Chapter Text
The figure had a very simple way of categorizing human beings. There were those who would bow to it and listen to its every beckon, and then there were those it would kill. To it, the realm of humans was an incredibly black and white place because humans (even with their silly toys and “quirks”) were weak. They were just play things, a mere curtain away, that it could do whatever it wanted with. When it was in this realm, humans were its toys, and its belongings had no choice but to obey it, or perish.
In this realm it is the ultimate ruler, The supreme leader, God. In this realm it is all powerful. That’s why as quickly as possible, the figure has to rid this realm of that lurking rat from the realm of Morpheus. If it allowed such a being to mature, it would surely be forced off of its throne and made to return to that dreadful place where it was only seen as a mere speck of dust. By the grace of Mother Galaxy it had been given a crutch. The stupidity of humans is never ending and because of their meddling that being carries human blood.
Human Blood. In the veins of its being, polluting its consciousness and essence, polluting its power. The figure almost wanted to laugh. The figure wondered what the beings true form would do, if it knew it had been made dirty with the blood of the lowly. Still, though it was part human that didn't change the fact that it was a God, and inevitably one day it would fully awaken. That being was a ticking time bomb and the figure would be damned if all it worked for was burned to ashes.
“The boy?” The figure questioned, staring down at the trembling figure of the two men it had recently assigned to finding him.
“A-about that m-master.” One of the men began speaking in a trembling voice. The man whimpered before continuing to speak. Tears dripped down his bowed head and his face seemed to be turning a peculiar shade of yellow. “We-” The man said, breaking into a sob. “We h-haven't been abl-able to find h-him.” The man shook more intensely, clenching his hands tightly to his sides. The man suddenly fell to his knees, hands up in a praying motion. “M-master, please h-have mer-mercy.” snot ran down his chin, he looked like a truly disgusting being. “Please b-bless us with a l-little more t-time.” the man pleaded.
The man's pathetic face made the figure's chest feel warm with joy. It was always so validating when someone would look at him as if he had full control over their life, it was exhilarating.
“So you have failed.” The figure states.
The man makes an incredibly fearful face and nods his head slowly. The other man has remained silent this whole time, not even breathing, awaiting a punishment. So the figure gives him one.
The figure's black tongue shoots out in an instant, piercing the throat of the silent man. He always hated when they were quiet, it was no fun. The silent man takes almost annoyingly long to die, he grabs his throat and tries to scream as if that's going to make a difference.The man with the pathetic face watches on in horror as blood coats the clothes the man was wearing and makes a nasty puddle on the steel floor.
“You.” The figure commands. The man looks back up at him with a pale white face.
“If the boy is not with you the next time I see your face, you will die a death much worse.” The figure states.
The man nods rapidly, his face soiled with tears and snot.
“Bring someone to clean this up.”
__________
“What’s your favorite color?” Shinsou asks, hauling a black garbage bag on his shoulder. Their walk to the laundromat had been filled with casual conversation.
“I don't think I have a favorite color, but I guess I like blue, yellow, and red the most.” Izuku nods, walking beside Shinsou.
“Oh, All Might colors?” Shinsou hums. “Are you into heroes?” Shinsou asks, turning his face a bit to look at Izuku. Izuku nods and turns his face away a little.
“Yeah I Like watching their fights, and analyzing them in my notebooks. Some people think it’s a weird hobby though.” Izuku shrugs.
Just then the laundromat comes into view and their conversation ceases.
“Izuku.” Shinsou whispers
“Yes?” Izuku responded in a whisper.
“When we get in here try not to look at anyone, and make sure you don't take your wallet out, if you have to open it, open it inside your hoodie pocket. Just keep your head down, if you know what I mean.” Shinsou says, nodding his head towards the slightly run down building.
“Got it.” Izuku nodded
This was Izuku’s first time inside a laundromat. His family never had a problem with the machines at their house and it's not like he had any other family or friends that he could help with chores.
The inside of the laundromat was underwhelming. The walls were covered in bright yellow paint that was beginning to chip away. The floor was made up of big blue and white tiles and there were two rows of washing machines on the floor and a row of dryers on the wall. In the corner there was a small t.v. that had the news station on it.
“Each load is 50 yen for the washers and 100 yen for the dryers” Shinsous tells him, taking the sheets out of the garbage bag.
Izuku absentmindedly reaches into his hoodie pocket and passes Shinsou 500 yen. His eyes are focused on the television screen. The volume isn’t high enough to hear what the reporter is saying from where Izuku's standing, but the same message runs across the bottom of the screen every few seconds.
“Midoriya child still missing, police investigation underway.”
Izuku's eyes nervously flicker to Shinsou, but Shinsou is busy loading the sheets into the washing machine.
“Do you need help?” Izuku asks, looking at shinsou.
Shinsou lifts his eyebrow “Do you know how to do laundry?” He asks, closing the washing machine and paying for a detergent packet.
Izuku hums. “Well, I’ve never done it before, but I think I can learn pretty quickly.” Izuku says.
“Really? You’ve never done laundry before?” Shinsou asks, putting the detergent where it belongs. “Your parents never made you?”
Izuku shook his head. “No, my dad always did the laundry.” Izuku said, rubbing the back of his neck. “and he never taught me how to do it.”
“Your dad really spoiled you, huh.” Shinsou smirked jokingly, choosing what wash mode he wanted.
“Hahah, yeah…” Izuku said absently, turning back to the television.
“Just watch me, it isn't hard.” Shinsou reassures him,
Izuku pulls his eyes away from the t.v. to look at him. “Okay.”
—---
It only takes a little over two hours for them to finish washing and drying the sheets. Laundry was a relatively painless process, so Izuku would say he enjoyed doing it. He didn't enjoy it as much as he could because of the news station that would occasionally come back to his case, once an image of him even flashed across the screen and he almost broke his neck turning to make sure Shinsou wasn't watching. Shinsou only looked at him with a questioning face and continued on with his business.
Their walk back had turned into casual questioning like their walk there had been. It was nice to talk to someone, even if they weren’t saying anything that important.
“Who’s your favorite hero?” Shinsou asks, walking slightly in front of Izuku because he had to lead the way back.
“It's All Might, when I was really little I saw this video of him saving a bunch of people from an attack, he just looked so cool back then and I haven't liked another hero more since. But a lot of heroes save a bunch of people, so it might be a silly reason for him to be my favorite.” Izuku smiled slightly.
Shinsou shook his head. “You don't need an important reason to like somebody, it's enough that you like them.” Shinsou adjusted the garbage bag on his shoulder. “My favorite is EraserHead. I think he has the coolest support weapon, and his quirk is pretty cool too. Once I saw him patrolling near here, I was too shy to say anything though.” Shisou sighed with a soft laugh.
“Maybe you’ll have another chance to meet him-” Izuku started saying when he paused and cringed.
Shinsou slowed and then halted. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking back at Izuku with a little concern. “Are you still hurting from earlier?”
“No.” Izuku waved off. “My eyes just started to sting a little, it's warm out so it might just be allergies.” Izuku explained.
“Okay, do you want to take a break or are we fine to keep walking? The house isn't too far away from here.” Shinsou said. “Well it's not really a house, but you know what I mean.”
Izuku was just about to answer when the slight stinging in his eyes started full on burning. He let out a soft whimper and pressed both of his hands harshly onto his eyes, trying to push away the sensation. In his blindness he tripped over the sidewalk and landed on his butt, but he could hardly feel the pain of the fall with the way his eyes were burning.
“Hey, what's wrong?” Shinsou asked, kneeling next to Izuku as Izuku scrubbed at his eyes.
“My eyes.” Izuku whined. “It’s like they're on fire.” He says, tears starting to stream down his face and wetting his hands as he continued scrubbing.
“Stop rubbing them, that makes it worse.” Shinsou said, trying to gently guide Izuku's hands away from his face.
“I can't. I can't do it.” Izuku cries. “It hurts.”
Shinsou sighs. He watches Izuku in concern before spotting a corner store not even a block away. “I'm going to get some cold water, I'll be right back.: He says, almost sprinting into the store.
Izuku hardly heard him, too distracted by the sound of his own cries and the pain in his eyes. Shinsou returns with an ice cold bottle less than a minute later, but to Izuku it feels like it's been an eternity.
“Open your eyes.” Shinsou says, kneeling next to him and uncapping the water bottle.
Izuku claws at his eyes harder. “I can't, It hurts too much.”
“It’ll feel better once you open them, I can't get the water into your eyes if they're closed.” Shinsou says a bit sternly.
Izuku just whimpers again.
“Just for five seconds, okay?” Shinsou says more gently. “Just try to keep your eyes open for five seconds.”
Izuku nods, but has to brace himself before he even tries. “Okay.” Izuku says, taking a deep breath in. “Okay, just a few seconds and I'll open them.” Izuku says, mostly trying to convince himself. He braves another breath in and opens his eyes, he hasn’t had enough time to think about closing them when he feels the relief of cool water soothing his burning eyes.
Shinsou puts a hand on Izuku’s forehead in an attempt to keep his eyes as open as possible as he pours the water into them. It soaks parts of both of their clothes, but Shinsou doesn't care much about that at the moment.
“Does that feel better?” Shinsou asks, scanning Izuku's eyes for redness and any other sign of allergic reactions. He makes a confused face, staring into his eyes.
“Yeah. thank you.” Izuku said, wiping some water away from his lips. “I really thought my eyes might pop out of my skull.” Izuku says with a heavy breath out. “Sorry, for the trouble.” Izuku says, slightly looking away from Shinsou who was still peering into his eyes.
“What's your quirk?” Shinsou asks suddenly, turning Izuku's head back to him so he could stare curiously into his eyes.
“O-oh.” Izuku coughed, turning a little red. “I a-actually don't have one.” He said with a wince.
“Really?” Shinsou says in a voice filled with question. “But…Your eyes are green?” Shinsou says, still staring into his eyes, and making him squirm a little in discomfort.
“I'm pretty sure quirkless people are able to have green eyes too?” Izuku says in confusion.
Shinsou shakes his head. “No, I mean I know your normal eye color is green, but I mean…your eyes are green and glowing. I don't think quirkless people can change eye colors like that.”
“What?” Izuku says incredulously. “My eyes can’t glow, I'm completely quirkless. I even have an extra toe joint.” He says wiping water off of his face.
“Well they are glowing.” Shinsou says matter of factly. “There, look.” Shinsou says, pointing to a small puddle that had been made by the water he poured on Izuku's face. “You’ll see it in your reflection.”
There was still a faint stinging in Izuku's eyes, but he could ignore it. Skeptically he turned his head a little so that he was staring into the pond, and brought his face down so that he was closer to it. He could see his reflection flinch as he got a good look at his eyes.
They were glowing. A horrible toxic glow like a radioactive green, that was impossible to look away from. Izuku lost himself in shock for a few moments before forcing his eyes away from the puddle and back to Shinsou.
“M-maybe I got hit with somebody's quirk.” He stuttered out.
“How?” Shinsou asks. “For the past couple days you've only been around me, and your eyes just now started glowing.”
“Maybe it was at the laundromat?” Izuku questioned,
“There were only three other people there, and we didn't get close to any of them.” Shinsou states. “Really, I think the most plausible answer is that it's a quirk.” Shisnou says. “Do you feel any different? like, is there something that you think can help you turn it off?” Shinsou asked. “When I use my quirk It kind of feels like I'm tensing some muscle in the back of my throat, and when I let go of my quirk I let go of that feeling. Anything like that for you?”
Izuku contemplated for a moment. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to focus on how his body felt. In a few seconds he noticed a tenseness in his spine that wasn't usually there. He focused on that feeling and tried to let his spine relax. It was more difficult than it should be to relax a part of his body, but after a few moments he could feel his spine lose the tenseness.
He let his eyes open, and shinsou was still knelt next to him, staring into his eyes.
“It's gone.” Shinsou muttered.
Izuku just gawked at him. If it was gone that meant that he had actually let go of it, and that means that it had actually belonged to him. That it was a quirk, that was his.
Suddenly Izuku felt a burning in his stomach and acid rise to his throat. Shinsou barely had enough time to back away before Izuku started throwing up liquid streams on the sidewalk. Izuku hadn't had much to eat in the last few days so it was mostly water and stomach acid. Shinsou gagged at the sight, but still stood next to Izuku and patted him on the back to offer whatever comfort he could.
“Do you feel sick? Are you hurting somewhere?” He asked, trying to keep disgust from showing in his expression, even though Izuku couldn't see it.
Izuku didn't answer, only continued puking with a painful expression on his face.
Shinsou was about to haul him to a hospital when a man dressed in black with a gray scarf appeared next to him. Shinsou just about jumped out of his skin when he heard a soft “What's wrong with him?” and turned to meet the face of EraserHead.
__________
This part of town was always quiet. Not quiet in the way of good neighborhoods, where people hardly bothered committing crimes, but quiet in the way of shady neighborhoods where everyone knew better than to get themselves caught by making noise. It was as frustrating as it was nice.
Like every other time he patrolled here, Shouta was expecting a quiet walk through, maybe catch a few unlucky drug dealers and be on with his day. But to his surprise when turning a corner to an area with a few rundown stores, he was assaulted with the sound of loud belching.
There were two kids. The one puking had his head covered by a hoodie, and the one standing behind him, patting his back, had unruly purple hair. He walked over to the pair quietly, in hopes not to startle them and when close enough asked what was wrong.
His efforts to not startle them went to waste as the purple haired kid just about jumped out of his skin when his face turned to meet him. The kid gawked at him for a few seconds and said nothing.
“I asked what was wrong with him.” Shouta repeated, in case the kid didn't hear him over all the vomiting.
“O-oh.” The kid stuttered out. “Oh, U-um my f-friend hasn't been feeling well for the last few days and all of a sudden he got really sick.” The kid explains. “I t-think he might have a virus.” He says, turning back to his friend.
“I can take him to an emergency room a few streets over.” Shouta offers, but the kid quickly declines.
“N-no, no, u-um we get sick like this all the time, once he gets done, i’ll just take him home and let him get some rest, then he’ll be all better.” The kid nodded.
The kid vomiting decided to transfer from puking all over the place to having a violent coughing fit, which did not help the kids' case.
“H-he's fine.” The purple haired kid said with a wince, rubbing the other ones back.
Shouta eyed them unimpressed. “Even if it's just a cold he’s going to need an IV for dehydration, it would be best to take him.”
The kid shook his head as the coughing teen took in heaving breaths. “We really can't go to the emergency room.” The kid admits. “It's really okay, I'll make sure he drinks a lot of water so you can go on with your day, sir.” The kid says politely
Shouta hums. “I still don't think he should go home without at least someone checking him.”
The purple haired kid made a contemplative face. “U-um, how long w-would it take for him to get l-looked at?” The kid asked.
“At most, two hours with the emergency room wait-” Shouta was about to finish his sentence when he felt his body relax and his eyesight blur. Shouta shook his head and quickly wiped away the feeling. “Sorry about that, I don't know what came over me. It really won't take that long so just-” Shouta’s voice halted as he looked up and realized he was talking to no one. He swears he had only lost focus for a second, but now both of the kids were nowhere in sight.
“What the…”Shouta muttered, looking at the watery puddle of vomit the kids had left behind.