Heavy steps filled the dark hallway, a metallic echo emanating from its origin. The figure donned in completely makeshift armor slogged towards an open room, within it sat a single man. Hunched over and fiddling with a knife, the figure was a grim and familiar image. Wrapped around both of his arms were multiple bandages- around his head was a red scarf and a tan mask. Lining the sides of his abdomen were four knives symmetrical from each other. Along his backside was a sheathed katana- the complete opposite of the armored man standing across from him.
"Stendhal- No… Hero Killer, Stain." The armored man spoke as he stood at the doorway.
"Horizon." The slouched figure lifted his eyes and stared at the armored figure, his right hand twitching and hovering over a dagger resting on his left side, "What brings you to stand in front of me?"
"The villains of the world prepare for revolution." The man's voice was distorted by his oddly high-tech helmet, "Are you prepared, old friend?"
"I am always prepared." Stain replied to the man before him, "The question is if you're prepared."
"I hope that we don't meet each other on the wrong coin, Chizome."
"I could say the same for you."
It's been two weeks since Midoriya was put under Usagiyama's every demand, which to his surprise, she didn't do much. It's been mostly been patrolling and capturing thieves with, as she puts it, "No fucking shooting". This demand added a large amount of physical stress and damage to his body, but he had to deal with it anyways. To say it was detrimental would be false, as because of the outlandish odds of a quirkless man brawling with criminals wielding quirks, his intuition has been honed even further and his martial technique enhanced. Today, he was let to go do his own thing, so he decided to go meet up with Okiyama and Shirai at a coffee shop nearby his… Workplace. He missed talking to someone he cared about.
"Hello~?" Shirai snapped her fingers in front of Modoriya, reeling him out of his fatigued trance, "You alright?"
"Huh? Yeah." The green haired man responded, shaking his head and then taking a sip from his coffee.
It tasted like… Nothing. No meal has ever tasted the same for a few years. At the start, Midoriya thought he was just getting older, but as time went on- he became desperate. Oftentimes, he's been asked why he can eat katsudon for almost every meal- which he says that he just really loves it. In reality, his comfort food swiftly became a mental trap in which he eats to see if he can taste it. He never could.
"Sooo, about Mirko," She seemed to have a very interested smile across her face, "How's it going between you two?"
"Tiring. Very tiring." Midoriya took a deep breath, "Where's Okiyama?
"He's on a mission." Shirai sighed and sprawled her arms and chest on the table, "It's so boring without him."
"Hmm…" The green haired man turned his head to look of a window.
"You didn't really answer my question by the way," Shirai lifted herself off the table, her words prompting him to look at her, "Tiring is not an answer."
"What do you want me to say? I tell you what happens every few days." Midoriya tried not to sound too angry or loud as he looked at his friend.
"Well, every time you do tell me what happens, you always seem to be angry at her." The black haired woman leaned back in her chair, "I'll be honest, it doesn't seem like it's entirely her fault."
Midoriya sat for a moment, recalling the past weeks. Thinking about it, she was right. Usagiyama never actually approached him with any malice or hatred, he just didn't like her because she was a hero. Whenever she spoke to him, it always started out with her complimenting him but then it degrades into primarily him being angry at her.
"Everytime you bring up something she does, you call her an asshole and then say you told her off." Shirai broke the silence, "From what I can tell, she's trying real hard."
The green haired man looked away from Shirai. He wanted to listen to his operative, his friend, hell- his sister-in-arms. Yet something inside him wanted to refuse and rebuke her. After she stopped speaking, Midoriya's phone started to vibrate. He pulled it from his pocket and took a glance at it under the table. The caller was Usagiyama to which he involuntarily sighed.
"Who is it?" Shirai tilted her head.
"Work. It's work, Shirai." Midoriya stood up from the table, "Call me whenever. Tell me if Okiyama gets back safe."
Midoriya started to take steps away from Shirai and out the coffee shop, answering the call and bringing it up to his ear.
"Midoriya." The man spoke into the phone, pivoting himself and starting to walk towards Usagiyama's penthouse.
"Hiya. We got a lead on a villain called 'Horizon'. Where are you right now?" Midoriya heard Usagiyama's voice through the phone.
"I'm at the base of your tower, why?" Midoriya looked up at the structure's seventy floors.
The call seemed to cut as Midoriya squinted and saw a dark object slowly descend from the sky. His eyes widened and he started to panic, reactively reaching for his pistol- which was not on him. Scrambling for a moment, a large thump was heard and suddenly he was airborne in someone's arms.
"What are ya so jumpy about?" Mirko laughed, hopping onto a rooftop with the operative in her arms.
"Was that a pun?" Midoriya had his hands clasped against his face in embarrassment.
"...Now that you bring it up, yes."
After being "air dropped" at his home, Midoriya went to procure his gear, which he decided he only needed to wear light. This time however, the SAT captain felt the urge to bring his MP5K and a few more utilities like extra ammunition and a stun grenade. After preparations, the two headed off to their investigation site and Midoriya adamantly insisted that she not pick him up and they just walked there. It took significantly longer, but at least the SAT captain's pride was kept intact. On scene were at least five professional heroes and two police investigators- standing in a smoldering three story structure that seemed to explode from the inside out.
"Well… Shit." Mirko stared at the horrifically damaged structure, every window on the second floor seemed to be obliterated.
"I guess this is as good a time as any to ask, who's Horizon?" Midoriya looked over to the rabbit woman as he stared up at the building.
Turning to him, she started to describe the figure: Horizon wasn't necessarily known as a "Villain" but instead a vigilante- which is just as illegal. From what information that the Hero Association has, the man wears makeshift armor and uses a variety of tactics to not only defeat those he deems as threats to society, he also tends to kill them. Any known figures that are relative to him would be the Hero Killer as the two share nearly mirrored ideologies- which brings many Pro Heroes to believe that they are in cahoots. The difference is that the Hero Killer actively targets heroes while Horizon targets criminals. Few have lived to tell the tale of either, two of the survivors belonging to the Ingenium hero line.
"So… We're looking for a man who kills… Criminals?" Midoriya questioned the tanned woman, "Isn't he a good guy then?"
"No. Vigilantism is still a crime- and knowing this guy, he's a good fight if he's evaded us for this long." Mirko started to take steps towards the police line, her partner following suit, "Both Horizon and the Hero Killer are of equal value, so finding either would be a huge leap towards keeping both civilians and heroes safe."
"...Do we know what their quirks are?" Midoriya prepared his SAT identification as he approached, letting an officer look it over and then continuing.
"For the Hero Killer, both Ingeniums remember being paralyzed when he licked his sword. For Horizon, we still don't know. We know that he uses guns and other military grade items." The rabbit woman looked around the area, "We're not sure what his quirk is, but it must be a powerful one. I'm getting excited just thinking about crushing him."
"...Right." The green haired man started to head towards the building's entrance.
Entering the structure, the two spotted three heroes poking around: Hawks, Tsukuyomi, and Eraser Head. From what Midoriya could recall, Hawks was a reconnaissance hero with a variety of capabilities- including combat. Eraser Head has one of the most unique and powerful quirks: the ability to prevent the usage of a quirk. The SAT captain was actually a little jealous. For Tsukuyomi… He didn't really have much to work with, the young hero was relatively new to the scene. Midoriya didn't bother looking around at the environment, he just followed the rabbit woman around. Mirko didn't really know what was going on, she was really just itching for a fight with this Horizon fellow.
"Oh! Look who's joined us." Hawks turned around with a large grin, "Who's that? I thought you didn't form teams."
"Hey! Nice to see you're kickin' it." Mirko gave him the same smile, "This is Green. He's part of a government project that he forced me into!"
"Hawks." The blond man waddled up to Midoriya and held his hand out.
"...Green." Midoriya replied and watched Hawks' expression become confused as they shook hands.
"Do… Do I know you from somewhere?"
"I don't recall." The green haired man freed himself from the hero's grasp.
"Wait, who's this guy again?" Hawks turned to Mirko.
"Uh… Real name?" She asked and received a nod, "Captain Midoriya of the SAT Archer Company."
Midoriya was mildly impressed that she managed to remember all that information, but looks can be deceiving especially when the person's overall mannerisms are brutish and reckless.
"I see." The winged hero chuckled, "I hope I can get along with him just as much as you do."
"Trust me." The SAT captain placed a hand on Hawks' shoulder, "We struggle."
"You've been real co-operative today," The rabbit woman put her hands on her hits and shot Midoriya a large smile.
"A friend asked me to." Midoriya turned away and to hide the unknown embarrassment he randomly generated due to her smile.
"Hey, Eraser Head, you've dealt with Special Ops before. What do you think of this guy?" Mirko beckoned the extremely tired looking man over.
Slowly but surely making his way over, the man looked at Midoriya. His eyes squinted for a moment as he scanned him- looking at the weapons strapped on him and his kevlar vest.
"You don't use those on people, do you?" The tired looking man stared at Midoriya.
"Before I answer you, what's up with people looking at me funny?" The SAT captain scratched his head.
"Well usually, people don't just walk around with guns and follow around heroes." Hawks shrugged.
"I see. As for the weapons… I do use them on people." Midoriya hovered his hand over his pistol for a moment, "Why do you ask?"
"No particular reason." Eraser Head simply turned around and went back to scanning the environment for information.
"You could learn something from him, Green." Mirko looked over at the SAT captain who turned his gaze towards her, "He doesn't use guns- he just beats the shit outta people until they can't fight."
"I'm afraid I don't have the luxury to do that." Midoriya turned and started to walk towards the stairs up to the next floor.
Mirko and Hawks exchanged looks for a moment and walked beside the green haired man as they reached the second floor. As the rabbit woman continued to go up the stairs, she looked around. It didn't seem like there was any remains of anyone- there was no corpse and from what she can remember, she wasn't told of any criminal that was apprehended. The only thing that stood out was an insignia etched into the wall which was synonymous to Horizon: an "H" in a target and an elongated horizontal line perpendicular to the two parallel lines.
"You're pretty quiet right now. Can't figure out what's goin' on?" Mirko lifted up a large piece of debris while Midoriya glanced around.
"No. I can't." The green haired man knelt down and scanned the ground.
"We couldn't figure anything out either. It's not often that Horizon leaves his symbol on a wall with no corpses laying about." Hawks looked around on the ceiling.
"We didn't." An unfamiliar voice emanated directly behind Midoriya, causing him to jump in surprise and turn with his pistol drawn.
"W-Whoa! Hold on there, hoppy!" The blond's eyes went wide as he nervously laughed.
The SAT captain's eyes were wide as he started to gather information, realizing that he was pointing his pistol at Tsukuyomi- the young boy having his hands in the air and his eyes wide in shock.
"O-Oh shit… Sorry kiddo, you scared the shit out of me." Midoriya holstered his pistol and scratched the back of his head, "Don't sneak up on me like that. Unless you didn't mean to, then make a bit more noise."
"Green, relax, nothing is happening right now. You know what? Come 'ere for a moment, I needa talk to you." The rabbit woman walked over to the green haired man and dragged him off to a corner, "You alright? You sick or somethin'? You're really nervous today."
"I'm… I'm fine." Midoriya turned away.
Mirko stood there and looked at Midoriya for a few seconds then went back to looking for any clues on Horizon. The day went about slowly with barely any progress being made. From what the rabbit woman could understand- Horizon was very adamant in hiding any tracks, and for once, hiding any bodies too. Which was a bummer because she was really hoping to fight someone strong ever since the disappointing fight with Vitalis. Who knew someone with such an ugly quirk would be so easy to defeat. The two decided to leave the investigation site after a while of meaningless scavenging. Well, the four of them with Hawks decided to follow the two which meant Tsukuyomi waddled behind them. Midoriya didn't really pay much attention to Hawks and Mirko as the two conversed. He summed it up to them being good friends as he was spending more brain power trying to figure out why the winged man was following them anyways.
"Hey, Green, ya hungry?" Mirko hopped over to Midoriya and rested her arm on his shoulder, which was quickly stopped with the green haired man moving away.
"I am." The SAT captain continued to wander aimlessly down the street.
"Let me guess, katsudon?" She grinned at him.
Despite Shirai's request for Midoriya to put on a smile, he was starting to lose his mind. He couldn't handle Usagiyama's personality, especially with his already pronounced hatred for Heroes. Yet, for one of his only true friends, he bit his tongue and tried to endure the rest of the pain until Mirko lets him go home.
"Sure." The green haired man continued to walk as the rabbit woman went back to the other two figures behind him.
After a while of walking, the four eventually found themselves entering a restaurant and sitting at a booth. The green haired man and the rabbit woman sat on one side with the bird-like heroes on the other and then ordered their food. Midoriya got his katsudon- which might as well be nutritional sand due to his lack of taste. Mirko got a salad with a lot of carrots, as per usual. The younger hero, Tsukuyomi, seemed to get a pork loin stuffed with apples. Hawks received a chicken breast which caught Midoritya off guard.
"So, Midoriya." The blond looked over to the captain, "You're in the Archer Company? Strike me as impressed, bud."
"What about it?" Midoriya looked up at Hawks, "You want to know more about me?"
"Well… Actually I do." The winged hero leaned back in the booth, "You got any hobbies?"
"Sharpshooting." The green haired man answered near instantly.
"That's great!" Hawks smiled, "I'm sorta a sharpshooter myself."
"I have a question for you now." Midoriya looked over to Tsukuyomi, "Who's this?"
"Oh. This is my friend Tokoyami." The blond placed his hand on the younger hero's back with a smile, "He's got a lot of potential in him."
"You grace me, Hawks." Tsukuyomi averted his gaze.
It seemed that the raven headed man was a dramatic type. Exactly what Midoriya did not want and so he hoped that he wouldn't be out of hand- like a band kid. Or perhaps, a kid in the drama club. Either way, the green haired man didn't want anything to do with that sort of personality.
"I'll be right back." Midoriya stood up. He was itching for a drink after eating, but he knew that Usagiyama would stop him, so he decided to smoke instead.
Leaving the building and heading into an alleyway beside it, Midoriya found himself staring up at an empty night sky as he lit the cigarette. It felt good to finally be away from people as he gazed at the dark indigo shades of the sky- a sort of fluttering feeling rushing through his body. It's been a while since he's felt so at peace in the world- almost making him forget that he's the unluckiest person in japan. He couldn't help himself as a tear started to slip down his cheek and the fluttering feeling started to hurt his chest.
Some people were allowed to live the dream that he wanted, those many years ago. Some people were lucky to become known as heroes- lucky to be bestowed with a quirk. However, Midoriya was one of the enigmas in the world who was granted the short end of the stick, the phenomenon known as "Quirkless". Just remembering who he was always broke him on the inside, every single time his knees felt weak and his chest felt like crumbling into nothing- which sometimes he really wished would happen. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how far he went, he was compared to heroes and was given an even shorter stick. Was his life so meaningless that even if he tried he would amount to nothing? Was he destined to be so unlucky? Slowly looking down at his hand through his blurred vision, it trembled and shook vigorously.
The moon was so pretty- the earth was so absolutely divine, but no matter what, the people were so ugly. Slowly sliding his back down the wall behind him, Midoriya stared down at the ground, the aching sensation in his heart wouldn't leave and neither would the slow drizzle of tears from his eyes. His life was a gruesome free-for-all in which he kept losing, no matter what he did, those with quirks looked down on him. It didn't matter what he did, what age he was, how heroic he tried to be- it was always a demeaning pain. A person could only be in denial of their truth for so long and for Midoriya, the years were catching up to him. The slow drizzle of tears became a waterfall of tears as he couldn't contain himself anymore.
He never believed in any god because when he did, he felt as if he had sinned and was being punished. No matter how many times he begged, there was never an answer- no matter how many times he screamed, he always felt alone. Shirai and Okiyama, although being the two of the few people he genuinely cared for, could never understand the heart-rending sensation he was cursed with. He was hopeless. He was useless. He should be dead- he doesn't belong in a world of quirks. Perhaps, if he begged hard enough, he would be sent to the next life as a normal person. 27 years of suffering must have been a long enough sentence to be granted a new life with reason. Why must the world judge him with such scrutiny to come to this conclusion?
As hard as he tried to forget that he was quirkless, as much as he tried to stay black out drunk to remember nothing, as hard as he struggled to accept the world's ugly face… he couldn't. He didn't know why, it was impossible for him to understand why. Covering his ears with both hands, Midoriya closed his eyes. He just wanted to go back in time. He wanted to be able to change the past so he didn't have to feel this future. He didn't want to be like this- out of all the people in this small world, why did he have to be the one without a quirk? Out of all the people in this beautiful world, why did he have to be the lone man unable to reach his dream- or even get a step closer to his dream? Why did he even dream in the first place?
"Why… All Might…" Midoriya whispered to himself, his throat felt as if it was closing up as he uttered those words.
"What… What did I do…?" The green haired man clenched his teeth- he couldn't stop himself from drowning in his own sorrow, "Did I deserve this? Why couldn't I have been different…"
Slowly bringing himself to look up at the sky once again, his right hand reached for his pistol. Why didn't he think of this before? Slowly he brought it into his distorted vision with his shaking hands. Taking deep breaths, he slowly aligned it to the side of his head and he couldn't help but hope for someone to stop him. If someone attempted to stop him, at least he would know that someone in the world cared. That would be a miracle however, why would someone try to stop a quirkless, useless, meaningless criminal like him? He offered nothing to a society reliant and built by quirks. He offered nothing to a society that stood on the shoulders of heroes. Yet where are those heroes to save him? Maybe that's what he needed, a hero to tell him that he mattered, his own hero to show that maybe he wasn't completely and utterly a mistake.
"Hey, don't you think Midoriya is taking too long?" Hawks looked over to Mirko who was sipping at a smoothie, "It doesn't take too long to get a smoke break does it?"
"I assure you, Hawks, the time that it takes to smoke varies depending on the person." Tsukuyomi crossed his arms and closed his eyes, a solemn and dramatic pose.
"Now how do you know that, Tokoyami." The blond was now concerned at his companion.
"I-I don't. There is no reason for you to interrogate me any further, Hawks." The raven was struggling to keep his cool.
Usagiyama, however, left to go find Midoriya peeking her head around the restaurant and then eventually walking outside peering down an alleyway. Upon not seeing him, she decided to check the other, peeking around the corner and her eyes going wide. Finally, the woman knew why she felt sad about Midoriya the first time she saw his home, the way he lives, the person that he is. It's not everyday you see someone break down into an emotional mess at the point of taking their own life. Being a Pro Hero was about physically saving people from disasters, from criminals, from villains. Such a construct forgets about a person's emotional value, mental state, and wellbeing.
As Rumi Usagiyama heard Izuku Midoriya roar into the air, she used all of her power to reach out to him. A ringing sensation filled her ears, she looked down to see Midoriya completely surprised. Usagiyama pulled his pistol and his submachine gun away from him and checked to see if she was struck- which she wasn't. As she checked herself, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her neck. Midoriya cried as she sat stunned.
Heavy steps exited the restaurant as Hawks and Tsukuyomi turned the corner, the sudden gunfire prompting them to act- Midoriya crying out in agony as he squeezed his partner.
Maybe, all Midoriya needed was a hero to save him. Maybe, the young boy years ago wanted a hero to tell him that he could be a hero. Perhaps, that's all he needed to prevent this now. Inside a dark alleyway, Izuku Midoriya's anguish was released and Rumi Usagiyama was the hero that saved him. The years and years of built up struggle, a human life nearly ended because of a society that turned their back on him. Whether it was her job or not, the woman was happy that she stopped him.
"Thank you…"
"It's okay... I'm right here for ya..."