Work Text:
Prompt: "Sorry"
Warnings: Character Death, Blood, injury.
...
Izuku pressed his hand tight against his side knowing it was no use. The wound was too deep. It wouldn't be long before he bled out. Maybe twenty or thirty minutes unless by some miracle he got to a hospital. Not that they would help him even as he was dying. Being quirkless meant he would be the last to be treated.
Glancing over he saw that thankfully the detective was still breathing. Unconscious but breathing. That was good. It meant the injuries he sustained were worth it. If they both died then there would be no one to tell that there was an S-Rank villain loose in the city. Though it was a shame he would not be there to help catch him. Hopefully, they could get Eraser on the scene to stop that quirk.
Quake had opened up a hole in the ground under Tsukauchi. He blamed the detective for his time in jail. Izuku lunged after the falling Tsukauchi who hit his head at some point. Sharp rocks all along the fall had torn into Izuku as he protected the detective. Tsukauchi had a few scrapes and likely more than a few bruises but he wasn't nearly as bad as the vigilante.
Above them, Izuku could see the dim light of a streetlamp. It wouldn't be enough to illuminate him. As soon as Quake was in custody heroes and police would be down to rescue them. Or rather rescue Tsukauchi.
Grey began to make its way around the edges of his vision. His already labored breathing was becoming worse. He wished he could see Mei once more. She was the first person who saw him as more than a liability. At least he wished he could say goodbye and thank her for being his friend.
Thank her and Power Loader sensei. Strange how the first teachers to treat him like a person were at UA. He would miss the tea time talks he had with Nezu. The rat was an interesting one.
Wait Nezu. Hadn't the rat done something to his phone? He had borrowed a few days after the USJ incident. With shaking hands he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Like he jacket and pants it was covered in blood but it still worked. And there was a signal.
Hesitantly he dialed Nezu's number and waited for it. The rat picked up on the second ring, "Midoriya? What are you doing calling so late?"
Izuku coughed wetly, "Sorry for the hour, Principal Nezu but I'm in some trouble. Are you keeping up with the news tonight?"
"I am," came the troubled reply, "What's happening? Where are you?"
Izuku chuckled mirthlessly, "You haven't figured it out, Nezu? Out of everyone I have worked with I thought it would have been you."
"What?"
"Tell Tsukauchi," Izuku coughed and this time blood came up, "Tell him it wasn't his fault."
Izuku heard Nezu suck in a breath, "No."
There was a groan from where he left Tsukauchi. There was a rustling as the detective sat up.
Into the phone, Izuku whispered, "Thank you, Nezu. For everything," Then he disconnected the call and louder to Tsukauchi, "Try not to move around too much detective. I was able to stop you from being seriously injured but you still took a nasty hit to your head."
"Zero?" Groggily questioned Tsukauchi, "What happened?"
Izuku smiled sadly, "Quake opened the ground beneath your feet. He was hoping that he could distract the heroes using you."
Tsukauchi snorted, "Very few heroes care about the police during an active fight. What happened after I fell?"
There were scraping sounds as the detective moved around. He could see the shadows shifting about as he leaned against the wall. Above them, Izuku could hear the rescuers beginning to come for them. Two lights were shown no doubt headlamps.
Izuku smiled despite Tsukauchi not being able to see it, "I jumped in after you. I was able to protect you for the most part but you still hit your head."
Tsukauchi made a humming sound. This was more than he spoke to the detective in the entire time they had known each other. The man wasn't a bad person. In fact, he was probably the kindest person Izuku had known on the force.
"Seems I owe you then," mused Tsukauchi, "Are you well?"
Ignoring the question Izuku said, "You don't owe me, anything detective. I protect anyone I can. That includes police and heroes."
Above them, there was the sound of someone repelling down. Looking up Izuku could see two men coming down. He was surprised to recognize one as Eraser. Shouldn't the hero be with the villain takedown team?
Eraser dropped lightly onto the stone his dark eyes immediately finding Izuku in the light of his headlamp. His mouth had been open no doubt to berate him for his stupidity. The moment he noticed Izuku's side was obvious. Dark eyes went wide with shock and his jaw unhinged itself.
The other rescuer was already checking over Tsukauchi. Their bodies blocked the detective's view of Izuku. At that moment Izuku also noticed he was cold. He shouldn't be cold it was summer. What... oh. Looking down he saw how large the puddle of blood had become.
Eraser growled, "Damn it, Zero! Why are you always so reckless?"
Izuku smiled softly as he pulled down his mask and threw back his hood. This was the end. There was no use hiding anymore. The wound in his side was too great.
Eraser gasped, "You! But..."
"Sorry," he said sincerely then coughed wetly staining his hand further red, "It doesn't seem like I'll be able to keep going."
"What do you mean, Zero?" That was Tsukauchi frantic even as the rescuer pulled to indicate it was time to pull them up.
"If only one of us could survive I would not hesitate to choose you or Eraser."
Tsukauchi was finally past the rescuer. His eyes went wide then there was the familiar wetness of tears.
"No," he denied, "It can't be. All of this time. We can still save you!"
The rescuer looked slightly peeved until he too saw Izuku's condition. In an instant, he saw the confirmation. He was too far gone even for the best medical help. Both of the men who had chased him for years saw the look. Eraser's jaw tightened and his shoulders hunched.
The world decided to do a deep fade in and out in that moment. He didn't have much time left.
"Don't blame yourselves," he ordered, "I chose... my path."
Eraser bent down so that he was eye-level with Izuku. He asked, "Your Izuku Midoriya right? One of Power Loader's chaos children?"
Izuku smiled weakly as he said, "You'll have to thank him for me. Thank him and Nezu. I am sorry, Eraser."
"It's okay kid " softly said Eraser, "You did what you could."
"Help me get him up," ordered the other rescuer, "If Zero is going to die it won't be down here. He has done too much for this city."
Gently they pulled him up and Izuku whimpered. They put him in a rescue harness and had it attached to Eraser's. The last thing he remembered was Eraser's gentle harm keeping ahold of him.