"I'll plant a row of daisy seeds,

In the space below each eye,

So they'll remind you of your beauty,

When they bloom each time you cry."

~Erin Hanson

Izuku opened his eyes to darkness.

Immediately he felt an ache in his back, followed by the pulsing sting of other minor scratches, the dull throb of new bruises. The former, at least, was easily explainable by his current position, sprawled on the cracked pavement of some alley.

He wasn't exactly sure how he had ended up there, though he had a pretty good idea. This wasn't the first time he had woken alone in one of the many back lots or abandoned buildings of the Kamino Ward.

It wouldn't be the last.

As for his other discomforts; a dull throb in his stomach, the sticky sensation of drying blood tracing it's way down his right calf… those were a little more difficult to describe. He did a quick check to make sure nothing was broken or seriously damaged, then slowly he sat up, head throbbing. Has he leaned forward, causing greasy green bangs to fall over his eyes, tangling with long lashes. He pushed them away, ignoring his body's protests of the sudden movement. His head plused again. Maybe he should ask Kurogiri to check for a concussion when he got back to the bar. But then again...maybe not.

He stood slowly, pulling his slightly wrinkled hooded down over jeans that didn't quite cover his ankles. Placing a steadying hand on the warm brick wall beside him, he lifted each bulky red sneaker in turn, rolling his foot inside with practiced motion. Nothing broken. Capable of walking. Capable of running. He checked it off his mental list and then moved onto the next most pressing issue.

Where exactly was he? Was it safe to leave?

Slowly he walked himself through the memories from earlier that evening. He hadn't been far from the bar, but a few streets away, "borrowing" some money from a convenience store when things had gotten hairy. Some small time hero had been in the store, seen Izuku's butterfly knife. A stupid mistake. An unfair fight. He hadn't been planning on using much other than intimidation. No way to use his quirk…

Running was the only logical option. If a hero was involved, there were police on the way, and that was something Izuku needed to avoid at all costs. So run he apparently had.

He took a deep breath and looked around. The alley dead ended in an overflowing dumpster, the other end opened to a mostly empty street. Izuku inched forward, attempting to determine his location without leaving the protection of the ally.

In the reflection from the windows of the shopping complex opposite him, Izuku could see the glitter of red and blue lights to the left of his only exit. He crept forward and learned out. There were a handful of police cars idling behind yellow tape. Heroes and citizens alike scuttled too and fro over the shattered glass of the front window.

The window that Izuku had been thrown through only hours earlier. He unconsciously reached down and checked on his bleeding leg. It really was a miracle he had gotten away.

But he knew better than most that it was best not to tempt fate. In time, the police would grow bored with the witnesses and evidence contained in the store. Izuku wanted to be long gone by the time they started to expand the search and poke their noses where he didn't want them. Time to go.

After quickly checking for any foot traffic, Izuku pulled up his hood and stepped out of the alley as casually as he could muster. He refused to even look back at the police cars. As far as they were considered, he wasn't interested. Just another passerby. Nothing to be concerned about.

Still...Izuku didn't fully relax until he had turned the corner, breaking into a full out sprint to get away. He didn't stop until he was several blocks away, not even paying attention to where he was going. He had technically been heading toward the bar, though not in anything that resembled a direct course.

It was just as well. Izuku wasn't exactly looking forward to Shigaraki's reaction when he returned to the hideout empty handed. A silver ran down his back despite the heat. He had ended up a few miles outside of the heart to Kamino, a place he recognized because the train station was nearby.

He had walked her yesterday...and the day before that. He supposed it was only natural that his feet had taken him back. He allowed them to take him farther. Away from the bar, toward the train. Away from Shigaraki, toward-

"Excuse me!"

Izuku froze.

"Excuse me, young man."

He turned slowly to see two people running towards him. His hand slipped into his hoodie pocket on instinct, almost casualty folding around the handle of his knife.

"Yes?"

The two strangers neared him, a man and a woman. He could tell by the way they were dressed that they were tourists. probably not a danger then. But his hand didn't move from the blade.

"Sorry to bother you." The man said, "You looked like you were from around here and we couldn't find our way to the train station."

Izuku blinked. Surely it wasn't that hard. But then again…it seemed like just his luck to run into the two dumbest people in all of Yokohama.

The woman seemed to sense his doubtfulness. "Normally we would be fine." she said, "but there was some kind of incident a few blocks that way. We had to go a different way than we were expecting. Got a little turned around."

It was a logical explanation.

Or an expert way to fish for information.

"What kind of incident?" Izuku asked, wrapping his face with a well practiced mold of casual concern.

"I donno." said the man, "but it looked pretty important. A couple small time heroes. Tons of cops."

"Huh." Izuku said, looking away. "Guess I'll have to check the news. I hope no one was hurt." he already knew the answer to that one. No one they cared about was hurt. Just his leg. Nothing that mattered. "Anyway," he said, "I should tell you how to get to the station."

"Oh right." the man nodded, as if he had completely forgotten.

Izuku explained briefly and clearly. The couple thanked him before turning to walk away, leaving him alone under a flickering yellow street light.

He had been planning to walk by the station before returning to the bar, but now he knew he couldn't. Already, he was nervous that the couple had been on to him. It would be stupid to appear like he was following behind them.

It was stupid to go at all. To look at the train which he knew made stops in Mufasu, even when he knew he could never go back. To think that he might have ridden that train once, a long time ago. To think that people he had known still where, like Kachan or...well he supposed he didn't really know anyone else in Mufasu.

Not anymore.

After a long breath he pulled his eyes away from the street that would lead him there, turning fully around so that he faced the direction of the bar, and then took a step, and another, without once looking back.

"Do you think he suspected us?" the woman asked, staring at the train station in front of her.

"Hard to tell." said the man at her side. "Stupid brat probably hasn't had a normal conversation in years."

The woman let out a noise that might have been suppressed laughter.

"Still…" the man said, "it doesn't really matter. He was here yesterday, he was here today. He'll be back tomorrow. All we have to do is wait.