Chapter Text
Crowds always made Izuku feel like he was being pressed in on himself, like if he didn’t keep moving he would be trampled. He pushed through into this crowd anyway. He kept brushing strangers as he forced his way forward, muttering apologies that he doubted anyone actually heard. When he finally broke past the thickest part of the crowd, he got a clear shot of the alley in front of him and something in his chest went tight.
Everything looked wrong.
Heroes held a loose line in front of them, trying to keep the civilians back from the alley, as at the center of it all, something… moved.
A mass of sludge twisted over itself, not staying still for even a second.
Izuku stopped short. He knew that thing.
His breath hitched before he could stop it. He remembered the way it had felt closing over his face, the way it had filled his mouth and nose, the panic that had clawed up his throat when he could not breathe.
There was no doubt, this was the same villain. The one that had nearly killed him before All Might had blown apart like it was nothing. A realization came to Izuku.
All Might dropped it because of me.
Heat crawled up the back of his neck. His hands curled into fists at his sides and his heart was beating too fast, like it was trying to force its way out of his chest.
All Might can’t fight right now because of me.
A woman near the barricade raised her voice, sharp with frustration. “W-Why are they just standing there?”
“They can’t get close,” someone else answered, just as tense. “The villain has a kid. Some middle schooler. They have been trying to get him out of there for minutes now.”
Izuku turned his head back to the scene without thinking. At first he didn’t understand what he was looking at. Then he saw the hair. His notebook slipped from his fingers and hit the pavement, forgotten in his shock.
Kacchan strained against the sludge, eyes blown wide, teeth bared around a breath he could not get, and met Izuku’s for just a moment. He choked on his breath.
For a second, everything went quiet.
Izuku was already moving.
Someone shouted behind him. A hero’s voice, loud and sharp. “Kid, stop!”
Death Arms followed, harsher. “Don’t cross that line!”
He pushed past the last few civilians, slipping between two pros before they could react. The sludge shifted when he got close, its surface rippling toward him like it had noticed.
Izuku didn’t hesitate.
He threw his bag forward, hitting the villain’s eye before he grabbed Kacchan. His hands sank into the sludge up to his wrists. It was colder than he expected. It clung to his skin, creeping over his fingers, resisting him even as he tried to find a hold on Kacchan’s jacket.
The moment he made contact, something inside him tightened, like a line had gone taut somewhere deep in his chest. For a fraction of a second the world felt distant, like the air around him had shifted just a little.
The sludge shuddered under his hands.
He tightened his grip and pulled.
“Kacchan,” he choked out, his voice rough. “Hold on.”
Kacchan’s eyes snapped toward him. There was no anger in them, just fear. Something that Izuku had never seen from Kacchan before. It made no sense. Kacchan was fearless!
“Get off,” Kacchan gasped, the words breaking apart between breaths. “What the hell? Why are you here?”
“I don’t understand it. My legs just started moving. I couldn’t just stand there and watch you die.”
Behind him, the shouting got louder.
“Save the boy!” Death Arms’ voice cut through the noise, furious and strained. “This thing will kill him!”
Izuku barely heard them.
He planted his feet and pulled again. His muscles screamed in protest. His grip slipped, then caught again on fabric slick with sludge. The villain tightened around Kacchan in response, the mass thickened as he tried to swallow him down further.
“No,” Izuku breathed, shaking his head. “No, no, no…”
Something inside him went taunt again, stronger this time. It felt like pressure building under his ribs, like a breath he couldn’t quite let out. The air around him hummed, faint at first, then louder, like something was waking up.
“I have you,” Izuku said, even though his voice was unsteady. “I have you, just stay with me.”
The pressure inside him spiked.
vwooom-phewf-phewf-phewf-phewf
Sakura light burst out, spreading out quickly and smoothly and formed a domed barrier around him and Kacchan. The dome shimmering like it was made of something solid and somehow not quite there at the same time.
The sludge villain recoiled in surprise, pulling back sharply as if it had been burned though Izuku felt no heat. Something between a hiss and a panicked yelp came out of what seemed to be its mouth and Kacchan lurched forward as the slime around him gave way. Izuku nearly lost his footing, scrambling to keep hold of him as the sludge fell back. Behind them, the shouting stopped for a split second.
“You ruined it!” the sludge hissed, furious. “The perfect vessel that would let me kill All Might and you ruined it! I’m gonna…”
Izuku flinched when it lunged at him, but he did not feel any impact.
“I REALLY AM PATHETIC.”
All Might stood over them, one arm braced out, blocking the sludge with his body.
“I TOLD YOU THE TRAITS THAT MAKE A GREAT CHAMPION, BUT I SEE NOW I WAS NOT LIVING UP TO MY OWN IDEALS. PROS ARE ALWAYS RISKING THEIR LIVES!”
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth as he spoke, his frame already starting to strain.
“Damn you, All Might!” the villain shrieked, surging forward again.
All Might drew his fist back, shoulders squaring despite the tremor running through him.
“TEEEEXAAAAAAS SMAAAAAASH!”
The punch tore through the sludge, blasting it apart in a violent burst that scattered it across the street. The shockwave followed a heartbeat later, creating a wall of wind that knocked people off their feet and sent debris skidding across the pavement. Mt. Lady braced herself, arms wrapped around a cluster of civilians as she dug her heels in against the force.
Silence followed, broken only by the first drops of rain tapping against broken asphalt.
“Holy crap…” Death Arms muttered in disbelief. “He changed the weather.”
All Might didn’t move for several long seconds.
“Kacchan,” Izuku blurted, words tumbling over each other. “Are you okay? Are you breathing? Say something, please say something.”
Kacchan coughed hard, doubling over with his hands on his knees, dragging air back into his lungs before he could answer.
“What the hell was that light?” he demanded between breaths, anger already creeping back into his voice.
All Might finally stepped forward, boots crunching over fractured pavement. His gaze dropped to Izuku, taking in the shaking arms, the unsteady stance, the remnants of the fight, then lifting again to meet his eyes.
“ARE YOU BOTH ALRIGHT?” All Might asked, offering them his hands.
“I’m fine.” Kacchan said, smacking his hand away and storming off.
“Young Midoriya,” he said quietly.
Sirens wailed closer now, growing louder with each passing second. The crowd pressed in again, voices rising in confusion and shock. Kacchan looked back, eyes flicking between Izuku and All Might.
Izuku stared at his own hands, trying to steady his breathing, trying to understand what had just happened.
♣ ♥ ♠ ♦
A few minutes passed before Izuku realized how hard his hands were shaking. Police were pushing the crowd farther back as paramedics moved through the crowd. The rain had picked up just enough to dampen the pavement and cling to clothes. Izuku stood off to the side, just outside the main cluster of heroes, not sure where he was supposed to go.
“Hey! You!”
The voice cut through the noise and Izuku looked up to see Kamui Woods standing in front of him. It was clear he was not pleased. Death Arms came up behind him, jaw set.
Izuku swallowed. “I, um…”
“What exactly did you think you were doing?” Kamui Woods asked, his tone controlled but edged. “Running past a secured perimeter! You interfered in an active engagement! You put yourself directly in range of a hostile target!”
Izuku opened his mouth, then closed it again. Death Arms did not wait for an answer.
“You think this is a game? You think you get to jump in whenever you feel like it?”
“I wasn’t trying to...”
“Well you certainly tried something,” Death Arms cut in, his voice rising. “And you almost got yourself killed doing it. You got lucky. That is all that was. you’re lucky you’ren’t dead! You’re even luckier you didn’t get your buddy killed!”
Izuku’s shoulders drew in on themselves without him noticing.
“I just… I saw him,” Izuku said, struggling to keep his voice steady. “I couldn’t...”
“You didn’t think,” Kamui Woods said flatly. “That’s the problem.”
The words landed harder than Izuku expected. His hands curled slightly at his sides, fingers damp and cold from the rain.
“I know,” he said quietly. “I know it was reckless. I just… I couldn’t stand there.”
“You're not a hero. You do not get to make that call. There are procedures for a reason.” Death Arms said, before he let out a grunt of annoyance.
Izuku flinched, just a little.
“I’m sorry,” he said, the words coming out fast. “I didn’t mean to cause more trouble. I just wanted to help.”
“If you had been taken as well, we would have had two victims instead of one.” Kamui Woods said, pointing at him.
Before Izuku could respond, another voice cut in.
“Alright, that is enough.”
Mt. Lady stepped up beside them, looking nervously behind her at the reporters. Her tone was lighter, but there was something pointed underneath it.
“He’s a kid,” she said. “And if you want to be technical, he’s the reason we didn’t have that hostage situation dragging on any longer.”
Death Arms frowned. “He complicated things… significantly.”
“He also broke the villain’s hold,” she shot back. “You can call it reckless all you want, but it worked. So maybe not draw attention to it before someone else realizes that too…”
Kamui Woods’ gaze shifted briefly to the reporters behind them, then returned to Izuku.
“This doesn’t make your actions any more acceptable,” he said, pointing again.
“Yeah,” Mt. Lady agreed, her voice quieter now. “But let’s not chew him out like he is one of your sidekicks who just ignored orders in front of God and everyone.”
There was a pause as all three glanced over at All Might still being interviewed, but he had clearly glanced back at the group a few times.
Death Arms growled through his nose, clearly not satisfied, but he stepped back anyway. “Just stay out of the way next time,” he muttered, already turning away.
Kamui Woods gave Izuku one last look, something less sharp than before, then nodded once and followed.
Mt. Lady lingered for a second.
“You did good,” she said under her breath, not looking directly at him. “Just… try not to scare everyone half to death next time.”
Then she was gone too. A far cry from the attention stealing heroine from earlier that morning.
Izuku stood there for a moment longer, unsure what to do with himself now that the attention had shifted elsewhere. The rain had soaked through his clothes.
He glanced toward where All Might had been surrounded earlier, but the cluster of reporters was still thick. He couldn’t even see him anymore, only flashes of cameras between shoulders and umbrellas.
Izuku hesitated, then looked down at his hands again. They were still shaking as the adrenaline wore off. The city sounded different now, quieter in some ways, like everything had been pushed down after the storm of noise earlier.
He kept replaying the entire thing in his head.
And the thought that kept circling back, no matter how much he tried to push it away.
All Might dropped it because of me.
Izuku’s chest tightened and he heard a sharp set of footsteps behind him.
“Oi.”
Izuku turned just in time to see Kacchan closing the distance, face already twisted into ugly anger.
Izuku’s breath caught. “Kacchan, I...”
“I didn’t need your help,” Kacchan snapped, stopping a few steps away. “You think I was just going to die there?”
“That’s not what I...”
“You jump in like you're better,” Kacchan cut in, his voice low and sharp… very unlike Kacchan. “Like you’re somehow above it.”
“No, that’s not it at all!” Izuku said, waving his hands in front of his face, “I just… saw you and I couldn’t stand there. I wasn’t thinking about anything else.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Kacchan said, a harsh edge creeping into his tone. “You weren’t thinking at all.”
Izuku flinched.
Kacchan took a step closer, eyes locked onto him. “Don’t get it twisted. You’re not better than me just because you got lucky. Don’t start thinking you’re some kind of hero.”
“I don’t think that,” Izuku said, quieter now.
“Good! Because you’re not. You’re just a qu-quirkless failure who won’t even cut it as a rent-a-cop.” Kacchan clicked his tongue, turning away like he thought the conversation had already lost whatever value it had. “Stay out of my way next time!”
He didn’t wait for an answer.
Izuku watched him go, and the street felt empty again once Kacchan disappeared around the corner. Izuku let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, then turned to keep walking.
He only made it a few steps before All Might shot out from an alley,
“I AM HERE!” He began, before a geyser of blood shot from his mouth and he turned into his thinner, emaciated form. His clothes hung a little looser on him, and there was a faint slump to his shoulders that had not been there before.
Izuku’s eyes widened. “All Might… I was trying to find you earlier, I wanted to say…”
All Might raised a hand, not sharply, but enough to pause him. His expression was serious in a way Izuku had not seen up close before.
“Young Midoriya,” he said, voice quieter now, stripped of its usual booming confidence. “We should talk.”