212Disclaimer: I do not own Boko no Hero Academia.
I know it's weird to start another story, but this is something I've been wanting to write, and I have the first few chapters done, actually.
Warning: it's going to be dark.
Here's the premise. Izuku, after the Sports Festival, is captured hostage by a band of underground criminals, after witnessing his display of power at the tournament.
I'm serious, this is going to be dark and graphic. It's meant to capture the disturbing parts of heroics and I'm determined to make this an emotional story, so be ready.
Romance may be a fleeting mention, but don't expect it to play a large role.
Everything hurt.
He wasn't sure where he was- not even the country name came to mind when he tried to think. Every time the pain waned long enough for his higher thoughts to return, he was met with frustration and inevitable nothingness, fueling the pain to make another trip around. It seemed the angrier he got, the more the pain returned, and it came back with a vengeance.
He tried to think- do anything - but each time, he was met with the same infuriating fate: he couldn't remember anything.
The last... 4 days? Truth be told, he wasn't even sure how long he'd been wandering the streets, looking helplessly ragged but no less concerned for his appearance. Not once had he gazed upon his disheveled appearance, and as he scampered from alley to alley, he wasn't particularly sure if he was going to look at himself, either.
The moon setting and the sun rising had become a drawl, common, yet welcomed. The days of which he'd been locked away were not soon forgotten, nor were the nights of anguish and torture, where the only thing the young man could cling to was the sight of the night sky for just a fleeting glimpse as he was moved from chamber to cell. The roundness to the crescent shape of the moon was the only thing that looked upon his broken form with even a glimmer of sympathy- and he'd come to hold that sight as the only thing he could think of.
Now, freely able to gaze upon its magnificent pearl glow, he found nothing but solace in its sight, even if the pain came rebounding back, throbbing through his brain, down to his toes. His body would heat up in kind, the burning sensation just under his skin caused him to groan and grunt, unable to cool the rising simmering sensation, but every so often, the moon would smile sadly upon his agony and send a welcomed breeze to brush through his hair and temporarily diminish his aching.
Those were the moments he'd try to think, only to be met with a viscous cycle that had no end in place. He growled to himself, clamping his hands in his hand and clenching his head between his palms. Through the action came more pain, and through the pain, came more anger...
But there was no moon to help him salvage his mind.
Instead, the burning sun glared upon the land, casting its proud golden rays down on the streets below, only a few specific places shielded from its gaze. The young man fell into a ball, ignoring the pang that went through his side as he struck the pavement with enough force to jar his aching organs. A feeble, yet agonizing groan escaped his lips and echoed in the shadowed alley he'd taken refuge in.
Once upon a time, he might've even slept here, but the only times he found the blissful state of rest was when his body had taken enough and fell the clutches of unconsciousness.
"I knew you were an idiot, but seriously? You're going to explore what made the death-like noise?"
The young man stiffened; he had heard the voice clear as day.
Another one came just after. "C'mon; we're heroes. We can at least try to help people, yeah?"
"We're not heroes yet... and you're not even wearing your costume, so how are you going to aim if we get attacked?"
Aim? Costume? Heroes?
It all sounded so... familiar... yet distant, too. What were... who were the heroes? Where were they going? They kept talking, but their voices were also growing in strength... were they coming toward him? The groan he'd made had been admittedly loud... and perhaps they were seeking out the source. But if they were looking... that would mean they'd find him...
"Don't worry; I'll just shock tackle them and we'll be fine!"
"Yeah... really reassuring."
Tackle?! They were coming to hurt him!
Out of pure instinct, somewhere within his brain, a predatory growl escaped his lips and sounded through the alley, halting the two approaching 'heroes'. The young man couldn't see them- he'd fallen prone behind a dumpster - but he forced his injury-riddled body to stand. The scream of his muscles was silenced by the roar of adrenaline flowing throughout him, and he dropped low into a combative stance. He peeked around the corner of the dirty dumpster, spying out two young teenagers, now on-guard and looking around frantically for the noise they'd heard.
"Did you...?"
"Yeah. It was your idea to come in here, Kaminari. If we die, I'll beat you in the afterlife."
There was a tense moment of silence from all three, before...
"There. I hear his heartbeat... it's... erratic. He's terrified..."
They knew where he was! He had to strike!
Without another moment's though, the young, battered and bruised teen rushed around the corner with blistering speed, and drew his fist back to strike down his opposition. What he didn't count on, was his leg to give out underneath of him just before making contact. The days spent running and hiding had taken their toll: he had no energy left to fight.
The boy, adorned with yellow hair, yelped and instinctively sent a wave of electricity streaming forward in a dangerous double arc. The first arc danced up along the building wall, sending pieces of stone and brick raining down as it ripped the exterior of the hard surface to shreds. The second, however, made direct contact with the falling teen and sent him into a convulsion-like state, unable to stop shaking and twitching.
"Holy shit, Denki, stop!"
The attack, as fast as it had began, ended, and the young man felt the lingering effects still in his body as his whole body felt heavy and immobile. There was a tingling that stretched through his chest, down to his toes, but oddly enough... the rifling pain he'd felt since the beginning of his journey... was gone. Temporarily, perhaps, but nonetheless, it was gone.
"I-I-I..."
"M-Midoriya...?"
No pain... meant no problem fighting! He could still escape!
Though the movement was delayed, he managed to push his chest up and slide his knees underneath his body, before rising into a kneeling position. Despite the lack of pain, there was no doubt in the teen's abused mind that he was nearly incapable of winning this fight; he'd sustained too much damage and could barely move.
"M-Midoriya, it's us!"
Midoriya? Who...?
The teen looked up, glaring heavily at his two assailants with both venom and... fear?
"Denki he... oh my God..."
"D-don't you... recognize us...?" The yellow-haired boy lost the aura of raging yellow electricity that had previously been dancing along his body, and now, he simply looked terrified, yet, undeniably relieved. His eyes, no longer filled with the instinctive fight-or-flight, were wide, but almost welcoming. The teen felt the quietest instinct within telling him to just respond: say something.
But yet, that instinct was not heard underneath the thousands of other desires, which included running or fighting as the two most desired outcomes.
The girl next to the yellow-haired teen was appalled, it seemed. She covered her mouth and her eyes were widened and fearful, but they kept darting from place to place on the teen's body. Fear, it seemed, didn't come naturally to her, because the expression looked... out of place, in his opinion.
Still: he had to escape.
"G-go... away..."
With the simple two words, the two teens were freed from the stasis that held them in place, as the yellow-haired teen rushed over to Midoriya's body, but refrained from touching him. The other teenager whipped out something and put it to her ear, talking frantically to herself, consistently repeating, "come on... come on..."
"Dude... what the hell happened to you...?" Denki whispered, which was just loud enough so that Midoriya could hear him. Still, even with the question, he had no answer.
"D-don't..." Midoriya mumbled quietly, falling flat on his chest, unable to hold himself up any longer. "D-don't hurt m-me..."
"Shit!" the girl muttered angrily, quickly pulling the device from her ear and pushing on it frantically, before putting it right back to her ear. "Of all the times...!"
While his attention had been drawn to the girl, he wasn't ignoring the yellow-haired electricity-user to his left, keeping a close eye on him. Though there was little he could do, Midoriya knew that if push came to shove, he'd be able to fight somehow, and he'd be able to escape. The only thing he needed was the tingling in his body to abstain, and then he'd be able to force his way out of this situation.
"You don't recognize me, do you Izuku?"
Midoriya didn't answer. He didn't need to.
"Finally!" The girl shouted, causing Izuku's fragile gaze to snap to her relieved form. "Mr. Aizawa...! W-we found Midoriya!"
Found...? They'd... had they found him?
Wait.
Found... they... they were here to take him back!
They were going to take him back! They were going to hurt him!
"N-no... NO!" Izuku suddenly began to flail, forcing Denki to take a step back in surprise and a jolt of electricity to jump from his body, though Izuku didn't notice. His sight grew dim, tinted by blackness as a familiar warmth spread through his body and rushed to his joints. Against all the pain he felt, he suddenly found himself standing and glaring defiantly at the two teenagers, sent to capture him. "I WON'T GO BACK! YOU CAN'T HURT ME!"
"Hurry, Mr. Aizawa! He's not... he's not well!"
As the girl put the phone away, the boy put his hands up defensively, and spoke slowly and deliberately. "Listen, Midoriya. We're not here to hurt you. We're worried about you... we're here to take you home. To your mother."
Mother? Who...? He had no mother, right? That's... that's what they'd told him?
He had no home, either, right? Home... home was not the prison... home was not where he was hurt!
"I... YOU CAN'T HURT ME!"
Whether from rage, fear, adrenaline or something else, it didn't matter as Izuku lashed out by pumping his fist forward. A torrent shockwave rushed through the alley following his punch, causing the two teens to shield their eyes and brace their bodies against the sudden onslaught of power that could only be known as One-For-All.
"Th-this is...!" The girl grunted out as she tried to counter the force of the punch with supersonic pulses of sound.
Denki, on the other hand, was almost helpless, as he desperately pressed his body against the side of the alley in order to avoid being sent flying like a toy in a tornado. He heard the screams of civilians behind him as people were subjugated to Izuku's monstrous power, forcing him to make up his mind on what he had to do.
"I'm sorry, buddy!" Denki yelled over the wind, even as it began to die down. "Shock Disc!"
A ball of yellow static came rushing at Izuku, and even before he'd had time to pump the power he felt into his legs, he was struck by the strange orb, sending a massive surge of electricity through his body, forcing him to fall helplessly.
This time, however, he didn't retain consciousness.
