The scratching

Chapter 22

Izuku tossed and turned on the palette. It was cold and every time he closed his eyes, he saw himself killing his own father. He saw the man cough up blood and he remembered the conversation he had with him, the words which cut a bit too deep.

Could he still be a hero or was his father right and Izuku really was a villain now? Would his friends still accept him?

Was it worth continuing to live?

Izuku sighed and stood up, deciding that he wouldn't get any sleep tonight anyway. He walked outside the warehouse to get some fresh air. It was even colder outside and Izuku regretted not taking a jacket or a hoodie with him. Yet, despite it being cold Izuku could only stare in awe at the sky which was decorated by stars.

He sat down onto the freezing pavement, wrapping his arms around his legs. And even under the current  circumstances, Izuku found it peaceful. His eyelids started to grow heavy and drop down and his yawning started to become more frequent. Maybe there was hope for some sleep tonight.

Just as he was about to go inside the warehouse again, a scream echoed through the alleys.

Danger sense immediately went off in his head and before he could really think it through, he was already sprinting in the direction of the scream. All the earlier doubts vanished from his mind because deep down, Izuku still was a hero. Deep down, he knew that he had to save this person because back then, he hoped someone would have saved him.

He arrived at the scene in a matter of seconds. The woman, which he assumed had screamed, was backed up into a corner, a man standing in front of her.

"I don't care if you have children to feed, give me your fucking money before I'll kill you!" the man screamed. He was clearly drunk as his voice slurred and he couldn't seem to stop swaying. The knife in his hand didn't seem as threatening to Izuku as it did to the women. Izuku shoot black whip out of his hands, grabbing the knife and throwing it out of reach. The man turned around and looked at Izuku with something that could be described as shock and anger.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" The man stalked closer towards Izuku, away from the women who still seemed to be in shock.

"I can't let you rob this poor woman." Izuku answered and shoot Black whip out again, this time towards the man's torso, locking him in place successfully. The man struggled against Izuku, spitting out nasty insults to which Izuku paid no mind to. He had a job to do after all. With a swift punch against the man's head, he was out cold, tumbling to the ground. Izuku stepped over him and walked towards the woman, kneeling down in front of her.

"Hey there, I'm a he- are you alright? Anywhere hurt?" he asked her. She was shaking all over but considering that she had a knife pointed at her not too long ago, it was pretty understandable.

"I'm- I'm okay thank you so much for helping me. I can't thank you enough-"

"It's okay. I'm just doing what's right. You maybe want to call 911, yeah? He'll be out cold for a while but I'm sure you wanna have him get arrested." Izuku cut the woman off, pointing towards the man who was still unconscious lying on the floor.

"Yes, again thank you so much. I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything. Just take care of yourself, yeah?" with that, Izuku activated One for All and disappeared into the cold night.

The woman scrambled for her phone that was still in her purse and dialled 911.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"I nearly was robbed but I think a hero saved me. He's gone though and the man is still lying here with me. Could you- maybe send someone?"

"The man is still lying there? Is he conscious?"