Earlier in the day
Typically, birthdays are wonderful days of celebration, joy and laughter. Family and friends coming together to celebrate the birth of whoever is near and dear to them. However, this is not the case for Izumi Yagi. Due to her twin brother's disappearance and the emergence of the so-called "Green Devil", her parents were too busy doing hero work or work with the police.
"That's why we're gonna take down that vigilante bastard!" Katsuki said, igniting his palms. Despite being an egocentric narcissist, he is surprisingly clever. Based on the places of the most recent strikings the vigilante has had, he deduced that the Green Devil has been moving toward an area close to them. Instead of going to the police with this hunch, the two of them decided it would be better if they handled an outlaw without any certification.
"This guy was first seen around here when Izuku disappeared. He might know something about where he is! We'll make him talk!" Izumi said. "Plus, this'll be our big debut, catching a vigilante the heroes and police couldn't!" Katsuki said.
Present
And that's how the three of them found themselves in a dark alley. Izumi and Bakugo were facing the Green Devil, ready to beat him into submission. Izuku, on the other hand, felt his emotions rising higher, but he kept his heart in check. His mouth was still being covered by his hand so he wouldn't be recognized. "No more running, ya bastard!" Katsuki yelled with sparks coming out of his palms. "You're gonna wish the pros arrested you when we're done!" Izumi spoke up. "Tell us what you did to my brother!"
Izuku didn't know whether to feel angry or touched. On the one hand, Izumi seemed to be blaming the vigilante for what happened to him, not taking any responsibility for her actions. And Bakugo seemed to be prioritizing personal glory over doing what was actually right. But on the other, she seemed truly concerned about her brother. Izuku closed his eyes and slowly lowered his hand from his mouth. Suddenly, green flames emerged from his mouth and created a scarf of sorts that covered from his nose to his collarbone. Two ends flowed behind him. He opened his eyes and they glowed with his quirk, too. The hair covering his forehead rose due to the literal fire in his eyes.
He masked his voice, making it slightly deeper and rough. "What are you doing here?" A simple question. Izumi and Bakugo momentarily froze at the familiarity of his voice. And the flames surrounding his mouth... "Leave." the Devil spoke again, attaching his respirator to his hip. He shifted his position and let them see the four unconscious men lit by cold flames.
Despite his triumph, Katsuki still held his victory hungry smile. "We're not like the street trash you like to hang out with!" He lunged at the Green Devil with his right arm cocked back. Izumi was behind and threw small objects to back the blonde up. 'So obvious...' Izuku internally sighed. He effortlessly dodged the incoming projectiles, and blocked Katsuki's right hook with his forearm coated in protective fire. "Is this how you thank someone for saving your life?" The moment he made contact, Bakugo froze.
"This is your only warning: Stay away from me."
Bakugo was pulled back by Izumi, clutching his chest. 'What the fuck!? How am I afraid of this guy!? Damn his quirk!' "Kacchan, are you okay!?" Izumi asked as the boy stood up shakily, his grin wobbly and forced. "Yeah... It'll take more than mind games to stop me!" Izuku's squinted his eyes. 'So you say, but you're clearly rattled. That pride of yours won't let you think rationally. You'll come charging at me again without a plan and wind up a trembling mess.'
As he finished his internal monologue, Izumi flew up into the air. "Bastard!!" she yelled as she came down with fist. Izuku crossed his arms above his head to block. He hardly felt an impact on his arms, but there was enough force to make him kneel and kick up dust around them. 'She used telekinesis to increase the strength of her punch, but it's only increasing the knockback instead of the damage.' "You need more training." He mocked her.
"You need to shut the fuck up!" Katsuki yelled, charging at the devil with a sparking hand. Izuku grabbed Izumi's arm and threw her into Katsuki. The two of them crashed into a wall with a strong thud. "Are we done here?" Izuku asked in a condescending voice. The brats looked at him with angry eyes. "If so, then leave. Go back to your families before they get worried." Izumi's eyes widened when he said that. All she could think about was her twin brother. It made her clench her teeth in anger.
"Damn you!!" She jumped off of Bakugo and tried swinging another fist. Izuku sidestepped and pushed her to the ground. "We're not done!" Katsuki yelled from behind. Izuku merely tilted his head to the side, avoiding a point-blank explosion. "Predictable." he uttered coldly. He grabbed Bakugo's arm and threw him over his shoulder. The explosive teen was left in shock at how easily he could read his attacks. He and Izumi were on the ground, shaking and unable to see a way to victory. The Green Devil is fast, has good defense and can instill fear like it's nothing.
"Izumi..." Bakugo whispered. "Set me up." The green-haired girl nodded. Moving as fast as she could, she lifted the vigilante off the ground. Izuku could have used his flames to fly out of the invisible hold, but he didn't. He couldn't. This feeling of being helplessly suspended in the air made him lock up. It brought back too many awful memories. Like that day... He was so distracted, he didn't notice Bakugo jumping at him.
"You're mine!" He unleashed a powerful blast square on Izuku's chest. The entire alley lit up with an orange burst of light as the boy was sent flying backwards. As he fell with a burning pain on his body, he couldn't stop his heart from beating wildly. It all came back. Those horrid memories of abuse. He landed on his feet in a crouching position, one hand on his smoking chest and another on the ground. He hunched in on himself, breathing heavily. Izumi and Katsuki looked down at him, feeling proud of themselves all over again.
"How'd you like that, you piece of shit!" Katsuki taunted. "That's not all you've got, right!? Come on! Show us what you can do!" Izumi taunted. The smoke coming from Izuku's chest didn't die out. In fact, the smoke was more prominent and beginning to hiss. Getting impatient, Katsuki rocketed at the seemingly despondent opponent with another powerful blast. That was a mistake.
Just as he set off the explosion, Izuku caught his hand in his, their fingers intertwining. The explosion was mostly blocked, with the vigilante's barely feeling the heat. "...You're going to wish you hadn't done that...!" Katsuki was taken aback, but then started crying out in pain. His and was being crushed and... burned!?
Izuku pulled back his hand from his chest, and ignited it in green flames. He unleashed a powerful punch right in Katsuki's stomach! The flames drove his fist forward for a harder hit, and a wave of green fire following it blew him back. He rolled over a bit, spitting up and gasping for air. The damage Izuku dealt left him practically paralyzed. The most noteworthy thing is that Katsuki's shirt had a hole burned through it and burn marks on his gut. 'What the fuck happened to cold flames!? The news said he can't burn anything!'
"What did you do to him!?" Izumi yelled. "Nothing he didn't deserve." he answered coldly. Izumi tried to grab him again, but Izuku reacted quickly enough. He unleashed a wave of condensed fire, thick enough to act as cover. Meaning Izumi's telekinesis would grab the flames instead of him. The moss ball groaned. The heat was rising on an already warm night. The same debilitating effect was there, but weaker. She tried flying up to see where the devil went. He found him hovering above her with flames on his feet.
Before Izumi could react, Izuku pulled back his flaming hand. However, this one was different from the blow he dealt Katsuki. A large hand of green fire grabbed Izumi. She was swallowed by the fire construct and endured scorching heat that left burns all over her body. Izuku used the fist to punch down on Katsuki again with a bright green burst of heat. The two of them were smokey, battered and broken on the ground. Izuku hovered down and looked at their pathetic forms. He began to cool down and the flames were mostly put out.
Katsuki and Izumi shakily sat back up. Izuku sighed. "Why are you here?" he asked again. The two of them still had the will to fight despite the difference in their strength. "Y-You fucking moron... why do you think?" Katsuki groaned. "You're an outlawed bastard who thinks he can do whatever he wants...! We are gonna stop you, cuz it's what heroes do!" Izumi said. Izuku felt his heart begin to burn at the use of that word. "Heroes."
"Firstly, you're far too weak to be able to fight me. Face it, you can't live up to your own hype. Second, you're hypocrites, not heroes. You're doing the exact same thing I'm doing. You don't have the authority to take me down, but you think you can do whatever you want, too. What's will be your excuse when go home bruised and burned?" Izumi and Katsuki didn't answer him, but felt unsure of themselves. What they were doing made them like him. It pissed them off that he was right.
"ARGH!!"
The Green Devil suddenly screamed in pain. A sharp piece of discarded glass had cut a diagonal line from his jawline across right cheek. He covered the wound with his hands as blood seeped into his palm and through his fingers. He had just learned the hard way that his flames were protective against blunt force, but sharp objects could cut through with relative ease. At the entrance of the alley, a womanly figure in a tight supersuit was seen. Katsuki and Izumi looked surprised but not exactly relieved or happy. Izuku had the worst scowl beneath his flaming mouth cover.
"Izumi! Katsuki! Are you two okay!?" Teleki was unintentionally stoking the Green Devil's fire. As usual, he was ignored in favor of the "child prodigies". When Inko saw the burns and bruises on the brats, she looked at the wounded vigilante in great anger. "What did you do to these kids!?" she screamed in anger which paled in comparison to the boy in front of her. "Nothing they didn't bring on themselves!" Teleki was taken aback slightly. "What are you talking about!?" Behind her, Izumi and Bakugo were glaring at Izuku angrily and nervously.
"Why don't you ask the ones who came and attacked me first! The arrogant punks who think they're above the law, cowering behind you!" Inko momentarily glanced back at the two, but refuted the devil's claims. Although, his words were starting to seep through a crack. "That's right, I'm talking to you two! You come at me full of hot air, but the moment you realize I'm not a pushover, you hide behind someone who can backup her words! Well!? What's wrong? Lost your nerve!?"
Izuku knew what he was saying would provoke them. Striking their egos always does it. In the past, he kept his mouth shut. But now, having the opportunity to finally get his true feelings out, it was oddly exhilarating. His temper flared as the emotions he was forced to hold back erupted in waves. And smoke.
"So you admit to being weaklings who need someone else to save them!? Or do you admit you're idiots who are no better than me!?" That was the last straw. Before Inko knew it, Bakugo and Izumi charged at the devil violently.
"SHUT UUUUPP!!" Katsuki shouted. "DAMN YOOUUUU!!" Izumi yelled.
FWOOSH!*
The two of them were blown away by a sudden, massive eruption of green fire! The viridescent flames consumed the entire alley in an instant, Inko barely had the time to get herself and the kids out of the way. 'What is this!? His flames are supposed to be chilling! But this heat... it's on par with Endeavor!' Teleki thought. On the ground, the Green Devil's explosion of fury had set everything alight, including the four unconscious thugs. They groaned in pain momentarily before their throats and lungs, and the rest of their bodies became charred lumps of meat and bone.
Izuku hardly even noticed his flames went from bone-chilling to flesh-melting. His eyes were focused on the people above him who had ruined his childhood and forced him to run away. 'It happened again... You found these two in the middle of ruining my life, and took their side again! Has nothing changed!?' He glared intensely at Izumi and Bakugo. 'It was a mistake letting you live...!' The pillar of flames spiked up dramatically in heat and size, before dispersing into green embers. Teleki hovered above where the Green Devil was and surveyed the damage. The entire alley was reduced to cinders, a nearby dumpster melted. There were small green flames that flickered on the pavement that would eventually die out. A silver respirator was left where the devil stood.
The worst of it was the four thugs he'd knocked out before anyone arrived. They were reduced to smoldering heaps of charred flesh and bone, completely unrecognizable. The entire alley reeked of burnt bodies. "That sick bastard...!" Katsuki growled. "Cold flames, my ass. He's been hiding his abilities to trick us!" Izumi said. Inko was preoccupied by what she saw before the eruption of heat.
The Green Devil had taunted Izumi and Bakugo into attacking him, but something didn't sit right with her. 'Did they really try to attack him first? But they're not pros yet, they don't have the authority. And they seemed so violent before he put up his flames.' For the first time, Inko questioned her trust in the prodigal children.
Meanwhile
Izuku was traveling above the city at high speeds, flying above everything instead of jumping to and from rooftops. He came to a stop behind an apartment complex. He noticed there was a smoke trail where he landed with a skid. 'What happened to me back there?' He wondered as his fire mask came undone. He ignited his quirk in his left hand, and touched a discarded newspaper. It burned, he could tell by the black smoke.
'There's heat to my flames now?' He thought to himself as the newspaper was turned to ash. The fire didn't go out, and spread to the cold concrete. Fire that burns on any surface. Izuku took out his water bottle and doused the fire. It hissed and died down. But it wasn't completely put out. It took more than a regular fire would need to go out. 'Let's see... My flames were their normal cold until Bakugo blasted me. I just remember getting really angry and beating them up. It made my blood boil to see they haven't changed. And then when Teleki came and took their side, as always...' Izuku clenched his fist as smoke escaped from it. He understood that his power is tied to his emotional state. Then his eyes widened as the realization of what he'd done hit him.
"Those criminals... I burned them to death..." Throughout his entire life, Izuku had never once thought of taking someone else's life. And he took four. He felt guilty, despite the fact that it never would've happened if Bakugo, Yagi and Teleki hadn't shown up. He looked at his hands and saw blood drop on his right hand. He forgot about the cut Teleki inflicted. Suddenly, he lit his thumb with a hot flame. 'I deserve this...'
Izuku growled and hissed in burning, agonizing pain. He dragged his flaming thumb across the cut on his cheek, sealing the wound in the most painful of ways. Cauterization. He panted heavily when the job was done, but he still couldn't allow himself reprieve. He found a piece of broken glass near him. Four lives... the act of cutting his and dragging the glass across his right hand four times until it bled wasn't half as painful as what came next. Izuku engulfed his bleeding hand in searing hot flames, punishing himself severely for taking the lives of those men. For all he knew, they could've changed and become better men with better futures. He robbed them of their futures.
When his wounds were melded shut, he inspected the damage. His right hand was a smoking atrocity of its past self. Even if some of the damage faded, the scars would certainly be permanent. He saw his reflection in the water. Dark bags under his eyes, a fowl grimace and a newly cauterized scar on his right cheek. He put his hand in the puddle, causing steam to rise. He picked himself up and prepared to fly away before someone saw him. Before he could do so, he saw another missing person poster for Izuku Yagi. What happened next was without a second thought. He placed his good hand on the poster and reduced it to ash.
Meanwhile
"How delicious." A man enveloped in darkness chuckled to himself. "I wish I could've seen more after, but I can't use the Clairvoyance quirk when my pawns are no longer alive. You surprised me yet again, Green Devil. I do hope your next family reunion will be just as entertaining as this was. Hmhmhm!"