Izuku's lungs burned as he ran through the streets of Mustafu, shouting towards the man he was chasing.

In an ideal world this foot pursuit would only last enough to slightly wind him, maybe add suspense to the viewer. In an ideal world he would have a quirk that allowed him to move at great speeds or shoot out a whip-like thing to apprehend them.

But this was his reality and for 20% of the world's. For he was born into a world where those who had some kind of power were commonplace yet he was one of the unlucky few to be born without.

But what he lacked in super powers he made up with in tenacity. Just as the man tried to lose him on a bend, he didn't see his pursuer cut across and only noticed when the greenete was inches from his face midair and they both fell to the floor.

Click.

"You're under arrest for theft, destruction of property and resisting arrest .

The cuffs secure, the young Detective breathed a sigh of relief now that it was over. A few of the nearby civilians gave a small bit of applause, some even had their phones out recording, not that he minded but it was something he had to get used to.

Unfortunately the respite caused his guard to lower as he didn't hear or sense (which he was sure was some Detective superstition) another break from the crowd and took a swing at him.

The punch connected, sending a still crouching Detective into the nearby wall hard.

"Come on, let's go" shouted the second, lifting the first to his feet.

He nearly made it away, nearly.

Whip, crash.

From within the crowd an elongated tongue whipped out grabbing both by their legs tripping them.

"Dammit!" Cried the second pulling what izuku was sure was a blade but his fall made his vision a little too fuzzy to see.

The man tried to stab the blade down but like a puppet having its strings cut he crumpled to the floor.

'A long tongue and a paralysis quirk, that means' he tilted his head upwards spotting the pro heroes dressed in civilian Attire.

"Froppy and Basilisk" the pair turned at their names being called but it was quickly drowned out by the applause and exclamations of the crowd who seemed to have doubled at the prospect of meeting two of the up and coming heroes.

A further pair of officers appeared picking up his two suspects and taking them to a nearby patrol car.

Good work Detective". Another officer appeared but this one was older than the other two approached him and gave him a hand up before zeroing in on the increasingly visible bruise forming on his face. "You should get that checked out, can't have our resident puppy looking all battered can we".

"I'll have it checked by gran later" he answered, recoiling a bit when his own hand brushed the bruised area. "I still have to do the paperwork on these two before then".

"Good to see your heads still in the game, but don't go and burn yourself out. You've just been on a four day stakeout haven't you".

"Crime doesn't wait because we're tired". Izuku sighed wearily as he set about returning to his vehicle. 'This is going to be a long day'.

And it was late in the evening that izuku finally returned home, a bag of frozen peas held against his cheek. The lights were on not that he was surprised as he spotted his "gran".

"Does the phrase 'look before you leap' not mean anything to you young man" came the inevitable accosting he'd been expecting all day.

"Not my fault, I looked, I leaped, I successfully arrested the suspect. I wasn't expecting someone with a grudge against the police to just burst out while I was arresting someone" he answered, walking over to her and knelt down so she could properly inspect the damage. He'd already checked with a paramedic who had stopped by the station and been cleared to continue for the remaining shift.

The healing of the injury he would leave to this woman, the semi-retired pro hero - Recovery Girl.

"Whether you're a hero or Detective you need to keep your awareness up. I've had to fix up a number of heroes who were too lax and didn't see an ambush or just got reckless. I already deal with plenty of knuckleheads on a daily basis, I don't need you becoming like that, don't follow your father's example".

"Yeah, yeah. I get it" he conceded as the heroine pressed a kiss to his temple and he felt his energy drain further but the pain to the side of his face lessened considerably.

"Don't you 'yeah, yeah' me, sunshine. I've taught you better than to treat injuries lightly".

"Right, sorry". She always knew how to make him feel like a little kid getting told off.

"Now that discipline has been dealt out, I'll take my leave". She said jumping up from her seated position grabbing her syringe shaped cane before reaching the door and turning to him.

"Also, your father's work is running late so he says not to wait up for him. Good night, Izuku".

"Night Gran, see you tomorrow"

"You better hope not, or I'll give you a real lesson in healing" she grumbled as she left the residence, leaving izuku to shiver as a chill ran down his spine.

"Maybe I should stop tempting fate".

A few hours later he could hear the front door open as he sat in his office. Playing on the monitor was a video recording on one of the social media sites. On it was a shaky recording of Izuku making his arrest only to get smacked in the face. There were already a few renditions trending, often inserting sound effects when getting struck. The fact that he already had gotten a couple hundred thousand views flattered him somewhat if not for the reminder that it was essentially him getting his ass kicked.

Closing the browser he turned to the office door for the inevitable cheesy entrance of his father.

I...AM..."

'Here we go'

"Coming through the door like a normal person"

"Hey dad, busy day?"

"Immensely, ahh" before his eyes the number one hero deflated into the form of Toshinori Yagi, his adoptive father.

"Gee, I really wasn't expecting the amount of attendees today, especially when it was short notice short notice"

"Fans used to come from across the world to attend your events in your prime, even now you still have thousands of fan sites about you now that you're semi-retired. Plus that stunt of yours this morning got the feeds buzzing more than usual".

"Ah well that wasn't planned, it just sort of happened in the moment.

"So the fact that the reporters just happened to be your favourite had no influence on your desire to impulsively kiss her on live television".

"Ah, well...i-i.."

"Don't worry dad, I'm only teasing. While you dashed off before you could see it, she certainly seemed to enjoy it".

"Really?"

All izuku responded with was a raised eyebrow at his fathers antics.

"Fine, I get it. So how was your day?"

"Well you're not the only one to rise to stardom today"

"Really, did you take a page from my book"

"No, if anything the opposite. I had a little blunder at work and someone managed to catch it all on video. Though I think the grilling out I got from gran was worse than the punch"

"be thankful she doesn't get Torino in on that, or Nezu" the tabooed name of the UA principal sent a cold shiver down each spine in unison.

"I wouldn't let it trouble you son, getting into fights is what heroes do, even if they don't expect it".

"But I'm not a hero"

"Tell that to young Hina, doesn't she still send you cards every now and then".

Hina Yuki was a young girl who'd been abducted a few years ago, right in the middle of a shopping mall. It was one of hisnfirst cases as a Detective. He called it luck that he'd found her phone that had been shrunk along with the girl by a serial abductor who had a quirk that shrunk anything he touched. The girl who he'd later learn during her last moment of consciousness clipped a photo of her attacker and left her phone behind without her attacker noticing.

As soon as izuku had found it he'd taken it to one of his few friends in the support industry and managed to obtain the evidence and within hours of the abduction the perpetrator was identified and they came knocking at his door minutes later.

"She left us the bread crumbs, I just was lucky enough to find the trail".

"Still sounds like the work of a hero to me, are you saying hound dog and Earphone Jack aren't heroes because they only lead themselves or others to those in peril?"

He had him there, but it was something he couldn't stop himself from thinking. Or rather something inside him refused vehemently to accept the title or rather label. Years ago he would have jumped at the chance for it, but now no matter the cases he solved or the people he would keep safe, something in his mind refused to be called a hero, despite his yearning for it.

"Don't stay up too late, you'll be wanting to rest up after your last few shifts. Just, take some advice from me and just take the day you have off tomorrow to relax, to not think about work. Can you do that for me Izuku?"

He only ever used his name like that when he was serious about something.

"Sure" he answered not really knowing if it was a lie or not.

"Good" he said as the seriousness melted from his face as he ruffled his son's hair. "Now I need to get my own sleep, good night"

"Night dad" Izuku called to the deflated hero.

As he shut off the screen ending his last check at the repeat of his blunder he got up and went to his room shedding the extra layers leaving him in his pyjamas crashing into the bed. He turned his head seeing one of the few permanent features of his room.

He wasn't sure about normal people but most typically didn't have a murder board (not that he ever called it that out loud) covering almost the entirety of one wall.

Ever since he'd moved in with Toshi he'd been picking up any and every newspaper clipping or news bulletin with regards to a murder he'd been desperate to solve.

One clipping always caught his attention, on it was a short but brief story with two pictures attached of a woman and a young boy.

"Young mother brutally murdered leaving behind young teen.

Six years ago he'd felt like his dreams had died, only to return home and find that his world had died instead.

That night

His dream that night was one more based on memory. Of a night where he'd been residing with his new guardian for a few months at that point.

Even in his dream he still felt the new environment was alien to him.

The summer break had just started and izuku had just begun to move on with his new existence.

His mother was dead, he understood and accepted that.

He had moved schools, that had been something but because of the near despondent state he'd been in at the time he was unable to make any new friends.

Then there was actually being cared for by a hero which he found out was rather lonely and explained why a lot of heroes chose to retire or take less active roles when starting a family.

But something had been nagging at him ever since that day, about the offer he didn't know if it was still viable.

Young Midoriya" a voice called to him as he carried out completing his summer homework. "I think it's time we have a talk", the hero announced, taking his own seat at the kitchen table coated in worksheets.

"A month ago I made you the offer to receive my quirk, but after what happened, I put it on hold wanting to make sure you were okay and had time to grieve. But after your recent improvement I thought it time to bring it up again. Will you inherit One For All and become the next Symbol of peace, Young Midoriya.

For a moment a small flame of hope came back to life inside him, but just as quickly it was snuffed out. He was sure he wasn't meant to hear this detail but the ones responsible for his mother's death was a strength quirk before it was desecrated further by someone with knives or a bladed quirk.

"No"

Next time - Fighting Like Rabbits

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