Chapter Text
Naomasa was walking down the street when it happened. He just came back from cafe “Meowstar” to get a fresh coffee. Not to say that the coffee they had at the station was bad, but nothing could compare to a fresh one from a five star cafe. And Ereaserhead was their daily customer, they could only be the best one if a prestigious underground Hero such as him would frequent it.
He loved the smell of the coffee, still steaming in his hands as he walked down the street. He was out for a break after stressing over an especially difficult investigation. The case had been stressing the whole detective team over the week- no, the whole last month even. It was just so bizarre — and yet a must to be solved. Or, more importantly, the culprit needed to be caught
It was a murderer. A serial killer from what Naomasa could suspect. Yet, the victims never had any apparent connection to each other. Their associations never reached far enough to suggest a single person to be held accountable for all of their deaths. With no motive, the culprit must target seemingly random civilians without having established any social relationship with them beforehand — therefore the culprit’s only incentive would be the joy of the act? All murders were too particular to have been executed by more than a single person. The corpses — massacred — hung by a rope after being sliced by the neck, which caused the head to rip apart from the body after some time. Another one, sliced by the neck again, had been found with all the limbs cut off.
This, while already distinct on its own, wouldn’t suffice to narrow it down to a serial case — were it not for the most puzzling aspect: the murder weapon.
Based on the method and the depth of the cuts, the forensics team suspected it to be a butcher knife for a while, especially after some corpses winded up with lost limbs and one time even peeled off skin (Naomasa was the third to vomit at the sight). Though, what truly made them scratch their heads was the width of some of these cuts. As if the weapon was sawing the flesh at the same point instead of the repeated, inaccurate swings typically practiced with butcher knives. Yet, they didn’t need to wonder what caused these one-of-a-kind gashes for long. Because the culprit, the villain, had recently been sighted with the only possible weapon in hand. Caught in the act of murdering a — as they later found out — middle school teacher near school grounds.
Of course they got away, If not, the Police Force would know who it was and the murderer would have been caught by now. But their short appearance made quite the revelations. Nothing about his appearance. The murderer was smart enough to hide their face, body, and everything that could have told them more about their person. But the weapon was seen.
It wasn’t a butcher knife. Neither a larger weapon such as a scythe which he saw Villains use before to commit such appalling atrocities. No. It was something nobody ever could have guessed. It was-
~ring~ ~ring~ ~ring~
That was his emergency phone.
Naomasa was quick to put his coffee down at the next bench he saw and discarding his last train of thoughts. “Sansa? What happened?” Naomasa dreaded what he would hear, just alone by the tense tone Sansa was calling him with. And it turned out that it was right to do so.
“You found another one…?”
Coffee long forgotten he ran back in the direction he came from. They struck again.
The Slicer struck again. Right near the place he just left half an hour ago.
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Izuku always wondered what his life could have been. What he could have done instead of what he did now.
What his life would have been if he wouldn’t be quirkless.
Could he have been a Hero instead of baking and selling pizza all day? Perhaps he could have applied for the general education course at UA instead of the Hero course. He had been foolish to think that he, with the little training he did at the Takoba beach, the little training his quirkless body allowed him to do, could pass the Hero course entrance exam. Especially after he found out that they had to destroy giant robots.
But that was in the past. Izuku always tried not to dwell on it, not to hate himself for failing, not to feel disappointed. He should have expected that outcome anyway. What could a quirkless boy do against robots. How could he, a "Deku", compare to Bakugo with his flashy quirk, or even that boy with the engines in his legs (Izuku wondered if it hurt pulling them out. How deep into the leg did they even go? Where they connected to the bones?). There was also the cute girl with the quirk that caught another kid before it fell face-flat onto the ground.
Izuku was nothing compared to them.
But he was enough to work at the small pizzeria named "Pizza Oasis" near the Takoba beach.
It wasn’t Izuku’s first choice. Working after middle school had never been his first choice. But one too many high schools declined his application because his grades weren’t good enough (They were still better than average, even if his middle school teachers graded him worse than he actually was) or because they already were full or only private schools. But Izuku wasn’t dumb. He knew that it was his quirk status.
He considered applying to UA’s general education course for the next year, but soon enough the school he once dreamed of only held bitter memories of failure and broken dreams for him. Especially after he heard that All Might would work there. Izuku didn’t need to see that man again. His obsession with All Might lost meaning at the same time his dreams of becoming a Hero did.
His mom was worried about Izuku’s future, so he was quick to apply for jobs that needed no high education level or were just available to him. Cafes that needed a part-time worker, grocery stores low on staff, fast food restaurants that searched for more personnel that could clean the filthy bathrooms.
Izuku was ready to do it all.
In the end he wasn’t surprised that out of more than 27 applications he had send, only five ended up with a job interview. And only one establishment didn’t turn him down the moment he came out to be quirkless. Izuku never had been more thankful in his life than the moment they gave him the job. The Midoriya household shed tears that fateful day. Izuku had found a chance to survive, he had a chance to not end up like the other 65 percent of quirkless that were unemployed and lived on the street, or the 47 percent that committed suicide before they turned twenty.
Izuku could live.
His phone chimed. It was his alarm informing him of his lunch break. Izuku was quick to put it back into his pockets and pull his green apron off. He left the counter and walked into the kitchen. The smell of baking pizza and fresh dough filled his nose. A warm feeling engulfed him the closer he got to the giant pizza oven. “Hayashi-san! I’m going out for my break.” He pulled off the black gloves and put them in his pocket as well before washing his hands. Izuku didn’t wait for his employer to answer. “You want a coffee too?”
Soon a man, 49 years of age, came out of the storage room. Boxes with fresh pizza dough in his arms. “You don’t have to, Izuku, really.” Shira Hayashi was a well built man (given his job no surprise), even in his soon 50s. Short brown hair- Izuku would always deny that he had gray spots if he was asked- and a gentle and friendly face. He was blind in one eye, which Izuku was told was because he got into an accident as a kid, so he always wore an eye patch (kids that visited the small shop would always call him a pirate and Hayashi loved to play the act for them).
Hayashi was the owner of the place. And the nicest person Izuku ever met. He never once said anything about him being quirkless. If anything he was glad that he could help Izuku with this work opportunity. Hayashi himself had a minor -insignificant as many called it- quirk that allowed him to heat up his hands, so he wasn’t always treated nicely either. But he was against any form of quirk discrimination and more than happy to take in people that struggled under it.
In a way, he was more of a hero to Izuku than All Might was nowadays.
He also wasn’t the only employee that was discriminated against. The "Pizza Oasis" was a local shop, not as big as the really popular restaurants so Hayashi didn’t need - or even could pay for many employees. But he had three so far with his son that helped out from time to time next to his studies.
Besides his son, Izuku’s coworker was really cool though, and she was so pretty. Izuku still got nervous sometimes when talking to her, any girl at that. She had a mutant type quirk that made her not only giant but also gave her fox-like ears and a tail. Izuku was fawning over her the moment he met her - her quirk, more importantly. Izuku would never understand why even she, as pretty as she was, was discriminated against. Her name was Josei Ippan, but she insisted Josei was fine. The two got along great. She mostly did the deliveries and heavy lifting, which Izuku always tried to help with as muscle training.
“But I want to!” Izuku replied to his boss. He would never not bring him a coffee. Izuku owned him so much in his life. “I’ll make sure it’s still hot when I’m back!”
With that Izuku was off. He breathed in the fresh air and smiled as he went on his way. The "Pizza Oasis" was located near the city yet had quite some green around. It usually wasn’t busy there so it was easy to relax and find peace. According to Hayashi that was one of the reasons for the name.
For lunch he normally went to "Meowstar", a famous cat cafe with the best coffee he knew to ever exist. He even saw Ereaserhead there sometimes. Which was something special because it was outside of his patrol route so he must always be on his break when he’s there. Izuku found it quite exciting, because Ereaserhead was one of his favorite Heroes. He was so cool the way he fought quirkless most of the time. Izuku really admired him, and being chased by him was so fun - Well at least Izuku figured it must be.
Once he reached the cat-themed cafe, he greeted the ginger that was sleeping in the cat bed outside the entrance, petting him behind the ear where he knew the cat loved it the most. Entering this place always brought a smile to his face, especially when his favorite cat walked over and rubbed his head on his legs. Cookie was such a cutie with his brown fur and dark spots. Just like a chocolate chip cookie.
Izuku petted him and soon after walked over to the counter. He was lucky that his lunch time was when the cafe wasn’t as busy. He hated long queues and loud crowds. “Hi, Sato-san” Izuku greeted with a smile which was immediately returned by the man behind the counter. His usually tied, long brown hair was loose this time, hanging off his shoulders and down his back. “Izuku, great to see you. You want the usual, I assume?” Izuku just gave a nod as answer and Sato got to work.
Izuku was a regular here as much as he would say Ereaserhead was. And the detective he saw more often lately. Even now Izuku spotted him at a corner table. Tsukauchi was his name - well Izuku assumed it was. He once heard him introducing himself like that on the phone.
Tsukauchi looked really stressed, and Izuku felt bad for the man. His work must be exhausting, especially given the recent events. Another murder last week. And again, they had not found anything about him yet, at least that’s what Izuku heard from the news. Izuku found himself watching the man further while picking up Cookie and stroking his head.
“Here you go sir, one espresso to go.”
Izuku saw the waitress put a cup before him on the table. Espresso… ...Izuku never tasted their espresso before. He would have to try that one soon. He wondered if that was Tsukauchi’s favorite.
“Thanks, I’ll be going now.” That said, the detective stood up and bowed, smiling at the waitress before picking up his drink and walking towards the exit. He smiled at the cats sleeping on the cat trees before leaving the cafe and walking north. Ah, so he was going back to the police station. He still must have had some work to finish. Izuku made a mental note and turned back to the counter and to Sato.
“Here you go”, Sato put down the two cups in front of Izuku, next to a little pastry. A pastry Izuku didn’t ask for. Izuku looked up at the man in confusion. “I didn’t order that?”
“It’s on the house. A little gift for my favorite customer.”
Izuku blushed, heat rising in his cheeks. “I- Uhh- Thank you but-”, Sato shook his head, telling Izuku enough to understand. Sato wouldn’t let him pay, would he. “Just make sure to bring me a slice of your peperoni pizza next time and we’re even.” Izuku nodded and returned Sato’s grin with a smile of his own. Now that’s something he could work with.
Izuku took the cups in one hand and the small pastry in the other, fawning at the green colored macaroon, his eyes sparkling. “Is that the green tea flavored one?! I love that!” Izuku smiled brighter and Sato only laughed at that. Izuku couldn’t contain his happiness and immediately took a bite. The filling melted on his tongue and he wanted to drown in the taste. His day couldn’t get any better.
“Now off you go, before the coffee gets cold.”, Sato waved as Izuku rushed out the door, cooing at Cookie and Strawberry playing with a cat toy, before fully stepping out into the sounds of the busy city-
And sirens.
Izuku’s smile faltered.
He followed the sounds, curious as to what was going on. He had enough time to return to work before his break was over. If anything he was worried about Hayashi’s coffee going cold. But he was confident he would bring it back warm and steaming, just like he always did. And if ever not, his boss could use his hands to warm it up.
The sounds grew louder the closer Izuku got to the source. Crowds were forming, phones were filming, people were talking. And between it all - Izuku struggled to get through the mass of hushed whispers and indistinct mumblings. Too bad he wasn't as tall as Josei was. Josei was really lucky in that regard. Izuku was careful not to spill the coffee or lose grip on the pastry, and eventually he was able to push through the wall of human bodies. Only for his eyes to grow wide at the sight.
A fight. Someone with a lizard-like appearance, a mutant type quirk. He was covering on the ground, one eye black. His shorts were loose and had holes, Izuku even saw cuts and could smell blood. On the other side was a man with vine-like hair, standing proud and tall on his head. He had a spiked vine in his hand, like a whip ready to attack. The thorns looking more than just sharp. The man was being held by two police officers who clearly struggled against the quirked hair. The man was shouting at the lizard man, sptting at him with his rough voice.
Izuku’s face darkened at his words.
“Don’t ever show your face again, freak!”
Izuku stared at the shouting man, taking in his appearance. His Quirk, face, clothes and voice.
“I don’t want monsters like you in my store! Your kind only knows how to steal anyway!”
Izuku looked back at the man on the ground, heart aching at the sight. He tightened the grip on the two cups, staring at the scene with anger. His hands ached to reach for his belt, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. Not now. Frowning and anger-fueled Izuku turned back into the crowed, thoughts running wild with what he found out about the man currently being attempted to be restrained. Izuku wished he could have stepped in, but he knew better than to interfere with the police and pull the attention onto him.
Attention was the last thing he needed.
With a heavy heart he thought his way back through the crowd. Moss green Vines for hair. Either a mutation or a transformation. They way he acts... ...probably the second. Izuku didn’t stop his train of thoughts. His brain was running like gears of a well freshly oiled machine. Light skin, eye bags, probably stayed up late at his store. Clothes looking like from a retail worker, a name tag on his chest. “Mr. Monsuta.” Company logo on the front of his shirt. “Monsuta Groceries”. Creative name, truly. Piercing blue eyes with slit-like pupils, rather small. Age- probably around his thirty's-
“Not a threat.” Izuku concluded and finished his macaroon. He wouldn’t wanna ruin it. The cups were still steaming - He still had time. Enough time to get this done. Izuku held back a smirk as he wandered through the crowd and taking another turn once he was freed.
He had places to be.
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Shinda Monsuta was released after the police officers calmed him down. He honestly didn’t understand what their issue was. He only threw some unsanitary lizard freak out of his store - simple pest control if you ask him. It was the freak’s fault for fighting back and barking something about equal rights. It was as nonsensical as it was unsurprising the animal couldn’t read. His store clearly had a sign saying "NO MUTANTS!" It was not his fault the villain tried to enter regardless.
Whatever. Shinda got away with only having to give his name and his side of the story. They weren’t hesitating to believe him when he told them the lizard was going to steal. The way he looked made him seem like some unemployed homeless man. The police took the freak with them too, like they were supposed to. Served him right for thinking he can just walk into his prized grocery store. He worked years to get the building located in the prestigious and busy streets. And the people visiting his store, high paying costumers, weren’t fond of mutants roaming around. “Stupid reptile, ruined my day.” He complained as he walked through to aisles to get to his office. “^What a waste of time. A store like mine doesn’t manage itself.”
Finally reaching his office, he kicked the door open with more force than necessary. Immediately he shivered from the cold breeze. He found his windows open - all the way. “That better wasn’t Masaya playing tricks on me. If so, I might have one less employee tomorrow.” He went to close them again, before sitting down on his office chair, his favorite place to be at. Sinking into the comfy, full-grain leather, a smirk crossed his face.
“I showed that poor fucker not to mess with me. He better tells his friends to leave my territory alone as well.” he laughed at the thought. “If he even has any.” Shinda held back another laugh as he looked at his desk. He still had work to do, better not put too much thought into random animals on the streets. Not like he deserved any more attention from Shinda. He had given them enough as is. One hand reached to move through his hair. In an instant his hair relaxed and turned back to just green locks.
Great. Now he had to fix it again. All because that mutant couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Shinda quickly went to open his desk, taking the brush inside. He had to look presentable for his customers, didn’t he? While brushing his hair, he looked over the list of products he had to order, taking his time to think how much of each he needed. More importantly, what products he should raise prices for. He had yet to reach the profit he yearned for, and he had yet to pay his employees their minimum wage… …or he would need to find new ones.
Once his hair was fixed he pulled out a hand mirror from his desk, putting the brush back at the same time. Freshly-groomed, he admired his reflection. “That feels better. Now I can finally get this do-”
“Does being a quirkist feel good - or the fact that you made your hair more uglier than before?”
Shinda froze at the voice. Male, rather young. Someone was behind him and he couldn’t help the dreadful feeling. Who was that and how the hell did they get in? He always had his office closed when he wasn’t- A realization hit him. He always had his office closed, but not if he was dragged out for incidents… This fucker must have sneaked in when he was away. Did they open the windows, too?
“Wha- Who are you?!” His heart sped up like it was rushing for survival. “How did you get in? Show yourself you-”
“You didn’t answer my question.”eyes widening as he saw just who had been standing behind him. To his utter surprise, it was just a kid. Green, bush-like hair, clearly disheveled. Freckles on both his cheeks. He wore simple clothes - Jeans and a red shirt. Nothing that should make someone fear for their life.
But his expression. An expression that screamed “VILLAIN” more than anything Shinda ever saw. And those eyes… …big, dialed pupils that pierced straight through. A single murderous glare right into his eyes — now full of fear.
“What the fuck?! What do you want from me!?!” Shinda tried to roll back with the chair, tried to build distance. Only to meet his desk, not getting away at all. His hands were shaking as he grabbed the edges of the desk. Shinda felt the blood leave his face. His heart leaped — He felt his lungs going faster. “Leave before I call the cops!”
With his wildly shaking hands he reached for the phone on his desk, fingers twitching over the numbers. The kid didn’t even move a single muscle, neither did his eyes change, his expression still the same. Shinda felt tears prick at his eyes. His hair transformed back into its quirked state. He wanted to attack, needed to, but he was panic-struck.
“Oh, so it’s a stress reaction? Interesting.” The kid laughed as he spoke, sounded amused by all of it even. Shinda wanted to scream for help, but he lost his voice, nothing came out as he opened his mouth again. “Too bad I won’t be able to study your quirk more, really, such a waste.” The kid was mocking him — the Villain was mocking him. He pressed what should’ve been the first digit on the phone, only being able to hope that he hit the right num- only for the phone to be kicked out of his hand. His hand arched in pain. What the fuck were those shoes made of?!
The first tear rolled down his cheek next to the sweat forming at his forehead. Shinda never felt as pathetic and afraid as he must look.
“Now, was it fun to beat up that man on the street? Hmm?” A grin was on the kids face. Shinda was speechless as ever. So it was about that stupid mutant freak? That’s why he would die? His face paled even more, his body began to shake as the kid reached for something on his belt. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. You certainly looked like you had fun.”
Something glinted in the corner of his eyes and he saw just what the boy took from his belt. A round, sharp blade, held by a wooden handle. “N-No, please don-don’t I-” Shinda was cut off, a black gloved hand on his mouth, a distant smell of dough and tomato sauce filling his nose. His hair flared in panic, yet unable to attack. Muffled sounds were the only thing he heard from himself and they only got more as the pizza cutter inched closer to his neck.
All the while the kid had a smile on his face. Shinda felt his heart stop.
“Too late, Shinda Monsuta.” Something sliced across his neck and he felt a warm liquid spill out.
“Maybe don’t be a quirkist in your next life.” The kid laughed as blood came up his throat, instantly gushing out of his mouth. His neck painted red, it seeped down to the white of his shirt not long after. He coughed, only releasing more blood from the wound. His throat burned, and he wanted nothing more than to scream. He coughed, but all that did was to release more blood from the wound. His throat burned, and he wanted nothing more than to scream.
The kid never stopped watching him, looking at him like some exhibit in a zoo. Shinda felt the tears, the pain. He felt the cold metal leave his neck, he saw the kid, licking off the blood of the unusual weapon, like it was leftover sauce.
Shinda was terrified. He was gonna die. And because of what? Because some mutant tried to enter his store.
The blood didn’t stop flowing, the smell burned in his nose.
The laughter of the kid terrorized his ears.
And the cold glare haunted him until he took his final breath.
“Now let’s see what I can do with that quirk of yours.”
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“Izuku, how was your break?” Josei was carrying some boxes as she saw Izuku enter through the back door. The two coffees still safely in his hand.
Izuku smiled in return. “There was a bit of ruckus on the way back, someone attacked a mutant on the street near Meowstar. “ Izuku lowered his head and clenched his free fist. “Luckily the police was already there.” His tone fell into sadness. He really hoped the man was in better hands now and got to a hospital at least. His wounds, even if minor, didn’t look too good.
Josei instantly looked down. Voice reflecting her mood. “Oh, I heard about that online. It was quick to go around. I hope the poor guy is okay.” Josei put one hand on her cheek, tears springing to her eyes. Izuku just smiled at her empathy and stepped closer to hug her from the side. He knew that she also was attacked on the street once, mistaken for a Villain and brought to the police station because someone called her a thief. Of course they found nothing, she didn’t do anything after all. But the memory burned within her bitterly. As it did for Izuku.
Because he reminded him no matter how many he gets rid of, there will always be more. The fight against quirkism and discrimination will always be present. Izuku frowned at the thought. He wondered just how much more he needed to bloody his hands in order for people to understand.
“Thank you Izuku, I really appreciate it.” She wiped away the single tear before Izuku freed her from his hug and let her continue her job. Izuku sighed and went to deliver Hayashi his coffee — cold now, unfortunately. He found him in the kitchen, plating a roasted mushroom and peperoni pizza. Izuku put on a smile, putting down the cups in front of his boss.
“Sorry, they got cold. There was some ruckus on the streets. Could you warm them up, please?” Izuku asked and bowed in apologies.
Hayashi smiled at him, gentle and warm. “Of course, don’t worry about.” He put his hands around the cups, flour and sauce staining the material. But Izuku couldn’t care less. He had been stained with much worse. As Hayashi gave Izuku his beverage back — now warm in his palm again — he let out a laugh. “I hope you enjoyed your break regardless, cause there just came a group of students that need to be served.”, Hayashi turned to fully face him, “Wouldn’t wanna make a bad impression on UA students, would we?”
UA students? Izuku beamed at the thought. These students could be perfect to advertise their shop further. They could get so many more customers and then possibly buy the second pizza oven they were saving for. Izuku brightened up immediately and turned around to get his apron. He was quick to tie it on and leave the kitchen to get to the counter. Hands grasping the handle of his beloved pizza cutter. A smiled grazed his lips all the way as he went to greet the customers.
His hands ached to knead some dough to get his muscles warmed up some. He couldn’t wait to plate every single pizza with love and care and bring a smile to the people who ate it.
“Hello, and welcome to Pizza Oasis! What can I get you?”
And well, when the pizza tasted slightly like iron, then it just was that way.
Izuku truly loved his job.
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Naomasa felt dread fill him as he entered the office. He immediately smelled the blood. The corpse was facing the windows, so Tsukauchi didn’t see all the damage yet. But what he saw was the roughly shaved head that should have had vine-like hair standing up. He held his hand up his mouth, breathing in through the nose a final time before stepping closer. He had been warned that it was a gruesome sight. Sansa didn’t even dare to enter.
And he had been right to do so.
The man was laying on his office chair, blood from his neck and mouth all over him. But it got worse. The vines that should have decorated the man’s head were all squeezed into his mouth and neck, quelling over — stained with blood. Naomasa froze at the sight. Some other vines curled around his neck, the thorns drilling in the mans bloodied red skin. Another one was going right through his chest where Naomasa noticed four equally long cuts that all went over the spot his heart was at.
And the way the cuts were aligned, all going through the middle, making his chest look like a sliced pizza. There was not a shadow of a doubt as to who the culprit was.
He reached for his recorder.
“Tsukauchi Naomasa speaking, it’s Monday, the 11th of May.”
He took a deep breath.
“The victim was found dead. From the looks of it, by a cut to the neck. He was mutilated with the use of his own quirk. The culprit is suspected to be the same as the last one.”
Sometimes, Naomasa really hated his job.
“The Slicer struck again. As cruel as always.”