Chapter Text
"Izuku, we have a new hero who needs your help."
The boy sets down his dried marker, the staff never bothering to get replacements, and gets picked up, having lost his ability to walk a few months ago.
When living in a cage, the only hope is to not wake up one day but to open your eyes to find yourself outside, basking in the warm sun with birds chirping. Even death seems more liberating than being here.
Izuku, only 11, looks forward to one thing - new stickers plastered on his skin as a reward for being 'good' and doing his job correctly. They make him feel warm and funny, momentarily allowing him to forget what's happening to him down here. However, he doesn't believe he'll ever be good enough to receive those stickers, given how his body is already close to its limit.
And they know it.
Maybe another cruel punishment, letting him be fully aware and suffering in his last days
Day by day, he grew weaker, fully aware of what lay ahead. He knew the grim fate that awaited those who lacked the strength to endure, those who crumbled under the weight of abuse.
They go away and never come back
And he doesnt care
That's why he has given up on heroes and morals by his 6th birthday because real heroes would never let this happen, they would never allow a child to be locked in a cell, having been forced to use his quirk to heal heroes
"It's Enji, the number one hero, so I expect you to heal him fully. No 'oh, my hands hurt, it hurts to breathe, you're not a child,' " the nurse said.
Except he was
Izuku nods, only allowed to speak when spoken to, hands with rings always tended to hurt the most
“I've been seeing him more often, don't you have more workers?” the pro hero asked as he sighed into the bed
What a dumb thing to worry about—he's concerned about taking on more work when he shouldn't be here in the first place
Haa...its just them not wanting to feel dirty after allowing this to happen under their noses
Izuku takes a deep breath as he concentrates, closing his eyes. The bright light emanates from his hand as he heals the hero
Sometimes, Izuku wonders if he will ever see Kacchan again, or well, Dynamight (but he allowed him to be called Kacchan!). The only pro hero who has never entered this building to be healed. Is he so strong that he doesn't need healing, or does he just go to the hospital?
He's the only hero who doesn't mind healing with his quirk, the only grownup who saved him before he got taken by the commission and doesn't think about how he could exploit Izuku when it comes to his quirk.
He could remember it like it was yesterday—how he ruffled his hair and said thanks. The assurance that his quirk would serve him well one day when he's grown, the reminder that he doesn't have to rush things and can go to school.
And sometimes he wonders if will even get to be alive to even see those red eyes again
His shackles feel heavier by the day. He doesn't draw as much as he used to and forgets to eat. Not that the commission minds, one less to worry about.
They don't mind they took his childhood and dreams along with his life. And that's why he hates heroes; he despises the people he's forced to heal because he's RIGHT there, HE needs saving, yet nobody is there for him!
Why is he not getting saved? He's just eleven.
Izuku falls to the ground and can't even fully exhale from the pain running through his body.
“Pity... my hand still hurts even if I can walk now thanks to his quirk, fix it,” the red-haired growls, but Izuku is struggling to breathe.
Please, he’s right there!
Be a hero izuku begged
He can't even remember how to spell his name as his mama taught him...
Why won't nobody save him?
With an annoyed sigh, she picks the boy that weights nothing
“I apologize, sir, he’s too weak to continue, but we’ll make sure this doesn't happen again” she bows and starts walking into the hallway
“You have ONE job izuku!” she hissed, the poor baby flinched
“If you can't save a hero do you think you can make them proud? We need them to save us!”
But who can save him?
That threat would've worked on izuku back when he was a smaller child, they always used to use his love of heroes to motivate him
But now he despises them, so what is there to use now?
He's just an empty shell of what he used to be
She throws him into the ground, what would it matter if he could heal himself anyways?
"Isn't he the last one you have? Let him heal so he doesn't hurt himself more. His quirk is one of the best I've seen," It was someone new this time
He doesn't want to heal himself anymore
"There's research being done to heal just as well as him, so the commission doesn't care if he gives out sooner or later," his 'caregiver' said, but Izuku stared at the white light that burnt his skin, missing the warmth of the sun he hasn't seen since he was 5.
He just wants to dream about kacchan and mom, and how the two would be in a game at the park and playing on the swings!
Izuku can play being a hero, a /good/ hero, and kacchan can act as the villain, and his mom like a civilian that needed saving!
And sure, it makes him cry how she was the one that sold him off...but he would never blame his mom
Maybe once they send him away he can see her in his dreams forever
**
“AHHH VILLAINS ARE ATTACKING!”
“WHERE ARE THE HEROES?!”
“DO WE SAVE THE KID?! WE NEED A GOOD HEALER-”
“LEAVE HIM, MAYBE THE VILLAINS WILL KILL HIM AND GIVE US TIME TO–”
There was a splash and then another scream
But izuku wasn't scared
He’s dealt with heroes, what else does he have to fear?
White hair flashed across the glass of the door
He could stay quiet, he could just die from the smoke getting to his lungs, the building collapsing...he could die right now
But he didint want to, he wanted to live, he wanted to feel the warmth again, he wanted to see those red eyes
“..Save..save me! Please!”
The rustling stopped
If the heroes find him, who knows if they will take him to heal again, anything but that
The green hair gasped when the door turned into dust and a man stepped in, shigaraki.
He knows about them by the way the heroes come back injured to him
“Save..me” izuku mumbled
“Christ..they're keeping kids in here?” he asked himself as he puts on a glove that covered his pinky
‘Expected of heroes, it might the healer the others were screaming out’ Dabi says from the other line of his headphone
The child was too weak to crawl to him, so the only thing he could do was stare
“Save..I heal” he mumbled, offering his small hand that was nothing compared to the size of shiga’s
“We are not heroes kid” the man mumbled, picking him up with ease
But even then, it's the softest touch he's felt in years.
“We will use you to further up our plans–”
“You saved me from heroes” izuku said, sighing into shigaraki's clothes, used to the smell of blood and sweat
“...”
The villain sighs before walking out, a nomu was quick to be right behind him, killing anyone in sight
“Guess we found a new member for our league” the man says with a huff, uniting with the rest of his team
“Our healer..”
“Izuku” the boy says with a smile as he tapped on the man's palm as a child would, not caring if the thing covering his pinky was gone he wouldve been turned to dust
“Guess we're babysitting huh?” Dabi asked
The end