Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Thoughts

"Quoted Memories"

Fine.

He was Fine.

Everything was fine.

He had to be fine.

It's what everyone expected of him, after all.

But... He wasn't fine. He wasn't the class sunshine, he wasn't happy or even okay, and he most certainly was not Deku like you can do it. No, Izuku Midoriya was a broken shell of a boy, just your normal useless, worthless Deku. Not that anyone ever noticed.

That's why he's here, smiling faintly as he looks at the Christmas decorations in the park. He is thankful that no one is around making him hide his true feelings. Hide his intentions for tonight. Because tonight while everyone rings in the new year with their loved ones, he will give them the greatest gift he can. The gift of not being bothered, of silence, and of him no longer being a burden on everyone.

His classmates, they will get to soar without him holding them back. They won't have the target on their back because of him. No, He's giving them the chance to succeed in ways they wouldn't otherwise. Because all he has ever done was take away precious time, resources, and space.

Izuku stopped walking in front of a dark alley and turned to look at U.A. in the distance. He had chosen this spot for a reason. He knew that the cameras from the school couldn't pick him up from here. But he also knew it gave the best view for him so he could see the place that has been most like a home to him.

Giving a soft smile, Izuku gave a slight wave to the building. Thank you for giving me a chance for letting me dream a little bit longer. I apologize for wasting so much of the teacher's time and for being so selfish. Most importantly, thank you for giving me a glimpse at a world that is so different from my own.

Turning back to the alley, Izuku walked down to the end, where a wall cut off his path. Izuku let himself fall into the pile of trash bags that lined one side of the alley, a small laugh escaping him at the irony. Not quite gutter trash but still where I belong.

After moving around to get as comfortable as possible, Izuku reaches into his backpack and pulls out a utility knife. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he presses the blade to his wrist, finally letting go of the memories haunting him.

"Deku means someone who can't do anything."  

A thin horizontal gash appears going from one side of Izuku's wrist to the other.

He pauses for a moment, watching the blood start to pool at the top of the cut before running over the edges of his arm. A genuine smile spread across his face, "I did it."

Moving the blade up a little bit, he continues what he set out to do.

"There's no hope for him."

Cut.

"I'm sorry, Izuku. I'm so sorry!"

Cut.

"Without power, can one become a hero? No, I should think not."

Cut.

"It's not wrong to dream; however, you need to be realistic."

"Ill-suited vessel."

"You should know your place, useless Deku! Beneath my feet!!"

"Completely irrational when you consider someone like you got in."

"Inconvenience to those around you."

"You're nothing but a liability."

"Worthless, quirkless wonder."

"You want to be a hero so bad? If you think you'll have a quirk in your next life... Go take a swan dive off the roof!!"

Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut!

Izuku moves the blade up his arm till each forearm has half a dozen gashes. Letting the blade slip from his fingers, Izuku leans his head back to look up at the sky. "Well, Kacchan, it's not a roof, but it'll work."

His smile never fades as he closes his eyes, at peace for the first time in a long time.

Chapter Text

Eraserhead, also known as Shouta Aizawa, enjoys his patrols. He enjoys swinging from rooftop to rooftop using his capture weapon. He enjoys taking down the bad guys and likes saving people just because they need it. He enjoys the freedom and the calm that being out in the night air never fails to bring him. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

Tonight's patrol had been a good one. There had been no significant villains; he had got to fight a couple of muggers, deal with some drunks, and help people that truly needed help. The whole reason that he decided to become a hero. All in all, it was a good night. Nothing too significant, but enough excitement that he didn't have a dull patrol.

Nearing the end of his shift, Shouta found himself perching on a roof ledge, just listening. There was a noise that he kept hearing. The sound of something being shifted, and there it was again. It could just be an animal, but his instincts still tell him to go check it out, even if that is the case. He's not about to ignore them. They've saved his life too many times.

Tossing his capture weapon out to swing to another roof, he hears the sound again, followed by a broken voice slurring their words together. "Well, Kacchan, it's not a roof, but it'll work." And doesn't that just make his heart shatter? Because of the implications of that and that name, they make his stomach revolt. Even as he drops down into the alleyway from which the voice came.

Surveying his surroundings, Shouta immediately notes that short, labored breaths are coming from somewhere in front of him. Other than that, no one else is in the alley with them. Taking that for what it is, Shouta walks towards the breathing, eyes narrowing as he sees the diminutive form of a child lying among the bags of trash.

As he approaches the prone figure, he pulls out his flashlight. He shines it at the wall near the kid, allowing the space to be illuminated while not having to worry about accidentally blinding the kid.

Now that there is enough light to see the child, it confirms his suspicions from hearing those broken words. There lying among the trash, looking so incredibly small, is Izuku Midoriya. His problem child. At first glance, the half a dozen cuts going up each of his forearms are the worst part of his appearance.

Not wasting any more time, Shouta quickly grabs the gauze and some medical tape out of his utility belt. That done, he sets about wrapping the kid's wrists to try and slow the bleeding.

"Kid? Hey kid! Can you hear me?" No response. Even as he gently shakes him. "Midoriya!"

Refusing to let himself panic at the lack of a response, Shouta checks the boy's pulse. He allows a sharp, almost relieved exhale to escape him because as weak as the pulse may be, it's still there. His problem child is still alive. Taking in the rest of the greenette's appearance, Shouta quickly checks for any other wounds. Then using one end of his capture weapon to wrap around the boy's frame, he secures his limbs to his body in case he goes into shock.

Preventative measures complete, Shouta pulls out his phone and shares his location with emergency services. Before promptly inputting the code requesting an ambulance and his hero id number for confirmation. That done, he resumes monitoring Midoriya's pulse and breathing.

Keeping one hand on the problem child, he lifts his phone back up and calls the one person he knows that can support him through this.

"Hey Sho! Happy New Year! All done with patrol?"

"Zashi, Stop. Please. I know it's a lot to ask, but can you meet me at Musutafu General Hospital?"

"What's going on?! Are you hurt?!" The sound of keys jingling in the background of their conversation brings a small measure of relief to Shouta. "I'm leaving now! I'll let Toshi and Nem know on the way."

"Hizashi. Breathe. I'm uninjured. But... God. How did I miss this? How did this even happen? Did I really miss all the signs?" He can feel himself spiraling, but he can't help it. This isn't some stranger that he has to help through this. No, this is someone he knows, someone he sees almost every day. One of his students. One of his kids.

"Sho, Panther. What's going on?"

"Midoriya. I found him on my patrol. In an alley, among bags of trash! Zashi, I think he did this to himself. His forearms, the cuts are deep. He hasn't woken up at all since I've been here. How did I miss this?"

The sound of sirens cuts through his spiraling thoughts, and without another word, he hangs up his phone. He knows his husband will understand, even if he won't exactly like it.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I need you to step back."

Shouta looks up at the female paramedic as he hesitantly moves away from his problem child. Taking the opportunity, Shouta grabs the backpack lying near the kid. "His heart rate has been weak but steady, and breathing has been labored. There weren't any other signs of attack, so it's looking like an attempted suicide." He freezes momentarily, the word bitter on his tongue. A harsh reminder that he failed this kid.

The woman doesn't bother to look up, instead focusing on helping her partner by applying the tourniquet to the kid's arms just above the elbow. "I assume you want to ride with Eraserhead?"

"Yeah."

Looking over at her partner, the woman nods as they get Izuku loaded onto the gurney and strap him down.

Seeing that he's strapped in and not a danger to himself should he go into shock, Shota unwraps his capture weapon from around the boy.

Once done, the paramedics rush down the alley and quickly load Izuku into the back of the ambulance. Shouta following not far behind them. Getting in the back, he watches as one of the paramedics shuts the door from the outside.

Inside the ambulance, things were becoming strained. The woman was thankfully busy getting an IV into Izuku to give him fluids while also monitoring his vitals. However, that left Shouta alone to his thoughts, and all he could think about was how small and pale the kid looked.

"How far are we?" Shouta demanded after a few terse moments.

"We aren't far and should be arriving in just a few moments; upon arrival, he'll be taken back immediately. They've been alerted and are just waiting for us." The woman gives him an understanding smile before turning back to the monitors.

Chapter Text

Thoughts

Arriving at the hospital, Izuku is immediately rushed back into the emergency room by some nurses and orderlies, leaving Shouta alone in the entryway.

"Sir?"

Shouta looks away from the double doors that his student disappeared behind and to the person speaking. He doesn't bother with a verbal response, knowing that if he waits, they will eventually continue talking.

"We need you to fill out some forms while you wait. Would you like me to direct you to the waiting room?"

Giving a noncommittal shrug, Shouta follows the nurse to the waiting area. Taking the papers offered to him, he all but collapses into one of the chairs as the events of the evening start to take their toll. Looking down at the stack of admittance papers, he runs a hand down his face in disdain. After a short battle where he tries to will the documents to completion to no avail. He ends up sighing in defeat as he lets himself get distracted by the work in front of him.

He doesn't know how long he's been sitting there filling out the paperwork before a to-go cup is held just above the papers, directly in his line of sight. Pausing in his writing, Shouta notes that it's been long enough for his hand to cramp up, and he has to flex his fingers a moment. As he reaches for the cup, he allows his eyes to follow the other arm until tired onyx eyes meet worried chartreuse.

"Thought you could use a pick me up."

Shouta doesn't bother to hide the small smile that appears from his husband. It has already been a long night, and it's starting to look like there will be no end in sight. That means they can both use any little bit of happiness they can find to get through this.

"Thanks for this, Zashi," and even though he lifts the coffee cup, he knows his partner understands what he means. That he's thanking him for dropping everything just to come and support him as he waits.

Hizashi shoots Shouta a fond grin before snatching the papers out of his lap. "How many more do we need to do?"

Taking a drink of his coffee before replying, Shouta sighs, "Just need to finish up the top one there."

Hizashi looks down at the top paper, scanning it before he finishes filling it out, making sure to adjust his handwriting for it to look like Shouta's scrawl.

"I'm going to go turn these in! You take a few to relax, then you can talk to me when I get back." As he walks past where Shouta is sitting, he purposely bumps his husband's shoulder with a fist before continuing on his way down the hall.

Walking up to the intake desk, Hizashi hands the forms to the nurse while flashing his most disarming smile. "Has there been any update on Izuku Midoriya?"

The nurse turns a brilliant shade of red before turning to face the computer screen while stammering, "I-I'm s-sorry S-Sir. He's.. um... He's still in surgery."

Hizashi's smile turns into a sly grin at the stammering, "Alright, thank you." Turning on his heel, he walks down the hall to where he knows Shouta is waiting. When he is sure he is out of hearing range, he laughs at the interaction.

"What did you do?"

Hizashi looks over at his tired husband while letting a cheeky grin spread across his face. "Me? All I did was return the forms."

"I don't believe you for a minute Hizashi."

Snickering, Hizashi places a hand on his chest, feigning an injury. "Really, Shou? I'm hurt. But in all seriousness, all I did was flash the nurse a smile and try to get information on the green bean. By the way, He's still in surgery."

Shouta pinches the bridge of his nose, not bothering to look up at his husband. "You're as bad as my class."

"Hey now! That's just rude!" Hizashi squawks indignantly while moving closer and taking a seat beside the other man. "Feeling a bit better, grumpy cat?"

Shouta leans forward, placing his face in his hands, "Not really, but thanks, songbird. This whole thing is so messed up. If you had seen him... He's so small... Why would he do this? He's just a kid. I don't understand any of this." His voice softens as he starts to break. "I- How did I fail this badly?"

Leaning forward onto clasped hands, Hizashi moves his leg to bump against Shouta's in a discrete form of support. "You didn't fail, Shou. You found him when he needed you most. As for the why? Well, that's something we'll hopefully be able to find out. Now, why don't you get some rest? I'll wake you when a nurse or doctor comes."

Shouta looks at Hizashi, and as much as he wants to argue that he doesn't need to rest, his eyes are burning. Leaning back in his chair again, he closes his eyes to try and take the blonde's advice.

Hizashi watches Shouta for a few to make sure he's actually going to do as he suggested before pulling out his phone to respond to work emails. All they could do now was wait. He hated waiting.

Soon an hour had gone by, then another hour came and went without them hearing anything.

Hizashi shifted quietly in his seat impatiently. No news is good news. They haven't come to tell us anything, so he's still holding on. He's still fighting.

Another hour came and went.

The only good thing about this wait is that I am getting some work done, and Shouta is catching up on some sleep. Hizashi sighed as he stared up at the ceiling.


Just before the 4-hour mark, a doctor walks up to them, "Excuse me? Are you here for Midoriya?"

Hizashi nearly jumps out of his chair at the voice. Glancing around, his eyes settled on the doctor. "One moment, I'm sorry." He turns his attention to Shouta and lightly shakes his shoulder, "Eraser, the doctor's here."

Shouta is immediately up on his feet, staring at the doctor. "How is he?"


The doctor shakes his head, taking a step back out of instinct from the other men's reactions. "Are you both his guardians?"

"Acting guardians, he attends UA; I'm his homeroom teacher and the hero that found him." Shouta crosses his arms over his chest while staring at the doctor in front of him.

"He's stable, but I have to stress this. He is by no means out of the woods. He's lost a lot of blood, and his oxygen count was incredibly low. He's in a coma, and until he wakes up, we won't be able to tell if there will be any lasting effects. I'm sorry."

"C-Can we see him?" Hizashi slightly bounces from one foot to the other, torn because he's glad that the kid is stable, Fighting. But also hurting because he just wants the green bean to be okay now.

"He's in recovery now. I don't think it's a good time for visitors. As I said, he lost a lot of blood, and since he's in a fragile state, we don't want to risk any infections. Barring any issues throughout the night, he should be placed in a room tomorrow, and you should be able to visit him then."

Letting out a small huff, Shouta narrows his eyes slightly. "You'll call us if anything changes?"

The doctor nods, "Yes, of course, but that being said, we were unable to get through to his mother. It seems any attempt we made the number rang as having been disconnected."

Shouta glances over at Hizashi, a deep frown settling on his face, "I'll be sure to look into it, thank you." He doesn't wait for a response as he turns away and starts heading down the hall. "Come on, bird, we need to let Nedzu know what's going on."

Hizashi nods to the doctor with a smile, "Thank you, we'll be back tomorrow." He then hurries to catch up to Shouta.

"You alright?"

Shouta turns his head slightly to glance at the blonde, "No, but he's still fighting." He looks down at the yellow backpack letting a small sigh escape. He's still fighting.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi sat at the dining room table, watching Shouta enter the kitchen in a daze. Turning his attention to the small silver-haired child beside him, he gave her a gentle nudge to get her attention.

Eri blinked red eyes at Hitoshi as she set her crayon down, "yeah, Toshi?" Her brow furrows in confusion as he points to where their dad is in the kitchen.

Getting up, she takes a few hesitant steps towards the kitchen before calling out softly, "Dad hurt?"

Shouta slowly blinks at his kids before moving forward to kneel in front of Eri. "No, kiddo, I'm not hurt."

Eri shakes her head with a faint smile as she pokes Shouta in the chest. "Today hurts?"

"What?"

Eri fidgets slightly, "Some days hurt. You wake up and feel like everything good is a dream. Today hurts?"

Shouta turns to Hitoshi, a single brow raised in question. His lips twitch down into a slight frown at the shrug he receives as a response from the boy. Turning back to Eri, he presses his forehead to hers, "Yeah, kid, today hurts."

Eri chews on her bottom lip for a moment before opening her arms in a silent offer of a hug. "Do you want to talk about it? Or I can share my colors and paper so you can write it down! Deku says that sometimes writing it down is easier."

Shouta leans into Eri, wrapping his arms around his little girl, holding her close. He hates how he can feel his heart breaking all over again, "Eri... do you have days that hurt?"

Eri wraps her arms around Shouta, tucking her chin into his shoulder with a soft hum, "Yeah, but it's okay! I talk to Deku because he's like me! His quirk hurts him a lot too!"

Shouta can't help it, knowing that his daughter and the boy in the hospital seem to understand each other due to pain... it tears a sob from his throat as he pulls Eri closer. His grip tightened, desperate to keep her where he could keep her safe.

Hitoshi pushes his chair back from the table as he hears his dad's sob, all but sprinting down the hall to the bathroom and banging on the door. "Pops! Dad... he's crying."

Hizashi opens the door, hair only half dried. He pauses briefly to give Hitoshi a hug before hurrying down the hall to the dining room. His heart dropped at the scene in the archway where the dining room and kitchen meet.

Eri looks up at Hizashi, her eyes blown wide with a mix of fear and worry as her small hands rub slow circles on Shouta's back.

"Shou.."

Hizashi walks over to where they both are and kneels down, "Come on, Shou, let's go sit on the couch, okay? We can grab a cat and snuggle." He gently pries his arms away from Eri, his smile soft and gentle as he helps Shouta stand up. "Good job, panther; how about we get you something to drink before we go to the living room?"

"Sorry." Shouta gives a slight nod as he turns away from his family, clearly upset with himself, and heads to get a cup of coffee.

Hizashi smiles reassuringly to his kids before motioning them to the living room.

Eri reaches a hand out to Hitoshi while chewing on her bottom lip nervously. "Poppa, is dad going to be alright?"

"Yes, baby bear, Shou is going to be alright. He just needs a moment to himself to be able to calm down."

Hitoshi looks around the room, searching for his cat, his eyes narrowing as they zone in on the yellow backpack on the ground by the front door. After a moment, he turns to look at Hizashi questioningly.

Shouta, however, chooses that moment to walk into the living room, where he promptly takes a seat on one of the couches with a groan. "I emailed Nedzu while waiting for the coffee to be ready."

"Dad, Pops? What's going on?"

Shouta looks at Hitoshi as he runs a hand through his hair. "There was an incident on patrol last night that is being dealt with." Turning to Eri, his gaze softens ever so slightly. "Eri, do you know if Deku wrote about his bad days?"

Eri nods, "He said it was easier than talking sometimes. But if I ever ended up writing about my bad days, I needed to show you, Poppa, or Toshi."

Hizashi moves to sit on the coffee in front of Eri. He takes one of her hands into his own, soothingly rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "Baby bear, do you know anything about what he wrote?"

"No, but I know he always had the notebook with him. What's going on, Poppa? Is Deku alright?"

Hizashi smiles sadly as he leans forward to place a kiss on his kiddo's forehead. "No, baby bear, he's not, but he's fighting, so we need to try to help him, alright?"

Eri nods while squeezing Hizashi's hand.

Shouta huffs as he gets back up and walks over to the yellow bag. Reaching in, he snorts as he pulls out one of his cats, "Dirtbag, this doesn't belong to you." After setting the cat on the floor, he goes about emptying the backpack.

He's surprised when he finds the 2 U.A uniforms neatly folded in the bag, along with another set of clothes, all carefully packed to take up the least amount of space. There are also a few jelly pouches and protein bars, among other small snacks. There are small travel sizes of personal hygiene items placed inside a plastic bag, a small All Might plushy, and 3 notebooks, each with a pencil shoved in it, bookmarking the last page he was on.

Placing everything but the notebooks back into the back, Shouta can't help but hate the picture that this is painting. It was eerily similar to when they first brought Hitoshi home. His backpack had been meticulously packed as well. Pausing in his packing, he looks from the bag over to Hitoshi, concern softening his features just a bit. "Hitoshi, are you doing alright?"

Nodding, Hitoshi continues to watch as his dad repacks the yellow monstrosity with the utmost care. "Dad, is Midoriya in the system?"

Hizashi moves so he can wrap his arms around Hitoshi, "We don't know, kitten, but we're going to find out! I promise."

Hitoshi looks up at Hizashi and then back over to the backpack, a hand moving to the back of his neck to nervously rub at it. "If he is... you will make sure he's safe, right?"

"Of course, we will! You don't have to worry about that." Hizashi flashes his son a bright grin.

Shouta nods his agreement before looking down at the 3 titled notebooks in his hands: Hero Analysis No. 13, Villain Analysis No. 5, and Analysis of Me No. 3. Taking the notebooks with him, he walks back to the couch to sit back down.

"Eri, Hitoshi, if you want, you can go play video games, or if you want the living room, Shouta and I can go into our room."  Hizashi watches how Shouta's eyes narrow just the slightest bit like they do whenever he's determined to figure out a tough case.

"Pops, no offense, but I'm staying. I'm training to be a hero, and if something happened to make dad this upset, then I'd rather be here to help."

"Yeah, Poppa! Dad's upset, and Deku needs help! They saved me, Poppa. I want to be their hero too!" Eri pulls her hand from Hizashi's and stands up as she makes her declaration. Her red eyes sparkled in her determination.

Hizashi shares a look with Shouta, a proud smile on his face. "Alright, then, we'll do this as a family! What do you say, Shou?!"

Shouta looks from Hizashi to their kids letting out a small scoff, "Arguing would be illogical." That being said, it doesn't stop him from tilting his head just slightly so that his hair falls to hide his face and, consequently, the small amount of pink dusting his cheeks from embarrassment.

Chapter Text

Journal Entry

Thoughts

Shouta looks around the living room to make sure his family is ready. Hands gripping the notebook titled ‘Analysis of Me No. 3’.

Eri quietly moves back to her spot on the couch while grabbing the blanket off the back and covering herself up with it. "Okay, all ready!"

Shouta opens the notebook, flipping through the pages, he starts to read out loud.

“Dear Journal,

Today was simultaneously the best and worst day of my life! The teacher told the rest of the class how I still want to attend U.A. That got about as great of a reaction as expected. Everyone was laughing, telling me how pathetic I am and that I'd never make it into U.A... Kacchan even went so far as to blow up another one of my notebooks. Though this time, it was one of my hero analysis ones. He was so mad. He... He told me to take a swan dive off the roof.

I thought about it. I really did. I'm just so tired of being used as a punching bag, for quirk training, for anything the other students want to try, and the teachers not caring or joining in. Just encouraging them! I’m tired of the spider lilies on my desk all for something I can’t control. 205. That’s How many spider lilies have been on my desk. That equals out to 2 a week. That’s just from Middle School! The only reason I didn't jump was due to how angry I was. How could Kacchan be so careless?! What if I had actually done it? He can’t just go around saying things like that! Stupid.”

"I'm sorry, what? Bakugo said WHAT?!" Hizashi looks at Shouta only to find a red-eyed glare directed his way. Hizashi gives a sheepish grin before signing 'sorry' and gestures for Shouta to continue.

Shouta huffs as he turns his attention back to the page and continues to read from where he left off.

"Anyways, while walking home, I got attacked by a sludge villain. He forced himself down my throat, and I was suffocating. It hurt so much that I could feel my lungs burning as he talked to me. He told me it would only take about 45 seconds, then it would all be over. But All Might showed up, and he saved me! How cool is that?! He even gave me an autograph without me asking!”

But then I did something stupid. I don't remember what led me to do it; maybe I was still suffering from the lack of oxygen. I’m not entirely sure, but I grabbed hold of All Might's leg as he jumped. Then he was stupid. He told me to let go while we were in the air, so I had to remind him that it was dangerous at that point for me to let go."

“First the sludge monster and then All Might tried to kick him off in mid-air? Why was All Might so mean to him?" Eri hugs the blanket tighter to her, clearly not liking how her hero was treated.

"When we landed on a rooftop... I asked him. I asked All Might if someone without a quirk could be a hero. All Might, he turned into this shriveled up sickly man. He told me about a battle he had 5 years ago and showed me the injury he has on his side. After all that, he answered me. He told me, "Without power, can one become a hero? No, I should think not." That "It's not wrong to dream; however, you need to be realistic." Then he left me alone on that damn roof.

Do you know what sucks? I knew it wasn't realistic. That's why I tried so damn hard. Why I started the notebooks. Because I knew that I had to work harder than anyone else. That, realistically speaking, nothing I tried to become would be realistic because I'm quirkless. The only real future for us is to end up a statistic as another one of us ends our otherwise never-ending torment.”

“Oh, Shit. Why’s All Might such a dick? Who let him become a teacher?”

“Language Hitoshi.” Hizashi lightly scolds.

“Yeah, Sorry, Pops."

“Are you about finished so that I can continue to read? I’d like to get through at least 1 entry before I go to the hospital to check on the problem child.” Shouta levels a look at his son and husband before turning his attention back to the notebook.

"I was going to do it too. Jump from that ledge. After all, my idol just told me my dreams weren't realistic, and I didn't have a chance. That everyone had been right. But then I heard the explosions. So I ran. I don't even remember getting down from the roof. I only remember running and seeing Kacchan with the sludge villain trying to suffocate him like he did me.

All the heroes were just standing there! Complaining that they didn't have the right quirk, they were going to let him die by that villain without even trying. It was my fault anyway, so I rushed in since no one else was acting. I threw my bag at him, giving Kacchan enough of a break so he could get a breath. Then All Might be there and able to save him.

The other heroes praised Kacchan for being brave while fighting for his life, while I got scolded. Typical. Why would I expect anything less? I know it was reckless, but I couldn’t just stand there and let him die like they were planning on doing. They were supposed to be the heroes that save people!

When I continued home, All Might somehow found me and told me how I encouraged him to act. That I could be a hero too! It's all I've ever wanted to hear from someone. Anyone. Finally, someone told me I could do it! Then he told me how his quirk could be passed down and that he wanted me to be his successor. But I have to train first.

So All Might is going to have me clean Dagobah beach as training, and I have to get it clean before the U.A entrance exam in 10 months.”

Shouta's hands tighten on the book, his eyes flashing crimson as his hair starts to levitate. "Idiot. What kind of person thinks that cleaning a beach is training? Especially enough training to try for the hero exam. It's no wonder the kid kept breaking bones. I would have expelled him if it wasn't for the apprehension test. The only thing that kept me from doing so was the fact that he had the drive to do better. On a different note, if All Might knew about all of this, Why wasn’t I informed?” He was pissed, and well, justifiably so.

Hizashi looks over at Shouta, tears in his eyes. "Shou.. the green bean, he almost died 3 times in that entry. Did All Might even think to have him checked out after the sludge villain incident?"

Shouta looks over at his husband with a shake of his head, "I don't know, Zashi, I don't know."

Hitoshi sits ramrod straight, face pale as realization slowly sinks in. “’I think I’m going to be sick.”

Hizashi looks at Hitoshi worriedly, “What’s wrong?”

“At the sports festival, I told Midoriya that he didn’t understand what it was like to be at a disadvantage. Since he had been blessed with a heroic quirk, it would be easy for him to reach his goal. When in reality, he suffered more than I did. It’s one thing to have a villain’s quirk and be treated like crap, but to not have a quirk at all, you’re considered worse than dirt in today’s society.”

Eri stands up, her hands on her hips, "That's not true! Deku is a hero! My hero doesn't deserve for people to think less of him. No one deserves that."

Hizashi pulls Eri into his arms, nuzzling the top of her head, "Baby bear, it's alright. No one in here thinks less of Deku. Remember, we all want to help him? That being said, why don't you get your shoes on so that we can all go visit, yeah? Grumpy Cat will bring the notebook so we can keep reading while we wait."

Eri nods and moves to go get her shoes on. Hizashi takes the opportunity to get up and pulls his hair into a messy bun. Careful to make the frizz from the air-dried side of his head look intentional and not just him having a bad hair day.

"Hitoshi. You didn't know, and that's part of the sports festival. Whether you knew that or not, holding back would have been illogical. There will be battles where saying just the right or wrong thing will save your or someone else's life."

Hitoshi looks up at Shouta from where he’s still seated and gives a nod of understanding before getting up to put his shoes on.

Shouta runs his hand through his hair while letting out a heavy sigh. He makes sure to grab his yellow sleeping bag with his free hand before heading out the door.

Might as well take a nap when I can.

Chapter Text

Eri grasps Hitoshi's hand as they walk into the hospital. Her breathing quickened as she started to search the room in a panic.

Hitoshi looks down at his sister and gives her hand a light squeeze before kneeling beside her, “Want to go with me to the gift shop?”

Eri nods quickly as she reaches out to hold on to the hem of Hitoshi’s shirt, clearly afraid of being left there.

“I’m taking Eri to the gift shop.” Hitoshi doesn’t bother to wait for a response before he turns and walks to the shop off to the side of the entrance. His pace is intentionally slow so that Eri can keep up without stumbling.

Shouta watches the kids go before turning his tired gaze back to Hizashi. “You going to find out if we can see him, or are you just going to stand there?”

Hizashi shoots Shouta a pair of finger guns with a grin, “I’ll go ask!”

Shouta closes his eyes for a moment as he resists the urge to roll them at the blonde's actions. Opening his eyes back up, he walks away from the desk and heads to the gift shop to keep an eye on his kids.

Hizashi walks up to the nurse's desk with a bright smile, "I'm here to see Izuku Midoriya?"

"Yes, one moment." The nurse turns to the computer screen, typing rapidly. After a moment, she turns back to Hizashi, "I'm sorry, but Midoriya was moved to the hero ward, so he is unable to have visitors.”

Hizashi reaches into his pocket and pulls out his hero license, which he then hands over to the nurse. “I’m one of his teachers from U.A. I, along with one of my colleagues, brought a classmate and a little girl he saved to visit."

The nurse glances from the license up to Hizashi’s face. Looking over the ID again, then over Hizashi a final time, she seems to believe that’s who he truly is as she gives him a sharp nod. “Sorry, Can't be too careful, you know. Midoriya is in room 4013 on the 4^th floor. You will have to scan your hero ID to gain access to the hero ward. When you reach Midoriya's room, there is a keypad for you to type your hero code into at the door. Principal Nedzu informed us that he wanted the 2-step verification used due to the circumstances surrounding the students this year. Only two visitors are allowed at a time, but there is a waiting room in the ward. Also, visiting hours run from 9 am to 8 pm every day unless directed by a member of our staff, or should a guardian or the patient decide otherwise.”

“Thank you for your time and diligence.” Hizashi gives the nurse a bright smile before walking to the gift shop and poking his head in.

“Everyone rea...dy?” Stumbling on his words, he lets out a guffaw at the scene in front of him.

Eri has managed to get no less than eight balloons tied to Shouta’s wrists and in his arms is a white teddy bear that is bigger than the girl herself. Hitoshi seems to be even worse off as he is holding an arm full of thankfully potted flowers, in his hair nestles a small brown cat plush, and he has ribbons tied to his wrists.

“Eri honey, do you think we have enough?”

The girl in question looks from Hitoshi to Shouta before turning to look at the single card in her hand before she nods, "Yeah, I think we're ready."

Hizashi grins as he catches a glimpse of his husband’s eyes glowing red in his annoyance as he walks to the checkout. Handing over his debit card, he doesn’t even ask the price. He really doesn’t want to know how much this kid just spent in a gift shop of all places. Walking back over to the little group, he picks up Shouta's discarded sleeping bag and the notebook that rests on top of it with a smile.

Shouta walks out of the gift shop and leads his family to the elevators. “Eri, push the button.”

Eri takes a nervous step forward and presses the up button on the elevator. She steps aside as soon as one of the doors opens with a ding, going back to Hizashi’s side.

Loading up into the elevator, Shouta glares as someone approaches, trying to get on the elevator with them. Hitoshi barely manages to shift the flowers around, so he has a free hand to push the 'close door' button after selecting which floor they need.

“You both are so bad! There was plenty of room for that person to ride with us!” Hizashi lightly scolds the other two males, though it’s halfhearted at best since he can’t stop smiling.

“Shut up, bird."

Hizashi lets out a squawk of indignation just as the doors open to their floor. Huffing, he dramatically stomps out of the elevators and heads down the hall, with Eri quickly following behind him.

“I didn’t have enough coffee for this.” Shouta glares at the bear in his arms as he follows after the two morning people.

Hitoshi nods his head in agreement as they walk together, “I didn’t have enough sleep for this.”

Walking up to the double doors that lead to the Hero Ward, they both pause, looking at each other's arms.

"What took you both so long?! Let's go; I wanna see the green bean!" Hizashi quickly swipes his ID before practically shoving Shouta and Hitoshi through the doorway.

Eri walks with her family quietly to Midoriya's room. Her hand reached up to grip Hizashi's jacket nervously.

Hizashi looks down at Eri with a soft smile as he types his hero code onto the keypad, allowing Shouta and Hitoshi into the room before kneeling down beside Eri. "What's wrong, princess?"

"Is Deku really going to be okay?"

Hizashi lets out a soft sigh as he sets the sleeping bag and journal down. He wraps his arms around Eri, tugging her close. "I wish I could tell you for certain that he will be, but the truth is, baby bear, I don't know. I don't want this whole thing to upset you, and I know that it's rough being here in the hospital, to begin with, right?"

Eri nods her head into Hizashi’s shoulder as she hugs him tight.

"When it's your turn to go in there, whether it be with me, Shouta, or even Hitoshi, if at any point it becomes too much for you, you let us know, alright? You don't have to see him. He's pretty beat up from what Shouta told me last night. No one will think any less of you, and if you decide you don't want to be here at the hospital at all, then one of us will take you, or we can call Nem. You're feelings matter, no matter where we are."

Eri pulls back from the hug wiping the tears from her eyes. "I want to try. I want to be his hero too! But if it's too much... I promise I'll tell someone." She holds out her pinky finger towards Hizashi, a small smile crossing her face as she watches him link fingers with her.

“It’s a promise then.”

Inside the room, Shouta sits the large teddy bear on the window ledge, so it's out of the way, before walking over to Hitoshi and helping him set the flowers down. That done, he unties the balloons that are wrapped around his wrists and sets the ribbons under the flowers. Taking the last balloon, he walks back over to the teddy bear and ties the ribbon around the bear's arm, so it looks like it's holding the balloon.

Hitoshi's eyes hadn't left the bed since he walked into the room. How could he look away from the sight? That was the sunshine boy of 1-A laying there, hooked up to two different machines with his arms bandaged.

Shouta bumps Hitoshi with his shoulder before he reaches up into gravity-defying purple hair to get the cat plush that was stashed there. He gives a fond smile as he walks away to go sit near the bed. “Problem Child.” He gently places the plush on Izuku’s stomach before very carefully picking up one of the boys’ hands to place upon the toy.

Hitoshi rubs the back of his head sheepishly, "Dad... What do I say? Can he hear me?"

Shouta snorts in barely contained amusement, "Just say what you want to say. Hi, is a good place to start. Who knows if he can hear you, but it's better to err on the side of caution, yes?"

Hitoshi looks absolutely mortified, "Oh god, if he can hear us, he just heard me call you dad. He'll be asking me questions constantly when he wakes up." He pauses for a moment before walking closer to the bed, "Hey, Midoriya, You can... I guess.. if you want... ask me whatever you want. That would be okay. You just have to wake up first.” Up close to the bed, he frowns as he notes the lack of any other injuries besides his arms, and he looks over at his dad in question. "Did he?"

Shouta gives a small nod as he reaches up to give green curls a hesitant pat. “Yeah, kid, he did, but we're keeping this quiet got it?"

Hitoshi just nods in response.

Shouta stands back up and walks to the door. "Come on, Hitoshi, let's let Mic and Eri have their turn to visit."

Hitoshi blinks tiredly as he heads out the door, “You didn’t even say much to him. I did the talking.”

“Training.”

Hitoshi stops just outside of Midoriya’s room and stares at his dad. “Training for what?”

“Figured it would be easier for you to talk to someone unconscious before you join 1-A and have to talk to people who can respond.” Shouta turns to Mic, giving him a nod before glancing down at Eri. "You good, kiddo?"

Eri takes a deep breath as she nods, “I’m scared because this reminds me of when I was here, but... I have to be brave. I want to be his hero." She turns around and grabs Mic’s hand before all but dragging him into the room, pausing only long enough for him to re-enter his hero code.

Chapter Text

"Journal Entry"

A little while later, Hizashi returns to the waiting room carrying Eri, who has snuggled into his shoulder.

Shouta looks up from his phone, eyes seeming even more tired than before. “How’d it go?”

"He just looks like he's sleeping! I know he is hurt; I saw the bandages around his arms like I used to have. But for the most part, Deku just looks like he's sleeping!" Eri twists her head around to look at her dad and brother, her eyes conveying how surprised she is.

Shouta gives a slight nod, "You did good, kiddo. I know that wasn't easy to go in there."

Eri blinks before letting a smile slowly spread across her face at the praise.

Hizashi carefully set's Eri down on the ground and grins as she launches herself at the tired pro, who lets out a grunt at the impact.

"Getting old there, Shou?"

A soft snort is heard from the corner of the waiting room.

"Shut your mouth Hizashi, you too, Hitoshi." Shouta glares at the two previously mentioned individuals while patting Eri's back.

“Can we read more of the journal? I want to help Deku.” Eri asks quietly into Shouta’s shoulder before pulling away slightly to look into his eyes.

"Yeah, everyone, get settled."

Eri moves to sit in the chair beside Shouta while watching how the rest of her family gets settled in.

Shouta reaches over to grab the journal off of his sleeping bag and opens it to the correct page while letting out a tired sigh.

“Dear Journal,

My limbs hurt so bad. I've been hauling tires, shelving units, refrigerators, and pretty much everything else for about 4 months now. All Might keeps reminding me that a quirkless person can't get into U.A., let alone into heroics. But I'm so tired. Trying to clean the beach, follow the schedule he's created, do schoolwork, and still work on my analysis while being injured is too much.

The kids and the teachers at school are getting worse. If I score above 80% on anything, the teachers rip up my work, marking it as incomplete. Today one of the teachers told me, "Cheating is unacceptable, even from a worthless problem child like you." I wasn't cheating, though. I just like to learn."

Shouta sucks in a breath as he silently rereads what the teacher told Izuku. His grip loosened on the book, causing it to fall to the ground.

Hizashi quickly moves to kneel in front of Shouta, hand reaching out to pick up the journal before he offers it back to the other man with a sad smile. "Shou... it's not your fault."

Shouta glares at Hizashi, practically hissing, "How can you say that Hizashi? That's what I've called him since the beginning of school. I’ve called him that to his face since work studies. How often did I trigger him by calling him a Problem Child?” Standing up, Shouta brushes past his husband, “Don’t tell me it’s not my fault when you don’t know that. None of us do. Even if it’s not, I sure as hell contributed to it.” He lets out a frustrated groan as he walks past his kids, heading down the hallway to try and clear his head.

Hizashi sighs as he stands back up and takes Shouta’s seat, giving a quick ruffle to Eri’s hair as he glances at Hitoshi. “You both still good to continue?” Getting a nod from both his kids, Hizashi opens the journal back up to continue where they left off.

"The kids are being encouraged to use their quirks on me more; apparently, it's training for them. Since I can't do anything helpful, I'm supposed to show my usefulness by being a training dummy so that the rest of the kids can get stronger.

Kacchan left burns on my shoulders, and the nurse won't treat them. Told me to "stop instigating things, then maybe your peers won't use their quirks on you." So, another self-treated injury. I'm pretty much an expert at it at this point. Though, the burns make it harder to lift the trash at the beach. But I can’t show any weakness. If I do, I might lose my only chance at being a hero."

“I’m going to choke him with my capture weapon.”

Hizashi blinks as he registers the outburst before turning to look at his son, “Who Hitoshi?”

"All of them, but at this moment, Bakugo. First, the suicide baiting, now physical abuse. Yet I was the kid growing up being called a villain."

Eri chews on her bottom lip for a few before turning curious red eyes to look at her family. "Kota told me how he punched Deku in the no-no bits when they met... Can I punch Bakugo in the no-no bits?”

Hizashi looks absolutely horrified at the question.

“Yes!” Hitoshi can’t help but take advantage of their pops’ shock as a Cheshire grin slides across his face while he moves to sit in front of Eri. "Do you remember how to throw a punch? We want it to hurt him, but not you, right?"

Eri nods enthusiastically as she brings her right hand up, curling her fingers and then placing her thumb on top of them. "Like this! Don't tuck your thumb in, or you can break it."

Hitoshi nods, his grin somehow becoming a bit more manic.

Hizashi watches the kids for a moment as his crisis ends, "Eri, why don't you just kick him? Then you won't have to worry about it?"

"He's taller, and I don't think I can kick that high." Eri turns her attention back to Hitoshi, who is holding up a hand for her to hit. She sticks the tip of her tongue out for a moment as she concentrates on a slow-mo punch. Nodding that she likes that punch, she sucks her tongue back into her mouth, so she doesn't accidentally bite it before pulling her arm back and giving a nice punch to her brother's hand.

"Not bad, baby bear! But if you're going to do the punching, you're going to want to start out standing sideways. That way, when you bring your fist forward, you shift your body forward, allowing you to put more weight into the punch. Do you want Hitoshi to show you?”

Eri looks up at Hizashi with a small nod.

Hizashi steps back a bit, holding up his hand that is not holding the journal, then looks at Hitoshi, "Ready?"

Hitoshi doesn't bother to respond. Instead, he gets up and enters the stance that Hizashi mentioned. Standing sideways, he shifts his body forward as he lands a punch on the offered hand.

Hizashi grins at both of them, clearly proud, "Doing it like this, Eri, you have the weight of your body in the punch. When you punched Hitoshi, you were just using the force generated by your arm alone."

“So, this way will hurt more?” Eri tilts her head to the side curiously.

"Yep!" Hizashi is practically bouncing in his excitement from his kids' learning... even if it isn't the best place to teach them how to throw a punch. "Would you like to try again?”

Eri almost leaps to a standing position in her excitement. "Yes, please!"

Hizashi laughs as he walks over to Eri. He patiently guides her through the proper stance and movements while Hitoshi moves to kneel in front of Eri again. This time with both hands held up together to give her a bigger target (and to keep her from accidentally hitting him in the face.)

After a few practice movements with Hizashi, Eri takes a deep calming breath before going through the motions on her own and landing a punch to the center of Hitoshi's hands.

Hitoshi moves his hands, slightly shaking them in surprise at the sting in them from the hit. His Cheshire grin spread out across his face again. "Good job."

"That was great, baby bear! I'm so proud of you!"

Eri bounces happily, a small happy giggle escaping as she does.

Chapter Text

Thoughts

The darkness around him was everywhere. So thick that it seemed almost tangible, like a heavy pressure pressing against his body. In the distance, Izuku could hear heavy breathing with occasional beeps. The sounds are the only thing keeping him grounded in the never-ending nothingness.

Occasionally he could hear the distant voices of people talking. Still, they were always too far away that he didn’t know who they belonged to. He seemed to tire himself out more as he listened for too long. But something deep inside was telling him that he needed to identify the voices. Is it possible for you to be tired when you’re dead?

Maybe that’s where that saying about sleeping when you're dead came from. But then, why could he hear? Was he a ghost? That would be his luck. Trying to get away from it all only to end up stuck here instead.

There it was again. The low chatter of voices, but they are not distinguished enough for him to make out who they belong to or what is being said. Looking around, Izuku tried to locate where the voices originated, only to fail.

“How could this even happen?! I don’t know who I’m more mad at, the kid or everyone else in his life!” The bald-haired man grumps at the others around him in the old ruins.

“That's enough, Fifth. We've seen the torment that Ninth has gone through and continues to do so." A man with white hair folds his hands and rests his chin on them as he looks around at the other One for All users with him.

“I told you First. That he was not the right fit to be a successor! How is he going to defeat All For One and save everyone when he can't even save himself!"

The white-haired man known as First gives a soft smile to the man with his hair pulled up into a spiky ponytail. "How can we expect him to save himself? Lest you forget, I was dying when you and Second decided to save me instead of killing me because of my ties to All For One. I didn't save myself."

“Which then presents the question, Why has no one saved Ninth?” The only woman in the group looks around at the other users before focusing on the smoky form of the eighth user. A frown slips into place as she watches it shrink back.

“It's a bit late now, Seventh; all we can do is hope that Ninth recovers. That Eraserhead was able to get there in time to truly save him.” First replies.

Worthless problem child.

Problem Child.

“I’m no better than his past teachers.” Shouta huffs as he walks down the hall, coming to a stop in front of Midoriya’s room. After a moment of deliberation, he enters his hero code and heads inside.

“Just me Pr-Midoriya.” Shouta walks over to the chair beside the bed and takes a seat. “How you holding up?" Realizing what he just asked, Shouta tilts his head back slightly, glancing up towards the ceiling as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Sorry, kid, that was stupid. I'm no good at this. But I owe you an apology."

Shouta reaches forward, carefully taking Izuku's hand closest to him into his own grip. A frown marring his features as he feels how bony and crooked the fingers are. "I never meant Problem Child as an insult. I should have thought how that might come across to you." He shakes his head, his voice coming out a bit garbled until he clears his throat of the emotions threatening to break free. “I should have seen the signs. As an underground hero, it’s my job to be able to see those signs, and I failed you. Even when they were so obvious. The way you didn’t like loud noises. How you tried to appear smaller when anyone was in a bad mood. How you always scan a room before you enter it? I overlooked so many flags, and I’m sorry.”

As he stands up, Shouta gently gives a small ruffle to Izuku's hair. "Eri told us how you talked to her when she had bad days. Thank you for that. She also told us how you wrote when you couldn’t verbally express what you wanted to say. So I went through your backpack. Found a lot of stuff in there, kid. You could have told me or any of the other teachers. We would have helped you. But I get it." Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Shouta lets out a small huff. "I found your journal in your bag too. We’re reading it; by we, I mean my family, not your classmates. They don't know anything. It's not our place. Just like we’re keeping the fact that you’re here as a need to know.”

Shouta walks away from the bed with a sigh, "I gotta go check on the idiots waiting and get in touch with Nedzu. I'll stop back by later. Maybe Hizashi can give me tips, so I don't sound like an idiot." A small huff of amusement leaves him as he stops at the door to the room. "Oh, and kid? Quirk or No Quirk, You would have the potential to become a hero." That said, he walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.

Walking back to the waiting room, Shouta stops as he sees Hizashi bouncing. Letting out a grunt, he goes over and grabs his sleeping bag from the floor, then takes the journal from Hizashi before heading down the hall towards the exit. “Let’s go. We can come back later.”

Hizashi watches Shouta leave, then nods to Hitoshi and Eri, "Come on, kiddos! You heard Shou!" He flashes them both a bright smile as he follows after his husband.

Chapter Text

Journal Entry

~*~ Separating Entries!

Shouta sits down with his family once they all arrive home. The day took an emotional toll on all of them. Shouta has joined Hizashi and Eri on one of their couches while Hitoshi lays on the floor, joining their cats in the sunspot coming in from the window. Shaking his head at the scene, he opens the journal and starts to read some of the other entries.

"I collapsed today. All Might scolded me for not following the plan he created for me. It's not like I meant to, though. His plan didn't account for the endurance and stealth training I had to do at school to avoid my peers. Nor does it account for the fact that I can't eat the way he wants me to. Mom only buys the bare minimum for the house, so it's kind of hit or miss whether I get regular meals or not. Oh well, just 3 more months till the entrance exam."

"Wait, please! I think I'm going to need a stuffy before we continue." Eri gets up from her spot and quickly runs down the hall to her room to grab what she wants. When she returns to the living room a few minutes later, she has her arms filled with different stuffed animals.

“I thought maybe everyone could use one if we’re already starting out sad!” Eri says as she passes a black panther stuffed animal to Shouta, a golden retriever for Hizashi, a sloth for Hitoshi, and a snowy owl for herself. Once they are all passed out, she retakes her seat and nods to her dad to continue reading.

~*~

“Today was the U.A.'s physical exam, and I got to see so many heroes! There was so much that happened, like All Might made me eat a strand of hair before the exam right after I finished cleaning the beach. I got his quirk just in time to save a girl with a gravity quirk from being crushed by a robot!

They call that robot a Zero Pointer because it's not worth anything to defeat it. I didn't care about getting the points for that; I just wanted to save the girl! Using the quirk did cause me quite a bit of pain as I ended up breaking a lot of my bones. Guess that’s technically better than all of my limbs getting completely blown off like All Might told me could happen.

Because the quirk didn't manifest until almost the end of the exam, I didn’t get a single point. So I failed. I couldn't get into U.A., just like everyone always said. I should have just listened to them years ago. I really am just a useless Deku.”

~*~

“I guess good news does always come with bad news. Today I found out that I somehow got accepted to U.A.! Apparently, there were rescue points, so I made it in. I'm not entirely sure about that, but regardless, I'm grateful.

The bad news is Mom left. She said she found a place she likes and is moving out. She told me the apartment is paid up for another four months, but after that, I'll have to figure something out on my own. She says it has to be this way. She doesn't want to see me killed trying to chase an impossible dream.

I don’t understand. I thought things would be easier now that I have a quirk. But even having a quirk now, mom doesn't want me. I know that technically I've been alone since that doctor told me I was quirkless, but she had still been here. So I could ignore not having friends or anyone on my side. But now I’m going to be completely alone.”

~*~

Today was the first day of school, and it was emotional, to say the least. Kacchan is in my class again, and I'm pretty sure Mr. Aizawa hates me. So, not much change from middle school.

The only difference was during the apprehension test, when the whole class had to use our quirks to show if we had potential. During that, Kacchan got mad when he saw me use my quirk, and Mr. Aizawa didn’t let him get close enough to use his quirk on me.

That's never happened. I've never had a teacher stand up for me or protect me before. So that’s a big difference compared to what I’m used to!

Plus, I think I may have made friends. I'm not quite sure, and I don't want to get my hopes up. Usually, when people want to be my friend, it's just for a cruel joke."

Hitoshi moves to snuggle Dirtbag with a frown. "Hey, Pops?"

"Yeah, kitten?" Hizashi looks over at Hitoshi while giving him a soft encouraging smile.

“Midor..” Hitoshi paused. It didn't feel right calling him by his last name now, knowing that his mother abandoned him. "Izuku. Do you think he really meant it? That he truly just wanted to be my friend?"

Hizashi gives a brief frown before his smile returns, though now it has the underlying notes of sadness hidden within. "I don't think he'd joke about that kitten. Especially with what your dad just read; He knew that feeling himself. So yeah, I think he really wanted to be your friend."

Hitoshi squeezes the sloth plush close after he lets Dirtbag run, clearly not in the mood to be scratched. “I’m so stupid.”

Shouta gets up, walks over to his son, and kneels beside him. "You're not stupid. Mistakes were made. We all made them. Now we just have to learn and try to make a difference and make sure there's not another incident like this one again."

Hitoshi nods slowly, knowing that he disagrees with what his dad is saying, but unable to argue because he knows. He knows that his dad is beating himself up over this whole mess as well, so he just leaves it alone and nuzzles into the stuffed animal.

Shouta pinches the bridge of his nose as he pulls out his phone. "I need to make a call that I've been putting off. I didn't want to talk to the rat, but knowing the real reason no one could get through to his mother's phone changed things. Zashi, you got the kids for a bit?"

"I mean, it's not like we're a lot of work, I'm a teenager, and Eri isn't a baby."

Shouta glances back at Hitoshi while standing up, “You both are still gremlins.”

Hizashi grins great big as he nods, "Yeah, I got the kiddos. I'm going to make a late lunch. Want anything specific?"

Shouta shakes his head as he heads down the hallway to his and Hizashi’s room to make his call.

Chapter Text

Avaricious.

Deceitful.

Intolerant.

Egomaniac.

Oh, how he could go on about those nasty little traits.

Nedzu hates how those callous words describe so many of the human race. He hates that they are selfish individuals, only caring about themselves and their own personal gains. It's this specific kind of selfishness that has him so worked up.

Having hand-picked each staff member at U.A, he has a certain amount of trust in his employees despite his complicated past. Because each of his staff has earned what level of confidence he has in them. They each have their own goal of making the world better and more inclusive. That's why the school system is so flexible in its teaching methods so that they can make that difference. An example of this is Aizawa's willingness to expel anyone if they lack potential. He would rather crush a child's dream leaving them hurt and angry, than allow them to continue and foolishly get themselves or others killed.

Due to the flexible teaching methods and the opportunity to make the changes they want, all his staff has a measure of trust in each other and in him as their boss. That usually translates over to the students. They get to see adults and not just heroes, all working together with a level of understanding that only stems from having earned each other's trust. This affects the student body, helping them learn to trust and rely on their classmates and, in most cases, learn to trust their teachers. So the fact that one of their students is in this position is enough to have him seething.

Phantom pains lingering along the scar that runs through his eye are enough of a reminder from his time as an experiment. He expected to be approached by a specific member of his staff for help. He didn't expect looking into the past of one of his students to be enough for him to book an appointment with his own therapist.

Leaning back in his chair, Nedzu takes a sip of his tea while his black eyes gain a certain gleam as he watches the screen in front of him. Watches as Izuku is sat at the front of the class with a muzzle strapped around his head. His middle school uniform burnt, leaving behind angry red, starburst-shaped welts. The class faces the front with twisted glee as their teacher removes Izuku's shoes and socks. The teacher looks to the ground beside him, looking over the items. A torch lighter, a dull, rusty knife, bolt cutters, and a pair of fish skinning pliers.

Mouth curving up into a snarl at the scene currently playing. Nedzu nearly breaks his teacup as he slams it down in favor of picking up his phone.

"Ah, Aizawa, I have that information you asked for ready. I was hoping that you would be able to have a bit of a chat with me soon. Perhaps over tea?"

"Splendid! I'll be anxiously awaiting your arrival. Oh, and Aizawa? I highly recommend that you leave your kids home for this." Nedzu hangs up his phone, turning back to the footage just in time to see bloodied feet shoved roughly back into familiar red shoes. The green-haired boy now holding a small pile of flesh in one of his hands and in the other. Two tiny bones that have been cleaned meticulously.

Arriving at the school about an hour later, Shouta and Hizashi made their way to Nedzu's office, the door already open upon their arrival.

Walking inside, Shouta immediately activated erasure as he looked around the room, his husband looking about a second away from his own wail of attack.

Nedzu glances up at his guests, teeth bared in a snarl before he seems to remember himself. Shaking his head, he motions to the prepared tea, "Please help yourselves. I must apologize for the nature of some of the information I have been able to gather has been... less than ideal."

Hair falling back around his shoulders as he lets go of his quirk, Shouta quickly treats his eyes with the eye drops he carries around with him. “That seems to be an understatement if it can cause you to go almost feral.”

Hizashi walks over to get his tea and takes a seat as he tries to relax now that the tension has dispersed. "What got you so upset?"

Nedzu sets his teacup down to fold his hands in front of him. "I have Detective Tsukauchi looking into Midoriya’s mother at the moment. As she seems to have removed herself from the picture. That being said, I focused on the rest of what Aizawa told me was in his journal. About "Kacchan," his teacher, I'll also be looking into All Might."

Shouta pulls out the journal from his bag and places it on Nedzu's desk. "If you remember, I told you that Kacchan is Katsuki Bakugo from my class."

Nedzu bares his teeth for a moment before grabbing the notebook and flipping through it. "Yes, I'm well aware. So what would you like to do?"

“I want to know what prompts that reaction out of you at the mention of Bakugo’s name.” Hizashi states before taking a sip of his tea.

Setting the notebook aside, Nedzu looks over at his computer screen in disdain. "Let's just say the notebook is tame to some of the things I have borne witness to."

“What do you mean by that?” Shouta narrows his eyes at his boss.

“I happened to obtain access to one Aldera Middle School’s security footage.” Nedzu takes a sip of his tea, letting the warmth soothe the anger building inside him again.

“Are we really going to play coy?” Shouta huffed.

“Shou.." Hizashi reaches over to place his hand on his husband's elbow to help keep him grounded.

Shouta glares at his husband, but his body visibly relaxes.

"What I'm saying is that Izuku Midoriya was, for lack of a better word, tortured throughout his middle school career. If you wish to see a copy of the footage, I will send it to your email, but I suggest you wait till you finish the notebook so you can see a bit of what he goes through now. Think of it as a way to prepare you for what you may see in the footage. Also, I must insist you not let your children watch the footage."

Hizashi frowns, “Is it really that bad?”

"I won't lie to you, Yamada; it was enough to make me schedule an appointment with my therapist."

Hizashi coughs as his eyes widen in surprise at the answer.

Nedzu takes a sip of his tea before looking over at Shouta. “Aizawa, while you’re here. I have to apologize for my part in this. I knew of the circumstances of Midoriya's quirk and how he was chosen by All Might to be his successor. I was, however, unaware of what happened up to the point of him receiving the quirk and trying for the Entrance Exams."

Shouta turned his glare to Nedzu, eyes glowing red as his quirk activated. "Did you tell them not to tell me?"

Nedzu shakes his head, "I believed you would serve Midoriya best if you knew, but All Might was adamant no one else could know."

Chapter Text

Nedzu sat beside the hospital bed, watching the rise and fall of Izuku's chest. The constant movement was a soothing balm to his irritated soul. He had come straight here after meeting with Aizawa and Yamada, needing to see for himself the state of the boy that means so much to so many people at his school.

“Oh, I didn’t realize he had a visitor. I apologize. My name is Dr. Ayreon.”

Nedzu looks over at the man giving a slight nod, not in the mood for his usual introduction. “I am Nedzu, principal of U.A. I’d like to know how he’s doing.”

Dr. Ayreon glances over the chart for a moment before smiling, "You're on his approved list. So that won't be a problem. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any change since his admittance. I'd like to get an EEG scheduled to see if there is any brain activity. When Midoriya came in, he had lost a lot of blood, and he was also struggling to breathe. Both of them alone is a concern, but to have both problems, to be frank, I'm concerned about the lack of oxygen to his brain.

Nedzu looks from the doctor to Izuku, a paw moving to rest against the greenette's hand. "I understand. What you're saying is there is a possibility that Midoriya, here, could be brain dead. Correct?"

"Exactly. If that turns out to be the case, the decision will have to be made on whether you wish to keep his body alive or if you should pull the plug. I'm very sorry." Dr. Ayreon quietly moves around the room, checking over the boy's ports, vitals, and everything else.

"Go ahead and schedule the EEG and any other test that may be needed. Also, I need to update his list of approved visitors.” Nedzu pats Izuku’s hand before hopping down out of the chair.

"Of course. If you go to the nurses' desk out front, they will get the update changed for you." Dr. Ayreon finishes his check and heads to the door, pausing for a moment. “May I ask you a question?”

Nedzu lets a small laugh out, “You just did but go ahead.”

“Do you know why he’s missing both of his little toes?”

Nedzu snarls, his voice taking on a dangerous edge. "It's part of the reason I need to update his approved list. This boy was abused long before his attempt."

“Of course, my apologies.” Dr. Ayreon bows his head before leaving to continue the rest of his rounds.

Nedzu looks back at Izuku, giving a shake of his head, "I hope that you wake up for all of our sakes. However, as someone who has been in your position, if you don’t wake up, I don’t think anyone who is in the know about this will blame you.”

Walking up to the nurses' desk, Nedzu clears his throat as he waits for them to notice him.

A nurse walking up to the desk stops as she sees the short chimera and smiles softly, "Hello, You must be Principal Nedzu! It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Talia. Can I help you, sir?"

Nedzu offers a small smile, "Indeed I am. I need to update a patient's approved visitor list."

"Of course, sir! I'll be happy to do that for you." Talia smiles as she goes behind the desk, rummaging through a drawer; she finds the file she needs. Returning to Nedzu, she briefly pauses to get a clipboard and pen. "We just need you to fill out this form and write down the approved individual's name." She hands him the clipboard, form, and pen happily.

“Thank you.” Nedzu quickly fills out the form before handing it back to the young nurse.

Taking the form back, the nurse seems surprised, “Oh wow, are you sure you only want these 7 people to visit?”

Nedzu nods, "Of course. If I wanted more, I would have stated. However, this is a suspected abuse case. Therefore, all correspondence is allowed to go to only the approved visitors I have listed."

Talia nods as she quickly takes the document handing it to the guy at the computer to input into the system. "We'll take care of him, Principal Nedzu. You have our word."

"Be sure that you do," Nedzu says before walking away.

Chapter Text

Journal Entry

Shouta looks at his email, glaring at the unopened email from Nedzu that has an attachment. The attachment he knows is the footage from Aldera; moving to click it, he lets out a grunt as something hits the side of his head.

Rubbing his head, Shouta narrows his eyes as he catches sight of a green grape rolling away on the floor. Snapping his head up, he looks towards the dining room, not even surprised to see Hizashi with the bag of grapes. "A grape, really?"

"Don't really me, Shouta. Nedzu said we should finish the journal first. Don't think I don't know what you were about to do."

Shouta glares at his husband before letting out a sigh. "Fine, I'll read the journal first, then."

Hizashi rolls his eyes but picks up the bag of grapes and makes his way to the living room to sit next to the other man. “The kids are going to be mad when they get back from Nem’s.”

"I won't read too far ahead. I just need to do something. I can't just sit here."

Shaking his head, Hizashi pulls the blanket down from the back of the couch. “You could always take a nap, so you can get caught up on some sleep before school starts again in a few days.”

Shouta grunts but allows himself to be covered. "Journal first, then nap. But you are not moving."

"Oh, I'm not?"

Shouta doesn't dignify him with a response as he moves around till he's sprawled out on the couch, his head lying in the blonde's lap.

Hizashi huffs dramatically, “Shou! That’s not fair.”

Shouta tilts his head up to give a Cheshire grin at his husband before opening the journal.

“My ears won't stop ringing. Recovery Girl said it should go away in just a few days, but I need to avoid loud noises. Otherwise, I am at risk of losing my hearing permanently. All Might paired Kacchan and me against each other in battle training. We had partners, but I knew that Kacchan would immediately come after me. Like he always does. It gave him the best opportunity to put me in my place, as he always says.

The explosions were much a lot stronger this time due to the gauntlets he has as part of his hero costume. I barely dodged in time to avoid being injured worse than I already was. How did anyone think that giving him those was a good idea?”

~*~

"I got elected as class president today. That was scary. Thankfully I was able to get someone else to do it instead. See, there was an alarm during lunch telling all of us to evacuate. It wasn't until a third-year student passed that we discovered that security level 3 meant someone had infiltrated the building. Even though the alarm told everyone to evacuate in an orderly fashion, it was still chaos. Students were trampling other students in their rush to get out.

How any of them expect to become heroes when they can't maintain order in a panic is beyond me. Third Years having the most experience should have helped the Second Years. Second Years then should have helped the First years. But no. Iida, who is in my class, had to become a human exit sign to get control of the chaos. When we all returned to class, I gave him my class president position. He has the confidence and knowledge needed for it.

I would have just dragged the class down.”

~*~

"Rescue training. That sounds like a good thing to learn as a hero, right? Yeah, it turned out horribly. Real villains showed up. Mr. Aizawa got severely injured because he was trying to protect all of us. I couldn't do anything to keep him from getting hurt. I'm so useless. I guess once a Deku, always a Deku, right? Pathetic. Completely and utterly pathetic.

I got to meet another person who knows about my quirk. Detective Tsukauchi is All Might's friend, so he had been informed years ago, apparently. But what I don't understand is if All Might could tell him, why can't I tell anyone?

Oh Shit. I just thought of something. Mr. Aizawa... He tried to protect all of us in class. Does that mean he was trying to protect me as well? Why would he do that? It's just a waste of his time, and I'm not worth it. I... I don't understand."

"You were worth it, kid. Still Are."

"Replying to a book now, Shou?" Hizashi looks down at his husband with a cheeky smile.

"Shut up, bird. I wasn't talking to you." Shouta huffs as he scrunches down further under the blanket as if to hide.

“Right. We covered that. You were talking to the book.” Hizashi laughs as he sees just the slightest of pink start to dust Shouta’s cheeks before his face is hidden by the journal.

~*~

I learned a few new things today. During my battle with Shinsou, when he used his quirk on me, I was able to see 7 or 8 shadowy people in my mind. They gave me a single moment of clarity to break out of Shinsou's mind control. All Might said that the quirk is passed down like an Olympic torch. So does that mean I'm linked to the past? Or is this quirk just haunted?

Also, Todoroki told me about his parents' quirk marriage and how his scar is due to his mom pouring boiling hot water on his face. Because all she could see was Endeavor in his left side. That's why I had to save him. I had to remind him that the fire is his quirk. Not his dad's, and I did it. For once, I wasn't useless. I took the hits and lost the match, but it was worth it because I got Todoroki to use his fire. I saved him. I saved him from himself and the untimely death he could face in the future due to not using all of his power.

In return, I got Recovery Girl telling All Might and me that she won't treat my wounds anymore. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted. Guess it's a good thing I'm an expert at hiding injuries and bandaging my own wounds. I just thought that U.A. would be different. I forgot that good things never last for me.

Oh! I almost forgot. All Might told me earlier that before this quirk had been passed to him, he was quirkless too. ...Yeah, the whole not being able to be a hero hurts a lot worse knowing that if anyone should have understood how I felt, it would have been him."

Hizashi quickly grabs a pillow and screams into it, not that it does any good to muffle his quirk-activated anger.

Shouta tilts his head up to glare at his husband, activating his own quirk in annoyance. "Hizashi, Stop. You're giving me dry eye."

Hizashi closes his mouth while smiling tightly, "Sorry grumpy cat. There's just so much there to unpack, you know? The fact that Izuku's quirk may be haunted. The whole thing with him knowing about Todoroki way before any of us did. How he sacrificed himself to help Todoroki. That Recovery Girl won't treat him anymore, and All Might was Quirkless?!" The more he lists, the louder he gets. But the glaring onyx gaze helps to remind him not to activate his quirk.

"I know how you feel, Zashi, I'm angry as well, but we're doing what we can, and we already informed Nedzu." Shouta closes his eyes for a brief moment before looking back at his husband as he feels him start to shake. "What, Hizashi?"

“A previously quirkless person told another quirkless person to be realistic. Knowing full well that being quirkless in a quirked world is basically a death sentence."

Shouta covers his eyes with an arm, “You’re thinking that he knew the kid was suicidal?”

Hizashi lets out a depressed sigh. "I think... that All Might lost touch with his past self and became one of those bigoted individuals that believe only those with quirks amount to anything."

Shouta groans as he sets the journal aside, “He could know, or he could just be a complete idiot. We’ll just have to keep him away from Midoriya.”

Hizashi runs his fingers through Shouta's hair, "Yeah, you're right. Okay, take a rest before the kids get back, Shou. Love you."

"Love you too, Zashi."

Chapter Text

Journal Entry

“Daddy! Poppa! We’re home!”

“Eri, baby bear, remember we have to be quiet coming home. What if Dad is sleeping? You don't really want to wake him do you?" Hitoshi looks down at his sister, a questioning look on his face as he waits for her answer.

“N-No... I'm sorry, Toshi! I forgot." Eri's eyes turn downcast as she realizes her mistake, shoulders slumping in defeat.

Hitoshi reaches a hand up to nervously rub the back of his head, eyes darting around in a small bout of panic.

"You're fine, baby bear! We took a nap a bit ago but were just waiting for our favorite little listeners to show up!" Hizashi is quick to try and put his kids' minds at ease, even though he just wants to wrap them up in his arms. That was made impossible by the dark-haired man still lying across his lap.

Eri runs over to her parents and jumps up on the couch, flopping herself down on Shouta’s legs.

Hitoshi whips his head around, eyes locking on the forms of his parents as a sigh escapes him.

“Situational awareness, kid." Shouta grunts as he gets flopped on. But refuses to move too much so as not to grant Hizashi his freedom.

"Yeah, Yeah, I hear ya." Hitoshi moves to sit on the other couch, careful not to disturb the cats.

"Daddy, can you read more since we're all here, please?" Eri turns so she can look at Shouta as she speaks, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Shouta rolls his eyes but picks up the journal from where it slid between him and the back of the couch. Flipping to the correct page, he starts to read.

"I get to go on an internship! That's so exciting, it's a hands-on experience, and apparently, the person I'm interning with is Gran Torino. He used to teach All Might! He was his homeroom teacher back when he was at U.A, and he knows about One for All.

As exciting as this is, if All Might's homeroom teacher got to know about OFA, then why can't I tell Mr. Aizawa? Wouldn't it be better for him to know? So he doesn't think I'm just a kid that is just lazy and unwilling to work towards my dream. Maybe he wouldn't hate me if he knew."

~*~

"Gran Torino is senile. When I arrived, he used ketchup and sausage links to pretend to be dead. Then proceeded to call me a wet blanket. I'm also concerned that he may have Alzheimer's, as he called me Toshinori before continuously asking me who I am.

I learned how to use my power better, though! When I heated up some Taiyaki in the microwave, it didn't cook properly because I didn't spread them out evenly, so some were still frozen in the center. Apparently, to use my power, I need to spread it out evenly throughout my body. Instead of just focusing all of the power into the area I want to use, like my arm."

~*~

The other day was a mess. Sorry I didn’t have my journal with me at the hospital. I was snatched by a nomu while on my internship. Iida had gone after the Hero Killer Stain in revenge because of him paralyzing his brother. How no one saw that coming, I have no idea. Anyways, after the fight with Stain (where Todoroki and I had to save Iida and the pro-hero Native), when the other heroes showed up, a nomu flew in and picked me up, carrying me away.

Stain broke free of the rope binding him and rescued me by stabbing the nomu in the exposed part of the brain. I'm not sure how I feel about Stain saving me. He should have just let me go.. but then again, I want to die, not end up in the hands of the league, and that's probably where the nomu was going to take me. "

“All Might's homeroom teacher knew about his quirk. But the idiot didn't want me to know about MY student's quirk? I almost expelled him. He would have been gone if he hadn't shown resourceful thinking on the first day. Due to no fault of his own." Shouta was pissed, eyes glowing red in his anger.

Not bothered by her dad's anger, Eri reaches over to poke him in the cheek. "Daddy. You're making your scary face again."

Shouta looks at Eri for a moment before letting out a displeased grunt.

Smiling wide, Eri nods her head as he calms down, and as soon as he does, her expression changes. Her eyes narrow, and she purses her lips together, trying to make herself look stern as she 'glares' at Shouta. "Do you really hate Izuku?"

Hitoshi snorts in amusement, seeing the face that Eri is giving to their dad. Hizashi isn't fairing much better, a hand lifted to cover his mouth as he laughs, shoulders shaking from amusement.

Shouta lets out a huff of annoyance and amusement at the face. "No, Eri. I do not, nor have I ever, hated Izuku. Yes, I think he's a trouble magnet, but I do not hate him.

Satisfied with the answer, Eri leans forward with a smile, giving Shouta a hug.

“Am I the only one that has a problem with the fact that this kid learned more from a microwave than he did from the hero he was interning with?” Hizashi looks around at his family while running his fingers through Shouta’s hair.

Hitoshi shrugs, "Personally, I'm more concerned about the fact that it was Stain that saved Izuku and not the other heroes that were on the scene."

Shouta keeps his arms wrapped around Eri and groans, hearing the other two in the room. "Hizashi, yes, that's a problem, but I guess we should be grateful that he went there and learned...from the microwave." His eye twitches showing his annoyance, as that isn't something that should have to be said. "Because if you recall, he wasn't breaking as many bones when he returned from internships."

Hizashi leans against the back of the couch, "I guess you're right. But I still don't like the fact that a microwave was his main teacher during internships, Shou."

"I know, Zashi, neither do I, but we can't change that." Turning his attention to his son Shouta all but groans in annoyance. "As for the fact that a villain saved Midoriya instead of the heroes on the scene? That's because spotlight heroes are stupid."

“Excuse you!” Hizashi huffs as he purposely tangles his fingers in Shouta’s hair, giving a sharp tug on the dark locks.

Shouta narrows his eyes at his husband, a look clearly promising payback, before turning back to Hitoshi. "Sorry, most spotlight heroes are stupid." He then turns back to Hizashi, "Better?"

Hizashi leans down, placing a kiss on Shouta's nose before smiling. "Much thank you."

Hitoshi rolls his eyes at his parents' behavior.

Eri smiles as she watches them before taking the journal from Shouta and tossing it to Hitoshi, "Will you read, please?"

Hitoshi catches the book and flips through the pages, skimming the contents in search of where they left off. His eyes narrow as he notes that there are a few entries that they missed, but he doesn't say anything.

Getting to where they left off, he clears his throat as a sign of discomfort before starting to read.

"Today, All Might told me that his quirk can only be transferred if I will it to. Meaning that it can't be stolen, which is a huge relief, to be honest, because that means if villains find out, they can't take the quirk by force. On the same note, if All Might decides I'm not worth it, he can't order me to give up the quirk.

He also told me about the quirk's history and how it originated with two brothers. One who was believed to be quirkless and the other who had the ability to take quirks and give them to others.

One for All is a stockpiling quirk, and a quirk that passes down that gets stronger from each user. That's the quirk of the brother who was perceived as quirkless. The brother who can give and take quirks is known as All for One. Who is apparently nearly immortal and is the person that is behind the League of Villains. The person who will be after me because of this quirk."

"Stop, Hitoshi. I can't right now." Shouta moves Eri off of him and sets her on the couch as he gets up, anger radiating from him. "How could All Might be such a colossal idiot that he would give his quirk that has an enemy attached to it to a child!"

“Shou baby, why don't you take a break, alright? We won't read anymore, but I think you could use something to work on to take your mind off things."

Shouta turns to look at Hizashi with a frown, but he sighs at the look he is receiving. "Yeah, okay. I'll go try to do some grading and lesson planning, maybe get ahead before we go back to class."

Hizashi smiles up at his husband. "Thank you, that's all I ask." He turns his attention to his kids with that same bright smile, "Dance party?"

“YES!!!” Eri bounces excitedly.

Hitoshi doesn't bother to respond, just groaning as he sinks lower into the couch.

Shouta snickers quietly as he walks down the hallway to his office.

Chapter Text

Thoughts

Walking into his office, Shouta frowns as his eyes catch on a framed picture on one of his shelves. It was from the 1-A Christmas party just before their break, where everyone was happy.

At least, I thought they were.

He can’t stop himself from moving closer to the picture, a hand reaching out as he sees the greenette. The smile there bright and vibrant as always, but his eyes... how did I not notice how there was no light to them?

Running a hand down his face, Shouta sets the picture back down in its spot before continuing on his way to his desk. As he sits down, he narrows his eyes at his computer screen wondering how the damn rat always knew when he was free.

Answering the video call, he let out a grunt of greeting.

“Ah I had a feeling you would be about! Have you gotten a chance to watch the video yet Aizawa?” Nezu smiles, his eyes twinkling in something akin to mirth. He clearly already knows the answer he is going to get.

Shouta moves a hand up so he can rub his temples, not in the mood for anything the rat may be planning. “No, we haven’t finished reading the journal yet why?”

Nezu claps his paws together, his eyes gleaming dangerously for just a moment. “Ah! Excellent! I need you or Yamada to go to Aldera to obtain the footage legally. I have already informed them that we are wanting to see about prospective new hero course students for the upcoming years since the winner of the Sports Festival came from their school.”

Shouta’s eyes narrow as he barely looks up at his boss even while he’s talking. “When do you need us to go?”

“Preferably day after tomorrow. They have proven to be quite willing to co-operate when they think that they will get more recognition.”

Shouta’s lets a small sigh escape, the only sign of his displeasure. “I’ll go. But I won’t play nice.”

Nezu flashes Shouta a knowing smile. “I never expect you to play nice Aizawa. I just expect you to act in a way befitting your place as a representative of U.A. We can’t have any emotional outbursts that risks jeopardizing the plan.”

Scoffing, Shouta leans closer to the screen face devoid of all emotion. “Emotional Outbursts. Do I seem like my husband to you?”

Taking a sip of his tea, Nezu turns his calm expression back to Shouta. “Not at all, but you do seem like an overprotective father whose child was wronged.”

Shouta freezes for a moment as his brow furrows ever so slightly. “He’s not my kid.”

“Regardless,” Nezu doesn’t bother to dignify that with a response, “I simply want you to be Shouta Aizawa teacher of Heroics 1-A. The man who doesn’t care about money, publicity, or other people's opinions. Just potential.”

“You make it sound like we’re different people.”

Nezu nods as he stares intently at Aizawa through the screen. “There are times where it seems like you are.”

Shouta shifts in his seat so that he can lean forward and prop his head on his hand exhaustion catching up with him. “How is it going with Mrs. Midoriya?”

Nezu leans back in his seat a deep frown coming across the chimera’s face. “According to Detective Tsukauchi, she’s moved a few times. To an apartment around the time we sent out acceptance letters. She wasn’t there long, however. One of the nurses she works with said she started staying with her about a month after renting the place.

Shouta’s eyes briefly widen, “Covering her tracks?”

Nezu nods, “That’s what the detective thought as well. When he asked the nurse if she knew where Midoriya was now she told him that Midoriya put her 2 weeks in at the hospital but didn’t stay the whole time. Left about a week ago to join her husband in America.”

Shouta sits up straight at that, his hands clenching in front of him. “She’s out of our jurisdiction?”

“So, it seems.”

Eye twitching Shouta all but glares at his boss, “Explain.”

Nezu can’t help but cackle in sadistic glee. “From what I have pieced together about Mrs. Midoriya, she’ll return. She may not want to claim her son as such nor want him to be a hero, but even she won’t be able to pass up the opportunity to try and lay claim to him as he becomes continues his classes.”

“I don’t want him to have to go back to her.”

Nezu shakes his head, “Oh No. I agree with that. Even if she does return like I expect he won’t have to. Due to child abandonment and the evidence that is against her, all her rights as a parent have been removed. Once our kind detective finishes up with the paperwork on his end, Izuku Midoriya will be a ward of U.A.”

Shouta nods. “We’ll need to make sure that she isn’t allowed access to the hospital or UA when he comes back.”

“Already done. Now, I’ve sent you the meeting information and some specific things I want you to look for while you’re there. Have a good evening Aizawa.” Nezu doesn’t bother waiting for a response before he ends the call.

Shouta walks back into the living room after his call, an eyebrow arched as he takes in the scene in front of him.

Hizashi is dancing almost desperately in time with the game his attention unwavering even as his hair falls into his face. Eri however has made her way to the sofa and has fallen asleep on her stomach, an arm hanging over the edge of the couch with her head looking like it’s about to follow.

Hitoshi, however, is sitting in a corner near the cat tree with the journal in his hands. Eyes widening as he notices his dad watching them. “I just went back to read the passage that you and pops read that Eri and I missed.”

Shouta tilts his head up just slightly as he watches his son. “I didn’t ask.”

“Sh... Yeah, I know.” Hitoshi rubs the back of his head nervously before looking away.

Shouta just watches his kid for a moment before a twisted grin starts to spread across his face. “What was the passage about?”

“What was the passage about?” Hitoshi coughs and glances at the journal wondering if he could get away with going back to that specific passage but as soon as the thought comes, he immediately dismisses it because he knows that his dad would notice.

Shouta nods in response, refusing to repeat himself even to his own child.

“Uh… Oh forget it. I read the whole thing happy?” Hitoshi reaches over to pet a cat, turning so he can hide the light pink starting to dust his cheeks.

Grinning to himself, Shouta looks from his son to his husband before looking back to Hitoshi. "What's that about?"

Hitoshi looks back at his dad a Cheshire grin quickly spreading across his face. "Eri got the high score, and Pops has been trying to beat her score since." Looking over at Eri he shakes his head, "Eri got tired of waiting."

Shouta nods as he walks over to Hizashi, placing a hand on the desperately dancing man's shoulder. "Give it up Zashi. You've been dethroned."

Hizashi squawks in surprise at the touch before his eyes narrow at his husband the words slowly sinking in. "I refuse to be dethroned."

"You can't refuse something that's already happened. According to Hitoshi this has been going on long enough that it put Eri to sleep." Shouta motions to the sleeping girl on the couch.

Hizashi looks over at Eri a smile spreading across his entire face... "She is a cute little ruler, isn't she?"

Hitoshi lets out an amused huff as he gets up. He then takes a moment to stretch before walking over to his dad, handing the dark-haired man the journal before he heads to the kitchen.

Shouta turns away from his husband as he's handed the journal, a small grin playing at his lips as he watches his kid walk away. “Make me a cup while you’re at it.”

“Yeah, Yeah, I hear you.”

Chapter Text

Song Lyrics

Eri looked up at Hizashi, spoon still hanging out of her mouth as she finishes her breakfast. “Poppa?”

Setting his own spoon down, bite not taken, Hizashi turns his attention to his daughter with an encouraging smile. “Yes, baby bear?”

Eri fidgets in her seat for a moment before nodding her head, her determination set. “Will you take me to go see Deku today?”

Hizashi isn’t even surprised, it’s been a few days since they’ve went to see her hero, so he knew that this would be coming soon. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

Eri taps her spoon against her chin in thought before nodding, “Yeah, I’m good! But... I need to do something by myself... just Deku and I is that ok?”

Now that does surprise him. He knows she wasn’t comfortable at the hospital the last time, even though she stated that seeing Izuku was fine because he just looked like he was sleeping, she still wasn’t comfortable. So, what could possibly make his daughter want to be by herself in the room with Izuku? “Can you tell me what you are needing to do first?”

Eri shakes her head rapidly. “Sorry poppa, but this is a Deku and I thing. I think he needs this like he always knew when I did.”

Hizashi studies his little girl for a moment, seeing the absolute truth in her eyes he gives her a bright smile. “We’ll have to make sure it’s alright with the nurses, but if they agree then so do I!”

He watches as red eyes widen in surprise before Eri is jumping up out of her chair and attaching herself to him in a tight hug. “Thank you! I’ll go get ready!”

His little girl untangles herself from him before he can even move to hug her in response, but as she pulls away, he catches the smile that adorns her face and that’s honestly all he needs. If this is something that will make his daughter happy enough to smile, then that’s all the encouragement he needs to go along with whatever she has planned.

Shouta walks into the dining room holding a cup of coffee at the same time that Eri turns away from Hizashi to run. It takes all of his skills as an underground hero to keep from wearing his coffee this morning, and even then, he just barely succeeds.

“Sorry dad!” Eri calls out as she carries on her way down the hall.

Letting out a grunt in reply he moves so he’s next to his husband. Once there he sets his coffee down on the table before taking his own seat as his eyes slide shut. It’s far too early for this.

Hizashi lets out a bark of laughter as he watches the scene play out, quieting down as the dark-haired man sits beside him. “You alright Shou?”

Shouta turns his tired gaze to the other man. He stares for just a moment before slowly blinking as he gives a drawn-out groan in response.

“Yes, I know it’s too early, drink your coffee babe.” Hizashi smiles at his hopelessly tired partner before turning his attention back to his own cup of coffee and breakfast.

A few minutes later has Hizashi watching the everyday scene unfold.

Hitoshi stumbles into the dining room still in his pajamas and hair in complete disarray. After barely managing to pull a chair out, he takes a seat letting his head fall to the table with a solid thump.

Shouta stares blankly at his son over his half-finished cup of coffee for a moment before blindly reaching for the cup in front of Hizashi. Pulling the cup to him, Shouta adjusts his hold so it’s on the mug itself before he pushes it against his perpetually tired son’s shoulder.

Hitoshi lifts his head to blink blearily up at his dad, noticing the mug he carefully takes it in his hands before taking a sip of the delicious dark brew.

Hizashi just smiles as he gets up to get a new cup of coffee.

“Zashi where’s Eri?” Shouta now awake enough asks the blond when he walks back into the dining room.

Hizashi takes a quick sip of his coffee as he reclaims his previous spot. “She should be finishing up getting ready. She wants me to take her to see the little listener today!”

Shouta’s eyes widen slightly before narrowing, “Is she really alright for that?”

“She said she is, told me that she had something she needed to do, and I’m inclined to believe her.” Hizashi flashes his husband an encouraging smile knowing that it’s probably bothering him that their daughter asked him instead to take her.

Shouta stares into his mug for a moment a slight frown tugging at his lips. “Nezu wants me to go over some information about Aldera before my visit tomorrow. But I can always do that later.”

Hizashi shakes his head as he leans over pressing a kiss to the top of his husband’s hair, “I’ve got this babe, you focus on the case alright? Just... take Hitoshi with you.”

Hitoshi looks up as he hears his name, “What about me?”

Shouta snorts in amusement. “Zashi says you’re with me today kid.”

Hitoshi blinks slowly before nodding “Yeah, Ok. Cool.”

A little while later has Eri and Hizashi standing at the front desk of the Hero Ward waiting as the receptionist looks through Izuku’s file.

“Name please?” The man glances up at Hizashi an eyebrow raised in question.

“Hizashi Yamada also known as...” Hizashi pulls out his hero license and shows it to the other man. “Pro Hero Present Mic.”

The receptionist looks over the license then over the file before nodding “You’re on the list so you’re welcome to visit.”

“Thank you, can I see Izuku’s approved list to see if it needs to be amended as his is an ongoing case?”

“Of course sir,” the receptionist takes a moment to get a clipboard as well as a pen which he hands over along with a paper copy of Izuku’s approved list to Hizashi.

Glancing over the paper Hizashi can’t help but be a bit surprised as well as angry by what he doesn’t see on the list.

• Nedzu

• Shouta Aizawa

• Hizashi Yamada

• Nemuri Kayama

• Naomasa Tsukauchi

• Ryo Inui

• Mirio Togata

“I’m sorry to ask, but what if one of his friends wished to visit?” Hizashi takes a deep breath trying to keep his smile on his face, so Eri doesn’t catch on to the fact that he’s not happy.

“As long as they are accompanied with one of the listed adults then it’s completely fine.”

Hizashi nods then hands everything back to the receptionist, “Looks good for now, thank you.” He grabs Eri’s hand and leads her to Izuku’s room pausing outside his door.

“You sure about this baby bear?” He kneels down in front of her so he can see the truth in her eyes.

Eri nods with a small nervous smile, “I’m sure, I have to do this poppa.”

Hizashi studies her eyes for a moment before standing up with a smile “Alright then, but you will only have a few minutes, I don’t want either of us to get in trouble, ok?” Quickly entering his hero code on the pin pad, he lets Eri into the room.

Eri nods as she goes into the room.

Walking over to the bed she hesitates for a moment before quietly climbing up into the chair that’s beside the bed. “Hi Deku! It’s me Eri! Um... I don’t know what’s going on but we’re learning about what you went through in your journal, and it made me think about how sad you must have been. I’m sorry that you were always helping me when I was sad, but no one helped you.”

Reaching a hand out hesitantly, she traces small fingers over the bandages on his arms. “When you wake up, I promise that I’ll help you too! That’s why I needed to visit today. It made me think about what you do when I’m sad and so I convinced poppa to bring me here, I hope that’s alright.”

Looking at the monitors around Izuku, she lets a small frown settle on her face as she carefully moves her hand to grasp one of his own.

You with the sad eyes

Don’t be discouraged

Oh I realize

As she starts to sing, Eri grips his hand tighter in her own as a few tears start to fall down her cheeks.

It’s hard to take courage

In a world full of people

You can lose sight of it all

The darkness inside you

Can make you feel so small

Eri slowly climbs up into the bed, careful of the tubes attached to her hero as she does. Small hands clutching tight to Izuku as she continues to quietly sing to him.

Hizashi opens the door as quietly as possible before walking in. As soon as he’s in the room though he regrets this whole thing. Because it’s heartbreaking.

There on the bed is his little girl with her forehead pressed to her hero’s forehead, and she’s crying. Tears streaming down her cheeks as she sings. He doesn’t know what to do with the information that his daughter sings either, and he knows now is not the time to address it. Not as he hears,

Can’t remember when

I last saw you laughing

If this world makes you crazy

And you’ve taken all you can bare

Just call me up

Cause I will always be there

Taking a deep breath, Hizashi walks further into the room as quietly as possible so not to disturb the other occupants. Just before he reaches the bed he stills for a moment as Eri finishes singing, then lifting a boot to drop down on the floor exaggerating the step so as to announce his presence.

“Baby bear?” He looks at the trembling form of his daughter, concern clearly showing on his face as he reaches out to gently touch her shoulder.

Eri turns and launches herself at Hizashi her arms wrapping around his shoulders as she cries.

Hizashi doesn’t even stumble as he catches her, long arms wrapping around her small frame trying to offer her all the support she needs.

“Why... Why... didn’t he...” Eri struggles with her words, as they come out between broken sobs.

Hizashi rubs Eri’s back humming softly, just giving her all the time she needs to get herself pulled together again.

After a few minutes Eri sniffles as she pulls back just slightly to look at her poppa. “Why didn’t he trust me? I could have helped him.”

Hizashi places a hand on the back of Eri’s head and presses her into his shoulder gently. “I don’t know baby bear, but he’s getting help now alright? You did so good today. I’m so proud of you.”

Eri nuzzles into Hizashi’s neck as she tightens her arms around him in a hug. “Poppa... can we go home?”

“Of course baby, let’s go home.” He lets a sad smile settle on his face as he carries his little girl out of the room.

Chapter Text

Journal Entry

Arriving home just before lunch Hizashi watches as Eri makes her way to the kitchen for something to eat. Shaking his head he walks over to where Shouta sits at the dining room table with his laptop.

“How was it?”

Leaning forward Hizashi rests his chin on his husband’s head, “It was rough. She sang to him Shou.. it was heart breaking. Then, she asked why he didn’t trust her.” His voice wobbles slightly as his emotions get the best of him.

Shouta slowly stands up so he doesn’t have the blonde accidentally hurting himself. Once standing he pulls his husband into his arms offering him silent support, while placing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

Hizashi lays his head on Shouta’s shoulder, as he tries to keep from crying. “That’s the big question isn’t it, why didn’t Izuku trust any of us?”

“I didn’t trust right away when you and dad took me in.” Hitoshi walks in coffee in one hand, the journal and a half eaten sandwich in the other.

Hizashi looks over at his son, his gaze landing on the sandwich in his hand questioningly because he knows his son and husband well enough that they don’t just make themselves food. Shouta drinking jelly packets was proof of that enough.

Hitoshi shrugs, “Eri is making herself lunch and said I needed to eat a sandwich and handed me hers. I couldn’t say no at that point.. I’m not a monster.”

Shouta rolls his eyes as he lets go of Hizashi to reclaim his seat. “Don’t bite the journal by mistake.”

Hitoshi’s cheeks gain a small flush of pink at the comment, indicating that it’s to late for that warning.

A few minutes later finds Eri running into the dining room, carrying a plate of sandwiches which she hands out. One to Hizashi, and one to Shouta, then keeping one for herself. “Toshi! Since you’re done you read while we eat! Dad, Poppa It’s Peanut Butter and Apple Jelly!” She takes a seat and immediately starts to eat her sandwich, her eyes never leaving her brother’s however as she waits for him to start.

Hitoshi sighs and flips through the notebook before starting the painstaking task he was charged with.. Reading out loud.

“It’s started again. I should have expected it! I was getting to comfortable. I know the rules. Head down, stay silent, don’t get in the way.. so why didn’t I follow them? Now it’s started again. I was in the way.. or to loud.. That’s why Monoma hit me in the head with his tray. I forgot to follow the rules.”

Hizashi pauses in taking a bite of his sandwich, a frown tugging at his lips as he hears how panicked the little listener’s words come across even from his tired son’s monotone reading.

“I didn’t realize that some of the 1-B kids moved from just verbal taunting to physical.” Shouta sighs as he looks down at his sandwich like it was the cause of this whole mess. “Some teacher I am.”

“You’re a great teacher dad. But you’re also human and humans make mistakes.” Hitoshi gives his dad a small grin before he continues to read.

“Final Exams.. What a disaster. I was partnered with Kacchan again and we were paired to go after All Might. That was a complete and utter mess. I t started out with Kacchan and I disagreeing on how to pass the exam.. it escalated from there.

He hit me with his gauntlets before the match and yelled at me.. so I yelled back. What was I thinking? Then All Might attacked and we still couldn’t work together. I got a guardrail shoved on me pinning me down, while All Might fought with Kacchan.

We ended up working together though. Kacchan let me use one of his gauntlets so that there was space between us and All Might. It felt like my shoulder got ripped out of socket.. is that what Kacchan feels ever time he uses them?

I’m not sure how I feel about Kacchan throwing me towards the Escape Gate with an explosion like I was the ball during Aizawa-sensei’s assessment test. But I know that All Might smashing into my back was excruciating especially on impact with the ground. But I still had to get up.. I had to save Kacchan, get us to the exit so we could pass. We did thankfully. “

Note: It’s been a few days since then and Recovery Girl healing those of us who needed it after the exam but I am still having trouble with my lower back. Not that it matters.”

There’s so much there that needs to be unpacked and Hitoshi knows it. Knows that he has to wait otherwise his family and himself will not be able to process what they have just learned.

After a moment he can’t stay quiet any longer, instead he looks up at his parents, “Why did he still want to be a hero after literally every one failed him?”

Shouta freezes because honestly how can he answer that? Answer the question that hits him like a ton of bricks easily knocking the wind out of him. Gathering his thoughts he gives the only answer that he can. “Some people are just born to be heroes. Izuku is one of them.”

“Aizaw a is mad at me. I broke my bones to save and protect Kota. But he gave me that disappointed look with a sigh. I wasn’t trying to break my limbs.. we were just up against Muscular. That and I was the only one who knew where Kota’s hiding place was at, and I wasn’t going to let him get hurt! Besides.. this was all my fault, it’s all because of this quirk that the class is targeted and on top of that, If I injure my arm again, I might lose it.

“Deku could lose his arm?” Eri tilts her head to the side confused, worry shining brightly in her eyes.

“I guess so princess, that wasn’t something I was informed of however. I understood his reasoning for why he was so badly injured. However in hindsight I did snap at him. I was worried and I showed it in the form of snapping because of him being reckless.” Letting out a sigh, Shouta slouched down in his chair.

Hizashi reached over giving Shouta’s shoulder a gentle squeeze of reassurance as he gave a nod to Hitoshi to continue reading.

“ All Might defeated All for One. He’s not dead but he is in custody and going to Tartarus. The league got away however so we still have to be on our guard. All Might won’t be able to fight anymore. His power left him while he was fighting AFO. It’s now my job to become the next symbol of peace, and I don’t want to.

I don’t want everyone to only rely on me. Because there will be times when I fail, it’s being human. I want to be able to rely on my classmates and other heroes, and isn’t that terrifying?

That’s if I decide to be a hero at all now. Because I have to decide if pursuing my dream is worth the chance of becoming paralyzed before I’m even out of high school with All Might as a teacher. Because my back is still bothering me and as I was reminded this isn’t my quirk. It’s still hi s.”

Hitoshi stops reading, throwing the journal across the table at parents. “I’m done reading. After reading all of Izuku’s journal so far All Might is a shit hero, and obviously even worse as a teacher. Who almost paralyzes a child for a damn test?”

“Language Hitoshi.” Shouta says halfheartedly because he agrees with his kid’s sentiment, just not the execution.

Hizashi can’t help but frown, “The little listener was learning to trust and rely on people, just in time for All Might to smack him back down.” He shakes his head as he picks up the journal figuring it’s his turn since he hasn’t read yet.

“How do I get out of this mess? Aizawa and All Might are going to be coming around for the dorm system, they need Inko’s permission. I mean I’m grateful for the dorm system as the apartment is only paid up for another 2 weeks so this is actually great timing. I can handle a short time on the streets, worst case scenario I get out of everyone’s hair by being killed. Actually.. maybe that’s the best case scenario.

But Inko.. I haven’t talked to her since the start of school. This is such a mess.”

“That’s never the best Deku! You’re my hero! I wouldn’t want you to be killed!” Eri cries out indignantly. Hurt that her hero has such little regard for himself, and that people caused this. People who were supposed to care about him and love him. It made her so mad. He gave her so much by saving her.. things that he apparently never had himself.

“All Might came by himself to talk about the dorms! I was able to tell him that ‘mom’ and I already agreed to let me go! I forged her signatures on some papers that I came up with for our agreement that said she gave written permission for me to move into the dorms as well as allowing me to sign for myself since she has to work all the time. With those, All Might let me sign for myself with no problem. Aizawa never would have let me get away with any of that.”

Hizashi looks over at his husband as the man lets out a tired groan.

“I never should have let that buffoon convince me to split up. It was logical so that we could get them all done in a decent amount of time. But I should have went to Izuku’s at minimum. I knew that All Might always had a special interest in him. That he was biased.”

Hitoshi lets out a snort of amusement, “You didn’t know how bad his ignorance was dad.”

“No but thinking anything else was illogical.” Shouta runs his hands down his face before nodding to Hizashi to continue.

Hizashi frowns as he does a quick skim of the page then looks back up at Shouta. “I think that it’s best we continue this when we head to bed for the night.”

“Is it bad Poppa?” Eri looks up at Hizashi tears already starting as she imagines just what could have them stop reading.

Hizashi gets up and wraps his arms around Eri with a soft smile. “Yeah baby bear it is. But it’s not so much him being hurt as we get to see how his mind was so unhappy and I don’t want you to see that okay?”

Eri nods hesitantly as she hugs her poppa in return.

Chapter Text

Journal Entry

Journal thoughts

Later that night, Hizashi walks into his and Shouta’s room with the journal and looks at his husband who is sitting on the bed papers in hand. “Ready panther?”

Shouta looks up from the paper he’s grading, then down at his pile seeing that he’s on the last one. Finishing it up real quick, he sets the papers on his night table. “Not really, but it needs to be done.”

Hizashi moves to sit in the bed and snuggles up to the other man while opening the journal.

“There’s still a week left till the dorm system is ready and we can move in but I had to leave the apartment a few days ago. So I am officially homeless. I moved all my notebooks to the school and locked them in my locker so they are safer than being with me.

I’ve learnt a lot already through this and searching on my phone. Like I can go to a café to do homework, and as long as I order something, then I can stay long enough to charge my phone! Also, some stores give free samples of food which isn’t very filling but it’s something different than ramen. Also, Instant ramen is cheap. I can go to the park and fill the cup with the water and just let it set for a bit and it turns out fine. It’s not hot but it’s food!

Showering seems to be one of the hardest but it’s still not so bad. Most gas stations have a public restroom, and since I go daily to buy ramen and a drink so I don’t have to carry anything extra, I just wash off using a wash cloth that I made sure to pack from home and since we shower after Heroics class it’s all fine!

Laundry so far has been the hardest. I can only carry 2 uniforms, and an extra set of clothes with me. Plus what I wear. But I have 2 extra sets of clothes in my gym locker at school so that I can switch them out. That leaves me with laundry day being Saturday at the laundromat and washing the uniform in a bucket one I get out of school and immediately change. That way by the day after next it should be mostly if not all the way dry in time for me to go to school.

Also, I found an abandoned building to sleep in, so I’m safe again!”

Hizashi stops reading taking a breath as he looks up at the ceiling his emotions getting the best of him as tears well in his eyes silently. “He was trying so hard to convince himself that he was happy, that everything was okay when it really wasn’t. I just.. the poor little listener.”

Shouta reaches over taking the journal from his husband, not wanting to deal with the fact that one of his students thought that staying in an abandoned building was safe.

"“A worthless, quirkless wonder like you..”

That’s what Kacchan said when he wanted to talk outside after curfew. I tried to explain that the license exam I don’t think it judges our actual abilities.

“Gutter Trash.”

He’s mad about Kamino, mad that All Might took an interest in me. He wouldn’t listen when I said we shouldn’t fight, that we could spar in a training room, that we can’t do this! I had to use my quirk to dodge and for self defense.

But when he was blaming himself for All Might losing his power? I knew I had to fight, to give him that outlet. Because I know what it’s like to let the negativity in your mind slowly devour you.

Aizawa-Sensei was mad but just sent us to Recovery Girl, told us not to rely on her quirk. Funny seeing as since starting U. A I’ve already had 2 surgeries because she refuses to treat me. Even though her and Nedzu know why I had no control.”

Shouta glares as he activates his quirk just in time to keep his loud husband from using his quirk. “Are you done Hizashi?”

After a moment Hizashi nods to the red eyed man. Waiting for his quirk to return before smiling sadly at his husband. “Sorry Shou, but the little listener has had 2 surgeries while at U.A? Even though apparently Recovery Girl knew what was going on?”

Shouta huffs at his husband even though he gives a nod of agreement, “Nedzu can deal with that.”

“Things Nighteye said to me:

“How can you contribute to society? In what way does your presence benefit others?”    By dying. My presence doesn’t. I know that I’m a worthless deku.

“As I thought, One for All should have gone to Mirio.”    You’re right, Mirio would have been much better suited to All Might’s quirk.

“The more I see...The more I fail to understand why it had to be you.”    I don’t know why it was me. I honestly don’t think All Might even knows why me anymore. I’m nothing but a problem, and that’s all I have ever been.

“Nobody.”    Nobody, nothing, invisible, I don’t deserve to exist.

“You will gain the experience in this pro hero office that will make you very aware of who is best suited to that power.”    I already know that I’m not suited to this power. I’ve felt the blow back of how this quirk is to strong for my body, how it’s likely to kill me if I don’t do it myself. I know all of this! Because I feel it! I feel it slowly tearing me apart inside, like it’s a beast locked inside of a cage trying to get out.

Those are all things that Nighteye said before agreeing to accept me as a work study. Even then he only accepted me in the hopes of making me give up One for All.”

“What kind of hero says that to a child?! He could have just declined the work study.” Hizashi tugs one of his pillows into his lap and squeezes it tight. Trying desperately to quietly release some of his anger while tears run down his cheeks.

Shouta lets out a heavy breath as he gets hit again by just how much he utterly failed one of his students. It takes a good few minutes for him to gain enough composure to continue reading.

“I can’t get her out of my head. Her frightened tear filled red eyes. Everything feels so muddled like I’m drowning. It’s like the Sludge villain all over again. I must be slipping in class as well because Aizawa-Sensei he would remove me from work studies if I didn’t keep up on my school work.

How can I do better when I can’t focus? When I’m drowning and all I ear is Eri’s small broken voice begging for help. When I just found out that All Might is going to die this year or next.”

Shouta stops and looks over at his husband giving a small nod of his head in understanding. “This is why you wanted us to read it alone now.”

Hizashi nods, “I didn’t want Eri to get upset at the reminder of what happened. Not only that but.. we don’t know how his mind was while the rescue was happening.”

““Human cells and blood.”

“Turning his own daughter’s body into bullets.”

“Your kids had just rescued the girl.”

“If she’s even still alive.”

“Ending your work studies.”

“Haven’t earned my trust.”

“Problem Child.”

I should have rescued her.. I know I should have. What kind of hero abandons a frightened child when they are clinging to you while begging you to not let go. I had to leave her to be tortured by her father. She may not even be alive now and it would be all my fault.

Aizawa-Sensei has every right to end my work studies. He can’t trust me, I can’t trust him.. Hell I can’t even trust myself. I just.. I’d give anything to switch places so that Eri was safe.”

Shouta closes the journal then moves to set it aside before closing his eyes. “Apparently it wasn’t very good.”

“No, apparently it wasn’t. I know this is hard on you, but I’m so proud of you Shou.” Hizashi leans against his husband trying to get comfortable.

“We still have a few more pages.. depending on how the meeting goes tomorrow we could possibly finish it up then. As for proud.. Hizashi he wouldn’t be in a coma if I had paid more attention. This is my fault.”

Shaking his head, Hizashi reaches up and tugs one of Shouta’s hands into his carefully intertwining their fingers together. “This isn’t your fault. It seems to me a lot of mistakes were made. But you’re right. If it wasn’t for you he wouldn’t be in a coma. He would probably be dead.”

Shouta brings their hands up to place a gentle kiss to the back of Hizashi’s hand then gives a small sigh in response. “Arguing is illogical. Just go to sleep Zashi.”

Chapter Text

Journal Entry

Journaled thoughts

Shouta hated going into things unprepared, but he didn’t have much of a choice this time. Hizashi had apparently decided to hide the journal while he was out on patrol. So now here he is standing in front of Aldera Junior High School wishing that he could have finished the journal in case there was something that could have prepared him for today.

“Ah Ha!” A loud honk comes from his right, causing Shouta to turn just slightly. He’s never been more grateful in his life that he left his cockatoo of a husband at home. Because just looking at the short, portly man he knows today is going to give him a headache.

The short man approaches rather quickly considering the distance between them and it’s easy to tell he has some kind of a mutation quirk. Blonde hair cut into a bowl shape with big bushy red eye brows, skin more of a light pink, and the man’s nose. It’s abnormally large and bulbous.

“You must be the Representative from U.A that Nedzu was sending over… Aizawa correct?”

Shouta tips his head forward just the slightest amount in a nod. “Yes, and you are?”

The man chuckles and unfortunately as he does, loud obnoxious honks escape him. “I’m the principal of this fine establishment! Principal Giichi.”

Shouta looks back at the school noting the cracks in the walls, how there seems to be plants growing in the gutters and gives it an unimpressed look. “Let’s just get this over with shall we? I’m sure you have plenty to do as a principal with students returning tomorrow, and Nedzu would appreciate the opportunity to see if there was any students who slipped through the cracks before our own students return as well.”

Giichi nods in agreement as he heads towards his school, “Completely understandable. Right this way.”

Shouta follows silently behind the other man.

“I must admit I was rather surprised when Nedzu himself reached out to me regarding possibly recruiting a few students that may have slipped through the cracks.. well I couldn’t say no. He mentioned how it could be beneficial to have a steady stream of students come from a single school, apparently schools can get recognition as well as funding for things like that.” Giichi seems oblivious to the fact that Shouta hasn’t said a word on their walk to his office.

Shouta rolls his eyes behind Giichi’s back as they finally make it to the Principal’s office. “He’s right, you must be proud.”

“Oh yes! Seeing Bakugo take first place during the Sport’s Festival was a highlight for all of us here!”

Blinking slowly Shouta turned to watch the man as he went about pulling out a few files from a filing cabinet in the corner of the room. “I know the feeling. Bakugo is in my class, so I was quite proud of him.”

Giichi places the folders down on top of a gray plastic tote that sits on his desk while flashing Shouta a smile, as if the compliment towards Bakugo was a direct compliment to the man himself.

“I figured Nedzu wouldn’t mind so I included a few of the student files for a couple of our second and third year students.”

Shouta nods as he walks over picking up the files and placing them inside the tote. “I’ll let him know, thank you for your time.”

Giichi moves to open the door following Shouta out, “Of course, please let us know if there is anything else that we can do for you all at U.A.”

Shouta gives a nod before carrying the tote with him to the car he borrowed from Hizashi.

After dropping the tote off with Nedzu and having the customary tea, Shouta finally made it home. Immediately he heads to his room and flops down unceremoniously onto the bed.

“Long morning babe?”

Shouta glances over at the blond man getting dressed in his hero costume a frown on his face. “The principal is an obnoxious oaf. He seems more concerned about recognition than anything else. He doesn’t even seem to remember Izuku.”

Hizashi flips his head upside down and brushes his hair, “Unfortunately that may be the reason he’s so willing to just give over the footage. Think about it if he actually remembered the little listener then he probably wouldn’t have been as forth coming with the security footage.”

Shouta nods in agreement, “That’s true.. now where’s the journal.”

Hizashi grabs the journal off the dresser and tosses it to his husband. “Here you go, read it out loud while I get ready though. Nem wanted to spend time with Eri and Hitoshi today before break ended so we don’t have to worry about them overhearing.

Shouta nods and flips through the journal till he gets to where they last left off.

“I had to leave her behind. This little girl who had such sad apple red eyes and bandages covering her arms and legs. She clung to me crying, begging me not to go, to help her. Yet instead.. I had to leave her. I had to abandon a frightened and injured child. That’s not being a hero.”

Shouta reaches over absentmindedly petting the cat in the bed. Not bothering to look and see which one has decided to join him. The movement just acting as a balm to his guilt ridden heart.

“I can’t get her out of my head. Her frightened tear filled eyes, her soft broken plea for help. Everything feels so muddled like I’m drowning again. It’s the sludge villain all over again. I must be starting to slip in my class work as well because Aizawa said he would remove me from work studies.

How can I do better when I can’t focus? When I feel like I’m drowning, and all I hear is Eri’s voice begging for help? Asking me why I left her? Why I didn’t save her..”

Hizashi slows his movements of getting ready. Tears starting to pool in his eyes at the idea of one of their students suffering so much on their own.

“Human Cells and Blood.” Overhaul, he takes these from someone living.. the bandages. Oh No! Poor Eri!

“Turning his own daughter’s body into bullets.” What have I done? How can I even claim to be a hero? He’s using his own daughter to make these bullets and I just left her there.

“Your kids had just rescued the girl.” I know. I had her in my arms, I had her head pressed into my shoulder, I didn’t want her to see any possible fight, but ultimately I let her go.

“If she’s even still alive.” Please.. Eri you have to be alive. I’ll happily trade anything. I’ll even take your place. I don’t mind at all. You just have to be safe. Please..I’m so sorry I didn’t save you.”

“Shou.. did they really say that?” Hizashi’s voice breaks as he turns his full attention to the dark haired man, his eyes begging for it to be some kind of cruel joke.

Shouta glances over at the blond a frown tugging at his lips as he opens his arms for his partner. “I’m sorry Zashi.”

Hizashi takes a few long strides till he’s in front of his husband and just collapses in the other man’s arms. Tapping his fingers against the journal after a few moments.

Taking the hint, Shouta continues to read with one arm wrapped around Hizashi’s waist.

“We saved her. We were able to save Eri! However she’s not doing so hot. She’s been running a fever and she’s currently in isolation but still she’s alright! We saved her. We did lose someone though, and that was Sir Nighteye. He didn’t make it and Mirio lost his quirk.

I offered Mirio One for All. I know that’s what Nighteye would have wanted, plus I already know the pain of being quirkless. I don’t want Mirio to have to experience that. But.. Mirio said no. He was holding out hope that he would get his own back because he didn’t want me upset about not having a quirk.

I think Mirio may be the only person who’s ever been concerned about my feelings before..”

Hizashi pushes himself up and out of Shouta’s arms shaking his head. “Nope, sorry Shou. I can’t do anymore. You can keep reading if you like, but I can’t. I refuse to become all red and splotchy from sobbing my heart out right before patrol. I love you but no.” Leaning down he places a gentle kiss to Shouta’s lips before turning on his heal to finish getting ready.

Shouta snorts in amusement at the dramatic antics before setting the journal aside as he glances at his napping cat. Maybe she had the right idea and it was nap time, it had been a long morning so far, and Hizashi had said that he could continue reading later.

With that thought in mind, Shouta took the cats lead and dozed off into a restless slumber.

Chapter Text

Journal Entry

Waking up from his nap Shouta glances around noting that the house is completely quiet, meaning that his kids were still out and Hizashi was still at work. That means he doesn’t have to get up. That he can stay in bed and relax. Or.. he can go visit his kid. Decision made, Shouta starts to untangle himself from the blanket that he has somehow gotten himself trapped in.

After successfully getting himself free, he takes a moment to straighten his clothes from his meeting that morning, so they don’t look so sleep ruffled. Leaving the room he paused for just a moment to grab the journal before heading out the door.

Arriving at the hospital a bit later, Shouta goes through all the steps to get into the now familiar hospital room and immediately moves to sit in a chair next to the bed. “Hey kiddo, Mind if I sit and keep you company for a bit? I’m just going to be doing some reading.”

Getting comfortable, Shouta leans the journal against Izuku so that he can have a hand free, which he promptly uses to hold Izuku’s hand as he starts to read quietly.

We went to Sir Nighteye’s funeral today and I’m honestly struggling. I didn’t get to prove to him that I’m worthy of All Might’s quirk. That he didn’t make a mistake taking me on for work studies. I didn’t get to tell him I’m sorry for not being good enough to protect Eri. To help Mirio.. To save him.

Most importantly, I didn’t get to tell him he was right.

Shouta glances over at the kid laying in front of him a frown marring his features. “He wasn’t right kid. Sir Nighteye should never have treated you the way that he did. I’m sorry that he never got to realize how much of a hero you already are.”

The one to notice my struggling was Aoyama. Can you believe it? Apparently the doctors told him when he was younger that his body is ill-suited for his quirk. So he didn’t want me to face my pain alone since it’s obvious that we share that same struggle.

He’s going to be a great hero some day. To bad I probably won’t be around to see it.

Shouta groans at the implications of that. Letting go of Izuku’s hand, he pulls out his phone and sends off a message to Nedzu asking if he knew about the situation with Aoyama.

“While I appreciate the fact that you had at least someone to confide in, I can’t condone the fact that no one told me that Aoyama’s body was ill-suited to his quirk.”

Eri wanted to see me today, so I got to tell her my name.. well the name I’m used to. We even found out that she likes apples. She tried to smile for us but ended up just apologizing because she says she’s not good at smiling.

We haven’t really saved her have we? Because as long as she can’t smile or have fun.. then she’s not really been saved.

“She’s made a lot of progress kid. Says most of it is thanks to you. She misses you. So if for no other reason, you need to at least wake up for Eri.”

All Might is having me work in the forest on long ranged attacks. Told me again that no one can know. All these secrets are taking their toll on me. I didn’t realize this was going to be so hard. That even as a hero I wouldn’t be able to rely on fellow heroes.

My back still gives me trouble from final exams, I have chronic pain in my hands, and ever since Kacchan and I fought after the license exam I can’t hear very well on my right side. All I have ever wanted was to be a hero. But.. Is it actually worth it?

Shouta clenches the railing of the hospital bed, eyes flashing red in his anger. “Why couldn’t you just trust me? I get it that you never had reason to trust anyone else, but didn’t I show that I cared during the USJ? I would have helped you with the pain. Gotten something to help you hear, I don’t know what was needed, but I would do it. You deserve to be a hero, you have so much potential.”

Haunted. My quirk is haunted. I can see the past users in my mind like they summoned me. I can hear them, see scenes from their past. I can’t speak however, and from my nose down I feel nothing at all. Also, I only have one hand. All Might told me the vestiges can’t interfere or influence me but… The first. He talked to me. He touched my hand. It ended with the predecessors staring back at me.

Shouta glanced over at the greenette in the bed while shaking his head. “Really kid? A haunted quirk?” He watches the kid for a few looking for any signs of movement from the boy a frown tugging at his features. This whole thing clearly weighing on him.

Run! I can’t control it. It hurts. It’s exploding out of me. Stop. Stop it please! I don’t want to hurt anyone!

Uraraka.. Shinsou, they saved me. I even got to see the vestiges again. The one I saw when Shinsou brainwashed me.. he said that the tendrils are called Black Whip. That it was his quirk. That his quirk and the other predecessors’ quirk factors mixed into the core of One for All and they all have been growing stronger than they were before. He told me that controlling my heart is important. That I’m going to end up getting 6 more quirks. How am I going to explain that?

Shouta drops his head against the bed rail letting out a soft groan. “Okay. It’s alright kid. 6 more quirks? We’ll work through that together alright? From what I’ve read each time that Shinsou has brainwashed you, you have gotten to see the previous users of One for All, so we can get him to help as well. You won’t have to go through this alone.”

Eri still hates her quirk. I think it’s just that she hates what can happen so she’s afraid. I understand that completely. Not knowing what will happen like when Blackwhip manifested, and knowing that there are still more to manifest. To be fair, I understand a lot about her. I know she hates her scars, so I showed her mine. She asked about each one and I told her about them so she knew that she wasn’t alone. It was hard but she deserves to know that she’s not alone, even in that.

I know she has nightmares still and that she sometimes thinks she’s just not worth it. I told her that her feelings matter and that if she is feeling that way to tell someone. That those close to her truly care about her and think she’s worth far more than she thinks of herself. That everyone has feelings like that at times, and it’s alright. But she should never have to go through it alone.

“Even with as much as you were suffering you still were looking out for Eri. I’m sorry that I failed to notice. If you still choose to be a hero in the future kid, I will support you. The correct way this time, giving you the attention you need. If you choose not to, well then no matter what I’ll be here for you kid.”

They let us all go home for the holidays and even though I have no where to go.. I’m really glad. I’m so tired of smiling. Tired of pretending everything is okay. I’m just so very tired. I think this will be my last entry. I just can’t keep doing this anymore. I can’t keep pretending that everything is alright, smiling and helping people who don’t even notice that they’re not the only ones breaking. I’m tired of no one ever caring about me even just a little. So.. Goodbye Journal. Thanks for helping me fake it. You’re the one thing I could always count on.

Shouta leans back in his chair moving both hands to gently clasp one of Izuku’s between his own. “I’m sorry for failing you, and I know you’re tired but I need you to wake up Izuku. So that we can show you what you’ve been missing.” Letting go of Izuku’s hand he turns back to the journal and nearly drops it. Because there in the journal is Izuku’s note, addressed to himself and the other faculty at U.A, which Shouta can’t bring himself to read. Not yet. Not with his kid still laying in the hospital.

Chapter Text

Journal Letter

Shouta was not having a good day and it had only just begun. After he had gotten home from the hospital yesterday he had called Nedzu to let him know that he had finally finished the journal besides for the letter in it. Only to be informed that they would go over it while at the staff meeting in the morning.

So now here he is. Sitting in the conference room with the rest of the faculty that bothered to show up. Nedzu holding the journal in his paws as sits at the head of the table. “As some of you know, there has been an unfortunate incident with one of our first year students. Those of you that are not yet aware, you will be once I read this. The extent of your knowledge depends on what those of us in the know deem to be necessary. Now! Shall I read this or would you like to do the honors Aizawa?”

Shouta looks over at his boss and waves a hand dismissively.

“Excellent. I’ll read it then! No interrupting until I’m through!” With that warning Nedzu opens the book to the letter inside reading over it quickly to himself he gives a nod before starting to read aloud. He’s careful to use his own experiences as an experiment to empathize with the emotions so clearly written. Quickly coming to the realization that for the first time in a long time he’s afraid. Afraid that he’ll not do this broken child’s letter justice. That he won’t get the emotions right. Pushing his fear aside he focuses on his task.

“Dear U.A Staff,

What does it mean to be a hero? I used to think that being a hero meant saving everyone with a smile. That it meant keeping people safe to begin with. But over time I have learned that’s not actually the case.

Being a hero means that saving someone only matters if the media is present. It means having double standards on who you can confide in. It means going behind other people’s backs. Never relying on your fellow heroes, and always shouldering everything on your own.

I learned that a hero is trained to see the signs of someone in a bad situation. But the moment that they hide most of those signs to try and be treated normally, the person is wrote off as just being a nervous jumpy kid, or a quiet child, or they’re just stupid. So it’s no longer a hero’s concern. I learned that as soon as it’s a child of someone powerful or a prominent family there’s nothing a hero can do.

I have learned so much about being a hero these last few months while attending U.A. One that would save everyone with a smile. No matter how big or mundane the task, and regardless of the money, glory, or even the hero rankings.

But even here at U.A that’s not a realistic dream is it? Because the most important lessons I have learned while here? Heroes are still adults who can’t be trusted, and Heroes don’t always save people.

After all, in a school full of heroes and heroes in training.. No one saved me.

So now, I’m dead. Dead because yet another school nurse refused to treat me. Dead because no one else took the time to save the other students that were slowly fading away, so I did. Dead because no one thought it necessary to have traumatized teenagers go to counseling. Dead due to the negligence of U.A as a whole. Yet even with that being said, you all are not the actual reason I died.

No. That belongs to two people, and those two people alone.

I died because All Might told a quirkless child to be realistic after crushing his dreams of being a hero. Died because he immediately left that same child alone on a rooftop. Did you know the mortality rate of jumping off a 7 story building is 90%? That most of the buildings in Musutafu stand taller than that? I did, I’ve known that fact for years now, after all the only thing realistic for a quirkless child is to either be killed in hate crimes or them killing themselves.

I died because that same day Katsuki Bakugo told that same quirkless kid to take a swan dive off the roof. Died because I was constantly paired up with him because we were rivals. Well we were never rivals. He was my bully and I his constant victim. By the way, Thank you for constantly putting me in an abusive situation. That’s real hero like right there. I died because of the constant burns I’ve received from him since I was 4 years old. The explosions making my skin more scar tissue than anything else. The never ending verbal abuse.. but he’s just hot headed right? Wrong. Katsuki is no more than a villain. Just like All Might at this point. I’m dead because of them and honestly? I’m glad.

I’m glad I’m dead because I’m so tired of pretending to be happy, and help ing people when all they are is conceited selfish wannabe heroes. I used to think being saved by Stain was an insult. Being told that he wouldn’t kill me all because I wanted to protect those that were fallen first was scary. But you know what? He’s right. From what I’ve seen and experienced, most of the hero course students and even a lot of the teachers are fake heroes.

So yeah. I’m glad I’m dead. Because I’d rather be dead than be a villain, and at this point? I’d rather be a villain than be some fake hero. So thank you for failing me. For never seeing the signs. For every single time that I was paired against my abuser, and got no medical treatment but what I could do myself. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you for prioritizing strength over being a decent person.

Sincerely,

A worthless Deku.

P.S. If my class does ask what happened to me? Tell them the truth. They deserve to know how weak I am. Plus, I want the ones that I helped to know, that even while I was helping them, I was suffering too. Not because I want to hurt them, but they deserve to be able to reflect and see if they could have done anything to change it. They deserve the chance to become better heroes by learning from what happened.

Oh and Mr Aizawa? Thank you for being the best teacher I have ever had. For being a true hero, that’s not in it for the fame, glory, anything like that. Just in it to make a difference and help people. Even at the cost of yourself as we seen at the USJ. Sorry that I wasted so much of your time. I have analysis notebooks in my locker, you can do whatever you want with them. I figured you’re the person they’d be safest with. Thanks for letting me dream a little longer. I appreciate it. You made these last few months the best ones of my life. So thank you, and please.. make sure to take care of Eri.

Nedzu closes the notebook and looks around the table at his staff, not surprised in the slightest at the varying reactions that he sees. “As you all can see, we have lost one of our own. A child that we have all failed not just as heroes, but as teachers as well.”

“I’m sorry but what? That can’t be right. Deku.. that’s the name of the green haired kid in 1-A right? He wouldn’t do something like this.” Vlad frowns clearly confused because the letter doesn’t match what he knows of the kid.

“Vlad’s right. He’s such a sunshine child, heck his class calls him a cinnamon roll! This can’t be real!” Midnight rubs her eyes, trying to get the tears to stop falling. “And what does he mean not getting treatment?! Everyone knows that the injured goes to Chiyo.”

“Just what he said Nem. The kid was partially deaf from Bakugo’s explosions. His back was still bothering him from All Might’s attack during finals. I found him bleeding out in a pile of trash New Year’s Eve while I was on patrol.” Shouta leans forward tired eyes blazing red as he turns to face Chiyo.

Recovery Girl places her hands on the table in front of her as she looks down, refusing to meet the gazes of her colleagues. “He kept injuring himself. I was just trying to give him some tough love where he would be more cautious with his quirk. I never meant that I wouldn’t treat any of his wounds.”

“Well that’s exactly how my kid took it!” Shouta all but snarls, “You told a child who has been deprived common decency that you wouldn’t help him!”

Hizashi reaches over and places a hand on Shouta’s shoulder. “Shou.. You have to calm down. I know you’re mad but that’s not going to change anything. You need to pull yourself together before we’re over run by the kids coming back.”

Shouta glares at the hand on his shoulder for a moment like all he wants to do is bite it before letting his head fall down onto the table in front of him. “All the kids but one you mean.”

“That’s enough of that Aizawa. I know this isn’t a position that anyone wants to be in, but we also have to think about the students that are returning and I believe that Midoriya was correct in some of his statements. We should have taken it upon ourselves to insist that they all have counseling especially with everything that your class has gone through already. Inui, I trust that you can go about making a counseling schedule for 1-A even if it’s just an evaluation to see who needs follow up sessions, yes? Midnight, Yamada, The two of you will be going through the rest of class 1-A to see who else was missed. Just because Midoriya helped them doesn’t mean that they can’t relapse especially if they found out that the kid that helped them is no longer with us. Chiyo, You and I have a meeting later.”

Those with assignments or meetings nod their heads in understanding, knowing that their roles are the only thing keeping them from losing another one of their students.

“Perfect! Now head to your classes before your kids get there, and lets have another great semester.” Nedzu smiles before walking out of the conference room, letting the teachers go do their own thing.

Chapter Text

Thoughts

Walking into his classroom Shouta stopped just inside the doorway. Suddenly hit by how hard this was going to be. How he was going to have to look at the now empty desk in his room for an indefinite amount of time. How he was going to have to explain to some degree why Iz.. No. It’s Midoriya while at school.. Explain why he wasn’t at school.

I won’t get to hear the kid’s muttering anytime soon. And doesn’t that hurt to realize.

Hitoshi looks up from his desk blinking tiredly at his dad for a moment before getting up and making his way slowly to the man frozen in place. Placing a grounding hand on Aizawa’s shoulder, he is suddenly thankful that none of his new classmates are there yet to witness this interaction. “Dad? It’s Hitoshi. I need you to breathe.”

Shouta glances at Hitoshi as he blinks back to focus. “Thanks Kid.” He gives his son a slight nod with the barest of smiles to show his kid that he’s proud of him. Then he continues moving to the front of the room to his own seat.

Hitoshi watches his dad for a moment more before heading back to his desk, his eyes lingering on the desk that he knows belongs to Izuku.

It’s not long until lunch when Shouta’s struggling starts to boil over. His carefully crafted mask cracking each time he catches one of his students glance at the empty desk. Luckily, he knows his hell class well enough to brace himself just in time for one of his students to voice the question he’s been hoping to avoid all morning.

“Mister Aizawa? Where’s Deku?”

Looking over at Uraraka, he clenches his fists behind his desk to keep his composure. “Midoriya required a longer break due to personal reasons and was granted it by Nedzu. Now all of you head to lunch.”

Shouta doesn’t wait for his class to leave, instead leaving his class reps in charge as he makes his way to the teachers' lounge.

Walking into the lounge, Shouta is stopped by the booming voice of the colleague that deemed the morning staff meeting unimportant enough to attend.

“Ah Aizawa! Have you seen Young Midoriya?”

Shouta sighs as he glances at the gaunt blond man in exasperation. “No, I haven’t.” Turning his back to Yagi, Shouta makes his way to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup of his main form of sustenance.

Unaware of the tension starting to form in the air, Yagi scratches his chin idly in thought. “Hmm this is quite unlike him don’t you think?”

“He could have just gotten sick while on break.” Shouta replies in an effort to dismiss the blond idiot before taking a sip of his coffee.

“A perfect opportunity to be training then, heroics stop for nothing.”

Turning to face the blond who refuses to let the subject drop, Shouta barely keeps from growling. “Are you done? Because If you were at the meeting this morning you would know where Midoriya is.”

“Ah so you do know where I can find Young Midoriya!”

Shouta glares at Yagi, “No, I don’t know where Midoriya is. But I do know about him. I found him New Years Eve bleeding out in a pile of trash after he tried to kill himself!”

Yagi momentarily chokes on the blood he coughs up, his blue eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Then where’s my quirk? Did he at least pass it on?”

“That’s your biggest concern after I tell you one of our students tried to kill himself? Really Yagi and what do you mean where is your quirk?” Onyx eyes dart as Shouta takes in every movement the other man makes, no matter how small.

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly Yagi glances around the room, noticing how some of the other teachers have made it into the lounge. “Ah.. I meant.. Young Midoriya’s quirk? How is it holding up?”

“How is it holding up? Tell me, how would a quirk hold up with the user being dead?”

“Dead? I thought you said tried to..” Yagi turns his face downcast for a moment before he starts to pace back and forth. “How could Young Midoriya be so irresponsible?” Freezing mid-step he turns his head to glance back at Shouta in horror, as he clearly did not mean to say that aloud.

Shouta turns to face Yagi, coffee cup clattering to the floor as his carefully crafted control snaps. Onyx eyes glow an eerie crimson red as he stares at the retired pro in absolute loathing, dark locks of ebony flare out around his head as his capture weapon starts to rise.

“Irresponsible? You’re calling Midoriya irresponsible? Need I remind you Toshinori that it was you, who gave a child your quirk which has super villains after it. You who thought cleaning a beach was enough training for the Entrance Exam. Who didn’t bother to get a previously quirkless child quirk counseling. You who allowed a child try to learn control by himself instead of relying on his other more qualified teachers.”

Shouta snaps his capture weapon out wrapping it around a stunned Yagi, leaving the other man suspended in the air. “I know everything. From how you saved Midoriya from the sludge villain and didn’t take him to the hospital and instead crushed his dreams on top of a roof then proceeded to leave him there. To how he was going to develop 6 more quirks. I know it all and you know who I think is irresponsible in this whole scenario? You, Yagi Toshinori and in Midoriya’s note from the staff meeting you missed? He says you’re the reason he’s dead.”

Shouta drops the man unceremoniously on the floor, before turning and walking to his designated spot in the lounge. Pulling out his eye drops and quickly putting them in, not bothering to look back at the bumbling idiot on the floor.

Yagi sits on the floor among the spilled coffee and broken cup, hand gripping his chest as he coughs up blood for a moment. He doesn’t bother to get up, instead just staring at his reflection in the black coffee.

The other teachers in the lounge slowly start moving as they get over the shock they felt at what they just witnessed.

“What did you mean by give a quirk, that’s impossible?” Vlad looks at Aizawa, clearly not one for reading social ques.

“Is it really though?” Nemuri clasps her hands together as she looks from the man on the floor to her friend, then finally to Vlad. “We know that there is at least one instance of someone taking quirks for themselves. Is it really that hard to believe there may be a quirk that can be passed down?”

Hizashi glances over at his husband for just a moment. “Midoriya’s quirk was called One for All, which was passed down from Yagi himself. According to what we know from Midoriya’s journal, the original holder of One for All was All For One’s brother.”

Yagi looks up at the other blond man clearly about to protest, but the piercing green eyes that turn to stare at him has him shutting his mouth sharply.

Vlad runs a hand down his face in exasperation. “If it wasn’t for the kid’s letter this morning I would think he could be the traitor with a quirk that has history like that.. but he did admit that he’d rather be dead than be a villain.” That being said Vlad looks up at the clock, groaning as he sees the time. “Get yourself together Toshinori. You have heroics with my class today and we can’t let those 1-A brats get ahead of them.”

Shouta gives the other heroics homeroom teacher a slight nod in thanks as he watches the two walk out. Turning his attention to the other occupants he notices that most of the other staff has left, just his husband, Nemuri, and Inui remain.

After a moment of deliberation he turns his attention back to Hizashi, giving the man a small nod of his head before heading to his own class. Pausing only slightly outside of the lounge as he hears his husband invite the two other remaining staff to join them this evening.

The rest of the day thankfully goes by without much of a hitch. That is until classes dismiss for the day. To say he wasn’t surprised to see the students in front of him would be a lie, at least with one of them.

He had fully expected to have the self proclaimed Deku-squad staying after class, but the two in front of him had waved them on without a care in the world.

“Excuse me Mr. Aizawa, but Todoroki and I were wondering more about Izuku. We know that you said that his absence was due to personal reasons, and we’re concerned. Is he alright?”

Looking over the two recommendation students Shouta fights the urge to sigh. Because after reading the journal and hearing the letter.. of course these two are the ones that his kid helped. “All I can tell you right now is that he is safe.”

“If you end up being able to tell us more will you? Midoriya was the first one to care enough to try and help me. Because of him I’ve been able to use my fire side without the negative connotations that doing so used to have.”

Shouta hides the shock he feels looking at Todoroki and seeing past the usual blank face, and instead seeing the blazing determination in the dual user’s eyes.

“Izuku was the one to figure out that I wasn’t eating nearly enough for my quirk. He suggested that I try an internship with Fat Gum at some point due to the similarities of our quirks. My quirk works by converting the excess lipids in my body into my creations. Please Mr. Aizawa, we just want to be able to help him, the same way he helped us.”

Shouta gives a slight nod to the kids, “I’ll see what I can do, in return I would like both of you to tell Midnight and Present Mic what you both just told me. Neither of you are in trouble we just want to make sure that you are getting the support you both need. While that would usually fall to me as your homeroom teacher, I don’t want either of you or Midoriya to think that you didn’t deserve my full attention. So since I am a bit preoccupied with Midoriya right now, I trust Mic and Midnight to be there for you.”

Momo shares a look with Todoroki before turning her attention back to Aizawa a soft smile playing at her lips. “Of course we’ll go find them now to tell them.. and Mr. Aizawa? Thanks for caring.”

Chapter Text

Later that evening has Shouta standing with his husband and two colleagues in the Hero ward in front of Izuku’s room clearly trying to decide how they want to split up to go in.

“You can all go in. Nedzu here said that you were all working on his case correct? I’ll let Dr. Ayreon know that Izuku has visitors.” The head nurse flashes them a smile before heading further down the hall.

Hearing the voice, the four pro heroes turn to watch as the nurse walks away leaving only their boss standing in front of them.

Shouta pauses only briefly before turning back around and entering in his hero code to allow them into the room. Letting everyone else go ahead of him, he stays back for a moment waiting for his boss. “What brought you here Nedzu?”

“I don’t know what you mean Aizawa, I’m just visiting one of our students!”

“You don’t make social visits due to there being to many people around.” Aizawa stares at the white rat his gaze beyond exhausted.

Nedzu places his paws together in thought before looking up at the dark haired man. “The hospital asked me to come in. They have some new test results in.”

Shouta gives a sharp nod of his head as he offers the chimera a hand up to sit on his shoulder. “Keep me informed?”

Nedzu accepts the offer and gets situated seated on Shouta’s shoulder. “But of course! This is our student!”

Shouta nods as he walks into the room that has become all to familiar.

Nemuri quickly walks to the bed a hand shaking ever so slightly as she reaches out to touch the teen’s hand, “Green Bean.. You could have come to us. We would have helped it didn’t have to get to this point.”

Inui watches his colleague for a moment before walking over to the bed and glancing down at the skin on Izuku’s upper chest and arms that is exposed. A snarl escaping him as he sees all the scars just in those small areas. “What all happened to this kid?”

Hizashi pulls out the journal from his bag and carefully tosses it to Inui, “This is his journal you can go ahead and read it.”

Inui catches the book and immediately moves back to the couch in the room, only a bit surprised to see Nem following him.

“I want to read it too! Might as well get caught up at the same time.”

It’s not long after they settle in to read the journal that the door opens up again revealing a man dressed in a suit and holding a chart. “I apologize for interrupting, My name is Dr. Ayreon, and I am in charge of Izuku’s medical care while he is here. The nurse informed me that he had visitors and I figured you all would rather get this out of the way.” He looks from the unknown visitors to the chimera still perched on the dark haired male’s shoulder.

Nedzu waves a paw dismissively, “You may continue. They are not only part of my staff but they are on the case regarding Izuku as well.”

Giving a nod of understanding, Dr. Ayreon looks down at the chart before he starts to speak. "I have the results from his latest tests. The PET scan shows that there is activity going on in his brain which is good, but the activity is significantly less than his previous scan. The downside to that however is that upon doing his fMRI the activity wasn’t where we were hoping it to be.”

"What do you mean?" Shouta crosses his arms as he waits for the response.

"Does the activity mean the little listener will wake up soon?” Hizashi can't help but glance over at the greenette on the bed. Hope blazing in those chartreuse colored eyes as he turns back to the doctor.

"Unfortunately no. That’s what we were hoping as well but the fMRI showed no signs of Izuku regaining consciousness." Dr. Ayreon taps his pen against the chart quietly. "I'm going to be completely honest with you. The prognosis isn't good. If the next scan shows the same thing, then you are likely looking at him never waking up. I'm sorry."

“You said likely.. what’s the probability of him waking up? Or.. worse?” Nemuri turns her attention from the book to the doctor in front of them.

Dr. Ayreon looks to the only woman in the room and gives her a sad smile. “Based on past clinical studies? Izuku has a 27% probability of waking up and a likelihood of 64% of him dying, while only having a 9% chance of staying in his comatose state. Again, I’m very sorry.” He bows his head as he leaves the room, making sure to shut the door behind him.

Shouta stops, his crossed arms falling to his sides, eyes widening ever so slightly.

Hizashi frowns seeing the state his husband is in but he's torn. Looking over at the greenette in the bed then back to Shouta he smiles sadly as he walks closer to the dark haired man.

"Shou panther? What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" He telegraphs his movements so to not startle the other man as he wraps his arms around him.

"I.. I didn't save him Zashi. I failed to save our kid." Shouta ducks his face into his capture weapon as he turns in Hizashi's arms not wanting the others to see him like this.

"Our kid huh? I wasn't aware that we had gained another one." Hizashi can't help but tease as he carefully reaches out to lift Shouta’s chin to make his husband face him. "No Shou, Don't shut me out. You have always been so strong, taking on the problems of everyone so that they don't lose their light." Hizashi gently strokes Shouta’s jawline with the pad of his thumb while smiling softly. "But it's okay to let your light dim, I'll be right here to help it glow bright again."

Shouta leans forward against Hizashi, just resting in the comfort given by the blond. A muffled, "Thanks Sunshine" reaching the blonds ears.

It takes a few minutes, but Shouta finally manages to compose himself. Which allows him to turn and face the others in the room. “I want to tell my class.”

“That’s quite expected. However, I must ask that you hold off for now.” Nedzu grins, his eyes gaining a certain glint, “After all you do currently have one of his abusers in your class and we don’t want him to know that we know just yet.”

Inui huffs as he sets the journal aside. “I agree with Nedzu. I’d much rather see the mindsets of your class before you tell them what’s going on.”

“What about just a few specific students?” Hizashi shoots finger guns at his husband showing that he’s got his back.

Nemuri’s eyes widen as if just remembering something, “That’s right Yaoyorozu and Todoroki came and visited Hizashi and I after classes were over today. Apparently the green bean helped them become more accepting of themselves while also helping them with their quirks.”

“Even if the green pup helped the other pups.. I would still rather be able to meet with them to make sure that they are both in a safe place mentally before letting them know what’s going on.” Inui crosses his arms clearly not willing to budge on his stance.

“I believe that’s a great idea! We don’t want to risk their mental health. Plus it keeps the number of people who know down to a minimum while I check the UA cameras to make sure there was nothing missed while on our campus. After that we can re-evaluate who knows. Is that agreeable to everyone?” Seeing nods all around the room, Nedzu claps his paws together excitedly. “Excellent. Inui please make it a top priority to meet with Todoroki and Yaoyorozu.”

Hopping down from Shouta’s shoulder, Nedzu crosses the room to make it to the door. “Now I have to go meet with the doctors to discuss what we want to do from here. Everyone have a good evening. Maybe go watch a movie or something.” His grin turns absolutely feral at the mention of a movie causing Nemuri to shudder.

After watching the chimera leave she turns to her friends curiously. “Why did he say movie like that?”

Shouta barely contains a sigh, his expression darkening at the reminder. “We obtained security footage from Izuku’s middle school.”

Nemuri frowns in thought before crossing the room to grab Shouta’s hand, “Want some company to watch with?”

Shouta shakes his head, “Thanks but no. I have a feeling it’s going to be bad. Just have coffee ready in the lounge tomorrow?”

“Of Course ShouShou! I’ll even guard it with my life!”

“If it does get to bad Aizawa, you’re welcome to hit me up.” Inui grabs the journal and holds it up, “Mind if I take this with me to read? I’ll bring it into work with me tomorrow so Nemuri can catch up.”

Hizashi nods to Inui, “Of course, We’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for all of this.”

Inui waves Hizashi off as he makes his way to the door pausing to look over at the unconscious teen. “It’s our job. Both of them, just wish we could’ve helped him sooner.” He can’t keep the growl from escaping at that, and instead just turns to the door and walks out.

Nemuri gives Shouta and Hizashi both a quick hug, “Thanks for letting me in on what’s really going on. Call if you need anything alright?” She moves over to the bed and kisses Izuku’s forehead lightly. “Keep fighting kiddo. I want you to wake up so I can hear your muttering again, your so smart.” Pulling back, she gives a wave to her friends before taking Inui’s lead and heading out.

Hizashi looks over at his husband offering an encouraging smile. “Ready to go love? Maybe take Nedzu’s advice?”

Shouta casts a sidelong look at the bed, not really wanting to leave the boy right now.

Hizashi shakes his head while smiling wide at how predictable his husband can be. “How about I go get us something to drink, and you..” Hizashi takes his bag off of his shoulder and passes it to the other man. “Can set up the laptop and get the headphones out.”

Shouta gives a small nod as he takes the bag to get his part of the task ready.

Hizashi pauses at the door for just a moment to watch as Shouta starts to get things ready, “Be right back! Love you!” He shoots a finger gun at the dark haired man a laugh escaping as he catches the brief eye roll before the door closes on him.

Chapter Text

Upon his return to the room, Hizashi grins great big as he sees his grumpy husband fidgeting with the laptop. “Ready Shou?”

Shouta looks up from the laptop giving Hizashi a dry look as he holds out a hand. “Coffee.”

Hizashi snickers as he stands just out of arm reach, “Now, now, grumpy cat, that’s not how you ask.”

Shouta clearly debates just sending his capture weapon out to strangle his husband, quickly resigning himself however to the idea that doing so will cause his coffee to spill. “Coffee Please.” He barely growls out, hand still reaching for the cup.

Hizashi full out laughs as he hands the coffee to the dark-haired man, “That wasn’t so hard now was it.” That done, he takes a seat beside his husband and puts his headphones on so they can watch the video.

Shouta watches the blonde get ready while sipping his coffee, the moment he is however he turns his attention to the screen as he pushes the play button.

It was harder than either one of them expected to watch the footage, to listen to the audio that accompanied it. The constant yelling, the jeers, the countless spider lilies, the pops of all too familiar explosions. They thought that was bad... nothing could have prepared them for what they were currently witnessing.

~*~

Izuku is pushed to the front of the class by a younger Bakugo. Explosions are heard during the walk, smoke raising up off of his uniform, a bright orange glow catches their attention as Bakugo places his ignited hands on Izuku’s shoulders shoving him down into the seat in front of the room by their teacher.

A muzzle wrapped around his head is the only thing that keeps the greenette from making any noise, his eyes clenched shut in pain the only indicator that he’s hurting.

The class watch in twisted glee as their teacher straps their quirkless classmate down in the chair before walking over to his desk and grabbing a small tool bag. “What is one way of identifying a quirkless person?”

A male student laughs while answering, “They have an extra joint in their pinky toe.”

The teacher nods a wide smile on his face. “Very good! So, we should fix that shouldn’t we?”

There’s a round of cheers through the classroom but one voice above the rest, this time a young girl’s, “That’s what heroes do. They help people.”

The teacher’s smile twists to something malicious as he sits in front of Izuku, “Exactly, that’s what heroes would do.” He sets the tool bag to the side opening it quickly, clearly not wanting to waste any time before he turns to peel off bright red shoes followed by All Might socks and sets them on the other side of the chair the boy is sitting in.

Looking back over at the open tool kit he glances down taking in the items spread out before him. A torch lighter, a dull rusty knife, bolt cutters, and a pair of fish skinning pliers.

Grabbing the dull knife, the teacher turns so his back is to Izuku, taking his left foot into his grasp and tucking it under his arm to keep it from moving while still allowing the class to see everything that is going on.

He presses the dull blade to the base of the pinky toe and starts to saw away at the flesh there. From base of the toe to the tip and back down the opposite side till the bone is exposed. Setting that foot down he grabs the right foot and repeats the process on that pinky toe as well.

Not giving Izuku a break, he quickly reaches over switching the knife out with the fish skinning pliers. Still holding the right foot, he positions the pliers up at the top of the pinky toe, carefully grabbing just a small bit of the flesh there as he begins to peel backwards. Giving sharp tugs of the tool when the skin doesn’t want to give, as he literally peels Izuku’s toe like an onion.

He pauses for just a moment to look up at his class and chooses the kid who glows that sits in the very back. “Come up here, you get to repeat the process on his left foot.” His statement is met with the kid walking up amid groans of disappointments and other students saying it’s not fair because they wanted to do it. It causes the teacher to chuckle as he hands the pliers over to his other student. “Just like an onion. Grab the least amount of skin, tissue, and muscle as you can, and just peel it back slowly.”

The student takes the pliers with a nod of his head, before doing exactly what his teacher said and demonstrated just on the left foot.

That being taken care of the teacher looks back into tool kit noticing the two remaining tools left then back over his class, his gaze resting upon the bald student who’s able to remove his eye balls, as well as the brunette who has horns upon her head. “Both of you come up here.”

Quickly doing as they are told; the students arrive just as their glowing classmate heads back to his desk.

Looking at the boy, the teacher hands him the bolt cutters then hands the girl the blow torch. “I’m going to keep the other toes away from this one so you just open the bolt cutters up, place his pinky toe in the mouth and quickly shut them. After you do that, she’s going to flip that switch and aim it at where we just removed the toe, that way we seal the wound shut. Understand?”

“Yes sir!” They both answer in unison.

The boy moves the bolt cutters close to Izuku’s right foot first, opening them so that a blade is on the right side and left side of the pinky toe. As soon as he has them situated the way he wants, he squeezes the handles shut quickly. In doing so the blades close and precisely cuts off the pinky toe bone at the base.

He pulls the bolt cutters away and moves to the other side doing the same thing to the right foot, removing what’s left of the toe.

The girl steps up as soon as he moves to the other foot, flipping the switch on the torch once she’s in position, she makes sure the fire isn’t on to high so that she seals just what is necessary.

The students go back to their seats once they are finished, the teacher however looks over Izuku’s feet with a manic smile before slipping the All Might socks back on bloodied feet and roughly shoving them into the bright red shoes. “Good job! You’re all heroes. You helped Midoriya!”

He turns to release the boy only to scoff as he smacks the boy causing the muzzle to dig into the greenette’s face even more. “Wake up! You should be thanking your classmates for helping your pathetic ass problem child!”

~*~

Hizashi runs over to the trash can, barely making it as he leans over losing the contents of his stomach. He stays there, head in the trash for a few moments just dry heaving before straightening himself up, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief he manages to find in his pocket that he promptly throws away before turning to his husband only to find him not in the same spot anymore.

Instead Shouta is leaning over the bed a hand gripping Izuku’s tightly, their forehead’s pressed together, but even from where he stands, he can see it. See the light of the room hitting the small crystalline tears quietly streaming down his love’s cheeks.

He doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t approach just letting them have this moment to themselves as he quietly makes his way back over to the laptop, and to where his drink is taking a quick drink as he reclaims his seat.

Shouta leans against Izuku, head-to-head trying to hide his tears. His hand gripping his students desperately. It takes a few minutes before he is able to get himself composed enough to speak, and even then, his voice cracks. “You have every reason to give up... you were failed so many times but kid...” Swallowing, he takes the moment to stand back up, eyes still lingering on the figure in the bed. “We can be heroes together.”

He doesn’t bother to hide the tears that fall this time as he just watches Izuku for a few more minutes before walking back over to Hizashi. Sitting beside him, he leans his head against the blonde’s shoulder as he starts to get his emotions back under control.

Hizashi smiles sadly as he wipes away his husband’s tears with the pad of his thumb, his own heart breaking all over again.

Chapter Text

The removal of Izuku’s pinky toes seemed to act as a catalyst for other events, as they start to witness more than just the expected yelling, jeers, and pops of explosions. The other students taking a more hands on approach to dealing with Izuku.

~*~

Izuku’s eyes widen in surprise and fear as an invisible force lifts him from the ground before throwing him against the wall of the hallway. Groaning in pain he tries to look around to see where the attack came from, his eyes stopping on a brunette girl from his class.

The aforementioned girl stands there pushing her glasses up her nose from where they have slid. “Where’s your muzzle freak?”

Izuku hesitates for a moment as he watches his classmate with weary green eyes. “I-It w-was r-re-removed s-so I c-could eat.”

Keeping Izuku pinned to the wall with her quirk, the brunette sneers in disdain. “Oh? Someone let you eat? Don’t you know that you’re just taking food from someone who needs it more? How selfish can you be? First Air, then space and now food?”

“Sounds an awful lot like Null needs to make a payment for all of our... generosity.”

The girl turns to face the newcomer a cold, calculating smile playing at her lips as she watches Izuku’s head tilt ever so slightly out of the corner of her eye. “What do you both have in mind?”

A red headed boy pulls 2 sharpened strands from the top of his head, leaving 3 remaining. “Oh, you know, just some quirk training.” That being said he walks up to where Izuku is pinned to the wall.

He moves efficiently, carefully placing slow, methodical cuts upon Izuku’s body. He’s careful not to hit anywhere vital, or make the cuts to deep. Instead sticking to thin slashes cutting through Izuku’s uniform and leaving behind cuts of various depths and sizes.

Stepping back to admire his work he taps one of the sharpened locks of hair against his chin in thought. “Look at all the blood dripping from the cuts but… I feel like there’s something more that I can do.”

“You could make it where he doesn’t ruin anymore lives. Be a hero to those in the future.”

The red head turns to face the brunette boy that walked up with him. “What do you mean?”

Tucking a lock of his shoulder length brown hair behind his ear, the boy grins sadistically. “A single cut and you become a hero by making it where he can’t curse the world with anymore useless freaks.”

Izuku’s eyes widen in fear as he realizes what they’re discussing... but he still keeps quiet, knowing that if he makes a sound that things are only going to get worse for him.

The red headed boy winces in pain at the implication and turns to look at Izuku for just a moment before shaking his head. “Nah. No one will want the useless freak anyway so I think that’d just be a waste of time.”

Shrugging the other boy approaches closer to his friend, “Fair point. But that being said... I don’t think you got enough of a payment out of him for what he’s taken from all of us. After all, Telekinesis over there is right. He has taken up so much of our air and food.”

Stepping back the red head moves closer to the girl with a small wave of dismissal, “Then you take a turn if I didn’t do enough.”

The brunette boy grins as he steps up to where Izuku is pinned and places his hand at his mouth, "That’s a lovely idea. Now nerd open wide.”

Izuku’s eyes get impossibly wide with his fear as he quickly debates the merits of disobeying versus just listening.

Deciding that disobeying would be worse, Izuku hesitantly opens his mouth for the other boy only to gag and choke as quirked fingers elongate as if trying to spear him through.

Laughing, the dark-haired boy watches as tears streak down the greenette’s face for a moment before he jerks his hand roughly. The movement yanking out his fingers and leaving the other boy dry heaving on the wall.

The lone girl shakes her head in disgust as she releases her quirk, letting Izuku fall not caring the slightest on how he lands as she continues on her way down the hall. The red head and other brunette quickly following in her footsteps so none of them are late to class.

Izuku collapses to the ground a hand holding his throat and the other his chest as he struggles to breathe through the dry heaving.

~*~

Hizashi’s tear filled chartreuse eyes flicker from the screen over to the bed where Izuku still lays. A frown marring his face as his heart breaks once again for the greenette.

“Hey Zashi?”

Hearing his husband’s voice, the blonde turns to look at the dark-haired male, “Yeah Shou?”

Shouta hesitates only for a moment before looking up at his husband, jaw set in anger as he grits out, “I want that place to burn. Everyone in it can go too.”

Hizashi gives a slight nod of his head while reaching out with a hand to run it gently through Shouta’s hair. “I know panther. I know.”

Chapter Text

Shouta gripped his knees, knuckles turning white as he continues to watch the footage from Izuku’s old school. Where they tried to break his kid’s spirit... his eyes widen ever so slightly as he is suddenly hit with the realization that they didn’t just try. They managed to succeed.

Turning red rimmed onyx eyes to his partner, he manages a quiet “Hey Songbird?”

Yellow green eyes turn to meet the darker gaze of his husband. “Yes panther?”

Shouta fidgets for a moment, clearly unlike him. However, his gaze drifts over to where Izuku lays near them in his bed. “What do you think about adopting another kid?”

Hizashi stands from his seat so that he can wrap his arms around his husband’s shoulders comfortably. Leaning forward to place a kiss upon the top of raven locks. “I think I’m open to it if that’s what the little listener wants should he wake up.”

“He’ll wake up Zashi. He has to.” Shouta’s voice cracks as he lets himself be vulnerable in the only place, he is willing to do so. In his husband’s arms.

Hizashi’s arms tighten around the other male as he turns his head to rest his cheek on top of Shouta’s head. “Panther... you have to realize that there’s a chance that he won’t. That he may just stop fighting because he wants peace. Peace that he deserves Shouta. We’re not done with the footage and we have already seen how badly he was treated. Promise me, no matter the outcome, you will be gentle with yourself.”

Shouta glares up at his husband before giving a huff. “Promising that would be illogical. I will however try to be easy with myself should Izuku decide to stop fighting.”

Hizashi nods before releasing his other half from his hold, and moving to sit beside him again. “Good, then shall we continue?”

Shouta gives a very slight nod as he turns his attention back to the screen and pressing play on the next video.

~*~

Leaving the classroom at the end of the day usually doesn’t cause Izuku any trouble however as he’s leaving today, he feels a breeze appear out of nowhere. Looking around to try and find its source he frowns as the wind picks up speed. In doing so, the wind starts to swirl around the classroom, until he’s surrounded by this vortex that seems to narrow around his small frame.

As the wind whips through the abandoned classroom, visible skin starts to turn a bright pink color as it starts to dry out.

Glancing down at his arm, Izuku frowns as he sees small cuts starting to appear there and on the rest of his body.

“Do you like it? I’ve been working on this new move. It allows me to intensify the flow of air and manipulate it so it becomes sharp as a sword. Mixing that with the tornado well... it basically becomes a blade tornado.”

Izuku tilts his head up looking for the voice, frowning when he meets the cheery face of his curly brunette classmate.

The girl’s head lifts as she turns to see who is interrupting her a bright smile slipping on to her face as she sees one of their other classmates, a boy with dark bluish black hair approach. “Coming to help?

The boy nods as he approaches Izuku who is stopped just inside of the classroom, unable to make it into the hallway. “Of course. All I’ve heard today was his stupid muttering.”

Izuku barely has time to look up to see who his other attacker is before he’s being thrown through the classroom repeatedly as his speed increases. All at once Izuku realizes what’s about to happen as the wind releases him at that high speed only to have a hand shoot-out between the dark-haired boy and himself. As soon as the he nears the other boy however spikes erupt from his hand causing Izuku to scream out in pain.

Hizashi runs over to the trash can as fast as he can, not bothering to pause the footage. He doesn’t need to, but by the lack of sound in his headphones, he knows that his husband has paused it. Taking a moment to clean himself up, he makes the decision to take the trashcan over with him to where they watch the footage, and as he sees what’s on the screen as he returns to his seat, he’s glad he did.

Because there on the screen is a smaller Izuku with his mouth open in a silent scream, his small frame being held up by the other boy. His uniform top torn as they see the spikes from the blue haired boy’s fist impaled into the flesh of Izuku’s abdomen, directly under his sternum.

Shouta clenches the table with a white knuckled grip as Hizashi reaches over to push play on the footage again.

Izuku just stays still for a moment, tears streaking down his cheeks as he tries to catch his breath. He is only given a moment to do so as the other boy carries him a few feet before slamming him into a wall causing the spikes to dig even deeper into the greenette’s abdomen.

Slowly raising his hands to grip the arm holding him up, Izuku tries weakly to push the arm and the boy away from him.

The dark-haired boy’s eyes narrow as he watches Izuku as if daring him to utter a single sound, though the flow of blood around his hand quickly catches his attention as a twisted smile comes to play at his lips. “Pathetic. You better hope none of the blood hits the floor.”

“I think that’s enough for today, let’s go before every one wonders why we didn’t meet up with them at the mall.”

Glancing over at his female classmate he gives a nod before ripping his hand out of Izuku’s abdomen before walking away.

Izuku slouches against the wall hands quickly grabbing at the holes in his torso. As he struggles for a moment, his blood seeps through his fingers as he tries to use the torn pieces of his uniform to fill the holes. Tears quietly spilling down his cheeks as he resigns himself to his fate.

~*~

“How much more do we have to go through Shou?”

Shouta looks over at his husband, his onyx eyes which contain such a deep seeded hatred soften ever so slightly as he notices the tears in those chartreuse eyes. “I hope not too much more but I don’t know. Do you need to stop?”

Hizashi nods as he leans over to place his head on the dark-haired male’s chest. “Sorry. I know you were hoping to get all the footage watched before we had to head back home for the night.”

Shouta gives Hizashi a bland look before kissing the top of his blond head. “Don’t even start that. You’re important too Zash and because of that if you need to stop, we’ll stop. No big deal.”

Chapter Text

Shouta frowns at the clock telling him that it is 3:30 in the morning. Turning his attention to his sleeping partner he uses his years of experience as an underground hero to silently move out of the bed, careful not to wake his husband.

Stopping at the door he leans down to pick up Dirtbag and drapes him over his shoulders behind his neck before he continues quietly out of the room and to the office.

It doesn’t take him long to reach the office he shares with Hizashi, it takes him even less time to cross the room to his desk and turn his laptop on. But he pauses for a few as he sits down in his chair, looking at the drive that holds the rest of the footage from Aldera.

He knows that he shouldn’t continue watching without Hizashi because it will make the other man upset. But he also is aware that his husband is a sunshine being and as such he is most likely at his breaking point on watching all the negative that the kid has suffered through. So, the most logical thing for him to do is to continue watching the footage by himself to save his husband the heartache and just deal with him being upset with him instead.

Giving a slight nod to himself that he’s making the right choice, Shouta grabs his headphones making sure that they’re connected before pushing play on the footage.

Watching the footage, he’s relatively surprised. As the contents are all very… tame considering what he and Hizashi have been watching previously. It’s not good by any means but it’s definitely not as bad.

He watches as a teacher looks at the name at the top of an assignment and upon seeing that it belongs to Midoriya, writes a 0 at the top of the page without even checking the answers.

It makes his chest burn in irritation, because even though this is so much smaller than what his student was used to it still played a contributing factor to the state the boy is in. It’s no wonder with teachers doing nothing to stop the physical abuse and then pulling stunts like this that the kid doesn’t trust teachers, that he doesn’t have any self-worth.

As he continues to watch the footage a deep frown settles on his face as he watches as Bakugo slams glowing hands down on Izuku’s desk, scorching the surface. Screaming in the boy’s face about his muttering and a realization hits Shouta hard.

The days that Bakugo torments Izuku… are the days that Izuku doesn’t have to deal with the torture the rest of the school puts him through.

Running his hands down his face Shouta sighs. Because of course this couldn’t be just a cut and dry case. Not with those two involved. Instead, now he would have to actually weigh his options and talk to Bakugo to get his side of all of this instead of just filling out the expulsion paperwork like he was originally planning to do.

He really should have gotten coffee before starting this.

Figuring out that pattern though does help him get through the footage relatively faster. As he watches the scenes where Bakugo yells, threatens and uses his quirk on Izuku then is able to skip through the rest of the footage with little to no other incidents.

It’s not until a few days later in the footage that he is once again witnessing something he wishes he didn’t have to. But it’s more than that, he wishes his student didn’t have to suffer through it.

~*~

Izuku is having a terrible day. His classmate with the strength quirk has been using him as a punching bag since the end of third period and he’s pretty sure the bell has just wrung signaling that it’s lunch time. But that could just be the ringing in his ears.

His entire body hurts.

He already knows from past experiences that he has at least a cracked rib if not more than one. But he dares not move, not even to cradle his side or his head as he’s hit again, the force causing his head to bounce off the wall behind him.

Hearing footsteps Izuku tilts his head towards the sound trying to make out the blurry form in front of him through swelling eyes.

It’s not until he’s suddenly getting hot all over that he realizes who it is. Realizes that these burns aren’t like Kacchan’s. No, they have to belong to another student who has a fire quirk and there aren’t that many of those in his school meaning it’s probably his classmate. The girl who sits beside him.

He hears talking but he can’t really understand what’s being said past the ringing in his ears. Is his other classmate still there? Or is it someone else?

He doesn’t have long to wait to get his answer before he feels rocks starting to pile up on top of him. Meaning that another one of his classmates is here. The one who sits near the teacher's desk.

Panic sets into his mind as he just lays there allowing himself to be covered by the rocks. He hurts too much to care that he’s basically being buried alive. Not even as those same rocks start to heat up as they press closer and closer to his small frame.

~*~

Shouta pauses the footage as he raises a hand up to brush away the single tear that has fallen. Struggling to keep himself quiet at the footage when truly all he wants to do is scream his outrage to the skies. Aldera had let this sunshine of a child be tortured before... but then they allowed him to be beaten, set on fire and then buried alive.

As if that wasn’t bad enough already, there on his screen, is the red headed girl using her quirk on the rocks. Essentially trying to cook Izuku there in that damned stairwell.

He’d never hated children before, but he could honestly admit that each student that he has seen torture Izuku he hated with every fiber of his being. The only exception to that being another one of his own students.

Katsuki Bakugo.

Even then that exception only lasted until he talked to the boy and got his take on things. What he says will decide what happens for his future.

As he moves to get up, Shouta accidentally hit’s the mouse causing it to play another scene, one that instantly makes him start to regret his previous thoughts.

~*~

“I’d better get home and get my notes in order.”

A hand reaches around to pick up the notebook on Izuku’s desk titled Hero Analysis for My Future, No. 13. “We aren’t done here, Deku.”

“What’s that Katsuki?”

“For my Future”? Seriously?! This guy, Midoriya…”

“C-Come on. Give it Back!!” Izuku looks at Bakugo and his lackeys in a panic, a hand reaching out to get his notebook.

Bakugo narrows his eyes at Izuku as he claps his hands together exploding the notebook in between them.

Looking close to tears Izuku asks a shaky “W-why...?”

Huffing in indignation Bakugo walks across the room to the window and tosses out the charred, smoking notebook. “The best heroes out there, well... they showed signs of greatness even as students. I’ll be the first and only hero from this crappy public middle school! The first to win the honor of becoming a student at U. A. High. Guess I’m just a perfectionist.”

A soft, “so vain…” is heard from one of his friends.

Walking back over to Izuku, Bakugo grins as he pats the greenette’s shoulder with a smoldering hand. “In other words… Don’t you dare get into U. A.

Leaving him there Bakugo walks to the door with his friends only to pause and look over his shoulder. “You wanna be a hero so bad? I’ve got a time saving idea for you. If you think you’ll have a quirk in your next life… Go take a swan dive off the roof.”

~*~

Shouta jerks his headphones off and throws them across the room not caring about how loud he’s being. He knew this had happened. It was in the journal but reading it and watching it was a whole different story.

It’s not long before his husband is throwing the door open to the office in a half-dressed state, panic written clearly on his face, his mouth opens to let out a scream.

It’s only the years of knowing Hizashi that allows him to know the other man well enough to predict that as soon as he enters, he has to activate his quirk to keep the house from going deaf.

“It’s fine Zashi. I just let my anger take over and forgot the time.”

Hizashi frowns as he takes in the room more clearly. “Shou... were you watching the footage without me?”

Shouta’s lips tilt up into a slight grin, “Yeah Zashi, I was. I know that it was taking its toll on you so I didn’t want you to have to suffer through watching anymore.” Running a hand down his face he lets out a small huff of annoyance, “I didn’t mean to wake anyone though.”

Hizashi shakes his head as he walks closer to the dark-haired man. “I would have happily suffered through the footage if it meant you didn’t have to suffer alone.” He wraps his arms around Shouta and places his head on the other man’s shoulder. “Besides you didn’t wake anyone, we were all up getting ready for the day.”

Shouta leans against Hizashi allowing his eyes to slip closed as he relaxes in his husband’s arms.

“As much as I would love to let you rest panther, I can’t. You have about 20 minutes before we need to leave.” Hizashi turns his head to kiss Shouta’s cheek before stepping away, hesitating only long enough to make sure that he won’t fall over as he heads for the door. “Get moving Shou!”

Groaning Shouta gathers up his laptop and headphones, packing them away to take with him to school before following Hizashi out the door.

Chapter Text

Shouta didn’t feel like being here today. He should be at the hospital watching over Izuku. Making sure that they were giving him every fighting chance that they could. But no. Instead, he had to watch over the rest of his hell class who were oblivious to the fact that their classmate is in the hospital likely dying.

It hits him suddenly, the realization that his kid is likely going to die, that he had been to slow that night. That he had missed all the signs of him being a victim of abuse and neglect. How did he miss the signs? They were all so clear. The stuttering, fear of adults and teachers, the leeriness he had around new people, how he checked around each corner before moving. He had seen the scars, so why didn’t he question it?!

Shouta grips at his chest, his breathing coming in rabid shallow breaths. His whole frame starting to tremble.

He doesn’t know how long he stands there by the coffee pot in the teachers' lounge before he feels himself being guided to sit down.

“Come on ShouShou, Breathe with me.” Nemuri keeps her hands supporting her dark-haired friend, while making sure to move one of his hands to rest above her heart so he can feel the rise and fall of her chest.

“Can you tell me what 1 times 1 is?” Nemuri asks kindly, not in any kind of rush for the answer as she can see on her friend’s face how he’s trying to focus on the question instead of his panic.

“One.”

The answer brings a smile to her face as she nods her head encouragingly. “Good job, what about 2 times 2?”

The answer comes faster this time, as Shouta’s breathing starts to even out a bit more. “Four.”

“You’re doing great. One more, what’s 3 times 3?” Nemuri smiles as she watches Shouta look around as the panic subsides.

“Nine.”

“Very good. Feeling better?” She keeps her voice calm as she asks the simple questions not wanting to overwhelm Shouta in case it causes another panic attack.

Shouta gives the faintest of nods to his friend, “Yeah, Thanks Nem.”

“Of course! You’re like my little brother. Now how about we go see Chiyo?” Nemuri asks as she gets up slowly, then turns to offer Shouta her hand.

Shouta glances at the offered hand before looking up at Nemuri with his signature bored expression. “If I do, will you not make a big deal out of this?”

Nemuri waits till Shouta is standing before tapping her chin with her free hand a grin firmly planted on her face. “We’ll have to wait to see what Chiyo says before I decide.”

Shaking his head, Shouta lets out a sigh of exasperation but otherwise doesn’t complain as he walks with Nem to see the nurse.

It doesn’t take them long to make it to Chiyo’s office, and thanks to it still being early in the morning, there are no other patients there to make them wait.

Jumping down from her seat, Chiyo walks closer to the pair. “What brings you both here this morning?”

Nemuri carefully makes Shouta sit on the bed before turning her attention back to the other woman. “Shouta had a panic attack, we just wanted to make sure that he’s alright.”

Chiyo hums softly as she looks the dark-haired man over. “Aside for his tiredness and being mildly dehydrated he looks to be fine. I suggest making an appointment with your therapist, or even with Inui.”

Shouta gives a small nod of understanding.

Nemuri frowns ever so slightly at the awkwardness hanging in the air. “Got it, Hizashi and I will make sure that he makes an appointment. Thanks, Chiyo.”

Chiyo hesitates for a moment before turning so she meets Shouta’s eyes. “I wanted to let you know again that I’m sorry. It doesn’t change anything, and I know that. However, Nedzu had a talk with me, and you’ll be happy to know that I’m getting an assistant. She will be starting as soon as they find a suitable replacement for the hospital. Moreover, we will not be the only two working here starting next school year. Cementoss will be building our own medical ward. That will be for students, faculties and heroes who are in need of my quirk or other quirks that we have available here.”

Shouta’s eyes widen ever so slightly before he gives a slight grin. “It’s about time you got some help. You’ve been doing everything on your own for far too long.”

Chiyo knows that’s the olive branch and she gives a small pat to Shouta’s knee as she smiles. “Go on, get to class before they start a search party for their teacher.”

Approaching his classroom, Shouta quickened his pace as panic started to set in. It was too quiet for his hell class.

Flinging open his door, hands clutching his capture weapon he’s met with his class all sitting quietly in their seats. A low growl from beside him has Shouta turning his head, surprise quickly passing over his features as he sees Hound Dog there. “What are you doing here Inui?”

“Nedzu had me watching over your class while you were away. Didn’t want any of them wandering off. Plus, today starts the mandatory counseling so I was going to collect Yaoyorozu first.”

Shouta nods as he looks over at the girl, “Yaoyorozu, you're with Hound Dog. He’ll give you a pass for whatever classes you miss.” Turning back to the other man, Shouta pauses as he becomes keenly aware of his students watching them.

Taking a barely noticeable grounding breath before speaking, Shouta takes the current opportunity to set a good example. “Also, if you have time during lunch or after classes, I’m going to need an appointment as well.”

Inui gives an approving nod of his head, “Of course. I’ll check my schedule and let you know when will be best.” He then turns to Yaoyorozu who has approached them and gives a small growl. “Alright then, come on pup.”

Shouta watches them leave for a moment before turning back to his wide-eyed class. “What?”

“That was so manly Mr. Aizawa!” Kirishima glances around at his classmates before looking back to their teacher, “I don’t think any of us expected a teacher, let alone a pro to get counseling.”

Shouta lets out a small sigh hearing that, because of course they would think that. “Listen up Hell Spawn. Every pro gets help at some point or another, some have it be a regular occurrence. Others just go on a case-by-case basis. Both of those options are fine as it is decided between you and your counselor. But if someone tells you that they didn’t get help then they’re lying, or they are incredibly stupid.”

Stepping to board at the front of the class he grabs his chalk before writing, “MENTAL HEALTH” which he proceeds to underline 3 times to emphasize the importance. “As a hero, and as heroes in training it is vital that we take care of ourselves not just physically but mentally as well. There are going to be times when you go pro that you will see a case that is so bad that it’s going to mess you up. You’re not going to be able to sleep without seeing what happened, as it repeatedly plays in your head you are not going to want to eat, and it’s these cases that are going to test your limits.”

Shouta looks up at his students, staring each of them down. “You’re going to think that you’re fine. That you can’t tell anyone because you are a hero, and you have to be alright for everyone else. That is not the case. Worse yet is sometimes you will play it off then another case comes along, and something will act as a trigger. Which will break your focus by throwing you back into the horrible case. Therefore, putting not just yourself in danger, but anyone working with you and, it’s putting the victim in even more danger.”

Shouta moves to his desk as he glowers over his class. “Make no mistake, getting help is vital as heroes. There is no joke when it comes to your mental health. How can you expect to help anyone while you’re struggling yourself because you think it’s unbecoming to reach out a hand and ask for help? You are all just as important as everyone else.”

Shouta closes his eyes for a moment as he tilts his head back to face the ceiling. Those words hurt, knowing that the student who apparently needed to hear it most wasn’t there to hear him. But maybe he could help one of his other students before it became too late.

“I’m dyslexic.” Denki gives a small shrug, a sad smile on his face for just a moment before he leans back in his seat to play cool. “It’s not that I’m stupid or anything. I actually have a learning disability.”

Turning his attention to the blonde Shouta frowns ever so slightly because he wasn’t made aware of that, but it did make perfect sense. “Noted, thank you for informing me, Kaminari.”

Denki sheepishly rubs the back of his head with a nervous laugh. “No problem, I really thought they let you know. I’m sorry.”

Before Shouta can reassure his student, he is interrupted by the nervous voice of Uraraka.

“My parents are broke, and I want to be able to look after them, so I chose to become a hero.”

Shouta gives a slight nod as he gets out a notebook and pen making a note to see about student aid for those who may benefit from it.

From there it spirals out of control. Iida mentioning how he had planned to get revenge for his brother on Stain. Aoyama confessing that his quirk is incompatible with is body, so on and so forth until Kirishima, after telling them about his middle school days turns to the only person not to share something today. Bakugo.

“Come on Bakubro everyone else shared.” Kirishima flashes a big smile to the explosive teen trying to be supportive.

“I don’t need you telling me what to do Shitty Hair.” Bakugo turns away from his classmates a look on his face unreadable as his eyes meet Shouta’s.

“Think about it as team building dude.”

Bakugo spins around quickly, hands popping in warning as he stares down Kaminari. “I’m not a team. I’m going to be the best all the rest of you dare just extras.”

“Extras that can help you out bro. Let people help you.” Sero not threatened at all places a gentle hand on Bakugo’s shoulder.

“Help me?! Like I helped the damn nerd?!”

Shouta watches his class all turn to face Bakugo. He notes how some expressions are just curious, others not really caring, while those in the self-proclaimed Deku-Squad all appear to be sending the explosive blonde accusatory looks.

He looks at the dual quirk boy in his class a little too late as a cold child encases the classroom. Turning his attention to where it came from, he’s only slightly surprised to see the ice encasing Bakugo.

“What did you mean by that Bakugo?”

“What the hell Icy Hot! I said what I meant. I fucking helped him!” Bakugo growls as he realizes his hands are trapped and, in the ice, he isn’t able to produce the sweat needed to use his quirk to get him free.

Narrowing her eyes Uraraka stomps her way closer to the trapped teen. "How? How did you help him and when?! Because he’s not here and I miss my best friend!” Tears stream silently down her face even as she glares at the angry blonde.

“You fucking extras don’t get it! He was quirkless! A waste of space. Our classmates tortured him repeatedly! You think you know him, but you don’t! The only way to save him was to bully him. If I did, he was safe! Now Fuck off!”

Kirishima looks at Bakugo completely horrified. “That’s so not manly bro. Heroes aren’t supposed to be bullies.”

Bakugo growls as he glares daggers at his red headed friend. “You think I don’t know that shitty hair?! I’m not an idiot!”

Shouta flashes his eyes red as he glares over his students, “Enough! This is why we will all be having mandatory counseling. We cannot be at each other's throats like this. Uraraka return to your seat he has nothing to do with Midoriya not being at school. Todoroki unfreeze Bakugo then take your seat. Iida, go get Mic tell him he’s needed to watch over you brats. Bakugo, you’re with me.”

Shouta doesn’t wait long, just until Iida is back before he nods at the now free Bakugo. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

Walking into his office Shouta glances up at the camera knowing that his boss is watching from the quiet of his own office. “Take a seat Bakugo.”

“Just get it over with old man and expel me. I know bullying ain’t right.” Bakugo leans back against the door frame.

Flashing his quirk in annoyance Shouta glares at the teen, “I said sit.”

Bakugo pushes himself up off the wall and heads over to sit in front of the desk flopping down as he lets out an almost snarl of his own annoyance.

Shouta walks around his desk and lowers himself tiredly into his own chair. He just watches the blonde for a few moments before letting out a sigh. “Want to explain to me what you meant by you were helping him?”

Sneering Bakugo tosses his head back to look at the ceiling. “You heard what I said. If I didn’t then the other fucking extras would torture him. So would the teachers. Nobody ever gave a damn about some fucking quirkless freak obsessed with being a hero.”

Shouta waits patiently seeing the look on his students face and knowing that the boy has more to say.

Bakugo snaps his head forward as his quirk briefly pops to life, “But that’s not all he was! He was my best friend until we were 4 when my quirk came in and his didn’t. When society started telling me that I was going to be a great hero and mocking Izuku for his dream. Stupid nerd started taking notes on heroes so that he could study the ways they handled villains and rescue situations so that he could learn from them indirectly. We were going to be heroes together.”

Shouta nods slowly as he leans forward on his hands. “What changed that?”

Bakugo sneers in a mixture of anger and disgust. “Didn’t you hear me?! Society changed it. We could never be heroes because quirkless means worthless. They can’t be heroes and I, with a powerful quirk was going to be the best. As we got older the mocking became more violent kids would bully him... hell I did too. I used my quirk on him because everyone else was and no one ever said we shouldn’t. Then... in Junior high it got worse.”

Shouta reaches into his desk and pulls out a bottle of water passing it across the table to the kid who looks like he’s at war with himself. “Take a break. We have as much as you need.”

Bakugo leans forward, hands curled into fists as he tilts his head up slowly.

Shouta’s eyes widen ever so slightly at the scene in front of him. Because there in the seat opposite of his own is his most volatile student, looking so completely filled with rage, but there... on his cheeks are the tell-tale streaks left behind from tears falling. Even still, Shouta doesn’t say anything. He knows how it is to feel at war with yourself, how hard it is to figure out the words that you are wanting to say, and he remembers all too well the feeling of just wanting to run the moment someone interrupted him. He refuses to do that to this kid who obviously needs to get this off his chest.

“Teachers marked down his grades, humiliated him in classes, quirkless means he couldn’t possibly be that smart. Then the teachers went further. To the point it was no longer just kids bullying him, teachers did as well until it went too far. One of our teachers cut off his pinkie toes because they had the extra joint. They were what marked him as quirkless. And I marched him up there so they could do it!!!” Bakugo is all but screaming the last part. Fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles are white. He knows that if it wasn’t for the red gaze directed at him from the other side of the table that his quirk would be going off, but he doesn’t care cause he’s not done. This one teacher did more for any of them then any others, so he has to tell the other man the truth.

“I’m not a hero old man. I’m a fucking villain. I gave him the nickname Deku, and on top of everything else, I told him to take a swan dive off the roof.” Bakugo lowers his head as he un-clenches his fists. All the anger leaving his body as he just becomes resigned to his fate. “Go ahead and expel me. I fucking deserve it. Hell, I deserve more than that.”

Shouta releases his quirk as soon as he sees Bakugo settle. A tired sigh escaping him as he puts his eye drops in before turning his attention back to the blonde. “You’re right. You do deserve more than expulsion. That being said, I don’t exactly know what to do with you.” He briefly glances back up at the camera in his office clearly asking a question to the chimera on the other end.

Bakugo tenses in his seat ever so slightly as he watches as his teacher starts to get up out of his seat.

“I don’t tolerate bullies Bakugo. Bullies have zero potential in the world of heroics. However, the fact that you opened up willingly about all of this makes me uncertain about your fate here at U.A.” He pauses to check his phone as it makes a soft noise letting him know a message arrived. Reading over the message quickly he gives a nod of his head making sure it’s visible to his boss even as he looks back at Bakugo.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to take you somewhere, once there it’s up to you on if I think you can continue on your path to be a hero. Before that though, I feel it is important for you to know that regarding what you said about your past with Midoriya I will be bringing in a detective I work with a lot to record your statements. Are you comfortable with that?” Shouta watches the teen for any slight differences in his demeanor giving an approving nod when he sees the boy straighten his shoulders.

Standing up slowly, Bakugo squares his shoulders in determination. “That’s fine, I’ll tell the detective everything they want to know.”

“No Bakugo. You won’t tell him everything he wants to know. I need you to keep to the truth only and he will know if you’re lying. This is vital for a case we are working on. Understand?” Shouta walks to the door stopping just before opening the door to pin the kid with a look.

“Yeah, I got it old man. But what case? Does this have to do with why De…The Ner... Izu… Fuck what do I call him now?! Does it have to do with why he isn’t at school?” Bakugo huffs as he follows his teacher to the door.

Shouta debates internally with himself for a moment before running a hand through his hair. “Start with Midoriya since the kid you were friends with was a long time ago from my understanding. We opened an investigation into Aldera Junior High, and yes. That means everything you told me Bakugo I already knew. Because I have seen the security footage. Now let’s go.” He doesn’t wait for the kid as he walks out of his office and down the hall, heading to the main entrance.

Bakugo stands at the door stunned for a moment before cursing as he runs angrily to catch up to his teacher. “Wait up you damn Caterpillar! Where we going?!”

Shouta shrugs as he walks out the door, “Keep up Bakugo. We’re going on a field trip. Fall behind and I will expel you.”

Chapter Text

Bakugo glances up at his teacher slouching as he jams his hands into his pockets, annoyance starting to course through him as they stop at a dead end. The alley filled with bags of trash as if nobody has picked up from the area in weeks. “What the fuck?! Why are we here?”

Shouta turns to face his student then points to the pile of trash. “Because this is important. You were attacked by the Sludge Villain, right? It was all over the news.”

Bakugo growls as his posture turns defensive hands exploding out of his pockets in his fury. “So, fucking what! It wasn’t in this alley.”

“No, it wasn’t. Midoriya was attacked by the sludge villain first. A hero saved him. That same hero told him he couldn’t be a hero.” Shouta lets out a tired sigh before glancing back at the pile of trash, a frown settling on his face as he can still see the small form of the greenette curled up there among the bags.

Bakugo stays silent for a moment before anger melts away as the feeling of foreboding settles in. “The day of the sludge villain attack… that’s the day I told him to take a swan dive off the roof.” Bakugo follows his teacher’s gaze over to the pile of trash confusion taking over him, which makes his brow wrinkle as he starts to get agitated. “I still don’t understand why we’re in here among the trash.”

Shouta turns to face his student only briefly before turning and heading back down the alleyway. “Let’s go.”

“Why the fuck did you bring me here?!” Bakugo yells as he follows after his teacher.

Shouta doesn’t even bother to glance over his shoulder as he checks his phone while leading the boy further down the street, heading towards the warehouse district. “Because you needed to see that place to understand what you will see at our next destination.”

Bakugo growls as his irritation rises at the answer he gets, but otherwise he doesn’t do anything, just continuing to follow along beside his teacher.

Shouta stops at the caution tape and nods as he shows the officer there his hero license.

The officer looks at the license then at Shouta a few times “You’re good. Now what about you kid?”

Bakugo glances up at the officer then back to his teacher. “What are you some kind of idiot? I’m with Teach.”

“Great you're with him. I still need an ID for who you are. This is an active case and I need to maintain a record of who is coming and going from the area.”

Bakugo growls before pulling out his provisional license and handing it over to the officer.

Shouta struggles to keep from rolling his eyes as he walks under the caution tape.

After doing a comparison to make sure that Bakugo is the same person as the license belongs to the officer hands the card back to the teen. “Word of advice kid? Learn how to civilly interact with law enforcement and your rescue personnel. We’re all on the same team, no need for one of us to go around acting like some bastard. We’re all Heroes kid. At the end of the day, any one of us who puts their lives on the line or tries to save another person's life is a hero.”

Bakugo places his license back in his pocket and starts to duck under the caution tape stopping halfway under it keeping his eyes focused on the ground. “What if you end up doing the opposite? What if you end up hurting someone?”

The officer blinks watching the frame of the boy how his head is ducked, and he just stays still as if his answer will decide for him if he should continue forward under that thin line. “Tell someone. Do the right thing and apologize. If you mess up its fine, mistakes happen, but make sure to come clean about them and fix them to the best of your ability. You’re young kid. Learn from whatever it was and do better.” He turns his attention to Shouta an eyebrow arched in question. “Tsukauchi is in the back corner office.”

Shouta doesn’t bother giving the officer an answer just turns to face his student, “you heard the man, let’s go.” Nodding in approval as the teen starts to walk with him to their current destination.

As they arrive at the doorway to the back corner office Shouta turns his attention to the other man there. “How did you find it?”

Tsukauchi glances from Shouta to the blonde teen curiously for a moment before sighing. “One of the officers ended up chasing a low-level thug through the warehouse. Apparently, he knew the kid was here, helped patch him up a few times when the kid was injured a few months back. He couldn’t give an exact time frame.

Shouta takes a moment to himself clearly remembering the journal, “That sounds about right. Kid was homeless a few months before the dorm system was built.”

Bakugo searches through the office a frown marring his face as he hears the conversation. Coming to a complete stop at a corner that has a wall that’s collapsed he rushes forward as he spots something under the rubble.

“Bakugo!” Shouta shouts at the teen as he sees him rushing towards the collapsed wall.

Ignoring his teacher for the time being, Bakugo grabs a raggedy blanket from under the rubble before turning narrowed eyes to his teacher. “Why are we here?! Where is D... Midoriya?”

“We are here because this is important for a case I am working on. As for where Midoriya is… That’s a need to know.” Shouta returns equally narrowed eyes at his student before glancing at the blanket.

Bakugo growls, so close to using his quirk but he’s mindful of the worn All Might blanket that he holds in his hands. “I need to know! This… Fuck it! The nerd never left this damn rag before. Why is it here?! What did you mean by homeless? Where’s Auntie?”

Shouta glances at Tsukauchi who runs his hand through his hair tiredly. “I need more coffee for this.”

Tsukauchi chuckles as he turns his attention to the explosive teen. “The only thing that can we tell you at the moment is that one of your classmates was homeless for a bit before U. A. implemented the dorm system.”

Bakugo snarls holding the blanket closer to him. “Bullshit. I know more than that on my own. Because what you’re saying pieced together with the fact that this blanket is the one, I gave Izuku on his birthday when we were kids means that the classmate that was homeless was him and Auntie wouldn’t do that!”

Shouta sighs ever so slightly, “Bakugo, what do you know about one Inko Midoriya?”

“Auntie was always so caring. She made sure we had snacks, and drinks, she always doted on us whenever we were together.”

Shouta nods slowly, “Which was how long ago?”

Bakugo stops for a moment the fight starting to slowly leave his body as he realizes how long ago that was. “W-We were 4…”

Tsukauchi walks over to the teen slowly placing a hand on his shoulder so not to startle him. “Kiddo a lot has happened since then. We have evidence, not just what’s here, that Inko Midoriya abandoned her son before the start of U.A.”

Bakugo clutches the blanket tight to his chest as he starts to think. Something about those words not setting right to him. After a moment he turns a narrowed yet determined gaze to Tsukauchi. “Is that why the old hag had been so upset?”

Tsukauchi glances at Shouta for clarification but when he only receives a shrug in return he turns back to Bakugo. “I’m sorry who?”

Bakugo growls in frustration. “The old hag... my mother. Just before the start of our school year she was constantly talking with Auntie, she’d get angry, I could hear her yelling but fuck she knew where to go where I couldn’t hear and frankly, I didn’t care. She wasn’t screaming at me, so it was fine.”

Shouta tilts his head back as he pinches the bridge of his nose trying to stop the impending migraine. “Bakugo, are you safe at home?”

Bakugo whirls around to face his teacher, quirk flaring to life. “What kind of fucking question is that you damn caterpillar?! Of course, I’m fucking safe! My parents love me. The old man is quiet, and the old hag is like me. Now fuck off! They wouldn’t actually hurt me. The old hag hits me every once in a while but shit I shove her too... it’s not meant to hurt. We’re just fucking hot heads.”

Tsukauchi nods in semi- understanding before turning to look at Shouta and gives him a quick nod of his head so the other man knows that what Bakugo said is true.

Shouta lets out a small, relieved sigh at the confirmation from the detective but turning back to Bakugo he levels the teen with an unimpressed stare. “That’s still not healthy. While I’m glad that you are safe at home, I’m still going to be recommending you and your mother at the very least doing some family counseling. Understand?”

Bakugo snorts in amusement, “Yeah right. Like the old hag would agree to that.”

Shouta arches a brow ever so slightly in question, “Why wouldn’t she agree?”

Bakugo sets the blanket down carefully in the pile of stuff that had been gathered before him and his teacher arrived, before jamming his hands into his front pockets. “The old man has suggested it before because of how ‘aggressive’ we are. She flat out refused.”

“We can make it mandatory.” Tsukauchi watches as Bakugo turns to look up at him, skepticism clear in the red gaze. “You said she hit you and that you shove her. That’s not healthy. We can make it a mandatory thing due to the concerns that brings up. However, I would prefer not having to go that route.”

Bakugo slowly nods as the words sink in. They are so surreal he doesn’t know what to say.

Shouta takes mercy on the blonde as he notices the change in his behavior. “Alright, let’s go. We have another stop to make.” He turns his attention to the other man and gives a slight nod as he heads to the door. “Detective. Thanks for your time.”

Bakugo mumbles a quiet, “Yeah, Thanks” as he follows his teacher out the door, and eventually out of the building entirely.

Chapter Text

Having finally stopped walking, Bakugo growls out in frustration upon seeing just where they are. “Musutafu General Hospital? What the hell?!”

Shouta stares at his student for a moment before letting out a breath that he didn’t even realize he had been holding. “You asked where Midoriya was. This is where he is.”

Bakugo gives the building a scrutinizing look from top to bottom before turning his attention back to his teacher before rushing towards the entrance doors to the hospital. “This better be some twisted fucking joke! If he was really here the whole class would’ve visited! Raccoon Eyes and Round Cheeks would’ve demanded it!”

Shouta follows behind the loud teen at a more resigned pace, knowing the kid can’t get in without him anyways. “It’s illogical and rather insulting that you would think that I would participate in some kind of cruel joke that would result in someone being in the hospital.” He doesn’t stop to see the effect his words have on the boy instead just walking into the entrance and heading directly to the elevators.

Bakugo freezes just before they get to the elevators as the older man’s words start to sink in. “Shit… Fuck… You’re right. Shitty nerd is actually here. Where the fuck is he?”

Shouta barely manages to keep from rolling his eyes at his student’s behavior. “Watch your language.” He continues takes a few hurried steps towards the elevators as he sees one open from where they are. Stepping inside he holds the doors open and levels Bakugo with an annoyed look. “Get in the elevator Bakugo.”

Hurrying to do as he’s told, Bakugo runs the remaining distance so that he gets in the elevator before his teacher gets even more annoyed with him.

The elevator ride itself is quiet, just the sound of the hospital elevator music floating around the small space. It’s not until they exit the elevator that Bakugo realizes what floor they are on. He straightens his back as he walks down the hallway, briefly looking over at his teacher who is pulling out his hero license even as they approach the large double doors.

After scanning his license, Shouta motions Bakugo through the now open doors before following through after him. Taking the time to listen for the click signaling the doors have shut and locked behind them.

Nodding in slight satisfaction that they are in a secure location; Shouta turns to his student as he takes a deep breath. “As you’ve seen we are working on a case regarding Midoriya, which means that his condition and his location are classified. So, no running back and telling your classmates what you saw. Got it?”

Bakugo scowls at his teacher, “I ain’t no fucking gossip. But yeah, I got it…” he takes a moment to steel himself before slouching forward ever so slightly. “What is his condition anyway? He wouldn’t be here if it was some fucking quirk mishap.”

Shouta waves his hand motioning Bakugo to follow him as he starts walking the all too familiar path to the room housing Izuku. “I’d prefer it only be a quirk mishap.” Shouta speaks softly as he pauses long enough to enter his hero code into the pin pad outside the door before entering.

“Hey kid. Brought some company, I hope you don’t mind.”

A sting of cursing draws his attention away from the unconscious greenette to the explosive blonde who just keeps surprising him today.

Bakugo, with wide eyes staring at the unconscious form on the bed, shoves his way past his teacher till he’s closer to the bed. Profanities spilling from his lips the entire time. Reaching out a hand hesitantly towards Izuku, he freezes midair. Hand hovering just above the greenette’s arm as the bandages still wrapped around forearms catch his attention.

It appears to be too much for him as Bakugo lowers his hand to rest upon the bed railing, head tilted down as he just stares at the bandages.

Shouta watches how his student interacts with his comatose classmate with a heavy sigh. He wasn’t expecting this type of a reaction out of Bakugo and quite frankly it bothers him. These two boys have always been fighting each other and trying to be better than the other unless there was something bigger at stake and only then would they act civil to one another. He’s never seen any sign of these two actually caring about each other up until now, so why now?

“Hey Teach?”

Shouta arches a brow at his student but seeing the kid’s head still down he quietly groans to himself as the answer to his own internal pondering hits him. The reminder that no one had attempted to understand before. “Yes Bakugo?”

“Did he… Did he do this himself?”

Running his hand through his hair, Shouta closes his eyes for a moment taking the time to ground himself. When he started this little field trip, he didn’t expect it to be so hard to tell Bakugo... one of the people who bullied his unconscious kid. But here they are, and he hates it.

Opening his eyes, dark onyx meets cinnamon candy red, and he has to flick his eyes to look at anything other than those pleading red orbs. Because it hurts. It hurts to tell the kid “Yeah, he did.”

“So that alleyway? With all the trash?” Bakugo speaks quietly his gaze falling back to Izuku, tears starting to fall silently down his cheeks without his realization.

Shouta huffs but gives a nod, “Yeah, that’s where I found him.”

Bakugo stays silent for a few minutes just taking everything in before speaking ever so quietly. “How did you find him?”

Shouta resists the urge to wince at the question instead turning to look up at the ceiling. “I heard a noise which my instincts told me to investigate. As I got closer, I heard him speaking, though his words were slurred.”

“You really going to make me ask you what he said?” Bakugo turns to his teacher, his words though angry have none of the usual heat to them. He can’t find it in him to be truly angry.

Shouta walks over so he’s on the other side of Bakugo, able to place a hand on Izuku’s curls, and the other on Bakugo’s own wild blonde locks. He hates the decision he’s about to make but... he’s not going to lie. Izuku mentioned wanting the class to know, and Bakugo needs to learn that what he says has consequences. “Well, Kacchan, it’s not a roof, but it’ll work.”

He can see the moment the words register in Bakugo’s head as the boy all but leaps into the bed and on top of Izuku. Arms gripping the greenette’s shoulders shaking them in a mixture of fury and desperation.

Bakugo, after a few minutes' stops shaking the other boy’s shoulders, instead just letting tears fall freely down his cheeks. “You Stupid Nerd! You weren’t supposed to actually do it! Damn Deku! You were supposed to keep fighting! Show all of those fucking extras from our shitty old school who you are!” The anger at the situation finally leaves as he just collapses forward and hugs Izuku’s shoulders as he sobs. A broken whisper filling the otherwise quiet hospital room, “Izuku… we were supposed to be heroes together.”

Shouta doesn’t bother trying to comfort the blonde because he needs this. Not for a lesson but for finally allowing his true feelings to show, instead of always hiding them or just being angry. Instead, he moves around the bed so that he can sit in the chair on the other side and just closes his eyes to rest for a bit. Giving Bakugo all the time he needs to process everything that must be going through his mind.

It’s not until about 2 hours later that both Bakugo and Shouta start to move around again, both of them getting up and stretching from their impromptu naps. Shouta having fallen asleep in the chair, and Bakugo having fallen asleep himself due to all the overwhelming emotions. Their stretches are cut short however as they turn to face the entrance to the room as the pin pad outsides lets off a series of beeps indicating an unauthorized code was attempted.

Shouta wastes no time in grabbing his capture weapon as he prepares to fight in order to keep his two students safe. Sending a quick sideways glance to Bakugo he speaks low as to not attract any unwanted attention, “Whatever happens protect Midoriya. I am giving you permission to use your quirk only to keep him safe. Do you understand?”

Bakugo nods as he flexes his fingers preparing for the worst.

Chapter Text

Outside the room, Eri frowns as she tries to enter in a hero code like she’s seen both of her parents do before. As she does so, the pin pad lets out another series of beeps, before the screen starts to flash red indicating a second failed attempt.

Frowning, Eri stares at the pin pad as if trying to concentrate on finding just the right combination.

“Eri correct? it’s been a few days, where’s your guardian?” A nurse with champagne pink hair steps up beside the silver haired child smiling softly.

Eri giggles as she nods, “Yep that’s me! You’re Izu’s nurse, right?”

The nurse nods her smile widening to spread across her face at Eri’s giggles. “I am yes, my name is Talia.” She tenses as the sound of hurried footsteps cause her to look up in alarm.

There running down the hall towards them is a young, muscular blonde that she’s never seen before.

“Eri! I told you to wait for me. We’re in a hospital you can’t just go running off without a chaperone.”

Stepping in front of the little girl, Talia levels a glare at the older teen running towards them. “Excuse me but you’re in a hospital. Please be respectful of the patients here. This floor as I’m sure you know since you got in here is filled with heroes. That kind of heedless behavior can have a negative impact on their recovery as their instincts tend to be to prepare for a fight.”

The blonde slows his steps as he gets closer, head hanging slightly in shame as he moves a hand to the back of his head an indication of his sheepishness. “I offer my sincerest apologies.”

Talia gives a sharp nod of acceptance and as she goes to question who this young man is, the little girl behind her interrupts her. “Lemillion! What took you so long, you were supposed to stay with me.”

Eri steps out from behind Talia, her head tilted to the side curiously as she looks at the blonde teen in question.

Mirio sighs as he scratches the back of his head nervously. “I ran into someone downstairs and had to lead him to the pediatric ward since that is where student ages would go.”

Eri taps her chin in thought before looking at Mirio, “Who was it?”

Mirio winces at the question as he pulls out his provisional hero license and hands it over to Talia. “All Might is looking for Midoriya.”

Talia looks over the id before handing it back to the teen. She swipes her id on the pin pad noting that it says that Eraserhead is in there, before opening the door slowly “Eraser? This is nurse Talia. I have Eri and provisional hero Lemillion with me. I’m sending them inside.”

Shouta doesn’t let his guard down the slightest, even as he starts to approach the door. “Who was attempting to gain access?”

Eri pushes the door open a bit more to peek around it and into the room with a sheepish expression. “That was me sorry daddy. I wanted to enter the pin like you and poppa do! But I couldn’t figure out the right combination.”

Shouta releases his capture weapon a fond huff escaping him, “Eri you can’t just guess the code though. You only have 3 attempts before you send the whole hospital on high alert.”

Eri’s bottom lip quivers as tears start to fill her eyes. “I’m so sorry daddy. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.” She then turns to face Talia before bowing in apology. “I’m really sorry.”

Shouta places a hand on the top of Eri’s head, gently ruffling her hair. “It’s not your fault, if it’s anyone’s fault it would be your chaperone’s for letting you do your own thing.”

Talia smiles softly at the silver haired child before turning her attention to the dark-haired man. “As you know there are only allow to be 2 people visiting at a time, however I will let Dr. Ayreon and the other nurses that I made an exception due to someone being here looking for Izuku.”

Shouta tenses at that a slight frown sliding easily onto his face. “Who’s looking for him?”

Talia motions to Mirio who has snuck in quietly behind her and Eri. “Lemillion can inform you while I inform my colleagues what’s going on. My apologies.” She gives a quick nod of her head before exiting the room.

Shouta waits to hear the door lock engage before turning to Mirio. “Explain.”

Mirio gives a sharp nod of his head knowing that right now he’s not a student or Eri’s babysitter. No, this hospital visit has become him being Lemillion hero student, reporting to a Pro Hero who will do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe. “Upon our arrival, I was stopped by none other than All Might sir. He was asking why we're here, Eri informed him that we were visiting patients to make them happy. I quickly agreed, she informed me a bit of what was going on before we arrived showing that she knew more about the situation than I did. That being the case I followed her lead. She didn’t want All Might to know something, so we covered, I explained to him that we were doing community service for Eri’s school project which is to read to someone outside of her family. She chose to read to the heroes that are recovering.”

Mirio takes a moment to catch his breath before continuing his report. “All Might told us that was a kind thing to do and was sure to lift some spirits, even though he didn’t believe that we should be bothering the heroes. When asked what he was doing here, he explained to us that his old teacher was here the other night and heard mention of young Midoriya being here, so he wanted to check up on the boy. He didn’t have any idea where to look however so I took him to the pediatric ward explaining that since Midoriya is a minor he would probably be on that floor.”

Bakugo unable to keep quiet any longer growls, “What? Now that old bag of bones fucking cares?! When the damned nerd is lying here in a fucking coma?!”

Eri’s head turns as if on a swivel to face Bakugo, all guilt from almost locking down the hospital gone as she turns an impressive replicate of Shouta’s own scowl on the explosive teen. “Like you have any room to talk? I know what you did. I know about the burns you placed on him. He’s, my Deku. My hero. You told him to take a swan dive off a roof for something he couldn’t control. How could you?!”

Tears fall as Eri glares at Bakugo, those red eyes filled with a blazing fury.

Bakugo winces as he slowly approaches Eri to try to calm the girl down. They’ve gotten along before after all, and he knows that she’s justified in her feelings right now. Hell, he feels that way about himself with the situation. “I fucked up kid. I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have used my quirk on him, and I shouldn’t have given him that dumbass nickname. But I did and I can’t change that. But I promise you, and him that I’m going to be better. I’m going to be the best damn hero I can be. By learning to be a better person first.”

Eri’s little hands balls into fists that she clenches at her side, “You don’t get it! He’s dying! They don’t even know if he will wake up!” She can’t stop the anger, the hurt… from flowing through her as she pulls back her right fist and delivers a blow to Bakugo’s jewels.

Stepping back as she watches Bakugo fall, she lowers her hands back to her side tears just falling freely down her cheeks as she whispers brokenly, “Great...be a better person...but it may be too late for Deku to see.”

Shouta glances at Mirio before nodding his head to the side, gesturing towards Bakugo while he goes over to Eri and wraps his daughter in his arms letting her just cry for as long as she needs to.

It’s not until she starts to calm down to just an occasional sniffle that Shouta actually speaks, “That punch, you had good form kiddo.” It’s enough to break the tension in the room as a soft wet giggle escapes the child. “Thanks daddy. Poppa and Toshi taught me how to throw a proper punch.”

Shouta hmms softly in acknowledgment, “Did they now?

Eri nods her head into Shouta’s shoulder as she leans against him.

Shouta just hugs Eri close while looking over at the two blondes in the room, a brow arching in silent question.

Bakugo lets out a grunt as he slowly makes his way back to his feet, a hand still holding himself to try to ease the throbbing pain. “Fuck she packs a punch…”

Mirio moves a chair around so that Bakugo can sit in it, his face twisted in sympathy for the younger teen.

Shouta can’t help it; he lets out a soft snicker at Bakugo’s comment. “Apparently Mic and Shinsou were the ones to teach her how to throw a punch.”

Bakugo groans as he sits slowly in the chair, “Fucking great. I got DJ punched straight to the fucking balls.”

Mirio pats Bakugo’s shoulder in sympathy all while laughing, “It’ll toughen you up, you won’t believe how many villains and thugs tend to go for that spot.”

Shouta nods in agreement before his attention is diverted to the door as he hears what sounds to be a disturbance.

Outside of Izuku’s room stands a shriveled blonde man fingers hesitating over the pin pad briefly before he pulls out his phone to make sure he has the correct code. But before he gets a chance to even enter the code, he’s stopped by a nurse calling out to him.

“Excuse me sir? Did you check in with the nurses' desk? The occupant of this room is not allowed visitors unless they are cleared.” Talia hugs the chart she’s carrying close to her, silver eyes boring into the man trying to gain access to one of her patients' rooms.

The man turns, his hair tufts swaying in the small breeze that the movement creates. Blue eyes looking over the pink haired nurse, a frown set deep into his sunken face. “Ah yes! You see I teach at U.A and I happened to hear about one of our students being here. I just wanted to make sure that their recovery is coming along nicely?”

Talia narrows her eyes in distaste at the man. “Let’s not play this game, shall we? I know that you are All Might, and that while yes you teach at U. A you are not on the approved list to visit any of our patients that need the full security measures. Now you need to leave before I have security escort you out.”

All Might frowns at the young woman, “Now listen here young lady that is no way to talk to someone. I just wanted to make sure that my young student is alright.”

Talia doesn’t let anything show on her face as she taps the chart in her arms briefly in thought. “We only deal with fully licensed heroes here in the Hero Ward. If you’re looking for a student, why not check the pediatric ward?”

All Might glances back at the door he had been trying to gain entrance to giving a small shake of his head. “He wasn’t in the pediatric ward; I went there first. I decided to check here since he’s a hero student.”

“I’m sorry sir, but we don’t have any hero students here. As I said we only deal with fully licensed heroes. It would be too dangerous for a student to be here. Now I really must insist you leave. I can’t have you causing a commotion that could negatively impact our recovering heroes.” Talia gives All Might a soft but patient smile, showing all the care in the world for her patients.

“Let’s go Sir. The Nurse said you needed to leave. Allow me to escort you downstairs.”

All Might looks up at the man approaching who is every bit as big as he was when he still had possession of One for All. “Ah… I’d appreciate that, thank you young man.”

The security officer nods as he leads All Might away from the door. Never allowing the blonde to wait around as they head to the elevators where one is being held open by another officer.

Sighing softly to herself Talia scans her badge on the pin pad causing the door to unlock. Carefully, she opens the door just enough so that the occupants can hear her clearly. “This is Nurse Talia, I just wanted to inform you that it’s all clear, security is escorting All Might out of the building as we speak. There’s also a nurse at the desk currently reaching out to inform the others on the approved list of what has just happened. I apologize for the disturbance.”

Talia closes the door behind her making sure it locks yet again before heading to the nurses' station to help with making the phone calls.

Bakugo glares at the door in absolute hatred, like it had personally offended him. “How did he find out that this is where Midoriya is?”

Shouta turns his attention to Mirio, “You said All Might mentioned his old teacher, correct?”

Mirio nods, “Yes sir, Sir Nighteye mentioned before that Gran Torino was All Might’s teacher if that helps.”

Shouta picks Eri up carefully and settles her on the bed beside Izuku before taking a step back to look at the other boys in the room. “I’ll have someone look into it. In the meantime, it looks like you’re stuck here for a bit. So why don’t you tell me what you know about the kid’s quirk.”

Mirio’s eyes widen as he looks towards the door debating the odds of him managing to escape.

Chapter Text

Realizing the likelihood is very slim, Mirio takes a seat in the other chair. “Sir wanted me to be the next successor of the quirk. Had taken me under his wing to help me with my quirk but also to help me prepare to inherit the power of All Might. I didn’t know that at first. I just knew that Sir was interested in me and was helping me train my quirk.

It wasn’t until close to second year of U.A when we were supposed to have a meeting with All Might that he told me about this amazing quirk that could be passed down, and that he wanted me to be the successor of that power.” Mirio leans forward placing his head in his hands as the memories wash over him.

“All Might never made that meeting though… Sir was so upset. But I was so relieved. My quirk was already hard enough to control, I didn’t want to have this other quirk to try to train along with it.”

Shouta holds up a hand to interrupt his brows narrowing in suspicion, “Do you know why he didn’t show?”

Mirio gives a small nod of his head, “Sir said that All Might found another person who he believed could be the next holder of One for All.” He glances over at the unconscious teen with a sigh. “That’s the day he met Midoriya isn’t it?”

Closing his eyes for a moment Shouta nods faintly, “It appears that way yes. Anything else you can tell me?”

“Sir told me about All for One some super villain who has been after the quirk for centuries. How he killed the previous holder and nearly killed All Might. Sorry, that’s all I know.” Mirio takes a moment to fully take in the other occupant's forms. The guilt clinging to Bakugo who sits with his hands clenched, the stress and exhaustion that’s hanging off of Aizawa more than usual, and Eri... who even having fallen asleep curled up with Midoriya shows all the signs of someone who’s heartbroken, evident by the tears falling down her cheeks even in her sleep.

Turning his attention back to the oldest in the room he lowers his voice, “Can I ask what all this is about? Eri only told me about Midoriya being hurt, but it looks like he did this to himself. But that doesn’t explain Eri’s outburst, nor does it explain why All Might can’t know. As the predecessor to the quirk if Midoriya did try to commit…” Mirio frowns as his words get stuck in his throat. It takes him a few minutes to gather himself again before he tries to finish what he was saying. “If he did try to commit suicide, then All Might has every right to know about that.”

Bakugo sneers over at the other blonde “Yeah like that bastard would even care. Just like you probably don’t you’re only worried about the quirk aren’t you. You don’t care about De... Midoriya.”

“Bakugo that’s enough.” Shouta glares at the blonde teens trying to hold in his exasperation at the fact that again he is having to deal with loud blondes.

Mirio looks at Bakugo his smile tight, but he knows better than to call the other teen out for what he heard during Eri’s outburst. “I do care about Midoriya. He’s a good kid and he’ll make a great hero; he already is because he saved Eri. I just don’t understand how things got to be where they are now. He’s always seemed so happy. As for worrying about the quirk? Yeah, I am a little but that’s only because if All for One has truly been after it for years and it ceases to exist, then what happens?”

Bakugo gives a small huff, “Maybe it’s for the best if the quirk doesn’t exist.”

~*~

“They’re not even trying to keep this a secret anymore!” The third user, a man with hair tied up into a spiky ponytail with a black bandana exclaims as he jams his hands into the pockets of his combat jacket.

A bald-headed man slams his hands down on the arms of his chair as he glares over at the third user. “Now’s not really the time for keeping secrets! The kid deserves justice! From what I’m hearing 8’s sidekick told his student more than 8 told his own successor.”

“I’m sure that Toshinori had a good reason.” The only woman among the past users looks over at the ghostly form of her successor, casting him a sad smile before turning her attention back to those in front of her.

“Yeah, to see 9 get killed!” The bald man grunts out unhappily.

A white-haired man who looks rather malnourished sighs heavily, “That’s enough Banjo, Nana. Regardless of what has happened we can’t change it now. We just have to wait for 9 to wake up remember.”

“And when he doesn’t Yoichi? Because need I remind you all there’s a strong possibility that he’s dying? He couldn’t handle his job!” The second user, a man with short spiky hair and a scar across his face exclaims, his hands balling up into fists at his sides.

The fourth user, Hikage runs a hand down the crack on the left side of his face, his hand coming to rest near his lower lip as he gets lost in thought for a moment. “Then we go with him.”

Unable to stay quiet any longer, the 6^th user of One for All, a dark-haired man who wears a high collared jacket that obscures his mouth looks at the others around him. “9 is still a child, younger than any of us were when we took on the burden of defeating All for One. He shouldn’t have had to handle this, especially not by himself.”

“En is correct, though I have no idea why you all are so negative? I for one still have hope for our dearest 9.” Yoichi smiles softly to the other occupants of their ‘room’ as if a parent dealing with his petulant child.

~*~

A knocking on the door draws the attention of the occupants that are currently awake. Shouta gives a faint nod of greeting to the doctor as he walks into the room.

“Ah! Aizawa, good to see you again, and who are these young men?” Dr. Ayreon gives both of the blondes a critical look before he approaches the bed. A smile spreading across his face as he sees the silver haired child curled up asleep.

“The older of the boys is Mirio, he escorted Eri here today. The younger blonde is Bakugo. He’s one of my students.” Shouta gives nothing away as he talks to Izuku’s doctor.

Nodding in acquiesce Dr. Ayreon motions for the dark-haired man to come closer to the bed. “I need you to move the little miss if you don’t mind. Nedzu wants us to go ahead and run the next set of tests to see how Izuku is doing. So, I’m afraid you’re going to have to leave.”

Shouta frowns as he leans down to carefully take Eri into his arms, hesitating a moment as he’s so close to Izuku. He’s grateful that his husband isn’t here, as his hand twitches giving away how he wishes that he were picking up the greenette as well. “Give us an update when you get the results back?”

Dr. Ayreon nods as he goes about checking Izuku’s vitals while waiting for the rest of his team to arrive. “Of course, but remember there is a strong possibility that Izuku will not awaken from this. I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

Bakugo tenses hearing the doctor's words, head whipping to stare up at the other man. “What the hell do you mean that there’s a strong possibility that the nerd won’t wake up?! Of course, he will! He has to…”

Dr. Ayreon smiles softly to the young blonde even as his eyes sharpen, “Ah. I understand.” He briefly pats Bakugo’s shoulder in sympathy.

Shouta frowns at the blondes as he waits by the door holding Eri protectively in his arms. “Let’s go, we don’t want to get in their way.”

Not needing to be told again, the teens hurry after Aizawa each one lost in their own thoughts.

Chapter Text

Handing Eri off to Mirio once they arrive back on school grounds, Shouta pulls out his phone sending off a quick text to Hound Dog to see if he has time to talk to Bakugo.

He doesn’t even get a chance to put his phone away before he gets a response from the counselor. An automated response that gets sent in reply to any texts the man receives when he’s busy talking to someone. Nodding to himself, Shouta puts his phone away, knowing that once the other man is free, he’ll find him.

Mirio watches Shouta for a moment as he adjusts his hold on the snoozing Eri. “I’m going to take her to lay her down. Any chance that later on you guys can fill me in on what exactly is going on?”

Shouta gives Mirio a quick glance and a barely shrug of his shoulders, refusing to give the older boy a set answer without looking into a few things first.

Smile slipping ever so slightly at the vague answer, Mirio nods in understanding before carrying Eri away so that he can lay her down for a bit.

Turning his attention to the younger teen, Shouta motions for Bakugo to follow him.

Arriving in his office, Shouta sits down in his seat to just gaze at the blonde as he waits for him to take a seat.

Bakugo huffs as he sits down in the seat across from his teacher. “Get it over with ya damn caterpillar.”

Shouta narrows his eyes ever so slightly in annoyance at the nickname. “What did you mean back at the hospital when you said maybe it’s best if the quirk didn’t exist?”

“What are you stupid?! That damn smiley extra said it himself that All for One has been after the quirk for years.”

Pulling out a water bottle and a cup from his desk drawer, Shouta places the water bottle in front of Bakugo before reaching for the thermos that stays on his desk and pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Yes, but that doesn’t give me an answer to why you think that it would be best for the quirk to no longer exist.”

Ignoring the water, Bakugo slams his popping hands down on the desk, “Damn it all to Hell! If that quirk didn’t exist none of this would be fucking happening and the damn nerd wouldn’t be in the fucking hospital.”

Shouta casts a red eyed glare at Bakugo over the rim of his coffee cup, just in time to keep the desk from exploding. “If the quirk didn’t exist Midoriya could have been in the hospital or worse sooner.” He sees the moments that his words register as the anger starts to seep out of the teen, his shoulders losing their tension as they start to curl inwards.

Bakugo frowns as he slouches forward, the fight slowly leaving him. “He… wouldn’t have done that. De… The Nerd has always wanted to be a hero. He wouldn’t have stopped fighting for it without even trying!

“How could he keep fighting for it when everyone was intent on keeping him pushed down all because of something he couldn’t control.”

Shaking his head aggressively, Bakugo manages to growl out, “He wouldn’t have done it. He wouldn’t have fucking jumped!”

Setting his coffee cup down, Shouta stares blankly at the explosive teen in front of him. “Even with a quirk Bakugo, he still tried to end his life.”

Bakugo looks over at his teacher, red eyes determined but Shouta isn’t going to miss any of the signs with his students. Not anymore. Thats why he notices the slight wavering in his student, even as the kid squares his shoulders as he gears up for another fight. “That’s because of all the pressure that came with the quirk.”

Shouta arches a brow in question even as he gives a slight shake of his head. “Making excuses now? I thought you were better than that. Better than a lot of things actually.”

That seems to hit the teen hard, as Bakugo slumps back down into his seat, head hanging as his voice comes out softer than usual. “Teach… do you think someone that’s quirkless can be a hero?”

It doesn’t take him long to respond, he has known what he would have wanted to tell Midoriya if the boy had asked ever since he read those damn journals. “Would it be hard? Absolutely, but there are times when your quirk isn’t compatible, or when you can’t use your quirk to help you at all. If someone quirkless wanted to be a hero and knew that it would take a lot of work, and had the drive to do it? Yeah, I’d say they could be a hero. A quirk is just a tool Katsuki, the same as a knife to a chef, or a bow to a hunter.”

Bakugo doesn’t bother to look up as he lets the older man’s words replay over and over in his head.

Shouta doesn’t rush Bakugo in the slightest, he just picks up his cup and continues to quietly drink his coffee while checking his phone. Letting the kid take as much time as he needs to gather his thoughts.

Looking up after a few minutes, Bakugo watches the dark-haired man for a moment, as if wanting to say something but unable to find the words.

“Something I can help you with Bakugo?” Shouta sets his phone and coffee down, showing the teen that he is important by giving him his undivided attention.

“Yeah… think I can meet with the mutt?” Bakugo straightens, his voice coming out more irritated, as if he’s worried about Shouta judging him.

Shouta shrugs ever so slightly, “You’re in luck. He’s on his way here now.”

As if being summoned, a knock is heard on the door before Inui walks in, giving the office a cursory glance before letting a growl escape him as he looks at Shouta. “I thought that we agreed that you wouldn’t talk to the class until after I had talked to them.”

Shouta gives a non-committal shrug to his colleague, “We did. But It would have been illogical to allow what was said to go without me talking to him.”

Giving the dark-haired man a snarl in displeasure, the dog quirked man turns to Bakugo. “Want to tell me about what’s going on in that head of yours pup?”

Bakugo looks up at Inui then over to his teacher for a moment before huffing out a puff of air. “I bullied Deku. I noticed the days that I didn’t bully him, the rest of the class and the teachers messed with him. So, I made the decision that at least what I was doing wasn’t so bad.” Lowering his head, he places it inside his hands his voice coming out broken. “That is until I fucked up. I went too far. I told him to take a damn swan dive off the roof. Why the fuck did I say that? W... Why didn’t he call me on my bull shit before then?! Fuck. Why is he in the fucking hospital and I’m sitting here and not in some fucking police station.”

Taking the other seat in the office, the one next to Bakugo. Inui lets out a soft growl to get the blonde’s attention. “You’re here and not in a police station because you are young still pup. You made a mistake, which you have learned was wrong and even admitted it. That’s important. It shows remorse, and it shows that you still have potential.”

Bakugo sneers at the older men in the room, “Don’t mock me. I don’t have potential. We’re here so Aizawa can expel me. I’m not fucking stupid.”

Shouta shakes his head while taking a sip of his now cold coffee, “I’m not expelling you, Bakugo.”

Red eyes snap up to meet the onyx gaze of his teacher in absolute disbelief. “What the fuck do you mean you’re not expelling me. I caused Deku to commit suicide, so that makes me no better than a fucking villain. I can’t stay here.”

“You can, and you are. But there will be some conditions to that which we will discuss at a later date with Nedzu and your parents.”

“I don’t fucking get you!” Bakugo can’t keep the rage from boiling up inside of him again as he lets off a single pop in his hands before his quirk is canceled again.

“You don’t have to get it right now, but you will in time. Expelling you would do more harm than good because you showed remorse. You still have potential; we just have to work on more constructive ways for you to let out your anger and guide you on the path that you want to take in life.” Inui pushes himself up out of his seat and looks over at the explosive teen with a sharp grin. “Let’s go pup. You and I are going to go hash this stuff out, or at least make a schedule so that we can. Sound good.”

Bakugo nods as he gets up to follow after the counselor. Stopping at the door, he turns to look back at his teacher, “Hey Caterpillar. Do you think I can still be a hero?”

Shouta gives the boy a wicked grin, “Yeah kid. I think you can still be a hero. I think with a bit of guidance and learning more about the power that comes with being a hero that you’ll make a damn good one. We just have to help you unlearn all the behaviors that you learned as a kid. It’s not going to be easy. You will have consequences for what you have done, but I think you’ll do fine.”

Bakugo narrows his eyes in determination a cocky grin spreading across his face. “Just you watch Teach! I’ll take everything you and the mutt throw at me and conquer it so I can be the best fucking hero you’ve ever seen.” Grin twisting into a smile that is tinged with sadness he takes a moment to meet the eyes of both of the older men. “I’m going to be the number 1 hero. Not just for me but because that’s what Deku has always wanted. When that nerd wakes up... well he’ll have to kick my ass to pry the spot from my hands.”

Laughing to himself, Bakugo can’t help but voice the thought going through his head, “Fuck that’ll be one time I’ll be happy to have my ass handed to me.”

Shaking his head Inui carefully guides the boy out the door, so they can go talk in his office.

Shouta watches them walk away before checking his phone and groaning as he sees the message from Nedzu. Turning to the camera in the room he dons a deadpanned expression. “You couldn’t have let me nap for a bit before this?”

Knowing he isn’t going to get a response, Shouta exits his office, making sure to lock up before heading to his next destination.

Chapter Text

Hot fury floods his entire being as Nedzu sits in his office, paws tapping at his desk unable to keep his body still due to the rage flowing through his body. He knew by the pain ebbing at his scar that today was going to be a hard day. But not once did he think that he would be giving merit to the thought of calling a day bad.

Days are just days after all. Some just have more potential to be trying than others. Deeming a day bad or good just because of the happenings that day has never made any sense to him. A day is just a day. Marked with a number and given a name in the sake of keeping track of time. That’s all there is to it.

However today... dare he say it? Cave to the mundane saying?

…

It’s a bad day.

He’s having a bad day.

All he wants to do is go feral and tear his teeth and claws into all of those who have unjustly hurt the comatose boy at the hospital.

The day had started off fine besides for the pain in his scar which he’s grown accustomed to so that really doesn’t count. But it immediately got turned up on its head.

By none other than that nurse from the hospital. Talia. Yes, that’s the name of the young woman. He liked her. She was smart from what he has gathered from their conversations the last few times he went to visit Izuku. Plus, she didn’t take anyone’s crap as evident from what he had been informed of this morning. That none other than All Might had been sniffing around the hospital for one of his students.

Oh, that made his blood boil. If the man had given an ounce of care before now this might not be happening. Did he blame the former #1 for Midoriya’s attempt? Absolutely. He read the boy’s letter himself. If the boy blamed the hero turned teacher than that was who he was going to blame as well.

But on top of that he had been reviewing U. A’s own security footage and he was not impressed. No. He was livid.

He knew that the first Heroics lesson had been bad. He had watched the aftermath. But he like the rest of the teachers had just assumed the rivalry between the two boys. Watching it with the knowledge that Bakugo was a bully and Midoriya his victim... That made it so much worse.

Watching how Mineta interacted with Midoriya was just... wrong. The small taunts after the sports festival of “You’re not up there. Told you, you scared them.” It wasn’t enough to call bullying, but it is those kinds of snide remarks that can very quickly, and quite easily turn into bullying.

Then Monoma hitting Midoriya in the head with his tray at lunch before taunting the greenette and his friends. “I guess the sports festival wasn’t enough. You just keep getting attention with one stunt after another. Huh, class A?” He’ll need to make sure to talk to Vlad about Monoma, so the kid knows what is considered appropriate taunting and what is borderline bullying. Such as taunting about traumatic experiences.

Watching the footage of the Final Exam... Was both not as bad and worse than the first Heroics lessons. Because while yes Bakugo fought with Midoriya they did end up working together… to an extent. No, the reason it was worse was because All Might was brutal. Seeing the powerful man standing on the backs of the students he fought against as if they were nothing but stepping-stones was cruel, and he knew about cruelty.

He himself is considered cruel due to not really understanding human emotions and having a strong distaste for humans due to his past. But even he left a path for the students in charge of fighting him. Also, while he knocked down the surrounding buildings, he was very aware of where his students were so not to cause them any major injuries.

Then it was the fight between Midoriya and Bakugo after the provisional license exam which had him disappointed in himself for not realizing the true nature behind that fight beforehand.

The fact that it wasn’t so much a fight between perceived rivals, nor bully to victim… No. It was a fight where they were actually trying to understand each other in the only way they knew how.

A fight between an individual who grew up knowing only winning and being the best… and another who knew only loss and yet his hope kept him reaching towards his dreams.

A step towards healing for both boys. One who was grieving over a fault that was not his own, and one who has never understood the reason behind the hatred the other boy had towards him.

A knock on his door draws him back to the present. Glancing over at the security camera he pours himself a refill of tea knowing that he is going to need it for this meeting before pushing a button under his desk allowing the door to open.

“Nedzu, how are you doing?” The skeletal man asks in a form of greeting as he walks into the office.

The chimera doesn’t answer right away, instead taking the time to pour his guest some green tea before reclaiming his seat.

“Ah, Thank you!” Yagi takes the tea and begins sipping at it as if it will soothe all of his aches.

“Do you know why I called you in here Yagi?”

Setting his tea down, Yagi clasps his hands together while his relaxed look becomes more pensive. “I’m sure it has something to do with that rude young lady at the hospital?”

“Hmm. I think she’s quite lovely. Very dedicated to her work and her patients.” Nedzu takes a sip of his drink just watching the man in front of him.

“Yes well, you have been fortunate enough not to meet her. I assure you old friend... she’s rude.”

“I have in fact met with young Nurse Talia; I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing her interact with some of the injured heroes that she tends to. I’ve even offered her a job here as a nurse.” Nedzu grins as he watches the emotions flash across Yagi’s countenance. Shock, Confusion, Horror, and even Anger.

“What about Recovery Girl? Chiyo has been our nurse for ages, surely she’s more qualified than this other nurse.”

“You’re right, Recovery Girl has been our nurse for ages, and due to the increase of injuries that she has to deal with both here and when other hospitals call her in, it’s only fitting that U.A have more than just her. The burden of doing so much on her own has caused her to neglect one of our students and I’m not happy about that. Which is why I chose Nurse Talia to work here. I believe that Nurse Talia has the comforting hand that the students need while also being firm enough that if anyone, Recovery Girl, You, or even myself, threatens the well-being of her patient that she won’t hesitate to put her foot down.” Taking a quick sip of his tea, Nedzu continues, not bothering to give the blonde a chance to talk.

“But yes, you are at least partially correct on the reasoning you’re here. It is indeed because Nurse Talia called, however that was a development from this morning. I had already planned to call you in to discuss your absence at the last staff meeting.”

Yagi coughs, and immediately pulls out a handkerchief to clean his mouth with. “Oh that? I had appearances to make even though I’m not an active hero, I am still the Symbol of Peace. I chose to do what was more important.”

“Those staff meetings are part of your job as a teacher.”

“Yes, but we both know the only reason I became a teacher was to find a successor, which I did.” Yagi shrugs as if it’s no big deal.

Gripping his teacup with his paws, Nedzu levels a disappointed gaze upon the Symbol of Peace. “In that case, you’ll have no problem signing these papers.” Setting his cup down gently, Nedzu slides over some papers and a pen.

Signing his name on the papers where an X indicates for him to sign, Yagi looks up briefly. “What are these?”

Nedzu shakes his head at the idiocy of the man, signing papers before even knowing what they are. “Resignation papers. Effective immediately. You, Toshinori Yagi, All Might… are no longer employed by U.A and honestly? You’re very lucky that’s all that is happening, and you are not arrested.”

Sputtering blood, Yagi stands up in outrage. “Arrested?! For choosing what remains of my hero work over teaching?!”

“No. Choosing your hero work over your students is why you’re fired. Everyone else on staff knows that their hero work while important, cannot impede with their teaching. The students don’t deserve that. They deserve having dedicated teachers who will help them grow.” Nedzu stands up in his chair, the fury burning in his veins so close to boiling over. “The reason for being arrested? Is because you told a quirkless child to be realistic, then proceeded to leave him on the top of the roof.”

He enjoys watching as the man’s face turns almost as white as his fur, enjoys the haunted look that passes across his face, and he knows that his current line of thinking isn’t suited to being a hero, but he can’t bring himself to care. Because all he can think about is everyone who has hurt the sunshine boy of 1-A.

Yagi looks at the ground, his voice barely above a whisper, “How’d you find out?”

Sitting back down, Nedzu looks into his teacup frowning as he finds it empty. “Midoriya committed suicide over break. I am in possession of his journal to try and figure out why he went to such lengths. Imagine my surprise to find out how many times you failed him as a teacher… and then I got curious about your meeting which he mentions in a brief way. Obviously more excited about your change of heart.”

“Aizawa mentioned… I didn’t… I didn’t believe him. Gran… he told me he heard something about someone fitting young Midoriya’s description while he was at the hospital. I wanted to see him. Tell him I’m sorry…” Sitting back in his own seat, Yagi just stares ahead of him as if in shock.

“And try to get your quirk back?”

“A...Ah, Aizawa told you about that?” Coughing Yagi just stares at the blood that gets on his hand.

“No. Security footage is a thing. We have them here, just like the building that you left him on had them as well.”

“Wait… why would a building have cameras on their roof?”

Clasping his paws together, Nedzu lets out a small, disappointed sigh. “They have security camera’s up there because of people committing suicide. It’s tall enough that if someone would jump from there it’s almost guaranteed that they will die on impact.”

Yagi shakes his head in denial, “He wouldn’t have done that... He wouldn’t have jumped.”

Narrowing his eyes Nedzu lets out something akin to a snarl. “He wouldn’t have? That same day his class laughed at him and tormented him because he wanted to go to U.A, he had been told to take a swan dive off the roof, then clinging to that little bit of hope, he asked a hero a question which you gave him the damning answer to be realistic.”

Tears fall from eyes darkened by shadows as the gaunt man moves his hands to his face as he allows himself to openly cry. “I didn’t… I… Nana would be so disappointed in me.”

Nedzu just watches the former #1 hero, as he falls apart, offering no sympathy to the man.

Chapter Text

It’s not long after All Might leaves his office that his phone starts ringing, and it’s with a sigh of a long day that he answers the phone. “Am I a dog, a mouse or a bear? All that is certain is that I’m Nedzu, Principal of U.A!”

A somber giggle is his response on the other line, and it lasts only briefly, “Principal Nedzu, this is Talia again from the Hero ward at Musutafu General Hospital? I’m calling you to let you know that Dr. Ayreon has read the results of Izuku’s latest tests. Would you be able to come in for us to discuss them with you?”

Nedzu looks down at his schedule for the day before responding, “Is after school alright?”

There’s a rustling of pages for a moment over the line, “That’s fine, Dr. Ayreon is here until 6 this evening.”

“I’ll inform Aizawa, and we’ll be there before then, Thank you for your diligence, Talia.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll let Dr. Ayreon know to expect you after school lets out. Have a good rest of your day.”

Looking down at his phone as the call ends, Nedzu sends off a message to Aizawa to summon the tired man to his office.

That done, Nedzu gets up and starts a pot of coffee for the dark-haired man’s arrival before moving to make himself a new cup of tea.

He’s rather grateful that it takes the tired hero a few minutes to get to his office as it gives him time to calm down from the hectic morning he’s had.

Glancing at the other security screen in his office, he reaches over to push a button, causing the door to open before the person on the other side even has the chance to knock.

“I hate when you do that.”

Letting a small laugh escape, Nedzu gets up to pour his guest some tea. “Maybe that’s why I continue to do it.”

Glaring at the quirked chimera, Aizawa lets himself sink down onto the plush sofa in the room. “I hate you.”

Shaking his head knowingly, Nedzu takes the cup of tea to the perpetually tired man. “I assure you the feeling is mutual. Though I’m afraid that I didn’t ask you here just to indulge in our usual banter.”

Taking the cup from his boss, Aizawa sits up slowly, like it takes every ounce of energy he has to do so. “If not that, then did you have an update in the case?”

“While that would be optimal, unfortunately that’s not the case. I was watching the videos for our school and while there thankfully weren’t many instances, there were a few that we had blatantly ignored. One instance was in your homeroom class while you were there, right after the sports festival. Where Mineta made a comment to Midoriya about, how he scared the pros which is the reason why he didn’t get scouted. While accurate, you know just how much of a slippery slope those snide comments can be.”

Aizawa sets his tea down as it suddenly leaves a nasty taste in his mouth. “I must apologize for my negligence. I’m not doubting you in the slightest, however I can’t remember hearing the comment myself.”

Nedzu waves the apology off easily enough. “You’re not the only one who has missed things, we all just have to be more vigilant going forward. Not just on possible villain attacks, but on our student’s health. I plan to have a talk with Vlad about this as well due to Monoma having the audacity to use a traumatic experience as a taunt towards your students. That’s a line that shouldn’t have been crossed.”

Aizawa nods in understanding. “I’m aware of how Monoma behaved to an extent due to Midoriya’s journal, but you’re right that there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Is that all?”

“Of course not!” Nedzu settles a slightly feral look upon his guest, a sharp grin taking over his face. “I had a talk with Yagi earlier, and as of this morning, All Might is no longer under the employment of U.A.”

That has Aizawa leaning forward, a brief moment of shock taking over his features before his unsettling grin takes its place. “How did that go over?”

Nedzu gives a small shake of his head, “Not kindly I must say. But considering I informed him that he neglected his duties as a teacher, as well as him being lucky he wasn’t being arrested, he seemed to accept it. Just wanted answers which I gladly gave. You know I love teaching.”

“You threatened to arrest him?” Aizawa’s eyes blow wide, his grin becoming slightly manic and for a brief moment, he almost resembles a child in a candy shop in his excitement.

Watching Aizawa’s reactions brings a smile to Nedzu’s face. He’s always regretted not being able to help the man’s younger self more causing the man to grow up to be rather jaded like himself. Therefore, moments like these are quite rare, and he treasures them more than he cares to admit.

“I did no such thing. I informed him that he could have been due to his carelessness atop of a certain building where he had such a careless interaction with a child.” Shrugging his shoulders, Nedzu reaches out and picks up his teacup.

“The only proof of that we have is Izuku’s journal. We both know that wouldn’t be enough evidence.”

“That would be correct except I did some digging. The building it occurred on has security cameras on the roof, due to the owner’s granddaughter being quirkless. Once I told him a bit about what happened, he was all too happy to give me access to the footage.” Nedzu sets his tea down after taking a small drink, eyes drifting up to meet his protege’s.

He can’t think. His brain is stuck on the fact that they could literally have All Might arrested and give the kid some closure for something that obviously impacted him more than he ever allowed to show. Part of him even wants them to arrest All Might, but he knows better and as much as he hates to admit it, he trusts the rat. Instead, as his head clears, Aizawa looks at the chimera his stoic expression slipping back into place. “So that’s all then? Izuku won’t have to worry about All Might?”

“Unless he finds out that Izuku is still alive, then he won’t have to worry about him. Nor will the rest of your class. That being said, what do you think about Hawks teaching Heroics?”

Getting up, Aizawa moves over to pour himself another cup of coffee, “I think he’d do better at it than All Might did. I even think that he’d actually try to get the credentials to do so, what plan do you have and how is it going to affect my class?”

Nedzu can’t help but laugh at the accusation, “I just believe that it’s time for Hawks to be free. After all, a cage is no place for an animal. Don’t you agree?”

Aizawa lets out a tired sigh as he levels his boss an unimpressed look, “You know I do, now cut the crap. What else do you need from me?”

Letting out his own small sigh, Nedzu glances into his teacup just staring at the liquid. “Nothing for that. I’ll see about having Snipe show Hawks the ropes should the young hero agree. I do need you to meet me at the hospital after classes are over today.”

Tensing, Aizawa’s back straightens as he turns to look at his boss. “What? Is Izuku alright?”

Nedzu gives the dark-haired man an appraising look, taking in the tension and the worry that seeps into those dark onyx eyes before turning away to glance at the clock. “His nurse, Talia, called right before I messaged you earlier. They have the latest results for Izuku’s tests.”

Nodding in understanding, Aizawa leans his back against the counter. “That’s fine, I was planning on taking Yaoyorozu and Todoroki there anyway. Would you rather I wait?”

Giving a small nod of affirmation, Nedzu finishes off his cup of tea. “Let’s wait till we hear what the doctor has to say shall we?”

(Hmmm cliff hanger here?)

(Nah…)

That evening in Izuku’s room finds Nezu in the company of not only Aizawa but Mic as well, and really, he should have expected that. “Yamada glad you could join us.”

He receives a rather lack luster finger gun from the excitable man, which he doesn’t bother taking offense to. There’s no reason to, not when they are here for the same reason, to check on a student. A student that they and society all failed.

“Sorry for not informing you ahead of time.” Aizawa answers groggily, a tell-tale sign that he must have napped on the way over here.

“Not to worry. I really should have expected as much, but it’s been a rather… bad day.” The words leave a horrible taste in his mouth admitting out loud and not just in his head like earlier.

Yamada glances from the chimera to his husband, eyes wide in slight panic as he leans closer to the tired man, “What do we do? I don’t know how to react. Should I inform the hospital to go on lock down?! Nezu said bad day… he always tells us a day is just a day… it’s just what we make of it! What do we do?!”

Aizawa lets out an exhausted sigh, whether from actual tiredness or due to being done with the blonde’s theatrics is hard to tell. “First off Zashi… I’m proud of you for keeping your inside voice, and No. Don’t tell the hospital to go on lock down, that seems illogical at this point.”

Nezu lets a grin spread across his face at the scene, he does enjoy causing people, even those that he works with and considers friends, to panic. It gives him a bit of petty amusement.

As they wait for the doctor, Nezu climbs up onto the bed, allowing a paw to rest on top of Izuku’s hand. He gives the greenette his undivided attention for a few moments, just staring at the young teen before turning back to face his colleagues. “I thought you’d like to know that I have a meeting with the Detective tomorrow.”

Aizawa gives a nod, “Reach out to Bakugo’s parents, see if they can come to the school or the station. Bakugo is willing to be a witness.”

Nedzu hums in thought as he glances back down at the student they failed. “Not that a witness is necessary, due to the journal and footage. However, I’ll bring it up to Tsukauchi.”

All three heroes turn to face the door, as they hear movement outside, just before the door opens and in steps Dr. Ayreon.

“Gentlemen. Good to see you, though I do wish it were on better terms.”

“Dr. Ayreon, you wished to go over the results with us?” Nezu gives the kind doctor a small nudge. He knows for a fact that he, as well as the other two staff members would rather skip all the pleasantries.

“Yes, of course.” Walking over to a white board, Dr. Ayreon flips the light on behind it, as he hangs up some dark but slightly colorful images. “These are the scans that we took of Izuku’s brain.” He points to one, then the one beside it. “This first one, is the test that we took upon Izuku’s arrival. The one beside it, is his last test, as you can see there is some difference in levels of brain activity.” Giving the three heroes a chance to truly look the scans over, Dr. Ayreon moves to the other end of the board, near the second picture, and hangs yet another scan. “This here is the result of his latest scan. As you can see from the first one to this one, there is a vast amount of difference in the coloring.”

Aizawa looks like he’s been hit by a bus as he sees the images, sees the decline. He knows what is coming next and he hates it.

Hizashi wraps his arms around his husband in a comforting embrace, all the while, tears start to build up in his eyes. He’s not stupid. He knows what those images mean, and it’s already breaking his heart.

Nedzu glances from the images down to the green-haired teen.

“I’m sorry. But at the rate of Izuku’s decline, we expect him to be completely brain dead within the next 3 days.”

Chapter Text

‘Where’s your hope now Yoichi? 3 days and the kid will likely be dead. Toshinori should have never given the boy the quirk!’ The second user turns to punch the wall as a way to let go of some of the anger burning inside of him.

‘I know it seems unlikely Second, but I believe in these people who truly care about Nine’ Yoichi carefully places his hand on his successor’s shoulder, trying to calm the other man.

Sneering in disdain, Second shrugs off Yoichi’s hand. ‘Right because your belief is going to make it where Nine doesn’t die.’

Nana walks over to the two and shushes them, causing the two men to become aware of the doctor talking again.

“That being said however, I’d like to bring up another option that you do have.”

Aizawa doesn’t react to Dr. Ayreon’s words in the slightest. How can he, when all he can focus on is the fact that his kid is dying. That they only have 3 days left with the boy and it guts him. He can feel the panic start to settle in, no longer feeling grounded by his husband’s embrace. Instead, he’s floating, the words ‘Well Kacchan it’s not a roof, but it’ll work’ ring through his head as if on a loop.

Teary gaze and all turns from the doctor to his hyperventilating partner, as Hizashi moves his arms ever so slowly, to run through Aizawa’s hair. A faint smile tugs at his lips after a moment, as the dark-haired man starts to breathe a bit easier. “You’re doing great panther. How did we get Dirtbag?”

It takes a moment to get a response, but soon, a voice just above a whisper breaks the quiet of the room. “You carried him into the apartment in your takeout bag.”

Hizashi’s smile widens as he gives a small nod of approval, “Why was he in there?”

The answer comes faster this time, “He ate some of my sashimi.”

Glancing down at his husband, Hizashi hums for a moment, “What else did he eat?”

A small grin slides across Aizawa’s face as he leans up to look at his loud blonde. “He ate all of your fried chicken.”

Hizashi leans down to place a small kiss on the dark-haired man’s nose “Good job panther. Wanna talk about it?” He knows the answer even before the underground hero shakes his head in the negative, so instead, he turns his attention to the doctor. “What kind of option?”

Dr. Ayreon gives Aizawa a calculating look, clearly making sure the other man is truly alright before turning his attention back to Izuku’s file. “The option is the use of a quirk that we have access to.”

“What’s the quirk?” Aizawa narrows his eyes suspiciously at the doctor. “More importantly, why were we not informed of it before now?”

Dr. Ayreon just smiles at the annoyance that the other man has. “The reason it was not offered as an option before now is because certain criteria has to be met for the quirk to be compatible for activation.”

Nezu hums softly as he gets down off of Izuku’s bed. “I’m quite curious what kind of quirk is involved that can help here. The only one I can think of is currently unstable and none of your staff, yourself included has your quirks listed in your personnel files.”

Hizashi mouths unstable to himself before dropping his head on top of wavy black hair. Because of course his little girl could help, and in the chaos of everything they hadn’t even thought about it.

“Nezu is correct, while the quirk could help it would have been illogical to mention it to its user. She has been practicing on plants but even that isn’t reliable yet.”

Dr. Ayreon nods in complete understanding, “Understandable. Telling someone who has the power to help but isn’t ready to utilize the power that way would do more harm than good. That being said, let me get nurse Talia and she can explain her quirk so that we can decide where to go from here.” He waits for a few to see if they have any other questions before leaving the room when there are none immediately brought up.

Yoichi glances over at his successor a single white brow raised as if daring the man to have another outburst.

Banjo lets out a loud and boisterous laugh as he smacks Second on the back, “Ah you should know not to challenge Yoichi!”

The second user spins around to face Banjo, aiming to punch the 5^th holder of One for All only for the other man to dodge his attempt and immediately begin bouncing on his toes clearly itching for a fight of his own.

En watches the other men with an exasperated look before turning to look at the ones who came before him. “The doctor said that he was fetching the nurse. Settle down before he gets back.”

Aizawa takes the chance to get up out of Hizashi’s embrace, moving so he can sit in the chair next to the greenette’s bed. Reaching out a hand, he carefully takes the teens hand into his own, noting just how different they are. Not just in size but also all of the scars covering the kids.

Hizashi doesn’t even try to keep his husband in his arms, he just watches the other man with a sad expression.

Nezu gives the two men a few moments to themselves as he pulls out his phone, sending an email to Tsukauchi to give him an update as well as see if he wanted to reach out to the Bakugo family. He just gets the email completed and sent off before the door to the room opens again.

Walking into the room Talia looks takes in the expressions everyone has on their face, a sad smile tugging at her lips. “Nezu, Aizawa, Yamada, I’m not going to bother with pleasantries if that’s alright with you gentlemen. Dr. Ayreon told me that you all would like more information on my quirk?”

“Yes, that’s correct, he didn’t give us much information, not even telling us what it is.” Hizashi gives the young woman a small smile, it’s all he can manage when his heart is hurting the way it is.

Nodding in understanding Talia moves further into the room after double checking the door is secure. “My quirk is called Second Chance. It’s one of the reasons I chose to become a nurse and work with heroes and aspiring heroes. The activation for my quirk is rather tricky, and then meeting the criteria that I myself deem necessary makes it very unlikely that I find someone suitable to help by using my quirk.”

Holding her hand up, Talia shakes her head at the gentlemen, “I’ll answer questions in a few, please be patient. First off, my quirk’s activation requirements are: a person having severe enough trauma and being on their death bed. Heroes tend to meet those requirements more often than others. That’s why I am in the hero ward.”

Talia gives the occupants of the room a moment to process that before continuing. “What Second Chance does is exactly what it sounds like. It gives a person a second chance by resetting them back to before the trauma began. The downside to that is if the person has had multiple traumatic experiences, I have no control on which one they are reset to. Most that are compatible choose not to utilize my quirk in fear of the recipient or themselves becoming a minor who has to have someone ready to care for them. That brings me to the personal requirements that I deem necessary before I use my quirk.”

Talia looks at the gentlemen in the room, her silver eyes hardening as if in a warning. “A support system. You wouldn’t believe how many people don’t have that support system in place, and without one I will not offer my quirk even if the other criteria is met. I will not be the reason someone continues to suffer because they didn’t have a system ready to care for them.” Eyes softening as she looks over at the green haired teen, a smile tugs at her lips as she sees Aizawa holding the boy’s hand. “Sleeping beauty here meets the requirements for my quirk as well as my own personal requirements. So, I offer the use of it if you all choose to accept it.”

Aizawa looks from the boy to the pink haired nurse, onyx eyes guarded as he refuses to get his hopes up. Thankfully his husband doesn’t have that problem as the blonde pipes up without hesitation, “He would wake up?”

“Yes sir, however, keep in mind that I don’t know what age he would be once he’s reset. I can tell how many traumatic experiences someone has but not the ages or what they entail.”

Hizashi practically vibrates in his seat from excitement.

Setting his phone down, Nezu turns to his future employee, “Would he remember anything?”

Talia shakes her head in the negative before replying. “Unfortunately, no. It’s not just his body that’s reset, it’s his mind as well. He will basically have amnesia where he doesn’t recover any of his memories.”

Nezu nods then glances around the room noticing that Aizawa just keeps looking from Izuku to the nurse as if in hidden disbelief while Hizashi’s excitement has started to wear off and instead leaving panic. “I don’t believe that either of them are in a place to give you an answer this evening, instead can we let you know tomorrow?”

“Of course! Please no later than tomorrow though. My quirk works on those that are dying, but not the deceased.”

“You will have it first thing in the morning.” Aizawa says snapping out of it as he stands up, offering his hand to his husband to help the other man up out of his own seat.

Talia nods with a small smile “Well in that case, I’m going to be going. You all have a good evening.” Moving closer to Izuku, she gives the boy’s hair a small ruffle before heading to the door, “See you tomorrow sleeping beauty.”

The pros watch the nurse leave before following her lead. They have a lot to talk about and truly the hospital room isn’t the best place to do it. Especially when there are people missing that needs to be included in the decision.

“Our apartment or your office?” Aizawa glances at his boss curiously.

“Conference room 2. I’ll get in touch with Hound Dog and Midnight on the way back to the school.”

Aizawa gives a slight nod in agreement, “Sounds good, we will have Hitoshi make sure Eri is ready once we get in the car.”

The previous holders of One for All stay quiet till everyone has left Izuku’s room before talking. A familiar misty figure clearly absent from this particular meeting.

“So, depending on their decision Nine should be fine right?” Banjo looks over at his fellow past users excitement written both on his face and in his voice.

“Yes, but the nurse did say that she has no control over what age Nine could be reversed to should they choose to use her quirk.” Hikage leans forward placing his head on left hand, allowing his pinky to occasionally rub over the scar-like cracks in his face.

“True. That being the case what does everyone want to do? Should we fight her quirk so we can stay, or do we allow her quirk to do what it needs with no fight which could very well end us?”

“Yoichi?” Third looks over at the original holder surprised.

“Are you actually considering allowing One for All to end?” Second looks at his predecessor in thinly veiled annoyance.

Yoichi lets out a sigh as he sits back in his seat, gaze going up to look at the ceiling of their little room. “I’m just saying that with this quirk it’s unknown what will happen to us. If Nine is changed back to before his attempt or the USJ, obviously we should still be with him. However, if he is changed back to an age before Eight passed One for All on then we have a less likely chance of still being with him. Therefore, I’m asking for votes, do we fight to stay if it comes down to that or not? I for one am tired of fighting.”

Second huffs as he turns back to facing the wall, “No brainer. All for One is still Alive even if he is imprisoned. We fight.”

“I agree with First. I’m tired of fighting.”

“I agree with Second. All for One is still alive so we fight. Besides my dearest successor, you chose to hide away, you’ve not really fought.” Third looks at the man with the cracks in his face that he chose to carry One for All.

Banjo looks around the room at his fellow holders, “As much as I hate to possibly put this burden on a younger version of Nine, I say we Fight.” He looks over at the two remaining members of their group who have yet to cast their own vote.

Nana rubs her arms as she casts a glance to where the misty figure of her successor usually resides with a frown. “I feel bad doing this without Toshinori… but I don’t want Nine to continue to suffer. So, I say we don’t fight.”

“I know Nana and I apologize but I rather be certain that it won’t find its way back to Eight.” Yoichi turns his attention to the final holder among them who hasn’t spoken. “Looks like you're the deciding vote En.”

The dark-haired man narrows his eyes at the other users in disdain, clearly not happy about the position they just put him in.

Chapter Text

Walking into the conference room Aizawa glances at his coworkers, noting the looks on their faces. The shocked relief almost palpable as he turns his attention to his boss.

“Now that we are all here let’s discuss what we would like to do shall we?” Nezu looks at his employees and the two children as he opens his laptop to start a text document.

Nemuri glances around her face starting to settle into a frown, “I don’t see what needs to be done. We want to the green bean to live right?”

There’s a brief moment where she watches as her friend starts to twitch, the blond fidgeting ever so slightly that she only notices because of how long she’s known him. “Zashi?”

At the mention of her father, Eri turns her attention to the loud man who is uncharacteristically quiet. “Poppa?”

Said blonde looks up in slight alarm before dropping his gaze to the floor unable to look the two most important females in his life in the eyes right now. Not as he fidgets as he feels his skin starting to crawl.

“Hizashi. You do want Izuku to live right?”

Looking over at Nemuri’s feet briefly he starts pacing back and forth in the conference room. “I do… But I… I… I just need a moment to panic, okay?”

Aizawa looks at his husband onyx eyes filled with concern, “Zashi?”

Hizashi smiles wobbly at his dark-haired husband as his glasses slip showing teary chartreuse eyes.

Aizawa wastes no more time as he wraps his arms around his upset blonde. “What’s going on Hizashi?”

Sniffling lightly, Hizashi glances around the room while wrapping his arms around his darker half. “I just... What’s going to happen with his quirk?”

Hitoshi levels Hizashi with a look that at any other time would make Aizawa proud of the just plain dead look on his face. “Like that matters?”

“What?! Hitoshi… It does matter! I'm not trying to be quirkist in the slightest. It's just that I don’t want him growing up being treated like he was before. He’s been hurt so much already.”

Hitoshi rolls his eyes at his blonde father figure. "He wouldn't be. We wouldn't let him be.

Inui watches the other occupants of the room for a few moments before giving an understanding nod. “I think that’s a better place to start. What is everyone feeling right now with what we know so far? I’ll start.” The hunting dog hero stands from his seat as if planning to present a presentation, but instead just says, “With what we know of Nurse Talia’s quirk, realistically I would like Izuku to be alive and preferably with his quirk simply because no matter how much work we do to change things, a quirkless child would still have a hard go at it.”

Understanding what the Inui is doing, Nezu gives the other man an appreciative nod of his head, “I personally hope that Izuku wakes up as a middle school student. I don’t care if he has a quirk or not, from what I’ve had the pleasure of seeing from his past work and his analysis notebooks he’s got a raw talent that I would love to nurture...”

Nemuri watches her boss for a moment before giving a small sigh, “I just want the green bean alive. Regardless of his age or quirk status. He deserves a chance to have a happy life.”

Hitoshi debates saying anything at all, but another look over at his Pops shows that he needs this, and that’s honestly enough to have him awkwardly clearing his throat. “I don’t want him to be de-aged. I want him to be back as just before the holidays, that way…” He can’t help but fiddle with the back of his neck as his nerves start to get to him. “I can see if he’d still like to be friends.”

Eri turns wide apple red eyes up at her brother clearly surprised before her gaze hardens ever so slightly. The spark of determination filling them as her cheeks puff out for a moment as she gathers her thoughts. “I want a little brother. Toshi is a great big brother, but I want a little brother too. Knowing that De...Izu -” She smiles brightly at the change in name that feels just right for her hero. “Knowing Izu went through so much… how he protected me because I was little… I want to do that for him. Toshi takes care of me when daddy and poppa are busy, so I could take care of little Izu like a big… big sister!”

Hizashi looks at his kids a proud smile on his face even as his voice comes out ever so slightly wobbly. “You all wouldn’t care if he ends up quirkless?” He’s only mildly surprised at the varying head shakes he gets in the negative. Turning his attention to the dark-haired man still embracing him he gives a soft hum of curiosity.

Barely managing to keep from rolling his eyes, Aizawa gives his husband a soft glare. “I just want him alive Hizashi. Everything else… age, quirk, whatever. It’s just details that can be worked around and adjusted to. A quirk is just a tool, you know that Zashi.”

Hizashi nods before leaving his husband’s arms as he lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Yeah. You’re right. Sorry about that everyone I just needed a moment to panic”

“Think about it this way Yamada… Instead of worrying about all of the what ifs that could happen. Try only thinking about what can be helped. We can’t control if Izuku gets de-aged or loses his quirk. What we can control, is if Izuku gets another chance at living or not.” Inui gives his blonde coworker a once over, double checking that the man is actually doing better before turning his attention back to the front of the conference room.

Hizashi flashes a bright smile at that thought, “Then it’s really no decision, is it? No one deserves to go through what he did. Quirk or no quirk. He deserves a life filled with love and happiness.” He takes a moment to look over at his kids, his smile growing as he sees their happy expressions, and as he turns to meet Shouta’s eyes, smile becoming sunshine bright, he watches his husband mouth a quick ‘thank you’ and that’s more than enough for him.

Clapping his paws together Nezu grins, “Now that we have that settled, I’ll inform nurse Talia of your decision first thing in the morning. Till then let's discuss safety measures!”

Eri blinks curiously at the relatively odd statement. “Safety measures?”

“Of course! We don’t want people knowing what happened to him do we?”

Blinking at the quirked chimera, Eri gives a small frown as she struggles to understand. “Umm… I guess not?”

Hizashi walks over to his daughter and kneels down in front of her giving her an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry baby bear, what Principal Nezu means is that he’s going to make sure that Izu is safe when he wakes up.”

“Exactly right!” Nezu gives the girl a brief nod of his head as he grins, “I want to make sure that regardless of age Izuku will be safe. If he becomes a teenager or child, we don’t want him to be targeted by villains that already know of Deku’s existence.”

Eri nods in understanding, “That makes sense, but how do we do that?”

Nemuri leans forward jotting down a note on her piece of paper, “We could always change his appearance a bit.”

“Fake documents.”

Nezu nods at Aizawa and Nemuri, “Yes those are both wonderful ideas. But the one that will realistically be the deciding factor for most... is a press conference between Inui and myself stating that the upcoming hero Deku committed suicide due to losing his battle with mental health.”

Hitoshi looks over at his principal with wide purple eyes, “You want to fake his death?”

Shaking his head Nezu grins, “Not at all. If Izuku wakes up as a U.A student he would simply have amnesia, however if his age is regressed then he would need new documents anyway stating proof of his new age. Meaning the U. A. Student Izuku Midoriya would already be gone and instead of just missing, I want to have the end date, so people don’t come after him.”

“That explains you being at the press conference, and you should include his doctor, but that doesn’t explain why you want Inui there.” Hizashi looks between his boss and his dog quirked coworker.

The aforementioned coworker looks up as a soft whine escapes him for a few as he tries to regain control of his vocal cords. “We want to take the opportunity to state the importance of mental health in the hero community. How it is imperative for those suffering to get help, and that it’s alright for them to do so.”

Aizawa watches his boss for a few before leveling the chimera with a look that clearly says he knows that’s not all there is to it, and he doesn’t appreciate being left out.

Seeing the look, Nezu’s grin widens as his beady black eyes gain a momentary sheen to them. “Oh yes. I also believe that we will be having a guest once the press conference is released. Now that we have all of that settled… Is it safe to assume that regardless of age Izuku will be taken in by your family Aizawa?”

Aizawa glances at his kids and his husband for a moment before giving a curt nod in response.

“Excellent. The only other thing that we can plan now is his schooling. I’ll admit that I would hate to see such a talent be wasted so would like to nurture the boy’s mind regardless of his age.” Nezu watches as a shudder runs through the bodies of his faculty members, his grin widening in delighted glee.

“U-Umm wouldn’t it be safer… if Izu stayed here?” Eri looks around uncertain as she asks her question. Hands fidgeting nervously with the bottom hem of her dress.

“But if he ends up not being U. A. age he can’t stay here.” Hitoshi gives an exasperated look to his younger sibling as if she should have known that. It was obvious after all.

Eri turns to look up at Hitoshi a frown tugging at her lips as tears start to fill her eyes. “I… I just wanted to help too.”

Aizawa looks over at his son with a disapproving look while walking over and placing a hand on the top of Eri’s head, giving her hair a quick ruffle. “You are. What about home schooling?”

Hizashi lets out a squawk at the suggestion eyes wide as he turns to his husband in surprise. “Sho… Neither of are home enough to do that”

Placing his paws together in thought, Nezu takes a moment before nodding. “Splendid. I can set up course work online for Izuku based on his age at a later date. As for not being home that’s not a problem Yamada. Eri here is correct with U.A being the safest place for him, and to accommodate that we will just have Izuku sit in either the teachers' lounge or with me during his studies.”

Eri smiles brightly at the fact that she actually managed to help in some way.

Nemuri grins excitedly, “Oh I can’t wait to help the green bean during my free period if that’s the route we need to go!”

Inui nods his agreement, “If that is the route we need to go, regardless of the age I would love to become a confidant of sorts if the pup will let me.”

Nezu looks from his excited staff members to the remaining two, “So are we in agreement?”

Hizashi looks away from the white furred being and down at his daughter, “Are you sure you’re alright with this? You just started your own schooling…”

Eri giggles as she nods, “I’m sure poppa. I like my school. I get to see Mirio all the time when he visits his parents! But Izu… he will need to have his own thing that makes him happy and safe like I have mine!”

Hizashi presses a gentle kiss to the crown of his little girl’s head. “Alright then, I just wanted to make sure that you were alright with it as well.”

Aizawa huffs ever so slightly, a fond look in his dark eyes. “Then we agree.”

Nezu gives a cursory glance at his screen to make sure he has everything covered, “That seems to cover it for now. Thank you and I do hope that you all have a good evening.” Jumping down from his seat he walks to the door before turning his attention to Hizashi. “Yamada… I’d like you to stay home for a few days if you don’t mind.”

“Am I in trouble?” Hizashi looks at his boss baffled.

“Not at all, but I believe it to be a strategic move. Being gone a few days gives credibility to any cover story we may decide to use for Izuku.” With those parting words, Nezu doesn’t hesitate to leave the room.

Chapter Text

Walking into the familiar room the next morning after getting off the phone with Nezu just a bit earlier, has Talia only mildly surprised to see the two men already there waiting.

Shaking her head, she walks close to Izuku’s bed to run her hands gently through the curly green locks. “Hey, sleeping beauty, let’s try to get you back up and moving alright? You have so many people here waiting to see you healthy again alright?”

Leaning down, Talia places a gentle kiss to the center of his forehead much like a loved one may do to a young child. A small shimmering silver clock appears floating in mid-air directly above where she kissed the boy. The hands spinning around rapidly as it decides where to send him.

Stepping back, she looks over at the dark-haired man and his blonde companion a gentle expression on her face. “Now’s the hard part. Waiting.”

Aizawa shakes his head at the exasperated dramatic tone the nurse takes at having to wait. A glance over to his husband shows the blonde man stifling his laughter at the younger woman’s antics while off-duty.

“Don’t like waiting?” Hizashi asks as he gets his laughter under control.

Talia shakes her head, “In the job I have? Waiting is a must, so I’m not a very patient person when I’m not on the clock.” Glancing back over at Izuku for a moment she sighs seeing the silver timer of her quirk still spinning rapidly. “Would either of you like anything to drink or snack on? I’m going to head down to the second floor where the coffee shop is.”

Aizawa groans as he settles down into the couch, the exhaustion of everything going on seeping into his bones.

Hizashi snickers at his husband for a moment before turning his attention back to the off-duty nurse. “What he meant to say was Black coffee, and I’ll just take a bottle of water if you don’t mind.”

Talia nods as she heads to the door, “Got it. Black coffee and a bottle of water. I’ll be back shortly.” She gives a small wave as she leaves the room, the door letting out an audible click as it locks behind her.

“What the heck! See what you all chose? We’re being erased and Yoichi can’t even be bothered to be here with us!” Second all but growls out as he activates his quirk in hopes that it causes One for All to work outside of the kid’s body.

Nana looks over at the second holder in panic. “Second what are you doing?! That’s not what we agreed upon!”

Second turns to level a glare at the only female holder, “I refuse to go down without a fight!”

Hikagi watches the other man a worried look taking over his usually calm expression. “You could kill Nine”

Third looks up at his own successor, giving the rather quiet man a look of disdain. “If he dies from this than so be it. At least we went down fighting!”

Elsewhere in the quirk

Yoichi approaches where En sits resting against a wall quietly. “May I join you?”

En looks up his stoic expression showing signs of frustration as he nods to the white-haired man. “I guess.”

Yoichi nods as he takes a seat, looking up at the ceiling of their own ‘world’. “They’re fighting the quirk.”

En scoffs his annoyance becoming palpable. “I’m aware. What was the purpose of the vote then?”

Giving a soft hum as he thinks, Yoichi rests his elbow on his knee and leans his head on it. “ That is the question, isn’t it? I wanted to see where everyone was in terms of what to do. We couldn’t help Nine, not really… but you En. You can change that. You can help him.”

Looking over at the First holder of the quirk, En arches a brow in skeptical curiosity. “How?”

Yoichi slowly stands back up and offers the other man a hand up with a patient smile, “by guiding him. You just need to follow me.”

En stands up on his own, ignoring the offered hand. “You’re being vague as usual Yoichi.”

That causes the white-haired man to chuckle as he gives a small nod of agreement. “ There’s really not much to say regarding it. You just have to guide him.” He waits a moment before starting to walk away, knowing that he has the sixth’s attention.

T urning back to the darker haired man when they arrive at their destination, Yoichi motions to the door that they stand in front of. “Behind this door is where Nine resides. I think out of all of us here you are the best suited to helping him. You’re not tied to someone who has hurt him like Nana and I. On top of that you’re not against him like Second and to a lesser degree Third... That leaves you, Hikagi, and Banjo. Out of the three of you, I believe you are the best choice if you’re up to it.”

En releases a sigh as he gives the door an appraising look before pushing it open. “I’m not good at emotions but… I’ll do my best.”

Yoichi watches the sixth holder of their shared quirk walk into the room a sad smile on his face as he reaches out to close the door, causing it to disappear. “I know you will. Take care of him En.”

Hizashi walks close to Izuku’s bed a smile stretching across his face as he sees the timer’s hands still spinning. “Hey Listener! You’re doing so good, just keep hanging in there alright? Grumpy cat and I are here waiting for you to wake up.” He laughs full out as he hears his husband’s scoff from the couch.

“What are you doing Zashi?” Aizawa doesn’t even bother looking up at the blonde man, instead he keeps his eyes closed as he tries to rest while he has the chance to do so.

“I’m encouraging Dragonfly! I want him to know that he still has people here who cares for him.”

That has the dark-haired man opening his eyes so he can look over at his husband, an expression of fond annoyance gracing his features. “He knows that Zashi.”

Talia chooses that moment to come inside and immediately sets down a bakery box before walking closer to the husbands. Stopping first at Hizashi she hands him his bottled water, then hands over the coffee cup to Aizawa before pulling out some packets of sugar from her pocket. “I didn’t know if you needed sugar or if you wanted it just black. I also have a small container of milk, and cream that they use. It’s inside the bakery box, along with 6 different types of muffins.”

Aizawa blinks at the sugar packets as if struggling to comprehend what the pink haired woman just said to him. Instead of answering he lifts the cup to his lips and takes a sip of the dark liquid.

Eyes widening a bit in shock at how the tired man drinks his coffee her nose scrunches up a bit in distaste as she turns away not even going to try and address that as everyone has their own preferences.

Hizashi laughs outright as he notes the look of distaste the younger woman has. But as he’s about to say something to her he notices how the air in the room starts to gain the feeling of being charged as if in a severe storm. Glancing over at Izuku he sucks in a breath as he sees the lightning arcing around the unconscious frame, black tendrils sprouting out of him as if lashing out.

Silver eyes look over at the green haired teen on the bed, her face setting at the display in front of her as she rushes over to check on Izuku. “What the heck is this?” She’s jerked away from the boy’s side by a gray scarf just before a black tendril hits the spot where she was standing.

Aizawa sets her down beside his husband knowing that the loud man will keep the woman from rushing into danger again should she think it’s necessary. Turning quirked red eyes back to the bed, he watches as the tendrils and lightning disappear. After a few moments he releases his quirk to swiftly put in eye drops. A frown starting to play at his lips as he feels the air begin to charge again.

Walking up to the group of past users, Yoichi’s expression turns from a rather gentle look to a disapproving frown. “What’s going on here?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m keeping us from being removed.”

Looking at his own successor, Yoichi lets out an exasperated sigh. “No, you’re not. The only thing you are doing is prolonging the inevitable.”

Third looks up at Yoichi, a frown tugging at his lips. “Just because you gave up doesn’t mean that all of us have.”

“I didn’t give up. I chose to think things out rationally. Nine was dying. This quirk gives him a chance to live and there’s a chance that we’d still be with him. But fighting this quirk? If Eraserhead erases our quirk what happens to the other?”

Third goes silent at that and glances over at his predecessor to see him in a similar state as himself.

Walking closer to the group Nana gives a pain filled smile to the two users who want to ‘survive’ so badly. “It could be that if Eraser uses his quirk on Nine because of us acting up, that it erases the nurses quirk and acts as a death sentence to our youngest.”

Second lets out a small huff as he starts to walk away from the woman and original holder. “Do whatever you want.”

A bright green glow fills the hospital room as lightning crackles to life again, surrounding the green haired teen even as black tendrils surge forward lashing out angrily at anything and anyone that gets too close to the bed. Including a silver timer floating above Izuku’s head.

Quickly activating his quirk yet again, Aizawa’s red gaze widens in something between shock and horror as the moment that his quirk activates is the same moment a black tendril pierces through the silver clock causing the timer to flicker before both fade out of existence.

The room feels to calm after that, no charge in the air, and nothing but the sound of machines being heard. It’s unnerving.

The calm is broken however by the pink haired nurse as she runs over to Izuku immediately checking his vitals. That seems to snap Aizawa out of his haze as he watches her with wide onyx eyes. “What have I done?”

Walking over to his husband, Hizashi wraps his arms around the other man’s waist lightly. “You did what was necessary. The hands on the timer had slowed down so maybe the quirk worked.”

Aizawa can’t bring himself to look away from the unconscious form of his student… His son. “What if it didn’t Zashi?”

Pressing a gentle kiss to the back of the wavy black hair, Hizashi gives a sad smile. “If it didn’t then he got the choice he made, and we have to respect that. No matter how much we may be hurting.”

Chapter Text

“Aizawa? I’m sorry visiting hours are over. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

The exhausted man looks up at the pink haired nurse, onyx eyes staring blankly at her as if he doesn’t fully register her words. It’s been hours since everything went to hell. Hours since the nurse used her quirk on Izuku… hours since he could have potentially ended the life of his kid. Why is this happening?

Talia sighs as she walks into the room and kneels beside where the teacher sits by the bed. “Aizawa?” She reaches out a hand to firmly yet carefully squeeze his knee, the motion causing the man to snap out of his train of thought. “There we go, anything I can do to help?”

Shaking his head Aizawa heaves a heavy sigh. “No. Thanks though. Just was lost in my thoughts.” Glancing from the bed to the nurse, he reaches a hand out to run through the green curls of the still unconscious teen. “I take it that you’re kicking me out?”

Talia smiles as she stands back up and nods, “Yes sir. I’m very sorry.”

Huffing in slight annoyance, Aizawa pushes himself up out of his chair, the movement showing just how exhausted he truly is. “Keep me updated?”

Talia can’t help the small fond smile that graces her lips as she goes about checking Izuku’s vitals as the man starts moving. “Of course.”

Wandering through the darkness, Izuku glances around curiously, “Where am I? Is this… Am I Dead?”

“Not quite Nine.”

Startled, Izuku turns towards the voice surprised to see a figure appearing from where he just came from. “Do I know you?”

Fully stepping out of the darkness, En watches the confusion fly across the greenette’s face. “What do you remember?”

Taking a seat on the ground Izuku takes a moment to actually think about the question. It’s not that long until tears start filling the boy’s eyes as he looks up at where En is standing. “Why am I alive?”

Frowning deeply En reaches out hesitantly to ruffle the distressed teen’s hair lightly. “Because you deserve to live. You have people that care about you.”

Drawing his knees up to his chest Izuku shakes his head as tears start falling more. “No. No one cares about me. They were sending us home. The only home I have is U.A.”

Sighing softly En squats down in front of the teen. “They know that. They found your journal.”

Watching the man tiredly, Izuku’s eyes widen as the fear starts to seep into his core. “They… my journal?”

“Yeah. Your journal. They know you were abandoned… That you were bullied. Know that you were quirkless.”

Izuku freezes for a moment before solemnly nodding. “Gotcha. That’s why they care. Pity. I understand…” As he loses focus the darkness starts to get thicker until he’s alone again, surrounded by nothing darkness.

“Woah! Did you guys see the news this morning?!” Kaminari looks at his classmates completely wide eyed as he holds out his phone.

“Yeah. Apparently, the villain that All Might took down in Kamino was found dead in Tartarus.” Sero gave a sheepish smile to his electric user classmate at accidentally taking the blondes thunder.

“What the hell are you damn extras talking about?” Bakugo growls as he swipes the other blonde’s phone to read the article. “No fucking way. That bastard just fucking croaked?!”

Kirishima carefully takes the phone from his explosive friend and hands it back to the electric user with a smile. “Yeah, apparently no one knows what happened. They’re having to do an investigation and tighten up on security.”

“Waste of time if you ask me.” Bakugo says while leaning back in his seat and propping his feet up on his desk.

Standing outside of his classroom Aizawa felt an overwhelming sense of dread and unease as he listens to his students talk about the ongoing breaking news.

The news that the villain known as All for One is dead.

It was a bit much to think about this morning. That the villain that’s targeted his comatose student’s quirk is dead and with no knowledge as to why or how. He hated not knowing. It’s not like he could just leave either. It’s still early in the school day and he’s been away from his Hell class enough. But he just wants to make sure that the unconscious teen at the hospital is still alive.

Sighing to himself, Aizawa walks into his classroom and levels the teens with a quirk enhanced glare. “Alright, time for class. So, sit down and shut up.”

“Can we talk Nine?”

“No. I don’t want to talk I just want to be left alone. I shouldn’t even be here!” Izuku glares into the darkness as the fog in his mind starts to clear more.

En sighs as he watches the darkness to see if he can catch any signs of the teen. “I can’t do that. You deserve to have people care.”

Hugging his knees tighter, Izuku lowers his head to rest on top of them. “Please. Just go away.”

It’s silent for a while after that and Izuku’s almost positive that the man has decided to actually leave him alone when he suddenly hears, “All for One is dead and I’m the last of the vestiges.”

Pushing himself up to his feet, Izuku turns wide eyed to look towards the voice as the darkness fades away. “What?”

En nods at the teen, “First did something, and now One for All is gone and All for One is dead.”

Confused, Izuku can’t keep himself as the words start to tumble from his mouth, “But you’re still here?”

“First didn’t want you to have to go through everything you did before.”

Letting out a disbelieving laugh, Izuku shakes his head as he stares off into the darkness, “I still will as soon as everyone finds out that I’m quirkless again.”

“But you’re not. You have my quirk now. I’ll help you train while you sleep. But only once you’ve recovered enough.”

Izuku turns his attention back to the man, looking him over skeptically before giving a faint nod of agreement.

It feels like class has been dragging on for hours when the bell finally rings signaling that it’s time for lunch, and of course he can’t get rid of his hell spawn so easily.

“Yes Uraraka?”

The brunette nervously plays with her fingertips as she watches her teacher erase the board. “I was just wondering if you have heard from Deku. He’s still not back yet and I’m getting pretty worried.”

Setting the eraser down, Aizawa turns to face his student. Dark eyes studying the girl for a moment. “I can’t tell you anything regarding Midoriya. Sorry.”

Narrowing brown eyes ever so slightly to show her determination she slams her hands down on the desk in front of her, though she’s careful not to activate her quirk. “Is he at least safe? We know nothing. He’s my friend, and our classmate! We deserve to know what’s going on.”

Eye twitching ever so slightly, Aizawa’s lips settle into a deep scowl. “There are times in life especially in hero work where you will not have all of the information. That you are told what you need to know and that’s it. While other times you won’t be told a thing and just expected to do what is necessary. Is it deserved? No, but that’s a fact of life. This is like that. If you can’t handle it then maybe you need to reconsider becoming a hero. Because like it or not, it happens a lot out in the field.”

Uraraka looks at her dark-haired teacher eyes wide in surprise before she looks away. “I want to be a hero. I get that we have to be in the dark in the field but… he’s, my friend. I just… I want to know he’s okay.”

Aizawa glares up at the ceiling for a moment before reaching out a hand to pat the top of the brunette’s head. “I know kid. But I really can’t tell you and I’m sorry.”

Nodding solemnly, Uraraka gathers her things and walks out of the classroom.

Arriving at the hospital a bit later than he would have liked. Hizashi takes a seat in his husband’s preferred chair. Right beside the bed.

“Hey there listener! Mind if I keep you company today? Shou had class and I have the next few days off.” Hizashi smiles as he carefully moves his hand to hold his students smaller one, allowing his thumb to carefully stroke the back of the greenette’s hand.

‘Mic? What’s he doing here? Who’s Shou? Class? Wait… does he mean Mr. Aizawa?’

“We’re really hoping that you wake up soon kiddo. You have us all worried. Shou found you and we’re ready for you to come home… To our home I mean. If you’d like that of course.” Hizashi can’t help but ramble as he starts to get himself settled. He loves that he’s getting to spend time with the teen though he does wish that it was under better circumstances.

‘Mr. Aizawa found me? They still want me to come home with them even after that. I don’t understand. What does he mean wake up? I am awake. The darkness is just too thick.’

Hizashi is pulled out of his thoughts as the hand that he’s holding twitches, causing his eyes to snap down to their joined hands. Chartreuse colored eyes filling with tears as they widen in shock as he watches the small movements the boy makes. “Great job Izuku! I’m so proud of you!”

‘Proud... of… me? I don’t remember the last time someone said that…’

Struggling through the darkness Izuku looks around trying to spot the past one for all user. “How do I get him to say it again?”

He waits a few moments expecting to get a response only to be met with the silence that lingers in the darkness. “Think Izuku. You want Mic to say that again… He wants you to wake up, so maybe just ask him?” Scrunching up his nose in irritation Izuku sighs, because it can’t really be that easy, can it?

The movements of Izuku’s hand stills causing a small frown to settle on Hizashi’s lips. Taking the moment to finish texting his husband to give him the update he’s startled when he hears a small rough whisper come from the boy in front of him.

“S-S-Say… i-it… a-a-again-n”

Hizashi’s brain completely blue screens at the words and all he can do is focus on holding the teen’s hands as tears start to fall rapidly down his cheeks.

Chapter Text

“Mr. and Mrs. Bakugo thank you for meeting with us. Would you like some tea?”

Mitsuki frowns as she pushes her son firmly into a seat in the conference room. “No thanks. I’d like to get this over with if possible. What did the brat do this time?”

Nedzu’s eyes flicker just briefly before he motions to the others in the room to take a seat. Ignoring her question as he gives a small smile, “As you know I am Principal Nezu, this here is Detective Tsukauchi,” He gives a momentary gesture towards the man sitting at his right before waving a paw towards Aizawa, “And I believe you have met Aizawa.”

Masaru nods while motioning to himself before motioning towards his wife and child. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I am Masaru Bakugo, this is my wife Mitsuki, and you all seem to know our son Katsuki. Please feel free to use our first names, as I’m sure it could get quite confusing referring to all of us by our last name.”

Narrowing her eyes Mitsuki levels Nezu with an impatient glare, “Now will you answer my question. What did Katsuki do this time?”

Sighing as he watches the polar opposites in the parents, Aizawa leans forward to rest his elbows on the table, allowing him to rest his head in his hands comfortably. “Katsuki did not do anything at this time. We would like his assistance with a case if possible.”

Mitsuki grins and it’s obvious where her son gets his own from. “Hell yeah he’ll help! Right kiddo?”

“A case? What’s the case about?” Masaru looks stunned by the fact that they want his kid to help with a case even though he’s just a first year.

Katsuki who has been silent up till this point looks up at his teacher, his principal and then the detective before hanging his head. “They’re working on shutting down Aldera Junior High.”

That catches both Mitsuki and Masaru’s attention as they turn to look at their son.

Not bothering to look up Katsuki grips the table in front of him till his knuckles turn white, his irritation nearly palpable. “Aldera was a shitty school. They were all quirkest and fuck… So was I.”

“Quirkest!! Katsuki you weren’t raised like that! Think about Izuku!”

Flinching slightly at Mitsuki’s words and the reminder that this happened to Izuku, Katsuki lets his hands fall from the edge of the table and into his lap almost like he’s defeated.

“Katsuki, you didn’t…” Masaru looks down at his son in growing horror as he watches his kid flinch ever so slightly.

Tsukauchi places a file in front of the Bakugo couple carefully. “This is what we have on the case so far minus the physical evidence. However, we would like it if Katsuki was there as a witness should the need arrive.”

Mitsuki opens the file flipping through it quietly, the reality of what has happened to Izuku making her stomach churn. “These people in this file… you’ve got them?”

Tsukauchi nods. “Yes, those we have currently. Including his former teacher who was picked up this morning so he’s not in the file yet.”

Reading through the file himself, Masaru takes a moment to glance up at the others in the room, “What does this mean for Katsuki though? If he goes on stand as a witness, what if they ask why he himself is not being charged?”

Nezu grins at the question before taking a sip of his tea. “That brings us to the second reason that you’re here, and why we have his homeroom teacher here. While usually such acts would call for immediate expulsion from U. A, we decided as a whole that the best course of action for Katsuki would be a series of other punishments especially due to him having been taken by the League of Villains previously. Expelling him now would be the same thing as just handing him over to them and we never want to intentionally endanger a student.”

Looking up as Nezu finishes speaking, Aizawa slowly sits up to look over at his student and his parents. “I have personally seen the growth that Katsuki has made even just from the start of this year till now and in doing so I came with a few alternatives should you agree to them.”

Sitting straighter red eyes blazing with determination, Katsuki looks up at his ever-tired teacher. “Bring it on!

Aizawa can’t help but let a slightly manic grin spread across his face, “Katsuki will be sitting out of all Heroic classes until further notice. In their place he will alternate mandatory anger management classes with Hound Dog, and sensitivity training with Thirteen. He will also be gaining a new class after school with Nezu himself presiding over it. Finally on Sundays, members of the Big 3 have graciously volunteered their time to take him out for community service. Once the overseers of his extra classes have deemed him ready, he can rejoin his Heroics classes. Should he fail however he will be moved down to the General Education department.”

“I ain’t going to fail!!”

Mitsuki seems rather sobered by what is going on and she presses her son’s head down in a bow. “Thank you. I know that Katsuki will do everything he needs to do to stay on track towards being a hero. While what you are wanting him to do does sound like a lot, it also sounds like it is exactly what my kiddo needs. I’m glad that he’s here with teachers who understand him so well.”

Nodding in agreement Masaru bows slightly himself, “Thank you for not giving up on our boy.”

Tsukauchi takes the chance to clear his throat, bringing the attention back to himself. “Now that all of that is out of the way, can we please get back to work on the case?”

Gaining a nod of agreement from everyone but Aizawa, the detective turns towards the underground hero, his eye twitching in annoyance as he sees the finger held up asking him for a moment.

Keeping index finger held up, Aizawa uses his free hand to fish out his phone from his pocket as it rapidly buzzes in his hand with the notification of a new message coming in displayed on the screen.

Unlocking the device, he quickly switches over to the messaging app and starts to go through the messages, eyes widening ever so slightly as he does. Till a new one buzzes in that has him standing abruptly. “Excuse me something has come up that demands my attention.”

Tsukauchi runs a hand down his face clearly done with the other man. “Eraser… We’re in the middle of a meeting.”

Nezu watches the conflict of emotions pass through his co-worker’s eyes, a knowing glint making his beady eyes shine for just a moment. “Ah, we can continue without him Detective. Aizawa here is in the middle of trying to adopt and the only person who would rapidly message him like that would be his partner who is with their prospective child now.”

Giving the principal a disbelieving look Tsukauchi gets resettled in his seat, “Ah, of course, best of luck to you then.”

Aizawa nods as he hurries out of the room as fast as he can.

“S-S-Say… i-it… a-a-again-n… p-pl-plea-please” Izuku winces as he hears how rough his voice is, hating the stutter, but he can’t bring himself to stop talking. He really wants to hear Mic say he’s proud of him again.

Snapping out of his blue screen Hizashi leans forward and touches Izuku’s forehead gently stroking a thumb over it. A frown tugging at his lips as he notes that the boy still hasn’t opened his eyes yet. “You’re doing so good Listener, I’m so proud of you. But please don’t push yourself too much yet alright? I have to step out for a moment, but I’ll be right back. I need to let the nurses know that you’re starting to talk.”

A scarred hand reaches up grabbing at Hizashi’s hand that is on his forehead and grips it in what he thinks is a strong grip. “P-pl-please d-don’t g-g-go.”

“How about this kiddo, I’ll leave my jacket with you while I go talk to the nurse and you can hang on to it, so you know I’m coming back alright?” He shrugs out of his leather jacket and lays it down on the kid’s chest watching as the hand gripping his hand moves to feel the material.

Stepping away slowly Hizashi smiles as he watches the green haired teen, “Good job kiddo. I’ll be right back.” Wasting no more time, he quickly moves towards the door and out into the hall making his way to the nurse's desk.

Approaching the nurses desk, he’s startled to see his husband running down the hall only for that surprise to turn into a momentary wince as he hears one of the nurses on the floor yell out a firm “No Running in the Halls! Didn’t you learn better in grade school?”

Shaking his head, Hizashi turns back to the nurses' station with a bright smile, “Is there any way I can get a small water for Izuku to sip at? He started talking a little and his voice sounds rough.”

The nurse on duty goes wide eyed and quickly pages the doctor before looking back at Hizashi. “I’m sorry I can’t do anything about the drink right now until Dr. Ayreon checks on him first it’s just a precaution.”

Hizashi nods in understanding “Of course, Thank you anyway.”

“Hizashi! What are you doing out here? Why did you leave him alone?” Aizawa looks at his blonde husband clearly panicked as he gets closer.

Sighing ever so softly as he gives his love a patient smile, “I needed to inform the nurses that he’s starting to talk. I left him with my jacket though since he didn’t seem fond of the thought of me leaving.”

Frowning at Hizashi’s admittance, Aizawa moves past the blonde to Izuku’s door quickly going through the steps that will allow him entrance. “Izuku? Kid… It’s Aizawa… I’m coming in alright?”

Hizashi shakes his head as he looks away from the door his partner disappeared into, “Guess I’m going to the shops downstairs to get us both a drink.” Smiling at the nurse he turns away and heads to the elevators just wanting to give the teen and his husband some time to their selves.

Izuku’s fingers slowly stroke the fabric of Hizashi’s jacket as he hears the door open, and his teacher announce his presence. He’s startled however when he feels a larger calloused hand grip one of his own.

“You must have fallen back to sleep... I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I planned to be, but Nezu called me in for a meeting.”

Lips twitching down into a frown, Izuku moves his other hand and places it on top of his teacher’s. “N-Not S-Sl-Sleep” His frown deepens as he gets frustrated with himself for struggling to say sleeping.

Aizawa goes wide eyed hearing the broken voice and he has to tilt his head back to look at the ceiling in an attempt to keep the tears starting build up from falling. It takes him a moment to look back down at the greenette and notice the frown that just seems wrong on the teens face. “It’s okay kid. Go slow. You’ve been through a lot, so you need to be easy on yourself. How about we try opening your eyes and give your throat a break for a few?”

After a few minutes of silence and not even a muscle being moved by the greenette, Aizawa starts to think that maybe he said the wrong thing. However, looking up at the face of his kid he’s startled when rapidly blinking eyes settle on open and sad, emerald green eyes meet tear-filled onyx for the first time in what feels like forever.

Chapter Text

Sign Language

Thoughts

Tears spill over dark lashes as Aizawa reaches forward to gently ruffle the green curls. Taking the moment to clear his throat of the clog of overwhelming emotions so he can speak. “Good job kid. Proud of you.”

Izuku frowns as confusion courses through him at the display from his usually stoic teacher. But he can’t seem to keep himself from reaching one of his own trembling hands up towards his teacher’s face and gently wiping away the tears falling down the man’s cheeks. “W-Why?”

Aizawa moves a larger, calloused hand to grip the smaller, unsteady one of the teen in front of him. “Why am I crying?”

Izuku nods ever so slightly as his confusion grows at his hand being gripped in such a firm but gentle manner.

“Because Kid, I was afraid I was going to lose you, and to see you awake… Fuck kid. Proud doesn’t even begin cover it.”

Izuku just blinks at his teacher unable to put this version of the man with the memories he has of the older man. It’s not that he was a cruel teacher or anything, or that he was incapable of caring, it’s just… He’s always been nothing but a problem for the man. He’s even given him that damning title that he can never seem to shake, Problem Child. “I-I d-d-don’t,” his words raspy at the repeated use. Hearing himself struggle even more than usual to speak, Izuku balls up the fabric of the jacket still left on his lap, into a white-knuckled grip as his frustration with himself grows

Aizawa soothingly rubs the hand that he currently holds, a careful massage to the crooked fingers that he knows all to well due to his husband’s penchant for falling asleep while grading papers which causes his hands to cramp up from still holding the pen. Looking up into those emerald eyes though has him more than thankful for the practice as the anger seems to be melting away.

“Do you know sign kid?” Aizawa is very careful to ask, keeping his tone low and words soft. After all, he doesn’t want to push the kid by any means, just giving the teen all the time he needs.

Izuku hesitates for a moment before nodding his head, his fist slowly uncurling while he carefully pulls his other hand out of his teacher’s grasp. He misses the slightly disappointed look that briefly crosses Aizawa’s face as he signs a very shaky I don’t understand.

With an ever so small down turn to his lips, Aizawa gazes at his kid as he cringes internally at the pain. Because that hurt. Knowing that this kid doesn’t know why he’s proud, didn’t seem to understand why he cared. He knew that was a possibility going in to this but that doesn’t change just how much it hurts.

He’s saved from having to voice his feelings for the moment by a sharp knock on the door before Dr. Ayreon walks in with a wide smile as he turns his gaze upon the conscious form of Izuku.

“Hello Izuku, Do you mind if I call you that? I’m Dr. Ayreon, your treating physician. I’m glad to see you awake you gave us all a bit of a scare.” He approaches slowly not even bothering to start checking over the boy himself yet. Only paying attention to the readings from the machines that are attached to the greenette before jotting them down in the file he carries.

Blinking in surprise Izuku watches his doctor cautiously as he gives a slow nod of his head in agreement to the man’s question.

Turning his attention back to Izuku just in time to see the nod, Dr. Ayreon can’t help but smile, “Thank you. Now, can you tell me what you remember Izuku?

Izuku frowns as he brings up his hands to sign before glancing over at Aizawa and signing to the man instead. Can I sign or do I have to speak?

Aizawa watches Izuku’s hands before giving a small smile at the small display of trust that the teen gave. Because he knows that his kid could have very easily just not asked and instead pushed himself instead. “Thanks for asking kid.” He can’t help but grin as he sees the faint pink starting to mix with the kids freckles amid his confusion however.

Turning his attention to the doctor Aizawa watches the other man for a moment before asking the question Izuku wants to know. “He want’s to know if he can sign or if he has to speak? If he has to speak I’d suggest doing whatever you need to do so he can have some water first.”

Dr. Ayreon gives a nod of his head, “From what I’m seeing it won’t hurt for him to have small sips of water. Just have to go slow. As for the signing if you’re more comfortable with that then by all means you can sign Izuku. Most of the staff here in the hero ward know at least enough sign to get by.”

Izuku blinks as the confusion grows at how his doctor immediately refocuses on him as if the man actually cares. Like that would happen. It has to be because Mr. Aizawa is here. Frowning as the realization sets in, Izuku narrows his eyes as he signs with rather aggressive, firm motions. Why am I here?

“Do you not remember Izuku?” Dr. Ayreon looks at his patient a small frown tugging at his lips.

Shaking his head, Izuku turns shaky but firm signs towards his doctor. No I remember. I was dying. I finally managed to do it! So why am I here? I shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to be here! Izuku lets his hands fall as his anger turns into just defeat as tears start falling uncontrollably down his cheeks but no sound escapes him.

Dr. Ayreon gives a small nod as he quietly maneuvers around Izuku doing some quick checks as he goes about removing some of the tubes and wires as carefully as he can, before taking a step back and looking over at the dark-haired man. “I’m going to put in a call to Talia, it seems that Izuku here is medically fine. But she’ll be able to tell you exactly where he was reset to. However, my guess? Is she’s going to tell you his body was reset to right before his attempt, but his mind... doesn’t seem to have been reset at all.”

Aizawa gives a small nod of understanding, his heart breaking as he watches his kid fall apart in front of him. He reaches a hesitant hand out to lightly bump his finger tips against Izuku’s not wanting to force the kid into taking it, but also wanting to give the kid the option of some comfort if he wants it.

Watching the two for only a moment, Dr. Ayreon turns to leave making sure that the door locks before him before letting out a heavy sigh.

“Everything alright doctor?”

Dr. Ayreon jumps silently as he turns to face the blonde man that has a delighted grin that’s stretched across his face. He takes a moment to clear his throat allowing himself to calm down from being startled before replying to the man. “Everything is physically fine yes. Your husband is in there with him, but if you want to go in I recommend knocking and asking first. The kid seems to be struggling with the fact of being here.”

Hizashi’s grin slips as he hears that, “as in the hospital?” He knows it’s most likely not that but he’s an optimist and he can’t help but hope that the feeling in his gut is wrong.

“No, as in general.” Dr. Ayreon shakes his head before glancing over at the drink tray Hizashi is holding. “He’s allowed small sips of water as long as it’s slow, I’m getting ready to put a call in to Talia to see what she has to say. She does know more about her quirk after all.”

Nodding his head, Hizashi enters his hero code into the pad at the door before cracking the door open as it unlocks. “Listener? Shou? Can I come in?”

He waits until he hears the answer in the affirmative that comes from his husband before walking in. Hizashi makes his steps slow and pronounced enough so that he isn’t perceived as a threat, and he stays back a few paces from the bed as he sees the defensive yet defeated posture Izuku is holding.

“Hey listener, I brought you a water. Is it alright if I set it on your bed side table?” Hizashi closes his eyes as he hears the oh so quiet sniffle that goes along with the small head bob he gets in response. “Thanks kiddo.”

Moving slowly so not to accidentally overwhelm the teen more than he already seems to be, Hizashi sets the water down on Izuku’s table before opening a straw and placing it in it. “Would you like a drink before I set it down? I seen the doc outside. He said you should be good for some small sips at a time.”

Aizawa watches his husband carefully before reaching up to the blonde’s hand holding the drink tray and plucks the only to go coffee cup from it before downing almost a third of it in a single drink.

Izuku watches Aizawa’s actions for a moment with eyes hidden behind his curly green hair that’s fallen into his face, allowing him the sense of being able to hide. Before he knows what he’s doing, he’s lifted his hands to sign a hesitant Doesn’t that burn?

A small laugh escapes him as Hizashi nods at Izuku’s question, “Yeah. It burns a lot listener, but well Shou here is built differently from us.” He gives the teen a bright smile, as he sets the drink tray that only holds his smoothie down on the table before offering the teen his water.

Izuku is thankful as he holds his own cup of water, that he’s allowed to do that. But at the same time, he’s more thankful that both of his teachers are there watching him, a hand at the ready just in case he needs help. He knows it can’t be easy for them to let him have this little bit of independence all things considered, but he appreciates it. Not that he’d be telling them that though.

Chapter Text

Sign Language

“Feel up to talking kiddo or do you want to listen to some things we have to say?” Aizawa watches the greenette closely as Izuku drinks his water. Watching for any tells that he’s uncomfortable or needs assistance and it’s killing him inside that he’s not able to do anything at the moment, but from what he knows about his kid… He knows that he’s independent since he’s never known anything else, and so no matter how much the nagging in his head says to do things for the teen, he’ll do nothing but sit and watch for now.

Izuku tenses, biting down on the straw as he eyes his teachers wearily.

“Don’t worry listener, you’re not in trouble.” Hizashi smiles brightly at the teen before casting his husband a disbelieving look at the words the dark-haired man chose to use.

Frowning, Izuku gives a noncommittal shrug before gesturing for them to continue, clearly in no rush to have to explain himself by any means.

“First and foremost, I apologize.” Aizawa reaches a hand out to gently touch one of Izuku’s knees, trying to draw the teens attention solely to himself, so he can hopefully see the sincerity in his onyx eyes. “More than that though, as your teacher, I missed the red flags and regardless how hectic things were after the villain attacks you and your class has gone through, I should have taken the time to make sure you all were doing alright. You all went through something traumatic a few times and I admit I failed, and I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t change anything and I don’t want it to. I just want to let you know I’m working on is being better and fixing things. Starting with the fact that each member of 1-A and 1-B are having mandatory counseling with Hound Dog.”

Izuku absentmindedly hands his cup of water over to Hizashi while staring at Aizawa, emerald green eyes wide in surprise. It takes a moment for his mind to process the words fully never mind the fact that his teacher of all people is genuine in his apology.

Raising his hands ever so slowly to sign, Izuku suddenly freezes as he realizes he doesn’t know how to respond to them. This has never happened to him before, he’s always been the one to have to apologize, never the other way around. Shaking his head, he lets his hands fall back into his lap as he turns his attention away from his teacher and into his lap.

Hizashi offers the greenette a small reassuring smile while mentally shoving his hero persona out of the way even more, allowing a soft, soothing tone to come out as he asks gently, “Are you okay with seeing Hound Dog? Or would you prefer to see someone else?”

What if I don’t want to be a hero anymore? Do I still have to go? Izuku doesn’t bother to lift his head as he signs slowly. He doesn’t want to see their faces at his questions, doesn’t want to see the knowing looks on their faces telling him that they knew he couldn’t do it.

A rough hand settles on top of his own, which causes him to look over following the arm it’s attached to, to see the other hand holding a coffee cup he flinches slightly at the realization that it’s Aizawa trying to get his attention.

“I’m going to be upfront with you kid. As your homeroom teacher and as the hero who found you, I was given your notebook. Meaning, I know that you weren’t treated correctly whether that be in the physical sense, or the emotional sense. So yes. Even if you no longer want to be a hero, you do still have to see a counselor.”

Izuku’s head snaps up, eyes locking on the dark ones of his teacher. Why? If you found me and read my notebook, then you know how useless I am.

Teary chartreuse eyes turn to meet dull emerald, “You’re not worthless listener.”

Aizawa gives a firm nod of agreement as he crosses his arms, “You just got dealt a bad hand and no one tried to help you.”

Izuku rolls his eyes, a small snort of sarcastic amusement leaving him. Right and now that I have a quirk you both supposedly care.

Arms twitching at his side as he fights back the urge to wrap the teen in a bear hug, Hizashi’s voice takes on notes of desperation as his eyes plead with the boy to understand. “You having a quirk doesn’t mean anything. We care because you’re you, Izuku!”

“What Zashi is trying to say kid, is that we would care whether you had a quirk or not.”

Izuku scoffs in utter disbelief. Easy to say when you only know me with a quirk. If it wasn’t for this quirk you both wouldn’t even know me.

Sighing tiredly to himself, Aizawa leans forward on his hands, moving so his elbows are propped on his knees to help keep his head up as he levels the stubborn greenette with a look. “Kid, I know potential and what you showed me at the assessment test where you channeled your power into your finger? It showed smarts and ingenuity. You showed you had guts and were willing to fight for your dreams when you grinned at me through your pain. Based off of that alone, I know that even without a quirk, you would have crossed our paths and become a hero because you have potential.”

Shut up! The abrupt and rather aggressive stop to the sign shows Izuku’s displeasure, but the look on the teens face tells them more than that. It tells them about the kid that’s been hurt to many times before, that had to put up walls just to try and survive. It hurts seeing the kid so upset, but it’s worse knowing that this is the true Izuku. The one that’s always shoved to the side and hidden behind towering walls, that they had never gotten to know.

Don’t talk about things you don’t understand.

“Izuku. We know what All Might said to you. He was wrong. In every sense of the word.” Aizawa takes a breath letting his stoic facade slip, so that his face is easier to read by his student. Internally hoping that the hero can tell just how honest he is, how he truly believes what he’s saying.

Staring into dark eyes for a moment, Izuku frowns as he starts to feel conflicted. What do they mean that All Might was wrong. Everyone always said he could never be a hero quirkless and yet… here he is, wanting to believe a teacher of all people when they believe in him. Shaking himself from his thoughts also breaks his eye contact with Aizawa and so he looks over at the blonde curiously, almost praying that he sees the familiar look that accompanies a cruel joke.

He should have known he wouldn’t get what he wanted.

Hizashi leans forward ever so slowly, his movements telegraphed so as not to startle the boy or be potentially triggering, as he moves a hand to over above Izuku’s head for a moment before lowering it to rest among the unruly green curls. “We know about your mom leaving… We even know what they did to you in middle school. Please… let us help you.”

Izuku frowns at his teachers before shaking his head to dislodge the hand in his hair. Once done, he doesn’t hesitate to turn his head upwards so he’s facing the ceiling as he closes his eyes.

Knowing that Izuku can’t see him do so, Aizawa runs his hands down his face a sign of exasperation because honestly? He didn’t expect to have to work so hard to get the kid to see reason, but… maybe in hindsight he should have.

Hizashi shakes his head, a small frown of his own playing at his lips as he stands up and motions for his husband to do the same. “We’ll leave for a bit so you can get some rest okay listener? We’ll be back in a little while, if you need anything hit the nurses call button and they can get in touch with us alright?”

Izuku doesn’t bother to respond to either of the older men, just shifting slightly in his bed so he’s more comfortable.

Taking that as a sign of them being dismissed, Hizashi grabs his husband’s hand and starts to literally pull the tired man out of the hospital room.

Chapter Text

Once out of the room Aizawa stares at his husband his jaw set in a way to convey his feelings of disdain on his otherwise blank face.

“Don’t give me that look grumpy cat. He’s been through a lot and we couldn’t continue to push him you know that.” Zashi reaches out a hand to gently caress over the other man’s cheek.

Rolling his eyes at being called out, Aizawa ever so slightly leans into his husband’s touch. “Doesn’t mean I like it.”

Zashi grins, a wide thing that stretches across his face as he watches how his love reacts. “I know, but we need to think of this from a different perspective. Because us doing this your preferred way of blunt and logical isn’t helping… in fact it may be hindering things.”

Aizawa glances back at Izuku’s door before letting out a soft grunt of hidden defeat. “Fine. I need more coffee anyways. We can think up a game plan while we’re at it.”

“Thank you Sho! That’s all I ask!” Hizashi leans forward and places a small peck of a kiss to Aizawa’s lips before moving towards the nurses desk. After all they aren’t going to be in the room and they both know that Izuku isn’t likely to ask for help. So they’ll just make sure one of the nurses make it a point to check on him while they’re gone for coffee.

Walking through the darkness, Izuku lets out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He’s never really been afraid of the dark. Quite the opposite in fact, the silence of the darkness bringing him a sense of comfort that the endless chatter of the outside world has never given.

Maybe that’s why he startles, ever so slightly when he hears a montoned, “ Hello Nine.” As the dark-haired man appears out of no where.

Izuku gives a small hum as he takes in the man’s appearance, the narrowed eyes that seem familiar, and the way that the large, high collared jacket obscures the man’s face and nose being reminiscent of his teacher’s habit of hiding in his capture scarf. It takes him a moment before he snaps his green eyes up to meet the other man’s. “You’re related to Mr. Aizawa.”

Giving a huff of amusement, En gives a nod of affirmation. “Through my sister, yes. I believe he would be my… great nephew?”

Izuku nods rather enthusiastically at the knowledge, it sounds about right if following the timeline of the quirk is anything to go off of. “Do you know why his hair floats?”

Narrowed eyes gaze off to the side at the darkness, but it’s easy to tell they aren’t seeing what’s actually there. No, his gaze gives away his feelings even before he starts to speak.“I believe it’s a left over from my sister, she had a telekinesis quirk.”

Fidgeting with his fingers Izuku can’t help but to sigh “Why did you summon me here?”

En walks closer to the boy slowly, and places a hand carefully on the top of those wild green curls. “We have much to talk about kid.”

Bowing his head in shame, Izuku manages a very softly whispered, “I’m sorry I didn’t pass on One for All before my attempt.”

En shakes his head as he gives the hair under his fingers a gentle ruffle “That’s not what this is about.”

“Then…” Izuku doesn’t get a chance to finish before he’s cut off, not in a rude way in the slightest. Instead the other man just carefully raises his hand up in the sign to stop, which really just peaks Izuku’s curiosity as no one is ever that nice when telling him to shut up.

En lets a small smile play at his lips as he watches the teen tilt his head to the side in curiosity. “The others and I… we apologize that we couldn’t help you. You had so much pressure on you, and Eight didn’t do things right.” Sighing ever so quietly En takes a moment to make sure he still has the greenette’s attention. “Each of us knew who the previous holders were until him. Nana didn’t get a chance to tell him before she died. However, she did tell Gran Torino. What I’m trying to get at is that we all knew what we were signing up for. You didn’t.”

Izuku gives a small shrug, “It wasn’t so bad. I just shouldn’t have taken the quirk… I knew I was useless. I’d been told that for so long I don’t know why I thought that I had the chance to be something great. I should have realized just because my dream was to be a hero didn’t mean that I’d ever be able to be someone like All Might.”

En scowls, something vicious and he’s suddenly glad that his collar hides the bottom part of his face, as he would hate to scare the young teen. “Nine… Izuku. You are not useless. Besides, why do you have to be like Eight? My Predecessor was Twilight. A mix of Spotlight and Underground. I worked mostly Underground. The 4^th holder, worked on strengthening the quirk not even doing hero work. So tell me. Why be like All Might?

Izuku goes wide eyed as he had never realized that he could be something more than just Spotlight. “He told me it was my duty to become the next symbol of peace.”

“Ridiculous. Look at how the world is just since Eight had to retire. Having a Symbol is asking for trouble. That much pressure should never be put on the shoulders of one person.” En can’t help but scoff at the utter ridiculousness of the entire thing while also wishing that he could take out some of his irritation at the former One for All holder. Because honestly? How could it have gotten this bad?

Izuku lowers his eyes in thought, because how can he reply to that when he’s right. He’s seen how villains are starting to rise up now that All Might is retired. It didn’t matter that All Might succeeded in his fight at Kamino because now he’s not there. Now it’s supposed to be his turn and here is another past user telling him that he doesn’t have to be.

Glancing at Izuku, En frowns seeing how lost in thought the teen is. Maybe that’s why he navigates ever so carefully away from their topic to a new one. “That being said, there are some things you need to know. Such as One for All no longer exists.”

Izuku’s eyes widen in surprise as his head snaps up to look at En. “I… I don’t understand. You’re here.”

Nodding in agreement En moves to sit down, the darkness moving to form a chair under him. “I am here because First.. Yoichi, locked me away in the space that was created for your quirk.”

Brows furrowing Izuku pauses for a moment to take that in. “That can’t be right. I was quirkless.”

En moves a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he feels a headache coming on. Because how dare Yoichi pull this and make him have to figure everything out. “I’m sorry kid. If you were, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be gone like the rest of the past holders.”

Tears start to well up in Izuku’s eyes as his voice cracks, desperation leaking into his tone. “I had a toe joint.”

Looking away, En tries to keep himself focused on the task at hand and not on the fact that he knows that he is hurting the teen. “Some quirks keep the toe joint. My sister, the one with the telekinesis? She had the toe joint.”

Izuku can’t breathe the pressure seems to be almost crushing him. But somehow, he is able to barely gasp out “Then.. How?”

Flinching at the sound, En keeps his eyes diverted because he knows that he can’t take seeing this kid cry and that’s what this teen is. A kid. One who has been hurt so many times before and here he is hurting him again. Curse you Yoichi! “Yoichi suspected that it was stolen years ago. He had looked through your memories to see how to better help and prepare you after your attempt. He had never wanted to break your privacy but he noticed how the doctor you had seen about your quirk looked like the doctor that his brother associated with.”

That seems to break something inside of the boy as he falls completely silent. Alarmingly so. Which is why En can’t help but to look back at the greenette only to see those emerald green eyes dull to the point of almost being lifeless. "Oh Nine..."

"You mean everything I went through... was because some doctor thought my quirk was interesting? Would be good for a collection?" Izuku's voice is ever so soft. Just barely above a whisper as he struggles to understand what's happening.

En gives a slight nod in answer. Because what else can he do to this kid? He refuses to lie to him because he deserves better, even if he is watching the truth break the boy.

Numb and nott knowing how to respond, Izuku changes the topic. His voice never going above a whisper. “You said that One for All no longer exists… So… I’m quirkless again?"

There's the slightest hint of bitterness leaking into the teens tone that has En straightening his back as he replies, careful to school his face as well as his tone so the boy doesn't realize that they've had this conversation already. It's fine after all, having to repeat himself. Especially in cases like this. " No. You have what used to be my quirk."

… Izuku while still not looking up seems to get the smallest of embers to glow as he tilts his head to the side "Used to be?"

En nods a hand coming out to pat the top of Izuku's head to show his pride in the boy for continuing to fight even when it's obvious that he's hurting. "Yes used to be. The quirk has been passed to you, so it is your quirk now."

And doesn't that throw Izuku for a loop. Enough so that he raises his head to look up at En with teary, confused green eyes. "B-but All Might.. it was always his secret… his quirk…"

En sighs before giving Izuku's hair a gentle ruffle. "You know what kid? You've learned and been through a lot today so I think it’s time for a small break. Why don’t you get some rest, or call those teachers of yours back?"

Izuku nods slowly because honestly he needs a break because everything is just to much right now. So he just lets himself fade back into the darkness. Allowing him to desend back into the depths of a restless slumber.

Chapter Text

Memories

Mind space

Realizing that he’s not being followed, En whips around towards the door and curses, “Yoichi! You bastard what am I supposed to do in here?!”

“I thought I already made that clear. Guide Nine. Be there for him like the rest of us weren’t.”

En looks into the darkness a frown being revealed on his face as he moves the collar of his jacket for the briefest of moments. “I’m not good with people like you are. I don’t even know what’s going on.”

A small, resigned sigh is heard ever so softly from somewhere in the dark. “As we all know, One for All was created due to my brother forcing the stockpiling quirk on me. Doing so, caused both his quirk as well as our quirk to become linked. It seems that as All for One increased in power and we repeatedly failed our mission, One for All wasn’t just growing in power as it was passed down. It was growing in power by also draining our own energies. That’s why Hikage died young. We all would have even if we hadn’t been killed. Because One for All at some point in time, developed a Fail Safe. Meaning that if we had failed to kill All for One, and we had died without passing on One for All… All for One would die as well. Because one cannot exist without the other.”

En goes wide eyed, the most shock that he knows how to actually display because... what the actual fuck. “Alright. That’s a lot. But you want me to guide Izuku, how can I do that if he’s dead? Because he has to die for All for One to die right?”

“No En. Nine… Izuku will live. I have full faith in the capabilities of those that care about him. You’re in this room, because this is where Izuku’s own quirk used to lie before it was taken years ago. You being here… If all goes well, will keep you and your quirk safe while my idiot successor continues to fight the nurses’ quirk.”

En looks down at his feet as he shakes his head in slight disbelief. “That’s what the vote was about. You wanted to see exactly who was going to fight… You know how this is going to end don’t you?”

The voice takes on a fond but amused tone as it gives a small chuckle. “Not hardly. I know our quirk, and trust that Izuku’s homeroom teacher will do his part to cancel ours out. Hopefully doing so at the same time the nurses’ is active.”

Taking a seat in the darkness En gives a soft hum of thought before nodding. “If what we know about her quirk is to go by. If the quirk is stopped in the middle of a reset it could be possible that only part of Izuku will be affected. Meaning he could escape this with his memories intact..”

“Exactly right. All though part of me believes it would be better for him to have a chance at a true childhood and not what he has been forced to go through. But I think that going that far back if possible should be his decision.”

~*~*~

Izuku frowns as he looks around sighing as all he sees is the darkness again. “What was that?”

“My memories kid.” En steps out of the shadows somberly. “I figured it would be easier to show you rather than try to explain everything.”

Nodding his head in agreement Izuku takes a moment to gather himself before speaking. “So All for One is really dead?”

En gives a sharp nod, “Yeah, and I’ll admit, I feel kind of cheated by that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we met you kid and I’m happy with how things have turned out especially now that you’re awake again and not with a villain looming over you.” He gives Izuku a pointed look at that before shrugging. “But the thought that this could have been over years ago if someone had just not passed on the quirk…”

“I get it. It’s probably similar to how I felt before…I mean the last time we talked. Finding out that I had a quirk and that everything that I went through was literally for nothing.” Izuku hangs his head, curly green bangs hiding his eyes. “Fuck I hate this.”

“Kid?” En looks over at the hunched form of the teen worry taking over him.

“I don’t get why in all this I couldn’t have just died. I don’t want to be here. I didn’t pass on One for All there should be no reason that I couldn’t have died with it and had the same outcome of All for One being dead as well.” Izuku’s voice raises as he gets close to hysterics because he hates this. He just wanted to rest, to not have to deal with any of this anymore. Was that selfish yes, but damn it he didn’t care anymore!

En watches as the boy falls apart, unsure how to help. “May I?” He motions ever so carefully to the spot beside Izuku, wanting to at least attempt to give the kid some comfort but only if he wants it.

Izuku doesn’t bother to lift his head in response, instead sticking to just shaking it as the tears fall. “No. Just… No. S-Sorry.”

Giving a short nod En turns away from the greenette. “It’s fine. I’ll give you some space for now” and with that, the older man is gone.

Walking into Izuku’s room, Talia frowns ever so slightly. She figured that at least one person would be here especially since she was told that Izuku had woken up. Though seeing said boy sleeping in the bed again the frown fades to a fond smile as she approaches. “Really? Sleeping again Sleeping Beauty? At this rate I’m starting to think that everyone else will see you awake but not me.”

Izuku slowly opens his eyes tears finally spilling over now that they are no longer trapped behind his lashes. “Who…?”

Reaching quickly for a tissue she hands it to the greenette, a sad smile tugging at her lips. “My name is Talia. I’m the main nurse in charge of looking after you. It was also my quirk that was used to help you… wake up.”

That little bit he was not expecting, his head snapping up as his teary eyes narrow in disdain at the woman as he takes a deep shuttering breath to help calm his nerves. “W-Why wo-would you w-waste your quirk like that?”

Talia tilts her head to the side curiously, “Waste?”

Izuku nods harshly, “Yeah. I don’t want to be here. You wasted your quirk.”

“I’m very sorry you feel that way and while those feelings are valid, even understandable really. I don’t believe that using my quirk on you was a waste at all.” Talia smiles softly, there’s no judgment at all, only a soft honesty as she speaks gently to the teen.

“Well. You’re wrong.” Izuku turns away from his nurse rather like a petulant child. He doesn’t want this woman’s fake pleasantries and attempt at pretending to care.

Talia gives a soft giggle of response, unable to keep it at bay. “I think that’s a matter of opinion don’t you?” She grins a small, mischievous thing while winking at Izuku knowingly. “Guess that means since it’s my quirk, my opinion is what matters.”

He hates this. He hates how nice this woman is. How she seems to be genuine in her care. Hates how she wont just go away and is just playing along like this is some game!

“Now what do you think about us getting your two guardians in here so we can make sure you’re all good alright?” As Talia starts to pull out her phone she’s forced to stop and look down at the hand that is now gripping her wrist.

“No.”

“Alright then, we can do it without them, where would you like to start first? Shall we get those bandages off of you?” Talia doesn’t even blink at the fact that the kid doesn’t want the two men in here, he’s old enough to make those decisions for himself and so she’ll respect that after all.

Izuku tilts his head to the side and glances at the IV that is still in his arm. “That first.”

Talia shakes her head with a grin. “That has to stay in until we know for certain that you’re actually alright, so bandages first, then vitals, after that if you’re able to finish your drink without any trouble I’ll see about taking out that IV. Deal?”

“Guess it has to be doesn’t it?” Izuku sighs but lets go of her wrist and just lets his arm hang there to give her better access to the bandages on that arm.

“Yup! You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, a lot of the other patients argue a lot longer about the order of things.” Talia quickly gets to work on removing that bandage, making sure to check the skin thoroughly once it’s unwrapped, giving a nod of approval as she sees the marks from his attempt no longer there. “Good. You’re arms are fully healed up, meaning your body was at least reset to before the attempt.”

Izuku blinks at that, his curiosity getting the best of him as his mouth opens without his permission. “Reset? Like being able to reset someone to a specific time or is it more like Eri’s rewind? Do you…” Realizing what he’s doing, Izuku snaps his mouth shut and turns his head away.

Talia can’t help but grin as she sees that small spark of life, even if it was just a glimpse. “It’s not something I can control. I say reset because that is usually what happens. Body and mind are usually reset to a time that I have no control over. Usually, when someone is reset, it’s both their body and mind. They typically wake up as if they have amnesia. You’re the first that has kept their memories.”

Turning back to face his nurse, Izuku shakes his head. “It was part of the plan.”

Tilting her head to the side in confusion Talia takes a moment to stop doing her check up on Izuku, “Excuse me?”

“Umm… My quirk is haunted? They waited to try fighting your quirk until they knew Mister Aizawa would erase both quirks…” Izuku moves his hand up to rub the back of his head with a nervous smile.

Talia gives a nod while shrugging ever so slightly, “Haunted quirk, okay. Not the weirdest thing I’ve experienced. Besides, I’m just glad you’re awake, that’s what’s important. Now, drink your drink and get some rest while I go find your doctor and see what he says about removing the IV alright?”

Nodding his head quickly, Izuku reaches over to the bedside table for his drink. The sooner he gets this down the sooner he is closer to being able to leave this place and figure out how a new plan.

Chapter Text

On her way out the door, Talia comes to an abrupt halt as she runs straight in to the two people that Izuku seems to be avoiding.

Hizashi doesn’t bother to wait, his hands helping steady the pink-haired nurse to keep her from falling, even as he asks excitedly, “How is he?”

“Hizashi, give her a moment to recover before you start hounding her.” Aizawa levels his husband with a disappointed look, because honestly, he should know better by now.

Stepping back a bit, Hizashi lets out a pathetic sound, remarkably like a wounded animal. “I’m sorry. I just… I’m worried.”

Talia glances from Aizawa to Hizashi before turning away down the hall, a hand out to motion for them to follow her.

Not bothering to question what is going on, both of the pro-heroes immediately begin to follow the nurse that they’ve become well acquainted with.

Once everyone is inside the empty room, Talia turns to quickly secure the door behind them. “I’m going to be frank with both of you. The only reason that I am allowed to tell you anything is because you both are his acting guardians. He was adamant when I asked to get both of you before doing a check over him, that he didn’t want either of you there. Which is quite frankly concerning.”

Aizawa’s lips turn ever so slightly down into a frown at that, but he doesn’t say anything, instead just nodding to the woman for her to continue.

“Izuku physically appears to be fine, however mentally? That does seem to be a whole different story. He believes that I wasted my quirk on him since he doesn’t want to be here. I’m going to talk with Dr. Ayreon about having a psych exam done to see if we should keep him longer or if it’s safe for Izuku to be discharged.” Talia glances down at her chart to see what she missed before glancing back up at the other two people in the room. “Also, Izuku mentioned that his quirk is haunted and that seems to be the reason for him retaining his memories. Apparently the ghosts inside of the quirk were trying to fight my quirk and they took advantage of knowing that you would eras both of our quirks.”

That’s honestly a lot to take in for both of the men, causing one to reach a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he feels a headache coming on, while his partner looked at the nurse with a quivering bottom lip.

“Do you think he’ll try again?” Hizashi hates the question as soon as it leaves his lips, but he has to know. Has to be prepared to save his kid this time, his love already saved him once… now it’s his turn.

Talia frowns before looking up at the clock, unable to look at the two men’s faces. “I’m not well versed on psychology, but going off of my interaction with Izuku? I think it is likely that he may try again.”

Hizashi’s hands fly up to his face covering his mouth in horror. No one ever wants to know that their kid is still suffering, especially when they are suicidal as well.

“Is he up to having other visitors?” Aizawa looks from his husband to the nurse, refusing to let it show how much he’s hurting that his kid doesn’t want to see them right now.

Talia gives a soft smile of understanding as she steps closer to the door. “I need to inform Dr. Ayreon about everything, as well as check on if Izuku has drank his water. When I do, I’ll ask if he has anyone he does want to see.”

Hizashi smiles faintly, “Thank you, we’ll get in touch with our friend to see if she’d be willing to bring anyone over and to have our kiddos get ready. He might be open to at least seeing our daughter.”

Talia gives a nod before opening the door and heading out to find the doctor, letting the two men exit the room at their own convenience.

“Do you really think this is a good idea Shou?” Hizashi looks over at his husband nervously, definitely not sold on the idea of this.

Glancing out at the hallway, Aizawa doesn’t hesitate to shake his head in the negative in response to the blonde man. “But I don’t think we have much choice other than to get Eri involved.”

Hizashi’s lower lip trembles at the thought. He gets that this is their best chance but part of him is still nervous that this is just going to backfire on them. “Yeah but what if he doesn’t like the fact that they know everything.”

The thought had crossed his mind before, and he hates it. A scowl coming to play at Aizawa’s lips, “I think that Eri knew most of it anyway so I don’t think that will be the problem. I think the problem will come with Hitoshi knowing.”

Biting his lower lip nervously, Zashi starts to shift his weight from foot to foot as his anxiousness starts to become more prominent. “Right, so what if Izuku gets mad? I know it’s a lot, but.. I’m scared Shou, I just want him to come home.”

Aizawa sighs as he reaches over to grab his husband’s wrists lightly and bringing his hands up to his face so he can place gentle kisses across the anxious man’s knuckles. “I know Zashi… So do I. But honestly? I’d rather he be mad at us than thinking about the next way that he can try to kill himself.”

The motion is sweet and definitely not lost on the blonde as he watches his partner’s rare display of affection outside of their home, a small blush coming to tint his cheeks. “Well when you put it like that… “

Walking into the room Dr. Ayreon immediately notices the lack of people in the room, not allowing that to stop him however, he approaches closer to the teen’s bedside. “Hello Again Izuku. Nurse Talia tells me you are wanting the IV out, is that correct?”

Izuku turns his attention to the man giving him a firm nod of his head in confirmation. He doesn’t feel like talking, even if this man understands sign. He doesn’t want to communicate at all.

Dr. Ayreon gives a small smile as he reaches a hand out to do some gentle pressing on Izuku’s chest and stomach. “No fluid holding where it shouldn’t be which was one of our main concerns. That being said, it looks like you were able to finish your drink successfully, any problems that we missed?”

Still refusing to talk, or even communicate through sign, Izuku gives a firm shake of his head in the negative before staring back at his doctor.

Nodding his head happily at the revelation, Dr. Ayreon turns his attention from the teen to his nurse. “Very good, if that’s the case I don’t see why we can’t get that IV removed then, Talia will you take care of that please?”

Talia nods as she moves across the room to the sink there so she can wash up before gathering the supplies that she needs. After getting everything taken care of she approaches Izuku again with a kind smile as she works on removing his IV as carefully as possible. “Anyone you would like to see kiddo? I’m sure I can get a hold of them for you.”

Izuku looks away from the pink haired woman, a frown settling on his face as he turns to stare at the opposite wall. “When can I leave?” His voice is low and rather aggressive even if his body language doesn’t really match that.

Freezing at the question, Dr. Ayreon turns his attention back around to the greenette with a soft but understanding look on his face. “We need to get a psych evaluation first.”

“Great so I’m stuck here.” Izuku huffs in disdain his body tensing at the knowledge that he can’t leave.

Dr. Ayreon shares a look with Talia before shaking his head at the woman and motioning her towards the door. They both knew not to pressure the teen as it could cause worse to happen.

It’s not until Talia reaches the door that Dr. Ayreon has already exited from that she hears Izuku speak again. Voice more resigned than angry now, even as he only says the one word.

“Eri.”

Talia nods enthusiastically, “I’ll get her for you. As soon as I can.” With that she quickly walks out the door making sure to secure it behind her since she was the last one out besides the kid of course. Immediately upon exiting, Talia picks up her pace as she goes in search of the two men who see the teen as their own.

Chapter Text

Almost literally running into the pair of husbands, Talia turns a bright shade of pink. A sigh escaping her because of course this would happen to her again. Definitely not as bad as the first time she actually ran into them but close enough.

Snickering meets her ears, causing her to look up at the blond man wearing a wide, flirtatious grin. The sight causing her to take a step away so there is more distance between them which allows her to harden her eyes. “Sorry, I was in a bit of a rush trying to find both of you. Izuku has requested being allowed to see Eri.”

Hizashi looks at Talia, chartreuse eyes widening considerably as he reaches a hand into his pocket and pulls out his phone sending a quick message over to Nemuri asking her to bring his kids to the hospital as soon as possible.

“And us?”

Talia turns to the darker haired male of the duo and shakes her head with a sad smile. “I’m sorry, he hasn’t requested anyone else. Just Eri.”

The tired man gives a small nod of understanding before turning away and heading down the hallway.

Talia watches after Aizawa uncertain what else she can do to help, she’s so lost in her thoughts that she easily startles as a hand is placed on her shoulder.

“Grumpy Cat just needs some time to himself. Don’t worry about it. Thanks for keeping us up to date.” Hizashi smiles reassuringly to the young nurse before walking back to the waiting area to take a seat.

It’s not much later when Eri finds herself standing just inside the doorway of Izuku’s room. Candy apple, red eyes filling to the brim with tears as she stares at the greenette. “You’re awake.”

Izuku smiles fondly at the silver haired child, moving around so he’s in a better position before opening his arms wide in an invitation. One that is immediately accepted as Eri launches herself at the teen, her arms wrapping around his stomach as she breaks down into sobs.

Wrapping arms around the much smaller form of the girl, Izuku lowers his head to nuzzle into the top of Eri’s hair gently. “I’m right here. I promise.”

Eri moves a hand to Izuku’s hospital gown, hands clenching tightly to the fabric as her voice wavers as she continues to cry. “Please… Please don’t go.”

The words hit all at once. Circling in his mind as they replay over and over again, his grip on Eri tightening while still being mindful not to hurt her. Emerald green eyes that have been so dull suddenly sharpen, the spark that’s been missing returning as he pulls away ever so gently and lifts Eri’s face to look at him.

“I won’t. Never again. I’ll stay with you.”

Eri looks sits back, eyes staring into the eyes of the teen in front of her searching for any hint that he’s not telling the truth before finally giving a nod. “I trust you.”

Leaning forward to place a small kiss on both of Eri’s eyelids, Izuku finds himself smiling a small but genuine smile at that. “Thank you for that Eri. Your trust means a lot to me.”

It takes a few minutes for them both to settle back down, but when they do, Eri goes wide eyed as she reaches into her pocket and pulling out a somewhat beat up phone. “I almost forgot! Lemillion gave me this. Whenever he visit’s he uploads new videos on it for me to watch!”

Izuku looks at the phone and shakes his head at seeing the familiar colors of the other hero in training. “What kind of videos?” He almost regrets asking as he sees the grin on Eri’s face rivaling that of his teachers.

Mischievous grin in place Eri turns the phone on happily. “It’s videos of Lemillion, Nejire, and Suneater all doing community service! But you know how shy Suneater is right?”

Thinking of the upper classman in question, Izuku nods. “Yes, he tends to stare at walls instead of interacting with people why?”

Eri giggles, the sound so bright that it visibly brings a sense of relief to Izuku, as the tension in his shoulders ease. “He’s so not during this! Like he’s super passionate about this… Hang on let me show you!” She taps around on the phone for a few before finding what she wants, a video starting to play as she turns in Izuku’s arms so that she leans against him as they both watch the video.

~~*~~

Scowling as he follows after his chaperones for this little outing, Bakugo glares at the small fleet of semi’s as they stand in front of them. “Why are we here?”

Nejire giggles as she motions to the waiting trucks before giving a twirl, arm’s spread wide in her excitement. “We’re here because this is your community service!”

Looking from the trucks back to the older teens in front of him, Bakugo can’t keep himself from growling out his annoyance, “How the hell am I supposed to help people like this?!”

Mirio rubs the back of his head sheepishly as he realizes just how much work they have to do with the younger hero course student. “This helps people a ton! We’re going to be giving out food, blankets, and other necessities to people that are in need of help. But since we’re pretty well-known students and we don’t want any publicity; we’re going to help behind the scenes!”

“What do you mean no publicity? I’m here, so the rest of the world should know that too! I’m going to be the best damn hero, even better than All Might!” Bakugo yells his outrage not even pausing to think about it, and while it takes a moment for it to hit, it still does as he slumps forward giving off an air of defeat. “Yeah. I heard it. Now what?”

Glancing from his more outgoing classmates, Tamaki sighs as he approaches the younger classmen, his hands fiddling with something in his pockets. “Listen. A lot of these people have just gone through the worst day of their life. Drawing attention to them so you can get recognition and make them feel worse is the opposite of what we are trying to do.”

Nejire floats over to where the other teens are currently at to try and get them both to focus on the task ahead. “Right! Besides, Mirio said we can’t have you directly taking to people yet because you could make things totally worse! So, we have to work our way up!”

Bakugo sneers at the camera for a moment before the screen goes silent as a new video begins to load up.

~*~*~

“Community service? Is that a hero course thing?” Izuku looks from the phone, towards the door as he tilts his head to the side curiously.

Eri shakes her head as she hits the play button on the phone. “Nuh uh! Just a Bakugo thing. Daddy, Poppa and Toshi can probably explain it better than I can.”

Izuku frowns hearing Eri a pit starting to fall in his stomach. “No Aizawa or Yamada.”

Blinking red eyes up at Izuku, Eri gives a small shrug “Okay. Toshi can explain it then!

Izuku gives a small nod of agreement as the video starting to play on the phone quickly catches his attention.

~*~*~

A gruff older man stares down at Bakugo as he carries 2 boxes at a time verses the single box that the angry teen carries. “Hurry up kid! We ain’t got time for you to be taking a nice stroll through the park.”

Bakugo growls up at the old man as he adjusts the box he’s carrying. “Shut up old man! I’m trying to be respectful to these items because people need them and they ain’t mine!

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Mirio can’t help but give the older man a nervous smile, “sorry about our new recruit! He’s never done anything like this before.”

The older man scoffs at hearing the older teen speak, because doesn’t that figure. Just another kid with a powerful quirk and not a shred of human decency in him. “And he wants to be a hero?”

Nejire gives a happy giggle as she approaches carrying her own boxes of supplies, “Yup! Explody here has a bad temper, but that’s why he’s hanging out with us!”

Eyes narrowing in distaste the older man sets down his load of boxes on a table in the facility for the other volunteers to start sorting through. “We don’t need another Endeavor.” He’s about to just leave it at that, until he sees Bakugo take a box of supplies from one of the other volunteers and carrying it himself.

Seeing that seems to act as a switch of some sort as the older man scowls for a moment before looking at the members of U.A’s big 3. “Alright. Let’s get him whipped into shape!”

A cheer is heard from both Mirio and Nejire before the video ends.

~*~*~

Eri tucks the phone back into a dress pocket with a grin. “See! Suneater is so passionate about this stuff!”

Izuku gives a nod of his head before losing himself back to the thoughts of what is going on. Why is Bakugo suddenly doing community service and making sure to respect other peoples belongings. It just doesn’t make any sense what so ever.

“Deku?” Eri looks back at the greenette confused as to why he’s so quiet and tense.

Tensing more at the name Izuku snaps his attention back down to Eri and forces a grin as it registers who he’s with. “Sorry Eri. Just thinking.”

Clearly not convinced, Eri chews on her bottom lip for a moment before climbing out of Izuku’s bed. “I’m gonna go get Toshi, is that okay? He can explain what’s going on to you.”

Izuku nods hesitantly to the girl but keeps the smile forced onto his face for her sake. “Thanks Eri.”

Giggling Eri leans forward giving Izuku another hug before skipping over to the door. “Be right back!”

Chapter Text

Waiting until Eri is fully out of the room, Izuku runs his hands down his face allowing the smile to fade and show his pain even if only for a moment.

“Why did I promise her that? Why did I tell Eri that I would stay with her?!” Hands reach up to grip at the longer green curls in desperation. Tears filling his eyes as his emotions get the best of him. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t want any of this. B-But… I want to be selfish and keep her! I don’t understand!”

Hands tugging at the strands of hair as his breathing picks up ever so slightly, not a panic attack yet, but close. He seems to notice this too as he tries to think about something else to try and regulate his breathing into a healthier pattern.

“Kacchan is doing better… he seems to be actually trying to care about people and help them now…”

Izuku freezes for just a moment before his frown deepens because doesn’t that suck. Knowing it just took him trying to kill himself for Bakugo to try and become a better person. “Why now? Ka… Bakugo had so many chances before to change but no. It had to be when I was dying! When I wasn’t around…”

His hands fall from his hair to rest in his lap, palms facing upwards. Looking at the scars on his hands, Izuku slowly lets his head fall forward to just hang there, chin resting against his chest. “This...If I wasn’t around… Bakugo could’ve been different.”

Izuku doesn’t get much time to wallow in his self-pity before the door to his room is opening up ever so slightly. Quickly he sits up straight, wiping his eyes as he plasters on another fake smile. Just in time for a head to peek around the edge of the door.

Opening the door just enough that he can look around the door, Hitoshi pauses before clearing his throat nervously. “Izuku? I know Eri said it’s fine but um… Can I come in?”

Eri however wastes no time in throwing open the door enough so that she can run back into the room. She doesn’t even pay attention when the door closes back and narrowly misses closing on Hitoshi’s head.

The fake smile turns a bit genuine watching the interactions between the two as he gives a small nod of assent. “You can come in Shinsou.”

Hitoshi steps into the room and stands near the bed but not to close as to crowd Izuku a hand coming up to rub at the back of his head nervously. “Ah… You can call me Hitoshi since I called you Izuku… If you want.”

Izuku glances from Hitoshi to Eri as she climbs back into his lap a small smile tugging at his lips as he wraps his arms around the little girl while turning his attention back to the purple haired teen. “Not that I mind… But why are you calling me Izuku?”

The question causes Hitoshi’s brain to blue screen for a moment because honestly how is he supposed to explain that he knows that Izuku was abandoned, and he figured that he wouldn’t like the reminder of those that neglected him.

Shaking his head after a moment he takes a deep breath as he turns his gaze to stare at a wall. “I wanted to come here so that I could apologize for what I said during the sports festival. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while… that and I’d like for us to be friends.” Coughing, he gives a side glance to the greenette, “If you want.”

Izuku narrows his eyes in suspicion. He knows he’s not being friendly but at this point he doesn’t really care. The one choice that he had made for himself has been yanked from him, so sue him for being snarky. “How about you tell me why now first. Then I’ll decide if I want to be friends. Cause from where I’m sitting, you only want to apologize and be friends because I tried to kill myself.”

“That’s not it at all!” Hitoshi’s words come out panicked as his purple eyes dart to where his sister is sitting as if begging for help.

Eri looks up at Hitoshi and gives him a small smile of reassurance before turning her head to look up at Izuku. “Toshi and I want to adopt you.”

“What?” Izuku’s eyes widen in surprise as his emerald gaze shifts between the two adopted siblings.

“Eri!” Hitoshi hisses a dark blush staining his cheeks as he tries to look anywhere but at the other teen.

Giggling Eri turns around so she’s facing Izuku fully now, red eyes sparkling with honesty and hope. “We love you, Izu! Can I call you that?” She looks apprehensive at the nickname before shaking her head and just barreling on. “We want to adopt you. So does daddy and poppa. We all love you so much! I’m sorry I didn’t know that you were hurting so bad. I’m sorry you thought that you had no one but you have all of us. You always have. We really thought you were happy and safe. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t save you like you did me. Please… let Toshi explain what happened while you were out of it?”

Words catching in Izuku’s throat he settles his gaze on the purple haired teen and gives a nod as he pulls the silver haired child to his chest. It’s all he can do to try and maintain his composure.

Clearing his throat, Hitoshi nods at Eri before directing his attention solely to Izuku. “First and foremost, are you comfortable talking to me? Or would you prefer dad or pops?”

“You.”

He doesn’t like how the greenette doesn’t even hesitate before answering, but he knows better to question it so instead he takes the opportunity to reach into his jacket and pull out a small notebook. “This is my journal. You’re welcome to read it.”

Eri reaches out her hand since she’s wrapped up in Izuku’s arms so that he doesn’t have to let go of her. A smile lighting up her face as she takes her brother’s journal and sets it in front of her in case Izuku wants to start reading it now.

“Why?” Izuku finds himself questioning as his head tilts to the side in his curiosity.

“After dad found you, Eri let slip that you journal. Which led to him looking for it and finding it in your bag.”

For some reason that hadn’t clicked in Izuku’s mind that if he died his journals would be used to find out why. So now here he is staring at Hitoshi as the horror dawns on him. “You read my journal…”

Hitoshi nods solemnly, “Yeah, I did, we did. Which is why I brought mine for you to read. It’s only fair.”

Izuku carefully moves Eri off of his lap as his hands move to aggressively tussle at his hair as the panic starts to set in. “But that means that you know…”

Moving over to the bed slowly and telegraphing his moves like he’s seen both of his dads do, Hitoshi makes sure to catch Izuku’s eyes without touching him. “You’re alright just breathe… but yeah. I know everything. I know what they did to you. What was said… Everything, and I’m sorry.”

Ducking his head as best as he can, Izuku barely manages to get out a soft, “Y-you know I was quirkless?”

“Yeah. I really shouldn’t have judged you without even knowing you. I had that happen so much in my life because of my quirk and I hated it. I’m sorry I did the same thing to you.”

Eri looks up at her brother curiosity sparkling in her red eyes even as a frown has found its place upon her lips. “Why did you Toshi?”

“I guess because I was angry. So many kids with flashy quirks get what they want and never have to struggle. I honestly didn’t think anyone would understand how I felt at UA. No one did in my old schools. So instead, I just pushed people away.” Hitoshi shakes his head as he moves to the chair near the bed and just falls into it. “I’m not proud of what I did, but I can’t change it, I can only try to be better.”

Voice barely above a whisper, Izuku slowly lifts his head to look at the other teen a look of realization slowly dawning on him. “You pushed people so they couldn’t hurt you.”

Hitoshi gives a nod with a faint smile, “Yeah, and I hurt you instead. Sorry.”

Giving a small shake of his head, Izuku looks at Hitoshi for a brief moment before looking away with a huff. “Fine. Tell me what’s going on.”

Hitoshi shrugs, “I told you we all read your journal as a family. Dad and pops have been making changes with help of some other trusted people.”

“Ka...Bakugo.”

Barely concealing his snort of amusement, Hitoshi leans back in the chair to get comfortable. “Should’ve known you would ask about HotHead first. He’s doing community service. It’s only one of a few things that he has to do to maintain his spot in the hero course. I don’t know the specifics. Just that he’s being supervised by the Big 3 for Community service.”

Leaning back in his bed, Izuku shakes his head at the knowledge that it’s true. Bakugo is changing after all this time, and it hurts. “I’m tired.”

Eri gets up slowly, placing a kiss to Izuku’s forehead before hopping out of his bed. “Get some rest Deku! I’ll be back soon. I promise to save you like you did me. Just… give me a chance!”

Hitoshi frowns at the greenette before reaching out and grabbing his little sister’s hand as they head out the door. Pausing for a moment as they hear the broken voice of the other teen.

“Eri… No more Deku. I’m no hero.”

The door closes and locks behind them causing the siblings to look up at each other in concern from what Izuku had just said.

“Toshi? Do you think De… Izu will be ok?” Eri looks up at her older brother, tears starting to fill her eyes in her concern.

“I think that there’s a lot of people that’s going to help him be okay, but it still may take time.” Hitoshi reaches over to ruffle the silver locks of the child soothingly, “Now come on, let’s go find Dad and pops.”

Chapter Text

"Mind speak"

Journal

Allowing himself to fall into the dark recesses of his mind, Izuku storms through the never-ending black fog. Tears filling his eyes as he tries desperately to keep them at bay.

“I don’t get it! Why do they care now! Why after I almost die?! It’s not fair!”

En watches the young teen with an ever growing frown. Wishing that he could approach, but also wanting to give the boy some privacy in his own mind.

“Stupid, Useless, Deku. Thinks he can be a hero. Yeah right! He couldn’t even die properly. Now people are pretending to care. Why are they even bothering with that anyway? No one did before. Besides… Kaachan-” Izuku stops, the name burning his tongue like acid. “Besides, Katsuki is changing. Of course he is, he always said I was in his way. Fucking Golden child.”

Pacing back and forth on an imaginary path, Izuku reaches his hands up to his hair tugging at the curls. Nose twitching up into something akin to disgust, he finds himself mocking, “Oh he’s bettering himself. He’s going to be such a great hero. Blah, Blah blah! Stain was right. Fakes calling themselves heroes.”

Finding himself unable to stop, En approaches the greenette as the boy breaks down in front of him. He’s careful in his approach not to startle the kid, even as he reaches out large hands to take the small trembling ones out of green curls, and into his own steady grasp.

Green eyes so filled with pain and confusion dart upwards to look into the eyes of the last remaining vestige of One for All, “Why now?”

Stroking his thumbs over the back of Izuku’s hands, En gives him a tense smile. “I wish I could answer that. But I don’t know why now. It could be as simple as they always cared and didn’t know how to tell you. Or that they truly didn’t know that you needed help, or it could be that it took losing, or almost losing you rather to see how important you are to them.”

Pulling his hands out of the larger grasp, Izuku wipes his eyes angrily. “That’s such crap! If I knew someone cared I wouldn’t have tried it! But no! Up until my attempt I was only good for a laugh! Everyone taking a chunk out of the quirkless kid. Then laughing about how uncontrolled his quirk is when it came in. How he had the control of a toddler. Because I will never be more than a useless Deku. Even now that I have a quirk.”

“You’re not useless or a Deku though I do agree it is crap. But sometimes that’s how things work. I wish I knew what to tell you Nine, but I’m not a psychologist. All I can do is listen to what you have to say which I will always do.”

Izuku casts an unimpressed look to the dark-haired man before sighing. “I guess you’re right.”

En doesn’t say anything in response, instead paying attention to the teen’s body language and giving him time to get his thoughts together so that he can say whatever is on his mind.

“Hey En?” Refusing to look at the other male, Izuku glances up at the darkness above him, “Do you think I should read that journal?”

Giving the question some serious thought, En takes his time before answering. “I think that you may learn more about Shinso or even what’s been going on during this whole thing if you do choose to read it. But I’m not going to tell you if you should or should not as it’s your decision to make. Not mine.”

Izuku smiles ever so faintly as he turns his attention to the previous quirk holder. “Thanks for that. I’ll go read it now.” With that he gives a little wave before allowing himself to disappear from their own little world.

Opening the journal, Izuku froze staring down at the page with unseeing green eyes. “This feels so wrong. I don’t know if I can do this.”

"Can’t or Won’t?" Ignoring the voice in his head Izuku shuts the journal while turning his attention towards the familiar tiles above his head. “Why is this so difficult?! He read mine after all. I shouldn’t have this much trouble reading his.”

As he stares at the notebook in front of him, Izuku suddenly hears “Think of it more as him giving you a glimpse into his life in return for him looking into yours,” from the recesses of his mind.

Thinking about it, it’s honestly not that bad of an idea. Decision being made, Izuku hesitantly opens the journal up before starting to read the contents.

~*~

I don’t know what I’m doing. I just recently started therapy since my new foster parents set it up. Why I don’t know. No one else ever bothered.

Anyway, my therapist said I should try to write a letter even if it just stays in the journal. Apparently, it can bring closure while also allowing me to open up more. So here it goes I guess.

Dad,

I miss you. I don’t understand why all of this is happening. I’m being fostered by my favorite hero which is honestly the only reason I’m in therapy. Mom gave me up for adoption a few years ago, back when I was nine. It was right after you died. I woke up in the hospital after the attack to a caseworker and haven’t seen mom since. I overheard my caseworker telling a nurse that mom didn’t want a reminder of you around because it hurt to much, and any time she looked at me she started to cry.

All the other foster kids say that it’s my fault you died and it should have been me that was killed instead. They don’t even know what happened. They just know that my quirk is brainwashing and labelled me a villain because of it. They started spreading around that I made those thugs beat you to death. Everyone started believing them which ended up with me being muzzled. I can still feel the straps cutting into my face.

This couple… my new foster parents? They asked me if they could start the adoption process. Who does that? I’ve never had a choice before. More than that, they’ve not used the muzzle on me even once and screw it, I’m scared. What if they decide they don’t want me? Mom didn’t, so why would the two want me? They’re both amazing heroes and I… I’m nothing special.

But yeah, Um… Writing you wasn’t terrible. I may try it again one day.

~*~

Izuku closes the journal with his head tilted to the side curiously, the abrupt ending on the page throwing him off almost as much as the contents themselves. Of all the pages for him to randomly choose to read, he had to choose the one with a letter. Its pretty ironic when he thinks about it.

There’s a lot to unpack in that letter however.

The fact that Shinso grew up being called a villain for his quirk, that people accused him of being the reason that his father died, the muzzle, and of course the child abandonment from his mother.

At least they have a few things in common, though he would never wish the things he went through, or the things Shinso went through on anyone.

It’s with that thought that something seems to settle in his mind, causing him to reach a hand up to the call button. Almost jolting out of his skin as he hears the voice come through the receiver. “Nurses Desk.”

“Um… This is Izuku. I don’t know what room I’m in, but could you see if my nurse is available? I’d like to talk to someone I think.”

“I’ll let her know.” Izuku glares at the receiver due to the curt tone of the nurse before turning in the bed and throwing his legs over the edge just to let them sway in the air as he waits.

Chapter Text

Thoughts

Knocking on the door, Talia uses her badge to unlock the door as she calls out softly while opening the door. “It’s nurse Talia, I’ve brought Dr. Demaris with me as well as Pro Hero Hound Dog with me is it alright if we all come in?”

Izuku looks up from where he sits on the edge of the bed to glance at the door, “That’s fine.” He’s surprised that they all waited until receiving his answer before coming into his room, though for some reason the fact that they did causes a small smile to tug at his lips.

“I see you decided to move around some! Great job Izuku!” Talia offers the greenette a bright smile as she approaches closer to check him over, she doesn’t hesitate to move towards his legs to make sure that the lower extremities aren’t cold indicating a lack of blood flow.

“I wanted to sit in a chair… but I figured that might be a bit much since I haven’t been really moving more than going to the restroom the last few days.” Izuku ducks his head at the admittance.

He’s surprised when he hears a soft hmm and a click from the other side of the room, where a taller woman who beside the other two adults in the room is rather plain looking. Her dark hair settling on her shoulders, as she locks gray eyes upon his own green ones. The tip of her pen placed against a notebook. “Is that by choice or have you just not been feeling like moving around?”

Talia stands up and blocks Izuku from the gray eyes piercing into him. “We agreed that Izuku would be allowed to choose who he was more comfortable talking to Dr. Demaris. That being said he doesn’t have to answer that question if he doesn’t want to.”

Dr. Demaris uses the top of her pen to push up her glasses, in a way that reminds Izuku so much of Nighteye that has him flinching, even the smallest amount. “My apologies.”

“It’s alright, but I think I’d like to try and talk to Hound Dog first.” Izuku looks away from the woman not wanting to see her become upset with him.

Talia frowns giving Demaris a look showing she is not happy before smiling to Izuku, “Of course! If it turns out that you aren’t comfortable just have him come find me alright?” She waits for his nod of affirmation before turning to Demaris. “Come on, there’s another patient I’d like you to talk to down the hall.”

Waiting until the two women leave, Inui watches the emotions play across Izuku’s face. Curiosity, Fear, Uncertainty, and beneath it all a small spark of hope. “You can ask me whatever you like pup.”

Izuku shakes his head, moving his hands to his wrists to absentmindedly rub at them. “I don’t want to upset you, but I figured you may understand better than Dr. Demaris would.”

A soft rumbling laughter escapes Inui as he moves to sit in a chair near the bed. “Pup, everyone has their own traumas. So, I can’t tell you if I’d understand better, but I do know that Dr. Demaris is very capable. She just gets sucked into her work easily and doing so she comes across as intense.”

Izuku digs his nails into his wrists his tone becoming clipped at what he’s about to say, but he doesn’t know how else to word it without sounding quirkest. “But… you have a mutant quirk.”

Reaching a hand out, Inui gently moves Izuku’s hands from his wrists with a nod. “Yes, and I did face a lot of discrimination for it. If it would help you open up, I could tell you about it.”

He didn’t think that would even be on the table. The fact that first Hitoshi and now Hound Dog were both willing to open up about themselves in order to make him feel comfortable was honestly throwing Izuku for a loop. “Um.. Please?”

Getting comfortable, Inui settles into the chair as he begins to tell his tale to the teenager. “I was born with my quirk. Most with mutant types are. Which for good or bad, allows us to learn what is considered normal these days. I learned quickly the world was unkind.

I was the only child my age at the local park that had my quirk already. That being the case, other kids were fascinated, their parents however were not. They were constantly telling their child or other children not to play with me in fear that I would be to rough.” Inui pauses to clear his throat before continuing, the word rough coming out with a bit more of his canine bark to it.

“I’d try to play with other kids that would come around, those with their quirks already. I was always so happy and energetic when they’d agree that I could play. Until they inevitably told me that I had to be the villain so they could all be heroes.”

Sure, you can play. It works out well for us. A hero needs a villain to defeat after all.

Shaking his head to regain his focus, Inui looks over at Izuku in thought. “I didn’t play with them. My dam was a saint. A small woman with an empathy quirk who worked in pediatrics. Between her and my sire, a man like myself that worked as a detective, they knew the discrimination in the world and made sure that I knew even at a young age that I didn’t have to be put into a box that someone else had labeled.

I wanted to be a hero even then.

It got worse as I got older. School didn’t enforce their No Bullying policy for those with mutant quirks, so I’d end up with shock collars around my neck. The sensitivity turned up so high that even if I whispered it would shock me.

Middle school was of course worse. From the shock collar becoming an everyday occurrence, to not being allowed to sit in my chair at my desk, to other students going so far as to use my senses against me.”

Fidgeting on the bed, Izuku raises a hand shyly because he really doesn’t want to interrupt, but he does want to make sure he understands what Inui meant. “Using your senses against you?”

“Yeah pup. They would all wear strong scents some days just to mess with my nose, or they’d make a discrete noise so that I’d think I was hearing things, but when I went to focus on the sound they would all make the loudest racket that they could.” Inui gives a firm snuff out his nose in annoyance at how his younger self was treated.

“But… That’s not right!” Izuku’s green eyes are blown wide at the thought of someone hurting the man in front of him who he has only seen do good things.

“You’re right. It’s not, and I’m glad that you are able to recognize that.” Inui watches as his words startle Izuku into looking down at the floor, his face hidden from view. “Would you like me to continue?”

He can’t stop the fond look that crosses his features at the nod he gets in response from the greenette. “When applying for high schools, the school’s guidance counselor tried desperately to get me to go to a normal school or to just drop out. Told me to stop wasting resources when I was just going to become a villain.

I refused to become what they wanted me to become. So I applied to Shiketsu and Ketsubutsu. They both had high mutant quirk acceptance rates, while also not being U.A where all of the other kids were applying. The fact that I wasn’t applying to U.A itself seemed to be a relief to the counselor so she signed off on my applications without any other word.

It was during my time at Ketsubutsu that I learned that my anger problems are a direct result of a spike in my adrenaline. I was sent to talk to the counselor there and they helped me start learning the basics on psychology to keep myself level headed. When our lessons started to come to an end, I wasn’t happy. I still wanted to be a hero but, I wanted to help others that were like me, who needed someone to confide in.

Which lead me to only doing the minimum amount of hero work to start with because I was taking courses to get my degree in psychology.”

Izuku looks up at Inui in surprise. “Wait… you chose to help people through not only being a hero but also a counselor? After everything they did to you?”

“I did pup. It wasn’t easy in the slightest either, but Spite is a powerful thing. But it can be so rewarding. After one of my first big successes in the hero industry, I was approached by one of my middle school teachers. They apologized for never believing in me.” Inui rolls his eyes at the memory before giving a sharp toothed grin to the teen. “But it was so much more rewarding to be able to tell them to walk away because they are only wanting recognition now that I was successful, that if they really were sorry, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

Wide green eyes stare at the pro hero in front of him for a solid minute as it takes some time to process that before nodding. “Spite huh?” He glances around the room as if double checking that it’s just the two of them before looking back up at the older male. “I guess I can share too then.”

Chapter Text

Settling back into the bed as he tries to get more comfortable, Izuku glances over at the dog quirked hero almost nervously as he tries to decide how he wants to start this.

Inui for his part is patient. He doesn’t so much as shift his position in case the teen in front of him takes it for him getting impatient. He knows the type well after all, and now that he might be able to get this kid to open up, when all he’s known was to be guarded? Well then, he’ll just have to make sure to slow his breathing while also keeping himself as still as possible so not to deter the boy.

His patience pays off quickly after that as he catches wide green eyes staring at him, taking in each and every one of his small, insignificant movements.

“I still wish I was dead.” Izuku looks down at his hands, so he doesn’t see how the other man reacts to his words, even as he continues to speak. “Day after day, week after week, it was a constant thing of being told I was useless, that I was worthless. I hated the words I’m sorry so early in life due to Inko saying them to me right after I was diagnosed quirkless. But later in life… I wished for nothing more than for someone to apologize and tell me that it would be alright.

I wish I could tell you when I realized how much I hated myself, and how I just wanted to die, but I can’t. It’s been a part of me for so long I honestly have no idea where to even begin looking in my past for the answer… and now it’s like some morbid joke. That all of the shit I went through for being quirkless was for nothing because apparently, I’m one of those people who had a quirk even with a toe joint!” Izuku’s voice gets louder in his frustration and self-loathing. Hands hold the edge of the bed in a white knuckled grip as tears roll down his cheeks to drip down his chin and onto the sheet covering his lap.

Inui doesn’t move, as much as he wants to offer the kid comfort, he knows that he can’t. All of his schooling and training telling him that if he does, this broken teen who the world has already failed will close up and continue to carry the burden on his own.

Lifting his head to show red rimmed green eyes that seem to hold the weight of the world, Izuku lifts a single hand to wipe the tears on his cheeks. “One of the vestiges...is still with me. He told me how the original holder of our shared quirk Yoichi… was able to look through my memories. He wanted to see how best to help and prepare me if I… survived my attempt. He’d seen that the doctor I was taken to looked like the doctor that his brother All For One associated with. They believe that my original quirk was stolen years ago.”

Giving a soft hum Inui leans forward a bit so that he can write down any of his questions he has for later, instead trying to get the greenette to continue with gentle prompting. “That would be a lot to take in on such a short time, and I’m sure the feelings from it can’t be easy. Would you be willing to discuss how you are feeling with that knowledge?”

Izuku takes a moment to regard the man with a critical eye before heaving a heavy sigh. His frame slumping forward some as he does so, the exhaustion becoming ever so present in a way that it wasn’t before. “There are a few different reasons. I feel like I’m being punished for one. I failed at getting rid of myself so now here I am still hating myself, with a new quirk that I have to get under control, and the old quirk that I was finally starting to get the hang of gone like some sort of joke.

More than that though.. before our conversation today, I hadn’t even thought about spite as a reason for me to keep going. Not really, and while the option is rather tempting I don’t know if that’s what is best for me or not. Because doing something out of spite would still mean becoming a hero, and I honestly don’t know if that’s what I want.” Izuku takes the moment to look over at the man, taking in his reactions as he fidgets in his bed.

Nodding his head in understanding Inui reaches up slowly to scratch at the side of his face in thought, “Which is completely up to you. Unless something is directly harming you, or will do you harm I won’t tell you what to do. Even then, it’s ultimately your choice. So if you don’t want to be a hero then that’s alright. No one is going to force you to become a hero.”

Green eyes widen in disbelief as tears spring back to his eyes, “B-But All Might s-said… I have to be the S-Symbol of P-Peace.”

Growling in frustration, Inui flinches back as he sees the teen’s demeanor change, watching as the boy shrinks away from him as apologies spill from his lips. A soft whine escapes his own throat sounding so much like a wounded version of the animal he shares his quirk with. “I didn’t mean to frighten you Izuku. I just got upset because All Might was wrong. You don’t have to be the next Symbol of Peace. All anyone wants from you, is for you to be healthy and taken care of. We would also like you to be happy but we all know that you’re not going to be happy all of the time, which is perfectly normal and whether you choose to believe it or not, it’s healthy.”

Inui glances up at the clock his eyes narrowing in disdain before he turns his attention back to Izuku. “Now… We’ve covered quite a bit today, but would you be willing to continue to have visits like this a couple times a week when you get back to class?”

He can tell immediately that he’s messed up. Those green eyes filling with tears, pupils blown wide as Izuku moves his hands from the edge of the bed to his arms, scratching the skin insistently. “Pup… you don’t have to see me if that makes you uncomfortable, you can see someone else.”

Izuku shakes his head, he struggles for a moment with his rapid shallow breaths before he manages to stumble over his words. “N-N- No… C-Cl-Cla...Class”

Frowning as much as he can, Inui reaches over and places one of his large hands over Izuku’s smaller ones as the red marks left behind from the scratching start to bleed. “You’re alright pup. You don’t have to go back to class any time soon. If you like I can talk it over with Nedzu and see if we can figure something else out for you alright?”

The touch seems to snap Izuku out of his thoughts, and he follows the large hand up to the pro hero, giving him a small nod of agreement. “U-umm o-ok… C-can y-you t-tell mmmm” Izuku looks close to tears again as he tries to move his hands under Inui’s so that he can dig his nails into the under side of his forearms in frustration.

Inui’s touch tightens preventing the boy from doing any more damage to himself a sad look crossing his face. “No pup, be easy with yourself. Go slow and try again alright? I’m in no hurry.”

The caring tone the canine quirked hero expresses towards him causes Izuku’s shoulders to slump in some kind of mix between defeat and relief. He takes a few moments to just breathe before trying a second time to get the words out. “C-can you t-tell A-Aizawa and u-umm M-mic too? I’d l-like to t-talk to t-them I th-think.”

A soothing yip escapes Inui of it’s own accord at how Izuku managed to not only calm down but also get out what he wanted to say in a relatively easy to understand way. Rubbing the tip of his nose, he gives the teen a side glance only to find a small smile on the teen’s face. “Good job pup. Got it done on the second try, see? No rush. But as for your request I’d be happy to let them know and to tell them you’re wanting to talk to them. If that changes you just call a nurse and have them let me know alright?” He reaches out carefully to ruffle the teen’s hair before getting up.

“If we decide anything immediately, I’ll have them let you know when they come in and if you don’t agree to it, just say so and we can try for something else. You have a say pup, remember that.” Inui grins before heading out of the door.

Chapter Text

Stepping out into the hall, Inui heaves a heavy sigh once the door is completely shut behind him. He’s not surprised by any means to see Midnight waiting outside the door. “I figured you would have left after dropping off the kids.”

Nemuri gives a dismissive wave of her hand as she grins, “That was originally the plan, but someone decided to accompany me in my task.”

“Nedzu is here then?” The canine hero lifts his nose to give a quick sniff to check since one can never be to careful when it comes to their boss.

“You know it! He’s holed up with Hizashi and Shouta in a secure meeting room here on the hero floor.” Nemuri flashes her co-worker a bright grin as she turns on a heel to lead him to the meeting room.

Inui rolls his eyes at the heroine’s antics but follows her never the less. “Where are Hitoshi and Eri?”

“A couple of the nurses who are off duty are taking them around to cheer up some of the patients in the hospital. If the meeting goes over to long, then Hitoshi offered to take Eri down to the Pediatric ward to see the guest visitor as well as to play in the recreational room.” Nemuri doesn’t turn to look at the man as she talks, she knows he can hear her just fine due to his quirk. But she can’t help but smile at the concern that he’s showing for the kids that are basically family to most of the staff at this point. “Don’t worry so much Inui. They’re safe, and if they need to talk to someone they know to come to you.”

Their conversation is abruptly cut off as they walk into the meeting room just before the door shuts with a firm thud behind them and the sound of a lock engaging reaches their ears.

“Ah good! We’re all here! Nedzu claps his paws together from his place in the chair at the head of the table. “Ryo would you be so kind as to give us your thoughts on our young student?”

Inui takes a moment to look around the room taking in those that are there. A deep rumbling hum escaping him. “From a professional point of view Izuku seems to be mentally stable, which I will bring up to his nurses and doctor that I think he can be released as long as he agrees to counseling a few times a week. Although admitting that he still wishes he was dead, I don’t see any signs of him intentionally trying again.”

“Intentionally?” Hizashi can’t stop himself from asking, concern leaking into his entire being as he glances over at his husband as he places his hand on the other man’s, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

Giving a small nod of his head, Inui takes a moment to watch Aizawa’s reaction before replying. It wouldn’t do for any of them in this room to not be in their best head space for this. “I believe he is likely suffering from at least anxiety if not more. But without him filling out the intake assessment I’m not comfortable giving a diagnoses especially off of just a single conversation. However during our talk..” He pauses for a moment debating how to go about what he wants to say as his eyes catch Nemuri momentarily “..when he would start to get worked up he moved his hands to scratch and claw at his forearms.”

Catching the look that Inui gives his friend, Aizawa narrows his dark eyes. “Do you have problem with Nemuri all of a sudden?”

Inui shakes his head as he growls softly in discontent. “Not at all.” He turns apologetic eyes to the only woman in the room. “But to continue this conversation, I apologize but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Arching a brow Nemuri drums her nails on the table having just sat down to get comfortable. “I’ll go, but I’d like to know why I am suddenly being excluded.”

Leaning forward on clasped paws, Nedzu gives the counselor a curious look. “I too would like to know the reason for her exclusion. Seeing as Kayama has been in the loop since you were brought in as well.”

Taking a moment to look around at his colleagues Inui notes the body language of Mic and Aizawa being a strange mix of defensive for their friend and the need to check on their student as evident by them both sending occasional glances between Nemuri and the door.

Turning his attention back to the annoyed woman, Inui gives a soft whine unintentionally showing his dislike for the situation himself. “Izuku agreed to me talking to Nedzu. Even going so far as to ask if I would include Yamada and Aizawa as well. After this meeting he was open to talking to them both as well to which I told him if he changed his mind, he could let a nurse know and they’d inform me. With everything that has gone on in his life as we all are aware from his journal, he never really had the option of having a choice. I want to make sure he has those now, and I refuse to break his trust on something that isn’t something that is a danger to himself or someone else. If at a later time he agrees, we can fill her in later, but without his say I’m not willing to risk it.” Inui’s voice is firm, jaw set showing he’s not moving from his stance on this, even as his hands tighten into fists and another whine escapes.

Nemuri gives an understanding smile to the hunting dog hero as she walks over to him. A hand reaching up to scratch at the back of Inui’s head until she hears the soft, rumbling sound of a content growl. “You could have just said the green bean hadn’t agreed and I would have accepted it. But I appreciate you being thorough so not to hurt my feelings while also keeping his feelings in mind.” She gives a final scratch to the dog quirked man’s head before pulling her hand away and using it to give a quick wave to the room. “Alright, I’m going to go check on your other two rascals! Let me know if I can help in any way.”

Waiting until Nemuri leaves and the locks re-engage on the door, Aizawa turns his attention back to his colleague “Alright, she’s gone. Now talk.”

Taking a moment to see where he wants to start, Inui finally takes a seat at the table. In doing so, he lets himself drop into the waiting chair with a solid thud, the tension in his form starting to melt away just the slightest bit. “There are a few things that concern me. The fact that he struggles so much with his self image is a big one. On top of admitting that he wishes he was still dead, he also admitted to me that he hates himself. That he has hated himself long enough that he doesn’t remember when his self-loathing even started. I believe that his self-hatred has actually increased upon recently finding out from one of the vestiges in the quirk that he was never actually quirkless. Instead most likely having had his quirk stolen by the same doctor that diagnosed him who apparently resembled the doctor who was known to associate with All for One.”

Inui gives them some time to process that because honestly if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s trained not to react to things said during sessions, he would have needed a moment as well.

“That is interesting. If that is the case then it leads me to believe that our young Izuku had his quirk before that appointment. From my understanding of All for One he can only take a quirk that he has seen before. There’s not been any record of someone’s quirk being taken before it’s manifested.” Nedzu leans forward in his seat, an almost dangerous gleam entering his beady black eyes.

Hizashi frowns as he shifts in his seat, uncomfortable at the thought. “The poor little listener. I couldn’t imagine going through everything he did then finding out it wasn’t something that was even supposed to happen.”

Noticing the discomfort in his husband, Aizawa slowly stands up and walks behind the blond to pull his hair down out of the bun he has it pinned in. He gives a tired sigh as he starts to card his fingers through the long locks knowing that it will help keep the loud hero calm. “How do we help him with his self image?”

Inui looks down at his notepad before meeting Aizawa’s gaze, "We need to basically reverse the damage that has been done. He’s had so many people tell him he was useless, so we need to tell him how helpful he is, help instill a positive mind set by giving him small praises and thanking him for when he helps with things. Once he starts actual counseling, we can see what he would like to work on in regard to it. Depending on how deeply his self-loathing runs, I may suggest a type of roleplay to him where instead of seeing it as Izuku doing it. Having him think of himself as someone else.”

Aizawa gives an understanding nod, “Something similar to what happens with someone in the witness protection then correct?”

A soft yip of excitement leaves the dog hero causing him to roll his eyes in annoyance. “Exactly. Next concern isn’t as problematic as his take on his self-image but is still the fact that Izuku is under the assumption that he has to be a hero. Which he’s not certain he wants to do anymore. I’ll go so far as to admit that I am more concerned by the fact that for him, he is under the belief that to be a hero he has to become the next symbol of peace which we all know isn’t the case.”

Nedzu gives a disappointed sigh at that, “Yes that would be the convincing of our former number one, as well as today’s society.”

Frowning as much as he can, Inui doesn’t let them stay on that topic long so that they can address the one he’s most worried about before trying to problem solve the others. “I think the most immediate concern however is that Izuku had a small panic attack when we were talking. I say small only due to his ability to pull himself out of it with minimal interference from myself. But the trigger to that was when I mentioned continuing counseling when he resumed classes. At first I believed that he didn’t feel comfortable with me so I told him that he could see someone else that was no problem. But he assured me upon calming down enough to speak, that it was the idea of returning to class that was the problem. I did assure him that I would talk to Nedzu to work on an alternative of some sort before leaving.”

Aizawa finally stops playing with his husband’s hair to lean forward as he places a quick kiss on top of Hizashi’s head before moving back to his spot and reclaiming his seat. “Bakugo?”

Giving a small smile at the tenderness that his partner displayed especially with the others around, Hizashi tilts his head to the side in thought. “I don’t know. If I remember right, the listener mentioned being made fun of for his lack of control. What if it’s not just Bakugo?”

Slumping down in his seat Aizawa heaves an exhausted sigh. “If it’s more than just him I’m expelling them. Bakugo has at least tried to change if someone is still actively bullying or was bullying the kid then they don’t deserve their spot.”

Nedzu gives a small nod more of understanding than agreement, however. “I understand the sentiment Aizawa, but would that do more harm than good? I believe we should see who is responsible and what is being done before we go about deciding repercussions. But enough of that we need to find a way to make young Izuku comfortable upon his release first and foremost, so if you all would be so kind as to grab a pen and a notepad from the stack in the center of the table, I’d be grateful.”

Only waiting until the others in the room have the aforementioned items, Nedzu gives them a look that promises to be nothing but chaos. “Perfect! So, here’s what I’m thinking.”

Chapter Text

Nedzu can’t help but grin as he sees his employees and dare he say, friends sitting at the table, each one ready to take notes of anything he says regardless of how on edge they each may be. “Excellent! Based off of what Ryo was able to tell us, it seems that we really only have 2 main issues to address. Those being Izuku’s self-image as well as his anxiety. Both of which should be able to be repaired given time.”

“The more immediate concern is his fact of not wanting to return to class. Which I don’t blame the boy in the slightest for. Looking at it from a perspective like mine where you all know my past… I wouldn’t want to return to the same setting right away even if it was different there. In fact I’d be more concerned if he did just want to jump right back into his studies.” Nedzu takes a moment rub a paw down the scar on his face as the phantom ache makes itself known at the mere brief mention of his own past.

Hizashi taps his pen to his paper a few times in thought before heaving a sigh, “No offense but I don’t think we could do homeschooling with him seeing as we both teach full time and have our hero duties.”

Nodding in understanding, Nedzu gives the blonde man a look that has just the hint of condescending to it. Like he wasn’t going to think about his student’s education in the midst of everything else. “I believe that if he is agreeable we can do classes online and he can sit in either the teacher’s lounge or the common room in the teacher’s dorms. We are always moving about there throughout the day, that way if he has any trouble someone would be there to assist. We would of course make sure with the other faculty that it’s alright.”

Heaving a tired sigh, Aizawa levels the chimera a dark look. “What would I tell the rest of my class? Also I thought we weren’t bringing that many people into this.”

A glint catches off of Nedzu’s eyes as he settles his own dark gaze upon those of his former student’s. “Have you done as Izuku wanted?”

Aizawa barely manages not to roll his eyes in exasperation. He’d never hear the end of it if he let the dramatics show. “You know I haven’t.”

Placing a hand on his husband’s shoulder to offer support, Hizashi glances over at their boss, chartreuse eyes holding defiance. “We wanted to wait until we knew the outcome first. We didn’t want to cause any of the listener’s distress.”

“Then I suppose we should check with our young student to see if he still wishes for his class to be informed of his decision. If so then I’d take parts of his letter to the staff and use them to inform our other students. So long as Ryo also agrees that your class is mentally sound enough to handle the impact of that.” Nedzu turns his attention to the animal quirked man with a questioning look.

Ryo sighs at the look he receives from his employer. A low rumbling growl escaping him as he takes a few minutes to mentally go through a checklist before dipping his head forward in a short nod. “There shouldn’t be a problem with that. I have completed the mandatory sessions with all of them. Most having agreed to have some form of counseling with me at least once a month. Those more at risk of taking the news hard will be the first ones that I check in on before I continue down the list.”

“Wonderful. Now you’re correct Shouta. We are keeping the number of people knowing about this down. Which is why with Izuku’s permission, I’d like to go ahead and put him in a sort of witness protection program. I have contacts who could change his appearance to disguise who he is.” Nedzu is quick to hold up a paw as he sees the husbands tense as they begin to get up. “Listen. It would give him the ability to live a different life to learn how see how he should have been cared for to begin with. It will also open up the opportunity to take back his life as Izuku should that be what he decides later on. A final bonus of it is that it would give us time to find the rest of those who have hurt him to ensure they are unable to do so again.

Pausing to take all of that in, Aizawa slumps down in his seat as the fight just seems to leave him. “And how would we explain that to my hell class should he decide to reclaim his identity?”

Offering the dark-haired man, the softest look that he can muster, Nedzu gives a short glance down at his own pad of paper. “Simply by telling them that it was classified and on a need to know basis. They didn’t need to know. As young heroes in training they need to learn that not every case is going to include them. If it’s personal most times you are removed from the case all together and left to wonder.”

“And with cases like this, where we are trying to not only protect him but to flush out those that have done wrong by him, the more realistic reactions there are, the less likely those who may try to come after him will do so.” Inui gives the husbands an assessing look, he knows both of them know all of this of course. But he is also very aware of how easy it can be for people to lose sight of that knowledge in the face of it being someone they care about.

Hizashi looks torn, he doesn’t like the idea of hurting their other little listeners but he does see the appeal in it in making sure that those who had been targeting your students were all taken care of. It’s not an ideal outcome for either side, but he can agree that it seems to be the best course of action so long as all parties are willing. “You really think this will work?”

Nedzu clasps his paws in front of him as he leans forward in his seat, wishing for a cup of tea to help keep him calm and present. “I know it’s not the ideal outcome that we are wanting but I do. There have been a lot of successes with changing people’s identities before, whether it be long term or short term. Announcing that they are deceased usually causes people to come out of the woodwork, much like if someone wins the lottery. But for it to work, Izuku would have to agree and you both would have to be removed from the case to focus on your new child. A lot was already overlooked with you sharing the journal with your kids. Mic as another pro hero was fine, Shinsou was able to be argued for due to him being your intern for the work studies, Eri on the other hand should have never been allowed to see the journal.”

“We weren’t going to leave her out of a family decision.” Chartreuse eyes snap to beady black ones as they widen in barely contained outrage. His voice coming out higher than intended, not quite quirk level but definitely getting close.

That’s probably why Hizashi isn’t surprised when a hand is suddenly gripping the back of his head and pulling his attention from the chimera in front of him and instead forcing him to look into the red quirked eyes of his husband. “Enough Zashi. We both know that we should have handled it better.”

Unflinching, Nedzu gives a grateful nod to Aizawa as he unclasps his paws so that he can instead make a note on his own writing pad. “You should have. But no matter. Consequences have actions which is why, you both are being pulled from active hero work. You both will still be allowed to teach as you do have your teaching licenses and it is not a mandate to be a hero to teach at U.A. Take the time to get your family settled and to catch up on some rest. Leave the rest to me.”

Looking between each other, Hizashi and Aizawa look uncertain for a moment before they give a nod of acquiesce. They know better than to go against their boss, and really it doesn’t sound like that bad of a punishment considering things could have been much worse.

Instead Aizawa looks at his former mentor for a moment before huffing fondly. “Thanks.” He then gives a small shake of his head before turning to get ready to leave with his husband, after all they have a kid to go talk to and a lot to hopefully be allowed to help him through.

Nedzu waits till the pair are just about out the door before speaking up a final time, his eyes catching Inui’s to show his amusement at making them wait even just a single moment longer. “Whenever he’s ready, I have already pulled the adoption papers for you both to sign.”

Chapter Text

Flashback

Izuku was nervous. He had caught himself a few times now with his hand hovering over the nurses call button trying to avoid the meeting that was coming up. It’s not that he didn’t want to talk to his teachers perse, but he didn’t really want to answer the questions that he was sure they had. On top of that, the longer their meeting with Hound Dog takes, the more his resolve waivers.

Doesn’t it figure that right when he was about to change his mind and actually push the button is when his door opens just enough for him to hear, “Kid? It’s Aizawa and Yamada. Can we come in?”

Swallowing the nervous lump that he feels starting to build in his throat, Izuku glances at the button then to the door and back again in quick succession before letting out a heavy sigh. “U-Umm, I m-mean s-sure!”

Aizawa takes his time to walk into the room, he’s careful to announce his footsteps while also making sure that they aren’t too loud. He knows that they have to tread carefully because one misstep can have both himself and his husband out of the room unable to speak with Izuku till the kid alone decides.

Not being an underground hero himself, Yamada has no trouble with his steps announcing his presence. The voice hero walking with an air of confidence with light but pronounced footsteps. “Hey listener, thanks for letting us come in.”

Izuku watches the couple’s approach with wary eyes. As his nerves start to get the best of him, he closes his eyes to try and keep himself grounded.

“How can we help kiddo?”

The voice is soft, softer than he remembers Aizawa ever being before. It’s even somehow softer than the meeting during work studies before the raid on the Shie Hassaikai and it’s enough to bring him to tears. “Why are you being so nice to me?!”

Aizawa looks at between his crying student and his husband uncertain how he wants to deal with this. It’s the gentle prompting ‘go on’ hand motions from his loud blonde that gets him to reach out and place a gentle hand in the green curls as he recalls the end of their meeting with Inui.

~*~*~*

They were just about to leave when the low growl of their protective co-worker caught their attention. Turning to face the dog quirked hero, Aizawa stares at his colleague in question while Yamada is the one who expresses his concern. “You good Inui?”

Inui stares back at Aizawa for a moment before snuffing in frustration. “Fine thanks Yamada. Warning for you both make sure you aren’t too imposing, while also not being quite enough to startle the pup. Leave the gruff act at the door Aizawa or you’ll scare him off.”

Aizawa doesn’t quite get the eye roll hidden in time for Inui to not see it, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Squinting for emphasis alone, Inui shakes his head in exasperation at the dark-haired man. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. You enjoy your image of being an aloof, bastard. When really you care too much. Show the care to him and for all of our sakes, open up.”

Hizashi tilts his head to the side curiously, “I must have misheard you. You want us to open up to the listener?”

Shooting Hizashi a narrowed eyed gaze, Inui nods, “I do. Izuku was more inclined to open up to me after I told him about my past. He’s showing to at least be more accepting of those who are able to relate and possibly understand him. You both have been hurt and gone through things. I recommend sharing that with him. Help him trust you.”

“We’ll consider it.” Aizawa barely manages to get all of his words out before he’s walking out the door. He doesn’t want to tell his healing student what he went through. He doesn’t want to revisit his past. Hell, the only thing that he wanted right now was to go be with his husband and Izuku, but he’s not so sure he’s ready to tell his story to anyone but the select few who know.

~*~*~

Carefully carding his fingers through the errant green curls, Aizawa watches his student as he starts to gather his thoughts. “You deserve people treating you well.”

Izuku manages a wet scoff as he continues to cry, his hands coming up to rub at his eyes angrily. “Yeah right. If that’s the case, then why did no one do so before?”

Hizashi moves closer to the bed his heart breaking at the hurt in the teen’s tone. Once close enough, he gently bumps Izuku’s arm with the box of tissues he grabbed on his way over. “We can’t speak for them little listener, but if I had to guess it was because they couldn’t understand. Not that it mattered. They should have been treating everyone with the same courtesy and decency that they wanted to be treated with.”

Moving his hands to the side to stare at Hizashi incredulously, Izuku huffs as he catches himself and grabs a tissue... “Careful. It almost sounds like you’re saying you understand.”

Giving his student a blank stare, Aizawa finds the words slipping past his lips before he can stop them. “What would you do if we did understand?”

Izuku rolls his eyes, the likelihood of someone actually understanding him was slim after all he grew up as a no body, a useless deku who deserved to die. “I’d say prove it first.”

That’s all it takes to have Aizawa glancing up at his husband for encouragement, and finding the gentle sunshine smile there, gives him exactly what he needs to pull up the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt. Doing so, reveals a plethora of cuts all over the skin there, but the most prominent are the ones that are front and center once the underground hero presents his arms, so the underside of his wrists are facing up.

It takes a moment for Izuku to understand what he’s seeing. Those jagged, bold scar lines running from wrist to elbow on his teacher’s forearms taunting him before the weight of what they are crashes down on him.

Reaching a hesitant hand out towards the arms presented towards him, Izuku lets a trembling finger trace along the scars there. “W-why?”

It’s barely whispered but Aizawa still manages to hear the boy’s broken question. “It’s the same reason I’m so hard on my students and why I expel those I deem have no potential. Because when I was just a year older than you, Hizashi and I lost our best friend. We lost him because I wasn’t strong enough. Even though we did our work study together, I wasn’t able to save him when he needed saving. That took its toll on me.”

Taking a deep breath Aizawa looked down at Izuku surprised to see those green eyes staring back at him, even if they fleetingly looked away. “Being unable to save our best friend and watching him die… it hurt. I stopped eating; I became reckless because what did it matter if I died? As long as I protected others that’s what mattered. It got to the point where any time I closed my eyes all I could see was him dying and I couldn’t take it anymore. So, I tried to end it all.”

Dark eyes glance at tear filled chartreuse before he gives the teary blonde a faint smile. “Would have succeeded if it wasn’t for a loud blonde finding me and literally screaming for the teachers to come help.”

Letting out a wet giggle, Hizashi nods at the memory. “Seeing you there bleeding out, I had decided that I needed you alive. If screaming meant you were alive even if you did go deaf, then it was worth it to know that you were still here.”

Izuku takes a moment to let that all sink in while his teachers give each other small touches to reassure each other that what is happening is real. When he can no longer wait, Izuku glances at Hizashi curiously. “That’s more Aizawa’s understanding but what about you? Because from where I’m sitting, and I don’t mean to be rude, but you seem more likely to understand Aizawa’s perspective since he saved me, and you saved him.”

Giving the teen an amused look, Hizashi stands up and heads over to the sink in the room to wet a cloth before moving back over to his previous spot near Izuku’s bed. “Can you hold this for me?”

Turning his attention to his English teacher, Izuku arches a brow at the offered wet cloth before reaching out a hand to hold it. He’s surprised when the man kneels down beside his bed before taking the cloth back.

Grinning up at the greenette, Hizashi uses the cloth to wipe his face, removing the makeup he wears and revealing the small, thin scars that litter his face.

Green eyes widen in shock as his fingers twitch as he tries to keep himself from reaching out. The face is different than just reaching for someone’s arms after all.

Hizashi reaches out and gently takes Izuku’s hands in his own to place them against his face. “It’s ok listener, I don’t mind.”

With the permission, Izuku traces the scars ever so gently as tears start to fall down his cheeks. “You had one too?”

Hizashi gives the kid a sad smile. If he had known the boy was hurting so much because he thought he was alone in this, then he wouldn’t have bothered hiding them all the time. “I did. My teachers and classmates growing up hated my quirk. They refused to allow me to talk at all because if I did then they thought I would deafen them. It wasn’t until the second year of middle school that we had a new student, who walked into the classroom and saw the muzzle on my face and abruptly pushed the kid out of the seat next to me and took his seat to look over my face. I don’t know what he saw there but it had him pulling out his phone then 10 minutes later his parents were back at the school, standing in our classroom horrified but firm in telling our teacher that the cops were on their way.”

Aizawa frowns at the retelling of part of Hizashi’s childhood. It was before he was around and it doesn’t come up very often but when it does, he’s all the more grateful for his husband surviving the torment he went through, while missing the third member of their group all the more.

Debating quietly with himself, Izuku tries to figure out if he should ask the question that’s bothering him or not. It’s the hand still carding through his hair that acts as a gentle reminder that these two men are sharing about themselves willingly that has him asking. “What about your f-family? How did you hide it?”

The question doesn’t come out quite the way Izuku wanted to ask it but somehow manages to get what he was saying across because the look on Hizashi’s face becomes pinched as he leans forward ever so slowly.

Resting his forehead against Izuku’s, Hizashi gives a small shake of his head causing the others to shake as well. “Listener… Even if I needed to hide the marks, I wouldn’t have. My parents when they were still alive were fierce protectors. It wasn’t until after they died when I was in my third year of grade school that this started happening. I lived in a group home up until that point. My social worker was appalled at what had been going on and being covered up. It turned out that the new kid’s mom, used to be social worker herself that specialized in pre-adoption services, and she had a neighbor who was looking into adoption.”

Hizashi leaned back to give Izuku a bright smile, “That neighbor after an extensive process of getting certified, attending regular classes was able to foster me and about 2 years later, when I was a week from starting at U.A the adoption was approved.”

Tilting his head to the side curiously, Izuku moves his hands to start scratching at his arms nervously. “W-Why are you telling me about that part? Being adopted? I didn’t get that chance.”

Hizashi looks from Izuku to his husband before taking one of Izuku’s hands in his own. “I’m telling you that because it’s important Izuku. I know that things are rough especially when they don’t go as planned. That change is hard. But I’m hoping that you will trust Sho and I.”

Moving his free hand to grasp the greenette’s other hand, Aizawa gives a small huff, drawing the attention to himself. “We would like to adopt you Izuku. If you would have us, but there are some things we would like to discuss with you first regarding where you want to go from here.”

Chapter Text

Thoughts

Izuku froze hearing the two older men.  'They want to adopt me? What kind of sick joke is that? No one ever wants the useless Deku. The only thing I’m ever good for is a punching bag… maybe that’s why they want to adopt me so that they have something for Shinsou to practice his quirk on… or maybe for Eri’s quirk. That would make more sense.’  Hands move on their own accord to tug at his errant locks as he backs away from his teachers till he’s on the other side of the bed with his knees drawn up to his chest as he starts to cry.

‘ Why can’t anyone ever love me? Why am I never enough just as I am? I try and try but it never works out the way that I want it to. Why is it some kind of joke for me to want to be taken care of?’  Rocking back and forth at the corner of the bed furthest away from his teacher’s, Izuku struggles as his breathing hitches before it speeds up.

Frowning to himself, Aizawa takes in the state of his student before turning a concerned gaze to his husband. He knows he’s not the best at situations like this, but his sunshine is and he’s comfortable letting the other man take the lead in helping their kid.

Hizashi casts his husband a knowing look before slowly approaching where Izuku is. He keeps himself distanced standing at the opposite corner so there is some space still between them but close enough that if the greenette needs it he can step forward and reach him with no trouble. “Hey listener, can you tell me 5 things you can see?”

Hesitating as it takes time for the words to get through the fog he’s stuck in, Izuku lifts his head slowly and wonders to himself when he closed his eyes. Opening them, he sees the blurry of his arms and he lets out a choked sob. “My arms… my hands… and the bandage on it.”

Giving a nod of encouragement, Hizashi smiles keeping the excitement out of his tone so as not to startle the teen. “Great job listener, can you do 2 more?”

Izuku looks up a bit more and gives a slow nod of his head as if to himself before responding, “My shirt and the blanket.”

“You’re doing so great listener! Now, what about 4 things you can touch?”

That one is a bit harder for Izuku because yeah, he can touch things but it’s like it’s not really there like he’s floating. “The bandage… blanket,” turning slightly he realizes where exactly he’s sitting. “Pillow and bed.”

Hizashi nods while still maintaining his distance, his tone nothing but soothing so as not to overwhelm the teen. “Perfect. What about 3 things you can hear?”

A small blush comes to stain Izuku’s cheeks at the praise. He’s not used to being told he’s doing something good let alone perfect. Shaking his head to help keep the thoughts at bay, he focuses on the question asked. “You. My breathing and a foot tapping.”

Smiling at the greenette, Hizashi struggles to fight the urge to just reach out and ruffle the curls there. He’s so proud of his kid. It’s hard to recover from panic attacks but he’s doing so well and he just wants to wrap him up in his arms and show him all the encouragement possible. “2 things you can smell?”

Izuku tilts his head to the side in confusion because there is no reason he should be smelling what he is. “Citrus… and coffee?”

Nodding his head in the affirmative at the inquisitive look he gets from the teen, Hizashi jerks his head in the direction of his dark-haired partner. “My husband is here, is that still alright?”

Izuku nods hesitantly as he looks from his English teacher to his homeroom teacher before heaving a sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“Can I hug you kiddo?” Hizashi bounces in place on his toes. He doesn’t want to scare Izuku not when they just got him calmed down, but it’s so hard not to just wrap his arms around the teen who looks so dejected in front of them.

Tilting his head to the side uncertainly Izuku frowns at the unexpected question.  ‘Wait… If they want to hug me then does that mean what they said is true? They actually care about me? Like enough to a-adopt me? A Deku?’  Turning a disbelieving gaze to his two teachers, Izuku lets his eyes dart between them. “Y-you’re not j-joking?”

Hizashi can’t stop himself at that, instead, he telegraphs his movements as he steps forward to wrap the greenette up into his arms. “Never. Not about hugging you, not about the adoption. None of it. We care about you Izuku. Please let us take care of you.”

It’s enough to have Izuku crying as he hears the words he so desperately wanted to hear but thought would never happen. But now… now it is and he’s scared because what if they don’t want him when he tells them he doesn’t want to be a hero?

Tensing in the hug, Izuku pulls away slowly, hands moving to wipe away the tears from his eyes and the tracks on his cheeks. “Um.. is it okay that I don’t want to be a hero?”

Aizawa reaches a hand out to gently card through the green curls with an almost soft, patient look settling in his dark eyes. “Kid. You don’t have to be a hero if that’s what you want. Inui mentioned you didn’t even want to be yourself and we figured out a way that you wouldn’t have to be. But it’s entirely up to you. Want to hear it?”

Izuku slowly settles back into the hug and even manages to lean more into the strong hand currently in his hair. “Yes please.”

Chartreuse eyes meet onyx for the briefest of moments as Hizashi sends his husband a knowing look. Those dark eyes look away not wanting to give the other man the satisfaction of a response, instead looking back down at the emerald-eyed teen in front of them. “Should you decide to, we would give you a new identity through something similar to witness protection.”

“And my appearance? I’m kind of memorable being mostly green.” Izuku doesn’t seem to even realize that he’s talking until it’s too late and when he does he tenses, ready to be reprimanded for speaking out of turn. “Ah! I’m…”

Izuku doesn’t get the chance to finish apologizing as he sees Hizashi shaking his head firmly, “No need to apologize listener. You are allowed to speak up, we aren’t going to get upset. Nedzu has some contacts that can change someone’s appearance to help with the guise of being someone else.”

“On top of that. Nedzu will be working with someone to draft up papers to make sure the identity can withstand scrutiny.”

Aizawa’s words come out gruff and it puts Izuku on edge for a moment until the words truly settle in his mind. That they are putting their all into this because he doesn’t want to be himself. It’s a sobering thought and one that has him reach out a hand toward his teachers as a spark of determination flares to life in his eyes. “Before any of that… I want to know the changes?”

Barely arching a brow in question Aizawa looks down at his kid not even bothering to say anything.

Scoffing Izuku gives a small glare to the underground hero. “Don’t give me that look. Hitoshi said you made changes. I’ve seen what Ka- Bakugo is doing. Explain the others.”

“Tsukauchi has been working on compiling a case against your middle school teachers and the school as a whole. I hope you realize that we couldn’t just let that go. If we did someone else may get the same treatment and neither you nor they deserve that.” Aizawa leans forward in his seat trying to get across just how important his words are.

“Yeah listener! It’s being kept hush-hush right now because Nedzu refuses to let it go to the media until we have your answer. Because if you want to be someone else, there are a few ways we could do it. We can make it a classified case where only those who you want to know can know. If you don't want anyone to know, we can go along with your letter since we wanted to wait and see if you pulled through. Then we’ll have the news line be justice for you.”

Izuku leans back because holy crap this is real. They figured out a way to get him a new identity and a way to get rid of this version of him. He can really start completely over if he wants. They’re getting him justice and a new spark joins the determination inside him. This one is ever so small but it’s familiar. The feeling of awe that made him hope to one day be a hero. “What… what if I decide I don’t want to be this new person anymore?”

Hizashi excitedly throws his arms back around Izuku’s shoulders with a wide, infectious grin. “That's the beauty of it! Even if we don't tell anyone we can just say it was classified, you were put into a type of witness protection program while we looked for anyone that was and those that could be perceived as a threat to you. ”

"C-Can I think about which option?"

Slowly, Aizawa moves his hand up to ruffle wayward green curls. "Take as much time as you need kid. We want this decision to be what you think is right for you. We will support you regardless."

Unable to keep them at bay any longer, tears start falling as Izuku breaks down into sobs. “Y-Yes… P-please!”

Hizashi hugs Izuku close to him as he starts to gently sway back and forth, “It’s alright kiddo, we’re here for you. We’ll take care of you from now on.”

Not wanting to be left out, Aizawa reaches forward and gently tugs the boy from Hizashi’s arms because damn it, he found him first. “I need to finish answering your question. All Might is no longer employed by U.A and Cementoss just finished building a hospital wing, so that Recovery Girl won’t be the only one there.”

Izuku leans into his homeroom teacher as his sobs become more pronounced as he hears that. The relief flooding through him at the chance that for once in his life he may be able to be treated as if he was a typical, everyday person.

Chapter Text

Standing outside of the 1-A dorms, Midnight looked up at the sign reading Alliance with a deep sigh. She knew how hard this was going to be. These students all have some sort of relationship to their missing classmate and the fact that they all have to deliver the news that he won’t be returning… well at least she knows the reason she was selected to be here.

Her gaze drifts over to the other heroes with her only to settle upon the only one of them that isn’t a teacher. “You ready Gum?”

Taishiro looks over at Midnight with eyes filled with sadness as he gives a quick nod as he schools his expression into something more determined. “Yeah, if this is as bad as Nedzu expects, I got a whole lot of kids to hug.”

Of all people, Inui knows it’s not the time to joke but even so, he can’t help but attempt to alleviate the tension even if just the slightest. “Guess it’s a good thing that your arm span is big enough to hold more than 1 student at a time.”

Giving the dog themed hero a wide smile Taishiro lets out a boisterous laugh. “That’s true! Makes it easier for me to give more comfort.”

Shaking his head Nedzu looks at the man who took the liberty of allowing him to have a ride, “Are you ready? You and your clones will be the ones doing most of the heavy lifting.”

Ectoplasm looks at his boss currently riding on his shoulder and gives a quick nod. “Physical heavy lifting maybe. But I believe that the emotional heavy lifting is going to be more work than what I’ll be doing. I’m just emptying the boy’s dorm and taking his belongings to your office.”

Turning blue eyes to her coworker, Midnight catches the counselor’s eye. “Were you able to warn the one student?”

Inui nods affirmatively, “Obviously I couldn’t go into detail, but I was able to inform him that there are things in the work that he can’t be privy to. Nedzu and I agreed on that much that way it wasn’t breaking any trust while also helping calm the likelihood of a relapse of behavior.”

Midnight’s shoulders slump as the tension starts to leave her frame at the unexpected answer. She doesn’t get to relax long though as she watches Ectoplasm walk past her and open the doors to Heights Alliance.

Taking that as the sign, the rest of the gathered heroes follow the masked hero into the dorms and watch as he allows Nedzu to jump down onto the table to draw the attention of the students there before walking deeper into the dorms.

Catching Iida’s eyes, Nedzu walks closer to the seat he is in at the table before making a motion with his paw. “Iida if you’d be so kind as to gather the rest of your classmates. I have some important news that I’d rather only have to announce once.”

Iida doesn’t hesitate to get up to do as he’s told, using his quirk to run off through the dorms to summon the rest of his fellow classmates to the common area.

Walking over with a tray holding a fresh pot of tea, Momo looks unsettled as she takes in the heroes gathered in their dorms. They are all solemn as if something bad has happened, and as much as she wants to ask, she knows it’s better to wait. “Would anyone like some tea?” The words slip from her lips without her realizing it. The only thing that draws her attention to it is the voice of her principal speaking up. “Tea sounds splendid, thank you.”

Momo gives a smile, happy to be of use in even this small way. She goes about getting a few more cups before pouring Nedzu and herself some tea. She leaves the rest of the cups on the table near the tray in case anyone else decides they would like to join them.

Taking the offered tea, Nedzu gives a soft hum of delight at the flavor. “This is a lovely blend. May I inquire as to what it is?”

A blush starts to stain Momo’s cheeks as she stares down into her teacup. “I’ve been working on making my own tea blends. This one is a blend of Rooibos, Calendula, lemongrass, and a lot of fruit. I’d be happy to make you a bag.”

It’s just as she finishes speaking that her classmates start to flood into the room, not even Kaminari being late this time, and it further darkens her blush not knowing how much they’ve heard.

Nedzu gives the girl a comforting pat to the shoulder surprising them both, “I’d quite enjoy that thank you.” He steps back and looks at all the students gathered his black eyes glinting in the light.

“Wonderful you are all here. I wish it was to inform you of better news, but I believe that it is only fitting that you all find out from those of us here than through any other means. Before I get into that though, please keep in mind that if you need anything at all our doors are always open.”

“Is this about Deku?” Blushing darkly, Uraraka sinks down into her chair further as most of the eyes in the room turn to look at her due to her outburst.

Taking just a few extra seconds to calm himself down from the interruption, Nedzu gives the girl a disapproving look. “It is, and I’d appreciate not having anymore outbursts.” He’s satisfied upon seeing Uraraka shift in her seat uncomfortably as she mumbles a soft apology.

Turning his attention back to the class as a whole, Nedzu lowers his eyes in a somber manner, showing just how much he loathes having to give this news as he actually allows his students to see what he’s feeling. “As you all know Aizawa has been absent quite a bit recently which is solely due to the fact that he was the hero who found Midoriya.” Raising a paw to stop the comments he knows are about to start Nedzu continues. “The reason you all are being informed now, is because we have no choice but to clear out his dorm to see what ultimately lead to his decision.”

“Principal Nedzu Sir… I don’t believe I understand. It sounds as if you are saying Midoriya isn’t coming back.” The single hand chop that Iida does is… sad. Starting out with his usual exuberance but ending slowly as if he has nothing left in him.

Allowing his head to hang as he clasps his paws in front of him, uncertain what to actually do in this situation. “Izuku has recently succumbed to his wounds resulting from an apparent attempted suicide.”

The silence is deafening. All of 1-A silent as they try to process what they were just told. It doesn’t seem to really sink in until the first and second Ectoplasm clone walks past, each one carrying a stack of notebooks labeled: ‘Hero Analysis for the Future’. Seeing the beloved notebooks of their classmate acts almost as the final nail in the coffin.

Silence turns to faces stricken with horror. Stumbling can be heard as some of the students start to move around to cope in their own ways. Satou can be heard mumbling about what all he needs to bake, while Kouda can be seen whispering ever so quietly as tears fall. No body questions the rabbit that comes hoping into the common area at top speed and barrels into the quiet boy.

A tea set shattering is what breaks the quiet almost mundane noises of some of the students trying to process. The tray Momo had picked up to refill having slipped out of her grip as she sinks to her knees silently, the look in her eyes one that so many of the class has on. The look of failure, as they each begin to wonder if they are meant to be heroes when they missed something so big. Nedzu knows those expressions all to well.

Frantic in his upset, Kirishima’s quirk activates as he glares at the principal. "You can’t be serious! Midobro wouldn’t do something like that!”

Tears welling up in his eyes as he hears the heartbreak of his youngest intern, FatGum walks over to the young redhead and wraps him in a hug. He only pauses for a moment before pulling those closest to them into the hug as well.

“DEKU!!!!!!!!!” Midnight quietly walks over towards the brunette sobbing and screaming in anguish. She pulls on her hero costume just enough to allow a small amount of her quirk to knock Uraraka out.

A sudden change in temperature draws his attention to the dual quirk wielder and he almost wishes it hadn’t. As ice starts to spread haphazardly throughout the common area. Todoroki standing amidst the turmoil, tears falling from his right side freezing instantly into small crystals that make a small plink as they hit the ground.

The popping sound of explosions sparking to life doesn’t bode well for them either, and it’s with a heavy heart that Nedzu quickly gives a look to the pro heroes a warning of what’s about to come before he turns his attention to Midnight making a clear gesture with his paw, it’s only a moment later that the dorms are calm again as each student is put to sleep with Midnight’s quirk.

Nedzu looks around the room as he lifts a paw to his chest to rub the ache that resides there. It’s been a long time since he’s seen such a sight, that he will admit to having honestly forgotten how much pain was involved. The sight of so many young students hurting as they have to come to the realization that one of their own has died. The last time he seen so much hurt was back when he was a teacher himself and his own homeroom lost one of their own during their work study. This feels just like that, especially with his sensitive ears ringing in such a familiar way.

Chapter Text

Thoughts

Nedzu didn’t often regret things. As a creature who wasn’t human by any means, he didn’t understand human emotions enough to do so. But watching this group of students who have already been through so much fall apart at the loss of one of their classmates made him wonder if he had miscalculated. He would be the first to admit that in making his suggestion he didn’t account for how close all of these students have gotten.

Stepping forward to carefully assess the situation, he’s vaguely aware of the ringing of a phone until Midnight approaches him her phone held out at arm's length to show him who’s calling.

“It’s Shou…Should I answer it?”

Nedzu takes in the frazzled appearance of Midnight and the sincerity seen upon her face as she asks what has to be a question that she loathes. It puts her in a slightly better light in his opinion. The fact that even though she and Shouta have been friends as long as they have been when it comes to such a delicate situation, she would still do whatever was necessary. Even if it meant keeping her friends out of the loop.

Shaking his head, Nedzu softens his look as much as he can. “Go ahead and answer it, you may tell him what happened. He will be unhappy, but it was my mistake. I didn’t take into account how close this class is. It’s quite possible that our young friend didn’t realize it himself.”

Midnight gives a quick nod of her head before calling her grumpy friend back, only mildly surprised to see him answer on the first ring. “Hey Shou Shou! What’s up?”

How’s my class Nem?

Giving a glance around the room, Midnight heaves a sigh. “Hang on Shou, I’m going to switch to video.”

You know I hate video calling Nem. Just tell me what’s going on.

Flipping the camera, Midnight braces herself for what's to come, because she knows how protective her friend and coworker is over his students, this class more so than any of the others.

As she does, she knows exactly what the homeroom teacher is seeing. His entire class passed out in some form. Ice, slowly melting in the room, with Todoroki still among the shards. Countless teens have tears or just expressions of plain horror on their faces, glass, as well as furniture scattered across the floor, then off to the side are several sleeping students all wrapped up in FatGum’s arms. The hero himself has tears in his eyes as he does his best to comfort the unconscious teens.

A sharp intake of breath draws her attention back to her phone, just in time for her to catch Aizawa’s quietly spoken, “What the heck happened Nemuri.”

Nedzu takes that as his cue to approach, a rather reserved look on his features his paws folded in front of him in a manner that expresses his true feelings of repentance. “Ah Shouta, my apologies. I believe this would be due to a miscalculation on my part.”

Aizawa notices the posture of the approaching creature and something in him snaps. His back straightens as his quirk flairs to life. He knows that his quirk doesn’t work on the chimera, however, his instincts are screaming at him, and he isn’t about to cancel his quirk while they are. “Explain now.”

Ignoring the tone, Nedzu does begin his explanation. “I didn’t account for how close your class was. Calculating human emotions is always a variable as you know, and I’ll admit that I didn’t properly head Inui’s concerns. While believing in giving Izuku a new start, he had mentioned earlier that he had concerns that he couldn’t shake. Explained that we should have waited to tell your class anything until Izuku was in a more stable mindset. Not only that… having at least considered the possibility of allowing the children to know the truth.”

“Nedzu.” Aizawa glares through the phone at the rat, his tone clipped as he sets his jaw, his capture weapon starting to writhe on his shoulders as the man gets more agitated. “What did you tell my kids?”

A small tremor runs through Nedzu it’s not often that he shows the skittish signs of his instincts. But having to inform his most protective staff member… his once personal student well, his little Shouta always did love the lessons on intimidation most. “We informed them of Izuku’s untimely death.”

In an empty hospital waiting room, Aizawa blue screens as he hears what his boss and former mentor just said. The words tumbling over and over in his mind but refusing to process like it’s some sort of sick joke.

“Aizawa?” The whispered voice of a nurse coming into the waiting room snaps his attention to the door.

Quirk still active, Aizawa’s hair and capture weapon floating around him give a menacing look as he turns to the woman. His tone coming out more curt than he wanted, “Yes?”

The nurse pauses for just a moment, her eyes widening as she gets stuck somewhere between shock and fear. “I umm… the uh... other n-nurses a-and I… we saw you pacing and seeming to be agitated so we wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

Aizawa watches the woman for a moment as he tries to get a grip on his emotions. It takes multiple deep breaths before he is ready to even attempt to talk again, and when he does his tone is still curt. Though it has to be something that his quirk is off now so his hair has settled. Plus, his agitation lessens by the moment his capture weapon settles itself back around his shoulders. “Just some upsetting news that I need to deal with.”

The nurse gives a small encouraging smile before tipping her head forward, “if you’re sure then” she leaves with no further words though is kind enough to lock the door so that others can not come in but he can still get out.

Turning his attention back to his phone he gives a glare at the chimera eyes flashing red again for just a moment. “I’ll be there shortly. Don’t say another word to my kids Nedzu.”

“Come now Shouta. We had discussed informing them of Izuku’s attempt.” Nedzu’s black eyes gleam as the lights hit them with a frown starting to tug at his mouth.

Aizawa looks at his boss in a disbelieving way, unable to comprehend the amount of stupid that is coming from one of the, if not the smartest creature on the planet. “We agreed that if Izuku agreed to that yes. Currently, Izuku only agreed to the part of us giving him a different appearance and having him in a Witness protection sort of program. We hadn’t gotten a chance to ask him if he wanted his class to believe he was dead or if he wanted them to think he was just missing, or if he wanted them to know his whereabouts so that they could visit.”

White ears droop forward the slightest amount, as Nedzu realizes his blunder. “Oh, dear. This seems to be a much large miscalculation on my part then. My apologies Shouta.”

Taking a deep breath as he moves a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, Aizawa sighs as he starts to feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. “I’m going to let Zashi and Izuku know that I have to dip out for a bit, then I’ll be there. Just… Nem? Keep them asleep till I get there.”

Waiting only for the affirmative from his long-time friend before ending the call, Aizawa makes his way out of the room and down towards where his husband and their new kid are at.

Knocking first Aizawa waits for the small tell-tale voice of his student, “Um come in?”

Managing a small smile at the timid voice, Aizawa opens the door slowly “It’s just me kid. How are you doing?”

Izuku looks up at his teacher with an indecipherable look as he tries to actually read the older man. “I... I’m alright! Mic was telling me about your cat.”

“Yeah. Zashi loves to tell people about Dirtbag. He tries to get their sympathy at losing all of his dinner.”

Green eyes widen in surprise before a smile spreads across his face as a small laugh escapes him at the realization that his more stoic teacher just cracked a joke.

“Shou! How dare you! I just want them to know the heartache that I had to deal with at my sudden loss.” Hizashi gasps in fake offense. The teasing from his husband proves to be worth it though as he sees the gleam in Izuku’s eyes, the amusement finally reaching him instead of the teen just going through the motions of pretending to find things funny.

The air of lightheartedness doesn’t last long as Hizashi looks over at his husband catching onyx eyes with his own chartreuse. It’s not very noticeable but you don’t get to know someone as long as they’ve known each other and not realize each other's tells. Something’s wrong, and it has him casting a worried glance over at the greenette.

He’s relieved when he gets a sharpened look and a twitch of the dark-haired man’s head in the negative. But it seems that while being relieved is nice, they don’t have the luck because as subtle as they are, their wonderful child is observant and quickly notes the slightest change in their behaviors.

“Is everything alright?”

Aizawa turns his attention to his student turned prospective child, his gaze softening ever so slightly. “No, and I need your help to fix it if you’re feeling up to it.”

Chewing on his bottom lip, Izuku’s gaze falls into his lap for a good few minutes before his head snaps up to look between the pros, “What would I need to do?”

Telegraphing his moments, Aizawa reaches a hand out to ruffle wayward green curls fondly. “For now, just answering a few questions.”

Izuku takes a deep breath to help him prepare before nodding, “Go ahead”

Cheshire grin sliding into place Aizawa settles down in the empty seat near the bed. “Proud of you kid. You wanted to do the witness protection thing correct?

A frown tugs at Izuku’s lips at the question.  Is that what this is about? Did it turn out that they couldn’t do it? He really should have known it would be too good to be true… but he was supposed to decide which route they took right? Maybe it’s just them asking about that?

Instead of verbally answering, Izuku gives the other man a nod of agreement.

“Did you decide if you wanted to have people know you are alive or not? If you haven’t decided that’s alright too.”

Letting out a relieved sigh, Izuku nods and clears his throat, swallowing the lump that is threatening to form. “I want to tell 1-A. They… They’re the first ones to not look at me like I’m worthless. N-None of us are perfect, but Bakugo. H-He’s trying now, and y-yeah that h-hurts, but w-we have all been t-through so much t-together. I d-don’t want them w-wondering where I am o-or w-wondering i-if they c-could have s-stopped me. I k-know my l-letter… i-it would have h-hurt them, b-but I... I’ve had a lot of t-time to t-think while here and i-it wouldn’t be r-right.”

Standing up, Hizashi completely ignores the tears silently streaming down his cheeks as he looks Izuku straight in the eyes, “I’m going to hug you now listener.” Then proceeds to do just that. Long, leather-clad arms wrap around the teen's middle.

Aizawa shakes his head at his husband’s antics before giving Izuku a small, but genuine smile. “That will make this easier than kid, thank you.”

Struggling for a moment to get his head out of the blonde’s grasp enough that his face isn’t buried into the man’s shoulder, Izuku takes a deep breath as he looks at his homeroom teacher, “C-can I a-ask what’s going on?”

Heaving a tired sigh, Aizawa gives the kid an assessing look before nodding more to himself than anything. “I’m not big on telling you right now kid, but you’ve been open with us, so you deserve to know the truth. Just don’t make me regret it. Got it?”

Izuku nods his head rapidly, his green gaze locked on the dark-haired man.

“Nedzu jumped the gun and informed your classmates of your untimely death. They took it as hard as could be expected, if not more so. Midnight had to put them all to sleep. I needed to see what you wanted to do before I left. On that note kiddo… how do you feel about video calling?” The words leave a nasty taste in his mouth. The fact that Nedzu messed up so badly, and honestly the idea that he is willingly going to do a video call.

Hand flying to his mouth in horror is the only thing that overrides Hizashi’s innate urge to scream from the level of stupidity that occurred.

It takes a few minutes before the words fully process for Izuku, but once they do his back straightens and he gives a sharp nod in agreement. “Do it. I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed to leave just yet, so this will have to work.”

Aizawa sighs once more before reaching out to ruffle Izuku’s hair, “I’m going to head over to the dorm okay kiddo? I’ll call Zashi’s phone as soon as I can. If you need to take a moment at any time when on the line tell him and we will got it?”

Izuku gives a small smile as he nods again, the warm feeling returning from these two men truly caring about him. “Got it.”

The agreement is all that Aizawa needs to be able to leave. However, the idea of leaving like that feels wrong with the knowledge he just bestowed upon them. So, instead, he leans forward and places a small kiss on the top of Izuku’s curls, in a way that’s so similar to ones he himself had gotten oh so long ago from his parents.

Pulling back, he turns his attention to his husband, and as he does so, he moves so that Izuku is only able to see the back of his head as he leans forward to give the blonde a quick kiss.

Stepping away, Aizawa gives a brief nod before leaving the room to go fix a mess, while also knowing that his other kid is safe with his husband, while his other two are thankfully at their grandmothers'.

Chapter Text

Arriving at the dorms did not help soothe the ire coursing through his veins as Aizawa had thought it would. No, instead it escalated the feeling because stopping him from getting to the rest of his kids was the one who caused this mess in the first place.

“Shouta, you need to wait.” Nedzu attempts to slow the other man down, but even he can tell by the frenzied look in the man’s eyes that it’s futile. The overwhelming concern this man has for his students. It’s enough that he doesn’t try to stop the man again. He knows they will talk later, just as he knows he isn’t going to be particularly pleased with what his former student will have to say.

Aizawa hardly spares his boss a glance as he rushes past the chimera, he has more important things to deal with than whatever excuses his boss wants to throw at him in a sad excuse to explain his actions.

Entering the common room brings Aizawa to the brink of panic because almost all of his kids are slumped around the room. Thankfully asleep but it’s too close to the alternative, too close to his recurring nightmare of seeing his Hell Class killed. Their too young bodies strewn across the USJ facility because he hadn’t been able to protect them.

The soft sound of sparking explosions brings him back from the brink of his panic. Eyes settling on the explosive teen, just in time for those red eyes to open, showing a pain that shouldn’t be his to bear. “Bakugo…”

Katsuki takes in the sight of his classmates as he gets to his feet, before slowly approaching their teacher. He doesn’t understand. This shouldn’t be happening. Izuku wasn’t supposed to be at risk of another attempt. That mutt… what was it he had told him? “Teach… the mutt said that something tragic was going to happen. But not to take it at face value. Is this what he meant? Is Izuku?” His hands clenched into fists beside him, the sparks starting again even if just momentarily.

Reaching out a hand to gently ruffle the wild blonde hair, Aizawa sighs. “Kid, Izuku is fine. There is a lot at work and a lot I have to explain once the rest of your class is awake. But I don’t want to have to go over it more than once. Help me wake your classmates.”

Katsuki scowls at not getting the whole story but he does move from his teacher to help start waking the extras in his class. He does pause as he walks past Todoroki for a moment before grumbling under his breath as he makes his way to where Kirishima is still wrapped up in FatGum’s arms.

“Shitty hair needs to wake up.”

Eyes narrowing at the name, FatGum pulls Kirishima closer as if a protective father. However, he is careful not to jostle the other teens wrapped in his arms. “I’m not a fan of you calling Red that.”

Katsuki blinks at the hero, his hands clenching beside him, “Look. Shitty hair, the rest of our group and I are all like that we don’t call each other by our names. Now can we move on? Aizawa wants the class awake.”

FatGum gives a wide smile, one that’s not full of his usual exuberance, instead, this one seems to show he knows something others don’t know. “So it’s not just Red that you need. You need the rest of your classmates as well. Well, I don’t see a problem with you waking them. But back to our previous topic. Do they call you names, or is it just you calling them names?”

Katsuki’s quirk sparks to life as his temper flares for just the briefest of moments before he remembers his counseling. Taking a deep breath, he meets FatGum’s eyes with determination, “I do it, but it’s something I’m working on.”

Giving the other blonde an assessing look, FatGum nods before setting about waking the teens in his arms. He keeps his tone low and his touch gentle as he hushes the teens waking up especially as they all start to panic at the same time as they clearly remember what happened before they had all passed out. “You all are fine. Aizawa needs to talk to you all about something, let's get you all up and moving okay? It’s nothing bad I assure you.”

He watches each of the teens like a hawk as he slowly rises out of his seat. He’s not surprised to notice that he still has a student or 2 still hanging on to his uniform. Nor is he going to say anything about how the others act like little ducklings as he starts to walk over to where their homeroom teacher is.

Aizawa looks at the remaining students still asleep and sighs. Of course, no one else would want to wake these problematic children. Looking between the two, he can’t help but debate which he should go to first. He knows neither of them will be easy, but he doesn’t know which one will be worse.

Approaching the heterochromatic boy first was logical. Based on personality and past behaviors the teen shouldn’t be as… emotional as the brunette. That being said though, Aizawa still activates his quirk as he gives the boy’s shoulder a firm shake.

Mismatched eyes snap open, a terror filling them just briefly before the emotion flees as he registers who is kneeling beside him. “Mr. Aizawa?”

Nodding his head, Aizawa gives the teen a grim smile “Yeah kid, it’s me.”

Todoroki looks at the common room taking in how his classmates are all huddled into small groups, the events from before coming back causing him to sit up, narrowly avoiding hitting his head against his teachers. “Is Midoriya really…?”

Aizawa frowns as the teen trails off. It’s so unlike him but he can understand. He knows the look on the other boy’s face well. It’s one he used to wear himself. That look of uncertainty, eyes pleading for what happened to just have been some kind of mistake. That everything is alright. It leads him to place a hand on dual-colored hair before giving the locks a small ruffle. “There’s stuff that needs to be discussed first, but nothing bad.” He waits for the nod of understanding before moving over to the brunette still asleep.

Leaning down to gently wake Uraraka, he’s surprised to see Katsuki beside him with a hand reaching out to grasp his own. Turning his attention to the explosive blonde, Aizawa notes how he has his gaze directed at anything other than him, and a faint blush staining his cheeks.

Shaking his head, he stands up and watches as the blonde wakes his classmate.

Katsuki can’t bear to see the look on his teacher’s face or the look on any of his classmates’ faces for that matter, so instead of leaning forward and carefully running his hands through Uraraka’s hair like he wants to, he pokes her cheek. He does keep his touch gentle enough that he won’t accidentally hurt her but it’s still firm enough that it should do the trick to wake her. “Hey Pink Cheeks. Wake up.”

“Bakugo?” Uraraka sits up and rubs her eyes tiredly, settling a confused gaze upon the explosive boy that he can’t help but find endearing. Before that look shifts to something horrified, one of her hands gripping his wrist with a strength belied by her appearance. “Deku… is he?” There’s a stinging in his chest as he hears the grief in the girl's tone and he can’t stop himself from looking away from her, and instead to his teacher.

Uraraka barely manages to breathe as Bakugo turns away from her so there is no way that she would be able to stop the tears starting to gather in her eyes as she turns her head to meet the gaze of her homeroom teacher. “Mr. Aizawa, please..” A sob escapes her before she can bring her hands up to cover her mouth. She doesn’t even know what she’s asking for, all she knows is this hurts and she just wants it to go away.

Seeing his student so distressed has Aizawa leaning forward again, a hand reaching out to gently rub her back. “Breathe kiddo. I need to talk to you and your class, so I need you to be calm. Plus, there is someone who wants to talk to you all.”

Taking a deep breath Uraraka gives the man a nod as she wipes her eyes. She can do this. She’ll just have to be the best hero she can be. Not just for herself, but for Deku too.

Aizawa rises to his full height once Uraraka calms down and looks over the rest of his students with an unreadable expression. “Now that you all are awake and somewhat calm, gather up as close as you can. Detective Tsukauchi should be here soon to go over some things with all of you. Until then, here’s what you need to know. There is a case going on regarding Midoriya. It is highly classified. We are allowing you all in on it. However, it is completely voluntary so anyone who does not wish to participate needs to go with FatGum.”

He waits to see if any of his students leave at that and is only slightly surprised when instead he sees all of these heroes in training looking at him with the most determined looks on their faces that he’s ever seen. “Alright then. As I said, this is all highly classified. Anything you hear or see from here on out cannot be spoken about with anyone that is not in this room except for a few certain people who will be named later on. If you are unable to agree to that, leave now.”

Aizawa waits again and is relieved to see that none of his students chose to leave at that. Because if they had, he would have to be talking to them later about confidential hero work and if they could not follow through with that, then maybe they should reconsider becoming heroes.

Taking a glance at his class as they all squish as close together on the sofas in the common room, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone to call Hizashi. It’s not ideal to use for this but it will have to work. They can just pass the device around.

Midnight, realizing what her friend is doing has pity on the man and quickly steals Aizawa’s phone. She’s careful to keep the camera positioned on the class as she syncs his phone up to the TV.

Offering the phone back to Aizawa once she’s done, she can’t help but give the man an exasperated look as he declines the device. So instead, she sets it up on a shelf where after checking the TV, she sees she has the entire class in the image.

The device is situated just in time too, as the call is answered showing Hizashi first, and then the camera moves, and Izuku is on the tv.

“IZUKU!!!”

“MIDOBRO!”

“DEKU!!!!”

“NERD!!”

“MIDORIYA!!!!!”

The shouts are a bit overwhelming and Izuku finds himself grateful that his classmates are finding out this way, to begin with, because he’s not sure how he would handle them all yelling like that in person. Even just video-calling like this and seeing everyone’s reactions is enough to have him crying.

He had never thought that his current classmates and friends actually cared about him. No one had done so before, but this… it’s undeniable proof that for the first time he has actual friends, and people he can count on and he’s honestly just so grateful.

“H-Hi guys!”

“Dude you’re alright! Y-You are okay right?” Kaminari looks up at the crying greenette on the screen as he nervously tugs at his fingers.

Izuku gives the electric user a bright smile as he nods, “Yeah, I’m alright. I had a lot going on which Mr. Aizawa will tell you about but I’m in good hands, and I realized that I have a great support system so thanks, everyone!”

Iida pushes his glasses further up his nose before doing his signature arm chop, “Of course Midoriya!” He holds his hand out as if to shake the other boy’s hand before remembering that they are on a video chat and instead spreads his arms wide with a determined look. “Remember, if it ever gets to be too much and you need to talk, just say something. We’re your friends.”

Kirishima activates his quirk as he jumps up to stand beside Iida. “Hell Yeah we are!”

Tears start to stream down Izuku’s face even more now, as he sees his class standing up one by one to join Iida and Kirishima. “Y-You g-guys!” A wobbly smile appears amongst the tears, and he knows at the warm feeling in his chest that he made the correct choice.

Their happiness is ruined just a few moments later as Aizawa approaches with Tsukauchi beside him. “Alright, Hell Spawn. We have things to discuss. Izuku, Mic we’ll talk later.” He gives a nod to the boy and his husband who appears on screen at the mention of his alias.

Hizashi gives the class a bright smile while shooting them some finger guns. “Be good little listeners!” He doesn’t wait for a response before ending the call and turning to the greenette. “You alright kiddo?”

Izuku gives the man a nod before looking up to meet the blonde’s eyes with tears streaming down his face. “T-They c-care about me. Like truly care.”

Hizashi wastes no time whatsoever in wrapping Izuku up in his long arms and pulling him close. “They do, we all do Izuku. You are important to so many of us.” He hugs the boy closer to him as Izuku breaks down into a sobbing mess. His heart is breaking for the kid who has gone so long believing otherwise.

Chapter Text

A lot has happened in the week since Detective Tsukauchi came to talk to 1-A as a class. Where he explained to them how sensitive the information that they were going to be learning about was. Making sure to stress the highly classified nature of what is most of the class’s first classified mission period.

It's led to many hushed whispers amongst small groups of students and secret conversations as groups held only in secure locations.

"Are we all here?" Iida looks around at his classmates as they all get situated in the unused dorm room they have converted with the help of their teachers into a designated 'safe' zone.

Sero looks up from where he's using one of Momo's creations, a bug-sweeping device, and takes stock of his classmates before giving a nod of approval. "Looks like it, and we're all clear!"

Momo takes that as her cue to open up the file she had been entrusted with. "To recap, everyone knows how Izuku got to this point, yes?"

Not turning her attention away from the girl who had spoken, Uraraka barely manages to keep the anger she's feeling out of her voice, “Bakugo.”

Bakugo growls as he slams his hands down on his desk. For once not using his quirk as he gets riled up. "Fight me, Pink Cheeks!"

Turning narrowed ochre-colored eyes to the resident explosion user, Uraraka doesn't bother keeping her tone pleasant. "Anytime, any place!"

“Would you two stop flirting?” Jirou gives an exhausted sigh as she watches her classmates, a hand absentmindedly playing with one of her jacks.

Iida pushes his glasses further up his nose, “I must agree, we have other things to attend to.”

Standing up, Mina uses her energy to draw the attention to herself as she pumps up a fist determinedly. “Yeah! Like All Might!”

“HAH?!?! Me with Kirby over there?!" Bakugo looks at the purple-haired girl with a mix of shock and a dash of fear.

“Yeah, Bakubro. We've all known since the sports festival. It's not like it's a secret." Kaminari grins.

Eyes widening in horror at the turn of events, Iida chops his arm robotically as he looks over at the pinkette. “No! Not like All Might. Ashido, stop making things worse!”

“Dude, chill." Kami grins as he leans back. "We all want the same thing. None of us want something like this to happen to Mido again."

Iida gives the blonde an unimpressed look before clearing his throat. "Well then, let's get this meeting underway. That way, when Midoriya returns, we are able to help him the best way possible."

For Izuku, it's been different. He hasn't gotten to talk to his classmates since that video call, but that's honestly okay. Things have been happening so fast that he really hadn't had time to speak with them even if he could.

In the week since the call, Izuku has been up and active doing physical therapy. Which was needed due to having been in bed long enough that his muscle mass had started to deteriorate. The good news, though, is that Dr. Ayreon is sure that he'll be able to build his muscles back up in no time. As long as he maintains a proper diet and paces himself going forward. "It's alright to pace yourself. Your body has been through a lot for a long time. Taking things a bit at a time is natural and healthy."

Which was a relief not only to him but his new family. None of them wanted him to continue to stay in the hospital longer than necessary.

With that news delivered, Izuku was left to think about what he wanted going forward. The initial plans of changing his identity didn't feel right anymore. He believes it has to do with the state his classmates were left in after the fiasco that resulted from Nedzu moving things along too fast.

It's with them in mind that he comes to the decision that he just wants to be himself. He doesn't want to hurt his friends any more than necessary. Even if he isn't fond of his resemblance to the woman who abandoned him. Maybe some of my classmates would be willing to help me decide on a new look when I return.

"Ready to go, kiddo?"

Izuku snaps out of his thoughts and turns his attention to the man speaking, green eyes meeting chartreuse for a moment before Izuku nods as the man's words finally register. "Yeah… and Thanks."

Hizashi gives a big grin even as he has to telegraph his movements before looping an arm over the greenette's shoulders. "No thanks needed, Listener. We are happy to do this. Shouta, Hitoshi, Eri, and I; we all love you. If anyone should be thanking someone, we should be thanking you for allowing us the chance to show you how special and loved you already are. So Thank you, Izuku."

Ducking his head in embarrassment, Izuku gives one last look at his hospital room as he tries to keep the tears at bay. Still not used to having people actually wanting him.

Hizashi waits patiently, giving his kid all the time he needs to be ready. He's not in a rush, having taken time off from all of his jobs to make sure that his kiddo was able to settle in comfortably and at his own pace.

“Hey…" Izuku trails off as he looks nervously at his English teacher-turned-parent.

"Hmm? What is it, kiddo?" Hizashi looks down at Izuku in a mix of worry and curiosity. His mind tells him that the kiddo changed his mind and doesn't want to go with them, and he can feel his heart starting to crack even though the words haven't been spoken.

Izuku scuffs his shoe nervously while looking up at the blond. “What am I supposed to call you guys? Your names or… do you want something else?”

The question causes Hizashi to blue screen for a moment as he was expecting the worse. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Hizashi moves so he's closer to the teen's height. "Izuku… We want you to call us whatever you are more comfortable with. If you want to call us Aizawa and Yamada, that's fine. If you want to call us Shouta and Hizashi, that's alright too. If you decided you wanted to call us a shortened version of our names, we'd also be fine with that. It's not what we want, kiddo; it's what you are comfortable with."

Izuku stares at the blonde unblinking for a moment as he chews on his lip before making a decision. "So if I decided to call you Poppa, it'd be alright?"

The question makes a strangled noise escape Hizashi. It's clear that he's trying his best not to activate his quirk in his excitement, even as he leans forward and wraps Izuku in his arms, placing a tender kiss on the teen's forehead. "I'd be delighted for you to call me Poppa."

Izuku can’t stop the genuine bright smile from spreading across his face as he hugs the taller man in return. “Poppa, can we go now?”

“Of course, kiddo. Let's go home." Hizashi doesn't let go of Izuku after the question with that name. Instead, he just lifts his kid into his arms and carries him through the hospital, thankful that he already took the time to complete the discharge papers.

Shaking his head, Izuku tries not to look at anyone as they make their way quickly through the hospital, thanks to his poppa's long legs. Being carried was not the outcome he was expecting. Therefore, he wasn't prepared for it. Which is probably why when he catches his doctor's eye, he quickly turns away to hide his face in the soft leather of Hizashi's jacket.

Aizawa sits back in his chair at this stupid meeting. It's not actually stupid, of course. It's a meeting for the rest of the first-year staff to know what's happening with 1-A and Izuku. Whom he would much prefer to be with currently than sitting here. However, he refuses to sit idly by as his mentor puts plans into action yet again. That way, he doesn't have to worry about the outcome traumatizing the rest of his kids.

Nedzu stops speaking as he turns his attention to the door, which opens on its own accord. A moment later, an Ectoplasm clone walks in. "Someone is trying to access the school grounds."

The comment has everyone out of their seats, the laid-back but attentive atmosphere quickly shifting to that of one prepared for battle. No one is willing to risk their student's safety after everything that has happened this year.

“Well then, Shall we go see who's attempting to breach U.A's barrier?" Nedzu looks around at his employees and nods as he sees the appropriate response, each one willing to protect the students entrusted to their safety. He walks over to Aizawa and gives just a moment of a debate before shedding some of his rough exterior for the briefest moments. "May I?"

Aizawa looks at his boss with an uncertain gaze. He's not forgiven the chimera by any means for what he pulled just a week ago. Still, the fact that his mentor is trying has him lifting the creature into his arms, allowing him to move about to get situated as he prefers. Once Nedzu is settled, the staff makes a swift exit as they head to the main entrance.

Arriving barely a few minutes later, none of the staff are expecting what they see. But it's enough that Aizawa reaches a hand into his pocket and presses speed dial. Suddenly thankful that his husband is loud enough that he keeps his call volume on the lowest setting.

Because there, at the gates of U.A, is none other than Inko Midoriya trying her hardest to get into the gates. "Open these damn gates! I know you killed my Izuku!"