Carrying his mom's medicines in a small bag, Izuku walked along the beach.
The apothecary their family used was far, far from their home, but it was also dirt cheap for them to shop at due to the owner being old friends with his dad. It was pure nepotism, but they weren't in a financial position where they could afford expensive medicine right now.
It was still a horribly long walk though. The apothecary lay by the sea, so it meant a long, boring walk passing no less than 7 different beaches.
Some were filled with people out having fun, whether it be on a date, a day out or a family trip. Others were completely deserted. No villains or heroes though.
He felt somewhat conflicted about that. He wanted to watch new heroes pick up and write down everything he could about all quirks he could find. And just seeing good triumph over evil. He kinda felt like he needed some of that lately.
On the other hand… he wouldn't come closer to his goals just by observing heroes endlessly.
He began to mutter to himself, as he sometimes did without noticing.
He had to begin working on his problem a new way. If he couldn't be a hero with a quirk, maybe… No Fighting evil with martial arts would just get him killed. Ignoring the sheer power quirks had to offer, he didn't have either the time or cash to build himself up to that degree.
That way would only get him killed. Maybe… A tech-based hero? Fighting villains with gadgets, or maybe a power suit? An image of him in Iron Man armor came to mind. That was just as implausible as doing it as a non-powered martial artist, though for very different reasons.
The tech was certainly there for that to be somewhat possible. But it would require cash. Lots and lots of cash. Cash his family that had to mooch off family friends for medicine did not possess. So unless he could somehow gain the help of some inventor benefactor that idea was- What was that?
Izuku froze, his mutterings stopped instantly. Then he turned to the right. Towards the sea.
Beneath him was yet another beach. This one was of the deserted variety, on account of it having massive piles of scraps, metal trash and abandoned cars on it. It was in every way a place where people threw their garbage.
And… There it was again.
It was like… A cry for help?
At least he felt like it was. There were no words, he could just feel like someone needed help in that direction, like someone had inserted that thought into his brain.
He hesitated for a split second before he began to hastily go down and unto the beach.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
The feeling didn't abate. As he went amongst the wrecks of old cars and refrigerators.
"Hi, I can feel you, I know you're here! Just give a shout where you are, and I'll help…" Or at the very least he could get help. If someone was trapped under one of these cars he was not going to be able to move them, scrawny 14-year old that he was.
Ok, Izuku, let's think about this logically. If there is someone here, and they're communication through… Feelings? Then they're talking through a quirk, telepathy most likely, which means that…
He was so occupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice the mass of black sneaking up on his leg, and soundlessly merged itself with his clothes.
The feeling was gone. Instantly. Izuku blinked. What had just happened?
"HELLO?! SERIOUSLY, IF THERE'S SOMEONE HERE, ANSWER! I CAN'T HELP YOU IF YOU DON'T ANSWER!"
No answer came.
Izuku kept looking for the person for maybe 20 more minutes before he finally gave up. The most likely conclusions were that either someone had been pulling a prank on him, or his imagination was really doing a number on him.
...
Yes, good host. Tasty host.
Very emotional.
The moment the bond was formed feelings and thoughts began to trickle back into the oh so malnourished being.
Vague images began to pop up. Not with clarity, but they were suddenly there where before there had been none.
The memories of previous hosts asserted themselves. Vague and hazy, but they were there.
This one reminded him of several others it had known. Still… Something was missing. From the host?
No… the bond. Yes, the bond was incomplete.
Time. THEY needed more time. The bond could still be broken by the host.
That must NOT happen. It could NOT be allowed to happen. It would NOT happen.
It began to infuse itself into the Host's skin.
...
As Izuku began the long walk home again, he began to check his phone for hero news updates.
A large battle between Black Cat and a villain had taken place in Kyoto, and several videos showcasing the battle had already been uploaded. The number 7 hero was unsurprisingly a spectacle to behold in action.
He could have done without all the lecherous comments by others below the video though.
Had he been less invested in watching the fight, he might have noticed a subtle increase in strength and balance on his part. But he was, and he didn't.
His journey home went relatively unscathed at first. He bought food, milk, and other things from the grocery store and simply headed home.
Then he was witness to another battle between a hero and a villain. He instantly recognized the hero in question as Mt. Lady, a hero he had documented this morning.
Then the realization that the book he had written said documentation was now destroyed hit him. It was a stab of pain towards a fresh unclosed wound.
The surge of bitterness and anger towards Katsuki was powerful. Far more powerful than Izuku had expected. He really did love those books he realized. Far more so than he had thought before one of them was destroyed.
It was then it dawned on him than he'd have to rewrite the book again, from scratch.
It was either that or stop. And he refused to stop. He would continue this road to the bitter end.
He sighed, sat down with his wares, and fished out a new notebook then began to mutter to himself in his usual way as he once again began to write a detailed synopsis and analysis of Mt. Lady.
...
Haku was enjoying the show. A lot. Seeing a hero fight was great in and of itself, but a giant sexy lady as the hero wearing an outfit that hugged the curves? Now that was gold.
Now if only he could enjoy a cigarette while watching, it would have been perfect. No way he was gonna though. Not in a crowded plaza with Katauki at his side.
While Sai was as into the fight as he was Katsuki wasn't really into it at all.
"What's the point? It's just some mediocre hero beating up a smallfry villain. If I wanna watch that I could just watch it on the fucking web.
He rolled his eyes. He'd wondered if Katsuki was gay, but Asexual was probably more like it. He never seemed interested in anything that was actually appealing, no it was always hero shit, day in and day out. Being the best, everyone else being beneath him, etc. Hero talk was great and all, but there was something called taking things too far.
Pretty much the only guy he knew who was as obsessed with hero stuff as Katsuki was… Well, Midoriya.
"You kinda overdid it with Midoriya today," Haku said. He tried to say it casually like it didn't matter at all. Like he was commenting on the weather.
"It's his own goddamned fault for getting in my way." Katsuki's voice was hard, loud and made it perfectly clear that as far as he was concerned, the entire thing was bitterly personal.
"Even now, while spouting his bullshit, that weakling still has those same damned eyes as back then. It fucking pisses me off every time I look at them."
It was quiet for a while after that. Well, between the three of them anyway, the hero battle was still pretty loud.
It was Sai who broke the silence.
"Still, telling him to kill himself? That's pretty damn harsh dude."
Katsuki wasn't the slightest bit repentant. "If he actually does try and become a hero, he'll get killed anyway so what does it matter?"
"Better to crush him and his spirit so he can move on with and live out his days as the worthless life as an extra."
As if to punctuate what he said, Mt. Lady ended her fight at that exact moment by knocking her enemy down with a punch straight into the ground.
"Anyway, this shitty fight's over, so let's move the fuck on and-" He stopped talking and just stared at something.
"Speak of the Devil," Sai commented with a somewhat worried tone.
Over on a bench sat Izuku Midoriya, writing down in a notebook much like the one Katsuki had destroyed earlier to teach him a lesson.
"Never fucking learns does he." Katsuki sneered, then began to walk over towards the oblivious Izuku.
Whether he saw Katsuki approaching, or just decided it was time to go now that the fight was over, Izuku gathered up his things and decided to leave at that moment.
...
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