Chapter Text
It was hard to stay home on nights like these. The house was empty in a way that made Izuku feel as though the whole world outside had been swallowed by the night, and he was the last one left. So that's why he was here instead of warm In his cozy bed. Tonight was the kind of subtle cold that chilled your fingers to numbness you only noticed as they started warming again into fluid pain.
This side of the city was never the nicest, always rough around the edges full of criminals and shady people, but the green haired boy often seemed to blend right in. Sitting on this rooftop in the dead of night knees tucked to his chest as he looked over the polluted city. Full of smog and grime, it felt more like home than his actual one so that why he sat here. Up out of reach from the rest of the world this abandoned skeleton of a building made of cement and rebar. it felt like his slice of peace in a world of conflict.
It had been a long day and he didn't want to think of the turmoil that came with stumbling trough school and trying to avoid the people. He never minded the schooling but the people were what made it miserable, it was hard to see them as people in his memories though. It seemed to blur out the faces in a black fog of emptiness but it made no difference. One long day after another.
So little to say he wasn't in the best mindset his night and even if he was he probably wouldn't have noticed the silent footsteps behind him while so lost in his mind. Well not until the figure entered his peripheral vision taking a seat on the edge of the roof a few feet away, just out of arms length.
All tattered red and white fabric twisting over a muscular frame. Thick heavy boots with steal toes and metal spikes that defiantly should have made more noise that they did and bandages along each arm that wrapped all the way from wrist to just below the shoulder. The man seemed strange and covered in more knives than the average person out here, which was saying a lot for someone on this side of the city.
'who are you?'
Izuku's voice came out slightly shakier than he meant and he felt embarrassment curl up at the back of his neck. The strange man only tilte his head to him the slightest bit, just enough to glance at him from behind the mask around his eyes.
'could say the same to you kid. How old are you? thirteen? You shouldn't be up here alone.'
he finally turns more to face the boy who was now nervously fidgeting with the sleeve of his hoodie.
'look kid it's a dark night and you should head home. I'm usually not the type to stop like this to help people but there was a villain attack a few blocks over and you really shouldn't be here'
Who did this guy think he was? he didn't look like a hero, but he definitely wasn't acting like a villain. Where had he seen this guy before he knows he has seen him. It was a long moment before it hit him who exactly this was but when it was he paled a few shades.
'you-… your hero killer stain'
His eyes widened where he sat gaping at the man a bit. And before he could say anything further the man sitting there spoke again, a grin splitting his face.
'hmm I see my reputation has spread. Don't worry kid I wont hurt you'
'r-really?'
The hero killer sighed like the kids fear wasn't justified and he just waved a hand at his vaguely. 'yes kid I'm not going to hurt you. You haven't done anything wrong. Look I just came in to check on you, you seemed…' he trailed off and glances back raising a brow at the kid like it was obvious what he meant.
Izuku understood. He knew how it looked, him sitting here on the edge of a roof late at night. he knew his red shoes that symbolized quirklessness were obvious. And he had seen the percentages of suicide rates of his kind over and over and over.
'oh-ah no!- I'm not- I wasn't-'
He fumbled a bit and let out an embarrassing voice crack at the accusation of being about to jump off a roof. 'I just don't sleep well! That's all I swear-'
'huh, sure kid. Whatever you say'
The voice seemed like he didn' really believe his words and the hero killer didn't seem like he was leaving any time soon.
The fluffy haired teen sighs.
'no really, look I just don't sleep much I don't- I'm not like that. My house is just too quiet and I'm not looking forward to sitting there till morning.'
'hmm well I suppose that means we are sitting together till you walk down those stairs'
The boy held back an annoyed groan and stares back out over the roof, out into the tall buildings and bright lights that lit up the night like little glimpses into peoples lives.
'look Mr stain I'm really alright you don't need to bother with me, I'm fine. Why would someone like you concern yourself with some random kid and, aren't you supposed to be evil'
'ha! I'm no more evil than any of the so called heroes that dress up in bright colors for the cameras. This world is corrupt and what you see as evil I see as honest, this world is broken and someone has to get their hands dirty and fix it. Words are useless in their grace of actions and no one will listen to a cause without power to back it up.'
His voice was tight and full of something that seemed almost like disappointment.
'but heroes aren't bad, they save people. They help and fight the darkness in the world. They inspire people into being more.' his voice was full of defense and motivation 'I want to be a hero, even if… even if…' his words tapered off and his mid drifted elsewhere. 'even if I can't…'
Stains eyes scanned him with some kind of calculation trailing back to the kids red shoes he wore. The shoes that signaled exactly why he shouldn't be a hero. A reason that had been beaten into the boy trough years of shame and bullying and glares on the street.
Stain let out an indignant scoff.
'you understand not what I say. Being a hero is possible, to live a moral life and we live in a world of fakes. People who work for money, fame, and crave validation over what it truly means to be a hero. Anyone can be a hero but in order to be a true hero one must sacrifice everything and leave it all behind in the name of justice.'
Izuku stared at stain. A man who kills heroes and who live in the grit and grime of the world. A man hated by many. A man who in many ways was much like Izuku. And the first one to tell Izuku he could be a hero. he could save people, as long as he fights for justice no matter the cost, he could achieve his dreams. And though he wasn't sure why, he believed stain.
'really? You think someone like me could really be a hero?'
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This night really hadn't gone how expected but despite the horrible day he and his talk with stain wasn't that bad. he understood why the man did what he did and even if he didn't fully agree with his methods, it was nice to talk to him. True to his word the hero killer hadn't left till Izuku had climbed down the fire escape of the roof and was on his way home it was still late probably about one in the morning when he was finally on his way home, not that it really mattered with the way he never slept.
The soft broken in rubber of his shoes was muffles on the paths as he walked. eyes scanning his surroundings because you could never be too careful on this side of the city so late at night. the trek took a while, but he managed to get home in one piece.
he didn't bother being quiet as he walked into the house shutting the door loudly behind him and flicking on the harsh overhead lights, clicking the lock of the door shut behind himself. His mother always worked night shifts, so he never had to worry about disturbing her. she left before he got home for school and was asleep by the time he got up in the morning meaning she was never around. and sure, she left cash on the counter and as long as he stayed out of the way and made no mess there were never any problems. she wasn't very mother like though, seemed more like a roommate than any kind of parent ever since he was diagnosed as quirkless at age five and his dad left.
He walked into the kitchen and turned on the electric kettle of the stove pulling out the instant coffee granules and spooning them into a stained mug with a faded photo of present mic on the front. The water heated till it was rapidly bubbling and he poured it in the mug and mixed it with a spoon he left in the sink. he carried the hot mug into his bedroom and sit at his desk before shutting the door and slumping his bag onto the ground.
He took a seat and pulled out his lap top the blue light from the screen burned at his eyes and he took a sip of his coffee before taking a second to lean back in his chair and look around.
Izuku's room seems kind of childish, but he never minded and hadn't bothered to change the decor. he had a twin bed against one wall with a window over top and a desk next to it. the walls were plastered with bright colourful posters, and his shelves were covered in books including a thick stack of notebooks,some filled and some empty, and covered in hero figures. His desk was simple and wooden with a small red desk lamp that had soft light glow and a pin board on the wall above it that let him stick notes to himself or research. currently were a few images of a hero he had been researching called Ectoplasm and some notes about homework deadlines and class tests.
the room didn't have a lot, but it was the closest thing to home he had. even if sometimes the apartment felt empty and too big for him. this room was his slice a peace. a place where it felt like no one could ever get him.