A/N: Wow, 100 followers already? awesome guys thank you, feel free to leave a review on this story.

December

The two heroes on the scene were talking amongst each other after rounding up the thugs, the police detaining them in their cars. Izuku was still in the same position, his heart still thumping. The kid he saved seemed to be in shock, Izuku didn't blame him.

Izuku snapped a few times to get his attention,"R-run off kid, and pay attention next time!" He held his hand out to help him up.

"O-okay mister hero, w-what's your name?" The boy asked him curiously.

Izuku pondered the question, "I am… Not exactly a hero per say…" The boy recoiled away suddenly from Izuku's hand, his eyes furrowing behind his mask. Wordlessly, the boy scampered away, Izuku didn't know why. The Cruller was watching from behind, inspecting the obviously new vigilante.

"Jeez man, you are strong." Izuku whirled around, watching as the Cruller admired his handy work.

"T-thanks?" Izuku didn't know what to say, any further conversation was ended prematurely by the loudspeaker of the chief of police.

"Vigilante work is illegal! Come quietly and we might let you off lightly." Izuku frowned, hadn't they just helped save innocent lives?

The Cruller hopped down from the bus, "Welp, time to get out of here. You coming?" Izuku blinked twice behind his mask, his head tilting.

The Cruller got in his hands and feet, "Don't want the cops to get ya do we? You did something amazing back there, at least until the driver went flying out…" Izuku flushed at that.

"Where would we go?"

"Just follow me noobie, stick with me and you'll do no evil!" Izuku shook his head, his eyes widening when the veteran Vigilante shot forward into an alleyway, his trail kicking up dust.

"Goddamnit not again…" Izuku heard the chief whisper into his speaker, his body frozen for a small moment, he turned to look at the squad of police officers who all had raised guns.

The hero with an odd tail walked towards him, "Hey you! Did you really think a professional hero couldn't handle the situation? And what if I wasn't here to catch that bus driver?" The hero was dressed in martial gear, his hair blonde… he looked sort of plain.

"Yeah, I'm taking you in. Don't make me use force." Ingenium was already walking off to converse with the police men, but this hero had it out for him.

Yeah his choice was obvious.

Izuku swung into the alleyway, ignoring the yells coming from behind.


Sliding to a stop a meaningful distance away, Izuku was sure no police officers or heroes were following him. At least from what his spider-sense let him know, he was alone in this alleyway.

At least, that's what he thought.

"Up here hotshot!" The friendly voice echoed throughout the alley.

The Cruller was hanging off the wall, his arms crossed. Izuku couldn't see his eyes with the sky behind shadowing his body, but he could sense the smile radiating out from him.

"Gotta think fast, if you want to be a hotshot Vigilante…"

"Who said I wanted to be one!" Izuku yelled back up.

The veteran vigilante chuckled, slowly sliding down towards him. "Why did you do it then? Reminds me of me, y'know."

Izuku had heard about the Cruller before, the Vigilante had been around for years, seen in most parts of Tokyo; The Cruller was a friendly guy from most accounts who had a heart for justice, unfortunately with vigilante laws existing… His actions were illegal, but after years of trying to catch him, the police have stopped trying to catch him that badly and he's gained somewhat a respect amongst the Naruhata community specifically.

Izuku didn't think he'd ever meet him in person.

"Really?" Izuku was surprised to hear that, then again he must have had the same feelings of inadequacy.

"Yeah, let me guess, you missed out on your chance to become a hero and just couldn't not help?" Izuku felt the words echo throughout the alley way, and he felt it in his very heart.

"Yeah…" Izuku looked to the ground, overwhelmed.

"Thought so, but why did you do it? Why risk it? You're probably a young guy judging by your voice so what happens if you get caught?" He asked, blue light humming from his palms and soles.

Izuku furrowed his glare, his eyes narrowing at the wall. "I… I saw how fast it was going, it was crazy, it sent my heart thumping faster and faster… But then I thought what if someone got hurt? I have this power and I can't just sit back and do nothing right?" Izuku posited, his statement uncertain.

"You're right, you sound like perfect vigilante material."

"And If I don't want to become a Vigilante?" He weighed the outcomes, on one hand if he got caught the cops would arrest him and potentially imprison him which could destroy everything he'd built up for the past few weeks. Izuku shrunk into himself.

But…

Standing straight, tearing off his mask and revealing burning emerald eyes, "I can't sit back and watch anyone get hurt, especially when I have the power to help."

He glanced away, "A man once told me that with great power-", the vigilante interrupted, "Comes great responsibility."

Izuku stuttered, "W-wait, you've heard that too?"

"My master told me that once too, it's a common doctrine for the heroes, but to me it applies to everyone. Do you know what it means?" He asked Izuku, sitting on the side of the wall.

"I've been thinking, but I'm not sure-"

"It's not a complex idea, don't overthink it." The vigilante dropped down right in front of him, finally at the same level. He was lean, and had a similar height and brown eyes that seemed earnest.

The vigilante put a hand on his shoulder, "Just do what you can, alright? Do good for others if you have the power, that's it, it's not a world shattering responsibility my friend. And for me? That means laws are silly, I'd break a law 100 times if it meant I could save someone." Izuku blinked a few times, the turmoil in his mind clearing more every second.

'Is this the answer I've been looking for?' The vigilante clapped him on the back before jumping back to the wall.

"Now tell me spider-guy, do you want to be a hero or not?" Izuku frowned.

"But, how would I be one if I failed the exams?" The Naruhata vigilante laughed a loud laugh.

"What does that have to do with being a hero? A hero is someone who puts his life on the line for others, you don't need permission from anyone to be a hero." Izuku felt his jaw drop for the second time.

The Cruller was giving him a choice, did he want to go back to being the law abiding citizen he was before he got these powers? Or… did he want to actually make a difference, he remembered what Melissa told him.

'Heroes seem aimless.' He understood what she meant by that now, heroes don't have the aim they should anymore; Katsuki was a prime example.

Izuku clenched his fist into the air, "Yes, yes I do. P-please take care of me Cruller-sensei!" He heard a sudden groan, his exclamation losing all its energy in a second.

"My name IS THE CRAWLER."

"Sheesh, I know Ingenium calls me that still but I didn't think people would still be calling me that, jeez what will it take." Grumbling.

"The Crawler? That… Actually makes sense."

"Thank you! But anyways, since you agreed to be my apprentice even without me asking, mind you…" The Naruhata vigilante was excited, he'd truthfully been waiting for years to do this.

He slid up the wall suddenly, going out of view. Izuku sputtered.

"H-hey! Where are you going!" He coiled low to the ground, jumping with all his strength and clearing the alleyway in one go. His knees buckled as he landed, the Crawler was chilling on a square conductor, his eyes widening.

Izuku sighed, walking over to the vigilante. 'It was just a test…'

"Alright… So you can jump really high." He grumbled, waiting for Izuku to sit still. The vigilante's eyes narrowed suddenly, "First things first! Never take your mask off and reveal yourself to anyone!" Izuku flushed, putting his fuzzy spider mask on again.

"And secondly, you need to have a code name, my first codename was Nice guy." Izuku stifled a laugh, thankfully the vigilante was used to that reaction.

"Yeah, it wasn't the best. So I hope you come up with a better one, and you can't have my name!" He worked hard on the Crawler.

"O-of course… How about…" he put his fingers into a thinking position.

Snapping, "How about the human spider!" Izuku looked particularly proud at that one.

"Are you serious? Try again."

"Darnit."

Izuku thought harder, the sun began shining behind the clouds in the sky. He remembered what the fighting ring leader used to call him.

"How about…"


Izuku quickly settled into a conversation with the older man, surprised at how easy it was to talk with someone like him, easy going and passive.

"You're telling me you knew Ground Zero as a kid and through middle school? Was he aggressive back then too?" Izuku laughed at the irony of the question, his face lit.

"He was worse if you can picture that, for a while I thought he was the coolest person but…" His smile didn't fade as he gave the sky a sidelong glance.

"He's just a bully."

The veteran vigilante nodded twice, "He's one of the heroes I try to avoid, he's not stationed in Tokyo thankfully." The older man said, chuckling nervously.

Izuku was surprised truthfully, how would he have known that he'd find another friend and mentor from his split second choice to stop a moving bus?

It was insane.

And he loved it, because this world was so much brighter than before. For the first time he was at a point in life where life wasn't terrible, where he felt some myriad level of hope.

"Good choice, his explosions hurt just as much as they seem." Izuku said mindlessly, not noticing the frown from his newly acquired friend.

"Noted-"

Izuku felt his spider-sense shoot off, the blood curdling screams of a woman.

Both he and the Crawler instantly glanced towards the source. Izuku's nerves ramped up and his body tensed for a small moment, "Move over!" The Crawler slid over to him and leaned over the edge, his shadowed eyes narrowing. The two could easily see the distinct two individuals in the alleyway below them, one a man and one a woman, a classic case.

"Let's go."

"What's happening?" Izuku reached out to stop him but was too late, the Crawler had already jumped into action and was sliding down the wall. Izuku had no time to think, he followed after.

Sticking to the wall opposite of the crawler, Izuku opened his mouth to speak only to get shushed, he used signs to point to the commotion.

A lanky scraggy man was holding a woman against the wall, "Listen… Koho I'm sorry but you really pissed me off…" She struggled against his grip, disgusted by the sight of his yellow teeth and acne.

"Let me go! I didn't do anything to you, creep!" She tried to bite his hand, only for the scraggy man to push her head against the wall.

"Damnit, you really had me thinking, but you had to go talk to that other guy huh? Maybe DON'T STRING SOMEONE ALONG HUH?" The spit globs landed on her face, eliciting tears.

"Please…"

Izuku was revolted, his first instinct to move and beat up the revulsion. "What the hell…" He curled his fingers, an innocent woman was being molested before his very eyes and yet… His just recently announced mentor REFUSED to move. Did he not see what was happening? Was this a test of some kind?

"Apologize, bitch!" The harsh voice echoed throughout the alleyway, and Izuku was spurred.

'This can't continue.'

Detaching from the wall, izuku spun in place and impacted the ground with a thud, his knees buckling. "G-get away from her!"

"Hey- hey! Wait a minute!" The pleas of the Crawler, his now official mentor, fell on deaf ears, Izuku pumped his body up and bolted forwards with each step cracking the concrete, his full strength released in every footfall.

"G-GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" Izuku cursed and cocked his fist back, his face contorted into rage. The man released his hold on the woman and the two both stood in shock unable to move.

Before any of them could even react, the Crawler drifted in between Izuku and the two citizens, his eyes flashing blue. "The Crawler…: Knuckle style…" his knuckles blazed with blue energy, like an energetic pulse. The force of repulsion that powered his quirk was projected along the lines of his knuckle, and from a crouched position, he twisted his body and shot his fist out along the trajectory of his momentum, blue energy coiling around his enclosed palm brighter and brighter.

Izuku raised his block at the last second, his spider-sense allowing him evasive action. "What are you playing at!" Izuku seethed from his low stance, that blow would definitely bruise badly later but the pain was numbed by his anger.

The Crawler shook his head, "Just watch, you can't just rush." The vigilante stated in a neutral tone before turning to the two citizens who'd just now recovered.

A small salute, "Hey there, what seems to be the problem and why are you attacking her?" He glanced between the two for a second before settling on the scraggy homeless looking guy.

"This bitch cheated on me!" He put an accusatory finger up, his race burning red.

"I did not! We weren't even dating!"

The man shattered, his posture slumping. "Then why… You lead me on the entire time?" She frowned, idly glancing at the other two in the ally before nodding.

The man fell to his knees, "So, you never actually cared about me then, I was just a toy." Tears began pooling in his eyes, at closer inspection he was not much older than Izuku.

"Yes, Kazuya."

Izuku's eyes widened like saucers, 'So… that's it then.' he'd been about to attack a man who'd been used like a toy, obviously he'd be furious.

The woman walked off, leaving the decrepit man on his own. Eyes watering, he fell to his knees, covering his face. "All that time, all the money I spent, a-all for nothing…"

The Crawler walked over to him, crouching down. "Hey man, it's gonna be alright, but you can't ever do that to a woman."

Izuku watched their interaction, The Crawler showing him the first act of a hero he'd never even considered before when seeing a villain or criminal.

Kindness.

This power gave him the responsibility to act, but in what way was attacking a defenseless man responsible?

Izuku needed to rethink his mindset.


A/n: (Not happy with this chapter tbh, but it got corrupted so i had to practically start halfway over, anyways.)