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English
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Published:
2018-07-16
Updated:
2018-08-09
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1,723
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3/?
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Honey and Syrup

Summary:

Izuku was raised to be kind to everyone, no matter who they were. Sometimes, that's all it takes to reform a villain.
But now, after one random act of kindness, he might have gotten in over his head...

Chapter 1: Crutch

Chapter Text

Ever since Izuku was born, Inko had strived to teach him the importance of being kind to everyone, even those rejected by the rest of society. When it was revealed that he was Quirkless, the point was driven further home, even though it broke her heart to see her precious baby unable to follow his dreams.

But Izuku was kind, and brave, and reckless as many young boys are.

And it was only when he was fifteen that Inko suspected her plans, for all her good intentions, were doomed to backfire spectacularly. She just didn't know how yet.

When Izuku met Shigaraki Tomura, it was a cold winter’s day. The snow had already fallen, covering everything like a thin white blanket. It would probably thicken as the day wore on, but that was the least of Izuku's concerns.

He was running as fast as his short legs could carry him, and from somewhere behind him, he could hear short explosions. Already his shoulders were sporting bright red burns- though the chill of the air over the exposed skin was easing the sting he'd long since grown accustomed to.

"GET BACK HERE YOU DAMN NERD!"

Kacchan's voice was close- and getting closer. Thinking quickly, Izuku ducked into a nearby alley and pressed himself against the wall, willing himself to breathe slower, lighter.

When Kacchan and his friends passed, Izuku let out a relieved sigh, his breath like steam. Slowly, his heart stopped pounding, adrenaline stopped flowing through his veins, and he became aware of how sore he was.

Everything hurt.

He sunk to the ground, heedless of the snow that was sure to soak the seat of his pants, and buried his face in his knees.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Then did it again.

Then something rustled a little ways away from him. His head snapped up, viridian eyes wide in alarm. Had Kacchan found him? A pale hand reached out from the shadows- too pale to possibly be Kacchan- and its owner grunted as he hauled himself up. Izuku saw a pair of red eyes, a deep crimson color that seemed to pull him in. They were bloodshot, and, as far as he could see, deeply pained.

His heart ached for this poor soul, who seemed to be enduring so much pain.

Paying no mind to the dangerous aura the man was emitting, Izuku stood up and began walking over to him.

"You're hurt!" He exclaimed, voice saturated with worry. Those bloodshot eyes widened, and Izuku could see the telltale spark of someone about to use their Quirk.

"It's okay- I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise. Let me help you, please?"

The tension eased somewhat.

"...fine..." the man answered after a moment. Accepting that as a small victory, Izuku came closer and hoisted one of the man's arms around his shoulders.

"Do you...do you have anywhere to go home to?" He asked as he felt the stranger's weight settle against him. It took a minute for him to answer, but when he did, his voice was rough and gravelly.

"Not anymore."

That was enough for Izuku to make up his mind, and he nodded his head slowly. He began walking, slowly, cautiously, towards the apartment he shared with his mother.

"Oh, by the way," he began once they were on the main street, "my name's Midoriya Izuku. What's yours?"

The pause was longer this time, but his companion's weight hadn't increased, so he wasn't worried.

"...Tomura. That's my name."

When Izuku met Tomura, he was twelve years old.

Chapter 2: Home

Chapter Text

Inko turned away from the stove when the front door opened. Her usual greeting died on her lips as she took in her son and, more importantly, the man leaning against him like an amputee against a crutch.

His hair was pale- not white, but more of a light grey- and his eyes were a vibrant red- a great contrast to his pale, scarred skin. Well, scarred on top of the bleeding cuts and discolored bruises that she could see. There were probably more injuries under his clothes.

Izuku had burn marks on his shoulders, and where they weren't burnt, they were bruised. This was only visible because of the holes lined with scorch marks. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time her poor boy had come home in such a state, and Inko knew that if she asked about it, Izuku, in his kindness and worry for Katsuki, would lie about it.

So she spared a pitying look at her son, then turned her gaze to the stranger he'd brought home. He was looking at her, too, searching and calculating- mistrustful, not that she could blame him with injuries like that. But to Inko, that was fine. She'd offer help whether this man trusted her or not.

"I'll get a bath running. Izuku, make sure you don't miss any of our guest's injuries." She made her way down the hall and to the bathroom. As she started up the warm water, she heard her son talking to the man he'd brought home.

"My mom's really nice, so you don't have anything to worry about while you're here. I'll help you clean up, then you can help yourself to a nice warm meal. We'll take care of you, Tomura-san."

These were facts, Inko knew, boding no room for argument. Orders, but spoken and declared in the kindest way possible. She felt a burst of motherly pride and had to stop herself from crying. She'd just...make even more food for dinner.

She sniffled and exited the room. The water would stop running as soon as it reached the set height, so there was no need to stay and keep an eye on it.

She found Izuku and their guest- apparently named Tomura?- in the living room, each holding a steaming mug of tea. It was silent- the awkward kind of silence where you knew you'd walked in right after an awkward conversation.

Well, there was nothing to do but break it.

"The bath will be ready in a few minutes. I'll be in the kitchen finishing dinner if you boys need anything."

"Ah- yeah. Thank you, mom."

The stranger said nothing, and Inko wondered just what she'd walked in on.

Chapter 3: Worth

Chapter Text

Izuku quietly led Tomura into the bathroom, his mind turning and analyzing what the man had told him while his mother was starting the bath.

He didn’t like heroes. That in itself wasn't a big deal to him- Izuku understood that heroes weren’t infallible, and that sometimes people disliked them because of that.

However, he'd dared to bring up All Might.

At the time, Tomura grit his teeth and let out a hissed, "I hate All Might", then used his Quirk- subconsciously, Izuku thought- to disintegrate a part of the couch.

And maybe, if he'd known how much his guest seemed to hate All Might- a previously impossible thing as far as he knew- Izuku would have never brought him up. Maybe he'd have asked Tomura about his Quirk instead- which felt like an awkward thing to do now- or something else.

But what was done was done.

"Umm...do you want help cleaning up or should I go?"

Tomura huffed. "I'm not a kid. But you can stay if you want."

Without waiting for a response, he began to strip. Izuku stayed planted at the doorway, recognizing Tomura's tone as that of someone who didn’t want to be alone. Though it was more likely he just wanted to make sure Izuku wouldn’t tell his mom about Tomura having left a hole in one of the couch cushions. Not that he would.

Tomura stepped into the bath and lowered himself, seeming to relax into the warm water. Izuku tried not to stare at the scars littering his pale body, busying himself by grabbing a washcloth from the shelf.

"Can I help clean your wounds?" Izuku asked, averting his eyes.
"Do what you want."

Taking that as permission, he dipped the cloth into the water and grabbed the bottle of body wash. He squeezed some of the floral scented soap onto the cloth and began rubbing it over the cuts and bruises along Tomura's shoulders, careful not to agitate anything as he slowly worked his way along his back. The albino's body relaxed further under his touch.

Though he was sorely tempted to, Izuku chose not to ask what had happened. Even though he was currently tending to the injuries all along Tomura's body, the man's life wasn’t any of his business, and it wasn’t as if knowing would automatically make everything better. So instead, as he moved to wash Tomura's upper arms, he started humming to fill the silence. It was a nameless tune- just a random combination of notes that somehow fit together in a tuneless melody- but Tomura didn't seem to mind.

Izuku dipped the cloth in the warm water just as Tomura opened his mouth.

"What's your Quirk, kid?"

Caught off guard, he fumbled not to drop the cloth as he answered, unable to keep the hint of sadness out of his voice.

"I-um, I don't have one- I'm Quirkless."

Tomura hummed, his face taking on a puzzled expression. He raised a hand and began scratching his neck.He began speaking before Izuku could stop him.

 "That can't be right...it must be a glitch- a mistake in the code," he muttered, just loud enough for Izuku to hear as he lowered his hand. "My HP feels completely restored just from being in your presence..."

Izuku shrugged his shoulders and began washing Tomura's front side, lightly scrubbing along his chest.

"It's what the doctors say," he said at last, "I have an extra joint in my pinkie toe, so I won't ever be able to develop a Quirk." He rinses the cloth again and begins washing Tomura's stomach. "...That's fine, though. Quirks are pretty amazing, but I don't need a Quirk to bandage a wound. I can still function and accomplish things through my own efforts, and-ah. Sorry, I'm rambling again- I'll shut up now."

Tomura was silent until he felt Izuku's hands on his left leg, one on his thigh and the other on his calf. He obligingly lifted his leg and sighed softly.
"Maybe...you could still be useful...I think I like you, kid."