Work Text:
"You're a failure Izuku."
A tall man said to a small child that was wearing an iron mask that only showed his jade green eyes that were filled with tears. Behind the tall man stood four other kids that watched the man beat the child with no mercy. The oldest of the four was a girl with pink hair and horns that watched the display of brutality in front of her.
She quickly tried to draw her attention away from the scene but the other three laughed at the display while throwing insults at the young boy. His eyes connect to the older girl's gold and black ones. She quickly turned away and walked out of the dark damp dungeon they were in, leaving the young boy to be the subject of the beatings and insults.
Soon the sound of punches and kicks landing was replaced by the quiet sobbing of the young boy named Izuku. He was sitting in a cell with the iron mask covering most of his face while wearing a torn and tattered green shirt with the number three on it. His cries dared not to get too loud or else he would have to face another beating from his siblings and father. He sat in the corner of the cell that he was thrown into, the faint sound of a door being opened made Izuku jump.
The sound of quick footsteps caused Izuku to flinch, thinking that one of his brothers had decided to beat him up so Izuku decided to curl up into a ball as if that would somehow soften the potential blows that he would receive soon. He heard the sound of someone fumbling with the lock for a while before they finally got the cell door open. Izuku prepared for the hits to land but they never came even though the person entered the dungeon and walked over to him.
Izuku was too scared to look up at the person standing over him. The iron mask covering his face felt more suffocating than normal but then after the sound of keys jingling again the mask fell off his face revealing his curly green hair along his diamond shaped freckles. Izuku was shocked when he realized that someone had taken the mask off of him. He brought his hands up to his face and began touching his face, he soon realized that he wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating, and he was finally freed from that detestable mask.
Izuku's happiness almost vanished as he looked at his savior and he saw that it was his older sister Mina. She stood in complete silence all while staring at Izuku, he tried to talk but he was cut off as she grabbed his arm and started to drag him out of his cell.
Izuku thought she was bringing him to her father or brothers so naturally he started to tear up but before he could cry Mina slapped her hand over his mouth. She gave him a soft look as she stopped dragging him and pulled him to his feet.
"Come on Izuku, follow me." Mina said in a soft voice as she wiped away his tears with her thumb. Izuku knew that Mina was always nicer to him than his brothers or Father, but this was a new side of her personality, her sweet smile made him feel something that he hasn't felt in years.
Mina took his hand into her, and they began to walk towards a large wooden door that must've been an exit. Mina looked around for a bit before pushing the door open to reveal a bland seaside with a ship that had people loading some crates onto it. Mina got down on her knee and held Izuku's face. "Listen Izuku, I want you to run to that ship and don't look back." Mina said as she stared into Izuku's jade green eyes as he looked at her confused.
"W-Wait w-what? No, I can't, Father would be angry." Izuku said as he stood there shivering like a leaf, obviously scared and confused. Mina looked desperate as she looked back to see the workers were almost done bringing the goods onto the ship.
"Look Izu, you don't need to stay here. Go with them please, I promised Mom that I would help you so please just run away." Mina said quickly as she hugged Izuku tightly while he stood there motionless. Izuku quietly thought about the situation that was currently happening, he was being given a chance to get away from all the abuse he had to endure for years but he still couldn't help but feel bad for some reason.
He thought about it more and finally made his decision as he wrapped his arms tightly around his older sister. He released her from the hug and began to walk in the direction of the ship, he turned back to his sister with a small smile before running towards the ship.
"Thank you Mina-nee."
A young man woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring in his room, he groaned and reached over to the table next to his bed to turn off the annoying sound. He then ruffled his curly green hair as he slowly got out of his bed with a yawn.
The room he was in had many posters of heroes, bands, and famous chefs. He also had a stack of cookbooks under his desk along with some textbooks. He walked over to his closet and looked through the multiple clothing he had. After looking through them for a bit he finally picked out a green dress shirt along with a black blazer and black pants.
He laid them on his freshly made bed as he decided to take a shower before he got ready for work. He grabbed his towel along with his basic toiletries such as shampoo, lotion, and soap. He walked over to his door and made his way to the bathroom; he looked in the mirror and noticed that he had some stubble growing. Normally he would just shave it off and be done but this time he decided to skip shaving to take a quick shower instead.
As he felt the hot water rush over his hair, his thoughts were mostly about what dish to make but in the back of mind was the memory of him running away from his home all those years ago. Even though it happened 13 years ago, the moment still lives fresh in his mind. He shook his head and finished his shower; he stepped out the bathroom wrapped in his towel. He entered his room and finally got finished getting ready for the day ahead.
He walked out his room and made his way towards the staircase that led down the restaurant that he worked at. He walked into the kitchen only to be greeted by the scent of multiple chefs preparing different dishes and a kick to his head from an older blonde man.
"What the hell do you think you're doing coming to work 5 minutes late!?" The older man yelled as the other chefs in the kitchen snickered while the young man grumbled as he rubbed the spot where he was kicked. "Ow! I'm only five minutes late, Zeff-San!" The young man told Zeff, the head chef and owner of the floating restaurant named The Baratie.
As the head chef of Baratie, Zeff is an elderly-looking man who still retains his blonde-colored hair from his youth, which he keeps underneath his extra-long chef's hat. He has a considerably long mustache, and a well-kept beard. He wears his chef's uniform, with a blue ascot, and white apron. Also, since he lost his right leg, he has a peg leg, and he seems to have no trouble walking or kicking with it.
"Listen Izuku, you cannot respect someone but disrespect their time." Zeff said as the chefs in the kitchen nodded or verbally agreed. Izuku nodded and then made his way over to his own station and started preparing some vegetables. Zeff walked around the kitchen observing the different dishes that were being prepared, each chef was either praised or smacked for messing up a dish. Once Zeff got to Izuku he saw that he was making the dish with elite levels of precision and speed.
Izuku was so focused on cooking that he didn't notice Zeff looking over his shoulder. Zeff decided to test him even further by swinging his peg leg at the back of Izuku's head. Izuku was quick to react as he dodged the kick and countered with a swift kick of his own close to Zeff's temple but stopping before the kick connected. "Still as quick as ever, Izuku." Zeff said as Izuku slowly lowered his leg with an apologetic look. "S-Sorry Zeff-San. It was on instinct." Izuku said as he turned his attention back to the dish he was making.
"Don't worry kid, how about you carry these orders to the customers. You need to practice that as well." Zeff said as he took over for Izuku. Izuku sighed and grabbed a few orders and walked out the kitchen. Izuku looked at the busy and vibrant atmosphere in the restaurant as he made his way to the tables dropping off the multiple orders. Soon he reached a table with a young man with black hair chatting with a young woman with purple hair.
"Soup for the gentleman and Shrimp Tempura salad for the lady." Izuku said as he placed the two dishes onto the table while giving the two a small smile. The young lady smiled back causing the young man to glare at Izuku who had walked off to speak to another customer, he decided to get back at him while impressing the lady he was with.
"Wow Hiro, this place is amazing. And the customer service is great." The young lady said as she took a bite of her Shrimp Tempura. The young man known as Hiro smiled even though he was pissed. "Anything for you Jirou. This restaurant is one of the best I know though the food is sub par." Hiro said as he reached into his pocket and grabbed a fake fly that he brought for a situation just like this.
He swiftly placed the fly into his bowl with a wicked smirk. Just at that moment Izuku was walking nearby and Hiro took this moment and set his plan in motion by calling Izuku over which confused Jirou. "Is there anything I can do for you two?" Izuku asked politely as Hiro looked at him with disgust as he pointed at the soup. "Is this how you treat your valued customers!?" He yelled at this point Hiro felt like he won.
Whenever he pulled this little scam any waiter or waitress would immediately bring the food back and give him a free meal. So far, he's done it about thirty different times, and it worked perfectly every time. Izuku examined the scene in front of him with a blank expression on his face. It was quite obvious that the fly was fake, anyone with a brain would've known that. "Sir, please only complain about actual problems with the food, not fake ones." Izuku said as he turned to Jirou and bowed and walked off.
Hiro's smug look from earlier disappeared completely as Izuku turned away. 'Did he just ignore me!?' Hiro thought as he slammed his hands on the table and started screaming at Izuku.
"So that's the quality of the food that you serve at this dump!? There's an insect in my soup yet you play it off as a 'minor problem', what kind of service is that?!" Hiro yelled, catching the attention of everyone in the restaurant with Jirou included. Now Izuku was annoyed, this guy was disrupting the other customers with his childish behavior. Izuku calmly walked back to the table with a smile to hide his annoyance, he now stood face to face with Hiro to try and calm him down, but Hiro wasn't having it.
He smirked as he grabbed the bowl of soup and threw the contents of the bowl onto Izuku's shoes and proceeded to spit on Izuku's suit. The next few seconds were a blur as Izuku's foot connected with Hiro's face, sending him flying back into his seat. Hiro was dazed for a few seconds before jumping back up with a crazed smirk on his face as he reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out a pair of brass knuckles. He lunged at Izuku who dodged his careless punches easily, a small crowd began to gather to watch the small brawl unfold.
Zeff and the other chefs heard the commotion from inside the kitchen. Zeff quickly realized what the noise was and ran out of the kitchen to find the large crowd, he swiftly made his way through the crowd until he made his way to the front to see the scene that was unfolding.
Izuku was holding Hiro by his bloodied face as his hands hung almost lifelessly beside him. Izuku had a fierce look on his face as he dropped Hiro's unconscious body on the floor. He then turned to Jirou and bowed without saying a word before walking away. "Hey kid get ba-" One of the chefs named Patty said before being interrupted by Zeff who places his hand on the other chef's shoulder before shaking his head.
Izuku immediately sighed as he walked out onto the outdoor dining area of the restaurant. He kept walking until he reached the railing that overlooked the ocean view of the dining area.
He let out a sigh as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his blazer, he brought the cigarette to his mouth and lit it. He stared out at the sun as clouds began to roll in and the roar of thunder was heard, Izuku exhaled some smoke as thoughts from his early life came at him like a rush of traffic.
"I really am a failure."