Chapter Text
Chapter Three
Midoriya Izuku sighed as he arrived at the cat cafe he had worked at for the past few months as the cook. He liked working there. It was one of the few 24/7 cafes around, and Karin-san, his boss, always let him take the night shift, his preferred shift...taking that shift had never let him down while working there...never. Until now.
Karin-san had asked him to bring the coffee out because she had to take an emergency call from her mother. He knew that several heroes frequented the cafe, and that was to be expected since it was so close to the number one hero school, U.A. High School. However, he had never had to serve any of them before. He chose to be a cook for a reason, actually several reasons. One being that, despite his vigilantism, he was not particularly fond of people. Another reason was that he just enjoyed cooking. The third, and probably the most important reason, however, was this possibility.
Izuku walked over to the table where Aizawa Shouta, aka the underground hero Eraserhead, and Yamada Hizashi, more commonly known as the pro hero Present Mic, the principal of U.A., Nezu, and of course the hardworking detective Tsukauchi Naomasa were seated. He carried a tray with two mugs of coffee in one hand above his shoulder. He smiled, making sure that his act couldn’t be seen through.
Aizawa looked up as Izuku put the mugs down. They made eye contact. Izuku cursed internally. This was the last thing he needed. He could see it in Aizawa’s eyes. He recognized him, not only that though. They were conversing about his, Shadow Master, return. He only broke eye contact when Present Mic thanked him, to which he replied stupidly, “Your welcome! Please let me know if there is anything else I can get you.”
Izuku locked eyes with Eraserhead one more time, before he turned and walked back to the kitchen, taking the path that let Aizawa see the bathroom sign. Patiently, Izuku waited in the kitchen. Cleaning the dishes to pass the time, he heard Nezu and Tsukauchi leave. He watched the exit with a smile.
Eraserhead came over, and Izuku was forced to make idle chatter with the man. Once the small idle chatter was over with, Izuku asked the question. What exactly did Eraserhead plan to do now that he has found the known vigilante, Shadow Master. Izuku was a strong kid. He knew things that even the top heroes knew nothing about. He had done things even the most notorious villains had never done, however, this conversation with Eraserhead, this question, this situation ...there was something to fear if he were put in the system.
“Will you stop these acts of vigilantism?” The words echoed in Izuku’s head like a wild joke.
Stop being a vigilante? Was he serious? He should know by now that Izuku can’t do that. Izuku scoffed, and decided to give the hero something to think about as compensation for his time. “If I could I would, but you heroes only catch the villains after they do damage. Have you ever considered what would happen if a large group of villains convened under one leader? Ever considered that maybe, the villains have begun to move?”
“Are you saying the villains are gathering under one power?” Izuku was glad that the man was thinking now, but at what cost…
Izuku kept his voice as level and stern as possible, failing to keep his eyes fearless as his next words came out, “Just consider it, Eraserhead.”
He studied the hero, who glanced out the window, no doubt thinking about the Voice Hero who was awaiting him. When the black, tired looking middle-aged man looked back over to Izuku, he sighed before asking, “So, does your family know what you’ve been doing?”
Izuku stared at him, his face practically emotionless. “My parents are dead,” he stated, his voice just as emotionless as his face. Aizawa opened his mouth to say something, but Izuku cut him off, “Enough talking.” He was getting tired of listening to the hero try and convince him that what he was doing was wrong. “What you do is up to you, but just know that by this time tomorrow, I will be gone...and this time, I promise, we will not meet again.”
Izuku stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against and turned his back to the hero. He paused in his path. “Be careful, Eraserhead,” he mumbled, barely audible, before he disappeared through the nearest shadow to an alley a couple blocks down.
“So, Shadow Master, have you decided to reconsider my offer?” Izuku glanced behind him at the hooded man who was only a few years older than himself.
“Tomura…” he muttered the man’s name under his breath, before he turned so he was fully facing him. “No hands today?”
Before Izuku could even react, he felt four fingers on his face. “Careful, Izuku. Just because Master likes you doesn’t mean you can just do whatever it is you want.” The man laughed, his gross, dry lips smiling down at Izuku from under his blue hood.
“I don’t care what your Master says or likes. I paid my debt to him. I owe neither of you anything.” Izuku spat before he used his power over the shadows to move further away from his brother.
“We owe Master everything! You brat!” The villain reached out for Izuku’s neck again, but the greenette leaned out of reach.
“I told you last time that by no means would I ever join your, no...HIS, cause. He has you wrapped around his little finger. It’s pathetic. I remember a day where we plotted how we would get away from him. Do you even remember what he did to your parents? Or to mine?” Izuku growled.
“He did it for the greater good. Neither of our parents contributed anything to society.” Izuku noticed the man’s voice became slightly distant with the change of topic, but Tomura was too far gone.
“You’ve changed, Brother, and it wasn’t for the better.” Izuku whispered as he turned into the shadows. “Give Kurogiri my regards.” He added before he disappeared into a dark alley, where he found a lone cat, and a small corner to cry in. He held his scarred left shoulder in his hand, remembering the time Tomura had accidentally scarred part of his shoulder in an effort to protect his small green-haired self from the tortures of the crazy old bastard. How that monster could possibly be the same boy that helped him escape all of those years ago, Izuku had no idea, and he was fairly certain he didn’t want to know.
Soon enough, dawn came. The sun peaking over the horizon, it’s rays peering into the alley slowly until it was bathed completely in the golden morning gleam. Izuku didn’t know when, but he must’ve fallen asleep for an hour or two, because the shine of the morning sun woke him up. He stood up and stretched out his back, making it crack in several places. The cat from earlier must have left to scavenge for food, but Izuku paid that no mind.
His stomach growled. He wasn’t sure when he last had a full meal. He couldn’t go over to Karin-san’s. That would be too risky. He can’t afford to be caught by the heroes. He sighted a small cafe across the street. There were a bunch of kids inside, probably getting coffee before they went to class. That would be a good cover.
He took off the apron, which he was still wearing and tossed it into the garbage can in the alley. The cafe was nice. Small, cozy, and of course...run by several heroes. Among the staff were Kamui Woods and the recently debuted Mt. Lady. He sighed tiredly as he got in line. Neither of the two heroes had any connection with Eraserhead or Present Mic that Izuku knew of, so he should be okay.
Or so he thought until he felt his face become intimate with the floor against his will along with a pair of quirk suppression cuffs. “Hey! What’s going on?!” He asked as innocently as he could in that kind of situation.
“Midoriya Izuku, you are under arrest for the unlawful murder of a villain on parole, and illegal acts of vigilantism.” Kamui Woods read him his rights, having extended his wooden limbs to slap the cuffs on the teen.
“Eh? There must be a mistake!” Izuku tried pleading until he saw the composite sketch in Mt. Lady’s hand. He shut up and settled for glaring as he let the hero take him out of the shop, letting the other kids his age to watch as someone their own age was arrested. Before he was led out however, he caught the eyes of one of the students. He recognized that look. It was the look of a traitor. The look of a villain.