Chapter Text
“You can’t go around telling people to kill themselves,” Deku whispered to himself, skulking along behind the school as he looked in bushes for his notebook. He didn’t care how much damage Kacchan had done before throwing it out the window, the thing still mattered to him. “What if I really had jumped, huh? What would he do then?”
But it was an idle threat, even as it came out of his mouth. Sure, he’d been rather… lax… about taking his heart medication in recent months, but he didn’t actually want to hurt himself. Things weren’t quite bad enough for that.
Not yet anyway.
He finally spotted Hero Analysis for the Future, Volume 13 floating in the koi pond. “My dreams have turned into fish food.” He blinked away tears and shooed the fish away. “That’s enough. Give it back.”
It was soaked, obviously. But fortunately, he always wrote in waterproof ink (he’d learned that lesson the hard way), so the notes were mostly salvageable. Still, the pages would get that ugly warped look once they dried. Maybe he could at least borrow mom’s hairdryer when he got home, to try and minimize the damage.
After shaking out as much moisture as he could, Deku put the notebook in his backpack and resigned himself to the long walk home. He definitely had to go the round-about way today, since he wanted to be absolutely sure he wouldn’t have another run-in with Kacchan and his cronies.
Unfortunately, that meant he had to go through the creepy tunnel. Hopefully, if he hurried, the sun would still be up, at least.
Walking along, Deku swallowed around the sticky feeling in his mouth. There were always strange sensations like that when he missed too many doses of his meds, though he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what those had to do with something that helped his heart. But, he supposed, there were bound to be weird side effects when you went off something you’d been taking for a decade straight.
It was particularly bad today, though. How many days had it been since he’d last taken a dose? He honestly couldn’t remember. But right now, it felt like energy was crackling just under his skin, an overstimulating feeling in the extreme. The crowd on the street was oppressive, every person crushing in on him as he became far too aware of them.
He could almost feel them, like some kind of sixth sense. Like there was something inside each person, a light that called out to him, just out of reach.
He’d make sure to take his meds as soon as he got home. It hadn’t ever been this bad before.
It was almost a relief when he made it to the tunnel, especially when he peaked around the corner to see it was deserted. The tunnel itself wasn’t that long, he’d be in and out in not even 30 seconds. He could do that.
He barely made it two steps.
An ominous gurgling billowed up behind him and Deku turned slowly in horror. “A… villain?!” Because that was definitely what it was, a mass of green sludge churning up from a grate in the concrete, with bulging eyes and a hungry mouth floating in it.
“You’ll make a perfect skin suit for me to hide in, kid!”
Deku turned to run, but the villain was faster, jumping on him with the full weight of his sludge, mouth first. Deku didn’t know how it was possible that he could move like that given the makeup of his body and, in any other context, that fact alone would have been fascinating. But this experience was nothing at all like the villain attacks Deku had watched from safely behind police lines, and all thoughts of analyzing quirks quickly fled his mind.
Then the villain was forcing its sludge down Deku’s throat, no matter how much he tried to struggle. The villain’s tone was mocking and gleeful as he said, “Don’t worry, I’m just taking over your body. It’ll be easier for both of us if you don’t fight back. You’ll only hurt for a minute. You’ll feel better soon!”
Deku seriously doubted that. He clawed at the sludge, but it came apart in his hands, there was no way to get any purchase on it. Deku was losing air.
Wait, since when was he Deku, even inside his own head? He’d never consciously made the change. He might be helpless, useless even, quite literally in this very moment, but why had he preemptively given himself the label? Even now, even if he was going to die here, he didn’t want to do so thinking of himself as a dekunobo.
No one was coming to save him, he knew that. He’d always wanted to be a hero precisely because he’d never had one of his own. If only he could have been strong enough, if only there was something inside him he could draw on to fight back…
Well, tough shit, Deku, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kacchan taunted in his head. There’s nothing inside you, no hidden strength. Nothing but a gaping hole where a quirk should have gone.
At least I proved you wrong about one thing, Izuku thought back, a little manically. I’m definitely not going to die in the UA entrance exam.
But, even if there wasn’t anything inside him, there was something he could sense inside the villain, same as he had in the people on the street. A sort of light, sickly green but shining brightly for all it was revolting. Suddenly, Izuku wanted nothing more than to seize that light for himself.
So, he pulled.
His butt smacked uncomfortably onto the concrete. Izuku doubled over, throwing up sludge and the contents of stomach together. He seemed to heave forever, until it felt like he was throwing up his heart. When he was finally done, he fell back onto the concrete, holding his stomach and groaning.
Absently, he noted that the light was gone. He’d definitely pulled it into himself, but now it was nowhere to be seen.
Must have been a delusion. Maybe that was the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ people always talked about seeing when you were close to death. It had looked a bit like death itself, that must have been it.
Urgh, he was covered in sludge. So much, it seemed like the villain must not have fled at all. Maybe the guy could put his consciousness into just a small amount? But why had he left in the first place? He had been about to get the flesh suit he wanted…
“Have no fear! You are… safe,” said a voice, trailing off at the end, almost in disappointment.
Alright, now Izuku really was definitely losing his mind. He could have sworn that was All Might’s voice, so he lifted his head wearily —
Crap. That was All Might. Izuku’s notebook had to be around here somewhere, he needed to get an autograph…
“Young man,” All Might said, voice hitting like a slap. “What is your quirk?”
Izuku blinked up at the world’s greatest hero, struggling to sit himself up on his elbow. “I — ” he fell back, then pushed himself back up till he was awkwardly sitting. “I don’t have one. I’m quirkless. Sir.”
All Might’s eyes narrowed, darting to the side. Izuku followed his gaze until… his eyes landed on one of those same bulging eyes the sludge villain had had.
Izuku’s own eyes bugged out and he scrambled back, feeling like he was going to be sick again. If that was still here, then the villain hadn’t fled, but died. Did that mean… did that mean Izuku was covered in that guy’s corpse??
Desperately, Izuku started brushing sludge off his arm, but it stuck, getting all tangled in his arm hair. He brushed harder.
All Might cleared his throat. Izuku looked at him, desperate. The hero still looked wary. “Young man. Tell me exactly what happened.”
So, Izuku stumbled out an account. How he’d been walking home from school, how the sludge villain had come up through the grate and ambushed him, tried to wear him like a suit…
“I wished I had some kind of power I could use to fight him off, but I didn’t. I saw a light, I mean, I was dying. I was delirious.
“Next thing I knew, I was on the ground. I threw up… and then you were here.”
All Might nodded slowly, crossing his arms. He regarded Izuku for a long moment. Then, quicker than Izuku’s eyes could track, he pulled out a phone. “Stay right there, young man.” He pressed a button on the phone, then held it up to his ear.
Izuku swallowed hard, but stayed still as death. After a moment, All Might spoke into his phone.
“I have a situation here. I need a police presence.” A pause. “We need forensics and a clean-up crew. There’s a body here with an unconventional mutation quirk. And I’m not sure whether we have a villain, but there’s a suspect I need taken into custody.”
Izuku blinked. Was All Might talking about him??
“I don’t know what transpired, but you’re much better suited to figure that out than I am.” Then he hung up the phone and fixed Izuku with a look. Izuku swallowed again and tried to force down the shivers he could feel threatening to engulf his entire body. He finally caught sight of his notebook, thrown down the tunnel in all the chaos.
Now was not the time to ask for an autograph.
“Do you… do you think I…”
All Might pursed his lips. “I don’t know what to think, young man. So, we’re going to wait here until the police come.”
Izuku nodded, pulling his knees up to his chest. This time, he couldn’t stop himself from shivering. “You’re my hero,” he said, lamely. “I’ve always… I’ve always wanted to be like you, more than anything.”
All Might just nodded, looking off into the distance. “That’s an admirable goal. I wish you the best in achieving it.”
It was a rehearsed line, said without thought. Izuku had never felt so small.
They waited in silence for the police to come. Izuku knew, just knew, this couldn’t be his fault. He had just been hallucinating from not taking his meds. None of what he’d been seeing today made sense. Why, All Might had no fewer than seven lights inside of him, and the longer he stood there, the more they seemed to flicker, like lightbulbs about to go out. What could that possibly mean?
Nothing. It was just the nonsense ramblings of a brain out of balance.
As the sun set, the slime clinging to Izuku’s skin started to get cold until he was shivering from more than just stress. The police would clear this up, certainly. Izuku hadn’t done anything, they had to be able to see that. Whatever else had happened, it wasn’t his fault.
But would that ever change the fact that he was a villain in All Might’s eyes?
Izuku swallowed around a lump in his throat. No, now was not the time to cry. That’d just make him look even more pathetic, even more like a useless Deku, and in front of All Might no less…
The sun was fully down by the time squad cars made their way to the alley. They were in no rush, didn’t even have their lights on. And, Izuku supposed, that made sense. Even if he was a credible murder suspect, there was no way he’d be getting away from All Might.
When the cars parked, several people emerged, wearing white jump suits and carrying official-looking boxes, labeled things like ‘evidence’ and ‘forensics.’ Izuku stayed exactly where he was and did as the suited people directed, staying still while they took pictures and samples of the slime on his skin. Nobody asked him any questions, or even spoke to him beyond giving him directions.
When he was finally allowed to get up, he was directed over to a man in a trench coat, who was conversing with All Might in quiet tones over by the squad car. As Izuku walked up, the pair fell silent, regarding Izuku with wary eyes.
Izuku bit his lip, then wordlessly held his wrists out. If they really thought he’d killed somebody, they were probably going to handcuff him.
The man in the trench coat’s eyes softened and he put a hand on Izuku’s, pushing them down. “That won’t be necessary, just yet. I’m Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi. Can you tell me your name?”
Izuku swallowed. “Izuku Midoriya.”
“And how old are you, Midoriya-kun?”
“14. I just started my third year of junior high.”
The detective nodded, jotting down his answers in a notebook. “And what’s the nature of your quirk?”
Izuku’s brow furrowed and he looked to All Might. Hadn’t he told… but the hero wouldn’t meet his eyes. Izuku looked back at the detective, but continued to tell the truth. “I don’t have one, sir. I’m quirkless.” When Tsukauchi’s eyebrows rose at that, he continued, feeling the need to prove himself. “I was diagnosed, based on the bones in my feet when I was… five, I think? My mom works at the hospital, she’s a nurse, she can probably bring my medical records to the station… when she comes for me.”
The detective nodded slowly. Then, he turned to All Might. “I think I can take it from here, To- All Might. Once I get to the bottom of what happened here, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
All Might grimaced, and stumbled back half a step. Curiously, the lights inside him seemed to flicker, almost winking out, at the very same moment. But the hero nodded to the detective, then reached into his pocket to pull something out and hand it to Izuku.
Izuku took it, then started when he realized it was his notebook. Gingerly, he opened it, to see that All Might… he’d signed it. He looked up at the hero in wonder.
All Might gave him a pained smile that looked more like a grimace. “I hope we meet under better circumstances someday, Midoriya-shounen. I’ll be rooting for you to become the hero you want to be.”
With that, All Might turned and rocketed off into the night, Izuku staring after him in wonder. All Might thought he could be a hero! It was almost enough to forget what was going on…
Almost.
The detective opened the door to the back of the squad car and the black interior looked like a gaping mouth about to devour Izuku. He swallowed hard, but got in without complaint. Struggling would only make him look worse.
The ride to the station was silent, and for that Izuku was grateful. His knuckles were turning white where he gripped the edges of his notebook. I guess I won’t be getting home to dry it out now…
He wasn’t sure when he was even going to get to go home at this point.
“Um, sir?”
“Yes?”
“Can I call my mom? She’s probably worried about me, she should be getting off work soon.”
“I radioed the station back at the tunnel. She’ll be meeting us there.”
“Thanks,” said Izuku, in a small voice, lapsing back into silence. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how she’d react to any of this. She was just as emotional as Izuku, likely to break into tears at the slightest provocation. Would she be able to advocate effectively for him in a murder case? He doubted they could afford a lawyer…
All too soon, they were pulling into the police station. Tsukauchi opened the door and, with a hand on Izuku’s arm, led him into the station. Izuku got the distinct impression that, despite the lack of cuffs on his hands, he was very much ‘in custody.’
The detective brought to him to the front desk for processing, where he surrendered his phone and the few other possessions on his body. Then he was led through the bullpen, which fell silent as they passed. Izuku resisted the urge to wave awkwardly at the police officers, keeping his eyes solidly fixed ahead. Murders were rare in Japan, all the more so those committed by quirkless junior high students. But just because he was a curiosity didn’t mean he had to give them more to talk about.
They finally made it into a room at the back of the station. The detective opened the thick metal door to reveal a stark room, with concrete walls and nothing to furnish it besides a metal table and chairs. In the far corner, there was a black sphere with a red light in its center, obviously a security camera. And at the far end of the table sat Inko Midoriya, still in her hospital scrubs and looking distinctly exhausted.
When she heard the door open, she fixed Izuku with those exhausted eyes. He was shocked to see them devoid not only of the tears he’d expected, but also of any care or compassion. She looked… she looked she’d expected this to happen.
When she spoke, her voice was so flat, it didn’t sound like it belonged to her at all. “Izuku Midoriya. What have I told you about taking your medicine?”