Chapter Text
Sea spray stung his senses as he crawled onto a mat of debris. Izuku clung to it for life as he bobbed in rough waves. The beating water threatened to push him off at any moment.
Izuku winced as his already battered body was thrust into rocks, the brief pain fell into hope. Rocks meant ground. BlackWhip sprung from his skin, lines thrashing before they felt the rock. Instantly he clung to them, pulling himself up. He dragged himself up the stone, thanking any god he could think of that the rocks were smooth. He fought against the water, crumbling as something crashed atop him. What felt like a metal screech left his ears ringing as he weakly rose from the water. He started to fall back with ringing in his ears, the sound making his head spin, but suddenly something tangled into the threads of BlackWhip. The thing yanked him, forcing him to fumble up the rocks as he was ripped from the water.
Before he could get his footing he was tucked under someone's coat. He coughed past the water in his throat, someone patting him on the back as he did. He held onto them, looking up to thank his apparent savior.
Stain, the hero killer, was looking back at him.
BlackWhip instantly coated his skin as he leapt back. He tightened the black strands over his battered body, determined to not let the villain at his blood.
The villain made no attempt, just looked at him with what seemed to be worry. Stain opened his mouth to speak when someone shrieked.
They both jerked their heads to the sound. Izuku shifted his stance to the screamer, surprised to see another villain, this one cowered against the rocks. Their strangely familiar face contorted with fear. As Izuku looked around he found others' faces with similar looks. Some stumbled back as he turned to them. He began to panic, knowing what ever scared villains was had to be dangerous, but then he saw his teacher, Aizawa, limp in a villain's claws.
He locked eyes with the villain, he recognized them as the animal-like Chimera. A man who fought by Nine's side... The man's ears twitched as Izuku stared him down.
Izuku noticed other, less welcomed, familiar faces.
Overhaul was barely awake, tossed over the shoulder of Chimera.
Wolfram and one of his crew stood close, both braced for a fight.
A blue shimmer caught his eye, he realized it was Flect Turn as the man crawled up the rocky bank. Right behind him was Gentle Criminal, holding tight to another limp body. He was outnumbered and outmatched. Even if they were battered and bruised, he was too. None of them were in shape to fight.
Looking back to Chimera he stepped forward, now praying BlackWhip was keeping the villains from recognizing him. He held out his arms, gesturing to Aizawa.
The villain's nose twitched as he looked down at the limp hero in his talons. A moment and the villain caught his drift. The titan of a man stepped toward him, giving him his unconscious teacher.
Overhaul groaned as Chimera shifted him into his arms, but now the villain didn't have the hero.
Izuku held his teacher close, instantly heading away from the beating waves. The man was frighteningly cold, Izuku could feel him shivering. The villains followed, heads hung as rain pelted them. They didn't seem to be in the mood to fight. Soon they found themselves beneath wreckage. Izuku recognized it as the prison ship they all had been on. Its hull battered and dented. Most of the damage was probably from the storm shoving it onto the shore. Wind whipped at the empty hull, making it groan and whine. Lines that once held life boats cracked like whips, loose in the wind. Izuku swallowed hard, the missing lifeboats showed most had gotten off safely. Those boats were sturdy and stocked full of supplies, in all honestly it was a far better situation in those boats than on land right now.
The ship cracked and roared, Izuku jerked at the sound, finding eyes on Wolfram. As his lacky supported him, the villain wrapped the ship into a safer shape. The hull tore open, digging into the earth to hold steady. It wasn't going anywhere soon. Now it overhung the rocky beach, while it was wet still, it was safe from rain. Wolfram nearly passed out in his colleagues' arms but managed to limp to the new cover with the rest of the group.
Izuku was quick to set a spot for his teacher. He did his best to soften it, collecting the driest scraps of driftwood and sea trash he could. To soften it further, Izuku made a bed of whatever grass and weeds he could find. His teacher's face looked less pained as he laid him out on the makeshift surface.
suddenly a shape approached, Gentle. The man's hair was soaking wet as he held out a wounded villain. Izuku spotted Chimera carrying Overhaul behind him. He even saw a limping Wolfram being led his way. He realized they wanted him to make more 'beds'... Without a word, to tired to speak, they only held out their companions with pleading eyes.
He hesitated for a second but began to build another bed. If the villains saw him as a nurse, that was better than seeing him as a threat. As he began to care for the wounded he could finally take better note of who was there.
The walking; Gentle Criminal/ Tobita Danjuurou, Stain hero killer/ Akaguro Chizome, Flect Turn, Chimera/ Kon Choujuurou.
The wounded; Overhaul/ Kai Chisaki, Eraserhead/Aizawa Shouta, Mummy/Makihara Hoyo, Wolfram.
Then there were two sick villains, he had to keep them from the others as they were a health risk. One was Nobu a lacky under Wolfram. The other was so far gone he couldn't recognize them. The unknown villain died under his watch. They had been all but gutted in the capsizing ship... The villain hadn't stood a chance. He enlisted Wolfram and Stain to help bury him. A metal coffin, so that upon rescue he might be identified.
As he returned to Nobu's side, the villain trembled. Izuku couldn't blame him. He was bleeding from wounds all over. Worst of all the villain had ingested lots of sea water, he was vomiting it constantly. He silently comforted the villain. He began to gently pet the man's green hair, it earned Izuku a glare at first, but the man soon gave in with a weak whimper. Izuku was still afraid his voice might blow his cover. So, he didn't offer words of encouragement despite knowing the man could use them. After a moment Nobu let Izuku check him over. More likely it was a sign of weakness rather than trust.
A rash in the mouth, dry lips and eyes. Clear effects of ingesting sea water. They all had done it, it was impossible not to with the waves. You would surface for a breath, and the sea would jump down your throat with a wave. All of them would be suffering the effects. Even so, they needed something to drink. The salt drained them faster than their exhaustion, dehydration would be fatal if not treated. Izuku looked up at the rain, it came down hard and fast. But it was better than the ocean.
Izuku gave Nobu one last pat on the back before the returned to the walking group. The villains had never taken their eyes off him, not once. They didn't know who he was, but that was better than the other option. If they knew he was a hero, they might see him as competition and kill him. But with them not knowing who he was, he might be able to gain their trust. For now the villains were still wary of him, but Flect and Gentle allowed him to guide them. He took them to the edge of the shelter.
With some trial and error, he got Flect and gentle's quirks working to guide water into a boot. It was disgusting, but it was water. They would have to boil it for it to be safe for drinking.
Wolfram was out now, weakly sleeping. Izuku couldn't risk waking him from healing rest. He came to Overhaul's side, the man grimaced at the offered water, but eventually, his thirst got the best of him. He agreed to try and dry the shrubbery with his quirk.
Without arms, the man had to dig his teeth into the greens to activate his quirk. It was a messy and convoluted process. Someone had to practically hand feed the man the stuff. In the end, even this weak version of his quirk was enough.
The dried grasses burned, making the damp woody shrubs snap and pop as they dried in the heat. Soon he added them to the fire, and it grew warm enough for boiling. Izuku was about to boil the water inside the disgusting boot, but Mummy crawled forward. He wasn't able to warp metal like Wolfram could, but he managed to make a bowl from the red binding his quirk was. By 'controlling' a shard of metal he shaped it into a bowl, one Izuku had to help him hold up. But, he managed to hold water.
And so, they had water. He wouldn't call the overturned ship shelter, however, it would keep the rain away. Now came the problem of food.
How were they going to eat? What would they eat?
As Overhaul tugged a branch off a bush with his teeth, he growled out that exact question.
"Should we just toss some grass in the water and call it a day?" The villain asked as he spat the branch into the fire. The ensuing sparks made Mummy flinch.
The water sloshed, but Izuku kept it inside. He gave Overhaul a glare for that. The man just sat, his breath wheezing as he did.
"It was an idea... I have yet to hear you offer one."
Flect came to the fire, pouring more water into the bowl. "You don't like your bed? Nor your bandage? How about the water, hm?"
"We can't boil it if you keep adding cold water!" Overhaul hissed.
Izuku felt a headache twinge behind his eyes. This was going to be a nightmare...
"Let them rest, they have already done much for us." Flect hissed right back. "You aren't harassing the red one about the shelter, or lack of dead-man at our feet."
"His name is Wolfram!" Nobu piped in from his seat far away.
Flect nodded in acknowledgment before continuing. "Why don't you feed us, hm?"
Overhaul silently raised the Stubbs of his arms. "Can't dumbass."
Izuku groaned, suddenly he saw someone in their 'sickbay' sit up. Wolfram growled as he glared at the arguing pair. "Shut up, will you?"
"Yeah! Shut u-" Nobu snapped his mouth shut as his boss shot him a glare.
Izuku noticed a lack of 'giant animal man' and shot up his head. He missed how people flinched at the movement. He looked around, worried as he didn't spot him inside their drying camp. He looked to Gentle, shaping BlackWhip to make himself resemble the man.
Gentle only looked at him baffled.
"I think he wants the dog," Nobu told the man.
Gentle sighed. "He went into the rain a while ago, I cant see him through it."
Izuku flicked BlackWhip back into place, nodding in response to Gentle. Then he waved the man over, pointing him to the growing bowl of water. The man obeyed, dumping his collected water. He asked what Izuku wanted, and Izuku guided him and his quirk to hold up Mummy's bowl.
Once the water was safe, he began to walk out. Only, he stopped at the edge of the rain. He looked back at his teacher, the man was asleep but clearly wincing in pain as he breathed. He couldn't leave the hero alone with them... What if he awoke and he felt the need to defend himself? The numbers were stacked against him. And several villains were healthier than him too.
Stain sat between the hero and the villains, his gaze firm... He seemed to be guarding the hero against the others. But would he actually do anything if Aizawa was the aggressor?
He let out a long sigh, looking back out to the rain. Footsteps came to his side. He looked over and saw Flect.
"I can look for him, it's not like I can get hurt out there..." The suggestion that Izuku could hang in the air. Flect watched him for an answer, and Izuku nodded. I would stop the man from fighting Overhaul too.