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Midoriya knew to always expect the unexpected, even in the most foreseen circumstances. When Shinso and Midoriya were tasked to track down a low-time villain during their scheduled patrol, they expected it to be a quick and easy apprehension. With both Shinso and Midoriya’s ingenuity, they could capture this villain in no time and bring him to justice.
It all began as normal. The two scouted the region for any signs of the villain, cognizant of any clues of either his location or his quirk usage. But primarily his quirk usage.
They were advised of his quirk. It was a de-aging quirk. One that was activated by touch. This guy has been able to commit his crimes by transforming those around them into children or even babies. Through his actions, he has been able to get away. He hasn’t done much other than steal a few convenience stores, but still, a crime is a crime.
Knowing his streak, the two searched the nearby convenience stores, hoping to find their culprit but they couldn’t find anything.
The end of their patrol was coming, and nothing came of their search that is until a particular noise caught Shinso’s attention.
“I hear something.” He gazed at the entrance of an alleyway. He listened closely. Then a screeching sound of a child was heard. Without a moment of hesitation, Shinso sprang into action and ran towards the location.
“Shinso! Wait!” Midoriya yelped.
The teenager ran at astronomical speeds, not stopping even with Midoriya’s yells to stop.
Quickly, he turned on full-cowling and rushed over to Shinso who was using his capture weapon as a means to swiftly swing himself closer to his location. Eventually, he turned the corner of the alleyway, disappearing into the darkened void.
Midoriya quickly turned the same corner Shinso did, but oddly, Shinso was not there.
“Huh?” Midoriya wondered, confused.
Midoriya rubbed his eyes, seeing if his eyes were playing tricks on him. But when they focused, it was clear to him. Shinso was gone.
Panicked, Midoriya called out for him, “Shinso! Where are you?!”
Silence.
Midoriya's heart was thumping loudly, terrified that something might’ve happened to his classmate, that the scream was nothing but a way to lure him in.
“Shinso!!”
Suddenly, a whimper was heard. But this one was different than the high-pitched scream they heard.
Frantically, Midoriya searched the area, not only for his classmate but for the owner of the cries. It sounded like a child. If a kid was here, Midoriya needed to find them and take them somewhere safe, this was no place for a child to be hanging around in.
Midoriya carefully searched the area. Suddenly, the whimper got louder and closer. He gazed at a garbage container, where the whimpers were resonating the loudest.
“Hey,” Midoriya slowly approached the container, “Are you okay? I’m a hero, I’m here to—”
But once he peeked around the corner, his eyes widened in shock.
The whimpers stopped. As soon as the kid locked his gaze with the green-haired teenager, he cowered onto the bricked wall, terrified.
“W-who are you? Are you here to take me back?” He asked, petrified.
Midoriya could not believe what he was witnessing. His messy lavender hair flew effortlessly among the calm breeze and his teary purple eyes gazed at the teenager, terrified. He was wearing a simple All Might logoed red shirt and navy shorts with Velcro tennis shoes. Upon seeing his appearance, Midoriya knew in an instant who this was.
“Sh-Shinso?” Midoriya asked, bewildered.
The de-aging quirk. The guy was here. He attacked Shinso and ran away.
At the mention of his name, the kid panicked. He got up and attempted to run, but before he could, his legs buckled and he fell back down.
“Are you okay!” Midoriya asked, kneeling beside the young boy, “Here, let me—”
He reached out to comfort the boy but when he did, the kid’s expression morphed into one of pure horror. Midoriya stopped, disturbed by his reaction.
“Please, don’t—hurt me. I’m sorry what I did—I don’t want that thing again. Please don’t put that thing on me, p-please.” Shinso begged.
The thing?
“What thing?” Midoriya asked, keeping his voice calm and soothing, but his eyes darkened with worry.
Shinso’s eyes were brimming with tears, wobbling with anxiety.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.” Midoriya added noticing the young boy’s hesitation, “It’s okay.” He smiled.
Shinso hesitated but eventually, he relaxed a little but still tense. Then, he spoke, “That thing they put around my mouth that prevents me from talking. It hurts, it hurts a lot. They do it whenever I talk. They say my voice is cursed and if I talk, I get punished.”
Midoriya was appalled by what he just heard.
“Ms. Agata puts it on me when I’ve been bad. I’m not allowed to eat when I have it on and I’m not allowed to see the other kids in my home.” Shinso’s pleading eyes gazed at Midoriya, “Please don’t tell her I’m here! Heroes always do and I get punished.”
Then, the small boy began to cry, “I’m sorry I was born this way! Mom and Dad hate me because of who I am and now I’m with her. I don’t want this quirk! I’m a mistake. I just want my mommy and daddy again.”
Midoriya couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew Shinso was someone who didn’t like to talk about himself, especially his past. He knew he was raised in a foster home but that’s it. Whenever they as a class talked about their fondest memories, Shinso almost always remained quiet. They never pushed him to speak, they knew that some people’s pasts are touchy subjects for them.
He understood that…he knows about many moments from his past that he would rather forget and never remember.
But hearing this, hearing how he was treated as a kid is nothing that he expected. This was beyond awful.
He is looking at a wounded kid. A traumatized child from a distant past. He is here, in plain sight, telling him his story and showing his clear anguish.
The past is what it is…the past. It is a ghost of what once was. But he is watching the past, Shinso’s past self is sitting right before him in clear daylight, absolutely terrified of even a hero.
A hero.
The ones who are supposed to protect a child, especially one like him.
“I just want to be normal, but Ms. Agata keeps telling me I am a villain. But I’m not a villain! I just want to—I just want to play with everyone else and not worry about the thing.” Shinso looked at Midoriya, desperately, “You’re a hero, r-right?”
Midoriya was hesitant. Heroes have failed this small kid by taking him back to the place that was hurting him. Even if the foster home was no longer there, in his mind it was still alive and real.
But he wasn’t like them. He would never do that to a child, especially one who was hurting. Even if this Shinso was just a product of a quirk, this was still a kid who was in pain, who was scared. So, he smiled and reached out his hand.
“I am a hero, but I’m a good hero. I promise I won’t let her or anyone else hurt you.”
Shinso looked at him and then looked at his hand. Unlike the other heroes, he radiated kindness and warmth. But despite being only 6 years old, he knew when someone had gone through something traumatic like him. The scars in his arms and the one on his face, he knew he must’ve gone through something both terrifying and heart-wrenching.
Maybe he’ll understand. Maybe this hero will help him because he knows.
“Promise?” Shinso asked, his voice quivering.
Midoriya nodded, “I promise.”
Then the kid grabbed his hand. Midoriya squeezed and gently pushed him up to standing.
“Doing good?” Midoriya asked.
Shinso nodded, keeping his hand tightly on the teenager’s hand.
“Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe.” Slowly, Midoriya guided the small child out of the alleyway and into the streets.
They walked. His destination, UA. He knew the quirk would wear off after a few hours, but until then he needed to keep Shinso safe.
This was going to be fun to explain to his classmates, especially Aizawa.
Although one thing plagued Midoriya’s mind, he hated knowing that he let the villain get away. But his classmates take priority. He couldn’t leave him alone, especially not in that state. So, he let him run so he could take care of his classmate who was clearly not in the mental and physical condition to fend for himself.
As they continued their trek, Midoriya looked at the small boy, disturbed by how sad he looked. He gazed at his All Might shirt and spoke, “I like your shirt. Do you like All Might?”
The kid looked at him, “Um…yeah, I do.”
Midoriya chuckled, “I do too. You know, I actually know him.”
The kid’s eyes glistened in surprise, “You do?!”
“Yup! I also have a bunch of figures and posters. Would you like to see them?”
Shinso’s expression switched from sadness and clear misery to one of joyfulness and happiness. Emotions that a child should experience. One that he rarely sees even from the present Shinso.
“Yes! I would love to see it!” Shinso spouted in excitement.
“Alright then, I will show you then!” Midoriya said with a bright smile.
“What’s—your name Mr. Hero?” Shinso asked.
“Oh, yeah. I’m Deku.”
“Deku?” Shinso pondered, “Thank you so much, hero Deku!”
Midoriya smiled, “Of course, Shinso.”
I promise, Midoriya thought as they continued their walk, I will never let anyone hurt you like that ever again.