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Izuku grins as he leaps off the ledge of a roof, feeling his stomach swoop in that familiar way that comes with jumping. If he could have chosen his quirk, he definitely would've picked something that would've allowed him to fly. The thrill that comes with it is addicting. Sadly, quirks don't get picked. And he is the unluckiest of souls.
 
His feet slam into the roof of the building next to the one he leapt from. He recalls some of the first times he was learning to roof hop. How the impact of his feet could cause him to grunt or wince at the rattling pain it sent through his legs. Now it's just second nature to him. No pain, no fear. Just the feeling of weightlessness.
 
Just as he's about to leap to another rooftop, a scream nearby catches his attention. It causes Izuku to whip his head around towards the sound. He moves to the edge of the rooftop and peers over it. He watches as a woman is pinned to the wall by a man much larger than her. 
 
The woman seems to flash tiny pinpoints of light from her body anytime she moves. Izuku squints and realizes it's the street light reflecting off the iridescent scales that line her face and body. A mutant type quirk then, either reptilian or ichthyic in nature. He doesn't immediately notice anything on the surface about the man. Probably has an Emitter or Transformation. He doesn't seem to be trying to use it so Izuku will have to be careful. He's going into a fight practically blind.
 
He'll find out in a minute anyway. He pulls the black mask out of his pocket and puts it on. After a quick mental calculation, he leaps off the building with his knees locked. He's free falling at a rapid pace towards the woman's attacker.
 
"Quit fighting me, bitch! Just give me what I wa-OOF!" 
 
The guy goes down hard as soon as his feet make contact with his shoulder.

Bullseye

, he thinks. He groans in immense pain as Izuku hops off his back. The woman looks at him in startled awe. He stares back at her, keeping his voice a bit on the lower side, "You should go before he manages to get back up."
 
She blinks for a second before nodding, "Yes… thank you… thank you so much!"
 
He nods back and watches as she takes off down the alleyway as fast as her heels will allow her. He turns back to watch the idiot of the hour who finally gets his feet under him again. The guy winces and holds his shoulder before looking at him in shock, "What the fuck…? You're just a stupid kid!"
 
He rolls his eyes, "Yeah, congrats you have eyes. And you're just a dumbass who thinks that a flashy quirk gives you the ability to do whatever the hell you want."
 
"Shut up!" After that oh so intelligent statement, the crook's hands inflate to be three times the size they were.

Transformation quirk,

his analytical mind supplies,

More than likely changes the cell structure of his hands to have more muscle, fat, and skin cells than normal. Useful in a fight and picking large things up. Loses its advantage with tighter spaces or small objects. Luckily, I've got both right now. I should rile him up. It'll get him to make more mistakes when trying to hit me.

"Seriously?" He taunts with a laugh, "Does that quirk work on your brain too? You kind of need a couple more cells up there to be smarter."
 
The guy growls angrily at the jab, "I said shut up! I'm gonna pound your face in for that!"
 
"Ooooh I'm sooo scaaared!" He fake whines, hands resting on his cheeks like a trembling maiden from old history videos. He then scoffs, "You really think I'm that worried considering I jumped down on you in the first place? If you want a fight," he smirks beneath his mask and drops into a defensive position, "I'll be happy to give you one."
 
An angry roar is his response. The thug lunges for him but, just as he thought, the tight space of the alley doesn't give him much room to maneuver. Izuku easily ducks under the swinging fist. It crashes into the wall with a loud shudder. He throws a quick punch at the guy's side, just under his ribs. He knows it won't hurt much but it will wind him. He ducks away again just as a large hand reaches for him. 
 
He giggles under his breath at the amount of trouble the guy's having. These guys are all the same. They think they can win everything just because they've got a quirk that normally makes people afraid. They continue their dance. Izuku keeps just far enough out of reach to really piss the guy off then having him punch the walls around them instead. He even makes the mistake of making his hands bigger. Izuku has to laugh out loud at that. You'd think he would learn that that wasn't working out as well as he had hoped. Oh well, no accounting for intelligence.
 
He leans back against the brick wall of one of the buildings, waiting for the guy to swing again. When he does he quickly ducks out of the way. The resulting slam of skin meeting brick wasn't as loud as the others. The guy also gives a shout of extreme pain. When he whips around to check, the guy's bent over clutching at his wrist. His hands are back to normal size and the one that just punched the wall is now bloody with the pinky and ring finger bent awkwardly out to the side. Yeah, those are definitely broken…
 
His quirk had been stopped someone. Izuku squints. He only knows one hero who can do that. 
 
"You… you brat…" the guy pants out, still clearly in pain, "What'd you do to me?!"
 
"Me? Nothing," he catches sight of floating hair at the mouth of the alley. He motions to the figure with his chin, "Might want to ask him though."
 
The guy looks over with a snarl before his eyes widen in shock. Izuku shifts to cross one leg over the other and lean against the wall as pro underground hero Eraserhead steps further into the alley. His goggles are resting on his face, hiding his eyes. "What's with this commotion? Some people are trying to work and sleep in peace."
 
"Nothin'," the guy huffs.
 
"Would the girl you were trying to attack earlier agree with you?" Izuku asks condescendingly.
 
"Oh? So you’ve tried to attack not one but two civilians tonight then? Not to mention the clear signs of destruction of public property," An eyebrow raises over those golden goggles, "Sounds interesting. And like something my good friend at the police station would like to hear. Doesn't it?"
 
"Like hell I'm going with you for any reason! Ain't no reason to take me in! This kid started it anyway!"
 
Izuku sniffs as the man tries to justify anything that he did that night. He's getting really tired of his mouth though. He should fix that. He does a quick angle check before pushing off the nearby wall high enough to deliver a swift yet harsh kick to the side of the thug's head. He crumpled with a moan of agony and didn't get back up. Izuku watches him for a moment before turning back to the pro, feigning nonchalance, "Well this has been fun! Bye now!"
 
He gets to the other end of the alley just as the gruff voice calls out, "Hold it."
 
He does stop but tenses up to be ready to bolt if Eraserhead makes a grab for him. A lowlife like the one he just knocked out has nothing on him. But pro hero Eraserhead with his capture weapon? He wouldn't stand a chance. Better to rely on the element of surprise. He glances over his shoulder as the man approaches. He sees just in the very corner of his vision that the crook is now in quirk suppression cuffs. 
 
Eraser's quick, that's for sure. 
 
It's quiet for a moment before the pro asks, "What's your name?"
 
"Gyokuto," he says easily. It’s the name he’s come to adopt when meeting anyone who asks for it during his nighttime escapades. It’s fitting it matches his mental image of himself so well. A little jade bunny who flees quickly and kicks even harder when he needs to. 
 
Even though he's still wearing his goggles, Izuku can almost feel the way his eyes narrow at him, "That's not your real name, is it?"
 
"You want a prize or something?" He shrugs snarkily, "You can call me Gyokuto… or Jade Rabbit, if that’s easier; Means the same thing after all. But that's all I'm going to give you."
 
"Sassy little problem child, aren't you? You know I could bring you down to the station, too, right? It's pretty illegal to be a Vigilante, in case you weren’t aware," he warns.
 
Izuku laughs sarcastically at that, "Please. You have no leg to stand on with
that. I know the rules."
 
"Yet you claim I don't have a leg to stand on when you illegally stopped a crime with no hero license given that you are clearly a minor."
 
“Yeah, because the law says that ‘no use of quirks in heroic situations without a license, otherwise it’s counted as vigilantism and anyone is able to be charged by law.’ I didn’t use a quirk to take that guy down. As far as any police officer would be concerned, it would be justifiable self-defense without quirk usage. Ergo, no leg to stand on if you manage to bring me in and no charge of vigilantism against me,” he smirks again under his mask. He used to be nervous about doing what he did but when he remembered that little loophole, he knew he could use it to his advantage. He’s only had to about two times before now but it still gives him the same thrill when the heroes stare back in hopeless shock. He knows that Eraser finally understands his point too.
 
Eraserhead sighs deep and long as if he’s just been told the store was out of his favorite brand of coffee. Izuku scuffs his foot against the ground in boredom, “Look, Eraserhead, clearly you’re not going to get any info that you want out of me and you can’t take me in because, by technicality, I haven’t done anything wrong. Can I go now? It’s super late.”
 
The pro jolts at his words and stares at him for a long moment. Izuku’s a bit worried that he’s found a different reason to also slap him in cuffs. Instead, the man just questions, “How did you know who I am? I didn’t tell you my hero name nor is it publicized.”
 
Izuku feels sweat spring up on the back of his neck. Shit. He forgot about that. Hmm… he wonders if he can get away with a lie by reverting back to his younger fanboy self. No need to tell him that he’s been studying his movements as well as his techniques and tracking his patrol routes to avoid running into him as much as possible.
 
“I discovered you on an underground pro hero forum,” he lies easily, “I recognized you when you showed up by your capture scarf and distinctly colored goggles. They’re the only things that’s really noticeable and recognizable about your hero costume. Also because your hair floats when using your Erasure quirk. You’re honestly one of my favorite underground heroes.”
 
That last part wasn’t a lie actually. Of everyone on the underground scene that he knows about, Eraserhead is the one that he trusts the most to uphold what it means to be a hero. He doesn’t fight for status or money. He fights for those who can’t fight for themselves. The homeless, the hurting, the missing without a trace. Each one Eraserhead pays attention to because all the heroes in the limelight don’t for one reason or another. It almost makes him believe in heroes again.
 
Almost.
 
Eraser seems to accept that well enough; Shrugging it off nonchalantly. Movement behind the pro pulls Izuku’s attention. He discreetly checks around him towards it to see what’s going on. It seems their friend was finally awake and trying to take advantage of the lapse in people paying attention to him to slip away. “Uh… Eraserhead?” He says, “The guy? He’s uh… trying to get away.”
 
“What?!” The older man turns sharply. The crook freezes up as he realizes he’s been noticed. Eraser throws out his capture scarf to try and snag him but the man ducks out of the alley just as the scarf reaches him. “Dammit! Stay here kid!” 
 
The scarf is rewound around his neck as the pro takes off after the criminal. Izuku blinks a few times at where Eraser was standing before his face takes on a more deadpan look, mumbling to himself, “Does he really think I’m just going to stand here and wait for him to come back? Is he really that naïve?”

No one responds to him, as expected. He entertains the thought of actually waiting for the pro to come back. If only just to see what would happen.

Fuck it,

he thinks and turns to walk out of the alley from the other end of it to throw the hero off if he does come back,

I’m a stupid kid but not that stupid. Top favorite underground hero or no, who knows what would happen if I stayed? Not like he could help me with anything anyway.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Shouta Aizawa finally caught up to the runaway criminal, he swiftly apprehended him and passed him over to the first police officer he could find. He also made sure to let them know that Tsukauchi should be the one to interview him when they got to the station. Wouldn’t do for the guy to keep lying about trying to attack people, considering Shouta watched him swing at a literal child for a good five to ten minutes before he interfered. He's honestly not sure why he waited so long but it was amusing to watch. He has the feeling the kid wasn’t lying about him trying to attack a woman before him either.
 
Speaking of the kid, Shouta loops back towards the alley where they first met face to face. He’s got to give him credit, he’s good at staying hidden. He’s heard rumors from some of the other heroes about him but never seen him for himself; Almost to the point that he didn’t believe he existed. Most vigilantes that the other heroes warn him about he meets within the first week or two of the rumor circulation. Vigilantes and their odd sense of justice aren’t really known for keeping on the down low. Especially to the underground heroes, most of which are a bit more lenient on them.
 
They could never give a good enough description of him for anyone to pick him out of a crowd either. The hood and mask he was wearing ensured that his facial features weren’t shown to anyone, Shouta included. The most he and anyone else could tell about his appearance is that he’s very short, probably in his early teens, has green eyes that are so vivid in color they can be spotted without light, and that he has freckles on his face. Enough of the little sunspots that they can be seen even over the mask he wears. It matches what the others have told him about the kid. Distinct up close, but not distinct

enough

to be spotted at a distance. No one can even tell what color his hair is in the low lighting areas they meet him in.
 
He’s got to get a name. A real one, not just the fake fairytale one he gave him before. Perhaps then he can talk to the kid’s parents and get him some help. If he could stop being a vigilante he would be a great hero for sure. Maybe he could even suggest an internship with himself and the offer to let him take the recommendation test for UA under his name to keep him on the straight and narrow path. If anything he could just escort the kid home and get his name and details from his parents himself. Regardless, Shouta won’t let his talent or skill be wasted. He rounds the corner into the mouth of the alleyway. Then he freezes.
 
The kid’s gone. 
 
He grimaces sharply,

Oh fuck.

He swiftly swings up to the rooftops of the nearby buildings. He searches around on them and down in the alleyways a few blocks around. No sign of hide or hair of the kid anywhere. Not even a clue as to where he went or which direction he was headed.

I have officially, in all my years of teaching and being a hero, lost a child I was trying to keep an eye on

, he thinks grimly, then remembers a certain blonde with a sunny smile waiting for him at home,

‘Zashi’s going to fucking kill me for this.

He groans and reaches up to rub at his eyes now that his goggles are down around his neck. He very much reiterates his earlier statement. This is clearly a problem child he’s dealing with. A very sassy, very sarcastic problem child who fights better than some of the pros he’s worked with. He supposes since there’s no chance of finding him now that he should go home and face the music. More like the inevitable screaming. 
 
He sends a quick message to his agency and the hero on patrol after him that he wrapped up his final capture for the night and was heading home. He gets confirmation from both before using the rooftops to quickly and efficiently return to their simple two story home. He jumps down and lands in front of the front door. He opens it quietly, trying not to disturb if Hizashi’s asleep. It’s all for naught though as a cat pads from the kitchen to the front door to greet him, meowing the whole way. Hizashi follows a moment later, hair loose from its normal style, hearing aids visible from where they normally hide behind his headphones, and wrapped up in a comfy sweatshirt that Shouta is fairly certain used to be his at some point. He’s holding a cup of what is probably throat soothing tea. He must’ve just got home from the studio.  
 
The blonde grins happily at him, “Welcome home, Shou!”
 
He grunts in acknowledgement and toes his shoes off. Shooing away their cat from his feet, he approaches Hizashi slowly. When he’s in front of him, he leans down to plonk his forehead down onto his shoulder. One of Hizashi’s hands comes up to gently stroke his hair, “Rough night, baby?”
 
“You don’t know the half of it…” he winces again as he remembers what he has to tell his husband, “Um… So…”
 
The blonde hums in an obvious question. Shouta sighs in defeat at it, “You can’t get mad at me.”
 
“Oh it’s never good when you start something out with that!” Hizashi laughs good naturedly, “Couch?” 
 
Shouta agrees and they both move to the couch. Their cat, a siamese lovingly named Bastard by Shouta, jumps up between them to demand pets. Shouta obliges and once they’re both comfy enough, he relays the story to Hizashi. He tells him everything. From finding the kid, to watching him outsmart the crook without the use of a quirk, to his appearance and false name, to the crook trying to slip away and Shouta having to go chase after him, and finally to returning to the scene and finding the kid gone. Hizashi’s face also goes through various emotions as he tells the tale. Neutral at first, then concerned, then intrigued, then back to concerned. By the end of it, he has his face buried in his hands, hiding his current expression from him.
 
“So let me get this straight…” His voice is oddly low and level. Considering everything he just told him, that doesn’t bode well for Shouta. “You met a child in an alleyway. Watch him completely pummel someone with more wit and skill than some of the limelight pro heroes. Talk to the kid for

maybe

five minutes. And then just expected the little listener to stay where he was when you tell him to, to go running off after a criminal?”
 
“... Okay when you say it like that it sounds stupid,” he acquieses. 
 
The sigh that leaves Hizashi sounds more like one he would let out, “God Shou…”
 
“I said you can’t get mad!” 
 
“I’m not mad!” Hizashi insists, “Just disappointed.”
 
He blanches, “You and I both know that’s worse!” 
 
“I just!” the blonde lets out a low growl of frustration and finally raises his head to look him in the eyes, “I love you! You’re one of the smartest people I know. I married you because you’re so smart and I love you so,

so

much. But, Shou, when it comes to people and those dreaded things you call feelings, you are a complete idiot sometimes!”
 
“That’s… fair,” Shouta agrees.
 
Normally people tell you when you're having a fight with your spouse to just agree with everything they say if you want it to end early. They aren't a normal couple though. Instead of being pleased about being right, Hizashi groans in further disappointment and distress. Shouta was being genuine when he agreed though. He knows he's pretty inept when it comes to reading the emotions of high stress situations.
 
"Okay, so clearly I fucked up big time. Now how do I fix it, 'Zashi?" He asks calmly.
 
That's clearly the correct thing to ask. Hizashi brightens up with one of those sunny smiles that Shouta has come to adore. Though just a bit dimmer than it normally shines, it's still just as beautiful."You're going to have to gain his trust. And I'm sure you've realized but it's going to take awhile to do so," Hizashi says plainly.  
 
"Figured," Shouta confirms. 
 
The Voice hero reaches back to rub his neck nervously, "I hate to say it, Shou, but you're going to have to rely on the thing you hate most for this."
 
"Dogs? All Might's ego? Endeavor’s blatant disregard for civilian life and safety? Nedzu's weird world domination games?"
 
He levels a stare at him, "Small talk."
 
Shouta's dramatic sigh is only partially exaggerated. Hizashi giggles at him and playfully shoves his shoulder, "I'm serious! You need to ask him questions that aren't too personal to get him to open up. What's his favorite color, what's his favorite animal, hell, ask him who his favorite hero is! Also, offer to buy him small things. Hot chocolate, some food, a trinket or two! Once he starts to trust you more, he'll start opening up about the big things."
 
"But I have to let him set the pace on what he tells me, right?"
 
Hizashi snaps his fingers and gives him a finger gun, "You got it baby!"
 
He groans again and leans back heavily onto the couch. This is going to be a test of his patients, he can tell. Hizashi giggles again at his dramatics before flopping down onto him to rest his head on Shouta's chest. He raises a hand to run it through the blonde silk that runs down Hizashi’s back. He can do this. For Hizashi and for a kid who's clearly had to fight by himself for too long.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku leans against the wall of a coffee shop in downtown Musutafu. Normally he wouldn't be hanging out in plain sight for so long in broad daylight. But it's a Tuesday and Tuesdays mean-
 
"Sup Nerd," an ashy blonde moves to lean up against the wall beside him. Katsuki Bakugou, his old turned new again childhood friend.
 
He smiles softly, "Hey Kacchan. How's Auntie Mitsuki?"
 
"The hag's fucking fine," the other boy scoffs before it drops into a far softer tone, "She asked if I had heard from you again."
 
"What'd you tell her?" He asked, matching the tone of his voice.
 
The other pre-teen shrugs, "That I saw you last week but that you were too busy with your foster family to come over and that they still wouldn't get you a fucking cell phone for some shitty ass reason."
 
He hates that Katsuki technically has to lie to his mother about him. It's for the best though. They, all of Katsuki’s family, don't know that Izuku is homeless. He knows that the Bakugou family would happily let him have a room with them if they knew but he just can't rely on them. Katsuki wants to be a hero and Izuku just can't trust heroes anymore. Childhood friend or no.
 
Looking at the other boy, he can't help but remember their reunion a couple months ago. It had been month number 7 of being on the streets after the money to pay for the old apartment ran out; Nearly 11 months since that fateful day that seemed like a lifetime ago. He had been worrying about what he was going to find to eat and how he was going to bandage a wound he received the night before. He was out of his medical supplies that he got from a charity network last month and money was lower than he would’ve liked it to be. The criminals in the area he worked in stopped carrying cash on them for a while.

"Hey! Hey! Nerd! Stop fucking walking!"

A voice had called out. 
 
He was so deep in thought, it didn't even register that the voice was calling out to him. The voice called out again,

"I know you fucking heard me! So stop walking! I just want to fucking talk to you! C'mon nerd, stop!"

He scoffed at what he thought was probably some kind of domestic or friendly dispute. That is until a hand grabbed his arm in a vice grip with a cry of,

"Izuku!"

Izuku is ashamed to admit that his initial reaction to the grab and scream of his first name was to try and punch whoever it was that had hold of him. He's glad his reflexes ramped back down quickly enough that he didn't do that. He can't imagine what the ensuing conversation would've been if he had punched his old childhood friend in the face. Regardless, his mind had recognized the near frantic red eyes that belonged to the hand that had grabbed him. 
 
After they had both calmed down a bit, they moved into the very coffee shop they're leaning against. Katsuki had been worried in his own Katsuki way, angry and yelling the whole time. He easily dissuaded Katsuki from coming "home" with him to check on him and his home life. He stated that after the

tragedy

a nice foster family took him in but that he's got pretty strict rules and curfews to follow. Katsuki looked upset at that, a far cry from the boy who called him 'A Useless Deku' once after he was diagnosed quirkless then never spoke to him ever again until now once the bullying started up because of his hurtful sentence. He never joined in but never helped to try and stop it either. 
 
So they made a deal for Katsuki's peace of mind. Tuesdays after school were their day. They met up at the same coffee shop and just spoke about how their lives were going. Izuku was careful not to reveal too much information about his "super nice foster family." Too much information is too big of a chance to mix it up if asked again which leads to being caught in a lie. He can't risk Katsuki getting suspicious.
 
"Have you been here long?" Katsuki asks him.
 
"Nah. Just got here from school not too long ago," he lies easily.
 
Katsuki nods in acceptance. He's so lucky the other boy is so naïve when it comes to social situations. Not that Katsuki wasn’t smart, far from it, but he just has no social awareness when it comes to things like this. If he wasn’t so socially inept, he would've figured out that Izuku was wearing the exact same hoodie as last week with the same coffee stain on it he got last week. And that there's no way he would've been able to go home, change into clearly casual, and get here before Katsuki if he actually lived where he told the other boy. Aldera was closer to the coffee shop, after all, and Katsuki always came right after school since he was always still in his uniform.
 
"So… coffee?" He asks Katsuki. He then holds up a handful of yen, "I got my allowance the other day so I'll pay!"
 
Katsuki really doesn't need to know his "allowance" was actually some money he… liberated from a couple of criminals last night. It’s not stealing if it was going to be forfeited with their arrest anyway, right?
 
Katsuki grins widely, "Oh fuck yeah! How much are we allowed to get?"
 
"At least as much as I've got in my hand right now, if you want. Just don't eat me out of all my allowance, Kacchan!"
 
Seriously, don't. He's planning on using some of it to get some non perishables as well as hopefully a new pair of shoes. His current ones are starting to get holes worn into the soles of them. The two head in and hop in line behind the others. Katsuki asks him in an odd moment of small talk how his school is going. Izuku does what he does best these days and lies. Says school is going well but that he doesn't make a lot of friends because people tend to stay away. He can tell that Katsuki makes an assumption on why that is, a certain status that he can't help or avoid, but he doesn't say anything out loud. It's not like it would be a wrong one.
 
They order their preferred drinks and snacks, with Izuku paying for both of them, then head over to sit at one of the booths nearest to the door. It's silent for a moment as they settle in and start eating their snacks, some kind of donut for Katsuki and a blueberry muffin for Izuku. Izuku is halfway through his muffin when Katsuki speaks again, “So do you still do your analyzing shit or whatever?”
 
It takes him a minute to figure out what Katsuki is talking about. He hasn’t called it that, aloud or otherwise, in quite some time. “Oh! My hero analysis for the future notebooks?” Katsuki grunts in an affirmative around another mouthful of donut. Izuku shrugs, “Sometimes. I don’t get to go out and see hero fights very much anymore. Videos are good but not as helpful as in person observation especially if you don’t have a phone to watch them on in the first place. My foster family doesn’t really let me go watch in person anymore. They say it's too dangerous.” Katsuki nods as if it's the most logical thing in the world. Honestly, it's nothing but another lie to Izuku’s list.
 
In the reality of things, he doesn’t use them in that capacity anymore. He uses them to track which limelight heroes he’s able to engage with without fear of being turned in and which ones he should avoid when he comes across their daylight patrols. He uses them to track all the patrols for the underground heroes and how they separate their districts which are different from limelight heroes and rotate so that villains don’t figure out a pattern. Luckily, he’s smarter than any villain they’ve ever run into. He also uses them to learn the cryptic coding the undergrounders leave in notes on the unfortunate souls they catch; So he can mimic their secret language whenever he subdues a criminal. It was practically child’s play for him to figure it out!
 
He’s fairly certain one of the underground heroes even got a raise simply because Izuku noticed his numbers weren’t as high as the other undergrounders. So he… contributed a few of his own catches to his score using his specific ciphers that week; Making it seem like the guy was just paying more attention to his patrol routes than he normally did.
 
At least that’s what he talked about when Izuku happened to be eavesdropping nearby on him and another pro who he happened to cross paths with a few nights later. He almost laughed aloud when the guy told his companion that he didn’t remember making that many captures that week nor did he recognize the names or quirks of some of the arrested. He had even entertained the thought that he might have been capturing villains in his sleep unknowingly! Hilarious!
 
Izuku mentally digresses and takes a sip of his coffee. Katsuki finishes his donut in another bite. He wipes the crumbs off on his pants leg instead of his napkin. Normally it would really bug Izuku to watch someone do that. But this is Katsuki. He’s been watching the boy nervously wipe his palms on his legs since they were practically babies. He knows it’s a nervous tick of his; A habit he just can’t seem to shake in an effort to keep himself grounded under the stress of the world. 
 
The two talk a bit longer about various topics. Well, Izuku talks. Katsuki responds in either grunts or small one sentence responses with at least one or two cuss words involved. He occasionally asks his own questions or starts a new topic of discussion on his own. It's not often though. It's fairly normal for their Tuesday meetups really. About an hour later, they get up and head out of the cafe. Izuku turns to head down the street when Katsuki calls out a soft, “Hey nerd?”
 
He’s being far quieter than normal. Quiet is never a good sign for Bakugou Katsuki. He turns back to the blond pre-teen with a small yet genuine smile. The taller boy reaches out and claps a surprisingly gentle hand on his shoulder, “Could you… maybe find a way to come visit soon? The old hag and my old man are really fucking worried about how you’re doing. It would make them feel a hell of a lot better to see that you’re doing alright in person. Please?”
 
Oh no. He tries his best not to wince at the rising feelings inside him. Bakugou Katsuki brought out the please. It might as well be the end of the world. Izuku makes a mental note to mark down the calendar for a special occasion. Then he smiles even wider at the other boy, “I’ll try my best Kacchan! Promise! In the meantime, tell Auntie and Uncle that I miss them and love them!”
 
Part of him wants to move in for a hug, just to maybe get a bit of human warmth and comfort that he hasn’t had in quite some time, but another part knows it may not be welcomed. Or even a good idea. Getting Katsuki up in his personal space might alert him to things that only Izuku knows. He’d really rather keep it that

only

Izuku knows those things. It’s for the best right now if he stays as distant as possible without alerting the other to anything suspicious. Perhaps in the future, things will be different and he can finally open up to him. If not, oh well. That thought doesn’t hurt as much as it first did. Izuku’s very grateful for that. 
 
The two boys give their farewells with various degrees of enthusiasm. Izuku’s with false cheer; Katsuki’s gruff and full of underlying worry. They then head in opposite directions. Katsuki went back towards his warm and safe home and thought Izuku was doing the same on the other side of town. Izuku left for his hiding place from the world, knowing it was another lie that was chained to him. 
 
All those chains are such a heavy burden to bear. But bear it he must.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shouta looks up from his notes spread across the coffee table as the front door opens. He gives a wave as Hizashi comes into their home but doesn’t greet him verbally. Instead he turns back to his scattered notes and the phone cradled in his shoulder. He runs over the information in front of him then asks, “So you’ve seen nothing since then?”
 
“Nope, not a sign,” A female underground hero that goes by the name Blacklight confirms, voice gentle but hard at the same time, “I thought at first that they lived in the area. It seemed like the most likely choice. But after several weeks without even a glimpse, it was clear that my initial thought was off. I even tried to use my quirk to see if I could spot them that way but… it obviously didn’t work for a very good reason.”
 
“Oh?” He knows a bit of how her quirk works but not all of it.
 
“Yeah. I didn’t even consider what they were wearing until after I tried. As I’m sure you probably know since it’s the basics, my quirk works just like a black light does by turning my visional perspective into a literal black light. So that means brighter colors glow when I ‘turn it on’ for lack of better word. I’m lucky my quirk doesn’t stay on the whole time… I’d have a hell of a headache constantly! Anyway there’s a reason why this is important, I swear. The kid? They wear all black clothing with the exception of the vibrant neon green at the ends of their hoodie sleeves and their bright red shoes. They’re the only things that glow under my black light vision aside from those bright green eyes of theirs,” Blacklight makes a frustrated sigh, the sound crackling through the receiver of Aizawa’s phone, “Basically, unless they’re standing right in front of me, whether my quirk is active or not, I can’t really see them. Even when my quirk is active I can’t really spot them because the glows that they do give off are too small for me to take notice of when it matters.”
 
Shouta reigns in the disappointed sigh. Another dead end from another witness. “Alright, thanks for the info,” he says amicably, “Continue to keep an eye out for them if you don’t mind.”
 
“Sure thing Eraser!” she agrees immediately, “Kid's obviously been through a lot. No one fights that good without a hell ton of practice at clawing at whoever gets too close. I’ll forward any new information I find or let you know if I happen to spot them again.”
 
He gives his thanks again and hangs up the phone. He puts it down onto the table on top of one of the stacks of paper. He then takes a page out of his husband’s book and turns to flop face down onto the couch long ways. He groans loud and long. Why is it so difficult to find one kid? Where could they possibly be hiding that several pro heroes and the police can’t find them?
 
“Oooh…” Hizashi says with a clear wince, “You only do that when things are rough. Still having trouble finding the kid from earlier this week?” A gentle hand cards through his messy hair. If he was a cat, he knows he’d be purring at the soft affection.
 
“They’re a problem child is what they are!” Shouta shouts in frustration into the couch cushion, not raising his head, “Any hero who meets them only sees them one time then they’re never seen again by that same hero! They’re still active because people still catch glimpses of them or report that they’ve helped them out at a distance. But honestly, that doesn’t make any sense! How does that work? Is it a part of their quirk somehow that you can only meet them once? How am I supposed to find them if so?”
 
“Maybe you should take a break, baby,” Hizashi scratches at his scalp lightly. Oh, that feels nice though. “I know I was frustrated with you for leaving them alone but I don’t want you to burn yourself out on a mad hunt for them either. Maybe taking a nap and having a snack will let you look at this evidence again with fresh eyes!”
 
Shouta peeks up at him and his soft smile. He then smiles as well and murmurs just loud enough for the other to hear, “I love you.”
 
“I love you too! And people are still shocked whenever I tell them that you say those words first a lot of the time!” Hizashi pats him on the back almost condescendingly. His blonde beauty then stands up and heads for the kitchen, “I’m making a cup of tea for me. Want me to make you some coffee? Or get you a jelly pack?”
 
He struggles back into a sitting position, aching all the way up. Stupid old bones and overworked muscles. He opens his mouth to respond when the shrill ring of his cell cuts him off. He scoops the phone back up off the coffee table and answers it without hesitation, not even checking the caller ID, “Eraserhead.”
 
“Hey Eraser, it’s Tsukauchi,” the detective’s voice comes through, “Listen, I know you took the night off tonight-”
 
“Nao, please, I told you I wasn’t working tonight so I could work on the Jade Rabbit sightings…” he sighs, knowing this was going to lead to him coming out for something.
 
“Would you let me finish?” The man says somewhat irritably then sighs to reign his anger back in, “I know you took the night off but I think I have something for your vigilante kid case thanks to something we found tonight.” 
 
“What?” he asks loudly in shock, jumping up to stand. Hizashi pokes his head out around the corner of the kitchen. Shouta shares a quick look with him. Hizashi seems to get what he’s trying to get across and gives him a thumbs up with a smile, moving back into the kitchen to grab a jelly pack for him to take with him. Shouta returns his attention back to the phone, “What do you mean?”
 
“Had a call come in about a capture. Said they couldn’t stick around so they could chase after another criminal and left a note. The usual for you underground types. We arrived to find our villain heavily unconscious with quite severe bruising to his body and head. Guy was so out of it from whoever got him, he didn’t even need the suppression cuffs until we were towing him into the back of the squad car.”
 
So far he wasn’t impressed. But clearly Tsukauchi wouldn’t have called him for no reason. “So? Clearly whoever the agency called in to cover my patrol tonight made a swift albeit violent catch.”
 
“See that’s what I thought too. But Eraser… the note left with the criminal has YOUR specific ciphers on it. It could also pass for your handwriting too.”
 
That makes him freeze. Is Tsukauchi really implying what he thinks he is? The man continues when he doesn’t respond, “I’m taking your silence as understanding of the situation but if I’m somehow wrong, allow me to recap what I think is going on; I believe that this kid of yours used

your

specific message ciphers on a capture in the district

you

were supposed to patrol tonight. So

you

would get the credit for it.” 
 
It dawns on him swiftly, “They’re tracking our movements. That’s how we’re not seeing them more than once. They’re taking notes of where we are on which night and using that to their advantage… But how are they getting that info? And we rotate patrol routes, so how are they figuring it out?”
 
Papers flip in the background as Tsukauchi checks his case notes, “The cipher notes started appearing more frequently around a month and a half ago. Before it was only used in more volatile cases where one or more criminals were attempting to escape and it was more of a danger to let them go than to leave the subdued one or ones unattended. If they were able to learn all of the ciphers of the regular undergrounds patrolling his haunts in a month and a half, I guarantee that they may have somehow managed to decode how your district rotations work.” 
 
“Do you still have the coded note from tonight?” Shouta asks, pulling on his boots and taking the jelly pack Hizashi holds out for him. He grabs his goggles from the hook on the wall next to the door and slides them on to hang around his neck. 
 
“In my hand right now. Coming to pick it up at the station in person then?” Tsukauchi rustles the paper in his hand as something of a confirmation that he’s telling the truth about the note.
 
“Yeah. I wanna see what it looks like for myself. I’ll be there in no more than twenty,” he gives a quick goodbye to the detective and slips his phone in his pocket. He then turns to his husband, “Gotta run. Got a lead on our bunny.”
 
A wide, cheerful smile stretches across Hizashi’s face at that, “I know. Be careful. If you see the little listener at all tonight, remember what I said okay? Small talk and be gentle. He’s basically a feral cat right now, if that helps you.” 
 
“I'll remember, I will. If you’re tired, go to bed. Don’t wait up. I’ll join you when I get back.” The two share a quick kiss goodbye. Shouta grins and rolls his eyes as Hizashi nuzzles his cheek with his lips; His adorably stupid mustache tickling his cheek. He scoops his capture scarf up off the end of the couch and throws it around his neck. With a last wave at his loud blonde, he climbs out the window, using his scarf to swing up to the rooftops.
 
With his higher route of travel, he makes it to the police station in 15 minutes. He walks in, giving a quick wave to the secretary on duty before turning to head towards Tsukauchi's office. He schools his expression into one of careful neutrality then opens the door.
 
The detective looks up as he enters. He gives him a small smile, "That was fast."
 
"I was at home. I don't live too far from here, y'know." Shouta huffs.
 
Tsukauchi says nothing in response to that. Instead, he holds out the ciphered message to Shouta. When Shouta takes it and looks at it, his breath catches a bit. He knew it would be his message ciphers on the sheet of paper. But the level of detail is astonishing. If he hadn't known for a fact that he wasn't the one who wrote it, he would legitimately believe that he had written it and just forgot. The handwriting is nearly identical to his own too, just like Tsukauchi said. 
 
“What about the criminal it was on? Did the ciphers match what we needed to know about them?” He glances at all of the marks on the page and makes a mental note on what the message is saying.
 
Tsukauchi nods, “To a perfect tee. Not a single one that wasn’t supposed to be there or a single one missing. That’s why most of the police crew on scene didn’t even bat an eye at it. I only did because I knew you had taken the night off at the last minute.” 
 
This ran way deeper than Shouta originally thought. He sits heavily in the chair across from Tsukauchi’s desk, running a hand down his face in exhaustion. The detective says nothing to allow him to take a moment to catch his breath and regroup his thoughts. “My initial thoughts about this were off… way off,” he voices to him first. 
 
“How so?” Tsukauchi encourages.
 
He leans forward, resting his chin in his hand, “I originally thought that this kid’s hits were random. That they were just criminals he was running into with them deciding to dip their toes into the fights with them for a thrill. But this note, and likely all the others from before, prove that it’s intentional. They’ve made their own patrol routes around ours by apparently memorizing our patterns and rotations.”
 
“You mentioned that on the phone. How do you think he’s getting the info?”
 
“Not through any kind of technology. If they did, they would’ve known I wasn’t going to be on patrol. My guess is that their interactions with us are how they figure it out. They note who’s going to be in what area on which day and then adapt accordingly,” He sighs softly, “By that I mean they change how they travel around the city. For those who stay on the ground, they move to the rooftops. Vice versa, if a hero travels via the rooftops or in the air, they stick to the ground mainly in the shadows of alleyways. They must watch us after we leave them or after they disappear from our sight to figure out where we go and what we do on our patrols; Easiest way to avoid us is to stay in our shadows right under our noses.”
 
“They must take very extensive mental notes,” Tsukauchi crosses his arm with furrowed brows, “Especially with how he was able to learn and memorize all of this in just a few months' time.”
 
Notes… notes! It hits him faster than he thought it would, “They take written notes! They must have a notebook or something that he uses to take notes down of each of us. How else would they have been able to copy our ciphers so easily? They could use it to note down our ciphers to be able to take time during the day to memorize them and what they mean or at least make a translation chart for them.”
 
“And also use it to take note of your quirks and what they do. They could actually note down anything about you guys. How your patrol routes run, who you interact with, where you go after the end of the night. The amount of stuff that could be in that notebook, or books, would give anyone an advantage, no matter how small,” Tsukauchi looks concerned now, “Oh god… what kind of intelligence quirk does this kid have? Do we have to worry about a second generation Nezu? What if they turn to villainy? How much trouble are we in then?”
 
Shouta looks back at the coded message. Somehow, Shouta can tell by just those specific squiggles on the page that they don’t have to worry about villainy with the kid. He doesn’t know why exactly but they don’t. He took a deep, steadying breath, “I don’t have the answers to any of those questions. But I do know one thing.”
 
Tsukauchi sits up straight at that, listening intently. Shouta grins, “I know how to find them. Can you get me a list of which districts the most cipher notes have shown up on in the last month? I’ll also need a map of the underground patrol districts if you have one; preferably one I can write on.”
 
Tsukauchi doesn’t question him. Just gets what he asks and sets them down on the desk in front of him. Shouta picks up a nearby pen. He takes a quick run through of the list of known found cipher notes and the districts they were located. He marks x’s on any district on the map not listed. After that, he runs through the list again and marks the number of found notes on top of each district. When he’s finished, he sets the pen aside. 
 
“They must live around here,” he draws a circle around three of the districts with the tip of his finger. They don’t have official names so they’re mostly referred to by the Greek alphabet. The three districts in the circle are Xi, Nu, and Eta. The other man gets up and moves around to stand behind him, looking at the map over his shoulder. His eyes widen as he realizes what Shouta is seeing. “Because those districts have the most amount of cipher notes,” he says quietly. 
 
“Exactly. What’s an easier place to practice than around where they live? Do we know if there are any kinds of residential living spaces around these areas?” 
 
“Couldn’t tell you off the top of my head unfortunately,” Tsukauchi murmurs sadly, “If I did, we could’ve just checked those locations and ruled out whichever ones don’t have our angry little bunny in it.”
 
“Hard way then. Plan C if you will,” Shouta responds, as he picks the pen back up to also make note of areas that have slightly higher numbers than the rest. 
 
Tsukauchi blinks at him, “What happened to plans A and B?”
 
“Plan A was to get the kid down here on the night I met them, by force if I had to. Didn’t work. Plan B was to search around blindly where I saw the kid before and talk to them when I ran into them. Also didn’t work,” he uses his phone to snap a picture of the map, “So this is plan C.”
 
“Which is what, exactly?” Tsukauchi asks next.
 
“Trick the kid into still thinking they have the higher ground in terms of our information. Meanwhile I’ll start appearing on patrol routes in the high profile distracts on nights that I know street runners are active. Claim they called out or something. Can’t do it too many times in a row though because they’ll catch on. If this works, I should run into them quite a few times.”
 
“And then what? You bring them in for their vigilantism?” 
 
He shakes his head, “No. Kid pointed out when I met them the first time that they didn’t use a quirk so we can’t bring them in. And considering I watched them fight that night, they’re right. As far as I’m aware they haven't used a quirk to take down any of the criminals yet. If that changes, only then will I bring them in for vigilantism.”
 
Tsukauchi has an odd relationship with vigilantes and what they stand for. Shouta knows that and knows that if this were a normal vigilante, he’d be wanting the kid dragged in kicking and screaming. This is not a normal vigilante. Tsukauchi breathes out a sigh of clear relief that he won’t have to interrogate a literal child about illegal quirk usage and vigilantism. He agrees with it. He’s glad he won’t have to do that too. He needs to get this kid to trust him. 
 
And now he’s got a plan to do so.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku tightens the ropes on another apprehended criminal. Another night, another time to be the hero the world would shun if they knew his name. The apprehended person, he can’t quite tell if they’re male, female, or neither to be honest, growls at him angrily. It sounds a bit more intimidating thanks to their quirk but other than that, it doesn’t shake him. It just makes him stare at them blankly, “Look I get that your quirk lets you growl like you’re a lion but it’s not scary. Not now and not before either. Now just sit tight and wait for the police to arrive. Not like you can go anywhere now anyway.”
 
He checks the ropes one final time then backs up; leaving them hogtied on the ground in the alleyway. Those ropes were a wonderful investment in his opinion. He takes a quick glance around before stealing- uh… liberating the money in their wallet. He writes out a message with the underground hero on patrol’s ciphers. It should be Hermes tonight, a man who has literal wings on his ankles just like the winged sandals of the Greek God. Fitting, honestly. Useless once you learn that the wings are too small to support his body weight for flying. Poor guy can't even use them to glide. Just help him get some speed and versatility while running and a small boost when jumping.
 
He tapes the note to the person’s back, in a place they can’t reach in their admittedly little mobility to pull it off. He then swipes their phone, sends a text to the police using the emergency text feature, and drops it back down next to their head. “Be good for the nice police officers who show up!” He chirps like a father sending their child off to a playdate with a friend, “Have fun!” 
 
He gives a quick two pats to their back as they spit growly curses at him. He rolls his eyes and ignores them, instead heading for the fire escape on one of the nearby buildings. It’s an easy leap with a bit of speed thanks to all the practice he’s had. He grabs the bottom rung then carefully climbs his way up it. He makes his way all the way up and gets to the top just as the lights and sirens reach the alleway below. He gets another running start and leaps two rooftops over; Just to make sure there’s some distance between him and the former crime scene.

Well that went nice and smoothly,

he thought brushing off his hands,

good first capture of the night.

The sound of a throat clearing comes from behind him. Izuku can say with certainty that he doesn’t squeak at the quite frightening sound.
 
… But he does scream.
 
He whips around only to come face to face with Eraserhead sans goggles this time; Those currently hang around his neck. A bored look sits on his face. Shit! He starts swiftly looking for a way out. He could easily jump to another rooftop but Eraserhead himself travels most via roof hopping. He would follow him easily! 
 
“Easy kid,” Eraserhead calls out, raising both hands in a sign of surrender, “I’m not here to do anything but talk.”

Likely story,

the mistrustful part of his brain said. Izuku agreed with it wholeheartedly. What was Eraserhead even

doing

here tonight? It’s supposed to be Hermes’ patrol! He wouldn’t have even come this way if he knew Eraserhead was in the area. He was supposed to be in a different area completely! His patrol areas and rotation schedule weren’t wrong! Oh god, was he panicking? He feels like he might be panicking!
 
A heavy hand lands on his shoulder. Shit! He had frozen! He should have tried to make a run for it! Even if Eraserhead had caught up with him, at least he would have tried to get away. Instead he just stood there like an idiot! He didn’t even realize that the older man had approached him! At first he’s afraid. His luck has finally run out and he’s about to be arrested. Even though he knew that they technically couldn’t charge him with anything. He waits in tense silence. 
 
But nothing happens. 
 
While the hand doesn’t leave, it doesn’t increase in pressure either. He doesn’t try to restrain him or lead him anywhere. It’s just there. A constant and steady reminder that he’s there. It’s more than Izuku has had in quite a long time. Sure Kacchan says he’s there for him and encourages him to seek him out if he’s in trouble… but Izuku doesn’t really

trust

him. Not anymore. Not since they were children. 
 
The fact that Eraserhead, known for being harsher than usual on criminals that try to avoid him, is offering him a way to say that he’s there for Izuku? Well, he doesn’t know what to think. Mostly it’s that he doesn’t deserve it. At all. Some of it is that even though Eraser was kind to him last time doesn’t mean he trusts him either.
 
Eventually, he calms down enough that he can look up at Eraser’s eyes. The man’s face doesn’t show much emotion but his eyes are oddly relieved. Weird. “You back with me, Gyokuto?” he asks.
 
The pre-teen nods in confirmation, not feeling up to speaking just yet. Eraser gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze before he releases him, “Good to hear. Sorry, I should have realized you were having a panic attack and walked you through the steps to regulate your breathing.” 
 
“No it’s okay. I’m fine,” he squeaks out. 
 
The older man huffs a sigh, “You weren’t fine. I could tell you weren’t when I was calling for you and you didn’t respond. Your eyes were really far away too. You were lost in your own head with no way out. And that's my fault.  Panic attacks are rough, anyone will tell you that.”
 
He nods in agreement. He hasn't had them often since after…

after

but when he does get them, they suck! The hand gives his shoulder a final squeeze before removing itself. That confuses Izuku more. Was he really just holding his shoulder to calm him down? To keep him grounded? Why? Most people wouldn't care.
 
"Why are you here?" He asks Eraserhead quietly. 
 
"Like I said, I wanted to talk to you. I've been trying to track you down for days. You're slippery though, I'll give you that," Eraserhead shrugs, “I got lucky that Hermes couldn’t patrol tonight. Family emergency or something.”
 
Izuku can tell it's with nonchalance but his brain is still stalling on that. He wants to talk? He's been looking for him? Nothing makes sense!
 
"What do you want to talk about?" Izuku warily asks, eyes narrowed in suspicion, "I don't think there's anything from me that you need. I haven't been involved in any crimes lately that fall under your patrol, I don't think."
 
That last one is a lie. But it's fine, it's not like Eraser knows that. Eraser shakes his head, "No. Nothing about that."
 
"Then what?" His hackles are rising defensively now, "If you want me to try and give you my real name, I'm not doing it! I've already told you Gyokuto is all you're getting from-"
 
"What's your favorite color?" The older man interrupts him.
 
Izuku blinks in confusion. What in the world? "Um… I… What?" Is his oh so intelligent response. 
 
"Your favorite color. What is it?" He asks again.
 
"Um…" It's genuinely a question he wasn't expecting. He has to take a moment to think about it. "Blue… It used to be green because it reminded me of my mother's eyes. But uh… now I like blue. Like the sky."
 
The older man nods, "Mine's yellow."
 
"Like your goggles?" He ponders while pointing to his neck where the goggles hang.
 
"Like my husband's hair. It's a beautiful color to me."
 
Izuku reels back at that, "You're married?!"
 
The man hums and nods, "Three years now. But we've been together since the end of high school."
 
That's a revelation for Izuku. With all the things he wrote about in his notebook about Eraserhead, both past and present, he was almost 95 percent certain he was unattached. He’s just such a lone wolf character type. For him to not only have a partner but to be married to him? Somewhat shocking. 
 
"Huh…" he says quietly. 
 
Eraser nods again then moves over to the edge of the roof. He sits on the ledge. "What's your favorite animal?" He questions next. 
 
"This is really weird…" Izuku mutters, thinking he can't hear him.
 
"It's really not. Just come sit with me and tell me your favorite animal," he pats the space next to himself on the ledge, "Mines cats by the way."
 
"Lazy, apathetic, sometimes total bastards; Now

that

I can see with you," he giggles as Eraserhead rolls his eyes. He takes a moment to think before walking over to join Eraser in sitting on the ledge, "I like birds. Like canaries or maybe wrens. Just cute, pretty little birds."
 
"Bird huh? Any reasoning?"
 
For once, he decides to give him the truth. Not really any other way to spin this after all, "... They can fly. I wish I could fly sometimes. Then I could go anywhere; Not be limited by anything or anyone. I could just be free."
 
Eraser stares at him for a long moment. Izuku meets his gaze, waiting for the inevitable question about if he's okay. Instead Eraser just nods in a way that says he understands. Izuku kind of believes that he does too. 
 
"Alright. So who's your favorite hero?" Is the next question.
 
"Are we just going to do this all night?" He raises his eyebrow at the older man.
 
"If we have to. I'm bored," he shrugs.
 
He stares at him incredulously, "Aren't you on patrol and therefore, y'know… working?"
 
"Yes but I've got someone helping me; Called them when I spotted you. So I've got time to sit around a chat with a problem child," he answers, then looks at him, "So? Favorite hero?"
 
"Don't have one," Izuku responds with a bit of heat lining his voice. 
 
Eraser sighs again and rolls his eyes, "If you had to pick one then, who'd be your favorite?"
 
Izuku is silent for a long moment. If he had to pick, which one has the best morals to him? He guesses if he would have to pick, "Present Mic."
 
"Really?" Eraser's voice ticks a tone of intrigue, "Why him?"
 
"It’s not an obvious choice for someone my age, really. Most kids would say someone like All Might or Endeavor; A hero who’s popular and has the top ranking spot and media coverage to prove it. I chose Present Mic because… He's a literal great hero, I think. He tries his best to save people instead of worrying about which news station’s cameras are watching him. He doesn’t hesitate to help when there’s trouble from a villain, even if it’s not his jurisdiction or normal patrol areas that his agency covers. Not to mention the amount of work he does outside of his hero work. His radio station has a help hotline that he advertises almost religiously for good reason. He donates money and time to various charities helping minorities. He never turns anyone away, no matter what they look like or what their quirk is. His usage of his quirk is really quite phenomenal, too, given the level of control he needs to ensure as little collateral damage as possible. I mean the level of pitch awareness and directional stability with his voice, even with the help of the directional speaker he wears, means he has to be very conscientious of everything around him; If he’s not he could break windows or burst eardrums of civilians by accident. And," he realizes he's rambling a bit and blushes a bit, finishing it up quietly with, "W-Well… He's just everything that I-I'd imagine a true hero should be. Y-Y’know?"
 
Eraser doesn't say anything. When Izuku chances a look at his face and finds him smiling softly at him. He ducks his head shyly, feeling warmth bubble up inside him from his gaze. No adult has looked at him like that in so long aside from his mother. Now she was gone and no one looked at him with such warmth and care anymore. Except maybe Kacchan but even then it's iffy and hard to tell sometimes. Kacchan is a kid just like himself, after all.  
 
A hand slips into his curls under his hood, being careful not to dislodge it from over his head, causing him to freeze again. He waits with bated breath for the inevitable harsh tug that usually follows a hand in his hair. Instead of pain, the hand ruffles his curls gently. Quietly, Eraser whispers, "I think that's a great choice for great, logical reasons."
 
His jaw drops. He's being praised.

He's being praised by Eraserhead for his choice of hero.

He doesn't even mind that he rambled off everything he knows about Present Mic's efforts in the community. He doesn't think it's weird or creepy. He takes deep breaths to try to keep from crying. He can't cry. Not anymore. 
 
He smiles softly as Eraser’s hand finally pulls away from his hair. Maybe Eraser isn't so bad after all in terms of adults and heroes. He still doesn’t really trust him but this kind of neutral ground they’ve made is nice. He could get used to this.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hizashi hums as he checks the shelves for a package of dried seaweed. He told Shouta that he wanted to try out a new recipe he found with it. Now he just had to find a nice brand to try it with. As he compares two brands, his mind wanders to his husband. Rather his husband's supposed 'Problem Child.' 
 
According to Shouta, his idea of gaining trust via small talk is working. They’ve gotten some answers into the personality hiding behind supposedly too wide green eyes. It’s simple answers but they help gauge exactly where the kiddo is in terms of trauma. Their enjoyment of the sky and birds. The wish to just be able to fly away and not look back. There’s a sad story waiting behind that. Especially since green was his original favorite color because it ‘reminded them of their mother’s eyes’ paints a not so good image. Either she became a not so good mother or worse… a dead one.
 
Hizashi had just about broken the windows from how loud he squealed with happiness when Shouta told him that Present Mic was their favorite hero. It’s so sweet! When Shouta tells him he nearly had to drag it out of them, it does simmer down his excitement over it a bit.

“Kid said they didn’t have a favorite,”

Shouta had said.

“So what?”

Hizashi had replied easily,

“They have multiple favorites then, obviously. It’s the easiest answer in the world! They just can’t pick off the top of their head.”

“No ‘Zashi… the look in their eyes didn’t match up with someone who just can’t pick. They were… almost angry at the thought of even picking a hero,”

Shouta pressed.
 
Hizashi sighs softly at the memory. His husband wasn’t harsh about saying it but at the same time… he wasn’t gentle either. He knows he’s not angry at him or the kid but angry at whatever made the kid feel that way. Hizashi is too. No kid should ever feel that way about anything. 
 
He moves on after finally selecting a brand of dried seaweed that looked good and headed for the canned food aisle. He hums a song softly as he glances at the cans. “Oh!” he says happily to himself, “A sale! Nice!”
 
A voice gasps beside him on the right. Almost too soft for his hearing aids to pick up. He turns his head and catches the eyes of a child’s sparkling ones. He seems awed at his appearance so he sends a soft smile at him. “Are you!?” The child claps a hand over his mouth at the volume. Then he looks around to see if anyone noticed his louder volume. When no one is seen looking in their direction, he steps closer and lowers his voice to a whisper, shielding the side of his mouth with his hand, “Are-are you Present Mic?”
 
Hizashi blinks in shock then smiles brightly, keeping his voice low, “That I am, little listener! I can’t believe you recognise me outside of my hero costume!”
 
“I… I didn’t until I heard you speak. I listen to Put Your Hands Up radio a lot and-and, even though you’re speaking in a lower tone, I recognized the sound of your voice. That’s so cool!” he whispers mostly to himself, mumbling out almost too quietly for Mic to hear, “Weird that I just talked about you last night but still cool.”  
 
“Well aren’t you just the smartest little thing?” The child blushes darkly in bashfulness. Oh gosh, that’s just precious! Such a cute little green bean he is! He smiles again, “I’m still really impressed! What’s your name and pronouns, listener?”
 
“Um… Izuku and uh… he and him I guess. I’ve never really thought about it too deeply,” Is the whispered reply from the boy.
 
“Well Izuku, let me just say that you have absolutely made my day! Is there anything I can do for you as a ‘thanks’ to such a special listener?”
 
“Uh… Well… I actually didn’t think you’d ask that…” Izuku’s hands ring together nervously, “Well… um… Normally I’d ask if you’d sign one of my notebooks but I don’t have any with me today. I emptied my backpack out where I usually keep them to carry all the groceries… home.”
 
Hizashi raises an eyebrow at the hesitance in Izuku’s voice at the word home. It sounded forced to him. Does the little listener not like home? He hopes he’s reading the atmosphere wrong on that one. Shouta’s got enough on his plate with their little jade bunny still on the loose. No need to overwhelm him with kids even though Hizashi would just LOVE to take this sweet one home and have both of them in their home. From the ramble about Present Mic that Gyokuto gave Shouta last night, he has a feeling both kids could keep up with each other intelligence wise. Regardless, he can’t just assume this kid’s home life is bad by one word. That’s not fair to anyone, especially the kid if he’s wrong about the feeling he’s getting.
 
He can’t seem to push back the feeling, the thought of,

but what if I’m right?

“Well that’s alright!” He cheerily says, smiling widely again, “We’ll just make it an IOU, then! When I see you next time, I’ll sign one of your notebooks for you! No charge! Promise!”
 
“You’re really nice Mister Present Mic, sir. Thank you so much for being so kind to me!” Izuku bows deeply in gratitude. 
 
He waves him off easily, informing him that no thanks were necessary for kindness. They separate again to both continue on with shopping. Hizashi finds everything he needs, being sure to also pick up more Jelly packets for his husband to snack on or take on missions with him. He’s a wonderful spouse and he hopes Shouta knows and appreciates this. Despite the fact that he wishes he would take healthier snacks with him. It’s clearly not good for him to eat practically one or two meals a day plus jelly packs whenever he can scarf them down in between. Regardless, he won’t push him. Too much.
 
He heads for the front to pay and runs into his new little listener friend at the cashier; Who is wholeheartedly berating him. “You’re wearing that ridiculous sweatshirt again!” She tuts at him, “Not only is it far too warm for it but it’s clearly filthy! Why haven’t you washed it?!”
 
“Uh… I-I’m sorry… I keep forgetting to… I-I promise I will as soon as I g-get… home…” Izuku apologizes meekly. His hands are gripped so tightly to the straps of his backpack that his knuckles are a stark white color. Not only that but he said home again in that way. It’s really not doing any favors on dissuading the bad home life theory. 
 
The cashier harrumphs and lets him know his total. Izuku nervously pulls out the needed Yen and hands it over. His hands shake as the cashier drops his change into his palm. He tucks it away and sets his backpack down to start loading the now paid for groceries into it. Hizashi notes that most of the items are canned goods and non-perishables. Food that can be kept for quite some time. That’s a bit odd. He smiles warmly at the cashier and places his items up on the counter. The cashier smiles back and says, “Sorry about the commotion. I don’t know what it is with delinquent kids these days not doing normal things like washing their clothes!”
 
Hizashi thinks he hears the kid mutter something along the lines of,

“I told you I was going to wash it lady jeez…”

He doesn’t call attention to it though. Instead he just laughs gently, “Oh I don’t think it’s that bad! I know for a fact that I sometimes forget to wash my favorite and most comfortable hoodie! It’s just so cozy that I forget! Drives my partner absolutely bananas!”
 
“W-Well I… be that a-as it may!” The woman sputters.
 
“Don’t worry about it! In fact, let’s not mention it anymore! He said he was going to wash it, so it’s all fine!” His voice comes across as cheery but he knows his gaze is like ice.
 
She luckily seems to get the message and keeps her mouth shut. Honestly, he can’t stand adults like her. Just because he’s a growing kid who's still learning how to navigate the world doesn’t mean she has to berate him as if he’s a 40 year old deadbeat still living with his mother. That’s in no way fair to Izuku! He hopes she doesn’t do this with all the kids around the area who come in. Knowing her type, she does though. He’ll have to keep an eye out the next time he comes here.  
 
He finishes up paying for everything just as Izuku gets done putting the groceries he got into his backpack. They walk out together and Izuku turns to bow at him with another word of thanks. "Hey no problem!" He says easily, "She shouldn't have gotten onto your case like that, especially in front of everyone! So not cool of her! I just did what I think anyone should do in those situations! Anyway, you should run home now before it gets dark. I really hope I get to see you again sometime soon Izuku!"
 
"Ah… yeah," the smile the boy gives him is small but so soft and sweet that Hizashi almost wants to coo at it. Izuku shuffles his feet quietly against the ground, "I hope so too Mister Present Mic."
 
With a last wave, the two head in opposite directions towards their homes. Hizashi feels light the whole way to his and Shouta's home. He feels good about himself and how he handled the whole situation. He hopes he made that kid's life just a little bit easier by speaking up on his behalf when he clearly felt like he couldn't stand up for himself. 
 
He pushes the front door open, calling out that he's home. He's not really expecting a response aside from Bastard meowing at him relentlessly. It makes him jump when Shouta calls back a "welcome home" to him.
 
"Jeez Shou! You scared the hell out of me! I thought you had to patrol today," he says as he heads for the kitchen with the bags.
 
"I do but not until later tonight. Managed to be able to come home and relax for a bit first." 
 
And he is relaxing, Hizashi will give him that. Sprawled out on the couch with some kind of movie playing on low. Bastard is laying on his chest purring up a storm as her dad pets her gently. That's good. His husband works far too hard and far too much to not get some time to relax a bit. He starts putting the groceries away in the cabinets and fridge as he asks, "Going out searching for our little bunny tonight?"
 
"No, not tonight," Shouta sighs, clearly wishing that he could, "I've got to stagger the run ins or else they'll figure out that I know how to find them and that I'm actively tracking them. Kid's way too smart not to and I can't risk that chance now that I’m finally able to speak to them. They might pull away before we can offer them the help they clearly need and deserve."
 
Hizashi hums in understanding. It makes sense for sure. He makes a noise as he remembers his meeting with Izuku, "Speaking of little bunnies. Shou, I met the CUTEST little listener at the store today!"
 
"Oh?" Shouta asks him in intrigue, muting the television to hear him better.
 
Hizashi grins over his shoulder, "Yes! He couldn't have been more than ten, eleven, maybe twelve or thirteen at most. But oh, he was so precious! The sweetest little smile, the softest looking curls! Oh I just wanted to scoop him up and SQUEEZE him!"
 
"That cute, huh?" He knows Shouta is just entertaining him at this point. Hizashi appreciates that he's listening anyway. 
 
"Yes! And so smart too! He was able to guess I was Present Mic. Just by my voice!"
 
"Really?" Shouta's voice ticks up a bit as intrigue bleeds into it, "You're not wearing anything from your hero costume that makes you recognizable?"
 
"Not a piece! Not even the gloves or boots I sometimes wear with my civilian clothes!" He takes one of the jelly packs and tosses it to Shouta before putting the rest away, "Do you know how much attention he had to pay to just the sound of my voice to be able to realize that? Especially since I lower the pitch of my voice when I'm off duty! He was completely chill about it too! Didn't try to hound me for autographs or pictures and even kept his own volume down so no one else would hear that he figured out who I was."
 
"That's honestly really impressive. Especially if he was a fan," Shouta agrees, cracking open the lid of the jelly pack. 
 
"No kidding! But the cashier of the store, oh she was a Bitch with a capital B, Shou! Got all up in his business and was mad at him for wearing a slightly dirty hoodie!" He pulls a can of cat food out of the cabinet for Bastard's dinner later. 
 
Shouta scoffs, "Like she's never forgotten to wash something at his age." Hizashi hears him start slurping at the pack. 
 
"RIGHT?! I mean, who does that? Poor baby was shaking and apologizing to her! Then she had the audacity to turn to me and call him a delinquent

to my face!

Over a hoodie!"
 
The sound of slurping pauses for Shouta to respond, "People are the worst. You shut her up?"
 
"Oh honey, in a hurry!" He pokes his head around the corner to wink at him before scowling. "Seriously, picking on a kid like that. How scummy can you get?"
 
Shouta grunts in an agreeing response. Hizashi grins widely before it falls as he remembers the soft smile and gentle thank yous. His stomach swoops as red flags start popping up again.
 
"'Zashi?" Shouta calls at his sudden quietness, "You alright?"
 
He grimaces, "I… I don't know. I just… something feels wrong. With the little listener. The alarm bells are blaring in my head and I don't know why."
 
"Sure it's not the tinnitus?" Normally that dry humored joke would be hilarious but this time it just causes his heart to race faster. Because what if Shouta's right? What if he’s seeing things that aren’t there?
 
"Not the time for jokes, Shou; Being serious here." 
 
"Sorry," Shouta gets up off the couch to move to stand in front of him, hands grasping his hips in a comforting grip, "Just trying to make a light joke. Didn't realize the gravity of the situation."
 
He reaches up to press his fingertips into his temples, looking down instead of at his husband, "I just keep running my brain in circles over it… it tells me, 'What if you're wrong? You put a child through all that stress for no reason!' But then it loops right back and says, 'But what if you're

right?

Would you be able to live with yourself if you left a child to suffer in that situation, Hizashi? If you just sat back and did nothing to help?'"
 
Shouta's thumbs rub his hip bones soothingly. It's helping to get his anxious mind back into some semblance of order. He's grateful for that and so lucky to have a husband like him who knows when and how to help him when his mind won’t stop racing. He takes a deep breath and meets Shouta's eyes. "Here's what we're going to do," Shouta starts calmly with a gentle smile, "We're going to keep an eye out for the kid and do some recon about his home life through Naomasa. If it turns out to be nothing, we stop knowing it was just paranoia. If it turns out to be something, we take action against whoever or whatever is hurting him."
 
Hizashi sighs in relief. With a plan in place, his chaotic mind settles down completely. "I love you," he whispers in relief.
 
"I love you too. Now, what's the kid look like?"
 
Even though he just had the interaction with him not even 2 hours ago, his mind blanks on the finer details of his appearance. He looks away shyly, "So uh… about that…"
 
"You can't remember what he looks like," Shouta's voice is flat. 
 
He grins sheepishly, "Yeah… My bee, Shou. I'm better with names instead of faces, you know that."
 
"Well, what do you remember about him?"
 
"His name's Izuku but I don't have a family name. He only gave Izuku when I asked. Like I said he was young, probably… middle school age at most. Very small too. I remember he had dark curly hair and chubby little cheeks that had a dimple on one side when he smiled. They were so cute I wanted to squeeze them! He also possibly had freckles but I can’t remember for sure. I think his eyes might have been green? Maybe? Ugh! If I could see him again, I know for a fact I would be able to point him out in a heartbeat!"
 
"That's better than nothing. I'll have Tsukauchi have one of his guys scan the files of any kids named Izuku that live in the area. Maybe we'll find something that way and you can confirm with a picture."
 
"Perfect!" He throws his arms around his husband. His wonderful husband who never invalidates his fears and concerns. He really hopes he's wrong about Izuku. But he can't shake the feeling that if he gets his hopes up he'll be sorely disappointed. Mostly in himself for letting the boy go.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It's another night for Izuku to roam the streets. This time, however, he's not doing so as Gyokuto. He's working with a few of his on the street contacts to try and find some new bedding materials for cheap or free. Preferably without having to steal them, he doesn't like stealing. His current ones in his hideout are wearing thin and winter will come faster than anyone thinks. Being over prepared for it is much better than being under prepared when it hits. 
 
He rounds another corner and freezes at the sight of a guy having a harsh hold of a kid's wrist. He has bright red hair that's got a bit of black peaking out at the roots. Dyed then. The crook has something held in his other hand, probably some kind of weapon. He’s not using it though, which is good. The kid was smart and seems to have activated his quirk to keep from being moved. Some kind of skin hardening quirk it looked like. He should ask him about it later. Regardless, he doesn't have time to think or even put his mask and hood on. He races up on the guy from his blind spot. 
 
"Stop fighting me!" He's yelling at the kid, "C'mon let's go!"
 
"No! Let me go, man!" The kid yells back, digging his feet in deeper. 
 
He gets to them and grabs the guy's wrist of the hand on the kid. He squeezes as he growls, "Release him. Now. Or else."
 
The guy snarls back at him, his eyes flashing from yellow to red. That must be his quirk, "Fuck off you dumb kid! Just run along before I take you along with your friend here!"
 
"I warned you," With that, he uses his other hand to dig two too long nails into the skin on the underside of the guy's elbow. Right into the nerves underneath. He howls and lets the kid go in pain. Izuku twists his wrist back just enough to sprain it but not break it. The guy falls to his knees at the pressure and pain. He lets his wrist go and pulls his hand back, driving his fist into the guy's nose. 
 
The satisfying crunch it gives as the bone and cartilage crush beneath his fist gives him such a thrill. Blood immediately starts to pour from his nostrils as he rolls on the ground in agony, clutching his face. Izuku reaches down and grasps his neck in a tight grip, putting pressure on two certain points that he knows will cut off circulation of air and blood; He learned this technique from a martial arts book. The criminal gasps in fear and struggles before finally passing out. It doesn’t phase him at all when he goes out. Izuku just calmly rolls him onto his side so he doesn't aspirate any of the blood from his nose. 
 
He sighs softly in relief. That could've gone very badly.
 
"Dude…" Izuku jerks around to stare at the kid who's looking back at him gobsmacked, "That was… so… MANLY!"
 
Izuku blinks in shock as the kid starts to gesture around exaggeratedly, "You came in like SWOOP! And then you were like GRRR!" He bares his very sharp teeth at him playfully, "Then you went WAPOW!" He swings his fist in a faux punch, "And then he falls and is all OOOH!" Izuku can't help but giggle at that. The kid keeps going without even noticing his mirth, "And then you grabbed him and he was all-" he makes a choking noise, "then you just rolled him over like it was nothing! It was so cool!"
 
"Are-" Izuku giggles again, "Are you done?"
 
"For now! I just can't get over that, bro! It was epic!" The kid's eyes are near sparkling.
 
"Well, thanks. Have you called the police yet?" He asks him instead. 
 
"Oh uh… I set off the emergency setting on my phone as soon as he grabbed me. They should probably arrive soon," he throws his hand up in the air, "Man I can't wait to tell them about you! You were exactly like a real hero, bro!"
 
"No!" He shrieks before lowering his voice swiftly, "No. You can't tell them what I look like! I could get in a lot of trouble for intervening like that!"
 
"What? Why? You saved my life, dude!" The kid insists. 
 
"In case you hadn't noticed. This," he gestures to the unconscious man, "Isn't exactly my first time doing something like this. And people don’t exactly see my interference as a good thing."
 
The other kid looks at him with furrowed brows before they raise high as his eyes widen. His voice drops down to a whisper, "You're a vigilante?"
 
"Yes and no?" He shrugs, "What I'm doing isn't exactly okay with the law but I'm not technically doing anything illegal because I'm not using a quirk to subdue the criminals."
 
He looks over his shoulder nervously. He's running out of time. "I should go," he tells the kid, "They've probably dispatched a hero this way and I don't want to be seen tonight. I don't have my normal gear on."
 
"Wait! Can I at least tell them you saved me? I won't use your name or tell them what you look like, I promise!" He pleads with Izuku.
 
"Uh… Okay… okay. Just tell them the person who helped you wore a black mask and a hood but that you couldn't tell what gender they were. And when you asked they said their name was Gyokuto. It's the name I use when I'm," he makes air quotes with his fingers, "'Working.'"
 
He watches as the kid repeats the info back to himself before giving him a thumbs up and a grin, "Got it! Will I see you again, bro?"
 
He bites his lip. He should just immediately say no and book it. But this kid is about his age or a little older. Not to mention he's super nice. Maybe… maybe he could take a bit of a chance. "You know the coffee shop in the square of downtown Musutafu?"
 
"Bean-ingful Memories?" 
 
Izuku hums in affirmative, "Meet me two blocks up on the corner where the Best Jeanist fashion shop is next Tuesday after school. My friend and I meet at the cafe every Tuesday. I'll explain everything I can before we both go meet him."
 
"Solid!" He presses his fists together and smiles widely, "I'm Kirishima Eijirou by the way! I guess I'll see you next Tuesday!"
 
Izuku smiles back then takes off as police sirens sound in the distance. His heart picks up as, just as he rounds the corner of a nearby building out of sight, someone lands heavily just about where he was standing. He peeks around the corner and feels his breath stall. It's Eraserhead again. Shit, he really hopes the man didn't see him.
 
"I’m pro hero Eraserhead. You send out the SOS from your phone?" He hears him ask.
 
"Yes sir! The guy on the ground there was trying to kidnap me; Kept yanking at my arm and telling me to stop struggling and come with him," Kirishima responds.
 
He sees Eraser's head tilt a bit towards the criminal, "You subdue him?" 
 
"Oh no sir… all I did was activate my quirk, Hardening, and made it to where he couldn't move me," A foot scuffs against the ground shyly,
"Some person came and helped me. Surprised him and knocked the guy out."

"Smart choice on not getting involved, kid. Who was it? Did you know them?"

"Nuh uh," the red head shakes his head, "They were wearing a mask and a hood. I asked them what their name was and they said… uh… Gyukumo? Gyokodo?"
 
"Gyokuto," the older man sighs, "Should've known they were involved with something like this."
 
Izuku has to give praise to Kirishima. Flubbing his vigilante name like that gives credibility that Kirishima only met with him briefly and didn't see his face. Seems he made the right choice. He's glad he trusted his instincts. Maybe now he can have two friends. He's not sure how Katsuki will feel about him but he'll cross that road when he gets there. For now, he needs to get out of the area before Eraser or the cops do a perimeter sweep of any kind; Wouldn't be good if he was spotted now that they know he's involved. 
 
He slips into a nearby alley to get to the main road on the other side. He's hoping his anonymity of just being a random kid out past curfew will work in his favor for getting him further from the scene. He can say with definite certainty that he's really looking forward to Tuesday.  Now to worry again about finding new bedding material…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Kirishima Eijirou is a hopeful young man. His current hope is that his potential new vigilante friend has managed to get away as police officers finally arrive on scene just after the underground pro hero did. They're clearly searching around for him but luckily haven't seemed to find anyone or anything about where he went. 
 
After ensuring that the criminal was in the back of a squad car, the pro hero who introduced himself as Eraserhead approached him again. "What were you doing out so late, kid?" He asks. 
 
He points back to a bag a few steps away from the corner store, "My mom asked me to run to the store."
 
"She had you run the store? By yourself? At nearly two in the morning?" The pro hero's voice is skeptical.
 
He realizes that does sound bad and holds up his hands, "No! Well yes but… I can explain, I promise!"
 
Eraser makes a motion with his hand that seems to be a 'go on.' He reaches back and scratches the back of his head, "I have a baby sister; She's only about six months old. My mom tried to get a different formula that was a bit cheaper but Kimiko- my sister- didn't like it at all. She flat out refused to take it and has been crying for hours because she's hungry and only wants the formula she likes. I don't have a dad anymore, he left us before Kimi was born, and mom didn't want to leave me alone with a screaming baby so she sent me instead to get the formula mix she

will

drink from the corner store nearby."
 
He gestures again to the bag he had dropped when the crook made a grab at him. Eraserhead steps around him and picks up the bag. He checks the contents and sees that the only thing in there is a container of formula mix. He brings it back over to where they're standing and hands the bag back to him. Eijirou takes it gratefully. "Alright," Eraser says gently, "Your story clearly checks out when you see what’s in the bag. You'll just have to give your statement to the officers then you'll be free to go. I'd like to walk you the rest of the way home, just to make sure you're safe."
 
"Thank you so much, sir!" Eijirou smiles widely at him.
 
Eraserhead leads him over to a nearby officer, one with a mutant quirk that gave him cat-like features, who introduced himself as Tamakawa Sansa. Just like he did with Eraser, he gave the officer his statement on what happened. His story must've been pretty convincing even if he was lying for part of it. Officer Tamakawa just took everything down on a little notepad, nodded, and said he was good to go. Eraser also gave his statement to the officer as well. When he was finished, he placed a hand on Eijirou's shoulder and started leading him in the direction Eijirou was headed to go home.
 
The walk is quiet but it's not an uncomfortable one. Eijirou is grateful for that. They approach Eijirou's family home and the pre-teen pulls out his house key. He gets the door unlocked and pulls it open, wincing as the sound of a screaming baby immediately erupts from within. He calls out that he's home as loud as he dares, trying not to upset his sister further with yelling.
 
“Eiji?” His mom’s voice called, “Is that you? What took so long?”
 
She rounds the corner with the screaming Kimiko in her arms. She freezes when she catches sight of him with the pro hero standing behind him. She stares for a short moment then asks, “What’s going on? Who’s this?”
 
Eraser steps forward and offers up his hero license to her, “Ms. Kirishima, I’m pro hero Eraserhead. I apologize for the late intrusion.”
 
She takes a quick glance at it before handing it back with wide eyes, “What happened?” She winces as Kimiko screams louder in her hunger. She bounces the baby in her arms, shushing her gently, to try and get her to settle.
 
“Mom, if you’ll make a bottle really quick, I’ll feed her while you talk to Mister Eraserhead,” Eijirou offers easily.
 
She sighs gratefully and trades the bag he holds for the baby in her arms. She scuttles off to the kitchen as soon as the little girl is safe in his arms to make the bottle. For his part, Eijirou immediately starts bouncing his sister gently in his arms; Cooing to her and making funny faces to try and get her to settle at least a little bit. It doesn’t work but at least he’s trying.
 
Eraser says nothing but watches closely as he tries his best to comfort the baby. His mom comes back two minutes later. She gives him a warmed bottle and he immediately offers it to the hungry baby. She takes it without a fuss and begins to eat eagerly. Both him and his mom let out sighs of relief, bodies sagging as the non-stop screaming finally comes to a stop. Even though he’s only been there for a few minutes, Eijirou can even feel the relief coming off of Eraser at the silence. 
 
His mom and Eraser move to the kitchen while Eijirou moves to the armchair in the living room to be comfy while Kimiko eats. He can hear the mumbles of the conversation between his mom and the pro hero but he can’t hear exactly what they’re saying. He hopes the pro really did buy his explanation. Wouldn’t do for his potential new friend to get captured right after they had met. 
 
He reminds himself mentally again about the meetup that they’d arranged. Next Tuesday, after school, the Best Jeanist clothing shop at the corner of the square near Beanful-ing Memories. He can’t forget. 
 
Kimiko finishes her bottle and Eijirou effortlessly moves her into a position to burp her. Most of his schoolmates think it’s kind of strange that he can take care of a baby as easily as he can. Honestly, it makes sense to him though. When his dad left after his mom told them she was pregnant with Kimiko, he knew then and there that there was no other choice but to help his mom as much as possible with his baby sister. Sure, he didn’t ask for it but that’s no excuse. This is his family and he would do anything for them. 
 
It’s part of the reason he had begged his mom to let him dye his hair. His original black hair is the same color as his father’s hair. Originally he was always very proud of it. It proved he was just like his dad who was the manliest man he knew. Now… He couldn’t stand it! When she asked why, he explained it all in detail. That his dad was ‘so unmanly’ for leaving them alone and he couldn’t stand looking in the mirror and seeing his hair color so like his dad’s. He wanted a more gentle red color like his mom’s but it turned into fire truck red instead. He personally likes it that way though and decided to keep it. Even if it wasn’t the color he was originally aiming for, it reminds him of Crimson Riots’, which is just a huge plus in his books. He even started styling it up like Crimson Riot did with his. 
 
As soon as Kimiko has burped like she’s supposed to- with Eijirou giving her the obvious little bout of praise for it- he picks up the now empty bottle and takes it into the kitchen. Both the adults stop talking when he comes in. He smiles at his mom and puts the bottle in the sink to be washed later. “She’s good to go mom! Burped and everything! I’ll take her up to her room to try and get her to sleep.”
 
His mom smiles at him in thanks and he heads out of the kitchen again. He slows his steps as Eraserhead picks up the conversation again, talking low but still able to be heard by Eijirou at this distance, “I’ll be honest ma’am, he was saved by a vigilante. As far as we’re aware, the vigilante in question isn’t dangerous but their motivations are still fairly unknown. We don’t know why they get involved or how they manage to do what they do to subdue criminals. If he mentions anything else about them to you, please contact me right away so I can take down his witness account about them. Anything he knows may be able to help us with our investigation on them.”
 
Investigation? That’s not good! It sounds like they’re trying to arrest him! But Gyokuto said that what he does, even if the police don’t like it, isn’t technically illegal. Eijirou still doesn’t like the way he worded it. He’ll have to be careful. He can’t mention it to his mom now. That’s okay. There’s a certain someone who will listen to him eagerly and won’t tell anyone what he said.
 
He moves into Kimiko’s room and after ensuring that his mom didn’t follow him, he moves over to the window. “Kimi,” He whispers in awe to her. She coos up at him as he smiles, “I met someone incredible tonight! He saved your big bro’s life!”
 
She makes another small noise. Eijirou pretends it was one of full interest in what he’s saying. He smiles wider, “Yeah! He was my hero! A true manly hero! He was the coolest person ever!”
 
He stares in wonder as she reaches up with a chubby little arm and puts a hand on his face. He ducks his face down to press his forehead to hers gently, eyes filling with tears. Still whispering, he tells her, “I’ll be a hero like him one day. One who’s not afraid to leap into danger as long as it can protect you.” 
 
This was the start and his promise. To be a hero to protect people, like he was protected tonight. Those who are helpless and afraid. To protect people like Kimiko. Those who are unable to protect themselves. And to protect people like his mom. The ones who are so strong when forced to stand on their own but even stronger when they have someone to help them. He’ll be their hero one day. Just like Gyokuto was his hero tonight.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shouta places his phone down on his desk in the teacher’s lounge. Then he leans over and starts steadily beating his forehead against it. The other teachers look over at him in concern as he keeps this up for several minutes. Hizashi reaches over and places a gentle hand on his shoulder. Shouta ignores it for the most part. He eventually stops when he doesn’t feel like screaming out in frustration like he was before. He sighs out long and loud.
 
“Shouta…” Kayama Nemuri, the R-Rated Hero Midnight, calls out, “You good over there?”
 
 “No!” he anguishes to her, keeping his forehead down on the desk. Not looking up at any of them.
 
“Was that Tsuki on the phone?” Hizashi asks, “About our smart bean and green bunny?”
 
“Yes,” he groans out. It hadn’t been a good conversation. Not by Shouta’s standards anyway. He had hoped the detective had good news for him. His hopes died swiftly at Tsukauchi’s little plead of

‘firstly, please don’t get upset with me, Shouta, I promise I’m doing the best that I can.’

“Oh! Your little vigilante?” Nemuri asks, eyes shining in excitement.
 
“Yep! And my smart little bean from the market too!” Hizashi confirms, “So what’d he say?”
 
“Nothing good,” he says while thinking to himself,

Nothing good at fucking all!

“Wait, whoa whoa back up for a second!” Ishiyama Ken, also known as pro hero Cementoss, says, holding up a large hand, “Vigilante kid? Smart beans from a market? What are you three talking about?”
 
Shouta lifts his head and exchanges a look with Hizashi and Nemuri. They have a mental conversation before nodding. Shouta huffs out a breath of air that could be called an irritated sigh but was mostly just a frustrated one, “I’ve taken up a case with a vigilante named Gyokuto or Jade Rabbit recently. It’s mainly recon to try and figure out their identity. I’m fairly certain Gyokuto is male but I don’t want to assume if it turns out that that's not the case. I’ve been using gender neutral terms for now until I can confirm their preferred ones. ‘Zashi insisted.”
 
“It’s not fair for us to assume if it turns out he and him aren’t the pronouns they use!” Hizashi clarified indignantly. 
 
“I didn’t say you were wrong. Anyway, Hizashi and Nemuri know and have known since I’ve taken the case up,” He concluded.
 
“Why this vigilante in particular?” Kan Sekijiro, aka Vlad King to the hero world, squints at him, leaning down to rest his elbows on his desk, “You’ve mentioned a few before when you were forced to work with them or when you had to apprehend them because they had gone off the rails. But never taken on this much of an interest about one before. Do you think you can reform them or something? Is that why?”
 
Shouta doesn’t answer him immediately. Just takes a deep breath and prepares for the inevitable emotional outrage that will occur in all of his coworkers when he says it. “I have very,

very

good reasons to believe,” he says slowly, “That Gyokuto is no older than our year one students… probably even younger than that.”
 
He waits for the other shoe to drop. For the other teachers to realize exactly what he just implied. It’s practically explosive when they do. Snipe and Vlad both slam their hands on their desks and stand swiftly in shock. Ectoplasm rears back as if he had been struck. Cementoss and Maijima Higari, or Power Loader as he’s known in the hero world, both let their jaws drop. Thirteen, civilian name Kurose Anan but she prefers her hero name most, seems to be the only one who can speak. Just barely, though, as she stutters out in a quiet, near horrified sounding voice, “Th-they’re… j-just a ch-

child!?

”   
 
Shouta nods firmly. No beating around that bush. If there was one thing he absolutely loved about being a teacher, it was his coworkers. Almost all of them felt exactly the same way he did when it came to kids and their safety. Hearing that a literal child was a vigilante meant that everyone, and yes that did include himself, is up in arms over their well-being. He folds his hands together and levels them all a stare, “Please understand, I’m not taking special interest in this in an attempt to arrest or punish them for being a vigilante. I’m trying to get to them on a personal level; To make sure they’re safe and before getting them the help they need. I’m not doing it forcefully either. It was Hizashi’s idea to get through to them via small talk and small gifts before asking if they need some help. Adult help.”
 
Vlad and Snipe both sit back down with relief lining their bodies. Everyone else also untenses minutely at hearing that. Now the looks of confusion start to settle in. He knows why. If this is a child that he’s trying to help, why is he having so much trouble? To the point that he’s beating his head against the desk?
 
He squeezes his hands together and lets out another breath. He reminds himself that he can trust these heroes with the knowledge of his vigilante, especially since they now know he’s just a child. “I know what you’re all thinking. The reason why Tsukauchi, who’s helping me on the investigation, and I are having so much trouble keeping track of this kid and finding out who they are is because they’re smart. Way too smart.”
 
“How smart is too smart?” Ectoplasm asks, the first thing he’s said since this conversation started.
 
“I don’t know. They somehow managed to figure out how the underground heroes’ patrol districts worked as well as the cipher coding for all the major players active in districts around where they live. In the course of

a month and a half.

And that’s not including figuring out the hero identities and quirks of those who patrol those districts. You decide,” he says cooly.
 
Everyone in the room is a little awed at that. Power Loader raises his hand, breaking the tense silence with a joke of, “Do you think they’d want to apply for the support course?”
 
Hizashi snorts at that, “If Nedzu catches on to how smart this kid is and figures out who they are first, we won’t see them in any UA course; Heroic, Support, or otherwise! They’d be fast tracked for Nedzu’s ten step program for world domination as his personal student!” 
 
Nemuri and Thirteen both giggle at that. Vlad and Cementoss both look stricken at the idea. As they should be. Help be to ye who doth not fear the Rat God and his many assets. He can only imagine how much worse it would get if he got a student who was both extremely smart and extremely chaotic under his ratty wing. Perhaps something drastic like the fall and reformation of the Hero Public Safety Commission… or a planned meteor strike. Both seem just as likely with that thought. 
 
“A’right… so that explains the ‘green bunny’ but what about the ‘smart bean’ Yamada mentioned?” Snipe asks. 
 
Hizashi squeals, honest to God

squeals,

at the ask. Shouta’s quick to erase his quirk just in case his pitch gets too high in his excitement. Hizashi has great control over his quirk but sometimes highly emotional situations, especially ones of positive emotions like happiness and pride, causes it to slip a bit. Better to be safe than to cause his friends’ ears to bleed on accident. “I met a clever little bean of a boy in the market the other day! Cute as a button and smart as Nem’s whip is sharp, much like Shou’s green bunny,” he tells them happily.
 
“Okay, and why is Tsukauchi looking into him?” Vlad inquires, sensing more to the story than just that.
 
“‘Zashi got a weird vibe off of him,” Shouta answers bluntly.
 
Hizashi crosses his arms around his chest and leans back heavily, much more subdued now, “I can’t explain it. Call me paranoid but there was something…

wrong.

I don’t know what it is or if we can help but if I just sit back and let whatever it is keep up, I’d never forgive myself. I don’t care if it’s bullying or a neglectful home or even if I’m just reading the situation dead wrong and it turns out he’s fine. I have to know he’s okay. Dig?”
 
“That’s completely understandable,” Thirteen nods, “Our instincts are there for a reason and sharper than most when it comes to children. If you feel like something’s wrong after interacting with him then more than likely something probably is.”
 
The others murmur out sounds and words of agreement. With them all being teachers, every single one of them has had a case either past or present with their instincts picking up on something wrong with a child in their classes. In a way they’re almost trained to. Certain inflections with words, certain behaviors towards people, certain movements around things; They’ve all learned how to spot them in any situation at any time. 
 
Cementoss nods in understanding, “So that makes sense on why you’re looking for both kids. Now what was so bad about the phone call with the good detective?”
 
Shouta groans again and slouches heavily in his chair, “You want a summarization or a full run through of exactly what he said?”
 
“Might as well give us the rundown, Shou,” Nemuri said with a smile, “Might help us understand what’s frustrating you. Maybe we can help you put the pieces together.”
 
The rage he felt before, not specifically

at

Tsukauchi but the situation itself, bubbles up again. He lets out a slow breath from his nose to keep it in check as he starts to let the others know what he was told.

After answering with nothing but his hero name and Tsukauchi dropping that small plea on him, he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration, “You know, I really hate it when you start phone calls like that.”

“Well you’re going to hate me even more in a minute then!” Tsukauchi chuckled mirthlessly, “So which kid do you want to hear about first?”

God help him, “Is either of them good news at all?” The sound the detective makes is a clear no. He growls out angrily, “Give me the kid with the better news, then.”

There’s a shuffle of papers in the background of the call, “Well Gyokuto hasn’t been spotted since the attempted kidnapping of Kirishima-kun. Buut they’ve gone completely radio silent. No active help to heroes on duty. No cipher messages from Gyokuto were found either. I don’t know if that’s because they’re not fighting anyone right now or if they’re somehow slipping them by officers on the scenes again.”

This kid is going to give him a heart attack, Shouta swears! Or at least make him go gray by thirty! “Start having the officers check with the heroes on patrol to see if they’ve written any notes found on active crime scenes. That way we can filter through which notes are genuine and which are Gyokuto masquerading as the hero on duty in the area. It’s a complete extra step but a necessary one until we’ve gotten them to hang up their vigilante mask,” he recommends.

“Smart decision. I’ll pass it along,” the scratch of a pencil or pen is heard as Tsukauchi notes that instruction down. Shouta leans back in his chair, “So what about our other wayward kid?”

“... First things first, please let your husband know when you tell him later that I am very sorry and that I’m doing the best I can with what I have but there are… Complications that have arisen.”

“... What complications?” he asks warily.

There’s nothing for a long moment. Then, “This kid that Mic saw? Yeah, apparently… according to our databases… he doesn’t exist.”

“
WHAT
?!” Hizashi screams, interrupting him. Everyone clamps their hands down on their ears to stop the loud cry from the Voice hero. It was so loud, the room shook. Shouta activates his quirk for a slight intimidation factor and turns to shush him, “I’m not done! There’s more!”
 
Everyone uncovers their ears again as Shouta gets back into it.

“What do you

mean

by that, Nao?” he nearly hisses.

“Just that!” The other man cries helplessly, “I’ve checked and double checked middle and high school records in the area, as well as all registered children in the quirks database for him. Every single Izuku that pops up isn’t him! At least none of them that come even close to matching the description your husband gave you! I don’t know what’s going on but they don’t exist for some reason!”

That sounded worse than he thought. “This isn’t something he would lie about,” he immediately dissuaded, despite knowing that Tsukauchi probably wasn’t thinking that.

“I know that,” Tsukauchi agrees, “I’m not even considering that he is. Mic can’t lie to save his life. That’s why he's in the limelight and not in underground with you. But until I can figure out a database the kid

is

in, I-I’m stuck Shouta! There’s nothing else I can do!”

“Great…” he sighs, “Just keep us updated, I guess.”

“And that’s it. We hung up after that,” Shouta finishes.
 
Every single one of his coworkers, his best friend and husband included, are clearly in various states of distress at that. Hizashi is even banging his forehead lightly on the desk now in a reminiscent style of how Shouta was early. 
 
“That baby doesn’t exist in any database…” Nemuri says softly, fingers pressed tightly to her temples with wide eyes, “How is that possible?”
 
“M-Maybe he dropped out? Or transfer to a different country?” Vlad suggests desperately, “If the school got rid of his records that way, it would explain why he can’t be found in the school databases.”
 
“Even if he did, there should still be records of where he was going to school before he did and the exact date of dropout. Or at the very least completed elementary school records from whatever school he transferred to,” Hizashi says from his face plant on the desk. 
 
“And even if he did somehow get deleted out of the school records databases, he should still be in the quirk registry database. Everyone is! It’s required by law regardless of quirk!” Thirteen adds from her slouched position.
 
“This is worse that we thought. Way worse!” Nemuri turns to him, “Shou, should we get Nedzu involved? Surely he’ll be able to find him!”
 
He sends a glance to the discreet camera located in the corner of the room, “Knowing him, he already is. It’s just going to depend on how deeply he wants to get involved. If he’s too entertained with watching us run around searching for the kids like chickens with our heads chopped off or if he’s going to be a bit more serious since a child’s safety is involved. Multiple children’s safety even.”
 
He sends the small device a small glare.

Don’t play around, help us find a clearly hurting kid  or two,

he tried to convey through it. He turns his gaze back to his coworkers, “For now, we’ll just have to wait until we have more news from Tsukauchi or until we can spot him again.”
 
There’s reluctant grumbles of agreement around the table. Shouta understands. He doesn’t like it either. He hopes, though, that with the additional eyes and ears looking out for them, both his and Hizashi’s kids will be found soon.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku taps his foot gently against the sidewalk as he leans against the building behind him. Tuesday had come fast, far faster than he was anticipating really. He decided after that guy attempted to kidnap the red haired kid -Kirishima Eijirou, he reminded himself- that he would stay on the downlow for a little while. Heroes and police officers alike would more than likely be actively looking for him for a while. Best to stay hidden for a bit to throw them off his trail. 
 
He turns his head to look into the window of the fashion shop. How one man can make such a successful fashion chain with nothing but denim, Izuku will never know. Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru probably had a fit over it when it first opened. Though, those

are

a very nice pair of jeans. Too bad they're way too expensive for him to even consider. A shout pulls his attention away from the window. 
 
Izuku glances over and raises an eyebrow. It's Kirishima Eijirou alright, hard to forget that bright red hair color. The styling is… different. Very… spiky. It kind of suits him honestly. Eijirou runs over to him with a happy grin. He opens his mouth and Izuku panics. He immediately shushes him, just knowing that the other boy is about to shout out his vigilante name. The red head’s mouth shuts with a click before he approaches again to get closer and whispers, “Why am I being shushed?”
 
“Because you can’t call me by my vigilante name in public!” He hisses out obviously, “I’m sorry but you can’t! Who knows who could be around to hear!”
 
“Right! Right… Then what do I call you?” he asks.
 
Izuku sighs, “You can call me by my name. Midoriya Izuku. You can just use Izuku though. I haven’t been a Midoriya in a long time now.”
 
“Izu-bro! Got it!” Eijirou grins, pressing his fist together. That must be a nervous tick of his, like Katsuki’s. “You can call me Eijirou then. Or Ei or Eiji! Anything works, man!”
 
“Gotcha. Now that names are out of the way; Onto ground rules!”
 
He can tell Eijirou’s confused by that. He lets out a sigh and reaches up to tug a few of his fingers through wayward forest green curls. Then he holds up a finger, “Number one: You cannot discuss my… nighttime activities. With my friend or otherwise unless it is just the two of us and I’m in costume. He has no idea that I’m a vigilante and I want to keep it that way because I don’t want to die by his hand.”
 
“That sounds a bit dramatic bro,” Eijirou crosses his arms over his chest, “I mean it pretty much makes you a  secret hero. Most people love heroes! Don’t you think that’s an unfair assumption about him?”
 
“It’s not,” He levels his voice into a flat tone, “He would murder me if he knew I was putting myself in danger to take down criminals. And then his mom would murder me again once he told her. They’re just like that.” 
 
“That… makes no sense.”
 
“Kacchan makes no sense. You’ll get used to it quickly, trust me,” He holds up two fingers, “Number two: If asked, we met by accident on the way to school one day. You were nice to me, I was nice to you, so we decided to be friends.”
 
“Is… Will he believe that?” Eijirou asks skeptically.
 
“Yes he will. Easily. Kacchan has no understanding of social cues. He’s socially blind. Give him a complex math or science problem and he’ll have it solved in an hour with his work shown and detailed out. But bluff something to his face and he’ll accept whatever you tell him as fact just because he won’t be able to recognize it for what it is; A misdirection.”
 
Eijirou kind of chuckles at that, seeing the humor in the statement. “What happens if he does figure it out though?”
 
Izuku rolls his tongue over his teeth in thought before letting it click against his lip and giving him a sheepish grin, “God help us and pray we get a big enough head start for running away?”
 
“... I would like to make the suggestion that we tweek the lie, just a little bit to seem more believable? Maybe we could say we figured out we have something in common?” Eijirou offers.
 
“And that would be?” He’s fully open to suggestions if Eijirou thinks this would help him keep his secret. 
 
“I dunno, bro. What’s something you like? Video games?”
 
“I haven’t played video games since over two years agos.” 
 
Eijirou’s face takes on a strange look to it, “Not even on your phone? Like Candy Smash?” 
 
“I don’t have a phone. Can’t afford it.” He shrugs, “Things like food and clothes are more important anyway.” 
 
Eijirou raises an eyebrow at that. Izuku can see by the way it pulls the skin that there’s actually a small scar through it. He briefly wonders how he got it. “Okay… Then what do you like? Maybe I like it too?” 
 
He had to think about that. What was something he liked? That was normal and appropriate for their age group. Survivalism was only liked on TV shows by kids… A controlled environment kind of thing and only adults were ever involved. Vigilantism wouldn’t work either.  It was taught in schools these days that vigilantes were just bad guys trying to slap a good guy name tag on their chest while pretending to be in the right. A horrible reputation really. Vigilantes were so much more than that! He should know, he is one! Back to the mental topic at hand though. He reaches up and drums his fingers on his cheek softly. Things he likes… things he likes… Well maybe he can go with something he used to like. “I guess I used to really like heroes and their quirks. On kind of an obsessive level now that I’m actually thinking about it…”
 
Eijirou’s eyes seemed to light up, fists pumping in the air happily, “Bro, I can work with that!” 
 
“Really?” Well, that was easy.
 
“Yeah man! Who’s your favorite?! I like Crimson Riot the best! Oh, but Fat Gum is a close second! He’s kind of a newer one but still super cool!”
 
With that his analytical brain kicks in and all thought of anything else goes out the window, “I can see why you would like Crimson Riot best. Also now your hair makes so much sense to me! Not only is his quirk very if not strikingly similar to what I’ve seen of yours but his overall demeanor is very inspiring. He focuses on living life to the fullest but all the most courteous and courageous you can. A ‘manly’ life so to speak. He also does a lot of work with younger boys who live in underprivileged areas and takes on sidekicks thought to not have good male role models in their lives. It’s extremely admirable of him. Fat Gum is a bit of a surprise but not really. He’s a very kind hero and doesn’t discriminate in rescues. His quirk is also extremely fascinating. 
 
To store fatty lipid cells at near extreme quantities that can then be burned off and replenished at any time. But how does it work? What type of fat does he store? Essential, subcutaneous, or visceral fat? It’s probably not essential since it would most likely hurt him to replenish and lose those cells constantly. Most would say visceral due to the fact that most of his weight is stored in his stomach region but I think that’s wrong. More than likely it’s actually subcutaneous fat considering it’s the type of fat found under the skin. Instead of gaining and losing visceral fat rapidly like the media thinks, what I believe actually occurs is that he just uses the food to build up the layer of fat beneath the skin cells. Then basically when he ‘burns it off’, he just internally sheds the layer to be processed by the body as simple nutrients which is why he doesn’t get overly tired after burning the fat off and can immediately restart the process of building them back up without feeling sick. Kind of similar to blubber in creatures like whales but it burns off faster. Now the bigger question is where does he get it from? Which fat group in foods? Saturated fat is a likely option since it’s mostly made up of animal products and is very… fatty, so to speak. As are trans fats. But he seems to like foods like Takoyaki best so maybe it’s not even fats at all but some other kind of element in food such as certain starches or proteins or-”
 
He jolts out of it in a hurry, realizing suddenly that he’s rambling. A glance at Eijirou shows the boy staring at him with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. He slaps his hands over his mouth.

Oh shit I did it again,

he thought.
 
“Bro… that was…” Eijirou’s voice is shaky.
 
“I-I’m sorry! I know it’s c-creepy when I do that! I-I just don’t know w-what comes over me sometimes a-and then I can’t seem to s-stop!” he hastily apologizes. 
 
“No, no! It was really cool! I never would have thought that! I doubt anyone has thought that!” Eijirou moves up to whisper, “If you could get close, you should tell Fat Gum all that one day!”
 
“Uh no! No… Heroes don’t really like for me to tell them things about their quirks, especially the hypothetical stuff I think of… They get annoyed that I’m trying to get in the way and tell them how to be a hero…” he murmurs sadly.

The red head’s eyebrows furrow at that, “That’s messed up, bro. It’s super manly that you know all that stuff just from seeing their quirk! If they can’t take a bit of constructive criticism that might help them out then they don’t need to be heroes at all! Be more confident in yourself, man!” 
 
Tears spring up in his eyes in a hurry. He thought he was done with being over emotional after he became homeless.

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry!

He’s only ever really had three people tell him that his weird brain analysis thing that it does is cool and could probably be really helpful. His mom, Auntie Mitsuki, and Uncle Masaru. Katsuki had never said anything like that but he looked at Izuku like he had the answer to life in the palm of his hand when Izuku offered some tips on his quirk. Again. Izuku is very pleased to note that when he gave his second set of advice to Katsuki it was after their makeup a few months ago. The first time he tried, Katsuki had just been confused and angry, thinking that Izuku had been making fun of him or something. A farcry of difference to be sure. 
 
He sniffles meekly, “Yeah… yeah okay,” He swipes the tears out of his eyes, “Um… we should go. Kacchan’s probably pulling his hair out in worry since I haven’t shown up yet. I usually beat him to the coffee shop.”
 
“Oh let’s go then!” Eijirou says happily, grabbing his hand and practically dragging him down the street. Izuku makes a sound similar to a squawk as he trips over his own feet, “Slow down a bit please!”
 
Eijirou apologizes and does slow down like he asks. Izuku notes that he doesn’t let go of his hand though. That’s fine. It’s kind of nice to have some physical touch that’s not a fight for once in such a long time. As they approach the front of the coffee shop, Katsuki is there and waiting. But clearly not patiently. He’s pacing restlessly. His hair is sticking up at odd angles where he’s probably ran his hand through it and the nitroglycerin on his palms caused it to frizz out more than usual. His palms are also smoking and popping in his nerves. Whoops. Maybe they should have talked faster.
 
He takes the lead from Eijirou, still not releasing his hand, and calls out, “Kacchan!”
 
The blonde boy whips around with concern blanketed by anger in his eyes, “Thank fuck! Where were you, Nerd?! Where have you-” He cuts himself off as he notices Eijirou next to him, “Who the fuck is that?”
 
“Kacchan, this is Kirishima Eijirou. We met on the way to school a few days ago!” He smiles at the red head, “Eiji, this is Bakugou Katsuki; my friend from childhood that I told you a bit about.”
 
“So you’re the Baku-bro that Izu-bro was talking about! Nice! You can just call me Eijirou or Eiji if you want! I don’t mind!” Izuku’s thankful that Eijirou immediately took to playing along. It would help the believability of their story that he did.
 
Katsuki was silent for a long moment, trading glances between the two of them. Then he squinted his eyes into a glare at the red head, “You want to be friends with us, huh? Fine… then I just have one question for you, Shitty Hair.” 
 
Eijirou put a hand on said hair and looked at Izuku pleadingly, “My hair’s not that bad is it?”
 
He shakes his head in reassurance, “No. That’s just Kacchan’s new affectionate nickname for you. He doesn’t mean it, he just doesn’t know how to make them friendly and nice. I’m sure you heard but I’m Nerd. He calls his parents Old Hag and Old man. It kind of means he likes you in a way!”
 
Katsuki blushes with a sharp, angry sound, “Shut up, Nerd! Anyway, question time!” He glares again at Eijirou.
 
“Right, sure! I’ll answer anything if it means we can all be bros!” Eijirou grins at him with all those sharp teeth. Not aggressively. Izuku kind of thinks it makes him look like a happy, docile puppy who was also a shark. Oddly.
 
Katsuki doesn’t let up on his glare at the other pre-teen, “How do you feel about quirkless people? Answer very fucking carefully!” 
 
“Kacchan!” Izuku cries in indignation.
 
“What do you mean?” Eijirou blinks in confusion, “What about them? They’re just people, like you and me. Just because they don’t have a quirk doesn’t mean anything.” 
 
“Do you think that means they’re less than the quirked population?” Katsuki asks next. He blushes darkly, knowing that Katsuki is asking to be protective over him. Anyone who answers wrong gets an immediate beating before being booted from their presence by the blonde.
 
“No! Of course not! That’s a messed up way of thinking, man! If anything they’re the most manly people there are!” Tears appear in the other boy’s eyes as he raises a fist to his face, much to Izuku and Katsuki’s surprise, “To go through what they do and still sometimes end up stronger than people like me is just… It’s so manly! They’re inspiring!”
 
Oh and there come the warm fuzzies in Izuku’s chest again. He tamps down the feeling and raises his free hand to cover his face. Katsuki nods in pleasure, “Good.”
 
“Kacchan…” Izuku whines at him, “I hadn’t even

told

him yet…”
 
“Huh? Tell me what?” Now Eijirou is the one looking in between him and the blonde.
 
“The reason he asked you those questions is because I’m… quirkless…”
 
It’s quiet for a long moment before Eijirou whispers, “Dude… I just gained like… a whole new respect for you.”
 
Izuku smiles at him in gratefulness. Katsuki, meanwhile, lets out a huff through his nose, “Yeah alright. He passed. Shitty Hair can stay.”
 
Both Izuku and Eijirou light up at that. The red head cheers as Izuku finally lets go of Eijirou’s hand to clap in glee. Katsuki rolls his eyes and turns to head into the cafe, trusting the two of them to follow, “So how’d you and the Nerd get to be such good friends so fucking fast anyway?”
 
“Oh! Heroes, man! Izu-bro’s a genius when it comes to heroes and their quirks! He went on like a five minute rant on one of my faves! Stuff that probably no one’s even thought of! It was amazing!” Eijirou says happily, fists pressed against each other in that strangely Eijirou way.
 
Katsuki scoffs, “Of course you became friends with him by picking up on the one thing the nerd gets a massive fucking boner over!”
 
“Kacchan!” This time it’s a scandalized cry from Izuku. How could he just say that out loud! Eijirou thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world though and actually has to pause to lean against the cafe door before entering to catch his breath from laughing so hard. Even though he’s fairly certain his face is about to catch fire, it’s nice having two friends now to rely on. One who even knows more than the other. It’ll be nice to talk to them both on the regular.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Tsukauchi Naomasa heaves out a large sigh and sinks further into his desk chair. He raises a hand to cover his eyes. He doesn’t get it. He just doesn’t get it. He’s checked and rechecked the quirk database over and over again. Yet he still can’t seem to find this one kid. It just doesn’t make sense. There should at least be a trail of some kind for him to follow but he can’t find one. Not even a small crumb of one. Mic definitely wouldn’t lie about a kid like the one he described and clearly he wouldn’t be asking him to check into him if he didn’t think there was some issue that needed to come to his attention. Aizawa had also steadfastly assured him of those facts during his phone call with him earlier this week. 
 
He’s even tried to look up just his name to see if he could find something in a news article. Something, anything. The search results yielded nothing but meaningless results and an offer for a different search. Once again, not even a trace of a trail. He doesn’t want to call Aizawa and Mic back just to tell them that either. They’re riding on the fact that as the detective he is, he should be able to find him. They won’t be upset with him, of course. But they will be disappointed that he can’t seem to locate him.
 
He needs a vacation after this.
 
The door to his office opens and he peeks around his fingers at the sudden guest. “No luck?” Sansa asks him as he enters.
 
“No…” he responds, “I even extended the search beyond our normal parameters. Nothing. Some kids come back with the name Izuku but they still don’t match the possible age range or appearance that Present Mic gave us.”
 
“Well that’s not good,” Sansa’s feline eyes blink in obvious sorrow at his lack of results.
 
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
 
“Well… even though you’ve already had two cups today, I thought I’d bring you another cup of coffee. Just don’t tell anyone it was me if asked why you’ve exceeded the daily caffeine limit.” A cup of coffee just the way Tsukauchi likes it is placed on his desk. He’s so grateful for his coworker. He thanks him profusely and picks it up to take a long drink. Sansa leaves him with a slightly fanged smile. He takes another sip after his office door is shut. It’s the epitome of bliss in a cup really. Maybe he’ll just lean back for a moment and enjoy it. 
 
The shrill ring of his desk phone cuts that dream in half. 
 
He sighs again. Back to the grind. He answers the phone, tucking the receiver into his shoulder, “Detective Tsukauchi.” He takes yet another sip of coffee.
 
“Hello Detective! How have your cases been? Any interesting breakthroughs to report?” The voice on the other end nearly makes him spit the coffee back out. He’s sitting in attention in a hurry, setting the cup aside, “Principal Nedzu. To what do I owe the pleasure of a phone call from you?”
 
“Now, now! I believe I asked you a question first!” Nedzu says with something akin to a giggle, a near maniacal one at that, “Pleasantries before business!”
 
Tsukauchi winces, “Right, yes of course. My cases are fine. Breakthroughs are few and far between though. That is the norm with all cases, as I’m sure you can guess. Of course I can’t talk about them over the phone for confidentiality reasons.”
 
There’s a half-interested hum on the other end of the line, “I see, I see. How intriguing. I forget sometimes that humans can have difficulties making logical connections so I suppose I can see how sometimes your breakthroughs can be a bit sparse. But you always do come through, detective. It’s very admirable!”
 
Tsukauchi winces again. He’s already being insulted in that roundabout Nedzu way. This is going to be such a

fun

phone call for sure. “Uh, my question now, sir? Not that I’m not thrilled to speak with you, of course. I’m just… quite busy with my current caseload. You understand.”
 
“Oh right, yes! Of course! Well I was just wondering if you wanted a bit of assistance on one of your current cases. The one on a certain child named Izuku… perhaps? My teachers have taken quite an interest in it, you see! Which has, of course, caught my interest as well.”
 
Tsukauchi scrambles to grab his pen, near frantic as he asks, “You know where I can find Izuku?”
 
“Well, I know where to find his file. Where the actual child is, is still a mystery to me. But rest assured, I am searching for him in the real world as well,” There’s the sound of liquid shifting. Tsukauchi guesses the esteemed principal just took a sip of his signature tea.  
 
“Okay. So where’s the file on him? I’ve already checked all the databases.”
 
“Oh really, Detective? It was quite easy for me to find. Are you sure you checked

all

the databases?” 
 
This is a trap. He knows it. This is a trap and Tsukauchi has no choice but to fall into it because he has no other answer at this time. “Yes?” he says warily, “I checked all school records and quirk records currently active in the country. None of them come back as a hit for the kid we’re looking for.”
 
“Ah. There’s your problem then! You checked the active quirk record databases!” Nedzu responds happily as if he had just figured it out himself. 
 
“What?” He’s confused. What is Nedzu talking about?
 
“Have you run the name through the database of those who are, or at least thought to be, deceased?” 
 
Tsukauchi goes completely still. His heart drops to his feet. Ice slips through his veins so fast he nearly shivers. No. Surely not. Surely Nedzu wasn’t implying what he thought he was. Tsukauchi nearly lunges for the computer mouse and keyboard, frantically pulling up the database for deceased individuals. He’s praying he’s wrong. He types in the name. 
 
The results are immediate.
 
The first one is a child, aged 11, with a birthday less than a month away. Midoriya Izuku. Dark, forest green curls and bright green eyes. Freckles span that chubby little face like the stars dot the night sky. He’s smiling in the picture and, true to Mic’s word, there’s a little dimple in his right cheek. Even though they never had confirmation on his hair color, it’s definitely him. The stamp
[DECEASED]
at the top of the page strikes at his heart.
 
“Oh my God…” He whispers in dread. 
 
“Indeed!” Nedzu replies. He almost forgot he was on the phone with him. Another sip of tea was taken before the chimera continued with, “Now how would my English teacher have seen him if the boy was deceased as his file says? Isn’t that just a strange thing, Detective?” 
 
“Someone marked it wrong,” he answers obviously.
 
“Too true! But… was it an accident or was it on purpose that it was marked this way? And why?” 
 
He feels like this is now a test. He needs to put his detective skills to use if he wants to survive the pop quiz from the Rat God of UA. So for the basics. It was clearly done on purpose, Nedzu wouldn’t be saying things like this if it wasn’t. Even if he hadn’t questioned if it was, there’s no way you can ‘accidently’ mark a person as deceased without several others correcting you when the person is clearly alive, including other officers, nearby witnesses, or even the morgue. But the question Nedzu actually wants an answer to is clearly

why.

Why was it marked this way? He scans the information provided. Under average height. Normal average weight for his size. Good vision. No known health problems. Excels at school to the point that he was allowed to skip a grade and go into middle school early. Nothing’s standing out thus far. 
 
Then he gets to the line of his quirk. Quirkless. This boy was… no, not was,

is

quirkless. He leans back a bit, speaking slowly, “It was on purpose… because he’s quirkless.”
 
Soft clapping is heard, “Correct! Very good detective! And the evidence that proves this happened, where is it in this file?” 
 
“You mean beyond the fact that this child is clearly alive and well out there?” he asks.
 
“Yes, indeed. Evidence is everything, isn’t it? Especially to your department. Where’s the written proof of this… horrible transgression that’s occurred?”
 
Nedzu is certain there’s proof of this somewhere. He’s already read the file so it must be here somewhere. Maybe the report connected to where he was listed as deceased? He scrolls through and finds the report in question and gives it a quick read through. The report states that both him and his mother were killed in a villain attack on the same day; Even though no body was ever recovered from the scene for Izuku. One was found for his mother, Midoriya Inko, but not him. The officer writing up the report even had the audacity to state that one of the witnesses said that they saw Izuku running away but that it was impossible for them to have seen that  because the boy was quirkless and couldn’t have gotten away from the villain attack if his mother who had a quirk couldn’t. That he was clearly dead and nothing more. It ends by stating that there’s no other living family marked that the officer would need to report the deaths to and that he shouldn’t even bother to report the death to any of his fellow officers or his superiors or following up on any witness statements about the child. That it’s not like they’d miss the body of a clearly useless child anyway. 
 
This child has been marked as dead by a clearly quirkist officer and no one ever knew. Until now. His blood had been ice before but now it was boiling.
 
He relays that information to Nedzu who claps once again, “Yes! There, is where our issue stems from! How would you like to assist me, then, in ensuring that a certain… officer gets a very,

very

in depth performance review? And an immediate demotion- Wait no! An immediate termination! Yes that’s much more suitable to discrimination of this level!”
 
His answer is immediate and nearly as sadistic as Nedzu’s, “Oh it would be my absolute pleasure, Nedzu! In fact, I’ll assist in the review process and exit interview! After all… if he lied about a person’s life, what else has he possibly lied about? Perhaps there’s several charges to be pressed as well, beyond quirk discrimination, abuse of power, and negligence.”
 
“Wonderful!” The response is nearly a growl filled with overly pleased glee, “In the meantime! I’ll check into the other parts of the file for Midoriya-kun! To try and clean up those nasty little

loose ends

for when we can get him declared alive again!”
 
The other parts? What other parts? What loose ends? He continues through the file. Then jolts back as he realizes what Nedzu is talking about. “What the-? Why are there so many infractions from the schools he went to? There’s no way one little boy caused

this

many problems!”
 
“Quite interesting, isn’t it?”
 
“Quite suspicious I’m sure you mean…” He looks at a couple of the reported incidents, “This kid? This kid who is below the average height of his age and only the average weight for his size? Started a fight with three other students who used their quirks in ‘self defense’ against him? On the first day of middle school, which he was able to go into early due to his exceptional grades? Then the three kids walk out with minimal damage, pretty much basic self defense wounds, while Izuku is reported with several lesions, bruises, and a nearly broken arm that they don’t even let the school nurse look at as punishment to him? All because Izuku is supposedly jealous over their quirks since he doesn’t have one? I don’t buy that for a damn second!”
 
“I don’t either. Anywho, have a good time with your interrogation of the officer in question, Detective. I’ll be busy over here having fun investigating this… Aldera School District, both their primary and middle school divisions. I’ll also be running facial recognition on any cameras in the area to see if I can spot where he is. I’ll call you again if I happen to find him first! I expect the same courtesy from you if you manage to!” 
 
They exchange goodbyes, one overly cheerful and the other angrily resigned. He hangs up the phone and scrolls all the way back up to the top where the picture of the young, bright boy is. Looking into those pictured eyes, Tsukauchi knows he would let the world burn to correct the wrongs done to him. Oh great, now he’s adopting children he’s never met slash only met once. He blames Aizawa and Mic. 
 
Speaking of, he picks up the phone and dials a familiar number. It rings for a solid minute before Aizawa picks up, “Nao, this better be important. I’m in the middle of class with the third years. Impatient creatures…”
 
“Your principal just helped me find the information of your husband’s lost little child… You might want to find a temporary sub and a place to sit down for when I tell you where it was found and why it was there.” He sits down himself, knowing how this conversation is probably going to go.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shouta’s patrol the next night is horribly bleak in comparison to how it normally is. The news that Tsukauchi had given him still weighs heavy on his mind. Not to mention how Hizashi reacted when he told him. His poor husband had cried and whispered ‘I knew it’ to himself over and over again for an hour; He was nearly inconsolable. That was the thing that people didn’t know about Hizashi. Most thought that he got overly loud with every reaction, especially when upset. When in fact, he gets very quiet in his grief. He was so distraught he had to call out at the radio station for the first time in nearly five years. Several things were also clear when they finally got through all the info Tsukauchi sent them. One: Midoriya Izuku was now probably drastically underweight and undersized for the age that he is. Two: Midoriya Izuku clearly had a huge distrust for most adults considering his teacher situation but still had some marginal trust or at least respect in heroes if he talked to Hizashi without issue. And three: Midoriya Izuku was almost assuredly homeless. 
 
No, not almost assuredly. Definitely. Definitely homeless. Where else would a child who’s only family member passed live? If he had been living with a friend or a family friend, then he wouldn’t have been marked as deceased. He wouldn’t have been reported as dropped out from the school due to an untimely death. It just wouldn’t have happened if he had somewhere to live. If he had somewhere to go. If he had someone who cared, who would’ve kicked up a fuss at the mere mention of the falsified report.
 
Shouta sighs and rubs his face. He’s running himself in circles over this. He has to focus. He reminds himself that Nedzu and Tsukauchi are looking for Izuku as fast as they can. One of them should be able to find him. Hopefully. The only saving grace that he’s heard thus far is that Tsukauchi was pulling for the highest punishment possible for the officer who marked Izuku as deceased without checking if he actually was or reporting it and that Nedzu was looking in the clearly corrupt comings and goings of the school district the boy went to. People like that make him sick. He hopes they all burn in hell after Nedzu and the detective are done with them.
 
He continues on his patrol route as his thoughts turn to his bunny instead of Hizashi’s bean. He had gotten a lot of answers about the not quite vigilante when he last spoke with them. He had given his own answers too; Didn’t feel fair to ask the kid to reveal things about themselves without giving the same courtesy. He could have lived without the kid’s snarky comments about his choices.
 
When asked about their favorite drink they said Green tea. Shouta said his was coffee.

“Figures. I probably could have guessed that myself honestly.”

Favorite book genre?

“Um… Aside from the hero books I used to read? Historical fiction I guess. It keeps my attention and is just so interesting."

The amused snort and giggle he got when he told them that his was romance novels stuck in his brain.

"Unexpected yet hilarious."

Shouta blames Nemuri for that one. You accidently bring home her library book

one time

in high school and that's it, you're hooked for life once you’ve decided you're bored and might as well read it. They've kind of made something of a two person book club with it. Hizashi refuses to join.
 
Favorite food? Katsudon.

"Like my mom used to make."

Keywords there: Used to. Another strike in either the horrible mother or the dead mother theory about Gyokuto. He told them that his favorite were jelly packs.

"Wh- That's not food! That's a

snack,

at best!"

Snack, food, same thing. When Gyokuto insisted repeatedly that it's really not, he amended it to be his husband's Tonkatsu.

"Better. And who knew you were such a sap!"

Shouta almost chuckles out loud at the memory. The kid was a snark master that's for sure. At the time, he had to remind himself that Gyokuto was just a child and that he couldn't kill them. But now he just thinks it's funny. Hizashi himself died with a screech of a laugh at their responses. So that's a win in his books. Anything that makes his husband laugh like that is worth it. This kid is clearly worth it. 
 
Shouta just touches down on the next rooftop when his phone starts ringing. He picks it up instantly, "Eraserhead."
 
"Eraser, it's Blacklight!" The other underground hero sounds completely out of breath, "Listen… I saw the kid!"
 
That immediately sets his nerves on edge. There's only one kid she could be talking about, "Gyokuto?" 
 
"Yeah! They were… they were running through my district patrol in plain sight… It looked like they were in a hurry. I… I followed them to the edge but they slipped into another district and I don't have clearance to… to pursue since they're not committing a crime or a part of my active cases," She pants.
 
"You did good calling me. Which district did they run into?" He knows she's in district Xi tonight. Right near where they think Gyokuto lives.
 
"Gamma. They ran into Gamma district then hung left towards Iota," she responded. That checks out. Gamma district is directly beside the Xi district and is one of Gyokuto's outlying active districts. They must've spotted something or know something going on in that district. He relays to her that he's on his way and thanks her for the tip. 
 
Since Gyokuto is one of his active cases, he has the clearance necessary to give pursuit. He sends a message to his agency to have a backup hero take up his district for the time being since he's giving chase. He leaps across three rooftops before the affirmative comes in from the agency. He's got to be swift. If the kid makes it into the Iota district before he can spot them, he'll lose his tracks! 
 
He takes as many shortcuts as he can to get to Gamma district as fast as possible. He sees a petty crime happening on the street below but beyond pinging the location to the hero patrolling this area, he ignores it. Gyokuto is his top priority right now. He can't afford to waver in his chase. 
 
He crosses into Gamma and redirects his path towards Iota. His eyes start tracing the streets and alleyways below. He nearly skids to a stop as he catches a splash of red in one of the alleyways. His breath catches as his mind immediately associates the color with blood. He shakes his head to clear it and remembers that Gyokuto wears bright red shoes. He moves to the edge of the rooftop and watches as the kid sneakily peers around the corner of the building their back is pressed against. Shouta's brows furrow. It's just abandoned buildings that way as far as he knows. What are they watching?
 
He quietly jumps down in the alleyway behind them. He approaches as loudly as he dares, trying not to scare them, "Kid, what are you doing?"
 
Even though his steps clearly weren't silent, the kid still jumps and whips around to shush him insistently. Shouts jolts and blinks in confusion before raising an eyebrow, whispering, "What? Why are you shushing me?"
 
The kid makes a motion with their fingers for him to peek around the corner as well. He carefully approaches and does so. His eyes widened in shock. There's about three people standing at the entrance of one of the abandoned buildings. "What are they doing?" He asks.
 
"So far, nothing," Gyokuto replies, "But that's why I'm watching. I'm fairly certain it won't be that way for long."
 
"And why do you say that?"
 
"I passed by the tall one with the spiky hair on the streets yesterday, almost a hundred percent certain he's got some kind of sea urchin mutation quirk," They point discreetly to the taller of the three. Sure enough, the man has spiky, needle-like hair. Kid's probably right about his quirk too. "He mentioned to one of his buddies that 'Ichiro-san' got caught by the cops for attempting to kidnap the kid with bright red hair that they've had their eye on for a fighting ring. Sound familiar?"
 
Indeed it does. Ichiro Kirai was the name of the attempted kidnapper of Kirishima. The fact that they said they had their eye on Kirishima is also concerning. It means one thing and one thing only. "Quirk traffickers," he murmurs darkly, anger pooling in his veins. 
 
"Bingo," Gyokuto confirms. 
 
"We need to call in back-up."
 
"There won't be time," the kid says gravely, "I'm fairly certain they're the receiving crew and this is the meetup point. Their people bring them whoever they grab then they pay them what they think they’re worth. If we wait for backup, we might not be able to save whoever they've grabbed tonight."
 
"What makes you say that?" He asks.
 
"I've already been here for almost ten minutes. They probably won't wait beyond fifteen and they'll make the - ugh! - ‘Transaction’ as fast as possible. They're too out in the open for them not to be noticed by a hero swiftly if they just stand around for too long." 
 
Kid’s got a point, as much as he doesn't want to admit it, "Dammit…  I would send out a call for backup but you’re right, they won’t get here in time. We’ll wait and see if their lackeys show up. If so, I'll engage." He pulls out his phone and sends a notification for possible crime in progress for his current location with a note that he’ll update as soon as he has more info before putting it away again.
 
"You mean

we'll

engage?" Gyokuto asks sassily. 
 
"No.

I

will engage.

You

will stand back here and not get kidnapped or killed!"
 
"But I can help!" They insist in frustration before muttering under their breath,

"Not like they'd want me anyway…"

He decides to unpack that statement later.
 
"Kid, no!" He leans down to look Gyokuto in the eyes sternly, placing his hands on his shoulders, "I cannot stress this enough; you are a

child.

It is not your responsibility to fight the bad guys, it's mine. I will not let you be a part of a fight with quirk traffickers. You'll get hurt if you do and I can't live with myself if something happens to you!"
 
The emotion in their eyes is wavering determination, "But-!"
 
"No buts. If any of the other heroes show up, you have my permission to tell them to not focus on you and direct them my way but that is it. You will stay here. And for the love of God, you will be

safe,

Gyokuto!" He insists firmly. 
 
The fight leaves them in a huff but not happily, "Fine…"
 
He sighs in relief, "Thanks, Bunny."
 
"Bunny?" He ignores the confused question from Gyokuto. There's no time to give that mile long answer about how this little vigilante has somehow wormed their way into his and Hizashi’s heart. He takes a quick look around the corner and sees that the traffickers are still waiting then turns back to the kid, "That thing you did with Present Mic's quirk the other night, about knowing that he would need extreme control and awareness… How did you figure all that stuff out?"
 
"I just watched him in action and made observations about it," he tilts his head in question, "Why?"
 
"Can you figure out some things about their quirks just by watching them? Even if it’s just something small that could give me an advantage on them? Like you could with his quirk?"
 
"Not definitively since they're not actively using them but I can try to make an educated guess based on actions or movements they make or have made."
 
"Better than nothing. Let's see what you've got, kiddo," he backs off to give Gyokuto room to look and maneuver as much as possible. 
 
"Okay so…." Gyokuto takes a second to scan them, "Sea urchin head is obvious. Quirk type: mutation. Change is the sharp spines that grow out of the cranium instead of having hair follicles. Based on the coloring and spine length, it seems to be a non venomous urchin type; Getting stung will hurt but it won't affect you in any way unless you're allergic to stuff like that. Try not to get stung either way though. It’s not a comfy feeling. Unlike regular urchins, I think he has the ability to shoot them at people before regrowing them. Might be a possible secondary part of the mutation but unknown for sure. It should take some time to regrow them so you may have a bit of a window there to get some shots in."
 
They point out to the guy next to Urchin Head, "That guy's got an Emitter type that lets him manipulate rocks and stones. I’ve seen him use it. Seems like he's got a weight limit to how much he can move. The others were mocking him on it after he tried it on a larger piece when he was flicking rocks at a nearby can. More than likely it's based on the density of the rock type as he was able to pick up pebbles of both concrete and asphalt but not one of the larger chunks of concrete that's fallen off one of the buildings. It seems to be limited to rocks and other types of ground based items since he hasn’t tried to move any of the steel rebar around. Also, unlike the hero Cementoss who can manipulate the shape and size of cement like materials, he can’t change the shape of the rocks or change their size, only cause them to float or change their inertia quickly to make them projectiles. Use his weight limit to your advantage if you can't erase his quirk but I recommend taking him out first since he's also a ranged fighter."
 
"Now the last guy," Gyokuto's finger moves to the third, standing off a bit to the side from the other two, "I'm fairly certain his quirk is Emitter as well. Possibly a mutation but there's nothing overtly differing about him on the outside that makes it so I can tell. I originally thought some kind of intelligence quirk but the guy's clearly not the front man, the brains of the group so to speak, which he would be if he had one. Watch out for him. It's internal, whatever it is, but I don't really know what kind of quirk or how it works. He hasn't done anything to even give me any clues and none of the others have mentioned it either.  Something tells me he’s not around for being a heavy hitter. He’s with them because of something else. A last resort, kind of deal."
 
"Better than nothing," Really better than anything Shouta's ever heard from a split second analysis without all the obvious facts, "I'm going to wait until the exchange is made. Better chance to catch them off guard, especially if they want to protect their 'goods.' Kid, you call the cops."
 
"Can't," Is the swift reply. It causes his head to whip around to stare at the top of the kid's head. The kid tips their head up to look them in the eyes, "What? I don't have a phone, sue me!"
 
What child doesn’t have a cell phone in this day and age? This kid is an enigma sometimes… He pulls his phone back out of his pocket and tosses it to the kid. The kid fumbles the catch a bit but luckily recovers enough to grab hold of it without dropping it. Good. He really didn't want to have to explain to Hizashi how his phone got broken by him tossing it to their kid. As soon as they have it, he goes back to watching. Gyokuto makes a grumble sound and a near inaudible comment about how they still think they could help. Shouta ignores them. He can't afford to lose focus right now. He waits for what feels like an eternity. 
 
Just as he thinks that whoever was expected to show up won't, an all black car pulls slowly up the street. Too slow to just be passing by. That must be it. Sure enough, the suspected traffickers smirk at the sight of it and wait for it to pull to a stop beside them. One of them opens the door and reaches in the backseat as Urchin Head leans in the driver's side window with something in his hand. Must be the cash payment. Not like traffickers would risk a check or a bank card transaction after all. He keeps his eyes on the scene in front of him but sees Gyokuto out of the corner of his eye raise his cell phone up. A quick glance shows that they’re using the camera function to take a picture of the car’s license plate. Smart. It’ll help the police track them down later. 
 
A young girl, maybe no more than six, is dragged out of the backseat, crying her eyes out. Shouta clenches his fist as the guy who has her smirks.

Bastards,

he thinks as he fixes his goggles onto his face. He moves his hand up to grab his capture scarf, whispering to the kid without looking away, “If I can get the girl away from them, think you can keep her safe until police arrive?”
 
“Duh,” Is the immediate response. Shouta will take it. They wait in tense silence as the car and Urchin Head are finally satisfied with their talk and money exchange. The car drives off, swiftly but not too fast to be suspicious to any outsiders. Urchin Head and Unknown Quirk gather close together to discuss their next course of action as Rock Flinger keeps ahold of the girl. Shouta knows he’s not going to get another chance beyond this one. He takes a running start at them, activating his quirk just as he reaches the girl and her keeper. Rock Flinger jolts as he realizes that his quirk has been erased but Shouta doesn’t give him time to process before he performs a jumping kick to the guy’s face. It hits dead on and knocks him clear away from the girl. 
 
He blinks and quickly reactivates his quirk on his two comrades behind him. He knows it probably won’t have any effect on Urchin Head but it doesn't hurt to try. He stoops down into a defensive position and whispers to the girl, low enough that no one can hear him but her, “There’s a kid in the alleyway a few meters back. Run to them. They’ll keep you safe until help arrives.”
 
He hears her make a sound of understanding before her footsteps retreat behind him. He doesn’t take his eyes away from the three in front of him though. Urchin Head makes a comment on his goods getting away and how a pro wasn’t supposed to be here. Obviously he wasn’t supposed to be here. No one knew what was going on until a super smart kid figured it out. Rock Flinger attempts to use his quirk to engage him but it fails. His friends look at him in confusion. Unknown Quirk makes a comment about how he needs to stop fucking around. “Dude it’s not me!” He cries back to them, “I can’t use my fucking quirk! I don’t know why!”
 
Shouta doesn’t wait any longer. He flings out his capture scarf and wraps it around Rock Flinger’s arm before using his strength to throw him off balance into his friends. Urchin Head is the first up again. He tips his head down and shoots out several spines towards Shouta, just like Gyokuto said he could. He figured his quirk wouldn’t affect him. He easily dodges the projectiles as clustered in a group as they are. Either the location of the spines throws off his aim or he hasn’t practiced with it enough. Regardless, it makes it easy to bob and weave the spines until the guy has to back off to let his ammo regrow. Seems like it takes him a minute or two instead of being immediate. Good, that buys him a bit of time to go on the offensive. His eyes are starting to burn though. He really needs to blink. He also really needs to at least get Rock Flinger down and out before he does though. He sees his chance as the idiot rushes him. He ducks the punch he throws before grabbing him at the collarbone and slamming his knee into his chest. A quick punch to the face has the guy face down on the ground, groaning in pain but not getting up. Good. One down, two to go. 
 
He takes the opportunity to blink. When he goes to reactivate his quirk again, Unknown Quirk, in the smartest move he’s seen all night, ducks behind his compatriot just in time to be out of his line of sight. Dammit. He can’t erase his quirk if he can’t see him. He gives a soft growl. Fine, he’ll just have to take down Urchin Head first. He works on slowly moving his way towards Urchin Head. He remembers Gyokuto’s warning that he needs to be careful of the other guy but he should be fine as long as he’s cowering behind his friend. Urchin Head continues to try and shoot him with his spines. It’s only marginally working and mainly just in forcing him to keep his distance more than he wants. When he has to pause again to regrow his spines, completely out of them, he throws out his capture scarf again to grab the guy around the waist; Yanking him up and over his head, he throws him hard to the ground. He places his foot on his chest and delivers a swift hit to his vagus nerve to knock him out. Two down. Now for the last one.
 
“Look out!” Gyokuto’s voice causes him to whip around. He sees just briefly as the kid slams their whole body into his side. The way he was standing over Urchin Head, it caused him to be knocked off balance and tumble a few steps away. He rights himself immediately to try and assess why the kid did that. There’s a sickeningly wet sound and then a muffled scream. When Shouta looks over with eyes wide behind his goggles, he sees Gyokuto kneeling on the ground with one of Urchin Head’s spines stabbed in his shoulder. Unknown Quirk has a hold of the end of it, brandishing it like it was a knife, hands now covered in some kind of viscous substance and a bit of blood. From his kid. 
 
Shouta sees nothing but red.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku curls up into a ball as soon as the last crook releases the other end of the spine, leaving it in his shoulder.  He reaches his free hand back to press slightly against the entry point.

That burns, that burns, that really burns,

is the only thought that races through his mind. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so reckless in taking the stab for Eraserhead. At the same time, he didn’t know what else to do. He had seen him sneaking up on the pro as he dealt with the man with the Urchin spines. He knew there wasn’t enough time to call out to him without disrupting the flow of the fight. The only thing he thought to do was to try and get close enough to maybe draw the attacker’s attention. When it was clear that wouldn’t work, he opted for plan B; Which apparently was to take the hit himself, not knock Eraserhead out of the line of fire before backing away. 
 
The sound of horrified screaming reaches his ears. He turns his head to watch as Eraserhead almost cruelly twists the guy's arm as he delivers hit after hit to his face and chest. The screams eventually quiet as the guy falls unconscious. Eraserhead doesn't let up though, continuing to throw a multitude of punches at the guy. Izuku winces and calls out in a shaky voice, “Don’t you think that’s a bit overkill? Because I think he’s done fighting now. Maybe forever with how you just beat the fear of God in him.”
 
That seems to snap Eraser out of it. He looks over at him before pulling his goggles down, dropping the criminal and rushing to his side. “Kid! Are you okay?! What the hell were you thinking?!”
 
“I was thinking you were about to get stabbed by a sea urchin spine held by an asshole! Forgive me for not wanting to watch that!” he hisses back. 
 
Eraser’s hands are on his back then, poking and prodding at the spine to see how wedged it was. The answer to Izuku was ‘just enough.’ Just deep enough to be a nuisance but not too deep to cause grievous harm to his shoulder, thankfully. It is then that he notices that the burning in his shoulder is going away. Quite quickly. And that he can’t feel or bend his fingers. The spine’s not sitting on any nerves that would affect his fingers so how… Oh, that’s not good. He's finally figured out the guy's quirk.
 
He saw the guy coating the spine with something before going to take a literal stab at Eraserhead. It must be a toxin of some kind. More than likely one that paralyzes the muscles, targeting the muscle groups specifically. It just validates his decision of taking the stab from the spine instead of leaving it to Eraser. If it had struck where the criminal was aiming on the older man, it would have hit him square in the back. If it’s a muscle paralyzer like Izuku thinks it is, it could’ve caused the main muscle of the torso, his heart, to stop. Well that was close then.
 
“So uh…” he starts nervously, “How mad would you be if I told you I finally figured out the last guy’s quirk? Because he technically used it on me?”
 
Eraser stared at him for a long moment before huffing a loud sigh and pressing a hand to his eyes, “Oh for the love of-” he sighs again before removing the hand to level a hard stare at Izuku, “Do you want to tell me now or later?”
 
“I don’t think there’s enough time now. Police will definitely be here soon. It can wait,” he used his good hand to wave him off, “Plus uh, that one guy definitely needs some major medical attention.”
 
“Should I be concerned that you’ll be negatively affected by us leaving it until later?”
 
“Nah. It won’t kill me, if that’s what you’re worried about. Relax.” It’s not a lie. It won’t kill him. He’s about 98 percent sure he knows what's happening. And while it

could’ve

killed him in different circumstances, with the way they are now it won’t. So there was nothing to really worry about right now. Except that Izuku probably needs to go hide somewhere. Police were definitely on the way from where he called them and he wasn’t looking to get caught tonight. Or any night really. 
 
He awkwardly pushes himself up to stand, Eraserhead helping with a steady hand on his good elbow. He also passes the man’s cell phone back to him. The little girl from earlier rushes up to them a moment later. She bows sharply at the waist, “Um… Thank you for saving me. I’m really glad you did. I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to go home ever again like the scary man said!” 
 
Izuku nodded, happy to have been able to help her, while Eraser kneels down to take a look at her. He checks her over for injuries but pauses when he gets to the bandaid on her knee. She notices him looking at it and gives him a wide smile, “I’m okay now! Green one gave me the bandaid to help where I scraped my knee when they were taking me away! Look, it’s even Ms. Joke! I love Ms. Joke! She’s so funny and strong! I wanna be a hero just like her when I grow up!” 
 
“That’s a wonderful dream, Hekima,” Izuku tells her and gives her a thumbs up, “Never stop believing you can do it, okay? Even when others tell you you can't because of your quirk, always know that you can do it.”
 
She readily agrees with him, which gets Eraser to smile into his capture scarf. Man’s a softy, no matter how much he wants to pretend otherwise. Izuku wonders if his husband knows and comes to the conclusion that 'probably' is the answer to that question. Sirens catch the attention of all three of them. They’re closing in fast. “I should go. Don’t want them spotting me,” he murmurs. 
 
“Don’t go far,” Eraser warns in a stern tone, “I’ll help you with that shoulder as soon as I’m done here. Do not. I repeat,

do not

take that spine out of your shoulder! Wait for my help. You also need to tell me what the third guy’s quirk is so I can report it to the police later.”
 
“Yeah okay. I’ll be hanging out in an alleyway two streets away from here then,” He leans down a bit to be eye level with Hekima, “It was very nice to meet you. Don’t forget to always follow your dreams and never listen to the people around you if they say bad things. Your quirk doesn’t ever limit you, it just helps you to reach your goals!” 
 
She nods happily and thanks him again. Izuku then slips away from them to get some distance between him and law enforcement. He slips into the dark of the alleyway and leans up against the wall with his shoulder. He still can’t feel his fingers. He wonders how long the toxin will be in effect. He doesn’t think it’s permanent or that it can spread beyond whichever muscle group that was hit. It’s clearly a fairly weak kind. Lethal when aiming for certain spots on the body but noneffective in most cases. He’s tempted to try and analyze it but knows that Eraserhead will more than likely be here soon to help patch him up. 
 
Sure enough, Eraser drops down from the roof of a nearby building a few moments later. He stuffs his hands into his pockets and moves to stand right in front of Izuku. Izuku is quick to hold out his good hand when Eraser goes to open his mouth, immediately saying, “I know what you’re thinking but no! No hospitals! I’m serious! You even try to suggest it to me then I’m running away now and dealing with this myself!” 
 
Eraser pauses before shrugging with a nod, “Alright then kid, let’s get you home so I can treat that wound,” he says dismissively.
 
Izuku stares at him before raising an eyebrow. Does this man really think he’s going to be stupid enough to just lead him to where he’s living with just that line? He’s injured, not suddenly dumb. Eraser stares back before sighing again, “Worth a shot… My home it is then.”
 
“You’re just going to trust a vigilante with the knowledge of your home address?” he asks dryly.
 
“Yes,” is the only thing Eraser replies back with before turning and heading towards the street. Confusion floods Izuku. Seriously? Just like that? No hesitation in the slightest? He watches Eraser leave the alley with his feet frozen to the concrete. Was he really serious? A second later, Eraser reappears at the entrance, “What are you doing? Let’s go.”
 
That shocks him back to the present. He pushes off the wall and follows after the pro. This is officially one of the weirdest nights he’s ever had. And he’s had a ton of weird ones. The walk is silent before Eraser tilts his head at him and asks, “Did you have to give the kid a Ms. Joke bandaid? You had no others on hand? That’s all she wanted to talk about until the ambulance took her away to have her looked at.”
 
“I mean I did have bandaids with other heroes on them,” he shrugs his good shoulder, “But I gave her the choice of which one she wanted. She wanted the Ms. Joke one, and since she was the one nearly kidnapped tonight, that’s the one she asked for so that’s the one she got. It’s not overly complex. Why? Are you not a fan of the Smile Hero or something?”
 
“... No comment.”
 
That startles a laugh out of him, “That’s an obvious no then. Can I ask why?”
 
“Absolutely not.”
 
That makes him laugh harder. It’s so funny that the dark and gloomy Eraserhead doesn’t really care for the happy and peppy Ms. Joke for some reason. Don’t get him wrong, it makes

sense

but it’s still hilarious. The walk is quiet after that. Shockingly, they’re not accosted by any of the other pros in the area either. Izuku thought for sure that the minute any of them saw him with Eraserhead, they would swoop in to ‘assist’ with his capture. Izuku isn’t one to let good luck be bygone and doesn’t mention it in case it breaks the spell.  
 
Unintentionally, he keeps track of street names they walk down and turns that they make. He hopes he doesn’t have to remember the way to the pro’s home but his brain clarifies that it's just in case. Never know, after all. They eventually come to a modest house. A nice little two story in a fairly nice suburban area. There was even a little pot of pretty pink flowers next to the front door. Cute. Izuku bets it’s Eraser’s husband’s. The grumpy man in front of him doesn’t seem like much of a plant person. Especially not pink ones.
 
Eraser unlocks the door with his key and ushers the boy inside. Immediately the first thing that catches his attention is the pitter patter and meows of a little siamese trotting to the door. Izuku coos and longs to scoop it up for pets but he only has one working arm and figures that would be a poor idea. The door shuts behind him as he leans down to let the cat sniff his hand. “That’s Bastard,” Eraser says as he removes his boots, “Don’t let her fool you into thinking she never gets attention. She’s practically the queen of the house.”
 
Izuku giggles again and happily gives her some pets when she rubs her head against his hand. She starts purring, butting up against his hand repeatedly for more pets. He loves her. He will die for her. He will kill for her. Does this mean he needs to get a cat? Might be difficult to keep one with where he’s living. He might have to just find a way though. 
 
Eraser clears his throat, causing him to spring up straight. The man points his thumb behind him, “Couch. Try and see if you can figure out a way to make the wound visible without losing your hoodie. I’m sure you want to keep it on as much as you can.”
 
Izuku hums in understanding before asking, “Your husband?”
 
“At his third job. He won’t be back until a little later,” The man leaves the room after that tidbit of knowledge. Great, good to know. Now how is he going to get his hoodie and shirt off enough to expose his shoulder… Especially with just one arm? He brings a hand up and pinches his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger. He thinks for a long moment before deciding that he probably can’t do it alone. That means he has to ask Eraserhead for help. He groans sadly. 
 
“What’s up?” Said man asks as he sets a large first aid kit down on the coffee table. 
 
“I… I can’t get my shirts up without help…” he admits quietly.
 
Eraser sighs again, this time sounding quite put out.

Look I know this isn’t the most ideal situation but you could at least be a bit more sympathetic to my plight,

He thinks. Then reminds himself that Eraser doesn’t really know what his plight actually is. 
 
“Why can’t you get it off by yourself?” is the next question. At least that question doesn’t sound too annoyed with him.
 
“Yeah about that…” he reaches up and scratches his cheek, “So you know how I said that I figured out the third guy’s quirk?”
 
“Yes?”
 
“It’s a toxin,” Eraserhead’s eyes widen exponentially. Izuku waves his good hand, “Wait! No! Hold on! It’s non-lethal! If it wasn’t, I’d clearly be either feeling worse or would be dead by now!” 
 
The older man relaxes just a slight bit. Izuku hardly notices as his mind takes over, “I’m fairly certain he makes it in his mouth. Either there’s some kind of sac that makes it or it’s made in his saliva. Both are likely options but a definite thing about it is that it’s considered an emitter type. I know this because he hid from your sight to keep you from erasing his quirk. It’s probably when he grabbed the spine off of his buddy. That means it’s not mutation since erasure doesn’t work on mutation types. All the toxin does is paralyze the muscle groups it hits. Deadly if you can hit the chest or back right to get the heart to stop or to get the diaphragm to stop moving which means you stop breathing. In other words, in those cases you die. That’s what he was trying to do with you I’m guessing. I’m glad I interfered honestly. The only thing wrong with me is that my whole arm and shoulder are completely numb. Fair trade for you to keep your life, really.”
 
Despite the happy, carefree tone he gave Eraser when telling him that, the man doesn’t seem to relax fully again. He blinks up at him, “What?”
 
“Your entire arm is completely numb and you're just telling me this

now?

” Now that question definitely sounded angry.
 
“What’s the big deal?” He questions honestly, “It’s not like it hurts or anything! It just feels like my arm’s asleep or something! It’ll wear off… eventually… probably…” 
 
The sound Eraser lets out can only be a groan of anguish. Yeah that probably wasn’t very reassuring so Izuku guesses he can’t blame him. Whatever, it’ll be fine! He gives Eraser a minute to think before the man finally lets out a huff, “Okay. So here’s what we’ll do. I’ll put the spine out, then we’ll get your shirt and sweatshirt up over the wound so it doesn’t bleed on it more than it should. I’ll assess the wound at that point to try and determine if there’ll be any lasting effects and if it needs stitches or not.”
 
“Can you even administer stitches?” he asks him.
 
“Yes…” His reply is reluctant, “Do I want to? No. Would I prefer to take you to a hospital to have it done professionally and with healing quirks? Absolutely. But I don’t care for hospitals either and forcing you to go to one would make me a damn hypocrite.”
 
“... And your husband would use it as an excuse to make you go to one next time you needed something like stitches?” He guesses.
 
“Yes, that too,” Surprisingly, that agreement is not reluctant.
 
He gives him an agreement to his idea before turning to sit with his back to Eraser. He hopes the toxin that was covering the spine will at least make this pretty painless. The first aid kit is opened and a pair of tweezers are pulled out. They carefully grab the end of the spine. Eraserhead counts to three then yanks the spine out, quick and easy. It does give him a bit of pain but no more than he’s used to experiencing while being a vigilante. After the spine is set aside, Eraser pulls his hoodie and undershirt up in one go. He carefully helps Izuku maneuver his numb arm out of the sleeve but doesn’t take it off any further than that. It gives Eraser ample access to work and lets him keep his identity secret as well. Izuku can live with that. 
 
An antiseptic wipe was carefully run over the wound. It stings a bit but overall isn’t that bad. He can’t tell if it’s just because of his high pain tolerance or if it’s because his shoulder is numb. It’s a blessing to be sure. Eraser murmurs something to himself about wishing help was here. Izuku sweats a bit at that. Was it really that bad?
 
“I keep forgetting to ask and my husband keeps having an aneurysm over it but what pronouns do you use?” he asks while he checks it.
 
Well, that question sounds familiar. Now he’s actually had time to think about it though, “He and him preferably. Though I guess I don’t mind they-them either.” Eraser hums in understanding and continues checking the wound.
 
“I don’t think it needs stitches,” Eraserhead says after another minute of wiping the blood off the wound, “The entry wound is pretty small and from what I can see it didn’t do much damage to the muscle underneath. Maybe just a tight wrapping to ensure it’ll clot.”
 
Well that’s good. Stitches are much harder to deal with than gauze and bandaging. Izuku will have to remember to check his medical supply stock when he gets back to his hideout. If he needs more, he’ll have to go stock up from the pharmacy down the block where he lives. Preferably sooner rather than later so he doesn’t forget when it’s crucial. He remembers the last time he forgot to do that. Had to deal with a nasty infection for

days

after wearing those dirty bandages without changing them for too long. Not something he wants to repeat for sure.
 
Eraser tosses the antiseptic wipe into the nearby garbage basket. Then he presses a large piece of gauze to the wound to try and get the bleeding to stop. His fingers twitch as it causes a sharper pain than he was expecting. Feeling must be starting to return. Hopefully he’ll have full mobility back in his arm by the end of the hour. Good. He hates having only one hand. Just because he’s ambidextrous doesn’t mean he’s fine with losing one of his main weapons. 
 
The older man carefully wraps a length of bandage around his chest and shoulder to hold the gauze in place. When he finally ties it off is when he addresses Izuku again, “Is that good? Too tight?”
 
Izuku shakes his head with a sound of disagreement. It’s better than he could’ve done on his own. “Thanks,” he says, “Can I have some kind of pain killer too? Just something light to knock the pain off? It doesn’t hurt now but I have a feeling it will once I get full feeling back in it.”
 
“Sure, Problem Child. I’ll get you some water too,” The man grunts as he stands up to head into the kitchen. Izuku shifts to lean back carefully against the couch. Bastard jumps up to sit beside him and sniff at the bandages now swathing his arm. He reaches out with his good hand and pets her gently. She purrs happily and moves into his lap so he can pet her easier. It puts him at immediate ease. 
 
Eraser comes back a few minutes later, carrying a glass of water and a few pills in his hands. “I got some water boiling for some tea. Figured you might want something to calm down a bit,” he hands him the items and turns away so Izuku can take them in private. That’s nice of him.
 
He does so, gulping the water down greedily until the glass is empty, and when he replaces his mask he says, “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly inconvenience you any further-”
 
“It’s Green tea,” Eraser interrupts with a glance over his shoulder. When he sees the mask back in place and the water cup empty, he nods in approval and moves to sit in a nearby armchair. 
 
Dammit. He just had to tell him his favorite tea type didn’t he? He huffs out a sigh, “Yeah okay… thanks.”
 
There’s another grunt, this one an affirmative, before silence eclipses between them. Izuku relaxes back, feeling comfortable for the first time in quite a while. This couch is nice. He wonders if he can steal it somehow. Nah. Too risky and too heavy. Also it’s in the house of a pro hero which is a no-no. Nice thought though. The whistle of the tea kettle finally boiling makes both of them jump a bit. Eraser stands and heads back into the kitchen. Izuku tests his mobility by trying to curl his fingers into a fist. They move and curl up a bit but not enough. It’s getting there. 
 
The front door opens suddenly causing him to jump again. Bastard leaps off his lap to go to the door. The fuck? Oh! It’s probably Eraser’s husband. “Shou, I’m home!” A voice, somewhat familiar, calls out, “Are you here? I-”
 
It cuts off as a very familiar blonde rounds the corner of the entryway into the living room. Fucking hell, that’s Present Mic! Civilian clothes Present Mic but still Present Mic! What is he doing here? And who’s

Shou?

One eye that’s bright green and the other vivid red blink at him in shock. Eraser comes out of the kitchen again, cup of steaming tea and a straw in his hand this time, as Present Mic points to him and asks, “Is that who I think it is?”
 
“Yes,” the dark haired male says, “Zashi, that’s Gyokuto, prefers masculine pronouns but doesn't mind gender neutral ones. Gyokuto, this is Hizashi, my husband.”
 
Pretend you haven’t met him, Izuku. If you’re too familiar, he’ll connect the dots. He is the smarter one between him and Eraserhead after all. He raises his good hand and waves in a meek manner. Present Mic- or Hizashi, he guesses- continues to stare before reaching up to cup his own cheeks, a grin spreading on his lips, “Oh my GOSH, you are just precious! I'm so happy to finally meet you!” 
 
His voice ticks up into more of the tone that Present Mic uses while on duty. He can use that. He blinks then squints his eyes at him as if in thought before groaning loudly and dropping his head down dramatically, “Oh of course! How did I not put it together before…” 
 
“Huh? Of course what?” Hizashi asks.
 
“Of course you’re married to Present Mic,” he says, running a hand through his hair, “It’s so obvious! You even said you went to high school together!” 
 
Both stiffen up considerably. They glance at each other before Hizashi hesitantly asks, “How did you know?”
 
“Several things really. Number one: Your tone of voice ticked up into that overexaggerated one you use when you’re working. I’ve theorized for years that you change your tone inflection to hide yourself when off duty. After all, hardly anyone has ever seen

The

Present Mic in civilian clothes. Number two: Your appearance matches Present Mic’s to practical tee sans costume. Your heterochromia also explains why news stations always have a time figuring out if your eyes are green or red. It’s a big debate all over with an equal divide of opinion as well as equal sightings of both. Because the answer is actually that both are correct. I imagine you probably just wear one colored contact or the other to match them. Which is also why you wear prescription sunglasses with your costume instead of just contacts even though that would be easier. And don’t try to say that they’re not prescription, please. I can tell by looking at the lens shape and thickness that they are. Finally, the time that you’re coming home. It’s five thirty-five in the morning on Friday and, based on early morning traffic for first shift workers and the fact that you're not carrying anything in beyond your shoulder bag, you drove straight from wherever you were. That limits the radius of places around us that you could be working a third shift job. It’s common knowledge that Put Your Hands Up radio ends at five in the morning and your studio agency is about twenty to thirty minutes from here by my calculations; Not including morning traffic. So it’s not a hard reach with all those factors to put together that you’re Present Mic.”
 
He sticks the straw in the drink now that it’s finally cool enough and slips it under his mask to take a sip. Hizashi gawks at him while Eraser- Shou?- turns to him, “Told you so.”
 
“Jeez Listener…” Hizashi pulls his glasses off to rub at his eyes, “Shouta said you were smart but that? That was wild!”

Oh, so Shouta’s his real first name.

He doesn’t respond, just continues to sip at his tea with a bored look in his eyes. Shouta motions with his head to what Izuku guesses is their bedroom, a sign that Hizashi should probably go get changed. The dark haired man then moves to sit back in the armchair again. Hizashi smiles and takes his advice, calling back, “Oh! By the way, Tsukauchi will be here soon! He’s bringing over Midoriya Izuku’s file for us to look at.”
 
Izuku has to try hard to restrain himself from spitting his mouthful of tea out. Shouta is tucked down in his capture scarf but makes a noise of understanding. They know. Oh fuck they

know!

Why else would they be talking about it?! About him?! Fuck, fuck,

fuck!

He’s got to get out of here. Before Detective Tsukauchi shows up. That man cannot see him! He’ll be arrested on the spot! Regardless of what Eraserhead and Present Mic say!
 
He calmly sets the tea cup down on the coffee table and asks as levelly as possible, “Hey Eraser, can I use your bathroom? I just want to wash my hands, they feel gross. Maybe my face too.”
 
A dark eye cracks open before he lifts a hand to gesture to a door. Izuku thanks him and calmly walks to the pointed out bathroom. He gently closes the door behind him before his slight panic sets in.

Gotta get out. Gotta get out now,

he thinks frantically as he force shoves his arm back into the sleeve of his hoodie and shirt. It wasn’t exactly comfortable to do by himself but he’s not too worried about comfort right now. He spots the window above the sink. It’s just big enough for him to slip through. Thank God. 
 
He reaches up and places his mobile hand on the lock before pulling it away. He swiftly turns on the sink first.

More believable that way. Plus the sound of the running water will cover the sound of me opening the window and escaping.

He then fumbles with the lock on the window for a moment since he still only really has the one hand. He gets it unlocked and opened before pulling himself up to it via placing his foot on the sink. He’s grateful Eraserhead didn’t insist on him changing his shoes at the door. He jumps to shimmy his way out of the tiny window, biting back a yelp as he knocks his bad arm into the sill. It’s fine, he’s okay. He pulls himself the rest of the way out, closing the window back behind him. He jumps down off of the sill to the ground below and takes off. 
 
He clumsily vaults himself over the fence around their home. Then he’s racing back towards the direction he thinks his hideout’s in. Even if it’s not he’s sure this is quite the way, he can find his way back when he has time to reorient himself to his surroundings in a safer place. The main point is that he’s free.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hizashi is officially over the moon! Not only was his show really good tonight but he came home to find a little green bunny on his couch! Shouta even confirmed that he finally got his preferred pronouns! This morning couldn’t get better unless all of his students got perfect scores on the quiz he’ll be grading in a little while! He resists the urge to squeal. Now that he’s met him in person, he can see what Shouta means about the kid needing help. He's kind and oh so smart but his eyes are… haunted in a way that he’s only seen on pros that have been on the front lines for decades. They have a spark in them but it’s a defiant one. One that says, “I’ve seen the worst in the world and chosen to live in it anyway.”
 
Hizashi can only pray that mindset keeps up until they can help him. He doesn’t want to see anything happen to the poor baby. He changes quickly into some comfy clothes before heading back into the living room. A knock at the door catches his attention as Shouta reopens his eyes from where he was probably dozing. “Gyokuto?” he asks his husband. 
 
“Bathroom,” Shouta explains while getting up to go get the door, “Said he wanted to wash his face and hands.”
 
That’s good. Poor thing's face seemed permanently smudged with dirt. He moves into the kitchen while Shouta greets Tsukauchi. He uses the rest of the water the darker haired man boiled for the Bunny’s tea for his own cup. His throat is actually doing pretty okay today. There wasn’t much need to use his quirk today and he kept his enthusiasm at the studio to more of a minimum so he didn’t blow it out in his usual over excitement. Even still, it was practically routine to come home and have a cup. Never hurt him either, unlike his husband’s coffee addiction. 
 
Tsukauchi and Shouta join him in the kitchen a moment later. Tsukauchi took a seat at the table with a soft greeting of, “Good morning. Nice to see you again, Yamada.”
 
“Nice to see you too! You’ve got the file on my smart bean?” he asks excitedly.
 
“Sure do,” He reaches into the bag he brought and pulls out a folder. He sets it in front of him on the table as Shouta and Hizashi take a seat on the opposite side of the table. Hizashi reaches for it and pulls it closer. He hesitates for a second. What if it turns out this isn’t the kid he saw? Would they be back to square one? 
 
“Zashi,” Shouta calls softly, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. He nods to him in support which causes the blonde to smile. He loves this man so much. With another breath, he opens the folder. His eyes immediately go to the picture of the boy. He huffs out a breath of air that could almost be called a sob. “That’s him,” He confirms, voice wet with unshed tears, “That’s definitely him. I thought he had freckles. Oh gosh, look at them! So cute!”
 
Both Shouta and Tsukauchi also breathe out a sigh of relief. He guesses he should have realized that both of them would be sharing his same fear. They had been looking for this boy for what felt like so long. The disappointment that they all would’ve felt if it turned out to not be the one Hizashi saw would’ve been immeasurable. Tsukauchi closes the folder back and tucks it back into the bag it came in.
 
“You were right about the kid’s cheeks by the way,” Shouta says, "They're so pudgy."
 
“Right!?” He cries, eyes sparkling with happiness, “You just want to take his face into your hands and SQUEEZE them!” 
 
Shouta chuckles wryly at his enthusiasm. He knows Shouta’s thinking about that too though. He can’t hide how he feels from him. Tsukauchi looks over his shoulder as Hizashi makes more comments about Midoriya’s cute little face. “You guys know you have water running somewhere right?” The detective inquires with a thumb thrown over his shoulder.
 
“Oh right. I forgot to tell you at the door. Gyokuto’s here,” Shouta says calmly.
 
It takes a second for that to sink in. When it does, Tsukauchi’s eyes go wide, “I'm registering that as true but… Gyokuto is

here?

They’re HERE here? In your house?” 
 
“Yep,” Shouta nods.
 
“True… D-Do you think they’d talk to me?” He holds up a placating hand, “Just talk! Nothing else!”
 
Hizashi and Shouta exchange a look. Then Hizashi smiles and stands up, “I can ask him. Don’t be surprised if he says no though.”
 
Hizashi walks up to the still closed door of the bathroom. The water is still clearly running. He knocks lightly, “Bunny? Are you almost done?”
 
There’s no response. He tries again, knocking louder this time in case the boy didn’t hear him before, “Gyokuto! You okay?”
 
There’s still no response. Not even a shift of clothing or a pad of feet. Hizashi’s gut swoops in fear. Something’s wrong. He pushes open the door swiftly and blanches as he comes across an empty room, water still turned on in the sink. 
 
“SHOUTA!”
The house shook with the volume of his scream. It’s lucky that he didn’t shatter the windows. He’s only somewhat ashamed of losing control of his quirk. Especially with the way Bastard jumps and scrambles to go hide somewhere; More than likely under their bed.
 
The man in question leaps up from the kitchen table, chair falling back onto the floor in his haste. By the emotion coloring his voice, he doesn’t even reprimand Hizashi for his lack of volume control. He knows he wouldn’t scream like that unless something was wrong. Hizashi steps back with his hands covering his mouth as Shouta races around him into the bathroom. Long dark hair swings as he frantically looks around. He watches as his husband’s eyes finally land on the window above the sink. Shouta reaches out and grabs it, pulling it open with ease, proving it had been unlocked.
 
“He went out the window…” Shouta murmurs quietly to himself, then slams his fist on the wall next to said window and yells, “Dammit! He went out the window!”
 
With that he rushes back out the bathroom to the front door. He completely bypasses his shoes to get outside as quickly as possible. Tsukauchi follows after him to assist in searching, having heard his shout. Hizashi knows what they’re thinking. They’re thinking that maybe he hasn't gotten far. Hizashi also knows in the back of his mind that if the water’s been running as long as it has been, then they’ve lost him once again. His and Shouta’s bunny is gone again. He walks back into the kitchen and sits back down at the table in a daze. His hands stay up near his mouth. He feels like he can’t move them. He feels like they’re stuck.
 
He doesn’t know how long he sits there waiting for them to come back. Could’ve been minutes or hours as far as he’s concerned. The door does eventually reopen again. Hizashi listens as only two sets of footsteps refill the house. He vaguely registers Shouta sitting down beside him again. He looks over hopefully at his husband. Shouta’s mouth sets into a grim line, “He’s gone. Again.”
 
At that, his body finally unfreezes. He hunches over himself with a shaky sob, hands falling from his mouth. One goes to rest on his chest to feel his own pounding heartbeat while the other reaches up to tug restlessly at one of his hearing aids. “This is all my fault,” he whispers sadly. 
 
“Hey…” Shouta calls, taking the hand that’s messing with the hearing aid in his own and interlacing their fingers, “Don’t do that. Don’t say that either. It isn’t your fault, Zashi.”
 
“But it

is

my fault!” He insists, tears streaming down his cheeks, “

I’m

the one who mentioned Tsukauchi was coming over. He probably thought he was going to be arrested as soon as he showed up. I’m the one who - while yes, it was unknowingly - made him feel so unsafe here that he felt he had to run.” 
 
“Sweetheart,” The rare, affection-filled nickname from his husband catches his attention entirely. Shouta reaches out and cups his cheek with his free hand, using his thumb to wipe away some of the tears, “If you’re at fault, then so am I. I’m far deeper at fault than you.”
 
He shakes his head slightly, “No.”
 
More tears are wiped away by that gentle thumb, “Yes, Zashi. I know what Gyokuto is like. You’ve never met him in person beyond tonight. I knew he was a flight risk but did nothing to assure him that he was safe here. I didn’t offer to give him a place to hide while Nao was here or even offer to call Nao and let him know that he should come over at a later time after we explained that he wasn’t in trouble.

I didn’t do that.

That is

my fault.

And I

will

fix it. I’ll find him again, I promise. I’ll fix my mistake. I’ll bring him home.”
 
“Shou, there’s nothing to fix because it’s not your fault! You couldn't control this!” 
 
“Then it’s not yours either for the same reason,” he smiles wryly. Hizashi’s eyes widen before he weakly glares. Curse his manipulative mind, getting Hizashi to admit that neither of them are technically at fault. Shouta just grins again in victory. A hand lands on his shoulder the next moment. He turns wet and weary eyes up to Tsukauchi who stands above him with a pained look, “Yamada, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to set back progress with Gyokuto.”
 
“Look, we just had the ‘it’s not your fault’ argument and I’m really too tired to have it again with you, ‘kay Tsuki?” He says pragmatically and sniffles a bit when Tsukauchi lets out a soft laugh. He sighs sadly and rubs his now slightly sore throat, “Ugh… I need to reheat my tea… And take a nap. I’m drained!”
 
“I’ll get you a fresh cup of tea, Zashi,” Shouta declares as he stands up to do just that, pouring the cold tea out in the sink. Has he mentioned he loves his husband? He feels like he hasn’t said it enough lately. Tsukauchi also rejoins him in sitting at the table, resting his elbows on it and folding his hands. He asks out a quiet, “In regards to the Gyokuto case… Now what? I don’t imagine it’ll be easy getting him to talk to us again now.”
 
Shouta takes a deep breath. The way he lets it out as slowly as he does sets Hizashi’s nerves on end. He only makes that sound when he has an idea that someone, either himself, Hizashi, or both of them together, isn’t going to like. “Now,” he starts quietly, pouring fresh hot water into a new cup of tea, “I ask Nedzu to review the security footage around our block. I’m sure he can find something. Some kind of clue as to where he went.”
Hizashi winces but doesn’t say anything as Shouta hands him the new cup of tea and pulls out his cell phone. Even though he doesn’t care for that solution, it is the best one. If anyone can find Gyokuto, it’ll be Nedzu. He found where Izuku’s files were, after all. The Rat God should have him located in just a few days at most. Hopefully. He can only hope and pray that they won’t be left in the dark with his whereabouts.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Nedzu hums to himself, tail swaying steadily behind him. He was very pleased with how the day was progressing so far. It had finally,

finally

happened. Finally Shouta-kun had come to him asking him for his help with finding his little vigilante child he’d been so desperate about. To be quite honest, Nedzu had been interested in this child since he first got wind of him. He decided, with quite a bit of logical back and forth with himself, that he would stay out of the case until Aizawa or Tsukauchi or really anyone came to him to ask for his help. Even though he could’ve wrapped the case up in the course of a few days to a week at most, it was much more fun to watch his favorite humans try and solve it on their own. Only to eventually realize that they needed his help.
 
He’s had to scold himself a few times in order to remember to keep his paws out of the case until the time comes. Which he’s happy to say is now! He giggles to himself gleefully as he types another input into his computer. He has a job to do after all. Finding the lost little rabbit of his Heroics Law and Ethics teacher and his English teacher is now tip top priority. Not to mention that Nedzu has a certain… need to meet this boy for himself. He shows a higher intelligence level that Nedzu hasn’t seen since Aizawa’s school days. His has been shown to be even higher than that of his dour teacher’s, shockingly. He has to meet him! If only to do nothing else than offer him a space to learn at Nedzu’s side. 
 
Yes, he must teach a mind like Gyokuto’s, even if it’s just a scrap or two of knowledge. Oh, who is he kidding? If Gyokuto agrees, he’ll be teaching the boy everything he knows! He won’t let him go once he gets him to agree to be his student. And with the amount of genius hiding in Gyokuto’s brain he

will

agree. It’s inevitable! Oh he’s so giddy just thinking about it.
 
“Back on track, Nedzu,” He admonishes himself quietly. He clicks through the known information about Gyokuto before returning to the security cameras he had hacked into around Shouta and Yamada’s address. He sets the date and approximate time that Gyokuto escaped their residence to play on loop until he can spot him. His tail flicks back and forth somewhat like a metronome as he watches each of the camera feeds. His eyes flit from screen to screen, knowing that at any moment he’ll spot him. 
 
There!
 
A flash of black with just the slightest hint of green and red in one of the feeds. He stops all the other recordings and pulls up that one in specific. He slows down the image and sharpens it as much as he can. Then he plays it. And yes! That’s certainly him! Just as Shouta-kun had described him. Little bits of curls peeking out from under the hood. Small, overly small for a human his approximate age. And the look in his eyes. Wild with fear yet steely in determination. He clearly felt that he was fleeing the Aizawa-Yamada residence to survive another day. If only he knew it was the safest place he could have been. 
 
He follows along the child’s path with the camera feeds, jumping from one to the next. Then, he jumps to one and no child appears in it. He blinks before lighting up with a grin, “My, my. You probably realized that you were being seen by the cameras. And you figured out that more than likely Shouta-kun and Yamada-kun would be looking for you in any way possible; even through video feeds.” He taps a couple of commands in, “They aren’t reviewing the footage though. I am. And my level of intellect rivals and currently surpasses yours.” 
 
The cameras switch to neighboring streets as he plays back the last few moments. He knows that he ducked somewhere to try and throw them off. He’s just got to figure out which hidden alleyway he took. Another familiar flash of small black and green. He giggles in delight, “There you are, little kit! Now to just figure out where you’re going.” 
 
He continues to follow him, taking a sip of tea in the in-between when Gyokuto takes a moment or two to try and figure out which way to go. It's quite impressive how the boy is able to orient himself so swiftly as well as be so unpredictable with his path. Yes, it just further affirms that he definitely wants to pass his knowledge down to this particular human. 
 
Eventually, he gets to a point where the child slips out of view in one camera and doesn't come out at the next. Nedzu’s ears twitch in curiosity. He returns to the other feed and takes note of the surroundings. No connecting streets. No alleyways. Where on earth did he go? He hums softly in intrigue. 
 
He pulls up a 3D map of the area and zooms into the area. He notes a ladder of a fire escape on an abandoned office building leading up to the rooftops that's just out of view of both cameras. He taps his fingertips together. Why move to the rooftops now? There were plenty of other opportunities to shift to higher ground which would've kept him out of sight much easier than now. 
 
His eyes catch sight of the underground schedule that Shouta-kun had given him. He snatches it up and the district map underneath it. He compares them to the cameras Gyokuto passed. He notes the pattern of patrol rotations immediately, "Ah. You stayed on the streets because anyone who would've stopped you from running was up high. You knew that the limelight pros in the area that night wouldn't pay a second thought to you. But an underground, even one about to come off shift, would. Clever."
 
Another mark of failure on their society. That their main heroes were so focused on making large, flashy arrests that they couldn't be bothered to check on an unsupervised child at nearly six in the morning. Or if they did, all he would have to say was that he was out for an early morning run and they would be none the wiser. Very clever of the child. The placement of the last camera Gyokuto was seen nags at him for some reason. He compares it again to the district map. A fang filled grin stretches across his face. 
 
The location is almost directly in the middle of the three districts Gyokuto is most active in. "So you live there," he muses, "Either in the building or on top of it. On top is too obvious so you’re clearly living inside of it. My guess is that you get into it somehow from the roof or one of the windows on the fire escape. I wonder if you've ever gone out without that hood of yours up. Surely so."
 
He pulls up the two cameras around the building. He sets the date and time for a week and a half earlier and lets it play, slow enough that he can catch any activity but fast enough to not get bored or a headache from the swift motion of multiple playing cameras. The child comes and goes for several days. But the hood is always up and the mask on. Nedzu still can't catch a glimpse of his identity. Nedzu growls in frustration, "Come now, kit. I know you

must

have had to leave your hideaway as yourself at some point… Even just for retrieving sustenance."
 
The feed continues to run. Nedzu keeps a close eye out. A flash of more curls than normal pops out in one frame. Quick as lightning, Nedzu pulls the feed back a few seconds and pauses it. There’s the boy, sweatshirt hood around his neck this time and mask straps not seen around his ears. In broad daylight too. Either overly confident or unknowing that the cameras in the area still worked. More than likely the latter. The boy doesn’t strike him as egotistical in the slightest. The curls are vividly dark green and wild in their length. They’re clearly not terribly unclean but certainly not well cared for either; Able to clean them but not much else. Poor thing probably suffers from terrible frizz and tangles from all those curls. Nedzu knows all about those with his fur, especially towards the summer time. He resumes the footage as the boy walks off screen down the street. 
 
Nedzu takes another sip of tea as he watches the boy walk along the sidewalks. He never walks in a direction that cameras are at an angle that makes his face visible. That part he knows isn’t intentional. It just happens to be the direction he’s traveling and the fact that he keeps his head down in more crowded areas. Almost as if trying to make himself smaller and unnoticeable. He’s certainly not overly concerned with being spotted. Perhaps because no bystander or hero knows what his face looks like in the daytime. The walk is long, clearly. He crosses several streets and blends seamlessly with several crowds to get wherever he’s going. He eventually stops in front of a fashion store operated by Best Jeanist’s agency. 
 
Just as he’s about to take another sip of tea, he pauses. Gyokuto has turned fully to lean against the wall of the shop. Face finally,

finally,

in full view of the camera. Nedzu sets the tea cup aside as he pauses the video and zooms in on the child’s face. He stares for a long moment at the enhanced image. Then he starts to giggle then laugh uproariously. When he finally manages to settle down after a moment of laughing he grins at the screen, “It’s not often that a human surprises me. But this! This is a surprise beyond measure! So much of one, that I think I’ll keep Shouta-kun in the dark just a smidge longer. I’m sure he won’t mind too much! For now though…” 
 
Nedzu sweeps some papers aside to pick up a file folder sitting underneath them. He smirks at the name listed on them. “I think it’s about time that I finally pay a visit to Aldera district’s schools. Don’t you think so?” He turns his eyes back to the face of the boy, his freckled face surrounded by curls of green and bright green eyes full of constant apprehension of the world around him, “Midoriya Izuku.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was official. Shouta was going to lose his mind over a kid! It has been a week since Gyokuto had run out of his and Hizashi’s house. Any attempts on their part to locate him and explain have come up short. Shouta’s seeing him, sure, but anytime the kid catches sight of him- which is unfortunately all the time- he takes off before Shouta can even try to approach him. Hizashi is even looking for him on the streets when he’s out on patrol despite the fact that Gyokuto has never been seen during daylight hours. More than likely he uses the time to run about as whoever he actually is; Which they still don’t know the true identity of.
 
Shouta, in a desperation that he hasn’t felt since pretty much his high school years, took a new tactic to try and get through to the kid after day two of not seeing them. Instead of attempting to chase him down, he’s been leaving little gifts for Gyokuto on various rooftops around the areas the kid sticks to. He leaves about three bags a night full of snacks, bottled drinks, and a few first aid supplies. Nothing as crazy as stitches or sutures. Just some things like band aids and neosporin. He also left a whole bottle of hydrogen peroxide so that he could clean any wounds that he gets. 
 
He leaves them in the same spots every night. He also leaves a note every single time so the kid is never confused about who’s leaving the stuff for him. It doesn’t matter. Gyokuto still doesn’t approach him when he sees him. The stuff is always gone from the rooftops but Gyokuto’s trust has clearly been broken enough to the point that he doesn’t feel like speaking with the person who broke it. At least with the little ‘care packages,’ as Hizashi has taken to calling them, they can ensure that the kid is somewhat fed and cared for. At least to a certain extent. They would really prefer to have him in their home though. Where they can watch over him. Care for him themselves. Make sure he’s getting the attention and even stuff that he needs.
 
Maybe even love him… like his parents should. He hopes they know how lucky they are to have a kid like Gyokuto. Or have had. He’s almost a thousand percent certain it’s have had with how many times the boy had referred to his mother in the past tense. He’s never referred to his father at all. Shouta doesn’t know if that means the man is dead or if the man just isn’t around. He doesn’t want to know which situation is the worse one between the two. 
 
He tried yesterday evening before his patrol to see if Tsukauchi had found anything else out. About either Gyokuto or Midoriya. The man’s still at a standstill on both counts though. Without any kind of records for the last year to track him with, it’s nigh impossible to find Midoriya right now. Gyokuto isn’t much easier. Every report of the vigilante boy is too little to garner any distinct details to be able to begin looking for him. Even Shouta who had the boy in his home can’t tell them anything more than the boy has dark hair, green eyes, and freckles on his shoulders and face. His hair is also very fluffy based on what he felt when he ruffled it but that doesn’t tell them the shape, cut, or color of it. 
 
He also tried asking Nedzu if he had any more information on the Jade Rabbit. The Rat God wasn’t very forthcoming at the time. Shouta’s sure he’s found something out but that he’s keeping it from them. He can only hope it’s for a very good reason. If not, Shouta, Hizashi, Tsukauchi, and- hell- even all the rest of the UA teachers are going to be very pissed off at their principal for keeping it secret. Sometimes he wishes the Chimera were a little bit easier to read. Maybe he could’ve taken a guess based on his speech and/or body language at this point. But Shouta modeled his stoic nature and ability to keep secrets off the rat-bear-dog man for a reason. Nedzu will give them the information he has when he feels it’s time for it to come into play. Unfortunately.
 
How much longer will that take though? He feels like the kid is just getting further and further away from him the longer the days are allowed to go by. If he didn’t know for a fact it would set them back even further with gaining Gyokuto’s trust back, he would’ve wrapped the kid up in his capture scarf the first night he saw him again and dragged him back home to explain things. Preferably with Hizashi since that man’s guilty tears can make anyone feel like forgiving any kind of transgression. Shouta should know, he’s had them turned on him dozens of times. And it works every time too- Much to his absolute annoyance. 
 
He checks his phone again for what feels like the fiftieth time for any kind of news from the other underground heroes about the kid. Most have sent back short responses like they’re keeping an eye out or that they haven’t seen him. Those are mostly from underground heroes that Gyokuto either doesn’t interact with or stays away from because he doesn’t really care for them. He figures that the boy somehow determines how much the hero is worth getting interactions and assistance from him based on what he sees when observing them from afar. The heroes he does interact with or assist, like Blacklight or Mind Meld, all give him more detailed updates. Always with an ending sentence about how he should also let them know if he finds him. That they’re worried about him too. That the kid is

good

if just misguided and distrustful and that he  doesn’t deserve the hand of cards life has dealt him. He agrees with every one of them. But he can’t exactly fix it until the trust between him and the kid has been mended. 
 
He sighs sadly upon seeing that his patrol shift is up. He sends the cursory message to his agency that he’s out for the day before heading back to his home. Back to Hizashi. Where he gets to tell his husband yet again for another day that there’s still no headway with Gyokuto. That the game of cat and mouse is still on. Or maybe it’s more of a game of cat, cockatoo, and bunny. Regardless, there’s no progress and he has to be the one to report that to the limelight hero. He can only hope that Hizashi won’t shut down again like he has the past few days he’s come home with no updates. He doesn’t really blame him - he kind of wants to shut down over it too - but he hates to see it. He doesn’t know how to help him without bringing the kid through the door and telling the blonde that they’re both home to stay. His heart pangs in worried grief. 
 
This situation is the worst one he could have anticipated and Shouta reiterates, once again, that he’s going to lose his mind over this kid. Why not though? His reputation with fellow underground heroes is already shot because of this kid. He’s gone soft for him and he honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. He knows Hizashi wouldn’t either.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Alright class, listen up!" Katsuki tunes back in from where he was staring off into space with his head propped up in his hand. His homeroom teacher seems unbearably pleased with himself for a Tuesday. He raises an eyebrow while Teach places his hands together, "Something very unexpected but very exciting has happened! The principal of UA has decided to pay our school a visit today! He'll be interviewing some of you as potential UA applicants!"
 
The room erupts into excited cheers. Even Katsuki can admit that his stomach swoops in excitement at the prospect of getting to meet the principal of

the

UA. It would really improve his chances of getting into the esteemed high school. Plus it's something to talk about with Izuku and Eijirou when they meet up after school today. The teacher goes on to say something about how the principal will be here more towards the end of the day to conduct the meet ups. Katsuki is almost sure he'll get one. 
 
The whole school is now abuzz with excited energy from every class. Even lunch is more active than it normally is- and that’s saying something about a middle school cafeteria. A couple of the extras who sat with him tried to get him in on the conversation. But he doesn’t care or bother to respond. He’ll get an interview. He knows he will. He’s the best of the best here after all. 
 
By the near end of the school day, everyone in his class is getting antsy. None of their classmates have been called out for an interview yet. They’re starting to worry a bit that their class will be skipped over. Everyone is chewing on pencils or tapping fingers against their desks nervously. Generally just unable to take notes over the sheer cloud of anxiety that’s blanketed them. The teacher is luckily not that concerned by their lack of attention right now. Perhaps he’s just as anxious over the lack of words for their class as well. 
 
Finally, the door opens. The secretary pokes her head in, happy as a clam at high tide. She calls out happily, “Bakugou-kun! The principal of UA has requested to speak to you!”
 
He grins in triumph. Finally! The rest of the class all cheer like the extras they are. The teacher instructs him to take his bag as well just in case the interview runs over and school lets out before he’s back. He’s fine with that. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he trudges out of the classroom. His classmates call well wishes to him but he doesn’t really hear them. A personal interview with the principal of UA is all he’s thinking about. 
 
He saunters into the meeting room, head held high. But stops short at the creature sitting in the chair. It smiles at him in an almost unnerving fashion. Wait… he thinks he remembers the nerd talking about the principal of UA before. Wasn’t he some kind of high intellect quirked animal? This must be what he meant. 
 
“Ah! Young Bakugou, yes? Come in! We have so much to discuss!” The creature says in excitement, paws raising in the air, “After all, am I a mouse, a bear, or a dog? I am Nedzu, the principal! Of UA, that is.”
 
The creature, Nedzu, lets out a giggle at that. Katsuki blinks before shutting the door with a scowl, “You’re fucking weird…”
 
Fuck! Curse his lack of a brain to mouth filter! He didn’t mean to say that! Instead of getting offended though, Nedzu just starts cackling. Straight up cackling. Katsuki blinks again as Nedzu reaches up to brush a paw against his eyes that were tearing up from laughing so hard. With a final, amused sigh, the UA principal turns a nearly too sharp grin to him, “Of course I’m weird! Quirks are weird! Humans are weird! What is our world without the oddity of it, after all!” 
 
Katsuki doesn't reply to that. He just moves to sit in the chair across from Nedzu without another word. The smile softens down considerably before Nedzu folds his paws together, “Firstly, allow me to apologize for deceiving you.”
 
“Hah?” Deceiving him? What is Nedzu talking about?
 
“We disguised these interviews to actually try and get to the root of a bigger issue possibly at play,” Nedzu explains carefully, “We made it seem like it was just to interview possible applicants for our esteemed school but in actuality we’re trying to figure out if the school is allowing discriminatory actions to occur on grounds without trying to curb the issue. Or worse, actively encouraging it.”
 
Katsuki takes a moment to put that information together in his head, “So… you’re trying to find out if the school is putting favoritism into certain students and dismissing the rest?”
 
“Yes and no. The favoritism part is correct. We believe, however, that they’re doing much more than just dismissing the rest. We believe that several actions are being taken to ensure that students that don’t meet up to their ‘expectations’ are set up to fail. Allowing other students to bully them, possibly with the use of their quirks. Changing grades of assignments despite how well the student actually did, that one goes in both directions. Even writing students up for the slightest infraction - tardiness, disruption of class, and cheating on tests and assignments have all been brought up in these possible false infractions.”
 
“Regardless of the fact that the student wasn’t doing anything remotely wrong in the way they were written up,” Katsuki guessed.
 
“Correct,” Nedzu nods.
 
“Well I can tell you right now, that shit definitely happens. All of it. Especially the false infractions and the downgrading of students they don’t care for.” 
 
“Really now? You’ve seen it occur?”
 
“Yeah…” Katsuki leans back, balancing the chair on two legs, “Some chick in my class was talking about a test that we had last week in history. It was with her friend so I don’t know exactly what was fucking said. But I remember that she said at one point that she got question number four wrong. Even though she said she studied and she put down C as the answer because she thought that’s what her textbook said. It was marked wrong. The thing is, I also marked C on that damn question, and I got it right!” 
 
“May I ask what her quirk was, if you can recall?” Nedzu pulls a pen out of a pocket in his vest and opens up a notebook.
 
“I don’t remember to be honest. Some kind of transformation I think. Maybe like… her hair color changing or something similar.” 
 
“So either she was marked incorrectly to lower her grade or you were marked incorrectly to raise yours. More than likely the first since she mentioned reading it in her textbook,” Nedzu writes a note down in the book in front of him, “Interesting. And the infractions situation? How do you know about that?”
 
He flushes a bit in embarrassment, reaching his hands down to rub them against the legs of his pants to get rid of the excess sweat on them, a bad habit of his, “My quirk… it’s… it’s fucking volitile sometimes - Affects my aggression levels, gets me heated over things quicker than normal, and causes me to sweat a hell ton. I’ve learned a lot about how to control it and keep it under control, thanks to my quirk counselors over the years and a friend of mine. Sometimes though, it gets away from me before I can realize it. It’s nothing fucking dangerous to me or anyone else, my palms just start smoking or popping as some of the nitroglycerin in my sweat ignites. I’ve never put my hands on someone when they’re smoking or thrown the sparks they cause at them, of course. That’d be fucking cruel! But… Several times now, I’ve gotten upset or angry over something in class. Every single time I’ve done it, instead of the teacher getting upset at me for losing control, they would always blame it on another in my class; Marking them down for detentions or visits with the principal on account of disrupting the class or distracting classmates. They don’t keep it on one person to make it obvious they’re singling someone out. But it's always the supposed fault of someone with a supposed weaker quirk or a villainous quirk or a mutant quirk. Always.”
 
Nedzu is silent for a long moment as he marks down notes before smiling at him softly again, “Thank you for telling me, Bakugou-kun. You’re still learning control of your quirk. Admitting that sometimes you lose control doesn’t make you weak, it makes you stronger than you’ll ever know. It also shows great maturity that you know not to turn your quirk against someone even when upset. You’ll make a fine hero one day.”   
 
Katsuki knows that. He really does know that. Yet it still fills him with an interesting kind of warmth to hear it from this particular mammal who means so much to him in regards to his future. Nedzu closes the notebook before addressing him again, “There’s one last thing from you that I need from you, if you don’t mind.”
 
Katsuki’s eyebrows furrow at that, “Like… a signature or something?”
 
“Not quite,” Nedzu pulls a folder that was sitting off to the side closer to himself. He opens it and pulls something out. It looks like a photograph. He slides it across the table to sit in front of him, “Can you tell me what your relation is to the boy in this picture?”
 
Katsuki was confused. What did a picture of a boy have to do with anything about Aldera? He looks at it and his eyes widen in shock. That’s Izuku. That’s Izuku leaning against the Best Jeanist fashion shop up the street from Bean-ingful Memories. He looks back at Nedzu in confusion. Why does he have a picture of the nerd? Nedzu takes his stare for what it is, a question of confusion. “We discovered many of the issues with Aldera Middle school, and even some with Aldera Primary School, when researching information about the boy in the picture. His file is littered with infractions against his record that make no sense. It was enough that I felt the need for action and a full investigation of the comings and goings of this education establishment. If it can even be called that, really.”
 
His mind sticks to one word. “Research? Researching him for what?” he asks.
 
“I have solid proof that the boy in the picture is very troubled and needs help.”
 
“What? How?” That didn’t make sense. Izuku was many things; Happy, kind, and overly generous just to name a few. ‘Troubled’ wouldn’t be a word he would use to describe him. Was his foster family not treating him well or something?
 
“The boy in the picture, one Midoriya Izuku, was falsely marked deceased by a very terrible police officer,” Nedzu says calmly but seriously, “And Aldera was all too happy to wash their hands of him as soon as they got word that he was supposedly gone because they considered him not worth it. As a result of these awful people, we also believe that Midoriya-kun is most assuredly homeless and in need of a lot of assistance.”
 
His eyes go impossibly wider. His heart pounds so loud, he can hear it in his ears. Izuku is… what? He’s homeless? But… the foster family. Did he… Did he lie to Katsuki about them? Why? Why would he do that?
 
The fear and worry swamp his senses. Then it changes to the only thing his body really knows how to handle. Anger. How dare Izuku not tell him? Did he think he couldn’t help him? And he was listed as being dead? What the fuck?! For how long?! Did he know that too?!
 
“So… your relation with the boy in the picture, Bakugou-kun?” Nedzu asks again.
 
“A friend,” He nearly spits out, “At least I thought so.”
 
The mammal hums and nods, “And did you know anything about his status? His homelessness? Anything of that sort?”
 
The anger roils worse in his chest, causing his palms to start smoking, “No. No I fucking didn’t. He told me he was living with some fucking nice foster family after the death of Auntie Inko, his mom.”
 
“I see. Thank you for your assistance on both matters, Bakugou-kun. I’ll be in touch with the school should I need anything else. Please don’t disclose anything  that we spoke about to any other students and staff here for the time being. I apologize this took so long. I heard the school bell go off just a few moments ago. You should head home now, yes?”
 
Oh he’ll head out but it won’t be home! It’ll be straight to yell at that fucking Nerd! He stands up swiftly, grabbing his backpack off the floor. As he’s storming out of the room, he hears Nedzu speaking to someone on the phone, “Shouta-kun! I have some news for you! Perhaps you’d like to pay a visit to your little bunny rabbit at his home? I have a hunch he’ll need a shoulder.”
 
Fucking weird ass principal of fucking UA. Telling people about bunny rabbits after telling people that their friends were actually considered by the country as dead thanks to idiotic fuckers. 
 
Any stragglers in Aldera pay him no mind and stay out of his way. Good. He’s way too mad to deal with some extra trying to get his attention for some reason. The anger doesn’t cool in the slightest on his way to the coffee shop to meet Izuku and Eijirou. If anything, it just becomes worse from how long it stews in him as he walks. Whoever said to take a walk if you’re angry to settle yourself down was full of lies! At least when it comes to Katsuki.
 
He gets to the coffee shop and spots the ever familiar head of green hair talking to vibrant red. The boy smiles with so much ease at something the taller one said. His vision turns red. He storms up to them, growling out loudly, “YOU!”
 
Both jump and turn to him. Izuku smiles brightly at the sight of him, “Hi Kacchan!” Eijirou also greets him but he doesn’t really hear it from how furious he is.
 
“What the FUCK?!” He screams as he approaches to get into Izuku’s face. Oh yeah, that really explains things, Katsuki. Great way to start out there.
 
The smile falls in an instant, “Huh? What’s going on? Why are you so upset?”
 
“When were you going to fucking TELL ME?!” 
 
“Tell you what?” The smaller boy flinches when Katsuki’s hand slams into the wall next to his face, palms smoking up a storm. “When. Were you going to fucking. Tell me. That you were Goddamn homeless?!”
 
The color drains from Izuku’s face. Even Eijirou makes a sound of confusion. So the Nerd hadn’t told him either. He continues to glare at Izuku. He doesn’t miss the look of pure fear - (Wrong, wrong,

so wrong

. He shouldn’t be afraid of him,

not ever!

He was his best friend! Since they were

babies!

) - turning into stony coldness. 
 
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” He mumbles out evenly.
 
“Not my-” He nearly chokes at that, “Not my business?! It is my business when my friend is declared dead and living on the damn streets!” 
 
“Wh- Dead?” Now Izuku looks confused about that bit, “Who said I was dead? I’m pretty sure I’m still alive, after all.” 
 
“Apparently some dumbass police officer marked you down as dead after the incident with your mom and, since you weren’t around in school or anything like that, no one could fucking correct it otherwise!” 
 
“Well that’s news to me…” he sasses under his breath before glaring back at Katsuki, “What do you want me to say? Huh? What was I supposed to fucking do, Kacchan?”
 
The curse sounds so wrong coming from Izuku’s mouth. The glare is sending shivers down his spine. Not fear. He won’t be afraid. This is Izuku, there’s nothing to fear. “Tell someone!” He screams at him.
 
“Who?!” Is the question that’s screamed back, “I’m quirkless, in case you forgot! Businesses have the

right

to refuse me service if they know my quirk status because to them I’m

defective

and

not worth it

. Who was I supposed to tell? The police? They were clearly really excited to mark me down as dead to begin with! Teachers? Aldera fucking sucked and even you know that! A friend? You’re the only friend I’ve got and you would’ve never believed me about the shit I saw that day mom died!” 
 
“What about the heroes then, dumbass?! You could’ve told them!” 
 
“The heroes were the ones who killed mom!” The exclamation is harsh, practically acid falling from his lips. Katsuki shakes his head and murmurs a quiet denial. “Yes!” Izuku pushes on, “I

watched

as the heroes tossed her away like she meant nothing to go after the villain instead! From a roof three storeys high, head first! She landed that way! Head. First! They

killed her,

Katsuki! And still got nothing but praise for their capture of that villain! Meanwhile, mom was just listed as

an unfortunate accident.

A

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

scenario! And apparently I was too.”  
 
Katsuki shakes his head, his mind warring with him, “You… you’re lying! You have to be! Heroes wouldn’t do that!” 
 
“But they did! Whether you can accept it or not, it still happened!” 
 
“Even if I hadn’t believed you, you still could’ve told me!” He insists.
 
“After this shitshow? No fucking thank you!” 
 
He curls his hands into tight fists, “God, why are you being-!”
 
“Why am I being, what? Hmm? What am I being? A nuisance? A waste of time?! I get it! That’s why I didn’t even try this shit to begin with! It was easier to just keep my mouth shut and live on the streets than worry myself to death on how I was going to be treated in the system! Of how I was going to continue being treated in school, regardless of what school I ended up going to! I don’t even fucking trust heroes anymore! There are good ones but most of them are in it just for themselves or the money and the fame! So tell me, what exactly am I being right now? Huh?” 
 
“You’re being such a…!” His mind searches for the correct word and only one comes to mind, though it’s far from correct, “Such a

DEKU!

” 
 
All fight leaves them both in an instant at that. Katsuki’s palms stop smoking immediately at the ice he just threw over their screaming match. Katsuki watches with wide eyes as emotions jump across Izuku’s face. From cold anger to deep hurt then gut wrenching betrayal. “I… I didn’t mean that,” He says quietly, “I promise, Izuku. I didn’t mean it.”
 
Izuku’s eyes fill up with tears before he turns on his heel and sprints away from the coffee shop. Katsuki shouts his name. He thinks he hears Eijirou do the same. He’s not worried about him right now. He’s worried about Izuku. He’s made a mistake… He’s made a huge mistake! If only he could’ve kept his anger in check this one time! 
 
He continues calling out for Izuku, throwing out apologies with every other cry. The boy turned the corner into an alley. Katsuki desperately followed. When he did, he slumped in anguish. Izuku was nowhere to be found and the alleyway was a dead end. Where did he go? His heart sinks further as he looks around the alley, trying to see if there was somewhere he could be hiding. There’s no such place. He collapses back against the wall of the alley. 
 
Eijirou joins him a second later, just standing next to him, “I don’t see him anywhere… What was all that about? What did you call him?”
 
He stays silent for a long moment before letting out a shaking breath and telling him, “I fucked up… I fucked up so badly… I promised. I promised myself I would never call him that again. God, why did I fucking do that…?”
 
“... ‘Cause you were upset.”
 
Katsuki scoffs, “Don’t make excuses for me, Shitty Hair. I called him fucking

useless.

That’s what Deku means. What kind of friend does that?”
 
“One that’s hurting. One that feels like they were left out of the loop for no reason. Obviously I’m not saying you should be off the hook for saying it. But it’s clear that you just said it when you were upset. Especially when you chased him down while shouting apologies and his name instead of just ‘Nerd’ like you normally call him,” Eijirou places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes it lightly, “It’ll be okay bro! We’ll find him and you can apologize for real! Then we’ll all be chill again. Maybe we can help him too!”
 
He hopes Eijirou is right. He won’t know how to live with himself if Izuku doesn’t want to be his friend anymore.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shouta wishes he could say he dropped everything to go to the location Nedzu provided for Gyokuto. However, he is just a semi functional adult that was doing semi functional adult things. Mainly paperwork and grading, because that's a thing. And there was a lot of it. It’s definitely a few days before he can get around to it.
 
When he finally does get time to go, it's during his normal patrol hours. He will say he's not actually on patrol. He hopes to meet the kid inside or at least stake out until he can talk to him again. He was almost sure that Nedzu would've given him the kid's identity too but his boss kept quiet about it. It's another case where Shouta knows that Nedzu knows something but that it'll be more "fun" if Shouta discovers it himself. Fun for Nedzu, just to have that clarification out there.
 
He touches down on the street at the location  sent. He pulls out his phone and calls Nedzu, "What am I looking for?"
 
"Oh, you're at the location I sent you?"
 
"You mean you can't see me standing here in one of your many hacked street cameras?" He asks back snarkily. 
 
There's a beat of silence. Shouta sighs as he realizes what the Chimera wants, "Yes, Nedzu, I am at the location you sent me."
 
"Excellent! Turn slightly to your right and then tell me if you see the traffic camera on the nearby light post." Shouta grits his teeth. Of course he's treating this like a game. He turns as instructed - knowing it was just better to play along - and gives Nedzu an affirmative when he spots the camera. "Good. Now do you see down the street in the same direction you're facing the camera sitting on the next light post?"
 
He looks down the street and spots it, "Yeah I see it. Is there a point to this?"
 
"Yes! Between the two cameras, about ten or so steps is an alley that has a fire escape. Head up it. Either search for an open window or try the roof access door. One of the two should let you into the building the fire escape is connected to. Your kit lives there."
 
Shouta doesn't bother to correct him on the "Your kit" part. He's thought of the kid as his and Hizashi’s since almost the beginning so it's not wholly incorrect. He makes his way over to the alley that Nedzu told him about and hops up onto the fire escape. As he climbs towards the top of the building using it, he checks each window with a quick tug to see if any of them are unlocked and functional enough to open. None of them give. The roof access door, it is then. 
 
The door doesn’t give any kind of resistance except for a squeaky hinge. It wasn’t even locked. Shouta wonders if it even could still lock. The inside of the stairs leading down from the roof are relatively clean. It wouldn’t be that strange if the building hadn’t been abandoned for so long. Instead, it’s a relatively big clue that someone is living here. Someone’s cleaning them as if they’re an entryway. There’s even a pair of slippers sitting just inside the door. 
 
Because to Gyokuto, this is the front door of the place he calls home. 
 
It breaks his heart more than he’d ever admit. That this kid who deserves warmth and love treats an abandoned building as his home. He’s glad Hizashi’s not with him. The blonde would’ve started crying immediately as soon as he saw the slippers. Shouta steps carefully down the stairs, ensuring that his steps are quiet in the event Gyokuto is here resting or whatever it is that homeless vigilante kids do. The access entry stairs open up into a hallway. There's another set of stairs at the end that leads to the lower floors. It’s blocked off currently by several pieces of what seem to be old furniture. A few desks and the seats of chairs. Some whole chairs as well. Several old cabinets. There’s even a door leaning up against one side. 
 
No sign of the kid yet, if he’s even here right now. 
 
There’s two doors on the hallway’s left and two open door frames on the right. More than likely the right side is a set of bathrooms but the signs that are typically above the entrances are long gone. Shouta carefully approaches the nearest door on his left. He slides it open as quietly as possible. The room is smaller than he expected but that might be because several more office furniture pieces have been shoved to the far side of the room. It’s probably the pieces that couldn’t fit out the door without the kid removing it entirely from the frame. 
 
The inside is packed full of various tools and scrap metal. There’s also what appears to be half finished weapons and armor in the making sitting on various surfaces and on the ground. The kid seems to be making his own support gear for his vigilante work. But Shouta’s never seen him use any of it. He steps further into the room as he wonders why. He gets his answer as soon as he sees the wall of the room that it shares with the other room in the hall. There’s several rudimentary blueprints pinned up to it. Alongside of it is a note that reads: Need a welder to finish projects. Est. price 10,000 yen.

Replace soldering kit. Est. price 4,100 yen. (IMPORTANT!)

See if Wanatabe-san has any cheaper material suppliers that she knows of.
 
Beside it is another sheet of paper that has numbers written all over it. They’ve been crossed out and re-written several times. Sometimes going down, others going up. Clearly the kid’s been keeping track of his finances. His attention turns back to the blueprints, specifically those for the armor he’s trying to build. It’s certainly impressive too. Lightweight but well padded and full of protection implementations. Gyokuto would have little to worry about if he could finish it and if it worked to his written specifications. With the level of detail on the blueprint, it’s almost certain it wouldn’t fail either. 
 
Majima would have a fit if he could see this kid’s work. Just another person Shouta will have to introduce him to when he gains his trust back. Nemuri and Tensei will get first introductions though. They’ve insisted as the kid’s new aunt and uncle. Maybe Shouta can also introduce him to Tensei’s younger brother, Tenya. Both are about the same age. Tenya’s uptight and strict personality would probably benefit from having a more chaotic soul like Gyokuto as a friend. 
 
He puts that thought on the back burner and heads out of the makeshift workshop. He remembers to close the door behind him and moves on to the second room. Once again, he opens the door quietly to not startle anyone inside. Once again, the room has no child in it. This is clearly where Gyokuto considers his living area though.
 
In one corner is a bed, if it can be called that. Various blankets and pillows piled on the floor in an attempt to make something of a futon or a mattress. Several more blankets lay strewn near the end of it, clearly being the ones that Gyokuto uses to keep warm at night. Near it, also against the wall, are several stacks of clothes. Certainly not enough that a kid Gyokuto’s age should have but more than Shouta was honestly expecting. 
 
They’re folded (Poorly but that’s besides the point) into piles based on what type of clothing they are. One stack of pants, about six pairs. One of short sleeved shirts, maybe five. Several pairs of socks and a good pile of underwear, Shouta’s not bothering to count those. About thirteen long sleeved shirts. And five hoodies. Shouta’s sure there’s a sixth that the kid’s wearing right now. He believes the kid must be eternally cold due to the fact that he probably suffers from something like iron deficiency anemia thanks to his size and his diet. 
 
Next to the pile of clothes are a pile of books. A quick glance at them shows them to be school textbooks. They’re older to be sure but still in fairly good condition. There’s a few that have several sticky note tabs sticking out of them every several pages. Only some of the textbooks seem untouched but that may just be because Gyokuto hasn’t gotten around to reading them yet. Not to mention the subject matter. There’s a couple that make sense for the age that Shouta guesses the kid is at but there are several that are above his grade level.

Far above.

Subjects like advanced calculus and trigonometry, university level chemistry and biology, and even one on high level mechanics and engineering. This must be how the kid keeps his mind so sharp.
 
Shouta moves away from the clothes to the opposite side of the room. There’s a small camp stove sitting on the ground with various pots and pans. There’s also several food items sitting around. It’s nothing perishable though. Just cans, snacks like granola bars, and a single loaf of bread. It’s pretty fresh from what he can tell. A slight glance to the left shows a single table… well it’s actually an old office desk that’s been refashioned into a table. There’s a few plates and cups sitting on top of it. Not many. And arranged in a certain fashion on the table. As if the kid had been working on something and was having something to eat while doing so. 
 
Shouta carefully approaches the table. There’s notebooks and various sheets of paper scattered across the surface. The sheets of paper are various items that Gyokuto needs as well as their cost. Similar to the note about the need for a welder in his workshop area. He shifts those all to the side to focus on the open notebook. There’s a pen sitting in the crevice of the spine. It’s open to a new page with the basic information for some new hero named Necromancer, Necro for short. It seems his quirk, as far as the kid can tell from observation, lets others who make eye contact with him see the image of a deceased friend or family member. An interesting quirk to be sure. Very telling that they became a hero. Shouta is almost certain he faced backlash for wanting to become a hero with a quirk like that. He’s sure that they faced some kind of discrimination for a villains quirk too. Much like himself. 
 
The rough sketch of the hero is quite impressive too. Nemuri would be drooling over the kid’s art skills. God, he hopes he can introduce them soon. He travels backwards in the notebook; Taking note of all the info the kid has on all the different heroes listed in it. Each one is also labeled at the top with a category: Safe, Caution, and Do Not Interact. It’s not hard to figure out what it’s for. He eventually makes it to the first page and carefully closes the book, making sure the pen stays in the spine of the page that Gyokuto was working on, so he doesn’t lose his place. 
 
His eyes slowly widen as he sees the front of the notebook.

Hero Analysis for

the Future

Survival - Midoriya Izuku.

Midoriya Izuku. Gyokuto and Midoriya are the same person. No wonder Nedzu kept it to himself for so long. He probably took great entertainment in knowing that Shouta would be so shocked to find out. He groans quietly to himself. He can’t even be all that upset. Nedzu did what he asked. He found Gyokuto. The fact that the child that he was looking for and the child Hizashi was looking for were the same person was just more entertainment for the Chimera. And less work for himself.
 
He sighs softly and grabs the chair at the desk. He sits down in it heavily, crossing his arms with a slouch and tucking into his capture scarf to take a small nap. He’ll wait here as long as he has to for Gyokuto- No, for Midoriya Izuku to return to the place he calls home. He’ll apologize for making him feel afraid that night over a week ago. 
 
Then he’ll give him an offer of a real home to come back to.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Stupid, stupid, Stupid!

Izuku thinks to himself as he races back towards his hideaway.

Why did I have to go and get myself shot by those damn thugs? You accounted for the quirks! You accounted for the knives! So why the hell didn’t you account for the damn gun, Izuku?! I’m still healing from being stabbed by an urchin spine too!

Yeah, today and tonight was definitely not a good night for Izuku. First, his known metal supplier let him know that he was going to be away for the week to visit family. Okay, that’s fine. No big deal. His projects can wait. Then, a new girl at the pharmacy he goes to for medical supplies refused him services for being quirkless. His fault. He should’ve known to go on Thursday when Matsui works. She never refuses him. So that’s on him. Then, when he went to the grocery store to pick up some food, they were all out of his favorite kind of canned soup. And there’s no way he’s going to settle for anything other than the kind he likes, thank you very much!
 
Then… patrol happened. 
 
He had run into no less than two attempted assaults, six drunken fights, three attempted muggings, and finally

the robbery.

Four people of varying quirks attempting to rob a house in the lower end supposedly because the guy inside owed them money or a favor or something. He didn’t really keep up with that. With no heroes around that he trusted and already a bit battered and bruised from previous altercations, he engaged them like the idiot he was. It had been going well until the last one standing pulled out a gun. Where did he even get a gun?! Japan’s gun laws are crazy insane! He probably had it smuggled in somehow.
 
Regardless, now he’s got a bullet wound - it luckily didn’t hit anywhere important and wasn’t life threatening - in the abdomen, he feels black and blue all over, and he’s fairly certain he’s aggravated the stab wound from that urchin spine over a week ago. Lovely. He just wants to go home, patch up, eat something from his already meager stash of food, pray that the bullet isn’t still lodged in his guts somewhere, also pray that he doesn’t get an infection from any of his wounds, and go to bed. Is that too much to ask? Knowing Izuku’s luck, probably.
 
He finally rounds the corner to the fire escape ladder of his hideout with a sigh of relief. The small leap up onto it causes more pain than he was anticipating. Both from his side and his shoulder. He weakly climbs the ladder as pain radiates across the wounds. When he makes it to the fire escape landing closest to the ground, he has to pause for a moment. He feels sick to his stomach. He pants heavily, leaning against the wall and pressing his forehead to the cool bricks. Is this pain that’s making him feel so sick? This has never happened before. His pain tolerance level is insane. Maybe he already has an infection on one of his wounds. Or it could be a quirk. Possibly a concussion? Ugh, his head does hurt… so, probably.
 
He shakes his head. This isn’t helping. He needs to focus on getting up to the roof then getting his medical supplies out to take care of this. He pushes off of the wall heavily and starts the long trudge up the metal stairs of the fire escape. It takes him about twice as long to get up to the roof but he’s not really too upset about that. He still makes it to the roof access door after all. He pulls it open tiredly, exchanging his shoes for the slippers he keeps at the entrance of the door. He resists the urge to call out that he’s home. This is no home. Just a place for him to hide from all the heroes of the world - old, new, and yet to come.
 
He glances at the door of his workshop and briefly contemplates going to work on something. He can’t finish anything until he gets that welder though, so he decides against it. He needs to patch up his wounds anyway. He trudges over to the door of his living space and opens it up. He doesn’t even open his eyes as he steps inside and closes it behind him. He sighs deeply and leans against it, keeping a hand pressed tight against the wound in his abdomen. 
 
“What the fuck, Problem Child?!” 
 
He shrieks and his eyes fly open. Has this happened before? He feels like it has. He catches sight of Eraserhead shooting to his feet from the chair he keeps at his table and racing over to him. Cold dread fills his body. What was he doing here? Eraser kneels down in front of him and looks him over with concern. He seems to take note of his bruised eye and cheekbone, minor cut on his left forearm, and his blood covered hand. Eraser reaches up a hand and pulls his hood back, gently taking his mask off right after. Not unkindly but it’s definite proof that Eraser knows exactly who he is when he doesn’t even shift at the sight of his hair and face. Instead the older man just carefully turns his head to the side to look more closely at the injuries on his face. “What happened, kid?” he asks quietly.
 
“Um…” he starts lamely, “There was a… a um… A robbery on sixth street. Four guys. I didn’t get all of my injuries from them, of course. But they were uh… the main cause of most.”
 
Eraserhead, for his part, doesn’t react or ask any questions. Just waits for him to go on with a steady hand on his shoulder. It makes Izuku feel warm for some reason. He hasn’t felt this way in such a long time. He clears his throat and continues, “So uh… Of course I tried to stop them. And I did! Don’t get me wrong! They’re all in police custody now. But uh… I… Well I… I didn’t realize that one of them… had a gun.”
 
Eraser’s eyes widened at that, asking frantically, “Did you get shot?”
 
He nods sheepishly and apologizes quietly to him, next reassuring him that it luckily wasn’t as serious as it could have been. The next thing he knows he’s being pulled into Eraser’s arms. Into a tight hug. “I’m so glad I found you then,” Eraserhead murmurs into his hair, “I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I hadn’t found you tonight. And I’m so sorry about that night after you were stabbed. We didn’t mean to make you feel so afraid. So unsafe.”
 
Against his will, Izuku’s eyes welled up with tears. This wasn’t really how he was expecting this conversation to go. He was expecting Eraser to start yelling at him for running that night. Handcuffs being placed on his wrists. Being told what he was being arrested for. He wasn’t expecting a hug and being told that Eraser was

glad

to have found him. Most people wouldn’t be glad to find him after all. He wasn’t expecting the apology either. Sure, Eraser left notes in those little bags with items in them that he was sorry but he didn’t actually believe them. He thought they were fake to try and get him to trust them. He never thought in a million years that they could’ve been real.
 
He whimpers softly and buries his face into Eraser’s shoulder. The man just holds him tighter, being extra careful of all his injuries. Izuku sniffles and pulls away after another moment. He reaches up to rub his teary eyes. “I don’t understand,” he says softly.
 
Eraser hums in question so Izuku looks up to him firmly, “I don’t understand why you worked so hard to find me… just to give me a hug and tell me you’re sorry. Aren’t you going to arrest me? You know my identity now after all. You and Hizashi figured it out that night I got stabbed with the urchin spine. You talked about how Detective Tsukauchi was coming over to bring you my file.”
 
Eraser flushes in… is that embarrassment? He reaches up and runs his hand across his stubbly cheek, “Let me be frank with you kid.”
 
“I thought your real name was Shouta,” he jokes sassily. Not really the time for his sass but oh well!
 
Eraser glares sharply at him. He grins in accomplishment. The dark haired man huffs out a sigh, “You and Hizashi are definitely going to get along

swimmingly.

As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me with that horrible joke, I didn’t know you and Midoriya Izuku were the same person until I found your notebook on the table there,” He motions to it with his head, “And Hizashi technically still doesn’t know because I haven’t told him yet.” 
 
Izuku blinks in shock, “You’re serious?”
 
“Dead, unfortunately,” Eraser deadpans back.
 
They spend the next moment just staring at each other before a snort slips out of Izuku. After that he can’t stop the loud and hysterical laughter from escaping him. It’s just too funny! He thought he had been caught! But it turns out he had fooled both Eraserhead and Present Mic to the point that they didn’t know it was him until one of them was reading his name off of one of his notebooks! Eraser doesn’t interrupt his laughter either. Just waits with a scowl for him to stop. Izuku’s grateful he recognizes the hilarity of the absurdity of the situation. It eventually dies down with a last chuckle. 
 
“Okay… That was a good laugh… Alright you’ve found both Gyokuto and Midoriya Izuku so… now what?” he asks loosely.
 
“Now we find boxes to start packing all your stuff here up,” Eraser replies, turning to look around the room.
 
“Huh?” He’s confused now. What does he mean?
 
Eraser turns his face back to him with a blank face, “You think I’m going to let you stay here by yourself now that I know the truth?”
 
His stomach falls at that, “So you… What? Want me to pack my stuff up and then you’re going to put me in the system? Drop me off at the nearest ‘home for wayward and troubled kids?’ Because if so, I think I’ll just run away now and save the orphanage the trouble of putting up with me for the next few days,

max.

”
 
“What? No!” The man almost looks offended at that, “The system’s just as corrupt as the Hero Safety Commission in my opinion. There’s no way in hell I’d chance placing you in any damned place like a local orphanage!”
 
Another loop is thrown at Izuku, “Then… What are you doing with me?” 
 
“Kid,” Eraser calls calmly, pulling out a box he found hiding at the opposite end of the room, “I’m a hero and a teacher.”
 
“Yes. This is an established fact that everyone present here knows,” he crosses his arms huffily.
 
“Which means,” Eraser continues with a roll of his eyes, “That I have my emergency foster license. I can foster you. So can Hizashi, who also has his being that he is also a hero and a teacher. With the intent to adopt you if you decide you’re comfortable with Hizashi and I.”
 
“And if it turns out that I’m not comfortable with you guys?” he asks suspiciously.
 
“Then we find you a vetted home with someone we trust where you will be comfortable. I promise our intentions are not rocket science, kid. The only thing I ask that you do is that you let Detective Tsukauchi come in and talk to you about your time as a not quite vigilante. And that you’re honest to him about it. That’s it,” Eraser sets the box down on the table, “But nothing will happen after that talk. You’ll still just stay with us like I said before.” 
 
It would be hard to lie to Tsukauchi knowing what his quirk is anyway. But he won’t tell Eraser he knows that yet. Instead he just nods slightly in acquiesce. He can do that. Not too hard to do. Eraser gives him a small smile, different from the near terrifying grin he gives criminals he’s in the middle of apprehending. The man pats one of the boxes, “Here. Start loading these up with everything you want to take from in here and your little workshop space next door. I’ll call Zashi and have him bring the car so we can get it back in one load. After I get off the phone with Zashi, I’ll patch up your wounds again; Both of them. We’ll talk about whether we should take you to the hospital after we get all your stuff in the car.”
 
“You’re letting me take stuff from my workshop?” he asks in shock. He’s ignoring the hospital comment for now. It’s going to be a no go from him anyway.
 
“Of course,” is the reply he gets as Eraser pulls his cell phone out, “You’ve worked hard on that stuff. No need for it to go to waste now. I’ll talk to the head of our support class at UA to see if he’d be willing to let you utilize the lab to finish your projects.”
 
Izuku looks at him with a new sort of star in his eyes. Even mom hadn’t been that supportive when he tinkered with things. She thought it was too much for him and it was too dangerous. To the point that he hid it anytime he tried to do any kind of mechanical work even on their broken appliances. He’s never had someone try and get him into an actual support lab to work on his projects. Warmth fills him again in a way that it hasn’t in so long. Maybe this can work. He can make it work.
 
He follows Eraser’s instructions of packing the boxes with anything he wants to keep while the older man makes a call to his husband. This is the best opportunity he’s had in a while after all. No point in wasting it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hizashi will admit that when Shouta called him and said that he needed his help right away and to bring the car, he might have panicked just a little bit. He also might break many - no more than five he swears! - traffic laws in an attempt to get to the location Shouta sent him as fast as possible. What is that location anyway? A hospital? A clinic? The scene of some horrible villain attack where his husband lay beneath the rubble of some collapsed building waiting for rescue? Okay, so maybe his mind is going out of control but he can’t help it! Shouta only says the words ‘I need your help’ in dire situations!
 
It also doesn’t help that he was asleep when he called. His still slightly sleep-fogged brain is not doing him any favors right now. 
 
He stops the car at the sent location and jumps out. Searching around, he notices he’s in an abandoned development area. Office buildings and other commercial locations were being put up here but crime was so heavy that it was abandoned half way through. Nothing seems to be broken or collapsed. Everything’s intact. There’s no police, fire trucks, or ambulances anywhere that would normally symbolize a villain fight. Huh. So what is he and Shouta doing here?
 
“Zashi!” He hears the man call, seemingly from a good bit of distance away. 
 
“Shouta?” he calls back, looking around for him but not seeing him. 
 
“Up here!” His eyes trail along the side of one of the buildings before finally catching sight of his husband standing on the fire escape at the very top. He stutters in shock before shouting up,  “What are you

doing

up there?”
 
“Visiting. And now moving,” Is his response. What? What does that mean? Shouta makes a motion for him to come up as well, gesturing to the ladder at the bottom of the fire escape that’s been pushed down to the ground. Hizashi blinks but does what he’s bid. Even if this is one of the strangest things Shouta has ever asked of him. He meets his husband up on the roof of the building, the dark haired man leaning up against the roof access door. This is quite nerve racking. 
 
“Don’t be too loud,” Shouta tells him gently, “He’s still processing things. It might frighten him if you get overly loud.”
 
He makes a sound of questioning at him. Shouta doesn’t give him a response. Just turns and enters the building. Hizashi follows him in quiet confusion. He notes the pair of shoes just inside the door and questions to himself why they seem familiar. Shouta stops at the bottom of the stairs and Hizashi joins him a second later. One of the two doors in the hallway opens and out steps a figure. Shouta grins at him, “Got everything, Problem Child?”
 
“I think I just need one more box…” Hizashi’s eyes lock with another pair of green, these dark and vivid and

oh so familiar.

The boy ducks his head with a bit of a blush, “Oh uh… Hello, Hizashi- Uh… Present Mic.”
 
Hizashi stares with a gaping jaw for a long moment before a low squeal bubbles up in his throat. He turns to Shouta with wide eyes, “You found the bean?” Shouta nods in confirmation. The whine gets a bit louder before he reigns it back in with a huge smile directed toward Shouta, “How?”
 
“Came here looking for Gyokuto.”
 
“Did you find him too?!” Hizashi’s hopeful now that they know their bean is okay.
 
“About that,” the darker haired male grins in amusement, “Hizashi, Midoriya is Gyokuto. They’re one in the same.” 
 
It takes a moment for his mind to process it. When he finally does he gasps in shocked surprise. “Wait! They’re! You mean! You met! Then I met! And they’re!” He places his hands on his face and squeaks. Then he turns to Izuku and takes his shoulders with an even wider smile, “You’re our bean! And our bunny! Our bunny bean? Our bunny bean!” He reaches out and hugs the boy close, nearly crying from how happy he feels. He feels small arms - too small - wrap around him in return and it makes him want to sob in relief. Then he freezes as the feeling of liquid registers on one of his hands. He pulls back swiftly and looks at his hands, nearly shrieking at the one that’s now covered in what he can only assume is blood. 
 
“Is he bleeding?!” He asks his husband, turning his bloody palm around to show him.
 
“Er uh… yeah,” A hand runs through dark black locks nervously, “He’s been shot. We’ve patched it up for now but he must’ve bled through the bandages already.”
 
Time ticks as Hizashi stares at him, waiting for it to be some kind of joke. He was so calm about it that surely it must be. When it’s clear he’s not joking, he shouts (not quirk assisted, thankfully), “YOU LET OUR BABY GET SHOT?!”
 
“No, I did not let our baby get shot! Our baby came back here and was already shot!” Shouta shouts back at him before he glares off at the wall, “Fuck now

I’m

doing it…”
 
“Um… I’m not a baby! I’m twelve! Almost thirteen!” Izuku pipes up next to them.
 
“Anything under eighteen is a baby, sweetheart, sorry I don’t make the rules,” Hizashi says before turning back to address Shouta with his fists firmly planted on his hips, “Why didn’t you take him to the hospital immediately, Aizawa Shouta?!” 
 
“He hates hospitals,” He responds just as Izuku also says, “I hate hospitals!”
 
Hizashi gives a groan of complaint, reaching his clean thumb and forefinger up to slightly lift his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. He takes a deep breath before turning back to his bunny bean with pleading eyes, taking one of his hands in his own, “Baby, please. I understand if you don’t like hospitals. No one does. But this is a major injury! You’re really hurt and you need to have it checked out by a professional!”
 
“Please! Please don’t make me go!” Izuku turns those big green eyes up at him in a teary, puppy dog stare. Oh No. Hizashi has a bad feeling about this as Izuku continues with, “I don’t just like hospitals, I hate them! And for good reason! Please! They’re either going to ignore me until all the quirked patients are taken care of or refuse me care for being quirkless anyway! Please don’t make me go through that again!”
 
Again. He said

again.

Which means that a hospital or even several hospitals have refused him care before for being quirkless. Hizashi has to exercise quite a bit of facial control at that. He turns a wide eyed stare to Shouta who is also standing with fire in his eyes. Hizashi briefly releases Izuku’s hand to sign to his husband,

[I’m destroying all the hospitals in a thirty kilometer radius and starting my own. Try and stop me.]

Shouta just chuckles in amusement. Izuku blushes darkly at that, looking up at him sheepishly through the fringe of his curls, “Um… I can understand sign you know… My friend taught me in case his quirk ever made him go deaf.”
 
Their baby looks quite upset after mentioning this friend. Hizashi will need to bring it up later but for now he’ll just keep it on the backburner. He reaches out and takes Izuku’s hand again, telling him firmly “Then you should know that I meant it. See if I don’t do it.” He gives his hand a squeeze as the boy chuckles, “I understand you’re reasoning for no hospitals now. Are there any doctors you can trust though? A pediatrician you’ve gone to before, even if it was way in the past? A doctor at any of the nearby clinics near here? Anyone?”
 
Izuku thinks for a moment then shakes his head, mumbling something about how if he was ever sick or hurt he just dealt with it himself. Hizashi grimaces. Now what? Izuku needs medical attention. Direly. What do they do to make sure he gets it fairly?
 
“What if we called Chiyo-san?” Shouta suggests, causing both him and Izuku to turn to face him, “Even if it’s late… Well I guess early is actually correct now, I’m sure she’d be willing to come by the house to heal him. And we know she wouldn’t discriminate like the hospitals or clinics would.”
 
“That’s a great idea, Shou!” He turns back to Izuku with a softer smile this time, “Would that be okay, listener?”
 
“Um… Who is Chiyo-san?” he asks nervously.
 
Just as Hizashi opens his mouth to tell him that she’s the school nurse at UA, Shouta quickly interjects with, “Recovery Girl.”
 
A switch seems to flip in their kid’s head. His eyes widened, “The Youthful Heroine? No way! Are you sure she’d be okay to heal me? I wouldn’t be a bother to her? I’m sure there’s others that she would want to focus on first. I’m just some kid, after all. Are you absolutely sure she won’t discriminate either?” 
 
“Please,” Shouta scoffs, “As soon as she hears the words ‘child’ and ‘injured’ come out of my mouth, she’ll be at our front door faster than Ingenium. We can also personally vet her. She’ll help you, kid, and she’ll be kind doing so. If she’s not in any way, shape, or form, she’ll have to face me.”
 
“And me!” Hizashi adds for good measure.
 
Izuku looks between them then seems to roll his tongue over his teeth in thought. Then he nods, “Okay. If Recovery Girl is fine with healing me, then I guess I’m okay with her doing so. I won’t like it but I can stand it.”
 
“Perfect!” Hizashi cries, “Now, what was this about boxes you told Shou you needed one more of?”
 
Izuku stares at him for a long moment before giving him a small, soft smile. He explains that Shouta and him were packing boxes of his things that he had here to take back to their home. Hizashi is thrilled to hear this and immediately asks how he can help. The boy leads him over to a half packed box while Shouta moves into one of the rooms to look for another box. Izuku shows Hizashi how he was packing it and asks the blonde to continue packing it. Hizashi happily agrees, quickly moving to start packing the box up. Izuku moves over to a pile of items nearby to sort through what he wants to keep. Hizashi does admit he has to stop and coo over a few items that he finds. Some inventions he’s working on. A few books he’s read. There’s even a small picture frame with a photo of him and what appears to be his late mother. They sure do look alike! Down to their bright sunny smiles. 
 
Hizashi makes a mental note that there doesn’t seem to be any pictures of Izuku’s father. Odd. He wonders what happened to the man.
 
He pauses in his packing entirely as he comes across several notebooks. There seems to be about ten of them. The first few are very… childish. In that it seems like a child drew in them. Izuku’s name is written on the front along with some sloppy kanji that reads ‘hero notebook.’ There’s a number 1 written on the top corner of the cover. Hizashi flips through it with intrigue. He picks up the second one after he finishes the first. 
 
Hizashi will admit that his ADHD brain made him forget what he was supposed to be doing in favor of the notebooks. But Izuku doesn’t mention it or seem to mind. Just continues to let him look through the notebooks. At an entry in volume 5 he squeals in delight, “Shouta! Shouta come here!” 
 
The underground hero bursts back into the hallway, eyes wide in concern. When he notices that there’s no immediate danger, he turns a sharp glare to his husband. Whoops, maybe he should’ve phrased that better. Regardless, he waves him over excitedly. Shouta rolls his eyes but does come over, “What are you doing, Zashi? You’re supposed to be helping the kid pack the boxes!”
 
“Oh hush! Just look!” He holds the notebook out for him to see. 
 
Shouta stares at the pages for a few seconds before his eyes widen. He figured he would be intrigued. It’s an entry on Eraserhead after all. And a good one at that! Most of the writing on the page is very faded, a sign that it was written quite a bit ago. The only thing that is new on the page is the large note at the top that says
[SAFE]
. He knows what it means and that part makes him want to cry again. Shouta continues to read over it before calling for the kid over his shoulder, “When did you write this?”
 
“Huh?” He asks in confusion before he notices the journal opened to the Eraserhead entry, “Oh uh… that’s notebook number five, right? So I probably wrote it when I was about six or seven. Maybe as old as nine when I finally perfected all the details.”
 
“You had this level of detail when you were that young? Crazy cool…” Hizashi turns the book back to himself and continues flipping through the various heroes in it.
 
“You don’t have to pretend it’s good. You can call it for what it is, you know.” 
 
“Which is?” Shouta prompts.
 
“Creepy,” Izuku shrugs, face neutral. Like it’s normal for people to call him creepy. 
 
He is immediately offended by that for this baby of a bean. How dare anybody say anything along the lines of him being creepy! He was the furthest thing from it! He opened his mouth to tell him this but Shouta beats him to it again, “Kid, it’s not creepy. Far from it. Most hero agencies would kill to hire an analyst with your level of caliber. And as far as I know, you’ve had no formal training from anyone.” 
 
Izuku stares at both of them as if they had just given him the world on a silver platter. His voice is almost meek as he asks, “Really?”
 
Hizashi nods almost violently in confirmation. It’s lucky he didn’t give himself whiplash. Shouta gives something akin to an affirming grunt. Hizashi flips through the book for an entry that caught his eye before then turns it around to show the boy, “Look here, bean! You clearly know your stuff! You noted that Midnight’s quirk might mix with certain hormones that a person gives off to put them to sleep faster! Which is why it takes longer for people who aren’t attracted to her to fall under her quirk, because they aren’t giving off that hormone!” 
 
Izuku reaches up to rub the back of his neck, “Well… I mean, I believe that the gas her quirk is, is just an unknown type of chemical extremely similar to melatonin. But the real question that I was curious about was why attraction causes people to fall asleep faster. Dopamine is the main chemical that the brain makes in regards to the level of physical attraction for a person so that’s why I theorized that the dopamine a person gives off and the chemical in Somnambulist mix to create basically a highly sped up and super powered version of that melatonin that the brain can’t ignore. The more dopamine i.e. attraction, the more of that high powered melatonin-like substance is produced and the stronger it gets. Which also explains why people will fall asleep anyway regardless of any attraction to her since the brain produces a small amount of dopamine naturally without any outside factors. And why she only has the ability to put people to sleep and not force them into a coma. This is because the dopamine production stops as soon as the person goes into REM sleep. This also begs the question of if you could find alternate ways to force the mix without attraction. Dopamine is used in more than just attraction and arousal. It’s the ‘feel-good’ hormone for everything. So I do wonder if something like a favorite meal or a happy memory could also trip Somnambulist to work faster since those would also produce the dopamine needed…” 
 
Hizashi feels like he’s staring at this child with stars in his eyes. The level of detail and scientific knowhow this boy gives is astounding. He sighs in amazement and turns to his husband, “Oh Shou, it’s so much better on this side.” 
 
Shouta smirks knowingly, “And again I say, told you so.”
 
“Huh?” Izuku asks in confusion, finally snapping out of his rambling. 
 
“Aw nothing, bunny bean! Don’t worry!” Hizashi waves him off with a smile, “For now, let’s finish getting this stuff all packed up to go home! I’ve got to make us lunch sometime soon! Especially since I’m

fairly

certain Shou skipped dinner last night and didn’t get any breakfast this morning!”
 
“Wasn’t hungry,” Was the petulant reply from Shouta.
 
“No excuses~!” He singsongs back to him, wagging a finger at him teasingly, “One of these days I’m going to get you on a normal sleeping and eating schedule!” 
 
“Good luck with that…”
 
“And down to one cup of coffee a day!” He adds as a petty joke.
 
“Now you’re just being cruel,” the other man stalks off back into the room he was in before. Izuku starts giggling up a storm at that. Oh Hizashi wants to bottle that sound up and keep it forever. It’s so sweet! For now though, he’ll settle for finishing up getting these boxes packed and down to the car. The faster they’re done, the faster they can go home. All of them.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku blinks tiredly as he stares out the window of the car, watching the scenery pass by. Who knew packing up a few boxes, just four of them too, then ferrying them down a building could make someone so sleepy. The still bleeding wound in his side probably doesn’t help with that fact either. He yawns with a bit of a stretch and winces as said wound pulls a bit. He makes a small groan and leans his forehead against the window. He glances towards the front out of the corner of his eye as Shouta hangs up the phone. Hizashi also glances over from his spot behind the wheel, asking, “So what’d she say?”
 
“Exactly what I thought she would,” Shouta responds, putting his phone away, “She berated me for two minutes straight for not calling her before now. Then said she’d be over as soon as possible. She’s pretty sure she’ll arrive at the house about five or ten minutes after us, at most.”
 
“Perfect! That’ll give us just enough time to get Izu’s boxes into the house and up to the guest room!” He tilts his head a bit to let Izuku know he’s talking to him, “The guest room isn’t really fitted for someone your age though! So we’ll need to go shopping later!” 
 
“Shopping?” Izuku’s confused, “For what?”
 
“Well all that’s in there right now is a bed and a bedside table. So we’ll need to get you a desk and chair. A dresser for your clothes. Maybe a bookshelf? Some curtains. Another set of sheets, just for you! Oh! You’ll also need some more clothes - not too many luckily. Some more notebooks, pens and pencils! Hygiene stuff too! Soaps, brushes, combs, a toothbrush to keep in the bathroom. Need to get you some oil for those curls of yours too. They are suffering! We’ll just make a day of it!” He catches a glimpse of a bright smile on the blonde’s face.
 
“I… I don’t think I’ll need that much,” he argues as he sits back up to look at him.
 
“Of course you do, silly! You’re going to be living with us for the foreseeable future. You need things that are yours for your room!” Hizashi smiles then practically squeals with the next line, “We should get you things like books and posters and plushies too! Those are so fun!”
 
What? Why does he need things like that? He opens his mouth to argue with him again but Shouta cuts him off, “Don’t bother trying to fight him kid. When he gets something like this on his mind, he won’t let it go until it happens.”
 
“Damn straight!” Hizashi chirps happily.
 
Izuku slouches a bit at that. Shouta notices in the rearview mirror and reassures him that it won’t be as bad as he’s thinking it is. Izuku mentally disagrees wholeheartedly but he won’t say anything for now. Instead he keeps quiet the whole rest of the way back to Shouta and Hizashi’s home. When they arrive, he carefully gets out of the car as Shouta and Hizashi both move to the trunk. Hizashi opens it up and pulls one of the boxes out, “Think you can get two, babe?”
 
Shouta grunts in affirmation and takes the current box. “Um… I can carry one,” Izuku pipes up.
 
“Absolutely not!” The look Hizashi levels at him over the rim of his glasses makes his hackles stand on end, “You, sir, are injured. All you’re going to do is walk with us into the house before sitting your butt down on the couch to cuddle with Bassy until Chiyo-san arrives.”
 
“Bassy?” 
 
“That’s what Zashi calls Bastard,” Shouta tells him then grunts as Hizashi loads another box onto the one he’s holding. The blonde glares strongly at his husband, “Because she doesn’t deserve to be called that! She’s a sweet, gentle angel!” 
 
The darker haired man rolls his eyes, “Yeah. Now that she’s older than a little kitty and doesn’t beg for attention and food all day long.” 
 
Hizashi grabs the last two boxes with a scowl and a grumble. He closes the trunk and all three of them head for the front door. Despite having their hands full, Hizashi is easily able to pass the keys to Shouta who in turn is easily able to unlock the door with one hand. Izuku feels terribly guilty for not helping but can’t really say anything about it since they told him he wasn’t allowed to. They head inside and Shouta immediately heads for, what he guesses, the guest room. Hizashi motions with his head for him to go sit on the couch. He follows the instructions without a fuss. 
 
Bastard comes and jumps up next to him a moment later. She meows and kneads at his thigh to get him to pet her. He doesn’t deny her either. How could he? He’s already said he would do anything for her, including maim or kill. And he takes that promise seriously. He focuses solely on her happy purrs to the point that he doesn’t even hear the sound of a camera shutter going off. Instead, the next sound he’s actively aware of is footsteps stopping right in front of him. He looks up to find Shouta standing above him. “How’re you feeling right now, kid?” Shouta asks him.
 
He shrugs, “I’m alright. Hurting. Bleeding. But I’ve had worse. It’ll be fixed soon anyway.” 
 
A sound reminiscent of a tea kettle’s whistle resounds throughout the area. Izuku looks around for the source of the noise but Shouta just gives a look over his shoulder, hair floating with the use of his quirk, “Zashi. Stop that.”
 
“I am upset!” Is the furious reply, “I am upset, and I am allowed to be!”
 
“You are but there’s no reason to practice the art of shattering glass like an opera singer while being upset!” 
 
“Would murder be more acceptable?! Because, honey, I am tempted!” 
 
The darker haired male face palms at that with a groan, letting his quirk go, “I’m electing to not give a response to that because you know the answer!” 
 
“What’s he so upset about?” Izuku asks curiously. He can’t recall anything in particular that he’s done to make Hizashi so upset. But it was possible he did something and didn’t realize it. 
 
Shouta just waves him off with a blank look, “Nothing, kiddo. Zashi’s just being dramatic. Don’t worry, everything’s fine.”
 
Izuku shrugs. If Shouta says it’s fine, then it must be okay. Hopefully. A knock at the door catches both of their attentions. Shouta mumbles something about how it must be Chiyo-san. And now Izuku feels nervous again. His bad experiences with other members of healthcare don’t exactly help either. Not to mention he’s never interacted with the Youthful Heroine. His brain that has been fully reliant on survival for the past year and some change is freaking out over the fact that he doesn’t know if Recovery Girl is safe for him to interact with. 
 
A hand clasps his shoulder gently, drawing him out of the spiraling thoughts. Hizashi stands in front of him, bent over slightly so that they’re eye to eye. He’s smiling softly and keeping his hand as a steady and reaffirming weight on his shoulder. He takes an exaggerated deep breath which Izuku instinctively copies. Right. He’s got to remember that Hizashi and Shouta are listed as safe and that they wouldn’t bring in anybody who wasn’t also safe. 
 
“Oh dear, I hope I didn’t cause that…” Izuku tense minutely again at the sound of the older female voice. He shyly looks over to see a small old woman standing next to Shouta. If Izuku didn’t already know who she was, he would’ve never guessed she was Recovery Girl. He mumbles a low hello. 
 
“Oh dear me…” She says as she approaches him. She looks over all his injuries swiftly and tuts sadly, “This is much worse than I expected! Not to mention the remnants of that stab wound and the new gunshot wound on you, dear. You’re lucky you’re not on the floor right now!”
 
“Does that mean you can’t heal me?” he asks sadly.
 
“Oh, no, no! It just means I won’t be able to heal everything! My quirk relies on your stamina, after all. The most I’ll be able to do tonight is both the stab wound and the gunshot wound. Perhaps also some of the more dire cuts. I’m not going to push it on those bruises and scrapes though. Those will just have to heal on their own, I’m afraid.” 
 
Oh. That wasn’t so bad. Certainly better than just leaving everything to just heal on its own. He nods in understanding to her. She gives him a smile, “Alright then. Just a quick kiss on the hand and it’s over! You’ll probably fall asleep fairly quickly though, so off to bed right after young man!” 
 
“Y-yes ma’am,” He stutters. 
 
A quick peck on his hand and immediately he feels like he hasn’t slept in weeks. His limbs feel boneless. He could probably fall over. But he’s not in the amount of pain he was before. So that’s nice. He yawns loudly as Hizashi starts prodding him up off the couch. Recovery Girl moves over to join Shouta and speak quietly about something happening at UA. Izuku practically stumbles to the bedroom that he guesses is now his for the next little while. Or at least until Shouta and Hizashi decide they don’t want him anymore. 
 
He doesn’t realize that the blonde had followed him until his voice asks, “Do you have anything you can wear as jammies, listener?”
 
“Mmm… Maybe? I usually just sleep in whatever I’m wearing then change into different clothes in the morning. I think I have some sweatpants in the clothes box,” He sits down heavily on the bed with a jaw-cracking yawn, too tired to move much else. 
 
Hizashi moves over to the boxes stacked on the other side of the room. He sifts through them until he finds the box full of Izuku’s clothes and starts to search it for said pair of sweatpants. Izuku watches him with bleary eyes from his perch on the bed. Hizashi makes a small noise of triumph when he finally pulls the pair of sweatpants out of the box. He passes them to Izuku then turns his back to him to give him a bit of privacy. It’s definitely uncoordinated but the boy does get his pants changed from the cargo pants he was wearing to the infinitely more comfortable lounging pants. He tosses the cargo pants at the lip of the box, which barely hit its mark. Hizashi takes that as his cue to turn back around. 
 
Izuku shuffles weakly under the covers and lies down. The bed is very soft. Hizashi moves over and pulls the blanket up around him, tucking him in. A bit like a child. He guesses that’s fine. He is still one after all. A weight dipping into the bed makes him jump a bit. Hizashi looks over with a chuckle, “Looks like you’ve got a night time companion.” 
 
He glances over to see what he’s talking about. Just in time to see Bastard settling down at his side. “Will she be okay sleepin’ next to me? I don’t wanna, like, roll over onto her or anythin’,” he slurs out.
 
“She won’t let you do that. Trust me!” Hizashi gives the siamese a quick pet before leaning down to press a kiss to Izuku’s forehead. Izuku blinks slowly, shocked, and reaches up to press his hand to the spot. The blonde looks a bit nervous at that, probably worried that he had stepped over a line.
 
“I haven’t had anyone kiss my forehead goodnight in a long time…” he confesses quietly, “‘s kinda nice.”
 
“Yeah? I’ll remember that then,” Hizashi reaches out and ruffles his curls gently, “Goodnight, bunny bean. You sleep for as long as you need. Shou and I will see you later in the day, ‘kay?”
 
“Night…” With that final word and Hizashi’s gentle touch still lingering in his hair, he closes his eyes and falls into a deep, warm sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chiyo and Shouta wait until Hizashi and Izuku are in the guest room before turning to each other. She then swiftly and without any hesitation smacks him harshly in the knee with her cane. He grunts out in pain and bites his lip to stop from letting out a whine. She harrumps in satisfaction, “That’s for waiting so long to call me! Because yelling at you over the phone was not enough! Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if he had waited until even an hour or two more to be treated? He was very lucky as is. The bullet grazed his large intestine but didn’t puncture it, thankfully. Whether because whoever took that shot did not know how to handle a gun or because he happened to move into just the correct position, he was hit in the perfect way! A clean in and out! My work was mainly just repairing the torn muscles and busted blood vessels then stitching the hole back together. Regardless, don't go waiting again for wounds this serious next time, Aizawa Shouta, I mean it!”
 
“Yes, ma’am,” he grumbles out in compliance, rubbing at his now sore knee.  
 
“Good,” Chiyo settles her anger down then huffs out a sigh, long and sad, "He honestly had more energy than I was expecting. Still less than ideal but, given his situation, more than expected."
 
Shouta hums, "When I found where he was squatting, he had a pile of food. Mostly canned stuff but also a loaf of bread. By my estimate, it was enough for at least two meals a day."
 
"It's good that the boy was that resourceful then," Chiyo nods, "I can't imagine where his injuries would be if I had tried to heal him with even a fraction less of stamina than what he did tonight."
 
Hizashi comes out of the guest room a moment later. Shouta watches as his husband gently closes the door before turning to lean dramatically against the wall next to it. Shouta raises an eyebrow at him, "Everything okay?"
 
"He's so precious. He's so fucking precious oh my God…" Hizashi places a hand against his chest over his heart.
 
Chiyo chuckles good naturedly at his display. Shouta just rolls his eyes at the ridiculous love of his life. Hizashi gives another groan of 'cuteness overload' before pushing off the wall to join them. "So when should we conduct the interview with Tsuki and the little listener?" He asks both of them.
 
Shouta rolls his tongue over his teeth before looking to Chiyo for her advice. She drums her fingers against her cane before groaning in displeasure, "I would recommend as soon as possible. It will be painful for him mentally. But the sooner we get his statement, the faster we can start the healing process. Not to mention therapy and all the magic that comes with it."
 
Both he and Hizashi wince at that. That'll be a fun time for everyone, Shouta's sure of it. "Tonight?" Shouta asks his husband hesitantly. 
 
The blonde lets out a laugh that sounds very fake, "Might as well, I guess. I would’ve preferred to let him settle a bit. But he’ll probably be on edge until it happens if we prolong it."
 
“He’ll constantly think that that’s the day we’ll get rid of him probably,” Shouta agrees, “It’s more logical to just get it over with, I suppose. Then we can show him that we’re serious about him just staying with us.”
 
Chiyo agrees before tapping her cane against the floor lightly, “Now that we have that out of the way. I need to speak to the two of you on the best method to assist him as his new guardians. Just a few things. Dietary restrictions until we can get him back to a more healthy weight. Recommended exercises to help with bone and joint growth. Of course, I’m also going to recommend you bring him in at least every two weeks to see me to ensure he’s on the right path to recovering physically. I can keep a check on how he’s progressing.” 
 
“It’s a good thing you work at the same school we teach at, then,” Shouta crosses his arms. Hizashi gives him a tap on the arm, a quick sign of affection between the two of them, while excusing himself to go make both of them something to eat. Shouta turns back to Chiyo, “Should we go ahead and get him a session with Ryo? Even if it’s just a preliminary one to see where he’s at mentally?”
 
“That would be wise,” She nods in agreement, “I guarantee his mental stability is skewed. It’s not off or shattered, per say, but the poor thing jumped just at the sound of my voice after being led through a panic attack by Hizashi-kun. A child with good mental stability wouldn’t have either of those things occurring.”
 
“Alright, sounds good. Speaking of the school, I’d better message Nedzu to tell him Hizashi and I won’t be in today on account of sudden child acquisition.” Shouta pulls out his phone and notices a new message. He pulls up the messaging app and reads it. His eyes widen slightly before he puts his phone back away with a blank glare, “Nevermind.” 
 
“He already knows, doesn’t he?” Chiyo chuckles.
 
“Yep. All hail the Rat God.” 
 
The sound of a snort of laughter rings from the kitchen. Also the smell of something delicious is starting to waft from it. His mouth waters. Oh right, he didn’t eat last night or this morning yet. Food is a good idea right now. Very logical. What were they talking about before? Chiyo chuckles again and taps her cane against his leg, lightly this time, “I’ll write the list of diet and vitamin recommendations out for you, Shouta-kun. That way you and Hizashi-kun can settle in for a nice lunch together before your new ward wakes up. Sounds good?”
 
He shakes his head to get out of the hunger stupor again. Yes. Right. Child. They have one of those now. Chiyo is being very nice and not expecting him to listen and remember all her recommended steps for helping the boy get healthier though. Very kind of her. He gives her a rare soft smile of thanks, “Yeah, sounds great.”
 
“Would you like to join us for something to eat, Chiyo-san?” Hizashi asks from the kitchen, the sound of something frying also joining the sound of his voice.
 
“No thank you, dearie. I’ve got some lunch waiting for me at home. My granddaughter is visiting and cooking for both of us!” 
 
“Oh, that’s so nice of her!” The blonde ducks out of the kitchen for a moment to give the older woman a bright smile, “I hope you both enjoy it then!” 
 
“We will! Now let me write you up that list. Shouta-kun, you can help your husband by setting the table for the two of you while I do so.” 
 
Shouta grumbles at that but it’s more in good fun really. He was going to set the table for them anyway. It’s just funny she felt the need to mother them and tell him to do so. He focuses on getting out the cutlery and two pairs of chopsticks for them as Hizashi passes Chiyo a piece of paper and a pen. The only sounds that permeate the kitchen are that of plates and bowls being placed on the table, the scratch of Chiyo’s pen, and the last dredges of popping oil and fats from whatever Hizashi had been frying. By the time they’re all set to eat, Chiyo is handing the list to Shouta.
 
“Now try to stick to it as best as you can. A little deviation from it here and there won’t hurt him but I’d prefer to wait until we’ve got more meat on his bones before we switch his diet up to a more normal one for a boy his age,” She tells them sternly. 
 
Shouta and Hizashi both read the list. The darker haired male thinks he and his husband come to the same conclusion after they’re finished. One of them will need to go to the grocery store after they finish eating. Shouta knows how that conversation is going to go. Shouta will claim basically ‘not it’ and try to beg off due to tiredness from working. Hizashi will whine that he went last time, and the time before that… and the time before that; Which is not wrong. So Shouta will get up and go do it despite the fact that he’s only running on… however many hours of sleep he managed to get yesterday. He thinks it’s about four? Eh, whatever. He’s handled it with less before. He’ll be fine. 
 
Shouta moves to pin the diet up on the fridge as Hizashi walks Chiyo to the door. Shouta makes a brief final appearance to tell her goodbye. After the front door is closed and locked, both Shouta and Hizashi move back into the kitchen to eat. Shouta starts eating right away, starving after the night he’s had. Hizashi waits for a moment, tapping his chopstick against the edge of his bowl, “A special diet, medical checkups every two weeks for a good while, and probably several years of very rough therapy…  Not to mention that we have to get used to a whole new body being in the house. D’you think we can handle it, Shou?”
 
“Of course we can,” Shouta takes another bite of his rice, “As long as we’ve got each other for support, we can give that kid a loving home. And a slice of happiness. I’m sure of it.” 
 
Hizashi stares at him before smiling, “Yeah you’re right. Sorry. New parent jitters, I guess.”
 
“

Foster

parent.” 
 
“Still has the word parent in it!” Hizashi smirks.
 
“Shut up and eat your food. It’s going to get cold,” Shouta snips while gesturing to the blonde’s food with his chopsticks. Though he’s fighting a smile himself. They can do this. As long as they’ve got the kid and each other. They’ll be just fine and twice as happy.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Izuku wakes up, he’s warm. And he’s very confused about it. He’s never been warm after waking up. Well, not in the past almost year and a half anyway. His tiny ‘bed’ in his hideout never keeps him warm enough during the time he sleeps. Unless it’s the dead of summer and in those cases he wakes up sweltering in his skin. What month is it? Has he disassociated so badly that he’s missed several months of awareness? That’s never happened before but Izuku wouldn’t put his mind past it. He squints upwards at the ceiling. He then reaches up a hand to rub at his eye, hoping to clear the blurry vision he’s currently suffering from.
 
It has to be blurry, right? The ceiling of his hideaway isn’t that color. Is it? No, he’s certain now that it’s not. The ceiling of his hideaway is white, not this soft beige that he’s seeing. He blinks harshly and attempts to sit up. A weight on his chest impedes him though. He makes a small sound of confusion and glances down. Laying on his chest, happily purring away and dead asleep, is a cat. When did he get a cat? How did he get a cat up a fire escape?
 
He shifts again, finally managing to sit up. The cat rolls off down his chest into his lap and gives off a chirping meow as they wake. Izuku blinks down at them. It looks like Shouta and Hizashi’s cat… Oh shit! It is Shouta and Hizashi’s cat! The whole morning rushes back to him in an instant and he remembers that he agreed to stay with them. Oof, that’s a lot to take in fully at once. Bastard pips another meow at him, batting at his face curiously as he just stared out at the wall blankly for a moment. He runs a hand over her in a heavy pet. She purrs happily at the feeling before rolling off him as he nudges her. 
 
He stands in a slight stumble, grogginess still weighing him down. He yawns as he pads out of the bedroom. The living room is empty so he turns the corner to go to the kitchen. He glances down and sees Bastard trotting next to him, brushing his ankle any time it comes close enough to her. He smiles at her and heads into the kitchen. He pauses to watch as Hizashi practically dances around the kitchen to put things away in the cabinets. Izuku guesses that they must’ve had something to eat while he was asleep and now the limeighter was cleaning up. He briefly wonders where Shouta’s gone. To take a nap, maybe?  
 
Bastard rushes around him to meow happily up at Hizashi and demand something to eat. He turns at the sound of her before giving a grin to the pre-teen now haunting the kitchen entrance, “Well good morning, sunshine!”
 
“... Isn’t it aftern’n?” he slurs out.
 
“Yep! About two. You’ve been asleep for around nine hours now. Honestly, I wasn't expecting you up for another hour or so. Chiyo-san said she healed quite a bit on you!” The blonde turns to lean against the counter, hand coming down to pet Bastard’s head as she stretches up to rest her paws on his thigh. 
 
 He sinks down into a chair at the kitchen table with a grunt of acknowledgement. He reaches up to rub at his eye again with a yawn, asking through it, “Wh’re’s Sh’ta?”
 
Hizashi’s brows furrow and it takes him a moment to realize what he’s asking, “Oh! Shou? He ran to the grocery store. You’re on a diet for the next little while and we need ingredients to ensure we can make the stuff you can eat!” 
 
“A diet?” He whines. 
 
“Yep!” He chuckles as Bastard moves from him to hop up onto the table to demand more pets out of Izuku, “Cans of beans, soup, and some vegetables as well as loaf of bread aren’t exactly the healthiest thing for you to eat all the time, Bunny bean. We’ve got to supplement your diet until you’re back up to a healthy weight. Then we can go back to more normal foods!” 
 
“But I tried so hard to eat normal and healthy!” He cries, “I had vegetables, proteins, and grains… I… I tried!” 
 
“Sweetheart, no that’s not why we’re doing it. We don’t think you didn’t try. We know why you ate the way you did and we’re so proud of you for doing so. You’re a lot healthier than most kids who ended up on the streets! But there’s just some vitamins and minerals you were missing.” 
 
“Like what?”
 
“Calcium, just as one example,” Hizashi pushes up his glasses patiently, “Without a regular amount of calcium in your diet, you’re very likely to break a bone as they slowly get more brittle over time. When was the last time you had any milk? Or Yogurt? Cheese or anything like that?”
 
“Um… I had a cheeseburger two weeks ago from some American themed restaurant. It was a treat to myself when I finally saved up the money for it.” He doesn’t mention how he immediately felt sick over it about two hours after eating.
 
“‘Two weeks ago’ is the key part of the sentence there, listener. I promise this diet is not the end of the world. It’s not bad at all and it won’t last forever. It’s just for a little while. We’ve pinned it up on the fridge, if you’d like to read it,” Hizashi points over to the piece of paper pinned to the fridge via a magnet, “It’s also got a list of supplementary vitamins that you’ll need to take for a bit too.”

Izuku gets up and moves to stand in front of the fridge, reading the list. Oh… It really isn’t that bad. A recommendation to stay away from fried foods and large portions for a bit (That might have been why he felt sick after the cheeseburger), have at least one serving of a high protein meat with each meal, a serving or two of fruits a day, and at least a pint of cream milk or a serving of yogurt a day as well. Good thing he’s not lactose intolerant. 
 
“What about the vitamins listed? Do you know what I’d have to take them for?” He remembers a few of them from his personal studies, like C and D, but not all of them. 
 
Hizashi’s eyes squint a bit in discomfort, “Hmm… Honestly, no. I’m no good at that stuff. It’d be best to ask Chiyo-san for a full explanation of each one when you have a checkup with her. I do know that the B12 listed is for replenishing red blood cells just from what I remember from health and nutrition class back in high school. Should help you with your recent injuries and your anemia.”
 
He blinks at that, “I have anemia?”
 
Hizashi chuckles, not cruelly but just in subdued amusement, “Baby, yes. It’s a bit obvious even when you just look at you. You

live

in your hoodies, bunny bean. I admit that I don’t like the house to be too warm but you’re still wearing your sweatshirt even though it’s probably about twenty-two degrees celsius in here.” 
 
It takes a moment to click but when it does, he exclaims, “Oh THAT’S why I’m always so cold!” 
 
Hizashi laughs again and confirms that. That makes so much sense to him now! He did wonder why he always felt the need to get warmer clothes even in the warmer months after about six months of being on his own. He was suffering from anemia! How did he miss that? He remembers reading about the condition not even that long ago in a medical textbook he found. Did he seriously just read about it and go ‘haha that’s crazy close to how I feel regularly, good thing I don’t have that’ or something?
 
Well, he’s definitely not fighting that diet now! It’s a good thing Recovery Girl knew of a diet off the top of her head that would help him! It probably would’ve taken him forever to find a nutritionist to see about it! He can tell Hizashi knows that he’s realized this too. The blonde just smiles widely and moves over to the fridge, “I’m guessing you’re probably a bit hungry right now. It’s a good idea to eat something anyway since Chiyo-san sapped up your energy to heal you. I don’t want to do anything big since I’ll be making us an early dinner so…” After looking for a moment he closes the fridge and moves over to a bowl full of fruit on the counter instead, “Orange, apple, or banana?”
 
The question kind of catches Izuku off guard. He thinks about it for a moment. It’s been quite a while since he’s had any of those food items. Fruits in general were rare for him out of the streets. “Apple,” He eventually settles on, remembering that they’re both crisp and sweet.
 
Hizashi snaps out two finger guns at him. He pulls out an apple from the bowl and a knife from a nearby drawer. He goes about coring and peeling the apple before cutting it into slices. Izuku wanted to protest that he didn’t have to do that but felt like Hizashi would probably say something along the lines about how he didn’t have to but wanted to. So he just sat patiently, waiting for the man to finish. Soon, a plate full of apple slices and a glass of water are set down in front of him. Hizashi also grabs Bastard and sets her down on the floor so she’s not sniffing at the plate of food. He thanks Hizashi for the food. Just as he’s about to pick up one of the slices, one of the blonde’s hands covers his own. He looks up at him in confusion.
 
“Listener,” Hizashi starts, softly and calmly, crouching down to be at his level and look him in the eyes, “I want to go ahead and warn you now. Shou is also going to meet Detective Tsukauchi while he’s out and both are going to walk back here together. We’re going to go ahead and have you get the talk with him out of the way. I know it’s going to be scary especially because you probably think we’re going to try and get rid of you afterwards but after it’s done, I

promise

you that nothing will change. This is your home now. Nothing you say or tell him will change that.”
 
Izuku’s stomach flips with nerves. He’s going to have to talk with the detective? Today? That’s so fast! His appetite fades a bit as anxiety roils through him. Hizashi squeezes his hand tightly, “Baby, take deep breaths. Nothing at all is going to change, okay? I just wanted you to be a bit prepared mentally when he gets here. I didn’t want you to panic over him showing up suddenly like last time.” 
 
“You… Y-You promise nothing will change?” he asks hesitantly, “Even knowing a lot about why I was out on the streets and being a vigilante?” 
 
“Yes, of course. I absolutely promise. On my hero license!” Hizashi chuckles a bit, eyes full of an emotion that Izuku can’t quite pinpoint. It looks familiar though… Another set of green eyes, slightly darker than the blondes, looked at him like that before. Hizashi smiles widely and states, “I would

gladly

give that up than let anything happen to you, bunny bean. Shou feels the same way too, I know he does. We would never,

ever

make you leave or let anyone take you. We would only let you go if that’s what you wanted and only if it was somewhere safe and warm where you could be happy.”
 
Izuku nods in understanding, feeling his heart rate settle down at the adamant reassurances. Hizashi lets go of his hand and Izuku finally picks up an apple slice to nibble on. It reignites the hunger he was feeling and soon he’s scarfing down the rest of the apple pieces. Meanwhile, Hizashi tells him random stories about things that he and Shouta had done during their high school years together. Izuku can’t help but laugh when Hizashi tells him the story how they first met at UA’s sports festival in their second year; At how Hizashi had cockily believed that Shouta was an easy target in the finals only to be beaten into the ground within

minutes

of their match starting. It’s more than amusing to say the least. 
 
Hizashi was right. He can do this. He’s been assured over and over that everything will be fine. He decides to trust them for now on this. If it turns out that they’re correct, maybe he’ll trust them even more later on.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Tsukauchi will admit, he was having a good morning. He wrapped up a very volatile case the night before and actually got to go home somewhat early. Makoto said she had had a good day at school. They both got to sit down and have a nice meal together for once in a long while. Then he went to bed and got a nice, full nine hours of sleep for once with no interruptions on a new case. He even got to get up and have some coffee at home before going back into the precinct instead of having to stop and buy it on the way. It was nice.
 
Then Aizawa calls and says he needs to come by his and Mic’s home to talk to Gyokuto.
 
This doesn’t… ruin it, per say. He’s mostly extremely confused. The boy ran out on them that night over a week ago when he heard that Tsukauchi was coming over. How on earth did the two find him and convince him to come back to their home? Guess that’s a question for when he gets there. 
 
Aizawa decided that they would meet at the corner near a local grocery store that the other man would be visiting to pick up some ingredients and other food items. Then they would both walk to the home the Erasure hero shared with the Voice hero. Tsukauchi is waiting on the corner where Aizawa said they would meet, reviewing his questions. He had so many for the boy but he knew he should limit himself so as to not make the literal child uncomfortable. Well, more uncomfortable than would be average for a conversation slash interrogation like this one. 
 
He sighs as he finally decides on which questions he’s going to ask when Aizawa finally joins him. The hero is carrying multiple bags in his arms and greets him softly, “Thanks for coming, Nao.”
 
“Sure… am I allowed to ask how you got this meeting to occur?” he asks skeptically.
 
“You can. But it’s probably better to wait until we get there to explain,” The man replies easily.
 
True.
The passive part of his quirk immediately starts doing its job. Well. That’s interesting. What’s so groundbreaking that it’s better to wait for the explanation? He doesn’t push it and instead quietly follows Aizawa towards his home. When they get to the front door, Aizawa pulls out his keys and says, “Zashi’s probably warned the kid you’re coming. He’s got a bit of a weird mental state that makes him distrustful of adults in general, but especially heroes and police officers to an extreme level. I’m just warning you now, he may not cooperate easily which will make your job harder but please don’t push him too hard on some things. We’re still trying to fully gain his trust.”
 
True.
It shouldn’t surprise him. It doesn’t really. The kid had run out of the Yamada-Aizawa home via a window in the bathroom when just hearing that he was

coming over

last time. For the kid to know he’ll actually have to talk to Tsukauchi probably has him freaking out a bit. He reminds himself that Aizawa is right. He needs to play a little bit nicer than normal. While this is somewhat of an interrogation, it’s more of an interrogation to see who harmed Gyokuto and how to help him. The boy isn’t going to trust him because he has no reason to. And that’s fine. He’s allowed after the year he’s had. He takes a deep breath to steady himself and nods to Aizawa in understanding. 
 
The other man returns the nod and opens the door, calling out that he’s home. Yamada’s voice calls back that they’re in the kitchen. Aizawa swiftly heads that way and voices are heard as he assumes Yamada and Aizawa move to put away the groceries. Tsukauchi makes his way into the kitchen, wary of the skittish child they have in there. Then he freezes in the doorway.
 
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he groans tiredly. Because sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of water, is Midoriya Izuku. The boy stares back at him with nervous eyes and even more nervous energy.
 
“Tsuki!” Yamada whips around to hiss at him, “Don’t curse like that in front of the baby!”
 
“Don’t curse in front of-? You told me I was meeting with Gyokuto!” 
 
“You are,” Aizawa intones. 
 
True.
What? What does… Oh no. He pulled a Nedzu, didn’t he? Aizawa gives off that horrifying grin of his, “Nao, meet Midoriya Izuku, also known as Gyokuto.”
 
Tsukauchi is going to have an aneurysm. Or commit murder. One of the two. He lets out an extremely frustrated sigh, “Is this also the reason why Nedzu hasn’t called to tell me Midoriya had been found?”
 
Aizawa shrugs, “Probably. You know he finds our struggles entertaining.”
 
True.
Unfortunately. He huffs out another breath and pinches the bridge of his nose. It’s okay. It’s fine. He can do this. He moves over to sit in the chair across from the boy. The boy he just learned is both legally deceased thanks to the stupidity of some officers at his place of work and also apparently a high profile vigilante. “Alright then, Izuku,” he starts, “We’ve never met in person but I’m Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. It’s nice to finally meet you.” 
 
The boy mumbles a half-hearted return of the sentiment. Tsukauchi nods, “Let’s get right to the nitty gritty of it. Aizawa and Yamada have asked me to come in and interview you. I’ll be recording the whole process on this tape recorder,” He pulls said tape recorder out of his breast pocket to set on the table for the boy to see, “to be referred back to in the future and be used in the event we can make a case that can go to court. If you need a break at any time, we can stop for a bit. Don’t feel pressured to force yourself to give answers right away if you need a minute to think about it. Another thing you need to be made known is my quirk. It’s called Lie Detector. It allows me to know if a person is lying based on whatever it is that they’ve just told me. I urge you to be truthful with me from the get go because I will unfortunately know if you’re lying to me. It’ll just make this process a whole lot faster.”
 
Midoriya takes that all in and nods, “Okay. I understand. I doubt a case would be necessary though.” 
 
“There will be at least one but I don’t need any kind of statement from you about that one. Trust me at least on that.” Midoriya nods again in understanding. He folds his hands on the table and levels an even stare at the boy, “Now… would you like for this interview to be just between us or would you like Yamada and Aizawa to stay?”

“They can stay. If they aren’t told now, they’ll probably have to hear it from someone else anyway,” Midoriya shrugs, “Might as well just let them hear it from the source.” 
 
True.
Good, it makes his job much easier. He was right, after all. He knows the two signed for guardianship rights over Midoriya. He would’ve had to tell them later if the boy insisted the two not sit in on the interview. He nods with a small smile before reaching out to press the record button on the tape recorder, speaking slowly and concisely, “This is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, conducting an interview with Midoriya Izuku, age twelve, also known as Gyokuto. Also present in the interview is Aizawa Shouta, hero name Eraserhead, and Yamada Hizashi, hero name Present Mic, who have assumed guardianship over Midoriya. The time is fourteen oh three on Sunday October 10th of 2X12.”
 
Tsukauchi opens his notebook to the page with his interview questions, “We’ll start with something simple. What is your full name and age?"
 
"Midoriya Izuku. I'm twelve."
 
"True.
Alright. Now for something a bit harder. What was the day that you became an orphan?”
 
“Hard to forget, really. July 20th of 2X11.”
 
“
True.
And how did it occur exactly?”
 
“I was out with my mom, we were shopping for something. I don’t remember exactly what now but I had noticed a hero battle going on a few streets over. I broke away from her to go watch the action; I was really obsessed with watching them. She called to me to try and get me to come back but I didn’t listen. I watched the fight at the sidelines like all the other bystanders and then followed as the hero and villain both headed back towards where mom and I first were. She died there. I saw it happen.” 
 
“
True.
How did she die?” Tsukauchi pressed.
 
“I can’t tell you.”
 Oh boy, he’s already reached resistance… they're only four questions in! He just told them he saw it happen! Now he’s saying he can’t tell them? He thinks the boy is just being flippant or purposely uncooperative. “Midoriya-san, please, I really need you to cooperate-” 
“Detective,” Midoriya interrupts, face oddly set into a fierce determination, “Listen to me carefully, I’ll say it again:

I can’t tell you.”

Tsukauchi jolts as he realizes what the boy wanted him to see. Wanted him to

hear.

Aizawa sighs like a disappointed parent beside him (he kind of is now), “Kid, c’mon. Don’t be difficult.”
 
“Aizawa… He’s telling the
truth.”
 
 
He can feel the confusion rolling off the other two adults in waves. Hell, he’s confused himself. He asks Midoriya to explain what he means. The kid leans back and crosses his arms over his chest, “What I mean is, if I tell you, it would upset every single balance of the world as we know it. And I refuse to be the one who lights the fuse to that bomb.”
 
It’s a heavy sentence. And it all rings,
“True.”
Tsukauchi swallows heavily at that. “Okay… Do you have any other family?” he asks next.
 
“No. My grandparents both passed away either before I was born or when I was really little. I didn’t even really know any of them. My parents were both only children. So no aunts or uncles either.”
 
“True.
What about your father? There was no mention of him in your file except from when you were very young.” 
 
The kid takes a deep breath, almost in a way that seems like a mindless recitation, “He lives in America after my parents' very amicable divorce when I was five and wants nothing to do with me due to my quirk status.”
 
Tsukauchi jolts back at his quirk’s response to that. What the fuck? Yamada notices and asks him what's wrong. “I don’t really know…” he admits honestly, “I’ve never had a sentence come back through my quirk as both the
truth
and a
lie
before…”
 
“It… what? It came back… both?” Yamada blinked at him in confusion. Even Aizawa raises an eyebrow in shocked confusion. He’s very confused too. Midoriya doesn’t look shocked by that though. Odd. Unless… “Midoriya, do you know why that is?” He asks off a hunch.
 
“I have a theory,” he says, “It’s true that that’s what I’ve been told my whole life since he was gone. But it also registers as a lie because I don’t believe it.”
 
He was right. Aizawa did say that the kid had an amazing ability with determining quirks and figuring out how they work.
“True.
You don’t believe it?” 
 
“No. The truth is, I don’t know what happened to him. Not really. But I do have another theory based on my memories of that time,” The child - oh God, he’s a

child

he shouldn’t have possibly highly accurate theories on his quirk without years of training. How smart is this kid? - reaches up to tap his chin, eyes closed in thought, “It was after my doctor’s appointment; The one where they diagnosed me quirkless. Hate that word by the way. Diagnosed. As if me not having a quirk makes me ill somehow. Anyways it was maybe three or four weeks later. My father was very… displeased, we’ll say, that I hadn’t developed a quirk and now showed that I would never develop one at all. He was angry… all the time. After a few days of his nonstop anger, mom asked me to stay out of his path whenever he was home. To just stay in my room until he went to bed or left. She was afraid he would get violent if he saw me, I think. She was right.”
 
“True.”
His breath hitches but Midoriya doesn’t seem to notice, just continues, “I happened to be heading to my room one afternoon after finishing a snack in the kitchen. Usually my father came home like clockwork, it could always be expected he would be home at that exact same time every day. Not a minute later or earlier. Not that day though. He came home a few minutes early after a rough day at work. I was already a disappointment and now I was clearly in the way. So he hit me.”
 
“True.
Do you remember how?”
 
“Can’t forget it even if I wanted to. I was five years old and the memory of it is still burned into my brain. He backhanded me across the face.” Midoriya takes his right hand and copies the motion of a swift backhanded strike then taps his right cheek, “Three of his nails cut my cheek. His knuckle caught my nose and fractured it. My lip was split and my right eye was black too. But the worst part? He was going to do more than that.”
 
“True…”
Oh God, he feels a bit sick. How could it get worse?! “Do you know how he was going to do worse?”
 
“My father’s quirk was fire breath. He could exhale literal flames. He held me by the shoulders and tried to breathe his fire directly into my face. I think he was trying to kill me with it. He only didn’t get the chance because my mom used her own quirk on him. Attraction of small objects. She targeted his nose bone with it and forced him to turn his head by pulling it with her quirk. She broke it in the process. He was really pissed about that too.” 
 
Oh God he shouldn’t have asked! It’s worse! It’s way worse and it’s all ringing,
“True.
Wh-what-” He clears his throat to regain a bit of his composure, “What happened next?”
 “She rushed over and pushed him off of me. She told me to go to my room and stay there until she came to get me. I had just been hurt by my own father so I thought it best to listen, immediately. That’s where my full fact information ends. The rest of this is just speculation based on what I could hear, not what I could see.”  
“True.
Alright… and what’s your theory based on your speculation?” 
 
The kid starts to look nervous, fidgeting a bit, “... You know, maybe we don’t want to do this… Can I get away with saying he left and joined up with villains in America instead?”
 
“Lie.
Sorry but we’re already on this train now. Better ride it all the way to the station.” 
 
Midoriya bites his lip, almost harshly, before muttering out a soft apology under his breath though Tsukauchi doesn’t know if it’s for him for lying or for his deceased mother, “I think my mom killed him.”
 
Tsukauchi is

floored.

Out of everything Midoriya could’ve said and be true, that was not what he was expecting! He takes it back! He doesn’t want to be on this train! He’d rather risk jumping out of it while it’s moving! Anything is better than this! “Are you serious, kiddo?” Aizawa hesitantly asks. Tsukauchi is rather shocked that even his unshakeable persona has been rattled by this. 
 
“It’s ringing
true
so I’d say that he’s dead serious,” Tsukauchi says almost hysterically before Midoriya can reply to the Erasure hero, “Can… Can you tell me why you think that?”
 
Midoriya is silent for a moment. That’s fine. Tsukauchi knows he probably needs a minute to gather his thoughts. Eventually, he sighs and starts up the story again, “When I went and hid in my room, I didn’t move away from my door. I was afraid he would try to hurt mom next. It was probably more dangerous but I couldn’t help but press my ear against it, trying to hear what was going on. There was screaming. A lot of screaming but nothing discernable enough to know what was being said. It went on for several minutes before, all of a sudden, there was a crash then a loud thud. It sounded a bit like this,” Midoriya takes his foot and stomps it harshly on the ground. The sound is ringing. It would probably be even more so to a five year old. “It was louder than that of course but I could definitely tell that it was something heavy hitting the floor. It was quiet for a long moment then the front door opened and shut. I thought maybe my father had left but I didn’t dare leave to check. I had been told to stay put until mom came to get me. I wasn’t about to disobey and risk another face full of fire, thank you very much.” 
 
The boy’s sass returned for a moment at that last sentence. Tsukauchi was actually thrilled to see it but knew he had to keep Midoriya on track.
“True.
Then what happened?” 
 
“About two hours passed of nothing but silence. Then the front door opened and shut again. There was no screaming this time. There was no talking at all actually. Just the soft sounds of sock covered feet walking around the house. I knew it couldn’t be my father. He didn’t take off his shoes before the whole thing went down and he always regularly took them off in his bedroom anyway to make sure they stayed clean and polished for work.”
 
“True.
And you knew for certain it wasn’t him?”
 
Midoriya nods, “Yep. I learned to know what his footsteps sounded like when he left in the morning and got home from work so I wouldn’t be out of my room at the same time that he was home. His fancy leather work shoes made a very specific sound when he walked. I hadn’t heard them leave but I hadn’t heard them

return

either.”
 
Listening for the footsteps of your abuser. One of the big signs of a kid living in that kind of household.
“True.
So it had to be your mother,” he confirms with the information given to him.
 
“Right. When I was little I thought it was strange that she didn’t come get me right away after everything calmed down. When she finally did tell me it was safe to come out, another hour later, I thought the way the house

smelled

was even stranger.” 
 
“What did it smell like?” Yamada asks. Tsukauchi himself was about to ask but he’s a bit glad that someone else did. This is the wildest interview/interrogation he’s ever done. Well, no not

ever.

But it’s still pretty up there.
 
“Bleach. Like someone had poured every bottle of bleach product we owned everywhere. It was almost suffocating how the smell permeated around the house.” 
 
Okay, yep. Definitely top five of the wildest. Midoriya rolls his neck tiredly, as if he’s just talking about the weather on a typical Sunday afternoon at a brunch with his friends, “I came out of my room and mom told me immediately that dad said he wasn’t going to be around anymore. That he was going to go to America for a better job opportunity and would leave us be. I didn’t put it together until a few months after she was gone but yeah… I’m fairly certain she killed him, disposed of the body somehow, and came back home to clean up any evidence that day.” 
 
“True.
And no one ever reported him missing?” Tsukauchi asked, slightly suspicious. 
 
“Oh no, they did. His work reported that he didn’t come in for several days or call to say he wasn’t going to be in. Two officers showed up at our house and asked my mom questions. But she relied on the one thing that would make the officers turn a blind eye to us,” When all the adults turned a confused look his way, Midoriya smirked sardonically, “My quirklessness.”
 
The air escapes Tsukauchi’s lungs in a wheeze. Aizawa and Yamada aren’t much better in containing their reactions to that. The smirk doesn’t leave the kid’s face, “Yep. As soon as my mom explained that he took a job in America because he couldn’t stand having a quirkless son, the officers apologized for wasting her time and for her life’s

unfortunate circumstances

- Their words, not mine - and left.”
 
“True.”
Goddammit. Once again, a failure of cops in the system for quirkist mindsets. He wonders if he could convince the chief to replace them all… A mass officer purge, so to speak. 
 
“Don’t get me wrong though,” Midoriya shakes his head, “Mom was a great mom. She loved me more than anything else. If she did kill him, whether on accident or on purpose, I kind of understand why she hid it from the police.”
 
“You do?” Now Tsukauchi is back to being confused. Murder is murder… and murder in defense of yourself or another is justifiable self-defense but still murder… Why would it be good to hide it in either case?
 
That sassy spark is back in those haunting green eyes, “Really Detective? You haven’t guessed why yet? It’s practically the name of the game when it comes to me! My dad’s quirk was fire breath. He could

breathe fire.

What would a corrupt hero or a quirkist police officer consider that quirk to be?”
 
“An emitter type?”
 
“No, not what type of quirk it is. What

kind

is it, Detective?”
 
Tsukauchi shakes his head, still confused. Aizawa’s the one who pipes up at that, voice hard, “A flashy one.”
 
“Ding, ding! Right on the money! Now my mother had a

weak

telekinesis quirk that only worked on

small objects.

And I’m quirkless. So here’s that in theory scenario once more for you; My

weak quirked

mother has just, intentionally or not, killed my

flashy quirked

father to protect her

quirkless

son. Except in this scenario, she decides to go to the police and explains what she did and why to them. What do you think the police officers, the same police officers who called my mom’s life with me

unfortunate circumstances,

do in response to that?”
 
It clicks. He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to. The implications of it all are enough. Midoriya can see that too and just smiles at him somewhat sadly. As if somehow saying,

It’s not your fault. The world’s a fucked up place. Don’t blame yourself.

He’s going to do so anyway. How is it that their society is as fucked up as it is? That it would rather be preferable to people to let an abuser and an attempted murderer go free rather than protect a quirkless child and his mother? He glances over at the two pros. Aizawa’s stare is a thousand kilos long and Yamada looks about a minute away from a full on breakdown. Tsukauchi reaches out, hitting the pause button on the recorder with lightning speed. “Small break,” he calls, “Just a few minutes.” 
 
Yamada lets out a pitiful sounding sob, rocking back and forth a bit. Aizawa is up in a flash to kneel next to him, talking quietly to him to try and calm him down. Midoriya looks a bit ashamed, mumbling an apology to both of his guardians. Yamada, who had been sitting directly beside Midoriya, doesn’t hesitate to throw his arms around the child and pull him as close as physically possible. Midoriya is stiff but doesn’t fight him as the blonde rocks them both. The voice hero mutters reassurances to him as he softly pets Midorya’s wild green curls. Even Aizawa’s hand has come up to pet Midoriya’s back gently as a form of comfort. From his place buried in Yamada’s shoulder, he sees Midoriya’s eyes well up with tears before they start falling steadily. 
 
Good. The kid deserves to cry a little bit. He’s had such a shit life and he’s not even an adult yet. He deserves to cry about how unfair the world is for a bit. 
 
Eventually, the three separate and return to their seats. They also wipe the tears from their eyes. With nods from everyone around the table, Tsukauchi resumes the recording. He makes mention that he’s not answering Midoriya’s last question on account of the obvious conclusion that can be drawn from it. “Okay, let’s move on,” he says thankfully, flipping to his next page of questions, “Did you know that you were falsely marked deceased by a police officer who was on the scene during the fight that resulted in your mother’s death?”
 
Midoriya shakes his head, “Not at the time, no. I only just learned about five days ago. A friend of mine learned it from somewhere and told me.”
 
“True.
And what was the reasoning for deciding to be homeless instead of alerting an officer or a hero that you were now alone?”
 
“Mostly because I knew what would probably happen if I was put in the system. I’m not treated kindly by society as a whole so an orphanage putting up with a quirkless child or a group home dealing with a child they don’t want? Nah. I decided I would just take my chances on the streets. In a way, I knew it would be safer than the alternative.” 
 
 
“True.”
And boy does he hate how true that was. “And your reasoning for being a vigilante?” 
 
“Not technically a vigilante. According to the law, I can’t be one unless I have a quirk to use without a license.” 
 
“Not a vigilante then. A concerned citizen, I suppose we could call you,” He corrects.
 
“When you live on the streets you see all kinds of things. Murder, drug deals, thiefs, rapists. And nobody is ever around to help stop them. I tried once to get help from a hero. Told a limelighter that happened to be doing a nighttime patrol that a woman was in trouble from a sexual assailant in the alley nearby. They told me to come back and talk to them when there was a

real emergency

for them to handle. It was the first night I tried to help. Got myself beat black and blue and only didn't get killed because I was a kid and a 'pretty little thing.' Don't worry, he didn't touch me like that. The woman that was getting attacked helped me fight back at that point and we escaped together. When she thanked me so sincerely for stepping in to help despite the fact that I got horribly beat for it, that was when I decided I needed to do it again. Preferably several times. People need help and sometimes heroes don't help. Made sense to me to just step in when I could. Not like I had anything to lose,” Midoriya shrugged.
 
Tsukauchi winces harshly at all the information,
“True.
What about your life? Surely that was worth something to you?”
 
Midoriya’s voice is nonchalant as he replies with, “No, not really. Everyone expects me to be dead by eighteen or a little after anyways. At least then I would’ve died fighting instead of just laying down to wait to be killed.” 
 
The detective has to work very hard not to let his mind blue-screen at that. His quirk whispers again that the boy is telling the
truth
but it’s hard to even focus on that right now with the swell of emotions that are filling him once more. Dammit, he’s going to get attached to the kid isn’t he? He takes another quick breath and decides to move on from that, “Last thing before we conclude the interview, could you tell me about your time at Aldera Secondary School?”
 
“One word: Awful.” 
 
“True.
I’ll just go ahead and save us some time. I’ll let you know what we suspect that they’ve done and you can just agree or deny that it happened to you.” 
 
“Sounds good to me,” Midoriya shrugs.
 
So Tsukauchi begins to list. Falsely downgraded tests, ignored or encouraged bullying, infractions leveled against him despite the fact that he had actually done nothing wrong. Each one Midoriya agrees to it happening to him with at least one example at the ready. Each agreement rings
true,
which he relays aloud for the tape recorder to pick up. When he finally finishes, he closes the notebook. “That’s everything I needed. Interview concluded at sixteen eleven.” 
 
He clicks the stop button on the recorder. He releases a deep, tired sigh. It’s done. They’re done. Thank God. He tucks the tape recorder away back in his breast pocket. The boy slouches down in his chair, likely glad that the questions were over. But Tsukauchi has one that’s burning on his mind. He bites his lip before opening his mouth, “Can I ask you a question of my own? The answer will just be for me and won’t go on record anywhere.”
 
Midoriya looks skeptical at him but agrees nonetheless. Now how to ask this? He takes a deep breath, “When your mother was killed that day… in that attack in July… Can you not tell us how it happened because a hero caused it and you don’t want to get them in trouble?”
 
Midoriya is silent. He just stares. Tsukauchi stares right back. He can’t shake this hunch. How would reporting that a villain killed your mother would ‘upset the very balance of the world as they knew it?’ No, it had to be a hero. 
 
“No, of course not,” Midoriya says evenly after another moment of silence.
 
Lie.
He’s lying. It was a hero. One that probably has enough power to turn the community against one traumatized child should it be dragged into the light. That’s why Midoriya is telling the truth when he says he can’t tell them. If he did, the repercussions would more than likely be against

him,

not the hero in question. Oh fuck…
 
He gives no indication outwardly what his quirk said in response to that. Yamada and Aizawa both seek it out on his face or his body language but he’s had years of practice keeping the indicating twitches down when he wants. He bids the three of them farewell and leaves without another word. Aizawa walks him to the door as Yamada moves to wrap an arm around the kid’s shoulders. Aizawa asks him to tell him if Midoriya was lying with that last question. Tsukauchi just stares him dead in the eyes and tells him he won’t say. He doesn’t want either Yamada or Aizawa getting involved. Just in case.
 
For now he’ll head back to the station to archive the recorded interview. Then he’ll do a little bit of his own investigation into the heroes on scene during Midoriya Inko’s death. Perhaps he can figure out exactly which hero was responsible. Or at least get a deeper understanding of what happened that day. The kid deserves it after how badly his choice of employment screwed up the first time around. Fuck, he really was attached to the kid now, wasn’t he…?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku, for all intents and purposes after the interview, basically shuts down. Hizashi can see it in the way that their bean curls up tightly on the couch with Bastard, eyes glassy and distant. He hates that. He hasn’t responded at all to his and Shouta’s questions or small talk to him. He’s clearly disassociating. Poor thing. Bastard is doing her best to calm the boy down. She’s taken to grooming his face while purring up a storm to try and comfort him. Hizashi knows from his own attacks that Izuku will only come out of it when he’s ready. They all just have to be patient and wait for that moment.
 
In the meantime, he and Shouta settle down on either side of the tight ball that is Midoriya Izuku on the couch. Hizashi next to his head and Shouta down by his feet. Both have pulled out grading, agency paperwork, and other menial distractions to work on while they wait. Hizashi decides to grade some of his first year’s essays. They only get about 45 minutes in before Shouta turns to glare at Hizashi after he’s groaned for what feels like the millionth time. The blonde notices and asks him what’s up.
 
“Seriously?” A dark brow raises high, “You keep groaning. Stop it. It’s distracting.” 
 
Hizashi gasps in mock offense, “It is NOT! I groan all the time when grading essays, you know that! And I can’t help it! Some of these are just atrocious!” 
 
“They’re first years, Zashi.”
 
“That doesn’t matter! If you don’t know what verb tense to put in a sentence, don’t just guess! Ask me for help! I’m a teacher, that's what I’m there for! Listen to this, listen!” He flips back a few pages, and reads off the essay, “‘Cementoss running to be placing the wall between the villain and us to protect us.’ Atrocious!” Shouta winces at the butchered English and nods in agreement. 
 
“Verb tense is off for three things, not just one… also the sentence sounds better if you switch the nouns…. 'Between us and the villain' makes the sentence flow more cohesively… Mark extra points off…” Is murmured between them. They both glance down at Izuku lying between them and take note of the small bit of light now shining in his eyes. Hizashi is quick to toss the essays aside while Shouta puts his own paperwork away in a file folder. 
 
“Baby?” Hizashi calls to the boy, “You feeling okay now?” 
 
Izuku shrugs but it’s a response so it’s better than nothing. Shouta reaches out to hold his shoulder, grip squeezing just the slightest bit to try and comfort, “You sure, kiddo? We lost you for a little while there. You were so out of it that I think Bastard gave you enough of a bath to last a week.”
 
Izuku grunts and nods his head yes. Hizashi reaches out to pet his wayward curls, “Do you want anything, Listener? Some water or something?”
 
“... Water would be nice,” His voice is very scratchy sounding and it makes Hizashi’s heart ache at the sound. Shouta immediately gets up to go get a glass for him. Hizashi is grateful for that because it means he gets to continue to sit here with him. He continues to softly pet his hair, hoping to help keep him calm enough to tell them what happened. When Shouta gets back with a glass of water, Izuku pushes himself up to a sitting position. The glass is handed off to the child and Shouta sits back down beside him. Hizashi has to refrain from squealing as Izuku scoots over to tuck himself into Shouta’s side while sipping his water, much to the surprise of the darker haired male. It’s just further proof to the Voice hero that Izuku really does trust them, even if it’s just enough to try and seek some comfort from them in small ways. Maybe he’s also realized that they haven't tried to get rid of him yet either. Hizashi hopes so. 
 
After the glass is empty and placed on the table, Shouta speaks, “What happened, Problem Child? You were so confident during the interview but then you disassociated for almost an hour.”
 
“... I think…” Izuku grimaces a bit, “I think I was hiding behind my Gyokuto persona while I was talking to Detective Tsukauchi. I-I’m not saying that Gyokuto and Izuku are separate people or anything like that! I don't… that's not what it is. I just… I’ve always felt more confident when I’m being my vigilante self than I do when I’m just the normal me. It's been like that since I started being Gyokuto. So… Sometimes I become the vigilante Gyokuto when taking on tasks that my anxiety thinks is too much. I-It helps me get through it. But when it’s over… I can’t help but…”
 
“Fall into an anxiety episode. Whether that be a panic attack or a dissociative episode?” Hizashi guesses. Izuku nods in confirmation. Yeah, that’s about what he thought. “Anxiety is really weird like that, Bunny Bean. It makes you think that you can’t do anything but as soon as you think you’re someone else, suddenly there’s nothing you can’t do. It’s not a bad thing but it is worrisome because you’re basically waiting to panic until you think it’s safe to, which can be a problem for your health; Both mental and physical.”
 
“Zashi’s right. We don’t want you to get into such a state with no way out or no one to help you through it,” Shouta looks up at him over Izuku’s head, eyes questioning. Hizashi knows what he’s trying to ask and nods a confirmation. Shouta turns back to Izuku, “Izuku, we think we’re going to need to get you some therapy.” 
 
“What?” Izuku’s head snaps up at that, eyes filled with something akin to betrayal, “No! I’m fine! I-I don't need therapy! I don’t need some stranger telling me how bad my life is and how fucked up my brain’s gotten! I already know! I don’t need drugs pumped into me until I'm a literal unfeeling zombie either!” 
 
Hizashi’s brows scrunch up at that. That’s an odd way to phrase it. “Sweetheart, therapy is not like that at all. I promise! Shouta and I both attend therapy to help us be the best heroes we can be! All it does is give us a peace of mind over everything that we see on the daily.” Shouta nods in agreement. 
 
“What? But… you guys are pros. Why do you need to go to therapy? Isn’t it just for people who are… y’know, extremely mentally ill?” Now Izuku looks confused, eyes flitting between the both of them as if searching for where either of them are lying to him. 
 
Shouta takes over from there, “Kid, you’ve been a vigilante for a while now. You’ve seen up close and personal what heroes do every single day. You've said so yourself. Murderers, assaulters, robbers, traffickers, drug users; All of these things are the norm for us as heroes. But it doesn’t make it any easier on our mental states just because it’s something we see every day.” 
 
“That’s right!” Hizashi agrees with a soft smile, “Some situations that happen are really scary or really hard to deal with emotionally. Even or especially for heroes. Therapy is a place we can go to talk about how it makes us feel and all the things still stuck in our minds and hearts about those particular cases. We can talk about anything that was too scary or too sad or too filled with rage to think about at the time. About all the things that we didn’t do and wish we had done. And getting the affirmation again for the hundredth that doing the best you can in some situations sometimes means that not everybody is going to be saved at the end of the day. It’s a sad reality but a true one. And it’s not your fault as long as you’ve done your very best.” Hizashi reaches out and ruffles his hair again, “That’s the kind of therapy we want for you.”
 
“A place that you can go to talk about the things that made you sad. Or angry. Or scared. Or even happy. Sometimes happy memories and thoughts need a quick glance through by a therapist as well,” Shouta reaches out and knocks Izuku’s shoulder lightly with his knuckles, “Plus we’re not just going to stick you with some stranger. You’re our kid now. That would be illogical. We’re going to try and get you an appointment with Hound Dog.”
 
Izuku’s eyes widened exponentially at that, “Hound Dog’s a therapist?! As in the Hunting Dog Hero?! Really?!”
 
“Licensed and trained; Especially so in therapy and counseling for minors! That’s why he’s the guidance counselor at UA!” Hizashi chirps with a thumbs up, “He’s really good at what he does too!”  
 
“Huh…” the boy looked down at his socked feet, brow furrowed in deep thought, “I’ll be honest, that doesn’t sound like the kind of therapy my school was going to try and put me in… They made it seem like I would be locked away forever in a mental hospital and pumped full of a million drugs to make it to where I couldn't feel anything at all anymore. How the people there would just scream at me about how I was crazy and useless and worthless to the world I was until it finally stuck…” 
 
Hizashi’s look turns blank and disgusted at the mention of that awful school doing yet more awful things to this poor child, “Yeah, baby, but that was Aldera telling you that, and they SUCK!” 
 
Izuku giggles at that while Shouta rolls his eyes at his dramatics. The man should be used to it by now, honestly. They’ve been married for three years! He should know that Hizashi is dramatic and not afraid to show it! He needs to get with the program! It falls quiet for a moment. Hizashi and Shouta both enjoy the peaceful silence with their ward. Izuku then clears his throat, “I lied to you guys by the way…” 
 
A quick glance at each other shows that neither of them know what he’s talking about. “About what, Bunny Bean?” Hizashi questions.
 
“I’m… I’m not almost thirteen. I just turned twelve in July. July the fifteenth.”
 
“Ey! July birthdays for the win!” Hizashi cheers, before grinning at Shouta, “Sorry Shou, our sweet autumn child, but the summer babies are taking over the house!”
 
Shouta rolls his eyes good naturedly, before turning to Izuku with a small smile, “Also, I already knew that. I read your birthdate on your file. I just didn’t feel the need to call attention to it at the time.”
 
“And you didn’t tell me?!” Hizashi gasps in offense. 
 
“You read the file too. Not my fault you didn’t pay attention to the birthdate on it,” The glare Shouta levels at him would make normal people shiver. Hizashi is not a normal person and the glare just causes him to grin widely.  “The point is,” his darker haired husband grits out before taking a breath to steady himself, “We don’t care what age you are. We don’t care that you lied about that age. We care that you’re here. That you’re safe. And we hope, someday, that you can also be happy. With us.”
 
“I…” Izuku looks close to tears, “I’ll try.” 
 
“That’s all we ask,” Shouta tells him while ruffling his hair this time. It’s strange but Hizashi can tell right here and now that this is what their family is supposed to be. This is what their family was supposed to look like from the beginning. His gruff and dour but secretly soft and squishy husband. This child who is far smarter than he looks yet has had the whole world against him until now. And Hizashi. This is bliss. And hopefully, their journey as a family has just begun.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku resists the urge to dig his heels into the ground. Hizashi’s hand is tight, but not restrictive, more a comforting weight, on his wrist as the man pulls him along deeper into the crowded shopping area. “Do we have to go shopping?” He asks again for the fifth time that morning, “Or at least do

I

have to go shopping? Couldn’t I have just stayed at home? I could've kept Bastard company!” Really, was it even necessary at all? The two even took time off just to do this! Well… they actually took a whole week off so they could all settle into him being at the house but same thing!
 
“Bunny, for the fifth time, yes you need to come shopping with us. I’m not sure what your style is or what you would like. I don’t want to just bring home a bunch of stuff and you end up not liking it! That’s not fair to you!” Hizashi explains again, patiently. 
 
“I told you kid, once Hizashi gets stuck on something like this, he doesn’t let it go,” Shouta says as he follows behind them, hands deep in his pockets, “Why did you insist that I had to come though? You and Hizashi could’ve gone alone.”
 
Izuku turns his head back to level him a glare, “Because if I have to suffer through this, so do you.”
 
Shouta glares right back at him, growling out a mumble of, “Gremlin Problem Child…”
 
Izuku smirks and sticks his tongue out at him which just causes Shouta to roll his eyes. Izuku can somewhat say that it seems more fond than anything else. He yelps in shock as Hizashi abruptly turns to pull him into what seems to be a nearby clothing store. He hears Shouta snicker behind him but the man still dutifully trails behind. The blonde stops and finally lets him go to put his hands on his hips, “Okay! We’ll start with clothes!”
 
“But I already have plenty of clothes…” He argues quietly. 
 
Hizashi starts shaking his head frantically, “No, no, no, no, no you don’t!” 
 
“Zashi’s one of those people who believes that everyone needs an outfit for every day of the week for at least two weeks. Plus at least one pair of lounging clothes and three pairs of pajamas,” Shouta clarifies for him, using a hand to flip aimlessly through a nearby rack of clothes. The blonde nods in agreement, adding on, “Plus we’re doing this first because you might need some time to try some of it on to make sure it fits!”
 
“End me…” Izuku whispers to himself quietly. 
 
Hizashi, who’s hearing aids were apparently turned up just high enough to hear that, swats his shoulder lightly, “Oh don’t be like that! Just walk around and see what you like! We’ll get whatever you want!” 
 
He grimaces at that. Hizashi moves to sift through a rack nearby, "Oo~! How about this?!" He pulls out a leather jacket with pointed studs covering the arms and shoulders.
 
"No!" Both he and Shouta shout.

Too spiky!

He thinks to himself. He doesn't know why Shouta is disagreeing so loudly though. 
 
"Killjoys…" Hizashi murmurs as he puts it back. 
 
"What about this?" Shouta pulls a black turtleneck sweater out from the racks.
 
"Um… It's okay." It's not bad at all. It looks really warm. Not really something he likes, exactly, but it’s an option at least. It's Hizashi that denies it, "Nope! Nu-uh! If I can't suggest anything from my preferred style, you can't suggest anything from yours either!"
 
Shouta ducks into his capture scarf to hide his pout but obediently puts the sweater back on the rack. Dammit. Now they're back to zero things that work. He decides to take Hizashi’s idea and walks around the racks, flipping through them when something catches his attention. One shirt, a green t-shirt with a simple white line design that looks like a sleeping cat, catches his eye. He pulls out one of his size, taking it over to his guardians, "Um… I like this one…"
 
"Oh that looks great!" Hizashi says happily as he takes it from him. Shouta stares at it before looking at the blonde intensely, "Zashi I need it!"
 
"No! You don't!" 
 
"Yes I do! Kid, quick, where’d you find them?" Izuku points over to the rack where he found the shirt. Shouta takes off towards the rack. Hizashi chases after him, calling his name in irritation. Izuku blinks as he watches them go. They're both in their late twenties, right? He wonders if they both realize that they're acting like children. Whatever. 
 
He takes the time to continue looking through the racks while pretending he doesn't know the two grown men arguing over a cat t-shirt a few steps away. He manages to find another two more t-shirts, a sweater, two pairs of shorts, and a nice pair of jeans as he looks. Satisfied and hoping his guardians will be too, he starts to head towards the section where they have pajamas and loungewear. 
 
He pauses as he passes by a jacket hanging on the rack. It's black with neon green highlights all along the back and sleeves. Izuku reaches out and takes the sleeve in his hand. The faux leather type material is soft beneath his fingers. It reminds him of the hoodie he wears when he's out as Gyokuto. He checks the price tag on it. Oof! Nope. That's pricey… he winces but drops the sleeve, going to tuck the jacket further back onto the rack. A hand reaches over him and snatches the jacket up. He turns to find Hizashi smiling at him, jacket now in hand. Shouta stands behind him visibly pouting this time while he glares at Hizashi. The blonde compliments, "This is a good choice, bean! What else you got there?"
 
"Uh… no. That's… I was just putting it back. That jacket is way too expensive," he says quietly while handing off his other, less expensive, choices to the man.
 
"Psssh!" Hizashi throws his hand out in a sassy wave off, "We're both pro heroes and teachers. Not to mention that I've got my radio show too! Money is

not

an issue! If you like it, we'll get it."
 
He stares at him in disbelief before dropping his head. His cheeks flush as he mumbles that he would like to have it if that was okay with them. Hizashi grins and happily agrees. Picking pajamas and loungewear is just the same as the rest of the clothes. Though Shouta does get Hizashi to agree to let him get a pair of lounge pants that are black with yellow cat paw prints all over it. Izuku thinks he only fully agreed because the darker haired man said they reminded him of both of their hero costumes with the colors. Hizashi is sentimental as all get out like that. 
 
After paying for everything and with Shouta carrying the bag of clothes, Hizashi then totes the two of them over to the home goods store. This one is much easier for Izuku. There’s not many different styles when it comes to the furniture he supposedly needs for his new room so he just has to pick out colors. Simple enough. He feels drained though and they’ve only gone into two stores. Plus there’s so much noise from all the people milling around. Izuku really wants to go home soon. He wonders how he started associating Shouta and Hizashi’s house as home so quickly. He didn’t even think his hideaway was home and he stayed there for almost a year. 
 
They head out of the furniture store with several pieces set to be delivered within the next few hours. Izuku follows behind Hizashi and Shouta, who talk quietly with each other. Izuku rubs his arms to try and dispel the antsy feeling crawling all over them as the noise of all the people suddenly kicks up a bit louder. They all pass by some large windows of a shop but Izuku stops. Hizashi and Shouta continue walking, not even noticing Izuku has come to a halt behind them. There, sitting in the window is a tortoiseshell cat. They stare at each other, Izuku’s vivid green eyes with the tortie’s amber ones. The cat’s head tilts as if asking what he’s doing. Izuku doesn’t know what it is but he can’t stop staring at them. All the noise around him fades away as well while staring at this cat.
 
“
BA
by!” the half quirked scream draws him out of the trance. He looks over to see Shouta and Hizashi approaching him. Shouta’s hair is halfway to floating off his shoulders and his eyes look a little more irritated than usual. He must’ve used his quirk to stop Hizashi’s scream. Hizashi crouches a bit in front of him, placing his hands on his shoulders with near frantic eyes, “There you are! I turned around to see if you wanted to get something to eat and you were gone! If you wanted to go look at something you should’ve just told us!”
 
“I-I’m sorry,” He stutters out, looking down shyly, “I was- I just… we were passing by and well, I saw them,” He pointed meekly to the cat still sitting in the window, “I couldn’t stop staring at them. It’s like I couldn’t even think about anything else. I’ll keep up. Sorry, again.”
 
Both adults turn to look at the cat in the window, who views them right back. The cat’s head tilts again, this time in Shouta’s direction. While Izuku nervously wrings his hands with his eyes trained on the ground, he misses the look exchanged over the top of his head. Shouta sighs out loudly, catching his attention. Oh no… was he mad at him? “Zashi I’m tired,” he says, “I’ve stuck around for the clothes and furniture shopping parts. I’m going home now.”

“Shou, really?” Hizashi asks, standing up to place his hands on his hips. 
 
“Yeah really. Go have lunch with the kid then do the fun shopping or whatever you call it,” he waves a hand to shoo them off, “I’m going home to take a nap.”
 
Hizashi sighs out through his nose then wraps an arm around Izuku’s shoulders. He starts leading Izuku away as Shouta waves them off. Once they’re far enough away and in a quieter part of the shopping area, Hizashi turns to regard the boy with a grin, “That man is such a grump sometimes, I swear!” 
 
“Um… yeah, I guess so,” he murmurs softly. 
 
Hizashi chuckles a bit and opens his mouth to ask what he wants to eat. A voice cuts him off with, “Yamada-senpai!” 
 
Hizashi turns to see another blonde man approaching. He's a much lighter blonde compared to Hizashi though. He looks familiar to Izuku but he can’t quite place him. Hizashi meanwhile lights up, “Oh! Toyomitsu-kun! Hi!” 
 
Toyomitsu…? Now that really does sound familiar. He’s also clearly a hero since he called Hizashi ‘senpai.' He’s probably a limelighter as well. Who is he? Hizashi seems to sense his confusion and smiles, “Oh right! Toyomitsu-kun, this is Izuku. Me and Shou are fostering him! Izuku, this is Toyomitsu Taishiro. He’s also the BMI hero, Fat Gum!” 
 
Izuku slams his upright fist into his open palm in realization, “That’s where I’ve seen you! I’ve watched a couple of your fights before! You always prioritize civilian safety over catching the villains!” 
 
“You got it, little buddy!” Toyomitsu gives him a thumbs up and a cheerful grin, “You probably didn’t recognize me because I’m in my skinny form! I just got done apprehending a villain nearby and it took almost all my fat stores to nab ‘em! I was on my way to grab some takoyaki from a stall here to get me back into fighting shape!” 
 
He’s so approachable with just that smile. His demeanor is so kind too. It’s why Izuku marked in his survival notebook that he was safe. Just like Shouta and Hizashi. Not to mention how fascinating his quirk is.

“If you could get close, you should tell Fat Gum all that one day!”

Eijirou’s voice pipes up in the back of his mind. He starts wringing his hands together again, biting down on his lip harshly. Surely Toyomistu wouldn’t want to hear his theories, right? All the heroes that he tried to help before with his analysis brushed him off or told him to butt out. But Toyomitsu-san is safe… Wouldn’t that mean he won’t be the same as all the others? 
 
“Little pal? What’s the matter? You look like you’ve got something to say but are afraid to,” Toyomitsu asks, eyes worried. Hizashi too turns to look at him and crouches back down in front of him with a worried look on his face, “Baby, what’s wrong? You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep that up.”
 
“I…” he starts, biting his lip again before whispering out, “I have theories about Toyomitsu-san’s quirk but I’m afraid to say them out loud to him.” Hizashi relays that a bit louder to the BMI hero.
 
“What? Why would you be afraid of that?” Toyomitsu laughs at that before smiling, “If you’ve got theories about my quirk, I’d LOVE to hear them!” 
 
Izuku blinks up at him, shocked. Meekly asking him, “Really?”
 
“Heck yeah! Let’s go get some food and you can hit me with them!” Hizashi wraps an arm back around his shoulders as Izuku finds himself between the two pros who talk lightly about a recent case they were both on. How did this become his life? Oh yeah, by being homeless and a not quite vigilante then by being fostered by two pro heroes.  
 
When the three of them finally have some food, they sit down at one of the more private eating tables in the area. Toyomitsu gets about six takoyaki in before speaking again, “Alright, little buddy, lay it on me!” 
 
“Um…  well…” he stirs his food around with his chopsticks. Where to start? “H-Have… have you ever had someone tell you which type of fat you store?”
 
“Huh? Which ‘type?’ There's types?”
 
Izuku hums, “H-Humans have three types of fat in their body; Essential, subcutaneous, and visceral. Most would think your fat was v-visceral. Because it’s the fat around the ab-abdomen. But I think yours is actually subcutaneous.”
 
“Really? What makes you think that?” Toyomitsu is now completely ignoring his food in order to keep all his attention on Izuku.
 
“Um… well… The subcutaneous fat is the fat under the skin. S-So I think you build up that layer and then when you get hit, you basically sh-shed the layer into protein and nutrients.” 
 
“Whoa that’s interesting… huh… is there a way to be able to tell?” 
 
“You-you could probably go to a physician or the hospital and ask them to take a sample of your fat cells. They should be able to tell what type of fat category it falls under.” 
 
“Alright, and does that mean anything towards my hero work? Like, does it change anything that my fat might be a different type than just the abdomen fat?” Toyomitsu picks up four takoyaki and eats them in swift succession. 
 
Izuku swiftly shakes his head, “No! Not really, I mean. It’s more just a general ‘did you know’ kind of thing. But I also think your fat might be able to be utilized in ways besides just defense… Like I think it might have some similarities to the bl-blubber like seals have.” 
 
“Really?” 
 
“Mhmm… I think if we ever get a big unexpected snow storm like we did five years ago, you would be really good for needed rescue efforts. Your fat probably makes you more insulated and less sensitive to the colder environment. A-Also you’re probably more buoyant in water than most people are since blubber is also used to help animals that have it like seals stay afloat. Um… you might also want someone to check what makes you gain the fat fastest… because while takoyaki does have quite a lot of fat it shouldn’t have enough to make you gain weight as fast as you do. So it might be a certain starch or protein that could be amplified in a simple snack or in a takoyaki recipe to make it where you can replenish yourself faster.” 
 
“No kidding?” Toyomitsu’s eyes seem to sparkle at that, “I’ll be sure to mention it at my next checkup then! And snow rescues! That would be awesome! Sheesh, little buddy, you’re good at this!” 
 
“Really?” he asks weakly, “You don’t think it’s weird… or creepy… or, like, overstepping a boundary or telling how to do your job?”
 
“No way! They’re good theories! Fantastic, even! If this helps me to do my job better or help me rescue more people, then more power to ya little guy!” Toyomitsu turns to Hizashi, “Yamada-senpai, you’ve gotta let me borrow him to talk to the others! They would love him! Or at the very least, let him watch me train so he can tell me how to do it more efficiently!” 
 
Hizashi laughs, loud and boisterous, at that, “I’ll talk to Shou and we’ll see, Toyomitsu-kun!” 
 
“That’s not a no, so I’ll take it!” The smile turned back to Izuku, “Have you thought about becoming a hero? You’re so smart that I’m sure you could become an intelligence hero as good as Nedzu-san or Sir Nighteye! I can’t wait to introduce you to some other heroes! I know they’ll agree with me once you show them what you can do!”
 
Being a hero was a pipe dream when he was younger. The only thing that he ever wanted as a child that he knew could never happen as he got older. Yet here’s a popular hero sitting right in front of him, saying he could be a hero up there in the ranks of someone like Sir Nighteye or Nedzu, and not once -

not one time

- did this hero ever ask him about his quirk or if he even had one at all. He

liked

his analysis and his theories. He said they were

good, fantastic even.

His eyes welled up with tears. Why couldn’t he have met a hero like Toyomitsu sooner? Maybe he could’ve kept his dream if he had, instead of letting it die with his mom; The only person who’s ever supported him wholeheartedly. He ducks his head down and mutters a small thank you to the man. For what, he doesn’t exactly know right now. But for the first time in so long, he can look at a hero and doesn’t have to worry or even think about if he’s written in his notebook that they’re safe or not. 
 
He feels Hizashi place his arm around his shoulders again. It’s comforting and he turns into the man to bury his face into his shoulder. He doesn’t see the silent exchange passed between the heroes; Hizashi mouthing a sincere thank you to Toyomitsu who gives him a thumbs up and a smile as wide as the sun.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hizashi, Izuku, and Toyomitsu finish up their food after their emotional hurdle has passed. Toyomitsu gets another six orders of takoyaki to-go and is looking much more like his recognizable Fat Gum self by the time he’s got the rest of his food in hand. He watches fondly as Izuku bows and thanks the BMI hero for his kind words again. Toyomitsu waves him off when Izuku calls him ‘Toyomitsu-san.’
 
“Aw, just call me Taishiro, little buddy! I hope to be seeing a lot of you in the coming while!” Toyomitsu leans close to whisper to him as if Hizashi can’t hear him, “If Yamada-senpai forgets to ask Aizawa-senpai, remind him to! I want to hang out with you again soon, little pal!”
 
Izuku flushes and agrees quietly with a soft little smile. It’s so precious that Hizashi’s heart aches! They wave off Toyomitsu as he heads out of the shopping area. He wraps an arm back around Izuku’s shoulders and starts steering him towards one of the home decoration shops. It doubles that they sell hero merch here too! 
 
“So!” he says happily, “I know you probably don’t want to get too much stuff from here but I insist you get at least three- no! Five things from here to decorate your room! It doesn’t matter if it’s hero merch or not, I just want you to get anything that you like! Anything that catches your attention! Or that’ll add a bit of

pizzazz

to your room!”
 
Izuku nods in - albeit reluctant - agreement and heads off deeper into the store to look around. Hizashi waits kind of near the front. He knows this is new and doesn’t want to crowd him or pressure him into choices he may not like. Just like with clothes shopping. His phone pings as he waits and he pulls it out to see a new text message from his husband. He smirks lightly at the picture that’s been sent of Bastard grooming the head of tortoiseshell cat that Izuku had a staring contest with who sits as if the answer to life has just been given to them. It has a caption of, “I think they like each other.” He snickers quietly. Well that’s good. At least Bastard isn’t being territorial with a new cat in her home. He hopes Izuku likes their little surprise. 
 
He sends back a quick response before wandering into the store to try and find his foster son. He pauses as he spots him standing awkwardly and sheepishly in front of several little fake succulent pots. A girl, with short brown hair and the pinkest little cheeks he’s ever seen, is standing beside him, glancing over at him from time to time. Izuku hasn’t seemed to notice her yet. He waits to see what they’ll both do. The girl picks up two of the same room decorations that are two different colors. She goes up to Izuku and quietly says, “Um… excuse me?”
 
Izuku jumps, turning to her with wide eyes and a frantic, “Huh?”
 
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. My parents are in town for a job and told me to come pick something out for my room with some of the money we got from it. I really like this decoration but I can’t decide which color to get and wanted someone to help me pick! I’m not used to this at all!” She says with a shy grin.
 
“M-Me either,” He admits, eyes lighting up a bit, “I-I haven’t thought about this kind of thing in a long time but my foster parents want me to pick out decorations for my new room…”
 
“Right? They tell you ‘go nuts and pick something out for yourself’ but you’re just not used to

doing

that ever!” She agrees. 
 
“Y-yeah. It’s a little o-overwhelming…” He looks at the two decorations in her hands, some little figurine before pointing to the pink one she’s holding, “You look like pink’s your favorite color. So I’d go with that one.” 
 
“You can tell pink’s my favorite color?” she asks, blinking in shock while she puts the other decoration (a blue one) back on the shelf. 
 
“Um… Well… You’ll probably think it’s weird…” he mumbles quietly.
 
“Try me!” 
 
“Um… Y-Your uh… your bracelet,” he said, meekly pointing down to one of her arms, “I noticed it when you raised your hand to hold up the decorations for me to see. It’s made of various colors of pink thread ranging from hot pink to pastel pink and a couple of charms. The threads are a bit frayed though and the charms have been worn down to the point that you can tell they were painted but can’t tell what the paint job was on them. Which means that you don’t take it off very often or, if you do, you put it back on practically right away. Not to mention that the clasp on it is brand new which means it’s been replaced recently. It’s clearly a well loved item, probably a gift from your mother or your best friend. Both of them would make you a bracelet like that with your favorite color or colors to make sure you were happy with it. So I guessed your favorite color is pink.”
 
The girl shifts her sleeve up, showing off the bracelet in full. Hizashi can see his bunny bean was right. The threads are fraying and the charms are all worn. She looks back to him with stars in her eyes, “You’re so good at that! What else can you tell just by looking at me?”
 
“Oh well um… Your quirk is a five finger activation one, right?” He points to the decoration in her hand, “I noticed that you don’t touch things fully. You always leave one finger out which is a sign for emitter types that need all five fingers to be touching whatever they’re trying to use it on.”
 
“Whoa! That’s right too! My quirk is called Zero Gravity! When I touch all five of my fingertips to something, I can reverse the gravity in it to make it float! Touching my fingertips together stops the effect and causes whatever I was floating to drop.” 
 
“That’s amazing… uh… I’m sorry. I don’t think I got your name?” He blushes a bit, eyes darting nervously.

He’s flustered over a girl! Cute!

Hizashi clamps a hand over his mouth to stop the squeal trying to come out and keep himself hidden from the two.
 
“Oh! I’m Uraraka Ochako! I’m from Mie Prefecture but, like I said, my parents are here in the area for a construction job!” She smiles brightly while pointing to herself, “It’s nice to meet you!”
 
“I’m M-Midoriya Izuku. It’s nice to meet you too.” 
 
Hizashi smiles at the sweet scene before jumping as his phone pings with another new text. It’s Shouta again, this time asking how much longer they’re going to be. Oh, they’ve been in this store for the last 45 minutes. Whoops! He finally approaches the two pre-teens, calling out softly, “Izu-kun, ready to go yet?”
 
The green haired boy startles at the sound of his voice before turning to him with wide eyes, “Oh! Hizashi. Um… I only have three things…” He holds up the items in his hands. A simple sorter for pens and pencils that can also hold a notebook or two, one of the little fake succulents he was looking at before, and a pack of color changing fairy lights that hang on the wall. Good choices over all but simple. Izuku looks down, clearly something he does when thinking of something on the fly before smiling a bit and grabbing a red colored figurine of the same kind that Uraraka got. He holds it up for her to see and explains, “I’ll get one of these too. That way I can look at it and remember I met Uraraka-chan today!”
 
Hizashi clutches his heart as it aches at the cuteness of that sentence.

Oh my God, so precious!

Uraraka must think so as well. She presses her lips together tightly to muffle a squeal, a smile also threatening to burst across her face. “Okay,” Hizashi says weakly, heart full of soft fuzzies, “Just one more thing then, bunny. We’ll head out after and grab all the other things you need before heading home to Shou.”
 
Izuku starts thinking again, turning his head left and right to see what he can get. He spots something just behind Hizashi and walks around him. He comes back with what is clearly two poster tubes and says he’s ready to go. Hizashi can’t tell what the posters have on them but he doesn’t pry. He's just happy he got six things instead of just the minimum five. He’s sure he’ll see them hanging up later anyway. Izuku and Uraraka tell each other goodbye with Uraraka also writing down her phone number on a slip of paper, giving it to him happily. “For when you get a phone again! My phone’s kind of old but you can text me!” she informed him happily. 
 
That’s something they’ll also have to grab before they go home, Hizashi guesses. He informs Izuku of this and sends a quick text to Shouta telling him of the extra stop they’ll have to make. He gets a picture back in return of Bastard curled up with the new cat in a spot of sunlight taking a nap with the caption, “I think we’ll survive.” Good to know everything’s going fine then. 
 
Hizashi tries to be quick when getting the hygiene stuff Izuku needs. He can tell that Izuku is getting more anxious the longer they're here. He does check with the boy to make sure scents are too strong for him. By the time they finish up there, his poor bunny bean is a knot of nerves. "Just one more stop for reals this time, listener!" He placates, "Then we'll go home to Shou."
 
He watches as green eyes light up at the sight of the phone store before they immediately dim as Izuku tries his best to dissuade him from buying him a new phone. Not worth it, he says. Too expensive, he says. Ha! Hizashi doesn't know the meaning of those words! Especially when it comes to this special little listener!
 
Hizashi does find a model that Izuku likes instead of one he's found that's as cheap as he can get it. They pay for it and get it attached to his and Shouta's phone plan. The first numbers the boy adds to the contacts list are his and Shouta’s. The third number he adds is for Uraraka with a quick text to her that he's got a phone now. Cute. 
 
After that, they both head to the car to go home. Hizashi glances a few times in the rearview mirror to see Izuku tapping away in wonder at his new phone. Likely exploring all the features it has. Hizashi bites down on his lip to keep the excited smile off his face. He really hopes Izuku likes his and Shou's surprise gift!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"We're home!" Hizashi calls out as Izuku follows. He luckily was able to pull himself away from his new phone (A phone! He has a phone!) To help the blonde man get all their bags in. 
 
"Welcome back," Shouta replies before saying, "Problem Child, come here."
 
Confused, Izuku takes his shoes off at the door and does as he's bid. He comes to stand behind Shouta as the man bends over to pick something up off the floor. Bastard sits beside him and watches the darker haired man with curious eyes. The man spins around and swiftly shoves whatever he picked up into his arms. Izuku stumbles at the sudden weight added to him but gets his arms around it just as he looks down at what it is. 
 
Amber eyes stare back at him. 
 
It's the same cat that he had a staring contest with at the shopping plaza. The cat notices who’s holding them and starts purring immediately. He looks up at his guardians, now very confused. Hizashi giggles happily then shouts out, “Surprise!” 
 
“What?” He asks befuddled. 
 
“We saw the way you were staring at her. So when we split off, I adopted her for you. We were looking to get another cat anyway,” Shouta shrugs.
 
His eyes widened, “She’s… mine?” 
 
“That’s right, Bunny Bean! She’s your kitty now! You’ll have to help take good care of her, okay?” The grin can’t seem to leave Hizashi’s face. He continues to stare with wide eyes and a dumbfounded expression. He just can’t seem to believe it. The cat, a ‘she’ apparently, butts her  head up against his chin with a searching meow. He finally snaps out of his astonishment and snuggles her closer to his chest and neck. He loves her. Just as much as he loves Bastard. But to know she’s

his?

It’s something more entirely. He questions aloud what they should name her.
 
“We should call her Window,” Shouta says as a suggestion, “Since we found her in a window.”
 
“No!” Izuku immediately shouts, squeezing the cat just a bit tighter, “Hizashi! Tell Shouta he’s not allowed to name the cat Window!”
 
“He’s absolutely correct. After the failure of a name for our first cat, your naming rights have been redacted, Shouta! Taken away! GONE!” Hizashi agrees. 
 
Shouta doesn’t pout per say but he does turn his head away with a harrumph like an upset child. Izuku holds her up in front of him. She blinks back at him before using a paw to boop his nose. He chuckles before saying, “Haia.”
 
“Ooo~! I like it! It means nimble, yeah? Perfect for a little lady such as she!” Hizashi gives him two thumbs up of approval. 
 
“It’s not as good as Window, but it’ll work.” Izuku turns to glare at Shouta for that very uncalled for comment. Then he takes Haia over to the couch to sit with her in his lap. He remembers he didn’t wear socks today and tucks his left foot under his right. 
 
“Baby?” Hizashi hesitantly asks, coming to stand by the couch as Shouta moves to sit beside him, “Why do you do that?”
 
“Do what?” Izuku asks back, running a hand through Haia’s silky fur. 
 
“I’ve noticed that you always tuck your left foot under your right when sitting down. Especially if you’re not wearing socks,” the blonde points down to his feet. Izuku tenses up at that. Shouta notices and turns a suspicious glare onto him, “Is there a reason you do it, Problem Child?”
 
“N-No!” Izuku denies immediately before his eyes start darting around, “I mean- Yes. But! You guys don’t have to worry about it! It was just something stupid I did when I was younger! It’s just not that pretty to look at, is all!” 
 
“What do you mean by that, Bunny?” Hizashi moves to sit on his other side, both adults giving him his full attention.
 
Izuku winces. Should he tell them? He’s told them about everything else. There’s really not a point to hide it. He just really doesn’t want to have to listen to his guardians tell him that he was stupid for doing it. Katsuki certainly didn’t have any problems reminding him when he saw it. He knows it was just because his best friend was really worried and doesn’t want him to do it again. But still. 
 
He might as well tell them, he guesses.
 
“Um… When I was six, I had a really bad day at school. One of my teachers had accused me of lying and some of the bullies were really bad. Not Kacchan, though. Never Kacchan but he didn’t do anything to stop them either. He just stayed quiet on the sidelines and watched it happen because he was afraid of what reputation he would get if he was seen helping the quirkless kid.” 
 
“Kacchan?” 
 
Izuku flinches again, “My best friend. Or… maybe a former best friend… We’re fighting right now. I’m sure he hates me now too…”
 
“What’s the fight about?” Hizashi requests, voice level and kind. 
 
“He’s the one who told me I was considered dead. He… I’ve been lying to him about where I was living. He wasn’t very happy with me… I wasn’t very happy with him when he told me I should’ve gotten help from the heroes or gone to the police instead of staying homeless. So… a fight.”
 
Hizashi hums and nods in understanding.  He doesn’t ask any other questions in regards to Katsuki so Izuku continues his story, “Anyway, it was a really bad day and for some reason all I could focus on was the doctor’s appointment where they told me I was quirkless. I kept remembering that the doctor said the reason that I didn’t have a quirk was because I had an extra joint in my little toe… So six year old me decided that the best way for me to get a quirk… was to uh…”
 
“Was to?” Shouta prompts softly.
 
Izuku grimaces before moving his right foot to the side and raising his left. Showing off his mutilated pinky toe. “Was to cut the extra joint off…” he finishes lamely. 
 
They stare for a long moment before Hizashi sighs sadly, “Oh baby…”
 
“I-I know. It was stupid. It hurt like hell and bled everywhere but luckily my mom found me before I could do the other one! I-I’ve never tried again either! I promise!” Izuku shakes his head, shoulders hunching up around his ears. 
 
“Oh, kiddo. We weren’t worried about that. We’re sad for you. That you felt like your only way to fit in with the world was to cut off your own toe. No one should

ever

feel that way,” Shouta insists firmly, squeezing Izuku’s shoulder in comfort, “It wasn’t stupid either. You were a little kid thinking little kid thoughts. You had a problem and thought you could fix it but it turns out that wasn’t the way to fix it and you hurt yourself instead. You just made a mistake because you didn’t know any better. That’s all. It doesn’t and won’t ever make you stupid.” 
 
Izuku sucks in a deep breath at that. He tucks his face into Haia’s fur, mumbling quietly, “Okay.”
 
Hizashi spends the next few minutes petting his hair while he calms back down. When the trembling finally stops (He was trembling? When did that happen? When did he start?) Hizashi speaks again, “Can I go back to your ‘Kacchan’ situation for a sec?”
 
“Um… sure?” Izuku’s voice is very quiet now.
 
“Now, from what you just told me, I’m gathering that you two aren’t actually having a full blown fight. You’re having a spat. An argument. A misunderstanding! It seems like you two just needed some time away from each other to cool down. And now, you guys just need to meet and talk! And apologize for everything you guys said to one another,” Hizashi coolly tells him.
 
“... You think that would fix it? Really?” Izuku asks skeptically, trying to keep his hope down.
 
“Really!” Hizashi nods, “If he wasn’t your friend he wouldn’t have been so upset about your situation to begin with! It sounds like he just didn’t know how to handle it at the time and resorted to anger. Just like you did! It’s normal, especially for you pre-teens and your ‘new and exciting’ hormones!”
 
Izuku scrunches his nose at that. Ew. Then his mind goes back to focusing on what Hizashi said. If he’s right, then he and Katsuki should be fine if they just talk. “We meet up every Tuesday…” he tells them softly, “At Bean-ingful Memories with another friend of ours.” 
 
“Oh! I know the place! You should go tomorrow then!” Hizashi tells him, “He might be there hoping to talk to you!”
 
“... Okay.”
 
“Keep your phone on you and text us when you get there and when you’re getting ready to leave. Got it?” Shouta tells him sternly but in a parental kind of way that makes Izuku feel warm.
 
“Yes sir,” Izuku replies easily. It was easy enough after all. And it’s nice to know the two of them care.
 
Hizashi muses about seeing if they have a spare key to give him and gets up to go on a hunt for one. Shouta leans over to pick up the television remote, turning it on to some kind of nature documentary. Izuku guesses he probably uses them to fall asleep sometimes. The colors of the animals are very pretty and the voice of the narrator is soothing so Izuku doesn’t mind. Haia doesn’t either as she just curls up in Izuku’s lap. 
 
“Problem Child?” Shouta suddenly asks.
 
“Hmm?” he hums, not turning away from the documentary.
 
“Have you told your friend that you’re a vigilante?” 
 
Izuku jolts at that, the color draining from his face. No. No he did not. He turns to Shouta with a sheepish look, “What’s the likelihood of an internet tutorial existing for ‘how to break it to your best friend that you’re secretly a vigilante?’”
 
“Slim to none,” Shouta tells him honestly, face lighting up in a near horrifying grin.
 
Oh, he’s so fucked…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Katsuki is not having a good day. He hasn’t had a good several days. Or even a relatively good week. Not since Izuku ran from him and Eijirou. He’s still beating himself up over it. He knows that he ended up resorting to anger. He knows that if he had a better handle on it this probably wouldn’t have happened. The fact of the matter is that it did. And he regrets it so much.
 
He and Eijirou exchanged numbers the same day Izuku ran from them, just in case either of them had heard from him. They hadn’t even though Katsuki hoped as hard as he could that they would. Even now, two weeks later, neither of them had heard a thing. Izuku hadn’t shown up to the café last Tuesday either. He feels like it’s a lost cause but he’s still going to the café again this afternoon. Just in case. Eijirou said he would come too so at least he’ll have company. 
 
School drags by for him. Much like it did last Tuesday. He knows it’s the anxiety and anticipation of leaving to see if Izuku’s there. How does the other boy deal with it all the time? It sucks! The release bell finally does ring though and Katsuki sends a quick text to Eijirou that he’s on his way to the coffee shop. He gets a text back as soon as he’s finished putting on his outdoor shoes of a confirmation and a promise that the redheaded boy will meet him there as soon as he can. 
 
He takes the walk slowly. He’s just prolonging the hope he’s got that Izuku will be there. He’s almost certain that once he actually gets there, the storefront will have no green pre-teen waiting for him and Eijirou. Not knowing where he is or how he’s doing is the worst part. 
 
He knows he’s just being really self-pitying but it’s all his fault and he can’t get over it. 
 
He turns the corner to get to the coffee shop. Then freezes as the front entrance comes into his line of sight. There, leaning against the wall near the door is a familiar mop of green curly hair and vivid green eyes. The expression on that familiar freckled face is wary, ready to run at a moment's notice. It’s Izuku! It’s definitely Izuku! Honestly, if he wasn’t so certain of his appearance, Katsuki would almost swear that it wasn't him. He’s clearly wearing new clothes (or a new jacket at least. It looks good.) and he’s clearly been taking some better care of himself. The circles under his eyes are lighter and his curls have a bit more bounce to them. 
 
He doesn’t take any more time than that to observe him before he races over to him, “Zuku!” 
 
The boy jumps and looks over at him meekly. “Hey Kacchan…” he mumbles under his breath, as if worried that the blonde pre-teen was still mad at him.
 
Katsuki doesn’t hesitate a second more. He throws his arms around the other boy and hugs him tight, whispering, “I was so fucking worried…”
 
“‘M sorry…” Izuku’s arms hesitantly wrap around him in return. 
 
“No it’s my fault. I fucked up. I knew it as soon as I said it. I didn’t mean it, Zuku, I swear. I just… I was just… fucking…” 
 
“Upset. And you didn’t know how to deal with it,” Izuku says, nodding, “Me too. I knew you were just worried but I got upset because I felt like you could never know what it was like to see what I saw. To go through what I did.” 
 
“And I fucking won’t!” Katsuki yells, “Yeah, Auntie Inko was important to me but she was your fucking

mom!

And if you really saw a hero throw her off a roof, fuck, I can’t even imagine what I would feel like if that was my Old Hag. Maybe I’d feel just like you or maybe it’d be worse because you fucking know what my temper’s like. I shouldn’t have just said all that shit without listening to how it made you feel. I was a shitty best friend and I’m so fucking sorry for it!” 
 
“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have assumed you were trying to make me feel bad over my decisions. I’m just so used to people being against me for the slightest thing,” Izuku fakes a cough using the word quirk. Katsuki grins at it slightly. Izuku clears his throat with a tiny smile, “Excuse me, something got stuck in my throat. Anyway, I’m sure you can guess why I don’t normally trust people with that kind of stuff. Right?”
 
“Yeah. Definitely… Still sorry though.” 
 
“I still forgive you as long as you forgive me.”
 
“Deal,” Katsuki smirks. Thank God. 
 
“IZU-BRO!” Both of them jump at the cry. Izuku turns just in time to receive an armful of a crying redhead. “You’re okay! I’m so glad! Bro, that was so not manly! Don’t just run off and cut contact with us again!”
 
Izuku pats Eijirou’s back softly to comfort him, “I’m sorry Eiji-kun. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“It’s okay, bro,” Eijirou sniffles, pulling back to wipe the tears from his eyes, “Just don’t do it again. You had me and Baku-bro worried sick! Nice jacket by the way, looks totally awesome on you.”
 
“Oh yeah. I noticed it when I spotted you. Where’d you get the drip from, Nerd? It’s not your usual nerdy ass style.”
 
“Um… well… you remember that totally not real super nice couple I lied about who I said took me in?” 
 
“What about them?” Katsuki narrows his eyes in suspicion. 
 
“Well… I really

was

taken in by a nice foster couple last week. They insisted on taking me shopping to get a few new clothes and stuff for my new room. Oh!” Izuku also reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cell phone, “They got me a phone too!”
 
“Aw bro, sick! That’s dope!” 
 
“Gimme that!” Katsuki almost growls out, snatching the phone away from Izuku. He immediately goes to program his and Eijirou’s phone numbers into it. “This way we’ll never fucking wonder again what the hell’s happened to you!” 
 
Izuku, in typical Izuku fashion, thanks him for doing so. Katsuki grumbles at it before pausing after he’s got both their numbers saved, “Who the fuck are Shouta, Hizashi, and Uraraka?”
 
“Oh! Hizashi and Shouta are the nice couple that took me in! And I met Uraraka-chan yesterday while shopping with them. She’s really nice!” 
 
“A girl, bro? Man, you’ve got game apparently! Who knew!” Eijirou cheers happily.
 
Izuku, bless his sweet soul, makes a sound of confusion with a face to match. Katsuki turns and gives Eijirou a deadpan look, “The Nerd’s cluelessness is his game. Half the time he doesn’t even realize someone is flirting with him and every time he has, he’s had to be told when someone has a crush on him. Makes him look like a lost little bunny that has everyone swooning, apparently.”
 
“I do not!” 
 
He turns the same look onto Izuku, “That one girl from fourth year of elementary school.”
 
Izuku sputters with a red face before getting out, “I told you! That was a pity crush!” 
 
“Bullshit!” Katsuki knows for a fact that if it weren’t for that girl’s shitty friends telling her that she couldn’t be with the quirkless kid, she would’ve followed Izuku around everywhere like a lovesick puppy. He may not really know how friends are usually made or interact with each other but he can tell romantic interest when he sees it. Unlike his best friend. Izuku sputters again while Eijirou laughs uproariously. He smirked in triumph before heading inside the coffee shop with the other two hot on his heels. 
 
“Uh… Kacchan?” The Nerd’s voice sounds meek again. It immediately causes Katsuki’s hairs to stand on end in nervousness. 
 
“Yeah?” He asks back almost hesitantly.
 
“I uh… I have something else to tell you. Please don’t get mad though…” 
 
That just sounds worse to be quite honest… “Oh God… What the fuck is it now?”’ 
 
“I uh… I sorta… kind of… became a not quite vigilante while I was homeless?” 
 
“You-” Katsuki’s voice dies for a moment before he gets it back to finally get the question out, “You became a what now?”
 
“A not… quite vigilante?” Izuku grins nervously. 
 
Katsuki presses two fingers to his temple to stave off the rising migraine, “And what exactly does that mean, Izuku?”
 
“Oh shit he used my real name…” Izuku murmurs to himself. The green haired pre-teen lets out a sigh, squeezing his eyes shut and forcing out in one fast breath, “I may have fought crime during the night as a vigilante called Gyokuto which is how I met my foster family because one of them is an underground pro-hero and I only can’t be charged for it because I don’t have a quirk…”
 
Katsuki just blinks at him, astounded by what he’s hearing. Apparently Izuku wasn’t done though as he quickly adds, “Also that’s how I met Eiji.”
 
Eijirou’s eyes go wide before he turns to Izuku to whisper, “I didn’t know we were telling him this today, man!”
 
Izuku grimaces, “Sorry… My foster family said I had to come clean so that Kacchan didn’t have to worry as much about me anymore. And since I didn’t have your number before now, I couldn’t warn you that this was happening. Really, I’m so sorry!”
 
Katsuki blinks again before taking a deep breath.

Don’t get mad. You remember what happened the last time you got mad,

he thinks to himself. Then he nods, “Okay…”
 
“... Okay?”
 
“Yeah… Okay… Any other… Life changing secrets I need to know about?” He asks tensely.
 
“Uh… no. I don't think so. Oh!" Katsuki tenses again before relaxing when Izuku turns to Eijirou, "I did get to meet Fat Gum!"
 
"What?! No way!" Eijirou looks starry eyed as he crowds Izuku’s space, "How was it?! How was

he?!

Was he awesome?!"
 
"Yeah! He took all of my theories and suggestions to heart and even said he'd introduce me to some more heroes so I can offer them suggestions too!"
 
"Bro, that's so awesome!" The redhead reaches out to bump Izuku’s shoulder with his fist, "And I told you your rambly theory stuff was cool! Not to mention you get to meet more awesome heroes! I'm sure Fat Gum knows all the best ones who are super nice!" 
 
"Yeah…" Izuku says softly. It's so full of hope that Katsuki is realizing he hasn't heard since way before he found Izuku by accident while walking down the street those months ago. He smiles softly to himself. Things are finally looking up. For him and Izuku both it seems.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku can admit that this isn't a good idea. He tried to fight off the urge for as long as he could. He tried to be good but ultimately he failed. Which is how he finds himself donning his Gyokuto hoodie and mask late into Thursday night.
 
It had been a fairly stressful day, with Shouta and Hizashi telling him that they would be going to UA high tomorrow so Nedzu, the principal (he’s going to meet the principal of UA…!), can give him an aptitude test to see where he is in terms of school. They'll then be looking into nearby schooling options after that to see where he can attend that will meet his academic needs. Finally, a meal will be occurring between the three of them, Shouta and Hizashi’s friends Nemuri and Tensei, and Tensei's younger brother. He's fairly certain Tensei is a pro hero like Hizashi, he just hasn't figured out which one. 
 
Point is he's stressing the fuck out and he needs to not be doing that anymore. So he's doing the best thing he knows how to do to release stress; going out to beat bad people black and blue. 
 
He hasn’t heard any sounds from the house in about an hour. So he’s fairly sure that Hizashi and Shouta both are sound asleep. Good. That makes it easier for him to get out and in the house undetected. How long should he be gone for? He sets an alarm on his new phone for three hours from now. That should be enough time to stop a good bit of crime. 
 
With that done, he carefully opens the window and slips out. He lets out a happy sigh when his feet touch the ground. He squeaks as a throat clears behind him. He looks over his shoulder to see Shouta in a t-shirt and sweatpants standing behind him with his arms crossed. He curses quietly under his breath.
 
“What do you think you’re doing?” the older man asks him.
 
“Uh… Walk? I’m walking? OUT for a walk?” he replies hesitantly.
 
A dark brow raises, “You wanna try that again?”
 
“... I’m anxious,” Izuku admits.
 
“So you decided to go for a ‘walk?’” 
 
“Yes?”
 
Shouta reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose with a disappointed sigh. Oh no that’s worse than anger! “Kid,” Shouta starts, causing Izuku to tense, “If you wanted to go out as Gyokuto, you should’ve just asked me.”
 
“Wait… You’d… just let me go do vigilante work? If I asked?!” The boy’s voice is incredulous. It certainly can’t be that easy! Right?
 
“Yes. I have a condition though. I have to come with you.”
 
“Why?” Izuku asks, confused. 
 
“If I come with you, you’re officially marked as an Underground hero’s intern. You won’t get in trouble and no other heroes you meet will be able to try and take you in for vigilantism.”
 
“Because I’m working with a hero to learn and therefore not a vigilante! Genius! What about Hizashi though? Will he be okay?” 
 
Shouta waves him off, “Hizashi’s out like a light. I’ve left him a note in case he wakes up but he’s a deep sleeper so we’ll more than likely be back before he wakes.” 
 
“So we can really go?” Izuku bounces on his feet excitedly, “Like, now-ish?”
 
“Yeah, yeah. Just give me like five minutes to change and get my gear.” 
 
Izuku resists the urge to cheer. Mostly because it’s almost one in the morning and he’d rather not wake up the neighbors. It’d be terribly rude! Shouta returns inside via his and Hizashi’s bedroom window. Izuku waits patiently for him outside. Not long later, Shouta comes back out the same way he went in; Now fully dressed with his utility belt and capture scarf also on. 
 
“Come on, kid,” Shouta says to him, shoving his hands in his pockets before beginning to lead, “I’ll show you the route I normally take whenever I can’t sleep.” 
 
“So you come out and patrol your own neighborhood whenever you’re having trouble sleeping?” Izuku asks him as he moves to catch up. 
 
“Yep. Neighbors certainly don’t mind the extra pair of eyes around these streets and I get to get out of my own head for a while. Keep up. We’ll do about two or three laps around before heading in. We stay pretty quiet around here so I doubt we’ll find anything but we’ll just have to see what’s around.” 
 
Izuku supposes that makes sense. He can imagine the stuff Shouta sees as an undergrounder must be pretty rough sometimes. His sleep schedule must be awful too considering that he patrols most nights and also teaches during the weekdays. He doesn’t ask him any more questions and, instead, just follows him quietly as he climbs to the top of a nearby apartment building. He and Izuku then move to the end of the roof and peer over the edge into the nearby alleyways. When it comes up empty, Shouta and Izuku rooftop jump to another nearby building. 
 
Each check they do comes up empty. Izuku tries not to pout. Shouta did say that it was pretty quiet in their neighborhood. He supposes he should just be happy that he was able to do this. That Shouta was willing to let him patrol the neighborhood with him to help calm his frazzled mind. He is much more relaxed now. He supposes he just needed to not be cooped up in the house any more. 
 
When they get to the last stop on Shouta’s quick route of the neighborhood, after a quick check to make sure it’s clear, the man turns to him, “Sorry kiddo. No criminals to apprehend tonight. Ready to head back now?”
 
“Yeah. I’ve relaxed now. Thanks again, Shouta.” 
 
“Sure. Let’s go then. The sooner we get back, the sooner we get to nap a bit before Hizashi’s excitable wake up call in a few hours.” 
 
“He’s… He’s not actually going to give us a wakeup call is he?”
 
“With. Singing,” Shouta threatens. 
 
Izuku groans out in frustration. That sounds very not fun. Oh well. He doesn’t think he’d have it any other way. He guesses. The return to the house with little fanfare. They see no one on the way home and easily slip back into the window of Izuku’s bedroom. Izuku’s not sure why Shouta uses his window and not his and Hizashi. Shouta turns his back to him as Izuku changes back into his pajamas - They’re so warm and so cozy. So much cozier than just wearing clothes to bed. When Izuku crawls back under the covers, Shouta appears at his side, gently tucking him in just like Hizashi did earlier tonight. “Hope you don’t mind but I’m not one for goodnight kisses. Even my husband has to demand them from me,” he jokes. 
 
“That’s okay. Thanks for tucking me in, Shouta. And taking me out on patrol. I feel much better now,” he replies tiredly.
 
“Good to hear. Now get some sleep, Problem Child.”
 
Izuku hums in understanding and snuggles down deeper into the blankets. Shouta doesn’t leave immediately, just watches him as he starts to fall asleep. He’s just drifting off fully when he feels something press against his forehead. He forces his nearly closed eyes to focus just enough to see Shouta moving to lean back up. The older man whispers a soft goodnight. Izuku smiles slightly. ‘Not one for goodnight kisses,’ his ass!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hizashi’s not nervous. If anyone asks, he’s not. He’s only taking their new child with his husband to meet their coworkers, especially Nemuri who is Izuku’s basic aunt, then taking him to see their boss so that the genius animal amalgamation can give him an aptitude test.

Then

take him to meet Hound Dog for just an initial meeting before his first session with the Hunting Dog hero. Clear, concise, easy! So he’s not nervous at all! … Okay, he’s a little nervous. Especially because they haven’t really

told

Nemuri about Izuku yet. And she hates not being told about things.
 
His hands are clenched tightly on the steering wheel as he drives. A squeeze to his knee causes him to jump. He glances over at Shouta who’s giving him a look. He knows what that look means.

It’ll be alright. We’re in this together. All three of us.

He’s right. He knows he is. He just can’t get out of his head about all this. He’ll be fine as soon as they can get it all over with. 
 
He pulls up to UA and parks in the staff parking lot. He takes a deep breath as they all get out of the car. Izuku is staring up at the UA building with wide eyes full of stars. Hizashi can’t help but smile at it. Precious. “Alrighty you two! Let’s get this over with!” he chirps, hopefully cheerfully enough. Izuku nods and follows after them as they head for the entrance. Just stay calm, Hizashi. Everything will be fine. 
 
He slaps his typical Present Mic grin on his face as Shouta shoves his hands in his pockets. They look fairly normal to how they normally act while at school. It’s the beginning of school before classes start so there are students milling about everywhere. All the students turn to watch the child following them through the school. Some of them then turn to murmur and mutter with their friends about him. He can tell it’s making Izuku nervous so he reaches back and holds out his hand with a smile in a gesture of comfort. Shockingly, Izuku latches onto it right away with his own, moving to almost tuck into his side. Hizashi smiles at him gently, whispering softly, “It’s okay. You’re alright. You’re with us, remember Listener?”
 
Izuku nods but doesn’t verbally reply. That’s okay. Hizashi knows he’s probably really overwhelmed. He and Izuku don’t let each other’s hands go as they walk. They make it to the teacher’s lounge where he can hear the other teachers/heroes milling about inside. Shouta nods at him and he nods back. Then Shouta opens the door. Everyone stops and turns to take in the sight of them. He watches as one by one all their eyes drop to the child pressed into his side, holding his hand tightly. It’s quiet. 
 
Then Nemuri squeals.
 
Izuku jumps and melds himself even closer than before, somehow. The R-Rated Hero leaps to her heeled feet and rushes over to them, crying out, “A baby!”
 
“Nemuri, he’s almost a teenager,” Shouta sighs.
 
“A. Bay. Bee,” she insists to him firmly. She then leans down to be eye to eye with Izuku, “Hi sweetheart! I’m Kayama Nemuri, or the heroine Midnight! And you are?”
 
Izuku’s eyes dart about before he mutters out shyly, “Midoriya Izuku.”
 
Nemuri blinks in shock before her eyes light up even more and she straightens up with a happy smile, “You found him?!”
 
“Yep!” Hizashi says happily, grinning back at her, “Not only that, but he’s ours now!”
 
“Oh my God! Hi for real for real then, Izuku-kun!” She turns back to the boy, “I’ve heard so much about you! I’m so glad we finally got to meet! And forget about everything I just said with my name. You call me Auntie Nemuri or Aunt Nemy, okay?!”
 
Izuku stares with wide eyes, “... Okay.”
 
“Don’t hog him, Kayama-san!” Thirteen calls behind her, coming over to them, “Hi there, Midoriya-kun. I’m Thirteen!”
 
“The Space Hero. Um… This is going to sound strange but, what pronouns do you prefer? I’ve heard so much of the media refer to you in different ways but I just want to make sure I’m getting it right when talking with you.”
 
“That's so nice of you! I go by they and she but I prefer they the most. I also prefer my hero name more than my civilian one so just call me Thirteen, okay?”
 
“Yes okay, Mx. Thirteen!” 
 
God bless his baby for being so courteous to people and their preferences. He’s too good for this world. “Me next,” Snipe pipes up, “Nice to meet ya lil’ partner! I’m Snipe.”
 
“The Gunslinger hero. Nice to meet you.” 
 
Izuku’s tense shoulders relax a bit. That’s good. Hizashi gives a small wave for the others to keep introducing themselves, figuring out that Izuku is getting more comfortable as he’s getting to put names to faces. Vlad King catches the motion and stands up, giving a tusky grin to Izuku, “Kan Sekijirou. I’m Vlad King to the hero world though.”
 
“The Blood Hero. I really like how you use your quirk during apprehensions and conflicts.”
 
“Thanks kid. You’re really polite,” he grins as he makes the joke, “Not sure how you ended up being Aizawa’s kid!”
 
“Watch yourself, King,” Shouta hisses back, also joking in his own Shouta way. 
 
Vlad chuckles. Power Loader actually comes over and holds a hand out for Izuku to shake, “I’m Maijima Higari. Power Loader. I’ve heard that you like to tinker.” 
 
“Yes sir,” Izuku takes his hand in a quick shake before tucking back into the safety of his side. Higari smiles, “Good to hear. Let me know if you ever wanna use the lab for anything. I’m always happy to loan out the use of our equipment for budding tech builders.” 
 
“I really

can

use the support lab for some of my ideas?” Izuku asks with wide eyes. Hizashi and Shouta had assured him multiple times it was fine. But Hizashi supposes hearing it from the actual support course teacher and head of the support lab was a huge difference. Hizashi smiles as Higari reassures him that of course he can as long as Izuku lets his guardians and Higari know. The boy now bounces on the balls of his feet excitedly.
 
Cemetoss and Ectoplasm both also introduce themselves. Izuku has a few good things to say about their hero work as well. Both thank him for his kind words. Shouta asks Nemuri if she’s still up for coming over that night. She excitedly confirms that she’ll be there, especially if it means she’ll get to spend more time with her pseudo-nephew. Izuku blushes a bit at that but still smiles happily. After that, the three tell the other teachers goodbye and explain that they’re meeting Nedzu so Izuku can take a scholarly aptitude test to see where he is academically. All the present UA staff wish him good luck and the little family of three head towards the principal’s office.
 
Shouta knocks on the door and they open for the three of them to enter. Nedzu sits behind his desk happily, a smaller desk arranged just in front of his own with a packet of paperwork and a pencil sitting on top. “Welcome!” Nedzu calls happily, “Shouta-kun, Hizashi-kun, and now Izuku-kun! It’s a pleasure to see you!”
 
“Nice to see you too, Principal Nedzu!” Hizashi greets back kindly. His boss might scare the ever loving

shit

out of him but he’s still his boss and has always been kind to him and Shouta. Might as well return the favor. 
 
“I’m sure you want to get this over with, Izuku-kun, so we’ll have you take a seat and get started in a moment. But first! A little test!” Nedzu giggles happily. He and Shouta tense at it. Uh oh. Izuku just blinks, unawares. Nedzu leans forward with a sharp grin, “Tell me, Izuku-kun, do you think I’m a mouse, a bear, or a dog?” 
 
Their green haired child blinks before placing a finger on his chin, “Both and neither at the same time right? You're a chimera and have a combination of all that DNA but the main source of your DNA makeup is actually from a stoat, isn’t it?”
 
Nedzu nearly lights up at that answer. He and Shouta pale considerably. Oh. NO! That’s really not good. Shouta clears his throat and kneels down to place a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “Don’t forget, right after this we’re going to meet with Hound Dog and then to see Chiyo-san to get you a checkup.”
 
“I haven’t forgotten,” Izuku replies with a small smile, “It’ll be nice to see Chiyo-san again.”
 
Hizashi places his own hand on Izuku’s free shoulder, “Now don’t let yourself freak out over this test either. If you don’t know how to answer a question, that’s okay. We’re just seeing where you are, not expecting you to ace the test. Just do your best, okay?” 
 
Izuku nods, “Okay, Hizashi.”
 
They both squeeze his shoulders again. Then they both head out as Nedzu says, “Let’s begin, shall we?”

Hizashi hopes that Izuku’s stomach didn’t drop at that sentence like his own just did. A glance at Shouta tells him that the darker haired man is feeling the same. This is going to be an interesting day. And now Hizashi is

very

nervous.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku was a bit worried. Nervous still yes, but also worried now. For some reason, he thought that this test would be extremely difficult. But in actuality it seems… almost too easy. Is this normal? Are all aptitude tests supposed to be this easy? Some of the questions are on the harder side but it’s much fewer than he was expecting. He finishes in a little over two hours. He brings the packet up to Nedzu who takes it with a small smile.
 
“Excellently done, Izuku-kun,” Nedzu tells him.
 
“Um... Thank you, Nedzu-san but uh… You don’t even know how I did yet,” he says softly.
 
Nedzu’s smile gets just a hint wider, “I don’t need to know how you did to already know that you did fantastically! More than likely far above someone of your current grade level!” 
 
Izuku’s cheeks flush a bit at the praise. It’s a bit strange. He’s always read and heard that Nedzu had a very neutral stance on humans due to his past. But Nedzu has been nothing but kind to him. For some reason, the chimera seems to sense where his thoughts have gone and just keeps smiling at him, tail swaying gently behind him. “Well, I’ll get this test graded and then get the results to your guardians. Why don’t you go ahead and head down towards Hound Dog’s office? I’ll make sure Hizashi-kun and Shouta-kun meet you there, yes?”
 
“Okay. Thanks so much, Nedzu-san,” Izuku bows politely to the principal. Nedzu waves him off as he leaves the office. He realizes belatedly that he forgot to ask directions to Hound Dog’s office. He’s about to turn around to go back in and ask when his phone pings with a new message. He checks it and notes it’s from an unknown number. He opens it, confused, but makes a noise of understanding when he sees it’s a map of the school with a small message from Nedzu about how to get to Hound Dog’s office. He would’ve wondered how Nedzu got his number… but it’s Nedzu! Most intelligent being on the planet! It’d be weirder if Nedzu just straight up

asked

for his number instead. 
 
He tucks his phone back away and makes his way to Hound Dog’s office. As Nedzu promised, Hizashi and Shouta are both waiting for him at the door. Shouta is as indifferent as usual but Hizashi has a wide, proud smile on his face. Figures. Hizashi’s just the type to want to congratulate him for finishing a test to the best of his ability. They don’t even have his score yet! How can he be proud if they don’t even know how he did? Parents are weird… He jolts at that thought. Foster parents! Foster parents are weird! Or… foster guardians. Whatever they’re considered! Obviously that’s what he meant! 
 
He rubs his face over once with his hands before shaking his head. Thoughts, begone. Get out of his head. He’ll have a crisis about this later. When he’s not about to meet his apparent new therapist preferably. Both of the adults greet him softly and he easily returns it. Why does he find it so easy to do so with them? If it was anyone else, he’s sure he’d still be in a state of nerves and distrust. Hizashi reaches up and knocks on the door to the office, not giving him any time to think about that either. Oh well. Probably for the best.
 
The door opens and standing in the frame is the Hound Dog hero himself. When he was initially homeless, he was always afraid that someone would figure out that he was avoiding the police, the heroes, and, by extension, the foster system. That when they would figure out that they would ask the Hunting Dog Hero himself to track him down. He was the best of the best when it came to runaways and missing kids like him. Hound Dog was always marked in his notebooks, new and old, in the Caution category. Less interaction meant less of a chance of him being found if they did ask him to track Izuku down. He couldn’t be too careful.
 
Now though, knowing that Hizashi and Shouta trust him inexplicably, he thinks he could change that category to Safe. 
 
Hound Dog’s muzzle pulls into a grin. It’s not scary at all just… clearly happy. “It’s very nice to meet you, Izuku-kun. Yamada and Aizawa have told me quite a bit about you,” he says gently.
 
“Good things, I hope…” He tries to joke but ends up meaning it seriously.
 
“Nothing but,” Hound Dog assures him, “I’m Inui Ryo. You can either refer to me with either of those names or just stick to Hound Dog, if that makes you more comfortable.”
 
“I… Yes, okay. Thank you, Inui-san.” 
 
“Sure. Come inside, all of you,” Inui gestures to them to come in. Izuku follows the instructions with Shouta and Hizashi right on his heels. They all sit on a sofa set in front of Inui’s desk. Inui sits in front of them at the desk. Luckily it doesn’t feel like those times where Izuku and his mom had to sit in front of the principal of Aldera to listen to all the ‘trouble’ Izuku had caused them. 
 
Inui picks up a clipboard from his desk and props a pair of reading glasses on his nose. Huh. Izuku didn’t know he needed those. Inui explains that they’re just going to do an initial reading of his mental state. Inui will ask him questions and Izuku will answer to the best of his ability. It’s really all just simple questions. Most of which have answers on a scale of one to ten, one being the worst and ten being the best. Some of the questions are a bit odd too. How restful is his sleep at night? How bad are his anxiety attacks? How much does his mind race when outside of an attack? Does he feel exhausted or awake during the day? He also asks questions that need him to estimate a number based on his experiences. How many attacks does he have a month? How often, if at all, does he have depressive episodes? What is the number of times a week that he’s woken up by nightmares, if at all? Izuku answers all of them to the best of his ability unhesitatingly. There’s a couple that he’s a bit ashamed to admit but knows that Shouta and Hizashi won’t judge him for it. That Inui won’t either because he’s a professional. At the end, Inui smiles again, “Alright, that was the last question. Thank you for your honesty in all of them, Izuku-kun. What I’ll do now is figure out what the best course of action is for your sessions and we’ll start meeting again regularly. What do you think is the best day for this?”
 
“Um… Any day that’s not Tuesday I guess. I meet with my friends those days for coffee and to catch up.”
 
“How about Thursday then? That way you can take Wednesday to relax before having to come in here to talk to me.” 
 
Izuku nods, “That sounds good.”
 
“Excellent. That’s everything for today then and you three need to get to Chiyo-san soon. I’ll see you next Thursday, Izuku-kun?”
 
“Mhmm. See you next Thursday, Inui-san.”
 
Shouta and Hizashi both thank Inui as they stand up, with bows and everything. After that, the three of them head out and down the hall towards the school’s infirmary. Chiyo greets them happily when they walk in. Her visit is a simple affair. She weights him, measures his height and the width of some of his appendages, checks his reflexes, and takes a little bit of blood to check for any diseases or disorders that he might be suffering from as well as to check his vitamin levels more thoroughly. He’s happy to note that he’s gained a quarter of a kilogram since she last saw him. She also checks on any of the scrapes and cuts she had to leave him with the week before, making a happy comment about how all of them are almost completely healed. She won’t even have to use her quirk. That’s good! Her quirk feels literally exhausting! 
 
At the end, she tells him he’s making good progress thus far and to keep up the good work. He gets a sucker for his efforts. Which he takes begrudgingly because, c’mon, he’s not a kid! It is strawberry flavored though so that’s a bonus! She tells the three of them that she’ll see them in another week and that she hopes Izuku will have put on half a kilogram by then! Izuku rubs his neck shyly and says he’ll try his best. Hizashi cackles at that while Shouta huffs out something that could be called a quick chuckle. In the end, they all head out to the car to go home.
 
Hizashi speaks up for the first time since they all met back up, “I’m so proud of you, kiddo!” 
 
“For what?” Izuku asks, confused.
 
“You’ve done a lot today, Problem Child. A test, talking about some hard things, and going to see a physician. You should be proud that you did all that as bravely as you did,” Shouta explains. Hizashi makes a noise of agreement.
 
Brave. Him? They think he was brave? Just for doing all this? Huh. And they’re proud of him too. That’s different. He smiles to himself around the sucker. That’s… nice. A nice feeling for sure. He can’t really say or do anything besides thank them. He hopes they know that it means so much more to him than that though.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“This is very suspicious,” Iida Tenya says to his older brother as they ride the train to the Aizawa-Yamada residence.
 
“Tenya,” Iida Tensei sighs out fondly.
 
“It is and you cannot convince me otherwise, nii-san!” He insists with a firm arm chopping motion in his direction.
 
“Alright… why do you think it’s suspicious? Shouta and Hizashi have just invited us to dinner. That’s not unusual!” 
 
“No, no, no, no, no!

Shouta-san

invited us to dinner and said he had a surprise to show us.”
 
“Yes… And?” Tensei prompts with confusion.
 
“Shouta-san never invites us to dinner,” He clarifies, “He abhors it because doesn’t like to entertain guests. Because he’s Shouta-san. It’s too much effort for him. And the surprise! The surprise, nii-san!” 
 
“What about the surprise?” Tensei’s starting to get nervous. Is Tenya onto something with this line of thinking?
 
The look Tenya gives him makes him feel a bit like an idiot. “Do you remember the surprise party we threw for Shouta-san’s birthday three years ago?”
 
“Oh God, you know we all

swore

to never bring up that disaster again!” Tensei shudders.
 
Tenya claps his hands together and points them at him, “Exactly! Surprise is the word you should be paying attention to there, nii-san! Shouta-san

hates

surprises! With a passion! Why would he willingly be participating in a surprise anything!” 
 
Tensei stays quiet as he starts putting all the pieces Tenya just laid out for him together. His eyes steadily widen as it all starts to click. “Oh shit…” he curses quietly under his breath.
 
“Exactly!” Tenya exclaims, “Now you understand!” 
 
“Should we be afraid? I-I feel like we should be afraid.”
 
“I don’t know,” Tenya says. Tensei looks at his younger brother in fear. Tenya scowls at it, “I’m not a mind reader. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I just know it’s probably not going to be good since it involves Shouta-san socializing at a surprise.”

Is it too late to call and say we can’t make it?

Tensei thinks to himself. No. They’re already almost there. No point in not facing the music now. He takes a deep breath as Tenya rolls his shoulders to center himself. Right, they can do this. The rest of the way to Shouta and Hizashi’s house is tense. When they finally stand on the doorstep of the Aizawa-Yamada residence, they share a quick look between the two of them. Moment of truth. Tensei knocks on the door. It opens a moment later to Nemuri, wearing a soft purple sweater dress and leggings, who smiles at them, “Tensei! Tenya-kun! Glad you could make it!” 
 
“Hey Nem,” Tensei greets.
 
“Good day to you, Aunt Nemuri!” Tenya chops his arms with the greeting, as is usual with him.
 
“One of these days, Tenya-kun, I’ll get you to call me Aunt Nemy or Auntie Nemuri!” 
 
“I will not. It isn’t proper!” She pouts but steps back to let them both in. They both step in as Tensei looks around, not seeing Shouta or Hizashi yet, commenting, “It’s weird that you got here before us, Nem.”
 
“Oh! Well! Y’know!” She shrugs, smirking in a way that does not bode well for Tensei’s poor heart. “I just thought I’d get here early! Maybe help out! Zashi and Shou are in the kitchen if you wanna go see them!”
 
She giggles as Tensei moves to the kitchen. Tenya follows behind him, eyes searching around for anything out of place that might be the surprise. There’s apparently nothing that catches his attention because he doesn’t nudge Tensei or call his attention to anything. Muffled words reach his ears as they near the kitchen. They become clearer the closer they get.
 
“-Be okay, baby. I promise,” That’s Hizashi’s voice, whispering quietly. Shouta’s voice hums in agreement a moment later. Who are they talking to?
 
He and Tenya round the corner and come across Hizashi and Shouta sitting next to a green haired child. He blinks in shock, the three in the kitchen not noticing them yet. “What?” He asks, confused.
 
All three turn their heads up towards them. The child is the first to speak, calling out incredulously, “Ingenium?! Really?! Your other friend is Ingenium?!”
 
“Did we not tell you?” Hizashi asks, innocently, “Whoopsie!”
 
Shouta rolls his eyes at his husband’s ridiculousness. Tensei chuckles, “Well you know who I am… somehow. Iida Tensei, is my civilian name. And I don’t know who you are.”
 
“This is Izuku!” Hizashi introduces the child happily, “He’s our foster son!” 
 
“You… Your foster son?!” He exclaims.
 
“Yes!” Hizashi squeals. Shouta adding, “We found him on the streets.”
 
“The streets?! Where are his parents then?” 
 
“DOA and DTM,” Izuku bitterly replies.
 
Tensei raises an eyebrow at that, “I… What does that mean?” 
 
“Dead on Arrival and Dead to Me,” Izuku’s eyes dart off to the side before he adds, “Possibly actually dead. Still unclear and unproven.” 
 
Tensei feels his whole soul leave his body as he pales at that sentence. “I am so sorry!” He says sincerely.
 
Izuku shrugs, “Eh. I’m basically over it. You don’t even have the whole story like Tsukauchi-san does. So… You know.” 
 
Tensei sighs then sputters a bit. Naomasa knows already? Before

him?

Rude of his best friends… Tenya clears his throat beside him. Tensei glances at him before making a noise of understanding, “Oh right! This is my brother, Iida Tenya.”
 
“A pleasure to meet you, Izuku-san!” Is the enthusiastic greeting from his little brother. 
 
“Loud…” Izuku mutters, mostly to himself but Tensei does hear him. Tenya thankfully doesn’t. He looks overly stressed at it. Loud noises must frighten him easily. Hizashi just puts a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, murmuring soft words of reassurance to him. Izuku takes a deep breath and nods to the blonde. Then he turns back to Tenya, “It’s uh… It’s nice to meet you too, Iida-kun.”
 
“Tenya is fine. You are Hizashi-san and Shouta-san’s foster son now after all!” 
 
Izuku nods in understanding. Nemuri pops up behind them a second later, “Isn’t this so sweet?! Tenya-kun and Izuku-kun can get to know each other a little better over dinner though! They’re the same age after all! For now, Hizashi, let's get to cooking so we can eat!” 
 
“I think you mean let

me

get to cooking so we can eat. I’m not letting you in the kitchen if every bone in my body was broken, Nems!” Hizashi teases.
 
“Mean!” 
 
Nemuri and Tenya both join Izuku and Aizawa at the table as Hizashi moves to the stove to get the already prepped ingredients cooking. Nemuri immediately starts a conversation with Izuku that the boy easily replies to. Tenya studies both of them and takes certain cues on when to add his two cents to things, ensuring that it’s moments that won’t trigger the other’s anxiety. His little brother is the best. Tensei smiles as he also joins the table, striking up a soft conversation with Aizawa so as not to interrupt the bonding occurring between the two teens and Nemuri. By the time the kitchen is full of good scents and the table is set with food, Izuku and Tenya are sharing jokes and giggling at them. Tensei smiles again. Yep, that settles it. Izuku was definitely a part of their interesting little family.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Here we are!" Taishiro announces as he leads Izuku into the building with a gentle hand on his back. Izuku looks around with something slightly akin to awe in his eyes. It's not quite that though. 
 
"Wow… I can't believe we're in Nighteye Agency. This place is legendary for the tight ship Sir Nighteye runs," Izuku says, more to himself but Taishiro would agree. Sir wasn't exactly his first choice but when explaining the great skill Izuku had with quirks and strategy, Sir practically insisted that they had to meet. He was all about intellect and since Sir's quirk only works once a day, he's a good choice for the quirkless boy to start with. 
 
"Hi! Welcome to the agency, Fat Gum!" Bubble Girl calls from the front desk, lighting up in a bright smile as she notices Izuku, "Oh! And his guest too! Who's this?"
 
"This!" Taishiro lets a heavy hand fall onto Izuku's shoulder with a solid thump. It's just a bit too strong as Izuku grunts and nearly hits the floor with it. Whoops. "Is Midoriya Izuku! He's got a bit of a talent with quirks and your boss wanted to meet him!"
 
Bubble Girl claps excitedly, "Oh wow! That's amazing! I'll call him and let him know you're here!" 
 
She turns away briefly to pick up the phone. Taishiro waits patiently in front of the desk. He sees out of the corner of his eye that Izuku is still looking around the lobby. He notices that he has no reaction to all the All Might merch around the area. Huh. Must not be too big of an All Might fan then. Bubble Girl hangs up the phone a moment later before propping her head up on her elbows with a smile, “He’ll be down in a moment. So! Do me, Midoriya-kun!”
 
“Huh?” he asks, confused.
 
“Do your quirk intuition thing with me and my quirk!” She clarifies.
 
“Right… right now?” he points to the ground nervously.
 
“Yes!” She nods, smile still bright.
 
“Um… Okay. Can you use it really quickly so that I can see what it does?”
 
“Sure thing!” With a wave of her hand, a small bubble forms. It floats over to Izuku and pops on his shoulder. Taishiro grins as Izuku immediately takes a sniff of his shoulder and hums in thought. They stay silent as he thinks it through. 
 
“Emitter type with minor mutation qualities as evidenced by your skin tone,” he starts, “Based on the fact that this one smells like freshly fallen sakura petals, I’m guessing it has to do with scents. More than likely ones that you’ve at least smelled before. The bubbles follow your directions to a certain point, i.e. you can direct where they go but they’re not sentient or anything like that. They’re considered a separate entity that you create instead of a part of you. I imagine you can make multiple at one time and of different smells, both good and bad.”
 
Bubble girl is now staring at him with wide eyes, “Whoa, you’re good! That’s all right! Right as in correct, that is.”
 
Izuku smiles now, “Have you ever thought of using them as basic trap bombs?”
 
“What do you mean?” she blinks at him. 
 
“I mean, making and sustaining a bubble of a foul smell in a hidden area so a criminal will run into it when attempting to escape or gain distance from you to use their quirk. The shock factor could give you an extra couple of seconds to apprehend them if you did.” 
 
Now the awe that Taishiro felt is in Bubble Girl’s eyes, “Oh my God that’s so smart…” The BMI makes a sound of smug agreeance. He knew he wasn’t crazy in thinking that Izuku was a genius with quirks. He’s glad someone else, besides Mic and Eraserhead who are the kid’s foster parents, sees it!
 
“Very impressive,” A new voice catches their attention and they all turn to it. Sir is walking towards them confidently, hands clasped smartly behind his back. The intelligence hero pushes his glasses up his nose, “Fat Gum has told me much about you, Midoriya-kun. Glad to see that his information was accurate.”  
 
Now Izuku looks awed to Taishiro. He supposes it makes sense. All Might is a hero with an overly powerful quirk, something Izuku can’t relate to as a quirkless person. Meanwhile, Sasaki Mirai spends 23 hours of his day quirkless, just like Izuku. He can see why Izuku would take a liking to him more than All Might even if the Number One was technically the more popular choice. Now he’s really seeing that this was probably a really good idea. Good job, him! Unintentionally figuring out that this was the best option! Not to mention that Sir’s got

connections.

If he likes what he hears from Izuku, which Taishiro is sure he will - how could he not? - then he’ll spread the word on just how good Izuku is. 
 
“Nice to see you again too, Nighteye!” Taishiro jokes about not being addressed at all.
 
“Yes, you as well Fat Gum. I’m pleased you weren’t kidding about the level of Midoriya-kun’s intellect.”
 
“Would I lie to you?” 
 
Sir raises an eyebrow in reply to the question. Taishiro starts to sweat a bit, “Okay. Amendment question; Why would I lie about this? I would hurt a kid more than I would hurt myself doing that!”
 
“Now that is a fair assessment,” Sir agrees. Then he turns to Izuku with a small smile, “Why don’t we head up to my office? You can talk more about quirks with myself and my other sidekick, Centipeder. We’d love to hear your observations and suggestions.”
 
Izuku nods readily in agreement. This is going great! Izuku starts to follow Sir back to his office. Bubble Girl gives him two thumbs up in approval. Taishiro gives one back and also pulls out his phone to send a quick text to Mic-senpai about how it’s all going great. Then he rushes to catch up to the boy and the other pro hero. He would hate for Izuku to feel nervous and alone when he should be feeling in his element. Hopefully, the rest of this visit to Nighteye Agency will go just as well as the first initial meetings.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku leaps from the rooftop of the nearby apartment complex to their home to the nearest roof closest to it. He huffs out a frustrated sigh as the neighborhood around him remains silent. He’s actually really surprised that he’s still out here. By himself, he means. He probably shouldn’t have snuck out of the house without telling Shouta since the older man specifically stated that he could go out as long as Shouta was told and could come with him. To be fair, he did go into his and Hizashi’s room to wake him up but the man was sleeping solidly enough that the door to their bedroom didn’t wake him. It’s a very rare occasion that he falls that deep into sleep! Izuku would’ve felt more guilty about waking him up than sneaking out by himself!
 
He can’t get the end of his meeting with Nighteye agency out of his head.
 
He was asked to wait outside while Sir Nighteye and Fat Gum - Taishiro-san, he reminds himself - talked. He noticed from when they first stepped into the office that Nighteye had a very specific kind of door at his office. It makes a clicking sound when it closes but if you angle it and pull it just right, it’ll still make a sound even when the door isn’t closed. He only knows about them because he’s dealt with them before when sneaking around while homeless. He could easily trick people into thinking the door had shut when in reality it hadn’t. It was a great diversion tool and, in this case, a great way to eavesdrop.

“So what do you think? Amazing, right?” Taishiro had asked.

Nighteye sighed, long and low, “How do I put this?”

“C’mon! Hit me with it! Tell me how great it is so I can relay it to him!”

“Toyomitsu… This ability of Midoriya-kun’s… It makes him dangerous. A threat,” Nighteye said plainly as Izuku’s blood turned to ice in his veins. It’s quiet for a long moment then an explosion of voices erupted.

“Sir!” Both Centipeder and Bubble Girl screamed as Taishiro bellowed out, “

Excuse

me!?”

“You heard me. It’s dangerous. That boy is far too dangerous with his ability to pick apart a quirk in a matter of seconds. He could very easily become a villain and kill even some of the highest ranking heroes with it.”

He might not trust them but he wouldn’t kill heroes. He wouldn’t ever! Would never even think about it! He wouldn’t even kill villains unless there was absolutely no choice! No one should take a life without it  being the very last option for the safety of everyone!

“Well it’s a good thing he’s not going to be a villain then, isn’t it?” Taishiro insisted. He doesn’t know if he’ll be a hero either but he definitely won’t be a villain. Kacchan would kill him!

“You think he could be a hero?” Nighteye scoffs, loudly, “Without a quirk? He would just be a liability that way.”

White hot anger spilled through him before tears of shame and embarrassment welled up in his eyes. A slam rang out behind the door, “Of course I do! You are! Who cares that he doesn’t have a quirk?! He’ll be a fantastic hero!”

It’s nice that Taishiro stuck up so strongly for him. He really is one of the good heroes. Nighteye doesn’t quit though, “Toyomitsu-san, listen to me. Stop giving that boy false hope. Tell him he can’t be a hero and let it go. Don’t bring him to another hero agency like this again. I can’t say it’ll be good for his self-esteem or well being if you do.”

Taishiro’s voice was harsh as he replied, “No! Absolutely not! You don’t get to decide what I will and won’t do! That kid has probably been told his whole life that he couldn’t be a hero and has had a harder life because of it than you probably could understand! At least people turned their thinking around about you but that was only because of All Might, wasn’t it?”

“Don’t you bring him up!” Nighteye growled.

“Why? Too afraid to admit to yourself that most of your success comes from being the number one’s former sidekick?” Taishiro goaded, “Too afraid to admit that you spent three fourths of your day just like him? Too afraid to relate to someone who’s not All Might even a

little

bit?”

Damn but Taishiro was ballsy when he was mad. Another slam comes from behind the door. “Enough!” This time it was Nighteye who bellowed, “Stop your nonsense! You know nothing about my success or my relationship with All Might! Leave at once!”

“Happy to! But I’m no longer associated with Nighteye Agency when I do. Don’t

ever

call on me for any operations you head, ever again. I won’t help! Won’t even consider it! You hear me?!”

“Gladly heard and noted! Out!” The sound of footsteps towards the door followed the harsh order. Nighteye also started sputtering, “Awata, Moashi, where are you going?!”

“You in your infinite wisdom can’t figure it out? Out the door!” Bubble Girl’s voice was also quite harsh, a far cry from the cheerful voice she had greeted him with earlier, “If you can’t treat Midoriya-kun like a person and with respect just because he doesn’t have a quirk and he’s smarter than his age, then I don’t want to work here!”

“That goes for me as well,” Centipeder confirmed, “Unless something drastically changes with you in the next week, consider this my official resignation. If you do manage to come to your senses, feel free to call me then. If not, find yourself a new sidekick.”

It was really nice that they all wanted to do something so drastic for him. He doesn’t feel like he deserves it honestly. Especially since they've given up their jobs for him technically. Izuku swiftly reached out and pulled the door fully closed. That way none of the pros would notice that it was open from the get go. He tried not to make it too obvious that his heart was in his feet when the door opened and the three came out. Taishiro smiled with a thumbs up at him, “Way to go today, little buddy! Want to go get some ice cream?”

“Can we come too?” Bubble girl asked, back to her happy self. Centipeder smiled and nodded.

“I don’t see why not! What do ya say, Izuku-kun?” Izuku smiled as best as he could at the question and nodded. He still kind of felt like his whole world had turned on its end. But the only hero that could closely resemble his situation called him dangerous. A threat. A possible villain. He couldn’t get it out of his head even as they left Nighteye Agency without a single look back.

He wasn’t going to be a villain though. He swore to himself silently that he wouldn’t be. He would rather go back to being a homeless vigilante than do that! But it still wouldn’t leave his head. So he decided he needed to go out and blow off some steam with a bit of rooftop hopping and possible criminal apprehension. No criminals to really apprehend though. Damn Shouta for being Eraserhead and making this neighborhood so safe! 
 
He lands on another rooftop and checks the alleyway behind it. Empty. Of course. He sighs. He supposes he should just cut his losses and start heading home. He looks around for the best roof to leap to in order to start the journey home. Then sighs angrily at himself. He’s made the mistake of jumping on the lowest roof in the area due to not paying attention. And all the fire escapes for the other buildings are on the opposite sides from this building. Great… Now he’ll have to get street level to get back onto the taller roofs. 
 
He easily gets to street level with a quick leap and tumble off the roof into the alley. Now to make the walk of shame for a parkour master of going

around

the buildings instead of over them. He grumbles curses at himself for his stupidity. Just as he’s about to turn the corner onto the sidewalk of the street, a hand with a rag in it claps over his mouth.

Don’t breathe in!

He screams at himself mentally. He doesn’t know what’s on the rag but he knows it’s probably not good and is looking to knock him out via inhalation.

Can’t be chloroform though. That stuff doesn’t work immediately like they portray it in movies. Maybe a new type of drug for this stuff? What the fuck am I doing?! Focus! Escape!

He struggles harshly without breathing in as best as he can. There’s a harsh pinch to his side that makes him inhale unintentionally at the sudden pain. He manages to swing his fist up just right to catch the person in the nose, who lets him go with a grunt of pain. He’s already feeling a bit woozy as his feet hit the ground, causing him to stumble. What should he do? He can’t run like this! Who knows how far he’ll even get! Suddenly, even through the dizziness, Hizashi’s voice from a few days ago comes to his mind.

“If you’re ever in trouble and need help but don’t have a lot of time, just text one of us SOS. We’ll find you as soon as we can, Bunny Bean!”

He had said as Izuku was going out to meet with Kacchan and Eiji-kun again for the first time. 
 
SOS. He needed to text one of them SOS. He spares a quick glance at his assailant, noticing they’re kneeling on the ground in front of him. Izuku, in a moment of adrenaline fueled idiocy, rushes up and kicks them in the face. It does the job of effectively knocking them flat on the ground but it also causes Izuku to lose his balance and fall onto the ground harshly himself. The world spins. He’s running out of time. SOS. Just have to text Shouta a quick SOS. Then they’ll come help him. 
 
He shakily pulls out his phone, doing his best to bring up Shouta’s contact. He only knows it’s his when he sees the previous text thread with a picture of Haia and the man laying on the floor next to each other. He gets the first two letters typed out before his head tips and his vision starts blackening around the edges. He shakes his head wearily. No. Not yet. He’s gotta get it sent and put his phone away so they can track him. He just needs to stay awake for another minute. He types the other S and hits send. He just barely manages to tuck his phone back away in his pants pocket when the world finally goes black.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shouta’s leg jumps in nervousness as he watches Hizashi pace back and forth in front of him. He understands his husband is feeling very anxious right now. He doesn’t blame him since their child texted him an SOS two hours ago. And no one can seem to find him. Nedzu’s looking via various cameras around where Izuku’s phone last pinged. Toyomitsu and several of the UA staff members are looking around the field in the same area. So far, nothing.  Nemuri and Tensei both came over when they called them. They didn’t hesitate a second. Tenya came too but the poor kid was exhausted and passed out on the couch in a dead sleep about twenty minutes ago. Shouta wishes he could be more useful but he’s been forbidden from doing anything but waiting here with his husband and friends for news. He hates just waiting around. Mostly because it leaves him time to do nothing but think. Mostly it leaves him time to do nothing but think about how angry he is.  Not at Izuku. Of course not. The kid had a rough afternoon after his meeting with Nighteye. At first, they thought it was just post meeting jitters. After much prodding though, they found out that Izuku heard everything that Nighteye had said about him to Toyomitsu. It’s honestly no surprise to Shouta that he snuck out to go do vigilante things after hearing that. No, he’s mad at himself. He didn’t wake up when the kid got out of bed. He didn’t wake up when the kid opened the front door. He didn’t wake up when the front door shut. He didn’t wake up at all. He’s so pissed at himself for that! This may have never happened if he had just woken the fuck up! Instead, he had to be woken up by his phone going off from an SOS message from their kid. He feels like an idiot! “Stop it,” Nemuri tells him firmly from the right. “What?” He asks, looking over at her. “I can tell you’re blaming yourself. So stop it. This isn’t your fault,” she says, voice still firm. “I should’ve woken up though. Why did I stay asleep? I never sleep that deeply!” He insists, running a frantic hand through his hair. “Shouta. This is not your fault!” she reiterates, moving to grab his shoulders tightly, “Listen to me. This isn’t something that you asked for or wanted. This isn’t something you could’ve prevented either. Don’t blame yourself. Please.” Shouta opens his mouth to argue but Hizashi cuts him off, “Shou, she’s right. Don’t blame yourself. It’ll be okay, alright babe? I’m sure Nedzu or one of the others are close to finding him, yeah? Let’s just have a little faith.” He doesn’t have a good response to that. So he just sighs and slumps over to put his face in his hands. He still can’t shake the feeling of guilt and anger at himself. But he’ll sit quietly and stop talking about it for now. Just as Hizashi is rounding to make another lap in his pacing, the phone rings. Everyone stares for a moment before scrambling for it. Shouta manages to grab it first, answers it and puts it on speaker, “Eraserhead.” “Shouta-kun, it’s me!” Nedzu says in greeting. Shouta holds his breath. If the Chimera is calling so chipperly, he must have good news. “Did you find him?” he asks his boss. “Yes I did!”  “What about Fat Gum and the others?” Hizashi asks from over his shoulder. “No worries, Mic-senpai!” Toyomitsu’s voice chirps through, “We’re here!” “Three way call?” Shouta ponders. “Yep!” Toyomitsu confirms, “Nedzu-san called a few minutes ago and asked us all to reconvene.” Tensei nods, “Good. Less to relay later. What did you find, Nedzu-san?” “Well, Izuku-kun was definitely taken and was drugged in order for it to happen. But I have it on good authority that he is perfectly safe!”  “On whose authority?” Shouta squints at the phone. “That would be mine,” The voice that comes from the phone this time makes Shouta’s heart stop and his blood boil. He growls angrily, “Nighteye?” “Correct. I have Midoriya-kun with me. He’s safe in my home.”  “Are you kidding me…?” Hizashi asks slowly, voice calm in a way that Shouta knows is bad news. Then he explodes, “ARE YOU ACTUALLY KIDDING ME?! You’re JOKING right?! You are awful! Despicable! I am going to DJ punch you in your stupid little glasses SO HARD that your great grandparents won’t even have needed future vision to have seen it!”  Shouta can forgive his ringing ears for the slip of his husband’s quirk for that hopefully very effective threat. If Hizashi hadn’t given him one, Shouta definitely would have. The quirk filled voice of a screaming Present Mic did manage to startle Tenya from his sleep.  “Please, let me explain,” Nighteye asks. “Five words!” Shouta growls out. “Four: I lied to Toyomitsu,” Is the response. Nemuri shrugs and quietly mutters out that even with saying four, he didn’t exceed the five word limit. Shouta knows the man just did it to piss him off though. Toyomitsu sputters for a second before finally getting out, “Huh?” Shouta huffs a sigh through his nose, “Explain further.” Nighteye is silent for a moment then honestly tells them, “I lied to you when I was speaking about Midoriya’s abilities, Toyomitsu. He’s not a threat and definitely not dangerous. He’s amazing and beyond brilliant. But… I used my quirk to see into his future when he didn’t notice earlier today. His future involved him being in danger quite a bit. I didn’t want to see such a young child put into so many situations like that. So I, foolishly, tried to get Toyomitsu to dissuade him from such a lifestyle… I didn’t realize until later that the first dangerous situation he would be in would be an attempted kidnapping tonight…”  “So you… what? Found him and stopped the kidnapping?” Nemuri asks, slightly confused. “Not quite. I knew Midoriya-kun would incapacitate his kidnapper enough to message someone. I knew the general area of where the kidnapping was going to happen. Instead of just leaving it alone, I went there and took Midoriya-san before his kidnapper could recover and take him themselves.” Nedzu jumps in at that point, “I saw Sir Nighteye carrying Midoriya-kun over his shoulder while I was camera checking. I thought it was strange because of all the heroes I would suspect of kidnapping a child, Nighteye was not one of them. I immediately called him and confirmed that he was rescuing Midoriya-kun, not taking him. I also confirmed by the location of a text sent from Midoriya-kun’s phone by Nighteye that he did indeed bring him to his home.”  “So who attempted to kidnap him?” Hizashi asks in worry. “I don’t know,” There’s disappointment in Nighteye’s voice at that, “I was more focused on getting Midoriya away from there that I didn’t even think to focus on the kidnapper. By the time I thought about it, we were already too far from the scene and I didn’t want to risk returning alone with Midoriya still unconscious.”  Hizashi and Shouta both exchange looks. He can’t tell if he’s relieved or not that Nighteye stopped the kidnapping. He can tell that Hizashi also doesn’t really know how to feel. Nemuri nudges them both as a way to silently tell them to think more about it later. Shouta agrees. For now though, “Can you give us your address? Mic and I would like to pick Izuku up as soon as possible.” “Understandable after everything that’s happened. Nedzu, would you mind sending it to them over text?”  “Sending it now. Thank you for your assistance with all this, Sir Nighteye,” Nedzu says, the clacking of keyboard keys echoing from his side of the phone. “Of course. I would like to apologize to you two, Eraserhead, Present Mic. But I’ll save it for when you’re here. I feel it would be more meaningful in person and when I can also apologize to Midoriya for my harsh words and callous behavior.”  This time, all four of them - minus Tenya - exchange a look of surprise. Sir Nighteye wasn’t exactly known in the world of heroics for his apologies. This was certainly going to be an interesting visit to Nighteye’s home. Shouta and Hizashi call out thank you’s to Toyomitsu and all of the other UA staff who had come to their aid to try and help find Izuku. They get many reassurances that no one minded and to let them know how Izuku’s doing later. They have the best coworkers. They also thank Toyomitsu for being so caring about their foster son who immediately brushes them off with a, “Izuku’s a good kid. He deserves to have people who care about him! Tell him I said hi when you pick him up! And to try his best not to get kidnapped too, apparently.”  Nedzu also gives his well wishes to Izuku before they all hang up the phone. Nemuri, Tensei, and Tenya all insist on staying until Izuku is home. They just want to see him in person themselves so they can stop worrying too. Shouta doesn’t have the heart to tell them no for it either. He’d be the same way if something like this had happened to Tenya. So they’ll stay while he and Hizashi go pick him up from Nighteye’s home then head out after they see Izuku. Shouta breathes out a sigh. Not relief. Not yet. That one won’t come until he sees his kid, alive and well. But now he and Hizashi can go get him.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku comes back to consciousness slowly. He hates the feeling of it. Not only that but he has a horrible splitting headache. Stupid drugs. Drugs suck. Don’t do drugs kids. He hears something on the edge of his hearing as he starts fully coming back. It sounds like yelling. It sounds like very familiar yelling, actually. He finally gets his eyelids to unstick and blurrily looks up from where he’s laying. It’s surprisingly very soft, which is odd for kidnappers. A man is sitting next to him. He has long, dark hair.
 
Long, dark hair? Who does he know that has long, dark hair?
 
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” the voice he heard yelling before practically shrieks, “Why on earth did you think that was a good idea?!”
 
“Zashi, chill,” the dark haired man above him says. Zashi? Like Hizashi? Is Hizashi here somehow?
 
The voice squawks in indignation, “You chill, Shou! This idiot decided to help our baby avoid being kidnapped by kidnapping him himself! Who the fuck does that!?”
 
Oh… That’s right. Shouta has long, dark hair. That must be Shouta. Izuku smiles to himself. They got his message. They came for him. But what was Hizashi talking about when he said someone kidnapped him to avoid him being kidnapped? That doesn’t make any sense. 
 
“I apologize again but as I said before it was the only thing I could think of at the time,” That voice is also familiar but Izuku doesn’t really care for it. He manages to turn his head a bit and catch sight of Hizashi and the other person. Oh. It’s Sir Nighteye. Just as that thought crosses through his mind, Hizashi swings out and clocks Nighteye across the cheek. Izuku winces. Ouch. That had to hurt. Nighteye groans in obvious pain. Hizashi just points at him definitely, “That’s for making our son feel bad then kidnapping him!”
 
“I deserved that…” Nighteye said appeasingly. 
 
Izuku huffed out a little laugh at that. Shouta’s head shoots over to look at him. He smiles softly, whispering, “Hey Problem Child. Back with us?” 
 
Izuku grunts at him in affirmation. The sound draws Hizashi’s attention who wheels around to look at him. “Bunny bean!” He rushes over to kneel next to Izuku’s head, “OH thank God you’re okay! We were worried sick!”
 
“‘M okay,” He manages to get out, “Happened?”
 
“What happened?” Shouta asks as clarification. Izuku hums and Shouta looks away, “I got your SOS message. Woke me right up. We called Nedzu, Fat Gum, and the UA staff and began searching for you based on where your phone pinged last.”
 
“Yeah but when Nedzu finally found you, he found Sir Nighteye carrying you away from the scene,” Hizashi continues, “Apparently he knew what was happening and carried you away from the scene. Effectively kidnapping you to keep you from being kidnapped. Apparently.”
 
Nighteye adjusts his slightly crooked glasses, cheek steadily turning a dark purple, “Nedzu contacted me as soon as he found me carrying you. You’ll forgive me that I didn’t take you to the nearest hospital. I have a feeling with your quirk status you would not have been treated kindly.”
 
“No, probably not,” Izuku agrees begrudgingly, “Hospitals don’t really like the quirkless kid…”
 
Hizashi reaches out to run a gentle hand through his hair in a soothing manner. Nighteye clears his throat, “You’ll also forgive me, I hope, for taking you and not contacting the police right away. You were targeted for a very specific reason and I recently discovered that we may have a bit of corruption in the force.”
 
“Targeted? What for?” Izuku asks, sitting up slowly with the help of Hizashi. 
 
“We’ve recently had a string of kidnappings of children with weak or undesirable quirks in the area. It was the same method tried on you, a cloth with an unknown drug extremely similar to chloroform over the mouth to induce unconsciousness. Every single time the kidnapped child had been recovered as…” Nighteye purses his lips before sitting down slowly in a chair behind him, “Nothing but a tortured body.”
 
Both his foster dads wrap their arms around him and hold him close. He’s glad. That is not a pleasant description. He can also make the connection that Nighteye was implying, “You’re saying they tried to take me because I’m quirkless, right?”
 
“That’s correct. We - Centipeder and I theorized that whoever was behind the kidnappings were likely using the children to try and change or enhance their quirks. We don’t know what they were subjected to but more than likely it was extreme methods of quirk manipulation and very strong drugs of various kinds. I used my quirk on you that day in my office and saw you being kidnapped in the same way as the others in my case. I feared what would have happened to you, so I tried to dissuade you from doing what you do. I thought I could prevent it but… it seems like it was a fixed point in time. So instead, I decided to get you away from it. I traced you the same way that Nedzu did and… kidnapped you from your kidnapper. You got a very good shot on them by the way. They were very disoriented and didn't even realize what happened until we were probably gone,” Nighteye praises.
 
Izuku blushes a bit. That’s a far cry from what Nighteye had said in his office. He chooses to ignore it for now, not certain how he feels about the intelligence hero right now after everything. “So what about the kidnapper? The real one?” he asks. 
 
“I… don’t know. The police force that arrived at Nedzu’s behest said there was nothing to be found on the scene aside from the cloth used to drug you. There was no sign of them anywhere and it’s uncertain how they escaped. Nedzu even checked to see if he could spot where they came out in the alley but they never did. It’s like they vanished into thin air.”
 
“Perhaps a teleportation quirk?” Izuku suggests, mind working a million miles a minute despite also trying to pound outside his skull, “It’s possible that they’re at least a group of three; one kidnapper, one escape creator with a teleportation quirk, and one person to do the tests. More than likely there’s more than just one kidnapper but it is probably at least three.”
 
“A logical observation,” Nighteye nods, “And one to take into consideration. I’ll make a note of it next time I’m in the office.”

Izuku nods as well before reaching up to rub his pounding temples. Hizashi tuts sadly at him and tells him that they’ll get him some migraine medicine when they get home. That sounds lovely if he’s being honest. That and a long nap is well deserved at this point in his eyes.
 
“Before you go, one last thing,” Nighteye says before standing up and bowing to Izuku deeply, “I would like to formally apologize for everything I said.”
 
Izuku blinks in shock, “What?”
 
“I realize I said things that deeply hurt you in a misguided effort to make you change in what I believed was your own safety. I apologize. I truly never meant any of them. I believe you are brilliant and if you ever decide to be a hero, you will become one of the greatest heroes ever seen that will also put an end to many false notions,” Nighteye stands back up, “You don’t have to accept my apology. But I just wanted you to know that I do apologize.” 
 
That’s… a lot more than Izuku would have ever expected. He’s not sure how to feel about it either. “I… don’t know if I can right now. But maybe sometime in the future, I could,” he replies honestly.
 
Nighteye nods in understanding, “That’s fine with me.”
 
Hizashi tells Shouta to help him up while he goes to get the car. Izuku stands up slowly with Shouta supporting him. Nighteye shows them to the door quietly, nothing else to be said from him. Izuku pauses before they leave to look up at him, “I understand why you did what you did. I wish you had chosen a different way to go about it. But I do understand. Most people would’ve just let me get kidnapped so they wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore. So thank you. For saving me, if nothing else.” 
 
Nighteye takes a breath and nods. Izuku nods back with a small smile before he starts walking again with Aizawa. He really needs that medicine and a nap. He can’t wait to be home with his foster dads.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hey hey! Sorry! No update today! Daisy had her spay surgery yesterday and I have to be on constant surveillance to make sure she's not doing anything to over exert and tear her stitches as well as make sure she's getting her medication on time with food! Not to mention since tomorrow's Thanksgiving for us, I'm doing a bit to prepare for it.  If I need to post an update to this note with a pic of Daisy in her little post-surgery suit as compensation for missing an update, then I absolutely will! Just let me know! EDIT: Everyone who's commented has asked for pictures so... here you go!  Sleepy girl! Plus a fuzzy butt of my other pup! This one's one of my favorites of her in general now!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Your luck fucking sucks, Nerd,” Katsuki tells Izuku after the greenette gets through telling his adventure of the week to him, Eijirou, and Tenya (who started joining them at Izuku’s invitation).
 
“I totally wasn’t aware of that, Kacchan, thanks,” Izuku replies sarcastically.
 
“Seriously, bro, how is it that you got kidnapped by a pro hero to avoid being kidnapped by a villain?” Eijirou asks, still confused a bit by how that makes any sense. 
 
“I concur!” Tenya adds, throwing up a sharp hand movement, “How any pro hero could possibly come to the conclusion that that is the best course of action should have their license re-reviewed! A minor was in danger and that was his best thought on how to fix the situation?!”
 
“Look, I kind of get it but that doesn’t mean I like it either,” Izuku shakes his head, taking a sip of his coffee, “He did apologize to me. I didn’t accept it. I don’t forgive him for it either, I really don't. But I do get why he tried to save me the way he did. So I guess I’m a little grateful. If it wasn’t for him, I probably would be strapped to some lab table somewhere right now being experimented on by a crazy person.”
 
“True,” Eijirou scowls with the begrudging acceptance.
 
Tenya nods, “And at least, Shouta-san and Hizashi-san were swift enough to put together a search and rescue team.” 
 
“Yeah. They really fucking care about you, Nerd,” Katsuki says before adding near silently under his breath, “I’m glad.” 
 
Tenya, not hearing the end part, immediately went to bat for Hizashi and Shouta. Understandable. They were two of his brother’s best friends. Katsuki just rolled his eyes at the tirade now leaving Tenya’s mouth. Izuku just smiles fondly and whispers quietly back to the blonde, “Thanks.”
 
Katsuki’s response was a sniff and a small, almost imperceptible nod. Katsuki language for, “yeah of course. You’re welcome.” Eijirou grins at him, already having picked up on how Katsuki speaks without talking. He wasn’t fluent in it yet but he was for sure learning that body language and actions spoke louder for Katsuki than actual words did. Tenya didn’t know that yet but he would probably also eventually pick up on the fact that Katsuki often means more than he says. Izuku has good friends.
 
“Where’s that chick you met the other week, by the way?” Katsuki asks, still ignoring Tenya’s lecture on treating Izuku’s foster parents with respect, “Did you forget to send her a damn invite, Nerd?”
 
“No. I did invite her. She said she couldn’t afford the train ticket this week either. I think she was disappointed about it too…” Izuku said sadly. 
 
Katsuki rolls his eyes, “Why not just fucking ask your foster dads to cover a ticket for her? I’m sure they would.” 
 
“Oh, no! I couldn’t possibly ask that of them! They already do so much taking care of me,” Izuku declines immediately, hands flailing in front of him.
 
“Yeah because they’re damn well supposed to. You know? As your fucking

foster dads?”

The look Katsuki gives him is nothing short of deadpan.
 
“Regardless,” he presses firmly, trying to get his point across, “It just wouldn’t feel right to ask them to pay for a train ticket every week just for Uraraka-san to come down to meet you guys and then visit us!”
 
“Izuku-kun, you know money is no issue with Hizashi-san and Shouta-san, correct? Bakugou-san is correct - though I loathe to admit - that both would be willing to pay for a ticket for her if it would make you happy,” Tenya gently informs him.
 
Katsuki flips the youngest Iida off for the comment about loathing to admit he was right, which Tenya immediately scoffed in affrontement at. Izuku looks down at his shoes as he thinks about that statement. Sure, they really probably wouldn’t mind if he did ask. But it just didn’t feel right to him. Especially with all that they’ve done for him already. 
 
“Bro, why not just ask and offer to pay them back?” Eijirou suggests, “If they say that you should, you do some odd jobs to pay them back. If they say not to worry about it, then you know you can treat it like a gift. That was you’ll at least have asked and offered an out for yourself to not feel guilty over.”
 
“That’s… actually pretty smart, Eiji,” Izuku smiles at the red head, “Alright. I’ll do that. Maybe by this time next week we’ll actually have a meeting session between you guys and Uraraka-chan!”
 
Eijirou cheers in excitement while Katsuki and Tenya just silently agree with him. Tenya speaks up again after a moment where they all pause to take more sips of their coffee, “I’ve been meaning to ask by the way; what of your aptitude test? Has Nedzu-san gotten back to you with the results?”
 
“Not yet,” Izuku shakes his head, “Shouta thinks he’ll get back to us by the end of this week. Hizashi says that he’s fairly certain Nedzu-san had it graded by the end of the day I took it but is keeping it quiet to build suspense. Knowing Nedzu-san and his vindictive streak, I think he’s right. But I don’t know who he’s trying to build suspense for; myself or Hizashi and Shouta.”
 
“Both, probably,” Katsuki chimes in, “I know he kept the whole damn reason about why he was investigating Aldera from me until the very end to build suspense. He probably also purposely made sure to tell me at the end of the school day because he knew I would get fucking pissed and come find you.”
 
“Especially since he did it on a Tuesday,” Izuku says conspiratorially, mind putting puzzle pieces together, “He probably found out from the street cameras that I was meeting up with you and Eijirou. My guess is it happened right after he figured out my identity from them.”
 
“You know he found out about it through the street cameras?” Eijirou asks, glancing at one he can see out the window of the coffee shop.
 
Izuku rolls his eyes at that, “It’s Nedzu-san. He’s the smartest being in the world. It would be more surprising to me if he

didn’t

have every camera in all of Japan hackable at the touch of a button.” Katsuki grunts in agreement with that statement.
 
“Note to self: be sure to be on my best behavior when in front of street cameras,” Eijirou mumbles to himself. Izuku giggles at that. He’s probably not wrong about that though. Especially if he was thinking of going to UA for high school; Wouldn’t do for the principal to know all of your secrets before you even arrive there. Probably doesn’t help that both of your friend’s foster dads work for said principal by teaching at the school either. 
 
It brings another thought to his mind. UA.
 
It was his dream school when he was a child. The best of the best heroes graduated from UA. But what about now? Does he still dream of getting in? He could always do the support course. Or even just the general education course. Is that what he wants though? 
 
Is UA still his dream even if it’s not the hero course?
 
He supposes he’ll have to think about it a bit more deeply. Maybe talk with Shouta and Hizashi about it. No wait. He should actually talk to Nemuri-san about it. He thinks she would be more partial to helping him fully think it over than his foster dads trying to get him to go to their alma mater. Well… one of his foster dads. Hizashi’s the only one who would really push him to go to UA. He’d probably cite things like how amazing he’d be and how smart he is and how great he’d do. But he doesn’t need that right now. He needs to figure out if this is something he would want or if he needs to leave that dream in the past. 
 
Regardless, he’ll worry about it later. For right now, he’ll just enjoy the time he’s spending with his friends.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shouta crosses his arms over his chest and levels an even stare at Nedzu who’s sitting at his desk across from him and Hizashi. The chimera sits calmly while stirring the tea he made for himself. He’s humming like this is a civil chat but Shouta knows better. He has a solid guess as to why their boss called them to his office. He also guesses that it’s making Hizashi sweat through his shirt, which Nedzu is probably enjoying. He does love to make people uncomfortable. Too bad Shouta’s been a part of his game since his high school days so it doesn’t work on him anymore. 
 
Shouta starts to drum his fingers on his arm semi-impatiently. Honestly, he couldn’t care less if this took all day. But he knows that Nedzu will respond better to the visual of him being impatient. The faster they can convince Nedzu to tell them, the faster they can leave. Which he knows will soothe Hizashi’s nerves. “Alright, spit it out,” He says as if he’s bored.
 
“Patience is a virtue, Shouta-san,” Nedzu replies, still stirring his tea.
 
“Patience doesn’t have a child waiting at home, rat.” 
 
“Oh so now we’ve resorted to rude and childish name calling, have we?” 
 
“Just like we’ve resorted to you making us wait just so you can get your kicks in?” he snarks back with an evil smirk. This was familiar. A common game they played of back and forth banter and insults. It doesn’t mean anything. Not really. Shouta knows that if Nedzu was truly trying to insult him, he would take a far different approach. 
 
“Okay, I know you guys are playing your freaky mind game thing or whatever, but can we PLEASE get to the point?! Us normally emotioned people are freaking out here!” Hizashi cries. 
 
Shouta turns to look at his husband, placing a hand on his shoulder to attempt to calm him down. Them freaking out is exactly what Nedzu wants. Nedzu, predictably, laughs at the outburst. He sets his teacup down and folds his paws with a grin, “My apologies Hizashi-kun. I’m sure you’re both eager to know why you’re both here.”
 
“Obviously,” Shouta says with an eye roll. 
 
“Yes, well, I just wanted to call you both here to get your opinion on how to proceed. I’ve gotten the results back of Midoriya-kun’s aptitude test,” Nedzu holds up the stack of papers in question. 
 
“You did?!” Hizashi asks in shock just as Shouta says, “Knew it.”
 
Hizashi turns to him sharply, face set in a stern expression. Shouta gets the impression he may have just said the wrong thing. “What,” Hizashi’s voice is firm, “Do you mean ‘knew it?’”
 
Shouta shrugs, “What? It was kind of obvious. Why else would he have called us both here?”
 
“Oh was it? Aside from maybe calling us here about our jobs? You know, the one that we both have with him as our boss?” Hizashi argues back. 
 
“What are you talking about?” Shouta is genuinely confused, “Nedzu never pulls both of us when he wants to discuss anything about our classes or the school. He either does it one on one or as a group in a staff meeting. So logically, the thing he needs to talk to both of us about is our foster child and the only reason he would need to do that is to give us the results of his aptitude test.”
 
“Oh there you go with your ‘logicals’ again! Y’know some people don’t think that way about everyone they meet and weren’t trained by a super genius to read all the ‘logical possibilities’ of a situation! Some of us actually have anxieties about things like when their boss calls them and says that they need to have an ‘important discussion’ with them!” 
 
“Zashi,” Shouta sighs, rubbing at his consistently dry eyes, “Please, let’s not have this argument. Especially not right now.” 
 
“Oh? Why not now?” Hizashi asks testily. 
 
Shouta makes a quick motion towards said boss who’s watching them amusedly. “Please, don’t let me interrupt! This is so much fun to watch!” Nedzu says with a happily swaying tail.
 
Hizashi flushes with embarrassment before glaring at Shouta, “We’re talking about this later.”
 
“Yeah, I think we need to,” Shouta agrees before addressing Nedzu again, “So what do you need to talk to us about with Izuku’s aptitude test?”
 
“Well it’s actually quite astounding,” He passes the packet of papers to Hizashi to let him read them first as he explains, “I had thought there would be at least a small amount of things that Midoriya-kun would be behind about. Something like a science where hands-on learning would’ve been a must. Surprisingly, I was completely incorrect. Not only is Midoriya-kun caught up in his current grade level, he is actually far

ahead

of said grade level.”
 
“Really?” Shouta can only blink in shock. He knew the kid was smart. Every one of the teachers in UA did. But he didn’t think he would be at that level. 
 
“Indeed. With his level of intellect, he could be ready to go into high school with just a few remedial classes.”
 
That catches Hizashi’s attention, causing him to lower the papers to stare wide-eyed at his boss, “What? High school? Already?” 
 
“Yes. He could be high school ready in half a year’s time. That’s what I wanted your opinion on how to proceed about. Do we go ahead and get him the remedial classes then let him go into high school early? Or do we wait so he’ll be with his same grade level when he gets to high school age? He could take that time to recuperate after his time being homeless and a vigilante while also using the free time to meet more heroes with Fat Gum. But I fear he may reach a point of boredom. Going into high school early may fix that problem. It’s entirely up to you two as his foster parents though.”
 
He and Hizashi share a look and he can tell they’re thinking the same thing. He crosses his arms over his chest again, “It’s not up to us. Not entirely. We’ll need to take the time to talk to Izuku about what he wants.”
 
“We can’t, in good conscience, make a decision for him about this if the risk is his unhappiness. We’ll speak with him about it tonight and get back to you as soon as he tells us what he wants to do,” Hizashi adds. 
 
“Understandable,” Nedzu nods, “You two are shaping up to be truly fantastic parents. I’m pleased Midoriya-kun has you both after the hard life he’s led so far. Discuss it with him and let me know. But please let him know that he doesn’t have to rush to make a decision if he needs time to think about it. I’m not going anywhere and we have time before one has to be made.” 
 
Oddly generous of him but Shouta’s not going to look a gift rat in the mouth. He knows Izuku will appreciate the extra time to think about it. Kid runs through every scenario his apparently genius mind can come up with to make the best decision for himself and those around him. He has a hard time making his mind up about things that make him happy, however. A side effect of going so long with very few people caring about his overall happiness. He and Hizashi are slowly breaking him of it. He actually asked them to pay for a train ticket for his friend he met to come down and see him. They were so proud of him for doing so! 
 
Shouta and Hizashi both give Nedzu a farewell. He sends them on their way with a returned one and the aptitude test for them to take home to Izuku. He tells them it’s just a copy of the actual test and results anyway. Shouta suggests as they head out of the office that they make some of Izuku’s favorites for dinner and broach the topic after. Hizashi agrees and also makes a comment that after that conversation is done, they’re talking about their little argument from earlier. Shouta agrees but secretly hopes it won’t end up with him sleeping on the couch tonight. Hizashi wouldn’t be that cruel… would he? 
 
It hits him that yes he probably would. Hizashi was dramatic and petty enough for it. Shouta should really watch what he says during that conversation. Maybe he can sneak and get some chocolates delivered while Hizashi is cooking dinner. Hopefully, that will appease him enough to at least save him his spot in the bed. Hopefully…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

No update today! I'm sick and sentences are hard to put together coherently! Cheers to fevers over 100 degrees and being out of work for the whole week because of them! *chugs water*

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“So yeah, that’s where I’m at and I don’t know what to do,” Izuku says, lying on his bed with Haia on his chest, phone cradled up to his ear. 
 
“Jeez, Izuku-kun, that sounds really rough! I don’t know what I’d do in your situation,” Ochako’s voice comes through. Izuku had called her after dinner that night to explain what was going on in his life since it would’ve been a very lengthy text. He hoped she might be able to help him work something out. Plus it was nice to talk to her after so much time apart. He also wanted to give her the offer of paying for a train ticket for her so she could come visit and meet his other friends. 
 
“Yeah, I know,” he sighs, “Part of me is super thrilled. I mean, high school? That’s like… wow! But at the same time all I can think is if I go into high school now that I’m going to be so much younger than all the other kids…” 
 
“Yeah… are you worried they’ll pick on you? Or even bully you?” she asks tentatively.
 
He reaches his free hand up to nervously pet Haia, who purrs in delight, “Of course I am! They’re kids who are going to be older and probably bigger than me. Not to mention that I’m sure it’ll get out that I’m quirkless to someone. If not them then the seniors of our school. No matter how much I try to hide it, it’ll come out somehow. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the teachers even told them! That’s what my middle school did, even though I know they’re not supposed to.”
 
“Let’s not forget the level of practice that they may have had with their quirks…” Ochako adds, “I’d be worried about what they’d try to use on you too.”
 
His heart skips a beat at that. He had somewhat forgotten about that. “Well I wasn’t before but now I am! Oh… What do I do…?”
 
“Have you talked to your foster parents about it?” There’s the sound of air blowing through the phone. Izuku remembers that she told him before they started talking that she was painting her nails with a new polish her parents had gifted her. He’s happy she’s got something that makes her so happy. But it must be tricky to paint her nails with her quirk, since she can only use four of her fingers to hold the brush steady. 
 
He wraps his arm around Haia and rolls over onto his side. She doesn’t react beyond an initial surprised mew before settling back down again. “I mean yeah but all they keep saying is that it’s up to me. I don’t think they’re getting that I want their opinions on how I should decide. That I need help making a decision that’s best for me. 
 
“Then tell them that!” She nearly shouts down the phone, “If there’s something that my parents always need to remind me of it’s that they’re not mind readers! If I need help with something, I have to ask for it. They won’t just be able to guess!”
 
“But how do I

do

that in a way that makes them understand?” He doesn’t remember how to do this! He hasn’t had a parent in over a year now, give him a break. 
 
“Simple; You tell them that you’d really like their help in deciding on the best course of action with this school thing!” 
 
“And it’s that easy?” He asks nervously. 
 
“Sure it is!” She chirps, “You just have to make sure you’re clear with them on everything! If they say something along the lines of that it’s your decision again, let them know that that’s the problem! Tell them you don’t know what your decision is and need their help finding it. Then just air out all your thoughts about it and ask them what they think!” 
 
Izuku hums something of an acquiesce. When she puts it like that it sounds super simple. It makes him a bit nervous though. He doesn’t want to say something that makes them think he’s overreacting about all this. He’s just getting the sense that they think he’ll be able to go

Boom! Decision made!

But he can’t. Not about something this big for his life. She seems to hear or at least figure out his apprehension, “Okay! Let’s try something! An exercise to practice, if you will! Pretend I’m your foster parents; Go!”
 
“G-Go? Go what?” he asks.
 
“Start at the beginning! Ask for help! I’m your foster parents, you’ve just walked up to me, what do you say? Go!” 
 
‘“Uh…” His mind jumps several times before he squeezes his eyes shut and focuses, “Hey can I talk to you guys about something…?”
 
“Sure, Izuku! What’s up?” She lowers her voice to talk in a deeper tone, trying to imitate one of his foster dads. Izuku snorts in amusement but covers it up in a cough. Right. Focus on the exercise.
 
“Well… I’ve been thinking about this school thing and I… really think I need your help on deciding what I should do.”
 
“It’s ultimately up to you,” Ochako’s ‘deep’ voice says back. Izuku resists the urge to snort again. C’mon focus!
 
“Yeah I know but I really don’t know what to do. I’m just so worried about some aspects of each decision and need your help figuring out which one’s best.” 
 
“Okay, let’s sit down and talk about it,” Ochako then clears her throat before saying, in her normal voice this time, “That was perfect, Izuku-kun! Now just do that again with your actual foster parents and tell them everything that’s bugging you! I promise, it’ll be easier than you think it is!”
 
“Well, if you’re sure.”
 
“I’m sure! Do you want to go so you can get it all over with while it’s still fresh in your mind?” she asks.
 
“Yeah,” The thought comes back to him just before he’s about to tell her that he’ll talk to her later, “Oh right! Real quick before we hang up!”
 
“Huh? What’s up? Need to run through the exercise one more time or something?”
 
“No, no! Um… You can tell me no if you don’t want to but… I’d really like for you to come up to meet my friends and visit for a while. I know your parents don't really have the money for that but… Could I… Pay for a ticket for you? It doesn’t have to be everytime you come for a visit and if it’s too much for me to ask because you would feel guilty I promise it’s no big deal but you can still tell me no regardless! Whatever you want to do!” He’s starting to ramble in his nerves. Get it together Izuku. It’s not like you’re asking her to move here or anything!
 
“Oh that would be great! I would love that!” She says excitedly. Izuku relaxes. He should’ve known that Ochako would have been all for it right away. She’s been saying that she’s really looking forward to meeting his friends. He smiles to himself, “So next Tuesday? I’ll send the ticket to you virtually.”
 
“Awesome! I can’t wait to meet everyone! Don’t tell them I’m coming! I want it to be a surprise!”  
 
He laughs softly, “You got it. Alright… I’m going to go talk to Hizashi and Shouta. Thanks for your help, Ochako-chan.”
 
“No problem! Talk to you later Izuku-kun!” 
 
“Yeah, see you!”
 
He hangs up the phone and sets it on his bedside table. He moves Haia to lay on his bed. He takes a deep breath before standing up and heading to the living room. Hizashi and Shouta are both sitting on the couch. Hizashi is reading a book with Shouta’s feet on his lap while the darker haired man watches TV with Bastard on his chest similar to how Haia was on his. 
 
He takes another breath before approaching them. They both look up at him with smiles, Hizashi’s wide and bright and Shouta’s small but warm. “Can I… talk to you guys about something?” he asks meekly.
 
They share a glance before Hizashi smiles up at him again and says with no hesitation, “Sure, Bunny Bean!”
 
“What do we need to talk about, Problem Child?” Shouta asks next.
 
What do

we need

to talk about

,

they say.

Bunny Bean,

Hizashi calls him.

Problem Child,

Shouta calls him. Their names for him. Like Zu was for his mom. He smiles and settles down on the armchair next to the couch. This may take a while…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“I honestly can’t believe you let us go out again this soon,” Izuku comments as he leaps from one rooftop to the other, following Shouta in front of him.
 
The older man looks back at him out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention back to in front of him, “You were getting antsy. Figured it was better to go ahead and take you before you snuck out again by yourself…” He scowls to himself, “Doesn’t mean Zashi didn’t pitch a fit over it though.”
 
“Yeah I can imagine…” He can see the blonde’s facial expression in his mind so clearly at that. Disgruntled and pouting somehow all at the same time. Spouting something or another about how it was too soon to put their ‘Bunny Bean’ in so much danger again. Completely with flailing limbs and all. It’s just too Hizashi like to not be accurate. He hopes his other foster dad won’t be too worried the whole time they’re out. It’s not like he’s by himself this time. Shouta’s here and will hopefully keep him safe from whatever group it is that Nighteye is hunting. 
 
They also let Nedzu know in the event anything happens again. That way the chimera can know which cameras to check first if it does occur. They’ve covered all their bases this time. Hopefully. A spot of sharp movement catches his eye even though Shouta misses it. “On our nine, Eraserhead!” he calls out. 
 
The pro undergrounder whips his head around to the left to see what he was talking about. He also spots the movement that Izuku did and, with the style and ability like the professional he is, abruptly changes his course to the center of the action. Izuku follows him and they crouch on the edge of the rooftop above the scene. It’s apparently a drug deal gone wrong from what Izuku can see. A man being threatened at extremely hot knife point for not having money while he begs for a discount or an exception. Poor guy is clearly tweaking out, twitching and resisting the urge to scratch at the various places on his arms and face. Drugs suck and Izuku has no idea why people think they’re a good idea. 
 
“Alright kid,” Shouta says quietly, causing Izuku’s head to turn to him, “Gimme the rundown on them. What do you see about their quirks?”
 
Izuku squints down at the two engaged individuals, “Attacker is clearly a dealer. Quirk has something to do with heating up metals, estimated max of around nine hundred celsius. His knife is clearly homemade so that he can quickly heat it even when he’s holding it by the handle. It’s made to be a conductor. Watch that knife or any other metal he can get access to.” 
 
“Roger. Victim?” Izuku’s eyes move to the attacker’s target. What’s his quirk? He notices his eyes darting as his hands continue to twitch. Ah! He’s not just tweaking.
 
“It’s a sensory quirk,” he deduces, “I originally thought his twitchiness was because he was off his drug of choice but that’s not entirely it. His drug probably keeps his sensory quirk on the low side so he can function. Something he probably can’t afford normally with his regular job. Guys like these don’t look for the drug for a high, they look for it to make a way of life when they couldn’t before. My guess? It’s something with heightened awareness of electromagnetic fields. Higher EMF fields can often make you feel like all the hairs on your body are standing up straight or that you want to crawl out of your own skin. He’s clearly refraining the urge to rub or scratch at his skin and hair. If he gives trouble, rely on his sensitivities.”
 
“Recommendations for the both of them, then?” Shouta asks, a gleam of pride clear in his eyes. 
 
“Arrest the dealer, figure out where he’s getting his supply. As for the druggie, offer assistance with finding a way to pay for the medication he needs. He’s clearly suffering and only turned to this because he felt like there wasn’t any other option. Happens a lot in cases like these.” 
 
“You’ve seen them before?” 
 
He sends Shouta a look, “Obviously. I lived on the streets. I’ve seen it tons of times before,” he turns back to the scene, “We should get down there. Before Dealer-san decides he’s had enough of listening to the guy’s begging and pleading.”
 
“You’re right,” Shouta pulls his goggles down over his eyes. I’ve seen it happen a ton of times, “Alright. When feet are on the ground, codenames only. I’m Eraserhead, you’re Gyokuto. No exceptions.”
 
“Duh.”
 
Even though he can’t see his eyes, he knows Shouta is glaring at him. The man doesn’t say anything more though, just jumps off the roof towards the altercation. Izuku pulls his mask up and follows, landing with a roll. Shouta goes for the dealer so Izuku moves towards the druggie. The guy, seeing that a hero was now on scene, ducks back further into the wall and curls into himself. “P-Please! I-I didn’t do anything wrong I-I swear!” he begs, arms tight around his head.
 
“It’s okay,” Izuku says calmly, moving to sit down beside him while Shouta very clearly engages the real enemy behind them, “It’s okay. I know.”
 
“No! You don’t! I can’t lose this! I can’t lose the drugs! I need them!” 
 
“I know… Is the pharmacy charging you a lot for it because of your insurance or is it because it’s a higher quality ingredient brand?”
 
The man uncurls just a little bit, “W-what?” 
 
“The prescription that you need,” he smiles softly behind his mask, “You’re getting it from that guy because you can’t get it at the pharmacy. Is it because it’s too expensive?”
 
“Yeah,” The guy nods, tears springing up into his eyes, “I’ve got a new kid at home… They have the ability to manipulate EMF fields. Had it from birth. It’s making my quirk go haywire… and I can’t turn it down!” He shakes his head, hands running over his arms repeatedly “I went to the doctor and they changed my medication but the pharmacy said that they don’t stock it and they’re going to have to order it from out of the country each time! They were going to charge me over ten thousand yen just to order it then I’d also have to pay for the medication itself! I can’t afford that every month! But I have to be a dad to my kid too… It was either get the drugs illegally or leave my kid… y’know?”
 
“Yeah… you had to make a difficult decision on what you thought was best for your family. No one blames you for it. I think I probably would’ve chosen the same option you did if I was in your shoes,” Izuku shrugs. Family is obviously really important to him. It’s no wonder he chose this method. 
 
That seems to really strike home with the man who just full on starts sobbing. Izuku lifts a hand to place it against where he thinks the man’s EMF sensors reach, not wanting to overwhelm him just trying to offer him some comfort. Shouta wraps up the apprehension and approaches them just as the guy starts calming down. He looks up pleadingly at Eraserhead, “Please don’t arrest me… I don’t want to lose my family…” 
 
Shouta blinks. To most it would seem like it was in disinterest but Izuku knows him well enough to know that Shouta feels sympathy for the man. He sighs aloud and rolls his shoulders, “I’m not arresting you. Not this time. Gyokuto explained why you were with the dealer and what your issue is. But there are other resources than the one you chose to get the meds you need. I’ll let the officer on scene know you need the list of resources.”
 
“Also the number for a good lawyer?” He turns back to the man and smiles while explaining, “Under section two of the MQPA, or the Medicated Quirk Protection Act, it’s illegal for any pharmacy to deny filling a prescription or demand extra payment for it since it helps you to lead a normal life as prescribed by your doctor. You can sue and would either win or would be given a large settlement for it.” 
 
“They denied it?” Shouta says with a raised eyebrow.
 
“Demanded extra payment to ship it in,” Izuku clarifies. 
 
The darker haired man scoffs, “Yep, he’s right then. That’s illegal since your doctor prescribed it to you. I’ll let the officers know to also find you a lawyer that will take your case pro bono until you win or get paid that settlement.”
 
“Really? They… they aren’t allowed to do that? Like at all?” 
 
“Nope,” Izuku shakes his head, “You need it. The doctor’s said you need it. So the pharmacy isn’t allowed to deny it or charge you extra for it. That’s the law. Most people forget that the MQPA exists though. It was on the lower end of passed laws when it happened but it was no less important in my opinion.” 
 
The man bursts into tears again, muttering about how good that was and how much better it was going to be for his family. Izuku smiles again as Shouta also moves to sit down in front of him, content to wait there with the man until law enforcement arrives on scene. Izuku feels like a raw nerve already and they’ve only handled one thing tonight. He wonders if Shouta will be upset if they call it a night after this.
 
___
 
“We’re home,” Shouta calls as he and Izuku head into the house. 
 
Hizashi springs up from where he was sitting on the couch attempting to read a book. “You guys are home early! Way early!” Hizashi wraps Izuku in a hug which he immediately returns, “What happened?

Did

something happen?”
 
“Found a drug deal in process. It was a rough case. A dad just trying to get some meds to help deal with his quirk around his new kid that has their own quirk already. Makes his own go haywire. Pharmacy told him he was going to have to pay to have it shipped in then pay for it again.” 
 
“But they can’t do that!” Hizashi shouts, petting Izuku’s curls, “It’s illegal under-”
 
“MQPA, section two,” Izuku murmurs into Hizashi’s shoulder.
 
Hizashi stops before chuckling down at him in fondness, “Of course you would have studied all those laws, too. Our smart Bunny Bean!” 
 
Izuku smiles at that, even though Hizashi can’t see it. He hopes he can at least feel it. He listens as Shouta relays all the information he can to Hizashi. At the end, the blonde makes a sad sound before pushing Izuku back by the shoulders a bit to look at him. “Why don’t you go take a bath, bean? Then you can go to bed and get some rest while being clean and warm,” he offers kindly. 
 
“Yeah, okay,” he agrees tiredly, “Thanks, pops. Night, dad.”
 
He walks away with a yawn not seeing both Hizashi and Shouta staring at him as he goes with wide eyes. Shouta glances over to Hizashi before glaring, hissing, “No! Don’t you dare! I’ve used my quirk enough tonight!” 
 
Hizashi clamps his lips shut and lets out a muffled squeal of joy before turning to him with a wide grin, “He called me pops. He called me

pops,

Shou!”
 
“Yeah I heard… no need to bust out the windows of everyone in the neighborhood for it though…” He digs a finger into his ear for exaggeration. 
 
“But he called me pops!” Hizashi grabs his arm and starts shaking him back and forth. 
 
Oh boy… Shouta has a feeling this is going to be Hizashi’s mood for the next several days. Hizashi lets out a happy sob. Shouta huffs a sigh through his nose. Make that weeks.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“This is an excellent decision, Izuku-kun, an excellent decision indeed!” Nedzu says happily, shuffling the papers on his desk around into a different order. Izuku sits across from him tensely before relaxing a little bit at his words. It's hard to believe this child could be so nervous with him after Nedzu so loudly approved of him before. But he supposes that that's the unpredictability that comes from humans with anxiety like Izuku's. It's all just so fascinating to him, really! How the mind can work and race as it does for humans.
 
“Really?” The child asks him, “You don’t think I’m wasting my chance or not taking opportunities when I should?” 
 
“Of course not!” The smile he gives him might seem sharp but it holds nothing but genuine happiness and delight in it. He tucks all the papers away into Izuku’s file to be put away later. “Choosing to do something that’s best for your mental health and well being is not a bad thing. Not at all. You deserve the chance to fully settle into your new life. And enjoy the youth you have left before you become an adult. Honestly, I had hoped you would want to put your high school education on hold until you were the same age as your friends. I never want you to feel alienated in any situation regarding a school institution. I think Aldera did enough of that for everyone in the whole world!” Nedzu cackles at his cruel joke towards that awful, now former, school. 
 
“What if I had insisted on the opposite? If I had wanted to go into high school early? What then? Since you hoped I would choose the option of waiting, would you have tried to change my mind?” 
 
Nedzu folds his hands and thinks his response over carefully. He doesn’t want the boy to be overwhelmed and also wants the boy to trust him. He hopes to make him his apprentice when he gets into high school officially but doesn’t want to frighten him away from that prospect. “Izuku-kun,” He starts gently, “If that had truly been your decision, I wouldn’t have fought you on it if that’s what you’re implying. Simply asked if you were sure that’s the path you wanted to travel. I would have warned you that it wouldn’t have been an easy one and likely would’ve had many more obstacles you would’ve had to face; More than likely by yourself.
 
Choosing this path, however, means that you are able to face your obstacles with friends by your side as well as your family. And hopefully myself as well. I don’t know if you’ve picked up on it but Shouta-kun and I are quite the pair of friends. The unlikeliest of them. I hope you will join that ranking as well! I would be honored to consider you a friend and be considered as a friend by you.” 
 
Izuku is silent for a very long moment at that. His eyes aren’t wide nor teary so Nedzu isn’t sure what to think entirely. He believes Izuku is just processing what he’s said and trying to put it in a way that he can mentally understand it. When he does, he smiles very slightly, “That’s very nice of you Nedzu-san. Thank you.” 
 
“Of course! My absolute pleasure!” The chimera runs his tongue over his teeth before his tail sways a bit, “Although, I do wish to ask you for a bit of a favor in our friendship.”
 
“A favor? What is it?” The pre-teen’s head tips a bit to the side with the question.

Appeal to him,

Nedzu’s brain whispers. “Your ability with quirks and their keepers is a truly incredible thing. It can be used in so many ways beyond just your vigilantism.” 
 
“Ways beyond it? How so?” He takes the bait.

Draw him in. Get him curious,

it mutters next. “You see… After many observations over their records and publications, I have reasons to believe that the Hero Public Safety Commission is hiding things from the public right under everyone’s noses. The two just don’t match up like they should. The problem is no one, not even I, can figure out what it is or how they’re doing it. But it has to be big if they’re trying to hide it. ” 
 
Izuku leans in, brows furrowed. Hook. “I’ve attempted to send spies and bugs in to find what the discrepancy is but they’ve all come back unsuccessful. You can imagine my frustration over it. Especially since these were hand picked by me to begin with and I've still made no progress! “
 
The boy’s head tilts. Line.
 
“But with an analytical mind like yours and access to the heroes directly under the HPSC through Fat Gum-san, I believe you might have what it takes to find what I’m looking for. Your mind and eyes as well as your experiences will be able to spot any kind of trauma or abuse or blackmail occurring in the heroes standing right in front of you!” 
 
Izuku’s eyes widened at that. It’s intrigue that swims in his eyes. Nedzu knows he’s got him. Sinker. “What do I need to do?” Izuku asks quietly. 
 
Nedzu smirks to himself. He’ll make a hero out of this brilliant light in the world yet. “Start with the HPSC’s most treasured hero. Ask Fat Gum-san to introduce to Hawks. Speak to him and try to pull out what he knows using your observation skills and knowledge about the laws pertaining to hero society. And perhaps… Don’t mention this favor of mine to Shouta-kun or Hizashi-kun. I don't imagine they would allow you to help me with this if they knew about it. They're picky that way.” 
 
If he happens to take down the corruption milling about in the biggest player of their society with this child’s amazing mind? Well, that’s just a bonus for him and the rest of the country. Shouta and Hizashi won’t be happy about it for sure. But they’ll thank him later.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Izuku thanks Toyomitsu quietly as the hero holds the door to the hero agency open. The BMI hero smiles before following him in. "Gotta admit buddy," he starts off, "I wasn't expecting you to ask me to introduce you to Hawks! Most people who tour with heroes like this don't really have a keen interest in visiting his agency."

Wonder why that could possibly be,

Izuku thought sarcastically to himself. If Nedzu was right in his claims about the HPSC, most heroes and hero hopefuls would steer clear of their pet bird. He smiles shyly up at Fat Gum, playing into his nervous anxiety for effect, "Well he's a good hero to interview. Especially with how fast he's climbing the rankings. Might be good to see if there are any kind of flaws that have shown up during his upward climb."
 
“Good point!” Toyomitsu says with a thumbs up. Izuku waits by him quietly while he speaks to the receptionist about their meeting with Hawks. The receptionist doesn’t seem to get why Toyomitsu has a kid with him for said meeting. They don’t really need to know so Izuku doesn’t bother to try and clarify. Neither does Toyomitsu so it’s fine. The receptionist tells them to wait a moment while she pages Hawks. They both wait quietly for several minutes before the doors to the back of the agency opens and out strolls the Wing Hero. 
 
“Taishiro! Nice to see you, man! Heard you got someone amazing for me to talk to!” He greets happily, arms and wings spread wide as if to welcome them. 
 
Izuku notices how he scans them over quickly behind his aviators. Checking for something. Either on them or around them. Clearly a learned behavior that has been a staple for him for a while now. Interesting. Izuku makes a mental note of that. 
 
“Yeah, it's been too long, Keigo! When’s the last time we teamed up together? Four months ago?” 
 
“Five actually. And two extra weeks on top of that! It was that bust for the quirk fighting rings!” 
 
Amazing retention of details from memory. Shows a deeper intellect than Hawks lets on to the public. Is that his choice or the commissions? Could be either given the circumstances. Either he plays dumber than he looks to keep the HPSC off his back or the HPSC forces him to play dumber than he looks to make it seem like they’re actually doing something in helping him succeed as a hero. Something else to bring up to Nedzu later if Hawks won’t talk. Let’s see if he can get the birdy to sing first though.
 
“Oh yeah that is right! I remember now! Hard case to forget, am I right? Anyway, this-” Toyomitsu places a hand on his shoulder and brings him a little bit further up, “-Is Midoriya Izuku! He’s Eraserhead’s kid!” 
 
“Uh…” Hawks smiles meekly (it’s fake, Izuku can tell, whatever he’s about to say), “How’s that work? I was kind of under the impression that Eraser… that he, well.. Y’know… ‘Bats for the home team?’ He doesn’t seem like the type to have a wife and kid at home.”
 
“I’m adopted,” Izuku tells him firmly. Not unkindly. Just firmly.
 
Hawks makes a show of sighing in relief, hand on his chest and everything, “Oh thank God! You look pretty well like him! I thought maybe you were biological! But if you’re adopted, that makes a whole lot more sense!”
 
He’s lying. Izuku can see it by the look in his eyes. He knew Izuku wasn’t Shouta’s biological kid But he was waiting for confirmation of it from Izuku or Toyomitsu before he said it aloud. Smart. Makes people give up information in a roundabout way without Hawks ever having to ask for it. Again, is this self taught or did the commission teach him how to do this? More questions to get more answers to later. Hawks and Toyomitsu make small talk about a few of their old cases for a few minutes before Hawks finally invites them both up to his office. Good. That’s a better place than here to enact his covert or not so covert interrogation. How it goes is up to Hawks himself. 
 
They make it into Hawks office. The Wing Hero immediately beelines for his desk before flopping down in his chair and propping his feet up on his desk; An air of nonchalance about him. “So what exactly can I do for you two today?” he asks them warmly.
 
Izuku sits in a nervous fashion across from his desk, “Well, um… I’m really good with quirks, Hawks-san. And with your fast rise to popularity thanks to all your amazing hero work, I thought maybe I could come in and analyze it to see if there’s anything that could be improved or changed to help you even more. I-If you’re concerned about my knowledge and skill, please know that I’ve worked with Sir Nighteye-san before as well. Though it was very brief, he gave fairly high praise about my analytical skills.” That was a bit of a lie. Izuku didn’t get that bit of praise until he had to be kidnapped to avoid being kidnapped. Though Izuku did consider it quite high on his list for the hero to call his skills dangerous. Not praise exactly but proof that he really knows his stuff. 
 
“Wow! That’s pretty high up there! Anything other than criticisms coming out of Nighteye’s mouth are nothing short of impressive!” Hawks grins but it looks more like a smirk, “Color me intrigued then! Hey, Taishiro! There’s a takoyaki cart down a few blocks from here! You wanna go check it out while me and the little green bean here talk about my quirk? It’s not too far a walk!” 
 
Toyomitsu’s eyes light up at the mention of his favorite snack food. He sobers up quickly though and turns to Izuku first, “Would you be okay with me leaving you here alone, little buddy? We can get some takoyaki later if you’d prefer it.” 
 
Izuku glances at Hawks out of the corner of his eye. Ah. This is a calculated move on his part. A way to get them alone without it being suspicious. But it’s also proof that Hawks has realized that he’s not here just for a chat about his quirk. Very, very clever. Izuku smiles brightly at Toyomitsu, “I’m sure I’ll be okay. Hawks-san wouldn’t let anything happen to me, I don’t think.”
 
Hawks grimaces and shakes his head with raised hands, “No way, man! Eraser would have me fried faster than any chicken wing place around if I let something happen to his kid! We’ll be right here when you get back; Everyone will be perfectly safe and in one piece too. Promise!”
 
Toyomitsu glances between the two of them before smiling, “Alright! I’ll be back in thirty minutes! Line dependent!” 
 
They watch as the BMI Hero leaves the room to head to that food stand Hawks talked about. Hawks waits until the door shuts completely behind the other blonde before his smile drops into a more neutral expression, “Now… let’s talk about why you’re actually here, shall we?”
 
Izuku blinks at him before also schooling his expression, “Is your office bugged? I won’t speak with you here if it is.”
 
“Nope,” Hawks pops the P for added effect, “It’s just you and me; No cameras or mics from my

oh so generous

sponsors allowed.”

Good. Game on,

Izuku thinks to himself and prepares for mental warfare.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

This is not an update it's a notification. After a lot of back and forth with myself as well as the advice of some of the comments from my other story, Binary, I've decided I'm going to cut back on the amount of chapter postings I do. Currently I had it set to updating both stories at least once a week but that's a bit too much for me. On top of my IRL job, I'm burning myself out with trying to pump out two chapters a week. So I've decided to go to a chapter every other week starting next week. I will update my profile to also reflect this change in case anyone forgets. I know that means more wait time for those who are eager to see more of my work but I just need this for myself; My own health and well-being.  So yeah, updates will be back starting next Wednesday and then every other Wednesday after.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Neither of them speak. Both are waiting for the first move to be made and don’t want to make the first step; Speak the first word. They have what feels like the stare down of the century, daring one another to break first. Amber gold versus viridian green. Their faces are pleasantly neutral even if their eyes are as fierce as Hawks’ wings. Izuku doesn’t know why this is the start of their mental chess game. But he accompanies it to something similar to playing ‘rock, paper, scissors’ to see who goes first. It’s that but with their eyes and their resolve instead.  “So, what did you want to speak with me about?” Hawks’ voice is steady, but the intent is clear. Fine you win. You’re white, I’m black. Go first.   Gladly, Izuku thinks before smiling and saying aloud, “I just had a few questions and concerns that I thought might need to be brought to your attention.” 
White pawn to D4. 
 “Oh? Do tell! I’m curious,” Hawks head tilts just a bit in intrigue. Izuku doesn’t think it’s real.   Black pawn to E6. A safe move. He’s wary. Good to know. “It’s just a few things regarding the numbers of civilians saved by your agency or agencies that you work very closely and publicly with in the last few months. You have other heroes working here with you right? Others that the commission supports? Other agencies supported by the commission similarly to yours?”  
White pawn to E3.
 Hawks grins, “Yes of course! We all do our best to help each other and, more importantly, as many people out there that we can! The fact that they’re all also supported by the commission is nothing but a coincidence really! Similar to how friends who go to school together often end up working in the same field or at the same location. We already knew each other, so it’s just much easier to work together!”  
Black knight to H6.

“I see. I suppose that makes sense,” Izuku nods before turning his head and placing a finger against his chin, “Except for… maybe a few. Or maybe a lot. Or maybe all of them.”  
White knight to C3.
 “What do you mean? They’re all upstanding heroes!” Hawks' smile is still in place.  
Black bishop to B4.
 “I doubt that. There’s several that could be called into question without the intervention of the commission, I think.”  
White pawn to A3.
 Hawks flinches at that so minutely to the point that Izuku almost doesn’t catch it. But he’s observant enough to have caught it anyway. “What makes you say that? I’m sure I don’t know what you mean!”  
Black rook to F8, Black king to G8. Castling. He’s on the defensive and trying to protect himself.
 Izuku raises his hand and starts counting on his fingers, “Lady Nagant: known for being seen at cases where high profile criminals have mysteriously ended up dead. Uwabami: known for prioritizing looks and appearances rather than civilian rescues, not to mention the unsavory rumors of anyone she takes as a sidekick and that she may have even had a lawsuit where she didn’t save someone because they ‘weren’t pretty enough for her tastes.’ Leech: who has multiple complaints from his rescued civilians that they felt worse after their interaction with him, one of which actually passed away after their rescue where the doctor’s stated that their organs failed suddenly in a matter of minutes and there were visible handprint shaped bruises on their arms. Right where Leech had touched them to help them up. Not to mention your very public… opinion on Endeavor.”  
White bishop to D3.
 The face Hawks makes is paled but schooled. He clears his throat, careful to keep his face neutral, “Oh c’mon, kid! Those are just rumors! And my opinion about Endeavor was of his past heroic feats! You have to admit some of them were impressive! He was really my hero back then!”  Black pawn to F5. A stupid move.  “He let the commission just take you, Hawks! You were a child and he put up no resistance to it, even though he knew what they were like!”  
White bishop to F5, takes the black pawn. 
 “They didn’t take me! It was my mother’s decision to have me go to them!”  
Black rook leaves the black king to move to space F5, taking white bishop. King is now open for attack. 
 “Was it truly your mother’s decision? What about your decision? Were you ever consulted about if this is what you wanted?” He presses. 
White pawn to F3. Bait. 
 “‘What I wanted?’” Hawks reels back, blinking at him in confusion, “My mother wanted what was best for me and our family! My decision didn’t matter or have any merit to the situation!” 
Black rook to F3 to take white pawn. Bait taken. 
 “Really? You think that’s what a good mother does? Leave a kid to be raised by a government organization? What about your dad? Was he a good dad?” He leans forward a bit to level a harsh stare at him, “I know the answer to both questions. I know what your family was like before and after the commission ‘graciously’ took you in.” 
White queen to F3, takes black rook.
 “You’re adopted, kid. I’m not sure you have the best viewpoint of good parents!” It’s a weak defense tactic. A very pitiful one at that. It’s meant to hurt him, call out his insecurities. It doesn’t work for several reasons. It’s a very idiotic move on Hawks’ part. Black pawn to B6, basically . He raises an unimpressed eyebrow at the blonde, “You think I’m in the system because my biological parents didn’t want me? If so, you’re dead wrong.” 
White pawn to B4, takes black bishop. 
 The noise that leaves Hawks in nothing short of a squawk. A true-blue bird squawk. “I-I didn’t mean to imply something like that!”   Black pawn to D5. He’s trying to go back to playing it safe. Izuku’s used to taking risks. He smiles innocently, “Well that’s good to hear! Would you like to hear some of the things that my mom did for me when she was still alive?”  
White knight to H3. Make him think he’s got a bit of a safety net. 
 “Sure kid! I’m sure our experiences are quite the same! We both had good moms after all!”  Black knight to F5. A slightly smarter move on his part but a foolish one if you know how to take advantage of it. “Well for starters, she always made my favorite food when I was having a bad day!”  
White knight to D5, takes black pawn. 
 Hawks nods, “Perfectly normal mom behavior for sure. Mine did too!”  
Black pawn to D5, takes white knight. 
 “She’d buy me things whenever I did something good, like ace a test!”  
White queen to F5, takes black knight. Now he’s on the ropes. 
 “Yep, m-mine too! I got an Endeavor doll from her that I absolutely loved!”  Black knight to C6. He’s getting desperate. He’s being truthful about the doll but not truthful about why she bought it for him. “She always stood up for me! Told other parents and kids that just because I was quirkless didn’t mean there was something wrong with me!” 
White pawn to C3. Try and take something, I dare you. 
Hawks’ facial expression twitches, “Oh… she… She did huh? My mom didn’t say that but maybe that’s because I’m not quirkless?”  Black Bishop to A6. He’s starting to spiral and is now making stupid moves. He’ll be slipping up big time any moment now. “I mean I guess so, but there’s something that she did that really proved she loved me,” He lets the sentimentality slip into his voice at that line.  
White knight to F4. 
 “Oh yeah? What was it?” He asks.  Black pawn to G6. Stupid, as expected. He levels a completely flat stare at him, “She killed my abusive father when he tried to attack me for being a ‘worthless child.’” 
White queen to E6. Check. 
 Hawks stares blankly at him for a long moment, voice quiet when he finally asks, “... What?”   Black King to F8. Right where Izuku wants him. The bright happy smile is back on Izuku’s face, “Oh yeah! Well, that hasn’t actually been fully confirmed but based on what I told the police about that day, it seems pretty probable!”   
White knight to G6, takes black pawn. Check.
 “Well… I mean… That’s still murder, y’know?”  
Black pawn to G6, takes white knight.
 “Well yeah I guess. Murder in defense of another technically. The point is that she saw I was in danger and didn’t hesitate to cause that man bodily harm. She knew he wasn’t the man she married and that there was no way she was going to let her child be hurt by him.”   White Rook to F1. Check. C’mon. Any moment now. Don’t drag it out too long. “Your mom sounds like she was really special.” 
Black king to G7. 
 “Oh she was. Make no mistake. Honestly, if she was still alive she’d probably be sitting her talking to you instead of me. She was really loving like that! Hated to see anyone suffering at the hands of another.” 
White pawn to E4.
 “Yeah. It sure sounds like it.”   Black knight to B4, takes white pawn. He’s trying to drag it out. He’s also not making the comparisons to his own mother anymore. Time to switch tactics. “But now… what about your dad? You’ve only mentioned your mom currently after all. It was her decision, but what about him? Do you think I know?” His voice lilts in a certain way that it would probably send shivers down anyone’s spine. Hawks is a pro though so the only sign of anything is a slight twitch.  
White bishop to F4.
 “If you already know then there’s no need to talk about him, right?” Hawks tries to pressure him into changing the subject.  Black knight to A2. He’s not thinking clearly. He missed a major opportunity to put Izuku into check. He became distracted with the mention of his father. Izuku knows those signs. PTSD at its finest. Izuku places a hand on his chest with another innocent look, “But I talked about my dad and how he was abusive. Shouldn’t we talk about your dad then? Just to make it fair?” 
White bishop to E5. Check.
 “I don’t think that’s how it works, man. We’re chatting, not trauma dumping!”   
Black king to H7.
 “Well that’s true. So since we both know your parental situation and mine, let’s get back to the topic at hand. The commission!”   White rook to A1, take black knight . Thought he forgot about that, didn’t he? Hawks claps his hands together, “Right! So, what can I do to dissuade you from all those nasty rumors going around about them and some of my fellow heroes?”   Black queen to E7. Oh, he’s really going down the hole now.  “You can’t. I know they aren’t rumors. I know it from a well known and respected source as well.” 
White queen to E7, take black queen. Check.
 “Wh… What source?” 
Black King to G8.
 “Well I mean, Nedzu is the one who recommended I talk to you about this! Said you would be able to help us with the first steps to making sure the commission finally gets the media attention it deserves; The bad kind.”   White rook to F6. Just a few more moves and he’ll have him.  “I… I mean… I guess… I just…”  Black pawn to E4, takes white pawn. He’s not even trying anymore really. Maybe that’s intentional. Maybe he’s tired of these games but especially tired of the one the commission plays with him as the game piece. “Hawks… we can help you. Or well… not me specifically. But Nedzu can! He knows! He just needs someone to come forward to start it all off. Please, let us help you be the hero you’re really meant to be.” White rook to G6. Checkmate. Hawks throws his hands up, wings spreading out wide as well, “OKAY FINE! I give! You’re right… about everything. My parents, the commission, the other heroes, everything! I just… I technically owe them so much and I don’t know what to do! I’ve tried several times to get out of it but everytime they remind me of the situation that put me here in the first place and tell me to just keep my head down ‘or else.’ What do I even do?! Where do I even start?!” Izuku smiles genuinely, “We start with Nedzu. The first thing you have to do is talk to Nedzu about everything you know. He’ll get the ball rolling and also make sure that the commission can’t try to get to you before everything’s done.” “Will Nedzu really help?” Hawks asks, sounding somewhat hopeless, “He’s not exactly known for liking us humans.” He shrugs nonchalantly, “He dislikes humans but he dislikes humans who abuse their power more. If nothing else, he’ll help for that reason alone. Besides, he really has beef against the commission.”  Those bright red wings droop a bit in realization, “Oh… Right. That’s true. Okay. I’ll… uh… give him a call?” “I wouldn’t recommend that. I’d go and meet with him in person. Just to make sure, y’know, no one can listen in on the line?”  Hawks snaps his fingers into a finger gun and points it at him, “Right. Good plan on that side. I’ll give him a call and set up a meeting.” His computer pings which causes him to look over in confusion. He grabs the mouse and checks something before just turning back to Izuku with a blank look, “Or he’ll just email me himself and set it up.” “He was probably listening in on our whole conversation.” “How?” Hawks eyebrow raises at that. Izuku just shrugs in response. The ways of the Rat God are mysterious to all, even him. The doors open behind him and he turns to watch Toyomitsu come through them carrying several trays of Takoyaki. “Sorry it took me so long guys!” He exclaims, handing one to each of them before keeping the rest for himself, “The line was nuts!”  “Nah, all good Tai! We just finished up here. Didn’t we, little buddy?” Hawks smiles at him knowingly. “Yeah. We have,” Izuku responds with a smile of his own. “Hey! You can’t call him little buddy! That’s my nickname for him!” Toyomitsu complains good naturedly before eating one of his Takoyaki, “So. What’d you think, Kei? Isn’t he amazing?!” The look in Hawks eyes and smile stays knowing as he replies without hesitation, “Yeah, Tai, he really is.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

I feel like I need to give a quick update to this because I kind of just disappeared again and didn't explain. I know I don't have to explain anything to anyone but I just don't want anyone to be wondering where I went or what happened/is going to happen to this story.So for starters, my inspiration for this story is extremely low right now. I don't know why this is since I'm still having inspiration for Binary and it's on track the way I'm wanting it to go which is why it's still receiving it's regularly scheduled updates. Nothing's been coming to me for Weightless lately and I don't know why. I've been trying a bunch of different things to try and get the inspiration back up but it just hasn't be working.Secondly, my IRL job is a Monday through Friday 9 to 5 ordeal and something major happened recently in that our outsourced IT person royally screwed something up in our systems during a system change over; Making them inaccessible for several days for my department and continuing to have several ongoing issues and errors when it finally was accessible. Plus we have a few new programs replacing several of our old system's programs that have been set up. The change has not gone over well for some of our employees and they're struggling to learn the new systems. I, being one of the only people in our whole company who knows IT and the systems well enough, have been racing about for almost a week now trying to fix what they broke AND teach the employees who are struggling to a point that they can be proficient enough on their own. As you can probably guess, this has stressed me out beyond belief and it's not even fully fixed yet because IT isn't even my department which means I don't have access to things that I need to fully fix the issue! I'm just doing temporary patch jobs until the issues can be resolved! I don't even get any extra pay for all this either!So yeah, life is life and is a constant struggle as usual. I think it's best for the time being, at least until I can get my inspiration back up, to put this story on Hiatus. I'll be back to it eventually but I just don't know when that'll be. For now, I'll be focusing on Binary as well as several other short stories that my brain has been coming up with in the meantime. I'm sorry if this is a disappoint for some of you. It's just that this is for the best right now and I promise that I'll return to this story as soon as I've got my inspiration back for it!