Journey For Trust (Vigilante Deku)

Chapter Five: Fight or Flight

Exhaustion weighed tons on him. There's absolutely no way he can put up a fight, or run even nearly as fast as before without at least a small break. His legs gave out under the tremendous pressure, bringing him to his knees. This was it. At least he'd be caught by All Might, right? At least- at least what? Taking "Deku" away from Izuku is the same thing as forcing a dagger into his heart. He'd die without it. He had no reason at all to live without it. His mother is gone. His father doesn't give a single crap about him. His only "friends" realized how annoying he was and left him. His future is pointless. He didn't have a quirk. All Might wouldn't want to deal with a quirkless wannabe, right?

Right?

Because of that, he wasn't ready to give Deku up just yet. People didn't know Deku was quirkless. But, he didn't know if "Deku" was even worth fighting for to begin with. Deku is himself, and he certainly wouldn't fight like this for himself. Even so, if "Deku" was stolen from him, Izuku already made the decision to actually put a dagger in his heart. Without even a moment's hesitation. Upon turning his head, there was something that gave him a little bit of hope. All Might wasn't there yet like he thought. And this alley was familiar. Very familiar.

But as each agonizingly long second passed, panic seeped deeper and deeper into his veins. His knees were numb and shaky as he tried to stand. Izuku prayed and begged to whatever god was out there for All Might not to find him. For him to disappear. If not him, then All Might. If he walked out the alley, the hero would definitely see him. But maybe- maybe if he just stayed there, then he wouldn't be found. Maybe All Might lost sight of him. Maybe All Might realized he wasn't worth the trouble. Maybe he-

A 7 ft figure stopped at the end of the alley. If there was one thing Izuku didn't want to do, it would be to make eye contact with his idol. He could hardly handle the stares of his classmates, or even his own father. But to see the person that inspired him- the person that kept him alive, look at him with judgement, disappointment, or even anger- that'd be too much for him to handle. And he knew that. Izuku bit his lip, and kept his eyes to the ground. He fiddled with his knife's handle on the backside of his belt, out of All Might's sight. If he was quick, he could do it in time. Was this it?

"Deku." His head perked up. He made eye contact.

He could have swore there was no possession, mockery, or even anger in the hero's word. Like how his mother spoke to him. And what was even more shocking, was his stare. There wasn't any judgement. No disappointment. No greed. No pity. But, kindness. Pureblooded kindness. It almost made him completely forget that not even a second ago, he contemplated pushing a knife through his chest. It almost, maybe even just for a second, made him forget everything else.

-

Relief flooded over him as he finally found the right alley, and even more so when it was obvious the Vigilante didn't have an escape route anymore. The hero suppressed his desperate pants for air to hide his exhaustion. All Might's time as a hero was inevitably getting smaller and smaller with each day, and battle. His arm burned and painfully itched against his tight suit. He couldn't show weakness. He couldn't let Deku take advantage of that.

Even though he did manage to corner the vigilante and could overpower him if given the chance, he didn't expect that chance to be this difficult to get. And it was that difficulty that assured him that he made no mistake in picking a worthy successor. All Might could only imagine how well this kid could fight while using One for All. Or even his own quirk. Or has he already used it? Either way, he didn't make any mistake in choosing the right successor. He just had to win over his trust.

Even though he was brimming with admiration for the vigilante, Deku looked... sad? How could a kid that just outsmarted the number one hero, just proved his bravery was stronger than multiple pro heroes, and saved a kid's life...  be sad? It won't do any good to ponder over that for now. What mattered was that he got that kid out of his abusive home, made sure his bloodied injuries were healed, and helped the teenager with whatever he was obviously struggling with at the moment. "Deku."