Chapter Text
Izuku’s day was going pretty good, if you ask him. He had some Mcdonald's last night, got some sleep. Now he was gathering energy outside in a park, exhausted from having spent so much of his quirk’s power during patrol.
To explain it simply (because Izuku would really rather not get into that right now), six years ago, Izuku’s mom died. Once she passed, Izuku’s dad gained legal custody of him.
It only took him six months to start the experiments.
Again, Izuku doesn’t like to think about that—it gives him…unsavory…thoughts—but Izuku knew their goal was, in the end of it all, to make him a Nomu.
Izuku was terrified of that fact. He’d seen the monsters locked up in cages, teeth bared, eyes vacant.
And Izuku was going to become one of those? No. He’d die before he let that happen.
And well…he did.
They’d messed with his brain matter a bit, which was seriously the weirdest feeling ever, but then they electrocuted him.
That part was a little less ‘weird’ and a little more ‘holy shit what the hell is going on’.
When Izuku woke up next, his entire body felt different. It felt airy, almost like what he’d imagine a cloud would feel like if clouds could…well, feel.
Then he noticed his eyes. They glowed, and fiercely so.
He found he could levitate a maximum of three feet off the ground, but that didn’t inhibit his speed one bit. However, when he uses this aspect of his quirk, a green ghost-like fire trails behind him. It was quite the calling card, which is why he tried not to levitate too much. At least in public.
A green fire also emitted from his hands when he willed it to, and Izuku quickly took a liking to arson. The fire didn’t actually burn any material unless Izuku wanted it to, which was a plus.
Leaving a trail like that behind while trying to get away was practically asking to be chased, arrested, and locked up.
He’s also noticed that if he uses his quirk too much, or if he gets too tired, his body starts disappearing. That’s the only repercussion he’s noticed so far.
The only other downside to his quirk is it needs ‘lifeforce’ to regain power. Lifeforce is basically just an energy people emit, but Izuku realized quickly after he woke up that he needed it like food or water. However, he hated taking life force with every fiber of his being.
Was it immoral? Was he like a vampire, sucking the life from one human to the next?
Every time Izuku is near someone (within hugging distance, for example), he gathers lifeforce. So far, he hasn’t noticed any repercussions on the victim at all. It was almost as if they didn’t even notice it was happening.
He could tell, just by looking at them, humans had an excess of lifeforce. They had so much that it just kind of dwindled off of them.
And Izuku…well, technically Izuku is a type of dead, so he couldn’t really generate any of his own.
But Izuku still couldn’t allow himself to take someone’s lifeforce. Even with a villain, Izuku couldn’t credit himself that right.
So, he settled on spending three hours outside in the busiest part of the park every day so he could gather some lifeforce from the crowd instead of one singular person.
He doesn’t get nearly as much lifeforce as he needed from doing this, but it’s enough to keep him alive and keep his quirk active.
Izuku knew what would happen if he didn’t get the lifeforce; It had killed him when he first got his quirk, when he didn’t realize he needed it (but that’s a whole other plot point! >:D elsewhere, the author cackles in anticipation).
He still needed to eat, seeing as he wasn’t dead. That was the frustrating part.
Anyways, so Izuku’s sitting in the park. It’s a beautiful day out, and it’s a Saturday so there are plenty of people rushing around.
The boy can feel his body recharge as he sits there, slowly seeping the excess energy from the crowd. He tries to remind himself that he isn’t hurting anyone by doing this but it still just feels so…wrong.
Small wisps of translucent green float up from the crowd and towards Izuku every so often, which is really his only real indicator that it’s working
He wears a pair of sunglasses in public to keep his eyes covered. The only person Izuku thinks knows about his wonky eyes is Eraserhead, but who knows who Izuku might pass in a day?
“Oh, don’t tell me.”
Oh, no.
Izuku knows that voice.
“It is him!”
Tsubasa.
Izuku wants to look, he wants to look so bad, but he refuses. They don’t deserve that.
He knows Tsubasa has the other kid, the one with the finger quirk, with him. He doesn’t remember his name though.
“It’s Deku!” God, Izuku hates that nickname almost as much as his vigilante name.
“I thought you died or something! Fell off the face of the earth!” Three shadows appear in front of him, partially covering his lap. “You look like shit.” They all laugh at that.
Finally, he looks. “Could say the same about you.” Izuku replies, plastering a snarky grin across his face. “Now could you all politely move your crusty, dusty, unwashed asses and get your wrinkled Endeavor t-shirt out of my face? It’s giving me a rash.”
There’s a short pause of silence.
Hands grip his sweatshirt, dragging him to somewhere else. He thinks a nearby alleyway.
“You think you have the gull?!” A hand is gripped tightly into his green curls.
Izuku chuckles through a grimace. “I do-”
And apparently that was the wrong thing to say, considering his ribcage meets a foot only three seconds later.
Izuku groans, trying desperately to curl into a ball, but the hands holding his wrists above his head aren’t helping.
He gasps for a breath. “Guys, come on, let’s just talk this out-”
A fist collides with his jaw, sending the side of his head bouncing against the brick wall. Stars dance in his vision.
“Hey!”
Izuku blinks dazedly as he tries to focus on whoever is now standing at the mouth of the alleyway.
“What’s going on here?”
“Oh, uh!” Izuku almost laughs at the frightened tone of the bully’s words. “We’re just playing, uh, sir!”
There’s a silent pause. Izuku can smell the tension. “Well, why don’t you go play something else, yeah?” Their tone is hot, angry.
“O-Okay!” The two boys blurt. They scamper off a moment later.
Izuku slumps down against the wall, head lulling to the side.
Gravel crunches under shoes as Izuku hears his savior approach. “Are you alright, little listener?”
‘Little listener’? Where does Izuku know that from?
He blinks up at the person dazedly. A hand is laid gently on his shoulder.
Izuku immediately snaps back to reality, scrambling to get away from the intruding contact. “N-No!”
“Woah, woah—okay!” Izuku notices long, blond hair. And glasses. A mustache? “You look hurt, I just want to help.”
“I-I’m fine.” God, Izuku hates his stutter. He never has it around villains, but once he’s talking to a regular person, his stutter comes right back.
The man tsks once before kneeling down. “You're bleeding.”
Izuku does not like how close the man is right now. Not that he feels threatening, it’s just that Izuku would hate himself even more than he already does if he stole this man’s lifeforce.
Gingerly, Izuku dabs at the side of his head. A forest green blood sticks to his fingers.
Wait—where’d his sunglasses go?!
“Wha-?!” In a panic, Izuku searches the area around him, keeping his eyes cast down to avoid making eye contact with the person. “My sunglasses!”
“Oh, they’re right here.” A pair of hands delicately place them in Izuku’s palm. One of the lenses seems to have popped out and shattered.
God fucking damn it.
“Shit.” Izuku curses under his breath.
“Did you need them?”
Izuku nods.
“Are they for your quirk?” Damn it, the man’s seen his eyes by now.
Izuku shakes his head. “My eyes aren’t dangerous or anything like that. I just hate them.”
His savior frowns. “I think they’re beautiful, listener. There’s nothing to hide.” Izuku looks up at him. The blonde smiles. “I’m Yamada.” He reaches his hand out for a handshake.
Izuku sniffles, rubbing his nose across his sleeve. “Izuku.” He doesn’t take the hand, knowing full well how rude it must seem, but it’s not worth the risk.
Izuku manages to get to his feet. When Yamada takes a careful step forward to help him, Izuku scoots back, arms curled in on himself.
“I’m not gonna hurt you, okay?” Yamada reiterates.
But I don’t wanna hurt you.
“We should get you to a hospital.” Yamada urges, eyebrows bunched in concern.
“N-No, I’ll be fine!” Izuku tries to smile at the man, but he’s sure it comes out as a rather feral look. “Thank you for y-your help, uh, Yamada, sir!” He starts shuffling towards the entrance of the alleyway.
“Izuku, wait!”
The boy freezes.
He hasn’t heard anyone say his name in so long.
“Can I at least walk you home? Or to…wherever you’re on your way to?”
“I-It’ll be okay, I promise.” Izuku whispers, hoping it’s loud enough for Yamada to hear him, before slithering out onto the sidewalk.
He keeps his eyes down so no one will see him.
Xx
Yamada can’t stop thinking about that kid. It’d been a few hours since their interaction, but something just felt off about it all.
First of all, the kid looked like a twig. His skin was pale and clammy, as if he’d pass out at any minute. Green tufts of hair were matted against his head, looking in dire need of a hairbrush and some conditioner.
His eyes, though…Hizashi was amazed by his eyes. They were a luminescent green, shining with an almost supernatural glow. They were beautiful.
And the listener hated them? How? Hizashi was firm in the belief that everyone should love every aspect of who they are, and he knows his belief doesn’t change the fact that people are insecure, but maybe he thought he could try to up the listener’s confidence in himself.
And his blood was green? Like? Hizashi assumes it’s a part of his quirk, considering his green eyes and green hair. Hizashi wonders what his quirk is.
He was bleeding when Hizashi left him alone.
Or rather, when Izuku scurried away like a frightened animal.
That part was…concerning.
Damn it, Hizashi could’ve offered to buy him some new sunglasses. That would’ve been a great way to keep an eye on him to make sure he was alright!
Hizashi could only hope that he’d run into the kid again.
Just to make sure he was okay.