Chapter 5: Meet The Reapers

Immediately the trio bolted, quickly hiding behind the stone wall that separated the beach from the street beyond. Izuku looked to Mineta and then to Tsu; the first of which was shivering in his shoes, his eyes frantic whiles Tsu had reverted back to her emotionless expression, her euphoria forgotten but even then he could see the fear growing the corner of her eyes as small erratic bursts of gunfire and frightened screams fill the air.

"What's going on; why are villains here!?" Mineta silently screamed as each tried to pinpoint where exactly the noise was coming from.

"We have to see what's going on" Izuku whispered as he slowly peeked his head above the wall only to be pulled back down my Mineta.

"Are you crazy? Whoever it is they have guns. Let's just leave it to the pros" he said in a strained squeak.

"The heroes aren't coming" Tsu said with a look of certainty as the two wheeled around to face her.

"And how would you know" Mineta accused. That was impossible, it was their jobs to come and stop the villains. Why would they not come?

"I've been hearing gun fire in the distance off and on again for the last few days from my home. And very little police sirens coming from the same direction" she informed, keeping her eyes trained on where the noise was coming from.

"That doesn't explain why they wouldn't come" Izuku said, wondering where she was going with this.

"It was on the news; an entire hero agency and a few solo heroes got wiped out in the blast. So I think all those dead heroes mixed with how many civilians died is making the rest lose their nerve" she coldly explained while Izuku was feeling a storm of guilt and anger.

An entire agency gone in the blink of an eye, all because of him; if not for the anger he was almost certain he would have frozen, his mind entering a tail spin of self-hatred. But that anger was there and it was burning his insides like a fire, how could they claim to be heroes yet when the going gets tough they ran away!?

"I'm going to stop them" he said as he tried to vault over only to again be pulled down.

"You're going to get yourself killed" Mineta screamed. "I am not going to look your mother in the eye and tell her you died trying to be a hero"

"But we want to be heroes don't we" he argued. If he didn't do something now to help then he didn't deserve to ever be called a hero.

"If you go, you won't be a hero; you'll be just as bad as the villains. You'd be a villain using your powers unlawfully" she countered to which Izuku could only look at her in shock.

"No offense Tsu but that's stupid; we've been 'unlawfully' using our powers all day and before there were heroes there were vigilantes before the government made them official. If simply using your powers to help makes you a villain then every good Samaritan should be behind bars" he railed as Tsuyu looked away.

"Look I know you're scared, I am to. But we have to do something" he said, restraining from yelling. In truth he needed to do this, he needed to start paying them back and if he died in the attempt, than at least he tried.

"If you want to stay here fine, but don't try and stop me" he finished as he hopped the wall and ran off towards the gunfire, not letting Mineta have the chance to pull him back for a third time as he heard him scream his name. He didn't need to run far as the gun fire became louder and louder, battling with drumming of his heart in his eardrums in a contest to see which could deafen him first. His heart was hammering in his chest and his palms were sweaty as he stopped at the corner of a small intersection and peek around to see them.

There were five of them and each one was wearing a dark red hoodie that obscured their faces. And all of them were armed with Russian rifles he'd seen in old war movies as they fired into the air and buildings that lined the street. It seemed the street they were one was acting as an open market before they showed up as overturned carts and produce littered the street.

Turning back around; he looked at his hands, flickers of energy dancing along them as he prepared for the fight of his life. But how was he going to do this, they outnumbered him five to one and who knows how many more might be lurking around. They were armed with guns and who knows what quirks as well.

But that was when remembered the most important rule in combat.

'Always fight from the high ground' it wasn't a lot but at least it gave him something to start with.

Looking up he decided to test his new found strength as he jumped up to a ledge and began scaling the building, untrained fingers only taking a few moments to understand as he climbed. In a matter of seconds he had scaled a three story building and in any other scenario he would be absolutely astonished with that feat. But he had job to do as he silently crept across the roof of the building. Slowly, building by building he got closer, bring able to now hear them talking, and strangely it almost sounded like they were underwater as one coughed up a stream of black fluid. Breathing in one last deep breath he shot up from his hiding spot, his right arm crackling with energy as he aimed it at the first villain.

With a loud zap he released a bolt of lightning straight into the chest of the first villain; knocking him clean off his feet, though he did not have time to see if he was down for the count as he was forced back behind cover as his position became riddled with bullets as the rest open fired. Covering his head as pieces of concreate and fell all around he looked around for another place to move, if he got pinned down he was as good as dead.

For a moment the gunfire stopped, allowing him to look to his right and see another building across a small alley and as he was about to make a break for it he heard a strange metal clink as something dropped next to him. He turned his head to see the familiar pineapple shape of grenade as his eyes bulged in his sockets as he leaped away, the heat and shockwave rocking the building and hurtling him to the other side. Izuku nearly bit the tip off his tongue as pain rippled through body as he rolled to a stop but to his surprise, when he looked at his body he didn't see any blood or obvious signs of injury.

But he wasn't given the time for a proper examination as his new cover was once again assailed with gunfire.

This was getting him nowhere, he needed a way to get to take them all out in one go, otherwise he was done for. That was when he had an idea, just before they threw the grenade the shooting stopped; probably allowing the others time to reload while he lobbed it. So all he had to do was wait for that moment. But how was he going to take them all out, he couldn't do this more than once or else they would see the pattern and he had only so much roof to work with.

He wracked his brain, biting his lip so hard it bled as tried to figure out what to do. That when he remembered what Tsu had done as the memory of her jumping out of the water and slamming into the sand. If he could somehow wreath himself in his electricity he could create a shockwave that could hit them all at once.

Just as that thought had finished did the sound of gunfire stop and forced Izuku's hand, he didn't know if this idea would work but it was now or never and with one last breath he jumped off the balcony, into the street and straight into the villains.

In that moment he could see them, hurriedly swapping out magazines while one threw the grenade, the explosive projectile sailing right by him as arcs of electricity wrapped around him as he descended like a crackling blue comet. The villains barely had time to process what was happening as Izuku's feet hit the ground, and the earth erupted with the force of an artillery shell as he sent a massive shockwave throwing trash, carts and goons all across the street. Izuku did not give them the time to recover and as the second grenade exploded on the roof above him, raining pieces of concrete across the street he lifted a hand and blasted three of the four goons with electricity.

The forth one however he was not fast enough to shoot as the villain again gurgled, coughed up a black fluid that didn't look like blood and lifted its weapon. Izuku on instinct rushed the villain and grabbed his gun, attempting to wrestle control away from the villain as the electricity in his hand surged through the rifle and cooked off the gunpowder, causing the gun itself to explode and knocking both of them back.

With numb, blackened hands he looked up see the last villain, and his own eyes went wide. The villains hands had been completely mangled, one hand missing most of its fingers. But with such a terrible injury the villain stood stone still, watching Izuku from behind their darkened hoodie.

'What is this guy made out of' Izuku thought to himself, astonished by the enemy's insane pain tolerance.

But almost as a response to the question the villain's arms began to be covered in thick, black ooze until they turned into vicious whips. Now it was Izuku's turn to be surprised as the whips lashed out, giving him barely enough time to protect his body as they slammed into him with the force of a truck, sending him flying straight into a wall, cracking it. Izuku sputtered for air as he landed in the ground, barely able to keep himself from falling on his face as he struggled bring air back into his lungs.

Through blurry eyes he could see the villain, his whip like arms swaying from side to side like a venomous snake. Each step taken sounding like a foreboding bell. On shaky legs he stood back up as he prepared to fight him before he heard a loud wet smack that almost reminded of a bursting water balloon. The sound was immediately followed up by the sight of the villain hurtling through the air and landing on the hood of a car.

Then he began to hear a new sound, the sound of fast approaching footsteps and a familiar voice.

"Oh my god! Izuku are you alright" he heard Mineta say as the diminutive boy looked around at all the destruction.

Izuku meanwhile felt a wave of relief and weariness wash over him as he looked for a place to sit down and settled for an overturn cart, his head feeling as though it had been put in a vice.

"Yeah, never better" he eventually groaned, looking up to both Mineta and his rescuer who even now had drops of water dripping from her hand.

"Thanks for the save" he said to Tsu who periodically switched from looking at the downed villain to him.

She nodded in acknowledgement. "You're welcome, just glad you're okay"

"Hey man I'm sorry" he heard Mineta say. "I shouldn't have let you go off on your own, I should have helped" he said, a look of shame etched on his face.

Izuku could only put an arm on his friend's shoulder, too tired and too happy to still be alive to be angry.

"It's okay Mineta, it was my choice to make." He said, giving him a smile.

"Besides if you want to help you can…" he trailed off as he saw another member of the red coated villains rush out of an alley, and leveling a shotgun at Tsu's back.

Instantly he moved, faster than he knew he could and dashed from his sitting position, pushing Tsu out of the way as the villain fired, the metal balls sailing through the air and straight into his chest, knocking him end over end and onto his back.

"IZUKU!" Mineta screamed as Tsu launched a bolt of water straight at the villain's head, slamming into him and bouncing him off the wall of the alley he had come from.

Izuku for his part was in immense pain; his chest felt like it was being stung by thousands of hornets, forcing him to take short gasping breathes as Mineta rushed to his side, tearing streaming from his eyes.

"Izuku, stay with me!" he yelled as he ran to him.

Clenching his jaw so hard, he feared he would shatter his teeth he hoisted himself up and looked at his chest in confusion. Were he expected to see a bloodied mess of bone shards he saw nothing except holes in his shirt. Grabbing at the collar of his shirt he tore it in half to reveal a chest completely blackened by bruises.

Tenderly touching his body, he scanned it for the damage his mind told should be there, but there was nothing, no holes, blood or fragments of bone.

"We need to get you to a hospital" Tsuyu said, stress in her voice as for second time today he saw emotion on her face, genuine worry.

"No, no hospital" he said as tried to pull himself up to his feet. If he got sent to the hospital they would no doubt start asking questions, questions whose answers he knew would get him in deep trouble. As he got to his hand and knees he was stopped by Tsu as she put her hand on his shoulder. It was then he released an involuntary radar pulse and saw the nervous systems of his friends, the bio-electricity coursing through them evoking a terrible, monstrous idea.

"FEED"

With a groan he shook his head hard, dispersing the alien thought as he looked to see a lamp post. Pulling himself from Tsu's grip the pair watched as he crawled his way to the electrical source like a man dying of thirst.

"What are you doing, we need to get you help" Tsu pressed but Midoriya ignored her, focusing on the river of electrical life, stretching out a hand and feeling the lines of energy being drawn to him as arcs of electricity erupted from the post and into his body. It lasted only a few seconds before it he completely drained it.

With a relieved sigh he felt the pain dissipate like smoke in the wind and got back up and turned towards them. He looked completely fine, the bruises were gone and without so much as a scratch to show his encounter with a twelve gauge.

"Holy shit" Mineta gasped as the trio began to hear movement all around them, Izuku readying himself for another fight when he saw the scared and amazed looks of the civilians.

"Did you see what those kids did" one of them said as upwards of a dozen people began filtering out of the surrounding buildings, forming a crowd around them.

"That was really brave, what you did kid" an older man said, clapping a hand the Izuku's shoulder.

"Brave? This poor young man just got shot!" an old woman said, her brow wrinkling as she glared at the man.

"Yeah but look at him, not even a scratch" the man countered; giving the young Midoriya a reassuring smile.

"Yeah you saw him, he came in like POW! And ZAP! And then he slammed into the ground and blew them all away" a young boy said, looking at Midoriya with stars in his eyes.

In that moment as he looked at the child he couldn't help but be reminded of his younger self as he would watch videos of All Might stopping villains; pretending to be him as he ran around in his All Might costume.

But his internal remembrance was short lived as several other conversations began happening all at once which began to overwhelm the green haired boy.

"Alright that's enough" he heard a voice ring out that silenced the crowd as everyone turned around to see a tall, overweight man who's gut hung over his belt buckle and who had large protruding lips. "He saved your lives and your stuff, the least you can do is give him some space" he barked.

The older members of the crowd huffed but listened as the crowd began to disperse, some trying to salvage any of their wares that hadn't been destroyed in the fight.

"Now then, my name's Haruki and not to be rude but it looks like you could use some new clothes" the large man said, pointing to his now tattered rags.

Izuku looked down at himself and the hell that would come if his mother saw him come home looking like this.

"Why don't you come inside my shop, and I'll see if there's anything in your size" his chuckled, pointing the store a little further down the road.

"A… ah, I'd like to but I don't have any money" he said, not really knowing had to act in this situation.

The large man just gave him a look as he if he had just said the dumbest thing in the world. "Kid after what you pulled do you really think I'm going to make you pay" he asked incredulously.

"It's on the house"

Rubbing the back of his head he thought over the man's proposal, he didn't want to appear rude and he did need some clothes.

Turning around for a second opinion he saw an expectant look on both of their faces as well, wondering what he would choice and with that he did.

"I'm going to go get some new clothes" he decided. "While I'm doing that maybe Mineta could use his quirk to restrain the bad guys and Tsuyu could call the police" he advised as the two looked to each other.

"That's a good idea" Tsuyu said as she pulled Mineta along and Izuku followed the man further down the road. They didn't have to walk far as the pair came to a rather dingy pawn shop with metal bars covering the window and door.

"Now then, allow me to show you my wares' he announced with a smile as he unlocked the door.

"I'm gonna go look in the back, so while I'm there take a look around I'm sure there's something you would like." He said as he unlocked the door to the back and left Izuku all alone.

In that moment, in that silence did everything that had happened in the last few minutes come into perspective. He had fought villains, real villains, with guns and he had gotten shot.

"Holy shit" he whispered to himself as he took in deep, panicked breathes. He did it and he nearly died, the mix of emotions smashing together in his mind as he ran his fingers through his hair.

'That was nothing like the videos' he thought to himself, nervously laughing as the reality of hero work clashed with his childish fantasies. He had seen so many times heroes fighting villains, sure they sometimes got hurt but they would always win. But what had just done was real combat and with that came a burning realization.

"All Might had been right"

The idea searing at his ego like a brand but he could no longer look away from the truth. Without his quirk he would have died and all his hopes and dreams would have counted for nothing against a shotgun, let alone an actual quirk. All Might was just trying to protect him and he had been too proud to accept it.

Taking in one last breath he steadied himself, letting his emotions not get the better of him as he focused on the store he was in and just from an initial view it truly looked like he had everything from jewelry, tools, clothes and even car parts. But as he walked he noticed an odd squishing sound and as he looked down he groaned in frustration as once again, the bottom of his shoes had melted.

Not wanting to mess up Haruki's store he pulled them off; carrying them with him as he looked around. Honestly he didn't really know what exactly to look for; he doubted a pawn shop would be selling something that can stop bullets.

And as he saw Haruki come out of the back carrying a handful of clothes as he plopped them down on the cashier table.

"Alight I found this" he said lifting up a yellow and black jacket. "Got these off an electrician a few weeks back so I figured it'd be good for someone with a quirk like yours"

Izuku held the new clothes, thinking that was a good idea. It looked to be about his size and it did look nice.

"Um… do you have any shoes that won't melt" he asked, shamefully showing the melted pair in his hands.

The man brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it intently as he snapped his fingers as he went around the counter and into one of the aisles and returned with a pair of white and black sneakers. "These should do the trick" he said with a proud smile as Izuku looked them over.

"They ain't exactly hero grade, but they are Detnerat quality so they should be enough" promised. Izuku's eyes flashed when he heard the name, they were one of the most popular civilian grade support item companies in japan.

"Thank you so much for all of this, I promise I'll pay you back when I get the money" he said, though the man simply waved his hand.

"Like I said, you stopped those guys, and I wouldn't feel right if I made you pay" he repeated.

"But who were they" he asked, hoping that this was just a small time group.

Haruki took a long look out into the street before answering, a foreboding look in her eyes before he leaned in "Before the blast they weren't that much of an issue, just a bunch of junkies dealing drugs but now…" he said trailing off and shaking his head.

"But now they call themselves the reapers and they've gotten way more violent" he said and Izuku felt a chill run up his spine. "No one knows how many there are but they take what they want, when they want and until now no one had tried to stop them".

"It's a sad state of affairs when it's the adults that have to rely on kids for protection" he confessed, a look of sadness in his eyes.

"What had he gotten himself into" his inner voice said.

"Hey kid" Haruki said, snapping his fingers and bringing Izuku back to reality.

"There's a changing room over there and if you or your friends ever need anything else come on by, I'll give them a discount" he said as Izuku picked up the pile of clothes and walked off to change.

A few minutes later he re-emerged and looked himself in the viewing mirror. The clothes fit surprisingly well as he gave a few test stretches.

"Kid" Haruki said as he was about to leave making the young man look back to him.

"You planning on being a hero" he asked, to which Midoriya nodded.

"Then there's one more thing I'd like to give you" he whispered, as his eyes turned red and puffy. Bending down behind the counter Izuku heard as the man rustled around before pulling out a silver briefcase.

Fascinated by what he was offering he came to the table and watched as he opened the briefcase and turned it to show a long silver cord of wire with a black handle on one end.

"I got this off of a pro hero who liked gambling a bit too much. She called it her lightning whip" he explained, shocking the young boy. It was illegal for heroes to sell their equipment to normal people, the power they held being seen as too big of a risk.

"Pick it up and pump some lightning into it" he said as Izuku hesitantly picked up the handle. It was light in his hand and as he allowed the power of his quirk to flow into it. Immediately the cord sprung to life, arcs of electricity sparking across its entire length.

"This… this is too much, I can't take this" he stammered, it didn't feel right to take so much from the man but when he looked back he could see the tears were flowing now.

"My son wanted to be a hero too, wanted to go to UA even" he said in a shaky breath. "But now he can't" he said, breathing through his teeth as he forced the words out.

"So please take it, and do some good with it. The world's getting crazier and it's gonna need people like you to set it right" he confessed with a mournful smile.

Izuku stood there, watching this man confess to him over the loss of his son and could only think of one thing to say.

"What was his name" he asked as Haruki slowly pulled out his wallet and revealed a small picture of a tall, muscular boy about his age with lips just like his father.

"Rikido Sato"

Mineta and Tsuyu had done what Midoriya had suggested, using his quirk to stick the villains to the concrete. It had not been as easy as they would have liked as the villains thrashed against their sticky restraints, spitting out globs of black fluid as the yelled. After they made sure that they wouldn't get out Tsuyu had called the police, that had been a few minutes ago and a tense malaise had settled over them both. They had allowed their friend to go off and face a bunch of villains alone and that fact was hitting Mineta particularly hard.

"Dammit" Mineta whispered to himself, shame filling him as he covered half his face with his hand. He had known Izuku for years; called him his brother but when shit hit the fan he hid like a coward and let him fight those villains by himself. Shame could not even begin to describe the anger he felt with himself.

But as he looked over to Tsuyu who like always was unreadable and it was beginning to piss him off. Here he was, his cowardice eating himself alive and she didn't seem the least bit affected.

"He saved your life" Mineta chirped, hoping to bring a hint of emotion out of her.

"I know" she said, her voice only slightly wavering.

"We should've gone with him" he vented, turning to face her fully. This time she said nothing, her eyes staring off as she looked at something only she could see.

Before Mineta could get any further they both saw Izuku walking down the road, wearing new clothes and carrying a silver briefcase.

"You two ready to go" he asked as the two both silently nodded; the argument stopping before I could begin. It was evening now, the sun beginning to set and bathing the sky in orange light.

And as Mineta called his uncle telling him they were done early, the old woman from before came up to them holding a bag.

"Hold on a moment" the old lady said as she shuffled to the trio. "Here you go child, was trying to sell it before it went bad but I think you should have it" she said handing the back to Izuku who opened it to reveal several ears of corn and potatoes.

Izuku tried to not accept the gift but the woman shook and insisted, and not giving him the chance to argue as she walked away leaving him with the food. Sighing and shaking his head with a forced smile he turned towards Mineta and Tsu as they all walked home.

The walk back was silent none of them really wanting to speak about what had happened until they had reached Tsuyu's apartment building. The frog girl turning around and nearly shocking both boys as they saw her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, ribbit" she croaked, the emotions making her nervous tick re-emerge as she struggled to keep her breathing even.

"You're my friend, and I left you to fight those villains alone" she admitted.

"And when I saw that villain shoot you" she whimpered, barely able to keep what little composure she had had left.

She then felt something wrap itself around her and went stiff as a board as she realized Izuku was hugging her. She had never really experience something like this; she could barely remember the last time she had ever been hugged by anyone who wasn't one of her siblings. So to have Izuku who honestly she had just met, only have less than a day of conversation with give her this comfort, it was shocking though not unwanted as she slowly reciprocated, bringing up her hands and pressing herself against him.

"I'm sorry to; and I don't blame you" he said, turning his head to look at Mineta "Either of you"

"I don't blame you for not coming, it's not like I had any real plan once I got there. Everything that happened was basically pure luck" he admitted honestly as he slowly released the hug, both children somewhat reluctant in doing so.

"Besides, it all worked out in the end. We got to train our quirks and even got to test them out against real villains" he said, half smiling.

Tsu could only stare at him in complete bewilderment. "You are insane" Tsuyu said, his smiling beginning to infect her as well.

"You get used to it" Mineta said, smiling too.

And as the trio relaxed and spirits lightened somewhat none realized the shadowy figure watching them from afar, their cold blue eyes watching them like a predator.

"Good Midoriya, barely a week in and you're already experimenting with your powers. But you're not even close to ready for what is to come. So you better keep going or else I'll have to give you some proper incentive".