Getting punched in the face wasn't fun on the best of days.
He brought his hand up to his cheek, but he couldn't tell if there was blood under the mask.
The other man paused before taking a step back. His grip around the purse loosened slightly as his eyes widened. This was clearly his first time punching someone. "Are you," there was a long pause as he took another step back. He glanced at the bag. He must be gaging if it was even worth it at this point. There were only a few people on the street- it was still morning, and the sun had barely made it over the city rooftops. "Are you okay?"
"That really hurt, dude," Izuku huffed. He rubbed his cheek one more time for good measure although the sting had already begun to lessen. "Super strength?"
The guy let out a forced half-laugh. "Just in my arms."
"Oh man, that sucks."
"Yeah. No. Yeah it does." He stared as Izuku started to pull out the handcuffs. He was one of those beefy-looking guys who didn't seem to have much going on behind the eyes. Maybe it was the nerves of facing a hero or maybe his train of thought had just lost a few wheels and was running real slow. The man lunged forward.
Izuku sidestepped and kicked the back of his knees before grabbing his shoulders and shoving him the rest of the way down. Izuku sighed and straightened his gloves. He'd been headed back to one of the commission's east side offices to change after a long shift when he'd stumbled into this guy, five purses dangling from his wrist and two reported muggings in the past hour. It hadn't been hard to grab the guy and get four of the five bags. He was either a Tin Man impersonator or had made his supposed villain costume overnight. Even if Izuku hadn't spotted him he could have heard the squeak squeak of his metal chest plate and arm covers from miles away. It was funny and slightly annoying he'd had to chase the guy down the street and across a very active street. "Well you know I've already seen your face. So I'm gonna have to arrest you. Plus I think you might have given me a black eye. Or eye area I guess."
The tin man handed him the last purse without even bothering to look up at him. Izuku was vaguely reminded of him as a child but with his mother as the captor and him with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Aw well, that's very sweet. Now hands behind your back," Izuku said. He did his best not to laugh.
The man's eyes darted around the street. He tensed. Izuku was about to warn him that probably wasn't a good idea but before he got the chance the man tried to make a run for it. There was a loud stomp as he got to his feet and pushed forward. Izuku gave him one good smack to the ear.
The man staggered- disoriented for a moment. "And here I thought you just wanted to be friends," he muttered breathlessly.
Finally- he cracks a joke. Izuku was starting to get bored- still- jokes were kinda his thing. These villains really needed to start getting their own material. Izuku shrugged. "Common misconception," he said amicably. Unfortunately, most of what he said came out in a monotone drawl due to the voice modulator. He was sure he would be much more popular if people could hear how hilarious he truly was. "So do you want another running head start or?"
The man swung at him again and Izuku barely had enough time to dodge before the man's right arm came sailing by. Izuku pushed down hard with his index finger on the inside of his glove before bringing his wrist up to block the hit. The magnetization links around his wrist activated just in time, catching on to the metal armor surrounding the man's forearms. He pulled back so hard that Izuku was almost lifted off his feet.
"Woah, hey, buy me dinner first dude," Izuku chuckled. He used the forward momentum to spring forward, splaying his hands on the metal chest plate and reactivating the magnetation, he tucked his head in and flipped over the criminal's head. The links did all the work really, using his momentum to swing the guy over his own head and down to the ground with a resounding thud. He could vaguely hear a small crowd forming from a distance. The click of phone cameras and whispers made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He'd been instructed to not make a spectacle. Oopsies.
He deactivated the wrist links and flipped the man onto his stomach while he was still in shock. "Did you really try this in broad daylight? What? Is this your first time robbing someone?"
"Yes, actually," The man wheezed. He let out a rattling laugh that was slightly concerning.
Izuku patted his back lightly before pulling his wrists together and securing the handcuffs with a satisfying click. "Oh well that was just bad luck then huh? If only I hadn't been scrolling by you might have gotten further than two blocks away. And oh my gosh this is so cute. Did you make this yourself?" Izuku knocked three times on the flimsy metal armor that encased his back. When the criminal just let out another wheeze, Izuku settled his weight on the man's lumbar curvature. The poor idiot only had upper body super strength so Izuku wasn't too worried. "Okay now you're kinda making me look like a jerk, dude. I didn't throw you that hard." He glanced up at the gathering crowd. He grabbed the walkie-talkie he had tucked in his support belt. "I've got a 10-26." The purse thief groaned. Izuku leaned a little more of his weight on him. "Okay let me just catch my breath and then I'll take you in."
Izuku could hear a whiny voice from behind him say, "Mommy who is that green man?"
"Or I could take you now," Izuku corrected. Thank God he'd ditched the bunny ears he'd designed in his early high school days, but his costume wasn't really up there in terms of style. He sprung to his feet and yanked the man by his handcuffs. A wallet fell from the man's pocket and Izuku caught it before it hit the ground. "Akako Tanaka huh? I hope your mugshot is as good as this headshot." He pulled out a stray scrap paper that was sticking out. "This is a pretty sad-looking grocery list," Izuku commented as he scanned the odd assortment of food names. His handwriting was so bad Izuku could barely make out the words 'Go to Maruetsu'. "And you spelled it wrong, there's only one "o' in 'to'."
"Oh my God you're annoying. I wish you had just knocked me out."
"Don't be ridiculous." Izuku rolled his eyes and pocketed the list. "I don't like hurting people." He yanked the handcuffs hard when he felt the criminal trying to dig his heels in and pull back.
"What's your quirk kid?"
"It's really cool actually. I have the amazing ability to not fall for people's bullshit. Now move it."
It didn't take long to hand off the criminal to someone who was still on the clock. He was eager to be done for the day. He'd been going since midnight and all he wanted to sit down and eat his weight in something unhealthy. Izuku loved his job, truly, it was just the no-break thing that was making him want to throw himself at a wall. Izuku slipped into the back of the commission's office. They kept a series of backrooms for underground heroes who had not shared with their identity outside of the division. There weren't many of them. They were generally stationed in parts of the country that were more quiet and got less coverage. It was hard to keep things a secret in the city, but Musutafu was his childhood, his whole history was cemented between these buildings.
"Occult, what are you still doing here?" one of the officers asked him.
"Purse thief," Izuku waved him off, shoving past him and into one of the empty locker rooms. He was too tired to pretend like he wanted to stay after and debrief. Izuku peeled off the mask and costume. He paused as he saw his face in the mirror. There was a blossoming red mark across his right cheek. It was a miracle that the guy hadn't managed to break his face. Honestly, though, it made him look kind of cool. Tsuyu had thought it was weird but Izuku always admired watching interviews of heroes after a fight, with their developing black eyes and hair torn out, they looked so real and heroic. Izuku would daydream about doing his own interview. He would act bashful with a bunch of microphones in his face and say something about just wanting to give people hope. He'd given up on that dream years ago, but still, Izuku habitually lived in daydreams.
He decided to shower there. He was too gross and sweaty to just go home. His cat might try and run away again. It was also nice to take a moment and relax. He loved being Occult. When he wore that mask it felt like he could do and say all the things he wasn't brave enough to do as Izuku. But there was a constant tension there too- that he would be discovered- that he would fail. Izuku was sometimes incredibly grateful nobody knew who he was outside a handful of police officers and other heroes, if he messed up he only had ten-ish people to apologize to.
The shower was relatively quick. He brushed through his curls as best as he could before throwing on a sweatshirt and sunglasses. He ducked his head into the hallway to make sure he wouldn't have to make small talk with anyone before slipping out the back.
—
He could hear Hitoshi before he even opened the door. "Nyan, you're supposed to be a guard cat. You can't keep letting this riff-raff break in," Izuku said in a huff as he walked into his apartment. Nyan, the orange fluff ball that Tsuyu had deemed a cat, was lying stomach up on the carpet, half a sock that was still on a human foot in her mouth.
Izuku locked the door behind him pointedly, although it was pointless as most of his friend group had pointed out. He had more friendly break-ins than mail in the last year. He turned back around and crossed his arms over his chest. Hitoshi was splayed out on the couch and strumming through one of Izuku's engineering handbooks lazily with a jar of peanut butter balanced precariously on one knee and a spoon in his free hand.
"Riff raff?"
"Hooligan, scoundrel, whatever description you'd like to go by is fine. I'm not picky. Just make it clear you like to break into people's homes and steal their food," Izuku informed him. He plucked the jar of peanut butter from Hitoshi on his way into the kitchen. "And you better not have double dipped." Izuku raised his eyebrows at Hitoshi before putting the jar back in the cupboard. His eyes narrowed as he took in the little organized rows of spices. "Have you been rearranging my kitchen?"
"You're implying it was arranged in the first place. Also is there something on your face? It looks red."
"I have a system," Izuku defended with a snort. He stuck his head further into the cupboard and pretended to look for something. He could hear Hitoshi walk up behind him and lean against the adjacent counter. Izuku could lie as easily as he could breathe ninety percent of the time, but it never seemed to get easier with Hitoshi. Izuku had been using different versions of the same story over and over. He walked into a wall. He tripped down the stairs. Nyan got underfoot and made him slip. He needed to think of something better that would still appease Hitoshi, he might be gullible at times but he wasn't stupid. Izuku snuck a glance at the coffee table, he'd left his toolbox sitting haphazardly on one end. "But I guess you have a point. Would you believe I somehow managed to knock a stray wrench off one of the higher shelves and got hit right in the face? Honestly, it's a wonder they haven't fired me yet," he said, he chuckled awkwardly and hoped he sounded embarrassed rather than unsure. He closed the cupboard and turned quickly to take in Hitoshi's expression.
Hitoshi's eyebrows rose. His gaze darted over Izuku's face and Izuku could tell he was doing his best not to grimace."I would believe. God Izuku, you need a babysitter in that workshop. They better not be giving you nail guns or anything sharp." He moved closer and hovered a hand over Izuku's cheek.
"Just my wit," Izuku conceded.
Hitoshi rolled his eyes and pushed past Izuku, opening his fridge with a little too much ease and grabbing the cold compress Izuku had shoved in there the last time. He practically shoved it in Izuku's face without warning. Izuku opened his mouth the protest but Hitoshi cut him off. "Don't even think about arguing. Your cheek already looks swollen." He grabbed Izuku's hand and brought it up to the compress for him to hold himself.
"Can you believe this?" Izuku asked the cat.
Nyan just rubbed against his legs and purred. Izuku being in the kitchen usually meant he dropped things- things being food.
"She probably thinks you're crazy," Hitoshi answered helpfully.
"I take that as a compliment."
"I knew you would."
Izuku made his way back into the living room- if it could even be called that. It was small and crowded, filled with trinkets and papers he probably should have thrown out years ago, but Izuku was anything but hasty when it came to his possessions. He collapsed down onto the couch, splaying out his legs and letting out a loud sigh for good measure. "It's cold," he complained.
Hitoshi plopped down next to him, somehow the peanut butter had found its way back into his hands. He scooted so he was almost sitting sideways and gave Izuku a long look. "Good. You can keep that in mind when you go to work tomorrow. Maybe you'll be a little more careful. What are you working on anyway? I thought you said they were gonna give you a break after you finished your last radio thingy?"
Heat rose and he could feel the other side of his face turning just as red as where he'd been punched. Izuku had claimed to work as a phone engineer, something he originally thought he would go into when he was in high school. He'd always been good at hacking and taking apart things he shouldn't. He'd also told Hitoshi his boss was a creatine who had him working overtime more than he worked normal hours anytime he needed an excuse for his strange hours and flaky habits. "Yeah well, it turns out I kinda screwed up the last prototype so now I've gotta pretty much start all over."
"I find that hard to believe. You're so meticulous with those things."
"Yeah I'm pretty amazing," Izuku agreed easily. "But even geniuses have off days- or weeks I guess. And for God's sake don't put peanut butter on pickles." Izuku watched in horror as Hitoshi spread a thin layer over one of his dill pickles. He hadn't even seen Hitoshi grab those. "You are truly disgusting."
Hitoshi shrugged and popped the pickle in his mouth. "It's yummy." He ate two more before saying, "So I was thinking."
"Yeah?" Izuku pretended to be wary but he couldn't keep the smile off his face. He already knew what Hitoshi was going to ask.
"Can I stay over tonight? There's this movie I want to try and it won't be nearly as fun if you don't have to listen to my commentary. Plus I have a coupon for that sushi place that's two blocks from your place and according to their advertisement, I'm their soymate. Plus I missed Nyan, I haven't seen that thing in over two days."
Izuku dropped the cold compress and leaned back on one of the old couch cushions that had been partly demolished by Nyan, apparently, pleather was not very kitten-resistant. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. "Mmm depends on the movie," Izuku lied. One of the best things about being friends with Hitoshi was that they had nearly clone taste in media. He liked how familiar they were with each other, not having to tiptoe around subjects as he did with most of his other friends. Hitoshi just felt like another member of the household and when he wasn't at Izuku's apartment, Izuku was at his.
Hitoshi grabbed Izuku's legs and positioned them so they were over his lap. He lowered his face in what must have been his attempt to look menacing as if he could ever be. His hair was all wild and sticking up half the time, like he'd just run his fingers through it. His smile was always lopsided and goofy. Maybe to an outsider, he looked unapproachable but Izuku knew every facial expression, every little dart of the eye. Izuku knew what Hitoshi was going to say half the time before he said it. "Think murder mystery but with a twist," Hitoshi hummed.
"I think mystery implies a twist."
"Yeah, but this one has it all. Forbidden lovers. Fire." Hitoshi paused, "Well there was a campfire in the trailer I mean but things could progress."
Another fire has overtaken Brookfield- a small neighborhood on the outskirts of Musutafu. Responders are saying it was unlike anything they'd ever seen. The fire moved more rapidly than ever before reported in the area and caused devastating damage with sixty injured and two reported deaths so far. Police have still not confirmed if this tragedy was caused by a quirk or natural cause.
Izuku's head snapped to the TV. He hadn't even realized the news started playing. Images of charred homes filled the screen. The sight of a swing set, now hanging by one post and almost completely turned to black made Izuku's stomach turn. "This is the second fire this month. This is getting out of hand," he said, mostly to himself. He grabbed his phone and started flipping through the online news reports. "They are putting out warnings to not start any bonfires."
Hitoshi leaned in closer to see the screen over Izuku's shoulder. He read for a moment before saying, "I think that's reasonable given the circumstances."
"It's January. Do they really think a bonfire could have started all of this?"
"Yeah. I mean you've seen how one careless act can start a whole forest fire. I wouldn't be surprised if some stupid teenagers got drunk and started an out-of-control fire in their backyard. It's a Saturday after all."
Izuku frowned. "Maybe," He said. He took a deep breath and tried to ease his sudden rise of anxiety. He was still pretty wound up from the fight today. The news was not what he needed right now. He pressed mute before saying, "Okay. You can stay but whatever you order for the sushi place I want double. I'm starving."
Hitoshi moved swiftly. He was actually pretty graceful despite looking like he was always a couple of nights behind on sleep. Half the time he seemed to just teleport from one spot to the next. In a matter of seconds, Hitoshi had snagged the keys and his wallet and then put the cold compress back in Izuku's hand. "Keep using that. I'll know if you didn't when I get back," he warned. There was a playful tone to his voice but he was giving Izuku that no-nonsense look he only had when Izuku was pushing his luck. "Honestly," Hitoshi said and shook his head. "What would you do without me?"
"Oh don't even try that," Izuku said with a laugh. Hitoshi had no room to talk. He lived like a caffeine-addicted bat. Whatever circadian rhythm Hitoshi may have once possessed had long since abandoned him. "Where would you be without me?" Izuku threw the question back at him.
Hitoshi flashed a bright smile over his shoulder as he opened the door. "Hell, most likely."