Chapter Text
Looking back, going to the red light district wasn’t the smartest decision. But he needed to lay low, and why would the pro heroes look for a teenager in such a dingy place? But it soon became apparent that it was much worse than the pro heroes.
Within minutes of walking through the red light district, he was attacked by some scrawny guy with a knife looking for money. Jokes on scrawny, the kid was just as, if not more, broke than he was. After being flung into the wall by an angry Ryuka, they continued on their way. This happened a few more times before the two just said “fuck it” and crawled into an ajar sewer grate. They waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The day faded and the little sliver of light that could be seen through the sewer dispersed. Only then did death appear. Izuku screeched at the sudden appearance of the bony man and Ryuka flinched at his harsh glare. He turned to Izuku.
“You’ve been slacking!” He smacked the green haired boy over the head with his bony hand. “Listen up, green bean! You are going to take my cloak,” He tore it off his body and chucked it at his successor. “You are going to take my scythe,” tossed it to the boy. “And you are going to haul your ass out there every. Single. Night. And harvest souls until the sun comes up!” He turned to Ryuka, who gulped audibly. “And you! You will disappear into his head. You will use no powers of yours! No shifting, No teleporting! You will guide him from there and you will not be allowed to return to normal until I have deemed it so! Is that clear?” She silently nodded and disappeared.
Death sighed and scrubbed his skull with his hand. “I do not like being the bad guy here, child. But your duties are too important for you to be messing around. Now get your skinny ass out there and collect some souls! Don’t slack off again, boy. I may be a skeleton, but I won’t hesitate to smack you with a chair. Now go!” He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Izuku sighed and pulled the cloak around his shoulders. He pulled up his hood and lifted his scythe, which was surprisingly light, but deadly sharp. “Well,” he grumbled aloud as he hauled himself out of the sewers. “Goodbye to my nonexistent sleep schedule.”
He started down the street, slowly walking, checking all around him for souls. Most stayed away from him, wary of his scythe. He collected quite a lot of souls in just a few hours, as there seemed to be no shortage of souls in the area.
Hearing a commotion, The green haired boy rounded the corner and witnessed a man threatening a young woman with a knife. The man clearly had some unsavory intentions. Noticing this, The teen picked up a discarded crate and smacked the man as hard as he could at the base of his skull. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The woman, clearly uneager to approach Izuku, shrank back farther into the wall. He cleared his throat and deepened his voice as much as he could.
“You should call the police.” he said, as he tied the man’s wrists with a piece of frayed rope he’d found nearby. The woman nodded and pulled out her phone, presumably to call the police as he stood. Giving the woman a nod, the green haired boy continued on his way.
The night was going relatively well, the one crime being the only one he stumbled upon. But just as the sky was lightening, he came across the soul of a little boy. Misty tears streaked his face as he trudged down the road. “Hey.” He called softly to the kid. His eyes brightened.
“Hi!” the little boy said excitedly, grinning as he ran over. “You aren’t ignoring me!” The teen’s heart sank.
“No.” He said quietly. “Would you like to hold my hand while we find your mommy?” The boy nodded eagerly and held out his hand. Quietly, Izuku placed his hand in the smaller’s and watched him slowly fade away. After a moment of solemn silence, Ryuka spoke.
“Don’t be sad, Izu. You’ve done the best thing for him.”
“It doesn’t make it any easier.” He whispered. “Poor kid didn’t deserve to die so young.” He rubbed his eyes and blinked back the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. “It makes me sad to know that this is all I can do for them.” He straightened his back and steeled himself. “Back to the sewers we go.” He said gloomily and started his trek back to the stinky hole in the ground.
…
Two days later, he’d gained a reputation in the red light district. When he passed, people would whisper about the “Grim Reaper” and point. Criminals stayed far away and people passing through would wave or call out thanks for protecting them when the heroes wouldn’t. At night he strolled down the street collecting souls and stopping crime when he needed to. It was going well for Izuku. Until he crossed paths with Eraserhead while tying up a criminal.
“So you’re the one everyone’s been talking about. The “Grim Reaper”. He landed silently beside the teen and observed as he tied the man up. “For someone so feared by criminals and loved by civilians, you’re short.” The green haired boy scoffed.
“My height hasn’t hindered me yet.” he said in his deep voice. “Aren’t you going to try and arrest me?”
Eraserhead leaned against the wall casually. “As far as I’ve seen, you haven’t used any quirk. And you’re helping the people that daylight heroes won’t. You’re doing more good than harm, so why bother? But if you ever cross the line between vigilantism and villainy, I will not hesitate to arrest you.” He adjusted his capture weapon pushed off the wall. “Police ’ll be here soon.” Izuku nodded and walked out of the alley, continuing on his way. In his mind he was going bat shit. Eraserhead, the guy that was trying to capture him, just had a casual conversation with him and let him walk away freely!
“Lucky bastard.” Ryuka giggled. “What’re the odds? ” He just laughed and continued on his way. Unbeknownst to Izuku, the very same hero he just walked away from watched him from a nearby rooftop, eyes narrowed.