Happy Holidays, ZoomieZoomie
Under the impatient gaze of the store clerk, Inko wrangled her six year old son as she worriedly recalculated how much she was spending. Ever since Hisashi left, there hadn't been enough money to make ends meet. Her minimal savings kept dwindling away, month after month, and she couldn't take on any additional hours when Izuku had to be picked up from school everyday. Somehow, she was going to make this work, even if her heart was breaking in two.
With a soft sigh, she put the cookies Izuku grabbed back on the shelf. How was she supposed to explain to him that the life they once lived was no more? Maybe she should move, but she wanted Izuku to have some level of stability. His friend, Katsuki, lived so close by. it would be cruel to tear him away from that. And the cheap parts of the city were always so sketchy with villain attacks everywhere.
The bell above the door rang as a middle aged man stumbled inside. He furtively glanced over his shoulder before ducking behind the shelf of beans.
Shrugging, Inko finally grabbed her basket and made her way to the cashier. It was still too much, but at least Izuku would have enough to eat this week. If she skipped a meal or two, she could stretch it out a little bit longer. With a fond smile, she looked down at her son who was swaying on his feet from fatigue.
The door exploded.
"Freeze, villain!" shouted the orange masked man.
"Mom!" Izuku tugged on her sleeve, suddenly bright alert. "That's Dancing Bull! He's a new hero. I saw him on the news last week."
She marveled at her son's ability to keep his calm. She was petrified, mind flashing back to the sketchy man who had entered a few minutes prior. What if he turned violent? She couldn't have her son in the middle of a villain fight!
"He can summon little bulls," Izuku said helpfully. "His quirk is cool, Mom. He's going to be a great hero. Once he gets going, no one can stop him. He's not as strong as All Might. He's the strongest of course."
At the moment, a name and quirk having to do with bulls, did nothing to reassure Inko that they would be safe. Crashing through the wall like that didn't strike her as particularly heroic either.
A child sized translucent bull materialized next to the hero, angrily pawing the ground. its eyes burned red, and Inko hurriedly turned to the cashier, shoving her items at him. "Please."
He was frozen, his gaze fixated on the gaping hole in the storefront wall.
A flash of silver glittered through the air, and the bull charged, miraculously turning on a dime and weaving through the aisles.
She let out a sigh of relief. He had some control. Despite his name, he wasn't the literal manifestation of a bull in a china shop.
"Right," the store clerk mumbled. He began to anxiously scan her items, and she said nothing about the machine failing to register a few items.
A high pitched screen drowned out the quiet ambient music, and she instinctively swirled around, hands up and ready to use her quirk.
"Mom?"
She winced as the scream grew only louder and hurriedly covered Izuku's ears. Maybe, the man wasn't incompetent in a fight, but anyone who caused such screams was no hero.
Her son trembled next to her, and she wished she could protect him. Believing in the goodness of heroes was appropriate for children. They were still better than villains, but...
"Is the hero okay?" Izuku asked, ripping his head away from her hands.
Tears erupted from her eyes. Her boy was so innocent. How could she possibly explain?
"We have to help!"
She snatched his arm, pulling him violently back before he could foolishly rush off into danger. They had this talk before. Children, honestly all civilians, were supposed to run away from villain fights, not towards them.
"Do you need a bag?" the cashier asked.
The moment of inattention was enough. Her son slipped away from her grasp, her fingers skimming over his shirt, and he darted off towards the wretched screams.
She raced after him.
The screams fell quiet, and her lungs burned as she forced herself to run even faster. How could such short legs be so fast?
"Stop that," she heard her son say.
"A child?"
She turned around the corner, her quirk tense, like a wire stretched to its maximum. Her son stared up at the hero, tears streaming down his face as the villain weakly coughed from his pool of blood. Her quirk latched onto his shirt, and she pulled her son behind her with a strength she hadn't known was in her.
"Get away from my son," she hissed.
The masked man sneered, and she flinched as a red translucent bull rose from the bloody puddle. It licked its lip as it hungrily stared at her.
"Are you interfering with official hero business?" he asked coldly.
Izuku hugged her leg tightly. "Heroes help people!" He took a deep breath. "You're not a hero; you're a villain!"
The man's snarl was her only warning. The black bull plowed into her, vicious teeth biting into her flesh. Her ears rang, but she still heard her son scream.
Another force slammed into her. A can of beans rolled past her on the ground. Fuck. She had forgotten to buy beans. Izuku—
Izuku. She needed to protect him. To help him.
A massive weight pinned her down to the ground. She stared up at the ceiling, at the endless glimmers of silver dancing above the ceiling. Her quirk, bruised and tender, protested as she called upon it.
Izuku was crying. He was screaming.
Nothing mattered anymore. She wasn't supposed to use her quirk in public. Her son was in danger. She shouldn't interfere with a hero. He was hurting her son! She should wait and file a complaint afterwards. Their lives were in danger now.
But what could she do? Her quirk was of no use for this. It could only move small objects.
An eye, a dark voice whispered to her.
She pushed it back. No, there had to be another way.
She flew into the other shelf. She seized the flashes of silver. They were threads. Her quirk spread her awareness along the strings, showing her what was at each end. A so-called hero and his bulls. Puppet strings.
She laughed.
She pulled.
An unfamiliar scream joined the chaos. She didn't let go. She seized the strings, pulling them into a tight clump in her hand. She would never let go. Not until Izuku was in her arms, and they were far away from here, safe at home.
Strength returned to her limbs slowly, Burning pain swallowed her conscience, sapping away at her will.
But still, she held on. She would die before she gave that villain another chance to harm her child.
"Mom?" His voice was so painfully small. "There's blood. Mom? Are you hurt?"
She opened her eyes. Words were too painful. She stared at her little boy. His green hair was caked with blood. His nose lay crooked. A jagged bone protruded from his upper arm.
"I'm here, Zuku," she whispered. There would be time to care for their injuries later, but for now, she had to get up. They had to get out of here.
Her quirk futilely brushed over her son. The strain on it from holding the mass of strings was becoming unbearable.
"Ma'am," an unfamiliar voice interrupted. His voice was soothing, and she smiled. Gentle hands wrapped around her torso, pulling her awkwardly up into the air. "Keep doing whatever you're doing. Kid. Grab those painkillers. No. Not that. The blue one. That shit doesn't work. I need you to be brave. We need to help your mom."
They stumble out of the store. The dust in the door had yet to settle. She felt like a lifetime had passed inside.
Somewhere, sirens blared. She lost consciousness.
Inko woke with a yell in the middle of the night. The world felt strangely distant, disconnected. The room was unfamiliar. She was lying on the couch. Her limbs were wrapped in bandages.
She called on her quirk and found only agony.
"Good, you're awake," a man said. He lumbered through the room, turning on a soft lamp. "Your kid is asleep in the armchair. He didn't want to let you out of his sight."
She stared at Izuku's arm. Details were coming back slowly. "He's not injured?"
"I healed him," the man said. He pressed a bowl of soup against her lips. "Drink. You had an ordeal."
She took a gentle sip, noting in confusion that he seemed remarkably uninjured, except for his left arm which was in a sling.
"Where am I?"
"My apartment." He sat down on the floor. "I would say it was closer... But the police doesn't know where I live."
"The police?"
His smile was grim. "How much do you remember?"
Not enough. Far too much. So much pain. So much fear.
She took a deep breath. "You healed my son? You were injured too."
"It's my quirk," he answered. "I can take injuries. Healers are always valuable, but..." He shrugged, taking the empty bowl from her hands. "There is not much use for a healer who destroys their own body helping others."
Ink's eyes wandered to her son, his healthy arm, and then the man's arm. "But you were injured too... You do not just take injuries."
"You are too sharp." He stood. "Look, can you just keep this quiet? Things are complicated enough, and i help people-"
"Who did you give your injuries too?" she demanded fiercely, propping herself up on her elbows.
He considered her for a moment. "Half to the hero, half to the clerk. You shouldn't worry about him. The HPSC will ensure he gets the best medical care for being caught in a B Rank Villain attack. He'll probably be healthier than before"
Was the man before her that dangerous? Would he let them go, especially now that she knew more about his quirk than she should?
"Your quirk is terrifying," he said.
She stared.
"Anyway, just rest up for a few days. I have work at my unsanctioned clinic. It's all consensual, I assure you, but I can't have a medical license if I give injuries. Even if people ask for them." Grumbling, he turned away. "There is food in the fridge. I might have slipped your son some allergy medication to help him sleep. He'll wake up on his own soon enough. The TV is over there. Cable and all the good rot. It should help calm him down if need be. Anything else?" He pulled on his coat. "I'm not saying you have to be here, but it would be safer. There are disguises in the closet."
For a B Rank Villain he was very courteous. Not trusting his perplexing generosity, she spent the morning slowly inspecting for traps or clues. Besides way too many disguises in the closet, everything seemed innocuous. But what did she know? She wasn't a professional villain.
When Izuku woke up, she assured him everything was fine and that they were simply staying at a friend's house because it was closer.
"You're a hero," Izuku stated as she finished his overly sugary cereal. She didn't know what was wrong with these corporations. Children needed real food to grow. It was also far too cheerful for a villain. "You saved me."
"That's nice, sweetie," she said. Where was her phone? How had she not thought of that before?
"That hero was a villain."
"Yes, he wasn't a very nice man." She found the TV remote. At least her son was rather calm about everything, a stark contrast to herself. She was one wrong step from a full blown panic attack. "Go watch something. I think... I think I need a nap."
"Yoshiro-san did say you would need a lot of sleep. Your quirk was amazing! But it must be really tiring."
She nodded absently. What had she done with her quirk? All she did was hold the strings.
"Mom?" Izuku asked, breaking her doze. "Are we the bad guys, now?"
"No, of course not. We protected ourselves. We didn't hurt anyone."
"The bad hero was hurt though."
"He attacked us first," she said weakly. Oh, they were fucked. What were they going to do? She couldn't raise a son while on the run? What court would side with a broke single mother over a hero? "I don't think we're going home soon, Zuku."
"I know. We need a Villains Lair."
She jerked upright. "What?"
"A Villains Lair. All B Rank Villains have them," he said seriously. "And don't worry, Mom. You'll be the best villain. Like a...''His eyes widened. "Like a vigilante!"
Finally, her gaze drifted to the TV.
Gruesome Attack at Local Superstore
Suspect: Inko Midoriya, B Rank Villain
