Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Darkness was his only refuge.

Here, hidden inside the storage area where ten-year-old kids could not find him, Izuku could finally breathe. His back still burned from Bakugou’s latest "lesson," and his soaked clothes clung to his skin.
He clenched his teeth. He couldn’t afford to get sick. Not again.

Above him, through a small, dust-covered window, the sunlight was fading.
Soon, he would have to go home—walk through the crowded streets where people avoided his gaze. Go back to his house, where his mother would smile, exhausted, and where he would pretend that everything was fine.

That was his daily life. His world. A world where he was nothing. Or at least, that’s what he thought.

Until everything changed.

Izuku walked out of the storage room, observing quietly if anyone was around. No one. It was better that way.

He started to walk slowly home, letting his bag drag on the ground. He felt a chill run down his body when the wind blew his way. He couldn’t afford to be sick, so he walked faster. He didn’t want to worry his mother.
Walking home alone wasn’t hard—it was mostly painful because of his too-small shoes, but it was fine.
Weirdly enough, Izuku was never scared of the dark; running through the numerous dark passages didn’t scare him. But today felt different. He felt like he was being watched. He brushed the feeling off and ran home faster than ever.

Arriving home, he felt welcomed by the silence of the house. His mother was probably working late again.
He removed his shoes and entered the house, pushing his bag into a corner of the room before running to his bedroom.
He turned his computer on, excited to finally spend the rest of the day watching some hero videos.
Excitement bubbled in him as he watched one of his favorite videos over and over again. He imitated the famous smile of the number one hero while standing proudly with both hands on his hips.

But then his eyes fell on the mirror across his room. He saw the weirdly green child imitating a hero, while he was deemed worthless by others. He sat down and listened silently to the video this time.
As the video ended, the black screen of the computer greeted Izuku. He stared at his reflection deeply.
"Worthless" rang in his head over and over. His hand started to tremble, and quickly, tears ran down his puffy cheeks.

His little breakdown quickly stopped when he heard the key in the door.
His mother was home.
He couldn’t let her see him cry! After all, he was a big guy! His mother even let him walk home alone. He couldn’t let her down. So, he put a smile on and ran to his mother.

“Mommy!”

He yelled, ignoring the worsening pain in his back.

“Izuku, you're home!”

She smiled while hugging her son.

“How was your day?” she asked happily.

Izuku quickly replied with a “Good!” while mumbling about his day, inventing happy experiences he never had.
She listened to everything while cooking a quick dinner for the two of them.
Izuku sat down at one of the chairs around the dining table, kicking his feet while enjoying talking to his mother, even if everything he said was a lie.
And Inko Midoriya enjoyed every last bit of the story, even if she knew Izuku had most likely lied about his day.

A ringing phone quickly followed. Inko looked at Izuku.

“Daddy called!”

she whispered to him while taking the phone call.
And just as Inko knew Izuku’s lie, her son knew her lie too. But he ignored the failed attempt.
Inko talked for a while on the phone, taking a quick glance at Izuku from time to time, then resumed cooking.

“Was it Daddy?”

Izuku asked his mother, who nervously laughed and nodded.

“Yes, it was. He said he missed you and can’t wait to come back from his business trip!”

A lie. A white lie. But a lie nonetheless. Izuku knew his dad would never come back from his “business trip,” but if this lie could keep his mother happy, then he would keep pretending his father was at the end of the line.
Dinner was lively between the two. Even exhausted, Inko smiled and enjoyed the moment. They both cleaned their plates and then sat on the sofa, cuddling into each other’s arms, enjoying the news on TV and talking during breaks.
It was a nice evening in the Midoriya household.

The next day, while walking down the usual path to school, Izuku felt like he was being observed again. He sped up, mentally noting that he would take a more open, noisy path on his way home. But then he felt a hit—it was painful, but before he could react, he lost consciousness.

Inko knew deep down that having her ten-year-old boy walk alone to school was a bad idea. She knew it could only lead to trouble. But Izuku insisted on walking alone, and it gave her more time at work so she could be home earlier and not let Izuku eat alone. It was a win-win situation!
She was making excuses, she knew it. Getting a call from school wondering if your child was sick was never a good sign. She called work and excused herself for the time being. She ran through the streets like a madwoman, screaming her child’s name. She called the police and her friend Mitsuki, hoping to find Izuku.

Her heart raced the whole time, a mix of guilt and terror battling inside her.

That day, every pedestrian knew what Inko was searching for. But that didn’t help her find her precious child.

Night fell, and she ran home, hoping it was all a misunderstanding, that her son was just on his way home from school. The pain she felt when 8 p.m. struck on the clock was indescribable. Izuku was never late for dinner. It wasn’t uncommon for him to run late from school, but he never let her eat alone.
The police left her alone for the night. Mitsuki insisted on staying with her, but Inko knew her son Katsuki was definitely waiting for her at home. At least she still had one son.

Dinner was loudly silent. Just yesterday, happy laughter had echoed in the house. Now, only deep silence remained. A crushing wave of guilt collapsed on her shoulders. She knew she wasn’t the best mother, but having her son kidnapped under her nose was the worst feeling of all. How could she even continue life without her baby? How could she move forward when she didn’t know where he was? Was he even alive?

The TV muffled her sobs.

A muffled voice came from the other side of the room. Izuku woke up in a dark room, the pain from the hit still lingering. He looked around, feeling panic rise in his chest. He didn’t know where he was. He subconsciously knew it wasn’t some prank from Bakugou and his lackey.

He embraced the darkness and positioned himself as far away from the door as possible, the only light coming from the small gap at the bottom. The voices drew closer. Izuku didn’t know whether to scream or run, but he stayed still like the worthless child he believed himself to be.
The door opened, blinding him. Izuku quickly closed his eyes, afraid of what would come through.
A low voice resonated in the room.

“This child is quirkless, right?”

Izuku finally dared to open his eyes, coming face to face with a gigantic masked man. He heard a simple, timid “yes” from someone Izuku couldn’t see.
The masked man crouched down to Izuku’s level, who was still on the floor.

“What a wonderful gift. It is truly hard to find such a gem. Congratulations,”

the masked man smiled at the person behind him, never looking away from Izuku.
Izuku felt fear grip him, a chill running down his entire body. He wanted to run, but his body was frozen in place. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
The man moved closer upon hearing Izuku’s small whimper. Izuku was forced to look at him as the man placed a hand under his chin.
A smile echoed through the mask.

“Hah, what a perfect child you found me! I love him!”

It was terrifying.
Even the man behind seemed to step back upon hearing that. Izuku closed his eyes in fear, but even with his eyes shut, he could see the owl-shaped mask, which only showed a cruel smile and terrifying brown eyes.
He felt the desperate urge to escape, but the man never released his chin, gripping too tightly for Izuku to even move.
More tears ran down his cheeks. The masked man studied him, never breaking his gaze.

“Where did you find such a perfect child?”

Even while speaking, he didn’t let go of Izuku.
Izuku winced in pain as his skull felt like it was being crushed. He cried out in fear but dared not scream, too scared of being crushed by the man’s grip.
With a sudden tug, the man forced Izuku to stand up. Finally, Izuku looked at the man behind the masked figure—the kidnapper.

The kidnapper didn’t seem thrilled by the sight of the boy in such a state. He trembled just as much as Izuku, standing before this terrifying man.

“I overheard some kids laughing about a certain quirkless boy, so I followed them, which led me to him."

the man said uncomfortable by the situation

A quick hum followed from the masked man.

"Such a pity people cannot understand what a precious being this quirkless child is..."

He looked once again at Izuku, finally letting go of his chin.
Once free, Izuku ran to the wall, trying to get as far away from the two men as possible. Strangely enough, Izuku didn’t want to escape the room entirely. He was more afraid of the bright, chaotic outside world than he was of being here, trapped with two kidnappers in a dark room.

"…Well, too bad for them, since I get to have my hands on this boy."

The man smiled again, his grin so wide it seemed like it would never stop growing. He quietly chuckled, making him seem unstable.
He grabbed Izuku by the arm and dragged him out of the room. Despite his protests, Izuku finally let out a small scream, but it was no use. He was pulled outside and into what appeared to be an underground cafe. The blinding light hit him, but soon enough, he could finally get a clear look at the masked man.
The man had long blond hair, a tall and muscular build, and wore an owl-shaped wooden mask. His facial features were hidden, but the plastered smile and dry brown eyes remained visible. He looked even more terrifying in the light than he had in the darkness.
Izuku screamed, begging the man to let him go, but was silenced with another blow, losing consciousness once more.