Work Text:
Izuku Midoriya, also known as the Symbol of Peace, was running out of time, quite literally, he thought.
'Shit…' His muscles contracted and quite literally burned him. Well, not exactly true but it sure felt like it. 'I overestimated myself, again. But nevertheless I had to do it. That kid was going to die if I hadn't interfered.'
Izuku glanced at the kid that was dangling from his leg. He twisted his strained expression and attempted to smile but it turned out more like a grimace. 'How on earth do I get myself into situations like this?'
Later that day….
"Alrighty, see ya later Shouto!" Izuku shouted as he prepared to jump before someone recognized him and he was bombarded. Izuku chuckled when he saw his best friend scowling at him in betrayal at leaving him behind. "Have fun!"
The crowd that managed to see him before he was gone immediately turned toward his friend, squealing. He pushed against the wall of a building and leaped toward a building's roof. Stopping to rest for a moment, Izuku landed harshly and stumbled. He automatically caught himself with his arm and regretted it as soon as his arm started to burn. He powered down OFA and instantly felt relief.
"Ah, now that was a rough moment!" Izuku chuckled as he slowly stood up and pondered his current situation. He looked over the edge and looked down. 'Oh yeah, how do I get down now?'
After Izuku broke the lock on the roof door(that was thankfully present), apologized to the owner, and paid for the damage nervously, he wiped his brow in relief. Now that he was out of the building and on the streets, Izuku looked around. 'Now, what was I going to do again…? Oh! Yeah, I'm supposed to buy groceries today!'
Distracted by his hero work today, Izuku had shoved it into the back of his mind and had forgotten about it, completely. He pulled his hoodie up to avoid people that might recognize him and looked for a grocery store nearby. Grabbing his phone for the shopping list that he'd written the day before, he muttered to himself about the villain attacks today. Analysis was an old hobby of his and it had come handy during his hero career. Especially helpful when he had to change his whole style of fighting. 'Now that was an interesting experience.'
To this day people wonder and theorize why the number 1 hero suddenly changed his style to one that heavily used legs instead of the normal fighting style he had been using for years that utilized his arms for powerful punches. Izuku bitterly looked at his arms. Right now they were covered but Izuku knew the scars that lay beyond it by heart. Anyways! He shouldn't be focusing on depressing stuff like this!
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and went into the first grocery store he spotted. Izuku hummed as he looked through the store, retrieving each item on his list. Once he placed the last item in his casket; a carton of milk, he allowed himself to relax. 'There, that should be enough for now.'
He took out his phone while waiting in line at the register, skimming through an article about a rescue operation that happened in rural Kyoto a few days ago. Apparently his friend Uravity had worked alongside a hero he hadn't heard of before called Vibrant that had the power to vibrate anything. They had led the rescue operation to save people that had gotten stuck when a landslide hit suddenly. Eyebrows creased in worry, he scrolled further down the article, hoping to see no casualties. 'Hopefully no one was severely injured.'
Not that he doubted Uraraka and Vibrant’s skill of course, but even the best specialized rescue heroes needed help with their work. Hero work was a tough job after all. He ignored that small voice in his head that said that he needed help sometimes too.
Izuku distantly heard someone calling for his attention but he was too immersed in muttering his thoughts aloud and analyzing Vibrant's quirk.
'That quirk has so many applications, not a quirk suitable for direct fights but a really useful one nonetheless. Though Vibrant probably deals with a lot of property damage with his quirk... A rescue hero huh? Hm… although I respect his decision to become a rescue hero, I’m not entirely sure if that’s the most suitable field for him. That quirk would be very useful in separating groups, and causing distractions and confusing people. He would definitely thrive as a support hero, Hitoshi would be interested to have a coworker in underground heroics.’ Izuku could imagine how helpful Vibrant would be in underground operations and raids-
"Sir? This is your receipt," the bored looking cashier said monotonously.
Izuku startled, laughed and apologized. He grabbed his wallet and paid for his items.
"Thank you, come again."
Izuku muttered a quick thanks in response before he grabbed the two bags and left the store. He turned on his phone and continued reading the article. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured and it all went well in the end.
Izuku sighed in relief, he'd been busy with a villain in Tokyo while it had happened. As Izuku searched for articles about Vibrant and prepared to analyze them, he felt a rush of wind hit him as a villain(?) ran by without glancing behind him, a bag of leaking money in hand.
"Hey, when will these crimes ever end? It’s been happening so often recently," A nearby civilian commented exasperatedly.
Izuku pulled his hoodie back up and despite his body’s protests, he turned on OFA and felt the familiar energy course through his veins; faint green lightning appeared, dancing on his skin.
"Don't worry, I'll stop them!" He declared determinedly and smiled brightly. The famous smile that reassured the surrounding civilians instantly.
"No way! It's actually Deku!"
"Wait really?"
"That’s the Symbol of Peace!"
As nearby people gasped, Izuku leaped after the villain, making sure he didn't go beyond his limits. He stopped at an intersection and looked around. 'Where did that guy go? There!' Izuku followed the trail of slime and caught up with the villain.
"Stop now, villain!" Izuku shouted. He desperately hoped that the villain would stand down, since he didn't think he had the energy in him to fight someone made of slime. But as expected the guy cursed angrily and didn't stand down. 'When was the last time a villain actually listened?' Izuku sighed and despite his body protesting, he increased the amount of OFA in his right leg to 45%.
Just when he prepared to scatter this guy, he unexpectedly jumped down a sewer hole. Although he probably should have expected that, the guy is made of slime after all. Probably has experience navigating the sewers, especially if this wasn’t his first time robbing some place.
Izuku slowed down and stopped at the edge of the sewer hole. For the next 10 minutes of his life, he tried to navigate the city sewer system. And yes it was as disgusting as it sounded. He pinched his nose and had to constantly regulate OFA, putting more strain onto his already failing body.
Just as he was about to try to look for the villain above ground, he heard muffled yells and immediately headed toward the sewer hole where it came from, bursting through it. Now that he was looking at it closely, it was obvious that the villain had escaped through that one. Izuku looked around in the air, quickly analyzed the situation and then-
"NEVADA SMASH!"
With a single kick the villain was blown away, scattered and despite his attempt to be careful the kid suffocating in the villain’s grasp was knocked away as well.
Shit. He cursed to himself. He hadn't put in that much power in the hit, had he?
Izuku deactivated OFA, instantly stumbled, and almost fell over. He gritted his teeth. 'Come on, Izuku! This is nothing! You've had much worse things happen to you.' He stood, rushing over to the kid that was currently unconscious because of his slowness.
'He was almost too late-' Izuku shook his head and let out a sign of relief when he checked the kid's pulse and it was fine. Now all he had to do was wake the kid up, send him to a hospital if there were injuries and leave. Izuku looked around and spotted a notebook. 'Might appreciate a signature as well.' He grabbed the notebook and noticed the name that was written on the cover. 'Toshinori Yagi, huh.'
He quickly used a pen that had fallen out of what seemed to be his school bag and signed the notebook. Izuku closed the notebook with a snap, distantly noting that it was full of hero notes and turned his attention to the unconscious boy.
---
Toshinori Yagi wasn't having a great day and he didn't appreciate someone slapping him. So still not fully woken up, he made a mistake that would haunt him forever. He slapped away a glove? And accidentally headbutted the person that was slapping him. Which on a closer look was the Symbol of Peace, Deku. Oops.
"AAAAAA-"