There were a lot of things he could get used to, that he had gotten used to. The taste of blood, the smell of death, the excitement of love and battle and the numbness of power. All that and more Izuku had grown accustomed to. Having to move halfway across the nation in one night by train hopping was not.
After Moonfish's...attack? Request? Order? Threat? Whatever he did, Gentle made it clear they needed to leave before sunset and somehow they managed to find another place to live in under five hours after getting into this new city. It was a run down ruin of a building, but the landlord didn't ask questions and the rent was dirt cheap, which suited them just fine.
He didn't have a lot of possessions other than the gear he ran away in and a book called "Don Quixote" that Gentle gave him a few weeks ago, he was still missing his revolver since the old bastard still had it, but Izuku wouldn't press him. Yet.
He was resigned to simply lay on the floor and start flipping through his book after everything was put away, but La Brava decided it was a horrible idea since she kept asking him things about his past, how he was feeling and all that. He shrugged, he had gotten over it rather quickly on account of his monster surviving and the fact he'd seen too much for even what they saw at that warehouse to faze him much (He hoped).
Gentle had been gone all day in search of work of some kind, but the way he kept touching the waistband of his pants when he finally came back made Izuku think he was left to spend money, not make it. The guy was even more paranoid than La Brava since that night with all the extra security from alarms, locks and a few gadgets that brought back a memory of Mei Hatsume with how odd they looked being added to their rundown home.
They had talked of course and Izuku was grateful for them trying, but he just didn't really feel anything once he saw that nobody he cared about died. Not that he told them that. After the ordeals of the day were done, he was left alone in the near pitch blackness of the living room as a bit of light filtered through the barred windows while he laid down on the couch with his original mask in his hands.
It's been two months since he left and now was the first time anyone tried to legitimately find him. What the fuck was wrong? Why did he keep thinking about the past so much when all he had was right in front of him? Maybe it's because he knew what to expect back then? He thought about that answer.
No, he was happier back then. He had friends, money, a purpose...and a girl. Sure she was bad for him, La Brava made that VERY clear, but even still Izuku found himself missing her. He wanted to see her toothy smile and feel her hug him like she wanted to break a rib.
He wanted her to bite him.
A shiver came over him as he fought down a hand as it reached for his neck. No more of that, not now anyways.
He placed the mask on the coffee table and tried to sleep, but all that earned him was a session of turning over as the urge struck harder. Just one more time? Please, it will be quick and they won't even know, all you need to do is dig your fingers in and-
Izuku stood up, careful not to make a sound as he grabbed his gear and walked to the door. He reached for the door knob after setting the alarms to deactivate for five minutes like Gentle taught him and was about to open it when he felt something watching him.
He turned his head to the coffee table and sitting there with moonlight shining down on it was his mask, grinning at him like a demon with its red fangs beckoning him with old memories. His fingers twitched at the new sensation but this time he gave in and put the golden symbol over his face as he walked out the door into the cold night.
Words couldn't describe how good he felt, it was like changing into a new skin when the mask tightened around his skull. He was his old self again and he wanted to act like it. He wanted, no, needed to fight and so he went to go do just that.
The night was cold and somewhat bright, perfect for hunting. Memories of his trips with Himiko on nights just like this made him thirsty for blood both literally and figuratively. He shook the thought away, no more killing, Gentle won't allow it.
A fight was the best he could hope for and even better if blood spilled a bit. He'd be content with that.
Continuing on his hike, Izuku went in a straight line to the right of his home, walking along the isolated roads that had been graffitied on all sides, lit only by buzzing streetlights and felt oddly at home in spite of the potential danger. This was his realm and while no longer a king, he still belonged here.
He walked silently with his ears opened and one hand touching the handle of his mace every so often, waiting for some threat to show itself. It went like this for a while as he passed alleyways and vacant shops who's owners had long given up trying to cover the damage made over the years. Then suddenly as if from the depths of hell, a shriek pieced the night.
It was an animalistic scream of terror that came not four meters from where he stood. He clamped his pipe to the gantlet on his wrist and ran to the entrance of another alley where he could see four very unflattering individuals surround someone who was curled up in a ball with blood staining the ground around them. The assailants turned to stare at him, their eyes slow to focus on him until they suddenly grew wide.
Izuku expected it to be due to the pipe in his hand, but strangely they all stared at his mask with a fear he could taste. One of them backed away with a tremor taking over his legs while two others did the same. The last one raised a pocket knife his way and tried his best to hide the fear.
"Who the fuck do you think you are, that fucking smile guy!?"
Izuku didn't respond, he simply ran in and did his job. Three strikes to the chest and a kick to the face was all that was needed to knock these scum out. Only thing left was to check on the victim.
He knelt down to the person on the ground and their head raised to meet him in the low glow of the last street light.
The person before him was beautiful, in a humble sort of way. It was a girl no older than him with short blue hair that had been unevenly cut which did nothing to hide the pale skin that was almost luminescent in the night, it had the same texture as mochi with a lavishly smooth look free of blemishes. Red square framed glasses rested on the bridge of her small nose that had clearly seen years of use in front of a pair of hazel brown eyes that stared at him with both fear and awe. Izuku blinked at the girl in front of him and suddenly found himself blushing behind the grin of his mask. He forced it down as he spoke to the victim
"Sorry about that, it seems like you needed a hand and I decided to help. Anyway, I'm Basher, skull cracker extraordinaire, and you would be?"
The girl flinched at the harsh electronic tone coming from his mask and eventually answered in a soft, gentle voice.
"I'm...Hana."
He extended a hand and helped the girl to her feet.
"Pleasure to meet you, now are you still hurting or are you feeling a bit better?"
She looked down at her feet and ran a hand over her sides and visibly winched from the pain it caused.
"No, but I'll live...I think I just bruised a rib at worst."
Izuku shrugged.
"That's better than being dead I guess. You know why these guys might have attacked you?"
She stole a look towards the bodies of the four thugs and backed away slightly with her hands covering her chest.
"I..I think they wanted to kill me, or something. I was just walking down the street and one of them cat called me and when I ignored it, they dragged me into the alley not long ago. Maybe a minute before you showed up."
The villain released the hold on his weapon and allowed it to dangle on his wrist.
"Well, it's over now. You want me to walk you back home, take you to a police station so you can report this, anything like that?"
Hana moved her hands in front of her and waved while shaking her head.
"No, no...I'm fine, thank you for your help, but I can manage from here."
She stepped past the man who saved her and never completed the action as she fell to a knee once her weight was put fully on her other leg. A yelp of pain left her mouth when her leg started to shake.
"I'm beginning to have my doubts about your claim."
Without another word he went to her hobbled side and lifted part of her up, taking pressure off the leg while her arm rested over his shoulder.
"What are you doing!?"
The girl asked in what might have been either embressement or fear.
"Giving you a hand since I can't leave you like this in good conscience, now tell me where you need to go."
She pushed away with a shove that landed her on her rear.
"I told you I'm fine, now leave me alone!"
A chuckle left Izuku's mouth.
"You say that all you want, but I have a duty to uphold and making sure you're safe after I went through the trouble of saving you is one of them. Now stop being difficult and tell me where you need to go."
Her hands balled into fists that scratched along the concrete and there were the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
"I don't have anywhere to go. I had to leave my family and my only friend because I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm alone and I'd only be bothering you by being a burden."
She said in a quiet tone that held an insurmountable amount of sorrow, one that Izuku found to be delightfully challenging.
"Oh please, if I didn't want to help then I wouldn't be here trying to."
Hana stood up once again with her arms leaning on the nearby wall for support. She shook from the effort and turned to look him in the eye with more tears building in hers.
"You don't get it, I have nothing. No money, no influence, there is nothing I can give you."
She slowly looked down at the ground when she said something that Izuku had nearly missed with how quietly she said it.
"I don't even have a quirk."
Izuku found himself oddly feeling empathetic, if that was the right way to think about it. Another quirkless person right in front of him, begging for help but fearing rejection or worse for accepting it.
"I don't care, you needed help and I helped, that's it. I'm not after your money or any of that, I just want to do the right thing here."
The girl held his gaze, their eyes of emerald and autumn brown exploring the intricacies of the other as if to see the soul hiding inside their bodies. The tension lessened in her posture and her shoulders relaxed. Izuku was the one to speak first as he felt the need to do it, in spite of his better judgement.
"Look, if you need a place to stay the night I know a few people who could help with that. That sound better to you?"
Hana nodded.
"Yeah...I'm sorry to put this on you."
Izuku waved a hand as he moved to help support the girl.
"Don't apologize, I'm the one who offered after all."
They started to move in tandem down the street with the lights overhead granting them both better visibility in the darkness and Izuku could see her more fully now. She was a bit shorter than him by a few inches with a heavy smell of sweat pouring off her ragged clothes, which strangely was a black school uniform that had seen way too much use with holes and loose threads dotting the dress. Her shoes were a pair of bright red sneakers that clashed with the outfit, but it fit well enough to the only onlooker.
They walked together in silence for a while and during that time Izuku started to wonder if this girl was a villain, given the alarming amount that use school uniforms as their costumes. Probably not, if how those four idiots managed to get the jump on her was any indication. Maybe it was a trick to have him lower his guard, no that beating wasn't something anyone would take unless they had no choice.
But, what if she-
"Are we getting closer to where you said?"
Izuku snapped out of his mental daze and focused on the girl who demanded his attention.
"Yeah, right up ahead on the second floor."
Hana started apprehensively at the apartment complex.
"Are sure this place is safe?"
He shrugged again as they came closer to the ruin.
"No place is ever completely safe, but the chances of getting shanked are non existent so it's better than staying out here."
The girl begrudgingly agreed as they approached the stone steps, but they both stopped when the sound of a door being slammed open came from above. Two figures rushed out into the exposed stairway and came face to face with the duo. Izuku cringed internally at the talk he knew was coming.
"Hey Gentle, I take it you noticed my extra patrol. Now I can explain-"
A hand grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, dragging them both to the older man as he all but ran down the steps.
"Get inside, now."
There was no argument in that tone of voice, he sounded as serious as Izuku had ever heard, but he did spare a glance at the girl.
"And La Brava help this young lady to the couch."
The shortest of the group moved to try and help the newcomer inside by holding her arms up and keeping weight off the damaged leg. They set themselves down on a couch that stunk of cigarettes and other bad things while the men stood in the tiny kitchenette, one looking as cold as ice and the other guilty as sin but smiling more then he had in the past two months.
"What were you thinking going out alone, at night, with nobody else and not informing La Brava or I? This isn't a joke, you know what's at risk, especially to your safety."
Izuku paid as much attention as he cared to give to his guardian, yet he found his eyes drifting towards the living room. He shot his sights back to the older criminal after a moment of realisation.
"I was having...that urge again and wanted to take my mind off it by going for a walk, but I unfortunately had to bring home a plus one when she needed help."
Danjuro ran a hand down his face in exasperation.
"You can't go wander the streets and bring people home with you. We're having trouble feeding just the three of us already."
A hint of anger dwelled behind the emerald eyes of the teen.
"Then what should I have done? Just leave her there in a back alley with a messed up leg in the middle of the night?"
Gentle raised his hands up to signal surrender.
"No, you did a good thing saving that girl, I won't deny that, but I think you made the wrong choice in bringing her back here."
Izuku took a glance back at the female duo in the other room and leaned in towards Gentle.
"She's a runaway, I tried asking her if she needed help getting back home and she said that there was nowhere to go. I understand I made a mistake and I'll do any punishment you want, but can't we let her stay for one night?"
The thief glared at his ward, then allowed his gaze to rest on the stranger in his home. He looked to Izuku and shook his head.
"Get a pot of tea ready."
Gentle moved to enter the tiny living room where La Brava had set up the girl's leg on a few throw pillows on the couch. He put himself on a chair placed in front of the sofa and stared at the runaway judgingly.
"I apologize for my rudeness earlier, but we are currently going through a bit of a shift in our plans. Anyhow, I am Gentle Criminal, the fine lady sitting next to you is known as La Brava and you've already met our resident trouble maker."
The girl lowered her head slightly under the man's gaze.
"My name is Hana...just Hana. I..I'm very thankful to you all for letting me stay the night, I promise I won't stay long or bother anyone."
Gentle stroked his beard as he considered the response.
"I've been told you're a runaway, is that true?"
Hana leaned herself further into the cushions while her expression became fearful.
"I did run away, but it's only because my father would have killed me otherwise. He isn't a nice man and he takes out his anger on me sometimes. I...I'm sorry, I don't mean to upset you with my problems."
Danjuro shared a look with his first sidekick that spoke the same sentiments. He arose from his chair and took a cup from the tray Izuku had just brought in with a warm ginger brew.
"That won't be an issue for the moment. Right now just focus on getting comfortable and we'll see what can be done by tomorrow, alright?"
She took a drink of the tea and shivered at the taste.
"Thank you so much, I'll repay you when I can."
Gentle waved a dismissive hand in her direction.
"Don't fret about it for now, simply relax for a while as we go about our business."
The smallest of smiles came over the girl's face. She tried to sit up, despite La Brava forcing her to stay down. The villainess' efforts were in vain however as the girl made her eyes meet the pair of men.
"Thank you...I don't know what to say."
Izuku set the tray down on the coffee table and made to remove his mask from his face while Hana kept her eye on him and Gentle.
"Then don't say anything and eat. You gotta be hungry after all the things that happened tonight."
His golden grin fell into his hands, exposing his bisected face to the room as he set the mask to the coffee table and waited for the runaway to speak. Her reaction was not what any of them thought it be when she went wide eyed at the green haired boy.
"You're Deku! What..What the heck are you doing here!?"
Izuku flinched at the mention of his hero name, but he smiled regardless of the pain it brought with it.
"Let's just say I've had quite the strange couple of years and leave it at that for now. Anyway, would a bowl of rice be okay for right now?"
Hana continued to look at him in bewilderment as Izuku slowly made his way back into the kitchen to escape the awkwardness of the situation. The feeling didn't end when he started cooking, it was an ever present sensation as La Brava and Gentle tried to explain why a famous UA student was currently living with them while leaving out the more...interesting parts of his past.
The process was calming in how it allowed him to forget about the world for a time as he went about preparing the meal for his guest. "Meditation that you can eat" was what Moonfish called it. He pursed his lips at the memory of the cannibal, would he be so forgiving after what happened? Probably, given the fact all of them were still alive, but still he thought about it, and the League. All For One was still alive even after having his body ripped apart, and everyone else knew that he was at least with Gentle's group now, so why haven't they stuck back or just kidnapped him like before?
His thoughts drifted to the blue headed girl on his couch. Could she? No, there's no way the League could...unless. A drum suddenly beat in his heart with all the power of a storm as sweat began to collect under his clothes. His hands started to shake and the knife in his hand clattered to the floor with the edge gliding past the thumb of his right hand, drawing a small, shallow cut that bled out onto the hardwood below.
Izuku shouted out at the sudden pain as he clutched his injured limb, immediately turning away from the zucchini he was in the middle of cutting. Gentle and La Brava rushed into the small cooking area, somehow Hana had followed behind them by limping and pushed past the duo to get to where he was. She knelt down to examine his opened thumb with a critical eye. Izuku felt something run through him as the girl looked at his bleeding finger. Fear? Excitement? Joy? Expectation? It may have been all of those, but his feelings changed when he saw what Hana's expression was.
It looked...ill.
Her face had turned a shade green upon watching the blood continue to slowly drip out of his thumb. She took a first aid kit off the wall and treated the minor injury by disinfecting it and bandaging it. Then when that was done, her entire body fell to the ground where she remained seated with the green coloring not fading for a moment until she got back up again with the help of a nearby wall.
"Sorry about that, I don't do well with blood."
A new emotion hit the former hero as he watched the lady he rescued get back up. It was a sourly bitter feeling that he rarely encountered since his days before heroics. It was disappointment.
Trying his best to hide his feelings Izuku motioned to the bowl of rice and vegetables on the stovetop that remained untouched by his blood.
"It's fine, your food is over here by the way."
Hana nodded as she hobbled over the bowl. Taking no chances Danjuro carried it back to the table for her while the other two helped her over to the sofa. She sat down with a pair of chopsticks in hand and ate a chunk of the rice, then she stared at the bowl with her face unreadable as she did so.
"Do you like it?"
Izuku asked almost timidly.
The answer he received was more mouthfuls of rice being hungerly devoured by his guest until not a grain remained in that bowl. She blinked at what she had done, realising with a large blush what had just transpired.
"I'm sorry, but that was the best thing I've had in weeks."
A rumble beat in Izuku's chest, it was a strange rhythm that made it feel like he was dying, like he couldn't breathe, but at the same time it was amazing. He felt it grow when he saw Hana's lips curl into a large, sweet smile that exposed her pearly white teeth.
"I-I'm glad you liked it, would you like some more-"
Gentle slid a hand over his shoulder and shot him a look that seemed too sly for a man his age.
"I think we've all had enough excitement for one night. How about we all turn in for the night? We have a big day ahead of us after all."
Izuku nodded while a heat started to burn in his cheeks.
"Y-Yeah that's a good idea."
Danjuro slapped him kindly on the shoulder and left him with the two women. La Brava gave Gentle a look that seemed annoyed while also understanding as he walked away, and gave Izuku a similar gaze that held a bit more weight when she pulled out a futon for their plus one. A few moments later, everything was dark again, just like it was not so long ago. However there was one major difference aside from the added breathing of another human being. The urge was gone from Izuku, as were the troubled thoughts. All he wanted was to sleep, to make the day come quicker.
For the first time in a long while he slept soundly and somewhere deep in his heart he was eager to wake up again, to smile again. All he needed was a new day and that would come soon. Where something old would regrow in his soul, something he hadn't felt since his very beginnings in this world.
That thing was hope.
