All Izuku wanted was one full night's rest or even just a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. For two weeks he's been ducking in and out of alleys, abandoned buildings, sleeping up in trees or rooftops, wherever he could find without attracting too much attention to himself. Even so, every night he has woken up to attempts on his life. Tonight was no different. He had decided to lay low in an alley not too far from U.A. in hopes that villains would be more scarce. Unfortunately, he had been mistaken.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Izuku Midoriya." One of the shadowed figures stepped forward into the moonlight, blocking his path. Blonde hair turned silver and their lips curled into a wicked grin. "What did you do to earn such a high price on your head?"

Two other figures fanned out on either side of the alleyway, making sure to keep out of the light. The cold night air burned Izuku's lungs and seemed to seep to his bones. Sweat drenched his tattered clothing and beaded down his face. His limbs felt like wet sandbags as he willed his body into a defensive position; steadying himself as his right knee almost gave out from under him. The blonde laughed and unsheathed the sword at his hip. "The streets haven't treated you well. You look pretty banged up."

Izuku could hear snickering on either side of him and careful footsteps finding their final destination. He needed to focus on the villain in front of him then he would deal with the others. The blonde is using a sword so there were two main options: either he was quirkless or his quirk had something to do with the blade or the blood the blade could produce. There was the chance that the sword was a complementary weapon, but unlikely. Either way, the man had an air of confidence about him. He knew how to use his weapon of choice with ease, best to steer clear.

The slight scrape of metal off to his left caught his attention. Izuku quickly glanced toward the sound, not wanting to take his eyes off the blonde for long. A flicker of silver light greeted him. At least one of the others was using a weapon as well. Same options applied. At least two of his aggressors had range on him. If he could produce a controlled blast with his finger, then he could potentially escape. That being said, the blast might draw too much attention to the area. He also might not be able to take them all out. And he didn't know if there were more he wasn't currently aware of. A swift and quiet attack would be the best option, though that would require getting up close and personal.

One for All surged through his body, providing a faint green to illuminate the night but with it, he felt the draw on his remaining energy. His body beginning to shake under the strain. He had one chance to pull this off. One chance to get away. A blitz attack. In this condition, he wouldn't last long in a drawn-out fight but if he managed to catch them off guard . . .

One step forward and the ground rushed up to meet him. He found himself on his back, the lights of the city reached up into the night sky like hungry hands, masking all but the most stubborn of stars. Darkness threatened the edges of Izuku's vision, but something was comforting about the few stars that blazed brilliantly despite what was leveled against them. Distorted voices inched closer as the green neon of One for All began to fade. Something blunt prodded his chest, each time more forceful than the last. Above him, he heard laughter then a curt command right before cold metal latched itself around his wrists. For a moment, panic coursed through Izuku as his body seized. He had come accustomed to his quirk's presence, but foreign energy stripped One for All to a faint hum. Still there, but held hostage. Restrained.

A heaviness weighed on him as he fought for consciousness. None of his limbs would move and he tried to speak but his mouth betrayed him as his jaw wouldn't even open. Only a gurgling mess came from deep within his throat which only inspired more fits of laughter from his capturers. Metal cuffs clamped down on Izuku's ankles and the sharp clank of chains drilled into his head like a railroad spike. A groan escaped his lips, flinching away from the noise. Rough hands gripped his face, wrenching it to one side. Sharp and sudden, a prick followed by a cold sensation on his neck spread under his skin. "This will only twinge a bit. No need to resist so much. Take it easy, Deku." The slight inflection on Izuku's chosen name oozed with mockery.

A wave of nausea engulfed him, it took everything for Izuku not to divulge the contents of his stomach. The jerk on his ankles as the chain became taut turned into a hard pull. Small rocks and debris from the alley cut into his back as his shirt crept up his torso. It was becoming difficult to concentrate. His mind wouldn't cooperate just like his body. Drowsiness began to set in as his eyes threatened to roll into the back of his head. Izuku tried to move his arms, when that didn't work he tried to move his fingers but his body refused to respond to him. The panic he had felt before became overwhelming. Where were they taking him? What did they inject him with? The last thing he remembered was the sky as everything went black.

When Izuku woke up next, he was in a completely different environment. The air was stuffy and smelt stale. Instead of on the ground, he sat in a chair with his head resting to one side. Something pressured his wrists and ankles, probably still restrained. There was talking around him. Izuku didn't dare lift his head or open his eyes. Not yet.

"Just call the Feds!" snapped a raspy voice. That was the voice he had heard before he blacked out. The one that openly mocked him. Annoyance was apparent, judging by the lack of patience this was not the first time he had asked.

"No! Not until he wakes up and answers some of my questions. Aren't you the least bit curious?" This voice was younger, less gravelly but still deep, somewhat matter-of-fact. It reminded him of Iida. They mentioned calling the Feds. That means they hadn't done it yet . . . there was still a chance of escape. He was regaining consciousness at a promising rate, thoughts came more clearly to him and his body didn't seem as lethargic. "You aren't curious about how he could go from one of the most promising students of U.A.'s Class 1-A to a criminal?"

There was an exasperated groan. "It's not that unheard of and we don't have time! Those restraints won't hold him forever, not once they lose power, and I want my money."

Lose power, hm? Yes, he could sense it! The foreign energy is not as strong as it was before. One for All's hum had increased, radiating from his core and revitalizing his body. Izuku concentrated on his index finger. He could move it which was a good sign. As he focused, he could feel One for All's energy trying to make its way to the isolated area but the foreign energy still fought for control. One for All's help in the situation still proved unreliable, at least for the moment.

"I just want to know why I spent my time kidnapping him!"

"Arresting. Not kidnapping. Arresting. This is why I hate doing jobs with you!" barked the mocker. "Always such a self-righteous attitude. What are you going to do? What if he doesn't give you an answer? What if he gives you an answer and you deem it unworthy of the arrest? Hm? What are you going to do then?"

"I— "

"No, let me tell you what you're going to do. You're going to shut up and pay your debt to society. The Feds wanted us to capture him so we did. Now it's our job to give him over to them and then take our money. One step closer to raising enough to buy our freedom." There was a pause then a sigh. "Need I remind you how much this guy costs! He cuts our serve time down to only five more years unless we get more like him and the only way we do that is to pull off this job. So shut up and call the Feds!"

A presence materialized beside Izuku. "If you two are done with your catfight," said a voice close to his ear, "our guest is awake."

Silence greeted the announcement but soon heavy footsteps bore down on him. A hand grabbed a fist full of his hair and lurched his head back. "What did you do?" A voice growled in his face. Izuku opened his eyes and saw what looked like a mountain towering over him. Fire flared from the mountain's nose, curling around his face as his black eyes glared daggers at him. Izuku tried to say something, but once again his mouth betrayed him.

A laugh came from behind the mountain man. "And I thought you weren't curious."

"Shut up!" Mountain Man leaned closer to Izuku's face. "What did you do, kid? To get in so much trouble with the Feds? Answer me!" Panic swelled inside him. Say something! Anything! Just say something!

"Croc, easy up," said the voice that had announced his return to consciousness. Now it came from behind him as hands planted themselves on either shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. "You're frightening him."

'Croc' gave a huff and released Izuku's hair, backing away to give him some space but never broke his gaze. The hands released Izuku's shoulders, he sensed the presence shifting to one side. "Here, let me introduce ourselves and maybe it will loosen your tongue a bit."

Suddenly, someone was in Izuku's lap. They threw their legs over one of his arms, comfortably sitting sideways with an arm wrapped around his neck. It was the blonde he had encountered in the alley. It would have been flustering if he hadn't first taken notice of something sharp right under his chin. The blonde smiled and leaned close to his ear with a whisper, "Try not to move your head too much, it would make such an awful mess."

The way the blonde had made himself at home in the chair made Izuku feel like nothing more than a cushionon a throne. Grandly motioning to his two associates, the introductions began. "The big guy, you've already met him. He got a little close when we were sedating you. Call him 'Crocodile Tears' or 'Croc' for short. He was convicted for killing an eight-year-old boy but claimed self-defense," he turned to Croc, "but I mean, come on, who's buying that?"

Croc shrugged, "Nothing was proved in court, but they still charged me."

"That's because they had evidence," said a shaggy-haired boy, next to Croc. He was tiny, well, tiny in comparison to Croc but he was about Izuku's size. He was the one that had been wanting to ask questions.

"My DNA is not evidence."

"That one," the blonde added hastily, pointing to the shaggy-haired boy. "That's Triage. He was a med student before they found him guilty of poisoning survivors of the Kamino Incident. He was triaging to 'help'—"

"I was!" Triage exclaimed. He paused with a pained expression. "I really was," he whispered. "I didn't know the equipment had been tampered with."

"He's probably the only one of us who is actually innocent." The blonde gave Izuku a smirk. "And as for me? I'm Grim." Grim's piercing blue eyes tinted darkly as he turned his full attention to his hostage. Izuku suddenly felt claustrophobic, realizing that Grim's positioning on him was no accident. The restraints were losing power, One for All was becoming more active. If he tried to move, even a little, Grim would feel it and with whatever he had at Izuku's neck he could kill him long before there was any chance to stop him. Grim blocked Izuku's view of his accomplices. This conversation was a private one. "I was convicted guilty for the murder of 27 mutts. All of which were children."

Mutts? It took a moment for Izuku to realize what he meant. Mutts. Quirk bearers. His eyes widened. Grim smiled from ear to ear, once again leaning close to his ear in a whisper. "Not that it was hard for them to give the verdict. I confessed. And you know what? I loved every single moment with those children and I got to cherish every single second while I was in prison. Reliving every. Single. Scream."

Izuku's expression must have been hilarious because Grim couldn't stop laughing as he swung his arm out to the other two and said, "You know, just your average gang of first-class rejects!"

The other two laughed uncomfortably, their eyes exchanging looks. Clearly Grim was the most insane out of the three, but his aggressive demeanor and domineering personality made him the leader. Grim's arm flexed, forcing Izuku's neck slightly forward onto the sharp point. It pierced his skin just enough for a few beads of blood to drip onto his shirt. "Now you, you are an interesting case. The world thinks you have been kidnapped by the League of Villains though that is obviously wrong. The Feds have put a bounty on your head for us bounty hunters to claim."

Bounty hunters? He had bounty hunters after him? Izuku tried to pull his head up but Grim was surprisingly strong. This didn't seem to faze the serial killer as he just continued to speak. "And the word on the street, which is hilariously more trustworthy than the media, is that they are going to turn you into a martyr. Once you're safely at whatever facility they want to hold you in, they're going to kill you off in the cover story. Man! What a juicy sandwich. The media will eat it up! So tell us, Deku, what did you do?"

The bounty hunters waited patiently for him to answer. What had he done? Honestly, he couldn't think of why they would be after him. The government shouldn't have known about his conversation with All Might or his recent excursions into the city's underworld. Word got out somehow. Izuku made eye contact with Triage, he was the least disturbing to look at and the one who had been willing to vouch for him in the first place. "A change in ideals."

After a moment of silence, Grim and Croc started laughing. Grim relaxed his arm, allowing Izuku to pull his chin off the spike. It took a minute for the two to calm down while Triage looked uneasy.

"Is that it?" Croc gasped. "A-A change in 'ideals'? By the way they're acting, you might as well be a terrorist!"

The next few moments were a blur, none of which made sense. Grim's weight disappeared from Izuku's lap. Croc and Triage disappeared from the ground. The restraints securing his wrists and ankles fell away. The lights went out.

"Don't move," said a whisper, soft but authoritative. A sweet scent washed over him, one he recognized but couldn't quite remember though spring came to mind. "Don't get in my way."