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"Rabbit."
The Vigilante spun on his heel, knees bending slightly as his green eyes landed on the silhouette at the other end of the rooftop. It wasn't uncommon for him to see the Hero during the night - they're routes crossed in multiple places, and more often than not, he'd turn up at the scene as the Hero left. But this was the first time he'd been sought out by the man who definitely knew he existed.
Pushing his Quirk to activate, a heaviness setting into his limbs, Izuku prepared. "You've made quite a name for yourself. Certainly made my life harder." The man sounded tired, and Izuku almost felt bad.
Key word; almost. Sure, he was making his time harder, but Izuku had a good reason for doing what he did. Not that he'd be telling the man anytime soon.
"A kid too. How old are you? Eight? Nine?" Twelve, Izuku was twelve. He tightened his grip, resisting the urge to bite and respond. Who knew what this guys Quirk was. Deciding enough was enough, Izuku lowered the gravity in his lower legs, using it to increase his speed and jump off the building.
It wouldn't be for another few weeks that he'd see the Hero again.
=--=
"No! Now is not the time!"
Izuku felt his anxiety grow as his legs stiffened, his body unable to move. He bit his lip, splitting the skin as he forced one leg to twitch, only to gasp at the agony it brought to his knee. When he hears the Hero, he grits his teeth and forcefully pushes to standing.
The edge of his toes tingle, knees spare in agony with each second and in generally, he struggles to feel his legs. He's up for only a few seconds before he topples down, landing harshly on his wrist and knees further locking into place. He throws his body back, moving back to sitting as a white scarf shoots past where his torso had previously been. His head whips to around to the side, where Eraserhead was already pulling his scarf back as he ran forward, and Izuku felt his stomach flip.
This time, he couldn't dodge before the white capture weapon wrapped around his chest, forcing his arms to his side. "Rabbit! It's over." As he got closer, Izuku instinctively kicked out, but his leg barely lifted and he cried out, whole body tensing. The Hero stopped a metre away, crouching. "Are you injured?" Shaking his head, Izuku squirmed to try and loosen the scarf, but it only tightened.
The Hero sighed. "I'm going to have to bring you in. Are you going to cooperate?" At that, Izuku rocked his body, putting more weight on his legs only to gasp and fall back. He repeated this only once more before a hand on his chest forced his back to the floor, and he barely had time to understand what was happening before a vile was broken beneath his nose. His senses were bombarded by a sweet smell, and his eyes widened - and he cut off his breathing.
"Don't make this worse, Kid." Izuku fought to keep his eyes open, a fogginess setting over his body. However, he couldn't force a Quirk to stop, and within seconds, slipped into unconsciousness.
=--=
"Son of a Villain."
Izuku's hand clenched, jaw grinding as he looked down. The disgust in the voice was clear; because they knew. Not only was he the son of a Villain, the Villain was the worst of the worst. A natural enemy to man kind since the dawn of Quirks - the one true enemy of One For All and the man who'd pushed the Number One Hero into retirement.
"When your Mother found out, she tried to kill you. According to the files, she was successful." Shuddering and closing his eyes, Izuku felt his throat tighten. This wasn't fair - it wasn't his fault. "You're also supposed to be Quirkless." Izuku flinched, trying to shrink further into the seat. For the first time since escaping, he felt helpless. Trapped. "So this is what we think happened. Your Father decided it was time for you to become his Project, your Mother pretended to kill you as a way to remove you from the records before killing herself-" Izuku jerked forwards, eyes wide as his head snapped up.
"She's dead?!"
The Officer slammed the table. "Do not interrupt me!" Izuku shrunk back, glaring as he felt his eyes burn. "Before killing herself as your Father trained you to become his successor. Eight months ago, he decided it was time for you to move your training to the streets, where you became a Vigilante. However, this was a front for a way for you to get inside information on the Underground world before eventually worming your way into the Hero society and trying to kill everyone. How much did we get correct?"
Izuku shook his head, tugging on the cuffs. "None! You're - You're all wrong! I didn't want to be a Villain! I didn't - You're wrong!" Anger grew on the Officers face, and he raised his hand, only to be interrupted as the Hero slammed the door open. "That's enough. He's cooperated enough and I've received confirmation on my request."
=--=
Biting his lip, Izuku looked around the room. Suspicion edged his stomach, a wariness fluttering his stomach. The Hero - Shouta, he'd introduced himself as Shouta - had said he was becoming Izuku's guardian. They'd stuck a Quirk cancelling cuff on his ankle, and made the boy aware it was doubled as a tracking device, and sent him with the Hero. It was suspicious, and for the life of him, Izuku couldn't figure out what he wanted.
The boy had nothing to offer - after he'd escaped, the whereabouts or information of his Father had been locked away in a box. He remembered his training, his jobs, punishments, rewards, but not information. If anything, the man was going to get himself killed. If his Father wanted something, he got it. The room was simple - light, there was light - but to Izuku, it felt undeserved.
He frowned, climbing towards the window and opening it. There was a limit, a bar allowing it to open only an inch or two. He felt his mind linger for a minute, inspecting it. The thing would be easy to break, the mechanics were simple, but Izuku also saw the wire running from the bottom, along the edge of the house. No doubt the adult knew it had been opened, and so he'd know if it was broken.
Grinding his teeth, Izuku closed the window and stalked to the wardrobe, looking inside. There were a few clothes folded at the bottom, but no pole and no hangers. The walls were thin, and the handles nothing but holes. Nothing in the room could be used as a weapon; for him or against him. He slammed it closed as the door knocked, Shouta walking in and raising an eyebrow.
"Settled in? We've got some rules to discuss." Taking a step back, Izuku let his guard fly up. "I told you I don't know where he is. He'll kill you." The eyebrow raised higher, and Shouta looked to the wardrobe. "Ah, you think I want something from you."
Izuku bent his knees slightly, and although he couldn't use his Quirk, he felt more protected. He'd done plenty of fights without his Quirk. "Everyone always wants something." Sighing, Shouta ran a hand through his head. "I suppose. There is something I want." That's it, Izuku knew it. The nice act was over, he was going to have to fight tooth and nail to get out and then he was back to square one, only this time the Heroes and Villains on his tail. He was doomed, Izuku was going to di-
"I want you to be able to live life as a normal kid." Flinching back, Izuku shook his head, eyebrows furrowed. "That's not - you're wrong." Shouta yawned, rubbing his eyes. It was unnatural, Izuku thought, for his enemy to be so relaxed. So tired. Vulnerable. "And why is that?"
Izuku's hand raised, chewing the skin around his thumb nail nervously. "I - I'm a Villain's - I'm a Villain! You're supposed to be trying to kill me! Sensei said -" Izuku cut himself off, eyebrows furrowing. What had Sensei said? There was a hand pulling Izuku's hand from his mouth before he realised what was happening, Shouta crouched in front of him.
"You are not a Villain. You are a boy who wasn't given a choice, but I'm giving it you now. So, let's go downstairs, get some dinner and I'll explain the normal rules for a normal boy. Okay?"
=--=
"Kinda ironic isn't it?" Izuku laughed bitterly, the hand that had briefly ruffled his hair falling to scratch at the scar under his ear. He felt the rooms deathly silence, almost daring him to continue. Of course, his smart mouth did.
"All he ever wanted me to do was destroy you - that was his whole goal. The only reason for my Birth. Yet, here I am, in the same room and failing once again." Izuku raised his head to meet All Might's eyes, narrowing them. "He's got no reason to kill you. I have. Because of you I was born; this Quirk was forced onto me. I suffered. I have a reason. But I can't bring myself too - for a Hero as big as you, you smile too much."
His tangent took a different direction, and he looked back down. "It's an insult. To every single person you've seen in pain, frightened, dying, you just smiled. I get it, the whole 'making people forget about their worries' but it doesn't work." He laughed again, using the wall to support himself. He wasn't in the staff room. Instead he was in the cement training room, blood staining his hands, the body crumpled in front of him, a screen on the opposite side. Showing that stupid smile.
"No one wants to see a smile when their in pain - it makes them feel so stupid. No one wants pity, they want help. But no one would say anything, you're the supposed Symbol of Peace." Izuku tensed, chest tightening as he struggled to breathe. His free hand twitched, suddenly feeling so heavy. "I have a reason. I saw your smile everyday, I screamed for help. I have a reason. But I - I'll be no different than him. He wants me to - he's so loud - he won't shut up-" He stopped, mouth clamping shut and sinking to his knees with a strangled cry, legs stiffening.
"Izuku, breathe with me, come on." His body moved on it's own, following the orders, whilst his mind took it's own path. It wasn't until hours later the fogginess left, in it's place a dull throb at his temples, and his eyelashes fluttered. He was in Shouta's home, sat on the sofa, back against the arm and head against the cushion, a blanket lightly wrapped on him. He was dimply aware of hands holding down his own, a sting on his cheek.
His eyes focused on Shouta, sat besides him on the sofa, one hand holding Izuku's wrists on his drawn knees, other flying over the keys on his laptop. When Izuku stirred, his eyes snapped up, relief flooding his features. "Kid? You with me?" Nodding limply, he whined and sunk further into the blanket. "'m sorry." He murmured, one hand pulling free to ruffle his hair before dropping back to his knees, subconsciously pulling his sleeves over his knuckles.
"Don't apologise. I'll get you some food-" He cut off when Izuku shook his head, green tinting his face. "I d-don't feel well." Nodding, he put his laptop down and turned his full attention to Izuku.
"H-How lon-long?" Looking to the clock, the Hero sighed. "Four Hours. I brought you home, you were moving, but you were unresponsive." Nodding, Izuku pulled at the fabric. "It wa-wasn't too long th-then." Raising an eyebrow, Shouta pulled his hands away as he started pulling at the skin around his thumb. "Has this happened before?" Slowly, Izuku nodded, taking a shaky breathe. "A-After most Jo-Jobs, and sometimes du-during train-training."
There was a hand in his hair, soothing as the other cleaned up the subconscious claw marks raking his cheeks. "It's a normal response. Take it slow for a little while, how're your joints feeling?" True, they were a little stiff, but fine. As he went to tell Shouta that, the man sighed. "I'll go get some heat pads."
=--=
Shouta rushed in at the crash, Quirk activated and eyes scanning for danger. Instead, he was met with Izuku on his knees, hands shaking and tense, the glass shattered in front of him and shirt wet.
"Kid?" He jumped, looking up with wide eyes. "I'm s-sorry! I-" Shouta shook his head, stopping a metre away and crouching. "What's wrong?" He could see the fight in Izuku's eyes, and after a minute dropped to sit on his heels. "My hands have ... um, st-stiffened." Nodding, he gently held his forearms and pulled him to standing, sitting him on a chair. "I'll get the heat pads." Shaking his head, Izuku tried to push back down, clawed hands trying to pick up the glass. Shouta caught his wrists quickly, pushing a little authority into his voice. If there was one thing he noticed in the months of looking after Izuku, it was that he responded well to it. "
No, leave it. You're going to hurt yourself."
Izuku frowned, but allowed himself to be pulled up, sat on a chair and a clothe pressed against the few cuts on his hands. "I'm sorry." Shaking his head, Shouta dried the cuts, placing plasters over them before grabbing a heat pad and wrapping it into a tea towel around the limbs. "Don't apologise. You can't help it. What were you doing anyway?" Izuku looked down, clear embarrassment on his face. His hands twitched. "I was - I wanted to ask you something."
Raising an eyebrow, Shouta ruffled his hair. "And that was?" Taking a deep breathe, Izuku closed his eyes. His anxiety spiked, fear clenching his heart. All his life he'd been told no to this question; at one point, he'd been beaten near-beyond repair. He took a shaky breathe.
"Could I be a Hero?"
=--=