It's been three weeks, and Izuku has finally run out of tears. The man who took him is unsympathetic, and is barely around anyway. When he leaves, he makes sure that Izuku's room is locked from the outside. The windows are bricked over and the room is bare aside from his blanket and sleeping roll, probably to stop him from finding any way to get out. That doesn't stop him from trying, though.

Stendhal comes back to find the broken handle of the plastic spoon Izuku had been given with his lunch jammed into the doorframe, like he had been trying to lever it open. The boy himself is asleep, curled up on the floor nearby with his blanket draped around his shoulders. The tray is held loosely in his hand, like he had been planning an ambush. The sight makes the man smile.

He toes at the boy, heavy boot nudging him awake. Izuku startles, jerking up and staring at Stendhal with sleepy eyes for a second. Then, those eyes go wide and alert. He scrabbles for the tray, fingers wrapping around the edge with a white-knuckled grip. Before he can swing, Stendhal grabs his arm and wrenches the tray from his hands with ease.

Izuku stares at the fingers encircling his arm. He's trembling, but there is steel in his spine. Stendhal smiles, wide and unsettling, and throws the tray. Izuku flinches at the sound it makes as it hits the brick wall, trying in vain to pull his arm from the man's strong grip. The almost healed burn on his shoulder stings as he looks his captor in the face, and though his eyes sting, the tears don't fall.

"Why?" he asks. It is not the first time. He's stopped expecting an answer at this point, so he is shocked when the man speaks, expression becoming grave.

"You have the potential to become a true hero," Stendhal tells him. From anyone else, the words would have thrilled Izuku beyond belief. Now, they just confuse him.

"Wh-what?"

"You can become the kind of hero that the world needs. You have the heart and the compassion for it, but this world will squander your gifts. You need guidance, Midoriya Izuku." Stendhal grins, tongue lolling out for a second, too big for his mouth. Izuku shudders, but can't seem to tear his gaze away.

"I thought you were a h-hero," he whispers, breath hitching as he stumbles over his words. "You said you w-were, but you l-l-lied."

"I didn't lie," Stendhal says, shaking his head. His grip on Izuku's arm loosens, and Izuku pulls away, clutching it close to his chest. He scrambles backwards until his back hits the wall, never taking his eyes off of Stendhal.

"Heroes don't do this!" Izuku spits, still shaking, still terrified, but angry enough that there's a sharp edge to his words despite his fear. He has been ignored for so long, left alone in the quiet and the emptiness of his cell, that he can't seem to stop himself from babbling now that there is someone around to listen.

"You're not a real h-hero. They don't trick kids and steal them! Heroes don't lie and hurt and keep people in cages! You took me away from my mama, but if you were a real hero you would take me back! I want to go back. I want...I want to go home…."

"Why would you want to go back?" the man asks. "I saw how you were treated."

Izuku flinches, burn scars aching at the reminder. "That's nothing," he defends, voice pitched higher than normal. He is loud, and angry in a way that he hasn't been able to maintain for the past few weeks while his kidnapper was ignoring him. "My friends don't have anything to do with it. I want to go home!"

"They have everything to do with it!" Stendhal roars back. Izuku gapes at him, stunned into silence. Stendhal has done bad and scary things, but he has never raised his voice at Izuku before. "Those people you call friends will drag you down and beat all the good from you! If they have their way, you will never become anything more than another bully or a snivelling coward."

Izuku shakes his head, lips trembling as he tries to find words. He flaps his hands a few times, distressed and searching for some outlet for it. Much to his shame, when he tries to speak, nothing comes out but a soft whine. Stendhal's eyes soften.

"Don't you see?" the man asks, his voice low and gentle. It's like he's trying to make up for his outburst by being overly gentle. He takes a step closer and kneels, looking Izuku in the eye. "I know all too well what can happen to the kind people in this world. You could be great, but in order for that to happen, you cannot be left to the mercies of those that would tear you down. This was all I could think of to save you from that fate."

Izuku stares, wide eyed and trembling all over. He finds, looking into his captor's sad eyes, that he has more tears to shed after all.

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! as usual I have no idea what I'm doing here, so if there's anything you want to see please for the love of all things holy tell me so i can write something.

Edited 12/12/2020 to update appearances.