Chapter Text
There comes a time where every citizen of a Hero filled world doubts the ability of the system. A time when a mother finds herself truly terrified for her child's safety. A time where a mother should not have to worry about her son getting to school safely because there were so many villains roaming the streets, going unnoticed by the local heroes. Midoriya Inko was one of these mothers, her worries for her son increasing by the day, especially after they found out that her hero obsessed son happened to be quirkless. Especially after Hisashi had left them, leaving Inko to parent Izuku all by herself. Even more so after she heard her Izuku mutter the words, “I am not a girl. I am a boy, Mama,” his voice small and filled with the fear of being rejected, while all Inko had filling her was the worry of how much her son would end up facing.
The day that her son started coming home with injuries was when she hit her limits, contacting the school about the fact that her son came home daily with the tell-tale signs of being bullied. The school claimed that nothing was going on. Izuku’s teachers said that he was just a “difficult student” and told her that nothing had been going on while Izuku was at school. After that obviously scripted phone call, she took Izuku out of school, teaching her son all that he needed to know. She began to practice using her quirk in more combat oriented ways, signing up their little family for some self defense classes.
It started as inconsequential. It was a way for her to protect Izuku. For Izuku to protect himself. She had never planned for it to go this far. She hadn't planned for them to get attacked on the way home. She hadn't planned for the thrill that the fight had given her. Sure, she came out bruised up and Izuku was absolutely terrified, but she had enjoyed fighting this criminal that had preyed on her and her child. That thought terrified her too, but she had thought about it. It wasn't that she enjoyed the fight itself. She enjoyed the fact that she was getting this devil of a criminal off the streets.
And so began Midoriya Inko’s adventures in being a vigilante.
“Izuku, if you don't attack soon, I will and then you're going to be grounded from patrols for the week.” There was a hint of joking in his mother's voice, but Midoriya Izuku knew that his mom was very far from joking. So, in order to avoid the dreaded punishment of being a fifteen year old stuck in their apartment alone at night, Izuku ran to attack, pulling his leg out to catch her side.
The bad part of sparring against his mom instead of some of their accomplices was that she never let him win. She went all out against her son. This means that she caught his leg and threw him over her shoulder like it was nothing. It took all of the air out of his lungs when he hit the ground so he just stayed there for a little bit, laying on the ground and counting the ceiling tiles. Inko, the angelic mother that she is, went to get their towels and water bottles.
“I thought you were going to start using the new moves that Blink taught you?” She went to him, holding out her hand to help him up.
“Well I was, but then my mother decided that she needed to see me practice some parkour moves for over three hours,” his voice was filled with a tired level of sass before he sighed and stretched his body. “Mom, I am exhausted. Can we just go home and sleep? I will get Dabi or Blink to spar with me while you're at work. Okay? I just really want to fucking sleep.” He looked at his mom with his infamous puppy dog eyes that worked to get everybody to do what he wanted.
“Fine. But I also expect a detailed analysis on some of the newer villains, at least two. I need you to also make time to meet up with Naga and Shadow, they have some important news for us, and you're sparring with Dabi. Let's go, Zuku.” Something was bothering her, Izuku could always tell. The big question was, what was it this time that had struck his mom wrong? He couldn't remember any run-ins during their patrol that night that could warrant that kind of reaction. He was terrified for what it could mean. Midoriya Inko never got scared.
By the next day, he had dismissed any worries for what could be going on with his mom. It felt like any regular day: get up, wander to get some breakfast that his mom had prepared before she left for work, and then get started on any assignments that were given to him the night before. It wasn't much different today, actually it was a bit more relaxed, and Izuku was terrified of what that meant. He started on the analysis of some of the newer villains to the crime industry. He completed both of the analyses that he was required to do before he had to meet up with Dabi.
Karasu Kurohane - alias: Crow. Their name was acquired from an anonymous source that claims they are close to Crow. They aren’t too well known, but what is known about them is that their quirk is a mutation type quirk. They have the body of a crow, standing at approximately just under 183 centimeters. I don’t believe they have an identifiable gender or sex. They are somewhere in their mid-20s to early-30s. None of the articles I read mentioned age, gender, or any history.. So far they are only committing petty crimes such as stealing items that are shiny. That appears to be the only factor that goes into what they steal, much like actual crows do.They don't seem to have much of an experience with combat and usually try to escape before any heroes, cops, or rival robbers start showing up. They seem to use their dark feathers as a means to hide within the shadows. Things to look more into: does their quirk affect their speech? If so, are they able to mock familiar sounds that they may have memorized or are said around them? Could this possibly result in them being mute and communicating through JSL? What led them to start stealing things besides the obvious shiny bit? Do they have any other connections besides the ones we talked to in this world? What else does their quirk do for them? Sidenote: it might be worthwhile to get in contact with them. Perhaps they're not too into the world of crime to go back.
Izuku finished off the second analysis and out of both choices, he chose to go with Dabi to spar with. Mostly so he doesn't end up getting yelled at by Blink for not practicing the moves she had taught him in their last spar session. And anyway, it was better that he was going to be sparring with Dabi because he hadn't seen the man (that he called his older brother, the funniest part was that Inko also treated Dabi as a son) in what felt like years, but it had actually been just a few days.
Izuku arrived at the dojo the Midoriya family used for training with a bag hitched over his shoulder. Dabi was already there and leaning against the dojo doors, his dark hair reflecting the sun, exposing the fact that it was obviously dyed. The tall man wore his usual getup of a stitched and worn out leather jacket on top of an incredibly worn white t-shirt, undoubtedly covering up the dark purple scarring and glittering metal that held Dabi together; unwanted memories that Izuku didn't dare bring up again. (The last time he did that it resulted in the charred potion of the Midoriya sofa.) He hadn't caught sight of the green haired teen and Izuku used that to his advantage, sneaking around to the side of the building that Dabi wasn't facing. Izuku was practically silent as he poked the man in the side. In a rage of self-defense, Dabi ignited his bright blue flames and aimed them right at him, almost sending the flames after him.
“Jesus, Zuku! I could’ve killed you, what the fuck were you thinking?” Dabi scolded, before ruffling the messy hair on Izuku's head.
“Honestly? I just wanted to scare you. It worked and I won. Maybe try not getting scared and being more aware of your surroundings, and then you won't almost kill me,” he shrugged and ducked into the building once Dabi tried to grab him.
“You little shit…” Dabi cursed and ran after him. “Get back here so I can beat your ass.” Izuku hid in the room they were going to be using for their spar, getting ready to jump out at Dabi. “Zuku, I swear to god if you are planning on jumping out at me, I will set this place on fire. And Miss Inko has already told you you'd be grounded if this place was lit up again.”
Izuku came out of his hiding spot with a frown. “You wouldn't!” his frown turning into a look of shock.
“I really would. Now get changed. I am not sparring against someone in an Eraserhead t-shirt. How did you even get Inko to get it for you?”
“Oh, easy! Mom doesnt give a shit about what I wear, so she let me get this with only a bit of a fuss. It actually took a lot of convincing her and I'm really happy that she let me get it after all. She may hate working with him and interacting in general, but it doesn't change that he's one of my favorite underground heroes. His quirk is just so interesting and I want to see it in use and maybe ask him some questions about how it really works."
Dabi smiled slightly at the younger boy’s rambling, eventually taking to snapping in front of his face to get him to stop rambling so that they could get to sparring. "If you don't get changed we aren't going to have time in the day left to fight, Zuku. Go change."
Izuku nodded before going to the bag he had set in the corner, taking off his Eraserhead shirt swiftly. One minor issue with him taking off his shirt in the same room as Dabi, was that the older man witnessed the fabric that looked a hell of a lot like a binder before Izuku slipped on a different, easier-to-move-in shirt.
"Please tell me that was not your fucking binder I just saw. Izuku fucking Midoriya. Go fucking change out of that. You know you aren’t supposed to be fighting in your binder." Dabi had the disappointed older brother look. It was enough for Izuku to make a move to go change into the dreaded sports bra.
When the teen came back into the room, he was obviously more uncomfortable in the space and he looked less excited to participate in anything. "I don’t see why I had to change, I’ve sparred in my binder before. Plus I haven’t even been wearing it for that long today, it was fine." He was frowning and it took all of the self control that Dabi had to not cave into what Izuku wanted.
“You know the rules your mom set when she got you that thing. You have to use it right or she will take it away. Try it again and I will tell her.” Dabi said with a very serious tone that called for no bullshit. “Now, wipe the frown off and let’s fight, Zuku.”
Izuku sighed, but got into a fighting position, one of his legs back behind him while his hands were in a ready position, covering his face. Dabi got into a similar position before he made the first move, swinging his left fist, targeting Izuku’s open side.
Izuku's arm flew down to his side, hitting Dabi's fist in a fight to defend himself. He used the momentum of the block to swing a leg out and trip the taller man. Dabi fell to the floor, landing on his side.
Izuku looked down at Dabi with a triumphant smile. “See! I told you-” His celebratory statement ripped from his mouth as he landed on the floor next to Dabi. “You fucker!” He yelled before rolling away from Dabi and standing up and going back into a fighting stance, wiping his mouth.
Dabi chuckled before standing up. “Stay on guard, Zuku.” He got back into a fighting stance and went to attack again, going for the other side that Izuku had left open for an attack.
This time Izuku didn't block and took the hit to the side, curling into his side. “Fuck. It's not over, you burnt nugget!” He stood up straight and started running towards Dabi.
“That isn't that much of an insult as you think it is, Zuku.” Dabi spun to dodge the running attack that was coming his way. He raised his foot and kicked Izuku's back to help propel him further. Izuku went headfirst toward the wall, raising his arms to stop him from hitting the wall so hard. He ended up sliding down the wall, panting from the exertion of all the energy he had put behind the last attack attempt. “Are you done yet?” Dabi lazily started walking towards Izuku, mainly planning on helping the boy up to his feet, so they could take a water break.
Dabi held his hand out for Izuku to take once he had gotten in front of the verdant haired boy. Izuku ignored the hand and slid out past Dabi, already ready to continue their spar. “Come on, Dabi, you really think I'm done now?”
Dabi turned to the ball of energy that was Izuku and raised an eyebrow at his actions. “Seriously, Kid. You’d think after getting your ass beat several times, you’d be done by now.”
“Jokes on you for thinking the fight is over before I've even had the chance to get into the zone of the fight.” Izuku murmured, his voice going quiet as he worked out a strategy to beat Dabi.
It seemed like Dabi’s main attack seemed to be Izuku’s side that he purposefully left open. He didn't protect his head, probably thinking that Izuku was too short to even try to aim to attack that area. Another possible line of attack would be to go for Dabi’s crotch because it is highly sensitive and it is always very left open, but after the last time that Izuku aimed for that area--it ended with the dojo being slightly charred--Izuku didn't dare go for that area again.
Izuku stayed in the fighting stance as Dabi slowly and lazily walked toward Izuku. He wasn't prepared for Izuku’s next however, and it showed when he was left holding his jaw as Izuku rolled to soften his landing. Izuku had run and roundhouse kicked Dabi in the face, spinning in midair, gracefully kicking Dabi’s face and ensuring that hewas effectively thrown off balance.
And off balance Dabi was. He held his jaw and cursed out the viridescent teen quietly. “Shit, Zuku, couldn't you have gone a little easier on my face?”
“Why go easier on your face when it looks like that?” He tilted his head in confusion at Dabi’s question, blatantly teasing Dabi about his scarring. He seemed so serious about his question that Dabi just stared at him, having heard the joke enough by other villains.
“So funny, Zuku. Are you done making fun of something I can’t help yet?” Dabi was still holding his jaw and giving Izuku an irritated, but lazy gaze. It was enough for Izuku to pop one of his infamous innocent smiles that almost burned brighter than Dabi’s flames.
“I think I am ready for a break.” He started going to his bag, grabbing a towel to wipe off the sweat that had started to drip down his face. “Do you think for the next round, you could use your quirk? I want to get some practice with dealing with a different quirk than Blink’s teleportation beacon quirk. It's fun and all, but I’ve been sparring with her long enough that it has become very repetitive and predictable. Please?” The innocent smile that Izuku wore only made it harder for Dabi to say no to using the dangerous quirk against him.
“Fuck, Kid. You make it so hard to say no to you.” Dabi sighed before taking a long drink from the water fountain that sat next to the door to the room. “Fine, but if you get burnt, you have to tell Miss Inko that you demanded to spar with my quirk. I am not facing that woman's wrath when it comes to you getting severely hurt.” He gave Izuku a pointed look and continued to take another drink.
“Sweet! Gives me a chance to analyze your quirk closer too!” He looked excited, and it took everything in Dabi to not question how the teen wasn't totally exhausted from their round of sparring.
“You have way too much energy, Kid.” Dabi said, walking to him and sitting next to Izuku who had pulled his notebook out of his bag and was writing something under Dabi’s entry. “I sure hope it's only you and Miss Inko that has access to that, Zuku.”
“Why? Thinking about joining a secret villain organization that could use all the details I have written about you in this against you?” Izuku asked without looking up from what he was writing.
Dabi just watched silently, not answering the question, leaning back against his hands. He appeared relaxed and nonchalant about Izuku’s question even though Izuku could feel the uneasiness that Dabi was literally radiating with. Being Izuku’s older brother figure did nothing to hide how he was actually feeling from the boy who could read someone with a second of video of fighting. He could tell that something was up with him, but he didn't want to bring it up in fear of ruining the mood of the room.
A few minutes longer of Izuku writing information about Dabi in his notebook filled with knowledge and the younger boy was standing up with a small stretch, extending his arms before a determined look fell upon his features. “Ready for round two yet? Or does the old man need some more time to recover?” Izuku threw the line out and waited for Dabi to hook himself on the challenge.
Izuku could tell that Dabi had been caught in the challenge by the furious fire that lit up Dabi’s piercing blue eyes. “Old Man? Who the fuck are you calling old man, Zuku?” Dabi stood, a blazingly hot blue fire flicking to life in the purple scarred hand. Izuku stared at the flame in amazement and for a brief second, Dabi thought the teenager was absolutely insane. And he knew Izuku was insane when he started running straight toward the hand holding the flame. “You’re fucking crazy.” He threw the flame toward Izuku, fully expecting him to dodge the flame.
Izuku did not dodge the flame and ended up with his shirt sleeve on fire, the flames burning through the fabric of his shirt and burning Izuku's shoulder. He gasped a bit before dramatically falling to his side on the floor to try and get the flame to go out. Izuku rolled around on the floor for a few more seconds as Dabi just observed the boy with an unimpressed but watchful eye. Once it was out, Izuku hopped to his feet and immediately started out on a tangent about the flame, completely ignoring the blistering skin on his shoulder that was exposed from the burnt shirt.
“Okay so I know that your fire obviously burns hotter than regular orange fire because that's just like basic chemistry, but like does that mean that one of your parents would've had super hot regular flames or would both of your parents have regular heated orange flames? Also maybe that's why you have to use such small amounts of flame so you don't burn yourself. Do you know how hot your flames can get?” He paused long enough to get a confused head shake from the taller man. “ Can we do tests so I can see how hot your flames can get? I also wonder if you can melt metal with your flames or maybe just heat up the metal enough so that it's easily bendable? How easily can you melt cheese? ‘Cause like all kinds of cheese melt at different temperatures, so like maybe you can melt only certain cheeses? Oh, I also wonder how fast you can burn wood and how fast an entire forest would burn. Would it spread faster than regular flames spread in a wildfire?” His mumbling grew quieter as he went for his notebook, going to jot down this new information down in it. He was very unaware that Dabi had gone to get the first aid kit while he was rambling, at least until Dabi sat next to him and started wrapping his shoulder as Izuku kept writing.
“Hold still, dumbass. You got burned and it needs to be taken care of before you go meet up with your info people and then somehow inevitably fuck it up even more.” Dabi scolded after Izuku whined at the inability to properly use his arm for the third time since Dabi sat next to him. Izuku just shot him an irritated look before stopping all his movement besides the deep breathing he was doing to stay calm as Dabi cleaned and dressed the--in Izuku's opinion--very minor wound on his shoulder.
“It was fine, it didn't even hurt.” He was pouting as he packed up his things, planning on finishing his notes after he was done with his meeting.
“Whatever. Don't come to me when it leaves a nasty scar, Zuku.” Dabi was leaving the dojo, not waiting for Izuku, who raced to catch up to him.
“I'll just end up looking even cooler!” He didn't even blink as he continued on, ignoring the offended look that Dabi sent his way. “Oh! Also, Mom wants you to come to dinner again. She says you don't have enough parental influence in your life.”
Dabi sighed, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and looking like he wanted to say anything besides what he was going to say. “Of course she does. Listen, Zuku. I… I can’t. I’ve got some things coming up soon that are going to make it so you won't be seeing me for a long time.” He looked at Izuku who had only barely noticed that Dabi wasn't next to him anymore and was looking at Dabi with an incredibly confused face. “I’m not worried about you and Miss Inko finding things out because you will find things out, that's just how you two work. I just want you to know you’ve been the little brother I've missed having around, and no matter what happens, I have really enjoyed being around you and creating chaos with you.”
Izuku just looked confused. “Wait… What- what do you mean? Are you going somewhere? Please tell me you aren’t actually joining a secret villain organization, Dabi.” Izuku suddenly looked worried as his thoughts spiralled through what could actually be going on.
“Keep my information safe, Zuku. Don’t let people see that smart ass notebook of yours.” Dabi gave Izuku a sad smile, his scars stretching awkwardly across his face. “I’m trusting you to not give that away, okay?” He ruffled Izuku’s curls one last time before turning the other way and running from Izuku.
Izuku was just left frozen in the middle of the sidewalk, the burn on his shoulder doing nothing to unfreeze him so he could run after his big brother. He was left wondering if there was any way that he could have stopped Dabi from leaving. If his mom had seen this coming and had them spar today as a last hoorah and a last chance at having someone to look up to.