"Normal" - speaking
'Italics' - thinking/ writing
(Bold) - author speaking/ author notes
<Normal> - calling/ audio
(Normal) - texting
(Third POV)
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"I'd love to keep talking, but I'm afraid it's time I take my leave," Reaper nods, respectfully, turning away, their cloak lightly swaying in the wind.
"If you need anything else, I've put my number into your phone," They say, putting their hood back on before fading away. Swirls of grey-purple smoke take their place, before also vanishing into nothingness.
"Wow, I have the grim reaper's phone number," Izuku mutters, amused.
Averting his gaze away from where the reaper once stood, Izuku looks up, remembering he left his backpack and shoes on the school roof.
Walking into school once again and up to the roof, he eventually finds his yellow bag and red shoes, placed on the edge before he jumped.
Once situated, with both his shoes and backpack on, the green-haired teen looks down at his bloodied uniform.
"Oh no, Mom's gonna kill me..."
"Well... at least try."
Izuku shivers at the memories of past instances where he came home with a dirty, ripped-up uniform from Bakugo and his lackeys' daily beating.
Glass shards and blood splatter everywhere. The pungent smell of alcohol wafted through the air, stinging his nostrils.
'It always hurt walking down the hallway, back to my bedroom. Cuts and bruises all over my body; everything hurt."
"It wasn't a pretty sight or scent,' Izuku reflects, shuddering.
Frowning, the greenette makes his way home.
On the sidewalk, many people give him nervous or disturbed looks, sometimes a mix of both.
'Well whadya expect? I'm covered in blood... my blood...'
'Of course I'm gonna get weird looks,' Izuku thinks, mournfully.
'I wish Reaper actually taught me how to mask myself from the world so no one can see me,' Izuku contemplates, frustrated.
'Oh, wait... shit, I left the blood puddle back on the school grounds. Let's hope no one looks into it that much,' Izuku thinks, slightly bothered.
'I already go to a shitty school.'
'It definitely won't be the first time staff there finds blood on campus.'
'I sure have,' Izuku continues, picking up the pace home.
Restless with the amount of people staring at him, Midoriya takes a shortcut home, away from the prying eyes of other people.
He reaches a dark underpass. Just a few steps in and Deku can smell a horrible stench coming from the sewers. Due to the wet blood, his clothes become heavy and sticky, making it uncomfortable to walk in.
'It still feels like there's still people watching me, every step I take, each time I blink, breath, think, I'm being watched. Stop... stop... no no NO!'
"STOP!" Izuku plead's, his dirty hands tugging at his knotted, bloody hair.
Midoriya takes deep breaths, calming his nerves.
After a few seconds, Izuku begins to regain his senses. The obnoxious smell invades his nose once again.
After a few unpleasant rushed steps to get away from the odious smell, he hears a loud clanging of metal from behind him. Alarmed, Izuku turns around, clutching the straps of his backpack and meets a face.
'Wait, is that a face?'
'It looks just like a whole bunch of green slime with eyes and a mouth,' Izuku thinks, unamused and slightly grossed out.
"Ooh my lucky day! A medium sized skin suit!"
"A little bloody, but it'll do," the thing speaks, launching itself at the boy.
With no hesitation, Midoriya summons his scythe. The blood red ribbon levitates, flowing elegantly around the snath and handle of the weapon.
Izuku swings the scythe down, and the blade slices clean through its slimy body.
The villain pauses for a moment, surprised. Both halves of the sludge villain slump to the ground before slowly sliding back together, joining back up like nothing happened.
The villain recovers quickly, laughing.
"Hahaha! Your weapon is useless against me!"
"I'm all slime!"
"You can't slice me open; I'll just fuse back together!" The thing gloats, readying itself for another attack. Izuku quickly tosses his backpack to the side, cursing under his breath.
"Please spare the chatter."
"I'd rather get this over with."
"... I need to get home," Izuku counters, annoyed.
The green sludge chuckles in amusement.
"Confident are we?"
Analyzing the sludge villain, Izuku notes his eyes are the only solid part on its "body."
The green-eyed teen raises his scythe once again, bringing it down slicing both of the villain's eyes in one swift motion.
The sludge villain reels back in pain, unable to see.
"Aaghhh!! Damn you kid!" It screeches, protecting its eyes by shielding them with sludge.
Not waisting another second, Midoriya begins to swing his scythe down onto the villain over and over again, giggling softly. His light giggles turn into full blown maniac laughter, his eyes glowing a toxic green and an expression that you'd think belongs to a deranged serial killer. His eyes squinted slightly, and his mouth stretched unnaturally, ear to ear.
"Again, again again AGAIN!!"
"hahahahaha HAHAHAHAHA!" His laughter echo's throughout the tunnel, boosting the volume, causing anyone who hears it extreme unease and anxiety.
Sludge has been thrown everywhere, splattered on the floor and walls. Izuku stops, sighing, a small mischievous pout plastered on his face.
"Aww... I wish there would've at least been a little blood... but it's just this gross green goo," he narrates, kicking some slime away with his foot.
Izuku de-summons his scythe and brushes off excess sludge on his uniform.
Taking a few empty plastic bottles he finds thrown to the side of the underpass, (convenient (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Midoriya starts stuffing the unconscious villain into the multiple containers.
"HAHAHA! FEAR NOT, WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!" All Might suddenly bursts out of the opening to the sewer, yelling his famous catchphrase. The number one hero lands, striking a pose, but suddenly freezes, examining his surroundings.
Izuku pivots slightly, turning to face him, unamused, walking forward towards All Might. Midoriya stuffs the last bit of sludge into the remaining bottle.
Izuku screws the cap on and hands the containers to a surprised and confused All Might.
"Here, I don't think he's dead, so just take him to the police," Izuku states, nonchalantly.
'I don't know why, but I don't feel all happy and bubbly or even nervous.'
'I'm talking to the number one hero, and all my emotions are just... gone,' Midoryia thinks, a blank look on his face.
Turning around, Izuku picks his backpack up off the ground, where he threw it, and continues his trek back home.
"Wait, young man!" All Might begins, shifting from foot to foot.
"Are you alright? You're covered in blood!" he asks, seemingly worried.
-A few minutes earlier-
(All might POV)
"Damnit, he got away," I mutter under my breath.
I look around frantically, trying to find the villain.
'All I needed was some groceries but, there just had to be a villain attack,' I think, stressed out.
I quickly scan the nearby alleyways and streets before noticing a manhole cover.
Looking closer, I find it slightly cracked open.
'He went into the sewers!' I remark in my head.
Lifting up the lid, I get hit with the sickening odor of sewer water. I recoil away from the pungent scent, distressed.
Holding my breath, I hop down and head forward. I use five percent of One For All to boost my speed, the wind pressure propelling the sewer water aside.
About a minute later, navigating through the sewers, I hear a strangled cry of pain, followed by some other sound I couldn't make out entirely.
'It sounds like the villain found someone! Damnit!' I judge, distraught, picking up the pace.
A couple seconds later, I start hearing maniacal laughter... Laughter that's unsettling enough to make me shiver uncontrollably.
"What the hell?" I mutter, disoriented.
"Wait... that sounds nothing like the sludge villain," I realize, still sprinting through the maze of smelly tunnels. The laughter eventually dies down, but I can still hear it bouncing off the walls and ringing in my ears.
Picking up the pace even more, I see some light seeping from an opening in the ceiling. 'It must be another manhole but where's the cover?'
I skid to a stop analyzing my surroundings.
Looking around, I see bits of green sludge on the floor and some dripping from the opening.
'These are bits of the villain's body fluids!'
'Why were they thrown in here?' I question, confused, and slightly disturbed. Looking up through the hole, I hear shuffling of feet and light muttering.
I take my chance and leap out of the sewer, shouting my catchphrase.
"HAHAHA! FEAR NOT, WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
Jumping down, the first thing I see is a young kid in a school uniform covered in... blood? He turns to me, stuffing green slime into a plastic bottle.
'Is that the sludge villain?' I think, perplexed.
He screws the cap on while taking a few steps in my direction, then hands the bottle to me with an emotionless expression.
"Here, I don't think he's dead, so just take him to the police," the teen states.
'Whats wrong with this boy? His eyes are dull, I don't see an ounce of emotion, and his voice... it's dead. Just what has this boy gone through?' I question in my mind, mournfully.
The young teen turns around and picks up his yellow backpack. I see him begin to walk away.
'Hold on, I need to know what happened to this kid!' I think, desperately.
"Wait, young man! You're covered in blood! Are you alright?" I ask, concerned. I take a step forward, awaiting an answer.
-Present time-
(Izuku's POV)
'The way he said that... it's like he cares.'
'Why would he, the number one hero care about what's wrong with me?' I debate in my head.
I turn around slowly, giving him a forced smile and a thumbs up as a response before, continuing to walk home.
"A- are you sure, young...?" All Might begins.
'All Might's stuttering... he's desperate,' I think, amused.
"Izuku," I answer, not stopping.
'I know it's not formal, but I'd rather not give him my last name.'
'One, because it reminds me I'm related to Inko, my mother, and two, he's most likely going to try and get some information on me to satisfy his unfortunate curiosity, and lastly, I'd rather not have someone spying on me, even if it's the number one hero,' I deliberate in my head.
"Well... umm, young Izuku are you sure you're alright?" All Might persists.
I ignore him as I walk through the dark underpass.
'I'm about half an hour late... I'll most likely get a more critical beating than normal. Inko is never one to forgive,' I anticipate.
'Maybe I could just... kill her,' I ponder, smiling at the idea of not having to fear coming home and waking up.
'That might be a problem though.'
'She has a job... they might come looking for her.'
'... damnit!'
'It would also be strange if she suddenly stopped going to the bar.'
'The place where she usually drinks until she blacks out,' I contemplate, muttering all the possibilities, not noticing the looks of worry people give me as I pass by.
'Plus how would I make money?'
'I don't have a job.'
'I might be able to find one, a café, or maybe I could make good use of my analytic skills and sell information,' I ruminate, tapping my chin.
My constant mumbling suddenly halts as a hand is placed on my shoulder. I flinch as we make contact, not going unnoticed by the other individual.
"Hey kid, what's up with the blood?" the individual questions, quickly letting go.
Hesitantly, I turn around to see a man with long, messy, black hair, sporting eye bags rivaling my own.
I notice a long, grey scarf wrapped around his neck.
'The pro hero, Eraserhead!' I realize. I shift uncomfortably under his suspicious gaze.
'He can erase any emitter or transformation quirk by looking at the user.'
'The effect ends after he blinks,' I continue, reciting all the facts I know in my head.
I remember writing a few pages on him in one of my hero analysis journals.
I believe it was a hero analysis for the future number seven.
I found it was quite difficult to get a good amount of information since he's an underground hero and all.
"If you think I murdered someone, then I can assure you that is not the case," I reply, slowly inching away from the pro hero.
'I have to be careful with my words and body language,' I begin in my mind.
'Underground heroes like him are known for great observation skills and I'd rather not be interrogated if I raise enough suspicion,' I contemplate, being mindful to not mutter my thoughts in front of the hero.
"Who's blood is it then?" Eraserhead questions, with a raised brow.
"Mine," I reply, bluntly.
'I see no point in lying about the blood.'
'It would just raise even more suspicion if I said it was someones else's.'
'Now, I just need a good excuse why I have my blood splattered all over...'
'Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I passed a road that leads to a hospital. I could use that to my advantage,' I think, letting my posture relax.
The pro hero pauses for a moment, surprised. He opens his mouth to say something in return, but is cut off as I continue my thoughts out loud.
"Why would I just walk around in public with blood on my clothes if I just killed someone?" I retort before mumbling incoherent words about the best approach to killing someone.
"Your blood? Are you injured somewhere?" the hero asks worried, with suspicion seeping into his gruff voice.
I pause my mumbling, thinking of the best answer to reply with.
"No... no, I'm not."
"I'm all healed up. I just came back from the hospital, and I just didn't have any fresh clothes on me..." I reply with a smooth lie.
"Your parents didn't bring you any clothes to change into?" Eraserhead interrogates. I sigh in frustration, annoyed with the amount of questions he's asking.
"I'm sorry, Eraserhead, but I really need to get home," I retort, trying to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.
I see a small look of surprise on the hero's face before quickly switching back to his usual poker face.
'Must be surprised that I recognized him,' I observe.
Taking his moment of surprise to good use, I begin to walk away, fast enough to make up lost time but still slow enough to not raise suspicion... like if I was running away from a crime scene.
'Of course, if the conversation had lasted any longer, it might have turned out that way,' I imagine.
I swiftly duck into an alleyway to get out of sight of the pro hero. After a few moments of silence, I turn back towards the entrance of the small, dingy alleyway, hoping Eraserhead wasn't looking for me.
Taking big strides forward, I continue on my way home.
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I would love any feedback, like ideas for future chapters or any grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes!
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Word count - 2573
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