Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Heavy footsteps thudded quietly on the damp cement, their owner unbothered by the red and brown tinted water spilling into the hallway from the wet room. A room of cracked, decaying tile where the animals were hosed off in cold water, rinsing the blood and dirt from their bodies after each fight. The fighting that was blessedly postponed today due to the UA Sports Festival. 

Guests wouldn’t be coming to see the creatures rip each other apart or place bets on their favorite when such a celebrated event was going on elsewhere. More than half the staff was at home with their families, leaving the single folks to watch it together here in the breakroom. 

Someone had to stay in the pits with the animals. 

The footsteps stopped just out of sight. “Dammit. The boss will be pissed about this.” 

The cage next to his opened. Seconds later, the puma was dragged out in front of him. The gash on her side from her last fight was an angry red, yellow-green pus leaking out at multiple points. Severely infected. She was limp when the caretaker finally finished whatever tagging he was doing on her cell and dragged her away. Another fighter, dead despite winning. 

He growled at the carelessness. In how they carried her. In how they let her die instead of just treating the infection. In how they made any of them fight in the first place. 

Thick boots clanged against the bars of his cage. Steel-toe boots. “Shut up, mutt.”

With an irritated huff, he forced himself to lay back down. Compliant. Nonthreatening. 

They left. The puma was gone with them. She wouldn’t be back. 

“I can’t believe UA has so many mutants this year,” one of the men cleaning out the puma’s cage muttered. “It’s disgusting.”

“Yeah, but those animals tend to be powerful. They’re decent attack dogs in heroics.”

“True,” the first agreed with the second. “Still, that bug one. Gross. I wouldn’t want that thing rescuing me. And then what’s with the bird? What can a bird even do?”

“That one mutant… What even was it? A fish? A rock?” the second questioned sarcastically. 

“I don’t know but it was disturbing as hell. If I had kids, I wouldn’t want it anywhere near them. Ugly ass thing wouldn’t even make a good pet. It should be put down.”

He tuned out their commentary when he realized they wouldn’t be mentioning the quirks in the Sports Festival beyond complaining about mutations. Bored, he pulled a rib bone in his reach closer and gnawed on that. Every day was boring. If he wasn’t fighting, there was nothing.

“What’s that sound?” 

“The wolf. It’s chewing on some old bones again.”

“We should probably feed it, huh? That’s one of the boss’ top ten.”

His tail wagged slightly hearing that he might get some food. Usually, it was dried chunks of some sort of meat-grain mush. If he was lucky, he got fresh meat and a new tasty bone to lick the marrow out of. He ceased his chewing long enough to see what they’d bring him. 

It’s been two days since his last feeding. This was overdue.

They continued their cleaning for a while yet before leaving. Close to an hour passed before one of them came back with a bucket. He waited patiently as the door to his cage opened, knowing there was no point in trying to approach. The chain on his neck would stop him pretty quickly and he wasn’t in the mood to choke right now. Eating was the only thing on his mind. 

The man that entered, sneered at him before tossing the bucket in front of him. It toppled over, dumping out a raw turkey leg. The raw meats made some of the carnivores and omnivores here sick, but he was one of the ones that could safely consume it. The ones that couldn’t only got the dried chunks. The staff here wouldn’t waste time cooking for animals, after all. 

“Disgusting,” the man scoffed as he secured the turkey leg with his claws, dragging it closer to tear into the meat. It wasn’t fresh but it wasn’t spoiled yet. His tail wagged involuntarily. 

“Simple mutt.” And with that, the door to his cage slammed shut. 

Ignoring the ringing in his ears from the clanging metal, he enjoyed his meal shamelessly. 

Day two of the Sports Festival found the staff complaining about yesterday’s winner. Or rather, what was done to yesterday’s winner. “Chained him up and muzzled him like an animal. It’s demeaning to treat real humans like those disgusting things. Just because he’s stronger than them? I thought the whole point of hero schools was to train stronger heroes!”

Amusement curled in his chest at the thought of a regular person getting chained up like he always was. And even a muzzle? He hated wearing those. Well, that’s humanity’s karma. 

Transports were happening today. Preparation for when the Sports Festival ended. When it ended, the guests would be back. Guests meant fights. They would be lined up in holding cages below the ring that would release them into the ring when their time to fight came. Fighting orders and pairs were decided a couple of days ahead of time. They were moved accordingly. 

They were left on standby in the holding cages in case fights ended early or took longer than expected. Holding cages were smaller and barely had enough space to lie down. He hated them. Yet being a top fighter, he was expected to fight more often. He spent more time in holding cages than he did in his actual cage. Sometimes it was weeks before he could rest. 

But he had no choice in being a top fighter. Losing meant death. 

He watched impassively as a new, young sheep was led past his cage. Prey animals rarely stood a chance unless paired with another prey animal. Guests found it entertaining to watch a fight between a sheep and a bunny sometimes. More often though, they wanted to watch a slaughter between a sheep and a wolf. He was usually the wolf in question. 

Some of them had the benefit of being able to access a full form. Animals like them came in full forms, half forms, and quarter forms. A handful could shift between two or more forms. The luckiest ones could access a human form. They could hide longer, avoiding capture. 

Although once they were brought to the pits, they were treated with the most hostility. 

The staff and guests hated animals that could wear a human mask. 

His door swung open. Two men this time. “Come on, mutt. Time to move.”

One approached with a muzzle in hand and he couldn’t help but growl at the sight. “If you bite me, I will kick you into the wall,” the man warned. 

So he let the muzzle be affixed to his face, wrapping around and locking behind his skull. His chains were unlocked from his neck, a thick rope being tied around his throat instead to lead him. Collars were for pets. The animals here in the pits were no more than livestock. 

He hadn’t realized just how many staff members were missing until he got out into the empty hallways. He only counted three in the time it took for them to near the holding cells. They came to a fork in the path. Left would take him to the holding cells. Right led up and out into the guest stands. The guests who came and left freely through large doors outside the fighting ring. 

Knowing this might be his only chance, he reached up and grabbed his lead rope, yanking as hard as he could. Having taken his handler by surprise, he was able to tug the rope free. He bolted right, throwing his body against the door at the end of the hallway. It slammed open, releasing him into the guest stands. Only a small flight of stairs stood in his way. 

Paying no attention to the shouting behind him, he scaled the stairs. In the actual guest area, there were three more staff members skulking around. He ignored them, running for the door at his top speed. More shouting followed. Hands tried to grab him but he slashed them away. 

And then he was out the door, heading in any direction that would take him away. Away from the men who stole him and his mother. Away from the memories of her death in that ring. Away from the fighting and bloodshed that he was so sick of. Away from the shouting that grew fainter and fainter with every pounding, painful step he took. Just away from everything. 

He ran for so long, occasionally spotting other people who screamed or called out to him. He didn’t know if they were guests or just strangers so he ignored them too. He ignored everything, running until he finally came to a grassy area filled with trees. 

Hiding seemed like the next best choice, so he found some bushes and curled up in the makeshift den. Not long after, he saw people in uniforms nearby. He could hear them talking about a ‘streaker’ with a canine quirk. He was a canine. They were looking for him then. 

Going back wasn’t an option, so he stayed hidden. He would never go back. 

Chapter Text

On the first day of his escape, he waited until nightfall to move from his hiding place in the bushes. The rope still on his neck caught in the branches so he slipped it off over his head. He had no use for the rope anyway. The uniformed people left hours ago. He was probably safe. 

Ignoring the slight chill, he headed off to find something. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for though. Food? Water? Home? He felt a vague pull in his chest leading him in a certain direction. 

Before she died, his mother always told him to follow his instincts. So he followed the pull. 

There weren’t many people out at night. That didn’t mean there was no one. Every once in a while, he encountered someone. They usually called out to him, either in concern or anger. He ran off every time, not wanting to risk being taken back to the pits. 

When the sun started to rise, he found a heap of wooden crates and pallets to shelter in. It was mostly out of the way of the main streets. He could hardly see through all of the stacked wood he was hidden under, so he doubted people could see him. There, he slept the day away. 

He woke up to a slight chill. The pits were at least heated and out of the elements. He realized that if he stayed out here, free and safe, he would need to find a way to keep warm. A good shelter would be best. But while he was on the move, he would need human clothes. Fabric made a good fur replacement. Blankets were nice when he got them on rare occasions. 

For the first few hours of the late evening, he searched for something to keep warm with. He dug through dumpsters, checked behind buildings that had clothes in the windows, and looked up at balconies where people seemed to hang things to dry. One of the balconies with clothes strung across it was low enough for him to climb up, so he did. He took a shirt. 

Once he was clothed and warmer, he headed off to continue following the pull. At one point, he came across a hole in the sidewalk that had collected water. By sticking his whole muzzle in, he was able to drink some of the water. He drank until the water level was too low to reach. 

It’d be better if he could get the muzzle off, but it was steel rather than fabric or mesh. And it locked somewhere behind his head. There wasn’t much chance that he could get it off, even if he tried to damage it. But that was fine. He would just work around it. It couldn’t be that hard. 

Later on, he caught a squirrel. He was able to eat it by shoving bits of meat through the gaps in his muzzle. It worked! He would be perfectly fine on his own. He wouldn’t have to go back. 

He would do whatever it took to stay free. 

“Mommy, there’s a dog under there!”

“Leave it alone, Yuu-chan. Strays can make you sick.”

“Can we leave it some food at least?” 

“I suppose that would be fine. Put something down there so that it can’t reach you if it gets startled. I don’t want you getting bit.”

After the woman and her child left, he squeezed out from the crawlspace he was sleeping in. The stairs above him made a really good shelter even if the people stepping on them sometimes woke him up. The dumpster in this alley also had all sorts of treats in it since the stairs led to a kitchen of some kind. He was pretty sure it was a bakery. 

A few weeks had passed and he thought he was doing pretty well on his own. He still couldn’t get the muzzle off-- and he had definitely tried --but he had found himself a pretty good home. 

The area was actually one he recognized. There was a park nearby that he knew he used to play in as a pup. The pull had led him home. He just couldn’t remember where exactly he used to sleep with his mom. Not that it would be theirs anymore. They’d been gone too long. 

His little home now was enough for him, so he wasn’t too bothered by the loss of his old home. 

Sniffing carefully at the food left for him, he decided it was safe to eat. Not all food left out for animals was safe. He learned that the hard way. Some foods were traps meant to kill. But the people laying the traps were targeting rats mostly. It hadn’t been enough poison to kill him. 

He’d fought rats when they’d attack him. He’d also eaten rats.

Let’s just say, he understood why some people might want to kill them. 

The child had left him some sort of sandwich with cold meat and lettuce on it. It was delicious once he actually managed to cram it through his muzzle. He was getting better at that. 

Out of food, he decided to head out a little earlier than usual. He wanted to find some water and then maybe hunt some birds for later. He may have food in the dumpster but he still preferred fresh meat over bread or cakes. The humans made themselves a lot of really sweet foods, and while they were welcome to eat what they wanted, it was a bit much for his stomach. 

He drank some water out of a fountain, ignoring the slightly metallic taste from all the coins people threw in. A few people that he passed along the way looked at him with disgust. He’d found that most of the time people wouldn’t bother him. They avoided him instead. 

Good. He didn’t want anything to do with them. They might take him back. 

On his way to the park, where lots of birds would roost, he passed through an alley that he knew had a lot of cats. Cats that he usually got along with. He didn’t mind them and they didn’t mind him. They tolerated him in their territory. It turned out to be a mistake to take that route despite that. Not because of the cats but because of the human standing in his way. 

Rather than ignore him, this human spoke to him. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

The boy that had just strolled into the alley where he fed stray cats bolted as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Hitoshi may have abused his parkour and agility training to block off the boy’s escape route. But come on! He had a muzzle on! Hitoshi wasn’t going to let him run off. 

At least, not until he helped him get it off. 

When he was in foster care, he had been muzzled for his ‘villainous quirk.’ He knew what it was like to be in that position. So obviously he wanted to help the other teen. 

“Hold on,” he put up his hands in a show of peace. “I can help you get that muzzle off.”

The other boy looked downright indignant about the fact that Hitoshi had cut off his escape. Maybe a little baffled too, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he growled. Concerned, Hitoshi watched the boy growl and back up into a stack of trash, shifting only enough to position himself behind the stack. He was trying to hide from Hitoshi. While Hitoshi watched him hide?

“I can still see you,” Hitoshi pointed out awkwardly. The boy ducked behind the trash, out of sight. “But I still know you’re there!”

An irritated huff came from behind the trash. Hitoshi moved around the stack to get a better view of the boy. Looking him over, the other teen didn’t seem to be wearing anything other than a large t-shirt. He was covered in mud and… what might be blood. That couldn’t be good.

It actually might be a better idea to try and convince the boy to come home with him. He could get the muzzle off, check him over for injuries, and let him get cleaned up. His clothes might be a little big on him, but they should fit. Then he can get his dads involved when they get home. 

Both of his dads were pro heroes. They saved him three years ago. He stayed with them as a foster kid for a bit before they officially adopted him. They would definitely know the protocol for a traumatized teen that probably shouldn’t go back to wherever he came from. 

“I can get the muzzle off, but I need some tools from home,” Hitoshi told the boy. “After it’s off, you could clean up and have some food before you go. But if you stay, my dads can help you.”

He waited for some kind of response for a moment before sighing. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Won’t go back,” the boy growled, surprising him. His muzzles were always designed to keep him from talking. This one was apparently just for preventing biting. 

“Of course not. I’m not taking you back to whoever did this. My dads won’t either.”

“Promise?” the boy whined, fluffy grey ears flattening against his head. 

“I promise. We’ll keep you safe,” Hitoshi vowed.

He go 'awoo!'

Chapter Text

Unlocking the door, Hitoshi let the other teen into his apartment. He wasn’t worried about his dads being home yet. They were both working for at least another couple of hours. That should give him enough time to get the boy situated enough that he hopefully won’t panic. 

The boy hadn’t said another word in their entire walk to Hitoshi’s home. He’d tried asking his name, if he was injured, and other small questions. The most he’d gotten out of him was a few annoyed chuffs and one growl. This boy seemed like a particularly grumpy puppy, but that was fair given the circumstances. Hitoshi would be grumpy with a muzzle on too. 

“You can sit at the table over there,” Hitoshi said, pointing out the dining table. “I’ll go get the tools to get that muzzle off. It’ll just take me a few minutes.”

There was no response which he expected at this point. But the boy did head off in the direction of the table, so Hitoshi left to get the tools as promised. When he returned, the boy was sitting on the floor next to the table, looking around at the open living space. 

“You can sit in a chair, you know.” This time he did receive an unimpressed glare. Kneeling in front of the other boy, he opened the toolbox. “So this entire thing seems to be metal except for the leather under the part touching your face and jaw. My best bets are going to be either sawing through the back of it or using wire cutters to remove the mouth cage.”

Those fluffy, grey ears dropped as the boy's eyes widened in fear. “Uh, it’s up to you of course which one you want to try first. I’ll show you the tools beforehand too.”

He took out the wire cutters first since they were closer to the top of the toolbox. They were the small ones, more for at-home projects compared to the large ones that could cut open fences. The saw was small too. Just a little handheld thing with a spinning disc on the end. He wasn’t really sure what sort of projects it was meant for. His family usually used it for things like this.

“With the saw, I’d slide a towel between the band and your head so that I won’t accidentally nick you,” Hitoshi explained, letting the boy look over the tools. “Personally, I think it would be faster than the wire cutters but either one should work.”

A doubtful look was the only response this time. It made sense given that Hitoshi was basically asking the boy to let him take a saw to his head. “You can take some time to think about it.”

Several minutes passed quietly. Hitoshi waited patiently, trying not to pressure or influence the other teen in any way. Eventually, the boy pushed the saw toward him with a low rumbling sound. “You want me to try the saw first?”

The boy nodded, the closest he’d come to typical human communication since speaking in the alley earlier. So far, he’d been drawing on his experiences with cats but he was fully aware that canine and feline body language differed. He’d just need to research it later. 

“Okay. I’ll go get a towel.” He got up and headed for the bathroom. It didn’t take him long to pick out a hand towel and return. He knelt at the boy’s side this time, hesitant to be completely behind him. Even if he didn’t know much about canines specifically, he knew that most living beings didn’t like to turn their backs on other people. It’s a natural safety instinct. He didn’t want to trigger it.

“I’m going to touch you now to position the towel, okay?” Hitoshi warned. Another nod followed so he got to work, trying to slide the fabric in from the top. It was a tight fit but he managed. Then he picked up the saw. “This might be loud for you. Try not to move though.”

When he turned it on, the boy’s ears flattened at the buzzing sound. Hitoshi made sure to telegraph his movements but the other teen sat so tensely that he was shaking. He flinched with the saw first made contact with the band. Thankfully, he didn’t jerk away. 

For all that he seemed to avoid communicating, it was clear he understood others just fine. 

Hitoshi carefully cut through the band, stopping halfway through to rest his arms. The last thing he wanted to do was let it slip due to muscle exhaustion. The band was thick, strong metal so this wasn’t exactly an easy process. Still, slicing through one thick band would be faster than using the wire cutters to cut through dozens of strong wires. In his opinion anyway. 

His muzzle had been part leather and held together with screws. Some scissors and a flathead were all that his dad needed to get it off him the day he was found. The one on this boy was stronger and barely had seams to show where parts had been joined. It was excessive, wasn’t it? This looked like the sort of thing you’d find in Tartarus, not run-of-the-mill foster care. 

Of course, he highly doubted the boy came from Tartarus. His dads would have heard something on the hero network if an escape hadn’t just been announced to the public. So this boy probably came from a different situation than a shitty foster home. A dangerous one too. 

Once he cut through the rest of the band, he found that it bent slightly to allow him to slide it off the other boy’s head. The muzzle was promptly ripped from his hands and thrown across the room. The deep growl startled him until he realized the boy’s gaze was directed at the muzzle. 

“Mood,” Hitoshi muttered. He sighed and started putting the tools away. “How about some food and water? Then you can clean up.”

The other boy watched him warily as he got up to place the toolbox on the table before heading into the kitchen. He filled a glass with water and then looked through the cupboards for something filling yet easy on the stomach. A simple sandwich and a granola bar should work. 

After making the sandwich, he set it on the table and gave the boy a pointed look. “We don’t eat on the floor so you’re gonna have to get up here.”

With a glare, the boy stood up to his full height. Honestly, it made the whole no-pants thing a little more noticeable but as long as he didn’t raise his arms above his head, everything was covered. Hitoshi ignored that for now, prompting him to sit and eat. He refused to sit in the chair. 

This stubborn boy decided to just stand and eat. While glaring at Hitoshi without looking away even once. It was kind of unnerving. At least, it was until he noticed the boy’s tail wagging. 

He didn’t know much about canine behavior, but he knew that was usually a good sign. 

When the boy finished eating and had two cups of water, Hitoshi led him into the bathroom to get all that mud and blood off of him. He did take a picture with his phone first since his dads would probably need evidence of the state he was found in. He got some spare clothes ready, a towel, and soap. Then he opened his mouth and fucked everything up. 

“Now you’re ready for a bath.” 

As it turned out, like cats, dogs hated baths. Who knew?

Shouta came home to the sound of utter chaos in his home. He followed the sound to the bathroom door where he could hear his son frantically speaking to something. 

“No wait, hold still! …It’s not that bad, I promise! …Soap’s not gonna kill you!”

It sounded like his son brought home another stray cat. He would happily help Hitoshi convince Hizashi to keep it. Who wouldn’t want another cat? They had two already. They were great. 

“You can’t eat the soap!” 

Hitoshi’s alarmed screech was followed by a yelp. 

Shouta’s blood ran cold. 

No. Absolutely not. 

He knocked on the door. “Hitoshi, what’s going on in there?”

Muffled cursing followed and whispers of ‘stay there, don’t move.’ Then Hitoshi was sliding out of the bathroom without opening the door fully, closing it behind him. “Heyyyy… Dad. You're home early.”

“You have a dog in there,” Shouta said evenly. “This is a cats-only household.”

“Okay, so… I don’t have a dog in there,” Hitoshi told him. Distinctly canine-like whining came from inside the bathroom and Shouta raised an eyebrow.

“That sounds like a dog,” Shouta deadpanned. 

Hitoshi laughed nervously. “ Technically not a dog,” he clarified. 

A loud, echoing howl erupted from behind the door. Shouta’s eyes widened and Hitoshi paled. 

“You brought a wolf into my house? Where the hell did you even find one?”

“Now hold on,” Hitoshi defended. “It’s not what you think.”

“I thought I raised you better than this. Not just a dog but a giant one!” Shouta threw up his hands in exasperation. “Please, tell me how you can justify a beast in my bathroom.”

Chapter Text

Things had been going well with the human. His muzzle was off, he got food and water, and the purple teen hadn’t turned out to be like the guests yet. There was his odd insistence that he should sit in a chair. Animals belong on the floor. They sit and sleep on the floor.  

And honestly, he wasn’t sure how to sit in the chair without falling off so… there was that. 

He didn’t think much of it when the boy mentioned ‘cleaning up’ until he clarified what he meant. 

“Now you’re ready for a bath.”

Immediately, memories of being hosed down with freezing water in that wet room came to mind. Always cold and bordering on painful from the intense water pressure. Yes, he got clean. All the blood from his fights would be erased until the next one. But he hated getting those baths. 

So he tried to flee. The human was faster. Narrowing his eyes at the boy blocking the door, he wondered if this was actually a feline with a good human mask. 

“Hold on. It’s just to get the mud and stuff off of you,” the boy said placatingly, hands up in some sort of submission gesture. “It’d feel nice to be clean, wouldn’t it?”

…It would. But getting clean would be awful. 

“It’s safe. I take baths and showers every day,” the boy told him. 

Well, that sounded horrible. Why would someone do that to themselves?

“Do you trust me?” 

Not in the slightest. 

…Okay maybe a little. Just enough for the human to be able to convince him to cooperate. His shirt was stripped off and set aside somewhere. Now he was sitting in a little white box for some reason. The human sat outside the box, holding something like a hose. 

The water turned on, though it didn’t touch him yet. The human had angled it away from him while he fiddled with the mechanism that turned it on. Occasionally he put his own hand under the stream of water. Eventually, he mumbled something to himself. “That should be fine.”

When the water stream was redirected onto him, he flinched. Then he froze, registering the warm-- warm, so warm --water pouring over his skin. The water stream was gentle, almost relaxing when coupled with the warmth. He turned to watch the mud caked on his leg start to break up and rinse away. If this was the human’s baths, it was no wonder he took them daily. 

“Can you wash yourself or do you need help?” the boy asked.

He growled defensively. Why would he need help? He wasn’t stupid. He knew things. He could definitely do simple things like this! Except… Maybe the high water pressure ripped everything off his skin for him… So maybe he didn’t actually know what to do with this gentle water. 

Before she died, the puma next to him used to bathe herself. If he just copied--

“No!” A hand grabbed onto his arm, pulling it away from his mouth. He flinched again. “Sorry… But you can’t lick yourself. I don’t think… Uh, I’m worried it’ll make you sick. Germs and stuff. It’d be better if you just used a washcloth.”

His ears dropped. He apparently didn’t know this simple thing. What even was a ‘washcloth?’

“Hey, it’s okay. I can help you,” the boy assured him gently. 

He pouted as the boy took a square of fabric-- a washcloth , he said --and ran it over his arm after wetting it under the water. It seemed to pull the mud off more with each swipe across his skin. Once his arm was clean, he decided that he wanted to try. The human let him take it and repeat the process on his other arm. He liked the rough texture of the damp fabric. 

“Despite the blood, you don’t seem injured,” the boy commented, still holding the water thing for him. He moved it around to rinse off what was already pretty loose. Like sand. 

“Hunted,” he explained gruffly. Outside of the pits, what was there to be hurt by? The humans out here ignored him most of the time and he ignored them. Until this one appeared. 

“You hunted or you’re being hunted?” the boy asked, sounding worried. 

“I hunt. Squirrels and birds,” he elaborated. It made his throat hurt to talk so much. The handlers didn’t like when the animals talked, so the ones that could simply didn’t. 

“Okay. So you aren’t hurt then?” He shook his head in answer, preferring the yes or no questions. “That’s good. Injuries get infected on the streets. I know from experience.”

He looked up at the boy, confused and slightly alarmed. Hadn’t he said his parents were good? That they’d help? Why was this human child injured and on the streets?

“My dads, the parents I mentioned earlier, only adopted me about three years ago. They aren’t-- I’m not their biological kid. Before them, I was in foster care,” the boy explained. “I have what most people consider to be a villain’s quirk. Because of that, I was treated pretty badly in most of my placements. Sometimes I ran away because being homeless was safer at the time.”

That made sense. Being homeless was safer for him than going back. 

“You’re pretty much clean now. We should wash your hair next. Then a quick wash and rinse with some soap this time.” 

What was soap? It turned out to be a concentrated scent that tasted awful. 

Abrupt knocking startled both him and the other teen. “Hitoshi, what’s going on in there?”

“Oh, fuck. Shit.” The drenched teen in the freshly drawn bubble bath started to move but stopped when he slipped trying to get up. Water splashed over the side of the tub. “Damn it. Uh, everything’s fine. It’s my dad. Stay there, don’t move. Okay? Don’t move.”

Hitoshi slipped out of the bathroom, trying to keep both the boy and his dad from seeing each other for now. He’d hoped to have the stray teen he picked up settled by now but his dad was here a whole hour early. “Heyyyy… Dad. You're home early.”

Well, that was a stupid thing to say, wasn’t it?

“You have a dog in there,” Dad said evenly. “This is a cats-only household.”

“Okay, so… I don’t have a dog in there,” Hitoshi told him. Distinctly canine-like whining came from inside the bathroom and Dad raised an eyebrow.

“That sounds like a dog,” Dad deadpanned. 

Hitoshi laughed nervously. “ Technically not a dog,” he clarified. 

A loud, echoing howl erupted from behind the door. Shouta’s eyes widened and Hitoshi paled. The boy could howl? Was he a…?

“You brought a wolf into my house? Where the hell did you even find one?”

“Now hold on,” Hitoshi defended, completely aware of how this probably looked and sounded so far. If the wolf boy in the bathroom would just stop interrupting him! Why was he even howling anyway? It was just making his dad anxious. “It’s not what you think.”

“I thought I raised you better than this. Not just a dog but a giant one!” His dad threw up his hands in exasperation. “Please, tell me how you can justify a beast in my bathroom.”

Fuck it. Hitoshi grabbed the door handle and swung the door open, revealing the boy in the bathtub. Correction… the boy actively trying to crawl out of the bathtub. He was halfway there, hanging over the side of the tub as if he fell. He seemed stuck.

“Oh, come on! I told you to stay,” Hitoshi grumbled, going back inside to help him.

“That’s a kid,” Dad observed, sounding a little stunned. 

“No, really? I hadn’t noticed,” Hitoshi huffed, gently shoving the boy back in the tub. 

“What’s going on?” Even without looking at him, Hitoshi could tell that his dad had recovered and composed himself by his voice. 

“I found this kid muzzled in the stray cat alley we visit,” Hitoshi told him. “Pretty sure he’s in a situation similar to mine but he doesn’t talk much. He has made it clear though that he doesn’t want to go back to the people who had him before.”

“Right. That won’t happen,” his dad promised, just as he had back in that alley. “You seem to have this handled then. We’ll talk in the living room when you’re done. Do you need clothes?”

“I already grabbed some. Though there is a muzzle out there that should probably be bagged for evidence. It was thrown somewhere once it was off.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of that,” Dad said before leaving and closing the door behind him. 

Hitoshi sighed and looked back at the boy. “So… Wolf quirk, huh?”

The boy just responded by shaking his head vigorously to dry his hair. Hitoshi tried to protect himself from the onslaught of water drops but he still got wet. 

“Was that necessary?” he sighed. He grabbed a nearby towel to dry his face.

The other boy just grinned at him, flashing his sharp teeth in the process.

Look at what a difference a bath makes! 💜🧼

He's in Hitoshi's shirt :D

Still protesting pants.

(They don't accommodate his tail.)

Chapter Text

“This is a cats-only household.”

Why? What was so great about cats?

Never mind the fact that he was pretty sure the purple teen was a cat and he had stopped him from running twice now. Not that he was saying canines were better either. No, if he had to pick a species to dominate a place, he’d pick birds. Birds were neat. 

They were also tasty but that’s not his point. 

“Okay, so… I don’t have a dog in there.”

A whine slipped out unexpectedly. He was already clean so the bath was boring now. What was taking the human so long? 

“That sounds like a dog.”

“Technically not a dog.”

He was not a dog at all! He was a wolf and he was proud of it. Not that there was anything wrong with being a dog. His mom was a husky. She had a quirk called ‘Fetch’ that let her pull small things to herself. But their instincts didn’t always align because she was a domestic animal and he was very much not. 

Mom always said he got his wild or predator instincts from his father. That’s where he got his claws and teeth from too since his mom didn’t have those either. 

To make his not-dog status known, he decided to share the song in his heart. 

“You brought a wolf into my house? Where the hell did you even find one?”

That… was not the reaction that he expected. 

Usually, the guests at the pits cheered when he howled. It was kind of irritating when he was howling in sadness or grief, but at least it wasn’t a bad reaction. 

“Now hold on. It’s not what you think.”

“I thought I raised you better than this. Not just a dog but a giant one! Please, tell me how you can justify a beast in my bathroom.”

With that, he decided it was time to try and escape. If this man didn’t like wolves, he wasn’t going to stick around. When humans didn’t like an animal, they could be incredibly cruel to them. Just a week ago there was a man who hated cats and he kicked one of the alley cats so hard that their ribs broke. He didn’t want the same thing to happen to him here. 

The bath was really slippery so his escape was immediately foiled. 

But he was halfway there. If he just wiggled himself forward, he could possibly slide out. 

The door suddenly swung open. “Oh, come on! I told you to stay.”

Looking over, he saw the purple teen coming over to him. An adult human was standing in the doorway, staring at him in shock. And maybe confusion too. This human didn’t like wolves. This human called him a beast. He needed to stay on guard with him. 

“That’s a kid,” the adult human said. He grimaced slightly at the term. It felt more like a term for humans or goats than a wolf. Child, young, or pup would be better. 

“No, really? I hadn’t noticed,” the teen huffed. His escape attempt was stopped yet again by the possible cat in disguise. There was a lot less flair to this capture though. Probably because he’d just been awkwardly hanging there. It didn’t require much movement or effort on the human’s part to push him back into the bath. 

The water sloshed around him. It was covered in a layer of white foam that the human called ‘bubbles.’ Apparently, they were for ‘fun.’ He didn’t see the appeal though. 

“What’s going on?” the adult human asked.

“I found this kid muzzled in the stray cat alley we visit.’ Again with that word… “Pretty sure he’s in a situation similar to mine but he doesn’t talk much. He has made it clear though that he doesn’t want to go back to the people who had him before.”

He started to nod in agreement. “Right. That won’t happen,” the adult human promised, causing him to snap his gaze toward him in surprise. Didn’t he hate wolves? “You seem to have this handled then. We’ll talk in the living room when you’re done. Do you need clothes?”

“I already grabbed some. Though there is a muzzle out there that should probably be bagged for evidence. It was thrown somewhere once it was off.”

Thrown away like the disgusting trash that it was!

“Okay. I’ll take care of that.” And then the adult human left.

Hitoshi sighed and looked back at the boy. “So… Wolf quirk, huh?”

Obviously. He shared his song, didn’t he? Rather than answer, he shook his head to dry his hair. The other teen raised his arms to block the water but he still got wet. 

“Was that necessary?” The teen sighed, grabbing a nearby towel to dry his face.

 Amused, he grinned at him, flashing his sharp teeth in the process.

Shouta sat in his living room, waiting for the wolf kid and his son to come out. Most likely, the kid would wind up staying with them temporarily, if not permanently. There were a lot of things to consider in that situation. A lot of precautions to take and things to learn quickly. 

Obviously, he knew that people with animal quirks were not the animal their quirk granted them traits of. But they still had instincts, wants, and needs that were influenced by those animals. Sometimes their quirk could even affect what foods they could eat. Would this kid be able to have chocolate or would it be toxic to him? Would he want to chase the cats in the apartment? 

Taking in someone with this kind of quirk would be quite an adjustment. 

Maybe he could talk to Ryou and get some pointers. 

Finally, Hitoshi walked in with the other kid. Shouta took a moment to appraise him. He was smaller than Hitoshi but had noticeable lean muscle. At the same time, he looked malnourished; skinny with an almost greyish tint to his skin. So not fed well but still doing something to build muscle. Labor maybe? Or forced ‘dogfights.’ It wasn’t uncommon for those with animal quirks. 

The kid had green hair and eyes, but a grey tail and ears. Typically, these extra appendages matched one’s hair color. So either he dyed his hair or he inherited two colors from his parents. He had a student this year that was a literal perfect example of bilateral genetics. If that was the case for this one, knowing their hair colors could help in a search for his parents. 

Lastly, he noticed that there were numerous scars on his skin. His arms, his legs, even his face. From claw marks to bite marks to puncture wounds that looked like snake bites. These kinds of marks had to have either come from actual animals or other animal-quirked people. They backed up the forced ‘dogfights’ idea. Thankfully, they seemed completely healed. 

“So are you going to introduce me?” Shouta prompted. 

“Uh…” Hitoshi glanced at the other kid. 

“You didn’t get his name, did you?” he guessed. 

“No,” Hitoshi admitted. “I was more focused on the muzzle I guess.”

“Did you at least tell him your name?” Shouta asked, figuring that he forgot that too. 

“Shit,” Hitoshi hissed under his breath. He turned to the other kid. “I’m Aizawa Hitoshi.”

The other kid blinked before replying. “Izuku.”

Shouta tried not to react to the damaged voice. It was just like when he first found Hitoshi. Years of being unallowed to speak had caused his vocal cords to atrophy, turning his voice into a harsh, grating noise. He hadn’t picked up on it at all in his earlier whining or howling. 

“My name is Aizawa Shouta,” he said, ignoring it for now. “I’m the underground hero, Eraserhead, so I can promise that you will not be going back to whoever hurt you. I’ll call this in. A case will be opened so that we can find and arrest them. In the meantime, you’ll stay here.”

The kid, Izuku, eyed him warily with his ears slightly lowered. He didn’t know canine body language as well as cats but he could guess that wasn’t a great sign. 

“Earlier…” Shouta began awkwardly. “You probably heard me ask why there was a beast in my bathroom. I would like to clarify that I have no prejudice against animal mutations. I thought Hitoshi had an actual stray dog in there. I don’t think you’re a beast and I want to apologize for the misunderstanding. Rather than hearing Hitoshi out, I panicked. I shouldn’t have.”

“Dad’s got a mild phobia of dogs,” Hitoshi told Izuku quietly.

“I am not afraid of dogs,” Shouta scoffed defensively. “They are just big and loud and jumpy. Or they’re the little ones that yip until you get a migraine. I have perfectly logical reasons for disliking them.” Izuku’s ears dropped further. “Ah, but I do not feel the same toward animal quirks. I am fully aware that they are not actually animals and don’t see them as such.”

“He’s friends with the hero Hound Dog,” Hitoshi whispered with a smirk. 

Izuku just looked between the both of them with a confused look. 

What exactly was he confused about?

Chapter Text

“Ah, but I do not feel the same toward animal quirks. I am fully aware that they are not actually animals and don’t see them as such.”

What a bizarre thing to say. He was very much an animal. That’s how he’s lived so far. 

While he vaguely remembered living free with his mom before the pits, his handlers had made it clear that the two of them had been strays. The people running the pits were dedicated to rounding up stray animals and giving them a purpose. To make up for their tainted existence. 

Calm, pretty animals got to be pets. That was the safest thing to be. Brought into an actual home and lazing about as a pretty or cute decoration. His mom had qualified to be one until she killed a handler for trying to separate her from her son. After that, she was deemed too aggressive to be a pet. As a wolf, he never would have qualified to begin with. 

The next best thing to be was a working animal. Strong but domesticated animals like horses or large dogs usually got jobs. Transporting things, guarding things, or even more complex tasks if they were smart enough. There had been a few he’d seen around the pits who moved heavy supplies around. 

Certain full-form animals got the worst fate. Slaughtered for meat or skins. It didn’t happen very often since many people found it disgusting to eat or wear animals like them. He’d heard handlers whisper about how unnatural they were. That eating or wearing them could probably infect people with their contaminated, repulsive nature. They were abominations to the core. 

Everyone else was sent to the fighting rings. Forced to fight to the death. When new animals refused to kill their opponent, the loser was simply shot by the handlers. Then the winner would be punished for not finishing the fight. There was no choice. The fights were life and death. 

The punishments were worse than death, so few refused to fight or kill for very long.

He lost his mom to the fighting ring when he was seven. Only two years after they’d arrived.

After that, he’d been alone. Alone to grieve. Alone to survive. Alone .

“Izuku?” He tilted his head at the questioning tone from the other boy. The purple teen looked concerned. “Dad asked if you could say who muzzled you?”

Huh. He hadn’t heard the adult human ask anything. 

“Handler,” he muttered. 

“Do you know their name?” The adult human questioned. They both had Aizawa in their name. Like how he and his mom shared a name. So did that mean he should call the adult human ‘Shouta’ since that was the different bit? That would make the purple teen ‘Hitoshi,’ right?

More importantly, the question. Did he know the handler’s name? Of course not. 

“Too many,” he explained. “No names.”

Shouta looked concerned. “There were a lot of handlers? How many?”

Izuku shrugged. “Dozens?”

“Would you say this was just a group or was it more like an organization?” Shouta asked, sounding very serious. He just shrugged again. What was the difference?

The man sighed. “Okay, that’s fine. Do you know where they kept you?”

He nodded. “The pits.”

“What are the pits?” Shouta asked, frowning. 

Hesitating, he tried to think about how to describe it. “The cages. The animals. The bath. The viewing rooms. The staff room. The… storage? Everything under the fighting ring,” he settled on, grimacing at how many words that needed. 

“An underground facility. Okay,” Shouta nodded, taking out a phone. The handlers used those all the time. He typed for a bit before asking another question. “Were you ever in the ring?”

Puffing out his chest with a mix of pride and bitter anger, he answered. “Champion.”

After letting out a quiet curse, Shouta stood. “Hold on, I need to make some calls.”

Izuku just tilted his head in confusion as the man fled to the kitchen area. 

Which call should be made first? There were two people he absolutely had to contact in this situation. The kid, Izuku, was a champion fighter in an organized crime ring. There was no way the people that had him wouldn’t come looking for him. They would need reinforcements to protect this kid. The best people to help would be Tsukauchi and Nezu. 

Tsukauchi, being a detective at the Musutafu Police Department, would have the ability to gather and file any documents they need to legally protect the kid. He would also be able to authorize things like a tracking bracelet or having some officers stationed nearby. 

Nezu, on the other hand, was a literal animal. One with a rare quirk that granted him intelligence greater than most humans. He had been subjected to experimentation for some time. Now he was free and legally recognized as human in terms of rights. He would understand Izuku. 

Both would be more than happy to aid with an investigation into this organization. Nezu in particular would be overjoyed at the opportunity to tear it down. Tsukauchi would be able to supply the manpower in the hunt for whoever was behind this. 

He decided to call Nezu first. He was the principal of UA after all. Where would be safer for Izuku than the top hero school equipped with a state-of-the-art security system? Nezu could probably also find information on Izuku faster than the police could. The rat could hack. 

“Shouta-kun! How surprising that you are calling me instead of the other way around!”

“I know. Listen, Hitoshi found a kid today. He’s got a wolf quirk and he’s apparently been held in an underground fighting ring. Worse, he’s their champion,” Shouta explained quickly.

The boys were watching him from the living room, so he tried to keep his voice down.

It probably didn’t do much given how Izuku’s ears were twitching. 

“I see. So they will most likely be looking for him then,” Nezu concluded. 

“Exactly. I figured he’d wind up staying with us but now that’s pretty much guaranteed since he’ll need to be in protective custody. We won’t be able to leave him home alone while we’re at UA though. Our apartment has security but it’s not even close to the kind of protection UA has.”

“If you are asking permission to bring him to UA, it’s granted,” Nezu assured him. “In fact, I have been wanting to implement a dorm system for years now. With the League being bold enough to attack the USJ, I worry that students may be targeted at their homes or on their way to school. Perhaps I could push for the school board to approve it. Not only will our students be safe, but your family and your new charge will have a much more secure apartment on campus.”

“That’s… actually a really good idea,” Shouta mumbled, surprised that he’d never thought of dorms before. Then again, no villains had been stupid enough to target their students before. 

“Of course it is, Shouta-kun. Have you forgotten who you’re speaking to?”

And there was the egotistical rat that he loved to hate. His boss was certainly something. 

“How long would it take to convince the board?” Shouta asked. 

“If done in a proper manner, maybe a week or two. If I use… other methods, I believe I could get approval in a couple of days,” Nezu replied. “Building them will not take long at all since I already have plans drawn up and Cementoss is more than capable of erecting a handful of buildings on request. Furnishing could be done quite quickly with Ectoplasm’s assistance.”

“We’re all pawns to you, aren’t we?” Shouta scoffed lightheartedly. 

“Nonsense. You are my family that just so happens to have useful skills,” Nezu chuckled.

“If you say so. Maybe don’t blackmail the board though. That could come back to bite you.”

“I’ll just keep it as a backup plan in case the negotiations don’t go in my favor.”

“I expect nothing less from you,” Shouta sighed. “I need to call Tsukauchi too. I’ll come a little earlier tomorrow to introduce you to the kid. His name’s Izuku if you want to try to find anything before then.”

“Try. Please. I will,” Nezu corrected. “Tell Tsukauchi I look forward to working with him on this case and that my assistance is not optional.”

With that, the rat hung up on him. Shouta just shook his head. He was used to Nezu’s particular brand of chaos. The intelligence hero had been his homeroom teacher back when he was a student. Then he become his employer not too long after he became a full-time hero. 

“Dad?” Hitoshi had come into the kitchen at some point during his call. “Exactly how bad is it that Izuku’s a champion fighter?”

“Honestly? It depends on how much money he made them,” Shouta answered bluntly. “It’s unlikely that they wouldn’t look for a champion fighter but if he pulled in a lot of funds with his winnings, then they’ll come after him with more desperation. So we need to take precautions.”

Hitoshi nodded in understanding. Shouta was just about to dial Tsukauchi when the front door opened and Izuku instinctually rushed at the intruder. The kid moved faster than Shouta could react, which was a little impressive. His growls almost drowned out the greeting from the door. 

“TadaimAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Hizashi was home.

Hitoshi's room on the left, EraserMic on the right.

Chapter Text

Rushing to the door with Hitoshi close behind, Shouta found Hizashi in the hallway and Izuku on top of him. His arms were pinned by claws digging into his biceps through his leather jacket and Izuku’s teeth were resting on his throat. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he was applying pressure with his bite just yet. It was a warning though. He would bite down if Hizashi moved. 

Out of habit, he reached for his capture weapon but he had taken it off earlier. Not that it would help in this situation anyway. He didn’t think that he could get it wrapped around the kid and pull him off of his husband before Izuku’s jaws could snap shut. Hizashi’s trachea would be crushed. 

They needed to de-escalate this without anyone getting hurt. How could they do that though?

“Izuku, no. Drop him.”

Shouta resisted the urge to groan in disappointment when his son gave dog commands to the clearly traumatized child who’s probably been treated as an animal during his captivity. 

But then Izuku listened. 

Correction: conditioned and traumatized child. 

Faint marks were on his husband’s throat when Izuku released him, but the skin was unbroken. The kid hadn’t let up with his claws yet. Hizashi was still trapped and Izuku growled when he shifted uncomfortably. Wisely, Hizashi stilled under the feral, unfamiliar teenager. 

“Shouta, what’s going on?” he dared to whisper. A tinge of panic was present in his tone.  

“Hitoshi brought home his first stray,” Shouta replied. “He was kidnapped or trafficked.”

“Oh. Okay,” Hizashi mumbled, relaxing a bit. Not entirely since a traumatized kid could still lash out in fear, but they weren’t usually aiming to hurt others the way a criminal was. 

“Izuku,” Hitoshi spoke up again, moving closer. “Remember how I said my dads adopted me? That they’d help you too? Well, he’s my other dad. Shouta is Dad, Hizashi is Papa. So can you let him go for me? I promise he won’t hurt you.”

Izuku seemed to mull that over for a moment before carefully pulling his claws from the probably ruined jacket. At least it wasn’t Hizashi’s hero costume jacket. The man had several leather jackets and was always getting more. The loss of one or even a few wouldn’t actually upset him. He’d just be a little dramatic about it in some situations. 

However, probably not this time. He’s too nice to risk guilt-tripping the kid. 

“Hey, little listener,” Hizashi started as Izuku moved off him. “It’s nice to m--”

Loud growling cut him off. The kid stopped his retreat to glare at Hizashi. 

“No, it’s okay,” Hitoshi said soothingly, getting closer to gently move Izuku away from the blonde still on the floor. “He’s just saying hi. No need to growl. You’re safe.”

It was about then that he noticed a few neighbors peeking out of their doors to watch the scene. He sighed when he saw the gossipy old lady from one floor down lurking near the stairs. How she climbed them when she looked like she’d crumble into dust any day now, he wasn’t sure. She would definitely be talking about this incident around the building for a while. 

He had come so close to punching her when Hitoshi first moved in because she had plenty of conspiracies back then too. Mostly circulating around how similar he and his adoptive son looked. He could handle her theorizing about teen pregnancy. That only reflected poorly on him. But then she started in on Hitoshi, saying he acted like a delinquent. He just had social anxiety.

Why couldn’t people just mind their own business?

“There we go.” Hitoshi’s voice snapped him out of the glaring he didn’t bother masking. If she was gonna be the building gossip, she should get used to being glared at. “We’ll just go back inside, safe and sound. My dads will come in too. After us. Then we can talk some more.”

A low rumbling still emanated from Izuku as he was led away. Shouta waited until they were inside the apartment to help his husband up. “How are your arms?” 

“Mildly scratched. I’m sure they’ll be sore later,” Hizashi answered. “How bad is the situation with the little listener?” 

“Pretty bad,” Shouta told him as they went inside, not bothering to explain a thing to their nosey neighbors. They didn’t have a right to know shit just because they lived in the same building. 

“Can we handle it ourselves or are we going to need backup?”

“I already started making calls.”

Hitoshi and his friend Izuku sat together on the floor while Hizashi sat on the couch. Shouta left him alone with the two teens so that he could call Tsukauchi about the situation. What exactly was the situation? Well, Hitoshi was just about to fill him in. But first!

“Anyone want tea?” Hizashi asked, starting to stand. “There’s--”

Deep, bone-chilling growls filled the living room before he was even fully standing. The kid, Izuku, was glaring at him, his ears pressed flat as he growled and bared his teeth. 

The very sharp teeth that definitely could have killed him back in the hallway. 

“Izuku, no. It’s fine,” Hitoshi assured the other boy. The growls didn’t stop until Hizashi sat back down, his spine ramrod straight. Why were Hitoshi and Shouta okay to move around but not him?

“Okay. No tea then,” Hizashi laughed nervously. “Just go ahead and fill me in.”

His son gave Izuku a mildly disapproving look before explaining. “I found Izuku muzzled and covered with dirt and blood. I brought him home to get the muzzle off. When Dad came home, he questioned Izuku and we learned that he was held captive and forced to fight people.”

“Champion,” Izuku muttered in a grating voice. 

“Yeah. And Dad said that’s bad because it means the people that took him will look for him.”

“They will,” Hizashi agreed, posture softening. This poor kid. No wonder that throat clamp earlier was his first reaction to a stranger. “They’ll probably be desperate and take drastic measures."

“We have at least the entirety of UA though, so we can protect him from anything. Right?”

At that, Izuku looked at Hizashi with something other than mistrust. Hope filled his eyes. 

“Won’t go back,” Izuku asserted, his statement ending in a whine. 

“No, you won’t go back,” Hizashi promised quickly. “Even if we have to take you out of the country to keep you safe, we will. You don’t need to fight anymore, kid. We’ll fight for you.”

The kid seemed to relax after he said that, the relief obvious in his posture. 

“See?” Hitoshi nudged the boy. “I told you.”

“All right. Tsukauchi said that we can come by and give him a statement tomorrow. Until then, he’ll start talking to his informants to see if any have heard about this fighting ring,” Shouta said tiredly, sitting next to the one called ‘Hizashi.’ The blonde man that looked nothing like Hitoshi. 

“Can I make tea now?” Hizashi asked, shifting to stand. 

Izuku growled again, keeping Hizashi in his spot. Even if it got him another scolding from Hitoshi. The correction was light and his tone didn’t sound angry, so he wasn’t scared to disobey. It was funny watching the blonde man go rigid, snapping back to his place on the couch. 

“Apparently not,” Shouta chuckled. Then his faint smile vanished. “For tomorrow, we’ll go to UA as usual. Nezu agreed to me bringing the kid already. There’s no point in taking off to stay with him here when UA has much higher security. Nezu also wants to implement a dorm system.”

“For everyone?” Hitoshi questioned. 

“Yes. Because of the League’s unprecedented actions this year, he was already considering it. Izuku’s situation is simply a boost he can use to convince the school board.”

“I’ll get to live with my friends?” Hitoshi grinned, sounding excited. 

“Maybe,” Shouta replied, exhaustion deepening. Were Hitoshi’s friends bad?

“5,000 yen says they’ll set something on fire in the first week,” Hizashi laughed. 

“Please, it’ll be within the first 24 hours,” Shouta sighed.

Hitoshi scoffed. “We’re not that bad. I bet we make it more than a week!”

Izuku tilted his head, listening to bets that were, for once, not reliant on someone’s death as the outcome. The way the little family spoke, they didn’t sound that serious anyway. 

The lighthearted banter between them was… comfortable. 

With a quiet huff, he laid down where he’d been sitting, his back pressing into Hitoshi’s thigh. This place was probably safe enough to sleep and he’d had a long day. A hand on his side made him tense until he realized it was just Hitoshi pulling down the shirt he gave him. 

The purple teen had been oddly insistent on him wearing pants earlier. Something about not ‘exposing’ himself and ‘inappropriate.’ He didn’t bother pointing out that animals didn’t really need clothes unless their owners decided to dress them up on a whim. The pants were uncomfortable, putting pressure he couldn’t stand on the underside of his tail. 

Since he had no pants now, he clearly won that fight. 

“I suppose, I’ll go make dinner,” Hizashi announced after a moment of quiet. 

When Izuku growled again, the man faltered. He couldn’t help the little smirk that formed.

Chapter Text

Thankfully, Izuku did let Hizashi up to make dinner. Shouta had some papers to grade before tomorrow and Hitoshi was working on his homework. Keeping in mind their malnourished guest, Hizashi tried to stick to dishes that would be easy on the stomach. 

Some rice, vegetable soup, and chicken cutlets. He would make some lightly seasoned, plain chicken as well since he wasn’t sure if Izuku could handle anything fried in oil. After setting some plain pieces in a pan to cook, he turned to work on breading the cutlets. His heart stopped when he saw green eyes scrutinizing his every move. Much closer than they had been. 

“Hey, little listener,” Hizashi smiled after swallowing a scream. Izuku had, quite silently, moved over to the counter separating the kitchen and the dining area. Rather than sitting on one of the stools, the boy had opted to stand, leaning over so that his chin rested on the marble surface. 

The bit of butter and mirin he had in the pan with the chicken to keep it from sticking to the bottom hissed suddenly, drawing Izuku’s attention away from him. When nothing happened for a moment, Hizashi carried on with his cooking. 

Izuku’s focus would flicker between him and the stove. His grey ears twitched at every hiss from the pan or bubbling from the soup. His eyes tracked Hizashi's hands as he coated the cutlets. Not a single growl or hint of aggression came from the boy. He seemed to be genuinely interested in the cooking process, expression alternating between curiosity and confusion. 

“Would you like to help?” Hizashi asked after a while. Izuku’s ears flattened. Ah, no then. “That’s okay. Watching is fun too. “I’m going to fry these in oil next. Just letting you know it might be noisy for a bit, but it’s completely safe. Okay?”

He didn’t really get a response. That was fine. However, Izuku did stand straight up when the first cutlet started sizzling in the oil. His eyes were wide but thankfully, not quite fearful. Soft but audible breaths came from him. Sniffing. He was smelling the chicken as it cooked. 

When he placed the first, golden-brown cutlet on some paper towels to soak up the excess oil, Izuku’s quiet sniffs became more rapid. “Fried chicken smells good, doesn’t it?” Hizashi commented as he cooked another cutlet. Kaarage was his favorite food, but any kind of fried chicken dish had that delicious smell that he loved. 

“Why?” Hearing Izuku speak again so suddenly, startled him but he tried not to show it. 

“Why does it smell good? Well, I think it comes down to pref--”

“Why that?” the boy cut him off, gesturing at the ingredients on the counter and the cooking happening on the stove. Was it the whole process that he was asking about?

“...Have you never seen anyone cook?” Hizashi questioned carefully.

Izuku’s next words broke his heart. “No one cooks for the animals.”

The horrified look on the man’s face wasn’t unfamiliar. Similar expressions had crossed the faces of the guests in the front rows during particularly gruesome fights. Somehow, here outside the ring, that expression made him feel self-conscious. Like he said something bad. 

Hizashi swallowed, schooling his expression into something calmer. “Did someone tell you that you are an animal?”

“Everyone,” Izuku answered simply, unsure why he would ask that. 

The man stayed quiet for a bit, turning the piece of chicken in the dish. It sizzled loudly once it was flipped over. He had to swallow the drool that was pooling in his mouth. No one had ever brought cooked food to any of the animals in the pits. Sometimes the staff had some that they ate in front of the cages, taunting the creatures inside. But that was the closest they got. 

Smelling freshly cooked food like this was completely new to him. Seeing how it was done was enthralling. Still, Izuku doubted it could beat the taste of raw meat. Not when it was being burned and covered in… stuff. Watching this was entertaining though. 

“Izuku,” Hizashi speaking to him again drew him out of his focused staring. “They’re wrong. I know you may not believe me, but you are not an animal. If that’s how you see yourself right now, that’s fine. Unlearning that sort of conditioning can take a while. But I need you to know that we do not and will never see you like that. Okay? You’re family now, Izuku.”

Again, discomfort filled him but he wasn’t sure why. Why did this feel so important?

“I’m sorry if that’s overwhelming for you,” Hizashi sighed. Then he smiled at him with unexpected gentleness. “I’ll always be happy to cook for you. You can watch anytime too, if that’s what you would like. My kitchen is open to you. It is not, however, ever open to Shouta .”

His voice raised suddenly on the name, drawing the other man’s attention. “Huh? What did I do?”

“You know perfectly well what you did! I am still mourning the loss of my favorite cake pan!”

“How was I supposed to know it would explode?” Shouta asked defensively. 

“You don’t bake anything at 400°C, Sho! That’s too hot!”

“I thought it would make it cook faster,” Shouta shrugged, turning back to the papers that he had been writing on. A frustrated sigh came from Hizashi followed by some grumbling.

“You see what I deal with, Izuku?” Hizashi huffed before winking at him. “You are a much better kitchen companion. Maybe one day you can even be a helper.”

Izuku snorted softly in amusement. Yeah, right. Animals definitely didn’t cook. 

Despite Papa’s best efforts, Izuku took his plate and sat on the floor during dinner. He didn’t use utensils, but no one had really expected him to. He remained hesitant throughout the meal, unused to cooked foods as Papa had learned while cooking. Every so often, he’d look up at Hitoshi from where he had settled himself so close to his chair, a question in his eyes. 

Of course, he just showed the other boy how the different foods were eaten without making a big deal of it. The meat was his favorite. No surprise there. He had tried a cutlet, seemingly liking it, until he got nauseous halfway through it. Already, he could see that ‘wasting’ food was going to be a huge issue for Izuku. He had struggled with that too when he first moved in. 

Carrots were rejected pretty harshly. Izuku managed to fish them out of the soup after eating one and hating it. That was fine, everyone had foods they didn’t like. But then Izuku still tried to make himself eat them, not wanting them to go to waste. Hitoshi wound up gently forcing Izuku to spit them out when the boy started gagging. Throwing up would be worse for him. 

Dinner was finished without much issue and then came figuring out sleeping arrangements. He would be in Hitoshi’s room since he was more comfortable with him. Hitoshi did offer to share his bed, it was big enough, but Izuku insisted on sleeping on the floor. 

“I will put down a futon,” Papa decided, not leaving room for argument. Izuku watched him set it up, occasionally tilting his head like a puppy would. It was so fucking adorable. 

“Animals don’t--” Izuku started. That was a big thing with him. Hitoshi’s parents weren’t happy that Izuku had that mentality about himself, but breaking the conditioning would take time. 

“It’s still on the floor,” Dad argued, trying to work with Izuku’s conditioning. 

Izuku blinked, looking between Dad and the futon. Hitoshi decided to chime in. “Yeah, it’s just some blankets and stuff. Those aren’t strictly for beds. You can have blankets on the couch or walking around or even on the floor.”

The boy grimaced, clearly displeased with their arguments but unable to refute them. With that, they managed to get him to lay on the futon. For all his resistance, his tail started wagging slightly when he pressed his face into a pillow. Yep. He liked all the soft stuff. 

His parents said goodnight and left them to sleep. Not that they did right away. 

“Hey, Izuku?” Hitoshi whispered into the darkness. A quiet, animalistic sound answered him. “Can you transform into a wolf?” 

Sue him. He was curious. “Be a full animal?” Izuku clarified. 

“Yeah.”

“No.”

“Oh, okay. Is there anything else to your quirk or is it just the mutations?”

“...”

“Izuku?”

“...I’m quirkless.”

Hitoshi sat up, looking at Izuku’s silhouette in the darkness. “No, you’re not. You have a wolf mutation quirk at the very least.”

“I am a wolf,” Izuku argued. “My mom was a husky. She had a quirk. It let her pull stuff to her through the air with her mind. I can’t do that.”

“Is your mom still in the pits you mentioned?” Hitoshi asked, more concerned with that than Izuku’s confusion over quirks. 

“No. She’s gone.” He could read between the lines there.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said softly as he laid back down. 

“It was a long time ago.”

Chapter Text

“Better?” Hitoshi watched as Izuku evaluated the skirt they had borrowed from Papa. It was long, coming down to his mid-shin, and pleated. The black paired well with the tan cat t-shirt Hitoshi lent him. Most of his shirts had cats so… It would just have to do for now. 

Izuku nodded after swishing his tail under the skirt. Since it was such a loose style as opposed to a narrow skirt, his tail was able to move pretty freely. It just couldn’t lift up entirely. With shorter skirts, it could, but they found that caused some issues while testing one. Izuku didn’t seem to care about nudity, but Iida would have a stroke if the wolf boy flashed the class. 

“Cool! We’re ready to go then,” Hitoshi smiled, herding the other boy out of his room. 

Once his parents were ready as well, they headed outside. They took Papa’s car to school, as usual, and Izuku investigated it as they drove. He managed to unbuckle himself twice, open the door once, and then the boy found the button for the window. 

“If that’s all it takes to keep him calm…” Dad shrugged, watching Izuku lay on the door to make the wind from the open window flow over his face. Hitoshi tried not to laugh, seeing the canine stereotype in action. Green curls were forced back, out of his face, showing off his freckled cheeks. His hair would probably be seriously messed up by the time they got to school.

It absolutely was. Even though the curls bounced back into place, weighed down by gravity and the texture, they were incredibly frizzy. “Oh my… We’ll need to get you some hair products pretty soon, huh?” Papa fretted, trying to tame the frizz with what he always kept on hand for his own hair. It didn’t have quite the same effect but at least Izuku was presentable now. 

“He has pretty much the same texture as Mina. I could ask her if she has anything,” Hitoshi suggested. He would need to apply it with her guidance though. Izuku already snapped at Papa twice before deciding that it felt good to have someone play with his hair. 

They parted ways with Papa once they were inside the school. Normally, Dad would go with him to the teacher’s lounge but Izuku’s first time meeting the class was best being supervised. 

When they got to the classroom, only about half the class was already there. The rest tend to come in later, just before the bell. Mina spotted him right away. “Hey, Hitoshi-kun! Did you see the trailer for that-- Oh… Who’s this?”

That got people’s attention. Izuku growled next to him, unnerved by the 11 other students staring at him suddenly. Dad explained as Hitoshi tried to calm down the wolf boy. “This is Izuku. Due to circumstances, he will be on UA campus for a while. Do not overwhelm him.”

“Aizawa-Sensei!” Iida stood up, raising an arm stiffly. “If he is to be a student, should he not be in the school uniform?”

“He’s not a student,” Dad replied tiredly. “He is a guest of UA.”

“I see,” Iida responded, miraculously having no further complaints. 

“Ooh! Is he like, in witness protection?” Hagakure asked excitedly. Izuku’s ears perked up as he gazed in her direction, only to flatten when all he saw was her floating uniform. 

“Not exactly. But I do expect you to keep his presence quiet. If there are any issues with the other classes, the staff will handle them. You are simply not to gossip. Understood?”

“Yes, Aizawa-Sensei,” most of the students in the room agreed. 

It was at that moment that Bakugou walked into the classroom, loudly complaining about some extra that was bothering him in the halls. Izuku growled at the sudden noise and, unexpectedly, Bakugou turned as white as a sheet. Actually, he looked like he might faint. 

“Izuku?” In a small, breathy voice, Bakugou uttered the name he shouldn’t know yet. 

An animalistic growl pulled his attention from his half-hearted complaining to vibrant green eyes and a freckled snarl. His breath was stolen from his lungs as he took in the fluffy green hair, tense grey ears, and that small, barely visible scar on his chin that permanently recorded the day he accidentally knocked his friend off the jungle gym. When they were just kids…

“Izuku?” He heard his voice shake, terrified that he was wrong but also hoping that he was. 

The snarl faded, replaced by a look of confusion. 

“How do you know his name?” Aizawa asked sharply. 

“He’s my…” He couldn’t help it. His knees buckled. 

This was his best friend, long assumed dead along with his mother. Kidnapped from their apartment. He was the one to find the busted door, intending to spend the day playing heroes with his friend. He was the one to see the blood painting the floors and the walls. He was the one to see his best friend’s room torn apart, even his favorite All Might poster ripped in half. 

He barely registered Aizawa lifting him off the floor and guiding him to the infirmary. He could only look behind himself, gaze locked on Izuku’s worried expression as he trailed behind them. 

“Kacchan? Are you okay?”

“Course! I’m gonna be a hero, so I gotta be tough!”

“Heroes can get hurt too though…”

“All Might doesn’t. I gotta be better than him to be the number one hero!”

“I guess. But Kacchan?”

“Yeah, Izuchan?”

“Your nose is bleeding.”

“Argh! Why didn’t you say so sooner?!”

High-pitched giggles followed him out of his flashback, echoing in his mind as a light was shone in his eyes. “I told you to get this one set up with Hound Dog. He clearly has PTSD.”

“He insisted that he already has a therapist he’s been seeing for years.”

“Hm… All right then. I guess this has been an issue since before the USJ.”

“Izuku, do you know him?”

Katsuki blinked, more aware of his surroundings despite being weighed down with exhaustion. Aizawa, his son, Izuku, and Recovery Girl were standing around him while he sat on one of the cots reserved for sick or injured students. His breath hitched hearing Izuku’s answer. 

“Familiar. Can’t remember.”

“You don’t remember me?” Katsuki asked in disbelief. Izuku met his eyes with guilt in his expression. He tried to breathe the way his therapist taught him. It wasn’t personal. Whatever happened to Izuku, it was obviously traumatic. Trauma can affect memories. This was fine.

“Bakugou-kun. You experienced a panic attack. You also appeared to be having a flashback as well,” Recovery Girl told him gently. “I gave you a mild injectable sedative.”

“Is that why I feel drowsy?” 

“Partly. Panic attacks are also physically exhausting. You can rest here until you feel better.”

He watched her leave, heading into her little office to give them a bit of privacy. Turning back to the trio staring at him, he prepared to answer the questions they’d probably have. But first…

“Where did you find him?”

Hitoshi grimaced. “I found him in the alley I usually feed stray cats in.”

“Were you just on the streets this whole time?” Bakugou asked Izuku directly. 

Drooping ears bounced slightly when he shook his head. “I was in the pits.”

“What’s--”

“That’s an ongoing investigation. We can tell you more when we have more information,” Aizawa cut in looking at him grimly. “Since you know Izuku, I don’t suppose you would happen to know his full name? It would help a great deal if the investigators knew it.”

“Midoriya Izuku,” Katsuki answered easily. “He… He didn’t remember that either?”

Aizawa shook his head. “Can you tell us how you knew Izuku? What was his relation to you?”

“Our moms… They were best friends since high school. They got pregnant around the same time. Being born so close together, we were more or less friends since birth. Our families were close, always over at each other’s houses. Izuku’s practically a brother to me.”

“When did he go missing?”

“A couple of months before my 5th birthday. Auntie Inko and him were both taken together.” Izuku seemed to jolt slightly, upon hearing his mother’s name. “The police only looked for a year before declaring them dead. I found out when I was older, that’s because some anti-heteromorph vandalism was found at the scene.”

Those kinds of hate groups were known for beating the people they targeted to death. Some left the bodies in a public place to make an example of them. Others didn’t, trying to avoid having their crimes connected to them so that they could ‘eradicate’ more people before being arrested. Judging by Aizawa’s expression, he understood exactly what Katsuki was implying.

“Thank you, Bakugou. I’m sure this is hard to talk about,” Aizawa said in a surprisingly soft voice. It was similar to the one his dad would use to calm him. “We’ll let you rest. Come back to class whenever you’re ready. I’ll let your teachers know your absence is excused.”

“Thanks, Sensei…” Katsuki sighed, laying back on the cot. He gave Izuku one last glance as the boy walked out the door, heart clenching when his friend didn’t even pause to look back at him. 

This wasn’t fine.

Chapter Text

Forgot to share Izuku's outfit last chapter!

But no shoes. Izuku was opposed.

Running through the park with the reassuring scents of mint and sugar. The memories came clearly to him. He had remembered that when he first followed the instinctual pull inside himself leading to that same park, to his home. Fresh mint, cool and crisp, was the scent of his mother. He hadn’t questioned the memory of sugar, sometimes with hints of vanilla, other times burning. 

This human smelled of burning sugar. This human said that he knew him. 

Izuku felt bad that he couldn’t remember, especially when the boy was so distraught that he collapsed to his knees. But there wasn’t anything he could do. He didn’t even remember where his old den was. He’d been focusing on surviving for so long, that everything else faded. 

“I can’t believe Bakugou reacted like that,” a boy with straight black hair commented once Shouta and Hitoshi returned to the classroom. 

“C’mon. We know Blasty is a total softy deep down,” a pink… girl-- ??? --replied with a shrug. “Ain’t nothing wrong with dramatic reunions with childhood friends.”

“ Are you childhood friends?” some floating clothes asked, close enough that he could smell the unseen person wearing them. “Did you move away?”

“Something like that,” Shouta answered for Izuku. “Izuku is coming to us from a sensitive situation. I don’t want any of you to pry or bug him about it.”

“I’m just asking how he knows Bakugou,” the clothes huffed, sounding distinctly pouty. 

He let Hitoshi pull him away from her and over to the pink girl and the black-haired boy. The girl didn’t really seem like a human, but he couldn’t place what animal she would be exactly. Maybe some kind of moth…? The boy had also had mutations, but only on his elbows. And they didn’t seem animalistic at all. So this one was probably human. Not that he was going to ask. 

“Izuku, these are my friends Ashido Mina and Sero Hanta,” Hitoshi introduced, gesturing to each of his friends as he said their names. “Over there, with the purple hair, is Kyouka Jirou. She usually hangs out with us too. In the mornings she’s more sensitive to sound though.”

“Yep. And Kami is loud,” the pink one nodded solemnly. 

“So are you,” the other retorted. Then he turned to Izuku. “It’s nice to meet you, Izuku.”

He kept his mouth shut, not sure how animals speaking would be taken with these new people. The moth seemed to be allowed to talk. Maybe she was a pet? Pets tend to be more social with humans, living next to them and all. Did she belong to this ‘Sero?’

“You can call me ‘Mina,’ okay? Any friend of Hitoshi’s is a friend of mine,” the girl declared.

He nodded slightly to show he had heard her and then turned to look at the rest of the kids in the room. There were still the clothes that smelled and talked like a person, the Kyouka Jirou that Hitoshi mentioned, and that blue-haired guy from earlier. But there was also a large brunette, a tall girl with a ponytail, a sparkly boy, another blonde that looked human until he noticed their tail, a red- and -white-haired kid, and then a small child with balls on their head. 

A smaller brunette walked into the room accompanied by a… frog. Why were there so many pets here? Was he supposed to be a pet now? Maybe that’s what Hizashi meant when he said Izuku was family now. The family pet. Well… It’s still better than the fighting rings.

The brunette gasped. “New kid! Hi! I’m Uraraka Ochako! What’s your name?”

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Hitoshi nudged him. “His name is Izuku.”

Oh… She meant him? New… Kid? But…

“Welcome to UA, Izuku-chan. My name is Asui Tsuyu but please, call me Tsu, kero.”

Nervously, Izuku eyed the brunette to see if she would scold her frog for speaking. He relaxed, relieved when she didn’t. Instead, she spoke to him. “Where did you transfer from?”

“He’s not really a student,” Hitoshi told her. “I’m sure Sensei will go over it again once everyone is here.”

“Okay!” the girl smiled, apparently unbothered. She and Tsu excused themselves to go talk to ‘Iida’ about last night’s 'homework.’ 

While Hitoshi talked with his friends, Izuku watched as more students wandered in. A blonde that smelled like lightbulbs when they exploded due to power surges and a red-haired kid with terrifyingly sharp teeth came in together. Was he just a person with sharp teeth or was he a shark in disguise? He would have to watch and find out. 

Another kid who looked vaguely like a rock… Rocks are not animals but… 

When something unidentifiable walked in, he was thoroughly confused. Multiple arms, wing-like appendages… Could something be not animal or human? He was still thinking about how that one might be classified when a bird walked in by themselves. A bird! He loves birds!

Before he could think better of it, he left Hitoshi’s side to investigate. 

“Are you… sniffing me?” the bird asked, sounding confused. 

“Birds are so cool!” Izuku whispered, scared of getting in trouble for talking but also excited to meet one. “Hey, do you want to be friends? I promise I won’t eat you.”

The bird’s eyes widened in alarm. “When was eating me on the table?”

Stupid bird said that loudly enough to gain other people’s attention. “I said I wouldn’t…”

“Izuku.” Hitoshi was at his side quickly. He flattened his ears and smothered a whine. He was going to be in trouble. Eating someone’s pet was probably really bad. Even though he said he wasn’t going to do that! Would Hitoshi even believe him? “What’s wrong?”

“He asked to be friends and then said he wouldn’t eat me,” the bird told him honestly. 

“Mm, okay, so… Sensei will explain more once homeroom starts but basically, he was in a situation where he had to hunt for food. I’m guessing birds were on the menu,” Hitoshi explained. 

“...I see.” the bird replied, though he still looked uncomfortable. 

“Izuku, this is Tokoyami Fumikage. He’s another student here,” Hitoshi introduced the bird. How was an animal a student? Wasn’t school a human thing?

Or was this one of the strays the pits were after? Did Shouta not mind strays?

A quiet whine slipped out. Hitoshi frowned. “Are you okay?”

“He’s overwhelmed,” an even quieter voice informed him. It was the rock person. 

“Do you need a minute in the hallway?” Hitoshi questioned gently. “I’ll tell Dad and we can go out there until the bell rings. There will be less people.”

Without waiting for him to actually agree, Hitoshi pulled him over to Shouta to do exactly that. He followed along silently, staring at his hand, held carefully in Hitoshi’s. He didn’t understand anything that was going on right now. The animals here were either pets or strays, but they were also students. Nothing made sense. 

Both of the Aizawas already said he wasn’t a student. But did he really want to be Hitoshi’s pet?

“Hey, just breathe… It’s okay, Izuku. You’re safe,” Hitoshi promised, pulling him into a hug. 

Hitoshi was kind. He’d be safe if he stayed as a pet, right? 

Watching his son and Izuku leave, Shouta worried. The students had more or less stopped talking to Izuku when the boy went mute. He had briefly perked up again when he saw Tokoyami, no doubt considering the boy with the bird mutations to be a peer, but shut down once there was a misunderstanding between them. 

He would probably need to share a bit more than he originally wanted to in order to ensure that the students wouldn’t be offended by any anti-heteromorph sentiments Izuku would inevitably repeat. They needed to understand that he wasn’t trying to be hateful or rude. 

As soon as he got the chance, he would also need to talk to Izuku about how he views certain students. Even if he’d been conditioned, that needed to be nipped in the bud when it came to other people. 

“Do you think he’s okay?” Uraraka fretted, also watching the door they had gone out. 

“He’s been through something bad, right, Aizawa-Sensei?” Hagakure guessed. 

“Yes. I’ll go over it a bit at the start of homeroom,” he assured the class. 

“I did not mean to upset him,” Tokoyami frowned, Dark Shadow manifesting to hug him. 

“And he didn’t mean to upset you,” Shouta sighed tiredly. “It’s just a misunderstanding. We’ll get it sorted out. Don’t worry too much.”

Now if only he could take his own advice as he watched the clock count down the seconds to the bell. After homeroom, he would probably take Izuku with him to the teacher’s lounge just to give the poor kid a break. Socializing after such extreme isolation had to be difficult. 

The day hadn’t even started yet and two of his kids had panic attacks already. 

Today was going to be exhausting as hell. Maybe he should reschedule his patrol tonight.

Chapter Text

“Right… So,” Shouta sighed, his class looking at him expectantly. When the bell rang, he asked Hitoshi to stay out in the hall with Izuku for a bit longer. He didn’t think the kid should be present for this conversation. “Due to circumstances that aren’t his fault, Izuku believes he’s an animal.”

“Wait. Like… he’s feral or something?” Kaminari asked. 

“No. As in he genuinely does not believe he’s human,” Shouta clarified. “He was recently found on the streets after escaping from an extremist anti-heteromorph group. We don’t have much information on them, but an investigation is being opened. From what Izuku has been able to tell us, they seem extremely organized. He, unfortunately, spent most of his life as their captive. They successfully dehumanized and conditioned him to their preferences.”

“...So he thought that I was an animal…” Tokoyami realized, frowning deeply. 

“Most likely, yes. I will talk to him about that later, but I expect he may say offensive things without meaning to while we try to decondition him,” Shouta warned them. 

“Should someone like that really be at UA?” Iida questioned. 

“Well, duh! Obviously,” Mina rolled her eyes. “There’s nowhere safer for him. What if the people that took him try and get him back?”

“Are people going to be after him, Aizawa-Sensei? Is that why he’s here?” Ojirou asked patiently. He could tell that his student worried about a repeat of the USJ. 

“If he were on his own, yes, we believe those people would be looking for him. But we don’t think they would be foolish enough to attack UA like the League did should they discover his presence here,” Shouta assured firmly. “Our primary concern is the danger he would be in while off-campus. As long as he’s here, he will be completely safe.”

“Then why do we have to stay quiet about him?” Jirou pointed out. 

“Because the investigation is confidential and high-risk. If it were to get out that Izuku is here, the people who had him would realize that law enforcement is aware of them and likely searching for them. They could run or go deeper into hiding. Izuku was not their only prisoner. He was just one who managed to escape. For the sake of the other captives, it can’t get out.”

“Can we help with his deconditioning somehow?” Uraraka offered, with a look of concern. 

Several other students made sounds of agreement. Shouta thought it over and then replied.

“Right now, we are at a stage where we are trying not to disrupt his worldview too harshly. We’ve told him he’s not an animal but when he says that he is, we won’t be scolding him. At the same time, we won’t agree with him. What you kids can do right now, is not hold any offensive comments against him. Correct him gently if he refers to any of you as an animal, but don’t correct him if he does it to himself. Rushing this process could cause him to panic.”

“Who would he even think of as an animal?” Sero wondered aloud. 

“Tokoyami, obviously,” Kirishima shrugged. “Maybe Ojirou because of his tail?”

“I’ll be honest, we aren’t sure yet what mutations he views as animalistic. There would be the obvious animal quirks or mutations. But beyond that, we’ll just have to see what other mutations that group’s radical beliefs included. It varies in different groups,” Shouta explained.

“That’s true, kero. I know some are against all mutations and others are only against mutations that take away from the standard ‘human’ appearance,” Tsu agreed, making air quotes around the word human. Mina and Shouji nodded along with her. 

“I will be speaking to him later today about how he can refer to others. That said, if he does trigger any of you at any point, please talk to me or one of your other teachers.”

“Yes, Aizawa-Sensei!”

“And of course, don’t pester him about his past either.”

“Yes, Aizawa-Sensei!”

“Can you tell me what freaked you out?” Hitoshi asked after his dad said to stay in the hallway.

“...Why…?” Hitoshi waited patiently for Izuku to continue. “...Why are there pets here?”

“There aren’t,” Hitoshi replied, confused. 

“Are they strays?” Izuku questioned, tilting his head to the side. 

“...Do you think some of my classmates are animals?” The other boy hesitantly nodded. “They aren’t. And you can’t say that to them either. It’s rude.”

A quiet whine came from Izuku. “I don’t understand. I’m sorry.”

“You’ll learn,” Hitoshi promised. He hesitated before adding, “And I’m not mad. You’re not in trouble or anything. You just can’t call other people animals.”

Izuku nodded silently. A little bit later, the door opened. 

“You two can come in now,” Dad called.

“C’mon. Since you refuse to sit in chairs, you can just sit by my desk,” Hitoshi smiled, holding out his hand. He had just grabbed Izuku earlier, not thinking anything of it until they were out in the hallway. He was pleasantly surprised when Izuku took his hand willingly this time. 

Maybe the rest of today would actually go well!

‘They aren’t animals.’ 

‘You can’t call people animals.’

So these are humans that look like animals?

But humans that look like animals are animals. 

Animals that look like humans are the worst kind of animals. 

Mistakes. Unnatural. A̶̢̛̘̖̱͕͍̼͚̖͔̐́̇͋̎̈́͛̒̍̕͜͜͜ͅb̶̺͉͕͕̳͔̗̽̈́̅͊͗̈̈́̔̋̓́͛̔́͠o̸̡̩͇̦̥͐̉́͘̕m̴͇͈̍͑̍̾̅̓͝͠͝i̴̖͎̗̩̼̲̦̦̗͇̔̎͒̃́̅̽̀̓̈́̕ͅņ̸̢̢̛͕̖͈̗̱̮̭͖̟̍̃̋̀a̴̧̡̢̢̲̭̖̜̥̩̜̪͚̳͐̃͌̌̆͂̑̇͌̓̃̔̚͝ͅt̷̢̖̯͓̘͙̜̰̙̣̼͇̀͊̍̄͆̐́̂̿͛͊͠ͅͅḭ̸͓́̃͗̓̊͌̀͒͘͜o̴̧̬̮̩̥̼̣͗͐̅̔̀̓̒̂̽̿̃̓̂̈́̕n̴̢̤͓̪̈̈́s̷͕̦̪͎̰̙̾́͊̂̊̊̅̾̀͌̓̒̕̕͝.̸̡͕͒̍̃

The ones with human skins deceive humanity so that they can further taint the Earth.

They can’t be allowed to roam unchecked. 

Each one needs to be accounted for and contained. 

Humans needed to reclaim the Earth, removing the tainted genes. 

Unnatural animals need to be controlled or put down. 

Trained to obey their owners. 

To accept even death if it is ordered. 

But he ran. 

Why did he run again?

Bad. Disobedient. Ḧ̸̥́̉̆̅̒͠ͅo̷̻̗̘̊͒̆͂̅̚͜͜ͅr̷̫̺̫̿͊̉̿͊ṙ̴̬̝̞̣̰̂͊͠͝i̸͇̫͈̘͆͑̌d̸̞͚̬̹̖̃̂͝ ̷̲̫̃l̶̢͖͈̰͍̽ḯ̵̻͔͊t̷̞̖̦̙̟͎̏̉̇̒̌̾t̸̫͔͈̅l̵̢̧̟̽̃̌͠ȩ̵̦͕͆̓͝ ̶̙͐̾̄̉͘ä̶̗̰͕̳͚͙́̆̈̄̇͗b̷̛̦̋͆̓́o̴̟̠̯͙̳̔̂̎ṁ̴̱̫̾ī̴̡̛̼̲͈͕̠͒͆̇̚n̸͉̓̊̅̽̓ǎ̶̞́̀̅̋͠t̷͈̩̘̩̫̓̽̉į̴̬̬̳̯͂̃o̵̡̞͈̬̳̪̒̇̇̓́ņ̴̢̛̜͈̼̀̾̄̉͘ͅ!̴̡͍̪͖̦̂̀́̑̚

He had a second chance with his new owners that found him. 

Obey. Submit. Do what is expected. 

Hitoshi ordered him not to call the animals ‘animals.’

To be a good pet, he needed to do as he was told. 

Listen. 

Listen!

LISTEN!

Even if it doesn’t make sense. 

He has to obey. 

The other pets are not to be called animals. 

His owner commanded it. 

He didn’t understand. 

It wasn’t his place to understand. 

A stupid, useless mutt like him could never understand the ways of humans. 

So he just needed to shut up and listen. 

Listen…

He could listen to Hitoshi’s orders. 

The other pets are not to be called animals. 

Even if he didn’t understand, he would obey. 

Then maybe he could stay here instead of being a fighter. 

Oh. That was why he ran. 

The pain of dragging the last bit of life out of another. 

If he listened to Hitoshi, he might never have to do that again. 

Anything. He would do anything to ensure that. 

A hand patted his head when he leaned against Hitoshi’s leg. He relaxed, remembering that Hitoshi promised he would be safe from now on. Hitoshi wouldn’t make him fight. 

And Izuku would be forever grateful for that.

The least he could do was obey.

From inside his sleeping bag, he watched over the class, having let them have the rest of homeroom to socialize. Izuku seemed to be a little zoned out, leaning against Hitoshi’s leg. 

When they came back in and Izuku immediately sat on the floor, the students asked about it. After a bit of back-and-forth, Yaoyorozu made a cushion for the boy. No further remarks were made about his preference to be on the floor. In fact, most stuck to subjects unrelated to Izuku, making good on their promise not to pester him. Just Hitoshi’s friend group talked about Izuku. 

“But like, you can see color, right?” Ashido asked, holding up a pack of colored pens. “Or are you colorblind? Hound Dog said he was colorblind when I asked. That’s why his counseling office is all blues and yellows.”

Izuku came back to himself, looking up at Hitoshi for guidance. 

“I don’t know. She has this thing about needing to know everyone’s favorite color,” Hitoshi shrugged. “She literally brought in paint samples when I wasn’t specific enough for her.”

Looking back at Mina, Izuku offered a barely audible answer. “...Red.”

“Mhm,” Mina nodded seriously. “I can see that. Makes total sense.”

“Are you serious? You wouldn’t accept it when I said purple but he gets away with just saying red?” Hitoshi scoffed, folding his arms in mock offense.  

“Yeah, but I know which red he means,” Mina defended as Izuku flinched. 

“How can you possibly know which red he means? You can’t read minds.”

“Actually, Hitoshi, sometimes I think she can,” Kaminari interjected. “I bet it’s one of her secret alien powers.”

“Still sucks that Midnight wouldn’t let me go with Alien Queen,” Mina complained with a pout. 

Sero patted her on the shoulder. “I think you would have been the best Alien Queen.”

Their attention was no longer on Izuku, otherwise they would have seen the adorable head tilt of confusion the boy did in response to their chaotic conversation. 

He would learn to stop questioning their antics eventually. They never made any sense.