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Chapter Text

Izuku loves these types of mornings.  The slow, quiet ones where neither he or his mother are in any hurry.  The ones where they could sit comfortably in silence but with each other's company.  He holds these moments to his heart, and sometimes he wishes they would never end.  Junior high is proving to be difficult this year.

Inko releases a soft sigh, setting down the mug of tea she just took a sip from.  Her eyes are shut, her face peaceful but slightly worn.  However, a beautiful and tender smile adorns her lips, one that Izuku can't help but copy.  He takes a sip of his own tea, the slightly bitter flavor filling his mouth.  The warmth somehow makes him relax even more.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Izuku."

Chapter Text

Izuku sat on the stiff mattress in silence, or at least as much silence as he could with three children running around outside.  He held his head in his hands, his eyes heavy and tired.  He wants to sleep but his body was too exhausted to make his bed.

'I don't want to be here.  I just want to go home.'

"Too bad, so sad.  Cry yourself a river and drown, you crybaby."  Izuku jolts up, looking at the bed adjacent to his.  He didn't notice that he was mumbling, and that his roommate had come into their shared room.  He mutters a hasty apology.  The boy scoffs, shaking his head.  "Shut up.  I don't wanna hear anything from you."  He goes on to grumble in annoyance, and Izuku shrinks back slightly, averting his eyes.  

Suddenly, a phone starts ringing, and Izuku flinches in surprise before quickly pulling his phone out of his pocket, knowing that his roommate most likely would get more angry if he didn't answer or decline it right away.  Reading the contact name that's across the screen, Izuku freezes and presses decline.  Not long after, his phone starts ringing again, and he has to decline it for a second time.  His phone starts ringing for a third time, and his roommate growls, "I swear to god, if you don't shut that thing up―"

"Sorry!"  Izuku squeaks, pressing the red button.  This time however, he goes and blocks the number with only a moment's hesitation.  He looks at the contact, his frown deepening and his eyes stinging slightly.

He sniffs and forces himself up, his legs shaky (probably from not eating).  He shoves his phone back into his pocket and moves over to the bedding that is on the end of the bed.  He quietly starts fixing the bed, carefully throwing on the sheets and thin comforter and placing the two pillows at the top.  He sits down and falls back, trying to let his body relax.  He could feel his exhaustion finally start to take him.

"Oi."

Izuku tenses at the familiar tone and lifts his head to look at the teen who doesn't even bother looking up from his phone.

"Mom is strict around here.  If I have to hear her scream at you because you slept through dinner, there will be more than her yelling to deal with."

"O-oh," Izuku forces himself to sit up again.  "Tha-thank you."

The other doesn't reply or look up, but Izuku can't help but feel slightly warmed at the disguised act of kindness.  That warmth helps him wake up a bit, it energizes him.  He stands back up and moves over to his suitcases.  He had to leave quite a few things behind, not being able to bring them along, as there were too many to fit inside two suitcases and his bright yellow bag.  He packed as many clothes and important items as he could, as well as any personal things, such as his analysis journals.  Even though he hasn't updated journal 13 since Kaccha―Bakugou used his quirk on it (he had been too busy with his training schedule to go chasing fights between Heroes and villains), he still felt the impulse to hastily stuff them into his backpack before he was fully taken into custody of his new foster family.

With another sniff, he quietly begins to unpack some of his stuff, exhaustion making his limbs heavy, but he keeps awake, heeding his roommate's rude warning.

There's a sound of a bell, and Izuku perks up, looking through the open door with a slight look of confusion.  He hears a heavy sigh, and he looks over to see the other teenage boy getting up from his bed, not even sparing him a look.  He does however stop at the doorway, grumbling out, "Dinner," before shuffling out of the room.

Izuku sets down his pencil, having turned to doing all the work he's missed while being on leave from school.  He stands up from his bed and, delayed, goes to follow his roommate.  As he steps out of the room, two little girls, one with really long white and gray hair, and the other with wavy dark blue hair, rush past him, giggling rather quietly, almost as if they shouldn't be making any sound in the first place.  Not long after them, a boy goes after them, grinning, while his curly red hair brushes against his light brown skin.  However, as he just passes Izuku, he suddenly stops, backpedaling.

"Hi!"   His voice is also quiet, but Izuku can tell there's a ton of excitement being held back.  He can't help but wonder why they need to be so low-volumed.

Izuku softly smiles, crouching down to the child's height, "Hello, I'm Midoriya Izuku...  What's your name?"

"Hareru!"  Hareru takes Izuku's hand and pulls a bit.  "We can't be late for dinner!  Something bad will happen if we are."

Izuku's eyes widen as he straightens his posture enough to walk and still hold Hareru's hand.  He looks down at the boy and quickly takes in the fact that he is wearing a pink skirt over black shorts that barely peek out from underneath.  "O-okay... Uh, Hareru?"  There's a hum and quick glance upward, but the kid doesn't stop tugging Izuku down the hall.  "Is there a specific pronoun you use?  Li-like how I use he and him―do you use anything different?"

Hareru taps his chin, thinking, before shrugging.  "I don't know.  I know Mom and Dad say I'm a boy, but I sometimes like girly things like Sky and Aqua."  He looks down, frowning slightly.  "They don't like it when I play with Sky and Aqua's toys."

Izuku feels a twinge of concern and sympathy for the child in front of him, but he gives Hareru another smile, "That's okay.  Would you like me to use the pronouns they and them instead of he and him?  They don't really belong completely to one gender, and anyone can use them."

"Okay!"  They grin, before wincing back and covering their mouth.  They look at Izuku with the most serious expression they can manage.  "We're not supposed to be loud or they'll get mad."

Izuku feels his stomach jumble a bit, but he keeps his friendly expression.  "O-okay, didn't you say we need to go eat dinner now?  We should probably go now."

Hareru's eyes widen and they start pulling him again with urgency, "I hope we're not late!  I don't wanna get yelled at again..."

"I'll take the blame if they're angry!"  Izuku hastily suggests, not wanting the young child to be punished for holding them up.  His stomach has yet to halt its uneasy twisting, anxiety making him tense and slightly breathless.  "It's my fault if we're late, so you shouldn't be the one in trouble."

Hareru looks slightly relieved but goes to protest.  "Bu―"

"It'll be okay!  I'm sure it won't be too bad since it's my first day here."  Izuku lets Hareru in front of him, letting him go down the stairs first.  He follows their quiet steps, having had practice for when he had to sneak past Kacchan and his followers at school.  Kacchan himself had calmed down since the Sludge-Villain Incident, though his friends did mostly whatever they pleased.  It mainly sticks to verbal harassment, with some occasional shoving, which is good, considering it would have been harder to progress on the beach as much as he had.  Too bad he doesn't have any plans to go back there.

"Okay..."  Hareru mumbles, and Izuku can catch guilt but also poorly hidden relief as they continue to lead him to the dining room.

They take another two turns before they go inside, the entryway open and without a door.  Inside, there were six people in total, and Izuku can only put a name to two: his new foster parents.  They seemed kind whenever his social worker had dropped him off, but remembering the little things Hareru had said makes him a little suspicious.

'Maybe it's a misunderstanding?'

His foster mother, Matsumoto Emi, is a beautiful woman.  Not one strand of her long raven hair is out of place as it frames her pale, heart-shaped face.  His social worker only made sure to tell him about her quirk (as required by the prefecture), Submit, before telling him, "Don't worry about it though, all her kids say she's nice," and patting him on the shoulder, leaving shortly after.  Submit allows Mrs. Matsumoto to make anyone she touches follow her orders.  She has to keep a grip on the person she's talking to until she completes the order; if she lets go too soon, it won't have the same effect.

Her husband, Matsumoto Katsuo, is more reserved than Mrs. Matsumoto, and he always had his half-lidded eyes averted the whole time Izuku was being introduced to them.  Mrs. Matsumoto was the one who told Izuku his name as she placed a dainty hand on her husband's shoulder.  Izuku thought that, at the time, she was reassuring him, but now...

Hareru shuffles over to the table, slipping into a chair beside one of the kids Izuku saw before.  They keep their eyes down to their lap, freckled hands clasped together.

Mrs. Matsumoto frowns, expressing disappointment, "Hareru, what are you late?  You know to come straight here when I ring the bell."

"Um..."  Hareru fidgets, wringing their hands, their eyes flickering over to Izuku.  "I-I..."

"You're always causing problems."  Mrs. Matsumoto's frown deepens.  "First the dress, then the toys, and now the tardiness.  No dinner for you, young man."

Hareru hunches on themself, and Izuku feels his heart drop at the familiar posture.  That's something he does at school, because of his quirklessness.  Now this young child is shrinking into themself because they're scared of their guardian.

'What is going on in this house?'

"Uh," Izuku takes a few steps forward, raising a hand.  He tries not to take the same position as Hareru as everyone's eyes dart to him.  "I-it's my fault they're late, please don't punish them!  They were making sure I didn't get lost."

"Oh?"  Mrs. Matsumoto's frown turns into a sickly-sweet smile.  "Oh... so that's the case?"

She stands from her spot at the farthest end of the table, her long hair curtaining the sides of her face momentarily until she straightens her back.  She makes her way around the table, and Izuku gulps and tenses, feeling intimidated.  He can't help but notice how everyone else is exhibiting the same behavior, now averting their eyes.

Mrs. Matsumoto stops behind Hareru, and the poor child freezes.  Izuku can see their hands shake, and his own breath gets caught in his throat.  Mrs. Matsumoto places her hand on Hareru's shoulder, making them jump, and Izuku quickly observes how her thumb presses against their neck.

("I'm required to tell you about Mr. and Mrs. Matsumoto's quirks by the prefecture.  Mrs. Matsumoto's quirk is called Submit.  She can order whoever she's touching to do whatever she wants.  She has to have skin contact though.")

What an outsider may consider to be a comforting touch to their kid is actually a threat, a danger.  Izuku can feel his face pale, a freezing chill running up his spine.

"Don't look so scared, Hareru.  And tell me, what did I say about wearing that skirt?"

Izuku watches in concealed horror as Hareru's hunched posture relaxes, their face smoothing into a content expression.  With a small smile, they recite, "'You're a boy, and you shouldn't wear your sisters' clothes.'"

"Good boy."  Mrs. Matsumoto rubs her thumb up and down Hareru's neck.  It makes Izuku long to run over and shove her away but he can't move.  It's like he's frozen to the ground.  "Now, tell Izuku why you're not allowed to eat dinner tonight.  Tell him what you did wrong."

"I'm not allowed to eat dinner tonight because I was late and am wearing a skirt that belongs to my sister, despite knowing the rules."

The air is heavy and unsettlingly silent.  It takes Izuku a few seconds to realize his breathing is going too fast, the feeling of lightheadedness starting to take hold, and he forces himself to take control, inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for eight.  His mouth is dry but he opens it anyway, taking a shaky step forward.  "It's my fault that Hareru was late.  Ple-please, don't punish them because of me―punish me instead!"

Mrs. Matsumoto isn't disturbed by Izuku's outburst as she smiles, but no one seems to take any ease from it.  Even Hareru's tiny smile looks strained.

"Now, now, Izuku."  Izuku hates how she says his name, how she's doing a horrible imitation of a caring mother scolding their young child for their own good, how similar she sounds like how his mother did when he was younger, except there's something in her tone that makes him want to take Hareru―to take everyone who is tense and scared in their seats―away to somewhere safe.  "There's no need to start throwing a tantrum."

Except he's quirkless, he's powerless.  All he has is less than four months of lifting and dragging all sorts of trash from a beach that he's already decided to never return to.  Similar to how his teachers blame him for his desk getting vandalized, how he'd be told he's searching for attention when he'd go to his teacher for help―no one would believe him.  He's just a quirkless deku to them, to almost everyone.  There's nothing he can do, and something tells him that this poor mockery of a mother knows that.

"Hareru knows the rules.  He knows better.  I haven't gotten to telling you, so you don't know better."  Mrs. Matsumoto moves her hand from Hareru's neck to the top of their head, petting their red hair around their short horns.  "Why don't you take a seat beside Tarou?  We luckily had room for one more chair, just for you!"  She waves her hand over to the single empty chair that happens to be beside Izuku's roommate.  At least he can put a name to his face now. 

It takes Izuku a few seconds and an increasingly sharp look from Mrs. Matsumoto to start moving over to the chair.  He slowly sits down, keeping his eyes on the woman like a distrusting animal.  If only he could rush away like one.  He slightly jumps when a foot hits his, and he looks to his right.  His roommate, Tarou, gives him a glare.  A warning.

'Don't do anything stupid.'

"Now," Mrs. Matsumoto brushes a strand of hair behind her ear with a smile, "I'll bring the food from the kitchen.  Raven, dear, would you help me?"

The black-haired girl, Raven, the only person Izuku hasn't seen yet, sitting beside Tarou stands from her chair, frowning heavily at the ground but not saying a thing.  Her hair is the same shade of Mrs. Matsumoto's, and a stray thought of 'Is she her biological child?' runs through his mind with how similar they look.  Izuku watches as the girl follows Mrs. Matsumoto into the kitchen, and he waits until both are far enough away for him to quietly check on Hareru, who sits across from him.

"Are you okay?"

His heart twinges as Hareru silently nods, keeping their eyes glued down at their lap as the forced smile dies, an indifferent expression on their face.  His eyes sting.

"You need to shut up and just do what she says," Tarou hisses, his black hair getting in front of his eyes, most likely covering the emotion in them.  "You're gonna make it hard on all of us if you keep trying to act like that."

Izuku stammers, waves of remorse bleeding into his tone, "I-I'm sorry...  Why haven't any of you told someone?  Like a Hero or―"

Tarou snorts, but it doesn't sound like it's out of light-hearted humor.  "Like any Hero would believe us."

"She always gets her way."  Mr. Matsumoto finally mutters, and Izuku's eyes dart over to him.   The blond man is tense, his tired eyes looking dully at Izuku.  It's only then Izuku realizes how exhausted the man looks, how hopeless he looks.  "It's best you stay out of her sight as much as you can.  She wants everything to be perfect."  He seems to spit out the last word, and it only raises more questions for Izuku.

However, before he can open his mouth to ask anything else, the two females come back into the room, carrying platters with bowls on them.  Mrs. Matsumoto places down bowls of soup, while Raven puts plates of fish in front of everyone.  Despite being adept at hiding his discomfort and fear, Izuku can't help but tense up a bit when the older woman comes close to him.  He does quickly remember the warnings from Tarou and Mr. Matsumoto and forces himself to bring up a bright practiced smile when Mrs. Matsumoto looks down at him with piercing gray eyes.

'Don't do anything stupid.'

He can feel his expression strain the longer she looks at him, but his entire being relaxes just a bit as the corners of her mouth rise.  He has to keep himself from flinching as she uses her free hand to ruffle his hair.  The motion makes his stomach turn, and he suppresses a flinch.  A bowl of soup is placed in front of him, and not long after, a plate of fish.

The teenage girl helping her seems to be going noticeably faster than Mrs. Matsumoto, already doubling back into the kitchen for another platter, this time balancing bowls of white rice.  She quickly puts the bowls in front of everyone, and Mrs. Matsumoto waits for her to finish before reaching for the tray.  The girl quietly passes it to her and slowly moves towards her chair until Mrs. Matsumoto has her back turned completely, when she walks over to Izuku.

She quickly and harshly whispers, "Just follow her rules.  That's all you can do around here.  Don't try to play hero because that's not what we need right now.  She's smart and manipulative―I doubt there's a way to fool her."  She peaks over to the kitchen when footsteps begin to grow closer.  "Don't trust anything she says.  She's worse than any villain I've ever heard of.  Tarou will talk to you about this later."

Tarou glares and opens his mouth as Raven sits down in her chair, but he swiftly smooths his displeased expression when Mrs. Matsumoto reappears, holding an orange and white cylindrical object.  Izuku looks at it with unease, biting his lip to keep himself from muttering his questions.

"We might as well start with these, Izuku.  Your siblings have to take these before eating dinner every night."  She opens the object, and Izuku realizes with slightly narrowed eyes that it's a medicine container.  He doesn't know what medication she's talking about, nor can he see the pills yet, but he doubts they're for any disease or pain.  It would make more sense if these teens and children are biologically her children, that all of them have a genetic disease, but besides Tarou and the girl, the three children in front of them don't look in any way close to being Mrs. and Mr. Matsumoto's children.

Mrs. Matsumoto shakes out some of the pills into her hand, counting them before placing some back into the container.  She carefully closes the lid without losing any of the pills in her hand.  She places the container into a pocket on her long blue skirt and then walks over to the table of her fake family.  "These, Izuku," she says as she places a pill in front of Hareru, the two little girls beside them, Raven, and Tarou, "are quirk suppressants."

Izuku's stomach drops, his heart starting to quicken its pace.

"Your siblings have to take them so they don't hurt themselves with their quirks.  We also don't want them acting out when they get in trouble!  Especially during little temper tantrums."

(What Izuku really hears is, "These poor victims have to take these illegally obtained quirk suppressants so they can't protect or defend themselves."  There is no way a doctor or quirk counselor prescribed or suggested these for all of them.)

He watches out of the corner of his eye as Tarou shoves the pill into his mouth and takes a huge sip of water, and in front of him, he sees Hareru take theirs with dull eyes.  It's almost like the smile the kid gave him earlier was just an illusion.

Mrs. Matsumoto takes a seat at the head of the table, holding her hands together with an inviting smile.  "Now, let's get started with all the rules.  I do expect you to understand and follow them, as you are old enough to know better.  If you do not follow these rules, you will be punished accordingly."

"Curfew is at nine in the evening, and I have to know where you are at all times."

(So she can keep track of you, keep you in her grasp.)

"I expect any chores that are assigned to you to be done in a timely and clean manner."

(Don't make a mess―she hates messes.)

"Be on time for every meal and event that is scheduled.  Breakfast is at six-thirty, lunch is at eleven, and dinner is at eight.  You will be expected to come home at once if you are unexpectedly required to."

(Everything has to go by schedule.  She loves to have control.)

"You are most certainly not allowed to dress in anything that will show anything that shouldn't be seen.  Dress modestly.  Of course, this is mostly for the girls, but it's best you know as well."

(Don't express yourself freely―abide by her regulations.)

"Don't talk back to me or Katsuo.  As your parents, we know better."

(Don't you dare question if she's in the right or not.  Of course she is.)

She goes on, naming the rules she oh-so-carefully created in order to keep her wards in her control.  Instead of keeping these children of hers safe and happy, they have to submit to her touch and her orders.

'These poor people...'  Izuku flickers his eyes over everyone else staring down at their food when Mrs. Mastumoto looks away, his heart heavy with empathy and mind racing with thoughts.  He steels himself, bringing forth his determination to help people.  'Even if a Hero can't help, I will!'

("―be realistic―")

He digs his nails into the palms of his hands to avoid shrinking into himself.  He feels multiple stings and realizes what he's doing.  He takes a deep, subtle breath and relaxes his hands.

'I might be a quirkless deku but I can still do something.'

Summary:

Izuku is finding it hard settling in his new foster home after Inko's passing.  His new roommate isn't sympathetic and tells him to stop crying and to be quiet, and he especially gets annoyed when Izuku's phone keeps ringing.  Izuku decides to unpack some of his stuff instead of sleeping after his roommate said he didn't want to hear their guardian yell at him for missing dinner.  After unpacking, Izuku does homework until a bell is rung, in which his roommate stands to leave the room before telling him that the bell is signaling dinnertime.

His roommate leaves without another word, and Izuku quickly gets up to follow him.  However, he stops at the doorway when two little girls run past him, being strangely quiet while giggling.  Another child goes to follow them but they stop when they see Izuku.  They introduce themself as Hareru and offers to lead Izuku to the dining room.  Izuku accepts and is led by Hareru.  Whenever he notices Hareru is wearing a skirt over their shorts, he asks for their pronouns.  Hareru says they're not sure what gender they are, and Izuku decides to go with they/them, to which they accept.

Hareru leads Izuku to the dining room, being the last two to get there.  Hareru goes straight to their chair while Izuku stands in the doorway.  The foster mother, Matsumoto Emi ("Mrs. Matsumoto") is not happy that Hareru is late and is wearing one of their sister's skirts.  She misgenders them, using he/him and saying they're a boy, and says that they aren't allowed to eat dinner.  Izuku quickly steps in to say it's his fault that they're both late, and that Mrs. Matsumoto shouldn't punish Hareru because of him.  Mrs. Matsumoto ignores his reasoning, saying that Hareru knows better.  Then she stands up and goes over to Hareru, touching them on the back of their neck while using her quirk ("submit"-if she touches you, she can order you to do whatever she wants you to do), telling them to not look so scared.  She also tells them to tell Izuku what they did wrong.

Izuku steps in again, saying it's his fault and not to punish Hareru for being late, but Mrs. Matsumoto tells him to stop throwing a temper tantrum and to sit next to Tarou, his roommate.  Izuku decides that there isn't anything he can do, being a "quirkless deku," and does what she said to do after she looks at him with a sharp look.  Tarou kicks his foot and gives him a look, nonverbally saying to not do anything stupid, while Mrs. Matsumoto tells one of the girls, Raven, to help her bring in the food.  During this time, Izuku asks Hareru if they're okay, to which they silently nod, and Tarou and Mr. Matsumoto tell Izuku to not go against Mrs. Matsumoto.

The two women bring the bowls and plates of food, and when Mrs. Matsumoto goes back to the kitchen to put the platters used to carry the food back, Raven also tells Izuku to do what Mrs. Matsumoto says and to not "play hero."  Mrs. Matsumoto comes back, this time with a container of pills.  As she passes them out, she reveals that they're quirk suppressants, and that they help "control" his foster siblings' quirks when they get emotional, though in reality, it's to keep them from defending themselves.

Then, she goes over the restricting rules that Izuku needs to abide by, and it's easily obvious they're set so she has complete control over the children she's supposed to keep safe.  Izuku decides that he has to do something to help these poor people, before some words of the past bring some self-doubt, making him dig his nails into the palms of his hands.  He realizes what he's doing and makes himself relax.  He determinedly decides that even if he's a "quirkless deku," he'll do his best to help.