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The hairs on the back of Izuku's neck stand tall, sending a shiver down his spine as he walks down the deserted street.
Goosebumps prickle his skin and he looks around, trying not to betray the anxiety running through his veins. He’s tense; the shopping bags he’s carrying suddenly feel twice as heavy and his muscles clench, preparing for an attack.
A twig snaps behind him, giving Izuku the opportunity to turn around without drawing attention to himself.
The moment his eyes land on a group of seven people following him from about twenty metres away, he presses his lips together and turns his head back around, searching for potential escape routes. Without realising, his pace increases in an attempt to put more distance between him and his pursuers.
Izuku’s been in this situation many times in his life. During middle school, it was commonplace for Kacchan and his cronies to stalk Izuku like this before they had their "fun". They enjoyed picking on useless, quirkless Deku.
He’s not helpless now though.
Despite what the baggy clothes and smaller than average height would suggest, he’s actually accommodated enough muscle mass to successfully bench twice his body weight. He’s nowhere near as scrawny as he once was and, while people still tend to underestimate him, the misconception can be incredibly helpful for taking down villains…
Although, it’s admittedly frustrating that it still makes him a seemingly “easy” target for thugs.
Biting his lip, Izuku pulls his phone out of his pocket, turns the location on and dials a number. The line begins to ring as he presses the device to his ear.
Please, pick up. Please, pick up. Please, pick up-
‘Hey, Midoriya, is this on-? Oh… Hello, you have reached the number of Todoroki Shoto. Please leave a message after the beep, unless you’re the old man, then you can perish.’
Izuku sighs shakily as he listens to the automated message he helped his boyfriend make. He clutches his phone almost desperately, fingertips turning white. He has to improvise, now that he knows Shoto is likely still asleep in Izuku’s dorm. Lucky for him, the thugs behind him don’t know that.
The line beeps.
‘Hey, Sho! It’s me!’ He forces a smile onto his face as he speaks jovially. ‘Where are you? I thought you were picking me up down Taiketsu street? Like we did at Hosu, yeah?’ Izuku pauses for effect but, instead of Shoto’s voice, the only thing he can hear is his own breathing and racing heartbeat, which pounds in his ears. ‘Oh, I see. You’re only two blocks away, I’ll see you soon then! I… I love you.’
With trembling hands, he hangs up, hoping his message reaches Shoto soon. Izuku begins to type out a message to the rest of his class and Aizawa-sensei when suddenly, he hears calm footfalls break out into a run as his pursuers give chase. Instead of scaring them away, Izuku's "phone call" must've merely given them the impression that there's a time restraint on their attack.
Shit…
Fight or flee? It was never a decision.
One for All comes to life from his very core and Izuku turns, his emerald eyes glowing.
‘Todoroki-kuuun!’
Shoto groans and clings to the pillow in his arms. He presses his cheek against the soft material, hoping to drown out whoever is on the other side of the door.
No such luck.
‘Todoroki-kun, I know you’re in there!’ Distantly, he recognises Uraraka’s voice. ‘Deku-kun isn’t back yet with dinner. Can you check on him? We’re all hungry and he’s not replying to me!’
Shoto furrows his eyebrows at that and reaches for his phone. It isn’t like Izuku to ignore his friend’s messages.
Not unless…
The screen is blinding when he unlocks it, but Shoto can’t afford to adjust his vision, not when his notifications show that not only does he have a new voicemail, but his boyfriend just posted his location. He taps the screen and curses the woman on the other side, who speaks so slowly about buttons and how his message was "received today at 17:54" that he just wants to tear his hair out.
When the message finally plays, he hears Izuku’s voice, vibrant and carefree and so so fake. Immediately realising the situation, Shoto bolts out of the room.
‘Like Hosu, yeah?’
Izuku wipes the sweat from his brow and considers the situation.
This isn’t like the movies: the villains don’t attack him one at a time, they use their numbers to their advantage and they attack together.
Luckily for Izuku, he’s witnessed one of the best heroes out there hold off dozens of low-level thugs first-hand. He may not have the same level of control with Blackwhip that Eraserhead has with his capture scarf, but that doesn’t mean he’s incompetant with his second quirk. As a result, two of the men now lay unconscious on the pavement in front of him, while a third is restrained in the air by a black tendril.
The remaining four circle Izuku, hesitant but unwilling to back down.
‘Give up.’ Izuku warns them, mind racing with information.
In any other situation, he would eagerly scribble in his notebook just how impressive each individual gang member's quirk is, but right now, all he can think about are ways to beat them.
The one closest to him has long hair and a beard, which sway in the air at unnatural angles.
He can control the movement of his hair, but he can't lengthen it. Only seems to be useful for close combat and, individually, the strands aren't very strong.
At his side is a woman with metallic knives for fingernails.
Can shoot the weapons made from her own nails, before they regrow again. Seems to prefer long distance attacks, but could be dangerous up close. Does she use her range to defend herself as well as attack?
Positioned on the end of their formation is an orange-faced man with large, steaming hands and bare feet that leave scorch marks with every step he takes.
Can regulate the temperature of his extremities. Looks like he can only raise his temperature from 37°C though. No fire, but he could be hiding it.
Behind the three of them is a lithe man, wearing a smirk as he lets his friends provide the offense. As a result, Izuku isn't sure what his quirk is and that makes him the most dangerous of the remaining four.
'You guys hear that loser?' The aforementioned laughs. 'Acting all high and mighty. Let's put him in his place.'
The hairy man grunts and surges forwards, as the one with detachable knives for nails shoots the sharp objects towards him. Izuku ducks to avoid them, before swiping his leg under the man approaching. Not realising until it's too late, his legs fly out from under him and his face collides with the pavement, gravel rash appearing across his cheek.
Izuku's back on his feet in an instant, as two more knives fly at him. Pulling off an aerial cartwheel, he avoids them both before landing a solid kick to her head, sending her flying. Without a moment to lose, he then leaps into the air and aims his landing towards the one with the scorching extremities. Wrapping his legs around the man’s neck, he twists his body and brings him to the ground.
Their face smacks against the concrete with a thud and Izuku regains his footing once more. The man under Blackwhip's hold thrashes around violently, unable to break free, and Izuku vaguely remembers that the man also showed no signs of a quirk - not a physical one, anyway.
Seeing that he's not an immediate threat, Izuku elects to focus instead on the confident one, who crosses his arms and smirks. There's no outward hints of what his quirk could be and, while it could just be overconfidence, it still makes Izuku nervous, albeit he doesn't show it.
The man seems almost amused at Izuku's futile attempt to guess his quirk, but says nothing. In an effort to gage any sort of information, Izuku opens his mouth to speak.
'Why are you targeting me?'
The man bites.
'Because it's fun.'
Izuku raises an eyebrow at that.
'It's fun watching your friends get beat up?' He asks incredulously. 'It's just a laugh for you?'
'It's not often someone puts up an actual fight and they could do with the training.' The man inspects his fingernails in a blazé manner. 'Usually, they cower-'
'That's not fair!' The man around Blackwhip whimpers pathetically and a flash of irritation crosses the confident one's face. 'You said he was quirkless! Why are we still attacking when he clearly isn't?!'
… What?
'Kuromiya, shut the fuck up and just use your quirk!' His temper finally snaps and, before Izuku can press for answers, the man suddenly disappears.
Izuku's eyes widen at the development and his momentary shock leaves him vulnerable to the solid punch the man leaves when he unexpectedly reappears at his side. However, before Izuku can return the favour, he vanishes again.
Short distance teleportation quirk, based on the way he's glitching around me. It's an impressive quirk, that's for sure, but it must have other limitations.
He hardens his stance, vaguely reminiscent of Kirishima, anticipating another cheap shot. Instead, the thug appears in mid air, grabs the man captured in Blackwhip and the two vanish. They reappear on top of a telephone pole, where the man deposits his friend, before disappearing once more.
Can teleport above ground as well, so I can't use the air to my advantage. That's inconvenient, but I have more eyes than they do. There must be a reason he left Kuromiya up there though. Could it be quirk-related?
His thought process screeches to a halt when the man reappears in front of him, circling him with each activation of his quirk. Releasing more tendrils from his body, Izuku extends them out, like the threads of a spider's web, each one able to sense the area around them. He tries to find a pattern in the man’s movements, but he quickly learns that there isn’t one. It seems that the thug isn’t even thinking about where he’s teleporting.
A body hits Blackwhip and Izuku swipes for him, only for the man to disappear from his grip. He then reappears in front of him and punches him, before vanishing again. Izuku staggers back from the impact, however, the hit on its own is nothing he can’t handle.
There’s a groan from behind him as the hairy villain staggers to his feet, disorientated but eager to rejoin the fray. Izuku sighs, before making a deliberate show of lunging at the villain. Just as he expected, the teleportation villain tries to intercept him, but this time, Izuku is ready.
A smile graces his face as he lands a right-hook to his jaw and sends him flying into his comrade.
That's when the quirk hits him.
The air is sucked out of him and Izuku clutches his chest, wheezing as he frantically tries to fill his lungs. His mind goes blank and Izuku squeezes his eyes shut, helpless as words enter his mind. Words that are cruel and miserable and eerily familiar.
Useless.
Worthless.
A burden.
Quirkless loser.
They're all thoughts and phrases from middle school, and the fact they're drowning Izuku's mind right now is terrifying. He's frozen with fear, back in that old classroom, in the gutter by the road, trapped in a locker while everyone goes home. His ribs hurt from where he's been kicked, arms burning from explosions, face stinging from where he's been punched.
It makes his lungs claw for Oxygen as his breaths come out desperate. Panic consumes his entire being, but every inhale results in pain. He doesn't know what kind of quirk can cause this, but before he can call upon the previous users of One for All for guidance, the air around him becomes blazing.
Izuku forces his eyes open, realising he's curled up on the floor, weighed down by the despair coursing through him. His throat is raw but he doesn't register his screaming. Tears stream down his face and snot dribbles onto his upper lip, but he hardly notices. All he can focus on is a crimson star burning bright around him. He hears shrieks and loud thuds, presumably from the thugs, but the internal screaming is louder and Izuku covers his ears to fruitlessly drown it out.
You're nothing to nobody. You're weak, pathetic Deku.
You want to be a hero? Tough shit, you can't even save yourself.
If you wanna be a hero so bad, there's actually a really good way. If you think you'll have a quirk in your next life, go take a swan dive-
A final smash concludes the fight around him and silence falls. Kuromiya must have been knocked out, because the voices plaguing his mind become lingering echoes as they dissolve into nothingness.
Distantly, Izuku registers the sound of ice crackling around him, but he's too numb to move, exhaustion causing his body to shut down.
The last thing he remembers is his name being called, as a pair of trembling arms wrap around him. They sound scared.
Izuku hopes they feel better soon.
Izuku's eyes flutter open, sticky with sleep. The artificial light is almost blinding and with a groggy groan, he turns his head to the side to hide from it.
As he does, he notices the person sitting beside him in the infirmary. He's slumped over, arms crossed over the bed to act as a pillow for his head, covered with messy red and white hair. One of his hands is extended and desperately holding onto Izuku's own calloused one.
'Sh- Sho- to?' He murmurs lazily, reaching out his free hand and gently placing it on his boyfriend's head.
Shoto mumbles something unintelligible before gazing up at him. When recognition dawns on him, his partner shoots up, eyes wide with both relief and alarm.
'Izuku.' His voice is slightly shaky as Izuku moves his hand from his head to cup his scarred cheek. He leans into the touch and presses a kiss to his palm. 'You're awake. Are you okay? Are you in pain?'
''M fine.' His eyebrows knit together. 'No pain, I promise. What happened?'
Shoto hesitates only for a moment, chewing his lip, before finally answering. He explains that the thugs aren't connected to the League in any way, but they are part of an arising gang of quirk-elitists, who prey on individuals without quirks. One of them had recognised Izuku from middle school and thought he'd make an easy target. That's why they attacked him.
'The moment I got your message, I ran as fast as I could. I managed to restrain the final two you were fighting, but I…' Shoto looks at their joined hands and rubs circles over old scar tissue with his thumb. 'I don't think I'll be able to forget the way you screamed.'
'Shoto…'
'His quirk is to make the victim relive their lowest moment, either emotionally or physically.' He continues, jaw clenched. 'He- I managed to knock him out before he got me, but I was too late to save you. I'm sorry, Izuku.'
Fresh tears gather in the corner of his eyes and Izuku shakes his head.
'You did save me though.' He swallows thickly. 'I should've been stronger. I should've knocked him out before he could use his quirk. It was a rookie mistake and I-'
'Izuku.' Shoto's voice pulls him from the depths of his mind and he finally realises how tight his grip is on his boyfriend, who continues stroking the marred flesh, unfazed. 'You were strong and next time, you'll be even stronger. You're still mastering your quirk - you'll learn and improve from this and that's good. Yeah?'
Izuku closes his eyes as a single tear rolls down his cheek.
'I felt so vulnerable.' He whispers like a confession. 'It was like being in middle school again. The pain, the ridicule. I thought I'd got past it, but I'm still weak, useless-'
'Don't you dare.' Shoto abruptly stands, chair legs scraping against the infirmary floor, and climbs onto the bed. The moment he takes Izuku in his arms, he holds him fiercely; protective. 'They're wrong, they always were. You're not there anymore, you're here with me and it's okay to still hurt. What they used to do to you, no one simply forgets that, but it doesn't make you weak.'
He runs his hand through Izuku's hair and presses a kiss to his forehead. 'Don't let them convince you you're anything less than amazing, because I know you and I know the truth.'
Izuku buries his face in the crook of Shoto's neck, overwhelmed with emotion and exhaustion. His eyes squeeze shut and he clutches the material of his partner's shirt.
'Thank you.' He whispers, because while he doesn't believe it himself, he knows Shoto would never lie to him. 'Where are they now?'
'At the station.' Shoto sighs. 'You need to make a statement, but I told them they can wait.'
'You can't keep picking fights with the police, Shoto-kun.' Izuku smiles despite himself and pokes his chest.
'No one said anything about fighting.' He huffs in response.
'I know what you're like.'
'I'd like to speak to my lawyer.' Shoto deadpans. 'This is a defamation of character.'
Izuku snorts at that, before the two of them fall silent. He sighs, pressing his ear against Shoto as he focuses on that steadily beating heart, warmth radiating from them both.
Several minutes pass, before Izuku pulls away and scratches his cheek.
'Thank you, by the way.' He stares up into dichromatic eyes. 'For coming to my aid. For saving me.'
Shoto smiles adoringly.
'I'll follow you anywhere.'