Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku watched his legs swing back and forth off of the edge like a pendulum. The cool concrete of the rooftop was chill beneath his finger tips. He messed with some loose string hanging from his makeshift fingerless gloves he had made 2 weeks prior. It turns out that when you cut some old gloves with a rusty old pair of scissors you found, they don’t tend to last long. 

     He sighed, dipping his head back and stared at the stars above. The polluted air from the city hid most of them from view but the higher up you were, the easier they were to see. From there, about 50 feet up, he could see a few familiar constellations he had since forgotten the name of. 

     The boy hopped up from his seat and stood on the edge of the roof with little fear. After 3 years, he had gotten used to heights like this. He stretched his arms behind his head when he felt a chill in the air, different than the ever growing cold of the coming winter

     He turned behind him and scanned the rooftops with a wary eye. Probably just the wind. Who would be up on a rooftop in the middle of the night anyway? Well, other than me I guess. A car honked below and his attention shifted back to the street only for a moment. Because in the next breath, his eyes caught a presence beside him. His head whipped around to find a man's face, darkened by shadow staring right at him.

     “What the-?!” He nearly jumped out of his skin and in his fear, he felt his foot slip and before he knew what was happening, he was falling from the roof. 

     He didn’t manage to fall far, maybe not even 3 feet before he felt something wrap around his waist, stopping his fall. The boy was still a bit dazed when he was standing back on the roof, the adrenaline causing his hands to shake ever so slightly. 

     “O-Okay, that was….Whew.” He turned and in the light, he was able to see the man clearly. Dark hair falling past his shoulders, familiar yellow goggles and an even more familiar scarf. “Thanks for- Wait, your Eraserhead right?”

     The man's eyebrows furrowed.

     “Yeah. How did you know?”

     Izuku rubbed his arms through his sleeves, a nervous habit he had. 

     “Oh, I recognized the goggles and the scarf. Thanks again for the save.” He glanced back towards the edge of the roof, Eraser having moved the two of them a few feet back from it.

     The man crossed his arms and Izuku felt like he was about to be scolded. 

     “What are you doing up here? It’s 3 in the morning. You're what, 15? Tomorrow's a school day.”

     A chill ran down the boy's spine.

     “I was just enjoying the view, that's all. You can't see the stars from the ground.” He avoided answering the last two questions and by the continued furrow in the man's brow, he seemed to realize that too. 

     There was a few seconds of silence and Izuku watched Eraser look over him like he was studying him. The boy shifted uncomfortably.

     “Well, I should get going. Don’t want to interrupt your patrol anymore.”

     Izuku took a few steps towards the back edge of the roof.

     “Wait, kid.” The boy paused only briefly enough to glance back at the man before he stepped off the edge of the roof.

     He could see the man run to the edge of the roof with a hint of fear until he spotted the boy standing on the fire escape, climbing down the steps. The boy grinned a bit mischievous.

     “I’ll get out of your hair. See you around Eraser!” He called up as he hopped off the bottom of the fire escape, turning the corner and disappearing into the night leaving the man alone on the rooftop. 

     Izuku strolled through the familiar alleyways, trying to take an odd path so that he couldn't be followed. He didn't know if the man would try but he didn't want to tempt fate.

     He knew that Eraser never patrols around there so not only was he surprised to see anyone on the rooftop but he was even more surprised to see that familiar scarf. He always tried to avoid being spotted by heros on his trips through town. 

     It wasn't like he was doing anything illegal per se, but a kid his age out at night alone is usually enough for people to ask a lot of questions. Questions he did not want to answer. He could see it in the man's face. Worry. He didn't need anyone worrying about him.

     He spotted an old mattress leaned against the brick wall of some unnamed building and he thanked the universe for its graciousness. It smelled like a nursing home and the edges that were laying on the concrete were stained and wet. He sat and leaned his back against the soft cushion, avoiding the wet spots, and glanced up at the stars, or the void where they would be.

      Guess I'll choose a different rooftop next time. 

      He drifted off to sleep and hoped that he wouldn't be rained on in the night, pulling his old bomber jacket he found close around him to stave off the cold.

—

     The boy scoffed as he checked his pockets only to find lint. His stomach now felt like it was going to eat a hole in his gut if he didn’t eat something soon, even the night before on the roof. He just hoped Eraser didn’t hear his stomach growl as he hopped off the roof. 

     His feet took him to a familiar burger joint against his will and he sighed as he stared up at the sign. The door jingled as he entered and he spotted familiar cascading brown hair behind the counter. ‘Sara’ was etched into her name tag and she greeted the boy with a smile. 

     “Oh, Izuku! Been a minute.”

     He grinned and found the counter, leaning against it with familiarity. 

     “Hey Sara.”

     She grabbed the last bit of trash she was cleaning from the counter, tossing it into the trash and wiping off her hands. She grinned a bit knowingly.

     “So, I’m guessing you're not here to buy a burger today, are you?’

     He rested his head against his hand.

     “Unfortunately not. But! I am offering my services yet again to my favorite patrons!”

     She chuckled a bit, coming back to the counter across from him.

     “Sorry, kid, but the store has already been completely swept and mopped today. And no, the trash doesn't need to be taken out either.”

     He laid his head against the counter with a pout.

     “Aw come on. There’s gotta be something that needs cleaning.” He glanced outside through the huge marks on the window….

     He shot up, spooking Sara.

     “The windows! I can clean the windows and I won’t even charge for each individually. One price for all. What do you say?”     

     She watched him with a playful look and only hesitated for dramatic affect.

     “Fine. You know where the cleaning supplies are, right?”

     “Awesome! Thanks Sara!”

     With that, he hopped the counter, earning a remark from Sara, and grabbed the window cleaner and a fresh cloth from the closet. 

     When he first showed up at the restaurant, he was much worse off. He hadn’t had food in about 8 days and a typhoon had swept through that week. He felt weak and cold but they didn’t turn him away. He only bought a single burger but it was the best burger of his life. He went to reach for the last coins he had left when he was told it was on the house. 

     After that, he told them he’d pay them back by helping in any way he could. Sara’s parents, Milo and Rachel, never turned down his offers to help, letting him sweep the restaurant, wash dishes, even take the trash out. He knew it was probably because they were worried about a 12 year old kid on his own like that, dressed like a hobo, dirty curls like a rats nest on his head. 

     As he kept showing up, they started to pay him for the jobs he did. He tried to refuse their offers but they wouldn't let him. 

     Now, 3 years later, he still stops by as often as he can. They always end up feeding him, even at his protests. He knew that their business was struggling and he didn’t want to be a part of that struggle. When he had come in to help them out, he had even tried to go without payment. That never worked though, no matter how hard he tried. 

     Now he knew every inch of their restaurant like the back of his hand. They treated him like he was a part of their family. He knew he didn’t deserve it and he hated that he enjoyed it so much. 

     He sprayed the windows as the TV played on the wall, adding a familiar background drone.

      ‘This year is looking to have the coldest winter on record since 1902. Make sure you-’

      Izuku sprayed a bit higher and scowled as he stood as high as he could reach, even adding a little hop to try and clean it all. He cursed his 5 '2 self and the lack of a growth spurt since he was 8. Something skidded against the floor as he turned to find Sara behind him with a mischievous grin and a chair.

     “Need a little help?”

     He sighed, and muttered a thank you under his breath as he grabbed the chair, hopping on to wipe the rest of the window. She chuckled.

     The two owners, Milo and Rachel, or Granny and Pop as he had come to call them, were always kind to Izuku and they acted like what he imagined grandparents were like. Sara, on the other hand, made him feel like he had an older sister sometimes. They had met the first day he showed up there and they have always been close. She was only a few years older than Izuku, he was 15 while she just turned 21. 

     “What are Granny and Pop shopping for? I've been here for an hour already and they aren’t back yet.”

     “Oh, they're getting stuff for the trip.”

     The boy's hand paused mid-swipe. He turned to face Sara, who was wiping down the tables for closing. 

     “Trip? Are they going somewhere?”

     “We all are.” She walked over, pulling a brochure from her apron and handed it to Izuku. It showed a beautiful lake with a backdrop of mountains. “I’m gonna be scouting out the campuses for next fall. I’ve gotta start sending in applications soon.”

     The boy nodded quietly and tried to hide his emotions as he finished the windows.

     “Oh yeah, Mom wanted me to tell you.” She placed a hand on her hips and began her Mom impression. “ If you see Izuku, tell him there is a key in the lock box by the backdoor. He is welcome to use the store as a shelter from the cold since it has heat and he can take any of the food he needs. Just don’t burn the place down please. ”

     Izuku tossed his dirty towel with the other dirty towels and chuckled.

     “It's scary how accurate that impression was.” His smile faded. “But are you guys sure? That paper said it's a week long thing. Are you really okay with giving the key to your business to some random kid off the street?”

     Sara smiled.

     “Though you are off the streets,” He blushed a bit. “We’ve known you for years. We all trust you, Izuku. So please,” She picked up all the dirty towels and plopped them in his arms with a wink. “Take her up on her offer. Use this place. It's supposed to get really cold while we’re gone. Record breaking cold even.”

     Izuku walked into the back room to start a load of laundry with a bit of a grimace.

      If I did that, I’d just run up their power and heat bill. They don’t need any extra expenses.

     With a crisp 5 dollar bill in his pocket, he waved goodbye to Sara through the newly cleaned windows and wondered who was gonna keep him company while they were out of town. Little did he know, he would find out really soon. 

Chapter Text

     Something wasn’t right with that kid from the roof.

 Not that he was crazy or anything, but he seemed different then the troubled teens he’d run into on his patrols. When he spotted him on the roof, he thought he was jumping and accidentally spooked him, causing him to actually fall. 

     The kid thanked him but Aizawa was too busy looking over him to take notice. Usually the kids he finds are spoiled or entitled, sneaking out of the house to do illegal substances or alcohol. Or they were just being stupid. But this was different. 

     The boy wore a dark brown bomber jacket that looked a little too big on him. It was faded and scuffed like he'd run a few marathons in it. His black fingerless gloves were frayed and a few holes were spotted across them. His sweatpants were even more so, a few tears and a decent film of dirt covered them. His green eyes were covered by dark green curls, dirty and sticking in multiple directions at once. 

     It almost seemed like the kid was homeless. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions. It was possible that he had just come back from a run or something. Though the wear on his clothes made it seem like they had been that way for a while. 

     He watched the boy step off the roof with all the confidence in the world and the man's heart finally continued beating when he watched him hop off the edge of the fire escape below. He acted like he did that stuff all the time and he wondered how far from the truth that really was. 

     All of that left a sour taste in his mouth. The next night, he unconsciously found himself back at that same rooftop, finding it empty. 

      He had seemed a bit nervous. Probably scared him off. All the more reason to be worried, right?

     He scanned a few more rooftops and was a bit relieved to see a head of green seated on a slightly smaller roof a few blocks away. As the man got closer, he could see the boy was eating something that looked like a sandwich. He was too distracted to notice the man on the roof behind him, stepping closer. He watched as the kid took his wrapper and glanced down at the street below, their eyes both landing on the trash can by the street. He saw the mischievous look in the kid's eye. 

      No chance he makes that.

     The boy aimed carefully and tossed the paper and they both watched as it floated straight through the trash cans lid. The boy pumped his fist in the air with a quiet,

     “ Yes!”

      Aizawa smiled. He was just a kid. Though the boy dodged his questions, all the more suspicious, he could guess he was 14 or 15. Too young to be alone at night like this. 

     “Nice shot, kid.”

     “OH SHIT-”

     The boy flinched hard and rolled over his shoulder, hopping to stand back on the roof beside the man. The moment he spotted him, he sighed a breath of relief.

     “Dude, you have to stop doing that. I don’t think my heart can take it.” He took a second to calm himself before continuing. “Wait, what are you doing here again? Last night you were already pretty far out of your normal patrol route. Now, you might as well be starting a new one.”

     Aizawa lifted his brow.

     “How do you know my patrol route?”

     Red crept onto the boy's cheeks, blurring his freckles. He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

     “W-Well, you know, I get around. Spotted a few heros enough to figure out their usual routes. Nothing special.”

      I’d beg to differ.

      “Seems pretty impressive to me. Does that mean you do this often?” He gestured to the roof they stood on. “Rooftop hopping nightly isn’t exactly the safest thing for a kid your age. Or anyone for that matter.”

     The boy rubbed his arm through his sleeves as he spoke, looking at the ground. 

     “It’s fine. I’ve never had a problem before, plus I’ve been doing it for a while.”

     “That doesn’t make it better, kid.”

     He took a step closer in an attempt to drive home his point that this is dangerous, but instead, the boy flinched back like he was preparing to be hit. It stopped the man in his tracks, that’s for sure. 

      Someone’s hit this kid.

      The boy seemed to try and brush it off like nothing happened.

     The man sighed, trying to lighten the situation.

     “I saw your skill last night. That level of parkour skill is impressive. Where did you learn?”

     “Oh,” The boy lowered his arm and glanced up at the stars. “I read a few books on it when I was younger and then the rest of it is self taught, I guess. Just did it enough to learn what not to do.”

     Aizawa nodded even though it seemed like it was much more dangerous than what he expected. Teaching himself. How many times did he fall?

     The boy shifted and cleared his throat.

     “So uhhh, you aren’t going to like, arrest me, are you?”

     Aizawa crossed his arms with a smirk.

     “Wasn't planning on it. Why? Did something illegal recently?”

     “No!” He exclaimed. “I mean, no, not really. It’s just….” He sighed. “Me and the police aren’t exactly on good terms right now.”

     The man furrowed his brows.

     “How so?”

     The boy waltzed over the edge of the roof and glanced down at the street below. 

     “Well, a certain detective has spotted me a few times around town. Each time he tries to ask a bunch of questions and stuff. He always says he won’t take me in but I don’t really trust that.” A bit of a mischievous smile crept on the boy's face. “He always looks so pissed when I run off. He’s tried to catch me a few times. Only succeeded twice though.”

     “Oh? How did that play out?”

     The boy smiled retelling the story and Aizawa figured he wasn’t really afraid of this detective.

     “Cornered me after I had witnessed a robbery and questioned me as a witness. I wasn’t a suspect so he just wanted to know what happened. After that he tried to take me to the station to talk a bit longer and I bolted when he turned his back. Second time, I brought something down to the station that looked important and dangerous. He told me to wait in his office and I was only there for a minute or two before I realized what he was doing. I was out by the time he got back.”

     Aizawa nodded. 

      A troublemaker, huh? Plus, that detective sounds familiar. Bet he was trying to bring the boy in for the same reasons that he had looked for him again tonight. Worry. It sounds like the kid knows it too. 

     “Well, I won’t bring you in. As far as I’m concerned other than trespassing on a few rooftops, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

     The boy seemed relieved. 

     “But, promise me you’ll be careful. You might be skilled in your agility, but you are still a kid. I don’t want to have to scrape you off the sidewalk.”

     The boy scoffed.

     “Noted.”

     As the kid made his way to the edge of the roof near the alley way, the man spoke up again. 

     “Hey, kid. Don’t think I got your name.”

     The boy watched him carefully, probably deciding if he was trustworthy or not.

     “Izuku.”

     The man smiled.

     “Nice to meet you Izuku. Be careful out there. It's supposed to get below freezing these next few nights. You should look for a better coat soon.”

     There was a sad twinge in the boy's eyes at that.

     “Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.”

     Then he was gone. 

—-------

     “Are you kidding me?”

     The detective rubbed his temples, leaving Aizawa to guess that he did that motion often when the kid was involved.

     “Only met him twice though. He said you guys have met up a lot more. That you tried to catch him.”

     Tsukauchi sighed as Aizawa sat on the other side of his desk.

     “It's not like I think he's dangerous or something. He makes it sound like I’m trying to arrest him.”

     “He did ask if I was arresting him.”

     “See!”

     The detective leaned back in his chair.

     “From what I can tell, he's a good kid. He likes to help people even if it's way too dangerous.” He leaned forward with the attitude of a disapproving parent. “Once I found him after a knife fight. He jumped in and confused the brawlers and protected the girl they were both fighting for. She called the police and when we showed up, he just ran off like nothing happened!”

     Aizawa chuckled softly. 

     “Sounds like he's been giving you trouble for a while.”

     The detective's tone became serious and Aizawa could tell he really cared about this kid. 

     “You saw what I saw too, right? The kid’s like 15 and he's out all the time alone . He’s been wearing the same old dirty clothes for months now. He’s skinny and much smaller than he should be.”

     “You think he's a runaway?”

     “I don’t know but from what I can tell, he doesn’t live at home anymore. Whether on purpose or not.”

     Aizawa nodded, remembering the way he flinched away like he’d done it a million times. 

     “Abuse. He does seem like a good kid, even if he’s a bit of a brat. He doesn’t deserve that.”

     The detective stared out the window.

     “No, he doesn’t. He doesn't want to be helped though. Any time I tried to bring him in or ask about his family, he ran. I’ve given him the chance to confess everything and put the person who hurt him behind bars but he never speaks up.”

     Aizawa stood with conviction.

     “I’ll help keep an eye on him. He hangs out around my patrol area. Bringing him in will probably only be possible if we forced him and that would just make things worse. For now, I’ll just keep a watch on him to make sure he’s okay.”

     The detective smiled at the Pro.

     “Thanks. Make sure he doesn’t get himself into trouble, or at least make sure he survives what he does get himself into.”

     “Naturally.”

Chapter Text

Once again, the old mildew smelling mattress became Izuku's headrest and pillow as he settled down for the night. He pulled his jacket close around him and thought back to what Eraser had said.

      ‘You should look for a better coat soon.’

     Yeah, right. It took him this long to find the bomber jacket he wore in an old lost and found bin outside of a bar. It actually sort of fit him, just a bit loose and baggy. On nights like this though, it was pretty nice. He hadn't expected to run into the Pro again so soon, or honestly at all. That night he was well out of his usual patrol range and if Izuku didn’t know any better, he might even think that he was looking for him. The man had assured him that he wasn’t going to arrest him but still. 

     He dreamed of slamming doors and screaming kids, distant but familiar. He had those sort of image-dreams, vague memories, often and yet they still left him waking up with a bad feeling in his gut. 

     The sun rays were shining down on him signaling the morning as he was roused from his sleep. That is, until a shadow moved in front of the sky. Izuku peeked his eyes open and through his blurry vision, a figure loomed over him. 

     He sat straight up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and faced the figure. An older man with a long gray beard stared down at him. His shoulders were hunched and he wore an old tee and hillbilly hat. His voice was gravely and frayed when he spoke.

     “Well kid, I thought you were dead.”

     Izuku stood up.

     “Sorry. Did you need something?”

     The man looked at him a bit funny and pointed to the mattress behind him.

     “I was trying to move that mattress to the dump.”

     Izuku quickly jumped out of the way, bowing profusely, spitting out apologies.

     “Oh, I am so sorry I didn't realize that was yours. Honestly I shouldn’t have been here in the first place. I can totally understand you being upset with me and-”

     “Woah kid, I’m not angry. I just thought you were a corpse before.” He toed the old mattress with a frown. “Glad you could find some use of it.”

     The boy backed away from the man with a feigned smile.

     “Well, I’ll get out of your way. Sorry again.”

     Just as he turned around, that gravely voice spoke again.

     “Hey kiddo.”

     He found the older man's eyes and they seemed almost a little sad. He never liked when people looked at him like that. Like he was such a pitiful sight. Though, he would take it over the look of resentment and hatred he had grown accustomed to.

     “Think you could help me lift this old thing into my truck? My back isn’t what it used to be.”

     Izuku perked up a little bit at the idea of redeeming himself.

     “Of course. Anything I could do to help.”

     The two of them hefted the old wet mattress into a moving van that Izuku was surprised didn’t wake him up when it pulled up, right next to the opening of the alleyway. With a final shove to the mattress, Izuku wiped his hands and stuffed them into his pockets. It was morning and it was already chilly. That didn’t bode well for that night.

     The old man shut the trunk and latched the bottom tight.

     “Thanks for the help, kid. I’m not sure what I would have done if you weren’t here.”

     Izuku scoffed.

     “I was the one asleep on your stuff. Again, sorry about that.”

     The old man waved his hands like he was shooing a fly. 

     “No worries.” He climbed into the truck and rolled the window down, leaning out. “Just try to get someplace warm tonight. These next few days are gonna be hell and at least hell is warm. Stay safe.”

     With that, he wheeled away and Izuku made a note to check if any things he slept on were someone else's property. The next person that finds him probably won't be so kind. 

     He walked the streets and his legs took him to a familiar intersection, past a familiar bench, until he was standing in front of Granny and Pop’s Diner. The lights were off with a large ‘CLOSED’ sign on the doors. 

      They must have left this morning.

     He remembered the key hidden in the lockbox at the backdoor and he almost went and grabbed it. But he hesitated. The Diner had been having money trouble recently and he was sure that some kid running the heat for a week straight was not going to help. So instead, he just made sure that no one had tampered with the Diner, like trying to rob the place, and then continued his wander through the city. 

     After a hike through the local park, and a little visit by a herd of deer, the sun began to set and a familiar emptiness settled into his stomach. It wasn’t like he could work and get some money. Most places won’t accept a 15 year old and others take one look at him, in his dirty clothes and matted curls and turn him away without further questions. The only place that he reluctantly got money was at the Diner. Now they were gone for a week. 

     He spotted a new rusty old fire escape and wondered what he was getting himself into that night, hopping on top of a dumpster and making his way up its creaky stairs. When he stepped onto the roof, the chill air blew past him, sending a shiver down his spine. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stepped off the ledge onto the concrete roof.   

     The boy spared a glance at the surrounding rooftops for a moment and wondered if Eraser was out again that night.

      Two nights in a row. Going out of his way….

     “Hey, kid.”

     Once again, the boy jumped out of his skin and whipped around to find the man, scarf wrapped around his neck, goggles on the top of his head. 

     “You have got to stop doing that. Seriously.”

     The boy sighed and walked over to the edge of the roof, swinging his legs off the edge. He lifted his head to the stars.

     “You know, if I didn’t know any better, it almost seems like you're stalking me.”

     “I guess you could call it that.”

     The man sat and swung his legs over the edge as well while Izuku gaped.

     “You’re stalking me? Why?”

     The man sighed and glanced down at the street. 

     “Just wanna make sure you’re alive.” He brought a hand to his scarf. “Being out alone at night is dangerous. It doesn't help that you like to roof-hop and get yourself into trouble.”

     The boy tried wrapping his head around that fact.

     “Why would you go out of your way like that? To search for me? I’m just one random kid.”

     “Are you?”

     Izuku watch the man's features. He was sincere. Izuku scoffed and swung his legs.

     “You are a confusing man, you know that?”

     “Could say the same to you.”

     “See?” The boy gestured with his hands and the man watched him with a neutral gaze. “You just show up without being spotted like a ninja or something and start speaking in riddles.”

     For the first time, Izuku heard the man chuckle. It was deep, reverberating through his chest. 

     “If anything, you’re the most confusing one out of the two of us. At least I gave my reason for being out here.”

     ‘ And you didn’t’ were the unspoken words behind that sentence. 

      Izuku glanced back at the street at the cars zipping by. Eraser wasn’t the first person to wonder that. His excuse changed every time. First, he was on a marathon and got lost. Then he was just a tourist, coming to see a small run down neighborhood. That last one didn’t work very well. 

     He knew that the man wouldn’t fall for any of his lies so he did the next best thing. He just didn’t tell him the truth.

     “I told you, you can’t see the stars from the ground. It’s easier up here.”

     “And that's the reason you're out every single night? What about during the day?”

     The boy didn’t answer. Eraser just sighed. 

     “I’m not here to grill you, kid. Like I said, I just want to make sure that you’re alive. You don’t have to tell me your life story.”

     Izuku rubbed his arm through his sleeve.

     “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine on my own.”

     The man sighed and turned to the boy. 

     “I know you might think that and I’m sure you’ve been great so far but that can change really fast. Every night is different. I know that you also tend to get into trouble.”

     Izuku chuckled softly.

     “The Detective told you?”

     “More or less.”

     The boy stood and looked down at the man. 

     “It’s not like I'm trying to get into trouble.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I guess it follows me.”

     “That's not a good thing.”

     Izuku stepped off onto the roof and stuffed his hands into his pockets as a particularly cold gust of wind blew through.

     Eraser stood as well and crossed his arms.

     “You could start by getting a new coat like I told you to.”

     The boy scoffed.

     “You make it sound easy.” He kicked at some loose dirt from years of neglect and stared at his feet. “Eraser, did the Detective put you up to this? Did he finally snap?”

     Eraser shook his head.

     ‘This was my idea actually.” The boy looked at him with surprise. “I don’t want a kid dying on my watch.”

     The boy chuckled bitterly.

     “I’ll try not to, I guess.”

     He headed towards the fire escape once more as the man spoke up.

     “Wait.” Izuku turned and watched the man come to stand next to him. It was a tad uncomfortable and the boy was about to back up when he noticed something in the man's hand. “Here, take this.”

     Izuku grabbed what looked like a small phone. When he flipped it over though, it only had one button on it, no screen.

     “Is this a kids toy?”

     Eraser smirked.

     “No. It's just for emergencies.” He pointed to the button on the front of the device. “If you ever run into trouble no matter what time, press that button.”

     The boy looked at him suspiciously.

     “What will happen if I do?”

     “It sends an alert to my phone along with your location. If I see it, I’ll assume you're in trouble and get there as fast as I can.”

     Izuku stared down at the device and pondered giving it back but he figured that wouldn’t go well. He stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

     “You do know I’ll probably never use it, right?”

     The man nodded.

     “Probably not. But keep it just in case.”

     The boy nodded hesitantly and stepped off onto the fire escape. When he reached the bottom, he glanced up at the man a final time.

     “Is this gonna become a nightly thing? You stalking me wherever I go?”

     “Just a check in. If you want to call it stalking, then knock yourself out.”

     Izuku just scoffed and hopped off the metal stairs and wrapped around the alleyway. He peered down at his pocket and pulled out the device. It was cool in his fingers which didn’t help to stave off the cold. 

      Doubt I’ll ever use it, even if I do get in trouble. I can always get out of it anyways. 

—-------

     He didn’t think about pushing the button even once. It was around noon the next day and he had stopped by the Diner to make sure it was okay. From the window, everything seemed in order but as he turned to leave, he heard a commotion on the other side of the street.

     Izuku spotted a woman, probably in her early 30's, being followed by a man much older than her. He looked like he was a horribly mean history teacher, hated by his whole class. The woman was backing away with her purse clutched to her chest while the man slowly inched closer, gesturing like he was trying to convince her of something. 

     Looking both ways like a good citizen, Izuku crossed the street to get a better idea of the situation. He stood at the crosswalk only about 10 feet from the two and from there, he could hear their conversation a bit cleared.

     “Listen, it's a good deal. Promise. You’ve got the looks to make loads of money. Plus, the other guys will be fawning over you, drooling like dogs.”

     Izuku scowled with contempt for the man before he heard the woman speak up. Her voice was shaky and nervous.

     “O-Oh, but I already said, I have another job. I don’t think I could-”

     “Oh come on! Just come with me and I can show you the bar set up! It'll be great!”

     “No, really I don’t-”

     Izuku watched as the man grabbed the woman by the wrist and he decided to make himself known.

     “Oh, there you are!”

     He called out and both the adults turned to him as he walked up and stood between the two. He purposely only looked at the woman and hoped his intent showed through his eyes.

     “Hey, I was looking for you! Sorry, I got distracted at the store again. But I'm ready to go now. We have my tutoring lesson to get through,” He looked her dead in the eyes and hoped she recognized what he was doing. “Right?”

     The woman hesitated for a split second but her mind caught up.

     “R-Right.”

     Izuku played it off with a laugh.

     “You always wander and leave me alone. I forgive ya though, teach.” He then turned to the man and kept his expression neutral. “Is this a friend of yours?”

     The older man seemed to disengage at the boy's presence. He backed up a bit and threw his hands up in surrender.

     “Oh, sorry to bother you. I was just leaving.”

    With that the man turned and headed in the other direction but Izuku knew they weren't out of the woods yet.

     He carefully grabbed the woman's hand and as he turned he spoke softly so only she could hear. 

     “Follow me. Guys like him don't give up easily. We gotta make sure he doesn't follow.”

     She nodded nervously as he took her and led her down the street and around the bend. He didn't stop there though, crossing the street and crossing through a few alleys with the woman in tow. 

     Once they found a main street again, he glanced around making sure that he couldn't feel the man's presence anymore. That was when he spotted a familiar face. He chuckled to himself at the irony of the situation as he turned back to the woman.

     “Come on, it's almost over.”

     She nodded as he led her across the street to a familiar suit leaned against a police cruiser. When the Detective spotted Izuku, he sighed but when he spotted the woman, he stood up a bit straighter.

     Izuku turned to the woman, still holding her hand.

     “Detective Tsukauchi here is a good friend of mine. He can give you a ride home or to your car.” 

     The detective nodded, understanding the situation. He opened up the back door of the cruiser and gestured for the woman to slip inside.

     “You'll be safe with me, just tell me where I can drop you off.”

     The woman nodded, letting go of the boy's hand long enough to wrap Izuku into a hug. He was a bit surprised and he saw a similar expression on the Detective. Her voice was soft and filled with relief.

     “Thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there.”

     The boy patted her awkwardly on the back.

     “Don't worry about it. Creeps like him piss me off. Sorry I couldn't help more.”

     The woman pulled back and shook her head.

     “No, you were amazing. Thank you.”

     With that, she slipped into the car and the Detective closed the door behind her. The man opened his own door but shot a look at the boy first. He pointed a finger at him.

     “We will be talking about this once I get her home.”

     The boy shrugged, stuffing his freezing hands into his pockets. 

     “Will we?”

     He watched the cruiser drive off and shook off the adrenaline he had carried with him since the encounter. His hands brushed against the device Eraser had given him.

      Didn’t need it. Told you I could take care of myself.

Chapter Text

     Despite himself, Izuku decided to hang around close to where he last saw the detective. He waited for about an hour, leaned against the side of some retail store but he was getting cold. The longer he stayed sitting, the quicker it hit him. 

     So he got up and wandered around the town, trying to stick to spots he saw the detective on often. Some part of him wanted to run again and avoid the conversation but after speaking with Eraser the past few nights, maybe he had gone a bit soft. Though, at the first sign of capture, he was gone. Eraser didn’t want to capture him after speaking with the Detective. Did that mean the detective didn’t want to capture him either?

     The man had said that a lot but he figured it was a lie like, ‘Oh, I won’t kidnap you. Just get into my van.’ But maybe he was telling the truth.

     He spotted the police cruiser pull into a parking lot up ahead and he pondered turning tail but instead he waltzed up to the man standing, arms crossed against his car. 

     “Always into something, huh kid?”

     Izuku crossed his arms to mimic the man, leaning against the cruiser beside him.

     “Always sticking your nose into my business, huh Detective?”

     He chuckled at the man's look of annoyance and moved off the car.

     “Did she get home safe?”

     The man nodded.

     “She did. She told me that you stepped in and saved her from a creep. She was extremely grateful to you. She even talked about how she could repay you.”

     The boy stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying to ignore the blush that had crept onto his cheeks. 

     “It was nothing. He was creeping me out too.”

     The man smiled.

     “I told her your name, I hope you don’t mind. She asked so she could remember you.”

     He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

     “I don’t mind. She makes it sound like I held up a building for her.”

     The man chuckled.

     “You don’t know how to take a compliment, do you?”

     The two of them watched the people walking by on the sidewalk for a moment.  

     “You’re taking care of yourself I hope.”

     Izuku stared straight ahead, voice steady.

     “Trying my best.”

     The Detective sighed and climbed into the driver's seat of his cruiser and Izuku was surprised he didn’t ask for him to come along. He backed up and listened as the man rolled his window down, leaning out.

     “Try to stay out of trouble.”

     The boy saluted.

     “Aye Aye Captain.”

     He watched as the man pulled out of the parking lot but just as he drove away, he shouted out of the window.

     “Tell Eraser I said hi!”

     “I knew you were in on it!!!”

—--

     This time, the boy noticed the man walking up behind him. Aizawa had gotten used to their rooftop meetings over the last few nights.

     He had given the boy, Izuku, that device the night before. He knew the boy would probably never use it but it made him feel better knowing he had some way to help the boy if he was in need. 

     The boy leaned on his hands and peered back at the man.

     “Caught you this time.”

     The man chuckled slightly, sitting on the edge of the roof next to him.

     “Mind if I call you Izuku or just kid?”

     The boy hesitated for a moment and the man wondered if he pushed a boundary but the boy just shrugged.

     “I don't know,” He turned with a mischievous smile. “Should I call you Aizawa?”

     The man stared at the boy with a stunned expression. I never told him that.

     “How did you know my name?”

     The boy glanced up to the sky with nonchalance like he didn’t just unveil the man's identity.

     “When I was little, I loved learning everything about heros. I thought you were especially cool, your quirk and the way you fought.”

     The man noticed for the first time the boy's deep green eyes. In the starlight, it highlighted how dead and empty they were. It unsettled Aizawa. How much darkness has this kid seen?

      “It was hard to find anything on you since you were an underground hero but I was persistent as a kid.”

     “Stubborn more like.”

     The boy put a hand to his heart.

     “Ouch.”

     His expression was a bit playful but as he turned down to the street below, it hardened.

     “I won’t call you that when you’re in your outfit. I know you pride yourself on being mysterious and scary. ” He spoke those last words with a bit of mocking tone but Aizawa just chuckled.

     “I appreciate it.”

     The two fell into a silence as the boy watched the cars zip by below. Aizawa studied Izuku in the streetlights below. His dark hair had a tinge of green at its edges he didn’t notice before, matching his eyes. His face was sprinkled in freckles with pale skin beneath. In the light, he noticed how dirty the boy really was. His jeans were ripped and stained with old mud around the foot. His sneakers looked like they were barely holding themselves together. The old bomber jacket he wore was coated in a thin film of dirt around its edges. 

     His hair was curly, matted and falling in clumps awkwardly at angles. It was longer, falling in his eyes but he made no attempt to move it. He just stared forward. 

     Aizawa found the street as well, watching a biker drive by.

     “So, you teamed up with the Detective, huh?”

     The man faced the boy but his gaze was still on the road. 

     “In a way. Did you talk to him today?”

     The boy chuckled softly at an inside joke Aizawa wasn’t a part of.

     “Yeah, I saw him. Gave him a bit of extra work. Don’t think he was too happy about it.”

     “Oh?”

     The boy leaned back on his hands again with a sigh.

     “Some creep cornered a lady on some back streets. She was pretty clear she wasn’t comfortable and when he wouldn’t take the hint, I stepped in and got her away. Ran into the Detective on the way and he took her home safely.”

     Aizawa remembered how the Detective told him that Izuku tended to attract trouble. That, or he always stepped in, no matter what. This wasn’t an exception.

     “I bet she was thankful.”

     He noticed a bit of pink on the boy's cheeks.

     “Yeah, she was. Glad she got away scot-free. I hate creeps like him.”

     The man could tell there was more to it than that by the boy's face but he didn’t press.

     The boy stood and stretched as Aizawa followed suit.

     “Well, I’ll head out. Until tomorrow, stalker.”

     Aizawa scoffed.

     “Until tomorrow, kid.”

     The kid disappeared into the dark past the fire escape. Aizawa was left to wonder. There was so much mystery around Izuku. He wanted to know just who he was, why he was out on the streets all alone. But, that was for another night. He didn’t know if the boy had the device he had given him still but at least he knew that he was alive. For now. 

—-------

     The Diner looked so warm. 

     Izuku stared through the foggy windows and even though he knew the heat wasn't on, he still knew it would be much better than out here. The old bomber jacket he had did little to stave off the cold.

     He was fine when it was just at night. He could tuck away in a little corner and fall asleep, not feeling his limbs go numb throughout the night. But now, a constant chill surrounded him even in the early morning sun. But he wouldn’t go in the diner. He didn’t want to create problems for Granny and Pop.

     The day was spent walking the whole town, trying to bring warmth to his body, rubbing his arms and hands together like he was starting a fire. Despite all of that, the cold still sat in his bones, chilling his core. 

     It's not like this was his first winter out like this. 3 years and you learn the ropes. The last two winters, he stuck to alleys of course and last winter, he had stopped by a homeless shelter. It was nice and warm and all the people there were welcoming and nice, but it just felt wrong to be there. 

     Sure, he was technically homeless, but he felt out of place. All the people there had lost their homes, their jobs, their livelihoods and did everything they could to keep it together. He wasn’t like them. Plus, when people saw a 14 year old out by himself, they got worried and curious. He left that morning and never went back. He didn’t want to go back. If the Detective or Eraser found him there, it would be like confirming their fears, that he can’t take care of himself. 

     He scoffed and kicked at a rock and watched it skid across the sidewalk. It wasn’t his first winter, but this was the coldest Izuku had ever felt this early into the season. Even with his crappy gloves and his hands shoved into his pockets at all times, it was all he could do to keep them from shaking. The windy day made it so much worse and he eventually stuck to alleyways, the wind not being able to blow through as easily. 

     The boy’s stomach complained but he could do nothing to solve it. The last thing he had eaten was that sandwich two nights ago and before that….actually, he had lost track. That wasn’t new to him at all but it always made him a tad uncomfortable to not know how closely he was dancing with death. At least knowing made it easier to lie about it.

     To waste the days away, he continued to walk the city. He would have loved to hop the rooftops for a bit more of an interesting trip but he learned doing that during the day got him in trouble very easily. Now, that was happening even at night.

     His hand brushed against the cool metal of the device Eraser had given him. He had his very own stalker and the man hadn’t missed a night since he started. He said he was just checking in to make sure he was alive and he hadn't tried to capture him, but it still made him feel uneasy. Then again, he always was slow to trust. It took months before he realized that Granny and Pop didn’t hate him. That Sara actually enjoyed talking to him. That none of them wanted to hurt him. He was still getting there with the detective. 

     Tsukauchi was kind, albeit a bit short tempered, and always seemed to look out for Izuku. But he had been fooled like that before. He enjoyed their chats from a distance. The same went for Eraser. Though, he was different. Eraser had never attempted to bring him in or ask any serious questions so far, though he knew they were probably coming. He knew that he was concerned for him. So Izuku wanted to make it his mission to prove him wrong. He could take care of himself. 

     Izuku found himself walking a part of town he rarely visited. He wasn’t really paying attention to anything in particular when he heard a familiar voice.

     “Izuku!”

     He whipped his head around to find the woman from the night before. She was standing at the entrance of what looked like a preschool, grabbing at her knees like she just ran a marathon. 

     “Oh, it's you.” He stayed where he was as she trotted over to greet him. He smiled softly at her. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I got your name.”

     She caught her breath and smiled.

     “Lizzy. Sorry,” She pointed back to the front gates she came from. “I spotted you through the gate and I had to talk to you again. I hope I’m not bothering you.”

     He shook his head.

     “Not at all. I wasn’t doing anything in particular.” He glanced through the gates and spotted a few kids running around in thick winter coats. He realized Lizzy was wearing something similar. He must look so out of place. “So, do you work there?”

     She nodded feverishly.

     “I was actually on my way home from work yesterday when that man cornered me. Speaking of,” She grinned and bowed at the hip, startling the boy. “Thank you so much for yesterday. I know I said it then too, but truly I don't know what might have happened to me if you hadn’t stepped in.”

     He waved his hands quickly in front of his face.

     “Oh, no no don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I could help.”

     She straightened and got a good look at the boy for the first time. His smile faltered ever so slightly. Now, she was going to express her worry for him and ask him a bunch of questions that-

     “So, do you want to come and meet the kids?”

     He blinked at her for a moment.

     “What?”

     She glanced back at the gate, her blond hair falling onto her shoulders. 

     “I work as a teacher at this preschool. This morning I told all of the kids about how you saved me yesterday,” She whispered, “Without the other stuff obviously.”

     She smiled at the boy.

     “They’ve been running all around saying that they want to be like you when they grow up. They put on capes and call themselves ‘Mr. Izuku’.”

     Izuku could feel the blush on his cheeks and hoped it just looked like the cold.

     “R-Really? I didn’t think it was all that extraordinary.”

     Lizzy grinned and turned towards the gate.

     “Shall we?”

     As they passed through the gate, Izuku spotted the small building situated in the middle of the courtyard. A sandbox, swingset and playground brought back memories for the boy. Good and…and bad. Kids ran across the yard chasing each other, playing in the sandbox and climbing the playset. Lizzy crossed the yard with familiarity as a few kids ran up to her, grabbing onto her jacket with toothy grins and plenty of questions. She smiled warmly at each of them. Izuku found himself grinning along. 

     Lizzy led them to the building where another teacher was sitting on an old bench reading a book. Dark brown hair flowing in a cascade. As they approached, she put her book down and stood to greet them. 

     “Well, I see you found the hero.”

     Izuku felt his blush return as Lizzy laughed and gestured to the woman.

     “This is the other teacher I work with, Kiyoko. Kiyoko, this is Izuku.”

     The boy stuffed his freezing hands into his pockets with a nod and grin.

     “Nice to meet you.”

     The woman smiled back.

     “Same here.”

     A kid with straight black hair ran up and grabbed at Lizzy's jacket. Their small voices sounded like they had been running for hours.

     “Ms. Lizzy Ms. Lizzy! Come play with us! I built the biggest tower ever. Come see!”

     She crouched down as a few other kids came to join them. A few of them looked at him and whispered to each other, giggles barely hidden. When Lizzy spoke, they all listened.

     “Now kids, someone came by to visit us. It would be rude not to greet him, right?”

     They all shouted their agreement as she stood next to Izuku with a smile.

     “Remember the story I told you guys this morning?”

     A red haired girl raised her hand proudly.

     “Yeah! About Mr. Izuku saving you from a bad guy!”

     A few of the younger boys started fake fighting with imaginary swords. 

     Lizzy nodded.

     “Well, our special guest is none other than Mr. Izuku himself!”

     All the kids looked at him and there was only a second of hesitation before he was swarmed by children. They hopped all around him, asking a million questions.

     “Mr. Izuku!”

     “Are you a superhero?”

     “How strong are you?”

     “Why is your hair green?”

     He was glad when Lizzy stepped in.
    “Now now, let's not crowd him. You should ask questions one at a time.”

     He smiled his thanks to her as each kid raised their hands and asked their questions. After what felt like a million questions, they convinced him to join them in their game of tag. He was happy to oblige.

     It had been a while since he had run like that, playing on swings and sandboxes that reminded him of when he was their age. They all looked up to him like he was some hero. Plus, after running for a while he forgot how cold he was. It was nice.

      This must be what he felt like.

     Eventually, Kiyoko called them all inside for ‘story time’ she called it. Once all the kids were inside, he joined Lizzy at the gate once more.      

     “Thanks for hanging out with them today. I could tell they really loved it. I know they can be a bit of a handful, sorry about that.”

     He smiled and shook his head.

     “Don't worry about it. I had fun and I’m glad I could make them happy.” He glanced back at the playset. “It’s been a while since I had fun like that.”

     She grinned.

     “Well, you are welcome to come back and hang out with them anytime. I’m sure they’d love it too.” He waved and headed down the sidewalk once more, catching her words as he went. “Be sure to stay warm, okay?” 

     He turned and called back.

     “I’ll do my best!”

Chapter Text

     Aizawa stopped at a familiar rooftop once again that night and was a bit surprised to find himself alone. They had been doing this for a few nights now and that rooftop had been the location of almost all of their meetings. For a moment, he feared the worst. 

     He checked his phone but he had gotten no emergency summons so he began his search for that green haired brat. 

      The cold had really bared its fangs, his hands shaking as he searched. His outfit was specially designed to hold heat so he wasn't too cold all around besides his nose. He could only imagine how Izuku was faring. 

     His worry only grew as he searched each rooftop around the area but his search was fruitless. He was stood on a particularly old and ragged department store looking around the area when he spotted familiar green curls a few rooftops over. Relief filled the man as he made his way over to join the boy. Izuku was hopping each roof with practiced familiarity and Aizawa wondered how long he truly had been doing this. 

     He followed behind as the boy hopped gaps with little fear, jumping onto old fire escapes with all the trust in the world. 

     Aizawa was now one rooftop behind when he announced his presence. As the boy was trotting across the concrete roof, the man called out.

     “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you're trying to lose me.”

     The boy looked back with little surprise as he continued his trot. He called back.

     “Ah, my favorite stalker!” A mischievous grin spread across his face. “Let's see if you can keep up, eh?”

     With that, his trot turned into a run as he leapt over the gap of the roof. Aizawa smirked as he hopped the jump following close behind.

     “You're on.”

     In only a few strides, he had caught up to the kid as he ran towards the edge of the roof but instead of leaping across, Aizawa was blindsided as the boy slipped down the fire escape so quickly that Aizawa couldn’t bail on his leap as he landed on the opposite rooftop.

     He glanced around the alleyway and realized the boy had bolted across the street and was already atop another roof and getting further and further away. 

     Damn, this kid’s fast. Does he have a speed quirk?

     He had decided that he would win this fair and not use his scarf as he hopped on the telephone pole, boosting his jump onto the rooftops across the street. At that point, Izuku was already a few rooftops away but the man was quick to catch up. Of course, the moment Aizawa felt like he was catching up, the boy gave him a smirk and somehow ducked out of sight behind some air conditioning units and by the time Aizawa had jumped over them, he was already down in the alleyway, bolting onto the sidewalk. 

     Aizawa was certain now that this kid had been doing this for a lot longer than he thought. The way he leapt onto buildings and fire escapes with familiarity and followed a route that seemed planned out. 

     Aizawa kept his height advantage, jumping the narrow street and trying to put eyes on the kid again. At that point, it felt like they had been running for a while but it was probably only for about 5 minutes. The kid was fast and he had home turf advantage. But, it became a battle of endurance and Aizawa was well versed in those. Before long, the boy got slower and eventually, Aizawa wasn’t even running when he found the boy doubled over on the rooftop, panting for breath. Aizawa chuckled.

     “Guess I win.”

     Through gasps for breath, the boy muttered.

     “Let's….call it…. A draw.”

     The man sat himself at the edge of the roof while he waited for the boy to settle down. It’s true that kids Izuku's age play sports and get into all sorts of stuff they shouldn’t and while most of them don’t hop roofs in their spare time, he still felt like the boy should have better endurance built up, especially if he’s out here every night. It left a bad feeling in Aizawa’s gut. 

     He could hear the boy sigh deeply as he plopped down next to the man. Well, more like 5 feet away. Never got any closer. Never too close.

     “Phew, you were good. Never seen you in action like that.”

     Aizawa smiled. 

     “Same here. You sure you're self taught? That was pretty impressive. Gave me a run for my money.”

     Izuku swatted the thought away with his hand.

     “No, it's really not. I just have experience in this part of town. If we were anywhere else,” He pointed to the scarf around Aizawa’s neck. “Or you had used that,” his hand dropped to his lap. “There would have been no contest.”

     Aizawa sighed.

     “You might be right.” Aizawa smirked. “But it was still a worthy challenge.”

     The boy grinned slightly as he looked down at the street below.

     “Honestly, I've gone faster than that before but you caught me on an off day. Being around a million little kids wears you out.”

     Aizawa quirked an eyebrow.

     “Oh?”

     Izuku sighed like he was feigning annoyance but Aizawa could tell by his expression that he enjoyed his time.

     “I ran into the woman I helped out yesterday. Turns out she works at a preschool and she told the kids all about how ‘Mr. Izuku’ saved her.” He smiled. “When they found out that was me, it was chaos. I ended up answering a million questions and a few games of tag and hide and seek.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Those kids are fast, let me tell ya.”

     Aizawa knew that look on his face. 

     He loved it.

     “Bet they looked up to you.”

     The boy's face changed ever so slightly.

     “Yeah, they did. They called me a hero and asked if I was a ‘real’ hero. I didn't have the heart to tell them I wasn't. Though I doubt they'll remember me tomorrow.”

     Aizawa tilted his head.

     “What about you?” The boy turned to him. “Do you want to be a hero?”

     Izuku was always neutral with a bit of a mischievous nature but at his core, Aizawa could tell he was good. Kind and caring of others, putting himself into harm's way for them. The last few nights, he had seen his more mischievous side as well as the sass and snark the detective told him about.

     Yet despite all of that, when Aizawa asked that question, he saw a look he had never seen before.

     Where most kids would light up at the question, Izuku's eyes dimmed, any inkling of a smile disappearing. He seemed scared for a breath and then just….sad.

     His voice was always a bit soft, which he tried to mask with snark and attitude. Now, the gentleness of his words was more pronounced. 

     “I always wanted to be one. That was, well I guess it was my dream.”

     Was…

     Izuku sighed.

     “I guess it wasn't meant to be. I can't be a hero.”

     Aizawa wanted to ask why but it seemed like Izuku wasn't going to elaborate. 

     He couldn't be a hero?

     Aizawa cleared his throat, drawing the boy's attention. What came next was from deep within himself and he knew that every word of it was true.

     The man glanced up at the night sky, stars shining above.

     “Well, I don't know why you can't be a hero. Whether it's because of your quirk,” the boy shifted uncomfortably. Ah so that's it. “Or something else, I don't think it matters. As long as you have the will and the determination to see it through, I don't think anything could stop you.” 

     He made sure to look the boy in the eyes as he said his final thought.

     “I think you would make a great hero, kid.”

     For a moment, it seemed like he broke through whatever mask the boy had on, a glimmer of something in his eyes. He hoped that it was hope. He didn't lie. Izuku could be a great hero, he knew it.

     Yet despite that glimmer, it faded ever so slightly and he was left with a sad smile.

     “Maybe.”

     After a few moments, Izuku sighed and stood up on the edge of the rooftop, stretching with a bit too much casualty for Aizawa's liking. The man stood as well, just for safe measure.

     “Well,” The boy hopped off the ledge into the concrete roof. “We should race again sometime. Maybe when I'm ready for it.” 

     Aizawa huffed a laugh but their conversation was still on his mind. It was clear that the kid was trying to forget it.

     “Hey kid.”

     The boy turned just as he was about to hop off onto the fire escape below.

     “I know you can take care of yourself but please, try to get somewhere warm tonight. I don't care where. It's gonna get below freezing and that jacket won't work for too long.”

     Izuku scoffed and muttered under his breath.

     “Yeah, I know.” 

     With that, Aizawa was left alone on the rooftop to go over the conversation they had and why Izuku’s quirk is the reason he can't become a hero, even though he could tell he still wanted it. So so badly.

Chapter Text

     Izuku pulled his bomber jacket as close as he could manage, trying to tuck his chin inside its collar. After his talk with Eraser, he tried to find a warm place to bed down for the night.

     He passed by the diner and for the first time, he really considered going inside. It had to be below 10 degrees and he could no longer stop himself from shaking. He checked to make sure all was well around through the windows. Nothing looked out of the ordinary so he decided to climb their back fire escape to the roof. 

     He never went up there. Mostly, it was because he knew they would get worried if they caught him up there. They’d think it was dangerous and he didn’t want to worry them. But, now that they were gone, he hopped off the ledge onto the concrete roof, shivering as a chill breeze blew through. He checked to see if they had any cameras up there before searching for a place to sleep. The last thing he wanted was for one of them to look at the cameras and see him sleeping out by himself. They had to know that he was on his own after all of this time but he had never confirmed it for them. If they spotted him, they would come right back and not take no for an answer in getting him ‘help’.

     Izuku found the door to the rest of the diner and spotted some old tarps folded up beside the brick entryway. He nestled himself between the tarps and the brick and thought over Eraser and his conversation from earlier.

     “I think you would make a great hero, kid.”

     Izuku tucked his chin in his jacket, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and pulled his knees up against his chest. 

     You think that, but you don’t know why it’s not possible. Someone like me could never be a hero. 

     Despite knowing better, Izuku hated that the man's words made him feel a bit warmer inside. For a moment, he truly believed him. Could I? Really? Then that moment ended and reality fell on his shoulders once again.

     No. He doesn’t know the truth. If he did, he wouldn’t say that. He wouldn’t check on me every night. He wouldn’t care. No one would. 

     It was selfish, but he didn’t want Eraser to find out. He didn’t want to admit it, but it got lonely being out on his own. Sure, the detective was fun to mess with but those interactions never lasted long. When was the last time he’d sat and talked to someone like he did with Eraser?

     The moment he fell asleep, the cold dissipated and he was left with his dreams, which was never a good thing. 

     The world around him was much larger than it should be. Familiar walls surrounded him and at the end of the hall, familiar voices. The content of their conversation was hard to discern but he knew what it was about. What it was always about. Their voices rising, one dominating over the other. 

     He stood there, frozen. If he moved too much, they would hear him. So he stood until their voices faded, the argument dying off. He crept down the hall as softly and quietly as he could and found the small apartment dark and empty. 

     No note left behind to warn him. Just emptiness. The fridge was barren. The place was empty. Or at least, he thought it was. As his back was turned, he heard the front door open. His blood ran cold, he froze in place. He made a mistake. He shouldn’t have come out of his room. 

     He steeled himself and slowly turned his head behind him to face the shadow that fell over him. But what he found was an empty apartment, once again. He took that as his sign to leave.   

     He marched up to the front door, ready to make his escape, but as he turned the doorknob, he felt another hand twisting with him. The door cracked open to reveal familiar shoes, nice and polished like always. A briefcase hung beside a nice suit. He stared holes into those shoes, knowing silence always worked better. His breath was quiet, trying not to make too much noise. He never felt so small. From above, a voice like a knife and splash of cold water, deep and heavy.

     “Izuku. Get back inside. Now.”

     He stepped aside in silence as the figure moved into the apartment. He could feel two cold eyes glaring at him but he didn’t dare meet their gaze. He spared a look outside the door as the figure slid it closed.

     So close.

     Izuku cracked his eyes open and felt the rush of the real world hit him like a train. The sunrise had barely peeked over the rooftops but that was not his worry. Before he had fallen asleep, he stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep them from the cold. But he must have moved while he slept, as his right hand rested out in the open on his lap.

     That wasn’t the main issue. The issue was he didn’t know where his right hand was until he saw it. Because he couldn't feel it. He tried to lift it, thinking it had just fallen asleep, but it fell limp like dead weight.

     It was then that the boy hopped up in a panic, shoving the old tarp off his back. The air was so cold and he knew he was shivering from the night on the roof but in the sunlight, his body was warming ever so slightly and yet his hand remained cold and numb. He shook it and breathed warm air onto it but it was no use. It stayed limp, hanging off his wrist. 

     Ok. Ok. That’s bad, right? That feels bad. Maybe it will get better in a little bit? Yeah, maybe as it gets a little warmer it will go back to normal. Yeah.

     So, Izuku began to gaslight himself into believing that as he carefully stuffed his right hand into his pocket and hopped off the diner roof. He peeked into the diner windows to try and distract himself and, spotting nothing of danger, he headed into town.

     His right hand remained in his pocket, which he had to check every few seconds just to make sure it really was there. It stayed numb and limp but now, every once in a while, a stabbing pain would shoot through it that felt like he had just been shot. It would return to being numb and honestly, he preferred it that way to the pain.

     Frostbite? That’s not good.

     Izuku slipped into an alleyway around noon and took a look at his hand for the first time since that morning. He winced at the deathly pale skin and, on the tips of each of his fingers, he could almost see blue. Not good. Not good. Not good.

     He tried to recall all he knew about treating frostbite but everything was telling him to find help. Obviously, he couldn’t do that. So he took to wrapping it up with both of his gloves and keeping it warm in his pocket. It had been a few hours since he woke up and it didn’t seem to be getting worse, but then again, it wasn’t getting better either.

     The rest of the day was spent walking to keep himself warm while trying to distract himself from the hunger clawing at his gut from the inside out. He had enough problems to deal with. The chill air did nothing to help his hand or his mood. He had walked almost the whole city as it neared sundown and he still had no feeling in his hand, save for the random bouts of pain. 

     He knew the city decently well after 3 years of traveling its different paths and alleys. A favorite spot of his was an old tunnel that ran underneath a busy highway. There, though it was only separated by a few feet of concrete, it seemed almost quiet. With his bad hand safely tucked away, he pulled his jacket close around him and passed underneath the tunnel. 

     A bit of a sad smile played on Izukus’s lips. He liked this tunnel for another reason too. It reminded him of a simpler time. Two hands swinging him in between them, walking home. He was caught up in the moment when a certain chill ran through the air. It wasn’t like the chill air that he had been battling the past few days. It sent a chill down his spine and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. 

     He turned behind him and watched in horror as a grotesque creature made of an indiscernible liquid crawled out from a manhole. It grew in size until it almost took up the entire tunnel, blocking the exit and blotting out the sun. Izuku stayed still, frozen in place. It hadn’t seen him yet. The panic in his bones shook his core.

     That's when two large holes opened near the top of this creature, revealing eyes that stared into his soul. A gritty and dangerous voice called from the muck.

     “Ah, perfect. A new meat suit.”

     Izuku’s body took over. His legs bolted in the opposite direction, adrenaline feuling him. He could feel the shadow of the creature crawl over him. He was tired, cold and hungry. He wasn’t as fast as he could be. In desperation, he spotted the railings at the edge of the street and shot out his hand to grab it, hoping to save himself. In his panic, he made a mistake. His right hand shot out and reached for the railing. Or at least, that’s what he tried to do. Instead, his hand stayed limp and hit the railing, sending a wave of pain through him, but no safety.

     Almost in the same breath, he felt like a wall had hit him as the creature wrapped around his body, holding him in place. He felt as the sludge wrapped around his neck and then slipped down his throat, blocking his nose. Pure dread found its way to his heart as he tried to claw at the monster, trying to catch any breath but it was no use. His arms grew weak and heavy and fell at his sides. His vision began to blur. The cold seemed to dissipate for a moment too. 

     Guess this is it…

     “I AM HERE!”

     A familiar voice rang out as the last thing Izuku heard before losing consciousness. 

     The sky blinked into existence as Izuku felt the cold concrete beneath him. His head hurt and his throat was dry but he was alive. He took a few deep breaths just to really drive home that point. His heart was beating out of his chest but at least it was beating.

     I’m alive. But…how?

     He pushed himself up, careful to use his left hand this time, and glanced around. At first, he just saw the old tunnel off to the side. Nothing looked out of the ordinary until he turned to look next to him.

     “Ah, there you are! Thought we’d lost you there!”

     Izuku blinked in disbelief. Next to him was All Might, the number 1 hero. The person he used to look up to most. Still did. 

     It took a second before his voice came back to him, coughing before muttering.

     “A-All Might?”

     The man looked even larger in person, towering over Izuku as he sat on the ground. His smile was just as bright and wide as on TV. His voice boomed.

     “Glad to see you’re okay young man. I have captured the evil doer! There is no need to panic!”

     Izuku carefully got to his feet and stood in awe.

     “I-I can’t believe you’re really here. Thank you for saving me.”

     The man posed heroically.

     “Nonsense! It is my duty to protect civilians from harm! Now, I should be on my-”

     A burst of smoke shot out from where All Might stood and Izuku flinched back as it dissipated. 

     “All Might?”

     As the smoke cleared, there in All Might’s place was a deflated bony man. He coughed and swatted the smoke away when it clicked for the boy.

     “....wait a second. Are you..”

     Suddenly the man was in front of him and shushing him quietly. The man hadn’t spoken a word yet as he waved the boy over to follow him. Izuku was so stunned that he did as he was told. The man led them to a back alley where he finally stopped, turning back to Izuku. The booming voice he was greeted with before was now deep and a bit more tired, the dramatic flare lost.

     “There. Don’t want anyone else to see us.”

     The man sighed heavily, leaning against the brick wall of the alleyway. Izuku stayed silent, waiting for an explanation. The man, All Might, looked up at him and it was hard to believe that he was the same person as before. 

     “You are All Might…..right?’

     The man grabbed at his hair, the signature spikes of hair now falling in front of his face. 

     “Sure am. Hard to believe, right?” He stretched out his arms to display his whole figure. “Not exactly what you expected.” His arms fell at his side as he lifted up his shirt. Izuku winced at the scar it revealed, covering his entire midsection. “Got this in a fight eight years back. Course, I didn’t get away unscathed. Lost my whole stomach. Now, I have a time limit for how long I can be in my ‘Muscle Form’. Once it goes out,” He gestured to himself. “I turn back to this.”

     Izuku felt like his mind had just imploded. He was already shaken by almost dying a few minutes ago, his hand still limp and unhelpful in his pocket. Now, he finds out that his hero, the person he’s looked up to since childhood, has a time limit. 

     “So…. You can only work for so long before…before you turn back, right?”

     All Might nodded with another sigh. He heaved himself up to stand and looked the boy in the eyes.

     “The world needs to believe that I can’t be beaten, that I’m never afraid. The truth: I’m always scared. Scared that I can’t save people. Scared that I’ll lose. But people shouldn’t see that.” He moved past the boy as Izuku stared at the ground. “That’s why I’m counting on you to keep this a secret. Don’t go telling anybody about this. Only a select few people know about this. I’d like to keep it that way.”

     Just like that, his hero was walking away, leaving him behind. 

     It had been so long since he had even thought about All Might, to be honest. But with this encounter, it stirred up a lot of memories and feelings in Izuku. As he watched the man near the entrance to the alleyway, he shocked himself by calling out.

     “Wait!”

     The man turned his head, waiting.

     He hadn’t thought about it in years. It was stupid. It was impossible, he knew that. Yet, when Eraser brought it up the night before, he felt his heart leap at the chance to talk about heros again. He felt a spark in his heart at his words. I can’t be a hero. But, Eraser said I could be. But he doesn’t know. If he knew…. The words felt foreign, keeping it secret for so long and yet, he knew he had to ask. His hero was right in front of him. He would never get the chance again. 

     “I wanted to say…” He kept staring at the ground as he spoke, scared to meet the man's eyes. “It sounds silly, but I've always looked up to you. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to become a hero just like you. But, I..I…” He paused, taking a deep breath and collecting his thoughts. Now or never. “Do you think I could become a hero…even without a quirk?’

     No one believed it. He began to doubt it himself. It was impossible, right? Well, he was always stubborn. Deep down, he didn’t want to believe that. He wanted to believe that he could be a hero no matter the odds. Over the years, that belief was squashed and squandered. He thought that he had forgotten about it entirely until Eraser asked him that question. Did he want to be a hero?

     More than anything. 

     No one believed in him. But maybe, just maybe, if his hero, All Might believes in him. Just maybe, he really could be a-

     “Not without a quirk.”

     All thoughts came to a freeze. The spark that had been lit in his heart was blown out just like that. The man continued to speak but Izuku barely heard it. He continued staring at the ground, just trying to stop himself from breaking.

     “There are still other jobs you could have……” He only caught pieces of All Might’s speech. “Too dangerous. Especially if….” But every word. “Police officers or..” Stabbed him in heart. “Not without a quirk.”

     There was a hesitation in the man after he finished. Izuku said nothing. He didn’t even move. Eventually, the man turned around and left without another word. 

     He knew. 

     All along he knew.

     Of course he did. 

     They all tried to tell him. 

     He was just too stupid to listen. 

    He stood in that alleyway for what felt like years. At the same time, he could still feel his heros shadow looming over him. It was like his entire body went numb. His mind was dead quiet for the first time in his life. 

     He knew all along, but fuck did he wish it wasn’t true. He tried to act like he didn’t care, that he didn’t want it. But every part of him wished he really could be a hero, no matter what. That if one person, just one, knew about him and still told him he could be a hero, then it was true. But now? 

     His vision blurred and he scowled at himself, bringing his good hand to his cheeks, wiping away the tears. Why am I crying? Deep down, I knew. Somewhere along the way, the sun had set behind the buildings. For the first time, he lifted his gaze from the floor and looked up at the sky.

    Guess it's almost time to meet with Eraser, huh? 

     It was a blur, his travel through alleyways and streets that he didn’t care to name. All vigor and life felt like it had been drained out of him. His right hand was still limp and numb but that didn’t matter to him anymore. He climbed up an old fire escape and found himself standing on the ledge of the rooftop like he had so many nights before. 

     The air blew through his curls, freezing his skin. But he didn’t shiver like before. He barely felt the cold. He stared down at the street below. He felt...empty. He stood on the ledge and waited for Eraser once more.

Chapter Text

     Something was wrong. 

     He had only known the kid for a few days but he had gotten a pretty good read on him. He tried to act all tough, hiding behind a mask of sass and snark. He had a mischievous air about him all the time, like he was deciding the best way to mess with you. But he was also kind. He helped out others without asking for anything in return. He's humble. He's compassionate. He's a brat through and through. But Aizawa had come to enjoy that brat.

     So the moment he hopped onto the roof to join the boy, he knew something was up. 

     Izuku stood at the edge of the roof, dangerously close to the edge. It was a few seconds after the boy noticed he was there that he finally turned around to face the man. His voice had lost its edge, softer.

     “Eraser. Guess I got here early.”

     He was trying to mask it like always but he was failing miserably. Aizawa could see right through him. Something happened. Something got to him. He noticed how the boy kept his right hand stuffed in his pocket, using his left hand to push himself off the ledge and onto the roof, his non-dominant hand. 

     The boy sat down on the ledge and Aizawa joined him.

     “Hey kid.”

     The boy stared down at the street below and from there, Aizawa watched his eyes. They were always a deep green, a twinge of light thrown in. Now, they seemed….empty. Izuku as a whole seemed empty. 

     His situation never seemed great but he never acted like he was in a bad way, or at least he hid it. Now, the man could tell he was trying but whatever happened really affected him. He didn't like it.

     “So, what's wrong with your right hand?”

     The boy looked at him with a bit of shock and confusion before wiping it off his face and trying to play it cool. He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.

     “Ah, it's just a little cold, ya know?”

     Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

     “You sure that's it?” He looked at Izuku's hand, or wrist since he hadn't pulled out his hand once in the whole interaction. 

     The boy nodded, still attempting to hide. The mask he put up was cracked and broken.

     “Yeah. Nothing to worry about.”

     Aizawa scoffed and followed the boy's gaze to the road once more. 

     “So, what happened?”

     The boy feigned a confused laugh but he was anything but confused.

     “What do you mean?”

     Aizawa stared at him for a second, using a tactic he often did. In the quiet, the two staring at each other, he could tell the boy began to get more and more uncomfortable until he broke the silence. 

     “I guess it’s gotten colder?”

     The man still stared and Izuku searched for another answer.

     “I might be a little tired?”

     Still staring.

     Izuku sighed exasperated.

     “Fine, fine. You win. I mayyyyyyyyyyy have gottencaughtupinavillanfightbutsitsokaynowsodon’tworryaboutit.”

     The boy spoke so fast like he was hoping to be misheard, but unfortunately for him, Aizawa had pretty good hearing.

     “You what!?”

     The boy flinched back at the sudden change in tone but he quickly tried to hide it, covering his tracks. 

     “I just told you not to worry about it.” He pouted like he didn’t just drop a bomb like that on the man.

     “What happened? Are you okay?”

     Izuku scratched the back of his neck a bit nervously. 

     “Yeah yeah, I’m fine. I was the only one that got attacked.”

     “That's not what I asked.” He glanced at the hand the boy had been hiding. “Is that what happened to your hand? It got injured in the fight?”

     The boy swatted the air with his good hand.

     “Nah nothing like that. Honestly all it did was…..take the wind out of me.” He said it like it was meant to be a joke but it seemed like it was a bit hard to discuss. It must have been bad.

     “How bad was it? And don’t lie please.”

     The boy watched the man's expression before he sighed, probably realizing he couldn’t get away with it now. Izuku glanced down at the street. 

     “If I’m being honest…I guess it was pretty bad looking back. I don’t really remember much of the attack…which probably isn’t good either.” The boy rubbed his arm through his sleeve, a nervous habit Aizawa noticed he had. “When I woke up, I was…preoccupied with other things. I didn’t even realize how bad it got. If I hadn’t gotten saved ....”

     His voice trailed off but the rest of his sentence was clear.

     He would have died.

     “What happened after that?”

     It was there that the strange expression the boy wore when he first showed up made a reappearance. His eyes dimmed. He seemed to close in on himself, pulling his arms close around him, like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. All the snark left his voice once more. 

     “I was saved. By a hero.”

     He said it so carefully like he was afraid to even bring it up. A hero shouldn’t make him afraid. One look at the boy and that's what he saw. Sadness. Emptiness. Fear.

     “By who?”

     That was the wrong question. The boy caved in on himself even more than before. He brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them close with his left hand. His eyes seemed even more distant than before. 

     “It doesn’t really matter, right?”

     Aizawa was going to say something but it seemed as though the boy was no longer speaking to him but rather just speaking to himself as he remembered something.

     “No matter who it was, they would have all said the same thing. It’s just common knowledge. I was so stupid to think otherwise.”

     Aizawa raised an eyebrow. 

     “Said what, kid?”

     The boy was still not looking at him, staring into the night sky.

     “He just said what they all said before. He just confirmed it.”

     “Izuku.”

     The boy snapped his head to look at the man, his eyes coming back into focus for a moment at the use of his first name. Aizawa hadn’t used it before but he was glad to have snapped him from his trance. The more it went on, the more he was convinced that whatever the hero had said to Izuku shattered him. He had never seen this kid more upset. He lowered his voice to try and keep it level.

     “What did they say?”

     The boy's spiral calmed but that eerie air around him remained. He seemed empty. His voice was hollow.

     “Do you remember what you said last night?”

     Aizawa recalled their conversation.

     “I do. I meant every word of it.”

     Aizawa was surprised by a bitter chuckle that slipped from the boy's lips. 

     “You say that, but you don’t know anything about me. You don’t know the truth.” The boy's eyes found his arm as he rubbed it through his sleeve. Purposely avoiding eye contact.

     The truth? What truth would mean he couldn’t be a hero?

     “I don’t know what you’re talking about but I meant what I said. I don’t think there's anything that can change that.”

     The boy took a deep breath. He was steeling himself for something. That worried Aizawa. 

     “You said that no matter what my quirk was, I could be a hero, right?”

     Aizawa nodded.

     “I did and I stand by it.”

     The air seemed to go silent as the boy turned to look the man in the eyes for the first time. His eyes were blank, empty. His voice monotone. 

     “Even if I’m quirkless?”

     Aizawa’s mind ground to a halt. He was….. He should have known. It was right in front of him. No wonder…

     The boy watched him as he continued.

     “I so so wanted to be a hero.” He turned to look out at the city, his features highlighted by the moonlight. He closed his eyes. “I don’t know if I ever wanted anything that badly before. I was desperate.” He opened his eyes with a bit of a sad smile. “When I found out I was quirkless, I tried everything I could to activate my quirk. I thought maybe they had it wrong. No way I was the only person in this side of town that’s quirkless. Course,” A bitter chuckle. “Just my luck.”

     The boy pulled his knees close to his chest, resting his chin on his knee as he spoke. 

     “I never did give up though. I was stubborn. I tried learning everything I could about everything to do with heros and quirks alike. But, nothing changed.” He closed his eyes with finality. “He was right. Of course he was. I would just be a burden. Useless on the battlefield.” His smile was full of grief. “I’d just get in the way.”

     “No.”

     Izuku lifted his head to face the man, his expression one of confusion. 

     “What?”

     Aizawa stood and stepped off onto the roof, the boy turning to face him as he did. Aizawa was seething but he tried not to let it show. He took a deep breath and looked the boy in the eyes.

     “You’re wrong. Quirks are simply tools. They are to be used but not to be relied upon. Mine does nothing in combat so I got stronger. Having a quirk or not doesn’t define what you do with your life.”

     The boy slipped his legs off the ledge, sitting up straight as he listened to the man. From the look on his face, he was hung on every word.

     “Whatever hero said that to you, that you were a burden,” He spat those last words like a bad bite of food. “Is a fool. An ignorant fool that claims to know how you should live your life. He doesn’t know what I do.”

     Izuku leaned forward a bit, his voice a bit lighter than before.

     “Know what?”

     Aizawa smiled. He made sure it was clear that every word he spoke was the truth.

     “I know who you are. True, I don’t know a lot about you or your past, but I have seen what kind of a person you are.” Izuku had come to stand, slipping off the ledge and now watched Aizawa as he continued. “You are compassionate and put others before yourself, even to a concerning degree. You want what is best for others. You are kind.” He grinned a bit mischievous. “You are stubborn and refuse to give in.”

     He put a hand to his heart, the next words coming from deep within and they almost felt like they were given to him. Words he needed to say. Words Izuku needed to hear.

     “All of those qualities are qualities of a hero. It doesn’t matter if you have a quirk or not,”

     “You can become a hero.”

—-------

     The man's voice resounded and echoed off the walls and if not for that, Izuku would have believed he misheard. Yet, there it was with clarity. Those words. 

     It’s silly. He told himself he was done. That it was over now. No more dream. He thought he had stomped on every spark left of it, burying it deep within his heart. It was better that way. And yet, as the man spoke, he knew that every word of it was true. It astounded Izuku to no end, he hung on every word. And then…Those words. The words that he longed to hear for so long. The words that were foreign to him. But now, they felt familiar. They felt….true. Real. They were for him. 

     “You can become a hero.”

     Not a bit of hesitation in Eraser’s voice. A smile on his face. 

     Izuku’s chest lightened, like the weight he had been carrying all day had been lifted all at once. In that newfound weightlessness, he hadn’t even realized he was crying until a tear slipped down his face. 

     He snapped back to reality. He sniffled as he brought his good hand to wipe his tears. A watery laugh cracked out.

     “I-I’m sorry. Don’t know why I’m…” The tears wouldn’t stop but the man didn’t seem to mind. He just smiled a bit sadly and shook his head.

     “Tears aren’t bad. They mean something. Always.”

     Izuku finally wiped the last one away and took a deep breath. His heart felt so much lighter. He glanced at the man who stood patiently, waiting for the boy to pull himself together. 

     He knows. He’s one of the people who knows but… but he’s different. He didn’t… He….

     The boy shook his head, trying to shake off the emotions he was flooded with. Wow, his reputation was at stake now. He tried for a casual smile. He was sure he failed miserably.

     “Well…Why don’t we both agree that didn’t happen? I have a reputation to uphold, you know?”

     Eraser chuckled.

     “Don’t worry about it, kid.” He looked the boy in the eyes once again. “I meant it. You know that, right?”

     Izuku's smile faded to something more serious as he nodded once firmly. 

     “Yeah, I know.”

     He smiled a bit.

     “You should be a public speaker.”

     Eraser accepted his desire to return to something casual with a scoff.

     “Absolutely not.”

     Izuku glanced up at the moon and realized how long they had been there. He had a lot to think about now. That was probably an understatement. He turned on his heel, towards the edge of the roof, stuffing his good hand into his pocket, his hand rubbing against the device Eraser had given him.

     “Well, I should get going.”

     Eraser nodded, stuffing his own hands into his pockets.

     “Until tomorrow?”

     Izuku smiled.

     “Until tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

 Izuku pulled his jacket close around him once more as he trudged through the alleys once more. The previous conversation played in his head. 

     He chuckled as he recalled what Eraser said. If he knew he'd called All Might ignorant. A fool? The grin on his face wasn't forced one bit. 

     Honestly, he doesn't really know why he didn't tell Eraser who saved him. All Might was a great hero. He'd saved so many people. He didn't want to tarnish someone's views on him just because he crushed a kid's dreams… though he doubted Eraser would care who it was. He seemed upset with the man's words before he even knew who it was. Izuku felt a little guilty that it made him feel happy. Happy that someone was mad for him.

     Plus, Eraser knew about his quirklessness now. He expected the man to turn away and leave him there. He expected to be rejected. But he didn't. He didn't care. He was a bit guilty that made him happy too. 

     It was incredibly late now, the moon taking its time across the night sky. He figured it was time to bed down for the night. Though, as he glanced down at his right hand as he pulled it from its pocket, it was still limp and unhelpful. He did feel something from time to time, though that was usually just a stabbing pain before it went right back to numb. He figured the diner rooftop was not a good place to sleep again. Especially since it felt even colder than the night before. He only had one more hand.

     As he walked, he heard a few hushed voices in an alleyway nearby. As Izuku peeked his head in, making sure not to be seen, he could feel his blood run cold. A woman was backed up against the wall and by her expression, she was not having a good time. She looked like she was pleading and when he saw who she was staring at, it made sense. The man looked skinny and gross, though he could stay much against that. Except the difference was that this man was definitely on drugs. He was shaky and sporadic and he was speaking quite fast and hushed to the woman. 

     He really shouldn't. He definitely shouldn't. But when he saw the look on the woman's face, he couldn't just stand there and do nothing. So, he took a deep breath and waltzed right into the alleyway, trying to feign confidence. It must have worked because when the man spotted him, he backed up a bit, watching him with beady eyes.

     “Hey! Looks like you two are having fun here.”

     He stepped in between the man and the woman, not taking his eyes off the man.
The man's voice was raspy and high pitched.

     “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

     It was then that Izuku's eyes traced down to see what the man had on his hand. It was hidden behind him at first but now it was clear, shining in the light of the streetlight.

     A knife.

     Well shit.

     The man's hand shook as he held it, repeating the same thing over and over again.

     “I don't wanna hurt you, don't make me hurt you. Please. Just give it to me. I don't wanna hurt you.”

     Izuku took a careful step back and while the man was spiraling, he whispered to the woman behind him.

     “Are you okay?”

     Her voice was shaking with fear. He realized now, after a very quick glance back that she couldn't be any older than him. Maybe 18 or 19. She was terrified.

     “Y-Yeah, I'm okay. He…he hasn't hurt me yet but, but he keeps asking for money. I used the last of it for the bus.”

     He nodded and kept his eyes trained on the man and tried to steady his voice.

     “Hey man, you're here for money right?”

     The man stuck his knife out and Izuku flinched back, he heard the girl behind him do the same.

     “Yes! But she won't give it to me! I don't wanna hurt you but I need it! Please!”

     Okay think. Think. Get her out of here.

     “Well, she doesn't have anything to give you. It's pretty late and she's got school in the morning. Why don't you let her go, yeah?”

     The man stared the boy down and glanced at the girl. She was still shaking. The man nodded jerkily.

     “Yeah, yeah, she can go.”

     Izuku nodded carefully and leaned back to whisper once again.  

     “Walk slowly as you leave and the moment you’re out of earshot, call the police. This guy's on something.”

     She nodded and carefully crept along the wall and they both listened as her footsteps receded. Izuku kept his eyes trained on the man. Or rather, his knife. It was obvious that he was just scared but scared animals are the most dangerous. 

     Izuku tried to steady his voice as he spoke.

     “Alright, now let's take this slow, okay?”

     This dude is gonna hurt someone if I don’t do something. The police might not get here in time.

     Suddenly, he remembered the device that Eraser had given him. It sat in his pocket right beside his lame hand. Eraser could take this guy down in a second. He promised himself he wouldn’t press it but he didn’t see a way around it. Though he couldn’t feel his hand, he pressed the device against his chest with his wrist and felt the button push, the device making a quiet noise that indicated the message was sent. 

     Okay. Now to buy time. 

     The man was looking even more desperate now. Izuku's voice was steady and calm, as he had learned how to do.

     “You don’t want to hurt anyone. You’re just scared, right? I know what that feels like.”

     The man laughed a bit manically, scratching at his neck violently. 

     “Y-You don’t understand anything! Don’t lie!”

     Izuku held up a hand.

     “I understand a lot more than you might realize. I know that you’re desperate. But you don’t want to be a bad person, do you?”

     The man thought for a second and then shook his head.

     “No…no I don't want to be a bad person.”

     “Good.” Izuku took a very careful step forward, towards danger as always. “Now, why don’t you put the knife down and we can talk a little more.”

     The man took a step back.

     “What are you gonna do?”

     “I’m not gonna hurt you. I just don’t like conversations held at knife point, you know? I can help you. Just hand me the knife, okay?”

     The man hesitated but he didn’t move back when Izuku took another step forward. They were about 3 feet apart now. Izuku smiled.

     “There, see? It’s alright.”

     Another step forward. The man slowly lowered the knife, his hand falling to the side but still gripping the knife tight.

     “Just a little more.” Izuku was now right in front of the man. He held out his hand. “Now, just hand me the knife and this can be over.”

     The man nodded shakily and slowly brought the knife in between the two. 

     That was when a car at the edge of the alleyway honked, the sound echoing into the alley. That was all it took. The situation was so tense that in that moment, it happened in a flash.

     A jolt of pain and Izuku stared down at…

      the knife jutting out of his stomach. 

     In his shock, he glanced up at the man as a wave of pain hit him, almost knocking the breath out of him. His mind started spiraling.

     What do I know about stab wounds? Vital organs hit? I don’t know. What’s the one rule again? Never ever take it-

     The man realized what he did, eyes widening and Izuku barely got a word in before-

     “Wait don’t-”

     The man ripped the knife out of his stomach and a new flood of agony hit the boy, clutching his gut. The man staggered back, the knife dropping out of his hand as he bolted out of the alleyway. That was the least of his worries. 

     Izuku's hand came back covered in red and his breathing quickened as panic set in. He looked down at his stained clothes and it finally hit him. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. He winced in pain, trying to keep himself standing but his vision began to swim, his legs feeling unsteady beneath him. He had no clue if the knife hit anything important but man, did it hurt.

     He was barely standing when a familiar voice called out to him.

     “Hey, kid!”

     He glanced up to spot Eraser in the middle of the alleyway, jogging up to him.

     Oh yeah, that’s right. Now he can catch that guy. I just need to- 

     His thoughts were cut off by a flash of pain as he doubled over himself, his legs giving out. When he opened his eyes, he was leaning against the wall, a figure over him. Everything was foggy. Everything was blurry. Everything hurt. Eraser was saying something, but it was lost in the dark that felt like it was consuming Izuku. 

     It was then that he could have sworn he had been shot on top of being stabbed. The pain suddenly exploded as though someone had punched him right where he had been wounded and all consciousness that was left holding on was lost. 

Chapter Text

     He should have gotten there faster. Maybe then none of it would have happened. 

     Aizawa had just finished his patrol that night and his mind was still stuck on the conversation he had with the kid that night. If he ever found out who said those things to him, they were going to pay for it. Who could look at Izuku and say that he didn’t have what it took to be a hero and even more than that, that he would be a burden? It made him sick. Aizawa hoped that the boy remembered what he said. 

     He had just made it back to his house when his phone buzzed. He figured it was probably Hizashi again so, with a sigh he pulled it from his pocket. It took barely a second for it to register but when it did, he was already across the block, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

     He pressed it. He pressed the button. Please be okay, kid. Please.

     The location that stared back at him from the phone wasn’t that far away and in the moments it took to get there, Aizawa’s mind spiraled to all the possibilities.

     Maybe it was an accident. Or he dropped it or..

     He landed on the rooftop and glanced down into the alley below. There, standing in the middle of it all was the kid and he didn’t hesitate to drop down there. The moment his feet hit the ground, he was jogging to meet him.

     “Hey, kid!”

     As he got closer, the fear settled in his bones. The boy was unsteady on his feet and, in the shadows of the alleyway, it looked like he was clutching his stomach. Izuku turned his head to Aizawa. His skin was pale and though Aizawa was just about 3 feet from him now, he could hear his raspy breathing.

     “Kid?”

     Aizawa reached up to place a hand on the boy's shoulder when he suddenly doubled over in pain, his legs giving out. Without hesitation, Aizawa caught him and his thoughts went still as he felt a warmth on his hands. He knew what it was without even looking.

     Cold panic rushed through his body as he quickly leaned the boy against the alleyway and he didn’t like the way the kids head lulled to the side. Aizawa pulled his hand away and his palms were coated in red. So were the boy's clothes and the ground below him. With a practiced calmness, the man lifted the boy's shirt and when he spotted the wound, he felt like his heart had stopped beating.

     Is that a…

     He whipped his head around and spotted a glint of light bouncing off something in the middle of the alleyway. A knife. A knife…

     “Shit. Okay kid, don’t worry. Just hang on.”

     Aizawa had no clue how much blood he had lost already but he knew he had to act fast. The boy was barely conscious, his breathing unsteady and weak. Aizawa took the blood-soaked hem of the boy's shirt, ripping it off while trying to avoid upsetting the wound any further. 

     I have to pack the wound. Stop the bleeding. 

     He grimaced and took a deep breath.

     “I’m sorry kid. This is gonna hurt. A lot.”

     He wrapped up the fabric and only hesitated slightly before he stuffed the bloodied material into the wound, compressing the blood flow. He will never forget the boy's strangled cry as he did it. The way his body went rigid, his face twisting in pain. The way he fell eerily still afterwards. The way he fell silent.

     He stuffed the last of the material and, though it wasn’t losing as much blood as before, it was still seeping through.

     “Alright kid, stay with me.” He glanced up at the boy's face. “Kid?”

     His breathing had slowed. His chest was barely even rising anymore. 

     In those next moments, Aizawa didn’t question when he heard sirens stop just at the opening of the alleyway. He didn’t question why there was an ambulance ready. He just scooped the boy up in his arms, ignoring how light he was, and rushed him to the stretcher waiting for him. The moment he let go, people swarmed around the boy and disappeared into the back of the ambulance and by the time his brain had caught up, they were around the block, sirens wailing. 

     He chased after them with the chill of the air in his veins and blood on his hands.

—--

     Those next few hours were hell. 

     He paced the emergency room until his feet burned. He counted every tile on the floor twice. 

     When he had rushed in, they had already taken the boy back and the only interaction he had was telling one of the nurses about the weapon used. Her face was dark as she headed back towards the doors. Since then, it had been silent. 

     It was about two hours in, when he finally had the mind to look around him, the tunnel vision seeming to wear off. He realized that the few people in the waiting room at this hour were staring at him, whispering under their breath. When he looked down at himself, he could see why. A trip to the bathroom cleansed him of the bloodstains he forgot he was sporting. 

     3 hours in without any word at all. Aizawa pulled out his phone and called Tsukauchi. He felt bad that he didn’t think to call the man sooner but his mind still felt on edge and floaty. The conversation only used a few words. The detective showed up only 10 minutes after he hung up.

     He jogged in the doors, locking eyes with Aizawa and immediately running over.

     “What happened?! Where is he?”

     Aizawa sighed and glanced towards the double doors the boy had disappeared behind.

     “Still back there. Haven’t heard anything since they sent him back.”

     The detective glanced at the doors and nodded a bit absentmindedly. He turned to Aizawa.

     “What the hell happened?”

     Aizawa told him what he had seen, the knife, the ambulance showing up, all of it. The detective stayed quiet until the end. He nodded as if he had figured the whole story out.

     “Dammit. I had a feeling.”

     “What feeling?”

     The two of them had sat down in the back of the room, keeping their voices low. Tsukauchi leaned forward.

     “We got a call a few hours ago. A girl in her late teens. She said she was being held up by a guy with a knife. She mentioned that a kid her age jumped in and convinced the guy to let her go. She said the last thing the boy said to her was to call the cops as soon as she got away.” The detective sighed. “When I arrived at the scene, we found the knife but we couldn’t find the boy at all. I saw the blood. I just hoped that…. Dammit.” He glanced up at Aizawa. “How bad was it?”

     Aizawa glanced down at his hands. He could still hear the boy's voice echoing in his ears. His cry of pain. 

     “I don’t know. There was so much blood. I have no clue how long it had been. After I packed the wound……he was barely breathing.”

     The detective cursed under his breath and the two sat in tense silence. Nothing. Nothing for 4 hours now. He was restless. 

     Tsukauchi took a deep breath and stood up, looking down at Aizawa. 

     “You're gonna stay here, right?”

     The man nodded. 

     “I’m not leaving without the kid.”

     The detective nodded.

     “Good. Tell me everything that you learn. I’m gonna go find the bastard that did this. I’m gonna find out what happened.”

     With that, Aizawa was left alone with his thoughts once again. 

     Please.

     Five hours.

     That's how long it took before he heard anything. 

     He didn’t really pay attention to the nurse he talked to when he first got there, he had other things on his mind. But now, he noticed her enter the waiting room and glance around. When she spotted him, she walked over quickly. 

     “Mr. Aizawa?”

     He stood up immediately.

     “Did you hear anything? How is he?”

     The slight frown she held led Aizawa to assume the worst. She glanced around the room before saying a bit quietly,

     “Here, follow me. Let’s go somewhere a bit more private.”

     He could feel his heart sink as he dragged along behind the nurse. If only he had been faster. 

     She took them both to a small room. She took a deep breath.

     “Ok. First I should let you know that right now he is stable.”

     Aizawa let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. But he didn’t stay relieved for long.

     “Just stable?”

     She frowned and looked down at her clipboard. 

     “Our doctors here were able to stop the bleeding and temporarily seal the wound but with how deep it was, he is going to need more professional attention with people who work with these injuries a lot. The most we can do for now is keep him stable while we look for somewhere to transfer him. Somewhere he can get the proper care he needs. Would you happen to-”

     “Transfer him to my agency.”

     She glanced up at him a bit perplexed.

     “My agency has a hospital ward with some of the best doctors around. They deal with stuff like this all the time. That should work, right?”

     She smiled.

     “Yeah. It should.”

     As soon as they were done, Aizawa called to let his agency know about the transfer. The nurse had gone back to help get everything ready for the transport. Apparently they were going by helicopter. It made sense in all honesty but it really drove home the severity of the situation. Though, he knew it was bad. Really bad. 

     After about an hour, he took a final look at the hospital as he watched the helicopter rise into the air from the roof. He hopped into his own car to follow them. All the while, he quietly prayed that the transfer went fine.

     He knew there was always a chance it could go wrong. Maybe his vitals drop while they’re in the air. He was just barely stable. If his wound reopened now…

     Aizawa shook off those thoughts as he parked his car, listening to the helicopter’s wings beating as he closed the door. 

     He hadn't been able to calm his heart since this whole thing began but stepping into his agency helped to relieve some of his nerves. It was familiar. He could remember how many times he'd walked through that door after his patrols. The receptionist was speaking to another local hero but besides that, no one else was there. It made sense though. It was about 5 in the morning by now. 

     He had taken to pacing once again as he waited to hear any news about the transfer. While he waited he made sure to update the detective of the move. The text back he got was only a few words but it filled Aizawa with relief.

     ‘We got our guy.’

     7 hours.

     Aizawa watched the sun come up through the glass doors he sat beside. The hot coffee in his hands and his nerves were the only things keeping him going. As he sipped it carefully, he glanced around the room once more. Now, only him and the receptionist remained. That is, until he heard heels click down the hall. He glanced up and a nurse locked eyes with him and he immediately stood up, meeting her halfway.

     “Mr. Aizawa!”

     The nurse looked pretty young, maybe early twenties with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail in the back. 

     “How is he? Did the transfer go well?”

     She nodded with a smile.

     “The transfer went perfectly!”

     Aizawa breathed a sigh of relief.

     “Ok, good.”

     The woman looked down at the clipboard in her hands.

     “After the transfer we made sure he was set up in his room. Then, we had doctors come and check his injuries.” She looked up with a grin. “They were able to stitch the wound closed. Right now, we’re still giving him blood to make up for what he lost but we shouldn't have to worry about it reopening.”

     The man put a hand to his heart, feeling it beating.

     “That's great. Thank goodness. So he should be alright now?”

     “As far as we can tell. Of course, the recovery will be long. He will probably have to stay here for a while before we discharge him. With a wound that deep, if it was to reopen… it would be safer if he was here when it happened to say the least.”

     Aizawa nodded. He noticed a hesitance.

     “But there's something else, isn't there?”

     The woman looked up a bit surprised before nodding a bit sadly.

     “Yes, there is. But,” She glanced around the room. “Why don't we go somewhere else and talk?”

     He nodded and led them both to his office. The hospital ward and the offices were two separate buildings connected by a bridge, hanging over a park that the landscapers kept young. 

     He shut the door behind them but neither one of them sat down. 

     He barely ever used this office except to nap on the couch after particularly long patrols. 

     The nurse took a deep breath and read the papers on her clipboard.

     “Like I mentioned before, his stab wound is now taken care of but,” She glanced up at the man. “You do remember how you mentioned he was acting funny with his right hand?”

     The man nodded.

     “He had it stuffed away and only used his left, even though it definitely wasn’t his dominant.”

     “Right. Well,” She flipped a page. “We looked at it. Second degree frostbite.”

     Aizawa was stunned into silence for a second.

     “Frostbite? No wonder..”

     The nurse nodded.

     “It looked pretty bad. We tried to get it warm again without risking further injury. It doesn't look like it was injured after the fact so infection is unlikely but…”

     “But?”

     She frowned.

     “With cases like this, it is possible that he might have lost feeling in his hand and if it's serious… he might lose feeling permanently.”

     Aizawa's breath caught in his throat.

     “What would happen in that case?”

     Her expression shifted.

     “The only logical solution would be amputation.”

     Aizawa felt like the wind had been sucked out of him.

     “How do we know how bad it is?”

     The woman shrugged.

     “We don't yet. The most we can do is try what we can to take care of it until he wakes up. Then we can assess how bad it is.”

     Aizawa nodded though it still didn't feel real. But there was still one bombshell left to explode.

     “Those are the last of his current injuries…”

     “Current?”

     The woman sighed, flipping the page and holding it close to her chest.

     “Did he ever show you his arms?”

     The man was a bit surprised by the question but as he thought about it, Izuku had always been wearing a jacket. It didn't seem odd at the time but he didn't like the look the woman had.

     “No. Is something wrong?”

     She looked down at the page and grimaced.

     “Do you know if he's been in an accident involving fire?”

     Aizawa was taken back.

     “Not that I'm aware of…”

     “I see. Well, though they aren't concerning right now, I figured I should let you know…”

     With that, she handed Aizawa the paper she was looking at and shattered his world.

Chapter Text

     He sat at the back of the yard, silently watching the other kids run past, shouting about whatever game they were playing that day. Some were tucked away in corners playing quietly. Others sat with the teacher by the doors.

     He never joined any of those groups anymore. He gave up trying after his heart could no longer handle anymore rejection. So he sat there, quiet as a mouse, and watched the others have fun. Maybe he hoped that he could melt into the backdrop of leaves and bushes. Maybe he hoped that if he did, someone would look for him.

     “Izuku!”

     A rough hand pulled him to his feet, smelling of caramel. A confident grin. If he did disappear into the wood behind him, he would miss that boy. 

     They ran through the yard until they reached the garden. Through the roughness of the boy's voice, he could hear his best attempt to speak softer. He tried that so often in recent days. Maybe he should tell the boy that he doesn’t mind his usual voice one bit. He knew he was doing it for him anyway. 

     “Do you wanna play something?”

     Though he wanted to respond, his mind could not muster the energy. His mouth barely put in the effort. He had given up trying. But if it was this boy, he would try a bit harder.

     “Sure.”

     That grin once again. It was what he clung to. If he could still see that smile, that blond hair, he knew he would be alright. But as another familiar voice echoed out over the yard, he realized his safety was dwindling. He glanced at the source.

     Kind eyes and a loving gaze. Soft hands and more caramel splendor. Standing next to her, a figure of darkness. A creature. A monster. His hands began to shake.

     Rough hands found his own trembling ones and soon they raced across the yard towards the woman. Towards the shadow. He could feel his heart beating.

     The blond ran into his mothers arms, waving goodbye as he watched his happiness walk away. 

     He felt like he was being consumed. He glanced up into the shadows, a blur of darkness and emptiness. A hand. Rough. Calloused. Unsafe. He felt it grab his wrist, twisting in painful ways. He glanced back towards the scent of caramel as he was dragged back into the shadows. 

     Maybe it was useless to dream of melting into the woods. The shadows would have found him there all the same. 

—------

     Aizawa shifted in his chair, trying to get comfortable. He appreciated that the hospital provided nice cushioned chairs but after a few hours sitting there, it was hard to feel anything below the waist. He glanced up at the figure in the bed before him.

     It hurt his heart when he first saw the boy. He laid in the hospital bed, propped up by a million pillows. His crazy green curls fell in his face, covering his eyes. The mask that sat over his nose and under his chin blurred his cheeks and freckles. They still had him on oxygen even after 9 hours. Blankets were pulled up to his chest and despite the hospital gown he wore, he knew there were bandages after bandages covering his injury. His right hand was wrapped in a different type of gauze, covering each finger individually to keep the skin warm but protected until he awoke. The elephant in the room, however, were the bandages that continued from his wrists and continued beneath his sleeves. Both arms were covered. Every time Aizawa looked at them, he could feel his heart break just a little more.

     The nurses said that he probably won't wake up for a while but if he did, he wouldn't be able to do much. They have him on a bunch of painkillers but it's still gotta be quite painful. That being said, he didn't doubt that the boy would wake up soon, despite all that. He just had a hunch.

     As soon as he had settled in, he updated the detective on the situation. After that, he realized just how exhausted he was. It was now around noon and he had barely had any breakfast or slept since the day before. The nurse had brought him a futon to sleep on but despite all that he still refused to. He wasn't going to sleep until Izuku woke up. 

     Lucky for him, he didn't have to wait too long.

—-------

     The shadows dissipated. 

     His chest felt heavy. His mind pounded against his skull. A dull pressure spread throughout his gut. His body felt like it weighed a million pounds. But against all that, he was able to crack his eyes open. 

     For a moment, he could almost hear the soft noise of dishes being washed in the other room, a faint voice over the TV. Though after a few seconds, he realized that it was only the ceiling that made him imagine those. The cool colors of it reminded him of distant memories. The more the world came into view, the less it seemed familiar. 

     Izuku was laid in a bed, covered in blankets galore. He could feel pillows beneath his head. Sensations came to light and he noticed a mask over his nose and chin. It didn’t feel dangerous though. It fit comfortably around his face. More fog cleared and he realized his arms laid in front of him, wrapped in bandages and what he imagined was an IV was stuck out of his left arm. 

     Normally, he would have shot up and assessed the situation more clearly. He had no clue where he was, how he got there, or what happened. But he couldn't do much about it. He felt so weak and exhausted. He was at the mercy of the world around him. Though, it didn’t seem against him at the moment. 

     With painful sluggishness, he was able to turn his head ever so slightly to his right. There, he spotted a figure seated in a chair beside the bed. His long black hair was pulled into a messy bun at the back of his head. A book in his hand held his attention. It took the boy's mind a minute to register who it was. Izuku’s voice was quiet and broken.

     “...e..eraser?”

     The man looked up from his page and smiled at the boy.

     “Hey kid.” He placed his book down, saving the page. “How are you doing?”

     Izuku thought for a moment. He felt a lot of things but one prevailed over the others.

     “...tired.”

     Eraser chuckled.

     “Yeah, that tracks.” The man leaned forward in his chair. “How’s the pain level right now?”

     The boy thought for another moment. He didn’t feel much pain, just…

     “...numb. Pressure.”

     Eraser nodded and glanced around the room.

     “Good. That means the painkillers are working.”

     Izuku was glad to see a familiar face in the midst of his confusion.

     “...where-” He coughed a bit dryly and Eraser gestured for him to settle down.

     “Take it easy, kid. Don’t try to force yourself right now. But, I can answer some of the questions I’m sure you have”

     The man sat up in his chair.

     “First, we are at my agency right now in the hospital ward. You are being treated by some of the best doctors in the area so you don’t need to worry. As to what exactly happened, I'm not totally sure. You might be one of the only people who know. But,” He leaned back in his chair, stretching his back. “That's for another time. You don't need to worry about that right now.” 

     Eraser stood and drew back the blinds of a window Izuku hadn't noticed before. It let natural light flood the room. It was nice. 

     “If you need anything at all, I’ll be here.”

     A thought stirred in the back of the boy's mind and maybe it was because of how tired he was that it slipped out of his mouth before he noticed.

     “...why?”

     Eraser turned his head.

     “Why what?”

     Izuku immediately regretted his decision but there was no turning back now. 

     “...why are you…still here?”

     There was more to the sentence but his lungs felt so tight that was all he could manage before he needed to take a break. Eraser seemed to understand the unspoken remainder. 

     ‘Why are you still here? Why are you doing this for me?’

     “Because I care about you, kid. That’s the bottom line. I want to make sure you’re okay and give you some company. Though,” The man walked up to the bed and stood behind his chair from before. “If you don’t want me here or that makes you uncomfortable, I don’t have to stay. Your call.”

     A slight smile was all the boy could manage and he hoped his trademark sass broke through the exhaustion in his voice.

     “..no, that's okay. Guess I'll put up with you…”

     Eraser sat in his chair with a scoff.

     “Gee, thanks.”

     Izuku’s eyelids now felt so heavy but he tried his best to keep them open. He slowly glanced down at the book that laid on the small table beside Eraser.

     “..what are you reading?”

     Eraser grabbed the book, flipping it over and reading its title.

     “Some book about an old war I've never heard of. Pretty interesting.”

     “..which war?”

     Eraser looked at him and Izuku realized he was probably very transparent but the man just simply smiled and continued describing his book, providing a background noise as Izuku’s eyes slipped shut.

     “It was back in 1600 when it first started and…..”

—-------

     Aizawa knew he was asleep after the first sentence but he still finished his little synopsis just in case. He sat there for a moment, just watching the rise and fall of the boy's chest before breathing a sigh of relief.

     He didn't realize he was nervous for the boy to wake up until he did. Just hearing his voice told him that he was gonna be okay. Even if the worst case scenario becomes real, he was still the same old kid from before.

     The young nurse came in shortly afterwards and he told her about their conversation and how the boy had woken up. She didn't seem the least bit surprised either. At this point, it was around 3 and Aizawa was starving and exhausted. The nurse, who he learned was named Leah, told him they were going to give Izuku some sedatives to keep him asleep while they did some more healing via quirks and other. That way they don’t stress him out too much if he wakes up in the middle.

     Aizawa took that opportunity to head down to the dining room and get some early dinner. He figured once he got back to the room, he would pass out on the futon for the rest of the night. He had already called out of his patrols for a while so he didn’t need to worry about them at all. 

     He debriefed the detective on the recent developments as he ate a slightly dry sandwich. It was then that he noticed a few missed calls from a familiar number. It wasn’t like he purposely ignored the calls. After the first few hundred, he started to get used to hearing the chime and leaving it be. This time however, he sighed and put the phone to his ear, listening to the last of a million voicemails left behind.

     ‘Listen, I know you usually do this and don’t answer for a few hours but a few days is a little ridiculous. You can’t get mad at me for being worried! Though you probably still will… Call me when you can or I’ll file a missing persons case. *Beep*’

     Aizawa sighed heavily and made his way out of the dining hall, making his way to the garden in between his agency's offices and the hospital ward. It was still extremely cold outside but he figured it would be quick as he walked along the path, through tall trees and bushes. He pressed call and placed the phone to his ear. It barely rang once before he heard a familiar voice respond.

     ‘Ahha! So you are alive!’

     Aizawa brought a hand to his temple.

     “Yes, I’m alive. Did you really think I was dead?”

     ‘Well, you never usually leave me without answering that long. What was I supposed to think?’

     Aizawa smirked to himself.

     “You sound like a paranoid husband.”

     His friend scoffed over the phone.

     ‘Well forgive me for being worried. But honestly, is something wrong? It's not like you to not answer.’

     Aizawa kicked at a small pebble on the path.

     “Yeah yeah, I'm fine. Just been a bit…preoccupied.”

     ‘That's not suspicious at all.’

     Aizawa sighed. 

     “This will be easier to explain in person. When are you free next?”

     ‘I’m putting my shoes on now. Where are you?’

     Aizawa smiled a bit.

     “I'm at my agency. Hospital ward.”

     ‘What?! Are you okay?’

     “Yeah I'm fine, I'm not admitted.”

     ‘...but someone else is, right?’

     Aizawa chuckled slightly.

     “You're smarter than you let on, you know?”

     ‘A compliment? Something must be wrong. I'll be there in a few.’

     “Just text me when you get here. I need to check on something.”

     Aizawa stopped by the boy's room to check up on his condition. The doctors had finished their round of healing, and a note left behind by Leah informed him of his recovery. The boy was still on oxygen but he had a bit more color in his face. 

     With a text from his friend, he gave another glance back at Izuku as he shut the door behind him. He would be out for the rest of the day so he wasn't worried about leaving him for a bit.

     He met up with the blond in the waiting room, the man standing up as soon as he saw Aizawa.

     Aizawa sighed.

     “Hey, Mic. How on earth did you get here that fast?”

     Mic joined Aizawa as he led them down the halls.

     “Well yeah, I was worried. Especially when you said someone was in the hospital.” The man leaned forward as he walked, trying to read Aizawa's face. “So what happened? You went MIA for a few days. Something bad happened in that time, right?”

     Aizawa pushed open the door to the garden, shutting it behind them. 

     As they walked, they weaved their way through the winding path, trees overhanging. He could tell Mic was getting impatient. He always did struggle with anticipation. 

     They came up to a bench and once both were seated, Mic leaned forward to stare at Aizawa, silent but very clear what he wanted.

     Aizawa sighed.

     “Alright alright. Where do I start…”

—-------

     The sun began to slip behind the trees as Aizawa recalled the most recent developments in the kids' condition. For the first time in a while, Mic was silent, listening with complete focus. 

     When the conversation stilled, Mic leaned back, turning his head to the sky. With a sigh, a puff of air could be seen in the cool air.

     “...ok. Wow. That's…” He put a hand over his eyes. “That's a lot worse than I expected.” He turned, opening his fingers to peek through and meet Aizawa's eyes. “How is he now?”

     Aizawa glanced down at his hands.

     “He's not in danger anymore. Still on oxygen. But, I've talked to him. He seems like he'll be okay.”

     “And his hand?”

     He sighed, leaning his head back as well to stare up at the sky.

     “We don't know.”

     The two were quiet for a beat.

     “What’s he like?”

     Aizawa turned his head to face Mic. He smirked.

     “He’s a little brat.” He faced the trees. “He’s a punk, always getting himself into trouble and acting like it's nothing. Though, it was always to save someone. That’s another thing. He may be snarky, but he’s got a good heart. He’s sweet, though he would never admit that. He’s smart too. I’ve only gotten a glimpse into his mind but I can tell he has a good head on his shoulders.” He crossed his arms with a heavy sigh. “If only he’d use half a brain cell to think about himself for once.”

     He heard a chuckle beside him and turned to face his friend. 

     “What’s so funny?”

     Mic smiled slightly.

     “Nothing. I can just tell you care about this kid.” The man stood up quickly with a hop and looked down at his friend. “Welp, you should get going. Don’t wanna leave the kid alone for too long knowing you. Plus, you look exhausted which means you probably haven't slept since the incident.” He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. “Get some rest.”

     Aizawa stood to wave the man off and as he turned to leave, the blond called back a final time.

     “Keep me updated!”

     The walk back to the boys room felt like an eternity. He wasn’t even really conscious as he laid down on his futon. He fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

Chapter Text

The shadows dissipated once more, a weight falling back on Izuku’s chest. He cracked his eyes open, his mind feeling less foggy than before. His head still felt like it was filled with cotton but he was able to turn and find Eraser seated beside him once more, this time reading another book he didn’t recognize. He noticed the mask that once sat on his face was gone. Actually, now that his mind felt a little more awake, he noticed a lot of things that slipped his mind the last time he woke up.

     His voice was a bit clearer this time as he spoke.

     “Is that a different book already?”

     Eraser lifted his head with surprise. When he spotted the boy, a small smile slipped on his lips. He looked down and flipped the book to read the cover.

     “Yeah, it is. I read pretty fast when given the time.” The man placed it to the side. “How are you feeling? Any better today?”

     The boy nodded a bit.

     “Yeah, a little. Wait,” He glanced towards the window behind Eraser, spotting the sun high in the sky. “It’s morning again?”

     Eraser stood and stretched, crossing the room to open the curtains a bit more. 

     “You slept the rest of yesterday. You were pretty exhausted.”

     The boy scoffed, though it was a bit half-hearted.

     “You would think I’d feel less wiped.”

     Eraser huffed a laugh.

     “It makes sense in your condition.”

     Izuku slowly attempted to sit up, however slightly he could, but he was immediately reminded of a certain foreign object that once resided in his abdomen, a stabbing pain accompanying the memory. Eraser gestured for him to settle down.

     “Don’t push yourself. You should try and take it easy.” The man sat back down beside the bed. “You seem a bit more together today.”

     Izuku tilted his head slightly to glance up at the ceiling. Cool grey tiles. He grimaced.

     “Yeah, a little less fog in my head.” 

     He hadn’t really thought about much last time he woke up. More like, he couldn’t. He was so out of it. But now, memories of the incident sprung forth in his mind. 

     His eyes widened.

     “Wait.” He turned quickly to Eraser. “What happened to that girl? Is she okay? What about the guy? What happened?”

     Eraser held his hands up in surprise.

     “Woah, kid. Calm down. I spoke with the detective and he said that the girl was doing perfectly fine, if not just a bit shaken. As for the guy, he turned himself in to the authorities a few hours after the accident.”

     Izuku nodded, processing the information.

     “Okay….okay, that's good.”

     “But,” He turned to face the man as he spoke. “The person you should be more concerned with is yourself. What happened, kid?”

     Izuku smiled a bit awkwardly. 

     “Ah, yes. Well you see…I didn’t get stabbed on purpose.”

     Eraser just stared at him.

     “I came across the two of them in some sort of heated conversation and it looked like the girl was scared. So, I hopped over to help her out. I didn’t realize the guy had a knife until I was staring at it 2 feet in front of me.”

     “So you should have ran away with the girl.”

     Izuku so wished he had the energy to fully display his snark.

     “Well, that was an option…but, once I was able to get the girl away, I realized that he was just troubled. He didn’t want to hurt anyone.” Izuku stared down at his hands. “I figured I could try and stop him from hurting anyone else instead of running away and leaving him for someone else to deal with. I was so close too. I almost had the knife when…” He furrowed his brow. “It’s a bit fuzzy but I think something loud spooked him and he…..well, you know.” Izuku sighed. “I don’t remember much at all after that.”

     Eraser grimaced slightly.

     “Yeah… that makes sense. When I found you…kid, you almost died.”

     Izuku took that in for a second before huffing a chuckle, though the amusement was lost.

     “Wouldn’t have been the first time that day.”

     Eraser gave him a look.

     “Yeah, the villain attack that you got yourself into on the same day you were stabbed. You truly do just attract trouble, don’t you?”

     The boy leaned his head back against the pillows with a smile.

     “Guess so.”

     As he recalled that day, another memory came to mind. His smile faded. He remembered the secret he now held. The question he asked…and the answer he received. 

     It must have been obvious what he was thinking as Eraser called his attention.

     “I don’t know what happened, but I do know that you proved that bastard wrong. You saved that girl. If you hadn’t stepped in, who knows what would have happened.”

     The boy quirked a grin. He muttered under his breath. 

     “If only you knew who you just called a bastard.”

     “I would if you told me.”

     Izuku faced the man again and he actually considered it. But, he glanced down at his hands once more.

     “Like I said, it doesn’t really matter. I think anyone else would have said the same thing.”

     “But I didn’t.”

     Izuku looked the man dead in the eyes before leaning his head back against the pillows and closing his eyes.

     “No, you didn’t.”

     He had forgotten about that conversation and the memory left a sour taste in his mouth and a burning in his chest. But the memory of his talk with Eraser afterwards was a good one. He just wished he could forget about that morning…

     “Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. The detective was asking about you.”

     Izuku turned his head to face the man again. He could tell the man was trying to distract him, take his mind off that morning. He was happy to oblige.

     He sighed a bit loudly.

     “Ah, yeah. He probably wants to rub it in my face. Finally got bested.”

     Eraser smirked.

     “He was worried about you.”

     “Yeah yeah.” Izuku looked down at his hands and noticed for the first time the bandages that wrapped around his arms. He expected them on his hand since they surely knew it was in a bad way now, but he didn't remember getting injured there. He stared down at them for a bit before it hit him, and it hit him like a truck. 

     As soon as he realized, his eyes shot up to Eraser but the man had gone over to the table in the far right corner where it looked as if he had papers strewn about that he was working on. He gathered a few into a neat stack like nothing was wrong. 

     Does that mean… No. Surely if they're wrapped up it's because they know. Then why…

     Eraser must have felt his gaze, turning to him with an eyebrow raised.

     “Something wrong, kid?”

     “Oh, no I was just,” He glanced back down at his right hand. “Just noticed my hand was wrapped up.” Wow, nice going idiot. Of course he’ll bring them up now.

     Eraser placed down the stack of papers he held and crossed the room while he spoke.

     “Yeah, your hand was a little bit more than ‘just cold’”

     Izuku grinned a bit shyly.

     “Yeah…that.”

     He watched as Eraser looked down at his bandaged hand and for a moment, it seemed like he shot a look at his arms as well. 

     “Why didn’t you tell me?”

     As the man sat back down, Izuku sighed.

     “Not much that could have been done. Plus, it had only happened that morning.”

     Eraser grimaced.

     “I could have helped you get help. Did you not think to get medical attention?”

     Izuku frowned a bit, staring up at the ceiling. 

     “I’ve never liked doctors or anything of the sort. I figured it might go away on its own…..”

     Eraser just stared at him until Izuku gave in.

     “Yeah alright, I knew it was bad. I just..I just didn’t want to …” His words trailed off but Eraser just sighed.

     “I’m not here to question you. But,” They both glanced down at his hand, lame at his side. “You know it's bad, right?”

     Izuku turned away, suddenly very intrigued by the paint chipping on the wall. 

     “Yeah. I know.”

     A moment of silence as Izuku continued following the lines in the wallpaper with his eyes. He heard the man shift beside him.

     “With some work, it could go back to normal. We have no way of knowing though. For now, just take it easy and try not to do anything drastic with it yet.”

     He heard Eraser get up and turned to find him back at the table, looking over his papers once again. Izuku felt a pang in his heart. He saved my life. He’s staying here to watch over me. He could be doing so many other things. I’m sure he’d rather be anywhere else right now. I’m so pathetic.

     “I’m sorry.”

     Eraser lifted his head from his work at the boy's words. He quirked an eyebrow.

     “Sorry for what?”

     Izuku stared down at his hands.

     “I know I’m being a brat. I’m sure you’d rather be anywhere else right now. Sorry.”

     Eraser paused for a moment before sorting through his papers once more. As he spoke, his voice carried through the quiet room.

     “Well, you are a brat, but that's just normal for you, right? If you weren’t a bit snarky then I’d know something was definitely wrong.”

     Izuku smiled slightly. The man continued.

     “But, you’re wrong about everything else. It’s normal to be a bit upset. You almost died, kid. Twice. Though I don’t know anything about the first time,” Izuku grabbed at the blankets. “I know that you don’t walk out of something like that without being a bit different. One thing’s for certain.” He looked the boy in the eyes. “I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon. I plan to stay here to watch over you. Knowing you, you’ll probably do something dumb while you’re still healing. I’m here to make sure you stay safe.”

     Izuku scoffed but he couldn’t stop the grin on his face. 

     “Who knew I was so predictable.”

     The man chuckled slightly. He placed all the papers into a neat stack and stored them in a backpack. 

     “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. Promise.”

     Izuku leaned his head back against his pillow, closing his eyes. He seemed genuine. He’s a good person. But he still hasn’t asked… Maybe he won’t? Maybe he doesn't see a point. Maybe he’ll just forget. I hope so. 

     The boy drifted off to sleep, hoping that the darkness stayed at arms length. Of course, it never really did what he wanted anyway.

—-------

     Aizawa wasn't stupid. 

     He saw the way Izuku looked when he noticed his arms were bandaged. He saw the panic, the dread. He saw the way the boy immediately checked to see what he thought. Aizawa kept a cool head. He didn't let on. But he hated it. Hated that Izuku's response confirmed every one of his fears.

     After their conversation, the boy drifted off to sleep, leaving Aizawa alone with the last bit of paperwork from his previous patrols. He dotted the last I and leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

     He thought back to his talk with the boy. He was definitely more coherent this time, ‘less foggy’ as he described it. He was able to learn what happened that night, how he got injured like that. But something that was still a mystery to him was the morning prior.

     Izuku said that his hand happened the night before, not in the first villain attack. He believed him but he was still in the dark about the rest of it. Every time it's brought up, Izuku's eyes get dimmer. He loses that bit of light he has in his eyes, the snarky edge to his voice, even when he tries to act normal. Not only did he almost die, but he had someone- a hero- tell him that he couldn't be a hero. That he would be a burden. When Izuku talked about it Aizawa could tell he wanted it more than anything. No wonder that heros words hit him so hard. Not only that, but Izuku's avoidance of naming this hero worries him more. That must mean it's someone well known. Maybe that's what made it worse for him. 

     Either way, if he ever found out who said that to Izuku, he was going to have a nice long….chat with them.

     He glanced over from his seat at the table. The boy was fast asleep, facing away from him. Aizawa was glad he was getting rest but ... .but he couldn’t stop his eyes from falling on his arms, bandaged far beyond his sleeves. He knew what they were hiding. Izuku knew too. Aizawa wanted to know. He wanted to know what happened. He wanted to ask questions. But in the state the kid was already in, he held off. Still, it was ever present in his mind. 

     There wasn’t much to do while the boy was asleep so Aizawa took to his newfound hobby: finding out what happened to Izuku. He wasn’t going to force the kid to tell him but he wanted to know how he ended up on his own. He didn’t know his full name or even how old he really is. 

     He flipped his laptop open and began even more work.

Chapter Text

He pulled his arms close around him, trying to conceal any warmth left within him. They never turned the heat on. Too expensive. 

     The boy stared up at the ceiling, following the exposed pipes with his eyes. Using an old factory meant a lot of danger around every corner and no insulation. Of course, that didn’t matter to the smokers and drunks hidden behind the door out of sight. 

     There, perched up on the old storage boxes and abandoned containers, he could watch over everyone. He always tried to step in if anyone got into trouble or needed help. That is, if Yukine didn’t beat him to it.

     “Izu!”

     The boy peered down to find a boy with shaggy black hair waving up at him. He called down.

     “Yukine? What’s wrong?”

     He hopped down with practiced steps to stand beside his friend. The boy with the shaggy hair wore an expression of worry.

     “It’s —. I haven’t seen her anywhere. Have you?”

     He must have misheard his friend, the name not registering to him. Despite that, he had a sure feeling.

     “No, I haven’t. Did they make an announcement?”

     “No. She must have run off. I should have been watching her…”

     He placed a hand on the other's shoulder. 

     “Hey, I've got this. I’ll find her, you go back with the others.” He glanced behind them at the small faces peering around the boxes at them. His friend smiled at them before turning back. 

     “Are you sure?”

     “Yeah.” He clapped the boy on the back. “Take a break, Yukine. You always take too much on.”

     “Well, I could say the same to you Izu.”

     The boy huffed a laugh, waving goodbye to his companion. 

     He passed by broken hearts and sad expressions. He always left the reconnaissance to Yukine because of that. Seeing them in a place like this? He hated it. He wished he could save them all. But….

     “Hey! Is anyone there?”

     He found himself near the back of the factory, a place where no one save for him and Yukine ever visited. Being the oldest, they knew it was far too dangerous for the others. Which is why if someone slipped back here, it could be bad news. 

     “Hello?”

     He wished he had caught the girl's name to call out. He hopped onto a few storage containers, looking out into the shadows of the poorly lit back. There was nothing save for the rats he could hear skittering around. He shivered. He wished they’d turn on the heat. 

     The boy glanced back to the center of the room where he could spot Yukine surrounded by little ones. He seemed to be consoling a few of the younger ones. He smiled to himself. They all looked up to Yukine. He was the oldest, only by a couple of months, but all the littles looked up to him like a hero. Of course, he’d help out too and Yukine said they looked up to him as well but he never really believed him. Who would look up to him? Plus, Yukine’s quirk always helped calm the kids down. 

     As if on cue, he spotted a small light emanating from Yukine’s palm. From it, even at a distance, he could see the small illusions of creatures jump around the small faces. He spotted smiles and he heard distant laughter. Yukine was made for a role like that, to watch over everyone. Like he had watched over him. Given him the nickname ‘Izu’. Yukine always acted like they were the same with the same role, but he could see the clear difference in the two. Yukine was someone to look up to and he was…..

     His eyes caught a glimpse of movement and he whipped his head around. A shadow moved deeper into the factory.

     “Hey, wait!”

     He hopped down and chased after what he hoped was the missing girl. He followed her deeper into the dark where the walls seemed to get tighter and tighter around him. He never remembered it being like this. 

     Finally, he heard a door creak open and spotted the shadow slip through.

     “Wait, it's dangerous!”

     He caught the door handle before it closed and threw the door open. 

     What he was met with was a blazing sun shining down on him. He covered his eyes as they adjusted and when they did, he realized saw soft green grass, tall hanging trees. He was outside. But there was never a door back there before…..

     “Izu?”

     He turned to find Yukine standing in the doorway. He stared at his friend in disbelief. 

     “Where are you going?”

     “Yukine I-”

     “Are you leaving us?”

     Suddenly he was plunged into darkness, voices echoing all around him. He could hear the younger kids calling his name. He heard them crying. Screaming. Above them all, he heard Yukine.

     “Why are you leaving?”

     “Stay.”

     “I can’t do it alone.”

     “Why?”

     He tried to place his hands over his ears. It was piercing.

     “Why did you leave?”

     “I needed you!”

     “Why?”

     Why?

     WHY

     WHY

     WHY

Why did you leave, Izu?

—-------

     Izuku shot up and immediately felt a stabbing pain in his side.

     “Woah woah woah!”

     He whipped his head to face Eraser looking very concerned. 

     “Kid, it's alright. You're gonna reopen the wound.”

     The boy leaned back slightly to alleviate the pain but his breathing was still quickened. It was only as his mind fully came back to him that he realized it was a dream. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

     It was just a dream, it was just a dream….

     “You alright?”

     He turned his head. Eraser was still beside him, looking over him like he was scanning for the problem.

     Izuku took one last deep breath and sighed.

     “Yeah…..yeah, sorry about that.”

     Eraser sat back down a bit slowly.

     “Bad dream?”

     Izuku nodded.

     “Bad dream.”

     The boy shivered. He hadn’t thought about that place in months. Who would have thought it’d make a comeback now?

     “Here.”

     He looked up to find Eraser offering him a blanket. With his good hand, he wrapped it around himself trying to stave off the cold. 

     “You alright?”

     Izuku nodded, looking up at the man. 

     “Yeah. Just a nightmare.” He scoffed at himself. “Childish, isn’t it?”

     “No.” Izuku watched the man as he spoke with a bit of surprise. “I get nightmares all the time. It comes with being a hero sometimes. Though for you…”

     He trailed off but the intent was clear. 

     What do you have nightmares about?

     Izuku looked down at his hands.

     “It’s nothing. Just an old memory.”

     Eraser looked like he wanted to say more but he bit his tongue. Izuku was grateful. He didn’t think he could talk about it at the moment. His chest felt a bit too heavy. His heart hurt.

     They took to idle conversation instead, catching up on Izuku's condition and clueing the boy in on any news he missed while he slept. It was already the next day, around noon, three days since he’d gotten there and he felt tons better. His chest didn’t feel as tight and he felt like he could breathe a little better. His hand, on the other hand (No pun intended but much appreciated), was slow progress. Eraser showed him some exercises to work on to try and regain movement. With the healing that he'd undergone already, he could feel a bit more. Of course, that meant more stabbing pain randomly but it was better than nothing. Or maybe it wasn’t….

     It was strange. He felt like he was falling into a routine with Eraser. He wasn’t as surprised to see him when he woke up. Their conversations were as easy as they were those nights on the rooftop. It was nice. He was gonna miss it.

     The man had picked up his book once more at a lull in the conversation. Izuku took to watching the TV hung on the back wall. He tried to forget the embarrassment of asking how to turn it on and work it. Eraser looked at him like he was kidding at first but when he realized he was serious he became a lot clearer to understand. 

     He had decided on a news channel and watched as the reporters talked about the latest villain attack that week. For the first time in a while, Izuku found himself itching to write down notes. Maybe he’d wanted that more than he realized.

     “Hey, Eraser?”

     The man looked up from his book, eyebrow raised.

     “What’s up, kid?”

     The boy shrugged slightly, learning from a previous attempt not to overdue it or get shot with pain.

     “Nothing really just… How long do I have to stay here?”

     Eraser put his book down and thought for a second.

     “I’m not exactly sure. Your wound is healing nicely and can be taken care of with pain meds and rest at this point. Your hand is a different story. I think they want to keep you for a few more days just to make sure it's healing properly with all the exercises you’re doing. And ‘Eraser’ is my hero name. You can call me Aizawa.”

     Izuku nodded with a bit of a mischievous grin. 

     “Oh, now I’m allowed to use your real name?”

     Eraser- or rather- Aizawa, sighed.

     “I’m gonna regret that.”

     The boy smiled, turning back to the TV.

     “Yes, yes you will.” His smile faded ever so slightly. “You can call me Izuku. I know you know that but you’ve been calling me ‘kid’ for a while to avoid saying my name. Probably because you didn’t know if I wanted to be name-dropped like that.” He shrugged. “I don’t mind. It’s the only name I’ve got.”

     The man smiled.

     “Izuku it is then.” The man seemed to recall something as he lifted his head once more. “Oh yeah, if you're feeling up to it, the detective wanted to visit you soon.”

     The boy sighed.

     “Yeah I guess. He’ll probably just yell at me about being careful.”

     Aizawa smiled.

     “I think you’ll be surprised.” He lifted his phone and glanced at the notification. “He said he can be here in 30 minutes. Are you alright with that?”

     The boy continued watching the TV screen. 

     “Why not.”

Chapter Text

     He leaned his chin against his hand watching the clock, counting down the minutes. The minute the bell sounded, students leapt from their chairs like they had somewhere to be, stuffing their backpacks. He knew they would just end up in the hall talking for what felt like hours, making his exit that much harder. 

     “Yo, Katsuki.”

     He turned his head to find Fingers beside him. He wore a sly smile like he always did. 

     “Wanna hit up that new bar downtown? I heard it's easy to get into if you know how..”     

     Katsuki stood with a sigh and stuffed his books into his bag turning on his heel. 

     “I’m not an idiot, Fingers. Go and get arrested for all I care. I’m going home.”

     The boy groaned but he ignored him as he made his way out the door and down the hall. People moved out of the way when they saw him passing through. It wasn’t like he made it a big deal. But he had been told he had a resting I-will-kill-you-if-you-get-in

-my-way face. He didn’t mind it in these instances. He made it through the front doors easily, glancing back to see Fingers laughing about something with Eyes and Turtle. 

     On any other day, he might have joined them. He never took up their offers to do more questionable things like sneak into bars or indecent clubs. But if they were headed to the arcade or just around town, he might have stuck around. Whenever he did, they always chose to follow him. He had become a leader of sorts to them and sometimes that was fun. To kill time with a bunch of idiots. But it got tiring fast. There was no original thought between the three of them, blind followers and punks. It was like hanging out with a bunch of children. 

     The house was empty when he got back, his parents working late at the studio that night. With a quick shower and a change of clothes, he looked like a different person. The old hag would call it attire rather than clothes. That’s what you get when both your parents work in fashion. You end up with a lot of clothes for every occasion.

     He glanced in the mirror as he tried to tame his blond explosion of hair. He had borrowed a long sleeved button up shirt from his dad with a nice jacket over it. A pair of black slacks. At the door, he slipped on his old sneakers to tie the look together. His mom would have had a fit to see the look ruined with his shoes but she wasn't there right now. 

     The walk was a familiar one, his mind wandering as he trekked through the square. He fussed with his collar at the crosswalk. He hated clothes like this. But, he would deal with it for now. 

     A bell chimed with its usual tune as he pushed open the door, his senses being hit with the scent of wet dirt and nature.

     “Welcome in!”

     As he rounded the corner he was met with a sweet smile. The older woman, in her late 60’s, wore her apron and pair of glasses like always.

     “Oh, that time already? It’s always good to see you again, young man.” He made his way to the counter with a nod. “Do you know what you want today, sweetie?”

     He looked around at the spread of flowers behind him, colors blending together and yet never overwhelming. He shook his head.

     “Guess I’ll look around to see if I can find anything.”

     She grinned with a nod.

     “Let me know if you need anything.”

     As Katsuki walked through the aisles, he tried to imagine soft hands holding the flowers he picked. He could almost hear that familiar voice, thanking him with a chuckle and a hug he would have certainly tried to break out of. He never hated it though. 

     He decided on a mix of soft pastel purples mixed with a baby pink, picking the flowers he thought would look nice together. He threw in a few white flowers to add a touch of light. When he made his way back to the counter, the old woman looked over his collection with careful eyes. With a final nod, she grabbed a nice ribbon from behind her, a pair of scissors and a bit of lace. He handed her the flowers and watched as she wrapped the stems with twine, delicately moving each flower to create a beautiful bouquet. She finished off wrapping them in lace to avoid getting wet and a ribbon tied at the neck.

     The woman handed Katsuki the arrangement with a smile.

     “It’s a lovely selection, dear. You always pick such nice colors. They fit nicely together.” She took the money he handed over and gave him a sweet look. “I think she’ll like them.”

     He nodded.

     “I hope so.”

     People smiled and whispered as he passed by, making comments like ‘Oh, what a lucky girl.’ and ‘What a sweet boy.’ He ignored them as he rounded the block. He  spotted the large gates growing closer and he noticed, like always, the comments made around him changed rather quickly. ‘Oh, how thoughtful.’ or ‘Aw, that’s awful.’ and ‘Wonder what happened?’

     He came to stand, the breeze blowing through his hair. Katsuki looked down at the wedge of stone and bowed at the hip.

     “Hey, Auntie. Hope I didn’t make you wait too long.”

     The old bouquet was swapped with the new, carefully wrapping up the old one. He stood with a grin.

     “There. Hope you like them.”

     His eyes scanned over the engraving.

Inko Midoriya

19**-20**

Mother, Wife, and Friend

     His grin faded as he stuck his hands in his pockets. 

     “I’m sure you already know, but it’s almost time to enroll for UA. I’ll train my ass off to get it, I swear it.” He balled his fist. “And…I haven’t stopped looking.” He smirked. “Though you probably know that too.”

     Katsuki glanced around at the audience of ghosts he pictured all around them. Standing with them, he never could picture that face. Those freckles.

     “He’s alive. I don’t know how or where, but he has to be.” He turned back to the grave with a grin. “I wish you could tell me. If he’s there with you.”

     Even after so many years, after so many people accepting that he was gone, he refused. He couldn’t. There was no reason to believe, but he did.

     “I know it sounds stupid but I knew Izuku. There was no way he would die so easily. He wouldn’t have done what he did without a plan. Though,” He glanced up at the sky, leaves fluttering in the wind overhead. “Maybe I’m giving that nerd too much credit. We were only 10.” He smirked. “For all I know he could be out there living his best life. Or,” He grimaced. “He could be alone, fighting for his life. No one knows. So,” He looked his aunt in the face and for a moment it was like she was standing in front of him. “I’m going to find him. No matter what. I’ll become a hero like we always said we would and I’ll find him. I swear it. No matter if he’s…if he’s already gone. At least then we’d be able to lay him to rest. He deserves it.”

     Katsuki bowed with a ‘See ya later, Auntie’, and turned on his heel, already unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt. He hated how tight it was. 

     The sun had slipped behind the horizon by the time he made it home. A waft of dinner hit his senses as he opened the front door.

     “About damn time! I was starting to think you forgot where we lived!”

     He scoffed and turned the corner, spotting his mother at the oven and his father at the table. His mothers apron was tied around her, hair haphazardly tied up. 

     “Shut it you old hag, I got here way before you two were here.”

     “Oh yeah?” His mother stirred the pot as his dads quiet voice greeted him.

     “Welcome back, Katsuki.”

     “Yeah yeah.” He tossed his jacket onto the couch and  made his way to the kitchen counter, grabbing the washed vegetables and chopping them up. His mom turned around to spot him.

     “Oi, what do you-” She cut herself off, her attitude disarmed almost immediately at the sight of his outfit. All edge to her voice and expression was lost. She was quiet for a moment before she turned back to the pot, pouring in a few spices. “Change out of that before you help. It’ll get stained.”

     He returned with a simple tank on and began finishing what he started. His mother moved beside him, pouring some of the chopped vegetables into a bowl. They didn’t look at each other for a second.

     “How was she?”

     Katsuki looked at his mother but her eyes were trained on the food. He turned back to his knife as well.

     “Fine. Do you remember if she likes purple?”

     A small smile played on her lips.

     “She loved it.”

     He nodded.

     “Good.”

     Dinner was spent with idle conversation and the average argument. Though it didn’t last as long as they usually did. His mother being a bit softer since realizing why he was late. 

     As he grabbed their plates, she spoke up.

     “Maybe we should go together next time.”

     He hesitated before picking up her plate.

     “Maybe.”

     As he soaked the dishes, he tried to recall the last time either of his parents ever visited her. It was hard for them, especially his mom. He was around 10 last time they went together. Katsuki knew it became especially hard after that day, the day they ran into Hisashi Midoriya. It became hard for his mother to face Auntie. So he visited alone after that.

     He stared at his bedroom ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes, welcoming sleep.

     Where the hell are you, Izuku?

—-------

     Izuku wasn't dreading his visit by the Detective as much as he expected. Aizawa headed down to the lobby to meet him and Izuku didn't feel as upset as he thought he would. 

     He never actually minded the detective. Izuku knew that he was only trying to help, but he had built up a reputation with him and the rest of the station. He had to uphold it. 

     The door clicked open and a familiar face rounded the corner. Izuku was sitting up in bed and when the Detective spotted him, the man sighed but he couldn't hide the relief in his expression. 

     “Would it kill you to stay out of trouble for once?”

     Aizawa rounded the corner.

     “It almost killed him getting out of it.”

     Izuku waved it off as both the men sat down near the edge of his bed. 

     “Oh, come on. Surely this doesn't count.”

     The detective just stared at him.

     “I don't know if there's a world where it doesn't count. You got stabbed, kid.”

     Izuku scoffed.

     “No need to remind me.”

     Tsukauchi grinned slightly.

     “Well in any case, I'm glad you're okay.” The man reached into the bag he brought with him and pulled out a few papers. “If you're feeling up to it, do you think you could identify the guy who did it?”

     Izuku nodded and glanced down at the paper he was handed. 

     “Yeah, that's him.”

     The detective took back the photo with a nod. 

     “Ok, good. Just wanted to confirm.”

     Izuku messed with the bandages on his bad hand with his fingers, a sharp pain shooting through it.

     “What's gonna happen to him?”

     Aizawa watched the boy's expression as Tsukauchi spoke.

     “Well he turned himself in and confessed and now that you've confirmed it, he’ll be going to jail for attempted murder.”

     Something didn't sit right with Izuku. It must have shown on his face, Aizawa speaking up.

     “Something wrong, Izuku?”

     The boy was a little startled by the name but it was nice. He stared down at his hands as he remembered that night.

     “That guy… he didn't want to hurt anybody.” He lifted his head. “He was on something, right?”

     The detective nodded.

     “There were traces of drugs in his system, though most of them had worn off when he turned himself in.”

     Izuku leaned back slightly.

     “He was just scared. He didn't know what else to do.”

     “But he still did it.” The detective furrowed his brow. “You know that's bad, right?”

     “Well, yeah. I mean, he still shouldn't have tried to rob people at knife-point. But I mean,” the boy didn't look at either of the men as he spoke. “I can understand being desperate like that. Though,” he scratched his neck with his good hand. “I don't think threatening people would be how I'd go about it. I guess what I'm trying to say is…” he sighed. “Can you lower his sentence to something a bit…kinder? I don't think he deserves to go away that long. He turned himself in. He felt bad. If he gets help for his drug problem then I think he'll be alright.”

     When he finally looked up, the detective sighed and Aizawa wore a grin. Izuku frowned.

     “What's so funny?”

     Aizawa shook his head.

     “Nothing, kid. Nothing at all.”

     Izuku didn't buy that at all but the detective spoke up.

     “Well, I'll see what I can do. Your statement is pretty powerful in this case.” 

     Izuku hated the atmosphere now. He could tell that his little comment didn't go unheard so he tried to change the direction of conversation.

     “So, detective.” He grinned smugly. “I guess you finally did it. You captured me. How does it feel?”

     Tsukauchi huffed a laugh. 

     “I don't think I'm enjoying it as much as you think I am. Plus, I was never trying to capture you, I was trying to talk to you.”

     “In an enclosed space where I couldn't leave.”

     Aizawa snickered off to the side. Tsukauchi shook his head.

     “In any case, I never thought it would be in the hospital of all places. Though it is ridiculous that it took this much to get to sit down and talk with you.”

     Izuku attempted to cross his arms but with only one working hand, it looked a bit strange. Still, he hoped his message was clear.

     “I was always down to talk. We talked all the time. But you wanted to talk about other things. Things I don't want to talk about.”

     Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow.

     “Like your safety?”

     “Exactly.”

     The detective sighed.

     “Look, we don't have to do it now. But at some point, I need you to answer my questions. It's all so we can help you.” He looked the boy in the eyes. “You know that, right?”

     Izuku looked away, suddenly interested in the wallpaper again.

     “I'll be fine.”

     The detective just shook his head as he came to stand. Izuku turned back around.

     “You're leaving?”

     He nodded.

     “I've got work that still needs to be done. I'm glad you're alright, kid. Try to stay that way, okay?”

     Izuku shrugged.

     “You know I can't promise anything.”

     “Could you at least try?”

Chapter Text

     As much as Izuku tried to change the subject and distract, Aizawa didn't miss his little comment. The look he shared with the Detective meant that he caught it too.

     He can understand being desperate. How long has he really been on his own? It’s not looking good.

     It was obvious that Tsukauchi wanted to ask him all those questions right then and there but he must have picked up on Izuku’s hesitance. Of course, he would always be hesitant to answer heavy stuff like that but Aizawa noticed it as well. It wasn’t just that he seemed like he didn’t want to answer them, it was almost like he was silently begging them not to ask. It didn’t bode well.

     After the Detective left, Aizawa continued his work at the table while the boy watched the TV. It caught his attention how the boy looked down at his right hand like it had betrayed him. Moving his left like he wanted to write down what he heard on the news. Maybe he would like a notebook.

     He seemed like he felt better, the pain meds working their magic. It was probably time for them to be readministered. Almost as if he summoned her, the nurse walked in. 

     From where he sat Aizawa saw her first, nodding in greeting. She smiled as she rounded the corner. When Izuku spotted her, Aizawa caught the way he startled slightly, retreating into himself a little. Aizawa furrowed his brow as the woman spoke up.

     “Oh, you're awake! It's nice to officially meet you!”

     She smiled sweetly. Aizawa found his chair at the boy's bedside and was able to see his reactions a bit clearer. The boy gave a smile but Aizawa caught the way it wavered.

     “Yeah. And you are..”

     She bowed at the hip, her hair falling into her face.

    “Mari. Nice to meet you.” She stood, holding her clipboard at her chest. 

     Izuku nodded. Aizawa could tell he was uncomfortable. It was then he remembered what he had said before.

     That's right, he mentioned he didn't like doctors. That's not uncommon but…

     It didn't seem like it stemmed from somewhere irrational. The boy seemed…scared. He hid it well. He was sure that Mari didn't notice it at all. But Aizawa did.

     The boy's voice was careful when he spoke.

     “Is everything alright?”

     The woman nodded. 

     “Yep! I just came to re-administer the pain meds and check on your condition.”

     “Oh, okay.”

     Aizawa watched as Izuku followed the woman's every move as she changed out the IV on the opposite side of the bed. Izuku always was cautious, not trusting easily but something wasn't right.

     He noticed the way the boy purposefully didn't look as she worked, staring holes in his hands. When the woman spoke up, the boy flinched slightly. Aizawa grimaced.

     “Alright, everything looks good. How are you feeling?”

     The boy looked up at her and quickly found his hands again with a smile.

     “I'm okay. Better than before.”

     She wrote something on her clipboard and at the sound of her pen, the boy seemed to retreat further into himself.

     “Well, that's my job done. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask!”

     With that, the woman waved goodbye and turned the corner, the soft sound of the door closing behind her. Izuku wore a smile until she was out of sight. It almost immediately faded. He still seemed tense.

     “Izuku?”

     The boy jolted a bit but immediately tried to hide it, turning to the man.

     “Yeah?”

     Aizawa looked at him seriously.

     “You okay?”

     The boy looked down at his hands. He tried for a smile.

     “Y-Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, I just….” The boy trailed off.

     Aizawa leaned back in his chair.

     “You mentioned before that you didn’t like doctors.”

     Izuku scoffed a bit but it seemed to be directed inward.

     “Was it that obvious?” The boy leaned back against the stacks of pillows and stared up at the ceiling. It was reminiscent of their nights on the roof. Maybe he pictures stars. Izuku sighed. “I never had a problem with them originally and she, Mari, seemed nice but..” He frowned, something coming to his mind. “When ... .When I was discovered to be quirkless, people saw me-saw me like I wasn’t a person. The doctors said they wanted to run some tests and I thought that meant they could fix it.” The boy rubbed his arm as he spoke. “We went there everyday for weeks. The doctors weren’t trying to fix me at all. I was the first quirkless person they’d ever seen so they wanted to…experiment.”

     Aizawa clenched his fist.

     “How old were you?”

     The boy looked at him for a moment before answering.

     “4.”

     Aizawa felt like he’d been punched in the gut. They…experimented on him and he was only… No, it was bad at any age but especially…

     The boy continued.

     “They would poke me with needles and-and strap all sorts of things to me. If I ever said it hurt and asked them to stop, they’d just write it down on a clipboard and ignore me. It was like I wasn’t human.”

    “That’s awful.”

     The boy nodded.

     “My mom thought they were helping me so we kept going back. I never said anything about the way they treat me. I thought she’d be sad and…” Aizawa watched as the boy caught himself from continuing. He seemed to remember something unpleasant. He moved on. “It was only after a month of going that I told her and even then I didn’t tell the truth. I just started crying and I couldn't stop. I never said why but she didn’t make me go back.”

     The boy closed his eyes.

     “That was the last time I went to the doctors. I just-I can’t help but remember those days.” He opened his eyes with a smile. “Sorry, I know it's dumb.”

     “It’s not dumb.” Izuku looked surprised. “What they did was wrong and you were so young… In any case, it's completely fair to feel that way.” The man leaned back in his chair. “I can let them know for next time.”

     “Wait you don't have to-”

     Aizawa turned to the boy with a small grin. 

     “Don't worry about it. They won't take it personally. If you're really concerned about it, I can tell them I asked for it, not you.”

     The boy looked like he wanted to say something else but he didn't speak up. 

     Actually, as Aizawa stood to move back to the table, he could tell something was on the boy's mind. He was facing the TV but it was clear his mind was somewhere else. He's been through a lot. It made sense. Still, it left a strange feeling in the man's gut.

     It didn't take but an hour for the boy to fall asleep again. Aizawa had a small dinner in the kitchen and settled in around 9. Izuku was out cold for the rest of the night, as was Aizawa.

     The next morning, he woke to the birdsong outside the window. For a brief moment, he thought about opening the glass and letting the air in before he quickly remembered the frozen air that had been lingering after the cold front swept in. Not only that but it seemed like Izuku's body temperature stayed 20 degrees below normal. The kid was always cold, wrapped in blankets.

     While the boy was still asleep, he ate some breakfast down in the dining hall again and got a text from the detective.

     ‘Hey Eraser, could we meet up later today? It could be at your agency. We need to discuss something.’

     Aizawa was a little concerned about the formality of the text but he told Tsukauchi he would ask Izuku first.

     When he opened the door to the room, he turned the corner to find the boy sitting up in bed, stretching like he'd just woken up. His hair, still dirty and definitely matted, was sticking up in wild angles.

     Aizawa chuckled to himself as he sat down beside the bed with his book. Izuku eyed him with a furrowed brow.

     “What's so funny?”

     “Nothing. Sleep well?”

     The boy shrugged.

     “I didn’t dream so I guess I was spared.”

     The boy eyed him and it was clear he knew there was something Aizawa needed to say. The man sighed.

     “The detective wants to talk to me later today. That means that I'll be gone for a bit. I don’t know how long it will be. Are you okay with that?”

     The boy shrugged once more yet he could tell there was a hesitance to it.

     “I can’t stop you.”

     “That’s not what I asked.”

     Aizawa tried to read the boy, still as difficult as ever, and found a hint of wavering in his gaze. Like he was keeping something to himself. Sure, the boy kept a lot of things to himself, that wasn’t a secret. But this seemed closer. Still, the boy scratched at his curls with his good hand, wielding an air of nonchalance.

     “I don’t mind.”

     Okay, that was obviously a lie. The kid was definitely hiding something. But there wasn’t much Aizawa could do about it. He wouldn’t force it. Still, it left a bad feeling in his gut as he waved goodbye to the boy. He was leaving when he was still awake. That would be the first time that’s happened. He’s always been there when he’s awake. He hoped their talk would be quick. Something told him he shouldn’t leave the boy for long. 

     The two met at Aizawa’s office, the man watching the garden below as he passed over the enclosed bridge. When he arrived, the detective had already let himself in, sitting on the old couch Aizawa put there for when he was too tired from his patrol to go back home. The man glanced back through the door before closing it.

     Just a building away. Surely nothing will go wrong.

     “Eraser. Thanks for meeting me on such short notice.” The man stood, arms crossed as he followed Aizawa to sit at his desk. “How’s the kid? You said you checked with him to make sure this was okay?”

     Aizawa nodded and furrowed his brow.

     “He’s been doing much better. He was strangely complacent about our plans.”

     Tsukauchi frowned.

     “That doesn't sound like him.”

     “No it doesn’t” Aizawa leaned back in his chair, arms folded. “He’s been…off for a little while. Not like he’s in pain but like he’s hiding something.”

     The detective scoffed. 

     “He’s hiding a lot.”

     “Yeah, don’t I know it.” Aizawa closed his eyes. “This is different though. Not sure what it means.”

     Tsukauchi sighed.

     “Well, we still have no clue who he really is, any identity searches have been useless. We don’t know his full name and there’s a lot of Izuku’s out in the world.”

     Aizawa raised a brow, realization hitting him.

     “You don’t know?”

     “Know what?”

     Aizawa flipped open the laptop he’d brought with him and pulled up his past searches. A simple name ‘Izuku’ the only way of sorting through thousands of files. He looked back at the detective, the man coming up behind him to see.

     “You never found out his quirk, right?”

     “No. He never told me. Did he tell you?’

     Aizawa nodded, dragging his mouse to the empty search bar. 

     “Yeah. He told me about his quirk,” He carefully typed out the word ‘Quirkless’, hitting search. “Or, lack thereof.”

     Tsukachi's eyes widened and soon he pulled a hand through his hair.

     “That….actually makes so much sense. No wonder.” He pointed at the lone file that popped up. “Is that..”

     Aizawa clicked on the file.

     The kid he knew was dark. Cold. He was kind and caring, true. But there was a darkness he couldn’t really explain. The boy that appeared in the file however, was the complete opposite.

     Bright green curls sticking in all directions, a nervous smile spread across freckle-sprinkled cheeks. Vivid green eyes full of life. The boy in the picture looked young, the title underneath marking him at 8 years old.

     “No way…” The detective leaned further in to look at what was written. “That’s him.”

     Aizawa nodded.

     “Izuku Midoriya. Son of Inko and Hisashi Midoriya. He went to a grade school that closed down not too long ago and then…” Aizawa scrolled down for more information, but was surprised to find the end. “What?”

     No matter how many times he refreshed the page, it came back the same. All his information was there up until he was around 8. Then, nothing.

     The detective himself even tried to troubleshoot but he came back empty.

     “What the hell? The last time this was updated was when they added the picture in his profile. That was when he was…8? That can’t be right?”

     Aizawa leaned back in his chair.

     “It’s like he dropped off the face of the earth after that.” As he scanned the file, his eye caught on something. “It looks like…” He clicked another name. “It lines up perfectly.”

     Inko Midoriya. Deceased.

     “His mother. She passed away not long after that photo was taken. It would make sense her file stops after that but-”

     “Why the kid’s?”

     The detective cut him off and began pacing the room. He began to speculate out loud.

     “Somethings not right. Why would it stop updating? The only way that would stop happening is if he died, which obviously isn't the case, or-” Something dawned on the man, his eyes widening. 

     Aizawa caught it at that moment as well. 

     “Or he went missing.”

     Aizawa searched the file but he found neither the hide nor hair of a missing persons report. If there was one, it would be plastered all over the file.

     “No report. But if we’re right..”

     “That means he’s been missing for….No. Surely we’re wrong. There’s some explanation for this. We’ll just have to ask him when he’s ready.”

     Aizawa nodded in agreement. Still, he made sure to keep the boy's file open as he closed his laptop. 

     “Well in that case, we need to discuss what happens when the kid gets discharged.”

     Aizawa nodded.

     “I think we both have a similar idea. There’s no way we’re letting him back out on his own.” 

     The detective smiled. 

     “Absolutely.“ His expression hardened. “There’s still a lot I need to ask him but even more importantly, he needs to be able to heal in a safe environment. We have no clue where he’s been living but it can’t be good. You saw his hand.”     

     Aizawa made a noise of agreement. Tsukauchi seemed like he'd thought about this for a while, glancing down at the papers he brought with him.

     “Now legally, we should send him to an orphanage or foster home-”

     “No.”

     It seemed like the detective expected that response, a knowing smile creeping onto his face.

     Aizawa crossed his arms.

     “The system is shit. It doesn't work. If we send him there, especially since he's injured, it'll be hell for him.” Though he wondered if the boy had already been there once before. It was highly possible.

     Tsukauchi nodded.

     “Glad we agree. We can’t send him there. Don't think we would even if he wasn't injured. Which leaves the question of where he’ll go.”

     It had been on Aizawa's mind for a while. He knew that legally, it would all check out. Maybe it's because of that he didn't hesitate, the statement slipping out of his mouth.

     “I'll take him.”

     The detective looked up at the man with a grin. 

     “I've already got the papers for you.”

     He blinked at the detective.

     “Am I that predictable?”

     “When it comes to your students, most definitely.”

     The detective stood with a stretch. Aizawa followed suit with a furrowed brow.

     “He's not one of my students.”

     “Same difference.”

     He waved goodbye to the detective and crossed the bridge back to the hospital ward. They talked for a lot longer than he thought they would, 30 minutes passed by without him noticing. That didn't sit well with him.

     Actually, ever since he left Izuku, he felt wrong. He didn't like the way the boy was acting when he left. He didn't like how he had been acting for the last day. So if he walked a bit faster to the boy's room, no one would know. 

     For some reason, he knocked. 

     The kid was probably asleep but he felt the need to announce his presence. He didn't want to spook the kid too badly, especially after seeing his reaction to the nurse. When he received no answer, he slipped through the door. 

     It was then that he was reminded to always trust his instincts. They were always right.

     He turned the corner and his blood ran cold, the sheets to the bed folded nicely but empty.

     “Izuku?”

     He poked his head into the bathroom but found nothing. He searched the whole room, every second passing amplifying his panic. Aizawa was out the door before his mind had been caught up. That was probably why he didn't notice Mari already opening the door as he bumped into her.

     “Oh! Sorry Mr. Aizawa! I didn’t-” She found his face and froze. “Is something wrong?”

     Aizawa was too shaken to apologize as he slipped out the door, Mari following close behind.

     “He's gone.”

     “What?!”

     “He wasn't anywhere in the room. I'm gonna go look now. With his injuries, he can't have gotten far.”

     Mari nodded. 

     “I'll call it in.”

     With that she spun on her heel and he could hear her boots click quickly in the opposite direction.

     Aizawa's mind was going a million miles a minute. 

     Did he run? Why? Where would he go? What if he-

     He spotted the door to the garden and there was no hesitation as he pushed the doors open.

Chapter Text

     Listen, it wasn't the smartest idea Izuku ever had.

     Logically, he should have waited. He was still so weak and every movement he made pulled against his stitches in painfully jabs. But he had to leave. He couldn't stay there. 

     The plan was simple: wait until Aizawa left him for a bit and slip out. What he should have accounted for was that his legs would betray him.

     He waited about two minutes after Aizawa left before he pulled the sheets off. He slipped his legs off the bed but the moment he landed on his feet, his knees buckled beneath him. 

     Izuku reached to grab the bed for support but his right hand slipped lamely off the side and he hit the ground hard. The blinding pain that shot through him as the stitches pulled taught had him biting his lip to stop himself from crying out. Yeah, maybe he should have waited. It made sense. He hadn’t been on his feet in days.

     He slowly peeled his face off the tiles with shaking arms and came to stand on shaky legs. With a bit of a struggle and a few curses, he ripped his IV out. He staggered to the end of the bed before he glanced back at how haphazardly the sheets were thrown. He grimaced. Izuku took a few extra seconds to fold the sheets nicely and placed the pillows against the headrest. Even if he couldn’t stand being in the same room as her, Mari was still really kind. She seemed to really care, whether that was fake or not. He didn’t want to give her extra work. As for Aizawa…

     Izuku glanced back at the empty room. Aizawa had been so kind to him. He wanted to leave him something. A note to tell him that he’ll be alright. But did Izuku know that? Was he gonna be alright?

     He was running out of time.

     He had to go.

     He stumbled out of the door and glanced down the empty hall. He tried his best to straighten his posture despite the tightness in his skin. If someone spotted him, he didn't want to look like he wasn't supposed to be there. With his good hand steadying him on the wall, he hurried, well hobbled more like, towards….

     Well that was the problem. Izuku didn't really have a plan. 

     It was obvious he couldn't go through the front entrance. So he crept down the hall trying to seem as natural as possible. The boy's head was on a swivel when he spotted glass double doors in front of him. Rays of natural light spilled onto the tiles from them and he didn’t hesitate to force all his strength into pressing them open.

     As the doors swung open, he was struck by the frigid air, the breeze reminding him why his hand is bandaged and unhelpful at his side. Even through the socks he had been given, Izuku felt the concrete freezing the bottoms of his feet as he walked to lean against the railing on the edge of the path. In a different scenario, he might have paused to listen to the beautiful bird song overhead. He wondered if they were as cold as he was. But he had no time.

     Izuku slowly pulled himself along, trying to take small breaths since any breath that was too deep pulled at his wound. With how much he was already tugging on it, he didn’t want to anger it more. 

     He had no idea how much time had passed since he’d left. The double doors he entered through were lost in the sea of trees, the sounds of the hospital ward distant and muffled. It was music to his ears. 

     The chill of the concrete seeped through his socks, his feet feeling numb as he crept along the path, good hand on the railing while the other was tucked away close to his chest. Through the wood, he spotted the trees thinning and from there, he could just make out a gap in the forest. The ending of the garden. 

     Izuku took a deep breath and stepped off the path, putting trust into his unsteady legs to carry him over the grassy terrain. He was so close. Just at the edge of the garden, when his foot caught on a root, there was nothing to grab. The boy could barely get his hands out in time to stop his fall and even then it wouldn’t have done a thing. The moment he hit the ground, the pain shot through him like he was being stabbed all over again. 

     Searing white hot pain coursing through his veins. It took a moment to finally catch his breath, face pressed against the cool dirt. Izuku painfully brought up his good hand and attempted to push himself up. His arms were shaking, though from the cold or pain it was unclear. 

     “Izuku!”

     The boy whipped his head around to face the man who had saved his life. Aizawa stood at the edge of the path, hair that was once pulled in a loose bun now coming undone, hair falling in his face. His breathing was heavy.

     Was he running? To look for me?

     Izuku came to stand on uncertain footing, grabbing at his wound through the hospital gown. The man’s voice was filled with relief.

     “There you are. Scared the hell out of me, disappearing like that. What are you-”

     The man took a step closer and in response, the boy took a step back. Aizawa furrowed his brow.

     “Kid? Come on, we need to go back.”

     Izuku took another step back, shaking his head.

     “I can’t.”

     Aizawa didn’t continue to approach but instead relaxed his stance. A questioning gaze.

     “You can’t, or you won’t?”

     Izuku grimaced, staring down at his feet. 

     The boy dipped his head, noting that a full bow would be more painful than he was ready for. 

     “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Truly. But I….I have to go. I can’t stay here anymore.”

     The man raised an eyebrow.

     “Why not?”

     Izuku watched the man carefully. He closed his eyes, remembering a cold room, hushed voices and the sound of a door slamming shut.

     “Once they discharge me, I’ll get sent to an orphanage or a foster home and I….I can’t do that. Not again.” He opened his eyes, meeting Aizawa’s eyes of coffee. “It would be better for everyone if I left.” The boy gestured widely with his good hand. “You wouldn’t need to keep sticking around here anymore. I’m sure you have plenty of better things to do than watch a stupid kid like me. So, why don’t we all just pretend this didn’t happen?”

     Aizawa watched the boy for a second before shutting his eyes for a moment with a sigh. When he opened them again, there was a different look in them. One the boy didn’t understand.

     “That’s not gonna happen kid. I’m not just gonna let you leave in this state.” He gestured to the boys shaking legs, worse the longer he stood. “But, I get it.” His hand fell at his side. “I had a few run-ins with the system back when I was a kid. I don’t know what your experience is but let me make one thing clear.” He looked the boy in the eyes. “You’re not going to an orphanage or anything like that. I assure you. I made sure myself.”

     Izuku was already reeling from the revelation that Aizawa was in the system before he heard what the man said, but now he was speechless. 

     “W-What?”

     Aizawa grinned at the boy's confusion.

     “Even when you get discharged, you’ll still be in rough shape. You’ll need to take it easy for a while, and try to fix your hand.”

     As if in response, the boy pulled his bandaged hand a bit closer to his chest. 

     “I’m not gonna let you go out there all alone again, kid. Hurt or not.” A look of sadness overtook his features. “You’re just a kid. You don’t deserve to live like that.”

     Izuku was reeling, shaking his head.

     “I don’t understand…”

     “I know.”

     The boy looked up to meet the man's eyes.

     “I know this is a lot. But, I want to help you. We all do, kid.” The man took a step forward and Izuku didn't cower back. “I have an offer for you. You're not going to any orphanage or foster home but you do need to go somewhere. When you get discharged, you'll still need to take it easy and heal the rest of the way. So, you can come stay with me.”

     He must have misheard. 

     “What?”

     Aizawa grinned.

     “I said, you can come and live with me for a little bit. Of course, it will be temporary until we find a more permanent solution but that way you can have a safe place to heal.”

     Izuku felt like he was dreaming. No way he just offered that.

     “You're just messing with me….right?”

     The man shook his head.

     “No, I'm not. Though, if you’re really opposed to it we could find another-”

     “No!”

     They both seemed surprised by his outburst. To be honest, Izuku wasn't even really conscious of it until the man jumped a little and he realized he said it out loud. Staying with Aizawa….

     “I mean…” the boy cleared his throat. He wouldn't hate it. He turned his head to the side. “I guess I could put up with you a little bit more.”

     Aizawa must have read through his forced snark, smiling. 

     “Gee, thanks.”

     Living with Aizawa. This would be interesting. Izuku wanted to hate it but he was kind of interested to see what the man was like outside of his hero persona. Oh, this would be fun.

     Izuku turned back to face Aizawa and was reminded of his injuries, wincing as he twisted his chest. Aizawa frowned.

     “We should get back. You might have reopened the wound. Can you walk?”

     The boy nodded but as he attempted a step forward, his knees buckled and he would have fallen straight to the ground had Aizawa not rushed forward and caught him.

     “I'll take that as a no.”

     Begrudgingly, Izuku found himself being carried by Aizawa through the garden. He didn't want to admit it but he was exhausted. He had no clue how weak he really was but his little escapade drained him. 

     In order to not aggravate his wound, Aizawa landed on carrying him with their chests together, Izuku's legs wrapped around Aizawa and the boy's arms around his neck. Honestly, if Izuku had more energy he would have been more embarrassed. But it was all he could do to keep his head up as they walked. 

     Having the body heat in the cold weather was nice. The methodical steps as they walked soothed the boy's anxiety, though he wouldn't admit it. But by the time they had gotten back to the double doors, Izuku's head came to rest on the man's shoulder. When he realized this, he felt another wave of embarrassment sweep him, but the man said nothing. So, Izuku kept it there. The man's sweater was soft beneath his chin and cheek. With the exhaustion, the warmth and the relief of not having to go back to those horrible places, the boy fell asleep long before they made it back to his room.