Notes: Yep, we're leaving the refugee camp! It served it purpose, Shouto joined the team and the crew got the idea to become Vigilantes. So yeah, now the Vigilante Arc starts and more trauma incoming <3.
TW: Gore, discrimination, mentions of child abuse and self harm
Chapter Summary: The team made in time for their escape before the governments officials got involved - but nothing's that easy. They must search for a good hideout that isn't a homeless shelter, get a job and start realising their goal - after all, there's no rest for the wicked.
Izuku's PoV
I sat in the corner of small obscure motel room - it probably was run down before it was eventually abandoned but at that point it looked like a ruin. Windows shattered, white bed sheets tainted with dirty stains and old blood - there was no doubt that either government or the Rogues were involved. We cleaned up the first floor from rotten corpses to not get infected with some kind of disease. We piled the bodies in one stash, salted and burned them.
It had been two weeks since we ran away from the refugee camp. Iris got her hands on an old laptop and hacked into government server for one minute - she quickly dug up into the intel what we wanted. The authorities didn't publicly announce it but all three of were wanted captured - dead or alive. Kouji was meant to be transported to the Research Facility, probably for the experiments. I almost smashed the laptop's keyboard with my fist before Shouto apprehended me.
Sure, we ran away but our livehood conditions worsened greatly - we've slept on the streets, stole food from abandoned apartments and filtered rain water to drink. I was thankful that none of us caught any diseases from the life on the streets. And that motel was our base - we just had to clean it up. But first thing first, we needed to rest. We got involved in a fight with the government agents - though without a Met-Quirk but still highly skilled and dangerous opponents.
Iris took out a can of apricots and handed it over to tired Kouji - he immediately started eating but i heard my stomach growling. Eating from the trash cans was disgusting and embarassing but we still had to resort to it. Iris however prefered stealing from stands, small shops or from people's shopping bags - that's how we weren't dying from starvation.
After 15 minutes of silent rest, Iris and Shouto got up. They started cleaning up the stains from the walls, floor and bed sheets - then I got up and began covering the shattered window with everything I had in hand. We were lucky that summer was coming, meaning that we didn't have to worry about heating.
Kouji really wanted to contribute to the work, so he helped with stealing a working electricity generator and because of that we got lights working. We finished renovating the room by the late evening - four separate beds with somewhat clean sheets, filtered rain water and mini university fridge for our supplies. The motel was also located deep in Tokyo's downtown. In fact the motel was located in a building with normal apartments on the 3rd, 4th and 5th floor and a street food restaurant on the roof. Because of that, we were covered well for the time being.
Besides the government had other concerns than 4 probably orphaned kids.
After that we went to sleep with night watch (excluding Kouji) scheluded down.
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Inko was definetly drunk, judging by the walk she crawled into the apartment. Honestly, by that point I knew that living on the streets was a better alternative than being stuck with her. She started to drink more often after my 12th birthday but she still showed up work which was the only good thing that she was doing to me.
During her drunk rantings, Inko always made it clear that I was more of a burden to her than her only child. Despite bringing over many men from the bars for hookups, and her lasting hangovers, nobody was able to piece together facts.
Inko called me many names - starting with "Null" and ending on "fucking disgrace to her mother's family" despite hating my grandmother wih passion and conviction. When she was sober, Inko was an absent parent at best - she didn't want to leave because she didn't want to be charged with child abandonment.
She also didn't turned me to the nearest orphanage because Aunt Mitsuki would eventually find out. So Inko continued to "care" for me - meaning working as a nurse. That's where her "parenting" would end.
My life was anything but pleasant and nice - but when All Might came, things weren't shitty for once. Sure, Inko continued to be a neglecful & abusive mother but at least I had a purpose that was more than just plain old survival. Survive Aldera and survive Inko - then things would work out, right? That's what I kept telling myself till the end of the middle school.
But my luck (and God probably) continued to fuck with me.
I wanted to come back to my old habits that were purely focused on my own survival. But I couldn't - not when there were so many people in need of help. I couldn't turn my back on them - it way too hard for me.
I guess old habits die hard, huh?
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Next Day, around 1:00 A.M.
I stood over the roof along with Iris - Shouto stayed behind with Kouji to keep an eye for him. All three of us created a patrol schedule - which days were off, who would attend during specific days etc. The first night was assigned for me and Iris, because of her big experience as a Vigilante back in our times. I weighed a gun in my right hand and looked over, down the street. Two men were threatening an woman in short skirt and purple top - they wanted her money.
I glanced over Iris who pulled out a hunting knife out of her pocket - that's right, she had an amazing mastery over her Qui-Meta. Her eyes glowed silver, she signalized to were going down and we climbed down from the roof via pipes attached to the wall of the building. In a matter of seconds we were standing on the dirty concrete.
We didn't even give the two men time to prepare. Iris ran first, already prepared. The first men swung a right hooked punch, similar to that of Bakugo's. Iris easily evaded and punched him in the throat and then swung with a blade across the men's right arm - he screamed but then Iris knocked him out with her elbow.
Meanwhile I was fighting the second men - he swung a punch that I dodged but then he came with a head kick that I was barely able to block. But I used it to my advantage - I shot him in left knee, and then kicked him with my foot where I injured him. He swore but I didn't mind it and I grasped his head and slamed it into the concrete.
-"T-Thank you so much!" - the lady bowed down -"But who are you people?"
-"I'm Kumo and this girl is Iris" - I replied -"We're the Vigilante team Eclipse".