Smoke billowed in the distance, grey and black wisps of air rising from the trees and into the atmosphere above, looming over them like an ominous warning.
Worry pumps through his heart, stronger than the adrenaline coursing through his veins. The pain flaring in his arms serves to ground him to reality as he tries to stay calm and collected. He couldn't panic now, Kota's safety depended on him. Not to mention the rest of the students.
First, however, he needed to get to the dorm room and change into his costume. Doing anything without his weapons and his mask would be suicidal.
Shivers, cool and sudden wrack his frame, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Distinguishing the small form, shivering next to him, he makes sure to school his features into a reassuring smile. An expression he was so used to putting on while in costume that it was almost wrong to do so without.
It seemed to be the right call, nonetheless, for the tension almost immediately bleeds out of the boy's frame.
"We need to get moving, Kota, I'm going to make a quick pit stop at the boy's rooms, and then I'll take you straight to the heroes okay?"
"You can't leave me! You heard Muscular, there are villains everywhere!" The boy seemed to protest at the latter part of his statement, not wanting to be separated from the vigilante.
"It's alright, I'm not going to let anything happen to you, okay? You just have to trust me." His voice was soft as he spoke, wanting to convey his sincerity to the boy in front of him. "Can you do that for me?"
The small but resolute nod, he gets in response is almost enough to bring tears to his eyes. "Thank you."
_________________________________
The rooms are dark, he figures the villains cut the power in case they tried to contact outside help. The silence is eerie as he walks in, bending down next to his futon to get Kota back on his feet.
With that done, he pulls out his bag, immediately rummaging inside for his gear. He figures Kota already knows his secret, he wouldn't want anyone else finding out.
He finds his costume first, followed by his weapons, an array of knives, and other questionably legal objects he hopes Kota won't try to touch. His hands still as he gets to the bottom of the duffle bag, slight panic rising to his throat as he stretches his hands across the surface. His mask was missing.
He searches again, even goes as far as to flip his bag over, hearing his medication and his clothes dropping into a heap at his feet.
He looks once, twice. His mask is gone.
Logically, he knows no one would have gone through his belonging. Why would they? No one had the reason to suspect anything.
Trying to settle his nerves, he decides his hoodie will have to do. He'll just have to do his best to keep his head down and out of the light. Stick to the shadows, yeah, he could do that.
They don't encounter any snags after that. In fact, it was just a few minutes later that he found himself fully equipped and ready for action.
Kota's awed gaze seemed to follow his every move, eyes intense and eager as he watched Izuku turn himself into his vigilante persona. Now, with the kid safely tucked on his back, and his Escrima rods firmly held in his grasp, he heads for the safest place he could think of for Kota.
The remedial course's building.
The heat signatures there seemed to be entirely familiar. His arms throb with every step he takes, as his muscles ached with the kid's added weight on his injured back. Each movement ignites a fire in his limbs, but he pushes through, it wasn't anything he wasn't used to.
The forest blurs around him as his senses hone in on the figure running towards them. Aizawa.
His feet skid across the dirt as he halts his sprint, boots catching on the pebbles and plants that adorn the woodland floor. It's enough to stop his momentum just as they're about to crash into Eraserhead.
The man seemed startled at their sudden appearance, capture weapon floating around him threateningly before it falls back onto his shoulders. Having recognized the lack of threat.
He doesn't seem surprised to see them. Not even blinking twice at the vigilante's sudden intrusion on a classified training camp. Taking a step back, Izuku keeps his head bowed down, hood falling over his eyes as he angles his face away from the unwanted moonlight.
"Eraserhead, I can explain later, but first you have to take Kota," Shadow says, wanting to convey his urgency, they were running out of time. "The villains are after one of your students."
"Shadow-" Izuku doesn't let the man speak, however, electing to deposit the child into the hero's arms instead. His body already moving to sprint in the opposite direction. A familiar explosive heat signature already appearing in his mind's eye. "With my senses, I can find them better, I can get to them faster."
"Shadow." Aizawa's voice is firmer now, tone hard and serious. Izuku ignores him once again.
"You have let me do this, just take Kota to safety." He knows he sounds panicked, he kind of is. His body aches, feeling like one giant bruise. His head pounding, probably a concussion from the hits he took earlier, but he knows he could do this. He needed to.
He's halfway out of the clearing when he hears Aizawa speak again. This time he doesn't ignore it. He can't.
"Izuku." The name is uttered quietly. Softer than Izuku's ever heard Aizawa speak before. Nonetheless, the word seems to echo around them. Ringing in the following silence, like a distant siren call.
His blood runs cold as if someone plunged him into icy water. A heavy, thick feeling settling in his guts as slowly moves to face the man again. "W-what...?" His head is still stubbornly facing the ground. Despite the apparent uselessness of the move.
"It's you, isn't it?" The man's voice holds an emotion that fills the air to the brim. A heavy sense of guilt washing over him as he practically feels the hurt in the man's tone. "It's been you all along."
"I don't—H-how?" He asks instead. Because damn it, he was careful, he made sure not to leave any hint. Not to give anything away. So how? He never wanted to hurt the man before him. The man that gave him something he never dared to have. The man who gave him a home.
"Ragdoll." Oh. Ohh. He didn't even think about the possibility. It seems he wasn't as careful as he thought. He realizes with a cold kind of detachment. "She-" Aizawa seems to steel himself, body tensing as if he was bracing himself for something. "She said you were sick—that you were dying." The man's voice cracks as he says the last words and suddenly Izuku's eyes seem to burn.
That's why he never wanted him to know. That's exactly why damnit. He never wanted this to happen.
"I'm sorry." I'm sorry for not telling, I'm sorry for lying. I'm sorry for hurting you. "I- I never meant to-" His voice breaks, a shuddering breath drawing itself from his lungs unsolicited. "I never wanted to hurt you."
Aizawa doesn't say anything to that. He just stares at him for a few seconds. Slowly, as if in slow motion, the man sets Kota on the ground and marches towards Shadow.
He does his best to stand his ground, body instinctively hunching in on itself in anticipation. To what? He doesn't know. Aizawa is surely angry at him, angry at Izuku for deceiving him and taking advantage of his kindness. Angry he ever cared for someone with so many secrets. So many lies.
His shoulders tense and rise to his ears, eyes screwing themselves shut as he braces himself for this. The inevitable hurt he will feel.
The world seems to come to a halt instead, the air stilling around them. Or at least that's what it feels like as two arms wrap around him. Bringing him into an embrace that warms him to the very core.
A soft voice reaches his ears, barely audible if not for his heightened senses. "Problem child." The damn breaks then. Fat tears roll down his cheeks, as he listens to his guardian's words. "We'll figure this out, you hear me? We'll do something, anything to fix this, okay?" The sheer will and certainty the man puts behind those words are almost enough for Izuku to believe them himself. Almost. Aizawa pulls back slightly, hands coming up to cradle Izuku's face, gentle fingers almost imperceptibly grazing the scars on his cheek. He seems to look at him as if trying to memorize his features and lock them away in the deepest parts of his memory. Izuku wished he could do the same.
He lets go a moment later and steps back. Almost bumping into Kota's uncertain, confused form behind him. The kid's hand immediately latches onto the hero's pant-leg, as if wanting to make sure the man wouldn't leave him again.
"Here, I believe this is yours." It takes a moment for Izuku to make out the vague object that Aizawa is handing him. The moment his fingers graze the fabric, he knows.
"How-"
"I had to make sure." His voice is both apologetic and completely unabashed. If that's even possible.
Fair enough, Izuku figures.
"Thank you." For everything, goes unsaid.
Shadow ties the fabric to his face, finally feeling ready to face whatever was ahead of him. As he turns away, he hears Aizawa call out to him one last time.
"Be careful out there, Problem child." And quieter, "Good luck, Shadow." The come back alive also goes unsaid.
_____________________________
The forest that was once buzzing with life, chills him to the core. The fire, in contrast, burns like a temper. Leaping into the sky like a fit of dreadful anger, hot and heavy as it turns the wood and greenery into confetti in the air. The same air that smells like a bonfire, the smoke making his chest feel tight and constricted as he tries to wade and break through the smolder. This terrifying barrier separates him from the people he's sworn to protect.
His senses work tirelessly, trying to make sense of the onslaught of overwhelming information he's constantly trying to filter. He feels it before it reaches him. He just barely moves out of the way as a knife imbeds itself into the tree trunk a few feet in front of him. He feels the blood trickle down from the gash on his cheek. It seems it still managed to graze him. Ignoring the slight sting that emanates from the wound, he turns around, immediately identifying a feminine figure running through the foliage towards him. Her movements are swift as she charges at him.
"Shadow!" She shouts the moment she gets close enough to see him. "Lucky!"
Flipping his body, he jumps out of the way as she makes another swipe for him, this time with a sharper and bigger knife. The sheer amount of blood-lust he feels oozing out of her makes him shudder as he crouches down, swiping her legs from under her just as she runs at him again.
The girl, however, doesn't fall completely, her body twisting to compensate for her loss of balance. Almost immediately getting back to her feet. Her crazed laugh resounds through the air, wild and cackling, making the hairs on his arms stand on end.
"Aw, you're no fun!" She coos, he can almost feel the pout on her face. "Let me make you bleed!" Another knife soars right by his ear as he ducks out of the way. The motion cutting through the wind, making his ears ring. "You'd look so pretty in red." She giggles, a wild sound that's somewhat alarming.
"Think I'll pass, thanks." He huffs out as he launches one of his escrima rods at her, the stick hits her hand right as she reaches for another knife to throw. The sound of the weapon clattering to the ground is drowned out by her scream as she shakes her hand, trying to dispel the pain. "I prefer green, you know? Makes my eyes pop." He adds, rushing to retrieve his rod, gesturing to his costume exuberantly. Her energy, while insane and slightly demented, was contagious.
The repeated failure doesn't seem to deter her. He has to hand it to her, she doesn't give up easily. Just as she rushes at him once more, he runs to meet her halfway. Dodging another swipe from a knife- where did she keep getting these things- he flips his body into a high kick, barely missing her head as she ducks out of the way, rolling with the momentum with more grace he'd expect from a crazed villain. Her whole body rears back as she goes into a handstand. Her foot catching him in the chest as she lashes out. The force makes him stumble, the air leaving his lungs abruptly as he heaves to regain his bearing.
She was good, he'd give her that. If he wasn't so worried about the villains swarming his friends, he'd almost call this fun.
Like being doused with a bucket of freezing water, he feels reality settling in once again. He couldn't afford the distraction.
Face twisting into a sneer, he readies himself for her next attack. Knowing he had to finish this and fast.
As he predicts, the girl immediately goes for another full-body lunge, her knife held decisively in her right hand as she rushes at him. Lowering his body enough to avoid the swipe, he reaches out a hand, swift and precise as he grabs onto her outstretches arm, twisting it until she has no choice but to twist with the movement, her body flipping until her back hits his chest, her feet giving out from under her as she hits the ground hard. The knife, previously aimed at him, now rests firmly in his grip. Positioned right over her pulse point below her chin. Blade grazing her neck, moving with every heave of breath she takes.
She thrashes and struggles in his hold, her legs futilely kicking out in her attempt at freedom, trying vainly to dislodge him.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to cut off this little game early."
He really didn't have time for this. Feeling a little detached and almost too calm. He rears back the knife, twisting it in his hand until the blade is facing him, he needed to knock her out, fortunately, hitting her with the handle of the blade would do the trick.
He never reaches his target. Instead, just as the weapon goes to make contact with her head, blazing fire cuts off his trajectory. The heat sears into his hand, making him let go of the blade on instinct.
Jumping back, his hands skidding across the dirt for balance as he lands, he braces for the new arrival.
"Toga, retreat, I'll handle this." The fire quirked villain hisses to the girl- Toga- as he steps into the clearing. "It looks like Shigaraki was right, you really do like to stick your nose in other people's business Shadow." He can feel the smirk in his tone. "In fact. He specifically gave us orders for this precise situation."
"Oh, and what might these orders be exactly?" This wasn't going how he wanted it to.
The man's hand lit up with a new ball of flame erupting in his palm as he approached with steady steps. Toga immediately getting to her feet and fleeing once again into the forest. "Leave some for me Dabi! He's so fun to play with!" She calls out, only an echo of her giggles remains and fades out the further she runs. He doesn't fail to notice the static coming from Dabi's earpiece as one of the other villains talks through their shared coms.
The voice is unfamiliar, but their words are clear. Backup is arriving at their location as they speak. It was just his luck that it was the wrong type of backup.
"Shigaraki said that if we attacked the wannabe heroes, you wouldn't be too far from the action. He told us to prioritize your capture if we did encounter you."
"Aw, don't I feel special." He deadpans, a tinge of a growl filtering into his tone. His night just kept getting better and better.
The villain just hums in response, advancing towards him leisurely, his steps stealthy and graceful as he circled the vigilante. If not for his heightened senses, Izuku wouldn't be able to hear them.
"This can go one of two ways, Shadow." The man starts casually as if talking about the weather. "You can either, come quietly or you could put up a fight and make this much, much harder on yourself." His voice takes on a lower, more dangerous tone as he speaks. "Choose wisely."
"Why would I possibly have to gain by coming quietly?" The villain was clearly stalling, waiting for something. He could sense them approaching.
"Well, I'm glad you asked!" His grin was almost palpable. "My friends might have the proper incentive." As if on cue a warp gate appeared behind the fire villain. Just as two figures stumbled into the clearing. One of them falling out of the sky, as if he was jumping out of the trees.
"Shadow!" A strained voice called behind him. A very familiar one. "He has him! He has Bakugou!" Shinsou's voice reached him before the boy even got to their location. His outcry reaching his senses even while the others around him could only hear a faint sound.
"Give him back," Izuku growled as he realized what Dabi meant by incentive. A small part of him was glad that Shinsou sounded okay, that he was still far away.
"My, my, aren't you demanding." Dabi sneered.
"Bakugou isn't yours!" One of the new villains, the one that dropped out of the trees cried out indignantly. As if Izuku was the one in the wrong.
"As I said, if you give yourself up, I'll let the brat go."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"Your lack of faith breaks my heart kid, really." Dabi retorted, his hand resting mockingly over his heart. "Fine, Compress, give him to me." He only had a moment of confusion before his questions were answered. The villain- compress- proceeded to throw a marble from his pocket right into Dabi's outstretched hand. The marble exploding the moment it made contact. Out of the smoke emerged a harried-looking Bakugou.
"You bastard let me-" The teen's snarl was cut off as Dabi's hand encircled his throat, faint licks of flames grazing his skin, the heat too weak to hurt but enough to pose a threat. A warning.
"Let him go." His voice sounded off to his own ear, low and intimidating.
"Does that mean you agree to the terms?" Dabi responded calmly, his fingers drumming against Bakugou's throat, making the boy swallow down the urge to lash out. Knowing the consequences wouldn't be in his favor.
"Let him go and leave without hurting anyone else, and I'll do whatever you want." He could feel Shinsou's form falter just as he reaches the outline behind the bushes surrounding them. His timing couldn't be worse. "I'll go with you."
"NO! IZ-S-Shadow! No, you can't do this!" Shinsou wasn't alone either, Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Shoji were right on his heels as he burst into the field.
Ignoring the teen's outburst and the constriction he feels in his chest at the action, Izuku steps forward until he was facing the villain, his shoulder almost parallel to Bakugous'. "Do I have your word?" He knew how ridiculous this sounded, this was the word of a villain, after all. A killer. But if he could do this, if he could save Kacchan and make the rest of the league retreat, then it was worth the risk. He had nothing to lose.
"Good choice kid," Dabi whispered, his hand going up to clamp around Izuku arm. He could feel his guts churning as he waited for the man to move. To let go of the other teen.
He could feel it, the slight hesitation, the small, almost imperceptible intent that went through the villain's mind, as he considered not following up on his promise.
However, Izuku didn't wait for the man to decide, moving faster than he, himself thought possible. He twisted in the man's grip, pushing Bakugou out of the death hold just as the villain's hand lit on fire.
The hero student stumbled and fell under the force of the push, eyes widening as he realized what had happened. By the time he got to his feet, the vigilante was already in trouble. Standing where he was just a second ago, his throat bobbing under the force of Dabi's clutch.
"Smart kid, really, I'm impressed."
"You bastard! Let him go, you wanted me didn't you?!" Izuku didn't know why the boy was so upset, Shadow didn't know him, and he shouldn't mean anything to him. Although knowing Bakugou, the teen was a hero through and through. He wouldn't want anyone to save him, he would want to save himself.
Explosions sounded around him, louder than he ever wanted to hear. It was too late, however, for the warp gate was already closing in, almost instantly blocking out some of the stimulus reaching his senses. The last thing he heard before the world twisted and spun around him was Shinsou's agonized cry, his heartbeat even louder as he crumbled to the ground.
"IZUKU!"