Eat My Stomach (Quirk Deku AU)

Jack and Diane

A savory scent crawled along the walls of Izuku's room, flying through his ceiling fan and grasping his thoughts in its warm, dead embrace. There was meat at the foot of his door, in a neat little bento, drenched in blood. Izuku did not want it. No matter how much his stomach cried for it. It was not moral. It was not ok.

Izuku was not happy with All Might for putting it there, something about "facing reality" the man had argued. Well, Izuku would deny reality all he wanted, cowering under his scratchy blanket in the corner of his room fighting every instinct he had. It'd been three days since he lost his mother.

In these three days, Izuku learned he did not get along well with All Might. It wasn't that he was a bad housemate, quite the opposite. All Might was organized and tidy, Izuku was sure he cooked well too, though his gauge for that was properly shot. However the man lacked a certain carefulness that Izuku needed. A carefulness around his "quirk." Izuku wouldn't leave his room for anything other than the bathroom. Izuku did not want to eat. Izuku would not eat. What's so hard about that for the man to grasp? Izuku was sure even if he hadn't become a flesh eating monster, that he wouldn't eat. He's allowed to grieve his mother. He's not going to let this new quirk distract him from that. That's not the only reason, though. Izuku knew that the meat was ethically sourced. He knew it was given with consent. But Izuku is a selfless "person." He's lived his life giving, being walked on, disregarding his own misgivings for the sake of others. The most selfish thing one can do, in Izuku's mind, is use other people for one's own gain. It's the mindset of villains. Izuku can't-he just can't.

But he was so so hungry.

There was a knock at his door.

"Young Midoriya, you can't keep starving yourself. You can't keep yourself locked away either. You're going to have to face this reality one way or another." All Might said sternly through the locked door to Izuku's room, formerly All Might's office. "We both know this won't last forever. Just please, Young Midoriya. This isn't healthy." Izuku sniffed in annoyance.

"You're not changing my mind, All Might." All Might sighed.

"I told you you could call me Yagi, kid." Izuku didn't like referring to him with his given name. It was like All Might was human when he did that. Like he was trying to put himself on the same level as Izuku. A god trying to be level with the likes of Izuku? That wasn't allowed.

"I really, really would prefer it if you left me alone, All Might." He said as he curled into a ball under his covers. He heard the man sign in defeat, and retreat back to the living room.

It wasn't until the late hours of the night that it began to hurt. Three days with no food, three days with no sustenance. Three days was the limit.

Izuku had taken to chewing his arm, trying to distract himself with a different kind of pain, but also to satisfy the aching in his gums, like a baby teething. Blood seeped into his teeth, staining his lips red and hot, mimicing the feeling of quarry won over, but there was no taste. Of course his flesh wouldn't do. But...But there was other flesh available. Maybe not fresh, not very nutritious, but a meal nonetheless. Izuku's body shook in delight. Yes! Finally, something to eat!

He crept from his bed, his feet taking him from his room into the wooded-floor hallway, his feet carefully touching on the floor boards that didn't creak. The house was dark, a simple lamplight illuminating a large couch sat around a coffee table at the center of the main room. From the hallway, you could walk behind anyone on the couch, without leaving a single clue. All Might sat at this couch, the lamp on the table beside him shining warmly on his tired figure, Izuku could smell the staleness of a book in his hands, hear the rustle of the paper.

Izuku stood silently behind him, eyes wide open and starved. The man's neck was bent down, there was a slight sheen of sweat on it, partly from the humid Japan air, partly from the stomach wound that threatened to take over his body. Right, Izuku reminded himself, he's rotting. He tried rationalizing it in his mind as the man's stench settled in his nostrils. No amount of anything could stop him now, he was sure of it. He would eat around the bad parts. It'd be ok.