Chapter Text
“Look, Ma’am-” The police officer pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling as evenly as he could, he looked up at the green haired woman sitting across from him. “It’s been ten years, since your son went missing. According to the statistics-”
“After 72 hours, the search becomes one for a body.I know. I know it’s been ten years, I know.” Inko Midoriya’s eyebrows scrunched up on her forehead, maybe it was the lighting, but she looked much older in that moment, tired, different than the crying Mom he had met years back. Her eyes had hardened, and dark circles seemed to have made a permanent home under her eyes, she looked like the kind of exhausted sleep can’t fix. Pity threatened to stab at his heart, and he crushed it down. She took in a deep breath, and looked up at him, determination fierce in her green eyes.
“But until the day they find a body, I’m going to keep believing my little boy is alive. Understand?”
He nodded in a jerky movement of his head. Where had all this confidence come from?
“Now-” She continued pressing her hands down on the counter “Let’s look over the case one more time, reviewing any new information. Okay?” She gave him a tight business smile. Although doubt itched at the back of his mind like an uncomfortable wool sweater, if that kid was anything like his Mother, maybe he was alive. Pushing his hair out of his face he pulled out the file, laying out the papers on the table.
“April 16th, You, Midoriya Inko where driving up to your Parents house when your car crashed because the breaks had been messed with, presumably during your stop at the nearby gas station. You claim to have seen a young boy come out from a portal and take your son with him before you passed out. The only reason you didn’t die of blood loss was because your parents became suspicious of how long it was taking you to arrive. After finding your body they called an ambulance. This incident was decidedly a hate crime towards a quirkless child, and became a media frenzy. So much so that All Might himself joined the search.” He sighed, a hand making its way up to massage his temples. “And that’s the current timeline of the incident.”
Outside a missing poster fluttered by on the wind, The image of a little boy beaming, his hair a wild mess of green and black, freckles dotted his cheeks. The perfect image of innocence. Maybe if fate not been so cruel He would have grown up to be the number one hero, upholding a legacy of greatness. Saving people with a smile. But somewhere halfway across the world, a butterfly flapped its wings, and like a mirror that dream shatters into pieces, leaving behind the shattered remains of where that boy once stood.
Izuku screamed, the pain in his lungs was burning blindingly white. His fingernails dug into the flesh of his palms leaving bleeding crescent shapes behind. The burning in his lungs crawled up this throat, like a wild animal was trying to crawl through his airways. Smoke poured out from his mouth and nose and he tried his best to not choke on it. Tried was the key word. A shutter wracked through his body as a stream of fire finally escaped his lips scorching the (Thankfully) cement floor beneath him. He smacked his lips together, trying to get the feeling back in his mouth.
“Pro hero Salamander-” He rasped out, he bit down on his tongue to suppress more coughing, the taste of copper spread throughout his mouth. “This is his quirk, right?”
“With your previously existing pyrokinesis quirk this will be helpful. Especially in situations where you don’t have your lighter.” Father responded, His voice cold and sharp, although not rushed. He spoke his words carefully, with the underlying promise of knowing exactly what he was doing.
He could only nod weakly, guilt clawing at the pit of his stomach. He had turned in his report about the hero last week.The pro heros name was Atsuhiro Sato. his quirk was the ability to breath powerful fire up to fifteen feet. He was twenty six, a single dad, and spent his spare time helping an animal rescue. He was a good person. And now he was dead. And it was all rabbits fault. A single tear dripped down his face and hit the floor, his father sighed, patting his bed
“Come sit with me Izuku.” His father’s voice had changed, a softness making its way into his voice. Getting up on his legs that still felt like Jello he walked over to where his father layed in bed, dozens of machines plugged into him. Sitting down next to his father on his bed, he felt like a child again. He could still remember when his Father wasn’t bound to this bed.
“I know doing this makes you upset and sad, but you need to understand it is for the greater Good Izuku.” A hand stroked Izuku’s head, and he couldn’t help but lean into the familiar touch. “You’ve seen how horrible humans can be, but with our help, we can create a new order. We can help people.”
“I know.” Izuku sighed, tugging on his lip. A habit his father had said he got from his Mom. Not like Izuku could remember, at least not after the crash he couldn’t. A mix of brain damage and trauma was what the doctor said, it was unknown if he would ever get his memories back. His Father ruffled his hair, a comforting action.
“I love you, you know that?” Izuku nodded, a ghost of smile making its way onto his lips. “Now up and at em kiddo. I have work to do, and you’re getting a new mission soon!” Izuku nodded getting up from his father's side, walking to the portal at the other side of the room, glancing back one last time at his father.
“Izuku? See to it you don’t disappoint me. A lot lays on your shoulders Rabbit. ” A shiver ran up Izuku's spine, and the warm honey of happiness turned to ash in his mouth as he was reminded of the punishment for previously failed missions. Nodding stiffly, he walked into the portal. And then he was in the bar, the familiar mix of alcohol, blood, and dust greeting his nose, no matter how much how much Kuroguri cleaned. Speaking of Kuroguri,
“Did your meeting with your father go well?” Izuku nodded, looking over at the smokey man behind the bar. He briefly wondered if the reason he was behind the bar so much was to take shots whenever the league did something stupid. But that idea was dumb, because if he did that Shigaraki would have caused him to die from alcohol poisoning years ago. A door slammed open, and Dabi and Shigaraki. Speak of the devil and he shall appear Izuku supposed. But more importantly
“You two switched shirts” Izuku pointed out, an impish grin crawling across his face “Toga owes me 20 dollars, you two are totally fucking!” Shigaraki launched himself at Izuku with a mix between a growl and a shout, and Izuku could only laugh dodging easily. God it was easy to piss his brother off. If it wasn’t for the threat of him dissolving his face in his sleep Izuku was certain it would be the only thing he did all day. A remote control flew at his head and Izuku barely had the time to duck as it hit the wall with a loud clunk.
“Hey! If you break the remote you’re going to pay for it!” he yelped indignantly, although he couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m going to kill you!” That was Izuku’s que to leave before his Brother dissolved anything and everything that belonged to him. Slipping past Izuku took the stairs to his room two at a time, slamming his door behind him with a satisfying thud. Flopping down on his bed a breath he didn’t know he was holding escaped his lungs as his shaking hands clutched the blankets.
“Guess my meeting with Father freaked me out more than I thought it would.” He laughed bitterly. God it was pathetic of him to get this scared of his own father. After all, everything he did was to help him right? He rubbed his eyes, god he needed to stop thinking about this before he went crazy. He needed to go out. He looked over to his desk, littered in notebooks filled to the brim with notes about villians and heros alike. In the left drawer was where he kept his costume. It wouldn’t harm anyone if he went out for a little bit would it?
Slipping off his bed, he padded over to the drawer, opening it up to look at the familiar costume. What the hell, it wouldn’t kill anyone for him to get some fresh air. taking off his clothes, he tried to ignore the bruises and cuts that littered his skin from his last training session. Shuttering he turned his attention back to getting dressed. He didn’t want to think about that now.
His costume was simple enough. A dark olive hoodie that despite only being a medium was too large for him, it had two rabbit ears sewn on top. Slipping on the familiar piece of fabric the scent of smoke and blood surrounded him, he he wrinkled his nose. No matter how many times he washed it the scent of his many crimes didn’t seem to want to be removed. Slipping on his pants, he patted the pockets, making sure he had what he needed in them (Duct tape, matches, bobby pins). The well worn boots where easy enough to slip on, and he made sure to tie them extra tight, the pressure was grounding, familiar, safe. Glancing up, he looked at the last part of his costume. A half gas mask, that efficiently hid the lower half of his face. Sliding it on, Izuku looked up at his mirror. Rabbit looked back.
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Getting out of the bar unnoticed and into the streets was easy enough, he was small enough to slip through his bathroom window without getting stuck after all. Deciding what to do was harder. He could always steal from the rich, or fuck around with spray paint. Or, maybe he could spray paint the rich. Endevwhore had been a real pain in the ass lately. A lazy grin made its way across his face, hidden by his mask. The beginnings of a plan already taking shape in his mind. Breaking into a light jog, Rabbit turned on his phone and pulled up a new tab. Time to let the google machine do its job and lead him right to where he needs to be. Now where exactly was Endeavor agencies?