Chapter Text
The first thing Izuku does with his newfound realization is scramble to his feet and run straight towards a computer to fact check. A Todoroki, probably early twenties, probably disappeared or died after a quirk accident. Three words is all it takes for something to pop up. Todoroki Quirk accident.
Touya Todoroki.
Bingo.
There's not much, only the basic mention of a funeral and a name buried under a mountain of words, but it's enough. Yes, it's plenty enough to know that those feelings of familiarity actually meant something. It also confirms one more thing.
Endeavor is far more than a horrible hero. He's also an abusive piece of shit father.
Man, yet another reason to hate the disgusting human that is Enji Todoroki. It doesn't matter what happens in the future, Izuku will never ever hate the man any less than he currently does. And with the way things are going, that hatred is likely going to grow with every detail he digs up about this damn family.
He sighs, leaning against the low back of his chair, wings lax as he just lets himself relax for a second. This, doesn't actually change anything. It feels like it should, but it doesn't. No one would believe him if he tried to go through the legal channels, and he's not strong enough to do anything himself.
It doesn't change anything, not even the way he sees Dabi or Shoto or any of the people he knows. He's always hated Endeavor, and this doesn't change that fact in the slightest. He can't approach his classmate, can't fly to his safe house and talk to his... well, whatever he and Dabi are. Friends? Allies?
It doesn't really matter, because he's treated Endeavor like the trash he is from day one. Honestly, the only thing he could do would be to approach Nezu with this realization, but that would involve gathering proof and he doesn't feel like betraying Dabi's trust anytime soon. Even if they aren't necessarily talking right at the moment.
So yes, there's nothing he can do.
That fact hangs over him all day.
He struggles through breakfast, trying his best to ignore the sudden anger sitting in his chest. He breathes through it, forcing his jaw to unclench so he can eat his damn food.
Then, he walks back upstairs and settles into a workout. It's a way to avoid his emotions, a tactic he's used for many years that almost never works. Instead, it makes things worse, the anger bubbling up until he's barely keeping himself from punching the wall.
Taking a shower helps some. He turns the water as hot as it will go, and then heats up his own skin until the bathroom is brimming with steam. It feels nice, the tension in his muscles releasing until he's almost completely relaxed, eyes slipping closed as he stands under the spray.
Leaving the shower isn't as bad as it once was, because he can keep himself as hot as he wants thanks to a certain villain. He still isn't quite sure why he dreamed of Dabi, but it doesn't really matter. Maybe his head is just sorting through villains, for some reason.
Whatever, he can deal with that.
And he does. He does deal with it. He goes through the day, writes even more memories in his journal. He writes about how Shigaraki hates flowers, and how Dabi hates fish. He writes about the smaller villains he sent to charities, about the times he fought against disgusting human beings who tried to hurt those weaker than them.
He writes about a lot of things.
His notebook has five more pages full of memories, scattered over his time as Kaho with no real structure or timeline. It's fine, he can organize it later.
It's three pm when Aunty knocks on his door, shocking him out of his headspace as he stands up and swings it open with a confused expression.
"The police asked me to have you check your phone. Detective Tsukachi, or something." Izuku blinks before nodding and reaching over to grab his phone off the nightstands as his door swings shut. Mitsuki nods back and walks away without a word, leaving him to stare at the seven missed calls he got that must have been ringing in the background as he worked.
Okay, that's not concerning at all...
He shakes his head and goes to type in his code but doesn't even get to start before his phone is buzzing with yet another call. It surprises him enough that it rings twice before he manages to finally push past the shock and answer.
"Hello?"
"There you are kid. Was starting to get worried there." That makes him blink, mouth opening and closing a few times as he takes in the slightly concerned tone from the familiar detective.
"Uh, I'm fine? Is there something you need?" He hears a huff from the other side, but something about the less than professional tone helps relieve some of the tension. It doesn't seem like this is a negative call, which is good.
"Yes actually. Eraserhead is finally up and kicking and told us some interesting details about the attack. He said you might have some things to say, so we were wondering if you'd be okay with coming in tomorrow. Won't take long, just a few questions and you can leave." He pauses, wondering for a second what Aizawa was thinking before shaking his head again and giving his answer.
"Yeah, I can do that. What time?"
-
Noon. They want him to come in at noon. That's fine. The phone sits on his desk, volume turned up higher than usual just in case. It's fine, everything's fine.
He needs to write more notes.
This is the perfect chance, the perfect way to get all this information to someone. Yes, this is good.
Now he just needs to remember it all.
Shigaraki visits most weeks. His schedule seem sporadic and random, always popping up without warning or even a single reason as to why he's here. Sometimes he's already in the room when Izuku walks in, sometimes he enters while Izuku's in the middle of changing. Again, it's random.
Usually, Izuku uses it as an opportunity to practice keeping a blank expression, and he is getting better at that, but this time... this time things are different. So when Shigaraki walks into the room, he ends up pausing and staring for even longer than usual as Izuku sits curled up on his bench, chest full of warmth thanks to the technique Dabi taught him.
"You good hot wings?" Izuku doesn't move, eyes staring at the wall and body tense. Shigaraki glances at the wall himself, probably to make sure nothing's there, before looking back at Izuku and peeling off his mask, hand, thing.
"Don't tell me you're having a mental break down. That's boring." Izuku finally blinks before looking up at his guest exhaustion written all over his face.
"Sorry to disappoint." And then he turns back to staring at the wall, trying his best not to collapse on the cement like a pile of goo. Shigaraki continues to stare for a few seconds before sighing and plopping down on the bench next to him.
Something must be aggravating him, because the second he sits down he's reaching up to scratch at his neck that's already marked up a decent bit. He's been scratching for a few hours then, possibly all day. It's none of Izuku's business, and usually he'd force himself to ignore it, but his emotions are raw and his mind is drowning and he can't stop himself from acting out this time.
"Stop that." Without thinking, he grabs Shigaraki by the wrist and pulls the hand away from his neck. Shigaraki jerks back, but he doesn't start scratching again, so Izuku counts it as a win.
"The hell's gotten into you?? I can do what I want, you have no right to boss me around. I don't care that you're player three, I'm still dozens of levels above you." Right, that stupid video game talk. Though it is easier to understand now that he's heard it a million times.
"Just... wait here." Shigaraki glares at him, but doesn't speak or move, waiting patiently as Izuku stands up and walks to the spare locker, pulling out the medical bin and grabbing a tub of ointment.
"Here, try this." Shigaraki looks at the cream in confusion, and then at Izuku, then back at the tub, like he has no idea what it is. Who knows, maybe he's never seen lotion before. He sure looks like he doesn't know lotion exists.
Izuku just sighs and opens the lid, dipping two fingers into the cream and pulling out a small amount.
"Like this." He reaches up and rubs it into his neck, but instead of understanding, Shigaraki's face floods with anger.
"I know how to use fucking lotion you idiot." He grabs the tub with a huff and does as Izuku did almost exactly, so he may or may not have been lying, but Izuku doesn't care. Either way, it's kind of funny to see such a scary looking villain grimace at the feeling of lotion on his neck.
The second he's done rubbing it in, he tosses the tub back at Izuku and grabs his game with yet another huff. Izuku just blinks a few times before placing the tub on the bench and going back to sitting curled up on the edge. They sit like that for a few minutes, the sound of the game echoing through the silence.
"What was that stuff?" Izuku doesn't jerk, but it does take him a second to realize that Shigaraki was talking to him. And then another to come up with an answer.
"Anti itch cream." The sound of the game pauses suddenly, and he looks over to see the screen go black as Shigaraki stares at the wall with a layer of confused contemplation written on his face.
"...anti itch cream has never worked before. What's so special about this one?" Ah, makes sense.
"I mean, it's a newer formula. Got it last week. It also targets quirk related issues, not eczema or anything like that." Shigaraki tenses, head jerking to the side so he's looking Izuku in the eye.
"What do you mean quirk related issues? How would my itch be quirk related?" He sounds almost concerned, like he's realizing something he doesn't want to realize.
"Well... your quirk is decay, it basically takes things and destroys them through a five point contact. Most quirks like that have some sort of physical drawback, and for you, it's effecting your skin. This moisturizer was designed for destruction based quirks. It gets into the cracks and heals the skin from the inside out instead of just putting it on the first layer and slowly letting it sink in without a healing aspect. It also uses a low level localized quirk suppressant to make sure it's able to heal completely before the quirk restarts the cycle.
Of course, I don't know everything about your quirk, but since it's working that's my guess."
He stops there, eyes now looking at the floor as he rests his chin on his knees. For a second, silence stretches through the room, but Izuku doesn't really care. His mind is screaming at him to get out of this damn fight ring and his head is aching and he really just wants to go home and fall asleep and ignore how badly he fucked up.
He's tired. He's tired and he's scared and he wishes oh so bad that lady death would just take him home.
"No... that's not how the itch works. Sensei told me that the itch goes away when I... use my quirk, and he's always right. He's right, he wasn't lying." Whatever, at least he can use this as a distraction.
Sensei huh? So Shigaraki has a teacher. Makes sense, he's kind of young to be out here being a villain all on his own. Seventeen, if he's remembering correctly. Or is he eighteen by now? Izuku's turning thirteen next week after all.
"Using quirks like yours might numb any physical effects for a bit, but it'd probably come back stronger within a few hours." He looks up this time, eyes tracking the way Shigaraki's skin turns pale, watching as his hands start to shake.
Oh... Izuku just fucked with something dangerous. Great, he's fucking up a lot this year.
It seems like this Sensei person is messing with Shigaraki's head, lying to him so he can gain control. Grooming him. Not an unusual tactic in the underground, but always so very tragic. And Shigaraki has the perfect quirk for that, the perfect quirk for a villain.
God Izuku hates society and their stupid rules about what each quirk is made for.
Now, how does he get through this without making things worse?
"Of course, I'm just speculating. Everyone is different." Shigaraki jerks, and Izuku can see the moment things turn south. It all starts with a tight grip, five fingers tensing around the edge of the bench. In seconds, the metal beneath his touch turns to dust, hand falling through the gap as his eyes snap down with shock and anger and all sorts of emotions that spill out onto the ice cold floor.
"FUCK!-" Shigaraki lurches onto his feet, breaths coming out sharp and harsh and eyes wide with something bordering on fear. Izuku feels a bit of that fear himself, inching into his chest as he watches this oh so young villain come to a realization he very much does not want to have.
"NO! No, you're lying. Sensei would never lie to me!!" Izuku does his best to stay calm, to not act defensive. If that's what Shigaraki wants to believe, then he isn't going to stop him.
"Okay." But his calmness doesn't help.
"STOP IT!" He sounds panicked, desperate, but Izuku can't remove the knowledge he's received. He can't reach in and stop this realization from happening. It's already in motion.
"Stop it! He wouldn't! He saved me, he helped me!! He just... he just-" Izuku watches as Shigaraki searches for an answer, an explanation. Maybe... maybe it would be better to just give him an answer, stop the downward spiral now.
Izuku never claimed to be a good person.
"The lotion's new. He probably just didn't know about it. For a short term fix, using your quirk would work." Shigaraki jerks, mouth snapping shut as he stares at Izuku with those same wide, scared eyes. He looks so young, so very young, Izuku can't help but feel a little anger on his behalf.
But there's nothing he can do about this.
He's a twelve year old kid that wants to do nothing more than die. He would never trust heroes with something like this, and the police wouldn't do jack shit. Maybe one day, when Shigaraki does something, maybe then he can help.
But until then...
"Yeah... Yeah, you're right. Sensei just didn't know about it. Ha! Obviously, yeah. Even Sensei can't know about everything all the time, he has blind spots just like any other character. Yeah, I'll show it to him and he'll be glad I found it! You're right player three."
He sounds so utterly relived, Izuku isn't able to ignore the pang of guilt in his chest. It's uncomfortable and far too close to his heart, reminding him of all the horrible decisions he's made. It wasn't all his fault, but god does it feel like it was.
"Yeah. That's it."
God does it feel like it was.
Three days.
In three days, he'll turn thirteen and get on a train that will take him to the one place he really doesn't want to be. In three days, Kaho will fight on the big stage, over and over until he looses. He can only hope he doesn't die whilst doing so.
Izuku shakes his head, taking a deep breath as Dabi glares at him from the other side of the ottoman.
"I've told you to stay focused like, five times already. What's gotten in your head pipsqueak?" Dabi isn't concerned, no, he's annoyed. He's hoping Izuku will spill the beans so they can move on, but man he really doesn't want to talk about this.
"It's nothing. Just distracted." Dabi rolls his eyes and shifts in place, leaning to the side a little as he stares at Izuku with the most done expression possible.
"No shit you're distracted. The question is by what, and you better answer me before I burn a hole in your couch." Izuku looks up with a glare, making sure Dabi knows that he isn't thrilled by that threat. He likes this couch, and he takes good care of it. If someone were to burn it, well, there would be some fingers rolling on the floor.
"I don't owe you an explanation." Dabi continues to look at him with that same dead expression, thoroughly unamused by his response.
"For someone who doesn't owe me an explanation, you sure do look like you want to explain it to someone." Izuku tenses, pausing a second to figure out if that really is the case. He's been trying to push it down for so long, the idea of telling others never really popped up.
...Maybe it would be a good idea to get it off his chest. Just this once.
He sighs, uncrossing his legs and leaning back onto his hands. Dabi relaxes as well, head tilting to the side as he waits for the explanation to begin.
"Have I ever told you what I do? Like, how I got this house?" Dabi's eyes widen, like he's surprised that they're starting at the beginning. It makes sense. Izuku hasn't really told him about anything personal like, ever. They usually just talk about Dabi's scars or quirks, not much else.
"No you haven't. What, are you some sort of government assassin or something?" Izuku huffs, smiling a little at that thought. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if there were child assassins in this damn disaster of a government. Especially in the Commission.
"No no, nothing that dramatic." He sighs, leaning back until his head is resting on the couch cushion behind him.
"Ever heard of a guy named Kousei?" He can't see Dabi's reaction, but he can hear him shift. And when he talks he sounds guarded, wary.
"Yeah, he's a criminal. Has a pretty big organization too, runs a bunch of illegal fight rings... Why?" Izuku smiles and forces himself to lift his head, looking Dabi in the eye.
"I'm one of his fighters." Dabi jerks, eyes going wide as he glances down at Izuku's bare arms and the scars sitting there. "And I'm... well, I'm his prize fighter." Now that, that gets a reaction.
Dabi sucks in a sharp breath, face paling a few shades as he looks at Izuku with thinly veiled horror.
"Oh... oh kid. That's, that's not good. Shit... No wonder you look like you're about to have an aneurysm." Izuku lets out a low chuckle, taking a deep breath before continuing.
"Yeah, I know. Not great. I was stupid to agree, I know now." Dabi's eyebrows shoot up, surprise written all over his face.
"You agreed to fight for him? You weren't like, black mailed?" Izuku sighs, expression turning a little sheepish.
"Yeah... not my proudest moment. I wanted to feel something, and fighting sounded fun. I... I didn't think about it as hard as I should have." Dabi sighs and rubs at his temple, like he's trying his hardest to not chastise a small child.
"That... was really stupid of you. So, what happened? Why the sudden change of heart? You almost die or something." Izuku smiles a little, but does his best to not spill the beans that he's already died, like, seven times at the least.
"Well, have you heard of the Gladiator Event?"
...
"Shit kid... really? You're what, eleven? They can't just... you can't just- man..." Dabi looks like he just swallowed a something rotten, skin even paler than before as he looks at Izuku like he's about to drop dead right here in this living room. If only.
"He knows where my family lives. He has complete control over me. If I go willingly, he'll reward me handsomely. If I don't, well, I don't want to find out what he does. I'm turning thirteen in three days, and we'll be leaving that morning. I can't back out of it. I've tried to think of a solution, but I can't." He stops there, jaw clenched shut as he tries his best not to get emotional.
But he's scared. Goodness he's scared.
"Man... Want me to fake your death? I'm pretty good at that." He can't help but smile at that, a sliver of the pressure falling off now that he's successfully shared the mental burden. He really did want to talk to someone about it. Who would have known.
"I'm good. It wouldn't stick anyways." Dabi shrugs, but he still looks rather disturbed. Makes sense, Izuku is rather young after all. No matter how old he feels, he's only been here barely thirteen years. He has a long way to go, and he's not allowed to miss it. Lady death is far too cruel for that to happen.
"You're weird kid, but you don't deserve that. But you have a plan, don't you." It's not a question, and Izuku can't help but feel a little surprised that Dabi saw through him.
He messed up, but he's not stupid.
"Yeah. I found a way to take him down. Permanently. It'll take a while, at least a year or two, but I can do it." Dabi nods, expression turning serious.
"If you ever need my help, I'll be here. I owe you a debt, and I pay all my debts, no matter how small." Once again, a smile pushes its way onto his face, eyes looking out the window at the dark night sky.
"Thanks Dabi. I'll keep that in mind." But he doesn't need to burn it all down.
Not this time.
Somehow, and he says this with all his chest because he really doesn't know how, somehow, he lasts three months. He fights and dies and wakes up with ashes on his clothes and blood on the ground and he continues to do so for three damn months.
And once again, somehow, no one questions the fact that he comes back completely healed each time he leaves the ring half alive. That isn't quite as surprising because there are some pretty insane healing quirks, but anyone with half a brain knows that something that good has a big drawback so it really wouldn't make sense logically but, well, somehow, no one questions it.
Kousei brings him back to Musutafu three days after his loss, drops him off at the train station, and leaves without a word. Izuku's fine with that. He's more than fine with with that. He actually ends up flying to the tallest building he can find just so he can sunbathe for a while, relaxing on the cement as he mentally rejoices over the fact that he didn't die on stage.
He did it! He survived without spilling his biggest secret in front of a whole stadium full of people! Good for him!
Unfortunately, he can't stay here for long. He has things he needs to do, plans he needs to complete. He's done quite a lot to fuck with Kousei's empire while he was gone and he needs to get ready to do it some more.
Which means coming back home. Which means returning to his regular life. Which means going through the process of returning after officially being declared missing for three whole months.
Well, might as well rip off the bandaid.
The first day back is like torture. He's dragged through the police station for hours, asked questions he doesn't answer, and goes home only to be asked even more questions that he still doesn't answer. Though, if he's being honest, he thought it would be harder.
Not the questioning part, no that's just as bad as he thought it would be. No, he thought it would be harder to look his auntie and uncle in the eye and ignore the tears as he refuses to answer those questions. He doesn't know if it's the exhaustion or the leftover relief, but he just... he just doesn't feel anything.
For days he goes through this. He doesn't leave, staying in this god forsaken house until they let him go to school. And even then he doesn't fight for a few days, having been given an indefinite break as reward. He lasts one and a half weeks before the itch grows too intense to ignore and he's back in the ring that very afternoon.
He fights. He fights and he gets stronger and he works his ass off trying to take down Kousei's empire. He fights and he dies and he ignores the numbness in his chest until all that's left is apathy and a blank slate. He's gotten good at keeping his face neutral, and keeps it up almost twenty four seven.
He's going to take down this god forsaken empire and leave it behind, no matter what it takes.
"Damnit! Fucking, I can't even- fuck this damn quirk I swear to god." Izuku watches Shigaraki curse out his bench, or, well, the small section of his bench that no longer exists. He got angry over... something, and it resulted in yet another dusting of private property.
It's nothing new. there's a small collection of missing metal littered all over the bench, and Izuku doesn't feel particularly inclined to get a replacement any time soon because it's just going to keep on happening no matter what he does. Shigaraki is, after all, a regular in his life, no matter his thoughts on the matter.
"I'm gonna chop off one of my fingers I swear to god." Izuku blinks from where he's sitting as he patches up a small wound on his arm. Well, small compared to some of his other injuries.
"Why don't you wear gloves?" Shigaraki glares at him, which makes sense because he did just say something a little stupid. He has probably tried tons of stuff, so yeah, kind of stupid.
"And what would keep me from dusting the glove idiot?" Yeah, that's fair.
He doesn't respond, and Shigaraki huffs before sitting back down and pulling out his thankfully still in tact ds. Yes, Izuku finally asked what it was which earned him just as much snark as he expected, but hey, he got an answer.
They don't talk again that evening, just siting in eachothers presence as they tend to, but when Izuku gets home he makes a beeline for his computer and yup, that's what he thought.
One week later, he finds himself sitting in his locker room waiting for Shigaraki to show up. He never knows when exactly the villain will appear, but he can guess an estimation based on past visits. Sure enough, he shows up on day eight, one day before Izuku expected him.
"I got something for you." Shigaraki pauses, looking at him with a wary expression. Which, understandable, but come on they've known each other for a little over a year now. Show a little trust already!
"What is it? A bomb?" That makes him want to smile, but he's gotten pretty good at pushing that urge down into his gut. Instead, he shakes his head and goes to grab a small box out of his locker.
"Here." Shigaraki squints at the box before looking back up at him, still acting like he's not sure what's going on. After a few seconds of that, he shrugs and grabs the box out of Izuku's hand, opening it without a hint of the caution he was just utilizing.
When the box is open, Izuku watches as his expression turns surprised, eyes tracing the black gloves nestled inside the container.
"What are these?" He straightens up a little, but still keeps his face neutral as per usual.
"Gloves for people with five point contact quirks." Shigaraki looks between him and the gloves, blinking slowly until he finally shrugs and pulls them out of the box, spending a few seconds looking at them before carefully slipping them onto his hands.
The second they're both on, he grabs the box with all five fingers and stands there with a look of badly hidden awe when the box stays in tact. Izuku still doesn't smile, but goodness he wants to, watching closely as Shigaraki starts grabbing everything in sight. His shirt, the bench, his pants, his ds. He even grabs Izuku's arm a few times before finally stopping and staring at his hands with a manic smile.
"Holy shit hot wings. You really figured it out." He looks excited, like he can't wait to go around grabbing things as soon as he can.
"How'd you find these." He doesn't really feel inclined to say it took a singular google search cuz he's pretty sure that wouldn't end well, so he just shrugs before going back to patching up yet another cut on his arm. Shigaraki continues to go around grabbing things for the rest of the visit, looking far too much like an excited child for Izuku's liking.
He doesn't like being reminded of Shigaraki's situation. Not when he can't do anything about it.
"Hey, we should fight." Izuku jerks, looking up at the villain who is now staring at him with a rather intense expression. Okay, this is kind of random.
"Why?" Shigaraki smiles his most manic smile yet, like Izuku's response was some sort of sign that he'd be okay with it. And to be honest, he's not completely against the idea. His matches have been getting rather boring lately.
"You're getting stronger every month! And my partners are boring, you'd be so much better! Come on Hot Wings! You're free on the weekends. It'll be a way to get stronger!" Izuku blinks, thinking about whether or not he wants to do something like that, but that's not the only question. He also needs to think about the consequences of saying no...
Yeah, might as well avoid a tantrum and get some extra practice in.
"Sure." Shigaraki's smile only grows, excitement written all over his face. Goodness he looks so much like a child. Izuku hates this Sensei dude.
"Perfect! Just go here whenever you want and I'll be there! Don't come too late though, I don't want to stand around waiting for you, got it? And don't worry, you'll be my guest, no one will kill you." Izuku nods, though he wasn't actually worried about that. He's known Shigaraki long enough that he'd actually be fine with the villain knowing his not so secret secret.
"I'll be there." Shigaraki practically beams at him, and for a second, he can't help but think that this might be a really bad idea.
...
Too late now.
Finding the address Shigaraki gave him isn't all that hard, though it is somewhat out of the way. Thankfully, he isn't forced to walk through a maze thanks to his very handy wings that let him fly over the buildings until he's landing in front of a warehouse in the middle of a run down ship yard.
Random, but okay.
It takes a second to build up the courage to knock, but he manages to do so without flinching away when the door swings open to reveal a rather intimidating looking man.
"Name?" He sounds angry, like he doesn't want to be here. And, well, Izuku can relate.
"Kaho." The man grunts and opens the door, stepping to the side so Izuku can walk in. And walk in he does, looking around the massive interior that's mostly empty sans the sparring mats and a singular painted border in the center of the room. That must be where they fight.
"Kaho! I told Sensei you'd come! I can't believe he doubted me." Izuku doesn't flinch, but it's a close call, body spinning around so he's facing Shigaraki who looks far too happy for Izuku's liking. His smile is manic and his eyes are wide and really he looks just a tad bit off. Granted he almost always looks a tad bit off, so that isn't saying much.
"I don't back out of my commitments." Shigaraki's smile grows at that, and Izuku notes that he's still wearing the gloves. Also, he's missing the dismembered limb that usually sits on his face. Maybe he doesn't wear it while fighting.
Whatever. One less thing for Izuku to be creeped out by.
"That's what I said! Oh this will be fun. Everyone I've fought recently has lost in seconds, so annoying. I can't wait to see how long you last." That's ominous. Though he isn't sure how this will go if he's being honest. He very well might loose in a few minutes, or he might win in the same time. He's only ever faced Shigaraki once for barely a second, so he genuinely doesn't know how this will go.
"We'll see." Shigaraki continues to smile at him, wide and creepy and just as villainous as one would expect. Izuku doesn't know how many people he has killed, and he really doesn't want to know, but goodness sometimes he sure does wonder.
"Yes we will! Come on! Come on! This'll be so much fun." There's the excitement again. He's not sure which emotion he prefers.
Either way, he can't control any of this, so he drops his bag and walks to one end of the painted ring before moving into a familiar stance. Shigaraki does the same, still smiling in a way that makes Izuku's skin crawl. Instead of letting it get to him, he takes a deep breath and shifts into something more defensive.
Which is, of course, exactly when Shigaraki strikes.
There's no warning, no bell, no shout, just an attack so fast he's forced to rely on instinct rather than planning. Thankfully, he's good at this, and he actually forces Shigaraki to jump back if he doesn't want to be sliced up by sharp talons. He takes the split second of reprieve to plan out his next few moves, and then, he attacks.
His sudden aggression surprises Shigaraki enough for him to get a hit in, talons slicing through thin fabric with ease. He doesn't wait for his opponent to catch up, kicking out in a move that Shigaraki barely avoids. Then there's a hand reaching for his head and he jumps back despite the gloves that would have prevented anything from happening.
This is a spar. If Shigaraki touches him somewhere lethal, he looses, even if nothing actually happens.
He pauses when he's a good five feet away, watching as Shigaraki looks at his shirt with a small pout. For a second, he expects anger, but instead that pout turns into a wide, far too excited smile. He looks extremely happy that he almost got his stomach sliced open like butter. That's not weird at all.
"I knew you got stronger! You've leveled up quite a lot since we first met. Keep going and we might end up on the same level!" That's high praise from the gamer lord. Izuku doesn't respond though, taking a deep breath and settling back into a stance.
Shigaraki takes the hint with a smile, moving back to his starting place and getting ready himself. Of course, now that Izuku knows the rules, or lack thereof, he decides he may as well have some fun. He crouches down and spreads out his wings, catching Shigaraki's attention seconds before he strikes.
His wings give him an extra burst of speed, shooting him forwards faster than even he thought possible until he's inches away from Shigaraki with his talons reaching out. At the last second, Shigaraki jerks to the side, but Izuku doesn't let him escape. He lashes out, kicking in an arc until his leg is slamming into Shigaraki's side without a hint of restraint.
The contact is harsh, but his opponent isn't going to be fazed by something like this. He barely has time to dodge a hand that tries to wrap around his ankle, but he does manage, pulling his leg out of reach seconds before the fingers make contact.
It doesn't stop there.
No, Shigaraki is back on his feet the second Izuku's out of reach, but he's not out of reach for long.
The fight doesn't stop, a hand reaching for his face once more. He grabs the wrist, twisting it until Shigaraki is pulling away only to reach out with his other hand. He goes to grab that wrist as well, but his hands are occupied so teeth it is. Shigaraki notices the new weapon right before he's biting down, but he bites down on thin air, the wrist long gone along with the rest of his opponent.
But once again, the fight continues, and he barely dodges a hand to the neck because Shigaraki is behind him, just out of view. He's not entirely sure how he dodges that one, but he does, ducking down and using his wings to trip up his opponent before spinning around and swinging his fist in a punch.
It keeps happening. Attack, dodge, attack, run, attack, dodge, over and over until they're both panting and staring at each other from across the ring.
But then Shigaraki smiles once more, and Izuku freezes, because that smile is dangerous. Sure enough, Shigaraki lifts his hands and starts removing the gloves, smiling like the cat that caught the canary and in case you were wondering Izuku is very much the canary in this situation.
"Time to level up the difficulty." Can he opt out? Probably not. It's fine though, he was already doing a good job at avoiding contact with those oh so dangerous hands. To be honest, he kind of expected the gloves to be off already, maybe even from the very start.
Still, the expression on Shigaraki's face is nerve wracking. For someone who seems strangely intent on letting Izuku kill himself, he looks far to happy about making this fight possibly lethal.
"Come on hot wings! It'll be fun! Raise the stakes, get our blood pumping." He sounds far too happy as well.
"Whatever floats your boat Mr. dusty." Shigaraki rolls his eyes and tosses his gloves to the side before returning to his spot once more. He's still smiling, still looking like an excited kid, still forcing Izuku to ignore all the signs he doesn't have the time to read.
Shigaraki strikes first this time, and Izuku barely dodges just like every other time. The only difference is that he takes fewer risks, but that in and of itself puts him at the disadvantage. Shigaraki doesn't seem to care if Izuku slices his skin, and his clothes are proof of that.
Each time those hands reach for him, his heart rate increases until his chest is bursting, skin on fire as he struggles to stay focused. He doesn't really care about dying, but most of Shigaraki's attacks wouldn't kill him. No, they'd just hurt really fucking bad and he doesn't like that.
He's suicidal, not a masochist.
Shigaraki attacks, and he barely dodges, and then he attacks and Shigaraki takes it with surprising durability. Izuku isn't that durable. Each kick and hit and scrape hurts, and it's taking its toll, slowing him down. He's not sure how long they've been at this. All he knows is that Shigaraki seems far from finished with this not so friendly spar.
he doesn't know what round they're on, but his chest is bursting and he can feel fire bubbling up in his veins and he really doesn't want to keep going for much longer but he doesn't have the guts to call it quits.
They stop, they start, they fight, they continue this push and pull until Izuku is far too close to his limit for comfort.
And then, he messes up.
It's stupid, small, a foot tripping him up when he doesn't expect it. In less than a second, he's falling back and a hand is reaching for his throat and he doesn't have time to think so he reaches out and grabs.
One second, Shigaraki mouth is stretched into a vicious smile, the next, he's screaming out in pain. Izuku jerks away, letting go of the wrist in his grip and watching as Shigaraki stumbles back, a hand print burned into his skin.
Shit.
Izuku freezes, glancing down at his hand in surprise as Shigaraki curls up in pain, muffled cries slipping past his lips as he grips his arm right above the burn. The skin is bloody and charred, but Izuku is lost in panic, memories of blood and ash and fire flashing in his mind.
No, he needs to focus. He shakes his head and walks forwards until Shigaraki is looking up at him with wide eyes.
"You were- mnn, you were holding out on me." His voice is shaky and strained, like he's barely keeping himself from crying out in pain. His body is tense, tremors wracking his frame. Despite it all, he doesn't look angry. No, he looks excited.
That's not what Izuku expected.
"We need to get you patched up. Where's your med kit?" He doesn't know what else to do, trying to focus on what he can do.
"Don't ignore me. Where you ever going to tell me, or was this some convoluted side quest I needed to find on my own?" God Izuku really doesn't want to do this right now.
"There's a lot about me you don't know. It's not my job to unlock my own backstory." Shigaraki smiles, but his teeth are clenched tight. He's in pain, and a lot of it.
"Now where's your med kit?" He's says it firmly this time, trying his best to put his foot down. It wipes the smile off Shigaraki's face, replaced by annoyance that would be concerning if it weren't for the small pout and sharp huff.
"Shichi, get the med kit." A young man who looks rather shocked jerks towards a cabinet on the far wall, rushing to grab a bin off the shelf and bringing it back as fast as he can.
Izuku takes over from there, dragging Shigaraki to the mats and sitting him down without a word. He's somewhat surprised by the lack of resistance, but he continues his work despite it, rummaging through the bin until he has everything he needs.
Shigaraki doesn't protest, breathing slowly through his nose as he tries to keep his mouth shut. It's impressive, how well he's handling the pain. Even as Izuku cleans the wound and rubs ointment over the skin, Shigaraki only hisses and flinches a few times, mostly keeping quiet and staying in place until the wound is cleaned and wrapped tight.
"There. Go to a doctor as soon as you can, okay?" He doesn't get a response at first, red eyes scanning the white bandage with far less tension than before. The cream must have helped because he no longer looks on the verge of collapsing to the floor, which is good.
"Okay?" Shigaraki jerks, looking back up with a strange expression.
"Yeah yeah, I'll have the doctor look at it." Izuku almost wants to ask who 'the doctor' is, but he's not going to open that can of worms. Not right now or any time soon.
"Good." He stands up after that, looking around the room again as he tries to ignore the memories attempting to push their way into the front of his mind. He's doing good so far, but he needs to get out of here before Shigaraki starts to pry. He won't be able to handle that right now. He just won't.
"Don't worry hot wings. I won't pry into your backstory quite yet. But I will be searching for that hidden quest from now on, got it?" Izuku blinks, surprised at how well Shigaraki read him. Most people have a hard time doing that nowadays.
"Sure." God this whole thing was a bad idea.
Too late now.