Izuku was pretty sure he knew what a dog was.
They were typically domesticated mammals, members of the canid family who were scientifically named Canis Familiaris.
They were quadrupedal carnivores who typically lived among society as household pets and were closely related to the Grey Wolf.
That was what Izuku knew.
Izuku was also pretty sure that he knew what a human was.
They were bipedal omnivorous mammals, often separated from other mammals of the type due to their ability to reason and use tools.
Izuku was rather familiar with humans, having been one for his entire life.
So it could be said that he could say with almost complete certainty, that the 'hunting dogs' that were digging into the snacks and alcohol that he and Namimaru had sat on the table- were, in fact, quite human.
"Oi, Namimaru-sam! You're late today, what's the big deal?"
That came from a gruff, tall, middle-aged man with red hair and a beard. Izuku guessed he must've been in his early-to-mid fifties.
He hadn't even bothered with the snacks, instead cracking open one of the many cans of beer and gulping down its contents like water.
"Whaddya mean 'late', Takami? I never said I'd be here."
Izuku didn't know if Takami intended to respond to Namimaru, but the person who spoke up next was a younger guy- maybe mid twenties or a bit older- with dark curly hair and bangs that covered one of his eyes.
On both of his cheeks, Izuku could see a smattering of freckles amidst the dusting of crumbs from the Anpan he'd snacked on.
"Well, to be fair, you are here a bit later than you usually are Namimaru-san."
Namimaru sighed, it was the most exasperated Izuku had heard the man sound all day.
"Don't take up for his bull, Jack. It enables him."
"Hehe, sorry?"
He sure didn't sound sorry.
While the discussion between those three took place, Izuku eyed the final occupant in the room, a man with short grey hair.
He was older than Jack, but definitely younger than Takami.
He hadn't touched anything in the bags.
As a matter of fact, he hadn't moved from his spot in the corner of the room or even said a word since the suited pair walked in.
Jack was the one who tossed the quiet man a cheesestick, which was caught and devoured wordlessly.
These were not dogs.
These were humans.
I gotta get outta here.
It was his first thought.
Retreat.
Leave the situation that was making him uncomfortable, posthaste.
"Why leave? I'm interested in this system."
Shut up.
He was two seconds away from walking out and making his own way home when Namimaru spoke up again.
"Alright dogs, you got your treats. So what's the word out there? What've you seen?"
The guard dogs were all inmates.
Due to Public Safety's being an arm of government security that specialized in Devil Hunting, they had access to things that other organizations didn't.
One such thing was inmates in prisons of varying security levels.
"Don't worry about turning tail or attacking you. If they tried… well, let's just say that they won't and leave it at that, yeah?"
As Izuku sat quietly in the passenger seat of the kei car, those words rolled around his head like marbles.
"So, that was your first day."
"...Mm."
He didn't have any words.
Didn't wanna open his mouth.
He didn't like it.
Didn't like it at all.
He just wanted to go home.
The sun was going down, the sky dyed a vibrant red, the kind that you'd inside of a grapefruit.
Izuku could feel a sour taste in his mouth, like he'd bitten into a grapefruit's pith.
If he opened his mouth, he felt like he'd puke.
Namimaru, as he kept his eyes on the road, kept the conversation going on his end.
"You'll take the weekend off. Special as the circumstances are, it's still a job, and we're no black company. That said, in the future, if you wanna patrol on weekends, you'll have to talk with Devil Hunters in your sector. The rotating schedule's for your mental health more than anything."
His mental health?
The best thing for his mental health would be to lock himself in his house and crawl under his bed with whatever monster was surely living there, knowing his luck.
Two words.
Two words was all he needed to say.
The nightmare wouldn't end, but his part would be considerably lessened.
He turned his head to the man in the driver's seat.
His mouth opened and he could feel the words form on his tongue.
I qui-
The feel of the water as it beat against his face was almost comforting.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
"AGHHHH!"
The pain in his throat and knuckles as he screamed internally and beat his fists against the shower wall was decidedly not.
He couldn't say it.
The words were there, he knew what he wanted to say, but when he opened his mouth he just couldn't say anything.
"Well, I'll see you on Monday. Call if there's any questions you have that I didn't answer."
"…Mhm."
AGGGGHHH!
He wanted to quit.
Wanted to get the hell away from the dystopian nightmare that Public Safety had slowly revealed itself as.
"Where's your spirit from several days ago?"
The Execution Devil was in the shower with him, staring him down.
"Fuck off."
He didn't curse often, but the devil just seemed to bring it out of him.
"Are you going to give up on your resolve?"
"I'll find another way to get the money. I regret getting involved with this."
"Regrets are wasted on me."
Right, Devil.
"You need money, do you not? To save that woman's life."
"…"
The Execution Devil was in his face.
"Tell me, will you abandon that woman? You, who wishes to be the 'hero who saves everyone with a smile'- how might you achieve such a lofty goal when you're unable to save the one person in front of yo-"
SLAM!
"Leave. Me. Alone."
The devil with his face shot him another look of disdain, but was soon out of his sight.
Izuku squatted down and hugged his knees.
He was in hell.
What was he even doing?
His life wasn't anything special, but it wasn't like he had to worry about literal devils from actual Hell on his way to and from school or the store or even just on a walk in the neighborhood.
He didn't have to worry about the government essentially enslaving people for the sake of fighting the literal devils from actual Hell.
It was against his morals.
Fuck, what even were his morals?
He died, made a deal with a devil, killed the devil that killed him, killed another devil the next day-
Wait…
"I-I killed…"
He hadn't thought about it much when it happened, but he had killed two living beings.
Yes, they were devils, and yes, they had tried to kill him but even so, when people killed something, they thought about it.
Right?
They didn't just go on with life like nothing had happened.
They didn't just move on and hide bloodstained clothes and just go to school until summer vacation started.
Right?
He shut his eyes, taking in a deep shuddering breath.
Moments later, the sound of sobbing could be heard under the sound of the shower.
Two hours later, Izuku Midoriya turned fourteen.
BEEEEP!
"{Hey Inko, it's me. It's probably pretty early there, but I won't be able to call later. Did you get that money I sent? There's a little extra in it, cuz it's Izuku's birthday, so feel free to do something nice with him. Um, I'd like to wish him 'Happy Birthday', myself, but it's summer vacation so he's probably sleeping in. Um, I guess that's all I have to say. Later.}"
BEEEEP!
"{Message received at 5:14 A.M.}"
The park was nice in the summer.
It warmed up slightly in the morning, while the sun rose past the trees and buildings.
It was nice.
It made him feel nice.
As the sun settled, it warmed up more, until the heat started rising off of the pavement.
It was uncomfortable until he got used to it.
In the early morning, the people who showed up were mostly joggers.
Closer to the middle of the morning, it was people walking their dogs.
When noon rolled around, that was when the families arrived, picnicking or just enjoying each other's company.
It made Izuku feel somewhat lonely, sitting by himself on a bench.
He had wandered out of the house at sometime around 4 A.M.
He'd gotten maybe thirty minutes of sleep and probably looked like a zombie to any random passersby.
It wasn't a great look for him.
He didn't know if he cared though.
The Execution Devil wasn't talking to him.
Probably for the best, he didn't want to talk to it either.
He considered going to visit his mother, she hadn't woken up since she collapsed on Tuesday.
He decided against it after thinking about it.
He didn't want to see her like that.
He didn't want to see her as he was either.
He had talked a big game in the hospital, but in the end, he faltered on the first of training.
He was so half-assed.
It was just a spiral of melancholy for him.
He'd beat himself up and then tear himself down over and over and over.
The dark spot on an otherwise sunny day.
It was no wonder that all the park-goers steered clear of him.
All but-
"Excuse me."
-a girl about his age, with a rounded face and thorn-covered vines for hair.
All of a sudden, he wished that he had gotten more sleep.
The girl looked familiar and he looked like hot trash.
Did he even brush his teeth?
He didn't remember.
"Are you alright?"
Huh?
His eyes shifted to the side.
No one there.
He met her eyes.
There was a visible concern in her eyes.
Oh, it's me.
"Oh, um, I'm alright."
He wasn't, but that was what people said when they were asked if they were alright.
Vine Girl shifted in place slightly, adjusting the tote bag hanging off of her shoulder.
"Well, is it alright if I sit here?"
"Well uh, it's a bench."
Why did I say that?
It's a bench?
Of course it was a freaking bench, they were in a park and he was sitting on it.
Why couldn't he just say 'yes'?
Stupid stupid stupid.
"Would you like some water?"
Vine Girl had already sat on the other end of the bench and was holding out a plastic water bottle.
"I believe you need this more than I do."
Oh, it's that girl!
The one who had given him water after he puked.
And she was… offering him water again?
Could he take it?
It would be rude if he didn't, right?
But would it be right to take from her again?
"Um, s-sure."
He needed to stop stuttering, to be more coherent.
But he could count the number of girls that he had spoken to in his young life on one hand and still have four fingers left over.
Was he sweating because of the heat or were his glands just busted?
"Here you are."
"Ah, thank you."
He accepted the proffered bottle as graciously as he could with his sweaty palms.
After that, silence.
The cicadas chirped and he heard kids laughing and playing nearby, but from the two on the bench, there was naught but silence.
Should I… leave?
That would be rude, no?
He couldn't do that.
As awkward as he felt, he didn't want to be rude to a girl who had been kind to him twice.
Even so, he wasn't a conversationalist.
Maybe he should've made more friends…
"So, you wouldn't happen to be feeling sick again would you?"
The one to break the silence was Vine Girl.
Izuku looked at her.
She was looking at him.
Rather intently, actually.
"Um, n-no?"
Geez, he probably looked really bad if she thought that he was sick.
How embarrassing.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to assume. I just remember that you look a lot like you did at the station before, so…"
"It's really fi…"
Wait, huh?
The station?
This was a park not too far from his home, he didn't take a train or even enter a train station.
So that could only mean-
"You… remember me?"
The girl seemed surprised by the question, but still offered him a smile.
Izuku felt his face heat even further, it was only getting warmer by the minute, wasn't it?
"I do, though I haven't introduced myself. I'm Ibara Shiozaki. It's nice to meet you… again, I suppose."