I'm not on EITHER side

"You can either help me, or you can sit there and do nothing."

Izuku's POV

I woke up in a strange house, looking around and see my gear on a dresser across the room from me. I don't see if my mask is with it, so I reach up and touch my face only to find out that my mask is off my face. I feel dread start to spread through my body, fear and panic gripping at my heart. Oh God, I'll have to go back. I can't let that happen. I go to stand, only for a burst of fiery pain to explode near my ribs. It takes everything in me not to scream.

I lay back down and start to contemplate my next course of action. I can't move much, and when I do, I feel like my body is tearing itself apart. I can try calling the police and saying I've been kidnapped, but where will that get me? They'll ask where I got these injuries, and I can say the person must have tortured me, but then they'll find the clothes and figure out who I am. What happens then.

While I'm thinking, the door to my left starts to open. I turn my head and stare, waiting for someone to come in and tell me that I'm going back to Musutafu. Those feelings all subside when I see Yagi walk in. The wash of relief that goes over my body is comforting, like I'd just been in a life-threatening situation, and someone had come to my rescue at just the right moment. Wait...

"Young Midoriya, you're awake!" Yagi looks at me, eyes wide and a giant grin present on his skinny face. He rushes over to me and starts asking me questions a million miles a minute. As much as I want to interrupt him, the feeling that someone was worried about me and cared enough to go crazy when I wake up makes me feel so happy.

"Yagi, I can't understand you when you're asking me multiple questions at once." He sheepishly smiles and rubs the back of his neck. He takes a deep breath and starts over.

"How are you feeling, my boy?"

"I've been better but knowing that you cared enough to help me makes me feel better." His smile widens a bit at that before he looks over to the pile of clothes on the dresser. I see the smile drop and a serious look gather on his face. I feel my smile drop and that same sort of seriousness invade my body.

"I need to ask you a few questions of grave importance. Please, do answer honestly and speak seriously." I nod my head and motion for him to carry on. "The clothing I found you in look just like that vigilante. That mixed with the fact of it being on the same night and your injuries matching his, I can't help but ask. Young Midoriya, are you a vigilante?"

I feel shame from knowing that I've worried him, and anger that I've been caught. "I am. But I need you to promise you won't call the police. I just couldn't stand by and do nothing. To be honest, I've been a vigilante for a while. A little over a year now. I just felt...useless. I don't have a quirk, and I'd been told I couldn't be a hero by so many people. I'd been given an opportunity to do something, but the people I was with didn't work out. I've been going it solo since I've been in Hosu."

I look at him and see him with a conflicted frown. I don't know exactly what he's thinking, but I can tell he's thinking over his options. I already know that one of them is going to the police, and all I can do is hope he doesn't do that. After a few minutes of silence, he speaks. "As much as I hate the fact that you're putting yourself in danger, your cause is admirable. I'd like if you would be a bit more safe, but I know that I can't stop you from getting into dangerous situations."

I feel incredibly relieved before realizing something. "Um, how long was I asleep." He smiles a little to try and relieve the tension, but I give him a frown. He starts to sweat a bit. "Yagi, how long have I been out?"

"Uh, three days?" He smiles nervously at me. It's not as long as I thought, but it's more than I'd like.

"Where's my phone?" He gets up and goes to the dresser with all my clothes. He grabs my phone and walks over to me, sitting down in the chair next to the bed before handing me my phone. I look and see a lot of missed texts, mostly from Uraraka. I feel my heart sink more and more looking at every message. I put my phone down and go to stand up, only for Yagi to stop me.

"You're still injured. Take it easy. You probably won't be able to walk without any pain for a few more days." I panic a little after hearing that. Who will run the cafe? And what will happen if someone attacks our area of Hosu and no heroes are around to stop it? What am I supposed to say, 'Sorry for disappearing, I felt hurt when I stood up'? That's bullshit!

Then it hits me. I might be able to call someone. I go onto my phone and look up a number for U.A. I tell Yagi to go get my mask before dialing the number. Someone picks up and I ask for them to put me through to a specific person. They ask why, and I make up some lie about the person wanting to speak to my agency and I was calling to tell them to talk about our availability. They say okay and put me through. I put on my mask and make sure it's on before the person picks up.

"What do you want?" The tired on the other side of the line is somehow incredibly comforting and really annoying.

"Is that a way to greet someone you would stick your neck out for?" I hear a small chuckle on the other line before some shuffling.

"You're calling for a reason. I saw the news broadcast. For someone who claims to not be on either side, you seem to need a lot of help from a hero."

"Ha ha. Listen, my fight with the Hero Killer left me really injured. I need to know if there's any way you can have me healed enough to go back to my daily life." There's silence on the other side before a sigh.

"I can get someone to go to your location and heal you. But you'll need to be more careful from now on. I can't do this every time you're injured. At least, not until you pick a side." I understand what he's getting at, and it makes me feel both flattered and angry. On the one hand, I'm happy he considers me worthy of being a hero. On the other hand, I don't want to ally myself with a group of people that are incredibly corrupt.

"I'll think about it. Now tell me when they'll get here, and I'll be sure to be ready in whatever you think would be appropriate."

"Wear your vigilante stuff. She'll be at your location in an hour." With that, he hangs up. At first, I question how he knows where I'm at. Then I realize that it's U.A., and they probably know how to track phones easily. I take off my mask, put my phone to the side and try standing up. Yagi tries to stop me, but I stop him.

"I asked someone for help. Someone's coming here to help me in an hour, and I need to be in my vigilante stuff. You can either help me, or you can sit there and do nothing. Make your choice." After a few seconds of silence, he gets up and helps me over to my stuff.

Thank God for small favors.

Word Count: 1333

I hope you guys like this chapter! I've been feeling like writing again, and since school is letting out soon, I'll have more free time to write. Let me know what you think by commenting, and I'd love to know where you want this story to go. I do have a specific set of events I want to happen, but everything between then is very malleable. Thank you for being so patient with the release of chapters recently. It means a lot. The continued support makes me feel great when I release a new chapter, especially with knowing that people will read it. Have a good day and remember to drink some water.