Chapter Text
Over the course of a week, his post had gained traction. It was astonishing to him, to see something as simple as his analysis getting discussed the way it was. Some people were angry with him, since he had openly discussed a hero’s weakness. But others were glad to have it pointed out, making comments back. One of his posts, however, had stood out more than the rest. A single comment that made him shiver, a sinking feeling in his gut. A simple ‘thank you, OP. This information is very helpful.’ that had been written about three days before. He tried not to think much of it, but there was just something weird about it.. it felt out of place, almost, amidst the comments that went into general discussions.
Cautiously, he logged off the website, shaky hands going to check the news. He hadn’t bothered to look lately, busy dealing with the bullies from school and other minor, unimportant things. The breath that he took in was sharp, and he felt completely ice cold. An article of one specific hero, the one he had written about.
Breaking News! Pro hero Multi Hue found dead Saturday.
He couldn’t bring himself to read anymore as he shut off his computer entirely. His breathing was quick and uneven as panic settled in, his mind racing and blank at the same time
Was this his fault all along? Had he been the reason this hero was no longer with them? What of her family? What if she had kids?
He couldn’t breathe, hell, he could barely see properly. When did he start crying? He was trembling as he tried to process what had happened. She hadn’t deserved it..
Right..?
He decided for now, he wasn’t going to post again. Not until he felt comfortable enough to do so.
It took a month. A full month of off and on panic attacks that slowly dwindled to nothing before he felt comfortable opening up the website again, logging on. He had almost forgotten the password by now, but hadn’t, thankfully. As he logged on, he noticed a red little 1, sitting on his screen. A message, to be exact. He didn’t know why someone would message him, but he clicked on it anyways, expecting someone to try and go off on him or expect him to take down his post. But it wasn’t either of those things.. it was a request. Someone was requesting information on how to take down another hero.
His heart was racing, but for some reason, he didn’t feel the guilt like he had before. Multi Hue had been a good person. A respectable hero with a ‘you can do it’ attitude. But the request had specified a bad person. A bad hero, who didn’t deserve that title at all. He felt conflicted as he stared at the screen, his hands hovering over the keyboard. That’s when he got an idea.
Watcher:
Twenty bucks. Leave it outside of XYZ within two days. Then I’ll get you that info.
Bighandyman: 20$ seriously kid? You’ve got a deal. I’ll leave it there tonight
Izuku felt a rush within him. He had been so worried that twenty dollars would’ve been too much, but then he began to think. Surely people would pay more? But he wasn’t planning on making this into a habit.. and yet, the idea just sounded so, so tempting to him.. He was angry with the world, after all. Some people didn’t deserve to be hero’s, so if he could help change that.. it was dangerous, though, and he was trying to think through the consequences. The worst that could happen is jail or death, after all. Maybe some torture, but after dealing with Kacchan his whole life, it seemed like it would be the easier thing to deal with.
he didn’t bother to respond, simply starting to look up the hero in the meantime. Ghost, the ghastly hero. A man who had such a bad reputation when it came to bringing in villains alive. Most villains that ended up in his custody would wind up dead, be if a petty purse snatcher to a full on mass murderer. He was known to be rude to civilians and would often treat them like they were less than. His quirk was a tricky thing to figure out, since he claimed he could pull the souls right out of people, causing them to drop dead. He could return them, so long as it was within five minutes of taking their soul away.
he took what information he could and saved it in his notes app, having it at the ready so he could copy and paste. By the time he was done, he felt proud of himself, opting to finish up whatever remainder of homework he had before going to bed for the night. Despite it being a weekend, he was just too anxious about being caught, so he didn’t go retrieve the money just yet.
He had waited until the following night, finally going out of his way to put on a black hoodie and sweats. He felt awkward as he slipped on a white medical mask to cover up the bottom of his face, but he didn’t want to be recognized if he could avoid it. He didn’t know why he was taking these precautions, but it was too late to stop now. He had twenty bucks waiting for him, after all.
After almost psyching himself out, he decided to just go for it. He left the house despite the chilly air, went to XYZ, and collected his twenty dollars. He examined it first, for some unknown reason, before pocketing the money and walking away.
When he got home, he was trembling from his nerves. He logged on, hit copy and paste, and waited.
Bighandyman: Thanks man. Keep up the good work
He didn’t know how to respond, so he didn’t. He felt like he was following a trend, despite this not being a common occurrence at the moment. He logged off for the night and once again, he went to bed.
and less than two days later, Ghost was dead. It was almost exactly how Izuku had planned to take him down, although his version had been less gore oriented. He felt like he had achieved something though, a weird sense of pride bubbling up in his chest. He helped take down a corrupted hero. He indirectly made an impact on society, bettering it. A small laugh bubbled in his throat, and within moments he was giggling and laughing to himself.
He felt like he was going crazy, but that had been such a thrill to find out. Perhaps he would keep doing this, after all….