heart of a hero (vigilante deku AU) ((on hiatus))

chapter 2

a/n the story is still being written but I dont find myself going back and changing the first 10 chapters anymore so I will be releasing one of the 10 chapters every Saturday and Wednesday at varying times. I'm posting this one early bc I'm impatient as hell.

"no kid, that not how you do it, you extend your leg as you kick not while you kick. it has more power when you extend your leg like this." they were practicing some fighting moves and izuku was failing miserably. it took him almost a month to get his fighting down but he was determined and never gave up once. he never complained when his body ached like hell or when he was tired because he knew that in a real fight none of the mattered to the opponent, they just want to win.

another month passed by and izuku started making connections with kais friends, they taught him lots of skills and helped look after him. they were mostly low level thugs who stole or hacked to get by and he understood that so he let it be, yes he wanted to be a hero but he knew that it was all so they could just survive. none of them were greedy and they only stole when they had to. they all encouraged izuku to become a hero and help people weirdly enough, they sometimes even played 'heros and villans' with him a few times. they would pretend to steal from kai and izuku would come to the rescue. they didnt go easy on him though and the first few times the villains won but once izuku realised they weren't holding back he couldn't either. he loved their quirks and he secretly took notes on them, he still mumbled to himself a lot but nobody minded. he didnt write their names and only he knew who was who just in case anyone ever saw his notebook, he also left out the part where he knew them for their safety as he knew how much trouble they would be in if a hero found his notes.

"kid, its been 2 months now and I think its ok for you to go outside but you must wear your hood at all times and have sunglasses and a mask on so no one can see your face. you can go down to the shops and buy whatever you need, try not to interact with anybody if you dont have to. you will have to go alone because I was caught stealing a purse the other day and I cant go out. everyone else is also busy. once your done with the shops you can walk about to see what's changed in the world these past two months as I'm sure you'll want to see."

izuku couldn't believe it. he was finally given the ok to go outside! before he went he wanted to make sure that he got everything they needed so he got kai to write a shopping list. everything was bright and it overwhelmed him at first, he calmed himself down and went onward though. he is the only person who can get the food without getting stopped or even arrested. he went into the shop that kai described as it had the cheapest prices. he got everything they needed and went to pay, next to the till was a sweet assortment and he couldn't wait to try everything on there. he had to practice self restraint and only get one today but he was definitely going back until he tried every single one.

"heya kid, is this everything?"

"i-i think so" izuku was jittery and nervous which put the shopkeeper on edge, it also didnt help that he wasn't showing his face.

"is this your first time coming to the shops alone?"

"i-i is it obvious?" he smiled wearily trying not to appear as nervous as he was but he forgot he had a mask on which ruined the effect.

"a little, you looked at the sweets like you wanted to buy all of them" the shopkeeper laughed a little, he was pretty sure the kid didnt shoplift. the kid seemed nervous more than anything else, he presumed the mask and glasses were some sort of fashion or confidence thing.

"i-i did, but im p-pretty sure kai would kill me" izuku stuttered, laughing a little but gradually getting more irritated with himself for being so nervous.

"is kai your brother?"

"y-yeah, h-he is b-busy t-today and i wanted t-to help" he was really struggling with his 't's

"that's nice of you, tell your brother i said hi! its £9.25 by the way."

"t-thanks" izuku gave him a £10 note

"heres the change kid, have a good day"

izuku left the shop and started walking home. it was a quick walk and the bags were surprisingly light

"im back"

"oh hey kid, how was it out there?"

"it was weird, everything was so bright and it was really scary at first but its actually pretty cool! in the shop there were entire shelves full of sweets and chocolates! I cant remember ever seeing so many in the same place in my entire life! i wanted to buy them all but i only got one, we can split it for dessert later"

"you can have it, all of us got caught for something or another and you had to go to the shops instead of us so we dont really deserve it. and really? you've never seen that many sweets in one place? not even when you were with your mom?"

"I was really young, kai. I wish my memory was that good."

"ahaha, I hear that kid" William chimed in, he was an old English man who moved to japan when he studied electronics. he use to work for japans now leading company in electronics and he created the product that gave them the edge over the competition but he got into a bad crowd and has ended up with us, he still gets revenue from the product he designed but its obsolete now and he doesn't make much, he puts most of the money towards the flat and saves the rest for peoples birthday. he often talked about his life but recently his memory has been getting worse, hes forgotten so many of the stories he use to tell but luckily everyone else has heard them so many times they can all remember segments. izuku and everyone else are currently working on a book which will hold his life story, they know that soon enough he'll probably become less like himself and they wanted something to remember him by as well as something he can keep with him so he can see who he was for whenever he gets confused and scared.

"hey William, can you tell me one of your stories again! your life is so cool!"

"sure thing kid, my memory isn't what it use to be but I will try my best. which story do you want to hear?"

"you never really talk about when you were a kid, whats your earliest memory?"

"ah, that was when I held my little baby sister for the first time. she was so cute and loveable, that was until she grew up and played pranks on me all the time"

"she sounds like she was fun to be around" izuku commented, scribbling in his notebook. "what was her name?"

"she was called poppy, it really suited her. she went into the army and died during one of her classified missions during the war, it felt like poppy day was made for her and i always wore a poppy pin she got me. i have it in my pocket here." he got out a beautifully crafted glass poppy pin which refracted the light in the most beautiful way, everyone in the apartment was paying attention to what he was saying and staring in awe at the light display "izuku..."

"yes William?"

"i want you to have it."

"what? why?" there was sadness in izukus voice and everyone else seemed to feel the same way.

"im not stupid, i know what the signs are and i know that someday i might not even know how much this pin means to me so i want you to have it. you know how much it means to me and i know youll protect my little poppy when im gone. she would have liked you, she always was jotting things down too and causing mischief, i see a little bit of her in you which is why i want you to have it."

"b-but i" izuku was crying, he didnt want to consider that he might die someday and having this subject forced upon him wasn't something he wanted. he would have to accept it someday but not today, no please not today.

"there's no need to cry izuku, im going to be ok but i want my sisters and my memory to live on with you. your an amazing kid and youll go far, i cant wait to read my book when your done with it and im thankfull youre doing this for me." he placed the poppy on the ground in front of where izuku was sitting, a sad but reassuring smile on his lips. "now, i need to keep telling you everything while i still remember dont i?"

izuku silently took the pin and put it on and continued jotting down everything he said even through his tear filled vision. William talked for as long as he could and tried not to miss anything out until it was his bedtime. the apartment was silent, everyone watched as he sleeped soundly for a bit then they had to return back to work knowing that he'll wake up in the morning.

right?...