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Chapter Text

--Aldera primary school –

There’s a new kid in class today. Izuku stretches his neck up as much as he dares over Yamato-chan’s afro (it wasn’t part of his quirk, his hair was just like that) so he could see the front of the class.

Okura-sensei steps forwards and puts a hand on the new kid’s shoulder.

“This is Shinsou Hitoshi, he’s just moved to the neighbourhood and will be joining us in class from now on.”

Shinsou keeps staring ahead. He has purple hair that sticks straight up in the air and pale skin. Izuku thinks he looks tired. He also has a weird mask on. Maybe it’s his quirk? He can feel his leg twitching already even though he’s trying his very best to stay still. In Izuku’s 8-year-old experience, moving too much meant a telling off by the teacher for disrupting his classmates.

“Shinsou-kun’s quirk, brainwashing, is very dangerous. His foster parents have informed us that he needs to wear this mask during school hours to help him control it.”

Izuku watches as Okura-sensei frowns when he mentions Shinsou’s quirk. It’s obvious to Izuku that his teacher is glad Shinsou has his mask. Izuku wonders if – if Kacchan could get gloves to control his quirk too. He always says it’s an accident when he burns Izuku (he’s lying).

“Unfortunately the mask stops Shinsou-kun from speaking, so he’ll be communicating through writing with you all.”

Okura-sensei doesn’t sound like he cares too much. Izuku frowns. That sounds horrible. He turns back to staring at Shinsou, who is looking towards the ground now, shoulders hunched a little. He looks lonely.

Maybe he’d like to be friends.

--

At lunch time, Izuku carefully avoids Kacchan and makes his way to Shinsou, still sitting at his desk.

“Ano… Shinsou-kun?” he says tentatively.

Shinsou looks up, startled, and stares at him. The silence is weird.

“Uh…”, Izuku trails off self-consciously. Stuuuupid, uuuselesss, Deku!

Shinsou keeps looking at him. He probably won’t want to be Izuku’s friend. But… Mom always says that if you never try you’ll never really know… Izuku’s pretty sure he knows (he’s tried a lot).

“D’you… I mean, uh, dyou wanna have lunch with me?” he rushes out.

Shinsou’s eyes widen a bit as he stares, but he nods slowly at Izuku (as if Izuku’s going to laugh at him, and not the other way around).

Izuku beams, and offers his hand for Shinsou to take. He knows just the perfect place for them to go (where the other kids won’t see him).

Shinsou takes it really slowly, and stumbles a bit when Izuku drags him excitedly out the door.

They quickly make it to Izuku’s secret spot and the 8-year old takes his bag off his back to reveal his bento. Shinsou looks slowly around himself and cautiously sits down.

The silence is weird, but Izuku’s far too ecstatic someone is willing to have lunch with him to care.

He opens his lunch and glances up.

“Sh-shinsou..?” he asks. The other boy looks up at him and tilts his head questioningly.

“Um… Where’s your lunch?”

The other boy just shrugs and shakes his head. Izuku frowns a little. He’s always hungry and tired when someone steals his lunch. Maybe…

“Do you… want to share m-mine?” he waits for the other boy to scoff at him but Shinsou just stares.

Izuku waits, and eventually Shinsou shrugs in a sort-of-yes, but one of his hands slowly reaches up to the mask and tugs carefully.

Izuku frowns in thought.

“You can’t take it off?” he asks, just to be sure. Shinsou nods, and looks away. Maybe he’s embarrassed?

Izuku leans forwards to have a look at it. There’s a clasp, but it’s really small and in a really awkward place. He can see why Shinsou can’t do it himself. He looks down at the other boy, almost head-butting him in his excitement (oops).

“Sorry! Do you want me to take it off?”

Shinsou stares for a really long time this time. But that’s okay, Izuku’s getting used to it. Maybe Shinsou just takes a long time to decide things, like Granny Obaka-san next door.

He nods. Izuku bounces up, startling the other boy accidentally, but he makes quick work of the mask.

For the first time, Izuku sees Shinsou’s full face. It’s almost disappointingly normal (Izuku was sort of hoping he’d have a cool mouth with an extra tongue or red lasers or something from his quirk). Shinsou has red skin where the mask rested and he looks relieved to have it off. Izuku puffs his chest out – this friend thing was going ok so far.

Undaunted by the continued silence, he grins at the other boy and enthusiastically places his bento between them. He looks at his single pair of chopsticks and shrugs, going for the rice balls with his fingers.

“…thanks” he hears a soft voice.

Izuku could cry, he’s so pleased. “It’s ok!” he looks up at the other boy and points at the food.

“Come on, Mom’s cooking is the best.”

Shinsou gives a small smile and reaches cautiously for the food.

It doesn’t take long for the bento to be finished, but Izuku is too happy to still feel hungry.

“Hey, Shinsou? Wanna be my friend?” he asks, exuberantly. He’s a bit scared after he says it but he tells himself it’s fine even if Shinsou says no (it’s not).

Shinsou stares at him again, but quickly nods his head, smiling softly.

“Uh... yeah, ok….” He seems to hesitate for a long time, but Izuku waits patiently, “um… what’s your name…?”

Izuku squeaks, embarrassed.

“Aaaah, sorry! I’m Midoriya Izuku, but call me Izuku! I-If you w-want!”

Shinsou smiles again, “...Hitoshi”

Izuku blinks at him before the meaning sinks in and he impulsively reaches across and hugs the other boy. Hitoshi stiffens a little in his hold but Izuku is too excited to care.

--

They’ve only just finished lunch, and Hitoshi is still reeling over having an actual friend (maybe?). Izuku is a bit overexcited and eager, but he’s nice. It’s nice, just… having someone to spend time with.

And then Izuku leans in and starts asking about how his quirk worked.

Of course he does. It’s normal friend conversation, isn’t it... Probably. Hitoshi doesn’t actually know for sure. He’s sad, but it was nice… while it lasted.

“Uh…” he falters a bit, but caves at Izuku’s hopeful look, “I – when I ask a person a question, they have to do what I tell them to…” he pauses, “…only if I want them to, though.”

He looks at the ground, avoiding the other boy’s gaze, and waits for the inevitable.

There’s a muffled giggle, and he flinches. But then Izuku is poking him excitedly, and Hitoshi looks up to see the other boy practically vibrating in place, eyes shining.

“Nee, nee, Hitoshi! Your quirk’s so awesome! Hey, hey, d’you want to be a hero? You’d be such a cool hero! Aaaaah ..! You – D’you mind if I write about it in my notebook?!” the boy’s words devolve into mutterings and Hitoshi feels his chest squeeze.

“…you think I could be a hero?” he asks, shocked.

“Of course!!”, Izuku answers without hesitation. He doesn’t even look a little bit scared, still grinning ear to ear and rocking a little energetically.

“…I…” Hitoshi is at a loss for words. He blinks back tears.

“Thanks, I-Izuku…” he manages, his lips pulling back in a shy smile.

Suddenly they hear an angry shout, and both boys look up surprised to see Okura-sensei rushing towards them.

Hitoshi scrambles for his mask (muzzle) and holds it against his face (he can’t put it on by himself but he gets in trouble when it’s off).

Izuku looks at him confused before he seems to realise what the problem is and his eyes go wide.

Okura-sensei reaches them with a few huge steps and glares at them.

“Shinsou-kun! Put your mask back on! What were you thinking taking it off! Disobedient child!”

Hitoshi gulps but tries to explain, “I -  I can’t p-“

The man glares at him so poisonously that Hitoshi’s words die in his throat.
“Don’t you dare try to use your quirk on me again.” the man speaks ominously, still glaring daggers at him. Hitoshi shivers and fumbles with the clasp a little desperately.

Izuku steps between them with his arms waving, stuttering up a storm.

“Sensei, it’s f-fine, I – I t-t-took his m-mask off s-so he c-c-ould eat l-lunch with me b-b-but I think he can’t p-put it on b-by himself a-a-and I d-didn’t kn-know we’re sorry he d-d-didn’t use his q-quirk d-don’t punish him I’m s-sorry I-“

“Midoriya, shut up”, Okura-sensei snaps, barely looking at Hitoshi’s friend. Izuku closes his mouth but stays right there, between Hitoshi and the angry adult. Hitoshi steps a bit closer to the boy’s back, still trying to tie the muzzle back onto his face.

Sensei huffs, rolls his eyes, and pushes Izuku aside. Izuku trips and falls a bit clumsily and the man grabs Hitoshi and roughly re-attaches the muzzle. He steps back and frowns at them both. Hitoshi stares at him blankly. He hates the muzzle. It makes his jaw ache and he can’t speak to anyone. The other kids always call him weird when he can’t talk (they call him weird when he can too). …Except Izuku.

Izuku is holding a scratch on his arm, it’s bleeding just a little, and he’s sniffing a bit.

The teacher just glares at them.

“Don’t you dare do that again, understand me?”

He takes Hitoshi’s arm and pulls him back to the classroom. Izuku follows quietly behind them. Sensei doesn’t even look at the other boy.

Hitoshi doesn’t like Okura-sensei much.

--

The next day, Okura-sensei doesn’t let Hitoshi leave the classroom at lunch time. Izuku tries to tell him Hitoshi can’t eat with the mask on, but the man pretends not to hear him. Hitoshi can’t do anything to help his friend, even when sensei gives Izuku cleaning duty for being ‘loud and annoying’.

Izuku angrily refuses to eat his bento in protest and the green haired boy’s stomach rumbles noisily through the afternoon class. Hitoshi can’t help but feel happy. It’s villainous to be happy that someone is hungry, but Hitoshi can’t help it. He thinks maybe this is what it’s like to have a friend.

--

Izuku eats his bento the day after, with an apologetic glance at Hitoshi. Okura-sensei still wants him to stay in the classroom over lunch so Izuku stays too.

Izuku doesn’t understand why it’s such a big deal for Hitoshi to eat. Mom used to say lunch is important so that he can become a strong hero. Maybe sensei doesn’t want Hitoshi to be a hero. He heard Ishiya-sensei say that Hitoshi was like a villain because he has a bad quirk. Izuku knows that’s not true, ‘cause all the quirks are different and cool and Hitoshi is his friend. When Izuku told her that she ignored him, like always.

Izuku wonders if Hitoshi can drink through his mask.

Izuku hates being thirsty. He hates being hungry too. He thinks it’s unfair that Okura-sensei makes Hitoshi not eat, but no-one listens to him at school. …Except Hitoshi.

Izuku knows he can’t ask Okura-sensei to let Hitoshi leave with him. Sensei never listens to Izuku. Izuku feels like a ghost when he talks to Okura-sensei. Maybe… Izuku thinks he has an idea to make Okura-sensei forget about Hitoshi needing to stay in the classroom.

Last week Kacchan got into a fight with a big kid and they broke the door. The next day the school shooed them out of the classroom at break and lunchtime for the repair men.

--

Izuku walks up to Kacchan after class and tells him (voice wobbling) that he’s weak. He times it carefully for when Okura-sensei is away from the classroom. And just like Izuku thought, Kacchan gets angry (very angry), and he uses his quirk to explode things. Izuku runs, making sure to carefully duck around Okura-sensei’s desk and stand in from of the door as much as possible. Luckily, Kacchan is angry enough that when Izuku ducks one of the explosions catch the door handle, and another the door frame. And another right in the drawers with Okura-sensei’s pens in it. Unfortunately, Izuku hadn’t thought too hard about what happens after.

He yelps when Kacchan catches him and pushes him into a desk with a pop of his hands. His back smarts and his shoulder hurts. Kacchan looms above him. Izuku gulps.

That’s exactly when Okura-sensei gets back.

Everyone freezes. Okura-sensei looks at the door, at his desk, at the school chairs and books in disarray all over the floor, back at his desk, at Hitoshi who’d been pushed to the floor when he got in Kacchan’s way, at Kacchan and Izuku.

He takes a deep breath.

Kacchan points at Izuku, sneering, “Deku started it.”

A chorus of Izuku’s classmates start agreeing nastily. At least this time they’re sort of right, Izuku thinks.

Izuku feels his hands go a little clammy. Okura-sensei’s face was slowly turning white then red with anger, glaring at Izuku. Mom was going to be upset.

“Midoriya. With me.”

Izuku nods and shuffles slowly out the door, following his seething teacher.

They only walk a little bit when Okura-sensei turns to him and slaps him in the face. Izuku gasps, holding his hand to his stinging cheek.

“You are more trouble than you are worth, do you understand?” the man snarls, eyes cold and hard as flint. Izuku nods shakily when he realises Okura-sensei is waiting for a response. He turns forwards again without another word and Izuku follows him all the way to the Headmaster’s office.

--

The next day, Hitoshi finds Izuku at his desk like usual. Izuku has a red cheek (he didn’t have that yesterday), but he grins up at Hitoshi anyway.

The classroom wasn’t damaged enough to be unusable, but they had workmen come in over lunch to help fix it. Hitoshi sneaks out with Izuku and they find a place behind the building to sit and hide.

Izuku checks the coast is clear, and finally takes Hitoshi’s muzzle off. He can’t help but rub his jaw briefly before trying to speak. His voice is hoarse.

“…What was that about yesterday, Izuku?”

Izuku smiles at him and answers (no hesitation).

“It worked Hicchan!” the boy exclaims.

Hitoshi swallows the warm feeling bubbling in his gut, still confused.

“… it worked? …”

“Yeah! I wasn’t sure they would close the classroom again but they did!”, (no hesitation again, and no fear), “Man, sensei was so angry!... the headmaster too. And Mom…”

Izuku’ excitement seems to drain a little out of him at the reminder.

Hitoshi is still trying to understand what Izuku was saying.

“You mean… you got into a fight on purpose…?”, (‘for me?’, he thinks but doesn’t dare say).

Izuku nods, and takes his bento out, offering a spare pair of chopsticks to Hitoshi.

“Mom says eating lunch means you can be a strong hero!” he explains, “So you need to eat lunch!”

Hitoshi slowly takes the chopsticks, and takes a piece of food from the bento.

“…thanks” he whispers.

 “We’re gonna be the best heroes one day! Like – like – All Might and – uh – Nighteye?”

Hitoshi smiles as Izuku almost throws a mouthful of rice away while waving his arms above his head.

“No-one thinks I can be a hero, though.”, Hitoshi muses sorrowfully, “they-they say I’m a villain, ‘cause of my quirk...”

Izuku nods his head understandingly and leans forwards, like he’s going to share a secret.

“Nee, Hicchan, they tell me that too – well, n-not the villain part – b-but it’s not true!”, Izuku grins and Hitoshi marvels at his confidence.

“…How do you know that?”

Izuku hums a little, but answers readily enough, “Kacchan lies all the time! He says I’m deku, that I can’t do anything – but I can, Mom said so, so he’s wrong!”

He looks a bit uncomfortable and lowers his voice, “Also Sensei lies too, you know?”

Hitoshi leans in as well and listens carefully.

“He told Mom I hit my head on the desk, and that’s why I had a red cheek, but that’s not true! And I know he knows ‘cause he’s the one who…”, Izuku shakes his head, “Anyway, I know you’re not a villain. You’re my friend!”

Hitoshi smiles, a funny kind of warmth spreading through his body. Maybe it’s villainous to be happy when someone got in trouble. But maybe that’s not why Hitoshi is happy. Hitoshi has a friend.

“… you’re my friend too.”, he whispers back.

They finish the bento, smiling shyly at each other whenever their eyes meet.

This time, Izuku carefully reattaches Hitoshi’s mask when they’re finished.

Chapter Text

It starts off small, just like with Kacchan.

After the incident with the classroom, Okura-sensei starts noticing Izuku. That doesn’t mean he listens to Izuku or answers his questions. Instead Izuku finds he’s constantly on his teacher’s bad side. If Izuku mumbles or lets his leg jitter in class, Okura-sensei is there immediately, telling him off.

Izuku thought he had been over the worst of it when his Mom was called in after the classroom was destroyed, but now Mom says she’s getting calls all the time.

“Izuku, I know you don’t mean it but you have to stop getting into so much trouble!”, she would tell him. Izuku never knows what to say, except that he didn’t mean to, honest, and he’d be better!

The ploy to free Hitoshi from the classroom had backfired a bit as well. Hitoshi is allowed out, yes, but Izuku isn’t. Not yet. It’s his punishment, to stay inside during break, so he can reflect on his actions. Izuku doesn’t really know what that means, but he’s pretty sure that it’s working. He’d be smarter about it next time.

It escalates slowly but surely, starting the day Izuku is finally allowed out. Much to his surprise (and happiness), Hitoshi waits for him, and they spend the first break of the day just enjoying being together. As friends. Lunch break, on the other hand, goes a lot less smoothly.

“Heeey, look!”, an older kid cackles, with blue skin and white hair, “It’s the quirkless kid!”

Izuku tenses, but decides to pretend it’s all fine. He tries to smile. The boy saunters closer, followed by two of his friends.

“I – uh – H-hi…” Izuku stutters.

The three bullies laugh loudly, one of them (with cat eyes and sharp teeth) imitates the stutter nastily. Izuku shrinks back. But then Hitoshi steps in front of him and just stands there, staring blankly at the grinning trio.

Izuku tries to tug Hitoshi away, but it’s too late.

“Eeeh? Who’re you?” the first boy sneers. The third kid, a girl with glass-like hair, butts in.

“Eewww! Dyou see his face? Creepyyy!” she makes a face, poorly disguising her gleeful eagerness.

Cat boy joins in, “I heard you’re the kid with a villain’s quirk, is it true?”

Hitoshi just stares at them, but his fists are balled tightly by his side.

Blue boy grins, looking between Izuku and Hitoshi, “Oooh, I see. Maybe he used his villain quirk to make you into his villain sidekick, heh. You’re so stuupid!”

Hitoshi ducks his head, and Izuku’s legs move for him. Suddenly he’s in their face, standing angrily in front of Hicchan – his friend.

“D-d-don’t say that! You’re wrong! Hicchan – Hicchan’s g-gonna be a hero!”

Almost immediately, Izuku feels his courage flee, and he tries his very best not to cry.

He wishes he was brave like All Might, able to face evil-doers with no fear. He wishes he was strong enough to teach them a lesson. So strong that they turn around and apologise at the end (like in All Might: the mightiest hero! on TV). Except Izuku isn’t brave or strong.

Blue boy hits him in the face, with all the strength and coordination of an angry 10-year-old. It hurts, and it shocks Izuku into crying for real. The others are quick to join in, and when the teachers come to break it up both Hitoshi and Izuku are scratched all over, filthy and aching.

Hitoshi is given a note for his foster parents. The bullies are given cleaning duty for the next day. Izuku follows Okura-sensei into his office miserably. Okura-sensei slaps him again. Izuku’s crying so hard already he can’t physically cry any harder, but he tries his best.

Okura-sensei tells him he can’t start fights with older students. That he’s a disobedient, disrespectful, bad child. He calls Mom again. He says it’s going to be written on Izuku’s ‘record’ if Izuku’s not careful. His voice is different (worried) when he speaks to Mom on the phone.

--

It continues like this. Izuku and Hitoshi stick together, but the other kids don’t care.

The bullies quickly learn that hitting Hitoshi gets them in more trouble than hitting Izuku does. Whenever they’re caught, they just explain that Izuku attacked them, that he’s always bothering them. Izuku thinks Hitoshi scares the teachers with his glares. They avoid looking at him, and they never take his mask off to let him speak. The punishment is always worse when the bullies get hurt too.

Izuku’s Mom gets called so often by the school it’s almost part of her daily routine. Sensei always calls her before Izuku comes home. She starts looking sad all the time, worried for (disappointed in) Izuku.

Izuku’s tried telling her, but –

“I know what happened, Izuku. Your teacher called – again. I don’t understand, why do you keep starting fights?”

Izuku stops trying to explain. Mom gets more and more worried and angry and confused.

“Is it because you’re quirkless? Are you jealous? Izuku, please, you can’t just lash out at other people like that!”

Izuku’s not sure if it’s worth trying to explain again that it’s not him, he was just with his friend Hicchan-

But even then, Mom gets the wrong idea.

“Hicchan? Oh, Izuku, is it because Shinsou-kun tells you to? I know he’s your friend Izuku, but… your sensei tells me he’s worried maybe Shinsou is a-a bad influence…Do you understand? Maybe you should stay away from that boy.”

Izuku’s only real solace is Hitoshi. The two boys hang out as much as they can during the day, and whenever they have a chance to Izuku takes Hicchan’s mask off and they talk about heroes and their future hero names and anything they want.

The situation is no better in class, with Okura-sensei always angry at Izuku for being too loud or too jittery or too stupid to answer questions right. Izuku has always been a loud child, and no matter what he tries he constantly finds himself muttering and speaking his thoughts aloud.

Once, Okura-sensei got so angry he tied a piece of cloth around Izuku’s face to keep him quiet in class. Everyone except for Hicchan laughed when Izuku cried, but even that only succeeded in silencing Izuku for the rest of the day.

--

Hitoshi is sad.

The foster home he’s at is pretty okay, he thinks, but after he’d accidentally brainwashed his foster sister and she broke her arm falling down the stairs, his foster parents had put their foot down. They’d gotten him a ‘quirk control mask’, and it was itchy and heavy, and he has to wear it at school all day.

They don’t give him lunch ‘cause he wouldn’t be able to eat it. He tries to eat a big breakfast to make up for it.

Luckily, they take it off at home (except for punishments), but that’s only because no-one speaks to him anyway.

Izuku is his first proper friend. He might only be 8, but even Hitoshi can see that the way Izuku is treated at school is wrong. And Hitoshi is useless, just standing there. It hurts, when Izuku’s hurt.

Hitoshi notices when Izuku mysteriously gains new bruises the day after being sent home after they get into another fight. It doesn’t always happen, but Hitoshi had been in another foster home before this one and one of the kids had stories.

Hitoshi is upset, too.

It takes a few weeks, but everyone at school except Izuku avoides him now. The teachers don’t really hide how much they hate him (his quirk), and he’s pretty sure the muzzle is the only reason they speak to him at all. His foster family got angry when he came home with bruises though. They said that the school has to take responsibility for what happens there. He noticed the teachers got angrier at the bullies when he was hurt, after. He wonders why they don’t get angry at the bullies when it’s Izuku who is hurt.

Izuku and him try their best. They play a game of keep-away with every other kid in school. They pretend they’re training their ninja hero skills. They try to hide in the shadows like the night-heroes Hitoshi heard about from an older foster kid. They try to be brave like All Might.

Sometimes, it’s enough. But not always.

Today is a bad day. They get into a fight (again), and Izuku gets hurt (again). And Hitoshi gets angry. They’re not meant to fight back but it’s unfair – it’s unfair it’s unfair. So Hitoshi tries to punch one of them. It sort-of works. But then Hitoshi’s feels his head crack and his jaw hurts so much and there’s something hard digging into his gums. He wants to yell but all he can do is make a tiny muffled keen.

The school takes him to a hospital. His muzzle is broken (which is a relief), and so they take it off before the ambulance arrives. Hitoshi’s too hurt and scared to notice much about the ride and the hospital itself. It doesn’t take long to heal him, and his foster parents pick him up that very evening and drive him home. They insist the school reimburse the cost of the broken muzzle. They also insist that the school provides a spare in case this happens again. Hitoshi misses two days of school because his foster parents won’t let him go until his new muzzle arrives. He misses Izuku.

--

School without Hitoshi is horrible. Nothing out of the ordinary happens, and Izuku even manages to avoid the worst bullies on his own, but it’s lonely.

He keeps asking Okura-sensei when Hitoshi would be back. Sensei gets angrier every time, but he hasn’t hit Izuku yet and Izuku is too worried to stop testing his luck.

The day Hitoshi does return, Izuku bursts into tears as he enters the classroom. Overjoyed, he immediately forgets how annoyed Okura-sensei is with him and runs to the front.

“Hicchan! You’re back!” he yells, overjoyed, squeezing his friend.

Hitoshi hugs him back and they quickly make their way back to their desks.

Izuku is so excited he doesn’t think to keep his voice down. He chatters on and on, waving his arms around to illustrate All Might’s new special move and how it defeated the Ice villain like POW!

He doesn’t see Okura-sensei glare at him, or glance at a box in the corner with calculating eyes.

He does quiet down when Okura-sensei cuffs him roughly around the head and tells him to shut up. Hitoshi’s eyes narrow in anger, but Izuku just shrinks away from the man and nods quickly. It’s okay, because Hicchan is back!

The lesson starts as usual, and as usual Izuku mutters a bit too loud when his mind wanders.

This time, though, Okura-sensei gives a huge sigh and moves to pick up the box. He takes out another mask just like Hitoshi’s.

“I warned you earlier, Midoriya.”, Izuku gulps, “Bakugou-kun, here”, he gives Kacchan the mask, “put this on Midoriya. Maybe we’ll even get some peace and quiet for once.”

The class giggles at that. Izuku tries to duck Kacchan’s hands but the other boy is too fast for him. The mask doesn’t feel like it fits, Kacchan made it too tight. It’s pinching his lips and he can’t move his mouth at all. He feels tears welling up and running down his face. His classmates laugh at that too.

Izuku is frozen for a moment before he gives in to panic. He claws at the plastic but it won’t budge and he’s having trouble breathing –

“Midoriya!”, he’s jolted out of it by sensei’s harsh voice, “Stop being dramatic and leave the mask alone. You only have yourself to blame, so stop crying before I give you something to cry about.”

Izuku’s breaths heave in and out of his chest, but try as he does the tears don’t stop until long past the end of class.

When he returns home his Mom is waiting with a frown on her face. She says Okura-sensei called, that he had to be restrained because he was shouting bad words at everyone. She says she’s at her wits end. She wants to know why he did it.

Izuku stays silent.

Chapter Text

The summer holidays bring a welcome relief to both boys. They hang out at the park when they’re allowed to, and neither of them have to wear a mask (Hitoshi calls it a muzzle, and Izuku thinks he’s probably right, but he doesn’t like the word at all. Maybe he’s useless and quirkless and stupid but he doesn’t want to think about having to wear a muzzle like a – like a dog.).

Sometimes they have to leave the park because other kids find them, but in the grand scheme of things it barely registers.

Sometimes they venture into the little forest nearby, or when they’re feeling brave they even sometimes sneak further down the street to see if they can spot a hero.

It’s on one of these hero-spotting adventures that they find a man dressed all in black with a thin white scarf lying against the wall in an alleyway near a block of flats.

Izuku approaches him cautiously, and peers at the man’s face.

“I think he’s asleep” he whispers loudly to Hitoshi.

Hitoshi wanders forwards behind Izuku, staring intently at the stranger.

“…maybe he’s faking it.”, his whisper is only a little more successful than Izuku’s.

Izuku frowns, thinking hard. Mom says he shouldn’t bother strangers, that they can be dangerous or that he could annoy them. Mom also says it’s good to help people. Except Mom’s not always right, either (she’s wrong about Hicchan).

“…should we wake him up? I-I mean, what if he’s not ok?...” Izuku looks up to Hitoshi, still deep in thought. Hitoshi looks nervous, but he swallows and nods slowly.

“Y-yeah, okay.” Hitoshi agrees.

They look at each other, unsure of how to proceed. Neither are willing to actually touch the man.

“…maybe a stick..?” Hitoshi suggests. Izuku lets out a relieved breath, agreeing.

They look around for a stick, and a few minutes later Izuku finds a half-rotted twig which they deem good enough.

Hitoshi nudges Izuku forward, “you found it, you poke him”

Izuku makes a face at him but agrees it’s an incontestable statement. So he approaches, closer, closer. He is less than an arm’s length away by the time the twig reaches the man’s leg. He pokes the leg, uttering a soft “ano…?”.

The man doesn’t even twitch.

“…d’you think he’s dead?” asks Hitoshi, his eyes just a bit wide. Izuku gulps in fear. He leans a bit closer and pokes the man more insistently, this time in the shoulder.

“…anoo??...” Izuku’s voice is a bit louder this time.

The man still doesn’t move. Izuku suddenly wants more than anything for the man to show that he’s not dead. Throwing caution to the wind, he leans even more forwards, practically in the man’s lap. He ignores Hitoshi’s hiss of fear, and resolutely pokes the man in the face, hard, narrowly missing an eye.

The man jolts a little sideways, bringing a hand up to his face, where tired red eyes were blinking open.

Izuku and Hitoshi retreat in a hurry, suddenly a lot less sure of their plan.

Izuku takes a deep breath, cautiously watching the man shift uncomfortably against the wall.

“A-a-ano…? Mister?” he starts, heart beating faster when the man’s eyes jump to stare right at him. He doesn’t seem threatening, Izuku thinks hopefully.

“…uh… A-a-are y-you o-okay?” he stutters, weakly. He holds onto Hitoshi’s shirt with one hand and they both stand ready to run if the man turns angry.

The man blinks at them a few times, opens his mouth and coughs a bit weakly. The kids keep staring at him as he focuses on them again a bit unsteadily.

“..Kids?...”, he rasps, evidently very confused. He blinks his eyes again and starts looking around himself, wincing a bit with the movement. After a while, he turns back to Izuku and Hitoshi.

“…where am I?”

He looks like the question pains him. He’s not angry though, so Izuku answers as best he can.

The man groans after Izuku’s explanation, and looks to them again more seriously than before.

“Look, kids… Do you –” he stops to cough again, “Can you bring a – a message … to someone -”, he closes his eyes for a second, opens them, “…he lives really close.”

Hitoshi and Izuku look at each other nervously but they both shuffle forwards warily. It’s obvious the man is sick or hurt. And they can help. They nod and wait for the man to continue.

The man sighs and grits his teeth, taking a few shallow breaths, “H-his name is Yamada Hizashi. He lives i-in …”, the man’s gaze loses its focus on them, “…the ugly y-yellow building t-two or th-three blocks to the Ea-east.”

The man blinks and stares at them hazily. Hitoshi steps forward, “...the message...?” he asks, a bit desperately.

 “Yamada Hizashi…”, the man says again, groaning softly. He stares at them for a moment, confused, before he seems to remember what he was saying, “- tell him Ai-Aizawa Shout-ta…” he coughs long and hard. He closes his eyes again. The boys wait. Hitoshi eventually tip-toes forwards and peers at him.

“…I think he’s asleep again…”

Izuku and Hitoshi stare at each other. This is scary. But the man needs help, so they should help. Right? Right.

Izuku speaks up, finally.

“East?” he asks, thinking hard. Hitoshi shrugs. Suddenly, Izuku remembers something. “Wait, I know! The sunset villain!”

Hitoshi gazes back uncomprehending, so Izuku explains.

“All Might: the mightiest hero!” he poses, one hand pointing successfully in the air, “there was a villain, the sunset villain, who had extra powerful strength during sunset! And extra weak at sunrise! And-and All Might defeated him by dragging him aaaall the way East! Because that’s the direction the sun rises!”

He pauses, uncertain.

“Hicchan… do you remember which way the sun was at sunrise?”

Hitoshi scratches his head in thought. It is, in fact, still mid-morning, and the sun was just barely starting to peak over the nearest tall building.

Finally, Hitoshi shrugs and points in the sun’s general direction. Izuku shrugs back, unsure. They decide to start with that direction anyway, since they don’t have any better ideas.

They end up zigzagging their way uncertainly until they spot a slightly off-coloured yellow block of flats. The nameplates at the bottom have lots of funny kanji but neither Izuku nor Hitoshi are sure if any is for Yamada.

One of them is colourful and friendly-looking, with pretty symbols on it. Izuku catches Hitoshi’s eye and gestures to it. At least the person there might be nice enough to help?

Izuku presses the button and they wait.

They hear a click, and a voice from the receiver.

“Hello? Who’s there? Shouta?”

Izuku fidgets a little and moves onto his tiptoes to get closer to the voice box and answer.

“…ano… I’m sorry… We’re looking for …uh… Yamada …Hizashi?... Do you know where he lives?”

There’s a pause at the other end before the voice starts talking again, more softly but with a slight edge of disappointment.

“Oh, uh, hello there, little one? It seems you’re in luck! I am Yamada Hizashi ~ in the flesh, babyy! Uh, right. What can I do for you, little listener?”

Izuku shares an excited glance with Hitoshi, pleased at their luck.

“There’s a man who’s sick, I think, and he said we should find Yamada Hizashi, in the – uh – the ugly yellow building? ano… he wanted us to give you a message but he went to sleep again so we don’t really know all of it…”

There’s a muffled ‘whaat?’ and rustling noises but Yamada-san’s voice answers quickly “What did he say, little listener?”

“uh… he said, um, to tell you ‘Ai-Aizawa Shout-ta…’ and then he fell asleep” Izuku shuffles uncomfortably, worried he was forgetting something.

There’s a sudden click, and the boys stare at the receiver for a moment before glancing at each other.

Izuku’s about to ask if Hicchan thought that was good enough, when the door next to him opens, and a tall blond man steps out. Izuku squeaks and jumps back to stand with Hitoshi, inching away from the stranger.

The man waves his hands and smiles a bit strained.

“No, no, it’s okay, little listeners!”

He kneels down in front of them and smiles reassuringly.

“Can you… Can you take me to the sick man? Please? It’d be really suuper of you?”

Hitoshi holds onto Izuku’s hand and they both edge away warily before nodding. The man sighs in obvious relief.

--

Hizashi follows the little listeners, carefully keeping to one side. They seem really jumpy and he doesn’t want to spook them any more than he already has. A part of him wants to urge them to hurry – but if he does that chances are the kids will be too spooked to lead him anywhere.

They walk for a surprisingly long time – how far did these kids go to find him?

And then Hizashi sees him. Shouta. He curses under his breath. That idiot is out cold against the wall of an alleyway. He rushes forward and checks on his idiot’s vitals, hands shaking slightly.

Relief washes over him when he finds a strong pulse. He doesn’t dare move him, instead wrestling his phone out to phone an ambulance.

He explains the situation, follows their instructions, rattles off their location and finally hangs up. Then he remembers the kids. They’re standing a safe distance away, staring curiously at Hizashi.

“…is he dead?”, the purple one squeaks in a wavering voice.

Hizashi quickly moves to crouch in front of them. He gives them his best reassuring smile, ignoring their wary gazes.

“No, little listener, thanks to you two.”

The boys perk up a little and peer around him.

“…is he still sleeping?” the green one asks, half hiding behind his purple friend.

Hizashi snorts at that, smiling fondly.

“Sure, little listener. He’s not well though so I have to wait for the ambulance to come take him to hospital. Then he’ll be all better.”

The green one blinks and gives him the biggest, sunniest grin Hizashi has ever seen. Hizashi takes a good look at the two children Shouta apparently sent to fetch him.

“…Where are your parents, little listeners?” he asks, after a beat.

The kids shuffle awkwardly without meeting his eyes.

“It’s fine, you won’t get in trouble”, he tries, awkwardly.

The green kid gives him a sad look but the purple one rolls his eyes in that over-exaggerated way only kids can achieve.

“...we sneaked out”, the green one mumbles, retreating even more behind his friend’s back. At Hizashi’s raised eyebrow the green one expands, “… Mom says I shouldn’t leave the park b-but we just wanted to see if we could see s-some heroes…”

This kid has some of the cutest puppy dog eyes Hizashi has ever seen. His purple friend, on the other hand, is glaring at him in a very intimidating way for a kid who can’t be a day over ten.

“…Okay, little listeners! Thanks for telling me! Could you give me your names?”

He tries to remain as reassuring as possible, despite his worry over Shouta.

“Shinsou Hitoshi” the purple one offers, after a long scrutinizing look. His friend pipes in with “Midoriya Izuku!”, and a little grin that honestly makes Hizashi melt just a little.

He should probably make sure they get home ok, actually.

“Uh, listen Shinsou-kun, Midoriya-kun, do you live far? Can you head back on your own? It’s really not safe for you to be out here without an adult.”

The boys nod, looking a bit resigned, but they point towards a nearby park as their designated parent-approved safe space and Hizashi send them back, keeping an eye on them until they turn the corner out of sight. He hopes he’s done what he was meant to do… Who is he kidding, he should have walked them back home, like a responsible adult… But he can’t just leave Shouta and he needs to direct the ambulance and…

He remains standing against the wall until the ambulance arrives, convincing himself the boys got home fine and berating himself in equal measure.

Chapter Text

When Shouta awakes this time, he’s no longer in an alleyway with two small kids. His dry eyes take in the somewhat recognisable ceiling of a hospital.

“Shouta?”

Oh, that’s Hizashi. That’s good to know. He’s safe, then. Shouta closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.

--

The next time he awakes, his mind is significantly clearer. He looks around and finds Hizashi still there, sitting at his bedside and typing away on his laptop.

He clears his throat and Hizashi turns his attention to the bed.

“Shouta! You’re awake! Wait,” he reaches beside him and offers Shouta a glass of water, “you should drink. The Doctor said her quirk tends to dehydrate her patients.”

Shouta gratefully sips at the water and slowly sits himself up.

“…What happened?” he rumbles, straightening. He can feel his chest is tight and painful, supported by a plastic brace. Hizashi doesn’t push him back down into the bed so he assumes he’s fine sitting up.

“That’s what I’d like to know, Shouta! One minute you had vanished off the face of the planet and not checked back in after your patrol and next thing I know two kids turn up at the flat when I’m out of my mind with worry and tell me ‘the sick man’ said to tell me your name!”

Hizashi huffs, and Shouta winces a little.

“…I miscalculated” he allows, reluctantly. Hizashi snorts at him knowingly, and Shouta doesn’t bother taking offence.

“…I was caught off-guard and injured. My communicator was damaged.”

Hizashi raises an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

“I got myself out of danger but I collapsed before I could get to the flat. The villain got away.” Shouta grumbles.

Hizashi sighs, “And the kids found you there, right.”

Shouta nods.

“Okay, alright. I’m going to have to put trackers everywhere in your costume at this rate.”

Shouta huffs in amusement. Hizashi reaches for Shouta, gently pulls him close and gives his forehead a light kiss.

“I’m glad you’re back safe.”

Shouta rests his head against Hizashi’s shoulder and just hums in mixed apology and agreement.

--

Shouta is discharged from the hospital the next day, with strict orders of bed rest for at least another week.

One of the first things he wants to do is find those boys who helped him (despite his less-than-inviting appearance and vague instructions) and thank them. No-one wants to think about what might have happened had he not been found as quickly as he had.

At least Hizashi got their names before letting them wander off unattended. He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. That man, sometimes.

Midoriya Izuku and Shinsou Hitoshi.

By the end of the week Shouta has them. Both attend Aldera primary school. He has their addresses and a vague idea what he’d like to say.

It takes him another week to feel ready to actually act on it. He hates this kind of social interaction.

--

The first house he visits is Shinsou’s. When he knocks, a man in his late 40s opens the door and raises an eyebrow.

“Hello?”

Shouta bows a little in greeting, and introduces himself politely.

“Your foster son, Shinsou Hitoshi? He recently helped save my life. I wanted to thank him in person.”

The older man’s eyebrows rise higher and higher with every word Shouta says. Shouta feel his jaw muscle twitch, a sign of discomfort he can never quite supress. The man doesn’t introduce himself back, but he still invites Shouta in and leaves to find Shinsou-kun.

He returns with a small purple-haired boy who looks nothing like him. Shouta’s memories are a bit fuzzy on the details but the kid is familiar enough to convince him.

“Shinsou-kun?” he asks.

The boy nods, glances at his guardian, but remains quiet. Hizashi had said they were quite shy.

“Do you remember me?”, he asks, a bit at a loss.

The boy nods again, opens his mouth, glances up at the man beside him again, and closes it without a sound.

Shouta swallows a hint of worry.

He stands and bows to the child, and raises his head just enough to look him in the eye with all the sincerity he can muster.

“Thank you for finding help, Shinsou-kun. You and your friend very possibly saved my life. I -”, he trails off and bows again. He has a sudden thought.

“It was a very heroic thing to do. Thank you.”

He says it with conviction because it’s true, but the man in front of him rolls his eyes at the words and puts a hand on the wide-eyed child’s shoulder.

The kid stares up at him in awe.

Shouta turns to leave, barely acknowledging the man who let him in. He almost misses the soft words.

“…thank you”

He shifts to look back at the kid and gives him a small smile. He misses the man’s hand tightening on Shinsou’s shoulder.

He still leaves with an itching sense of wrong under his skin.

--

The second house he visits is the Midoriya household. He knocks, and the door is opened by a small stout woman who looks equal parts worried and anxious over his presence.

He introduces himself as politely as possible, and she introduces herself back as Midoriya Inko.

“I’m here because I believe this is where Midoriya Izuku lives?” he asks cautiously.

She wrings her hands at that.

“Oh no, are you here about another fight? Are you a parent? Did Izuku hurt your child? I’m really sorry, I don’t know…” she looks tired and stressed, as if she expects him to start tearing into her.

Shouta blinked owlishly at her. That was… unexpected.

“Uh, no… I want to thank him for saving my life.”

Midoriya-san bursts into tears.

--

After an unbearably awkward few minutes full of tears and muffled apologies, Midoriya-san calls gently for her son to come down to meet him and invites him in.

Izuku is the spitting image of his mother. His eyes widen when he sees Shouta and he runs up to stop at a safe distance, gawking at him.

“Mister! You’re okay! I’m glad”, and he beams.

His mother looks like she might start crying again, so Shouta quickly intervenes. He bows low to the child and speaks seriously.

“I wanted to thank you for your help. If you and your friend hadn’t been there I may not have survived.”

He softens a little, crouches to look the child in the eye and adds, “it was very heroic. You have my gratitude.”

Now both Midoriya-san and her son are in tears.

Shouta sighs.

--

That evening he relays the events to Hizashi, lying in bed feeling exhausted.

“It was weird, Hizashi… It was like no-one had ever told her anything good about him. I can’t imagine the kid I saw starting fights and hurting others, but that’s what she thought he’d done. And they cried at practically every word I said.”

He wasn’t honestly sure which part baffled him most.

“Shinsou was very quiet.” He admits.

Hizashi squeezes his hand but lets him continue.

“I’m worried I’m missing something here. With both of them. There’s something going on I can’t… I don’t know.”

Hizashi hums thoughtfully.

“They seemed like good kids. They didn’t look too worried when I sent them home – that’s a good sign, right?”

Shouta sighs, agreeing. He’s not sure he can be ready to intervene when he’s not even convinced anything is going on.

He’s pulled into another hug. He closes his eyes and falls asleep in the safety of Hizashi’s arms.

Chapter Text

Midoriya Inko is worried.

This is not, in itself, unusual. But in recent years it had become a constant festering anxiety she couldn’t rid herself of.

Izuku used to be such a sweet, kind child. And at home, he still is. At school on the other hand…

She doesn’t know what started it, what instigated his change in behaviour. She has her suspicions, but… that’s a thought for another time.

It all started when, out of the blue, she was called to the school because her son had been found vandalising school property. Caught red handed, they said. He’d gotten into an argument with young Bakugou Katsuki, and had started flinging stuff around in the classroom while fighting him. Inko was alarmed to see he’d gotten hurt, but luckily it seemed it was just a few bruises.

She thought it had to have been a one-time event. She apologised, and made Izuku apologise. Izuku was to be punished by being denied break time for a week, which seemed as lenient as they were willing to be. She wondered what started it, but she never for a second thought it would happen again. That’s just not who Izuku is.

And then, less than a week later, she starts receiving phone calls from Izuku’s homeroom teacher. Okura-san is a pleasant man, and comes across as kind and worried for his charges’ wellbeing. He tells her he’ll keep her updated on Izuku and all she can do is thank him gratefully for his time.

And so she hears about it when Izuku starts acting out, starts distracting students during class and getting into trouble. Thankfully, Okura-san says he won’t punish Izuku further. We can wait, he said, we’ll wait and see if he quiets down soon.

Except he doesn’t. Izuku starts more fights, and comes home frequently covered with bruises and scratches. She tries to understand, but Izuku always stares at her uncomprehendingly, like he doesn’t know what he did wrong.

She tries to explain it to him, to help him. She thinks maybe if she guesses right he’ll finally say something. She doesn’t think it’s because he’s quirkless, although she’s sure that’s tied to it in some way.

And then Okura-san tells her about Shinsou-kun, Izuku’s new best friend... He apologises, and, like it pains him deeply to say this, admits that he thinks there might be something not right with Shinsou-kun. Inko listens, a sinking feeling in her stomach as he describes Shinsou as an unnaturally quiet child, with an intimidating glare. He admits, voice ashamed, that sometimes he thinks that Shinsou acts like a tiny villain, biding his time. He reports that Izuku and Shinsou are attached at the hip, and they always start the fights while together. He says Shinsou almost always watches silently and never seems to get hurt.

She’s unsettled. She tries to ask Izuku if maybe Shinsou is not as good a friend as he may think. Her little boy has always been so painfully trusting… She worries he’s being led astray.

Her little boy cries when she asks him that, stuttering that she was wrong. He runs from her and slams the door to his room. It does not reassure her in the least.

--

The summer holidays are a welcome break from phone calls about Izuku’s bad behaviour.

True, Izuku asks constantly to be allowed out to play with ‘Hicchan’, but Inko doesn’t quite have it in her to deny her son his only friend. He had smiled so happily that first day, in ecstasy over the fact he had a proper friend for the first time since he’d been diagnosed quirkless.

She couldn’t take that from him. Not without proof, at the very least, of Shinsou’s bad influence. Every day that Izuku comes back on time, smiling and bruise-free is a relief. And when he returns with badly-hidden bruises, she listens carefully to his stories about his day. She asks sometimes, about them, but is only ever answered with silence and a sad gaze.

So she tries to let him be. To trust him, make him feel like he could confide in her. She doesn’t know what else to do.

Every time she sees a bruise on Izuku, she waits with bated breath for another angry parent to knock on her door. She doesn’t know if she’s more or less worried when it never happens.

And then one day a man does knock at the door. He’s average height, with smooth black hair tied neatly in a bun and tired red eyes.

She cries an embarrassingly long time when he tells her why he’s there. She can tell he feels awkward, but he waits nonetheless for her to compose herself.

Izuku immediately recognises the stranger, and the man formally bows and thanks her son for saving his life. Her little soon to be 9-year-old Izuku.

Her troublemaker, always getting into fights, little Izuku.

She cries even more seeing Izuku’s blinding smile. Yes, this is her baby. This is what had been missing, the last few months.

The man leaves politely soon after despite her offer of tea. Inko barely remembers the last time Izuku and her had had such a pleasant evening.

Chapter Text

It’s becoming increasingly rare, but for once both Midoriya Izuku and his Mom are in complete agreement. The new school year starts too early and neither want to know how it will go.

Izuku just hopes he’s in the same class as Hitoshi again.

--

Inko fusses one last time, adjusting Izuku’s uniform helplessly.

“Just… baby, try not to get in so much trouble this year, okay?” she frets anxiously. She hates every second she has to badger him about it but she can’t just ignore her son’s troubles.

“And Izuku, please remember. You have to decide for yourself if something’s okay before you do it, do you understand? Even… even if your friend tells you it’s fine, you have to say no if it’s not. Okay, baby?”

Izuku gives her a long reproachful look but nods seriously. It’s all she can expect.

She sends him off with a last kiss on the forehead and anxious wave. She dearly hopes she won’t get a phone call from the school this evening.

--

Izuku and Hitoshi aren’t in the same class. They stand devastated in front of the class assignment board, holding each other’s hands anxiously.

Izuku takes a deep breath, looking over at Hitoshi.

“It’s… it’ll be fine, Hicchan. We can meet at break time, right? … right?”

Hitoshi nods, meeting Izuku’s eyes and giving him a slight reassuring smile. This year his foster parents decided he had shown enough control over summer to not have to wear the muzzle. They notified the school, of course, and he still has to carry it around in case the teachers feel it necessary to use it.

But Hitoshi’s free, for now.

Izuku smiles back, a bit sadly, and they separate to find their respective classes.

Everyone avoids Hitoshi, as usual. There’s a hint of fear there now as well, when they notice he doesn’t wear his ‘quirk control mask’. Hitoshi hunches his shoulders a little, feeling incredibly alone.

--

Izuku walks into his new classroom and feels his stomach clench painfully. His homeroom teacher is Okura-sensei again. The man looks around at the door opening and sneers disdainfully.

“Come on, stop blocking the doorway, Midoriya. No need to cause problems the first day of class.”

Izuku ducks his head and quickly finds his seat. A few of his new classmates snigger at his back. Izuku already misses Hitoshi’s reassuring presence.

He notices the box for Hitoshi’s spare quirk mask is in the corner of the classroom and swallows.

He makes it almost half an hour before Okura-sensei calls him out for being too noisy (he wasn’t; he was trying really hard not to make any noise at all). The class giggles. Okura-sensei gets another student to put the mask (muzzle, like for a dog) on Izuku, just like last time.

“You’d think a quirkless boy like you would learn to be silent.”, sensei scoffs before turning back to the board.

The few classmates who had been looking confused turn away (now that they know why sensei doesn’t like him).

--

Inko is disappointed, but not surprised when the calls from Okura-sensei resume. She’s glad, at least, that he’s Izuku’s homeroom teacher again. He honestly seems to care.

It’s as if nothing had changed over the summer. And he says he even made sure Shinsou-kun wasn’t in Izuku’s class, just in case.

Izuku’s grades start to drop, and he speaks less at home. She thinks maybe he’s hurt his mouth but he won’t let her even touch his face and shakes his head when she asks if he’s hurt.

Just once, she hears him say something about it, and it’s chilling. “Hicchan’s muzzle hurts”. Her heart squeezes.

She tells Okura-san the next time he calls, angry and worried, searching for answers. He sighs heavily and tells her that Shinsou-kun no longer needs to wear his quirk-control mask, but that he still carries it around with him. He doesn’t say any more than that, and Inko is thankful. She’s not sure she wants to hear it.

She sits Izuku down and explains, haltingly, that quirk-control masks are tailored to fit the individual they’re made for. If Izuku wears Hitoshi’s mask, it won’t fit him. She urges him not to wear it again. She worries Shinsou is not giving Izuku any choice. He stays silent and won’t meet her eye.

She uses her lunch break to pass by the school, hoping to spot Izuku in the schoolyard.

She does.

He’s sitting behind the building with a thin purple-haired boy. She watches as Shinsou-kun (it couldn’t be anyone else) attaches a dark mask to Izuku’s face before they get up. She watches as Izuku lets him. She walks to the fence and the boys spot her.

Izuku’s eyes are wide and he hides his face behind Shinsou. Inko is horrified. The boy her son calls a friend throws her the most poisonous glare she’s ever seen on a preteen. And before she can muster even a single word, both boys run from her and out of sight.

She takes the afternoon off, and that evening she breaks down on the phone to Okura-san. He assures her that he’ll do his best to stop it from happening again.

Izuku doesn’t say a word that evening, and Inko doesn’t know what to tell him.

She begs him not to play with Shinsou-kun anymore. She’s never seen Izuku so angry before, shaking with frustrated sobs before he rushes away to his room.

The next day he stops eating his bento.

She calls Okura-san after a few days of this, but he assures her Izuku has been staying in the classroom at lunch break. He just isn’t eating.

He says he doesn’t know what’s causing it, but Inko is persistent, and he confesses that Shinsou’s quirk is brainwashing. He doesn’t know how it works, but he knows it involves talking.

Inko starts making extra-large breakfasts and dinners. She’s relieved when Izuku scarfs them up.

--

Izuku’s grades keep dropping.

As a nine-year-old, he doesn’t have much that is graded, but his teachers report increasingly poor performance and attention.

She doesn’t understand. Izuku always seems to do his homework assignments when he gets home. Is he not handing them in?

And then Izuku, previously so well behaved at home, stops doing his work altogether. He tells her no, he yells angrily at her when she tries to make him.

She begs and pleads and gets angry, but he refuses to respond.

This goes on for a few exhausting weeks, where she questions everything she’s ever said and done to Izuku and curses Shinsou with every other breath. What had he done to her baby?

Izuku hears her call Shinsou a villain, and they fight. They both yell and scream at each other, tears running freely down their faces. Izuku finally snaps and just screams like a banshee, hitting everything near him in his hysteria. He breaks a glass and two plates before Inko can get him under control.

He doesn’t mention it the next day, and Inko watches helplessly as the boy (he wasn’t acting like her son, what can she do?) leaves silently without a backward glance at her.

He comes home limping angrily, with more bruises and a split lip. Inko knew it was coming. Okura-san had phoned her again. He was acting out more than usual today. I don’t know what got into him, he just wouldn’t stop. I’m sorry, Midoriya-san… He’s injured but he won’t let me close. I hope you can get through to him.

Inko doesn’t recognise her son anymore.

Chapter Text

School is lonely.

Hitoshi had practiced his glare last year, and it works just as well this year to stop most people from bothering him. That and his quirk. Sometimes Hitoshi just wants to cry and see if anyone notices (they’d probably pretend not to hear).

His teachers don’t talk to him. His guardians don’t talk to him. The other kids don’t talk to him.

Izuku talks to him, when he can. At least Hitoshi can talk to Izuku. In a weird reversal of fate, it’s Hitoshi’s turn to take the muzzle off Izuku at lunch time. Izuku’s homeroom teacher is Okura-sensei, and everyone knows Okura-sensei hates Izuku.

Hitoshi notices very quickly that the muzzle doesn’t fit Izuku. Izuku says it hurts. The quirk doctor said it was made for Hitoshi so it didn’t hurt. Izuku explains quietly that his face is different so that was why.

Izuku speaks less nowadays, even when he can.

Hitoshi learns to speak more when he’s with Izuku, but his voice gets tired quickly.

--

Hitoshi notices when Izuku gets increasingly sad and angry. It doesn’t matter what he does anymore, Okura-sensei won’t leave him alone. Hitoshi sits with him whenever he can, and lets the other boy hug him close.

It gets more difficult after Izuku’s Mom sees them at school. Hitoshi doesn’t like her much either. Even Hitoshi’s guardians made the school leave him alone, but Izuku keeps getting hurt and she’s not doing anything.

Izuku says she doesn’t understand but he talks about her less and less.

Hitoshi gets used to waiting after school to hug Izuku before he goes home.

And then one day Izuku is late. Hitoshi frowns but decides to go find him. He finds the right classroom and Hitoshi peaks through the window. He sees Okura-sensei hit Izuku. Izuku just sits on the floor and cries, but sensei kicks him in the leg and shouts at him.

Hitoshi stumbles away until his back meets the wall. He stares at the door uncomprehending for what feels like forever.

The door opens and Izuku exits, head bowed (he’s bleeding). Okura-sensei follows him out. Hitoshi stares at him blankly, a hollow fear growing in his chest. He thinks he’s met his first villain, and it’s so much scarier than he’d ever imagined.

The man assesses Hitoshi with eyes like ice. He doesn’t say anything, just raises an eyebrow before casually walking down the corridor and out of sight.

Hitoshi’s eyes follow him the entire way.

He breathes again when he’s sure the man is long gone, and whips around to look at Izuku.

Izuku is standing weird and his lip is bleeding. He sobs when he sees Hitoshi and Hitoshi feels tears run down his own face in response.

They hug and leave slowly, never letting go of each other.

Hitoshi gets no dessert for being home late, but Izuku says nothing about his Mom when Hitoshi asks.

Hitoshi doesn’t try to tell anyone. He doesn’t know anyone who would listen to him. Sometimes he thinks about the sick man who said he was heroic. He wonders.

--

Izuku gives up. Not on his dream, not on his friend, not even on school (not really).

But he stops talking to his Mom. She only listens to Okura-sensei anyway.

It doesn’t matter if he does his homework or not, if he stays silent or not, if he mumbles or not. So he stops trying to be good.

He doesn’t remember the last time an adult said nice things to him. Except sick man who’s not sick anymore, maybe he counts. He said Izuku was heroic. Izuku holds onto that with everything he has.

Hitoshi is the only person Izuku talks to, now. Talking to anyone else just gets him in trouble.

He starts staying out later and later, to sit on the swing, and to see if Mom notices. If she does, she doesn’t say anything. She just looks sad.

It’s a relief when school breaks for half term.

This time, he doesn’t ask Mom for permission to leave, but just sneaks out of the house before she can stop him. She’ll just tell him to stay away from Hicchan anyway (he doesn’t want to find out she doesn’t care).

--

The rest of the year passes slowly but surely, and nothing changes.

Inko watches as her son stops acting like her son. He never speaks to her anymore. She doesn’t know when she stopped noticing it. She doesn’t know when she stopped trying to speak to him. He leaves without permission and comes back far later than is safe, sometimes hurt, sometimes not.

He used to attempt to hide it, but now he doesn’t bother.

He’s nine, she laments to herself sometimes. She doesn’t know how to control him.

She doesn’t know if she can.

Okura-san becomes her confidant. He listens patiently to her worries, her concerns, her fears.

They start meeting for coffee every few weeks. He’s just as pleasant in person as he was over the phone. He helps convince her there’s nothing she can do. She’s so lost and confused and hurt that it doesn’t take much convincing.

Izuku stops eating at the table with her.

The first time Izuku stays out overnight, she only barely notices. She puts the leftovers in the fridge like usual, in case he decides to eat later. Later that night, she lays in bed frozen and worried until morning. She finds him sitting at the table eating breakfast like nothing happened.

She feels a surge of anger, guilt and self-loathing at the sight. She sheds a few more tears, staring at the child who’d caused her such anguish. Her son didn’t care. He didn’t want her there. He’d made himself a bowl of cereal. He would be leaving soon without uttering a word to her.

She’d never felt so useless in her life.

His tenth birthday passes without either of them acknowledging it.

So does the day he comes home still wearing that awful mask.

She finds him one evening pouring over her cookery books and realises she’d stopped preparing meals for him.

She doesn’t know what to think about her own inaction, and it scares her.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi’s going to turn eleven soon, and he doesn’t care.

Izuku’s started sleeping in the alleyway outside Hitoshi’s house. He goes home a few times a week and makes himself lots of rice and sometimes he tries to cook things to go with it. He said he came home to find Okura-sensei having dinner with his Mom. He didn’t stay to find out why.

Hitoshi sometimes sneaks outside at night to keep him company.

Izuku skipped school once, but all that happened was Hitoshi coming home with his muzzle back on and a beat up chest. Izuku took one look at him and never skipped school since.

Hitoshi’s foster parents were told that Hitoshi used his quirk on another student. He needs to wear the muzzle every day again until he understands restraint.

Izuku is punished if Okura-sensei ever sees him without the muzzle on.

Yesterday, both of them skipped class together. They spent the day at the park, muzzles off and free. They almost didn’t go back to school the next day, except Izuku reminds him that hero schools have the hardest entry exams.

Hitoshi was given a loud telling off and no dinner when his foster parents found out. They said he’s a bad child. Nothing good happens to bad children with bad quirks.

The next school day starts as usual. By the end, both of them are starting to relax. Except Hitoshi’s teacher sends him to Izuku’s classroom after the day’s lessons end.

He arrives to find Izuku and Okura-sensei waiting for him in an otherwise empty room. He hesitates, but walks in with a nervous gulp.

Sensei locks the door. He glares at them both like they’re less than mud beneath his feet. Hitoshi feels himself shiver in fear despite feeling rooted to the floor.

“You two are a real pair, you know?” he starts almost pleasantly, “the fucking villain and the useless fuck.”

Those are bad words, Hitoshi thinks, feeling ill. The man looks angry. Izuku glares at sensei resentfully but his jaw stays forcefully shut beneath the muzzle. Sensei backhands him carelessly, throwing the boy to the ground.

Hitoshi lets out a muffled shout, and before he knows it he finds himself on the floor beside Izuku, the left side of his face smarting.

He feels the world disappear. Only sensei and Izuku exist. It’s all that matters.

Hitoshi feels sensei’s hand grasp his head, forcing up and facing away from the man behind him. He claws at the hand but stops when he hears a warning growl behind him.

Hitoshi and Izuku are manhandled upright and standing, facing a wall. Both are shaking slightly but neither dare to move away.

They hear a tearing sound, and Hitoshi feels a hand pulls at the back of the muzzle where the clasp is. Sensei’s fingers poke around the area, and something pulls at Hitoshi’s hair painfully. He’s shoved a little when the man’s done, and sensei moves to Izuku.

Hitoshi dares to peak at what he’s doing and he swallows a squeak of horror. Sensei is wrapping thick tape around the clasp of Izuku’s muzzle.

The man laughs a little when he’s done.

“See how you wriggle your way out of this one, freaks.”, he scoffs.

He’s not in the mood to slap them around, apparently. Both boys find themselves standing in the corridor, staring at each other in despair.

Neither of them head home.

--

Unconsciously, they head to the same alleyway they met the sick man in. They stop when they arrive and curl up together on the ground. They’re both still shaking.

It’s a few hours after they curled up that Izuku moves again. He claws at the muzzle, tears dripping off his chin. Hitoshi tries to help him, fighting with the tape around the clasp. He can’t see very well in the encroaching darkness but the tape’s so thick and sticky he’s not sure he would get it off even if he could see what he was doing.

Izuku lets out a low keen and buries his head in his knees.

Hitoshi gives up when his fingers start to hurt too much. He doesn’t bother trying to get his own muzzle off. He leans against Izuku but keeps his head up, watching the shadows grow darker and darker.

He thinks he’s dreaming when he sees one of the shadows turn into a person, until the person gets close enough for Hitoshi to see he’s real.

He nudges Izuku urgently and both boys tense as the figure keeps moving closer.

Izuku’s fingers are still pulling at the muzzle desperately and Hitoshi’s hands form into fists.

We’ve had enough, he wants to scream at the man. Leave us alone.

The figure crouches a short distance from them, and speaks in a low soothing rumble.

“…You kids okay?”

Both boys startle at the words. The voice is familiar, somehow. Safe. Hitoshi takes a leap of faith and shakes his head, again and again and again, not even noticing as he lets out little muffled sobs. He just wants it to be over.

Chapter Text

Shouta never knows why he heads past that alleyway so often. Hizashi says he has an unhealthy obsession with his past almost-death spots. Plural, Shouta! Shouta just grumbles that Hizashi has an obsession of his own.

But Shouta’s not convinced it’s as simple as that. After all, there are at least two locations he almost died at which he has not visited since.

Either way, he’s glad he did pass by tonight, because the alleyway is not empty.

There’s a lump. He moves towards it, and realises it’s not one lump, but two. And they’re children.

He thinks they’re staring at him, so he approaches slowly, cautiously, and crouches down when he’s close enough to make out their general shape. Judging by the body and head size, they’re young.

He speaks softly, calmly, trying to soothe them.

“…You kids okay?”

Not his best opening, sue him.

It seems to work though, because one of them starts crying and shaking their head side to side over and over and Shouta almost panics because he’s not sure he’s best placed to comfort anyone, period. Let along crying kids.

He shushes the kid as soothingly as he can from a distance, and uses the time it buys him to form a plan.

Step one: coax them out the alleyway and somewhere safe. The police station would have been best, but it’s quite far so for now the flat will do.

Step two: try to figure out what the hell is wrong, and work from there.

Rudimentary, sure. But it’s a plan, and it helps calm his own anxieties.

“Hey, there, it’s okay” he whispers, “I- you probably don’t know me, but I’m a pro hero. The name’s Eraserhead.”

His words are greeted with silence, but the shapes seem to have risen a little and huddled together. He hopes that’s a good sign.

“I’m … uh… I work at night, so that’s why…”

He wishes one of them would say something. He can’t see their faces, and he has no idea how well or badly this is going. He waits a little, just in case they decide to put him out of his misery. No such luck. He shifts slightly, and slowly stands up, backing away carefully while keeping the kids in his sight.

“Follow me. …I can take you somewhere safe”

‘Follow me’, honestly, he berates himself. And he calls Hizashi an idiot.

Shockingly, though, it seems to work.

As he slowly but surely steps out of the alleyway, the shapes shift and follow him. He pauses as he reaches the main street and waits carefully. The shapes slowly become more and more defined and he has to fight to keep his face blank. He really hopes he’s seeing something wrong, but that hope is soon dashed.

Two teary-eyed, achingly young faces stare up at him. They look at once painfully hopeful and fearful, like puppies that have been kicked too many times but still approach a stranger hoping for a shred of decency.

And they’ve obviously been denied decency. Shouta knows that quirk-controlling items can be deemed necessary for some kids with difficult quirks. He doesn’t believe there’s ever a case where the use is justified, however. Quirk suppressant technology should only ever be used on criminals, in his opinion. Never on kids. They should be encouraged to learn control, not denied the experience that would grant it.

He aches to remove them immediately, but he’s scared of chasing them away. They look ready to run any second. He gestures them forward and guides them carefully all the way to the ugly yellow building he lives in.

He tries to speak to them, keep them at ease. It’s only when one of them tugs meaningfully at his mask with sad eyes that Shouta realises they can’t speak. Those aren’t just masks, they’re fucking muzzles. He nods carefully back at the little boy and turns around as naturally as he can to hide his furiously clenching teeth.

Taking a deep breath, he opens the door and leads them into the building. He eyes the lift, but decides it’s safer to use the stairs.

They all stop at the door to his flat, and he gives them what he hopes is an encouraging nod.

“My partner also lives here. His name is Yamada Hizashi. He’s … energetic, but harmless. Don’t worry.”

The boys look at him and nod.

Shouta unlocks the door and leads them inside.

Almost immediately, Hizashi comes swinging around the corner, shouting Shouta’s name at the top of his lungs.

“SHOOOOOOOUUUTAaaaah...?” His volume suddenly decreases when he spots the kids. They’d backed up a full meter in surprise, holding onto each other tightly. Shouta sighs.

“It’s okay”, he says gently, “It’s just Hizashi forgetting to use his inside voice.”

Hizashi pouts a little at the jab, but apologizes readily. He’s eyeing the two children, pausing for a split second at the sight of the muzzles.

Shouta takes another deep breath.

“Why don’t you take your shoes off and we can move somewhere comfortable.”, he suggests. The boys nod warily and take turns watching them while the other leans down to untie their shoelaces.

“We can work on getting those things off you as well, okay?”

Neither of the adults miss the surprise on the kids’ faces at the words.

--

It doesn’t take long for them to be seated on the sofa. One of them swings his legs whenever he thinks neither of them can see him. The other just perches awkwardly, eyes darting from Shouta to Hizashi and back again.

The bright light does nothing to improve how bad they look. Both of them have red swelling cheeks and red swollen eyes from crying. They’re also shivering and tense, flinching at the slightest too-fast movement.

Shouta crouches in front of them again and revises his plan.

Step 1: coax them somewhere safe. Check.

Step 2: get those fucking inhumane muzzles off of them.

Step 3 will come later. He looks them in the eye and keeps his voice low.

“Do you mind if I look at your masks? I’m going to take them off you.” And burn them.

There’s a long moment of stillness, but the smaller green one eventually inches forwards and slowly crawls within reach of Shouta’s hands. He’s shaking noticeably but his eyes are determined. Shouta stays still, breathing slowly and moving as little as possible. The kid’s shaking dies down bit by bit, and he blinks at Shouta before cautiously turning his head for the back of his head to be visible.

He sits.

Shouta stares at the back of the muzzle and unclenches his fingers. Where the clasp should be is a messy gob of thick duct tape that Shouta knows isn’t going to come off without a fight.

He exhales slowly and speaks softly.

“That’s … I’m going to need to use my pen-knife, kid. …Is that okay?”, he stays still, and the head shakily nods. Thank god.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise”, he soothes anyway, reaching carefully for his pocket. He pulls out the pen-knife and selects the tiny scissors, making sure to keep his movements fluid and slow.

The kid in front of him is still, and the other watches him like a hawk.

“Okay… I’m going to have to pull on the mask, okay? I’ll try to be gentle. Just… hit the floor if it hurts and you want me to stop and I promise I will. Okay?”

He waits for another nod and proceeds carefully.

It takes almost a full minute, but he manages to clear the tape away enough to access the clasp. It’s sticky with tape-glue but thankfully it opens without too much trouble. He slowly eases the mask off the kid’s face. It doesn’t escape his notice that the mask doesn’t fit right, and he swallows another wave of anger. There’s a patch of hair missing on the back of the kid’s head, where the straps rested. Tell-tale signs that the kid had had to wear it often.

Pulling the muzzle away he resists the urge to throw it and instead gently places it on the floor beside him.

The kid is back on the sofa within a few seconds, hand rubbing his cheeks where another few tears have dripped down.

Shouta gets his first good look at the kid’s face. The boys had seemed familiar, and now that his face was no longer covered Shouta stares into the sad green eyes of Midoriya Izuku, one of the kids who’d saved his life. He doesn’t doubt that the other one is Shinsou Hitoshi.

Instead of saying anything, he nods at Midoriya and looks expectantly at Shinsou.

Shinsou glances at his friend and shuffles down towards him. He eyes the pen-knife and exhales softly. Shouta waits patiently, trying to master the art of not-staring while watching Shinsou’s every move.

It doesn’t take long for the second one to sit where his friend had been earlier. His clasp is also covered in tape. Shouta follows the same steps as before, warning Shinsou before he starts and waiting for permission to proceed.

The tape comes off quicker this time, and the mask is at least fitted to Shinsou’s face. He also has a small bald patch where the straps rested.

Shinsou is back on the couch as soon as he’s done, pressing against Midoriya and blinking back tears of his own.

They still don’t speak.

Shouta puts his pen-knife away and slowly gets up. He fetches them a jelly pouch each from the cupboard which they accept without too much hesitation.

He tells them they’re free to rest while he makes dinner, then leaves them alone. They need time to adjust (and if he’s honest, so does he).

Chapter Text

That night, after they find something soft for the kids to sleep on, Shouta retreats gratefully to his and Hizashi’s room.

He hides his face in Hizashi’s shoulder and holds him close. Hizashi wraps his arms around him in return. They stay like that until Shouta starts to relax enough to let go. Hizashi’s eyes are sad but he still grins winningly at Shouta, shooting him a wink. Shouta can’t quite contain a small grateful smile.

They lie in bed for a long while before Hizashi finally breaks the silence.

“What’s the plan for the little listeners, Shouta?”

He sounds worried, and Shouta knows why. They can’t exactly just kidnap two kids, but he doesn’t want to risk forcing them to return to a bad situation either. He sighs.

“…We’ll see if they feel up to talking tomorrow.”, he murmurs.

Hizashi hums thoughtfully.

“Alright… We’re going to have to call the police about it, too, Shouta. Whether they speak or not.”

Shouta knows. He squeezes Hizashi’s hand a bit tighter and doesn’t disagree.

“We’ll get through this, Shouta, you’ll see.”

Shouta closes his eyes, breathing deeply.

“We won’t fail them. Not… not again.”, Hizashi’s voice wavers a little at the end.

Shouta pulls him in for a hug and they break apart to stare at each other, taking strength from each other’s presence. Sleep comes slowly.

--

The boys are awake when Hizashi emerges early the next morning. He looks them over and suggests gently that they clean themselves up in the bathroom. He even carefully hands them a clean towel each.

They watch him a bit too closely but seem to be content to follow his words.

He almost misses it when one of them whispers “okay…” softly. He beams at both of them and tells them he’ll be making breakfast soon.

The shell-shocked look on their faces is heart-breaking.

--

They return damp and wearing the same dirty clothes.

Surprising Hizashi, Midoriya actually walks right up to him. He hesitates when Hizashi meets his eyes, but seems to get over the worst of his fear when his friend joins him.

“…ano… wh-wh-what a-are y-you m-making…?”

The kid speaks almost defiantly, despite his obvious fear.

Hizashi smiles proudly at him, inwardly celebrating their little show of trust.

“Just rice and omelette, little listeners. Do you like it?”

The boy stares at him with eyes a bit wide and a few tears leaking out. Despite this he smiles shakily at Hizashi and nods. Shinsou peers over the counter curiously, so Hizashi moves a little out of the way to give him space.

He serves them both a full plate and sits down to eat with them. They look even more surprised at that, and Hizashi buries his anger deep down.

He starts talking to them, lightly chattering and telling them harmless stories. And, slowly but surely, they lose some of their fear. Their expressions become more animated, and Midoriya even laughs out loud at one of his jokes, before slapping a hand over his mouth in surprise.

He continues to smile soothingly at them, consciously not gesturing as widely as usual to avoid startling them. He keeps an eye on Shinsou, who smiles but still hasn’t said a word.

Eventually he decides to try asking them small questions, engage them more actively. Midoriya hesitates, watching him like he would reach over and slap the boy for answering, yet slowly but surely Hizashi learns the kid’s favourite colour, favourite hero, and even about how cool All Might is.

Shinsou takes a bit more coaxing. He observes Hizashi and his friend, but seems to go mute whenever the questions are directed towards himself. Hizashi pauses every time, but never pushes. Eventually the boy looks up at him and opens his mouth.

“…I like heroes, too.”

It’s quiet, but Hizashi hears it and beams at him joyfully.

“That’s suuper! So do I! And you know what?”, he adds in a conspiratorial tone. The boys shake their heads, leaning forward curiously.

“So does Shouta!”, he reveals.

Shinsou huffs at that, while Midoriya giggles.

“It doesn’t count ‘cause he’s a hero too.”, says Shinsou with certainty.

Hizashi grins, winking at the kid, “It doesn’t?? But then I’m not allowed to like heroes either?! Oh man!”

The boys look confused, although he sees Midoriya’s eyes go wide in realisation. Smart kid.

Shinsou frowns at him, “...why not?”

Hizashi sighs in mock despair, “because I’m a pro hero too, little listener!”

Shinsou smiles shyly at him, and it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen.

“I – I guess you can still like heroes…” he mutters, scratching the back of his neck.

Hizashi laughs at that, highly entertained by the very Shouta-like embarrassment.

“Thanks, little listener – but here, I have a challenge for you!”, he shoots them some finger guns.

They look at each other then back at him. It’s so freaking cute.

“What is it?”

Midoriya is almost falling off his seat in anticipation. His eyes are shining.

“Can you guess what my hero name is, babyy???”

Almost immediately, Midoriya puts his hand to his mouth and starts muttering to himself. Shinsou narrows his eyes at him, apparently thinking deeply. Hizashi has to fight to hold in a laugh at how seriously they’re taking it.

“… Loudman?” Shinsou suggests, head tilted to the side and the start of a small smirk on his face.

“Noooooope!” Hizashi throws his arms into a large cross, “try again!”

The smirk grows.

“Lame-o man, maybe?”, he gives a good impression of a drawl. Midoriya looks scandalized (and just a bit scared).

Hizashi makes the most dramatic disappointed face he can before bursting into laughter.

“Nooooo! How could you say that?”

Shinsou ducks his head, but can’t quite hide the bright pink blush on his face. Hizashi’s smile softens a little to show he didn’t mean it, and he looks at Midoriya to see if he has a guess of his own.

The kid is staring at him like he’s some sort of puzzling enigma. He slowly sits back down and brings a hand to hover over his lip, stopping just a few centimetres away from touching. He raises the hand uncertainly.

“Oooh, it seems we have another guess! Fire away, little one! I promise I can take it!”

The boy looks at him a bit longer and nods decisively.

“…you’re Present Mic, aren’t you?”

Hizashi is gobsmacked. He’s not usually that well known outside of very specific circles, having only just entered the top 200 in the ratings. And even then, he’s been told his appearance is quite different out of costume.

A huff of laughter draws all of their attention to the doorway where Shouta smiles.

“I preferred Lame-o man.”, he says mischievously, and gives the boys an acknowledging nod. He picks up the coffee Hizashi made for him and joins them at the table.

“You know”, he continues with a smirk, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him at a loss for words. You sure surprised him, kid.”

Hizashi sputters, but quickly shakes off his surprise and turns back to Midoriya.

“You guessed… correctly!! Wooooh! Well done!”

He smiles reassuringly at them, when he sees they’re a bit unsure how to respond to Shouta’s sudden presence.

Hizashi decides to waste no time retaliating playfully to Shouta’s barb.

“Anyway, it’s not like ‘Eraserhead’ is any better!”

Of course, it backfires immediately with Shouta’s deadpan.

“It was your idea, idiot.”

The kids watch the back and forth with interest. Midoriya raises his hand again curiously. Hizashi nods at him to go ahead.

“…ano… What’s your real name, Eraserhead-san?”

Hizashi raises his eyebrows pointedly at Shouta, relishing in Shouta’s light blush. Honestly.

“…My name’s Aizawa Shouta, call me Aizawa or Shouta as you like.”

The kids duck their heads but slowly relax. The rest of breakfast passes with comfortable banter and little smiles. A morning well spent.

Chapter Text

Shouta could (and probably will) kiss Hizashi for his friendly energy that morning. He’d honestly been worried the kids would refuse to make any noise at all, but he’d woken up to see the man had somehow managed to put them enough at ease that even Shouta’s arrival hadn’t scared them for long.

It was now a little after breakfast and Shouta has the two boys back on the sofa. He himself sits on the carpet in front of them, hoping to seem less intimidating this way.

He gazes up at them seriously.

“…I want to prevent what happened to you from happening again.”

He sighs.

“To do that I’m going to need to take some photos of you and ask you some questions… It’s important but I promise we can stop if it’s too much.”

Shinsou nods almost like he expects it, while Midoriya’s eyes jump between them. He mumbles a small “…okay”. Shouta smiles at them in thanks.

Hizashi comes back in the room with a video camera and one of his fancy microphones. He sets everything up to the side so that it catches both the boys and Shouta. He places the microphone between the boys and Shouta, a little to the right. He looks up at Shouta in askance and starts the recording, before leaving the room.

“… alright, as you can see we’re going to film the whole thing. This is so that we can go back to see your answers again, and for the police. Do you understand? Is that okay?”

The boys gaze curiously at the device but nod with little issue. Shouta is relieved. So far, so good.

He taps the small hand-held camera he holds against his leg.

“I need to take some photos of your bruises and anywhere else you’re hurt. Which one of you wants to go first? I’ll put some bruise cream on afterwards.”

Shinsou crawls down first, and Shouta takes a few shots of the back of his head, before focussing on his face and the bruise on it. He then carefully spreads some soothing cream on the sensitive skin, making his movements slow and nonthreatening. There’s a darker line of bruising where the muzzle used to rest. While doing this, he starts speaking again.

“…can you tell me where you got this one?”

He speaks loud enough for the webcam but still tries to keep his voice soothing. Shinsou shifts and avoids Shouta’s eye. He mulls it over for a while. Finally, there’s a quiet answer.

“…Okura-sensei.”

Shouta keeps his breath even and continues.

“…do you hurt anywhere else?”

Shinsou considers it again for a long moment, but thankfully shakes his head. Shouta sighs in relief.

“that’s good to hear, kid. I’m going to need you to take your shirt and your shorts off for a photo though, if that’s okay?”

Shinsou looks as awkward as Shouta feels but removes it without complaint. Thankfully there’s little to no sign of fading bruises or other injuries. Shouta takes a quick snapshot from the front and from the back and he’s done.

“Thank you, Shinsou-kun. You did well.”

Shinsou ducks his head to hide his face and quickly puts his clothes back on. He sits back on the couch with little pink spots on his cheeks.

Shouta looks up at the other one. Midoriya shuffles down more hesitantly than his friend but nonetheless sits in front of Shouta and offers his face up for photos and treatment.

Shouta repeats the same procedure, noticing a few more marks left by the ill-fitting muzzle. He doesn’t mention them, just spreads cream mutely when he’s done with the photos.

“Can you tell me where you got the big bruise here?”, he asks finally, neither needing or wanting to address the smaller bruises from the muzzle.

Again there’s a pause but Midoriya answers soon enough.

“O-okura-sensei.”, his voice wobbles on the word, but his face is set in determined lines.

“Ok. Do you hurt anywhere else?”, Shouta asks.

Midoriya nods. He points to his chest, to his arm, and to his leg. Shouta swallows.

“…thank you for telling me. Can you take off your shirt for me? I’ll look at your chest and arm first.”

Midoriya follows his instructions silently. Shouta tries not to stare, and takes the required photos with a twisting feeling in his gut. He has to clear his throat twice to speak again.

“where did you get these ones?”

Because the poor kid is covered in bruises, some in later stages of healing and some more recent. At least it seems only one or two are as recent as the bruise on his face, including the one on his arm. Shouta starts spreading cream over the worst of the bruising, waiting for the answer.

“… my classmates, o-or the older kids, sometimes… they pick on me.”, he mumbles. Shouta pauses, angry, but resumes his task. He turns the boy around to treat his back.

“O-okura-sensei, t-too…”, the boy admits quietly, “I-I think he h-hates me…”

Shouta closes his eyes for second, but quickly nods at the boy to get his shirt back on. He directs Midoriya into taking his trousers off too, and treats the bruise blossoming on his thigh. This one is another from ‘Okura-sensei’.

Once he’s done, and Midoriya is fully dressed back on the sofa, Shouta takes a few deep breaths and gives each boy a juice pouch as a break.

“You were both very brave. Thank you for telling me.”, he murmurs at them, already tired.

The next part is going to be more difficult, he knows, so he lets them relax for a little while before starting again.

“Alright… I have a few more questions I need you to answer. Are you ready?”

The kids nod reluctantly, but Shouta notes that they don’t seem fearful. He takes a deep breath, more for his own composure than for the kids’ benefits. He tries to categorise the information he needs in his mind. Start recent. Assess current situation.

“Can you explain where the masks come from?”

The kids blink at him. Midoriya takes the lead.

“…Hicchan’s quirk control masks, from the doctor.”, he mumbles. Shouta notes the tension in their frames.

“When do you have to wear them?”, he asks next, leaving the question of ‘why’ for another time.

This time, it’s Shinsou who speaks, “…at school.”

Shouta lets out a breath. He takes one look at Midoriya’s sad eyes, bruises from the ill-fitting mask on his face, thinks of the dark bruises inflicted by this ‘Okura-sensei’ and skips ahead to the next line of questioning. He’s not sure he could keep his composure otherwise.

“Why did you go to the alleyway yesterday? Why not go home?”

He doesn’t miss the way both boys avoid looking in his direction.

“…Shinsou?”, he suggests tentatively.

The boy in question bites his lip, but eventually raises his head and stares just behind Shouta’s ear.

“… I’m not sure. I… I didn’t want to be punished for being late. I-I … I didn’t want to be alone.”, he looks down in apparent embarrassment.

“That’s okay. Can you tell me what it’s like when you’re at home?”

Shinsou frowns a little at the question. He tugs at his sleeves before answering.

“I…uh… it’s fine, I guess? Um… No-one hits me…?”

Shouta doesn’t like that the kid thinks that criteria was worth adding.

“Did you tell your foster parents when you were hurt?”

Shinsou frowns harder and looks at him strangely. He shakes his head, “…um, I’m not allowed to talk… when I’m at home…?”

Shouta has to consciously unclench his teeth to ask his next question. “And you had to wear a quirk control mask at school? …One that stops you from speaking?”

Shinsou nods, with such an expression of bemused confusion that Shouta wants to punch something.

“… in a normal day, is there a time that you can talk at all?”

Shinsou doesn’t take any time to think this time, and just shrugs, adding, “…with Izuku, sometimes.”, like that’s more than good enough.

Shouta’s revisiting his memories of Shinsou’s foster family two years ago. He remembers with perfect clarity the eight-year-old closing his mouth after glancing at his guardian. He breathes.

“…do you know why they don’t like you speaking? Is it because of your quirk?”

Shinsou clenches his small fists but refuses to look at Shouta. Midoriya glares at Shouta.

“Hicchan’s n-n-not a v-villain!”, he states angrily. It’s the loudest Shouta has ever heard the green-haired boy.

Shouta blinks.

“I apologise. I didn’t want to say that he was.”

Shinsou looks up, wide eyed and a light sheen over his eyes. Shouta decides to correct whatever assumptions the kid has been told to believe.

“Shinsou-kun, you are not – and I don’t believe you ever will be - a villain. If anyone has ever told you otherwise, they’re wrong.”

A tiny tear falls onto Shinsou’s cheek. He sniffs and wipes his eyes with the back of his hand, giving a quick nod of his head. Midoriya cuddles up to him in support. He gives Shouta a teary-eyed, painfully surprised stare.

Shouta gives them a minute to recover.

“… do you think you can answer my question now? Did they want you not to speak because of your quirk?”

Shinsou sniffs again but nods. He elaborates a bit shyly.

“I – everyone says it’s a b-bad quirk. S-so I…”, he trails off helplessly, shrugging.

Shouta nods understandingly.

“…could you explain how your quirk works, please, Shinsou-kun?”

Shinsou bites his lip but answers carefully, face drawn tight in expectant fear.

“I-I… wh-when s-someone answers m-my questions, they h-have to do what I t-tell them. O-Only if I-I want them to.”

His shoulders relax slightly when Shouta gives him a tiny approving smile.

“That’s a cool quirk, kid. And can you control it?”

Shinsou nods, still staring at Shouta like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“…why?”, Shinsou asks, and Shouta can only guess what he wants to say, but the answer is easy to give. Shouta meets the kid’s eye and answers him with all the sincerity he can muster.

“Because it’s true. You’re a good kid.”

Shouta leaves it at that for now, and moves on to Midoriya. He thinks back to the boy’s anxious mother.

“...and you, Midoriya-kun? …Why didn’t you go home?”

Surprisingly, it’s not Midoriya who answers. Instead, Shinsou shakes his head at Shouta and states “…home is a bad place for Izuku.”

Midoriya hides his face behind his friend’s back. Shouta raises his eyebrows. When the green-haired boy stays hidden for a while longer Shinsou continues.

“I… There’s a place on the street outside my house where Izuku sleeps…”, Shinsou must see something on Shouta’s face, because he slowly adds (insincerely), “…sometimes”

…what the hell.

“What about Midoriya’s mother?”, Shouta asks in surprise. He regrets it as soon as he says it.

Midoriya peeks out from behind Shinsou’s shoulders, crying big fat tears. Shouta falls silent.

“M-m-mom… Sh-she’s …. I-I d-don’t … she doesn’t …. Sh-she only l-listens to Okura-sensei…”, he seems to lose his courage and retreats behind Shinsou. But he keeps speaking.

“I-I-I hate him! H-he’s a-a-always m-mean an’ it hurts ‘n’ he lies a-a-all the t-time.”

All that’s visible of the boy are his legs and his hands gripping Shinsou’s shoulders tightly. Shouta is still trying to think of what he can say when the boy finishes with one last quiet statement.

“… M-mom d-doesn’t c-c-care about me a-a-anym-more.”

Midoriya speaks with an air of finality, but his voice breaks and he dissolves into full-body sobs.

Shouta watches this helplessly, wishing more than anything to comfort the boys in some way. He tells himself to focus. There’s only one question he needs to ask before he can in good conscious let this interrogation come to an end.

“…I’m sorry, kid. I really am.”, he speaks very quietly, but sincerely. He clears his throat. There are so many more questions he wants to ask but he won’t press them.

“I promise we’re almost done for now.”, he sets his jaw and keeps his eyes trained on the boys in front of him. Shinsou nods without meeting his eye.

“You mentioned bullies and …Okura-sensei... Did anyone else ever hurt you? I mean with words too.”

Although they seem to think about it for a very long time, they shake their heads. Neither of them meet Shouta’s eyes. Shouta adds the entire school to his shit list.

Shouta nods at them and turns the recording off. He ignores the shaking of his hands as he picks the device up. He turns to the kids.

“Thank you both. It must have been very difficult, I’m sorry to have put you through that.”

He considers them for a moment, and moves to crouch right in front of them. Midoriya peers curiously over Shinsou’s shoulder. Good. He meets both of their eyes.

“I know I told you both last time, but you have been very heroic, once again.”, he continues before Midoriya can build up too many more tears, “I am going to help you as much as I can. You’re going to be ok, I promise. Trust me.”

His voice rumbles with conviction.

For a few seconds, both children are frozen, eyes wide. But when Shouta moves to get up Shinsou grabs his sleeve. He’s looking up at Shouta with something close to desperation. There’s a new kind of tension in the air, and Shouta’s mind is drawing a blank as to what he’s meant to do next. His surprise mounts when Midoriya shifts shyly towards him, head ducked so his dark green hair hid his face. Shouta’s mind reboots and he slowly moves his free arm away in silent invitation, trying not to think too hard in case he’s wrong.

Neither boy needs any more encouragement and they fall awkwardly into his arms, hiding their faces into his chest.

Shouta gently sits back on the ground, baffled. Nonetheless, he slowly rubs comforting circles into their backs.

They stay that way until both boys fall asleep. Shouta’s heart squeezes painfully with a miasma of emotions he can’t name. He slowly shifts until all he’s lying on the floor with the kids resting on top of him. Now’s as good a time as any to have a nap.

Chapter Text

When Izuku wakes up he’s lying on something warm, and he feels safe. He keeps his eyes closed for a little bit longer, holding onto that feeling. Except he should get up, he probably has school. A-And… he needs school to…. be a hero… It sounds tired even in his own mind. He blinks his eyes open.

He’s not in the street outside Hitoshi’s apartment. He’s not even in his room at home (he hasn’t been back since he saw Okura-sensei there). He’s… he’s with the tired man with the black hair (the sick man from ages ago). Wait, that’s rude… it’s … Eraserhead - Aizawa-san. And Yamada-san.

He’s still pleasantly warm, and he shifts his gaze to the side, seeing Hitoshi’s sleeping face, smushed against the same black chest that… wait. Is he… Are they… Izuku slowly looks up, feeling a comforting weight on his back shift with his movement. Aizawa’s eyes are open, and he glances at Izuku in silent acknowledgment. It’s …nice. Izuku is transfixed by the man. It’s been so long since he’s felt this safe with any adult. He snuggles up into the man’s side, carefully checking the man’s face for any sign of annoyance. Aizawa doesn’t look annoyed. Instead, he huffs a little breath and his lips twitch into a tiny lopsided smile. Izuku feels a surge of warmth take root inside him. He smiles back and rests his head back against the man’s chest.

It’s really, really nice.

--

The three of them are woken by Yamada-san a little later in the day. Aizawa grumbles something like “not now, I’m sleeping” and Izuku feels a little laugh bubble in his chest.

Yamada-san gives a laugh of his own and winks at Izuku, fake-whispering.

“He’s always grumpy when he wakes up.”

Izuku giggles quietly. He doesn’t lift his head but still turns to see Hitoshi wake up too, rubbing his eyes and looking (in Izuku’s opinion) too tired for someone who’d just finished napping. He looks back up at Yamada-san.

“Hitoshi too”, he confides. The blonde gives him a delighted grin and sits beside them.

“What d’you say to waking them up with me?”

Izuku cocks his head to one side, thinking.

“…like when Aizawa-san was sleeping when he was sick…?”

Yamada-san is interested. “What did you do to wake him up then?”

Izuku shrugs. “…Poked him with a stick.”

The blonde grins harder, highly amused.

“I bet that didn’t work very well”, he says confidently.

Izuku thinks about it. It was a very long time ago, after all. “I think it worked when we poked his face…?”

The man laughs lightly, face alighting with mischievousness. He leans forwards with a big grin on his face.

“Want to try doing that again?”, he asks eagerly, “only without a stick... we’re all out of sticks.”

Izuku thinks about it. He’s still feeling safe, and coupled with the encouraging grin on the blonde’s face he’s emboldened enough to give a little grin of his own back.

He shifts slowly and sits up. Aizawa’s arm is still loosely held around him, although its resting on the floor. Izuku leans forwards, marvelling somewhat at being so close to the man. He can see the stubble growing on the man’s chin, and the way his black hair’s all smooth, even while it’s spread over the floor.

He slowly, almost curiously reaches his hand out, but stops right before touching. What if it makes him annoyed? He hesitates, but a look back at Yamada-san gives him a last burst of courage. He pokes his finger right into Aizawa’s cheek, pulls his hand back, and watches.

Aizawa’s face scrunches up and he frowns a little. His arms move and tighten a little, hugging Izuku and Hitoshi closer before releasing them. Red eyes blink open and a questioning rumble extends from his throat. Izuku observes all of this with rapt attention, cocking his head to one side.

“Afterno-oon, Shoooutaaa!”, Yamada-san sing-songs behind Izuku. Izuku tenses at the sudden noise, but Aizawa’s arm slowly rubs his back, making him relax again. When Izuku turns his attention back to the man however, he’s not looking at Izuku at all, instead just blinking tiredly at the ceiling.

Yamada-san continues firmly, unbothered by the other man’s lacklustre response.

“Alrriiight, everyone! I’m sorry to interrupt your adoorable naptime but! Lunch is ready! So, up you get!”

Aizawa gives a giant sigh, but slowly sits up and folds his legs. He doesn’t let go of Izuku while he does it, instead deftly adjusting his arm to stop him from falling. Once he’s sitting though he loosens his arm so that it’s just resting beside Izuku. Izuku’s attention wanders to Hitoshi, who’s holding onto Aizawa defiantly like an embarrassed koala.

Aizawa looks at them and huffs again. It’s an amused noise, and he raises an eyebrow questioningly. Izuku gives a shrug, actually really hungry but unwilling to get off. Hitoshi just grumbles unhappily but slowly untangles himself from the man’s chest. Neither of them make any move to leave.

Eventually Aizawa huffs again and gently nudges them off him, slowly getting up.

“Come on, you two…”, he mutters, yawning.

Izuku unthinkingly follows Aizawa to the kitchen, subconsciously hiding behind the man’s leg. He can’t quite help it although he blushes when Yamada-san loudly coos at them.

Aizawa sighs and gently shepherds them to the table.

“Ignore the yellow cockatoo over there, he’s always like that.”

Izuku watches Yamada-san pout but notices curiously that there’s no malice in the words.

Lunch is nice.

--

Hitoshi knows a little bit what to expect from a police investigation. He was always a bit worried that someone would try to get him arrested. Considering how people usually reacted to him he didn’t think it was all that unlikely. Sometimes he wondered if they should have put him in prison when he manifested his quirk. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

Bitter as they were, these thoughts had prompted him to use the school computer to look up criminal investigations, laws on quirk use, and even, after a particularly bad day, on the laws on child abuse and neglect. He understood almost none of it, but he did pick up on a few things.

First of all, he deduced with a sinking resignation that the law probably wouldn’t be on his side about his foster home. They wouldn’t believe him, and it wasn’t really anywhere near as bad as what he was reading. Anyway, he didn’t want to leave Izuku so it didn’t matter.

He quickly learned from biased teachers and unfriendly classmates that Izuku’s words had even less weight than his own. He could never quite accept how unfair it was, but he swallowed his bitter feelings and helped his friend as best he could.

At the end of the day Hitoshi had learned three things about investigations. They were long, really long. They involved lots of talking to lots of people. And the police needed lots of evidence, like photos or videos or ... stuff.

Either way, he’s pretty sure they’re meant to talk to a policeman at some point, which worries him (a lot). He watches Izuku and Aizawa-san and Yamada-san. Izuku’s mumbling, and no-one’s getting angry at him or telling him to shut up (but they don’t know he’s quirkless). Yamada-san’s fun to be around, and he’s really nice for an adult. And Aizawa-san… He gives Hitoshi a commiserating look, gesturing tiredly at the other two energetic people in the room (he doesn’t care about Hitoshi’s quirk, maybe he won’t care about Izuku either). Hitoshi smiles shyly back.

Hitoshi thinks things might turn out okay, so long as Aizawa-san’s around. It’s a good feeling.

--

Yamada-san leaves that afternoon to talk to the police. Aizawa-san says it’ll be alright but Izuku is scared anyway. He sticks close to Hitoshi and they both follow Aizawa-san everywhere he goes. Izuku feels a stab of irrational fear every time he loses sight of the tired man (he’s gone, he’s gone, he was lying). The man never gets annoyed though, which is …odd. He just sighs sometimes and ruffles their hair gently. He goes to a big desk and takes lots of paper with him to the sofa, then he lets Izuku and Hitoshi sit beside him while he works. He even gives them paper and pencils for them to play with.

It feels a bit like coming home.

The police know lots of things, like the detectives on television. Izuku thinks they’ll probably tell Yamada-san he’s quirkless. And Aizawa-san…

Izuku can’t help it. Hitoshi says it doesn’t matter, and Mom… Well, Mom doesn’t care about Izuku, quirk or no quirk... Everyone else cares.

Izuku really likes Aizawa-san. He leans against the man’s side, and gets an absentminded pat on the head and a quick assessing glance. Izuku’s scared things will change when he finds out.

…Maybe he’ll be annoyed if Izuku doesn’t tell him. It’d be like he lied. Izuku’s breaths come a bit quicker, and a lot shorter. Aizawa-san’s looking at him properly now and there’s a hand rubbing gentle circles into his back. The world goes fuzzy and fat tears flow down his cheeks.

“Shh, shh, it’s alright, kid. Midoriya… Izuku, it’s okay, you’re okay, you’re safe… Deep breaths, can you do that for me?”

The words ease in and out of Izuku’s mind, but there’s a hand on his chest and he grabs onto it. It hurts, he doesn’t know what’s happening, he’s not breathing right, gasping desperately. He tries to follow the advice, and slowly he focusses on the hand and the voice. His head aches terribly but he’s breathing better.

He’s still shaking when he turns to look up at Aizawa-san. The man’s attention is fully focused on him, red and tired eyes holding no judgement. Izuku feels exhausted, and maybe that’s why he barely has the energy to be afraid. Whatever the case, he uses it to push through and confess.

“…I – I- Aizawa-s-san, I-I’m s-s-sorry-y, I’m s-sor-ry, I lied, I l-l-lied! I-I-I…”, he closes his eyes tight. The man’s hand, until now rubbing circles into his back, pauses before shifting lightly, running up and down soothingly.

There’s a soft questioning rumble.

“I-I-I’m… I’m qu-quirkless…”, he whispers, “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m s-“

The arm shifts around him and Izuku tenses. His eyes open with alarm and he starts pushing away (he knows what comes next, he knows).

The man pulls him into a hug, letting out a long sigh and resuming the soothing circles on Izuku’s back.

Izuku sits stock still for what feels like forever while he tries to understand. And then he crumples, hiding his face in Aizawa-san’s chest and covering his top with tears and snot.

“I’m sorry – I’m sorry – I’m sorry…”, the words are muffled in the black cloth. He doesn’t know what he’s apologising for but he doesn’t know what else to say. The man shushes him again.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, kid.”

He sighs again when Izuku cries harder.

--

Hitoshi’s heart is beating fast, but he can’t help his own tears at the man’s easy acceptance of Izuku. He doesn’t know why he’s crying, really. Relief, gratitude, fear, something else. He leans into Aizawa-san’s other side.

He’d believed he felt safe before. This is better.

--

Hizashi sighs when he returns to find all three of them fast asleep again, sprawled across the floor. It’s not a very convincing sigh, it’s too fond and amused to convey Shouta-levels of tired disapproval.

He had some good news for them, but for now… He gets to work on dinner.

Chapter Text

Hizashi and Shouta are officially the temporary guardians of Midoriya Izuku and Shinsou Hitoshi. Shouta knew they both had the necessary documents for fostering children, as a backup plan in the unlikely event they’d need it as part of their hero work, but he hadn’t expected to ever use it. He’s glad for it now. Hizashi and his multiple backup plans… Shouta doesn’t know where he’d be without him.

Hizashi and him spend that weekend with the kids. They pick up some basic kid-necessities and watch as both boys relax slowly but surely around them. Hitoshi enjoys teasing Hizashi and watching him react over-dramatically. Izuku watches them both very curiously, and asks quiet questions whenever they show they’ve noticed him. Hizashi’s talkative and playful nature works wonders with both of them, effortlessly making them grin and laugh at his antiques, as well as play a few of the games Hizashi had stashed who-knows-where. Shouta is content to watch the three of them, relaxing in his corner until one or several of them inevitably drags him up (again) to join in. Hitoshi and Izuku settle next to him when they’re tired, resting quietly as he reads his book, works or naps.

On Monday, Shouta decides the kids need time out of his flat. The decision may or may not have been brought on by the state of the living room after they decided to play an active game of heroes and villains. Hizashi receives a very unimpressed raised eyebrow. The blond has the good grace to appear sheepish, agreeing to tidy the mess he initiated. Shouta almost regrets leaving him to it, if only so he didn’t have to go to the local kid park. Fun.

At least the kids are excited.

Thankfully the park isn’t far and the boys eagerly resume their game, gleefully chasing each other over climbing frames and letting loose the occasional high-pitched laugh. Unlike most kids Shouta has had the displeasure of babysitting they play largely quietly. He hopes that one day they will feel comfortable being as obnoxiously loud as they want. He sighs and sits back on a bench, letting his attention drift to the park’s surroundings.

He sees a flash of dark green hair and stands. It’s Midoriya Inko. She’s holding a bag full of groceries and hasn’t given the park even a cursory glance. Shouta moves to intercept her. It’s only when she looks up and spots him that he questions why he moved in the first place. He curses himself silently but gives the woman a nod of greeting.

“H-hi? You’re that man, two years ago...?”, she says meekly. Shouta nods. “Aizawa.”

There’s an awkward pause.

“Your son. Did you – do you know where he is?”, he finally asks. She shoots him a confused look, but shakes her head.

“I’m sorry Aizawa-san, but my son and I… I don’t know why, but he’s changed. He… he no longer... I… I’m sorry if he’s caused you grief. But he… doesn’t stay with me…”

Shouta stares hard at her. He’s not sure if he’s more confused or angry.

“Midoriya-san. I found Izuku and his friend bruised and alone in an alleyway. At night. Last week.”

She doesn’t even look surprised, just watches him like she’s not sure what he wants from her. Shouta presses, a sad sort of desperation welling up in him.

“They tell me ‘Okura-sensei’ has been hurting them.”

Not even a hint of concern. He wants to grab the woman and shake her. But he doesn’t. He watches as, slowly, her face sets into a frown.

“…Aizawa-san, I understand that you’re concerned, but you don’t know those boys. I-Izuku is no longer who he was. That – that boy…”, her face twists angrily, “That’s just a story. A lie.”, her face turns tired, “Okura-san has never had anything but their best interests at heart. There’s just… there’s nothing to be done…”

Shouta stares, taken aback. A small hand grabs hold of his trouser leg. Shit.

“…Mom?”

Izuku takes a few steps forward, reaching hesitantly with one hand while staying attached to Shouta with the other. Shouta places a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Midoriya-san blinks, eyes briefly glancing down at the small boy. She looks Shouta in the eye with a bitter sort of sadness.

“I’m sorry Aizawa-san, but I no longer have a son.”

Izuku freezes, hand falling limply to his side. Hitoshi appears and pulls his friend back with fumbling hands. Shouta guides them both into his side, worried and furious.

“I hope you’re happy” she spits, glaring hatefully at Hitoshi, who flinches but still manages to glare back.

Shouta’s had more than enough. He glares at her and pushes through the lump in his throat.

“Leave. Now.”

She hunches onto herself defensively, still glaring. But she turns to go, and that’s all Shouta cares about. He crouches and pulls both boys close to his chest. Izuku barely responds, staring blankly ahead. Shouta carries both of them home, heart aching.

--

“She did what??”, Hizashi yelps, horrified. His big blue eyes pin Shouta down and beg him to deny the whole affair.

Shouta shushes him, giving a nervous look to the sofa where a softly breathing pile of ten-year-old can be seen. Shouta wishes Izuku would cry, but the boy had yet to lose that glazed, lost look.

“I already told you, Hizashi. I don’t know what you want me to say.”, his voice breaks on the last word.

Shouta himself is having trouble keeping himself together. Hizashi lets out a small wounded noise and pulls Shouta in for a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, Shouta. I – I’m sorry… it’ll be okay. We’ll make it okay. Okay, Shouta? We’ll do this, together.”

Shouta pulls him closer and sighs, nodding slightly.

That evening is very quiet, not even Hizashi daring to break the heavy silence.

It’s only when Shouta gently tucks both boys into their spare bed that Izuku’s eyes well up with tears.

“…Hey, Izuku. It’s… I’m sorry, I really am.” Shouta whispers to him, running a hand through the kid’s hair.

Izuku pulls his arms over his head, pushing Shouta’s hand away and curling up tighter, shaking with sobs. Hitoshi is also ignored, and Shouta gives the distraught purple-haired boy a comforting hug. He sits by the bed holding Hitoshi’s hand, listening to Izuku’s quiet sobs. Hizashi joins him a few minutes later with a blanket to drape over them both. They stay long after both boys fall asleep.

Shouta wakes up from a doze in the middle of the night when something small and warm climbs down on top of him. He’s too tired to open his eyes so he just hugs the lump close and ignores his heart squeezing in his chest.

--

When Shouta wakes up the next morning, his neck is stiff and sore and his leg is numb. He looks down to find Izuku curled up in his lap, fast asleep. He looks to the side and finds Hizashi sitting very still, arms wrapped around a sleeping Hitoshi. He sees Shouta move and glances over. Of course the blonde is wide awake.

Hizashi gives him a somewhat pained look.

“Shouta… Can we keep them?”, the ridiculous man whispers, running a careful hand down Hitoshi’s back. His big blue eyes are already suspiciously wet.

Shouta’s arms tighten just a little bit around Izuku, and Hizashi beams. Shouta doesn’t say a word, the movement was answer enough.

--

Detective Tsukauchi comes a few days later. Shouta knows him as a smart and kind man with a promising future in the police force, despite still being young and new to his job. His lie-detection quirk, while not unheard of in other officers, is a huge advantage in investigations. Shouta is glad he took the case.

They sit down together, Hizashi, the kids and Shouta all on the couch and Tsukauchi settled in front of them on a chair. The interview is quick but surprisingly in-depth. Shouta keeps an arm around a nervous Hitoshi and his other hand holds onto Hizashi’s. Izuku leans into Hizashi’s side. They remain that way as the boys recount some of the abuse they’d suffered. They provide comfort when it’s needed and answer their own share of questions when prompted.

Both boys become scared when asked about their quirks. Both refer to the quirk control masks as muzzles (…l-like for a d-dog… Izuku had added). They hadn’t been allowed lunch. Izuku had several burn marks from trying to learn how to cook on his own when his mother had stopped providing for him. Hitoshi can’t tell them when he’d last been allowed to speak to an adult without fear of punishment. Okura-sensei is mentioned a lot.

Tsukauchi leaves with a bow of thanks, an angry set to his jaw and another recording to add to the police file. He assures them that with these recordings and his own testimony, neither child will be required to be present or stand in court. Hizashi and Shouta will likely need to testify, he warns.

--

Hizashi follows the detective and waits to be out of hearing distance of the kids before asking about custody arrangements. He’s rewarded with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll add it to the case, but you’ll have to work through it with your lawyer, I’m afraid”

Hizashi bids him goodbye, already planning for the three most likely case scenarios.

Chapter Text

The few days after the detective man came by passes in a haze to Hitoshi. Living with Aizawa and Yamada is unlike anything he’d known before. Izuku and him have their own room that they can decorate with whatever they want. Yamada cooks dinner almost every night and they’re always allowed to ask him what he’s doing. Even Hitoshi.

Aizawa lets them sit beside him – even on top of him! – without complaint, and no-one tells him he’s a bad villainous horrible boy when he accidentally breaks the lamp jumping out of bed.

Aizawa and Yamada also take them out to the park – a different park, now. It’s like having a family. Aizawa says that they will be allowed to go out on their own eventually. Hitoshi hears him grumble to Yamada about the police being slow to arrest people when they think Hitoshi’s asleep. Hitoshi listens a lot to what both men say, especially when they don’t think he’s listening. Just in case.

It’s on their way back from one such outing to the park that they walk around a bend on the street and come face to face with the last person Hitoshi ever wants to see.

Izuku holds on to the back of his shirt and Hitoshi stops walking entirely, frozen in fear. His voice stops working and he tenses defensively.

Aizawa notices, like always, and Yamada also pauses to look around. Hitoshi won’t – can’t – look away from Okura-sensei. Izuku also stays completely silent and still. Hitoshi feels like a mouse standing right in front of a big hungry cat.

It’s the man himself who approaches the group, smiling the way he does whenever parents or inspectors are around.

“Oh, hello there?”, he greets meekly, extending his arm out for a handshake. Yamada-san takes it hesitantly, obviously confused.

“I’m sorry”, Yamada says, “but do we know you…?”

The man is close now but Hitoshi still doesn’t dare move, even though he feels ready to run at any moment.

“Oh, so sorry – my mistake. Okura Yamato, nice to meet you. I am Midoriya-kun and Shinsou-kun’s teacher… I was concerned, since they haven’t been to class in a while. They have a tendency to skip but… we have to try, right? Haha…”

Aizawa steps in front of them protectively and Hitoshi feels a rush of gratitude. He grabs on to the man’s leg anxiously.

Yamada starts shaking his head, and pushing his hands onto his head as if in pain. Okura takes a step forwards, but Aizawa speaks low and threatening.

“I’d be careful what you do now. Public quirk use against a pro hero is a serious offense.”

Okura-sensei takes several steps back, arms raised. His face turns confused and he raises a concerned eyebrow at Aizawa.

“I-… I was just making conversation! No need to over-react. Do you…?”, he gestures at Yamada who’s looking back up, blinking hard.

“Ooow, Shouta…”, he grimaces, “that was weird, but it’s passed now. I’m good.”

“Oh good”, Okura-sensei says, all friendly smiles again. Hitoshi can’t see Yamada or Aizawa’s face but he feels the leg he’s holding onto shift slightly.

“Anyway, would I be right in assuming you are escorting these little miscreants home? Where did you find them this time?”

Hitoshi takes a few steps away, letting go of Aizawa in the process. Izuku stays standing right behind him.

Before Yamada or Aizawa even have time to answer the man strides right past and grabs them both tightly by the shoulder. Hitoshi can feel Izuku being pulled away and his body locks in place.

“You shouldn’t worry yourselves either way. I know their parents well… troublemakers, you know.”, Hitoshi can hear the smug confidence drip from the man’s voice, even though he still doesn’t dare even twitch, “I can take them the rest of the way.”

He gives them a light shake and starts dragging them backwards. Away from Aizawa and Yamada. Hitoshi digs his heels in. He feels the hand tighten on his shoulder and flinches in pain. Suddenly –

“Get your hands off of them.”

The voice rumbles with barely contained fury. Hitoshi looks up and Aizawa’s eyes are glowing red, his hair is floating and he expression on his face is the angriest Hitoshi has ever seen.

It gives him just enough courage to squirm out of Okura-sensei’s hold, muttering “L-let g-go!”

He gets a hard smack on the back of the head for his troubles, but he doesn’t get any time to process before he finds himself squished into Yamada-san’s arms against Izuku. There’s the sound of a commotion behind him, a yelp of pain, and he twists worriedly around to see… Okura-sensei pinned to the ground by Aizawa-san. Okura-sensei’s nose is bleeding. Yamada-san frees up one of his hands to take his phone out and dial the police.

And just like that it’s over. The police come and arrest Okura-sensei. Aizawa-san tells them to give him quirk restraints, and thick handcuffs are snapped on.

Aizawa-san and Yamada-san talk to the police some more. They go home.

Aizawa-san checks his head carefully and watches them like a hawk. Yamada-san ruffles their hair a lot. Hitoshi hugs him, earning a beaming smile and a comforting squeeze.

--

And somehow, life with Aizawa and Yamada stays the same. Hitoshi’s eavesdropping becomes more of a game than a test. Izuku and him make it into a competition, instead. When Aizawa catches them, he doesn’t get angry. Instead, he rubs the bridge of his nose and gives them tips on sneaking. Yamada isn’t impressed when he finds out, but it’s more funny than scary.

It’s nice to feel safe.

Not everything is great all the time. Hitoshi gets scared at night and Izuku cries a lot still, but no-one hits them or threatens them or calls them villains or useless or... anything.

They get into a fight with Aizawa about going to school. Izuku hides under the bed after yelling and Hitoshi even accidentally uses his quirk. Aizawa tells him off for that, but the muzzle isn’t brought back. He still answers Hitoshi’s questions. He says since it’s only the first time all Hitoshi has to do is apologise. Next time, he says Hitoshi will have to write lines or not be allowed something fun. He says he’ll never put the muzzle back on.

Yamada eventually sits them down and explains the situation to them.

“Listen up, little ones. I know you don’t want to go to school anywhere, but the problem is that Shouta and I have to start working full time again soon. Villains never rest, you know…”

Hitoshi can see Izuku staring mulishly at the ground. Aizawa sighs but Yamada goes on.

“We can’t leave you here alone. First because we’re not allowed to, but also because we wouldn’t find out if there was an accident and you were hurt. And I know you are smart kids but you still need to go to school to learn things...”

Hitoshi remembers Izuku’s words from before.

“…and you can’t become a hero if you’re not good in school…”

He feels a bit empty at that and he looks to Izuku for comfort. His friend rubs at his eyes angrily.

There’s a pause, and Aizawa speaks.

“We’re not sending you back to Aldera, you know. We’ll make sure it’s somewhere new. And if anything happens – anything at all? We’ll come get you. We’ll help. We’ll change school again if that’s what we need to do. Understand?”

Izuku looks up at that and Hitoshi feels the same surprise. That’s… maybe it’ll be okay then…

They agree and the matter is settled.

--

They go visit their new school the very next day. It’s big, but the principal smiles and says everything will be fine. Hitoshi doesn’t believe him but he shrugs it off. Izuku sticks close to him the entire visit.

Aizawa’s hand is warm in his and Hitoshi thinks it might still be okay.

Chapter Text

Okura Yamato’s quirk was called ‘Persuasion’. It’s activated through speech, and allows him to persuade others through his voice.

Hizashi hates the implications. He hates that this man had been spewing all kind of hateful things to the boys for years. He hates that when the man had approached him he’d felt an immediate sense of trust. He hates that he felt like laughing and agreeing with every poisonous word. It had caused a painful kind of conflict in his mind, where the persuasion clashed with his own knowledge.

He’d barely managed to snap out of it on his own. He was so disoriented he was too slow to react and next thing he knew the man was dragging his kids away. Hizashi winces at the memory of Hitoshi and Izuku squirming and terrified, stuck in Okura’s grasp. And he’d done nothing. Nothing until Shouta had rushed forwards to subdue the man, quirk activated. It was like a fog lifted in his mind and he grabbed both boys, holding them safe against him and letting his partner restrain the asshole who’d hit Hitoshi right in front of them.

The boys are fine, he reminds himself. And Okura is in prison, where he ought to have been years back. It doesn’t feel like enough.

--

The first week at school for the boys, Hizashi and Shouta make a point of asking both very seriously about their classmates, teachers, everything. After a while, they settle with cursory questions about their day. Hizashi knows that they can only expect so much, but he will try his damnest to keep his kids away from bullies.

Over the next weeks, Hitoshi and Izuku open up more and more to them. Hitoshi no longer retreats into silence when Shouta or him show any sign of disagreement. Izuku has stopped waiting for implicit permission to talk and slowly but surely has started bugging both him and Shouta with questions on even the smallest of tasks. He also starts telling them, shyly, about his classmates’ quirks, always with an excited gleam in his eyes. Shouta buys him a new set of notebooks when he finds out the kid enjoys writing this down and Izuku breaks down into happy tears on the spot.

Hitoshi’s teasing has become subtler and cleverer. Shouta always gives him a pleased pat when the kid manages a particularly clever play on words, and Hizashi is careful to be very clear if the teasing approaches hurtful.

The boys slowly grow less dependent on each other, though they still remain close.

Eventually Hizashi convinces Shouta to allow Nemuri to visit, and while both kids are initially a bit skittish, they warm up to her in record time.

During that time Hizashi and Shouta testify in court against Aldera school, the boy’s previous guardians and of course Okura. Shinsou’s foster parents and Midoriya Inko are charged with abuse and neglect. Even with Okura’s quirk use lightening their sentences, Hizashi and Shouta makes sure they are never to lay eyes on their kids again.

They also fight for permanent custody of the children – a battle which goes surprisingly smoothly.

Finally, today, Hizashi has the paperwork. He bounces on his heels waiting for Izuku and Hitoshi after school and restlessly tidies the flat waiting for Shouta’s arrival back from his afternoon work. At long last, he gathers them together.

“Aaaaalriight! Listeners!”, he proclaims, arms wide as if he’s presenting a huge statue or building.

“I have an announcement! And – and a question.”

His eyes sparkle and he scratches the back of his head self-consciously.

“Shouta and I have finally received …” he whips out the papers he’d hidden in his bag, “… this!”

Shouta grins and leans forwards, but the kids are nonplussed.

“…homework.”, drawls Hitoshi, “my favourite…”

He looks up at Hizashi questioningly. Shouta spoils the surprise.

“Custody approval. And adoption paperwork. This is great, Hizashi”

Despite his even tone Shouta is obviously very pleased. Hizashi pouts but his grin soon takes over.

“That’s right! So, what do you say, kiddoes? Want to officially join the family?”

He lets his expression settle somewhere between eager and understanding. He laughs a bit nervously, looking from one boy to the other. Izuku stares up at them, switching from Shouta to him and back again, assessing. Hitoshi looks frankly overwhelmed.

“Y-you don’t have to decide right now”, he adds gently.

“But we both would... love to have you” Shouta mutters, turning a bit pink in embarrassment.

Hitoshi jumps and looks up, nodding with a gasped ‘yes’ falling out like he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. Izuku just hugs Shouta, then him. It’s adorable, and Hizashi’s heart might burst.

By the next morning the paperwork is signed. They have pancakes for breakfast. They have their whole lives ahead of them, and Hizashi couldn’t be happier.