Born To Be A...

Night Life

Once he had left the money with Yoshio, Izuku left them. He hovered around for a little while longer out of sight to make sure they didn't steal the money meant for everyone in the poorer section of the city and also to watch the police investigate the apartment. He was happy to see them begin to work on how to distribute all the money and then start to divide bills into large envelopes. Sano left soon after they started and Izuku made sure she got home safe from a distance. He only left when he heard loud flapping wings and turned to see a dragon in the sky headed to the apartment. He didn't want to be seen so he left.

He wanted to do some more research on many things he learned by speaking to Sano. More specifically, the legend of the Quirk Boogeyman with many quirks. Maybe this legend was like him, an experiment. With his mind settled, he flew into the dark and then paused when his stomach grumbled. His path diverted from the direction of the library and to that restaurant with the good food.

Less than an hour later, Izuku sulked on a rooftop. Apparently, they were closed and opened the next day. That's how he learned that stores closed at select times. When he was done pouting, he jumped down onto the sidewalk. He hovered for a split second to cushion the fall and then began to wander the dark city. While he was peckish, he could handle being hungry for a while. He had spent days without food or sleep before so skipping a meal wouldn't hurt. Plus, Izuku was almost certain that his quirk adapted to sustain his body with fewer resources. Or maybe it was just his mentality, Izuku wasn't too sure.

He walked down the sidewalk with the lamp posts lighting his path. He looked at stores as he passed and what they contained inside them. He saw a few groups of people on the sidewalks, mostly congregating around bars. They laughed and pushed each other around but it was obvious to see them having fun after work. Some walked with unsteady steps while others leaned on each other for balance while they sang songs bad enough for Izuku to know the song wasn't supposed to be sung that way.

One older man behind a group stumbled near an alleyway. An arm reached out and grabbed him before anyone knew he was missing. Izuku narrowed his eyes at that and walked into the alleyway. No one was there so he went deeper into the dark. He heard one voice clearly while the other belonged to the inebriated man as slurred words were mumbled out. It was clear the intoxicated man was being robbed. Izuku moved to stop it.

He rounded the next corner and grabbed the robber by the shoulder as he pulled him away from his victim. The drunk man slumped against the wall, asleep. Meanwhile, Izuku got a good look at the criminal. He was young, just a bit older than himself. He looked scared and tried to hide it with anger but Izuku could see the underlying desperation.

The young man tried to shake Izuku's hand off his shoulder and bring up the box cutter to threaten him but was stopped on both fronts. Izuku's other hand slapped the box cutter out of his hand and held the young man still. "Enough, what are you doing?"

"What? What does it look like?! Now, let me go!" The young man tried to escape once again but cried in pain when the hand tightened on his shoulder.

"Why are you robbing him? I can see this was your first time, so why?" Izuku's voice didn't rise but it demanded to be answered with glowing green eyes shining on the young man.

"I don't have any options left! I need the money. Now, let me go!" He thrashed once again but he was held still.

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the boy. "You always have options, this is one of the worst ones. To hurt others for your benefit? I don't know why you need money but find another way than this." He waved his hand to the unconscious drunk. "Or else you will find yourself dead one day."

"How! Who would kill me for mugging a drunk?" He waved at the man facing down on the dirty alleyway.

"I would," Izuku said calmly.