hero's shadow // mha

5) actions speak louder

Now that he's thinking about it, Izuku has never been to Tony's Pizzeria this early. It's around three o'clock in the afternoon, an hour or so before Kacchan gets out of school.

(He doesn't know why he's keeping tabs on his friend all of a sudden, but the bullies' words are still ringing in his ears, and he wants to make sure Kacchan is alright, even though he knows he most definitely is.

The explosive teen won't let anything get him down; a trait that Izuku both envies and hates at the same time.)

Izuku usually only goes to Tony's in the evening, when it's already dark outside and he's about to go on patrol or head home. But since he was passing by, he figured it was time to break that cycle.

While he waits for his order of one Dr. Pepper and a side of breadsticks, Izuku pulls out his damaged notebook, along with a brand new one he just bought at the department store after getting the supplies to fix his costume.

It comes with two pens and some sticky notes, making it perfect for his analyses. And what makes it even better is that it was only a few dollars! The manager had given him a discount since he apparently has a surplus of them in storage.

Izuku thinks it might also be because he looks a little homeless, but that's besides the point.

He opens both notebooks and sets them beside each other, comparing the pages. It's safe to say that his original journal is destroyed beyond repair—the paper has dried pretty much completely, leaving streaks of black and red ink from where he'd written notes and stuff. He can read a little bit of it, as the puddle had only been so deep, but his sketches are all mostly ruined, along with his analyses on the more recent pro heroes and villains.

It's a good thing he doesn't care much about those. He's already memorized everything in those sections, after all. Every time he studies a new person or group, the information gets lodged inside his brain. It's more like common knowledge to him now.

The only thing he's worried about is the notes he'd taken on himself. Or, more specifically, on his quirks. He's still adding on to those sections little by little, sometimes every day and sometimes every other day. It just depends on his findings.

The thing about his quirks is that he doesn't know everything about them yet, so he still has to have a base line down for them in his notebook. He can add on to them easily that way. That's why he's prioritizing copying those sections over from his old journal to his new one rather than his other, less important stuff.

He titles the notebook #15-2, in honor of its original, and doesn't waste any time in transferring the information. The only good thing about this is that he now has the chance to sort through his scribbled notes and make a more detailed, neater version. He uncaps his blue ballpoint pen and gets to work, humming under his breath.

Property of Midoriya Izuku. If found, please return to the nearest police station :)

That's all he's going to write on the first page. It's not like he's going to put down his phone number or address—what address, he thinks sourly, the abandoned building he's taken claim to?

Izuku has a criminal record, albeit not a violent one, so if he loses it and it gets turned in to a police station, it'll most likely come back around to Tsukauchi. The detective will hold it for him.

At least, Izuku thinks he will.

He makes sure to write in code in case someone gets their hands on it and plans to use this information against him. Other than that, it takes a relatively small amount of time for him to get through the different sections.