Chapter Text
Izuku pulled the covers over his eyes, wanting even another wink of sleep before an excruciatingly boring day of being a cashier. He wished he had a quirk, even a lame one, maybe he could’ve gotten a decent job. Maybe a job that he could’ve afforded a safer place to stay with, eyeing the fragile chain lock on his front door.
He’d been feeling off for a while now, as if someone had been watching him. He wouldn’t be surprised considering the side of town he lived in and how long the walk to work was, anyone could’ve spotted him then.
His phone alarm blared, making him shoot up and out of bed and making his heart race. He grumbled, fumbling to turn his alarm off.
He trudged over to his “closet” which was really just a chest of drawers that his mom gave him for clothes. He yanked out his uniform and a pair of fresh underwear, walking over to his bathroom.
Izuku took a quick shower, rinsing off the sweat from the air conditionless night, and hopping out onto his bath mat. He looks at himself in the mirror, frowning at how slender he was, from the combination of not eating enough and not being able to go to the gym he was rather tiny for his age.
He glanced up at the ceiling, doing a double take when he saw what looked like a small hole, but decided to not worry about it. He didn’t want to anger his landlord anymore than he already did, he was often late for rent no matter how much he tried.
Putting that aside, he continued getting ready, slipping on his horribly colored uniform and his converse from back when his mom bought him shoes. Grabbing his phone and key, he headed out the door for his walk to work.
Izuku worked at a local grocery store, his boss was rather rude about his quirklessness, so he dreaded going each day. He wasn’t going to stop until he was fired though, there weren't many jobs that would accept someone quirkless, and it's not like he went to college.
He couldn’t help but feel like someone was following him, but when he looked back all he saw was a few rats crawling into a sewer. Why would anyone want to follow him? It’s not like they would get anything out of it other than his signature crocodile tears. Brushing himself off, Izuku continued on his brisk walk.
Before he knew it, he arrived at the little run down grocery store he worked at, waving to a coworker and walking over. “My shift is at 9 so I’ll just start now, you can go ahead and head home.”
The coworker spares him a, “Thanks man” and walked to the back, Izuku taking his spot at the register and logging in so he officially clocked in. The store was normally pretty slow, but since it was a Saturday he’d expect that a few more people would be in.
After a bit, a regular walked in, flashing a quick smile, Izuku called out, “Welcome! Let me know if I can help you with anything!” The man gives a small smile and nods, walking over to the produce section after grabbing a basket.
Izuku rocks on his heels, now that a customer is in the store he's itching to check them out, you know, anxiety things. Fidgeting helped him let out his nervous energy, and in turn made him a bit calmer around people.
After a short few minutes the man walks up with a few items, some fruit and snacks, looks like he's preparing to have people over. As Izuku scans the items, he takes note of the fact that all of them are popular brand name items.
The two guys make a few awkward glances of eye contact and Izuku decides to strike up some light conversation. “Having people over?” He chirps, once again glancing up at the man standing in front of him.
Izuku could’ve sworn he saw the man flinch a bit, but once again disregarded it, “Just one guy, but yeah. I was running a bit low on snacks.” Izuku hummed softly in acknowledgment, once again seeing him flinch a little, perhaps in a flustered manner?
“Card as usual?”Izuku asks once he's finished, looking up and locking his emerald green eyes with the man's crimson ones. He nods, paying quickly and flashing a slightly feral looking grin at Izuku.
“That grin looks familiar, like Kacchans” Izuku thinks to himself, “Nah, Kacchan wouldn’t have been so chill” he chuckled inwardly and handed the guy his bag of groceries, “Thanks for shopping here, have a nice day!” Izuku says, adding his signature smile to top it all off.
“You too” he replied, “Did he stutter?” Izuku thinks but smiles and nods as the man walks away and out of the store.
The rest of the day went by normally, a few regulars, an entitled middle aged woman who didn’t like the price of water, and his manager giving him dirty looks anytime he stumbled over his words while talking to a customer.
He sighed as the clock hit 6:00, his day was finally over, well, at least after he clocked out. He walked up and down the aisles to check for any last minute customers. Once making sure he was alone, he logged out of the register and finished clean up.
Izuku looked at his manager for permission to leave, getting an annoyed sigh and nod in answer. Izuku smiles softly and walks out, he glances to the left and… sees a hooded figure? He blinks and looks again, no, it's just a shadow, Izuku, get a hold of yourself.
Izuku dusts himself off once again and begins on the excruciatingly boring walk home. This time he is accompanied with the nagging feeling that he was being followed, but just chalked it up to his crippling anxiety.
If only he knew how wrong he was.