11

Chapter 11: A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

Chapter Text

Izuku lands on the rooftop of the Eight Precepts' building. It's quieter in this part of town, and the silence is unnaturally eerie in the darkness of night. He doesn't have a lot in the ways of light either. The streetlights don't extend to the roof, and Izuku fumbles blindly for a few moments while he waits for his vision to adjust. His warm breath condensates on the inside of his mask and makes him uncomfortable, but Izuku doesn't dare take it off. He may be on the roof, and the yakuza has no way of knowing he exists, let alone that he's here, but taking off the mask feels like he'd be exposing himself. Leaving himself vulnerable. Which is something he does not want to do. Maybe if he wasn't so anxious as to be borderline hyperventilating, it wouldn't bother him that much.

He can't afford failure here, and that knowledge, that burden, feels like it's closing up his throat. But, he also can't be weak, so he does the only thing he can think of. He ignores it. Maybe it will go away. (Izuku's never been that lucky.)

When he clears his head enough of his wayward thoughts, Izuku slides the black backpack he brought off his shoulders and gently to the ground. He pulls from within its depths a laptop he managed to salvage from his time cleaning the trash heap. While he did some work on it himself, or tried to, he inevitably had to take it to a shop. The first victim he saved's shop actually, not that the man knows it. There likely could have been a discount for him if he told the owner of his identity, but Izuku would never use his hero identity to seek favors. Even without the discount, it was cheaper than buying one new, or even buying one used.

The laptop casts a soft glow around his surroundings that almost seems blinding in the thick darkness when he boots it up. As soon as his eyes adjust to the new light, he sets to work hacking into the cameras that are in the building underneath his feet. He needs to activate a loop in order to hide his infiltration. It's long work, made longer by his impatience, but Izuku flies through it as quickly as his experience will allow.

Once he's gotten ahold of the camera feeds, he starts to create his loop. He doesn't know how long he has until the Eight Precepts notice someone has hacked their feed, but he hopes it will be after he and Eri are far away from here. He sets an alarm on his watch for fifteen minutes from now. Any longer than that and they'd be sure to notice something was up.

Izuku sets the laptop down and stands unsteadily. His hands are sweaty under his gloves and he feels uncharacteristically itchy all over. Taking a deep breath, Izuku approaches the edge of the roof. He ties a rope and rappels down the building. Fifteen minutes. In and out. He can do it.

The building is just as dark, even outside the front doors where Izuku drops. The double glass doors are sealed and locked, resembling for all it's worth like a normal office building.

Izuku narrows his eyes. Looks can be deceiving, he knows better.

He spots the cameras immediately, and although he knows they can't see him because of his own handiwork, he still feels wary. He needs to be quick though, he doesn't have much time, so he pulls out an improvised lockpicking set to get through the door. Izuku is efficient and quiet, and the lock opens up for him in a matter of seconds. He's always been good with puzzles and lockpicking was just another puzzle. Still, he's grateful that he picked it up, even if it was from Mineta after Izuku found out he knew how to in order to accomplish more unsavory activities.

The door is pushed open soundlessly and Izuku creeps in. There are no sounds or movements in the darkness, but that's to be expected. The real operation takes place in the lower floors after all.

Following the mental map he's charted in his head, Izuku sneaks towards where he knows the stairs are. The building's elevator does give access to the secret lower floors with the input of a code, but that was monitored, and entering an elevator felt too much like getting trapped, in Izuku's opinion. The stairs would take more time, unfortunately, but were safer in the long run.

When Izuku enters the stairwell, he finds it lit, albeit dimly. Walking under the artificial light makes Izuku's skin buzz like the bulbs overhead. He no longer has the luxury of hiding in the shadows, and likely won't for the rest of his mission in and out of the facility. One look from anybody within, and Izuku's caught. It'd be game over.

He creeps forward, and then he hears a door slam and steps echoing. The echoes throw off the sound, so Izuku can't discern whether it's above or below him. He freezes, and shrinks down, heart beating wildly and sweat rolling down his spine. The steps eventually stop, another door is opened, and silence returns to the stairwell. It takes Izuku a precious few minutes before he can move again. He has decided that the noise likely came from below him.

Quicker now, cause Izuku's already wasted time, he flies silently over the stairs. He doesn't know when someone else will come into his stairwell and he doesn't have the willpower to keep creeping along when the clock is ticking. His steps barely make a sound.

When Izuku arrives at the correct floor, he peaks through the small window in the stairwell access door. He doesn't see anybody. Just an obnoxiously lit white tile corridor. From the floorplans he's memorized though, Izuku knows exactly where he is.

And exactly where he needs to go.

He opens the door slowly and cringes at the squeaking noise it makes. He wants to freeze again, but he fights the impulse and instead soundlessly closes the door behind him. There are people walking around here as guards, but according to their schedules, no one should be in the immediate vicinity. Izuku will have to time his movements right to continue undetected all the way to Eri's cell.

The hallways are unnaturally silent as Izuku moves through them. He passes rows of closed, unmarked doors, their small windows only revealing darkness. He doesn't have time to see if they are locked, or even what lies beyond them, he's here for one thing and one thing only.

Following his mental map, Izuku reaches the place where they are keeping Eri, but he has to pause. From where he has stopped, he can clearly see, and hear, two masked people loitering outside Eri's cell, seemingly joking and laughing. Thankfully, Izuku recognizes that they are not a part of the Eight Bullets, Overhaul's elite force.

One of them Izuku sees is one of Eri's handlers. He's not too sure who the other guy is, but that's probably a good thing. Another grunt, most likely. He isn't the problem.

The problem is that neither of them should be here, outside of Eri's cell. What is Izuku going to do? If he starts a fight, will he be able to knock them out without raising the alarm? And if he can do that, will he be able to escape successfully before they wake up and definitely raise the alarm? He wanted this to be a stealth mission, where he leaves no trace for the Eight Precepts to find. They wouldn't even think Izuku could be responsible, them having no idea he exists at this point.

But engaging the enemy? Before he knocks out both of them, they'll be able to remember him, maybe even see what he looks like. And although he's disguised, he doesn't want the Eight Precepts led to his vigilante persona either. Can he afford to risk it?

Izuku glances at his watch. Eight minutes have passed. The better question would be: can he afford not to?

His blood spikes and the tempo of his heart increases. It seems his body knew before his head, exactly what he needed to do. Izuku quietly checks that his mask is secured on his face before he calls upon One For All and rushes the two goons.

Good news. He manages to knock out one of them before either of them notice his presence. Bad news. He only knocks out one in his initial strike and has now revealed his presence to the enemy.

The one he didn't manage to hit is not Eri's handler. He stares Izuku down with wide eyes full of surprise and fear. He opens his mouth- to scream? To call for back-up? To use his quirk? Izuku doesn't know. He doesn't even give him the chance.

Izuku rushes the man and cuts off whatever aborted noise he was going to make. The man's eyes roll up into his head, and he slumps down to the ground. Izuku stays still to ensure that both are equally and actually unconscious before he turns to the closed door before him. Eri is just beyond it.

He tries the handle and- no surprise- it's locked. But just like the entrance into the building didn't stop him, this won't stop him either. However, this door can't be opened by simple lockpicking. There's a scanner, perfect for an ID or badge, neither of which Izuku has. Fortunately, he knows who does.

Maybe it was a good thing after all that he ran into someone else. He isn't sure what he would've done to open the door. Bust it open with his quirk? Possibly. At least now he has a better option. Izuku rifles through the clothing of the handler and finds his key card easily enough. From there he swipes it, and a light flashes green with a beeping noise. He hears an audible click.

He turns the handle, and pushes the door slowly open, just a bit, before he pauses. Izuku doesn't want to scare Eri. What would she think if he walked in looking as he did now? Would she even trust someone in a mask? As much as he didn't want to take it off, their first meeting might be better if he had it off. Then he could put it back on when they left. Deciding to keep it off for now, Izuku pulls the mask down and lets it hang by it's string around his neck. He pushes the door all the way open and steps inside.

It looks more like a cell than a room of any sort. The walls, ceiling and floor are a dirty gray. There are no windows and only one other door Izuku can see leads into a small bathroom. The room is lit by harsh LEDs that remind him of the interrogation rooms in the precinct. There is a metal chair, likely for whoever comes to visit, and a small bed. Upon the bed sits the young girl he knows as Eri who stares up at him with wide ruby eyes.

Izuku wants to be mad about the room, about them treating Eri like an animal in a cage, and he is, but now isn't the time. He doesn't want to frighten Eri, so he tries not to let the rage show on his face. When he takes a step closer to her however, she flinches back, so maybe he couldn't hide it completely. He stops, and puts his hands up.

"Hello." Izuku offers with a nervous smile. He feels a little out of his depth. Time is breathing down his neck and Izuku doesn't have much experience with getting scared little girls to trust him. "My name is Deku. I'm a hero."

Eri still stares at him. She flicks her eyes over his form, but doesn't say anything. Izuku doesn't blame her, he probably doesn't look very hero-like, but hey, he doesn't have his hero gear yet, so this is his only option.

He waits to see if she'll say something, but when the seconds tick by, Izuku realizes it'll fall to him to get the ball rolling.

"I'm here to rescue you, Eri. I want to help you." He tells her truthfully, pushing as much sincerity as he can into his words. His eyes never leave hers, so he can see when hers widen even more at his words.

She doesn't look relieved though, she just looks scared. Her eyes dart to the door behind him, and then all around the room as if she expects a threat to emerge from somewhere.

As if this is a trick.

Izuku clenches his fist to keep from gritting his teeth. Did they trick her before? Offer her freedom and see if she took it only to punish her? In the future when he met Eri, Overhaul had made it sound like she tried to escape quite often. How many times had she tried? And what did these monsters do to her to make her stop? Izuku fights to take calming breaths. Anger won't help right now.

"This isn't a trick." Izuku reassures. He keeps himself open and inviting. "We don't have much time though." He bites his lip, not sure if that's the right thing to say- to tell her- even if it is the truth. He doesn't want to worry her. But, they really need to go.

Eri's eyes take on a different shine to them, and she opens her mouth to speak. Her lips move, but no words come out. Izuku waits patiently as she closes her mouth and then tries again.

"...here." It's the only word he catches the second time, the others too softly spoken to hear from where he stands by the door.

"I'm sorry, can you say that again, please? I can't hear you very well. Do you want me to come closer?"

Eri stares at him again, more curiously, as if he said something strange. Izuku's fingers twitch in the silence. They don't have time for this.

"C-can you r-really get me, get me out of h-here?" Eri whispers, but Izuku hears it all this time.

His shoulders sag and he pushes down the overwhelming urge to cry on Eri's behalf. He takes in her messy hair, her raggedy dress and the bandages wrapped around her arms. He looks her straight in her eyes, the emotion in them he now identifies as hope.

"I promise." Izuku states with the utmost conviction.

Eri's lip wobbles, but any tears that slip out, she wipes away quickly. Izuku walks towards her, careful to keep his steps slow and deliberate. When he reaches her bed, he crouches before it.

"C'mon Eri," He says with a smile even as his watch feels like it will burn a hole through his wrist. "Let's get out of here."

He expects Eri to be a little more tentative in her trust, Izuku's never been sure of the entirety of what she had to endure, but he's pleasantly surprised when she leaps at him. Her small arms wrap around his neck and he's almost sent to the ground with the unexpected action. She buries her face in his hoodie and Izuku is quick to wrap his arms around her. He smiles despite himself. Eri's here. She's fine. He's going to get her out.

Izuku stands and slips his stolen ID from his pocket and walks towards the door. He adjusts Eri in his hold so he can see his watch.

13 minutes have passed.

2 minutes left.

Fuck.

Izuku prides himself for not letting the panic he feels show on his face. Even if he took the same path out as he took in, it wouldn't be enough time. Now he has extra weight. But, it's not like standing here will make time tick slower, so Izuku has to accept that he needs to get out of here as fast as possible.

...And that maybe his fastest won't be enough.

He swipes the card and steps into the hallway. And he can see immediately that this escape will not be easy. There is only one body on the ground. The other is nowhere to be seen. That's not good.

Izuku can only count himself lucky that no alarms have been sounded yet as he takes off back the way he came. While he runs, he slips his mask back over his face. Eri watches him do it, but she doesn't seem scared of it, only questioning. He's glad she doesn't ask about it. He doesn't know what he'd tell her.

They arrive at the stairwell door quickly with Izuku's quirk-boosted speed. He closes his hand over the handle when he hears multiple sets of footsteps behind him. He glances behind him and sees all the guards he had avoided converging on him. Some of them are wielding guns. They seem surprised to see him, but that quickly morphs to anger.

"You bastard!" Someone yells and then there's a gunshot.

Izuku ducks on instinct and curls his body protectively around Eri who whimpers in his hold. Whoever fired must have really poor aim however, because Izuku doesn't feel any impact. He decides rather brilliantly that he needs to leave before any other bullets go flying.

He doesn't want to get shot today, no thank you.

When he's in the stairwell though, there's no way he can stop them from coming out after him. There's nothing to block the door with. So, in an attempt to buy some time, Izuku punches the door in and sends it flying towards the rushing guards.

It's a bit like bowling. If the bowling ball was a door and the pins were members of the yakuza. Izuku counts it as a strike anyway.

He doesn't revel in his small victory- doors don't hold people back forever- since he's running low on time already. Izuku sprints up the staircase, skipping whole flights by propelling off the walls and railings. He catches sight of the exit door in record time.

Then the alarm goes off.

It shouldn't surprise him that whatever plan he made didn't work out. Izuku's always had pretty rotten luck. It didn't stop him from hoping that they'd make it out undetected though.

Izuku swallows back a curse, as well as his overwhelming inner anxiety- because Eri- and smashes through the door leading to the ground floor.

He's surrounded on all sides. Too many faces covered in masks, too many weapons and unknown quirks and the door is only a few feet away. From his quick glances around, there is no Overhaul ( yet) and he doesn't see the Eight Bullets either. But, that doesn't mean they aren't here, or aren't on their way. Izuku shifts his stance, holds Eri's terrified form closer to himself. He can do this.

And even if he can't, he has to try.

His watch starts to beep incessantly at him, warning him that he's out of time. Izuku almost wants to laugh at that, if a little hysterically. He's pretty sure the armed villains and blaring alarm already alerted him to how screwed he is.

So with all the grace of a self sacrificing idiot and determined pro hero, Izuku dives right in.

Immediately, he notices a few things. One, these guys don't put up much of a fight (not that he minds), but they still have the advantage of numbers and Izuku's also fighting with only one available arm.

Two, they aren't using their guns, which is good. Very good. Izuku thinks it's because they don't want to hit Eri. He's not complaining. He'll use whatever he can get.

Three, Izuku's getting closer to the door and he might just make it out of here-

Suddenly, everything tilts to the side. Izuku's vision spins, the colors blur and he loses his balance. He stumbles and catches a punch to his gut that he's too slow to dodge. He tries to retaliate with a punch, but he swings too wide. It hits the intended target, but there's not enough force behind it to take him out. Quickly realizing that he can't fight this way, Izuku retreats a bit into a less crowded area, swaying the whole time.

The thugs are quick to chase him. Izuku feels a little nauseous, but he fights through it. Or tries to. He takes more hits than he did before, each one still landing on him and not Eri. While he strikes down the grunts, he scans the crowd for who he thinks is behind his current condition.

A gunshot rings out and suddenly the next guy about to punch Izuku falls to the ground. Izuku whips around to try to find where it came from.

"Hahahaha, Shiiiiin, you, haha. You missssed." A voice laughs out from above him. Izuku looks up, dread pooling in his stomach, to see Deidoro Sasaki hanging from the roof like something out of a horror movie Kaminari tried to get him to watch. In doing so, he's able to avoid the knife sailing at him, but unfortunately all that earns him is a kick to the face by one of the surrounding grunts. Izuku fires up a little more of One For All before he kicks him back. Why are there so many people?!

"Tch, I missed tooooo." Deidoro says.

Another voice joins and Izuku tries to locate it in the crowd as he stumbles. He can't kick too much or he'll fall.

"I would've hit him if there weren't so many people in the way. You have the perfect vantage point and he still dodged it."

Izuku finally locates the speaker of the voice and his heart sinks even more. Shin Nemoto. Another one of the Eight Bullets. He can't face them both alone. Not holding Eri and also surrounded by villains. Having two of the Eight Bullets here must also mean that Overhaul knows he's here, or could even be on the way. Izuku needs to leave. He needs to leave now.

Another gunshot. Eri whimpers, shaking within his arms. Izuku's mask falls from his face and there's a stinging sensation in his cheek. Not too much pain, so he must've only been grazed. Not good. The next shot will kill him.

His heart beats frantically. Someone runs at him and he flips them through his dizziness. It causes him to fall. Eri untucks her head and all he can see are her eyes, filled with fear, looking at him.

He can't save her.

And then she begins to glow.

More accurately, it's her horn that glows, but with Izuku's blurry vision, the light encompasses her whole head.

Izuku knows what this means. He bites his lip to keep in another curse. The stinging in his cheek is gone, and so is the dizziness. Izuku doesn't have much time before the rest of him is gone too. Looks like he's going 100%.

When he cranks up One For All, he can immediately feel the strain. Bones and muscle fibers snap beneath his skin, protesting unfathomable power in a vessel that just can't contain it. The pain both never starts and never ends. Izuku takes a step and the shockwave alone forms a crater in the floor and blows back his attackers. He hears another gunshot, but the bullet is so slow, and Izuku simply has to move his head.

Time to get the fuck outta here.

Izuku stomps the ground again, deepening the crater and watches as the floor gives out. His leg explodes, but is rebuilt instantaneously, before he could even see it exploding. Eri really does have a powerful quirk. He has to constantly break his bones in order to keep up.

Most of the opposition falls through the hole in the floor. The building shakes and groans, the alarm still blares throughout, and Izuku turns to the door. He tries to just walk forward, but he shoots off instead, crashing through glass, bones splintering, barreling through the concrete of the adjacent building. He's pretty sure it's abandoned, but he still feels kind of guilty about the property damage. He stands, and jumps, aiming for the top of the Precepts' building where he left his stuff. Izuku overshoots it by a lot (his legs turning to paste before rebuilding) and he falls through the air before landing on the roof. (The impact shatters his skeleton, the pieces mending before he can fall apart.) The cement cracks and falls underneath him. His laptop has been smashed. He starts to feel tired. A tremor wracks his body from the excess energy. But he can't stop here.

Izuku leaps again, (his whole body shuddering, splintering and then whole again) and the building crumbles beneath his feet. He'd be lying if he wasn't a little satisfied, but mostly he's just relieved. He got Eri out of that place and the Eight Precepts can't come after them. Now all he has to do is calm her down and get her someplace safe.

In the air, Izuku directs their flight to land in an abandoned lot next to a construction site. He doesn't want to wreck any more buildings, although accidentally.

"It's okay, Eri." He soothes. He wants to rub her back or do anything besides hold her, but he fears what would happen with One For All as it is. Izuku can barely control it at 45%, 100% is out of the question.

He lands in the empty lot and the sand and dirt and gravel splash up around them like water from a cannonball. The dust forms a cloud that hovers in the air, obscuring his vision. The soft light from his quirk seems to reflect a little off the particles, but Izuku's got bigger things to worry about.

"Eri. You're okay. It's okay." He assures. Her quirk is still going strong and Izuku flounders in a suspended state of utter agony and temporary relief. One For All rushes to keep him alive by breaking apart the very body it's supposed to serve. Izuku struggles against tears, struggles to stay standing, but Eri needs him.

The small girl has burrowed herself in his arms. She shakes uncontrollably and her eyes are firmly squeezed closed. Whimpers escape her mouth and Izuku has half a mind to seek out Overhaul himself just to punch the bastard in the face.

"C-can't c-control it." Eri mutters, tears leaking from her clenched eyelids.

Izuku sags, he feels like crying just watching her. It hurts almost as much as his body ripping itself apart every second. Almost.

"You can do it, Eri. You did so well already. It's okay now. I can take it from here. You can let it go." Izuku states again, calmly.

Eri finally peeks her eyes open and she finds his eyes with the most devastated expression he has ever seen.

"Don't know. D-don't know how."

Her tears fall harder. When there is more water than realistically possible, Izuku realizes that it has started to rain.

"I don't w-want you to go. Don't g-go like the- like the others. Please, don't l-leave me."

Izuku pushes back the heartache and the sadness at her words. He thinks of how wonderful Eri is, how sweet and kind she is, and he uses that to smile at her. If he cries here, no matter how much he wants to on Eri's behalf, that won't help in reigning in her quirk. Izuku needs to show her that he's fine, that she's fine, that everything will be okay.

"I won't leave you." Izuku says with feeling. He gently caresses the side of her face, careful with his overactive quirk. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm a hero. I'll be here to help whenever you need it."

He holds his hands out to her, palm up, ready for her to take. (His body is breaking, breaking, breaking. His vision swims. He's so dizzy. He's so tired. He can't take much more of this.)

"Eri," Izuku calls to her. "I need you to do something for me, is that okay?" He keeps his voice steady, even as his limbs tremble and light crackles over him.

Eri nods, she places her small hands in his gloved ones. Izuku suppresses a flinch.

"Good. I need you to look at me. Yeah, that's right. Keep looking into my eyes. What color are my eyes, Eri?"

The snow haired girl looks to be in pain as well and fights not to squeeze her eyes shut. Izuku waits patiently.

"G-green." She says softly.

"Good. That's very good. Now, what color is your hair?"

Eri looks down, as if she needs to see her hair to tell it's color. "It's white."

Izuku nods encouragingly. The quirk around Eri dims somewhat.

"And very pretty. What else do you see?"

Eri searches his face. He smiles at her and nods gently. She looks around and seems to notice the rain for the first time.

"It's raining." She tells him, and her quirk dims even more.

"It is. You're right. It's loud, isn't it? Can you hear it?" He asks. Eri nods, still looking around at their surroundings.

"Can you feel it?"

Eri nods again.

"What does it feel like?"

The brightness or her quirk quiets to a soft glimmer.

"Wet." Eri says, and Izuku chuckles a little at that. "...cold." She adds with a shiver.

Izuku nods. "What's your name?"

Eri looks back at him. She seems calm, or calmer than she was.

"Eri."

Her quirk is almost gone.

"And what's my name?" He asks, almost a whisper.

"Deku. Your name is Deku. You're a hero."

Her quirk fizzles out and Izuku releases One For All. He almost faceplants with the effort, but he manages to catch himself. He still feels unsteady on his feet, but that would have to wait.

"Good. Great. You did wonderful Eri!" He praises, out of breath for reasons he doesn't want to think about. His muscles still twitch uncomfortably beneath his skin as if he is conducting electricity. Izuku's body throbs with a pain that has no clear origin. He takes a breath. He lets it go. The rain splatters on his head and runs down his face. He's already soaked, but he notices what Eri said earlier. The rain is cold. Izuku reckons One For All kept him from feeling it, but it wouldn't be good to stay out in this weather for long. He needs to get Eri someplace safe.

Izuku looks around at the construction site. Now that neither of their quirks are active, it's considerably darker. He can barely see what's in front of him. There are a few streetlights in the distance, but the rain blurs those as well. He shivers.

When he takes a step forward, he immediately loses his balance. He falls to his knees and fights back a wave of nausea. The lights in the distance blur and twist and Izuku feels dizzy. He's so tired. Everything hurts.

"Deku?" Eri asks, and it's the concern in her voice that has Izuku's head snapping up to find her eyes. He expects for there to be danger, someone pursuing them from the Precepts maybe, but she's only staring at him worriedly. Izuku rises to his feet shakily and calls for One For All once more to support him. The buzzing of his power sends shockwaves of pain through his body, but it's tolerable.

"I'm fine." Izuku says with a smile. He makes a show of dusting himself off with trembling hands just so he can have a moment to breathe and pull himself together. "We need to go."

He hears no police sirens in the distance, but they're far enough away that they wouldn't hear them anyways. Izuku doesn't want to chance it though. He has no doubt that someone will come after Eri. It's only a matter of who and when. Izuku needs to get her as far away from Overhaul as possible as soon as possible.

He scoops Eri up in his arms and leaps up the structure of steel beams that will probably become an office building or condominium. He grits his teeth against the pain, the dizziness, the tears.

"Is Deku okay?" Eri's voice reaches him.

Izuku pauses on the next rooftop he leaps to and wipes the water from his face, not that it does much good.

He smiles again, trying, trying so hard to ease her worries. "Of course."

Izuku glances at her face and then takes off again. They don't have time to spare. But now he has to swallow down bile that doesn't come from nausea or pain. He saw Eri's face. He knows that look.

She doesn't believe him.