Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Every profession had folklore.

Heroes had stories about impossible rescues. Police officers had tales of haunted precincts. Construction workers swore certain buildings refused to remain standing.

Villains... had Midoriya Izuku.

"It isn't a coincidence," the old man lit another cigarette with shaking hands. "It isn't luck. It isn't planning."

The younger criminals exchanged skeptical looks.

"He's just some quirkless kid," one of them scoffed.

The old man stared at him.

"That's what everyone says."

He leaned back.

"Do you know how many organizations I've worked for?"

"...No?"

"Seven."

"..."

"And how many still exist?"

"..."

"None. They all got Midoriya'd."

He took another drag.

"I've survived fifteen years in this business. I have seen organizations fall. I've seen All Might. I've seen Tartarus transfers. I've seen the Nomu."

"..."

"Nothing," he pointed towards the warehouse they'd abandoned. "Nothing terrifies me more than that polite green-haired child."

By now, villain organizations had already added an entire section about Midoriya to orientation.

Welcome to the group.

Here's your access card.

Here's your encrypted communicator.

Here's the emergency evacuation route.

And here are some super duper important guidelines.

The guidelines were printed on a laminated card.

The card was translated into several languages. International crime syndicates requested copies.

Even foreign villains had heard stories.

"Japan's haunted," a smuggler from overseas said. "I'm telling you."

"What?"

"They've got... some kind of spirit."

"...A spirit?"

"The Green Curse."

"...You mean Midoriya?"

At UA, class 1A was having practical lessons.

Today's topic was civilian risk assessment.

Aizawa stood before a giant screen.

"What do you see?"

The image showed a perfectly ordinary shopping street. The students examined it carefully.

"A café," Uraraka said.

"A crosswalk," said Kaminari.

"A construction zone!" Ashido exclaimed.

"A bus stop," Iida said.

Aizawa nodded.

"Anything else?"

Tsuyu cautiously raised a hand.

"...Midoriya Izuku is walking in the background."

"Correct."

Aizawa switched the slide to another image.

"What about this one?"

"He's... reflected in the store window."

"Correct."

The third image popped up on the screen.

"And this?"

"...His backpack is visible."

"Sir..." Ojiro finally asked. "Why are we doing 'Where's Midoriya'?"

Aizawa answered without changing his expression. "Because you'll miss him in real situations."

"..."

"If Midoriya is nearby, your priorities change."

"How?" Sero frowned.

"You finish your current task," Aizawa paused. "And prepare for something else."

"Like what?" Momo asked.

"We don't know."

"..."

"..."

"...That's somehow more concerning."

Halfway across the city, the same lesson was being taught, not at a hero school, but at a villain hideout.

"If you see this kid-" the senior villain pointed at a projector. The image displayed a rather plain teenager with green hair, freckles, a nervous smile, and a rather forgettable face. "-we leave."

"...What if he's alone?" a recruit asked.

"We leave."

"What if he's asleep?"

"We leave."

"What if he's just asking for directions?"

"We leave faster."

"So," Death Arms glanced around the briefing room. "Who's on Midoriya today?"

"My agency's got morning," Mirko said.

"Manual has noon. Kamui's covering the afternoon," Mount Lady said.

"What about the evening?" Hawks asked.

"I'll take it," Gunhead said.

Burnin' frowned. "...Aren't we basically assigning bodyguards?"

"We've been accidentally doing that for over a decade now," Death Arms answered.

"...Fair."

Class 1A was having an afternoon patrol exercise with their homeroom teacher.

"This," Aizawa said, "is a routine patrol."

The students nodded.

"You are here only to observe. Do not engage in any combat."

"Understood!" Iida adjusted his glasses.

The class was about to disperse into the assigned sectors when a notification popped up on Aizawa's phone.

'Midoriya Izuku has entered Sector Four.'

"..."

Aizawa sighed.

"Class."

Everyone looked at him.

"Change of plans. I need everyone in Sector Four."

Kirishima blinked.

"But you said-"

"I know what I said."

Izuku stood in line inside a bakery.

"The usual?" The cashier asked.

Izuku nodded.

The woman placed a packet of Melon Bread into a paper bag. "That'll be-"

The front window exploded inwards.

"..."

The cashier slowly closed her eyes. "...Again."

A villain covered in soot stumbled through the shattered glass.

"Wait..." he looked around. "This isn't the bank."

Another villain crashed into him.

"You idiot!"

"I TOOK A WRONG TURN!"

Police sirens echoed in the distance.

A third villain skidded around the corner. "There you are!"

He paused.

"...Why is there a bakery?"

The bakery door opened.

Aizawa walked in, accompanied by twenty students.

The three villains stared.

"Why are there so many children?"

"We're hero students," Kaminari corrected.

"Oh no..."

The fight ended quickly, mostly because twenty hero students plus Eraserhead against three confused villains wasn't much of a fight.

After the arrests, the students gathered around Aizawa.

"So..." Ashido started. "...That wasn't normal, right?"

"No."

"Does it happen often?"

Aizawa glanced at Izuku, who was walking down the street with a packet of Melon Bread.

"...More often than you'd think."

Not everyone believed the stories.

There was always one rookie... one unfortunate soul who was convinced that everyone was exaggerating.

"I'm telling you," Akashi said. "Coincidence!"

His coworkers looked at him with sympathy.

"It isn't."

"It's statistically impossible," Akashi crossed his arms confidently. "I'm going to prove it."

"How?"

"I'm following him."

The room went silent.

"...Poor kid."

Akashi reported in three hours later.

"So?" Dispatch asked.

"Nothing happened," his smugness was clear over the radio. "He just bought groceries."

"I see..."

"He helped an old lady cross the street."

"Mhm."

"He fed some pigeons."

Akashi's coworkers exchanged glances. One of them started counting down. 'Three... Two... One-'

"Hold on..." Right on cue, Akashi's voice crackled.

"What is it?"

"I think-"

A gigantic explosion echoed through the radio.

The lady at dispatch pinched the bridge of her nose.

"...Report."

"There was..." Akashi paused. "A tunnel."

"And?"

"It wasn't a tunnel."

"..."

"It was an underground villain casino."

"..."

"...Hidden beneath a flower shop."

"..."

Akashi paused.

"...Midoriya only found it because he dropped a tomato."

The room collectively groaned.

"Anyone bet on the tomato?" someone at dispatch asked.

"I picked wallet," one groaned.

One raised his hand victoriously as he declared, "I had fruit."

Akashi stared at the radio in absolute disbelief.

"...You people have betting pools?!"

Shoto happened to be nearby when the arrests concluded that evening.

He watched from the police tape as Midoriya apologized for dropping groceries everywhere.

"I'll clean it up."

"Don't worry about it," an officer replied.

"It was my fault."

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"We've got it," another officer picked up the bag for him.

Izuku looked embarrassed. "...Thank you."

Shoto found himself staring again as Midoriya smiled shyly, genuinely grateful at the little acts of kindness.

It made no sense to him. This was someone who had spent his entire life getting caught in disasters that weren't his fault, someone who had every reason to become bitter, to curse at the deities for his terrible luck. Instead, he chose to focus on acknowledging the positives in his life.

Shoto didn't realize he'd started walking until he was standing only a few feet away.

Izuku looked up.

"Oh!" Recognition flickered across his face.

"You're Todoroki, right?"

"...You know me?" Shoto asked.

"You're sort of hard to miss," Izuku gave an awkward laugh. "I've seen you on TV. You're one of the top young heroes."

"I see..."

For some reason, that answer felt... disappointing.

"I'm sorry, am I keeping you from work?"

"Not at all."

A wave of awkward silence washed over.

Finally, Izuku lifted his grocery bag. "I should probably get these home before the ice cream melts."

Shoto looked down. The bad had slightly split from being dropped earlier.

Without thinking, he reached for it.

"I'll carry this."

"You don't have to," Izuku protested.

"I want to."

"...Thank you."

The two walked together. It was quiet... comfortable... for exactly one block.

A nearby jewelry store alarm began blaring. Both Izuku and Shoto sighed.

Three masked robbers looked out of the shattered storefront window.

"...Boss."

"What?"

"...It's the Green Kid."

"...You're kidding, right?" The leader looked outside as well. His expression fell. "Abort."

"What?"

"I said abort!"

"But we already-"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Unfortunately for the robbers, the police had already blocked every single escape route. The officers apprehended them before they could even get the chance to flee.

Izuku watched them in confusion. "...That was fast."

Shoto looked at Izuku, then at the handcuffed criminals, then back at him.

"Yes..."

It really was.