Chapter 25: That's my best friend, that's my best friend~

Izuku needed a change. He needed something to be different so that he could put all of what happened behind him. It sounded crazy, but somehow, he just knew that's what he needed. A physical representation of him moving on.

He continued to stare at himself in the mirror of the guest bathroom. Eraser and Mic were at school and so Izuku could really do whatever he wanted while they were gone.

Although, why they trusted him in Eraser's apartment alone, he had no idea. Maybe that was just a show of how far Eraser and him had come from when they first met.

"Hmm," He hummed as he was going through all of the possibilities of what he could do. He could get a piercing, that might be fun. He already knew he was going to cut his hair, as much as he loved matching Eraser and Mic with their man buns, it was getting really long and he had a particular style he had been dying to try out.

Dying his hair was out of the question. It seems like a lifetime ago that Izuku had seriously considered coloring his hair just so he wouldn't have to look at himself and be reminded of his mother. But now that's all he wanted. He actively searched for her in everything, and it always warmed his heart whenever he did.

He had done some research about different places in the area, and it just so happened that there was a highly rated salon and barbershop in the mall right next to a piercing shop and a tattoo place. It was like they wanted people to make stupid and impulsive decisions all at one time. But hey, gotta respect the hustle.

If he went ahead to the mall and started with his hair, he could decide if he wanted to do anything else, but he thought that he might hold off depending on how his cut goes. He still had some money, and he was going to talk to Eraser soon about getting a job. Hopefully the hero would help, you wouldn't believe how bad the job market is for dead people.

It didn't take him long to get to the mall. It was a big one, three stories tall and packed despite it being a school day. Izuku consulted the mall map and quickly memorized exactly where he needed to go and how to get there. He also kept note of the shops around just in case.

"Alright honey, what are we thinking today?" The hair stylist turned Izuku around in the styling chair and the two of them looked at him in the mirror at the counter.

Izuku moved his head in order to properly see all of his hair, "Well…"

An hour later the stylist was finished and admiring her handywork. "Oh yeah, I think that this is some of my best work. Wanna take a look?"

Izuku nodded excitedly and found himself looking at a completely different person. It was someone that he had never been before, and he loved it. It was exactly what he wanted.

What used to be curly locks that fell just above his shoulders were now shaped into an undercut showcasing the best of Izuku's curls on top of his head. The sides weren't buzzed all that short, and the top fell just over his eyebrows and perfectly covered his bullet scars. Something that he specifically requested.

The stylist had asked about them, just trying to make small talk, and Izuku had fed her some bs story about how he bumped his head as a child, and she seemed to buy it easily.

As he admired his new cut, he noticed that people all around the store kept on looking at him. Did it look that good or did he look that weird? It was hard to tell sometimes. Although, the smile from the stylist made him think it was the former.

He paid for his cut and walked out of the shop feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders…well it had, but you know what he meant.

Izuku decided to stick with just the cut. It was a big change, and he was afraid that Eraser might go into cardiac arrest if he showed up with anything else. Mic, he knew, would be supportive all the way. Actually, Izuku would bet that if he asked, he would come with him next time and convince him to get a tattoo or something. Mic was fun like that.

As he entered the apartment building, he glanced at his watch and determined that the two of them should already be back by now unless they needed to stay for some reason. He hoped that they hadn't, the sooner they saw him the better.

Turning the lock, he heard the two heroes chatting in the common area and smiled to himself. He opened the door and watched as two heads turned towards him; one dropped, and one looked so excited that he might explode.

"Uh, surprise?"

Mic jumped up from where he sat on the couch and bounced towards Izuku, "Oh my god Izuku, you look soooo good! Oh, doesn't he look great Shouta?" Mic observed his hair from all angles and tested the texture of his curls, which he must've been happy about because his smile got even wider than it had already been.

Eraser slowly stood up, still staring at Izuku, "Um, wow…"

"Yeah, I thought that it was time for a change, you know? Do you like it?"

Suddenly, the hero's expression turned surprised and then softened into a small smile, "Of course I like it. Sorry, it just took me a minute to adjust, but yeah, you look great kid."

"Thanks Eraser," Izuku could feel his face redden at the fresh wave of compliments the two heroes gave him. He wasn't used to being praised so much. It felt…nice. Nice to be loved and appreciated.

Going out that night with his new hair had been interesting. He was so used to having it pulled back into a ponytail or bun, but he didn't have to deal with that anymore and it just felt so weird to not have that weight on his head as he ran.

In the back of his mind a voice popped up worrying how his curls would look after dealing with the wind and humidity and Izuku jumping and running all around, but he quickly shushed the voice and went back to enjoying his nightly roof jumping.

Eraser hadn't come with him tonight, only because Mic threatened to literally tie him up and sit on him to keep him from overexerting himself so soon after his release from the hospital. He wasn't happy about it and pouted the entire time Izuku got ready and left, but he wasn't worried, it was hard to be bored or stay upset around Mic. Eraser would be fine.

The night was fairly quiet, which sussed Izuku out just a bit. The fact that he had only taken down two criminals so far didn't seem right, but maybe that was just him being paranoid.

Half and hour later he still hadn't come across any disturbances and was now officially sketched out. So, you can imagine his surprise when he found his new friend being threatened in an alleyway…again.

Izuku zipped down to the ground and barreled into whoever was messing with his friend, earning a tiny little "Eep!" from his as he watched. "Serpentine? What are you doing here?"

He got up from where he had landed on the criminal and stumbled over to Shinso, "The better question is why do you keep finding yourself in these kind of situations? How am I supposed to be your friend if you die?"

It was ironic, and if Shinso knew just how ironic what he was saying was, he'd be on the floor laughing…or hitting him. He hadn't really found out what kind of friend he was yet, so it could really go either way.

"First of all, it's not my fault. People must just look at me and assume that I'm good prey or something. And second of all, rude."

"Oh whatever."

"Also, since when are we friends?"

Izuku looked at Shinso, the question didn't sound upset at the idea of being friends, just confused maybe. "Uh, since I saved your life the first time."

"That's a bit dramatic, I would've been fine."

"Right, and I care about my safety and wellbeing." Izuku lightly punched Shinso's shoulder and let out a snort, "You're a hoot Shinso"

"I-" He started but dropped off in favor of just looking at Izuku very confused and concerned.

"Anyway, what are you doing right now?"

"Going home?"

It seemed a little too late to just be getting home, but Izuku wasn't about to question the boy's hobbies after school, so he just let it go. "Do you want to hang out?"

Shinso sputtered before pulling himself together and asking, "Aren't you like, 'on duty' or something?"

"Not technically. Since I'm a vigilante I can do pretty much whatever I want, I just so happen to enjoy patrolling and kicking bad guy butt. But tonight's been really boring and I'm literally starvingggg." Izuku whined as he dramatically leaned against a dumpster.

Hitoshi rolled his eyes at the vigilante. The first time they had met was weird, but this? He didn't know how to navigate this.

He had never actually had a friend, so he didn't know if Serpentine had been joking or not about them being friends. Was this how you make friends? Do you just like save them and then adopt them? It seemed strange, but honestly, he wasn't in any position to say no. For as little as the two of them knew each other, the vigilante had already been the nicest person that Hitoshi had ever met. (Not that it was hard, but still.)

"Okay then, where do you want to eat?" If he was going to go along with this, then he might as well just give it his all.

Serpentine shot up and Hitoshi could just tell that he was smiling under his mask. "I was feeling some ramen!"

"Sounds like a plan. But uh, are you going in your vigilante suit?"

Izuku looked down and silently cursed to himself. He could go like this but then he would have to take off his mask to eat and then people could see his face and that would just be a whole mess. He looked back to Shinso and debated whether or not he trusted him enough to go out in regular clothes with him.

It wasn't like the two of them actually knew each other, but honestly what was he going to do? Try to out a dead person? Good luck with that.

"Could I use your bag?" He pointed to the backpack Shinso was wearing.

"Uh, sure?" He handed it over and Izuku began to strip off some of his gear in order to look less like Serpentine.

Off went the mask, the utility belt, the pipes, the knife, and anything else he had in his pockets that were vigilante-related. Luckily tonight he opted for sweatpants instead of his usual tight joggers and he wore his usual black hoodie. Once he was finished, he zipped up the bag and handed it back to a tired-eyed Shinso that seemed to be trying to hide his surprise at seeing Izuku without his mask.

It wasn't like the mask covered all that much of Serpentine's face, just his nose and below, but still. When he took off the mask and shoved it into Hitoshi's bag, he couldn't help but gape. He quickly reset his face and just opted for pretending like he didn't care, but he knew that the vigilante saw right through him.

When he first saw the vigilante his green hair and eyes would've been something forgettable, but the way he held himself made them so interesting. His long hair-now short, Hitoshi had to do a double-take when he first saw it-flowed easily into a bun at the back of his head and the little pieces framed his face in an almost gentle way. All of that went away, however when you got to his eyes. Those eyes that seemed to glow green in the night. Eyes that saw right through anything you tried to throw out to distract from the truth. Those eyes that had so much pain in them that Shinso's chest hurt every time he looked into them for too long.

Of course, that all just added to the way he seemed to radiate strength. It wasn't a cocky sort of thing that dominated any space he was in, but it was more like waves slowly overtaking you and then before you know it, he's already taken you down. His nonchalant attitude and sarcastic tongue all helped to tie in his vigilante persona.

He pulled the mask off and Hitoshi found himself surprised at the bottom half of the vigilante's face. It was so…soft.

A kind face that could warm up any room and bring light to the darkest places. Very different from the Serpentine he knew (barely). The thing that really stuck out to him were the freckles that ran across his cheeks and bridge of his nose and seemed to dominate his face.

If Shinso didn't know any better he'd say that the vigilante was almost pretty. He valued his life however, so he'd never say it to the guy.

Izuku glanced up and noticed that Shinso was still looking at him, "Do you have a problem?" He asked the boy who flinched at his voice.

"What? Oh uh, no. No, it's just that I didn't take you as someone who would have so many freckles."

He shrugged, "I get it from my mom."

And then the two boys were off to go chow down on some ramen. "Oh, and by the way," He continued after walking for a minute, "Don't even try to figure out my identity because you won't."

Shinso stared at him wide-eyed, "Uh, w-wasn't planning on it." He stuttered out and quickly broke eye contact. Izuku tried to hide his smirk, he wasn't used to people being intimidated by him, so this was definitely new to him, but he had to admit that it was pretty funny.

It wasn't long after that they arrived at the ramen shop and began stuffing their faces. Izuku was mid-chew when Shinso cleared his throat and asked him a question. "So, we're friends now, right? When do I get to know what your actual name is? That seems like a thing that friends should know."

Izuku stared at him with his mouth full and ramen hanging from his lips. Quickly he finished chewing and swallowed before raising an eyebrow at a patient Shinso across from him. "Is that so? Well, I guess I wouldn't really know."

"Me neither, I'm just taking a guess honestly."

The two boys stared at each other, both with sympathy in their eyes for the other and the smallest hint of sadness for themselves. It was messed up, but Izuku found a sort of comfort in the fact that he wasn't alone in being alone.

He took another bite, slurping the hanging ramen into his mouth, "Well, I guess if we can joke about our trauma with each other, then you ought to at least know my name. You can call me Midoriya."

Shinso's slight smile fell, and his eyebrows rose. He looked suspicious, but of what, Izuku didn't know. "You're joking."

"What? No, I'm not. That's actually my name."

He didn't seem convinced. "There's no way."

"Why do you seem so against this? Is there something wrong with my name?"

"I just-" He tried to swallow back his laugh but failed and looked back at Izuku. "You're telling me that your name means green? Seriously? That seems kinda on the nose, don't you think?"

Realization dawned on Izuku. His mother had talked to him about his name one time, and he had researched it himself, but for whatever reason it just didn't seem to faze him how much irony there was. "Oh," He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks, "Uh, yeah. I guess I can see how you'd think I was lying, but that really is my name."

"That's amazing." Shinso leaned back in his chair and picked his bowl back up. Izuku allowed a small smile to form on his face. Was this what an actual friend was? Someone that joked without the intent to hurt? It didn't seem real to him.

He shoved some more ramen in his mouth and allowed himself another quick scan of the restaurant. It was something he had been doing ever since they walked up to the building. When you hung around Eraser for long enough, you started to pick up on his habits and paranoia.

Every look around had seemed fine, he knew where all of the entrances and exits were, and he had a rough estimate exactly how long it would take him to get there. No one had struck him as someone to worry about, but he made sure to keep an eye out and keep his senses open. He also had multiple plans of escape if the situation called for it. It was probably him being too cautious, but it was better to be safe than sorry and-

It was at that exact moment that he and Katsuki Bakugou made eye contact and then everything descended into chaos.