Eat My Stomach (Quirk Deku AU)

The Pretender

He dropped onto a wet floor, his surroundings muddled with the pour of rain. He lifted himself from the concrete, trying to get a glance of his surroundings. Dark towering buildings, shattered windows, and rain, so much rain. The drumming of droplets was deafening, he could barely hear a thing, and felt starkly alone in the center of the street. There were no smells, visibility was poor, this was possibly Izuku's worst environment. His breathing was heavy with worry. His heart banging in his chest.

The water had drenched his hair, flattening strands against his forehead. He felt lucky his hero costume was made of a leathery-latex material, and was waterproof. The puddles below him splashed as he walked through the cityscape, keeping himself as quiet as possible, listening for anything. He couldn't believe what was happening. Were they villains? Was this an attack? What did they want? Izuku had to keep his anxiety under control, slipping into this survival mindset he's become comfortable in as of late. Stopping in his walk, closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath. Stoic, nothing but thought and observation. The smells he'd picked up when the portal opened were of the dozens. There had to be at least hundreds of villains inside the USJ at that point. Izuku focused, really focused.

There, amongst the rhythm of the rain, matching it almost, the sound of a heartbeat, a few maybe, erratic, weak. Breaths that were heavy yet subdued. They were hiding. Waiting for him. Where? The buildings, the lower floors, by the entrances and exits. Izuku walked to the back door of a building close by, knowing a few villains were squatting by the windows on the ground floor, staring out onto the street. He'd get the jump on them this way. Rain ran down his face, his expression stone cold as he steeled himself. These are villains. Real people who want to do real harm. This is life and death. He opened the doors.

The three inside turned to him instantly, Izuku noticed with a sharpness that told him the overstimulation of the downpour to his senses had all but abated. A man with short blonde hair and legs that resembled a grasshopper shouted to the others, who pulled knives from their pockets. The grasshopper rushed him, and Izuku couldn't help but think he was slow, skirting around him. Another swiped a knife at him, his swing wide and uncoordinated. His whole abdomen was unprotected and Izuku took his chance to deliver a punishing kick to the man's side, slamming him into the wall behind him with the force. The man spit up his lunch before going down for the count. The other two stared at the both of them, and Izuku let a smile grace his features.

He'd been through a few buildings, hunting each criminal down one by one, when he noticed a murky figure in the distance, slowly approaching. Izuku took the initiative, breaking into a full sprint, ready to attack. The figure became more clear, the same size as him. He took a jump just a few feet before he reached them, planning to start off with a kick to the chest, when he was suddenly frozen solid, midair. He became bitingly cold in an instant, encased in a spike of solid ice.

"Oh, Midoriya. It's just you." Izuku looked ahead to see Todoroki approaching, the icy mist of his breath leaking from his mouth.

"T-Todoroki. You were here too?" He nodded, reaching with his left hand to free Izuku.

"The portal villain split us all up. I managed to stay and pin him for a while with Bakugou, but he escaped and sent me here. I've been subduing villains as I see them." Izuku stood, shivering, and recollected himself.

"That's what I've been doing since I got here, they're all wai-" A searing pain battered his senses as a crescent shaped blade of energy sliced straight through the arm at rest on his right side, burying into his hip. He cried out in pain, falling to the ground in a growing puddle of blood.

"Midoriya! What-" More blades shot off from the top of a building to their right. Todoroki dodged while Izuku crawled through his blood with his left hand, trying to reach the detached arm that was sent a few feet away. It was sticky and clung to him, but washed away with the rain. The blades left deep lacerations in the asphalt of the road, an emitter quirk? Izuku could barely think through the pain and adrenaline wreaking havoc on his system. His goal was his arm. He was so close. His hip had healed, but the stump on his shoulder was gushing, Todoroki stared at him frustrated.