someone asked for my permission to continue my Izuku the Ghost Rider fic. Permission granted. I'm not very possessive of these ideas. As far as I'm concerned, I'm using other people's characters and settings so what right do I have to be upset if people use my idea. Not like anyone's making money off these.

Is it right to kill?

That question had been on Izuku's mind all day.

Killing was wrong. And Izuku knew that. Not even criminals deserve to be mindlessly slaughtered. They were people too. And anyone who says people should just be killed en mass, was in Izuku's opinion, almost as bad as the people they wanted dead.

However.

He could have saved Hosu Izumi.

And all he had to do was stop holding back, and kill Muscular.

If there was such a thing as a person who deserved to die, then Muscular was almost definitely such a person. He killed for the sake of killing, and he loved every second of it. He paid no mind to who he was hurting, the families he split apart and all the blood he spilled for the sake of his own enjoyment.

All he had to do was kill one of the worst people imaginable, to save a hero. A hero, and a father as it turned out.

But still. Killing was wrong.

Sure some heroes killed villains in desperate situations, but those heroes didn't have a literal demon in their head manipulating them and trying to get them to continue killing.

If he started thinking that killing someone was ok, under any circumstance, then that left the door open for him to think that killing people was ok, period.

Again, normal people probably wouldn't have to worry about such an extreme train of thought, but again, normal people didn't have Zarathos.

What didn't help Izuku's dilemma, was that he killed Muscular anyway. Meaning not only was his choice to not kill Muscular questionable, it was meaningless. Hosu died for nothing.

He shook himself out of guilt-ridden stupor.

I have to at least pay my respects. I can do that much. Izuku thought.

It was late at night, and Eri was fast asleep.

Izuku stepped out of the church, getting far enough away so Eri wouldn't hear him, before opening up a portal and walking through it.

The portal leads Izuku to a cemetery and after closing it behind him he started his search.

It took him a few minutes, but eventually, Izuku found what he was looking for.

The grave of Hosu Izumi.

Izuku felt his legs grow weak, as he stood in front of the hard reminder of the man he failed to save.

"I-I-I-" Izuku searched for words. He came here to apologize but now, it didn't feel like enough. What good was apologizing to a dead man? He was gone. In a place where his words could not reach him.

And so Izuku stayed silent. Standing over the man's grave, as tears started rolling down his cheeks.

Eventually, the crying turned to sobbing, and Izuku's legs failed him and he fell to his knees.

"Please forgive me!" Izuku sobbed. He knew his words were useless, but he just had to let it out. "Please! Please forgive me! I'm sorry. I-I-I-"

Even on the man's grave, he couldn't say he should have killed Muscular. He just couldn't.

As he wept shouting out unheard apologies, he suddenly felt a hand fall on his shoulder.

"AH!" Izuku jolted away from the touch of whoever was behind him, and on top of the grave.

Izuku only realized he was on top of the grave when his back hit the headstone. "AHH!"

Izuku rolled over to the side, horrified that he had disrespected his grave like that.

He crawled back in fear, further away from whoever was behind him until his back hit a nearby tree.

"Wait!" Called out a feminine voice.

Against his better judgment, rather than just running, Izuku looked up at the person calling him.

And the mystery person turned out to be none other than Mizu Izumi.

"Hello." She greeted him gently, trying not to scare him.

Izuku froze. He didn't know what to do here. Part of him wanted to apologize for failing to save her husband. And another part of him wanted to run since she was still a pro hero after all.

"You don't need to run," Mizu told him. "It's not like I could beat you in a fight anyway. And from the file, I read taking you by surprise is a bad idea...I just want to talk."

"H-how did you know I would be here?" Izuku asked. He knew it wouldn't be odd for a wife to visit her husband's grave. However, the chances of her coming at the exact same time that he came, was a huge coincidence. Either that, or she and the heroes somehow knew that he would be coming here now.

"A lot of the other heroes though you may try and visit his grave out of guilt. Either him or Muscular. It was a shot in the dark but given how dangerous you are they decided they might as well send one hero to stake out Hosu's grave for the next week." Mizu explained. "They were hesitant when I volunteered, however all I had to say is that I didn't want strangers staking out my husband's grave."

"O-oh. That makes sense." Izuku said nervously.

There was a small pause, and right when Mizu was about to speak, Izuku spoke first.

"I'm sorry." Izuku apologized. "I...I could have saved him. If I just...If I let Muscular...If I-"

He couldn't say it. Even in front of the wife of the man he couldn't save, he couldn't say that killing was the right choice.

"It's ok," Mizu said to try and soothe him, as she slowly got closer to him. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."

"But-but I-" Izuku stuttered and sobbed.

"You're a child. Burdened with an uncontrollable, and unstoppable quirk." Mizu told him. "No one can blame you for not knowing what to do."

"I-I-I" Izuku hadn't expected that. He'd expected her to yell at him. To call him a monster. To try and arrest him.

He didn't expect forgiveness. And he definitely wasn't ready for it.

Mizu slowly approached him, keeping her arms in front of her to show Izuku she wasn't hiding anything and she wasn't here to hurt him.

"I only came here to talk," Mizu told the sobbing child. "I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to. Please just, listen."

Izuku went quiet. She forgave him despite his incompetence. He should at least hear her out.

"I know things have been hard for you. I can't imagine how overwhelming it must be for you." Mizu told him. "You've had to deal with things no one should have to deal with at your age, and no one has been trying to help you. Well, not really trying to help you."

She's going to tell me to turn myself in. Izuku thought. At least she's doing it nicely.

"At best they want to lock you up, throw a therapist at you and hope you recover one day. At worst they want to put you in a coma, lock you in a box, and throw away the key. But I don't think any of that will work. Let alone help." Mizu said.

This surprised Izuku. Who was sure she was here to convince him to turn himself in. It's what every other hero did. So why would she think differently? Did she want the villains to die?

"What are you...what do you want?" Izuku asked.

"I want to help you," Mizu said, standing in front of him. "You can't handle this on your own. And you shouldn't have to. The only family you have is your sister and I doubt she's handling this very well either...I know I'm not your parent. Or anyone you know. But I can help you. Come with me. You can stay with me and we can get you through this."

"Wha-what?" Izuku was so confused. This wasn't how he thought this was going to go at all. "But-but if the heroes found out-"

"They won't," Mizu said. "I'm a hero. The last person they would expect to do this. And barring that, I doubt they'll be launching and investigation on a wife who just lost her husband."

"I-But-I...Why?" Izuku asked. "Why would you want to help me? I'm a monster! A villain! A murderer! And you're a hero!"

"I'm a mother first. And a hero second." Mizu stated firmly. "And you're not a monster or a villain. You're a child that needs help."

Izuku was silent. In awe of her kindness and just how genuine she sounded.

It was too good to be true. It had to be a lie.

Izuku activated his soul vision. Looking for any trace of dishonesty.

But there was none. She was being fully honest. She just wanted to help him.

It was tempting to just take her offer. He was so, so tired of living in abandoned buildings or on the streets, with his only company being a little girl who he knew he would have to leave eventually.

He wanted to accept her offer for help.

But he knew the problems that would cause her. Her and her son.

And he couldn't do that to her. Not after causing her so much pain already.

Although.

She was the perfect candidate to take care of Eri.

It hurt to think that. It hurt a lot more than he thought it would.

Eri was his only companion. The only one who encouraged him and tried to comfort him. The one reminder that despite all the horrible things he did, he managed to do at least one good thing.

He always knew it wouldn't last. He couldn't give her a happy life with friends and good food and a warm, comfy house.

She deserved so much more than he could give her.

Bittersweet tears ran familiar trails down his face, as he once again made a decision he knew he would hate.

"Ok." He lied to her. "I-I'll come with you. But...I'll do it on one condition."

Mizu looked at him curiously. "And that is?"

"I...I haven't been alone." Izuku told her. "There's someone else."

A few minutes later.

A short explanation and a portal later, Izuku and Mizu were now standing in the church, looking at Eri.

"So this is her." Mizu looked down at the small girl with eyes full of pity. "She's so small."

"Overhaul only ever gave her enough food to keep her alive," Izuku explained. "And he took so much blood from her."

"Bastard. I hope he's burning in hell." Mizu growled, before remembering the situation and quickly regaining her composure. "I understand why you were hesitant to hand her over to the police. Given that she's the key ingredient to quirk erasing bullets. All it takes is a few greedy cops to auction her off to the villain community and she's back where she started."

"So you'll take her in?" Izuku asked her semi-hopefully.

"Of course. I'd be a terrible hero if I refused." Mizu said.

Despite getting what he wanted. Izuku felt very little relief. An empty sense of accomplishment.

Apparently, they had been speaking a bit too loud, because Eri began to stir.

"Mmmm...Izuku?" Eri slowly opened her eyes.

Then she noticed Mizu.

Her tiny eyes immediately shot open, and in a panicked fashion scurried behind Izuku's leg.

"Izuku! A hero!" Eri warned him.

This response saddened him. People were supposed to see heroes and feel hope. Feel safe. Not run and scream in fear.

And it was because of him.

"Eri. This is Mrs. Izumi. She's ok, she's a friend." Izuku kneeled down, telling this to her face to face.

"A friend?" Eri repeated, calming down slightly. "Does that mean she's not going to fight you?"

"No, Eri's she's not going to fight me," Izuku told her. "And she won't try to take me to jail either."

Eri looked past Izuku, at Mizu, who gave her a pleasant smile and a small wave. "You can just call me Mizu."

Izuku could tell she was still uneasy about Mizu. He knew she would be. Eri was uneasy about being around anyone other than him.

Something he hoped she would get over soon.

"Mrs. Izumi is going to let us live with her and her son. We'll get warm beds and better food." Izuku told her, trying to make it seem as enticing as possible.

"Will there be apples?" Eri asked.

"Uh, yes?" Izuku looked at Mizu who nodded.

"Can we take the books?" Eri asked.

"Well, you'll have to ask Mrs. Izumi." Both Izuku and Eri looked at Mizu for answers.

"Of course she can...I will have to look through them but I think it'll be fine." Mizu told them.

Eri seemed to perk up at that.

"We should go now." Izuku abruptly took his Ghost Rider form and started opening a portal to Mizu's house. "We have things to move."

He opened a portal just outside of Mizu's house. She told him the location of it while they talked earlier. It was in a fairly isolated location. After all, if a pro decided to live in a regular neighborhood, they would be swarmed by the press every day of their lives.

The three of them moved all of the books inside Mizu's house, as well as all of Eri's other possessions. Luckily her son was already asleep so they did so with little to no interruptions.

However, as Mizu was moving the books, something caught her eye. A black book with a red pentagram on it.

She picked it up and looked at it curiously. Is Midoriya...a Satan worshiper?

As she started growing more concerned, she found that there was something sticking out of one of the pages, a piece of newspaper. Most likely acting as a bookmark.

She opened up the book to the marked page and was shocked by what she had found.

Inside was something that looked remarkably similar to Izuku's Ghost Rider form, with the only real differences being that the drawing was of what seemed to be an adult skeleton and not a teenage one and that the flames were blue rather than green.

However, if she recalled correctly, when All Might had knocked Midoriya unconscious, and he proceeded to go on his worst rampage yet, his flames were blue rather than green.

On the top of the page read the demon's name. Zarathos.

Zarathos...it's definitely no coincidence that Midoriya has this book. But what does this mean exactly? Looking at the pages clearly, this was written long before Midoriya ever gained his quirk. Mizu read more and more of the page, as she theorized what this might mean.

"Mrs. Izumi?" Izuku called her name from behind her.

Mizu was taken out of her thoughts and she instinctively turned around to look at Izuku, revealing that she was looking at the book.

Izuku's eyes widened and he quickly rushed forward and took the book.

"I-I-I-I can explain!" Izuku held the book close to his chest.

"I'm sure you can. I don't think you're some kind of devil worshiper if that's what you're worried about. But do have some questions. Some I hope you'll be willing to answer when you feel comfortable." Mizu wanted answers, but she wouldn't get anywhere by overwhelming the poor boy more than he already was.

"O-oh. T-thanks." Izuku stuttered.

"Is that everything?" Mizu asked him.

"It should be yes," Izuku said, he looked...pained. Like he was about to do something he knew he would regret.

And while Mizu didn't want to be suspicious of the boy, the face he was making forced her to be on her guard.

"Are we leaving?" Eri asked, taking hold of Izuku's hand.

"...Yes Eri," Izuku said stiffly, trying not to look at her.

Yeah, something was definitely up.

Mizu held her tongue and the three of them walked up to the portal. Mizu standing slightly in front of them. And Eri was holding onto Izuku's hand.

Mizu was first to walk out through the portal and into her front lawn.

Izuku and Eri approached the portal.

Izuku took a saddened glance at Eri, trying his best not to cry.

"Izuku? What's wrong?" Eri asked him worriedly.

"Eri I need you to take this," Izuku told her, handing her a folded up piece of paper.

"What is it?" Eri asked.

"Something I want you to read later," Izuku told her. "Eri...before we go, I want to tell you that...you helped a lot. You've made me feel better at times when I felt really, really sad. Thank you, so much. For everything."

Why does this sound like a goodbye speech? Mizu started figuring out what exactly Izuku was planning, and by the time she fully pieced it together, it was too late.

"Goodbye Eri. And I'm sorry." Not giving any of them time to react, Izuku pushed Eri through the portal and onto Mizu's side, before quickly closing it.

"H-huh? Izuku...Izuku!?" Eri looked up and saw where the portal had once been, it was now no longer there, and naturally, she started to panic.

Damn it! Mizu cursed in her head. He just wanted to give Eri to me! He never intended on coming with me in the first place!

"Izuku!?" Eri's shock was turning into a full-blown panic attack. Tears started pouring down her face and she started to hyperventilate.

Thinking quickly, Mizu ran up to and wrapped her arms around the small panicking girl.

"It's ok, you're ok, you'll be fine," Mizu whispered reassurances to her. She was used to doing so after years of being a hero and having to save children in danger.

Eventually, Eri grew tired, her panic attack having exhausted her to the point of passing out.

Mizu laid the poor girl down on the guest bed. It was clear that whatever dream she was having, it was not a pleasant one.

Unfortunately, there was little she could do about it. She had just met the girl, and there was no chance she would trust her so fast, so easily.

After making sure the girl would be, at least physically, ok, Mizu made her way downstairs so she could think.

"Damn it!" She cursed, slamming her fist onto her table.

Part of her couldn't believe that she had been ticked by a teenager. Although the logical part of her realized that it did make some sense.

Midroiya was most likely a terrible liar. He probably freaked out and stuttered when he lied, along with other obvious signs.

The issue was, that was also how Midoriya always acted. So telling if he was lying or just scared out of his mind, was a difficult task for anyone.

Mizu sighed, taking a deep breath and clearing her head. Getting angry about it won't solve anything. I have to think about this. Why would Midoriya refuse my offer, but still leave the girl with me? If he didn't trust me then why would he leave the girl with me?

Mizu looked down at the paper Izuku had given Eri.

Maybe this will provide some answers. Mizu hoped.

She unfolded the note. It was as she thought. A letter. Addressed to Eri.

The handwriting was sloppy. It was very obvious he wrote this in a rush.

"Eri." The letter read. "It's not your fault this happened. I didn't want to leave you. Not like your mother did. If I could I would never leave you. But I can't. As long as you're with me, you can't live a normal life. You can't go to school. You can't see a therapist. You can't make friends. You can't live in a nice comfy house and eat good food. And you deserve all that. You deserve that and so much more. I can't give you that. So I'm sorry, I have to leave you. Stay with Mrs. Izumi. She's a nice woman, you can trust her. I checked. Maybe...maybe one day I'll be cured. And by some miracle, I'll be free. If that happens, I'll come see you again. If that day ever comes, I hope you can forgive me."

Well...this answered a few questions...and raised some others.

So he thinks of himself as a burden. That would explain why he refused my offer. He probably thinks he'll cause me more trouble than he's worth. Mizu deduced. But what does he mean, he checked? Can he read minds? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. But if that's the case than helping him is going to be harder than I thought. The selfless ones are always the hardest to save.

Mizu knew she had a difficult road ahead of her. She would have to raise Kota, who just lost his father, Eri who, on top of all the other things she suffered through, was now without her savior and the only person she really trusted, and have to find Izuku and convince him to let her help him.

The hero sighed. "Hosu. I wish you were here to help me with this...I will help this boy. I swear."

So that's it for this chapter.

Izuku is separated from Eri(For now) let's see how he does in the next chapter. (Spoiler, he's not doing so great.)

See in the next chapter, Izuku's descent into madness.