Summary: Izuku finally leaves the house and meets two unexpected people
Chapter 2: Meeting a Baby Unicorn
Izuku was doing…okay. She wouldn't have known how better to put it. Her school life was still trash, but after breaking down and spilling the beans to her mother, she hadn't been forced to attend for 3 days now, having instead kept up with her schoolwork with online courses. Were they dry as flour? Yes, were they as engaging as watching paint dry? Also, yes, but it was a much-needed improvement over going back to school. Her mother had already contacted the Aldera, and while she wasn't sitting next to her, she didn't need to be to know Inko wasn't happy with how bad things had gotten on their watch and had organized a meeting for the following Monday to finalize her pulling out, as well as a possible legal case for their refusal to help her. Still, she wasn't sure that would go anywhere.
The two would also talk more, really speak as they would at breakfast before Inko left for work. When she returned in the evening, though, because Izuku remained indoors more, she took to doing more house chores whenever she wasn't in one of her automated classes; it wasn't like she was going to head out to follow villain fights or hang out with friends. Her mother wasn't the biggest fan of this, but it did work as a stop-gap solution for the moment as it kept her busy and allowed her mom to rest a bit when she came home, giving them more time to talk, but it wasn't like everything was better just because she refused to leave the apartment.
With being a hero no longer on the table, she didn't know what to do with herself. She kept up her courses but still needed to figure out what she wanted to do in high school. She had already sent in her application for UA's hero course and frankly was too terrified of what they'll say if she called them to withdraw it, but considering…her, she didn't think they'll put much through in it and burn it with the thousands of other rejects they get. Once more, her mother was there for her and convinced her to apply for the general studies courses at other schools like Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu Academy High School and her old school, Seiai Academy. Honestly, she wasn't sure what was more surprising, that her mom and aunt Mitsuki had met at a prep school, or that aunt Mitsuki even got into one when she was a near-perfect copy of her son…or was it the other way?
Still, this was all a spot gap as after a week of staying inside, cleaning and cooking, doing her classes and chatting with her online group, her mother burst the bubble.
"Izuku, you can't just keep sleeping on a bare bed like that; you need to replace the…items," Inko said as she looked around the plain room, her daughter bundled up in some of the white guest beddings they kept, looking hesitant.
"But…" Izuku didn't want to leave their apartment; sure, it wasn't large, but it was safe, and she didn't need to worry about the looks, the mockery, the feelings of shame and self-loathing if she remained inside.
Her mother touched her shoulder, giving her a warm smile that calmed her down. "I'll be with you the entire time. And it'll be during school hours, so no one from that place will be close." That was enough.
"Okay, let me take a shower." She slowly worked out of the blankets, revealing that she was wearing a dirty shirt and sleeping shorts, her hair an even bigger mess than usual.
"I sure hope you do; you stink." Inko teased as she walked on by, getting her to stop in shock.
"I do not!" Izuku smelled herself, her nose recoiling from her armpit almost as fast as a viper as she turned, red in the face, to her mother. "I won't in 10 minutes!" With that, she rushed into the bathroom, her mother's laughter contagious as she started to smile a little.
After she freshened up, the two left their apartment. They rode the train to the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, the massive outdoor shopping complex far more extensive than the local supermarket they typically visited, but they needed far more than it could sell. "Okay, first things first, we need to find you new bedsheets, then we'll hit the interior décor store!" Inko gave her their plans for the day as she directed their gaze to the small store further back, smudged between two hero mech places. "And after that, we'll try and find you some stuff to help you pass the time at the hobby store."
"That all seems like it'll be expensive. Are you sure we can afford it?" Izuku asked, she knew they weren't rich, and with her father…distant, they only had the monthly checks he sent from the US to help buy the bills.
"It'll be a bit outside the budget, but we can take it, and you deserve it. Now I won't hear any more complaints, young lady!" Inko replied, giving no room for complaint as she took her hand and led her through the crowds, their first place being the interior store, where they went straight for the bedroom section.
"Mom…" Izuku asked as she lifted up a yellow and white bed set. "Would this look good?" She blushed, not knowing what she was doing as this was the first time she wasn't getting something with All Might's face on it.
"Izuku, this is for your bed. Pick whatever you like," Inko told her, giving her some others she picked out that would fit her bed, all of which were different colours and styles.
"Do you need any help?" Lucky for them, one of the store workers approached them, a winning smile on their cat faces.
"Yes, please."
"Mom, they're having a 3-for-1 special on these posters!" Izuku lifted up three posters of some old sci-fi franchise for her mother to see. They had purchased what they needed from the furniture store and were now in another place for more niche décor.
"They're in great shape. I wonder why they're on special," Inko asked as she saw how far the price had dropped on the label.
"They don't sell nearly as much as the hero merchandise, mam. We've had them for the last 3 months and only sold 8, but when we got the new Edgeshot tees, they should be out in 2 days." The store clerk with them explained, gesturing to the empty stand that still read 'New Edgeshot figurines.'
"Do you have any other non-hero-related stuff on sale?" Izuku asked; the clerk was surprised by this question; she wouldn't blame him for that, considering how big heroes were, but he caught himself pretty fast as he gave her an amused grin,
"Mam, the real question would be what non-hero stuff we don't have on sale." He touched her shoulder and led her further into the store. "If you would follow me, I can show you everything."
"Excuse me," The hobby store clerk looked up from his magazine to see Izuku and her mother, or more accurately, he looked down as his oni mutant quirk made him over 2.2m tall. "What would you recommend for someone who isn't sure what kind of hobby they'll like?" Looking at her, he could immediately tell what kind of customer he had on his hands.
"Well, a great rule of thumb is to take something that you can enjoy and improves yourself, as there's nothing better than working to be better than yesterday with a smile, right?" He suggested, his smile getting one from her as well as she nodded.
"Yeah!"
"Great, so for someone like that, I would recommend light exercise gear, nothing that'll turn you into a bodybuilder, but many people enjoy just keeping in shape." He pointed towards the small section that was mainly yoga gear but had some smaller weights and stuff for more casual people.
Izuku walked over to them, picked up one of the lighter weights and blushed a bit when she realized she wasn't as strong as she thought; even if the hero course was out of her range, it wouldn't hurt to get some muscle on her bones, right? "Alright." She nodded to the man who kept up the smile as he got up from behind the counter, his height even more imposing as he walked over to another part of the store, neither mother nor daughter losing sight of him the entire time.
"And to work on the mind, we have many puzzle games and painting supplies. Would you like to see what we have?" He asked them as he picked up several puzzles and other complex-looking toys in his large hands, which seemed just too comical for the two not to laugh.
"I'll love too!" She nodded as the man beamed, happy that he was making a sale and that she found his little trick with the toys funny.
"Would you like to eat at that new Chinese place?" Sometime later, the two took a seat to take stock of the stuff they had purchased, noticing that it was approaching lunchtime.
"How about the Korean diner? I heard they have a special today." Inko pointed towards another place, getting Izuku to look towards it before she smiled at her, grabbing as many of their bags as she could.
"Then let's go!" Inko couldn't help but tear up at how happy Izuku was; she was having fun outside, expressing herself. She was delighted that she managed this as she grabbed the remaining bags and went after her.
"So, how did you enjoy the day, Izuku?" With schools soon to be letting out, the two decided to call it quits and head home, Izuku might be having a good day, and she was with her the entire time, but neither wanted to push things too far. Besides, they'll take time to get everything unpacked and sorted.
"It was enjoyable...but we might have got too much stuff," Izuku asked, looking at the bags that both carried.
"Maybe, but we can always return one or two things later; let's first get home and sort through them." Inko shrugged her shoulders; most of it wasn't no return, but she didn't think they would need to use that.
"Okay, wait," Izuku reached into a pocket but didn't feel what she was looking for; a quick search of her other pockets yelled a similar result as she groaned. "Oh no."
"Something wrong?" Inko asked, noticing her drop in mood.
"I don't have my phone, but I swear I had it when we ate lunch." She had taken a picture with it once they sat down and even posted it to her group chat which got a lot of love from them.
"You could have left it at the restaurant. Do you want me to go with you to see if they have it?" Inko suggested as Izuku looked at her watch, seeing she had enough time before their train arrived to hurry back and get it.
"No problem, mom. I'll just run back and see by myself." She quickly passed her bags to her mom before she turned to rush off, weaving through the growing crowds as she moved for the exit.
"Be careful!" Inko called out to her, trying to move their stuff to a bench where she could sit and relax while waiting.
"I will!"
Eri ran. She didn't know where she was running from, a little more on where she was running from, but she knew she didn't want to be there anymore. She had managed, somehow, to slip past the guard who made the mistake of leaving the door open when he came with another one of those ugly gifts Kai kept getting her. She didn't even think about it as she bolted out, her bare feet hitting the rough hard ground hurt, but she was used to hurt, much more pain than this ever could bring as she kept running. Through some more luck, she managed to navigate the confusing and identical halls of…wherever they kept her till she found some stairs and a door, which she managed to open and exit.
She knew she was out when she saw how dirty the place was, with small…things running about when she appeared. Kai hated dirt almost as much as he did her curse, so he always made sure the place the clean; this couldn't be part of his place which gave her some relief to her thumping, scared heart as she continued to run, not wanting to remain anywhere near the entrance that could easily open to Kai facing her. As she went, the idea that she was escaping made more sense as she could smell the dirty, fresh air, hear other people, and those car things she only saw on TV whenever she was allowed to watch something.
She didn't know what to do, she didn't know where to go, papa was gone, mama was gone, but she knew she didn't want to go back, she didn't want to go back into that dark place and have to feel it, over and over again. So, she ran as far and as fast as she could.
Izuku smiled as she looked over her phone, having already sent her mother a text saying she'll be at the station soon. Now, she was only a few minutes away from the train station. As she passed a small alley, she caught something in the corner of her eye but couldn't see it before it came crashing into her. She was lucky that the waiter had noticed it and kept it for safekeeping, and she gave them the most significant tip she could for it.
The object, a little girl near, bounced off her and fell on her rump but strangely didn't make a sound from what must have been a hard fall, but her eyes, red as apples, looked up at her in what she could only describe as horror. That look… proved more than enough for Izuku's body to move before she could realize it as, in a flash, she was at her side, helping the girl up. "Are you alright?" Izuku asked her, crouched to meet her eye level with a hand extended to her, but the little girl flinched at this, almost…afraid of her? She didn't think that was a good sign, but she retracted her hand anyway, which got the girl to calm down; however, how little.
Instead, she gave her the warmest smile she could, trying to draw up as much All Might energy as possible. "I hope I didn't scare you. I was merely trying to help you up to your feet. It's easier. My name is Midriya Izuku, but you can call me Izuku. Would you please tell me what your name is?"
The little girl's eyes widened further, though if it was at the reaction of her hand or the apology, she didn't know as either didn't paint a charming picture, not with how the girl was wearing what looked to be an oversized shirt, with unkempt hair, no shoes and bandages covering her limbs. Izuku couldn't think any further on this as the little girl responded to her, her voice soft and brittle as if she wasn't used to speaking. "I'm Eri."
She would have to remember no last name, but she didn't let that show as she just smiled at the girl, happy she was at least speaking. "Are you okay? Do you need help finding someone, Eri-chan?"
Eri looked back to the alleyway she came from as if a villain or monster was about to jump out at her before she turned back to Izuku; her gaze was still terrified but now carried a little hope-hope that Izuku wasn't going to let die. "Please, can you help me?" Without thinking about it, she kept herself low as she opened her arms but didn't approach her. Eri didn't hesitate to rush into them, taking the chance which Izuku was grateful for as she slowly picked her up, noting that she was worriedly light for a girl her size.
"How about we get out of here and find a policeman to talk to?" Izuku suggested as she cradled her head. Eri snigged a bit, her tiny body held so tensely as if she might shatter, but she nodded, leaving Izuku to carry her to the station, reaching for a phone to text her mother about this. "Why seems to be the trouble, Eri-chan?"
"I'm a curse. Kai said I am, and I only hurt people, so he hurts me to help, but," Eri told her, giving her enough to confirm her suspicions that she was being abused, so while she kept her their little walk away from the area. Presumably, whoever this 'Kai' was, she texted her mother quick messages to catch her up on things. "I don't want to hurt anymore." Izuku held a little closer.
"I don't think you're a curse, Eri-chan. No one is." Izuku told her, giving her a smile as they moved. She had spent years being made to feel like she was lesser, but through it all, she would have never called anyone a curse.
"But Kai says so," Eri repeated, acting like the word of her abuser was some concrete law of the universe which only made her angrier at him for what he had done to this poor child.
"Kai can say many things, but I can tell he also lies and was lying about you." She stated that she didn't say it but noted it because that was a concrete fact, not some opinion.
"But my quirk…it takes other quirks away…" Eri looked up at her, allowing Izuku to see the horn peeking from her brow. The girl looked terrified and resigned to this, but hearing her words gave her an idea of what to say.
"Well, it's a good thing I don't have one." This was the first time she could smile while she revealed that fact, as Eri looked at her dumbfounded, as she must have never thought such a thing possible.
"…You don't…?" She could pick a little more hope in her, hope that she couldn't hurt like her like 'Kai' said she would hurt others.
"Yup, as quirkless as a rock I am. So you don't have to worry about a thing, Eri-chan." Izuku told her; though she tried to figure out what Eri's quirk was based on what she said and what 'Kai' said, it seemed like she had a quirk similar to Eraserhead's, a quirk suppression power which was rare, extremely rare. In their day and age, where quirks practically determined your life trajectory regardless of skills and personality, it would make sense to fear such a power that could take that away from you.
But as Izuku looked at her, her righteous anger didn't dampen just because she had an idea for Eri's abuse because that wasn't a reason to target a child; it was an excuse to justify your cruelty towards the child. "Actually, if you ask me, I think your quirk must be pretty good. Sure, some quirks seem bad, but that's because they're being misused. Is a fire quirk bad?"
Eri took time, her brow creasing cutely as she thought about it. "I…don't think so…"
"It's not, but it can be used for nasty and incredible things. Your quirk sounds like that; it's a little shaky right now. I know that with practice and time, you'll be great with it." Izuku told her she would know as she spent years studying all kinds of quirks, from the more common ones to one's people said were more heroic, or villainous-it didn't matter to her as while quirks were a part of you, so were your limbs and no-one was going around saying hands were terrible just because you could punch with them.
"But…my quirk hurts people, Kai says-" Izuku cut her off there but did so to not scare the girl any more than she was already.
"Kai's wrong, Eri-chan. He hurt you. You don't have to listen to anything he says. You are not a curse, never was, never will be." Izuku could tell that Eri didn't believe her, that it would take much more than this to help her through this terrible mindset that she had been forced to adopt. All the while, she kept up the texts to her mother, who was frantic and concerned for her, but already said she called over the policemen that usually at the station to deal with perverts and was waiting for the two to arrive, so they could head to the police and deal with this. So, all they needed to do, was finish the final leg, and they'll be golden.
Which is when their luck finally runs out. A new person appeared from the final alleyway between them and their destination. He was taller than her, with a strange and dangerous look to his golden eyes that, while on her, also seemed to fixate on Eri. Izuku didn't know what to make of his dress, as while people tended to be tried and stick out much like their quirks, whoever this was seemed to be trying to go with some mix of urban, winter and office casual, but what set him apart from others, wasn't the fashion choices. Still, it was the intricate red and gold beak-like mask he was wearing.
From how Eri stiffened in her arms, her eyes growing wide in terror, Izuku could tell who this was and how screwed she was.
"There you are, Eri. I've been looking all over for you; thanks for keeping an eye on my daughter; she tends to wander off." Kai spoke up; his stance was relaxed and calm as if he was in total control. She didn't buy it, keeping her hold on Eri as she glared at him, knowing her best chance was to run, but Kai seemed to also know that as his eyes mocked her.
"She can be emotional when she gets lost; she is a little girl, after all, so it's great that she bumped into someone that could keep her calm, Midoriya-san." It was Midoriya's turn to shake. He would only know her name if he had been following them from the beginning, which meant he knew she was quirkless; again, he picked up on her realization as his approach now made perfect sense. He was in control, as she was powerless to stop him, and he knew it.
"You must be Kai, then." Despite her growing fear, she did her best to remain calm; if she could just keep him here a few minutes. Indeed, her mother and the police would show up and help; they already knew she was on her way.
"I'd rather we don't make a scene." Kai's response was relaxed, but it was clear that it was ordered as he turned to walk back into the alley from which he came. He paused some steps later when he didn't hear Eri following him as Izuku still held onto her, terrified but resolved to do something. "Come, Eri. We wouldn't want to bother the nice lady more than we have already, wouldn't we?" Her grip tightened as she prepared to bolt, but he seemed to see this and moved quickly; before she could even react, he had a hand out for her face, his white glove removed.
"No!" Kai paused when Eri screamed, the girl sobbing as she struggled out of Izuku's arms, who was still caught off guard by his speed and not expecting Eri to want to return to him, allowed. Eri ran up to the man but not touching him as she begged him to stop whatever he was going to do. "Don't hurt her! I'll go!"
"Eri…" Izuku started to tear up, her frustrations at her inability to do something showing even now, even when she had the chance to save one person…! She was too weak as the little girl stood protecting her. Was she really that useless?
"Really, she already means that much to you?" Kai, either not caring for or not noticing her tears, turned his attention to Eri, his hand still outreached; when Eri gave him a tiny nod, he retracted it, putting it back into its glove as fast as he removed it. "Then I'll leave her alone, no more fighting back and no running away, understand?" With this ultimatum that they all knew would lead to more pain for Eri, she still agreed to it all to protect the person that should be protecting her.
"That's a good girl," Kai told her as they started to walk together now, leaving Izuku on her knees on the sidewalk. As they approached the shadows, Kai paused and turned back to her, his gaze much more menacing than it was a moment prior when he nearly killed her without so much as a flinch or change.
"You seem like a smart one, Midoriya. So, it'll be pointless to try and raise a fuss over this with the police; after all, who would listen to a quirkless girl?" He seemed to enjoy it as she barely held back her snarl and tears at the reminder that despite it all, he still held all the cards; without Eri, she would have no proof of this happening, and she doesn't know if there are any cameras nearby to back her up, the fact that schools were still open only made this worse as there was next to no-one close that could confirm her story. She had been bested before Kai even revealed himself.
"Perhaps we'll cross paths again, but that is not here or there, Midoriya-san. Eri, say goodbye." With that said, Kai walked into the shadows, a reluctant Eri following behind him, leaving Izuku behind to sob and slam her fist into the dirt in frustration. It would be a while before her mother and the officer she had grabbed found her, and just like she feared and Kai predicted, they didn't buy her story. Worse, they recognized her as the girl from the news, and once that fact registered in their head, it was like the mother/daughter duo were talking to a brick wall with how much they got done, leaving both feeling dejected and angry as they made their way home, their good mood ruined.
