Thank you all for the kind feedback!
AnimeFanGirl2223 - You are amazing! I'm so glad we met through your own awesome stories! Everyone should go and check out her work!
MrDino117 - I'm not sure who I'm going to pair together yet, but who knows what the future may bring!
Interviner - Thank you, I hope that I don't disappoint you!
StraeberriCandi - Pan is a fun character, his background is a bit of a mystery, but I will be giving tid bits here and there, that includes the other Lost Boy characters too. Hope you continue to enjoy this story!
Tombs456 - I do remember that movie, but I didn't think about it when i titled the story lol!
D3lph0xL0v3r - THANK YOU! I love your excitement and yes, I have a place for Tic Toc Croc, you just have to wait for his chapter, which is quite a few chapters away unfortunately cause I'm excited to intro him! As for the Codfish, you'll also have to wait to find out who he's going to be hehehe.
Anyways! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Let me know what you think!
In the span of a couple of weeks, Izuku and Pan had cleared out a large portion of the beaches trash. The younger couldn't understand why people would throw such things into the ocean, especially once he saw that someone had scavenged through them for parts. Although he never voiced his observations, he couldn't help but draw parallels between himself and the garbage. He was still useful too and yet he'd been tossed aside.
He and Pan would instead make conversation about random things, such as their interests and what they thought about the new heroes making their debuts. They'd play games as well, turning the work into a competition so that it wasn't quite so taxing. Midoriya was simply happy to have found a friend after so long.
"So, what do your parents do, Pan?" he asked as he chucked a broken tv into the dumpster.
Pan gave a shrug, replying like it was no big deal. "I haven't seen them for a while."
Izuku frowned, his curiosity peaked. "Do they work a lot or something? I mean, my dad works overseas so I don't get to see him often either."
The elder sighed as he turned to look at Izuku. "I ran away from home when I was a little younger than you are now and have lived on the streets ever since; Never looked back though."
"Oh… I didn't know, sorry…" Midoriya apologized, feeling awkward.
"No big Izu, I'm happier this way; home was a mess," Pan assured, pausing a moment before continuing. "I have a real family now… We call ourselves the Lost Boys."
He chuckled as if there was an inside joke somewhere in his explanation, one that his new friend wasn't privy to yet. Izuku just accepted that there were things he didn't know about Pan though, and waited for him to continue.
"We're really just a bunch of street kids who are either runaways, parentless orphans, or simply misunderstood in some way. We created our group so that we could have a sense of belonging and keep ourselves from getting into too much trouble. Still, a lot of us don't exactly have the cleanest records so we're often labeled as hoodlums or even villains… but we're not. We only ever do 'bad' things when they are absolutely necessary for our own survival. Even if it might break a law or two, I would do anything to make sure my Lost Boys stay safe… I hope that doesn't change your perception of me…"
"No!" Izuku responded quickly, "No, it doesn't! It actually makes you even cooler than you were before…" He trailed off for a moment, head dropping low as he gazed at the ground and muttered. "Cooler than a useless, quirkless, person like me…"
Midoriya yelped in surprise as a hand gently bopped the back of his head, Pan giving him a disapproving look.
"Being quirkless does not mean that you're useless," he chastised, his expression morphing into a reassuring smile soon after. "You have a lot of potential Izu… you just need to believe in yourself more! Now come on, this trash isn't going to pick itself up."
The rest of the week passed by quickly with Midoriya feeling… different. He looked himself over in the mirror while he was changing into his school uniform, swearing that he could already see results from cleaning up the beach with Pan. There was slightly more definition starting to settle into his muscles and he naturally stood straighter, making him appear far less scrawny. Even if the physical part was subtle though, he could feel the changes in himself.
He walked to school with more purpose, his steps quicker and head held high without his usual slouch. Students around him whispered as he passed, but he didn't care; he was happy and no one was going to change it… or so he thought.
"Oi, Deku!" an easily recognizable voice called out just before he entered the school building.
"Oh no…" Midoriya thought with sudden anxiety, his shoulders falling forward as he slowly turned to face the blonde, red eyes burning into him like raging fire. "O-Oh, h-hey Kacchan…"
He inwardly cursed himself for stumbling over his words when he'd been so confident and happy just moments before. Bakugo just grinned with satisfaction though, clearly enjoying the power he had over Izuku's mood.
"Where the fuck have you been? Running off thinking you're better than everyone?" Katsuki huffed as his two goon-friends stood behind him watching their interaction.
"N-no, I've just... been busy with… stuff?" he tried to defend, his explanation coming up short. The reply only seemed to piss the explosion user off more though.
"Stuff? What the fuck is that supposed to mean you shitty nerd?" he growled as his eyes scanned over the smaller teen, enjoying the way fear radiated off of him. He took a step closer to his Deku, intent on capitalizing on the way his presence affected him only for the bell to ring and interrupt his encroachment.
"We're not fucking done, Deku." He warned, scoffing as he walked past and knocked his larger shoulder into Midoriya, causing him to stumble to regain his footing.
Bakugo didn't say or do too much else the rest of the school day, only giving foreboding glares to Izuku from time to time when the teachers weren't paying attention. The blonde wasn't stupid; he'd noticed the boy's new attitude even though it had only been present for a short time.
They'd grown up together and he knew just about everything there was to know about Midoriya. The nerd had been up to something, training if he had to guess from the increased muscle he'd felt while shoulder checking him. Just a month prior, that slight knock would have caused the considerably smaller boy to tumble to the ground and yet today it didn't. That probably pissed him off the most… that scrawny Izuku had the nerve not to fall when he should have.
"I'll be damned if I let that stupid little Deku of mine start to think he's better than me…"
When the bell rang, Izuku couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. He slung his backpack over his shoulders and quickly made his way off of the school grounds. Green eyes flickered around nervously, scanning everywhere in paranoia. If he was being honest though, he had every right to. Bakugo had been sending him threatening glares all day and he knew what that meant.
"Hey! There he is!" one of Bakugo's flunkies shouted, pointing at him.
Izuku bolted. He wasn't exactly sure where he was running to, but he knew he had to get away or else he'd receive another brutal beating. Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to shake them; they'd pop up and he'd be forced to correct his path, running down various alleys to try and get them off his tail.
The longer he ran though, the more he came to realize something that made his gut turn and twist. "They have me running in circles!" he thought frantically. "And this is a—" Midoriya skidded to a halt as his last path ended. "—dead end…"
His heart pounded in his ears as he stared fearfully at the brick wall before him. He turned back around, gulping as his eyes landed on Katsuki, the blonde standing imposingly between his two friends. "Oh no…"
"You really are a worthless Deku, aren't you?" Bakugo sneered, his voice laced with such disgust it made the green haired boy's skin crawl.
"Leave me alone Kacchan..." Izuku forced out, hoping that voicing his opposition would help him cling to the small bits of confidence that he'd gathered since he'd started training with Pan.
Katsuki cocked his head to the side slightly. "Eh? Leave you alone, huh? So, you still think of you're going to be a fucking hero one day? Suddenly, you have the balls to say something to me? Let's see if you can back it up then, you fucking shit stain."
Bakugo's quirk activated, sending sizzling sparks to his fingertips as he slowly approached Izuku. He watched and drank in the way every step forward he took made his little Deku's confidence fall apart and dissipate. "You're so useless. You're a burden to everyone around you and your quirkless ass needs to be taught a lesson. I'll gladly give it to you!"
Izuku was in pain. His body was sprawled out on the unforgiving concrete, aching in the worst way for what seemed like days, though, judging by the sunset beginning in the distance, it had likely only been for a few hours.
"Izuku!" someone called, their footsteps approaching him quickly. "Shit. Izu, can you hear me?"
"P-Pan..." Izuku strained, doing his best to pick himself back up.
A gentle hand rested on his arm, however, calming his movement. "It's going to be alright, Izu… I'm going to take you home."
"No... mom... mom will worry..." he croaked as he tried to push himself up once more only to fall back to the concrete.
There was a moment of silence as Pan contemplated what he should do before he responded firmly. "Your mom needs to know and you are in no shape to argue."
The elder teen shifted Midoriya around, carefully lifting him until he could carry him on his back. He shook his head in frustration as he began walking to his friends' home, audibly scolding himself. "I should have gotten here sooner. I thought it was odd that you were late since you never are, but I didn't react quickly enough."
Izuku clung to the elder's back, his burnt, bruised skin throbbing from the abuse he'd taken. He buried his face into the back of Pan's collar as he tried his best not to cry. "I c-couldn't… I couldn't even stop him! Why does Kacchan have to be so cruel..."
A sob managed to sneak past his trembling lips, further breaking down his self-esteem for not being able to stop it. "He's right! I'm nothing but a useless, worthless Deku and—"
"Don't say that," Pan cut in, effectively putting a stop to Izuku's self-condemning muttering. "You aren't any of those things."
They walked the rest of the way in reflective silence.
When they made it back to Izuku's house, Inko panicked the moment she caught sight of her baby, just as he'd predicted. She rushed Pan inside, grateful that she didn't even have to ask for him to help.
Together, they cleaned and dressed Izuku's wounds, bandaging the burns and scraps that littered the poor boy's body. Pan carried him to his room since he'd gotten too heavy for the small women to lift on her own, carefully placing him in his bed.
Midoriya was already out, so he took the time to look around, seeing the teens room for the first time. There were hero memorabilia everywhere, most prominently All Might. It reminded Pan of what he'd witnessed the day he'd met Izuku, bitter frustration and disdain boiling in his chest. "Heroes are supposed to inspire others, All Might… You're no better than the rest."
As he exited the younger's room, he planned on leaving. But Izuku's mother asked him to stay, big green eyes pleading with him in the same sweet, genuine way her sons often did. He simply couldn't say no and allowed her to make them some hot tea, hoping that his company would be enough. Pan felt like he owed her that much at least since he hadn't gotten to Midoriya fast enough to save him such pain.
"Izuku said your name is Pan, right?" she asked him after a few minutes.
"Oh!" he exclaimed in flustered embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself, ma'am, yes, that is what my friends call me,"
The woman chuckled some, "It's alright and you can call me Inko, dear. Since you said your friends call you that, I'm assuming Pan is a nickname or alias that you use?"
"Yes ma'am, I mean, Inko-san, I don't give out my real name often," he explained hesitantly. He sipped on his beverage as Inko nodded in understanding, relieved that she wasn't going to push the issue.
Mrs. Midoriya smiled softly once more, appreciation evident in her expression and demeanor. "Although the circumstances are not ones I'd hoped for, it's good to finally meet you… I want to thank you, Pan. My son doesn't have many friends, actually, he doesn't have any if I'm being honest. When he came home one evening talking about you, I was so thrilled; I've never seen Izuku so happy."
The teen was momentarily surprised by the comment, even if he already knew the basics of Midoriya's rather unfortunate social life. His features soon melted into a smile of his own. "You have a very special kid, Inko-san."
"I know… You have no idea what it means to me to have someone else realize it too…" she replied. There was such care and adoration in her voice that Pan couldn't help but see the love she had for her son.
and that's Chapter 2!
I wanted a bit more bonding between Pan and Izuku and also show the toxic relationship he has with Bakugo currently since the second Slime Villain incident hasn't happened.