Silhouette

Ch. 13

It had been nearly a week since Izuku had kicked Eijirou and Katsuki out of his apartment and his life. He was doing... fine. If fine was considered as barely sleeping, eating one meal a day, and tripping over his feet so often on patrol that his partners were starting to worry, then he was the epitome of fine. 

"What happened to relaxing?" Todoroki asked one night while they were out patrolling. 

Izuku was dead on his feet, and it wasn't hard to see. Honestly, he was probably worse than before, even he could admit it. "It got hard," he mumbled. 

Todoroki's brows lowered in concern as he looked the other man up and down. "I don't think you should even be out right now." 

"But I am," he replied with a huff, trying to blink the sleep from his eyes as he scanned the road below them. Night shifts used to be his solace, but lately, they were becoming a chore. 

Todoroki didn't get a chance to respond as their comms crackled to life, and Uraraka's hushed voice filled their ears. 

"We got something you're gonna want to see. Two blocks east." 

"On our way," Izuku said back quickly, already heading in the direction she'd said. Todoroki followed wordlessly behind. 

It took them only a minute or two to reach their friends; jumping across rooftops was really a shortcut through the city. They quickly joined up with the rest of their patrol, Uraraka pointing to something on the road below. 

"It's Red and Zero," she whispered to them. "Can't tell what they're doing, though." 

Izuku's heart dropped to his stomach as he peered over the ledge and saw the two villains. They were carrying crates from a truck to an open door. He knew it was the bar they worked at, which meant there were probably dozens more villains just past the threshold. 

"What's the plan?" Sero asked in a hushed voice as all eyes turned to Izuku. 

He swallowed hard, knowing they were all waiting for him to come up with something. "There isn't one," he said softly. "We can't ambush them." 

"Why?" the tape hero asked, his brows furrowed as he glanced back down at the villains. 

"That building is a bar," he admitted, knowing he was about to be in so much trouble. "It's, uh, filled with other villains. No telling how many. If we charge in, they have backup not even ten feet away. We'd be screwed." 

"How the hell do you know that?" Uraraka asked, her eyes widening slightly at the new information. 

Todoroki turned toward him, a frown on his lips. "And why haven't you said anything about it?" 

"You guys know I get information all the time," he lied, letting it roll off his tongue with ease. It was only a half lie, really, because he did get information on villains all the time. He had informants all over the place, so it wouldn't be beyond reasoning to say he'd just forgotten to mention this piece of intel. "I guess I just forgot about it." 

"Okay, what the fuck is going on with you lately?" Todoroki hissed, pulling Izuku away from the ledge to make it harder for someone on the ground to spot them. Uraraka and Sero followed, both looking unsure between the two heroes. 

"What'd you mean?" Izuku asked, pulling his arm a little harshly from the other's grip. He didn't appreciate being manhandled, especially not by Todoroki. 

"You know exactly what I mean," he insisted, crossing his arms. "You're known for overworking yourself, but this is ridiculous, Izuku. You're so tired you almost fell off a building earlier, and you forgot to mention a villain bar? What's going on?"