CHAPTER 4: The Chapter Where Izuku Thinks Too Much

As Izuku woke up, the first thing he became aware of was the pounding in his skull. The preteen groaned and his throat constricted, causing him to cough wetly. He curled in on himself before the feeling of something poking his nostrils finally got him to crack open his eyes and look down. Confused, he tugged out the nasal tube with one hand and massaged his throat with the other.

What happened…?

He stilled as his arms pulsed with a dull ache.

Minotaur.

His eyes widened as everything came rushing back to him. That woman had found their secret base. She had barged in and swung her unnecessarily big axe at Giran and him. Izuku whimpered, screwing his eyes shut and clutched his arms close to his chest. The pounding in his head was still going strong; like that damned thing that nearly cleaved him to two.

His breath hitched and he gagged, boiling acid coming up.

He had nearly died. If Bull Teeth had kept pushing down, he would have collapsed under the weight and the axe would have dismembered him.

Izuku clamped his hands over his mouth as his stomach churned, trying to swallow back the bile and breathe at the same time.

Oh god, oh god, oh god. He could have died to a bull woman with an axe fetish. The same bull that got to Giran with a single slash.

There was so much blood and Giran was so pale. Giran looked dead. He… he… He should have been feeling ecstatic about that. He should have been happy. He should have. He should have… but… but he only felt his stomach drop at the sight of the blood and Giran's pained face.

Blood. Blood. Blood. Oh god, there was so much blood.

His fingers dug into his cheeks as his breathing picked up. Izuku screwed his eyes shut and tears came unbidden.

Izuku couldn't do this anymore. He wanted mom. He wanted Kacchan. He wanted his All Might themed room. He wanted—he wanted…

He wanted home .

He didn't want to fear that the bastard had died of blood loss. He knew that Giran wouldn't die from something so silly, but there was so much blood .

He almost got Giran killed because he screwed up a deal. Izuku hadn't really cared about the deal in the first place and it showed. Yama had rejected the deal because of him and that resulted in Bull Teeth going berserk.

He had almost killed Giran.

Izuku heaved and immediately bent over the bed to empty the contents of his stomach onto the floor.

A loud slam was heard, but it barely registered over his screeching thoughts. Scorching hands grabbed his shoulders, holding him in place as his body shuddered and twitched. Izuku felt cold air against his right shoulder and a burning hand touched his forehead, stopping him from slumping forward.

Izuku was gently pulled back until he made contact with a firm warmness. His eyes fluttered open and Izuku looked up, managing to make out a familiar blob through the fog in his mind. Old hatred wrecked through him, but he couldn't make the effort to get himself out of the other's grip; there was a lump in his throat and unshed tears burned his eyes.

"I hate you," He croaked, voice cracking. "I… Hate you so much…"

"Well, I hate you too." The coarse words sounded exasperated. "But a deal's a deal; I get your brain and in exchange you get protection. Now drink."

A cold glass was held up to his mouth but Izuku pressed his dry lips together in response. He heard a sigh. "I don't want to deal with your crap for the rest of the day. Drink it or I leave you with your vomit."

Izuku's body was desperate for water and he didn't want to continue to smell the sharp rotting scent so he obeyed reluctantly. Izuku continued to stare at the hazy hand holding the cup so he wouldn't glare at Giran and risk choking on water.

Oh, glorious water.

Izuku drank greedily, inhaling deeply when the glass was removed. His sight swirled and Izuku groaned, hands coming up to clutch at his head.

Izuku felt himself being slowly lowered back down to the bed. The burning hand released him, only to be replaced with a damp rag that wiped his face and neck. The chill left behind lulled him into a semi-conscious state. His eyes gratefully slipped shut and the rag stilled for a moment before finishing wiping his forehead and disappearing.

Big fingers brushed back sticky hair and Izuku almost resumed his crying when a familiar memory surfaced to the front of his hazy mind.

"My strong baby. I love you so much. Sleep well."

A warm kiss on his forehead. Delicate but strong fingers combed through his hair expertly. A warm blanket covered him and soft yellow wool dug into his cheek.

"Love you mama…"

The fingers froze, but Izuku was too far gone to notice, already fast asleep.

Izuku had tried escaping several times during his first two years of living with Giran.

As expected, none of those previous attempts worked. This meant Izuku had to enact a last ditch - desperate - plan if he wanted a chance.

The haunting memory he had experienced while sick had Izuku avoiding Giran for a whole day after waking up. His time was spent packing his minimal belongings in silence and erasing any traces of them having once been there. It wasn't easy, since he had lived in this building for four years and had taken to carving and drawing all over the apartment's walls as a form of rebellion.

Izuku hated the sense of familiarity each wall gave him.

Unfortunately, Giran had managed to coax Izuku into talking when his half-healed arms gave up, forcing him to ask for help. Izuku's face burned with shame while Giran gave him a shit-eating grin.

"Don't tell me you're actually growing sentimental," Giran smirked at the moody preteen.

Izuku glared at him. "Shut up."

"Don't feel like it."

A thudding noise sounded as the green hair boy tried to kick the cocky man. Sadly, his attempts were thwarted in less than a second.

"You're still too young to try and pull those moves on me." Giran held the offending leg with a raised brow, staring at Izuku amusingly. "Eraserhead would have already broken your leg."

Eraserhead? The Underground hero? Giran has never mentioned that name before.

Huh.

And that was when a much needed last ditch plan took root in his brain.

One that hopefully wouldn't end up with any of them dead.

Izuku hid his face so Giran wouldn't be able to see his wobbly grin.

He was going to beat Giran in his own game.

One last sweep of the office and the apartment before the two of them were driving away, into the night.

"Where are we going to stay now?" Izuku asked, rubbing ointment onto his healing throat with a wince. He was finally able to speak without pain but bruises still painted his skin yellow and blue and remained tender to the touch.

It wouldn't hinder his plan, though, so he made due.

"Matamata. It's two hours from here."

Izuku stiffened, wondering if Giran could hear the thundering of his heart.

Matamata was a city near Tokyo… which was near Musutafu. It had been a suburb for a long time but was increasing in population due to the Meiida Analysis Academy. It wouldn't be out of place to walk around at night and look for information. But why there?

"It's quiet and our clients would have to think twice before looking for us there."

"I told you to stop listening to my ramblings…" Izuku retorted half-heartedly, gears turning in his head as he tried to recall any underground heroes that patrolled the area. It was near enough to U.A. that Eraserhead may be in the area patrolling. Meadow was also known to monitor cities outside of Tokyo and there would probably be other heroes but he didn't have enough information on them.

It didn't matter who it was, he only had to gain the attention of one of them for his plan to work.

Giran huffed, a lull in his finger tapping. "Never, Ya'rok. For our next meeting, now that you know the risk of failing, I want you to go alone."

Izuku bit his lip to prevent himself from saying something that could get him caught; he couldn't show how ecstatic he was over this new development.

He would be alone. He would be able look for heroes or police. He—

"Of course, you'll be wearing a communication piece. You still need guidance."

Izuku inwardly cursed. But that was still more than he thought he would get. He could still bend this to his favor; there was always a way.

Hopefully.

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Kintsuki Yama, bringer and Minotaur