with every fiber of her being that he'd come home. It didn't have to be now, it didn't even have to be sometime soon, just… eventually, she wanted her baby to come back home safe and sound.

She could only hope he'd want to come home again. Even if it took years, she'd wait for her son. She sat in the empty, quiet house, the only sounds ever heard were the constant ticking of a clock and the beeping of the microwave when she microwaved meals. She honestly couldn't say the house felt like home anymore, it felt like something lost to time; with how Inko had been neglecting the house and herself, maybe it was.

She settled her breathing and eyed a photo of Izuku when he was younger, wearing the All Might onesie that was just a bit too big with the biggest smile she’d ever seen on his face. She held back another sob and covered her face with her hands. How had things turned out this way…?

At the same time, in the Bakugo’s house, Masaru was sitting in the living room coming up with some new designs when he noticed a small white piece of paper slide under the back door. He tensed, he didn't notice anyone pass by, when had that gotten there? His wife, who'd been doing work of her own, noticed him staring and questioned him. 

“What’s so interesting about the back door?” She stopped typing on her laptop and leaned over to look at where he was looking.

“Ah, it's just… there's a note.” He set his laptop aside and stood up from the couch. He walked to the back door and knelt down to grab the note. He looked at the front and back, nothing was written. No name, no address, no anything.

He walked back to the couch and sat down, Mitsuki followed and sat beside him. “A note? From who?” Her voice was skeptical.

“I suppose, and there wasn't anything written on it.” He hesitantly opened the note. The two parents read the first line and stilled. The note addressed them as Auntie and Uncle, there was only one person who called them that. The two tensed and straightened up to focus on the letter, taking in every word. It was from Izuku.

He apologized for not seeing them. They knew why he didn't, they'd found out when Izuku went missing that Katsuki was a bully. Izuku said he was becoming a hero and for a moment they were taken aback. Why would he have to run away to become a hero? Surely he could go to a hero school even if he was quirkless? Masaru and Mitsuki shared a worried look. Izuku wasn't related to them, but the Midoriya’s were still family to them so of course they'd worry. Mitsuki was already worried about Inko, the woman had been neglecting herself ever since Izuku went missing, she spent days searching, asking, looking for her son. 

Izuku didn't blame the two for Katsuki’s behavior. They couldn't agree with that, Masaru had felt incredibly guilty yet disappointed when he found out while Mitsuki was angrier than she'd ever been. Even if they weren’t at ‘fault’ they were at least responsible. Whenever they'd see Izuku again, they'd have to apologize.

Izuku said Katsuki was improving. The two didn't know how Izuku found out but they were glad to hear it. They’ve seen Katsuki’s behavior change in real time, the way he struggled after Izuku’s disappearance. It was relieving to find out their boy was improving.

By the time they reached the end of the note they were relieved to know he was alive, but still filled with worry. Izuku had written notes for them but still hadn't shown himself. The two sat in silence  for a while before Mitsuki grabbed her phone and stood. “...I’ll call Inko.”

Inko and Izuku were family. Mitsuki and Masaru would do everything they could to help their second family. 

Masaru nodded, he should go tell Katsuki about the note as well. He folded it up again and stood. He hoped the kid would take it well.

Katsuki sat on his bathroom floor. In his shaking hands was a note and somehow Katsuki just knew it was from Izuku. It'd been minutes and he hadn't even opened it. He just stared, his mind startlingly empty. He needed to read it though, for his own sanity. He tensed and unfolded it carefully, as if the piece of paper would crumble apart at any moment.

The first two words alone made him hold his breath. ‘Hi Kacchan.’ Katsuki couldn't help but grin read he read the nickname, his nickname.

He calmed his breathing and kept reading. Izuku heard him and Kirishima talking. To say Katsuki was embarrassed to read that was an understatement. It was bad enough Kirishima saw him when he was a mess but Izuku too? Katsuki was having a hard enough time convincing his parents he wasn't falling apart, neither Kirishima or Izuku were supposed to know either. There might be no use in it, but Katsuki still wanted to uphold an ego. After all, what is Katsuki if not angry and egotistical? He hadn't found that out yet, he could drop the ego when he found out who he was without it…

Izuku wrote that he thought Katsuki would be just fine after Izuku disappeared. Katsuki was actually pissed at that, he knew it was actually a reasonable thing to think, but it upset him. Yeah, Katsuki has always been unbothered, but that's because everything was how it was supposed to be. Izuku was by his side like he'd always been, now that everything changed, it's all wrong. Katsuki was tough, hardheaded, stubborn, but he wasn't indestructible or emotionless. Should he be so upset with his victim-best friend-found family-whatever the hell is gone, maybe, maybe not. Katsuki still didn't know how he felt about it, just that everything was worse.

Izuku asked him to take care of Auntie Inko and to be friends with Kirishima. Said Katsuki would make a great hero… that Izuku always looked up to him.

Katsuki’s heart hurt and his breath shuddered. He was Izuku’s personal hero? Katsuki didn't think he deserved the title. He was Izuku’s personal villain, his tormentor. Couldn’t Izuku see that? Why wasn't he angry? He should hate Katsuki. Hell, he hates himself. It didn't make sense, the confusion was starting to turn into anger, but then he read the last line.

Izuku wasn't a useless Deku anymore. Katsuki knew that, he always did, he just refused to admit it like he refused to admit anything. Katsuki leaned his head against the cold bathroom wall to calm his breathing. He hadn't cried, and he wasn't going to either.

He returned his eyes to the note and narrowed his eyes.

‘Still your best friend, Izuku.’

…

Still his best friend? Katsuki almost wanted to laugh. He wanted to deny that title, but he clung onto it instead. He didn't deserve to be Izuku’s best friend, but he desperately wanted to be. Pathetic.

He folded the note back up. His hands were still shaky and he wasn't completely calm, but it wasn't like yesterday's breakdown. He didn't know why his reaction was numbed. Because he knew Izuku was alive now? Because he'd been reassured that he and Izuku were still friends? Maybe… But Katsuki was still going to worry, just because Izuku was alive today didn't mean he would be tomorrow. Until Katsuki saw Izuku with his own eyes he'd keep worrying, keep questioning. 

Katsuki took out his All Might card from his pocket and held the note beside it. Guess he had two things he had to obsessively carry around now…

It was around 30 minutes later when everyone—Inko, Mitsuki, Masaru, and Katsuki—had gathered in the dining room, everyone silently eating the homemade curry Masaru made. Occasionally there was a sniffle from Inko, or a cough from Masaru, but otherwise it was dead quiet. When everyone found out they got their own notes, Mitsuki called Auntie Inko over. Everyone shared what their notes had said and everyone cried about it. Katsuki couldn't tell if they were crying from joy at the fact Izuku’s alive, or crying of sadness knowing he isn't returning. Either way, everyone shed some tears. It took a while for Auntie to settle down but once they did, a warm, comfortable silence fell over the house as Mitsuki and Masaru cooked and Katsuki and Inko set the table. Everyone was silent as they ate.

Katsuki hadn't figured out how he felt about the whole thing, it was an annoying yet constant part of Katsuki, being confused by emotions. Izuku was alive, his best friend despite Katsuki not deserving that, but something was still wrong. Izuku wasn't here. He wasn't here eating dinner with them, he wasn't going to school with him, wasn't training with him. He's alive, but he's still gone. 

So everything is still not okay.

But whatever. Izuku was becoming a hero, somehow. Katsuki is gonna be a hero too, it's the dream they shared. Katsuki didn't know how Izuku was going to be a hero, he found out U.A didn't accept quirkless students and he doubted any other school would either. Was he planning on making support gear for heroes? Katsuki thought about the possibilities. Inko’s note said Izuku was injured, that someone saved his life, so Izuku had to be out there doing something dangerous.

Katsuki tapped his foot under the dinner table and avoided the pitiful, wootied looks his parents and Auntie sent his way. He felt left behind without even knowing what Izuku was doing. It didn't matter, Izuku was making progress while Katsuki could barely use his quirk. 

Katsuki scoffed internally, guess he'd just have to catch up to Izuku then. He'd be friends with Kirishima, they'd train together, Katsuki would get into U.A, he'd become a hero and wait for Izuku’s hero debut with baited breath. Izuku better keep his word or Katsuki would go out and drag the nerd home…

May 22nd was an interesting day for Izuku, it wasn't even 11am yet and he'd managed to blow up 5 different support gear he'd found around the warehouse. Maybe Mei’s videos were a bad influence on him… He did make progress though, he'd been able to make a grapple mechanic that could extend and retract, it wasn't attached to anything yet but Izuku was thinking of trying to link it with his gloves. Though with how difficult it was just to get it to extend/retract, connecting it to anything was a far off dream. He’d keep working on it.

The other bit of progress he made was the smoke bombs, he hadn't done anything too special except test the ones he messed with. He tried changing the outputs so that certain smoke bombs would let out less smoke, while others let out more. There had been some minor differences between the outputs but nothing like what Izuku imagined, Again, he'd keep working on it, it'd only been a day or so of tinkering with things after all!

Although he was keeping himself busy with inventor work, internally he was a ball of anxiety wondering how everyone reacted to the notes he wrote. It might be silly to worry about it, he wouldn't be seeing them in person and he had no way to see their reactions. He still worried though, what if it made them more anxious? More upset? He could only speculate. He still cared for his mom and the Bakugo’s it's just, he lived a different life now. A villain in the eyes of the law, a vigilante in the eyes of the public, and a hero in his own eyes. Everyone viewed him differently, there wasn't one place he belonged in. 

Izuku sighed. He’d just get back to work. He had a busy week ahead.

May 23rd, Izuku had a working grappling hook. He found a way to work in the hook and wiring through his gloves. The hook itself was always visible, but the wiring and mechanics ran through the space between the fabric. The wire itself wrapped in circles around the bottom of his glove. He was proud of his work even if it wasn't complete yet. He got it in the glove but hadn't added a way to activate any of the mechanics yet… He wasn't there yet, he'd tried, messing around with different wiring and buttons and automatic systems, he'd take longer than a day though.

He did have another successful project, the smoke bombs. He’d pulled an all-nighter messing with them and was able to find out how to get the bombs to produce less smoke. He hadn't figured out the opposite yet, he couldn't get it to set off more smoke, but again, early beginnings. 

He’d still been thinking about his mom and second family. He promised himself to visit them in person when he was fully healed. His side, shoulder, and leg weren't fully healed yet, but the smaller cuts he'd gotten from Obsidian had already scarred over. His leg and shoulder were close to being fully healed. He could put some pressure on his leg just not enough to walk without the assistance of a crutch, but he was now able to fully rotate his shoulder without feeling agonizing pain. This is a very impressive thing currently.

Clockwork continued to stop by too. Making sure Izuku wasn't ‘galavanting’ or tearing anything. Clockwork was the one to deliver Izuku’s notes so Izuku felt he owed him, he'd let the doctor do his check-ups.

May 24th, Izuku worked on the smoke bombs more, the grappling hook was a little too complicated for him right now… he'd been able to fully alter the smoke production of the grenades, he'd asked Clockwork to ‘find’ him some paint so he can color code the grenades. Red, green, and white were what he went with, a little christmas-y sure but it matched his outfit. The red grenades produced the most smoke and lasted 3-4 minutes, the green was the unaltered grenade and it lasted 2 minutes, and the white ones produced the least smoke— more fog-like and lasted 1 minute. It was simple, but he was happy with it.

With the grappling hook on hold, Izuku found himself a new project. He'd found this box that has contacts in it that advertised a ‘HUD’ feature. The box the contacts came in were really interesting, the outside showed different settings which changed what the contacts HUD showed. The base settings made the HUD show the status of any living creature as dead, critical, or alive as well as showing if Izuku’s own vitals were stable, and the date and time. 

It took him a while to put the contacts in correctly, having never done it before it irritated his eye somewhat. When he did get it on though, he found it really did work. He wouldn't accuse an unknown, now shut-down hero gear warehouse of false advertising but contact lenses with HUDs seemed a bit far fetched…

In his vision there were two things that showed. On the top left side was the date and time, 4:37PM-May 24th. The right side had the words ‘Vitals: Stable’ written at the top.

With there being no one else in the warehouse he could test if it could actually show whether or not someone was dead or alive, he'd use Clockwork as guinea pig later…

May 25th, finding the HUD contact was great, but it unfortunately gave Izuku more skills to work on. He'd found out he'd be able to code in custom settings with the problem being he didn't know how to code… It’d be good to learn though if he wanted to continue inventing things so he made a mental note of it.

For now, he was back to working on the grappling hook with his little coding and technical knowledge. The grapple itself was able to shoot out the hook and latch onto things, unhook and retract, and pull him forward. It was good, but right now he had to physically press different buttons and triggers on a separate yet connected system that was set up on the ground. Obviously, that wouldn't work in a fight. He wanted to find a way to link his gloves and the grappling hook together, so the glove itself can be the triggers. Izuku sighed and shoved his head in his hands. Why was inventing things so complicated? Didn't Giran say he had an inventor friend?

He was about to pull out his laptop and start the trial and error process when his burner, or now ‘vigilante’ phone buzzed. He looked at the notification, Clockwork had sent a video.

He opened it to see Wendigo lying on one of the bar tables and bench pressing 5 men up and down. It was her quirk if he remembered right. It was called 10 times, it allowed her to carry anything up to 10 times her own weight. No matter what random things drunks gave her to bench press, it was always interesting. In the back of the video Giran was toasting with random people, likely clients. Clockwork turned the camera to show him and his daughter, yes, Clockwork had a daughter. Izuku had been bombarded with so many photos after Clockworks first visit…

He couldn't help but smile at the sight. Maybe he'd head over to the One-Stop-Shop for a break? He hadn't eaten all day anyway…

He set his laptop to the side and grabbed his crutch, he headed to his room to put his vigilante costume on. He’d gotten more comfortable with the folks that went to One-Stop-Shop. Even though they were villains they were normal, everyday people there. Izuku just wanted to be around people sometimes, he liked his warehouse, but it got lonely. He put on his vigilante costume, minus the respirator and gloves. The mask covered his face and freckles enough and the gloves weren't done yet, he doubted anyone would notice the difference.

He hobbled out of his warehouse. One-Stop-Shop was becoming like a second home to him. He texted Clockwork that he'd be over soon.

He'd be exhausted tomorrow but spending time with… friends was worth it.

May 26th, he was right. He was exhausted. He stayed up til around 4AM watching Wendigo fight random dunks and then someone managed to set something on fire in the kitchen and everything dissolved from there. Fun, but exhausting, especially with his injuries. Clockwork said he should be good soon, that everything was healing well. He'd already been walking around on his injured leg, it's not like Clockwork ever had to know.

He was excited to be ‘cleared’ by Clockwork, he really wanted to ask Wendigo to train him in hand to hand combat. She'd told him she used to be in a fighting ring, but it took a toll on her so she retired and picked up cooking as a hobby. Izuku had around a week or two left until his wounds were healed enough for him to practice physical combat. Until then, he stuck to inventing and coding.

May 29th and Izuku had (somewhat) perfected the glove grappling hook. He was able to connect the grapple’s triggers to his gloves, things like pressing his thumb and pointer together shoots the grappling hook out while pressing his thumb and middle reels it back in. He'd been testing near non-stop and pulled an all-nighter to get it working consistently. Along with integrating the grappling hook Izuku also altered the gloves claws. He made them not only longer but sharper too, he wanted to make them retractable but didn't have the resources for that just yet…

He'd also made a lot of progress in coding, surprisingly Mei’s youtube channel was a lot of help, more so than her invention ‘tutorials’. Mei knew a lot about inventing, she was pretty intense but Izuku always felt more motivated after seeing whatever she'd created. He tried messing with the contact HUDs coding, but it was too complicated for him. He was fine with what it already had, but he thought it'd be really cool if he could link a quirk database that could scan a person's face and give info on their quirk. Something for the future maybe, when he had better resources.

His wounds were almost healed too, he could walk on his leg properly now. His leg and shoulder still ached a bit, but he was able to use both with their full range of motion. His side was the thing that was really holding him back, he couldn't even lean too far in any direction without feeling like his side was tearing open. But once he was better, he'd gotten Wendigo to promise she'd train him in hand to hand combat.

He was really looking forward to it!

June 1st, Izuku was having an awful time. Training with Wendigo? Hell.

He thought she would've eased him into it, considering his wounds were still technically healing, but no. They'd been training for a few hours and Izuku couldn't count on his fingers how many times he'd been body slammed into the floor. Izuku was surprised he didn't get a concussion…

He was determined though, he always got back up. He could see the remnants of a smile under Wendigo’s mask every time he got back up. Maybe she was testing him? Testing his resolve or resilience? It was a little annoying, but Izuku knew he'd be fine.

Wendigo was teaching him a lot, mostly about the basics. Making sure he has the proper stance, keeping his guard up and his body protected, staying loose on his feet. It was all important, more than he thought before. She was someone who fought for years in the ring and is an amazing teacher.

She taught him a lot on punches, which what she preferred, made sure to work on his kicks too since it's what he preferred.

But the first day he was a heaving mess, having trained and practiced for maybe 6 hours. He was exhausted, but more confident in his fighting than he'd been before they started training. He'd just have to keep at it.

June 5th, the last few days were just like the first. Izuku would have some time to work on some of his projects before going to the One-Stop-Shop to train with Wendigo. It'd been mostly the same, except a lot less body slamming after Clockwork scolded her for flattening his patient. He was still learning new things, even things not necessarily related to fighting like situational awareness and quicker reflexes. Yeah, Izuku still lost against Wendigo 95% of the time but that was bound to happen when you tried to fight someone over two decades older with years of fighting experience…

He made a lot of progress with his style. He was still light on his feet and quick to dodge, but now he better knew how to protect himself and fight under pressure.

Izuku had gone over his fight with Obsidian over and over, nitpicking every little thing he did wrong and finding every way he could be better. Izuku was quirkless, but he wasn't going to be helpless.

9 days later, June 14th, Izuku was ready to get back to vigilante work. Clockwork had ‘cleared’ him, his injuries were all healed, there was a lingering tingling if he stretched his body but other than that he was good. Training with Wendigo was going amazingly, Izuku even managed to not get hit for an entire session! He still hadn't been able to beat her yet, but he would eventually. Maybe.

He had been spending a lot of time in One-Stop-Shop’s spare rooms, it was just more convenient for both Clockwork and Wendigo; but he was ready to go home. He missed his warehouse, as dingy and lonely as it was. He waved to Giran, Clockwork, and Wendigo as he left. It's not like he'd be gone long, hell, he'd probably go back later for dinner.

Izuku stretched before climbing up a building, it might be odd to say but he missed the feeling. He stood atop the building, cool night air ruffling his hair. Looking out at the city night life, he smiled. He missed this. Being out at night, parkouring through the city, saving people, it's what he was born to do. Izuku knelt down to get a running start and leaped off the building to land on the next one, he might as well have fun as his way home.

It was also the perfect time to test his grappling hook. The first few tries were a little clumsy, but with some practice he got a better handle on it. He'd shoot the hook into something tall like a billboard, then pull himself forward and land in a roll below the billboard. Izuku felt a rush every time he did it, it felt like he was in a movie.

He got home longer than it should've taken, the consequence of messing around with grappling hooks he supposed. He pushed open the doors to his warehouse, the exact same as he left it. He let out a deep sigh as he closed the door behind him. His home. He didn't have time to waste though, he had a plan in mind. Partially a revenge plan and partially an act of due justice; he was going to fight Obsidian again. He just needed more information and a bit of prep time.

He slipped into his room and sat at his desk, pulling out his laptop. He pushed the rabbit mask up and pulled his respirator down to look at the screen. It was a little embarrassing but Izuku wanted to do something. He went to the vigilante forums and clicked on his own page. He made a new post, his last post in over a month. His last post was him informing people he wasn't dead, just injured.

He had a huge dumb smile on his face as he typed out the post.

@Jackrabbit ‘ I’m back ‘

‘ Hi everyone ^_^  I’m sorry I've been gone for so long but I’ll be resuming my vigilante work tomorrow! :D ‘

He closed the tab before he could see the influx of notifications. He’d check them tomorrow, he has something more important to focus on right now. He had to get info on where Obsidian was. He wasn't going to lose this time, he'd be more prepared. He knew what he was getting himself into, and he'd prevail.

Izuku smiled at the thought of Obsidian getting hauled away by the police. 

There was a twinge of malice in his eyes as he dug through the darker sides of the internet for Obsidian's location.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s perched atop the edge of a building, his vigilante phone in hand. He paid a downright predatory amount of money to Giran to know where Obsidian was last seen, something about how he didn't want to see Izuku get hurt again. Izuku understood, but this was a necessary fight in his eyes. 

Obsidian was a few blocks ahead, in some run down shack that could be his home. Izuku looked up from his phone, he’d put in the HUD contacts so the date and time were in the top left corner of his vision; June 15th, 11:26PM. He hopped down from the building and stalked forward, he needed the element of surprise on his side to have the upper hand here. He put his phone away and used his grappling hook and claws to get to the building Obsidian was in.

Izuku leaned over the edge and looked through a window, his hair and the ears of his rabbit mask dangled below him.

Obsidian was inside, there was another person sitting around a table with him, the two were talking casually. Izuku recognized the other man as Suisho, who had a rather simple quirk, he was able to turn any liquid into alcohol. Izuku guessed Obsidian just kept Suisho around for the free liquor…

Izuku wouldn't have to worry, Suisho wasn't a fighter and was likely also leeching off of Obsidian for something, villains had fake transactional ‘friendships’ like that. The two men were talking about deal sales, and how well things were going. Izuku debated the best way to go into this fight, should he just break through the window? Maybe a stealthier way would be better?

Izuku crawled back up to the top of the roof, he'd rather sneak in. Looking around the roof he saw a door to a stairwell. He tried the handle, locked, unsurprising. He took out his lock picking tools from his belt and leaned over to the handle. Lockpicking might just be the most useful skill he's learned since becoming a vigilante.

The door opened with a satisfying click and Izuku quietly stepped inside, closing the door silently behind him. Now in the stairwell he leaned over the rails to look down, he could hear the muffled voices of Obsidian and Suisho. He tip-toed down the stairs, keeping his steps light and his senses sharp. He crept to the door, it opened just a crack. He looked in, the two were in the same place they were before. The room reeked of smoke and liquor, Izuku’s nose scrunched up subconsciously.

Izuku reached into his utility belt and pulled out one of the smoke grenades, he pulled the pin and quietly rolled it into the room.

By the time either of the men noticed it, smoke was already filling the room. The two were coughing, waving their hands to try and air out the smoke.

Izuku took advantage of the smoke to rush forward and aim a kick to Obsidian's head. He faltered, but didn't fall. Now that he knew there was an enemy, he activated his quirk. Izuku could hear the sound of Obsidian's sharpened body scratching against itself, like when two knives are rubbed together. 

“Who’s there…” Obsidian's voice was deep and menacing. He didn't know it was Izuku yet, good. Izuku breathed out deeply, he was so ready before but now that he’s here, the anxiety and fear are creeping up on him.

Izuku ignored the sound of Suisho running in the other direction and bolted toward Obsidian, keeping up the stance Wendigo taught him. As Izuku neared closer Obsidian also stanced. 

Izuku landed a hit to the man’s side. Obsidian clawed at the space in front of him, Izuku remained light on his feet, side-stepping and dodging as he needed. The smoke was starting to clear… Izuku jumped back, held a grenade behind him and let it off, grayish-black smoke billowed from behind him. He blinked through the smoke, his rabbit mask prevented it from irritating his eyes but it didn't clear the smoke from his vision. Izuku could hear Obsidian grumble on the other side of the room.

“Using cheap tricks? What kind of a villain are you, it's pathetic. If you want to fight, fight me head on!” 

Izuku could almost imagine the crazed look on the man's eye. He had to focus. Obsidian was an excellent fighter but his weakness was endurance, keeping his quirk active for more than 10 minutes would cause his body to weaken. Izuku just had to last longer…

Thundering footsteps rushed forward as Obsidian threw out a punch, Izuku hopped to the side. He’d stay a ways away for now, no need to be reckless if he could just wait it out. Obsidian threw punch after punch, slash after slash. Izuku was doing a good job avoiding them but there were times Izuku got nicked, nothing more than a shallow cut, barely any blood. But he couldn't let it become a habit.

The smoke cleared once again and Obsidian growled as he saw Izuku. “It’s you. Rabbit.” He spat the name out like it was a curse.

Izuku raised his fists, he needed to stay calm. Panic led to poor choices. He took a deep breath. “That's right. You should've killed me when you had the chance. I'm not losing this time.” He surprised himself with how much conviction was in his voice.

Obsidian didn't respond, he ran forward to attack again. With Obsidian’s fingers brought to a sharp point he tried to stab Izuku, using the other hand to try and hold him still. Izuku ducked, sometimes even moving around on all fours to get out of Obsidian's reach. Obsidian tried again, but when Izuku jumped out of the way the villain rushed forward and grabbed Izuku’s leg. Pain ran through him as five thin cuts spiraled around his leg. He didn't have time to worry about the cuts as he was thrown across the room, rolling a few feet before crashing into the wall of the rundown shack. He inhaled sharply as he heard something inside him crack and desperately hoped it wasn't anything too important… Obsidian smiled manically and rushed forward. Still on the floor, Izuku rolled to the left to avoid getting skewered, ignoring the pain that pulsated through his body. He didn't waste a second to get back to his feet and away from the villain. Obsidian scowled and turned to Izuku. 

Izuku used the wall as a jumping point to land another kick. Obsidian braced and blocked it, he grabbed Izuku’s arm and held him in the air, small lines of blood dripped from his forearm. “Haha! Nice try!” Obsidian grinned, blood running from the corner of his mouth.

Izuku reacted instinctively, despite being smaller than the other he wrapped his legs around the man’s torso and leaned back, bringing the two of them off balance. Before Izuku could get effectively crushed by the villain he pushed off Obsidian and rolled to the side. Obsidian pushed himself off the ground and staggered to his feet. His movements were slightly slower than the start of the fight. They were nearing 5 minutes, soon Obsidian’s quirk would start to show its drawbacks. Parts of the man's knife-sharp body were chipping, soon enough pieces would start to fall off too. That was the info Izuku had gotten. He just needed to stay observant and sharp.

He took another deep breath. He had a few injuries but nothing like the first fight. He’d be fine. 

Obsidian didn't wait for Izuku, he kept up the constant attacks. Izuku was still avoiding, but was also getting nicked more and more often. He couldn't tell if Obsidian was somehow getting faster, or if Izuku himself was also starting to tire. The second option seemed more likely… The fight went on and on, both of them getting more exhausted with each hit, each block, each dodge, each kick, each slash. Obsidian was destroying everything other than Izuku, his furniture, the walls, even the ceiling light became collateral causing the two to continue to fight in near darkness. 

At around 7 minutes Obsidian became irate. His movements were wilder, less controlled. He was clearly angry and Izuku could take advantage of that. With Obsidian leaving himself open Izuku was able to land more kicks, aiming one for the man's ribs and another at his jaw. Izuku hopped back and crouched to the ground, ready for the man’s retaliation.

Obsidian spat blood out his mouth and onto the ground, he looked at Izuku with horrifying eyes. In the dim light, the man’s eyes seemed to reflect the light in such a way that his eyes glowed, his teeth, equally as reflective, were bathed in his own blood. The ends of his finger were dripping with Izuku’s blood, the quiet taps of the blood hitting the floor was nauseating.

The villain’s breath was ragged, his body was returning to normal flesh. The only parts still knife-sharp were his face, arms, and legs. Obsidian looked at Izuku like he was the cause of every bad thing that's ever happened. He was still smiling manically, his pupils were as small as dots and shaking from anger.

Izuku was breathing hard as well, but still better than the villain. Izuku may not be an absolute powerhouse like Obsidian but he could certainly hold his own.

Izuku wiped a bit of sweat from his face, the non-stop movement mixed with the gravity of the fight were starting to get to him. Obsidian was standing oddly still but before Izuku could use the opportunity to attack, he heard sirens.

Sirens?

Both Izuku and Obsidian turned their heads to the door but Obsidian was the first to react.

“Shit! That traitor!” He yelled out.

Traitor… Suisho? Damn it, Izuku didn't think he would call the cops, why would he? Did it help him somehow? Did he have something against Obsidian?

Izuku huffed, he didn't know and it didn't matter. He had to leave before he got arrested, but he didn't want Obsidian to get away either.

Izuku had an idea, in one hand he took out his restraint tape, Obsidian’s quirk was wearing down so he wouldn't be able to cut through it if Izuku really wrapped him up. With the tape in one hand he aimed his free hand’s grappling hook to the wall behind Obsidian. He shot it forward and it dug into the wall, Obisidan turned, ready to continue to fight only to come face first with the bottom of Izuku’s shoe. Izuku had the grappling hook pull him forward to give more momentum, and therefore more force, to hopefully knock Obsidian out.

Izuku looked at Obsidian, he wasn't knocked out but he was on the floor. As the sirens neared closer Izuku pinned and tied Obsidian up as best he could, which wasn't much considering how much bigger the villain was. Obsidian struggled, tried to activate his quirk, but he'd overused it to the point it wouldn't activate.

Izuku could hear footsteps, he really had to leave now. He moved off of Obsidian. There was knocking at the door now, the police. Izuku apologized internally then rushed through the door and jumped up, using the face of a random officer as a starting point he leaped up and clawed his way up the opposite building. He could hear the detective fall to the ground and various other voices call out for him to stop, which he didn't.

Izuku rushed through and over buildings, ignoring the pain that flared up every time he moved.  He was a few blocks away when he thought he was in the clear and stopped to catch his breath, his inhales were sharp and cold, he’d panicked. He heard someone drop behind him and he turned with his fists up, ready for another fight.

… It was Eraserhead. Izuku scowled but let his hands fall to his side. He had… mixed feelings about the hero. Still, Eraserhead didn't immediately detain Izuku despite him clearly being worse for wear and easy to take down. Instead, like last time, the hero just talked.

“You're not lookin’ so good kid. Why don't you come with me and we can get you some help?”

Izuku crossed his arms. Really? Like he'd just go with a hero, he'd probably end up handcuffed and in a station. “I have a doctor I can go to… you don't need to worry.”

Eraserhead hummed and nodded. The hero looked at Izuku with calculating eyes. “Alright. Then I’d like to apologize.”

That caught Izuku off guard. Apologize? For what? He tilted his head, a silent gesture for the hero to continue.

Eraserhead sighed, as if he'd rather be anywhere else than here. “For implying that quirkless people are inherently weaker, or that being a hero is inherently more dangerous for them. Being a hero is dangerous work for anyone, I was simply worried.”

Izuku tapped his foot, still overall anxious and running on adrenaline. He could understand that but… he still couldn't be an official hero. He wrung his fingers together nervously. “Thank you, Aizawa… I accept your apology. But that doesn't change the fact that I can never be an official hero. Hero schools don't accept quirkless students… I've checked every one in Japan.”

Aizawa closed his eyes and thought for a moment. “I see. I didn't know about that… I’ll try to talk to some people. Maybe we can make a change?” He sighed again. “That isn't my issue though, kid. I don't care that you're quirkless, or if you're a vigilante either. You're a kid. You're a kid with no training and no experience throwing yourself into real, dangerous situations. As a hero, it's my job to stop such things.”

Izuku understood. But the world didn't favor him like that. Where would he train? Most dojos or professional trainers don't accept quirkless people because they're ‘fragile’ and they don't want to get sued for 'mishandling' a quirkless person. How would he get experience if he couldn't train under anyone officially? Izuku was essentially barred from anything a real hero in training would need, that's the reason why he was doing it his own way.

“I… I get what you're saying, a-and this is going to sound really mean so I'm sorry in advance! But I… don't care? I can't get any formal training or internships without being in a hero school, I can't just go to a dojo, they don't accept quirkless people. Training as if I were a real hero student isn't possible for me, so I'm doing things my own way. The world denied me and my dreams, I'm simply finding a way to accomplish them anyway. Is that what you want to stop?”

Izuku was a little embarrassed for going on such a personal tangent, but it was important for him to say. He'd had a lot of things bottled up in his head… Maybe he could talk to Clockwork about it.

Eraserhead looked to the side. “It's a difficult situation, kid. You went missing for a month. We thought you died.” A twinge of guilt ran through Izuku. “Hm. Well, you said you know a doctor?”

Izuku nodded.

“A good one?”

He nodded again.

“Then get out of my sight, the next time i see you it better be without any injuries. And preferably not stomping on Detective Tsukauchi’s face.”

Izuku inwardly cringed. So that’s whose face he stepped on…

“R-right. I’ll be okay, promise. Can you um, tell Detective Tsukauchi I’m really, really sorry?”

There was a hint of a smile on Eraserhead’s face as he nodded. “Sure thing, kid. Make it back alive, okay?”

“Okay.” Izuku waves to the hero and hopped down from the building, heading the opposite direction of the warehouse just in case the hero decided to follow.

As he walked he realized Eraserhead wasn't as bad as he assumed. At least he hadn't thrown out all that Eraserhead merch yet? He didn't mind that Izuku was quirkless, or a vigilante, he just wanted Izuku to be safe…

Izuku wanted to stay safe too, he had lots of people to help and he couldn't do that if he was killed. He hadn't heard any footsteps following so he turned and headed for the One-Stop-Shop. Clockwork would be upset. He'd gotten injured on his first day back to work but it was mostly minor cuts, it shouldn't be too bad…

He saw the glow of the building and jogged forward, his leg ached with pain but he was still able to walk on it just fine. He pushed open the doors, the warmth and familiarity of the place washed over him, this place really had become his second home… He closed the doors and immediately shouted out. “Can someone get Clockwork for me?!” As he made his way through the mess of late night patrons and slew of waiters around the facility. There were a few groans of ‘Again, Jackrabbit?’ and 'What happened this time?’ 

He brushed them off. He'd gotten to know a lot of the regulars while he was recovering and in turn they’d gotten to know him. He was still against villain, but these ones weren't so bad.

He made his way to the back where he saw Wendigo cooking.

“Wendy!” She hated the nickname so she made sure to call her that every time he could. “Where's Clockwork?”

Wendigo rolled her eyes and pointed to Giran’s office. “Back there, Cottontail.” In turn, she called him a nickname he disliked. Well, he didn't dislike it, not until she told him why she called him that. Apparently it was because ‘Jackrabbit’s are scary but you’re more like a fluffy little Cottontail so…’

It was all in good fun though. He walked over to Giran’s door, a bit of blood from his leg and arm making it to the floor, he'd clean that up later.

He knocked three times. “Giran, Clockwork! I need medical again!”

Hurried footsteps got closer as Clockwork stuck his head out the door, looking Izuku up and down and seeing the blood on his limbs.

“Ah, goodness. You’re trying to send me to an early grave, aren't you? How many precarious situations can one rabbit find himself in?”

Izuku shrugged. “A lot?”

Clockwork sighed and stepped out fully. “Alright… to the medical office. Avery is already there and I'm sure she'd love to see you.”

Avery was Clockwork’s daughter, by happenstance, Izuku ended up spending a lot of time with her and would babysit sometimes. She was nice, as nice as a 5 year old can be, and had an interesting quirk that allowed her to feel other people's emotions.

The two stepped into the medical office where Avery was spinning in a chair. The office itself was more like a waiting room, the only things in there being a desk with a chair, and then a table with random items. Mostly toys and coloring books for Avery.

“Avery! Look who's here! He got injured on purpose just to see you.” 

Izuku crossed his arms, Clockwork and his theatrics…

Avery slid off the spinny chair and ran up to him. “Not again! Dad'll fix you up though, right?”

Clockwork nodded. “As always. We’ll be in the first medical room, okay? Come get me if you need anything.” She nodded as Clockwork and Izuku entered room 01.

Izuku hopped onto the hospital bed as Clockwork sat in the chair beside him. “Now, what happened this time?”

Katsuki shut off his alarm. It was a weekend but he'd forgotten to turn it off so now he didn't get to sleep in. It was fine, whatever, he'd get up anyway. He checked his phone, June 16th 6:00AM. He set his phone on his night stand and walked into his bathroom, he'd just start his morning routine now.

He brushed his teeth, tried to comb his hair, and changed into some new clothes. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like shit. Not as bad as when Izuku first disappeared, but still shit. It’s been a month and Izuku hasn't sent any more notes. Was he being impatient? Maybe. But he was admittedly worried. Can you blame him? Izuku says he's injured and almost died and then vanished for a second time.

Katsuki sighed. Izuku said he was fine and he would just have to believe that for now. He stepped out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen. Neither of his parents were up so he'd be making breakfast then.

He decided on pancakes before he even got out a pan. They were simple enough for him to work on without thinking too much…

Try as he might, he can't get Izuku’s stupid disappearance to stop bothering him. It might be pitiful but the note gave him hope that he might actually see Izuku instead of just having to believe he's fine. He was getting better though, he was actually friends with Kirishima now, and his quirk’s been getting better. He still can't use his quirk against people, but he can use it more reliably against inanimate objects, even objects that resemble people. His therapist told him to be proud of progress, even if it didn't seem like a big deal to him.

Katsuki sighed as he flipped one of the pancakes. He couldn't get how Izuku was going to be a hero when hero schools didn't even accept quirkless students. Every pro hero has gone to a hero school, normal schools can't issue provisional or professional hero licenses. There was a thought… Had Izuku really decided to be a vigilante?

Katsuki’s first instinct was to scoff. Izuku? A vigilante? It sounded ridiculous. Izuku cried over hurting bugs, Katsuki just couldn't see him suddenly deciding to fight villains without any training. Then he remembered how stupidly selfless Izuku was and it didn't sound so far-fetched. Maybe he'd try and find some info online later…

Katsuki heard footsteps and turned to see his dad walking into the living room. “Oh, Katsuki, you know you don't have to cook for us?” He continued into the kitchen, offering to take over the cooking. Katsuki held the pan away from him. “I know how to cook! And I'm better at it than you!” He was lying about being better, he just wanted to keep cooking.

Masaru laughed lightly. “Alright, if you're sure. I’ll go get Mitsuki and Inko.”

Right, Auntie. She'd started spending more and more nights in their guest room. She said her house felt too empty. He returned to cooking. He needed to look after Auntie, it's something he was already doing but it was even important now. It seemed like knowing Izuku was alive both helped and hurt Auntie, it was kinda like that for everyone.

He shook his head clear of thoughts. The U.A entrance exam was in 9 months so he and Kirishima were gonna step up their training. Katsuki specifically wanted to work on a few moves Izuku suggested when he was little. Things like keeping his body airborne using his blasts and being able to store his sweat for larger blasts. 

He could worry about that all later. His parents and Auntie had walked into the dining room right as breakfast was ready. 

Katsuki and Kirishima marched through the woods, the sun shining high above them. They were going to a spot affectionately named ‘that damn river’ in memory of when he fell into that damn river. The two had been using the forest as a training ground for a while, the gym always felt too stuffy to Katsuki.

Kirishima ran ahead, hopping on mossy logs and trying to walk on them with his arms held out to the side for balance. “So Bakubro,” Katsuki did not approve of the nickname, Kirishima just kept calling him it anyway… “I’ve been wanting to test something out. So you know I can get hard-” Katsuki snorted. “-You know what I mean! Anyway, instead of hardening my entire body before the fight, maybe I can work on hardening my skin right before impact?”

Katsuki hummed. He wasn't as much of a quirk nerd as Izuku, but some of his analysis habits had rubbed off. “It might be helpful. I mean, if activating your quirk for too long has any drawbacks then limiting it would be good. Or you could mistime it and die, your choice.”

Kirishima sighed and hopped off the log to walk beside Katsuki. “Maybe… I still wanna test it though. What are you gonna be working on?”

“Flying probably. It was an idea Izuku had when we were little, I thought he was being ridiculous but I’d actually be able to do it with enough practice.”

“Yo! That sounds sick, man! Can't wait to see it.”

The two stopped at a clearing beside the river, it's where they've been sparring as of late. Katsuki tossed his bag to the side, it had enough water and snacks for both of them since Kirishima never brought one.

The two fell into their routine silently. The same one they've been doing for the past few weeks. They'd both do their own stretches, Katsuki’s mostly focused on his upper body and hands while Kirishima did full body stretches. Kirishima was happy to fill the silence with utterly moronic questions.

“So… Every single hero in the entire world vs. one All Might, who wins?”

Katsuki’s answer was instant. “All might.” 

Kirishima closed his eyes and made a face like he was thinking too hard. “I dunno… I'm sure if the other hero's all teamed up and used their quirks well they could beat him. Right?” He opened one to look at Katsuki.

“Hell no. Dumbass reasoning. All Might wins, no competition.”

Kirishima put his hands on his hips. “Well, you're the All Might fanatic… Wanna start sparring?”

Katsuki finished his stretches and cracked his knuckles, a smug smile on his face. “Sure, you know I'll kick your ass.”

Kirishima rolled his eyes and walked towards the other boy. “I dunno man, I got a good feeling this time!”

The two stood opposite each other and held their fists up. They were gonna be here for a while…

Katsuki and Kirishima were laying on the forest floor opposite each other, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped from Katsuki’s brow and onto the forest floor, which was probably a safety hazard. The sun was setting, almost fully under the horizon at this point. 

Kirishima sighed deeply and put his hands under his head, happily watching the sky above.

“Whaddya think the entrance exam is gonna be like? Think this training is enough?”

Katsuki had his arms crossed over his chest, he shrugged even though Kirishima wouldn't be able to see it. “Dunno. They switch things up each year but it's usually just beating different things up. Last year it was a bunch of things Cementoss made, I think. We’ll be fine.”

Kirishima hummed in acknowledgement. 

There were a few moments of silence but Kirishima, who was allergic to silence, spoke up. “Can you teach me how to cook?” Kirishima tilted his head back to try and look at Katsuki. 

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, still only looking up at the sky. “Fuck no. You'd set the house on fire.”

“No way, man! My moms say I'm really good at cooking.”

“Well I'm sorry your moms have no shame lying to their son.”

Kirishima sighed. “It doesn't have to be anything fancy! I just wanna learn.”

Katsuki groaned. “Fine! If you're gonna keep whining then I can teach you the basics, with any luck we’ll still have an intact kitchen.”

Kirishima pumped both of his hands in the air. “Yes! Cooking lessons from a master chef.”

“Whatever. Be quiet, idiot.” He said with a smile on his face.

The two returned to their comfortable silence, eyeing the orange sky above them. Everything felt okay, even just for this moment. Katsuki didn't feel worried, or like he was missing a part of himself. Things were… good. 

He hoped they stayed that way

Chapter Text

Over the past few weeks, Katsuki found out what Izuku meant by him becoming a hero. He was a vigilante. Katsuki didn't believe it at first, but the idiot had been posting online and Katsuki could recognize those stupid emoticons anywhere. So that led down the rabbit hole (pun not intended) of researching the vigilante ‘Jackrabbit’, the name locals gave Izuku.

He sat at his desk with his laptop open, scrolling through random articles. There wasn't a lot of info, the most he found was how many villains Izuku had detained and reported. Katsuki was thoroughly pissed off to see Izuku had taken down a lot of villains while Katsuki had taken down none. Katsuki wasn't dumb enough to become a vigilante though, Izuku only became one because all other choices were blocked off. Maybe he could write an email and bitch to the U.A principal that they should get rid of discriminatory laws. Why were they there in the first place?

Since Izuku left Katsuki became aware of the very real issue of quirkless discrimination, to which he unfortunately contributed to. He didn't realize it when he was younger but quirkless people pretty much always got the short end of the stick. No matter what it was, it was usually worse for quirkless people. Family life, school, jobs, social status. Now that Katsuki was researching it and wasn't such an asshole it was clear how bullshit the current system was.

Back to Izuku though. There was a recent public police report that was about him. Something about him taking down a villain named ‘Obsidian’ and using a detective's face to boost himself up. Apparently a hero named Eraserhead—who Katsuki didn't know even existed—ran into Izuku and saw he was injured. Of course the idiot nearly dies, recovers, then immediately gets injured again. Katsuki shouldn't have expected anything less…

There wasn't really much Katsuki to do. He wasn't gonna rat to the police about who ‘Jackrabbit’ was, so he'd just have to keep tabs on any news regarding him and hope the nerd doesn't get himself killed.

He shut his laptop and leaned back in his chair. It was Inko’s birthday and he doubted Izuku had forgotten her birthday. Maybe he'd send another note, or probably a gift for her.

Katsuki stood from his desk and stretched. His mom would probably make him help with setting up party stuff, not that he minded, but he would've done it without being asked anyway. 

“Katsuki! Get down here and help your father!”

Speak of the devil… “Down in a minute!” He yelled back. He hoped Izuku would join the party, even if all he did was send a note.

Izuku paced back and forth in the warehouse anxiously. It was July 4th, his mom’s birthday, and he didn't have a gift… He hadn't seen her in two months, how was he supposed to get a good gift? Usually he'd listen or watch for anything his mom showed interest in, then inconspicuously ask her for money to buy it. Money wouldn't really be a problem, he'd started ‘borrowing’ money from the villains he turned into the police. The issue was he had no information! He couldn't just guess, what if he got something she didn't like?

Even though he's already disappointed his mother plenty he didn't want to disappoint her more. He continued pacing. She always liked when he made things for her, like that time he gave her a bracelet he made when he was 6. Maybe he could make something again? Maybe a locket?

He stopped pacing and hurried to one of the boxes in the warehouse. He was sure he'd seen a box full of small silver necklaces, and he was sure he could make a locket himself. He pulled out a small plastic container, it was a mess of tangled up silver and gold chains. Izuku fished out a silver one and detangled it from the rest. It was simple, just a chain with a clasp. Hopefully his mom didn't think it was tacky or anything…

He moved back to the middle of the warehouse where he'd set up a ‘workstation’ of sorts. He placed the chain down and went to dig through more boxes to see if he could find anything locket-adjacent. There were a lot of small knick-knacks and random metal pieces, eventually he found something resembling a locket. It might not be intended to be a locket, but Izuku would be using it as one.

He brought it back to his work station. Right. Locket. He just had to figure out how to put the two together and print a photo to put in it…

Izuku fiddled with the chain, locket, and clasp for a painful 5 minutes before he was able to get the locket around the chain. It was forced on, so the locket couldn't be removed now that it was on. He positioned the locket to be in the middle of the chain on the opposite side of the clasp. He held it up and looked at the locket spin idly. It looked good in his personal opinion. 

Now, what photo should he use? He had plenty on his personal phone to choose from and he could probably use the printer at the library to print it. 

Izuku changed into some more presentable civilian clothes—a white mirko hoodie and dark baggy pants—he wouldn't be wearing his rabbit mask this time around, it'd only be suspicious. He did tie his hair up and put on his sponge mask though. Maybe he should change the color of the HUD contacts and start wearing those out too… That's a task for future Izuku.

He patted his clothes down and took two things with him, his phone and the All Might card he always carried with him.

He slipped out of the warehouse and jogged through the alleys into his main streets. The flood of people made him nervous but he was able to navigate through it easily. The library was close, only a block or two away.

He picked up his pace, keeping a steady jog all the way to the library. He sped up momentarily when he walked past Present Mic’s food bank, partially covering his face with his hand. He doubted Preset Mic would recognize him but better safe than sorry. 

Izuku pushed open the doors to the public library. Anyone was able to print 1 thing per day for free which worked fine for him. He politely greeted the librarian at the front desk and made his way to the printers, pulling out his phone as he got close.

He swiped through his photos, he didn't have anything super recent considering he ran away, but maybe… Here! It was a photo of him and his mom a week before he ran away, his mom was sitting on the couch while Izuku took a selfie from above her. The two of them had genuine smiles on their faces, Izuku stared a little longer than he meant to. Things weren't perfect before but he was always happy at home.

He shook his head clear, he just needed to print the photo. Using the power of technology he connected his phone to the printer and waited as the printer did its thing.

Izuku sighed, letting some of the built up anxiety out of his body. He’s been spending so much time away from normal society that being in it was nerve wracking. It also felt weird to be out without his masks and gear, for Izuku anytime he left he usually had his mask on. He tried to shake the worry of being recognized off, he was just paranoid. He was a complete nobody before he became a vigilante, and he didn't have any of his vigilante costume on. 

He let his thoughts fade to the background as he grabbed the now fully printed photo. There was a border of plain white paper around it, but Izuku would have to cut the photo to fit the locket anyhow. He held the photo in his hands as he left the library, he didn't want to fold or crumple it. 

He jogged back home quickly, avoiding the stares he got as he passed by people. He didn't know why they were looking, his scar maybe? It did take up half his face and most adults would say he's too young for a scar—as nonsensical as that statement is.

Izuku slowed as he saw the warehouse enter his view, His leg stung a bit, the effect of back-to-back injuries he supposed… He shrugged it off and entered the warehouse, he had a birthday gift to make.

He sat on the floor in front of his ‘work station’, which was just a metal sheet placed on the ground with scrap metal parts and various tools around it. He diligently got to work, measuring the photo against the locket and cutting the excess. He cut the photo so his and his moms smiling faces were in the center of it.

When he was done he coated the bottom of the locket in a thin layer of glue he'd stolen and pressed the photo into it. He held up the finished product, clearly amateur but clearly made with love. Izuku smiled. He was proud of it at least, he was sure his mom would love it too.

His poor sleeping habits and hurried gift-making excursion had taken up a large portion of the day, it was nearing 7:30PM and he wanted to deliver his gift before it got too dark and therefore before his daily patrol. He went back to his room to put on his vigilante outfit, slipping on his rabbit mask and respirator. Izuku wrote out a simple note to go with the locket, just to reassure his mother.

‘I’m doing okay, love you! - Izuku’ He folded the note and chose to hold it and the locket in his hands rather than stuff it in his utility belt.

With his gift and note ready he took a deep breath and left. He assumed his mom would be over at Kacchan’s house so he headed there.

He moved under the cover of shadows like he usually did, opting to go through the tight spaces between houses instead of the actual road, if he was being honest he was just too used to slinking through alleys at this point. He stood at the side of Kacchan’s house, nothing like him and his mom's apartment. He tiptoed around the house to the front door and quietly placed his locket and note. He knocked on the door three times and slithered to the back of the house.

He was planning on just dropping it off and leaving but something stopped him. Instead, he made his way to the back of the house and sat with his knees to his chest under the kitchen window, the warm yellow light spilling out into the dark backyard. 

Izuku could hear everyone, Mom, Auntie, Uncle, and Kacchan talking and eating in the dining room. Izuku wasn't proud of eavesdropping, but he needed to see how everyone was doing.

“Did anyone else hear the front door?” Masaru’s voice called out.

“Hm? I think I did, can you get that for us Katsuki?” Izuku recognized Mitsuki’s voice, always stern but loving.

“Tch. Fine!” Kacchan…

Izuku heard footsteps fade and faintly heard the front door open, then Kacchan returned.

“It… It’s for you, Auntie.” Kacchan’s voice sounded, unsure? Izuku thought that was odd, wasn't he doing better?

“Oh? Who is it from?” Mom… Izuku could feel himself tear up. Maybe from the joy of hearing her voice, maybe from sadness knowing he had to stay hidden. Well, he didn't have to, but if he wanted to keep being a vigilante and keep his family out of danger, he couldn’t just go back home…

The house was deathly silent for a while. Izuku tilted his head up in curiosity. Did she not like his gift..?

It stayed silent for a while before he heard his mom crying with Auntie Mitsuki comforting her. “Oh, Inko…”

He could hear his mothers cries get a little louder, suddenly Izuku felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. Was she this upset over him? He never wanted to hurt her! His own eyes watered more, he'd always been just as emotional as his mom.

His mom’s cries quieted, he strained his ears to hear her.

“Oh Izuku… I love it…”

A smile spread across his face despite his silent tears. He felt a childish sense of pride at that; his mother liked his gift. It was the same feeling he had when she said she loved the bracelet he made when he was 6.

“Can I see it?” That was Kacchan again, still strangely quiet.

“Here you go, dear. Gosh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be crying.” Inko sniffled.

“No, no, it's alright. You let it all out.” Masaru comforted her.

Izuku stared at the darkening sky above, wiping his own tears from his face. He didn't know what to feel. Guilt, sadness, shame, confusion, happiness, pride? Maybe all of it at once?

They were all having a good time and enjoying each other's company on his moms birthday, while he sat under their window and just listened. It was a tragically pathetic sight. 

Izuku couldn't help but stick around even after he gave his gift. He listened to his mom and second family laugh while eating cake, reminiscing over past memories, make new memories, and living as a happy family together. He sat in the dark, just below the window, just outside what he used to consider his second home. The warm light from the dining room poured over him as he looked up at the starry night sky above.

Izuku stayed huddled there, feeling endlessly lonely with his family on the other side of the wall, until the stars were out and everyone had gone to bed.

Izuku finally stood, his body creaking after staying in such a stiff position for too long. He stretched slowly, he just needed to go home.

Izuku decided to walk home, no patrol, no parkour, no fighting villains, just a sad walk home through dark alleyways. It was in one of these dark alleyways when a stranger approached him, with the weirdest greeting Izuku’s ever heard.

“Hey, kid. You look dead inside, you seem perfect for what I'm offering.” 

Izuku stopped mid-step and tensed, he turned his head behind him to see a man white bluish-white hair dressed in all black. The man had… a hand on his face? Izuku stopped and turned to face the man fully, internally preparing to fight.

“You can call me Shigaraki. Me and my master have some big things planned so i'm trying to get more people on board.” 'Shigaraki's voice was scratchy, like even just talking was difficult.

Izuku tilted his head. Did he not know Izuku was a vigilante? Well, good time to gather info then.

Izuku cleared his throat nervously. “Uh, what ‘plans’ do you have in mind? I can't exactly agree to something if I don't know what it is.” Izuku spoke slowly, cautiously. The man gave off a strange vibe, like just being around him would give you a headache.

The man laughed dryly, scratching at his throat, Izuku cringed at the sound it made. 

“Ha, right, right. Well, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise but if I had to say… We’ll be taking down hero society as a whole.” He spread his arms out to the side in a grand gesture as he spoke.

Izuku blinked owlishly. ‘Take down hero society as a whole’ Izuku narrowed his eyes. Was that even possible? 

Izuku looked to the side. “And… how do you plan on doing that? It's not like it's an easy task.”

Shigaraki put his hands in his hoodie pockets and shrugged. “My master has a plan, we’re working on it. We're only on the first level now, but trust me, if you join me now you'll have a special place in the new world. When we finally defeat the final boos, the world will be better.”

'Final boss'? Definitely a freakshow, Izuku wasn't being mean he was just stating a fact. This could be a good opportunity though, take down a villain organization as it's building itself up. Much easier to take down than a fully formed, well known, villain organization. The only problem is Izuku would either have to take down Shigaraki and his ‘master’ soon, or join the organization to keep tabs on them and act as a traitor. 

Izuku thought about it but ultimately decided this wasn't a choice he could make right now, he was too emotionally exhausted. Maybe he could just buy some time?

“I’m definitely interested.” Not a complete lie, Izuku was interested in reworking the hero system as a whole. “But I can't just agree to something like that on a whim, think you could give me some time to think about it?”

Izuku was almost worried about how good at lying he'd gotten, usually he'd stutter through lies and his voice would raise slightly; now his tone was the same as it usually was and he didn't stumble over his words.

Shigiraki shrugged. “Sure, sure. I guess that makes sense. I’m impatient though, I like to speed run my games, not waste time on side-quests... You have ‘til the end of the month. Remember,” His voice deepened slightly. “A once in a lifetime opportunity, don't miss it.”

Izuku nodded and watched as Shigaraki turned and walked in the other direction. What a strange interaction that Izuku would stay up late replaying in his mind…

Izuku turned and continued his own way home, just another issue for tomorrow Izuku…

12PM on July 5th and Izuku was now dealing with the consequences of his actions, staying up until abysmal hours of the night and ignoring his problems. Now, he sat on his desk desperately trying to find any info on one ‘Shigaraki’. Strangely, there was nothing. Like the man never existed in the first place.

He was hunched over his desk, sipping from a Wild, Wild, Pussycats’ themed mug—he really couldn't escape hero merch—as he scrolled through villain profiles mindlessly.

Whoever the man was, he hadn't committed any crimes before, apparently was a regular person then decided that taking down hero society would be his first offense. Izuku could partially relate, the only difference is that vigilantism and theft became his first offenses. Izuku closed any tabs related to Shigaraki, he wasn't finding anything. He'd have to call Giran and pay an egregious amount of money for some info later.

Izuku tiredly leaned back in his chair. Should he join a villain organization? It'd be the best way to keep tabs on, and then take down the organization; but it'd also make him a villain. Yes, he was a criminal by law, but not a villain. If he joined, if he let the organization do terrible things without stopping it in the moment, would he be any better than them? He didn't think so personally.

Maybe he could sabotage their plans? Act innocent but ruin things? All this just raised the question on whether or not the long game was worth it in the first place. Maybe he should just send a tip to the police.

Though… there was no info on Shigaraki anywhere, would the police believe him? Was ‘Jackrabbit’ a reliable enough source for the police?

Izuku let his chair fall back on all four legs and let himself face-plant onto his desk, regretting it as pain darted through his nose. A strange thought entered Izuku’s head. There wasn't anything on Shigaraki publicly, maybe there was stuff hidden? He hadn't gotten a chance to work on his hacking skills…

He stretched and sat more postured in his chair. Where to look first? 

It was who-knows-when PM when he finally found some good info, getting into some old confidential police files he'd found reports on a battle between All Might and a villain known as ‘All for One’ whose name in the database was ‘Zen Shigaraki’ who was the real villain that caused All Might’s skeleton form Izuku saw on the rooftop. So, All for One is really evil, got it. And Shigaraki is training under All for One, which automatically makes him evil as well.

Zen’s file detailed his ability as being able to take and give away quirks, Izuku wasn't sure whether or not to believe that at first but the police report treated it as fact so…

Apparently All Might defeated All for One but the villain hadn't been seen again, until now. Izuku couldn't believe All Might and the police let such a villain escape into hiding, being defeated once clearly wasn't stopping him. Izuku knew what to think of Shigaraki now, an evil villain following in the footsteps of an even eviler villain. ‘Take down hero society’ probably meant ‘take over the world’. 

Izuku bounced his leg under the desk anxiously. This was a way bigger issue than some low level villain wanting to start an organization. It was someone following someone who was titled the Symbol of Evil…

Maybe Izuku could do both; join as a mole and tip off the police. He chewed on the inside of his cheek.

What was he getting himself into…?

Chapter Text

Izuku held the knife behind his head, took a step forward and threw the knife as hard as he could towards a target. He missed completely and managed to break a nearby window.

Behind him, Wendigo sighed. “Giran’s gonna start demanding you pay for that, Cottontail.”

“Pay how?” Izuku closed his eyes and crossed his arms. Over the past 4 days Izuku had been training with knives, he hadn't made much progress but he wasn't accidentally stabbing himself anymore. While he couldn't reliably use knives in his hands he did use his ever-improving inventing skills to add daggers in his shoes, in case he ever needed to stab someone's ankles. It was genius if you asked him.

Izuku opened his eyes and walked to the now shattered window to pull the knife out, brushing off stray pieces of glass as he did.

Wendigo spoke from her ‘safe viewing area’. “Alright then kid, let's go back to hand to hand. Well blame the window on someone else.”

Izuku nodded and the two left the spare room, which they'd turned into a knife and dart throwing room, into the training area they usually used.

Learning how to fight with knives was difficult for Izuku because of one major factor, he didn't want to actually stab Wendigo, no matter how many times the older woman said it was okay. He did better when working with targets or dummies, but Wendigo insisted on trying to fight a real person.

Izuku adjusted the grip on the two daggers he had, one in each hand. He held them backwards, the handle facing outward while the blade faced inwards to his elbows. Wendigo stood opposite to him, she was armed as well.

Izuku took a deep breath, theoretically even if he did accidentally hurt her, Clockwork had learned to be on standby anytime they trained.

Izuku cleared his thoughts and rushed forward towards Wendigo, he just needed to focus on the fight.

Izuku brought the blade to Wendigo’s arm, she blocked it with her own. Izuku hopped back and tried again. The training fights were more to work on his reflexes than actually try to harm each other.

They stepped around each other, each stepping forward and back as they tried to get hits in. Their blades clashed again, Izuku rolled back to avoid Wendigo’s blade. He had to be constantly aware of where his and his opponents blades were if he wanted to avoid any cuts. If he moved his arms and hands in a specific way he'd end up stabbing his forearm, it was a lot to concentrate on at once but he was getting better.

The training room was filled with the sound of clashing blades, steadied breaths and the squeak of shoes against the polished floor.

Izuku tried to sneak in a hit with blades in his shoes, but Wendigo blocked it causing Izuku to fall. His head landed against the hard floor. He sat up and wrapped his hands around his head, hissing in pain.

Wendigo dropped her blades and leaned down to him. “You'll be alright. Wanna call it a day?”

Izuku sighed and picked his daggers back up. “Not really, but I have a ton of small cuts on my arm that I know Clockwork is gonna complain about. I should get them treated sooner rather than later.”

Wendigo nodded and ruffled Izuku’s hair. He patted her hand away and stood up, he readjusted the rabbit ears of his mask. “Don't do that Wendigo… you're gonna bend the second ear…”

“Uh-huh. Come back when you're ready to spar again.”

Wendigo turned to do whatever solo training she usually did as Izuku left the room to head to the clinic office, rubbing at the loose sloppy bandages he and Wendigo wrapped around his arms every time he got a new cut.

Izuku opened the office door to see Avery at the table, scribbling away on a piece of paper with crayons. Giran was on the opposite side, bored out of his mind. He must've been blackmailed into babysitting again.

“Hi you two, know where Clockwork is?” He pointed to the messy bandages on his arm. Avery turned and waved. “Hi Bunny! Dad’s organizing stuff again.”

Giran pointed a thumb behind him at ‘med room 02’ “You'll find him in 02”

Izuku nodded but ran over to Giran first, sitting at the table he and Avery were at. “I'll head there soon, but first, could I bug you for some info? Please?”

Giran sighed, rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. “Aw, sorry kid, I'd love to help but I'm soo busy!”

Izuku could clearly see his phone wasn't even on. He frequently turned it off if a client was spam messaging him.

“Giran… I'm serious! It's important, I think? Uh, so i met his weirdo in an alley a few days ago, and I think he's the apprentice- or maybe son- of this villain named All for One and-”

“Wait, wait, what? Kid, slow down. What did you just say?” 

Giran suddenly looked very serious. Avery leaned over the desk and tilted her head at Izuku, who in return just shrugged.

“Uh, All for One? Or Zen Shigaraki, that's what was on the file.”

Giran pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“O-kay… Back up. One, who did you meet in an alley? Two, where did you get this information from? And three, why do you need more info?”

Izuku couldn't help but let himself ramble.

“Well, he said his name was Shigaraki, I didn't get a given name though.. and I kinda maybe hacked into confidential police databases and reports for the info? Shigaraki said he was making an organization and asked if I wanted to join, I told him I needed more time to decide. And I want more info because I'm planning to join as a mole! Like, ‘take it down from the inside’ sort of thing?”

He looked at Giran expectantly, assuming the man would have more info on everything. Instead, Giran raised up a hand.

“Sorry, kid. You're not getting anything from me, and before you complain; I don't even know much myself. All I’ll say is you don't want to get tangled up with them. Tell Shigaraki you don't want to join and leave with your life and future wellbeing intact.” Giran’s voice was more monotone and flat than Izuku had ever heard it. Well, Izuku wasn't expecting this kind of reaction… He knew for a fact what kind of monstrous villain Zen was, but to go so far as to imply his entire life would be screwed over by just interacting with the villain? Izuku could admit Giran had made Izuku more fearful of the Shigaraki’s than before, but if they were really that bad didn't it make more sense to stop them before they became a bigger issue?

Avery’s voice broke Izuku out of his thoughts. “Is Bunny gonna get hurt again? Dad’ll be mad if he does.”

Giran and Izuku spoke at the same time. “He’s gonna get himself killed.” “I’ll be fine, don't worry!”

The two looked at each other. Giran sighed again. “You know I can't, and won't, stop you. But I really recommend staying away from those two, it isn't worth it.”

Izuku nodded. He'd definitely be taking what Giran said into consideration. 

“Alright… I'll keep it in mind. I should get these cuts patched up. Sorry I didn't get to draw with you this time Avery, I'll be sure to come back after I'm done training with Wendigo!” Izuku stood and headed for room 02.

“Okay! I'll save some crayons for you. And tell Dad to get me a snack.” Avery called out behind him, he nodded and waved bye to the two.

He entered the room and saw Clockwork seated at a desk, sorting documents and files into color coded folders. He turned, saw Izuku, and leaned back in his chair with his hand over his forehead like he was in a stage play.

“Oh, goodness. Not again, Jackrabbit. You were just here this morning!”

Izuku shrugged. “Uhm, call it rabbit’s bad luck?” He moved to sit on the hospital bed as Clockwork put the papers he was sorting away.

“I’ll have you know rabbits are supposed to be a symbol of good luck. I fear you may have been cursed by a witch.” He said with faux seriousness.

Izuku rolled his eyes. “Sure, we’ll say that's the reason. Could you just fix my cuts? Wendigo won't give me a break…” He took off the bandages and presented the shallow wounds to Clockwork who hummed and grabbed some medical supplies.

“Is that vicious woman over-working you again? She owes me a couple thousand dollars from poor betting decisions, I'm sure I could persuade her to give you a break.”

Clockwork and his blackmailing habits… Izuku shook his head and winced as Clockwork disinfected his wounds. “No, it's okay. It's important for me to learn, and quickly too.”

Clockwork hummed to show he heard but didn't comment further, instead changing the topic. “You have something on your mind.” It was a statement, not a question. Clockwork’s quirk allowed him to not only see the physical condition of people, but mental condition as well including things as simple as stress or nervousness.

“Care to let me listen?”

Izuku shrugged but started rambling anyway. 

“I think I might be in over my head… I kinda, eh, stumbled upon the apprentice-slash-maybe son of the most evil villain ever? He’s literally considered the symbol of evil! And like Giran told me to stay away, which i understand. Getting intertwined with the world's most evil villain and his apprentice-slash-maybe son is very obviously a really bad idea. But my thought process is, why not take care of it now? That makes sense right?” He paused to look at Clockwork, who silently nodded.

He continued. “If he is the world's most evil villain- which I think he is- then we can't just let him rebuild and plan anything. but i don't think the police would believe me if i showed up and claimed that the symbol of evil was alive and lurking, and probably planning to take over the world. I need proof and the only way to get proof is to keep tabs on them! If i just stalk them then they’ll like, kill me or something? Probably? But if I pretend to join then I could learn everything and report it to the police at the same time, or at least sabotage plans… Am I talking too much?”

Clockwork shook his head. “Of course not. You're sorting your thoughts, I'm sure it's helpful for you. And if you'd like my input; I'd prefer you didn't interact with them at all, but if you do, prepare to build an entirely new, fake personality that you'll use around them.”

Izuku let Clockwork's words swim in his head. That made sense… He'd have to convince Shigaraki that he's a villain, and if he's already found out that Izuku is a vigilante then he'd have to pretend he turned into a villain. Izuku already started to imagine the lies he'd spin, the character he'd play to worm his way into Shigaraki’s organization. Someone more cold-hearted than he actually is, someone with more grit, less emotional and empathetic.

Izuku looked down at his newly bandaged arms, then back up at Clockwork. Technically, Izuku has been mingling with villains for a while. Izuku knew a lot of the people in One-Stop-Shop had committed crimes before, theft, aggravated assault, arson, he was pretty sure there were even a few murderers who frequented the place too. He couldn't, and wouldn't, accept or forgive what they've done, but in the One-Stop-Shop everyone was just normal people. Regardless of past or present crimes, they were all there to relax and recuperate with friends. It was… confusing. They were familiar when he was in the One-Stop-Shop, but outside of it they were enemies.

Izuku sighed, he shouldn't let himself run in mental circles like this. He looked back up to Clockwork—who had been waiting patiently as Izuku momentarily spiraled—and remembered something. “Thanks for helping, but I just remembered. Avery wants you to grab her a snack.”

Clockwork put a hand to his face. “Of course. I’ll have to pester Wendigo for something. Come now, you're all patched up.”

Clockwork stood and opened the door, Izuku hopped down from the hospital bed and exited the room with Clockwork following behind.

“Avery? Come on, sweetheart. We’re gonna guilt trip Wendigo into baking you some sweets. I'm sure she’ll let you help decorate if i bring up her debt again.” Clockwork walked over to the table Avery and Giran were still sitting at.

Avery smiled and stood up quickly. “Yes, Auntie Wendigo's food is the best! Come on, come on, come oon!” She grabbed Clockworks hand and started dragging him to the door. Izuku smiled as they left. Before Clockwork was dragged through the door he called out to Giran. “Thank you for being generous to babysit!”

“Go to hell!” Was Giran’s response.

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I guess since Wendigo’s gonna be busy for a bit I'll get to fixing the broken window.”

“The broken what?”

“Bye, Giran!” He rushed to the exit and closed the door behind him a bit harder than he meant to. He also lied, he was leaving the window to Wendigo.

He speed-walked through the back halls of One-Stop-Shop, most patrons didn't come back here since it was just the kitchen, a couple spare rooms, storage closets, a garage, and the medical office. All the overnight rooms were up the stairs in the main area. The back area was normally reserved for staff only, but with how frequently Izuku got injured he was sorta just allowed to head back whenever. Call it injury privileges.

He stepped back into the training room, even though Wendigo was busy being guilt tripped and, or, blackmailed into baking for Avery, Izuku would still train.

He'd have to, it wasn't even a question or suggestion. If he wanted his whole infiltration plan to have a chance then he needed to be stronger. He’d start upgrading his costume again as well, surely there's more ways he could improve it

He picked up the daggers he'd left on the floor and tightened his grip around the handle. It might be odd to say, but Izuku was actually excited for the infiltration plan. Despite all the warning he was getting, he wanted to do it. It felt important, felt like something a hero would do. 

It felt like something he was meant to do.

Katsuki sat on the couch, working on some assignments from class as the TV played in the background. His parents were out for work but Inko was sitting right beside him, crocheting something quietly.

The TV droned on, a random news station playing.

“This afternoon we have an important announcement. Over the past few months there's been lots of discussion online about a new vigilante in Musutafu whose been referred to as ‘jackrabbit’.”

Katsuki’s eyes shot up to the TV. They were talking about Izuku? Inko similarly stopped crocheting to pay attention to the news.

“Here we have a few images of the vigilante taken from security footage along with social media posts the vigilante themself has posted. Locals are split on their opinions. Some say the vigilante is doing more work than your average hero while others say they're still a villain by law.” An image of a teen with shoulder length green hair and a rabbit mask was on the screen. Katsuki remembered seeing Izuku with a respirator before, but the image shown on TV had the bottom half of Izuku’s face visible. Katsuki's face tensed, that was definitely Izuku. Same hair shape, color, only longer, same face shape despite the mask, same ever present smile… He turned his head ever so slightly to look at Inko.

She was staring at the screen with wide eyes, clearly she recognized him too. Katsuki decided to just rip the band-aid off now.

“That's Izuku.”

She flinched slightly and looked over at him, then back to the TV. 

“...I know. Do you… know where he is?” 

Katsuki shrugged. “Nah. I just know that's him and that he's alive, if you want you should look up police reports on the villains he catches. He's out saving people every night.”

Inko sniffled and wiped the corner of her eyes. The tears weren't falling but her eyes were watery.

“A hero, just like said he'd be.” She had a smile on her face, the kind that reached her eyes. She really was proud of her son.

Katsuki couldn't help but smile as well. Yeah, he was a hero, in his own way.

Katsuki and Kirishima walked down the busy sidewalks, people brushing past them as everyone went on about their lives. It was a bit late but Kirishima insisted the two have some ‘bro time’ so here Katsuki was. The two were walking around a popular shopping area, lots of hero stores and public places like arcades or game stores.

Kirishima, still allergic to silence, started speaking. “So, this is gonna sound kinda crazy, but you know Takoba beach? It's a mess right but like, what if we cleaned it?”

Katsuki scoffed. “What, for free? Hell no.”

“Technically for free yeah, but I was thinking of it more as training. I bet there's a ton of heavy stuff people have thrown out, so we’d be able to clean the beach and get stronger!”

Katsuki shrugged. Maybe, but it seemed like a total waste of time and energy. He doubted Kirishima would let him refuse though. “Fine, but if you don't pull your weight then I'll just leave you behind.”

Kirishima pumped his fists into the air. “Perfect! I knew you'd be down! C'mon let's go, it can be a race.”

Katsuki blinked, surprised. “Wait, now?!”

By the time he looked over, Kirishima was already at the end of the street. He wasn't gonna let an idiot beat him in a race so Katsuki started sprinting after him.

It was a close race, nearly neck and neck, but Katsuki refused to lose to a red-haired moron and ran faster out of sheer spite. The two made it to the railing at the edge of the beach, both breathing heavily and leaning on their knees.

“I… fuckin’ won… you never… stood a chance!” Katsuki said between breaths.

“Yeah..! Ha, still pretty… fun though!”

It took a few minutes for them to catch their breaths. They started down the stairs that led to the trash-filled beach, it smelled as bad as expected. The two looked at it all, it was almost impressive.

Kirishima sighed. “Uhm, well… Let's get started then?”

Katsuki cracked his knuckles, this place was gonna be spotless by the time he was done.

“Quit standin’ around, we need to get as much done as we can before it gets too late.”

Katsuki smacked Kirishima on the back of his head as he walked forward. Kirishima rubbed where Katsuki hit him and followed. “Right!”

Izuku was out on his daily patrol, having already caught five villains, two of which he knew from the One-Stop-Shop. He was sitting atop a random abandoned building, scrolling through recent villain sightings on his vigilante phone for any tips on where to head next. Someone had reported a robber just a block away, Izuku hopped to his feet and used his grappling hook to swing to a lower building. From there he made his way to the ground and started running to the scene. He would've made it there in just a minute or two if Shigaraki didn't suddenly appear in front of Izuku, causing him to nearly trip to avoid the villain.

Izuku reoriented himself and turned to face Shigaraki with a puzzled look. What was he doing here? How did he know where Izuku was? Or was it an accidental meet-up?

Shigaraki faced Izuku with a frown. “Oh, you. Did you make up your mind yet? Ready to join our party?”

Izuku blinked. It'd only been five days, Shigaraki said he had ‘til the end of the month.

“You said I had ‘til the end of the month? Did you change your mind?”

Shigaraki sighed and rolled his eyes, as if Izuku had said something obviously stupid.

“You have until the end of the month but you can decide before then. And if this were to influence your decision in any way, I know that you're Jackrabbit. I’m just giving you an offer to join the right side. The league will be the main characters, it only makes sense to join.”

Izuku’s finger twitched nervously. So Shigaraki did know. Alright… Izuku could still work with this. He nodded slowly. 

“Alright, thank you for the consideration? I haven't decided yet, but i do think i'll join you…”

Shigaraki hummed lowly. “Really? Interesting. Well I'm sure Sensei would be happy to hear it.” He dropped the jovial tone. “Sensei has been talking about you a lot, it's incredibly annoying. But I'll still be nice and let you join the game if you want to.”

That was a strangely intense amount of resentment despite only having met Izuku once prior. The more horrifying fact was that Zen had taken an interest in, or at least spoke about, Izuku. He let his mind run for a bit. Was that a good thing, or a bad thing? Maybe both depending on who you asked and when. Currently, it was a good thing. Izuku planned to join so it was best Zen liked him, or at the very least wouldn't turn him away. Then again, it was the literal symbol of evil that liked him, surely that would always be considered a bad thing?

Izuku shook his head to clear his thoughts. Okay, Shigaraki resents Izuku but Zen has an interest in him. Odd dynamic but he'd work with it somehow.

“Thank you then, for still allowing me to join… I think I will, just give me a few more weeks.”

Shigaraki sighed boredly. “Fine, I guess. Bye, I have more important quests to do.”

He raised a hand and walked in the opposite direction. Every interaction with Shigaraki only left Izuku confused. What an odd and strange individual, guess that's just how villains were?

Izuku checked his phone again, the villain he'd been tipped off to had been taken care of by police. Oh well, as long as they were stopped by somebody.

Izuku climbed back up a random building to continue his patrol. As he moves from building to building he started on another mental checklist, a habit at this point. He needed to keep working on his knife wielding skills to the point he could reliably use them in a fight, upgrade his vigilante costume more—he was thinking of adding electrical additions—and get more info on both Shigaraki and Zen.

Izuku stopped and nodded to himself. He could do this- probably. As long as he was able to stop things before they got too out of control then he'd be fine. 

He was a rabbit burrowing in a fox’s den, sure, but he'd make it out alive if he was quick and careful enough.

He’d take down the symbol of evil and become the world's greatest hero.

Chapter Text

Izuku was sitting on top of a billboard, the neon glow lighting up his face from below. The high altitude and constant winds made him shiver but he liked the sensation and the way his hair swayed with the breeze. He took a deep breath and looked down at the city’s bustling night life. People going home from long shifts at work, teens out spending time with their friends, heroes starting their nightly patrols, there were even some street performers. Izuku smiled at the sight. The whole day had been good, he'd spent time with everyone at the One-Stop-Shop, his training with Wendigo went well, he'd gotten a normal amount of sleep, and he'd made some progress on his vigilante costume. Izuku was on cloud nine, he doubted anything could ruin it; not even running into Shigaraki like he did yesterday.

Izuku closed his eyes and kicked his legs idly. No matter what he's been through during his time as a vigilante, he wouldn't trade it for the world. This is what he was meant to do.

Izuku stood and stretched, he better get back to patrolling. He shot his grappling hook into the spaces between the billboards support beam and slowly lowered himself to the roof of the building below. He reeled back in the hook and continued on his route, going clockwise around the outskirts of the city. He'd already turned in three villains tonight but was confident he could get more before 12AM, considering it was only 9 he had plenty of time.

He hopped and clawed his way from building to building, pausing to listen for any voices or cries for help. Along his patrol sometimes he'd stop to stalk- observe what the heroes were doing. Their own patrols of course, but a lot of them were also just standing around doing autographs and the like. 

Izuku understood popularity and image were an important part of hero work, but wouldn't actually doing their job be better…? Why stand around acting like a celebrity when they could be out saving lives? Izuku didn't understand it. He did spot Eraserhead in the background which intrigued him. Izuku had been ecstatic to learn about underground heroes. Limelight heroes were interesting and cool, a lot of them did good work, but underground heroes were simply more efficient. They didn't have the celebrity act limelight heroes had, they could just do their work and disappear into the shadows.

When Izuku was little, he always wanted to be a limelight hero, now that he’s older, if he was given the chance he'd rather be an underground hero. The heroes were interesting to watch and dissect, but he had a job to do. He turned to return to his patrol, accidentally meeting Eraserhead’s gaze as he did. Izuku sped up his route, not wanting to get chased down by the hero again.

Izuku hopped to the next building and slowed his pace. He was about to move onto another area when he heard a sudden shout. He quickly changed directions and headed towards the source of the noise.

It was a few alleys away where he saw someone lying on the floor in a pool of their own blood, Izuku inhaled sharply. …Was he too late?

He lowered himself and crept to the edge of the building. There was a man standing over the person, blood splattered across his clothes. The man stepped forward, walking closer to another man who was curled up in a corner, clutching a bleeding wound.

Izuku shook himself out of his stupor and made his way over the buildings to position himself above the bleeding victim. He didn't know the entire situation but he wasn't going to let anyone die.

Izuku shot his grappling hook just behind the blood-stained villain and used the momentum to deliver a front kick. The villain, caught off guard, fell backwards. Izuku ran forward to get another hit in but the man vanished, a snap sound preceded the sudden disappearance. A teleportation quirk? Invisibility?

Izuku backed himself up to be in front of the victim, keeping civilians alive was the most important thing in this situation.

The villain reappeared, Izuku still couldn't differentiate if it was teleportation or invisibility but the snap sound that went with it was clearly important. Izuku put his fists up, preparing for the villain's attack, but it never came.

“Who the hell are you?!” The man spat out his word.

Izuku tensed. “Not important. What happened here? Are you responsible?” Izuku had no info on this villain, he’d have to figure things out on the spot.

The villain grinned. “Now that's none of your business, is it? You some kid playing hero? Run back home before I slaughter you.” The man smiled viciously.  A murderer then… Izuku felt sick. He’d stopped violent criminals before but never a murderer. Izuku could feel his heart thumping, he needed to calm down. It didn't matter what the villain had done, Izuku would defeat them.

The man vanished from Izuku’s sight with a snap sound, he tried to turn but suddenly felt his head meet concrete. He pushed through the pain and quickly got back to his feet, he couldn't let himself be left vulnerable. When he got back up, the man was gone again. Like before, Izuku was hit without having seen anyone, his ribs this time. Izuku turned, looking in every direction; nothing.

He could see flickers of the villain, appearing and disappearing constantly. He’d vanish and then Izuku would be hit, usually from behind. He struggled to keep up, struggled to keep his balance. It grimly reminded him of the beatings he used to get from Kacchan, where all he could do was curl up in a ball and try to ignore the pain.

Izuku needed to be faster, more observant, have better reflexes. He tried to tune out everything else, as difficult as it was to ignore two bleeding victims. He kept his eyes open, didn't blink, listened for the smallest of sounds and- snap

Izuku turned and raised his leg to kick his attacker, he ended up blocking the villain's attack instead. That's fine, he'd rather block something than get hit. He heard the ‘tsk’ before vanishing again. Izuku steadied his breath, focus.

He kept his guard up, every time the villain disappeared and reappeared there was a faint snapping sound, Izuku just had to listen closely.

… snap

Izuku aimed another kick behind him, clocking the villain in the head. He grunted and held a hand to his skull. Izuku rushed forward and aimed another kick, this time going for the man's ribs. He blocked it with his elbow and disappeared again. Izuku groaned under his breath. What an annoying quirk… interesting, but annoying.

snap Behind him. snap Left. snap Behind again. snap Right. snap Left. The villain was only getting faster.

Izuku was starting to understand. The man would always try to reappear behind or to the side of Izuku. All he had to do was block or counter as soon as he heard the snap. He wasn't always quick enough, even if he heard the snap sometimes he was just in a bad position which caused him to take more hits than he'd like. 

Izuku was getting used to the pattern when the man changed it. Izuku heard the snap and instinctively turned around to counter, but no one was there. He was hit from behind again. Izuku turned, he was already gone. Why did he switch it up? Just to trick Izuku? Was it an aspect of his quirk?

He shook his head, he needed to stay focused and in the moment.

snap Izuku didn't turn around this time and sure enough the villain reappeared in front of him. Izuku wasted no time in throwing a right hook to the man’s jaw.

The villain flickered out of sight yet again, it looked like an automatic response to pain was to disappear... Izuku looked around nervously. How was he supposed to tell when the villain would appear behind him or in front of him?

snap Izuku turned, wrong; he found his head meeting concrete once more, this time a small line of blood ran down his face. He wiped at it with his glove, red staining the faded white, and got to his feet. Just one mistake, it's fine, he'd survive. 

Once more. snap Izuku kept his gaze ahead; correct. Izuku landed a back kick to the man’s stomach, smiling in satisfaction as the villain groaned in pain. Good, he just needed to keep up the momentum!

The villain fled after he'd been hurt and Izuku had an idea. He backed himself into a corner to prevent the villain from appearing behind him or at his sides. This time the villain’s absence lasted longer and for a moment Izuku thought he'd fled, he was wrong.

He reappeared in front of Izuku, before he could land a punch or kick the villain wrapped his hands around Izuku's throat and held him against the wall.

…What? Izuku’s mind blanked, he was still for a moment before the situation caught up to him as he noticed the lack of air in his lungs.

…Stay calm, stay calm... Everything was alright, he'd live, he could get out of this. Despite the repeated mantra Izuku’s body reacted very differently, kicking and flailing in the villains arms uselessly. It was instinctual, his body’s desperate attempt to get out of the situation. 

Izuku clawed at the villains hands and arms, trying to pry them off of him. Blood trailed down the villain's wrists but despite that, he refused to drop Izuku.

Izuku could distantly hear himself gasping and choking for air, his vision darkening at the edges. His throat burned, his head hurt, he was panicking. He was gonna die.

Izuku looked beyond the villain to the two victims scattered in the alley, both looked unconscious. Were the three of them going to die here?

…No… Izuku wouldn't allow that. He couldn't let it happen, couldn't let himself die! He had too much he needed to do but he didn't know how to…

The blades.

The blades in his shoes.

Through his darkening vision he could see that the toe of his shoe just reached the villain's neck, his blade could go right through it. Through it…? No, that'd kill him! But… he was dying. Does he kill the villain? Was there any other way out? There had to be another way out without anyone dying! He wasn't going to become a murderer! But… his consciousness was foggy. 

His life, or the villains?

Izuku could feel his mind slow down, he needed to do something, anything, even… kill?

Izuku closed his eyes, kicked his heel against the wall he was pushed against to get the dagger out, he felt the metal weight shift from beneath his sole to the tip of his shoe. He creaked an eye open and shoved the glistening dagger directly into the villain's neck. He heard it, felt it as the knife dug into the villain's flesh, a sick squelching sound accompanying it.

The effect was immediate. The villain fell to the ground, gasping and grabbing at his neck.

Blood gushed and spurted from the wound, the man writhed on the ground, clawing at his throat and uselessly trying to inhale air. Blood dribbled down his mouth as he choked.

Izuku was faring poorly too, coughing and gasping for air. Izuku heaved, his breaths deep and heavy, inconsistent and frantic. His mind was still slow, like his head was filled with cotton.

Izuku was on his arms and knees, barely keeping himself on the cold concrete below him. His entire body was shaking with effort, struggling just to keep his body off the floor. He dragged himself up and slowly sat up on folded knees, dazed and barely conscious.

He tried to focus on slowing his breathing, it was difficult, but he had to. In for five, hold for five, out for five. Inhale, hold, exhale. Inhale, hold, exhale.

Izuku swallowed saliva nervously as he opened his eyes again, shakily looking around the dim alley. His eyes widened as he saw the villain.

Still and silent on the ground, blood dripping from his neck onto the floor rhythmically. His face was frozen in an expression of fear, desperation, and anger. It was haunting. The man clearly wasn't breathing, wasn't blinking, but even though Izuku knew he was dead, he still placed a hand on the man’s chest hoping to hear a heartbeat, hoping to feel him breathe.

It didn't happen. The man was dead. Izuku killed him.

Izuku’s body shivered, he wasn't sure if it was still after effects of suffocation, fear, shock? He looked away from the… corpse. He couldn't look at it, it'd drive him insane.

The alley was so quiet. The city sounds were as quiet as a whisper, Izuku would only hear his own coughing and the dripping of the villain's blood against the pavement. A nearby light flickered. In this moment, the world felt dreadful, like the world itself was disappointed in Izuku.

He stumbled to his feet, he… he had to focus on the victims, make sure they're okay. He stepped over the villain and made his way to the first victim, the one who'd been laying in their own blood when Izuku first arrived. He dropped to the floor beside them and placed a hand on the unconscious man’s chest. He waited a second… Still alive. Izuku heaved a sigh of relief involuntarily.

He carefully peeled up the man's shirt to look at the wound, it looked like he was stabbed by debris. Izuku didn't risk touching or removing the object wedged in the man's flesh, his medical knowledge didn't extend that far. He'd call the authorities, let them handle it.

An unfamiliar voice called out from behind Izuku. “I-is he alive?” 

Izuku flinched at the voice. He turned to see the other man, who was laid against a wall and holding a hand to his ribs. Izuku stood and rushed over to the other, kneeling beside him. “Y-yes! He's ‘live! I’ll call the p’lice as soon as I can b-but firs', are you okay?” His voice was slow and slurred.

“I’m not dying… I think something's broken, but I’ll live. Is he…?” He pointed to the villain's dead body.

Izuku nodded slowly, “Y-yeah.” His voice was barely louder than a whisper. The civilian looked at Izuku like… Like Izuku was the villain. Izuku pulled his hands closer to himself as he saw the man scoot away from him. He was scared… of Izuku?

Izuku stood up and backed away from the man. He didn't want to make things worse, he was trying to help! Izuku took a deep breath, though the probably-cracked ribs made it difficult. That didn't matter right now, he needed to call the police and leave.

He couldn't but pace around the empty alley as he made the call. He detailed what happened, that a villain had injured two people with one in critical condition. He did inform them that the villain had been killed, he just left out who'd done it. He ended the call and looked at the man who was still conscious.

“I-I hav’ to leave but p’lice and amb’lance are on their way. I, uh, hafta go now…”

The man stayed quiet, looking at Izuku with caution instead of admiration like he'd hoped. Izuku bowed slowly, he needed to get away from this place.

He waved and made his way into a separate alley, trying, and failing, to ignore how much pain he was in.

He stumbled through the dark, tripping over himself every few steps, it was only 10PM and he was already heading to the One-Stop-Shop for medical treatment. If the injuries didn't kill him then Clockwork certainly would…

Izuku slipped off his vigilante costume. He was in the bathroom in the 02 medical room. Clockwork had given him another pair of the paper-thin light blue hospital outfits. He took everything off slowly, his body and mind tired after what just happened. As he took off his shirt he stared into the mirror. His top half had bruises littered all over, ranging from faded blues to deep purples. The most obvious bruises were the dark purple handprints that wrapped around Izuku’s neck. He couldn't bare to look at it, any of it.

He wiped a stray line of blood that trailed from his head. He was a mess. How do things keep ending up like this? He always manages a few good weeks of normal patrols, no life or death situations or major injuries, then this?

Izuku sighed and continued to take off his vigilante costume, including his rabbit mask. He was too tired to care and he doubted Clockwork would say anything about it. He just needed his wounds treated and a long nights sleep, then, things woul be normal.

Izuku laid on the hospital bed, dazed and delirious. He'd changed into the generic light blue paper thin t-shirt and pants that Clockwork gave to all his patients. Izuku thought Clockwork would be like his usual self, monotone yet theatrical, blank yet playful, he wasn't. He was so quiet, it scared Izuku. He wouldn't start denying Izuku medical treatment, right...?

Izuku already had everything patched up. It wasn't an overwhelming amount of damage, lots of bruises and a few broken ribs. His chest still hurt and he was still breathing somewhat irregularly, and that wasn't counting the concussion he currently had. He hated it but he constantly found himself tugging at the color of his shirt. It felt… suffocating. He was just being dramatic…

Izuku hated the silence. All he could hear was the AC and the ticking of a clock. It was driving him insane. He might as well ask what was up with Clockwork, if only to get his mind off of recent ‘incidents’.

“Why’r you so quiet?” It was difficult to get the words out, not only difficult but painful too.

“Hm?”

“You aren’ talking.”

“Would you prefer it if I did?”

“Kinda?”

Clockwork tapped a pen against the desk he sat at. “Well, if you're inclined to be my audience then you won't mind if I ramble about how worried I am?”

Izuku did mind.

“Let it be known that whether or not you mind, I will be rambling anyway.”

Of course…

“You're concerning me Jackrabbit. This was incredibly reckless. You can't keep getting injured so frequently, you may not believe it now but there will be lasting consequences if you keep piling on more and more injuries, no matter if you give them time to heal. You're doing yourself a disservice.”

Izuku agreed, so he nodded along.

Clockwork took a breath. “Not only that; this particular incident has left you incredibly damaged mentally, as far as I can see. So much in fact I'm worried to even ask what occurred as you seem to be ignoring it.”

Izuku shook his head and closed his eyes. He wasn't ignoring it, he was just gonna think about it later instead. It's not like he even needed to think about it at all. What happened, happened, the end. Izuku had no reason to return to the memory, it wouldn't help so what was the issue in simply continuing on?

“I can't tell what exactly it is that's happened, but I can tell it's affecting you negatively. I can't help if I don't know what the issue is, Jackrabbit.”

“Ther’s no issue…” Izuku’s voice was unusually quiet.

Clockwork sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Okay… Okay, whatever you say. In the future, if there is an issue, you’ll come speak with me?”

Izuku nodded. If there was an issue.

“Alright. You're staying overnight.”

Izuku opened his eyes and looked over at Clockwork, confused.

“Overnigh’? I don’ think my inj’ries are that bad.”

“One, listen to yourself speak. Two, it isn't the physical wounds I'm concerned about.”

Clockwork closed the folder he had on his desk harshly.

“Rest, Jackrabbit. I'll bring you breakfast in the morning when I come to check on you.”

Izuku hummed to show he heard. Clockwork gathered whatever he was working on and left the room, shutting the light off as he did.

Izuku sank further into the soft hospital bed. Left in the dark with nothing to focus on, his thoughts spiraled as they usually did. His mind kept dancing around the topic, but even as he tried to ignore images of the villain's face flashed behind his eyes. The horrified, distraught look. The way blood gushed from his neck and mouth. How still his body was. Lifeless. Izuku had never seen a corpse, he would have preferred if it stayed that way.

He tried desperately to ignore it, but he couldn't.

He’d done that. He killed someone. He wasn't a hero, he was a villain.

He was a murderer.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up to a hospital room, still in the same position he fell asleep in last night. He felt terrible. Whether it was the concussion, the light filtering in from the window, or just how early he woke up, he didn't know or care. 

Regardless, he was awake now and he had to deal with it. He tapped a finger against the bed frame idly. When did Clockwork say he'd be here? Izuku’s mind was still so fuzzy.

He sat more upright and stretched, his bruised body protested against it but Izuku ignored the pain. He blinked almost cartoonishly slowly. He… he really didn't want to do anything. Not a single thing. Not training and not any patrols. He felt like sleeping for as long as humanly possible. Well, it's more accurate to say he wanted to do things but simply... couldn't bring himself too.

His dreams of peaceful sleep were shattered as Clockwork and Avery entered the room, Clockwork carried in a plate with breakfast on it, Izuku wasn't particularly hungry but would eat the food anyway to be polite. He was reminded he didn't have either of his masks on when Avery pointed at his face. “What happened?”

Izuku sluggishly reached a hand up to his face. The burn Kacchan gave him had long since scarred over, but it wasn't the kind that would fade completely. Izuku shrugged, he wasn't going to tell a 5 year old that his best friend blew up half of his face when they fought in an alley. He'd make up something somewhat similar. “Exploding dog attack.” It wasn't inaccurate, Kacchan had been compared to an explosive Pomeranian before.

Avery climbed onto Izuku’s bed, kicking her feet back and forth. “Whoa! How did it explode?”

“Microwave.” It might have been how deadpan his voice was but it got Avery laughing. Izuku smiled, at least she was having a good time.

Clockwork set a tray up in front of Izuku and placed his breakfast on it.

The doctor pushed up his glasses once everything was set up. “Here we are. Avery insisted she visit, you know how she is.”

Avery nodded proudly. “Mhm! But ya know Bunny, i'm mad at you.” She crossed her arms in faux anger, she was as theatrical and over dramatic as her father.

Izuku tilted his head. “Huh? What did I do?”

“You're not actually a bunny.” She said it was like Izuku had personally crushed her dreams. Izuku had too much of a headache to deal with this.

“Uhm, yeah? I thought that was obvious… Sorry?” Did she think the rabbit masks ears were his own? 

Avery looked at him with squinted eyes. “Rabbit stew.”

Was that a threat? He gave up on trying to figure out what went on in Avery's mind and just started eating his food.

Clockwork set a bottle of pills in the tray next to a water bottle. “For pain relief.”

Izuku nodded. Clockwork checked the time on a watch he had. “Alright. I must go speak with Giran, you plan to stay with Jackrabbit right, Avery?”

“Yup, yup!”

“And you won't bother him too much? Remember he's hurt right now.”

She nodded again and put a hand to her chest. “Swear on my heart! Bunny’s in good hands.”

Izuku’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two. He just wanted to eat in silence and contemplate morality with himself, was that too much to ask?

Clockwork smiled, pat Avery on the head, then left. With her dad gone, Avery turned to Izuku and sat criss-cross, staring intently as he ate.

“So I was watching this cartoon and I think you need to know about it cause it's really cool. So there are these girls and they're all aliens and-”

Izuku tuned her out. He'd have to take those pain relief meds soon if he wanted to get through today.

It wasn't long after Izuku finished his food and took two of the pain relief pills that Avery stopped her rambling and turned to coloring instead, An activity Izuku found much more tolerable, not tolerable enough to join though. When he was done with his food and let himself fall back into the soft pillow, he wasn't lying when he said he wanted to sleep all day. He was content to stare at the ceiling and internally debate the ethics of killing villains. A completely normal everyday activity.

If Izuku was being realistic, heroes did kill villains at times. Those deemed too dangerous in the moment, sometimes a hero killed a villain accidentally or out of desperation. Izuku pretty much did the same thing as a hero. He didn't have any other choice, but he still felt like he did. Surely there was some way out without him having to kill the villain, he was just too oxygen deprived to see it.

It's not like Izuku enjoyed killing the man, he couldn't get the image of the corpse out of his head no matter how hard he tried… Those lifeless eyes…

Izuku cleared his mind again. He needed to stop thinking about it but he just couldn't. He wasn't a villain for killing him, anyone in his situation would've! Izuku can't be blamed for the consequences of a villain's decisions. Izuku would've have killed him if he didn't try to kill Izuku.

It was completely a normal and sane reaction to the situation. But it unfortunately pulled him into a very specific rabbit hole of ‘do villains deserve to die? He'd seen discussion of it plenty of times online. An article about a villain comes out and people are always quick to demand the death of the villain. Izuku always considered it a bit, much? He could understand wanting a villain in jail, but dead? It was extreme.

Now, things were a little more complicated. Did the villain- the person, Izuku killed deserve it? Izuku would say maybe. Yes, he tried to kill Izuku but he just couldn't give up on the ‘there was another way’ argument. Maybe it was a stupid, redundant, point. Why worry about what could've been done? But he just couldn't shake the guilt. No matter the situation he still took someone else's life away from them, the man wouldn't get to live out the rest of his days. He likely had friends and family who were now mourning his death… but what about his victims? Would their families feel better knowing the man was dead and gone? So annoyingly complicated.

Izuku’s stomach twisted. What had he done…?

In the midst of his guilt was something worse; satisfaction. Izuku would never, ever, admit this aloud, but he was satisfied that the villain died. Not happy, not celebratory, just satisfied. Was it really so bad? Who knows how many more people the villain would have hurt, isn't it better this way?

Izuku brought his hands to his face. What was he saying?! Of course it's not better! It's still horrible, still vile that he killed someone, no matter who the victim was! If he was able to go back he'd do things differently, find a way to restrain instead of maim. But things happened how they happened and he couldn't change that…

Izuku wasn't sure what to think, he was split. He'd prefer villains be jailed instead of killed, but if it couldn't be helped then was killing really that bad?

Izuku sighed. Maybe he was just a horrible person who's fucked up in the head. At least he wouldn't become some serial killer, he knew that much.

“Bunny.” Avery tapped his shoulder.

He pulled his hands away from his face and looked at her, she was holding up a drawing for him. She handed it to him and he flattened it out to get a batter look. 

It was a drawing of him in his vigilante outfit standing on a podium with a wide smile, a crowd of smiling people around him, not anyone he recognized though. He tilted his head, it was a nice drawing, but he just didn't know what it meant.

“I really like it, Ave, but who are all these people?” He pointed to the crowd.

She leaned over and smiled as she pointed to the drawing as well. “All the people you saved!”

Izuku looked down at the drawing again. Right… Avery had an empathic quirk, she could probably feel how messed up Izuku currently felt… He wondered if it was upsetting her, maybe she should go with her dad?

He couldn't help but smile, it was a nice thing for her to do. “Well, thank you Ave. I really like it! You're an excellent artist.”

She beamed at the compliment. “Does it make you feel better?”

Izuku looked back at the drawing, running a thumb over all the people he's 'saved'. “...Yeah.”

Later in the day Izuku had been dragged out of the hospital room by Avery so he could ‘stop acting like a dead fish’ and brought him into the kitchen to bother Wendigo. His grippy hospital socks caused him to trip at least three times as he was dragged. He'd made sure to put on his rabbit mask before Avery got him out of the room though, he was fine with Avery and Clockwork seeing his face but the random villain patrons? Not so much.

The two arrived at the kitchen and peeked inside, Wendigo was cutting something up at the far end while other chefs worked on other dishes. Avery grabbed Izuku’s hand and the two walked up to Wendigo.

“Auntie Wendy!” Avery tapped the older woman's side, not tall enough to reach any higher.

Wendigo sighed and readjusted her deer skull mask. “You're just gonna keep calling me that, huh? What's up with you, Jackrabbit?” She pointed to his hospital clothes. Izuku shrugged, he didn't even know what was up with him. Well he knew he just didn't understand yet.

Avery answered for him. “He's sick." She said, deathly serious. "I need you to make food for him to feel better. If you don't then he's gonna die!”

Wendigo looked Izuku up and down then shrugged. “Alright, if he's that sick then I can make something. Not sweets, real food.”

Avery pouted but accepted the compromise. Avery leaned up to Izuku who in turned leaned down so she could whisper to him. “We should always say you're sick if it makes Wendy cook for us!”

Izuku looked at her with an odd look, she really was just a shameless liar and swindler, must be a family thing…

“We can use the excuse while I am ‘sick’ but once I'm better you'll have to go back to guilt tripping like usual, okay?”

She pouted again but agreed. “Fine."

Wendigo got their attention by tapping the counter. “Just because you're sick or whatever doesn't mean you can stand around and not help. Who's ready for a cooking lesson?”

Izuku was not ready for a cooking lesson, but because life hated him, he went along with it anyway.

In the end, they'd made katsudon. Izuku was fairly certain Wendigo made it just so Izuku would feel better, which he appreciated. But he also hated how everyone seemed to tip-toe around him. Was his misery that noticeable? 

The cooking itself was nice, it reminded him of when he'd cook with his mom. Izuku felt a sudden twinge of guilt, here was cooking with new people he considered family while he left his mother behind.

The guilt didn't compare to the sickness he felt when he saw a kitchen knife. It was stupid, really. The kitchen knife was nothing like the blades in his shoes and still… he couldn't stand to look at it. Wendigo had noticed his reaction and for the rest of the cooking lesson kept the knives and any other sharp objects away from him, he hoped she didn't get the wrong idea… Izuku's life certainly hadn't been the best, but he's never harmed himself and never planned to. She really didn't have to worry about anything like that.

He focused his attention back on his food. Wendigo and Avery followed him back to the hospital room to eat since he didn't feel like eating in the main area. There was a comfortable silence over the three. The silence was nice, but like always it brought Izuku’s own thoughts to the forefront of his mind. 

His thoughts had gotten worse throughout the day. When he first woke up he felt and utter sense of dread and guilt when he remembered what he did yesterday, but his brain was finding more and more ways to justify and rationalize it. Was what he did really that bad? After all if he had to make the choice between letting a villain continue hurting others and killing them; the answer was obvious.

The more Izuku thought about it, the less guilt he felt. Heroes cause more casualties than the public ever realizes, Izuku having caused one was hardly anything at all. It was just one person, a villain at that; who likely wouldn't be missed.

He still felt bad, just not as much as before. It’s a kind of detached sense of sadness. Izuku wished things could have gone differently, but he had accepted what happened. There would be times in the future where he'd be in a similar situation, he might have to kill someone else. He shouldn't let the incident bother him, it wouldn't help. If he was too busy dwelling over moral dilemmas then he wouldn't be out saving people like he was supposed to.

Brushing the incident aside and not worrying about it was the logical thing to do…

Izuku took a deep breath. He should go out on patrol again tonight, if Clockwork allows it. It’ll be good for him.

Izuku looked up to see that Avery and Wendigo were gone. How had he not noticed? There was a note scribbled in crayon at the foot of his bed. He put his half eaten katsudon aside and grabbed it.

‘you were super super distrackted so me and aunty wendy are gonna go get dad so dont die while wer'e gone kay?’

Izuku sighed, of course he was so distracted he didn't even hear them… This is why he needed to put the incident aside or else he might get distracted during a fight and that'd be even worse.

Izuku scarfed down the rest of his katsudon as he heard footsteps approaching, not wanting it to go to waste. Just as he took the last bite, Clockwork opened the door. Wendigo and Avery hadn't followed behind him, they must've gone to do something else together.

“How are we doing at this specific moment?” He said as he sat down beside the hospital bed.

“Alright?” He hadn't meant for it to sound like a question.

Clockwork hummed. “I see. Well, you feel better than this morning at least.”

Izuku guessed that meant his murder-justifying spiral had worked then.

“Hey, Clockwork. Think I could go on patrol tonight?” 

Clockwork sighed. “Your self destructive tendencies are back already? I was hoping the peacefulness would last more than a day…”

Izuku shrugged with an awkward smile. He knew Clockwork wouldn't stop him, but it was just instinct for him to ask.

“If you must, Jackrabbit. But try to make sure whatever happened yesterday doesn't happen again, for me?” He spoke with the mental exhaustion any doctor would had, only maybe more because it was Izuku he was working with.

Izuku nodded. “I'll try?”

“That’ll have to do. I'll get your vigilante costume then, Wendigo washed it for you which I hope is fine with you.” 

“Yeah that's fine, tell Wendy I said thanks.”

Clockwork nodded and stood. He left the room for a few minutes and returned with Izuku’s vigilante costume and gear in one of his hands. He passed it off to Izuku. “You know where the bathrooms and changing rooms are. Be careful of your ribs, yes? And don't return with any more injuries, for my own sanity.”

Izuku chuckled. “Alright, alright, I get it!”

“Just making sure.” 

Clockwork bowed slightly and took his leave once more.

Izuku slid off the hospital bed and walked to the attached bathroom. His reflection didn't look as dead inside as it did before. 

He lifted up the rabbit mask and pushed his hair to the side to get a good look at his face. He did look paler than usual, and the scar Kacchan gave him was as visible as ever, but he looked okay. He didn't look like a murderer. 

Izuku ran a hand down his face. He needs to drop the topic, he can't keep getting caught up on it… What happened, happened. That's all.

He took off the hospital outfit and slipped on his vigilante outfit. Feeling more at home with his costume on, he smiled. This is how he was meant to look. 

He tied his rabbit mask over his face but left the respirator around his neck, no reason to have it on in the One-Stop-Shop.

He looked at himself in the mirror again.

He looked like Izuku.

No comment or observations besides that, the person he was looking at was clearly Izuku Midoriya, that's all he could say.

He dropped off the hospital clothes in a hamper and left the room. He stepped into the hallway and started for the exit, adjusting his gloves as he walked. He'd say bye to Wendigo and Avery then start on his patrol. He shook his hands back and forth, getting rid of extra energy that was making him jittery.

What happened yesterday was just a mistake. He didn't mean to kill him and he wouldn't kill anyone else. There was no need to be worried. He was Jackrabbit, a vigilante set on saving people.

He wasn't a villain, and he wasn't a murderer.

Katsuki laid against his bed frame, his phone being the only light in his dark room. He was texting Kirishima about school projects they were working on, even though they went to different schools it was just fun to talk.

Katsuki was about to send a slew of insults to Kirishima when he got a notification about Izuku. He'd followed a ton of articles that even so much as mentioned ‘Jackrabbit’ and for once Katsuki was thankful that his phone stalked his interests cause it started recommending him more info on Izuku.

Abandoning his text he clicked on the article instead, the title of it was a bit concerning but media always loved exaggerating things.

‘Jackrabbit: Vigilante, or villain? Innocent, or a killer?’

The article’s background was a blinding white that Katsuki had to let his eyes adjust to. He scrolled past the title and started reading, surely whatever happened couldn't be that bad.

' Yesterday our journalists were able to find a new public police report regarding the up and coming vigilante known as Jackrabbit, who’s known for restraining and turning in low-level villains in the Musutafu area. The news may shock you but according to evidence found on the scene and a witness, Jackrabbit may be a killer. 

 The witness who gave the testimony regarding Jackrabbit was walking late yesterday night with his boyfriend when the two were suddenly attacked by a villain. The witness’ partner was critically wounded and the witness himself also sustained various injuries. When he was sure he was going to die Jackrabbit appeared to fight the villain, as he usually does.

Though this time, things were different. The witness says that after minutes of fighting the villain began strangling the vigilante and in desperation, Jackrabbit killed the villain by stabbing their neck with a dagger.

This seems to be Jackrabbit’s first and only kill, but who knows? Maybe such a situation will occur again in the future and Jackrabbits hands will get more bloody. Maybe this first blood opened the gateway for Jackrabbit, it's been studied that villains who kill once—whether accidentally or out of desperation—are likely to kill again.

While we don't believe Jackrabbit would harm civilians we do still want to remind everyone that vigilantes are unpredictable, and to stay safe.

If you encounter Jackrabbit we, and the police, advise you turn and run while the vigilante and villain fight. Try to avoid walking out at night even if you're with another person and remember vigilantes are not approved heroes or peace keepers and you should not engage with them.’

Halfway through reading the article Katsuki had sat upright, staring intently at the words on his screen. It couldn't be real, it just couldn't. Izuku being a vigilante was absurd enough, but murder? Katsuki couldn't see that happening, not in a million years.

He needed more info. He tapped off the article and searched up ‘Jackrabbit murder’ and watched as dozens of articles appeared, all vying to get Katsuki’s attention. He furrowed his brows. This can't be right…

He clicked on a few articles, quickly skimming over each. They all said the same thing, one even linked the original police report and witness testimony, was that allowed? Regardless of if it was, Katsuki read it.

‘ Yesterday at 9:46PM Musutafu police got a report from the local vigilante ‘Jackrabbit’ that a villain had attacked two civilians, but had been killed. Jackrabbit left out who killed the villain but it was later found out to be Jackrabbit himself.

There was an unconscious and conscious victim by the time medical arrived at the scene. The conscious victim gave the following report detailing what he saw:

“Me and my boyfriend were walking behind some buildings, we just wanted to get away from the city crowd for a bit, right? We were just walking and talking then we heard this snapping noise and I felt something hit me in my side, heard cracking too. So i'm freaking out and trying to figure out what happened and if my boyfriend was okay when i hear another snap and then Kyosho scream. 

I try to get up, try to figure out what's happening but there's another snap and I'm back on the ground again. I feel a cut along my stomach and i'm bleeding and freaking out cause everything happened so quickly!

I’m laying against a wall when I hear this, like, reeling sound. This guy, more like a kid really, jumped down from above and kicked the villain, right?

The fight’s all over the place, I couldn't really tell what was happening but next thing I know the green rabbit guy’s being held up by his neck, kicking and gasping for air.

I thought all three of us were gonna die, I really did.

But then the guy hit his foot against the wall, and a blade appeared from the tip of his shoe. He shoved it into the villain's neck and he just… dropped. It was… sickening. I could see the villain writhe on the floor while blood poured from his neck and mouth.

I-I’m grateful! Of course I'm grateful. Me and my boyfriend wouldn't be here without that guy saving us. It was… scary, in the moment. But if i had the chance i'd still thank the vigilante. I don't think it was his fault, i think he was doing what he had to in order to save us and himself.

He was worried about me, told me I'd be okay. He's not a villain, not in my eyes.” ‘

Katsuki set his phone in his lap and stared into the darkness of his room.

Holy shit. He killed someone. Izuku killed someone. Katsuki ran a hand down his face. How was he supposed to react to that? From what the guy said, Izuku nearly died himself so it made sense but…

It left a sour taste in his mouth. He stabbed a villain in the neck?

Katsuki tapped his forehead with the corner of his phone. He couldn't even ask Izuku himself about it, he never answered any text messages but… he did read them.

Katsuki still had Izuku’s phone number, they shared theirs with each other the second they got their own phones. Katsuki could still send a message, it'd be like a one sided letter or something? 

He opened Izuku’s contact and let his fingers hover above the keyboard. …What would he say? ‘I just read you killed someone, that true?’

Katsuki sighed. He fucking hated talking to people. He'd just write whatever and hope it was good enough.

‘hey izuku.’

Katsuki groaned, all he did was type two words and he already considered giving up. Whatever, words and communication are bullshit.

‘read a bunch of articles about you (yes, theres articles about you) and i need to know if youre okay. dont even respond just read this so i know youre alive at least, its hard to tell with you.’

He hit send and shut off his phone before anything else could happen. It was childish but Katsuki would rather be asleep than awake if-slash-when Izuku sees the message. He set his phone screen down on his nightstand and finally laid down on his bed, he should've been asleep hours ago.

Katsuki laid on his back, staring up into the darkness. He wondered what Izuku was up to… Things were clearly getting worse but he doubted he could convince Izuku to stop being a vigilante. He just hoped Izuku didn't get himself killed, but considering what the report said it seemed likely.

Katsuki reached over to his night stand, aimlessly reaching around until he felt the All Might card he and Izuku had both gotten when they were little. He held it above him, even if he couldn't see it, he knew what it looked like by heart.

Katsuki fidgeted with the card as he laid still. 

Izuku better stay alive and keep his promise. Katsuki wouldn't know what he'd do if Izuku died… Thinking about it made him feel sick to his stomach. He turned to lay on his side.

As he was falling asleep he couldn't help but worry about all the dangerous and stupid situations Izuku was throwing himself in… He’d just worry tomorrow…

Him and Izuku would be heroes, just like they promised when they were little. 

Chapter Text

Izuku blinked, one eye at a time. He'd been up for around 20 hours trying to figure out how to electrify his gloves' claws, as a kind of built in taser mechanism. He figured out the electricity part, but hadn't found a way to wire it into the claws, meaning he accidentally electrocuted himself a lot of times. He had one of Mei’s videos in the background, he still listened to her videos as background motivation.

He sighed and set his gloves on the ground, he leaned back to lay on the floor of the warehouse. He was exhausted and still not doing too well mentally.

He hadn't been very successful at the ‘ignoring the fact he killed someone’ thing. He was able to get through his day, but there was a constant mental dilemma going on in his head. It made things feel distant, just out of reach. He was trying to exist in the present, but kept focusing on the past.

He pushed himself up and looked back at the gloves, he needed to get this over with before he went on tonight's patrol. He saw that the video he had been playing on his laptop had ended and with no auto play, was left on the reply screen. He pulled his laptop closer to him and propped it up on his knees, scrolling down into the comment section. It was empty like it usually was, Mei’s videos didn't get a lot of views so it made sense, but Izuku still felt bad. He decided to leave a comment of his own.

‘i hope your project goes well ^_^ i im struggling with mine :(‘

He didn't expect a response, but as he clicked onto another video he noticed a notification. 

Mei replied with more enthusiasm than he expected, Izuku had a hard time just reading it.

‘OMG TYTYTYYYY UR SO NICE XD !! it super sucks this baby blew up so many times but it worked out in the end right xp WHAT KINDA PROJECT R U WORKING ON?? IF UR WORKING ON UR OWN BABY ID LOVE TO SEE ITT!!!!’

He was a little caught off guard by the sheer amount of excitement but replied back anyway.

‘i have these gloves im working on. i wanna kinda turn them into a taser? like there are claws at the end and i wanted to try and link electricity to them but all i've done is electrocute myself… 😓’

Again, her response was immediate.

‘WAIH WOAH THATS SOUNDS LIKE AN AMAZING BABY!  what r the specifics?? i want the deets! like like like what soource r u using? do you want the whole glove ELECTRIFIED or just the claws? r the claws short or long or the stabby stabby kind? what's ur wiring look like? my wirings almost always wonky but it gets the job done xD’

‘using a simple rechargeable battery for now, probably gonna stuff it in the end of the glove? i only want the claws to act as taser, the gloves kinda also double as a grappling hook so i dont want the two to like interfere with eachother?? if that makes sense (;– –) and the claws are pretty long! not stabby stabby but long. and my wiring uh let's not talk about it’

‘LETS SUPER TALK ABOUT IT!! gimme a sec n ill dm u my number?? AHH I FINALLY HAVE SOMEONE RO TALK TO ABOUT ALL MY SUPER SPECIAL BABIES!! ! ur fine w video calls right? Xp’

Izuku’s mind short circuited. Huh?? Did she really just offer to call him just to help with some invention? This is the reason why extroverts scare Izuku. He wasn't going to turn her down though, with her help he might actually be able to upgrade his gloves the way he wants to.

He replied that he was fine with a video call and she sent over her number. Before he actually got on call with her he put in the HUD contacts (which he was able to change the color of to yellow) and tied his hair up with a yellow bunny-themed scrunchie he got from Avery.

It wasn't perfect, and Mei probably wouldn't recognize him as Jackrabbit anyway, but Izuku always gave in to paranoia.

Making sure he didn't look completely dead inside, he hit the call button and sat back. Mei appeared on his laptop screen, soot over her face and her goggled sat on her head.

“Hey! There you are! Nice to meetcha, I’m Mei Hatsume, I totally forgot to introduce myself so that's my bad.”

Izuku shook his head. “It's fine! My name’s Izuku. You said you could help…?”

He held up the unfinished gloves, stray wires stuck out of it and it'd spark every so often.

Mei leaned closer to the camera then nodded. “Of course I can! We aren't gonna let ourselves sleep til your baby’s perfect! Go team!”

Izuku nodded slowly, there goes his dream of being able to sleep soon.

“Go team…”

It was 13 hours later that Izuku finally got sleep, he didn't even fall asleep in his bed, he was out cold right on the warehouse floor. He didn't know how long he slept but it was long enough to forget what year it was. The warehouse was pitch dark, he must've slept through the whole day again. He sat up in the darkness and reached for his phone, using the screen as a flashlight. He was too tired to remember his phone had an actual flashlight.

His work station area was a mess, random parts and wiring lying around, scrap metal stacked like a jenna tower, messily drawn blueprints for a light saber, the works. He set his phone down with the screen facing upwards and reached for his gloves. Mei was right, they didn't sleep until they were perfect. It was just how Izuku imagined in his head, the claws now had an electric green color at the end—Mei insisted he ‘stick to the color palette—and were able to be turned on and off by specific hand movements.

He slipped the glove on and tested it out, touching his pinky and thumb together triggered the claws. He watched as electricity buzzed through the claws, zaps of electricity flickering between each claw. The rest of the glove was thankfully non-conductive, or else he'd shock himself anytime he turned it on.

He turned the electricity off and turned the glove around in his hand. Izuku liked all the progress and improvements he was adding to his gear. It was a bit of a double edged sword however, if he were to lose all this gear, would he still stand a chance against whoever he was fighting? Heroes didn't usually use a lot of gear because their quirk is what carried them, so even if the support gear they did use was destroyed they'd be fine. Izuku though? He didn't know what he'd do.

We're quirkless people really just too weak to be heroes? …No.

Izuku didn't believe that. 

He set the glove down and picked up his phone again, he hadn't realized it was his personal one from before he became a vigilante. He expected an empty home screen with only the lingering notifications of hero articles to be there, instead, Kacchan had texted him?

Izuku rubbed his eyes, maybe he was just so tired he was hallucinating? He opened his eyes again but the message was still there.

Slowly, he tapped his thumb on the text and read the full message.

‘hey izuku. read a bunch of articles about you (yes, theres articles about you) and i need to know if youre okay. dont even respond just read this so i know youre alive at least, its hard to tell with you.’

Izuku stared at the message with a twisted expression. He was happy that Kacchan wanted to check in, that he cared, but it also meant he knew Izuku had killed someone.

Did he think of Izuku differently? Consider him a horrible person? What would his mother think of what he's done?

Like the flip of a switch, Izuku went from proud of his latest invention to worrying over what his best friend and family thought of him now that was a killer. Couldn't his mind stay focused on one emotion for more than 5 minutes?

He turned his phone off, he didn't need to ruin his mental state further. Just— he just needs to ignore it. Forget about it. If it doesn't help then it isn't important.

He put a hand to his head. His mind was so all over the place he couldn't even remember what he was going to do… He looked at the time, 10:02PM, he must've been getting ready for a patrol then?

Izuku left his personal phone by the work station and walked through the dark warehouse until he stumbled into his room, the green fairy lights strung around the room putting him at ease.

He grabbed his costume and held it out in front of him.

It's what he was meant to do.

Izuku stood on the edge of a building and stretched. The late night air ruffled his hair slightly. Now that he was out of the dark warehouse, he did feel better. He could stop focusing on his mental issues and semi-legally beat people up as a form of therapy instead!

He stared down over the city lights. It didn't matter how bad his day had been when he got to end it by saving people. It was feeling more and more like ‘Jackrabbit’ was the real Izuku, and he wasn't upset by that. Izuku remembered reading an article about heroes who wore masks often had a ‘persona’ when they were working, Izuku thought that fit him perfectly.

Jackrabbit was something else, something better. Someone important.

He hopped to another building. Izuku was excited to test his knives and new gear, as morbid as that sounded… He’d put a lot of work into incorporating knives into his fighting style, he didn't want that, or the all-nighter he and Mei pulled, to go to waste.

He started on his usual route, outskirts, clockwise, what he always did. 

Izuku marched along railings, humming to himself. There had been less and less villains lately, Izuku was glad of course, but it turned his patrols into calm midnight strolls. He didn't mind that, but he did crave action. Was that bad to admit? That he wanted to fight villains? Surely not, every aspiring hero would want to fight villains… But would every aspiring hero specifically want to test out their new knives and electricity based support gear on a villain as a test run?

No need to think about the semantics… It was normal for heroes to want to fight villains, therefore Izuku is normal. 

Izuku was going to start swinging around with his grappling hook to pass the time when he heard a loud crash, perfect timing. A smile spread across his face involuntarily. He lowered himself to the floor and slowly crept over to where he heard the commotion.

He peeked around a corner to get a grasp of the situation.

In a dead end there was a teenage boy who was backed against a wall, his mouth bleeding slightly, it looked like he was punched. In front of him, a woman shouted. She didn't have any kind of visible effect of her quirk, at least not from behind. The flickering overhead light made the scene look more grim than it actually was.

“I wasn't asking! I was telling! Hand. It. Over.”

The boy stayed quiet, silent anger in his eyes, like he wanted to fight but knew it'd make it worse. Izuku was painfully familiar with that feeling… He might not know what the woman was trying to get, but he wouldn't let her have it. All that mattered was that someone was in distress, so Izuku would help.

He lowered himself to a crouch, slowly and silently getting closer to the woman. He wanted to fight, but still preferred having the element of surprise. The boy against the wall looked at him, Izuku shook his head and held his pointer against his respirator; ‘Stay quiet, don't draw attention to me.’

Once Izuku was close enough he ran forward, and landed a round kick to the woman's ribs. He wanted a real fight so he'd have to make it last, not take her down too quickly. She reoriented herself and turned to face him. He grabbed the knives on either side of his utility belt and held them up with the blade facing downwards, the sharp rounded edge being outwards.

The woman lowered her stance, holding her hand forward threateningly. A touch activated quirk maybe? The boy who was against the wall took the chance to leave. Smart.

“Who are you?!” The woman shouted, eyes glaring at him.

Izuku gripped his knives. He thought he'd be more well known by now…

“Doesn't matter, you'll find out eventually. Why were you harassing that guy?”

“None of your business!”

Izuku sighed. It's always ‘none of your business that’ and ‘it doesn't concern you this’, why can't real life villains monologue like they do in the movies?

The woman charged forward with her hands out, must be touch activated then. Izuku stepped to the side, she tried again. Izuku was hesitant to use his knives, wouldn't it be overkill in this situation? She didn't seem like the most violent or dangerous of criminals. She attempted a feint, trying everything to get her hands on Izuku. He may not be able to test his knife skills yet, but he could test his new electrified claws. 

As he continuously dodged the woman's desperate attacks, he put the knives back in his utility belt and flexed his hands. Putting his pinky to his thumb triggered the electricity, he could feel it buzz throughout his glove.

The woman paused as she saw the electricity. She didn't pause for long though, “Just try it! If I lay even a finger in you then it's over for you!”

Good thing Izuku wouldn't let that happen. He lowered himself to the ground and ran forward, trying to get behind the villain. She made it difficult, keeping her back away from him and sticking to the walls that surrounded them.

Eventually the woman turned to run, a dumb decision in Izuku’s opinion, she literally just turned her back to him.

He ran forward and stuck the electrified claws just under her ribs. She let out a scream as electricity ran through her body. Her body twitched and froze up before going limp. He caught her before her body hit the floor. Despite the woman being older and taller, he was able to carry her to the wall and set her down against it.

He checked her pulse, steady. Good. He didn't need to be responsible for another person's death…

Izuku stood and took out his vigilante phone to report the crime, informing them of his location while he tied the woman up. 

Izuku was elated with how well the fight went, no wounds, no chases through alleys, just down and restrained in minutes.

He tied the woman’s hand behind her back with the restraint tape and positioned her so she wouldn't be putting pressure on her restrained wrists.

He stood up and put his hands on his hips. “That should do it.” He whispered to himself.

Right on time, police sirens could be heard in the distance. Izuku backed up to a wall, lifting his hand up to aim his grappling hook into some railing above. Izuku shot the grappling hook up and reeled himself up, landing on the railing silently. From there it was just a matter of getting back on route and away from the police. He glanced back down to the unconscious and restrained villain, and smiled. He was proud of how well the taser claws worked, now he just had to find a way to test his knife skills.

He walked along the railing and jumped to the next building in line, then the next.

As he walked he heard the sirens fade into background noise of the city. He was sure he was alone, turns out he wasn't.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned, ready to fight. It was Eraserhead again. 

“Hey, kid. Glad to see you uninjuried this time.”

Izuku let his hands fall to his side, it might be weird to say but he wasn't tense or nervous around Eraserhead at all anymore, despite Izuku being a villain by law.

He wrung his fingers together. “I'm glad too. I've been getting a lot better lately!”

Eraserhead stuck his hands in his pockets. “So I've heard. Lots of reports been coming in from you, don't you have a day off?”

Izuku shrugged and averted his eyes. “Not quite? But I take breaks, and it's not like the villains I take down are really difficult. There's no reason for me to take a whole day off or miss a patrol.”

Eraserhead shook his head. “Nope. Take it from someone who's been doing it longer than you have, you need a day off. I even had to learn that myself, you wouldn't believe how much Hiza- Present Mic would hound me for taking on too much work.”

Eraserhead walked over to the edge of the building they were on, sitting on the ledge and letting his legs hang over it. Izuku followed and moved next to the hero, but chose to sit criss-cross instead.

Izuku stared at the city below. He wondered how Present Mic was doing, he hoped the hero was doing good. Even though Izuku didn't spend a lot of time with him, Present Mic was willing to give Izuku three free meals a day, so he'd always be grateful. 

He tapped a finger against his knee. “Is that so..? What's your hero work like?”

Was it anything like what Izuku was doing? Or were heroes and vigilantes really that different?

Eraserhead sighed. “For me, an underground hero, it's mostly getting called in by police for low-level villains. Or, I do my own patrols and happen across them. Limelight heroes tend to do less patrols and have them during the day, underground heroes work more at night.”

Hm. So Izuku was more like an underground hero then… Weirdly enough, knowing that made him feel a sense of belonging. Knowing there were people like him. There were other vigilantes, sure, but not many in the current time. Vigilantes as a concept were slowly fading into the background, Izuku had searched online for any other active vigilantes, but the most he could find was on Stain, who refused to associate with.

Izuku fidgeted with his hands, smiling under his respirator. “Then I guess… I’m not so different from underground heroes?”

Eraserhead glanced his way. “No… You're not. I-” He stopped to sigh. “Do you know how many casualties heroes cause in their career?”

The words felt like ice water over Izuku. He was still trying to avoid the topic, he did not need to hear about this. He kept quiet. Should he just leave? But what if Eraserhead said what Izuku wanted to hear? That'd be nice, except for the fact that Izuku himself didn't know what he wanted to hear.

Eraserhead continued. “Most heroes cause at least 10 casualties in their first year. Maybe they hit a villain into a building, harming the civilians inside. Maybe their quirk hurt the civilians around them accidentally. Maybe they were fighting a villain and used too much force. Maybe it was their life or the villains.”

Izuku tensed. He was tempted to cover his ears and walk away. Was Aizawa trying to console him? Why? He didn't need it, didn't want it. He’s already accepted what he did, he didn't need a hero—especially not one of the few he still liked—telling him it was okay.

Aizawa glanced at Izuku. “I don’t know if my opinion matters to you, but I don't think you're a horrible person for what you did. It happens to the best of heroes. Just keep saving people, okay kid?”

Izuku nodded numbly. He knew all of this already. He knew what he did was something that happened to every hero. Hearing Aizawa say it didn't change anything…

Izuku stood, he didn't want to be here any longer. He turned and made his way to the edge of the building, jumping to the one across.

Aizawa called out from behind. “Stay safe out there.”

Izuku was already two buildings over but hummed in acknowledgment. He needed to go home…

Izuku pushed open the doors to the One-Stop-Shop, letting the familiar sights and sounds put him at ease. The golden glow of the lights, the sound of customers letting themselves unwind, the clanking of drinks and plates, Izuku let out a sigh. He was safe here, he didn't need to feel tense anymore.

He wormed his way through the tables and crowds, ducking under some waiters who were carrying large trays. As he made his way to the back he heard some of the regulars greet him.

“Looks like the rabbit’s back!”

“No injuries this time? Clockwork'll be over the moon, haha!”

“How many of us did you send to jail this time?”

Izuku rolled his eyes and tiredly waved off everyone's remarks. “Glad to see you all too, and yes, I'm not hurt. I'm surprised too. I’ll be back out later everyone."

He heard a slew of goodbyes as he entered through the staff only door to the back of the facility. He made his way to the kitchen first, poking his head in to greet Wendigo.

“Hey Wendy! Just wanted to let you know I'm here.”

Wendigo, who was busy frying rice with a concerning amount of fire involved, shouted back. “Alright, Cottontail. Better be ready for training later.”

Izuku groaned. Training after patrols? It's like she was trying to kill him.

He walked over to Giran’s office next, as annoying as the man could be he made for good company. He knocked on the door to the villain's office and opened it when he was met with a muffled ‘come in!’.

He leaned in to see Giran hunched over some paper work, tapping a fluffy pink unicorn pen against the paper. 

“What can I do for ya, kid?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to let you know I'm here in case you need me for something.”

“Really? Well perfect timing! I could use your help with-”

Izuku shut the door and left. He wasn't being sincere when he offered that, he wasn't going to be trapped into doing free manual labor like last time… He shuddered at the thought.

Izuku needed something to distract himself with and knew just where to go. He opened the door to the medical office to see Avery and Clockwork playing a card game together, looked like Uno.

The two turned their heads in sync to look at Izuku, it was kinda creepy.

“Ah, hello Jackrabbit. If you're here to ask me to fix any new wounds you've gotten, I’ll throw you out a window.”

Izuku stepped inside and shook his head. “No, no! I’m fine, see?”

Avery looked at him skeptically. “Hm… not even a scratch?”

Izuku walked over and sat at the table the two were at. “Not even a scratch! Impressive, I know. Can I join you guys?”

No need to think about complicated things like morality and ethics when he can let his brain relax and lose seven games in a row of Uno to a five year old.

The two nodded. Clockwork began collecting the cards back up to reshuffle them.

Avery pointed at Izuku, a large smile on her face. “You need to play with us more, Bunny! It's not as fun without you.”

Izuku smiled at that. He really was important to everyone here…

“Thanks, Ave. I'll try to hang out more often, that sound good?”

“Mhm!”

Clockwork shuffled the cards and passed them out to each of them. Izuku grabbed his cards, it was an okay lineup.

Clockwork cleared his throat. “Alright, then. Everyone ready? Best out of five, winner gets dessert of their choice, on me. It’s going to be a long night.”

Avery raised a hand up. “I’m gonna win! I want ice cream!”

Clockwork glanced at his cards. “I wouldn't be so sure if I were you.” He said slyly.

Izuku glanced at his own cards again, it was gonna be a fun night. He didn't have to worry about anything.

Not morals, not ethics, not heroes, not villains, not Shigaraki, not Kacchan, not his mom, nothing. 

Here, he could just play games and make dumb bets with the people he considered family…

He hoped it would last forever.

Chapter Text

It was July 14th, the day before Izuku’s birthday and he hadn't even remembered. He was blissfully unaware of the date as he sat in the warehouse, tiredly working on improving his leg braces to be able to handle falling from greater heights. It's been over a week since the ‘incident’ and he still wasn't entirely back to normal mentally. He’s just okay enough to get through life.

He set the leg braces down and twisted his body, stretching after being hunched over for a few hours. There were a few satisfying pops as he stretched his body. He should find a way to steal a real work station, rather than sitting hunched over on the floor. Ignoring what he just told himself, he hunched over again, putting his head in hand with his elbow on his knee. He's had a lingering feeling of exhaustion for the past week, not enough to really impact him negatively, but enough to make him feel tired without even doing anything. The kind of bone deep exhaustion that makes someone want to sigh a thousand times over then fall into their bed and sleep for as long as possible. 

He tapped a finger against his cheek. It was still early for him to go on patrol, around 5:02PM, and he was struggling to come up with things to do. He used to love browsing hero forums, but with how he's been tearing apart heroes and hero soceity, he could stand it. Drawing? He could, but he didn't have the motivation for it. He used to love drawing ideas for a hero costume but he already had one now. Analysis? Maybe, there were a lot of quirks he had written down in his analysis journal but never really delved into.

It seemed like lying on the floor and disassociating was the only real option, but he hated being unproductive. He'd just go on patrol early.

Shouta worked his way out of sleeping bag and crawled out from under Tsukauchi’s desk, who was staring at Shouta with concern. The detective ran a hand down his face, “Do you have to sleep specifically under my desk? You don't even have any work to do.”

Shouta dusted off his hero costume and folded up his sleeping bag. “I know. I'm just here for the free coffee… and any updates on Jackrabbit, if there are any.”

Tsukauchi sighed. “Figured that's what you were here for. We had the usual amount of reports yesterday, around 4 or 5 villains turned in. What was concerning, is that the kid’s starting to use weapons. The villains say he's using knives and tasers.”

The two men shared a look. A vigilante picking up more violent ways of fighting we're never a good thing. They'd seen it time and time again, a vigilante starts out by fighting hand to hand, then switches to knives or tasers, some end up obtaining guns. In the end, they become more violent, some killing villains in the name of justice.

Shouta desperately hoped Jackrabbit didn't go down that path. He didn't think the kid would, he seemed a bit skittish, not the killer type, but Shouta could never be sure. Sometimes people change for the worse, especially if they're in a situation like Jackrabbit’s; surrounded by villains, vigilantes, and skewed morals. 

Tsukauchi cleared his throat, catching Shouta’s attention. “Think we should start trying to catch him?”

Shouta nodded, it was for the best. If the kid kept things up he was gonna crash and fall, Shouta wanted to prevent that from happening in the first place rather than deal with the aftermath.

“I’ll go out looking for him on my patrol then.”

Tsukauchi hummed and affirmed and sat at his desk. “Good luck then, try to find him quickly. The public's view of him is shifting for the worse, if he keeps up what he's doing, people will see him as a villain rather than a well-meaning vigilante.”

Shouta huffed. The problem child just keeps making things more and more complicated. “Right. I’ll head out around 8 then, I'm gonna go get that free coffee, I'll need it for tonight.”

Shouta stepped out of the police cubicles as Tsukauchi waves Shouta away. He stepped into the break room and poured an absurd amount of coffee into a thermos he'd brought in, taking a long sip from it. He had a rabbit to hunt.

Izuku dusted his hands off as he stood. A tied up villain laid by his feet, a drop or two of blood running down their arm. She had an electricity based quirk, the two metal prong-like horns basically made her a human taser so Izuku’s own electric claws had little to no effect on her so; knives. He hadn't injured a lot just enough to restrain her and leave her for the police.

He got out his vigilante phone to make the call but it seemed someone arrived early. It was Eraserhead again. Izuku was about to greet him as casually as ever, when Eraserhead sent out his capture weapon towards Izuku.

He stuffed his phone in his utility belt and hopped out of the way, visibly confused. Why was he suddenly attacking him?

Izuku lowered his hands to grab his knives before deciding against it, whatever the issue was, him trying to stab the hero would definitely make it worse.

Eraserhead dropped down in front of Izuku.

“Sorry for this, Jackrabbit, but you have to come with me. Now.”

Izuku narrowed his eyes. What was this? Betrayal? It certainly felt like a betrayal. Was Eraserhead just being friendly to get close to Izuku before ultimately arresting him? 

Izuku cleared his head, he could be upset about it later, he needed to focus on not getting taken into custody. If Eraserhead wanted a cat and rabbit chase then Izuku could oblige.

Instead of fighting the hero he did the sensible thing, turned tail and ran. He used his grappling hook to bring up to a building, landing a roll and keeping the momentum up as he jumped to the next building.

All the while he could hear Eraserhead’s thundering footsteps behind him. How was he gonna shake the hero… He eyed his surroundings, all run down buildings, power lines, fire escapes, and billboards. Eraserhead could use his capture weapon to swing around but it wasn't anything like what Izuku had.

He glanced back at the hero who was hot on his heels. Izuku aimed his glove up and shot the hook into a nearby billboard, pulling himself up on top of it. The wind rushing by him gave him a rush. Izuku ran along on the billboard, it might just be his adrenaline's fueled state but he was excited for what he was about to do.

He got to the edge of the billboard and leaped off, a large grin on his face as he felt the air rush over him, free falling to the ground. He nearly shouted from the thrill, he'd never been on a rollercoaster but this, this was already better than any amusement park.

As he fell through the air he twisted his body and shot the grappling hook into the structure of another building, reeling himself up and forward again. He landed on a rail and continued forward, grinning at all the stunned faces looking at him behind the building glass. He held up a peace sign for the onlookers as he let himself fall off the railing, once again shooting the hook to a building and pulling himself forward.

Izuku couldn't help but yell and laugh as he did, it was fun! It was thrilling! The sense of freedom he felt made all his worries disappear. Swinging from building to building, doing small tricks on the air, seeing if he hit specific arbitrary goals as he parkoured through Musutafu, it was dumb and childish, but god was it fun. 

Izuku let himself fall to a lower building, landing in a roll. He stood back up and turned around slightly out of breath. Eraserhead was nowhere to be seen. Izuku frowned a little, he kind of enjoyed the chase. It was like a weird bonding thing, but it couldn't last forever. Izuku flapped his hands to get rid of the excess energy and adrenaline in his body. He'd been so distracted by the cat and rabbit chase he forgot was he was up to. Well, he could always go to the One-Stop-Shop.

He took one step forward before hearing a hand smack against concrete. Izuku turned to the side, there, Shigaraki had pathetically climbed up the building he was on. The villain hauled himself up, huffing and out of breath. He stood up on shaky legs and held up a hand as if to tell Izuku to wait.

Izuku tilted his head and crossed his arms, who was he to tell Izuku to wait? Maybe it was the lingering adrenaline but Izuku wanted to ditch this guy out of sheer spite, it's not like he'd be able to catch up to him. For the sake of taking down the symbol of evil though, he'd stick around…

Shigaraki finally collected himself and stood to his normal height. He cleared his throat one last time before speaking. “Ahem, there we go. You're so hard to catch…”

He took a few steps closer to Izuku. “I'm getting really impatient you know, are you willing to join or not? Sensei wants an answer too.”

Izuku sighed. “You only asked me the first time like… well I don't know how long it's been, but not even a week at least! I have made my choice, I'm just… making preparations? I mean, you know I'm not exactly the villainous type.”

Shigaraki laughed dryly. “That's rich coming from you. If I recall correctly, you've got blood on your hands.” He smiled smugly.

Izuku glared at the villain. Eraserhead was bad enough but this guy brings it up? Izuku would've scoff, but he held his tongue.

“That wasn't intended… It happens in my line of work.” Pseudo-heroism and all.

Shigaraki shrugged at that. “If that's how you want to interpret it. Whether or not it was ‘intended’ you still killed someone. That's not mentioning the other crimes you've committed, and I hear you even have some villain friends. What's one more, right?”

This guy was seriously pissing Izuku off, and that was no easy task. Izuku had always been patient, he had to be since he was friends with Katsuki, but Shigaraki? Izuku was sure Shigaraki was trying to get on his nerves. He wouldn't let it get to him… he was always good at keeping his emotions to himself, and if he wanted to join the league he had to play a persona. This was just like a warm up, preparing Izuku for who he'd be spending a majority of his time around…

Shigaraki brought a hand up to scratch his neck and continued talking. “We already have a place set up, all you have to do is come over… Sensei and the doctor want to meet you, introduce themselves and all that. Everyone's excited to meet our brand new member.” Shigaraki spoke with fake enthusiasm, sounding anything but excited. He sounded like he personally hated Izuku. At least the feeling was mutual, if it didn't jeopardize future plans then Izuku would punch Shigaraki as hard as he could.

Izuku put a finger to his chin, pretending to be in deep thought. “Well, that's nice and all but I still need more time to prepare. Give me 3 days, that sound alright?” He wanted to ask for a week, but he doubted the oh-so-impatient Shigaraki would be able to handle that.

The villain smiled. “Sure, if it gets you on board. We’re happy to have you, Jackrabbit.”

Izuku mumbled under his breath “Uh-huh…” 

Shigaraki walked to a door on the rooftop, he opened it and leaned on the door frame. “I’ll see you soon then. You better not let Sensei down.”

Izuku nodded, if only to make him stop talking. “I’ll keep that in mind. I have places to be now.” He waved a hand to the villain and hopped down from the building into the alley below. 

Being around Shigaraki was a chore in and of itself… All the fun and thrill he just had was sucked away by the villain's mere presence. Izuku was gonna have to share a space with that guy? He could already imagine how awful it'd be. That's fine… he just needs to work on his acting skills in the 3 days he has left, he’ll be fine. 

He subconsciously headed in the direction of the One-Stop-Shop as he let the city fade into the background behind him. He let out a breath to decompress and reassure himself. He is Izuku Midoriya. He is Jackrabbit. He is a vigilante who saves people. He isn't worthless and he isn't weak. He was the person who'd take down the symbol of evil.

Izuku had a large smile on his face, one that showed too many teeth. Pride and excitement surged through him at just the thought of him doing something so grand, something that'd shake the world. If he was able to show the world quirkless people were strong while taking down the world's most evil villain, why wouldn't he?

He picked up the pace, wanting to tell his friends about his plan as soon as possible.

Izuku burst through the doors of the One-Stop-Shop, tripping over a few stray glass bottles in his haste. He pushed open the door to the staff area and ran to the kitchen.

“Wendigo! I have a plan!” He stood in the doorway as the woman looked back over her shoulder.

“Oh? What for? I didn't think Giran had you working on anything right now.”

Izuku walked over, tugging his respirator down as he did. He walked up to the counter and leaned over it, standing on his tippy toes to be closer to the woman’s eye level.

“It's not for Giran! I don't do free jobs for him anymore… no, I’m planning something else, something big.” He grinned, waiting for her to ask what it was first before continuing.

“Alright… and what is this big plan?”

Izuku pushed himself onto the counter, now eye to eye with Wendigo. “I'm glad you asked. Do you know the symbol of evil?”

Wendigo shrugged and shook her head. “I'm just someone who fought in rings for a while, no reason i'd know that.”

“Oh, anyway, he was thought to be defeated and gone forever, right? Well he isn't! His apprentice-slash-maybe son and technically the villain himself want me to join their organization to… take down hero society? Or the world maybe? I don't know the details.

Wendigo set a few ingredients she had been gathering down. Izuku couldn't see her face but it was clear from her tone that she wasn't happy. “Jackrabbit. You better not be getting yourself into anything bad… Trust me, you're better off staying away from whoever the hell the ‘symbol of evil’ is.”

Izuku huffed and shook his head. “Too late, already agreed to join. Back to the plan; I join them and pretend to be like them, right? But i'll actually be undercover and trying to take down the organization instead.” Izuku listed off each part, holding down a finger each one.

Wendigo grumbled under her breath. She set her utensils down and turned her full attention to Izuku. “I don't like the sound of what you're doing, kid. If this guy is really as bad as you say, won't he notice? If he’s the type to kill insubordinates then you just need to remove yourself from the situation. There's no need for you to get involved, you're just a kid.”

It was Izuku’s turn to grumble now. If it's not because he's quirkless, it's because he's young. Izuku understood, people just didn't want to see him get hurt. But he's gotten stronger, he isn't weak anymore. Doesn't Wendigo have any faith in him…?

Izuku fidgeted with his hands. “I get that… but… How about I bring it up to the police? I’ll still join—I said I would and I keep my word—but they’ll know about it too. They can help me if anything happens.”

Wendigo sighed, leaning against the kitchen counter with her forehead resting against her hands. “Just… Just come home alive.” She looked back uo at him. “Can you do that for me?”

Izuku nodded slowly. He didn't expect that kind of reaction. He'd try though, to stay alive and get back to them all.

“Yeah, I can do that. I’ll come home safe and sound… I-I’m gonna tell Giran and Clockwork now, i'll be around for the next 3 days to train but after that I’ll be with the league. Wish me luck!” He hopped off the counter and stepped out into the hall. He hoped Wendigo would be okay, he didn't mean to make her so upset.

He started walking to Giran’s office, thoughts swirling in his head as he did. Yes, Izuku was throwing himself in a dangerous situation, but death wasn't guaranteed. All his life he's survived horrible things, surely he can survive another. Wendigo didn't have to act like he was throwing himself into his own grave. He shook his head. She's just worried, he's glad she is! He'd rather her being overly worried than uncaring.

He stopped at Giran’s office and knocked three times, stepping inside when he heard a ‘come in’ from the other side. Izuku closed the door behind him as he entered the office. The room was the same tacky purple color as Giran’s suit, and don't even mention the animal print…

Giran held open his arms to greet him. “Ah, there's my favorite troublemaker! Here to falsely promise free labor?”

Izuku stepped further inside, taking a seat on one of the faux cheetah print chairs. “No, it's something else actually. Do you remember when I mentioned All for One?”

The smile disappeared from Giran’s face instantly, replaced with a contemplative expression.

“Why do you mention that? You didn't actually agree to go with them, did you?”

Izuku shrugged and mumbled, “Kinda?”

Giran pinched the bridge of his nose like a disappointed parent. “Alright, so we’re doing this.”

We?

Giran continued. “If you're gonna waltz into their base or whatever, trying to ‘take them down from the inside’ then you won't be doing it alone. I'm an information broker, a well known one at that. I'm sure they'd be willing to have me as one of their contacts. If you're the one taking them down, which might I add I heavily disagree with, then I’ll be the person assisting you from the ‘outside’ alright?”

Izuku nodded eagerly, that was perfect! He was worried how he'd get information to the police if he was stuck with the league all the time, but if he had someone like Hiran assisting, it'd work out better. “That sounds perfect! It'll make things way easier!”

Giran nodded unenthusiasticly. “And there's no way I can change your mind on this?”

Izuku shook his head. “No, I've made my decision. I already told Shigaraki that I'd join within three days.”

Giran physically cringed and leaned back in his chair. “Three days?! You're killing me here kid… Alright, alright, that's still enough for a bit of prepping. You'll be training with Wendigo as much as you can, understand?”

“Yeah I understand. I was going to do that anyway.”

“Right. I'll start working on my end of things, then. Any other life endangering plans you want to tell me about?”

Izuku laughed under his breath. “No, just that one. I'm gonna tell Clockwork and Avery now though. I can train with Wendigo tomorrow.”

Giran waved a hand. “Go on, then. I'm sure Clockwork will be incredibly happy to hear he’ll be working overtime for you.”

Izuku rolled his eyes and stood from the chair. “Bye, Giran.”

He pulled open the office door and started for the medical office. Izuku was just now realizing how odd it was that Clockwork was *always* there. Didn't he have his own room like Wendigo did? He shrugged and continued down the hall, eventually pulling open the door to the office.

Avery was laying on the floor, a makeshift fort made of blankets surrounded her. She didn't react to someone entering the room so he figured she was asleep. Clockwork was sitting at a desk on the opposite wall, turning in his chair to face Izuku.

“What injuries do we have this time?”

Izuku held up his hands. “None! Eh, maybe a bruise or something but nothing that needs your help.”

Izuku walked over to the doctor, setting a hand on the desk. “No injuries, but I do have something really important I need to tell you about. It may or may not increase the amount of injuries I'll be getting…”

Clockwork's face scrunched up and his voice got quiet. “I see… What must you tell me, then?”

“Uhm, so, I kind of agreed to join this villain organization who's run by the world's most evil villain and his apprentice so… Just, don't be surprised if I show up here more injured than not.” He shrugged the last part of his sentence out.

Clockwork looked at him blankly. “You're already injured most of the time, Jackrabbit. You're trying to get yourself killed, is that it?”

Izuku’s eyebrow twitched. Why does everything think he's going to die?

“No, I*m *not*. I’m not going to die at all! I know how to protect myself, I know how to get myself out of dangerous situations!”

Clockwork scoffed. “Jackrabbit all you do is get yourself in dangerous situations. 90% of the time you’re here, it's for treatment. To believe anything else is to be delusional.” Clockwork’s voice was quick, snippy, to the point.

Izuku’s eyebrows furrowed together, his voice getting louder than it meant it to.

“I can take care of myself just fine! I’m telling you I can handle it, I’ll be fine. You don't need to remind me how often I end up here!” His voice had more bite than he intended, he felt guilt pool inside him. He shouldn't be shouting like this, it wouldn't help anything. Clockwork must just be worried like the others…

Clockwork sighed and put his head in his hands. Izuku took the time to un-tense and relax his breathing, he hadn't noticed how worked up he'd gotten…

Clockwork looked back at him and stood slowly. “Apologies. I shouldn't have raised my voice. You must know how distressing it is to hear what situation you're going to throw yourself in.”

Izuku looked off to the side. “I'm sorry to but, why does everyone keep acting like I'm walking into certain death?”

Clockwork adjusted his round glasses. “You can't tell someone that you—a child with barely any experience and an unknown quirk—are going to take down the, and i quote, “World’s most evil villain” and expect people to simply accept that. You surrounded by people who care, Jackrabbit. People who worry. You know how much of a worrier I am, don't you?”

Izuku nodded… he was painfully reminded of his mother, always worrying over every little thing he did. There were people who wanted him to live, he didn't plan to die but his recklessness sure wasn't helping him convince everyone else.

Clockwork placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “No one can, no one will stop you from doing this, but you must know what you're getting yourself into. From what you and Giran have told me, this isn't some low-level villain like you've fought before. The person you're going against is someone who is widely feared and for good reason. Just— …just know what you're getting into and let people help. Can you allow that.”

Izuku had a shaky smile as he spoke. “Of course…”

Clockwork sighed in relief. “Before you run into a den of villains, allow me to teach you more first aid, hm? That way you won't be completely helpless on your own.”

“Sure! I'll need all the help I can get.”

Clockwork left to gather some medical books and journals, ready to cram as much first aid knowledge as he could into Izuku before the three days passed. Izuku remained in the office, idly spinning in the chair Clockwork was previously. He stared at the ceiling as he spun in circles, regretting his choice of only asking for 3 days. What if he couldn't make up a convincing persona? Or if he did make up a persona, what if he couldn’t play the part?

No use in going over what-ifs… he already gave a time frame, he just had to make do with it.

What kind of character could he play? He'd have to act like a villain, but how far could he actually go with that? He didn't like hurting people so if Shigaraki asked him to harm someone as a show of faith, would he be able to? Izuku could play someone who’s mean, someone who doesn't take any bullshit. That he could do. He could pretend to have worse morals, pretend to be okay with harming people. He could pretend to like Shigaraki and All for One, he could pretend to like anyone they liked. Pretending to be a villain was easy personality-wise, what he'd have to figure out was how to fake villainous actions instead of hurting or killing people out-right…

Maybe he could pull out his trust ‘im quirkless so i can't do anything’ card? No, they already know he's a vigilante, they wouldn’t believe him if he tried to play dumb.

Izuku would leave this problem for his future self and just hope it doesn't come back to bite him.

Maybe… maybe he shouldn’t have agreed to join… ?

Chapter Text

Izuku wakes up in his room to the sound of his phone buzzing, an unusual occurrence. He pushes himself away from his soft blankets and grabs his phone, laying on his side to look at it. It was another text from Kacchan, what was he even texting him for? It's not like Izuku killed anyone else…

He opened the message anyway and stared blankly at the text.

‘happy birthday loser. we have gifts come pick them up or im making auntie throw them out and get her money back’

Izuku sat up in his bed quickly. Birthday?! It was his birthday?? He swiped down on his phone screen to get the date. Yup, July 15th, 11:53AM.

Izuku put a hand to his head, how could he forget his own birthday? He turned his attention back to the message, gifts? He didn't think he deserved gifts considering he left all of them behind… But he also didn't want to inconvenience his mom by having to return all the gifts, or make her feel bad for not accepting them. There was also a text from Wendigo telling him about their training that day.

Izuku hummed, planning out what he'd do. He'd go over now to Kacchan's house to get the gifts, hurry to the warehouse to drop them off, then head to the One-Stop-Shop to train for the day. He'd just not tell Wendigo and the others it was his birthday, he wanted to celebrate it with them, wanted to have a party and spend the day with people he cared about, but he couldn't afford that. He had to make the most out of these three days.

He stood from his bed and stretched. He set his phone on the desk and dug through a run down wardrobe for some civilian clothes to wear, he didn't want to visit Kacchan and his mom in his vigilante costume, it seemed disrespectful somehow.

He put on a Mirko hoodie he wore before, along with his green sponge mask, some black jeans and his sneakers. He also chose to tie his hair up and pull up his hood this time.

He patted his clothes down, he looked presentable enough to go pick up gifts from someone's porch like some stray animal. He stuffed his phone and All Might trading card in his pockets and hurried out the warehouse. He settled to jog to where the Bakugo’s house was, eager to see what they'd gotten him, and equally as nervous to be around them.

He entered through their backyard, the house itself was quiet except for the sound of water running and dishes clanking. On the porch just outside the glass back door—which conveniently had its curtain drawn—was a pile of items. Izuku carefully walked over, paranoid that someone from the house would walk up to him. No such thing happened as he leaned down to the pile.

Everything was laid out on a mat, only one of them in a box and none wrapped in wrapping paper. Izuku was grateful for that, he couldn't imagine having to carry full boxes home.

There were four things, he decided to look at the box first only to realize it was a cake! The box had the name of a company on it for a bakery that made custom cakes. He opened the box to find a green cake inside, he was surprised—not by the color but because it wasn't hero themed. For every birthday Izuku’s had, his mom would always get him an All Might themed cake, and his parties always centered around All Might too. Now though, the symbol of peace’s image had been tainted in Izuku’s mind. No longer was he the radiant beacon of hope and strength, now he the person who crushed Izuku’s dreams and left him on a rooftop.

So he was glad it wasn't All Might themed… It was rabbit themed instead, green with frosting lining the sides and little edible rabbit ears poking out of the top. 

‘Happy 15th Birthday Izuku!’ was written in white frosting. Izuku smiled subconsciously. He really, really liked it.

He turned his attention to the next item, it was a journal. He picked it up and turned it around in his hands. The cover was made of smooth leather, the front had a small pocket and areas to hold pens or pencils. The cover also had a small blank index card slipped behind clear plastic with the words ‘title here’ having been written. The journal itself was a dark forest green, he opened the journal and flipped through the pages. The pages were worn, not in a natural way but in an artificial way, like the journal was made to resemble a fantasy book. There was a small tag attached, Izuku took it in his hands and read the note on it.

‘I made this myself! It was tricky but I hope you like it. Love you always, Mom’

Izuku hugged the journal to his chest. His mom made this just for him? He could feel his eyes start to water. He held the journal up and ran a thumb over the cover. He loved it.

He set it down on his lap and he continued to the next gift. It was a letterman jacket, custom made as well. This one must've been from Auntie and Uncle, Izuku knew they both had jobs in fashion.

The letterman looked the perfect size for him. The main part was a bright green color, with the sleeves, collar, and hem being off-white. The cuffs, collar, and hem also had two dark green lines running through them. There was a dark green rabbit silhouette in the top left, along with his name written in the back. Izuku thought it was a little childish to have his name on it, but loved it regardless. He immediately switched the Mirko hoodie for the custom letterman instead. It fit snugly, not too tight but not loose either.

The last item on the mat was actually a card. Izuku took it carefully in his hands, a note was covering the front. 

‘heard you hated all might now, don't know why but if you don't like him then i don't like him either. i don't know if you still have the all might card we both got when we were kids, but here's a replacement. it's obviously way better. and before you get all pissy i also made one the,ed after you and it ALSO says you're the #1 hero, so don't bitch that you got left out.’

He took the note off and looked at the card below, it was Kacchan themed. And by ‘Kacchan-themed’ he meant it mostly red, orange, and black with a ton of explosion designs across it. The words ‘Katsuki Bakugo, #1 Hero!’ were written in bold black letters. Izuku couldn't help but smile, it was so silly… He took out the All Might trading card from his pocket and held the two cards side by side.

Kacchan’s was the winner by a long shot. He'd still keep the All Might card, that thing was one of the rarest things he owned, but he wouldn't carry it around anymore now that he had a better replacement. Izuku absently wondered how his card looked, but brushed it off. He should leave soon, unless he wasn't the cake to completely melt away in the sun.

He carefully stored the card in the letterman pocket and stuffed the journal under his arm. He picked up the cake with both hands, not wanting to drop it, and turned to head back out through the backyard.

Right before he ducked out of view he called “Thanks, Mom, thanks Auntie, thanks Uncle, thank you Kacchan! Loved all of it!” and scurried away into the alleys. He wouldn't drag his family into the vigilante and All for One mess he'd gotten himself in, but he could at the very least, thank them for their support.

His stomach twisted and turned at the thought of not being able to see them. Would Shigaraki allow him to? Or would he be expected to stay within the leagues sight? He was already cut-off from most of the waking world, whether it's daytime city life, school, family, limelight heroes, Izuku almost exclusively worked at night, away from people. He cleared his thoughts. It didn't matter what Shigaraki said, Izuku wouldn't completely abandon his family, he wasn't going to let Shigaraki of all people boss Izuku around. 

He'd have to tell the villain that the next time he saw him. Izuku was either on equal footing with Shigaraki, or he wasn't joining at all.

He hummed as he continued. He’d deal with all that when the time came, there was something else he had to do first. Eat a slice of cake.

Izuku kicked open the door to his room. He'd long since stolen a freezer to put in there. It was mostly full of chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, and other easily microwaveable foods that didn't take any effort to make. He pushed everything else to the side and put the cake—now with a single missing slice—inside.

Izuku, the multitasker he is, decided to eat the slice as he ran over to the One-Stop-Shop, licking stray green frosting from his face as he opened the door by backing into it.

The usual sound of people talking and eating flooded his ears as he danced around the same tables and waiters he always did. He dropped the paper plate and plastic fork he'd used to eat his slice in the trash, wiped his mouth with the back of his glove, and walked through the staff door.

Slightly out of breath he jogged to his and Wendigo’s training room. He burst through the door, nearly falling forward as he did.

“Here! Here… I…” He painted our heavy breaths. “I made it!”

Wendigo spun a dagger around her finger. “Barely. What have you been doing all day, Cottontail? Something special happen?”

Izuku smiled brightly and lied to her face, his voice was calm and steady as it always was. “Nope! Today’s nothing special. Let's get started on training.”

Wendigo hummed skeptically but walked over to Izuku and handed him the knives he always used for training. “If you say so. Hope you're ready for some hell training.”

Izuku groaned, he was not ready, but he'd do it anyway.

The rest of the day was insufferable. He and Wendigo switched from training to training. Starting with knife training, then hand to hand, reflex training, knife throwing, sparring, the list went on. Even after all that he wasn't done, he was still learning first aid from Clockwork. Working on sewing techniques, learning anatomy, and studying from college grade medical textbooks.

Izuku wouldn't call it bad. Middle school was bad, this was just… intense. They wanted to make sure he was ready for what was to come, he couldn't be mad about that no matter how much work they dumped on him.

He had sat in Giran’s office, the man going over plans and tactics with him. Plans, backup plans in case the plans fail, backup plans for the backup plans, how to contact Giran in case of an emergency, and even code words. 

By the end of the day, Izuku was ready to pass out.

Giran also insisted Izuku stay in one of the One-Stop-Shop’s rooms for the rest of the days and Izuku didn't have a good argument against that, so he did. Apparently Clockwork and Avery did have their own room, and Izuku would be staying in the one beside theirs. He'd be happy if he wasn't so exhausted.

He pushed the door open to his new room. It was simple. Neutral colors all around, a queen sized bed in the center of the back wall, night stands on either side, a wardrobe, a desk and chair, and a small closet. It was bland, but it'd work for now. Izuku didn't deny he missed his warehouse room, as dingy as it was he found a way to make it homey and welcoming.

He trudged forward and fell face first on his bed. Slowly, he brought his legs up and curled into a ball on top of all the covers like a cat. He hadn't even changed out of his vigilante costume but he didn't mind, he just wanted to sleep.

Ugh… was this how the next 2 days would be as well?

It was 10 at night when Katsuki finally built up the courage to open the back door and taken the gifts they'd all made. He'd been contemplating it the entire day, but the fear that Izuku ignored them and felt the gifts and cake was unshakable. Multiple times throughout the day he'd put a hand around the back door blinds, just about to pull them back, but didn't now. He had to though, he wouldn't be able to sleep without knowing.

So he got his ass off the couch and marched confidently to the back door, wrapping a hand around the blinds. He carefully pulled them back and looked out onto the porch, the flimsy light flickering as he did. As dim as it was, Katsuki noticed the lack of any gifts or cake boxes. He took in a breath, he hadn't even realized he stopped breathing. That's good. That meant Izuku really did stop by.

Now the fear Izuku hadn't got the gifts was replaced by the fear of him not liking the gifts. He was tempted to text the need and ask, or would that be pathetic?

He mentally shoved the thought away, if Izuku didn't like the gifts then that was his loss.

He walked back over to the couch, falling onto it dramatically. He'd been checking police reports all night but it seemed Izuku was taking the day off, or was somehow busy with other stuff, since there were no villain reports made by ‘Jackrabbit’.

Katsuki turned his phone off, closed his eyes and let his arm hang over the edge of the couch. 

He cracked one eye open when he heard soft footsteps, it was Inko. She sat on the other end of the couch and Katsuki closed his eyes again.

It was silent, the nice, comfortable, kind of silence. Katsuki could hear the small clacks of the woman’s knitting needles as she worked on something, probably for Izuku.

She hummed a song she sang frequently but spoke after just a few minutes. “Do you know if Izuku got the gifts and his cake?”

Katsuki shrugged. “They're not out there anymore. So unless a stranger decided to jump into our backyard and take a bunch of random shit, then yeah, he got it.”

Katsuki could hear Inko sigh. “That's good. I was worried he wouldn't come over for them. He stops by but he never sees us, do you know why?”

Katsuki brought his arm up and crossed them with a huff. “No. He reads my texts but he doesn't respond… I don't know…”

Inko hummed. “That's alright. As long as he's okay.”

Izuku woke up the next day completely sore. Hours upon hours of training would do that to you. Still, no time to rest. He sluggishly let himself slide off the bed before standing, grabbing some comfortable clothes and heading to the bathroom. He wanted a shower first before anything, hoping it'd wake him up.

Glancing at himself in the mirror, he looked as exhausted as he usually did. He took off his rabbit mask to get a look at his eyes, dark bags were forming under them. Izuku groaned, he knew he wasn't sleeping well but still hoped he wouldn't have any eyebags. It'd fix his sleep schedule… at some point in his life. Izuku took off the rest of his vigilante costume, it'd need to be washed today anyway, and got into the shower. He'd have to make it a quick one; Wendigo wanted to start training as early as possible.

The shower was nice. Calming, refreshing, but good things never last. Izuku turned off the hot water that'd filled the room with steam and grabbed one of the towels that were always kept underneath the bathroom sink. Izuku looked at himself one last time before getting dressed, eyeing the various scars that littered his torso from not only Obsidian, but other villains as well. He wondered is his heroic nature would be the death of him someday, but pushed the thought away before he could start spiraling.

He got dressed in more casual clothes. Grey sweatpants and an oversized yellow t-shirt that went down to his elbows, plus the hospital grippy socks he never returned to Clockwork. It’d do. He didn't really worry about appearances much in the One-Stop-Shop, everyone already knew everyone else so it didn't really matter. The only part of his vigilante costume that he kept was the rabbit mask, the rest was piled up to be washed.

He used his shoulder to push open the bathroom door, his arms filled with his vigor,age outfit, and made his way out into the hall. There was a public laundromat area in the base so that's where he was heading. Giran really wasn't kidding when he said the One-Stop-Shop had everything, the place was massive, there were a ton of areas Izuku had never stepped foot in. It was basically its own little thriving community, of course when the community was made up of villains things could get messy, but people were mostly civil.

Izuku stepped into the basement and turned on the light, he'd get through this quickly so he could get to Wendigo. He dumped his suit on a nearby table, taking everything out from the pockets and setting his support gear aside, he could wash all that manually some other time. He tossed the suit and leg braces into the washer, pouring in the right amount of detergent like Clockwork showed him and starting the machine.

Wendigo and Clockwork took it upon themselves to teach Izuku life skills, which he was grateful for. He knew the basics from helping his mom around the house, but learning more never hurt.

He left the basement, shutting the light off as he did. He quickly walked through the halls and to the kitchen, he peered in but Wendigo wasn't there, she must already be in the training room. He made his way over and pulled open the door. Inside, Wendigo was throwing daggers at dart boards with terrifying accuracy.

The door creaked as Izuku shut it, bringing Wendigo’s attention to Izuku. 

“About time, Cottontail. Why are you dressed like you just got out of a hospital?”

Izuku shrugged. “Costumes getting washed so…” He gestured to his outfit. 

“...Right. Well even if you're dressed like you only own 5 pieces of clothing you're still getting trained to hell and back.”

Izuku sighed and sulked as he walked forward grabbing a knife from a desk on his way over. “I know… I can never escape it.”

He walked forward, stopping a few feet away from the various dart boards hung on the back wall. “Aim practice then?”

Wendigo threw a knife, getting a bulls-eye. “You know it. Try not to break a window this time.”

“That was over a week ago!” Izuku took his stance and aimed the knife behind him, flinging it at the dart board. It hit the outer edge of it and sighed. He really needs to improve his aim and quickly.

“Aw, better luck next time, Cottontail.”

Izuku walked over and wedged the knife from out of the board. “Yeah, yeah. Let me try again.”

He knew by saying ‘try again’ he meant doing it over and over for another 4 hours until he saw improvement, luckily Wendigo knew that too. Seems knife throwing was what they were focusing on today.

Izuku practically collapsed into the chair in Clockworks office, the hours of knife throwing left his arms aching. He laid his head on the desk, mentally preparing himself for a study session. He lifted his head slightly to look up.

On the other side of the table was Clockwork, a pile of books beside him and a pamphlet in his hand. “We can start whenever you're ready.”

Izuku sighed and laid his head back down, give him 10 minutes.

He'd been going over the basics of first aid, as well as necessary knowledge on what to do in emergency situations where he, or someone else, wouldn't have access to a hospital. He was glad Clockwork was teaching him, he'd tried to look things up before but the result was always just ‘go to a hospital’. If he tried to tack on ‘no hospital’ it just told him to go to a hospital when it was available. In Izuku’s hypothetical, made up scenario, he would never have access to a hospital so the searches were extremely unhelpful. 

Clockwork knew a lot, and he was a great teacher. It made sense when you consider his quirk, he could likely see signs of mental exhaustion, hence why he was giving Izuku a break. Izuku knew if he told Clockwork he didn't feel up for the study sessions, the doctor would agree with no argument. But Izuku wasn't going to, it was useful knowledge that he'd need if he wanted to survive without always turning to Clockwork.

He peeled his head off the desk and sighed one last time. “Okay… Let's start.”

Clockwork smiled patiently. “Very well. Do mention if you need a break at any point. We’ll be looking at ways to effectively stop bleeding and provide emergency treatment to either yourself, or someone else, in the case of stab wounds to vital areas.”

Izuku nodded, might as well be done with it. 

40 minutes in, Izuku zoned out. He hadn't meant to, but his mind and body simply couldn't keep up with the constant back to back activities. Physical training, then cramming medical jargon into his head, then socializing with the facility's patrons, then making plans with Giran, back to physical training for a bit, eat and sleep. That's how it was yesterday and that's how the current day was going. He knew the plan literally was “train as much as possible in two days” but he was regretting that decision. It was all important, he wanted to do it all, but he just couldn't.

He opened his eyes, he didn't notice they were closed. Clockwork was humming, scribbling down in a notebook. Izuku rubbed his tired eyes and looked over at the doctor.

“Sorry… I zoned out for a bit, what were we working on?”

Clockwork clicked his pen and looked up with a light smile. “Ah, I was just telling you about how when people swallow rainbows, the refracted light ping-pongs around in their speef organ—a very real organ I assure you—until they explode into confetti, which gets served to wizards to increase their magic.vIts very common knowledge, Jackrabbit, you should know this by now!"

Izuku scrunched his face and blinked, one eye at a time. What? Was he hallucinating? What did he just listen to?

“I… understand…?”

Clockwork brought a hand to his mouth to muffle a laugh. “Ah, you're a riot, Jackrabbit. While you've been letting your mind rest I've written down all the things I wanted to go over today in here.” He closed the notebook and slid it over to Izuku. It was titled ‘Clockwork’s teachings of medical wizardry (parathenses, real)’ and yes, paratheses was actually spelled out.

Even though it's only been 40 minutes, the journal was almost halfway full. “Why don't you go rest in your room or play with Avery for a bit while I continue to write things down? This way, you can focus on your physical training while not overworking yourself. A wonderful compromise, no?”

Izuku nodded. It made sense, he'd likely see Clockwork less after joining Shigaraki ‘place’—whatever that meant—but he could always read his teachings. It was like with Wendigo, where he had to be physically present to learn.

“Thanks, Clockwork. I might go see what Wendigo’s up to for now. See you later, tell Avery I’ll play with her tomorrow.” Izuku stood from the desk and waved bye to Clockwork, who in turn waved back.

“I'll be sure to, and she’ll make sure you keep your word.”

Izuku left the room, dragging his feet through the halls as he walked to the kitchen. He shoved the door open and greeted the other chefs that were employed there, each working on their own dishes. He stepped over to Wendigo’s personal cooking area, as head chef that was apparently something she had. “Hey, Wendy.” 

Wendigo looked down at him as she cooked what looked to be steak.

“Cottontail? Shouldn't you be with the wack job doctor?”

Izuku crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “He's not a wack job! And I'm on break.” He looked at the non-existent watch on his wrist. “I got the next hour or so off.”

Wendigo hummed and resumed cooking. “So you're just going to watch me cook then? Like some kind of free-loader?”

Izuku nodded, that's exactly what he'd be doing.

Wendigo glanced at him then looked back at the pan where the steak was sizzling. “Well at least pay attention. You should cook everything yourself while you're there, they might try to poison you.”

Izuku was about to call her paranoid when he remembered his own overwhelming paranoia and silently agreed to pay attention to what she was making. Izuku doubted he'd ever cook himself something like steak, but learning life skills never hurt.

When Wendigo was done making the food Izuku got to be an unpaid worker and brought the food out to the person who ordered it instead of a proper waiter doing it for him. He walked up to the table where the person Wendigo described was sitting at. ‘She looks like a demon who crawled out of the sewers, wears a green beanie, you'll know her when you see her.’

Amidst a sea of other customers and tables, a girl with long brown hair with a slight green tint sat, smoking a cigarette. She was wearing a beanie like Wendigo said, along with a sleeveless turtleneck crop top, loose green jacket around her shoulders and some baggy tan cargo pants.

Izuku walked up and placed the dish on the table, “You ordered this, right?” His voice was louder than usual, hoping to make itself known over the constant sound of the other patrons talking.

She looked over and smiled widely, her teeth were sharp with a noticeable gap in the front. “Yo, Jackie!” Jackie? “Yeah, this shit’s mine. Big gal in the back cooked it right?” She put the cigarette she was holding between her lips and grabbed a steak knife from… somewhere.

Izuku just nodded. “Yeah, Wendigo made it, if that's all then…?” 

“Nah, nah, stay a while man! Ya just got here.” He's been here all day…

“I see ya runnin’ round in the back like a rat, what do ya get up to in there?”

She brought a piece of steak to her mouth and bit it, including the fork. Izuku pulled out the seat opposite to her and sat down, he was still on break, he could chat for a bit.

“Uh, mostly training with Wendigo. But Clockwork’s been teaching me some medical stuff lately. I'm on break right now.”

She spoke with her mouth full. “Yo, no way! Wack job doctor still works here? I thought he died. So you're Jackie, then?”

Izuku leaned his elbows on the round wooden table. “Well, my vigilante name is Jackrabbit, but I’ve heard all kinds of nicknames. You're the first to call me Jackie though… What's your name?”

She laid her head on her chin and grinned, showing off her teeth again. “You can call me Jet! Dunno if it'll last but it's what I'm going by right now.”

Izuku smiled politely. “Nice to meet you then.”

“Ya, ya, you too. How old’re you anyway? I'm not being mean but ya- pfft- sound 12—” Her sentence wavered off as she started snickering.

Izuku rolled his eyes. “I turned 15 yesterday.”

“What! No way, I think my birthday is like the day before yours. I just turned 26 two days ago.”

Izuku perked up at that. “That is pretty cool! What a weird coincidence.”

Jet nodded eagerly. “Right, right?!”

With that the conversation fizzled out as Jet focused on her food. Izuku was going to leave and head back through the staff door when he heard his name called.

“Ay, Jackrabbit!” He looked over to see a group of 7 or so people, a mix of men and women, sitting at a round table with dozens of empty glasses scattered around. Izuku walked over to the table and smiled. “What’s up?”

One of the women at the far end held up a knife. “You're good with knives right? We’re playing the knife game and wanna see how you'd do!”

Izuku glanced around the table nervously, everyone seemed genuinely excited to see him play, no visible hostility. There had been some slight *issues* before where villains he'd previously detained or fought, would try to harm him while disguising it as a friendly game, he learned to see through them pretty quick.

Izuku shrugged and walked around the table to sit beside the woman at the front, he took the knife and sat down. “Alright then! But prepare to lose any bets you made.” A chorus of laughter sounded out, along with a few eye rolls and ‘we’ll see’s.

“There is an old tradition, a game we all can play. You start by getting liquored up and sharpening your blade! You take a shot of whiskey, you grab your knife and pray, as you spread apart your fingers, this is what you say-”

Izuku brought the knife down on the beat.

Izuku spread out his left hand on the wooden table and gripped the knife with his right, he took a deep breath in as the folks around the table started singing.

“Oh~ I have all my fingers, the knife goes chop, chop, chop. If I hit the spaces in between my fingers will come off!

All the while, Izuku was stabbing the spaces between his fingers on every beat.

“And if I hit my fingers, blood will soon come out-”

Izuku joined in, saying the lyrics under his breath as he concentrated on avoiding his hand.

“-but all the same I play this game ‘cause that's what it's all about!”

The folks at the table skipped a part of the song, wanting to make it more difficult. They picked up the tempo, singing faster and faster while Izuku tried to keep up.

“Oh, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, I’m picking up the speed, and if I hit my fingers then my hand will start to bleed-”

Izuku shouted as he nicked his middle finger on the last beat. The table roared out in laughter. Izuku stuck his finger in his mouth to soothe the pain but laughed along with them.

“Better luck next time, rabbit!”

“Wait, aren't rabbits supposed to be lucky?”

“You did so good, though! I was out in my second round.”

“Wendigo’s been working you to the bone, huh? Haha!”

Izuku nodded and rolled his eyes at the bunch. “Alright, alright! I'm gonna head to the back now, you guys be careful, Clockwork won't patch you up like he does with me.” Another round of laughter roared out, along with farewells as Izuku stood from the table and made his way through the busy bar to get to the staff door.

He looked down at his finger, all he'd need was a band-aid, he hadn't cut deep at all. Izuku may look like the type to avoid games like the knife game, but since started hanging around the One-Stop-Shop more he found out he actually really enjoyed it. The minor thrill and danger that came with it, the best of the song, the want to do better than his last attempt. It was fun for him, even if it led to an absurd amount of tiny, faded scars along all his fingers.

He stepped into Clockworks office, ignoring the man's stare, he grabbed the box of band-aids that sat on the counter and pulled one out.

“Knife game again?” Clockwork hummed in mild disappointment.

Izuku laughed under his breath. “Only played one round, don't worry.”

He wrapped his finger up and set the box back down. On his way out the door he faintly heard Clockwork say. “But I’ll worry anyway.”

… Clockwork really did remind him of his mom.

Izuku yawned; the day's events catching up to him and reminding him of his exhaustion. While the break helped, it wouldn't beat sleeping. He padded through the halls and up the stairs to his temporary bedroom. It was the same as he left it considering all he did was sleep on top of the covers for one night then leave. He set his rabbit mask in the night stand and pulled off the covers to bury himself inside them. Just as he was getting comfy he was reminded that his vigilante costume would've been clean by now… He'd get it tomorrow.

He shifted to lay on his back and stared at the dark ceiling. He tensed his body for a few seconds, then let the tension release with an exhale. His arm was still a bit sore from Wendigo’s training, but even then, he was excited for tomorrow. 

He'd have to go over the plan with Giran too, just to make sure everything was set.

He closed his eyes with a slight smile on his face.

He was going to become the world’s greatest hero, no matter what.

Chapter Text

Izuku lazily put on his vigilante outfit. He'd woken up at a more reasonable time today and was even feeling refreshed after sleeping. He stood in front of the mirror to adjust his rabbit mask, arms behind him as he tied the back of it into a knot. He still looked tired, but he looked better than yesterday.

He looked himself up and down and shrugged. He was presentable enough.

He stepped out of his temporary room and into the hall. The schedule was simple; hand to hand training with Wendigo, pick up another written down lesson from Clockwork, head to Giran to go over plans, use the latter half of the day to take a break, and maybe try to find Shigaraki…

He hummed as he walked down the hall, pushing open the door to the training room when he got there. “Wendigo?”

Izuku stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he turned to face the room but quickly ducked when he saw a fist heading for his face.

He ducked and rolled to the side, standing up in a frenzy as Wendigo laughed quietly.

“Wendigo! Give me some time to prepare!” He patted himself down.

“No can do, Cottontail. An enemy would give you time to prepare. We’re working on hand to hand and reflexes today, congrats on passing the first test.”

Wendigo walked backwards, stepping on one of the many blue foam mats around the room. “Come on, no time to waste. We’ll do warm ups and stretch first then get into it.”

Izuku jogged over, standing on the mat next to hers. “Right.”

They did pretty basic stuff, just exercises to get your heart pumping and loosen your muscles. Jumping jacks, jogging in place, shoulder rolls, along with yoga stretches. Izuku stretched his arms high above his head and relaxed with a sigh. He actually really enjoyed warm ups. They were simple and monotonous, he could do them without thinking too much, unlike when he spars with Wendigo. His mind always runs a mile a minute when he fights her, trying to keep track of every little thing and figure out how to ‘win’ the fight. Wendigo said he needed to cut it out, to let his body and reflexes do the work in a battle and let his thoughts assist him, instead of control him. He understood that, kinda. If he's consciously thinking throughout the fight he might overthink and mess up instead.

Still, overthinking and analyzing is something he’s always done, it's a part of him. He just needs to find a balance between the two…

Wendigo clapped her hands, Izuku flinched and stood up quickly. “Ahah… whoops, got stuck in my own head again.” He tapped his cheek with his finger.

Wendigo shook her head slightly. “I noticed. Get your head out of the clouds, rabbit. Time to fight.”

She took up a fight stance on the mat and taunted him over. Izuku grinned and walked onto the mat, getting into a fight stance of his own. He was a bit looser than Wendigo, but it worked for him.

Wendigo didn't waste any time, she stepped forward and threw a right hook. He stepped to the side. She followed, throwing a kick his way. He used his elbow to block it and got a jab in. She tried to get another hook in; Izuku ducked and stepped back, keeping himself light and on his toes.

The two side-stepped and danced around each other. Wendigo stuck to her fists, throwing jabs and hooks with perfect timing.

She threw a jab then a cross, Izuku couldn't dodge, he had to block. Wendigo kept up her attacks, constant hits as she led the fight. Izuku ducked under another hook and threw a kick to her side, she didn't falter. Izuku kept moving backwards while not letting himself be boxed into a corner.

He needed to focus, he was taking too many hits right now…

He focused on his breathing as he tanked a few of her hits. They circled around each other. Izuku saw Wendigo start to lean down, an uppercut? He turned his body to the side, letting her fist cut through the air instead of his body. She turned and followed him, aiming to hit him with the heel of her foot. He lowered himself, letting it fly mere inches above his head. He was stuck in a loop of dodging, something that was unfortunately very common. He was letting himself get lead and pushed around. What was it Wendigo said? Take charge of the fight? Or no… was it, even if you aren't leading the fight just make it even?

He was brought out of his thoughts as he heard Wendigo’s voice. “Focus. Be present.”

Right… Find the pattern, find openings, get hits in.

He hopped back and threw out a front kick, Wendigo tanked it and tried to charge forward. He side stepped and threw a roundhouse kick that got her in the shoulder. Take charge or make it even. 

He kept up his attacks, he needed to overwhelm her even if she was technically stronger, he was quicker.

Jab, cross, dodge her punch, kick to her ribs, step to the side, block with his elbow,  right hook, duck under her hit.

Over and over, they kept up the momentum but the fight had shifted. Instead of Izuku shuffling backwards while simply taking or dodging hits, both were getting a good amount of hits in. Less one sided, like it was supposed to be.

It'd been minutes of this constant back and forth and Izuku was starting to get tired. His breathing heavier, his punches and kicks more sluggish, his dosages slower.

Wendigo caught on and stopped the fight.

“Good. Time for a break.”

Izuku heaved a sigh of relief at those words and immediately sat down on the mat, leaning backwards with his arms behind him, supporting his weight. “Finally…”

Wendigo walked over to a bag she'd brought and fished out two water bottles, setting one beside Izuku and sitting beside him.

“Today was good, but you need to even out the fight sooner rather than later. And you still need to work on endurance.”

Izuku opened his water bottle and huffed. He knew what she was saying was true, he just didn't like hearing it.

“I know.” He took a large sip from his water bottle, letting the cold water relax him after the intense training session.

“How do you think you did, Cottontail?” She leaned over and looked at him.

Izuku swished his water bottle around. “Hmm. I agree with what you said, about evening the fight and endurance. I also think I need to work on pattern recognition, it took a while for me to catch onto your tells again.” Wendigo nodded along with him.

“My reflexes are getting better though! Before it always seemed like i'd move out of the way at the last second.” He laughed as he remembered one of their first spars, Izuku would be close to dodging, but always ended up getting hit at the last moment.

Izuku couldn't see Wendigo’s face but he heard the smile in her voice. “Yeah. You've made a lot of progress. I’m proud of you.” She placed a hand on Izuku’s head and ruffled his hair.

He patted her hand away, laughing. “Pfft– Haha! Stop that! You're gonna mess up my hair.” He patted down his unruly mess of green hair as Wendigo flicked his forehead. “Uh-huh, not like that thing’s always a jungle anyways. You wanna pick this back up later or just wait 30 minutes.”

Izuku took another sip of his water before responding. “I think i'm gonna pick it back up later. I need to drop by Clockwork’s office for a written lesson and talk to Giran for a bit.”

“Busy Bunny… Whatever, go ahead and abandon me for dweebs then. Tell Giran he owes me 200, he knows why.”

Izuku laughed under his breath. “Alright, I will.” 

He stood up with a nice, big stretch, before walking to the exit. “See you later, Wendy.”

“Catch ya later, Cottontail.”

Izuku shut the door and started for the medical office, Clockwork insisted on making more personalized journals for him and Izuku wasn't able to refuse. He'd read up on them once he was at Shigaraki’s ‘place’ which he still didn't fully understand. Was he moving in with Shigaraki? He hoped not. Or was it more like a base of operations thing? Izuku would try to find the villain later, but so far it seemed like Shigaraki was always running into Izuku instead. A problem for later Izuku.

He opened the door to the medical office, confetti was strewn across the floor for some reason, Clockwork was equally drenched in confetti. 

“Good evening, Jackrabbit.”

Izuku carefully walked over, nervous that he'd get covered in confetti somehow.

“So, how did all this happen?” Izuku held out his hand while Clockwork fished out the journal.

“Avery.” Sounds about right. 

Clockwork handed the journal over to Izuku. “This one details how to sew up wounds, it focuses more on puncture or tear wounds where there may not be enough surrounding skin to properly enclose the wound.”

Izuku nodded and skimmed through the pages. There were pictures, and diagrams included.

Izuku looked up and smiled. “Well thanks again! I won't let these go to waste, I'll read them when I have the time.”

Clockwork hummed. “Off you go then, and quickly, Avery will return with more party poppers soon and I'm sure you can guess what would happen then.”

Izuku laughed nervously and left the medical office quickly. He loved spending time with Avery, but he'd rather keep his vigilante clean of any confetti or glitter, everyone knows that stuff never truly goes away…

He tucked the journal under his arm as he headed for Giran’s office next. He felt kind of like a protagonist in a video game doing side quest after side quest, just going from point A to point B. Well, today would be his last day anyway, after this he'd be officially part of Shigaraki’s organization.

He knocked on Giran’s door and entered when he heard the other man yell “Come in!”

Izuku stepped inside and immediately started coughing. Giran had been smoking in here again… Izuku waved a hand in front of his face and sent a glare to the man.

Giran laughed. “Sorry? Didn't think you'd be over here so soon.” He set a stack of papers to the side and motioned Izuku over.

“So, going over the plan one last time?” He leaned forward on his desk, cigarette sticking from the gap in his teeth. Izuku sat in the tacky chair once again and leaned in.

“Yeah, and maybe fine tune it a bit?”

Giran nodded and pulled out a pink and green striped folder from a desk drawer. Giran really needed to stop buying such tacky things…

“Alright. Let's go over everything one last time then. Oh, and afterwards I got somethin’ for ya, so be ready for that.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow but Giran just continued on.

“So, *you* are gonna be joining Shigaraki’s and All for One’s organization, to take it down from the inside. You're gonna have to be a convincing villain, I want you to know i believe in you completely.” …He said with complete insincerity. Izuku gave him an unimpressed look.

Giran cleared his throat and kept talking. “As i was saying, once you join them you'll have to be a villain, in the police's eyes too. Though, didn't you mention they were already starting to crack down on you?” He took his cigarette out his mouth and turned as head as smoke billowed out.

Izuku sighed and leaned back in the chair. “Ugh, yeah. I still don't know why but Eraserhead just said he was taking me in one time we met. We had talked before so I didn't think there was an issue…”

Giran waved a hand dismissively. “Ah, that old trick. Whenever they find young villains or vigilantes they send someone to go be their friend, see if they can catch them by playing nice. Guess they figured out playing nice wasn't stopping you and took a different approach.”

Izuku sulked. He knew that but stil… did Aizawa really not care at all when they talked? It was stupid, but Izuku was really upset over it. Izuku lifted his head up to face Giran again. “R-right. How am I gonna work with the police if they see me as a threat though? Can't exactly pass off information like that, they might think I’m trying to trick them.”

Giran nodded slowly. “Yup, that's the tough part. It’ll have to be a game of telephone. You tell me the info, then I’ll pass it off to someone with no criminal background, and they can send the tip in.”

Izuku hummed. “But won't that also be suspicious? Some random person having so much info on the world’s worst villain?”

Giran closed his eyes in thought. “Hm. We could keep the tips anonymous. You wouldn't happen to have anything that can change the sound of your voice, do you?”

Izuku smiled, he was working on something like that. “I’m working on upgrading my respirator to alter my voice, it should be done in a couple days if that'd work.”

Giran smiled his usual slimy information broker smile. “Perfect, perfect! Knew ya would’ve had something like that. So you can alter your voice to send the tips in. Make sure to lie. Say you're some low-level grunt who overhears things, a concerned lackey.”

Izuku nodded along. He could do that. “Sounds good. And the emergency and backup plans?”

Giran laughed, wheezing as he did. “Ah, you know the plan. I've taught you everything I know about faking your own death and going off the grid. If someone starts catching on, leave immediately. Always have a way out, a bag packed, and if it gets really bad then Jackrabbit never existed.”

Izuku laughed nervously. Giran always got super intense when it came to escape plans, he wondered what the story behind it was but wouldn't ask.

“Got it… I already have everything written down but I'll see if I can add any more little details. Uhm, you said you had something for me earlier?”

Giran set his cigarette down and ducked beneath his desk to grab something. He placed on the desk—a gun case?!

Izuku sputtered. “W-what?! Is-is that, uh…?” He pointed to the case. It wasn't large, about the size of a briefcase.

Giran looked at Izuku intensely. “It's for you.” He opened the case and showed the contents to Izuku. Inside was a pistol, a Glock 22 by the looks of it, along with a cope and some ammo nestled inside. Izuku's face twisted in a confused expression as he looked back up at Giran.

“For me…?”

Giran smiled, not the big, flashy, smug smile he always had, this was something different and more subdued. “Yup. You never know, it could come in handy.”

Giran then pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Izuku. He looked at the front, it looked like some membership card for a shooting range and a well forged license to carry. Giran was serious about this? Izuku barely ever used his knives, in what world would he regularly use a gun?!

“Just consider it.” Giran said softly as he closed the case back up and handed it over the desk to Izuku. “At least learn gun safety and a bit about aiming.”

Izuku shrugged. Not a yes, not a no, just acknowledging the words he said.

“If… that's all, then?”

Giran put a new cigarette in his mouth and nodded. “Back to what you were doing, Jackrabbit.”

Izuku stood, the shooting range business card and license in his utility belt and gun case in his left hand. He stepped out of Giran's office and stood for a few seconds, dumbfounded. He really just gave a 15 year old a gun? The villain world is strange… Izuku would never *do anything* with it! It’s just that having it in his possession is sending him down a spiral of anxiety and what-ifs.

He takes the business card back out and looks at it while he makes his way out of the One-Stop-Shop. He might as well learn how to use it, so he can properly avoid shooting himself in foot—literally and figuratively.

He pushed the staff door open using his shoulder and backed into the main area of the One-Stop-Shop, where the customers ate and hung out at. The far right side had people lounging on couches and playing darts, the middle had the sea of tables and drunken patrons, while the left had some sort of gambling ring going on.

Izuku read the card as he moved around waiters and customers.

‘Tokurai shooting range, best place to learn the basics of gun safety and aiming. For villains, by villains! Using this membership you have access to all the shooting ranges facilities, including free, top tier, reliable trainers.’

Izuku didn't know there were so many villain owned businesses out there. Below the text was the block and building number, well, he had nothing better to do.

"—Yo! Jackie!” 

Izuku was in the middle of opening the door when Jet ran up to him. “Where ya going with that? Someone double cross ya or somethin’? I didn't know you were like that!” She didn't sound upset, more impressed.

Izuku cleared his throat nervously. He'd rather he didn't have the gun, nor be spotted with it, nor receive any comments regarding that, but unfortunately people perceive his existence.

“I-it's just something Giran gave me. I won't use it! I’m j-just going to a shooting range so I don't end up hurting myself or anyone e-else…” Izuku mentally berates himself for the stuttering, the gun was really messing him up. Jet didn't seem bothered by it though, she stuffed her hands in her pockets and leaned back with a whistle.

“Woow… He just gave you that shit for free? I been bugging that himbo for a gun for months and he still hasn't let up. I won't take it from ya though, you're getting yourself into hot shit, right? You'll need it. Ay, try not to blow your brains out!” She laughed a bit too loud and obnoxiously for Izuku to feel comfortable laughing along, so he just nodded.

“I won't…! Hah, uhm, bye.”

He turned and scurried away before she could say anything. She seemed like the time to not take things to heart so he wasn't worried about ditching her mid conversation. He shifted the gun case in his hand, time to figure out what to do about this.

As he got closer to the shooting range he could hear the distant gunshots, it was expected, but it still startled him. He took out his membership card and fiddled with it nervously as he approached the building's doors. It was a large building, and he assumed the actual range went farther back than he could see. It was overwhelming. He wasn't even sure he really wanted to be here. He knew the place was run by villains, but would they be all rules-y about him being there? Did it even allow kids? He was about to find out.

He shook off the nerves and walked up to the front desk. A lady with a water-based quirk sat, her hair flowing behind her as if submerged underwater.

She set down a clipboard and greeted him. “Hi! Welcome to Tokurai shooting range, how can I help?” She didn't seem at all bothered that Izuku was in his vigilante outfit.

Izuku held the gun case with both hands nervously. “U-uh I’d like some t-training? I just got this gun from a… friend… but never actually uh, learned how to use it, so.”

The lady nodded politely as he stuttered through the sentence.

“Right, right. You've never been here before, want to get a membership card? It’ll cover pretty much *everything* you could use here.”

“Oh, uh… hold on…” He fished in his pockets and pulled out the membership card.

“The same friend also gave me this. Will it work?” 

The lady took the card and looked it over, scanning a small bar code that he'd missed before. 

“Yup. Fully registered and up to date. Anything specific you wanna work on?”

“Uhm, just the basics? If that's an option?”

“Certainly!” She turned to the computer that sat in the desk and began typing away. She hummed a random tune Izuku didn't recognize as swayed side to side nervously.

“Alright… Kouku will be able to help you, he’ll be here in a few minutes, but first!”

She pulled out large headphones from a drawer and handed it to him. “You’ll need these. They're sanitized regularly and we often buy entirely new pairs, so no need to worry.”

He took the heavy headphones in his hand and nodded. 

“Now then, if you could just walk behind those doors Kouku will be there real soon.”

Izuku smiled and bowed politely. “Perfect, thank you!”

The lady gave a polite smile back as Izuku walked to the wooden double doors only a few feet left of the front desk. He stepped into the back area. It had a barrier that spanned the entire room and went up to Izuku’s waist, clearly meant to keep people on the safe side. On the opposite side however, we'd tangents; some planted firmly in fake sand, others hung from the ceiling, and more pinned to the far back wall. They were all kinds of shapes as well, people—which Izuku thought was ominous—circles, squares, rectangles, all in a variety of sizes too.

It was cool to see, it even calmed his nerves a little. It didn't calm him enough to not flinch when he heard a sudden voice.

“Hey there!”

Izuku looked to the side to see a tall tanned man with long black hair approach. He held out his hand. “I’m Kouku, nice to meet you.”

Izuku shook the man's hand just to be respectful. “N-nice to meet you! You can call me Jackrabbit.”

The man leaned back, placing a hand on his chin. “Ohh, I think I've heard about you. Aren't you all about catching villains though? What are you doing hanging around them?”

Izuku sighed and shrugged, holding his arms out to the side. “I have no idea.” He truly didn't know how things ended up this way.

Kouku laughed it off. “Ah, well, whatever. Tokurai is a place for anybody! Our main gal Souhi told me you're looking for the basics, that right?”

“Yes, please.”

Kouku clapped his hands excitedly. “Let's get started then!”

Several hours later, when it was approaching 12AM, Izuku finally left the shooting range. It wasn't as bad as he'd thought it'd be. And predictably, he was horrible with guns. Not like one lesson can teach him everything. Izuku had assured Kouku that he'd be back, he just didn't know when since he still didn't have info on how his living arrangements would change because of the league.

He heaved a sigh as he walked through the winding alley ways, He was itching to get back to the safety of his home, the day felt like it was going on forever. He was stopped by someone clearing their throat. Izuku turned around and had to hold back from rolling his eyes. How did Shigaraki always manage to find him?

“Well, what do you have there?” The villain lazily pointed to the gun case.

“A gun… I’m heading home now, so if you could- No, wait! I actually have something to ask.”

Shigaraki shrugged, which Izuku took as a sign to continue. “You said you had a place for me, where is that! Am I expected to live there, or…?”

Shigaraki brought a hand up to scratch at his neck, the sound of nails against dry skin making an awful noise.

“Ugh. Of course you'd ask. Sensei wants you at our, let's call it ‘home base’. You'll like it there. Probably. Sensei also wants you to stay there 24/7, until he decides he can trust you. You’ll have to work hard to earn that.”

Izuku hummed in slight contempt. He had to prove himself? That'd be a pain to deal with. Traumatic if he had to injure or kill someone to show devotion… He would basically *grounded* by Zen once he got there. Izuku sighed. He just had to remember the goal and get through, play his part, convince them, then betray them. …Simple.

“Alright then.” Izuku tried to make himself sound excited, it didn't work. “I’ll have everything ready by tomorrow.”

Shigaraki grinned. “Good. Sensei doesn't like waiting.”

Izuku shrugged. He didn't know how anyone could tolerate Shigaraki’s presence for more than 5 minutes, guess he'd find out soon though…

“Right. Bye then. See you tomorrow?”

Shigaraki waved a hand while Izuku continued on.

He shuddered once he was free from the villain’s gaze. He'd have to get used to it eventually, it was a good thing Izuku had gotten so good at lying to himself.

He jogged the rest of the way back until he saw his humble abode. Home sweet home- kinda.

He got inside and booked it to his room, dropping the gun case off by the door. He had been in his vigilante costume all day and was happy to finally change into something more comfortable. He went with a simple light blue t-shirt, black basketball shorts and white socks. While he was home he took the time to clean it up, clearing out any old food and making sure there weren't any perishables left. Since he'd be stuck at Shigaraki’s home base for however long it took to gain the two villains' trust, he didn't want to leave anything that would spoil. He should get someone to check his home often, just to make sure no squatters show up or anything. Maybe he could convince Giran to check in on it, or install cameras. Tomorrow Izuku’s problem.

With his room cleaned out he flopped onto his mattress, letting the soft blankets consume him as he curled into them. Once he was comfy he let out a long sigh, letting the stress and anxiety melt from his body.

Starting tomorrow, he'd been a villain working with one of the world’s most evil villains, someone who was able to critically injure All Might. He needed to keep a level head, he knew the plans, he knew the risks, he's already committed to it. 

He wouldn't fail.

Chapter Text

Izuku was cleaning out the main warehouse area while on a call with Mei, the two had spent all morning upgrading his respirator to have a minor voice changing effect and install security cameras he bought. With the projects finished he was now cleaning the warehouse outside of his room. He’d managed to convince Clockwork to check in every now and then, he even said he'd ‘fix some things up’ for him. Izuku didn't know what that meant nor did he want to find out.

He finished tying a trash can when he focused back on whatever Mei was going on about.

“—nd it was crazy! I blew up like, most of my apartment, whoops! What project you got lined up next? Id love to help you with your next baby!”

Izuku sighed out of exoneration. Did she need to call inventions babies? He walked over to his phone that he'd placed on some random equipment and held it up. “Uhm, I’m actually gonna business for a while, don't know when I’ll be able to work on stuff.”

“Aw what?! Noo! Who’s gonna be my inventing buddy now?”

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck despite it not being a video call. “S-sorry! But it's kind of really important. Just wait for me, I won't be gone forever.” Unless he dies… He won't mention that part.

He could hear Mei return to her inventions. “Okayy… But get back quick!”

“I’ll try? I need to get back to cleaning, see you later Mei Mei.”

“Bye! Make sure to blow something up so you don't forget me!”

“I’ll just remember you anyway.”

Mei laughed on the other side and Izuku ended the call. It was nice to talk to someone but he needed to hurry up, if Shigaraki and All for One’s inability to wait said anything, they'd want to get him to their base as soon as possible. It wasn't like there was much left to do, they could wait another 20 minutes.

With the main warehouse being clean enough (for an abandoned building) Izuku went back to his room. It was also cleaned, all the food he had having been donated and his belongings put away neatly. The only thing he had left was to pack what he'd actually be taking, which wouldn't be a lot. He pulled out the duffle bag he always used, a simple dark grey one, and set it on the floor with the zipper open. He’d just throw anything that came to mind in it… Let's see… Nearly all of his clothes—which still wasn't a lot—,toiletries, a metal water bottle, his laptop and chargers, most of his notebooks, the special notebook his mom made, a few pens and drawing supplies he'd gotten from Avery, the few snacks he’d kept and a few tools for invention building. It was a shame he'd have to leave his shoddy workshop, he was getting attached to it and all the sleepless nights he and Mei had working on stupid stuff…

He sighed. He already made his decision. After smushing everything down so it'd fit, he zipped up the duffle bag and slung it over his right shoulder; it'd become a habit after his left one was injured. He pulled out his personal phone. June 18th, 10:39. He opened his messages app and tapped on Kacchan’s contact, he didn't want to leave his family wondering where he was or what happened.

‘hey kacchan ^_^ im going to be gone for a while, so if you dont see any news on me or if i dont respond, thats why. dont worry ill be okay! >:D’

He turned off his phone before any reply could come in, he left his room while steadying his breaths. He pulled up his respirator and adjusted his rabbit mask, he’d be okay. He placed his hand on the handle but stopped just before opening it. 

“Okay, Izuku. From here on, you're a villain. You’re working with All for One and Shigaraki. You aren't some hero hopeful vigilante, not when you're with them.”

He let out another heavy breath and opened the door. Shigaraki would find him somehow.

Izuku wasn't even 20 minutes from his house when Shigaraki appeared from around a corner. 

“About time.” He grumbled. “What took so long?”

Izuku wanted to say something sarcastic but decided against it, first—or is it fourth by now?—impressions matter.

“It took time to get ready. It's only 11AM.”

Shigaraki huffed, scratching his neck. “Whatever. Kurogiri!”

Behind Shigaraki a swirl of black and purple appeared, Shigaraki turned to it and tilted his head in its direction. “Let’s go.”

Izuku reluctantly followed behind the villain, approaching the spiraling mass until he started to go through it. It felt cold, as if he stopped existing for only a moment. When his body made it to the other side he had a dull ache behind his eyes, slightly dizzy. He blinked to clear his vision and looked behind him, the swirl was gone. Must be a teleportation or transportation quirk of some kind… He eyed his surroundings next.

He was in a small bar with Shigaraki beside him. The bar was made up of warm tones of wood, there was a faint smell of smoke and alcohol. Behind the bar counter was that same sailing purple mist, only this time it took the shape of a person, wearing a suit.

Shigaraki walked forward and sat on a bar stool, his back facing the black mist—was that Kurogiri?

Shigaraki leaned against the counter tiredly. “Well. Welcome. I guess. This is Kurogiri.” He pointed a thumb to the silent bartender behind him.

“Hi, Kurogiri?” He wasn't sure the other would even respond. Kurogiri looked up at Izuku, but didn't say anything and simply returned to their task. 

Izuku looked around, there wasn't anyone else in the room. Guess the organization really was just starting to build itself if it only had two members, not including Zen.

“Yeah, he doesn't say much, it's just how he is. My full name’s Tomura Shigaraki, since you're a part of the team now I thought you should know.” His voice dropped with insincerity. He pushed himself off the stool and back onto his feet. “Let's go, you have a room here.”

He walked off towards the stairs.

Izuku gave Kurogiri one last glance before following Tomura. The situation was already awful, all silent stares and awkward silences. Coupled with the fact Izuku did not like Tomura at all, or Zen, it made it difficult to play nice. He found himself wanting to be sassy and passive aggressive when he was usually a very kind and well-meaning person. Being around Tomura made being nice a difficult task… He’d stay silent. He doesn't have to be nice, he just has to be tolerant.

The two made it up the stairs and down a hall, stopping at a door near the very end. “Your new home.” Shigaraki smiled. 

New *temporary* home, Izuku wanted to argue, but didn't. 

“Go ahead and do whatever for now. Except leave, Sensei doesn't want you leaving. I’ll drag you back down later when Sensei’s ready to evaluate you. Don't bother me, don't go into my room, don't touch my things, don’t insult me, don't look at me funny or you're out, got it?”

Izuku had to suppress the eye roll. If Tomura was so upset about him being here, why didn't he argue against it? All for One’s word must be law if Tomura is still going with it despite having something against Izuku.

“Right. Got it.” Just tolerate it…

Shigaraki huffed like an upset toddler and stomped down the stairs. 

Izuku ignored whatever the villain started ranting about and looked into his new room. It was alright, basic, but alright. It reminded him of the One-Stop-Shop’s room, just way worse.

The overall theme of the room was darker, the walls being painted a cool grey with bald-our curtains blocking any light from filtering in. The bed, a king size, was set along the left with two small night stands on either side. Beside the bed was a door, could be a bathroom or closet, he'd check it out in a minute. On the right side was a wooden dresser with a mirror hanging above it.

Izuku stepped farther in and dropped the duffel bag on the bed. He entered the room beside the bed and sure enough, a small bathroom. A sink, toilet, and a small shower. Izuku wouldn't be able to take a bath but that didn't bother him. It was clean and offered the bare necessities, which was all Izuku needed.

He went back out to his duffle bag to dig through the contents and start putting things away in their proper places. Maybe he could find a way to get his mini fridge and freezer in here, and a portable stove… Anything to make it so he didn't have to interact with Tomura. Though, now that he thought about it, wouldn't that go against the plan? He needs info on Tomura and Zen, he won't get them if he avoids them all day.

Izuku focuses back on his task, he could work on that later. He set all his toiletries in the bathroom, his clothes in the drawer, laptop and chargers on a nightstand, he laid his notebooks on the bed to use later, and left the tools and snacks in the duffle bag. The room was still incredibly empty and lifeless, but it was marginally better.

He sat on the bed and pulled a blank red leather notebook towards him. He needed to convince Tomura and Zen that he was really a villain, and to do that he had to convince himself.

If he was saying villainous things without any meaning behind them, it would be suspicious. Or if he says he agrees with Tomura’s goals, but does nothing to help, they'd know something was up. 

He turned to the first page of the notebook, tapping the end of his pen against the blank page. What would Izuku be like as a villain…?

He brought his pen to the page and started writing. He'd have to be more willing to cause harm, or mischief at the least. He needs to hate all heroes, not just limelight and heroes who are only heroes for show. He'd have to make himself trust and like Tomura and Zen, and listen to what they tell him to do. He'd have to be okay with killing other people. He's already convinced himself that killing in self defense is fine, and with enough leaps in logic he could claim self defense in any situation. He'd have to be more confident, something he was already making progress in. He'd have to be scary, maybe deadly depending on what's expected of him…

He really did bite off more than he could chew…

No wallowing in pity, he needs to put on the performance of his lifetime. Convince himself, convince the villains, convince the police, convince the public; Izuku is a villain.

Izuku had spent the rest of his free time in his ‘villain journal’ writing down personality traits he'd have to adopt, excuses for why he couldn't do villainous things, potential responses to questions that haven't been asked yet, and ways he could properly convince himself of his new persona.

He wasn't able to start actually working on his persona because Shigaraki had opened his door, not knocked, just opened.

“Sensei wants to talk to you.”

Izuku set the notebook down and hopped off the bed, making sure his masks were in place. There was a chance Zen already knew who Izuku was, but even then, the masks made him feel better. He followed Shigaraki back downstairs to the bar area, the TV that was originally turned off, was now turned on with the words ‘audio only’ on it. Shigaraki took a seat at the bar counter again, Izuku chose to stand just a few feet away.

He looked up at the TV where a commanding voice could be heard.

“Ah. *Jackrabbit.* It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Izuku bowed and kept his voice steady, but respectful. His hands were shaking slightly as he held them by his sides.

“Welcome to “Home Base” as Tomura likes to call it. You’ll fit in nicely, I already know.” He said knowingly, his voice was filled with a mix of malice and intrigue.

“Happy to be here. I’m sure it’ll be an interesting experience.” He’d stick to half truths. He wasn't sure if Zen had a lie detecting quirk but he didn't want to risk it.

Zen laughed lowly, barely audible through the TV’s speakers.

“Wonderful to hear. I believe Tomura would have already informed you, but if you're unaware; you are not to leave this building until I say you can. Understand?”

Izuku nodded curtly. “Yes. I understand.”

Shigaraki scoffed beside him. Izuku was lucky the rabbit mask didn't convey the glare he sent towards the villain.

“Now, now. You boys need to play nice. Now, Jackrabbit, why don't you tell us your true name? I know youths love their nicknames and titles, but we're a team now.”

Izuku struggled not to sulk at that. 

“Is this something I can refuse to tell you?” Was he even allowed to say no to anything here?

Zen hummed before laughing. “Ah, no need to worry. You’re allowed to refuse to answer. You’ll tell me eventually. I’d like to meet you in person, Kurogiri will be transporting you to where me and the Doctor are. The doctor even has a surprise for you.”

Izuku’s eyebrows scrunched together slightly but were hidden by the mask. Surprise?

“Alright.” He said tentatively. “Now, then?”

“Yes. Kurogiri, if you would?”

Izuku turned to face the silent bartender, who held out a hand causing a new swirling mass of purple to appear in front of Izuku.

Shigaraki clicked his tongue. “Great. Now Sensei even wants to meet you. I don't see the appeal…”

Izuku held his tongue and didn't respond, he'd let Tomura whine to Kurogiri instead. He stepped forward, sticking an arm through the portal, then a leg, then the rest of his body. It had the same cold, floaty feeling as before, but he wasn't as dizzy this time. 

He rubbed his eyes and opened them to see some kind of medical or testing facility. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all a stark medical white. Holding cells were on either side of him, holding odd humanoid creatures whose brains were exposed. Izuku cringed at the sight. What were those? Were they human or something else entirely? They didn't naturally occurring…

Izuku looked forward to see—Izuku tensed. That's…

In front of him, a short, chubby old man with a mustache and round goggles stood, wearing a clean white lab coat.

That’s doctor Tsubasa.

Izuku blinked rapidly, did the doctor know it was him? Would he say anything about it? Call Izuku by his name? Does that mean Zen knew as well?

Izuku was spiraling, but Tsubasa didn't seem phased. The man clapped his hands and smiled at Izuku.

“You must be Jackrabbit! Wonderful to meet our newest member. My name is Garaki Kyudai. You may call me Doctor Garaki, or just Doctor if you'd prefer.” He held out his hand. Izuku tentatively took it, surprised at how strong the man squeezed his hand. It didn't seem like he recognized Izuku. “Right, nice to meet you… Doctor.”

“I have a wonderful surprise for you. I’m sure you’ll love it. Ah, but first, let's go meet the boss.”

He turned around and walks down the open hall. The two walked to the end then turned left, where doors lined the hall instead of the cells. The Doctor opened a door labeled ‘01’ and walked inside, holding it open for Izuku to head in.

Izuku stepped inside and wrinkled his nose. The room smelled like death itself. Was Zen even alive?

He turned his sight to look at the man in question. He laid in a hospital bed, a myriad of tubes and wires sticking out of him. The sound of machines beeping rang steady in the background. The Doctor urged Izuku forward while speaking to Zen. “Here he is. Do make your conversation quick, I'm excited to show him my newest project.”

Zen slowly raised a hand. “I’m aware, I'm happy with how it turned out as well but let's be patient.”

Garaki nodded, then bowed and left the room, leaving Izuku with All for One. Izuku slowly turned to face Zen again, his body tense. 

The two stared at each other in silence for a long moment, it felt like eternity before Zen spoke. “If you had the chance, what kind of quirk would you want?”

“H-huh?” A quirk? That's… Zen isn't going to try and give him one, is he? Maybe when he was younger Izuku would've jumped at the chance, asking for some kind of cool, strong and flashy quirk like Kacchan’s. But now? He was content being quirkless. He didn't want a quirk, especially not a *stolen* one, it should be returned to whoever Zen took it from; not given to him.

“A quirk. You're quirkless aren't you?” He phrased it as a question but Izuku felt Zen already knew the answer. “I can change that.”

Izuku could see the flash of a smile through all the medical supplies.

Izuku shook his head politely. “No thank you, sir. I’m fine being quirkless.”

Zen smiled and hummed. “Of course. I respect that. And please, address me as Sensei.”

Izuku was grateful for the mask, he was sure if Zen could see the face he was making he'd be upset.

“Yes… Sensei.” The word felt wrong in his mouth, but he'd say it anyway. 

Zen’s smile widened. “Wonderful. Do you know why I wanted you to join us?”

Izuku kept still and kept quiet. Zen continued on.

“You show potential. Think of how much greater you could become, Think of the heroes who have wrong and abandoned you. I've heard you aren't fond of All Might anymore, how interesting. What happened, if you don't mind me asking.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow at that. Why would he tell All for One anything? The villain laughed heartily. “Of course, of course. You won't tell. I understand, even if you will say what happened eventually. You're here because you can become so much more than some stray vigilante. Do you want to take down hero society? Prove everyone wrong?”

Izuku balled his hands into fists, keeping them by his sides. “Yes.” He said quietly.

Zen grinned smugly. “Exactly. I want the same thing, I’m here to help you achieve that. Know that you not being allowed to leave yet isn't a punishment or show of distrust, it's to prove your devotion. I’ll have you go on small missions for me, to show me your abilities and willingness to help me and Tomura. That makes sense, yes?”

Izuku nodded silently. He knew he'd be expected to prove himself somehow, he just hoped he wouldn't have to do anything extreme…

“I’m excited to see your progress. Now, go back to Doctor Garaki, he has something truly amazing to give to you.”

Izuku bowed politely and left quickly. He shuddered and heaved a breath once he was out of the room. Zen and Tomura were both insufferable, but Zen won the metaphorical cake. Izuku took a few minutes to settle his nerves before walking back down the hall to go back to where the cells were. When he turned the corner he saw the doctor beside one of the grotesque monsters. That wasn't for him, was it..?

He walked closer, ignoring the pained howls, screams, and growls coming from the experimenters on every side. It felt like he was in an awful dog shelter, every animal screaming out hoping for someone to save them. Izuku felt sick as he tried desperately to ignore the noise. He stood beside the doctor and monster.

The doctor, who was previously focused on some vials, turned to him. “Welcome back. Here’s your gift. It's very special, you see. Most of my experiments are all the same, but this one is a true work of art.” He gestured to the monster beside him.

“It's my latest Nomu, made just for you, can't you tell?”

If ‘made for him’ the doctor meant green with rabbit features then he certainly accomplished it… The ‘Nomu’ was massive, having to be at least 7’5 even with it being hunched slightly with a wide figure. It was animal-like, long rabbit ears hanging loosely, a rounded snout, digitigrade legs, massive paws with arms too long to be proportionate, and a long tail sweeping against the floor. It was a dark, desaturated grayish-green with a darker gradient at the end of its ears, neck, hands, feet, and tail. The insides of its ears, paw pads, teeth, and 6 eyes were all the same dull yellow.

It had a blank expression, its many eyes not looking in any specific direction, its mouth hung open slightly letting drool drip onto the floor below. It's hunched over chest heaved with every breath.

Under his mask, Izuku’s face was twisted in horror. This? For him? Why did anyone think he would like this? Doctor Garaki looked at him with a proud smile, he adjusted his goggles. “Incredible isn't it? Incredibly difficult to make all the alterations but I knew it'd be worth it. From now on, this lovely thing is all yours. It will only listen to you, it’ll do anything you ask of it.” The doctor moved to stand in front of the beasts eyes. “Experiment 0258, this is your new master.” He pointed a hand in Izuku’s direction.

The Nomu turned all of its eyes to Izuku and inched closer, its heavy footsteps causing loud thuds each time. It stopped in front of Izuku and leaned down, it turned its head to the side to properly look at him. Izuku waved at it nervously.

The doctor laughed. “Oh, don't be nervous. It likes you!”

The nomu took a step back, settling a foot away from Izuku.

“Now, what do you want to name it?”

“Name it?” Like a pet? How was the doctor okay with anything that was happening… He was acting as if the nomu was just a regular dog.

“Of course, you have to refer to it somehow. Or you could keep calling it 0258, but that's a bit impersonal right?”

Izuku looked at the nomu, coming up with a very uninspired name on the spot. “Uhm, Rokuto, then. That’ll be its name.” It literally was just the On readings for the kanji green and rabbit.

The doctor seemed pleased. “Ah, very nice. If you and the boss are done speaking, then I can get Kurogiri to teleport you and your new friend back?”

“Yes, that'd be great, thank you.” He wanted out of this place. He didn't exactly want to take the nomu with him, but it was his now whether he wanted it to be or not.

“Just a moment.”

The doctor turned away and pulled out his phone, making a hushed phone call.

Izuku turned to face the nomu—Rokuto?—again. He stepped closer to it, poking its arm and seeing if it had any reaction; it didn't. Did this thing even count as alive? How was it created? Izuku had serious ethical concerns regarding… he looked back at the cells upon cells of other experiments… all that.

He waved a hand in front of Rokuto’s face, nothing. He booped Rokuto’s rabbit-like nose, nothing. He grabbed one of Rokuto’s hands and positioned the fingers into a peace sign, still nothing. He set the nomu’s hand back down and tilted his head. It must not be conscious at all then… But he still wanted to know how it was made, from people or from animals? What exactly was the process that turned them into these monstrosities? Maybe the doctor had-

“Alright. You're all set.” 

Izuku flinched at the voice, it was Garaki, who gestured to a new and much larger purple portal.

“Oh, right.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you doctor Garaki your gift was very—” Horrifying. “—thoughtful.”

The doctor beamed. “I knew you'd like it. Off you go then, Tomura wants you for something or other.”

Izuku nodded and slowly walked toward the portal, he gestured for Rokuto to follow, which it did, it trailed behind Izuku as the two stepped through back into the bar. The switch was far less dizzying than the last two times, guess it didn't take much to get used to the feeling. Izuku stood in the middle of the bar, Kurogiri behind the bar as always but Tomura was standing right in front of Izuku with his arms crossed. Rokuto barely managed to fit in the bar at all.

The silent was grating, despite the odd hands covering Tomura’s face it was clear he was glaring at Izuku.

Izuku pointed his hands to the stairs awkwardly. “I’m just gonna…”

“No. What is this? Why do you get your own nomu and I don't?”

Izuku shrugged. “How am I supposed to know the answer to that? I didn't ask for it.”

Shigaraki sighed then stomped off to the side to a separate room, it looked like it had a couch, another TV, and some dart boards. Izuku and Kurogiri watched Shigaraki stomp off, then looked at each, then back at Tomura, until Izuku finally decided to just leave. Kurogiri, of course, had no comment.

He scurried up the stairs, Rokuto slowly and clumsily following behind. He got to his room and stepped inside, Rokuto had to duck and drag itself through, but it got inside eventually. It positioned itself to stand against the wall and stopped moving, guess that's where it wanted to stay then.

Izuku walked over to his bed and flopped onto it. He was trying to keep his vigilante identity up but it would have to fall eventually, he can't wear his vigilante outfit *all* the time. …Maybe just his masks. He pushed himself off the bed and over to the dresser. He pulled out whatever his hand touched first and went into the bathroom to change. The clothes he ended up in were grey pants so long they could double as socks, and a white t-shirt with the english word ‘cat’ on it written in bold, black text. He kept the rabbit mask on but switched the respirator for the green sponge mask he still had. It’d be uncomfortable sleeping with it on, but he'd prefer that over a villain being able to identify him as Izuku Midoriya.

He left his vigilante outfit folded in the bathroom for tomorrow and went back to the bed, actually getting under the covers this time.

It was difficult to get to sleep, knowing he was technically in enemy territory and also had a mindless beast of unknown power standing in his room, but he was able to fall asleep eventually.

His dreams were filled with malicious grins, pained screams, the reflection of goggles, and the beeping of hospital machinery. He slept, unknowing of all the people who'd be concerned about his disappearance.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up with a migraine. He was confused as to where he was for a moment but after one look around the room, he remembered. He was at the villain's bar. Izuku pushed himself off the bed and into the bathroom to change into his vigilante outfit. He still had the rabbit and sponge mask on, which he'd keep. The respirator would dig into his skin if he wore it for too long.

He brushed his messy hair and tied it in a low pony tail, he didn't want to deal with constantly having to push it back.

Izuku’s stomach turned, he hadn't eaten anything yesterday…

He stepped out of the bathroom, sparing Rokuto a glance. “Uhm, stay here, please?” Rokuto didn't respond, but seemed to understand the command as it did follow Izuku when he made his way down the stairs. Kurogiri was behind the bar still, did he ever go anywhere else? Kurogiri was more similar to a nomu than Izuku was comfortable with. Still, he'd be polite.

He sat on a bar stool and leaned his arms on the counter casually. “Kurogiri? Is there a kitchen in the back I could use to make something? I didn't eat anything yesterday…”

Kurogiri stopped cleaning and rearranging glasses, instead he stepped to the side and opened a door to the left which led into a clean white kitchen. Izuku heard Kurogiri’s voice for the first time.

“Tomura usually orders takeout, you're free to make anything you'd like; I keep ingredients stocked.”

Izuku quickly walked over to the new room. “Thank you.” He bowed as he passed by Kurogiri. He heard the door shut behind him as he took in the new room. It was surprisingly nice compared to the rest of the run-down looking bar, clearly the kitchen didn't get much use. The walls were cool-toned grey tile, the floor a dark desaturated blue. The contrast from warm tones to cool tones was certainly a choice.

The kitchen had everything it needed, lots of counter space, a sink, fridge, stove, oven, even things he'd assume a restaurant kitchen to have like a walk-in freezer and pantries that reach the roof. Izuku wandered over to the pantry, opening the tall door and looking at what he could make. He’d decided on pancakes, so he grabbed the box mix and moved to a counter to stop making it.

At least he could have a peaceful breakfast.

He could not have a peaceful breakfast. Halfway through Izuku making his food Tomur opened the door to the kitchen and glared at Izuku. 

“Where's your phone?” 

Izuku placed the bowl he was mixing down and tilted his head at the villain.

“In my room? Why do you need it?”

“Confiscated.” Tomura left before Izuku could refuse or ask questions. He wasn't going to just let Tomura take his phone so he abandoned the unfinished food and chased after the villain, running through the bar and up the stairs. When he got to his room the door was left open, Tomura had both of Izuku’s phones and his laptop in his arms.

Izuku walked in and stood in front of Tomura with his arms crossed. “What are you doing?”

Tomura held up one of Izuku’s phones smugly. “Confinscating these. Sensei’s orders, nothing you can do about it.” He had a shit-eating grin on his face.

Izuku sighed. Okay. He wasn't allowed to leave or contact anyone, that was fine. He sighed and tapped his foot against the floor.

“And when can I get them back?”

“Whenever Sensei says so.” He sounded the happiest Izuku’s ever heard him.

“...Okay. I'm gonna go back to breakfast, don't break them.”

Shigaraki shrugged as Izuku turned out of the room and back down the stairs.

Of course, of course, he'd get his devices confiscated. He had already messaged Giran he was in the bar so at least he'd know Izuku’s location. He sulked back into the kitchen and returned to the abandoned ingredients. If he was being honest, the interaction turned his appetite; but he'd rather not be starving while in villain territory, so he'd make and eat the damn pancakes.

Once Izuku was finished making them, and finished cleaning up after himself, he took his food out to the bar to eat. Strangely, Kurogiri was no longer behind the bar and Izuku didn't care where Tomura was.

He took a seat and started eating his soggy pancakes, he missed the One-Stop-Shop. What would he ever do here? Stare blankly at a wall for hours everyday? He can only work on quirk analysis if he has a quirk to go off of. He could do Kurogiri and… ugh, Sensei’s. Tomura doesn't deserve one but Izuku would do it anyway, except be way more passive aggressive than any other quirk analysis entries. Rokuto’s still in his room too, maybe he could try interacting with it again.

He stabbed his fork into the pancakes, there was a small portion left and Izuku didn't think he could force himself to eat it, but he hated wasting food, so he was stuck in some weird decision limbo. He pushed the plate aside and laid his arms on the counter, his head cushioned in them. 

Quirk analysis, Rokuto, drawing, training… What to do.

He had decided to go try and understand Rokuto more when a portal appeared, Kurogiri and Tomura walked through it.

“Perfect, he's already here.” Tomura spoke first.

Then Kurogiri. “Very well. I’ll get the next portal ready.”

Before Izuku could ask where they were going or what was happening, Kurogiri closed the first portal and formed a second in front of him, Shigaraki nodded his head in the portal’s direction. “Come on. If you need to do something, get it done in 5 minutes.”

Tomura ducked through the mist and Kurogiri turned to him, but remained silently.

“Uh, I’ll be right back. I'd rather have all my gear with me if we’re gonna be going somewhere.”

He hopped off the barstool, abandoning his now cold plate of pancakes, and rushed back up the stairs into his room.

He’d left his gear like the respirator, smoke grenades, and daggers behind in the bathroom when he put on his vigilante outfit. He stepped back into the bathroom, grabbing each piece of gear and fitting it onto himself, replacing the sponge mask with his respirator, slinging the smoke grenades around his torso, and sliding the daggers between the utility belt.

He double and triple checked he was good to go, he had everything he'd brought except the gun for obvious reasons. Although he was in a rush, he still made sure to pocket Kacchan’s card, he was sure Kacchan would've done the same.

He ran down the stairs, Kurogiri wasn't in the room anymore and he noticed the plate of unfinished food had been taken care of, he'd have to thank Kurogiri later for that. He jogged over to the portal and stepped through it, no longer dizzy at the sudden change of scene. When he was through the portal he noticed he was outside, the night sky above him. The moon glowed brightly, bathing buildings in soft moonlight.

Shigaraki leaned against an alley wall, looking at him expectantly.

“Good, you didn't take forever. Come on, Sensei has a job for us.”

*Us?* At least Izuku isn't being treated as lower than Shigaraki and Kurogiri.

The villain pushed himself off the wall and down the alley, Izuku followed silently behind. He glanced back to see the last remaining wisps of Kurogiri’s portal disappear into shadow. He turned to look forward again, eyeing the back of Shigaraki’s head. Couldn't he have just told Izuku what they were doing instead of being all ominous? Izuku’s curious stare turned into a glare. If Shigaraki wants to be petty then Izuku can be petty too.

The two walked for 25 or so minutes when they came across something that looked like an abandoned casino. Izuku side-eyed Shigaraki, hoping for some info. He got none as the villain just walked forward without a word.

Izuku sighed quietly and followed. Shigaraki pushed through the doors and walked in like he owned the place, only to say, “This place is owned by an up and coming villain gang, Sensei wants us to take them out.”

Now he says it. Izuku nodded, at least he knew the situation now. It was an infiltrate and take down kind of plan, Izuku could do that. The two stalked through an empty front desk area, they arrived at two large wooden doors with muffled voices on the other side. Shigaraki raised a hand, inches away from the door when Izuku grabbed his arm.

“What are you doing?!” He whisper-shouted at the villain.

“Disintegrating the door then disintegrating the enemies. Do you have a problem with that?” Tomura whispered back.

Technically, Izuku did. He doubted voicing his aversion to murder would be good so instead he voiced his other concern.

“Without a plan?”

“That is the plan. Disintegrate them.”

“That's not a plan Tomura, that's an action…”

“An action I plan to do, quit whining and go hide in a corner if you're so scared.”

Tomura pulled his arm away and brought it back toward the door.

Izuku rolled his eyes. He wrapped his hands around the daggers and lowered his stance. Guess Tomura would rather listen to his whims rather than properly plan things out…

Tomura placed all five fingers on the door and watched as it crumbled to dust. The muffled voices on the other side went silent. After just a few seconds, the two large doors that once stood there were gone. It was an awkward stand off, Izuku and Tomura silently staring at the 4 other villains, who looked to be in a kind of shock.

Izuku didn't get why Tomura was standing there (to be dramatic?) but he'd take advantage of the other villain's reaction.

Izuku ran forward but simultaneously shot out his grappling hook, letting it latch into the large roulette table they were all sitting around; Izuku pulled the hook’s line toward him which flipped the table over, landing on the 3 villains who were playing. Izuku pulled the line back and used the flipped table as a boost to drop kick the villain who was on the other side. The villain grunted and fell to the floor, Izuku quickly got out his restraint tape and tied the villains torso and legs. He pushed himself up and turned around, facing the three villains who had gotten out from under the roulette table and were now angrily facing him. The three of them charged, but one was stopped by Tomura wrapping five fingers around his neck. The villain sputtered for a few seconds but as his neck began to crumble, he fell to the floor.

Izuku didn't focus on that, he focused on the two villains still going after them. Izuku wasn't used to two-on-one fights but he was doing a good job moving around the multitude of hastily thrown punches. Right, lead the fight. He stopped his constant dodging and started his own attacks. Instead of punches that could be easily blocked, he slashed with his daggers. Lines of blood trailed from their torn sleeves. The villains ditched trying to block knives with their skin and attempted fleeing instead.

Izuku locked onto one of the villains and chased after them, he threw a dagger, aiming for their calf, and cringed when they cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Izuku tied them up quickly, apologizing over and over for the knife in their leg, even though he'd have to pull it out in just a few seconds.

He pulled bandages from his utility belt and hastily pulled the knife out, scrambling to get the bandages around the wound and apply pressure. Clockwork would be ashamed…

While he was tending to the stab wound, he looked over and saw Tomura had disintegrated the other villain. Izuku got a sinking feeling in his gut. Tomura really just killed two people so easily… Didn't he feel bad? Didn't he feel anything about it? Looking at how he calmly wiped the dust from his hands, Izuku didn't think so. It even pissed Izuku off, though for a different reason than it should've. Yes, he was mad Tomura killed unnecessarily, but Izuku was just as mad about how unbothered Tomura was, why couldn't Izuku be equally as unbothered? Why did he have to run his mind in circles and come up with all kinds of justifications for an already justified killing in self-defense? While Tomura just…

Izuku sighed and ignored whatever rabbit hole his brain was about to go down. It didn't matter, Izuku was a villain now, he’d have to accept other villains would kill to their hearts content.

He has gotten the villain's wound to stop bleeding, but it seemed they passed out either from shock or blood loss. Izuku couldn't tell.

Tomura walked over, hands in his pockets. “Why did you keep those two alive?”

Izuku finished bandaging the villain's leg and stood, eyeing for any stray blood that might've gotten on his outfit. When he made sure he was blood-free he glared at Tomura, it was becoming a habit. “Morality. I know it's something you lack, don't worry about it.”

Tomura grumbled but continued forward. looks like they'd be going deeper into the casino. Izuku followed after him, though he was unsure if the villains would stay down, but if Tomura wouldn't do anything about it neither would Izuku.

The two walked down a large, empty, rounded hallway. Izuku hoped it wouldn't take long.

It didn't only take long, it took forever! Going down floor after floor, taking down, and in Tomura’s case killing, more and more villains. It was really testing Izuku’s endurance but eventually they took down whatever wannabe mob boss ran the place and stole their finances for good measure, now they just needed to get out without getting caught by police.

Tomura and Izuku ran down hallways and up stairwells, Izuku carrying the bag of money because Tomura was too frail to do it himself. They couldn't come out the way they came and they had to get to the same alley they started in if they wanted Kurogiri’s help. They were on their own for now.

Tomura ran ahead, checking each door while Izuku lagged behind slightly to catch his breath. Tomura opened a door then motioned Izuku over. “There's a window here.”

The villain quickly stepped inside and Izuku followed, the room was as run down and battered as every other place in crumbling casino, but one of the few to have window, they must be on the ground floor then.

Tomura looked back at Izuku. “Well? Break it?”

Izuku’s brow twitched. He was so close to actually strangling Tomura. But, Izuku prides himself on his patience and unwillingness to commit harm, so he wouldn't. He dropped the heavy bag of money and aimed his grappling hook at the window, watching as the hook flew through the air and shattered the window, latching onto the sill of it.

Izuku reeled the hook and looked back at Tomura. “Was that so hard?”

Tomura walked forward, purposefully bumping into Izuku’s shoulder. “Took you long enough.”

Izuku squinted his eyes at the villain. Tomura sure loved testing his patience…

To,urs leapt from the open window to the opposite building with Izuku trailing behind him. On the rooftop Izuku could see police cars parked outside of the abandoned casino. How did they know him and Tomura were even there?

Izuku looked through the crowd of officers and heroes, he spotted Tsukauchi, the police he used as a stepping stool once… and… Eraserhead. Izuku still didn't know how he felt about the hero, it wasn't like the hate he had for Endeavor, or the disappointment he had for All Might, it was more like… betrayal. 

Aizawa fought Izuku’s eye and wasted no time sprinting towards them. Izuku sputtered and started running as well, Tomura confusedly followed.

“I thought vigilantes and heroes were all buddy-buddy with each other. Or were you actually a villain this whole time?”

Izuku wanted nothing more than to slap the smug grin off the villain's face, but he settled for just imagining it in his head.

“I wasn't friends with them, but I wasn't enemies either. The theft charges don't really count… Me and Aizawa just had a... disagreement on something?”

Tomura laughed mockingly. “Sure, whatever.”

The two made their way to a discreet alley and Tomura pulled out his phone to inform Kurogiri of where they were. It didn't take long for a misty purple portal to appear, Izuku found himself sighing out of relief at the sight as he and Tomura casually walked through it.

Tomura stepped through, lazily calling out. “We’re back. It was a success.” Well, not called out, more like said a smidge louder than his usual voice.

Izuku dropped the stupidly heavy bag of money down once he was in the safety of the bar. “That was not a success! We were completely unprepared and didn't even have a plan!”

“Well we finished the job didn't we? Quit complaining.”

Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed to leave the room, he couldn't be around Tomura any longer. 

“I’ll… be in my room.”

He trudged up the stairs while Kurogiri and Tomura looked at each confused before Tomura scoffed. “Kids, am I right?”

Kurogiri didn't respond.

Katsuki sat on the couch, Inko and Masaru beside him. Mitsuki was sitting on the smaller seat just to the left of them. Uno cards were scattered on the coffee table, they were having one of their mandatory family nights Inko had implemented once she fully moved in with the Bakugos.

The news was playing faintly in the background, not loud enough to be distracting, but loud enough to hear the words if you focused on it. It just so happened the news was talking about Izuku yet again, hearing the name ‘Jackrabbit’ all four heads turned to the TV. Mitsuki, who had the remote, turned it up a few notches.

“Next up we have the latest news concerning the now well-known vigilante, Jackrabbit. Police have reason to believe the vigilante may have turned to the dark side. Earlier, Jackrabbit was spotted with an unknown villain, the two were seen taking money from an abandoned building. Inside were multiple incapacitated and murdered low-level villains. We are unsure at this time if Jackrabbit is part of a villainous organization, but the police say it ‘seems likely’. Please be careful when you're out at night folks, you never know what's going to happen at night.” Along with the news report were multiple videos and images of Izuku dressed as Jackrabbit with some other villain dressed in all black.

All four of them shared odd looks with each other but Inko was the first to speak. 

“That can't be right?”

“Of-fucking-course it's not right! The police must be bullshitting.” Katsuki angrily set his cards down on the coffee table.

“Would they really do that though? I mean they showed the footage and it certainly looked like Izuku.” Masaru calmly placed his cards down as well.

Mistuki put a hand to her mouth in thought. “Maybe, but Izuku was set on becoming a hero wasn't he? It's all he ever talked about.” 

“Of course my baby wants to be a hero! Oh, maybe he got caught up in something bad…” Inko brows were pointed upward in worry, her eyes glued to the news.

Katsuki crossed his arms and bounced his foot up and down. “He better not have chosen to go with those freaks or I'll fight him my damn self.” 

Masaru put both of his hands up in an attempt to calm Katsuki. “Alright, settle down Kat.”

Mitsuki sat forward in her seat, her own arms crossed too. “Hell no! I'll fight him too if he thinks he can be a villain!”

“You too, Mitsuki.” Masaru sighed, he always was the voice of reason.

“Oh, my little Izuku…” Inko sniffled.

Everyone quieted down, a few glances spared at the news who had switched to a different topic. For the public, Jackrabbit was just someone who became a villain, the this household in particular, Izuku was someone they wished the best for, no one wanted to see him become a villain.

Izuku stood in his room, staring at Rokuto. Izuku still wasn’t comfortable with having a human experiment as his… pet? Even if Rokuto wasn't technically considered alive or sentient, Izuku would treat it as such. Speaking of, he should stop calling them ‘it’. They had to have been a person before, even if Izuku didn't know who. Right now though? They were still as lifeless as ever. Maybe he could ask Garaki more questions, even if he didn't want to be anywhere near the doctor or that horrid chamber of experiments.

He'd rather not. He'd just treat Rokuto like a person, and hope it does something. Questions are a good way to get to know someone. Izuku waved his hand in front of Rokuto’s face, their six eyes landing on Izuku.

“Hey, are you able to talk?”

Rokuto opened their mouth, but what came out was more akin to incomprehensible gargling than words.

“Okay… Let's try and learn some then. Let's start with my name. I-zu-ku. Can you try that?”

Rokuto opened their mouth again. “I-k-su.”

“Close! Look, pay attention to me. I-zu-ku. Izuku, I-zuku. Try again.”

“Izku.” They droned sluggishly.

Izuku smiled widely. That was better than nothing.

“Yeah! Good job! But eh, you probably shouldn't say it around the others… How about your own name? Can you say your own name?”

“Rukutuh.”

“Hmm… i was hoping for your real name and not the one i gave you but, oh well. Close, try again. Rokuto. Ro-ku-to. See?”

Rokuto opened and closed their mouth a few times before trying again. “R… Rrrok-to.”

Izuku shrugged. Good enough. “Sure, Rok-to works to. Now then, what else…” Should he try cognitive tests? He felt like that would be disrespectful somehow but with nothing else to try, he’d do it. Izuku walked over to his night stand and grabbed his metal water bottle; object permanence would be a good place to start.

He held the bottle in front of Rokuto and pointed at it. “This is a water bottle. Can you point to it for me?”

Rokuto copied Izuku and pointed at it. “Yeah, good job!” He held it out to the left.

“Now point at it again, please.”

Three of Rokuto’s eyes followed the bottle and they pointed at it again.

“Very good.”

He hid the water bottle behind his back. “Now where is it?”

Rokuto pointed at Izuku’s chest. So they knew the water bottle was still behind him even though they couldn't see it, good to know. Izuku held out the bottle again. “You got it right!”

What else… Izuku had a fun idea, what about the cup game?

“Stay here for just a moment.”

He quickly rushed downstairs and into the kitchen, ignoring the odd look Tomura gave him. He grabbed three cups and an orange from the fridge to work as a treat of sorts. He walked back upstairs and closed the door, standing in front of Rokuto with his arms full.

“Okay Rokuto, next up is the cup game.”

Izuku walked over to the bed and set all three cups down, under the orange under the middle one. Rokuto followed Izuku slowly.

With everything set up, Izuku explained the game.

“So, look under here. See that orange? I want you to keep track of it while I shuffled everything around, can you do that?”

Rokuto didn't outwardly respond but Izuku continued anyway, he showed the orange under the middle cup, then hid it and shuffled all the cups around for a few seconds. Izuku presented Rokuto with the three cups and asked. “Which one has the orange now?”

Rokuto pointed to left cup, Izuku lifted it, Rokuto got it right! Izuku grabbed the orange and held it out to Rokuto. “You got it right, good job! You can have it if you want.”

Rokuto gently cupped the orange in their own hands brought it to their mouth, swallowing it whole.

Izuku suddenly got an even better idea…

He grabbed Rokuto’s hand and took them downstairs, on the couch near the wall was Tomura, completely unaware of what was about to happen. Perfect. Izuku stood on his tippy toes to whisper to Rokuto, who leaned their head down to listen better. 

After Izuku whispered the command Rokuto slowly stomped their way over to the couch, looking down at Tomura.

“Huh? Why is this thing here? Aren't you Jackrabbit’s mutt or whatever…”

Rokuto proceeded to flop onto Tomura, burying him under fur.

Izuku leaned around the corner to see Tomura’s limbs flailing around and muffled cursing, before the villain eventually got his head free, gasping for air.

“What the hell?! Jackrabbit! Get your damn dog! Rabbit? Whatever, get it off me!”

Izuku casually leaned against the couch, a grin filled with satisfaction on his face. “What, why? Come on, be nice. They're just showing how much they like you.”

Tomura held up the middle finger which made Izuku have to suppress a laugh.

“No! You're the one who told it to do this! Get it off. Now.”

“Only if you say, please~” Izuku said in a mocking sing-song voice.

Tomura went limp and seemed to be contemplating what to do and, or, all his life's choices. He sighed and said through gritted teeth,”Please, get it off me.”

Izuku laughed proudly. “Come on, Rokuto. Back upstairs.”

Rokuto diligently followed after Izuku, leaving a flattened Tomura behind on the couch. 

The two headed back up to Izuku’s room where Rokuto stook to standing next to the door again. Izuku found it odd but that's where they wanted to stand and stare at nothing, he wouldn't stop them.

Izuku grabbed some clothes to change into, a light blue t-shirt with a sky pattern on it that faded to night time, and black basketball shorts. He walked to the bathroom, yawning as he did, and quickly started changing his clothes. He'd still keep the rabbit mask and sponge mask on, mostly out of paranoia of Tomura just walking in again.

He folded his vigilante outfit up and set it, and his gear, on the bathroom sink for tomorrow.

He left the bathroom and flopped onto his bed, lazily pulling the covers up to his chin. He had wanted to write more in his hero and villain notebooks, but it was much too late for that.

Like last night, it was hard to fall asleep, partially because of Rokuto’s breathing and partially because he's still in enemy territory and very on edge. It took a long time, but eventually Izuku’s mind calmed down, his body relaxing as he drifted off to sleep.

His dreams were filled with high-stakes chases, green rabbits with sharp teeth and long tails, and faraway familiar faces.

Chapter Text

Izuku sat on the floor in a warehouse, not his warehouse, but a storage facility Sensei gave him to work on his inventions and projects. Objectively, it was better than his warehouse. It had a proper work station, more tools, scrap metal, actual blueprint paper, an overhead light, but it didn't feel the same.

He wasn't even working on anything, he just sat around with Rokuto to avoid Tomura and Sensei—Kurogiri was fine. 

Izuku checked the digital watch he'd been given in the absence of his phone. July 20th 10AM.

He sighed and fell backward, laying on the cold warehouse tile. Rokuto trudged over, standing over Izuku before laying down next to him.

“Can you believe this Rokuto?” Izuku didn't exactly know what he was referencing, maybe all of it. ‘It’ being the infiltration mission. It was abysmal. Not only was Izuku surrounded by people he couldn't stand, he was constantly doing errands for Tomura, random missions for Sensei, all while he couldn't leave or access the internet. It'd been good for him to work on training his body and weaponry skills, but horrible in every other way. His days were all similar and blended together, he did the same few activities on loop. Training either fighting or with his weapons, doing errands or missions, spending time with Rokuto, or inventing things. There wasn't much else to his life currently.

He was getting sick of it. It reminded him of middle school, everyday being the same with him desperately wanting to escape it. But he couldn't escape his current situation. Izuku took a deep breath in; just needed to remind himself, he's a villain, he's going to take down All for One, he's going to be a hero; deep breath out.

Izuku sat up, not wanting to wallow in pity anymore. Right as he did, one of Kurogiri’s portals opened up next to him. Tomura stuck his head out of the mist.

“Izuku. Let's go.”

That was the other problem, they all knew his real identity. He knew it'd come out eventually, he just hoped he'd have control over how and when! but he didn't. He wasn't sure how they figured it out, maybe they dug through old missing persons reports, either way that's how things currently were. He still wore his rabbit mask around, maybe out of spite, he wasn't too sure.

Izuku stood with a stretch and headed for the portal, Rokuto following close behind.

He stepped through and was back in the bar like he'd expected. Kurogiri was perched behind the bar as usual. The TV was one with ‘audio only’ on the screen. Izuku moved to sit on a bar stool, waiting for whatever mission Sensei was going to give out this time. Tomura stood like a moody teenager, hands in his pockets.

Sensei’s voice rang through the room.

“Izuku, lovely to see you again.”

Izuku responded with a simple ‘mhm’. He learned pretty quickly that, for unknown reasons, Sensei favored Izuku. He didn't like it, but it did benefit him so he took advantage of it every time he could; he wasn't going to argue against favoritism.

“I have a new mission for you. I know you've been terribly bored, but this one will prove exciting.”

Izuku could practically see the toothy smile on Sensei’s face, which never meant anything good… Sure he was bored, but he'd rather stay bored and hurt people.

Sensei continued. “Kurogiri will have the portal set up for you soon. For this mission, there's someone whose trying to oppose us, we need you to take care of them for us.”

Izuku held back a sigh. ‘Take care of them’? Izuku could feel dread pooling in his chest, but he had to ask;

“By take care of them you mean…?”

Izuku could hear Sensei’s smile through the screen. “I'd like you to kill them.”

“What did they do? To deserve to be killed..”

Sensei laughed at him. “They're being nuisances, defying us. You want to help this organization right?”

He kept his face blank. He still couldn't tell whether or not Sensei knew he was here to defeat him. Sensei was always so vague, hinting that he knew something without saying what he knew…

He had his rabbit mask on but his respirator was hanging around his neck. He didn't want to show even a hint of a frown if it'd be used against him. Instead, he managed to get a smile on his face, the fakest smile he's ever had, but a smile nonetheless.

“Of course, Sensei. I’ll take care of them for you…” He replied calmly. No stutters, no unsureness in his voice, no snark. Just a calm agreement.

Sensei laughed quietly. “Glad to hear it. When you find a building with people inside, ask them if they are the Kira-ju gang, and get rid of them if they are. Simply walk away if they aren't. Kurogiri? If you would.”

Kurogiri bowed slightly and raised a hand, forming a portal just in front of Izuku. He got down from the bar stool and pulled his respirator up.

Tomura chuckled as he went through the portal. 

“Don't mess it up, Jackrabbit.”

Izuku rolled his eyes as he passed through the portal, he watched as the mist disappeared behind him and left him in an unfamiliar place. It was a maze of concrete like he'd never seen. Not just winding alleys, but there were countless stairs, ladders, doors, wires to climb on. With no knowledge of where he was supposed to go, Izuku climbed up the nearest building. He got to the top silently. The world itself seemed eerily quiet too. He couldn't hear distant city sounds, or the scurry of nearby animals, only the wind and his breathing.

He took a deep breath. He needed to figure out what he was going to do… Does he fake it? Find some way to make the gang go missing without killing them? No, Sensei knows how to track people. He ran ideas through his head one after one; lose on purpose, say the people fled, say he lost his weapons during a fight, say a hero showed up and stopped him, say the gang was stronger than him.

Lie after lie after lie, none of them sounded right. None of them would work. Sensei knew a lot, Izuku would dare say Sensei knew everything. He was always aware of what was happening, even if he wasn't there himself. 

If Izuku lied, Sensei would know. Izuku didn't know if the favoritism would save him from not following orders.

He just really, really, did not want to kill anyone again. He made his peace with his first kill, it was self-defense, could be called an accident even. But what he was about to do? Premeditated murder with malicious intent. He didn't know if he could come back from that…

Izuku continued forward, instead of thinking ways out of the situation, he thought of ways to cope. He wasn't the one who killed the villains, it was someone else. He had no choice, he was forced. It was an accident, he didn't mean to. The villains were so bad, they needed to die, the world was better off without them. He's helping his… co-workers…

None of the lies convinced him, but he continued on anyway.

Izuku came across a building teeming with life, he could hear talking and shouting from within. Red light spilled from an open window. Was this the place? It was the only building with people for miles, it has to be. He lowered himself to the ground using the grappling hook and stalked forward towards the front door.

Get in, ask if they're the Kira-ju, kill them if they are, leave if they aren't. Simple. Very simple. Anyone could do it.

He held his breath subconsciously as he held his hand over the door handle, his hands shaking. He couldn't move. He just kept his hand hovering above, he couldn't even put a finger on it. He pulled his arm back, putting his hand at his side. He took another deep breath. He pushed the handle down and opened the door, but he wouldn't be killing anybody. Even if it upset Sensei. Even if it made Izuku suspicious to the villains. Even if there was some punishment for disobeying. He wouldn't kill people who didn't deserve it.

He opened the door and walked in casually, leaving the ball of stress and anxiety outside the door. He smiled like he was meant to be there.

Inside, four people stood around a pool table, red LED lights lit up the room, casting an eerie glow on everyone in the room. Izuku shut the door behind him.

“Hey, sorry to intrude.”

The villains stared at Izuku dumbfounded. Izuku didn't know what he was doing either. He just knew no one was going to die tonight.

“You wouldn't happen to be the Kira-ju gang, right? Asking for my… boss…”

The villains all shared a look with each other until one person stepped up. A man with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail with various tattoos over his body.

“We are. What's it to you?” The villain stood in front of Izuku, looking down at him.

Izuku thought over what he was about to do. He could take them down, leave them incapacitated but not dead. Sensei would find out, but Izuku was willing to face the consequences. If Sensei could present Izuku with someone worth killing, then he would. It made sense to him, that the vicious and most vile of villains should be killed. Those who can't be redeemed, those who are too much a blight to society. But low-level thugs? Izuku had standards.

Izuku focused back on reality, the villain was still waiting for an answer. Izuku sighed, he'd get it over with quickly.

Instead of answering, Izuku kicked the blonde haired man in the stomach causing him to fall back with a groan. The three other villains took up a fighting stance as well, all preparing to attack Izuku at once.

He reached down and took his daggers in either hand with a small sigh. He really didn't want to do this…

Izuku set the last villain up against the wall. They were all unconscious and tied up. The muscle memory of calling the police right after caused him to dig through his utility belt until he remembered he didn't have either of his phones. With nothing else left to do, Izuku left. He couldn't call the police, couldn't call Sensei or Tomura, so he just made sure they were all breathing and there were no critical injuries.

He left the small building and scaled up a wall to a nearby roof. He'd remembered which way he came from, Kurogiri usually only opened portals up in the same spot as before.

Izuku spun his daggers in his hand idly as he made his way back to the alley he arrived in. He tried to act calm and nonchalant, but it wasn't working. He was nervous. So nervous.

Would Sensei punish him for disobeying? Say he had to kill the villains or he'd be kicked from the organization? Would his life become somehow even more restricted and cut off from the outside world? Would he himself be killed for insubordination? The spiraling thoughts caused him to drop the dagger, the sound of it hitting the concrete caused him to flinch.

He huffed a laugh as he picked the sharp weapon back up. It didn't matter how scared he was, he'd have to face it eventually.

He slipped the daggers back in the utility belt as he dropped into the alley he arrived in, sure enough, the recognizable mist of Kurogiri’s portal was there. Izuku stepped through, expecting to return to the bar, but he didn't. He was in Sensei’s hospital room. He tensed, then immediately forced himself to relax. Even if it was a facade, even if there was no sue pretending he was calm, he'd still do it. He'd crumbled if he didn't keep up some form of normalcy.

“Izuku.”

Sensei's voice was flat, yet commanding.

“Did you do what I asked?”

Izuku let out a breath. “No.” He said calmly.

Sensei had a small smile on his face. “Is that so?” He laughed under his breath. “That's very disappointing. I had high hopes for you.”

Izuku balled his hands up at his sides. “They didn't deserve to be killed.”

“And who decides that? You? Don't be ridiculous, Jackrabbit. Deserved, deserved… You’ll only kill someone who deserves it, I see. I’ll have a new mission ready for you tomorrow then. You’ll learn someday.”

Izuku untensed his body. Okay… So he wasn't going to be killed or punished, but instead he'd be asked to kill another person; someone who deserved it. Izuku highly doubted Sensei's moral compass, Izuku’s moral compass was twisted up at the moment but Sensei would have someone killed just for looking at him wrong. But Izuku would oblige, if the person truly deserved it and there was no other option, not by Sensei’s standards, but by Izuku’s standards.

“Of course… Sensei.”

Sensei smiled widely. “Glad to hear. Go on, then.”

Izuku glanced behind him to see Kurogiri’s portal reappear. Izuku gave a forced, polite bow to Zen and left through the portal. 

He stepped back into the comfortable warmth of the bar. Tomura was laid on the couch, playing some game on the tv, Kurogiri stood behind the bar as always.

The portal disappeared and Izuku let out a heavy sigh, to which Tomura said;

“You fucked it up didn't you?”

Izuku’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. Tomura really doesn't know when to shut his mouth… 

“I didn't fuck anything up. Don't make me get Rokuto on you again.”

Izuku ignored Tomura’s groan of annoyance and walked up to his room, shutting the door more harshly than he meant to.

Izuku dug through his nightstand drawer and pulled out one of his notebooks; it'd been his go-to way of dealing with the sheer amount of insanity that came with joining a villain organization.

He leaned against the headrest and tapped his pen against paper. So far, he'd used the ‘villain’ notebook to voice his frustration about his general life situation, even though he meant to use it to continue building his villain persona he preferred how the notebook turned out, it was place for him to voice his true thoughts and emotions, if Tomura or Sensei were to ever try and find it, Izuku would burn it.

His ‘hero’ notebook, which had meant to hold his true thoughts, ended up being notes and messages addressed to the people he loved, which of course was just his mom, Kacchan, Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru. Each message detailed what he'd done that day, how he felt, him wishing them well and other such things.

He always made himself sad reading his hero notebook, each page looked more and more like a goodbye note. He wouldn't leave them, not now, not ever. 

Izuku focused back on the villain notebook, he had something he had to focus on. His own morality. Izuku used to pride himself on his morality, he was unbelievably kind and generous even to his own detriment. He would stand up and fight for those who needed it even if he'd get hurt himself. He wanted to believe that's still how he was, but he had to face reality. Slowly but surely, his morals had shifted. Now he wasn't going to become some psycho serial killer, never in a million years! But he couldn't deny there were at least two people in the world he could definitely say he wanted dead; Zen Shigaraki and Tomura Shigaraki.

At first Izuku said it sarcastically, he didn't actually want to kill All for One and Tomura. Now though? He'd like nothing more than to see them bleeding out on the ground.

He tapped the pen against his head, mentally scolding himself. *That* is why he needs to figure himself out. He shouldn't be thinking like that, he shouldn't wish death upon anybody!

That's what he told himself, but the bloodlust was still there. He could say over and over that he didn't want to hurt anyone, didn't want to kill anyone, but he couldn't deny his own thoughts.

Izuku stuffs the notebook back into his drawer not having written a single word. His train of thought was too erratic, if he tried to write it down it'd just be a jumbled emotional mess.

It didn't stop his brain from being a jumbled emotional mess, however.

Honestly, was wanting to kill someone even that bad of a thing? Everyone must've thought about it at least once. But not everyone started planning for it…

Ok, so maybe Izuku wants to genuinely kill one or two people. But two people isn't a lot! Not only is it not a lot, they're also terrible people who have and will do terrible things! It's justified in Izuku’s mind. Izuku still has a completely sane moral compass and sense of justice. People who deserve to be killed should be killed, and people who don't deserve to be killed shouldn't be killed.

Nice, easy, simple reasoning.

Before Izuku’s mind could go down the rabbit hole of what made some ‘deserved to be killed’ Rokuto decided they wanted attention.

They trudged forward and bonked their head against Izuku’s. Izuku sighed, a distraction couldn't hurt.

He put a hand on their head, petting their head as they leaned into the touch.

“Hey, Rokuto.”

They made a low grumbling noise and wrapped their arms around Izuku, picking him up in a hug and only slightly crushing his bones. Izuku tried to squirm out of their grasp but when it's one 5’5 teenager against a 7’5 genetically engineered weapon, he stood no chance.

Rokuto dropped Izuku who coughed to get his breath. He couldn't be mad though, Rokuto was only able to show their affection in a few ways without being able to speak. “Love you too, Rokuto…” He wheezed out their name. Rokuto responded with a huffing noise that Izuku learned was a laugh.

At least his life wasn't all bad. He moved back to his bed and flopped onto it while Rokuto took to curling up in a ball in front of his door. 

He wanted to change into a more comfortable outfit but he just didn't have the energy. Between the fighting and the constant buzz of anxiety he's had this entire time, he was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

He stared at the ceiling until he was too tired to keep his eyes open, and fell asleep.

It wasn't all bad, but it managed to get worse. The next day came quicker than he wanted it to. He'd spent the first hour after he'd woken up pacing around with Rokuto stubbornly trailing behind him. They must be able to sense his nervousness.

All he knew was he had another mission today where he'd be expected to kill someone. He was tempted to refuse again, just out of hate for Zen. But what if the person actually did deserve it?

Izuku ran his mind in circles until he heard Tomura shout from downstairs.

“Jackrabbit! Sensei wants you, get down here now!”

Izuku sighed and eyed Rokuto, who stared at him blankly with their six eyes.

“Wish me luck, Rokuto.”

They growled out a response (which Izuku chose to believe as them wishing him luck) and followed him downstairs. Tomura and Kurogiri were standing side to side with a portal beside them.

Kurogiri spoke first; “Sensei is waiting for you.” He gestured to the portal and Izuku nodded. He motioned Rokuto to stay there and walked through the portal, mentally bracing himself for whatever happens to lie on the other side.

On the other side sat Sensei. It was a different hospital room from before though. This one was bigger and spacious, more importantly was the other end of the room the white tile faded to grey concrete. It looked like two separate rooms that had been blended together, one a hospital room and the other a torture chamber. 

There was a man tied to a chair in the concrete end of the long room, his arms and legs bound and fabric tied over his mouth. He wasn't screaming but the look in his eyes said it all.

Izuku tensed his shoulders as he took in a breath. This was him then? The man Izuku was supposed to kill? He eyed Sensei. Izuku wasn't going to kill someone without knowing if they'd done something to deserve it.

Sensei smiled knowingly and grabbed a folder from a nearby table, he handed it to Izuku with a malicious grin. 

“Here. I knew you'd want evidence regarding his crimes. Rest assured it's all official, from the police and heroes themselves.”

Izuku grabbed the folder and carefully opened it. Inside were a few papers stapled together, they looked like police reports.

He read the basic info on the first page.

‘Name: Taraki Naeru

Sex: M

Age: 46

Quirk: Mark; An ability that allows the user to put a marking on another person, the marking is only visible to the user with the quirk.

Application of Quirk in regards to documented crimes: Taraki uses his quirk to mark people he intends to kill. He’ll often mark an obvious and hard to hide place like someone's face, or hands. Once marked he will prepare for the murder, choosing a location to kill the victim in, the tools needed to kill, along with supplies to clean up said crime. Once he's sufficiently prepared he will go to where the marked individual frequently visits and introduce himself with a friendly persona. From there he finds a way to get the victim alone, and kill them.

Known amount of murders: 12

Preference?: Victims are often below the age of 20, only ever women.’

That was all just the first page. Izuku skimmed the other pages but it was just more detail in the man's crimes. Where he killed his victims, how he killed his victims, suspected reasons for why he kills and much more. Izuku didn't need to read any more of it, he knew his decision. It was an easy choice, who would ever side with a serial killer?

He closed the manila folder and handed it back to Sensei who laughed.

“Saw all you needed to? It's a very uncomplicated case isn't it. A serial killer, the lowest of the low.”

Izuku but his tongue to refrain from reminding the villain that he too has killed and ruined many peoples lives.

“You’ll kill him then?”

Izuku eyed the serial killer who seemed to be shaking his head slightly.

“Is there any other option?”

Sensei hummed in faux thought. “The other option is we let him free with no consequence and he continues killing as normal.”

Izuku tapped a foot against the ground, if he had no choice he would kill Taraki, but Sensei was acting as if the police weren't an option.

“Why can't we just turn him into the police?”

Sensei laughed loudly. “The police? Ah, you're a riot, Izuku. I know you're smarter than that. I can't go around contacting the police, besides it'd be such a hassle.”

He waved Izuku off like he was a little kid who asked a dumb question.

“Now then, your choice?”

Izuku turned to face the serial killer again, sitting eerily quiet in the chair. He reached down and took one of his daggers in his hand. His eyes flicked between Sensei and the villain tied to a chair. Izuku hated to admit it, but he wanted to kill Taraki.

Maybe wanted was a strong word, but he wasn't opposed to killing the man.

He walked forward, dagger gripped tightly in his hand. The serial killer leaned back in his chair and looked up at Izuku, whose eyes were covered by his rabbit mask.

Izuku took a deep breath in. This is what he wanted to do, right? He went over every other option. Turning Taraki in would be difficult since Izuku was classified as a villain now. Sensei is expecting Izuku to kill and who knows if there would be consequences for disobeying the order this time. Izuku wouldn't feel particularly bad for killing Taraki with how many women the villain has killed for shallow, twisted, reasons. And at the very back of Izuku’s mind was a mix of bloodlust and curiosity. He wanted to know if he could kill someone without having first been backed into a corner, he wanted to know what he'd feel like after the fact. Would he feel guilty despite killing such a monstrous individual? Would he feel vindicated? He was almost excited to find out.

He held the dagger’s point to the man’s chest. The villain's eyes shook with intense desperation. 

Izuku pushed the dagger into the flesh of the villain, grimacing at the sound it made. The man’s reaction was instant, letting out a muffled scream and squirming in his restraints.

Izuku pulled the dagger out and held it up, eyeing the blood now dripping off it. 

Blood poured from the villain’s chest, Izuku found it almost mesmerizing; the way the blood flowed out from the wound, tainting everything it touched.

Within mere moments Taraki’s body slowed, his head hung forward limply and blood dripped from his mouth. His eyes were wide with terror yet blank and lifeless. 

Against Izuku’s own wishes, he smiled. It wasn't his normal blindingly bright smile. It was something smaller, quieter, and more prideful. 

He shook the grin off his face the moment he realized it was there and mentally berated himself. Justifiedly killing someone was one thing, smiling about it was something Izuku wouldn't let himself do.

He turned away from the corpse to face Sensei again, who looked genuinely proud of Izuku.

“Wonderful job. I knew you could do it.”

Izuku looked back down at the bloodied dagger, he hated how happy those words made him. All he had to do was remind himself whose mouth the words came from and they instantly lost their meaning. He didn't need, nor want, praise from a monster when he had real family and friends who were waiting for him. When he finally takes down All for One he knows the whole world would be proud of him. He just needs to keep Sensei out of his head, disregard anything the villain says.

Still, he had a part to play. 

“Thank you, Sensei. I'm happy to hear that… Is there anything else you need?”

Sensei held up a hand and shook his head. “That will be all. You're dismissed. Why don't you take the rest of the week off, hm?”

Izuku wasn't going to argue with that so he nodded. “Thank you, Sensei. I’ll take my leave then.”

He slowly walked back to the hospital side of the room and through the portal, he shuddered at the way Sensei’s head tracked him. Could he even see Izuku without any eyes? He didn't want to know the answer to that.

He stepped back into the bar to find Kurogiri where he always was. Thankfully, Tomura was absent. He moved to sit at the bar and laid his head in his hands, bloody dagger still gripped in his right hand.

“How did it go?”

Izuku responded without lifting his head, causing his voice to be slightly muffled. “It went great, thanks for asking.”

There was a silent pause before Kurogiri mumbled out a quiet; “Apologies.”

Izuku wasn't actually upset, truth be told he wasn't too upset about what he just did either, he wouldn't feel sympathy for a serial killer. The exhaustion was more from being in Sensei’s presence than committing justified murder… He should probably write this down in his villain notebook.

He lifted his head to look around the bar's main area, strangely Rokuto wasn't there despite Izuku telling them to stay.

“Kurogiri? Where’s Rokuto at?”

“It returned to your room after you left.”

Izuku hummed in acknowledgment and headed to his room. It was still too early for him to sleep, it probably wasn't even past 3PM. He opened the door to his room and saw Rokuto curled up on the bed. They flicked their ears when they heard the door and walked towards him which he assumed was a happy expression.

“Hey buddy, I’m back.” He stood on his tippy toes to pat their head. “Now I just need to figure out what i'm going to do for the rest of the day.”

He fell backwards onto his bed. He didn't feel like training, but didn't feel like thinking either. He needed something he could do with his brain turned off. All the options he thought of, while fun, required brain power. Izuku decided sleeping his life away wasn't such a bad idea and changed into something more comfortable. He was able to get himself under the blankets despite Rokuto laying on the far end of the bed instead of their usual ‘by the door’ spot. If Izuku had laid down first his legs would've been crushed by them…

He let his head fall into the soft below and turned his head slightly to look out the window. Afternoon sunlight filtered through the blinds. For most kids the day was just getting started, they were being let out of school and were free to hang out with their friends. For Izuku, he was going to sleep the rest of the day and night.

He turned so his back would face the window and closed his eyes. It took a long time to fall asleep with his mind being filled with the rhythmic dripping of blood, desperate eyes and his Sensei’s vile grin, but like always, sleep was inevitable.

The last thing on Izuku’s mind while he fell asleep was the fact he'd justifiably killed two people, he knew there'd be more in the future yet he wasn't bothered by that fact. If he wasn't drifting to sleep, he might've been scared by his lack of care, instead he smiled as his mind finally shut off, ready to wait for the next day.

Chapter Text

“The proof says you're tragic as fuck. The truth is that's just tough, tough, luck.” - Laufey

Izuku tapped the edge of the keyboard aimlessly. He'd been given a bare-bones laptop from Sensei to continue working on his coding and hacking abilities but it was hard to be motivated when he was essentially grounded. He looked up to the bland ceiling above, letting his head hit the bed frame behind him. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Rokuto’s head popped up over the foot of the bed and Izuku couldn't help but smile at them. At least Izuku had at least one friend in this place, though Kurogiri wasn't so bad either.

He turned his attention back to his laptop. He had limited internet access but it was better than nothing, he reverted back to his old habits and had been browsing through hero forums when he noticed a post about himself. Though he shouldn't have clicked on it; curiosity got the better of him. When he saw who posted it, Izuku couldn't help but feel guilty.

‘ @FishGirlSummer

What's happened to Jackrabbit?

Hi again! I know i haven't posted in like forever but i've seen a bunch of stuff about Jackrabbit in the news and wanted to see if anyone knew more here? They say he's a villain now?? I don't know if it's true or not but i don't really believe it :/

Idkk just the news has everyone freaked out cause they're saying he's ‘turned to the villains’ side’ and that he'd ‘working with high profile villains’

please tell me this isn't true!!’

@ucanonlygosarf4r replied to @FishGirlSummer

‘From everything I've seen? Yeah, it's true. There’ve been police reports about Jackrabbit hanging with some villains but they've been hiding out lately.’

@Kitten4556 replied to @ucanonlygosof4r 

‘oh no :( i really liked jackrabbit too’

@FishGirlSummer replied to @ucanonlygosof4r

‘NOO!! it's true?? i wonder what happened to make him change, this is tragic 😭😭’

@Whydotheycallitofin replied to @FishGirlSummer

‘damn thats sad wasnt rlly keeping up w that guy jts still sad to hear he turned into a villain yk’

@FishGirlSummer replied to @Whydotheycallitofin

‘Yeah, it's pretty upsetting. He saved me after all! Maybe we can ask him on here?”

@RedGem4Show replied to @FishGirlSummer

‘I really doubt he'd show up in these forums like nothing happened but continue being delusional i guess.’

@RatchetyAndy replied to @FishGirlSummer

‘heard the guy even killed more people idk tho just what i heard :p’

@FishGirlSummer replied to @RatchetyAndy

‘I hope not <:(‘

@fishRfriendsNTfood replied to @FishGirlSummer

'i'm actually pretty scared of him. the police weren't able to catch him when he was just a vigilante and now he's a villain, no one knows what the hell him and the other villains are up to, it could be something really bad.’

@FishGirlSummer replied to @fishRfriendsNTfood

‘now you've got me worrying (;– –)’

There was a frown on Izuku’s face by the time he got to the last reply. People were more worried about him than he'd thought. Now that he considered it though, his situation must look horrible from the outside. People must think he's just another vigilante turned villain when that wasn't the case!Just ignore the fact he has killed people, and he's totally innocent! Except for the robberies…

Izuku huffed out of frustration. He still didn't think of himself as a villain—not genuinely. But was he?

If it's just by the definition then, yes. He's committed crimes and taken human lives (even if it was deserved) which makes him a villain. But villain in the societal sense? He didn't believe so. He still worked with a sense of justice, he still wanted to best for the people around him. He was working hard trying to take down one of the worlds most evil villains right at this moment!

His frown deepened as he remembered no one would know, not until All for One and Shigaraki were actually taken down. 

He knew what he was getting himself into with this plan and yet, knowing the fact people fear him still upsets him. He wanted to be a hero, someone everyone admired and looked to. Someone who saved people with a smile, whose very presence made people feel safer…

That dream felt like it was slipping through his fingers more and more each day.

He looked blankly around his room. Maybe in another world things would be different. He focused on his breathing and stopped himself from falling into bad habits. No matter how many times he wished he had a quirk, he wouldn't magically get one, wishing for things like that will only upset him.

He closed the tab on his laptop and returned to the main forum thread. Catching himself up on all the hero news he missed out. It was the usual; news about hero's saving people, new hero team ups and commercials, discussions about new upcoming heroes, so on and so on. Izuku skimmed through most of it, his interest only piquing when he saw the name ‘Hero Killer’.

He remembered seeing the name when he first became a vigilante, some villain who claims to be a vigilante who goes around killing heroes he deems ‘unworthy’. Izuku understood it partially, there were a lot of heroes that were unfit to save people, the solution wasn't to kill all of them! Maybe just some…

An article detailed how the hero killer was targeting people more and more frequently, and warned heroes against patrolling alone. Izuku hoped he'd find some clues to the hero killer’s identity but he had no such luck. The public, and maybe the police force, seemed to have no idea who they were. Izuku slouched in his chair. Just his luck.

Before he could decide to doomscroll further, Shigaraki opened his door, once again without knocking.

“Come on.”

Izuku refrained from sneering and asked, “Why? Sensei doesn't have any missions or anything for me today. Unless you want me to do more of your errands?”

Shigaraki scoffed. “They're not errands. Boss just wants us all down there so come on already.” Shigaraki stood impatiently in the doorway as Izuku closed his laptop and stepped out from his bed. He wasn't in his vigilante outfit at the moment, just some basketball shorts and a white t-shirt with the word t-shirt on it written in english.

“Rokuto, let's go.” Izuku called behind him when he reached the doorway. Rokuto, who had managed to wedge themself under the bed somehow, crawled out and stomped behind Izuku as they both followed Shigaraki down the stairs to the main bar area. 

Shigaraki eyed Rokuto when they got to the bottom of the stairs. “You gotta bring that thing with you everywhere? Follows you around like a lost dog…”

“You're just mad I got my own Nomu and you didn't.”

Izuku didn't mention that he didn't ask for Rokuto. He was fine letting Shigaraki think Izuku’s the favorite who gets whatever he wants, though it is true with how Sensei acts.

The three took their spots around the open bar as the TV in the cornered flickered to life, flashing the word ‘sound only’ in the screen as per usual. Izuku didn't get why Sensei didn't show his face, after all the three boys in the room had all seen what All for One looked like.

Regardless, Sensei’s voice sounded from the speakers. “Hello, you two. I know you came down here expecting a mission to be assigned, but i have a more unorthodox request this time around. I've noticed you two haven't been getting along…”

Shigaraki and Izuku both groaned, their voices overlapping as they voiced complaints about the other.

“He's some whiny stray we just picked up off the street, Sensei! I don't know why you're so interested in some quirkless child!”

“Shigaraki is the worst, Sensei! How am i expected to get along with someone so immature, childish, and annoying! I may be patient but even I have limits, sir.”

The two boys looked to glare at each other, letting their mutual dislike of each other be known. Kurogiri and Rokuto seemed oblivious to the hatred seething off the two.

“I’m aware you two have… opposing views. However, you're on the same team, so I expect you to cooperate like one. Take the time to work together on a couple of missions, I expect progress from you two. Understand?”

The two nodded their head, not because they wanted to but because they didn't want to disobey All for One (albeit, for different reasons; Shigaraki out of respect and Izuku out of fear)

“Have fun you two. Oh, and Izuku? You may consider yourself ungrounded.”

Izuku perked up at that. He was free to do whatever? Just like that? It seemed comically simple but as always, Izuku wasn't going to argue against it so he just politely nodded his head.

“Off you go then. I'm sure you'll find something you two can do together without tearing each other's throats out.”

Shigaraki and Izuku shared a look. They both doubted that.

With that, the broadcast shut off, leaving the bar in relative silence before Kurogiri (who Rokuto was pestering) took the chance to speak.

“We have a backlog of things Sensei would like done, if you’d want to do some of those?”

Shigaraki leg and out and long, overly loud, sigh. “Sure, let's get this over with.” He said with a wave of his hand.

Izuku crossed his arms as a signature purple portal appeared in front of him. He really wasn't looking forward to this…

The two boys walking along rooftops, both trying to ignore the others presence. Izuku planned on being silent the entire time but curiosity got the best of him, he admittedly didn't know a lot about the league itself. Whenever Shigaraki went on his weirdly cliche villain monologues Izuku had always tuned them out, he was starting to regret that decision now.

“So what's you're big plan again? Just need a bit of a refresh.” He knew it was something to do with taking over the world. Or changing the world? Destroying it? Something like that.

“Someone hasn't been paying attention.”

Izuku had to remind himself that killing Shigaraki here and now was a bad idea as the man continued, holding his arms out for dramatic flare.

“I’ll be the one to kill that damned Symbol of Peace. This hero society is in shambles, it needs to be destroyed so it can be remade. Truthfully, humanity as a whole needs to be destroyed, and it will be by my hands.” Shigaraki had a large smile on his face by the time he finished speaking.

Izuku looked at him; unimpressed. His goal was as childish as Izuku thought it was. Destroy the world? Izuku almost thought it was a joke before remembering that Shigaraki was allergic to humor. It was still useful to know, he could play his part a little better now.

“That so? Not a hero fan, then?”

Izuku couldn't confidently say he was a hero fan now either. He still had a lot of hero's he liked, but he didn't worship them like he had before. The interaction with All Might on the rooftop made Izuku realized a lot of heroes were far worse in reality than what they showed on TV. Never meet your heroes and all that. Remembering it left a bitter taste in Izuku’s mouth.

The Symbol of Peave. Japan’s—Maybe even the world’s strongest hero telling Izuku that he couldn't be a hero, that he needed to be realistic. Izuku nearly scoffed. So many, so many times, he'd hear All Might say that anyone could be a hero. He didn't know All Might could lie so shamelessly.

He cleared his head of the wayward thoughts and looked to Shigaraki, who had gone back to ignoring Izuku’s existence. They were supposed to be tracking down some annoying pests that All for One wanted gone but it ended up being more of a late night walk more than anything. Izuku looked past Shigaraki to the city nightlife behind him. He wanted to ditch Shigaraki to go on patrols, but he figured Sensei wouldn't like that. This was supposed to be their ‘bonding time’ after all. Or… maybe…

“Wanna go on patrol with me?”

Shigaraki cocked his head to the side and looked at Izuku with a glare. “Hah??” Was his only response before Izuku grabbed the older boys arms and hopped off the building they were walking. “Hey-! Don't touch me you nasty brat.”

“Like you're one to talk with how flaky your skin is.”

“You're just trying to piss me off aren't y-”

“Right!” Izuku clapped his hands together, effectively silencing Shigaraki. “Patrol time!”

“Patrol? You mean you actually do that? Sounds lame as hell.”

“Yeah, well… At least I actually get stuff done.”

The two side-eyed each other. Izuku had a feeling no matter how much Sensei tried to get him and Shigaraki to cooperate, it would never truly happen.

Izuku let his eyes look ahead of him as he started down the alleyway. “Let's go. And no casualties, ‘kay?”

Shigaraki rolled his eyes. “You think you can order me around? Did you forget whose boss?”

“Not you…” Izuku mumbled just loud enough for Shigaraki to hear, who now had a scowl on his face.

Yeah. These two would never get along.

Shigaraki, Izuku, and Kurogiri sat at the bar, with Sensei listening in via the TV, for a meeting of sorts. Apparently Shigaraki had finished his ‘grand plans’ and needed to share them with the rest of the league.

Izuku sat with his head laid on the bar counter, head in his arms while Rokuto lazed around on the couch near the wall. Kurogiri was diligently washing the dishes that hardly got used enough to warrant such constant washing and shining. Sensei was only present through the TV, sound only as always.

Shigaraki grinned as he splayed papers and stapled together packets across the bar counter; clearly proud of his own work.

“I've finished my plans for the upcoming year. I figured out how we can take down All Might and this filthy hero society.”

With Izuku and Kurogiri being more silent types, Sensei was the only one left to prompt Shigaraki to continue.

“Very well. Let's hear it then, Tomura.”

Shigaraki picked up one of the packets, waving it around absent minded ly as he spoke.

“It's clear we’ll need to use the Nomu to take down All Might. The doctors been telling me how much his work is progressing and i'm sure it'll be ready by the school year.”

That got Izuku’s attention. Why the school year specifically?

“School year?” He mumbled, his head still tucked in his arms.

Shigaraki gave a glare but continued. “Yes, the school year.” A grin broke out across his face. “We’ll be attacking U.A.”

That got Izuku to lift his head, his eyebrows pinched together. 

“Uh-huh… U.A? Because it's the biggest hero school in Japan?”

Shigaraki rolled his eyes. “Obviously. I have a contact whose gathering a bunch of random low-level villains to assist in the attack, one of them should have a electrical distortion quirk so the heroes can't call for backup. I don't know when exactly we'll attack, i'll have to get my hands on some of the schools plans first. Once we figure out a day where All Might will be teaching we’ll have Kurogiri transport us and the villains there. While Kurogiri makes sure none of the hero-hopeful brats escape, i’ll order the nomu to attack and kill All Might.”

His grin managed to grow wider. “It’ll be perfect!”

Izuku had an odd look on his face. A mix of disbelief, second-hand embarrassment and confusion. No way that was the whole plan? Portal in, hope that a random villain has the right quirk, order the nomu to kill All Might then portal out? Izuku could see so many ways that could go horribly wrong. Did Shigaraki not see the flaws or did he simply not acknowledge them?

Oh well, if Shigaraki is bad at planning things then it works out for Izuku, all he’ll have to do is make sure he doesn't get detained when the plan inevitably goes to hell.

Well, that would be the plan is All for One didn't speak up.

“I see… Your plan is a very good foundation, Tomura, but I believe it can be improved upon. Izuku, if you would?”

Izuku stared at the TV with his mouth agape but quickly steeled his expression into one of resignation. He should've expected this… No way Sensei heard a plan that awful and would just let it slide. 

“Yes, sir. I’ll fix up Shigaraki’s abysmal plan.”

Shigaraki sputtered in frustration. “What? Fix my plan? Sensei, you can't be serious! You say that I could do whatever I wanted!”

Izuku couldn't help but be reminded how much of a man child Shigaraki was…

“Yes, yes. You are still the one in control Tomura, I have not taken that from you. Izuku will simply assist you.”

“I don't need assistance. That brat is just another one of my pawns so I can do what I want. He shouldn't be involved in anything important like planning!”

“Now, now. Izuku has quite the sharp mind, you shouldn't discount him so easily. You and him are equal, Tomura.”

Shigaraki glared at the TV, then Izuku, then pushed the mess of papers onto the floor and stormed out of the room.

Izuku gave an amused look as the villain stomped off. As annoying as Shigaraki was, he was also entertaining. He shifted his focus back to the TV where Sensei’s voice was coming through.

Equals, huh? Izuku hadn't expected that. He knew Sensei favored but getting confirmation that him and Shigaraki were equals was not what he was expecting. As always, he’d accept it and use it to his advantage.

“Equals, Sensei? That's more generous than I was expecting.”

Sensei chuckled quietly through the screen. “Of course. You have a bright mind, I'd like to see it become even brighter. You and Tomura have common ground. This society, heroes, have failed you. It constantly told you that you could never amount to anything, this is the opportunity to show them that they're wrong. You can rise above them, Izuku. Now, go on. I'd like to hear your revamped plans later. Don't take Tomura’s words to heart, he still has more growing to do.”

Izuku bowed his head politely and waited for the transmission to cut before he let out a small sigh. 

He knew what Sensei was doing. Trying to rile up his anger and hatred for society and the world itself. While it's true that society and heroes had failed him, he wouldn't take that anger out on innocent people. Now that he thought about it, that must be why Shigaraki’s so angry. He was wrong in the past and Sensei convinced him it was humanity’s fault as a whole…

Izuku’s face scrunched up at the thought. He stared at the now blank TV screen. Just how long had Sensei been manipulating Shigaraki?

He glanced behind the bar, Kurogiri had gone off elsewhere and Rokuto wasn't in the room anywhere either. He wondered where they could've gone but focused on the new task he'd been given.

He absently grabbed one of the papers off the floor and skimmed through it, humming as he did. He wouldn't let Sensei get the better of him. Sensei’s voice always had insincerity in it, he said what he needed to in order for people to do what he wanted. Izuku simply wouldn't listen. It was becoming something he did frequently, not listening. When people told him he'd never be a hero, he didn't listen. All the harsh words Kacchan used to say, he didn't listen. When All Might told him to be realistic, he didn't listen. Whenever Shigaraki or Sensei ordered him around, he followed their orders, but didn't truly listen.

Izuku couldn't help but smile. The world around him tried to tell him what his own future would be like for too long. Sensei was right about one thing, this was his chance to prove people wrong, just not in the way Sensei wanted.

He looked back at the paper, taking the words in properly this time. It was more like a fanfic Shigaraki wrote. He gathered the other papers and packets together to read the whole thing. It went scene by scene, detailing what and how things would happen. It even included dialogue from Shigaraki and All Might. It was pathetic if Izuku was being honest, and more than a little embarrassing.

There wasn't a single backup plan or contingency plan in sight. Shigaraki truly expected things to play out exactly as this fanfic he wrote went. Did he genuinely not believe things could go wrong?

Izuku brought the papers over his eyes to block out the light from the bar and groaned. He sure had his work cut out for him…

Izuku sat at his desk, after a shower and a meal he'd gotten to rewrite Shigaraki’s plans. They were much better now, or at least included backup plans.

He'd have to get in contact with whoever Shigaraki’s mysterious villain gathering contact was and actually meet, or find, a villain capable of disabling or interfering with communication devices. Since they still didn't have any class plans he had no concrete idea of where their attack would take place, so the plan was still awfully vague until he could get that info.

He worked with the idea that they'd attack in some sort of secluded area. They obviously couldn't host their attack on campus, far too reckless and idiotic. They needed to separate whatever class All Might would be teaching so they could effectively corner and cut the class and staff off from everyone else.

So, on a day where All Might would be teaching a class in a secluded area is when and wherethey would attack.

They'd get there via Kurogiri’s portals and immediately have the comms cut off using a villain's quirk. From there, Kurogiri would block the exit and separate the students and staff to different locations. Izuku reminded himself to study up on the upcoming years' potential students, though that'd be something to do when it's closer to the actual entrance exam.

After everyone is separated, the recruited villains will fight said students. A group of misc villains would take care of any teachers other than All Might while Izuku, Shigaraki, Rokuto, and another Nomu try to defeat and kill All Might.

Izuku knew it wouldn't actually be that difficult, after all he knew about All Might’s injury and time limit. As upset with the Symbol of Peace as Izuku was, he still didn't want the hero to die. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, All Might was important to the safety of a lot of people. Crime rate as a whole dropped when All Might became a well known hero, Izuku didn't want to put the safety of innocent civilians on the line despite Shigaraki and Sensei being fine with it.

Izuku tapped his pen against the notebook he was writing in. That was the main plan, as for backup plans; he had a lot written down. Plans for if the comms couldn't be disabled, plans for if All Might wasn't there, plans for if the students were naturally strong and were able to defeat the villains, plans for if the Nomu couldn't defeat All might, plans for if Kurogiri was somehow put out of commission, so on and so on. Most of the backup plans relied on Izuku taking care of things himself, with Rokuto’s help of course.

Izuku ran a hand down his face. It wasn't his best work but it'd do for how impromptu and scattered Shigaraki’s original plan had been. With any luck, Izuku’s plan would also fail. He really didn't want All Might to die, but couldn't outright betray the league, not yet at least. He needed to bide his time…

He spun his pen around his fingers aimlessly. Since he was no longer grounded he was tempted to go to One-Stop-Shop but a glance at the clock convinced him otherwise. Somehow it was 4 in the morning, he could've sworn it was 11 pm just a few minutes ago. He closed his notebook up and looked to his bed, seeing that Rokuto had taken it upon themself to take up 80% of the space. 

Izuku didn't have the heart to wake them or push them over, instead he awkwardly maneuvered himself around them. He settled to just sleep above the covers with his legs laid on top of Rokuto’s chest, his legs rising up and and down with their breath.

Despite the frankly uncomfortable position and the feeling the next few weeks would be particularly annoying, he fell asleep quickly.

Chapter Text

Izuku walked through the familiar streets, trying, and failing, to keep a smile off his face. It was July 30th, a week since he was ungrounded and there were people he wanted to visit but had been too busy to. His body moved on autopilot as it led him to the familiar warm embrace of what eventually became his second (or perhaps third) home. The One-Stop-Shop.

He slowed himself down as he reached the doors. He could hear the rowdiness of drunks and eccentric personalities on the other side, muffled by the large wooden doors before him. He placed a steady hand in front of him and pushed the door open, a wide smile on his face as he stepped into what was essentially every villain’s hangout spot. 

As he opened the door people, mostly the regulars he used to hang out with a lot, looked at him. Nearly everyone did a double take before shouting his name.

“Jackrabbit?!”

He stepped into the facility, his cheeks hurting from how much he was smiling.

“Sorry I'm late, everyone!”

Multiple people walked up to him, ruffling his hair, playfully hitting his shoulder or slapping him on the back, greeting him the usual way villains greeted their friends. Izuku couldn't help but laugh as customers surrounded him. 

“Where the hell you been, Rabbit? We all thought you died.”

“For the record I knew you were fine.”

“Didja get hurt or somethin’?”

“‘Course not, moron! If he was hurt he would've come here.”

“Hey, you hungry? Why didn't we have a welcome back party?”

“You’ll use any excuse to party…”

Izuku waved his hands around in front of him trying to get some of his personal space back.

“Ah-ha, I'm fine really! Not hurt anything, I was just, ah, busy?”

“”Busy” he says…”

Izuku rolled his eyes playfully. “I really was! Anyway, you guys can get started in the party if you'd like, I’ve gotta let Giran and the others know I didn't drop dead.”

He made his way through the usual crowds the One-Stop-Shop had, it never ceases to amaze him how the place always seemed to be busy. It really was a glorified villain hangout. 

He made his way behind the bar counter and through the staff only door, despite never being employed he'd spent most of his time in the back. His first stop was Giran’s office, he didn't bother knocking, he simply walked up and opened the door. He stuck his head through the crack in the door and looked at Giran, who had previously been intensely focused on paper, looked up and nearly fell out of his chair. He stood up, slamming his hands on the desk. 

“Javkrabbit!”

Izuku stepped into the office as Giran stepped out from behind his desk to trap Izuku in the tightest hug he'd ever felt. After a few minutes of being crushed by Giran the older man pulled away, setting his hands on Izuku’s shoulders and shaking the boy back and forth.

“Haha! It really is you. I gotta admit kid, you had me worried. It's been months since i last heard from you, you know.”

“I know, I know… In my defense I wasn't really allowed out for a while, and then I was super, super busy! So i just didn't have a lot of time…”

“Ah, don't worry about it. As long as you're fine. I even have good news for you, your little ‘league’ has be contacting me.”

Izuku’s eyes widened as he came to a realization. “You’re the contact!” He even pointed at Giran for emphasis. 

Giran laughed loudly, cigarette still poking through the gap in his teeth. “Yup. So what's this about needing to group up a bunch of villains?”

Izuku could help but slouch at the mention of Shigaraki’s plan. “Ugh, it's this whole thing Shigaraki’s got going on, I'll tell you about it later.” He waved his hand dismissively. “I wanna see Wendigo and Clockwork first.”

“Alright, alright. Make it quick then.”

Izuku nodded and turned on his heel to leave, Giran yelling out a quick; “Don't disappear on us again!” as he stepped into the hall. 

Izuku jogged over to the kitchen first, assuming that's where Wendigo would be, and he was right. Wendigo stood in the middle of the bustling kitchen, sending out orders to the chefs and waiting who were hard at work. She tilted her head to the side a bit to see who entered, only to flinch when she saw Izuku.

“Cottontail? That you?”

Izuku waltzed into the kitchen as if he owned the place and walked up to Wendigo, somehow it felt like she'd gotten taller. “The one and only!” He gave an over dramatic bow which caused Wendigo to laugh beneath her deer skull mask.

“Ah, well glad to see you haven't changed a bit.” She flicked the rabbit mask's floppy ear and continued. “How's that infiltration mission been going?”

“It's been alright. Boring, but alright. Thing are really gonna start once the school year starts.”

“School year?”

“Ugh, it's this whole thing. Won't get into it right now but I’ll tell Giran about it later, I'm sure he'd tell you guys too.”

“If you say so. While i'd love for you to stick around and bother and distract me, we’re somehow busier than usual and I’ve got new staff to train.”

Izuku looked over the kitchen, true to her word, there were many new faces. Izuku had grown familiar with most of the facilities staff with how frequently he hung around the kitchen and common area.

“Well, if you're *that* eager to get rid of me.” Izuku turned around with a sly smile. Wendigo ruffled his hair as he walked off.

“Your words, not mine. Stop by later when it's less busy, ‘kay Cottontail?”

“Uh-huh!”

Izuku shut the door to the kitchen and headed for his last stop, the in-house infirmary. He was excited to see Avery again, despite not being the best babysitter in the world (he was only 15 after all) he knew she liked hanging out with him. The two would draw as Avery went on about her favorite cartoon or fictional character. 

He made his way through the winding halls, eventually stopping in front of Clockworks office. He opened the door to see the familiar scene of Clockwork and Avery having a father-daughter day. Clockwork had random scribbles drawn on his face in glittery pink marker, the coloring book on the table was similarly covered in pink glitter, nothing in the room was spared from the mess.

“Oh, wow…”

Clockwork tilted his head to look at Izuku, although his reaction wasn't as obvious as the other Izuku could tell Clockwork was happy to see him.

“Ah, Jackrabbit. Back again I see.”

“Jackie!” Avery looked up from her mess of glue and glitter.

Clockwork continued. “Please don't tell me you're here with more insane injuries?”

Izuku shook his head as he took a seat at the table, trying to stay far away from the glitter. “No, no. Can't I just come and visit?”

“You say that now but I know next time I see you it’ll be because you sustained some odd injury that I need to fix.”

Izuku laughed nervously and didn't say anything else. Clockwork’s statement was probably true, as much as Izuku hated to admit it.

“Jackie, Jackie! Look!”

Avery turned to Izuku and held up the coloring book she had. It looked like she attempted to keep the glue and glitter with the lines, but the glitter was all over the page. Izuku could barely make out what the drawing was supposed to be, but he guessed it was something from the cartoon she'd been obsessed with.

“Can I glitter you too?”

The wide smile and hopeful look in her eye almost made Izuku agree, but he knew he'd never be able to get the glitter out so he slowly shook his head. “Sorry, glitter’s a little too messy and I wanna keep my costume clean.”

Avery pouted but didn't complain otherwise. She resumed making a mess of her dads face, this time with purple glitter. He somehow didn't seem to mind as he casually resumed talking.

“How’s the mission?”

“Fine, I mean, Shigaraki’s annoying. Like, really insanely, annoying. And All for One is as bad as you'd expect…”

“You've met him?” Clockwork asked with a raised brow.

“Uh, yeah, I have. He's scary… Don't tell him I said that, though. He's sick though, or well, something’s wrong. He's in this hospital-lab place hooked up to a bunch of machines and stuff.”

Clockwork nodded slowly. “That's good to know. You seem to be doing well, I’m glad. I admit I was prepared for the worst.”

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Come on, have a bit more faith in me.”

Clockwork chuckled and nodded. “My apologies, you know I’m a worrier, but I’ll try to be more positive when it comes to the reckless things you do.”

Izuku thought that was a bit backhanded but didn't say anything.

“Right. I'm gonna head back to Giran, I have a lot I need to tell him. I’m sure he'll spill everything I told him to you and Wendigo so don't worry, you'll find out what happened.”

“Happy to hear, I admit I’m rather curious.”

Izuku mumbled out a goodbye to the two, earning an enthusiastic wave from Avery, and a more lethargic wave from Clockwork, as he left the room.

Izuku hummed idly as he walked back to Giran’s office, thinking of how he'd tell the man all that happened. And how he'd keep some things from him… Izuku knew Giran wouldn't really care that he killed someone, much less someone as awful as a serial killer, but some part of him still feared getting insulted and ridiculed for it. He reminded himself he's just paranoid, this place was full of villains. Izuku knew there were multiple people in the main area who'd taken innocent lives, but the play-nice rule prevented him from turning them in within the One-Stop-Shop and he didn't have the energy to track them outside of it.

He brushed those thoughts off and knocked on Giran’s door, letting himself in when he heard the man’s voice.

“Welcome back. How'd the heartfelt reunions go?”

“Eh.” He waved a hand in a so-so motion. “You know how those two are.”

Giran laughed but nodded. “Ain't that right. Come on, sit, sit! I'm excited to hear all the juicy details about the Leave of Villains. Anything we could use as blackmail?”

Izuku moved to take a seat in the chair in front of Giran’s desk. 

“You're getting a little ahead of yourself, don't you think? How about we start from the beginning first?”

Katuski kicked a rock in front of him with each step. The pebble had been kicked alongside Katuski’s path for the last few blocks while Kirishima talked excitedly beside him. A cool October breeze ruffled his hair as the pebble was finally discarded.

“It was fucking sick, man! You had to be there! I really do wanna be like him one day, i've even been thinking about having a similar hero name.”

Katsuki eyed the redhead with a smirk. “A little much don't you think? I get you're a fan but imagine if someone went around being, like, I dunno All Might 2 or something.”

Kirishima shoved the blond’s shoulder, earning a grin from the other. “It's not gonna be that similar! Think less All Might 2 and more…Mostly Might…?”

Katuski couldn't help but burst into laughter at that, causing Kirishima to defend himself further. “Come on, man! You get what I'm trying to say, right? Like similar but not that similar. Crimson Riot and Red Riot are different enough!”

“As if! Everyone's gonna know you're a fanboy.”

Kirishima looked off to the side like he was upset but the smile on his face told a different story. “Yeah, well, what's your hero name gonna be?”

Katsuki’s grin widened, making his smile look more like a snarl as he shouted his hero name overconfidently. “Lord Explosion Murder God Dynamight!”

Kirishima stopped and stared blankly at the other boy, it was now his turn to burst out laughing. “Pfft- No way! For real? Dude, they would never allow that!”

Katsuki snarled and continued walking, Kirishima following closely behind. “They better allow it! Lord Explosion Murder God Dynamight would settle for nothing less.”

Kirishima let out a few more laughs before catching his breath. “Sure, man. Why don't you just go by Dynamight? It's way shorter, probably allowed, and it fits your whole explosion thing.”

“Ugh, but it's lame as hell… Just Dynamight?”

“I like it! It's badass!”

“Eh, I’ll think ‘bout it. Where are we going again?”

Kirishima ran ahead of Katuski, turning around to face the other boy while walking backwards. A horrible idea, but it looked cool so that's why Kirishima did it. “To meet a friend! I think you'll like her. She's pretty eccentric but like, in a cool way! Her quirk’s cool too, it's Acid.” Kirishima said the last word with a flare of his hands.

“Acid? That does sound pretty useful but it depends on how much control she’s got over it.”

“Always so analytical, huh? Hey, that's the cafe! C’mon!”

Kirishima jogged ahead to a small hole-in-the-wall cafe, Katsuki continued to walk at his usual pace, getting there a minute or two after Kirishima.

He walked into the cafe, it was admittedly pretty nice. Wooden floors, smooth burgundy walls, a multitude of plant pots hung up, and of course the aroma of hot drinks and pastries. It was a pretty good place in Katsuki’s opinion, he might even come here on his own sometime. He spotted familiar spiky red hair poking out the edge of a booth seat and walked over.

“Yo! Bakubro, there you are.”

The redhead scooted to the inside seat to allow Katsuki to sit beside him. Across from the two boys was a girl with pink skin and hair, her fashion was… it was certainly something.

“Omigosh, hi! You're Bakugo?”

Bakugo dug his hands in his pockets under the table. He wouldn't admit this to anyone (except his starry eyed, mind reader, therapist) but he wasn't fond of meeting new people. For most of his life he'd only really known a handful of people, his parents, Izuku, and Auntie Inko. Sure he had ‘friends’ in middle school but they just followed him around cause he was strong. He hasn't heard from anyone from Aldera now that they're out of school.

Embarrassingly, that meant Kirishima was his second ever friend, and if things went well then Ashido would be his third.

“Yup. You're Ashido, Kiri’s friend?”

“Yeah, yeah! We’ve known each other since middle. And call me Mina! Ashido is so formal, bleh.” 

Katsuki just shrugged at that. “Alright.”

Kirishima folded his arms on the table looking between the two. “I was hoping Mina could join us for our training sessions!”

Mina gasped over dramatically, apparently having no knowledge of such sessions. “What! You've been training behind my back? And after I vented about you being too busy to spar.” She said with a faux pout.

Kirishima put the palms of his hands together to apologize. “I know, I know! But Bakubro wanted to keep things lowkey, so… Uh, but it's fine now, right?”

He looked at Katuski, realizing he never actually asked if it was okay. Katsuki was tempted to call the redhead a moron but instead just shrugged again.

“Yeah, it's fine. Plus it'll be good training, fighting the same person over and over isn't the best way to improve. We spar at my place, being able to use quirks on private property and all.”

“Woah, cool! So what's your quirk Bakugo?”

“Explosion.” He left it at that.

Mina blinked a few seconds, expecting Katsuki to continue. “Whaaatt?! That's all I’m getting?”

Kirishima laughed beside them. “It'll be cooler when you see it!”

Before the conversation could continue a waiter walked up to get their orders. Mina ordered a hot chocolate, Kirishima got a strawberry drink and Katsuki settled for tea. Mina quickly jumped back into the conversation once the waiter was gone. “So what's the training sched’ like?”

“Sched’? Whatever, spars are twice a week but we do quirk training every other day.”

Kirishima piped in next, “Tell 'i'm about your quirk, Mina! Katsuki’s real smart, especially when it comes to quirks.”

“Ooo, alright! Well my quirk’s called Acid, i would show you it here but, y’know… I can control the viscosity and potency of it, so it’s not always deadly or anything. But if I really up the acidicness it can even melt through stone! Still working on metal though.”

Katsuki nodded his head thoughtfully. It seemed like a good quirk, good in combat but also versatile. It's also good that she already has some control over it, otherwise she'd be more of a liability than a hero.

“Alright, you'll work on potency then. I've been working on pinpoint blasts and Kiri’s been working on stamina and endurance.” Katsuki placed his elbow on the table and his head in his hand as he spoke.

Kirishima nodded along with every Katsuki said, adding input on his own training. “Yup! Keeping up by full body harden is actually pretty difficult, so along with working on endurance i'm also learning how to harden at just the right moment, you know?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah! That was it takes less energy!

“Exactly! You get it!”

Overexcited morons… Katsuki couldn't help the smile that formed on his face, opting to hide it under his hand as their drinks arrived. They each grabbed their drinks, Katsuki mumbling a thanks while Mina and Kirishima practically shouted their gratitude at the poor waiter.

Steam flowed from the cups; the three stopped talking to take sips, each sighing with relief as the drinks warmed their bodies.

Mina was the first to get back to talking. Katsuki guessed she was also allergic to silence like Kirishima.

“This place is perfect for autumn and winter! Their drinks are literally perfect every time I come here.”

Kirishima nodded eagerly, pausing to sip his drink before speaking.

“Right? Crazy it's already October though. The school year is getting closer and closer, I have to admit I’m kinda nervous. We still have to get through the U.A exams after all.”

Katsuki hummed absentmindedly, he wasn't really paying attention to the conversation as Kirishima and Mina shared their anxieties over the upcoming exams. Katsuki’s mind was still stuck in the fact it was October, and how long it's been since he's even heard of Izuku’s existence.

The media talked about him from time to time, but it was never because he was seen. It’s all just speculative bullshit from people who know nothing about him. Katsuki… didn't even know if Izuku was alive right now. He tried to get his mind to drop the topic, he knew if he thought about Izuku too hard, or for too long, he’d spiral. But he couldn't help but be worried. It's been what, 3 months? 4? Yet not even one sighting of Izuku. Either he was laying low real well or he… Katsuki shook his head again. The damn nerd wasn't dead. He wouldn't ditch Katsuki like that. But if he wasn't ditching Katsuki what was wrong? The only other option was that Izuku was dead-

Katsuki stood up, leaving his drink and friend(s) behind as he stumbled out the cafe, walking in some random direction as the cold hair nipped at his ears and nose. Only now he was more upset. He just ditched Kirishima and Mina for no reason. Whatever, Kirishima would understand. His body just had too much energy to sit around, he needed to do something, go somewhere, get the stress out. Thinking about Izuku was never a good thing, he needed something else to occupy his mind with something else…

His feet led him aimlessly around the city as he steadied his breathing. God damn it. He thought he'd be *over this* by now. No use being upset about it now. Focus on the now…

Katsuki managed to rip himself away from his thoughts, instead trying to be acutely aware of his surroundings. From the cold breeze, to the crunch of leaves beneath his shoes, to his phone buzzing in his pocket; Kirishima no doubt.

Eventually he stopped to sit on a sidewalk bench, looking out at the sea of people walking to and from their destinations. He took another deep breath and scowled.

He really thought he'd be over it by now. He'd been improving, or at least he thought so… There was no reason to get so upset over Izuku. Who cared if his childhood, and current, best friend had become a vigilante then supposed villain. And so what he mysteriously fell off the face of the earth with no warning?!

…

Katsuki didn't know who he was fooling, certainly not himself. He just wanted to stop being upset over Izuku, it felt irrational.

With the upset feeling mostly settled, now he just felt bad for leaving the other two behind…

Kirishima and Mina watched as Katsuki all but sprinted out of the cafe. Mina looked confused while Kirishima’s face was twisted in a mix of sadness and understanding.

“D-did I upset him…?” Mina held her cup of hot chocolate a bit tighter. Kirishima shook his head, quickly reassuring her. “No, no! It's not your fault, it’s- uh… He's just going through some things right now. Um, let's go look for him.”

Kirishima called a waiter over, paying for their drinks (which they both chugged) and quickly leaving the cafe. The two stepped back out into the chilly air and looked around.

“Know where he went?”

Kirishima placed a hand on his neck. “Uh… I’ll try texting him.”

For the next 10 minutes the two walked around the city looking for Katsuki, with very little luck. Kirishima was considering walking over to Katsuki’s house to see if he was there when the blond boy finally reappeared. He walked up to the two like he didn't just run off.

“Bakubro! You alright, man?” Kirishima already knew why he'd run off, but didn't want to mention him around Mina. Not yet.

Katsuki responded with a shrug. “Over it.”

“Are you sure? We can head back early if you-”

Katsuki waved a hand. “Over it.”

Kirishima looked unsure but didn't push further.

“Sorry for ditching you guys like that. Anyways, today's supposed to be one of our training days so… You in?”

He turned to Mina, who had been rather silent the whole time. Her face quickly shifted to that of a smile and she pumped her fist the air. “Yeah! Let's train our asses off!”

Kirishima also held up a fist. “That's the spirit! We’ll destroy the U.A entrance exam!”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah!”

Kirishima and Mina high-fives each other while Katsuki tried to remain as far away as possible to not look like he was associated with them.

He couldn't help but smile though. They're both such over-eager dumbasses…

“Right, let's go to my place then.” He started walking before the other two could respond but heard footsteps quickly catch up to him. Kirishima leaned an elbow on Katsuki’s shoulder as they walked while Mina settled to just walk beside them.

“Bakubro, I know our sparring day’s tomorrow, but I think it'd be good if we sparred today. See what level Mina’s at y’know?”

Mina leaned over to the two. “That sounds fun. I'm not the best fighter around but I have done a bit of training in a dojo.”

She held up an arm, rolled up her sweater sleeve and flexed her muscles, Kirishima and Katsuki struggled not to laugh.

“Yeah, sure. But you dumbasses better not think we’re skipping tomorrows too. We’re sticking to the schedule which means two sparring days in a row! Can't wait to kick your asses.”

Kirishima grinned as he crossed his arms. “I dunno, I think I've been making some progress.”

“And you’d be surprised how good I am at fighting! I bet I could totally catch you by surprise.”

“Eh. We’ll see. You're looking at the next number 1 hero, here! Can't be getting beat by some random extras.”

Kirishima leaned past Katsuki to look over at Mina. “Don't worry, he doesn't mean that. He just likes saying things to sound cool.” He snickered at the end of his sentence, causing Mina to smile as well.

“Hah?? As if!”

The three walked along the busy streets, talking and laughing as they went. Katsuki knew Mina would be his friend whether he wanted her to be or not, Katsuki always seemed to attract stubborn people into his life. He didn't mind though. The extra company was nice.

His mind felt clear, and light.

Izuku was the last thing on his mind.

Chapter Text

Katsuki tried to do his tie, getting more and more frustrated with every failed attempt. He was putting on his U.A uniform for the first time. He'd passed the entrance exam (obviously) and his first day was starting.

He was nervous, not because it's his first day, school never worried him. No, it was the same source as most of his day-to-day worry, Izuku.

It’d been half a year and the green haired nerd still hasn't shown up at all. No new notes, no news about him on TV, no texts, no indication he's even alive, nothing.

It's been driving him insane.

His mental state had been a graph of constant ups and downs. Confirmation Izuku’s alive? The line goes up. Hearing nothing about him for half a year? The line basically flatlines.

What else is he supposed to think other than Izuku being dead?

With a growl of frustration Katsuki tossed the stupid red tie to the ground. He just wouldn't wear it. With the rest of his uniform being presentable enough he left his bathroom, grabbing his schoolbag with one hand and slinging it over his shoulder. His supplies nearly flew out of the half unzipped bag with how hasty he was being.

He all but (unintentionally) slammed the door to his room as he made his way downstairs. His mom had made breakfast but eating food didn't sound appealing at the moment.

He walked past the living room, his parents and aunt giving him quick worried glances. He was about to leave when he heard his mom from the dining room table.

“Ah, ah, ah! Hold it.”

Katsuki stopped in his tracks and begrudgingly turned around, his eyes locked onto the floor as if it had personally offended him. His mom walked up to him, arms loosely crossed.

“Leaving without breakfast?”

Katsuki met her gaze and answered with only two words. “Not hungry.”

Mitsuki narrowed her eyes at him.

“Alright.” The tone of her voice made it clear she didn't believe him. Having dealt with his ups and downs she knew ‘not hungry’ just meant he was too wrapped up in his own head to want to eat. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips.

“Alright, you can go without breakfast here, but try to stop by a store on your way to school and at least eat something. You're not skipping dinner when you get back either. Got it, Kat?”

He didn't answer, eyes now focused on the wall.

“Katsuki.”

He scowled at her tone but responded anyway. “Yeah, got it! Damn. I’ll eat something.”

Mitsuki had an all too irritating (in Katsuki’s opinion) smile on her face as she finally let him leave for school. She stood in the door frame as he walked down their houses driving, yelling to him once he reached the end.

“And pull up your damn pants! You're not a delinquent, Kat!”

“Whatever!”

Katsuki was practically stomping his way to school. He was chewing on a cheap granola bar he'd gotten from a gas station, it wasn't much but all the old hag said was to eat ‘something’ and shitty granola bars counted as something. He had wanted to walk with Kiri and Mina but they both lived in different areas and had to take different routes. Unfortunately, that meant Katsuki was alone with his thoughts which meant the frustration and worry that had been bubbling up from this morning was free to fester.

He pulled out his phone, checking and reloading the tabs related to Izuku/Jackrabbit open. Of course, nothing new appeared. He knew nothing would change and now felt like a moron for checking anyway.

All he could do was assume Izuku was alive and it pissed him off. He wanted to look for him, he'd talk to villains if he had too! Izuku couldn't have disappeared, someone had to know something, but the chances of those who knew anything about Izuku being civilians were next to none. He could do nothing and it was just as frustrating as Izuku being gone. He hated feeling useless but that's all he was right now.

With any luck U.A would be a good enough distraction to keep Izuku off his mind. So far his plan was to just… forget about Izuku until he showed up again. He knew he could never truly forget but, he could at least go a week without thinking his best friend died. Probably.

He peeled his eyes off the concrete sidewalk to look at the towering building that was his new high school. He tossed his granola wrapper in a trash can and jogged the rest of the way to the doors. He'd been given a school layout so he wasn't completely lost, but he wasn't familiar with the place either. He had his hands in his pockets as he walked through the halls, relying on his memory of the layout plans since he didn't take it with him.

The school was as fancy as he thought it'd be. High ceiling, glass windows lining every floor, he's pretty sure he even saw a huge fountain somewhere on the school grounds. He had to admit he was impressed. Aldera was a complete dump compared to U.A.

He finally reached a hallway with two huge doors, one being labeled A and the other B. He slid open the massive 1-A door to see a dark, entirely empty classroom. There was a sleeping bag on the floor but Katsuki decided he wouldn't question it.

He flicked on the lights and walked to his desk, he had the seat arrangements memorized from the moment he got the seating chart. All the seats were flipped up on top of the desks, he flipped his own down but didn't bother with the others. 

He leaned back in his chair and placed his feet on his desk. He knew he'd gotten here early but he didn't think it'd be entirely empty. He didn't even know if his teacher was here yet.

He leaned back and closed his eyes. He might as well try to relax while there wasn't a bunch of noise around him. 

He didn't get even 10 minutes of peace and quiet when the door slid open again. Katsuki opened one eye to see who it was. A tall boy with dark blue hair and rectangular glasses. Katsuki didn't think he'd get along with the guy but at least he showed up early, Katsuki could respect that.

What he could not respect was the barrage of annoying questions and demands that came from four eyes’ mouth.

“Hello there! What is your name? My name is Tenya Iida, it’s a pleasure to meet you! However I must ask you to remove your feet from your desk at once, you are damaging school property!” The boy made chopping motions through the air with his hand as he spoke.

Katsuki scowled. Yup. He didn't like this guy. Katsuki tried to push down the urge to start a fight, but the built up frustration from earlier was still there.

“Why don't you mind your own damn business four eyes? What kind of stick did your last school shove up your ass? Whatever it was made you insufferable as hell.”

Iida’s mouth was left agape by Katsuki’s words. Not once had Iida met anyone so rude.

“You must watch your language! This is a school environment, we must be on our best behavior.”

Katsuki wanted to punch the lights out of this guy, but since Izuku disappeared his whole ‘beating people up’ thing had long ended. Instead he settled to just glare and scowl as he usually did, hoping four eyes got the hint.

Luckily, he did, and went to take his own seat and leave Katsuki alone.

Katsuki had a bad feeling about today.

A good 30 minutes later, 7 minutes before class itself started. The two bumbling morons he called friends stumbled into the room, both panting like they ran a marathon.

“Did we make it, did we make it?” Mina looked around the classroom, sighing in relief when she didn't see a teacher.

“Phew! Close call!” Kirishima wiped a bead of sweat off his face.

The dumbasses were almost late. Katsuki found it almost impressive how carefree they were at times. The two ran up to him despite their seats being on the other side of the room. They had to move through the other students who were all busy talking to each other and forming their own little groups.

“Bakubro!” The two said in sync. Katsuki never remembered approving that nickname but it was too late now.

“Why the hell were you two almost late? Didn't I tell you to wake up early?”

“Omigosh, don't get me started! My morning was awful. My alarm didn't go off and then I needed to help my mom and then— ugh you just would not believe it!”

Kirishima had a sheepish look on his face. “Oh wow. I, uh, just slept through my four alarms.”

“How the hell did you sleep through four god damn alarms?!”

“I'm a deep sleeper, man!”

“That's kinda impressive Kiri, I’m a pretty deep sleeper too but I've never slept through multiple alarms.”

While the two overeager dumbasses talked, Katsuki's eyes wandered behind them to see a yellow sleeping bag starting to stand up. He stared at it until it was fully upright, showing there was actually someone inside the thing. The man locked eyes with Katsuki for a few seconds before looking over the rest of the class, and clearing his throat.

The rest of the class went quiet and stared in near horror at the man at the front. Looked like no one else had realized he was there. Didn't they see the sleeping bag on the floor when they walked in?

The man cleared his throat again before speaking. “It took too long for you all to be quiet. Not to mention how many of you not only didn't notice me stand up, but didn't notice my bright yellow sleeping bag at all.”

The class was at a loss of words, an awkward silence over the room. Was this their new teacher? Katsuki thought he looked more like a homeless man.

The students all shuffled to their seats and looked to the front of the class, their teacher and finally stepped out of the horrendously colored sleeping bag.

“Get out your gym clothes. We have things to do.”

The students all gathered outside with their teacher, now known as Aizawa, standing a ways away from there. 

Kirishima and Mina were standing by Katsuki’s side, apparently having decided they were now the ‘Bakusquad’. (Let it be known Katsuki didn't agree with the name one bit)

Their teacher held a ball in his hands as he explained why everyone was outside.

“We’ll be doing a quirk assessment test. You’ll be doing a multitude of exercises so that I can see your potential. Bakugo.”

The boy in question raised an eyebrow when his name was called.

“How far could you throw a ball in middle school?”

“219 feet, I think.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Come up here and try it with your quirk. Anything goes, just don't leave the circle.”

Katsuki walked up to the circle drawn in white line, the two dumbasses he called friends cheering him on from behind. They must've gotten a glare from Aizawa since they quickly went quiet.

Katsuki held the ball in his hand and stretched his arms a few times before taking a stance. He wound his hand back and just as the ball was about to leave his palm, detonated his quirk with everything he had. He felt pretty confident about it, with how horribly his morning had started he'd built up plenty of sweat despite how cold it was in class.

With a trail of smoke the ball went flying forward faster than Katsuki had expected. He heard quiet gasps behind him and couldn't help but smirk. They better be impressed.

When the ball finally touched the ground their teacher held up a device showing how far the ball had been thrown; 2312 feet.

Katsuki grinned wider. It was better than he was expecting. All that quirk training with the other two dorks paid off well.

The crowd of students got rowdier.

“2312 feet?! That's insane!” A blond boy with a lighting bolt in his hair said. (What was his name? Nametari? Kaziwari?) Katsuki decided to just call him Sparky.

“That looks so fun! Let me try, Teach!” Mina said while raising her hand.

“Way to go, Bakubro!” Kirishima held out a thumbs up.

The mood was light and the students were clearly excited, this was shut down by Aizawa almost immediately.

“I see you're all rather excited.”

The class quieted instantly, now with more unsure looks on their faces. Aizawa’s tone would do that to people.

“You think this is a game? Why don't I up the stakes a bit, to make you all take this seriously. The student who ends up in last place… will be expelled.”

The students had varied reactions; Some (read Mina) called it an outrage. Others asked if that was even allowed. Some took it as a challenge, Katsuki included.

He knew he wouldn't get last place but he almost felt sorry for whoever was gonna get kicked out on their first day, but only almost. If they didn't have the potential, it'd be better for them to head out early than stay, right?

The quirk assessment continued, the rest of the students doing their ball toss with mixed results. Round face used her quirk to essentially send the ball into orbit, while others like the invisible girl (which took Katsuki an embarrassing amount of time to realize was even there) and the brainwashing kid had no advantage in such a physical activity.

The rest of the tests were equally physical, the kind of stuff you'd do as a P.E test, the only difference being they were expected to incorporate their quirks to better their results. As mentioned before, those with mental, or other quirks that didn't enhance their physical forms, were at a disadvantage.

Katsuki figured that just meant they had to work more for their goal, if they're serious about being heroes they won't let their quirk stop them. It annoyingly reminded Katsuki of when he'd been attacked by the sludge villain… all the certified heroes just standing around, watching him actively suffocate while saying they didn't have the right quirk. Apparently, not having the right quirk meant you just stood around looking stupid.

Katsuki was still very upset with all the heroes from that day. They couldn't even be considered heroes in Katsuki’s eyes. If even a quirkless kid could help more than them, why did they have a hero license at all?

Katsuki was ripped away from the bad memories when Kirishima bumped into his shoulder, his usual bright smile on his face.

“Keep your head in the game, man! Just ‘cause you got a super versatile quirk doesn't mean the rest of us have it as easy.” Kirishima almost physically wilted as he said that. Mina appeared at Katsuki’s other side with an over dramatic sigh. “Tell me about it! My acid only really gave me an edge in the race since I could slide with it, but it still couldn't match Iida’s engines or your explosions.”

“Sounds like you two dorks just need to get better.”

Kirishima and Mina shared a high-five—they'd been doing that a lot lately—with reinvigorated enthusiasm.

“Right! We at least won't end up in last place!”

“Yeah, that's the spirit!”

Katsuki struggled to keep a passive scowl on his face. He’d never understand how those two could be so happy all the time, it was damn near infectious. They were like golden retrievers personified. Their little group huddle was broken by their teacher announcing the next test was starting, they split up with good lucks being tossed between each other.

The quirk assessment test was finally over. The students crowded around each other, trying to see who was in last place. At the bottom of a board with every student's names, was one Toru Hagekure. Katsuki was 17% sure that was the invisible girl.

Katsuki watched as his teacher's eyes looked at a floating gym uniform, the other students turned to her as well, most looking sympathetic. While Katsuki would never say it aloud, he hoped she wouldn't get expelled, she'd make for a good undercover or underground hero. He wasn't too familiar with either but he'd heard Izuku gush about them enough before to at least know they existed.

“Hagekure.” Aizawa started. The girl in question, along with most of the other students, tensed. They all awaited to hear that she was officially expelled.

“You won't be expelled.”

Almost comically, audible gasps were heard. Katsuki felt like he was in a reality TV show rather than a prestigious school…

“R-really?” Hagekure had her hands clasped together if her tracksuit sleeves were any indication.

Aizawa simply nodded, his head leaned down before he looked up with a smile. A man such as Aizawa smiling was enough to frighten the whole class. Katsuki wasn't even sure it was still Aizawa…

“It was all just a logical ruse!” He kept the horror movie level grin up for a few seconds before dropping it back to his normal resting face. Katsuki, Kirishima, and Mina shared a look; none of them ever wanted to see Aizawa smile ever again.

“I knew you guys wouldn't give it your all without some motivation. And I was right. Be grateful.”

The students all had grim expressions on their faces, with Sparky voicing what everyone was thinking. “Yeah but… I feel like you could've motivated us differently, like positive reinforcement and all that?”

He got nods of agreement from Ponytail, Croaker, and Kiri. Katsuki thought the expulsion method worked fine, he didn't see the issue. If they couldn't handle a little pressure how would they be heroes? 

“This worked didn't it? Now then, you still have the rest of the day to get through. Change back into your uniforms and get ready for your usual classes.”

The class lined up to walk back into the school in a pretty anticlimactic fashion. Katsuki guessed they were all just exhausted from the test, Katsuki himself actually felt better. His mind was always cleaner when his body was in motion, it's part of the reason he liked working out so much. It gave his mind something to do other than think and run himself in circles.

Behind him Mina leaned to the side, arms folded behind her back. “Whaddya guys think lunch’ll be like? I bet they have the best food here!”

Kirishima held a finger to his chin. “I mean they gotta, right? It being U.A and all.” 

Katuski looked back at the two, surprised they hadn't done their own research. “Lunch Rush is the one who makes the food. You guys didn't look up this year's staff list? Tch.”

“Hey! I was totally busy y’know! Super busy with like, all our training.” Mina poked Katsuki’s shoulder with a pout.

“Man, I should've… Anyone other cool staff members to mention?”

Katsuki’s grinned wider than he meant to. “No.”

The two dumbasses behind him weren't fooled. Mina turned behind her to whisper to Kirishima. “See that look on his face? He's totally hiding something!”

“Hmm… but who could it be to have him grinning like that?”

Hearing them only made Katsuki smile wider. No way in hell was he telling them that All Might would be teaching this year.

“You'll figure it out eventually.”

Mina groaned. “Ugh! You're so evil, Bakubro!”

Katsuki, Kirishima, and Mina all sat at one of the booth tables in the cafeteria. Kirishima and Katsuki one side, with Mina across them, just like when Katsuki first met Mina. They each had different meals, Katsuki knew U.A would be way better than Aldera, but having multiple food options still surprised him. In his trash middle school each kid was served the same thing for lunch.

Mina had already shoved rice in her mouth, talking while chewing which grated on Katsuki’s nerves. “So wha’d’ya guysh ‘ink o’ the o’f’er kidsh q’irks?”

“Swallow your damn food first, moron!”

Kirishima stifled a laugh as Mina swallowed her food, then repeated her question. “I said, what do you guys think of the other kids’ quirks? I thought the gravity girl's quirk was super cool! I think her name’s Uraraka?”

Kirishima pointed his chopsticks at Mina. “Super cool! But honestly that engine kid, uh, Iida, was something else. Did you see how fast he won the race?”

“Not exactly a surprise since he has literal engines on his legs.” Mina tapped her cheek with her chopsticks.

“Eh.” Katsuki shrugged his shoulders. “I think the whole lot of them need a lot of work. I don't think half of the class ever worked on their quirks before entering this school.”

“Ya think?” Kirishima asked with wide eyes.

“All I’m hearing is that we got a head start!” Mina had a competitive look in her eyes. Katsuki learned early on that she could get fiercely competitive when she wanted to…

“Yeah, but we should try and help the others too, y’know? Like—”

“Hey, uh, room for three more?”

The Bakusquad looked over to see three of their classmates. Sparky, Earlobes, and Duct Tape.

Before Katsuki could even think of refusing, the two extroverts he'd somehow become friends with took it upon themselves to say yes.

“Omigosh, totally!”

“Yeah, we have room.”

The students all shifted in their seats, even pulling up additional chairs to fit everyone at the table. Katsuki wasn't fond of how crowded it was getting, but didn't say anything. 

“Yo, Bakugo right! I'm Denki Kaminari. Your quirk is insane, man!”

“F’real. You blasted the ball to the sky! Oh, uh, I’m Hanta Sero, by the way!”

Earlobes twisted a finger around her earphone jack and gave a simple; “Kyouka Jirou.”

“Thanks.” Is all Katsuki mumbled out to the praise Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 gave him. He wasn't that he disliked it, but he'd heard it all before from Aldera.

Katsuki let the conversation of the five other teens fade into the background. Logically, he knew it'd be better to pay attention, but his day had been more mentally exhausting than he'd meant for it to be and preferred to keep to himself for the moment. His food all but abandoned on his tray.

After a heated debate over whether one of their classmates (Tokoyami) would be considered an avian or mammal, the school’s bell rang. Katsuki snapped out of whatever reverie he had found himself in to see the other students picking up their trays. Katsuki grumbled a few curses under his breath at the fact he hadn't finished his food, sure it was his fault for staring out a window instead of eating but he was still allowed to be pissed about it!

He stood with one tray in his hand, Mina, Sparky, and Duct Tape walked ahead while Kirishima and Earlobes (Jirou, was it?) stuck around.

“You good?” Kirishima offered his usual smile, the one he gave when he knew Katsuki’s mind was distracted. It wasn't a smile of pity, if it was then Katsuki would've hit him, it was more a smile of quiet understanding.

“Yeah, let's go. Only got a few classes left anyways.”

The Bakusquad (plus the three extras) walked through the halls together, moving through the crowds of U.A students. Unbeknownst to Katsuki, two new dumbasses, and one sane person, were a part of the Bakusquad now. It’d just take him more than a week to notice…

Katsuki stepped off the train, waving to his friends without looking.

“See ya Bakubro!” Said with a smile. Katsuki could just hear the dumb grin on the guy's face.

“Actually text us back later, ‘kay?” Similarly, Katsuki could imagine Mina waving her phone around and pouting. How one girl managed to pout so much without hurting her cheeks, Katsuki would never know.

“Uh-huh.” He was sure they didn't hear him but kept walking anyway.

His first day at U.A was finally over. More uneventful than he'd hoped but he knew that wouldn't last long. He liked seeing his classmates quirks, he had a good grasp on which were the stronger ones and which needed serious work. His teacher was creepy but he could respect the 'logical ruse’ the teacher told to get the extras more motivated. He sure as hell didn't envy the guy though, looking free 20 super powered teenagers? Katsuki could never.

He knew Auntie Inko would want to hear about his day so as he walked he tried to figure out how he'd try to phrase everything when he inevitably told her about it. He took out his phone to check for any messages he'd missed throughout the day and sure enough he had one from his mom, telling him what she was making for dinner and asking him to get some stuff on his way home. He huffed but changed his direction to a small 24/7 gas station anyway, going over the list she'd sent him and texting back she'd have to pay him back.

When he got to the store parking lot he took a minute to look at the sky above him. It was strangely beautiful. The sun was nearing the horizon, the sky a deep orange mixed with hints of dark pink and muted purple. Why did gas stations always have the best views? He tore his eyes away from the golden hour sky and walked into the store, he was more than ready to get home and get started on the schoolwork they'd be assigned.

Katsuki stepped through the door, kicking it shut with the heel of his foot.

“I’m back!”

He shifted his shoes off and stepped into the main part of the house, the smell 

of a home cooked meal already in the air.

“Got what ya wanted, hag.” He held out the plastic bags to his mom who simply responded with a hum as she grabbed them from him.

“Do me a favor and help Inko set the table.”

He turned on his heel and walked to the dining room table where he saw Inko setting out plates, he took a few from her to help.

“Oh, thank you, Katsuki.”

“Mhm.”

The two fell into a familiar routine, it's something they did near daily, Katsuki thought it was actually kinda nice.

“So, how was your first day?”

“It was pretty good. We had this whole quirk assessment test and everything.” A smile formed on his face as he looked over at his Aung, proud to share what he'd done with her. “I threw a ball 2312 feet!”

Inko held a hand to her cheek with a smile. “Oh goodness! That's very impressive Katsuki.”

“Don't give him more of an ego, Inko!” His mom shouted from the kitchen.

“Ah, shut it, hag! It's cool and you know it!”

“I'm proud of you too, Kat.” Masaru said from his spot on the couch, laptop perched on his lap.

Inko turned back to Katsuki after a quick glance at Masaru. “Make any friends?”

“Eh. I mean Kirishima and Mina got in so that's pretty cool. There were these three others but they just sat with us for lunch, wouldn't call ‘em friends yet.”

“That's nice to hear. I'm glad Kirishima and Ashido got in, I think they’ll make lovely heroes someday.”

Katsuki just nodded in agreement. As annoying as the two could be, they would be good heroes. Katsuki would be a good hero, he'd make sure of it. Personality-wise and strength-wise. 

“Hope we do more interesting stuff, though. Today was boring as hell.”

“Give it time, dear. You only just started, I’m sure they'll have much more challenging things in store for you and your classmates. They're not the best hero school for no reason!”

The two finished setting up the table in comfortable silence, and right on time too since Mitsuki finished the food, placing bowls of oyakodon on the table. Katsuki helped his mom get the servings together while Masaru and Inko took their seats at the table. Soon enough, the whole family were sitting together with warm meals in front of them.

Katsuki wasted no time in eating his food, having barely eaten any of his school lunch. The food was good, always was, but he left it to Inko to compliment Mitsuki’s cooking.

“Goodness, Mitsuki! I don't know how you do it.” Inko said while blowing on her food.

“Haha, I told you I’d share some tips with you. You should help next time, cooking’s always been our family’s thing.”

It was true too. The Bakugo household was a very mixed one before Inko joined the picture. With two hotheads and one mediator, you'd expect the house to be in constant chaos, which it usually was. But cooking was something that'd always bring them together, let them fall into comfortable silence and routine while they just enjoyed each other's company. There usually wasn't much discussion during dinner, but since Auntie Inko joined that'd changed.

“We all have a hand in cooking, Kat gets it from us both, really.” Masaru, who'd dragged his laptop to the table as well, added in.

Katsuki took another bite of his food and couldn't help but wonder what Izuku was up to at the moment, ‘cause the nerd sure as hell wasn't dead.

Izuku, Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and Giran stood at the front of a warehouse with a crowd of villains in front of them.

“So?” Giran asked while puffing smoke from his mouth. “This is what you wanted, right?”

Shigaraki looked over the crowd with distaste but nodded. “It’ll work for what we need even though I didn't get to plan it…” 

Izuku rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for Shigaraki’s childishness. “Yeah, yeah. This works great, thank you, Giran.”

Izuku and Giran shared a knowing look that left Shigaraki glaring at the two.

Izuku raised a hand to signal the group of villains’ attention.

“Right! Everybody knows what the plan is?”

A chorus of yes’s and uh-huh’s sounded through the room. Izuku decided to go over the plan again anyway.

“Well if anyone needs a refresher, in the upcoming weeks we’ll be breaking into and attacking U.A. You all will be portaled to the scene as backup fighters, you're tasked with either taking down or stalling the hero students while Shigaraki and I try to take down All Might. When the fight is over, you'll be portaled back to this warehouse. Everyone understand?”

Another chorus of confirmation sounded through the room and Izuku nodded.

“That’ll be all, unless Shigaraki has something to say?” He said it almost as a taunt, daring Shigaraki to intervene. The villain simply glared at Izuku silently.

“Well then, bye everyone.”

The crowd of villains grumbled but eventually filed out of the warehouse leaving the four on the stage as the only ones left. Giran stretched and let out a sigh. “Well, looks like you guys have this handled. I have places to be, yeah? Call me if you need me.” The broker turned on his heel and headed for the door, the sounds of his footsteps echoing through the large, empty, room.

Izuku hummed and turned to Kurogiri. “Let's head back then, we have a lot of things to prepare. I still have to get a hold of some lesson plans too…”

“If you get caught just know I won't try breaking you out of jail.” Shigaraki snarled out.

“Feeling’s mutual. Back to the bar, Kurogiri!”

A portal appeared beside the three and they each walked through. The Leage of Villain’s debut would be soon. 

Izuku dreaded it.

Chapter Text

Izuku stood in the bar and adjusted his vigilante outfit. Checking and double checking that all his gear was ready and that he had all his supplies. Everything seemed good. 

Today was the day he'd be breaking into U.A to steal some lesson plans for their attack. Originally, Izuku wanted to do more a stealth mission, but the school would have cameras and he did not want his face to be known by the heroes or school. So breaking and entering it was.

He'd be using the media to his advantage, paparazzi tended to take things too far, making for great distractions. Izuku had no doubt he could jump the U.A wall while the heroes tried to get the crowd of reporters under control, the building would be mostly clear too, with the students in the halls trying to leave because of an intruder alarm. It wasn't perfect, but it’d work.

Izuku looked at his phone, checking the date and time. April 6th, 11:02 AM. It was a little mean to cause an incident on only the third day of school, but it had to be done. Shigaraki was as impatient as ever.

With a glance at Kurogiri, a portal opened in front of Izuku. Luckily Shigaraki wasn't around to say something snarky as he left.

Stepping through the portal he found himself right outside the school’s wall. Reporters were already hovering near the entrance, but they weren't as rowdy as Izuku needed them to be.

Izuku changed some settings on his gas mask, he hadn't been able to utilize the voice changing mechanic much but this was the perfect time to use it. He mumbled a few words to test if the voice changer worked, giving himself a generic yet older sounding voice, before shouting from his hiding place.

“I even heard All Might was on campus today!”

The reporters whispered amongst themselves, some asking if it was true. It didn't matter if it was true or not, the crowd took the bait and walked right up to the U.A entrance, putting pressure on the gates like they were a hoard of zombies trying to push it over. Izuku did not envy the heroes that'd have to deal with them.

Whether the paparazzi and reporters actually broke through wasn't his problem though, in fact it worked in his favor.

He had a mission to complete.

Izuku moved from his hiding place, sprinting around the side of the wall to get a away from the crowd and heroes that'd soon arrive. The U.A wall looked over him as he approached it, he was lucky he had all his gear.

He aimed an arm up and shot the grappling hook from his glove over the wall. Izuku jumped up as the hook’s cord reeled in, pulling him up and over the wall. He landed with a roll and got to his feet, standing in the middle of the school campus. He did feel rather exposed, looking clearly out of place in his outfit and it being midday. All the more reason to get it done quickly.

Through the glass windows, Izuku could see floods of students stuck in the hallways, the sound of alarms in the distance. Perfect.

He jogged his way over the large campus and snuck through a door into a stairwell. He'd done a bit of research on the school, while he didn't have a map he did have a general knowledge of how the school was laid out. The teacher’s lounge was a couple floors up and in another building. He needed to pick up the pace… He knew why he had to do the mission instead of Shigaraki, but that didn't make it any less frustrating. If only the man-child could run his own errands.

A couple of floors up, Izuku creaked open a door, once he knew the coast was clear he started with a jog then switched to a sprint as he ran towards the teacher’s lounge. Any hero on the job should be occupied with the reporters, but if they weren't well… That's why Izuku had his gun on hand. There wouldn't be any casualties or fatal wounds if he could help it, but a shot to the leg would prevent anyone from chasing him.

Overhead signs flew past him as he ran, he read each one carefully, skidding to a halt when he finally reached the one that read 'teacher’s lounge'. He'd been in the school for at least 15 minutes and he knew there were cameras, so he needed to grab a class plan and get out.

He couldn't hear anything past the door, opening it confirmed the room was empty. He walked past the cubicles quickly, eyeing the papers strewn around for any sign of a lesson plan. Nothing. He turned his gaze to some file cabinets in the back and began rummaging through them. He'd take papers out at random, check them, and stuff them back if they were no good.

This one? Nope, lunch plans for some reason.

Here? No, that's for history.

Heroics, heroics… Where are the heroic plans…

The next one Izuku took out looked promising, a plan detailing taking one of the classes to the USJ with Eraserhead and Thirteen for rescue training. All Might wasn't listed to be there, but maybe that'd work out for the better.

A plan entered Izuku’s head, one that'd prevent what Shigaraki wanted. A grin broke out beneath his gas mask. Plans that made Shigaraki mad were his favorite!

He folded the paper up and slid it into his utility belt. Now he just had to make his grand escape.

Izuku walk back to the door, pushing it open only to be met with the face of the pro hero Snipe. The two stared at each other for a few seconds almost comically.

“Wha- Who are—”

The hero doesn't get to finish his sentence as Izuku pushed the him out of the way and sprinted down the hall. Snipe let out a string of curses under his breath as he fumbled for his gun, but by the time he looked up, Izuku was already out of sight.

“So we’re really just gonna sit here?” Kirishima asked with his hand on his neck.

Katsuki took a sip of his drink. “Yup. It can't be that serious, probably some over eager morons at the gate.”

Mina laid her face on the cafeteria table, banging a hand against it. “Ugh! But the alarms are so loud and annoying.”

“You’ll live.”

Kirishima turned in his chair, looking at a crowd of students gathered around the hall leading out of the cafeteria. “You guys think we should help? I mean, everyone else is panicking and trampling each other.”

“They’ll live.”

Mina stood up, her chair being pushed back. “We at least gotta check what's causing all this! C'mon, boys!” Mina turned before either could agree or disagree, they both ended up following anyway.

The three stopped in front of the glass windows that U.A was practically made out of. To the side, nearly out of view, was the entrance gate. People in suits with cameras in their hands surrounded the entrance on every side, each pushing their microphones in the heroes' faces. The heroes were trying their best to calm the crowd and get them to back off, with little success. Katsuki turned his gaze to the campus grounds, he saw someone sprinting across it like they were running from something. That’s suspicious…

The person had a green suit and a… rabbit mask…

Katsuki’s eyes widened and he slammed a palm against the glass, startling his friends beside him.

That's him. That's definitely him.

Katsuki watched in thinly veiled fear and confusion as Izuku fled from U.A, somehow managing to fling himself over the wall and out of view.

Katsuki was dumbfounded. That was Izuku. Izuku? At U.A? Why? Why was he running? Katsuki wanted to chase after him, but his body was frozen in place. He could feel his free hand shaking, the hand on the glass keeping him upright. He felt sick. Is Izuku actually a villain? Hell no.

He let out a huff of air and shook his head. No, that's ridiculous. Izuku’s been a starry eyed hero hopeful since he learned what a hero even was! He wouldn't…

But he couldn't deny what he saw either. Did Izuku cause the alarms to go off? Was he the intruder? But… why…

Why, was the only thing Katsuki could ask.

Why, why, why, why, why? What the hell was going on?

It didn't make sense. What was Izuku up to?

He didn't want to— he refused to believe Izuku actually gave up on being a hero. He’d promised. Said they'd be heroes together, that they'd be the best heroes. Did he lie? No, no, Izuku couldn't lie to save his life.

Katsuki laid his forehead against the glass, the coolness of it helping him calm his breathing. He needed to get his thoughts sorted. He must be misunderstanding the situation. At least Izuku was alive…?

Yeah. Yeah, that's good news. He’s alive.

A tug on Katsuki’s arm led him away from the glass, he was so stuck in his head he didn't even register it. He ran a hand through his hair, gripping it tightly in his now sweaty hands. He has to be misunderstanding the situation. He tapped a finger against his head anxiously. 

No matter which way he tries to rationalize or reinterpret it, it doesn't change the facts. Izuku, who hadn't shown himself for over a half a year, suddenly showed up during a school lockdown. He fled, fled, from the school. He wouldn't have needed to run if he didn't do anything wrong. 

Katsuki felt dread pooling his stomach. He really hoped it was some misunderstanding, but his gut told him to trust what he'd seen. Damn it, Izuku. What the hell did you get yourself into this time?

Izuku was a good 20 or so blocks away from the school by now. If there was one thing Izuku was good at, it was running. He slowed himself to a stop and let out a sigh, letting the tension fall from his shoulders. He leaned against some random alley wall and took out the lesson plan he stole. It fit all the criteria except for All Might being scheduled, but he could easily fix that. He'd need to change out of his vigilante outfit though, he looks far too suspicious to just waltz into a library and alter the paper. He didn't bring a change of clothes, which he'd have to make sure to do from now on, so he'd have to steal something.

He puts the schedule plan away and claws his way to a short building’s roof. There was sure to be a clothing store nearby. On the roof he looked around, but a screen on a building caught his eye instead. 

It was a report on the fiasco at U.A. Izuku didn't know the news would get out that quickly, but considering reporters were at the scene it shouldn't have been surprising. Along with the fact U.A had been infiltrated, the world also knew of All Might being employed there. He almost felt bad for the guy, almost.

The most concerning part to Izuku was that Snipe had seen him. There were a few photos of him on the screen, taken from security cameras when he was haphazardly running through the school’s halls. He knew it'd happen but it still upset him. He shook his head. The fact he got out uninjured is what's important.

He needed to get this paper altered before Shigaraki got impatient.

Over the sea of buildings Izuku spotted a shop he stole from in his earlier vigilante days—Aimono's was it?—and hopped down from the building in its direction. He made it to the building rather quickly, keeping his masks on as he entered through the back door. If he walked in confidently enough, maybe the workers wouldn't do anything. Entering at the back provided him some cover from the cashier at the front. Good.

Keeping himself hidden behind racks of clothing, Izuku grabbed whatever clothes were closest to him; a shirt themed after some hero show and dull blue jeans. It’d do.

He slipped back into the alleyway undetected and headed farther into the alley to change knowing the store itself didn't have changing rooms. Shops usually had cameras around the back of them and Izuku did not need his face to be known because he wasn't careful enough when stealing clothes...

Once he was sure the area was free from cameras he switched outfits. He obviously couldn't take his knives or gun with him, so he hid his weapons within his folded costume. Although he didn't think his plain red utility belt was recognizable enough for anyone to suspect him, he still left it. The only thing he took from it being his villain phone, the school lesson plan, and the card Kacchan gave him. He hid his outfit behind a trash can in a dead end, if it was stolen he'd have to waste even more time chasing the thief down.

It'd have to do… Izuku jogged out of the alleyway, checking his phone to see his Shigaraki had already started yelling at him. 47 missed messages, 46 from Shigaraki and 1 from Kurogiri. He ignored whatever Shigaraki whined about but did check Kurogiri’s message.

‘Please update me on your mission. - Kurogiri’

Izuku held back a laugh at the message. It’ll forever be a mystery as to why Kurogiri signs his text messages.

Izuku typed back a quick message as he continued towards the local library.

‘Got what I needed, it fits the plan nicely. On a related errand, be back soon. Tell Shigaraki to stop texting me or I’ll turn off my phone.’

Kurogiri read the message but didn't respond. Izuku wasn't bothered, that's just how the villain was.

The library entered his view and he slowed to a walk. He stepped through the glass doors, the smell of old books hitting his nose as soon as his foot touched the worn down carpet. Right, need to alter the lesson plan. Giving a polite greeting to the librarian at the front desk, he made his way to the public printers; available for limited use. He took out his phone, he'd be able to copy the lesson plan and alter it.

Izuku would add All Might’s name to the list of teachers for the day. He'd make up some excuse when they started the attack as to why All Might didn't show.

While Izuku was confident that All Might wouldn't die during the attack, Izuku added lots of little errors in his plan to ensure the heroes victory, there was no way to tell what would happen next time. Izuku knew of All Might’s secret, knew the number 1 hero was on borrowed time when it came to protecting people. If the league found out, they'd make it an attack of endurance rather than strength, and that would definitely kill All Might.

He just needed to assist the heroes from the villains side however he could, like altering stolen documents and sabotaging plans.

Izuku leaned against the wooden table that housed the rows of printers, fingers tapping away on his phone as he connected it to the printer. All he had to do was have the lesson plan scanned, have a digital copy sent to his phone, slip All Might’s name in after Thirteen’s, then reprint it.

His foot bounced anxiously as he went through the whole process, it taking longer than he hoped it would've. Maybe he could've just lied and said there were no plans that included All Might… No, Shigaraki was dumb but not that dumb. He'd just deal with whatever Shigaraki and Sensei had to say about it when he got back.

While waiting for the lesson plan to be reprinted Izuku turned back to his phone, this time looking up some news articles. Everyone was talking about the U.A break-in of course, Izuku just wanted to see what the public had to say about him.

It didn't take long for him to find an article with himself as the focus. Unfortunately, having been a vigilante before, he was already identified as Jackrabbit. Posts were made about him, saying he had officially joined the dark side, that he betrayed the people he'd previously saved, some even saying he was always a villain. He didn't pay them much mind. Over the few months he'd been more involved in the league's missions he learned to ignore public perception and the words of online strangers. Before, strangers' words had a lot of effect on him. He wanted to live up to people's expectations, wanted to be called and known as a hero to all. When he joined the league, he knew he'd never be known as a hero again. He came to terms and accepted that, along with it he accepted that people's perceptions of him were insignificant.

He was going to check another article that included a witness statement from Snipe when the lesson plan finally finished being reprinted. Izuku was embarrassed to admit he flinched when the paper was pushed out of the printer. He grabbed the newly doctored lesson plan with a sigh and put it in his pocket along with his phone. This better have been worth it…

Before, Katsuki’s mind was overrun with fear and uncertainty. Now? He was royally pissed off.

What the hell was that moron thinking? Being a villain? Katsuki wanted to punch some sense into Izuku, or kill him, he hadn't decided yet. Like hell Katsuki would ever allow Izuku to be a villain! Someone must've brainwashed or manipulated the freckled idiot for things to turn out this way. 

He was currently sitting on one of the hospital beds in the infirmary, apparently Kirishima had brought him over when he was… distracted. Recovery Girl had long since shooed them out of the room, saying Katsuki needed some time to himself which wasn't wrong. She hadn't asked questions. Katsuki was thankful for that. An interrogation was the last thing he needed, but it did raise another concern. (How did Izuku manage to cause so much concern?)

Should he tell someone about Izuku…? He is a villain now. Heroes were supposed to arrest villains. Maybe they could catch Izuku before he did anything really fucked up, (Killing in self-defense doesn't count as fucked up, it was self-defense.)

Maybe the heroes would go easy on him cause he was young… Maybe Katsuki could convince them to help Izuku instead of throwing him in jail… There has to be something he could do. Something to not make him feel so useless.

What he really needed was a damn break. All the worry and dread he’d felt over Izuku being dead was replaced with fury and betrayal. Dumbass disappears then shows up committing a crime? Seriously?

Katsuki eyed the clock, his next class was starting soon. He wasn't even sure why he was still in the infirmary, he wasn't actually hurt and he stopped hyperventilating a long time ago.

Recovery Girl sat at her desk, dealing with paper work. Katsuki slid off the bed. “I’m heading back to class…”

Recovery Girl hummed but didn't look back at him. “If you're feeling alright now. Just know you can come back at any time, okay?”

Katsuki nodded and left the infirmary, not sure if she even knew he responded.

He slid the door behind him and rushed through the halls. He wouldn't be late by any means but he knew if he got lost in his thought he would be late. Class first, mental spiral later. It was right after lunch so it’d be English with Present Mic. Katsuki dreaded that class, there wasn't anything wrong with Present Mic, he just didn't want to deal with how loud the teacher was. He already had a headache, Mic’s enthusiasm would only make it worse.

The door shut with a click behind him. Izuku was finally back at the bar, in his vigilante outfit with the doctored document in his utility belt. Kurogiri dutifully stood behind the counter with Shigaraki on a bar stool ranting about some online game lobby he was just in. 

The two turned to face him, Shigaraki immediately scowling.

“Took you long enough. Where the hell have you been?

“Busy. I got what we needed and that's what’s important.”

He set the document down on the counter and sat on a stool one away from Shigaraki. “Go ahead and read it. Fits everything we need.”

Shigaraki mumbled but picked the lesson plan up anyway, Kurogiri also leaned over to read its contents.

“It’s… Fine.”

Izuku grinned smugly, he knew it was perfect. He snatched the paper back from the villain and remolded it. “Now we have our location I’ll tweak the plan and get some information on the USJ and class 1-A students. Don't bother me, ‘kay?”

Shigaraki groaned, which Izuku took as an agreement. He hopped off the bar stool and headed up the stairs, eager to get back to his room.

The door to his room creaked open with a gentle push, the lights off and Rokuto starfished over his bed. He smiled at the sight, at least Rokuto could relax while he was gone.

He shut the door with the heel of his foot, switched on the lights, and slumped into his desk chair. He sat limply for a few seconds, debating on whether or not he should procrastinate his research.

No… it’d be more of a pain to do it tomorrow, and he didn't want to form any bad habits. He sat upright in his chair with a stretch. Maybe he could do some quirk analysis on the students while he was at it. Two birds, one stone and all that.

He lifted the screen of his little laptop and logged in. After a few searches and lots of tabs being opened in the background, he sifted through the information he could find.

Luckily, or unluckily in their case, U.A had an online website that listed things like seating charts, complete with students' full names. Izuku was a little surprised at how easily anyone (read; villains) could get access to students' information. If he wasn't currently working as a villain he would've sent a complaint, but as it stands the poor security benefits him.

He was able to navigate to the website and find the 1-A class roster, his eyes ran over each student's name and picture until it landed on one familiar face; Kacchan.

Izuku’s eyes widened slightly. Of course Kacchan got into 1-A… Izuku slumped in his chair again, he felt guilty seeing his best friend's face after so long. Izuku knew his situation didn't look good from the outside, to everyone else he's just another villain. He hates to think that Kacchan thought of him like that too… Did he know Izuku was the one to break into his school? Did he know Izuku had killed more people than the public knew of? Of course not, he had no way to know because Izuku hadn't spoken to him in months!

He ruffled his hair out of frustration, he'd deal with all this later. He gathered all the class’s names and put them in a public quirk registry database, getting the name and basic rundown of their quirks. It wasn't entirely useful, not nearly as good as seeing the quirk or having the person themself explain it, but it'd work for what he needed. In a separate page he clicked on the U.A facilities tab to see what the USJ was.

It meant ‘Unforeseen Simulation Joint’ but all Izuku could think of was Universal Studios Japan.

It was a rescue training facility, with multiple different areas that were built to replicate natural disasters and have students act out rescue missions and drills within them. He took note of what students quirks would work best in each location.

The frog girl would obviously do well in the ocean area, so he'd make sure Kurogiri portaled her to the mountain area instead. Kacchan would be portaled to the ocean area instead, his quirk and water didn't play nice together. What else…

The laser boys quirk would be difficult to use in close quarters, he'd be sent to the replica city. The bird boy’s quirk works best in shadows, keep him in the open under sunlight.

Izuku went through each students quirk and where best to put them to have them at the disadvantage, the only ones he didn't do this for were the teachers. All Might wouldn't really be there so he didn't have to worry about that, but Eraserhead and Thirteen would of course protect their students. If Izuku had to guess, Eraserhead would take on the combat while Thirteen protected the students until everyone was portaled to the different areas. 

Maybe he could leave a few students by the door… Izuku doesn't want to cause too much damage to the heroes side, if one of the students could escape and get help it'd end the raid early without making Izuku look suspicious. The part of that plan he hates is that it relies on the students being strong and clever enough to find a way past Kurogiri… Izuku hated relying on other people.

Whether it was heroes or villains, there were very few people he relied on, random hero hopefuls were not included in those few. Well, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. He’ll have to come up with backup plans to end the raid without any casualties if the students can't escape on their own.

Izuku pulled his phone from his pocket, it was only 8 PM. He sighed and ran a hand down his face.

It was gonna be a long night, wasn't it? Maybe he should do some patrolling instead. It'd been far too long since he got someone arrested.

Katsuki knew what he was doing was technically illegal, but didn't really care. After eating dinner, mandatory family game night, cleaning up after family game night and getting mildly interrogated about what happened at school, he was finally able to get to his room. He didn't even change out of his uniform, just dropped his bag on the ground and rushed to his computer, all the while ignoring the concerned texts from his friends. Katsuki was on some less than legal websites, the kinds where villains gather like some sort of hub.

He'd never tell anyone how he knew how to get to these websites, but he was glad he knew how. He never thought they'd actually come in handy.

He was looking stuff up about Jackrabbit, putting his name in every search bar available and scouring posts, old and new alike, for any sign of the name. There'd been a few posts on him, but they were just incoherent rants about how they'd gotten arrested by him. 

Katsuki grumbled. That wasn't what he was looking for! He needed stuff after his vigilante days. Izuku had somehow turned to villainy and Katsuki needed to understand why and how.

He made a post of his own, posing himself as a thug who'd been nearly caught by Jackrabbit and now searching for revenge. He asked if anyone knew where Jackrabbit was, or anyone who was affiliated with Jackrabbit.

He didn't get answers immediately, expected but still frustrating. He left his post to stew on the website and switched to some other tabs he'd pulled up from searching for Izuku's villain/vigilante name.

‘ Jackrabbit, villain or vigilante? ‘

‘ ive seen this guys name thrown around a lot but im a bit confused. some people say they were arrested by him but others say he's a villain, i just wanna know if i meet the guy whether or not i'm gonna get arrested. ‘

‘ he used to be a vigilante but apparently turned to villainy. ‘

‘ i wouldnt be so sure, i heard he just arrested someone tonight, check the news. ‘

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed, it could be someone lying out their ass over the internet but it wouldn't hurt to check. He clicked off the illegal website and searched Jackrabbit’s name in his computer's default search engine. Sure enough, news reports from around 9 PM.

‘ Jackrabbit is back to arresting villains! ‘

‘ Jackrabbit, vigilante turned villain, was once a beloved hero of Musutafu. He’d take down villains and leave them for the police to arrest, but somewhere along his path it took a dark turn. Jackrabbit had gone radio silent, only to be seen with villains. Not only that, murders reported to be caused by Jackrabbit surfaced, notably a serial killer known for targeting women. While some say he's simply taking his vigilantism to the next level, many agree it's just pure villainy. Of course this doesn't count the more minor crimes Jackrabbit’s committed such as theft and fraud.

There had been a long time where Jackrabbit hadn't arrested any villains, causing the public to believe he'd truly turned to the dark side, only for a shocking turn of events this very night.

A villain, a 40 year old man known for harassing young girls, was left beat up with knife wounds and tied to a street lamp with a note taped to his chest. The note read, “Sorry for the wait! I’m back to patrolling, expect more creeps and villains to be taken down now that I’m back. - Jackrabbit”

The public is split on Jackrabbit’s return, many claiming he himself needs to be arrested while others say he's making the city safer by getting rid of villains.

What are your thoughts? Consider joining our -’

Katsuki stopped reading there, he wasn't joining anything. But the article itself was incredibly useful. Izuku went missing for a half a year, making no arrests during that time, but the day he breaks into U.A he's suddenly back to taking down villains? And what was that about killing another person...? Katsuki just knows he's gonna have a headache throughout the rest of the week, all ‘cause of one green-haired moron doing stupid shit. He needed some way to contact Izuku; he eyed his phone on the table, but surely it couldn't be that easy… He'd texted Izuku dozens on times, in the beginning he'd get left on read, then not even that, but with Izuku returning maybe he'd respond this time 'round...

Katsuki picked his phone up and opened his messages app, tapping on Izuku's contact. Might as well try...