Chapter Text
“Even without a quirk,” Izuku’s voice cracked with raw emotion as he spoke over the roaring winds, “can I… still be a hero?”
All Might stood in front of him- tall, and proud, and practically born for heroics- and he hesitated. That silence told Izuku everything he needed to know. Still, the man’s smile never faltered. That chiselled, put together look that Izuku had spent years trying to replicate remained wide on his face.
And then he went to speak.
For one heart-in-mouth moment, Izuku thought that All Might might say yes. He really thought that, perhaps for the first time in his life since the loss of his mother, someone might tell him something other than ‘no.’
He thought that his hero might tell him he could be something more than a weak, quirkless kid- something more than a statistic on a page representing the quirkless deaths that year. He could be something more than a kid that people pitied at best, despised at worst.
Maybe his hero would tell him that, even without a quirk, he could be someone.
Anyone.
But Izuku had often been told he lived in a fantasy world.
“Young man, you have to be realistic.”
Realistic.
That’s what Izuku had always been told, his whole life.
It’s what his father had told him before leaving Izuku and his mum alone. It was what the quirk supremacists had said after they killed his mum in cold blood. It was what his teachers had said when Izuku had written that he was applying to UA. Of course Japan’s number one hero would say the same thing.
But Izuku couldn’t deny the fact that it still hurt.
A lot.
“There are plenty of other ways to help people, but in this line of work, it is impossible to survive without a quirk.”
Because quirkless kids couldn’t- didn’t survive. Whether that was due to being abandoned, beaten, or by their own hand, quirkless kids never lived to adulthood.
‘Go take a swan dive off the roof, and pray you’re born with a quirk in your next life!’ That’s what Kacchan had told Izuku, just hours before. And of course, there would never be any kind of repercussions for him, because he was born with a good quirk. Hell, he was born with a quirk.
Not all people are born equal, after all.
And then, with a gust of wind and hardly another word, All Might was gone.
And Izuku was keeled over on the rooftop, sobs- deep and guttural- clawing their way out of his throat.
Because Izuku’s dreams were just that. Dreams. Unattainable, unrealistic, foolish. The very thing he’d been banking on his whole life- the thing he had poured so much effort and pain into- was never going to happen.
So he cried. He cried and cried. He cried until his eyes were bloodshot and his throat was soar, and the afternoon sun had been replaced with a crisp night time breeze. He cried until he couldn’t cry any more, and only then did he stand, clarity returning to his mind for the first time in hours.
And then he realised. All Might had left him on a rooftop with no way to get down.
Now what was he supposed to do?
And then voices cut the night- a man and a woman, neither of which Izuku recognised. He scrambled to stand, rushing across the rooftop and skidding to a halt beside an exposed pipe.
Why were there people here? Izuku was pretty sure that this was private property, which meant that they were trespassing. That probably meant that they were villains, and Izuku definitely didn’t want to get tangled up with them. Especially not tonight.
He ducked behind the pipe, forcing himself to slow his breathing. He had learned to make himself small and quiet long ago, and it was coming in handy right now.
“Gentle,” The woman said, coming into Izuku’s view. She had two pinkish-red pigtails, tied neatly. Izuku couldn’t help but noticing, they were almost the same length as her, with how short she was, “once they realise I’m in their system, I’m not gonna be able to keep the cameras down for much longer, so we’ve gotta move fast.”
In their system? Was she hacking them?
“Apologies, my dear!” The man- presumably Gentle- hummed, coming into view with a flourish. He was carrying a teapot, for whatever reason, and he wore matching pinstripe trousers with the woman, and a long, dark tailcoat, “are you filming?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Well then. Let’s get this show on the road!” He smiled, turning to face the camera. Izuku could’ve sworn he grew a couple of inches as he began to talk, animatedly. “Today we are taking down this wonderfully corrupt jewellery corporation!” He beamed as the woman nodded, typing on a laptop with one hand, filming with a camera on the other hand.
“We’re in.” The woman smirked, and suddenly the rooftop door swung open.
This wasn’t right! Izuku couldn’t let them break in. Hero or not, he should still do something to help.
But then again, whenever he had tried to help in the past, he had been scolded, belittled, kicked to the curb. And besides, these guys seemed like legit villains. Maybe he should just… stay where he was. Let it all blow over.
Izuku’s brain was telling him to steer clear, but, unfortunately, he tended to listen to his heart more often than not.
And his legs moved by themselves. So did his mouth, apparently.
“You can’t break in here! I won’t let you!” He shouted, vaulting over the pipe and stopping in front of the door, spreading his arms out wide, trying to minimise the space if they tried to run through.
“Oh my!” Gentle’s smile widened, and he raised his hands, “a child just appeared!”
“Gentle,” The woman muttered, “we don’t have time for this. We’ve gotta move.”
“Of course.” He nodded, “but there is a boy.”
She furrowed her brow, and Izuku watched as she turned off the camera and put it to the side of her.
Crap! That couldn’t be good! That probably meant that they were gonna kill him or something, but didn’t want any evidence. Suddenly, Izuku didn’t feel quite so brave anymore.
“I- I just mean, that… uh… I-”
“Do not worry, my boy! I am aware of what you’re trying to say. You’re a fan. Is that right?” He grinned, eyes glinting with something that almost resembled conviction, “I always have time to write autographs!”
“We don’t really have time today, Gentle.” The woman whispered as Gentle let out a low hum.
“Do you know how to wield a camera, my boy?”
“Yes, but-”
“Good! La Brava, give him the camera. We are going to call you… Player! Come. Film us. That’s certainly better than an autograph!”
Izuku- confused, still fairly terrified, and with no other real options- complied. He took the camera from the skeptical looking woman (who Izuku had just found out was called La Brava), and followed the two villains down a fair few flights of stairs and into the jewellery store.
Alarms were already blaring, red lights were being cast across the wall, and Gentle started smashing jewellery cases and pulling various necklaces and bracelets from them. That was when the severity of this situation really dawned on Izuku. If he got caught, it was going to look like he was accompanying criminals. He was going to look like a criminal.
And then the anti-crime shutters were closing over the main entrance. Izuku, not particularly wanting to get killed by these villains, did his absolute best with filming. He panned the camera across to get some footage of the shutters, before returning it to where Gentle was still working, eyes still gleaming and smile wide on his face.
It was only when the wailing of police car sirens got close that it seemed Gentle was ready to leave, pivoting rather dramatically and spreading his arms out beside him.
“That appears to be our cue!”
“We can’t get out of the front. We’ve gotta go back the way we came.” La Brava called, and Gentle nodded in recognition, rushing towards the smaller, less noticeable door that they had entered through. La Brava followed, and Izuku, given that he didn’t really want to get arrested, decided it would be in his best interest to follow.
“Player, my boy, you must move quicker!”
And then Izuku felt an arm around his waist, and he was being scooped up by the man.
Everything was too loud, and too fast, and he was fairly certain he heard shouting. Still, he tried to keep his hands as still as he could- to film as best as he was able.
“The doors are locking! I can’t keep them open. We’ve gotta head for a window!” La Brava’s voice cut through all of the surrounding noise.
The window? Izuku was fairly certain that was unsafe.
Then a shattering noise bounced through his ears, and pain erupted in his cheek.
And then they were falling.
And then they weren’t.
Izuku was fairly certain that the air was bending around them.
And then everything stopped, and he was being set down on firm ground again.
Izuku couldn’t contain the shuddering breath that escaped him, reverberating through his whole body. Then he realised that he had no idea where he was. And oh my gosh had he just been kidnapped? This day just kept getting worse!
Maybe he should just… lie down and sleep? Then the day wouldn’t be able to get any worse than it already was.
His body crumpled to the ground.
But not before it could be heaved back up again by firm hands, gripping his shoulders, shaking him a little.
“Young man, are you okay?” Gentle asked, eyebrows furrowing, “I would’ve thought that something like that would’ve been a dream come true. For a fan like you, at least.”
And Izuku decided that he no longer cared what this man and his weirdly short sidekick did to him.
“I’m sorry… I’m not a fan. I don’t know who you are.”
Radio silence.
And then it was La Brava that spoke.
“Shit! Did we just… kidnap him?”
“It would appear so.” Gentle agreed, head inclining slightly.
“It’s okay…” Izuku replied, “just… uh… are you gonna kill me? Because-”
“Kill you?” Gentle bristled, outrage clear in his voice, “of course not!”
Well, that was good. Sure, Izuku had no idea who these guys were. Yes, he had just been involved in some kind of jewellery heist. Granted, anyone could’ve seen his face, so by now he could be considered a wanted criminal. But, at least they weren’t trying to kill him. Small victories.
“What’s your name?” La Brava asked.
Izuku didn’t really think that was something he should share.
“Izuku Midoriya!” Gentle replied, voice a little too chipper for this ridiculous situation. And besides that, how did he know Izuku’s name?
“How did you-?”
He was interrupted as Gentle held up one of Izuku’s schoolbooks, with his name and school written on the front cover.
Great. Now they would know where to find him, even if he did manage to escape.
La Brava let out a soft hum of recognition, and for a moment, the only thing Izuku could hear was her tapping away at the keyboard of her laptop. And then, she began to read.
“Izuku Midoriya. Quirkless. Fourteen years of age. Attends Aldera Junior High School.”
Izuku stilled. How did she know that? And perhaps more to the point, she knew he was quirkless now. Any semblance of kindness that the two villains had treated Izuku with was likely now to be torn away. If they weren’t going to kill him before, they probably would now!
“That’s weird… Why doesn’t it say where you live? And there’s no details here on your parents either.”
What?
Why either of them hadn’t even enquired into Izuku’s quirklessness, he had no idea.
“Uh…”
Gentle interrupted him, bending down so the two were at eye level.
“Young man!” He exclaimed, “are you… homeless?”
Not exactly the direction that Izuku had wanted this conversation to go in…
“I don’t… not really. I live somewhere?” He replied vaguely. That much was true. The old rusty campervan on Dagobah beach had served as Izuku’s home for the last year or so. Still, it wasn’t a legally registered home.
“Then let us drop you off at that somewhere. We are certainly obliged to make sure you return safely home.”
So that was how Izuku ended up being picked up by Gentle for the second time of the day. Now Izuku was slightly less disorientated, he could see properly how Gentle’s quirk worked. It seemed he could turn the air stretchy, which was so cool. It really was versatile, in so many ways.
And finally, they arrived at the beach.
“Thank you for the… uhm… thanks for the lift!” Izuku said, voice cracking a little.
Because he was almost in the clear.
He was almost safe!
“You are more than welcome! Now, we must be going, but be sure to follow @GentleCriminal on YouTube!”
He was a YouTuber!?
“Yeah, I will.” Izuku nodded, overwhelmed by confusion right now.
“Sorry about kidnapping you,” La Brava added, “It was not on purpose.”
Very reassuring.
“Oh, that’s fine!” Izuku assured.
And then, with a wave and a flourish, the pair left, leaving Izuku alone again.
He entered the campervan and immediately headed for the fridge, which, by some miracle, worked. Unfortunately, said fridge was empty.
Izuku’s stomach grumbled in protest as he dropped onto the makeshift bed, pulling open his laptop and opening up the National Heroes Archives. From there, he navigated to the Villains archive, inputting the name ‘Gentle Criminal’.
Immediately, one result came up.
And, if the photo was anything to go by, it was the right result.
Izuku scrolled down the page, noting that Gentle was a C-list criminal. The only additional notes on him were small things- about his quirk, his quick escapes, his YouTube channel, his accomplice.
Izuku clicked on the link, which led to a separate page about La Brava.
She too was a C-lister, although the notes on her were far more extensive. All kinds of things about her hacking prowess, her stalking abilities, her ‘wasted potential’. Izuku cocked his head is re-read the pages on both of them.
He noted that, apparently, La Brava had had a brief phase of hacking for profits. Apparently, she aided the heroes in some kind of villain raid, before siding with Gentle shortly after.
Opening a new page, Izuku navigated to an online forum, answering the specific question:
‘Does hacking for commissions pay well?’
It seemed the resounding answer to that question was yes.
And, Izuku had to admit, he felt something pulling at him.
He wasn’t usually someone who believed in fate, but he couldn’t help but feel like meeting Gentle and La Brava on that rooftop had to have happened for a reason. Besides, his lifelong dream had just been dismantled and thrown to the wind, so now Izuku needed something new to focus on.
He also needed something that would earn him some money, because he only had one limited edition All Might figure left to sell.
Perhaps that something could be hacking.
Besides, Izuku had always been good with computers, and he knew that he was adaptable and a fast learner. It couldn’t be that hard!
2 hours later
Oh how wrong he was.