Disclaimer: I do not own Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

What if Deku...

Chapter three: The art of the heist

The audience that had been summoned by the Realmcrafter Talespinner69 had just finished watching the latest realm in the show where each realm had an alternate version of Izuku. The second realm...took a lot of of their sails, to be honest. It was especially hard on Izuku, who saw what might have been if he hadn't been chosen by All Might on that fateful day. Luckily for him and all others involved, Izuku was passed the torch.

"My boy..." Toshinori said when he turned to face Izuku, "...Let me just be clear when I say that you are indeed worthy of what I had entrusted to you. I know not what the me in that last realm was thinking, but there is no doubt to your heroic spirit."

"All Might is right, boy," Stain said, "You are indeed worthy to bear the title of hero. Hell, you're probably one of the very few in society who is."

Izuku wasn't quite sure what to say, but one thing was clear. He was glad that he had gone down the path of being a hero. Others were also glad for it, as it was Izuku being there that helped them grow as much as they did. Uraraka in particular turned to look at Izuku, shooting a look of affection that made it clear that she was glad he had been in her life.

Scoffing, Bakugo said, "Yeah, Deku would be a sucky villain. He's just too much of a nice guy, I'm surprised he's able to do the more brutal parts that come with being a hero."

Giving his friend an amused look, Kirishima said, "So that's your way of saying you're glad he's one of us, ehh Baku-bro?"

The green-haired boy smiled a bit. "...Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kacchan."

"Fuck you, Deku," Bakugo said dismissively, flipping Izuku the middle finger. All this did was make Izuku laugh, his laughter sounding like he was feeling better after what he had seen.

"Well this has been all well and good, but we got the next realm ready to play," Tale said from where he and Kotaro stood in front of the big theater screen.

"Everyone front and center!" Kotaro called out.

Mina clapped her hands together before rubbing them. "Come on something cute and fluffy! Preferably with Izuku being sweet on Uraraka!"

"Oh come on, Mina!" Uraraka called out in an embarrassed tone as the next realm began playing.

...

It was a quiet, peaceful night at the large and stately Todoroki residence. Those on residence were sleeping peacefully, aside from Fuyumi who was a bit fitful in her sleep since she had been mugged earlier that day. To make matters worse, the mugger took an antique ring that Fuyumi had gotten from her grandmother on her mom's side of the family.

Fuyumi was suddenly awoken when she heard a clatter coming from the living room; it wasn't hard for the noise to wake her up due to how lightly she was sleeping. Getting up out of bed, Fuyumi made her way out, carrying a wooden bat with her for protection. When she made her way out to the living room, Fuyumi turned the light on, but something that she spotted on the coffee table caught her eye.

It was her stolen ring, sitting next to a blank cootie catcher.

"At first I was thinking that Izuku was some sort of mugger who stole my sister's ring," Todoroki in the audience began, "But here we're now seeing some mysterious person leaving that ring, plus a blank cootie catcher for some odd reason."

Shrugging, Dabi said, "Maybe Green Bean's a vigilante who does noble shit like get stuff back to their owners like that?"

As Fuyumi ran over to get her ring, her brother Natsuo and their father Enji aka Endeavor came out. "The hell is going on, sis?" Natsuo asked, looking confused.

"Someone brought my stolen ring back!" Fuyumi said, then added while showing her family the cootie catcher, "They also left this-"

Fuyumi was cut off when Endeavor went up and snatched the cootie catcher from his daughter. Unfolding it as if he had a sense of purpose, Endeavor looked at both sides. "Aha, so it was him!" Endeavor said as he found a name on the paper that he had unfolded, "Landors Cash broke into our home!"

...

Back in his dorm room at UA, Izuku Midoriya flopped down onto his bed, let out a tired sigh. "Hoo boy, that was tough." He opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling in his dorm room. "...But some treasure is simply too valuable, too precious to be taken from the owner. That thug that I tracked down better think about it."

Izuku then sat up, reached for his bag and opened it. He removed two one-million yen wads and a valuable decorative piece that he had helped himself to from what he found in the home office of Endeavor. "Figuring out the combination to the secret safe was easy, though. I'll be happy with my treasures I gained tonight, plus the fact that I got Todoroki's sister's ring back to her alright."

(What if Deku was a thief)

"My baby is a thief in this realm?" Inko in the audience said, looking surprised.

"But he is clearly one with a sense of morality," Aizawa pointed out, "Given that he clearly went to great lengths to find the mugger who robbed Todoroki's sister of her ring just to get the ring back and return it to her."

"HE ROBBED ME!" Endeavor exclaimed.

Shrugging, Hizashi said, "Well you can easily afford the loss. Plus you're clearly no saint, so some could make the argument that you had it coming."

...

The following day, Izuku let out a yawn when he walked into class. When he did, he saw his classmate Todoroki telling a story to some of their other classmates. "...And the thug that the police found tied up was confirmed to be the guy who mugged Fuyumi," Todoroki said, "And they were able to act on the warrant that was out for his arrest."

"What did I miss, guys?" Izuku said, getting the attention of the students. However, he was rushed by some of the girls, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I'll tell you what you missed," Mina said, "The gentleman thief Landors Cash has struck again! This time, he tracked down the thug who mugged Todoroki's older sister, beat the shit out of him, left him to the police, then got Fuyumi's ring back to her!"

"He also robbed Endeavor, but none of us care about that flaming turd," Kyoka added.

"Ah, so Young Midoriya is a thief of the 'gentleman thief' variety," Toshinori in the audience remarked, "Though still thieves all the same, gentlemen thieves are still rather noble persons when one gets right down to it. Hell, there was one time where a gentleman thief actually helped me and Naomasa resolve a crime involving a loose serial killer."

For reasons that escaped most of the other villains, they noticed how Mr. Compress suddenly sat up straighter, giving the currently playing realm his full attention. Gentle Criminal, as well as La Brava, also gave more focus to the currently playing realm.

"Did that girl just call me a flaming turd?!" Endeavor exclaimed.

"He who smelt it dealt it," Hizashi remarked, drawing some chuckles out of Aizawa, Sekijiro and even Hound Dog.

"Are you girls sure we should be supporting what Landors Cash is doing?" Yaoyorozu asked, "I mean he is a thief, after all."

"But he's one who clearly has morals," Mina said, "First off, he's only been reported to steal from those who either can afford a loss like that, or really have it coming, or a combination of the two. He never steals from the poor and or innocent, so people like Uraraka are safe."

"Hey!" Uraraka said indignantly.

"He has also been known to track down stolen items of notable sentimental value, fight the theives who stole it if need be, get the item back and return it to the owner," Hagakure went on, "Such as with Todoroki's sister's ring, and that one case involving a one of a kind All Might statuette collector's item stolen from the Nighteye agency."

"He also leaves the thieves who stole the sentimental item for the police to collect," Kyoka pointed out.

Toshinori in the audience couldn't help but smile when it was mentioned that Izuku, apparently using the name Landors Cash, got back something stolen from the agency of his late sidekick Sir Nighteye. He also bet that it would have been hard for the Izuku in that realm to give up such an item, as Izuku is a big fan of his.

Others in the audience, though some weren't quite sure about thief-Izuku, could appreciate the fact that he clearly had morals when it came to his heists. "Well at least he's got standards for what capers he does and doesn't pull off," Hizashi remarked.

"If the Midoriya of this realm is a skilled enough thief to casually sneak into the home of a pro hero as high ranked as Endeavor," Aizawa began, "Steal stuff from Endeavor and leave both a ring he's returning to Fuyumi plus a blank cootie catcher that only has his alias on it as what is clearly a calling card, then such skills could be applied to heroism and make him an effective underground hero."

Holding up her right index finger, Mina said, "Landors Cash has also been known from time to time sneak into the homes of poor folks but leave small but notable sums of yen with his calling card before he steals his way into the night, like a modern day Robin Hood." Jerking a thumb at Uraraka, Mina said, "Uraraka's folks were visited by Landors Cash on at least two such occasions before."

Folding her arms over her chest, Yaoyorozu said, "I still don't like him. And what's with the cootie catchers? Why leave such a calling card, or any at all?"

"Momo, Momo, Momo," Mina said, "Obviously you aren't familiar with how gentlemen thieves tend to carry out their capers more for the art of the act rather than for what value they stand to gain from the act."

"That's part of what makes them so mysterious," Hagakure said, "And alluring."

As some of the girls nodded in agreement with Hagakure, Yaoyorozu said, "I still don't know about this guy who goes about robbing folks while leaving weird calling cards."

"You're just salty that Landors Cash had robbed your folks that one time," Mina replied with a shrug, "Girl, it was just a scratch comparatively speaking. Let it go."

"Izuku in this realm robbed my family?!" Yaoyorozu in the audience exclaimed.

"He also sneaks into the homes of the poor to leave them money," Mina pointed out, "He really is like a modern day Robin Hood!"

"Are...are some of the girls actually crushing on the idea of romance with the Landors Cash persona that the Izuku in this realm has for his capers?" Mirio asked, looking mildly confused.

As Yaoyorozu huffed in complaint, Aizawa walked into the classroom at that time. "Alright children, let's take our seats," the underground hero called out, getting everyone to go to their desks and sit down. When everyone was seated, Aizawa said, "Apparently, a number of notable pro heroes and certain wealthy individuals have been robbed by some career criminal known calling himself Landors Cash, if the otherwise blank cootie catchers he leaves as calling cards are any indication of that."

"Are we going to be doing something about it, Aizawa-sensei?" Tenya asked as he raised a hand, "I mean, he has robbed from Yaoyorozu's family on one occasion, and Todoroki's family on multiple occasions.

"Actually, the robberies that he carried out against my family were always made solely against my father," Todoroki clarified, "He leaves me, my siblings and my mother alone."

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Endeavor in the audience exclaimed, while a number of other audience members, notably Dabi, Todoroki and Mirko, all proceeded to laugh their asses off.

Pointing right at the big theater screen, Hizashi exclaimed through his laughter, "I knew it! He screws with folks that have it coming!"

"I do NOT have being personally robbed multiple times coming!" Endeavor exclaimed.

"Heh heh," Aizawa chuckled dryly, "Yes you do." Aizawa and Hizashi then shared a high five.

"Actually, pro heroes will only get involved if it's confirmed that Landors Cash has a quirk," Aizawa replied, "There has been no evidence that quirks of any kind have been used, so until such an idea is confirmed, police are acting under the idea that Landors Cash is a quirkless career thief."

"He's managed to break into the home of notable pro heroes, not to mention homes of some of the wealthiest people in Japan," Yaoyorozu pointed out dryly, "Given what he'd have to go through in order to get into said homes, there's no way that Landors Cash isn't quirkless."

"Keep your theories to yourself, Yaoyorozu," Aizawa said as he pointed at her, "Anyway, the reason I even bring this all up is because Nezu thinks due to the recent number of crimes that Landors Cash is responsible for, you all ought to be educated on the matter of career thieves, so that you'd be able to recognize them."

And so the class went, with Aizawa teaching his students about people such as Landors Cash who are career thieves. Of course, there was a fair few number of things that Aizawa got wrong about Landors Cash, who is really Izuku. But it wasn't like the green-haired thief was about to let his homeroom teacher know what manner of...extracurricular...activities he gets up to after hours.

"Yeah, it'd be really funny if Sho really was teaching his class about a type of criminal while one of his students was that exact same type, and get a few things wrong," Hizashi in the audience said, "Hell, if I was a student in that situation I'd be unable to resist laughing."

Giving Hizashi a wry look, Aizawa remarked, "That's why you'd be unable to maintain a cover in such a situation for very long."

...

Later after classes were done, Izuku met up with his friends Uraraka, Todoroki, Tsuyu and Tenya. "What do you make of Aizawa-sensei's lecture about career thieves like Landors Cash earlier this morning, Izuku?" Tenya asked.

"That all Aizawa-sensei managed to accomplish in the long run was solidify the conception that some of our classmates have that Landors Cash is some suave and debonair Robin Hood type charmer," Izuku replied dryly, a hint of embarrassment in his tone none of his friends was able to pick up on, "Seriously. I noticed Mina, Hagakure, Kyoka to an extent, Sato, Dark Shadow and Ojiro all crushing on the idea of being romantically involved with Landors Cash."

"I can understand some of the girls kero," Tsuyu began, "But two of the guys and Tokoyami's sentient quirk?"

"Sato and I are crushing on Izuku's gentleman thief persona in this realm?" Ojiro in the audience said in a confused tone.

"I'm more concerned about Dark Shadow having a crush on Izuku's gentleman thief persona," Tokoyami remarked.

"Well you know maybe, Fumi," Dark Shadow said, "There's all kinds of persons I wouldn't mind trying to wine and dine, you know."

As Izuku gently shook his head, he and his friends were practically rushed by, of all people, the rabbit hero Mirko. "You two!" Mirko said as she pointed at Uraraka and Tsuyu, "You're two of Ryukyu's girls, right?"

"Y-Yes," Uraraka replied, "We're both employed by Ryukyu as interns."

"You girls won't believe this," Mirko began, "But Landors Cash avenged the robbery committed against me!" Seeing the looks on the faces of Uraraka and Tsuyu, Mirko said, "I know! Ryukyu and that Nejire girl with the big titties had the same reaction!"

"Big titties?" Nejire in the audience said, looking surprised and wholly confused.

Turning to face Mirko, Ryukyu gently scolded, "I know it was alternate realm you and not the real you, but drawing attention to the chest of one of my interns is highly inappropriate."

Sighing in a mildly guilty tone, Mirko replied, "I know."

"Landors Cash avenged a robbery made against you?" Tenya spoke up, getting Mirko to turn to see him and the boys.

Nodding in the affirmative, Mirko explained, "Yeah! Some assholes broke into my house, stole a bunch of my stuff including a framed photo of me with my now long lost bestie from high school, and got away! A good thing they were caught in the act by a neighbor and all of their descriptions were given to police."

"And Landors Cash is involved how?" Todoroki asked.

"He tracked the bastards who robbed my place down, beat the shit out of them, dropped their unconscious sorry asses in front of the police station with one of his cootie catcher calling cards so we know it was him, and was able to lead the police into recovering all of my stolen stuff!" Pulling out a framed photo, Mirko added, "Landors Cash even dropped my photo back at my place personally, again with one of his cootie catcher calling cards."

Curious, all of the students looked at Mirko's framed photo; Izuku already saw it since he was the one who recovered it and returned it to Mirko, not that anyone knew that Izuku is Landors Cash. The photo showed Mirko in her later high school days, her arm over the shoulders of a notably obese and stereotypically nerdy looking blonde haired girl; the girl had thick glasses, a slight acne problem, and she was smiling so you could see she wore braces.

"My high school bestie in this realm is a fat nerd?" Mirko in the audience said in a confused tone, looking at the big theater screen in curious confusion.

"Well Midoriya did get that framed photo back for you in this realm," Aizawa pointed out, "And it clearly means a lot to you. He also found the burglars, defeated them and handed them over to the police, allowing for the rest of your stuff to be recovered as well."

Nodding in agreement with the underground hero, Mirko said, "True, true."

Looking at her framed photo, Mirko said, "This is all I have left to remember my high school bestie from. I haven't seen her in years, and that makes me a sad Mirko."

"Well although I can't exactly condone the thieving that Landors Cash is engaging in," Tenya began, "I can appreciate how he goes out of his way to make sure items of sentimental value that are stolen get returned to their owners."

Izuku nodded in agreement. "I believe that some of the girls mentioned how he has standards. And the fact he gets items of sentimental value back to their owners proves it." Again, no one knew that Izuku was Landors Cash, but the green-haired boy appreciated it that folks liked how he got items too precious to be taken from their owners back to said owners.

There are just some lines that Izuku refuses to cross in his capers.

FIN

"Now that was a good show," Mr. Compress said as he gave the realm that had just finished playing a standing ovation, same as what Gentle Criminal did.

"Thieving ain't my forte," Stain began, "But I can appreciate how that version of All Might's progeny maintains standards."

Folding her arms over her chest, Mirko said, "I still wonder who that nerdy fat girl that was apparently my high school bestie in this realm was."

Gently shaking his head, Tale replied, "A darn shame we'll never know." Turning to look up at his theater screen, Tale said, "Well that was a nice realm. I hope we get more like it."

"I hope so too," Izuku remarked.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's notes;

This has been the chapter where Izuku was a thief. I wanted to go for the gentleman thief route where he does notable good, like what you'd expect from noble rouges like Robin Hood. Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will be out before long, and as always I'm open to suggestions.

Later, skaters.