Chapter Text
_____
Well, here he was. On top of a building, no heroes around to do anything. They were all attending to some villain attack nearby. Nobody would care.
He stepped off of the building, he let the wind brush past his body, messing up his already messy hair. He'd always been curious about what dying felt like. As he fell, he closed his eyes and waited to hit the pavement below him.
But he didn't. He opened his eyes to branches and leaves surrounding him. He wasn't dead, but 𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. Izuku heard yelling below him. A little kid, probably three or four years old, excitedly telling someone, seemingly their older brother, that they got their quirk.
“Look! Look! I made that tree grow! Just like you and Mommy can do!”
Just his fucking luck.
He climbed down from the tree, somehow unnoticed by the two boys. There was no point in climbing back up the building, there were people here now. Might as well go look at what that fight was about, if he was lucky he'd get killed by the villain.
Izuku ran, he forgot how much he actually enjoyed watching hero fights. In about a minute, he was there. The ugly sludge villain that had attempted to kill him earlier was there. It had someone in its grasp… Bakugo?! How the hell did he get captured? More importantly, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?
Fuck it, he didn't talk to their family anymore but auntie and uncle would be upset if their son died. After a quick use of his quirk and nowhere near enough planning, he threw his bright yellow backpack into the thing’s eyeball.
Lucky for him, it let Bakugo go in favor of clutching his eye and cursing violently. The heroes finally came to their senses and detained the thing.
Izuku turned and ran. Getting yelled at by heroes isn't what he wanted to do today. He didn't actually 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 to do anything at all today. The universe seems to hate him.
He ducked into a familiar alley, he used to run away from his classmates, running through the alleys to make them lose his trail.
A hero didn't catch him, but someone else did.
“Yo, nerd!”
Bakugo caught up to him. There were heroes blocking the other exit, Izuku was trapped.
“Listen, you don't tell anyone about this. I'll fucking feed you to that green motherfucker if you do.” And he left, just like that.
Things could've been worse. A 𝘭𝘰𝘵 worse. He honestly just wanted to go home. So he did.
_____
He threw his bag, which he thankfully got back, to the corner of his room and laid himself face down on the bed. He lives alone now. After his mom died, he was supposed to go live with his dad in America. His dad was too busy and not home enough for a kid, so he just paid for an apartment for him. Izuku was grateful. He wasn't sure he wanted to stay with his dad, it would be like living with a stranger. His English was good, but his social skills were so bad that he would probably go mute at a new school and a whole new location.
He was so fucking tired. Tired of everything. Maybe going to sleep now would get rid of his urge to tear his arms apart with a razor.
He was out the second he closed his eyes.
_____
“Mom?” Izuku asked, crawling into his mom's lap. “Is it my fault? Did I do this to you?” There was no point in asking, he knew the answer already.
“Oh, baby, 𝘯𝘰,” His mom held him as she cried. “None of this is your fault. Don't you ever say that.”
That was a lie. Izuku knew that.
He started crying too. “I'm sorry. I'm so 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺.”
_____
Izuku woke up. They've been slowly fading, but he dreamt about that moment a lot. It took him so long to realize that it was his fault. The worst part is that his mom didn't blame him. She knew. She had to have known he did it.
His quirk was called Lucky Star. He could manipulate the luck of any person he's ever made physical contact with.
The day her symptoms started, Izuku was mad that she wouldn't make katsudon for dinner. He saw his eyes glow gold while he was brushing his teeth that night. They went to the quirk doctor that week and discovered that was a sign he was using his quirk.
He was too young to really do anything to fix it, he didn't even realize he 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 fix it.
As he got older, he could help a bit. He managed to get her a few extra years to live. She went from five to eight of them. He couldn't really remember what she had, he didn't like to bring it up, but it started progressing slower. Now that he's practiced more and developed his quirk, he would have been able to fix it entirely.
Enough moping, at least it was the weekend. He got up and went to make breakfast. He opened up the fridge and grabbed the carton of eggs. There were only two left, he needed to go to the store today.
He made some scrambled eggs and some bacon. He grabbed his laptop along with his notebook and started watching a hero fight while he ate, it was pretty interesting. He needed a little stress relief before work, which was sure to be torture today. Izuku still wanted to throw himself off of a building, but he didn't have the energy to climb up to the top of one.
After contemplating if it was even worth it anymore, Izuku got ready to go to work. He was a cashier at a little corner store a few blocks away.
He put on his uniform and started walking. It was nice and helped him clear his head. He was getting into running recently, and he would run to Dagobah Beach, run through the sand for at least a mile, and run home. He even helped clean up the beach sometimes. People sucked, Izuku remembered how much he enjoyed going to the beach when he was younger. It was a shame the littering was so bad now.
To his disappointment, he was out front of the store now. The sign read ‘𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲’.
_____
“Good afternoon, ma'am,” Izuku said as he was scanning her items, “Your total will be $13.08.”
He took the money and put it in the register. “Have a great day!” He called as she took her bags.
“You as well, young man.” The old lady responded.
After the woman left, somebody came through the door. They were tall and muscular, it had to be something related to their quirk. They were at least seven feet tall. They were dressed in all black with a mask hiding their face. This wasn't good. The mysterious person, seeming to be a man based off of the features Izuku could make out, walked up to Izuku and reached behind him. “Give me all the money in the register if you want to live to see tomorrow.”
Well, shit. There were other people in the store, so there were multiple lives at risk. Compliance was the best course of action right now. He took out all the cash and handed it over. “Here you go.”
Their hand brushed his. Perfect. As soon as they turned, Izuku used his quirk. Right as the door opened, a hero stepped in front of them. She was new, Mt. Lady was her name. She was present yesterday when he saved Bakugo from that sludge freak.
“You're under arrest!” There were cop cars outside now. The flashing lights making the cars known.
The person tried to run, but Mt. Lady turned big and grabbed him like a doll. It took everything in Izuku to not start laughing. As funny as it was now, it was going to be a hassle when he had to give a statement. He could never have an uneventful day.
As he suspected, a police officer, who looked like a lizard, entered the store and walked up to him.
“Excuse me, sir, we would like you to give a statement.”
Izuku sighed internally. “No problem.”
“Alright, can we have your account of what happened?”
“I had just finished ringing up a woman when the robber walked in. They walked up to the counter, and their exact words were, ‘Give me all the money in the register if you want to live to see tomorrow.’ They were reaching behind their back so I assumed they had a weapon. I handed the person the money, I didn't want to get me or anyone else killed. They walked away and were apprehended soon after.” Izuku didn't have to tell him he used his quirk, he would get in trouble for that.
Why couldn't things be normal? Izuku just wanted an easy weekend before he had to go to hell, school, again. This is the second incident, or third if you count saving Bakugo, in the past two days.
“Thank you.”
Then the lizard man just walked away. It was getting dark now and the end of his shift, and Izuku was forever thankful. He put his earbuds in and started to walk home. It was getting dark.
_____
There was commotion in the alley. It was hard to tell what was happening, but there was a man shouting and a woman's voice accompanying it.
Izuku wanted to mind his own business, but he stopped to peek at what was happening. Izuku didn't have any other way to get home without passing by, and he didn't want to get attacked because they thought he would snitch on them or something.
There was a man, about 5’11, pinning a woman to a wall. The man had an obvious mutation quirk, two large horns protruding from his head along with one coming from his nose, resembling a rhino.
The woman was being held up by the shoulders, the man's hands slipped close to her neck. She had gills on her neck, fins a bit above and behind her ears, and patches of multicolored scales on her body. She had long brown hair and a scared, angry look in her eyes.
“Bitch, I already 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 told you, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺. You owe me ten grand and I'll snap your neck and steal that kid of yours if you don't give it to me. You said you'd have it by last month, it's time to pay the fuck up.”
Oh shit. He couldn't risk that guy seeing him. He pulled his head back so he wasn't visible anymore. He needed to find a new way home.
“Hey, punk!”
Well, Izuku might die today. Being found dead in a dirty ass alley wasn't in his schedule today. Nobody would really care, they'd just miss his quirk.
“The fuck do you think you're doing eavesdropping!?”
The next thing he knew, Izuku was being grabbed by the shirt and hit against a wall. He couldn't breathe.
Oh, wait.
“Why the fuck did your eyes just turn gold, what did you do?! I'll kill you!”
He felt the man's fat fingers wrap around his neck, but as soon as they came, they were gone.
He hit the ground, rubbing at his neck and taking in the first full breaths he's had since he stumbled upon this fight.
Eventually, (15 seconds) he looked up to see 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥. The rhino man was wrapped up in some sort of grey scarf, and a ragged looking man with red eyes was tying his hands up.
Wait, he's seen this person before. He took a good look at the hero.
𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘌𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.
It was no time to fanboy, but he 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 wanted to.
Eraserhead was just 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭. He was a big inspiration of Izuku's when he still wanted to be a hero. He was basically quirkless, and all he did was level the playing field. It didn't work on mutation quirks either, so he was the only quirkless one sometimes. From what Izuku has seen, from his own experience while wandering at night, camera footage, and from other people, he was one of the good heroes. Not one looking for fame, no fucked up morals or prejudice, just what a hero should be. People like him were a godsend in areas like this one.
“Hey kid, are you alright?”
Oh no, he spaced out again. He looked up and noticed the man and woman both tied up. “Yeah, I'm fine.”
Eraserhead gave him a look. “After the police come we're taking you to the hospital to get your injuries checked. It looks like you have a bruise on your neck and there could be more damage. So you have a parent we can contact?”
“You can call my dad, but he wouldn't be much help. He's away right now on a business trip.” Not entirely a lie, but his dad never really came back, maybe once a year. “If you really need someone, a family friend lives not too far away and would be fine to help with anything.”
“Alright, we'll inform your father and we might need that family friend to take you from the hospital.”
At least Izuku didn't have to worry about the hospital bill, his dad would pay for that. He already paid for his apartment and is apparently pretty well off. Izuku was jealous.He told Izuku that he'd pay any hospital bills or things like that. He had suspicions that his father had a new family, and he couldn't really blame him for not wanting a killer around.
“Alright, I'll write their phone numbers down for you.”
_____
The hospital sucked. It's been a while, so he forgot just how much he hated it. Which was a lot, by the way.
It was so bright, too white, the people and sounds were annoying, and it overall sucked. His neck hurt like hell. There was a giant bruise on it.
Masaru was here with him, Auntie Mitski worried too much and was out of town with her son anyway. They'd all grown apart but Mitski and Masaru have always been there for him since his mom passed. It's been useful a few times where he needed a parent.
He was luckily not very injured, the bruising was all. It still hurts like a bitch though.
He didn't have work tomorrow, thank god, but school would be hell. The uniform collar was pretty high but the mark would still be visible. He might have to buy some makeup tomorrow to hide it.
It had been a while, but Eraserhead and a detective came into his room. They walked up to the bed and the unknown detective spoke. “Hello, Midoriya. I'm Detective Tsukauchi and this is Eraserhead. Are you comfortable giving us your statement about what happened this evening, or would tomorrow be better for you?”
He knew he had to do this, but it still was annoying. “Right now is fine, I want to get it over with.”
“Alright, I'm required to tell you that this conversation will be recorded.”
“I'm fine with that.”
The machine clicked on.
“Okay, so I was walking home from work, and I have to pass by this one alley to get home. I heard a commotion and peeked in to see what was happening. I heard the man say ‘Bitch, I already 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 told you, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺. You owe me ten grand and I'll snap your neck and steal that kid of yours if you don't give it to me. You said you'd have it by last month, it's time to pay the fuck up.’ Not sure what that was about. I pulled my head back so they didn't see me and I could find another way to get home, but he saw me. He yelled, asked why I was eavesdropping, and grabbed me, choking me too. He pushed me against the wall when Eraserhead showed up and apprehended them.”
Tsukauchi nodded. “Thank you, Midoriya.”
Eraserhead looked down at him. “Do you need help with anything?”
“No, sir- or Eraserhead? Uhm, I'm- I'm fine.” Izuku's face was red. “I'm so sorry, I'm tired.”
He swore he saw Eraserhead smile a little, it was hard to tell with the scarf.
“It's fine.”
They left. Izuku flopped back down onto the bed, grabbing his phone to scroll.
“Hey, Zuku, you ready to go home? You're allowed to leave now. We'll be checking in on and off for the next couple days.”
Finally, he missed his bed. “Yeah, I'll get dressed and we can go.”
“Alright, here,” Masaru handed him his clothes, “I'll be right outside.”
After he left, Izuku got dressed and grabbed his bag. He opened the curtain and stepped out. “I'm ready.”
_____
The car ride was really awkward. He hasn't been in this car since he was little. They were both so socially awkward and had nothing to say.
“Bye, thank you, really.” Izuku stepped out of the car.
“It's no problem, you're still family to us. Even if we don't talk as much anymore.”
Izuku just smiled at him and closed the door.
The walk up to his apartment was… silent. Nobody was around, it was almost 2AM. As his door swung open he was relieved. He took his bag off and fell into the bed. It was 𝘯𝘰𝘵 a good Saturday.