Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

By 10pm on a cloudy Sunday night, Aizawa Shouta was already on his way home after an uneventful evening patrolling the shadier part of town. He didn’t normally finish patrol this early, but tonight’s date night and he just wants to go home to his husband. They’ve had to cancel the last four and if they have to cancel any more Hizashi will scream so loudly that they’ll be kicked out of yet another apartment building.

They could technically postpone, but tonight is the last night before returning to school, and Shouta needs one last free night before dealing with the stress and paperwork of kicking one kid out of the hero course and transferring another into it in the aftermath of the sports festival.

Shouta is just pulling up Hizashi’s contact to let him know he’s be home soon when his phone starts ringing, display flashing Unknown Number. The only people who know his number are his fellow pro heroes and the students in his homeroom, and Shouta knows for a fact that less than half of his kids actually bothered to copy down his number.

Shouta answers quickly, wanting to get whatever this is over with so he can make it home before the rain hits.

“Eraserhead.”

“S-sensei?”

Of course it’s the problem child.

“Problem child? What is it.” There’s a worrying amount of silence on the other end of the line. It lasts long enough that Shouta stops in his tracks and pulls the phone away from his ear with a frown to check if he’s still connected.

He is.

“Midoriya? Kid, is everything alright?”

“Um I thi- I think I n-need some help.” Midoriya’s voice is thick with tears, tone bordering on fearful. He can’t help the flash of worry he feels at just how wrong his student sounds.

“Where are you right now? Are you at home?” At this point, Shouta is already heading towards his apartment, but there is the chance that something happened while he was out. A villain attack maybe? He is pretty recognizable, especially after the sports festival.

“No.” And there’s silence again. He can’t really go anywhere without a destination, so Shouta stops and focuses on the sound of Midoriya breathing, the only indication he’s still on the line.

“Kid you need to tell me where you are so I can help you.” He doesn’t have to force the sense of urgency in his tone, trying to will the kid to speak.

“I- I’m at a payphone, across f-from the 24hr s-sushi diner.” That’s nowhere near where Midoriya lives. What on earth is he doing there?

“Alright, I know the one. I need you to stay on the line with me Midoriya. Keep talking. I don’t care what it’s about.”

“I c-can’t sensei! There’s n-not enough ti-.” The line cuts out before he can finish, and it has Shouta running faster than he was before. He dials Hizashi as he moves, already feeling guilty about what he’s about to do.

“Shou I swear to god if you are cancelling date night again-” Shouta interrupts him before he can get any further.

“I need your help.” Shouta puts as much urgency as he can into those four words, and clearly it gets through.

“What happened? Are you hurt? Do you need me to come get you?” God he loves Hizashi. One sentence and he’s ready to drop everything for him.

“No and yes. I’m not the one that’s hurt. Midoriya called and I need you to meet me by the diner on 14th.”

“I’m on my way! Do you know what happened to the little listener? How bad is it?”

“All I know is that he sounded hurt and scared. I’m coming up on his location soon. See you in a bit.”

“Alright. Love you Shou.”

The line goes dead just as he reaches the payphone.

There’s no one there.

Trying not to panic, Shouta checks behind the phone, and finds Midoriya curled up, trying and failing to avoid the rain. His shadow falls over him and the kid flinches, looking up fearfully. His cheek is marred by a dark bruise, dried blood crusting over a shallow cut at the centre of it. There are bruises on his chin and on his lower neck, no doubt continuing below his shirt. More bruises are scattered along his arms, with a set circling a suspiciously swollen right wrist.

Midoriya relaxes when he recognizes him, and Shouta takes that as his cue to move closer and crouches down. He gently places his hand atop the dark curls, and that small actions seems to be Midoriya’s breaking point. His face falls as his eyes well with tears, and he dives into Shouta’s chest, nearly knocking him over.

The kid is trembling, from fear or the cold, Shouta can’t be sure. It’s only know that he registers that all Midoriya is wearing are shorts and a thin t-shirt, already soaked with rain. He pulls him a little closer, trying to provide a little warmth. The sobs subside far too quickly for someone who seems to cry so easily.

“Midoriya, kid what happened? Who did this to you?”

“She was so up-upset that I g-got hurt during the sports f-f-festival. Sh-she was crying, and ask-asking why I f-finally g-got a quirk. She doesn’t w-want me at UA. D-doesn’t w-want me to be a hero! She just w-wouldn’t s-stop crying s-so I freaked out and t-told her the t-truth about my q-quirk!” Aizawa frowns. What does he mean the truth about his quirk?

“Sh-she told me I h-h-had to give it b-back and l-leave the hero course. I t-told her n-no and she got s-so m-mad. Sh-she wouldn’t s-stop h-hurting me and sh-she said that she’s going t-to p-pull me f-from UA!” By this point Midoriya has dissolved back into tears, barely comprehensible, voice muffled by his scarf and stuttering getting worse every second.

He’s brought up some very concerning things regarding his home life. Shouta decides to not dwell on them now, focusing instead on reassuring the problem child.

Shouta moves a hand to Midoriya’s hair, hoping the small action will calm him down.

“Midoriya. It’s going to be okay. Present Mic is on his way so we can get you checked out at the hospital. We’ll get you away from her and we’ll keep you safe now.” At that Midoriya pulls back a little and lifts his head.

“Why is Present Mic coming?” Of course that’s the part he focuses on. Such a problem child.

“Because we’re married.” Blunt and to the point, Shouta decides it’s better to just tell the truth.

“Ha! Todoroki owes me 2,500 yen.” Shouta just rolls his eyes fondly. At least that brought a smile to Midoriya’s face, no matter how small.

Midoriya shivers and tucks himself back under his arms when the rain picks up more, and Shouta has never been more grateful to see Hizashi’s ridiculous bright car reflected in the windows of the shop behind the phone booth. There’s a loud slam and running footsteps before Hizashi is coming around the payphone, face pinched with worry and an old sweatshirt clutched tightly in his hand. Shouta tugs the bright yellow Put Your Hands Up Radio hoodie over Midoriya’s head before scooping him up and starting towards the car.

Hizashi, bless his heart, doesn’t say a word and simply opens the door for Shouta to stick a far too light Midoriya into the back seat before moving to take his own in the front.

Chapter Text

No one says a word during the blessedly short ride to the hospital, and before long they’re pulling into the nearly full parking lot, finding a spot near the edge. Shouta holds the door open for Midoriya, allowing him at least the option of walking in there on his own. He does so slowly, shivering hard, and Shouta keeps a hand close to him in case he falls.

“Zashi, we’re going to need a few extra forms tonight.” Hizashi gives Midoriya a sad look before responding.

“I think I know which ones you mean.” That’s all that’s said until they reach the nurses station inside the entrance of the hospital.

“I’m so sorry but there will be quite a wait before he can see a doctor. There was a villain attack and many civilians were hurt in the crossfire.” She gives them a sympathetic look before handing Hizashi a clipboard with several forms on it and pointing them towards the waiting room of the pediatric ward. Shouta herds Midoriya that way while Hizashi stays behind to request the extra forms. Midoriya is moving so slowly that Hizashi is back with them by the time they reach the waiting room.

They settle into a set of chairs away from other people with the heroes on either side of Midoriya, shielding him from any prying eyes. Shouta takes advantage of the bright hospital lights to take a closer look at Midoriya’s injuries. There are several cuts on his legs that he missed the first time, a few of them still oozing blood. What’s far more concerning is the blood matting the kids hair to the back of his head.

“Problem child, what did you mean the truth about your quirk?” His voice is quiet, and tone gentle, but Midoriya still flinches. Hizashi looks up from the forms and focuses on Midoriya, a small frown on his lips. Ignoring him, Shouta focuses on Midoriya, waiting for him to meet his eyes. He does, and Shouta feels like he just won a trust blink moment with a cat when Midoriya nods and opens his mouth to speak.

“Ab-bout 10 months before the entrance exam, I w-was attacked by a villain on my way h-home f-from school. All Might saved me b-but went to leave before I could ask him a q-question, s-so I grabbed on to his leg and he jumped away with me. W-we landed and he shrunk and he told me the story of his quirk, h-how it could be passed along and th-that he was the eighth holder.” Shouta can see where this is going, and he doesn’t like it at all. Hizashi’s expression tells him he feels the same way. Midoriya takes a few deep breaths before continuing, calming down as much as he can.

“I asked him if someone quirkless, someone like m-me, could become a hero, and he told me no.” This is already much worse than Shouta thought. The number 1 hero told a young boy he couldn’t be a hero without a quirk. There are so many things wrong with that.

“B-before I knew it he was g-gone. H-he left me on a roof the s-same day a b-bully t-told me to k-kill myself! I d-didn’t really c-consider it. Even th-though All Might s-said it was impossible, I s-still wanted to be a hero!” This is going down hill so quickly. His problem child had been through so much before he even started at UA.

“Then there were explosions nearby. I w-wanted to see more heroes since I loved w-watching their fights and it was the same villain that attacked m-me, but now it was attacking kacchan! The heroes weren’t doing anything! I m-moved without thinking to help out and got kacchan a bit more air, and then All Might sh-showed up to save the d-day again. The heroes were so m-mad at m-me but none of them r-ran in to help! When they f-finally let me leave I w-was going straight home but the All Might showed up again and told me I c-could be a hero. He t-trained me and gave me his quirk on the day of the entrance exam.”

Midoriya hides his face with the sleeves of the too large sweater and it seems like he’s done his story. There is so much to unpack there that Shouta has no idea what he can do to comfort the problem child. Hizashi does not have the same problem, and he pulls Midoriya into what Shouta knows is his most comforting hug. It lasts long enough for Shouta to pull his thoughts together and figure out what needs to be said.

When they pull apart Shouta places a gentle hand on Midoriya’s head and waits for him to look up before speaking.

“Midoriya. All Might should have never said that to you. There are many heroes who fight basically quirkless, myself included. I’m sure with your determination you could have made it to the hero course without a quirk. Look at Shinsou for example. His quirk isn’t a powerhouse one like yours and All Might’s but now he’s being transferred to the hero course because of his hard work. All Might should have given you time to practice with your quirk before the entrance exam, and he should have told me so that I could have helped you earlier. We’ve got about 10 years of quirk training to catch up on kid.” Shouta doesn’t bring up the bully’s words. He knows they have to discuss it sooner rather than later, but the kid already has so much going on right now and bringing that up is the last thing he needs.

Midoriya looks surprised to say the least, he probably thought that Shouta would get mad and expel him or something. Unlikely. Most of the kids in 1-A have managed to worm their way into Shouta’s heart, and his problem child is at the forefront. The kid looks exhausted, so he lets him rest and doesn’t ask any more questions. For now.

It’s nearing 1:30am by the time a doctor has time for Midoriya, and Hizashi has to nudge both him and Shouta awake. Midoriya stands on shaky legs to follow the nurse and both heroes stay close in case he falls. By the time they make it to the examination room Midoriya is clearly in pain and looks ready to keel over at any moment.

The nurse makes them wait outside while he performs his examination, and it feels like hours before a doctor steps out of the room, but it was only a tense 30 minutes later.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Kalua. Are you Midoriya’s guardians?”

“We are pro heroes and his teachers. He called for help and we brought him here. What’s his condition?” Shouta gets straight to the point, wanting to be back by his students side quickly. Hizashi gives him a knowing look.

“Midoriya is extremely malnourished and dehydrated. It’s likely he hasn’t had anything to eat for a few days now, and before that I’d say he had very limited amounts. We’ve got him started on an IV to start treatment for that.” That’s not good. How long has this been going on for? Why didn’t anybody notice?

“He’s got a bad sprain on his right wrist and bruising on three of his ribs so we’ve wrapped those and he’ll just have to be careful with how he moves. He’s also got multiple contusions on his arms and legs, and some of them require stitches, which my nurse is administering right now. The cut on his face is mostly superficial, so we’ve just cleaned and bandaged it.” The doctor takes a moment to let it all settle in before she speaks again.

“The wound on the back of his head was a little more concerning, but I’ve used my healing quirk and now it’s been downgraded to a mild concussion. Unfortunately, since he’s so dehydrated and malnourished I couldn’t use my quirk for more than the head wound, so we have to let most of his injuries heal naturally.” Technically, that’s not as bad as it could be, but it’s still very alarming. Shouta can tell that Hizashi feels the same way even before he speaks up.

“Can we see him now doc?”

“Of course.”

Chapter Text

The sight that greets them is at least better than how the little listener looked when Hizashi picked them up a few hours ago. The poor kid is half asleep as a nurse covers up the last of his cuts. Shouta certainly looks relieved as they pull up chairs on the left of the bed and the nurse leaves without a word, Midoriya falling asleep easily once they’ve settled.

“What now Shou?” Shouta looks conflicted at his question, and hesitates before answering.

“I’m not sure Zashi. We are not letting him go back there. I can’t. But I don’t want to throw him in foster care either. We don’t have many options.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying? We taking the listener home with us?”

“If it’s alright with you Zashi. I just know we need to keep an eye on him and what better way to do that than from our own home?” Hizashi couldn’t have said it better himself. This kid is going to need a lot of love to recover, and Hizashi knows that both he and Shouta are more than willing to provide that.

“Shou you should know by now that I wasn’t going to let you leave without the listener. You know that I’ve been wanting to adopt. You going soft on me? Bringing home a stray without me having to beg?” Shouta shoots him a quirk assisted glare at that, but Hizashi just laughs and grabs his husbands hand. They’re quiet a few moments before he speaks again.

“Hey Shou, what if he doesn’t want to come with us? We can’t exactly force him.” The thought is unpleasant, but Hizashi doubts that many kids would want to move in with their teachers. Shouta’s hand tightens around his before he answers.

“Then we find him a safe place where he does want to go, and keep an eye on him from afar.” The words are said with a slight frown, as if Shouta doesn’t want that to be the case. Hizashi knows that he doesn’t. They sit in silence for a while longer, just watching Midoriya, before Hizashi gets up and stretches.

“I’m going to get home and nap before school in a few hours. You, Shou, are going to stay here with the listener, and email Nezu that you need someone to cover for you today.” He leans over and Shouta meets him halfway for a soft kiss before they part.

“Love you Shou!”

“I love you too Zashi.”

It takes a while after Hizashi leaves for Shouta to actually do something, but once he does he regrets not starting earlier. He starts with a short email to Nezu, telling him that he and the problem child will be absent. He doesn’t add anymore than that, instead choosing to put more details in an email to the rest of the hero course staff, if only so they don’t hound him with questions or come and bother them. He specifically asks that no one comes to the hospital because he doesn’t know how Midoriya would handle all the attention from pro heroes, or any students that tagged along. Shouta doesn’t think he would appreciate his peers seeing him in this state.

He makes sure to mention that they suspect Midoriya’s mother is the assailant. He knows that All Might has met her, and seems to have a soft spot for the woman. This could go very poorly, very quickly.

It’s not long after he hits send that Midoriya is stirring, dull green eyes searching the room before landing on him.

“Present Mic?” The question is hardly a whisper, voice groggy from sleep and pain meds.

“He had to go home before going to school today.” With that the problem child is struggling to sit up, face contorted with pain. He’s got an arm around his middle and tears in his eyes, but it seems as though nothing short of death will stop this kid from wanting to go to school. Shouta places a gentle hand on his shoulder and presses him back down before continuing.

“I already told Nezu that we’re not coming in. Besides, Zashi will be back after school and we’ve got to talk to Detective Tsukauchi before then.”

“So you’re not leaving?” Midoriya sounded almost desperate for him to stay.

“Of course not, problem child.” Shouta says the nickname as fondly as he dares, and Midoriya relaxes at his answer, previous tension melting away. Shouta allows himself a small smile before pulling out his phone to deal with the responses he could feel arriving as they spoke.

Nezu keeps his short, agreeing that he’ll get Snipe to cover homeroom. Shouta snorts and wonders how long it will take for him to shoot one of his students. Most of the other teachers have answered his email with concern and simple well wishes, but Midnight asks what they can tell Midoriya’s friends about his absence. Shouta sends out a mass response, telling them that nobody can say anything about the situation and leaves it at that. If one concerned student found out, then they all would. Who knows how upset Midoriya would be at that. Shouta sighs, powering down his phone before looking back to Midoriya. He’s already fallen back asleep, bruised face turned towards him. He looks incredibly young in this moment, completely dwarfed by the large hospital bed.

Midoriya wakes up to a gentle hand in his hair, Aizawa-sensei leaning over to tell him he’s meeting Tsukauchi by the entrance of the hospital, and that he’ll be back shortly. He’s gone, and for the first time since everything started, Midoriya is left alone with his thoughts. A quick glance at the clock by the be tells him that it’s just past 10am. It’s only been 12 hours since his world was flipped upside down. He remember less than half of that, most of it blocked by shock and pain.

It’s not shocking that she hurt him, but she’s never gone this far before. The pure anger in her expression had terrified him, but seemed only to encourage her. She must to have forgotten that he’s surrounded by pro heroes and teachers that seemed to actually care about him, as opposed to how all of his old teachers treated him.

Midoriya had never been so grateful for his good memory then when he was pouring all of his change into the payphone and dialling Aizawa-sensei’s number. He had been so relieved when he had looked up and Eraserhead was standing over him that he dove forward and clung to the hero, forgetting that the man was his scary, no nonsense, homeroom teacher, only registering his hero, coming to save him from the pain.

He had felt hurt and so scared that when Aizawa-sensei asked him about his quirk, he spilled everything. Everything about that day and what All Might said to him. His teacher’s reassurances were like a breath of fresh air. Feelings he’s hidden inside for so long getting validated by someone he knows he can trust will tell him the truth.

Midoriya’s musings are cut short when there is a soft knock on his door, and a powered up All Might is waltzing into his hospital room.

“Young Midoriya! I heard you had been injured and thought you would appreciate a nice surprise!” Midoriya frowned, wondering what sort of surprise All Might was talking about. The man moved away from the door to reveal someone standing behind him, pale face covered in tears.

“M-mom?!”

Chapter Text

Yagi Toshinori was having a great morning. He got a full 8 hours sleep last night after going over footage from the sports festival, planning his discussion for his next class. He always checks his email before leaving for work, and finds a surprising one sent from Aizawa to the hero course staff and the principal of UA. The subject of the email is enough to stop him in his tracks: Midoriya Izuku.

Why would Aizawa be sending out an email about his successor? An email that was sent at almost four in the morning? Why would Midoriya be up that late and do something for Aizawa to notice?

Reading the beginning of the email causes him to choke on his blood.

'Midoriya Izuku contacted me after being attacked, and is now residing in the hospital. We believe the perpetrator to be his-'

Yagi can’t read anymore. Young Midoriya attacked? Who would do something like this? Was it a villain who saw him at the sports festival? With its national broadcast that would be his best guess. The students are an easy way to get to the school.

Has anyone told his mother?

Unsure, Yagi sets off for the Midoriya apartment almost immediately, dialling Nezu as he powers up into his All Might form.

“I hope you’re calling to let me know you’re on your way to work Yagi, school started almost 30 minutes ago.” The false cheer in his voice makes Yagi cringe, already dreading what he’s about to do.

“About that…… I won’t be able to make it in today. I have some other matters to attend to.”

“Other matters involving Midoriya Izuku?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” What he had hoped to come out strong came out as a barely contained yell.

“Be careful Yagi, or Eraserhead will erase your head. HA!” The dial tone speaks volumes, and Yagi takes a big breath before leaping to the nearest building, making it to Young Midoriya’s building in no time.

He’s standing in the lobby trying to remember which apartment he needs to go to when he spots the green head of hair belonging to Midoriya Inko. Sighing in relief, Yagi heads her way and catches up by the time she exits the stairwell.

“Miss Midoriya! So good to see you. As you may recall, my name is All Might and I teach your son.” She startles at his loud voice and he inwardly cringes. Maybe he should tone it down a little.

“A-all Might! So good t-to see you again! What can I do for you? Is Izuku in trouble?”

“Umm in a way yes. He’s in the hospital right now, and I’m wondering if you know what happened.” She looks shocked and frown in the direction of her apartment before answering.

“Was he chasing another villain fight? The boy never knows when to stay away. Always writing in those little notebooks of his.” Her tone takes him back a little, but everyone reacts differently to this sort of news.

“No not at all m’am. It seems some sort of villain attacked him sometime last night. I’m not sure of the details. I didn’t finish reading the email before leaving to find you. I believe it had to do with the sports festival. Your son did quite well.” Inko is crying now, loudly and in the middle of the hallway of her apartment building.

“W-who sent an em-email? That means s-someone saved him? Th-that he’s okay?”

“Yes he’s alright. It seems he contacted Eraserhead who took him to the nearest hospital.”

Inko sags to the ground at that, body tense with worry.

“Why didn’t he tell me he was leaving? Or call me instead? He shouldn’t need some random hero to help him. That’s why he’s in the hero course! Ever since he joined that class he’s been changing, and I don’t think I like it.” That bit surprises Yagi a little, and Inko must see the shock on his face, for she leans against the wall a little more with a sad sigh.

“He was smart to contact a hero he knows. Eraserhead is very strong and tends be be very protective of his students, no matter what the man will tell you."

“It’s j-just, he worries me so m-much! He’s broken so many b-bones since the entrance e-exam, and who knows how many other injuries he’s had. His c-class was attacked by villains at the very start of the year! Who knows what else w-will happen to him at this point. I d-don’t think I want this to be the lifestyle he ch-chooses.” Her words must be because of how worried she is. People say whatever comes to mind when facing something like this. Young Midoriya’s mother would never stop him from pursuing his dreams. Of that he is certain.

“He is surrounded by pro heroes, all day, every day at school. The chances of another villain attack are very slim. And if there was one, all the heroes would rush in to help, just like last time. How about we get your groceries into your home then head over to the hospital so you can see him yourself?” Inko simply nods her agreement, a bit of surprise on her face, and they rush through getting her groceries put away before hailing a cab to the hospital.

It’s not a long ride, but Inko is tense the whole way, so Yagi gently places a hand on her back when they arrive, and he guides her towards the pediatric ward where Young Midoriya is likely to be. The nurse at the desk looks shocked to see the Number 1 Hero, but gives them the room number swiftly and sending them on their way.

Yagi knocks lightly before entering, and takes in his successors bruised and shocked face.

“Young Midoriya! I heard you had been injured and thought you would appreciate a nice surprise!” Yagi grinned before moving to the side, revealing the boys mother.

“M-mom?!” Well, that’s not quite the reaction he was expecting, but it will do.

“Now Young Midoriya! I will leave you two alone so you can reassure your mother that you are fine. Maybe tell her about the villain that attacked you?” He hopes it was something minor. That Midoriya can reassure his mother he’s perfectly safe at school.

“A-all M-might wait! You c-c-can’t leave her h-here w-with me!” Well that’s not right. Why is he refusing to speak to his mother?

“And why not? She’s just worried for your well-being.” Yagi turns to leave, missing the despair on the young boys face.

“B-but she’s not! She’s the one wh-who-”

“Young Midoriya! Can’t you see that you’re upsetting your mother?” And he was. There are fresh tears streaming down her face as she takes in her sons rejection.

“You must speak to each other. I will be back shortly and expect you to have apologized and made up by the time I return.” Ignoring the heartbroken look on Young Midoriya’s face, Yagi strides out of the room and closes the door loudly behind him.

Yagi walks slowly down the hallways, no destination in mind. Maybe he should visit some of the younger kids in this ward? It’s not every day that the Number 1 Hero shows up at a hospital like this.

He’s smiling at the idea when he nearly walks into Aizawa and Tsukauchi, who are heading in the direction of Young Midoriya’s room.

“All Might what are you doing here? Did you not read the part of the email where I said the kid shouldn’t have any visitors?” The erasure hero drones on, sounding eternally bored.

“Well, I may have missed that part. And most of the email. I stopped reading after I saw that he was attacked, I simply wanted to surprise Young Midoriya with a visit from his mother since nobody thought to tell her that her son was attacked by a villain!”

“You did WHAT.” Wow Yagi has never seen Eraserhead so angry before. Is it because he didn’t read the entire boring email? There can’t have been that much more information in there.

“You heard me Eraser. She’s actually in there now, I wanted to give them a moment alo-” Yagi doesn’t even finish his sentence before Aizawa is running past him, Tsukauchi hot on his heels. He turns after a moment and follows the two at a much slower pace. What in the world is going on?

Chapter Text

Shouta is just finishing an explanation of the night before to Tsukauchi when they run into All Might.

“All Might what are you doing here? Did you not read the part of the email where I said the kid shouldn’t have any visitors?” This man must be illiterate. You’d have to be to fail to understand that part of his email.

“Well, I may have missed that part. And most of the email. I stopped reading after I saw that he was attacked, I simply wanted to surprise Young Midoriya with a visit from his mother since nobody thought to tell her that her son was attacked by a villain!”

“You did WHAT.” Now he knows the man is illiterate. That woman cannot be here.

“You heard me Eraser. She’s actually in there now, I wanted to give them a moment alo-” Shouta is running off before a still smiling All Might can finish his sentence, feeling the detective following closely behind.

The run to Midoriya’s room feels much longer than the walk to the front door had, and Shouta had never been more grateful for the empty halls. They do not need a nurse berating them for running when his problem child is in danger.

Shouta bursts into the room, capture weapon flaring, and freezes at the scene. Midoriya is out of bed, IV needle yanked out of his arm. He stands, back against the corner of the room, clutching at his mother’s arm, face grimacing in pain.

The short woman has the kids sprained wrist in her hand, blood seeping from beneath her fingers. He’s trying to pull her off, but whatever he’s doing seems to be making the pain worse for him.

“Let. Him. Go.” She turns around at that, yanking his kid by the arm to pull him with her, finally noticing the others in the room. Midoriya whimpers at the movement, fresh tears falling from his eyes as his injuries are jarred. Shouta meets his eyes, and he looks terrified, no sign of the reckless determination he had come to expect from the kid.

“Oh you must be Eraserhead! The teacher who cares too much. Well, if you care so much, then you can have the worthless Deku.” With that she propels Midoriya towards them by his injured wrist, and he quickly loses his balance as she lets go.

Shouta, however, is much faster than she thinks, and he catches the kid as he falls, bringing them both to the ground. Midoriya clutches onto the front of his uniform as if his life depends on it, other hand tucked against his chest, blood staining the thin hospital shirt. His breath is coming in short gasps now, on the verge of panicking.

Shouta pulls him a little closer as he looks up to see Tsukauchi standing between them and Midoriya’s mother, pulling out a pair of quirk cancelling handcuffs. Better safe than sorry.

It’s at this moment that All Might decides to finally join the party, and Inko starts crying as soon as she sees him.

“A-all Might! They attacked m-me and took my son away from m-me!” Wow this woman is good. All Might must think so too because he steps towards them, confusion in his eyes. He reaches a hand towards Midoriya, and he flinches away, hiding his face in Shouta’s scarf. His breaths are impossibly short now, and Shouta knows they have to end this quickly. This is not a situation for the kid to have a panic attack in.

All Might looks confused at the action, and tries to move closer still before Shouta settles his glare on him.

“I think you’ve done enough here All Might. Why don’t you go fetch Doctor Kalua while we deal with the situation.” All Might frowns before getting up to leave without another word. Shouta tunes back into the problem before them just in time to hear the end of Inko’s rant about how useless her child is and how he would be better off dropping out of the hero course and UA altogether.

Tsukauchi seems to have enough of it as he moves forward to place the cuffs on her wrist. She shoots a hand out and the cuffs fly out of the detectives hand and towards her own. Shouta is quick to use his quirk on her and the cuffs clatter to the floor.

“Oh you are good, Eraserhead.” She seems content to let Tsukauchi arrest her now, and is soon led out of the room, and Shouta and the problem child are left alone.

“Okay Midoriya, I need you to take some deep breaths now.” He exaggerates is own breathing, and Midoriya tries to replicate it before his breathing stutters.

“I-I-I c-c-can’t!” He’s crying harder now, shaking in his arms.

“That’s okay Midoriya. We can try again.” The kid nods and Shouta can feel him trying to breath more deeply. After a few minutes he succeeds, and Shouta waits a few more minutes after that to speak again.

“Alright kiddo, let me see that arm.” Midoriya complies faster than he expected, left hand keeping its death grip on his shirt as he lifts his right arm. Shouta gently begins to unwind the bandage covering his sprained wrist, and is shocked to see splinters of white cutting through his arm.

Doctor Kalua walks into the room as the bandage finally comes off, and kneels down beside them to take a look, and All Might is suspiciously absent.

“Oh dear, this does not look good.”

“How did she do this kid?” Midoriya gives the doctor a wary look before refocusing on him.

“H-her quirk is c-called attraction. I th-think she used it on th-the bone.” Shit. Well that explains the splinters of bone peeking through his skin. She shattered it with her quirk and attracted the shards towards herself.

“Doc can you use your quirk on this?”

“I’m afraid not. There are some unfortunate drawbacks when it comes to using my quirk. It won’t work on the same person twice within 12 hours. If I’m healing multiple injuries at once, then it works just fine, but if I try to fix anything with over half an hour in between, then it won’t work. So unless you want to wait, we’ve got to prep him for surgery.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m calling in Recovery Girl.” Kalua looks far too excited at the prospect of recovery girl coming, and Shouta shoots her a look as he pulls out his phone and calls his husband.

“Shou what’s up? The little listener done his interview with Tsukauchi?”

“Unfortunately not. There was an incident and I need you to bring Recovery Girl.”

“Shit is everything okay? What happENED TO MY LISTENER!” Hizashi’s voice gets steadily louder, quirk usage obvious even over the phone.

“It will be once you guys get here. I’ll tell you what happened then.”

“I’m on my way, I just have to get Midnight to cover my next class. I’ll be no longer than 15 minutes.” Shouta raises his eyebrows at that. UA is at least a 25 minute drive away.

“Alright Zashi, see you soon.” He hangs up without waiting for an answer and turns his attention back to the kid in his arms.

“Was that Present Mic?”

“Yah kid, he’s on his way with Recovery Girl.” The small smile that brings to Midoriya’s face is pained but relieved. The kid must really like his husband. Shouta returns the smile, chest a little warmer at the thought.

Chapter Text

Hizashi is in the middle of teaching class 1-A the meanings behind different English sayings when his phone rings. Normally he’d just ignore it, but it’s the ringtone he set specifically for Shouta, and he wouldn’t be calling without an important reason. He gives the class an apologetic look as he picks up the phone.

“Shou what’s up? The little listener done his interview with Tsukauchi?” He can always hope for a good reason for the phone call, but it’s unlikely.

“Unfortunately not. There was an incident and I need you to bring Recovery Girl.” He needs Recovery Girl? Is there something so bad that the doctors quirk can’t fix it? He’s worried, and doesn’t even think before answering his husband.

“Shit is everything okay? What happENED TO MY LISTENER!” Hizashi grimaces as he accidentally activates his quirk, earning some interesting looks from his class.

“It will be once you guys get here. I’ll tell you what happened then.”

“I’m on my way, I just have to get Midnight to cover my next class. I’ll be no longer than 15 minutes.” Hizashi is a very respectable driver the majority of the time, but when someone he cares about is in danger, all the rules and regulations go out the window. He barely registers Shouta’s goodbye before the dial tone is going off.

“Alright class, I’ve got to go. Iida, I need you to go to the teachers lounge and get Midnight to cover the rest of this class.” Without giving his students a chance to ask the questions he knows they have, Hizashi ducks out of the room and runs to the infirmary, praying that Recovery Girl isn’t busy with a student.

She’s not, and all it takes is one look at his worried state and him breathlessly saying Midoriya’s name before she is up and following him out the door and to the parking lot.

It is 13 minutes and 49 seconds later that Hizashi and Recovery Girl are bursting into the listeners hospital room. He broke several traffic laws on the way over and passed a guilty looking All Might on his way up the stairs.

Shou is holding Midoriya in a sort of half hug on the floor, while his free hand gingerly holds the kids bloody arm. He’s got his face hidden in his husbands scarf and his uninjured hand clutching his shirt so tightly that his knuckles are white. Doctor Kalua is crouched in front of them, cleaning the blood as best she can while the wounds are still open.

The sight is enough to have Hizashi lurching forward, crouching begins Shou and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, but still within Midoriya’s vision should he choose to look up. Shouta gives him a grateful look as he leans into the touch.

Recovery Girl gently nudges the doctor aside before placing a light kiss on Midoriya’s temple. Midoriya relaxes a little in Shou’s grip, clearly exhausted.

“The best I can do is mend the bones. He’s so tired that I can’t even close the wounds properly. Those will have to be stitched. Since it can’t be fixed with a quirk, it will most likely scar as well.” Recovery Girl frowns and stands to walk out the door, dismissing herself.

“Why don’t you get him to bed and out of that shirt so we can get him stitched up and into a clean one.” At the doctors words Shouta scoops Midoriya up in his arms and walks the few paces to the bed, careful not to jostle him. He has a bit of a hard time getting Midoriya to let go of his shirt, but he manages. He then pulls off the blood stained shirt and Hizashi can’t help but stare at what he sees.

Scattered along the poor kids torso are small burn marks, that look like they were caused by explosions. There are long, thin scars that look like knife wounds, but far too thin. Maybe someone’s quirk? Hizashi would bet money that Midoriya’s back has the same marks.

The little listener is oblivious to their staring, gaze tracking his doctor as she gathers things to stitch up his arm. Everyone watches as she carefully stitches him up, Midoriya clearly nervous about what happened. It’s not long before she is wrapping up his arm, and handing Shouta a clean shirt to put on a half asleep Midoriya. He does so without hesitation, and only hesitates for a moment before grabbing Hizashi’s forgotten Put Your Hands up Radio sweater from a nearby chair and pulling that over his head too. Midoriya gives him a small, grateful smile, before laying down. He’s asleep in moments, and Hizashi turns his gaze towards his husband, hoping for an explanation.

Instead he gets an armful of Shouta, and he squeezes him back just as tightly before guiding his husband to one of the chairs.

“I’ve got a feeling I should let Nezu know I’ll be out for the rest of the day.” Recovery Girl returns at his comment, and speaks before Shou can give him an answer.

“I’ve already handled it. Now Eraserhead, I think I deserve an explanation as to how Midoriya got hurt a second time, why you didn’t bring him to me in the first place, and why we passed All Might crying in the stairwell on our way up here.” Shou’s lips quirk up a little at the last comment before falling back into the frown that had made its home on his face since last night.

“The hospital was much closer than UA, and I don’t think even you would be at work past 10pm. As for your other two questions, All Might is an illiterate fool who decided to bring a suspected child abuser to visit her victim and leave them unsupervised. I doubt Midoriya would willingly be left in a room alone with her, so All Might must have ignored him and still left. He completely broke the kids trust, so that’s probably why he’s crying.”

That’s it. All Might is dead. A few tears is nothing compared to what Hizashi wants to do to the man.

“You didn’t do anything to him? Threaten him?” Recovery Girl looks surprised, and Hizashi spots Shouta’s scariest grin on his face before he answers her.

“Not yet I haven’t.”

At Hizashi’s insistence, Shou ends up leaving to drive Recovery Girl back to work and to head home to shower and nap, promising to be back by late afternoon for the delayed interview with Tsukauchi. It’s not long after he leaves that Midoriya is stirring.

“P-present Mic? What happened to Aizawa-sensei?” He looks worried for his teacher, and it’s adorable.

“Hey little listener. Shou went home to rest for a bit. You know you don’t have to call us by our hero names or sensei out of school right? You can just call me Hizashi, and I’m sure Shou would be good with Aizawa or Shouta.” Midoriya looks a little shocked at that.

“Okay Pr-Hizashi. Then you c-can call me Izuku. I’m n-not sure I l-like the name Midoriya anymore anyways.” Izuku gives him a sad, tired smile at that.

“It’s a deal Izuku! Why don’t you go back to sleep? Shou won’t be back for a few hours and you could use the extra sleep.” Izuku frowns at that and Hizashi is just opening his mouth to speak when Izuku raises shaky hands and signs.

‘Can’t. Too Loud.’

Hizashi really shouldn’t be surprised that the kid know sign language, and yet he is. He’s glad that Midoriya’s still facing the ceiling and can’t see the shocked expression on his face.

“I’m too loud? Or the hospital?”

‘Hospital.’

“Well you’re in luck listener! I’ve got an easy fix for that.” Hizashi removes the headphones from his hero costume and places them over Izuku’s ears. The listener reaches up one hand to feel the headphones and the other to sign a quick ‘Thank you.’

‘Go to sleep listener.’

Hizashi leans forward to press a soft kiss to his temple and Izuku gives him a watery smile before complying.

Chapter Text

Hizashi is nearing sleep himself when Shou returns a few hours later. He can hear him pause in the doorway as he takes in the sight of Izuku where he has curled himself around Hizashi’s hand. Hizashi had offered it after Izuku woke up from a nightmare, and he had scooted closer on the bed so he could grasp it more firmly. It’s a cute sight, and Hizashi can tell Shouta feels the same without even turning around.

“Don’t worry Shou, I already took lots of pictures.”

Shouta snorts as he strides forward to place a hand on his shoulder before leaning down to speak in his ear.

“Tsukauchi should be back soon, we should wake him up.” Hizashi complies, leaning forward to run he fingers through the thick curls. It takes a few minutes before Izuku opens his eyes, frowning. Shou reaches forwards and pulls the headphones off of his head before handing them back to Hizashi.

“Hey kid. Tsukauchi will be here soon to interview you.” Izuku frowns harder at that, and simply nods in response. It’s a few minutes of awkward silence later when Izuku tugs on Shouta’s sleeve to get his attention.

‘All Might?’ The frown is still on his lips, and there’s fear in his eyes. A look Hizashi has never seen on his face when talking about the Number 1 Hero. It’s always been a look of awe and adoration. Whatever happened definitely shook his trust in the hero.

Hizashi looks to Shou and sees that he’s keeping as straight a face as he can, a slight crease in his brow the only indicator of his mood. If he’s surprised about the sign language, then he’s not letting it show.

“He left kid. I’m not letting him see you right now.” Izuku relaxes at that, and Shou stands up straight, moving away from the bed towards a small table that holds a pitcher of water. Izuku grabs the offered glass in his right hand, left still gripping Hizashi’s own.

“Th-thank you, Shouta.” Shou’s eyebrows go up at the name, but he doesn’t say anything and Hizashi takes that as a win. He hadn’t expected Izuku to try out the name so quickly. Shouta pulls a chair right next to Hizashi and grabs his free hand before settling down to wait for the detective.

They don’t have to wait long, Tsukauchi knocking on the door and easing it open less than 10 minutes later. Izuku is tense when he walks in, and Hizashi gives his hand a little squeeze of comfort. Tsukauchi notices his uneasiness, and sets up at the small table a little ways from the bed, slumping a little in his chair to try and make Izuku more comfortable in his presence. He hits play on his little handheld recorder before speaking.

“Alright Midoriya,” Izuku tenses right back up at the name, and Tsukauchi gives him an apologetic look.

“My name is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. I’m here to gather a statement regarding the events of this past weekend. First we need to establish a history regarding the relationship between you and your mother, Midoriya Inko. My quirk is lie detector, so I’ll be able to tell if what you’re saying is true or not. You with me so far?”

“Y-yes.”

“True. Looks like we’re off to a good start, Izuku.” Izuku smiles a little at that, relaxing a bit more at the detectives tone.

“Is this the first time your mother hit you?” Izuku tenses back up, looking anywhere but at the detective before answering.

“N-no. She first started in m-middle school when I would c-come home beaten up by bullies. I guess she th-thought that since I w-was getting bruises already, n-nobody would notice a few extra.”

“True. Has she been hitting you ever since then?”

“Umm, once I g-got into UA she stopped. I th-think she was worried that the heroes that teach there would notice.”

“True. Has she abused you in any other way besides physically?”

“Y-yes. Before she started hitting me, sh-she would alternate between pretending I didn’t exist, to yelling at m-me for existing, calling me names.”

“True. When did this start? What kind of names did she call you?”

“It started when I w-was four, the d-day I was diagnosed quirkless.” Tsukauchi doesn’t look surprised at this. How much does he know? He seems to be pretty good friends with All Might.

“True.”

“Sh-she was pretty unoriginal w-with names. She just called m-me what she heard my bullies call me. Usually v-variations of stupid, useless, worthless, and Deku.”

“True again. While neglecting you, did she also withhold things from you?” Izuku gives him a confused look at that.

“What kind of things?

“Necessities. Things like food and water.”

“Um w-well she forgot to f-feed me a lot of the time, s-so I had to sneak food when she was away. If sh-she caught me taking food she always started yelling again.” Shouta’s hand tightens in his at that. Why did nobody ever help the little listener?

“True. Where was your father during all of this?”

“W-well, at f-first she said th-that he was w-working overseas, b-but as I got older, sh-she started t-telling me that it w-was my f-fault he left. B-because I’m a s-stupid, worthless, d-deku.”

“True again. That’s enough for the history. Can you tell me what happened this weekend? What triggered her assault?”

“W-well I got pretty banged up during the sports festival s-so as soon as I g-got home I h-hid in my room. It took h-her until Sunday to n-notice I was even there. Wh-when she did, she barged into my r-room and started yelling. She kept telling me how w-worried she gets when I get hurt like this. How sh-she wished I never got a quirk in the f-first place. H-how she had never heard of anyone else developing one this late."

"She w-was being so loud and she wouldn’t stop, s-so I t-told her how I got my quirk. Sh-she was so mad at me! Started yelling about h-how I should give it back and l-leave UA. I t-told her no so sh-she started hitting me again and wouldn’t s-stop. I h-had to wait until sh-she went to bed to sneak out of the apartment and call Aizawa-sensei for help.”

“All true. Can you tell me about what happened when she and All Might came to the hospital?”

“D-do I have t-to?” There are tears in Izuku’s eyes now, and Hizashi grips his hand a little tighter.

“I’m so sorry Izuku, but we need to know what happened.” Izuku sniffs before continuing on.

“O-okay. All Might came into the r-room and told me he h-had a nice surprise for me. He m-moved and sh-she was there! I t-tried to tell him that I didn’t want to t-talk to her, or see her, and that she w-was the one who h-hurt me, but he wouldn’t listen! J-just told me I was upsetting her and he left. As s-soon as the door closed behind him she walked towards me. Sh-she was calling me all those names again b-but she was so calm, it was even scarier than usual. I g-got out of the bed to get away from her, b-but she still grabbed me and used her quirk. It h-hurt way more than usual, s-so I know she was extra m-mad at me.”

The room falls quiet as Tsukauchi makes a few more notes. Hizashi looks over at Shouta and finds him tightlipped, face as neutral as he can get it. However, there is no disguising the anger in his eyes.

He’s sure that the same look is mirrored on his face. Hizashi is furious. Who the hell treats their child like that? He’s glad he wasn’t in the room earlier with Inko. Who knows what he would have done then.

As it stands, Hizashi isn’t sure what they’re going to do with All Might. Would Midnight be willing to help hide a dead body?

“Alright Izuku, that’s all I need for now. Eraserhead, a word please?” They walk out the door and Hizashi is left alone with a softly crying Izuku. Hizashi stands and pulls Izuku into a tight hug, and he breaks down in his arms.

Chapter Text

Shouta follows Tsukauchi out of the room, feeling guilty leaving Izuku behind in that state. At least he’s got Hizashi with him.

“Alright Eraserhead, I’ll make this quick. His statement is more than enough to proceed with charges. Pair that with what we both witnessed, this case is pretty open and shut. You may need to testify if this goes to court, but I’ll do my best to keep Izuku out of it.”

“Thank you. This is stressful enough for him already.”

“There is the small matter of his father. We managed to contact him but he told us he wanted nothing to do with the kid. He even signed the papers to relinquish custody, so that won’t be a problem.”

“Jesus. What kind of father refuses a relationship with his kid?” Not that Shouta minds all that much. It’ll make it so much easier for them to take him home.

“You know how he mentioned his mother saying he works overseas? Well he’s the kind of father that runs a small villain gang over in America. Now, I’m assuming you want to take the kid home?”

“Of course. Hizashi and I both have our foster licences for cases like this. We already filled out the child abuse forms with the hospital, they should have faxed those to you already. We just need to fill out the fostering forms so we can take him home. I’m guessing you already knew the answer and brought them with you?” Tsukauchi gives him a smug look as he pulls the forms out of his briefcase. Shouta starts filling them out as they talk so the detective can take them with them when he leaves.

“Alright. I’ll see if I can put in a good word with his social worker once they’re assigned.”

“You can tell them to not bother looking at other placements for him. We’re both wanting to keep Izuku more longterm.” Tsukauchi gives him a look at that.

“You going soft on us Eraserhead?” Shouta doesn’t dignify that with an answer, instead showing the detective his middle finger as they turn back to his kid’s room and begin the walk there. They run into Doctor Kalua on the way, and he allows her to step into the room first.

“Alright Izuku. I’m just going to check you over and then if everything is to my liking, we can get you out of here.” The problem child nods from his place on the bed, scrubbing at his face to get rid of the tears. Hizashi steps back to stand next to him as Kalua gets to work.

“Everything go alright with Tsukauchi?” He hands him the forms to sign before he answers.

“Yah. There shouldn’t be any custody problems on account of one garbage father.” Hizashi gives the forms to a lurking Tsukauchi before he turns his attention back to their kid.

“Well that’s a relief.” Shouta simply nods, eyes following the movements of the doctor. Izuku seems a little more comfortable this time around, watching the heroes instead of the doctor.

“Alright, everything looks good to go! He will be sore for a few days while his bruises heal. The wrist might become a long term issue with residual pain, so make sure to keep an eye on that. I’ll prescribe a few painkillers and send the form with the nurse when they bring the discharge paperwork for you.” With that Kalua is gone, leaving the pros alone with their new charge.

“S-sensei’s? Where will I go now?” Izuku looks more than a little nervous, fresh tears sprouting in his eyes.

“SHOU! You didn’t tell him?!” Hizashi looks outraged, and Shouta rolls his eyes at his antics.

“You’re coming home with us problem child. I hope you like cats.” Shouta gives him a wide smile, one that usually unnerves his class. Izuku simply answers with a grin of his own, what he hopes are happy tears falling from his eyes.

They don’t have to wait long for the paperwork, and Shouta sends Hizashi to fill the prescription while he deals with it. He fills it out quickly, then he and Izuku slowly make their way to the front desk, Hizashi joining them while the nurse checks over the forms.

“Everything seems to be in order! I hope I don’t have to see you here again, mister.” She directs the last part at Izuku as she hands him a sucker. The kid looks mortified, and Shouta has to repress a laugh. It seems he didn’t succeed though, because Izuku shoots him a glare as they walk out the doors and to the car that is parked much closer the before.

They make the drive in silence, the only noise coming from the softly playing radio. By the time they make it home its nearing 6 o’clock, so Hizashi sets about making a light dinner while Shouta shows Izuku around the apartment.

He starts the tour from the entrance that leads directly to the living room. The wall to their left is lined with various records and cd’s, while the one across from it has multiple bookshelves and some small knickknacks, mostly belonging to Hizashi. The third wall houses their tv and sound system with a few pictures scattered on the walls. There’s a couch in the centre of it all, and Shouta suspect’s that at least one cat is curled up on it.

Instead of a fourth wall, the living room opens up into the dining room and kitchen, where Hizashi is already humming a tune as he cooks. There’s a hallway a the edge of the wall with the bookshelves that leads to the bedrooms and bathroom. Shouta and Hizashi’s room is the first on the right, with an office across the hallway on the left. Right next to the office is the bathroom, and across from that and next to his own room is the spare room, now Izuku’s.

Shouta shows him the room with a small smile, and notes the surprise on Izuku’s face as he takes it all in.

“I may have broken into your old place and nabbed some of your stuff while I was supposed to be napping. Thought you’d feel a little more comfortable that way.” He notices how the kids eyes light up at the notebooks stacked on his desk, and he’s not surprised when Izuku turns around and hugs him, he just simply hugs him back.

“Th-thank you so much! You guys have just been so n-nice to me and I don’t know what I would h-have done if y-you didn’t answer the phone! I-I can’t th-thank you enough for this.”

“Izuku. You being here and okay is more than enough thanks.”

“S-still. Thank you.” Shouta gives him one last squeeze before letting go and leading him back towards the dining room, where Hizashi is just setting the table for dinner. They eat in silence for a few minutes before Shouta speaks up.

“Alright kiddo. I figure we have two options for tomorrow. You can either come to school with us, or hangout here with the cats. Either way Hizashi and I should probably teach our classes tomorrow.”

“I think I’d like to g-go to classes.” Shouta gives him a soft smile before resuming dinner.

Once they are all done and cleaned up they sit Izuku on the couch to introduce him to the cats.

“This one is Toothless. Shou named him that because he has no teeth and that is his favourite movie.” Hizashi is holding out their fluffy black cat for a giggling Izuku to pet while Shouta shoots his husband a glare.

“What movie is that?”

“OH MY God!” Shouta has to silence his husband with his quirk.

“S-sorry. I w-was n-never r-really allowed to w-watch m-movies. I only d-did when sh-she forgot about m-me and left f-for a few d-days.” Izuku looks so disappointed in himself. He feels so badly for something that wasn’t his fault.

“That’s okay little listener! It’s not your fault, but it will be ours if we don’t rectify that soon!” Shouta has to speak up now, before it becomes too obvious that he’s feeling things. Hizashi will never let him hear the end of it.

“And this one is Radio, because she is loud and Hizashi is stupid.” Izuku is laughing now, reaching out for the small siamese that meows loudly in response to being passed around. She settles in his lap though, and starts purring as the problem child sets about petting her.

Its not long before they’re all yawning, the days events catching up with them. Izuku goes to bed without complaint, and they follow suit. Shouta is asleep in no time, Hizashi’s warmth at his side.

Chapter Text

Izuku wakes up to a weight on his chest, and opens his eyes to see Radio’s blue ones staring back at him. She meows loudly and pushes her face against his before hopping off of him, allowing him to sit up. A glance at the clock tells him its just past 6am, and he throws on his school uniform before following the impatient Radio to the kitchen, where he makes sure to give Toothless a few pets.

Izuku takes a moment to look at his teachers and take in their odd sleepwear. His homeroom teacher is wearing bright pink sweatpants and a sweatshirt that do not match at all. In direct contrast, the voice hero is wearing dark sweatpants and a bright yellow Present Mic t-shirt. They’ve both got silver chains around their necks. Some sort of matching necklaces?

He mindlessly eats the breakfast they put in front of him, not quite ready for the day ahead. He knows his classmates will be full of questions that he doesn’t want to answer. His teachers disappear and return in their pro hero uniforms, ready to leave at a moments notice. Come to think of it, they probably would be. The apartment is a bit of a drive from UA, and as teachers they’re probably expected to be there early. Izuku looks up from his musings to find both pros watching him, a small smile on Hizashi’s face as he moves towards him.

“You mind if I fix your tie listener? It looks very….interesting.” Izuku looks down at said tie and grimaces. It’s tied in the same crumpled way it has been since day one, Izuku having no one around to help him figure it out.

He nods his consent and Hizashi reaches forward, taking a few minutes to figure out how to untie the mess. Once finished, Izuku grabs his backpack from his room and they all head out the door, giving the cats some pets on the way.

The drive is spent in silence, and Shouta only speaks once they park the car.

“There’s one more thing to talk about before we head in kid.” Both teachers are turned in their seats, and Hizashis got a frown on his face.

“We talked to Nezu last night. Tried to get him to at least suspend All Might from teaching. We’re worried that the way he handled things at the hospital are insight on to how he might treat the rest of the kids. He’s too ignorant for his own good.” Shouta turns back to the front before continuing.

“Nezu refused. Something about how the country would stand against UA for pulling the Number 1 hero from teaching for a while. Who knows what the rat is thinking.”

“Do you want to train with 1-B instead of with All Might for that period?” Izuku hesitates before replying. While Shouta’s suggestion would be nice, Izuku doesn’t think he wants to leave his class, even for that one period. He’s trained so hard with his classmates-his friends- that he doesn’t think it would be worth it.

He shakes his head at the pro.

“Alright kid.” Shouta doesn’t seem upset, and he’s got a look of understanding in his eyes when they meet his own.

“You want to wait in the teacher’s lounge listener? Be easier to avoid questions that way.” Hizashi’s question breaks the silence of the car.

Izuku simply nods his assent and they make their way over. It’s thankfully empty when they arrive, and Izuku settles on the couch to catch up on some missed work before class.

It’s not long before other pros start to arrive, barely sparing him a glance as if they expected him to be there. A few pros give him a smile or a quiet hello, and Snipe even reaches over to ruffle his hair, messing up his curls even more.

“Heyyy!” Snipe just laughs at him as Shouta makes his way over.

“It’s not my fault! I had to see how fluffy it is.”

“We should head to class now kid. And remember. You don’t have to answer any questions you don’t want to. It’s none of their business.” Izuku nods and grabs his backpack before following him out the door and to their classroom. Izuku steps inside first, and is met with a barrage of noise.

“Deku-kun! What happened!”

“Woah that bruise! So manly!”

“Midoriya are you alright?”

“Where were you yesterday!?”

“Were you attacked by a villain?”

Izuku is quickly overwhelmed and tries to step back away from the noise but ends up backing right into his teacher. He places a steadying hand on his shoulder before addressing the class.

“Everyone shut up.” With that everyone did, too afraid of their teachers wrath to continue. Izuku rushes to take his own seat, in the back and away from the attention. Only once he reaches it does he notice the new face in the spot behind him, and he gives Shinsou a small smile before sitting down and taking out his notebook.

Homeroom passes far too quickly for his comfort, and as soon as Shouta steps out of the room Iida and Uraraka are rushing up to his desk.

“Deku what happened? We were so worried!” Izuku tenses at the nickname.

“I-I’m fine. Nothing h-happened.”

“Midoriya! As your classmate and friend I am inclined to believe you but those bruises tell a different story! Was it a villain? It must have been bad if you missed a day of classes.” Iida’s robotic gesturing is awfully close to his face, and he shrinks away a little and keeps his mouth shut, unwilling to answer.

“Come on Deku, you can tell us anything!” Uraraka is reaching for his shoulder now, and he can’t help but flinch away. She looks hurt at the action, but doesn’t try again.

“You guys should get back to your seats before Present Mic gets here.” Iida frowns when Shinsou speaks up but leaves for his desk anyways.

“Okay then! You can just tell us what happened over lunch Deku.” Uraraka leaves then, and Izuku shoots Shinsou a grateful smile before he relaxes in his seat.

English passes almost as quickly as homeroom did, and Izuku can feel himself getting more worked up as it gets closer to lunchtime. Before he knows it the bell is ringing and Iida and Uraraka are once again making their way over to his desk. They’ve got concerned frowns on their faces.

Izuku is touched. He really is! He never thought he’d have friends that cared so much. It’s just not something he can deal with right now.

He’s panicking, shoving things into his bag in the hope that he’ll be able to get away fast enough when Present Mic calls out.

“Izuku, a word?” He relaxes a bit at the sound of the heroes voice, and makes his way over to his desk at the front of the room.

“Deku! We’ll wait outside the class for you!” Hizashi notices his distress and answers before he can stutter something out.

“That won’t be necessary Uraraka. This might take a while.” The door shuts behind his friends and he sighs, relief washing over him.

“I don’t remember them being so loud last week.” Hizashi simply frowns in response, and gets up from his chair.

“Let’s hit up the teachers lounge. I’m sure Shou is already waiting for us.”

“Thank you Hizashi. I have a feeling they were going to interrogate me more over lunch and I really don’t want to share what happened.”

“No problem listener!” They step out into the empty halls and make the short walk to the teachers lounge, where only a few of them are present. Lunch passes quickly, and it’s only when the final bell is nearing that Izuku remembers what class he has next.

Hero Studies.

With All Might.

Shouta and Hizashi notice his distress when they’re rising from their seats to head towards their last classes.

“Don’t worry listener! I’m going to talk to All Might and have you sit out today. You can still watch the class, but no strenuous activity for you!” Izuku smiles gratefully at him and they make their way to the location for today’s hero class, Gym Beta.

Most of his classmates are already present and loud, and a few of them start heading in his direction when he enters with Hizashi. The man simply leads him over to the benches before making him sit, and plunks his headphones over his ears to block the noise. Izuku smiles in relief at the cutoff of sound and Hizashi gives him a small hair ruffle before heading over to speak with All Might.

Chapter Text

Izuku successfully ignores the rest of the world for all of five minutes before a tap on the shoulder has him jumping up and whipping around. It’s just Shinsou, and Izuku relaxes at the sight of him. Shinsou gives him an apologetic look before raising his hands and signing.

‘Sorry!’

‘It’s okay!!’

Shinsou looks momentarily surprised that Izuku understands him and Izuku shoots him a grin as he reaches up to pull Hizashi’s headphones off. A cacophony of noise meets his uncovered ears, and he winces when a particularly loud screech of Bakugou’s reaches them.

“Are those Present Mic’s?” Shinsou is staring at the headphones and Izuku really doesn’t know how to explain their existence around his neck so he just nods, and Shinsou doesn’t press him.

“Why are you sitting out Shinsou?”

“All Might decided that since I’m new to the Hero Course that I should just watch today. He also wanted to give me extra time to catch up on hero work, even though I finished it all three days ago. I also don’t have a partner to spar with.” Shinsou doesn’t look upset, just mildly inconvenienced at being left out.

“S-sorry! It’s m-my fault you don’t h-have a partner.”

“It’s fine Midoriya. I’ve waited this long, I can handle one more day.” Shinsou gives him a look that tells him there’s no point in arguing, so Izuku goes back to his analysis on his classmates’ quirks for a few minutes before he speaks again.

“What about you, Midoriya?” Izuku hesitates at that wondering how much he should tell him. Shinsou seems like he would be fine with him telling him that it’s none of his business. It’s a comforting thought. He also seems like he would be good at keeping secrets. Izuku decides to tell him the bare minimum for now.

“Well, I got h-hurt this weekend, so f-fighting like this is probably a bad idea. Sh-Aizawa-sensei also doesn’t w-want All Might talking to me r-right now.” Shinsou’s eyebrows rise a little at that, but he doesn’t say anything else.

Izuku is grateful.

They spend the rest of the class in comfortable silence, and leave a few minutes before it’s over, neither wanting to get caught up in the crowd that leaves the change room. It isn’t until they’re walking to the classroom beside each other that Shinsou speaks up again.

“Hey Midoriya? Why do people keep calling you Deku?” Izuku frowns before speaking, and decides to go with honesty.

“It’s what my bullies used to call me in middle school. One of them goes here and they all heard him call me that before they even learned my name. I guess it kind of stuck.”

“Why didn’t you ask them to stop? I can tell you don’t like it.” Izuku frowns a that. If Shinsou can tell, why can’t his other friends?

“Oh trust me I’ve tried. Every time they say it I think about how terrible that name felt in middle school. I’ve asked them to stick to Midoriya but they just keep calling me Deku. It’s really hard to hear my friends call me something I used to hear every time I got beat up.”

At least some of them go with Midoriya now, even if that name still causes him pain. At least it’s not as bad as something that means useless.

“Well that’s stupid. They should respect your wishes and stop.” Shinsou’s blunt response leaves Izuku rooted to his spot as he makes his way into the classroom. Izuku follows suit when he hears the rest of his classmates coming down the hallway.

Shouta is already in the classroom and Izuku gives him a small smile before settling in his seat, right before his classmates barge through the door.

Their teacher starts speaking before the bell even rings, telling them they are picking hero names before Midnight saunters in to help them.

Izuku’s thought about hero names before, but could never find something suitable. There’s just nothing with that much meaning to him. He briefly thinks about using Deku for a name, but disregards the idea just as quickly, his conversation with Shinsou making him think about what a bad idea that is.

Deku is not a name he wants to be attached to for the rest of his life.

By the time the class starts presenting their names, Izuku’s whiteboard is still blank, and he panics a little. They’re coming up on him soon and he doesn’t have anything!

Izuku scribbles the first thing that comes to mind on his whiteboard and pauses. That’s…actually not a bad idea! Why didn’t he think of that before!

Soon Midnight is calling his name and he only hesitates for a second at the front before flipping his board around, revealing his name to the class.

Janus.

Several of his classmates look confused, so he decides a small explanation is in order.

“Janus is the Roman God of beginnings, choices, and doorways. I chose this name because UA was a new beginning for me. I’ve had to make a lot of decisions here that will shape my future as a hero. I don’t doubt that I’ll have many more to make.”

The class is silent as he makes his way back to his seat.

Only one student remains, and Shinsou flips his card around without a word. His chosen hero name, Hypnos. Izuku can’t help but think it suits him.

The end of day bell rings as Shinsou is making his way back to his seat, and he stops in front of Izuku.

“I like your hero name.” Izuku finds himself unable to speak at the sudden complement, so he simply signs instead.

‘Thank you.’

Izuku packs up quickly, ready to get away from all the questioning glances and to the safety of the teachers lounge when Iida and Uraraka waltz up to his desk.

“Hey Deku! Let’s walk together to the train station!”

“Umm I don’t actually need to go there.”

“Is someone picking you up?”

“S-something like that.” Izuku can feel Shouta’s eyes on him from the front of the class room as they talk.

“Well then! We can wait with you until you’re ride comes! Maybe you can tell us what happened last weekend!” Uraraka is really insistent on learning what happened.

“That’s not necessary! Go c-catch your trains!”

“Are you sure Deku?”

“Absolutely.” With that they finally leave, and Izuku realizes all his other classmates are gone too. He places his head on his desk and groans, revelling in the silence of the room. He stays that way until a gentle hand is placed on his head.

“Alright problem child. Let’s go find Zashi so we can head home.” Izuku raises his head and gives Shouta a tired smile, ready to go back to the quiet apartment. He blindly follows Shouta back to the teachers lounge where they find Hizashi, deep in conversation with Snipe. Hizashi gives them a wide smile and excuses himself before heading over.

“We all ready to go home?” Shouta simply nods while Izuku stares at the hero. There’s something different about his costume. Hizashi reaches up to scratch at his neck when he notices the staring.

“What’s up listener?” Oh!

Izuku pulls off his bag and digs through it before pulling out the headphones and giving them back to Hizashi with a smile.

“Thanks listener. Let’s go home.”

Chapter Text

Izuku is quiet. Not the kind of quiet that Shouta has come to expect from the small kid either. Hizashi notices it too, and keeps shooting him worried glances over dinner. It looks like Shouta has to be the one to break the silence.

“So Izuku. Where did you learn sign language?” Izuku tenses up at the question. Guess he picked the wrong conversation topic.

“W-well, people didn’t l-like when I talked, s-so I learned so I could c-communicate. T-turns out they d-didn’t like that either. S-sometimes I f-find it really h-hard to t-talk, s-so I use sign language instead.” Izuku looks worried, like he thinks they’ll be mad at him for this.

“You know, sign language is very useful for a hero to know. It means they can communicate plans without speaking and revealing their position.”

“I n-never thought of it l-like that!”

“Can you tell me what situations you find it hard to talk in?” Izuku frowns, but answers him anyways.

“Um, w-well sometimes I get r-really anxious and stressed out, and my throat j-just locks up. It happens when I’m around l-lots of new people, or if it gets r-really loud. I also c-can’t speak when I’m really t-tired, or sick, or s-scared.” That sounds a whole lot like selective mutism. Definitely not something his mother would have brought up to a doctor. If the kids ever seen a doctor before he got to UA. Hell, she’s probably the cause of it. He’ll have to bring it up to Recovery Girl next time he sees her. Shouta places a gentle hand on his kids shoulder before speaking.

“It’s okay Izuku, we don’t have to talk about this anymore. Thank you for telling me.” He gets a small smile for that.

‘Thank you.’ Izuku keeps his hands raised, as if he wants to keep going.

“You know you can ask us anything, right kid?” Izuku blushes before he moves his hands again.

‘Why do you guys know sign language? Is it because of how useful it is for a hero to know?’ Shouta glances at his husband, wondering what he’ll tell Izuku.

“Well listener, I had a very tough time controlling my quirk and by the time I could I had become almost completely deaf. I have hearing aids, and they help a ton, but I didn’t for a long time, and sometimes they get really annoying to wear. So sometimes when we’re at home I’ll take them off and rely on sign language to communicate with Shou.” Zashi looks a little sentimental at that, the topic likely bringing up bad memories. From the look on his face, and seems like Izuku notices too.

‘Sorry! I didn’t mean to make you feel sad. I shouldn’t have said that.’ Hizashi interrupts him before he can sign anything else.

“Hey listener it’s alright! It’s important for you to know. If I ever take out my hearing aids and don’t tell you, now you know that I just can’t hear you instead of you thinking I’m ignoring you. Which I will never do.” Izuku nods, still a little unsure.

“He wouldn’t have told you if he didn’t want to problem child.” Izuku looks a little more sure of himself as he answers.

‘Okay. I’ll try to remember that. Thank you. Both of you.’

“Not a problem. Hizashi and I will clean up, why don’t you go relax with the cats for a bit.” Izuku simply nods as he gets up silently from the table, and Shouta only moves once he hear’s the kid’s bedroom door shut behind him.

“Do you think something happened at school today?”

“I’m not sure. The other kids were pretty insistent that he tell them what happened. He made it pretty clear he didn’t want to talk about it, but some of them were still pretty pushy. It looks like Shinsou stepped in though, so he might help ward off some of the questions.” He hopes he does. He might have to have a talk with the class about invading each others privacy either way.

“That’s not good. He looked pretty tired too, Shou. And the selective mutism is something we’ll have to bring up with Recovery Girl.” Shouta’s glad that Hizashi came to the same conclusion as him. It makes him feel a little less irrational.

“I think he’s still in pain. We’ll make sure he takes some painkillers before bed tonight and hope that helps him a little. And I’m already planning on it.” By now the dishwasher is all loaded and the counters wiped clean, so they head to their room to change out of their hero gear before making their way over to the couch to turn on the evening news and work on some marking.

Izuku emerges moments later, wearing Hizashi’s radio sweater.

“It seems like you’ve lost all rights to that sweater, Zashi.” Shouta shoots him a cheeky grin when he gets an elbow to the side, and Izuku settles on the couch next to him, homework in hand.

It isn’t long before the cat’s join them, Radio sitting on the kid’s textbook and meowing loudly for attention. Izuku smiles softly at that, and puts down his pencil to give her the attention she does not deserve.

They sit there like that in the comfortable silence until Shouta feels a small weight settle against his shoulder. He looks down at Izuku and finds the kid half asleep against his arm, one hand buried in Radio’s fur.

“Alright problem child, I think it’s time for bed.” Izuku nods and gets up slowly, tiredly shuffling to his room. Shouta makes a stop in the kitchen for some painkillers before following.

“Take these. They’ll help with the pain.” Izuku complies and slumps over in bed, eyes drooping. Shouta gives him a small hair ruffle before leaving the room and rejoining Hizashi on the couch. His husband is finishing up the last of his marking when he sits next to him.“Why are you so much better at marking than I am.” Shouta eyes his large stack of paperwork that still needs to be done.

“Don’t worry about it Shou, I’ll help you finish it tomorrow.” With that Hizashi is pulling him to his feet and to their bed, pulling him in close as they get settled.

Shouta wakes up a little over 2 hours later when he hears a loud thump in the next room. Izuku’s room.

He extracts himself from Hizashi’s grip and throws on a shirt that’s laying on the floor before rushing to the kid’s room, freezing in the doorway. Izuku is curled up, shivering on the hard floor, blankets and sweater abandoned. The thump must have been him falling from the bed.

“Izuku?” He looks up from his position on the floor and the sight breaks Shouta’s heart a little. He’s clearly distraught, face covered in tears and snot as he tries to gain control of his breathing. There’s fresh blood on the bandage that covers his right wrist, and he clutches it tightly in his other hand. Shouta approaches him slowly and crouches down in front of him, making no other moves. He hesitates a moment before speaking.

“Was it nightmares?” A nod.

“Your mother?” Another one.

“Want to tell me what happened?” Izuku shakes his head, but speaks anyways.

“It w-was b-back at the hospital. Sh-she was using her q-quirk and it hurt and then I woke up and it still hurt so I thought I was really back there and-” Shouta’s hand on his head stops him, and he dissolves into more tears. They stay like that for a few minutes before Izuku is uncurling and sitting up, looking exhausted and ready to fall back asleep.

“How about we go to the couch and I can take a look at that arm?” Izuku doesn’t answer, he simply stands and heads out to the hallway. Shouta follows him, taking a moment to grab the first aid kit from the bathroom.

He finds the problem child sitting on the couch, and he hardly reacts when Shouta sits down next to him, simply holds out his arm for him. He sets about slowly unwrapping the bindings, and frowns at what he finds. A few of the stitches have popped, and the wounds are practically radiating heat. Could mean the start of an infection. Shouta reaches up to feel the kids forehead and frowns, finding it too warm for his liking, while Izuku leans into his cool touch, eyes closing. He pulls back his hand to stick a thermometer in Izuku’s mouth and starts carefully cleaning the cuts before wrapping them back up securely. The thermometer is done by the time he is, and he frowns again at the display.

38.9. Not ideal, but nothing he can’t deal with at home.

He looks back up at Izuku and finds him staring at him.

“What is it?”

“Wh’t are you w’ring?” Shouta looks down at his shirt and blushes. He’d grabbed Zashi’s shirt by mistake in his rush to get to Izuku’s room.

“It’s just Zashi’s shirt. Grabbed it by mistake.” Izuku gives him an odd look at that, but he decides not to dwell too much on it.

Shouta packs up the first aid kit, leaving out a cold compress, and returns it to the bathroom, grabbing some ibuprofen on the way out before stopping in the kitchen for a glass of water.

“Eat these and drink this.” Izuku accepts them wordlessly, shaking hands threatening to spill the water. He doesn’t, and when Shouta pats the spot next to him he lays down, head resting by Shouta’s legs. Shouta snaps the cold pack to activate the chemicals, and places it gingerly on Izuku’s head. The kid sighs in relief once the coolness hits and is asleep soon after, Shouta following suit.

Chapter Text

Shouta wakes up again a few hours later to a light touch on his shoulder, and blinks blearily up at his husband.

“Everything alright Shou? I got worried when you didn’t come back to bed.” Shouta doesn’t answer him, just frowns down to where Izuku is, and is surprised to find out how much he moves in his sleep. He has moved from being flat on his back to curled up on his side, facing the back of the couch. His head is pillowed on Shouta’s thigh, and he’s got his arms wrapped around his middle. Shouta can feel where his hands are fisted on the back of his shirt. He smiles a little at the sight, wishing he could capture the moment. Hizashi, ever the mind reader, speaks up again.

“I already took about a million pictures. Now what’s going on?”

“He had a nightmare and I found him on the floor. Some of his stitches popped and it looks like he may be getting an infection. I plan on taking him to Recovery Girl before class.”

“Poor kid. You should get ready soon if you want to have enough time for her. You know how much she likes to talk.” Zashi shoots him a wink and stands, heading back to their room.

Shouta somehow manages to extract himself from the kid without waking him, and changes quickly into his hero costume before downing a mug of coffee. He stops by Izuku’s room to grab his sweater and backpack before returning to the living room where Izuku is still curled up. It takes a few tries to wake him, but soon his eyes are sluggishly opening, and he’s pushing himself into a seated position.

“Put this on. We’re heading out a bit early today.”

“Wh’t about my uni’frm?” The sentence is barely comprehensible, and Hizashi silently laughs from where he’s standing behind the couch.

“Don’t worry about it kid. It’s not worth it today.” Izuku manages to get the sweater over his head and tries to grab the matching yellow backpack, but Hizashi grabs it before he can. He lets out a little whine, but follows them out the door and to the car without a word.

He nearly falls asleep on the way to UA, and they don’t even make it through the parking lot before Shouta loses his patience. He walks back to the problem child and turns around in front of him before crouching down.

“Get on.”

“B-but Shouta! I c-can walk!”

“We won’t make it inside by lunch time if I let you walk.” Izuku sputters begins him, but still wraps his arms around his neck and climbs on his back. Shouta stands and tucks his arms under the kids legs, not nearly as off balance as he thought he would be at the extra weight.

“Jesus kid. You are way too light.”

“S’not my fault.” It’s said so quietly that Shouta almost doesn’t hear it.

He can feel Izuku nuzzling his warm face into the back of his neck as they walk, and he can feel every puff of air that leaves the kids mouth. He can see Hizashi laughing out of the corner of his eye, and turns his head just in time to catch him take another picture.

They pass by far too many heroes on their journey, and he knows the entire staff will hear about this by the time classes start.

It doesn’t take long to reach the infirmary carrying Izuku, and Recovery Girl simply sighs when she catches sight of them, and gestures towards the nearest bed.

Shouta is careful as he puts the problem child down, and Izuku releases the death grip he had around his neck. He turns around and pulls up the right sleeve of Izuku’s sweater before speaking.

“I think his arm’s getting infected. He woke up with a fever last night.” He carefully doesn’t mention the nightmare, and Izuku gives him a grateful look. Recovery Girl doesn’t say anything, just pushes him aside and unravels the bandage.

“It most certainly is. These stitches were done poorly. They’ll let anyone with a healing quirk be a doctor nowadays. Looks like you at least did a good job cleaning it.” She cleans his arm again before rewrapping it and turning to her desk to pull out some pills and hand them to Izuku.

“These should help with the fever, they may make him more tired though, so I hope you’re fine with him passing out in your class, Shouta.”

“Of course. There’s one other thing we wanted to talk to you about. We believe he’s got undiagnosed selective mutism. He has trouble speaking under specific circumstances and described it as his throat locking up and preventing him from talking.”

“Well it sounds like you’re right Shouta, I’ll add it to his file. I suggest you let him rest in the teachers lounge for the remainder of time before class begins.” She walks into her office and closes the door, dismissing them.

“Well Hizashi, I think it’s your turn.”

“My turn to what?” His husband looks a little scared at that. Shouta just gestures to the problem child.

“You get to carry him this time.” Hizashi doesn’t even answer, just hands Shouta his speaker to free up his neck and walks over to the bed to get the kid onto his back in the same fashion that Shouta did earlier. They walk in silence for a few minutes until Izuku decides to speak up, voice muffled by Zashi’s jacket.

“Hey ‘Zashi?” He sounds so tired, and it’s surprising he hasn’t fallen back asleep yet.

“Yah kid?”

“Wh’t’s this cha’n ‘round your neck? Noticed Shou’ ‘as one too.” His words are slightly slurred, but they both get the point. Shouta’s almost surprised the kid even noticed them. Almost.

“Why don’t you pull it out and see?” Hizashi’s got the hint of a smile on his face, eager to see Izuku’s reaction. He doesn’t know why. The kid already knows they’re married. Izuku tugs on the chain eagerly, pulling the chain out from where it’s tucked into Zashi’s shirt. Izuku smiles at the simple ring he finds.

“Wedding ring?” Shouta bets the kid knew already. Izuku sounds more awake now, becoming more comprehensible with his interest. Hizashi nods in place of replying.

“Why don’t you wear it on your hand?”

“We didn’t want to risk breaking them. And it’s nice to have something for ourselves that the world doesn’t know about.” Hizashi is smiling as he says this, and Izuku nods in reply, tucking his face closer to Zashi’s neck. It’s cute, and Shouta knows that he’ll be a dead man if he doesn’t capture the moment, so he does. Zashi is obsessed with pictures.

They don’t see a single person until they enter the teachers lounge, and the only person in there is Ectoplasm, grumbling about some math problem. He doesn’t even look up as they enter, just mutters a greeting and refocuses on his work.

Shouta sinks down onto one of the couches and Hizashi crouches in front of it, intent on putting Izuku beside him. He manages to get him on the couch and makes to stand up, but the kids arms are locked around his neck. Shouta huffs a laugh before leanings forwards to help his husband. He stands when he’s freed, and Izuku immediately curls towards the next source of body heat. Which happens to be Shouta. He glances down at the kid and finds him in almost the same position they woke up in this morning.

“Wow Zashi. I think he’s almost as clingy as you when you sleep!”

“Heyyyyy! I don’t cling!” Shouta just raises his brow, and Hizashi blushes before looking away.

20 minutes later finds Shouta working through his marking once again, one hand settled in Izuku’s curls. A knock on the door makes him look up, but Zashi is already moving from his place on Izuku’s other side to go and answer it.

A mumbled conversation later, and Hizashi is moving back into the teachers lounge, heading towards his desk. He’s accompanied by a set of lighter footsteps that freeze when they pass in front of the couch.

“Yes, Shinsou? Did you need something from me?”

“Umm no?” Shouta looks up at the hesitance in his voice and finds the kid staring at Izuku, brows creased in concern. He raises a brow, daring Shinsou to say something. He doesn’t even look at Shouta, instead keeping his eyes on his kid.

“He’s just like a cat.” Shouta fixes a glare on Shinsou and he flinches, backing up a few paces. It looks like he wants to say something else, but before he can, Zashi returns to his side with papers clutched in his hand.

“Here’s your missing work listener! Better get a move on! It’s due in a few hours.” Shinsou gets a panicked look on his face at that, and scurries out of the teachers lounge, barely sparing a glance behind him.

Shouta wants to leave for class a few minutes earlier than usual, so he starts waking Izuku up a few minutes after Shinsou leaves. It’s not all that hard, and once he realizes the position he’s in he jolts up and away from him, bashing right into Zashi who was back in his place on the couch. Izuku stammers out a quiet apology, face a deep crimson. Shouta just smirks while Hizashi laughs at the kids embarrassment.

He ends up practically dragging Izuku behind him on the trek to the classroom.. He lightly pushes him into the room ahead of him and heads for his own desk, wanting to catch a quick nap before class starts and he has to deal with little demons all day. He makes sure Izuku gets to his desk before closing his eyes, settling down in his sleeping bag.

Chapter Text

Shinsou’s first day in the hero course does not go as expected. He and Midoriya have spoken a few times over the weekend since the sports festival, and he’s excited to finally be in class with his friend. It’s his first time having a real one. He got concerned when Midoriya stopped answering his texts on Sunday, and now his friend is nowhere to be seen in class. He catches a few of his new classmates casting worried glances towards Midoriya’s desk, so that means that no one knows where he is.

Right when he’s expecting Aizawa-sensei to walk into the classroom, Snipe does instead.

“Snipe-sensei? Where’s Aizawa-sensei? Does it have to do with Deku-kun?” Shinsou thinks thats Uraraka speaking.

“Eraserhead will not be coming in today. As for Midoriya, don’t worry about it.” He doesn’t give her a chance to answer before beginning class. Shinsou can tell when he’s annoyed because every time he is his hand drifts towards his gun before he stops himself.

Shinsou is relieved when Present Mic walks into their classroom. He doesn’t want anymore unpleasant surprises, and he actually likes the pro hero. He’s glad he still gets to learn English from him, instead of being taught by a completely new set of teachers. He’s been taught by the pro since the beginning of the year, so he’s genuinely surprised when his phone rings and the man actually answers it.

“Shou what’s up? The little listener done his interview with Tsukauchi?” Shinsou eavesdrops with the rest of the class, not even trying to pretend he’s not like some of them are. Present Mic’s face tightens with worry before he speaks again.

“Shit is everything okay? What happENED TO MY LISTENER!” His listener? Who in the world could that be?

“I’m on my way, I just have to get Midnight to cover my next class. I’ll be no longer than 15 minutes.” Their teacher is leaving? Any sense of normalcy Shinsou was beginning to feel is gone now.

“Alright class, I’ve got to go. Iida, I need you to go to the teachers lounge and get Midnight to cover the rest of this class.” Present Mic doesn’t give anyone a chance to reply as he’s leaving. Nobody misses the concerned glance he throws at Midoriya’s seat.

Tuesday comes and Shinsou is worried that Midoriya won’t show again. It’s not until the last minute that he does, stumbling into the room right in front of their teacher. His friend has a dark bruise on his cheek and a wrapped up arm, and his face pales even further when their classmates start asking him a ton of questions.

The day passes mostly the way he had expected his first day to. It’s concerning how pushy Midoriya’s friends are being about the origin of his injuries when it’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about it. Finding him sitting out of Hero Studies and wearing Present Mic’s headphones is just the icing on the cake. Something very strange is going on here. He may have to refer to their resident conspiracy theorist.

It’s on Wednesday that Shinsou thinks he might get some answers. He’s at school early, as per usual, but needs to make a stop at the teacher’s lounge in the hopes that Present Mic is there. He may have misplaced some homework that’s due today.

He knocks softly at the door and is relieved when the hero he’s looking for opens it.

“Mic-sensei! I lost Monday’s homework and am wondering if you have any more copies.”

“Sure thing listener! Come on in while I find the right stuff.” Present Mic’s voice is quieter than it usually is. Maybe it’s because of how early it is? He follows Mic-sensei into the room and towards his desk, but he freezes at the sight on the couch. Aizawa-sensei is there, grading work, but that’s not the surprising part. What’s surprising is the hand he’s got in Midoriya’s hair. Midoriya, who is curled up on his side with his head on their teachers thigh. What the fuck?

“Yes, Shinsou? Did you need something from me?”

“Umm no?” He avoids looking at his teacher, and keeps staring at Midoriya.

“He’s just like a cat.” Shinsou does look up then, and his teacher looks absolutely terrifying. And he’s staring right at him. Shinsou stumbles back a few paces, immediately regretting his comment. He goes to say something, anything, before Present Mic returns and saves him.

“Here’s your missing work listener! Better get a move on! It’s due in a few hours.” Shinsou runs at that, needing to escape the teachers lounge as quickly as possible.

Shinsou is not surprised that he’s still the first one to homeroom, even with the pit stop at the teachers lounge. What does surprise him is when Midoriya stumbles in with Aizawa-sensei a few minutes later, wearing a bright sweater that is not a part of the uniform and that he definitely did not take note of when Midoriya was curled up like a cat on their teacher. 

He looks absolutely terrible. Aizawa-sensei spares Shinsou a glance and he shrinks a little in his seat as the man slips into his sleeping bag, returning his look to Midoriya. Shinsou speaks when Midoriya is close enough to hear his quiet voice.

“Midoriya! Are you okay?” Instead of replying verbally, he raises shaking hands and signs.

‘Had a bad night.’

“Are you sick?”

‘It’s just a fever. It’ll be fine.’  Just a fever? Why is he even at school? Midoriya guesses his question before he can ask it.

‘I can’t be home alone so I came to school where TIredCat and LoudCat can keep an eye on me.’

“Tired cat and loud cat? Who are they?” Midoriya frowns before fingerspelling.

‘Aizawa and Mic-sensei’  Well he should have guessed that. It’s painfully obvious now that he knows. The real question is, why does Midoriya have sign names like that for their teachers? 

Iida barges into the room before he can ask and veers straight for them.

“Midoriya! That is not a school approved uniform! You should go change at once! I’m sure Aizawa-sensei will not approve.”

‘I don’t care. TiredCat is the one who told me to wear this’  That startles a laugh out of Shinsou, and Midoriya gives him a small smile while Iida just looks confused.

“Midoriya! I clearly don’t understand what you are saying so I ask that you use your words!” Iida is doing these odd chopping motions as he speaks, so Shinsou decides to annoy him even further.

‘Engines sure looks annoyed. How long do you think it will take before he sicks TiredCat on us?’   That gets a loud laugh out of Midoriya, and even he looks surprised at that. Iida looks like he is about to complain again when Bakugou shoves the door open, frowning at the group behind his desk. Midoriya shrinks back from him as he draws near, and Bakugou rolls his eyes as he takes his seat. Shinsou notices Aizawa-sensei watching the interaction, but doesn’t say anything.

“Midoriya if you do not have a uniform, I have a spare shirt in my locker! We have enough time to grab it before class starts.”

‘Can you make him go away? Words are hard today.’ Izuku isn’t looking at him him at he signs, but glances at his hands when he taps the desk.

‘Sure thing BabyCat’ Izuku looks to his face at the sign name, eyes wide and confused. 

‘If Aizawa and Mic are TiredCat and LoudCat, then you are BabyCat’ Izuku nods and ducks his head, a light blush coating his cheeks.

“Iida, Midoriya says that Sensei is fine with his sweatshirt. Can we drop this now?”

“Surely sensei wouldn’t be okay with this! This is a direct violation of the dress code and even you should know by now that he’s a stickler for rules!”

“Iida.” And that’s Aizawa-sensei, rising from his sleeping bag.

“Sensei! I’m so sorry about Midoriya sir! I was just about to make him change!”

“Take your seat Iida.” Shinsou doesn’t think he’s ever seen someone move so fast without using a quirk.

Pretty soon after that the rest of the class is joining them, many stopping to gawk at Midoriya as they enter. They shut their mouths pretty quickly when they notice the look Shinsou gives them. Aizawa-sensei then pulls a move nobody would expect from him. He puts on a movie. It’s still an educational one, something about the history of quirks, and the class is assigned an essay for after the movie, but Shinsou is too busy watching Midoriya fall asleep to care.

Sensei then pulls another move nobody expects. Instead of curling up in his sleeping bag, he sits, wide awake, and watches the class. Mostly Midoriya. Shinsou catches his eye on one of his glance arounds and takes a risk.

‘Is BabyCat okay?’ His teacher rises a brow at the name, but answers nonetheless.

‘He’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.’ Reassured, Shinsou returns his gaze to Midoriya, still sound asleep.

Chapter Text

Midoriya wakes up by the end of the period, bleary eyed and confused. Aizawa-sensei calls Shinsou up to his desk as the bell rings, and he knows this is it. He didn’t pay attention, and now he’s being kicked from the hero course on his third day.

"Don’t worry about the essay Shinsou, I know you don’t even know the topic.” With that he’s gone, and Shinsou is left gaping at the open door. This must be opposite day. There is no way a teacher that strict would exempt him from an assignment. He’s heard horror stories about him from his current class! The only explanation is Midoriya. 

Shinsou turns towards the student in question and grimaces. He is surrounded by classmates wondering loudly about how he got away with wearing that sweater. Midoriya looks uncomfortable, leaning away and frowning at them. Can’t they see that he doesn’t want to talk?

Shinsou storms through the crowd and stands next to Midoriya, who looks at him gratefully. 

Uraraka had been in his face, going on about how cute the sweater is, and wondering how he got such a limited edition Present Mic hoodie. Midoriya is signing at them, asking them to be quiet, but the only other person who would understand is Kouda, and he’s avoiding the group like the plague. Smart guy.

“You think you guys could quiet down? You’re making him uncomfortable.” They look skeptical, but a glance at where Midoriya is now covering his ears to avoid their loud questions makes them comply.

“How do you know that? You can’t speak for him! Deku! Tell him you’re fine!” And that’s the usually soft spoken Uraraka, looking put out that she’s making her friend uncomfortable.

“I know sign language, and if you really looked at him instead of what he’s wearing, you’d see that I’m right.”

‘What a bunch of idiots.’ Izuku giggles a little at that, and everyone looks over at him.

“I knew you could speak! Deku, tell him he’s wrong.”

‘I can’t. Please stop it’ He looks frustrated at himself as Shinsou translates what he signed.

“C’mon Midoriya! Yes you can!” More voices join the fray this time, and Shinsou can tell they’re going for supportive, but it’s also making Izuku look a lot worse. He’s shaking his head at them, but only the loud entrance of Present Mic gets them to stop.

‘Thank God for LoudCat.’ Izuku just nods in agreement, looking worse than he had when he had entered the classroom.

Izuku somehow manages to stay awake during Present Mic’s lecture, but it looks like he’s dreading lunch hour. Shinsou is tapping his shoulder as soon as the bell rings.

“Wanna hang out for lunch? I can show you my favourite place to hide.” Izuku nods in agreement, and they pack up quickly, heading towards Present Mic.

‘I am hiding with PurpleCat for lunch.’

“Alright, just text me or Shou if you start feeling any worse.” Shou? That’s the same name he mentioned when he answered the phone. Shinsou has so many questions.

‘I’ll take good care of BabyCat.’ That earns a loud laugh out of their teacher before he waves them off, and Izuku shoots him a halfhearted glare. 

‘Not funny. Now that’s all they’re going to call me!’

“Come on it could have been so much worse! I could have called you broccoli head or something.” That earns him a laugh, and Shinsou smiles to himself as he steers his friend out the front doors of the school, taking a sharp right and walking along the wall.

They reach their destination fairly quickly, a little alcove in the wall hidden by trees, and Midoriya’s eyes light up when he sees it. From there they can be perfectly hidden and no one will be able to find them. Other than Nezu of course. It only takes a few minutes of silence for Shinsou to crack under the weight of his questions. He chooses the one that’s least likely to upset Midoriya.

“Sooooo. What’s your connection to our teachers?” Midoriya stares at him with a small frown and he wonders if he picked the wrong question.

‘My mother has been abusing me for a long time, but it got a lot worse this weekend. I called TiredCat for help and they saved me. Now I live with them.’ And wow that is not what he was expecting. Shinsou suspects there’s a lot more to the story than that, but he won’t press. 

That’s already more than he expected to learn. He decides to focus on the less serious part of that sentence.

“Them? As in Eraserhead and Present Mic? They’re together?! Is Aizawa-sensei the Shou that Mic keeps on mentioning?!?!” And now Midoriya looks mortified at having outed his….guardians?

‘Fuck I did not mean to say that. Or sign that. Please don’t tell anyone!’ 

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.” Midoriya gives a relieved sigh and returns to his lunch. He tugs at his sleeve to get his attention and signs again a few minutes later.

‘Hey Shinsou, were you ever bullied for your quirk?’ That’s not what he expected, but he might as well be honest. Midoriya looks nervous as he waits for his answer.

“I was. Why? You couldn’t have possibly been with that powerful quirk of yours.” Midoriya looks a little upset at that, but Shinsou can’t fathom as to why.

‘Can you keep a secret?’ Shinsou nods in place of an answer.

‘I was bullied a lot. Kids would chase me down and beat me up. They started telling me to kill myself in second year of middle school.’ Midoriya pauses to compose himself a little before he continues. Why in the world would somebody bully him? Midoriya continues before he can ask the question.

‘It’s because I was quirkless. I didn’t get my quirk until the day of the entrance exam.’ And that explains so much. Shinsou knows there’s got to be more to how he got his quirk, but in front of him Midoriya is getting more worked up, probably worried that he thinks he’s lying. He places a hand on his friends shoulder and doesn’t miss the way he flinches back.

“Midoriya. I believe you. Have you told Aizawa-sensei about all of this?”

‘He knows most of it. I accidentally told him when he rescued me. I know we need to talk about it more but I think he doesn’t want to pressure me. I’m grateful for that.’ Midoriya is calmer now, and Shinsou’s head is reeling. 

There is so much more to this kid than he thought, and he’s wondering how much he doesn’t know. Probably a lot. He decides a change of topic is due, as it’s nearing the end of lunch and he doesn’t want Midoriya even more upset than he already is.

“Hey are you sitting out again during Hero Studies? You probably shouldn’t participate if you’re sick.”

‘I am sleeping in the teacher’s lounge. TiredCat’s orders.’

“Alright I’ll walk you there.” Shinsou gets up and leaves the alcove, Midoriya scrambling to catch up behind him. A tug on his sleeve gets his attention.

‘I don’t think walking me there involves me chasing you.’ Midoriya doesn’t look mad, but he’s got a small frown on his face so Shinsou slows his pace a little. By the time they make it to the lounge the bell for end of lunch has already rung. Shinsou didn’t think it would take them that long to get there, but he also didn’t consider the fact that Midoriya is sick and is walking much slower than he normally would. Jesus how has he been getting places on time? Has someone been carrying him around? It’s hard to imagine The Eraserhead carrying Midoriya around like a small child.

It’s Aizawa-sensei who opens the door when they knock, and he gestures the both of them into the lounge. Midoriya immediately flops down onto one of the couches, while Shinsou just stands there awkwardly, feeling out of place. Their teacher shoves a slip of paper at him, startling him out of his thoughts. He just stares at it. Sensei sighs and shows it more aggressively until he grabs it.

“It’s just a late slip Shinsou. Now get to class.” Shinsou all but runs out to the hallway, and then full on sprints to the classroom for a lecture from All Might. Class is in full swing when he gets there, but All Might doesn’t say a word as he hands him the slip of paper, simply gesturing for him to sit down while continuing the lesson. He does however, receive several glares from his new classmates, but he simply counters with one of his own.

Shinsou tries to focus on the lecture, to take good enough notes for his friend to copy, but by the time the lesson is over, all he has written down are a few merger things related to battle tactics.

Midoriya slips into the room as the bell rings, hardly sparing All Might a glance. He gives Shinsou a small smile as he slides into his seat, looking much better than he had before lunch. Aizawa-sensei slips into the room moments later, and starts class before the bell has a chance to go off.

“Internships. As you know, many pro heroes were present at the sports festival. They all attend in the hopes of finding future heroes to attract to their agencies. To do this, they offer internships to the ones they are interested in. This is what you’ll be picking today. If you weren’t offered any, then I have a list of open offers you can pick from.” He hands out the stacks quickly. Some students got huge piles, while others got only a few pieces of paper. Midoriya turns to him with his own stark as soon as Aizawa-sensei is zipped up in his sleeping bag.

‘Have you picked someone yet?’

“Midoriya, we’ve had these for less than 20 seconds. I haven’t even looked at the first name on my list.”

‘I’ll help you look!’

“Don’t you have your own forms to look through?”

‘Nope I already know who I’m going with! I’ll look through these later to see who was interested in me.’

“Who did you pick?”

‘I’m going with LoudCat! He’s going to help me learn better control over my quirk.’ No surprises there. He should have known that Midoriya would pick one of their teachers.

“Alright you can help me. But only a little.” Midoriya grins at him before scooting closer to take a look at the first hero on the list.

Best Jeanist. Interesting offer, but not his first pick. He scans through the list slowly, not recognizing many of the names. Midoriya taps his arm and points to the fourth name on his list. 

Gunhead. The name is vaguely familiar, but Shinsou doesn’t know anything about the hero.

‘He created his own fighting style, Gunhead Martial Arts, and it’s meant for close combat fighting, and defending against different weapons! I heard that he teaches all his interns the basics of the fighting style.’ Of course Midoriya knows this.

“Sounds good to me.” They spend the rest of class going over their English work together while listening to their classmates argue about which hero is best for an internship.

After waving goodbye to Midoriya, Shinsou starts his short walk home. His mom greets him at the door with a hug and a finger to the lips, a sign that his younger sister is napping, which is no easy feat. Shinsou passes by his father in the living room as he passes through to his room, where he shuts the door and flops on his bed, completely done with the day.

Chapter Text

Thursday morning sees Izuku drifting out of his room after a full nights sleep. He’s feeling well-rested and only slightly ill, doing much better than he was yesterday. He is determined to participate in all of his classes today, even if it means having to interact with All Might.

He dresses in his uniform quickly after Shouta takes another look at his arm, finding the infection mostly cleared up.

Hizashi helps him with his tie again before they’re off, and Izuku hopes that Shinsou is already in class again. He’d helped him out so much yesterday when his classmates were bothering him, he only hoped he could do the same today. He told him so much yesterday and is a little worried that Shinsou won’t want to be his friend anymore.

Izuku has a feeling that his classmates questions aren’t over with, and he could use all the help he can get avoiding them.

“Midoriya! I am glad to see you in a full uniform today!” Iida is the only one in here, and Izuku prays that he doesn’t want to talk.

“Thanks, Iida.” The other boy opens his mouth as if to say something, but he seems to change his mind as he shuts his mouth just as quickly.

Izuku sits down and sighs in relief when Iida simply nods and returns to his work. Shinsou walks in next, slumping in his chair as he opens his mouth to speak, but he closes it just as quickly, eyes trained on something behind Izuku. He turns around just as Uraraka arrives at his desk.

“Hey Deku-kun! I’m so sorry about being so pushy yesterday! But you have to understand that we are all worried about you. How 'bout I take you for coffee after school as an apology!” He appreciates that she’s apologizing. It’s actually quite thoughtful of her, but Izuku really doesn’t want to hang out after school. He’s got enough on his mind as it is without worrying about what she wants to say to him. Although now that she’s brought it up he’s going to worry either way.

“S-sorry Uraraka! I have p-plans after school.” Hopefully that will be enough to dissuade her.

“Awww can’t you reschedule Deku? It’s important!” Apparently not.

“Sorry, I can’t.” She looks like she’s going to argue more, but she glances behind him, and whatever she sees makes her turn around and leave. Izuku turns to look at Shinsou, but he just grins at him and gestures to the front of their class, where Shouta has just arrived.

“Alright class, you need to hand in your internship decisions by the end of the day so they can be informed and you can leave for the respective locations on Sunday. Those of you staying in town will simply meet your pros at their preferred location, while those of you leaving will need to figure out which trains you will be taking and let us know. The cost will be covered by the school as this counts as a school sanctioned field trip. Anyone with a completed form may hand them in now.” He holds his hand out expectantly, and Izuku is the first one to the front, placing the form in his guardian’s hand with a small smile before rushing back to his seat.

Izuku is pleased to see that most of his classmates are also handing in their forms, and Shouta starts his lecture as soon as Todoroki is back in his seat.

Izuku keeps up with his first two classes much better than yesterday, he actually stays conscious for one, and he even manages to take detailed notes on the topics. He doesn’t even notice that the lunch bell rings until Shinsou is tapping him on the shoulder, an amused look on his face.

“Cafeteria today? I didn’t bring a lunch.”

“Sure Shinsou! Sounds good.” And it does. Izuku thinks that nothing sounds better than a normal lunch with his friends. The normality lasts all the way until the last 15 minutes of the lunch period when Uraraka taps his shoulder, looking nervous.

“Can we talk, Deku?” Goodbye, good mood. He has a feeling that this isn’t going to go well.

“Sure Uraraka. Lead the way.” Izuku follows her out of the loud cafeteria and down a few hallways until they find an empty one and she stops.

“Listen Deku. I just wanted to apologize further. I was being totally uncool. I was being so pushy when asking about your injuries!! And I plan on chatting with Iida about it too. I’m so sorry! Will you ever forgive me?”

“O-of course Uraraka!! I was just upset because it’s so personal, but you apologizing means a lot!!”

Uraraka looks like she’s about to hug him, but something changes her mind and she turns away, heading back towards the cafeteria. He follows at a much slower pace, retaking his seat next to Shinsou when he finally arrives.

“What was that all about?” Shinsou looks mildly concerned as he asks the question.

‘She apologized again. Seemed like she felt bad’ Shinsou’s eyebrows shoot up, but the bell saves Izuku from having to discuss it more.

When they arrive in the gym after changing into their hero costumes, Uraraka is already there, and she just shoots them one of her regular smiles before returning to her conversation with Asui. Any strangeness from the past couple days is gone. It seems like their friendship is slowly going back to normal.

All Might’s arrival drags him out of his thoughts and he tunes in just in time to hear what his plans are for the class. They’re doing battle trials again. Just like their first class with All Might.

Izuku ends up teamed up with Kirishima as villains against Ashido and Kaminari as the heroes. They’re given a few minutes to set up and strategies before the heroes can come in the building.

“Does Kaminari’s electricity effect your hardening?”

“No, why?” Kirishima is giving him a suspicious look.

“We need to make sure he goes after you. He’ll try to stop you using his electricity. If you can hold out long enough, he’ll up the voltage and won’t be able to stand it himself. Then you can tie him up and come help me with Ashido. I plan on distracting her long enough for either you to finish your part or for the timer to hit zero.”
“Sounds good enough to me! Bomb going on the top floor?”

“Yah how’d you know?” Kirishima gives him a shark-like smile at that.

“Lucky guess.”

They act out their plan perfectly, Kaminari and Ashido acting just as they predicted they would. Aside from a few scrapes and bruises he got while distracting Ashido, they make it out on top, scoring the only villain victory of the day.

Izuku is just leaving the changing room with Kirishima, discussing their trial excitedly when a loud voice interrupts them.

“Young Midoriya! Could I have a moment to speak with you?” No. He does not need this today.
Or any day. Didn’t Shouta tell him not to speak to him?

“U-um, I have to get to c-class All Might!”

“Nonsense! I’m sure Young Kirishima can tell Aizawa where you are!” Kirishima gives him a thoughtful frown before looking to the hero in front of them.

“Of course I can All Might! Good luck Midoriya!” With that Kirishima is gone leaving Izuku alone with the Number 1 Hero. The only thought that crosses his mind is how pissed Shouta’s going to be when he hears about this.

Chapter Text

Izuku follows All Might silently into one of the more secluded meeting rooms. As soon as the door shuts behind them, All Might is deflating into his skeletal form before taking a seat on the couch and patting the spot next to him.

Izuku takes a seat in the chair across from him, and he winces at the hurt look on All Might’s face.

“Listen Midoriya. I need to apologize for the incident at the hospital. I should have read the rest of Aizawa’s email, and I should have realized you did not want to be left alone with your mother. I hope you can forgive me for my actions. If not, I completely understand and won’t push it.” Izuku just nods, lost for words. It’s definitely surprising that he’s apologizing. It means a lot to Izuku, even if he can’t forgive the hero yet.

“There’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about. Internships.”

“Why do you want to talk about internships? I’ve already chosen who I’m going with.” And he’s not changing his mind. Even if All Might offers himself up to train him with his quirk more.

“Please Young Midoriya. I ask that you rethink that decision. I have an old friend that can help you with your quirk. Gran Torino. He’s the one who helped me with One for All.” It would make sense to go with this hero that trained All Might. He could be a lot of help with his quirk since he’s already taught someone how to use it, but Izuku feels a lot better with his decision than with someone All Might suggested. He’s never even heard of this Gran Torino. And Izuku knows a lot about heroes.

“S-sorry All Might, I’m going with Present Mic.” Now All Might just looks confused.

“Why him?”

“W-well, he has experience dealing with a self-harming quirk, and now that he know the truth about my quirk he can-”

“You told him?!?! I told you to keep it a secret!” Izuku didn’t think All Might could look this scary without being powered up. He never thought he’d have to see this amount of anger directed at him from someone who isn’t his mother.

“W-well, you have p-people who know, l-like Tsukauchi, and I really trust Present Mic and Aizawa-sensei so I th-thought-”

“You told Aizawa too? What a mess. Young Midoriya, you thought wrong. This was not your secret to tell, and now we have to deal with two more people knowing the truth.” All Might runs a frustrated hand down his face. Why is this such a big deal?

“Isn’t it though?” Izuku’s voice may be quiet, but he is not letting this go.

“What?” All Might looks confused, as though he didn’t expect Izuku to fight for himself.

“Isn’t it my secret to tell? It’s my quirk now, and my teachers need to know the truth so they can help me.” It seems like All Might hadn’t thought of that. He just stands there, staring at Izuku for a long while before he has enough with the silence.

“S-sorry All Might. I should g-get to class.” And he’s out the door, trying to remember how to get back to his class from this unexplored part of the school. It takes a few wrong turns, but eventually he makes it to the classroom, over 30 minutes late. He can feel everyones eyes on him as he shuffles to his desk, but he keeps his eyes trained on the floor. He only looks up once he’s seated and finds Shouta’s eyes on him.

‘Tell you later.’ The simple signs seem to be enough to appease the teacher, and Izuku focuses on his notes when class continues on.

They don’t talk about it after class, nor when they meet Hizashi for the drive home. As soon as they arrive, Izuku is marching to his room to change out of his restrictive uniform before throwing himself down face first onto the couch. He’s so tired. He knows he needs to tell Shouta about this, but he’s afraid that he’ll get mad at him.

“Alright. Let’s talk about this before Zashi has to go to the radio station.” Izuku glances up to find Shouta standing over him, a frown on his face. Izuku sits up on the couch, and the pros take a seat on either side of him.

“Shou said All Might pulled you aside? What did he want?”

“He apologized for the the hospital.” Shouta gives him a look at that.

“I know that’s not what has you so upset.”

“He also wanted to talk about internships. Said he had the perfect hero for me. It’s a hero I’ve never even heard of! I s-said I already picked a hero, b-but he told me to reconsider. B-because this Gran Torino is the one who taught him how to use his quirk. I t-told him how Present Mic could h-help, and that you guys know about One for All.” Izuku doesn’t know how to read the looks on his guardians faces.

“I’m guessing he didn’t like that.”

“He got mad and it was so scary. I’ve only every seen him look like that with villains. He t-told me that it w-wasn’t my secret to share. I told him it is, b-because it’s my quirk now, b-but he was still upset about me t-telling when I left. I don’t get why he was so mad! You guys will help me more than he ever did. All his advice was pretty stupid.” There’s only a few seconds of silence before Hizashi speaks.

“Well, All Might’s an asshole.” Shouta simply nods and Izuku laughs at that, sour mood improving at the bluntness of his teachers.

“Anyways, I’ve got to head out listeners! See you in the morning.” Hizashi stands, before leaning down and giving Shouta a kiss on the cheek. He ruffles Izuku’s hair and drops a kiss to his temple before he’s running out the door, gone before Izuku can process what happened.

Nobodies done something so…familial since before he was diagnosed as quirkless. His parents used to be so loving before his father left and his mother changed into something malicious. He can’t even remember the last time somebody hugged him before his heroes saved him. It’s nice to have someone like that again. Izuku feels an unfamiliar warmth bloom in his chest. 

That feeling comes to a sudden halt as he remembers his thoughts from before.

“Hey Shouta, are you mad at me?” Well he did not mean to say that now. Shouta gives him a funny look before answering.

“Why in the world would I be mad at you? You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“It’s just that you didn’t want me to talk to All Might and I still did. I should have just told him not to talk to me. Or run away or something.”

“Izuku. He cornered you in front of your classmate. Kirishima told me you looked a little uncomfortable but that he didn’t want to make things worse for you by mentioning it. I know you tried to come to class but he made you talk to him anyways. I’ll say this until it enters that thick skull of yours. You did nothing wrong. Got it kiddo?” Izuku nods, a little lost for words.

“Alright problem child, how about we order in? We all know Zashi is the cook of the family.” Izuku laughs as Shouta ruffles his hair and stands, heading towards the kitchen for his phone so he can order them something.

The warmth from before only grows at that, and Izuku has a thought once Shouta returns to the couch and Radio settles on his lap.

This warmth he feels? This is what it feels like to be loved.

Izuku goes to bed that night with a smile still on his face, and for once, dreams of nothing.

Chapter Text

Shouta is halfway through his second cup of coffee when Izuku waltzes into the kitchen, smile from last night still plastered on his face. His kid looks content as wanders through the kitchen, making himself a small breakfast. Shouta and Hizashi both want to turn this into an adoption at some point. Hopefully soon. The problem child is the perfect fit for their little family.

They can’t bring it up yet though. Their kid’s gone through something terrible, has been going through it, for most of his life. This isn’t something they can rush. But this is their kid now, and nothing can change that.

“Hurry up and get dressed, we have to leave early. I have an idiot to yell at.” Izuku nearly spits out his drink at that, and Shouta grins.

“What about Hizashi? Isn’t he usually up by now?” Izuku looks mildly concerned. It’s adorable how much he cares for his husband.

“He had to cover for another host when his shift was over last night. I was just going to throw a cat on him to wake him up, but now I’ve got a much better idea.” Shouta gives him what he knows is one of his scary grins, and Izuku must be following his line of thinking, because he gets up from the table and turns to run to his room. Unfortunately for the kid, Shouta is much faster and hauls him over his shoulder before he can get away.

“I think this is a bad idea.”

“Nope, it will be funny.” Izuku slumps at that, resigned to his fate as replacement cat. Shouta opens his door as silently as he can and creeps over to the Hizashi sized lump on the bed. He unceremoniously tosses Izuku onto his husband and covers his ears as he backs away grinning.

“AHHHH!!” Hizashi wakes up screaming, not expecting the weight of a teenager thrown on top of him. Izuku frantically covers his ears from his spot on the pro hero and Shouta takes pity on him, laughing as he uses his quirk to shut his husband up. Thank god they’ve got soundproofed walls.

Hizashi finally realizes who he threw on him when his quirk disappears. He slumps down with a defeated sigh.

“Shouuuuu that wasn’t very nice.”

“Maybe not, but it was fucking funny.” Hizashi lets out an outraged gasp at that, and Izuku bursts out laughing at his antics.

“No swearing around the baby!” It’s Izuku’s turn to look dramatically outraged at Hizashi’s comment as he shoves a pillow on his face. Shouta smiles at the scene and pulls his phone out to snap a picture before interrupting them. He pulls Izuku off of Zashi before speaking.

“Alright you big babies. Time to get ready for school.” He and Hizashi can only watch fondly as Izuku scrambles back to his room to throw his uniform on.

They get to school an hour before class is supposed to start, so they all head to the teacher’s lounge. Izuku has an aversion to being in class that early. Shouta paces impatiently in front of the couch Izuku is sitting on as he waits for All Might to arrive. Twenty minutes later he does, and Shouta doesn’t give him a chance to say anything before he’s turning him around and shoving him towards the nearest private meeting room. All Might is smart enough to at least look guilty as he sits under Shouta’s glare, waiting for him to say something.

“Are you an idiot?”

“Aizawa please. I had to talk to him.”

“You did so when I explicitly asked you not to? When he clearly did not want to talk to you?”

“Well yes but it was important! He didn’t refuse that much.”

“Any refusal should be enough, All Might. He appreciates you apologizing for the hospital. What he didn’t appreciate, is you telling him to pick some hero that he’s never heard of over someone who he knows can help him with his quirk.”

“He told you about that? When would he have the time to do that?”

“Oh my god. Where exactly do you think he’s been living?” All Might looks shocked at that, and Shouta can’t help but to roll his eyes.

“Well I assumed he was placed in an orphanage.” Like Shouta would ever let that happen.

“You didn’t notice that he comes to and leaves school everyday with me and Present Mic?”

“Well yes, but I just thought you took pity on him and decided to give him rides to alleviate some sort of guilt.”

“God he lives with us you idiot. Has been since he was released from the hospital. He told us everything you said to him last night.” All Might looks slightly mortified at that.

“He told us how scared he was when you god mad at him. When you yelled at him for spilling your secret. A secret he shouldn’t have to keep! You forced him to keep a secret when you had people you told. People he doesn’t even know that have knowledge of how he got his quirk. You should have at least told me at the start of the year! As his homeroom teacher I could have helped him. Actually taught him something instead of whatever you’ve done that makes him break a bone every time he uses his quirk!” All Might is standing now, holding his hands up in the hopes of protecting himself.

“Aizawa. You don’t understand! You know nothing of the danger of more people knowing. Young Midoriya made a mistake in telling you. It’s much safer for the both of us with less people in the know. With All for One still out there its-”

“All for One? Is this some big enemy of yours? Whose new target is now a 15 year old child? Is this something you’ve told Izuku?”

“Well, I haven’t had the chance to tell him yet. There’s no guarantee that All for One will even go after him! I don’t want to scare him.”

“Jesus. News flash All Might! You’ve already scared him! I’ll tell him myself if I have to. You should have already told him that he now has a mortal enemy. Probably should have warned him before you passed on your quirk.”

“Aizawa you can’t!” All Might looks desperate, and if it were any other situation, Shouta would have laughed.

“Just try and stop me.” All Might doesn’t move as he leaves the room, and he takes the win. He is going to make All Might tell Izuku everything. He needs to be prepared.

It’s already almost time for class to begin when Shouta leaves his meeting with All Might, so he heads straight for his classroom. Most of his students are already there, thankfully not all crowded around Izuku’s desk this time. Only Kirishima is there, and Shouta shamelessly listens in on the conversation.

“Listen Midoriya. I’m sorry I left you behind yesterday. I could tell how uncomfortable you were but I didn’t do anything! I’m also sorry about how everyone’s been bothering you. I’ll try to dissuade them as much as I can for you.”

“It’s okay Kirishima! I appreciate th-that you told Aizawa-sensei what y-you noticed. And you d-don’t have to worry about the others. They’re n-not your r-responsibility.” Izuku looks relaxed, and Aizawa smiles to himself beneath his scarf as the last of his students scramble in just as the bell rings. Shouta sighs as he begins his lecture. This is going to be a long day.

Chapter Text

Shouta was right. The day was long and horrible. And it’s only going to get worse. He asked All Might at lunch to meet with them after school and tell them about All for One. Now they’re sitting on a couch in the teacher’s lounge, Izuku sandwiched in between him and Zashi, waiting for the hero to arrive. He gets there exactly when he said he would, and sits down across from the trio. He speaks without prompting.

“All for One is a villain who has lived since the beginning of quirks. His power is the ability to take and give quirks as he wills. The first holder of One for All was his brother, whom was thought to be quirkiness until his brother gave him a stockpiling quirk. One for all realized he could pass on his quirk, and that it would get stronger each time.” This can’t be going anywhere good. Shouta glances at Zashi and finds a small frown on his face.

“All for one used his quirk to gain power, and he and his brother became enemies. We believe that he stole a life force quirk along the way, and that that’s why he’s still alive. He has killed every One for All holder before me.” Shouta can feel the way Izuku tenses beside him on the couch. He places a comforting hand on his shoulder as All Might continues.

“He’s the one that critically injured me and limited my quirk usage. He hasn’t been seen since our fight years ago, but we never found his body, so we believe he’s still alive.” That’s very concerning. His kid possibly has a mortal enemy. It seems as though All Might has one more thing to add.

“Although his quirk is the power to give and take them as he pleases, he has never been able to take One for All.” Izuku relaxes a little at that, but Shouta knows thats not the end of it.

“We fear he may find a way around that. As you know, Young Midoriya, One for All cannot be taken by force. It can only be given if you are willing. All for One knows this. But the way he was coming after me a few years ago made us think that he found a way around it. And if he has, he will do everything in his power to take yours from you.” All Might gets his explanation over with quickly. He seems eager to leave the room.

“W-why didn’t you t-tell me before giving m-me your quirk?” Izuku’s got tears in his eyes as he looks up at the Number 1 hero.

“Would that have made a difference in your decision?”

“I d-don’t know! How could I know if I d-didn’t know! I would h-have at l-least thought about it m-more if y-you warned m-me about the d-d-danger!” Izuku is full out sobbing now, tearing at his hair as he cries. Shouta watches as Zashi gently removes his hands from his curls before pulling him into a tight hug.

“I think I’ll take my leave now. Good day, Young Midoriya.” All Might walks out and Shouta turns his attention to his husband and kid. Hizashi is looking lost as Midoriya’s sobs get worse. Shouta crouches down in front of them before gently placing his hands on Izuku’s cheeks, forcing him to look at him.

“Izuku, you need to calm down. You’ll send yourself into a panic attack if you don’t.” Izuku nods, trying to take deep breaths. Hizashi exaggerates his own from next to him, and that definitely helps calm their kid down. Shouta gives his husband a grateful smile.

“Good job Izuku. Just keep breathing like that and then-” Shouta’s phone interrupts him, and he glares at the device before answering.

“Eraserhead.”

“Aizawa! Glad I caught you. What are you doing right now?”

“We’re about to head home. Why?”

“I need you guys to come to the station. It has to do with the Midoriya case.”

“Can’t this wait? Izuku’s had a tough day. He needs a break.” The kid looks up at his name, a confused look on his face as he tries to stop the crying.

“I’m afraid not. His mother refuses to confess to anything, saying she’ll only speak if he’s in the room. What’s worse is the lawyer she got. He’s the kind of guy who would call an abused kid to the stand and try to rip them apart. He won’t be satisfied with the statement I took, even with a pro hero witness. If she talks we won’t have to worry about going to court.”“Fuck. Give me a minute.” He mutes the phone and turns to his family with a frown on his face.

“We’ve got a problem. Tsukauchi says Inko will only talk if the kids there. And we need her to talk if we want to keep you off the stand kid. If you don’t want to go I get it. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you off that stand.”

“I don’t have to talk to her right? She just has to see me?”

“That’s what it sounds like kid. You can still say no. Seeing her won’t be good for you.” It’s going to make a shitty day even shittier.

“I’ll d-do it. I j-just want this over w-with.” Shouta nods at him and unmutes his phone before telling Tsukauchi that they’re on their way.

It’s almost 40 minutes later that they’re leading a silent Izuku into the station. Tsukauchi meets them at the desk and signs them in before leading them to the interrogation rooms. He stops in front of the door and turns to face them.

“Izuku. You don’t have to say anything to her. Do your best to avoid listening to what she’s saying. She’ll probably say a lot of things just to hurt you. If you get uncomfortable or scared just tell me and we’ll stop the whole thing. I don’t want you suffering even more because of her.” Izuku nods at the detective in lieu of answering. Shouta gives him a grateful smile before speaking.

“I’m going in with him.” He leaves no room for refusal. Tsukauchi simply nods his approval and Hizashi turns to Izuku before they’re led in.

“I’ll be listening from the other room. Okay listener?” Izuku nods up at him, and Zashi pulls him in for a quick hug before they’re being gestured into the room. Midoriya Inko glares at him from where she sits handcuffed to the table. Her lawyer is sitting next to her, and he’s got his sleazy eyes on Izuku. Like a predator watching their pray. Shouta has the urge to get his kid as far away from the man as he can. Shouta and Izuku take seats across from them, while Tsukauchi leans against the wall.

“Deku sweetheart! I’ve missed you so much! I can’t believe these bad men are keeping me away from you. They better be treating you right. My little boy deserves the best.” Her smile is sickly sweet as she stares at Izuku.

“Ms. Midoriya. We’ve brought him here, so you better start talking or he leaves right now.” Inko frowns at Tsukauchi and sighs.

“Oh alright. I suppose a deal is a deal.” She begins a tale of woe. How her husband left them when he was diagnosed as quirkless, and how everything she did was out of love. Her tale falls apart quickly when she started describing every way she abused Izuku, down to the details of her attack almost a week ago. She’s smiling, clearly enjoying what she’s putting Izuku through. What she’s put him through his entire life. Poor Izuku shrinks down further in his chair at every insult, and he’s got a constant stream of tears running down his face.

“Alright Ms. Midoriya. We will send off a tape of your confession to a judge so they can decide your sentence. Eraserhead, you guys can go.” 

“What?! No! He can’t leave me! You can’t keep him away from me!!” Inko is jumping from her chair, pulling on her cuffs to get to Izuku. Shouta gently grabs his arm and guides him from the room, meeting a tearful Hizashi in the hallway. He crushes Izuku in a hug before leading him to the car.

Shouta climbs into the back seat with his problem child and comforts him the whole way home. Once they’re home he’s guiding Izuku onto the couch while Zashi fetches the cats. He tucks their son under the comfiest blanket they own as he waits for his husband to return, and watches with a heavy heart as Izuku curls up as small as he can. They can only offer small reassurances and gentle touches as comfort while Izuku drifts off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Izuku is tired. Tired of the feelings his mom dredges up. He’d thought that he’d never have to see her again, but of course she found a way to get one last jab in. It hurt, sitting there and taking all the insults she threw at him with Shouta next to him and Hizashi in the next room. So Izuku is tired and hurt and scared.

The talk with All Might seemed like a vacation compared to his mother’s words, but she hurt him in the past, and the memories will hurt him for a long time, while All for One will hurt him in the future. Of that he has no doubt. 

Izuku feels like he’s cried all he can by the time they make it home. It’s nearing 7 o’clock, but Izuku doesn’t think he could eat if he wanted to. So he lets himself be guided onto the couch and curls up under the blanket that Shouta throws on him, trying to think of absolutely nothing.

Tries not to think as Hizashi and Shouta sit on either side of him, comforting but not overwhelming. A gentle hand in his hair, and a soothing one on his back are the last things he’s aware of before he falls asleep.

Izuku wakes up on Saturday curled up on the couch, still in his school uniform. He gets up, hardly aware of his surroundings, and makes his way to the kitchen, where he can hear his guardians talking in hushed voices.

A glance at the clock as he sits down at the table tells him that it’s only 9am, but that means that Izuku got over 12 hours of uninterrupted, nightmare free sleep. He can’t help but think Shouta and Hizashi’s proximity helped with that. That and the fact that he must have been more exhausted than he’d originally thought.

He looks up and gives Hizashi a small smile as he sets a plate of food in front of him, and receives a head pat in return. It’s not until Izuku is finished his breakfast that anyone speaks.

“Hey listener. Shou and I have got to go out shopping. You want to come with or just hang here with the cats? You could always watch a movie or something.” Izuku doesn’t think he could bear to be away from them right now. Not after all he went through yesterday. Sitting alone with nothing but his thoughts and the cats to keep him company is the worst idea he can think of right now.

‘Go with?’

“Sounds good buddy! Go and get dressed so we can head out.” Hizashi gives him a smile as he wanders out of the kitchen.

A glance out his window tells him it’s going to be a cold day, so he opts for his favourite Present Mic hoodie and a simple pair of jeans. He brushes his teeth quickly, not wanting to make the heroes wait too long.

His guardians are wearing things awfully similar to their hero costumes, just lazier and comfier looking. It’s not much of a surprise really. 

They head to a grocery store that Izuku has never heard of, and Hizashi scans his hero license before they enter. He tugs on Shouta’s sleeve to get his attention as Hizashi grabs a basket.

‘Heroes only?’

“Heroes and important figures. And rich people. A lot of the more recognizable heroes like Zashi don’t want to be bothered on their days off so they come here where everyone else is after the same thing.” Izuku nods at the answer. That lowers the chance of seeing someone he knows significantly. Most of his classmates don’t have hero parents, only a few like Todoroki and Iida do.

He wanders a bit behind his guardians, taking everything in and only really paying attention when they ask him something. It’s in his gazing that he catches sight of him and stops in his tracks, unaware that Hizashi and Shouta keep getting further and further away.

Todoroki is there, grocery basket in hand, reading the label on some cereal box. Izuku panics and turns around, trying to leave before he’s noticed when he crashes into someone, and would have fallen if they didn’t place a steadying hand on his shoulder. He looks up and up and up and finds the usually scowling face of Endeavor looking down at him with concern. Izuku can feel his face turning a dark shade of red. He just ran straight into the Number 2 Hero!

“S-s-s-sorry!” He can hardly manage one word, and it causes Endeavor to frown even deeper. He opens his mouth to speak when a voice calls out behind him.

“Midoriya? What are you doing here?” And that’s Todoroki, drawn by the commotion of him freaking out at his dad.

“Sh-sh-shopping?” It comes out as more of a question than an answer.

“I didn’t know you’re related to a pro hero! Who is it?” Izuku freezes at that. What is he supposed to say?

“There you are, problem child. Zashi started freaking out when you disappeared.” And now Todoroki is staring at Shouta, no doubt forming some weird connection in his conspiracy theorist brain.

“Ah. This one yours Eraser?” Endeavor, who is still grasping his shoulder, takes this as his opportunity to finally say something.

“Midoriya what’s going on? Why are you here with Aizawa-sensei?” Izuku thinks he could die. Anything to leave this situation as soon as possible.

“He’s my child, why else. Let’s go kiddo, before Zashi buys the whole ice cream section.”

“WHAT!” Todoroki’s yell follows them as they take their leave, and Izuku follows Shouta blindly as he tries to make sense of what just happened. He tugs on Shouta’s sleeve to get his attention.

‘Why did you say that? You know how he is.’

“And that’s exactly why I did. It’ll be funny to watch. See what kind of weird theories he comes up with.” Izuku huffs a laugh. He guesses it will be. Todoroki won’t stop now until he knows if he’s right or not.

They find Hizashi and head to the check out, Izuku looking anxiously for anyone else he knows that they might run into. 

It’s just his luck that they get in line behind Todoroki and his father.

“So Present Mic! You finally convinced this one to adopt? I know you’ve been trying for quite some time.” Endeavour’s question catches him off guard. His guardians had been wanting a child? It makes Izuku feel a little bit better. He’s been worried that the pros had felt pressured to take him in, even though they’ve been treating him better than anyone ever has.

“Honestly, I barely had to lift a finger! Shou wanted to take him in as soon as we figured out what was going on.” It looks like Endeavor understands exactly what was going on as he frowns. Todoroki looks a little lost, but he doesn’t interrupt the pros. Izuku risks a glance at Shouta and wow. He didn’t realize the man was capable of blushing.

“So kid, how long have you been staying with these guys?” Endeavor is addressing him now, and Izuku has to take a moment to gather himself before he’s able to speak.

“A-almost a w-w-week n-now, Endeavor.” The man nods at him and Izuku glances back at his classmate. He’s frowning now, connecting dots that Izuku really doesn’t want him to.

The cashier finishes and Endeavor pays, and he turns to leave with a small smile and a wave.

“Goodbye, Midoriya, Sensei’s!”

“B-bye!” Izuku’s reply is quiet, but from the smile on Todoroki’s face he can tell that he heard it.

Once they get home he checks his phone for the inevitable texts from Todoroki. He’s a little worried that he’ll bring up what he guesses about Izuku’s previous situation. A glance at his messages tells him his worries were unfounded. Todoroki is tactile enough to not bring up something so sensitive.

‘Midoriya why are you with Aizawa and Mic-sensei?'

'Is it true?'

'Are you really his son?'

'I thought you said your dad left you guys?'

'Midoriya pleeaaasse’

Izuku sighs and brings his phone out to show Shouta.

“Look what you’ve done. He’s never going to stop!” Shouta’s cackling follows him back to his room as he goes to hide and do his homework, and to avoid thinking about the warm feelings that people thinking he’s Hizashi and Shouta’s kid brings up.

Chapter Text

Sunday has them meeting the whole class at the train station as everyone leaves for their internships. Why Izuku had to come, he has no idea. He literally lives with the hero he’s interning with. Maybe so that people don’t know he lives with his teachers? He walked into the train station with Shouta. If nobody’s noticed yet, Izuku doubts they will any time soon. Todoroki keeps giving him funny looks before he hops on his train, but nobody else seems to notice his behaviour. 

Izuku notices how odd Iida is acting as he hops on his train to Hosu. There’s something about that that doesn’t sit right with him. Iida got so many offers, from so many cool pros, and yet he chose a small faraway agency. Maybe to get a different experience? Izuku tells himself that he’s check in with Iida soon to make sure he’s alright. If he’s not, then he’ll talk to Shouta about it.

Once everybody’s left on their trains, Izuku follows Shouta and Hizashi back out to the car, and they drive to UA to use one of the private training rooms. Once there, they get straight to work.

“Alright little listener! I’ve been thinking about your little bone breaking problem. I think you have the opposite problem than I had when I was training my quirk. I had to learn to focus it all in one place, because otherwise, it would just shoot out in all directions. So I think that you’ve got to learn to spread the power of your quirk out, instead of having it focused in one place. With me so far?” Izuku nods, already thinking about how he could spread out his power.

Whatever Hizashi comes up with is surely better than All Mights egg in a microwave analogy.

“Now. I also think you’re trying to use a little too much of the power. Your body is a lot smaller than All Mights, so it would make sense that you can’t use the power to its full extent.” That does makes a lot of sense. Using more power than his body can handle is a good way to keep hurting himself. Why the egg keeps exploding.

“One more thing before we get started. We’ve noticed that you try to emulate All Might’s fighting style. While punching things to death is what works for him, you’ve already damaged your arms quite a bit. So I think if you focus on learning different styles, like kicks or something, then we can keep your arms protected and you can have a fighting style thats different from All Mights. I’m going to have Shou help with that.” Izuku nods, ready to get started. 

Hizashi has him stand in the middle of the training room, attempting to spread a portion of his power out. He’s trying, but it’s so hard! It’s always just been there, ready to use when he needed it. Now he has to figure out how to power up his whole body.

It takes a while, but eventually he feels the crackle of One for all everywhere. He’s sweating and trembling from the exertion but he tries to maintain the power for as long as possible. He’s not even using that much of it, so why is it so hard to maintain?

He looks down and notices green pieces of energy across his body. A glance at Hizashi shows him the giant grin on the man’s face and he whoops for joy, punching a fist in the air. 

Unfortunately, he was so focused on his quirk that he’s still got it active. The fist he throws up sends a strong blast of air to the ceiling, and the whole thing shudders before the beams where he punched start falling. Directly above him.

Izuku freezes, and feels a snake of fabric around his middle just before he’s yanked back, away from the falling beams. Just in time too. They crush where he had been standing not three seconds later.

“Maybe don’t jump for joy with your quirk active.” The tense voice of Shouta startles him, and Izuku notices the capture scarf still wrapped around his middle. He gives it an experimental tug, but it doesn’t budge until Izuku looks at Shouta and the man knows he got his point across. He looks down at his arm as Shouta removes the capture weapon, expecting to find a mess of broken bones. His arm is completely undamaged. Not even a scratch.

“It didn’t hurt?” It comes out as barely a whisper, and Shouta leans a little closer before asking him to repeat himself.

“It didn’t hurt! And it’s not broken! This is the first time I’ve used my quirk without breaking anything! See?!” He shoves his arm into Shouta’s face, not caring for personal space. Shouta frowns a little at the arm in his face, but the look softens when he sees how excited Izuku is. And he is! He was expecting pain from using his quirk. That’s all he’s ever experienced with it.

“Okay listeners! I say we switch gyms and I will let Cementoss know that this one needs to be fixed!” Izuku frowns a little at that, feeling guilty about making more work for the pro.

They move to the hallway to find a new training room, and it’s only then that Izuku notices he’s still trembling. He’s never used his quirk that much, and focussing it like that took a lot out of him. He’s so tired and the day has hardly even started! He has to push through this and make progress with his quirk.

As soon as the thought enters his mind, he stumbles into Shouta, who gives him a concerned look and pushes him down into a sitting position.

“Alright, we’re taking a break now.”

“B-but we’re in them-middle of the hallway! And we h-have to keep going! I’m finally making progress!” Shouta frowns at him and places a hand on his head before speaking.

“This training won’t mean anything if you collapse before the first day is over. The others have had 10 years to work with their quirks and build up resistance. You’ve had yours for less than a year. We don’t need to rush this. We will keep training after internships are over. Your health comes first for us kid. Got it?” No one has ever put him before anything before. It brings that warm feeling back and Izuku is so confused. Why would his guardians put him first?

“W-why do y-you care so m-much?” Shouta frowns at him before answering.

“It’s because we love you kid. Have we really not told you yet?” And now Izuku is crying, completely overwhelmed.

“N-no one h-h-has.” Shouta places a comforting hand on his head while Izuku tries to stop the tears. He knows that when someone says they love you, you’re supposed to say it back. But anyone that Izuku has have loved has hurt him and left. Deep down he knows that the heroes would never do that to him. He’s seen how much they care. But that doesn’t get rid of the fear. Only makes it worse, because he cares about them too, and if they left it would completely break him.

“Hey. You don’t have to say it back, problem child.” Shouta’s voice cuts through his worrying, using some sort of sixth sense to guess his thoughts. He ruffles his curls before retracting his hand and standing.

“Now. How about instead of wearing you out more, we train something else. Your mind.”

“That sounds a lot like homework.” Not that Izuku would refuse to do homework. He loves learning all the stuff that he gets to learn in the hero course.

“Actually, I have something else in mind. I’ve heard a few rumours about your notebooks. Something about analysis?” How in the world Shouta heard about those he will never know.

“Oh! W-well, I like to analyze h-hero quirks and the fights they participate in! I did it a lot when I was younger to stay out of the house. I have 13 now. I h-haven’t had the ch-chance to work on them in a while. Nobody ever t-taught me or anything, s-so they’re not very good.” Shouta frowns at him before Hizashi butts in.

“You think we could take a look listener?”

“W-well they’re at home right now.”

“We can go home! We’re not doing anything else physical today anyways.” Izuku just nods his ascent, a little nervous about them seeing his notebooks. He even has notes on his guardians in those! This could go poorly.

Chapter Text

It does not go poorly. Not a first. Izuku is practically bouncing in his seat while the pros go through every single notebook of his. They keep making positive comments and giving him little changes to make where he either had outdated information, or was wrong. Some of them are very old, and he was pretty young back when he started. They have less and less changes to make when they make it to the more recent volumes.

They pause when they get to number 13 and spot the damage.

“What happened to this one?” Shouta looks a little concerned about it, eyeing up the burn marks and water damage.

“Oh! W-well, one of my b-bullies used his quirk on m-my notebook b-before throwing it into a p-pond. Th-then one of h-his friends told m-me to-” Izuku cuts himself off, unable to finish.

“To kill yourself?” Shouta is blunt, and he sounds upset, so Izuku can’t meet their gazes as he nods slowly, tears welling in his eyes.

“I have to know listener. How many of those scars are from him?” Izuku looks up in shock at that, and his tears make their way down his face. He raises shaking hands to answer, not trusting his voice.

‘When did you see those?’

“In the hospital, when they had to fix your arm. I’m guessing there are more than what we saw.”

‘He only gave me a few of them. My back is worse. The other bullies used to push me from behind a lot while using their quirks. Mom was always extra mad those days because I went home with ruined uniforms that she had to replace. She decided to add to the marks while they were still fresh. She just used a knife instead of a quirk. That came later.’ Izuku doesn’t know if his hands are even legible with how much they’re shaking now. He can hardly see them through his tears anyways. 

His hands are still raised to sign, but he has nothing else to say. He didn’t mean to say that much in the first place. 

Warm hands close around his and holds them steady. Izuku blinks away some tears so that he can see a little more clearly, and he finds Hizashi crouched in front of his chair. He’s got a sad look on his face, and looks close to crying. Izuku hates that he put that look there.

He starts crying harder when Hizashi tugs him forward by the hands into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around him. Izuku grips the back of his jacket as tightly as he can, almost afraid to let go.

He has to eventually, so he pulls back reluctantly, scrubbing at his eyes to try and stop the crying.

‘Sorry.’

“Hey. Nothing to be sorry for, problem child.” Shouta gives him a smile from his position on the floor next to Hizashi. When did he get there?

“Why don’t we take a little break from all this serious stuff and watch a movie or something?”

“J-just a short one. W-we can’t be slacking off w-when my c-classmates are all w-working hard, Zashi.” Hizashi grins, clearly pleased that Izuku used his nickname. He doesn’t know why he did. It just felt right.

“Of course listener! You know Shou here wouldn’t let us slack off.”

“C-can we w-watch the one with T-toothless in it? You n-never told me the n-name.” The cat chirps at the sound of her name, and plunks herself in the middle of their huddle on the floor.

“Well now we have to. It’s called How To Train Your Dragon. Get ready to watch Shou cryyyyy.” Izuku laughs at the blush on Shouta’s face.

“I don’t cry, Zashi.”

Izuku speaks before Hizashi has the chance to.

“S-sure, Shou.” Shouta raises his eyebrows at him before speaking again.

“How could you Hizashi. You’ve turned my own son against me.” Izuku almost starts crying again when Shouta calls him that.

His son. It sounds so nice.

They sit through the movie and Shouta makes fun of Izuku and Hizashi for crying. They don’t mention that they noticed how close he got to tearing up near the end.

They don’t get back to work afterwards.

They decide to work on something other than quirk training on the second day of internships. They start the morning focusing on quirkless fighting, trying to find what he’s good at. It’s hard work, but Izuku finds himself having fun. He’s already learning so much, and its only the second day of internships! They find he’s a natural at evasive maneuvers and say it’s because he’s so small.

What Izuku doesn’t tell them is that it’s because he’s had years of practice evading bullies. However, his guardians both have a look in their eyes that tells him they already know.

Shouta focuses on teaching him every evasive move he can until he’s got them drilled into his memory. 

After a break for lunch, Shouta brings out a small bag he’d brought with them to school.

“I’ve got a little surprise for you. It’s something I want to train you how to use. It won’t be easy.” Shouta pulls something awfully familiar out of his bag.

“Is that what I think it is?!” Shouta just nods as he hands him a cream coloured scarf, only a few shades darker than his capture weapon. He helps Izuku drape it around his neck and gives him a few demonstrations of the proper arm movements before he let him try, without the scarf at first. When he’s satisfied he lets Izuku try it out, and he somehow manages to trip himself within four seconds.

“Don’t worry about it. It took me a long time to get the hang of it. You’ll get it much faster because I’m here to teach you.” Izuku nods before trying, feeling extra determined. He wants to make Shouta proud. 

An hour later finds him completely tangled up, unsure of how it happened. It takes both Shouta and Hizashi to free him. Once he’s freed they take a short break before moving on to quirk training. It goes a little better than yesterday did, and he doesn’t break any training rooms.

It’s late afternoon before they wrap it up. Hizashi decides he should see what a real patrol is like, so he tags along with the hero.

They leave, just the two of them, while Shouta goes to nap somewhere before he has his own patrol tonight. They walk down the streets in their hero costumes, keeping an eye out for anything and waving at people who recognize Present Mic.

“Now. My patrols are much different than Eraserhead’s. Do you know why?”

“Well, he’s an underground hero. So he works mostly at night, and he finds crimes as they’re taking place and stops them. You, as a more recognizable hero, act more as a deterrent to crime because you patrol so visibly, but you still stop crimes as they take place?”

“Correct listener! Although today I chose one of the safer routes that doesn’t see much crime, so we shouldn’t run into anything today.” Izuku nods and returns his focus to the world around them.

They keep at it for a few hours before heading home, and thankfully they don’t run into any crime. Izuku is grateful for that. He doesn’t think he’s ready to face another villain so soon.

They continue the next day much in the same fashion, Izuku training with Hizashi and Shouta for a few hours in the morning then going out and patrolling for the afternoon. Present Mic has him stay back and watch him stop a few petty criminals, then asks him his observations on the situations and how they were handled.

Only once does Izuku have to get involved, and that’s when someone decided to go after a hero in training while Present Mic was busy with his buddy. Izuku evaded him and tripped him up, and by that time Hizashi was done with his criminal and he yelled at the man until his ears bled.

Chapter Text

It’s not until the fifth day of internships that Izuku brings Iida up to Shouta. He’s tried getting in contact with him every day since the train station, but he’s just been left on read every time. He finally remembered why Hosu is so important too. It’s because of the Hero Killer Stain. He’s there right now and he attacked Iida’s brother. Usually the other boy is very rational, but he’s been acting different ever since the attack on his brother. So Izuku does what he hopes is the right thing and brings it up to Shouta one morning over breakfast.

“If you’re so concerned we can head over there tonight for a patrol and check on him.”

“Really?! You’re the best!” Izuku shoots forwards and hugs the man, then realizes what he did and runs away to hide in his room like a little coward.

He spends most of the day distracted, anxiously worrying about Iida, and he can’t help the feeling that something’s going to go horribly wrong before they can even get there. It makes him sloppy in training, and he can tell that Shouta and Hizashi are going a little easier on him today.

6 o’clock finds all three of them on the train in their hero costumes. There aren’t many people in the same car as them, and Izuku is grateful. Crowds are annoying.

Izuku finds that he was unfortunately right to think that something would happen when a Nomu carrying a hero crashes into their train car. All three of them rush forwards to the scene and the Nomu jumps out, back towards wherever he came from.

“Janus. Stick with Present Mic. If you get separated, you have permission to use your quirk to protect yourself and others.” And Eraserhead is gone, jumping out of the hole in the side of the train to follow the creature.

“Let’s go listener.” He and Hizashi follow suit after checking on the injured pro, heading towards the chaos in the city. There are a few heroes trying to combat the Nomus and protect civilians, but they jump in to help evacuate people anyways.

“Iida! Where’d you go?” Izuku whips around and finds pro hero Manual calling out for his friend. Shit. He must have gone after the Hero Killer in all the chaos.

“Zashi! I have to find Iida! I think he’s in trouble.” Hizashi gives him a calculating look before answering.

“Call if you get into trouble. Now go help your friend!” Izuku nods gratefully, relieved he won’t be sneaking off to find Iida. He runs away from the chaos, but feels like he’s running to his doom.

The Hero Killer lurks in quiet, back alleyways to attack his victims, and that’s exactly where Izuku finds them. Iida and pro hero Native are frozen on the ground, the Hero Killer ready to plunge a sword into his friend.

“No!” Stain pauses in his actions and looks to Izuku. He starts ranting some nonsense about true heroes and how All Might is the best. Izuku doesn’t pay much attention on what he’s saying, slipping his hand behind his back to send out his location to everyone in his contacts, in the hopes that someone will get here on time.

He knows that he cannot handle this on his own.

He refocuses just as Stain is lunging for him, and he barely dodges the blade in time. Stain keeps attacking, and it takes all of Izuku’s skill to avoid being cut. Iida starts yelling at him to leave, saying that this isn’t Izuku’s problem, and that’s just enough of a distraction for Stain to nick his cheek with his blade, and he watches in horror and disgust as the man brings the blade up to his lips and licks his blood off.

Izuku drops, all mobility cut off. He can’t move anything, and starts to panic a little as he sees Stain walk closer to him. There’s a boot in his side and it pushes him onto his back and Stain is there, standing over him, tapping his sword against Izuku’s chest.

“Hmm. I might just let you live, little hero. Coming to save your friend, trying even though he told you to leave. Seems like you’ve got the makings of a true hero.” And with that Stain is walking away, back towards Iida, and Izuku can’t even turn his head to see what’s happening.

“No! Stop it! He’s just a student! Please don’t kill him.” Izuku continues his mantra mindlessly, tears falling from his eyes as he can do nothing but listen to Stains footsteps from his position on the ground.

“God. Don’t you ever shut up? Maybe I’ll kill you anyways. Make your friend watch so he knows it’s all his fault.” Stain is back in his peripherals now, sword dangling lazily in his hand. There’s a chill in the air as he lifts his sword, only to be knocked back by a slab of ice.

“Can’t you be a little more specific Janus? I was almost too late!” Midoriya sighs in relief at the sound of Todoroki's voice. He hadn’t even known his friend was in Hosu!

“Oh great. Another false hero. Let’s see if you fair any better.” At that Stain is lunging towards his friend, and Izuku is struggling, trying to will his muscles to move. He can hardly see what’s happening, only able to move his eyes.

His finger twitches.

A few more minutes and he can move again, though Iida and Native are still immobile on the ground. Maybe something to do with blood type?

Izuku moves as quietly as he can towards the fight and powers up One for All. He aims the kick he’s practiced the most at the back of Stains head, but the man moves at the last second. His foot still makes contact, catching him in the shoulder and pushing him away from Todoroki.

They work together then, trying to use what they know of each others quirks to make it work.

It doesn’t.

Izuku has gotten faster, spreading his quirk through his body has allowed him to gain some speed. However, Todoroki doesn’t know that, and manages to catch Izuku with his fire, burning through part of his costume before he can put it out.

They’re a little more cautious after that, but it’s only a matter of time before they slip up. And they do so spectacularly. Izuku is moving far faster than anyone should on ice and he slips, careening towards his friend. Todoroki shoves himself out of the way and right towards Stain, who gives him a long slice up the arm. Todoroki collapses as the man swallows his blood, and then it’s just Izuku against a serial killer. Again.

He’s getting tired. He’s been using his quirk far too much. He doesn’t have anything else to fight Stain with! He is terrible with the capture weapon, so they opted to leave it at home tonight. Maybe Izuku should ask his guardians to show him how to use other weapons as well.

He’s slowing down now, and Stain can tell. He’s basically playing with him at this point. Izuku trips up and falls to the ground and Stain is there, pushing his sword into his thigh until Izuku can feel it pierce the skin on the other side, and he’s screaming himself hoarse at the pain.

It’s agonizing.

The man takes his time pulling his sword out, intent on causing Izuku the most pain he can. He hasn’t licked his blood yet, but Izuku still feels paralysed. He’s crying now, and all he can manage to do is groan at the pain. He can hear his friends yelling at Stain, maybe even hears his own name in there, but he’s in too much pain to even pay attention.

Izuku feels the moment the man licks the blade, and he’s walking away again, back towards Iida.

“W-wait. D-don’t k-kill him.” He’s quiet, thick with tears, and he’s barely able to hear his own voice but Stain somehow does.

“Jesus kid. Where’s your sense of self preservation?” Izuku doesn’t reply, opting to keep up his quiet complaints, no longer aware of what he’s saying.

“Shut the fuck up!” There’s a harsh kick to his head, snapping it to the side so that Izuku faces the mouth of the alleyway instead of his friends. He hadn’t even been aware that Stain was that close to him, but now he’s all too aware as the man once again presses the tip of his sword against Izuku’s chest.

The pain in his thigh combined with the pain in his head makes him want to vomit. He takes deep breaths and ignores the sound of Stain monologging again. He’s hoping for one last bit of luck. Hoping that someone else is on their way to the alley. That someone can stop Stain before he kills them.

Izuku narrows his eyes, and catches sight of two figures at the mouth of the alleyway.

Chapter Text

Shouta tries not to worry as he leaves his family behind in the train. Zashi is a pro hero, and Izuku is a smart kid. He knows not to run off.

Shouta struggles against the Nomu he followed. His quirk is not offensive and does absolutely nothing against the creature. It’s awfully similar to the one from the USJ attack, and it took All Might to beat it.

He manages to wrap his scarf around the Nomu and decides to try stabbing the things brains out. He stabs it once and tries to wrench his knife free, but it refuses to move. The Nomu is still standing, and leaps off of the building they landed on. 

Shouta has to unwind his scarf quickly so he doesn’t get dragged along with the creature. It’s fast, and now it’s running away with Shouta’s third favourite knife. He’s about to follow when he gets a text. A glance at his phone tells him it’s from Izuku, so he opens it. All it is is a location.

Shit.

Shouta hopes that he’s still with Hizashi. Maybe his husband asked him to stay back and call for help. He runs in the direction of Izuku’s location, and hopes there are some other heroes nearby. He’s too far to be able to provide an immediate response, but he’s do his best.

Too much time later when he’s only halfway there, he meets up with Hizashi, and they pale at the sight of each other. That means that Izuku is by himself, possibly facing the Hero Killer if he went to help Iida. Which is exactly something he would do.

They’re almost to Izuku when they hear the screams. 

The person has to be in immense pain, and it only gets louder as they get closer to their destination. They listen to the heart wrenching screams turn into sobs, and both move a little faster when they recognize those soft cries.

They belong to Izuku.

They freeze in the mouth of the alleyway that holds their son. Pro hero Native and Iida are near one of the walls, sprawled on the ground. Todoroki is a little closer, leaned up against the opposite wall. All three of them are yelling trying to stop Stain. Stain, who stands over Izuku with a sword pointed at his chest. Izuku, who’s bloody and crying, and staring right at them.

Shouta reactively activates his quirk as they start moving. It’s got to be some sort of paralytic, because the moment he does, Todoroki is springing up and shoving Stain away from Izuku, stopping to stand protectively in front of him, ice and fire both at the ready.

Everyone covers their ears as Hizashi yells, making Stain drop his weapons. Shouta is quick to tackle him. He’s been married to Hizashi long enough that he’s used to his screaming, so he uses that to his advantage and strips Stain of all of his weapons before tying him up with zip ties and rope, finishing it off with his capture weapon. 

Hizashi doesn’t stop yelling until the man is secure, and once he is they’re both rushing to Izuku’s side. Native and Iida are helping each other up, and Todoroki is already standing, so they focus all their worry on their son.

He’s bleeding from a deep cut on his leg, and a closer look tells Shouta that it even pierced the skin on the other side. Hizashi puts pressure on the wounds as he digs some gauze out of his utility belt, wrapping it as tightly as he can.

Izuku still hasn’t made a sound, and he’s blinking sluggishly at them from his spot on the ground. There’s a dark bruise on the side of his head. It must have been a hard hit if Izuku is this out of it.

“Jesus problem child. How hard did you hit your head?”

“I di’nt h’t it. ‘e kick’ d me.” Stain kicked a child in the head? Great. Now Shouta has the urge to commit a murder. Shouta turns to address the rest of the alleyway, finding them all much closer than before.

“Here’s what we’re going to do. We are moving out of the alleyway and to the road so that it’s easier for emergency services to find us. While we make our way there, I’ll get you to call them Todoroki. We need several ambulances and the police.” Todoroki nods and pulls out his phone to do his part.

Hizashi scoops up Izuku, their kids head resting against his chest. He’s a little more alert now, and sits up a little straighter as he watches Shouta drag Stain down the alley. They reach the end and all sit down to wait, and more pros show up and take custody of Stain so that Shouta and Hizashi can focus on Izuku.

Shouta’s head snaps up at a loud cry of warning, and he spots a flying Nomu diving towards the group of heroes. It slows down, claws extended, as the heroes try to duck out of its path.

Shouta can feel the rustle of its feathers as it snatches Izuku from between them.

Izuku lets out a loud cry and he’s being flown away. Everyone just stands there, frozen for a moment, before Hizashi’s cry snaps them out of it.

“Shou! GET READY TO CATCH!” Oh he can see where this is going. There’s almost no way for him to land safely with his child in his arms.

“Todoroki! Need your help with the landing!” And Shouta’s running, looping his scarf around a light post to launch himself into the air and towards the flying duo. As soon as Shouta's airborne, Hizashi screams. It’s the loudest he’s heard him in a long time, worry for Izuku making him that much deadlier.

The Nomu screeches and releases Izuku, trying to get away from the sound, but Hizashi pitched it just right that the creatures brain explodes before it can escape.

Shouta catches Izuku almost as soon as it drops him, and lightly lands on the ramp that Todoroki created to catch them. 

Shouta supports Izuku in his arms as Hizashi starts running over, and grimaces at the new wounds. The Nomu must have really wanted him, because fresh blood seeps out of marks on his abdomen where the hybrid had sunk its claws in. There’s a worrying amount of blood, and Shouta knows that the ambulance is still a few minutes out. Izuku is hardly conscious, trying to keep his eyes open.

There’s a sudden heat at his side, and Endeavor is there, placing a hand on his shoulder right as Hizashi arrives.

“Want me to fly him to the hospital? It will be much faster than waiting for the ambulance.” Shouta wants to say no. Wants to say that he can take his own son to the hospital. But he can’t and he knows that.

“Please.” With his quiet word, Endeavor is crouching down, pulling Izuku carefully into his arms and launching into the sky before Shouta can even blink.

The ambulances for the other kids and Native arrive a few minutes later, so Shouta and Hizashi ride along with them. They should probably make sure their students are alright anyways. They find Endeavor waiting for them at the entrance, and he’s quick to give them an update while his own son gets checked out.

“They’re stitching him up now. Most of the wounds were pretty clean, and miraculously, nothing was damaged in his thigh where his worst cut was. It seems as though Stain didn’t want to cause him permanent damage. Nothing was bad enough to require surgery, just lots of stitches.”

“They say anything about the head wound?” Endeavor grimaces a little at the question.

“It’s a bad concussion. He’ll be fine, just a little messed up for a few days.” While that’s not ideal, it’s something they can manage. Shouta nods his thanks to Endeavor and the man leaves to find his son.

Shouta turns around and finds Hizashi with a frown on his face, worry creasing his brow. While they know that Izuku will be fine, it’s hard finding someone in the position they did. Especially their son. Shouta leans forward and wraps his arms around his husband, hugging him tightly. Hizashi pulls away and leans down for a soft kiss before they separate, keeping their hands connected.

“Let’s go find our son.”

Chapter Text

Even though they know Izuku is fine, Hizashi is still worried. He can tell that Shouta is too from the way he clenches his hand, equally as tight as his own grip. When they’re finally led into the right room they both pause in the doorway, surprised to find Iida and Todoroki in there as well.

“Aizawa-sensei? What are you guys doing here?” Iida notices them first, but doesn’t say anything of how their hands are still clenched together. At the sound of his friends voice, Izuku turns from where he was gazing out the window and stares at them. 

Nobody moves for a moment, and then Izuku is letting out a small sob as he pushes himself out of bed. Hizashi is moving forward at the same time, dragging Shouta with him, and makes it in time to catch Izuku when he falls. It’s like he forgot about his injuries the moment he saw them, and only remembered because of the pain that standing caused him.

Hizashi holds him close as Izuku sobs into his chest, letting him have this moment to cry.

“We should get him back in bed.” Shouta’s voice is quiet in his ear. Hizashi shifts his hold on Izuku, lifting and carrying him the short distance to the bed. Izuku still clutches the front of his shirt, refusing to let go.

“C-c-can you s-sit w-with me? I d-d-don’t- I c-c-can’t-” Izuku cuts himself off and shakes his head, clearly frustrated by his lack of words.

“Of course little listener! Just let me take off my jacket and speaker. Sound good?” Hizashi more feels than sees Izuku nod against his chest before the kid is slowly letting go of him, wincing at the pain that all the movement caused.

Hizashi sheds his gear before gesturing for Izuku to move over on the bed. The listener’s eyes light up with glee and he moves over quickly, frowning down at his left leg when it doesn’t move like he wanted it to. 

‘Do you think it will scar?’ Izuku asks the question as Hizashi is settling beside him on the bed, and Shouta moves to stand by his side as he answers.

“Probably. Although I’ve heard that girls love scars, so with your collection you’re in luck.” 

Thank god Izuku understands that Shouta is joking. He squishes his face in disgust before signing again.

‘Gross.’ Shouta laughs at that, and Izuku smiles, delighted that he managed it. 

Iida clearing his throat from across the room reminds them that they are not alone. And that Iida clearly has something to say. Hizashi lifts his arm as Izuku scoots himself a little closer to him, and the kid smiles gratefully at him as he tucks himself into his side.

“Midoriya! I understand that you are concussed, but acting this way towards our sensei’s is highly inappropriate! I suggest-”

“Shut up Iida.” It’s Todoroki who interrupts him, and Hizashi is grateful. Izuku had been getting more tense with every word uttered.

“But-” Iida stops himself this time, drawn by the motion of Izuku raising his hands to sign. Except he doesn’t sign. He raises his middle finger towards Iida with a sly grin.

“Shou! You’ve corrupted my son!” Shouta doesn’t answer him, instead he reaches across him and high fives Izuku.

“Nice one kiddo.” Izuku beams at the small praise, and Shouta gives him a small smile before stepping away.

The doctor chooses this moment to enter the room, and she doesn’t even bat an eye at the sight of Hizashi on the bed with Izuku.

“I’m assuming you’re his parents?”

“Yes m’am!” Iida audibly gasps at Hizashi’s response and he has to try very hard not to laugh.

“Alright. I’ve just got a few things to go over about his condition and recovery. If everything keeps going smoothly, we should be able to release him in the morning.” Hizashi and Shou nod, unwilling to interrupt the woman.

“The concussion isn’t as bad as we initially thought. It combined with the bloodloss and gave him symptoms of severe head trauma. However, it was still fairly serious. He’ll be overly sensitive to light and sound for a little while.” That’s better than Hizashi hoped for. His responsiveness when they found him was worrying to say the least. 

“He’ll have to be cautious with how he moves with the amount of stitches we had to put on his abdomen. One wrong twist and they will pop open. I recommend he takes things really slow for a week.” That shouldn’t be too bad. Tomorrow is the last day of internships so there won’t be class, and after that it’s the weekend. They’ll just have to be careful at school after that. No Hero Studies for Izuku.

“By far the worst of his injuries is the damage to his left leg. While he miraculously didn’t damage any nerves, he managed to scrape the bone.” That all sounds awfully painful. Hizashi grimaces in sympathy, feeling awful for what his kid had to go through.

“There was a lot of soft tissue damage that we had to fix. It nearly had us bringing him into surgery. This one will also take the longest to heal. I recommend you keep him off his feet as much as possible for the first week. I understand he still has to attend classes, and he should be good to move around slowly at school. However, if the pain does worsen, I’d stick him in a wheelchair. Normally I’d suggest just having him on crutches, but the damage to his abdomen prevents the possibility. He’ll most likely suffer from chronic pain because of how deep the wound went.” 

Hizashi frowns. They’re already expecting that from the damage to his arm, and now he has to go through it with his leg too? Poor Izuku. He holds him a little tighter at the thought.

“Thanks doc.” Shouta answers for them, dismissing the doctor. Hizashi turns towards his  husband as he stretches.

“I’m getting coffee. I’m going to need it after tonight.” Shou turns with a slight frown and begins to walk towards the door. A frantic poking at his side makes him turn his attention from his husband.

‘Can he get me some hot chocolate?’

“SHOU!” Shouta had just stepped outside the room. He poked his head back in with a grumpy look on his face.

“What.”

“Can you get the baby some hot chocolate?” Shouta’s face softens at that, and he nods at them before disappearing out the door. Izuku frowns at the door for a few moments before tugging on his sleeve.

‘Is TiredDad okay?’ The listener sure is perceptive. Anyone else wouldn’t have noticed how distracted his husband is.

“Yah kiddo. He was just really worried about you. Probably still is, like me.” He speaks quietly, trying not to disturb the others but unwilling to let go of his son. Izuku raises an eyebrow, but signs nothing.

“When I got that text, and it was just your location, I didn’t know what to think. And when we found you like that, it was terrifying. We can’t lose you, Izuku.” Hizashi will never forget the sight of Izuku, bleeding out on the ground. Or how pain filled his screams sounded before they found him. He doubts Shouta will either. He focuses back on Izuku when he pokes him in the side. The listener is still frowning.

‘He’s not mad?’ 

“Why in the world would he be mad?”

‘Why wouldn’t he be? I left you! He told me to stay with you and then I left. And then I got hurt and you had to save me again. I’m sorry. I keep messing up. You and TiredDad should be mad.’

“Izuku. If we were mad, we would tell you. We were scared because we didn’t know what was going to happen to you. Not mad. Shou specifically gave you instructions for if we got separated, which I let happen. So if anything, this was my fault.” Hizashi has been feeling this way ever since they found Izuku. If he had just gone with him, maybe he wouldn’t have gotten so injured.

‘What? I’m the one who asked to leave. You aren’t to blame for any of this. If you keep blaming yourself I’m telling TiredDad.’ This kid is going to be the death of him.

“How about we agree that this was none of our faults? And if you still think Shou is mad you can ask him when he comes back.” Izuku shakes his head at his suggestion. It looks like neither of them want to face Shouta. And people say that Shou is the one who doesn’t like emotions. 

Hizashi decides that they shouldn’t end the conversation on such a negative note, so he brings something up that he know will embarrass Izuku.

“So. When did tired cat become tired dad?” He grins, trying to keep Izuku at ease.

‘I’ve been thinking about it ever since you guys said that-’ Izuku cuts himself off, hands stilling before he finishes his thought.

“Said what, listener?” He looks conflicted before he answers.

‘That you love me.’ Izuku won’t meet his eyes, opting to stare at the bed sheets instead. He looks uncertain, likes he’s worried they’re going to take it back.

“Izuku. Look at me.” It takes a few moments before he does, and Hizashi finds a trace of fear in his eyes.

“We meant every word we said. We will say it as many times as we need to to get it through that thick skull of yours. We love you Izuku. Nothing is going to change that.” Izuku nods a little tearfully, and he’s not sure if he got his point across or not.

“So. If Shou has become tired dad, does that mean I’m now loud dad?” Izuku looks a little panicked at this.

‘Only if you want! It’s just, you guys are so nice and act like I think good dads would. But I’m not ready to say it out loud so I changed your sign names. I’ll change them back if you don’t like it.’

“Of course I like it Izuku. I’m sure Shou will too.” Izuku doesn’t answer him, and they sit in comfortable silence, waiting for Shouta to return and ignoring the looks from Todoroki and Iida.

Chapter Text

Shouta returns a few minutes after he and Izuku finish talking, carrying a tray of drinks. Shou leans down and presses a soft kiss to his cheek before passing out the drinks with a small smile. Hizashi hears Iida gasp at the action, probably surprised that his teacher knows what affection is.

“Tea for the husband, and hot chocolate for the baby.” Instead of objecting to the name like he has in the past, Izuku raises slightly trembling hands to sign.

‘Thank you, TIredDad.’ Shouta’s eyebrows go up at the name, but he doesn’t say anything. He just rounds the bed and gives Izuku’s curls a pat before settling in the empty space next to Hizashi’s feet, and where Izuku’s feet would be if he wasn’t curled up. Or was a little taller.

“Umm, Aizawa-sensei?” 

“What is Iida.” Shota looks slightly annoyed as he answers his student.

“Are you and Mic-sensei married?” Iida looks and sounds incredibly nervous. Shou grins at the uncertainty in his tone and Hizashi decides he should answer before his husband scares the kid even more. 

“That’s right listener! Just don’t go telling anyone.” Hizashi makes sure to add some seriousness to his tone to get his point across. He knows he succeeded when Iida pales and nods frantically. 

Izuku is slumped against him, unwilling to fall asleep, with his empty cup loose in his hands when the door opens loudly. Izuku startles and Shou turns to give the intruders a glare.

“Good evening! I am police chief Kenji Tsuragamae. I believe some of you have met pro hero Manual. We are here to discuss the fallout from the events of earlier tonight.” Manual nods at them from beside Tsuragamae, but no one says a word. The chief takes this as his cue to continue.

“Now. I understand that you students were a big help in stopping the hero killer, and for that I thank you. This man gave everyone a lot of trouble, so it’s a relief to finally have him off the streets.” Iida frowns, clearly disagreeing with the sentiment. A lot of trouble is an understatement.

“I’ve been told that one of you was given permission to use your quirk., but that means that the other two, did so illegally.” Todoroki opens his mouth to argue, but it clamps shut just as quickly at Shouta’s harsh look.

“We are willing to overlook the illegal quirk usage and give the credit to pro heroes Eraserhead and Present Mic. We can even go as far as to say they were aided by internship students, because one of you had permission.” That’s not too bad. Hizashi was expecting the kids to get in trouble.

“Are you all in agreement? I must release a statement soon.”

“What would happen if you credited us?” Todoroki’s question is not unexpected.

“Well, we would be required to release the fact that you used your quirks illegally, even if you were protecting your friends. Then we would have to charge you, because no one is above the law.” Todoroki is frowning now, clearly unhappy with the decision they have to make.

“I for one, am more than happy to leave the credit to our teachers. They did come and save us in the end after all. If they didn’t, none of us would be here now.” Iida is more subdued than usual, but he makes a good point. It seems everyone else in the room agrees, so chief Tsuragamae leaves without another word.

Izuku sighs as soon as he leaves the room. The listener looks exhausted as he moves to lay down on the bed, curled up right next to Hizashi. He’s finally relaxing when Iida speaks up again.

“Midoriya! I am curious to know when you moved in with our sensei’s! As I recall, you said at the beginning of the year that you lived with your mother.” Iida is speaking softer than usual, realizing the sensitive nature of the topic. He’s not being unkind, just curious. Hizashi hopes that Izuku notices this as well. His kid taps his thigh and holds up his hands to sign, so Hizashi translates for him.

“He says he doesn’t want to talk about it. And to shut up because he’s trying to sleep.” 

Todoroki snorts at that, while Iida simply frowns.

Iida and Todoroki go to sleep soon after, while Izuku lays, wide awake at his side. He’s flinching every so often, and Shouta keeps giving him worried glances from his spot at the foot of the bed. It takes a particularly hard flinch, one that has Izuku wincing in pain and holding Hizashi’s leg for dear life that he finally realizes what’s going on.

The flinch came after a particularly loud noise outside the room, likely a nurse dropping something. He flashes back to the last time they sat with Izuku in the hospital and remembers him signing that it was too loud.

“I’m an idiot.” Shou glances at him wearily as he pulls off his own headphones and slides them onto Izuku’s head. The kid relaxes immediately, falling asleep in just a few minutes.

“I can’t believe I forgot. Last time it took him forever to fall asleep because of the noise in the hospital.”

“At least you remembered.” Hizashi glances up at Shou and catches a fond expression on his face as he watches the two of them.

“Do you think he’ll be okay after this?” Hizashi doesn’t want to be that paranoid parent, but he’s worried. Izuku has already been through so much.

“I’m not sure. But what I am sure of, is that we’ll support him through it all.” Hizashi gives his husband a soft smile at that. Shou always knows the right thing to say.

Friday morning comes and Hizashi is tired. None of them had a good sleep last night. Izuku woke up frequently from nightmares, and some of them took both him and Shouta to calm the kid down. He’s surprised that Iida and Todoroki slept through it all. Hizashi hopes it’s just the stress of being in the hospital in an unfamiliar place that is making them so bad.

Shouta groans from his position on the floor. He stands, still wrapped up in his sleeping bag, and moves over to a chair, probably to wait for a nurse to come in with discharge papers. Hizashi glances down at Izuku, and finds him dead to the world, exhaustion from last night finally letting him rest peacefully, at least for the last few hours.

It’s only 20 minutes later when a nurse comes in, carrying discharge papers for all of the students. Apparently, he and Shouta would have to get them all home. Iida and Todoroki have woken up, and they’re already packing their meagre belongings, eager to get home. Hizashi is reluctant to wake Izuku up, but he’ll rest better at home with the cats anyways, so the sooner he get’s up, the sooner they can leave.

Hizashi pulls his headphones off gently, and places a hand on his shoulder to nudge him awake. It’s surprisingly easy, and it leaves Hizashi wondering if he was really sleeping anymore, or just taking a few more moments of rest before he has to move again. Izuku sits up with a groan of pain, taking a moment to orient himself.

“You able to walk, problem child?” Izuku takes a moment to think about it before he finds his words.

“I think so.” He rises slowly from the bed, and Hizashi keeps a hand nearby in case he stumbles. He doesn’t, and the moment he’s standing Todoroki emerges from the washroom, wearing his hero uniform. Iida sits patiently on the end of his bed wearing his own.

“Is mine wrecked?” The question comes as he’s donning his own hero gear, and it makes him pause in fastening his speaker.

“I’m afraid so, listener. We’ll just have to get the support company to make you a new one.” Izuku frowns for a second before speaking again.

“Do you think I c-could r-redesign it? Maybe add a f-few support items?”

“I don’t see why not. Why support items?” Shouta gets right to the point.

“W-well, I don’t want to r-rely on my quirk so much. So I w-want to learn different w-weapons.” That shouldn’t surprise Hizashi as much as it does. He refuses to let it show on his face.

“We’ll wait to add those until you’re proficient. Now let’s get to the train station.” Izuku smiles widely, visibly excited to learn more fighting techniques. The smile falls when he stumbles and hizashi has to throw out an arm to stop him from falling.

“You sure you can walk Izuku?”

“Y-yes. C-can I just-” He gestures to Hizashi’s arm that he’s still gripping and he nods, understanding the question. They make the short walk to the elevator and Izuku grips his arm, managing to walk mostly unaided. Once they make it to the front of the hospital, they hail a taxi to get them to the train station and Hizashi nearly sighs. This is going to be an awkward train ride.

Chapter Text

The train ride is blessedly quiet, not many people taking this route this early in the day. Izuku spends the majority of the train ride leaning against the window, watching the scenery. Shouta sits next to him, while Hizashi sits directly in front. Iida and Todoroki are sitting as far away from their teachers as they can while still being in plain sight.

Once they reach the station, they find Midnight waiting for them, ready to drive them home. Iida’s parents meet them there and awkward introductions are made. Todoroki just waves to them and walks in the direction of someone so similar looking that can only be his sister.

The trip in Midnight’s car is awkward. Izuku doesn’t know the pro hero well. Hizashi sits in the front next to her, while Shouta sits in the back seat with him. Midnight must be a rambler when she’s in an awkward position because she will not stop talking. It’s made Shouta roll his eyes with a fond smile at least five times now, and those are only counting the ones he’s caught. It’s probably at least double that.

Izuku is so relieved when they pull up to the apartment building, he’s got his seatbelt undone before the car is even parked. He knows better than to try and get out of the car without help. Zashi opens his door and helps him out of the car before letting him attempt the walk himself. He manages until they’re inside the building. The elevator has a big Out of Order sign posted on it. They live on the fifth floor. His leg and torso are already causing him pain, Izuku knows he will never make it up those stairs.

“Hop on.” His musings are interrupted when Shouta squats low in front of him, back bared in a familiar position. Izuku climbs on his back without complaining. It’ll be easiest this way. He glances behind them halfway up the first set of stairs and regrets it immediately. He’s higher up than he would be if he was walking, and if Shouta were to slip or drop him, it would be a long and painful fall. He tightens his grip around Shou’s neck when they start up the third set of steps and buries his face in the mans capture weapon.

Going up the stairs on someone’s back is not as fun as he thought it would be.

He doesn’t look up until they’re standing in front of their door with Hizashi inserting the key. As soon as they enter, the cats are curling around Shouta’s ankles, but the man easily bypasses them to put Izuku gently down on the couch, up against the right armrest. The man isn’t even out of breath from carrying him up four sets of stairs!

Zashi is shoving a warm blanket onto him, and Izuku rearranges it how he likes it before the cats are on the couch, both of them trying to fit on his lap. Radio shoves Toothless to the side, and she digs her claws into his thigh to regain balance.

Normally he doesn’t mind, but it’s his left thigh, right where he got stabbed, and he can’t help the cry of pain that escapes him.

It’s not nearly as bad as when he got the wound, but he hasn’t taken anything for the pain today and it was already hurting from the effort that walking took, so the dig of her little claws feels awful. He knows he’s panicking, but he hasn’t had to calm himself down alone ever since he moved in with Zashi and Shou, so it’s hard to remember how, especially with how short his breaths are getting.

There are hands on his neck. They’re warm and calloused and most of all familiar. It’s enough to bring him back from the brink of panic, and he blinks through tears to see Shou’s concerned face. He reaches up with shaking hands and wraps them around Shouta’s wrists, keeping his hands where they are as he uses the pressure to ground himself and breathe through the pain.

It’s several minutes before he’s calmed down long enough to let go of Shouta, and when he does the man slowly removes his hands, and Izuku immediately misses their presence.

“Thank you, Shou.” His voice feels wrong in his throat, and he knows that today will be a hard one for talking.

Only now does he register the warm hand rubbing comforting circles on his back, and the soothing voice of Zashi muttering reassurances. He leans into the touch and sighs, closing his eyes and trying his best not to move.

There’s a soft tap on his head that has Izuku opening his eyes, and he finds Shouta standing above him. He’s got a glass of water in one hand, and some pills that he hopes are painkillers in the other. Izuku’s favourite sweater is slung over an arm.

He hadn’t meant to steal Hizashi’s sweater, it just sort of happened. It’s the sweater that Shouta threw on him the night they rescued him. It was the first time in forever that Izuku had felt warm and safe. He’d worn it again after the hospital and just kind of, kept wearing it. It’s like a comfort item for him now. He always feels at home when he wears it.

He doesn’t realize that he spaced out until there’s the cool press of the glass in his hand and Shouta’s giving him a funny look. He accepts the glass and pills, then hurriedly shoves the sweater over his head. There’s a thump as something falls out of the pocket, and Izuku stares at his phone from where it now sits on the floor, mocking him.

Hizashi huffs a laugh as he leans over and grabs it. He hands Izuku the device before settling back on the couch beside him and turning on the tv. He carefully avoids the news and settles on one of his favourite movies, a Star Wars rerun, as Shouta sits next to Zashi, leaning into him slightly with a smile on his face. 

The sight is heartwarming to Izuku. When he’d first come to stay with his teacher’s, it had been weird. They were all awkward around each other and Izuku could tell that they were trying to be less affectionate with each other for his sake. He had felt like a kid with fighting parents for a bit until they realized that he simply did not care, and presumably went back to how they were together before he arrived. It’s nice to see how much they care for each other.

The cats come slinking back into the room, approaching him wearily. Radio jumps up first, settling on the armrest to his right. Toothless is a lot more hesitant as she crawls onto his lap, carefully avoiding his leg. She rubs her head against his arm in apology before laying down, a comforting weight on his lap.

Izuku turns his attention to his phone and grimaces. There are several missed calls and texts from Shinsou, and even a few messages from Kirishima. He’d pawned his phone off to Shouta when he and Hizashi had met him at the hospital. He’s glad he did. He’d seen how overwhelmed Todoroki and Iida had gotten with texts from friends and family when they found out that they were in the hospital.

He decides to check on the messages from Kirishima first.

‘Midoriya are you okay?’

'I saw on the news that our sensei’s and an intern took down the hero killer. I know you were interning with Present Mic.’

‘Midoriya?’

‘That’s it, I’m calling sensei’

‘He says that you're fine but could you text me back when you get these?’ 

Izuku didn’t think Kirishima would get so worried about him. He texts him back right away.

‘Sorry Kirishima! Didn’t have my phone. I’m a little banged up but I’ll be okay.’ He leaves it there, and finds similar messages from Shinsou. There are just a lot more of them, plus all the missed calls.

‘Sorry I’m fine! A little hurt but I’ll survive.’ Shinsou must have been waiting for his answer, because not three seconds after he sends the message his phone rings. He hits answer and holds the phone up to his ear, completely unprepared.

“Midoriya! What happened? Are you alright?!”

“I-I-I-” His guardians look over at the sound of his voice as his throat clogs up. He can’t speak and Shinsou is still talking in his ear, trying to get him to say something. He shoves his phone at Zashi and the man squeals a little before glancing at the caller ID and holding the phone to his ear.

“Shinsou, he’s fine.”

“Sorry, but he’s not really up to leaving the house right now.” It’s hard hearing only one side of the conversation, but he can always guess at what’s being said.

“Izuku. Shinsou wants to come over. Do you want to see him?” Izuku shrugs, unsure. His friend has always been a comforting presence, especially with everything that’s been going on with him the past few weeks. But Izuku doesn’t know if he’s up to seeing anybody right now.

He jumps a little as Zashi gives him back his phone.

“He really wanted to see you, so I said he could come over for a bit. The second things go poorly he’s gone. Okay?” Izuku nods, grateful for his quick thinking.

Chapter Text

It’s not long before there’s a hard knock on the door, and Izuku readies himself when Zashi gets up to answer it. He returns a few moments later, Shinsou trailing behind him, and sits down on the floor in front of Shouta, leaving the empty space on the couch for their guest. Shinsou keeps giving them funny looks as he sits as far away from the pros as he can.

‘What is it?’

“They look so weird in casual clothes! Why is Aizawa-sensei wearing pink pants and a Present Mic shirt! Present Mic has his hair down!” Shinsou had leaned forwards to whisper to him, but judging from the looks on his guardians faces, Izuku assumes they heard every word.

‘TiredDad keeps claiming that he grabbed the wrong shirt, but after the fourth time I stopped believing him.’ Shinsou barks out a laugh before covering his mouth, eyes fearful. As if he thinks that he’ll get in trouble for laughing. 

Shouta shoots them an odd look before turning back to the movie, pretending he’s not watching every little movement that Izuku makes. They watch a few more scenes before Izuku is tapping Shinsou on the shoulder to get his attention.

‘You won’t get in trouble for having fun. I think LoudDad would get mad if you didn’t’ 

Shinsou raises his eyebrows before turning and looking at the adults. Shouta has scooted closer to the edge of the couch, feet planted on either side of Hizashi. Shou’s got his fingers buried in his husbands hair, weaving it together carefully with a soft smile on his face. Izuku pulls out his phone and quickly takes a photo before shoving it back in his pocket. Shouta gives him a suspicious look at the movement but doesn’t say anything.

‘This is so weird! They’re just like regular people!’

‘You know they both know sign language, right?’ Shinsou turns, horrified, to them and finds them both looking at him, Shou with a glare and Zashi with a funny look on his face. Now that Hizashi is looking right at him, Izuku holds up his hands to sign again.

‘Are you going to braid TiredDad’s hair next? It will look so good!’ Zashi smiles at him before turning to Shouta, who had seen the signs as well.

“Pleeeaaaaassee Shou? It always looks so good on you!” Shouta ties off the braid before sighing.

“Fine. But don’t be mad if I fall asleep again.” They switch positions and Izuku watches, enraptured, as Zashi begins to comb through Shouta’s hair with his fingers. He’s not even watching the movie anymore, too focused on how relaxed his guardians look. Shinsou is gaping beside him as he takes another photo.

“If any of your friends see that, problem child, you’ll regret ever taking the photo.” How did he see that! His eyes have been closed since the moment he sat down. Plus, Izuku wouldn’t dare showing that to anyone. He might be thinking of printing out the pictures and taping them up in his room, but he’d never show them to anybody.

Shouta’s eyes snap open the second that Hizashi ties off the braid. He stands and stretches, muttering about going for a nap before he disappears. A nap sounds really nice right now, but Izuku has a friend over. He can’t leave Shinsou to go nap. He’ll just have to tough it out and sleep when he’s gone. It’s probably better for his sleep schedule anyways.

A loud explosion in the movie startles him and he jumps a little, grabbing Shinsous hand before he registers what he’s doing. The other boy doesn’t say anything, just adjusts his hand so that it’s clasping his more comfortably.

Izuku tries to focus all of his attention on the movie and petting Toothless in his lap. She is loving the attention, and is purring loud enough that it’s distracting him from the movie. Radio disappeared around the same time as Shou, probably to go bother him while he sleeps.

The warm hand in his keeps him distracted though. Shinsous hand is rough with callouses, but gentle in the way it grips his own. Their hands fit together perfectly, and Izuku decides that he likes holding hands with the other boy.

He leans into him a bit more, yawning as he does so.

It’s around the third time he jolts awake that Zashi pauses the movie and speaks in a quiet voice to Shinsou. His friend places a gentle hand on his shoulder before speaking.

“I’ve got to go now Midoriya, or I’ll be late for my internship. See you at school.” The next thing Izuku is aware of is Zashi gently laying him down on the couch and tucking the blanket more firmly around him before the quiet sounds of Star Wars resumes and he knows nothing.

It’s hours later that he regains consciousness, drawn by the smell of food and murmuring voices in the kitchen. He feels well rested. He’d slept for longer in the hospital, but he’s never been able to have good sleeps while he’s there. It’s always been frequent wake ups and what feels like forever until he was able to fall back asleep.

He sits up very slowly, being extra careful with all of his stitches. He’s a little sore from how he was laying, but it’s nothing he can’t deal with. He sits there for a few minutes, unsure of whether or not he wants to risk the pain and move to the kitchen or just wait until someone returns.

He’s rubbing the sleep from his eyes when the sound of footsteps approach the couch. He looks up and finds Shouta, carrying a plate and glass that he sets on the coffee table beside him. He gives his head a lift pat before returning to the kitchen without uttering a word.

Izuku manages to eat half of his lunch before he has to stop, feeling a little nauseous. He doesn’t know if it’s because he just woke up, or the small amount of pain he feels is making him feel sick. All he knows is that when Shouta returns and finds his plate half full and frowns, he feels like he’s disappointed the man.

When Shou finally leaves after too long of staring in silence, Izuku slowly gets up from the couch. He limps to the washroom before retreating to his own room and settling down on his bed. He picks up the notebook that’s sitting on the desk and cracks it open.

They’d started putting everything in code the other night, transferring the information over to new, undamaged notebooks. He works like that for a few hours, ignoring the steadily growing pain that he’s in. 

“Izuku, it’s almost time for dinner.” Izuku looks up and finds Shou standing in his doorway, hair still braided.

“I’m not hungry.” It comes out as hardly a mumble, but from the frown on his face Izuku can tell that Shouta understood it perfectly.

“You need to eat something. You’ve hardly had anything today.” Izuku knows this. Knows that eating will probably help him feel better instead of worse, but he still shakes his head.

“Are you feeling sick?” Shouta’s in the room now, standing near the bed but not coming any closer. Izuku shrugs at the question and continues writing in his notebook. He wonders why Shou hasn’t gotten mad at him yet. He knows he’s being difficult, but the man has yet to raise his voice once. He and Zashi have all the patience in the world when they’re dealing with him.

“How about I make you a deal. You come and eat some dinner, and I’ll help you with your notebooks afterwards.” That’s an odd deal to make, but the thought of working on his notebook again with Shouta is too good to pass up. He had so much fun last time, so he just nods and follows Shou out of his room and to the dining room.

He eats more than he thought he would, and eventually passes out working on his notebooks.

Chapter Text

The rest of the weekend passes much the same way. Izuku sleeps most of the time, and spends the rest of it buried in his notebooks. He eats more than he did the first day, slowly regaining his appetite. Things have been getting better for him, so it’s no surprise when he wakes up at 2am on Monday, leg and wrist throbbing. He knew there’d be backlash from how badly his wrist ended up, but he didn’t think it would be this bad. He eyes the limb as he holds it, frowning when he spots just how swollen it is.

He lays in bed for a while, trying to fall back asleep before giving up entirely. He makes a quick stop in the washroom for some Ibuprofen before limping slowly to the living room and settling down on the couch. He sits there in the dark for a while before growing tired of the silence, so he turns on the tv and sets the volume low, looking for something to distract him.

The pain in his leg has subsided by the time Hizashi comes out and finds him on the couch. The man is frowning as he looks him over, and he looks tired.

“S-sorry. Did I wake you up?”

“Nah it was Radio. She pawed at my face until I woke up, and she seemed worried so I came out here to see what was going on.” Oh, that makes sense. He had spotted the cat a little while ago, staring at him from the corner of the room before she disappeared.

“It’s n-nothing. You can go back to sleep Zashi.” The man eyes him wearily, eyes pausing on where he holds his wrist, before turning around. Instead of heading to his room he heads to the washroom and Izuku can hear him rummaging around the cabinets before he returns, holding a roll of bandages in his hands. He turns on the lamp on the coffee table before sitting next to Izuku.

“Let me see your hand.” Izuku gives him his right hand without comment, turning his body towards Hizashi as he does. He grimaces as he grabs his hand and spots the inflammation. Hizashi starts gently massaging his hand, right below where the swelling starts, and moves his way upwards.

It doesn’t hurt like Izuku thought it would, instead bringing relief with the slight stinging sensation. They stay like that for a while until Izuku relaxes, nearly falling asleep where he sits. Hizashi stops his motions and grabs the roll of bandages from where he’d put them, and he begins to wrap it tightly around his hand and wrist.

“What’s this for?” Zashi glances up in surprise. He must have thought that Izuku really was asleep.

“This is a compression bandage. The pressure it puts on your hand and wrist should help reduce the swelling. If the pain doesn’t stop just let me know and we’ll figure something else out.” Izuku just nods at the explanation, yawning.

Hizashi is just finishing up when the front door quietly opens, and Shouta walks in, home from patrol. He pauses at the sight of them on the couch, and Izuku gives him a tired smile as he walks over. He frowns when he sees what Hizashi is doing, but he doesn’t say anything, just gives his husbands shoulder a light squeeze before heading towards their room, leaving the door open behind him.

“Alright. Head back to bed so you can get a few more hours of sleep before school in the morning.” Zashi’s voice is quiet, and Izuku heads back to his room.

It takes no time at all to fall back asleep.

Izuku wakes up a few hours later, still tired. He wrist is no longer throbbing, so he takes that as a win. A glance at the clock tells him that it is far later than when he usually wakes up for school, so he rushes through getting ready. He opts to leave the bandage on his wrist today to provide him a little extra support. He has no doubt that after last night, it will probably bother him later on in the day. Izuku opens his door and finds Hizashi there, already dressed in his hero costume, hand raised to knock.

“Morning listener! We thought we’d let you sleep in a little today.” Izuku smiles and nods his thanks at the man, before following him to the kitchen for a light breakfast.

Walking is a lot easier today, but Izuku still sighs in relief when he sees that the elevator has been repaired. They make the drive in silence, no one willing to break the peace of a quiet morning. As soon as they make it to school Izuku is heading to class, ready to get the day started, no matter the questions he would get about last week.

When he gets to the classroom he finds many of his friends there already, chatting excitedly about how their internships went. Iida is talking to Todoroki quietly at his desk, but they both give him a small smile when they see him.

Uraraka comes over to his desk when he sits and starts chatting about how her internship went, no trace of the weirdness from the other week. He’s glad that they’ve gotten over that strange bump in their relationship. 

Uraraka was one of his first friends since things with Bakugou went south, and he values how easy things are with her. She’s just finishing a funny story about Shinsou when the boy in question walks in and heads straight for them. Uraraka bids them goodbye and returns to Asui and asking about her internship.

Shouta steps into the room and it falls silent just a Shinsou is taking his seat behind him.

“I’ve got a short announcement before we begin class today. Nezu wants to start doing parent teacher interviews just like a normal high school, so those are happening tomorrow after classes. This is the information your parents will need.” The man passes a stack of papers to the first in each row, and Izuku doesn’t take one, just passes the forms back automatically.

By lunchtime, the whole class is talking about parent teacher night. They’re asking each other questions about their parents, all excited to meet them.

“Hey Midoriya! Your mom is coming right?” It’s Kaminari who asks, and their table turns towards him, eager to hear about his mom. It hurts his heart a little, but he can’t blame Kaminari. None of them know the truth.

“No. She’s not.” Several people make sad noises at that, only stopping when Bakugou interrupts them.

“What?! Why not Deku? The old hag hasn’t seen Aunty Inko forever!” Izuku flinches at the name of his mother. He still answers though.

“Because she can’t.”

“Deku!” Great. Bakugou is angry now at the lack of information. He’s got his quirk active, little explosions going off in his hands to intimidate Izuku into answering.

“She’s in jail!” It’s almost a yell when it comes out, and Izuku slaps his hands over his mouth in horror as everyone stares at him. Bakugou’s got a look of surprise on his face, no trace of anger left.

The only thought he has as he flees the cafeteria is that they all know now. They all know that something happened, and he knows that some of them are smart enough to figure it out. The ones that are won’t tell the rest of them, but it’s still way more people than Izuku wanted to know.

“So. You finally told someone?” Izuku stops at the voice, and turns to find Bakugou a few feet behind him, hands shoved in his pockets. His face lacks its usual scowl, but it’s pinched with something Izuku can’t identify on him.

“It um, it got really bad after the s-sports festival, s-so I ran away and c-called Aizawa-sensei for help.” Bakugou has known about the abuse since the day it started. He had shown up to school with far more bruises than he had left with. Nobody said anything, and Bakugou’s bullying only got worse after that. 

“Good.” Bakugou turns and leaves at that, leaving Izuku alone in the hallway, staring after him in confusion.

Chapter Text

Izuku hides for the rest of lunchtime, successfully avoiding his classmates. He shows up to hero studies early, and finds All Might already present.

“Young Midoriya! Just the boy I wanted to see.” Great. Izuku stays silent, allowing All Might to continue.

“Aizawa told me you can’t participate today, so I was hoping you’d give me hand with this class.”

That is not at all what Izuku was expecting.

“What d-do you need help with?” All Might smiles widely at that, pleased that Izuku is on board so far.

“Well, I’ve planned some rescue training at Ground Gamma. Originally, it was a race to see who could rescue me first, but since you’re out of commission I was hoping they could rescue you? That way I can monitor what’s happening a lot easier.” That’s actually not a bad idea.

“Sounds like f-fun!”

“Perfect! You can go ahead and get changed into your gym uniform and head over to Ground Gamma! I will meet you there shortly.”

Everyone else will probably be wearing their hero costumes. Izuku can’t wait until his new one is finished! He worked on it this weekend with Shouta and Hizashi, and the pros submitted it this morning for him.

Izuku slowly makes his way over to Ground Gamma, curious on how the race will work. How big will the racing groups be? Will they just have to find him, or bring him back to the start point? He guesses he’ll find out soon enough. He spots All Might waiting at the entrance for him, and quickens his pace a little.

“Now. The students will be broken up into three groups of five and one group of four. The student who brings you back to the start point wins. They can take you from each other to give everyone a fair chance at winning.” This is going to be interesting. All Might holds up a small device and a piece of paper before continuing.

“This is a tracking beacon, so the students have a way of finding you. And this, is a copy of the teams roster. Now, you can go hide anywhere in the facility. I must go fetch the class and explain the rules. See you soon, Young Midoriya!” All Might leaps away, leaving him by himself. 

Izuku finds a place to hide quickly, not sure how long he has until the first group starts. 

He looks at the roster as he waits. The first to go is the team of four, consisting of Iida, Ojiro, Ashido, and Sero. Izuku thinks Sero will probably win. His quirk is extremely useful for a terrain like this.

The second team is Aoyama, Shoji, Jiro, Koda, and Hagakure. He wagers that Shoji will be the winner for this round. He’s got the most fitting quirk out of all of them.

The third team is Kirishima, Kaminari, Sato, Asui, and Shinsou. Izuku is a little unsure who the winner of this matchup will be. Most likely not Kaminari or Shinsou, though.

The last team makes Izuku pale a little. It consists of Uraraka, Bakugou, Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Yaoyorozu. The top students in the class who have the best control over their quirks. Izuku has no idea who will win this one.

The team makeups actually make a lot of sense. Everyone is on a team where they’re matched pretty evenly with their opponents.

Izuku snaps his head up when he hears an air horn go off. He assumes that means that the race has begun. It’s not long before he hears the sound of running, and Iida comes around the corner, heading straight for him. He’s almost within arms reach when tape wraps around Izuku, and he is wrenched up into the sky. Sero catches him, and carries him under one arm while using his quirk with the other. Izuku can see Iida running below them, but he has no way of getting up here to grab him. It’s no time at all before they’re at the finish line, and Sero wins the race. He places Izuku gently on the ground and unwraps the tape that he had used to grab him. The others arrive and look exhausted from trying to catch up with Sero.

“Good job, Young Sero! We’ll give Young Midoriya a few minutes to hide before we send the next team to rescue him.” Izuku turns and walks in the opposite direction from where he had hidden before, seeing how far away he can get before the horn is sounding. He sits down to wait once he hears it. 

Surprisingly, it’s Koda who arrives first. He gently throws him over his shoulder before turning and going back in the direction he’d come from. The position is uncomfortable for Izuku, the way he’s bent pulling at the stitches in his torso. It’s not long before Koda stops, and Izuku knows they’re not back at the start yet.

“Cover your ears Midoriya!” Izuku complies, knowing what’s coming. Jiro sends a loud sound wave their way, and Koda drops to his knees before letting go of Izuku. Jiro waltzes over and helps him up. Instead of picking him up like the others had so far, she just grabs his left hand and pulls him along with her.

They both duck when a beam shoots at them, and Aoyama is blocking their path. However, before he can do anything else, Izuku is grabbed from behind and tossed onto Shoji’s back. He covers him with his arms and starts running, making it back to the finish line in no time.

“Nice work Shoji! You used Aoyama’s attempt as a distraction quite well! You best be on your way, Midoriya.” Izuku nods and walks back in the same direction he’d come from, taking a few different turns and getting hopelessly lost. Good thing someone’s coming to rescue him! 

It takes a bit longer for anyone to find him, likely getting confused in the maze of pipes. It’s Asui who finds him, wrapping her tongue around his middle and jumping high. Sato rams into her mid jump, and she nearly loses her grip on him. She lands on a building ungracefully and Izuku slams into the side. Thankfully for his leg it’s his right side that hits the building, but the hit aggravates his torso, and he knows he’ll have a few bruises from where his body made contact with the building.

Izuku wonders what’s happening, since he’s been just hanging there for a few minutes. Asui’s tongue jerks suddenly, and starts to pull him up. When he reaches the top, he finds it’s Kaminari who’s pulling him. Sato and Asui are both laying on the roof, groaning in pain.

“They’ll be fine. I only used a little electricity.”

“Hey Chargebolt!”

“Yah what is-” Kaminari’s eyes go blank once he answers Shinsou, and his friend comes over and helps him get the rest of the tongue off of him. Shinsou is just leading him to the staircase when the door slams open and Kirishima is there, blocking the exit.

“You think you could let us by?” Shinsou tries to use his quirk on him, but Kirishima wisely keeps his mouth shut. Shinsou lunges for him, but Kirishima simply hardens his arms and blocks the blow. They continue like that for a few minutes until Shinsou wears himself out, and Kirishima shoves him to the ground.

“Get on Midoriya. He’ll get back up in a second.” Kirishima is crouching in front of him, facing away. Izuku sends a regretful smile to Shinsou before climbing onto Kirishima’s back. Kirishima starts running immediately, and they don’t face anyone else on the way back to the finishing line.

“Nice work Young Kirishima!”

The boy beams as he places Izuku on the ground. Izuku decides he should speak up before All Might addresses him.

“All Might sensei?”

“Yes Young Midoriya?”

“Do you think I could have a few extra minutes to hide? I feel like I’ll need it for the last round.” 

All Might gives him an assessing glance before nodding, gesturing for him to get going.

Izuku walks as quickly as his body lets him, wincing as he goes. He has a feeling he’ll be in a fair amount of pain tonight.

All Might stays true to his word and still hasn’t sounded the air horn. Izuku makes it to the other side of the facility before he sits down. He’s glad he won’t be walking back to the start line.

The air horn sounds, and Izuku braces himself.

Chapter Text

Izuku is sitting there lost in thought when he hears the explosion. It sounds nothing like Bakugou’s explosions. One minute later and Yaoyorozu is rounding the corner. She barely pauses as she hauls him up, grabbing him around the the middle and carrying him under one arm. Izuku clearly underestimated her strength. She’s running while maintaining her grip on him, taking a complicated path to avoid the others.

She makes it a quarter of the way back before she suddenly freezes. Izuku looks up and pales a little. There are a bunch of floating rocks and pipes, and Uraraka stands in the middle of it all. Izuku doesn’t know what her plan is, only that it could crush them.

“Shit.” Yaoyorozu turns back and starts running, but there are still a ton of floating items in front of them, blocking her path, something that neither of them had noticed before now.

Izuku looks behind them and sees Uraraka raising her hands to release the obstacles. 

Something grabs both him and Yaoyorozu a second before she does, dropping them gently onto a roof. Izuku finds himself staring into the face of Dark Shadow as it pries him from Yaoyorozu’s arms and leaves her behind. Tokoyami leaps across rooftops, Izuku comfortable in Dark Shadow’s grip as they race towards the finish line.

He makes it just past the halfway point before there’s a flash of fire in dark shadows face, and Izuku falls harshly onto a roof. Tokoyami races towards him, readying Dark Shadow again, but is quickly stopped by a block of ice. Todoroki gives him an apologetic look as he scoops him into his arms before sliding forwards on a path of ice, traversing over buildings easily.

They barely make it 20 feet before the ice shatters beneath them in an explosion and Todoroki drops him, leaving Izuku to free fall between buildings. His breath catches in his throat and he can’t even scream as he falls. He looks around frantically, but there is absolutely nothing close enough to him for him to redirect himself towards and use his quirk to jump off of. He knew this would be the most competitive and aggressive team, but he didn’t think it would go quite this far.

There’s a series of explosions and Bakugou is slamming into him, turning him as they crash through a window to take the brunt of the impact. He maintains his tight grip on Izuku as they land on the hard floor and roll, ending up on top of him.

“Damn Deku. Did not think Icyhot would drop you.” Izuku winces when Bakugou pulls him to his feet and the boy frowns at him before crouching down in a manner similar to Kirishima. 

Izuku clambers onto his back before he even has to ask, saving them both the embarrassment, and Bakugou stands up again before heading towards the stairs. There’s a slight chill in the air as they exit the building, and he feels more than hears Bakugou sigh.

“Think you could wrap your legs around me? I may need to use my hands.” Izuku complies and  tightens his grip when Bakugou starts running.

They’re nearing the end, and Izuku hopes that this is the end of it. He’s sore and he’s tired and he just wants to go home at this point.

He regrets the thought as soon as it enters his mind. 

Bakugou slows to a stop, because lined up in front of them are Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, and Todoroki. Are they working together to get him from Bakugou? As soon as one of them grabs him, the others will turn on them. Surely they know that. Why bother working together then?

Their classmates all start running forwards, and Bakugou turns to head in the opposite direction. He nearly runs face first into a wall of ice. Todoroki must have done it while they were staring them down.

Bakugou turns back around and places his hands at an angle behind him before powering up his quirk. They blast into the air and Izuku holds on even tighter at the explosions that propel them, holding back a scream. They fly right over Uraraka and Yaoyorozu before they land and Bakugou runs like his life depends on it. Izuku is surprised that he’s not turning around and fighting, but he guesses that even Bakugou knows he can’t beat them all while holding onto Izuku.

They’re almost there, the rest of the class cheering Bakugou on as they see them approaching. Bakugou slips and nearly falls when Todoroki covers the ground with ice, but he maintains his balance and keeps going, barely slowing down his speed.

He crosses the metaphorical finish line and slumps to the ground. Izuku lets go of him as soon as humanly possible and scrambles back away, watching as their classmates crowd him. 

They’re all yelling congratulations, while he yells at them for being too close. Izuku sits there for a few minutes, undisturbed, before a shadow falls over him. He looks up and finds Todoroki standing there with a frown on his face.

“Sorry for dropping you, Midoriya.” Izuku accepts the hand that’s offered and Todoroki pulls him to his feet. He stumbles a little, but Shinsou is there, looking a little concerned.

“It’s fine Todoroki. And you guys can call me Izuku. I don’t really like being connected to that name anymore.”

Izuku has been thinking about it a lot lately. He told Shinsou a little of what happened, and he’s sure that after the supermarket and the hospital that Todoroki figured it out. They’re good enough friends as it is that he was going to suggest it sooner or later.

“Sure thing, Izuku. You’d better start calling me Hitoshi then too.” Shinsou gives him a tight smile. 

“Call me Shouto.” When he looks to Todoroki he finds a dark look in his eyes, but he still nods at him, so Izuku counts it as a win.

They start the trek back to the change rooms, and Izuku lags behind everyone, old and new pains making themselves know. His entire right side is aching from where he slammed into the building, and his back smarts from where he’d landed on it after Bakugou caught him.

“Maybe we should get you to Recovery Girl.” He looks up to find Hitoshi’s concerned face watching him. Shouto stands next to him, and when Izuku looks for the rest of the class he finds them far ahead of his little group. Izuku opens his mouth to refuse, but shuts it just as quickly. He really doesn’t want to deal with Shou’s disappointed yet still managing to be concerned look when he enters the classroom 20 minutes late.

So he nods at his friends, and they stay close on the walk to the change room before they head to the infirmary.

The bell has long since rung when they finally make it there, and Recovery Girl just sighs at them when she sees them. She writes Hitoshi and Shouto each a note to excuse their lateness to Shouta. They protest, saying that one of them should stay with Izuku, but Recovery Girl just gives them a stern look and they’re leaving, giving Izuku remorseful looks. He just gives them a reassuring smile as they walk out, leaving him to the mercy of Recovery Girl.

She gives him a scary look and gestures to one of the beds. He slowly makes his way over to it before sitting down. She pushes him until he’s lying down and gives him a light kiss on his cheek, activating her quirk. His energy vanishes, and his eyes shut entirely of their own will.

Chapter Text

Shouta tries not to worry when three of his students don’t show up to class. It’s especially hard considering one of them is his own son. He nearly sighs in relief when there’s a knock on the classroom door and his students are entering, looking guilty. Only nearly, because Izuku is not there with them.

They both hand him slips from Recovery Girl and hurry to their seats, withering under his glare. Shouta makes the rest of the class time extra hard for his students, and assigns them homework as he reminds them to give their parents the information about the parent-teacher interviews happening tomorrow after classes.

At the end of the period Shouta waits for all of his students to leave before gathering Izuku’s things and heading over to the infirmary. He finds him asleep, and lets him be for a moment while he texts his husband to let him know where they are.

Five minutes later Hizashi is bursting through the door, a look of concern on his face. Shouta guesses he could have said that Izuku is fine in the text, but where’s the fun in that? Zashi scowls at him as he heads over to the bed.

“What happened?”

“I have absolutely no idea.” Hizashi sighs at his answer and leans over to wake the problem child up. He wakes up quickly and sits up, rubbing his eyes.

“How in the world did you end up here?” Izuku squints up at him before speaking, and he can’t help but to find the sight adorable.

“W-well, All Might knew that I couldn’t do the rescue training race today, so he found a way for me to participate!” Shouta almost says something, because he told All Might that Izuku was still healing and could not do anything strenuous, but stops himself at the sight of his kid’s smile.

“Instead of having the others rescue him, he had me go hide and they rescued me! A couple of the teams got pretty competitive in the ended, and it strained my injuries a little. I also got hurt a bit more, mostly from hitting the side of a building and being pushed through a window, but otherwise I’m fine!” Shouta is requesting the footage from All Might immediately. Mainly to see how his kid got pushed through a window, but also because it’s funny to think about all of his students fighting each other to save Izuku.

“Alright problem child, lets go home.”

The day leading up to the dreaded interviews passes without incident, and Shouta sighs remorsefully when the final bell rings. The interviews start in an hour, and he still has a few files to go over. There’s not enough time to drive home and back here, so they made the decision to let Izuku hide in the teachers lounge until they can leave.

He can feel the problem child trailing him to the lounge. He turns his head just enough to check on the kid, and finds him staring at his feet with a small scowl on his face. The look is about as ill fitting on his face as it is on Hizashi’s.

Izuku had been in a sour mood all day, no doubt because of the interviews. He had accidentally let it slip yesterday that his mother is in jail. He’d also mentioned something about Bakugou, but Shouta had decided not to pry for now. His kid has been dodging questions all day about why his mother is in jail, and where is he staying now. Some of his students do not seem to understand the sensitive nature of the topic. There were a few surprising students, like Kirishima and even Bakugou who helped him avoid the questions, changing the subject every time they popped up.

Shouta holds the door open for Izuku and he shuffles in, practically throwing himself face first onto the couch. Shouta gives his head a sympathetic pat as he passes by to his desk to review his files.

They spend the first few minutes in silence, the only sound in the room the soft turning of pages. Shouta opens up his next file and stares at the student photo.

“Hey Izuku?” His head pops up from the couch, and Shouta takes that was his cue to continue.

“Can I ask about Bakugou?” Izuku gives him a wide eyed look and nods.

“Was he the bully who told you to kill yourself? I know he wrecked your notebook.”

“N-no!” Izuku’s waving his hands around, as if he could ward off the idea completely.

“He um, he was pretty bad for a while. When he found out what was happening, He w-was worse, but also better, if that makes sense?” Shouta just gives him a confused look as he shakes his head.

“W-well, the bullying was more frequent, but he didn’t hurt me as much. And it was only in front of the other kids too. It’s like he was putting on a show or something.” Well that’s an interesting thought. Is there a chance that Bakugou was trying to help Izuku, in some weird twisted way?

“Alright, thanks kiddo.”

The rest of the hour passes far too quickly, and Hizashi is practically dragging him away from his desk. Izuku gives them a small wave as they pass by the couch, where he now sits doing his homework. The door shuts softly behind them, and they head towards one of the gyms where the parents had been herded. They all had to go through an extensive checkpoint at the gate before being led through the grounds by a teacher. Shouta is grateful he wasn’t selected for this task. 

There’s already a lineup of parents with his students at his assigned desk when he gets there, and he beckons the first set forward. At least he only has to see the parents of his homeroom class.

He grits his teeth as several parents complain about ridiculous things, and wonders why some of them even bothered to come. There is only one family in his lineup that is not supposed to be, and that is Mineta and his father. The man begins to yell about how his son didn’t deserve to be kicked out of the hero course. Shouta activates his quirk and the man sits back down, terror in his eyes.

“Your son is lucky he didn’t get kicked out of the school for all the stunts he pulled. Did you even bother to look at the transfer notification? Every single issue your son had was outlined in great detail, and trust me when I say he had a lot of them. Now get out of my sight.” The man pales and flees, followed quickly by Mineta. The next family in line are the Bakugou’s. This is bound to go poorly, but at least he doesn’t have to search them out. Bakugou’s mother speaks before they’re even sitting down.

“I have no concerns regarding Katsuki, and I doubt you have many either. We all know he’s one of the best in the class.” Shouta scowls at the straightforwardness, but he doesn’t disagree with her. Bakugou is one of his top students, always performing well on paper tests and assignments, as well as the physical aspects of the course.

“My main concern is his anger issues. He’s also got a history of bullying that troubles me.” Bakugou scowls from between his parents, but doesn’t make a sound.

“Frankly, he was terrible at the start of the year. Somebody must have said something before I got the chance to, because he’s definitely calmed down since then. I’d still recommend some sort of anger management therapy so that he can figure out the issue behind the anger. Now if that’s all, I have several other parents to speak to tonight.” It’s a clear dismissal, but the family doesn’t move. He has to wait several moments before the woman speaks.

“I actually have concerns regarding another student of yours.” Why in the world would she have concerns about another student? Is someone bothering Bakugou? Unlikely. He’s the type to bully, not be bullied. Shouta raises his brow instead of speaking, prompting her to continue.

“It’s little Izuku. Katsuki tells me Inko’s in jail?” Bakugou tenses a little, frowning.

“He wouldn’t tell me why, but I know he knows something.” His student sinks further in his seat at that. From what Izuku was saying before, Bakugou found out about the abuse years ago. He must have figured it out then and not said anything. His mother takes Shouta’s silence as indication to continue.

“I used to be close to the woman, back when the kids were younger, but after Katsuki got his quirk and Izuku didn’t, she stopped taking my calls, and stopped letting our sons play together.” That makes a lot of sense, but doesn’t explain everything between the two boys. Shouta knows there’s something else there, he just has to get to the bottom of it.

“Katsuki came home one day and told me that he didn’t like Aunty Inko anymore. When I asked him why he said that it was because she hurt Izuku. I didn’t believe him. He was always making up all sorts of shit back then.” 

So Bakugou had told someone, and they decided he was lying. He’d figured it out at such a young age. Shouta has no doubt that more people figured it out and just decided not to do anything. How many adults stood by as Izuku was abused?

“That’s not what happened is it? When I knew Inko, she was such a sweetheart.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot reveal any personal details about another student to you.”

“At least tell me he’s safe now? I was hoping to see him tonight, maybe invite him over for dinner afterwards and meet whoever he’s living with. Make sure they care about him, you know?” Shouta can tell that the woman really cares about Izuku, and it makes him almost regret what he’s about to do.

“He is safe now, with a caring family. I don’t think dinner is a good idea.” Bakugou’s mother scoffs at that.

“Well why the hell not?” God this woman is pushy.

“You said so yourself that you and Inko used to be good friends. Seeing you could trigger a lot of bad memories for him, and he’s already been through enough these past few weeks.” She looks resigned at that, and sighs before speaking.

“Of course Eraserhead. I understand now. Thank you for your time.” Bakugou looks relieved as he’s dragged away by his mother, and Shouta can’t help but to feel the same way.

Chapter Text

There are a few random days off between the interviews and the start of final exams. Izuku spends all of the first day and most of the second at their dining table, cramming all the information he can into his head in preparation.

He’s tried not to notice the many different looks from his guardians, and the hushed conversations over coffee as they witnessed him freak out over math.

They approach the table mid afternoon on the second day, and Zashi reaches forwards to shut his textbook.

“Hey! I was studying.” Izuku knows he’s pouting, but he’s apparently got no control over himself and can’t stop.

Shou gives him an unimpressed look as he pulls out a chair, Hizashi sitting down next to him

“There’s something we need to talk about.” Shouta’s serious tone stops his pouting, and he sits up a little straighter.

“Shou! No need to scare the listener!” Hizashi’s outburst has everyone relaxing a little bit.

“Sorry. You know I’m nervous.” Eraserhead, nervous? Must be the end of the world. Izuku voices as much. Hizashi bursts out laughing, and Shouta’s lips are curled up like he’s trying not to smile.

“Listen. There’s something Hizashi and I have been discussing for a while, and we wanted to bring it up with you. We’d like to adopt you.”

Adoption? This is much better than the expectations Izuku had for this conversation.

“You wouldn’t have to call us dad or anything!!! We get that it could be a little weird but-” Izuku decides to cut off Hizashi’s nervous rambling.

“And if I do?” Both his guardians look at him in surprise, as if they hadn’t thought of that at all.

“Problem child. Does that mean it’s a yes?”

“Yah it does, dad.” His guardians, his dads answering smiles are soft, and they both round the table to envelop him in a warm hug,

The rest of their days off pass peacefully. Izuku is grateful for the time he gets to spend with his family, but he starts going a little stir crazy by the end of it. Their first day back to school happens to be the first day of the written portion of the final exams.

The three days of written tests go by quickly, and Izuku is glad he studied so hard the past few days. He’d seen how much some of his classmates struggled, but he got through the tests with relative ease. 

Now they only have to get through the practical portion, and all Izuku can feel is a sense of dread when the teams are announced. He’s teamed up with Bakugou of all people. And they have to fight All Might!! This is going to be awful. At least his dads look as upset as he feels when it’s announced. There’s only one way this can go, and that’s poorly. A few classmates shoot him sympathetic looks from where they stand in their hero costumes. Izuku is simply in his gym uniform, his new costume not ready yet.

With no chance to even wish his friends good luck, Izuku is whisked onto a bus to get to the examination site. 

If he could get Bakugou to work with him, then maybe they have a chance to escape. There’s absolutely no way they can beat All Might. But Bakugou is stubborn, and Izuku can’t think of anything that will convince him to run. Maybe he’ll use him as a distraction and make his way past the gate? It’s worth a shot, but Izuku wants to at least try and work with him. That’s the whole point of pairing them together. 

Before he even realizes it they’re passed the gate and at their starting point, with the start bell going off.

“Listen, Bakugou. I think-”

“I don’t care what you think, shitty Deku. I’m beating All Might.” That’s completely irrational! Izuku opens his mouth to tell Bakugou that, but he’s already stalking away in search of the Number 1 Hero. Izuku rushes to catch up to him.

“Bakugou our best chance is to go through the gate!” Bakugou whirls around and glares at him.

“Will you stop following me already?! That’s all you ever do.” Izuku grabs his arm to stop him from walking away again.

“Bakugou wait! He’s far too strong-” Bakugou stops him with a hard shove. Frankly, it’s a lot lighter than he expected it to be.

“I don’t need you. While you run away like a coward, I’ll win this thing all by myself.” Izuku opens his mouth to reply when an enormous shockwave blasts them both backwards. He sits up and tries to regain composure. A figure makes its way through the dust, and it’s the hulking form of All Might. He looks absolutely terrifying, and Izuku is so frozen that he barely registers him telling them to take the exam seriously.

“Bakugou we have to hide!” Izuku runs, but doesn’t hear the footsteps of his teammate behind him. He turns just in time to see Bakugou lunge for All Might, little explosions going off in his hands. All Might stops him with seemingly no effort, and slams the other boy into the ground. He’s gone, and Izuku searches frantically for him before he registers the presence behind him.

He ignores the jibes the man makes about the Hero Killer and jumps away, running headlong into Bakugou and knocking them both over. The other boy recovers much faster than he does, and rushes towards All Might again.

“Bakugou please! We don’t have to fight him!”

“This is the only way to truly win. And I have to win, because that’s what real heroes do.” Izuku grabs him again, well aware of what the consequences could be.

“Jesus Deku! Let go of me!” A second after the words are out of his mouth All Might is between them, trapping Izuku under a fence and going after Bakugou with a strong punch to the gut. Izuku winces in sympathy and struggles to free himself. He doubles his efforts when the pro starts closing in on his teammate, and grabs the boy, carrying him to a nearby alleyway.

A harsh elbow to the back the head makes Izuku drop Bakugou, and he starts pleading with him before he even hits the ground.

“Bakugou please! There’s no way we can fight him and win!” A blast to the wall next to his head shuts him up, and he stares at Bakugou, waiting for him to speak.

“There’s no way past him without fighting Deku.”

“But Bakugou! We can’t-”

“Shut UP!” Izuku does.

“The best we can do is stun him enough to be able to get as much distance as possible between us and make it to the gate.” Izuku didn’t think he would ever see the day that Bakugou makes a plan to run for escape, but here they are. He doesn’t say a word as he hands Izuku one of his gauntlets, only turns and heads back towards All Might. Izuku hopes he understands the plan like Bakugou intends.

Izuku waits until Bakugou attacks with his own gauntlet and yells for him to appear behind All Might, unleashing a giant explosion of his own. The recoil is harsher than he expected, and Izuku winces at the flare of pain in his shoulder. How in the world does Bakugou deal with this as frequently as he does?

“Run Deku!” Bakugou is already on the move and Izuku hurries to catch up to him. They’re almost at the gate when Izuku realizes something.

“Bakugou, somethings not right! Why hasn’t he caught up to us yet?” Bakugou gives him a mocking look before answering.

“That doesn’t matter! If he does, then I’ll just blast him away again.”

“Well Young Bakugou, my thanks for revealing your plan.” All Might smashes both gauntlets to pieces and kicks Bakugou away. He grabs Izuku by the arm and uses him to hit Bakugou to the ground when he comes back from where he’d landed. All Might places a boot on Bakugou’s back and holds Izuku up by the arm before speaking.

“It was a valiant effort boys, But you can’t beat the Number 1 Hero.” Izuku struggles in his grip. They need to get away if they want to pass the test! The gate is mockingly close, and Izuku hopes that one of them can make it through. 

There’s an explosion from below and Izuku flies out of All Mights grasp, landing harshly on the ground. Before he can even consider getting up there’s a grip on his shirt.

“Get ready to fly Deku!” Bakugou launches him towards the gate with an explosion, and it looks like they might actually win!

“New Hampshire Smash!” That’s all the warning he gets before All Might slams into his back and launches him into a bus. Izuku holds back a cry of pain as he lands. There’s definitely something wrong with his back.

He watches through bleary eyes as Bakugou launches himself once again at their teacher and unleashes another massive explosion.

“Run Deku!” His words are laced with pain. He’s definitely overused his quirk.

Izuku tries to get up, he really does! But he only makes it about halfway before nearly collapsing in pain. His vision goes all fuzzy and breathing is starting to get really hard.

There’s a cry of pain that diverts his attention from his own, and Izuku glances over, blinking tears out of his eyes. Bakugou is on the ground, and All Might stands over him. He saying something to the other boy, but Izuku can’t make it out.

Izuku grinds his teeth and stands, activating One for All as he goes. He knows he only has one shot at this. He leaps towards All Might and delivers a swift punch to his face, reaching down to grab Bakugou in the same movement. He throws his unconscious body over his shoulder and moves as fast as his aching body allows.

The moment he passes through the gate he places Bakugou on the ground and keels over. The pain in his back is unbearable at this point, and it’s taking all he has to to collapse.

“Young Midoriya! Are you all right?” All Might crouches beside him and places what he assumes to be a gentle hand on his back. It certainly doesn’t feel that way, and Izuku is completely overwhelmed by the pain and proceeds to pass out.

Chapter Text

Shouta is worried. He knows that Izuku passed, but he was fighting All Might and presumably Bakugou as well. There’s no way he got out of it unscathed. He’s pacing the area where the bus should be arriving, Recovery Girl shooting him annoyed glances and Hizashi concerned ones.

The bus finally pulls up, and All Might exits, carrying a boy under each arm. They’ve both got bloody faces, and one of Izuku’s arms is dangling at an odd angle. All Might slides past him without a word, and places the boys on stretchers manned by Recovery Girl’s bots.

Shouta, hand in hand with Hizashi, follows them all the way to the infirmary, all while ignoring the looks that All Might keeps sending their way.

Recovery Girl sets to work immediately, checking over Bakugou first, giving him a quick kiss on the temple to heal his injuries.

“The main concern with this boy is the quirk overuse and the concussion. He’ll recover in no time. I’ll have to send for his mother to pick him up.” Shouta nods at her, waiting for her to check out Izuku. 

She frowns at him before moving to remove his shirt. His cry of pain at the motion has Shouta moving towards the pair. 

“Poor baby.” Hizashi gasps at his side when the top is finally removed. His back is covered in bruises, already dark in color. There are bones sticking at odd angles beneath the skin. How did he even get this injury?

“I uh, didn’t mean to hit him that hard.” Of course it’s All Might. Shouta nearly whirls on him, but Hizashi’s hand tightening in his make him pause. He doesn’t need to make a scene.

“Jesus, All Might. You didn’t need to fight them so hard. They’re kids! This back injury is awful.” 

Recovery Girl leans forwards and places a kiss on Izuku’s head. Shouta watches as the bones in his back move towards their rightful spot, and his arm shifts back into place. Izuku’s face relaxes, no longer pinched with pain.

“I’d recommend having him here for the night, but I’m guessing you want to take him home?” Zashi nods at his side, answering for the both of them. Recovery Girl turns Izuku over and places his arm in a sling.

“Alright, just let him rest for a bit before you head out. He’ll need to keep the sling on for tomorrow, and his back might cause him quite a bit of discomfort.”

“Thanks, Recovery Girl.” She nods at them and walks to her office, shutting the door behind her.

“I’ll go meet Young Bakugou’s mother at the gate.” All Might turns and leaves, frowning to himself as he exits the room.

It’s at least 30 minutes before Recovery Girl slinks out of her office and heads in their direction.

“You can take him home now. Make sure he gets lots of rest tonight.” Shouta nods his thanks and moves to wake their son up. As soon as he’s awake he tries sitting up, grimacing in pain. Shouta helps him the rest of the way, and doesn’t miss how pale he is from the small amount of movement. Looks like a piggyback ride to the car it is.

Izuku looks to the side and to his arm before frowning. Shouta follows his gaze to the shirt thrown to the side. There’s no way he can get that back on with the sling on his arm.

Zashi gently nudges him to the side, leather jacket in hand. He helps Izuku get his good arm in, and tucks the jacket over his sling. Shouta has to stifle a laugh at the sight. Izuku looks tiny in the jacket, with its obnoxiously high collar. Shouta frown and reaches forward to tuck it down before turning and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Izuku takes the hint, and reaches his good arm over his shoulder, fisting his hand in his capture scarf for extra leverage. Izuku tucks his chin on Shouta’s other shoulder, and he tries to ignore Zashi’s fond look at the action.

They make it maybe halfway through the school before they run into someone that Shouta had no intention of seeing so quickly after the parent teacher interviews.

Bakugou Mitsuki.

She’s walking beside All Might, a scowl on her face. Shouta tries to get by them quickly without her noticing who he’s carrying on his back, but he fails miserably.

“Is that little Izuku?!” The boy in question huffs a frustrated breath in his ear, and Shouta is inclined to agree.

“It’s been so long! I heard about Inko. So sorry that happened!” Izuku tenses up at the mention of his mother. Why did this woman have to bring her up?

“I was so glad to hear you were in Katsuki’s class! You have to come over for dinner! I want to meet your guardians! Make sure they treat you right and all that.” Izuku turns his head towards Shouta, and he can only imagine the confused look on his face.

“B-but y-you’ve already m-met them?” Izuku sounds extremely confused. Shouta thinks it should be obvious with the way he’s carrying him who his guardians are.

“I’m afraid not dearie!” 

“M’am, me and Eraserhead are taking care of him now. We just put in the forms for adoption.” Zashi gives him a fond look, and Shouta feels Izuku relaxing on his back. Mitsuki looks surprised to say the least.

“Adoption! Isn’t that a little soon? Inko’s trial isn’t even over! What if they find her not guilty? He could be back in her care in no time! Doesn’t this seem a little preemptive?” Izuku inhales sharply, freezing on his back. He shifts ever so slightly, and tucks his face against Shouta’s neck.

“Mitsuki please. There’s no way that woman is getting out. And there’s no way she’s getting her hands on Izuku again. What’s the point in delaying the adoption when he’s already a part of our family? Excuse us, we have to go now.” Shouta is not ashamed of the ice coating his tone. 

He’s only disappointed he didn’t use it earlier. Before she went and opened her big mouth. Mitsuki has an irritated look on her face as All Might leads her away, and Shouta sighs in relief once she rounds the corner.

Izuku is tense on his back the rest of the walk to the car as if he expects them to run into more opposition. Shouta gets Zashi’s help in getting Izuku off of his back, and he slides into the car without a word.

Shouta keeps an eye on him the whole ride. Izuku is tense in the back seat, staring blankly out the window. He stands on his own when they park the car, and refuses any help with a shake of his head. It’s slow going on the way to the elevator, and once they make it inside Izuku leans against the wall, a grimace on his face.

Shouta steadies him when the elevator jolts to a stop on their floor, and keeps a hand on his shoulder to guide him to their home. He leaves Izuku on the couch to get Izuku a glass of water and by the time he returns the kid is laying sideways, fast asleep, Radio and Toothless cuddled close.

Chapter Text

Izuku wakes up, curled up on the couch with a soft blanket thrown over him. The cats are still there, both asleep against his legs. He sits up slowly, weary of the pain, and finds that it’s not nearly as bad as he thought it would be. His back throbs and he's got a few random aches and pains, but he felt at least 10 times worse yesterday.

Thank god for Recovery Girl.

He looks down at himself when the blanket falls off and blushes. He’s still wearing Zashi’s jacket and his gym shorts and he looks completely ridiculous. He’s also got a sling on his right arm, and it’s not until he moves it that the pain from that injury returns. He makes his way to his room to change and glances at the time as he goes.

They have to leave for school soon!

He rushes through getting ready and speeds into the kitchen, his dads looking surprised at his entrance.

“I take it you’re feeling better?” Shou eyes him from his spot against the counter.

“Mostly yah. Still a little sore, but I’ve had worse.” Zashi frowns at him, but makes no comment as he pours himself a generous amount of cereal.

“Make sure you put your sling back on. Recovery Girl said you need to wear it today.” Izuku grumbles and returns to his room to grab it, grabbing Zashi’s jacket while he’s in there. The man grabs both from his hands and helps him put the sling on. Izuku is grateful. He has no clue how to adjust it properly.

Before he knows it they’re leaving home and arriving at school. They left a little later than usual because of Izuku’s sleep in, so the hallways are a little more crowded as he makes his way to the class.

Most of his classmates are already present, and they’re laughing loudly, talking about how good their team-up was for the exam. Only a few students look a little morose, sitting quietly at their desks instead of joining in on the conversations.

“Hey Shi-Hitoshi!” His friend looks up at his name and smiles, eyeing where his arm is trapped.

“Hey Izuku. How’d your practical go?” Izuku frowns as he sits down, wincing a little at the pull on his back.

“Um it was okay. I think we passed?”

“How do you not know?” Hitoshi has a frown on his face as he asks the question.

“Well, I passed out as soon as we got through the gate. So we must have right?”

“I sure hope so. I don’t think I’d survive this training camp without you.”

Shouta walks in before he has the chance to respond, and the class chatter quickly dies down.

“Miraculously, everyone passed the written portion. Sato, Kirishima, Kaminari, Mina, and Sero, you all failed the practical portion. You will be required to attend remedial courses at training camp.” It takes a minute for the words to settle in, and the failed students are cheering.

“This means we actually get to go?!?!” Mina looks far too excited about this. Izuku sits back in his chair a little, as if it could help him escape her enthusiasm.

“That’s what I said. Now, let’s go over the exam for the students who didn’t do as well.” 

The rest of the day goes by quickly, and Izuku is looking forwards to spending Friday night relaxing at home.

“Hey Deku! Do you have any plans tomorrow?” Uraraka approaches, Iida hot on her heels. Izuku exchanges a look with Hitoshi before answering.

“No?”

“Well you do now! Almost the whole class is going to Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall! We all need to get stuff for the training camp.” Izuku already has everything he needs, but a day at the mall could be fun. He’s never actually been to one before, so he’ll have to make sure to stick to his friends.

“I’ll have to ask my dads first.” Hitoshi raises his eyebrows at him.

“Okay Deku! Just text us when you know! Shinsou you should come too!”

“Fine.” They watch Uraraka and Iida walk away. A glance at the front of the room tells him that Shouta went on ahead to the teachers lounge, so it looks like he’ll have to meet them there. Shinsou sticks to his side when he starts the trek.

“Soooooo. When did you start calling them your dads?” Izuku blushes and looks down a his feet before mumbling out an answer.

“It um, only started recently. It just felt right for me, you know? And they filled out the papers to adopt me so-”

“They’re adopting you?! Holy shit that’s great Izuku!” Hitoshi practically yells this in the crowded hallway. They get a few odd looks from passerby’s and Izuku glares at his companion. Hitoshi slaps a hand on his mouth when he realizes his volume and gives him a sheepish look.

By now they’ve reached the teachers lounge and Izuku bids his friend good-bye before opening the door. He’s greeted by yelling.

“SHOUUUU THE LISTENER’S here we can go home!” Shou cuts off his quirk mid sentence, and Izuku can’t help but laugh at the looks on his dads faces. Shouta’s sporting a fond glare while Hizashi pouts at the man.

“Let’s go, problem child.” They make the walk to the car in silence, only broken once they’re halfway home.”

“Hey dads?” Shou turns in his seat to look at him with a fond smile.

“Yah Izuku?”

“Do you think I could go to the mall tomorrow? It sounds like most of the class is going to grab stuff for the training camp.”

“Of course listener! You need any money for stuff?”

“Nope! I just want to hang out with my friends. I think we already got everything I need.” Shouta smiles at him and nods his head before turning back to the front.

Saturday arrives quickly, and sooner than Izuku thinks, Hizashi is dropping him off at the mall on his way to the radio station.

“Just call me or Shou if you need anything kay? You’ll probably have better luck with Shou since I’m at work and he’s lazing around with the cats.” Zashi gives him a wink as he makes the comment, and Izuku huffs out a laugh at him as he opens the car door.

“Okay bye dad!” He shuts the door too quickly to hear Zashi’s response, and runs off towards the entrance and where his friends said they would meet.

Most of his class is already there, save for Shouto and Bakugou.

“Midoriya! Glad you could make it!” Iida gives him a smile as he slides up next to Shinsou, and Izuku returns it easily.

“Now! I suggest we split into groups together for the simplest shopping experience! Say we meet back here at 1 for lunch?” Everyone nods in agreement at Iida’s idea and scurries off in their groups, leaving Izuku standing with Hitoshi in the center of the mall.

“Well, I don’t actually need anything here.” Hitoshi shoots him a soft grin before answering.

“Me neither. I do however, need coffee. Want to wait here while I grab us some? It gets pretty crowded near the shops.” Izuku gives him a grateful nod and he turns away, blending in with the crowd.

Izuku stands there hopelessly for a few minutes before a voice calls out for him.

“Hey don’t you go to UA? You were in the sports festival right? Think I could get your autograph?” An arm slinks around his shoulder and holds tight. Izuku opens his mouth to answer, to ask this man to let go of him, but his next words stop him short.

“You fought the Hero Killer too right? So cool that you got away.” Something is definitely not right here, and Izuku itches to shove the man off of him. There’s no way anyone should have that information. 

“Man. How lucky am I that we get to meet again?” Izuku recognizes the voice now, and it’s none other than Tomura Shigaraki. The man who attacked the USJ and nearly killed them all. Things are going so wrong here, and he’s been at the mall less than 20 minutes!

“Why don’t you join me for some tea.” The man’s hand snakes around his neck, grabbing it with bruising force with four of his fingers, leaving the last slightly raised in a silent threat.

Chapter Text

Shigaraki leads him to a nearby bench in the middle of a crowd. How can nobody see what he’s doing? Izuku should just cry out for help and hope that someone does. Shigaraki speaks up, as if hearing his line of thought.

“I wouldn’t if I were you. I could probably kill almost everyone here before a hero shows up. All I want is to talk.” Izuku highly doubts that’s all he wants, but he stays silent, the threat to the crowd too great for him to risk.

“W-what do you want?”

“I want many things, young hero. Most of all, to understand. Why is the Hero Killer so popular? I was in the limelight until he showed up.” That’s an interesting comment to make. Weren’t they working together?

“I th-thought he was p-part of the l-league?” Shigaraki’s hand tightens at the comment, and Izuku has to remember to breathe.

“That man had nothing to do with us! The damn media just assumed he was. Why do people care about him so much more? What has he accomplished that I haven’t?” Izuku stays silent, unsure if he’s supposed to answer. He feels the ghost of a fingertip on his neck and he gasps.

“Well?” Oh so it wasn’t a rhetorical question.

“W-well, I th-think there’s one m-major difference between you t-two. S-stain had a g-goal. A r-reason for doing what he d-did. H-he was inspired by A-all Might, j-just like I w-was. I d-don’t agree with his m-methods, b-but at least I understand th-that. With y-you, It’s as if y-you don’t have a r-reason for doing all of th-this. It m-makes no s-sense. ” Izuku’s words trail off at the end, becoming unsure of himself and his answer. He doesn’t expect Shigaraki to laugh of all things, but that’s exactly what the man does.

“It all makes sense now. It all goes back to All Might.” The mans hand tightens around his neck at the mention of the hero, cutting off his air supply. Izuku panics, bringing his hands up to his throat to try and pry the other man off of him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He slaps Izuku’s hands away with ease, keeping up the pressure with his other hand. Izuku can’t breathe and people still aren’t noticing! He looks around frantically, trying to catch someone’s eye when a voice sounds out in front of them.

“Izuku?”

Hitoshi feels mildly guilty leaving Izuku behind like that, but he needs coffee for the dealing with the mall. He’s got a feeling that Izuku would not be able to handle the crowd that usually hangs around the coffee shop. And what a crowd it is. He’s at least number fifteen down the line.

Thankfully, it seems like they’ve got all their experienced workers in today, because Hitoshi reaches the front of the line fairly quickly.

He thinks about the other boy as he waits for their drinks. They’d held hands the other week! Hitoshi doesn’t know how to feel about that. Yah he likes Izuku, but could he really feel the same way? Izuku is the one that initiated the contact, so maybe he does. Neither of them have said a word about it since. Hitoshi thinks that they’re equally afraid to.

He checks his phone as he makes his way back to his friend, drink tray in hand. He’d left him alone for almost 20 minutes! Hitoshi picks up the pace a little, guilt eating away at him. He gets back to where he left Izuku and freezes. He’s not there.

He looks around frantically for a few minutes before he finds him, sitting on a bench next to a stranger. Izuku looks uncomfortable and scared, so Hitoshi takes a closer look. The man has a hand around his friends neck.

An even closer look at the mans face has Hitoshi stepping back in fear. That’s Shigaraki. The man who attacked the class! It was before his time, but Hitoshi had seen enough wanted posters for the man that he could recognize him in his sleep, even without the creepy hand mask. He says a silent apology to Izuku as he ducks around the corner and pulls out his phone, picking one of the first contacts. He answers on the second ring.

“Eraserhead.”

“Aizawa-sensei! You need to get to the mall.”

“Shinsou? What’s going on?” He can hear the teacher rummaging around on the other end of the call, and hopes it’s the man leaving his home so he can help.

“He’s here. He’s here and he has Izuku.” Hitoshi can’t help but to panic a little.

“Who’s there?”

“Shigaraki.” There’s a sharp inhale on the other end of the line.

“Shit! I’m on my way. I need you to call the mall security. I’ll contact the police.” The dial tone signals the end of the conversation, and Hitoshi frantically does as he’s told. Security should know if there are any heroes in the mall and send them to help. If not, they can at least evacuate the rest of the stores.

Hitoshi peeks around the corner after a few minutes and pales. Izuku is clearly struggling, clawing at his neck as if he can’t breathe. His eyes are darting around, never focusing on anything for more than a few seconds. Hitoshi knows he should wait for the heroes, but he needs to help his friend. So he calmly makes his way over to the pair, neither noticing his approach.

“Izuku?” He tries to keep his tone light, trying not to startle the man so much that he places the last digit on his friends neck. Izuku looks at him fearfully, breathing ragged and tears in his eyes. He tries to shake his head at him, but it comes out barely noticeable, the grip on his neck halting his movements.

“Oh we’re just old friends catching up. Isn’t that right, Izuku?” He opens his mouth to answer, and nothing but a wheeze makes it out.

“I know who you are. You’re Shigaraki, aren’t you?” Hitoshi knows it’s a risk, but if he can get the man to answer him, then he can use his quirk and make him let go of Izuku. The man stands abruptly, dragging Izuku wth him. He’s opening his mouth to answer when they’re interrupted.

“Police! Drop the boy! ” they arrived while Hitoshi wasn’t looking. The officers are all aiming their guns at Shigaraki. Izuku pales even further in his grip. Shigaraki flashes him a grin before shoving Izuku to the ground and running off into the crowd.

 The police chase after him, unwilling to fire into a group of innocent people. Only one officer stays behind, a detective by the looks of it. He moves past where Hitoshi stands frozen and kneels down beside Izuku, who has curled into himself. He places a hand on Izuku’s shoulder and he flinches away, breathing getting impossibly shallower as Hitoshi convinces himself to move closer.

“Izuku, it’s Detective Tsukauchi. Do you remember me?” Izuku gives him a shaky nod but doesn’t uncurl.

“I need you to breathe okay? Your dad’s almost here.” Izuku shakes his head at that, so Hitoshi steps forwards.

“Um, I might be able to help. If I can get him to respond then I can use my quirk to calm him down.” The detective turns his frown on him and beckons him closer.

“Hey Izuku. Can you answer something for me?” His friend doesn’t  give any indication that he’s heard him.

“Izuku please I just want to help.” He just shakes his head, holding himself tighter. This is not working. If anything it’s making things worse. 

There’s the sound of running footsteps and Hitoshi tenses, turning towards the sound. It’s Eraserhead, and he’s running full speed towards them. He slides to a stop beside them, and kneels down to their level. He’s quick to take stock of the situation, and speaks with a slight frown on his face.

“Hey Izuku. I need you to calm down for me. Take a few deep breaths okay?” He’s never heard his teacher this soft before, and he’d joke about it if it were any other circumstance.

It sounds like Izuku is trying to talk, but Hitoshi can’t make a single word out. Judging by the frown on Aizawa-sensei’s face he can. His teacher doesn’t hesitate before pulling Izuku in his arms and pressing his head against his chest.

“Just follow my breathing okay?” The man takes exaggerated breaths, and he can see Izuku trying to follow them.

“You’re doing great Izuku. Just keep breathing like that.” It takes a few minutes, but his friend’s breathing eventually returns to normal. Aizawa-sensei doesn’t let go of him when it does, just keeps holding him tightly.

Hitoshi sighs in relief and looks around. It seems like they’re the only ones in this area. Maybe the only ones in the mall. Did they evacuate everyone? The only people he sees are a few police officers milling around. Hitoshi opens his mouth to ask the detective when his phone starts ringing. Izuku flinches at the sound, and Hitoshi quickly answers it.

“Shinsou! Where are you guys? Are you and Deku okay?”

“Izuku and I are fine.”

“Where are you guys? They said there was a villain attack!”

“We’re still in the mall, but we’re with the police so it’s fine now.”

“Oh okay that’s good! What-” Hitoshi hangs up the phone without saying goodbye, feeling utterly drained.

“Think you kids could come to the station? I need to take your statements.”

“Can you give us a lift? Zashi has the car.” How in the world did their teacher get here so quickly without a car?

“Of course. Shinsou, you good to come?” How does the detective know his name? His surprises must show on his face, because the detective chuckles lightly before gesturing towards his teacher.

“Eraser told me you were with Izuku when he called.” Hitoshi nods at the man and stands. He glances over to his friend, and sees Aizawa pulling him up. Izuku is pale, tear tracks on his face, and unsteady on his feet. His teacher places a supportive hand on his back and follows Tsukauchi out of the mall, Hitoshi taking the rear.

Chapter Text

Tsukauchi offers him the front seat, but he opts for the back, sitting next to Izuku who curls into his side, still focusing on his breathing. Shinsou sits on his kids other side, looking all sorts of uncomfortable.

“Shinsou. Are you alright?” He probably should have checked on his student earlier, but seeing Izuku curled up like that, hardly breathing, had overridden any other thought. Shinsou gives him funny look before answering.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m not the one who-” He cuts himself off, shooting a guilty look towards Izuku. His eyes focus on the bruises around the kids neck. Shouta can’t wait to find out how he got those, but he’d almost rather not know.

“Maybe not, but you still had to watch someone threaten your friends life. That kind of thing is scary.” Shinsou gives him a surprised look before glancing away, a frown on his face.

“I just wish I could have done more.”

“You did more than anyone else did. You called me. You distracted him long enough for the police to get there. You helped save his life. You’re a hero, kid.” Shinsou tears up at that, and turns his gaze out the window.

Shouta pulls out his phone to text Hizashi. He should probably hear about this from him instead of through his own radio station.

‘Don’t freak out. Villain attack at the mall, Izuku is okay.’ The reply comes faster than he expected. There must be a song on right now.

‘Shit. Need me to get the rest of my shift covered?’

‘No. We’ll be at the station for a while. Maybe you can pick us up afterwards?’

‘Got it. Tell the baby I love him!’ Shouta rolls his eyes at his husbands antics before another text comes in.

‘Oh yah. Love you Shou!’

‘Love you too Zashi. Now get back to work.’

‘Sir yes sir!’ Shouta huffs a laugh as he shuts down his phone, turning his attention back to Izuku. He leans down to whisper to him.

“Izuku. Zashi wanted me to tell you something.” Izuku peeks up at him, curious.

“He said to tell the baby that he loves him.” That gets a small laugh out of him. Izuku hadn’t taken long to grow fond of the nickname, usually turning red every time it came up.

Shouta can see Shinsou trying his hardest not to watch them out of the corner of his eye as they pull up to the station. Tsukauchi pulls the back door of the car open for them with a small frown before leading them into the station.

“I was thinking I’d interview Shinsou first, since he was a witness. That alright Eraser?”

“Of course. It will be a little while until Zashi can pick us up anyways. You need a ride home after Shinsou?”

“Um no, sensei. I texted my mom and she’s already on her way.”

“Do you want to wait for her to do your interview?”

“No thanks detective. I’d rather just get it over with.” Shinsou follows Tsukauchi out of the room, leaving him and Izuku behind in the cluttered waiting room.

It’s another ten minutes before the doors slam open, jolting Izuku from his light doze against his shoulder. A woman with striking purple hair marches towards the officer at the front desk, who in turn gestures towards Shouta. He braces himself as she marches over.

Her look softens when she takes in the sight of Izuku slumped against him, and she takes a seat on Shouta’s other side.

“You Eraserhead?”

“I am.”

“I’m Hitoshi’s mother. He said there was an attack at the mall?” She sounds worried, and Shouta is quick to reassure her.

“Your son is fine. Maybe a little shaken up, but he’s uninjured.”

“Can you tell me what happened?” Shouta frowns and looks down at Izuku. He’s watching their interaction wearily, hesitation clear on his face.

“I’m afraid I don’t now the details myself. You’ll have to wait for him to finish giving his statement to the detective.” She nods at that and turns away, thankfully done with the questions.

Ten minutes of awkward silence later has Shinsou following Tsukauchi back out to the waiting room. His mother practically smothers him in a hug when he makes his way over to them. She starts leading him away, but he hesitates in front of their seats, giving Izuku a thoughtful look.

“Text me, okay?” Izuku nods against his side and that’s enough for the other boy, so he takes his leave.

“Alright Eraserhead. Let’s get this over with.” He stands, Izuku following much slower, and they follow Tsukauchi. He leads them past the interrogation rooms and to somewhere more comfortable, a plush couch sitting across from an armchair.

“I thought you might be more comfortable in here.” Shouta nods his thanks and leads Izuku over to take a seat. They watch as the detective pulls out his notepad and recorder, hitting play before setting it on the table.

“Alright Izuku. I just need you to go over the events of the attack at the mall for me, and maybe answer a few extra question. Okay?”

“Y-yes.”

“Alright. You can start whenever you’re ready.” Izuku sits up a little straighter, and clears his throat a few times before speaking.

“W-well, my friends d-decided we should s-seperate into smaller groups f-for shopping, so I w-was left with only Hitoshi.. He um, he s-said he n-needed coffee, and th-that I wouldn’t like th-the crowds near the shops, s-so he w-went alone.” Shouta silently praises Shinsou for his thinking. The crowds near the coffee shop would not have been good for Izuku. Although if they went together then they wouldn’t be here in the first place.

“I s-stood there for a f-few minutes, before s-someone came up behind m-me. H-he grabbed me and s-said he recognized me f-from the sports f-festival, and asked f-for an autograph. I j-just wanted him to l-let go, b-but when I tried to m-move away, he j-just tightened his grip.” Shouta knows where this is going, but he still tenses in anticipation of the rest of the story.

“TH-then he b-brought up the Hero Killer. S-said I w-was cool to g-get away. I knew s-something w-was up then b-because nobody knew I w-was there. I only r-recognized who it w-was when h-he t-told me how lucky he w-was to get to meet m-me again.” Izuku is crying at this point, and Shouta just wants to hide him from the world and make all of his pain go away.

“He p-put his hand on my neck, and s-said if I tried anything, h-he could k-kill everyone before a h-hero arrived. He started asking m-me why the Hero K-killer was s-so popular. Why everyone w-was talking about him instead. I t-told him it w-was b-because S-stain h-had ideals. H-he had a reason f-for what h-he was doing, s-so people find it easier t-to relate to h-him instead of Shigaraki.” Izuku takes a big breath, hands twitching towards his neck.

“He started g-going on about A-all Might, and th-then h-he was squeezing my n-neck s-so hard. I couldn’t breathe. I r-remember Hitoshi sh-showing up, b-but everything after that is b-blurry until d-dad showed up.” That’s a little concerning. Izuku covers his face now, clearly done with the story. Shouta looks up in time to catch Tsukauchi’s look of concern.

“Alright. I’ll give you a few minutes to calm down. Nobody needs this room soon anyways. How about I go see if Present Mic is here yet?” Izuku nods, breathing heavy. As soon as the door shuts behind Tsukauchi, Izuku turns and burrs his face in Shouta’s chest. He’s sobbing now, speaking nearly incomprehensibly.

“I w-was so scared! I th-thought I w-was going to d-die!” Shouta holds him a little tighter at that.

“It’s over now Izuku. You’re alright. Once Zashi gets here, we can go home and hang out with the cats for the rest of the weekend.” Izuku nods against his chest, quieting down a little.

They sit there like that until Hizashi throws open the door. Izuku looks up at him, startled, and Zashi’s face falls at the tear tracks on his face. He walks over to the couch and sits on Izuku’s other side, pulling him into his arms.

The drive home is silent, Hizashi sitting in the back with Izuku while Shouta drives. Once home they usher Izuku onto the couch.

“Can I take a look at your neck kid?” Izuku nods, sitting completely still when Shou reaches forward. He gently tilts his head to the side to get a better look. The bruises aren’t too bad, but they look like they were painful to receive.

“Alright, these should fade pretty quickly. Why don’t you go nap for a few hours then we can figure out dinner?” Izuku nods, shuffling to his room and leaving the door cracked open behind him.

Shou stays there, kneeling in front of the couch for a few minutes before Hizashi places a gentle hand on his back. He slowly pulls his husband up and onto the couch, pushing him until he’s laying down with his head in his lap. He settles a hand in Shouta’s hair before either man speaks.

“Tsukauchi told me the gist of what happened. No other students were targeted? Just Izuku?” He just shakes his head, so Hizashi presses on.

“Why Izuku though? Do you think he knows about his quirk?” Shouta’s eyes snap open at that, and the only thing that keeps him from sitting up from his position is Hizashi’s hand in his hair.

“I never even thought of that. But if All for One is in charge of the league it would make sense for him to tell his second in command. That makes Izuku a bigger target than we thought he was. Think this will be a problem for the training camp?”

“I already talked to Tsukauchi about it. He said he’d convince Nezu to change the location. Also mentioned a special task force to go after the league.” Shouta sighs in relief and shuts his eyes again. It’s only a few minutes before his breathing evens out and the man is fast asleep.

Hizashi did not plan this well. He should have grabbed something to occupy himself with before pulling Shouta on top of him. His phone is buried in his pants pocket underneath Shou, and the tv remote is just out of his reach. No way in hell is he disturbing his sleep.

He’s midway through mentally planning his next English class when there’s soft footsteps behind the couch. He glances at the time as Izuku steps around the couch and frowns. The listener slept for less than an hour.

He refocuses on Izuku as he comes to a stop in front of him. He’s got an uncertain look on his face, and the roll of compression bandages in hand.

“Your wrist bothering you again?” A nod.

“Alright give it here.” Izuku hands over the roll before pushing up his sleeve and handing his hand over too. He takes it as gently as he can, and pulls Izuku a little closer to the couch with it.

“Did it wake you up? Or keep you from sleeping?” Hizashi asks as he’s working. Izuku twitches his finger, and he can tell that he would much rather sign, but he speaks up anyways.

“Kept me up. I tried to sleep anyways, but gave up after a while.” Izuku’s voice is almost a whisper, and he shoots Shou a glance after he speaks, as if expecting him to wake up.

“Well I’m glad you came to me. Think you can rest now that it’s wrapped?” He ties off the end, and lets go of Izuku’s hand. The kid nods at him and shuffles back to his room, Radio trailing behind him.

Damn. Should have asked him for the remote.

Chapter Text

The last few days before the training camp pass quickly. Izuku is a nervous wreck, packing and repacking his things daily. His dads even took him back to UA to train, but he was far too distracted and destroyed a training room wall.

They leave him mostly alone after that, and Izuku is grateful. He knows he shouldn’t be this nervous for a simple training camp, but he has no idea where they’re going or what they’ll be doing. Plus he’s still on edge after the incident at the mall.

Sunday morning, the day they’re supposed to be leaving, Izuku wakes up two hours before he needs to. So he plops himself down on the couch and opens his notebook to wait. He easily gets lost in his analysis, working on one for a hero that had just debuted. 

The pleasant smell of breakfast makes him lose focus in his work and he looks up, surprised to find that an hour and a half has passed. He makes his way to the kitchen for food and joins his dads at the table.

Before he knows it they’re dragging their things out to the car, Zashi sliding into the drivers seat to give them a lift to the school on the way to his radio show. They’re the first ones to arrive, and Hizashi gives them each a quick hug before he’s off again.

They quickly place their things on the bus before returning to the sidewalk to wait for the rest of the class. Izuku sits on the pavement, tired from his lack of sleep. Maybe the bus ride will be long enough for him to catch a few more hours.

It’s not long before more people arrive, a pair a feet stopping right in front of him. Izuku looks up to find the tired face of Hitoshi, grinning down at him.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” Izuku shakes his head with a small smile as Hitoshi sits down in front of him.

They talk quietly until the rest of the class arrives, Shouta telling them to board the bus without preamble. As they board the bus Izuku notes that half of class 1-B has yet to arrive. 

Shaking his head, Izuku picks a seat near the front and is relieved when Hitoshi picks the seat beside him. Shouto slides in behind them, and Izuku knows he’s in for a relaxing ride.

He only wakes when the bus stops moving, and everyone is climbing off. Izuku is one of the last people off, and he freezes in the entryway when he sees where they are. This isn’t a rest stop. The bus had stopped in a random pullout at the edge of a cliff. There’s another car there, and Izuku moves closer just in time for the Wild Wild Pussycats to step out.

He hardly pays attention to what they’re saying, only registering what’s going on when they mention the time limit for reaching camp. The ground drops out beneath them and Izuku scrambles to grab onto something to slow his descent. The only thing he manages to grab onto is Hitoshi, and he meets his wide eyes with a look of fear of his own.

Just as suddenly as they started falling, they jerk to a stop, something wrapping around them and suspending them mid air. Izuku follows the material with his eyes and finds Sero at the end of it, holding on to several strips of tape for dear life.

Now that they’re no longer moving, Izuku can see that they’re not that far from the ground anymore. He tears the tape that’s holding him and Hitoshi and grabs the other boy tight as he lets go.

Hitoshi lets out a short scream at the sudden descent, but he cuts himself off the moment they land safely. A few more students do the same, and Sero looks relieved that some of the added weight is gone. He slowly lowers himself and the rest of their classmates to the ground, and sinks to the ground with an exhausted sigh.

“Nice work Sero!” Izuku holds out a hand and Sero takes it, hauling himself to his feet. 

Everyone is untangling themselves from his tape when the ground shakes, and they freeze. The shaking gets closer and something emerges from the forest. It’s huge, and looks to be made out of dirt. And it’s heading straight for them. Izuku looks at where some of his classmates are still stuck together and makes a decision. He powers up One for All and leaps towards the dirt monster, levelling a kick at its head. 

The head explodes upon contact, and the rest of the monster falls to the ground. Looks like this won’t be so tough after all.

Izuku regretted the thought as soon as it entered his mind. Not a minute later, four more dirt monsters emerged from the forest. Before Izuku even has the chance to move, explosions sound behind him and Bakugou is flying over his head and aiming his hands at the monsters face. Before he can even blink, more of his classmates are rushing forward, using their quirks to destroy the dirt masses.

The class makes their way into the forest, and encounter an endless stream of dirt monsters. Where are they all coming from? There’s no way they’ll make it to camp in time at the rate they’re going.

“Maybe we should try evading them instead of fighting head on.” Everyone turns towards him. He had not meant to say that so loudly. He had meant to say it quietly to Hitoshi, maybe get some feedback on his idea before telling the whole class. Too late now.

“That is an excellent idea Midoriya! We won’t waste as much time and energy that way.” The rest of the class nods in agreement to Iida’s statement. Izuku just stands there, feeling a little shocked that everyone’s so willing to go along with his idea.

They split up into smaller groups before going. Smaller groups have less of a chance of being detected. They make sure the groups were fairly even in strength, making sure each group has someone with a more physical quirk just in case they attract the attention of one of the monsters. Izuku is teamed up with Hitoshi, Kaminari, Hagakure, and Uraraka.

As it turns out, they move a lot faster in smaller groups. They manage to avoid dirt monsters until the very end of the forest, where they find one that is much bigger than all the others they’ve encountered. They crouch down behind some trees to try and formulate a plan.

“Somehow I doubt we’re getting around that thing.” Kaminari looks a little frightened. No one says anything for a minute, and Izuku turns to look at the monster again. It’s just standing there, as if waiting for something. Most likely waiting for them to make a move. The thing is massive, so it has to be slower than the other ones, which were already pretty slow to begin with.

“Alright guys, I’ve got a plan.”

Midoriya’s plan is insane. If he messes up even the slightest bit, they’re completely screwed. For some reason, everyone else is fine with it, even if Uraraka looks a little ill at the idea of using her quirk so much. Denki can relate.

There’s a loud snapping sound on the other side of the beast, and that’s their cue to leave. Hagakure is the only person they could have picked for a distraction. She is the only one who could have gotten passed undetected, and the beast will have no clue where to look even when she’s standing right in front of it. They’ve got Shinsou slowly making his way around the side, ready to act in case anything goes wrong. God he hopes nothing does.

Denki makes eye contact with Midoriya as Uraraka uses her quirk on them. He looks confident that his plan will succeed. Midoriya grabs his hand as they start rising up.

The monster hasn’t noticed yet, too busy looking for the source of the sounds. Midoriya plants his feet against a tree, and changes his grip on Denki’s arms. He’s pressed against the side of the tree, Midoriya between him and the beast

“You ready?” No, he’s not. But he nods anyways.

Midoriya activates his quirk and uses all the strength he can to throw Denki forwards. He’s heading straight for the head of the monster, arms reaching in front of him. It starts to turn towards him as he activates his quirk, rating its hand up as if to deflect him.

Denki bumps into the side of its hand, changing his course ever so slightly. He twists his body to try and readjust, but now he’s at a strange angle, with no way to alter his course. He closes his eyes right before he smashes into the things face. Midoriya threw him so hard that he goes through the face, his electricity shocking the creature and hardening the dirt around him.

The moment he breaks through the other side of the head, he can feel Uraraka losing her grip on her quirk. He’s falling, with exactly no idea on how to stop that. Their landing strategy hadn’t accounted for the change of course and Uraraka dropping him.

His descent stops, and it’s not because he’s crushed on the ground. Denki opens his eyes and finds himself in Shinsou’s arms, beast on the ground behind them. He can feel his face warm at his position, and he tries to tell the other boy he’s fine. Emphasis on the try. He must have overused his quirk, and now everything feels slightly numb, especially his tongue. He’s really got to discuss this with Aizawa-sensei. There’s no way he’ll make it as a hero if his quirk always does this to him.

“Kaminari! You were awesome!” Midoriya runs towards them, an excited grin on his face. Denki can feel his blush darken at the praise. He shakes his head at Midoriya. He didn’t do anything other than activate his quirk! 

“Nope! You were great, end of discussion. Let’s get to camp!” Denki gives the other boy a small smile, and Shinsou lets him stand on his own feet again.

They make the walk slowly, everyone recovering from the exertion of fighting that monster. The only one not breathing heavily is Hagakure, but she still hangs back with them instead of racing ahead.

The sun is low in the sky when they make it, but the only person around is Aizawa-sensei. He raises a brow at their disheveled appearance, but doesn’t say anything, only points them in the direction of food.

Chapter Text

It doesn’t take long for the rest of the class to join them, everyone looking completely exhausted. Izuku is quick to eat his dinner, ready to head to bed after barely sleeping the night before. It seems like most of the others have the same idea, because not ten minutes after he settles into his sleeping bag, the rest of the boys join him in their shared room.

It doesn’t take long for the others to settle down, and aside from a few whispered conversations and a few kids snoring, the room is quiet.

So why can’t Izuku sleep?

He misses the cats. Misses the low rumble of his dads speaking in the adjoining room. Instead of the comforting sounds of home, he’s stuck in a room where he hardly knows half the boys. He’s only really comfortable with a few of them, and the others he’s barely spoken to since the start of the year.

Before he knows it, the sun is rising. Izuku lays in the same position he had been in for the whole night, turned to face the wall. He got a few hours of rest, but every time he started to sleep too deeply, some noise woke him up.

He’s frustratingly tired as he gets dressed, and by the time he makes it out of the room, the majority of the class is waiting outside, ready to start their training.

They start off with a morning run, and it’s a lot slower than Izuku is used to from their classes. Dad must be taking into account how exhausted everyone seems to be. They pass by class 1-B, and apart from a small wave from Vlad-sensei, they don’t interact. Even Monoma must be too tired to spit his usual jibes at them.

The run passes in a blur, and before he knows it, Hid dad is assigning each kid different exercises to help work on their quirk. Izuku gets assigned to Tiger, one of the Pussycats, and they start working on how to get his body used to handling more of his quirk.

Izuku has a hard time on focusing on everything Tiger is saying, so he just copies his motions and lets his gaze wander, keeping his ears open for new directions. Most of his classmates seem to be doing well, doing exercises that only Dad would have thought of to develop their quirk. He spots Hitoshi training with Mandalay off in a corner. Her quirk could be a great help in Hitoshi developing his. Izuku’s eye catches on Kaminari, walking away from his little area.

It seems like his dad caught it too, and he makes his way over to the other boy.

“Try upping the percent you’re using a little now, but keep punching.” Tiger’s instructions pull his attention away, and once he’s done as he’s told he turns back, but Kaminari and his dad are nowhere to be found. Izuku attempts to refocus on the task at hand, trying not to worry too much about the other boy. 

It’s a hard task, because he likes Kaminari. He’s a nice boy who doesn’t pry into other peoples business. Everyone makes fun of him for being stupid, but Izuku knows he isn’t. He just has some unfortunate quirk drawbacks. Maybe he’ll try to pull him into his friend group. Hitoshi wouldn’t mind, and Izuku hopes that Shouto won’t either. 

Finally, they take a break. The work is exhausting, and Izuku feels awful by the time lunch hits. If he has to do the same thing with Tiger for the rest of the day he might just pass out. Which would be super embarrassing.

He slowly makes it over to the lunch table, and once he spots Kaminari, he alters his course and decides to sit with him today. 

“Are you okay Kaminari?” He gives him a wide eyed look, clearly not expecting the question.

“Yeah. I had a long talk with Aizawa-sensei about my quirk drawbacks. He said that tomorrow morning we can work through some ideas he has to try and figure it out.” Kaminari looks relieved and a little excited that his dad is going to be helping him out.

“That’s awesome Kaminari! I’m sure that d-Aizawa-sensei already has a plan to help you out.” Kaminari gives him a funny look at his slip up, but thankfully doesn’t say anything.

Hitoshi and Shouto choose that moment to appear, and they both make a conscious effort to include Kaminari in the conversation. He looks confused, but goes along with it instead of questioning it.

Lunch is over quickly, and everyone starts heading back to their spots on the field, ready to resume their individual quirk training. Izuku sighs and starts moving towards his previous spot, when a hand grabs his arm. He jumps and turns around, but relaxes when he sees it’s just his dad.

“Why don’t you train with me this afternoon?” Izuku nods at him, relieved to get away from the training with Tiger. Training with his dad is fun!

They get to a more secluded corner, far away enough that people can’t hear what they’re saying, but close enough that his dad can keep an eye on the other students.

“Alright. We’ve got to get you better at this.” The words are accompanied by a bunch of fabric being flung at his chest, and he smiles down at the capture weapon.

They work hard, his dad showing him a lot of complicated things. He breaks everything down into smaller moves that Izuku knows he can do, but putting them all together is hard. He’s frustrated by the end of it, lack of sleep making him impatient and irritable.

He stays on the ground after he’s tossed aside another time, and glances towards the rest of the class. Most of the them are making their way back to the cabins to make some dinner. A sigh draws his attention back to his dad, and he watches as he sits down on the grass next to him.

“Want to tell me whats going on?”

“Tired.”

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

‘Not really.’

"Just had trouble with it?"

'Too many people' His dad thinks for a minute before speaking up again.

“Would it help if you slept in my room tonight?” He meets his dads eyes and nods. He stands and reaches a hand down, pulling Izuku up with him.

“Alright. While you go help with dinner I’ll bring your stuff to my room.”

“Thank you!” Izuku gives his dad a quick hug then runs off, hoping that not all of the good jobs for dinner are taken.

As it turns out they are, and Izuku is stuck teaching Iida how to peel potatoes. It’s a painful experience, and he’s relieved when they can all sit down and enjoy the meal after all of their hard work.

He’s half asleep by the time cleanup is over, so instead of participating in whatever the other kids will be doing he shuffles over to his dads room and knocks on the door. His dad opens it after only a few seconds, and Izuku makes his way over to his sleeping bag without a word.

Izuku falls asleep quickly, so the only sounds in the room are his sons soft breaths and the scratch of his pen as he makes plans for training tomorrow. The problem with Kaminaris quirk is troublesome. Shouta knew he would have to do something about it eventually, but he didn’t think it had become the problem it is already. This class is full of problem children.

Izuku had only been asleep for an hour when there’s a frantic knocking on his door. He rushes to answer it, to make the noise stop so his kid can get some goddamn sleep. He pulls it open to reveal Kirishima, hand still poised to knock.

“Aizawa-sensei! We lost Midoriya!” Well. Shouta hadn’t anticipated this when he moved Izuku’s things. He raises a brow, but doesn’t say anything. Kirishima takes that as his cue to continue.

“We were getting ready to go to the bathhouse when a few of us noticed he was gone! I volunteered to come tell you. We have to find him!”

“Who are these few of you that noticed?” He’d like to know who actually pays attention to their surroundings in his class. A good future lesson for those of them that don't.

“Well it was me, Shinsou, Todoroki, and Kaminari! Once we said something the others noticed too. Please Aizawa-sensei we have to-” He holds up a hand to silence the boy. He’s getting loud as he works himself up.

“Good job. And don’t worry about it. I’ve got the problem child.” He moves to the side to show Izuku behind him, fast asleep. Kirishima looks relieved, then confused and concerned.

“I noticed he didn’t sleep well last night, but I didn’t want to say anything.” Looks like Shouta’s got some really observant kids this year. Thank god. Students in his past couple years wouldn’t have noticed if half the class disappeared.

“He’s only close to a few of you, and he has trouble sleeping around a lot of strangers or noise. It’s unfortunate, but we’re doing what we can.” Kirishima still looks confused, but he accepts the explanation with a nod.

“Thank you Aizawa-sensei!” The words are quiet, and accompanied by a short bow. Shouta doesn’t get the chance to say anything before Kirishima is running off. He closes his door softly  with a small smile. He is far too fond of this years class.

Chapter Text

Izuku wakes up feeling refreshed. Sleep is something he’d missed so dearly the past few days, and he’s glad he finally got to catch up a little. He glances at his phone and panics. He only has a few minutes to get ready and back to the training field. He gets ready faster than he thought was possible and sprints the the field, noting that he’s the last one to arrive. A few of his classmates give him odd looks, but no one says anything as his dad starts them on their morning run.

They’ve definitely upped the pace from yesterday, and Izuku is grateful for the full nights sleep. He’s out of breath, but he doesn’t feel like he’s going to pass out. They hardly get any instructions today, being told they’re continuing exactly what they were doing yesterday.

As he walks over to where he’s working with Tiger, Izuku spots Kaminari following his dad over to the clearing they were in yesterday. Kaminari looks nervous, but he’s also got an excited grin on his face.

Tiger works him harder than he did yesterday, but Izuku also does so much better than he did before. He’s a lot more focused, and he feels more comfortable with pushing the limits of One for All. He manages to push it up a few percent before his body starts screaming at him to stop. It’s a struggle to even move at this point.

“Tone it down a little, and we’ll work on some more punches and kicks today.” Izuku does as he’s told and brings his quirk down to a more manageable level. He’s soaked in sweat by the time lunch rolls around, but he’s grinning. Today is going really well for him.

Kirishima is the first to join him at the table today, sitting directly across from him, and Izuku can hardly contain his surprise. Usually he would be sitting with Bakugou.

“So, why were you sleeping in Aizawa’s room last night? We got pretty worried so I went to find him and found you in there.” The words are whispered, Kirishima leaning in close so no one else hears. The other boy has nothing but curiosity on his face, so Izuku opts to go with the truth. People will learn eventually, once his name change goes through with the adoption.

“It’s because he’s my dad. He’s in the process of adopting me.” Kirishima looks surprised for a minute before nodding to himself.

“That actually makes a lot of sense. Does this mean we’ll have to call you Aizawa? Could get confusing.” Izuku hadn’t thought of that. Things could get really weird if people started calling him that.

“Um, you can just call me Izuku?”

“Sounds good Izuku!” Kirishima smiles brightly at him before turning to his food. 

Their peaceful silence is interrupted by the sound of a plate being placed on the table. Izuku looks up to find Bakugou sliding into the seat next to Kirishima, sitting close to the other boy. Izuku raises his brows in surprise, but doesn’t say anything. Kirishima doesn’t seem uncomfortable with the proximity. In fact, he leans closer to Bakugou, who doesn’t retaliate at the contact. Izuku meets Bakugou’s eyes, but he doesn’t find the usual glare aimed in his direction.

Their staring is interrupted by Hitoshi sitting beside Izuku, and levelling a look at Bakugou.

“So. You joining the group now?”

"Fuck off eyebags!!” Hitoshi proceeds to ignore the other boy, and the only sounds from that side of the table are Kirishima’s hushed whispering and Bakugou’s grunted replies for the rest of the lunch break.

It’s over fairly quickly, and Izuku heads over to the training spot he and his dad had used yesterday. He doesn’t speak, just throws him his scarf and demonstrates a few moves. 

Izuku works through the first few fairly well, but every new move his dad teaches him takes him longer and longer to understand.

Before he knows it a few hours have passed, and Shou shows him an extra complicated move that ends with him hanging upside down from a tree, limbs all trapped to his body.

His dad bursts out laughing while Izuku hangs there, pouting. The laughter draws out Vlad King, and soon he has two pro-heroes, laughing in his face.

Admittedly, it is pretty funny, but Izuku would much rather be right side up. His dad takes in his expression and finally reaches forwards to help, while Vlad King just watch on. It’s not until Izuku has both feet firmly on the ground before the other pro speaks.

“I was sent to get you guys for dinner.” They both nod at him, and the trio makes their way back to the rest of the class in silence.

Preparations are in full swing, so Izuku doesn’t end up doing much to help the others cook dinner. He’s not much of a cook anyways, so it’s probably better that the others handle the complicated stuff.

Once everything is ready, Izuku sits himself down beside Hitoshi. His friend looks exhausted, mirroring how Izuku himself feels.

He helps out more with the cleanup, washing as many dishes as he can beefier their time is up and the class is being led closer to the forest.

“Tonight we’ll be doing the test of courage! Class 1-A versus 1-B! You will all be paired up randomly with your classmates before I explain the exercise.” Ragdoll calls their attention to the front.

She produces a hat, and everyone starts lining up to pull numbers.

Well, almost everyone. Once Ragdoll had everyone forming lines, his dad had rounded up Kirishima, Mina, Satou, Sero, and Kaminari and started dragging them back to the cabin for their extra lessons.

“Alright heroes! First we’ll have 1-B hiding in the forest, trying to scare the pairs of 1-A kids! When I yell out your number, you’ll come forwards and head into the forest with your partner! Let’s start with number 1!”

Ragdoll goes through the numbers, calling out a new one every few minutes. There are a few screams and odd noises coming from inside the forest, making the students waiting their turn all the more nervous.

“NUMBER 7!” That’s him!

And apparently Kacchan. The glare the other boy sends him is less heated than usual as they make their way into the forest. The first few minutes are silent, the only sounds coming from 1-B trying to scare them.

“Listen Dek-Midoriya.” Kacchan hasn’t called him by name is years.

Izuku looks to him and finds him frowning. Not even at Izuku! It looks more self-directed.

“What’s up Kacchan?” Damn he did not mean to call him that! Izuku braces himself for an explosion, but all he gets is a sigh from the other boy.

“I need to apologize.”

“W-what?!”

“Don’t fucking interrupt me!” That’s more like the Kacchan he knows.

“S-sorry!” Kacchan just frowns and keeps walking.

“I was a real dick in middle school. I need to explain why.” Kacchan hesitates before stopping and turning towards Izuku.

“I knew about what Inko was doing to you. I even told the old hag, but she didn’t believe me."

“Then why’d you keep hurting me?” Kacchan growls at the interruption, but says nothing about it.

“I dunno. In some fucked up way I was trying to protect you. I thought that if you showed up at home hurt, then she wouldn’t hurt you more. Look how fucking wrong I was.”

“I did a lot of stupid shit back then, like hanging out with those losers. I didn’t know how to stop them from hurting you, so I tried to make it seem like you were my target so they’d back off. I don’t expect you to forgive me or anything, but I’m really fucking sorry Midoriya.”

Izuku never expected an explanation from the explosive boy. Let alone an apology!

But everything he’s saying makes sense. He was always careful to not hurt him too badly. Usually hit him in places that would show, and his explosions were far from the strongest he could produce at the time.

“You know Kacchan, deep down, I think I knew you were trying to help. I think It’ll be hard for a while, and I don’t expect us to become friends, but I do forgive you. You were far from the worst of my bullies, and you’ve shown that you can change. I’m really glad you’re in a better place now Kacchan.”

“Thanks, Izuku” Izuku beams at him. He’s finally getting some sort of closure with his old friend.

Izuku things that in time, they could become friends again. Especially with Kirishima’s influence over Kacchan.

Before Izuku has a chance to dwell on it any further, there’s a rustling from the trees and a hulking form steps out.

“Awww how sweet. Both my targets in one place.”

Chapter Text

Eijirou is surprised to see Monoma from 1-B already in the classroom with Vlad King.

“Oh wow! So many from the mighty 1-A failed their tests!”

“You’re no better than us weirdo.” Eijirou sniggers at Kaminari’s comment.

Their class sits down on the opposite side of the class from Monoma. The boy sneers at them but doesn’t object the distance.

Before long they’re hard at it, going over stuff that Eijirou has been over a million times with Katsuki. This sucks, because it’s not the written portion he failed, but the practical one.

They’re not working for very long before there’s a loud noise from outside. Eijirou dismisses it, assuming it’s from whatever the rest of the class is doing.

There’s another noise and Aizawa-sensei stands, gaze unreadable as he stares out the window.

“Vlad, watch the kids.” The other pro nods and their teacher is off.

Eijirou and the others watch out the window as he runs into the forest, where smoke is slowly creeping out of. It’s silent for a few moments before another noise sounds out, much closer than before.

He tries to focus on his work, but whatever’s going on is just distracting enough that he can’t continue. None of his classmates are working either, and Vlad King doesn’t seem in a hurry to get them back on track.

Eijirou turns back to the front of the room as Vlad King moves towards the door. He’s got a concerned frown on his face, and his gaze slides over the window instead of them when he turns back to speak.

“Stay here. I’m going to see what’s going on.” Oh man. Aizawa-sensei is going to be so mad when he returns and sees that Vlad King left.

Not two minutes after he’s gone the door cracks open again, and Eijirou turns back to his books, expecting Aizawa-sensei to be disappointed that they’re not working.

He doesn’t look up until he’s grabbed and thrown across the room. It’s so unexpected that he doesn’t even activate his quirk. 

He sits up and stares at the scene. Blue flame eats at the the desk he had been seated at, and Satou stands nearby, clutching at his arm.

Eijirou stands and shuffles over to his classmates, looking to the front of the class. There stands someone that is definitely not Aizawa-sensei. The man is heavily scarred, blue fire in hand, with a maniacal grin on his face.

“Now that I’ve got your attention, I need some information.”

“Like we’d tell a villain anything!” The cry comes from Satou, still standing near Eijirou’s flaming desk.

The villain gives him a bored look and shoots fire again, catching Satou’s side as he doesn’t dodge fast enough.

“I just need the location of Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki. I’ll even let you kids live if you tell me.” He needs what?

What does he want with their classmates? With their friends?

Everyone huddles a little closer. They can’t betray their friends! Besides, even if they wanted to, the only answer they could give would be too vague.

Eijirou stands frozen at the front of the group. He doesn’t know what to do! They haven’t trained for this. He makes eye contact with Satou and finds a grim look on his classmates face.

“Fine. Looks like I’ll get to persuade you then.” The villain turns his hand towards the group of them, and Eijirou hardens himself as the man releases his quirk. The others hide behind him, trying to stay out of the way of the blast of fire directed at them. He squeezes his eyes shut in preparation for what’s to come.

However, the fire never hits.

Eijirou opens his eyes, quirk still active, and finds himself face to face with Satou. He can still feel the heat of the fire, and he catches little glances of blue behind Satou’s pained face.

He’d jumped in front of the fire, using his considerable bulk to protect the rest of them.

The flame dies out a little, until they can see the villain standing directly behind Satou. He places his hand on the back of their classmates head and then there’s blue fire leaking from between his fingers.

Satou screams, and it’s an awful thing that has everyone covering their ears.

Eijirou lurches forwards, reaching for Satou, but the moment he does the boys eyes roll back in his head and the villain lets go of him, letting him fall forwards. Eijirou catches him as he does, gagging at the smell of burnt flesh coming from the boy in his arms.

The villain raises his hand again and Eijirou carefully puts Satou down, trying to get him out of the way as he hardens and stands, covering as much space as he can in front of his friends as the fire reaches them.

It’s hot, but not overly so, his quirk doing its job of protecting them.

It’s gone just as quickly as it arrived, but Eijirou does not lower his arms. He keeps them crossed in front of his face, peeking above them to see what the villain is doing.

He looks gleeful for a second, glancing down to where Satou lies. Eijirou looks down as well, and he can’t even tell if the other boy is breathing. The villain roughly kicks his body to the side and ignores everyone’s cries of protest as he meets Eijirou’s eyes. As soon he does as his face changes, going from gleeful to angry in a matter of seconds.

He sets a wall on fire. The villain doesn’t give them time to process that and turns his blue flame back on them.

Eijirou hears a cry of pain behind him, and he tries to widen his stance to protect them better.

He doesn’t know how long he can last.

He’s already exhausted from a whole day of training his quirk, and this isn’t the first late night remedial class they’ve had. He can feel his quirk wavering but he pushes himself. He needs to last until Aizawa-sensei returns.

He can feel the pain now, his quirk failing in his arms and letting the fire touch him. He grits his teeth against the pain and stays standing.

It’s becoming unbearable when the fire stops again. Eijirou takes a second to breathe before looking back up at the room. Three of the walls are on fire now, and he can hear his friends coughing behind him.

His eyes find the villain, who stands even closer than he did before.

Before he can react, he reaches out and grabs Eijirou by the neck, hauling him off the ground. He grabs at his wrist, trying to pry the fingers away, but the hand just tightens and heats up, nearly cutting off his air supply.  His friends start protesting, but the villain keeps his eyes on Eijirou, grinning, a wild look in his eyes. 

He gets the message and drops his hands. The grip loosens enough for him to breathe a little more deeply.

“Now. Unless you want another one of your little friends to die, one of you is going to tell me the location.” Eijirou shakes his head as much as he can, and the villain tightens his grip, bringing a flaming hand up to his face.

Eijirou tries to focus on breathing, but all the air available to him is simply gone. He can’t draw in a single breath. He starts struggling, mindful of the fire by his face.

“W-wait! We don’t know where they are! They’re doing an exercise in the forest and they started after we left!” He distantly registers Mina’s voice, but he can’t focus on it. The only thing he can focus on is the fire in his lungs and the vice around his throat.

“Well. I thank you for your cooperation.” Instead of dropping him, the villain moves his flaming hand closer to Eijirou and tightens his hand even further than he thought possible. 

He shuts his eyes as the blue fire draws nearer, and the last thing he feels is the heat on his cheek before passing out.

Chapter Text

Something is not right.

Shouta rushes out of the classroom at the strange noises, leaving Vlad in charge of their students.

The forest is smokey. It gets thicker the further he goes, so he brings his goggles up over his eyes before adjusting his scarf over his mouth. He runs, mindful of his breathing, and nearly collides with a student. They seem to be fine, so Shouta sends them back to the cabins and continues on.

He makes sure to stay vigilant. The forest wouldn’t spontaneously combust, so who the hell set the fire? 

Villains is the most likely answer.

But how the hell did they find the place? The school had only chosen this location the day before they left, and only a few pros knew about it. Only a handful of people not present know where they are, and no matter how stupid Shouta thinks All Might is, the man isn’t a traitor.

So how?

He tries to come up with someone who would betray them like that, but Shouta knows his students well enough to be confident that it's not one of them. One of Vlad's kids then? He doesn't know his class all that well. Or at all really.

It’s not long before he encounters a student that’s not fine. They're leaning up against a tree, breathing heavy through all the smoke. They look just about ready to pass out, so Shouta lightly throws them over his shoulder before heading back the way he came, gathering up more students as he goes.

They support each other, many students sporting some sort of minor injury. A few of his own students join the group on the way back to camp, and the group grows to fifteen before they reach the outskirts of the forest.

Right where the smoke should be getting thinner it doesn’t. But there’s no way Shouta took a wrong turn, so he quickens his pace a little.

He exits the forest and hands his charge to another student before sprinting forwards.

The cabin that holds the classroom is on fire. 

A few students hang around, staring up at the flames, but he doesn’t spot any of the ones he’d left behind. He heads for the door and runs into Vlad, who’s frantically tugging on the handle.

“Vlad, where are the kids?” The man just looks at him, a grim look on his face as he shakes his head.

"Fuck."

Shouta uses his scarf to tear open the door and he sprints inside, using his memory to guide him towards the classroom. He can hear Vlad’s loud footsteps behind him but he ignores him, instead focussing on his internal map of the place.

The smoke gets worse the closer they get to the classroom.

Shouta takes as deep of a breath he can before pushing the door open, careful not to draw attention to himself.

The room is on fire. Most of his students stand huddled in the centre of the room, while Satou lies a little further away. There’s a villain standing right in front of them, holding Kirishima up by the throat, a flaming hand by his red face.

“Well. I thank you for your cooperation.” The villain moves his flaming hand closer to his student’s face and that’s all it takes to snap him into action. 

He activates his quirk not a moment too soon. The second after he does the villain’s hand makes contact with Kirishima’s face. The villain turns towards them when his flame goes out and pouts.

Fortunately, the flames crowding the walls and roof die down as well, leaving the room smokey, but fire free.

“Awww Eraserhead. Why’d you have to ruin my fun?” His students all turn towards him, looks of relief on their faces.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d step away from my students.” The villain actually complies, dropping his hand from Kirishima’s face as he goes.

His hand around his throat stays where it is. The boys eyes are closed, and Shouta can see where his lips are starting to turn blue from the lack of oxygen.

“All of them.” He send a meaningful look towards Kirishima, and the villain follows his gaze.

“Oh! My bad Eraserhead.” It’s said with a smile, and the villain doesn’t give his student a second look before he’s tossing him in Shouta’s direction.

He catches Kirishima and quickly lowers him to the ground, moving to check his vitals while Vlad hopefully keeps an eye on the villain. He very carefully checks the pulse point on his wrist, wary of touching the boy’s throat, but also trying his best to avoid the numerous burns on his arms.

Kirishima lurches up, nearly smacking his head into Shouta’s where he’s leaned over him. His student is coughing and gasping for breath, hands reaching for his throat. Shouta stops their progress, and Kirishima’s eyes snap open.

He relaxes at the sight of his teacher, and Shouta gently places him on the floor before standing and facing the villain.

He nudges past Vlad and strikes out with his scarf. The villain ducks to the side, and Shouta has to alter his move quickly to avoid hitting his students. The space is too confined for a proper fight, and the villain clearly knows that. 

Vlad works his way around the classroom, making his way towards the kids. The villain pays him no mind, attention drifting between Shouta and the kids. Clearly he’s decided that Vlad isn’t a threat.

He raises a hand towards the students, and Shouta is quick to reactivate his quirk. The villain frowns at him, and Vlad leaps from where he’d moved to, effectively knocking him to the ground. He’s quick to immobilize him with his blood, and the villain slumps down, a defeated frown on his face.

Shouta rushes to Satou, who’s still unmoving on the ground.

His back’s a mess of burned skin, and the back of his head is almost unrecognizable. He carefully flips him over and frowns. The boy’s eyes are open, distant and unseeing. 

He checks for a pulse just to be sure, and finds nothing.

“Is he okay?” He looks up and finds Mina, a hopeful look in her eyes. He just shakes his head. Her face falls and she turns away, in some sort of attempt to remain composed.

Shouta takes a moment to check out the other students injuries. Kaminari and Mina have a few burns lining their arms and legs, while Sero and Monoma are practically unscathed. His three students are huddling together, while Vlad’s kid stands a bit further away.

There’s a loud groaning sound and a piece of ceiling falls.

“Fuck. We need to get out of here.” At least most of them are relatively uninjured. He looks over to Kirishima and finds him struggling to stand, hand hovering near his throat as he continues to take gasping breaths.

“Vlad. I need you to carry Satou.” The man nods and steps away from the villain, picking up his student’s body as carefully as he can.

“Monoma, Sero. You guys need to help Mina and Kaminari.” Monoma reluctantly wraps his arm around Kaminari’s waist, while Sero looks more than happy to help his classmate. Shouta whips out his scarf, wrapping the villain up.

He turns and heads over to Kirishima, dragging his scarf behind him. He offers his arm to the boy.

“Here. You can lean on me.” Kirishima latches on with shaking fingers, and Shouta begins to lead the way out of the building, Vlad taking the rear of the group.

When they make it outside, there is a much larger group of kids than there was before. He tries to locate all of his students, and finds almost all of them. Only Izuku, Bakugou, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki are nowhere to be found. It looks like all of Vlad’s kids have returned, so it’s only those four that are missing.

He heads towards where some of the Pussycats are herding the injured students, and helps Kirishima sit. He starts to move away, but the boy just clutches his arm harder.

“Sensei wait.” He breaks off coughing, voice raspy and dry sounding. Shouta faces him, and finds a worried frown on his face.

“They’re after Izuku and Katsuki.”

Chapter Text

“Awww how sweet. Both my targets in one place.” Katsuki turns and finds a masked villain exiting the forest.

He makes eye contact with Izuku and the other boy nods. They both leap towards the guy. Surely with Katsukis’s powerful explosions and Deku’s shitty quirk they can take him.

Deku’s kick makes contact mere seconds before his explosion does. When the smoke clears, Katsuki can’t help the intake of breath. The spot he knows he hit with his explosion is unmarred.

He turns his gaze to Izuku, who’s wide eyes and gaping mouth reveal his surprise. His kick was stopped midair by a giant hand. The villain took his explosion and stopped Deku’s quirk at nearly full power with no problem!

What the fuck!

Katsuki watches as the villain closes his hand around Deku’s foot. He has no time to block as the man pulls him into the air and uses him as a weapon on Katsuki.

Unlike that time with All Might, the man doesn’t let go. After Katsuki is knocked aside he raises his fist, holding Deku upside down. The man’s giant stature has him dangling several feet off the ground, and he looks as dazed as Katsuki feels.

There’s red blocking his vision, so Katsuki wipes at his eye and finds blood. It’s leaking from a cut above his eyebrow. He looks up at Deku and finds a similar wound on his face from where their heads had made contact.

Katsuki scrambles to his feet and raises his hands. Maybe if he makes a big enough explosion the freak will drop Deku. Or the noise will get someone’s attention. Either of those would be fucking fine with him.

“Don’t even think about it kid. One explosion and I break his leg.” Katsuki doubts that. His palms begin sparking, preparing for a huge fucking blast, when shitty Deku’s cry stops him.

“K-kacchan!” His face is alarmingly pale, and there are a few tears already running down his forehead. The giant has a tight grip on his foot, and he doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to let go.

Fuck!

The villain is grinning at him, smile growing at the small whimpers of pain that Izuku is making. Katsuki slowly raises his hands in surrender, and the man loosens his fist and lowers Deku to the ground.

He doesn’t let go.

Instead, he gestures for Katsuki to walk ahead of him, and starts dragging Deku behind him. 

He’s reluctantly concerned about their situation right now. He feels so fucking useless. If he tries anything, who knows what that fucker will do to shitty Deku.

They’re deep in the forest by now, little to no chance of somebody stumbling upon them.

A big hand grabs him by the back of the head and Katsuki freezes. He looks up and meets the eyes of Yaoyorozu and Todoroki.

“Step aside, unless you want to die. I’m only after these two. Although, I really don’t mind killing a few kids.” Katsuki tries to shake his head at them. 

There’s nothing they can do at this point, besides create a bigger mess.

“I’m afraid that’s not an option.” Fucking half and half bastard.

“Alright then. I’ll try to make it quick, little hero.”

Katsuki is suddenly weightless, and he feels himself collide with a tree before there’s nothing to feel at all.

Momo only reunited with Todoroki a few minutes before they hear the explosions. They sound an awful lot like Bakugou’s quirk.

Why in the world would he be using that while they should be evacuating the forest? Unless the fire is because of villains, and Bakugou is confronting them.

Yah, that makes a lot of sense.

Of course the explosion boy would go looking for the attackers. He’s smart enough to come to the villain conclusion on his own, but dumb enough to go looking for them instead of finding a pro hero.

She shares a look with Todoroki before heading towards the sound. What kind of classmates would they be if they didn’t help out?

There are no more explosions to guide them, so Momo leads them in the direction she thinks they came from, hoping that Bakugou didn’t stray too far off.

They run into someone sooner than she thought they would.

Momo watches, mildly horrified, as a villain she recognizes as Muscular brings a huge hand to hold the back of Bakugou’s head. His eyes are wide, and Momo stumbles back a step when she recognizes Midoriya being dragged behind the man. He looks half conscious, face screwed in pain.

“Step aside, unless you want to die. I’m only after these two. Although, I really don’t mind killing a few kids.” Momo is terrified, but she knows they can’t abandon their friends!

Well, their friend and Bakugou. 

She knows how close Todoroki and Midoriya have gotten, but neither of them are particularly fond of Bakugou.

“I’m afraid that’s not an option.” Todoroki speaks up before she can, and takes a step towards the trio.

“Alright then. I’ll try to make it quick, little hero.” Muscular tosses Midoriya to one side, and throws Bakugou to the other. The explosive boy smacks into a tree and falls to the ground, limp.

Todoroki takes a step forwards and Momo takes a step back. No matter how confident she feels after her final exam there is absolutely no way she can go up against Muscular. At this point all she’ll do is get in Todoroki’s way.

The boy in question is using his ice, trying to trap the villain in as tight a spot as he can. It would work, if it weren’t for Muscular’s strength augmentation. The man is crushing the ice as quickly as Todoroki is forming it. At the rate they’re going, her friend will soon run out of stamina.

Looks like Todoroki came to the same conclusion.

He rapidly switches to his fire, and Muscular gives him a quick look of confusion before blocking his face with meaty arms. Todoroki lowers his arm and staggers back. 

Muscular is unscathed, and grinning at him.

There’s absolutely no way they can win this. Not unless one of them suddenly develops a strength quirk.

They need to back down, unless they want to die. Either way, Muscular is leaving with their classmates.

Momo glances towards Bakugou. He’s still out cold, and probably will be for a while.

Midoriya however, seems somewhat lucid.

She sneaks over to his side, skimming her memory for the item she needs. She produces it as she kneels beside Midoriya.

“Here. Eat this.” Her friend just gives her a confused look.

“It’s a tracker. This way we’ll know where they take you, and the Pro’s can rescue you quickly.” Midoriya’s eyes widen in understanding, and he reaches a shaking hand towards her. 

Momo deposits the tracker in his palm and he shoves it in his mouth quickly, obviously not wanting to be caught. She looks to the scene behind her and frowns.

Muscular is steadily advancing on Todoroki, his fire doing practically nothing to slow him down. He switches back to ice, but the villain just smashes through every wall he makes.

Momo creeps back to the other side of the clearing, back towards where she’d been standing before. She gets there just as Muscular breaks through the last ice wall, and she watches in horror as he brings a clenched fist down on Todoroki’s head. He drops to the ground, and Momo can’t tell if he’s conscious or not.

Taking a deep breath she rushes forwards, putting herself between Todoroki and Muscular just as he raises his fist again.

“Wait!!” Surprisingly, he does.

“Please just let us go. We won’t fight you anymore. You’re far too strong.” Hopefully flattery will work. That’s the only way they’re getting out of this alive. 

Muscular grins at her, and slowly lowers his fist.

“Alright, little heroes. I believe today is your lucky day. Now get the fuck out of here before I change my mind.” Ignoring her instinct to keep facing the villain, Momo turns around and yanks Todoroki to his feet. He’s semi-conscious, in a state similar to the one Midoriya had been in.

She drags him back into the trees, and pauses when they’re just out of Muscular’s sight. Momo carefully puts Todoroki down against a tree, and creeps forwards for a better look at of the clearing.

Muscular has Midoriya back in hand, and he’s just reaching towards Bakugou to pick him up too. Another figure steps into the clearing, and it’s a villain she doesn’t recognize. He’s got a tall hat and a mask, and he’s wearing a simple suit. He looks like a knock-off magician. 

“Muscular! So glad I ran into you.”

“Compress.” Muscular looks displeased, and the villain steps closer to him despite the scowl on his face.

“Looks like we’ll have to leave Dabi. Killed some kid then got himself caught, the idiot.” Muscular grins, a scary glint in his eye as he answers.

“Good.” He turns and steps into the trees, not stopping once to see if Compress is following him.

As soon as they’re gone Momo turns back to Todoroki, and helps him stand. They have tp get back to the cabins and tell Aizawa-sensei what happened. She’s hoping that everyone else is okay, but if what the villain said is true, that means that one of her classmates is dead!

She picks up her pace at the thought.

She’s just exiting the forest when they run into their teacher, and she breathes a sigh of relief.

“Yaoyorozu! Are you two alright?”

“We’re mostly okay, sensei.”

“Good. Have you seen Izuku and Bakugou? They’re the only two students unaccounted for. We’re also missing Ragdoll.”

“About that. The villains took them. Todoroki tried to help them, but Muscular almost killed him so we had to get out of there.” Momo frowns. A pro-hero is missing too? Why were they all kidnapped?

“Fuck.” Aizawa-sensei looks devastated. She’s never seen her teacher show this much emotion before.

“I actually have something that might help.” She pulls up her sleeve and produces a small device, the other part of the tracker that will lead them to Midoriya. Aizawa-sensei takes the device and looks relieved for a moment before a serious look is back on his face.

“Good work Yaoyorozu. Your quick thinking might have saved their lives. Now follow me.” Momo flushes at the praise, and their teacher gives her head a light pat before turning away.

He’s leading them towards the cabins, where a few ambulances are just arriving. The rest of the Pussycats are moving moving around the injured students, helping those who are worse off.

Momo and Todoroki sit down next to Mina, and she has hardly anytime to take in the tears in the other girls eyes before she’s throwing herself at Momo, a quiet sob sounding the moment she wraps her arms around her.

“Hey Todoroki?” She speaks quietly, not wanting to bother the other students, but she also needs to be heard over the crying of her friend.

He turns towards her tilting his head in silent acknowledgement.

“Why did Aizawa-sensei react like that?” Todoroki eyes her for a moment before answering.

“Izuku is his son.”

“Shit.”

Chapter Text

Izuku never really loses consciousness. 

He’s just been in this haze of pain, the throbbing in his head from his collision with Kacchan and the ache in his leg locked in a battle for dominance. There’s no clear winner.

He vaguely registers when he’s tossed aside by the villain. He thinks he hears Shouto’s voice, but that may be a creation of his most-likely concussed brain. 

The next thing he registers is Yaoyorozu kneeling before him, telling him to eat a tracker. There’s a moment of clarity there, where he can see the worry on her face and that really is Shouto behind her. Izuku does as she says and swallows the tracker.

The next thing he knows he’s being grabbed again, and a glance to his right shows Kacchan in a similar position. He has fresh blood running down his face, and his eyes are closed. Izuku looks around the clearing, and finds no sign of Yaoyorozu or Shouto. 

Did the villain kill them?

No. Izuku doesn’t think so. There’d have to be some evidence left behind, and he sees nothing. Although who knows how much he can trust his blurry vision.

A pair of feet walk by and he flinches. It’s not much of a movement in his state.

Izuku tries to listen to what they’re saying, but it’s tough to understand. Everything is muted. Everything but the pain. 

All he can hear is something about a kid dying before he loses focus again.

Someone died? There’s a 50/50 chance that it was someone from his class. If it’s a kid then at least it’s not his dad.

Izuku feels a pang of guilt at the thought, but it’s hard not to be relieved at knowing one of the people he cares for the most is safe.

He knows for sure that it wasn’t Kacchan, Yaoyorozu, or Shouto. That leaves sixteen classmates unaccounted for, plus all of class 1-B.

His vision goes dark, and Izuku fears that he passed out.

The fear only lasts until he realizes that it’s a dark purple, not black that he’s seeing. The mist surrounding them is familiar, and when it clears away they’re in a completely different place.

It looks like a bar. Or at least, it looks like what Izuku thinks a bar would look like. He’s never been in one, so he can’t be too sure.

His leg is dropped, and he feels a brief sense of freedom. Brief, because as soon as his foot hits the floor his arm is grabbed, and he’s yanked into a somewhat upright position.

He tips to the side, and instead of letting him hit the floor someone redirects his fall, and he lands in an uncomfortable chair instead.

He’d almost rather the floor.

His arms are pulled forwards and tied together, before his legs are tied to the chair.

Izuku looks around, trying to find Kacchan, and finds him without much effort. He’s sitting only a few feet away on Izuku’s right, tied up in an identical fashion.

A slap to the face redirects his attention.

“Are you even fucking listening?” Oh.

Izuku had vaguely registered them talking, but he didn’t notice when they stopped talking to each other, and started talking at him instead. He looks around to the other villains in the room, and fails to recognize any of them.

A hand roughly grabs his chin and yanks his face forwards.

Oh. Now there’s a villain he recognizes.

There’s a hand covering his face again, but Izuku can still see his eyes through the gaps between his fingers. And they look angry. He can feel the pressure of his thumb and three fingers on his chin. He has no clue where the other finger is. He can only hope that it’s sitting as far away as possible.

“-got that you little shit?” Izuku shakes his head. He should really start paying attention. Shigaraki tightens his hand and Izuku can’t help his wince.

“I said, that a very special guest is coming soon. I’m sure you’re heard of him. So you better be on your best behaviour, or we might do something to your little friend over there. Now let me repeat the question. You got that, you little shit?”

Izuku nods as much as he can with the hand holding his face, and he finally lets him go. Shigaraki opens his mouth to say something more, but whatever he had to say is cut off by a groan from Izuku’s right.

He looks over and finds Kacchan blinking quickly, before he raises his head to look around. He meets Izuku’s eyes and they widen a fraction. They’ve been enemies for so long that Izuku can’t tell what the look on his face means.

The blood on Kacchan’s face makes him look even paler, and he still looks a little out of it at he stares at Izuku.

“Well well well, look who’s finally awake.” Shigaraki walks away from Izuku. However he finds it hard to feel relieved, as the man is now standing in front of Kacchan.

“The fuck do you want with us?” Everyone in the room tenses when Kacchan speaks, but Shigaraki lets out a laugh.

“I knew I liked you kid. Why don’t you join us? Those damn heroes will never understand you. With your explosive personality and that mouth of yours, you’ll fit in much better with the League.”

Izuku laughs.

He doesn’t mean to! It just sort of, slips out. All heads twist towards him, and Izuku is once again the centre of attention. Kacchan is gaping at him, a look of shock on his face. He wishes his hands weren’t bound as they are. Sign language would be useful right about now.

“W-well, clearly you’ve n-never met K-kacchan. H-he’s always w-wanted to be the N-number 1 Hero, s-so why would he j-join the villains?” Izuku is silently praising himself for making it through the sentence.

Shigaraki starts laughing again. He goes on for long enough that the others join in.

“Shut the fuck up!” Surprisingly, everyone does. They all turn their glares back on Kacchan.

“The shitty nerd is right. Why the fuck would I join you assholes when I’m going to be the Number 1 Hero? You can all fuck right off.” 

Kacchan is smirking, clearly pleased with himself.

The smirk is wiped right off his face when Shigaraki punches him. He then proceeds to shove a rag in Kacchan’s mouth before stepping away from him.

“I’ll deal with you later. For now, I’ve got business with the other kid. The boss’ll be here soon, and I’ve got to make sure he’s ready for his big performance.” Shigaraki walks towards him, and Izuku can’t help but to slouch down in the chair, trying to make himself as small as possible.

He looks over and the wide-eyed look that Kacchan is giving him doesn’t help in the least bit.

“Now. The boss only wants one thing from you. Then maybe he’ll even let you free after!” The excitement in Shigaraki’s voice makes Izuku think that that’s not the case. The man is silent, clearly waiting for Izuku to respond.

“W-w-what does h-he w-want?” His stuttering is getting worse as his fear grows. It’s a miracle anyone can understand him at this point. Shigaraki crouches in front of him and grips his chin again, waiting until Izuku meets his eyes before speaking.

“Your quirk.” Izuku sucks in a breath.

Could it be? Is All For One really still out there?

Hot tears start running down his face, and Izuku doesn’t even try to stop them.

He flinches when Shigaraki lifts his other hand to his face, but it’s not like he can move very far. A few of the man’s fingers brush his cheek in an almost gentle gesture, wiping away his tears.

“Awe, no need for tears, little hero. There’s a chance you’ll even survive the process, though the boss isn’t known for being very careful when going after what he wants.” Shigaraki stands and backs away a few steps before speaking again.

“Now. The time is here. You just have to be a good little boy and give the man your quirk.” He reaches a door by the bar and opens it slowly, revealing a man standing behind.

The man is wearing a simple suit, but that’s where the normalcy ends. There are tubes sticking out from his neck, and a mask covering his face.

He’s terrifying.

Shigaraki opens his mouth again, and the words that Izuku least wanted to hear, but most expected come out of the mans mouth.

“Welcome, All For One."

Chapter Text

Katsuki’s head is throbbing.

So much so, that he has a hard time following what the freak with the hands is saying.

He freaks a little when the guy mentions his boss. And how his boss wants something from shitty Deku of all people. 

Katsuki is smart enough to realize how Deku got his quirk. He’s known the fucker his entire life. Quirks don’t just appear ten years late. Pair that with his weird relationship with All Might and how similar their quirks are, as well as the Number 1 Hero’s dwindling power, it was pretty fucking simple to figure out.

All Might gave Izuku his power.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise when that handsy fucker mentions that his boss wants Deku’s quirk. 

From the way he acts, Katsuki had thought that Shigaraki was the leader of their group of losers. But from Izuku’s reaction it seems like this boss is super powerful.

Why the fuck doesn’t Katsuki know who this guy is?

He can hear Izuku’s sharp intake when Shigaraki opens the door and announces the man as All For One. The guy is creepy as hell, but the gag in his mouth prevents him from being too obvious about his reaction.

The man steps into the room slowly, and a smaller man follows suit. He’s dressed in a ragged doctors coat, and carries a briefcase containing unknown horrors.

All For One barely spares him a glance before approaching Izuku. He grabs a fistful of hair and yanks his head to the side, towards Katsuki, to bare his neck. The villain gestures the doctor forwards.

The man pulls a long needle from his briefcase before he approaches.

“H-hey! G-get away!” Deku’s cries are quiet, but they’re all that can be heard in the room.

Katsuki wants to yell too, but this fucking gag prevents that.

The doctor barely hesitates before pressing the thing in Deku’s neck. He makes an odd whining sound at the intrusion, but it cuts off as the needle sinks further into his throat. He finally presses the plunger when the needle is sunk in all the way.

Izuku makes an odd face as the man pulls the needle out and tosses it to the side. All For One lets go of his hair, but his head stays where it is, wide eyes trained on Katsuki.

“It’ll just need a minute to sink in.” God the doctor’s voice in annoying as hell.

“W-what did you d-do to m-me?” Deku still faces him, but he turns those wide eyes on the doctor. The man looks at All For One wearily before replying.

“Ahh it’s something of my own invention! Just a little injection to make you and your quirk more compliant.” He steps towards Izuku and turns his head, peering into his eyes.

“Alright, he should be ready now.”

The handsy fucker looks all too excited as All For One steps up to Deku again. He places a hand on his forehead and everyone in the room stills.

Izuku gasps and starts whimpering.

Then he screams. It’s so pain-filled that it has Katsuki shrinking back, away from the awful sound.

The screaming cuts off as abruptly as it started when All For One pulls his hand away. The only sounds now are Izuku’s sobs. His face is red and his whole body is shaking, Katsuki itches to get out of these restraints and blow all these fuckers up.

All For One whirls on the doctor, who backs away a little, hands raised.

“You said this would work.”

“W-wait!! It should! Just try it again, maybe we didn’t wait long enough after all.” The doctor sags in relief when the villain turns back around.

Izuku tenses up and his sobs get louder when All For One replaces his hand on his face.

It’s only seconds before he’s screaming again. They’re quieter this time. Looks like shitty Deku is running out of energy.

Green swirls of lightening start dancing up All For One’s arm, and Shigaraki starts laughing joyously.

The sound cuts off when All For One is blasted backwards. Everyone looks at Izuku, his body producing those green pieces of lightening. He looks awful, but he’s still conscious enough to speak.

“S-s-stay away f-from me.” Katsuki has to strain himself to hear him, and he’s sitting right next to him.

The shitty villain stands up, and turns back towards the doctor.

“You knew what would happen if you failed me.” The man starts backing away, but he hits the bar and has nowhere to go.

“Just try again! It should work this time! I studied All Might’s body and blood extensively, so I know-”

“Does this boy look like All Might to you? Obviously his body has taken the quirk better you idiot!” All For One lashes a hand forwards and it sinks into the doctors chest.

The mans eyes go wide as All For One pulls his hand out, red with the mans blood. The man drops to the floor, lifeless, and All For One simply grabs a towel from the bar and turns, wiping his hand off as he steps back to Izuku.

“How about this. If you don’t give me that quirk, I’ll just kill your friend.”

Katsuki tries to yell at him. Tries to tell him to not listen to the stupid bastard. Who knows what’ll happen if that man gets his quirk.

The stupid fucking gag blocks it all.

Izuku braces himself as All For One places his hand back on his head. The most he can manage is a few whimpers before his body slumps. All For One pulls his hand away and Deku’s eyes are closed. He turns to Shigaraki.

“Make him wake up. He can’t relinquish the quirk while unconscious.” The man takes a step towards him, but pauses at a knock on the door.

“Kamino Pizza!”

Shouta hops into the first ambulance before it heads out. As much as he knows he should stay with the class, he’ll leave it to Vlad to wait with them until they’re all on their way to get checked out.

He needs to make sure his more seriously injured students make it to the hospital in one piece.

The first few ambulances to arrive were escorted by police cars, and Shouta had handed off the fire villain to the first face he recognized. He’d then texted Tsukauchi to meet him at the hospital before jumping into the back of Kirishima’s ambulance.

“Sensei?” The boy’s eyes are droopy and his face awfully pale compared to the slowly darkening ring of bruises around his neck.

“What is it?” He leans towards him a little, wary of getting in the EMT’s way.

“Did ya f’nd th’m? Is ‘suki okay?” Every time he blinks, Kirishima takes longer to reopen his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” The kid’s face falls and he closes his eyes as a few tears run towards his ears. He doesn’t reopen them.

Shouta sits back and pulls his phone from his pocket, ignoring the EMT’s glare as he does so. There’s an important call he needs to make.

Zashi picks up on the third ring.

“Shou! I was just about to call you! What’s up?”

“There’s been an incident. How quickly can you get to the hospital closest to training camp?”

“Pretty quickly with Midnight driving. What’s going on Shou? Did something happen with Izuku?”

“Yah. I’ll explain there.”

“Shou what-” He hangs up.

As guilty as he feels for hanging up on his husband, there’s absolutely no way he can tell him over the phone. Besides. It’s better if he tells all the pro’s that Tsukauchi rounds up at the same time so he doesn’t have to repeat himself.

By the time they pull up to the ER, Shouta can spot Hizashi’s bright yellow hair waiting by the door. His husband gapes at the sight of them hurrying Kirishima through the doors. Shouta doesn’t follow, choosing instead to pull Zashi in for a tight hug.

“How’d you get here so quickly?”

“You realize the training camp was only just out of town right? So the hospital isn’t far from home.” Hizashi pulls away as he speaks, eying Shouta’s condition.

“What the hell happened Shouta?” He turns towards Midnight. Both heroes are in their costumes, so they both took the time to get changed before heading to the hospital. He knows neither of them were on duty tonight.

“Not here. I’ll explain inside.”

He eyes the room number Tsukauchi had sent him before leading the other two in that direction. They find themselves at a conference room, and he pauses in the doorway. This is more heroes than he expected.

Seated at the table is Tsukauchi of course, but Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Kamui Woods, Gran Torino, Mount Lady, Endeavor, and even All Might are here. 

Tsukauchi gestures for the three of them to sit before he opens his mouth.

“Alright. Eraserhead will get you guys up to speed with the situation.”

Chapter Text

Everyone looks so angry by the time Shouta finishes his explanation. Endeavor looks about ready to blow up the table they’re seated at, and that had started before Shouta got to the part about finding Yaoyorozu and Todoroki injured.

“As much as I want to send all the heroes here in to rescue them, I don’t think we can.” Everyone turns to Tsukauchi. Zashi opens his mouth, and Shouta knows that it’s in protest.

“We found the location to another one of their hideouts two days ago. We were waiting until we could assemble a team of heroes to help with a raid. I want us to arrest as many members of the League of Villains as possible. Which means splitting up the forces and hitting both hideouts at once.”

Unfortunately, Tsukauchi is right. If one hideout is hit and they suspect knowledge of the other one, who knows how far underground the league will flee.

“It will also be helpful in case they have that warp villain with them. If they flee the bar location and warp to the other hideout, then we’ll be able to catch them by surprise, almost guaranteeing the success of this rescue.”

“I’m assuming you’ve already picked the teams?” Zashi looks concerned.

Shouta feels the same way. If they’re not on the team to rescue their students, their son, they would feel like the worst kind of parents. Shouta already does, for letting this happen.

“I have, Present Mic. I want you, Eraserhead, Edgeshot, All Might, and Kamui Woods on the bar rescue team.”

Thank fuck.

“So that leaves Endeavor, Best Jeanist, Gran Torino, Mount Lady, and Midnight for the raid team. I will be accompanying the rescue team.” Tsukauchi stands and the rest follow suit.

“We’ll discuss the finer details on the way. I want this done as soon as possible. We’ll radio in our positions and I’ll signal you all when to go. Any questions?” The heroes all shake their heads, then they’re off, wishing each other good luck as they leave the hospital.

Shouta is paired with Edgeshot. The sun is nearly up by the time they pile up behind the door. As soon as Tsukauchi gives them the signal, Edgeshot knocks twice and yells out.

“Kamino Pizza!” They wait the seven seconds that they had been ordered to before bursting through the door at the same time that the far wall is destroyed.

The first thing he notices is the body. It's not one of his kids, thank god, but the body means that even more of his students witnessed a murder tonight.

He turns to his left and finds them. He’s on rescue duty as opposed to capture duty, so he ignores the fighting and heads straight for the kids. Zashi does the same from his end of the room, so Shouta stops in front of Bakugou.

He starts untying his hands as he surveys the boy. He’s a little bruised and bloody, and has a gag shoved in his mouth, but he seems otherwise uninjured.

As soon as his hands are free Bakugou rips the gag from his mouth and reaches down to help Shouta untie his feet. Once that’s done he turns to see how the rest of the team is doing.

Kamui Woods and Edgeshot have nearly all of the villains tied up. The only ones free are Shigaraki, the warp villain, and some big creep that Shouta’s never seen before.

There’s a tug on his sleeve. Shouta doesn’t want to turn his back on the stand off in front of him, so he tilts his head to show he’s listening.

“Sensei. You need to erase the big guys quirks.”

Quirks? As in more than one?

This has to be All For One.

He’s about to activate his quirk when All Might steps in the way. It seems like he’s just trying to help and cover the others, but he’s also blocking Shouta’s sight of All For One.

Goddammit.

“All For One. What do you want with my students?”

“Well, I only wanted one. And I think you know what I want from him.” Shouta turns to his husband. Izuku is limp in his arms, and Zashi has a worried frown on his face.

Kamui Woods and Edge shot are slowly retreating, pulling the villains they’d restrained with them. Pretty soon it’s just Shouta, Hizashi, All Might, and the kids in the room.

He catches Zashi’s eye and gestures for him to get out. When All For One catches him moving he lunges forwards, but All Might moves and blocks his path.

Shouta’s field of vision is clear.

He activates his quirk, and All For One stumbles. At the loss of his quirk the man zeroes in on him and steps forwards, but All Might plants a fist in his face to stop him. It throws him backwards, and All Might looks surprised at the ease of the action.

He turns to Shout and grins before throwing himself at the villain once more.

Despite the loss of his quirks, All For one is strong. He’s capable of holding his own against All Might.

Before long, Shouta feels the itch in his eyes. Ever since the attack at the USJ he’s had trouble keeping his quirk going for long periods of time.

He blinks.

All For One gets a few, super-powered seconds that he makes count. He grows his arm and uses it to throw All Might through the wall, right by their heads. The Number 1 Hero is quick to recover, and Shouta reactivates his quirk.

Out of the corner of his eye he spots Kamui Woods, using his quirk to reach for Bakugou. Without turning, Shouta ushers him to his feet and begins to herd him in the pros direction.

Kamui wraps a wooden limb around Bakugou and begins to pull him out, but they completely forgot about the other villain in the room.

Shigaraki reaches for his student, and Shouta turns his eyes on him. The more quirks he erases, the harder it gets, and who knows how many quirks of All For One he’s erasing.

Thankfully he has it in him to erase at least one more.

Shigaraki’s hand brushes Bakugou’s leg, but without his quirk there’s no damage. Still, Kamui jerks Bakugou up to avoid more hands, and in the process knocks the boy’s head against the roof.

He’s unconscious by the time Kamui gets him out of there.

Jesus fuck some of these guys need to work on their rescue work. Nezu would gladly let them use the USJ to train, but he doubts some of these younger pros would utilize it all that much.

Shouta blinks again.

He’s quicker to reactivate his quirk this time. He just wants this over with.

He sees Shigaraki reach the warp villain. He wants to move, to do something to stop them, but at this point it’ll do nothing. Maybe they’ll warp to the other location and get caught anyways.

All Might delivers one final blow to All For One that has him sailing through the hole in the wall, right towards the arrested villains and the kids.

Shouta rushes forewords, but finds there’s no need.

All For One lays limp on the ground, and Tsukauchi is wearily approaching. All Might jumps down to cover him while he places quirk cancelling cuffs on him, and there’s an undeniable reduce in tension as soon as they’re on the man.

Shouta jumps from the bar and runs to the waiting ambulances. Izuku is being loaded into one of them, still unconscious. Zashi is hovering protectively, still managing to eye out of the paramedic’s way despite being glued to their sons side.

He approaches his husband and resits the temptation to draw the other man into a hug. There’ll be time for that later.

“Hey. I’ll ride with Bakugou.” 

“You sure Shou?”

“Yah. Looks like you have this handled.” He gives Hizashi’s hand a tight squeeze before he heads for their other student.

He climbs into his second ambulance of the day just as the sun crests a nearby building. Shouta doesn’t think he’ll be sleeping anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Katsuki wakes up to voices. They’re not the loud, grating voices of the villains that kidnapped them. He easily recognizes the bored, monotone voice of his homeroom teacher and the cheery voice of Present Mic.

Although his voice doesn’t sound all that cheery right now.

“-are you going to tell them Shou?”

“I don’t know.” Aizawa-sensei sounds more defeated than Katsuki has ever heard the man.

“Well they’re going to find out eventually. It’s best that they find out from you rather than the kids who witnessed it.”

“I guess. But how am I supposed to tell my students that one of their classmates died?”

Katsuki snaps his eyes open in panic, and immediately regrets it. The lights above him are too bright. What’s with hospitals and their bright fucking lights?

“-they blame me?” He tunes back in just in time to hear the end of Aizawa-sensei’s sentence. Why would the class blame him? Unless he was there and could have prevented it.

“Why would they blame you Shou?”

“I left the classroom.”

Oh fuck no.

“But you left Vlad in charge. He’s the one who shouldn’t have left. He could’ve easily restrained the villain before things got ugly.”

It’s one of the remedial students that died? That almost guarantees that it’s one of those shitty extras that call themselves his friends.

“I know Zashi. But it’s my job to keep them safe, and I failed them.”

“Shou, the rest only survived because of you.”

He’d never admit it, but they are his fucking friends. Shitty-Hair’s even more than that. If one of them dies, after Katsuki finally having real fucking friends, he doesn’t know what he’d do with himself. Probably hunt down those shitty villains and deal with them on his own.

“He would’ve survive if I’d stayed.”

Oh fuck. What if it was Shitty-hair? That fucker better not be dead, or Katsuki will bring him back just to kill him himself.

He sits up in a bit of a panic. He needs answers, and he needs them now.

“Listener! How long have you been awake?” Katsuki reopens his eyes and turns to his teachers.

Aizawa-sensei is sitting in the corner facing the door. He has one hand fisted in his capture weapon, and the other clutching Deku’s hand from where he lays in the bed. Present Mic-sensei is sitting only a few feet away from Katsuki, holding onto Deku’s other hand.

“Long enough. Who fucking died?”

“Bakugou, maybe you should wait for the rest of-” He interrupts Present Mic without an ounce of guilt.

“Sensei. Who. Fucking. Died.” Aizawa-sensei gives him a pained look.

Katsuki is not fucking crying.

Aizawa-sensei still isn’t answering.

“Who was it sensei? Was it Kirishima? Is that why you refuse to tell me? If that shitty-haired fucker died I’m going to-”

He cuts himself off. If sensei tells him that Kirishima died, what will he do?

Katsuki shuts his eyes against the tears that are most definitely not falling. There’s a loud sigh before Aizawa-sensei speaks up again.

“Bakugou, you have to understand that this is hard for me too. It was-” His teacher is cut off at the squeak of the door opening, but Katsuki keeps his eyes shut.

“Kirishima?” Katsuki lets out a sob when he continues.

Fuck fuck FUCK.

He scrubs at his cheeks, unwilling to let his teachers see him react like this.

Whoever’s at the door has yet to move. Is that why Aizawa-sensei sounded so confused? Why would he say Shitty hair’s name like that. If he was telling Katsuki that he’s dead?

He opens his eyes and can’t help the fresh tears.

It’s Kirishima at the door.

His arms are absolutely covered in bandages. His neck is covered by them too, and even from this far away Katsuki can see the edge of a dark bruise peeking out. Kirishima looks so pale, and he’s holding onto the doorframe as if it’s the only thing keeping him standing.

What the fuck happened to him?

“Katsuki?” His voice is raspy and painful sounding.

That seems to break everyone out of their trance. Both teachers stand, and Aizawa-sensei drops Izuku’s hand to step towards Kirishima.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be out of bed yet.” Sensei walks a few steps closer to Kirishima, but he doesn’t seem to notice. He’s too busy staring at Katsuki.

Katsuki can’t help but to stare back into those red eyes.

“I needed to-” Kirishima steps forwards and the second his hand leaves the doorway he’s falling.

Aizawa-sensei takes the last few steps quickly and is able to catch him around the middle so that his knees take the brunt of the impact.

“Why am I surrounded by problem children.” Aizawa-sensei shifts Kirishima around before he stands, holding him in his arms.

Instead of heading back out the door, Aizawa-sensei heads in Katsuki’s direction. He hastily slides over on the bed, and their teacher carefully sets Kirishima down beside him before heading back to his seat.

They continue to stare at each other for a few moments longer before Shitty Hair breaks the silence.

“I’m so glad you’re okay! When I heard they took you I wasn’t sure if you’d come back.”

“You doubting me, Shitty-Hair?” Kirishima doesn’t rise to the bait. Instead, his eyes well with tears and he turns his gaze to his lap.

“Of course not. I just-I didn’t know how many villains there were. They could have really hurt you, or even killed you! I was really worried for you. But I wasn’t doubting you! I just-”

“Eijirou.” Red-rimmed eyes meet his.

“I’m fine, and I’m right here.” Eijirou scoots closer and without a moment of hesitation, throws his arms around his middle.

Katsuki fights the urge to push him away. He’s not exactly used to contact like this. But for Shitty-Hair, he’ll prevail.

He wraps his arms around the redhead, and rests his chin on top of his head. He lets Eijirou cry into his chest, and doesn’t let go when he falls silent. It’s not long before Katsuki joins him in sleep.

Shouta keeps an eye on the boys from the corner of his eye, trying his best to make it seem like he’s not spying on them. He may be a little concerned.

Bakugou can be explosive on the best of days, even towards his closest friends. Kirishima usually has a great defence and takes everything in stride, but Shouta doubts he can even activate his quirk in his state.

Their reunion goes far beyond his expectations.

The moment he sees the tears in Bakugou’s eyes he turns his attention elsewhere. He only returns to watching them when they both fall silent. He looks over to find them still sitting up, Kirishima tucked safely into Bakugou’s arms.

Shouta should have expected them to get together.

He turns back to his husband, and finds him watching the boys with a soft smile on his face.

“Hey. I think I’m going to get some coffee.” Zashi looks at him, and takes a minute to take in his appearance before nodding. If he looks as exhausted as he feels, he must look terrible.

“Alright love. Get me something too?” Shouta nods to him and stand.

He reluctantly starts removing his hand from Izuku’s, when it tightens around his own. He looks to his son’s face and finds green eyes staring back.

Chapter Text

Quite frankly, Izuku feels like shit.

His whole body aches, but the focal point is his head. There’s a consistent pounding that wakes him from his slumber.

He’s reluctant to open his eyes. The last thing he was aware of was being knocked out by All For One. He’s not interested in being subjected to that pain again, so he keeps them shut.

They must have moved him while he was out, because now he’s laying on his back with something clamped around his hands.

He can hear Kacchan yelling, and he sounds almost scared. Fear isn’t something he would usually put in the same sentence as Kacchan, unless he was saying that someone is scared of him.

The voice that answers him is not that of a villain. It sounds like his dad, excepts why would his dad be here? The vice around his left hand disappears for a moment and he relishes in the freedom, but just as he’s about to do something about it, the weight is back.

Except, it really isn’t all that tight. And there’s a texture he didn’t expect from being tied down. It feels rough, almost like callouses.

He squints his eyes open and looks to his hand. There’s another hand gripping his, and when he traces his eyes over the arm it’s attached to, he eventually finds himself staring at his dad’s face.

He’s not looking at Izuku. Instead he’s looking to his right, and Izuku sees his other dad there. That explains the weight on his other hand.

Dad says something and stands before beginning to untangle their hands.

Where’s he going? He can’t just leave him, he only just woke up!

Izuku tightens his hand as much as he can, and his dad looks down at him, the shocked look on his face morphing into one of relief.

“Hey Izuku. How do you feel?” His dad gives him a warm smile.

Izuku shrugs.

“That bad huh? Let me get the doctor to take a look.” Izuku just tightens his hand and shakes his head. His dad gets the message and sits back down.

“Hey baby. We’re so glad you’re okay! When Shou explained what happened I was so worried about you.” Despite his enthusiasm, his dad looks wrecked. There are tears in his eyes as he gives Izuku a tired smile.

Wordlessly, Izuku pulls his hands out of his dad’s before slowly sitting up on his own. Once vertical, he throws his arms around his dad and buries his face in his leather collar. His dad grips him back just as tightly.

Izuku pulls away after a few moments.

‘How did I get here? Is Bomb okay?’

“By bomb I assume you mean Bakugou?” He turns to his other dad and nods at him.

“He’s fine. Take a look.” He gestures to somewhere on the other side of the room, and Izuku cranes his neck around his dad to get a glimpse of the other bed in the room.

Kacchan is there, and looks to be peacefully sleeping. Izuku is surprised to see the way he’s curled around Kirishima.

He turns back to his dad and raises a brow in silent question. He just shrugs at him.

“As for what happened, do you remember Yaoyorozu giving you the tracker?”

‘Vaguely’

“Well, as soon as she got back to camp she gave the device to me. I contacted Detective Tsukauchi so he could gather a few heroes for a rescue. On the way to the hospital with some of your classmates I phoned Zashi, who brought Midnight with him. By the time we all met up, Tsukauchi already had a plan.”

‘You guys helped rescue us?’

“Of course we did listener!”

‘Thank you!’ Izuku smiles as widely as his sore face allows as an attempt to get across just how grateful he is.

“Now listener, I actually have some great news!” His dad looks excited. He turns to his other dad and he just shrugs, a bemused smile on his face.

“As you know, All Might was supposed to be at the camp with you guys.” Izuku turns to him with a confused frown. How is something involving All Might good news?

“He was called in to some meetings with Principle Nezu. Let’s just say, the man is not all that pleased with how All Might has been acting. So the day before you left, Shou and I brought him evidence regarding how he’s treated you. We hoped to get him removed from teaching.”

‘Why?’ Izuku is not exactly happy with how All Might has treated him, but does that really warrant him being removed from teaching? He’s the Number 1 Hero! Any school would be lucky to have him.

His dad places a hand in his hair and he turns to him, away from the frown on Zashi’s face.

“Izuku, kiddo. He hurt you. We’re worried about you and the other students. He doesn’t think before acting and that could put someone in serious danger. His idiocy already put you in danger.”

Oh. That makes sense then. All Might may be the Number 1 Hero, but he doesn’t exactly think like it.

‘So? What happened?’ He and Shou both turn towards Zashi expectantly.

“Nezu removed him from teaching! It’s only temporary for now. He has to attend mandatory training, and depending on how that goes, he may be permanently removed. Although, Nezu may keep him around the school for now for extra protection.”

‘What about his class?’

“Don’t worry about that listener! Nezu just has to rearrange the schedule a little.” His dad gives him a warm smile, which Izuku easily returns.

‘And the other news?’ His dad gives him a huge grin, and Izuku feels excited just looking at it.

“Well, while you guys were away, I got a call from your social worker. Your adoption went through! You are officially Yamada Izuku.”

Izuku dives back into his chest and hugs him harder than last time. He feels a shift on the bed behind him, and then his dad is bringing his arms around him as well, effectively squishing him between them.

God he loves them.

“What was that, listener?” His dad pulls away a little to look him at him.

Oh. He must have said that out loud.

“I s-said, that I love you guys! You’re j-just so amazing, and you’ve h-helped me so much! And I-I haven’t told you how m-much I care about you!”

Izuku’s stuttering is from nerves when he starts, but by the end, it’s because he’s crying. He’s been thinking about these warm feeling for so long. It is such a relief to finally get this off his chest.

His dad pulls him back into his arms and squeezes him tightly, but not tight enough to be painful.

“Oh Izuku. We love you too. You’ve become such an important part of our family, I can’t imagine life without you in it.” Izuku sobs and hugs him tighter.

He’s just so happy.

Chapter Text

The three of them sit together until Izuku calms himself down enough to relinquish his hold on them. His dads don’t stray far, only moving back into their seats. Shou gives him a serious look before grabbing his hand again.

“Listen kiddo. We’ve also got some bad news for you.” Uh oh. Izuku thinks he knows where this is going.

“Is it about the st-student that died?” His dad looks briefly surprised before he schools his expression again and nods.

“How do you know about that?” Izuku fidgets nervously before fisting his free hand in the sheets.

He wants so badly to sign right now. But he should be comfortable enough with his dads to talk, right? They’ve never given him a reason to not trust them, and Izuku has talked to them a million times before.

So why can’t he do this?

He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out, and he finds himself looking everywhere but at his dads.

Movement past Zashi catches his eye and he turns to it, finding Kacchan staring at them with open curiosity on his normally guarded face.

Izuku must have woken him up with all his crying. 

However, it must not have been too excessive, because Kirishima is still smushed against Kacchan’s chest, seemingly dead to the world.

Izuku cringes at the poor turn of phrase and averts his eyes.

He can practically feel the heat of Kacchan’s gaze on the side of his head, as if the other boy had heard his thoughts.

He’s not telepathic, right? That would be rather unfortunate.

“W-w-well-” Izuku cuts himself off. He doesn’t even want to think about what the villains had been saying, even if that part hadn’t been as traumatic as the rest of the kidnapping.

His dad grabs his other hand so that he now holds the both of them in his own.

Izuku really hopes that he can’t feel the trembling.

“Hey, Izuku.” His dad looks so concerned when he finally meets his eyes.

“You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. Would you rather sign?” Sometimes Izuku forgets how caring his dads are. They notice when he’s uncomfortable and actually give him a choice.

“W-well yah, b-but-” His dad interrupts him before he can get anywhere with his complaints.

“No buts. Sign away kiddo.” His dead lets go of his hands and Izuku draws them back to his lap, trying to quell the shaking. Signing won’t do any good if no one can understand what he’s saying.

It takes a few minutes for his hands to stop shaking, and the silence is nearly unbearable. Kacchan hasn’t said a word since he woke up, but Izuku knows that he’s still watching.

‘While we were still in the forest, I heard one of the villains saying that someone was caught. I think his name was D-a-b-i?’ Izuku finger spells the unfamiliar name, and looks up to his dad for confirmation.

“Yah. That’s the name of the guy I caught.”

‘Well, they also said that he killed a kid. That’s all I know.’

“Sorry kiddo, but it’s true. Dabi attacked the classroom, and Satou died protecting your other classmates.”

Izuku doesn’t really know what to say to that.

He didn’t know Satou very well. The only time he really had direct contact with the guy was during rescue training. But Izuku knows he was strong. Especially so if he protected their classmates.

“I’m sorry.” Izuku had been about to utter those same words, but Kirishima beat him to it.

Everyone turns towards the other occupants of the room. Kirishima isn’t looking at anyone, instead he’s turned so that his forehead is pressed against Kacchan’s chest, hiding himself pretty effectively.

“It’s my fault. If I w-was stronger, then he w-wouldn’t have had to protect me.” Izuku opens his mouth to reassure his friend, but Kacchan beats him to it.

“Then it could’ve been you that everyone’s mourning, Ei.”

“Kirishima.” Teary, red eyes turn towards his dad. Izuku follows his gaze and frowns at the look on his dad’s face. He’s never seen him so openly upset before.

“It’s my fault. I’m the one who left you guys there.”

“Shou we’ve been over-” A frantic knocking on the door cuts his dad off.

His dad looks grateful for the interruption and opens the door to a frantic looking nurse. She bows low to him before speaking.

“Eraserhead sir! I’m so sorry! We’ve lost one of your students! I know he couldn’t have gotten far with his injuries, but we can’t find him anywhere near his room, so I have more nurses searching now!”

“Who is it?” The nurse stands from her bow to face him before answering.

“Kirishima Eijirou, sir.” His dad sighs and turns from the door, eyeing up the bed where Kacchan and Kirishima lie.

“I think you can call off the search.” He steps to the side so the nurse can see the room. She looks briefly surprised before pulling out her phone to presumably update the rest of the staff.

“Kirishima.” His dad looks a little disappointed.

“Sensei?”

“Did you sneak out of your room just so you could see your boyfriend?” Izuku looks back to Kirishima and finds his face almost as red as his hair. 

“W-wait sensei! Th-that’s not-” His spluttering cuts off as Kacchan lightly smacks him on the back of his head.

“Shitty-hair! Just answer the fucking question.” Kacchan doesn’t even look upset by his dads assumption.

Izuku’s mind is blown. Who knew Kacchan could be so tame?

“Um, yes sensei.”

Just as his dad looks like he wants to say more, the nurse steps forwards.

“I am so sorry, Eraserhead sir! I’ll grab a wheelchair and escort him back to his room. He won’t disturb-”

“It’s fine.”

“Sir?” The nurse looks so confused. Izuku can relate.

“It’s no problem if he stays in here. So no need to trouble yourself with moving him back.”

“Of course sir! I’ll just notify his doctor of the transfer and grab his chart so I can get him back on the proper dose of antibiotics and painkillers.” The nurse leaves, thankfully less frantic than she’d arrived.

“Sorry sensei. I just needed to see Katsuki.” Kirishima looks only slightly remorseful.

“I said it’s fine. But next time just ask instead of taking out your IV and sneaking away.” His dad sits back down with a sigh and grabs Izuku’s hand again. The room is silent for a few moments until his dad breaks it.

“How about I go get you that coffee Shou?” His dad just nods at him, so he stands and plants a kiss on Izuku’s head and his other dad’s cheek before leaving the room, nearly colliding with the entering nurse on his way.

Izuku ignores her as she heads to the other bed and starts fussing over Kirishima. He’s too busy staring at the sad look on his dad’s face.

“Um, are you okay dad?” He gives Izuku an assessing look before replying.

“Not really.” Izuku tightens his hand around his dad’s.

“I, um, I know it doesn’t mean much, but I’m sorry.”

“What for? None of this was your fault Izuku.”

“I know. But it wasn’t yours either. It’s not like you asked the villains to attack us, right?” His dad squints at him.

“Of course not.”

“Then it’s not your fault! And I’m sorry because you lost a student. I don’t think many knew Satou all that well, but he was still in our class, and it sounds like he was a true hero.”

“Yah. He was.” His dad sighs and looks down at their hands.

Izuku carefully lets go before pulling his dad into another hug. He seems like he could use the comfort right now, whether he admits to it or not.

That’s how dad finds them when he returns, two steaming cups of awful hospital coffee in hand.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi is one of the lucky ones. He got partnered with Aoyama for the walk of courage, and while he’s not close to the other boy, they get along well enough. He’s one of the few that weren’t scared to talk to him back when he was in general studies and everyone learned what his quirk is. 

Aoyama is eccentric, but he’s not pushy and left Izuku alone when a lot of the class wouldn’t, so that gives him extra browny points.

“Shinsou, mon amie?” Hitoshi hums, and that’s enough of a response for the other boy.

“Isn’t it a bit weird that they haven’t tried to scare us in a while?” Hitoshi stops walking.

It’s probably been a good ten minutes since they last ran into the other class. They’ve haven’t strayed from the path, but there hasn’t been any sign of other people. Could be a scare tactic, but ten minutes of buildup? Unlikely.

“Yah. It is.” He meets Aoyama’s eyes and finds a worried expression that he’s sure matches his own.

“It’s probably nothing, but maybe we should head back.” Hitoshi takes Aoyama’s silence as agreement and turns around to head the way they came.

They walk in silence for a few minutes before the sound of shuffling feet comes from behind them. They turn around to meet whoever it is, and Hitoshi has to take a step back when they’re joined on the path.

The group is led by Aizawa-sensei, and there’s some class 1-B kid he doesn’t know thrown over his teachers shoulder. He’s followed by a large group of their classmates, and some of them are hurt.

What the hell is going on?

Hitoshi and Aoyama wordlessly join the group, and he finds himself walking next to Iida. He leans in close to the taller boy before speaking.

“Hey. What’s going on?” Iida frowns at him before answering.

“You didn’t hear any of the villains? We’re all headed back to the cabins so we can be safe.” Villain attack? That can’t be good.

He cranes his neck around, but there’s no sign of Izuku or Shouto anywhere. Hopefully they’re both okay, but knowing Izuku, he’s probably attracted trouble.

Hitoshi isn’t sure they’re going the right way anymore. Why is there so much smoke here?

His question is answered the moment they break through the tree line. One of the cabins is on fire. Aizawa-sensei looks around for a second before bolting towards the flaming building. Hitoshi looks around as well and frowns. None of his classmates that were taking extra lessons are around.

Oh. That’s why Aizawa-sensei ran. His classmates are still in there.

The group he’s with seems to realize it at the same time as him, and they all stand there gaping at the building until one of the Pussycats starts rounding people up.

After Aizawa-sensei does back out with several injured students in tow, only two more emerge from the forest. Their teachers meets them at the tree-line and deflates after speaking to them.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand why. Two students haven’t returned.

Izuku and Bakugou are gone.

Everything after that is a bit of a blur. He piles into a bus with Vlad-sensei and the rest of the uninjured kids, and they’re taken back to the school.

Somebody must have called everyone’s parents, because by the time they’re pulling up to the school, there’s a crowd of adults waiting for them. Hitoshi gladly accepts the teary hugs from his parent and doesn’t say anything as he’s ushered into the car.

Izuku is gone.

On the bus ride he’d harassed Vlad-sensei until he told them that they were taken by villains. At least there’s a chance that they’re still alive.

What would a villain want with sweet Izuku?

The thought keeps him up all night.

When 5am hits, he crawls out of bed and gets dressed. His parents won’t be up for a while, but he needs to do something, and visiting his classmates at the hospital seems like a good thing to occupy his time.

Well, there’s only one or two classmates he’ll actually visit, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

He texts his parents on the bus ride to the subway so that they don’t worry about him disappearing. Luckily there aren’t a lot of riders this early in the morning, and everyone is too tired to bother each other.

He gets to the hospital after an hour long subway ride and another short bus journey where he tried his best not to fall asleep. It wouldn’t do him any good to miss his stop.

When he steps in the doors he wanders around a little, unsure of where to go. He doesn’t want to bother anyone that’s working, and he’s not even sure that Todoroki is still admitted. He knows his friend was bleeding, but he doesn’t know how severely.

He turns the corner and nearly runs into Endeavor. Thank god he didn’t, because that would’ve been embarrassing. The hero stares at him for a minute before his eyes widen in recognition.

“Oh! You’re one of Midoriya’s friends right? Did you come to see him?” Holy shit he’s okay?

“He’s been rescued?” Hitoshi asks the question far too loudly, but Endeavor just smiles at him.

“They both were few hours ago. His dads are with him now. Why don’t I show you the way?” Hitoshi nods at him and the man turns around, heading back the way he came from.

“It’s Shinsou right? Shouto has mentioned you a few times.”

“Yes sir! He’s one of my best friends, along with Izuku.”

“That’s good to hear. Shouto is recovering well. He got a fair amount of scrapes and bruises, but nothing too severe. He also got a concussion, but it’s mild enough that he can recover at home.”

“That’s good news!” Hitoshi’s voice echoes in the empty corridor and he cringes. He’d apologize for his volume, but he’s far too excited to see Izuku hopefully in one piece to care.

After what feels like years of walking, Endeavor stops and knocks at a door that has a pair of police officers flanking it. Aizawa-sensei answers it, and looks a bit confused until Endeavor steps to the side and his teacher catches sight of him.

Aizawa-sensei steps to the side to let him in, and Hitoshi eagerly steps through. He stops at the foot of Izuku’s bed and they just look at each other.

Izuku looks mostly okay, a large bruise on the side of his face from where someone most likely hit him. Other than that though, he looks as good as new. He’s frowning at Hitoshi, and he knows that it’s because of the dark circles under his eyes that rival Aizawa-sensei’s.

“Alright listeners! Shou and I have an important meeting at the school we need to get to! There are two trusted officers right outside the door and Endeavor is only a few rooms down if you need anything.” Mic-sensei’s voice cuts through their little staring contest, and Hitoshi finally looks away from Izuku as Aizawa-sensei gives some parting words of his own.

“Behave, problem children. I don’t want any calls of kids getting out of bed and sneaking to each others rooms.” He gives a pointed look to the other bed in the room before following Mic-sensei out the door.

“Took them fucking long enough.” Hitoshi finally looks to the other bed and finds Bakugou and Kirishima, sitting side by side. It looks like a tight fit, but neither boy looks uncomfortable.

“The fuck are you looking at, extra?” Bakugou’s ears are tipped red, and looking closer he can see a light dusting of pink on his cheeks.

“Nothing.” Hitoshi smirks at him before turning back to Izuku. He chooses the chair that allows him to turn his back on the other boys and focus solely on the one in front of him. They stare for a bit longer before Izuku sees something in his expression and raises his hands to sign.

‘I’m okay’

“You’d better be.” Izuku just gives him a soft smile.

“Why did they even take you? What happened?” Hitoshi has to stop himself from asking more. He doesn’t want to overwhelm Izuku, and a bunch of questions will do just that.

Izuku looks to the other bed before raising his hands again.

‘It’s a long story’

“Well I think we have the time.” He tries for nonchalant, but it comes out weak and desperate.

‘Can I tell you later? It’s a lot to sign and I’m not ready to tell Bomb yet.’ Hitoshi looks over his shoulder and finds Bakugou watching them with a scowl.

“Yes I understand what you’re saying you fuckers.”

“Why in the world do you know sign language?”

“It’s because of his quirk! He-” Kirishima is cut off by a glare from Bakugou, and gives him a remorseful look. Bakugou looks back to Hitoshi and scowls harder at the curious look on his face.

“Because of how fucking loud my quirk is, I might go deaf one day. It pays to be fucking prepared.” Hitoshi just raises his brows at him and turns back to Izuku.

He doesn’t look surprised. Hitoshi assumes he knew already. It’s just like him to figure something like that out.

“Okay. You can tell me when you’re ready, Izuku.” Izuku gives him a bright smile, and Hitoshi can’t help but smile back.

‘Thank you’ Izuku rests his hand, palm up on the blankets.

Hitoshi takes the invitation and grips his hand as tightly as he dares.

Izuku lays back down in the bed without letting go of his hand. Hitoshi turns their hands so that his is clasped below Izuku’s, and presses a feather light kiss on the back of it.

Izuku is beat red, but he’s also smiling, so Hitoshi takes it as a win. He lays his head on his forearm and shuts his eyes. He can sleep peacefully now that he knows Izuku is alright.

Chapter Text

Shouta is not happy that they have to leave Izuku at the hospital for a teachers meeting. Under normal circumstances, he would’ve just skipped and asked Zashi to take notes, but this meeting will be anything but normal.

For all he knows, the school could be shutting down.

So they leave Izuku in the capable hands of a few of Tsukauchi’s most loyal officers, and head over to the school.

They are the last teachers to arrive, so once they take their usual seats Nezu clears his throat.

“Now. I’m sure all of you heard what happened at the training camp, and are curious about the repercussions this incident will have on the school.” The pro’s all nod their agreement.

“We’re very fortunate that UA gets to stay open.” Well that’s a surprise. From what Shouta saw, the media was practically begging the Hero Commission to shut them down for good.

“I have had several lengthy meetings with poor Satou’s parents, and they’ve decided not to take legal action.” How the hell did Nezu convince them not to?

“Why not?” Shouta knows that interrupting Nezu is never a good idea, but he decided to risk it just this once.

“I told them Kirishima’s account on what happened in the classroom, about how Satou heroically defended his classmates.” That can’t be it. His parents had been completely heartbroken when he'd met them.

“That, and the Hero Commission is buying their silence.” Of course that’s it. The Commission will do anything to keep this under control.

“Moving on, there is going to be a strict set of rules we must follow in order for the school to remain open. The Commission was very clear that if these are broken, they won’t hesitate to shut us down. The first is on campus dorms.” Oh no. Shouta can’t handle seeing his class outside of lessons.

“The dorm buildings will be separated by class, and each will have a teacher living with them to keep an eye on them. For example, class 1-A will have it’s own dorm, supervised by Eraserhead.” 

Oh god. He has to live with his entire class? Shouta will reluctantly admit that he’s fond of his class, but dealing with them all day every day is going to be a nightmare.

“Once the students arrive on school grounds, they will not be permitted to leave unless it’s for pre-approved events.”

“What about emergencies? If something happens to a family member?” Zashi speaks up beside him.

“Those will be dealt with on a case by case basis, and the students must be escorted by one of us.”

These kids are going to be absolutely miserable. Not being able to leave the school means that they won’t be able to see their families, unless Nezu allows on campus visits.

“Parents will not be permitted on campus, unless there’s an emergency and they will be escorted by a teacher every second that they’re here.” Well that answers that question.

“Isn’t that a little restrictive? The students are bound to feel trapped and homesick.” Midnight pipes in. From the looks on a lot of their coworkers faces, they feel the same way.

“Unfortunately, restrictive is our only option until the League of Villains is caught. Possibly longer.” Who knows how long that will take. Even after they’re caught, the dorms could become a permanent thing.

“Our gates will remain shut, and only members of the staff will be able to open them. Cementoss has already started construction on the dorms, so they should be ready for move in in a few days. I need all homeroom teachers to talk to their students parents about the dorms. We don’t have many options, so if they don’t want their kid in the dorms, then they will have to pull them from UA.” So visiting the parents is more of a curtesy than asking for permission. 

“I know it’s a lot, but these restrictions are for the safety of the students, and of our school.” It is a lot. Shouta has no doubt that a few of his students will act out with these precautions. It may make them feel worse rather than better like it should.

“Now. During my discussions with the Hero Commission, they agreed to move around patrols in the area. You guys will still be permitted to patrol, but only when another pro is available to watch your class.” That shouldn’t be too hard for Shouta. He’s dragging Zashi into this hell with him since his husband doesn’t have a homeroom class.

“They’ve upped the amount of heroes working in the area, and we may get additional heroes on campus to keep an eye on things.” Shouta really hopes they don’t get some hotshot younger pro’s at the school. But they’re most likely all that agencies will be able to spare.

“I’ve discussed these measures with the principals of other hero schools so that they can consider adding extra protections as well. The League seems to have a fixation on the destruction of All Might, and with him on indefinite leave I’m afraid they may turn their focus elsewhere.” That’s a relief, yet not at the same time. Hopefully his class will stop being targeted, but he doesn’t want other schools to suffer as well.

“As I’ve had a few parents contact me about pulling their kids, I also asked the other schools if they’d be willing to accept transfer students. A few of them agreed, so if any of your students parents express the desire you can bring it up.” Shouta hopes that none of his students are leaving the hero course. They all have excellent potential.

However, a fair amount of them went through something traumatic. A few of them were nearly killed! He can’t help but to shoulder a bit of the blame. He wouldn’t put it past some of the parents to blame him for letting their kids be in danger like that. It’d be no surprise if they no longer trusted him with their kids and chose to pull them from UA instead.

“What about how the students feel? My class and Vlad’s class went through something pretty traumatic, so it’s no surprise that some of them want out.” Shouta feels a little uncertain as he speaks.

“Hound Dog will be performing mandatory evaluations of both class 1-A and 1-B. If he deems it necessary, students will have required counselling sessions until further notice.” That’s a lot better than Shouta expected. Back in his days as a student that wouldn’t have been an option.

At least UA has somewhat improved.

“Now we must move on to a more serious matter.” A more serious matter? How much more serious could this get? Nezu raises his voice before Shouta can ask him anything.

“You may enter now!” The door opens loudly and Tsukauchi walks in, shutting the door behind him. He pulls up a chair next to Nezu and gives the room a wan smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

Shouta has an inkling on why Tsukauchi is here. He’s the leader of the Taskforce created to stop the League of Villains, so obviously it has something to do with them. It must be how they found the camp. Only a few of the teachers knew of the location, and all of them are trusted Pro Heroes.

None of them could have leaked the information.

“Now. I’m sure you’re all wondering why I called Detective Tsukauchi here. It has to do with how the League of Villains found the location of the training camp.” Tsukauchi clears his throat as all eyes turn to him.

“There’s absolutely no way one of you Pro Heroes leaked the location. No one is beyond suspicion, but we’ve performed the necessary background checks and I’ve spoken to all relevant Heroes.”

Even without Tsukauchi’s lie detector quirk Shouta could have told everyone that. All these teachers are trusted comrades he’s known for years! Some of them since his own high school days. None of them would dare sell anyone out.

Not unless they wanted to deal with the rest of the staff.

“Because of this, there’s only one option left.” Shouta really hopes that this isn’t going where he thinks it may be.

“None of the students knew where they were headed beforehand, so there’s no chance that they offhandedly mentioned it to their family, who in turn let it slip to the league. This means that one of the students from class 1-A or 1-B told the League on purpose.” Tsukauchi is frowning now, sending him and Zashi a sympathetic look at the implication.

Oh shit. This is exactly what he'd been hoping against. One of their students betrayed them, and got his son kidnapped. It could have been one of the students that he’s so reluctantly fond of. Shouta doesn’t want to believe that it’s one of his kids, but anything is possible.

“I’m sure you’ve all guessed by now, but there is a traitor among them.” Nezu voices what Shouta thinks is an obvious conclusion to what Tsukauchi said.

“I’m planning on accompanying Eraserhead and Vlad King to their dorm notifications, so they cannot fall on the same day. This is the simplest way for me to interview all of your students without alerting the world to the situation at hand.”

A solid plan. Tsukauchi will be able to question the kids, but they’ll have to make sure none of them lets it slip to their friends before the interviews are over.

It would be awful for one of them to learn that their friend is a traitor before the Pro’s do.

Chapter Text

It’s late morning by the time their meeting is over, and Shouta wants to get a head start on interviewing his students. He tells Tsukauchi as much, and the man agrees easily.

“How about we get Izuku and Bakugou done first? I’ve basically ruled them out considering they were the targets of the attack, but I still need to grab their statements.” Shouta nods along in agreement and follows Zashi to the car, while Tsukauchi splits off and heads to his own.

They get to the hospital in no time at all, and the three of them head back to the room together.

Bakugou’s parents are there, fussing over him, and Kirishima is nowhere to be seen. Shinsou is asleep on the edge of Izuku’s bed, but Izuku himself lays with his eyes open, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The bright smile that Izuku gives them when he notices their presence is almost enough to dissuade the feeling of dread slowly building within him. He knows that he needs to learn what Izuku went through, but he’s not sure that he wants to know.

He can’t handle the thought of the pain that All For One put him through.

He nudges Shinsou’s shoulder to wake him. This isn’t a conversation he should be present for.

“Shinsou, why don’t you go grab a snack?” His student frowns at him for a moment before staring behind him at Tsukauchi.

His eyes widen in recognition before he turns back to Shouta, but he stands and leaves the room without a comment. He and Hizashi reclaim their chairs, and Tsukauchi drags one over to sit at the foot of Izuku’s bed.

“Izuku, I know this will be tough, but I need to take your statement about the kidnapping.” Tsukauchi looks remorseful.

Izuku sighs and shuts his eyes, fisting the thin hospital sheet with both hands in his lap. He opens his mouth and speaks.

He tells the trio of all the horrors he went through, starting with the attack in the forest. Shouta finds himself growing more and more exhausted as the story continues. When Izuku gets to the part about All For One trying to take his quirk, he almost can’t take it anymore.

This is too much pain for one kid to go through. Especially a kid as sweet as his son.

Shouta reaches out and grabs one of Izuku’s hands in his own, carefully extracting it from it’s hold on the blankets. Izuku pauses his story and opens his eyes, giving Shouta a small but grateful smile.

The room is dead silent when he finishes, save for the quiet sniffles coming from Zashi’s side of the bed.

His husbands pulls Izuku into his arms, and while Shouta would love to do the same, he has a lot more people to talk to today. So he opts for giving Izuku’s hair a soft ruffle, and turns his attention to the other bed in the room.

Bakugou’s parents look upset at what they’d overheard, and Shouta really hopes that Bakugou doesn’t have much to add to the story.

Looking back at Tsukauchi, he finds the man still compiling his notes, so he decides to breach the topic of the dorms first.

“Mr and Mrs Bakugou, for the safety of our students UA is building dorms on campus. Unfortunately, because of recent events, they’re not exactly optional, so-”

“Yes.” Bakugou’s mother cuts him off. Shouta raises a brow at her in hopes of an explanation.

“Katsuki is destined to be a hero. I know there are other hero schools, but this is the one he chose. Obviously you guys are working to ensure everyones safety, so why would I say no?” 

Shouta allows himself a small smile at the woman. That was far easier than he expected. He’d thought that a woman like Bakugou’s mother would put up some sort of fight, so her simple acceptance is a relief.

Everyone looks up as Tsukauchi drags his chair over, and they get right down to business. Thankfully Bakugou doesn’t have much to add, and he’s able to account for some things that Izuku couldn’t.

It’s not necessary for him to be there for Bakugou’s statement, but he feels a sense of responsibility for the kid. He’d gotten kidnapped on Shouta’s watch, and while Bakugou’s very temperamental, Shouta cares for all of his students, and he needed to know if anything too traumatic happened to him.

Shouta busies himself with his family as Tsukauchi wraps things up. He has a few final questions of near unimportance, so Shouta walks the few steps back to his sons bed and pulls him into his arms.

Izuku hugs him back tightly and buries his face in his capture scarf. He catches Zashi giving them a fond smile, so he pulls one arm away from Izuku, inviting him to the embrace.

Shouta stands like that, wrapped up in his family, until Tsukauchi clears his throat from the door. 

“Sorry Izuku, but I’ve got to start talking to your classmates parents about the dorms.” He waits for his sons nod before he reluctantly pulls away, but Izuku’s hand on his sleeve stops him.

“Hey dad?” Izuku looks nervous as he addresses him.

“What is it kiddo?”

“Do you think you could stop by K-Kirishima’s first? It’s just his m-mom looked really upset when she p-picked him up and I-I’m worried.”

Izuku doesn’t look just worried, he looks downright scared. Seeing Kirishima’s mom upset probably made him think of what his mom did to him when she was like that. Thinking about another one of his students in danger like that makes him feel awful.

“It’s not like that.” Shouta turns and finds Bakugou watching them, openly eavesdropping. He opens his mouth again when he knows he has his full attention.

“Shitty-Hair’s mom is super overprotective since he’s an only child. He knew she was going to freak out when she heard about this.” Bakugou eases his nerves a little

To think that Bakugou eased his nerves is almost laughable.

“S-still though-” Shouta places a gentle hand on his sons shoulder to cut him off.

“It’s fine Izuku. I’ll go over there soon and make sure he’s okay.” Izuku relaxes under his hand, and Shouta plants a light kiss on his temple before joining Tsukauchi at the door.

They open it to find Shinsou there, hand poised to knock. His student looks surprised, but quickly covers it up.

“My parents want me home. I just wanted to say bye to Izuku before heading to the bus stop?” Shouta and Tsukauchi share a glance before the detective speaks.

“Tell you what. We need to talk to your parents anyways, so how about we drive you home?” Shinsou nods, looking mildly nervous about having his teacher and a police detective talking to his parents.

Shouta and Tsukauchi wait out in the hallway while Shinsou says his goodbyes to Izuku. He ignores the blush on his face when he rejoins them, but he texts Zashi for information once they get to the car.

It’s a bit of a drive to Shinsou’s house, but it takes only half the time it would have if Shinsou had taken public transportation. Shinsou pulls out his keys when they exit the car, and he ushers the adults into the house after him.

“Mom I’m home! And I have guests!”

“Aww Toshi did you bring one of your friends from-” A woman that Shouta recognizes from the police station cuts herself off as she recognizes them.

“What’s going on here?” Shinsou’s mom doesn’t seem upset, only mildly perplexed.

“On behalf of UA, I need to discuss some new developments with you. Detective Tsukauchi just needs to ask your son a few questions about the attack at the training camp.” Shinsou’s mother gives him a worried look, so Shouta speaks again before she can get too carried away with her thoughts.

“It’s standard procedure. We’re interviewing all of the students who were there.” She relaxes, and she offers Shouta a small smile before turning to her son.

“Toshi dear, why don’t you talk to the detective in the kitchen while your father and I talk to your teacher?” Shinsou nods and leads Tsukauchi away, leaving Shouta to follow his mother to the sitting room.

She sits next to a man with dark purple hair and eye-bags that rival that of his student’s. She gestures for him to sit in the chair opposite of them.

“In light of the recent attack, UA is building dorms on campus. Unfortunately, with the new regulations, once the students are there, they won’t have many chances to leave for the time being, unless it’s for a school sanctioned trip, a work study once they get their provisional licences, or an emergency.” Both parents frown before Shinsou’s mother speaks up.

“Are you guys upping security at the school?”

“Yes. I have a copy of all the new regulations here for you guys.” He hands it over and sits quietly as they read through it.

“As much as this whole situation worries us, I think this is the best solution. Pulling Hitoshi from the hero course is not an option. He worked far too hard for us to take that away from him.” Her husband nods in agreement as Tsukauchi joins them in the living room.

Shouta expected the interview to go quickly. Shinsou had been away from all of the danger, so the only question Tsukauchi really needed to ask were ones pertaining to any possible connection to the league.

“If you have any questions at all, just give the school a call and someone should have all the information. Move in day is on the last page of the regulations, so just make sure your son is there.” He stands up as he addresses them.

Shinsou’s mother stands as well, and walks them to the door.

“Thank you for stopping by Eraserhead, detective.” They nod at her as they step out, then head towards Tsukauchi’s car. The man gives him an update once they're both seated inside.

"Shinsou is clear. There's no way he has a connection to the League." Shouta smiles in relief as they buckle their seatbelts, then gives Tsukauchi the next address. 

Thank god Kirishima lives somewhat close.

Chapter Text

Shouta checks Zashi’s response on the short drive over.

‘Shou you would have LOVED it. All Zuku did was hug him and he got so red! Then Zuku made it worse by worrying about him being so red so he made a lame excuse and left’

Shouta huffs out a laugh as he types his response, and resolutely ignores Tsukauchi’s look from beside him.

It’s only a few more minutes of silence before they’re pulling up in front of a modest house. There’s a single car in the driveway, and Shouta is grateful that there seems to be someone home. The trip would be completely useless is Kirishima’s mother wasn’t here.

It’s his student who answers the door, a sweater covering most of his bandages. He looks exhausted from his hospital stay. He gives them a questioning look when he recognizes them, but he opens the door further and steps back to allow them in.

“Aizawa-sensei? What’s going on?”

“Is your mother home?” Shouta steps inside as he speaks, and Tsukauchi closes the door behind them.

“Mom’s just in the kitchen.” Kirishima gestures vaguely behind him. Shouta just looks at him until he gets the point.

“Oh right! It’s this way.” He leads them down the hall and disappears through a door on the left.

They enter the kitchen and find Kirishima speaking quietly to the woman who must be his mother. She’s tall and doesn’t bear many similarities to his student, other than the dark hair Shouta knows he was born with.

“Ah! You must be Eraserhead. What can I do for you?” She gives him a friendly smile, revealing sharp pointed teeth.

“I’ve come to notify you on the future of UA.” Her smile falls, and she gives her son a sad look.

“While you two discuss that, is it alright if I speak to your son? I still need his statement on the events at the training camp.” Tsukauchi pipes in, and Kirishima’s mother turns her gaze to him.

“And who are you?”

“Oh! Forgive my rudeness. I’m Detective Tsukauchi, and I’m in charge if the investigation.” She crosses her arms as she take in Tsukauchi before her gaze once again settles on his face.

“I’d rather you don’t, detective. At least not without me there. I need to-”

“No!” Everyone turns to his student at the outburst.

“Excuse me?” His mother looks more surprised than angry at the interruption.

“I just-I want to talk to the detective without you.” Kirishima’s voice is quiet as he averts his eyes.

“And why is that?”

“You know why.”

“Eijirou, honey, you need to tell me what happened! I can’t do anything to help if I don’t know.” Kirishima just shakes his head at her, gaze locked on to the floor. There’s silence for a few moments before he speaks.

“Come on detective, we can speak in the other room.” He walks by Shouta without looking his way and grabs Tsukauchi’s sleeve, dragging him from the kitchen.

“He refuses to tell me what happened. All I know is what we were told in the official statement.” She looks upset as she takes a seat at the counter. Shouta takes the seat on the stool opposite of her, back to the door, before he speaks.

“He’ll tell you when he’s ready.” She looks up at him with a frown.

“And when will that be?”

“Could be days, weeks, a year. Hell, he may never be ready.”

“How is that supposed to make me feel better? Aren’t heroes supposed to be good at comforting people?” She stands and starts pacing. Shouta follows the motions lazily with his eyes.

“I’m not much of a people person, so I leave all of that to my partner.” She stops walking and raises her brow at him, but doesn’t comment on the matter.

“Now. What did you have to tell me about UA?” Shouta reaches into his pocket and pulls out a copy of all the new security measures. He hands it over before taking a deep breath and speaking.

“UA is constructing dorms for the safety of our students. Unfortunately, once students are there, they won’t be permitted to leave, so having your son home won’t be an option. This will be in effect for the foreseeable future, so-” Kirishima’s mother holds up a hand to stop him.

“I’m going to stop you right there. None of this will be a problem, considering I’m probably pulling him from the course.” This is not good at all. Kirishima is an extremely promising student, and Shouta can tell from simply looking at him how badly he wants to be a hero.

“What?” It’s hardly a whisper, but in the silence after Kirishima’s mother’s statement, the exclamation is as clear as day.

Shouta spins in his seat to see Kirishima standing near the doorway. He’s openly distressed, and has tears pooling in his eyes. Shouta’s gaze is drawn to where Kirishima is tugging forcefully at the bandages on his hands and the sleeves of his sweater. The action is familiar. He catches Izuku doing similar things when he knows his son is feeling especially anxious.

He wants to reach out and stop the motion, but he knows it’s not his place.

“Sweetheart, I was going to talk to you about it.” Shouta turns back and finds the woman openly crying. This is too many tears for Shouta. He hates being caught in something so personal.

She begins stepping around the counter, reaching for her son, but his student backs away. He steps right into Tsukauchi, who now stands in the doorway. He was probably wondering what was taking so long.

“Were you waiting until you already took me out?” Shouta sucks in a breath at the suggestion.

“Eijirou, you know I just want to keep you safe.” Kirishima’s mother practically confirms it.

“Stop treating me like a little kid! You can’t just decide my future for me.” He turns and pushes his way passed Tsukauchi. Everyone flinches when the front door slams.

Kirishima’s mother wipes away her tears as Tsukauchi pulls up a stool next to Shouta.

“So sorry about him. He’s a very emotional child.” She gives them a weak smile that isn’t a smile at all. It’s more like a grimace.

“Why don’t you want him to be a hero?” Tsukauchi speaks up before Shouta has the chance to.

“It’s far too dangerous! Eijirou is such a gentle boy. I don’t want anything to ruin that.” Shouta and Tsukauchi share a look before turning back to her.

“M’am I’ve been doing hero work for the past fifteen years. And my quirk isn’t nearly as sturdy as your son’s.” She gives him a teary look before speaking.

“I know that. But I can’t lose him too.” Shouta watches her patiently, and Tsukauchi follows his lead, remaining silent at his side.

“We lost his father a few years ago. There was a villain attack. It hit him hard. Eijirou and his father were always a lot closer than we were, so I had a lot of trouble helping him.” Shouta can see that, he was a lot closer with his father too.

“He got so depressed that I could hardly get him to eat. I eventually dragged him to a therapist.” Now that is something Shouta has a hard time seeing.

Kirishima is such a cheerful student. Always boosting others and going out of his way to make classmates feel good. Thinking about him in the other position is almost impossible.

“Eijirou wanted to be a hero before that, but that was the real push that got him going. My husband wasn’t a hero or anything spectacular like that. He was just collateral damage. How can I allow the only thing I have left to go looking for danger?” Shouta shuts his eyes as he thinks of what to say.

He’s really not good at this sort of thing. Hizashi is the sweet talker.

“Your son is shaping up to be a great hero. His quirk makes it easier for him to protect people. With him out there saving people, there will be less families like yours.” Shouta is trying for her sympathetic side, but he can’t help one last, brutal truth, from slipping out.

“Besides. If you pull him out, you may lose him anyways.” Shouta stands and leaves the kitchen, Tsukauchi right on his tail. They can hear the woman begin to sob as they exit the house.

“How far did you get in your interview?” Shouta only speaks once they’re halfway down the driveway.

“Absolutely nowhere. He was putting off saying anything by going to get us some water.”

Great. Now they need to find his wayward student. Tsukauchi actually needs his statement since he encountered one of the villains, and they need to gauge if he’s the traitor or not.

Shouta doubts that he is. But better safe than sorry.

He looks around for a minute, trying to spot the familiar head of red hair.

No sign of him.

“Guess we should look around then. Want to split up?” Tsukauchi nods at him before heading down the street. Shouta turns and heads the other direction.

He walks slowly, basking in the warmth of the late afternoon sun. He takes his time, making sure to check around every corner and in every alleyway. He’s not even sure if his student would wander off this far. 

He’s about to call Tsukauchi to see if he has any better luck when his phone rings.

“Eraserhead.”

“Hey Eraser. I found the kid. We’re a few blocks south of his place.” Shouta hangs up and turns round, walking significantly faster than he was before.

He gets there in a matter of minutes.

Kirishima is sitting on the curb, head buried in his knees. Tsukauchi crouches a few feet away, trying to get the kid to look at him. Shouta walks up and sits next to him on the curb.

“Kirishima.” His student looks up at him. His eyes and face are red from the crying, which gives no indication of stopping.

“Aizawa-sensei! You can’t let her take me out! I’m so happy at UA and I finally have real friends there!” 

Shouta sighs and scrubs a hand down his face. He’s not used to comforting children. He only ever comforts Izuku, and half the time he has Zashi there to back him up. Meanwhile Tsukauchi doesn’t look like he’s going to be much of a help.

“I talked to your mother. I told her some hard truths and got her to think about it. I don’t know what she’ll decide, but I know you have to talk to her and let her know how you feel.” He places what he hopes to be a comforting hand on Kirishima’s shoulder.

Obviously it helps in some way, because Kirishima turns sideways and throws his arms around Shouta’s middle. He brings a hand to his students back and awkwardly holds him, letting him cry into his scarf. He’s not sure if it’s upset crying or relieved that he said something crying, but he lets Kirishima get it out of his system.

God he’s gotten soft.

Kirishima pulls away a few minutes later, looking slightly mortified.

“Sorry Aizawa-sensei. I didn’t mean to cry all over you.” He sounds slightly better than he did before.

“It’s fine, Kirishima.” His student smiles at him, and Shouta is baffled at his ability to change moods so quickly.

“Do you think you’re up to giving your statement now? I have to get back to the station soon.” Tsukauchi is sitting on the ground now, notebook and pen out and ready. Kirishima glances over at Shouta before nodding.

“Do you want me to leave? I can just read it later.” Kirishima turns to him, looking panicked.

“No it’s fine! You can stay.” Oh. Kirishima probably doesn’t want to be left alone with a detective he just met. 

Shouta relaxes in his spot, not looking forwards to hearing what his students went through before he rescued them.

It’s not a nice tale, and Kirishima is all pale and trembling by the time he’s done telling them about it. Tsukauchi has a grim look on his face, and Shouta is sure he wears a similar one.

“I have one last question Kirishima. How do you think the villains knew where you guys were camped out?” His student gives Tsukauchi a confused look before answering.

“To be completely honest, I didn’t even know where we were.” Shouta’s eyebrows go up at that. They were there for several days, how did Kirishima not know their location? His student sees his look and smiles.

“I was asleep the whole bus ride sensei, so when I woke up I had no clue where we were. Even if I did I wouldn’t tell anyone, if that’s what you’re getting at.” Shouta meets Tsukauchi’s eyes and the man smiles, shaking his head lightly.

Looks like Shouta was right about this one.

“How about we walk you home Kirishima?” HIs student shakes his head.

“Why not kid?”

“I’m not ready. I don’t know what to say to mom and I don’t want to face her after running out like that.”

“You think she’ll be mad?” Tsukauchi pipes in, a concerned frown on his face.

“No nothing like that. She’ll just be all sad and disappointed. Probably won’t leave me alone for a while so that I don’t get all depressed again.” Shouta sighs and closes his eyes.

He doesn’t want to push Kirishima into a situation he’s not ready for, but he can’t exactly leave him on the side of the road like this. Zashi would know what to do, what to say to him.

Oh! He'll just take him to Zashi.

“Do you want to go back to the hospital and see Bakugou?” 

“Aren’t visiting hour over soon? Might just be a waste of time.” Shouta opens his eyes to see the sad smile on Kirishima’s face.

“Nah, I can get you in. Only if you promise to text your mom so she knows where you are, and you have to talk to her tomorrow.” Kirishima frowns at him, but nods anyways.

His student accepts the hand that Shouta offers to help him up. He stumbles slightly, clearly exhausted, so Shouta stays close by, ready to help him should he need it.

They walk the few blocks to the car in silence, and Kirishima slides into the backseat without a word. Shouta makes sure that he texts his mom before they drive off. 

Halfway through the drive Shouta looks back and finds him fast asleep, head resting on the window. That much crying can really tire people out, especially if they’re already as exhausted as Kirishima looked to be.

Shouta is surrounded by problem children.

Chapter Text

Izuku is tired.

Not tired in the sense that he needs sleep. He’s done enough of that already.

He’s tired of sitting in the hospital. Waiting for news on the League of Villains, and how they found the training site.

He and Kacchan have been sharing a room for almost a week now. Neither of them were injured particularly badly. Izuku probably could have recovered at home after the first day.

But no one knows where the rest of the League is. They don’t know if the villains will come after he and Kacchan again, so his dads decided to keep them in the hospital where they could keep an eye on the both of them.

Their stay hasn’t been too bad. They’ve had a few awkward conversations, and Kacchan is clearly growing tired of being around him for this long, but it could be worse.

His dads are here when they don’t have to work, and sometimes they bring their paperwork with them to keep him company. They’re probably worried about what could happen if they leave him alone for too long.

Some of his friends have visited too! Shouto made sure to stop by after he was discharged, and Hitoshi spends a fair amount of time with him when his dads can’t. Even some of his classmates that he’s not all that close with have come bearing well wishes!

Kirishima is here more often than not, distracting Kacchan. It’s hard not to notice that he’s the only one of their classmates to visit him. He’s there more than Kacchan’s parents are.

It’s how Izuku learned what happened while they were busy being kidnapped. Kacchan had painfully pried the information from him while the adults were away, and Izuku couldn’t even pretend he wasn’t listening to the tale.

Even though their stay wasn’t all that bad, Izuku is relieved that they’re being discharged today. His dads had already packed up his belongings and brought them over to the newly completed dorms. 

Zashi is on his way to pick him up now, while his other dad waits for his classmates to start arriving at the dorms. Izuku hopes that they all do. Even though he’s not all that close with the majority of his class, it would still be sad if any of them left UA. Izuku knows that they’re all going to be great heroes.

It’s going to be awkward living with a bunch of people he doesn’t know, but this is a great chance to get to know them better! Thankfully, both of his dads will be living in his dorm building as well.

Apparently, they have their own apartment style section of the dorms on the first floor of rooms, easily accessible by students if they need any help. His dads even said that they have an extra room for Izuku in case he ever needs to escape his classmates.

He’ll probably hang out in his dads room a lot, if he’s being completely honest. He’ll just use Radio and Toothless as an excuse.

He is so excited to see the cats! It feels like it’s been forever since he’s seen them, when in reality it’s only been a little over a week. He needs some kitty cuddle time.

Maybe his dads will let the cats hang out in his room? They usually sleep with Izuku anyways. He’ll even make sure to keep them out of sight of his classmates, although he’ll probably introduce them to his friends.

Everyone deserves these cats in their lives.

There’s a knock on the door and Izuku looks up to see his dad standing there, Izuku’s favourite sweater in hand.

“Ready to go listeners?” At his nod his dad walks over to where he sits on the bed, and Izuku gratefully pulls the sweater over his head.

Kacchan stomps up to his bed, scowl in place. Izuku actually forgot that they’re driving him, but it’s what makes the most sense. Even if it will be the most awkward car ride ever.

Izuku was right. After walking silently through the hospital, the three of them proceeded to have the most awkward car ride ever.

His dad drops them off at the gate, making sure they make it through before heading over to the teachers entrance.

He and Kacchan walk silently a few feet apart. They pass by a few students loaded down with luggage, but neither of them have that problem. Izuku assumes that Kacchan’s parents had dropped his stuff off earlier.

Only a few of his classmates are there before them, and Izuku’s dad stands in front of the group, waiting for the rest of them to arrive.

There’s a weird lump in his dads capture scarf, and Izuku steps to the front of the group to try and figure it out.

Before he can, the lump disappears and Toothless jumps out, landing gracefully on the pavement and running over to him. She reaches his feet and meows louder than he’s ever heard her, demanding to be picked up.

Izuku crouches down and scoops her up, ignoring the reactions of his classmates as he buries his face in her fur. She’s purring quietly, only enough for Izuku to hear how content she is.

He looks up and finds his dad watching him with an almost smile on his face. It wouldn’t do if he smiled in front of the class, would it? He walks over to his dad so that they can speak without his classmates overhearing.

“Why’d you bring her outside?”

“She missed you. Radio did too but I only had the space in my scarf for one cat. Surprisingly, Toothless was more vocal about it, so she won.” Izuku laughs as Toothless rubs her face on his neck at the comment.

He makes his way back to where his classmates have gathered, and ignores the stares he receives for the cat in his arms. He takes his place next to Hitoshi, and his friend barely spares him glance before cooing over Toothless.

“Can I pet her?” Izuku meets Shouto’s eyes and nods at him. His friend makes sure to reach out with his left hand, the warmer side of his body.

Toothless clearly appreciates it, if the way her purring gets louder is anything to go by.

The sound of shoes slapping the concrete reaches his ears, and Izuku looks to the sound and finds Kirishima running up, the last of their classmates to arrive. He sidles up next to Kacchan and gives Izuku’s dad an apologetic smile, probably for being ten minutes late.

“Alright class. I’ve got a map of the dorm building here, as well as room assignments. Do your best to get settled in, because class resumes after this weekend.” His dad hands a stack of papers to Iida, who begins handing them out to the class.

Hitoshi grabs one for Izuku since he has his hands full, and they look it over together. The layout of the building is pretty simple, and Izuku is relieved that he’s neighbours with Hitoshi, although it’s unfortunate that he’s three floors away from Shouto. At least he’s close to his dads!

Izuku and his friends walk through the doors together, excited to go set up their rooms and get settled in.

Chapter Text

Vlad’s class doesn’t move in to the neighbouring dorm until two days after Shouta’s does. His dorm notifications had been delayed due to Tsukauchi catching a lead on the case.

It didn’t amount to much.

Tsukauchi notified them all that he knows who the traitor is, but he refused to tell them. Said that he needed more time to prepare for the arrest.

Shouta knows that it isn’t one of his students. Tsukauchi had let him know after every meeting that it wasn’t that kid. It could’ve all been a trick, to lure the class into a false sense of security.

No. Tsukauchi wouldn’t do that. They’ve known each other for far too long for him to break his trust like that.

Besides. Shouta has faith in his students.

Tsukauchi told him he’d come by today to take down the traitor. Shouta hopes that it’s later. When their classes are separated, and only those close to the traitor will have to witness it.

But when has luck ever been on his side? Tsukauchi will probably want to come by before the traitor even sets foot in the dorms. So that means today, and soon.

Which is why he warily keeps an eye out as his class makes their way outside to greet class 1-B. Izuku is the last to make it it through the doors, and he stops beside Shouta at the railing instead of surging forwards with his classmates.

“Everything okay dad?” Izuku is looking at him with a worried frown.

“I’m fine kiddo. Just keeping an eye out is all. Why don’t you go hang out with your classmates?” Izuku ignores his suggestion completely, jumping to a different topic.

“Is this about the traitor?” Shouta looks at Izuku in shock. He’s not looking at him, but out at his classmates, a small frown on his face.

“Shit kid. How’d you know?” Izuku turns towards him before he speaks, ignoring the laughter of the joined classes.

“I mean it’s kind of obvious. How else would the League of Villains have known where we were? There’s no way it was a teacher, so it had to have been someone from 1-A or 1-B.”  He turns back towards the classes, an uncertain look in his eye, Shouta places a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not one of your friends, if that’s what you’re worried about. Tsukauchi should be by soon to deal with it.” Hopefully very soon. Shouta can’t deal with the anticipation, and he knows Vlad must be dreading it too.

Izuku is opening his mouth to speak, but he’s cut off by the sound of an explosion and yelling. They both turn towards the source of the commotion and are unsurprised to find Bakugou there, smoking palms revealing his quirk usage.

“Just watch where you’re going, stupid fucking extra!” Bakugou is yelling at a member of Class 1-B. Shouta thinks his name is Monoma. He must have bumped into the explosive boy.

Shouta rolls his eyes and looks in the direction of the gate. There’s a small group of people coming from there, unhindered by the updated security system.

Tsukauchi.

Izuku follows his gaze and steps back a little with a gasp.

“It’s happening now?” Shouta nods at him, turning back to his class.

They’re still all mingled together. There’s no hope of getting them all back inside by the time the police reach them.

That doesn’t mean he can’t try.

“1-A! Back inside!” He activates his quirk for intimidation. They always listen better when he uses it.

His students all look at each other, but no-one says anything. They start to pull away from the other class and head towards him as a group. They only make it as far as the bottom of the stairs before Tsukauchi and his officers arrive.

Of course his class stops to see what’s going on.

Tsukauchi steps up to Vlad King and whispers something in his ear while his officers stand by, keeping an eye on class 1-B.

“Fuck this.” There’s a familiar explosion and class 1-B is shrouded in the dust cloud it produced.

Shouta looks for Bakugou and finds him standing at the back of his group, as far away from the explosion as he could possibly be. He looks as shocked as the rest of them. There’s no-one in class 1-B with a similar quirk, so how-

“Monoma.” It’s a whisper beside him, and Shouta looks to Izuku, eyes wide.

Of course. The boy with the copy quirk. He must’ve done it when he bumped into Bakugou earlier.

The dust begins to clear.

There are students on the ground, hurled away by the explosion. Some of them are sitting up, clutching some sore body part, while the ones closest to the centre of the blast are still on the ground.

Monoma stands in the middle of it all, palms sparking uncontrollably.

Some of Shouta’s students move forwards, towards the chaos. He knows they just want to help, but he’s tired of kids putting themselves in danger.

He’s putting a stop to this.

Shouta climbs onto the railing and leaps over his students, landing in front of the ones who’d moved forwards to help.

“Stay back!” He nearly sighs in relief when he hears his students shuffling back to the staircase.

They’re not away from the situation like he’d originally wanted, but this is better than them being caught in the crossfire.

Monoma’s palms spark dangerously again and Shouta activates his quirk on reflex. The sparks die down, but he doesn’t let up.

Shouta doesn’t know how long Monoma’s quirk lasts. Or if he can keep someone’s quirk copied after his own is erased.

He doesn’t want to find out.

“Tsukauchi.” The man starts moving forwards, bypassing injured kids on his way to the cause of all of this.

Footsteps approach from behind, and Hizashi places a hand on his shoulder. Shouta still doesn’t let up. He won’t until this kid, this traitor, is in cuffs.

As soon as they click shut he blinks, turning towards his husband.

“I thought you were napping?” He looks like he still should be. Last night’s late patrol really took it out of him.

Zashi still looks tired, wearing sleep rumpled clothes with his hair tied back as opposed to how he wears it for work.

“Izuku came and got me. I’ve already called Recovery Girl.” Shouta nods in acknowledgement, Turing back to the scene in time to witness Monoma being dragged away in handcuffs.

“Can you take the kids inside and explain this Zashi? I’ve got to help out here.” His husbands squeezes his shoulder once before finally letting go.

“Of course Shou.” With a smile he’s gone, using his quirk and shouting at Shouta’s class to get inside.

It’s not pleasant work, dealing with injured kids. Thankfully none of them are too bad off, and once Recovery Girl arrives it’s only a matter of a simple kiss to deal with the injuries.

Once that’s all dealt with he heads back inside.

It’s quiet in the dorm, only a few kids hanging out in the common room. They look disheartened, so Zashi already told them the news of the traitor.

He’s making his way back to his rooms, where he’s sure Zashi is resting once again. Shouta just needs a power nap before answering the questions he’s sure his class has.

So of course his phone rings.

He looks at the caller ID and finds Endeavor’s name staring back at him.

“Eraserhead.” He tries to convey that the man is delaying his much needed nap through one word.

“Aizawa I don’t have a lot of time, but Shouto’s not picking up.” The urgency in the Number 2’s voice freezes him in place.

“What’s going on?”

“We found out the identity of the villain you captured. This isn’t something I can keep from my family, so I’m letting everyone know before I have to get back to the interrogation.”

“Who is it? I’ll pass it along for you."

“It’s Touya, my missing son.”

Shit.

Chapter Text

Izuku invites Hitoshi and Shouto to come and hang out in his room. He doesn’t feel like being alone right now, and he has a feeling that neither of his friends do either.

They’ve been at the dorms for a few days now. After everyone had had the chance to find their rooms on the first day his dad had called a meeting in the commons room.

He knows that people had noticed Satou was missing. Anyone who wasn’t aware of what had happened had probably assumed that he was pulled out of UA. The school has been very tight lipped about it, so there’s no way that it got out.

That’s what the meeting was about. His dad vaguely explained what happened, only giving enough details for them to know their classmate was a hero.

It’s been a somber few days, and Izuku would really like the comfort of having his friends nearby. They both agree quickly, and the smiles on their faces when they knock on his door tell him that they’re both relieved to have a distraction.

They decide to watch a movie together. Izuku has the feeling that none of his friends want to talk about the traitor. And if they sit there talking, there’s no doubt that they’ll somehow make their way to that topic.

They’re only ten minutes into the movie when there’s a knock on the door. Izuku pauses the movie and slides his laptop over to Hitoshi before getting up to open it. His dad is there, hand poised to knock again.

“Hey dad! What’s up?” Izuku grins at him. He’s always happy to see his dad. However his grin falters when he sees the look on his dads face.

“Is Todoroki in here? He’s not in his room and he’s not answering his phone.” His dad speaks loud enough for the rest of his room to understand, and Izuku hears Shouto slide off of his bed and step up behind him.

“Sorry sensei! I left my phone in my room to avoid distractions. What’s going on?” 

“It’s a family matter. Let’s step out into the hall.” Shouto tenses up beside him at the mention of family, and he follows Izuku’s dad out of the room without a word.

Izuku leaves the door open just a crack before returning to his bed. He and Hitoshi sit there in silence. They don’t know if Shouto will be coming back in, but if he does they don’t want to be continuing the movie without him.

It’s only a few minutes before Izuku’s door opens up again and Shouto enters, looking slightly panicked. He makes his way over to the desk chair instead of the bed. Izuku shares a worried glance with Hitoshi when their friend doesn’t speak up. They let the silence continue for a few minutes, but he’s far too worried to let it continue any longer than that.

“Shouto? Is everything alright?” Shouto looks up at them then, and he looks like he’s about to cry. Izuku doesn’t think he’s ever seen him like this.

“No. Not really. It’s my brother.” He doesn’t elaborate, so Izuku speaks up again.

“Natsuo? Is he okay?”

“Natsuo is fine. It’s my other brother.” Izuku didn’t know Shouto has another brother. He’s definitely never mentioned one before.

“His name is Touya, but I guess he goes by Dabi now. He’s the villain they caught at the training camp.” A villain? Why in the world did one of Shouto’s siblings turn to villainy?

“Do you know why he was there?” Hitoshi asks the question that Izuku doesn’t want to.

“I don’t know the exact reason, but I can guess.” Shouto looks away from them, a frown on his face. He’s probably deciding what to tell them, so Izuku decides to keep quiet.

“It all started before I was born. Hitoshi, you’ve met my dad, right?” Hitoshi nods at Shouto, who takes a deep breath before continuing.

“Well, he wasn’t always the way he is now. By that I mean nice.” Endeavor wasn’t always nice? Izuku can’t even imagine that, but most people are capable of change.

“He used to be obsessed with surpassing All Might. He married my mother for her quirk, in the hopes that they would have a child that could do it for him.” A quirk marriage? That’s super outdated, even for Endeavor’s generation.

“Touya ended up with a really strong fire quirk. Maybe stronger than my dad’s. So as soon as he could, my dad started training him, wanting him to be a hero from the get go.”

“Except from what I hear, it wasn’t exactly training. It was more like abuse.”

“I remember bits and pieces of it from when I was really young, but by the time I manifested my quirk, Touya was gone. He’d run away.” Izuku doesn’t blame him. He thought about running away a lot when he was younger.

“As soon as my quirk came in, my dad started training me in his place. It was awful. I started to hate the fire side of my quirk because of him. Then I got this.” Shouto points out the scar around his eye. Did Endeavor do that to him?

“Dad was an awful father, and he was also a pretty bad husband. It drove my mother insane. I walked into the kitchen one day while she was boiling water in the kettle. I guess she snapped when she saw me. Poured boiling water over my face.” Izuku doesn’t know what to say to that. Shouto hardly ever mentions his mother, and now he knows why.

“Dad heard me screaming and ran in. Seeing her snap like that snapped him out of it. He rushed me to the hospital, and by the time I got home she was gone, put in a mental institution by my father.”

Shouto has kept a fairly straight face until now, but retelling this much trauma must be getting to him, so it’s no surprise when he starts to tear up.

“He slowly got better after that. Stopped the horrible training. He started being a lot nicer to my siblings too. It was hard for a while. We were scared that he would change back right away, but after a year I think we came to a realization. He never even talked about All Might anymore, and he didn’t even care about his hero ranking.” That must have been hard to adjust to. Izuku can’t imagine how he would have felt if his mom had suddenly started being nice to him.

“But by then it was too late for Touya. He only ever knew my father when he was mean and abusive. He stopped by a few years after my mom burned me. Dad tried to explain that he was better now, told him he’d even went to a therapist, which made sense with how much he’d changed.” Izuku can understand that too. If he had been in Touya’s position, he probably wouldn’t have believed him either.

“Touya took one look at me and saw the scar. He assumed that dad did it, and started screaming at him. He left pretty quickly after that, and we haven’t seen him since. Until now I guess.”

Shouto is full on crying now, but Izuku can tell that he’s not done talking, so he tries not to react.

“I just- I can’t believe he killed one of our classmates. I was really young when I left, but from what I remember, he was always such a good big brother.” Izuku stands from his bed and makes his way to where Shouto sits at his desk. He pulls the other boy into a hug, and waits until he relaxes to speak.

“I’m so sorry Shouto.” His friend just holds on tighter.

Hitoshi slides off of the bed behind them and makes his way over. He stands there awkwardly for a moment before joining the hug. One of Shouto’s arms leaves Izuku to wrap around Hitoshi instead.

He’s glad that Shouto was able to trust them with this. Izuku is going to support him through this, no matter what happens. It’s the least he can do, considering how supportive Shouto has been.

Chapter Text

Well, the day has finally arrived.

Shouto is going to his second ever funeral.

The first had been for Touya, but look at how that turned out. Unfortunately, he doesn’t think the same will happen with his classmate.

Not that he would want him to turn into a homicidal maniac.

The mood is somber as everyone climbs aboard the bus, wearing suits that Yaoyorozu had crafted with her quirk.

Aizawa-sensei got them special permission to leave the school because of the occasion. 

Shouto is glad he did. He feels awful for what his brother did, even if he has nothing to do with it.

Since they’re leaving the school grounds, UA is sending extra Pro-Heroes with them as a precaution, in case any villains try something. His dad will be there too, but not for protection. He said something about moral support and atoning for his son’s sins.

Shouto gets where he’s coming from.

It’s not pleasant when they finally arrive. He doesn’t think that many of them were close to Satou, but they were all his classmates. Some of them were even there when he was killed. Shouto can’t imagine what that was like.

They walk through the cemetery as a group. Aizawa-sensei was adamant that they don’t get separated, so they all stand together on one side of the grave.

Shouto doesn’t really want to listen to what the priest has to say, so he observes his classmates instead.

Most of them are solemn, but respectful. He guesses that they plan to do their mourning in quiet once they get back to the dorms. Shouto feels the same way. Grieving has always been easier alone.

Izuku is crying silently beside him, holding Hitoshi’s hand as he stands on his other side, offering his silent support.

They’re standing near the middle of the group surrounded on all sides by classmates and heroes. Shouto subtly check on his classmates behind them.

Standing in the far back of the group, the furthest away from the proceedings they can get, is the group from the remedial class. They’re obviously taking this the hardest, being the ones who witnessed it all.

Shouto doesn’t want to intrude on their grieving, so he turns away from the group, focusing back on the funeral before them just as the priest is finishing up.

They all stand there silently as Satou’s parents speak, and before too long the funeral is over. They’re all invited inside for mingling and refreshments, but Shouto has the feeling that no-one in his class wants to stick around.

Aizawa-sensei starts herding them back towards the bus, and Shouto sticks close to Izuku, who has a preference for staying near his dad.

That’s the only reason Shouto seems him approaching.

His dad walks right up to Aizawa-sensei, and starts speaking in s hushed whisper. To say that his teacher looks pissed is an understatement. He sneaks closer and hears the tail end of what his dad is saying.

“-only way he’ll talk!”

“You know as well as I do the unscheduled outings are forbidden. I can’t let you take one of my students.”

“You need to make an exception for this, Eraserhead. He’ll be perfectly safe!” His dad looks furious now, a look he hasn’t seen since before the incident with his mom.

He longs to step away, but he needs to hear what this is about.

“Other students have hero parents. I don’t see them begging to take their children away.”

“Other heroes aren’t Number 2!” His dad is yelling, drawing the attention of his classmates.

“I get it Endeavor, but I’m not comfortable with you taking my student to go speak with a villain, just so you can feel better about yourself.” Shouto steps a little closer, and the heroes finally notice him.

“Shouto let’s go! I need your help with something.” Normally he would happily help his dad out, but the look on Aizawa-sensei’s face makes him hesitate.

“Go where, dad?” He has a feeling he knows where this is going, and he doesn’t like it.

“To talk to Touya. He said the only one he would talk to is you.”

“I don’t know dad. I don’t think I’m up for it.” He hasn’t seen his dad look so disappointed in years.

“Come on son! Your brother probably has a lot of information on the League of Villains. If we get that out of him, who knows how many people we can save. You’ll be a real hero.”

“Hey Endeavor, that’s going too-” Shouto cuts his teacher off.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” Now Aizawa-sensei looks disappointed, and Shouto doesn’t know who’s disappointed looks is worse.

“Kid, you really don’t have to.”

“It’s okay Aizawa-sensei. I’ll meet you guys back at the dorms.” Shouto turns away before he can see the look on his teachers face, and follows his dad to the private car.

The ride to the prison is awkward, to say the least. Shouto just can’t get his father’s angry look out of his head. It’s bringing back some not so pleasant memories.

They don’t speak, and they remain silent until they’re sitting in an interrogation room, across the table from his brother. His cuffed hands rest on the table, and he looks far too comfortable for the situation.

“So Shouto. How are Fuyumi and Natsuo.” Oh great. Starting with small talk.

“They’re fine.” Touya makes a face at his clipped answer.

“And school? You have friends?”

“I do yah. Like that one you killed.” His brother has the audacity to look remorseful.

“Listen Sho, I didn’t have a choice.” Sho. He’d called him that back when they were kids.

“You need to explain yourself, Touya” The way his dad says his name, so full of venom, has Shouto unconsciously flinching away. Touya narrows his eyes, but doesn’t say anything. He flat out ignores their father.

“Fine then. Shouto, ask him to clarify.” He hesitates before answering.

“I don’t think I want to.” Touya used to be so kind to him. Shouto doesn’t think he could accept any answer that changed his brother like this.

“Shouto!” His father looks pissed, all of his anger directed towards Shouto. He gets out of his chair and backs away a little.

This reminds him too much of the past.

“Hey!” They both turn towards Touya, who is finally looking at their father.

“What are you going to do, beat him again?” Touya stands up, taking a step towards Endeavor.

Shouto backs up some more as Endeavor starts yelling at Touya again. He just wants out of here.

He can’t take it anymore.

“How can you kill one of my classmates, then turn around and act so protective over me? I just watched him get buried. Because of you!” Shouto briefly registers the tears sliding down his face.

“What the fuck Endeavor! You dragged him here after a funeral?”

“I had no other choice! It was hard enough to get him away from Eraserhead as it is.”

“Maybe because he actually cares how Sho feels!” Endeavor looks about two seconds away from strangling Touya.

It doesn’t matter that he’s right. Why does he refuse to see how awful this is for Shouto?

“Touya. Tell me why you had no choice.”

Touya goes right back to ignoring Endeavor. So he turns to Shouto instead.

“Shouto. Get him to talk.” It’s a demand, not a request.

“N-no.” Shouto can feel himself trembling, and Endeavor looks even more pissed off as he stalks forwards.

He grabs Shouto’s arm, and roughly yanks him back in the direction of the chair. The warm, tight grip on his arm feels awfully familiar, and Shouto cries harder, trying to pry his arm away.

“S-stop! Let go!” He knows that he's panicking, but he can't help himself.

“No. You are going to sit there and get answers for me.”

“Please! You’re hurting me!” Shouto’s pleas fall on deaf ears, and he’s assaulted by memories.

Memories of the training floor. He’d seen it often enough, the amount of times he’d been knocked down by Endeavor. He forces himself to his feet again, to continue the ‘training’ that his father puts him through. Endeavor moves forwards again, trying to get him to use the fire half of his quirk, and-

Rough shaking pulls him out of the memory, and he blinks tears away to see Endeavor’s furious face as the man shakes him.

“Let go of my brother.” Endeavor loosens his grip, being addressed again enough of a shock for him.

Shouto yanks his arm away and backs up, breathing fast. He moves into the corner as quickly as he can. Endeavor starts forwards, worry of all things on his face. Looks like he finally realizes how Shouto feels right now. 

Touya blocks his progress, back to Shouto as he stands between them.

He can’t seem to catch his breath. Everything about this is too familiar. He’s seen Touya’s back like this far too many times. His memory from when he was that young is mostly flashes, but anything traumatic enough stuck.

He sure as hell remembers them now. It’s all too much. 

Shouto presses a hand to his chest, in a useless attempt at regaining control over his breathing. It doesn’t help. The situation is spiralling out of control.

He really shouldn’t have come.

Shouto can’t breathe.

Chapter Text

“Sho I need you to listen to me. You have to breathe!”

He’s trying. He really is!! But it’s so hard to focus on breathing when all he can see is the training room floor.

Rough hands, made that way from fire, touch his face, and Shouto nearly flinches back.

Nearly.

His fathers hands don’t feel like this. He doesn’t get pain from his fire.

Only Touya does.

So Shouto opens his eyes, and focusses on the scarred face of his older brother instead of the training room floor. His breathing slowly evens out, and he reaches up to grab his brother’s hands. Not to move them, but simply to hold them.

“Touya.” Shouto almost laughs when his brother rolls his eyes at Endeavor’s tone.

“Get away from him. I don’t want a villain touching my son.”

“Then maybe you should stay away, Endeavor.” Shouto can feel how angry Endeavor gets at the comment.

Literally. The room shoots up in temperature, making Shouto uncomfortable even though half of his quirk is fire. He wants to leave. Needs to, even. But there’s one thing he needs to know first.

“Why?” His voice comes out quiet, but he knows that both of the other people in the room heard him. Touya studies him for a long moment before answering.

“I had no choice. They found out my real identity.” 

“Wouldn’t they have stayed away then, instead of recruiting the son of the Number 2 Hero?” Touya just shakes his head at him.

“They threatened you. And Fuyumi and Natsuo. They had people following you guys. I know they weren’t lying because they’d periodically send me pictures. It’s how I found out what mom did to you.” Shouto has to stop himself from covering the scar on his eye.

“I didn’t want to hurt and kill your friends, but they had some invisible bitch following me too. They’d report if I didn’t comply, and it would be bye-bye little Sho.”

“That’s awful! I can’t believe-”

“Well neither can I. Seems awfully convenient, doesn’t it?” Endeavor cuts him off, but Touya refuses to look in his direction.

“You should probably get back to school Sho.” Looking reluctant, Touya removes his hands from Shouto’s face and stands up.

“Listen. I won’t talk to Endeawhore, but I’ll talk to that teacher of yours. Eraserhead, was it? He seems nice. He can bring along that detective of his too.” As he’s speaking, Touya holds out his hand for him.

Shouto takes it.

He’s pulled to his feet, and Touya walks with him to the door, giving Endeavor a wide berth. Normally Shouto wouldn’t walk so far, but after today, he’s more than happy with the distance. He’s just turning the doorknob when Touya speaks up again.

“Hey Sho? Can you tell your friends I’m sorry? I really didn’t want to hurt them.” Shouto just nods at him, at a loss for words.

“Shouto. Don’t tell anyone what happened here.” He ignores his father.

“Bye Touya.”

He leaves the room without a word to Endeavor, and speed walks down the hallway. As soon as he gets his possessions back from the guard he pulls out his phone and calls the only person he can think to.

“Eraserhead.”

“Hey Aizawa-sensei. Can you come pick me up?” There’s a pause on the other end of the line, but Aizawa-sensei must pick something up in his tone because he doesn’t ask why.

“Alright kid. I’ll be there soon.”

True to his word, Aizawa-sensei is there within half an hour. Shouto climbs into the car silently, giving his teacher a small smile. It’s all he can manage right now.

“Want to tell me what happened kid?” Shouto hesitates before answering. He knows that he has to tell his teacher, but he’d like to wait a little longer.

“Can we wait until we’re back at the school? I need to sort through my thoughts.”

“Of course we can.” Aizawa-sensei’s easy acceptance is a relief.

Shouto spends the whole drive going over everything that just happened, trying to figure out how he’s going to explain it all to his teacher. It won’t be easy, that’s for sure.

Once they get to the school they go through some back entrance of the dorms that Shouto didn’t know existed. Aizawa-sensei leads him straight to his personal rooms and directs him to the couch before disappearing down the hall.

He reappears a few minutes later, carrying a mug of what Shouto hopes is hot chocolate and a cozy looking blanket. He hands them both over and sits in the armchair across from him, silent as Shouto gets comfortable.

“You’ve known Endeavor for a while, right sensei?” His teacher raises a brow at the use of his father’s hero name, but doesn’t comment on it.

“Professionally, yes. But I’ve only known him personally for a few years. Zashi insisted that I needed more friends.”

“So then, you know that he hasn’t always been like this?”

“Like what?” Aizawa-sensei speaks slowly, as if he doesn’t really want the answer.

Shouto doesn’t particularly want to give one either. So he takes a sip from his mug, and is pleased that it’s the hot chocolate Izuku has boasted about many times. There are only so many sips he can take before it gets awkward, so Shouto decides he should answer sooner rather than later.

“Kind.”

“Did something happen at the prison?” Shouto knows that his teacher knows. He can tell by the look in his eye. But he also knows that his teacher will probably make him say it.

“Yes.” Aizawa-sensei gets up from his chair and moves over to the coffee table that was in between them. He speaks in a low, quiet voice when he asks his question.

“Todoroki. Did Endeavor hurt you?”

“No?” Shouto hesitates before adding on.

“Well, he grabbed my arm pretty roughly. It still kind of hurts.” The expression Aizawa-sensei wears can only be described as sad.

“Can I see?”

Shouto slides the blanket off of his shoulders before pulling off the suit jacket he still wears from this morning. Underneath he’d only worn a short sleeved dress shirt, so it’s easy to roll it up and reveal the giant hand print on his bicep, already bruising.

His teacher inspects it closely before sitting back with a sigh.

“I’m assuming this isn’t the first time he’s done this.”

“It’s been a while. He got therapy and stopped, but obviously there are still issues there.”

“Do you know why he hurt you this time?”

“He was frustrated. Touya would only talk to me so he wanted me to ask all sorts of questions. When I refused he got angry. Touya went out of his way to protect me, but I doubt that’ll change Endeavor’s mind about him.”

“I take it he’s not your brother’s biggest fan?” Shouto laughs a little at that.

“That’s an understatement.”

They sit in silence for a few moments, Shouto sipping on his cooling hot chocolate.

“I think you should talk to him.” Aizawa-sensei gives him a confused look before speaking up.

“Endeavor?”

“No! Touya.”

“And why is that?”

“He said he’d talk to you. And that you can bring that detective with you so that you know he’s not lying.” Shouto really wants his teacher to bring the detective. He believes Touya, and the detective being there will force everyone to believe him as well.

“Is that all your brother had to say?”

“He told me about why he’s a villain, but I think you should hear it from him. Make sure you ask about the pictures and the person following him.” Aizawa-sensei frowns at him, but doesn’t ask about his suggestion.

“Depending on how it goes, we may be able to be lenient with him. Would you want that?”

“I don’t know. Touya has always protected me, even just now in the prison. So I want to say yes. But he also killed a classmate, no matter how much he didn’t want to.”

They both fall silent. Shouto doesn’t have anything else to say to his teacher, but he doesn’t exactly want to see his classmates right now. To get to his room from here he’d have to pass by the common room, where some of his class is most likely camped out.

“Hey Aizawa-sensei?” His teacher hums at him, which Shouto takes as an indication to continue.

“Would I be able to stay here for a bit? I don’t want to see anyone else right now.” Aizawa-sensei’s expression betrays nothing, so Shouto prepares himself to leave when he’s silent for too long.

“Of course you can.”

Shouto smiles gratefully at him before burying himself further into the couch. He’s so exhausted from today. First the funeral, then Endeavor and the prison and a panic attack, and then explaining everything to his teacher.

It’s no wonder he falls asleep.

Chapter Text

Shouta can’t help but to think back to the start of the year, long before the sports festival happened.

Todoroki is acting the same way he was back then. Cold, distant, unemotional, and almost hostile to some of the other kids. Clearly what happened at the prison is effecting him more than he lets on.

If he won’t talk to Shouta, maybe he’ll talk to Izuku again. It seemed to help him before.

Or maybe he’ll come out of his shell again once Shouta gets some answers from his brother.

Which is exactly what he plans to do.

It’s not exactly normal for someone to visit the prison as late in the day as he is planning to, but he can’t exactly miss out on teaching his lessons right now. Especially not when they’re about to start their special move training for the provisional exams.

“Alright listen up 1-A! Tonight, I want you all to start thinking about the special moves we were discussing at camp. We’ll start working on them tomorrow in class.” He stops them before they get the chance to leave the classroom.

“Hey sensei?” He was hoping for no questions so he could hit the road, but looks like he’ll never be that lucky.

“Yes Kaminari?”

“Can we come ask for help tonight? I don’t want to try something tomorrow if it won’t work.”

“Unfortunately, I have business to attend to tonight. You can ask Present Mic for help instead.” He tries to ignore the disappointed looks on the kids faces.

As soon as they’re all out of the classroom and on their way to the dorms, Shouta turns towards the garage. He’s not fond of driving himself, but Tsukauchi said he’d have to meet him at the prison today.

When he gets there the detective is waiting out front, and he quickly leads the way to an interrogation room.

When they open the door, Dabi is hardly recognizable. He’s got white hair, a split lip, and is sporting a black eye that Shouta knows wasn’t there when he captured him. Even if he had been injured during the attack, the bruise certainly wouldn’t be that dark.

“So Dabi, where’d you-”

“Touya.” Tsukauchi certainly isn’t expecting the interruption.

“Excuse me?”

“I’d prefer it if you called me Touya.” Tsukauchi nods beside him, and Shouta decides to speak up.

“What happened to your face?”

“Dear old dad wasn’t in a very good mood when little Sho left.” Is he telling them that Endeavor hit him?

Who is Shouta kidding. Of course that’s what he’s saying. He’d say he doesn’t believe him, but then Tsukauchi would have to call him out on being a liar.

“He assaulted you? In a government prison?” Touya has the audacity to roll his eyes at Tsukauchi’s questions.

“Oh please. He’s done much worse, and the heroes didn’t give a shit. Besides. With the way they run this place, I’m not surprised they all turned a blind eye.” Shouta raises his brows, but lets Tsukauchi finish this line of questioning.

“What do you mean, the way they run this place.”

“I barely left this room, from the day I got captured, to the day that Endeavor dragged Sho here to visit.” This is crazy. Shouta doesn’t think he can keep quiet anymore.

“Touya, that was over a week!”

“Oh trust me. I know. They only let me out to use the washroom. Barely fed me. Didn’t let me wash up and get the stupid dye out of my hair until after Endeavor left. The goddamn League of Villains treated me better than this.” That is concerning, to say the least. 

“I’ll be having a word with the hero commission about this.”

“Oh, I’d pay to see that Eraserhead.”

“Moving on, your brother told me to ask about the pictures and the person following you.” Tsukauchi looks over at him in surprise. Shouta hadn’t exactly gotten the chance to share what Todoroki told him.

“Oh wow. Jumping straight into the good stuff now.”

“You can start with whatever you want.” Touya looks less than thrilled about talking to them, but he starts speaking anyways.

“Before we get to that, I think I should tell you about leaving home.” Shouta sits back in his chair and nods at him, while Tsukauchi starts the recording device and opens up a new page on his notepad.

“There wasn’t some big event that triggered it. I left a good ten years ago, because I knew Shouto’s quirk was about to come in, and I was worried about what Endeavor would do to me when that happened. I was thirteen.”

Shouta can’t imagine being on his own that young. And to live with that fear, for so long before that, must have been awful.

“You didn’t grab any of your siblings? You seem to care an awful lot about them.” Touya looks annoyed by Tsukauchi's interruption.

“I couldn’t. I was only thirteen, and I’m the oldest of us. I couldn’t take care of three other people when I couldn’t even take care of myself. Besides. If I took them, Endeavor would have come after us. He’s always cared about the others more.”

As harsh as it is, Shouta can tell it’s true. Going by the frown on Tsukauchi’s face, his quirk only confirms it. None of them speak up again, so Touya continues his story.

“I was own my own for a while. It was hard, living on the streets, but I managed. A few nicer people let me crash on their couch from time to time. One of them even got me a job.” At least it seems like someone had been looking out for Touya.

“By sixteen, I had my own apartment. It was shitty, and on the wrong side of town, but it was mine. I tried to help out other runaways, like people did for me.”

“When I was twenty, the League came knocking.” Shouta’s been avoiding interrupting, but he can’t help himself now.

“The League was active three years ago?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s been much longer than that. They’re only on your radar because they revealed themselves.”

“And why did they do that?”

“One for All.” Izuku’s quirk? Fuck.

They’ll have to get back to that later, after Touya tells them more about what happened three years ago.

“I said no to working with them. Shigaraki would come by every day, and ask me the one question. When I asked why, he said that my quirk is a valuable asset. I asked him why he thought I’d work with him, and he said it’s because I hate heroes.”

“I don’t hate all of you. Just Endeavor.” Well from what Shouta’s heard so far, he’s starting to hate the Number Two Hero as well.

“After a few months, he came back with a folder. There were pictures of all of my sibling in there. Sho was only eleven, and he was in the most of them. I don’t know how they found out who I am.” Shouta hates villains. What he hates more than villains, are the ones who use family against people.

“Do you still have that folder?”

“Yah. I kept all of them. Plus the notes they’d send.”

“You got more than one folder? What’s on the notes?”

“I got a folder a week until I agreed to work with them. Then they’d come in every month or so, as if to remind me why I was there. The notes came with the pictures. Usually threats against my siblings. Details on what the League would do to them.” It’s no wonder Touya agreed to work with them. Shouta would have done the same thing if his family was in trouble.

“Where are they now?”

“I still keep an apartment in town. I’ll write down the address for you.” Tsukauchi wordlessly hands over his pen and notebook.

“And what about the person following you?”

“Some invisible bitch, so I never got a look at her.” Touya looks upset at his lack of information.

“How did you know she was there?”

“She’d talk to me sometimes. It was the times she didn’t that were worse. I never knew whether she was there or not.” That sounds unnerving, to say the least.

“Why was she following you?” Touya looks at Tsukauchi like he’s crazy.

“The League couldn’t trust me, so they used her to keep tabs on me. If I got out of line, they’d threaten my siblings worse. I was worried that one day it would turn into more than just threats, so I was always careful.

“Why’d you kill Satou, Touya?” Touya looks down at his hands before speaking, a far away look in his eyes.

“Because she was there. The League had more people in the forest than you knew. Some of them were following Sho, and they’d kill him if I didn’t do exactly as I was told. They wanted me to kill every kid in that room, Eraserhead. It’s a miracle you showed up when you did.”

Shouta can’t imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t returned. It would have been an even bigger tragedy, and he doubts UA would have survived the fallout.

“I didn’t want to kill them. They’re just kids! All little Sho’s age. I took as long as I could without being suspicious. But she was getting impatient. She came up behind me and told me I had two minutes to finish the job.”

Shouta really had arrived in the nick of time. If he’d been two minutes slower, all of those students would be dead. And Touya would have had six murders on his hands.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that Touya. Shouto is safe at UA, but I’ll get some of my officers to keep an eye on your other siblings. You being captured could have a huge fallout. They’ll probably know that you talked.” Touya looks up at Tsukauchi, a surprised look on his face.

“Thank you, detective.” Touya looks so earnest right now. It would be impossible not to believe him, even without Tsukauchi’s quirk on their side.

He’s only twenty three, but right now Touya looks so much younger than that. It’s hard to think about all that he went through before now. Shouta doubts he had any childhood to begin with. 

He can’t help but to sympathize.

Tsukauchi speaks up again before he can say anything.

“Alright. Now that we’ve covered that, how about you tell us all you know about the League?”

Chapter Text

Izuku isn’t expecting the announcement about special moves. He knows his dad briefly brought it up on the trip out to camp, but at that point in the journey he was still mostly asleep. He’s never even thought of what his could be!

He remembers overhearing other kids in elementary and middle school talking about it. Some of them could go on for hours about what their signature hero move would be.

But not Izuku. While he could go on for hours about some things, signature moves is not one of them. It’s something he avoided thinking about when he was younger. The thought hasn’t even crossed his mind since he got his quirk.

The class has been so busy with schoolwork and villain attacks that Izuku doubts many others have been thinking about it either.

After his dad’s announcement everyone had walked together to the dorms, but once they arrived, most of his classmates retreated to their rooms. Izuku follows their lead.

Thirty minutes later he’s sitting at his desk, in front of an empty notebook. All he’s been thinking about since he sat down are special moves, but he can’t come up with anything.

Maybe his dads can help. But since only one of his dad’s is here right now, Izuku bets that he has a fair share of students asking for his input.

Maybe once he can use more of his quirk something will come up? A lot of peoples quirk’s develop as they train it more, so maybe that’s what he has to do.

He might be able to do something with his legs? Maybe if he focuses more power into them he can figure something out.

It’s definitely something to start with. He’ll just go over it with his dads later tonight.

Someone knocks on his door.

He opens it quickly, and finds Shouto standing there. He looks exhausted and upset.

“Shouto, are you okay?” Izuku opens his door further, giving his friend the option to come in.

“I have to tell them.” Shouto stays where he is, just outside Izuku's door.

“What are you talking about?”

“I have to tell them about Touya.” Izuku doesn’t have to be a genius to guess who the them is.

He’s caught all of the guilty looks Shouto has sent the group that his brother attacks. While all of their bandages are gone at this point, his friend’s eyes linger on any mark left by Touya. 

Izuku hopes that no-one else has caught on to the looks. Anyone who doesn’t know what happened could take it completely the wrong way. He knows he would.

“Okay. Do you want me to come with you?” Shouto just nods at him and turns around, leading the way downstairs.

Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and Mina are all sitting in the common room when they get there. The group looks confused. Shouto must have asked for them to meet him here, and not given any information. Although with the group he asked for, they must have made some assumptions about the meet up.

Izuku and Shouto sit down on an available couch, side by side. There’s no-one else in the common room, so someone must have kicked them out. 

“Thank you guys for meeting me here.” Shouto goes quiet as he speaks, and looks at every person in turn. They all look back at him expectantly. 

“Todoroki what’s going on? Are you okay?” Izuku has to hide his smile at the concern in Kirishima’s voice. Of course they’re worried about Shouto. He’s been so different these past few days, ever since he found out about Touya.

“Not really no. There’s something I need to tell you guys.” The seriousness in Shouto’s voice gives everyone pause. They all sit silently, waiting for him to continue.

“It’s about the villain that attacked you.”

“Wait what? You know him?!?” Mina practically yells at Shouto. All the others are frowning, whether it’s at her or what Shouto’s telling them is unclear.

“I used to. His name is Touya. He’s my brother, and he disappeared when I was four.” Where Izuku expected outrage, there’s only stunned silence.

“Your brother’s a villain? I’m sorry Todoroki. That must suck.” It’s Kaminari who breaks the silence. He has a sympathetic look on his face.

Izuku looks to his left at Shouto, a small smile on his face. Everyone is taking this so well, so his friend must feel relieved.

His smile quickly turns into a frown.

Shouto is tense, and his expression hardly reveals anything. It's only his clenched jaw and tearful eyes that betray his frustration.

“Why aren’t you angry? It’s my fault!! I’m the reason Satou is dead!” Shouto stands up as he yells, and Izuku has to resist the urge to sit back from him.

“Woah man what are you talking about? You didn’t kill him!” Kirishima stands too. 

He takes an unsure step forwards, hands held out in an attempt to deescalate the situation. Shouto just glares at his hands before reaching forwards and snatching one of Kirishima’s wrists.

Izuku steps up to his side as he pulls Kirishima closer, still staring at his arms.

“Hey Shouto, what’s going on?” His friend is silent.

Izuku turns to Kirishima to see if he has any clue what’s going on. He’s staring at Shouto, a small frown on his face. Izuku opens his mouth to speak when Shouto beats him to it.

“These are my fault.” His voice is quiet. Izuku barely heard it, and he’s standing right next to him.

Izuku and Kirishima simultaneously look down to where Shouto still grips his arm. His hold is loose, and Kirishima could have easily torn his arm away. There are marks all over his arms, some still healing. They bear an awful similarity to the scar around Shouto’s eye.

Shouto is blaming himself for Kirishima’s scars.

“It-It’s really not.” Shouto shakes his head at Kirishima, finally dropping his arm. He backs away and drops back onto the couch, head low.

“He didn’t want to do it, but someone was following him and threatening me. So he did it because of me.” Shouto’s voice breaks, and he sinks even lower into the couch.

“I think he did it for you, not because of you. He chose to protect you Shouto. I don’t think he wanted to hurt anyone.” Izuku takes the silence after Shouto’s comment to speak up.

“This isn’t your fault man.”

“We’re fine anyways!”

“It sounds like he really cares about you. Don’t throw that away by taking the blame on yourself.” Izuku is surprised to hear Sero speak. He’s been silent up until this point.

Shouto looks back up at them, taking in everyone’s determined expression.

“Okay.” He stands and starts to leave the common room. Shouto’s nearly at the door when he turns back again.

“There’s one more thing. Touya wanted me to tell you guys that he’s sorry.”

He turns back to the door and exits, leaving no time for an answer.

Everyone sits there silently for a minute, before Izuku has enough of it and leaves as well. He has some notes to get back to.

Chapter Text

Shouta's relieved to get back to the school.

He and Tsukauchi got a lot of information about the League from Touya, and Shouta has the feeing that the detective is going to be up late tonight, getting ready to brief the rest of the task force.

He’s glad it’s not his responsibility. He’s exhausted.

Shouta hasn’t had a proper nap in ages, so all he wants to do is curl up in bed with his husband and never leave.

There’s just one thing he has to do first.

The common room is suspiciously empty when enters the dorms, so he makes his way up to Todoroki’s room.

His student answers the door quickly, as if he was waiting for someone to come knocking. He doesn’t look disappointed that it’s Shouta.

“Why don’t you come with me to my office. I have some things to tell you.” Todoroki nods at him, and follows silently as they make their way to Shouta’s office. He makes sure to wait for his student to sit down before speaking up.

“The first thing I have to say is that everything Touya told you is true.” Todoroki looks up at him, relief clear in his eyes.

“It’s obvious that your brother didn’t want to be with the League. He gave us a lot of information on their hideouts and plans. There’s apparently more details at his apartment, and Tsukauchi is taking a team there tomorrow.” Shout’s probably telling him more than he should, but he can’t help himself.

Todoroki deserves to know about his brother.

“Will he be in prison forever?” Todoroki’s voice is small, and he has a worried frown on his lips.

“No. Tsukauchi thinks that if the information pans out, we should be able to get him house arrest instead.” Todoroki’s frown deepens, and Shouta can’t for the life of him decipher why.

“With Endeavor?” Oh. He gets it now. Todoroki is worried about his brother’s safety.

“Unless something alternate comes up, that’s probably what the hero commission would insist on.” Todoroki stands up and behind pacing in front of the couch. To say that he looks frustrated is an understatement.

“Sensei he can’t! Endeavor hates Touya. Who knows what would happen if they were in the same house. I know that he got help and is better now, but you know what happened when we saw Touya. Can you imagine them living together?”

Shouta can’t. And Todoroki doesn’t even know what Endeavor did after he left. He’s already reported it to the hero commission, but they run that prison, so he doubts they’ll care much. Or do anything about it.

“I’ll try to find an alternate solution, but there aren’t many options. Your other siblings have moved out, and neither of them are heroes, so I doubt the commission would let Touya stay with them.”

“Yah. I know.” Todoroki sits back down with a frustrated sigh.

“I’ll talk to Nezu and see if-” His phone buzzing interrupts him, and he pulls it out to find that Nezu texted him.

‘I heard about your problem with Touya. Come to my office ASAP’

He has some sort of freaky sixth sense. It honesty scares Shouta some days.

“Sorry Todoroki, I have to cut this short. Nezu wants to talk to me.” Guess he’s not getting that nap after all.

Todoroki follows him out of his office and they part ways at the staircase, Shouta heading outside and his student upstairs.

It’s fairly late in the evening, so the only people outside are a few heroes patrolling the school grounds. He passes by them silently, not wanting to interrupt them or be caught in a conversation with any of them. 

The school is empty when he steps inside, and he doesn’t pass by a single person on his way to Nezu’s office. He enters after knocking, and sits himself in the chair across from Nezu.

“Tea?” Shouta shakes his head, but Nezu serves him a cup anyways.

Nezu silently watches him until he takes a sip, which the principal smiles at.

“Now. I believe I have a solution to your Touya problem.” Shouta nods in acknowledgement, and waits for Nezu to continue.

“I’ve been drafting plans for hero boarding. The hero commission already approved of them.” Not a bad idea. Shouta’s surprised that Nezu didn’t build them with the rest of the dorms.

“Hero boarding? Where?”

“On campus. So that some don’t have to travel so far between patrol shifts. You know how tiring it can be.”

“Yes, but that’s after apprehending people. Do you really expect them to find someone at the school?” Although quiet shifts are also tiring. Constantly being on the lookout for something that may not be there is taxing.

“One can never be too cautious.”

“How do these plans involve Touya? Last I checked he wasn’t a pro hero.” And it’s not as if he can enroll in UA anyways. He’s far too old for these classes.

“You are quite right. However, I’m presuming that a condition for his house arrest will be to be put with a pro hero. Which means Endeavor.”

“Which we can’t have.”

“Correct. The hero dorms, however, will be filled with heroes, in addition to all of the staff we have here.”

“So you want to put Touya with them.” It’s really not a bad idea. There will be countless heroes around to keep an eye on him. Not that Shouta thinks that Touya will do anything. He was obviously an unwilling participant.

“Exactly. On condition with his house arrest, he’ll have a tracking monitor. We can restrict his access to certain parts of the grounds, such as the school and student dorms.” Shouta opens his mouth to speak, but Nezu beats him to it.

“We can exempt the 1-A dorms. I assume he and his brother will want time to reconnect. I also want you to be his primary supervisor. He seems to trust you already.” Shouta will definitely have to prepare his class if Touya will be around. He knows there will be issues there.

“You’re acting as if this is already confirmed. We haven’t even verified his intel.’

“Is Tsukauchi not verification enough? Besides. From what I’ve seen, the hero commission will be happy to get Touya out of their hands. If he’s placed in Endeavor’s custody and something happens, the blame will be put on the commission in favour of the number two hero.” And everyone knows that something would happen.

“I see. If something happens here, there are many less popular heroes who can take the fall.” And heroes that Touya shouldn’t have any issues with. Because of how young the heroes he’s seen around are, Shouta doesn’t doubt that they’ll be open minded.

“Precisely. I plan on placing the hero dorms near the student dorms, as that’s where the heroes should be focusing their patrols on anyways. It will also allow you easy access in case something happens.”

“Well I’m in. As long as Endeavor doesn’t swing by the school things should be fine. Now there are two kids we’ll need to protect from him.”

“Oh? Did something happen with your student?”

“You know exactly what happened. As much as I was friends with Endeavor, his kids matter more. I don’t want him near them.”

“Getting a little protective, are we? You hardly know those boys.” That doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel for them. He sees a lot of Izuku in how they react to things. Clear signs of abuse. No matter how long ago it stopped, it’s still affecting those boys.

“Nezu. You haven’t seen how they were. I’m sure you’ve heard all about how Endeavor treated them, but you’ve always distanced yourself from the emotional side of things. Those kids have been through a lot. I only want to help them.”

“I see. While I tend to distance myself from student’s emotions, I can imagine what they went through, and how it effected them.” Shouta feels like he’s being scolded.

“Of course, Nezu.” The principal turns back to the papers on his desk.

Shouta knows a dismissal when he sees one, so he gets out of that office as quickly as possible.

After all, he has a husband waiting for him.

Chapter Text

Eijirou is feeling especially anxious today.

Aizawa-sensei announced an important meeting tonight, set right before their teacher is set to patrol the school grounds.

He’d looked serious, and Eijirou hadn’t missed the frowns he and some of his friends had gotten.

So he drags Katsuki down to the common room nearly a half an hour early. There’s no-one else there, and Eijirou is relieved.

He loves his classmates, but he knows that some of them would want to debate on what this meeting is about. Which would only serve to make Eijirou more anxious.

He knows Katsuki doesn’t care enough about the meeting to talk about it, so he’s happy to sit with his boyfriend in near silence.

However, his restlessness gets to him.

There’s absolutely no way he can sit still enough for twenty more minutes, not when all there is to think about is what the meeting could be about. So he excuses himself to grab some water and goes to the kitchen.

He heads straight for the cupboard above the sink, and fills a glass with cool water. He drinks half of it in one go, before turning around to face the rest of the room. Maybe there’s something else in here that can occupy his time.

He’s just raising his cup again when he makes eye contact with someone, and he barely registers the glass slipping from his hand and smashing on the floor.

There’s no way.

There’s no way that he can be here. Of all the people who could break into the dorms, it had to be the one that Eijirou has nightmares about. The one person he is most afraid of in the world, and they’re standing in the kitchen together.

Eijirou reflexively activates his quirk while trying to move as far away as possible. But he’d already been leaning against the counter, so there’s nowhere for him to go.

He’s trapped in here, a villain between him and the door, and Eijirou can’t even find the breath to call for help.

——————

Katsuki is so fucking bored.

There’s absolutely no reason to be in the common room so early before the meeting, but Eijirou had asked him to.

It’s not like they had much else to do. Katsuki gets his homework done as quickly and as early as he can, and since he tutors Eijirou, that means that his boyfriend does too.

Since they’re done with their homework they could’ve worked out or played video games, but Katsuki knows they would get distracted and be late for this meeting. Or Eijirou would be super distracted thinking about the meeting and hurt himself or something.

So Katsuki dutifully follows his boyfriend down the stairs nearly thirty minutes early for the meeting. None of the extras are there, which is a fucking relief.

He gratefully sinks into the couch. Katsuki is so fucking exhausted. Everything aches from how serious their training has been lately.

He knew UA was going to be tough, but Aizawa-sensei has really upped his game in preparation for provisional exams.

They’ve been working on their special moves all week long, and Katsuki is pretty fucking pleased with how his training is going. He’s known different moves he wanted to do since he was a kid, it was only a matter of working out how to perform them.

So Katsuki could easily take a nap right about now. But with the way Eijirou is sitting tense next to him, there’s no way his boyfriend could manage it. They’ve been sitting in silence for probably ten minutes now, and while Katsuki enjoys the quiet, he knows that Eijirou doesn’t.

“I’m going to grab something to drink.” Eijirou’s announcement is sudden, but expected. Katsuki had been waiting to see how long he lasted until he got too restless to sit still.

Katsuki sits in blissful silence for a few moments. He can hear the loud water tap from the kitchen, and then silence as it’s turned off.

What he’s not expecting is the sound of glass smashing from the kitchen.

“Eijirou?” He’s being cautiously optimistic that the glass merely slipped from his boyfriends hand. But with their classes luck, it’s doubtful.

Katsuki waits an acceptable amount of time before standing from the couch and rushing to the kitchen. He freezes in the doorway at the sight of Eijirou. He’s backed into the counter, smashed glass and water at his feet.

But that’s not what makes him stop.

Eijirou is half-hardened, and clearly terrified. Katsuki can hear how short his breaths are from the opposite end of the kitchen.

Eijirou’s hands grip the counter behind him, and Katsuki can see where the countertop is clearly cracking under the strain. He hasn’t even acknowledged Katsuki, gaze caught on something to his right.

Katsuki turns his head and curses, before using his quirk to blast his way across the room, stopping in front of Eijirou. 

He’s grateful that he’s wearing his slippers. The glass is scattered across the floor and if it weren’t for the thick soles, his feet would be sliced open. Hopefully Eijirou’s using his quirk on his bare feet as well.

Katsuki turns his back to his boyfriend, facing the intruder standing next to the door.

It’s Dabi. 

Or Touya. Or whatever the fuck he’s calling himself now.

He’s never met the guy, but he’s seen pictures of him on the news, and Eijirou’s described him often enough that he feels like he has met him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Katsuki wants to scream at him, but he manages to stay calm. They can’t afford to both be panicking right now. Eijirou’s doing enough of that for the both of them.

“Hey man. I was told to be here.” What the fuck?

Katsuki had heard all about his story from Eijirou, who had been told by Todoroki. Does this mean that whoever is following Touya ordered him to break into their school? But how the fuck would he even get here?

“How the fuck did you get out of prison?”

“Eraserhead! How else would I, dumbass!” Katsuki is so fucking confused.

But there’s no time to think about it. Eijirou is freaking out behind him, so Katsuki needs to get this villain out of here so that he can calm him down.

“Get the hell out of our dorm.” Katsuki tries to sound as assertive as he can. It seems that something works, because Touya raises his hands in surrender.

But he has his palms out, facing them. Eijirou told him all about the power that comes from those hands, so Katsuki doesn’t take this lightly.

He raises his hands and sets off his own quirk, before the villain has the chance. The explosion is big, but Touya ducked out of the kitchen just in time. There’s scorch marks along to walls and the floor, and by the smell in the air, something is probably burning.

Katsuki’s suspicion is confirmed when the fire alarm goes off. It’s loud enough to raise the dead, but he and Eijirou don’t move.

They don’t move when the sprinklers turn on, immediately soaking them.

And they don’t move when Touya steps back into the kitchen, arms still raised in surrender.

Katsuki can hear their classmates walking by on their way out of the dorms. Not one of them glances in the kitchen.

The alarm is the only sound for a few moments, before he hears doors being opened and closed. Aizawa-sensei must be checking all of the rooms to make sure everyone evacuated.

He finally stops inside the kitchen, interrupting the silent stand-off.

Aizawa-sensei takes a moment to take in the situation, before he pulls out his phone and silences the alarm.

He looks oddly calm, for someone who has a villain in their kitchen.

“Sensei, what the fuck is going on?”

“Touya, go wait in the common room.” His teacher ignores his question, instead addressing the villain with too much familiarity.

As soon as Touya leaves the room, Katsuki turns back to Eijirou. He’s still half-hardened, crushing the kitchen counter, and crying silently.

His breathing is better. It’s been slowly improving since Katsuki stepped in front of him, and the appearance of their teacher most likely helped as well.

Katsuki approaches him slowly, but stops when Aizawa-sensei steps up to his side. He sees his teacher activate his quirk from the corner of his eye, but focuses on Eijirou as his falls away.

As his quirk falls, so does his grip on the counter. 

Katsuki catches him before he can face plant into the glass, and he carefully drags him away from the area, sitting him up against the fridge. He crouches in front of him, trying to catch his eye.

“Hey, Ei. You’re safe now. He’s gone.” Eijirou lets out a sob before falling forwards, burying his face in Katsuki’s chest.

He falls on his ass from the force of it, and carefully readjusts them as he brings his arms around his boyfriend, keeping him close. He can hear Aizawa-sensei come up behind them, but he doesn’t turn towards him. His teacher can tell that he’s listening.

“Why don’t you take him upstairs before I let your classmates come in. I can come up and explain things to you guys later.”

Katsuki is grateful for the suggestion, and he nods at his teacher in thanks before scooping Eijirou up into his arms and carrying him upstairs. He cannot wait for Aizawa-sensei to come up and explain what’s just happened.

He’d like to know what the fuck is going on.

Chapter Text

Shouta hadn’t been expecting any students to show up early for the meeting.

Clearly a mistake.

Now he has to deal with an upset Kirishima, an angry Bakugou, seventeen other confused kids, and a wet building.

Shouta figures that without this mishap, he’d still have to deal with the first two. But at least then it would be in a more controlled situation, not whatever the hell is going on now.

This won’t be fun.

To be fair, he already knew that it wouldn’t be a good time. Even if things had gone according to plan, it still isn’t what he wanted. There are certain kids that he wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with, specifically the students that Touya attacked.

As easy as it would be to tell everyone at once, Shouta knows that there are kids who’ll have issues with this. He wanted to address them privately, instead of in front of the whole class. Some kids don’t want their classmates to know everything about them, especially things they may consider a weakness.

It also wasn’t his idea to introduce them to Touya. Even though most of his kids hadn’t met him face to face, they’ve all been effected by the attack.

Nezu somehow got it into his mind that he needed to be there for the meeting. He’s the one who decided that all of the kids should be informed at the same time, as well as introducing them to the person who killed their classmate. 

It doesn’t matter that it was unwillingly. It still happened, and some of his kids had to witness it. 

Some of them were almost killed too.

So Shouta isn’t all that happy with Nezu right now, but he’ll have to save their annoyingly one-sided discussion for later.

Shouta gets Touya to go back into the kitchen before he heads outside to collect the class. It’s probably best of they don’t see him before he explains things to them.

That had been Nezu’s grand plan before, but clearly he should have hid him better.

This is going to be a long night.

——————

Izuku knew something was up when his dad announced a meeting. The way he’d said it implied that it is serious, and he can tell that his dad isn’t happy about something.

Izuku has the feeling that he knows what the meeting is about, but he can’t place why his dad seems so upset by it.

Izuku’s learned most of Touya’s history in the past couple of days. Shouto had been more than happy to share, and even his dad had said a few things in passing. It’s only logical that the early evening meeting has to do with this.

That, and the people his dad had focused on while making the announcement. Izuku knows he’s not the only one who noticed the looks he gave Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and Ashido. While everyone knows the group is friends, they also all know about the significant event that ties them together.

He’s hanging out with Hitoshi in his room when the explosion happens. And it’s a sound he’s very familiar with. 

Why is Kacchan setting off his quirk in the dorm building?

Before Izuku can voice his question, the fire alarm goes off.

No sprinklers go off in this section of the building. They’re programmed to only activate in the areas with fire, so as to avoid unnecessary water damage.

So Izuku knows that Kacchan is going to be very angry, and very wet.

Except, that’s not what he finds when he evacuates with the rest of the class.

Everyone gets out fairly quickly, and they all gather around his other dad, who just returned from patrol. He looks equally as confused as they do, which doesn’t give anyone much confidence.

By the time his classmates stop coming outside, they’re still short two people.

Kacchan and Kirishima.

As well as his dad, but Izuku assumes that he’s making sure everyone evacuated, as well as looking for the source of the fire.

At least it will be easy to find both, since one of the people who didn’t evacuate just so happens to be the source of the fire.

The alarm stops blaring and the class moves forward as one, ready to get back inside and attend the meeting. His dad steps in front of the group before they can move any closer to their building.

“Wait up guys. Let’s wait until Eraserhead tells us it’s clear first.” His dad uses his quirk to ensure that they all heard him, and a few of the students closest to the front cover their ears.

Izuku can hear a few groans of frustration. Everyone would much rather be inside than out here. He and Hitoshi had been in the middle of their homework when the alarm went off. There’s no way they’ll be able to focus on it now.

“Alright class. Go find a seat in the common room.” His dad steps out only a few minutes later.

Izuku follows with the the rest of the class and finds himself seated between Hitoshi and Shouto on the couch.

Kacchan and Kirishima are nowhere to be seen.

Izuku knows he’s not the only one to have noticed the absence, but no one has commented on it. And he doubts that anyone will, unless his dad brings it up.

His dad drags a chair over from the table and seats himself in it, but doesn’t say anything. Before Izuku has the chance to ask what’s going on, there’s a faint rustling and Nezu pops out of his dads capture scarf.

“Hello class 1-A!” Izuku thinks the look on his face could be considered a smile, but it’s hard to tell.

“I am pleased to see that most of you have made it to my meeting.” Before their principal can go on, Kaminari raises his hand.

“I thought Aizawa-sensei planned this?” Nezu shakes his head at Kaminari and jumps up onto the coffee table.

“Well he sure wanted to, but I may have hijacked the process. I know that Eraserhead wanted to do this differently, but I have my own way of doing things.” Izuku has no clue how Nezu can sound so cheerful, considering the topic they’re about to breach.

“Considering that this whole thing was my idea, I thought it best if I lead things here.” There are confused murmurs all around, but everyone quiets down when Nezu clears his throat.

“Now. I’m sure you’ve all noticed the construction that Cementoss has been working on nearby?” Izuku finds himself nodding with the rest of the class.

They’d tried asking the pro about it, but he’d refused to tell them what the building is for. It looks a lot like their dorms, but all of the classes already have their own building.

“He’s been constructing Hero Dorms, for the pros that are patrolling here to stay at so that they don’t have to travel all of the way home after a shift.” Nezu allows the excited whispers for a moment.

Izuku nearly finds himself joining in. He’s seen some of the heroes that patrol the grounds, and they’re all super cool!! To have them living nearby means that they may have more interactions with them, and he may be able to ask them a few burning questions.

Or maybe he’ll just use his dads as an excuse to go over there and meet them.

“The heroes are not the only people who will be living there. For now, that dorm will have one permanent resident. He’s recently been freed from the League of Villains, and needs our protection.” It’s Yaoyorozu who raises her hand this time, but she waits to be called on to ask her question.

“The League was holding someone hostage? Why haven’t we heard of this on the news?” The rest of the class make noises of agreement.

“Because, Yaoyorozu, nobody knew until the other week. We previously thought he’d been working with the League, but we recently found out that he was only cooperating to protect his family.” Shouto tenses beside him. Izuku looks over at him but his expression gives nothing away.

“I believe some of you have met him before. Come on out, Touya!” Nezu raises his voice at the last part, and the familiar form of Touya emerges from the kitchen. He has his head lowered, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

“What the hell!” Izuku looks over at Kaminari. He’s on his feet, and he looks angry.

Izuku’s never seen him angry before.

A few other classmates jump to their feet. Everyone has varying degrees of anger and fear on their face. Only a few of them have personally met Touya, but everyone else knows what happened.

Those who witnessed it were reluctant to talk about it, but Izuku had heard first hand from Kirishima what happened. He assumes the other’s confided in their classmates as well. It’s no wonder everyone knows.

“Sensei what the hell! Why are you letting him do this!! You know what this asshole did!” Ashido turns to Izuku’s dad now.

“Eraserhead has no sway over what I do. As I mentioned, Touya here was being blackmailed into working for the League. He only cooperated in order to protect his siblings. There’s also evidence that he was being monitored, so UA is the safest place for him.” Nezu speaks before his dad has the chance to.

“But why couldn’t he go somewhere else?” Ashido is quiet now, bordering on tears. A lot of their classmates are.

“Because they had no other choice.” Shouto speaks up before anyone else can, and every head in the room turns towards him.

“If he went home, our father would have hurt him again. It’s not safe there.” Shouto speaks quietly, but it’s the only sound in the room.

Chapter Text

Everybody looks shocked.

Izuku knows that if Shouto hadn’t told him already, he would feel the same way.

“Todoroki, I thought you said your dad was nice?” It’s Ashido who breaks the silence.

“He’s supposed to be. He was really bad when I was a kid, but he got therapy. But as soon as he saw Touya, it’s like all of that progress disappeared.” Shouto clearly doesn’t want to talk about this again.

It seems like everyone else takes the hint, because while they all look upset for him, nobody says a word.

“Alright class. If you have any questions, ask me tomorrow. And try not to bring this up with the other classes too much.” Everyone nods their understanding, but no-one makes a move to leave.

Izuku gets up, followed closely by Hitoshi and Shouto. They don’t say a word until they’re in the elevator, on the way to Shouto’s floor.

“I’m just going to check on Kacchan and Kirishima. I think something happened.” Shouto nods at him, and Hitoshi gives him an understanding smile.

They part ways at Shouto’s floor, and Izuku rides the elevator alone to Kacchan’s. He briefly considers knocking on Kirishima’s door, but he knows that he’s probably in Kacchan’s room. Who knows what he’ll find on the other side of the door.

Izuku takes a deep breath and knocks.

After a minute with no answer, Izuku raises his hand to knock again. The second his fist makes contact, the door swings open.

Kacchan looks pissed.

“What the fuck do you want?” Kacchan sounds angry too. But Izuku doesn’t take offence. He can tell that the anger isn’t directed at him.

“I just wanted to make sure you guys are okay! You weren’t at the meeting downstairs so I figured something happened.” Kacchan regards him for a moment before answering.

“No shit sherlock. I’m fucking mad as hell.” Izuku could tell that much, not that he’ll say anything.

“And Kirishima?” Kacchan sighs and opens the door further, gesturing him inside.

“See for yourself.” Izuku looks around as soon as the door shuts behind him.

Clearly something big happened. Kirishima is sitting up on Kacchan’s bed. Wrapped in what looks to be a good ten blankets. He has them pulled over his head, so Izuku can barely see his face.

All he can make out are red swollen eyes, and damp cheeks.

“What happened?” Kacchan gives him his best are you fucking kidding me look.

“You really don’t know?” He gestures for Izuku to sit down in his desk chair before walking over to his bed. He takes a seat and the lump of Kirishima leans over onto him.

“I-I mean, I could take a guess, but I’d rather you just tell me.” Kacchan rolls his eyes but opens his mouth anyways.

“Well, we were waiting for the dumb meeting, and Shitty Hair was getting all antsy. So he got up to grab some water.” Which means that he went to the kitchen. Which is probably where Touya was hiding.

“I hear a glass break, so I go to check on him. Find him having a fucking panic attack because that stupid fucking villain was standing there.” Izuku had been expecting this.

He didn’t expect Kirishima to have such a reaction. He thought maybe he’s react similar to his friends. But it makes sense. Kirishima almost died, and he had to watch someone die. Izuku doesn’t know how he’d react in a situation like that.

“Damn. My dad will probably be up here soon to explain it all.”

“He fucking better. I sure hope it wasn’t his fucking stupid idea to bring that monster here.” Izuku shakes his head at him.

“It wasn’t.”

There’s a familiar knock on the door. Kacchan makes to get up, but Izuku stops him and gets the door himself. His dad and Nezu are standing there. His dad is frowning, but who knows what the expression on the principals face is. Izuku can never tell.

Nezu strolls right on in, as if he owns the place. Which, in a way, he kind of does. However his dad hesitates in the doorway. Izuku steps forwards and wraps his arms around him.

“It’ll be okay, dad. I think he’ll understand.” His dad gives him a tight squeeze before pulling away. He gives Izuku a small smile before entering Kacchan’s room, shutting the door behind him.

Izuku wants to get back to his friends now, but there’s something else he needs to do first. So he pulls out his phone once he reaches the elevator.

‘Hey Toshi!! I’m just going to talk to my dad for a bit before I come back to Shouto’s room’

He shoves his phone back into his pocket and steps out of the elevator, heading straight to his dad’s rooms. He lets himself in with the key he’d been given and the first thing he registers is the smell.

Something smells delicious, so he makes his way to the kitchen, nearly tripping over Toothless as he goes. Radio follows him to the kitchen, meowing obnoxiously. Izuku picks her up and she quiets right down, thrilled with the attention.

“Dad? Everything okay?” No answer. 

His dad doesn’t even turn around. So Izuku carefully places Radio on the floor and steps up to his dad’s side, lightly grabbing his shirt. He’s learned through trial and error that that’s the best way to get his attention when he’s not wearing his hearing aids.

Izuku starts signing as soon as his attention is on him.

‘You okay?’ His dad just nods at him.

‘I can tell when you’re lying. You’re clearly stress baking, dad.’

‘Everything that’s been happening with T-o-u-y-a has been stressing your dad out, so it’s stressing me out. I heard about what happened in the kitchen.’ His dad turns to the oven and pulls out a batch of cookies, so Izuku has to wait a minute to answer.

‘It was an accident, and hopefully everyone understands.’

‘How wise’ His dad gives him a playful smile.

‘How do you feel about it?’ His dad gestures him into the living room. When he follows, he’s carefully putting his hearing aids back in.

“I don’t know Zuku. I definitely don’t like how Nezu decided to run the meeting. Especially with everything it caused before hand. Obviously Touya can’t go with Endeavor, so this may have been the best option. Doesn’t mean it was a good one though."

Izuku leans into his dad on the couch. He puts his arm around him and tucks Izuku into his side, and he melts into the touch. It’s feels like it’s been so long since they’ve been able to spend time together. 

It was easier before the dorms, when they had a separate home and he got to spend more time with them. If he spent the same amount of time with them now, his class would know something is up.

Some of them know anyways, and it’s only a matter of time before the rest of his class finds out who his dads are. Izuku would like to keep it a secret for a little while longer.

“Yah I know what you mean. Everyone was so surprised, and angry. I expected the ones he attacked to react that way, but the rest of the class did too. We all lost someone that day, and no matter how close we were to Satou, it still affects us, you know?”

“Yah baby, I do know. Shou and I lost a classmate once.” Izuku had no idea! His dad sounds so sad about it. The whole situation is probably bringing up the memories.

“I’m sorry. They must be on your mind a lot with everything that’s happening.”

“At first he wasn’t. The only thing I could think about was rescuing you. But once everyone was safe in the hospital, I thought of him. I know Shou did too. We talked about it a little, but we’ve just been so busy lately.” His dad tightens his arm around him. Izuku turns on the couch so that he can hug him properly.

“I’m sorry dad! You can talk to me about him if you want!” His dad hugs him tighter at his words, and drops his head onto Izuku’s.

“Oh baby. Don’t worry about it. Shou’s patrol got cancelled tonight, and he promised that we could finally have some time.”

“Well you still can.”

“Thank you Zuku. I love you so much baby.”

“I love you too dad!”

Chapter Text

The bus is loud and annoying.

Izuku was expecting this. It’s not like he can blame his classmates either. Even though they haven’t been cooped up at the dorms for that long, it’s hard not to go a little stir crazy being stuck at school like this.

So everybody is appropriately excited to leave school grounds.

Nobody quite knows where they’re going, but at least they know why.

They’re finally taking their Provisional License Exams.

Izuku is excited. Being a hero has been his dream ever since he can remember. It seemed unobtainable for so long, but now he’s even one step closer.

Normally, classes don’t take the exam in their first year. But his dad and Nezu thought that since their class has already been through so much, that they might as well take this exam.

Those of them that pass will have the chance to do work studies. Izuku knows that the Big 3 have their eye on a few of his classmates. If they pass the exam, the Big 3 will probably recommend them to their work study mentors.

That’s not the only thing that Izuku is excited for.

He finally gets to reveal his new hero costume! There haven’t been any opportunities for him to wear it yet. Any that came up were too soon after the whole Stain incident, so his costume wasn’t even ready yet.

It’s not that much different from his old one. He’s removed the All Might influences, such as the hood and the mask. It’s also a much darker shade of green. If it’s too bright anyone can spot him.

They made sure that his arms and legs are properly supported. His arms have already sustained permanent damage from his quirk, so he’d like to avoid getting anymore, as well as supporting his arms through the damage that they already have.

They supported his legs because he’s developed Shoot Style. He’s using his legs a whole lot more lately, and he wants to avoid any slip ups. But with the added protection, if he does mess up, he’ll at least have something to help out.

The last part of his costume he wasn’t sure of at first.

His capture weapon.

He’s been training with it a lot, and he feels confident enough that he can use it in battle. The trouble comes from how it’ll look to everyone else.

Some of his classmates already know about his connection to their teacher. But for those that don’t, this will be a very obvious sign.

If they ask, he’ll tell the truth. He needs to tell them soon anyways, since they’re all living together. But this isn’t something he wanted to bother them with before their big exam.

Everyone has been training so hard. Izuku hopes that everyone passes.

The thing is, no-one really knows what to expect. His dad had explained the process to them a little bit, but refused to give any details on what the test actually is.

Nonetheless, Izuku has faith in his class.

Although he wishes that he had brought headphones for the drive. He may be excited like the rest of his class, but nowhere near as loud.

Izuku looks to his right and finds Hitoshi in the same boat. He looks almost pained by the amount of noise there is.

He knows his friend is more of an introvert. And there’s probably some social anxiety in there too. So Izuku had pushed him into the window seat, hoping to ease at least a little of his worries.

Izuku reaches over and grabs one of Hitoshi’s hands in his own. His friend had once told him that touch can help him when he’s feeling anxious, and Izuku wants to give him all of the comfort that he can.

Things have been changing, recently. Between him and Toshi.

For one thing, Izuku can call him Toshi.

Moments like this, sitting together with their legs pressed up against each other is becoming more common. A lot of the time they’ll hold hands like this too.

Izuku’s never had a crush before, but he’s starting to think that this is what it feels like. And if he feels this way for his friend, what does Toshi feel? 

Would he let Izuku hold his hand if he didn’t feel the same?

He has no idea. They’d only met at the sports festival. And they never hung out until after everything with Izuku’s mother started. So maybe all of this comforting and hand holding is because of what he’s gone through, instead of how Hitoshi feels.

Izuku would normally believe that to be true.

But he’s been working so hard with his dads to get past his insecurities.

Besides. It’s not only when Izuku is having a bad day that they do this. Sometimes it’s when Toshi is having one. Or when they’re both in good moods, cuddled up together to watch a movie.

That last part doesn’t feel very platonic.

Izuku is pretty close with Shouto as well, but they don’t do the things that he and Toshi do. Their relationship is different.

Izuku considers them both to be his best friends. But he thinks that he also wants Toshi to become something more.

Normally, Shouto would be sitting with them on the bus.

Today he’s in a separate vehicle. He’s riding with Izuku’s dad and Touya.

Izuku’s a little confused on why Touya is coming with them. His dad explained it to him, but he was also half asleep at the time so he doesn’t remember much.

Izuku hopes that it’s not too awkward for them.

——————————

Shouta feels awkward, to say the least.

He almost wishes that he was on the bus with the rest of his students. If not to abate the awkwardness, than to keep an eye on them.

But Shouta knows that they’re safe. They’ve got Zashi and Midnight on the bus with them, plus multiple heroes in cars surrounding them.

If an attack comes, they’ll be ready.

Not that Shouta is expecting an attack, but better safe than sorry. Besides. This is the only way the hero classes were allowed to leave the school for the exams.

That’s also the reason that Touya is with them. They have a decent amount of the heroes assigned to the school with them.

They left enough of them behind to protect the school, but the rest of them were split between 1-A and 1-B.

Since there are only just enough left behind at the school, Nezu decided that they should take Touya with them. Since Shouta is his supervisor, the responsibility falls to him.

He can’t complain too much. Touya’s a nice kid. And he seems to be getting along with his brother really well. Shouta’s been planning on securing permission for his other siblings to come visit, so that they can see their brother alive.

He also thinks the kid could use more friends. While he is getting to know his brother again, and befriending Shouta’s son and Shinsou, that’s pretty much the limit of his social circle.

Some of the heroes play nice with him, but some of them favour Endeavor so they only know what the man has said. There’s one hero in particular that seems to actually be trying to be Touya’s friend.

Hawks.

From what Shouta’s seen, he’s a decent hero. Very popular, already in the top ten. He has no doubt that he’ll be in the top three once the new rankings come out.

Hawks is actually with their group today. Shouta invited him to sit with them. Mostly to avoid the awkwardness, but also so that Touya could get to know him a little better.

Shouta pulls up behind their bus at the exam centre. Their windows are down, so they can already hear the laughter and screaming of kids. His class is already disembarking, so Shouta reaches for his doorhandle to join them. Hawks will escort Touya to their seats.

Touya’s hand on his arm stops him just as he’s opening the door. He turns to the boy and finds him pale and almost scared looking.

“What is it Touya?”

“She’s here.” This can’t be good.

“She as in-”

“The villain who followed me! I just heard her voice.”

Chapter Text

Eraserhead is good at hiding his reactions, Touya will give him that much.

But Touya’s good at reading people. He can tell that Eraserhead is surprised.

“Do you know where?” Touya looks out his window.

“No clue. Too many fucking kids. Besides. She’s invisible, remember?” Eraserhead ignores his attitude and gets out of the car.

He opens Touya’s side and gestures him out. Shouto follows suit from the backseat. By the time all of the doors are shut, Hawks has walked up to their little group.

“Hawks. There’s a villain here, but we don’t know where. Let the commission know so they can be on high alert and send backup if needed. Don’t let Touya out of your sight.”

“Yes sir.” Hawks pulls out his phone to do as Eraserhead said.

Touya waves to his brother as he’s pulled away.

Hawks makes friendly conversation as they make their way to their seats in the exam hall. Touya hardly pays attention, too focused on the looks he’s getting from some of the heroes present. He only tunes back in when they sit down.

“Hey, don’t pay attention to them. They don’t know much about the situation, so they might be a little weary of you.”

“That’s an understatement.” Hawks just grins at him, probably from finally getting a response.

Eraserhead finally joins them, but he’s tense. Probably worried about his kids being around a potential villain attack again.

Touya’s worried too. He’s tried to keep his brother out of this, but if the villain really is here, she’s probably out to get little Sho.  

Touya tries to pay attention to the exam. But he truly has no clue what’s going on. Their seats are high enough that all they can hear are the announcements made by those running the exam.

At least Hawks and Eraserhead seem to have an understanding of what’s happening. They’re leaned forward from where they sit on either side of him, paying close attention to the testing.

Touya at least understands when most of the kids are eliminated. He gets the whole rescue thing too. He thinks that’s the end of the exam when the buzzer sounds and there’s a call to meet back at the centre.

It’s when kids start dropping that he turns his confused gaze to the pros beside him.

They look equally as shocked, and Eraserhead is speaking quickly into his phone. Touya turns his gaze back to the arena, trying to spot any familiar faces.

He finally finds little Sho. He’s off to one side, with Eraserhead’s kid and the redhead from the training camp.

Touya looks back to where kids are dropping for seemingly no reason, and curses when he sees that it’s headed in the trios direction.

“Hawks.” He can’t just go there without a pro with him. Then he’ll be suspected of whatever this is.

“Yah I see it. Eraserhead, we’re going on ahead.” The man studies them for a second before nodding and focusing back on his phone.

Touya and Hawks start moving. They make their way to the front row of seats before turning in the right direction. The students are at the far end of the arena, and he’s worried they won’t make it in time. He keeps his eye on the group, hardly paying attention to where he steps as Hawks takes flight above him.

There’s a flash of a figure in front of the group, but he blinks and they’re gone again. The trio is separating, and it looks like they’re looking for someone.

Shit. Why would they separate in a villain attack? What the hell is wrong with these kids?

Part of the ceiling crashes down.

The debris miraculously falls over an empty part of the arena. If the other students didn’t know something was going on before, they sure do now.

Fucking Endeavor floats down from the hole.

He has his eyes on the scene in front of them. He seems to catch another flash of the person at the sometime that Touya does.

Endeavor flies closer to the group and takes a familiar stance.

Oh fuck no.

Touya pushes himself to run faster.

The attack that Endeavor’s planning is dangerous. It’s widespread, and the three students are very much in it’s blast radius. Apparently he doesn’t care about innocent lives then, even if one of them is his son’s.

He’s nearly there when Shouto notices him. He directs his brother’s attention to the sky, and hie starts moving too. He’s close enough to Eraserhead’s kid that he can cover them both with thick enough ice to protect themselves, but the redhead is too far away for proper protection.

Looks like Touya is trying something new.

Before he gives himself the time to think, Touya leaps over the guardrail that blocks off the seats. He uses his quirk to direct his fall, and lands a few feet away from his target.

The kid blanches when he sees Touya running at him, but he doesn’t have the time for niceties.

He dives forwards, knocking the kid to the ground.

Touya curls around him as he activates his quirk, jumping straight into a wonky version of Prominence Burn. He focuses his flames on his back, taking the power that would usually come from his whole body and concentrating it. He keeps his front as cool as possible, trying to protect the kid from the worst of the heat.

He hasn’t tried this specific alteration, but he hopes that the heat of his flames is enough to burn away Endeavor’s. His quirk has always been hotter than the man’s, so he’s almost confident in his success.

His flames do awful things to his body, but they’re enough to protect them from Endeavor. He just hopes that he can last long enough.

Endeavor’s fire stops sooner than expected, but Touya doesn’t release his quirk. Instead he looks up wearily to see what’s going on.

Eraserhead is walking their way, a murderous look on his face. That alone is enough for Touya to drop his quirk.

It’s only then that the pain registers.

His back feels like it’s on fire, even though he’s already put his out. By the feel of his skin as he shifts, Touya knows that he’ll have a few new scars to add to his collection. At least he has people who can help him tend to his wounds this time.

Behind Eraserhead, little Sho’s wall of ice is completely melted. He and his friend stand there frozen, both looking at them.

The redhead shifts in his arms, so Touya slowly uncurls himself from around him. He sits up carefully, weary of the damage done to his back.

Touya turns to see where Eraserhead has gone, and finds him maybe fifteen feet away, yelling at Endeavor. 

The pain is making it hard to hear things, but he knows that the Number 2 Hero fucked up when Eraserhead punches him in the face.

“Hello there Dabi. It’s wonderful to see you.” It’s the voice of his goddamn nightmares.

The invisible bitch that followed him around. Fuck, he’d forgotten about her at the appearance of his number one tormentor.

The voice comes from a few feet in front of him, so Touya aims his glare at her approximate location.

The air shimmers, and a woman appears. He’s never seen her before in his life, but he can make an educated guess as to who she is.

“Aren’t you glad to see me?” His stalker smiles at him as she pulls a gun and aims it at his face.

Chapter Text

Zashi is taking forever to pick up the phone.

In the meantime, he can see the trail the villain is making, leaving unconscious students behind.

Of course they’re headed for some of his.

“Hawks.” Shouta watches as Touya and Hawks come to an understanding before turning to him.

He watches them a moment longer, before giving them a nod of approval as his husband finally picks up.

“Shou? What’s up baby?”

“Villain attack, North-West side. I need you to keep the students away from there.” 

“Any kids caught up in it?”

“Three.”

“Let me guess. Izuku is one of them?” Shouta’s silence is answer enough.

“Fuck.” Shouta doesn’t have anything to say to that, so he hangs up the phone and goes after Hawks and Touya.

He makes it to the scene just as Hawks veers away from fire. He nearly flies right into Shouta. They make eye contact and the hero tells him of the situation before he can even ask.

“One student made a wall of ice to protect him and another from the fire. Touya went in to protect the third.” So two kids are maybe safe. For now.

“Where’s the fire coming from?” Hawks grimaces before answering him.

“Endeavor.”

“Oh he’s so fucking dead.” Hawks doesn’t even try to hold him back as Shouta jumps over the guardrail. 

He jogs a path around the flames, and calls out as soon as he spots the Number Two Hero.

“Endeavor!” The man makes the mistake of looking Shouta in the eyes when he turns.

His flames die out quickly. Out of the corner of his eye, Shouta can spot Todoroki’s ice wall, slowly melting away. There’s a lump of blue flames a few feet away from him, but he just has to hope for the best right now.

Endeavor looks pissed that Shouta used his quirk on him.

“What the hell, Eraserhead?”

“What the hell yourself! Why would you attack, when you can’t even see the fucking villain?” Shouta tries to stay calm, but it’s hard when he doesn’t know how any of his kids are doing.

“Even if we can’t see her, she was right there a minute ago!”

“That doesn’t give you the right to attack innocent students! Those are my kids you just attacked.” It’s hard to resist blinking right now, but he knows if he did that Endeavor would lose it.

“Your kids? Only one of them counts as that. Two of them are my kids.”

“Oh you lost those rights. I would take both those kids in a heartbeat, and treat them better than you ever did. Not that the standards are very high. Who attacks their children?”

“Oh you can have Touya. Good luck with that one! But Shouto is mine.” Endeavor sounds far too possessive, so Shouta does the only thing he can think of.

He punches Endeavor in the face.

He has to blink then, and he can tell that Endeavor is rearing up to retaliate. That’s when the villain decides to announce that she’s still there.

“Hello there Dabi. It’s wonderful to see you.” Endeavor turns his anger towards the scene behind Shouta.

He turns around, and finds that the villain is visible once again. She’s standing in front of Touya, who sits in front of Kirishima. Further away, he can see that Shouto’s ice is fully melted. He can’t make out their conditions, but he can tell that they’re tense from the way they’re standing.

Both of them look ready to fight.

Shouta pushes up his goggles and readies his capture weapon in preparation of the same thing.

“Aren’t you glad to see me?” Of course she pulls out a fucking gun.

She doesn’t waste any time pulling the trigger.

——————————

Eijirou isn’t too proud to admit that he panics a little.

So that’s why he freezes when he sees Touya jump from the stands and land a few feet away from him. He looks over to where the others are, and finds Todoroki running for Izuku, creating a wall of ice as he goes.

When he looks back to Touya, the man is running at him.

He hardens himself just in time for his impact with the ground as he’s tackled. 

He doesn’t keep it up. He’s not eager to hurt the guy, no matter what he did.

Touya curls himself around Eijirou, just before there’s a blast of flames. Touya must be doing something with his quirk, because while it’s getting a little toasty, no fire reaches him.

But the smell does.

It takes him right back to the night in the forest. He can practically see Satou burning in front of his eyes as the smell gets stronger.

He tries holding his breath, but the smoke from the flames makes it hard to do. Soon he’s gasping, but that just makes him inhale the smell even faster.

Eijirou feels sick.

There’s a very large chance that he’s going to vomit all over this guy if this doesn’t stop soon.

The heat dies down a little, but there’s a warmth that remains.

Soon that leaves too, but the smell lingers.

Eijirou needs to get away.

It’s quickly becoming overwhelming. He knows that something must be going on, but the only thing he can hear are his heaving breaths.

The smell is all he can focus on, and it’s taking a lot of energy to avoid thinking about the forest.

He doesn’t want to live through the again.

He shifts, and Touya finally, but achingly slowly, gets off of him. Eijirou sits up with none of the mans care, and takes a look around him.

Izuku and Todoroki are still standing, but they’re far away. He can’t make out their expressions from here, but he can see when their stances change. They look like they’re about to come over here and punch someone.

Eijirou turns around to check out the rest of the area and finds out why. The villain who revealed herself is holding a gun, pointed right at Touya’s head.

He doesn’t have time to think.

Eijirou hardens as much as he can focus on right now, and in a reverse of their previous position, throws himself over Touya.

He makes it just in time. He can hardly even feel where the bullet bounces off of hardened skin. The shot fired in such close proximity leaves a ringing in his ears, so Eijirou pushes himself up, his unhardened forearms on Touya’s back, to get a better look at what’s going on.

The villain is turned away from them, facing Aizawa-sensei. 

Oh boy their teacher looks pissed. He has a hand fisted in his capture weapon, and his goggles are up, hiding if he’s using his quirk or not.

Behind Aizawa-sensei stands Endeavor. Eijirou has always found the man a little scary, and the look on his face right now does not bring him any confidence.

It looks like they’re speaking, probably to the villain. But Eijirou can’t make out a word of it.

Maybe he can do something while the villain is distracted. Her gun is still pointed in their direction, but she’s not even paying attention. Bullets are nothing for his quirk.

Although Eijirou doesn’t know how much he has left in him. He’s exhausted from the exam and the stress of the whole situation. Protecting Touya was about all he could manage.

Still, he shifts a little, trying to get into a better position to do something.

That’s when he realizes just how wet his arms are. And how wrong Touya’s body beneath him feels.

He can’t even tell if the guy is breathing.

EIjirou looks down and immediately regrets it.

His nausea increases, and he doesn’t think he can do this anymore.

There’s….. a lot of blood.

It’s coating his hands and arms, and there are bloody imprints on his chest from where he’d leaned over Touya to protect him.

The burnt flesh smell hasn’t left. It’s only combined with the smell of the blood, creating a combination that he never wants to experience again.

He can’t be here.

He needs to get away.

Eijirou tries to get up, so he can get away from all of this red. But it’s wet, and it’s slippery, and it’s everywhere.

So he slips, and ends up half sprawled on top of Touya, no chance for escape.

That’s when he feels the pressure on his waist.

He looks down and catches sight of white amongst the red. He looks with blurry eyes as it leads away from him, and back to Aizawa-sensei.

He goes flying.

Once he’s airborne, the pressure disappears completely.

He’s moving so quickly. How embarrassing would it be to vomit mid-flight?

He’s glad he doesn’t reflexively activate his quirk when he collides with something.

Because it’s a someone. 

They fly a few extra feet with the momentum, and when Eijirou looks up, it’s Hawks’ arms that he’s cradled in.

Eijirou focuses all of his attention on not throwing up all over one of the top heroes as they float down. He doesn’t register where they land, just that they have.

The moment they hit the ground, Eijirou launches himself from Hawks’ arms to vomit.

He stays there, on his hands and knees, panting after he’s done. He can’t hear a thing other then his heaving breaths and the ever present ringing in his ears.

He sits back on his ankles and tries to shuffle backwards, but he finds himself stopped by a warm hand on his back.

Eijirou looks up for the first time since landing, only to find Izuku’s pale face right in front of his. His friend is mouthing something, but he’s never been very good at reading lips.

“I-I can’t-” Eijirou cuts himself off. He can hardly hear himself speak, so how is he supposed to know if they can?

Izuku moves then, placing himself at Eijirou’s side instead. Todoroki takes his place, so he must’ve been behind Izuku. That means that Hawks is behind him.

Why isn’t anyone focusing on the villain?

Eijirou peers around Izuku, and discovers that everything is already over.

The villain is on the ground, currently being restrained by other pros. Aizawa-sensei is kneeled over Touya, along with some on-site medics. There are more heroes bustling around, and Eijirou can spot Present Mic coming their way.

His attention is diverted when Izuku places a hand on his shoulder, and leans in close.

“Kirishima, where are you hurt?” He shakes his head, nearly smacking into Izuku’s.

“N-no. I’m o-kay.”

“Then where did all of this blood come from?” Izuku’s voice is still distorted by the ringing, but he can make it out okay.

“Not mine.” Eijirou lifts a red hand and gestures vaguely to where Touya is.

Todoroki’s face pales in front of him, but Eijirou can tell that he’s hesitant to leave.

He gives him his best attempt at a smile, and Todoroki nods in return, turning and running in the direction of his brother.

Present Mic chooses that moment to reach them, and he kneels next to Izuku. His friend backs away slightly so that he can talk to the hero.

“- gunshot - something wrong - hearing.” Eijirou can only get bits and pieces of what Izuku said, but it’s enough to understand what’s said.

Present Mic moves so that he’s crouched in front of him instead. He holds out a hand, and Eijirou assumes he wants him to take it.

He reaches out with his own hand, but hesitates. It’s still covered in blood. He doubts that Present Mic wants to take that. Although there’s nowhere else to grab. He’s practically covered in blood at this point.

He can’t go wherever his teachers are planning like this.

Everyone is going to see him covered in blood. He doesn’t want to freak them out even more than they probably are.

Eijirou starts to retract his hand, but Present Mic reaches forward and grabs it in his own. At the same time, a warm weight is dropped around his shoulders. He looks up to find Hawks standing there, now jacket less, looking all sorts of awkward.

He grips Present Mic’s hand tightly, and stands.

Chapter Text

Izuku is surprised when the second test starts.

All in all, it’s not too complicated. After the stress of being separated from his friends and going up against other hero students, Izuku could almost say that it was easy.

He focuses on the rescue portion. It’s easiest that way. After all, he’s never been very good at first aid.

Hitoshi’s quirk isn’t well suited for rescue, so he opts to stay behind and help look after the people they bring to triage. Izuku sticks with Shouto instead. It’s best to work with teams.

He’s not even in the area when Gang Orca and his fake villains appear.

Instead, they run into Kirishima.

He’d gotten separated from Kacchan, and ended up searching for people on his own. So Izuku invites him to join his little group, and their team of two becomes three.

It’s not long after Kirishima joins them that Izuku starts feeling off.

There’s a headache behind his eyes, and he can’t help the feeling that something is about to go very wrong.

The final buzzer sounds, but the feeling doesn’t go away.

Instead, it seems to build with his headache.

They start making their way to where the announcer wants everyone to meet, but Izuku can’t do it.

The more they move, the more the feeling grows, and he feels like his head is splitting in two.

Izuku collapses to his knees and tries to alleviate the pressure. Nothing works.

“Izuku! What’s wrong?” Shouto kneels in front of him, while Kirishima stands behind him, a concerned frown on his face.

It’s only then that he realizes what this feeling means.

“I think we’re about to be attacked.” Shouto opens his mouth to answer, but he’s cut off by another voice.

“Right you are Izuku!” This can’t be right.

He must be hearing things.

But Izuku sees the looks of shock and confusion on his friends faces, and knows that they heard the voice too.

“Hagakure? What do you mean?” Suddenly there’s a woman in front of them, and she speaks using their classmates voice.

“It means, that you’re being attacked by a villain.”

She disappears as suddenly as she appeared, and they’re left staring into empty air.

“Truthfully, I’m only here for one of you. Little Todoroki, your brother has crossed some very bad people.” Realization settles in then. Izuku knows pretty much all of Touya’s history, based off of what Shouto told him, and what he learned from spending time with the brothers at the dorms.

“You’re the one who’s been following him.” There’s a pat on his head, but when Izuku turns around, there’s no-one there.

“Right you are!! You’re just a bonus kill, Izuku. Heroes are always so upset when something happens to their kids, so I’m sure Eraserhead is no exception.”

“What do you have against my dad?”

“Why, he took my toy!” Izuku stands then, and starts looking for any signs of where she could be.

He got into a habit, at the start of the year. He analyzed all of his classmates quirks.

Including Hagakure’s.

So he knows exactly what to look for. 

She can’t completely disappear. Her body is still there, just not visible. So that means that everything around her is still affected by her existence.

Footprints still show up, rocks are displaced, and when she moves, there’s a tiny shift in the air that can give away her position.

He explains as much to his friends, and they spread out to try and track her down.

Probably not their smartest move. They’re getting too far from one another, and Hagakure appears somewhere else each time.

His head is pounding along with the beat of his heart, and seems to intensify as a crash sounds from above.

But Izuku knows she can’t fly, so he ignores it, and focuses elsewhere instead. His headache worsens at the decision, so he looks up in the hopes of appeasing it.

Endeavor flies above them, eyes focused on empty space. He looks ready to fight, even though nobody can actually see the villain.

Recognition flashes across the heroes face, and Izuku follows his gaze to see that Hagakure has made an appearance again.

She disappears as soon as she catches him looking, and Izuku’s head is screaming at him that something’s wrong.

He turns to Shouto, to warn him or something, but his friend s already running straight for him, a look of worry on his face. Clearly he knows that something’s up.

So Izuku turns to Kirishima. He looks completely oblivious to the upcoming danger as he looks around for Hagakure. She’d last been near him, so he understands Kirishima’s worry.

It’s too late when Izuku figures it out.

Shouto has nearly reached him when he moves his aching head up again. Endeavor is preparing an attack, and they’re all in his blast radius.

A wall of ice blocks his vision, just as flames start up beyond it.

“KIRISHIMA!” Izuku dives for the wall as he yells.

There’s no way.

No way he’s losing another classmate. Not when he can do something about it.

He pulls back a fist to punch through the ice, fire be damned, when a warm hand stops him.

“You can’t.” Shouto’s other hand is up against the wall, keeping the ice thick enough to protect them.

“B-but, we have to s-save him!” Shouto shakes his head, barely visible through all of Izuku’s tears.

“Sh-outo please! We c-ca-I can’t lose him!” The only thing keeping Izuku up right now is Shouto’s grip on his wrist. He’s ready to collapse from pain and exhaustion, but he can’t just leave Kirishima vulnerable out there.

He knows that Kirishima has his quirk. Technically, he may be able to protect himself from all of the fire. He did it with Touya’s, and Izuku thinks that his fire is hotter than the hero’s anyways.

But his friend hadn’t seen. There had been no warning for the attack.

His dad leaps down from the stands, walking around their barrier and out of sight.

It’s only seconds before the fire dies down, and Shouto doesn’t need Izuku’s convincing to melt the rest of his ice. There’s not much left of it anyways.

The first thing he focuses on is blue flames. When did Touya join them?

Once the fire dies down, Izuku can see that he’s curled around something. Something that just so happens to have bright red hair.

“Did-did he save him?”

He turns at Shouto’s lack of answer. His friend is staring off in the direction he was, so Izuku turns to take a better look.

His dad and Endeavor stand, very clearly arguing.

His dad has things under control, so he turns back to his friends. Touya is slowly sitting up, and as soon as he is, Kirishima follows suit. It’s hard to tell from here, but they both look relatively okay.

He can see his dad punch Endeavor in his peripheral, but the return of the ache in his head keeps him focused on his friends.

It’s a good thing too, because there’s a quick shimmer in the air, before Hagakure is there. She must say something to announce her presence, because moments later Touya turns towards her.

His dad and Endeavor turn towards the group at the same time she pulls a gun.

Nobody has the chance to even think before a shot rings out. 

It’s loud, and echoes through the building for a few seconds. Izuku’s grateful that he isn’t as close to the noise as his friends, but he also wishes he was closer. Then maybe he could do something.

Izuku can just make out the lines of hardening on Kirishima’s back as he sits up, unharmed. Although something must be wrong, with the way he’s leaning on Touya.

Hagakure is turned towards the heroes now, and Izuku can tell his dad is planning something. That’s why he stays still. He just has to trust in his dad.

Kirishima seems to be trying to get up, but there’s something stopping him. Hagakure does nothing as his dad whips his capture scarf towards his classmate.

With a flick of the wrist, Kirishima is flying up and through the air. Izuku almost goes to grab him, but a flash of red from the side stops him.

He can trust that Hawks will grab him.

He turns back to the situation as Hagakure turns her gun on his dad. He looks like he’s trying to calm her down, but it’s clearly not working.

She’s turned away from them, which means Izuku can do something.

He moves just as they’ve practised, aiming to grab the gun with his own capture scarf.

Except it’s not his scarf that shoots towards them.

It’s a black whip.

Chapter Text

Everyone looks shocked when his whip wraps around the gun.

Izuku manages to keep his concentration long enough to pull it from her hands. His whip dissolves a few feet away when the exhaustion creeps up on him.

He knows that his dad can handle this, so he looks up to where Hawks has hopefully caught his friend.

The hero is approaching the ground, Kirishima cradled in his arms. As soon as they touch down, Kirishima shoves himself out of the man’s arms and throws up as Izuku runs closer.

He did not think his friend was hurt this badly.

His arms are drenched in blood, and it’s smeared across his front. Kirishima is on all fours, still dry heaving. Hawks crouches behind him, a reassuring hand on his back.

“Hey kid, I need you to tell me where you’re hurt.” Izuku can hear Hawks speak as he and Shouto approach the pair. Izuku kneels in front of them, and ignores the wave of dizziness he’s hit with as Shouto stays standing behind him.

“Kirishima? Are you okay?” A stupid question really, considering the amount of blood.

He doesn’t answer any of them.

Hawks starts looking his friend over, trying to find the source of the blood while he’s still haunched over. Izuku does the same, but it’s hard to see much of anything.

“Shit this isn’t good.” Hawks has a frown on his face as he takes a closer look at Kirishima’s head.

“Wh-what is it?”

“Izuku, there’s blood coming from his ears.” He moves forwards to take a closer look, but Kirishima chooses then to finally move.

He sits back on his ankles, trying to shuffle away at the same time. Hawks at his back keeps him mostly still, and he seems to finally register the pressure of his hand on his back.

Kirishima looks up, clearly surprised that Izuku is right in front of him.

“Kirishima, can you hear me?” His friend squints at his lips, a confused frown on his face. Izuku repeats the question, but Kirishima’s frown only deepens.

“I-I can’t-” It comes out as hardly a whisper, and Kirishima seems to realize that.

Hopefully the damage to his ears is temporary, or at the very least mild. He might be able to hear something right now, so Izuku moves over to his side so that he can speak directly in his ear.

Kirishima looks up at Todoroki, before looking over Izuku’s shoulder at where more pros have gathered, restraining Hagakure. Izuku looks with him, and finds that the medics have arrived as well.

His friend looks relieved at the realization that it’s all over, so Izuku places a hand on his shoulder and leans in before speaking.

“Kirishima, where are you hurt?” Izuku has to move back quickly as he shakes his head violently.

“N-no. I’m o-kay.” Well he certainly doesn’t look okay. Or sound it.

“Then where did all of this blood come from?”

“Not mine.” Kirishima lifts a red hand and gestures vaguely over Izuku’s shoulder, in the direction he had come from.

Shouto curses beside him, and Izuku turns to see him significantly paler than he usually is. He’s looking over at the medics working frantically over someone that can only be Touya, but he quickly turns back to Izuku and Kirishima.

He’s about to tell Shouto to leave, to be with his brother, when he nods at Kirishima before turning and running. Izuku turns back to his friend and sees the smile he had managed to produced return to a grimace.

His dad chooses then to appear, crouching down next to them and brushes a hand through Izuku’s hair.

“Hey baby. You kids alright? Dad’s going to meet us in the infirmary with the Todoroki brothers.” Izuku leans into his dads touch for a moment before pulling away.

He can’t relax now. Not yet.

Only when they’re safe, and he knows all of his friends are okay, will Izuku relax. He wants nothing more than to fall asleep and get rid of this pesky headache. He just has to hold on for a few more minutes.

“Dad, ever since the gunshot there’s been something wrong. I think it messed up his hearing.” His dad moves closer to Kirishima, and holds out a hand as he speaks.

“Hey listener, are you alright to walk?” It’s obvious that Kirishima didn’t get a word of what he said.

He holds out his own hand anyways, but freezes when he catches sight of it. Kirishima raises his other hand, and sits there, staring at the bloodstained appendages.

Izuku can recognize the signs of a panic attack easily, considering the amount of times he’s had one. But he’s unsure on how to help his friend. He’s the type of person who needs reassuring words to calm him down, but how can Izuku do that when he can’t hear a thing they’re saying?

His dad is staring intently, probably debating with himself on what to do.

“I c-can’t. There’s so much of it. Th-they can’t s-see me like th-this!” His friend probably doesn’t even realize that he’s speaking out loud.

Kirishima lowers his hands as soon as the words leave his mouth, but Izuku’s dad reaches forwards and grabs one of them. Behind his friend, Hawks stands and removes his coat before draping it over Kirishima, effectively covering up the blood.

That seems to be the final push Kirishima needs to look up again, and grab Izuku’s dad’s hand. They both stand up, and he follows suit.

He sways a little on his feet, but steadies himself.

He can’t collapse. Not yet.

Izuku looks up and finds the trio staring at him, all with worry on their faces. His dad looks like he wants to help him, but Kirishima now has his arm in a death grip. Hawks notices this, and moves forwards to place a hand on Izuku’s shoulder.

“I’ll keep an eye on him, Present Mic. We’ll be right behind you.” True to the Hawks’ war, they stick a few feet behind his dad.

They’ve only been walking for a few minutes when everything goes sideways.

——————————

He comes to in someone’s arms. Izuku tries looking around, but finds most things are blocked by bright red wings.

They’re still moving, and it seems like Hawks is carrying him.

He doesn’t think he blacked out for long. A few minutes at the most. But those few minutes were long enough to get a whole lot closer to the other students.

Izuku can hear them now, the sound doing no favours for his ever present headache.

He can only make out bits and pieces of conversations. Most people are wondering what happened. They all probably heard the roof caving in, followed by the gunshot.

“Oh my god! Is that Deku?” Izuku can’t hold back his flinch at Uraraka’s exclamation. 

The wings around him cut off the rest of the light, and stay like that for the rest of the walk to the infirmary.

Izuku dozes, jerking back to reality when he’s gently set down on a bed. If anything, his impromptu nap only made him more exhausted. He feels like he could sleep for a week.

“Hey kiddo. You doing okay?” Izuku looks up as his dad approaches the bed, a frown on his face. He looks so much more exhausted than usual, and he’s no longer wearing his capture scarf.

Probably didn’t want to wear the blood that was on it.

Izuku shrugs, before shaking his head as the tears start to fall.

His dad sits down beside him, before pulling Izuku into his arms.

He holds Izuku as he cries, completely oblivious to the world around him as he focuses on the warmth and steady heartbeat of his dad.

Chapter Text

Izuku wakes up to a steady beeping.

He does his best to sit up, and finds Shouto sitting next to his bed, looking anxious. His friend looks up when Izuku moves, and looks at least somewhat relieved.

“You feeling any better?” Izuku shrugs.

He’d felt terrible before. The ache in his head is nothing compared to that, but it still hurts an awful lot.

Shouto helps Izuku sit up a little better, and he looks around the room they’re in. He and Shouto are the only occupants, but there are a few more empty beds in the room. It’s definitely not the infirmary back at UA, so Izuku assumes that they’re still at the testing site.

“Dad?” He wants to ask where are my dads, but that seems like a lot of effort right now. Shouto is smart enough to understand what he’s asking.

“Aizawa-sensei went to get an update on Touya, as well as tell Hitoshi and Bakugou where we are. Mic-Sensei is helping Kirishima clean off all the blood.” Hopefully they’ll be back soon. Izuku wants to go home.

“You ‘kay?” Shouto shakes his head and hesitates before speaking.

“I feel like shit.”

“Hurt?”

“Physically? No. Emotionally? Very.” Izuku doesn’t know what to say to that, so he keeps silent and hopes that Shouto opens up a bit more.

“My dad was doing so well! But then everything at the jail happened and I thought okay, maybe he should go back to therapy for a while.” Shouto stands up and starts pacing. He doesn’t stray too far from Izuku’s bed, but he’s far enough away that Izuku can’t reach out to him.

“But after today? I never want to see him again. He nearly killed my friends, and who knows if my brother will pull through or not. Endeavor will be dead to me if he doesn’t.” Shouto stops his pacing and looks up at Izuku, tears in his eyes.

Izuku holds out a hand, and Shouto grabs onto it, sitting back down beside the bed. His friend has never really been one for physical comfort, especially in a public place, but Izuku knows he appreciates having something to ground him.

Their peaceful little bubble is burst when the door slams open and Kacchan storms in, followed wearily by Hitoshi.

“Izuku!” Hitoshi doesn’t waste any time in rushing over and pulling Izuku into his arms. He’s careful not to dislodge his grip from Shouto.

“Where the fuck is Eijirou?” Kacchan is staring at their group, impatience on his face.

‘LoudDad is helping him clean up.’

Kacchan just frowns at him before slumping down in a chair next to the bed across from Izuku’s.

They sit in silence until his dad comes back, and he makes his way right to Shouto.

“Your brother is stabilized. He should be fine for the trip back to school, and then Recovery Girl can finish healing him. They’re sending him in an ambulance, and as soon as the rest of the class is ready, we’ll head back to school too.”

“Can I go with him?”

“No. The ambulance only has enough room for one extra person, and that has to be a pro hero. Hawks is going with your brother.” Shouto slumps down, but he also looks relieved.

The door to the washroom opens and Kirishima shuffles out, wrapped in a thick blanket. He’s followed closely by his dad, who looks more than a little concerned. His dad has an arm hovering behind his friend if needed, and he stays that way until Kirishima is seated on an empty bed.

At least Kirishima looks a lot better than he did before. He’s thankfully no longer covered in blood. Who knows what Kacchan would have done if he saw that.

“Oi Eijirou. The fuck happened?” Kacchan sounds angry, but Izuku can see the lingering concern.

Kirishima doesn’t say a word, just looks at Kacchan with a small frown on his face. Confusion flickers across Kacchan’s face, and he opens his mouth to speak again.

“Kacchan w-wait!” He turns to Izuku when he’s interrupted.

‘The gun went off right next to Rock’s ears. Messed up his hearing.’ 

“The fucking doctors do anything?” Izuku shrugs, so Kacchan turns to his dad.

“They checked him out, but damage like this is usually permanent. Recovery Girl’s going to check him over once we get back.” Kacchan turns back to Kirishima with a scowl.

‘You okay? Anything else hurt?’

‘No. Just my ears.’ Izuku was not expecting Kirishima to understand what Kacchan asked. Not only did he understand, but he answered in sign language too.

“They gave him something for the pain, but it may take a bit to help.” The room falls into silence after his dad speaks, so Izuku stares at Kirishima until the other boy looks at him.

‘I didn’t know you knew sign language! Where did you learn? If you don’t want to share, don’t worry about it!’ Kirishima gives him a soft smile when Izuku adds the last part on.

‘Love has been teaching me. I only just started l-e-a-r-n-i-n-g, so I’m a little slow.’ Izuku raises his hands to answer, but Hitoshi’s laughter stops him.

All heads in the room turn towards him. Kacchan looks pissed off and ready to pounce, while Kirishima looks dejected. Izuku knows Hitoshi well enough that he knows he isn’t laughing at Kirishima’s signing ability, but the others don’t.

It takes him a good minute to calm down, and when he does he raises his hands to sign.

‘His sign name is Love? The most aggressive boy in class. You call him Love and he doesn’t kill you.’

“Oi shut the fuck up.” Hitoshi breaks out in laughter again, and at the sight of the blush on Kacchan’s face, Izuku does too.

They quiet down when a phone pings, and all heads turn to his dad.

“All right problem children. The rest of the class is loaded onto the bus, and they grabbed your belongings. Shinsou, you’ll have to join your classmates on the bus, so you can go there with Present Mic. You four are coming with me.” Thank god.

Izuku cannot face the rest of the class right now. He doesn’t think the others can either. 

“I guess I’ll see you at school Izuku.” Hitoshi looks a little disappointed to have to go back to the bus, but at Izuku’s nod he follows his dad out the door anyways.

Across from him, Kacchan pulls Kirishima to his feet, and wraps a supporting arm around his back. Izuku should probably get up too, so he turns to the side and stands in one motion.

Everything goes all wobbly for a moment before he steadies himself, so Izuku makes sure to stay close to Shouto on the walk to the car. They go some weird back way, and don’t see a single person on their way there.

As much as Izuku would love to sit up front, he knows that Shouto probably needs the space right now, so he offers it to him. Kacchan squishes himself to one side of the back, and Kirishima sits right next to him.

Izuku is relieved. He can’t imagine sitting right next to Kacchan for the ride.

It’s thankfully uneventful, and Izuku has to shake both Kacchan and Kirishima awake once they get back to school.

They all follow his dad without a word. As much as Izuku wants to run back to his dorm room, he knows his dads will want him to get checked out by Recovery Girl.

His dad stops them just outside the door.

“Before I forget, I have something for each of you.” He pulls a bundle out of his pocket, and passes out a card to each of them.

It takes him a moment, but when Izuku realizes that it’s his Provisional Hero License he can’t help the smile that creeps onto his face. 

He hands it back to his dad as they walk in. He knows with his luck it’ll disappear while he’s knocked out by Recovery Girl’s quirk.

She gives him a kiss on the cheek as soon as he’s seated, and all of his aches and pains slowly fade away with his consciousness.

Chapter Text

“Alright class, I’m heading out. If there are any issues, just talk to Present Mic. Don’t call unless it’s an emergency.” Shouta’s class looks apprehensive. He’s informing them in the middle of breakfast, since the majority of his students are here.

It is a Sunday though, so some kids are sleeping in or avoiding the group.

They all know that something happened at the exam, but none of them know the extent. Any who do know have been fairly tight lipped about it, just as he’d asked. He may have to explain things during class tomorrow, but that’s better than false information being spread around.

Shouta has an unpleasant day ahead of him.

He starts out with the police station. He can hit two birds with one stone here. He’d called ahead of time, so Tsukauchi knows he’s coming and leaves his office door open for him.

“Eraserhead! How have you been?” Shouta scowls at him as he shuts the office door behind him.

“Right. Dumb question. How are your kids doing?” Shouta quirks a brow up.

“Tsukauchi, I only have one child."

“Come on Eraser. We both know you care for your students as if they’re your own kids.” Tsukauchi knows him too well.

“Which is what makes this so hard.” The detective gives him a sympathetic look as he gestures to the chair in front of him.

“Let’s get this over with then.”

“Agreed.”

“So, I already interviewed your former student. I thought you’d want the answers instead of being stuck here for hours on end.” Shouta appreciates it.

“To start off with, Hagakure Tooru is not her real name. Unfortunately, she’s refused to give us that information.”

“Can you run facial recognition?”

“Now that we’ve got her in quirk cancelling cuffs, yes. But it may take some time.”

“I see. But you know what information I’m really here for.”

“Why my quirk didn’t work on her?” Shouta nods.

“See that’s the thing. It did work. I just wasn’t asking the right questions. I asked her about the attack on the training camp, which she had nothing to do with.” That’s unfortunate. They could have caught their second traitor a whole lot sooner if she even had an idea about the attack.

“How did she follow Touya while attending my class? I would have noticed if she disappeared.” Tsukauchi grimaces at his question.

“It seems there’s more to the League of Villains than we thought. While we got a lot of information from Touya, there’s still a lot he didn’t know about. Including members.” Tsukauchi places a folder in front of him. Shouta opens it and skims as his friend keeps speaking.

“There’s a specific member we’ve never heard about before. Twice. With his quirk, he can make clones of people if he knows their proportions. He has no direct control over the clones, because they mimic quirks and personalities. So the clone would go to class, while Hagakure followed Touya.” Shouta shuts the folder.

He just doesn’t know some of his students as much as he should. There are a select few that have had their fair share of problems, while other students have flown below the radar. Since they were doing fine, Shouta put more of his focus on the problem children.

Clearly a mistake.

“I know what you’re thinking Eraser. You couldn’t have stopped this. You’ve had a lot on your plate this year.”

“I know that you’re right, but that doesn’t stop the feeling that I should’ve done something.” Tsukauchi sighs before responding.

“I know. Now. You said you had something else to discuss?”

“Yes. We need to deal with Endeavor.”

“Shouta you know there’s not a lot I can do against the Number 2 Hero.”

“But you haven’t seen what he’s done! He needs to be dealt with.”

“I do know what he’s done. I read all of your reports Eraser. But this may fall under the jurisdiction of the Hero Commission.”

“Even child abuse?” Shouta knows the answer, but he needed to ask anyways.

“If it’s by a hero? Yes.”

“Dammit.”

“I can get the ball rolling. But this will be risky. Your kids will need to testify in front of the commission.”

“We can’t get out of that?”

“Not this time. I’m not sure how believable Touya’s testimony will be, but Izuku, Todoroki, and Kirishima were all directly effected by his attack at the exams. Hawks will also be needed. Three hero students and multiple pro heroes will hold a lot of standing if this is a public trial.”

“And what are the chances of that?”

“Slim. But Hawks has connections. He can probably make it public. Or someone anonymously goes to the press. They’ve been spreading rumours for years about Endeavor’s possible abuse.” Shouta had found the rumours hard to believe at first. Now he wishes he'd listened.

“Legally, this can’t be avoided, and you know that. I’ll do my best to make this fair, but there are no guarantees. You know how difficult the commission is.” Shouta stands up. There’s nothing more to discuss here.

“Thanks, Tsukauchi. I’ll talk to Hawks about his connection.” The detective nods at him, and Shouta heads out the door.

————————

Shouta gratefully parks Hizashi’s car in the teacher’s garage. At least his other business is back at the school.

The hallways are completely bare as he makes his way to Recovery Girl’s office. He gets there in a matter of minutes, and doesn’t bother knocking before he opens the door.

“Ah Shouta. Take a seat.” Recovery Girl pulls out a few files before turning to her desk.

“We’ll start with Izuku shall we? Get your nerves about your son over with.” Shouta nods, grateful.

“Physically? He was fine. The only wounds he had were earned during the exam. He was just exhausted. But this quirk thing? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Shouta was worried that would be the case.

“I think it’s best you talk to All Might for this. It has to be linked to One for All.” He was worried about this too. With Shouta’s luck, All Might won’t know a thing about the additional quirk.

“Noted. Everything else with Izuku is fine though?”

“Yes Shouta. Your son is in perfectly good health.” 

Shouta can’t help the small smile. Whenever someone else refers to Izuku as his son, he feels a sense of relief that other people can see just how much his kid means to him.

“Now. Kirishima is a different story. What he has is called Noise Induced Hearing Loss. As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s nothing my quirk can do to fix it.”

Shouta is more than aware. When Hizashi had started losing his hearing, Recovery Girl had tried to stop it, or at least slow the progression. Nothing had worked.

“It’s permanent damage, but it’s not as severe as your husband’s. It’s still moderate damage though, so he’ll have trouble hearing in crowds, trouble understanding what people are saying, and trouble hearing higher frequency sounds. I suggested hearing aids for him, but he seemed hesitant.”

“Why do you think that is?” Shouta may have an idea, but he’d like Recovery Girl’s opinion first.

“You know more about your student than I do, Shouta. The best you can do is talk to him, and try to convince him. Without hearing aids, that boy is going to struggle a lot.” Shouta will have to have that conversation sooner rather than later.

“Alright. Anything else?” She shakes her head.

“No. That’s it for Kirishima. Lastly, we have Touya.” Shouta grimaces. He knows this won’t be good.

“There was a lot of damage, to already damaged skin. I healed what I could, but that boy has been through a lot. The amount of scarring he has is awful.”

“It’s his quirk that hurts him, right?”

“Absolutely. It burns too hot for his body. There’s not a lot I can to for him in relation to the damage his quirk has already done, but I’m going to consult some friends and see if there’s anything they can do about his quirk hurting him.”

“There’s nothing else we can do for him?”

“The best I can do is help him manage the pain. But he will be alright Shouta.”

“Alright. Thank you for your time.” Recovery Girl gives him a sad smile.

Shouta leaves her office, and heads to the hero dorms. He has a hawk to talk to.

Chapter Text

Shouta avoids as many students as he can on his way back to the dorms.

The talk with Hawks had gone quickly. The man is more than happy to help make this a public trial, especially considering what he witnessed at the exam.

Shouta goes through the front doors of his classes building, and finds the majority of them hanging out in the common room. Zashi is nowhere to be seen, so he must be taking a break from the kids.

He doesn’t blame him at all.

Shouta is reluctant to admit it, but he does love his class. Even though they’re annoying as hell sometimes.

None of them even notice that he’s returned, save for Izuku who gives him a small wave. Shouta just smiles in return, and heads over to his apartment so that he can update his husband.

As soon as he opens the door, he’s greeted with he smell of baking cookies. Zashi is in the kitchen, mixing together another batch.

“The kids stress you out that much?”

“Only a few in particular.” Zashi turns towards him, a frown on his face.

“Oh? Which ones caused issues this time?” Zashi puts down his mixing bowl, and clasps his hands in front of him.

“Oh nothing like that Shou. What did Recovery Girl have to say?” Oh so it’s those kids that are stressing him out. Now that Shouta thinks about it, that makes the most sense.

“They’re all mostly okay. We need to talk to All Might about Izuku’s quirk.”

“Recovery Girl didn’t know?” His husband looks surprised

“She’s at least never seen it with All Might. So chances are he probably won’t know either.” There’s a minute of silence before Zashi speaks up again.

“Damn. What about the others?”

“Well, Kirishima needs hearing aids, but apparently-” Shouta’s cut off by their door opening.

There’s two steps of footsteps, one of them distinctly their son’s.

“Dad?” Zashi frowns at him at the tone in Izuku’s voice.

“In the kitchen!” Izuku comes into the room moments later.

“What’s going on baby?” His husband breaks the silence.

“Um, I think you should talk to Kirishima about hearing aids.” Izuku directs this at him.

“Did something happen?”

“W-well, a bunch of us were together in the common room, and you know how loud the class gets.” Shouta nods at him, and Izuku takes it as his cue to continue.

“So there were like four different conversations happening. Kirishima wasn’t participating in any of them, and I could tell he was getting overwhelmed. Then someone asked him something, but he couldn’t understand them so that just upset him more.” This is exactly what Recovery Girl warned him about.

“So you brought him here?”

“Was that okay?”

“Of course it was kiddo. How about you help your dad with these cookies while I go talk to him?” Izuku nods at him, and turns to Zashi.

Shouta heads out to their living room. Kirishima is sitting on one of their couches, Radio perched on his lap. He’s petting her distractedly while gazing at the pictures of Izuku on the walls.

He walks loudly and seats himself on the coffee table in front of the couch, but Kirishima still jumps in surprise when he looks over and finds him there. Radio complains loudly before resettling herself on his lap.

“What’s going on Kirishima?” Shouta makes sure to speak loudly and clearly. It’s unfortunate that Kirishima doesn’t know very much sign language yet.

“N-nothing sensei!” Shouta doesn’t answer, just raises a brow until the boy deflates a little.

“It’s um, it’s just a few issues with my hearing?” He’s relieved that Kirishima is being straight forwards. He already knows what the issue is, but he didn’t want to come right out and say it.

He also didn’t want to have to push him for that information.

“I’ve heard. Recovery Girl suggested hearing aids, right?” Kirishima nods at him, before focusing on the cat with a frown on his face.

“What do you think about that?”

“W-well, it sounds nice! But I don’t think I can get them.” Scratch that, Kirishima is not being straight forwards at all. Shouta feels like he’s playing a guessing game.

“Is it a money issue? Because this was a school related incident. UA would probably pay the full amount.” Kirishima shakes his head, refusing to look up.

“You’re going to have to spell it out for me kid. I’m no mind reader.”

“Recovery Girl can’t do tests for that right?”

“No, she’s not trained as an audiologist.” Shouta thinks he can see where this is headed.

“Then I’d have to go to a specialist, right?”

“Yah. Probably have to leave the school to do it.”

“And stuff like that would require parent permission.”

Ah. It’s all clear now.

“Yah kid. You haven’t told your mom yet, have you?” Shouta doesn’t realize he’s spoken quieter with his realization, until Kirishima finally looks up, confusion pulling at his eyes.

He repeats himself, and Kirishima shakes his head sadly, but doesn’t look back down. He keeps eye contact for a minute before turning his gaze back to the walls.

“I’m scared.”

“You think she’ll be mad?” Kirishima shrugs at him. Shouta can see the tears building, but he doesn’t reach out yet.

“More like sad? But last time I got hurt, she almost pulled me out of school. And this time was way worse.” The kid pulls a hand from Radio’s fur to rub at his eyes.

“Kirishima, this is something your mother should know about.” He looks back to Shouta, tears forgotten.

“I c-can’t!”

“I’m not saying you have to now, but eventually you guys are going to be let back home, and this is something she needs to know beforehand.”

“So I’ll just what, not hear until I have the guts to tell her? I can’t do that sensei.” Kirishima sounds so distraught. But this is something Shouta can fix.

“You know, since you guys live here permanently right now, UA has partial custody, right?”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, that one of your teachers can sign any parental stuff, so you don’t need to tell your mother yet, and you can still get hearing aids.”

“Really?” At Shouta’s nod, Kirishima breaks into a toothy smile.

“W-wait, aren’t there long waiting lists for that kind of thing?” The kids face falls a little, so Shouta turns towards the kitchen.

“Zashi, come out here for a second.” His husband appears in moments, and he thinks he may have been waiting for this.

“Yah Shou? What’s up?"

“How quickly could you get Kirishima in with your audiologist?”

“If I tell him it’s for one of my students? Probably tomorrow afternoon. Hell, he’ll probably come to the school so we don’t have to go to his office.”

“During your free period? He can’t do the training exercises right now anyways, so that would be the best time.” He turns back to Kirishima to find is wide eyes trained on them.

“That sound good to you kid? Since I’ve got class Present Mic could stay with you if you wanted.”

“That sounds great! Thank you sensei’s!” Shouta smiles. At least that’s one problem dealt with.

“One more thing listener. How would you feel about private sign language lessons? I know you’ve been learning from Bakugou, but learning from a teacher may be easier. I’d be more than happy to teach you, and answer any other questions you may have.” Kirishima stares up at Zashi in awe, eagerly nodding his head.

He can’t help the warm feeling in his chest. His husband is so thoughtful, just offering up his help like that. Shouta really is the luckiest man.

“Alright, I’ll go make the phone call!” Zashi leaves the room, so Shouta turns back to Kirishima.

Instead of the eager look he was wearing a minute before, the kid has a contemplative look on his face as he looks back down at Radio in his lap.

“Something else on your mind kid?” He nods, but doesn’t respond.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ve been thinking, would you be able to set me up for more counselling with Hound Dog?” Shouta opens his mouth to reply that yes, he can, but Kirishima just keeps going.

“I know I said I was fine, after the training camp, and I was! B-but, after the exam, the nightmares are a lot worse, and I’m having trouble with stupid things, s-so I want to fix this before it gets worse.” His voice tapers off in the end, and Shouta isn’t sure the kid can even hear himself speak.

“I think counselling is a great idea, Kirishima. I’d be more than happy to set you up with Hound Dog.” Kirishima looks up then, a smile on his face.

“Really? Thank you sensei!” Before Shouta can say anything, Kirishima is gently pulling Radio off of his lap, and wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug.

Shouta gives his head a few pats before the kid lets go, face nearly as red as his hair.

“Um, thank you sensei! I have to, have to go now!” Kirishima rushes from the room, quietly closing the door on his way out.

Shouta revels in the silence before his husband speaks up behind him.

“So, how many kids are we at now?”

Chapter Text

Hizashi usually isn’t this awkward around kids.

He’s always prided himself on putting them at ease, and filling any silences with random talk that cheers them up.

He can’t exactly do that right now.

Sure Kirishima knows some sign language, but Hizashi doesn’t know what he knows. 

So their walk down the hallway and to the infirmary is awkward and silent. His student seems nervous and unsure as he walks a few feet away from Hizashi, so he stops him with a hand on his shoulder once they reach the doors.

“Are you okay? Do we need to take a minute before going in?” He makes sure he’s loud and clear enough, though it’s not too difficult in the silent hallway.

“Just a little nervous.” Kirishima smiles at him as he shakes his head, so Hizashi stands up straight and opens up the door.

The audiologist is already there, and he smiles at the two of them as he gestures for Kirishima to sit up on one of the beds.

“Alright, so I’ll make this quick and easy for you, Kirishima. My quirk allows me to see what kind of damage is done, and with a few additional tests, I’ll be able to tell what kind of hearing aids you require. That sound good?” Kirishima nods at him, so he opens up his bag and begins.

Hizashi makes sure to stay out of the way during the tests, but he says close in case the kid needs him.

His doctor is good though, and he can see how Kirishima is relaxing within the first few minutes of the appointment.

Not that the appointment takes all that long. It’s only about twenty minutes before the doctor is asking his final question.

“Alright Kirishima. What’s your quirk? It may have an effect on how the hearing aids fit behind your ears.”

“It’s hardening, sir.” The man looks thoughtful for a second before grabbing his measuring tools once again.

“Can you activate it for me?” Kirishima does as he’s asked, and the doctor quickly measures behind his ears again.

“Alright, you’re good to turn it off. Your skin doesn’t change too much with your quirk active, so the sizing shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll get a colleague to reenforce them with his quirk, so you don’t have to worry about yours damaging them. Sound good?” His student nods again, and the doctor gestures for Hizashi to follow him to the door.

“I’m going to set him up with open fit hearing aids. They should get here within the week, and I’ll send them over. I trust you can show him what he needs to know?”

“Of course! Thanks for doing this doc.” The audiologist just smiles and nods, before showing himself out.

“Alright listener! I’ll walk you back to class.”

————————

His final class flies by, and soon Hizashi is meeting his husband back in the teachers lounge.

“You tell Izu what’s going on?” Shou gives him one of his ‘are you stupid’ looks before responding.

“Of course. I gave him the option to come, but for obvious reasons, he didn’t want to.” They both fall silent as they pack up their teaching materials.

They head to Nezu’s office side by side, and Hizashi has to resist the urge to hold his husband’s hand. The feeling comforts him, but he knows that this isn’t the place to hold hands. Once they’re in Nezu’s office though, it’s fair game.

All Might is already seated, tea in hand, when they arrive.

The hero looks confused, and maybe a little afraid at the look on Shou’s face. His husband isn’t even trying to be scary right now, thank god. They take a seat on the couch across from All Might before anyone speaks.

“I’m sure you’ve got other things to worry about, so we’ll make this quick All Might. What aren’t you telling us about One For All?” The man looks genuinely confused at the question.

“What do you mean Eraserhead? I’ve told you everything I know.”

“I’m talking about the fact that Izuku used another quirk at the provisional exams. Maybe two.” All Might carefully puts down his tea before sitting up straight, his look never wavering.

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a dormant quirk?”

“I thought of that, but I’ve seen Izuku’s scans and all of them contain the toe joint.” All Might looks thoughtful for a moment before responding.

“Could you tell me what the quirk is?"

“Some sort of black whips coming from his body. We haven’t done any testing yet, so I’m not sure what the limitations are.” All Might’s eyes go wide and he sits back in his chair, an odd look on his face.

“That sounds awfully similar to the quirk of the 5th user. You said you thought he used another one as well?”

“Yes. He said that he could tell when they were going to be in danger, and when something big was going to happen. Gave him a hell of a headache.” All Might is silent as he pulls out a notebook, and begins to flip through it.

Hizashi is more than happy to let his husband do all of the talking. They both hold grudges against All might, and Hizashi isn’t sure he’d be able to control himself the way Shou does.

“Hmm. Well that could be Danger Sense, the quirk of the 4th user. And the 5th users quirk is called Blackwhip.”

“So you’re saying that Izuku has access to the quirks of previous holders of One For All?”

“That’s what it looks like. I’ll have to talk to Gran Torino, but I haven’t heard of any previous users gaining access to other quirks. This is unprecedented.”

“Izuku is number nine, so if you’re correct, he’ll be gaining eight other quirks?” Shou looks about a shocked as Hizashi feels.

“Not exactly. The first users quirk was simply the ability to transfer his quirk, and his brother gave him a stockpiling quirk.” All Might hesitates before continuing.

“I myself was quirkless before receiving One For All, so if our theory is right, then Izuku should have access to six additional quirks.” Are his hearing aids malfunctioning?

Hizashi glances over to Shouta, and the look on his face tells him that they’re not. He can’t believe the audacity of this man.

The number one hero, who was previously quirkless, told a kid that he couldn’t be a hero without a quirk.

“Listen. I know what you’re thinking. I’m a hypocrite, right?” Hizashi nods, jaw tight.

“I never wanted to make your son feel that way. It’s what I was told from a young age, and I only got the chance to be a hero once One For All was passed down to me.” Hizashi guesses that makes sense. People can’t exactly choose how they’re raised.

It still pisses him off though.

“I know I messed up. I really think that your son will make a great hero, quirk or not.” That’s surprisingly mature of All Might.

“You’ll let us know what Gran Torino says?”

“Of course. He usually gets back to me quickly, especially if it’s quirk related.” All Might stands as they do, and reaches out a hand for them to shake.

Hizashi does, and All Might gives him a grateful look. His husband hesitates before grabbing the heroes hand, and lets go within two seconds before grabbing Hizashi’s to drag him out of there.

Chapter Text

As expected, the case against Endeavor gets swept up by the Hero Commission.

However, it does take longer than expected. It isn’t until 5 days after Shouta’s meeting with Tsukauchi that the Commission takes over.

It’s long enough for the detective to take all statements relating to the exam, as well as gather additional information that will help with the child abuse case.

The man had thought ahead, and given copies of everything to Shouta, Nezu, and Hawks. It’s a good thing he did too, because not 1 hour after the Commission barged into the precinct, they were gone with all evidence.

The 5 day period also gave Hawks the chance to get to his contact within the Commission, who is more than happy to help out with making the trial public.

Shouta is trying to teach class when they barge in. God knows how they got into UA. The Hero Commission has no authority here, and Shouta would bet that Nezu is already on his way to kick them out.

“Eraserhead, Shouto, Janus, and Red Riot, you’re coming with us.” Shouta has met this member of the Commission before, and there’s no way he’s letting him near his students.

The three students stand, looking all kinds of nervous. Shouta puts a hand up and they freeze. In fact, the whole class is frozen, looking wearily between Shouta and the members of the Commission.

“My students aren’t required to speak with you. Especially not without a guardian present.” He doesn’t take his eyes off of the man, but can see his students retaking their seats out of the corner of his eye.

“We are in the middle of an investigation. This is an urgent matter, Eraserhead.”

“They’ve already given their statements, so I don’t know what more you’d need. Unless, of course, you’re trying to blackmail them into lying in Endeavor’s favour?” The man stalks forwards, red in the face.

“Listen here, Eraserhead. The Hero Commission will not stand for this slander against our Number 2 Hero, so we need to straighten out this misunderstanding. I could arrest you right now and drag you out of here, and there’s nothing your precious little school can do to stop me.” Shouta can’t help the smirk that he hides in his capture scarf.

There’s no way Shouta would let that happen. He doubts his students would either.

“Oh yah? Try me then.” The man gets impossibly redder, and makes some gesture to the men behind him.

Instead of moving towards Shouta, they move towards his students, aiming to grab the ones the Commission aims to silence.

Shouta punches the man crowding his personal space, and whips out both ends of his capture weapon. He grabs the closest two in time, but the third member is fast. They make it to Izuku’s desk in no time, and yank him up with a firm grip on his arm.

“You’re going to regret that.” The man he punched is standing now, but Shouta doesn’t even acknowledge him, focusing instead on his son.

He looks pained as he tries to get out of the Commission members grip. Shinsou stands from his desk behind Izuku’s, and is about to do something stupid when his attention is drawn to the window.

Shouta follows his gaze and smiles his most disarming one he can.

“No, I think you will.” The members of the Commission freeze and turn towards the window.

It smashes inwards, Hawks shoving the man away from Izuku before he even lands. The hero tosses the man to the front of the room and stands in front of the students, wings spread wide.

“Hawks? What the hell! You’re supposed to be following orders.” The Commission members look infuriated as they all rally behind the one in charge.

“I am.” The door slams open, and in strolls Nezu, looking like doesn’t have a care in the world.

Shouta doesn’t move an inch as the principal climbs his way to his shoulder, settling down as if he isn’t completely invading his personal space.

“I’d like to know why the Hero Commission is trespassing on UA property.”

“We’re in the middle of an investigation, sir.” The man looks pissed beyond imagination.

“I am aware of that, but everyone involved here has already answered any related questions."

“Our lawyers need to interview them themselves.” Shouta’s getting pretty tired of this nonsense. It seems like Nezu is as well.

“That’s odd, considering it’s UA’s lawyers protecting my students, and your lawyers protecting the criminal.” Nezu’s tone is sharp. A few of the Commission members back away at his tone.

“Our lawyers need the full story, and-” 

“You already have full access to their statements. Vlad?” Nezu cuts the man off, and calls to the hero at the door.

“On it boss.” He herds the Hero Commission out the door, and most of them follow without complaint.

“You’ll be hearing from the president! She’s-”

“Oh I know how she is. Get off my property.” The man is red with anger, but allows Hawks to push him from the room, followed closely by Nezu.

Shouta is left with a broken window and a confused looking class.

Shinsou is standing with Izuku, and he doesn’t move away when Shouta approaches. He carefully brushes some glass out of Izuku’s hair and lets his hand sit there for a moment.

“Are you okay, problem child?”

“Yah, thanks dad.” Izuku slaps a hand over his mouth as soon as the words leave it.

“Holy shit Midoriya! Did you just dad sensei?” Izuku cringes at the use of his old name. He hadn’t exactly told everyone that it’s different now.

“Um, n-not exactly? A-and it’s Yamada now.” Shouta gives him a pleased smile and moves his hand to Izuku’s shoulder. He turns to find all eyes on them.

“They adopted you? Congratulations Mid-Yamada!” Iida catches himself mid-sentence, and Izuku relaxes under his hand.

“What do you mean by not exactly?” Of course Yaoyorozu picks up on that.

“W-well, I called him dad, because he I-is my dad.” The class erupts, many of them shooting to their feet, and Shouta resists the urge to cover his ears.

“Quiet!” He activates his quirk for the extra effect, and the class shuts up immediately.

“Now. Let’s get back to our lesson.” Shouta walks to the front of the classroom, and by the time he faces them again, his students have all sat down.

“But sensei-”

“No buts. If Izuku wants to answer your questions later, then he will. But if you pressure him I will know.” He glares at his class until they nod in understanding.

“Moving on, who can tell me which year the Hero Commission was founded.” Many hands shoot up, and Shouta prepares for the worst when he calls on Kaminari.

Chapter Text

Izuku is a little nervous when class lets out.

He’d known he needed to tell everyone who his dads are at some point, but this is not how he wanted it to go.

Normally, he’d just escape with his dad. But he has a meeting with Gran Torino today, so Izuku doesn’t really have that option.

Of course he’d been invited to the meeting. His dads wouldn’t go behind his back like that, especially when it’s about his quirk. Izuku just isn’t too keen on meeting a hero that All Might is close with.

Not that he thinks that’s a bad thing, but the man literally trained him. He can’t help but to assume that they’re similar.

So he’s leaving the meeting to his dads, and they’ll fill him in tonight. Izuku’ll probably be hiding in their room anyways, if the eager looks his classmates are giving him are anything to go by.

In the absence of his dad, Izuku would usually escape with Hitoshi or Shouto. But Hitoshi had left pretty quickly. He wanted to catch up with his dad to ask him something before his meeting. He also refused to tell Izuku what he was asking.

Shouto on the other hand, has been spending every spare minute he can in the infirmary with his brother. He’d told Izuku that it’s a little awkward, since Hawks is hanging around so much, but it’s probably nice for him to spend so much time with his brother.

He'd even bother Kacchan if it meant escaping this mess, but he and Kirishima make a quick escape once the bell rings.

That leaves Izuku utterly defenceless.

“Deku! When did sensei adopt you?” Uraraka is the first one to speak from the group that surrounds his desk.

“Um, the p-paperwork went through while w-we were at training camp.” Izuku’s a little unnerved by all the attention on him.

“What! Congratulations Yamada! Man I wish we’d known sooner, we could’ve had a party!” Kaminari is loud next to him, but Izuku appreciates him using his new name.

“Thank you.” Izuku is quiet, but Kaminari’s grin makes speaking up worth it.

“Well it’s not too late! We can have a belated party!” Uraraka looks far too excited.

“N-no! That’s o-okay I-”

“Momo can you do supplies?”

“W-wait guys, I-I-”

“Jiro! You can handle the music!”

“Hey are you okay?” Kaminari places a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“N-no, I d-don’t want- I c-can’t-” He can’t seem to form the right words.

Everyone is just so loud. Izuku can’t focus on anything right now, too overwhelmed by all of the noise. Kaminari’s hand is comforting, but not nearly enough.

Izuku slaps his hands over his ears and squeezes his eyes shut, uncaring on how childish it may look.

With his hearing slightly muffled, Izuku can focus on just how short his breaths are. He tries to calm himself down, but it’s hard, especially in front of all these people. He focuses on the feeling of Kaminari’s hand on his shoulder, trying to use it to ground himself.

It slips away.

Izuku can’t help the whine he lets out at the loss of contact, and any progress he made in regaining his breathing is lost.

The only thing he can make out through his muffled hearing is yelling. He thinks he hears his name in there a few times, but he’s not exactly focusing on what they’re saying.

Just that they’re yelling at him.

A hand clamps around his wrist, and pulls him from his seat. They pull him away from the commotion, and Izuku shudders at every light brush on his skin as they slip by.

He keeps his hands clamped over his ears, and his eyes shut tightly. It makes walking a little awkward being dragged like that, but he has to trust in whoever got him out of there.

After a few minutes the hand lets go, but it’s quickly on his shoulder, pushing him to sit against a wall. Once he’s seated the hands stay there, so Izuku opens his eyes.

He sees red.

Kirishima is crouching in front of him, a worried frown on his face. Once he sees Izuku’s eyes, he removes his hands.

‘Are you okay?’ Izuku shakes his head.

‘How can I help?’ His hands are shaky, but he gets the signs right.

“S-s-stay?” Kirishima nods, and moves to sit next to him.

He sits close enough for Izuku to feel every exaggerated breath, and holds out a hand. Izuku slowly lowers his hands from his ears, and finds the hallway silent.

He takes Kirishima’s hand.

After a moment of hesitation, his friend pulls their hands to his chest. 

Izuku can feel every breath a little more, and he can faintly feel his friend’s steady heartbeat on his hand. He relaxes to the side, and can feel Kirishima relax beneath him.

Finally, finally, he can breathe again.

——————

Izuku opens his eyes, and finds it a lot darker than when he last blinked.

It takes him a minute to figure out where he is. He’s still leaning on Kirishima, their hands now resting in his lap instead of on his chest.

He didn’t mean to fall asleep, but Izuku just gets so tired after panic attacks.

He feels the other boy shift, so he lifts his head from where it rests on Kirishima’s shoulder. He leans against the wall instead.

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to wake you.” The voice is loud, but he manages to avoid flinching. Izuku slowly turns to him, finding an apologetic smile on Kirishima’s face. He takes back his hand and raises them both to sign.

‘It’s okay. Thank you’ Kirishima gives him a blinding smile before he responds.

‘You’re welcome’

Kirishima stands up and stretches, before holding his hand out to Izuku once again. He accepts it, and once he’s steady on his feet lets go.

‘We should probably get to the dorms now’ Izuku nods at him, and follows Kirishima out of the school.

It’s completely dark out, streetlights illuminating the path from school to dorms. Izuku pulls out his phone and cringes at the time and number of missed calls and texts he has.

It’s almost 9pm. Izuku slept for over 5 hours in the cold hallway, using his friend as a pillow.

He has been having trouble sleeping lately, especially wth all the memories from the exam. They’ve combined with other recent events and given him awful nightmares. Izuku didn’t want to go to his dads about it, because usually these things pass.

But now he took an impromptu nap and made them both miss dinner. Who knows what his dads are thinking.

Oh god. He was supposed to meet his dads after the meeting!

Izuku quickens his pace and walks in front of Kirishima, turning around so that he can see his hands.

‘I’m sorry Rock! I made us miss dinner and my dads are probably worried!’ Izuku’s stomach grumbles at the thought of food.

‘It’s okay! I texted SleepySensei when he wouldn’t stop calling your phone’

‘Thank you!’

They walk through the front doors together, and the common room is thankfully empty. Izuku thoughtlessly heads to the kitchen, but stops when he sees Kacchan in there.

Kirishima walks in behind him as Kacchan turns around, two plates in hand. He places them on the counter in front of them and gestures for them to sit.

‘Eat’ Kacchan manages to be intimidating even through sign language, so Izuku does as he’s told.

The food is delicious.

However, Izuku isn’t used to this much silence at the table. Between his issues speaking, Kirishima’s issues hearing, and Kacchan’s general attitude, not a single word is spoken throughout the meal.

He and Kirishima wash up the dishes once they’re done, and the redhead goes as far as walking him to his dad’s room, Kacchan trailing a bit behind.

‘Goodnight!’ Kirishima signs at him once they reach the door, and holds out his hand for Kacchan to take.

Izuku smiles at them and Kacchan manages to not frown at him, and then his friends are walking away.

Izuku opens the door to his dad’s room, finding them both on the couch. He holds up his hands to sign before they even get the chance to speak.

‘I’m sorry’

“Oh baby. We’re not mad!” His dad pulls him into his arms, and Izuku relaxes.

His other dad ruffles his hair, and Izuku smiles as he looks up into his tired eyes, trying to ease some of the worry he finds.

He’s quickly brought over to the couch and bundled in blankets, sandwiched between his dads. The cats come quickly, both fighting for a spot on Izuku’s lap. They somehow make it work.

He doses off about forty minutes into How to Train Your Dragon, the discussion he was supposed to have the furthest thing from his mind.

Chapter Text

Izuku is hot.

He shifts a little, trying to get away from it, but he can’t move. Izuku is completely trapped.

He can’t help but to panic a little, especially when a hand grabs his arm. The grip doesn’t hurt, but it’s sudden, and causes him to cry out.

“Izuku, you’re okay! Just open your eyes for me.” What is his dad doing here?

Where is here?

Izuku opens his eyes, and finds himself in his dads apartment. He’s on the couch all tangled up in his blankets, with Toothless and Radio perched by his feet.

He still feels trapped.

Izuku tries to maneuver his way out of the blankets, but they’re really twisted up and he’s probably making it worse. He gets a little more frantic, still stuck in his nightmare.

“Izuku stop. I’ll help you.” His dad frees his arms, and barely dodges Izuku’s flying limbs as he shoves the rest of the blanket off. His dad just watches with a worried look.

Now free, he realizes how concerning his reaction was. Izuku shoves himself to the corner of the couch and takes a deep breath, gripping his shirt with his hands just so they have something to do.

“Are you okay Izuku?” His dad sits on the couch, leaving a bit of distance between them.

He shrugs his shoulders, and looks away when his dad frowns.

“Was it a nightmare?” He nods this time, still looking away.

“Did you want to talk about it? Whenever I have one I talk it through with Zashi and it helps me.” Izuku’s first instinct is to refuse.

But his dad opened up so easily to him. And Izuku knows that he won’t be judged, or pitied for anything that he tells him. Besides. If talking helps his dad, it may help him as well.

“It was about the exam.” He keeps his gaze on the wall, unwilling to see his dad’s expression.

“Lately, my nightmares have been awful. I get these weird combinations of all the stuff that’s been going on recently, and last night was no exception.” Izuku goes silent for a while, trying to find the right words. His dad doesn’t push him to continue.

“So last night, Stain was at the exam. He used his quirk, so I was paralyzed, stuck there watching everything that happened. I couldn’t use my quirk, so she shot you. All I could do was watch.” Izuku buries his face in his hands, trying to will away the tears.

It doesn’t work.

“Shit Izuku. Does this happen a lot?” His dad inches closer to him on the couch but doesn’t make contact.

He looks up from his hands and nods. His dad opens up his arms, and Izuku can’t hold himself back anymore. His dad hugs him close to his chest, and Izuku focuses on the feeling of his heartbeat beneath his cheek.

When Izuku finally pulls away it’s not very far, and his dad keeps an arm around his shoulders.

“So, how was the meeting yesterday?” He’s not subtle at all in changing the topic, but his dad doesn’t comment on it.

“How about we have some breakfast first? It smells like Zashi is done cooking.” Izuku nods and follows his dad to the table.

They’re all silent during the meal, not even his dads banter going today. The lack of noise makes Izuku eat that much faster, so it’s not long before they’re all done the meal and settling back onto the couch.

“So what did Gran Torino say?”

“Whatever’s happening with you, has never happened before.” Izuku can’t help his disappointed scowl.

“So he doesn’t know then?”

“He agrees with our idea, that you’re gaining access to the previous users quirks. Since it’s never happened before, we have no idea how quickly you’ll be figuring these out.”

“Considering I used two new ones at once, it could be pretty quickly right?”

“Exactly, problem child. We’ll have to train with each of these quirks as they appear. At least for BlackWhip, you have your capture scarf training to fall back on.”

“How do we explain my new quirks?” His dad looks resigned when he answers him.

“I don’t know.”

“I want to tell Toshi. And Shouto. They’ve been there for me from the start, and it’s not fair that I’m keeping secrets. Kacchan already knows, so-”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea listener! His dad thankfully interrupts his rambling. Izuku’s sure he would have cut himself off a few words later, unsure of what to say next.

“I agree. They’re good, trustworthy kids. It’ll definitely help you to have more people who know.” He’s relieved that both of his dads are on board.

“We’ll just have to keep that a secret from All Might. So your friends can’t get mad at him, no matter how upset they are.” His dads words surprise him a little.

“Why do you think they’ll be mad?”

“Izuku, baby. All Might is basically the reason you got kidnapped. Your friends were close to going after you themselves. I’m honestly surprised that they didn’t.”

“Oh! That’s true. And Toshi already doesn’t like him for what he did at the exam.”

“Kid, anybody who knows what he did is pissed about that. So every single teacher. Midnight almost killed him.” His dad smiles, and Izuku knows that it has to do with All Might almost being murdered.

“Alright. I should make sure the demons aren’t killing each other. Any of you coming?” His dad stands up and stretches.

“Absolutely not. But let me know if you need backup love.” He stands up and gives his dad a kiss on the cheek before heading to the kitchen to clean up from breakfast.

Izuku decides to head downstairs. He makes it halfway to the door before nearly dying when Radio stops in front of him and meows for attention.

So Izuku scoops her up, and carries her out of the room.

His dad is waiting in the elevator, holding the door open for him. He raises a brow at the cat in his arms but doesn’t say a word about it.

Izuku gets off at his floor. He should probably change out of yesterdays uniform, and into something more suited for a lazy Saturday at the dorms.

He makes it about halfway to his room, but he pauses when he spots someone in front of his door.

It’s just Toshi, his friend knocking on his door.

“Toshi! Morning.” His friend jumps when he speaks up behind him.

“Have you had breakfast? I got worried when you didn’t come down.” Izuku smiles. He loves how much Toshi cares for him.

“Yah I ate with my dads. Do you want to hang out today?”

“Of course!” Toshi steps aside so that Izuku can unlock his room.

His friend follows him in, and Izuku drops Radio onto the bed as soon as the door is shut. It’s not that he thinks she’ll run off, but he knows that if somebody sees his cat, then the whole class will show up to pet her.

Hitoshi carefully averts his eyes while Izuku changes, and sits close while they pick a movie to watch. Izuku doesn’t really care what they choose, as long as he gets to hang out with his friend.

So he picks the first film that Toshi suggests, and leans close as the opening begins.

Chapter Text

“Hey Zuku, want to go on a walk?” Izuku and Hitoshi have just finished their second film of the morning.

“Sounds fun! Just lemme get changed.” Izuku almost asks if they can invite Shouto as well, but he bites his tongue. Something about the way Toshi asked seems different than usual.

“Alright. Meet you downstairs?” Izuku nods at him, and Toshi leaves him alone.

He has no clue what to wear. It’s not unusual for them to go on walks around campus, but most of the time they have Shouto with them as well. Toshi looked serious when he asked him though, so Izuku doesn’t think this is as casual as their usual walks.

They’re been a lot closer lately, so Izuku thinks this may be leading up to the next step in their relationship. He’ll feel like a bit of a fool if it isn’t, but if it is then his dads will be proven right and Izuku will still look like a fool for not believing them.

He’s wasted enough time standing around, so Izuku just throws on his nicest t-shirt and jeans and races downstairs. As expected, Toshi is already there waiting for him.

He’s standing by Izuku’s dad at the counter. There’s a smile on both of their faces as they watch Kaminari and Sero make a mess in the kitchen as they attempt to bake a cake. Too bad his other dad is out right now, he would have been excellent help.

Toshi turns to him with a red face when Izuku moves to the kitchen, and with a small wave to his dad, they head out of the dorms and in the direction of one of the fields.

They don’t talk much as they walk, and Toshi is so red that Izuku wants to ask if he’s sick. Their hands brush together as they walk, and Izuku wants nothing more than to grab his friends, but he resists.

Toshi stops them when they reach probably the biggest tree on campus, and he sets down the basket he’d carried in his other hand. His friend lays out a blanket on the grass and settles down onto it, before continuing to dig through the basket.

“Need any help with that?” Toshi looks up, still red in the face.

“That’s okay Izuku! You can just sit anywhere.” Izuku chooses to sit right next to his friend, and he peers into the basket in his lap.

“I’ve never been on a picnic before!” Toshi grins at him as he hands Izuku a sandwich.

“Once we’re allowed to leave, there’s a really nice park I can take you too!”

“It’s a date!” Izuku tries to focus on his sandwich, but he can tell that Toshi is looking at him, so he looks back up as well.

“Do you mean that?” Izuku nods, a little lost for words.

He takes a bite of the food to excuse his silence, but he can’t let it go on forever.

“I um, I really like you Toshi.” His friend looks shocked, but there’s a pleased look in his eyes. His blush hasn’t gone anywhere, and Izuku can feel the matching one on his cheeks. Hitoshi leans a little closer, so he puts down his sandwich in anticipation.

“That’s good, because I like you too.” Hitoshi leans in the last few centimetres, and presses his lips to Izuku’s.

Kissing is nothing like he imagined. He doesn’t really know how to move his lips, and Hitoshi seems just as lost as he is.

It’s perfect.

Izuku feels weightless, like all of his worries have slipped away. Does everyone feel like this for their first kiss?

It only lasts a few seconds, but when they pull apart they’re both flushed and grinning. Toshi looks just as free as Izuku feels.

The weightless feeling increases, and Izuku realizes with a start that Toshi is getting further away.

Technically, it’s him that’s getting further.

Hitoshi looks panicked as Izuku floats up, and he frantically grabs for tree branches on his way. The lower ones snap as his hands clasp around them, and in his panic Izuku only starts to move faster.

He’s clawing at the tree, but nothing really holds. Izuku can feel the blood welling up from where he’s torn his hands on branches, and he can feel the sting on his face and arms from where he’s passed others by.

He manages to get a solid grip on one of the thicker limbs, and Izuku watches as his maybe boyfriend climbs up the tree after him.

He reaches out a hand, and Izuku desperately tries to grab it, but his own is slick with blood and sweat and he slips away.

Izuku’s definitely panicking now. He doesn’t have a lot of tree left. What will he do if he can’t grab onto something? Float away forever?

His back smacks into a particularly thick branch, and Izuku’s world flips.

He can see the blue through the tree line, and he keeps going up and up and up. Izuku breaks through the top, and prepares to float into oblivion, but a tug on his shirt stops him.

He cranes his neck and finds Toshi, one arm wrapped around a branch while the other hand is fisted into Izuku’s shirt.

“Don’t move.” Izuku meets his panicked gaze and nods, not breaking eye contact.

——————

“They’re moving forwards with a public trial for Endeavor.” Detective Tsukauchi hardly waits for Shouta’s greeting before he speaks.

“That’s good isn’t it?” He doesn’t really like the tone in Tsukauchi’s voice.

“That much is. Thanks to Hawks, they don’t really have a choice.” Shouta will have to get the hero a nice birthday gift or something to repay him.

“That’s not all you’re calling for, is it?” There’s a sigh on the other end of the line before his friend answers him.

“They’re making your students testify.” Shouta gets up from the table and steps outside so that the kids don’t see him lose it.

He’s been supervising a few of them in the kitchen for the past hour or so. They’re making a cake to celebrate Kirishima coming to the dorm with his new hearing aids, and Shouta doesn’t want another kitchen fire.

He’s not exactly a cook, but he’s watched Zashi enough to know when things are going down hill. He’ll just have to hope they survive the next few minutes while he speaks with Tsukauchi.

“That’s bull and you know it.” He’s trying not to raise his voice at his friend, but his anger manages to bleed through.

“I am well aware Eraserhead. They only informed me out of courtesy.”

“They want all three of them?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Fuck. Izuku and Kirishima were hardly aware of what was going on! Meanwhile Todoroki’s already having a hard time with this, and they’re going to make him talk about the abuse in front of a bunch of strangers?”

“A public trial is our best bet at winning this, Shouta.” He deflates a little and leans on the wall behind him.

“I know that Tsukauchi, it’s just-” He cuts himself off when he sees his husband. He’s walking a few feet ahead of Kirishima, who’s grinning wide and chatting with Bakugou, who wears the smallest of smiles. His student immediately frowns when he catches him looking.

“Shouta?”

“Yah gimme a second.” He doesn’t need to continue this conversation while his students are in earshot. That’s why he went outside in the first place.

Zashi pauses in front of him, causing the students to stop as well, since his husband is blocking the doorway. He eyes gives Shouta a questioning glance as he takes in his upset appearance.

‘Detective’ He signs this to his husband, but Shouta somehow forgot that the two students with him also know sign language.

Zashi corrals the students into the dorms, and shuts the door behind him, leaving Shouta alone once again. His husband knows that he’ll tell him later anyways.

“They’re just kids, Tsukauchi. The lawyers will tear them apart.”

“I’m sorry Shouta. There’s nothing I can do. We just have to prepare them the best we can.”

“Yah I figured. Thanks for letting me know, Tsukauchi.” He hangs up and stuffs his phone into his pocket before heading back inside.

Might as well see if the kids have started a fire yet.

Everyone looks happy as he enters the kitchen. Hizashi is guiding Kaminari on icing the cake, while Sero peeks over their shoulders. Meanwhile Kirishima and Bakugou are seated at the counter working on homework of all things.

No-one else has joined their group, and Shouta figures it’s for the best. There’s no need to have everyone hyped up on sugar.

Everyone freezes when the front door slams open. Shouta cautiously moves towards the door, and the patter of feet tells him that his husband and students follow.

Thankfully, it’s only Todoroki, but the panicked look on his face does nothing to ease him.

“Sensei! Izuku is floating away!”

God fucking dammit.

Chapter Text

Izuku is alarmingly high when they reach him.

The only reason he hasn’t floated away yet is because of Shinsou’s grip on the back of his shirt, and Shouta knows that won’t hold forever.

“Do you think Uraraka accidentally used her quirk on him?” Kaminari comes to a logical conclusion, but he doesn’t have all of the facts.

Gran Torino had given them notes on all of the previous One For All users quirks. It’s obvious that this is Float, the quirk of the seventh user.

He hasn’t had the chance to go over each quirk with Izuku yet. His son is smart, so he’s probably figured out what’s happening, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to turn it off. And an open field like this is not the place to test it out.

He hopes that Shinsou has a tight grip on his son, because the only way they’re getting out of this is by using Shouta’s quirk.

He readies his capture weapon, just in case.

The second he activates his quirk Izuku drops, and Shinsou struggles to keep the both of them in the tree.

He then positions Izuku over the next branch, and though Shouta can tell he hesitates, Shinsou lets go. His son lands carefully, then both of the boys begin their descent.

It’s a tall tree, so it takes them a fair amount of time to get to the bottom. When they do, both boys sit on the grass without a word.

Shouta can see them trembling from where he stands.

His students gather around them when they do, but Shouta easily puts himself at the front of the group and crouches down to be eye level with them.

“Are you two okay?” Izuku shrugs, but doesn’t resist when Shouta pulls him into his arms.

He finally blinks when he feels his son warm and safe in his arms. From there, there’s no way he can float away again. He removes an arm and puts it on Shinsou’s head, ruffling his hair until the boy looks up so that he can give him a grateful smile.

Shouta stands after a few minutes, when his son has pulled away from the hug. The only other student remaining is Todoroki, so Zashi must have sent the rest of them away once they were down from the tree.

“Hey Toshi, Shouto, can we talk?” Izuku looks incredibly nervous, so it’s not hard to guess what this is about.

“Of course Zuku! What is it?” Shinsou helps Izuku stand, and he gives Shouta a look that he can’t quite decipher.

“How about we talk inside.” Now his students just look worried, but Izuku at least looks a little relieved.

——————

The walk to his dads room is a little uncomfortable.

Everybody is watching him. Izuku doesn’t exactly know how he started to float away, but he doubts he’ll be doing it again. Even if he did, they’re indoors now. There’s nowhere he could really float away to.

Nobody speaks, and they’re still silent when they settle on the couches and his dad goes into the kitchen.

He comes out a few tense minutes later, carrying a few mugs of hot chocolate. He hands them out to Izuku’s friends, before setting down on his other side, sandwiching him between his dads.

“Thank you Present Mic-sensei.” Shouto looks so awkward sitting in their living room, but he relaxes when the cats flock to him, drawn to his heat.

Izuku waits until he’s halfway done his drink to talk. He could put this off for longer, since nobody is pressuring him to speak, but he can tell how nervous his friends are getting.

Or is it his friend and boyfriend? He and Toshi hadn’t exactly talked about anything after their kiss, but he definitely has more than friends feelings for him, and Hitoshi said he feels the same.

Although even if it is that way now, Hitoshi is now his friend as well as his boyfriend.

“I need to tell you guys about my quirk.”

“Isn’t it a Super Power Quirk?” Shouto looks a little confused as he speaks up. He also looks like he has a few theories of his own.

“Technically, that’s right.” He’d consider his power and the ability to use all of those previous quirks a super power.

“So your quirk isn’t what you say it is?” Izuku sinks into the couch more and shakes his head.

“Why did you hide it?” Shouto looks thoughtful, as if he already knows why.

“All Might made me.”

“What? Why would the Number 1 Hero make you hide your quirk!” Toshi looks angry.

“I guess technically it’s our quirk? I got it from him, and so far he’s still able to use it. Just not to the extent that I can.”

“Is he your biological father? I had guessed at the sports festival and you never gave me an answer.” Shouto’s guess is one way that they’d have the same quirk. Although Izuku isn’t sure that this one can be passed on biologically.

“No. I ate his hair.”

“You ate his hair?” His friends look incredibly confused. That probably wasn’t the best way to word it.

“Yep! Before the entrance exam I was quirkless, and he passed his quirk onto me.” Izuku tries to sound as upbeat as he can, but just the memory of everything that happened is weighing him down. 

His dads move a little closer to him, and he relaxes at the contact. Their weight at his sides is a reminder of how far he’s come, and how safe he is.

“Holy shit Izuku.” Toshi looks horrified, and he has no words to reply. Nobody says anything until Hitoshi speaks up again.

“I knew you were quirkless before, but I thought you were just a late bloomer!”

“Izuku.” Shouto looks serious. He waits until Izuku’s focus is on him before he speaks.

“I can’t imagine what that was like. People must have treated you horribly because of your lack of quirk.” It’s more of a statement than a question. Izuku hesitates before talking, but he decides that he might as well tell them everything.

“It was really bad. I thought that the bullies might kill me one day, and there would’ve been only one person that cared.” Shouto looks thoughtful for a minute before speaking up.

“Bakugou? I know you guys grew up together.”

“Yah. He was the only nice person I knew.” 

“Damn. You know it’s bad when Bakugou is the nicest person.” Toshi tries for a lighthearted joke, but Izuku can tell that his heart isn’t really into it.

“Wait Izuku. That doesn’t really explain your quirk.”

“It’s a little complicated. It’s a quirk that can be passed on, and the power of the previous holders passes on as well.”

“How many people had this before you?”

“I’m the ninth.”

“So you get the quirks of everyone before you? You get eight quirks? Why doesn’t All Might have these abilities?” Izuku isn’t surprised that Shouto has all of these questions. He was expecting it from their resident conspiracy theorist.

“This is the first time that one of the holders actually got access to the quirks. And I don’t know how many I will get, but it’s not eight. The first users quirk was the ability to pass on his quirk, and All For One gave him the stockpiling one.” Technically, Izuku does have those, they’re just not something he’ll be using.

“So you’ll have seven then?” Izuku looks to his dad for help. He knows some of the quirks, but they haven’t had the chance to go over the rest of them.

“It’ll be six. All Might was quirkless before he received One For All.”

“Wait. Isn’t that the name of the villain that kidnapped you?”

“That was All For One. I guess he’s my sworn enemy?”

“Jesus this is crazy.” Izuku can tell that Shouto is just surprised, instead of not believing him like he would have thought a few months ago.

“I know it’s a lot, but I needed to tell you guys.” His friends make eye contact and seem to have a silent conversation before Toshi replies.

“Thank you for trusting us.”

Chapter Text

Izuku eventually tells them the rest of the tale once his dads leave the room.

He just wants to get everything off of his chest. Of course they know some of it, like everything that happened with his mother, but there’s a lot that they never found out.

He starts with how he met All Might.

Izuku doesn’t give them any chances to interrupt, too focused on getting it all out. He can tell they want to, especially when he talks about the roof top, but if he’s interrupted Izuku’s not sure he’d be able to start the story again.

It doesn’t take long to get through, and by the end both of his friends have deep frowns on their faces.

“So. How are we getting revenge?” Hitoshi speaks up again after a few minutes of silence.

“Revenge?”

“Of course Izuku. All Might treated you horribly.” Shouto looks particularly vengeful.

“N-no it’s fine! I never even see him anymore!”

“It doesn’t matter. He still hurt you.”

“R-really, it’s fine Sho. I’m past all of that now. I just want to move on.”

Toshi and Shouto share a look, but they don’t push it. Izuku doesn’t want to discuss this any further, so he gets up and starts leading them to the door so they can go down to the common room.

He opens the door and nearly gets a fist to his face as Kaminari moves to knock. He has a worried look on his face, and that sets off all sorts of alarm bells.

“Kaminari? What’s going on?”

“Is Aizawa-sensei here? There’s some lady downstairs saying she was sent by Principle Nezu.” Izuku doesn’t even move from the door, just turns his head and yells for his dad.

“What’s going on, problem children?” It’s as if his dad was waiting for his call.

“Kami said there’s a lady downstairs.” His dad moves to the door, but before he can reach them his phone rings. He doesn’t even speak when he answers, instead listening to the person on the other end the whole time.

“Nezu sent her. You kids can stay up here.” Izuku’s dad doesn’t look too worried, but he still moves quickly.

Izuku and his friends don’t even have to check with each other before following. A glance behind him tells him that Kaminari is coming down wth them as well.

Everyone is on edge when they reach the common room, his dad included. The lady is clearly here in an official capacity, but he doesn’t think anyone was informed beforehand.

No matter. His dad will deal with it like he always does.

“Do you know why she’s here?” Toshi asks the rest of the class when they join them.

“It’s about the Endeavor case.” It’s Ashido who answers, everyone else engrossed in the silent standoff his dad is having with the lady.

“This soon?” Toshi is right. This seems awfully early to have someone come talk to them about the case. But maybe they want to fast-track it because of Endeavors position?

It’s hard to hear anything with how quietly the adults are speaking, but soon after they come downstairs his dad sighs loudly, and turns around.

“Izuku, Todoroki, and Kirishima, you’re coming with us.” His dad looks unhappy, but not nearly as unhappy as the last time someone came to talk to them.

Instead of following his dad to the office, the three of them follow him and the lady out of the dorms and across campus.

“Hey dad, why are we going to the school?” Izuku speaks up after a few minutes of awkward silence.

“We don’t need your classmates eavesdropping. Although I’m sure some of them will find out later, this isn’t something that everyone should be gossiping about.” His dad answers without even turning around.

All of the offices are pretty close to the front of the school, so they make it fairly quickly. Izuku, Shouto, and Kirishima squish themselves onto the love-seat, while his dad and the lady sit on the available chairs.

“My name is Suzuki Akako. You may call me Suzuki-sama. I’m here to discuss the Endeavor case.”

“Suzuki-sama is UAs lawyer. You can trust her with anything.” His dad speaks up, as if he can sense their hesitation.

All three of them relax at that.

“This is a big case, so it’s pushed aside a lot of others. Which means that the trial will happen in a matter of weeks, not months. We wanted you guys to have longer.” Suzuki-sama looks regretful as she shares the news.

“Well some of us didn’t want you kids involved at all.” His dad looks angry, but not at them.

“Today is just a preliminary meeting. We need you kids to write out your statements so that we can look them over and prepare questions for the stand. I’ll be talking to Hawks and Todoroki Touya separately.”

“Which means that the Hero Commissions lawyers will be questioning you as well.” His dad finishes off for Suzuki-sama.

“That’s not good.” Shouto pipes up beside him. Izuku knows the Commission isn’t great, but they can’t be that bad, can they?

“No it isn’t. Their lawyers are going to question you guys hard.”

“But why? We’re just kids!” Izuku directs his question at his dad.

“Unfortunately, all they care about is protecting the heroes, innocent or guilty.”

“Now, I’ve taken up enough of your time. I’ll be back in a week to collect your statements.” Suzuki-sama stands as she speaks, and no-one says a word as she leaves the room.

“Sensei, can’t we just give her the statements we already gave to the police?” Kirishima speaks up once the click of her shoes fades away.

“The main assumption here is that you’ll have remembered more. Since this happened two weeks ago it gave you more time to process everything so that they can hopefully have more information.” Everybody nods at his dads answer.

“If you need any advice on writing your statements, you can ask me or Present Mic. I suggest you get it done sooner rather than later.” 

“Okay. Thanks sensei!” Kirishima leaves, a strained smile on his face.

Shouto lingers a moment longer, eyes on Izuku. He gives his friend the most confident smile he can muster, and he leaves with a comforting squeeze on his shoulder.

“I know this is a lot right now Izuku. I’m sorry that everything is happening so quickly with your quirks and now this.” His dad has the audacity to look guilty right now.

“It’s fine dad. It’s not like this is your fault.” His dad takes a moment to process the words.

“Thanks Zuku. Now how about we go test out your new quirk?” Izuku grins.

He pushes the statement and the trial from his mind as he follows his dad out of his office, and finds himself in a much better mood as they move towards the training rooms.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi can tell that Izuku’s having trouble with his statement.

His boyfriend had asked for his company while working, but all he’s done so far is pace his room.

And they’ve been at this for 2 hours.

“Izu, why don’t you sit down. You might focus better that way.” This isn’t the first time Hitoshi has brought this up.

This time though, Izuku does as asked. He sits next to Hitoshi and covers his face with his hands, letting out a deep sigh.

“I just don’t know where to start.”

“Try from the beginning.”

“But I can’t Toshi. Because for me it started when my quirk told me we were in danger. And I can’t talk about my quirk with anyone who doesn’t already know.”

“Damn. I guess you’ll have to omit everything to do with your quirk.”

“I knows it’s just-” Izuku cuts himself off with another sigh, and removes his hands.

“It’s just what?”

“My quirk was hurting me. So I missed some of what happened. They’ll need an explanation for that.”

“Have you talked to your dads about this?”

“No.” Hitoshi can tell how guilty Izuku feels for that.

“Izuku you need to. Your statement is due tomorrow!” Hitoshi doesn’t mean to sound so impatient, but he’s worried about his boyfriend.

“I know that Toshi!” If his wide eyes are anything to go by, Izuku didn’t mean to snap at him.

“S-s-s-sor-” He slaps a hand over his mouth and backs away from Hitoshi, tears gathering in his eyes.

“Shit Izuku, it’s fine.” A frantic shake of the head.

“There’s no need to apologize. You did nothing wrong.” Izuku peels his hand away at that.

“I-I yell-ed at y-y-you.”

“It’s my fault, Izu. I’m the one who got all worked up.” Izuku shakes his head again, hands fisted in his shirt.

“M-m-my-” Izuku shuts his eyes against the tears.

Hitoshi has to do something. He knows that touching Izuku could be disastrous, but doing nothing could be equally as damaging.

So he takes the risk.

Izuku freezes the moment Hitoshi’s arms wrap around him, but he soon relaxes into his gentle hold.

“I’m so sorry Izu.” 

“It’s f-f-fine.” Izuku’s are muffled by his shirt.

Hitoshi knows that it’s not fine. He could tell how stressed out his boyfriend has been, and yet he still got impatient with him. Even if Izuku forgives him, Hitoshi will be carrying this for a while.

Hitoshi ignores the wet spot on his shirt when Izuku pulls away from the embrace.

“How about we go talk to your dads? They’ll know what to do about your problem.” Izuku frowns but gets off of the bed anyways.

He heads over to his closet and puts on that bright yellow sweater that Hitoshi knows is his favourite, and heads over to the door.

“Y-you coming?”

“Only if you want me to.” Izuku nods at him, to Hitoshi joins him at the door.

They ride the elevator to the ground floor, and Izuku leans up against the wall the whole ride. He looks exhausted.

His boyfriend gets slower every step they take once they disembark, and while it usually only takes a minute to get to their sensei’s room, today it takes five.

Izuku doesn’t knock when they get there, just stands in front of the door. So Hitoshi takes the initiative, and knocks for him.

Aizawa-sensei looks ready for bed when he answers. He’s wearing some Present Mic shirt and god-awful, hot pink pants.

Hitoshi can’t meet his eyes.

What would his favourite teacher say if he learned that Hitoshi made his son have a breakdown? Nothing good, that’s for sure. While he thinks that Aizawa-sensei likes his students, he also thinks that they don’t compare to how much their teacher loves his son.

“Boys? What’s going on?”

“N-n-nothing.” Hitoshi looks over, and finds Izuku also refusing to meet their teachers eyes.

“Hmm. This doesn’t look like nothing. Why don’t you come inside.” It’s not a suggestion.

Hitoshi finds himself squished next to Izuku on their comfy couch as the cats fight for space on his boyfriend’s lap. Present Mic-sensei joins them, and his sleep clothes are much more sensible than his husband’s.

“Izu, baby, what’s going on?” Izuku doesn’t answer, so their teachers turn to him.

“He, um, he needs help writing his statement.”

“I thought you are done already, Problem Child?”

“I-I-I was, b-but it wasn’t g-good enough. And I can’t t-talk about my quirk.” Izuku’s reply is quiet. Hitoshi could hardly hear him over the purring of the cats, and he’s sitting right next to him.

“That’s okay Izuku. We can work on it together.” Aizawa-sensei sounds extra calm tonight. He can probably tell just how anxious Izuku is.

“Can you show me what you have so far?” His teacher speaks up again when nobody else talks.

“N-n-no. I-I, um, I-” Izuku clicks his mouth shut and shakes his head.

“Hey it’s fine Izuku.”

“N-n-o-” Their teacher is in front of them in a flash.

“Hey Zuku, you’re fine, just breathe. You can talk with your hands, remember? That’s okay.” Hitoshi feels like an intruder here. He shouldn’t see his teacher being this gentle and soothing. 

‘I threw it out’ Izuku’s hands are shaky, but he seems more at ease using them.

“That’s okay baby. We can just restart.” Present Mic speaks up from behind them on the couch, and Hitoshi nearly jumps out of his skin.

‘Can PurpleCat stay?’

“Of course he can.” Hitoshi can feel his teacher’s eyes on him, so he finally meets them.

They don’t seem accusing, even though it’s obvious that Hitoshi helped put Izuku in this state. Right now, Aizawa-sensei looks nothing more than a concerned, caring father.

Hitoshi knows that he’ll be interrogated about this at a later date.

——————

Eijirou wakes in a cold sweat.

He’s haunched over his desk, and the ache in his neck tells him he’s been here for a while. He sits up painfully, and winces when he sees the time.

3am.

Eijirou looks back down at his desk and can’t help but to whine a little. He only has four sentences of his statement written, and they’re all terrible.

Katsuki had offered to help him a few days ago, but Eijirou thought this was something he should do himself. He’s realized his mistake too late.

Now the lawyer is coming back in five hours to grab everyone’s statements, and anyone who could help him out is probably fast asleep.

He knows he put this off for too long, but is it really necessary? Eijirou can’t even remember half of what happened at the exam. He was far too panicky to pay attention, let alone retain anything.

Him being at the trial will be a waste of time.

Still, he has to finish this. Maybe Katsuki will help him if he promises to buy him bread from that bakery he really likes once the lockdown is over. Or on their way back from the courthouse.

For being on lockdown, they sure end up leaving the school a lot.

Eijirou exits his room quickly, not even bothering to grab his horrible first attempt. He knocks on Katsuki’s door instead of just barging in, in consideration of the time.

Katsuki looks furious when he opens the door.

A little less so when he sees that it’s Eijirou, but he still looks pissed.

He drags Eijirou into his room and turns on the light, before he starts interrogating him.

At least Eijirou assumes that’s what it is, since of course he forgot his hearing aids in his room.

‘Sorry, forgot my hearing aids. Be right back.’ Eijirou turns to exit the room, but a hand around his wrist stops him.

Katsuki turns him back around and lets go, the look on his face telling him not to move.

‘It’s fine Red. What’s going on?’

‘Will you help me with my statement?’

‘Holy shit that’s due today! Stupid.’ He mouths something that looks an awful lot like ‘fucking dumbass’, and Eijirou feels a little guilty for interrupting his sleep.

‘I know. Sorry.’

‘Shut up.’ Eijirou drops his hands and looks away.

Of course Katsuki is pissed. He woke him up at 3 in the morning for something he should have finished days ago.

‘Sorry to bother you. I’ll finish it on my own.’ Eijirou signs without looking his way, but he’s once again stopped from leaving when Katsuki grabs onto him.

‘Don’t be dumb. You need my help.’

‘Well yah, but-’ Katsuki grabs his hands, stopping him mid-sentence.

He drags him over to the desk and sits him down, before puling out a fresh piece of paper. He taps the table with the end of the pencil to get his attention, and signs again once he has it.

‘Let’s take this from the top. Take your time Red’

Chapter Text

The car ride is a silent affair.

Shouta’s students in the back look like the last thing they want to do is talk, while Zashi looks close to crushing the steering wheel in his white knuckled grip.

As soon as they’re parked near the courthouse, Izuku makes to move from the car.

“Hey hold on a second.” Shouta turns in his seat as he speaks.

Todoroki looks remarkably stony faced, considering most of the pressure is on him for the trial. Meanwhile Izuku and Kirishima look like wrecks. He’s not quite sure how they’re going to make it through this.

“After you have your turn on the stand, you’ll be brought to a different room.” He takes a breath to continue, and Izuku cuts in.

“So that we don’t discuss it with each other?” Shouta nods.

“They don’t want you talking about it before everyone goes on the stand.” He waits until he receives three nods to continue.

“You do have the option to sit in the courtroom after you testify, but I have the feeling none of you will want to. I will be in the new room and Zashi will be in the courtroom just in case.” The kids look relieved at having at having a safe person available to them.

“Just remember what we went over with Suzuki-sama, and try to stay calm.” Another set of nods and they leave the car.

There’s already a fair amount of people here for the trial, so they had to park a bit away from the courthouse. The moment they round the corner, the group as a whole freezes.

It’s a fucking circus out here.

There’s a couple news stations posted out front, harassing people as they try to get inside. No camera’s are allowed in the courthouse, but they’ll sometimes allow a reporter or two. Since this is a public trial, a few stations managed to get permission.

Unfortunately, outside of the courthouse is free rein. 

They have to walk through that nightmare to get inside, so they adjust themselves a little. Shouta is at the front of the group. His general disposition is usually enough to keep the media away. Zashi walks at the back of the group, keeping the kids between them just in case.

Being an underground hero, Shouta isn’t very recognizable. Top that with the fact that he’s wearing a suit today, nobody bats an eye at him.

It’s different for his students.

They all did well during the sports festival, which is a highly publicized event. Their brightly coloured hair makes them immediately recognizable, and the media tries to jump all over that.

One look at Shouta’s glare puts a decent stop to it, but there are still some halfhearted questions thrown their way.

Nobody blocks their way though, and that is good enough for Shouta.

After checking in at the front, they’re led to the room they have to wait in, and Zashi says his goodbyes. There’s still another hour before the trial starts, but it’s enough time for them to go over a few things with their lawyer, who’s waiting just inside the room.

Hawks is also present, having a hushed discussion with Suzuki-sama at the table.

“Ah welcome! How are we feeling today?” Their lawyer receives no response, and her smile falters a little.

“That’s to be expected. Why don’t you all take a seat?” She recovers quickly, and the group moves to the table as one.

Shouta finds himself in the middle, with Kirishima on one side and his son on the other. Todoroki seats himself on Izuku’s other side, and Hawks takes the end next to him.

Suzuki-sama is left on her own across from them, though she doesn’t seem to mind.

“I’m sure Eraserhead and Hawks know this already, but I’d like to go over it again for the kids’ sake.” She looks to Shouta, waiting for his nod to continue.

“We’re not just up against Endeavor. We’re up against the Hero Commission. I’m going to be honest here. The Commission is terrible, and needs to be replaced.” Shouta looks to Hawks.

He looks tense, but doesn’t disagree. For somebody the Commission thinks they’re in control of, he has a lot of obvious distaste for them.

“They’ll probably ask stuff we didn’t go over. They always find a way of bringing up sensitive information, so if it gets too personal for you, just look to me and I’ll put a stop to it.” Shouta is hopeful for that, but knows that may not be the case.

The Commission has a way of bringing that sort of information up, while keeping things related to the case. He hates to admit it, but the Commission has damn good lawyers.

“The good news is, this is a trial by judge and jury. Nobody knows who’s on the jury, so there’s absolutely no chance they could have been bribed. And our judge is one of the better ones, known for actually looking at the facts rather than the potential pay out.” Looks like Hawks’ connection really paid off.

The hero had been more than happy to help them, and Shouta knows he put a lot of effort into this.

He also knows that his job is on the line.

Hawks had mentioned it in passing, and Shouta could tell how nervous he is about it. He knew better than to bring it up though. It shouldn’t be a huge worry, considering Hawks runs his own agency, but Shouta also knows that most of the funding for that comes from the Commission.

He did, however, bring it up to Nezu. The principle said that he’d be more than happy to employ the hero at UA. There is an open Hero Course position that needs to be filled.

All Might’s position.

“Just make sure you speak clearly, and never go back on what you said. Because that is how the Commission will trick you.” Shouta tunes back in as their lawyer stands and packs her things.

“I’ve got to go into the courtroom. Eraserhead, a guard will come escort you when it’s time.” Suzuki-sama leaves, and takes the noise with her.

Shouta is relieved that he gets to go first. He’d requested it, but wasn’t sure if the Hero Commission would agree. But he’d done it in the hopes that he could be there for the kids afterwards.

There’s a sharp rap on the door, and a guard peeks his head in.

“Let’s go Eraserhead."

——————

The Hero Commission doesn’t ask Shouta any unnecessary questions. 

They listen to his story, ask a few clarifying questions, and send him on his way. Normally that would be a good thing, but he knows that they’re saving the worst of it for the kids. They’ll twist what his students say, and make it impossible for them to follow. Then they’ll have no choice but to agree with what the commission is saying.

Hopefully Suzuki-sama will put a stop to it. She’s been pretty effective so far, and Shouta will just have to hope that it’ll be enough to charge Endeavor with something, and get him away from hero work.

Shouta wishes he could be in there with them, but he knows that he’ll be needed afterwards. At least they’ll have Zashi’s support in the room.

He walks by their old room on the way to the new one, in hopes of spotting which kid will go first.

A guard is escorting Kirishima.

Chapter Text

Eijirou didn’t think the courtroom would be quite this big.

He’d been expecting something similar to what you see on tv, something small with just enough room for the main cast of characters.

This room is probably bigger than his house.

There are a few people in the back rows when he walks passed them, but the front is absolutely packed. He takes note of where Present Mic is sitting on his way up, and the pro gives him a reassuring smile. 

Eijirou has no clue why there are so many people here, and it only adds on to his nerves.

He stays calm for the first part. UA’s lawyer asks him stuff they’ve gone over a ton of times. It’s not easy, but it’s stuff he was expecting.

So of course the Hero Commission messes it up.

“Could you explain why you froze up when Touya Todoroki ran at you?” He sucks in a breath, but tries to stay calm. Suzuki-sama had told him to expect something like this.

“I was remembering the attack at training camp.”

“Are you referring to the event where he killed one of your classmates and permanently scarred you?” Eijirou yanks his arms off of the table to rest in his lap.

The scars aren’t awful. His quirk stood up decently under the flames, and the doctors had done a good job at reducing it. But that doesn’t mean he’s not sensitive about it.

“Y-yes.” He finds Present Mic in the crowd and finds his teacher frowning.

“And how can you be sure that he wasn’t attacking you again?”

“W-well I thought he was, for a second. But we were all told why he did everything, and I trust my sensei. Even if I thought he was going to hurt me, I would have been proven wrong immediately when Endeavor attacked.”

“Why are you so sure that it was Endeavor that attacked?”

“He’s the only one that could have.”

“There were three people with a fire quirk in your immediate vicinity.”

“Well Touya was protecting me, and Todor-Shouto was protecting Izuku.” He can’t exactly refer to his classmate by last name when the other people in question all share the same one.

“When you were under attack, why didn’t you use your quirk to get the both of you to safety? It’s clearly effective against fire.” Eijirou hesitates.

He’s thought about this a couple times. It would have been the smart thing to do, especially since he’s withstood Touya’s fire, and that burns hotter than Endeavor’s.

But in the moment he couldn’t even think. Could hardly even breathe. So how could he have planned on doing so?

“Well?” He realizes he’s been quiet for too long.

“I was-I was scared.” He says it quietly, but it’s loud enough for those up front to hear.

“Shouldn’t you have been able to push through that? You’re training to be a hero after all.” What does this have to do with anything? Eijirou looks to Suzuki-sama, a little panicked.

“Your honour, this line of questioning is irrelevant.” Not completely.

Eijirou’s had the thought before, but he’s always shoved it aside. But now, having a lawyer shove it in his face in front of so many people? It’s extremely disheartening.

He raises a clenched and shaking fist to wipe at the tears gathering in his eyes.

“Objection sustained.” The judge looks indifferent at Eijirou reliving his trauma, and the Hero Commissions lawyer frowns but moves on.

“I understand you used your quirk to protect Touya.”

“I did.”

“And in doing so, you received a permanent injury yourself.” The man gestures to Eijirou’s ears, and he can see some of the jury peering to look.

He covers his hearing aids.

“Y-yes” He needs to wipe away his tears, but it’s either people see his tears or his brightly coloured hearing aids. So he keeps his hands where they are.

“Your honour, this has nothing to do with-”

“Exactly!” The Hero Commissions lawyer interrupts Suzuki-sama.

“This boy wasn’t hurt by Endeavor, he was injured by the traitor that was posing as his classmate. The only person injured in this event was his criminal son!”

“Th-that’s not true!” Eijirou doesn’t mean to raise his voice, and the look on the lawyers face tells him that the man did not appreciate it. The judge takes in the tears and doesn’t comment on the noise.

“Oh? Were one of you hiding a physical injury that wasn’t reported?”

“N-no. Nothing physical.” Eijirou deflates a little at the grin on the mans face.

“Then please explain how Endeavor-san harmed you and your classmates.”

“It w-was scary! He d-didn’t even care about the p-people he was hurting to catch the villain. It’s r-really h-hard to see a Pro Hero attacking for n-no reason.”

“So you’re saying that you’re hurt because it was scary?” Eijirou nods, eyes shut tight.

“Son, if something like that scares you, then maybe you’re in the wrong profession.” His eyes snap open and he stares at the lawyer, not that his blurry vision does him any good.

There’s a few easier, closing question that he somehow stumbles through, but Eijirou feels stuck on the comments the lawyer had made.

When he’s told he can leave it takes everything in him not to run down the aisle. He doesn’t care of he looks stupid, so he keeps his hands over his ears as he walks, and ignores the stares from the people in the benches.

Eijirou walks right passed the guard who’s supposed to take him to the new room, and ignores his attempts at getting his attention.

He makes a few blind turns before slumping against a random wall and sliding down until his butt hits the floor.

He very carefully removes his hearing aids and takes a moment to stare at the bright oranges X’s on them before stowing them in his pocket. He then brings his knees up to his chest and lays his arms on them, hiding his face in the opening.

Without his hearing aids, everything literally becomes out of sight out of mind.

It’s easier to cry like this, when he can’t hear the pathetic noises he’s making.

That’s probably how he’s found so quickly.

One second he’s wallowing in his own misery, the next there’s a warm hand on his shoulder. Eijirou jerks back, but he can’t exactly go far. He finds himself staring into the warm eyes of Present Mic.

‘Where are your hearing aids?’ His teacher takes a seat across from him in the hallway.

‘Took them off. Didn’t want people staring.’ Present Mic-sensei nods, but doesn’t mention them further.

‘Are you okay?’ He shakes his head and rests his chin on his arms. 

‘You shouldn’t pay attention to what the lawyer was saying.’

‘Why not? It’s the truth.’ Present Mic stands, and Eijirou readies himself for the sadness of his teacher walking away.

Not that he blames him. Half the reason he came over here is because what the lawyer said is true. He’d needed to break down and cry because this is all stuff he’d rather not think about on top of having his traumas dragged out one by one.

Except Present Mic doesn’t leave.

He sits down next to Eijirou, and wraps an arm around his shoulders. He leans into the warmth, and focuses on the vibrations as Present Mic hums some song he can’t hear.

Eventually, he pulls away. Present Mic should be back in the court room, and Eijirou should probably make his way to their waiting room.

‘The lawyer only said that to upset you. You’re going to make a great hero, Red Riot.’ Eijirou shrugs. He wants to believe his teacher, but it’s hard when somebody who represents the Hero Commission tells him he’s in the wrong profession.

‘What would Bomb say if he saw you like this because of what he said?’ Present Mic is too perceptive sometimes.

‘That I’m being dumb.’

‘Well I wouldn’t go that far, but don’t let your insecurities overcome you.’ Eijirou nods. He’ll believe him for now, and get yelled at by Katsuki for these thoughts later.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a hearing aid so that he can put them back on. Which is easier said than done.

Usually, he does this in front of a mirror. It’s really hard to get it on right otherwise, and he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his day in discomfort.

Present mic nudges his side.

‘Can I help?’ Eijirou nods, grateful for the assistance and hands the aid over.

Present Mic’s hands are gentle when they make contact with the side of his head, and he gets the hearing aid in the right spot in no time. Without his teacher even having to ask, Eijirou hands over his other aid and turns.

It’s on in no time, and his teacher is just helping him to his feet when footsteps round the corner to their hallway.

“Ah there you are! Eraser was worried and sent me to look for you when I got to the room before you did.” Hawks yells at them from his end of the hallway.

“Guess we better get going listener. Hawks’ll take you to Shouta.” Eijirou nods, and hesitates for a second before moving.

Present Mic doesn’t waste a second in wrapping his arms around Eijirou when he goes for a hug. They both let go after a minute, and Eijirou hurries to meet up with Hawks at the end of the hall.

Present Mic gives nice hugs.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s turn on the stand doesn’t start well.

His dad isn’t there.

His absence wracks his nerves even more, so Izuku is a stuttering mess while he answers Suzuki-sama’s questions.

This experience makes him relieved that he never had to testify for Inko’s case. The thought of doing this for something so personal is nauseating.

Izuku can’t help his audible sigh of relief when his dad walks in.

They haven’t gotten very far yet, and he’s sure that it was important, so Izuku does his very best to push passed it. Instead, he focuses on his dads reassuring presence, and that helps get him through the rest of Suzuki-sama’s questions.

It doesn’t exactly help him through the next part.

“It’s mentioned in your official statement that you weren’t aware of much at the start of the attack. Why is that?” Izuku takes a deep breath before speaking. This is where it gets difficult.

“I um, I had a headache.” The look on the lawyers face tells him he’s not very convincing.

“Ah yes. You must have been dehydrated after the exam.” Izuku nods. Why is he going with this?

“However, there is another option. Care to tell me what that is?” Izuku can’t think of anything.

“I d-don’t know.”

“There could be another traitor at your school. And he could be sitting right in front of me.” There’s an audible gasp in the room.

Izuku meets his dads eyes, and he looks about two seconds away from coming up here and giving the lawyer a piece of his mind. He doesn’t have to, because he can see Suzuki-sama rising. 

She looks livid.

“Are you out of your mind? This is going too far. Last I checked this trial is about your, client, not mine.” The Hero Commissions lawyer looks ready to retort, but Suzuki-sama turns to the judge next.

“I apologize for the interruption, your honour. But this is pure conjecture and irrelevant to the case at hand.” The judge nods at her before turning to the Hero Commissions lawyer.

“Stay on task and don’t bring up traitor accusations again. That case has already been dealt with.” The lawyer looks properly chastised, but still manages to grin at Izuku.

“Bear with me here. I don’t have too many more questions, considering you were mostly out of the action. Sound good?” Izuku nods at him, so he goes on.

“Can you explain how you got the gun away from your ex-classmate?”

“My d-dad’s been training m-me on how to use his c-capture weapon. S-so I had it w-with me for the exam, and used it th-there.”

“What colour is your capture weapon?” Izuku is a bit taken aback by the question, but he answers it easily.

“Cream.”

“How odd. In the interview with the traitor, she stated that she saw something black shoot from your hand to wrap around the gun.” He then turns to the jury.

“She was interviewed by Detective Tsukauchi, who has a lie detector quirk.” Oh god. Izuku hadn’t accounted for her.

He looks to his dad and finds a slight look of panic on his face, while their lawyer just looks intrigued.

“So how about you try again?”

“I-I-I-I-” He gets stuck on that word, unable to say more.

So without thinking, Izuku raises shaking hands to sign.

‘I can’t explain. It’s not relevant to the case.’ The lawyer just looks at him blankly.

“I don’t understand sign language. You’ll need to speak up for me and everyone else here.” He tries to sound apologetic, but it falls flat. The menacing look on his face doesn’t help matters.

Izuku takes a deep breath and tries again.

“I-I-I c-can’t” He swallows thickly.

“I see. In your original statement to Detective Tsu-” Suzuki-sama interrupts him mid-sentence.

“Objection! That statement was never submitted as evidence.” The Hero Commissions lawyer turns around with a gleeful smile on his face.

“Au contraire! I submitted it myself this morning.” He watches as Suzuki-sama goes through her papers and pales. She sits down without another word.

“As I was saying. Your original statement mentions your quirk a few times.” Izuku’s eyes widen in realization, and he looks to his dad, panicked.  

"First when you mention you could tell there was going to be an attack, and second when you disarmed the traitor. Except those are two different quirks. And your quirk is registered as strength enhancement. Care to explain?”

“N-n-n-no I-I-” Izuku sucks in a breath.

Or at least tries to.

This isn’t supposed to be happening! He’s not prepared for this, and he can tell that his lawyer isn’t either.

Izuku presses a hand to his chest, trying to will himself to breathe. Except now he can feel his racing heartbeat and his breathing continues to stutter.

“The Hero Commission is very interested in you and your quirk. Or should I say quirks.” The lawyer had leaned in close, keeping that comment between the two of them.

Izuku tries to back away from him, but ends up falling from his seat.

A hand catches him at the last second, and Izuku tries to push it away until he realizes who it is.

His dad is there, and Suzuki-sama stands right behind him, blocking everyone’s view of his panic.

“D-d-d-dad.” Izuku is sobbing, which doesn’t help his breathing at all.

His dad just gathers him in his arms and carries him through a side door, Suzuki-sama shutting it behind them. His dad sits against the wall, Izuku still in his arms.

“It’s okay baby. Just take a deep breath for me.” He picks up Izuku’s hand and places it on his chest, demonstrating his much slower breathing.

It takes a bit, but eventually Izuku can somewhat follow his lead. It’s only then that he notices Suzuki-sama kneeling by their side, a worried expression on her face. When she notices him looking, she bows low.

“I am so sorry Izuku-kun! I was not aware they had that as evidence. But that’s no excuse! I shouldn’t have let that go on so long. You have my sincerest apologies.” She raises from her bow and Izuku nods at her, unable to speak.

Suzuki-sama stands and hurries back through the doors, leaving Izuku alone with his dad.

“Alright baby. I’ll get you to your dad, but then I have to get back in there for Todoroki.” He can tell how reluctant his dad is. He waits a beat before continuing.

“Can you walk? Or do you want me to carry you?”

‘Walk.’ As much as he would love a piggyback from his dad, he doesn’t want anyone else to see that right now.

His dad helps him stand and keeps a supporting hand on his back all the way to their new room. They don’t bother to knock before stepping inside.

The first person he sees is his dad. He’s pacing the room, a worried look on his face. He turns to them when the door clicks shut, and he’s immediately pulling Izuku in for a tight hug.

He’s sandwiched for a moment, as one dad speaks to the other. It’s over quickly, and his dad leaves to go support Shouto for his turn on the stand.

Izuku is exhausted, and really should sit down at this point, so he steps back from his dad and takes a look at the rest of the room.

Bright red draws his eyes to the floor beneath the window.

Hawks sits on the floor, leaned up against the wall. He has his arms crossed and wears an angry look on his face. It’s intimidating, and Izuku knows he never wants to be on the hero’s bad side.

The effect is lessened by Kirishima slumped against his shoulder, fast asleep. Hawks’ wing is wrapped around him, keeping his friend mostly hidden.

“How about we sit down Izuku.” He jerks his attention back to his dad and nods.

He’s pulled close to the pair, and they settle down on Kirishima’s side, just a few feet away. Izuku meets Hawks’ eyes and they hold questions, but the man doesn’t ask any.

He’s pulled into his dads side and he relaxes there, ready for a nap himself. He doesn’t ask Izuku anything, just hugs him and comforts him when he breaks down into silent tears.

Chapter Text

Shouto’s gotten good at masking his emotions. He’s been doing it for weeks now.

While all he wanted was to be with his friends and prepare for the trial with them, he knew he couldn’t do that. Shouto needed all of his strength for today.

Of course he’s the last one in their pre-trial room.

Shouto is very aware of how nervous his friends were before they got pulled away. He’d wanted nothing more than to reach out to them, but he knows that if he did, then his mask would slip, and he wouldn’t be able to get on that stand today.

The guard that comes for him is not a comforting presence. He’s all scowls and hard glares, and he doesn’t say a word to Shouto when he lets him into the room.

He walks as slowly as he's allowed, taking in the faces of the crowd.

Most of them are unfamiliar, and very upset. Hopefully upset for his friends’ sake, not Endeavors.

There are a few familiar faces. Present Mic sits near the front, and he gives Shouto a reassuring smile when they make eye contact.

Natsuo and Fuyumi are there as well. They sit on the same side as his teacher, just a few rows ahead of him. They also looks upset, but there’s something else there. Something that he can’t place.

It’s when Shouto sits that he makes eye contact with Endeavor.

He looks pissed. Shouto wouldn’t be surprised if his ears started smoking in his rage. He knows, without a doubt, that if this doesn’t end in their favour, he’s dead.

If looks could kill, he would be already.

They go over the exam incident quickly. Everyone here has already heard all about it, and Shouto is here for a different reason.

“Shouto, how would you describe your relationship with your father?”

“Strained.”

“While talking with your classmates, some of them were under the impression that you guys were close. Could you elaborate?” Suzuki-sama is calm, following the questions they’d gone over.

“We were fine, for a while. After he institutionalized my mother, Endeavor went to therapy and became a supportive father. But he changed back when Touya came back.”

“Why is your mother institutionalized?”

“The strain of an abusive husband got to her, so she poured boiling water on my face and gave me this scar.” He gestures vaguely to his face.

A few people gasp, and more make pitying faces. Complete strangers, feeling bad for him when they don’t even know the worst of it.

Shouto’s mask cracks, just a little.

“And how did Endeavor change when Touya came back?” Suzuki-sama looks sympathetic, because she already knows how this goes.

“Touya, my brother, was arrested. He refused to speak to anyone but me, so I went with Endeavor to see him. He wasn’t telling him what he wanted to hear, so he was getting more and more angry.” Shouto tries to keep composed as he continues, but he can’t stop the buildup of tears.

“I didn’t want to ask his questions, so Endeavor started yelling at me, and it was scary. Like before. Touya tried to protect me, but Endeavor grabbed me.” Shouto looks down. He doesn’t need everyone seeing him lose his composure.

“He was holding on so tight. The only thing I could think of was before, and the memories made me have a panic attack. Touya calmed me down, while Endeavor just watched what he had done.” The room is silent, so Shouto looks up.

Suzuki-sama looks remarkably more upset than before. Shouto must not have told her everything that happened at the prison. He may have forgotten to mention the panic attack Endeavor gave him. 

Natsuo and Fuyumi are crying, and Shouto has to look away.

Endeavor looks even angrier than before.

“Can you explain what you mean by before?”

“Oh! Before he got therapy.” He must have forgotten to explain that as well.

“What was he like then?”

“Scary. Obsessed.”

“Can you elaborate on that?” Shouto meets her eyes once before looking back down. His seat is elevated enough that people can probably see his tears, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

“Endeavor has always wanted to beat All Might, and become the Number 1 Hero. So he hand picked my mother for her quirk and started having children. Some of them weren’t what he wanted, so he neglected them.” He knows that Fuyumi doesn’t really see it that way. She’s always looked for the best in Endeavor, even when he was beating Shouto senseless.

“It started with Touya. He has a suitable quirk, so Endeavor started beating him and called it training. Just before my quirk came in, my brother ran away. And then Endeavor set his sights on me.” He can practically feel the heated glare that Endeavor is sending him.

“No matter what he says, it wasn’t training. He didn’t teach me a thing. I guess he just wanted someone new to beat since his favourite punching bag ran away.” Shouto is silent for long enough that Suzuki-sama opens her mouth to speak.

“I’ve had enough of your lies, boy.” He flinches back at the sound of Endeavor’s voice.

He’d finally gotten his tears under control, too.

“I’m a hero. And heroes don’t hurt people.” He stands up, ignoring the look from his lawyer.

He’s had enough of this.

Shouto stands as well.

“If I’m lying, then explain this!” He yanks up his shirt, baring his torso to the courtroom. The tears running down his face are more angry than sad at this point, but he doubts anyone here could tell the difference.

Shouto’s glared at himself in the mirror enough times to know that it’s not pretty. There are more scars than unblemished skin, and he can see people’s eyes catch on the huge handprint on his side.

Endeavor is speechless, as if he’d forgotten all about how he marked him. Shouto would have as well, if he hadn’t had to see it every day. He’d been stuck in the illusion of care that Endeavor created, and he regrets that now.

Suzuki-sama gives him a look, so Shouto pulls his shirt back down and takes his seat.

“No further questions.” She sits down, and the Hero Commissions lawyer stands. Shouto wonders what hell he’s about to bring.

“Your honour, I have none as well. I think we’ve heard enough.” Not a single person looks away from the lawyer.

“Are you sure? You seemed pretty intent with all of the other witnesses. I thought you’d have something prepared.”

“I did, but none of it is relevant anymore, Your Honour.” The judge just raises his brow and nods to Shouto.

He takes his leave, trying to ignore all of the eyes on him. Suzuki-sama speaks again as the door is shutting behind him.

“I call Endeavor to the stand.” As much as he’d like to witness that, Shouto needs to get back to his friends.

He follows the same guard as before, and he looks just as angry as he did the last time they walked together.

When they get to the door, the guard nearly shoves him inside. Clearly he has better places to be.

At first, it seems like there’s no-one in there.

But then Shouto rounds the table and there they are.

Surprisingly enough, Aizawa-sensei is the only one conscious. Izuku is curled up next to him, face red from what he presumes is a lot of crying.

Next to them, Kirishima is curled up in a similar way against Hawks, not that he can tell much with the way his wing is draped over his friend.

Shouto moves then, sinking down next to his teacher. Aizawa-sensei raises his free arm, and he ducks under it, trying not to feel embarrassed.

He could use a nap too.

Chapter Text

Shouta is practically shaken awake.

He gives Zashi his best glare, but his husband just laughs at his tired look, and moves along to wake Hawks, leaving Shouta to deal with the children.

It’s easy, just as he expected, and within minutes of Zashi entering the room everybody is awake and seated at the table.

All they’re waiting for is Suzuki-sama.

It takes a full half-hour of Shouta wondering why in the hell they had to wake up already for her to arrive. He tries to get a read on her, but her expression gives nothing away.

“Sorry for the wait! I have news.” Everybody sits a little straighter at that.

“It’s not the news you were hoping for, but it’s not bad news either! The jury is going to take a while on the deliberation, so the results may not come today. You guys can go home, and I will call you when we have the verdict.”

It’s not the worst news she could have given, but it does nothing to improve the mood of the room.

“Alright kids. Why don’t we head home before it gets too crowded out there.” While the hard part here may be done, they still have to get around the media presence outside.

It’s almost laughably easy.

Hawks goes ahead as a distraction, so they’re able to sneak out behind the reporters without being spotted. Shouta almost wants to sprint to the car, but he decides against it for the kids’ sake. They just have to hope they don’t get spotted walking the few blocks from the courthouse.

Shouta speeds off as soon as they’re all buckled, and from the looks that Zashi’s giving him he knows he regrets letting him drive. No matter. Shouta will get them home in half the time that it would normally take.

Everyone bolts as soon as he parks the car, as if they’re afraid he’ll speed off again before they have the chance.

“I’m so sorry dad, but they need to take away your license.” Shouta only dignifies that with an eye roll. Izuku must get his dramatics from Zashi.

It’s a short walk between the parkade and the dorms. Shouta doesn’t expect anybody to be waiting for them, but there’s a lone figure standing on the steps of their building.

“Is that All Might?” Peering closer, Shouta finds that unfortunately, Kirishima is right. Nobody in his class looks that obnoxious.

“Dad, do you think he knows?” Izuku’s voice is small.

“I have no clue how it would have gotten out, but I think he does.” As much as he doesn’t want to take his eyes off the Number 1 Hero, Shouta does so that he can check on his son.

He’s paled, and looks as upset as he did right after his turn on the stand when Zashi had to escort him to their room. Todoroki has a comforting hand on his shoulder, and an understanding look on his face. Kirishima looks a little lost, but ready to comfort Izuku all the same.

“Guess we better see what he wants.” They could go around the back, but All Might would just follow them there. He knows they’ve been spotted and the man is just waiting for them to approach.

“Ah Eraserhead! I need to speak with Izuku.” All Might must not see his son, keeping hidden behind Shouta.

“About?”

“I’m sure you know.” All Might sounds more resigned than anything. Shouta might not have to yell today.

“If you’re here to yell at him, you can fuck right off.” There’s laughter behind him that is without a doubt Todoroki’s, and Shouta doesn’t care enough to stop him.

“I’m not here to get angry. I heard what happened in the courtroom and need to go over a few things with him. In private.”

“You can say it in front of the others. Some of them know about my quirk anyways, and it’s not like they wouldn’t find out” Izuku moves partly out of his hiding spot as he speaks.

“This is about more than just One For All Izuku. Obviously this needs to be shared with your parents, but I won’t involve other students.” All Might seems more serious than he’s seen the hero in a while.

“Todoroki, Kirishima, get inside please.” The two seem reluctant, but they leave without any questions.

Both boys give All Might a wide berth.

“Alright Yagi, what’s going on?” Shouta has no desire for wasting time.

“Actually, we just need to wait for - never mind, he’s arriving now.” Who else needs to be present for this discussion?

“Shouta, Hizashi, Izuku, how are you?”

“I think we’d be a little better if we knew what was going on, Tsukauchi.” The detective looks exhausted, so this must be important if the man isn’t off working or sleeping.

“Is there somewhere private we can talk?” If it was just Tsukauchi, Shouta would invite him up to their rooms. He doesn’t want All Might tainting the safe space they’ve created.

“I’m sure there’s a free conference room.” Zashi offers up before Shouta has to think too hard about it.

Tsukauchi nods, so they head that way. The detective makes small talk with Izuku on the way, asking him different questions about school and the cats. Shouta keeps a close eye on All Might, but he doesn’t seem eager to talk to anyone at this point.

The Number 1 Hero even goes as far as sitting on the opposite end of the conference room table.

“I was at the trial today, in my powered down form. I care about all of my former students, so I needed to see how it played out.”

“Ah. So when you said you heard what happened, you actually heard it.” 

“Yes. I have also been keeping up with Tsukauchi’s investigation, as I’m sure you have been as well.”

“Not as much recently. We’ve been a little preoccupied.” Shouta is reluctant to admit that. Tsukauchi would have let him know if something big happened.

“We’ve finished hitting the hideouts that Touya told us about. We caught a lot of small fry, but none of the heavy hitters.” The detective takes over.

“We’ve also kept an eye on a few possible places. Nothing big yet, but things have been picking up recently.”

“That’s not why you’re here.”

“With things picking up how they are, and people finding out about One For All, even though they don’t know the details, I’m worried for Izuku’s safety.” He appreciates Tsukauchi's concern, but it's not like they leave the dorms a lot.

“We’re pretty safe at UA. You know this.”

“I do. I also know that Work Studies are coming up, and your son is sure to be picked by a number of different heroes.” Shouta doesn't like where the detective is going with this.

“If you’re suggesting that we keep him from-” All Might is brave enough to interrupt him.

“We're not! I actually have a work study recommendation. Nighteye Agency.” Izuku tenses up beside him.

He doesn’t look scared, like he’d expected. If anything, Izuku looks excited at the suggestion.

“If I recall, one of the big three, Toogata Mirio, is interning with that agency.” All Might frowns a little at the mention of the third year.

“He is yes. Sir Nighteye suggested him to be my successor. We had already been on poor terms, and my decision worsened them.”

“So why do you think he’ll take Izuku?”

“We’ve mostly mended our relationship, after clearing up the main source of the rift. I’ve told him a bit about Izuku, and he seemed particularly interested in his analysis. Nighteye will be more than enough to protect Izuku when off of school grounds.”

“Sir Nighteye is interested in my analysis?” Izuku looks starstruck. All Might just gives him fond look.

“I’m sure this isn’t the only reason you’ve dragged Tsukauchi here.”

“No. It isn’t. He has more updates on the League investigation. That can be discussed without Izuku here.” Izuku loses the excited look, and seems a little reluctant to leave them.

“It’s alright baby. We’ll let you know if there’s anything you need to know.”

“Okay. Love you dads! See yah later detective! Bye All Might!” The Number 1 Hero looks honoured to be included in Izuku’s goodbyes.

Shouta can’t fault him for that.

Chapter Text

This is the most people they’ve ever had in his dads’ apartment.

It’s early in the morning. Izuku can tell that nobody got much sleep, too anxious to hear about the results of the trial. The jury must have taken forever to come up with a decision.

But now his dads called them up, so he assumes that there’s news.

Izuku had actually slept over at his dads last night, but when his they woke him up this morning he’d invited Hitoshi over as well. Kirishima had dragged Kacchan with him, and now they’re just waiting for Shouto to make an appearance so they can get this over with.

There’s a light knock on the door, so Izuku answers it since his dads are in the kitchen.

It’s Shouto, just as he expected.

He looks just as exhausted as the rest of them, and he’s silent as he follows Izuku back to the living room.

They wait an awkward two minutes for his dads to return with refreshments, and when they do nobody really pays attention to their drinks in hand. Everybody’s eyes are glued to where his dads stand a few feet from both couches.

“Alright problem children. I know you’re all worried about this, so I’ll get right to it. The jury all voted to have Endeavor thrown in jail. Unfortunately, the judge does not have to go with their decision.” Everybody is tense. They didn’t just go through hell for Endeavor to walk free, did they?

“For some godawful reason, the judge decided not to throw that mans ass in jail. But he isn’t some Endeavor sympathizer. He’s getting his ranking and his license revoked.” Izuku isn’t getting his hopes up yet. It could be some temporary thing.

“Endeavor is never going to be a hero again.”

“He won’t be able to get his license back?” Shouto’s voice is so small on his left. He looks like he’s trying not to hope too much.

“Never. There is one more thing, Todoroki, but we can speak about it privately if you wish.” Shouto’s face changes from hopeful back to nervous in a matter of seconds.

“Can Izuku stay?” His dad doesn’t look the least bit surprised.

“Of course. The rest of you are free to leave.” The other three leave, Toshi giving his hand an extra squeeze before he goes.

“Todoroki, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, this has to do with the other part of the trial.” Shouto nods beside him as his dads sit on the vacant couch.

“They’ve taken away his parental rights. You’ll never have to see him again, if you don’t want to.”

“But what about when we’re allowed to leave the dorms? What if the dorms have to close down for Christmas or something?” Shouto is tense when Izuku puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Even then. You’ll always have a place to stay, Todoroki. If something happens with the dorms, we’ll just take you in.” Shouto releases what Izuku hopes to be a relieved sigh.

And then finally, finally, he cracks.

Shouto breaks into loud sobs beside him, and Izuku only hesitates a second before wrapping his arm around his friend and pulling him in close.

His other dad, who so far hasn’t said a word, sits down on Shouto’s other side and wraps his arms around the two of them. Izuku knows how special it feels to be surrounded by love like this, so he completely understands when Shouto sobs even louder.

They sit like that for a while. Long enough for Shouto’s sobs to die down, and long enough for Izuku to feel like he could fall asleep. He thinks that his friend has until he speaks up.

“Aizawa-sensei?”

“Yes?”

“Can you call me Shouto? I don’t want to be a Todoroki.” He shrinks a little, as if he’s afraid that dad will say no.

“Of course, Shouto.” His friend releases a heavy sigh, and sinks into their hold a little more.

“How about we go see Touya? He’ll probably want to hear about this and I know it’s been a bit since you’ve been able to see him.” Shouto perks up immediately at his dads suggestion.

His friend stands and moves eagerly to the door, while his dad moves at a much more relaxed pace.

“Izuku! Did you want to come?” 

“No, that’s alright Shouto. I might go hang out with Toshi.” The two of them leave with a smile and a wave, leaving him Izuku and his dad on the couch, a Shouto sized hole between them.

“You okay listener?” He jumps a little at his dads question.

“What? Of course!”

“You sure? I know you had a tough time yesterday.” Well Izuku can’t deny that.

“I’m a little worried.”

“About your quirk?” Izuku nods.

“It may be easier this way baby. It’s always been so hard for you, keeping that secret.”

‘Maybe. But once people find out what it really is, and why I was chosen, they’ll find out that I was quirkless before.” It’s one of his biggest fears, everyone finding out about his past.

“And you think that’ll change their opinions about you?”

“Yah. Who knows what the rest of the class will think.”

“I think they’ll respect you even more. You’ve fought through so much to get here Izuku. If your class finds out just how much, they’ll think you’re even cooler.” Izuku hesitates to reply. While he knows for sure that some of them wouldn’t change how they feel about him, he doesn’t know a lot of his class very well.

“And if they don’t, I know a few people who’ll make sure they do.” Izuku laughs a little.

That sounds right. His dads have his back, as well as the other teachers here. Izuku’s small friend group would stand up for him too. Maybe even Kacchan.

Still. That’s not all that kept him up last night.

“There’s something else on your mind.” He nods.

“What is it baby?”

“It’s about what the Hero Commission guy said.”

“When you were on the stand?”

“Yah.” His dad inches a little closer to him at his quiet response.

“What did he say? Nobody else could hear him when he leaned in close like that.”

“He said that the Commission is interested in my quirks.”

“Shit.” They’re both silent for a minute before his dad speaks up again.

“Hey baby, what do you think about staying here today? I gotta talk to Shou about this, and I’d rather the Commission didn’t come knocking again.”

“Can Toshi hang out too?"

“Of course listener! Why don’t you shoot him a message then I’ll go find dad.”

His dad waits with him until Toshi reappears. He then proceeds to squish Izuku in one of his firmer hugs, giving an awkward looking Hitoshi a little hair ruffle while he’s at it.

“Alright, be good listeners! I love you baby.” His dad is gone, and it’s just Izuku and his boyfriend left.

“So. How do you feel about How to Train Your Dragon?"

Chapter Text

“D-dad?” Shouta pauses.

It’s been a long time since Izuku stuttered around him. They’ve gotten so comfortable in their little family that Shouta hardly has to worry about his son being nervous to tell him something.

“What’s going on kiddo?” Izuku slowly sits on the couch beside him, and looks over Shouta’s work.

He’s in the middle of looking over an assignment for his sons class. Shouta gets the feeling that Izuku isn’t quite ready to talk, so he goes back to grading Kaminari’s essay. He’s pleasantly surprised with how well it’s written.

His students have improved so much since the start of the year. He’d like to think that it’s because of him, but Shouta knows they have frequent study sessions in the common room.

Many of those don’t stay as study sessions, but there are some days that his kids don’t get distracted and actual learning happens.

“Does UA have any councellors other than Hound Dog?” Now with an understanding of why Izuku is so nervous, Shouta puts down his papers to give him his full attention.

“We have a few designated for the older grades. Generally, students don’t do stuff like Work Studies until they hit second year, so they don’t see a lot before then.” They’d probably see his class though, since they’ve been through so much.

“So they w-won’t see me then? I guess I could just talk to Hound Dog.” Izuku looks disappointed at the news.

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t.” His son is silent.

“What’s going on Izuku? I can set you up an appointment if you’d like.” Shouta would like that to.

He’s been wanting to suggest therapy to Izuku, but he didn’t want to push him too far. But he knows things have been getting worse for him lately, so he can’t help the pleased feeling that Izuku is seeking this out himself.

“W-well, you know my nightmares have been getting worse. After everything that’s happened, I think I should take to someone. I was hoping to start before Work Studies did.”

“We’re discussing those in class tomorrow, so I might not be able to get an appointment for you in time. But I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks dad!” Izuku leans forward and proceeds to squeeze the life out of Shouta for a few seconds before letting go.

“If you don’t mind my asking, why don’t you want to go to Hound Dog?” Izuku doesn’t even hesitate before telling him.

“I know a few of my classmates go to him, and that he helps them, which is great! But when I saw him after Kamino we didn’t really click, so I didn’t go back.” That explains it.

Izuku’s reasoning back then had been vague, but he and Hizashi never pushed him about it out of fear that they would push him away.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll let you know about your appointment once I get it set.” Shouta stands, and with a quick hair ruffle for Izuku he leaves the room.

He has a call to make.

——————

Izuku forgets all about his discussion with his dad the next day.

The Big 3 demonstration is amazing! Okay, so it’s mostly the Toogata Mirio demonstration, but still.

His quirk use is amazing. Izuku can’t imagine what he would’ve been able to do with One For All, if All Might had chosen him to be his successor as intended.

If Mirio-senpai’s fight wasn’t enough, the big three decided to stick around afterwards, and watch them train for the rest of the period. 

Izuku can see how nervous some of his classmates are.

But Izuku can also see who their Senpai are keeping an eye on. Nejire-senpai is watching Uraraka and Asui spar, hardly looking anywhere else. Tamaki-senpai takes his time looking over each of his classmates, but his eyes keep getting drawn back to Kirishima, and the way he easily takes Kacchan’s explosions.

As for Mirio-senpai, Izuku keeps accidentally making eye contact.

He’s still paying attention to his spar, but every now and then his focus drifts to where the Big 3 stand next to his dad.

By the end of the class, Izuku has no clue who won his fight. All he knows is that Mirio-senpai is approaching him, and he’s a weird combination of anxious and excited.

“So. You’re the kid Sir told me to keep an eye out for.” Izuku swallows, a little lost for words. He knew that, but it’s another thing entirely to hear it from someone else.

“Y-yes.” A wide smile breaks out on Mirio-senpai’s face.

“Awesome! You know, Sir is never interested in new students! When he asked me to bring you by, I didn’t know what to think. You must be amazing Kouhai!” His face heats up.

“W-well I don’t know about th-that.”

“Nonsense! I look forward to working with you! I’m going to Nighteye Agency tomorrow, so I thought maybe you could tag along.” Izuku stares wide eyed at Mirio-senpai.

He thought he’d have to wait a while before actually going to his agency. Is that even allowed without a teacher? Maybe one escorts Mirio-senpai every week. Or maybe, him being a third year is enough protection for them.

“Are you s-sure?”

“Of course! So what do you say?” Izuku nods eagerly.

“Perfect! I’ll pick you up from your dorms after classes tomorrow.” He gives Izuku a goofy grin, then goes back to the rest of his trio.

“What was that about?” He jumps when Toshi speaks from right behind him.

“He was offering to take me to his internship!” He turns around and smiles at the look of excitement on his boyfriends face.

“That’s amazing Zu! Which agency is he at?”

“Sir Nighteye’s.” Izuku does his best to keep a normal pace as they make their way back to the changing rooms. 

“Wait. I thought you were staying away from All night related heroes?”

“I was. But Nighteye hasn’t been connected to him for a while, and he’s pretty cool on his own.”

“That’s good. When are you going?”

“Tomorrow? I’ll have to talk to my dads tonight about it first.” Maybe one of them will escort them or something.

Or maybe someone from the agency comes and picks them up? His dads will probably know, so he’ll just ask them when he talks to them tonight.

Izuku grabs Hitoshi’s hand as they leave the changing room. He’s still getting used to displaying that they’re together so openly, but it’s nice.

“Hey can you help me with English? I really don’t get some of Mic-sensei’s questions.” Toshi speaks up as they’re nearing the dorms.

“Sure! Do you want to do it at my dads place? Then if we get stuck my dad will just get annoyed and help us.” Toshi laughs loudly, and follows Izuku as he makes his way to the elevator and hits the button for the top floor.

Chapter Text

Mirio-senpai is waiting for him at the dorms when he gets back from classes.

They walk together to the entrance of the school grounds, and with a swipe of Mirio’s student id the doors open and let them through.

As soon as they’re through the door slams shut behind them, and his senpai leads him to a fancy looking car that’s parked a few feet away.

All of Izuku’s worries about having to walk or take the bus to Nighteye Agency disappear when they hop inside. One of Sir Nighteye’s sidekicks drives the car, and seems familiar enough with Mirio-senpai for this to be a common occurrence.

Not that he’s no longer worried.

It’s just Izuku and his senpai out here. He’s been accompanied by one or both of his dads every other time he’s exited the dorms, so it feels odd without them. Unsafe.

But Izuku is a hero in training, so this feeling is something he’ll have to get used to.

The ride to the agency is fairly short, so the uncomfortable feelings won’t be too bad if Nighteye accepts him.

The sidekick escorts them all the way to the doors before disappearing. Izuku isn’t worried. There are enough heroes here that he feels almost as safe as he does at school.

Mirio-senpai clearly knows his way around, and he even stops a few times to talk to some of the heroes. He introduces them to Izuku, and more than one of them express their excitement at having a new face around.

He really hopes he doesn’t disappoint them.

All too soon they’re stopping in front of office doors, and Mirio-senpai is pressing him to knock.

“W-wait, you’re not coming in?”

“Of course not! This is like a job interview. No help from your senpai allowed, no matter how much I want to.” Mirio gives him what Izuku would call a worried look if he knew him better.

The door opens before he can get another word in, and there stands Sir Nighteye in all of his glory.

He’s a lot taller in person.

He steps aside and Mirio-senpai practically shoves Izuku into the room, before whispering something in the hero’s ear.

A moment later and he’s gone, leaving Izuku to fend for himself. Sir Nighteye doesn’t say a word, just holds out his hand for Izuku to shake.

He bows low instead. 

Izuku may be a little socially inept, but he knows better than to shake the hand of someone with such a higher standing. It has to be some sort of test.

Izuku also knows how his quirk works.

Back when he was still obsessed with All Might, Izuku did a deep dive on all of the heroes he ever worked with. Nighteye was one of the cooler ones, so to this day he still remembers practically everything about the man.

Sir Nighteye can’t use his quirk on someone without touching them first.

“Sit down.” Izuku startles from his bow, and tries not to frown at the man’s displeased tone. 

Seems like he’s already messed up.

Izuku sits across from Nighteye at the desk, and waits for the hero to ask him questions.

“I’m going to be honest here. I’m not impressed.”

“W-what?” Izuku only remembers his manners when the man frowns at him.

“Mirio was a much better candidate for One For All. One I’d picked myself. To hear that Toshinori casually handed it off to some kid with no hope of becoming a hero annoyed me to no end.” Izuku is absolutely speechless.

He expected something like this, but he wasn’t expecting Sir Nighteye to be so harsh. Izuku’s still a kid, and the man is treating him as if he’s the one who made the decision, not All Might.

“Despite all of that, I still agreed to see you. Do you know why that is?”

“All M-might said because of m-my analysis.” Nighteye seems even more displeased at his answer.

Or maybe it was the stuttering.

“Well that certainly got you through the door, but that’s not it. I needed to see if you were worthy.” Izuku feels like he already knows the answer.

“And from what I can tell, you’re not.”

“B-but I th-thought-”

“That because you’re smart I’d let you in?” Izuku nods. That’s exactly what he was hoping for, but he also came here with the knowledge that Nighteye isn’t the most agreeable hero.

“I’ll tell you what. If you can get this stamp from my hand to sign your paperwork, I’ll let you do your work study here, with me.” Nighteye stands with an almost smug look on his face.

He holds a stamp in his hand, and Izuku knows that it’ll be much harder than simply walking up and grabbing it.

He’s not sure if Sir Nighteye knows he has access to the other users quirks or not, but he'll only have the element of surprise for so long.

With that in mind, Izuku focuses on activating Float. He’s been practising with his dad a lot, so he has some control over it now. It just takes a lot out of him.

Especially when he uses more than one of his quirks at once.

Nighteye’s face reveals nothing, but he quirks a brow when Izuku floats backwards instead of forwards.

When he’s nearing the wall behind him, Izuku snaps an arm forward. It’s similar to how he uses his capture scarf, but he’s not armed with that today.

Instead, he focuses on the tingling sensation of Blackwhip as it shoots forwards to the hero.

Nighteye moves his hand to the side and out of the path of his quirk, but Izuku had been planning on that.

A smaller tendril breaks off from the first. While the bigger one stays on it’s path and crashes into the desk, the smaller one veers right, and successfully wraps around the stamp in Sir Nighteye’s hand.

Izuku pulls his quirk back in, and drops to the ground, stamp in hand.

He can’t help the pleased grin that forms on his face.

Izuku has worked so hard on these quirks. It took him a long time to be able to grab something and actually bring it back to himself with his quirk. It may have looked easy, but it was quite the opposite.

He’s proud of himself.

Proud, but exhausted. Izuku sits on the ground at the end of the office. He needs a minute to rest before getting back up.

Nighteye turns to the splintered desk, and picks up a single piece of paper that Izuku hopes is his work study contract.

He did do as the hero asked.

“I wasn’t informed that you had access to the previous users quirks.” Izuku shrugs. It wasn’t his job to tell the man.

“I’ll accept you at my agency. You’ll come for patrol on the same days as Mirio. I’d also like you to come an extra day to work on your analysis. Mondays should suffice.” Izuku can only stare as the stamp is plucked from his hand and used on the paperwork.

“Th-thank you.”

“Oh don’t thank me yet. I’m still not convinced.” About Izuku being worthy goes unsaid.

Mirio-senpai chooses then to enter the office. Was he listening outside the door? The goofy smile on his face tells Izuku that he wasn’t, but he could be just pretending.

Them stopping for ice cream on the way back to the dorms tells Izuku enough.

Chapter Text

“He said what?” His dad is pacing the room, clearly on edge.

Izuku hesitates.

It’s a few days after his meeting with Nighteye, and he’s finally telling his dad what the hero said. Their schedules had been busy enough that Izuku didn’t necessarily have the time for this conversation. But he figured he should tell at least one of them before going on his first patrol.

His other dad was still unavailable, working at his radio station as soon as school let out.

But this conversation needed to be today. His first patrol is this afternoon. He just has to wait for Mirio-senpai to come grab him.

“W-well, he doesn’t think I’m worthy One F-for All. Don’t worry though! I’ll make sure to prove him wrong!” Izuku does his best to sound confident.

“Izuku, that’s not exactly the root of the problem here.” Now he’s just confused. His confusion must show on his face, because his dad lets out a sigh before finally sitting down next to him.

“Kid, Nighteye shouldn’t be treating you like that. Work Studies are for learning, and I’m worried you won’t be able to under him.”

“But I can!” His dad raises his brows in surprise. Izuku almost never raises his voice like this. He didn’t mean to. It just slipped out! At least his dad doesn’t look angry. Then again he never does at Izuku.

“Izuku, I’m just worried about you getting hurt.”

“Nighteye wouldn’t hurt me. He’s a hero!”

“I’m not talking about physically hurt here. Besides. You know by now that some heroes aren’t above that.” It takes a second for Izuku to really get what he means.

“Oh. I’ll be fine! Even if he is a little mean. I can deal with it.” He says it with a smile.

Izuku’s pretty confident in his ability to brush off what Sir Nighteye says. The hero doesn’t know him, so who is he to judge? The only thing he knows about Izuku is One For All.

Speaking of.

“Do you think Nighteye knows stuff about One For All? Like stuff that we don’t know. He did work with All Might for years.” His dad rolls his eyes at the obvious change in topic.

“That’s true. You can ask, but I’m not sure if he’d be willing to share the information with you.” That’s true. If Nighteye doesn’t think of Izuku as worthy, he may think of the information on a need to know basis.

And according to him, Izuku probably doesn’t need to know.

Izuku doesn’t have anything else to add to the conversation, so the knock on his dads door comes at the perfect time.

“That must be Mirio-senpai!” Izuku opens up the door, and his prediction was right.

“Ready to go? Nighteye will be expecting us soon.”

“Of course, Mirio-senpai!” Izuku turns to his dad.

“Bye! Love you!”

“Be safe kiddo.” Izuku turns from the shut door to find Mirio-senpai watching him with a smile.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just didn’t realize that Aizawa-sensei is your dad. Found it a bit odd when your classmates told me I’d find you up here, but I guess it makes sense now.” They’re walking quickly, almost at the gate now.

“Oh! S-sorry senpai! I thought I’d told you!” Mirio laughs at Izuku’s flushed face.

“It’s no big deal. And please, call me Lemillion when we’re on patrol. Got it, Janus?” It’s said in his senpai’s usual cheery voice, but there’s an underlining seriousness that he can’t ignore.

Right. As soon as they’re in their hero costumes, they’re no longer civilians. Mirio and Izuku become Lemillion and Janus.

“Got it!” His senpai gives him a bright smile just as a car pulls up outside the gate. Mirio-senpai scans his badge to let them through, and they’re buckled in the car before the gate even shuts.

As soon as they get to the agency, Mirio-senpai leads Izuku to the changing room so they can don their hero costumes.

Lemillion openly eyes the braces on Izuku’s arms and legs, but doesn’t ask, simply leading the way back to Nighteye’s office.

The man is standing there, looking impatient as he clearly waits for them. He speaks as soon as the door shuts behind them, addressing Izuku.

“You and I will do a normal patrol, while Lemillion and Bubble Girl keep an eye on our target.” Nighteye speaks up as they’re leaving the agency.

“Target?”

“We’re in the middle of an investigation. A gang called Shie Hassaikai has been creating quirk erasing bullets. Unfortunately, their hideout is still a mystery.” Quirk erasing bullets?

“Th-that’s terrible. Are the effects permanent?” Nighteye glances over at him before replying. Izuku can’t decipher the look in his eye.

“So far, no. But it’s only a matter of time before they figure it out.” It seems like Izuku joined the agency at an important time.

“Are any other agencies helping?”

“With the investigation?” Izuku nods.

“I’ve got a few on the lookout. But we’re not sure how widespread the drug is.” The hero falls silent, so Izuku turns his attention to their surroundings. 

They’re still pretty close to the agency. Izuku doubts that Nighteye intends to take them very far, considering this is his first patrol with the hero. And who knows who’s out here.

It’s nice though. Izuku hasn’t spent a lot of time away from the school considering the circumstances.

“When we get back, I’ll let you take a look at those files. I’d like to see if your skills in analysis are what All Might seems to think.” Izuku nods, keeping his mouth shut.

Who knows what All Might told the man. He’s barely shown any of his journals to the Number 1 Hero. None of his new ones have been seen by anyone but his dads. All Might could have completely over exaggerated his skills.

They only patrol for another half an hour before Sir Nighteye speaks again.

“That’s enough for today. We’ll head back now, and go through the files while awaiting Bubble Girl and Lemillion.” Izuku follows Nighteye as they turn down a new street to turn around.

The patrol itself was uneventful. Not a lot of crime is committed so close to Hero Agencies, and they stuck very close. So they return to the agency uninterrupted, and Izuku follows Nighteye all the way to his office at the top.

Immediately, he pulls out a series of thick files.

Izuku takes his time going through them. He takes notes as he goes, ignoring the comings and goings of the agency around him.

Occasionally, Nighteye will peer over his shoulder. But the man remains silent unless his sidekicks need to speak to him.

After a while Izuku shuts the last of the folders, and peers outside. The sun has completely set.

Shouldn’t Mirio-senpai be back by now?

The door to the office is thrown open, and an unreadable Nighteye followed by his tense looking senpai march in.

“Janus, we’re heading out.” Izuku scrambles to his feet, leaving the files and his notes where they are as he hurries after the heroes.

“Where to?”

“The hospital. Another agency had a run in with the quirk erasing bullets.”

“Which one?” Izuku can think of only two options that would have Mirio-senpai looking so tense. And he has classmates at both of them.

“Fatgum’s."

Chapter Text

“Help! There’s a fight!” Eijirou follows Fatgum and Suneater as they run to the commotion.

He doesn’t have to do any work. He can only watch in awe as his senpai’s take care of the gang of criminals within seconds of getting to the scene.

Eijirou assists in restraining the criminals. He’s not really disappointed that he didn’t help take them own. This is a lot more excitement than he expected on his first patrol.

He’s just making his way back to Suneater when Fatgum yells out, telling them to get down.

Eijirou hardens and turns to the crowd just in time for the gun to go off.

Really, it’s not as loud as he thought it would be. Maybe it’s just the distance, but something about this gun seems different than the one he encountered before.

Too late, he sees where it’s aimed.

He runs for Suneater, but only people with a quirk like Iida’s could make it there faster than a bullet.

His heart breaks a little bit when his senpai drops.

Eijirou places himself in front of Suneater, facing the crowd. He won’t let anything else happen to his senpai. He’ll protect him.

Eijirou will take down this villain.

He puts himself in front of Suneater just in time. Another bullet ricochets harmlessly off of his forehead. Where was the villain even aiming? That wouldn’t have hit his senpai even if he wasn’t standing there.

No matter. The second shot gave Eijirou what he needed to locate the shooter.

“You’re mine!” The villain looks shocked as Eijirou runs towards him instead of maintaining his position.

He trusts Fatgum to make sure Suneater is okay. The hero will take care of his friend and then hopefully come after Eijirou. He can’t wait for the hero to go after this guy.

He’s easy to keep up with. Aizawa-sensei’s rigorous training ensuring Eijirou doesn’t even run out of breath as he chases the guy. 

The villain corners himself in an alley. The man activates his quirk and aims a punch at Eijirou, but the blades simply bounce off of his hardening, and he takes him down with his own punch.

He’s not expecting the man to start crying.

Eijirou doesn’t feel much sympathy for him. The man shot his senpai, and endangered a whole lot of people.

He seems out of fighting spirit though, so he helps him up and prepares to restrain him.

He should have tied him up while he was on the ground.

As soon as the villain’s steady, he drops a syringe from his sleeve to his hand. Eijirou reactivates his quirk in anticipation, but instead of attacking him, the man uses the weapon on himself.

“Wh-what did you just do?” He backs away a few steps, but not fast enough.

Metal blades shoot from his body, and Eijirou recognizes it as the mans quirk. It wasn’t this strong before though.

Because now it actually hurts.

The force of it throws him back, and Eijirou somehow lands in a squat in front of some bystanders.

“Get back!” They should be running already. Some of them stand there recording, while others seem frozen in fear.

He has to protect them.

“Now there’s nothing stopping me from freeing my brother!” Eijirou has to contain this guy as soon as possible. If he gets to the main street, who knows what kind of destruction the man will cause? And all the people out there are at a huge risk.

The man attacks again, and this time, it cuts through his hardening.

What kind of drug is this? It has to be some sort of power enhancing one. He hasn’t heard of any in Japan though, so hopefully its pretty new and not very good.

The force of the blades knocks him on his back this time, and Eijirou scrambles to his feet. He could really use Fatgum right now.

But he can’t always rely on other people. This is just something he’ll have to deal with himself.

Eijirou has just the move for it.

He’s been working on it in training. Its’s not perfect yet, and he can only last half a minute with it at this point, but he needs to do something.

He pulls it out just in time.

Eijirou hardens his body as much as possible, pulling out more layers to his quirk than he’d ever thought possible.

The blades bounce off of his body once more.

He’s unbreakable.

Eijirou runs forwards, snapping through the blades as he goes and once again knocks the villain down.

The man flies back from the force of the blow, and Eijirou’s quirk falls, his limit reached.

He made it just in time.

He thinks the man is done, but he still keeps a safe distance. The villain looks about as exhausted as Eijirou feels, but he’s also desperate.

But the man just lays there.

Eijirou approaches cautiously. When he gets closer, the man starts to sit up. He’s crying again, and that distracts him enough that Eijirou doesn’t notice his escape plan until he puts it to action.

The villain uses his quirk to launch him past Eijirou, knocking him over as he goes.

Eijirou sits up and turns just in time to see Fatgum barrel into the alleyway. He catches the man in his fat, and within seconds it’s over. He stares at his mentor in awe, and the bystanders break out in cheers.

He doesn’t blame them. Eijirou wants to cheer for the hero too.

Except, the cheers are for him.

They’re yelling that he’s make a great hero, and Eijirou can’t keep the smile off his face as he thanks them and stumbles towards Fatgum.

But then he remembers Tamaki.

“Is Suneater okay?” His last image of his senpai is him slumped on the ground after being shot.

“He’s fine. But we need to get him to the hospital for some tests. Whatever that bullet was, it took away his quirk.” Eijirou nearly stops walking, but he’s following Fatgum back to his senpai so he doesn’t.

His quirk is gone?

“Is it-Is it permanent?”

“We’re not sure. That’s why we’re getting tests done. He’s not going to bleed out or anything, but I’d like to get him checked out as soon as possible. You as well.” Eijirou frowns and looks down at himself.

Most of the cuts seem pretty shallow, save for a few on his torso. Even then, they’re not bleeding too much. He places a hand against one of the deeper wounds and winces at the pain.

He stands by Fat as he drops the villain off with the police, and follows him to the waiting ambulance.

Tamaki-senpai sits inside, a paramedic holding some gauze to his arm. Fatgum ushers Eijirou inside, but doesn’t climb in himself.

“I’ll meet you guys there! I just have to finish up with the police. Stay together.” The hero shuts the doors, and there’s a lurch as the ambulance takes off.

“Red Riot. You okay?” Eijirou just nods at his senpai, keeping his arm where it is.

They end up at a hospital he’s never been to. Fat must have called ahead, because there’s a team of nurses ready for them when they get there. He follows close behind the nurses that escort Tamaki-senpai for his tests.

“You can’t go any further.” A hand on his chest stops him, a kind looking nurse keeping him from following through the door.

“But we’re supposed to stay together.” He’s well aware of how whiny he sounds.

“Unless you’re getting tests done, you can’t go past this point. You should head back and get checked out. Sorry kid.” Eijirou frowns, but nods in understanding.

He doesn’t want to make their job any harder.

So Eijirou moves a few feet back, and waits until the nurse leaves to sit on the floor. He’ll get checked over once he knows Tamaki-senpai is okay.

Fatgum told them to stay together, so he’s going to stay as close as allowed.

Chapter Text

“Fatgum’s still finishing at the scene, but he said we should find his sidekicks here.” Nighteye talks as he’s leading them through the hero ward.

The hero must know where he’s going, because he doesn’t stop to ask directions. They enter the hero ward and make a few random turns until they reach what Izuku assumes is the right hallway.

“Kirishima?” His friend is sitting against the wall near the end of the hallway.

He doesn’t look up at Izuku’s call.

He pushes past Nighteye, and is by his friends side in a matter of seconds. He puts a hand on Kirishima’s shoulder and the boy flinches, tensing up. He relaxes once he recognizes that it’s just Izuku.

“Kirishima, are you alright?” His friend doesn’t hesitate before answering.

“I’m fine!” Izuku eyes him, gaze drawn to where his friend holds his arm against his side.

“You’re bleeding. Why haven’t you been checked out?” Kirishima looks at the doors before answering.

“I’m waiting for Suneater. Didn’t want to leave him.” Izuku carefully pulls Kirishima’s hand from his side to asses the damage.

There’s a few deeper cuts that he guesses will need stitches.

“What happened? Is he okay?” Mirio-senpai crouches down beside Izuku as he speaks. Izuku can tell how worried he is, but he’s patient while Kirishima works up the energy to speak.

“He got hit by-hit by a quirk erasing bullet. I don’t know what-” Kirishima cuts himself off with a whine when Izuku presses his hand tightly to his side to staunch the blood.

“What can you tell me about the bullet?” Nighteye is by their side as soon as it’s mentioned.

Kirishima is crowded against the wall now, and Izuku can tell he’s uncomfortable with all of the attention.

“Sir Nighteye, maybe we can wait until after Kirishima is checked out to ask?” Nighteye sighs, long and heavy.

The hero takes a minute to check out his friend before answering. His gaze travels from Kirishima’s pale, exhausted face to all the cuts on his torso before coming to a decision.

“Fine.” He doesn’t seem happy about it.

But Kirishima looks relieved. Izuku wraps his free arm around his friends waist and helps him stand, grabbing his discarded shoulder gears on the way. He wobbles a little, and Izuku is careful not to let go.

“Wait! What about Tam-Suneater?” Kirishima tries to pull away, but it’s no use.

“Relax Riot. I’ll wait here for him.” Mirio-senpai gives Kirishima awkward pat on the head, crushing the remaining spikes, and turns back to the doors.

Sir Nighteye leads the way, setting a surprisingly slow pace.

They make it to the nurse’s station quick enough, and once Nighteye gestures to the heroes in training they’re immediately led to a private room.

Izuku expected Nighteye to wait outside. He doesn’t know Kirishima, hardly knows him, so he has absolutely no reason to stay in the small examination room with them, but he does. 

The hero occupies the sole chair in the room, leaving Izuku to hop up on the table next to his friend.

“We’re not supposed to leave Hero Course students alone outside of the school. Especially since you, Janus, seem to be a target of the League.” Sir answers his question before Izuku even has to pose it.

Things move quickly in the Hero Ward, so they don’t have to wait very long for a doctor to show up.

Izuku was right. Kirishima needs stitches for a couple of his wounds, some of them still sluggishly bleeding.

The doctor takes a few minutes to set up, before asking Izuku to move off to the side and getting Kirishima to lay down.

The second the needles touches his skin Kirishima’s quirk activates and the tool snaps.

“S-sorry! I just-” His friend is cut off by the doctor laughing.

“It’s fine kid. Just relax a little. This type of quirk response is completely normal. In fact, we carry tools just for this.” The doctor turns back to his station and pulls out what looks to be a quirk cancelling bracelet.

He moves to slide it on Kirishima’s wrist, but Nighteye clears his throat and stands, drawing the doctor’s attention.

“You mind if I look at that?” It’s posed as a question, but Izuku can tell that it really isn’t.

“Not at all!” The doctor gives Izuku and Kirishima a smile as he hands over the cuff.

Nighteye takes a few minutes to inspect it, deeming it safe before he hands it back to the doctor with a nod.

The procedure continues without another issue. Kirishima shuts his eyes halfway through, and Izuku would think that he’s asleep if it wasn’t for the tenseness of his body.

As soon as he’s done with the stitches, the doctor pulls the quirk cancelling bracelet off of his friend, and gets him to sit back up.

“I’ve got other patients to attend to, but a nurse will be in momentarily to wrap that up.” The doctor leaves with a kind smile to all three of them.

It really is only a moment before a nurse walks in. She does her job efficiently, wrapping up Kirishima’s torso and cleaning up after the doctor.

“Can I call anyone for you dearie? Your parents?” Kirishima freezes.

Izuku can see him trying to work out a response. He even opens his mouth to speak a few times, but nothing comes out.

“It’s fine! We have to go back to school after this.” Izuku answers for him, and Kirishima gives him a grateful smile when the nurse leaves the room.

Ever the serious person, Nighteye doesn’t give them anytime before beginning his interrogation.

“What can you tell me about the drug?” Nighteye doesn’t move from his chair.

“Which one?” The hero has a very good poker face, but his eyes widen at Kirishima’s question.

“What do you mean which one?” Kirishima gives him a confused look before answering.

“Well there was the quirk erasing one that he hit Suneater with, and then the quirk amplifying one he used on himself.” Nighteye straightens his face out, and the only trace of emotion there is the crease in his eyebrows.

“Both then.”

“I don’t know too much. The quirk erasing one was shot from a gun. It didn’t pierce my quirk when it hit me, so it can’t just push through them.” Nighteye, not getting anything else about it, speaks up again.

“I see. And the other one?”

“Before he used it, his quirk had no effect on my hardening. It just bounced off. But then he pulled out the syringe and stabbed himself. Right away he broke through my quirk.” Kirishima falls silent again, but Izuku knows there’s more to it.

There’s no way there would be such little damage if the man truly broke through his friends’ quirk. Kirishima obviously put up a fight, and it was one that he won.

“Alright. I have to make a call. I’ll be right outside the door.” Nighteye steps out, leaving the two of them alone. Izuku retakes his seat next to Kirishima before speaking.

“You haven’t told her yet, have you?” A shake of the head.

“Why not?” Kirishima remains silent, and Izuku realizes just how insensitive his question is.

“I-i-i-sorry! You don’t have to answer that!”

“It’s fine! I was just thinking.” Kirishima is quick to turn to him.

“I’m just worried about how she’ll take it. I’ll definitely tell her before we go back home, but I’m still not ready yet.” Izuku places a comforting hand on his shoulder before giving his answer.

“I think that’s okay. You should wait until you’re really ready to tell her. Nothing about what you’ve gone through is easy. You deserve the time to prepare.” Kirishima relaxes at his words.

“Thank you Izuku. Really.” He turns his head just enough to meet Izuku’s eyes, and gives him grateful smile.

Izuku’s phone rings, startling them both. It’s the ringtone he set for his dad.

“Sorry, it’s dad. I’ve got to answer this!” Kirishima deflates a little when Izuku hops off of the bed.

“Izuku. Where are you?” His dad speaks the moment he presses the phone to his ear.

“I’m-I’m at the hospital.” There’s a sharp intake of breath from the other end.

Izuku definitely could have phrased that better.

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

“N-no! I’m fine! We just came to speak with Fatgum’s agency. They had a run-in with a part of Nighteye’s investigation and-”

“Fatgum’s? Is Kirishima there? I haven’t been able to get ahold of him and the agency said they were still out.” Why would his dad be looking for Kirishima?

“Yes?” Izuku turns back to his friend, but his gaze catches on the window instead. It’s dark. Very dark. Way past the time they’re supposed to be back at school dark.

“Is he hurt then? Unless Suneater or Fatgum got hurt, there’s no reason for him to be there.”

“He’s fine dad. A little banged up, but fine.” There’a a heavy sigh on the other end.

“Okay. I can’t leave your classmates to come pick you up, but I could send Zashi instead? He’s just finishing his radio show and will be heading back to the school soon.”

“That sounds good! We’ll just wait here then.”

“Okay. I love you.”

“Love you too dad!” Izuku hangs up and turns back to his friend with a smile.

Kirishima carries the same look from before, staring off into space. Izuku steps back up to the table, ready to continue their conversation. He wants to ask how Kirishima ended up beating the villain, but the door opens back up behind him. Nighteye steps in, followed quickly by Mirio-senpai.

“I’ve got to head back to the agency, and Fatgum got held up. Lemillion will stay with you until your ride gets here.” The hero gives them no chance to reply before he walks back out the door.

“Tamaki-senpai?” Kirishima is looking at Mirio-senpai with a desperate look on his face.

“He’ll be fine. Looks like it’s not permanent, but they want to keep him overnight for observation. I’ll be staying here with him.” Kirishima visibly relaxes, the rest of his tension draining out.

They spend the rest of their wait in silence, and Izuku feels close to drifting off sleep when his dad opens the door.

Mirio-senpai slips out the door as his dad approaches them. As soon as he’s within reach, Izuku’s pulled into a warm hug.

“You alright baby?” Izuku nods against his chest.

“What about you listener?” There’s no verbal answer, so Izuku shifts in his dads grip to get a look at his friend.

Kirishima is averting his eyes, looking anywhere in the room but at them. Izuku can’t see his face, but his body language is distinctly upset.

“Come here.” An arm leaves his side.

Izuku isn’t upset about it, because it only strays far enough to pull his friend into the hug. Kirishima is tense for a moment, and he worries that they’ve just made things worse. But it’s only a moment, and his friend quickly relaxes into the embrace.

Chapter Text

Izuku is back at Nighteye’s agency.

It’s a Monday, so they’re not bothering with patrol today. Instead, he watches anxiously as the hero reads his way through Izuku’s analysis notebooks.

He didn’t bring all of them. Some of the older ones were left at home, too childish and incomplete to bother the hero with.

His most recent one was left behind as well.

In it, Izuku has detailed analysis’ of his classmates and teachers. It’s written in code because that’s dangerous information, but Izuku doesn’t want anyone other than his dads to read it. Nighteye could probably figure out the code, and he doesn’t want to breach anyone’s trust like that.

The last few volumes he brought his dads helped him out with. He did a lot of practicing in those, analyzing different fights and using any and all tips his dads gave him.

Nighteye shuts the last of them, a pensive look on his face.

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Since I was eight maybe?” He’s most definitely been doing it longer than that. The hero doesn’t need to know that though.

“Why did you start?”

“W-well, I was looking for ways to get a quirk. My earlier journals were more focused on how peoples quirks manifested.” Nighteye just stares for a few moments before responding.

“Ah. How about we discuss yours."

“M-my what?” Nighteye rolls his eyes.

“Your quirk.”

“What do you want to know?”

“How many of the previous users quirks do you have access to?"

“Th-three. I can use Blackwhip, Float, and Danger Sense.”

“And how did you activate them?”

“By accident.” Izuku doesn’t elaborate like Nighteye wants him to. There’s no way he’s telling the hero he unlocked Float by kissing his boyfriend.

“Can you use more than one?”

“Technically I can use all of them at once. Danger Sense is only triggered when there’s danger. It was activated at the licensing exam and there were several threats, so using that and Blackwhip exhausted me.”

“So the higher the threat the more it wears you out?” Izuku nods.

Nighteye turns to his file and jots a few things down, leaving Izuku to his thoughts.

It’s not the first time he’s gazed around the office, but it still makes him cringe. The amount of All Might merchandise here is nauseating. Izuku knows that he used to have a lot in his room, but this amount of hero worship in a hero isn’t something he expected.

Especially for someone who had a falling out with the man.

“Okay I think that’s enough for today. Bubble Girl can drive you home.” Izuku puts his notebooks carefully into his backpack and exits the room, finding the sidekick waiting outside the door.

It’s just Izuku leaving right now. Mirio-senpai is still on patrol, and probably will be for another couple of hours.

He’s happy for the break from excitement. He’s had far too much going on for too long that it’s nice to have a bit of a breather.

Most of his classmates are in the common room when he gets back. A few are off in corners working on homework, but the rest of them are planted in front of the tv, yelling about some game he’s never played.

His boyfriend isn’t around.

Izuku heads up to Toshi’s room, hoping to find him there. He could be anywhere on campus, but he doubts he’d feel the need to go anywhere on his own.

Sure enough, a few seconds after he knocks on the door his boyfriend opens up. Hitoshi grabs his hand to drag him inside and shuts the door as soon as he’s able.

“Hey what’s the-” Toshi cuts him off with a kiss to the cheek.

Izuku’s cheeks warm. Hitoshi pulls back, and as soon as he gets a look at Izuku’s face, he breaks out in laughter.

“H-hey! That’s n-not f-funny!” Toshi claps a hand over his mouth.

“Sorry. Can you help me with math?”

“I suck at math.”

——————

They do homework for what feels like hours. They eventually gave up on math. It’s not due for another few days, and Shouto is sure to have figured it out.

Eventually, Toshi gets up and stretches.

“Hey Zu. I have to leave soon.” It takes him a second to figure out what he means.

“Oh! For patrol?” Toshi nods.

“I’m a little nervous.” 

“You don’t need to be nervous! It’s just my dad.”

“That’s why I’m nervous.” Izuku doesn’t really understand, but he nods anyways.

Teachers don’t make a habit of taking on work study students. Especially now that the dorms are in place. But his dad’s agency is still running off school grounds, and his dad still does a lot of patrols.

Hitoshi had said that he’s still not sure what type of hero he wants to be, so he’s giving underground a shot for now. But that means late patrols, and they can only do that when there isn’t a lot of physical training the next day.

Izuku averts his eyes while Toshi changes. He pretends to focus back on the homework, and even answers a question.

“Okay I’m done.” Izuku turns back, only to find Hitoshi scowling.

He knows his boyfriend isn’t happy with his hero costume. It’s similar to the gym uniform, with long sleeves for the cold nights. The only thing he does like on it is the voice modulator.

This isn’t even a design he picked. Since he’s unsure of where he wants to go in heroics, his boyfriend just went with something simple for now. He can always change it later.

“Wanna head down? You should probably eat before you leave.” Toshi nods, and they head to downstairs, hand in hand.

The common room hasn’t thinned out since he saw it last. Only now, there are less people focused on homework, and more crowded on the couches.

The kitchen is blissfully empty, save for Kacchan scowling at the stove. They give him a wide berth and go straight to the fridge to find something easy. They find some leftovers, and the three stand in awkward silence while their food heats up.

They get out of there as quickly as possible, finding a free part of the dining table to eat at. The food is slightly cold at the middle, but Izuku doesn’t want to risk going back in the kitchen, no matter how good of terms he and Kacchan are on.

Toshi doesn’t eat much. He still seem incredibly nervous to be going on patrol with his dad. He has no reason to be.

His dad likes Toshi! Sometimes his boyfriend will join in on their training sessions, and his dad is always pleased afterwards. Sometimes his dad will even invite him over for dinner after.

“Let’s go Shinsou.” They both jump. Neither of them had noticed his dad appear in front of the table.

Izuku looks up and finds him trying to hide his amused grin. He sticks his tongue out at his dad and turns back to his boyfriend.

“Good luck Toshi! Be safe.” He wraps his arms around his boyfriend and gives him quick peck on the cheek.

When he lets go, he’s pleased to find his boyfriend as red as Izuku had been earlier.

Chapter Text

Things are quiet.

Not that Hitoshi was expecting anything different. This is his very first patrol. Unlike some of his classmates, he did not go out during his internship.

He’s not going to lie. It’s pretty boring.

Hitoshi feels just about ready to fall asleep standing up. Pair the late hour with his regular insomnia, and you get one exhausted fifteen year old.

It’s not only the crime that’s quiet tonight. They’re not talking. At all.

Sure they can excuse it with them being cautious. But it’s making things super awkward. Although Hitoshi doesn’t know what he’d say to his boyfriends father to make it less so.

“Hypnos.” Hitoshi jerks out of his thoughts, nearly stumbling off of their roof.

“Yes sensei?” He regains his balance in time for his teacher to look at him, but judging by the smirk on his lips Aizawa-sensei knows exactly what just happened.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” Aizawa-sensei’s tone is serious.

Hitoshi takes a deep breath. Is this about Izuku? Probably. He and their teacher haven’t been alone since he started dating his son. He thinks the man likes him, but things always change when a relationship is involved.

“Have you ever considered support gear?” What?

Aizawa-sensei takes in his blank stare and continues.

“Like mine, your quirk isn’t physical at all. There’s an activation requirement. We’ve been working on hand to hand fighting in class, but villains with long distance quirks won’t let you get close. Support gear can only make your life easier.” This isn’t at all where Hitoshi thought this was going!

“When I was a kid, all I wanted was a capture scarf like yours. But that’s not really my style anymore.”

“Do you have any ideas?” Hitoshi shakes his head.

“That’s alright. We can talk to the support course and they can help you find something you like.” Hitoshi nods, a small smile on his face.

“One more thing. If you hurt my son, I’ll kill you.” Aizawa-sensei jumps off the roof as soon as the words leave his mouth.

——————

Aizawa-sensei was right.

The support course found him something. Found him about a million somethings.

After nearly falling asleep in his morning classes, Hitoshi had thought he was in major trouble when his teacher asked him to stay once the lunch bell rang. Instead, his teacher gave him directions for the support course. He’d made Hitoshi an appointment for after school with one of the first year students, Hatsume Mei.

So here he sits at the lone desk in the workshop as Hatsume rambles about her tenth invention in as many minutes.

He just needs something simple. Some sort of weapon. Maybe Snipe-sensei would teach him how to shoot?

What he doesn’t need is the scary flight boots that Hatsume is currently showing him. She swears it’s an improved version of the ones she showcased at the sports festival, but Hitoshi has no desire to fly.

“Hatsume, while this is all really cool, it’s not really what I’m looking for. I need something that’ll help me fight.” She looks pensive for a moment before turning to her pile of inventions.

“How about this?” Will his wild dreams come true? The gun in her hand says that they just might.

“This is a grappling gun. While useful for reaching high places, it can also help you catch criminals and give you some extra leverage when fighting them.” Hitoshi has to admit, it looks pretty cool.

Sounds even better.

Hatsume must see something in his eyes, because she shoves the gear into his hands and turns back to her table.

She comes back with a small, foot-long rod that Hitoshi could easily attach to the belt of his hero costume. Or, when he finally finds a design he likes, he could even get some sort of holder built in. He’d need to anyways for the grappling hook.

Hatsume presses a button on the side of the pole, and it extends into a long staff. Something that could really help in a fight.

Without a word, she snaps it in half.

She laughs at the look on his face before twisting the parts together and making them stick.

“I’m sure you’ve guessed what this is. What you haven’t guessed, is that we can electrify it. Unfortunately, that can’t happen until second year, but it’s something to keep in mind.”

“These are so cool! But is there someone on staff who can teach me how to use these?” The weapons would be useless if he didn’t have a proper teacher.

“Of course there is! Eraserhead is the one who suggested these to me in the first place!” Aizawa-sensei had already known what he’d like? Of course he did, the man knows everything. 

“Can I go with these then?” Hatsume grins, wide and scary.

“Of course you can! I’ll need to make a few adjustments before they can be added to your hero costume. These are just the prototypes.” Hitoshi nods, feeling excited.

Once properly trained, these weapons will give him an edge. He already has a bit of one with his voice modulator, but now he’ll have an even bigger advantage. He’ll take what he can get.

“Alright now get out. Unless you want to be my guinea pig?” Hitoshi shakes his head quickly. He’s heard stories of what happens with Hatsume’s guinea pigs. He doesn’t want to get blown up.

Hitoshi escapes as quickly as possible, only to run into Aizawa-sensei as soon as he exits the room.

“Shinsou. Perfect timing. Have you made a decision?” Hitoshi squints at him before answering.

“I’m sure you know.” His teacher nods, smirk in place.

“How do you feel about training today? Izuku is at his work study.” They move away from the support classroom and towards the front doors of the school.

While he is exhausted, and should probably sleep, Hitoshi nods. Training with Aizawa-sensei should be interesting, especially if he’s going to start him with his support gear.

Hitoshi has been in the hero course for a while now, he’s never had private training before. Sure he’s joined Izuku a couple of times, but the sessions have never been focused solely on him and his progress.

He knows a few of his classmates have private sessions regularly, and he’s always been a little envious.

Izuku, of course, trains with his dads. Ever since the training camp, Kaminari has had sessions with their teacher, working on improving his quirk and reducing the side effects. Kirishima has weekly sessions with Present Mic, although he’s not sure if it’s physical training, or working on his sign language. He’s even heard Bakugou having loud discussions with Aizawa-sensei about a training regimen.

He’s eager to be a part of the small group that trains privately with their teachers. Some people may see it as ending extra help, but Hitoshi disagrees. That is some part of it, but he also sees it as their teachers wanting them to succeed.

Their teachers have enough faith in them becoming heroes, that they’re willing to put in the extra work for them. 

Hitoshi already felt honoured that Aizawa-sensei, the Eraserhead, offered him a work study. To have the extra time put in, the extra effort from his idol, makes him feel elated.

Hitoshi only hopes that he doesn’t disappoint.

Chapter Text

Sir is asking a lot of questions today.

He keeps asking for Izuku to analyze random civilians and their quirks. He hardly even gets to observe them!

Oh well. Izuku has a lot of practice analyzing people, so it’s not too tough for him. Obviously he makes some mistakes, but he’s still pretty pleased with himself.

He has no clue how Sir Nighteye feels.

They go a little further from the agency today.

Not much happened last patrol. Even if something major did happen, Izuku is a hero in training, and he has a pro hero with him that could most likely keep him safe.

Something collides with his legs.

Izuku tenses up, ready for just about anything.

Or at least that’s what he thought. He freezes when he looks down and finds a little girl sprawled on the ground. She’s sobbing and all wrapped up like a mummy, and Izuku is a little lost on what to do.

“Are you okay?” He crouches down and helps her stand.

“I’m sorry!” She lets go of him as soon as she’s steady, wrapping her arms around herself instead.

“It’s fine. We’re heroes.” Nighteye crouches down next to him. He doesn’t seem like he’s great with kids.

Sir pulls out his hero license, and hands it to the girl to inspect. Izuku doesn’t really get why, since she’s a child and has probably never seen a hero license before.

He gets it when she hands it back and Sir brushes her hand when he goes to grab it. 

Unfortunately, there’s no time to ask what he saw.

“Eri! Are you bothering those heroes?” The voice comes from deep in an alleyway, coming from the same place that the girl, Eri, had.

A man emerges from the darkness, and Izuku has to fight to keep his face neutral. Because in front of them, stands the man that their investigation is centred around.

Chisaki Kai. Overhaul.

“She’s no trouble at all. Is this your daughter?” Nighteye sounds as easy going as Izuku has ever heard him, but Izuku can feel how tense he is.

“Ah yes. She has a habit of running of though.” Overhaul turns his eyes to Eri, and she becomes even more distraught.

“We need to get going now.” Izuku frowns and stands.

Surely they can’t let her go back with him? She’s clearly terrified. Besides, they know what kind of person Overhaul is, and he wouldn’t make a decent father. He’s most likely the reason for all of the bandages wrapped around her arms.

Nobody moves for a minute, and Overhaul sighs, stepping forwards. He pulls off his gloves as he moves, and it’s then that Izuku remembers his quirk.

Overhaul, the ability to disassemble and reassemble things at will. It’s rather convenient that his alias is also his quirks name. Makes remembering a whole lot easier.

Eri steps away from them, clearly aware of what his quirk does. The mans eyes crinkle up into what Izuku assumes is a smile at the action.

It’s then that Sir Nighteye does the most irrational thing he’s probably ever done in his life. He takes a single step forwards and picks Eri up under the armpits. He then drops her in Izuku’s arms, and turns back to the villain, uttering only a single word.

“Run.”

Despite wanting to know what’ll happen to Nighteye now, Izuku does. He needs to have faith in the hero, just like he has faith in Izuku.

He does his best to run in the direction of the agency. Izuku even uses Full Cowling to aid in the process. He could probably use BlackWhip to move even faster, but he doesn’t need to draw any more attention to them.

Who knows who else is out there.

Izuku is just cutting through an alleyway when Eri jumps from his arms. She stumbles a few feet away, breathing hard.

“Eri? What’s going on?” Obviously there’s a lot happening right now, but Izuku is worried that they don’t have the time for this. They can deal with everything once they get her to Nighteye Agency.

“Stay back! I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me! I’m a hero, and I’m here to keep you safe.” Eri just shakes her head, moving to lean against the wall.

As soon as her hand makes contact, the wall starts to crumble. Eri cries out, looking frustrated.

“Is that your quirk?” She nods, silent.

“That’s so cool!” And it is! Izuku doesn’t have any details on it, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be impressed.

“No it’s not! All I do is wreck things! I don’t want to wreck you too!” Eri backs away further.

Izuku pauses, thinking for a minute. They really need to get going. While he has faith in Nighteye, Overhaul is a terrifying quirk. Used by someone good, it could be amazing and used for countless things.

Unfortunately, Chisaki Kai is not good.

“Actually Eri, I think I have an idea.” She perks up a little, but stays away.

“Would you be okay if I called my dad? He can help with your quirk.” Eri contemplates this before answering.

“Is he a hero?”

“Yah! You ever hear of Eraserhead?” Eri shakes her head.

“Well, his quirk is called Erasure. So he has the ability to stop your quirk.” She perks up at that.

“Really?!” Izuku smile at her enthusiasm.

“Really. So can I call him?” She nods eagerly, so Izuku pulls out his phone. It’s a long minute before his dad picks up.

“Izuku? What going on?” His dad sounds so worried. It never fails to warm his heart.

“I’m fine dad! I just need you to come here. I need your quirk.”

“Where are you?” His dad doesn’t bother asking about the quirk. Izuku has to take a second to orient himself.

“I'm maybe five blocks south of the agency? In an alley right outside a restaurant.”

“Okay, I’ll be there soon. Be safe.”  Izuku hangs up and settles on the ground to wait.

He and Eri wait in silence, watching each other. She’s wary of every little move he makes, so Izuku stays as still as possible.

It’s no time at all before his dad jumps down in front of him, Hitoshi hot on his heels.

“What’s the situation Janus?”

“Eri here is having some trouble with her quirk. We need to get her back to Nighteye’s agency.” His dad looks at Eri, eyes pausing on the bandages.

“Alright. You can explain the rest when we get there.” His dad crouches low to make eye contact with Eri.

A sound at the mouth of the alley has them all turning, ready to fight, but it’s just Nighteye.

“Perfect. Everyone’s here. We need to go.” Understanding the urgency in his voice, his dad turns back to Eri and activates his quirk.

“It’s alright now Eri. You can’t use your quirk anymore.” She lets Izuku get closer and pick her up, letting out a sigh of relief when nothing happens to him.

As soon as she’s in his arms, they run. Nighteye takes the lead with Izuku right behind him. Hitsoshi runs at his side, with his dad bringing up the rear.

They don’t stop moving until they’re in a conference room at the agency.

His dad stops using his quirk, and in a matter of moments the couch is regressing, becoming nothing more than a pile of what was used to make it.

Eri bursts into tears.

This is going to be a long evening.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s in pain.

Unfortunately, it’s something he’s been used to for a while. His left thigh is throbbing, and there’s a sharp pain in his back that makes him regret running so hard.

It’s not enough to be debilitating. Izuku’s been dealing with this chronic pain for a while now, and this is nothing compared to what he’s experienced before.

It’s only gotten super bad a couple of times. Just enough for him to learn the warning signs, and then he’s usually able to avoid the worst of the pain.

Sometimes he doesn’t catch it, or his methods don’t work, and he’ll get a really bad day. Thankfully it doesn’t happen very often.

His pain right now is mild, with a very low chance of becoming a bad day.

That doesn’t mean that his dad doesn’t notice his limp. He forces Izuku to sit in one of the only available seats after the couch was destroyed, and the look he gives Nighteye is enough to keep the hero quiet.

So Izuku sits there, revelling in the lack of pressure in his body from standing, while Mirio-senpai calms Eri down.

It doesn’t take long for her to stop crying. It’s probably something she’s used to, given who her guardian was.

They have to wait a bit longer, enough time for a sidekick to be summoned to take her to another room before Sir Nighteye tells them how he got away from Overhaul.

“He was more focused more on going after Eri than fighting me. He was not being as aggressive as I expected.”

“Do you think he was taking it easy on you, Sir?” Izuku is careful not to interrupt, waiting until there’s a lull in the story to speak up.

“Unfortunately yes. I’ve seen the results of his handiwork. This was not that.”

“How did you manage to get away? And avoid being followed?” Toshi speaks up for the first time since they’d run into him in the alley.

Nighteye had been reluctant to let him stay in the room. But his dad had told the other hero of Hitoshi’s internship, and that had somewhat convinced the man. 

It helps that Nighteye needs his dad right now. And Toshi happens to be a part of the current package deal.

“I was All Mights sidekick, so I know a fair amount about fighting. Overhaul also seemed keen on not displaying the full power of his quirk to me or the general public. I know the area like the back of my hand, so it was easy work escaping him and finding Janus.”

“What did you see when you touched her? You aren’t the type of hero to just grab random children, so obviously your quirk told you something.” Dad looks at him, a proud look in his eyes.

“That’s true. It must have been something awful for you to alter the future.” Sir Nighteye frowns at his dads comment.

“But I didn’t.”

“Didn’t what, Sir?” Mirio-senpai asks what they’re all wondering.

“I didn’t alter the future. My quirk showed me Janus running with Eri, so I had to make it happen. I can’t go against what my quirk shows me.” That actually explains a lot.

Izuku can’t see the hero going against Foresight. While Nighteye isn’t dependant on his quirk, he works under the assumption that the future cannot be changed. Whatever his quirk says, goes, and his quirk told him to get Eri out of there.

“How much will this effect your investigation?”

“That I’m not sure of. I’ll have to talk to the girl, and depending on what she tells us it may speed things up. We have enough evidence to get the Shie Hassaikai, it’s just a matter of getting into their secret base and catching them by surprise.” Izuku knew all of this already.

He joined the agency pretty late into the investigation. Sure he’d been able to piece a few things together for them, but the majority of the work had already been done.

“Now onto a different matter, we can’t keep Eri here.” Izuku isn’t too surprised. He’d already assumed that she wouldn’t be safe here.

“Why not Nighteye?” Toshi had not made the same assumption.

“Overhaul knows who Nighteye is. He’s a powerful villain, so he could probably break into the agency to get her back.” Izuku answers for the hero.

“That’s correct. I do have somewhere in mind. Care to guess, Janus?” He’s pretty sure he knows the answer to this one too.

“UA? We’ve got a lot of heroes running security, plus there’s extra space in the hero dorms, where she would never be left alone.”

“Right again. We just need to talk it over with Principal Nezu, then-” His dads phone interrupts Nighteye, and he glares at his dad while he answers it.

His dad provides all of three words to the conversation, but Izuku is pretty sure who’s doing all of the talking on the other end.

“It’s all cleared with Nezu. He’s sending a car and he’ll have everything set up by the time we return.” If Nighteye’s surprised, he doesn’t show it.

“Alright. If that’s all, then-”

“I have a request, Nighteye.” 

“What is it, Eraserhead?” Izuku can tell that Nighteye is running low on patience.

“I want in on the raid.”

“Why is that?”

“My son will clearly be involved, and if my information is correct, then a few more of my students will be there as well. They’re only first years, so I’d like to keep an eye on them.”

“That sounds reasonable enough. I’m assuming you want your intern in on it as well?” His dad nods in agreement before speaking up again.

“I have one more student I’d like involved as well. He doesn’t have a work study yet, and I’m hoping he’ll be able to find a suitable hero during the raid.”

“Oh? And who might this be?”

“Bakugou Katsuki.” Izuku jerks a little in surprise.

He’s fully aware that Kacchan doesn’t have a work study yet, but a lot of their class doesn’t. Those that do were lucky to have connections. He has no clue why his dad is pushing to have Kacchan involved.

The last time he’d checked, his dad wasn’t particularly fond of the blonde.

“I’ll accept it. But you’re in charge of the extra student. The other ones have their bosses to keep an eye on them.” Sir is quick to agree.

He probably wanted Izuku’s dad in on the raid in the first place. Erasure will be super helpful while subduing the gang. They still don’t know what some of their quirks are, so it’ll be good to not have to worry about that.

Accepting two extra students is probably nothing to Nighteye.

“Wait, who else is joining the raid?” Considering their run-in with the drug, Izuku has to assume that Fatgum’s agency will be there. So that’s Kirishima, but who else?

“Fatgum is, so that means Suneater and Red Riot. Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu has also joined the team, so Nejire Chan, Froppy, and Uravity may also be joining. There are other pros involved, but none of them have work study students.” Izuku nods.

He’s glad it’s not a huge group of his classmates. He’ll already worry enough with he small amount of them that’ll be there. Even though thy’ll be with pro heroes, things can always go wrong.

“The car should be here by now, so we should head out. Lemillion, are you catching a ride with us?” Mirio-senpai flashes a bright smile before bowing to his dad.

“Of course Eraserhead! Thank you.”

Izuku tries to hide his wince when he stands, but judging by the frown on his dads face, he doesn’t succeed.

Oh well. It’s better that he knows that Izuku’s injuries are acting up. Then he can help him, and he doesn’t have to hide anything from his dad.

Dad sticks close to him on the walk to the car. They pick Eri up on the way, and she hesitantly holds Mirio-senpai’s sleeve as they walk. She probably only does that much because his dad is still here, ready to use his quirk.

Izuku settles into the car, squished between his dad and his boyfriend. He’s relieved to be off his feet again, and despite the early hour, glad to be heading back home.

Chapter Text

Izuku doesn’t get to go on patrol for a little while.

It doesn’t bother him.

It was a group decision, discussed at length with his dads about his safety. Until they get Overhaul, he’s much better off sticking at school.

Until today that is.

Because today, Sir Nighteye is holding a raid meeting. He’s invited all of the other agencies involved to his main office, which means that Izuku and some of his classmates are going too.

They meet up with the Big Three near the gates. Nighteye sent multiple cars for them, so they’re all just waiting anxiously on the school grounds.

Some of them probably don’t know what this is about. Izuku knows all about the investigation, but the details have only been known to Nighteye’s agency.

He supposes that Kirishima and Tamaki-senpai might have an idea. They were targeted by the drug just the other week, and had to meet with Sir to discuss it. Everyone knows that it’s Nighteye they’re meeting with, and they're both smart enough to make the connection.

The cars are due at any minute, so it’s no surprise that his dad shows up at the same time the cars do.

He’s been pretty busy with Eri these past couple of days. She’s taken a liking to his dad, and the root of that is his quirk.

She’s also taken to Izuku as well.

He has no idea why. He’s never really been around young kids before, so he never knows how to act. But Eri doesn’t seem to mind, and just goes along with his odd behaviour whenever he’s around the hero dorms.

She’s also quite fond of Touya.

Shouto finds it hilarious, the way she clings to his brother whenever they visit. The older Todoroki seems like he’s always at a loss for what to do.

It’s too bad that Shouto can’t be a part of the raid. But his agency wasn’t invited, and it’s not even in the same region as Izuku’s.

The short car ride that he’s gotten used to feels like it goes on forever. Anticipation for the meeting and worry for his classmates that are now involved keeps him from relaxing.

Izuku nearly stops in the doorway once they get there.

There are so many heroes! Nighteye’s usually quiet agency is practically bursting at the seems. Izuku is well aware that he goes to a hero school, and is surrounded by heroes on a daily basis, but somehow, this feels different.

They’re not here as students, they’re here as heroes in training. It’s much more official than how they’re viewed at school, and it makes Izuku more than a little nervous.

He can tell his classmates feel similar. The whole group of them tenses up, though the others relax once their mentors come to collect them.

They’re split up for the meeting.

Izuku is stuck near the head of the table with Nighteye’s agency. His dad is all the way at the other end, sandwiched between Hitoshi and Kacchan. They’re sitting on the same side of the table, so Izuku can’t look to him for reassurance.

Across from him, and a little to the right, Kirishima catches his eye.

‘Are you alright?’ Izuku nods, and raises his hands to reply when Nighteye clears his throat at the head of the table.

“Now that everyone’s arrived, we can begin the meeting.”

“Is there a reason there are so many kids here?” A newer hero, Izuku thinks his name is Rock Lock, calls out.

“They’re work study students. Most of them have had run-ins with the investigation, and they’re here at my request. Any questions can be saved for the end of the meeting.” Izuku is surprised that he doesn’t kick the hero out for interrupting him.

He’ll admit that he doesn’t pay much attention during the meeting. Izuku has all of this information memorized, and he’d even given Nighteye some of the theories that he’s using.

Instead, he focuses on his classmates reactions.

Uraraka and Asui look shocked. They’d seen Eri in passing, but nobody questioned the presence of the little girl. People probably assumed that she was a hero's kid or something. They knew nothing of the investigation before this, so it’s no surprise that they’re shocked.

Kirishima hides his surprise a little better. He has some knowledge of the drug that started this, but his eyebrows do go up when Nighteye mentions how they ended up with Eri. He’s probably imagining the pro snatching a child.

Izuku has to suppress a laugh at the image.

He wishes he could see Toshi’s expression. He’ll just have to ask him for his thoughts on the topic later.

Before he knows it, Nighteye is bringing the meeting to a close.

“I’ll need you all on standby. We’re unsure when we’ll be able to get the necessary information for sneaking into the base, so the raid could be anywhere between a day and a month from now. You all need to be prepared to drop what you’re doing. Any questions?” Nighteye gives them all a serious look, as if daring them to all him something.

Nobody speaks up, so Nighteye dismisses them. 

Izuku looks to the pro. He’s unsure if he’s needed here today, or if he should just head back home with his dad, Nighteye waves him off, so Izuku heads out of the conference room.

He finds his classmates sitting at a table not far away. Nobody is really talking to each other, so Izuku’s approach is very noticeable. 

He sits down next to Toshi and joins in on the silence until his dad reappears from who knows where.

“I need you kids to remember something. This is optional for you. If you think you’re not ready, feel free to back out. Your mentors can always pull someone else into the investigation.” His dad looks at each of them, gauging their reactions.

“Alright. Lets head home.” They silently trudge to the cars, and are back at the school before Izuku can get distracted by his thoughts.

Instead of going to the dorm building, Hitoshi drags Izuku off to their tree. They sit close underneath it hands clasped together.

“How much did you already know?”

“All of it. I’ve been helping since I joined the agency. Sorry I couldn’t say anything.” Izuku feels a little guilty about it. He hasn’t been able to talk about his recent patrols, so he couldn’t keep his boyfriend updated on anything.

“I’m not mad. You were in the middle of an investigation. Obviously something like that is going to be confidential.” Izuku turns his head to look at him.

He’s being completely truthful. Not that Izuku would suspect him of lying. They have so much trust built up because of Toshi’s support that he could never suspect that.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being here. With me. For believing in me. For being the best boyfriend.” Toshi move a little closer, pressing their foreheads together.

Hitoshi doesn’t give him a verbal answer, just as content as Izuku to simply exist together. He doesn’t need words, because Izuku knows he understands, knows how he feels.

“Well that’s a fucking lie.” Izuku jerks back, red in the face from being caught in such an intimate moment.

He turns to look at Kacchan, who’s wearing his usual scowl.

“What is?” Toshi seems genuinely confused.

“The best boyfriend thing. Clearly the shitty nerd is mistaken, because it’s me with the best fucking boyfriend.”

“What do you want Kacchan?” Izuku doesn’t even address the boyfriend thing. It’s not wise to argue with Bakugou.

“Sensei sent me to get you for dinner.” Message delivered, Kacchan turns to leave.

“Actually, you’re both wrong.” The both of them turn towards Toshi.

“It’s me with the best boyfriend.” Hitoshi presses a wet kiss to his cheek and runs.

Chapter Text

They get the message at half passed nine.

It’s only been two days since the raid meeting. Izuku was expecting the notification to come fairly quickly, so he’s not too surprised.

That doesn’t mean he’s pleased about the time it comes in. Why couldn't it have come in a few hours earlier, instead of right before he heads to bed?

He runs into his classmates in the common room. They all look wide awake, though Kacchan and Kirishima are already in pyjamas, looking half-asleep.

Izuku himself was getting ready for bed, so he threw on the first things he grabbed, which happens to be his uniform pants and one of Toshi’s sweaters.

He doesn’t even know why they all came out here. They must have all thought of confirming the time of the raid with each other, even though they could have just as easily sent a few texts.

“Be down here in your hero costumes by 6:30. We need to leave early to check in with your agencies and get you guys fitted with comms.” His dad appears out of nowhere.

“Isn’t that a bit early sir?” Uraraka is the only one bold enough to ask the question.

Izuku will admit that he’s curious too. Their message gave them a meet up time of 8am for all heroes.

“Not at all. This is your first mission after all.” Just as quickly as he’d appeared, Izuku’s dad is gone.

Izuku hurries after him. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to sleep in his room tonight, with this dropped on him all of the sudden.

The raid’s only been official for a few days now. Sure he’s had that time to really think about it and prepare, but it feels a lot different when everything is going down tomorrow. By this time tomorrow night, they’ll probably all be safe back at the dorms, ready for bed after an exhausting day.

At least that’s what he hoped for.

Izuku is well aware that things can go wrong. Hell, he’s sure that with their track record, things will go wrong. He just has to hope that it’s nothing too bad.

His running after his dad somewhat pays off. These past few days have been bad for his chronic pain, so running down the hallway causes his leg to flare up. But he managed his goal, and catches up with his dad by the time he reaches their apartment on the top floor.

Izuku may have taken the stairs in an attempt to beat him up there.

“Can I stay here tonight?” He pipes up as his dad is pushing the door open.

“Of course Izuku. Is everything okay?”

“I’m just a little nervous? For tomorrow.” He follows his dad into the living room and flops down face first onto the couch.

“Why do you sound so unsure?” He can hear his dad taking a seat in the squeaky leather chair across from him.

“I just have a bad feeling. What if one of my friends get hurt? What if you get hurt? What if they know we’re coming and attack the school while we’re out? What if-”

“Izuku.” His dad interrupts his rambling.

He doesn’t speak, so Izuku slowly sits up on the couch in order to face him. Only when he’s sure he has his full attention does his dad speak again.

“It’s not bad to worry about your friends, I’m worried for them too. Every time one of my students ends up hurt, it hurts me a little as well. We just have to trust in the pros that they’re with. And I am not letting you out of my sight.” That’s one worry addressed, even if it doesn’t erase the fear.

“But what if-”

“I’m your dad, Izuku, but I’m also a Pro Hero. You just have to trust that I can take care of myself. As for Eri, she’ll be here, in the dorms. Surrounded by pros like Zashi and heroes in training. She’ll be a lot safer than we’ll be.” Izuku takes a minute to process this before nodding.

“Why don’t you come say goodnight to Zashi before heading to bed?”

“But I’m not tiiired.” A lie.

But Izuku doesn’t want to go to sleep. He’s anxious enough tonight that he’s bound to have nightmares regarding tomorrow.

His dad gives him a look that tells Izuku he doesn’t believe him at all, but he doesn’t say anything about it. Just leads the way into his bedroom where his other dad sits reclining on the bed, going through something on his computer.

“Hey Zuku! Isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” As if his dad didn’t already know he was there.

“Hey dad! What are you working on?”

“Come and see!” His dad pats the spot next to him on the bed.

Izuku climbs up and scotches over so that he’s leaning against his dad, able to see the computer.

“I’m just picking some songs for my next radio show.”

“I didn’t know you did that!” Izuku practically melts against his dad, absorbing the heat and safety that he always exudes.

“I don’t always. But sometimes if Shou has a big mission coming up, I use it to distract myself. Although sometimes my producers don’t approve, because the songs all seem to be screaming ‘please don’t die’.” Izuku giggles at the thought of his dads annoyed producers. He’s met them a couple of times, and he 100% believes that the’s something they’d do.

“I’m guessing the fans don’t really enjoy that.”

“You got that right listener!” He shuts his eyes and tells himself he’s relax for only a few minutes before heading to the next room for some real sleep.

Neither of his dads speak again, so it’s far too easy for him to fall asleep.

——————

He wakes up to the annoying tone of his dads alarm.

He’s completely alone in their big, empty bed, and he wonders how long it’s been that way.

Izuku pulls out his phone and sighs. It’s 6:15 in the morning, so he hardly has any time to get ready for the day. The device is only at 10%, so it looks like this will be left at home for the raid.

He rushes past his dads with barely a greeting and heads down to his dorm room. His hero costume isn’t at all complicated, so he’s able to rush through putting it on.

The rest of his classmates participating in the raid are downstairs already, finishing up breakfast. Some others are up too, the early risers of the class.

“Here nerd.” Kacchan shoves a plate of food in his hands.

“Thanks Kacchan!” Izuku is grateful. He’s not the best in the kitchen, and it would have taken him far too long to get something ready before they have to leave.

Which is five minutes from now.

Izuku inhales his breakfast faster than is good for him, and it leaves him feeling slightly nauseous afterwards.

That could also be his nerves though.

He’d been able to sleep peacefully last night, but that did nothing to ease his worries for the day. Seeing his classmates decked out in their hero costumes just makes it come back worse this time.

He just has to trust that his friends can do this.

“Alright problem children. Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter Text

“Morning Eraserhead. I’m the detective in charge today.” The man doesn’t even give Shouta his name.

“Where’s Tsukauchi?” He’s the detective Shouta was expecting. He’s a lot more agreeable than other cops. They’ve got a solid work relationship, and Shouta would even say that they’re friends outside of that.

The man eyes Shouta’s students behind him before leaning in to whisper.

“Some League business came up.” Shouta sighs but doesn’t push.

The League of Villains investigation is important. If something big enough for Tsukauchi to pass his role in the raid onto someone else came up, Shouta will just have to trust in his friend.

“I see. Are the communication devices ready?”

“Absolutely! Right this way kids.” The detective turns and heads towards a table a little further into the station.

His students are all handed communication devices, and the detective goes through a thorough tutorial for them. Everything is going smoothly.

There’s a tug on his sleeve.

Shouta looks down and finds Kirishima there, looking at him uncertainly. He jerks his head to the side in an indication for his student to follow, and leads the way into an empty office.

“What is it Kirishima?”

“I don’t understand how this is supposed to work.” He opens his hand and reveals the communication device.

One that’s supposed to go in his ear, instead of the specially modified one he’d discussed with Tsukauchi.

“Dammit. Let’s go talk to the detective.” His student dutifully follows him back out of the office, where the tutorial is over and his students are milling about, waiting for their agencies to arrive so that they can properly check in.

He locates the detective joking around with a few other cops off to the side. Shouta stops in front of him and holds his hand out to Kirishima, who places the unusable device in his palm.

“What seems to be the problem here?”

“This.” Shouta shoves the device at the man.

All he gets in return is a confused look.

“The raid team is fully aware of my student’s hearing disability. I had a discussion with Tsukauchi about this exact problem and he ordered a modified communication device.” Shouta is pissed. 

He’d have gotten the support course to make them something, but they’re all busy with important projects right now.

But this is something he should have thought about, and gotten Power Loader to make a back up just in case.

“Oh so this is who that was for.” The detective looks pale, and he looks between Shouta and Kirishima anxiously.

“Well you see, I thought it was for an officer at another station, so we sent it off to them instead.”

“Even though the package was sent directly to Tsukauchi?”

“Well he wasn’t here when it arrived, so I took it upon myself to deal with it. Besides, why can’t he still use this one?”

“I have hearing aids.” His student finally speaks up, albeit quietly.

“So? Just take one out.” Shouta is at a loss for words. This is rare, but sometimes, somebody says something stupid enough to manage it.

“You want me to go out in the field half deaf? Even if I could manage with one hearing aid, I doubt this comm would be at the right frequency for me to be able to hear anything from it.” Shouta has never heard his student so impatient.

If it weren’t for the situation, he’d find it hilarious.

“Well there’s nothing we can do about it now. It’s far too late to send for the device at the other station. We have to be out of here in half an hour, and the station is at least that far away.” Shouta frowns.

The man is being unnecessarily rude, but there really is nothing that can be done.

He can’t wait to tell Tsukauchi about this, and then his friend can really lay into this guy for him.

Shouta turns from the detective without another word, and back to his student. Kirishima looks even more uncertain than before as he looks resolutely at the floor.

“It’ll be fine Kirishima, I’m not taking you out of the raid.”

“You aren’t?” He meets Shouta’s eyes.

“As long as you promise me one thing.”

“Anything sensei!”

“Do not go off alone. If you’re separated from everyone, there’ll be no way to communicate with you. As long as you’re with one other person, there won’t be any problems.”

“I promise sensei!”

“And another thing. Keep this with you, just in case.” Shouta hands him the comm. Kirishima gives him an odd look, but pockets it without a word.

“Good. Now go check in with Fatgum, and make sure you let him know about your lack of a proper comm.” Kirishima gives him a small bow before running off, nearly colliding with a few pros in his haste.

Shouta turns and finds Shinsou and Bakugou standing uncomfortably next to each other, waiting for him.

“Alright. So we’ll be sticking with the Nighteye and Fatgum agencies. It’ll give me an easier time looking after all of you problem children. Bakugou, I’m partnering you with Kirishima. He doesn’t have a comm, so don’t leave his side.”

“Tch. As if I would.” Shouta figured as much, but he’d needed to say it for his own sake.

“I need everyones attention! These are the gangs known quirks. You must read through them on the way to the Shie Hassaikai compound to be prepared for the raid." An officer starts handing out papers to everyone while the detective addresses them.

Once different agencies get their copies, they start heading out.

Shouta leads his students a little slower than he’d usually go through the streets. While he’s used to reading information like this on the go, his students are not.

Once there, they regroup with Nighteye and Fatgum, staying as silent as possible. It only takes a few minutes for all agencies to be present, and when they are, the detective rings the doorbell to present the warrant.

Instead of one of the gang members opening the gate like they’d expected, it blasts outwards, a giant villain pushing his way outside.

Right away, half of the police force is wiped out.

“Help them!” Shouta’s yell spurs the heroes into action, and they all move to secure the officers that were tossed out of the way.

“Move ahead! My team will handle this.” Ryukyu yells at them, transforming as she speaks.

Her size rivals that of the villain’s, and with the help of her sidekicks, it should be an easy fight for her agency.

The rest of the heroes move ahead, and Shouta makes sure to keep the rest of his students in his sights. There’s no helping that Uraraka and Tsuyu are separated from them.

At least they’re probably avoiding most of the action.

There’s more villains once they enter the compound. Most of them look confused, so word of the raid might not have spread yet. They’re relatively weak villains, but Shouta is proud at how easily his students manage to take them out.

Nighteye leads the way through several hallways, using what he’d gathered with his quirk to find the secret entrance.

They stop in front of a painting.

“This is it.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, another door is blasting open and a few villains pour through.

These ones look stronger than before, so Shouta prepares to take action. But before he can do anything, Bubble Girl and a few other side kicks are dealing with them.

Nighteye pushes open the secret door, revealing the expected staircase.

What’s unexpected, is the wall at the bottom.

Chapter Text

Things were going well until they hit the wall.

Everybody looks disappointed until Lemillion steps forwards. He moves to head through the wall and Izuku worries for his state of dress until the clothes disappear with him.

Must be some specially formed hero costume, Izuku will for sure be asking him about it later.

He worries silently for a minute, until Lemillion hops back through the wall.

“Just as I thought. It’s a new wall, the hallway is right on the other side. We just need someone to break it down.” This is something that he can do.

Izuku steps forward at the same time as Kirishima, so they smash the wall together. It shatters, and Izuku pretends not to note the looks that some of the pros are giving them.

They all run down the hall, heading towards the area that Overhaul should be. They encounter very few villains, and any they do are swiftly captured and escorted off by the police.

But then the floor gets bendy.

It’s that way as far as they can see, so everybody stops in their tracks.

“This isn’t right.”

“What do you mean, Janus?” His hero name sounds weird coming from his boyfriends mouth.

“This quirk, it was on the list. But the guy should only be able to manipulate a small portion of this.” Kirishima’s eyes widen in realization before he responds.

“The rest of the gang might be using that drug then.”

“The one you encountered on your patrol?” Kirishima nods.

“We can’t work well like this. I’m going to scout ahead.” Lemillion doesn’t even wait for their confirmation before disappearing through a wall. Nighteye stares at the spot he disappeared from for a moment before speaking.

“We should’ve known to expect the quirk enhancing drug, if-” He’s cut off when the floor vanishes from beneath them.

They fall too far. Izuku uses float to stop his descent, and uses his capture scarf to help as many others as possible.

The other heroes can handle themselves, so Izuku focuses on the few police officers that fell with them. It definitely helps, and most of the group ends up far less injured than they would have been.

“Come on. We have to keep moving.” Everybody is up and going at Nighteye’s words.

It’s the walls of the hallway that are moving at this point. They don’t have any warning before a chunk is shooting out, headed straight for his dad.

Fatgum moves just in time, shoving his dad out of the way and disappearing through the wall.

Everything goes still.

“Where are Red Riot and Dynamight?” Izuku looks to where he’d last seen them.

Tamaki-senpai is right. They’re gone.

“I saw them. They moved too, to help you Eraserhead. Must have gotten knocked through with Fatgum.” It’s one of the cops that speaks up.

“We’ll just have to hope that they’re together.” His dad sounds pissed.

Izuku wonders for a minute, why he doesn’t use his comm to contact his classmates.

He comes to the realization soon enough. If they’re in the middle of a fight, the sudden contact could be very distracting, especially for them as hero students. Izuku just has to keep believing in his friends.

“But why’d they target you, Eraserhead?” Rock Lock speaks up for the first time.

“His quirk. If they take out Eraserhead, it makes it a lot easier for them to beat us, especially considering Overhaul’s quirk.” Izuku knows he’s right, and the looks on the heroes faces just confirms it.

“We have to stay vigilant, and keep moving.”

They head through the next door they spot, hoping that it will give them some indication as to where they are. Any memorized map is useless now.

Instead of Overhaul, they find three villains.

They attack immediately, but his dad activates his quirk, making them all but defenceless. He takes out one of the villains in seconds, leaving him sprawled unconscious on the floor.

“Eraserhead, you guys can go ahead. It’s time I did my part.” Tamaki-senpai, no, Suneater speaks up before his dad can take any of the others out.

His dad looks at Suneater for a long moment before nodding, trusting in the third year.

They exit through another door, and find another long hallway. A load groaning is the only warning they get before more walls slam down, nearly crushing Izuku in the process.

Before he can even react, his dad yanks him out of the way. When the dust clears, he finds that it’s just the two of them, no-one else in sight.

“Hypnos? Are you okay?” Izuku presses a finger to the button on the side of the comm in his ear to transmit his voice.

“Y-yah, we’re okay. Nighteye pulled me aside. We’re gonna go ahead now, and you guys can catch up.”

“Copy that.” Izuku pulls his hand away from his ear, and gets yanked to the side by his dads capture scarf.

A knife juts out from the ground right where he’d been standing, And Toga slinks forwards from the shadows.

“What’s the League doing here?” Izuku’s voice trembles. His last experience with them wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“Oh sweetie you didn’t know? We’ve done a little team up with Overhaul.”

“Is Shigaraki here?”

“Silly Eraserhead. He wouldn’t waste his time on something like this.” She lunges forwards, but his dad stops her with his scarf.

Although it seems like she was expecting this.

Toga jumps into the air and twists, pulling out a knife to tear through his scarf. She uses that same knife on her descent, aiming straight for his dad.

Izuku lurches forward, using BlackWhip to stop her movements midair. He then throws her at the far wall, keeping his hold just long enough that she can’t avoid the collision.

His dad is fast, so by the time she’s slumped on the floor he’s already on her, tying her up with the severed pieces of his capture scarf.

“We’ve gotta keep moving. Janus, can you break through that wall?” He gestures at the wall that’s keeping them from the rest of the group.

Izuku does as he’s told, and on the other side they find an unconscious Rock Lock. He’s stirring when they reach him, his dad dragging Toga behind them.

“Rock Lock? What happened?”

“Smashed my head when I was shoved out of the way of the wall.”

“Can you stand?” He nods, but winces at the action.

His dad pretends to to notice.

“Good. I need you to take Toga and get out of here. You’re in no condition to keep fighting and we need to get her into police custody.” The hero nods, and stands up refusing their help.

He drags Toga back through the hole and the way they came. They watch him as long as it takes for his figure to disappear, then Izuku smashes the next wall they have to get through.

There’s nothing on this side, just a bit of rubble in the rest of the hallway they’d been cut off from.

They only go a few turns before the hallway is shuddering again. They tense, only for everything to come to a standstill as a man falls from the roof.

Izuku recognizes him from the handout they’d been given as the one with the manipulation quirk. It looks like the amplification drug he’d been using ran out, and now he’s suffering from quirk exhaustion.

They tie him up and leave him be. Somebody else will grab him once they catch up. They’re about to continue on when there’s a bit of static in their ears.

“Dyn-ight-ri-own.” It’s undeniably Kacchan’s voice.

“Dynamight, repeat.”

“I fucking said that this is Dynamight, me ’n Red Riot are down.”

Chapter Text

Eijirou feels like he’s suffocating.

When he’d tried to save Aizawa-sensei, he’d been absorbed into Fatgum’s fat, and it’s a little hard to breathe in here.

“Oh Riot! I didn’t even notice yah you’re so small.” Fatgum is quick to get off of him. 

Eijirou gets to his feet and takes in their surroundings. Or at least he starts to, until he notices Katsuki standing off to the side.

“Tsuki? How’d you-” He cuts himself off when he sees what’s behind Katsuki.

A villain is running straight for him.

Eijirou runs forwards and past his boyfriend as he activates his quirk to its highest level without reaching unbreakable to protect the others.

The blow sends him right past them and into a wall.

There’s a stinging in his arm that shouldn’t be there with his quirk active. Eijirou looks down and finds a chunk of his skin torn off, leaving blood in its wake.

An explosion distracts him.

He looks back to his team as the smoke clears and stares in horror at the completely unscathed villains, one of them holding up a barrier.

The one that got Eijirou goes after Katsuki, but he blasts away in time to miss the blow, landing next to him at the wall.

“You okay?” Eijirou nods at him. He’s not a very good liar, so speaking would only reveal the pain he’s in.

“Come on Rappa. Take this seriously.” The shield guy speaks up.

Katsuki is still looking at him, but Eijirou ignores that to focus on the interaction before them.

“Awe come on, I just wanna have some fun! I’ll let you take down FatGum all on your own. Just do it away from here so he doesn’t interfere with my business.” The shield guy thinks for a minute before nodding in agreement.

“Just don’t play with your food too much.” He uses his barrier to trap FatGum, then blows it through a wall. Rappa goes over to the hole with him and smashes it closed when his partner is through.

He turns to them with a terrifying grin, and starts to run in their direction.

Eijirou meets him halfway, crossing his arms in front of himself as he activates unbreakable. The villain shouldn’t be able to break through that, right?

Wrong. So, so wrong.

Eijirou can at least hold his ground this time, but Rappa’s punches leave behind a ferocious stinging and he’s too afraid to look at the state of his arms.

There’s a blast from behind and the punches stop, but Eijirou doesn’t move.

“Wow, even without my shield here I hardly felt that little firecracker.” Rappa laughs at them. At Katsuki.

Eijirou dares to move now, lunging with his fist ready.

Rappa doesn’t dodge in time, and Eijirou’s hardened fist leaves behind a long cut on the mans cheek.

He doesn’t even wince.

“My fucking cat gets me better than that buddy. You’ll have to try a little harder.” Rappa smears the blood before attacking again.

Eijirou moves with him, trying to keep him away from Katsuki while he prepares a bigger explosion with his gauntlet. He lets out smaller ones with one hand while he does, not even bothering to work around Eijirou since they both know his that hardening can take it.

There’s a tap on his side to prepare him before Katsuki pulls the pin and lets off a massive explosion, something that would knock Eijirou out for a week if he wasn’t using his quirk.

There’s no movement as the dust clears, so he dares to peak over his arms.

Rappa is on the ground.

He relaxes his stance a little, and doesn’t have the time to fix it when Rappa jumps back to his feet. He grabs onto one of Eijirou’s arms and he can’t help the cry of pain as the villain turns around and drags him with him, jamming a fist against his stomach.

He lets go as soon as the fist makes contact, and the force of it sends Eijirou backwards and into another wall.

“Shit, Eijirou!”

He has to drop his quirk to remember how to breathe.

He’s on his side, eyes squeezed shut as he fights for air. He does his best to listen to the fight on the other side of the room.

He’s confident that Katsuki can handle himself for a minute while he catches his breath, and the explosions he hears seem to back that up.

At least until there’s a crack and a cry of pain that he knows is Katsuki’s.

Eijirou’s eyes open in a panic, and he spots Katsuki slumped on the ground. He opens his mouth to yell for him but can’t utter a single word before Rappa is on him again.

Eijirou doesn’t even get the chance to stand back up. Rappa just shoves him onto his back and sits himself on Eijirou’s most likely bruised ribs, grabbing his bleeding arms and slamming them down above his head.

He cries out at the pain the pressure and movement causes him, but shuts up when Rappa plants a fist next to his head.

He doesn’t even struggle, well aware that he can’t break free in his condition.

“Boy am I disappointed. Thought I could have a real fight but it turns out you guys are just stupid kids, with weak quirks.” He feels ashamed.