CHAPTER 3: The Chapter Where Izuku Somehow Stayed Alive... Welp

Izuku panted heavily, arms crossed above him so he could take the brunt of the attack that descended on him. His legs were spread and slightly bent to absorb the impact as much as possible, but he still nearly dropped to the floor when the hilt of the axe made contact; pain spiked in his arms and calves. The sharpened edge of the axe was only millimeters from his face.

Izuku had gotten lucky; had his arms caught the axe itself, they would have flown off him.

A growl was heard and the intense weight grew heavier, causing Izuku to slide back from the force of it. He gritted his teeth and wished he was nowhere near the sharp blade or under such a painful attack.

He glared at his attacker.

Minotaur.

"What the fuck was that for?!" He screeched. Pain pounded in his arms and legs as the axe bore down on him, his limbs screaming for a reprieve.

The bull woman sneered, looming over him threateningly. "You useless waste of space! I gave you one job! ONE! JOB!"

"WHICH WOULD HAVE GONE BETTER HAD YOU GIVEN US ANY FUCKING INFORMATION!" Izuku screamed back and risked a glance behind him. Giran was sprawled on the floor, clutching his side as a dark red stain spread over his torn button up shirt.

Izuku almost collapsed at the sudden loss of weight and he whipped his head back to Minotaur, jumping to the side when the weapon was slammed back down. The blade sank into the floor and cracks spread across the surface with rubble flying into the air. Izuku shielded his face, whimpering when a large piece grazed his left arm.

He ducked and rolled, ending up next to Giran who was working on tying a knot over his bleeding wound. "We gotta go, Giran!"

Giran, who had lost his glasses in the first attack, only grunted.

Shit, Giran couldn't move.

Izuku frantically examined the meeting room for any possible exits.

"DIE!"

Izuku yelped when the axe went flying towards them. He leaped towards Giran, looped his arms around the other's waist, and yanked them away as the weapon landed exactly where the two of them had been a moment ago.

Izuku wanted to cry but he couldn't sacrifice his sight for even a second.

With the axe was buried deep in the floor, it gave them a few precious seconds to escape.

He forgot to take into account that Minotaur was strong enough to kill with her bare hands, a matter he quickly recalled when she charged at them. Izuku was snatched away from Giran by the throat. He wheezed, legs flailing and fingers scratching at the huge hand gripping his esophagus.

Minotaur growled and brought the preteen closer to her. She bared her fangs viciously and her eyes burned. "I should kill you right now for daring to play with me, but I'm a bit impressed at how you've managed to dodge my attacks."

Izuku could barely hear the praise over the pounding in his ears and the fog taking over his mind. The burning in his throat and lungs faded away into numbness.

Suddenly, the pressure disappeared and cold precious air rushed into his lungs. He heaved and coughed as he struggled to breathe, his body curling in on itself once he was dropped onto the hard floor. Izuku struggled to remain awake, but he still managed to direct his blurry vision towards the huge shadow standing over him.

There was the sound of shifting cloth before a large hand broke through the fog. Izuku's chin was tilted up so he could make eye-contact with piercing, orange eyes.

"You know, you're pretty interesting for a kid. If that waste of air hadn't snatched you first and held onto you like a lifeline, I would have asked you to come work with me already."

"Wh-what?" Izuku winced at the roughness of his throat.

The woman laughed viciously. "But before I could really accept you, you would need to buff up. You're nothing but skin and bones."

Minotaur barked out something then went to her axe and plucked it easily from the ground. Stalking to the entrance she paused at the door and looked over to where Izuku last saw Giran. "Was nice doing business with you, mutt."

The door slammed behind her.

Izuku, for once, was glad that he was not in charge. It seemed that he had used up all his energy, though, because then he was falling to the floor and darkness claimed him.

Giran cursed the fact that he was always the one in charge; It wasn't like anyone else was competent enough to get the job done, though.

After that wretched Bull Teeth released his charge and said her part, he watched the kid pass out a heartbeat later. Leaving Giran as the only one capable of taking them to their home upstairs.

He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth then slowly dragged himself to Ya'rok's unmoving body. He took a moment to collect himself, adrenaline was dulling the pain, but he knew he didn't have much time before that comfort faded.

Giran grunted and rolled the limp body over so Ya'rok lied on his back. Dark bruises bloomed over his throat and arms; blood stained his left sleeve.

Giran muttered some unsavory words at the sight.

His charge held well against that monster without a quirk accessible to him, but when caught off-guard, the child had nothing to protect himself with.

Damn it, this was their office. Their safe place. Minotaur wasn't supposed to find them here. No one was supposed to find this place. He must have angered her a lot by failing to recruit Yama. He wondered if Yama knew this would happen and did it on purpose.

It didn't matter at the end of the day, but Giran was injured for being the messenger. He hated that. And now he had an unconscious charge to drag up. He would have to call Dr. Tsubasa to patch them up.

Crap, crap, crap. He needed a smoke. This hurt like hell!

Gurgling sounded next to him and Giran looked down to see Ya'rok twitch, turning blue.

Giran swore and pulled the kid to his side. He pumped the kid's stomach a few times until Ya'rok threw up a stream of murky spit and his breathing seemed to have returned to normal. The kid was still blue in the face, though.

Realizing he didn't have much time, Giran fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed the doctor.

He didn't deserve this headache.

Several hours later found Giran groaning as Dr. Tsubasa stitched up his open wound.

Ya'rok, meanwhile, was lying on Giran's queen sized bed with his head propped up by a pillow and a portable oxygen nasal tube inserted in his nostrils. Cold compresses were placed over the kid's disinfected throat and other discolored marks; the previous bleeding graze had been bandaged. The brat was breathing properly now according to the doctor, obvious by the slight rise and fall of his chest.

"He would have died if I wasn't nearby," Dr. Tsubasa said in his usual no-nonsense tone. Giran grunted and took a drag from his newly lit cigarette.

"Smoke is not good for his condition so you probably should give up on those for the next week." The doctor's expression didn't seem to change behind his glasses and plump face.

"No chance in hell," Giran said, "I would rather die before I gave them up."

"Then send him back. I still hear a lot about him from his mother."

Oh right, Ya'rok's real family. The kid thought he was smart enough to leave Giran in the dark but he had forgotten who he was dealing with. Giran could obtain any kind of information anyone asked for, if paid well enough.

And Ya'rok made it really easy for him. It was simple enough to track down the child's file several days after he had taken the brat under his wing. Finding out that Dr. Tsubasa was his old doctor was only a bonus. Now he had access to all his previous medical files, which had made things painless since he took in Ya'rok.

But the kid didn't need to know any of that.

Giran needed to mold this limitless potential he had stumbled upon into something that he could take advantage of. Already Ya'rok has proved himself to be a great asset in closing deals and collecting information.

What happened today was Ya'rok's first big failure. He was supposed to have been punished accordingly when they got home, but the near death experience probably drilled that lesson home better than anything Giran could have concocted.

He flashed a grin that turned into a grimace as the doctor cleaned his stitches. "Sorry, but no can do. I've stumbled across a goldmine and I'm not letting him go."

Dr. Tsubasa shrugged and packed his belongings. "Not my problem. Just make sure his swelling goes down and change his bandages daily. And if he has any problems with breathing, call me and be sure to check if his airways are open and clean."

"Thanks, Doctor," Giran nodded seriously, waving to the man until the door closed. His hand fell to his lap and he sighed, taking the nub out of his mouth and smothering it in the ashtray. Giran groaned and stood up, moving to sit in the loveseat next to his bed. From this position he had a good view of the door and the bed. He pulled out his gun lighter and set it down on the desk where it would be in reach and in fight mode. Then, he took out a real gun from the holster over his chest and placed it next to the lighter. That way he had two offensive options in case of another attack.

He took a deep breath and leaned back, examining the peacefully sleeping preteen. The freckled face was without its usual scowl and it showed how young the kid was despite the dark bags under closed eyes. Giran grinned as he reached over to ruffle the mop of green curls, blinking when Ya'rok released a pleased sigh and nuzzled the hand.

A moment passed and Giran had to smother his laughter.

The kid was so not cute.

please read and review on my stories. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Who knows, maybe there will be a debate.

ENJOY~

OC's list I own:

Minotaur (quirk: bull. mutant type that gives her the head of the bull along with super strength and aggravated temper.)