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Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku was four the first time his mother hit him. They were in the car on the way home from his doctor's appointment. The doctor had found an extra toe joint and told them this meant he was quirkless. He didn’t understand why this was such a big deal, nor why the doctor had said it meant he couldn’t be a hero. All it meant was he couldn’t levitate things or breathe fire or do something that those two things could combine to be. 

He could still learn to fight, could still analyze, could still save people. He had tried to explain this to his mom as they left the doctor’s office but she had yelled at him to “Shut up!” with a tone of voice he had never heard and an expression he had never seen. He had slammed his mouth shut, his teeth crashed into each other painfully but he didn’t do anything about it, only stared ahead as they walked to their parking space.

As they drove home he tried to breach the topic again, this time a little more tentatively. His mother had pulled over to the side of the road and turned to him in her seat. For a split second, he thought she was going to agree with him but instead she had raised her hand and struck him across the face. He stayed frozen, his head turned to the side, for as long as it took for his mother to get back on the road. 

He had raised his left hand to touch the place where he had been struck hesitantly. It stung and made his eyes water to the point his eyes watered but he didn’t dare make any noise. He may have only been four (five in just over a month) but he could piece together what had gone wrong. His mother had only started acting all angry when the doctor had said he was quirkless and he had made it worse by talking about being a hero afterwards, and made it even worse when he tried to bring up the topic again.

For some reason, his mom thought being quirkless was wrong and had hurt him over it. He just had to hope his dad wasn’t the same.

Midoriya Izuku was four the first time his father used his quirk on him. When his mom had pulled the car into the parking lot of their apartment complex she had climbed out and slammed her door behind her before coming over to Izuku’s side. She had torn his door open and unbuckled his car seat before grabbing him ruffly by the arm. Izuku had opened his mouth to tell her she was hurting him but shut it a moment later. She had hit him when he talked earlier and he didn’t want to anger her any further.

When they got to their apartment she threw the door open and stormed in, dragging Izuku behind her. When the door slammed behind them she threw Izuku in front of her. He stumbled and almost fell but managed to right himself before he hit the floor. His dad opened his mouth, presumably to ask what was wrong, but before he could Inko interrupted him,

“It’s quirkless.”

Immediately the man’s expression darkened and his worried expression fell, replaced by anger. He grabbed Izuku by the arm, his grip tighter than Inko’s had been as he dragged the boy deeper into the living room. 

“We spend all that time and money on it only for it to be quirkless?!”

He threw Izuku forward, this time Izuku couldn’t catch himself and he fell into the glass table in the center of the room. He crashed into the glass and smashed it, falling with the shards to the floor. He gasped as his back, arms, and legs, were sliced open in what felt like a thousand different places by the small shards. He could swear he felt some of the pieces burrowing themselves into his flesh.

His fall only served to anger his mother and father more. Hisashi stalked forward and Wrenched Izuku up by his elbow, causing the boy to scream out in pain.

“You useless piece of shit! Do you know how expensive that table was?!”

Smoke licked out of the man’s nose and small sparks flew from his mouth. Izuku had spent enough time around his father, enough time analyzing his quirk to realize what was about to happen. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away slightly a moment before flames streamed from his father’s mouth and burned his skin. 

He only knows he screamed because his father had let go of his elbow, sending him sprawling to the floor, and started kicking him while yelling at him for doing so.

He had been locked in his room soon after, in pain and likely to bleed out. The only reason he didn’t is because he knew the bare bones of first aid and had cut strips from an old shirt to messily wrap around the bleeding wounds. The ones that didn’t have glass in them, at least. He knew that the glass couldn’t stay in his body, so with shaking hands, he removed each piece. 

Izuku was four the first time small explosions popped against his skin. He had to stay home for a few days so the wounds would heal enough that he could wear his uniform on top without the fabric being stained with blood. He knew neither of his parents were happy about that, they didn’t want him in their home. 

The night after he got home from his doctor's appointment he heard them fighting over whether or not they should get rid of him. It was clear they both wanted him gone but his mother, surprisingly, had brought up an irrefutable point as to why they should keep him. Everyone would know he was quirkless soon and though they could just leave him on the side of the road or at an orphanage people would talk. Some would say that they were happy the couple was finally free from Izuku but others, including Mitsuki and Masaru, would ridicule them for getting rid of their child.

The next morning the two did some redecorating. They barged into Izuku’s room and took all of his hero merchandise, shoving the figures and bedspread into boxes and rolling the posters back into their tubes. They sold all of it for quite a bit of money and they made it a point to tell Izuku that none of it would be used to care for him every chance they got. 

When Izuku finally returned to school he thought it would be his safe haven. He thought that the teachers might see how he was suffering and take him away from Inko and Hisashi. When he got there the small flame of hope he had been cultivating went out. When he tried to tell the teachers about what his parents had done they said,

“Your mom and dad are much too respectable to do that. And even if they had no one would blame them. You’re quirkless, you’re a waste of their time and mine. Now shoo.”

Izuku had tried to play with Bakugou but as soon as he got close the boy started yelling at him,

“You lied to me! We can’t be a hero duo ‘cause you’re quirkless but you always said you would get a quirk you liar!”

Izuku tried to explain that it wasn’t his fault he was born quirkless, that they could still be a hero duo, but Bakugou was having none of it.

“No! You lied to me so we can’t be friends anymore!”

Bakugou had then run at Izuku, small fireworks going off in his palms as he reached Izuku. When he grabbed Izuku’s arm he had to hold back his scream as sparks that had seemed so harmless before ignited his skin.

When Bakugou finally left Izuku alone to run off with some of their other classmates the boy crumpled to the ground, staring at the small handprint burn on his arm.

Chapter Text

Presently, Izuku is nine years old. By now, he’s learned how to survive in the Midoriya house with minimal injury. His survival plan is as close to fool-proof as it can be with the few off days where one or both of his parents will get too angry or drunk and decide they're going to bypass their own rules to hurt him.

He has the entire survival guide written up in one of his notebooks. The book is filled with different notes and handwriting as he had started writing it when he was five. He’s had a solid plan laid out in the pages for three (close to four) years now. The finished guide/rule list is as follows:

• Keep anything and everything important (school work, analysis journals, and money) under the loose floorboards under the bed.

• Be conscious of everything. Always listen, always watch.

• Never enter the master bedroom, even when they aren’t home. THEY. WILL. KNOW.

• Spend as little time in the apartment as possible.

• When entering or exiting the apartment use the bedroom window. The tree in front of it is perfect for climbing up and down.

• Guard the Internet Cafe with your life. They can’t know you use it.

• Phone, laptop, and backpack stay with you at all times. You can’t afford to leave them alone

• Take food and water sparingly, build up a hoard both in your bag and in the loose floorboards. 

• Dumpster dive as much as possible. And help those you find who need it, Having connections in the homeless and villain communities will help you.

• Medical textbooks and websites are your best friends. You can’t go to a hospital for medical help (for multiple reasons) so you need to know how to do it yourself. Keep medical supplies in your bag at all times. (Volunteer at underground medical clinics as much as possible. This will both help you practice and gain you more popularity and connections)

• Avoid Inko and Hisashi at any cost, especially on bad days/nights (you can tell if it’s a bad day/night if the smell of alcohol is stronger, if they are fighting loud enough for the neighbours to hear, and if they are yelling about you)

He also had a survival guide/list for school, though it was a little less fool-proof than the other.

• Arrive as late as possible without missing the final bell and keep an eye out for people trying to trip you.

• Just like at the apartment you have to be conscious of everything.

• Windows on the second and third floor in the east hall are good for escapes along with every window on the ground floor but all others will end in serious injury or death.

• Bakugou is easily riled and gets sloppy when angry. You can’t fight back against him without getting in trouble but riling him up enough to make him sloppy can make for an easier escape.

• Don’t show any reaction when failed work is handed back even if you know you should have passed. Especially don’t react to the laughter or the teachers mocking words. They only want a reaction so they can get you in trouble.

• Never mumble. Ever. The habit has already been broken, this step is just a precaution.

• Never talk about being a hero. In fact, it’s best if you just don’t talk at all. And never, EVER, make eye contact with anyone. 

• The rooftop and janitorial closets are all good places to eat lunch but there is a chance you will get locked in. Carry bobby pins and paperclips always. Maybe get professional lock-picking gear if ever possible. 

• Just don’t bring any lunch with you, it’s a waste of time. It will get knocked out of your hand and onto the ground. If Inko is trying to be a ‘good parent’ to try and abate the neighbours and hands you a bento, first check for contaminants. before giving it to someone who needs it.

• Keep running until you can’t hear them. Even then, keep going for a while. Take to the rooftops if you have to but you can NEVER. FIGHT. BACK.

It was with these rules that he avoided most major injuries though that doesn’t mean he didn’t get hurt. At least once a week Bakugou would catch him and give him a few second or third-degree burns. Inko and Hisashi would still hit him and throw him around. Hisashi would use his quirk on him and, in a similar fashion to Bakugou, leave second or third-degree burns (though with Hisashi third-degree are much more common). Sometimes Inko or Hisashi would throw empty bottles of beer or wine at him. He had quite many, many , scars but he knew that without his guides he would likely be dead so for them he was grateful.

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His tenth birthday was in a week and though it was something he would normally dread, this year he couldn’t wait. Every year, on his birthday, his ‘parents’ would always drag him out of his room  (which he kept locked using multiple locks he had accumulated over the years but he didn’t want to risk Hisashi burning down his door). They would yell at him, tell him how lucky he was they had kept him. That they could have just left him on the side of the road or killed him and no one would mind or care. That it was their fault they couldn’t get pregnant again because the difficult pregnancy had ruined Inko’s chance of doing so.

They always called him out just after dinner so they could both rub in his face that they had eaten and he hadn’t (to their knowledge) but also so they could send him to bed right after.

Not this year, though. No. This year he would be gone before they even started cooking dinner and there would be nothing they could do about it. He had his bag packed already, everything he needed carefully packed away to make maximum use of space. He had packed all his money, both warm and cool clothes, all the notebooks he could fit (used and empty), his lockpicking supplies, water, food, almost all his medical supplies, and a knife.

Over the course of the four (almost five) years since he had been diagnosed quirkless he had been training. He was incredibly flexible and had amazing situational awareness skills thanks to yoga, meditation and the need to survive, he had learned a handful of different martial arts and mixed them into his own fighting style. He had been doing parkour since he was five. He had studied pressure points and knew exactly how to immobilize an opponent. On top of all that he had been volunteering at underground clinics for as long as he could remember on top of studying medical textbooks and websites.

He was more than ready to leave. Now all that was left was to wait.

Chapter Text

Izuku returned from school battered and bruised. As soon as he had climbed through the bedroom window he checked that all the locks on his door were in place. He let out a sigh of relief. All the locks were properly in place and no more damaged than they had been when he left that morning.

He quickly moved around his room. He dug what wasn’t packed of his medical supplies from the closet, tending to his newly acquired injuries as fast as he dared, not wanting to make any mistakes. Once everything was bandaged and disinfected properly he took off his gakuran and put on the outfit he had laid out on his bed earlier. 

He shoved his head into a black hoodie and tugged on a pair of exercise shorts. He double-checked that his backpack was fully packed with everything he would need and shoved his arms into the straps. He was ready.

He jumped through his still-open window, grabbing hold of the tree branch closest to him before he could hit the ground. Using his momentum he swung himself back and forth. When he had reached the height he wanted he let go of the branch and fell to the next one. This one was closest enough to the next branch that he could just jump down to it. He continued this pattern, going as fast as he could until he reached the bottom.

The last branch had a seven-foot drop to the ground. He used to hesitate for a moment before taking the drop but he was more than used to it by now. Had fallen from greater heights before. He dropped to the ground without hesitation, crouching in a landing before righting himself. 

He looked around at the surrounding buildings. He was free. Actually, truly free. No one would look for him, at least not for long. His parents would only instigate a search if Mitsuki told them to but the police and surrounding neighbours would never help so it’s not like it would be an issue. He never had to return to that apartment. He never had to return to school. He’d never see Bakugou, Inko, or Hisashi again.

A smile split his face, going from ear to ear. He broke out in a run, not following any particular path. 

He was free. 

And he was going to make the most of it.

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The sun was beginning to set and Izuku had yet to find a place to sleep. He didn’t want to sleep in an alley that night, the newscaster he had seen on a TV in a store window said it was going to rain. He knew he’d be sleeping in the rain at some point but he wanted his first night to be special. He didn’t want to be drenched and miserable on a night that was supposed to be happy.

After a while of wandering, he came across an abandoned warehouse lot. There were rows and rows of buildings, each in different states of disrepair. The area was roped off with a sign saying the entire area had been condemned but the date it was supposed to be destroyed had long passed. The company that was supposed to do it had likely got caught up in repairing collateral from hero fights and had completely forgotten about the lot. 

Just in case they came back he chose a building at the back of the lot so he’d have time to run if they started tearing them down. The building he chose was in good condition, only two holes in the roof that could be easily patched and only small patches of mold that could be easily dealt with as soon as he obtained supplies. The ground floor was a large open space with shelves lining a few of the walls and lying on the ground. There were boxes left scattered on the floor and in place on the standing shelves. There were stairs at the back that lead to an open second floor. Izuku was able to look out at the entire ground floor from anywhere on the second.

There were a few doors lining the back wall of the second floor. Ten total. Five of them were extra storage, each of them filled with boxes strewn across the floor. Two of them were bathrooms. Izuku turned on the faucets to discover that there was running water but it was a pale brown. Every few seconds the water would become clear but it would quickly be taken over by the brown again. He’d have to buy (or steal) some filters. The largest of the ten rooms was a breakroom. Round tables crowded the room and a counter lined with buckets for food, like a school cafeteria, lined the left wall. The buckets were, thankfully, empty. The next room was a change room. Lockers lined the walls, benches in front of them. On the back wall was a line of hooks, bright neon vests still hanging from some of them. The last room held a large desk, an office chair tucked into it. Old documents were organized in file cabinets and stacked on the desk. 

Izuku raided the lockers, finding a hoodie that was six sizes too big and pulled it on. He laid down in the office, using his bag as a pillow. He had plans to visit a few of the people he knew so they could teach him more about living on the streets but for now, he slept, relishing in the fact that he wasn’t falling asleep to the sound of fighting.

Chapter Text

When Izuku woke up the next morning he dug around in his backpack for a protein bar and a bottle of water. He ate the entirety of the bar and drank a quarter of the water before putting it back in the bag. He took off the hoodie he had dawned the night before and folded it so it would fit in the bag while still leaving some space. He put the garbage from the protein bar into the smallest pocket of the bag and swung the straps over his shoulders. He ran down the stairs and out the door into the light of the slowly rising sun. He ran as fast as he could to the gates of the lot before slowing down and walking calmly out onto the street. 

He made sure that he was staying vigilant and looking out for possible assailants without looking suspicious as he made his way further into the Red Light district. After around thirty minutes of walking the sun was fully risen and shining down on him and he had reached his destination. It was a medium-sized building, the walls were covered in dirt and graffiti and the roof looked seconds away from collapsing. Izuku knew it wouldn’t, though. The roof’s appearance was the work of an illusion quirk. The roof was insanely dirty, yes, but it would never cave in. The look was meant to help ward off police officers and heroes. 

Why? Because it was an illegal underground hospital. The place ran on volunteers and all the equipment was either stolen, donated, or makeshift. They treated anyone, villains, the quirkless, the homeless, and those with quirks society considered ‘unsavoury’. Anyone and everyone was welcome. That’s part of the reason Izuku loved it. They didn’t discriminate and welcomed help from anyone. 

He walked through the door and to the back of the building. Different people dressed in scrubs, hairnets, masks, and gloves rushed around the building, some waving or greeting Izuku. The boy returned the greetings as he walked. When he made it to the back he opened a door off in the corner, slightly hidden by the wall and some shelves. Inside the walls were lined by rusted lockers and the back wall was lined with shelves containing scrubs, hairnets, masks, and gloves. He unlocked the locker with the number ‘218’ and placed his backpack inside. He went to the back wall and found some scrubs in his size before putting on a pair of gloves, a hairnet, and a mask. Once everything was on properly he left the room and went out into the main area. 

The room was large, with beds lining the right wall and laid out in a grid pattern in the middle. The left and back walls were lined with shelves and cupboards containing everything from bandaids to needles to bottles of different medications in both liquid and pill forms. Someone with a blood-stained white coat came over to Izuku,

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

“No, Mrs. Iko. I left.”

The woman’s eyes widened slightly but she regained her composure quickly. 

“Left left?”

Izuku nodded, causing the woman to sigh.

“Good. If you need anything, shelter, food, or supplies of any kind all you have to do is ask. Okay?”

Izuku nodded,

“Thank you Mrs.Iko.”

“Of course kid. Now get to work.”

Izuku nodded and maneuvered around Mrs.Iko. He started making his way to the bed of a girl that looked to be around eight years old with a broken arm.

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By the time Izuku left the building the sun was high in the sky and it was nearing the time he would normally try to eat lunch. He says try because most of the time the kids at school would destroy any food he brought to school or take any money he had for the cafeteria. He found a relatively clean alley to sit down in and took out the water bottle and another protein bar. This time he only ate around half of the bar and left the bottle half full. He threw the garbage from the bar he had had for breakfast into one of the dumpsters in the alley and gathered up his things. 

He started walking to the edge of the Red Light district, making his way out so he could find a place where he could get some filters for the taps that he could take from building to building. Rule number one of living on the streets: never stay in one place for too long.

He was nearing the edge of the district when a burly man with spines lining his back and arms jumped out of an alley in front of him. He held up his left arm so the spines were an inch away from Izuku’s face,

“Give me that bag kid. If you don’t I’ll tear you to shreds!”

Izuku stared at the man for a moment. He could tell that the fact he wasn’t even cowering in fear was bothering the man.

“Did you hear what I said, kid?! I wouldn’t be angering me if I were you, just hand over the-” 

While the man had been distracted Izuku had brought up his leg and kneed him in the crotch with as much force as he could muster. The man screamed, clutching his crotch and falling to the ground on his knees. Izuku took the opportunity to run past the man and around a nearby corner. He could hear the man bellowing in rage but he knew it would be a minute before he would be followed. Just in case, he ran into a nearby alley. Lining the right wall of the alley was a fire escape. The metal was so rusted it didn’t much resemble metal anymore but Izuku didn’t really care. He was light on his feet as he ran up the stairs, not making any noise. He had learned long ago that noise was dangerous and he had long known how to make none as he ran.

When he got to the highest platform he looked up to see the ledge of the roof of the building the fire escape belonged to. He jumped up and grabbed onto the ledge, pulling himself up. He stood on the roof and peered over the edge to see the man rounding the corner. He was limping slightly but his expression made it clear it would still be able to (and would try to) kill Izuku the moment he laid hands on the boy. He checked the straps of his bag to make sure they were tight and started running to the opposite end of the roof to the fire escape. 

When he made it to the edge he jumped the small gap to the next building and continued running. He could feel the wind whipping through his hair and clothes, could feel the adrenaline running through his veins. A smile dawned his face as he ran. 

He got down from the rooftops when he reached the edge of the district. He had been running across the buildings for about twenty minutes but it had felt like a second. His legs burned slightly but in a way Izuku had grown used to, a way he enjoyed. He was still smiling but it had become less wide, unlikely to catch attention. He walked down the street to a hundred yen store he knew would likely have filters he could attach to the taps and reusable water bottles. 

He walked through the automatic doors of the store and smiled at the clerk working the till. 

Chapter Text

He slowly walked through the aisles of the hundred yen store, inspecting each one to find what he needed. The first item he found was the reusable water bottles. He found the biggest one they had that would still fit in his bag. He wandered for a little while longer before he found the filters. He grabbed one that advertised fitting every tap and made his way back to the front. He waited in the short line for his turn and placed the two items on the counter with a smile. He pulled out the small wallet containing his money and produced the required amount.

“Do you want a bag?”

Izuku shook his head,

“No thanks! They should both fit in here.”

He reached behind himself and patted his backpack. He places the money in the tray next to the till for the cashier to take. She takes it, counting it out before putting it in the register and handing him the water bottle and filter.

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, have a good day!”

“You too!”

Izuku stepped out of the line and out of the store. He paused against the wall and took his backpack off. He unzipped the top and shuffled a few things around so the two items would fit. He then opened his wallet again and counted the money he had left. He had ¥10,929.96left. Nodding to himself he tucked the wallet back into the bag and zipped it up. 

He started walking down the street to the edge of the Red Light district. When he got to the edge, he would climb onto a rooftop and try to find a new place to sleep.

As he walked, he came across a street vendor selling Katsudon for ¥150. Izuku’s stomach growled at the smell. He watched the vendor work for a moment, watched as people ate the food they had prepared greedily. Biting his lip, he decided he could spare the yen. It would be one last indulgence. He knew that this would be the only time he would be able to spare the yen for something special, what he had been told and what he had seen proved that.

The vendor smiled at him when he got up to the stand,

“One bowl of Katsudon please.”

“Would you like it spicy? It doesn’t cost any extra.”

Spicy? Izuku had yet to encounter a vendor or restaurant that served spicy Katsudon. Inko used to make it spicy, the way he liked it, before his diagnosis. After it, she only made it when the Bakugous came over.

“Yes, please.”

The vendor nodded and grabbed some of the items scattered around his stand. Within a few minutes, Izuku was holding a bowl of spicy Katsudon as he handed the vendor ¥150. He sat down on one of the few stools lining the stall and dug in. When he was finished he handed the ceramic bowl back to the vendor to be washed and re-used. The vendor smiled at him and wished him well. Izuku returned their words before continuing on his way.

When he reached the edge of the Red Light District he found the nearest fire escape and climbed up onto the roof. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in a beautiful gradient of orange, yellow, pink, and red. He stopped to watch it for a moment before setting off across the rooftops, heading towards one of the camps he frequented.

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After two hours of running, he finally made it to the camp. The camp consisted of a small clearing in the district, the result of a fight that occurred before Izuku was born. Some hero who was now retired had been fighting a villain in the area, the two had caused so much collateral that the city decided to just demolish the remains of the buildings, clear out the debris, and call it a day. No rebuilding had been done. The area was tucked behind and between other buildings that had been much less damaged and had received repairs though they had been done using some of the debris and the cheapest materials they could find.

The clearing was now filled with tents of all shapes, sizes, and colours. In the middle is one large white tent, like you would see at a carnival or festival. Inside the tent were fire pits, gas cookers, and anything else they could find to heat up food. It was also where most of the food for the camp was kept. There was a water dispenser with a jug of water attached at the top. Most of the time the jug was empty and old but sometimes someone would work up the nerve to steal one or two for a fresh supply. Most often, though, people just stole water bottles. Some kept them in a freezer bag in the large tent (called the ‘Big Center’ by those who moved in or visited frequently) while others kept them in their own tents.

Most people never stayed more than a week, and even that was a stretch, but Izuku always became friends with whoever was staying there and there was one person who had been there since Izuku had started visiting. He also knew from other visits and conversations that a few people who Izuku had become good friends with and kept in contact with were staying there currently.

He climbed down from the rooftop he was currently on, leaning against the wall at the bottom to catch his breath before weaving through a few alleys to get to the clearing. He counted five tents when he arrived, excluding the Big Center. Two were orange, one was camo, and three were different shades of blue. The camo one Izuku knew belonged to Nakashima. They had been living in the clearing for as long as Izuku had been visiting but they refused to tell anyone, even him, exactly how long. Though, there were times when their tent was missing. They, like all others, followed the rule of never staying in one place for too long. Even though they often came back within a week or two. They could never manage to stay away from the clearing for long.

The orange tent Izuku knew belonged to Mr.Mori. The man had been living at the camp for five days now and had been talking about leaving soon. He had recently stolen a bag that didn’t have a hole in it like the one he had arrived with so it was likely he would be gone before day seven. The blue tent that was the lightest shade of the three was one Izuku didn’t recognize, likely someone who had moved in yesterday since Izuku had visited the day before that without finding them. Because it was dark out and currently night, there was no one outside and no lights on. Izuku silently made his way to the Big Center. Nakashima always left a rolled-up sleeping bag in the tent for when Izuku spent the night, normally without warning.

He found the sleeping bag in its regular place in one of the drawers of a chest of drawers kept in the Big Center for extra storage. He crawled underneath one of the picnic tables that made a small line down the middle of the tent and sat up, his legs folded criss-cross underneath him. He untied the rope keeping the sleeping bag rolled up and watched as it unravelled, both ends sprawling out until one end was in Izuku’s lap and the other was just peeking out on the other side. He scooted back so he could pull the sleeping bag further under the table. Once he was done one the bag was spread out underneath the table, neither end poking out on the sides.

He takes off his bag and places it on the left of the sleeping bag. He unzips the top pocket and removes the oversized hoodie. He slips it on and climbs into the bag, zipping it up at the edge. He settles into bed, falling asleep near instantly in the familiar place.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Izuku woke up with the sunrise. The tent was still dark but it was now light enough that he could clearly see the different cookers and the cupboards and shelves housing food. He unzipped the side of the sleeping bag and crawled out of it. He rolled it back up, tying the rope back around it so it wouldn’t come undone. He took off the oversized hoodie and stuffed it back into his bag. He took a deep breath but he caught the smell of something rotten. After thinking for a moment he realized it was him. He hadn’t showered in four days (though normally he went longer, so that wasn’t the main issue) what was the main issue is he had been running in, sleeping in, and eating in the same outfit for two days and two nights. 

He dug around in his bag for a moment before coming up with a full change of clothes. He crawled out from under the table and changed quickly, finishing in under a minute. He took a large zip-lock bag from his backpack and shoved the dirty clothes inside before putting it back into the backpack and zipping it up. He pulled the backpack and the sleeping bag from underneath the picnic table and put the bag back on. He put the sleeping bag back in place and went over to the Big Center’s fridge. He pulled out a carton of eggs and some bacon, setting both down on an old counter.

He grabbed two pans from a cupboard below a gas stove. He turned on two of the burners and placed one pan on each. He went back to the fridge and grabbed a container of butter. He put some butter into one of the pans to melt before putting the container back in the fridge. He starts moving the butter around in its own pan with a spatula. With the hand not melting the butter, he takes a bowl out of a cupboard attached to the counter. He cracks twelve of the eighteen eggs into the bowl. By the time he was done the butter had melted. He rests the spatula on the side of the pan and takes twelve pieces of bacon from the packaging and lays them out on the pan. He takes a plate from the same cupboard as the bowl and places another twelve on that. He picks up the bacon and the egg containers and puts them back in the fridge.

He takes salt, pepper, and dill. He puts equal amounts of each into the eggs before putting away the seasonings and taking out a whisk. He pours the egg mixture onto the buttered pan and picks up the spatula from the side. He uses it to flip the bacon before using it to stir the eggs. When the eggs are starting to join together he replaces the uncooked bacon on the plate with the cooked. When the eggs were nearly done he flips the bacon. He moves the cooked bacon into a stack on the plate and takes a piece of paper towel from the roll sitting on the counter, using it to sop up the grease left on the plate. He throws the paper towel into an industrial-sized trashcan in the corner of the Big Center.

He puts the eggs onto the now vacate side of the plate. By the time the eggs are arranged the bacon is done cooking. He puts the rest of the bacon onto the large plate. He finds a package of paper plates and some utensils, putting both next to the plate. He goes to the front, right, and left walls of the tent and pulls them open. He ties the sides to the poles of the tent using the rope attached to the poles. The now open walls give him almost a full view of the camp. The sun is now fully risen and people are starting to emerge from their tents. 

He watched Nakashima emerge first. He watched as they stretched before looking up at the Big Center. Their eyes widened when they saw Izuku. Izuku waved, a small smile on his face. Nakashima laughed as they came toward him.

“Hey, kiddo! How’re you doing today? How’s it feel to be ten?”

It was Izuku’s turn for his eyes to widen,

“I completely forgot!”

Nakashima laughed again, louder this time. 

“You forgot about your own birthday?! Geez, kid. What, you gonna forget mine or Mr.Mori’s next?”

Izuku shook his head vigorously,

“No, never! I just forgot because of everything that’s happened.”

“Whaddaya mean kid?”

“Well, I’ve been out for two days and two nights…”

Nakashima looked surprised for a moment before a smile broke out across their face,

“That’s great kid! You come here to get some more pointers?”

Izuku nodded, a smile stretching across his own face.

“Well, you came to the right place! We can get started on your lessons after breakfast, alright?”

Izuku nodded, following Nakashima into the Big Center. They paused when they entered, seeing the food Izuku had made.

“You made breakfast for everyone kid?”

Izuku nodded,

“I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate that I’m finally out. And also my birthday I guess but I only just remembered that I’m ten now.”

Nakashima smiled. It wasn’t as wide as some of their others but it was genuine.

“Thanks, kid, happy birthday and good job getting out of that house!”

Izuku blushed,

“Thank you, Nakashima!”

Nakashima stepped forward, taking one of the paper plates from the stack before taking their portion of both the bacon and the eggs. Izuku did the same and went to go sit at the picnic table, choosing a spot across from Nakashima. Mr.Mori was the next to emerge from his tent. He laid eyes on the open Big Center and Nakashima and Izuku eating breakfast immediately. He jogged over, ruffling Izuku’s hair before grabbing a plate.

“Happy late birthday kid! You come over to celebrate instead of going to school?”

Nakashima smiled mischievously as they glanced at Izuku before turning their attention to Mr.Mori.

“That’s the thing, Mori, he completely forgot his birthday had passed. But, he did get out of that awful house.”

Mr.Mori chuckled, a small smile dawning his face,

“How do you forget your own birthday kid? But good job getting out. You gonna spend a night or two at the camp?”

Izuku blushed, muttering a thank you. 

“But no, I don’t think I’ll stay here. I don’t wanna have to cut out visits or anything.”

Mr.Mori nodded. He sat down on the spot beside Nakashima and struck up a conversation with them. About what, Izuku didn’t know. He was too busy watching as someone emerged from the lightest of the blue tents.

They had spines lining their back and arms, and they stood in a way that indicated an injury in a very specific place.

Izuku was still staring at him when the man looked up. They made eye contact and Izuku watched as their face twisted first in confusion and then in anger.

“You damn brat! You come to finish the job?!”

Izuku’s eyes widened as the man came running for him.

“Eep! No, no! I-”

Nakashima cut him off,

“Takahashi calm down! He’s here because he normally visits two-three times a week and he recently left his house. What could he have possibly done to you to set you off like this?”

“That’s the brat I was telling you about! The one that kneed me in the dick!”

Mr.Mori looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh. Nakashima wasn’t trying at all.

“Makes sense! The kid has been training since he was five and he’s pretty damn good for his age. Maybe don’t try to pick a fight with him again.”

The man, Takahashi, huffed before grabbing a plate off the counter and taking his portion of the food. He sat down at an empty picnic table and ate in silence while Izuku, Mr.Mori, and Nakashima talked. Izuku ate slowly, waiting for the last two to emerge from their tents, excited to see the owners of the tents for the first time in just over two weeks.

Chapter Text

Everyone was nearly finished eating when the last two emerged from their tents. The first of the two to leave her tent had deep green hair, grey skin, and a blindfold over her eyes. She came into the Big Center and grabbed a plate, piling it with her portion of the food and sitting down next to Izuku.  

“Good morning Zō! How’re you?”

“I’m good Izu! How’s it feel to be ten?”

“Good!-”

“The kid forgot he was ten!”

Izuku’s cheeks and ears turned red as he stared down at the table. Zō chuckled, ruffling his hair,

“Understandable kid. The only reason I even remember I’m twenty-three is because of the party you threw me this year.”

Izuku nodded, joining in on a conversation Nakashima, Mr.Mori, and Takahashi were having. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of a tent zipper coming undone and looked out towards the last remaining tent. Izuku smiled, calling out to the woman who had emerged,

“Aka! Come sit down with us, I made breakfast!”

The woman, Aka, looked up at Izuku, smiling.

“I’ll be right there little man!”

Aka’s teeth were sharp, like a shark, and her skin was the colour of blood. She had large, bull-like horns protruding from the sides of her head and her eyes were the colour of ice.  She was incredibly strong and had the muscles to show it. She had actually helped Izuku train and still did whenever she had the time. When she came into the Big Center she piled her plate with her share of the food, evidently, it was everything that was left since everyone else had already eaten or was currently eating.

“Have fun for your birthday kiddo?”

Izuku thought about it for a moment before nodding,

“Yeah, I guess so. I finally got to leave and Nakashima offered to teach me more about how to survive on the streets-”

Zō, Mr.Mori, Takashima, and Aka all froze,

“You mean you left left?”

Izuku nodded, a smile on his face,

“Yeah!”

Zō, Mr.Mori, and Aka all smiled with him.

“That’s great kid!”

“We can help out with your lessons too if you want.”

“Now we'll have more time for training! Be ready to feel some pain kid!”

Izuku’s smile widened,

“Thank you!”

Takashima rose from his seat and carried his plate over to the trashcan, shoving it down inside. Izuku watched the man leave, his gaze travelling to the trashcan. Trash was starting to poke out of the top, even with everything constantly being pushed down.

“I’ll take the trash out once everyone has thrown away their plates.”

“It’s fine kid, someone else can do it.”

Nakashima protested.

“Yeah, kid,”

Aka joined in.

“I can do it.”

Izuku shook his head,

“Really it’s fine! I can do it and I want to thank you all for everything you’ve done for me!”

Nakashima, Aka, Zō, and Mr.Mori all looked at Izuku in a way he was familiar with. Like they knew they wouldn’t be able to convince him otherwise. Instead, they all nodded and started eating a little faster so Izuku could leave and come back sooner.

Izuku stood and picked up his own plate, shoving it as deep inside the trashcan as he could. He wandered around the camp, petting a few of the stray cats that hung around before going back to the Big Center. He opened one of the larger cupboards and pulled out a small, folded-up wagon. It took a bit of force to unfold it but it rolled fine and would hold the trash bag. He wheeled the wagon over to the can and stopped it an inch away from the can. He pulls the strings on either side of the bag to make them bigger before tying them into two knots to ensure the bag stayed closed. 

He lifts the bag from the can and carefully lowers it into the wagon, making sure none of it is spilling out of the sides before checking that his bag was still secure on his shoulders and tightening the straps slightly. Once he’s satisfied he grabs the handle of the wagon and wheels it out of the tent and across the plot of land where the camp sits. Aka runs up to him, handing him a few candies,

“In case you’re out at lunch.”

Izuku nods and takes the candy, putting it into his pocket before thanking her and exiting the camp through the entrance alley. He comes out on a cracked and hole-filled sidewalk. Wheeling the wagon on the heavily damaged sidewalk was difficult but he knew it was still easier than carrying it all the way with his bare hands. Once he was around three blocks away from the camp he started looking for an alley with a dumpster that already had a few bags in it.

It takes him a while but he finally finds a viable dumpster in an alley five blocks from the camp. He wheels the wagon over to the dumpster, pushing it against the front. He opens the dumpster by pushing the lid up as hard as he can, making sure it’s not going to fall before picking up the trash bag from inside the wagon and throwing it into the dumpster. He dusts off his hands and takes hold of the wagon’s handle again, walking out of the alley. It’s much easier to wheel the wagon now that the bag isn’t in it.

As he walks he remembers the empty water jug in the Big Center and decides to see if he can find one outside of the Red Light district. He walked out of the Red Light district, avoiding hitting anyone with his wagon by swerving through crowds and occasionally walking on the road when it was an option.

Eventually, he came across a store that sold the water jugs he was looking for. When he started looking at prices he started to get worried. He only had ¥10,779.96 and the cheapest jug he could find was ¥2620.11. If he purchased one it would leave him with ¥8,159.85 and there was no way he would be able to steal one, not with his current skill set. After thinking about it for another moment he picked up the jug and set it in his wagon, wheeling it up to the till to pay.

--------

As he was walking out of the store with his newly acquired jug he looked up at the sky. Judging by the sun’s spot it would be lunchtime soon. He hadn’t realized he'd been out so long but the walks between distracts are pretty long. Shrugging, he decided to see if he could find somewhere to get lunch. After wandering for a while he came across a vendor selling sandwiches. Quite a lot of their stock was out in the open, ready to be taken. Izuku positioned himself to walk by the stand. He reached up from beside a woman buying a sandwich and grabbed one from the shelf, slipping it into his pocket. From the same pocket, he took out a piece of candy. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth as he walked away.

It was a trick he had learned from someone he had met when he was younger and that everyone who knew anything about stealing and pickpocketing knew to do. Whenever you take something from another person and put it in your pocket or bag it’s best to take something out of that same place. Whether it’s a candy, a piece of gum, or a tissue. It will make people around you think (whether consciously or unconsciously) that that’s what you had been rummaging around for instead of stashing away a stolen item. It could also help remove you from a person’s suspect list when they're running through where the item could've been lost or stolen and by who.

So, Izuku continued to suck on his candy while he walked away from the vendor, stolen sandwich tucked safely away in his pocket. Eventually, he decided he was far enough away to eat the sandwich safely. He took it out of his pocket and unwrapped the foil surrounding it. The sandwich was gone within a few minutes and he threw the garbage away in a nearby dumpster. He made sure he had a firm grasp on the handle of the wagon before once again continuing on his way.

He was past the halfway point between the two districts when he heard the sounds of someone running away from a large group. He ducked into an alley, watching from a hiding place behind a dumpster. A few moments later a boy around his age with purple hair rounded the corner, looking panicked. The boy ducked into the alley, hiding behind a dumpster on the other side of the alley to Izuku. Not a moment after the boy had hidden did another group of boys round the corner, obviously looking for the first. The group ran past the alley and Izuku held his breath, listening to make sure they were well past before emerging from his hiding spot. 

When he had stood he looked over and made eye contact with the other boy. Now that he had a chance to study the boy did he notice the minor cuts and bruises littering his face and arms. He assumed there were more covering the places on his arms and legs that his clothes covered. Izuku also couldn’t help but compare the boy’s hair to that of a troll with the way it stuck up in the air.

It was only then that he realized he had been staring at the boy for longer than was considered not weird.

“Ah, I’m so sorry for staring! Um, I’m Midoriya Izuku. You?”

The boy looked confused for a moment before he too stood.

“Shinsou Hitoshi.”

Izuku nodded,

“Nice to meet ya Shinsou!”

The boy, Shinsou, looked behind Izuku and raised a brow,

“You have a water jug. Why?”

Izuku had noticed that Shinsou’s voice sounded scratchy like it hadn’t been used in a while.

“Because I’m replacing the jug for the cooler at the camp. I have a med-kit there too if you want any help with your injuries?”

Shinsou’s eyes widened at Izuku’s proposal. He looked like he was thinking it over before nodding to himself.

“Alright. But I’m riding in the wagon.”

Izuku smiled, trying to hold back laughter.

“Okay! Climb on in!”

Shinsou’s eyes widened again.

“Wait what? I meant that as a joke!”

Izuku’s smile was starting to look more like a smirk.

“Too late, get in!”

Sighing, Shinsou climbed into the wagon, pressing his back up against the jug of water. Because of how long his legs were he had to pull them up against his chest. Once he was situated Izuku once again grabbed the handle of the wagon and started wheeling both Shinsou and the jug back to camp.

Chapter Text

By the time they were back at the camp, the sun was low in the sky, almost ready to set. Izuku wheeled the wagon through the winding alleyways until they reached the Big Center. He stopped the wagon near the middle of the large tent and helped Shinsou step out of it before walking over to the water dispenser and twisting off the old, empty jug. He set it beside the dispenser so he could take it out later and took the new jug from the wagon. He set it beside the water dispenser and removed the seel from the nozzle. Izuku picks up the jug and puts it in place on the water dispenser before nodding to himself, walking over to a cabinet near the back of the tent and rummaging through it. 

A moment later he emerges with a med-kit. He brings it over to Shinsou and instructs the boy to sit on one of the benches. Once he’s sitting Izuku set the kit down and flicks open the latches, removing a bottle of disinfectant and a package of cotton balls. He poured some of the disinfectant onto a cotton ball and began gently dabbing the wounds he could see. 

By the time he was done disinfecting the wounds Nakashima and Aka had both noticed what was happening and had started making their way to the tent. Izuku replaced the bottle of disinfectant in the case and took out a roll of bandages and a thing of medical tape. As he was wrapping the first scrape of many Nakashima and Aka entered the tent.

“What’s going on in here?”

They asked at the same time. 

Izuku looked up at them from where he was bandaging the scrapes and bruises on Shinsou’s legs,

“I replaced the water jug!”

Both simultaneously turned their heads to the water dispenser, taking a moment to look at the fresh jug before returning their attention to the two boys.

“That’s great kid, thank you. But we were originally asking about your friend.”

“Oh!”

Izuku put on a surprised expression like he hadn’t known they were asking about Shinsou in the first place and instead genuinely thought they were asking about the water jug.

“This is Shinsou, I met him in an alley and took him home in the wagon with the water jug.”

Nakashima and Aka nodded like this was a common occurrence (which it was, Izuku taking back random people is how the camp got quite a few of its residents). They both left Izuku alone to continue caring for Shinsou and instead both got some water from the dispenser before leaving. Supposedly to tell the others about both the new water jug and Shinsou.

By the time Izuku had finished bandaging Shinsou and had packed away the kit, everyone was gathered in or around the tent, cups of water in hand as they mulled about. Zō, Aka, and Nakashima were the closest to the tent while staying outside it. Mr.Mori sat on a bench on the inside of the tent far from the two boys and Takahashi was standing outside his tent, clutching his cup of water so tightly that, despite only being able to glance at it, Izuku was sure it would soon shatter in the man’s hand. 

Shinsou was obviously nervous. He was sitting stock still at the exception of his eyes, which were darting from person to person, never leaving one unwatched for too long. Eventually, Izuku had had enough of the boy’s constant nervousness and went off to talk to Nakashima. 

“Can you get everyone to leave and maybe go back to their tents?”

Nakashima nodded and, while Izuku was walking back into the tent, called everyone to attention.

“We have shit to do! Everyone go back to your tent and get ready to help with the chores!”

While there were a few groans, everyone obliged and went back to their own tents. Shinsou immediately appeared calmer once everyone was gone. Izuku moved around the kitchen part of the tent, grabbing a few packets and seasonings from the cupboards before taking out a small pot and ladle. 

“What are you doing?”

Izuku looked over his shoulder at Shinsou, smiling,

“Making you lunch! I already ate but you look hungry so-”

“I’m not hungry you don’t need to-”

Shinsou was cut off when his stomach decided to growl, catching him in a lie. Izuku smirked, turning back to what he was doing as blush crawled up Shinsou’s cheeks and over his ears. 

--------

After around ten minutes Izuku had a plate of instant ramen in front of Shinsou. He ate quickly, barely taking any time at all to eat the entire plate. When he was done, he insisted on helping Izuku with the dishes. There were a few, both from breakfast and lunch. Some of the pots and pans were from meals that Izuku had not been there for. The two both put on a pair of long rubber gloves and started to fill a tub with water that was stocked in a large oil drum. Izuku got a thing of soap out from one of the cupboards and made a mental note to tell someone they were going to need to steal some more as it was the last bottle. 

The two spent the rest of the afternoon scrubbing different pots, pans, and cutlery. Mr.Mori, Zō, Nakashima, and Aka all offered to help but the two turned them down each time. When they were done and had put everything away Nakashima came to see them in the tent. 

“Izuku, I want you to have these. I’ve had them stashed away for when you inevitably left that apartment.”

They held out two sleeping bags to Izuku. Both were a little ratty, with small holes and tears, but they were much better than not having a sleeping bag at all.

“Thank you! But why two? You said you got them for when I left the apartment so why get two?”

“You’re kidding me, right? Kid, there was no way you weren’t getting at least one little follower-friend either before or after you left.”

Izuku’s eyes widened and his face started slowly turning red. Shinsou only watched, not saying a thing even as his own face started to turn pink.

“B-but Shinsou hasn’t even said he wanted to come with me so-”

“Are ya going with him kid?”

Shinsou jumped slightly, surprised by the sudden attention, but his answer was quick,

“Yeah, I’ll go with him.”

Nakashima nodded, both sleeping bags still in their hands.

“Perfect! Now, each of you take a sleeping bag and settle down for the night and find a new place to sleep in the morning, alright? I’ll close up the tent.”

Izuku nodded quickly, thanking them profusely as he took his sleeping bag. Shinsou thanked them as well and the two turned away and crawled under one of the tables to set up their sleeping bags. Shinsou settled a few tables up from where Izuku chose to set up, struggling a bit with the sleeping bag before he could get it rolled out properly. Izuku made quick work of his, having done it so many times before. He took off his bag and settled it next to him, taking out the oversized hoodie and sliding it over his head. He settled quickly, waiting until Nakashima had finished with the tent before he closed his eyes, ready to sleep.

“Hey, Midoriya?”

Izuku opened his eyes and looked up, barely getting a glance at Shinsou’s sleeping bag in his periphery,

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

Izuku smiled, though he didn’t know if Shinsou could see him.

“You're welcome!”

The two fell asleep quickly after that, both were snoring lightly by the time the sun had set and the moon had started to rise.

Chapter Text

When Izuku woke up in the morning he clambered out of the sleeping bag quickly. He rolled it up and shoved it into his backpack. He then took off the hoodie and shoved it in as well, struggling to zip up the bag once it was in. He wouldn’t be able to carry anything else unless he somehow got a hold of a bigger bag. He slipped on the backpack and crawled out from under his table. From what he could see of the light peeking through into the tent the sun was just beginning to rise. He had hoped they’d be able to leave before it started rising but it was too late now to dawdle on it.

He walked up the row of tables until he came up on Shinsou’s. He bent down and poked the other boy continuously until he started shifting.

“Wake up! We gotta get going, we’ll eat when we find a place to camp out.”

Shinsou sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced around for a moment, seemingly gathering his bearings before he climbed out of the sleeping bag and started rolling it up. When he emerged from beneath his table Izuku helped him set up the sleeping bag so he could drape it across his body using the rope. Once Shinsou was set Izuku undid the tie keeping the right-hand wall of the tent closed and parted the two pieces of fabric, inviting Shinsou to step through first.

Once both boys had exited the tent Izuku started leading Shinsou out to the alley, checking behind him every few seconds to make sure the boy was still with him as he turned down different passages. Eventually, they came out on the sidewalk. Izuku started picking up his pace slightly, not wanting to become a target for muggers. Shinsou picked up his pace a moment after Izuku, trying his best to keep up with the other.

They walked for hours, avoiding any noises they heard coming from alleys or from around corners. Eventually, when the sun is high in the sky, they came across a small alley devoid of people. On each side wall of the alley was a window with a large sill, both stretching out so far that there was only a small gap between them. The area they covered wasn’t big but it would be enough for the two boys to use for a night or two. 

Izuku and Shinsou cleared some trash from where they planned on setting up their sleeping bags. Once they were settled, both sitting on a patch of cold, hard ground, Izuku dug through his bag and pulled out two protein bars. He handed one to Shinsou and the two ate in silence. When they were done Izuku threw their wrappers into a dumpster stationed in the alley. The two then sat in silence, having nothing to do. 

After a while Izuku took out a bottle of water from his bag, he drank some before offering it to the other boy. Shinsou drank quickly, handing it back to Izuku once he was done. While they were sitting there Izuku took some time to look Shinsou over, studying him. 

“Why are you staring at me?”

Izuku jumped slightly, taking a moment to compose himself before a nervous smile stretched out across his face,

“Sorry! It’s a habit of mine I guess. Trying to analyze as much as I can about someone, guess their quirk, y’know?”

Shinsou nodded slowly,

“I guess. Like trying to get to know them.”

Izuku nodded,

“Yeah!”

“I do that sometimes too.”

Izuku’s smile became more happy and bright,

“Right! And, um, while we’re on the topic… what is your quirk?”

Izuku didn’t miss the way Shinsou tensed and how his eyes darted to the side,

“Well, what’s yours?”

It was Izuku’s turn to tense. He knew he shouldn’t have asked, quirks were normally a sore topic for those who he met, but he had gotten so excited! He wanted to get to know Shinsou had he had been theorizing about what his quirk could be since the other boy had climbed into his wagon.

“Oh! Um, I guess it’s fair that I answer too, huh? Okay,”

Izuku took a deep breath, steeling himself. He made eye contact with Shinsou, trying to make his expression cold and indifferent.

“I’m quirkless.”

Shinsou’s eyes widened and Izuku braced himself for the harsh words and violence that normally came with telling someone he was quirkless.

“My quirk is brainwashing. If someone answers a question while I have it activated then I can make them do things.”

Izuku’s eyes lit up,

“That’s amazing! Though, it sounds more like hypnosis. Brainwashing is supposed to be a time-consuming thing where you change someone's beliefs while hypnosis is where you can influence someone's actions temporarily. How many people can you use your quirk on at once? Is there a time limit or does something else get them out of it? Is there a limit to the number of things you can get someone to do? Does your hair stick up like that ‘cause it’s influenced by your quirk or is it because of gel? Are you willing to help me take over the government? I think you'd be a lot of help but you don't have to if you don't want to.”

“Wait, what was that last one?”

Shinsou was looking at him with a mixed expression. Izuku could see surprise, suspicion, and awe.

“Are you willing to help me take over the government? I’ve been planning on doing something about the quirk and quirkless discrimination in Japan but I know nothing would get done with just protests or becoming a hero. They would never let me get enough popularity to get anyone on my side let alone let me spread stuff about it. So I plan on taking over the Hero Commission and forcing them to listen. I’ve had a plan in the works for a while now. Wanna help?”

Shinsou was silent for a moment. Izuku watched him patiently, hoping more than he had in years that Shinsou would agree. 

Slowly Shinsou nodded,

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. But we’ll need more help.”

Izuku nodded,

“I know! That’s why the plan is in the works! Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to start on it for real until I’m at least fifteen but we can start preparing now, right?”

Shinsou nodded,

“Do you want me to answer your other questions about my quirk?”

Izuku nodded vigorously, digging around in his backpack for a notebook with blank pages and a pencil. The two spent the rest of the morning and all of the afternoon asking (Izuku) and answering (Shinsou) questions about Shinsou’s quirk. They also started putting together training regimes so Shinsou could catch up with Izuku but they wouldn’t start using them until at least the next day.

Chapter Text

Izuku and Hitoshi have been travelling together for a month now. They’ve been getting by, dumpster diving, stealing, stopping at camps, and buying what they can. Izuku, at this point, has exhausted his stash of money so now they scavenge for yen both from the ground and others’ pockets. They had been sleeping in alleys, abandoned buildings, and camps. Never staying in the same place for more than two nights. They volunteered at underground clinics whenever they could and had gotten Hitoshi his own bag and upgraded Izuku’s backpack to a duffel bag to match Hitoshi’s. They both carried food, water, a sleeping bag, at least two changes of clothes, travel toiletries, small med-kits, and notebooks and pencils (mainly for Izuku but Hitoshi used them occasionally as well). They had started using each others’ first names about a week into their friendship, neither wanting to associate with the people their last names tied them to.

Currently, they were walking down the street at noon. There were a few different heroes patrolling but neither stopped to talk to any of them. They were trying to find a vendor to steal from. Both had put on slight muscle but without food, they wouldn’t be able to maintain it. 

After a few more minutes of walking, they came across the perfect target. It was a sandwich vendor, parked along the edge of the road and pressed against the curb. Their sandwiches were wrapped in tinfoil and lined up in rows on the cart. There was a crowd of people surrounding them, packed together. The two boys glanced at each other, smiling, before moving into the crowd. 

They weaved through the press of people fluidly, both more than used to moving through crowds. Hitoshi hung back while Izuku slid forward, waiting for the right moment. He hadn’t been waiting for more than a moment when someone reached forward, making the perfect cover for Izuku to grab two sandwiches. As soon as he had them both in his grip he turned back to Hitoshi, ready to hand him a sandwich when he heard someone shout,

“Thief!”

An arm reached out, trying to grab Izuku, but he ran forward, handing one of the sandwiches to Hitoshi as he passed him. Hitoshi started running too, catching up to Izuku. Shouts of “Thief!” and, “Get them!” followed the two as they ran. They heard footsteps behind them but none of them followed very far. It wasn’t until they had turned a corner and were about to turn another when a different voice joined the fray,

“Stop, villains!”

Both boys immediately looked behind them, eyes widening when they saw who was pursuing them. 

Pro Hero Endeavor was chasing after them, fire flaring around him and a furious expression on his face. Both boys turned back to face forward, picking up speed. Hitoshi turned to look at Izuku for directions since the other knew the area and its back alleys better than him but Izuku looked just as panicked as he was, eyes darting this way and that. It was only then that Hitoshi took a moment to look around and noticed that there were no alleys. All the buildings were flesh together without any space between them. 

They turned a corner and came across a large crowd, all gathered around stalls stationed outside different shops to try and entice customers inside. Izuku and Hitoshi tried to hide in the crowd but they kept separating when they noticed the two being chased by Endeavor and they were slowly being torn from each other, pushed in different directions. Panicked, Izuku reached out for Hitoshi’s hand, fumbling due to the distance before finally grabbing it. Both held tightly to the other as they ran, trying to escape the flaming hero.

They could hear his footsteps getting closer as they ran. They tried to push their legs to go faster but it was no use, they were going as fast as they could. They turned a corner but didn’t get very far before Izuku felt someone grab his arm and pull him into a thin alley he hadn’t noticed. He was still holding tightly to Hitoshi’s hand, causing the other boy to stumble into the alley with him. Izuku was about to lash out when the person let go of him, allowing both Izuku and Hitoshi to turn and see them.

When the two turned they were met with a boy their age with split red-and-white hair and a scar covering his left eye. Before any of them could say anything Endeavor came barreling around the corner, storming past their alley and down the street. Once they were sure Endeavor had passed Izuku spoke,

“You’re his youngest, right? Todoroki Shouto?”

The boy nodded,

“Yes, that’s correct. I’m sorry about him, I can tell you his patrol route for the week if you want help staying away from him.”

Izuku shook his head,

“No, that’s okay. We’re only in this area for today. I’m Izuku by the way!”

Hitoshi raised the hand still gripped in Izuku’s, lifting the Izuku’s with it.

“And I’m Hitoshi.”

Todoroki’s expression became confused and his head tilted to the side slightly,

“You don’t go by your last names?”

Both boys shook their heads,

“No, we don’t wanna be associated with the people they tie us to.” Izuku clarified.

Todoroki’s eyes widened,

“You can do that?”

Hitoshi nodded,

“Yeah, of course.”

“Oh. Call me Shouto then, please.”

Both nodded. They stood in the alley for a moment before Shouto spoke,

“Do you want to leave the alley so you can both eat your sandwiches?”

Both boys jumped and Izuku’s eyes widened,

“I completely forgot about those! We can sit out on the curb.”

The three left the alley in a single file line to make sure they would all fit. Once they were out the three sat on the curb together, Shouto in the middle with Izuku and Hitoshi on either side. While Izuku and Hitoshi ate their sandwiches the three made small talk. When they were done Izuku threw out their garbage in a nearby trashcan and sat back down in his spot.

“Hey, Shouto?”

The aforementioned boy turned his head so he was looking at Izuku,

“Yes?”

“Why are you out on your own? Shouldn’t you be following Endeavor?”

Shouto nodded,

“Yes, I’m supposed to be joining him on patrol so he can ‘model what a hero should look like’ but I left him a while ago and he has yet to notice.”

“Oh. Why would you want to leave him though? Don’t you want to learn about being a hero?”

Shouto shook his head,

“No, not from him at least. He wants me to be a hero so I can surpass All Might so he likes to take me out with him but I don’t want to be a hero like him. He’s much too aggressive when he apprehends people and he causes so much collateral damage that his agency has an entire team for taking calls from insurance companies and negotiating the prices. I’d much rather not become a hero at all rather than be the one he wants me to be.”

Izuku and Hitoshi both nodded but, while Hitoshi looked more sympathetic, Izuku looked like he was thinking about something important.

“Wanna hang out with us for the day? We can’t promise it’ll be much but you’ll be able to stay away from Endeavor for a while.”

Both Hitoshi and Shouto looked surprised at Izuku’s offer but Hitoshi gathered himself faster,

“That’s a good idea actually. Whadaya say?”

Shouto was quiet for a few moments before nodding,

“Yeah, alright. Where to first? He should be coming back around the corner soon.”

As soon as he said it they heard heavy footsteps getting closer, easily recognizable as Endeavor’s. The three shot up from their sitting positions. Izuku grabbed Shouto’s left hand and Hitoshi took his right, pulling them down the street in a run. The three ran from street to street, quickly leaving Endeavor behind. All three had smiles on their face as they made their way through the district.

Chapter Text

Izuku had pulled the other two all the way down to the park. Instead of going on the equipment, where any of them could be recognized, especially Shouto, they ran around in the woods. They jumped over roots, climbed trees, and explored until they came upon a stream. The water didn’t look very deep, it would likely only go up to their stomachs.

“Y’know,”

Izuku said.

“It’s been quite a while since me and Hitoshi had a bath. Wanna go in the stream with us Shouto?”

Shouto stared at the stream for a moment before shrugging,

“Sure.”

The three took off their shirts and toed off their shoes before wading into the water. Izuku and Hitoshi shivered when the cold water hit their skin but Shouto didn’t. In fact, the temperature of the water didn’t seem to affect him. Hitoshi looked over at Shouto when he noticed he wasn’t reacting to the water,

“Hey, Shouto?”

“Hm?”

“Why aren’t you cold? The water’s freezing!”

“My quirk makes me more resistant to cold.”

He replied, shrugging his shoulders. 

Izuku’s eyes lit up and he ran as fast as he could towards Shouto, splashing water as he went.

“What exactly is your quirk? How does it work? What are the drawbacks?”

Shouto’s eyes widened but he gathered his composure quickly,

“My quirk is called Half-Cold Half-Hot. I can create ice with my right side and fire with my left but I don’t use the fire. If I use my ice too much I get covered in frost and risk frostbite.”

Izuku’s hands started twitching, almost like he was trying to write in mid-air. It didn’t last long, though, as he squeezed them into fists. His eyes dimmed like he was trying to control his excitement. He slowed his talking speed but continued to ask his questions, staring Shouto down as if waiting for a reaction beyond answers.

“Do you know how it works, exactly? Like, do you create the fire and ice yourself or do you use the particles in the air? Can’t you prevent the frost by heating yourself up? Following that, why don’t you use your fire?”

Izuku’s eyes widened when the last question left his mouth and his hands came up to cover his mouth.

“I’m so sorry! That’s probably super personal and I shouldn’t be asking. I just started spewing questions, I wasn’t thinking-”

“No, it’s okay.”

Shouto cut him off. He had a look in his eyes that Izuku couldn’t place and he lowered his hands, averting his eyes to the water as blush slowly rose up his face.

“I don’t know whether or not I create it or it’s something to do with particles. I could prevent the frost but I don’t use my fire because of my father. He’s been abusing me for years under the guise of training ‘cause he wants me to surpass All Might and become the number one hero since he can’t. He’s been neglecting my other two siblings and he hurt my mom so bad she had a mental break and poured boiling water on my face after mistaking me for my father. He locked her away in a mental hospital and I haven’t been able to visit.”

Both Izuku and Hitoshi’s eyes were wide with surprise. Izuku gathered himself quickly and the look he had had earlier, before asking Shouto to run around with them, reappeared. Hitoshi saw his expression and sighed.

“Just get it over with.”

Izuku made eye contact with Shouto, a determined look in his eyes.

“Join us. You could help a ton with the plan! We would need to get you your own duffel and sleeping bags but I’m sure Nakashima could help with that and supplies would probably become a bigger issue but I’m sure we could figure it out! Plus you might be able to help us understand more about how heroics actually works so we can refine the plan. We would also need to dye your hair, now that I think about it. It’s a very defining feature. Ah! Sorry, I was rambling. Join us?”

Shouto’s eyes were wide with surprise but a small smile tugged at his lips,

“Explain what the plan is first?”

Izuku nodded,

“Right! So, basically, once we’re older and have more resources, influence, standing, and help we plan on taking over the government. Or, at least, tearing it down so a new system can rise. Both me and Hitoshi have faced quirkism due to how the current system runs, and, let’s be honest, it’s not good. The way Heroes are portrayed and the way the Hero Commission runs makes it clear it’s all for popularity, money, power, and control. Murder might get involved, it might not, I honestly don’t know enough to know for sure. You in?”

Shouto’s smile widened,

“Absolutely.”

Izuku beamed and wrapped his arms around Shouto in a hug. The other boy’s eyes widened but he returned it quickly, albeit hesitantly. Hitoshi chuckled as he made his way over to the two, making it to them when Izuku pulled away. 

“Welcome to the team.”

Hitoshi held out his hand for Shouto to shake and, after a moment, he did. Izuku smiled as he stooped down in the water and, when Shouto and Hitoshi looked at him, he flung his arms into the air, splashing them both and soaking them with water. The two stood still for a second, stunned before Hitoshi stooped down too.

“You’re gonna pay for that!”

Izuku laughed as he tried, and failed, to get away from Hitoshi before he got splashed. Shouto chuckled as he joined in, splashing both Izuku and Hitoshi. The three splashed around in the stream for hours, getting more than soaked. When they were tired, and the sun was starting to set, they waded out of the stream and back onto shore. They put on their shoes and shirts before starting to make their way through the trees, following the same path they had taken to the stream. 

“Hey, Izuku?”

Izuku raised his head and turned his attention to Shouto.

“Yeah?”

“I was just wondering why you’re out here. You don’t have to tell me, of course.”

Hitoshi nodded,

“Yeah, actually, now that I think about it I don’t know either.”

Izuku huffed.

“Will, I don’t know why you’re out here either Hitoshi.”

The boy shrugged,

“Then we’ll take turns. You go first.”

“Yeah, yeah. My parents became abusive alcoholics after we found out I was quirkless. I wasn’t being fed enough and I was near constantly injured. School wasn’t any better since I was bullied by the teachers and the students so I decided to leave and test my chances on the streets. Your turn.”

“Alright. Since my quirk was perceived as villainess my parents didn’t want me so they shipped me off to an orphanage. The staff members treated me like I was lesser and urged the other kids to do the same. I was ridiculed, beaten, locked in closets. School was pretty much the same and I was running from bullies when you found me. I thought going with you would be a good escape.”

Izuku nodded,

“Makes sense.”

They had made it to the tree line. Izuku poked his head out and looked left and right, looking for people. When he didn’t see anyone he led the others out of the woods. They were quiet until Izuku started talking.

“Y’know, I wonder if we could stay in a clearing somewhere in the forest for a few nights. No one really strays from the path and we’d be able to find some berries and mushrooms. Plus, the trees would provide good cover from the rain.”

Hitoshi nodded along and Shouto listened intently. 

“That’s a good idea. We can pack up in the morning and get Shouto some stuff before looking for a good place in the woods.”

Hitoshi agreed. Shouto nodded and they continued walking, changing the topic to how they were going to integrate Shouto into the casual training Izuku and Hitoshi had been doing for the last few weeks.

Chapter Text

When they made it back to the alley Hitoshi and Izuku were crashing in the sun was beginning to set. Izuku and Hitoshi changed into dry clothes and Hitoshi let Shouto borrow some from his stash considering they were the closest in size. They settled into their sleeping bags. Since Izuku’s was the biggest he and Shouto were sharing. It was a little awkward but Izuku had experienced worse. 

“I could steal some money from my dad’s wallet if we need it.”

Izuku jumped, startled by the sound of Shouto’s voice.

“Seriously?”

That time it was Hitoshi, who had sat up in his sleeping bag. Shouto and Izuku sat up too. 

“Yes. It wouldn’t be hard.”

Izuku’s expression contorted as he thought over what Shouto was suggesting.

“But we can’t risk you going back. What if he never lets you out again?”

Shouto shrugs,

“We could just break in. I know how to bypass all of the security measures he has installed.”

Both Izuku’s and Hitoshi’s faces lit up in a mix of mischief and anticipation.

“Alright. We can plan more in the morning, though. We have a lot to do tomorrow so getting some sleep would be good.”

Hitoshi and Shouto nodded, agreeing with Izuku’s statement.

“Sounds good. Wake up early?”

Hitoshi asked. Izuku nodded and the three settled back into their sleeping bags. Shouto and Izuku turned so they were facing away from each other. Izuku tried his best to calm the excitement and anxiety that filled him when he thought about everything they had to do the next day. After a while, when he knew Shouto had fallen asleep and assumed Hitoshi had too, Izuku finally fell asleep. 

When Izuku woke up the sun hadn’t risen. He yawned and stretched as he sat up in his sleeping bag. When he looked to his right he saw Shouto starting to wake up as well. He climbed out of the sleeping bag and picked up his bag. While he was unzipping it and starting to dig out rations for the morning Shouto sat up, stretching his arms. Both Hitoshi and Shouto climbed out of their sleeping bags as Izuku was producing the rations from his bag. The three ate their rations quickly and started packing up their camp as the sun started to rise.

Once everything was packed away they left the alley.

“So, should we set up camp in the forest first or do something else?”

Hitoshi asked. Izuku hummed.

“I think we should set up the camp first. It’ll be easier to break into Endeavor’s house without our bags.”

Hitoshi and Shouto nodded in agreement. They were silent as they walked the rest of the way to the park. When they reached the forest they started wandering around. They walked to what they assumed was the center of the woods before they started looking for a place to set up. They started looking separately while staying within each others’ line of sight.

After an hour or two of searching, Hitoshi called out.

“Hey! I think I found a good place!”

Izuku and Shouto ran over to see what Hitoshi had found. Hidden by a thick ring of trees was a nice, grassy clearing. The area was small and there were a few different coloured wildflowers scattered in the grass. Izuku smiled,

“It’s perfect!” 

Shouto nodded, 

“We should set up quickly.”

Izuku and Hitoshi nodded in agreement and they filed into the clearing. They needed to go single-file so they could fit through the gaps in the trees. There wasn’t much sun, the wildflowers only grew where small beams of light streamed through. They set up their sleeping bags in a neat row, leaving a place in the middle where Shouto’s would go. Once they had everything set up Hitoshi and Izuku sat down in front of Shouto on the grass. Izuku had one of his notebooks out, ready to scribble down everything Shouto said. He already had a map of the outside of the house drawn across two pages and another two set aside for a map of the inside. Before he started explaining each of the security measures Endeavor had in place Shouto helped Izuku fill out the map of the inside as best as he could. 

Once the map was done Shouto settled back into his sitting position, leaning forward slightly so he could see the map. Currently, the notebook was flipped to the map of the house’s exterior. Shouto pointed at different points of the house as he spoke. 

“There are cameras here, here, here, and here.”

Izuku nodded, drawing squares where Shouto pointed.

“There’s a blind spot here but if we take that route the only entrance will be one of the windows, which are locked from the inside and have alarms attached to them.”

Izuku nodded, adding more details to the map. 

“The only things with control of the system are Endeavor’s phone, his laptop, his desk computer, and an emergency panel in the training room.”

Izuku nodded, making notes on a different page. Hitoshi raised a brow,

“If the only ways to access the system are either always with Endeavor or inside the building we need to get into, how are we going to get inside?”

Izuku nodded slowly, the eraser side of his pencil in his mouth. Shouto pointed to the roof of the building,

“Simple. There’s nothing on the roof, no alarms, no cameras, no motion sensors. There are only cameras on the inside of the house but we can access the training room from the roof.” 

Izuku nodded, adding more notes. Hitoshi watched him as he wrote, reading from beside him.

“Alright. But how are we going to get on the roof in the first place?”

Shouto pointed to a tree beside the house.

“Well, if you know how to climb trees it should be rather easy.”

Hitoshi nodded,

“Okay. So we ready to go?”

Izuku shook his head,

“We still need to make sure there’s no one home when we go.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

Shouto said.

“Both Fuyumi and Natsuo are in school and all of Endeavor’s shifts start in the afternoon and end late evening. We’d be fine to go now.”

Izuku nodded,

“Alright, then we’ll leave now. Lead us there?”

Izuku looked up at Shouto,

“Of course.”

Chapter Text

Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto walked down to the train station, getting off at a station a few blocks away from the Todoroki estate. They weaved through crowds as they walked down the street, careful to stay together. When they reached the sidewalk in front of the house they snuck around the fence to the back of the house. Izuku cupped his hands, allowing Hitoshi to step into them, using them to boost himself over the fence. When Hitoshi had dropped to the other side of the fence Shouto did the same, being careful not to fall on Hitoshi. 

Izuku took a few steps back and ran forward at the fence, jumping so he could grab the top and pull himself over. When he fell he landed in a crouch. Shouto waved the other two over to follow him to the tree a few yards away. They stuck close to the fence in order to avoid the few cameras lining the outside of the house, making it to the tree quickly. Shouto climbed up first, showing the other two the branches to use to make it to the top. Izuku followed behind with Hitoshi behind him. Shouto jumped the short distance from the last branch to the roof, waving the other two to do the same. Izuku was able to do it without any issue, keeping his balance. Hitoshi hesitated on the branch for a moment before jumping. He stumbled, nearly falling off the roof, but Izuku and Shouto both grabbed one of his arms, stabilizing him before they continued. 

Shouto led them to the left edge of the roof, right above a balcony that ran along the wall. The three jumped down onto the balcony, landing as best as they could. Shouto led them down to a door in the corner, opening it carefully. He held it open so the other two could enter first before following after them, closing the door behind him carefully. 

Izuku and Hitoshi stood to the side while Shouto made his way to a panel in the wall. It was camouflaged with the wallpaper, the only sign it was there being a faint outline that would be easy to miss. 

Shouto opened the panel, revealing a number keypad attached to a small screen. He put in the code and the panel beeped, a light in the bottom left corner turning green. Shouto closed the panel and turned back to the other two, a mischievous smile on his face.

“The cameras should be off now.”

Smiles spread across Izuku and Hitoshi’s faces as the three left the room through a different door. They exited into an inner hall of the house. Before they split up to grab what they could and stuff it into their bags Izuku made sure he had the attention of the other two.

“Alright, grab what you can but make sure not to take anything noticeable and keep things neat. We want to keep the chances of Endeavor noticing someone was here to be as low as possible.”

Shouto and Hitoshi both nodded and the three split up. Each starting with different sections of the house. Izuku went forward to the house’s entry and front rooms, Hitoshi went to the left towards the house’s offices and miscellaneous rooms, and Shouto went to the right towards the bedrooms and the entrance to the basement. 

--------

Izuku hadn’t found much. Everything of value would be noticed if it was missing and things that were more out of sight and clearly not as cared about weren’t things of any value. He had managed to nab some cutlery though. They didn’t have much and it would be good to have. He’d also taken some non-perishables and things that didn’t need to be refrigerated that weren’t open.

After he had scoured every room for things he could steal, only finding a watch tucked away in a drawer, he went back to the training room with his bag of food and cutlery to wait for the others.

--------

Hitoshi had found quite a few valuable things, a watch, some yen that had been thrown in a drawer, a pair of expensive blue-tooth headphones, an old phone tucked away in a junk drawer, and a credit card in the same drawer. The card was most likely cancelled and wouldn’t work but, with what little Hitoshi knew about Endeavor, he thought there was a small chance the card worked. 

He had been looking for a while and, since these were the only things he found to take, he went back to the training room to wait for the others.

--------

Shouto had found a few things in the bedrooms, some earrings, a necklace, and an old video game console that had been collecting dust in Natsuo’s closet for years. He felt a little bad taking his siblings’ things but he didn’t think they’d mind. But if they did it wasn’t like he was ever going to see them again. Hell, it wasn’t like he ever saw them anyway.

He still felt bad, though.

He hadn’t spent much time in the basement. The only things down there were the washer, dryer, and a closet where they kept their cleaning supplies. Though, he did take an unused box of latex gloves from the cleaning closet. They would have to move back to an alley at some point, there were bound to be things they didn’t want to touch with their bare hands.

Having exhausted all the places he could think to look Shouto went back up to the training room to wait for the others. 

--------

Izuku hadn’t been waiting more than five minutes when Hitoshi came back, Shouto only a couple of minutes behind him. They climbed out of the open window and back out onto the balcony. Shouto made a small platform out of ice to lift them up so they could climb back onto the roof. He leaned over the edge, hovering his hand just above the ice block. Hitoshi and Izuku stood nearby to make sure he didn’t fall while he melted the ice as much as he could before they left. 

They jumped back to the tree, taking turns jumping from the roof and grabbing the nearest branch to use to climb the limbs of the tree to the ground. Once all three of them were on the ground they followed the same path they took before, quickly making their way back to the street. Once they were on the sidewalk they split up, deciding that it was a little suspicious for them to be walking around with their bags half-full coming from the Todoroki estate. Before they split, Izuku gave his bag to Hitoshi to take back to the woods. Siting that he was going to go grab a few things for Shouto. Hitoshi agreed and him and Shouto started heading back to the woods while Izuku left for the nearest store carrying something they needed.

Chapter Text

Izuku met the other two back in their clearing a few hours later, his arms laden with things and his pockets full. Hitoshi stepped forward to relieve his arms, Izuku smiling in thanks as he made his way over to his sleeping bag, collapsing onto it. Hitoshi found the new sleeping bag in the small pile of things and unrolled it, laying it out in the empty spot between his and Izuku’s bags. 

From where it was lying Izuku took out the things in his pockets. He pulled out two bottles of black hair dye, an application brush, and a pair of rubber gloves you would normally use for cleaning. Hitoshi took the things from beside him and put them in the new bag that had been in the pile with the sleeping bag. Also in the pile was a change of clothes and a hoodie that was a few sizes too big for any of them. Hitoshi put the hair-dye supplies, the clothes, and the hoodie into the new bag before handing it over to Shouto. The other boy took it, holding it close as he sat down on his sleeping bag. Hitoshi followed suit, sitting down on his as well.

The three sat (and lay) in silence for a while, listening to the rustle of the tree leaves in the wind. They had been sitting like that for a while before Izuku sat up, stretching. The sun was low in the sky, so much so that they could no longer see it due to the canopy of the trees. 

“Alright,”

Izuku said.

“We won’t have as much daylight here as we used to because of the trees. We should eat dinner and get ready for bed now so we won’t have to in the dark.”

Hitoshi and Shouto nodded in agreement. Hitoshi dug through his bag for rations, which he handed out. They ate quickly and quietly, tucking any garbage into their respective bags before pulling out their hoodies and taking off their shoes. By the time they were each tucked inside their sleeping bags, the lighting in the clearing had significantly darkened despite the relatively light sky and the fact that it was likely still early to mid-evening.

They each fell asleep in time, though Hitoshi was the last to do so. Eventually, all three of them were asleep, eyes closed and breaths even.

Hitoshi was the first to wake up that morning. The sky was light but the clearing was still dark, only small rays of growing sun seeping in. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up more. It took his eyes a few moments to adjust to the lighting but when they did he busied himself with getting ready for the day while he waited for the others to wake up.

--------

Shouto was the next to wake, stretching as he sat up in his bag. He rubbed his eyes, looking around to see Hitoshi zipping up his duffel bag. He climbed out of his sleeping bag, starting to pull off his hoodie when he saw Izuku starting to stir.

--------

Izuku rubbed his eyes before he had even sat up, trying to rub away the sleep. When he did sit up it was to see Hitoshi already ready and Shouto in the process of getting ready for the day. The clearing was still dark, though it was getting lighter by the minute. Izuku climbed out of his sleeping bag, stretching as he did so. He unzipped his duffel bag, pulled off his hoodie, and stuffed it inside. He pulled out the morning’s rations and the three ate in silence. When they were done, and the garbage was put away and they sat down in a circle in the grass below their sleeping bags.

“Alright,”

Hitoshi started,

“What are today’s plans?”

Izuku shrugged,

“Nothing too crazy. One of us takes Shouto down to the gym so we can use the bathroom to dye his hair. And the other steals some concealer or something close enough to his shade that we can use it to cover his scar. Then we have some time to kill.”

Both Hitoshi and Shouto nodded. Hitoshi volunteered to steal the makeup, which left Izuku to take Shouto to the gym. They each grabbed their duffel bags and, due to a last-minute idea of Shouto’s, rolled up their sleeping bags and tucked them into hollows in nearby trees. 

When they reached the treeline of the forest they split up. Hitoshi left for the right, where the nearest ¥100 store was, while Izuku and Shouto went left, heading for the nearby gym. 

--------

When Izuku and Shouto reached the gym they walked through the sliding glass doors with purpose, smiling at the woman at the front desk. She smiled back at them, turning back to the work she was doing on her computer. Izuku was familiar with this gym, it was where he had met up with a few of his companions over the years, training and whatnot. There hadn’t been many trips, seeing as the companions with money for a gym membership were mainly low-level villains, but he had made friends with the staff enough for them to let him roam as he pleased as long as he didn’t bother any patrons. He didn’t use the gym often, though, preferring to work out through parkour and sparring with others. He also didn’t want to risk running into his father, who jumped from gym to gym occasionally after the new year. 

Izuku led Shouto down to the bathrooms, holding the door open for him and locking it once he had stepped inside. The bathroom had stalls lining the side wall, sinks lining the wall adjacent to them. Above the sinks was a large mirror running across the length of the wall. Soap dispensers lined the wall at intervals below the mirror and between the sinks. 

Izuku put his bag down beside the first sink, waving his hand to indicate that Shouto should do the same. He did, sliding his bag down beside Izuku’s. 

“Get out the hair dye and the supplies, please.”

Shouto nodded, crouching down to do just that while Izuku moved a few sinks down, turning on the tap and putting his hand in the running water to test the temperature. Satisfied he turned off the tap and instead walked over to a door set into the far wall, hidden behind a small, pillar-like portion of the wall. He opened it, pulling out a stool and setting it in front of the sink. 

Shouto walked over, carrying the box dye, a small plastic bowl, the gloves, and the application brush. Izuku indicated the sink to the right of the one he had chosen and Shouto dumped the items inside of it. He then sat down on the stool in front of the sink as Izuku walked up to the other one, pulling on the gloves and opening the box.

--------

It hadn’t taken very long for Hitoshi to reach the Hundred Yen store. He pushed the door open, returning the smile of the cashier as he made his way to the cosmetics aisle. He looked over the concealers and foundations, trying to find one that matched Shouto’s tone. He grabbed two of each, tucking them away in his bag as discreetly as possible. He pulled his phone out of his bag, opening some random app and scrolling through it as he made his way through the aisles. 

When he had made it back to the entrance the cashier stopped him briefly,

“Didn’t find what you were looking for?”

Hitoshi shook his head and the cashier smiled,

“Alright. Come again.”

She bowed and Hitoshi did the same, walking through the door and down the street. He took a few wrong turns before taking the correct path back to the park.

--------

It had taken a few hours but eventually, Izuku had finished dying Shouto’s hair. It was damp with water but the colour had stopped bleeding and now it was entirely black, with no signs of red or white. When Shouto saw himself in the mirror, he smiled, though it was small. Izuku met his eyes in the mirror, smiling back as he started packing away their things. He threw away the gloves, empty box of dye, the bowl, and the brush in a trash can tucked in a corner. He picked up the stool, stashed it back in the closet, and picked up his and Shouto’s bags, handing the other boy his. 

They slung their bags over their shoulders, double-checking they had everything as Izuku unlocked the door and lead Shouto back to the front so they could leave through the front doors. The secretary smiled at them as they left, something the two of them returned as they pushed the doors open and walked out onto the street.

--------

Hitoshi had been waiting in the clearing for around an hour when the other two finally came into view in the trees. Shouto’s hair had dried slightly since they left the gym and he kept pulling strands down so he could see them. Izuku and Shouto weaved through trees into the clearing, placing their bags at the foot of their sleeping bags before sitting down on them.

“So, how’d it go?”

Izuku asked Hitoshi. He shrugged,

“Alright. I got two different shades of concealer and two different shades of foundation. Wanna try ‘em?”

The last part of his sentence was directed at Shouto, who nodded, turning his body to face Hitoshi. Hitoshi reached for his bag, pulling out four different bottles. Izuku stood, sitting down in the grass at the head of Hitoshi’s sleeping bag. Hitoshi opened the first bottle, one labelled ‘concealer’ when he swore,

“I forgot to grab a sponge.”

Izuku stood again, going back to his sleeping bag and unzipping his bag. He pulled out a pair of rolled-up socks,

“Will this work?”

Hitoshi shrugged,

“Good enough.”

He reached out a hand, taking the bundle when Izuku was close enough. He squeezed some of the concealer onto the socks, dabbing it onto Shouto’s face. He deemed it too dark and grabbed another bottle, repeating the process. 

In the end, they decided that one of the bottles of foundation was close enough and they put the other three away in Izuku’s bag, who said he knew someone who would happily take the extra bottles. Hitoshi was about to hand the socks back to Izuku when he remembered they were now covered in makeup and instead tucked them away in Shouto’s bag with the bottle of foundation.

The sun was high in the sky now, indicating it was around noon. They still had a lot of time on their hands, time they decided to use to work out. 

Shouto and Hitoshi worked on the ground, doing the basics like sit-ups, jumping jacks, and burpees. Izuku joined them for stretching before going for the trees, climbing and swinging from branch to branch. 

--------

A few hours later, when the sun had started dipping behind the treeline of their clearing, they gathered in their sleeping bags, sweaty and tired.

“We should go down to the creek to wash off the sweat.”

Shouto suggested. The other two were quick to agree and the three spent their remaining hours before nightfall washing in the creek, though they were too tired to play much.

When they made it back to their clearing they ate quickly, tucking into their sleeping bags as the sunlight died, replaced by the dull light of the moon. They said goodnight to each other, falling asleep faster than they had the night before.

Chapter Text

Izuku was the first to wake this time. The moon was still in the sky, dipping so it was just touching the horizon. He didn’t rush as he got ready. Changing clothes, readying the morning rations, and looking over the notebook containing their training regimens. 

Shouto awoke while Izuku was getting out his notebook. The two exchanged quite good mornings, trying not to wake Hitoshi. Shouto got ready quickly, sitting down beside Izuku to read over the notebook with him.

Hitoshi woke up just as Izuku was closing and putting away the notebook. The sun had just risen, barely above the horizon. Hitoshi changed quickly and sat down with the other two so they could eat together. When they finished their breakfast they packed away their garbage, like always.

Once all of them had finished eating they grabbed their duffel bags and sat in a circle, finally ready to count up everything they had managed to steal from the Todoroki estate. Izuku showed the other two the cutlery and food, not bothering to take out the cutlery but dividing the food so they all had even rations.

Izuku was excited when he saw what Hitoshi had nabbed. The yen was immediately distributed evenly between the three and the headphones and phone were put off to the side, starting a pile they called ‘Things We Can Sell’. The credit card was discarded at first but when Shouto saw it he picked it up.

“Why are you discarding this?”

Hitoshi shrugged,

“I found it in a drawer filled with junk. It’s probably been cancelled, right?”

Shouto shook his head,

“No. Endeavor doesn’t pay much attention to his spending. He has people in his agency for that but they don’t pay much attention either. We may be able to get a cheap apartment and some groceries every once in a while if we’re careful.”

Izuku’s eyes widened,

“Seriously?! How rich is Endeavor?”

Shouto shrugs,

“I believe he has his own island somewhere.”

Hitoshi has joined Izuku in staring at Shouto in disbelief. Shouto ignores them and puts the card into one of the pockets on Izuku’s bag. Izuku gathered himself a moment later and started distributing the pile of things they could sell evenly between their three bags.

“We should go down to the Market tonight to sell all of this stuff. Until then, we have time to kill.”

The three were silent as they tried to come up with something to do.

“Wanna play hide-and-seek in the trees?”

Hitoshi asked. Izuku and Shouto were quick to agree and the three quickly packed up camp, tucking their things away in various tree hollows. They wandered a little deeper into the woods until they found a large tree with darker bark than the others surrounding it. The tree was covered in various claw marks, ranging in size and shape which caused it to stand out even more. They decided that the tree would both be where the seeker counted and where the hiders went when they were found. 

Hitoshi was picked to be the first seeker through a game of rock paper scissors and he leaned his head against the tree, cushioning it with his arms and squeezing his eyes shut. As soon as Hitoshi started counting Izuku and Shouto ran off in different directions, Shouto weaving through the trees and Izuku climbing them. Hitoshi counted to thirty before lifting his head from the tree. He looked up to see if he could see either of the two in the trees nearby but, of course, he couldn’t. Instead, he picked a direction, taking off as fast as he could while trying to make sure he didn’t trip over any roots.

--------

Izuku had found a big tree with low branches to climb up. He had made it pretty high, deciding to stop near the middle of the tree. The branch he was on was particularly thick and he sat down on it carefully, swinging his legs back and forth. He got bored quickly and plucked a leaf from one of the branches above him. Carefully, he started pulling off pieces of the leaf, trying to leave the vein-like piece intact. 

--------

Shouto had been planning on finding a tree to climb, but, instead, he found a deep hole tucked in the large gap between two roots. Peering inside he decided to find out if he could fit. He lowered his feet into the hole and pushed himself inside slowly. In what felt like no time at all he was curled up in the hole, pushed up against one of the side walls to try and avoid being spotted. To keep himself busy he picked up a twig that was laying in front of him and started drawing in the dirt. 

--------

Hitoshi had been searching for a few minutes now and had yet to find anyone. He was about to backtrack and take a different path when something fell on his arm. It took him a moment to realize what it was, a small piece of leaf. Looking up he could just barely make Izuku sitting on one of the branches of the tree in front of Hitoshi, looking down at something in his hand. Izuku dropped something down and it landed on Hitoshi’s face, just above his eye.

“Izuku!”

He called. The other boy jumped, just barely keeping himself from falling by grabbing onto the trunk of the tree. When he looked down at Hitoshi he smiled sheepishly. 

“You found me!”

Hitoshi raised a brow,

“You dropped leaf on me!”

Izuku’s cheeks turned pink,

“Sorry!”

Hitoshi rolled his eyes,

“Come down! I’m tired of yelling and you have to go back to the tree!”

Izuku nodded, scrambling down the tree faster than Hitoshi would have been able to. When he got to the bottom Hitoshi saw a pristinely peeled leaf in his hand.

“Why did you peel a leaf?”

Izuku shrugged,

“Why not?”

Hitoshi had been planning on asking Izuku if he had any hints as to where Shouto was when the boy took off in the direction Hitoshi had come from. Sighing, Hitoshi followed him, though at a much slower pace. When he made it back to the main tree Izuku was sitting against it, his original peeled leaf beside him and one he was now working on in his hand. Wordlessly, Izuku pointed in one of the directions Hitoshi hadn’t picked. Nodding, Hitoshi started running in that direction, assuming that Izuku was pointing him in the direction Shouto had taken. 

He didn’t notice the sly smirk on Izuku’s face as he lowered his hand. 

--------

Hitoshi was starting to think Izuku had lied to him. He had been searching in the direction he had indicated for around ten minutes now and hadn’t found anything. He had looked up all the trees and even stooped down to look in what he hoped were abandoned dens but he hadn’t even found a hint that Shouto had been there. 

When Hitoshi made it back to the main tree he glared at Izuku, who was now working on his third leaf. Izuku looked up and smiled like nothing had happened before turning back to his leaf. Hitoshi rolled his eyes but he had a small smile on his face.

--------

Hitoshi finally found Shouto drawing in a hole seven minutes later. He poked his head into the hole, startling Shouto, causing him to drop his stick.

“Found you.”

Shouto nodded, slowly uncurling from his spot against the wall. Hitoshi backed away from the hole to give the other room to climb out. 

“Have you found Izuku yet?”

Shouto asked. Hitoshi nodded,

“Yeah, he’s back at the tree peeling leaves.”

Shouto tilted his head,

“Peeling leaves?”

Hitoshi smirked,

“You’ll see.”

--------

When they made it back to the tree Izuku’s pile of peeled leaves had grown by two. He looked up when they returned, smiling in greeting. Shouto sat down in front of him,

“Hitoshi said you’re peeling leaves?”

Izuku nodded,

“Yeah! See?”

He picked up the newest of the peeled leaves.

“I carefully pick off all the leaf parts until only the vein bits remain. Wanna try?”

Shouto nodded and grabbed a leaf from a nearby tree. He sat down on the left side of the tree, leaning against it as he started to peel his leaf. Sighing, Hitoshi grabbed his own leaf and sat on the right side of the tree.

--------

They ended up peeling leaves until it was time for them to start heading back so they could get ready to head out. All three of them had a large pile of peeled leaves though Izuku’s was the tallest. They brought their collections back to the clearing and tucked them away in tree hollows before making sure they were ready to leave for the Market.

Chapter Text

The sun was setting as they walked. They each had their duffel bags slung across their chests, occasionally banging against them. The Market was a far walk from the park as it took place deep within the Red Light district. By the time they had made it to one of the few entrances, the moon had risen and their feet hurt. 

There was no one in front of the door they were nearing. The door had no locks nor did it have one of those sliding windows you often saw in movies. There was a stain a few feet in front of the door though and Izuku signalled for the other two to stop before crossing it. A few moments after they stopped, Shouto and Hitoshi both giving Izuku confused looks, a figure dropped down from the roof of the building. 

He landed in front of the three smoothly, staring at them for a second after righting himself. His frame was lean and his clothes were dark but he had positioned himself so that no light hit him, hiding the rest of his appearance in shadows.

“Hey there Izuku, you and your friends there got stuff to sell?”

Izuku nodded,

“Yup. Let us in please?”

The three could feel the smirk on the man’s face,

“You got the password?”

Izuku sighed,

“We both know there isn’t a password.”

Hitoshi could just make out the man shrugging,

“There is tonight.”

“Oh, how could I forget.”

Both Hitoshi and Shouto could hear the sarcasm in Izuku’s voice.

“The password is, ‘let us in or I’m going to give the police all the information I have on all of your secrets and crimes.’”

“Jeez, little dude, head on in.”

The man stepped to the side, opening the door for them. Izuku led the other two into the building, thanking the man before stepping inside. Hitoshi and Shouto followed his example and the door closed behind them. 

“Were you really going to do all that if he didn’t let us enter?”

Shouto asked,

“No, but him doing the whole password thing is part of our routine at this point and I try my best to surprise him each time.”

Shouto and Hitoshi nodded and took a moment to look around the building they had entered. Honestly, it wasn’t much. It certainly didn’t look like a market. There were no other people and no stalls. The room they were in likely wouldn’t be big enough to hold more than a small pop-up shop. There was a door on the wall across from them and one to the right but nothing else of note.

Izuku walked towards the door in front of them and gripped the knob with both hands. Instead of turning it, he pulled, seeming to struggle for a moment before the door slowly swung open. As soon as the door was fully open Izuku kicked down a door-stop attached to it and let it go. Behind the door was what looked like an old cage elevator.

Hitoshi and Shouto rushed to Izuku’s side and the boy pulled open the door of the elevator.

“Step on inside! I swear it’s safe.”

Hesitantly, Hitoshi stepped into the elevator, Shouto coming in behind him. The two made a conscious effort to stay away from what looked like a lever . Izuku came in behind the two, pulling the door closed behind him. He stepped right up to what Hitoshi had thought was a lever and started turning it counterclockwise. The elevator shuttered before it slowly started lowering.

The elevator shook occasionally, scaring Hitoshi and Shouto enough that they sidled up to Izuku, though both made sure they weren’t touching the boy in case they jostled him, and, in turn, the mechanism lowering the elevator. Eventually, the elevator shuddered to a stop and they felt it land on a hard surface. Izuku reached forward and around Hitoshi to reach the handle of the elevator door. He pushed it to the side harshly, causing it to bang against the wall and bounce back slightly.

Izuku gestured for the other two to exit before he did. They stepped out into a crowd, there were people everywhere, standing at stalls, walking down the aisles, standing on boxes waving newspapers in their hands. It was loud too, so much so that neither of them could make out any particular words or voices.

Izuku stepped out behind them, closing the door to the elevator. He pressed a button on the wall next to it and the elevator shot upwards. Izuku had a smile on his face as he looked out at the sea of people,

“A few rules for while you’re here.”

He said. Immediately, Hitoshi and Shouto turned their attention from the bustling people to Izuku,

“No one pays more than one hundred five thousand for a piece of jewelry and even that’s a bit of a stretch. If they offer you any more the money’s fake. Haggling is encouraged but if someone has a red sign on their stall it means all their prices are set, no negotiation. Alternatively, if they have a green sign then none of their items even have starting prices and they're more than willing to talk pricing. Keep an eye on your surroundings, pick-pockets are common. Most importantly, the use of quirks is strictly banned . Got it?”

Hitoshi and Shouto nodded,

“Good! Let’s go.”

Izuku weaved his way into the crowd, Shouto and Hitoshi following closely behind him. Izuku soon stopped at a stall lined with different necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings. He dug around in his duffel bag for a moment and pulled up the jewellery Shouto managed to nab. The woman manning the stall leaned forward and gingerly took the pieces from Izuku.

“Hmmmmm. Quite the collection you boys have got here. Who’d you get it from?”

She raised a brow and looked down at Izuku who was smiling up at her,

“You don’t want to know. Plausible deniability and all that.”

The woman shrugged,

“Fair enough.”

She set the pieces down on her counter,

“I can offer you 422,398 yen.”

Izuku nodded, 

“Deal.”

The woman reached below her stall and pulled up a metal box. She cracked it open and started counting out a stack of bills. When she was done, she handed the stack to Izuku. He counted it again and looked closely at a few of the bills. Eventually, he unzipped his bag and shoved the stack inside,

“Thank you.”

The woman nodded and Izuku started walking away, rejoining the crowd. Shouto and Hitoshi followed behind him, staying close. They stopped at another stall lined with a few old game consoles and game cartridges. Izuku gestured for Shouto to unzip his bag. He did so and took out the old console he had taken from his brother. He handed it to the person manning the stall who took it carefully. 

“It looks like it’s in good condition, aside from the dust, of course. I don’t know if it works and I don’t care to open it up right now soooo… I can offer you 10,500 yen.”

Izuku shrugged,

“Good enough.”

They reached below their desk and pulled out a metal box like the one the woman before had. They took out both a ten-thousand and a five-hundred- yen bill and handed them to Izuku. He looked both of them over before tucking them into his bag with the other bills,

“Thanks.”

The person nodded and Izuku started leading Hitoshi and Shouto back the way they had come. They joined a short line of people waiting for use of an elevator though, soon, they were in the machine and rising up to the ground floor. They walked home in silence, all three too tired to talk. 

When they finally got back to the clearing they just managed to eat and roll out their sleeping bags before they were asleep, the moon low in the sky.

Chapter Text

Izuku is the first one awake in the morning. He goes through the normal routine, changing and preparing rations. He waits until the other two are awake, finished eating, and Shouto had covered his scar in the foundation before gathering them in a circle on the grass.

“We need to find an apartment.”

Hitoshi and Shouto nodded in agreement. An apartment would be useful, even if it was cheap. They wouldn’t need to hide their things in tree hollows and running water would be nice. Plus, clouds were gathering in the sky for the first time in weeks. They were dark and thick, promising rain. 

“I’ll go out looking with Hitoshi. Shouto, you go out to grab some cleaning supplies. The nearby hundred-yen store should have some good bleach and such for cheap. I have a feeling we’ll need it.”

Shouto nodded and they split up the resources they would need for the day. Izuku and Hitoshi took Endeavor’s credit card and 200,000 yen. Shouto took the remaining 232,898 yen. He certainly wouldn’t be spending all of it on supplies but they didn’t want to leave any of it behind in the clearing. They didn’t plan on coming back. Each of them had their duffel bags packed with all of their belongings. 

They trekked through the trees, trying to stay in the thicker areas in case it started raining. They didn’t want to be soaked just yet. When they exited the tree line the clouds were thicker than before, covering the sun. The air was damp and the wind blew harshly. The park was empty and silent, adding to the ambience. They split when they stepped onto the sidewalk, Shouto heading in the direction of the store and Izuku and Hitoshi making their way into the Red Light district. 

--------

Shouto didn’t have any trouble finding the store. The sign was big and bold, reading “Hundred Yen” in clear kanji. He had a bit of trouble finding the cleaning supplies aisle but once he figured out that there were signs telling you what was in each aisle he found it quickly. The next problem was all the options. There were lots of different brands as well as different cleaners for different surfaces. One said it was specifically for wood while another said it was “all-purpose”, whatever that meant. 

Luckily, he had grabbed a basket at the front. He grabbed two different glass cleaners, a wood cleaner, an “all-purpose” cleaner, a bathroom cleaner, two things of bleach, and a disinfectant. At the end of the aisle, he found a full set of cleaning brushes as well as a large container of sponges. He grabbed both, throwing them on top of his large collection of bottles and jugs. He also grabbed a box of masks. If they were going to be dealing with mold like Izuku thought they would be useful.

He accidentally wandered into another aisle of the store when he was trying to make his way to the checkout and found a wood carving kit. He thought it sounded interesting and like something that the others might like too. He grabbed a kit and proceeded to finally find the checkout. Being careful not to drop anything as he made his way over.

The cashier gave Shouto a few odd looks as she scanned and bagged his purchases but she didn’t say anything. His total came out to ¥1,200 which he paid happily, taking his bags before walking out through the sliding doors. He made his way back to the train station. Izuku and Hitoshi had agreed to meet him there when they found and paid for an apartment. 

--------

Izuku and Hitoshi wandered for a while, occasionally glancing up at the sky before they found a place with a vacancy. It was run down and crumbling slightly, one of the windows was boarded up from the outside, and the knob on the front door was a little rusty. It was an apartment building so it was tall with a fenced-in roof but, even from the ground, Izuku and Hitoshi could see holes in the chain links.

They knocked on the front door, as instructed by the sign hanging next to it. After a moment, a sleazy-looking man in a grease-stained white button-down opened the door.

“What do you brats want?”

Izuku smiled kindly and Hitoshi just stared blankly at the man. He decided then that he’d let Izuku do the talking.

“We’re here regarding the vacancy, sir.”

The man raised a thick brow. Hitoshi couldn’t help but notice that he was balding. The cheap toupe he was wearing didn’t do anything to hide it. He also had a feeling that it was homemade.

“Oh, yeah? And why would two kids want an apartment? Can ya even pay for it?”

Izuku smiled,

“Actually there’s three of us, sir. And I assure you we can pay.”

The man scoffed. 

“And how am I supposed to believe that? You’re, what, ten?”

Izuku unzipped his duffel bag and pulled out Endeavor’s card,

“Do you accept card?”

The man turned away, walking further into the building. Izuku took the moment to see what he could of the foyer while Hitoshi kept his eyes on the man. The carpet on the floor was torn and stained in places, there was a front desk, though no one was manning it. There were no elevators, only a staircase off to the left. There was a plant in the corner but it was wilted and dying, if not already dead.

After a moment the man came back with an old, dusty card machine in hand. 

“Plug it in here. I’ll charge ya an insurance fee, for now, just to see if ya can do it.”

Izuku inserted the card into the machine after making sure the man wasn’t charging them too much. After a moment, the machine beeped, telling him the transaction had gone to remove his card. He did so and the man pulled the machine back, looking at it. He sighed, looking annoyed.

“Fine. I’d rather not have kids as tenants but so long as you pay. Get inside and close the door behind you.”

He stepped into the building, heading for the front desk. Izuku and Hitoshi followed, Hitoshi closing the door as asked. They followed the man to the desk, stopping a few feet away from it. He rummaged around in one of the desk’s drawers for a moment before coming up with a key that had a fob attached to it. He handed the key to Izuku,

“Here. Room’s on the third floor. I live there,”

He pointed to a door in the top-left corner,

“Don’t bother me unless it’s to pay rent or the building is on fire. If someone dies and you find them in their room don’t call the cops, I’ll deal with it when I get the time.”

Izuku nodded though Hitoshi looked a little scared.

“Thank you, sir.”

The man ignored him, instead going into the room he had indicated as being his. Izuku shrugged,

“Alright, let’s go grab Shouto and then we can get to work.”

Hitoshi nodded and followed Izuku out of the building. 

--------

The rain finally started to fall as the three were walking back to the apartment building. They ended up running the last few blocks, though they still ended up soaked in the process. When they entered the building they trudged up the stairs to their floor, matching the number of one of the doors to the one on their fob. When they got inside they were immediately hit with the stench of nicotine. The walls were yellow, likely due to excessive smoking, and Izuku could see mold in at least one corner.

Shouto pulled the box of masks he had purchased. Izuku reached over, opening it and grabbing one for himself. Hitoshi reached over him for one and Shouto took one too. Izuku sighed,

“Let’s get to work.”

Chapter Text

It took them an entire week to clean the apartment to the point where they weren’t worried about being poisoned by their surroundings. There had been mold in almost every crevice and they had had to drag all the furniture out to the curb, including the fridge and oven. The items they couldn’t get down the stairs were pushed out the window into the alley behind the building. 

They hadn’t slept in the apartment while they worked, too afraid of accidentally inhaling anything. Instead, they had slept in the reception area. The man who owned the place seemed a little annoyed but didn’t tell them to stop. The other residents of the building just smiled at them and nodded in understanding. They had likely had to do the same things they were doing if the building’s condition was anything to go off of. 

By the time the apartment was clean enough to be safe to live in all three boys were hungry, tired, and smelled like cleaning supplies. All three had slight bags under their eyes, though Hitoshi’s were worse than the other two’s. That night, they ate their evening rations in silence before grabbing their sleeping bags from their duffel bags and laying them out in what used to be the living room. They climbed inside simultaneously, burrowing inside the bags. Just before they fell asleep they muttered quiet goodnights to each other, moonlight shining on them through the windows.

--------

In the morning, Izuku woke up to sunlight beaming down on his face. They had had to get rid of the curtains while they were cleaning the apartment due to the fact that they didn’t have the means to rid them of all the nicotine, leaving the windows uncovered. Groaning, he rolled onto his side, rubbing his eyes. Eventually, he sat up in his bag, stretching as he yawned. On either side of him, both Shouto and Hitoshi stirred, rubbing at their eyes as they sat up too. 

Izuku climbed out of his bag, grabbing rations and handing them out. When all three were done eating they gathered in a circle on the floor,

“We need furniture.”

Hitoshi immediately said. Izuku and Shouto nodded in agreement. 

“A fridge would be good to get first. We’d be able to keep fruits and vegetables fresh. 

Shouto suggested. Izuku was writing in his notebook while Hitoshi nodded along.

“And maybe a phone or TV or something. We should keep track of the news.”

The two continued to throw around suggestions while Izuku wrote in his notebook. When they were done, Izuku had comprised a list of all the suggestions in order of most to least important. Acquiring the fridge was at the top of the list so they decided that that was going to be the first thing they did that day. 

“We should check Dagobah beach first.”

Izuku said.

“It’s in the Musutafu district. It’s a beach covered in trash so we might be able to find a fridge that we can salvage. Maybe some other appliances too.”

“But how would we get it back?”

Shouto asked. Izuku shrugged,

“I know a few people with strength-enhancement quirks. They might be able to help.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Hitoshi agrees. Shouto shrugs and they grab their duffel bags from where they left them in the corner of the room. They decide to leave their sleeping bags set up on the floor and climb down the stairs to the building’s ground floor. 

They smile at the two women in the lobby as they leave, making their way through the Red Light District to one of the underground gyms. Izuku said that the three he knew all like to work out there so it should be the first place they check. It took them a while to get there but, when they did, all three of the men were there. As soon as the three boys climbed down the stairs into the gym the men looked up from their workouts, their faces lighting up when they see Izuku.

“Little man! How ya been?”

“Did’ya get into any fights?”

“Did’ya win any fights?”

Izuku shook his head, making his way over to the men,

“No, no new fights.”

One of the men placed his weight back in the rack, reaching over and ruffling Izuku’s hair.

“Too bad. So, what brings you and your pals here then?”

The other two nod, returning their weights to the rack as well. Izuku smiled up at the three,

“We managed to get our own apartment but we had to get rid of all the furniture due to mold. We were going to try and find a fridge in Dagobah but we have no way of getting it back. I was wondering if you’d be willing to carry it for us? If we manage to find one, of course.”

The three men nod,

“Of course little man! We’d be more than willing to help. Lead the way!”

Izuku’s smile brightens, becoming blinding,

“Great! Let’s go.”

He turns, leading the group out of the gym. Shouto and Hitoshi walk a step behind him at his sides while the three men walk a few paces behind them, careful not to tread on their heels.

It doesn’t take them very long to get to the beach. When they reach one of the entrances, Shouto and Hitoshi can’t help but stare. Izuku had said the beach was covered in trash but they hadn’t thought it would be like this. There was barely any visible sand, all of it covered in various types of trash. There were piles of garbage meters high, teetering in the wind. Izuku led the six others onto the beach, the others following wearily behind him. He tells them to keep their eyes out for a fridge as they walk and not to touch any of the piles if they can manage it.

“They’re prone to falling.”

He warns. Shouto and Hitoshi exchange weary glances as they follow behind Izuku. The three men don’t seem to have any issues, their heads swivelling as they look for fridges. 

--------

It took them about two hours to find a fridge that actually looked like it might work. They searched it for mold but only found patches of rust, which was promising. The three men lifted the fridge between them, settling it on their shoulders. When they emerged back onto the streets, they got a few odd looks from civilians, though they dwindled as they got closer to the Red Light District. By the time they made it back to the building it was time for lunch. The men carried the fridge up the stairs, following the three boys. When they made it to the apartment the men set the fridge down in front of the socket the old one had taken up.

“Thank you so much!”

Izuku exclaimed, 

The three men nodded, each taking a turn to ruffle Izuku’s hair,

“No problem little man!”

“Good luck in your new apartment!”

“Bring your friends by the gym sometime! Maybe we can show the three of you some moves.”

Izuku nodded,

“I will!”

The three men nodded, heading out the door and down the stairs. Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto stood in the living room quietly for a few minutes after the door closed. They had completed their main goal for the day and no longer knew what to do.

“Wanna go to the park?”

Hitoshi asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Why not.”

Chapter Text

The walk to the park was, of course, a little longer than normal. They did their best to avoid the alleys so they wouldn’t get mugged which made their trip even longer. They each had their duffel bags, though they had left most of their funds in the apartment. They each had ¥1,080 and Shouto had Endeavor’s card, though they didn’t plan on using it. 

As they neared the park they heard shouting and started picking up their pace until they were running. When the three rounded the corner they saw four kids surrounding another with a bird head. The four kids were kicking the other, shouting insults as they did. Izuku ran towards them, Hitoshi and Shouto following close behind. 

“Hey! What do you think you're doing?!”

The four kids whirled around to face Izuku though the one they had been kicking stayed curled up in the sand, arms wrapped around his head. One of the kids stepped forward. He was a little bigger than the others and, based on the way he moved and talked, was the leader.

“We’re just showing the pathetic villain his place.”

He spat the word “villain” glaring at the kid on the ground as he did. The kid flinched, somehow curling up into a tighter ball. The leader turned his attention back to Izuku, a smirk on his face,

“We’re going to be heroes, y’know. We can’t let a villain run around unchecked.”

Izuku glared,

“Oh, yeah? And what makes him a villain?”

The kid scoffed,

“His quirk, of course. It’s something only a villain would have. It’s some kind of sentient shadow but he can’t even control it! When it first manifested he nearly destroyed in own house! Nearly killed one of his neighbours, too.”

Izuku stepped forward,

“And that makes him a villain?”

“Did you not hear anything I just said? Yeah, it does.”

The kid didn’t have time to say anything else before Izuku was punching him square in the face. There was a satisfying crack as his nose broke and blood started pouring down his face.

“What the fuck!”

He raised his arm, obviously trying to get a hit in on Izuku but he moved too fast. Izuku swept the kid’s feet out from under him, sending him sprawling to the ground. The kid’s three lackeys ran at Izuku, trying to tackle him, but Shouto blocked them with a wall of ice. When the three kids rounded the wall Hitoshi and Shouto kept them away from Izuku.

When the kid tried to get up Izuku kicked him firmly in the head. He continued to kick at the kid until he finally gave up,

“Fine, fine! You win! We’ll go.”

Izuku smiled, cold and sharp. He let the kid get up and call for his friends, who, upon seeing the condition he was in, fled with him. Once the four were far enough away Izuku stepped up to the kid they had been bothering, offering his hand. After a minute he looked up at Izuku and, after studying him, took his hand. Izuku pulled him up, stepping back to let him brush himself off. 

“Why did you help me?”

His feathers were full of sand and it was obvious he had been crying.

“Because you looked like you needed help.”

He seemed taken aback by Izuku’s answer but, after a minute of thinking, nodded,

“I’m Fumikage.”

Izuku smiled, kind this time.

“Izuku.”

Shouto and Hitoshi introduced themselves as well, Hitoshi trying his best to imitate Izuku’s smile while Shouto continued to stare at him blankly.

“Well, thank you. For helping me.”

Izuku nodded, though he took on a look of concern,

“Does that happen often?”

The boy nodded,

“I’ve found it’s difficult to come here and avoid it.”

Izuku nodded as he looked around the park, eyes lingering on the surrounding benches before moving on.

“Where are your parents?”

Fumikage shrugged,

“They don’t often accompany me. Where are yours?”

Izuku shrugged,

“Probably drunk in the apartment.”

“Trying to make a child that doesn’t have a ‘villain's quirk’ now I’m gone.”

“Father is likely yelling and fighting with my sister in the house. Mom would still be in the hospital.”

Fumikage looked a little taken aback by their answers but he schooled his expression quickly.

“I see. And you three have found companionship with each other?”

Izuku nodded fervently,

“Yup! You can join us if you like. We plan on growing our group and tweaking our plans until, eventually, we can take over the government and do our best to prevent kids like us from being treated the way we are.”

Fumikage just stared at Izuku, eyes wide. Before the boy could answer himself a little shadow bird emerged from his chest.

“You promise you won’t be mean to me or Fumi?”

Izuku nodded,

“Promise.”

The shadow looked behind Izuku to Shouto and Hitoshi, clearly waiting for them to answer. Fumikage was staring at the shadow with a scared look on his face but he didn’t say anything. After a moment, both Shouto and Hitoshi promised to. The shadow nodded, a smile stretching across its face. It started doing spins in the air next to Fumikage,

“Can we please go with them Fumi? They’re all so nice!”

Fumikage sighed, a soft smile on his face,

“I suppose. It’s not like mother and father would miss us much.”

Izuku’s smile was a near mirror image of the shadow’s,

“Perfect! C’mon, we’ll show you where we’re staying!”

Izuku took off at a run in the direction of both the Red Light district and their apartment. Hitoshi and Shouto followed him without hesitation, smiling. They waved for Fumikage to follow them and, after a moment, he complied, Dark Shadow trailing behind him.

Chapter Text

When Izuku, Hitoshi, Shouto, and Fumikage finally made it back to the apartment building all three had bright smiles on their faces. The landlord was sitting out in the lobby talking with two other tenants when the four entered and he looked up at them briefly. He did a double take when he saw Fumikage,

“Are ya taking on a new roommate?”

Izuku nodded,

“Yes, sir. I hope it won’t be a problem?”

Izuku’s expression was one of pure innocence. Like he couldn’t possibly fathom how it could be an issue. The man looked conflicted for a moment before he sighed, schooling his expression into one that was stern and mean. 

“No, it’s not a problem. This time . Just…try not to make this a common thing.”

Izuku nodded,

“Of course! Thank you so much, sir!”

Izuku waved for the other three to follow him as he made his way over to the stairs. They heard the conversation between the landlord and the other tenants pick back up as they climbed the stairs. Eventually, they made it to their apartment. Izuku unlocked the door and held it open for the other three, locking it again once they were all inside. Shouto and Hitoshi sat down on their sleeping bags and, while Shouto took out the carving kit he had purchased, Hitoshi looked up at Izuku, eyebrow raised,

“So, are we not going to talk about the way you manipulated our landlord into letting us take on Fumikage?”

Izuku shrugged, sitting down on his sleeping bag, Fumikage beside him,

“He probably wouldn’t have let him stay if I didn’t, and it’s not like I made him hide some grand secret or bury a body or something. Plus, playing the cute, innocent, kind child card enough could help us. If we get him to genuinely like us we’ll be able to get away with more and maybe see if we can use any contacts he might have in the underground with minimal fees.”

Hitoshi sighed, flopping back onto his sleeping bag,

“The amount of thinking and planning you do scares me sometimes.”

Izuku chuckled, 

“Why thank you!”

Shouto had been reading over the instructions from the kit while the two were talking and was now starting to actually carve into the wood block he was holding. The shavings fell down onto his sleeping bag but he didn’t seem to mind. 

“We’ll need to get a vacuum or broom if you’re going to take that up as a hobby.”

Hitoshi said when he noticed what Shouto was doing. The other boy nodded absently, not really paying attention to what was being said. It was silent for a few moments until Dark Shadow peeked out of Fumikage’s chest, moving so they were positioned next to his head. 

“Do you have nightlights?”

“What for?”

Izuku asked, he was making eye contact with the shadow, head tilted. Fumikage started trying to push Dark Shadow away,

“It’s nothing-”

Dark Shadow darted forward, completely avoiding Fumikage’s attempts at keeping them away.

“If it gets too dark I become a sort of monster thing that Fumikage can’t control.”

Fumikage shrunk in on himself, keeping his gaze off the other three boys. Shouto was paying a little more attention to the conversation at this point, the knife now hovering above the wood block. Hitoshi was looking over at Izuku and Fumikage from his place on the ground and Izuku was sitting up straight, eyeing both Fumikage and Dark Shadow. The longer the silence stretched the smaller Fumikage seemed to be making himself until, finally, Hitoshi sighed. 

“Just ask your questions Izuku.”

Immediately it was like a dam had burst. Questions about Dark Shadow and Fumikage started spilling from Izuku’s mouth. The only other part of him that moved was his eyes, darting back and forth between the two. His hands were folded neatly in his lap and his back had just enough of a slouch to be relaxed without looking bad. 

Fumikage’s eyes were wide as he stared at Izuku, his expression a mix of awe and surprise. His posture was becoming less tight as he relaxed, leaning in to try and better hear what Izuku was saying so he could decipher his questions. Dark Shadow had appeared next to Fumikage’s head again, also listening to everything Izuku was saying. 

Hitoshi sighed again, rolling over so he had access to Izuku's bag. He unzipped it and took out the notebook Izuku was currently working on as well as one of his pencils. Hitoshi paused, not wanting to get up to hand Izuku the items while also not being able to reach him on the ground. Shouto put down his knife and block, taking the book and pencil from him. Hitoshi sent him a thankful look while Shouto flipped the book to a blank page and handed it and the pencil to Izuku. Immediately his hand was moving across the page, writing down his questions while leaving enough room for answers. He even left a gap where he wanted to put a sketch of Fumikage and Dark Shadow. 

When Izuku’s torrent of questions finally stopped he took a deep breath, looking at both Fumikage and Dark Shadow expectantly. Fumikage took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering his questions as best he could. Dark Shadow made their own input whenever possible, though even with their combined efforts there were still questions that went unanswered. This didn’t seem to put Izuku off, however. In fact, it seemed to make him more determined to find answers. When the two had answered all the questions they could Izuku folded over his notebook, scribbling furiously. The other three boys watched him for a few minutes, eventually going back to what they had been doing before. Shouto picked up his carving things, Hitoshi went back to staring at the ceiling, and Fumikage struck up a conversation with Dark Shadow.

They sat like this for a while, Hitoshi occasionally glancing over at Shouto to see how his carving was going. The pile of wood shavings had grown substantially when Hitoshi propped himself up on his elbows,

“Hey, I was thinking, we should convert the bedroom into an analysis room for Izuku. It’s not like we’re going to get much use out of it, our sleeping bags are already set up out here.”

Shouto nodded,

“That sounds like a good idea. I’m sure we could find more furniture to freshen up at that beach.”

Fumikage and Dark Shadow nodded too,

“Yes, despite the short amount of time I have known him I believe giving him a peaceful place to work would be best.”

Izuku didn’t look up from where he was writing in his book, supposedly completely tuned out to the conversation going on around him. 

Hitoshi lay back down on his sleeping bag, resting his head on his arms,

“It’s settled, then. We can ask those big dudes for help again tomorrow and go down to the beach. I think a desk and chair would be best to start. Maybe a bookshelf too.”

The other two nodded in agreement and the three went back to what they had been doing. Though, eventually, Fumikage and Dark Shadow ran out of things to talk about. To keep themselves occupied they started watching as Shouto carved his figure, watching as the shavings pile slowly grew. Hitoshi managed to fall asleep soon after, listening to the sound of knife on wood and pencil on paper.

Chapter Text

Izuku shook Hitoshi awake a few hours later, backing away when the boy finally rose and started stretching. Shouto and Fumikage were waiting by the door, Shouto with his duffel bag slung across his body. Izuku was holding Hitoshi’s out to him and had his own slung across his shoulder as well. Though, the actual bag part sat next to him as he knelt next to Hitoshi’s sleeping bag. 

“C’mon Hitoshi, get up!”

Hitoshi rubbed at his eyes, taking the bag from Izuku’s outstretched hand when he was done.

“What?”

He asked. Izuku stood, holding out his hand to the still sitting boy. He took it without hesitating, allowing Izuku to hall him to his feet. Once the purple-haired boy was standing Izuku answered his question,

“We need to go out and get some stuff for Fumikage. Though, now that I think about it we should get some extra sleeping and duffel bags. With how things have been going it’s likely we’ll pick up at least a few more people.”

Hitoshi nodded groggily, following Izuku to the door slowly. Once the four were all together Fumikage opened the door, holding it open for the other three before stepping out himself. Izuku locked the door behind them and they started off down the stairs to the foyer and out the front doors. 

The walk down to their first stop wasn’t to long since the shop was near the outskirts of the Musutafu district. The store sold all manners of camping supplies, displaying their best items in the front. These items also happened to be the most expensive so, instead, the group travelled to the back. Hitoshi stared at the sleeping bags longingly while Fumikage picked out one that was a simple black and Shouto picked up a few of the cheapest ones. From there they went a few aisles down to the duffel bags, where, once again, Fumikage chose a cheap black one. Izuku picked out a few in different colours, keeping to the few cheap brands. 

Once they had everything they needed they made their way to the registers, waiting in the shortest line they could find. When they got up to pay the cashier kept side eyeing them and roving her eyes over them as if she was looking for something. Eventually, she finsihed ringing up their items and told Shouto the total as he was at the front of the group.Shouto pulled out a few bills from his bag, carefully laying them out on the tray in front of the cashier. She picked the bills up slowly, making a point to look them over before finally accepting them. She handed them their bagged products and told them to have a good day as they left, heading off to their next stop. 

The next store they stopped at was a simple grocery store. It was small and the aisles weren’t very big but the prices were cheap so it would have to do. When they entered they stopped off to the side to talk.

“Alright,”

Izuku started,

“We can split up in here. Each of us can go down a different aisle, grabbing what we like. We don’t need bottled water since I have tap filters and we can grab a filtered water jug while we’re here. When we’re done we can meet up by the registers. Sound good?”

Everyone nodded in agreement and Izuku let go of Hitoshi’s hand. The purple-haired boy immediately left for the caffeine aisle, leaving the other three quickly. Izuku goes down the meat aisle, Shouto goes down the noodle/soup aisle, and Fumikage darts towards the baby aisle. 

--------

Izuku looks over the meat selection carefully, picking out a steak, chicken breast, chicken thigh, and a nice looking fish. He puts them each into one of the flimsy plastic bags provided and grabs a cooler bag from a nearby shelf to put them inside after they’ve paid. 

--------

Hitoshi looks over the caffeine selections carefully, comparing ingredients and prices between different brands. In the end, he selects a big can of an off-brand coffee. It’s cheap and strong enough that it should last him a while. He yawns as he leaves the aisle, immediately laying eyes on the conveniently placed mug shelf. He thinks it over for a moment before grabbing a cat mug off the shelf, holding it by the handle and tucking the coffee under his arm. 

--------

Shouto stands in front of the instant noodle shelf, deliberating which brand to buy. He has a basket hanging from his elbow, something the others hadn’t grabbed before running off. After another moment of deliberation he grabs a few packets of the cheapest brand, turning so he can choose a broth and possibly a few more types of noodles.

--------

Fumikage doesn’t want to linger in the baby aisle, quickly finding the nightlights surrounded by diapers and toys. The selection isn’t big, consisting of a cresent-moon, star, princess, dinosaur, and bear. He can’t decide which one to pick, feeling like he doesn’t want it to be to babyish. He wishes they carried the kind that was just a glowing box but, alas, they did not. He was just about to turn around and pray he could find a lamp or something when Dark Shadow darted out of his chest, popping up in his face,

“Can we please get the star one Fumi? I think it looks so cool!”

Fumikage sighed,

“Seriously?”

Dark Shadow nodded vehemently,

“Yeah! It matches our ashetic perfectly.”

Fumikage thought for a moment before nodding slowly and taking a small box containing the moon shaped light off the shelf.

“Fine. But if they ask about our decision you’re the one doing the explaining.”

Dark Shadow nodded quickly,

“Okay!”

They darted back into Fumikage’s chest, obviously content with the decision they had made. Fumikage sighed one last time, swiftly left the aisle, rushing for the registers and hoping he both wasn’t the first or the last to arrive.

--------

Fumikage ended up being second-to-last to arrive. Izuku and Hitoshi were both already there, Izuku balancing a stack of bagged meat in one hand with a cooler bag hanging from the other and Hitoshi with a mug and can of coffee grains. The three waited silently the few minutes it took Shouto to show up. He had a basket hanging from his right arm, a few packs of ramen and soba noodles joined by a carton of broth. Shouto led the group over to the shortest line, putting his stuff up when it was their turn. This cashier didn’t seem to mind that four boys were grabbing what could barely be considered groceries on their own, patiently telling them their total and allowing Shouto to pay with the credit card. She helped Izuku put the meat in the cooler bag and helped the other three bag their goods as well. She turned to ring up the next costumer when they were done, smiling when the four boys thanked her before leaving the store.

Chapter Text

The trip back to the apartments was uneventful, the most exciting thing being Hitoshi tripping and nearly face-planting before Izuku caught him. The four smiled at the old couple standing in the foyer when they entered, the two clearly waiting to talk to the landlord. They climbed the stairs slowly, careful not to drop any of their bags before reaching their floor. When they got to their door Izuku set down the cooler bag by his feet, digging around in his duffel bag for the apartment key. He found it quickly, shoving it into the lock and turning it, waiting for the click of the lock before turning the doorknob and swinging the door open.

Izuku picked up the cooler bag and entered the apartment first, holding the door open for the other three before removing his key from the lock and pushing the door closed, locking it again and setting the door chain in place.

The four make their way into the kitchen, setting their bags down on the counters. They quickly get started putting the groceries away, though it doesn’t take very long. When their done Fumikage removes his nightlight from the package and plugs it into the socket closest to his sleeping bag. He steps back, eyes switching from the sleeping bag to the light and back until he steps forward, pulling the sleeping bag a few centimetres closer to the nightlight. He nods to himself before sitting down on the sleeping bag. The other three follow suit, sitting down in a wonky circle on their own bags. They sit in silence for a minute before Shouto pipes up,

“So, do any of us actually know how to cook?”

Izuku is the only one to nod. Fumikage shakes his head and Hitoshi just stares at the ground. Though, when he sees Izuku nod, his head is quick to snap back up,

“Wait. How do you know how to cook Izuku?”

The boy shrugs,

“I had to fend for myself. Plus, on days when they weren’t trying to be condescending, my parents would make me cook for them.”

It was silent for a few moments, the other three absorbing the information given to them. Hitoshi is the one to break the silence after glancing out the window.

“Well, if we’re going to cook something with the ingredients we bought we’d better do it now. If we want to get to bed before the sun sets, that is.”

Izuku, after also looking out the window, nods vehemently and rises from his place on his sleeping bag, hurrying into the kitchen to get started. It doesn’t take long for him to get started, chopping up the fish on the cutting board while the rice cooker preps itself. The other three boys, having nothing better to do, turn so they can watch as Izuku cooks. As they watched the three boys just became more captivated. The way Izuku moved around the kitchen fascinated them. He moved smoothly like he knew where everything was at all times. He had glanced back at them a few times, smiling when he caught their eye, but that never seemed to interrupt his flow. He had cut the fish into perfectly sized pieces, knowing just when to take them out of the pan. To them, it looked like something magical.

When Izuku was finally done he laid out their plates, picking up his own before telling them they could grab theirs. Once all four were once again seated on their sleeping bags facing each other they dug into their food. It didn’t take very long for Shouto to compliment the food and, after him, the other two piped up as well. Izuku flushed, avoiding eye contact as the compliments continued to flow. When the three were finally done he looked up at them, eyes glossy and a smile on his face,

“Thank you so much!”

The three nodded and dug back into their food, occasionally complimenting it again. When the four were finished eating Fumikage stated that he would be the one to do the dishes since Izuku had cooked and Dark Shadow could help him where needed. The other three agreed and started getting settled in the sleeping bags. Will, Hitoshi did. Shouto pulled out his carving kit and Izuku took out his analysis notebook, writing furiously on one of the pages. 

--------

Fumikage didn’t take long to finish the dishes. Dark Shadow helped him both in washing and drying them as much as they could as they didn’t have a drying rack yet. When they finished Fumikage dried his hands on a towel, yawning. When he got to his sleeping bag Shouto was still staring at his carving intently and Izuku was still writing in his book. When he had settled in his sleeping bag, the zipper done up nearly all the way. He reached a hand above his head and flicked on the nightlight, burrowing deeper into the bag once the light shone. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, Hitoshi just a few minutes behind him.

Fumikage was the first to wake up that morning, stretching as he sat up in his sleeping bag.  The zipper undid a little on its own when he sat up but he had to pull it down himself to climb out. He saw Izuku stir, watching as the other boy woke up too. Izuku climbed out of his sleeping back after stretching his arms up above his head, smiling when he saw Fumikage. He dug around in his duffel bag, pulling out two rations worth of food and handing one over to Fumikage. He nodded in thanks before digging in with Izuku, throwing out his garbage in the trashcan by the front door when he was done.

Shouto was the next awake, yawning as he stretched. He took his rations from his own duffel bag, eating quickly before throwing out the wrapper to his breakfast bar. Hitoshi wakes up a few minutes later, yawning and rubbing at his eyes before blindly reaching over for the zipper of his sleeping bag. It takes him a moment to find it but when he does, he yanks it down and rolls off his sleeping bag. He lands face down next to Izuku, who gently pats him on the back.

“Are you okay, Hitoshi?”

He only gets a groan in response. Silently, Shouto gets up and starts digging around in Hitoshi’s duffel bag. After a minute he comes up with a breakfast bar and a bottle of water, both of which he places in front of Hitoshi’s head. The boy raises it carefully, staring at the offerings for a moment before picking his arms up off his sides and grabbing them. The bar doesn’t last long, nor does the water bottle. When he’s done he finally gets up off the ground and throws out his trash. They don’t have a recycling bin yet so the plastic water bottle joins a slowly growing pile next to the trashcan. 

The sun starts peeking in through the blinds so Fumikage turns off his nightlight and opens the blinds. There’s a creaking noise as the blinds gather at the top of the windowsill, causing the four boys to stare at them. Once the blinds are gathered at the top the noise gets slightly louder and Fumikage lets go of the string, his hands up in a placating gesture as he backs away. He’s nearly at the sleeping bags when the blinds reach their breaking point and clatter to the floor. The four boys stare at the pile of plastic for a few moments before Izuku clears his throat,

“Wanna go find a new set of blinds from Dagobah before Mr.Landlord realizes we broke something?”

The other three boys nod vehemently, rushing to grab their duffel bags before rushing out the door.

Chapter Text

They walked calmly down the stairs, smiling at the person they passed on their way down. When they got into the library their landlord was sitting behind the front desk, legs kicked up and a cigarette in his hand. The four boys smiled at him, Dark Shadow even popped their head out to smile, which startled the man, though he just smiled back. They made it out the door without incident, luckily and, once they were out of view of the building’s windows they started sprinting down to Dagobah beach. 

They only lasted a few blocks before they had to slow down. Izuku was in the lead, followed by Shouto, then Hitoshi, and Fumikage a few steps behind them. The first three slowed down so they would be back with Fumikage. They didn’t talk as they walked, falling into a companionable silence, their steps syncing together.

--------

They’re in the Musutafu district, still quite a ways away from the beach, when they start to hear loud noises coming from further down one of the roads. The four share a glance and, even though it would take them farther from their destination, they rush off in the direction of the noise. 

When they arrive it’s to a crowd of people behind some hastily put-up police tape. There are a few officers standing at the front of the crowd, trying to keep them in check while Death Arms fights a villain with what appears to be a bull mutation quirk. The villain is carrying a few purses, running down the street. As the four boys make their way to the front of the crowd they see Death Arms catch up with the villain, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him closer. Death Arms changes his grip so he’s holding the villain by both arms, causing the purses to fall to the ground.

 He then starts spinning, the villain going higher and higher. The four boys stare as the villain goes higher and higher, spinning faster and faster along with the hero. Finally, Death Arms winks at the crowd, causing a few girls to squeal and gasp, and lets go of the villain. He goes flying towards a nearby house and they watch as a little girl around their age runs out, calling back behind her, likely for her parents. They watch as the villain crashes into the house, tearing a hole in the wall as he lands inside. It’s still for a moment, a cloud of dust stirring and spreading around the girl still standing in front of her house. Then, the dust now starting to clear, the girl looks up at something in the now slightly exposed foundation of her house. 

Izuku can just make out her eyes widening before she starts running, once again trying to call for her parents. This time, Izuku can hear two voices calling back. He sees two figures start to step forward, hidden behind the villain but before they come properly into view, the house shook and some of the shingles fell off the roof. The girl stopped running, turning to watch as her house crumbled, falling in on itself. The crowd was cheering, seemingly having not noticed the girl and her screams. As she ran back to her house, desperately calling for her parents, the crowd fawned over Death Arms.

The girl arrives back at the debris quickly and she starts tearing at it, calling out all the while. Izuku signals for the others to stay put as he slinks off, ducking under the police tape while the police are busy with the crowd. He runs up to the girl and the rubble, kneeling down next to her. She looks up at him, tears falling down her face and dust covering her hands.

“Pl-please! You have to help me get them out.”

Izuku nods, leaning over so he can help her move pieces of rubble. He watches as she touches a few of the bigger pieces and they start to float, allowing her to move them easily before they fall back to the ground a few meters away. Izuku keeps his analysis at bay, instead moving the pieces that he could. After a couple of minutes Shouto, Hitoshi, and Fumikage join them despite the fact that Izuku had told them to stay with the crowd. As they move more and more pieces they start to find spots of blood marring the stone. The girl starts to get more frantic and, despite her green face, starts touching more and more, shoving at the debris to get it to move. 

Izuku stands next to her, the other three at his side as they move pieces. Somehow, they still hadn’t been noticed by the police, Death Arms, or the crowd, all of them too focused on each other. Finally, they come across an arm sticking out of the pile. It’s covered in hair and obviously belongs to the villain Death Arms had been fighting. The five kids stop and stare at the arm, taken aback by the fact that it’s there and, even more frightening, unmoving. After a moment Izuku comes back to himself. 

“Those two figures who had come up behind him. They were your parents, right?”

His words seem to bring the girl back to herself as she starts, her eyes watering as she nods slowly. 

“I’m sorry.”

Izuku says, opening his arms as she falls into them. He holds her tight, supporting her weight as she sobs into her shoulder. The other three boys surround them, though they keep a few feet away from the two so they don’t overwhelm the girl. Finally, a police officer looks over and notices them. Shouto makes eye contact with him from his place next to Izuku and the officer jogs over to them.

“Hey, you kids shouldn’t be over here! What are you doing?”

It’s then that he seems to really take in his surroundings, his eyes darting from the pile of rubble they had created to what had once been a house, the arm sticking out in the space they had cleared. He sighed,

“Alright. Well, you don’t all look related so I’m assuming you four are her friends?”

Izuku nods, not saying anything as he starts to rub soothing circles on the girl’s back.

“Alright. Are her parents buried there?”

He gestures to the debris and, this time, Hitoshi is the one who nods. He chooses not to bring up the officer’s bluntness. 

“Okay. I’ll call social services to come get her.”

Hitoshi’s eyes widen as the officer turns, taking up his radio and taking a few steps away from the kids. Hitoshi runs up to Izuku,

“We can’t let them take her.”

Izuku nods, looking down at the girl in his arms. Her sobs had calmed, now replaced by hiccups. He tapped her a few times on the shoulder, only stopping when she looked up at him,

“Hey, do you wanna come with us?”

His question must shock her. Her eyes get a little wide and she tilts her head to the side,

“What?”

“Do you want to come with us? We have an apartment and some extra sleeping bags you can pick from. It’s not in the best area but I think it might be a little better than going to an orphanage.”

The girl nods,

“R-right. Okay, I-I’ll go with you.”

Izuku nods, a kind smile on his face. He takes her by the hand and, with her still leaning heavily on him, starts to lead her back the way they had come. Shouto and Hitoshi walk next to Izuku while Fumikage walks next to the girl, Dark Shadow draping themselves across her shoulder like a scarf. 

When the officer turns around to check on the kids all he sees is rubble.

Chapter Text

When they get back to the building the foyer is empty, allowing them to climb up to their apartment in peace. Izuku unlocks the door quickly, walking over to the closet in the center of the hall leading to the bathroom and bedroom. He pulls out one of the extra sleeping bags and rolls it out at the end of the line next to Hitoshi’s. The girl climbs inside, burrowing down and turning away from the four boys. They stare at her for a moment before Izuku walks down the hall to the bedroom, a place they hadn’t entered since their cleaning day.

The room was completely empty, devoid of any furniture or decorations, everything having been thrown out due to mold. Izuku held the door open for the other three, gently closing it behind them. They settled down on the floor in a circle, facing each other. Sun rays streamed in from the only window in the room. 

“I would like to be the first to point out that we don’t even know her name.”

Hitoshi says, breaking the silence that had descended over them.

“Could this classify as kidnapping?”

Shouto asks. Izuku shakes his head.

“No, I don’t think so. We’re all the same age plus, if taking her in counts as kidnapping, then so does what happened with you.”

Shouto seems to process this answer before accepting it with a nod. Fumikage raised his hand, waiting until he had everyone’s attention to speak,

“I know we were able to get some groceries for us but will that be enough now that she’s staying here as well? Following that, will we continue to have enough funds to purchase food if our population continues to grow? I have a feeling that she will not be the last child we take in.”

The other three nodded slowly. 

“We could likely spend up to ¥21,650 in groceries before Endeavor becomes suspicious. But only if it covered just under a month’s worth.”

Izuku nodded slowly,

“We can work with that for now but if we become too many we’d have to figure out something else.”

Their meeting soon concluded after that, the three heading back out to the living room. The girl was sound asleep. 

“Since she’s asleep three of us should head out to Dagobah and get some new blinds while one of us stays here.”

Hitoshi raised his hand immediately,

“I volunteer to stay!”

The other three stared at him for a moment before he shrugged,

“What? I’m tired.”

Izuku shrugs,

“Alright.”

He turns around and grabs his duffel bag, slinging it across his body as he walks to the door. Shouto and Fumikage follow him, grabbing their own bags. The three file out the door, Izuku closing and locking it behind them. Hitoshi listens as their footsteps fade down the hall, waiting until he can no longer hear them before he clambers into his sleeping bag, not bothering to zip it up. 

He yawns, turning so as little sunlight beams down on him as possible. 

--------

Izuku leads the group through the winding streets to Dagobah. They do their best to steer clear of the wreckage from the earlier attack, taking a longer route than they normally would. When they finally reach the beach they spread out among the trash, each picking a different pile to start with. It takes them a couple of hours to find a good set of blinds and, by the time they’re done, all three of them smell like a dump.

Fumikage and Dark Shadow carry the blinds back to the apartment building since they can stretch them out between them and Dark Shadow has proven to be incredibly strong. When they get back to the building the landlord is in the foyer, much to Izuku’s dismay. He wrinkles his nose as the three (four, counting Dark Shadow), enter the building.

“Why the hell do you kids smell like you just took a trip to the dump?”

He asks. 

“Because we did.”

Shouto states. The man’s face contorts in disgust,

“Is that where you got those blinds? The fuck do you need them for.”

“So we can replace the ones we broke!”

Dark Shadow happily states. Seemingly proud of the fact that the group is fixing the issue on their own. The man stands from his seat, his expression turning from disgust to anger,

“You broke your goddamn blinds?! I knew it was going to be a mistake letting a bunch of fucking kids live here. You’ve been residents for, what, a week? And you already broke something! Plus, I don’t remember saying the crow kid could stay here.”

Izuku steps forward to say something when a woman steps into the room, having just come down from the staircase. Izuku recognizes her as one of the older residents he’s seen in the foyer. 

“What’s going on, Sukēto?”

She asks. The man whirls on her, throwing his arms up in the air,

“These damn kids haven’t even been living here a month and already broke something!”

She sighs, walking over to the kids. She glances at the blinds Fumikage and Dark Shadow still hold.

“Did they break their blinds?”

She asks. The man nods and opens his mouth to speak but she cuts him off. 

“Then what’s the problem? They already have new ones.”

“Yeah, that came from a dump!”

He retorts. The woman raises a brow,

“So did the old ones.”

The man’s face becomes red, whether with embarrassment, anger, or a mix of both Izuku can’t quite tell.

“I-well-”

The man starts sputtering, looking for something else to say,

“Just let them go up to their apartment so they can put them up and shower, Sukēto. It’s really not a big deal. Go on, kids.”

She turns to them as she says the last part, nodding over to the stairs. The four walk past her, each thanking them as they go. As they enter the staircase she leaves the building, waving at the landlord whose last name they now know is “Sukēto”.

Chapter Text

When Izuku, Shouto, and Fumikage entered the apartment they tried their best to be quiet. Both the girl and Hitoshi were asleep in their sleeping bags, turned away from the sun streaming in through the still-uncovered window. Fumikage and Dark Shadow carried the blinds into the bathroom while Izuku and Shouto grabbed the leftover cleaning supplies. The blinds had come from the dump, after all. They needed to be cleaned before they could go up on the windows. 

It didn’t take too long to get the blinds clean. Dark Shadow helped them get at some of the tighter spaces, threading between the plastic pieces and the string holding them together. When the blinds were to Izuku’s satisfaction Dark Shadow once again picked them up, carrying them out to the window. Fumikage and Dark Shadow kept the blinds up while Izuku and Shouto attached them to the window. When they were done they closed the blinds and made sure all their supplies were away. 

The sun had finished setting by the time the blinds were in place so they ate their dinner quickly, changing and ensuring all the windows were closed with the blinds drawn before climbing into their sleeping bags. Fumikage turned on his nightlight,

“Goodnight.”

He whispered. Izuku and Shouto replied in kind, snuggled up in their own sleeping bags. Quickly, the room was filled with only the sounds of light breathing and, occasionally, Dark Shadow hitting something while they tried to entertain themselves in the night.

Izuku was the first one awake in the morning, dividing up the morning rations before getting changed for the day. It was as he was digging through his duffel bag, pulling out his last clean shirt, that he realized they would need to do some laundry.

Shouto and Hitoshi were the next awake so, after they were done eating, Izuku brought his problem up to them. 

“Does our building have a laundry room?”

Hitoshi asked. Izuku shrugged,

“I don’t know. Sukēto didn’t mention one when we moved in but there also isn’t a laundromat close by.”

Shouto hummed, rising from where he was sitting.

“I’ll go ask him, then.”

Izuku watched the boy close the door as he left the apartment,

“So, what do you think the likely hood of Mr.Landlord being awake right now is?”

Hitoshi asked. Izuku didn’t bother looking away from the door before answering,

“Based on what we know about him? Very small.”

Hitoshi hummed,

“Think we should follow him?”

Izuku sighed, getting up from where he was sitting and making his way over to the door,

“Yeah.”

Hitoshi nodded, scribbling out a quick note in case one of the other two woke up while they were gone before following Izuku out of the apartment. Shouto was already halfway down the stairs by the time the two left so they had to run to catch up. They finally caught up to him just in front of the doors out of the staircase and to the lobby. They took a look around the lobby for a few minutes, trying to see if there were any other doors or passages that could lead to a laundry area. When they found none, Shouto knocked on Mr.Sukēto’s door. 

They had to knock a few times before the man finally answered the door, staring down at them with a look of barely restrained anger.

“What the fuck do you want?”

Shouto took the initiative, taking a small step forward to ensure Mr.Sukēto’s attention was on him.

“We were wondering if there was anywhere to do our laundry here.”

He asked, his voice level. Mr.Sukēto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. When his fingers came away he had left red marks on either side of his nose ridge. 

“You came down here and knocked on my door at…”

He looked down at the watch on his wrist. Izuku wondered if he slept with it or if part of the reason he had taken so long was that he had to put it on.

“Seven in the morning. Just to ask if there was somewhere to do your laundry?”

His entire face was starting to redden, causing him to look a little like a tomato. Shouto nodded,

“Yes, sir.”

Shouto replied. Mr.Sukēto was glaring down at them now, 

“Of course, there fucking isn’t! What, you think I’m made of fucking money?! If you wanna do laundry you either gotta find some other place to do it or suck it up and use your bathtub like the other residents. Who, by the way, don’t knock on my door before noon!”

With that the door was slammed in their face, causing the three boys to flinch back, though Shouto’s was a bit more subtle than the others. 

Izuku sighed,

“We should go back up to the apartment and grab our bags. We need to buy detergent and a bath plug.”

The other two nodded and followed Izuku up the stairs back to the apartment. When they got there they found Fumikage, Dark Shadow, and the girl talking as they ate breakfast. The three looked up from their conversation when the others entered the room, saying good morning before returning to their conversation. Izuku, Shouto, and Hitoshi all grabbed their duffel bags from where they sat near their sleeping bags, catching the attention of Dark Shadow.

“Where are you three going?”

They asked. Izuku smiled,

“We need to buy laundry detergent and a bath plug. There aren’t any washing machines so we’ll need to use the bathtub to hand wash the clothes.”

The girl piped up from where she was sitting,

“You should get some elbow-length rubber gloves and a sponge or washboard or something too.”

Izuku nodded,

“Right. You should come, too. We should get you some clothes and food to keep in your duffel bag.”

The girl immediately started to panic,

“Oh, no! It’s fine, you don’t need to spend all that on me!-”

Izuku raised her hand to cut her off,

“I promise I won’t get you anything that’s not a necessity. Plus, who said we were going to buy all of it?”

His smile turned slightly sharp and mischievous while the girl stared at him in shock. Fumikage stood from where he was sitting in front of her and grabbed his own bag. 

“I hope you don’t mind but I would like to come as well. I’d rather not be left here alone.”

Hitoshi nodded and, after sparing a glance at the girl, speed walked over to the hall closed and pulled out one of the extra duffel bags. It was dusty pink in colour and the girl took it gratefully. She followed Hitoshi back to the small group now waiting by the door, copying what they had all done and slinging her bag across her body. It was as the group was walking out of the building and out onto the street that Hitoshi glanced over at her and finally realized something,

“Hey!”

He called, causing everyone to jump. Izuku stopped and, as he was at the front of the group, everyone else stopped as well. 

“What’s up, Hitoshi?”

He asked. Hitoshi pointed over to the girl,

“I just realized we don’t know her name.”

He said. The girl blushed, 

“Oh, right, sorry. I’m Ochako.”

Hitoshi nodded,

“I’m Hitoshi.”

“Izuku.”

“Shouto.”

“Fumikage.”

Dark Shadow popped out of Fumikage’s chest, doing jazz hands.

“And I’m Dark Shadow!”

Ochako smiled a small, happy smile,

“It’s nice to meet all of you!”

Chapter Text

Izuku, Hitoshi, Shouto, Fumikage, and Ochako walked silently out of the Red Light District to a hundred-yen store near the edge of the Musutafu district. Izuku took Ochako in with him while Hitoshi took the other two to another store nearby. A group of five kids walking into one store would be a little suspicious, after all. 

Izuku smiled at the cashier stationed near the door, leading Ochako to the cleaning section. The girl was clearly nervous so he did his best to quietly reassure her. He made sure to keep track of all the cameras in the store, which was easy since there weren’t many. The place was in the more run-down part of the district, after all. 

Ochako carried a plastic shopping basket between them and, when they got to the aisle, she helped him pick out the best of the cheap soaps. She picked up two of the same brand, putting them next to each other in the basket. When Izuku went to reach for something labelled as a detergent she stopped him,

“The soaps I have can be used for dishes, clothes, and cleaning up spills.”

She explained. Izuku nodded, instead reaching up for a few pairs of elbow-length gloves. He had made sure they were standing in a camera blind spot so he took two pairs off the hook, putting one into the basket and, as discreetly as possible, tucking the other into his duffel bag. When he withdrew his hand he was holding a notebook. He flipped it open to a random page and acted as if he was checking a list before tucking it away, and zipping up the bag. Ochako looked at him with a scared expression as he dragged her down a different aisle. 

“Do you think they sell washboards here?”

He asked. She shook her head,

“No, stores don’t really sell those anymore. We can make our own pretty easily, though.”

Izuku nodded,

“Alright. Can you pick out the things we’ll need?”

She nodded, picking out a few items from different aisles. When they were in places Izuku knew the cameras couldn’t see them he tucked things into his duffel bag but most of the things still ended up in the basket. When they got up to the check out their basket contained two bottles of Dusk soap, one pair of elbow-length rubber gloves, one cheese grate, two metal buckets, two thick wood dowels, and a small plastic easel. On top of their purchases, Izuku had two dowels, a metal bucket, a can of beans, and five sponges in his bag.

Checking out was easy, Izuku talking to the cashier as she rang up their purchases. He paid with Endeavor’s credit card, waving as he and Ochako carried a bag each out of the store. As soon as they were far enough away Ochako turned her head so she could whisper to Izuku. 

“I can’t believe we just stole from that store!”

She exclaimed. Izuku shrugged,

“It can be a little nerve-wracking but you’ll get used to it, more or less.”

He reassured. He leads them down to the center of the street, sitting down on a bench to wait for the others. He kicks his legs as he surveys the crowd, looking around for the three they had split off from. It’s as he’s watching that he sees a man running down the street, a purse clutched to his chest. A moment later he hears a woman scream, pointing in the direction the man had run in. 

“Stop, thief! Someone help!”

After another quick look Izuku sees that there aren’t any pros in the area. He jumps off the bench, telling Ochako to stay and watch their things as he runs off into the crowd. He can just barely see the man over the heads of other people and he’s about to catch up when a boy around his age jumps out of the crowd in front of the man. The man stops, looking for a way to get around the boy when he makes a grab for the purse. The man sneers,

“Quit trying to be a hero and let me through!”

He whisper-shouts. The boy stands his ground and Izuku sees his skin change, certain areas becoming sharp while others just seem to harden. The man chuckles, he goes to bat the boy out of the way but he only sways. The man snaps his hand back, cradling it to his chest with the purse. Izuku is behind the man now and he makes eye contact with the boy from around the man. The boy takes a few steps back and Izuku kicks at the back of the man’s knees, sending him buckling to the ground. 

The boy snatches the purse from his grip and starts running back through the crowd toward the woman who was still calling for help. Izuku hears the sound of police sirens getting closer as he runs the same way as the boy, trying to get away from the man before he decides to retaliate. When he gets back he sees the boy’s hair being ruffled by the woman as she stares down at him, clearly thankful. When the boy sees Izuku emerge from the crowd he points toward him and the woman looks over, smiling when she lays eyes on Izuku.

“Come over here, hun. I’d like to talk to you.”

She says kindly. Izuku makes his way over, glancing over at Ochako to make sure she’s still on the bench before stopping in front of the woman.

“Thank you very much for getting my purse back for me.”

She says. Izuku smiles, rubbing the back of his neck,

“It wasn’t a problem at all, miss.”

She smiles as she starts rummaging through her purse.

“Oh, nonsense. You and your friend were a big help. Here.”

She says, holding out a five-thousand yen bill.

“A small token of my thanks.”

Izuku takes it, slipping it into his duffel bag before bowing.

“Thank you very much, ma’am. I hope the rest of your day goes well.”

The woman bows too, though not as deeply as Izuku had.

“I hope so too! Goodbye!”

She walks away, her purse clutched tightly in her grip. Izuku turns to the boy, who was still standing next to him. He had a five-thousand yen bill clutched in his hand.

“Thanks for your help man! I don’t think I could have gotten her purse back without it.”

Izuku smiles,

“Of course! I’m Izuku, you?”

“I’m Eijirou!”

Chapter Text

Izuku waves to Eijirou as he and Ochako leave the main square, having spotted the other three on the other end. The group talked all the way back to the apartment, the main topic of interest being Izuku’s encounter with the minor villain. Ochako apologized for not doing anything to help but Izuku waved her off, telling her she had nothing to apologize for. 

When they get back to the apartment everything is unpacked quickly. Ochako is the one to take apart all the items she had Izuku got, putting the pieces back together to form a DIY washboard. 

“So can you just make, like, anything?”

Hitoshi asks once she’s done. Ochako shrugs,

“It depends but yeah, mostly.”

Hitoshi nods, staring at the washboard. Izuku picks it up, carrying it along with the gloves and soap.

“Anyone wanna help with the laundry?”

Ochako was the only one to volunteer, the other three staying silent. Izuku rolls his eyes teasingly, 

“We’ll come up with a chore rota later. For now, just bring your dirty clothes into the bathroom. Oh, and bring one of the tap filters too.”

Before following Izuku into the bathroom Ochako helps carry laundry and the filter into the bathroom. Once they have everything she turns on Shouto, Hitoshi, and Tokoyami. Grabbing them before they can leave.

“Go and find some string and tape or something. We’ll need to set up a clothesline outside the windows so the clothes dry.”

The three boys nod, closing the door behind them as they leave. She sighs, pulling on one of the pairs of gloves before kneeling next to Izuku. He finishes twisting the filter onto the tap quickly, turning on the warm water. He lets the water run for a moment before plugging the tub and pouring some of the soap into the water. Ochako lowers the washboard into the tub, stirring the water so the bubbles form faster. Once the water is covering the legs of the washboard the two set to work, taking turns scrubbing clothes on the washboard and rinsing them off in the water. 

Izuku puts all the washes clothes in a pile on a towel next to him, watching as it slowly grows. By the time they were done, lunchtime had passed and they were both hungry. Their arms hurt to the point of being near numb. Izuku groaned as he stood for the first time in hours, nearly falling as his knees nearly gave out. His legs quickly took on the feeling of pins and needles as he stepped out of the bathroom, calling for the other three to hang the soaking clothes out to dry. Shouto helps Ochako stand and stabilize before taking up an armful of clothes, turning his head to the side so he can see. 

Izuku and Ochako rest on their sleeping bags and watch as Shouto, Hitoshi, Tokoyami, and Dark Shadow hang the clothes out on their makeshift clothesline. Each piece of clothing is pinned up in increasingly creative ways, ranging from regular pins to paper clips to pieces of plastic and even binding rings from an old notebook they had found left in the apartment. 

Hitoshi doles out the dinner rations, complaining the whole time about the wet spot on his shirt from carrying the sopping clothes. Izuku smiles and promises that, since the clothes likely wouldn’t be dry by morning, they’d go shopping for more. Shoto snorts,

“You mean steal.”

Izuku playfully smacks him on the arm, though he doesn’t deny the accusation. Shoto does the dishes while Izuku pulls out one of his extra notebooks, gathering the others around him.

“Alright, since chores have become a bit of an issue I think we need to come up with a rotation.”

He states. The others agree as he starts scribbling, drawing out a table for the rest of the month. 

“Since Ochako and I already did the laundry this week someone else will have to do it next week. Any volunteers?”

Tokoyami hesitantly raises his hand,

“As it is a two-person job I believe myself and Dark Shadow will be the best fit.”

Izuku nods, putting them down for laundry despite Dark Shadow’s complaints. From there it’s easy to assign each of them different chores, including cleaning the apartment, doing the dishes, and grocery shopping. By the time they were done Shouto had finished with the dishes and had joined them in their circle. Izuku tears out the pages he had used, taping them up on an empty wall. 

“We should get a corkboard.”

Hitoshi states. Izuku nods,

“Probably, but this will do for now.”

Hitoshi hums, stretching his arms above his head as he yawns. He sets off a chain reaction, starting with Shouto and ending with Izuku. All of them silently agree that it’s time for bed, turning off all the lights and snuggling up in their sleeping bags. Dark Shadow turns on the night light, saving Tokoyami the effort. Goodnights are muttered before they all drift off to sleep, the apartment filling with the sound of soft snoring.

--------

Izuku is the first to wake up the next morning, taking his time to organize their morning rations. He’s walking past the sleeping bags to grab something from his duffel bag, which he had left near the bathroom the day before when he sees Ochako curled up in a ball. She has tear tracks running down her cheeks and her expression is clearly pained. Izuku kneels down next to her, gently shaking her shoulder until she wakes. Her eyes open slowly and, upon seeing Izuku kneeling in front of her, she sits up, rubbing at her cheeks. 

“Are you okay?”

He asks, an expression of concern on his face as he watches Ochako stand. 

“I’m fine!”

She replies, avoiding eye contact. Izuku gets up from the floor, holding out his arms in a silent offer. Ochako immediately throws herself into Izuku, crying into his shoulder like she had just a few days ago. Izuku holds her tightly, watching over her shoulder as the other three wake up. They take one glance at Izuku and Ochako before stopping, settling back into their bags so they don’t disturb her. 

It takes a few minutes for Ochako’s sobs to turn to hiccups but, when they do, Izuku slowly untangles himself. He picks up her morning rations, handing them to her quietly. She settles down on her sleeping bag, opening the wrapper of a protein bar. Hitoshi takes this as his cue to get up, grabbing his own breakfast before sitting back down. Shouto and Tokoyami quickly follow, Izuku being the last to settle back on his sleeping bag with his food. 

They eat in silence, throwing out their garbage when they’re done. Hitoshi wanders into the kitchen, brewing a pot of coffee for the morning. He gives some to Izuku and Shouto, Tokoyami and Ochako declining when it’s offered to them. Shouto takes up his carving once again, this time sitting a few feet away from the sleeping bags to make cleanup easier.

Morning sun drifts in from the open blinds and Izuku opens the window to adjust the clothesline to make sure the clothes are in the light. No one talks, all of them content to simply sit in comfortable silence. 

Chapter Text

The morning is relatively uneventful, the most exciting thing being Hitoshi nearly spilling his coffee while he’s pouring it. By the time afternoon has rolled around all five of them are lying, bored, on top of their sleeping bags. 

“Wanna go to the park?”

Hitoshi asks. The other four shrug, rising slowly and grabbing their duffel bags from where they left them. Hitoshi helps Shouto apply the foundation to his scar before they leave, and Izuku locks the apartment door behind them. They walk silently down the stairs and out the front door, falling into a single-file line so they don’t take up to much room on the sidewalk. The trek to the park is long and it takes them a while to get there but, when they finally arrive, Izuku is excited to see Eijirou playing on the equipment. Eijirou sees them approaching from the top of the monkey bars. He jumps down, using his quirk to soften the blow before running over.

“Hey, Izuku! I didn’t think I’d see you again after yesterday, do you live nearby?”

Izuku shakes his head,

“No, we live pretty far away, actually. We just came here 'cause it’s the only one we know how to get to.”

Eijirou tilts his head, looking past Izuku at the others grouped behind him.

“‘We’? Do you all live together?”

Shouto nods, surveying the area. Eijirou looks at him, obviously expecting him to elaborate but, when he doesn’t, Fumikage picks up the slack.

“We do, yes. From my understanding, though, the apartment we currently share is a new edition.”

Izuku nods,

“Yeah, actually we got it the day you moved in.”

Izuku says, turning to face Fumikage. The other boy nods and Eijirou looks at them with surprise,

“What about your parents?”

Ochako looks away, her eyes watering. Hitoshi doesn’t reply and Shouto doesn’t look like he heard the question. Fumikage and Izuku just shrug. Eijirou nods as if these were all acceptable answers before gesturing over at the play structures.

“Wanna play heroes with me? I’m Crimson Riot.”

Izuku nods,

“Sure.”

The other four nod as well, following Eijirou as he leads them over to the largest structure, complete with two slides and a set of monkey bars. The six climb up onto the largest play structure, gathering to decide their roles. Shouto volunteers to be the villain for the first round, which then makes assigning heroes a little easier. Hitoshi decides on being Eraserhead, an underground hero that he says used to patrol one of his old areas. Ochako says she wants to be Thirteen, Fumikage calls Hawks, and since Izuku can’t decide on a hero Hitoshi assigns him All Might.

They split off into different groups, Shouto runs off so he can "plot his evil schemes".

While Izuku and Eijirou start making their way across the monkey bars. Fumikage and Ochako start making their way over to one of the smaller structures and Hitoshi climbs down to hide underneath the large one, stating he needs to stay in the shadows. 

“Hey, Eijirou?”

Izuku asks, turning to face the other boy from his spot on the monkey bars, they were in the process of getting across them, both now hanging in the air. Izuku had been looking over the park and hadn’t seen any other kids. It had confused him until he realized it was a school day and, technically, all of them were supposed to be in class. He knew why the others weren’t, but he didn’t know why Eijirou wasn’t. 

“Yeah, Izuku?”

“Why are you are the park on a school day?”

Eijirou shrugs, swinging back and forth slowly.

“My mom had to work an early shift this morning and didn’t have the time to drive me in. Why aren’t you in school today?”

“I don’t go anymore, it’s a waste of time.”

With that, Izuku turns back around, swinging a few times to build up momentum before reaching for the next bar. Eijirou follows after him, trying to catch up. Izuku lands on the next platform before Eijirou, only to see Shouto, who had agreed to be the villain for their first round, rush around the corner. Izuku yelped, turning to see that Eijirou was still a few bars behind. He urged the other boy to hurry while watching Shouto approach. He had seen the two boys and was now picking up speed, kicking up sand as he ran. 

Eijirou finally landed on the platform and Izuku grabbed his hand, not wasting any time in pulling him in the opposite direction. Izuku saw Hitoshi and Ochako on the top of one of the play structures and he waved to get their attention, 

“We’re being chased!”

He called out. Ochako finally saw them, a look of surprise overtaking her face as she started climbing down. Hitoshi ran out from underneath the structure, rushing toward the group.

“I’m here to provide backup!”

He called. Shouto stalled, realizing he was now outnumbered. He tried to retreat but he had been moving too fast. So, instead of getting away, he kicked up a bunch of sand before landing on his back. He started laughing, staring up at three standing over him. They started laughing, too, Izuku’s grip on Eijirou’s hand loosening as he doubled over. Ochako finally reached them, trying to hide her laughter behind her hands. Izuku could even hear Fumikage chuckling from where the top of the smaller structure. 

Finally, when their laughter had died down, Izuku held out his hand to help Shouto up. The other boy took it, rising to his feet slowly. Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over the group. Izuku looked up at the sky, frowning when he saw large clouds starting to gather. 

“We should probably head home. It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

He says. The others look up as well, humming in agreement. Izuku looks over at Eijirou, who seems more worried than the others. 

“Do you wanna come with us?”

He asks. Eijirou looks over, startled,

“Really?”

Izuku nods,

“Yeah, why not?”

Eijirou smiles,

“Thanks, man!”

Chapter Text

Izuku leads the group as they run back the way they came to the apartment, trying to beat the rain. They make it back to the building just as the rain starts to fall. They stumble into the lobby, Ochako banging into Eijirou as they stumble. Mr.Sukēto watches them from his place at the front desk. He has his feet propped up in front of him, shoes kicked off by the desk. Izuku watches as the man mouths numbers, counting the group. 

“There are six of you but I only remember selling that apartment to three brat kids. Explain.”

Izuku puts on his best puppy eyes, stepping forward to separate himself from the group. The others exchange a glance before doing the same, staring up at the landlord as they peek around each other.

“But sir, there was nothing in our contract that said we couldn’t have friends over!”

The man glared at them as he took his feet off the desk and stood. 

“These better just be friends your having over. If I find out there are six fucking kids staying in my building I’ll have you all kicked to the curb, understood?”

Izuku smiles,

“Understood, sir!”

The man nods as he rips open the door to his apartment, slamming it behind him. The kids stand there for a moment before Izuku shrugs, waving everyone towards the stairs. They walk up to the apartment in silence, patiently waiting for Izuku to unlock it as they listen to the rain hitting the walls outside. When they’re finally inside the apartment they gather in the center of the room on the sleeping bags. 

“So…does anyone want to play Go Fish?”

Eijirou asks, pulling a deck of cards out of his pocket. Everyone else just stares at him as he takes the plastic off the box.

“Why do you have a deck of cards?”

Hitoshi asks. Eijirou shrugs,

“You never know when you’ll need a deck. Are you playing?”

Hitoshi sighs, shifting so he’s comfortable. 

“Yeah, sure.”

The others quickly join in, arranging themselves in a circle as Eijirou passes out cards. Since there are so many of them everyone only gets five cards instead of seven. Eijirou places the remaining cards in a stack in the center of the circle. 

“Who’s going first?”

Ochako asks. When no one says anything she sighs, turning to Izuku.

“Do you have any tens?”

She asks. He shakes his head,

“Go fish.”

She reaches over, taking a card from the center deck. The game continues from there, and Izuku asks Shouto next. The game goes on for ten minutes, by which point the center deck had been completely used up. All of them count up their sets of cards, Shouto counting for significantly longer than any of the others.

“24.”

He finally says, stacking his cards. Hitoshi takes a deep breath as he stares and Shouto’s stack of matches.

“How the fuck did you get so many pairs?”

He asks. Shouto shrugs, refusing to elaborate. Hitoshi narrows his eyes before sighing, his shoulders falling as he gives up. 

“Is there something else we could play?”

He asks. 

“Poker?”

Ochako suggests. Everyone’s attention immediately goes to her,

“How do you know how to play that?”

Eijirou asks. She smiles as she gathers up the cards, shuffling them in her hands.

“I had to help my family earn money somehow. I can teach you how to play if you want, we don’t even have to bet anything for the first few rounds.”

Hitoshi nods,

“Sure, why not.”

Ochako grins,

“Perfect. I’ll be the dealer for the first few rounds.”

She set the deck down in the center of the circle, discarding the top card before handing out two cards to each of them. 

“Alright, Izuku are you ready to write down all the different hands?”

Izuku nods, already ready with his pen over an empty page in his notebook. 

“A royal flush is a ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit, a straight flush is five consecutive cards of the same suit, four of a kind is four cards of the same rank and one card of any rank, a full house is three cards of one rank with two matching cards of another rank, a flush is any five cards of the same suit, a straight is five cards of consecutive rank from more than one suit, a three of a kind is three cards of the same rank with two unmatched cards, a two pair is two cards of one rank with two cards of another rank and one unmatched card, a pair is two cards of the same rank with three unmatched cards, and a high card is when no cards match at all and it’s useless.” 

She turns to Izuku, who had stopped writing in his book.

“Did you get all that?”

She asks. He nods, proudly holding up the pages he had filled with the definitions of each hand.

“Perfect, we can have it in the middle so everyone can look at it. Everyone ready to play?”

Most of them look at least marginally confused but they agree anyway, picking up the two cards they had been given. Ochako places three cards down face up in front of the deck and the game starts.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi, Shouto, and Fumikage all sit back to watch Izuku, Ochako, and Eijirou look each other over. They’d been playing poker for around two hours at that point, the rain long gone, and it had become apparent that the three were the better poker players in the group. They’d even been able to put away Izuku’s list of rules. There was a small pile of yen in the middle of the three, though the total was barely ¥4,992. 

Finally, Izuku made his call, leading the other two to quickly make theirs. They each revealed their cards and Eijirou cheered when he realized he had the best hand. He scooped up his winnings, dumping them into the duffel bag that he had been given from the closet. Izuku groaned as he leaned back on his hands. He turned his head to look out the window, narrowing his eyes at the sun as it was preparing to set. 

“It’s later than I thought. Are you okay with staying the night, Eijirou?”

He asked. The other boy hummed, studying the sky.

“Yeah, I think so. It’s not a problem, right?”

Izuku shook his head as he rose, wandering into the kitchen.

“No, it’s not a problem.”

Eijirou nodded and helped Ochako gather the cards and put them back in the box. Once everything was cleaned up Eijirou, Ochako, Shouto, Hitoshi, Fumikage, and Dark Shadow all gathered to play clapping games. They broke off into one group of three and one of two, starting up games of Concentration. 

Izuku finished in the kitchen around a half hour later, calling for the others to get their plates. Once they all had their plate they gathered back around the sleeping bags, eating silently. They finished quickly and Fumikage and Dark Shadow collected the dishes so they could wash them. 

Izuku got a sleeping bag out of the hall closet and set it up beside Shouto’s on the left end of the lineup. Eijirou thanked him and sat down on top of it. The others all gathered around him and the clapping games resumed, this time with Izuku taking the place of Fumikage. They played for around twenty minutes, by which point Fumikage and Dark Shadow were done with the dishes. Izuku pulled the clothesline back in from outside and sighed as he saw that they were still sopping wet from the rain. 

“So much for hanging them out to dry…”

He muttered. He pushed the clothes back outside when he realized they were dripping on the floor. Shouto grabbed a towel from the bathroom and cleaned up the drips. 

Ochako looked over at them from her spot in front of Hitoshi.

“We probably should have brought those in earlier, you all stink.”

Hitoshi sticks his tongue out at her as he tries to sneakily smell his armpits. He ends up gagging.

“Do we even have any shampoo or anything?”

Shouto asks as he tugs at his greasy hair. It hadn’t been too noticeable due to the black dye, but it had become more apparent as of late. Ochako shrugs,

“We have the dish soap. That’ll work well enough.”

Hitoshi nods and gets up from his spot on the floor, jogging into the kitchen to grab the soap from under the sink. Once he’s grabbed it he runs off into the bathroom. The door closes behind him but, after a minute, he pokes his head out.

“Do we have any towels?”

He asks. Izuku shrugs and looks through the hall closet. 

“Ummm…yup!”

Izuku cheers as he pulls a bath towel out of the closet. It’s a little dusty but there’s no mould or holes so he hands it off to Hitoshi. 

“Thanks.”

He says as he ducks back into the bathroom. A moment later, the sound of water hitting porcelain filled the apartment. They also heard a small yelp and Hitoshi’s voice over the sound of the water,

“Just so you know, we don’t get hot water!”

Izuku shudders as he settles onto his sleeping bag. Fumikage sits down beside him,

“We could boil some water if we so wished.”

He said. Izuku shook his head,

“We don’t have a kettle yet.”

Fumikage hummed and they went back to sitting in silence, the only sound being Ochako and Eijirou playing a game of Concentration.

Hitoshi finished his shower twenty minutes later. He came out wearing a hoodie he had found at the bottom of his duffel bag. It didn’t smell very good but it was something. Izuku went in after him, Shouto went in after him, and Fumikage went in after him. Shouto’s hair maintained its dyed colour, something they hadn’t quite expected since the dye had been pretty cheap. 

Now that they were all clean they gathered into their sleeping bags. 

“We should really get some new clothes tomorrow.”

Hitoshi says. 

“We don’t have quite enough.”

Izuku hums in agreement.

“I think we have enough for that. It would be good to get some more food, too.”

Eijirou turns in his bag so he can join the conversation.

“Speaking of tomorrow, I don’t think I’ll be able to go to school then either. I left my backpack at home and there’s no way I’ll be getting back in time.”

Izuku shrugs.

“You can stay here if you want. You won’t have to worry about school and you’ll be able to have a powerful position in the government after we take it over.”

Eijirou’s eyes narrow,

“You guys plan on taking over the government?”

Izuku nods enthusiastically, propping himself up on his elbows.

“Yeah! The Hero Commission actually encourages things like quirk discrimination and tries their best to keep poor people in areas like the Red Light district so that they have a plentiful supply of villains for their limelight heroes to fight. I’m also pretty sure they’re hiding a lot of things that are incredibly illegal. I’ve been trying to learn how to hack so I can access their records.”

Eijirou smiles,

“Sounds manly! Yeah, I’ll join you.”

Izuku smiles and nods,

“Great!”

Hitoshi turns to glare at the two from his sleeping bag,

“Perfect, a new member. Now can you both please go to sleep? You’re being incredibly loud.”

Izuku winces,

“Sorry, Hitoshi.”

Hitoshi grumbles as he turns back around. Izuku and Eijirou both settle back into their sleeping bags. Izuku turns towards the light of Fumikage’s night light, falling asleep with a small smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Izuku is woken by the sun shining through the blinds in the morning. He rubs his eyes as he sits up. He glances to his side, eyes landing on Eijirou’s empty sleeping bag. Panic momentarily overtakes him and he unzips his bag as quickly as he can. His head whips from side to side as he searches for the other boy. He calms down near immediately when he spots the boy in the kitchen, standing in front of the oven. Izuku sighs and wanders into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Eijirou!”

He exclaims. Eijirou turns from where he’s working over the oven. 

“Good morning, Izuku!”

Izuku looks over Eijirou’s shoulder to see what he’s doing. There’s a large pan on the stove filled with eggs and what Izuku assumes is ham.

“Where’d you get the ingredients for an omelet?”

Izuku asks. Eijirou shrugs,

“There were some eggs in the fridge but I didn’t think they would be enough so I asked your neighbour to the left for some. She asked what I was making and when I told her she gave me some ham, too. She said the ham was going to expire soon and she couldn’t think of anything else to use it for. Before she closed the door, though, I think she muttered “Those kids just keep multiplying”?”

Izuku chuckles as he grabs a cup from the cupboard and fills it with water from the sink. He watches as Hitoshi wakes and decides to start up the coffee machine for him. 

“Thanks.”

Hitoshi mumbles as he stumbles into the kitchen, stopping in front of the coffee machine so he can watch as the pot fills. Shouto and Fumikage walk into the kitchen side by side, both getting cups of water from the sink. Ochako comes in next, smiling in lew of a good morning. 

“Can I have some of the coffee when it's done, Hitoshi?”

She asks. The other boy nods but doesn’t look away from the now half-filled pot. Eijirou turns off the oven and grabs a stack of plates from one of the cupboards.

“Breakfast is ready if you want some.”

He says. Everyone gets into a line so that the oven doesn’t become crowded and, within a few minutes, each of them has a glob of eggs and ham on their plates. Before Hitoshi starts eating he pours himself, Ochako, and Izuku coffee. The other two thank him before taking long sips from their mugs. 

“Do we have anything to do today?”

Fumikage asks. Everyone else, minus Eijirou, is quick to answer,

“Clothes shopping.”

Fumikage nods, finishing off the last of his omelet. Once everyone’s done there’s a small pile of dishes by the sink. 

“Everyone grab your duffel bag.”

Izuku instructs,

“I’ll divide the yen we have in cash so we can split up and get done faster.”

Eijirou nods, though he looks a little nervous.

“Um, Izuku?”

He asks. The other boy turns to him, urging him on with a smile. 

“Do you think I’ll be able to return to school at some point? Or to my apartment, at least? My mom will probably be worried by now.”

Izuku nods slowly,

“Once the shopping is done I can go with you to your building if you want.”

Eijirou smiles,

“Yeah!”

He hurries off into the living room to grab the bag Izuku had grabbed him the night before and Izuku follows after, watching as the others gather by the door. Once he has his bag he checks on the clothes that were still drying outside. Some of them were still a little damp so he looks up, trying to discern if it was going to rain that day. The sky is a bright blue and he can’t see any clouds so he decides to leave the clothes where they are, hoping they’ll be dry by the time they’re back. 

The group arranges themselves into a single file line and starts making their way out of the building. Izuku is at the front of the line and Ochako makes up the rear. The foyer is empty when they get to the bottom of the staircase. They continue to walk in a line as they get outside, sticking to the right side of the sidewalk. As they walk they pass quite a few other people on the street. Two of which were a mother with her son. The two had stared at the group as they passed, the son with a look of awe and the mother a look of fear and pity. 

When they finally reached their destination, a small row of clothing stores. Izuku stops just before the first store, turning to face the group. 

“Alright. We should split up into the different shops so we don’t cause too much suspicion from the workers. If you’re confident you can try to steal an article or two but since everyone has twenty thousand yen it shouldn’t be too big a problem.”

Everyone else nods and agrees before splitting off into even groups. Since there are three stores they split into pairs. Hitoshi with Fumikage, Shouto with Izuku, and Eijirou with Ochako. Hitoshi and Fumikage head into the store that focuses more on hoodies and comfortable clothes, Shouto and Izuku head into the more general clothing store, and Eijirou goes with Ochako into the more sporty store that also has a small dress section. 

Chapter Text

Hitoshi picks up a black hoodie with a cat’s face just barely showing on the chest. Fumikage nods and Hitoshi folds it into the basket. Fumikage shows him a purple hoodie with black text reading “Shadows Live Inside Me” Hitoshi hides his laugh behind his hand and nods, smiling when he sees Dark Shadow peeking out of Fumikage’s shirt, making sure the two don’t pick anything they don’t approve of. They’re also hiding laughter behind their claw. 

Now that both of them had four hoodies in their basket, along with four sets of sweat pants. And, much to their dismay, a pair of leggings and a t-shirt each since Izuku had insisted they have at least something that wasn’t baggy, they were ready to check out. 

The cashier was a tired-looking teen with heavy bags under their eyes. They barely blinked when the two kids came up to the counter, merely ringing through their clothes and packing them away in a bag.

“Your total is twenty thousand yen. How well you be paying?”

“Cash, please.”

Hitoshi says. Both he had Fumikage take ten-thousand yen from their wads of twenty thousand and put it on the tray beside the register. The cashier stares at the small pile of cash for a moment before picking it up and counting it quickly before sorting the bills into the register. They hand Fumikage the bag of clothes as the register dings, processing their purchase.

“Thank you for shopping with us. Have a good day.”

“Thanks, you too.”

The two kids say in unison, bowing briefly before leaving the store. They sit down on a bench in the center of the square and lean back, the bag of clothes between them.

“How long do you think the others will take?”

Hitoshi asks. Fumikage shrugs,

“Who am I to predict the timeframe in which our companions arrive?”

“So you don’t know?”

Fumikage shakes his head and Hitoshi sighs, closing his eyes.

“Wake me up when they get here.”

Fumikage hums to let Hitoshi know he heard him as he watches the people around them.

--------

Shouto just throws a few simple and cheap shirts, pants, and shorts into his basket. Izuku is a little more methodical with his choices, grabbing a few shirts and pants in darker colours and others in lighter ones. By the time both of them were done they each had four shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of shorts, and a pack of socks. 

When they get to the checkout the cashier looks at them a little skeptically, looking around the store before turning to the two, a fake smile on her face.

“And where are your parents, kiddos?”

Izuku plasters on his most innocent smile, though Shouto can see the glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

“Dead, ma’am.”

The woman’s eyes widen and her smile falls when Shouto nods along,

“Yes, they died in a car crash a year or so ago. Tragic, really.”

The woman coughs into her hand, beginning to ring their items through.

“I’m so sorry! Is there not anyone looking after you?”

She glances around the store again, but the only other person in there is a tired-looking woman with a baby in a carrier on her chest. She has a distinctive mutation, similar to Aka’s, and her baby looks quite similar. Izuku shakes his head, drawing the woman’s attention back to him,

“Oh, no. Our parents drove all their family members away since they were constantly drunk and had no respect for any of them. As far as we know, we have no surviving family members.”

The woman is getting visibly uncomfortable, something that both boys delight in. She finally starts bagging their items, now looking at the register for the price. 

“Your total is twenty-two-thousand-six-hundred. How do you two plan on paying?”

She asks. It's clear in her voice that she expects the two to panic and complain about not having enough. Instead, both pull out their twenty-thousand yen bills. They both place eleven-thousand-three-hundred in the tray by the register. The woman’s eyes widen marginally and she starts picking through the pile, inspecting each bill thoroughly as she looks for forgeries. At this point, the mother had joined them in line and was clearly getting impatient.

“For fucks sake, if you haven’t found a fake yet just count it up and put it away!”

She says, bouncing her fussing baby. The cashier looks sheepish as she finally sorts the bills into the register and hands Izuku their bags. 

“Right, here you are. Have a good day.”

Izuku and Shouto both thank her as they bow, leaving with smirks on their faces. They quickly spot Hitoshi and Fumikage on their bench and start making their way over. As they get closer Fumikage gently shakes Hitoshi on the shoulder, stirring the boy to open one of his eyes. He waves when they’re close enough. 

“Hey. D’ya know when Eijirou and Ochako will be back?”

Izuku shakes his head, placing their bags under the bench and sitting down on the ground beside them. Hitoshi hums and leans back into the bench. They fall into a comfortable silence as they wait for their last members.

--------

Ochako holds up a nice, simple pink dress to show Eijirou. The boy nods enthusiastically. 

“I think that’d look great on you, Ochako! What do you think about this?”

He holds up a simple black long-sleeve since Izuku had insisted they each have something practical to wear in case they went out on a “mission”.

Ochako nods and they both add their choices to their baskets. They both had three shirts, three pairs of pants, socks, and a pair of shorts. The only addition being Ochako’s dress. As they’re walking up to the register, talking about the clothes they had picked, they heard someone squeal shortly before a pink girl who looked to be around their age barreled into Eijirou, nearly knocking him over. 

“Eijirou! I haven’t seen you in a few days, where have you been?”

She asks, finally pulling away from the boy she had been squeezing. Eijirou smiles sheepishly, 

“Sorry, Mina, my mom’s been too busy to drive me to school.”

The girl, Mina, frowns. It’s an expression Ochako recognizes, one someone wears when they want to help another, but don’t know how. Or, when they’ve become used to something but still don’t really like it.

“I’m sure my parents could drive you.”

She offers. 

“It really wouldn’t be a problem.”

Eijirou shakes his head,

“No, really it's okay. It's a good thing! I made some new friends at the park. This is Ochako,”

He says, gesturing behind him and the girl. Mina leans to the side so she can she behind Eijirou, breaking out into a wide grin when she sees the other girl. 

“Hi! It's nice to meet you, I’m Mina!”

She proclaims. Ochako smiles back, though hers is a little more subdued.

“It's nice to meet you too! I’m Ochako.”

Mina nods to herself before turning back to Eijirou,

“You said ‘friends’ plural. Who are the others?”

“Oh! Well, there’s Izuku, who I met first, then Hitoshi, Shouto, and Fumikage.”

Mina nods along as Eijirou talks, obviously committing all the names to memory.

“Do you think I can meet all of them? My parents are just down the street at a nearby restaurant, I’m sure they won’t mind.”

Eijirou nods enthusiastically,

“Yeah! Just let us pay for this stuff first.”

Mina nods and follows behind the two as they head to the checkout. The cashier doesn’t give them any problems, merely scanning their items and sorting away their twenty-thousand-six hundred yen into the register before sending them on their way. They find the others on the bench quickly. As they approach Hitoshi opens his eyes and Izuku looks down from the sky.

“Hey!”

Eijirou calls out.

“I found one of my friends from school. Everyone this is-”

“Hi! I’m Mina!”

Chapter Text

Izuku smiles, jumping up from his place on the ground.

“Hi, Mina! I’m Izuku!”

Shouto raises his hand,

“Shouto.”

Before Fumikage gets a chance to speak Dark Shadow floats up, coming to a stop above his head.

“I’m Dark Shadow and this is Fumikage!”

Hitoshi settles back against the bench,

“I’m Hitoshi.”

Mina smiles, waving enthusiastically.

“It’s nice to meet you all!”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Izuku replies, still the only other one standing. 

“Actually, we were going to go see my mom now, if you wanted to come along, Mina.”

The girl nods, her expression becoming a little more serious.

“Yeah, sure. My parents are expecting me home in around an hour and a half so that should be enough time.”

Hitoshi sighs, grabbing his bag as he slides off the bench. 

“More walking, then?”

Eijirou shrugs,

“We don’t live that far away. Maybe about a ten to fifteen-minute walk?”

Fumikage and Shouto grab their bags as well. Shouto hands Izuku his and the group sets off further into the city, Eijirou and Mina in the lead.

--------

They arrive at a small house twelve minutes later. Eijirou looks over the driveway and, upon seeing a small black car parked on the cement, walks up to the front door. He lifts the doormat and removes a key from underneath, sliding it into the lock and turning it until it clicks. The door starts to open on its own and he gives it a small push, leading his friends inside. 

“Mom!?”

He calls, closing the door once everyone’ is inside. 

“I’m home!”

He slides off his shoes and exchanges them for the slippers waiting by the door. He grabs some extra pairs from a nearby closet and hands them out to the others. Once they’re all ready he starts taking them further into the house, calling for his mother every few minutes. Finally, a tired-looking woman with black hair and grey eyes comes down a set of stairs. 

“Eijirou? What do you need dear? I thought you were in your room.”

“No, mom. I only just got home.”

She glances over at a clock sitting on the TV stand. 

“You mean from school? But it's only two!”

“Yeah, mom. On a Sunday. I mean I just got home from the park.”

She smiles, wandering off into the kitchen.

“Well, that's nice, dear. Is that where you met your friends? They seem nice.”

She starts up the coffee machine and Hitoshi stares at it longingly. Eijirou is clearly starting to become exasperated so Izuku steps in.

“Actually, ma’am, Eijirou went to the park yesterday. He came back to our house with us when it became clear it was going to rain. He just got home from that today.”

The woman pauses. 

“Oh. Well, I’d better thank your parents for taking care of him, then. But, I’m sorry, did you just say that all you kids live together?”

Shouto nods,

“Yes, ma’am.”

She blinks, finally turning to face them all with a mug of coffee gripped tightly in her hands.

“You must have a pretty big house, then. I could never imagine having so many kids.”

“No, we live in an apartment. In the Red Light district.”

Shouto says, clearly seeing nothing wrong with the statement. Everyone else stares at the boy.

“I see…”

She glances at the clock again. 

“Um, are your parents home? Maybe I can call them now to thank them for looking after Eijirou.”

“We live alone.”

Hitoshi face-palms and Ochako sighs, patting Shouto on the shoulder. The woman looks incredibly uncomfortable. Finally, she sees the bags they’re all carrying.

“Did you go on a shopping spree? Sounds fun, what did you guys get.”

“Clothes.”

They all say in unison.

“The rain soaked the items we had drying on the line and we’ve been wearing the same garments for a few days now.”

Fumikage explains. The woman’s smile becomes tight. 

“That’s…great?”

Eijirou sighs, 

“I’m just going to go make sure my school uniform is clean, okay, mum?”

The woman smiles, nodding,

“Of course dear. I’ll keep your friends entertained while you’re gone.”

Once Eijirou had disappeared up the stairs she takes an anxious sip of her coffee.

“So…are you kids in school?”

The only one to nod is Mina. 

“Oh, Mina, dear, I didn’t recognize you! How are you doing?”

Mina smiles,

“Fine, Ms.Kirishima. How are you?”

The woman waves away the question,

“Oh, you know, the same as always. Work has been running me dry and I feel like I barely spend any time at home anymore!”

Mina takes a deep breath and stands up a little straighter.

“Actually, that’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. You work so much that you barely even spend any time with Eijirou! I mean, he’s been gone for over twenty-four hours and you didn’t even notice! He had no way to get to school yesterday, which is the fourth day in a row now not including today, and he tried to explain what had happened but you didn’t listen until he spelt it out to you!”

Ms.Kirishima’s expression becomes angry as she looks down at Mina,

“You don’t understand. I’m a single parent! I have to work hard to keep this roof over our heads and food in the fridge! So Eijirou misses a day or two, it’s not like he’s falling behind-”

“But he is!”

Mina interrupts, throwing her hands out,

“He gets almost every assignment in late because he misses weeks' worth of school and doesn’t even know about them until the last minute! He’s only barely passing, and that's because I get him what I can. And you’re the one who insists on him going to a school that you have to pay extra for that’s so far you have to drive him instead of sending him to one of the cheaper schools nearby that he can walk to!”

“Because I want him to have a good education!”

“He won’t get it if you don’t drive him! Even worse, he called me barely a week ago saying he’d almost set fire to the kitchen and asking me to come over to help cook! For himself and you because you couldn’t even be bothered to order something for your son who can barely reach the stove, let alone the cabinets!”

Ms.Kirishima doesn’t get a chance to reply because Eijirou finally comes down the stairs, backpack slung over his shoulder and shopping bag gripped tightly at his side, looking slightly bulkier than it had before.

“Oh, Eijirou! Where are you going, dear?”

“I’m going to stay with Izuku for a bit, I think.”

Her eyes widen and she blinks, 

“What?”

“I heard the argument you and Mina were having and…and I think I want to stay with them for a bit. Sure, I won’t be able to get to school every day but, honestly, I don’t care. I can just take an online course.”

“But, dear, you know that school is expensive. I pay for it because I want you to get a good education and make nice friends.”

“I barely go half the time and Mina is my only friend there, mom.”

“I-well-how do you expect to live with a group of kids no older than you? Surely they’ll be evicted at some point, and then what will you do?”

Izuku takes a step forward,

“Actually, ma’am, we always get our rent in on time and our landlord is already more than used to new people moving in with us. I did just start with me, Hitoshi, and Shouto after all. Also, Eijirou has already made friends with some of the other tenants and they wouldn’t let our landlord evict us if he tried.”

“Well, I’m your mother, dear. You can’t just abandon me.”

Eijirou turns away, making his way to the front door.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you in a month.”

She stands speechless in the kitchen as the group put their shoes back on, leaving the slippers in a neat row in front of the mat. Izuku opens the door for everyone, closing it without glancing back at the woman standing in her kitchen. He jogs a few paces to catch up to the group and hugs Eijirou to his side as they walk, not caring for the tears that occasionally land on his shoulder.

Chapter Text

When the group returns to the apartment they pile onto the sleeping bags. Izuku starts up the coffee machine while everyone else gathers around Eijirou, trying to console him.

He pours out five mugs of coffee. He leaves Hitoshi’s black, adds a spoonful of sugar and a splash of cream to his own, puts two splashes of cream in Fumikage’s, drowns Shouto’s in sugar and cream, and puts two sugar and one cream in Eijirou’s. 

Izuku grabs Hitoshi's and Fumikage’s, carrying them out to the living room. The two boys thank him and he goes back to the kitchen to grab Shouto and Eijirou’s. Eijirou thanks him, taking the mug gently. Finally, he joins the group with his own mug. Eijirou leans into his side and the seven huddle together like that for a few hours. Only dispersing when Izuku insists on starting dinner.

--------

Izuku woke up that morning hot. It doesn’t take him long to figure out why, however, as he’s near the centre of a giant cuddle pile. He worms his way out, trying his best not to wake anyone. He yawns as he makes his way into the kitchen. He grabs the loaf of bread and loads the toaster to capacity. He grabs a large plate from the cupboard to collect the toast.

He starts the coffee machine, standing by it as it fills the pot. It’s only about a quarter full when the toast pops. He grabs the pieces and places them on the large plate before loading up the toaster again. He repeats the process until he has a decent amount of toast in a pile and a mug of coffee in hand. 

Hitoshi wanders in next. He grabs a plate from the cupboard and takes three pieces of toast, coating them with peanut butter before pouring himself a mug of coffee. He stands next to Izuku, slowly making his way through his breakfast. 

Shouto and Fumikage come in next, both grabbing three pieces as well. They pour themselves mugs of coffee and Fumikage starts up the machine again since the pot is nearly empty.

Mina and Ochako come in a few minutes later. Ochako pours herself some coffee but Mina ignores the pot, only grabbing herself some toast. 

Eijirou is the last one to enter the kitchen. Izuku hands him a plate and he gets himself some toast with peanut butter and honey. He gets himself some coffee and joins the group by the counter so he can eat. It’s when Mina is just finishing her breakfast when her eyes widen and she swears under her breath. 

“I was supposed to be home hours ago!”

She groans, chugging the last of her coffee. Izuku winces,

“Sorry, Mina. We can take you home now if you like?”

She shakes her head,

“I can wait until everyone’s ready. Do you want me to pull the clothesline in?”

Izuku nods,

“That would be great, thanks.”

She puts her dishes in the sink and goes back into the living room. She slides the window open and grabs the line, pulling it in. She puts the clothes into a neat pile on the floor to be sorted through later. Izuku finishes his breakfast quickly and adds his dishes to the slowly growing pile in the sink.

“I’m gonna get changed before taking Mina home. Anyone else wanna come with?”

Ochako and Eijirou both raise their hands. Izuku nods and the three head into the living room. Izuku rifles through the pile of clothes to find his and heads off to the bathroom. Ochako grabs her new dress from her shopping bag and goes into the spare room to change and Eijirou grabs a set of clothes from his bag, waiting patiently for a room to open up.

Ochako is out and ready before Izuku so Eijirou changes in the spare room. Once the three of them are ready they grab their duffel bags and Izuku waves Mina over from where she was talking to Hitoshi.

“You ready?” 

He asks. She nods and the four leave the apartment, waving to those staying behind. The building is empty as they make their way out, Izuku in the lead. They walk all the way back to the shopping center they had met Mina in to make it easier for her to lead them back to her house. 

When they reach the bench that the group had claimed the day before Mina takes over, leading them further into the city. The walk is a little longer than Izuku had thought it would be. Including the time it took them to get to the stores they walk for just over an hour. 

Mina’s house is a little bigger than Eijirou’s and she leads them up to her porch, which holds all of them with room to spare. She takes a deep breath before knocking on the door. They wait a few moments and, when it doesn’t open, she knocks again. 

No one comes to the door. Mina shrugs,

“They must be at work. They take the train since we don’t own cars.”

“You don’t have a key?”

Ochako asks. Mina shakes her head,

“No, they don’t think I’m old enough to have one of my own and they refuse to hide one out here in case a stranger finds it or an animal takes it.”

Eijirou hums, shrugging. 

“So, we just head back to the apartment, then?”

Mina nods, already making her way down the stairs. 

“Yeah, I guess. Sorry I made you walk all this way for nothing.”

Izuku shakes his head, following Mina down the steps. 

“Nothing to apologize for, Mina. You didn’t know they wouldn’t be here.”

They form themselves into a line, Izuku at the front this time, as they walk down the sidewalk. They’re passing a set of TVs in a store window when the news comes on, catching Ochako’s attention.

“Hey, look, Endeavor’s youngest son is missing!”

Izuku spins around, eyes widening when he sees a picture of Shouto, obviously without the dyed hair or makeup, on the TV screens. He turns back around and quickens his pace. The others rush to catch up and Ochako grabs his arm.

“Izuku? What’s wrong?”

“We have to tell Shouto. We need to come up with an alias for him until this blows over. They have to stop reporting on it at some time, right? He has to be presumed dead at some point…”

He mutters the last bits under his breath, subconsciously shaking Ochako off. Eijirou, Mina, and Ochako share a worried look as they try to keep up with Izuku. 

“What are you talking about?”

Mina asks, trying to stay at the boy’s side. He waves her off, 

“Later, when we get back.”

Izuku doesn’t seem to get tired the entire walk back, though the others end up panting behind him as they near the building. He throws the doors open, ignoring the residents in the lobby. The other three wave, doing their best to apologize for Izuku’s behaviour. 

When he reaches the door to the apartment he wrenches it open, thankful he hadn’t locked it when they left. Fumikage, Hitoshi, and Shouto look up when the door opens. Izuku makes direct eye contact with Shouto,

“He finally reported you missing.”

Chapter Text

Shouto’s eyes widen as he stares at Izuku,

“What?”

“Endeavor finally reported you missing. Your face is all over the News.”

Shouto’s breath hitches and Izuku finally actually enters the apartment, kneeling in front of the boy. 

“What do we do?”

Shouto asks. Izuku shrugs, 

“Your hair is a completely different colour now and so long as we cover up your scar in public it should be fine. Though it might still be good to limit the time you spend outside.”

Shouto nods slowly,

“Right. If he has people searching for me now it’s likely that heroes will be much more vigilant on their patrols and areas closer to the house may become more heavily patrolled. Possibly the poorer areas too, since they likely assumed me kidnapped.”

Hitoshi groans,

“You mean we might have to deal with limelights near the building? They’ll definitely become suspicious if they see us wandering around.”

The others agree as they gather in the middle of the room, moving to form a circle so that they can see each other.

“So there isn’t much for us to do, then. We just have to make sure that we only leave the apartment when it’s necessary.”

Ochako says. The others nod along,

“I’m sorry for causing problems.”

Shouto apologizes. Izuku waves it away,

“It’s not your fault. Plus, this means you’ll get more time to work on your figure, maybe even complete it.”

Shouto glances over at the half-finished fox figurine in the corner. He nods in agreement with Izuku. Izuku pulls out his notebook,

“Alright. With that settled, I think we should take inventory of our food and figure out when we’ll need to go grocery shopping next.”

The others nod and Izuku stands, going to the kitchen and opening the first set of cupboards so he can look through them. Hitoshi and Shouto both get up and help Izuku take stock while the others entertain themselves with clapping games. It takes just over an hour for the three boys to finish taking stock. When they’re done Izuku has three pages worth of recorded stock and had reorganized the entire kitchen. 

“If we keep going the way we are we should be okay for just over a week more before we have to go grocery shopping again.”

Izuku announces. The others nod and Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto join in the games. The group entertains themselves until the sun sets, at which point they eat dinner and get ready for bed. 

“Goodnight,”

Izuku says. The others’ voices blend together as they reply. Izuku turns out the apartment’s lights and Fumikage turns on his nightlight. The apartment slowly fills with the sounds of soft snoring and ruffling sheets. 

The next week isn’t very exciting. They entertain themselves with clapping games, tic-tac-toe, borrowing books from their neighbours, doing brief work on their plans and, in Shouto’s case, finishing his fox figurine. When their food finally depletes to the point that they need to go shopping, they’re all incredibly bored and looking for entertainment wherever they can find it. When Izuku announces that they need to go grocery shopping, the others fall over each other to volunteer. Mina even goes as far as to kneel down in front of him, clasping his hands in hers. 

“Please, please, please let me go! I can’t handle another minute stuck here with nothing to do!”

Hitoshi rolls his eyes,

“You’re not the only one who's bored Mina.”

She glares at him from over her shoulder before turning back to Izuku,

“Please!”

Izuku nods,

“Alright, alright. But we should have someone else come, too.”

Fumikage raises his hand and Dark Shadow joins him, 

“You could bring us.”

Dark Shadow nods vehemently,

“Yeah, then you’d have two sets of hands for the price of one!”

Izuku nods, taking his hands from Mina’s when he realizes she’s still holding them. 

“Okay, now that that’s settled does anyone have anything they want me to add to the shopping list?”

Shouto raises his hand,

“If you can, could you pick me up some more wood?”

Izuku nods, writing in his notebook that had appeared out of nowhere.

“Anything else? I already have coffee written down, Hitoshi.”

He tacks on the last part when he sees the boy raise his hand. 

“Um, do you think you could pick up some schoolwork books for me?”

Eijirou asks. 

“I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon.”

Izuku nods,

“That’s a great idea! We can pick some up for everyone.”

The only person who doesn’t groan in protest is Shouto, but izuku chooses to ignore their complaints.

“All right, we should get going now if we want to avoid most of the foot traffic.”

Mina and Fumikage nod in agreement and they each grab their duffel bags. They wave to the others as they leave, though Mina looks like she’s rubbing it in their faces at least a little bit.

As they walk they see more heroes than normal, heroes who are spending less time with civilians than they usually do. Izuku smiles and waves at one of them and the hero narrows his eyes, though he thankfully doesn’t do anything else. 

--------

They reach the grocery store a little faster than the last time they had gone. They stop in front of one of the large windows and Izuku rips the shopping list into three sections. He gives both Mina and Fumikage their own section and leads them into the store. Izuku smiles at the cashiers stationed near the door as they each grab a shopping cart and split off into different sections of the store. 

--------

Izuku finds all of his items easily, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, oranges, bell peppers, and apples. He also grabs celery, though it hadn’t been on the list, and chocolate chips. 

--------

Fumikage has a little trouble locating the bread section but, once he had, he managed to get everything on his part of the list. White bread, cinnamon raisin bread, bagels, and muffins. He has an easier time finding peanut butter, honey, jam, and coffee. 

--------

Mina finds the dairy section easily and makes quick work of her list. Butter, cream cheese, normal cheese, milk, chocolate milk, and even a few Lunchables. She picks up a few of each of them before going to the meat sections, where she meets up with Fumikage to get salami, ground beef, chicken wings, and chicken breast. She takes a small detour on her way to the cashier to the seasonings, where she picks out a few they didn’t have at the apartment and some they were low on.

--------

Izuku meets back up with the other two at the cash register, where they slowly load all of their groceries onto the counter. The cashier gives them an increasingly concerned and suspicious look as their pile slowly grows. When she finally finishes ringing them up she asks how they want to pay. 

“Credit, please.”

Izuku says as he takes out Endeavor’s card. The cashier raises a brow as she turns the card scanner to face him and he swipes it. She looks surprised when it accepts and leans over the counter.

“I know that's not your card, kid. Are you sure you didn’t get more groceries than your parents asked you to?”

Izuku keeps a straight face as he looks the cashier in the eye,

“There are seven of us at home, ma’am. Including me.”

She blinks at him in surprise before clearing her throat. 

“Sorry, have a good day.”

“You too.”

The three kids chorus as they load their groceries back into their carts. When they reach the cart turn in they start to take up the bags. Izuku takes two, Mina takes three, Fumikage grabs two and Dark Shadow takes up the rest. 

“I can go pick up the school books if you guys are okay heading back together.”

Izuku suggests. 

“I don’t have any perishables in my bags.”

The other two nod,

“Sounds good.”

Mina agrees. Izuku waves to the two as they leave the store, Mina and Fumokage heading back to the apartment while Izuku heads further into the plaza. 

Chapter Text

It doesn't take him long to find the store he’s looking for. They sell all manners of school supplies, from backpacks to notebooks and, what Izuku’s there for, workbooks. He smiles up at the cashier sitting behind the register, a middle-aged woman who owns the store with her husband. She smiles back at him before going back to flipping through a catalogue. 

Izuku makes his way to the back of the store where there’s a large table displaying workbooks for different years and subjects. He picks a stack of workbooks for their year that are a mix of different subjects, making them rather thick, and does his best to balance them as he makes his way back to the checkout. The woman quickly notices his struggle and rushes over to help him. She takes some of the books and carries them back to the register. With his hands now mostly free, Izuku grabs a box of pencils and one of pens on the way back. 

The woman puts the books down on the counter and watches as Izuku adds the things he had grabbed.

“Why do you need so many of the same book, dear?”

She asks, leaning to the side a bit so she can fully see Izuku. The boy shrugs,

“There’s one for everyone.”

“What do you mean, everyone?”

“I mean my friends.”

She clicks her tongue,

“Now why would you need to buy books for your friends? Shouldn’t their parents be doing that?”

Izuku shakes his head as he takes out Endeavor’s credit card, getting ready to pay for the items.

“No, the seven of us all live together now. Actually, I should probably grab a few more. With our track record, I don’t think the number will stay seven very long.”

The woman looks at him in surprise as he ambles back over to the workbooks, grabbing a few more before coming back again. She shakes her head in endearment as Izuku adds the books to the pile. She grabs five of the books as well as the pencils and pens and tucks them into a bag without scanning them.

“I can’t in good conscience let you pay for all of this.”

She says, 

“Especially if it’s just all of you on your own.”

Izuku shakes his head,

“Really Mrs.Tetsutetsu it’s not a problem!”

She waves him away as she starts scanning the rest of his items. 

“I don’t want to hear it. Just let me do something nice for you, dear. I insist.”

Izuku huffs but relents. Paying for the items that Mrs.Tetsutetsu had scanned quickly. She hands him his bags and he takes a moment to arrange them with the others in a way that won’t topple him over.

“I hope you have a good day, dear.”

She says as he turns to leave.

“You too, ma’am!”

He calls over his shoulder, taking a moment to figure out how to open the door before he’s back out on the street, making his way home.

--------

When Izuku arrives back at the apartment nearly two hours he has to knock on the door in order to get inside. Shouto opens it slowly before registering that it's Izuku waiting on the other side. He insists on taking a few of the bags into the apartment before letting Izuku in. Fumikage, Dark Shadow, and Ochako start putting the groceries he had had away while Eijirou and Hitoshi work on finding a spot for the workbooks. 

Izuku sits on his sleeping bag near immediately, flopping onto his back when he decides that he no longer wants to be upright. Hitoshi appears over him, tilting his head to the side,

“You walked pretty fucking far, right? Do you want me to get you some water?”

Izuku nods and Hitoshi disappears from his view. He can hear the water turn on at the sink in the kitchen and he listens as it runs for a while before being turned off. Hitoshi appears above him again and hands him a cup, which he has to sit up to drink from. 

“Thanks.”

Izuku says. Hitoshi nods and wanders over to where Eijirou put the school supplies. He selects one of the workbooks before grabbing a pencil and finding a corner to work in. 

“Thanks for getting the books, Izuku.”

Eijirou says, coming to sit in front of the boy with a workbook in hand. Izuku nods, 

“You welcome. It’s something to do now that we can’t really leave the apartment.”

He watches as the others flock to the workbooks, something he’s sure they wouldn’t be doing under other circumstances. Eijirou nods and sets to work on his, though he seems to be having some difficulty writing with it balanced on his lap. 

“Hey, Dark Shadow?”

Izuku asks, twisting his head so he can see both the shadow and Fumiakge, who has chosen a far corner to work in like Hitoshi. The two both lift their heads from where they were reading over questions in the book. 

“Yes, Izuku?”

“Do you have a limit to how much you can lift?”

The bird shrugs,

“Not really. Just how much I can fit in my hands. Why?”

“I was thinking that we should get a table and chairs or something.”

The shadow nods,

“But how would we get everything here? It would take days to do it on our own!”

Dark Shadow counters. Fumikage nods in agreement but Izuku only shrugs. 

“I know a few people who would be willing to help. They got the fridge here for us, after all.”

Dark Shadow thinks it over for a moment before finally agreeing but Fumiakge pipes up. 

“Can we wait for tomorrow? I do not think going out again today would be beneficial. Both because of the heroes and due to the fact that we spent most of today walking.”

Izuku nods,

“Tomorrow, then.”

He gets up from where he was sitting and grabs a workbook and pencil for himself before settling back into his spot. He sets his water down next to him as he works. Occasionally looking up or moving so he can help when one of the others gets stuck. 

By the time they were ready to eat dinner all of them were tired and hungry, ready to eat before settling into bed. Shouto helps Izuku in the kitchen and the others wait patiently for them to finish. They all eat quickly and silently before stacking their dishes in the sink for Fumikage and Dark Shadow to wash. They all change into their most comfortable clothing for bed since Eijirou is the only one who has actual pyjamas. They wait for Fumikage and Dark Shadow to finish before they turn off the lights and burrow into their sleeping bags. 

Izuku is once again the first one to wake up in the morning. He makes breakfast for himself and jumps up to sit on the counter. He watches as everyone wakes up from his perch in the kitchen and helps them get things from the cupboards above him. Once everyone had eaten Fumikage offers to head out with Izuku so they can both talk to the men in the gym and find a table set. Izuku agrees and the two grab their duffel bags. They’re about to leave when Ochako runs over, bag already strung across her body.

“Can I come, too? I can use my quirk to lighten the load.”

Izuku thinks it over for a moment before nodding,

“Alright.”

Ochako beams as she follows the two out of the apartment. Izuku waves to the others before closing the door behind him, following Ochako and Fumikage as they make their way down the hall.

Chapter Text

Izuku smiles as they enter the gym, avoiding the overly sticky parts of the floor as he makes his way down the stairs. Ochako and Fumikage copy what he does, walking in a single-file line behind him. Three of the men, all at nearby machines, look up when the kids enter. 

“Hey, Izuku!”

They call. Izuku waves, 

“Hey, guys!”

The three men climb off their machines, locking them in place. 

“You here to work out or do you have a job for us?”

One of them asks, an amused smile on his face. 

“We’re here with a job, but I’d be more than happy to join you after!”

The man chuckles and ruffles Izuku’s hair with one hand while he uses the other to signal to the others. They get to work putting away the weights they had been using while Izuku keeps talking with the man in front of him.

“We need your help getting a table and maybe a few chairs from the dump.”

The man nods. The other two reappear behind him, finished putting the weights away. 

“Lead the way!”

The one to the left says. Izuku nods and squeezes past his friends, leading the way back up the stairs and onto the street. The journey to the dump is filled with odd stares from onlookers and stories from the men that contain dad jokes. When they finally reach the trash-ridden beach Izuku leads the group between the stinking piles. 

They have to search for a few hours before they find a table and some chairs in good enough shape. They’re dirty and smelly, but Izuku reassures them that the cleaning supplies they have at home should be sufficient and they set off back for the apartment. 

--------

They’re halfway there when Izuku sees a set of floating clothes at the edge of the crowd. They’re shaking, twisting and turning as if trying to look in every direction at once. Izuku jogs ahead of the others and stops in front of the clothes.

“Hello?”

Izuku says. The clothes straighten out, facing him.

“Do you know which way block four is?”

The clothes, now revealed to be a girl, asks. Izuku nods,

“Yeah, but it’s pretty far away.”

The girl sobs, folding into herself and sliding down the wall of the building she was in front of. Izuku twists his head over his shoulder and waves for the others to continue on as he settles next to her. He waits until her tears stop falling to talk to her.

“Why are you trying to get to block four?”

Izuku asks. The girl sniffs,

“It’s where my house is.”

Izuku titlsts his head, 

“You don’t know the address?”

He’s pretty sure the girl shakes her head, but he’s not totally sure. 

“No. We just moved and I haven’t memorized the address yet. I was meant to find my school but on the way, I ran into a group of boys and they beat me up and destroyed my things. They said that since I was new I had to be ‘initiated’. I ran away once they let me up and now I don’t know where I am and-”

Izuku raises a hand, cutting her off before she starts rambling.

“Why don’t you come back home with me? You can eat lunch with us and I can help you find your house after.”

Her sleeve moves as if she’s rubbing her face and she gets up slowly.

“Okay.”

Izuku rises with her and holds out his hand. She takes it and he leads her through the crowd, helping her weave through the people. 

--------

When they reach the apartment building Mr.Sukēto is sitting behind his desk in the lobby. When he sees Izuku holding hands with the girl he jumps up from his seat. 

“No, absolutely not! You are not going to harbour another child. There are too many of you already.”

Izuku tilts his head,

“I’m sorry Mr.Sukēto, have we been causing you trouble?”

The man’s face goes red and his eyes bulge.

“Trouble!? Of course, you’ve been causing trouble! Just a few minutes ago three men carried gross, smelly furniture up to your apartment! I’m tired of you bringing literal trash in here and expecting everything to be fine. I’m sick and tired of dealing with you kids!”

Izuku is trying to find something to say when the same old woman who had defended him last time comes out of the staircase.

“Are you yelling at the kids again? And for something so stupid too. Everyone in this damned building has furniture and even clothing they got from a dump. You sleep on a couch you got from someone’s dumpster years ago.”

She keeps going, seeming to find an endless fountain of things to lecture Mr.Sukēto about. Izuku squeezes the girl’s hand tight and pulls her around the two and up the stairs to the apartment.

When Izuku opens the door it's to find the table and chairs haphazardly left off to the side ad the three men leading the others in an at-home workout. They all seem pretty focused, but they look up when Izuku enters.

“Hey everyone! This is…uh…”

He looks at the girl as he realizes he never asked for her name.

“Oh! I’m Hagakure Tooru. You can call me Tooru!”

Chapter Text

Izuku and Tooru are quick to join the others in their workout, following along with the men until all eight kids are tired and sitting on the floor, breathing heavily. The men move the table and chairs into the bottom left corner of the apartment before leaving, waving as they go. The kids wave back until the door closes, blocking off their sight of the adults. 

They stay on the ground for a while. Izuku is the first to get up so he can make lunch, leaving the others on the floor. 

He makes up a few sandwiches, each one a little different according to everyone’s preferences. Once he’s done he hands them out, forcing those lying down to sit up so they can take their plate. 

Some of them gather at the table to eat while others stay on the floor, too tired to move. 

Once everyone’s done and the dishes are piled by the sink Fumikage gets up from the table and begins filling the sink with water. Izuku watches everyone for a moment before looking back at Tooru, 

“Are you ready to find your house?”

Izuku asks her. 

“No, I don’t think I’ll be able to walk that far right now.”

She says. Izuku nods, 

“Okay. We can get you set up to stay the night later, then.”

He’s pretty sure she nods and he jumps down from his chair, grabbing his notebook and a pencil from his duffel bag before sitting back down next to Tooru. He flips his notebook to a new page and turns to her,

“Would it be alright if I took some notes on your quirk?”

He asks her, head tilted to the side. 

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

She says, sounding a little apprehensive. Izuku smiles,

“Thanks! What can you tell me about it?”

She shrugs,

“Not much, really. It’s a mutation quirk that most people in my family have. If I focus I can contort the light around me and set off a flash like a camera, but that blinds the people around me so…”

She trails off and Izuku nods, writing down what she had said. He keeps writing, his eyebrows furrowing as his lips tick downward ever so slightly. A soft gasp sounds from the floor, though Izuku doesn’t seem to notice. 

“That’s his thinking face.”

Hitoshi says, glancing between Tooru and Izuku.

“Get ready to have your entire worldview tipped upside down.”

Shouto nods from his spot beside Hitoshi and Fumikage voices his agreement from the kitchen. Eijirou, Ochako, and Mina all nod along too.

“What do you mean?”

Tooru asks. 

“It means he’s going to first prove to you that he’s the smartest person on the fucking planet, making you trust him just that little bit more-”

“Though we’re pretty sure he doesn’t realize what he’s doing.”

Shouto butts in. Hitoshi nods before continuing,

“Right. And then he’s going to reveal to you that he plans on tearing down the government and taking over Japan and then he’s going to ask you to help him.”

“And you won’t be able to turn him down.”

Shouto adds. Mina looks at Hitoshi in surprise,

“I’m sorry, his fucking what?!”

Hitoshi looks at the girl, tilting his head to the side slightly,

“Did he never tell you? He plans on tearing down the HPSC and rebuilding it into something better. He only has the bare bones of a plan right now, though. He’s waiting until he has a better idea of who's on his side and such before he really delves into it.”

Mina lets out a sigh, flopping down onto her back. 

“You know what, that tracks.”

Tooru can only look at the group in surprise. She’s about to ask something else when Izuku finally finishes writing, lifting his head from his book and looking back at her. 

“I think your quirk was miss labelled. If you’re able to manipulate the light around you, specifically getting it to pass through you and emit a flash, then I think your quirk is light manipulation, not an invisibility mutation. Which would be impossible anyway since the entire reason you are invisible is the base way in which your quirk warps the light around you and no one could be invisible without light manipulation being a part of their quirk in some way since the base way light reflects off the human body is what makes us visible in the first place.”

Tooru is silent for a moment, barely noticing the way the others are staring at her and Izuku. 

“Does-”

She takes a deep breath,

“Does that mean that if I figure out how to manipulate the light in the right way I’ll be visible?”

She asks, her voice wavering. Izuku nods, 

“Yup!”

Suddenly, Tooru has her arms around him, her face buried in his shoulder. He hugs her back. 

“Thank you.”

She whispers. Izuku doesn’t exactly know why he’s being thanked but he goes along with it.

“You’re welcome.”

He starts gently rubbing circles into her back as she cries.

After a few minutes, Tooru pulls back, sniffling and rubbing her nose. 

“I can help you practice if you’d like.”

Izuku offers. 

“Yes, please.”

Izuku nods and turns back to his book. 

“I think it would be a good opportunity to get everyone to start training their quirks. We can go down to the park every other day or so and practice in the clearing.”

Hitoshi hums, 

“It’s kinda far away, though. Couldn’t we go somewhere closer? Plus, the heroes are still wandering around.”

Izuku nods, 

“Right…we probably shouldn’t leave the building for the next few days anyway. I think the building has a basement, there’s a door at the bottom of the stairwell that seems to lead to another staircase. We could ask Mr.Sukēto about it.”

The others nod and Fumikage finally joins them back in the living room. 

“I believe that is a good plan. Training with Dark Shadow would be a good way to let them get some energy out.”

“And I could practice changing the PH of my acid!”

Mina exclaims. 

“It would be good to up the limits of my quirk.”

Ochako offers. The others nod in agreement and Izuku closes his book. 

“It’s settled, then. I’ll talk to Mr.Sukēto about it tomorrow.”

He hops down from his chair and grabs his workbook, setting himself up at the table. The others follow suit and Ochako grabs one of the extra books for Tooru. They spend the rest of the afternoon working on their pages, some getting a little further than others. 

When dinner time rolls around Izuku passes out some of the pre-packaged food and they eat together at the table, playing around with their food and telling each other stories. 

Fumikage and Dark Shadow once again do the dishes while Mina wipes down the table and Izuku helps Tooru pick out a sleeping bag. She lays it down next to Mina’s, who also lets her borrow some clothes. 

Izuku turns off the lights before climbing into his sleeping bag. Fumikage flicks on the nightlight, illuminating their small circle of sleeping bags. 

“Goodnight.”

Izuku says. A chorus of “Goodnights” fill the room for a moment before everyone goes quiet, each of them eventually falling asleep to the sound of a blasting TV in the apartment below them. 

Chapter Text

When everyone had finished eating their breakfast they set up at the table with their workbooks to pass the time. When the sun is high enough in the sky Izuku packs up his stuff and hops off his chair. 

“I’m gonna go talk to Mr.Sukēto about using the basement.”

He announces as she slips his shoes on. The others nod, though they aren’t really paying attention. He slips out the door, closing it gently so as not to bother anyone else in their hall. His footsteps are soft on the stairs as he makes his way down to the foyer. He steps through the staircase doors just as Mr.Sukēto is leaving his apartment. The two make eye contact and Mr.Sukēto sighs before stomping toward the front desk. 

“What do you want, kid?”

Izuku smiles sweetly as he meets the man at the desk. 

“I was wondering if we could have access to the basement.”

The man gives the boy a suspicious look as he settles into his chair.

“Why the fuck would you kids want access to the basement?”

“We want to practice with our quirks.”

Mr.Sukēto snorts,

“Why would I let you do that? You’d probably use the support beams as targets and bring this whole building to the ground.”

Izuku shakes his head,

“I promise you, sir, we won’t destroy your building. We can bring in our own targets.”

Mr.Sukēto still doesn’t look convinced,

“Plus, it’ll keep us out of your hair since we won’t be going in and out of the building as often.”

Mr.Sukēto hums as he reaches beneath the desk and opens one of the drawers. He pulls out a key and dangles it in front of Izuku’s face, keeping it just out of reach, 

“Fine. But, I’ll be adding nine-thousand-seven-hundred yen to your rent in exchange.”

Izuku nods,

“Deal.”

Mr.Sukēto hands over the key and Izuku bows,

“Thank you, sir.”

He says before going back to the staircase. He waits until he’s out of sight of the lobby to start running up the stairs, a large smile on his face. When he reaches the apartment he throws the door open, careful not to let it hit the wall, as he holds up the key triumphantly. The others look up from their workbooks when he enters, large smiles splitting their faces when they see the key. 

“Is everyone in clothes they’re okay with sweating in?”

Izuku asks. Everyone nods as they start rushing around to put their books away. They each grab a water bottle from the fridge, some pre-packaged and others poured from the pitcher in the fridge. They line up at the door, Izuku at the head, before slipping out into the hall. Since Eijirou is the last in line he flicks the lights off and closes the door behind them. 

 They stay in their line all the way down the stairs and up to the door at the bottom of the staircase. Izuku slides the key into the lock and turns it until it clicks. The door swings inward, taking the key with it as it reveals a dark, rickety-looking wooden staircase. Izuku doesn’t pause as he feels along the wall beside the door, searching for a light switch. He does find one, but when he flicks it on the overhead light merely flickers dimly. It still lights the staircase enough to see to the bottom, however. 

Izuku leads the group down the stairs after taking the key out of the door, stepping carefully. Some of them are more hesitant than others but they’re all on the stairs eventually. Eijirou closes the door behind them after a moment of hesitation.

When they reach the bottom of the staircase they once again have to go in search of a light switch. They find it a few feet away from the staircase and are happy to find that these lights work much better than the one illuminating the stairs. 

The floors, walls, and ceiling are all solid grey cement, wires line the ceiling and the far right wall and lead into a fuse box in the right corner of the left wall. The right wall contains all of the piping and systems of the building, including a heating system that looks like it could be older than Mr.Sukēto. Other than the workings of the building, the basement is empty.

“What do we do now?”

Shouto asks. Izuku shrugs,

“Whatever we want, I guess. Tooru could start working on gaining a finer control of her quirk, Ochako, you can start working on your limit, Eijirou can work on toughening his hardening, something you can help him with,”

He points to Shouto, 

“Using your ice. You can also set up an ice platform that Mina can use to practice her PH, Fumikage can work on flight-”

Fumikage raises his hand and Izuku stops, nodding to urge him to speak, 

“My apologies, Izuku, but I am unable to fly.”

Izuku tilts his head,

“But Dark Shadow can. Couldn’t they lift you up?”

Fumikage’s eyes widen as he stares down at Dark Shadow, who’s floating at his side. 

“I suppose that could be plausible.”

Izuku nods,

“And Hitoshi can use me to practice his hold and to test the limits of what can be asked.”

Hitoshi looks over at Izuku in surprise and Mina tilts her head in confusion,

“But don’t you want to practice with your quirk?”

Mina asks. 

“Did I never tell you?”

Izuku asks,

“I’m quirkless.”

Mina blinks before shrugging.

“Oh. Okay.”

And she wanders over to Shouto to wait for her ice pile. Izuku watches her for a moment before turning to Hitoshi,

“Ready?”

Hitoshi nods slowly, an apprehensive expression on his face,

“Sure.”

Chapter Text

They had been spending most of their time the last two weeks in the basement. They took their workbooks down to work on during breaks and Shouto had started carving a penguin now that he had finished his fox. There was a steadily growing pile of wood shavings in one of the corners of the basement and Izuku had put a small vacuum on the shopping list so they didn’t get in trouble for making a mess should Mr.Sukēto ever decide to venture down to the basement to check on it. 

They had enough food left for only one meal when Izuku finally decided that they could venture out of the building again. Everyone was gathered in the apartment waiting to head down to the basement when Izuku asked for their attention.

“Who wants to go grocery shopping today?”

He asks, duffel bag already slung across his body. Immediately everyone’s hands shoot up into the air. Izuku points to Hitoshi, Eijirou, and Ochako. Immediately all three jump up and scramble to change their clothes and grab their duffel bags. Shouto watches for a moment before returning to his penguin.

“When are the heroes going to leave?”

Mina asks, legs against the wall as she lies on her back. Izuku shrugs,

“I don’t know. They might already be gone since it’s been two weeks. We’ll see when we leave.”

Mina huffs, clicking her toes as she moves her attention to the ceiling instead of Izuku. Hitoshi, Ochako, and Eijirou gather in front of Izuku, ready to go. Izuku turns toward the door, key in hand. He holds it open and waves to those staying behind before closing it behind him. He locks the door and follows after the others, who had already started down the stairs in their eagerness to get outside. Mr.Sukēto wasn’t anywhere to be found in the lobby since it wasn’t quite time for him to be out yet. Though lately, he had been coming out a little more often. 

The four slip out the door and maneuver themselves into a single-file line so they take up as little sidewalk as possible. Izuku is at the front and he occasionally glances back to make sure everyone was still following and hadn’t wandered off. When they reach the stores Izuku turns to them.

“Alright, who wants to look for what?”

Hitoshi raises his hand and before he can even say anything Izuku hands him part of the list for the pantry. He nods and wanders into the store. Eijirou volunteers for the other half and Ochako takes the produce, leaving Izuku to the dairy section. They each take a basket from the stack by the door and head off for their sections, their half of the grocery list gripped tightly in their hand. 

--------

Izuku stands by the cash registers as he waits for the others to gather with their parts of the list. He doesn’t have to wait long as all three only take about a total of five minutes to show. When it’s their turn they pile their groceries onto the conveyor belt and watch as the same cashier they had last time rings up their items. She avoids eye contact with them, much to Ochako, Eijirou, and Hitoshi’s confusion. Izuku merely smiles sweetly as he pulls Endevor’s card from his bag. 

The cashier hands him the card reader and he swipes the card, relishing in the little “accepted” on the screen. They each take four bags, except for Ochako, who uses her quirk on a few of them so she can carry six. Two of the bags she takes have the dairy products since Izuku is once again staying behind so he can pick up extra products. 

He waves to the others as they head back to the apartment. He waits until they turn to face the way they’re going before trying to find a store that sells vacuums.

He eventually finds a small utility store with small vacuums in the window. He slips inside, smiling at the cashier by the doors as he wanders over to the shelf containing the vacuums shown in the window. He has to carry the box in both arms, straining to see over the top as he makes his way over to the cash. The man standing behind the register takes pity on him and takes the box from him to scan it. 

“How do you plan on transporting this home, kid?”

He asks as Izuku once again swipes Endeavor’s card. The boy stares at the box, the realization that he has to somehow walk it back to the apartment only just dawning on him.

“Tell you what, kid. I’ll hold this here while you go across the street to the toy store.”

He nods in the direction of one of the stores across the street,

“They sell little plastic wagons for dirt-cheap.”

Izuku nods, smiling up at the man,

“Thank you, sir.”

He nods in return, 

“Sure thing, kid.”

Izuku leaves the store, looking both ways to check for cars before crossing the street. The lady manning the front looks to be in her thirties and she smiles at Izuku as he enters. 

“Hi! What are you in for today?”

She asks. Izuku smiles, 

“A wagon, please.”

She nods as she glances around, likely looking for an adult. When it’s apparent that Izuku doesn’t have one with him, she rounds the counter and crouches down to his level,

“Where’s your parents, kid?”

Izuku shakes his head as he makes the conscious decision not to cook up a horrifying story as he had done to the other cashier. 

“They’re at home.”

He explains.

“I was meant to be picking up a vacuum but I can’t see over the box and we live kinda far away.”

The woman tilts her head to the side, 

“Why aren’t they with you?”

Izuku shrugs, 

“I’ve been running errands on my own for a while, ma’am. I’m ten now.”

He puffs up his chest like he’s seen other kids do in the past. He was pretty sure that when he said “a while” the woman thought he meant maybe a year at most but he had been buying things and ‘running errands’ since he was five. Four if you counted pick-pocketing but he was pretty sure the woman didn’t. 

“And you’re sure they’d be okay with you spending their money on a wagon?”

Izuku nods,

“They gave me a budget of twelve thousand yen and the vacuum is only four-thousand-nine-hundred.”

He had seen the sign for the wagons in the window, which were being sold for the low price of five-thousand-three-hundred yen and had come up with the lie on the spot. The man across the street had been right, they sold their wagons for pretty cheap. He could only hope that it didn’t completely fall apart on the way home. 

The woman finally accepts his answer and rises to her feet. 

“Alright. Go grab your wagon, I’ll wait for you here.”

Izuku nods and ventures off into the store. He doesn’t have to go far as the wagons are front-and-center. He grabs one that’s already built since it’s only a little more expensive than one in a box and he doesn’t have time to build it himself. 

When he returns to the register the woman scans the tag hanging from the handle and lets him swipe the card. When the purchase goes through she leans down to talk to him again,

“Have a good day, hun! I hope your mother likes her vacuum.”

Izuku nods, smiling up at her brightly, 

“You too, ma’am! Thank you!”

As soon as he’s out of the store he lets his smile dampen. He was starting to get tired of well-meaning cashiers asking him about his parents. When he finally gets back to the utilities store the cashier loads the vacuum into the wagon for him.

“Have a good day!”

He calls. Izuku returns the sentiment before finally leaving the store with his vacuum.

As he walks, he finds that the vacuum is actually really useful. It’s holding up better than he thought it would and he makes it back to the apartment building with an intact wagon and a small smile on his face. As soon as he enters the apartment lobby, however, he encounters a new problem. The building doesn’t have a working elevator and he lives on the third floor. 

Izuku sighs as he looks back at his wagon and vacuum. He pulls the wagon into the staircase and pushes it into a corner, doing his best to hide the bright red plastic before running up the stairs to the apartment. When he finally opens the door it’s to find Ochako laying on her sleeping bag, her arms laying on her stomach, while the others chant above her. When they see Izuku standing in the doorway they stop and turn to stare at him.

“We were attempting to heal the ailment of her stomach.”

Fumikage explains. Dark Shadow, who was floating beside the boy, nods solemnly. Izuku decides to move past the ominous chanting and turns to face Fumikage,

“I need you and Dark Shadow’s help getting a vacuum and a wagon up the stairs.”

Fumikage nods,

“It would be our pleasure to aid you.”

The boy says as he makes his way over to Izuku, breaking the circle that had gathered around Ochako’s sleeping bag. Izuku leads the two back down the stairs and shows them the red plastic wagon with the box sitting inside. Fumikage nods and Dark Shadow picks up both items, one in each claw. When they get back to the apartment Izuku holds the door open, allowing Fumikage and Dark Shadow to put the two things down in one of the far corners. The circle had since disbanded, each now sitting at the table with their workbooks, sans Ochako who was still lying on her sleeping bag.

Hitoshi looks up as Izuku closes the door. 

“How was the hero situation?”

He asks. Izuku tilts his head as he thinks, 

“Only a few, and they were just in by the stores. I think they’ve moved out of our area.”

“Does that mean we can finally leave the apartment?”

Mina asks, hope filling her tone. Izuku hums before nodding,

“Sure, I guess.”

The girl throws her arms up as she cheers,

“Finally!”

Chapter Text

Fumikage and Dark Shadow are one of the first to take advantage of their freedom. They’re out for a walk in the better part of town, having been lost in his thoughts and, in Dark Shadow’s case, looking at the large houses. Fumikage is startled out of his stupor, however, when the scent of smoke hits his nose. He looks around to see smoke rising a block or so away. He starts jogging in the direction of the fire, startling Dark Shadow.

The sight of flashing lights, blazing flames, and a large crowd meets his eyes as he turns the corner. One of the large houses is encased in flames, sparks reaching for the otherwise blue sky. A group of rich-looking snobs, obviously from the neighbouring houses, watches as firemen attempt to extinguish the flames, whispering amongst themselves. Joining the fire trucks parked outside the house is a singular police vehicle. Fumikage can see a burly-looking man sitting in the back while the officers stand in front of the group of civilians, clearly trying to convince themselves they’re being useful crowd control despite the fact that the people are nowhere near the house or the flames. 

As he gets closer, Fumikage starts to pick up on a few of the words the snobs are saying over the yelling firemen and crackling flames.

“I heard it was the brat's fault.”

One says,

“Really?”

Replies another.

“I thought the brute who broke in knocked over a candle or something.”

“Where is the child, anyway?”

Another cuts in. Fumikage starts looking around, trying to find the child they were talking about, hopefully with their parents. Suddenly, loud gasps sound in the crowd. Fumikage looks up to see two firemen, their uniforms scorched, dragging out two badly burned bodies. He can’t help but stare at the melted, warped face of one and the blackened form of the other. His attention is snapped away from the victims and over to the small outcropping of trees by the house when he hears a loud sob. Hiding behind one of the trees is a terrified-looking boy, with blonde hair messed and sooty on his head. He has a few scorch marks on his pyjamas and there’s soot marking his face. 

Fumikage slips through the crowd over to the boy. No one pays him any mind, not even the officers, as everyone’s attention is still captured by the victims. Who, Fumikage assumes, are the boy’s parents. 

Fumikage is only a few feet away when the boy looks over at him. His gaze looks distant as tears run down his cheeks. He looks both like he’s trying to be somewhere else and like he knows he can’t leave. 

“Hello.”

Fumikage greets. The boy merely sniffles, clearly trying to hold back sobs. Fumikage holds out his arms to offer a hug, something he had seen Izuku do to comfort some of the others before. The boy looks at him warily but, one last glance over at the mutilated bodies of his parents sends him cascading into Fumikage’s chest. The boy wraps his arms around the other as he cries, doing his best to comfort him despite never having been in such a position before. He starts rubbing slow circles into his back, glancing around them every so often to ensure no one had noticed them.

“Oh, my! The poor Aoyamas…”

He hears one of the adults say. 

“Yes, taken too soon. I really hope what they say about the child starting the fire is untrue. The guilt of killing his parents would be such a burden for him to carry.”

“Yes, but, really, wouldn’t he deserve it? The child is ten, he should know how to control that quirk of his at this point.”

Fumikage can tell that the boy can hear their words by the way his sobs intensify. Fumikage takes one last look at the crowd before guiding him further into the trees, hiding them behind one with a larger trunk. They sit there for a few hours. Fumikage watches as the crowd eventually wander away, as the fire dwindles until it dies, and as the officers drive off with the man in the back seat. They’re soon replaced, however, as a set of police cars drives up to the front of the house a little while later. They come out with rolls of caution tape and start searching the house. Fumikage holds his breath as he watches them, praying they don’t find them in the trees. 

He knew there was a reason Hitoshi had protested Ochako going into foster care. He didn’t quite know what it was, but he did know that if he didn’t want the girl to go into it then it wouldn’t be good for this boy, either. 

The boy seems to pick up on his fear and peeks over his shoulder at the officers roaming his property. His sobs had faded to sniffles and hiccups, and the tears had started to dry tracks onto his cheeks. Fumikage pulls back slightly, making eye contact with the boy. 

“We can’t let them find you.”

He sniffs, tilting his head to the side.

“W-why not? They’re meant to help, right?”

His voice teeters off, sounding more unsure at the look on Fumikage’s face.

“No. Should they discover you I fear we will both be taken away. We must slip past them and make an escape.”

The other boy nods slowly.

“O-okay. Suivez-moi, we can go through the Suzukis’ backyard.”

Fumikage nods, following the boy as they go further into the trees. Fumikage hadn’t thought there were this many and, just as he was thinking there was somehow a small forest in this boy’s backyard, they emerged into a pristine backyard.

“We use trees as fences.”

The boy explains, looking over his shoulder at Fumikage. He continues to guide them through different backyards, though all of them feel the same, the only difference between them being the colours used to decorate. Eventually, they reach a backyard blocked off from its neighbour using an actual fence instead of a wall of trees. 

“We can slip through here.”

The boy says, guiding Fumikage down a path leading to the front of the house.

“We’re a few blocks away now.”

The boy says. 

“Um, you said we had to get away but you never said where we were going?”

He says, tilting his stops, turning to look at Fumikage. The bird-headed boy nods,

“We shall go back to my apartment. I’m sure the others would take immense joy in meeting you.”

“Others?”

He asks. Fumikage nods,

“Yes, there are eight of us total.”

The boy nods, though he looks surprised.

“Oh! Um, I just realized I never introduced myself, I’m Yuuga.”

He says. Fumikage nods,

“You may call me Fumikage.”

“And I’m Dark Shadow!”

Dark Shadow pops out for the first time in the last few hours, smiling as they introduce themselves. Yuuga clears his throat,

“Alright. Um, how far away is your apartment?”

He asks. Fumikage looks around. 

“Quite far. We live in the Red Light district.”

Yuuga pales slightly,

“Why? It’s filled with villains and there aren’t any heroes patrolling.”

Fumikage shrugs,

“It’s quite affordable, and we’ve yet to have any issues with the other residents.”

Yuuga nods,

“I suppose there are eight of you.”

He nods,

“Alright, I’ll go with you.”

Fumikage nods. He starts leading the boy in the right direction. After a few minutes, he feels Yuuga’s hand slip into his. 

--------

While passing by a street pole, Fumikage pales. Taped to the metal was a missing child poster, Mina’s smiling face dead center. 

--------

When they finally reach the building Yuuga looks exhausted, his eyes keep drooping and he’s leaning into Fumikage for support. The other boy leads him up the stairs carefully. When they reach the apartment door Fumikage opens it to find the others all talking with each other frantically. They look up when he enters, eyes widening. 

“Apologies for returning so late.”

Fumikage says, 

“I made a friend.”

Yuuga rubs his eyes as he surveys the others. 

“Bonjour. I’m Yuuga.”

Chapter Text

Izuku grabs a nice light blue sleeping bag from the hall closet. He lays it out next to Fumikage’s and watches as Yuuga settles into the bag. He falls asleep quickly. Once he’s sure the other boy is asleep Fumikage turns to the others, who are starting to spread out.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

He says. He immediately catches the attention of the others, those that had drifted away stumbling back. 

“What’s up?”

Eijirou asks, looking up at him with a concerned expression.

“I’m afraid that Mina’s parents have noticed her disappearance and are spreading missing child posters throughout the city.”

Silence falls over the group as they look at Mina, waiting for her reaction. It doesn’t take long before she’s swearing under her breath and falling onto her back.

“I knew I was forgetting about something. ”

Tooru raises her hand, indicated by her sleeve.

“Um, do you know if mine are looking for me?”

Fumikage shakes his head,

“I did not encounter any indication.”

Izuku hums, 

“That makes sense. It’s likely that the police are trying to prevent your parents from filing a missing persons report considering your quirk. Which also might be why it took so long for Mina to have posters put up.”

“But what are we supposed to do?”

Ochako asks,

“Should we just walk Mina back home?”

Mina shakes her head,

“I don’t think so. My parents will keep me grounded for months, and I want to be involved in every step of this whole taking over the government thing.”

Izuku nods,

“We could go with you.”

Mina clicks her tongue,

“I don’t know…they might call the cops or something.”

“What could the police do?”

Tooru asks. Hitoshi looks over at her,

“You mean other than dragging us off to orphanages or shoving us back in with our parents?”

Shouto nods,

“Yes, I would rather not be forced to return to Endeavor.”

Izuku shakes his head,

“We don’t all have to go. I think that would be a bit much for Mina’s parents, anyway. Those of us without much to risk can go and the others will stay back.”

“But you’re still gonna go.”

Hitoshi states, sending Izuku a glare. Izuku shrugs.

“It’s fifty-fifty as to whether or not my parents take me back. I’m sure I could escape again from either, it might just take a little longer.”

Hitoshi huffs, 

“You have no sense of self-preservation.”

Izuku shrugs,

“If I did would I be attempting to build a small army in order to take over the government?”

“He has a point.”

Ochako says. 

Hitoshi huffs,

“Fine. Who else is going?”

“I’ll go.”

Eijirou says. 

“Her parents know me, so I might be able to help a bit.”

Tooru raises her hand,

“I’ll go too.”

“I can attend as well.”

Fumikage states. Mina shakes her head,

“We should probably go, like, now. And you’re the only one Yuuga will recognize when he wakes up.”

Fumikage nods,

“Understandable. I will stay behind, then.”

“So just the four of us, then?”

Izuku asks. The other three nod,

“I think it’s a good number.”

Mina says. Izuku nods, grabbing his duffel bag from the corner.

“We should get going.”

The others nod and grab their bags, following Izuku out the door. Fumikage watches as the door shuts behind them. He waits for the lock to click into place before sitting down on his sleeping bag. He glances over at Yuuga, who’s still sleeping soundly, before looking back at the few others who had stayed behind.

“What do we do now?”

He asks. Hitoshi shrugs.

“I’m going to take a nap.”

He says, crawling into his sleeping bag. Fumikage hums, 

“Would you mind helping me with my workbook?”

Fumikage asks Shouto, turning his attention to him. Shouto nods, rising from his place on the floor. Fumikage stands too, grabbing his workbook from the shelf and taking up a seat at the table. Shouto grabs his book as well, climbing into the seat next to Fumikage. Ochako joins them, aiding them with their work and occasionally asking for help with her own. 

They’d been working for around an hour when Yuuga finally stirred in his bag. The others looked up from their workbooks, all watching as he sat up and started rubbing his eyes. When he saw them all staring at him he stared back, 

“Um, hello.”

Fumikage hops down from his chair.

“Hello. How are you feeling?”

Yuuga looks down,

“Is there somewhere I can wash up?”

He asks, instead of answering Fumikage’s question. Fumikage nods, pointing down the hall.

“Yes, the bathroom is there. You can find towels in the hall closet.”

Yuuga nods, standing slowly. He scurries over to the closet, grabbing a towel before slipping into the bathroom. 

“We don’t have hot water!”

Ochako calls.

“That’s fine!”

The boy calls back. The water starts a moment later and Ochako waits a moment before turning to Fumikage,

“So, how’d you find him?”

She asks. Fumikage shakes his head,

“I don’t believe I should be the one to tell you.”

Ochako nods,

“Alright. Are we going to wait for Izuku to get back before we tell him that we plan on taking over the government?”

She asks. Fumikage nods,

“I do believe that would be best. He is the better of us at selling the idea, as of yet.”

Ochako nods.

“Can you help me with this question?”

She says, pointing to a long equation involving fractions. Fumikage nods, hopping back into his seat and looking over the question with her.

--------

Izuku follows Mina up the steps of her front porch, Tooru and Eijirou following behind him. When Mina gets to the door she takes a deep breath before raising her fist to knock. The sound of her knuckles hitting the wood resounds among them. After a moment, they hear the door creak as it’s pulled open. On the other side stands a tall, tired-looking man. His skin is pale pink and his hair is bubblegum pink. His eyes are puffy and red around ice-blue irises.

“Mina?”

Chapter Text

Mina smiles up at the man nervously, 

“Hey, dad!”

The man’s eyes widen and well with tears as he wraps his arms around the girl, lifting her up into the air. She yelps, but quickly hugs him back. A woman appears behind them. She has dark skin, tightly curled hair, small horns sticking out of her head, and yellow eyes with black sclera, just like Mina’s.

“What’s going on?”

She asks, looking from her husband to the kids on her porch. The man settles Mina onto his hip and turns to face the woman. Her eyes widen and she crashes into both of them, wrapping her arms around her daughter. Izuku, now the front of the group, watches as the family reunites, waiting patiently for them to finish. 

Finally, the woman pulls out of the hug, looking down at the kids still gathered on her porch. 

“Are you the ones who found our daughter?”

She asks, disbelief clouding her voice. Mina shrugs, wiggling around until her father reluctantly puts her down.

“Yes and no.”

She answers for them.

“I’ve been staying with them the last few weeks.”

Both of the adults' eyes widen as they start glancing down the street, obviously looking for adults.

“What do you mean you’ve been staying with them? I didn’t know Eijirou’s mother had other children.”

She says, looking expectantly at said boy. He shakes his head,

“No, ma’am. I don’t live with her anymore.”

Mina’s mother hums, clearly overwhelmed.

“The four of us have been living in the same apartment with four others, newly nine.”

The man seems to choke on air while the woman just stares.

“And where are your parents?”

She asks, not-so-subtly pulling her daughter further into the house. 

“We don’t have those.”

Izuku says. Tooru raises her hand,

“Will, I do. We’re going to see them later since I never told them I left.”

The man nods, slowly pulling his phone out of his pocket,

“Do you need me to call anyone for you?”

Izuku shakes his head,

“Oh, no. We’re fine. I think you’ll find that Mina is perfectly healthy and well-fed.”

“I also have more control over my acid!”

Mina cries, holding her hand out in front of her.

“I can make a PH so strong it melts ice and creates little holes in concrete!”

She brags. Her father’s face pales,

“How’d you learn to do that?”

Mina points to Izuku, who’s smiling sweetly behind her.

“Izuku can do really good quirk analysis. Plus he plans on taking over the government when he’s older and I wanna help him.”

Mina’s mother pulls her daughter behind her.

“Why would you want to do that?”

Her father asks. Mina huffs as her mother tries to hide her.

“The HPSC perpetuates quirk discrimination, especially in poorer areas, to ensure that there are always villains for their heroes to fight. Not to mention the fact that they have dealings in the villain underground and, I’m sure, much more dire secrets hidden in their records.”

Izuku says, doing his best to explain in as few words as possible and avoid rambling.

“They also cover up heroes’ crimes to make sure they’re still viewed as gods by the public.”

Eijirou adds,

“The whole viewing heroes as gods thing is a problem itself, too.”

Tooru says, bouncing on her feet clearly proud of her contribution to the conversation. Mina’s father nods slowly, though judging by the expression on his face Izuku can tell he doesn’t fully believe them. Mina jumps out from behind her mother, easily avoiding her reaching hand.

“I want to help them.”

She declares, standing in front of Izuku.

“They want to help people, and Izuku has a plan on how to do it.”

“Really?”

The man asks in the tone of voice adults often use when they’re not interested in something a kid is saying but don’t want to say it. Izuku nods,

“I have to learn how to hack first, and I want to get our group bigger, too, but I think it’s pretty good.”

The man hums, his phone seemingly forgotten in his hand. 

“And you think a group of ten-year-olds can take over the government?”

He asks. Izuku’s nose scurnches,

“No, of course not! We still have a few years of training, studying, and information gathering to go. Not to mention creating a network, though I’ve already started on that one. I think we’ll be ready by the time we’re sixteen, maybe eighteen if we fall behind.”

Mina had been nodding along the entire time, when, suddenly, her mother seems to think of something.

“Where have you been getting the money for food and rent?”

She asks. Izuku shrugs,

“We have access to one of our richer member’s sperm donor’s debit cards. Plus we have some leftover money from some sales.”

The woman nods, 

“Right. Why exactly did you decide to join these people, dear?”

She asks, crouching down so she’s at eye level with her daughter.

“Because they helped Eijirou! And I think his plan is pretty cohesive, even though it can’t be done yet ‘cause we don’t have a full army.”

Izuku can tell that they aren’t convincing her parents of anything. They clearly think that their explanations are merely the product of a child’s imagination, maybe a game or something. Though, obviously, a bit of an odd one. Izuku sighs, 

“Mina, are you going to stay here for a bit or would you like to come back to the apartment? We should probably check in with Tooru’s parents today, too. And I want to be back to talk to Yuuga before bed. I still have to make sure he’s okay with joining us.”

Mina hums, nodding, before glancing back at her parents. 

“I think I’ll stay here for a bit.”

Izuku nods, 

“I’ll come back in a few days.”

Mina’s mother shakes her head vehemently,

“What? No. Mina, you’re staying here. And we’ll have to call the police to make sure your friends get somewhere safe.”

Izuku stiffens,

“I mean you no respect, ma’am, but currently we’re as safe as we can be.”

The woman huffs, 

“You just admitted that you’re living in an apartment without any adults!”

Izuku shakes his head,

“There aren’t any adults in the apartment with us but others live in the building. We have to be renting from someone.”

She throws her arms up.

“That just makes it worse! Who would rent to a bunch of kids? And, Eijirou I know your mother maybe isn’t home a lot but she’s trying her best-”

Eijirou scowls, 

“I was gone for a week and she didn’t even notice.”

The woman stutters,

“Well, then, I’m sure we’ll be able to find you a nice foster family. Or you could stay here for a few days-”

Tooru interrupts the woman, 

“I’m sure you’re trying to be nice, but I’m pretty sure Hitoshi escaped from a bad foster home, based on how he’s insisted none of us end up in the system, so I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Mina nods, her expression becoming clearly agitated,

“I understand that you want me to be safe, but this is safe. Safer than being a hero, at least.”

Her dad crouches down, too.

“Fine. But we don’t want you staying away from home, anymore. You can help your friends from here.”

“But we walked for hours to get here! I can’t walk that far every day!”

Her mom tilts her head to the side,

“Hours? Where is this apartment, exactly?”

Eijirou rubs at the back of his neck,

“The Red Light district.”

Both adults tense,