Touch of Chaos

Chapter 18

Izuku sighed. Finally, back in his room, he peeled his damp cloak off his shoulders and took off his mask. It was high quality, it had been made especially for him, it wouldn't budge in a fight, and it did its job well. You saw no speck of Izuku when you looked at The Watcher. Anonymity was everything to him now.

He dropped his duffle bag on the floor, weapons clinking together as it made contact. He bunched up his wet clothes and shoved them in his pack with his new toys before sliding the bag into the hidden drawer in the back of his closet.

He shoved the bits of support gear he was working on off his chair. He sat, tired-eyed, and slumped across his desk. He was exhausted, running on fumes at this point. Each night is a hopeless struggle of conflicting thoughts.

He doesn't want to sleep, not yet. Aizawa would be waiting for him in a few hours. He looked at the old clock that hung on the wall, 10pm. He sighed and pulled out his phone. Katsuki would be asleep by now, so he couldn't go there to kill time. He scrolled through the news, waiting to see if anything caught his eye.

He managed to kill an hour reading through reports of villain attacks, nothing interesting enough to get him excited. He wiped his tired eyes and stretched his sore limbs. He left his room and went downstairs to brew way too much coffee. His mother had gone to bed hours ago, so he was surprised when he saw her sitting in the kitchen.

She looked up at him, and she looked as tired as he felt. "So you're back now?"

Shit. "What do you mean?" He's in so much trouble.

"You know what I mean, Izuku." she sighed, "I thought you were doing better now. I thought you promised Aizawa you wouldn't do any Vigilante-ing on your own anymore?"

He looked at her sad face, guilt bubbling up inside of him. "It was important. And I didn't go out as Chaos, so I technically didn't break my promise."

"What the hell was so important that you had to sneak out again?!" She was furious. She thought he would be better now that he had Aizawa to help him.

He walked past her to get some coffee, "you don't want to know."

"Enough of that Bull-Shit Izuku! I want some god-damn answers for once!"

He sighed and sat down in front of her, coffee in hand.

Inko looked into her son's dead eyes. He looked like a shell of the child she once had. Now just a machine going through the motions. She didn't know who Izuku was anymore, and she blamed herself for that. She knew that deep down in the violent teen in front of her, her son was buried.

"An old 'friend' is back in town. I had to find out what he is up to."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Izuku! Did you go out to interrogate villains!"

He scoffed, "No, it was a peaceful meeting. They didn't even swear."

She grit her teeth, "oh, well, that makes it all better. My son went out and had an illegal meeting with a bunch of criminals, but they didn't swear at him, so it's fine!" The sarcasm was thick in her voice.

He glared at her, "I'm not the one who started this, Mum."

He felt terrible as soon as the words left his mouth. His mother's eyes shone with tears as her mouth hung open with shock. This is why he preferred to ignore her. He was tired of hurting her like this.

He stood up and didn't spare her another look as he left out the front door. Running away from his problems yet again.

He climbed up the side of his building to get his bag from his room. He needed his Chaos gear but didn't want to walk past his mother and risk another conversation. He didn't stay longer than necessary. The sound of his mother's pained sobs wasn't welcoming. He changed quickly and was out his window again in less than a minute.

He needed to work. That always helped calm his raging emotions.

He arrived at the cafe twenty minutes early. He didn't get to finish his coffee at home, so he might as well get some while he waited.

The night shift was used to him and Aizawa at this point. The woman behind the counter looked surprised when he went up to order, "oh, you're early tonight!"

"Yeah, needed coffee."

She laughed and took down his order. "I'm not surprised. You look exhausted!" She could only see his eyes, but the deep bags made him look twice his age.

He sat in his regular seat and waited for his order. He played games on his phone while he waited. He had read the newspapers while he was at home.

When the server came out, she bought him a coffee and a sandwich, telling him he should eat something with all that coffee. He agreed, knowing that she wasn't going to let up. He pulled his hood further over his head before pulling his mask down so he could eat.

Aizawa showed up 10 minutes early. He probably had the same idea as Izuku, get coffee before they started. He looked surprised to see Midoriya in the corner, hood up and munching away on a sandwich. He ordered his drink before taking a seat in front of him.

"You're early, problem child." The kid looked a mess. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"So are you, old man." There was none of his usual edge in his voice.

"Are you up to going out today?" He was worried about Midoriya. He looked like he would

 collapse at any moment.

His eyes snapped up immediately, "of course I am!"

He sighed and looked up to see the server coming their way carrying two cups of coffee. Izuku hurriedly pulled his mask back over his face as she placed the to-go cups down in front of him,

"I made two to save time." She smiled at them both before wishing them a good night and heading back to the counter.

Eraserhead and Chaos took their drinks and left to start their patrol.