Warnings: Child's death

Izuku's POV

Escaping CIRO had been easy. Alex was more focused on the doctor that Izuku had taken hostage. Not that Izuku would have hurt the man. He was a vigilante, not a monster. The doctor was simply a product of bad timing.

Using the old code for the black ops programs had been a stroke of genius. It would have Alex chasing his tail in the wrong direction. Files of old would not hold the information he was looking for. Only if he looked towards those seeking entrance into Japan and hero schools would he have a chance at figuring out who the three were.

Impatience filled the young vigilante as he thought of his brothers in arms. Echo and Charlie should arrive anytime now. It would be nice to have someone with combat skills to have his back. There were a lot of things Orion was good at. Fighting was not one of those things.

It wasn't just their skills that he missed even if he would never admit it out loud. He missed Echo's insistence on the little things. Or how Charlie tried to make everything into a joke. At one time his greatest asset was the optimistic attitude. It died with Fox in the second year of the fall.

Shaking his head he tried to clear the depressing memories. He wouldn't do anyone any good if he allowed them to take over.

A muted explosion rocked the ground almost sending Izuku off his feet. Instinctively his eyes shot towards the sky looking for a Nomu or villain. Instead, he saw buildings on fire in the distance. That was a residential area.

The panicked thought had his legs moving before his brain could catch up. Getting involved wasnt his smartest idea. Not being in full gear meant when the heroes arrived he would be in danger of being caught. But he couldn't standby and do nothing while lives were in danger. Vigilantes and heroes were cut from the same cloth. The main difference between them was that the heroes had a license. Both wanted to help people that was what set them apart from villains.

It took him precious time to reach where the fire was. A range of residential low-income apartments were in ablaze. Where he guessed it originated at was a building that had already collapsed. It was beyond his help.

In the streets were injured men, women, and children. A handful of paramedics were already on the scene but no heroes. Too few people were outside given how many buildings were on fire. There was a good chance that there were people trapped inside.

Pulling up his hood and cowl Izuku rushed inside. The cries of civilians behind him were drowned out by the crackling fire. He searched the first building with ruthless efficiency. Any locked door was kicked in to ensure there was no one who was trapped.

On the top floor in the last room, he found a child's bedroom. He didnt have to move over to the bed to see that the child was dead. Their blackened skin was clear enough from the doorway. Lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling.

Izuku had to swallow back bile as he moved to the next building. He couldn't show emotion here. If he did then he would be wasting time on those who could still be alive.

The next building was much the same but with one notable exception of a survivor. Helping them to safety was his first priority and he had to yell to be heard. Fresh night air soothed the burning in his lungs as they escaped out of the building.

Izuku waved off the paramedics who tried to tend to him. He couldn't stop now even if his lungs were begging him to. He had to be sure that there was no one else waiting for rescue. That was what it meant to be a hero.

As he was about to head into the second to last building he felt the fibers of his clothes tighten around him. Turning he saw a familiar blue-clothed hero making his way over. Part of Izuku wanted to run and get away from the man who saved him. To not face the cause of so many nightmares.

Instead, he stood his ground meeting the lighter green eyes head-on. He greeted cordially, "Best Jeanist it's been awhile since we last spoke. Unfortunately, I do not have time to catch up with you. There are two apartment buildings that still need to be cleared."

Once again he tried to return to his duty and once again the fibers tightened restricting his movement. Izuku glared at the man. Lives were at stake. They didnt have the luxury of time here.

Izuku snarled his voice modulator not liking the sound, "Jeanist, I may be a vigilante but now is not the time to be fighting. There still could be people trapped inside. I have cleared two of the buildings of survivors. There are still two more."

There was a brief moment of hesitation before the fibers of his clothes released him. Izuku didnt hesitate to throw himself back into the burning buildings. They had wasted enough time he could allow any more blood to be on his hands. Not when he could save them.

More bodies were found in this building of those unfortunate enough to not get out. Several rooms he was unable to enter due to the flames getting stronger. Or maybe it was his body getting weaker due to smoke inhalation. He wasn't sure.

Izuku threw an arm up to protect his face as the flames flared up again. Burns were forming all over his body but he ignored the pain. This was something he could deal with.

As he was about to move onto the next building he heard a muffled sob. Confusion went through him as he wasn't around any rooms. Further examination of the hallway found a closet. Someone wouldnt trap their kids in there. Right?

To his horror, someone did indeed trap two children in the closet. It was locked from the outside and no key in the area. Thankfully he kept his picks on him at all times and made quick work of the lock.

It was a boy and a girl no more than ten years old. The boy looked as if he was having trouble breathing. While the girl just looked terrified.

Izuku bent so that he was eye level with them and said gently, "Hey there kids. I'm here to get you to safety. My name is Delta."

The boy coughed out painfully, "You're the new vigilante. Momma says that vigilantes like you are bad."

Izuku smiled as kindly as he could as he said, "If you can't trust me, maybe you can trust Best Jeanist. He's outside right now helping the injured. How would you like to meet the Number 4 Pro Hero?"

Both children's eyes lit up at the thought of meeting a true hero. Once upon a time, he would have been the same. Once upon a time, he wouldn't be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He said going to pick up the children, "Alright I'm going to carry you both so we can get out of here faster. If I put you down and tell you to run. You need to listen to me. Okay?"

Both children nodded as they allowed him to pick them up. Around him, he could hear the building creaking. Any minute now it would collapse on them. He had to hurry and get the kids to safety.

Izuku took the stairs three at a time barely noticing the way his ribs flared with each bounce. Kids first, injuries second. As they hit the bottom floor he heard the roof begin its collapse. He pushed himself harder to get them out before it completely gave way.

They had reached the hallway and were almost at the exit when the building collapsed. Izuku threw the kids towards Jeanist who caught them in his quirk right as the building came down upon him. Then he knew nothing more.

Hakamata's POV

There was barely enough time to catch two children thrown at him by the vigilante. His quirk wrapped around them protectively stopping any injuries a fall may have ensued. When he looked up it was just in time to see the building collapse onto the vigilante. Trapping him within the rubble.

Tsunagu felt the respect he hard for the man to grow. Delta had risked life and limb to ensure everyone who was alive in the burning buildings made it out. Even to the point that a building collapsed on him rather than the kids he was carrying.

The kids babbled about being locked in a closet. How the vigilante had saved them from the fire. Damn abuse on top of everything else.

Death Arms said holding his arms out for the kids, "I'll make sure they are looked after Jeanist. You should probably see about pulling Delta from the rubble. I'll call it in."

Tsunagu released the kids into the other hero's care. He trusted Death Arms to have his back and to look after them. Despite his rough exterior, he was a good hero and great with kids.

A group of water quirked heroes had put out the fires around where the vigilante had been taken out. It was up to him and the other rescuers not busy with the injured to dig out the bodies from the rubble. This was one of his least favorite parts of his job.

Delta had done well this evening in saving the kids. He didnt deserve to have a building collapse on him.

Tsunagu began to work his way through the wreckage shifting the too hot wreck as much as he could with a quirk. That's when he noticed something on the very edge of what his quirk could feel through the heat. Something was making a regular motion like breathing against fibers. It was a good ways underneath the wreckage but someone was still alive.

That made him move faster until he could use his quirk to rug the person out from under the wreckage. The black jacket and cowl gave a clear indicator of who he just rescued. Delta's breathing was pained but he was alive.

Picking up the too-light vigilante he moved them to a safer area. Paramedics descended upon them checking the vigilante over. At his insistence, the cowl stayed in place. He would remove it when he got Delta to his agency. Only first aid would be applied here. His agency was better equipped than the paramedics after all and much closer than a hospital.

One of the paramedics frowned as he said, "He needs his ribs reset. They were already broken before the building fell on him. Do you have someone at your agency with a healing quirk?"

Tsunagu replied with a nod, "I do."

Where they there right now? No, no they were not. However, they did owe him a favor which he would be calling in. First things first. He had to get back to his agency before the other heroes arrived.

After a few moments of jotting down his hero license information and assuring the paramedics that he could handle the other he left. A quick phone call was made to one of his sidekicks. She had the healing quirk and knew how to be discreet. The trip back to his agency was made in silence. It was only broken by the occasional sound by the vigilante.

Once at his agency, Anna met him at the doors. One look at the vigilante had her in action. Tsunagu left the vigilante in her care. If he was needed she would notify him. For his part, he would need to fill out reports on what happened tonight. The only question being was whether or not he mentioned Delta.

An hour later she came up to his office with the vigilante in tow on one of their cots held by robots support was designing. They were very similar to the robots that UA used. His team hoped to make them strong enough to be used in the field not just around the office.

Delta was in clean pants and his jacket torn at the back to allow access to his other injuries. Tsunagu knew that the other's ribs and unknown injuries were healed. At worst he would have some lasting aches for a few days.

Anna questioned carefully, "Sir are you going to remove his mask? Unless I'm mistaken this is the vigilante Delta. No disrespect sir but why not just leave him with the police?"

That question had ate at the hero for a while. Why not just leave the vigilante to be taken to a villain's hospital? Depending on his age and prior history he would probably get off with only a few years.

His mind went back to how to proceed from here. Realistically he should follow the law. But instinct told him there was more going on here than he knew. If he let Delta go it wouldn't be without getting some answers first. Not like it would be the first time he let a vigilante escape either. There were a few he looked the other way with. It all depended on why they did what they did.

First things first he needed to know what he was dealing with. That at this moment meant unmasking the vigilante. Something he couldn't do with Anna here.

"I'll take it from here Anna," replied Tsunagu, "I haven't decided what I will do with them yet. For now, head home if I need you I'll call."

For a moment she looked as if she was going to argue with him. Then reluctantly she nodded and took the elevator down to the lobby. Once he was sure she wouldn't return he did what he should have done earlier. With his mind focused on possible injuries he had forgotten about one of the only things they knew about Delta. His obsession with knives and sidearms.

The first thing he did was strip the vigilante of his jacket. Then pulled down his hood and cowl. That was as far as he got before he stopped. All he could do was stare shocked at the vigilante. His mind was racing miles person second.

What the fuck? Delta was a child?