Smoke and Ash

Twenty-Two (Midoriya P.O.V)

Midoriya closed his eyes, tapping a pencil against the notebook paper on the counter in front of him. He was currently sitting at the bar counter, working on another entry of his hero analysis notebook.. or at least trying to. He hadn't done any real detective work yet since he was still recovering from his attempted death months before.

"This is getting me nowhere!" He exclaimed, wincing slightly. His body still hurt, but at least he was doing good enough to move now. A sigh left him, rubbing his face as he stood from his seat, moving behind the counter. The bar was currently closed and he was the only one even inside. His head screamed at him, his heart ached, so his hand grabbed a bottle. He knew he shouldn't, he was underage, basically stealing from the people who took care of him.. but he was exhausted, tired of his entire body fighting itself.

His hand stopped, squeezing the glass bottle in his hand. His eyes read the words, though he didn't comprehend them. "Damnit.." He sighed again, putting the bottle back. He rubbed his face again, moving back around the counter. The notebook on it taunted him, called out his every flaw. It was the reason the villains found him in the first place, the reason he couldn't go home anymore "I'm done! I'm done with this! I'm Izuku Midoriya and I'm a villain!" He cried out, his voice cracking and his fist slammed against the counter. "I'm a villain.. I can't change that anymore.. Who am I kidding? I have no right to want to be saved.. Bakugou can't do anything"

He left the notebook on the counter, not wanting to even look at it anymore. He was holding his fist in his other hand as he moved back to his room, avoiding focusing on the throbbing from hitting the counter. Midoriya just wanted to sleep, close his eyes and never wake up again, but he just couldn't do that. He knew what he had to do, he had to continue being a villain.. but he was going to do it on his own terms now. It wasn't because he was being spiteful, it wasn't because he was 'useful' to the League. He was going to be a villain because it was something he was good at. A villain with morals.

"I can't be a hero, I can't be a civilian.. but I sure as hell ain't going to be the villain they want me to be!" He grabbed a book bag, getting down in front of the bookshelf full of notebooks. Notebooks were shoved  into it, in order to make sure he had them all he couldn't close it. Another bag was used to throw his clothes in. "Food.. I need food.." He said quietly, looking at the bag with his clothes in it. He could fit enough food in it for a week.. but he knew where he needed to get it from.

"If I get it from the storeroom, they're less likely to think I ran away.." he muttered, standing up now. Midoriya was known to leave the hideout for hours, so they most likely wouldn't look for him right away, though it would probably be suspicious that all of his notebooks were gone but at this point he didn't care. He wasn't going to let them have them.

His movements were quiet as he moved down the steps towards the storeroom. He paused when he got about halfway, his eyes widening when he heard slamming. It sounded like someone trying to open a door, but they didn't know how to use a doorknob. His hand went to the handle of the knife holstered to his leg, his body crouching a little despite the pain. The banging against the door stopped, though Midoriya could hear talking. An unfamiliar voice and.. Bakugou?

Midoriya didn't say a word as he reached out, his hand gripping the knob. He could tell that the door was locked, but he knew the combination so he unlocked it before throwing the door open. A familiar face looked shocked as he fell backwards, light filling the mostly dark room. Bakugou was staring up at him. The others he recognized from his research for the Hero Analysis Notebooks. Eijiro Kirishima was peaking at him from the corner of his eyes. He could see Denki Kaminari laying against Kirishima and in the back, revealed only slightly by the newfound light, was the prodigy son of Endeaver, Shoto Todoroki. These were the kids the others were talking about, the ones who came close to the hideout the week before.

"You've got to be kidding me"