Chapter Text
Izuku was walking alone along the street. He had been out so long just wandering that he could even see the beginning of the sunrise. The cold air felt refreshing on his face and he enjoyed the silence of the night.
His late-night strolls were his favorite part of the day. The dark had never scared him, he found a certain kind of comfort in it. No one could see him, and he didn’t have to worry about what people thought of him.
There was always the risk of muggers this late, or rather, this early in the morning. They all left him alone however when they figured out, he had nothing of worth on him. It was just him and his clothes. He didn’t even own a phone.
Izuku headed down a familiar street with the all too familiar shop. He always paid the owner a visit when he was out at night. The owner was among a select few who liked Izuku despite his... affliction.
The small bell over the door jingled as he opened it. The light from inside the shop was sharp on his eyes for a few seconds but he quickly got used to it.
“Izuku!” the shop owner greeted from his place behind the counter.
“Hello Mr. Hoga,” Izuku said as Hoga came out from behind the counter and gave Izuku a big hug before releasing him.
“Out this late at night again?”
He said it as a reprimand but there was no anger behind his words and Izuku only nodded in answer.
Izuku’s gaze subconsciously moved towards the shelves with food. He could feel his stomach growl at the thought of food. Hoga also seemed to have noticed Izuku’s gaze of longing and smiled sadly.
“If you want something to eat you are always free to take whatever you want. They give you far too little at that orphanage.”
“Thank you, Mr Hoga,” Izuku said as he bowed his head in thanks. “I can’t stay for too long. I have to be back before they notice I snuck out again.”
“Of course, I understand.”
Izuku said goodbye before he walked to one of the shelves with food. He carefully took a few powerbars and put them in his pocket. He knew Hoga didn’t care that he took what he wanted from the shelves, but he still felt guilty. He had tried to give money a few times, but he hadn’t accepted them.
When Izuku exited the shop, he was greeted by cold air again. He took one deep breath before he headed towards the orphanage again.
As he took out one of the power bars and started ripping the paper, he saw a dark shadow land behind him. When he turned around, he was met with a man dressed in dark clothes with a white scarf around his neck. He immediately recognized him as the hero Eraserhead.
“Not going to pay for that?” Eraserhead asked as he gestured towards the powerbar.
Izuku quickly put it back in his pocket before looking back at the hero again. He felt that familiar feeling of guilt wash over him again. He hadn’t paid for it after all. To his surprise, however, he also became a little angry.
“Must be a quiet night if you can spend it following a kid around.” Izuku retorted defensively.
When he thought about it, he had had the feeling that someone was following him. He had only shaken it off as paranoia but maybe it wasn’t.
Eraserhead crossed his arms as he looked at Izuku.
“It has been a quiet night, but stopping stealing is also a part of my job.”
“I wasn’t stealing. The shop owner knows I took them. You can go back and ask him if you want.” Izuku answered as he went further into defense mode. Answering to a hero wasn’t what Izuku had wanted for this night.
Izuku could see that Eraserhead was looking at him with an inspective look. He didn’t know what the hero was thinking but he seemed to be satisfied when he spoke again.
“If you say so kid, “was his verdict “What is a kid like you doing out this late anyway?”
“Nothing. I’m heading home right now anyway, so if that was all you can leave me alone” Izuku said as he turned around and started walking again. He could hear the hero hesitate before he jumped up on a rooftop again.
The rest of the walk home was quiet and when he got back, he snuck around the back of the house and entered through a window he had left open. When he walked up the stairs, he avoided the steps he knew creaked the loudest.
None of the other kids should be up this late or awake but Izuku didn’t want to risk anyone hearing him. If one of the other kids noticed he had been out they would have a field day telling the grownups and getting Izuku in trouble.
Through careful steps, he managed to make it safely to his room. As he sat down on the bed, he could feel a wave of drowsiness wash over him, and as he lay down under the covers he quickly fell asleep.
...
Shouta had had the most uneventful night in a long while when he spotted a lone kid walking on the street. He didn’t think much of it at first. It wasn’t the first kid he had seen walking around alone at night but since he didn’t seem to have anything else to do, he followed the kid for a while.
When the kid walked into a store, he stayed outside but watched through the window. He could see as the shop owner walked forward and hugged the kid.
The kid didn’t stay long. As he bowed his head to the shop owner, he walked to one of the shelves. Shouta could see the kid looked nervous as he pocketed some power bars and left the store without paying.
That was an unexpected turn of events. Guess it was the right choice to follow the kid Shouta thought as he jumped down behind him.
“Not going to pay for that?” Shouta asked as he gestured to the power bar the kid had just opened.
He could see a guilty look pass over the kid's face before it turned into anger.
“Must be a quiet night if you can spend it following a kid around.” The kid retorted.
“It has been a quiet night, but stopping stealing is also a part of my job.”
“I wasn’t stealing. The shop owner knows I took them. You can go back and ask him if you want.”
Shouta looked at him doubtfully. The way the kid had looked so guilty before wasn’t speaking in the kid's favor. The kid had also visibly entered defense mode.
Shouta thought back to the exchange between the kid and the shop owner. The way they had interacted seemed to indicate they knew each other. Maybe he was telling the truth.
“If you say so kid”
On another note. What was he even doing out? The kid couldn’t be older than 13. A kid that age shouldn’t be wandering around alone at night.
“What is a kid like you doing out this late anyway?”
“Nothing. I’m heading home right now anyway, so if that was all you can leave me alone”
Not really an answer but before Shouta could ask further the kid had already turned around and started walking. Shouta was conflicted for a moment. Should he follow the kid home making sure he was safe? He was still on patrol, however. He couldn’t leave his post for too long.
He decided to trust the kid to make it home safely alone. The kid didn't seem too fond of him anyway.
He jumped up on a roof and watched as the kid walked away. Was he really not stealing? He couldn’t be sure.
After sitting there for a while, he decided to ask the shop owner. The kid did say the shop owner knew about it after all. If he didn’t Shouta could make up for his mistake by paying for however much the kid had stolen.
The small bell jingled as he entered the shop. He could see the shop owner sitting behind his counter looking up as he entered.
“Welcome. If you need help with anything it is only to ask.” The shop owner greeted friendly.
“Actually, I was wondering about the kid who came in earlier.”
The shop owner nodded towards him indicating that he knew who he meant.
“He took some power bars from your store when he was in here. He said you knew. I only wanted to check if that was true?”
To Shouta's surprise, the shop owner's face turned into a big smile.
“You mean Izuku right? Of course, he can take whatever he wants from this store.”
Shouta looked at him with surprise. That was not the reaction he had expected.
“How come? Is he your son?”
“Oh no. I only have a daughter. But my daughter is the reason.”
Shouta looked at him in a way that requested him to continue.
“My daughter has a very unfortunate quirk. It makes anyone who touches her experience pain. She has learned to control it somewhat, but it still makes people see her as a villain.”
Shouta always became angry when he heard people getting discriminated against due to their quirk. It wasn’t something that you could control over which quirk you were born with.
The shop owner noticed him getting angry and nodded. “Yes. It was hard for her when she was younger. Nobody wanted to be friends with her. Where I want to come with all this is an accident that happened two years ago. Late at night, there were a few kids who didn’t like my daughter and set our house on fire. I got rescued by a hero and brought out of the house, but they refused to rescue my daughter saying they couldn’t handle the pain she caused them. The terror from the fire must have gotten her quirk to intensify. I had a broken leg and couldn’t go in after her myself.”
The shop owner looked like he still blamed himself for his shortcomings from that day. Shouta could understand the feeling, but it wasn’t his fault if he had had a broken leg. He stayed quiet however as the man continued.
“That is when Izuku arrived. He was only twelve at the time but as he heard my desperate cry for my daughter he didn’t hesitate as he ran into the building. No one managed to stop him, and I could only hold my breath as the minutes passed. Finally, he returned with my daughter in his arms. He had ignored the pain and saved my daughter. That is where he got that scar on his face. He also burned his left hand and arm pretty severely. I can never thank him enough for what he did for my daughter.”
The shop owner now had a big smile on his face again.
Shouta was left speechless. He was immensely impressed with what the kid had done. A big part of him was also angry at the hero for letting a child run into a burning building in his stead. He should not be allowed to be called a hero after that.
“So yes. Izuku may take whatever he wants from this shop. I would give up the whole store if he asked for it. My daughter means everything to me. He needs more food than he gets from that orphanage anyway. Have you seen how skinny he is? Poor kid.”
“Orphanage?”
“Yes. His parents died when he was young. He doesn't like to talk about it though. He’s been in a couple of foster homes, but none lasted more than a few months.”
Shouta started to feel really relieved he hadn't pestered the kid more about the power bars. He hadn’t seen any details about the kid's face in the dark, but he certainly didn’t look big for his age. He was supposed to be fourteen years and Shouta had thought thirteen at most.
“He sounds like a great kid.”
“Yes. He truly is.” The shop owner said with a fond smile.
After that Shouta had to leave to go back on patrol. This night truly wasn’t what he was expecting, and he couldn’t help but want to talk to the kid again.