Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started when Izuku was 5. His mother sat on the old camelback sofa, smoking a cigarette. Izuku had learnt that every time his mother smoked, it was best to leave her alone and not upset her. Inko started smoking as soon as his father left. Izuku remembers that night as clear as day. It was only a year ago, when Izuku was diagnosed quirkless. His mother and father had gotten into a fight about what to do with Izuku now. His father wanted to leave him in the middle of nowhere, while Inko suggested keeping him for “profit”, whatever that meant. He saw his fathers steam, and knew what would happen next. His body moved on it's own and before he knew it izuku dove in front of his mother, taking the burn. His father stood in shock, before grabbing a suitcase, which izuku hadn't noticed before in the commotion, and ran out the door. Izuku's mother sat on the ground, looking at his burnt back. She sat there with a scowl on her face, stormed to her room, and slammed the door. Izuku stood up, hissing at the pain, and retreated back to his room, silently watching online videos on first aid, to heal his wound, and for future wounds he was anticipating.

Izuku shook his head, trying to shake off the memory. Just as Izuku was about to head upstairs, to watch the newest Allmight fight, a voice called him across the apartment.
“Izuku, come here.” his mother said in a monotone voice, with only a small hint of satisfaction hiding within. He shuddered, rethinking everything that happened that day. What could she possibly be mad about? He cleaned the house, made them dinner, and even did the laundry. God, did he forget a piece of her clothing? He stopped himself, and started walking back to his mother slowly.

“Yes mother?” he said in a weak submissive tone, eye staring at the floor.

“We are going to the park.”

Izuku's head sprung up at this. The park? He hasn't been to the park since before he was diagnosed! A small smile appeared on his face.

“ Right now? “ He bounced at the balls of his feet, enjoying the thought of a park trip.

“Yes.” His mother said ominously.

“Ok mama lets g-” he said, before he was cut off

“ Do you have any white clothing deer?” She said, in a voice too sweet for her usual angry demeanor.

Izuku nodded yes, before darting upstairs to change into his new white T-short, and some black shorts. He didn't have time to question his mothers request. He was way too excited about the park. As soon as he ran down the stairs, he saw his mother by the door. They quickly left the apartment, and started the drive to the park. Izuku didn't recognize where they were, but thought that maybe they were going to a new park. He stared out the window, watching the skyscraper pass by, which then turned into small buildings, and before he knew it, he was in a forest. He jumped out of the car, walking beside his mother.

“Mama, where are we?” He said confused and scared. Izuku didn't see anybody else around, other than an older man, who looked to be in his mid 30’s. He was wearing a dark jumpsuit, and a mask. Izuku eyed the man suspiciously, before looking back up at his mother. His mother smiled at him. Not the warm smiles he would occasionally see when he was younger, but more a sharp toothy grin that scared him more.

“See that man over there?” She said in a tone in which Izuku couldn't decipher. Despite his worry and fear, he nodded yes.

“ You have a 1 minute headstart to run into the forest Izuku.” His eyes widened, but before he could process what was happening, his mother added one more thing.

“Dont let him catch you, Izuku.”

Chapter Text

Izuku knew better than to not trust his mother, but still gave her a questioning look.

“ I wouldn't waste time, Izuku.”

He looked back to see the man now holding a bat. Had he had that before, but Izuku didn’t notice? That bat was what sent him into the forest. He didn’t have a good sense of time, but knew one minute was pretty short. Considering their size difference, Izuku was utterly doomed. He kept running, pushing forward one step less. His bare feet hurt on the harsh forest ground, cursing his mother for making him take off his shoes and socks before they left. Every sharp stone and thorny twig felt like a personal betrayal.

He kept running no matter what, through the cuts from the branches that left an obvious trail of blood or the wild animals he spotted along the way. A rustle here, a flick of a tail there; panic bubbled at the edges of his mind. It wasn’t long before he heard another set of footsteps behind him. Izuku knew he couldn’t outrun the man who was practically three times his size, so he took a sharp left and hid inside an empty log he found, his heart racing. The cool, damp wood offered little comfort against the chilling reality of his situation.

Izuku thought he might have a winning chance at this game, his mother put him through. He didn’t know what the consequences of losing were, but the bat didn’t put his mind at ease. The footsteps seemed to stop nearby, too close, he thought. Anxiety tightened around him like a vice. He strained to hear, every sound magnified, the beating of his heart, the rustle of leaves, the croak of a distant frog. Before he could think, move, or blink, a large hand grabbed him by the leg and pulled. Izuku tried to get up, but he was struck in an instant by a hard object. The hit would have hurt more if Izuku hadn’t blacked out before the effect fully kicked in.

When he awoke, the forest enveloped him in the same oppressive darkness. The towering trees stood as silent, their branches twisting overhead like fingers grasping for something just out of reach. A shiver ran through Izuku's body as he crouched, heart hammering against his ribcage. He was still lost in thought before his situation surged back like a cold wave, he was not alone.

The stillness of the forest was shattered by a low, mocking chuckle that echoed through the trees. The man's voice dripped with malice, twisting the very air around Izuku.

“Awake already? I was hoping for a longer nap.”

The taunt sent a jolt of fear coursing through him, and Izuku pressed himself tighter against the rough bark of the tree, attempting to make himself as small as possible. Panic surged within him as he strained to listen. There was no mistaking the footsteps that approached him, deliberate and slow, as if savoring the hunt. He could feel the tension coiling tighter with each passing moment, the darkness closing in like a noose. With every ounce of courage he could muster, Izuku focused, drawing the strength from within. He had survived once, he could do it again.

Memories of the way the forest used to be flooded his mind, he had to use that knowledge. As the footsteps drew closer, Izuku's breath quickened, blood still fresh on his skin. The man's laughter, cruel and derisive, sent icy fingers crawling along his spine.

“You can’t hide forever, little hero,” he called, the words slithering through the shadows. “I’ll find you… and then it will be over.”

At that moment, Izuku’s determination hardened into something unyielding. This was not how it would end. With a sudden burst of energy, he took a deep breath, steeling himself for the inevitable confrontation. The time for hiding was over, he needed a way out. The forest may have turned against him, but Izuku wouldn’t surrender. He had to move.

With stealth, he began to inch forward, his bare feet silent against the damp forest as he navigated the maze of gnarled roots and underbrush. Izuku knew he had to stay focused, to trust his instincts above all else. As he slipped between the dense thickets, he could feel the man’s presence lingering close, a dark shadow trailing just behind him. The hunt was on once more, and Izuku was determined to emerge the victor.

Minutes felt like hours, and Izuku thought he had spent at least 3 hours in the forest, though it felt much longer. He heard his mother shout his name, and tears gathered in his eyes. He was safe, the thought. He ran until he saw the dim light of her car, he ran to her like he never had before. He jumped in the car, bloody, dirty, bruised, and shaking. He was scared, angry, hurt, and every emotion bled through his skin. The words of what happened started to spill out of his mouth before he could stop them. At one point, he started crying, but to Izuku, it was all a blur. When he finished, he was out of breath and looking up to his mother for any chance of hope. When he met her gaze, he saw a cold stare, not one of empathy, anger, or any sense of worry.

“I know,” Inko stated bluntly. Izuku had to blink to make sure he wasn't dreaming. She knew? Why didn’t she save him? Just as he was about to question her, she cut him off. “ I signed you up. Izuku, you look hurt, and if you want to give that man a real chase, you have to learn how to do better.” Izuku froze. That man could have killed him, and she was worried about giving him a “good chase.” No words were said after that. This must be normal. Maybe he's just scared because he is weak, little quirkless Deku.

The car ride home was silent, not a word spoken. It was late when they got home, and Izuku was too lost in thought, brainstorming ideas to do better, to “give them a chase” as his mother said. Izuku didn't sleep that night, he stayed up watching videos, survival guides, and more. He was still scared for the next time, but determination and adrenaline from before flooded his worried thoughts. This is normal, he thought. Every kid does this, so why can't I? Tears gathered i his eyes as he started his first notebook, ‘Survival Guide for the Future, #1’.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up at 5:04 am. His body has trained him to wake ever so early to survive. If you're in the forest for days, he can run further the earlier you wake. Izuku looked over to his nightstand, where he momentarily jumped, before settling down. He had forgotten it was the weekend for a second, and that UA did not have schooling on weekends, obviously. It had only been a week at UA, and he had already adjusted to feeling safe. This was not good, he noted, feeling safe means surprise attacks, surprise attacks mean death. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes, and went to wash his face. If he was going to survive tomorrow's hunt, he needed to prepare. He took the little money he had and his giant hiking bag full of tools. The bag contained a large machete and a smaller knife, which in the many years he had been doing this, he had mastered the art of knives. The bag also held supplies like pliers, first aid, ropes, and a bunch of screwdrivers, nuts, bolts, and metal scraps from Takoba beach, where he and Allmight had been training. Since the beginning of UA, Izuku has seen the impact training has made on his body. It has helped him a lot in hunts, as well as his parkour training and agility classes he took. In the 9 years it has been since the first hunt, Izuku has been getting better and hiding, jumping from tree to tree, swinging on branches, and ect. He had learnt this forest like the back of his hand at this point. The forest lay near the old abandoned hotel. Many times, he has been able to grab supplies from there without his mother knowing. Izuku kept thinking of strategies to use, as tomorrow's hunt would most likely be long and he would be outnumbered. As he mumbled to himself, he approached a depot store, checked his phone for the list of supplies he had made the night before, and walked into the store.

After many hours in the store, Izuku got the tools he needed and started heading to the forest. See, in the forest lay old traps he had set up over the years, to which he knew their exact locations. As he ran over the layout of the forest again. He approached the abandoned hotel, and after taking a deep breath, he entered the forest. He couldn't afford to be scared, it was life or death after all. Since Izuku has gotten more experience, he has been marked for his higher skill and intelligence level, the hunters coming for him did not just want to hurt him anymore, but they were hunting for the kill. He remembers the last hunt he had, and subsequently the hardest. It was him versus 7 other men. He managed to get out alive, but he did have one of his arrows used against him, along with a large claw-marked gash along his back from one of the hunter's tiger-transformation quirk. He did manage to inflict some pretty serious injuries on all of them, though. Shaking his head quickly, he snapped back to the present. God, I have to stop doing that, he thought. He went to various trees and scattered his many tools. He engraved each tree with a line. 1 line meant food or water, 2 lines meant meat protection equipment, 3 lines meant weapons, and 4 meant inventions to tinker with. He hid the items in the branches, nearby hollow logs, under rocks, holes in the ground, under moss, and honestly, anywhere he could. After a short trip the the forest, he headed home for some last-minute training.

~

Izuku sat once again in his mother's car. He stared out the window. He recognized this area, it was the abandoned hotel. Since the first time, his mother has gotten better at recording information and setting up these hunts. She headed into the abandoned hotel, presumably to her camera room, while Izuku stood outside, stretching while waiting for the hunters to show up. Once they did, Izuku's mouth opened, and a pit inside his stomach grew. There, he watched 10 grown men walk out. All of them looked like ex-Navy Seals. How was he supposed to survive this?!? He cracked his knuckles while thinking of a plan and analyzing each one of their quirks. The first one seemed to have a Lizard mutation, with thick scales and a min, Godzilla-like look. He was at least 10 ft tall. Not good, Izuku noted. Though he could possibly use his size against him to hide in smaller places, and possibly trip him to make his falls harder. The Godzilla man, as Izuku now deemed him, carried a large knife, which he seemed to wield very well. Not good at all. Going through each one, he realized atleast 4 of them seemed to be drunk off their asses, which was a bonus to him. 6 Of them seemed to have mutations quirks which were easy to guess, but the others, Izuku had no clue what they were. All of them were wearing the same dark green compression shirt and cargo pants, while Izuku stood in his bright white baggy shirt and the same coloured basketball shirts. While studying them, Izuku picked up on a few words they were saying, such as “easy training”, “boss”, and “the other one.” ‘The other one?’Izuku thought to himself. He pieced together the other words, but couldn't find a reason for them to say “the other one”. Izukus' questions were shortly answered when 2 other black cars pulled up. Izuku at first thought that more men would show up, but instead, a man in a bird mask got out and opened the door for a little girl. Izuku stared in shock at the young girl in a bright white nightgown and matching bloomers. She seemed to have very light blue, almost white, hair, as well as deep red eyes that held too much pain for a girl her age. Looking closer, Izuku noticed a little horn on the side of her head and bandages around her arms and legs. The man in the bird mask entered the hotel on the phone, and the girls stood there alone, shaking and silently crying. He decided to approach the girl, remembering the fear he felt during his first hunt.

“‘Hello there, I'm Izuku!” He said in his most cheerful tone. The girl looked up at him, sad red eyes matching his.

“E-Eri” the girl, Eri, mumbled. Her tone sounded similar to his in Aldera, he thought. Pushing that thought away, he smiled.

“Well Eri, I'm assuming you haven't done this before?”

“No..”

“Well, you can call me Deku! I need you to listen to everything I say, with a straight face. Ok Eri?”

“Ok Deku..” she sniffled in a weak tone.