Separation

Izuku hummed to himself as he played with his new All Might figurine, a documentary on the hero playing on the TV in front of him.

Normally he wouldn't be awake quite so late – the sun had already sunk below the horizon and he had school the next day – but his mom was letting him stay up a bit later tonight. It was a special occasion after all.

It was his birthday. He'd turned four years old.

The day had started with his mom waking him up nice and early and making him a big breakfast. And then taking him over to his best friend's house as soon as he was done eating and had gotten dressed. It was Sunday, so he didn't even have to go to school. When they got there, his Auntie Mitsuki greeted him with a hug and Kacchan immediately pulled him away to go play in the back yard.

They spent most of the morning like that. Playing in the yard, with Kacchan showing off his newly developed quirk and their parents watching from the house.

Around lunchtime, all of them left together to head to the park. They were meeting up with more of his friends to celebrate his birthday.

There was food, presents, cake, and all of his friends were playing games together. They, of course, played games of heroes and villains. And because it was his birthday, he was allowed to be the hero every time, with Kacchan at his side obviously. For all intents and purposes, this was the best day ever.

Then, once they were done there and everything was cleaned up, the group, consisting once more of just the Midoriyas and the Bakugous, went back to Izuku's house.

Once there, Kacchan revealed another present that he'd been waiting to give him. It was the All Might figurine. But not just any figurine. It was the newest one currently available. He'd been hoping to get it for his birthday, and his wish had been granted.

He'd been so happy! And it was only made better when Kacchan revealed his own, almost identical figurine. They'd spent the rest of the day playing with each other, running back and forth through the apartment as their mothers watched on. The best day ever had been made even better.

Speaking of his mom; she was with him. He was sitting in her lap and her arms were wrapped around him as they watched the TV together, although his focus was mostly on the toy in his hands and he was pretty sure his mom was asleep. Her head was slumped forward and her breathing had evened out.

An accidental slip of his clumsy child-sized hands, and the toy fell from his grasp to the carpet below. He tried to reach for it, but it was too far away. He could try to get up to get it, but then he might wake his mom up…

Grabbing onto her hand absentmindedly as he stared at the toy on the floor, he thought about how he'd be able to get it if he had his quirk. He should be getting it any day now! Everyone said that once you turned four, you got your quirk. And he wanted his to be just like his mom's.

Actually, maybe he already had his quirk, and he just hadn't realized it yet. Kacchan's had been noticeable as soon as it came in, but maybe his wasn't quite so visible. Especially if he had his mom's quirk.

Furrowing his brow, he thought about how she used hers. Didn't she normally do something with her hands?

He stared down at the toy and reached his free hand towards it. He was pretty sure she did something with her fingers.

He focused, wiggling his fingers like he was pretty sure she normally did. For a moment, his fingers felt kinda warm, and he was pretty sure he felt his mom move a little, but he ignored it, focusing even more.

He moved his fingers a little differently, like he was trying to grab the toy from a few feet away and-

There! He saw it wiggle. The toy moved.

Excited, and determined to see it again, he repeated what he'd just been doing. After a moment the toy, slowly but surely, drifted into the air towards his hand. Once it was within reach, he grabbed it gently, as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

It hit him a moment later.

It finally happened! He had his quirk! And it was just like his mom's! He was finally going to be able to be a hero with Kacchan!

"Mama!" He whisper-yelled at her, shaking her arm and practically vibrating with excitement. "Mama, wake up!"

"Mm? Izuku?" She questioned as she blearily opened her eyes. "What is it sweetie?"

"My quirk, Mama! I got my quirk!"

She blinked down at him in confusion, not fully comprehending what was happening.

"Watch!" He commanded, before dropping his toy on the floor again.

"Izuku!" She scolded, waking up a bit more. "That's your new toy. Don't throw it around."

She reached her hand out to pick it up with her quirk, before Izuku grabbed it to hold her back.

"Wait Mama! Watch!"

He turned to the toy on the floor. Reaching his hand out with an exaggerated look of concentration on his face, he started making tiny grabbing motions.

Inko's eyes widened, and she finally woke up fully as she saw the toy shake in place, before drifting wobbly up to Izuku's hand. Just inches before he could grab it, his concentration wavered, and it dropped back to the floor.

Undeterred, he turned back to look at her. "See Mama! I got my quirk!"

She hesitated only a moment before hugging him to her chest. "That's wonderful Izuku!"

The two broke into happy tears as they hugged each other tight. Not exactly an uncommon occurrence in the Midoriya household, but one made more intense by the situation.

There were few moments in a parent's life that elicited more pride than when their child manifested their quirk. And even further, it was made so much more special when a child ended up with a duplicate of one of the parents' quirks.

This was certainly the case for Inko, as she continued to almost crush her son into her chest, tears of happiness still falling from both of their eyes. She was absolutely delighted to see Izuku inherit her quirk.

Deep down, a part of her was glad he hadn't gotten Hisashi's. She would've loved him and celebrated just the same, of course. But she knew that it would've always hurt a little every time she saw the fire that she used to associate with her late husband. It had already been three years, but she was content to let his memory rest.

Eventually, the pair calmed back down, and Inko released Izuku from her death grip.

She looked down at him. "Do you think you can do it again? Try to pick it up?"

He nodded excitedly. "Yeah!" Before turning his attention back to the fallen toy.

Repeating the same process, he made tiny grabbing motions with his hand, and the toy floated into the air shakily. It wobbled through the air towards his hand before, just as it did last time, falling to the floor just before it came within his reach.

This time he pouted, staring down at the toy with frustration in his eyes. He'd done it just a few minutes ago. Why couldn't he do it now?

Inko noticed the frustration and laughed softly as she ruffled his hair. "Don't worry sweetie. You've only just gotten your quirk. It'll take time before you're used to it, just like everyone else."

He seemed to be reassured by that, his eyes lighting back up, just as a massive yawn escaped him.

Inko laughed quietly. "Now, let's get you into bed so you're nice and rested to show everyone your new quirk tomorrow."

"Okay!" He responded, frustration immediately forgotten.

Smiling at her son, she reached her own hand down to pick up the toy with her quirk, making the tiny gestures she was so accustomed to after years of use.

Only to pause when nothing happened.

Frowning slightly, she tried again. But still, nothing happened. And this time she shivered as she felt a definite chill run down the length of her body, starting right at her chest.

What was going on? She knew that she had used her quirk. The same way she'd been doing it for just under three decades. Trying once more yielded the same results.

She sat there, staring in confusion at her hand, with a sudden feeling of panic building up in her chest. Why couldn't she use her quirk? Was something wrong?

It wasn't like she was reliant on her quirk in any way. She didn't exactly use it very often, with as limiting as her weight limit was. There were even times where she would go days without even using it. But there was something truly chilling that came with the realization that she, for whatever reason, could not use her quirk.

She thought she could hear Izuku saying something. But she was too caught up in her own thoughts for it to register.

Why couldn't she use her quirk? Was she sick? Maybe she was sick. There were illnesses that messed with quirks, right?

She sat there for several long moments, staring silently down at her hand and rapidly spiraling into a panic, until she was broken out of the trance by a small tug at her arm.

"Mama?" Izuku asked, concern in his eyes as he stared up at her. "Are you okay?"

She opened her mouth to answer, to feed him some lie that 'she was just fine, and he had nothing to worry about.' When a sudden thought hit her and left an ice-cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Izuku hadn't just inherited her quirk.

He had taken it.

What other explanation was there for him having that quirk at the same time as her finding herself unable to use hers? She didn't know how it could be possible, but somehow Izuku had taken her quirk.

She lifted him up, doing her best to ignore the sudden ice-cold sensation running down her back, like someone had poured ice water on her, and set him on the floor. "Everything's fine sweetie. Now go get ready for bed." Her voice didn't sound normal even to herself.

Izuku hesitated, staring up at her with that same concern present in his eyes.

"Now." She said, with a slightly firmer tone that was rarely used, letting him know that she was serious.

As soon as he scurried from the room, she slumped back down onto the couch, staring at her hand.

Maybe she was mistaken? Maybe she still had her quirk, and it was just acting up?

She held her hand out towards the toy again, still laying in the same spot; forgotten by Izuku in his rush to run from the room. She tried again but got the same result: a motionless toy and that same cold, empty feeling in her chest.

Undeterred, but with that same panic beginning to return where it had been momentarily forgotten, she tried again.

And again, when the toy still refused to move.

She lost track of time as she sat there, making grabbing motions with her hand until her fingers ached and she was practically shivering from the cold.

Izuku had taken it. He'd taken her quirk. That was the only explanation.

She tried to push down the surge in fear that rose at such a thought, coupled with the mind-numbing panic of not being able to use her quirk. This was still her son. This was still Izuku. Him being able to take quirks doesn't mean anything.

'Doesn't it though?' Another part of her reasoned. 'His quirk is to take quirks from others. What is that but a villainous quirk? The only way he can use it by taking from others.'

She tried to shake the thought away. No. This is Izuku. She couldn't imagine a less-villainous person if she tried. He was only four years old for God's sake!

'Are you sure about that? Can you still think that, now that you know what his quirk is? What it can do? His age aside, he took my quirk without me even noticing, and without even knowing about it. Imagine what he could do if he learned how to use it. The chaos he could cause. What if he got his hands on Katsuki, or his classmates? What would happen if he got his hands on a hero, or even All Might himself?'

Her breath caught in her throat as that thought passed through her. She couldn't push back the fear any longer, it was bubbling up her throat, threatening to consume her entirely.

That wasn't her son. That was a villain waiting to happen.

She couldn't. She couldn't let him take anyone else's.

A final bit of doubt entered her mind. This was her son! She couldn't do anything to him. But she shook it away.

No. She knew what she needed to do.

Picking herself up off the couch, she made her way over to Izuku's room. Opening the door, she could see him under the covers, sound asleep with a peaceful expression on his face. Too peaceful for the face of a villain.

Making her way over to his bed, she looked down at him. Seeing that expression in his notherson notherson notherson face, she felt a sliver of doubt. Her own face softened to match. She couldn't hurt him. She couldn't.

But just as quickly, that doubt was dashed away, and her features hardened right back to where they were.

No, she couldn't hurt him. But she knew what she could do to deal with the future villain.

Reaching down, she gently shook him awake, ignoring the itching, crawling sensation that sprouted at the contact with the thing that used to be her son.

When she saw him open his eyes, blinking up her in exhaustion, she put on the warmest smile she still could after realizing that her son was a villain in the making. "Izuku, Sweetie. I need you to come with me."

He hesitated, before slowly getting out from beneath the covers, exhaustion wearing him down, too tired to even question what was happening. His concern from before had seemingly been forgotten.

"Where are we going?"

She tried to smile a little bigger. "We're going to go out for a little late-night drive. Okay? You don't even have to worry about changing out of your pajamas."

"Okay." He replied, a small, sleepy smile on his, face not noticing that anything was amiss.

With that, she turned and made her way to the front door, Izuku following a few steps behind.

When she got to her car, she held open the back door for Izuku to climb in, before getting into the driver's seat.

Then, she drove. She didn't have a destination in mind, or even a direction. She just started driving, making up her route as she went. Eventually, they had made it deeper into the city, surrounded by the towers that stretched into the sky.

Finally, she found her destination. An alleyway, no different from the hundreds exactly like it that littered the city, but the one that would serve her purpose.

She pulled over to the curb, exiting the car once it was parked. Walking over to Izuku's door, she opened it, picking him up out of it and ignoring the slight confusion in his eyes, ignorant of what was happening.

She set him down in the mouth of the alleyway, kneeling down to look him in the face. "Now sweetie. I need you to stay right here, okay? I'll be right back, but I need you to wait here for me. Do you understand?"

He nodded. His four-year-old mind couldn't see what was happening, and he trusted her. Why wouldn't he? She was his mother.

"Whatever happens, I need you to avoid strangers, okay? Just stay here and stay hidden until I come back for you."

Another nod.

She tried to fake another smile, but found that she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to do it.

So, without another word, she stood back up and made her way back to the car. She didn't even glance at him as she climbed back in and drove away.

Now that the future villain had been taken care of, she needed to think of a story to explain his disappearance.

---

Izuku watched as his mom drove away, confused by what she was doing but too tired to think much about it.

He yawned, wrapping his arms around his middle as a breeze made him shiver. It was July, but the night air was still chilly. It didn't help that he was still in his pajamas.

He hadn't even had time to put on shoes before they'd left.

Izuku stood there and waited, just like his mom had told him to. She said that she would come right back. What was she doing? Maybe this was some sort of late-night birthday surprise she'd planned? That might be fun, but he was so tired.

He waited.

Whatever she was doing, he hoped that it wouldn't take too long. He was tired, and wanted to get back to his warm bed and All Might plushies.

---

Izuku wasn't sure how long it had been. He'd been standing there for a while, but his mom still hadn't come back for him.

He let out another yawn. He was tired, and wanted to go lie down, but his mom still hadn't come back. What if she got there, and he was sleeping somewhere? Then she might not be able to find him. She'd probably get worried. He didn't want that.

He waited…

---

Izuku was swaying in place, he could barely keep his eyes open. He was so very tired.

Eventually, he decided that he would sleep. It was only for a little bit, and his mom would be able to find him, right?

He moved a little further into the alleyway, over to the wall of one of the bordering buildings, settling down next to a dumpster. He leaned against it as he curled up. His mom should be able to find him here, he wasn't too hidden.

He let out a final yawn as his eyes drifted shut. Hopefully, it wouldn't take her too long to get back, he didn't want to be late for school tomorrow. He wanted to show all of his friends that he got his quirk. Especially Kacchan.

As he drifted off to sleep, a small smile appeared on his face as he imagined Kacchan's reaction.

---

Izuku sat up, blearily scrubbing at his eyes. He cracked them open, expecting to see his All Might toys and posters scattered around his room, and his mom waking him up with a smile. But instead, it looked like he was outside.

All he saw were the tall buildings around him and the dumpster he was curled up against, and all he heard were the loud noises of cars and people moving around just out of sight.

Where was he? Why was he outside?

He sat there for a minute, staring at his surroundings as he tried to figure out where he was and how he got there. He still wasn't fully awake.

That quickly changed though. His eyes snapped wide open and any scraps of tiredness were banished from his body as he remembered what had happened last night.

His mom had dropped him off, before driving away. She'd said that she would be right back, but that must not have happened if he was still here.

Or maybe…

Maybe she had come back, but she just hadn't been able to find him where he was.

Izuku felt a bolt of fear shoot up his spine at the thought. Should he have waited longer before going to sleep? Maybe she'd come back right after he fell asleep. He should've just listened to her and stayed still until she came back.

His breathing was speeding up, and he felt tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Was he missing? Is that what was happening? He'd heard his mom use that word a few times when she talked about someone not being able to find another person.

He tried to remember what else she told him. About what he was supposed to do if it ever happened to him. Wasn't he supposed to find a police officer? They could help his mom find him, right?

He stood up, and moved to walk forwards, to go towards the sounds of people just a short distance away. He wasn't too sure where to find a police officer, but one of the adults moving around should know. But before he even took one step, he froze. He remembered the last thing his mom said before she'd left. She told him to stay hidden and avoid strangers until she got back.

What if she hadn't come looking for him, and was still going to come back? He didn't want to disobey her and possibly make her mad.

Frozen in place, he struggled internally as he debated what to do. On the one hand, he might be missing, and he wanted to get home as soon as he could. On the other, he didn't want to make his mom mad by not listening to her. He'd already messed up once by not staying where she'd told him to.

Reaching a decision, he sat back down. He would listen to his mom and stay put. He just needed to stay where he was, and she would come back for him.

He brought his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them. He just needed to wait. She would come back for him. Everything would be okay. He wasn't missing.

…

Right?

---

Izuku wrapped his arms around his middle as his stomach let out another growl.

He'd been waiting there, curled up against the dumpster, almost all day, and he was starting to get hungry. He hadn't had anything to eat since dinner last night, and now he could see the shadows beginning to lengthen, or disappear altogether as the sun vanished behind buildings.

He clenched his eyes shut as hunger pinched at his stomach again, sending a wave of discomfort through him.

Tears pricked at his eyes, not for the first time today, as the feeling lingered a few seconds longer than it had before, gnawing at him. He wanted to go home. What was taking his mom so long to come back? She hadn't forgotten him, had she?

He shook his head in an attempt to disperse that thought. Of course she hadn't forgotten him. She was coming back. She'd come get him and take him home and then the two would have a nice big dinner.

Curling up tighter, he repeated that thought in his head over and over, doing his best to ignore the still-present hunger.

He stayed like that as the last bit of light faded away. At some point the growing hunger, mixed with the fear that maybe she wouldn't come back, turned his tears to quiet sobs. And as night finally took over, he fell asleep. Having cried himself to the point of exhaustion.

---

The next day was spent almost the same. The only differences separating the two days were him getting up to walk around in the small space hidden by the dumpster in order to stretch his legs, the ever-present hunger, which no longer faded away to give him any respite from the discomfort and that was now joined by a constant thirst, and the fear he felt, growing stronger by the minute. Several times, he very nearly started walking towards the noises just out of sight, if only to put a stop to the hunger. But still, he stayed hidden.

He fell asleep just the same. Nearly drowning in his fear and discomfort, until he finally tired himself out.

---

Izuku awoke to the sound of screaming, just a few feet in front of him. His eyes snapped open and his heart shot into his throat, immediately feeling like it would burst from his chest. Before he could begin to understand what was happening, - he was just barely conscious enough to register that it was still dark out. That, combined with his confusion from waking up so harshly, meant that he couldn't hardly see what was right in front of him. – he felt a pair of hands close around his neck and lift him into the air, almost slamming him into the brick wall behind him.

Clawing at the assaulting hands, as his feet kicked uselessly at the empty air, he was finally able to make out what he was seeing. It was a man, his face mere inches from Izuku's own. Their appearance fit every meaning of the word 'scraggly.' Long, greasy hair fell in a matted heap around his shoulders, and an equally grimy beard plumed from his face in a wild mess. Every inch of him seemed to be covered in layers of dirt.

He was still screaming as his hands tightened around his throat. Izuku could hardly understand any of it though. Most of it was inarticulate noise, an insane babble rather than actual words. It wasn't helped by the fact that Izuku's ears were ringing from his impact with the wall. He thought he could make out the words "My turf!" but he couldn't be sure. But that wasn't what he was worried about. It barely even registered.

What was important, was the fact that he couldn't breathe. The hands had tightened around his throat to the point that he couldn't take in a breath. He couldn't even scream.

'A hero will come. A hero will save me.' He thought to himself desperately as he struggled in the man's grip. 'Heroes save everyone.'

But seconds passed, and the pain only increased as he grew more and more desperate for air. No one came for him. No one jumped in to rescue him from the hands that were choking the life out of him.

His clawing at the hands grew increasingly desperate the longer he went without breathing. It didn't achieve anything though. The man only yelled louder, and slammed him into the wall again.

Then, it reached a tipping point as the lack of oxygen started to cross the threshold into dangerous territory. His struggles began to weaken, his kicking legs halting altogether.

'Please.' He silently begged. Not even to anyone in particular. Just anyone who would listen. A hero, his mom, a random stranger, even the person that was choking him. 'Help…'

His vision started to fade around the edges, and his hands dropped to his sides. His thoughts were slowing to a halt.

But as his perception of the world around him started to disappear, something else became noticeable to him.

In the midst of the cold that had begun to overtake him, he felt a faint, but distinct warmth, just at the edge of his awareness. It prickled around his neck, right where the man's hands were located. He wasn't too sure what to make of it. His mind was much too sluggish to even think about it in the first place. In that moment, all he could comprehend any more was that he was cold, and he didn't want to be.

Reaching out, he grabbed ahold of the warmth. Just that simple action helped drive away the numbing cold, if only a little. With the last bit of strength he had, as his vision began to fade away completely, he pulled on it, dragging it within himself.

The next thing he knew, he felt something hard against his cheek. Cracking open an eye as his body automatically began heaving giant breaths, he noticed that he was lying on the ground. His vision was muted and dark. It was difficult to make out much of what was around him.

His attacker was a few feet away, sitting against the building opposite of the one Izuku had been held against. That was one of the few things he could notice. From the way he was sitting, it looked as though he'd fallen and scooted backwards until his back hit the wall. Izuku saw that the man's mouth was open like he was screaming, but he couldn't hear anything past the muffled ringing in his ears.

His attention was quickly dragged away from the man though, as he noticed something more pressing. His hand, which was lying a few inches in front of his face. The tips of his fingers were tinged blue, and had something poking out of them. They were shiny like metal, and looked pointy. He could see that his fingernails had turned the same color as the strange new appendages.

He pulled his hand closer, his movements sluggish, as his brain struggled to catch up with what he was seeing. As his hand moved, the appendages left small grooves in the ground as they scraped across it. A testament to their apparent sharpness. He also noticed that it seemed heavier than normal. But he couldn't tell for sure. His entire body felt heavy.

When it finally reached its destination right in front of his face, he stared at the strange new appendages. They were each a few inches in length, at least as long as his fingers.

He didn't get much chance to think about the new development, however. His vision started to fade to black once more, dragging him down with it.

---

Everything hurt when Izuku finally regained his senses. His arms and legs still felt heavy, and his fingers hurt. His back ached from where he'd been slammed into the wall twice. And his chest hurt a bit as well, likely from the same thing.

Most of all though, was the pain in his neck. It throbbed in time with his heart, which had finally settled during his time unconscious. He made the mistake of moving a hand to try to rub at it. As soon as his fingers made contact, the dull pain exploded, sending him recoiling, only to gasp at the pain that came from that small movement.

Staying as still as possible, he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that color had completely returned. His vision was no longer darkened. The next, was that his fingers no longer held the strange appendages he remembered seeing.

His fingers had regained their normal color, including his fingernails, which no longer looked as though they were made of metal.

Finally, he noticed the figure that was slumped against the building across from him. He startled, ignoring the pain that bloomed. The man that had attacked him was still sitting in the same spot.

Izuku's heart was immediately sent racing again. He scrambled to get his hands and feet under himself, choking back a sob as he pushed himself off the ground. Turning away from the man, in a direction that led deeper into the alleyway, he took off running as fast as his legs could carry him, and as fast as the pain – flaring with the impact of every step he took – would allow him. He didn't spare another glance at the man. Had he done so, he would've noticed that they hadn't reacted to him at all. That they weren't even conscious.

But he didn't. He just ran. He didn't want to get hurt like that again, and the easiest way he could think of was to get away from them as fast as he could.

He didn't pay attention as he ran. His panic-stricken mind too muddled to think any further than his need to run away. He took turns randomly into other alleys, or crossed darkened, empty streets, not paying any attention to where he was going. Even the discomfort of his bare feet on the ground was pushed to the back of his mind.

There was no way for him to tell just how far he'd ran by the time he all but collapsed. The burning in his lungs and the throbbing pain that emanated from his throat with every breath forcing him to stop, before he dropped to his hands and knees. Crawling over to a nearby wall, he fell in a heap against it, curling up into a ball as he struggled to catch his breath.

As his breathing began to even out, and his heart settled in his chest, he held his hands up to study them. Now that his head wasn't so clouded in panic, he thought back to the strange appendages he'd seen on his fingers.

Or at least, he thought he saw them. For some reason they weren't there now.

Then, without warning, almost as if they were summoned by his thoughts, the objects in question sprouted from the tips of his fingers.

Recovering from the momentary shock from their sudden appearance, he stared at them in confusion, turning his hands back and forth. What were they? Did the man do something to him? Beyond trying to choke him?

Were they a quirk?

He almost shook his head at the thought, before the pain reminded him why that wasn't a good idea. They couldn't be a quirk, he already had his. Everybody knew that you couldn't have more than one quirk.

Unless…

He thought about the man. Izuku hadn't seen what their quirk was. Not that there had been much opportunity to do so.

It… It couldn't be his quirk… Could it?

One of the last things he could remember before he'd woken up on the ground was the feeling of pulling something. Maybe some kind of warmth? He moved a hand to rest on his chest, paying attention to where the blades were. He was pretty sure he could feel something there. Something that made him feel warmer than he thought he should've.

His eyes widened as he made the connection. Did… Did he take the man's quirk?

His mind immediately jumped to his mom. His quirk was exactly like hers, right down to the hand movements to activate it.

But what if it hadn't been his quirk?

He remembered how she'd been acting strange after he'd shown her his quirk. It looked like she had tried to use her quirk, but didn't for some reason. That's when she'd started staring at her hand and had a weird look on her face. And then there was her voice when she'd told him that she was fine. It hadn't sounded like her at all.

Tears pricked at his eyes. Did he steal her quirk?

Stealing was wrong, he knew that. His teachers had told them before that it was wrong to take things from other people without their permission. And Kacchan had said that only villains stole things.

If he took his mom's quirk, and then the man that had attacked him, didn't that make him a villain?

A choked sob bubbled up out of his throat. He didn't want to be a villain. He couldn't become a hero with Kacchan if he was a villain. Villains were the people that heroes fought. He didn't want to fight against Kacchan.

As his thoughts quickly began to spiral downwards with his realization, another thought made itself known.

Was that why his mom hadn't come back for him?

He knew that parents sometimes punished their children when they did something bad. His mom had told him that after she'd spanked him for repeating a word that Kacchan had taught him. But now he was a villain. And that's the worst thing someone can be. So did that mean that she was punishing him by not coming back?

His breath caught in his throat with the next thought that followed along.

Maybe she'd decided that he was too bad to even be punished, and had decided to get rid of him.

Maybe she was never coming back for him…

His building emotions – slowly rising and churning within him ever since he'd stopped running – surged with that realization, and finally overwhelmed him. He couldn't handle that thought.

The tears that had been sitting in the corners of his eyes finally started falling, now pouring down his face. Sobs sounded out into the alleyway; loud, and singing the despair that was consuming him. They only increased in volume when they made the pain in his throat flare up, which in turn continued to make things worse in a vicious cycle, until he was crying out in equal parts pain and sadness.

He curled in on himself as tight as he could manage, seeking to somehow hide himself away from what he was feeling. All while hoping desperately that he was dreaming, and that he would wake up from this nightmare to his mom's smile.

---

Reiko Etsumi huffed in annoyance as she threw the piece of food she'd been inspecting aside; It was too rotten to eat. Hardly any of it was left.

Struggling to keep her irritation in check, she went back to digging through the dumpster, hoping to find something that she might be able to eat. It had been just over three days since she'd last found something. And even then, it had only been about half of a cup of instant noodles.

She wasn't having much luck with this one, and she knew she had limited time to look. The insane asshole with the metal claws had claimed every dumpster within a couple blocks, and didn't take kindly to anyone going anywhere near them. She knew that from experience; those stupid claws hurt like hell. And even though it was a pretty wide area to cover, he somehow managed to appear whenever she tried to look for food.

Deciding to cut her losses, and not wanting to press her luck any more than she already had, she turned away from the dumpster, already working out the route to the next one she would try.

Grimacing, she clenched a hand at her belly, which had chosen that moment to announce its ever-present hunger to the world. Not for the first time, she cursed her quirk for making her need more food to survive. She had two stomachs, and both of them were constantly empty.

Also not for the first time – not even the first time today – she cursed her parents.

If only her father weren't such a piece of shit, and if only her mother weren't such a spineless little weasel, then maybe she wouldn't have to deal with this. Maybe she wouldn't have to fend for herself at ten years old. But as it stood, even with how hungry she was, she was still better off like this. At least now she didn't have to be a living punching bag every other day. Now the only time she had to worry about getting hurt were the times she accidentally lingered too long at a dumpster.

Reaching the edge of the alley, she poked her head out, scanning the street for signs of life. Satisfied that it was empty, she darted across, only relaxing once she was hidden in the shadows of the next alleyway.

She tried to be careful about being out in plain view. She didn't really think that either of her parents would come looking for her, but her father was an angry, drunk bastard and her mother was desperate to please him any way she could. Both of them were unpredictable in their own way, so she was careful all the same.

She was just turning into a smaller side-alley, about five minutes from her target, when she froze in her tracks. There was a noise, not very loud, but noticeable, coming from somewhere nearby.

Tilting her head, she listed for the noise, trying to identify it. It was faint, but sounded almost like… Crying?

Hesitating for a moment, she started moving in a new direction, ignoring her protesting stomachs. Whatever this was, she felt that it was more important than her hunger. She was always hungry, but this – whatever it was – was new.

It took her a while to locate the source of the noise. It kept fading out for minutes at a time, before coming back. She felt like she was being led on a wild goose chase as she investigated all the nearby alleyways. Finally though, it returned just as she turned to a new one. As she listened, she knew at once that the source was close by. She also knew now that it was definitely crying.

Soft, tiny sobs were echoing from the shadows. Moving closer, she saw that they were coming from a tiny heap lying against one of the buildings. Once she was close enough, she could see that it was a child. They were so small, probably no older than three or four years old. They were lying on their side, curled in on themselves, head tucked to their knees and arms wrapped around themselves so tight that she imagined it ought to be painful for them. She could also see where they were dressed in a pair of All Might pajamas. There were no shoes covering their tiny feet.

She shifted herself closer, leaning down so that her face was close to them.

"Hello?" She started softly.

Their reaction was immediate. Shooting up from where he – She could see that it was a little boy now – was lying, into a sitting position. His eyes were wide with fear, and even in the dark she could see how bloodshot they were. Her own eyes narrowed a bit in concern. They looked a bit too bloodshot to just be from crying; the sclera were mostly red. But it did look like he'd been crying for a while.

He scrambled away from her, keeping close to the wall. As he moved, she could see pain twisting in his expression alongside the fear. She tried to reach a hand out to him, staying as low as she could and hoping that her tail wasn't making her seem scary. Only to stop when he shook his head, letting out a small whimper as if the action caused him pain.

"Hey, hey." She said, pulling her hand back. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

She tried to inch forwards, keeping her hands up in what she hoped was a non-threatening gesture.

"N-no." He croaked out, voice rough. "Don't touch me. I… I might steal it."

He broke into a fit of coughs as he said that, hands reaching up to grab at his throat. That only seemed to make things worse though, as she heard small sobs start to break through the coughs.

She frowned. Something was clearly going on with his throat. The symptoms seemed familiar to her, tugging at a memory she couldn't quite place. But she couldn't tell too much from where she was. She needed him to calm down first; right now he was acting more like a scared animal than anything else.

Rei watched on in concern as his coughing slowed to a stop, and he regained his composure. She had to keep herself from trying to approach him, and she continued to hold her hands in place, hoping to keep him calm.

"Are you okay?" She asked once his eyes were focused back on her.

He didn't reply, instead just appearing to close in on himself, bringing his knees to his chest. She could see one of his hands reaching back up at his neck again.

"What did you mean when you said you might steal it?" She asked. "Steal what?"

She knew right away that-that was the wrong thing to ask. His face immediately twisted in sadness. And even in the dark she could see the tears pouring from his eyes.

Before she could try to say anything to calm him down, she heard a whisper.

"I'm a villain."

That made her pause. She might not be the smartest person, but she was smart enough for only being ten years old. She had a pretty solid idea of what made someone a villain.

Villains were people that hurt or killed other people. Villains fought heroes and did bad things.

Villains were people that beat their own daughter.

So why was this kid, who looked about half her age or less, claiming to be a villain?

'One thing at a time.' She thought to herself, pushing off that question for the moment.

"Can you tell me your name?"

He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I-Izuku Midoriya."

Rei smiled at him. "Hi Izuku. My name's Reiko. Reiko Etsumi. You can call me Rei if you want."

Izuku didn't respond, just watching her with his shimmering, bloodshot eyes.

She discreetly inched just a little closer. "Now, can you tell me what you're doing out here all by yourself?"

A fresh wave of tears rolled down his face, which was quickly buried into his knees. She heard a small whimper escape his throat, and was already moving closer when she heard him speak.

"Mama doesn't want me any more…" He said. She could hear so much pain in those words. "She said that she was coming right back. But she hasn't."

So, he'd been abandoned, and had been on the streets for who knew how long. Rei felt her heart clench at that. She could sympathize with his situation. Granted, her being out on the streets was by choice, but she knew what it felt like to be unwanted.

She watched as he curled even tighter around himself. "It's because I'm a villain."

She frowned. "Izuku. Why do you think you're a villain?

Lifting his head, he brought his hands up in front of him, almost as if he was inspecting them. Then long, razor-sharp metal claws sprouted from the tips.

"I stole it…"

Her eyes widened as she stared down at the claws. She recognized them. Of course she did. She still had the partially healed wounds from her last encounter with them.

Izuku said that he stole it. Did that mean that he stole the insane asshole's quirk? She almost couldn't believe it, and certainly wouldn't have if she wasn't staring directly at the proof.

A quirk that could take other quirks…

Part of her felt like she should be scared of something like that. She'd never heard of someone being able to take a quirk from someone else. But in that moment, all she felt was a small sense of relief.

If Izuku had the asshole's quirk, that meant that she wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. She'd be able to search dumpsters to her heart's content. Or at least, until someone else came by to claim them. Nobody would be intimidated by a little girl. She wasn't big enough, strong enough, or mean enough to scare people off.

But for now at least, she might be able to eat properly for the first time in a couple weeks.

Her relief vanished a moment later when she realized that, in order for Izuku to have his quirk, he must have encountered the man at some point. Even without his quirk, he was a crazy, drugged out adult, and Izuku was a child. The only reason she didn't fear him anymore was because she outweighed him by a few hundred pounds and knew how to use her quirk to defend herself. Izuku probably didn't even weigh a hundred pounds. Any encounter between the two could not have ended well.

"Izuku.��� She started, startling him from where he'd been staring at the claws, which disappeared with his loss of focus. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?"

A hand was raised to his throat again, and she saw the smallest of nods. She'd been right; something had happened. Izuku must've strayed too close to a dumpster.

"Can you show me?"

He hesitated, probably torn between wanting help and his earlier aversion to being touched.

His wanting help evidently won out, as he dropped his hand and uncurled himself from where he was sitting, giving her a full view of his neck.

Her eyes widened as he did. In the little bit of light there was, she could make out the thick, mottled bruises that wrapped around his throat. She'd been right when she thought that she recognized the symptoms earlier.

He'd been strangled. Very nearly to death if she was right.

A few times, on her father's worst days, he would skip the usual beating and jump straight to choking her. Sometimes it would only last long enough for him to slam her against a wall or two, but other times it would last until she passed out.

She couldn't even do anything to stop him, even with her tail. That was because she'd inherited it from him. He had one of his own, which was bigger in every way. So the one advantage she might've had couldn't help her. He could decide to kill her one day, just keep his hands wrapped around her throat long after she'd passed out, and she'd be powerless to stop him.

On those days, she would wake up looking like Izuku did now, with red eyes, a heavily bruised neck that made it hurt to even breathe, and a rough voice that only served to annoy her parents more than normal.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much that could be done to fix any of that, other than avoiding talking and moving as much as possible.

She closed the last bit of distance between the two of them – he had his eyes shut tight and didn't notice her approaching – and placed a hand on his shoulder, careful to avoid touching too close to the bruises. His eyes snapped open at the contact, but before he could move away she pulled him closer and wrapped him in a hug.

"N-no!" He said as he struggled weakly in her arms. "I don't… I don't want to hurt you too…"

"You won't." She responded simply.

Sure, maybe she should be at least a little apprehensive, with him being able to take quirks. But he obviously hadn't wanted to take them, and still didn't want to. And sure, she'd only just met him a few minutes ago. If he'd been any quieter, she might not have even noticed that he was there.

But regardless of all of that, she knew what it was like to be hurt and unwanted and afraid. She knew from experience how much it hurt, and didn't want Izuku to be hurt any more than he had been already.

"I'm a villain." He all but sobbed into her shirt, even as his struggling halted.

"No. You aren't."

"B-but I stole their quirks. Kacchan said that only villains steal."

Rei had no idea who 'Kacchan' was. Probably a friend.

She grabbed him by the arms and pushed him away just enough so that she could look at him. "Did you mean to steal them?" She questioned.

A small shake of his head was the only answer he gave.

"Then you aren't a villain. It was an accident. You're a kid, and you didn't know how to use your quirk."

"But I hurt them." He said. "I hurt Mama…"

"Maybe." She responded, "But they hurt you too. Your mama left you all alone instead of helping you learn how to use your quirk. And that bad man attacked you. All you did was defend yourself. That doesn't make you a villain."

He seemed to struggle internally. Torn between wanting to believe her, and everything that had made him believe that he was a villain.

After a moment, she pulled him back in for an even tighter hug. That seemed to be the final push he needed. Unlike last time, he didn't fight it. Instead, he all but melted into the contact, wrapping his arms around her as the damn broke and he sobbed into her shirt.

"I want my Mama." He croaked between sobs.

Rei's only response to that was to hug him tighter. There was nothing she could say that could make something like that hurt any less.

The two stayed like that for a while. Izuku crying his heart out while Rei held him, whispering soft reassurances.

Eventually, everything caught up with him and he started to drift off in her arms. By the time he was finally asleep, and she was lifting him up to carry him, she could see the first bit of light brightening the sky.

At that point, she hesitated, considering what she should do next.

She was tempted to take him to the police. Taking him there would mean that he'd go back to his mother, but if she really did abandon him, then him going back wouldn't end well. At best, she'd simply abandon him again, but at worst she could end up like Rei's parents. Then he'd be stuck in that situation for who knew how long.

And she couldn't simply explain to the police that he'd been abandoned. Police and adults didn't listen to kids like her. She knew that from experience. She would tell someone, that person would talk to her parents, her parents would lie about it, then she'd go to sleep with more bruises than normal, and nothing would change.

There was also the fact that if she took him there, then they'd most likely try to take her back to her parents.

So no, taking him to the police wasn't an option.

She wasn't sure what else she could do. She couldn't think of anything else.

Suddenly, Izuku's stomach growling broke her from her thoughts. She realized, then, that she had no idea how long it had been since he was abandoned. He was probably starving.

That made her next step clear. For now, until she found somewhere better, she would take him back to the spot she'd been using as shelter. She had a small stash of food that she'd been planning on pulling from if she couldn't find anything tonight. She would share some of it with Izuku.

Shifting him around to make sure he was comfortable, she started off, weaving between buildings. She had to be careful crossing the streets now that the sun was starting to come up. People were starting to wake up to begin their day. Pretty soon, there would be too many people walking about for her to move unseen.

Luckily, she didn't encounter anyone, and was pretty sure that she'd gone unseen by the time she reached her block.

All of the buildings around her were broken and dilapidated. Most likely the result of a villain fight years ago. One that had yet to be cleaned up. The only inhabitants anywhere near were those like her, who just needed somewhere dry to sleep.

Rounding a corner, she came to a broken fire escape. The stairwells to the building had all collapsed, so this was the only way up. The first story of the fire escape had long since fallen away, but she was able to reach it thanks to her quirk.

She raised herself up, much like how a cobra would, up to the platform. The last few feet had her tail straining. A few weeks of almost not eating, following years of an already unhealthy diet, and she could see where her tail was deteriorating. That combined with Izuku's added weight, and for a moment she wasn't too sure if she would reach. But thankfully, she made it up without issue.

Once she was sure the fire escape wouldn't collapse on them, she began working her way up. She didn't go all the way to the top. As nice as it might be to have a good view of the sky, she didn't want to have to use up energy just climbing up. Besides, she wanted to make sure she was low enough to the ground that she could get out quickly if she needed to.

Coming to the correct floor, she climbed in through the window, into what had been her home since she ran away. It used to be a two bedroom apartment, but with all the rotting wood, dust covering just about everything, and carpet and furniture that stank of mildew, it was little more than a hole in the wall. But she didn't really care. It was dry and it was safe, so it was good enough for her.

Passing through the kitchen, she considered waking Izuku so he could eat something from her stash. Meager though it was, being made of a few bits of junk food and candy that wouldn't go bad for a while, some rotting food that probably wasn't edible anymore, and the few canned items she'd managed to steal from her old home, it was better than nothing. They could at least fill their bellies for a little while.

Looking down at him though, she found that she didn't want to wake him. He looked too peaceful. And she knew that the moment he woke up, he'd have to face the harsh reality of what had happened to him. Why not let him sleep a while longer?

She continued through until she entered what had once been the master bedroom. It was the driest, best smelling room in the apartment, which is why she'd chosen to use it as her sleeping area. Settling in the corner, she coiled around herself and Izuku, leaving the two of them comfortably in the middle.

Sparing one last glance at him, and shifting him around in her arms to hopefully make him more comfortable, she closed her eyes to go to sleep. She was leaned back against a section of her tail, Izuku was settled with his back to her chest, and she had her arms wrapped around his middle.

As she drifted off, she didn't notice the small smile on Izuku's face as he unconsciously snuggled against her; happy, at least momentarily, in his dreams.

---

Tsukauchi sighed as he leaned back in his chair, holding his fourth cup of coffee in his hand. Or was it his fifth?

Why did he seem to get all of the tiresome cases? Just because he had a lie-detector quirk, that didn't mean that he could solve a case any faster than another detective. He'd already had two more added to his pile tonight alone. The first was a missing person's report.

Or, missing child would be more accurate. A woman had called in to report her four-year-old son missing. Evidently, he'd gone missing the day before, but she'd decided to wait the twenty-four-hour grace period that was normally requested for missing persons. He thought it was a bit weird that she decided to wait, given how young her son was. That period usually applied to people that were older, because the possibility was always there that maybe the person had just decided to take off on their own for a bit. For a child though, someone who really didn't have the means or reason to do that, it was best to work on it as soon as possible.

He rubbed his free hand down his face. That was something he'd have to bring up to her when he went to visit in the morning.

Sparing a glance down at the stack of papers on his desk, he grimaced.

'On second thought. Maybe I'll just have one of the junior officers handle the visit. Might give me a chance to whittle some of this down.'

The second case, was about a homeless man they'd brought in. There had been some noise complaints earlier in the night, and when an officer went by the location to investigate, they'd found the man slumped against a building, unconscious. They'd brought him in without issue, but once he woke up, he was babbling immediately. Almost none of it was understandable, but they'd been able to make up a few words. The general message they got was something about someone on his 'turf' and then something about a quirk. Whether it was his own, or someone else's that he was talking about, they had no way to tell.

They'd run bloodwork on the man as a part of his processing. The results showed trace amounts of just about every drug they currently had to deal with on the streets. It was no wonder he was practically insane.

He'd also registered as quirkless, but honestly? There was so much other shit clogging and contaminating his blood, that it could have just as easily been their machines that were wrong.

He sighed again. Why on Earth he'd even gotten that case was beyond him, it was a pretty simple case of a drugged out homeless man creating a disturbance. They'd hold him overnight, then they'd release him to whatever life he had, and then life would continue for everyone.

Shaking his head, he sat back up in his chair. His break was over, time to get back to his own personal hell.