A/N
This story is a revised version of one I had previously deleted for personal reasons. The premise is slightly different from the previous version. In the old version, Izuku was a hitman trying to live a normal life (lots of John Wick themes), but this one features more supernatural shenanigans / eldritch horror vibes.
This story is sort of experimental, as I am trying to write something a little different from the usual themes I am good at. Feel free to give me your thoughts on the story so I can improve it as needed.
My writing motivation is kind of fickle at the moment, so there might be times where new chapters are posted quickly, and others where there will be long delays. Just letting yall know ahead of time.
Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoy.
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Itsuka Kendo, pro-hero and veteran of over a hundred battles, stood helplessly as the metal sentinel blocked her way.
"Dammit!" Itsuka cursed under her breath as she rummaged around in her handbag in front of the ticket gate. "I can't believe I left my train pass at home!"
Itsuka Kendo, also known as the pro-hero Battle Fist, is of medium height and has an athletic build. She has teal eyes, fair skin, and long orange hair that currently is pulled into a ponytail. Currently she is wearing a business casual outfit consisting of black dress shoes, black slacks, a turquoise blouse that matches her eyes, and a small handbag.
She was dressed up more than normal, the reason being she was going to the Hero Commission offices for her monthly performance review. While she was in fine standing with the Hero Commission, it still did not look good to show up late to your own performance review.
Growling and cursing, Itsuka looked back at the steps up to the station lobby where the ticket machines were.
"It's my own damn fault for staying up so late trying out that new black coffee blend." She thought to herself. "I woke up behind schedule, got to the station late, and now I don't even have time to run back and get a ticket before my train leaves. I should have just gotten a cab if I knew it was going to end up like this!"
Sighing dejectedly, Itsuka was just about to grab her smartphone and call the Hero Commission office when someone politely got her attention.
"Excuse me miss." A man's voice said warmly. "I think you need this."
Turning around, Itsuka saw a man in a tailor-made business suit offering her a train ticket.
"Wha?" The frazzled pro-hero said in confusion.
The man was taller than her, and honestly was easy to look at. He had green hair cut stylishly short while somehow still looking professional, a lean but muscular physique, and emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle with warmth.
"A ticket for the train." The man clarified. "You seem to be in a rush, and I have plenty of time to get a new one."
Breaking out of her stress-induced musings, Itsuka gave the man a wary look. "I appreciate the thought...sir, but I don't know you or trust you."
The announcement for Itsuka's train sounded over the station speakers, making her twitch slightly and glance at the train platform just out of reach.
The man nodded sagely. "Understandable. If you truly don't want the ticket I will be on my way." The man chuckled. "I just felt bad because I have been in the same sort of situation myself, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to pay a good deed forward. My ticket is a one day city pass, so it should get you to where you need to go. Are you really sure you don't need it? You can have mine, no need to pay me back."
As the last call for boarding passengers sounded, Itsuka made up her mind and hastily grabbed the offered ticket. "It's not often you run into people giving away stuff for free."
The man shrugged. "I try to be a good person, that's all there is to it." He then nodded respectfully and turned around to walk away. "Good luck!" He said with a smile.
With no time to reply, the orange-haired hero sprinted towards the train platforms. With less than a second to spare she made it onto her train, and no sooner had she gotten both feet inside the train car did the doors close.
"Holy shit that was close." She thought to herself as she fixed a wrinkle in her blouse. "Next time let's not rely on luck to get to an appointment on time."
As the sun began to set on the bustling Japanese city, Itsuka opened the door to her apartment and sighed tiredly. The whole day had been one meeting after another, and now that she was home Itsuka could finally get a chance to take a breath. First it had been the performance review, then a meeting to discuss a potential sponsorship deal, then meeting with Hawks about possibly joining his agency, then a phone call with the director of a charity organization, and then finally visiting her parents to let her mom interrogate her about why she did not have a nice man yet to introduce to the family.
Turning on the lights to her moderately-sized but well-furnished apartment, Itsuka took off her shoes and threw her handbag on the nearby couch. Undoing her ponytail and letting her orange hair hang loose, she trudged to her room and began changing.
Whoever said being a pro-hero is easy was a goddamn liar. Sure, if you are blessed with good luck, good skills, and a good quirk, then making a name for yourself is easy. But for the majority of pro-heroes like Itsuka, being a successful pro-hero means putting one's nose to the grindstone almost every day. Making money as a pro-hero isn't easy either, especially when you are a solo hero like Itsuka currently is. The bounties and other such rewards from apprehending criminals can range from abysmal to outrageous depending on the danger, so the most reliable way to get paid is through sponsorships or contracts. Overall it is a total pain in the ass, and while Itsuka enjoyed being a pro-hero there were days when the bullshit behind the scenes was particularly aggravating.
Changing into her pajamas, Itsuka walked over to her small kitchen and began microwaving some leftovers. She could have made herself a well-balanced meal, but right now she just wanted to relax and destress. With her plate of warm leftovers in hand, Itsuka walked over to her plush couch and scrolled through her smartphone while she ate. Halfway through her meal, Itsuka's phone rang with an alert of an incoming group call.
Putting the phone on speaker, the orange-haired hero answered the call as she poked at her meal with her fork. "Hey guys, what's up?"
"Heya Itsuka!" The cheerful voice of Mina Ashido replied.
"Hello everyone." Ochaco Uraraka said cordially.
"Mina, do you really need to do these group calls every other day?" The slightly annoyed voice of Kyouka Jiro answered.
There was a short laugh. "Kyouka, if I left group chats up to you they would never happen." Ashido replied. "If I left you alone you would just stay cooped up in your apartment outside of work! C'mon, just chat a little then you can go back to watching music videos."
Itsuka chuckled. "I think you aren't giving Kyouka enough credit. Just because she isn't as outgoing as you doesn't mean she is some kind of hermit."
Mina Ashido, Ochaco Uraraka, and Kyouka Jiro. These three women were the ones Itsuka considered her closest friends. Right after they all had graduated from UA, they had spent 3 years working together at the same agency and became good friends as well as colleagues. Now, even though they all worked in different agencies, they still maintained their bond through phone calls, group texts, and the occasional meet up whenever they had time off.
However, even after all the time spent together, Itsuka sometimes still feels like an outsider. The other three women had all been in the same class in UA together, and shared a sisterly bond that Itsuka felt like she could never truly replicate. On top of that, the three women were all part of the legendary class that produced some of the best rising stars currently in the pro-hero field. Names like Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki, and Momo Yaoyorozu just to name a few. The entire class seemed to still be good friends to this day, while Itsuka's former classmates all seemed to have drifted apart over the years. The entire class seemed to be blessed with good fortune, good skills, and good quirks. This had not gone unnoticed by both the public and other pro-heroes, leading to the former class of 1-A often being referred to as "the class of legends."
In short, Itsuka has been trying her hardest to catch up to her three friends over the years, but never seems to get any closer.
Of course, Itsuka never shared these feelings of inadequacy with her best friends. How could she? By sharing those dark thoughts, all she would be doing would be making her friends feel bad for doing nothing wrong.
So she has kept those feelings secret, and simply focused on doing her best to improve herself.
Uraraka yawned before speaking. "Jeez, I am exhausted. I spent the day out in the countryside working a national park restoration job and all I did was lift stuff."
"A job is a job." Itsuka said with a mouthful of food. "Not to mention community projects like that are great for your image."
"Yeah, you are right." Uraraka said sheepishly. "I just...I dunno...I feel like all I have been doing recently is lifting stuff. Granted, that is what my quirk is best at. But still, I can't help but feel like I am only picked for jobs that can just as easily get done by construction crews. I feel almost like a traitor, doing a job that could just as easily be paying for honest workers."
"Ochaco, you are super sweet." Jiro said unexpectedly.
The group burst out into laughter.
"I know right?!" Ashido giggled. "Geez Ochaco, you always catch me off guard with how caring you can be sometimes."
Itsuka smiled as she put her plate down. "Ochaco, you could probably turn that sentiment into a popularity boost with manual laborers if you played your cards right. I don't know how, but that considerate side of yours is one of your biggest selling points to the public."
The conversation continued for another ten minutes before Ashido spoke up with renewed vigor. "Alright! Enough job stuff! Let's talk about something more interesting!"
Itsuka rolled her eyes, she already knew where this was going.
"Ochaco, what do you think about that guy I told you about?" Ashido asked pointedly.
Uraraka sighed. "Mina, do I really need to talk to every guy you try to set me up with? I just...don't really have any interest in dating right now."
"Aww c'mon Ochaco!" Ashido whined. "How long has it been since you went on any kind of date? Literal years by now! Don't waste the best years of your life working! Live a little!"
"Easy for you to say Mina." Itsuka said, coming to Uraraka's defense. "Not all of us were lucky enough to fall in love with a great guy right out of highschool."
It was no secret that Ashido was a romantic at heart. Even during highschool she loved playing matchmaker and seeing other people fall in love. Right after she had graduated from UA, Ashido had been confessed to by her longtime classmate and friend Eijiro Kirishima (aka Red Riot). From there it had been a love story for the ages, and the two sweethearts have been going strong ever since. While their romantic relationship has been hidden from the public, Ashido and Kirishima are fiercely loyal to each other and spend as much time as humanly possible together.
"Stahp it!" Ashido squealed happily. "I just want all my friends to be happy like Eiji and I, that's all!"
"Here we go again." Jiro said dryly. "Now she is going to spend the next hour telling us all about how cute Kirishima is."
"Oh Kyouka, don't be like that!" Ashido said teasingly. "Lets not forget you and Kaminari have been a thing for almost as long as Eiji and I have! Just the other day, weren't you the one asking me about good birthday gifts for your man?"
Itsuka chuckled as Jiro mumbled quietly, her blush practically audible over the phone.
Surprisingly, Jiro also has been in a long-term relationship with one of her old classmates. Similarly to Ashido, Jiro was confessed to by her classmate Denki Kaminari (aka Chargebolt) right after graduating from UA. However, unlike Ashido and Kirishima, Jiro and Kaminari took things slow for the first year. Being a naturally introverted and cautious person, Jiro had put Kaminari through many trials before finally being convinced his feelings were genuine. Only Jiro's closest friends know about her relationship with Kaminari, and she does her best to ensure that it stays that way.
"Like I was saying..." Ashido continued as Jiro continued to mutter in the background. "I just want my best friends to be happy! Love is the spice of life! There are only so many double dates I can go on with the same people before it all starts repeating itself."
"You say it like it is so simple." Uraraka sighed. "I just...I need to meet the right person myself. Getting set up with guys I have never met before just gives me anxiety. I wish I was as confident and pretty as the rest of you, but I..."
"Woah now hold on!" Itsuka interjected. "Ochaco don't you dare start with the whole self-depreciation thing again. You are an amazing and beautiful woman with a whole lot more to offer than you might think!"
"Damn straight!" Ashido agreed loudly. "Ochaco, the biggest thing holding you back in terms of finding the perfect guy is yourself! Not to mention you have been fixated on this one specific type all these years that you never give anyone else a chance!"
"She really is hung up on that one boy she barely met." Jiro suddenly said, returning to the conversation.
"Huh?" Itsuka said in confusion. "What are you talking about Kyouka? I thought Ochaco just had really high standards?"
"Guys c'mon!" Uraraka whined. "It's embarrassing whenever you bring this up!"
"From what I know, Ochaco fell in love at first sight with this boy back in the beginning of highschool." Ashido said astutely. "She only saw him one time, but she has been chasing that feeling ever since."
"I think it was actually during the entrance exam to UA." Jiro continued unapologetically. "He didn't even pass, and I am pretty sure Ochaco saved his life. After that he just disappeared and she has never seen him since."
"Really?" Itsuka said incredulously as she sat up straighter. "That is some serious dedication, Ochaco."
Uraraka sighed wistfully. "I just...there was something about him. I can't put it into words, but seeing him put everything on the line to try and achieve his dream was...inspiring. He was kinda dorky, but his eyes were so...warm. Like if he reached out to you there was no doubt he would change your life for the better. My biggest regret is not keeping in contact with him. He left so broken and defeated that I just wanted to hug him and make him feel better. But I was an awkward teenager, so all I did was watch him cry and get left behind."
There was a minute of silence.
"Wow." Itsuka finally said. "That was actually really...sweet...but sad. Bittersweet?"
"I know." Ashido sighed dreamily. "What a romance story it would have been if they had somehow stayed in touch. A dorky guy down on his luck, a girl from UA trying to heal him, it would have been a love story worthy of a movie."
"Either way, you can't change the past." Jiro said bluntly. "Mina does have a point Ochaco, you can't keep chasing this ghost of your first crush forever. For all we know, he could have turned out to be a total asshole as he got older. You are looking at this with rose-colored nostalgia glasses. I am sure there are at least a few guys out there who would be perfect for you, but only if you give them a chance."
"W-w-well what about Itsuka?" Uraraka said defensively. "She is just as single as I am! Why aren't you guys picking on her?"
"Because she actually has gone on dates before." Ashido said flatly. "And she gives actual valid reasons for why they don't work out."
Itsuka stayed silent as the three friends continued to bicker good-naturedly. Like they had said, she had gone on dates in the past. A few of them had even been guys Ashido had set her up with. But they never worked out. The only serious romantic relationship Itsuka had ever been in was back in highschool with a guy from her class named Tetsutetsu. They had been teenagers and it had been fun and exciting, but when they graduated the two realized they wanted different things out of life. Itsuka had been the one to officially end the relationship, and while Tetsutetsu had tried to half-heartedly make things work the two of them had simply drifted apart as adults.
"Well either way, I need to get to bed soon." Itsuka said as she stood up from her seat on the couch. "I am beat, and I have an early morning patrol tomorrow. I will talk to you guys later."
There was a chorus of agreements from the friends, and after a quick series of goodbyes the group call ended.
Putting her now empty plate in the sink, Itsuka convinced herself that she would clean it up the next day and shuffled to her bedroom. Flopping down onto her fluffy bed with an exhausted sigh, Itsuka closed her eyes and hoped that she would actually wake up on time in the morning.
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As the moon hung low in the night sky, a well-dressed man with green hair casually strolled down one of the city's many back alleys. A lit cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth, and the man seemed to be looking for something as he walked. Rounding a corner, the man came upon a nightmarish scene.
Several dead bodies littered the dirty alley, most of them featuring gaping wounds that sizzled with some kind of black energy the color of the darkest void. One of the bodies, a casually dressed thug, had been torn into multiple pieces and was now decorating the alley walls and floor.
In the middle of the carnage stood what could only be described as a monster.
The eldritch being was vaguely humanoid, and the edges of its body shimmered and twisted like they were being viewed underwater. It seemed to be made entirely of a tar-like black liquid, that wriggled and writhed like it contained unknowable horrors just below the surface. It had no facial features except for some kind of opening that mimicked a mouth. One arm sported a multitude of serrated tentacles, while the other featured a single piercing spike that oozed foul energy.
Turning to face the green-haired man, the being immediately knelt on one knee respectfully.
Stepping into a patch of moonlight, the green-haired man examined the carnage around him with casual disinterest. "Was this all of them?"
The kneeling horror made a sound like nails scratching glass.
"Did you remember to interrogate the target before disposing of them?" The green-haired man responded as he took a long drag of his cigarette.
The eldritch being tilted its head up and opened its mouth like a snake dislocating its jaw. From the darkness inside its maw, a feminine human hand made of black tar emerged and offered what looked like a glass-marble to the green-haired man.
Taking the marble, the man examined it briefly before swallowing it. "Well done friend. Thank you for your help."
Gulping down the tar-hand back into its mouth, the oily monster made a sound like wind whispering through metal tubes.
"No, that will not be necessary." The man said as he stubbed out his cigarette on the nearby alley wall. "You have done enough for one night. But if you are still feeling restless, there might be another target on the other side of the city. Your choice to pursue it or not, they are still small. No rush."
Making a crackling noise like snapping bones, the eldritch horror nodded respectfully before melting into a puddle of black tar that quickly evaporated without a trace.
Looking around at the dead bodies, the man named Izuku Midoriya cracked his knuckles and rolled up the sleeves of his suit. Suddenly, small symbols of a long-lost language appeared on Izuku's fingers. Flexing his hands, Izuku pointed at each of the dead bodies. Seconds later, pools of tar-like liquid formed underneath each body and multitudes of skeletal hands reached out from the puddles of infinite darkness to embrace the corpses. Slowly, each corpse was pulled into the darkness. Once the bodies were completely out of sight, the puddles of pure void evaporated. In less than a minute, the alley was restored to its former state, and not a trace remained of the slaughter.
As the eldritch symbols faded back beneath his skin, Izuku yawned lazily and walked out of the patch of moonlight. Taking a smartphone out of his pocket, Izuku dialed a number and waited for the call to connect.
"Hey mom, I just got off work." He said casually. "I know it is kind of late, but I still have tickets to that movie you said you wanted to see. I can swing by the house and pick you up if you want."
Izuku smiled warmly as he nodded to the response he got. "Deal, see you in thirty minutes."
Ending the call, Izuku hummed happily to himself as he disappeared into the darkness of the alley shadows.