Zero - A Vigilante Deku Story

Chapter 21 - Do you know who I am?

I'm on vacation. Since I don't know how good my internet connection or VPN will be tomorrow and everything is up and running right now, you'll get the new chapter a little earlier.
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POV Zero?

The corridors of the huge school building were deserted. After all, classes had started long ago. So Zero didn't run into anyone in his panic. He kept his quirk activated the whole time.

He was scared and wanted to hide.

The door to a stairwell gave him an idea. Zero ran through it and up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. His breathing was fast. Faster than the exertion should have made it. After all, the teenager was used to running.

There was a door at the end of the last flight of stairs. It was locked, but Zero didn't let that stop him. He pulled a hairpin out of his thick curls and tampered with the lock. It only took a few seconds before it clicked and the door burst open.

Zero hurriedly stepped out. As he had hoped, he was standing on the school roof. The door clicked shut again. Now no one could follow him here. He himself could simply pick the lock again or use his wings to get down.

His nose was tingling. Zero wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and deactivated his quirk. He had to calm down, otherwise he would get a headache on top of the nosebleed.

Slowly, he walked to the edge of the building. It was windy up here and he had to pull his wings tight to his body to keep the wind from fanning them out and pulling him off his feet. He sat down on the edge and let his legs dangle. The air was clear and cold. Small clouds formed in front of his face.

The cold would not drive him back in. Zero was used to worse.

Zero ...

He had known that it was not his real name, but only a variation of Null, which was also not his name, but only a designation. Nevertheless, he had identified with this name for years and was used to being called by it because of Shouta, Mic and Hitoshi.

Izuku ... The name didn't sound strange. There was something familiar about it. "Izuku," he whispered softly, letting the wind carry the name from his lips. "Izuku..." Was that really his name? Did the other boy know him? Had they been friends before his time with the League? The other kid in the old photo actually looked a lot like him.

He had gotten both his wings and his quirk from the doctor's experiments. So it wasn't surprising that the child in the photo didn't have any. "Kacchan..." This name also sounded familiar, as if his voice had already formed this sound countless times. The other boy had responded to it. That had to mean the blond was right and he had known him in his previous life, didn't it?

Zero tried to recall the moment that had been captured in the photo. Both boys looked so carefree and happy. He couldn't remember ever smiling so broadly.

He was torn. On the one hand, Zero wanted to find the other boy and ask him what he knew about him. On the other hand, he was afraid of the confrontation. What if the other boy was wrong and he wasn't that boy? Zero didn't know how to deal with being presented with a past that might not be his own after all. He had carried the pain of losing his identity deep inside him for so long that he could hardly risk getting his hopes up only to have them dashed again.

He tried hard to remember. Somewhere deep in his memory there had to be a clue as to whether the blond boy was right, whether he really knew Kacchan.

~~~~~

"Kacchan, wait for me!"

"Faster, Zuku, or we'll be too late."

He ran as fast as his short legs could carry him until he stumbled and fell unchecked onto the forest floor. Pain burned in his knees and palms. "Kacchaaan!" Tears ran down his cheeks.