hero's shadow // mha

8) moment of doubt

Izuku looks up at Endeavor's Agency from the sidewalk, and logically, he knows it's a bad idea.

He'd known it as soon as his client explained the job, as soon as he mentioned it had anything to do with the number two hero. He should've just walked away. No amount of money is worth getting busted trying to rob a place that houses Endeavor and all of his sidekicks, where he will, without a doubt, be outnumbered and easily caught if something were to go wrong.

And something usually does go wrong. It's just Izuku's luck. It's his curse, and his birthright.

Though, despite his bad feelings, despite knowing better, here Izuku is, slipping into the alleyway beside the building, about to make the climb. He's drawn to this place, knowing that the hero who works here is on par with All Might himself.

Sometimes, Izuku wonders if the Symbol of Peace would be disappointed in him if he somehow found out about his vigilante counterpart, and he wonders what the man thinks about Rabbit, if he even thinks about him at all. He hasn't exactly stood out lately except for the incident with the sludge villain a couple weeks back, so there's no reason for someone as powerful as All Might to pay him any attention.

All Might stands for justice and tranquility, and he's a pillar of hope to the people of Japan and even to the rest of the world. He advises everyone to help keep the earth peaceful, no matter the hardships that come along with doing that.

Standing at the bottom of Endeavor's agency, it's clear Izuku's doing the exact opposite of what All Might wants.

He's looking for trouble, not solving it. He may be doing it as means for survival, perhaps, but this stunt, this job, is about more than that. He's searching for something.

Just doesn't know what.

Izuku flips his hood over his head, making sure it won't get in the way, then starts his climb. It goes quick with his adhesive gloves, and just seconds later he's pushing himself up and over the balcony on the top floor, hidden away from the eyes of the public. It's the same balcony he's seen Endeavor jump on countless of times after finishing his patrol.

This must be his own private office, which is exactly where Izuku needs to be.

He readjusts his hood and mask one last time and walks across the ledge to the door. Of course it'll be locked—Endeavor may be a bitch, but he's not stupid. If Izuku so much as touches the handle to open it, alarms will start to blare all around him. He'll be caught in less time it takes Izuku to make a villain cry, and that's saying something.

So it's a good thing all of the cameras are down for around ten minutes in this part of the building.

Completely unrelated, of course. I wouldn't dare hack into Endeavor's security systems unless I had a reason to.

Singing to himself, Izuku simply powers up his leg and kicks at the door handle, effectively breaking the knob and its sensor off in one clean sweep. They clatter to the ground, and Izuku lets out a relieved breath when he hears no alarms or sirens.

He nudges open the balcony door and peeks inside.

Sure, it's a little strange that there's no one else here, but he presses on anyways. Maybe it really is going to be this easy. He's outsmarted plenty of heroes before now, so maybe they're all just this stupid and incompetent.

Still, he isn't careless about it. He's just a little hesitant. After he steps inside, he looks around the room and all of its space and high-ceilings. There's scorch marks in some places on the walls, obviously from the hero's quirk. Had he activated it out of rage, perhaps? Or maybe excitement?