Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku crouched on the wall lining the parking lot of the hospital, staring up at the building, watching for any flash of blue. He wore a pair of dark track pants, a hoodie with the hood up, a thin backpack, and a facemask - trying not to be spotted, but planning just in case he did. A flicker in the darkness caught his eye, and his gaze snapped to a small blue ball of flames floating out of one of the upper-level windows.

It drifted towards him slowly, until it hovered in front of him. Izuku lifted up his cupped hands, and the small ball of fire settled in them feeling only a little warm to his fingers. It flared for a moment before calming down again.

“Shoma,” he said softly to the onibi spirit, “what did you see?”

Many of the usual cases , the onibi replied. A few who could use help. One of them will be impossible to reach tonight due to the activity in their room, but the other two should be possible. Straight in front of us - the room four windows up. Also to our right, second window up.

“Alright, thank you,” Izuku said, counting the windows. “Keep watch for me?”

Of course.

Izuku leaped soundlessly off the wall, creeping towards the edge of the hospital building. Scanning the walls in the dim light, he picked a route and dug his fingers into the small inconsistencies. He did his best to drown out the anxious murmuring of his mind at the thought of climbing so high with so little, and began to haul himself up.

Thankfully, after so much practice, the climb was not too difficult. There was a heart-stopping moment when his shoe failed to grip the small outcrop he had intended to use as a foothold, but Shoma zipped up to him in time to boost his foot high enough to regain his footing. Izuku sent a mental impression of gratitude to the small spirit, and the onibi tapped his mind in return, before returning to his task of keeping watch.

He shifted to crouch precariously on the windowsill on the fourth floor that Shoma had pointed out to him. Flicking out a thin knife, he slid it through the slight gap where it rested shut and wiggled it a bit to flip the lock open. After a moment it gave, and he quickly and quietly slid the window open so that he could duck into the room.

Shoma, I’m in , he called out in the second tone, so as to avoid waking the room’s occupant. The blue ball of fire flitted inside again, moving over towards the sleeping patient. He hovered above them - a young boy, and as Izuku moved his sight into the second plane he saw the thin trail of energy Shoma was drawing from the boy to ensure that he would stay asleep.

Finding the clipboard with his medical records, Izuku scanned the pages for what had caught the onibi’s attention. Nothing was physically wrong with the boy, except that he was having trouble controlling his Quirk and it kept hurting him. Simple enough to fix, though the boy’s spirit likely wouldn’t be too happy with his meddling at first.

Izuku took a Sharpie out of his back pocket and walked up to the boy. He gently moved one of the kid’s hands so that it tilted further into the light and he could see well enough to draw. Uncapping the pen with his teeth, he drew a sigil in Script on the boy’s skin before drawing a similar sigil on his own hand.

Following the thread of energy that now connected them, Izuku sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, trusting Shoma to tell him if he needed to get moving. Reaching out, he followed the trail of energy to the boy, then followed it even further to the thread that connected him to his spirit.

Examining it for a moment, he saw that there were a few places where the thread was… knotted, for lack of a better description. That was probably what was causing the Quirk issues for the kid. Bracing himself, he reached out and touched the thread to begin unraveling the knots.

Immediately he felt a rush of energy through it. Izuku withheld a sigh and waited, still holding the thread. A presence that felt a little like bloodlust made itself known - not fully present with him but clearly watching him through the thread he was gripping.

Usurper , the spirit hissed - a jubokko, Izuku realized, wincing a little internally at the thought of the blood-thirsty tree spirits. Thief!

No, he insisted instantly, hoping to head off the spirit before it got too swept away by rage. A helper - I don’t want your bond. Your human’s Quirk is hurting them, see for yourself. I’m here to untangle the knots, that is all. I will Promise if needed.

The jubokko paused, observing him for a moment longer. It clearly wanted to make him Promise, but was wary of doing so, since it would mean reciprocation on its part. After a moment a sense of wary acceptance filtered through the fragile bond, and Izuku got the sense that he’d both dodged a bullet and that he’d better watch his step if he wanted to avoid being eaten. Shoma would help where he could, but he was a weak spirit and would be unable to do much even against something as low-tier as a jubokko.

He hurriedly turned back to his task, plucking as gently and carefully as he could at the thread tying the jubokko to the boy to get the knots out without pulling on it from either side. It took some time, but eventually he eased away from the thread and saw it straighten out. Distantly he heard the boy sigh in what he was pretty sure was relief.

The jubokko eyed him for a moment more, before turning its attention away with a disgruntled grumble. Izuku opened his eyes and let the tension drain from his shoulders. It had been a while since he’d encountered any youkai that interested in tasting his blood. Most preferred to get Promises out of him - either to give away deeds or pieces of himself to them, in return for his help.

We should be done now , he said to the onibi hovering over the boy, watching the Sharpie on the kid’s hand flake away as the sigil was used up. Shoma sent him the mental equivalent of a nod and backed away, slowly cutting off the energy thread he was using to keep the boy asleep.

Let’s do the next one then go before you get caught , the small ball of fire said, flying back towards the window. Izuku slipped back through the window after him, sliding it closed silently behind him. Shuffling carefully to the side, he had climbed down to about halfway to the third floor when Shoma let out a quiet curse. A hero is about to come around the corner! Get inside!

Letting out a quiet curse of his own, Izuku shifted to go in the third window instead of the second. He could drop down one more floor once the hero was gone, and Shoma should be able to keep whoever was inside asleep long enough for him to leave again. He used his knife to quickly flip open the lock and slipped inside, shutting the window behind him just in time to see the hero round the corner.

He let out a sigh of relief and turned around, only to freeze at the sight of two pro-heroes, someone who was probably a hero-in-training, and a little girl in a hospital bed all staring at him.

A moment after they all registered each other’s presence, a streak of grey flew towards Izuku, causing him to yelp and dive to the side. The screech of an owl pierced the air, and Izuku’s eyes widened. Oh no.

Casting his gaze quickly to the side, he saw a dark grey owl spirit with glowing red eyes looming over the shoulder of one of the heroes. A tatarimokke. The hero had a tatarimokke - those spirits were terrifying to Izuku, because the few he’d met in his life were all powerful and it was impossible to tell if they were murderous or benevolent until you were too close to run.

And, he thought, dodging the hero’s… weapon? again, if this hero had a tatarimokke then there was only one hero that he could be.

“What, exactly, do you think you’re doing?” Eraserhead growled, pausing in his assault to size Izuku up. The sharp snap of a beak from the blue, glowing heron spirit in the corner - an aosagibi clearly belonging to the other hero, Present Mic - punctuated his words.

“I promise,” Izuku began, voice beginning to waver, “this is a misunderstanding, I didn’t mean to come in here, and I’ll leave right now if you let me.”

I say we eat him, Daiki , the owl said, batting her wings in the air. What do you say?

Hayami , the heron clacked its beak, we can’t eat this human. Our humans need him still .

“If this was a misunderstanding,” Present Mic said, eyes sharp, “then what is the real explanation for you climbing in the third-floor window of a hospital into a little girl’s room - in particular, a girl who is in protective custody?”

“Shit,” Izuku said before his eyes widened as he realized he just cursed in front of two heroes. “I mean - look, I really wasn’t here for her. I was visiting someone else and slipped in here so I wouldn’t get caught. This was a total accident, I swear.”

“Who were you here for?” Eraserhead interjected, frowning as his capture scarf remained loose and ready to use. “And why couldn’t you visit them during normal hours?”

“I - fine,” Izuku sighed, glancing over towards Shoma before letting his gaze dart towards the owl and heron cautiously. “I… the best way to describe it is that I can - fix Quirks? That’s not really what I’m doing, but it’s the best description I have. I sneak into hospitals around the area and help people whose Quirks are hurting them or not working right. There was a kid on the fourth floor I just helped tonight whose Quirk was poisoning him every time he used it. I made it so it won’t do that anymore.”

“You took his Quirk?” the hero-in-training demanded, standing up suddenly as the girl in the bed shrank back. Izuku immediately shook his head, bringing his arms up defensively.

“No, no!” he exclaimed, eyes darting towards the owl and heron again, both of whom had fluffed up in the beginning stages of fury. “Never! Well, unless someone asked me to, but that’s never happened before. When I say fix, I mean it. The kid still has his Quirk, and it still works mostly the same - it just doesn’t poison him anymore, that part now has an off-switch so to speak.”

Silence meets his statement as all the people in the room stared at him. Izuku did his best to hide the shaking of his hands, and he felt Shoma’s tiny weight land on his shoulder and a slight warmth from him against his neck. The two pro-heroes exchanged a look.

“Can you fix my cur- I mean, Quirk?” the girl in the bed asked, abruptly drawing all of their attentions. She shrank a little seeing all of their eyes staring at her, but pressed on. “Mine’s broken too. It’s never hurt me, but it’s hurt others and I can’t control it.”

“I can,” Izuku said slowly, eyeing all three of the heroes and the two spirits with them warily. “It might feel a little weird, but it’s nothing I haven’t done for people before.”

“Can you bring back lost Quirks?” The blond hero student blurted out, causing the other two to send him a sharp look. The hero student ignored them though, staring intently at Izuku. “Quirks that have been taken away for good, can you bring them back?”

Izuku blinked, mind whirring. There was subtext to this conversation, he realized. This question wasn’t theoretical, it was genuine. Based on the look in his eyes, and the expressions on Eraserhead and Present Mic’s faces, it was someone he knew well - maybe even himself?

“I’ve never tried before,” he admitted, flicking his eyes between them all. The blond hero student began to slump until he continued. “But I don’t see why I couldn’t, in theory? It would probably be similar to what I already do.”

“Mirio…” Eraserhead warned, before the student - Mirio, apparently, shot him a look of his own.

“C’mon, Eraserhead,” he said. “It’s a way to verify what he’s telling us, and if anyone should risk it, it’s me. There isn’t much more he could do to my Quirk, so why not? Worst case scenario, nothing happens to it, best case it comes back to me.”

There was a tense moment of silence, and Izuku’s eyes flicked between the owl and the heron, before returning to the heroes. After a long moment, Eraserhead sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fine, but the moment he starts to do anything that looks like it would be harmful, I’m stepping in and detaining him, no questions asked,” he huffed, before turning to look expectantly at Izuku.

Izuku withheld the urge to gulp at the wary and expectant looks of the other people in the room. He hesitated for a moment, before slowly stepping towards the blond hero-in-training - keeping as wide a berth from the two pros and their spirits as he could, and keeping his way to the window clear.

Shoma… he intoned quietly, flicking a look at the owl and heron watching them, and the onibi flickered against his neck.

I know , his friend murmured back, tucking himself up closer towards Izuku’s skin. He gained a little extra weight that Izuku knew was the equivalent of the spirit holding onto him.

Turning his attention back to the newbie hero - Mirio? - Izuku shifted his weight awkwardly. He had no idea how to go about this with the person awake - every other time the person was always asleep. The audience also wasn’t helping much, and that was without half of them wanting to either arrest him or eat him. Still, he had to do something, so he gestured awkwardly towards the chair Mirio had been in before.

“You, er, might want to sit? This might take a while, and I have no idea if you’ll feel dizzy or something. I’ve only done this to people who are asleep, but it shouldn’t hurt you,” he said. Mirio blinked, but complied, sitting down in his chair as Izuku pulled out a Sharpie.

“What about you?” he asked curiously, watching as Izuku took his hand and began writing the familiar sigil on it. He frowned at it, blinking hard as he examined the sigil. “And what did you write on me? My eyes don’t seem to want to read it.”

“I’m fine on the floor,” Izuku dismissed, already beginning to draw the matching sigil on himself. “I just drew a sigil - your eyes just weren’t built to read it.”

Tuning out any responses from the others as best he could, he closed his eyes and focused on finding that thread. He found Mirio’s end easily through the connection created by the sigils. It was finding where it went that was the hard part.

Taking hold of the thread mentally, he slowly followed it until he reached a place where it had been… frayed? Snapped was probably a better term, he realized, looking at the ragged ends that felt painful even still. If it had been frayed, there would have been the distance and indifference towards a Quirk that wasn’t used or enjoyed.

Izuku latched onto the end of the thread and held on despite the transference of pain. Distantly, he felt his body’s face screw up in discomfort, but he cast his mental hand out anyway as he looked for a matching pain from elsewhere. It felt like wading through molasses, but finally his metaphorical fingertips touched on something that sparked and he instinctively latched on.

Power flooded into him like a river, and even on the edge of the Third Plane he could feel his body on the First curl into itself and wheeze from the onslaught. The spirit followed shortly after, overwhelming enough in its frantic mood and pain from the severing that Izuku couldn’t even identify it.

Help us, help me, help him, help help heLP HELP US , it roared. Izuku whimpered at the volume and mental pressure, but did his best to fight through the tidal wave of information and sensation and power to bring each end of the snapped thread together.

If finding the other end of the thread was like wading through molasses, dragging them together felt like trying to move through solid concrete. It was slow going, with painful sensation on one side and a wrong-feeling emptiness on the other, with an immense pressure everywhere in between.

Finally though, the two ends were touching, and they flared as the strands met. Izuku held tight even as they began shaking. There was a reason it took spirits so long to figure out how to grant humans Quirks - it was incredibly difficult for them, and even more so for a human without a Quirk of his own to attempt the same.

The longer he held the strands together, the more they twined around each other, intermingling and growing stronger. Until, finally, with a burst of light they solidified into a single thread again and power pulsed through it, knocking Izuku back into his body.

Gasping, he jolted back into his body, sagging as all his energy left him. He panted, dazed, collapsing onto his back and closing his eyes as his head swam. He’d never done anything like that before, and it took a lot more out of him than he’d anticipated. Shoma flickered reassuringly against his neck, even as he heard the beaks of the tatarimokke and the aosagibi clicking off to the side.

“Kid, what happened?” he heard Eraserhead ask, and the part of him that wasn’t exhausted as hell thought he detected some concern in the hero’s voice. Izuku threw an arm over his eyes and waved his other hand at the man dismissively, panting for breath.

“Sensei…”

At the wavering voice of the other teenager in the room, Izuku peeked out from under his arm. Mirio was watching his arm, before it seemed to go slightly transparent and he stuck it through the nearby hospital bed. Eraserhead sat up sharply, his hair rising into the air as he and the tatarimokke’s eyes glowed red in unison.

The kid’s arm abruptly popped out of the hospital bed, but at the distressed noise it pulled from Mirio, Eraserhead dropped his Quirk immediately. The hero-in-training’s arm went intangible again, and he stuck it through several more things, grin beginning to grow on his face.

Izuku huffed a pleased breath, before turning his face back into his elbow. Shoma sat nestled into the dip of his collarbone, emitting a pleasant warmth that was far more soothing than expected - especially after the ordeal of giving a Quirk back. The sound of footsteps accompanied by rustling feathers told him he had company though, and with a wariness born of years of experience, Izuku made himself uncover his eyes and sit up, eyeing both the hero and his spirit tensely.

“I asked before, kid, and you didn’t answer,” the hero stated blandly, dark eyes scrutinizing him. “You okay?”

Izuku blinked, shifting his eyes slightly to the right to where the owl loomed over Eraserhead’s shoulder. Even she seemed to have calmed down some, and appeared to be studying Shoma and him carefully. He resisted the urge to look at Shoma, instead sending a hint of his own bewilderment to the spirit instead.

“Er, yeah?” He blinked, brow creasing as he looked between the people in the room. “I’ll be fine, I’m just tired. Why would that matter…? Oh! This is about her Quirk!”

He grinned, relieved to have figured the situation out. He saw the slightest hint of a frown on the faces of the heroes in the room, but he was too caught up to fully register it before he was turning to the girl on the bed.

“No worries! I should be able to help you too, still!” he exclaimed. A flicker from Shoma against his neck made him flinch, and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well, I can , just maybe not right now? I’ve already helped with a Quirk once tonight, and then tried out that new thing just now, so I’m pretty drained. Once I’ve taken a nap though, I should be good to help! Er, that is, if you still want me to?”

The girl opened her mouth, before closing it and glancing uncertainly at the two heroes in the room. Realizing that she was asking for permission, Izuku flicked an uncertain look at them, doing his best to avoid staring at the bird spirits hovering over their shoulders. He was honestly surprised they were staying so close - most spirits tended to only visit their people on occasion. Though, they were pro heroes. Spirits tended to be more interested in people who used their gifts frequently.

“Tomorrow, we can discuss the whole process more,” Eraserhead finally said, arms crossed as he sunk into his capture scarf. “For now, it’s late and everyone needs some sleep.”

“Right,” Izuku said, carefully standing and making his way towards the window. “I guess I’ll come back tomorrow then?”

“What are you doing?” Present Mic asked, sounding confused as Izuku slid the window open. Izuku turned back to them and blinked in confusion.

“...Leaving?” he said carefully, unsure what the problem was. Eraserhead grunted at that, eyes scanning his form.

“You have somewhere to stay, kid?” he asked, and Izuku suddenly felt… prickly. He didn’t like this line of questioning, or how sharp the heroes’s eyes apparently were, because Eraserhead may have been the one to actually ask the question, but all three of the heroes in the room were the ones really wondering.

“Obviously,” he said, doing his best to keep his body language loose, knowing that the heroes would see any tension in his frame. Eraserhead didn’t respond, just staring at him, before glancing towards Present Mic.

“It’s late, kid,” Present Mic said, taking a step forward. “You can stay here for you want, in one of the other beds, or we can call someone to take you home instead. It wouldn’t feel right to let a kid wander the streets at this hour.”

Izuku blinked at them, his weight shifting back towards the window again.

“Look, I appreciate the thought, but I’ve been doing this for years,” he said flatly. “I know how to get home without being noticed - and on the off chance I am, I know how to get away. I’ll be fine.”

“Kid,” Eraserhead said firmly, sending him a pointed look over the top of his capture scarf.

He hovered for a moment more, before slumping a little, knowing he wasn’t getting out of this that easily. There was no way he was going to be able to outrun the three of them, nor was there any chance he was showing them where he’d been staying. And even thinking about pretending to go back home made his stomach knot up in anxiety, so he was out of options. Shoma flickered against his neck soothingly, no doubt picking up on his unease with the situation.

“Fine, you win,” he said, making no effort to hide his unhappiness with the decision. “I’ll stay here tonight, try to do something about her Quirk in the morning, then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Alright!” the hero-in-training, Izuku thought he’d been called Mirio, said, clearly trying to ease some of the tension in the room. “You can go ahead and take the bed - we’re all going to be dozing in shifts until morning, so we won’t need it.”

Hesitating a moment longer, Izuku shuffled his way towards the bed closest to the window, the only other empty one in the room. He presumed it was a private room in the hospital, given the whole protective custody thing and the fact that they were offering him the other bed without consulting with a nurse.

Despite his best efforts, he could feel the tension radiating off himself in waves as he clambered onto the bed. He put his back to the window so he could face the heroes and their spirits, swinging his backpack off his back and curling around it, hugging it to his chest. He didn’t bother getting under the covers - if the two spirits in the room decided they were tired of him, he didn’t want to be caught up in sheets while he tried to move. As he settled down and put his head on the pillow, he felt Shoma settle into the crease of his neck, warming his skin ever so slightly.

You’ll keep watch? He asked the onibi in the second tone, so that the heroes wouldn’t hear. The tatarimokke and the aosagibi clicked their beaks upon hearing him, but made no further response to the question.

Of course, Shoma said quietly. Sleep. I’ll wake you if needed .

Trusting the small ball of blue flames to keep his word, Izuku closed his eyes. He steadied his breathing, knowing that it would take a while to actually fall asleep with how tense he was. Still, as he calmed down, his breathing smoothed out and came slower, and he was pretty sure the heroes thought he was asleep before too long.

“Mirio, go ahead and rest too,” Present Mic said, keeping his voice low. “We’ll keep an eye on Eri and the kid.”

Izuku was confused for a moment, before he realized Eri must be the girl. A quiet curse came from Eraserhead shortly after.

“We forgot to get the kid’s name,” he said, sounding grumpy about that fact. “He fixed Mirio’s Quirk, was clearly nervous around us, and we didn’t even thank him or ask his name.”

“We can ask in the morning,” Mirio said firmly. “I’m more concerned about the fact that he didn’t text anyone to say he’d be out all night. Either that means nobody will notice for whatever reason, or that his guardians know he’s out all night and don’t care. I don’t like the implications of either of those explanations.”

“In the morning,” Present Mic said firmly, shifting his weight in his chair by the sound of it. “All of this can be dealt with in the morning. For now, sleep.”

Onibi , came the tatarimokke’s voice in the ensuing silence. Izuku was pretty sure she went by Hayami. You know what he is, do you not?

Obviously , Shoma said quietly. How couldn’t I? It’s clear as anything he’s a Connection.

And you know what happened the last time a Connection showed up , she snapped back. The last time a spirit got close to a Connection, hundreds paid the price. You put all of us at risk with your friendship.

There is nothing at risk with my friendship! Shoma retorted, flames flickering larger for a moment, before dying down again. You don’t even know what he’s called - you cannot claim to know his intentions, nor do you have the right to pass judgement on his character. You will stay out of this, tatarimokke. You’re overstepping your place.

A mere onibi would speak to me like that? Hayami’s beak clacked, as Shoma’s words clearly offended her. You -

Hayami , the crane interrupted. The onibi is not without reason. Hold your judgements until they are given just cause. We can readdress this at a later time, the Connection is close to sleep but still awake.

In his half-aware state, Izuku began to tense, before the familiar flames of Shoma pressed against his cheek soothingly. Letting out a quiet sigh, he sank into the faint heat from the onibi.

Sleep, Izuku , the onibi murmured, quiet enough so that Izuku knew he was the only one who could hear the spirit. Sleep .

Surrendering the last of his awareness, Izuku let himself fall into a shallow sleep, letting himself trust the small spirit like he always had before to keep him safe and to be his eyes when he couldn’t watch out for himself.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up to the feeling of being watched. He kept his eyes closed and his breathing even as he took note of his surroundings. Shoma still flickered reassuringly against his neck, so he was relatively certain he wasn’t in immediate danger.

He slid his eyes open without moving his head, glancing around as best he could without moving. Hayami and Daiki seemed to have left the room with their humans, and he could see Mirio’s form up against the doorframe across the room, looking out into the hallway. Turning his attention to Eri, Izuku blinked in surprise at realizing that she was the source of the gaze that had woken him up.

“Hi,” she whispered, upon seeing that he was awake. “I’m Eri.”

“You can call me Deku,” he whispered back, smiling a little at her clear interest. “How long has everyone been awake?” 

“Not long,” she said. After a moment, she tilted her head in curiosity. “Why are you sleeping in a face mask?”

Izuku blinked, lifting a hand to his face to feel that he was still wearing his mask from the previous night. He thought about taking it off for a moment, but decided to leave it on still, not really sure yet if he wanted to bare his face to the heroes when they returned from wherever they’d gone. If they knew the details of his face it would make it all the easier to track him down after all this was over with.

“I guess I forgot I was wearing it,” he said quietly, and he could see the slight confusion on Eri’s face even though she didn’t say anything about it. “Where are Eraserhead and Present Mic?”

“Aizawa-san is checking in with the nurses,” she said, not seeming to realize that Izuku had no idea which of the two heroes that was. “Yamada-san is getting us some breakfast. Mirio-nii is keeping us under pro-tect-ive cuspidy.”

“You mean protective custody?” Izuku asked, smiling a little at the mispronounciation as Eri nodded enthusiastically. He thought about the circumstances, and tried to decide on a course of action.

In theory, he could try to fix Eri’s Quirk now, then duck out the window before the heroes came back. If it succeeded, then he’d be long gone before they had a chance to follow him, and with luck they’d eventually forget he existed. But, he had no idea how long they’d been gone or how likely they would be to come back in the middle of him fixing it. And if he went anywhere near the girl without their approval, he could kiss his freedom goodbye. Not to mention, if anything went wrong and he’d gone behind their backs, he was pretty sure Daiki and Hayami would eat him. So, those options all seemed to be out, leaving him waiting for the heroes to come back as his only option.

“Oh hey, you’re awake!”

Mirio’s exclamation had Izuku jumping, sitting up and keeping his bag as a shield as he made sure his back was to a wall. He only realized that he’d done that and that he’d gotten a hard look on his face when the hero-in-training froze, a complicated expression crossing his face. Izuku felt himself flush as he lowered the bag, dropping his gaze sheepishly and leaning a little into Shoma, who seemed to be content to simply observe everything at the moment.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Mirio said graciously, clearly having spotted that it wasn’t a normal startle reaction but also letting Izuku pretend that it was. “I see you’ve met Eri more properly! Isn’t she the sweetest little thing?”

“She is,” Izuku said, gratefully taking the opportunity to move on from the subject. He looked over at the little girl and smiled big enough that it was clear even through his face mask. Eri had a shyly pleased smile on her face, and her cheeks were pink from the praise. “We didn’t get a chance to meet for very long last night, so I’m glad I got to now.”

“Hm,” Mirio agreed, smiling at the girl as well, before turning his attention back to Izuku. “Eraserhead-sensei and Mic-sensei should be back any - actually, if you gossip.”

Izuku heard the sounds of the two heroes returning at the same time Mirio did. Tensing a little, he forced himself to stay as relaxed as possible, knowing that the return of the heroes and their spirits would mean further scrutiny and danger for him.

I don’t think Daiki and Hayami are a threat to you right now , Shoma said quietly. We talked some more after you were asleep, and they agreed to… tolerate you, for the time being.

What? How did that happen? Izuku asked, a little incredulous as he glanced subtly at Shoma. The onibi’s blue flames flickered a little smugly as the spirit stayed quiet, and Izuku was forced to put the conversation aside as the heroes entered the room again.

Present Mic’s eyebrows rose at the sight of Izuku being awake, and he carried several boxes of food in his arms. That would make him Yamada, Izuku realized, meaning that Eraserhead would be Aizawa. Turning his attention to the dark-haired hero, he saw that the man had several thin files of information in his hands.

“Your story checks out,” the hero began, causing Mirio to laugh and Yamada to shake his head at his blunt approach. “That boy you claimed to help last night is doing a lot better now. The nurses assigned to his treatment are calling it a medical miracle, and he’s likely going to be able to go home again for good in the next couple of weeks.”

“Like I said,” Izuku said, ignoring the curl of satisfaction at the news, “his Quirk was hurting him, so I fixed it.”

“And Mirio’s Quirk was gone, and you brought it back,” Aizawa continued. Izuku nodded, and the man studied him with dark eyes, before nodding decisively. “Thank you.”

“What?” Izuku spluttered, taken aback.

“You helped us and a lot of others, from the sounds of it, so thank you,” Aizawa said, the look in his eyes forcing Izuku to hold his gaze. “You didn’t have to, and you risked getting in trouble, but you did it anyway.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Izuku said quietly, finally breaking the heroes gaze to look out the window, a little uncomfortable being on display like this. “I’m the only one who can do the things I can, so that gives me a responsibility to. So. I do.”

There’s a long moment of silence as the others in the room absorb his words, and in that moment, Izuku realizes that he hasn’t seen Daiki and Hayami yet. Curious, he sent an inquisitive feeling to Shoma.

I think they went back to the third plane for now , Shoma said. Most spirits, especially higher level ones like them, don’t like being so close to the first plane - especially when their gifts aren’t actively being used. I’m a bit of an exception in that, you know this .

“Here you go, Little Listener!” Yamada said, interrupting their conversation by pushing a vending machine bento box towards Izuku. The teen was a little surprised they’d brought him back anything at all, since he was an unexpected guest, but then again they were both heroes, so he wasn’t sure why he was surprised they would take care of him.

“I appreciate it,” he said, taking it and dragging over the nearby rolling table for the bed he was in. He clapped his hands together in thanks, before opening the box and feeling his mouth water at the smells coming from within. It had been a while since he’d had such a complete meal, and his body was apparently not taking chances at him passing this one up. He paused for a moment, realizing that he’d have to take his face mask off to eat.

Sighing, he reached up and unhooked the straps from his ears, knowing he’d be showing his face to these heroes at some point before this was all over regardless. Besides, they’d already seen him work, knew he frequently snuck into hospitals, and had already seen at least half of his features. Removing his mask at this point wouldn’t change much.

Present Mic gave a small sound as his face was revealed, and Izuku looked up, curious about what had drawn his attention. The hero was staring at him, a little wide-eyed. Confused, Izuku turned to Mirio and Aizawa, but both of them seemed a little surprised as well.

“Is… everything okay?” he asked hesitantly.

“Sorry, yes!” Mirio said, shaking himself free of his surprise first. “It’s just, you look younger than expected. The way you were acting, I would have said you were somewhere between seventeen and nineteen, but you look closer to, what, thirteen or fourteen?”

“I’m sixteen,” Izuku said, a little offended. He knew he still had a bit of baby fat on his cheeks and big eyes, but thirteen ? Aizawa made a noise now, at that revelation. Turning to him curiously, the hero shook his head, abruptly changing the subject.

“We forgot to introduce ourselves last night,” he said. “I’m -”

“Eraserhead, right? Unless you prefer Aizawa. You’re well known in the underground,” Izuku interrupted. He glanced at the others.  “And Present Mic, unless you prefer Yamada. I don’t know Mirio’s hero name, though, and I met Eri this morning.”

“How did you know that?” Yamada asked, eyebrows raised again. Izuku shrugged, taking a bite of his rice.

“I knew your hero personas already, since I keep up with hero news regularly, and you all have used each other’s names since I got here. I’m observant, is all.”

“Right,” Aizawa said, looking a little more tired than he was before. “Well, we also forgot to get your name last night, and I can’t keep calling you ‘kid’ in my head.”

“You can call me Deku,” Izuku said firmly, hoping his tone would be enough to dissuade them from pushing further. Aizawa clearly wanted to, but seemed to be willing to let it go for the moment.

“Deku like ‘useless’, or Deku as an abbreviation of ‘dekiru’?” Mirio asked hesitantly. Izuku debated on how to answer for a moment, chewing his food thoroughly as an excuse to wait on answering. After swallowing, he shrugged.

“Up to you,” he said casually. “I don’t care, it’s just a name.”

Silence met that statement, until Aizawa sighed again and they all kept eating. It didn’t take long for them to finish their bentos, and Izuku was happy to have such a filling meal all at one time. When they’d finished, Aizawa set aside the container for his food, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“So, about helping with Eri’s Quirk,” he said seriously, and Izuku sobered, giving the man his full attention. “What exactly would you need to do, and what would the side effects be?”

“Well, the process is the same as what I did last night,” he began carefully, doing his best to verbalize the whole experience. “I’ll write a sigil in Script on her hand to form a connection that will allow me to interact with her Quirk. I don’t know exactly how it will feel for her, but it shouldn’t hurt. If there’s a problem, it’ll honestly probably feel like a relief. After that, her Quirk might feel a little strange due to the shift, but it’ll still work right and after a day or two it should feel normal again.”

“That’s true,” Mirio piped up, drawing their attention to him. “Before… Deku fixed mine, I felt off balance, like one leg had shrunk a centimeter. But when he fixed it, it was like he’d shown me that it hadn’t shrunk, my leg just needed a certain stretch to straighten out fully again. It felt a little weird at first, like using a limb that had fallen asleep, but I was testing it out again this morning and it feels mostly normal now. The process itself didn’t hurt or feel uncomfortable either, it just felt a little strange.”

“Hm. And on your end?” Aizawa said, looking back at Izuku.

“My end?” the teen asked, confused at the line of questioning. Something passed across Aizawa’s face too fast to read, as he inclined his head in a nod.

“Yes. What are the side effects for you? Yesterday, when fixing Mirio’s Quirk, you got very tired and there were several moments where you seemed to feel discomfort and pain. So, what are the effects on your end?”

“Oh.” Izuku blinked, feeling a little baffled that the hero was even asking. “Depending on the damage present, I guess it can hurt sometimes - reconnecting a Quirk is like holding onto a live wire with each hand and braiding them together. It’s a lot of power all at once, especially when the Quirk is strong. Fixing a Quirk is like… untangling thread, or sanding the sharp edges of a piece of pottery. It still takes effort, but it isn’t nearly as… intense.”

“I see,” Aizawa said, exchanging a look with Present Mic. “And you feel up to trying to help with Eri’s Quirk today? If not, it doesn’t have to happen today.”

“Yeah, it should be fine!” Izuku reassured them, turning a smile to the girl who was watching curiously and quietly nearby. “I got a decent amount of sleep overnight, and with the help of the meal we just ate, I should have plenty of energy for this.”

The two pros had a silent conversation for several minutes under the interested eyes of Izuku, Mirio, and Eri. Distantly, Izuku noted that it must mean the two heroes knew each other well, given that the level of understanding necessary for that kind of communication.

“Alright!” Present Mic finally said. “We should be able to go ahead, then! If you need a break at any point, don’t hesitate to stop.”

“I should be okay,” Izuku reassured again. He was a little baffled still by their concern, but also surprisingly pleased that they cared enough to keep checking. He wasn’t used to it, given that he never talked about his abilities with people, and all the people he helped were usually asleep when he did it.

Rising from the bed he was on, he stuffed his face mask into the pocket of his hoodie and swung his bag onto his back. Shoma floated off his shoulder to hover in the air nearby. Izuku walked over to Eri’s bed and smiled a little at how cute she was. He gestured to the foot of her bed.

“Is it okay if I sit here? I’m not sure how long this will take, but I’m fine to sit elsewhere if you aren’t comfortable with that.”

“You can sit there!” she said, looking very curious about what he was going to try.

He laughed a little at her enthusiasm, pulling out the sharpie from last night as he sat down. He held out a hand, and Eri hesitated for a moment, before gently allowing him to take her hand. Izuku scrawled out the right sigil in Script, using mostly muscle memory, releasing her hand to scrawl a matching one on his own hand.

“It feels like my eyes are crossing, trying to read this!” Eri giggled, looking up at the two heroes a moment later and holding out her hand. “Look!”

They both glanced at Izuku for permission, and once he nodded, leaned forward to try and read it themselves. Aizawa frowned upon seeing it, blinking hard, and Yamada just seemed confused.

“What is this written in?” the voice hero mused aloud, and Izuku got the sense he hadn’t meant to say it.

“Script,” he said anyway, drawing their attentions. “It’s fine, most people can’t read it - I’ve only met one other person who could, and he’s gone now.”

Shoma , he said, shifting to a more comfortable position and using body language to close that line of questioning.

I’ll be here , the spirit assured, hovering behind him as a guard for his physical body while Izuku moved onto the second plane, and flirted with the edge of the third.

Closing his eyes, Izuku took a deep breath and sunk into the mindset needed to shift planes. Immediately he felt more disconnected from his body on the first plane - the realm of the physical. The second plane was the plane of the mind, and where spirits tended to hover when they wanted to visit the first, as it took less energy to manifest here. It was also where he was able to follow Quirk connections with the help of sigils, so he was familiar with experiencing the world through this plane of existence.

Following the sigil’s connection to Eri, he touched the segment of thread closest to him to get an idea of what its state was like, and almost immediately felt his body wheeze in surprise. There were threads everywhere - tangled, looping, fraying, and knotted in piles all around him. It all was such a mess that he almost had no idea where to even start, and it was enough to make him surprised she had functioning access to her Quirk at all.

So, you can see what he did to us.

The deep voice rang of old power, and Izuku turned slowly to see the coiled form of a dragon. He froze for a moment, before he noticed, even through his fear, the poor condition of the dragon.

There were lacerations all along its snout, and its scales were dull. Its whiskers hung limply off its cheeks, and several of its claws were chipped. Looking further, Izuku could see the edges of a few deeper wounds along its sides, before the dragon shifted, concealing the wounds from his sight and drawing his attention away from its state.

What happened to you both? he asked, taken aback by the sheer amount of damage he was seeing. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

He unmade us, with the help of his spirit, the dragon snarled. Took her apart piece by piece, then rebuilt her. As she was rebuilt, our bond formed again, but because she hadn’t fully died, the other one hadn’t disappeared yet. So now we are tangled together, and what was supposed to have been a gift has become a curse.

Izuku scanned the tangle of threads around them with new comprehension. Looking at the sheer number of connections there were made rage boil up within him. Knowing nothing else than what little he’d been told, he knew what had been done to Eri was atrocious, even just by looking at the state of her bond to her spirit.

Can you show me where to begin? he asked the dragon, looking back. I can help - maybe not all at once, given how much is here, but eventually I can fix this.

The dragon looked at him for a long moment, its eyes peering into his soul. Finally, it lifted its head and pushed its snout at particular tangle of threads, prompting Izuku to come join them in looking down at the knot.

You’ll find this the easiest place - it was the most recent formations, so they won’t be as tangled as the rest , they said, glancing at him sideways. Izuku nodded, and got to work at unweaving the pieces from each other, making sure not to turn his back on the spirit. He wasn’t sure what to do about there being too many bonds, but figured he’d ask the dragon and cross that bridge when he got to it.

After a while of him working, the dragon huffed a little, drawing his attention.

You are afraid of me, they said, sounding a little amused at having noticed his efforts at not turning his back to them.

Yes, Izuku said easily, not ashamed to admit his fear of the much older and stronger being.

You are smart then, they replied, sounding vaguely approving before closing their eyes. You have no need to fear me now, though. I felt your intentions to help the moment you set foot on this plane. You will not find danger here from me.

Izuku tried to judge the truth in those words, and was surprised to find that he was pretty certain the dragon meant it. It was very difficult for spirits to lie, but not impossible, and he had no doubt the ancient spirit had figured out how long ago, should they desire to. Allowing himself to relax a little, he decided to sit down cross-legged to keep working on unravelling the threads.

As he progressed through each new tangle he lost himself in the process of separating everything. He had no idea how much time had passed since he’d started, but the dragon didn’t move again aside from the quiet rise and fall of its breathing. Izuku was reaching for a new tangle when Shoma arrived abruptly.

Izuku, you need to return now , he said firmly, though softly around his name, aware as always of nearby ears. You’ve pushed too far. You won’t finish this today, and you’re running out of energy fast. Come back later.

Izuku instinctively went to protest when the dragon opened their eyes again, cutting off whatever he was going to say. Its eyes studied him intently for a moment, before snorting out a sharp breath through its snout.

Young One, you are being reckless, they said, tone taking on a disappointed tone. Go. Rest. This mess was made over years, it won’t be fixed in hours. It will still be here when you return.

Izuku hesitated a moment longer, unused to leaving a job half finished, but he doesn’t see another option, and he’d long since trusted Shoma’s judgement about matters like these. So, he sighed and nodded, reluctantly standing up and preparing to bring himself back to his physical body, in the first plane.

I’ll be back , he said, facing the dragon, his statement not quite a Promise and just shy of a farewell.

I’ll be waiting , they respond, a curl of amusement in their tone, before closing their eyes once more to rest.

Come , Shoma said, pressing up under Izuku’s hand insistently. The onibi’s tone was a little snippish, the spirit always getting like this whenever Izuku pushed himself too far - though it had been a while since he’d last heard it. Now, Izuku .

Okay, okay, I’m coming , he said, following after the small spirit easily, and feeling the weight of his body come back to him as he slowly sunk back into the first plane. He let himself sink down, down, down, until he surfaced with a gasp and felt his exhaustion hit him like a truck.

He swayed, feeling Shoma dart down to tip him back upright. He felt seconds away from just passing out, because he wanted a nap . And when he woke up, maybe another three bentos, but sleep took the main priority.

“Kid?” Aizawa’s voice seemed stressed, and it took Izuku a minute to muster up the willpower to send him a lackluster thumbs up. The hero was silent for a moment, taking in the gesture. “Okay. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Izuku said faintly, keeping his eyes closed, before yawning. “Just tired. And not finished . On a related note, is whoever did this to her dead? Because if not, they’re going to be if I ever find them. And I will , because I have a decade’s worth of Promises to collect on.”

“No,” Mirio said hesitantly, after a pause, “but the guy who - who hurt her is out of commission for a while from what it looked like. He took himself out during the raid on his headquarters - hit himself with his own quirk and a handful of his most trusted went underground with him. If he survived the damage, he’ll be very injured for a long time. He left a mark on Eri?”

Izuku snorted, the understatement of that almost hilarious. Opening his eyes, he saw a dark look on the hero-to-be’s face, and unreadable expressions on the faces of the two pros beside him.

“Let’s just say he messed with her Quirk so much I’m surprised she can still use it in any capacity at all,” he said, not bothering to hide the edge of rage creeping its way into his tone. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. But I can fix it.”

He directed his last words to Eri herself, tone firm as he turned to her. She looked a little scared and uncertain, but there was a look in her eyes as she gazed at him that hadn’t been there before. She pressed a hand to her chest, taking a breath and blinking several times really fast.

“It feels lighter now,” she said quietly. “My cu- Quirk. It doesn’t hurt as much as it did.”

“Your Quirk was hurting you?” Yamada asked, a little sharply, but the worry clear in his voice despite it.

Eri looked at him, not flinching away from the tone, but eyeing him carefully before relaxing again at whatever she found in his expression with a nod. Abruptly, Izuku realized what the look in her eyes was. It was hope.

“Yes,” she said, looking back at him. “But I didn’t realize it was until it wasn’t anymore. Thank you, Deku-nii!”

“No problem, Eri,” he said drowsily, sending a weak smile in her direction. “It won’t hurt at all when I’m done, and you should have a lot more control over it. Sorry I couldn’t finish fixing it for you.”

“What happened that made it more difficult than Mirio’s?” Aizawa’s voice cut through his exhaustion again, and Izuku glanced over at the tired-looking hero.

“It was… tangled, is the best way to describe it,” he said, flopping onto his back despite the backpack on it and draping an arm over his eyes. “Tangled over and over and over. And everything was all twisted up, and there were too many strings. It’s - hard to explain. But it’ll take me days to fix it all, if not a few weeks. There’s so much there.”

A tense quiet met his words, and the sound of rustling behind him meant that the trio of heroes were likely communicating somehow. Izuku was too tired to care though, sinking into the slight heat Shoma was giving off beside him and the soft sheets of the hospital bed.

“If you are willing,” Aizawa said finally, something in his tone making Izuku peek out from under his arm at the serious but slightly awkward-looking hero, “we can get you the address Eri will be at, so that you can continue to help her whenever you’ve recovered enough energy to do so.”

“Or,” Yamada added on, voice gentle in a way that set off alarm bells in Izuku’s head, “you could stay with the three of us while she’s getting better.”

Stay with them? Why would…? Oh, Izuku realized abruptly, flicking his eyes between the two pros. They were together - possibly even married. Huh, he’d never have guessed based on their personalities or personas, but now that he knew, it made sense and he was surprised he hadn’t seen it before.

Still, though. Why would they offer to let him stay with them?

They think you have troubles at home , Shoma said, a mix of amused and exasperated. They aren’t sure how exactly, but they’re offering you an out from whatever it is until they can learn more .

Then I’ll refuse , Izuku said immediately, glancing quickly at the ball of blue flames. I don’t need pros breathing down my neck .

You do need a safe place to sleep and plenty of food though , Shoma pointed out, like a traitor. Your usual sleep schedule and meal plans won’t cut it if you want to tie this up quickly. You know this. And the longer they are interested, the more likely they’ll learn something you don’t want them to .

I have a feeling they’ll learn regardless , Izuku grumbled quietly, before sighing and considering the heroes in front of him, who had remained silent still. Thinking over their offer and Shoma’s advice, he couldn’t help but admit that all three of them made good points. Fine. Eri deserves it, if nothing else.

Good .

“If you’re really fine with it, it would be more convenient to stay with you guys, so that I can work on it bit by bit as I can,” Izuku said, making no effort to hide that he wasn’t fully pleased with the option but willing to go along with it regardless. “But, I can’t promise a solid timeline with it. It depends on my energy levels, and how hard it is to untangle the worst of it.”

“Do you need to let your guardian know? I have a phone you can borrow, if you don’t have one,” Mirio said, eyes a little sharper than they should be.

Izuku bristled, but did his best to hide the reaction from the others in the room. If they caught it, there would be no way they were letting it go any time soon. Having pro heroes investigating his past was the last thing he needed.

“No,” he said shortly, before expanding on his answer as he saw Aizawa’s eyes narrow. “My guardian knows already, don’t worry. It’s part of their… abilities.”

I’m not sure I count, based on the context of this conversation , Shoma muttered, having picked up where Izuku was going with this. I do guard you, but I’m not your guardian either as a spirit or as a caretaker .

I know, but they don’t need to know that , Izuku huffed back.

“Alright,” Yamada said, smiling in a way that was mostly honest but didn’t fully reach his eyes. “If you’re sure, then we’ll go ahead and get Eri signed out, and get going. I’m sure we’re all ready to get out of the hospital, and you look like you could go back to sleep, Deku.”

Izuku hummed his agreement, taking a moment to gather his willpower together, then standing. His vision went spotty for a second as he adjusted to the new height, but he recovered quickly with a yawn. An idea occurred to him once he was up, and he turned to smile down at Eri.

“Hey, have you ever had a piggyback ride before?”

He heard Yamada muffle a snort of laughter as Aizawa buried his face deeper into the scarf around his neck. Mirio had turned his head to the wall to hide a grin that Izuku could still see the edges of, and Eri looked up at him wide-eyed before slowly shaking her head.

Izuku grinned wider. He was going to make sure this kid had fun before he finished helping her if it was the last thing he did.

Chapter Text

Izuku hadn’t been expecting Yamada and Aizawa to live at Yuuei, for whatever reason.

He was a hero otaku, and knew that they both were teachers at the school. He also had heard about the need for the students to live on campus after multiple villain attacks, along with most if not all of the staff. Somehow, though, he hadn’t put it together that he’d be staying at Yuuei with them for the duration of his help with Eri’s Quirk.

A few years ago, he would have been practically vibrating out of excitement - and don’t get him wrong, he was still more excited than he probably should have been to be on the campus. But now there was a lot more at stake, and he’d given up on his dreams of being a hero a long time ago out of practicality, if nothing else.

Glancing around carefully, he scanned the area for nearby spirits. That was his other biggest concern about being here - heroes tended to attract more attention from their spirits due to how often they used their gifts, and how strong the gifts tended to get from their training. Both increased the amount of power the spirit would get when the gifts were returned to them after the heroes died, so it was in their best interest to ensure that the humans would live for as long as possible by helping them where they could.

“You okay, Little Listener?”

Yamada’s voice made Izuku jump, and he smiled nervously at the hero behind his face mask that he’d put on again as they left the hospital. It had been years since he’d been in public casually without one, and it felt strange to not wear it, even if he didn’t need it.

“I’m fine, Yamada-san, thanks.” Shifting Eri’s weight on his back so that she was more secure, he continued. “I just never expected to actually be here, and for some reason I thought you guys lived in a normal apartment.”

“We have one,” Yamada explained, smiling a little in response. “We just moved here when the students ended up needing more protection. We decided not to get rid of it, just in case we needed the space again once this whole situation blows over.”

“You think it will any time soon? The BBEG seems like a nasty piece of work.”

“The BBEG?” Aizawa broke in, glancing backwards at the trio. Mirio had broken away from the others, stating his need to get to class early to speak to his homeroom teacher about rejoining Heroics classes now that his Quirk was back.

“A gaming term,” Izuku explained, slightly distracted by the sudden looming heights of the school itself emerging before them. “It stands for the ‘big, bad, evil guy’. You know, like the head of the League? He’s spooky.”

“You know about him?”

“Only rumors from the back streets. Even those got more untrustworthy though, after that big showdown between him and All Might a few months back, when he disappeared again. They say he can give and take Quirks, but that’s obviously a lie, because only-” Izuku broke that line of thought as he realized he was veering dangerously close to secrets he didn’t want to tell, changing tracks to a different aspect of the man. “They also say he abducts people - usually ones who get on his bad side, but he also likes kids. None of the rumors know why, but he never seems to take anyone with a ‘bad’ Quirk, so my guess is that he has a use for them somehow, if he is behind it all.”

“Hmm. If you think of anything else you know, feel free to mention it to us - anything, even rumors, can help us predict his next moves,” Aizawa said, turning back towards where they were headed.

Izuku was going to respond when a familiar non-human approached, followed by a skeletal-looking man with blond hair. A flare of excitement sparked at the sight of the famed Yuuei principal, and a part of him observed the man at his side curiously.

“Am I a dog, or a mouse, or a bear? No, I’m the principal! Wonderful to meet you, young Deku,” the animal said, smiling with closed lips. Izuku tipped his head, curiously watching the… person? Animal? Being, he’d settle with that. “I have heard such interesting things about you!”

“Really?” Izuku asked, a little wary. He wasn’t used to people knowing who he was, and liked it even less coming from someone as prominent as the principal of Yuuei. Still, he couldn’t help but blurt out a comment on the famous greeting. “Also, sorry if this is rude, but I always thought your chimeraism had a stoat base? I’m sorry if I got that wrong or if I’ve offended you by asking, I didn’t mean to.”

Nezu paused, staring at Izuku for a long moment, before his lips pulled back in a much more alarming version of the smile he’d given before, and Izuku shifted his weight back into the reassuring mass of Shoma behind him. Usually the principal looked rather friendly, but at the moment he much more resembled some of the more dangerous spirits Izuku had seen before.

We’re sure he’s not the spirit attached to the blond man, right? Izuku asked warily. Shoma didn’t reply in words, but sent back an equally startled sense of a shake of the head. Izuku was glad for the confirmation - while it was very rare for a spirit to manifest on the physical first plane, it wasn’t unheard of.

“Yes,” the stoat (maybe? Izuku’s question hadn’t really been answered, but he was pretty sure that was confirmation) mused aloud, looking intrigued. “Quite interesting things indeed. But! That will have to wait for another day, sadly. In the meantime, I am here to welcome you as a temporary ward of the school until your service to us is finished. Now, I noted on the paperwork Aizawa and Yamada filled out that you were missing some information?”

“Probably,” Izuku said, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Depending on what it is, I may or may not fill you in. And if some of it needs to be, then we’ll have to work out another arrangement.”

“Of course, of course,” the principal said lightly, whipping a clipboard out of… somewhere. “Now, an alias is fine, but is there a legal name I can put down for you?”

“Deku is what I go by to everyone who matters these days,” Izuku said, crossing his arms and settling in.

“No worries! And is there an emergency contact I can list for you?”

Izuku paused at that. Did he want to list his mother? It had been so long since he’d last seen her, and if anything did happen to him, he’d like for her to know. But no, he’d left for a reason, and he couldn’t drag her back into everything - not to mention, giving any of her information away would immediately lead to the missing persons report and cold case on himself, which he wanted to avoid. He could list the Bakugous, maybe, but that ran a similar risk, and it had been years since he’d spoken to any of them, so they’d probably forgotten all about him by now.

“No,” he finally said, shaking his head. “Again, everyone who matters already knows where I am and will know if anything happens to me.”

“A tracking or telepathy Quirk?” the blond man asked, sounding intrigued. Izuku eyed the man curiously, before tipping his head in a so-so motion.

“Sort of,” he said, refusing to elaborate further. Nezu kept a polite smile - this time without teeth - for a moment longer, before nodding his assent and glancing down at the clipboard once more.

“Alright, last question for now - we can revisit this another time, perhaps after having earned more of these answers,” he said, causing Izuku to twitch at how easily he’d apparently been read by the other. “Is there a Quirk status you’d like to have listed?”

There were a myriad of things that Izuku could say to that - that Izuku wanted to say to that. But a lifetime of being hidden, or mocked, or anything else regarding his abilities and his Quirk status caused him to just snort.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“As expected! Oh well, that just makes it all the more interesting to see what changes you will bring while on our campus,” the principal said cheerily, the clipboard disappearing seemingly into the nether again. “Yagi-san, would you mind giving me a ride back to the main building? I’ll leave Aizawa and Yamada-san to bring Eri and Deku to the dorms in peace now.”

The newly-named Yagi looked at Izuku for a moment longer, before giving a weak smile  in his direction.

“Perhaps we can chat at some point during your stay, Deku-shonen,” he said. “Though you are not a student here, I try to get to know the children in our care as best I can.”

“I - sure,” Izuku said, now thoroughly perplexed by the whole interaction. He sent a confused glance towards the two heroes beside him. They looked vaguely amused by the whole situation, and Izuku decided they would be no help at figuring out what on earth was going on.

With that, Nezu climbed up onto Yagi’s shoulder, and the pair began making their way back to the main building. Exchanging a glance with Shoma, Izuku shook his head, thoroughly baffled.

“Is he always that… strange?” Izuku asked aloud, and he heard Yamada muffle a laugh. “I’ve had a lot of weird conversations in the past decade, and that easily makes the top ten - well, fifteen, actually - list.”

“Yes,” Aizawa said decisively, turning towards the dorms as a decisive way of showing he wasn’t planning to elaborate. Izuku smiled and shook his head, trailing after the two heroes.

He adjusted his grip on Eri’s legs, the girl having fallen asleep in the car. Both Aizawa and Yamada had offered to take her from him, but she was small enough that it wasn’t a bother to carry her. Peeking over his shoulder, he could just barely see the tip of her horn near his shoulder, and a hint of the blue-white color of her hair.

“We’re here!” Yamada exclaimed, before wincing a little at his own volume, casting a glance towards the girl on Izuku’s back. Clearly he’d forgotten she was sleeping still. Eri shuffled a little bit, rubbing her cheek into Izuku’s shoulder, before her eyes blinked blearily open.

“We’re there?” she asked softly, and Izuku nodded back to her with a smile.

He shuffled her around so that she was on his hip, and they both looked up at the large dorm building curiously. It didn’t look like much, but its size was still impressive. Knowing Yuuei’s reputation, Izuku had no doubt that the inside would be much more magnificent.

“Do you want to walk yourself?” he asked her, glancing back down to get a read on her expression. Eri considered for a moment.

“Can I hold your hand if I do?” she asked, looking back up at him. Izuku felt his smile soften behind his face mask as he nodded. When she then nodded in response, he lowered her to the ground and took her hand carefully in his.

Once she was situated, he looked back at the two heroes, and was surprised to see Mic staring determinedly at the sky while Aizawa had his eyes locked on the door leading to the dorms.

“Is something wrong?” Izuku asked, a little taken aback at the sight.

“Nope, everything’s fine,” Yamada said, turning without looking down. “But if I look at you both, I will cry and in the process probably embarrass you both by exclaiming about how cute the two of you are together.”

“Let’s just get inside,” Aizawa sighed, following his own advice and moving towards the door.

“Sho thinks you both are cute too, he’s just too stubborn to say so,” Yamada revealed in a stage whisper, ignoring Aizawa’s glare over his shoulder in favor of listening to Eri’s giggles. Clearly having enough of their antics, the dark-haired hero opened the door and stepped inside the dorms, leaving the trio behind him to hurry after.

Izuku only realized the flaw in this plan once they were inside. For some reason, he hadn’t considered the fact that if Yamada and Aizawa lived in the dorms, and the students lived in the dorms, then the students would be there when they arrived.

There weren’t a lot of students in the common room, but there were enough that when Aizawa entered the room and they all turned to look, Izuku froze, feeling the uncomfortable ordeal of being perceived by peers for the first time in years. Eri seemed to be of a similar mind, if for different reasons, as she tucked herself behind his leg much like small children do with parents when meeting a stranger.

Izuku kind of wished he could do that too, but not only was he too big, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to do that to either of the heroes with him either. Of course, Shoma also couldn’t be seen by anyone else, so hiding behind him was pointless too.

“Sensei, you’re back!” a pink-skinned girl exclaimed, grinning broadly. Her hero name was… Pinky, if Izuku was remembering right from the Sports Festival. “How did the raid go?”

“Classified.”

“Aw, Sensei, you can’t tell us even a little?” A blond Izuku was pretty sure was called Chargebolt pouted, having draped himself over the back of the couch to peer at them. “Also, who are the newbies?”

“Newbies?” A head of dark hair popped up as well - Cellophane? Izuku was getting rapidly overwhelmed by all the new faces. This was more interaction with humans than he’d had in months already. “Oh, hey! Where’d they come from?”

“They are associated with the case we’re finishing up,” Aizawa said, before Izuku can even try to come up with an answer. “You are not to ask them for details, but you are free to speak and interact with them while they are here.”

With that, the hero seemed to decide the conversation was over and made his way to the stairs Izuku could just barely see off to the side. Looking uncertainly at Yamada, Izuku squeezed Eri’s hand and waited for instruction. The blond man smiled kindly at them.

“Sho is just getting your rooms ready,” he explained, before gesturing to the opposite direction. “Shall we get some lunch now? The kitchen is just through here, and we can make something simple for now. I can show you where everything is kept, in case either of you get hungry later. Though, Eri, if you get hungry just find one of us, okay? I don’t want you to hurt yourself on anything.”

“Okay,” the girl said, her voice just above a whisper as she stayed tucked behind Izuku as they followed after Yamada.

Her eyes were wide as she looked around the space. Off to the side, Pinky grinned broadly and waved at her, causing Eri to squeak in surprise and hide away even more. Izuku huffed a quiet laugh, doing his best to not make Eri feel embarrassed about her reaction, as he probably would have done the same.

At the doorway to the kitchen, Izuku could hear the clattering sound of someone cooking, and the smell of cooking food was delicious. Curious, he followed Yamada easily into the room itself, only to freeze in place at the sight of the person at the stove.

“Yo, extras, food’s -”

Turning around from the stove with a full pot of soup was Bakugou Katsuki, and the other froze mid-yell to stare wide-eyed at Izuku. His hands going slack, the pot of soup fell to the floor, spilling its contents all over the tile. Neither teenager paid it much attention though, too busy being locked in stunned eye contact.

The teens from the other room yelled at the noise, and Yamada made some sounds of alarm, but neither paid them any attention.

“Deku…?” the blond asked, seemingly at a loss for words, for the first time in Izuku’s memory. Yamada went silent at the question, seemingly just as surprised as they were at this sudden development. Footsteps behind them meant that the students from the living room were now watching events unfold.

“Hey… Kacchan…” Izuku said, a sheepish grin behind his face mask as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly with his free hand. As if the sound of his voice broke the shock, Izuku watched as rage suddenly filled the other’s eyes.

“ Where the everloving fuck have you been ?” the other yelled, stepping forward furiously. Instinctively, Izuku pulled Eri further behind himself when he felt her hand squeeze tighter around his. At the movement, Katsuki’s eyes tracked the movement, and a brief frown of confusion furrowed his brow. “And who the fuck is she?”

“This is Eri,” Izuku said, in an attempt at dodging the original question, which didn’t go unnoticed by the other as the anger returned full-force.

“Uh huh, and where the fuck have you been? They thought you were dead . Does Auntie know-?”

“Shut up,” Izuku said, suddenly immediately in front of the other with his hand across Katsuki’s mouth, having left Eri where he’d been standing before. The other stared at him wide-eyed but didn’t break Izuku’s stern gaze. Lowering his voice, aware of their audience, Izuku continued in a serious tone. “She can’t know. You can’t say anything to her. As far as she knows, I’m dead, and that’s the safest thing for everyone. You wouldn’t have known now, if I’d realized you were going to be here. Got it?”

Katsuki nodded reluctantly, but Izuku wanted to make sure he understood exactly what that meant before backing off.

“That means no telling her you saw me, no hinting to her that I’m alive. That means no using any part of my real name when you talk to me or about me. No pictures or videos of me. I was never here. I would say you never knew me, but we both already ruined that, so try not to talk about it if you can. Understand?”

Katsuki frowned a little again, but nodded, knocking Izuku’s hand off his mouth with a scoff. Eyeing the other critically, he shook his head.

“Yeah, shit, I get it okay?” He studied him a moment more. “What do I call you then? And do I get an explanation about why you were ‘dead’ to begin with?”

Turning so that he was addressing both the students behind them - the number of which had grown from those in the living room, great - and Katsuki at the same time, Izuku reached out to take Eri’s hand again.

“Deku is the only name I go by now, so you should be fine, Kacchan,” he said, ignoring for the moment the way Katsuki’s eyebrows rose at the declaration. “And… maybe later. I’ll… ask my guardian and see how much I can explain.”

“Your guardian ? Who the fuck-” Katsuki began, but at the sharp look from Izuku cut himself off with a frustrated huff and rolled his eyes. “ Fine . Later. I get it.”

The moment of silence following that stretched on for an awkward moment as Izuku tried to figure out how to move past this, when Eri saved the day.

“Um, Kacchan?” she asked hesitantly, glancing at Izuku to see if she’d gotten the name right. Izuku’s heart just about melted, and he watched Katsuki’s face do something complicated before settling on something close to neutral. “I’m sorry we made you spill your soup. I can help you clean up if you want?”

“Don’t worry about it, Unicorn,” he said after a moment. “ Deku can help me, since he’s the reason I spilled it. Megaphone over there can get you some food in the meantime. The rest of you extras are out of luck too - fend for yourselves. And if you dare burn down my kitchen I’ll beat all of your asses, so don’t push your luck!” 

Yamada sputtered a bit at the tonal whiplash from everything that just happened, but shook his head and offered a hand to Eri. After a glance at Izuku and a returning encouraging smile, she took his hand and wandered off to prepare some simple food leaving Katsuki and Izuku together in the middle of the kitchen. After a moment longer, the rest of the students decided to give them some space for the time being and began wandering their way over to the fridge and cabinets - though the look in their eyes told Izuku he wouldn’t be left alone for long.

Sighing, Izuku turned his attention back to Katsuki, only to see that the other had grabbed a stack of cleaning cloths and was holding them out expectantly to him. He took one, and together they began to clean up the spilled soup.

“It smelled good, when we first walked in?” Izuku offered, in an attempt to break the awkward silence. “I’m sorry we caused you to spill it.”

Katsuki grunted in response, grabbing another rag to soak up the liquid. After a pause, he sighed, setting the dirty rag aside as he grabbed another.

“You disappeared from school,” he said quietly, casting a cautious glance towards his classmates before meeting Izuku’s gaze again. “No explanation, just gone. Then Auntie came to talk to the old hag, and she was saying stuff about how the police had no idea where you were and how they weren’t even trying. After a while, she said they’d given up, and told her you were probably dead.”

“Kacchan, I -” Izuku said, voice a little choked. His eyes burned, but he forced his tears down through long-practice, and didn’t finish the thought.

“I know whatever you’re running from, or hiding from, or whatever the fuck is probably important,” the blond said, grabbing another rag. “You wouldn’t have gone to this much of an effort if it wasn’t. But even though I know I can’t tell Auntie yet, you better give me something of an explanation - for them, even if not for me. One of us deserves a fucking answer even if not all of us can know.”

Izuku sat there for a moment in silence, casting his gaze to the side to where Shoma was hovering by his shoulder. The blue onibi flickered in uncertainty for a moment. After a moment the spirit pressed into him.

You should tell him, the spirit said quietly. You deserve to have someone human know too. I know it’s been hard for you, not being able to talk to someone about it who isn’t a spirit.

Shoma, you’ve been fine to talk to about it, Izuku protested weakly. Shoma sent him the impression of being flicked on the forehead.

But it’s not the same , the onibi said, and Izuku couldn’t really deny it. And spirits can’t always understand things on the first plane, even if they were once human themselves. It’s different and you know it.

“Okay,” Izuku whispered finally. “Okay.”

Any response Katsuki would have had was lost as Aizawa entered the room again. The man’s eyebrows flew up when he saw the crowd of students not subtly staring at Izuku and Eri, Yamada making something with Eri off to the side, and Katsuki and Izuku kneeling by a damp patch of tile with a pile of dirty rags and an empty soup pot.

“Did I miss something?” he asked drily. Izuku shrugged a little sheepishly, but Katsuki snorted and stood, carrying the dirty rags in the pot and carrying both over to the sink.

“Yeah, Deku is a dumbass as usual, and still sucks at cleaning,” he said, walking away. Izuku would have protested that, but he realized at that moment that he was still holding the (clean) rag that Katsuki had given him when they had begun cleaning, and hadn’t actually helped at all. “I’ll mop after dinner.”

“Still?” Aizawa’s eyes darted between the two teens for a moment, before drifting towards Yamada. The blond gave him a mostly-sincere smile and waved a hand at him.

“We’ll explain later,” he said, before turning his gaze to Izuku as he stood up from the floor. “Food should be ready now, listener. Rice balls okay? Eri helped make them!”

“Ah,” Izuku said, a little surprised at being spoken to so suddenly, before he smiled at the small girl grinning shyly up at him. “Great job! I’m sure they’ll be delicious. Have you ever made them before?”

“No,” she said quietly, shaking her head. “Yamada-san showed me how.”

“They look great! Definitely a lot better than the first time I tried. Those didn’t even hold together, so we ended up having to eat each bit separately,” Izuku said, laughing a little at the memory. Eri grinned a little wider at that, and giggled as she followed Yamada over to the table.

Izuku made his way over and sat down, a little wary now that the other teens seemed to be realizing that he was free game again. As soon as his plate had several riceballs on it, Pinky was sitting down across from him with a wide grin. Instinctively, Izuku froze, hand halfway to reaching for a riceball.

“Hi there!” she said. “I’m Ashido, also known as Pinky. Nice to meet you!”

“...Hi,” Izuku said, trying not to glance at Aizawa for help as the hero sat down next to his husband. “Nice to meet you to?”

“I heard your name is Deku?” she asked as the others rapidly filled in around her, all of their gazes locked onto Izuku, with a few glances towards Eri. She waited for him to nod before continuing. “So, how do you know Blasty here? You two seem pretty familiar - if any of us had tried that stunt, we probably would have gotten blown up!”

“None of your business, Raccoon Eyes!” Katsuki yelled from where he was rummaging in the fridge. “Leave it.”

“Aw, Bakubabe, you’re no fun,” she pouted as Izuku blinked at the new nickname, before dropping it again in favor of her grin.

“How long are you staying with us?” a red-haired boy Izuku recognized as Red Riot asked curiously. “I know Aizawa-sensei said you were here due to a case, but he didn’t say how long the case would take. Oh! I’m Kirishima, by the way. Hero name Red Riot.”

“Ah,” Izuku said, glancing back at the pro-heroes again. When neither protested, he shrugged slightly, turning back to the others. “It… depends on a variety of things? Definitely a week, maybe longer depending on what happens.”

“Sweet! Nice to meet you, dude. Looking forward to getting to know you while you’re here! I’m Kaminari, by the way,” the hero-in-training Izuku had previously identified as Chargebolt said, and from there everyone present followed the trend in introducing themselves to him.

Izuku finally got a chance to remove his facemask at some point during everything so that he could eat, and the flow of conversation paused for a moment as everyone took in his features for the first time. Katsuki’s eyes were especially heavy as they catalogued the changes to his face since they’d last seen each other. Izuku knew what they were seeing - the smattering of freckles, the scar staining a silver line across his right cheek and the one across his chin, the slight baby fat still clinging to his cheekbones but not his jaw, and the faintly purple bags under his eyes.

He tried not to get too self-conscious as he scarfed down his rice balls. If he ate enough and maybe took a nap, he might be able to fit in another session with Eri before they both went to bed that evening. Regardless, he could use the calories after the diet he’d been eating through the years and the amount of energy moving through the planes took.

The others thankfully didn’t make a big deal of everything and kept talking about classes, heroes that had made the news recently, and all kinds of other mundane things. Izuku appreciated the distraction, and their consideration of both Izuku and Eri both not being much for conversation themselves at the moment.

Still, by the end of everything, Izuku was feeling distinctly overwhelmed at the attention and influx of information, and Shoma was settling more of his weight into his shoulder than usual in an effort to help ease his nerves. Thankfully, the two heroes he was staying with seemed to have noticed that he and Eri were beginning to reach the end of their ropes for the time being, and upon seeing that they were both done with their food, stood up. Yamada took both of their plates.

“I’ll go ahead and clean up, listeners. If you want to follow Sho, he can show you where you’ll be staying and you can unpack a bit and rest for a while,” he said with a smile. “We know a lot has happened today already. And Deku, you should probably take a nap after using your Quirk earlier.”

Katsuki’s eyes snapped to Izuku at that statement, accusation and question alike in his gaze, and Izuku pleaded silently with him to stay quiet. After a moment, he gave the tiniest incline of his head possible, and his eyes narrowed.

“Deku,” he said lowly, and Izuku suppressed a wince as he stood to follow Aizawa, taking Eri’s hand again as she stood up as well.

“I know,” he said, equally as quietly. “Later. I promise.”

Katsuki searched his gaze a moment longer, then nodded and turned back to the conversation the others were having. Izuku and Eri trailed after Aizawa, who eyed Izuku for a moment before seemingly deciding to leave things be for the moment as he led them to the elevator.

“Ordinarily I’d take the stairs,” he said, as they stepped inside, “but not only are the teachers’ rooms on the top floor, but I also am not in the mood to field more questions from the students right now, and I get the feeling neither of you are either. Am I right?”

Izuku and Eri glanced at each other for a moment, before looking up and nodding in unison. Glancing at Shoma in the corner of his eye, Izuku sent a quiet feeling of gratitude to the small spirit for helping him with his nerves. He knew he needed to go over what to tell Katsuki with his friend before his conversation with the blond later, but for now he simply focused on the task ahead of getting settled in.

The elevator doors opened, showing a hallway with two doors in it, one on either side. Blinking in surprise at how few doors there were, Izuku raised an eyebrow at Aizawa, who seemed to know what he was asking.

“Each of the dorms are supposed to have one to two teachers as supervision. So, there’s two apartments available to accommodate,” he explained, making his way to the door on the right. “However, in this case I am the main teacher for 1-A, and Hizashi is the part-time second, due to his responsibilities towards 1-C. He shares them with Nemuri, who is the full time supervisor for them - though you might know her better as Midnight.”

Izuku wasn’t entirely sure how to process that influx of information, but luckily he didn’t have to. As soon as Aizawa unlocked the door, the hero seemed to remember something, spinning to face him.

“Ah, right. Here’s a key to the apartment for while you’re here,” he said, pushing a key into Izuku’s hand as soon as it was stretched out. “I don’t want you to be locked out if one of us isn’t here when you want to get to your room.”

As if suddenly possessing a key to the man’s home was nothing noteworthy, the man continued into the apartment. It was only the curious tug from Eri and the flicker from Shoma that shook Izuku out of his shock enough to follow the man.

A grey cat peered at him with lamp-like yellow eyes from across the room as soon as he entered, and Izuku felt his fingers twitch at the sight of it. It had a crooked jaw, was missing part of its right ear, and had multiple scars visible even through the fluffy fur.

“That’s Dumpster, ignore him,” Aizawa said, kicking off his shoes. “He takes a bit to warm up to people, but he’s friendly.”

“He’s so ugly,” Izuku marveled aloud, ignoring Shoma’s snickering beside him. “I would die for him already.”

“No need, the damn cat’s seemingly made a deal with hell to live forever,” Aizawa snorted. “He’s gone through his nine lives already and is living on his own time now. He’ll go when he pleases and not a moment sooner.”

“Why is he called Dumpster?” Eri asked curiously, watching as the cat blinked slowly at her as Izuku helped her take her shoes off after having taken off his own.

“Because I found him in one and I’m terrible with names - just ask Hizashi,” Aizawa said. After checking that they were ready, he motioned for them to follow him down the short hall. “Come with me, I’ll give you the short tour.”

Well, home sweet home, for now, I guess, Izuku murmured to Shoma as he followed after. The spirit flickering curiously against his neck, he followed the hero deeper into the apartment to see what there was in store for him for the next week or so.

Chapter Text

I can’t just tell him everything, Shoma, that defeats the purpose of leaving in the first place, Izuku complained to the onibi floating near the ceiling watching him explore his new room. He would unpack, but all he had was his backpack, and he wasn’t unpacking that anytime soon in case he needed to run. Past experience told him to make sure anything he wanted to keep stayed in his bag, as he could never know when a malevolent spirit might come after him or find his new hideouts.

Well, maybe not everything , the spirit acknowledged. But you could probably tell him most of it. You already talked a bit about it to him before you left, didn’t you? That was always the impression I got when you mentioned him and when you described learning about your abilities .

Shoma had a good point. While Izuku hadn’t met the onibi until just after he’d already left home, he had talked about his life before with the spirit pretty extensively since befriending him, so Shoma probably knew as much as Izuku about his mother, Katsuki, and Katsuki’s parents. Still, that didn’t mean his friend always had the best ideas.

The last time I told anyone anything about all of you, I almost got labeled with a mental disorder, Izuku complained, beginning to open the drawers on the desk to peek inside. Nobody believes in anything without proof these days, despite everyone having literal superpowers , which even two hundred years ago would have been-

Deku.

At the unfamiliar form of address from Shoma, Izuku stiffened, before whirling around to see a red-eyed owl and a blue, glowing heron on the opposite side of the room from him. Ah, that would explain it then. While spirits couldn’t use or gain power from a real name unless given it directly, it was still better not to use actual names around those you didn’t want to know those names.

Hello, Izuku said cautiously, backing up a little so that his backpack was within easy reach. He’d run if he had to, even if it would make things more difficult with Eri. Why are you here?

You’ve come into our humans’ home, the owl, Hayami, said, clacking her beak. We want to know what you want with them.

Nothing, Izuku slightly snapped. I’m not here for them, I’m here for the girl. I’m here to untangle her connection with her spirit and then I’ll be gone.

You would disconnect them? The heron’s voice was carefully - deceptively - calm, and Izuku was very aware that he was on thin ice when it came to them. Thinking back, he was pretty sure the heron went by Daiki, though as the quieter of the two, the name he went by hadn’t been mentioned as much.

When did I say that? he asked, allowing more of his irritation to seep into his voice. I said untangle and I meant it. Have you spoken to her spirit? I don’t know what they go by, but you can’t miss them, they’re a dragon after all.

Both birds’ wings fluttered a little in their surprise, and as they tipped their heads, Izuku knew they were peering deep into the second plane to try and spot the other spirit, to confirm Izuku’s story. When they fluffed up a bit, he knew they’d found the other spirit, and likely seen his wounds.

You found Ohatsu-sama , Daiki said, sounding faintly surprised. Nobody’s heard from her in almost a century - a few of the more hysteria-prone spirits had begun speculating that she’d faded. I guess she’s found a new human, finally. What happened to her?

Izuku was relieved that the aosagibi wasn’t accusing him of having hurt the dragon himself, because if he had, Izuku really would have gotten into a fight with the spirit. He was fifty-five kilograms soaking wet and had no special abilities of his own, save for his interactions with the spirit world - of which, stronger spirits obviously would trounce him if they met anywhere other than the first plane, and even that was questionable if he didn’t have time to prepare himself. If Daiki thought he could take on a dragon and harm them, then clearly he would have had to set the record straight.

The dragon - she? - told me it was the man who kept the girl, Izuku responded, allowing his displeasure to show freely. His spirit-ability is to unmake and remake things. He did that to the girl, and it wasn’t enough to break the connection, but it was enough to keep remaking it. I’m here to help untangle things for now, and potentially clear out the extra bonds, depending on what… Ohatsu-sama, wants when I reach that point. I assume her wounds come from fighting with the man’s spirit, but I don’t know that for sure.

There was a moment of silence as the duo of spirits mulled that over, and Izuku chanced a glance towards Shoma, who was hovering near the ceiling still, between Izuku and the others. The onibi flickered a little, and sent a wave of hesitant reassurance in his direction. Trusting in his friend, Izuku let himself relax just a little, trusting the small spirit’s judgement of the tatarimokke and aosagibi’s intentions.

Alright, Hayami finally said, turning her attention back to him. We are convinced, for now, that you are not going to harm our humans or their bonds. We will not cause you any problems while you stay here, so long as you continue to behave appropriately.

So long as I - Izuku began incredulously, before throwing his hands up, thoroughly fed up by now. “What is it with all of you thinking I plan to steal Quirks through the bonds?! I don’t want them !”

“Deku?”

The voice coming from his room’s door made him freeze, and he realized with a sinking stomach that he’d said that last part in the first tone, where anyone could hear. Turning, he saw Aizawa standing at the door, gaze a mixture of confused and concerned as his eyes flicked between Izuku and the rest of the, to his perspective, empty room.

“Oh, hi, Eraserhead,” Izuku said, trying to calm his suddenly-racing heart and play the whole thing off. “I didn’t hear you open the door.”

“I knocked,” Aizawa said absently, still studying whatever situation he thought he’d walked into. “When you didn’t answer, I got worried something was wrong, especially once your voice raised. Who were you talking to?”

“Nobody,” Izuku said, a little too quickly, and he suppressed a flinch at how obvious of a - well, not a lie, since spirits weren’t people, but not the truth either since he was still talking to someone .

“You sure about that?” Aizawa asked, clearly skeptical.

Shoma , Izuku asked a little desperately, trying not to panic and wanting help figuring out what to do.

I think you should tell him, too , the onibi said, floating down finally to rest next to him. 

Did you miss the part where the last time I tried to tell people they thought I was crazy? Izuku asked, only sheer willpower keeping from turning to look at Shoma in disbelief.

Did you miss the part where he’s already several steps down the path of thinking that anyway? Shoma snarked back. The clattering beaks of the tatarimokke and aosagibi behind him belied their amusement, and Izuku fought back his annoyance at all three of them seemingly throwing him to the wolves. The lack of protest from the other two spirits was also telling, and it seemed they weren’t opposed to Shoma’s idea either.

“Deku?” the hero asked, letting Izuku know he’d been silent for too long. Not seeing a way out of this, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation for several breaths, before throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Fine. Fine! You win,” he said mostly to the spirits, causing Aizawa to blink in surprise at his sudden vehemence. “But I’m only telling this once, so if you could bring Kacchan up first, I’ll explain then. I was going to explain things as best I could to him later anyway. My… guardian and some of his, ah, acquaintences are insisting that I tell you. They are actually being incredibly irritating about that fact, so make of that what you will.”

“I - okay,” Aizawa said, clearly a little taken aback, before professionalism took over. “Let’s head to the living room, and I’ll text the hellions to send him up. Is it okay if Hizashi joins too, and are you opposed to Eri walking in on things?”

Izuku stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head and reaching down to sling his backpack over his shoulder. Aizawa eyed it with a slight frown but said nothing as Izuku followed him out of the bedroom, towards the living room.

“Sure, what the hell. Let’s tell everybody!” Izuku said, before a twinge of guilt killed his attitude abruptly. He winced a little, sending an apologetic glance at the hero. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m annoyed at my guardian, but I shouldn’t be taking that out on you.”

You know I’m right, Shoma said, resting on his shoulder.

Shut up, Izuku replied, with a mental shove. You’re not always right, and I’m still mad you’re pushing this so hard. You aren’t the one who will have to deal with the consequences if this goes bad.

Of course I am, Shoma said, a hint of genuine surprise in his tone. I’d be with you, wouldn’t I?

Izuku felt unreasonably touched at the inherent implication that wherever Izuku went, Shoma would too, and that whatever trouble might come from this Shoma would help him get out of. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised by the declaration - that had been what their dynamic had been almost since the day they’d met. But, he supposed that the nerves of directly interacting with so many people, being in an unfamiliar place, running into Katsuki, and the tense conversation with the bird spirits all were putting him into a more emotionally unbalanced state than normal.

He pushed a sense of gratitude towards the small spirit, and he sat down stiffly on the couch where Aizawa gestured. Once he was seated, Aizawa disappeared into the hallway, no doubt to get Yamada. Hearing the sound of rustling feathers, Izuku glanced to the side to see Daiki getting settled nearby, and Hayami silently winging her way in shortly behind him.

Here to watch the fallout? he asked wryly, only to have Hayami tilt her head at him curiously.

I think you’ll be surprised, she said evenly. Righting her head, she continued. And I’m here because I’m wondering if I might be as well.

At the cryptic phrasing of that, Izuku was about to continue their conversation, when Aizawa returned with Yamada. Just as they reached the living room, there was a series of bangs at the door, causing Izuku to jolt a little in surprise at the sudden noise.

“That was fast,” he muttered under his breath, watching Aizawa make his way to the front door. Yamada snorted quietly beside him at the comment, but before he could respond in any way, the door was swinging open to reveal Katsuki standing there, hands shoved in his pockets with a scowl on his face that was more show than genuine emotion.

“I thought we were going to talk later, nerd?” he grumbled, casting his gaze between Izuku himself and the two teachers in the room.

“Ah, the timeline got moved up with a little help from my… guardian,” Izuku explained. “I don’t want to have to explain this more than once, so I figured I’d do it all at once.”

Seemingly satisfied, Katsuki sank down onto one of the only remaining places to sit, Aizawa having taken a chair beside the couch, and Yamada having taken the other end of the couch that Izuku was seated on.

“Eri is still napping,” Aizawa said, clearly reading the subtle curiosity in Izuku’s expression. “I thought you were too, after unpacking, but clearly neither of those things ended up being true.”

“Right,” Izuku said, suddenly feeling awkward under all the attention. Abruptly, he realized he had no idea where to start with all this. “Right. I’m not entirely sure where to begin, since the last time I tried, I was a little kid. And, since I wouldn’t be explaining much now, except Aizawa-san caught me doing something I couldn’t really explain away, so. I guess to explain things, I need to give a bit of background first.”

“Start wherever you need to,” Yamada encouraged, clearly doing his best to keep his attention as low-pressure as possible, unlike Katsuki and Aizawa who were both staring intently at him.

“So, I guess the story goes back to when I was four, and was diagnosed as Quirkless,” Izuku said, deciding to just rip the bandage off and start. There were quiet sounds of surprise from both heroes, but he ignored them for the moment. “I have also never shown signs of a Quirk, and I doubt I ever will. However, several months after that appointment, I did start gaining a different kind of ability.”

“What do you mean?” Aizawa asked, eyes still intent despite the slight confusion now etched into the lines of his gaze.

“Well, I started hearing voices nobody else could hear, and by the time I was five, I started seeing things others couldn’t either,” Izuku said. This was around the time that he lost people, but he met Katsuki’s eyes and said pointedly. “Most of the teachers were worried I had a mental illness, but Kacchan’s parents and my mother thought I just had a vivid imagination, thinking I had imaginary friends. For a while, I thought they were right.”

“Wait,” Katsuki interrupted, eyes going wide. “You were serious ? I don’t know about the adults, I didn’t pay that much attention to those fuckers, but a lot of the kids in our year thought you were pretending for attention after being diagnosed Quirkless. I didn’t know what to think - you were too fucking genuine to be pretending, but also weren’t claiming to have a Quirk. What do your imaginary friends have to do with this shit?”

“First off, they weren’t imaginary after all,” Izuku said wryly, unable to keep from glancing towards the bird spirits watching him, and he caught the moment the others caught his glance too, and winced a little. “Secondly, they turned out to be, well, spirits. Which I know sounds crazy, believe me, I’ve heard it all, but I’ve also seen the proof that they’re real and that I’m not nuts, I swear.”

“Is there a way to show us the proof?” Yamada asked. His tone said he was still skeptical, but was at least willing to meet him partway. Izuku hesitated.

His first instinct would always be to rely on Shoma, but while he loved the onibi dearly, the small spirit didn’t have the power to manifest much on the first plane even at the best of times. His only other option would be to work with Hayami or Daiki, both of whom didn’t like him much still. Izuku turned to look at them, not bothering to hide it after the reveal, even though it made his skin crawl a little being so obvious about his attention to them.

“I have an idea,” he said aloud, for the sake of the others and feeling incredibly weird all the same, glancing between the two before settling on Hayami, thinking that the result would have less potential to go wrong. “I can Promise if you need me to, that I won’t do any damage to the bond or do anything permanent. Neither of you should even feel anything, but I won’t do it without Permission.”

Hayami stared at him for a long moment, before glancing to the side at Shoma, who was hovering near Izuku’s shoulder still.

Onibi, she said, slightly imperiously. You trust him with this?

I trust him with my name , Shoma said, a little defensively. He has spoken it but once since I gave it to him, and that was for my own sake, not his. Trusting him with this is easy.

Wings fluttering in surprise, Hayami took a moment more, before finally bobbing her head in the closest approximation of a nod she could do. Izuku let out a breath, relieved that this wouldn’t be more complicated, and turned back to the others who were looking a little restless and uncertain.

“Well, now that I have Permission,” he began, licking his lips and leaning forward a little as he turned his full attention to Aizawa, “I can show you some proof. Spirits don’t like me interacting with their people much, especially when they’re right there. Aizawa-san, you should have something happen in a moment.”

Dipping just barely into the second plane, Izuku’s vision refocused to see things that were impossible to describe on the first plane. There simply weren’t words to describe what things looked like without matter being a key limiting feature - colors and light weren’t the same, objects didn’t look right, textures were impossible to compare. It made him dizzy, especially without the help and anchor of a Script sigil.

Shoma, can you show me…

Here.

The ball of blue flames drew his hand forward until it brushed the string of the bond between Hayami and Aizawa. Splitting his vision between the first and second plane gave him a headache from the overlay, but he crooked his fingers in the first plane to gently strum the bond in the second. He watched as the moment he did, Aizawa’s Quirk activated for several seconds without his say so, causing Yamada to abort a powered yelp, and Katsuki to hiss a curse under his breath. Aizawa himself looked vaguely alarmed, and stood up just as the effect wore off, returning his eyes to normal and causing his hair to fall around his shoulders again.

“How did you do that?” he demanded.

“I touched the bond you have with your spirit,” Izuku said, licking his lips again in an attempt to ease his nerves as he blinked hard to fall fully back into the physical realm. His head ached, and he didn’t normally do this for a reason, but he had to even though he couldn’t predict the hero’s response now. His muscles had gone taut as Aizawa had stood up, and Shoma had returned to perch in his lap at the signs of his anxiety. “Spirits are what give people Quirks, since they share some of their own abilities, so all I had to do was touch it, basically. It’s a little more involved than that, but it’s a lot of technical detail that you wouldn’t understand yet, if I could even explain it.”

“And you’re sure that’s not a Quirk?” Yamada said, sounding a little faint. Clearly offput, Aizawa slowly sank back into his chair.

“I’m still biologically Quirkless, and I don’t have an attached spirit of my own, so I’m going to go with no,” Izuku shrugged, shoulders tense. “Besides, there have been plenty like me - well, enough like me - throughout history for there to be precedent. Shintoism and its priests, shrine maidens, and the like has its roots in the spirit world, for example. A few of them were able to see the spirits, and there are similar stories around the world with other cultures and their spirits too - though I don’t know much about them. All I’ve seen so far are ones from Japan, since that’s the only place I’ve ever lived.”

There was a long moment of silence as all three humans in the room took in that influx of information.

“Your guardian,” Aizawa finally broke the silence. “Explain that. Because Bakugou here seemed to think you weren’t alive anymore when we showed up, according to Hizashi here.”

“Right, so, a little more backstory first. Nobody believed me about the spirits and thought I was crazy or imagining everything,” Izuku summarized the story, before continuing. “I also didn’t really have anyone to teach me how everything worked, and I got lucky that nothing bad happened sooner than it did, because spirits and the spirit world have rules , and I’m pretty sure I broke a lot of them early on by accident.”

Casting a glance towards the bird spirits still watching him, Izuku continued, ignoring the way Katsuki followed his gaze and squinted at where the birds were, subtley trying to see them.

“When I was about five or so, my mom’s spirit came to visit for the first time since I’d gotten my abilities. Most spirits either don’t have or aren’t willing to spend the energy to hang out with us much - they see it as a waste,” he explained, upon seeing the confusion the others had. “It was the first time I’d seen her since my abilities came in, and I was curious. I ended up grabbing onto the bond between her and my mom, not knowing what it was, and started messing with it. It caused my mom’s Quirk to flare up, making her freak out, and messing with the bond caused her spirit to freak out.”

“What happened?” Katsuki asked, eyes narrowed. Izuku knew what he was expecting, but they hadn’t reached that part of the story yet.

“Not what you think. That was when I first realized spirits could be dangerous though - the scar on my cheek is from her, and after making me let go of the bond, she left. I haven’t seen her since,” Izuku said, feeling Shoma increase his pressure on Izuku’s shoulder. The small spirit never liked hearing about the time before he could help Izuku with everything the spirit world involved. Shifting his weight, Izuku continued.

“But, that incident apparently spread to others, and the more… malevolent spirits began showing up. I was able to avoid them well enough eventually, after knowing to look out for them, but my mom didn’t even know they were there. When one of them eventually attacked her and her bond, mistaking her for me, I realized I couldn’t stay and let her be a target just for knowing me,” he said, not meeting anyone’s eyes, still feeling guilty about the whole situation.

“So you left,” Aizawa said softly, the lines of his face having softened just a little in sympathy. Izuku didn’t answer verbally, just nodding.

He hadn’t wanted to leave his mother behind, and knew she had probably lost her mind with worry when he’d left. He also knew the police had probably been no comfort, given his Quirkless status. He knew he’d probably broken her heart, when she finally gave up and was told he probably wasn’t alive anymore. It was something he’d never forgive himself for, but that he knew he’d had to do. The spirits had been getting more dangerous and frequent, and since she didn’t believe he was seeing them, she didn’t take his warnings seriously. 

He hadn’t known anything back then, and could barely protect himself, much less her, so the only solution available had been to remove himself from the equation. 

“How old were you, when you left her?” Yamada asked, uncharacteristically quiet. “Downstairs you implied it had been a long time, but you’re still only sixteen, so I’m a little afraid to ask.”

“I was a little over six,” Izuku said, doing his best to ignore the sharp inhales from both pro heroes. “It turned out okay though, within a week or so I met my guardian - an onibi who goes by Shoma. He’s been with me ever since, and has helped me stay safe living on my own - from both people and spirits alike. He’s family now, and probably my closest friend.”

He cast a smile down at the ball of flames sitting in his lap still, and ran his fingers through flames that didn’t burn him. Shoma sent back his own silent affection, knowing that now wasn’t the time for any declarations of his own.

“Your guardian is a spirit ?” Aizawa asked, sounding some strange mixture of offended, concerned, and impressed.

“Wait, that’s why you said your guardian knew where you were, both at the hospital and when we arrived here!” Yamada exclaimed, face brightening with realization. “He was with you the whole time!”

Izuku nodded, but before he could respond to that, Katsuki spoke up again.

“Two questions. For now,” he stated in a tone that said he demanded answers. “Firstly, why the fuck were you in the hospital, Deku? Secondly, how many… spirits are in the room with us now? Because don’t think I haven’t seen you glancing around during this conversation - and you’ve addressed at least two of these fuckers.”

“Ah,” Izuku said, not sure why he was surprised that the blond had caught that. He paused for a moment, casting a glance to the two birds, already knowing Shoma’s answer to the question he was going to ask them.

Are you okay with me telling them about you? I can be vague if you want me to.

Go ahead, Daiki said, after a brief moment where he exchanged a look with Hayami. If we minded, we would have protested you telling them anything. I believe we are both curious what our humans will do with the knowledge of our existence.

“Okay, so to answer the second question,” Izuku continued aloud, returning his attention to the three in front of him, “there are three spirits here right now. Shoma, an onibi and my friend. Then there’s Hayami, a tatarimokke, who is bonded to Aizawa-san right now - she’s the one I had to get Permission from earlier, to handle the bond. Then there’s Daiki, an aosagibi, who is bonded to Yamada-san. I guess there technically is a fourth, since Eri’s spirit Ohatsu-sama is somewhere around here, but space is a little weird with spirits, and she has stuck closer to the spirit world since I met her so she isn’t visible right now.”

“That… opens up a lot more questions, but I’ll hold off for now,” Aizawa muttered. “And to answer the first question, Bakugou, Deku ran into us when we were with Eri in the hospital after the case we were working on finished. Apparently, he goes to hospitals to ‘fix’ Quirks, though we assumed it was due to his own Quirk at the time.”

“Sometimes bonds get, ah, messy,” Izuku said, almost apologetically knowing that the birds were listening in. “It’s crossing through entire planes of existence, so problems are bound to happen. I just help smooth those out when I can, so that the spirit energy doesn’t end up harming the people involved.”

The bonds can hurt humans? Hayami asked, sounding alarmed. Pausing at the sudden question, Izuku turned to her and blinked several times.

Yeah, you didn’t know that? he asked, surprise coloring his voice. Spirit energy doesn’t always match up well to the material plane, issues happen all the time.

How badly does it hurt them? Daiki demanded. Is anything hurting our humans?

I’d have to check them directly for that, but not that I can tell so far, Izuku said, frowning a little. And it depends on what the bond gives them. My mom’s ability was drawing small objects to her, and the worst side effect she ever got was the occasional bout of dizziness after using it too much. The worst case I ever saw in the hospitals was a boy who burned himself alive whenever he used his Quirk - I think he was supposed to have a phoenix-like Quirk based on his spirit, but it was hurting him pretty badly until I tweaked the bond a little.

“That,” Aizawa cut in, his eyes narrowed. “What is that? I’ve seen you do it before, and while you’re pretty good at masking it, your microexpressions still change when you do - and you’re hiding it even less now that you’ve told us about them.”

“Hiding - you mean talking to the spirits?” Izuku asked a little confused. Shoma flickered his flames, drawing his attention.

Your expression goes a little blank when you talk to us in the second tone, and your emotions still play out on your face a little, the onibi revealed, in an attempt to help. It’s obvious to someone paying attention that something is happening, but it was never relevant until now, so I never mentioned it.

“Huh,” Izuku said aloud, before continuing. “Well, explaining the details of that would take more time than I think you want me to spend on that answer now, but long story short, there’s a way for me to talk to spirits that humans don’t hear. Same as how they talk to me, really.”

“Deku? Aizawa-san? Yamada-san?”

Eri’s voice cut through the conversation, and she appeared from the hallway, rubbing one of her eyes. From beside Izuku, Yamada let out a rapidly-muffled coo at the image she made, and Izuku had to admit she was adorable.

“Hey, little listener!” he said, after recovering. “Did you sleep well?”

“Hmm,” she nodded, yawning a little before making a direct path to the open spot on the couch between Yamada and Izuku. She clambered up onto the couch and hesitated for just a second as she glanced between them, before tipping so that she was leaning into Izuku’s side.

“If we’re finishing our conversation later,” Izuku said, brushing his fingers through Eri’s hair, “I could probably do a short session with Eri’s Quirk.”

“Didn’t you need to sleep first?” Aizawa asked with a frown. “I noticed how tired you got earlier, and you never took a nap like we planned.”

Izuku tipped his head in a so-so motion, beginning to segment Eri’s hair out into three parts for braiding.

“It depends. Resting doesn’t always have to mean sleeping, and food always helps me regain energy,” he said absently, interweaving the strands of Eri’s hair together carefully. “I’ve been eating pretty well in the past twelve hours, so my energy is higher than normal.”

Silence met his words for just long enough that he glanced up at the others, to see the two heroes exchanging an unreadable look, and Katsuki was staring at him with incredulous irritation. Raising an eyebrow at the teen, who was the only one looking at him, Katsuk shook his head with an annoyed tsk .

“You doin’ it here?” the blond asked. Understanding what he meant, Izuku nodded. “Will me watching the process cause any problems?”

“You want to watch?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Katsuki demanded, narrowing his eyes at the green-haired boy, who shrugged in an effort to calm the other down.

He didn’t know why he was so surprised. Of course Katsuki was going to want more information after everything he’d told him. Izuku supposed it was because he was the only person from his life before he’d left that he’d told the truth so directly. It felt like a strange collision of his worlds, and it had him a little off balance.

“Oh. Sure?” he said, blinking at the blond. “I don’t think it’s that interesting to watch though.”

Glancing at the two pro heroes who had watched him do a session before had them both shrugging.

“The writing was a little weird, since we couldn’t read it,” Yamada said, glancing upwards as he thought back to the hospital. “Other than that, it looked a little like meditating? With a few more reactions. A few times you looked like you were in discomfort.”

“Hm, sounds about right,” Izuku said offhandedly, tying off the braid in Eri’s hair and grabbing a marker from his pocket. He drew the Script sigil on himself first, before offering his hand to Eri, letting her decide when she was ready to take his hand. A moment later, she placed her hand in his, and he began drawing the sigil on her as well. In the corner of his eye, he saw Katsuki squinting at the sigil in annoyance, blinking hard as he tried to read it.

“There’s no use,” Aizawa told him quietly. “We’ve tried - our eyes don’t process whatever we’re seeing.”

“You ready?” he asked Eri, ignoring Katsuki’s grumbling and intent gaze in the background. She bit her lip, but nodded, looking curiously at the illegible writing he’d put on her hand. Izuku smiled reassuringly at her. “Remember, it won’t hurt, but it will help you feel better. It did this morning, right?”

At the reminder, her expression eased a little and her shoulders relaxed as she gave a small smile back and nodded. Glad she was feeling better about the whole thing, Izuku settled into a more comfortable position as he felt Shoma position himself nearby, to guard him while he traversed the planes.

Already not looking forward to untangling the mess of bonds between Eri and Ohatsu-sama, Izuku gave a silent sigh and let himself rise up out of the first plane under the watchful eyes of the others.

Chapter Text

Dinner was just as awkward for Izuku as lunch was, except there were more people now than before. While some of the class had been doing their own thing during lunch, all of them seemed to show up for dinner. Katsuki was cooking again, and Izuku had begun to gather from his threats to the others that the rest of his class wasn’t nearly as gifted in the kitchen.

“Who are you?” a rather severe looking teen demanded, looking at Izuku with narrowed eyes. Resisting the urge to shrink back, he half-smiled awkwardly back.

“I go by Deku,” Izuku said, flicking a glance across the room to where Aizawa was helping Eri decide what she wanted to eat. Apparently there would be no help from the man with this, and Yamada was fulfilling his duty as one of the supervisors of one of the other dorms. “I, ah, am part of a case Aizawa-san is working on? I’m here with Eri-chan.”

The other teen frowned, before the red-haired boy from lunch - Kirishima - leaned forward with an easy-going grin.

“Iida, don’t interrogate the dude! Aizawa-sensei and Yamada-sensei introduced him to us during lunch, before you got back from your run,” he said. “Bakubro also knows him, apparently they go way back. He’s staying in the teacher’s apartment with the others right now.”

“My apologies if I came off negatively!” Iida said loudly, chopping the air with his hands. Izuku was beginning to wonder if the teen had any mode other than loud and demanding. “I admit that caution when approached by strangers has been engrained by now, however I should have put more faith in the judgement of our teachers!”

“Er, right,” Izuku said, genuinely at a loss for how to interact with these very social teenagers. He was also doing his best to ignore the few spirits roaming the room, who he had no doubts knew who he was but were electing to ignore him as well despite their occasional wary glances. Which he was glad about. He didn’t need to deal with them as well as the socializing he’d been thrust into with people his own age, which was already overwhelming enough.

“You haven’t hung out with this many people in a while, have you?” a bubbly voice asked, sounding vaguely amused. Turning, Izuku saw Uravity - Uraraka, he thought she’d been called - leaning against the chair of a frog-like girl nearby who was more focused on what was probably homework than the conversation at hand. “It’s fine, we’re a bit much even on the best of days, so nobody will hold it against you if you need a breather.”

“That obvious?” Izuku did his best to joke, feeling some part of him ease at the blunt addressing of the issue. “Yeah, it’s been just me for a long time, and my guardian. But he’s… eccentric at the best of times. I guess Shinshoku-sensei was around for a while, but after he passed, it was just me and my guardian again.”

Hey, Shoma protested lightly tickling his jaw with his flames.

What? From a human perspective you are, Izuku said. It’s not often someone can say they’re friends with a literal ball of fire. That’s eccentric.

“You dont have to tell us,” Uraraka said, gentle understanding in her voice and her gaze, “but why were you guys so alone? Because it sounds like you were barely interacting with anyone else, from the way you said that.”

“I -” Izuku broke off, trying to organize his thoughts while thinking of a way to phrase things that didn’t reveal the stranger side of his life. Aizawa and Yamada were an exception to his (rare) interactions in how quickly they’d learned. Most of the time, he never said a word about the more unusual parts of his life. “It’s complicated. My guardian was protecting me from something related to Aizawa-san and Yamada-san’s case, which is how we met. I’m not sure how much more I can say, honestly.”

The scraping of a chair nearby interrupted any response that would have, and the small group turned to see Aizawa sitting down with a large stack of papers and the biggest cup of coffee Izuku had ever seen. A glance back showed Eri occupied on a stepstool with several bowls in front of her and a concentrated look on her face. Turning his attention back to the teacher, even his own students seemed to be a little surprised at the amount of work he had.

“Wow, sensei, that’s a lot of homework,” Kirishima said, looking a little intimidated at the pile. “I don’t think you assigned us that much work recently - but if you did, then I’m in trouble. Where’d it all come from?”

“I don’t only teach you hellions,” Aizawa sighed, bringing out a red pen. “Most of this is third year coursework - so look forward to this once you become third years too.”

Kirishima looked a little sick at the thought of that much work, and even Iida seemed a little unsettled by the prospect. Izuku was just glad he didn’t have to deal with all that nonsense himself.

“Wow, I am so glad I don’t have to deal with homework,” he said absently, sneaking a hand over to lift a few of the pages to peek at the contents of the stack. “It seems like a nightmare, honestly.”

“What do you mean, you don’t have to deal with homework?” Aizawa asked in a careful monotone, pausing in his apparent vicious grading of a poor student’s paper based on the amount of red ink, eyes glancing up intently.

“Oh, I haven’t been to school properly since I was six,” Izuku said, pulling a few of the papers over as he saw Aizawa not reacting to his interest in them. He read over them curiously. “Shinshoku-sensei made sure I knew how to read and write, and taught me some history and calligraphy, but for the most part I’m self-taught in a lot of things. Libraries and the internet are mankind’s best inventions, and I will never be convinced otherwise.”

Tell Aizawa you could probably test out of high school, though, before he has an aneurysm, Shoma said mildly, tone slightly amused for whatever reason.

“My guardian would probably want me to mention that I could likely test out of high school, though,” Izuku repeated dutifully, distracted as he frowned at the page in his hands. “Do you have a spare pen, by the way? This reference about the genetic Quirk factor is wrong - they’re thinking of the paper by Ishinoya, not Ishimatsu like they cited here. Regardless, it’s a bad reference, since those findings were disproven seven years ago by Yamazaki.”

When silence met his words, Izuku looked up to see several startled expressions on the students’ faces, and an unreadable look on Aizawa’s face. Nonetheless, the teacher passed over a second red pen and watched as Izuku, lovingly, tore the student’s references to shreds.

“You’re interested in Quirk theory then?” he asked, causing Izuku to look up at him momentarily. “A bit of a dense subject for a teenager to get into. There’s a lot of subjects involved in Quirk studies, that require a good understanding to make sense of things.”

“Ah, yeah, what with my… situation,” Izuku said, casting a careful glance at the other students, “I kind of have to be? Well. Nothing depends on my knowledge, but it helps to have a clear understanding of what’s happening from the biological perspective at least. Then that kind of spiraled further when I realized I also needed to understand chemistry to understand biology, then physics to understand chemistry… But this interest probably would have stayed in my life regardless - even as a kid I was obsessed with Quirks.”

“Yeah, the nerd was always both a hero otaku and a nut about Quirks. Made me explode things for him all the time in the name of collecting data,” Katsuki said, yanking the paper away from Izuku despite his protests, so that he could stick a heaping bowl of food in front of him. “Even tried to see what my nitroglycerin-based sweat tasted like a few times due to the smell, until I told our parents, you maniac. That shit can be toxic .”

“Kacchan!” Izuku protested, flushing at the call out in front of strangers who were now laughing at Past Izuku.

I notice you aren’t denying it , Shoma laughed quietly. You never told me about that.

Shut up, Izuku muttered. I tried very hard to forget that time in my life .

Turning his attention to the dish in front of him, Izuku abruptly found himself fighting back tears at the sight of the katsudon in front of him. It looked so much like the way his mom used to prepare the meal that he wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“Kacchan, you remembered,” he said, keeping the tears from falling but his voice still sounding wetter than normal. “It looks just the way it used to.”

“You were obsessed with it, nerd, it wasn’t hard to remember,” Katsuki scoffed, but without any meanness. He began dishing out the rest of the meal for his classmates, and Izuku clapped in thanks, picking up his chopsticks to begin eating the meal.

The moment the food passed his lips he froze again, closing his eyes hard to prevent himself from crying. He was still for long enough that Kirishima laughed a little, though there was an underlying concern.

“I know Bakubro’s food is amazing,” he said, from across the table, “but I think this is the first time it’s brought anyone to actual tears. You good, dude?”

Izuku nodded, keeping his eyes closed as he swallowed. When he opened his eyes, he met Katsuki’s gaze, before the other’s ears turned ever so slightly pink and he looked away. 

“Is this…?” he asked the blond, who huffed, before grudgingly nodding his head.

“Yeah, she taught me some of her recipes a few years back. This one she couldn’t bring herself to actually make, but she was willing to get me the recipe anyway,” he said, facing away from him. “I haven’t made it until now, so. Probably isn’t my best work since I haven’t practiced it yet.”

“It’s perfect,” Izuku said quietly, before continuing to eat slowly, savoring the meal. “I don’t think I’ve had katsudon since Shinshoku-sensei made some for me on my birthday the year he died. This is way better than his though - he wasn’t much of a cook since he always ate simply, but he tried which is what mattered.”

“Shinshoku-sensei?” the frog-like girl asked, looking at him curiously. “Why was a priest so close to you and your guardian when you guys were under protection, kero ?”

The pause in Aizawa’s grading told Izuku that he probably was curious too, but had refrained from asking earlier due to the vast info dump he’d already given earlier that day. It seemed like he either didn’t want to overwhelm Izuku, or maybe didn’t want to push him too far - which was an appreciated consideration, given that he knew the man likely still had dozens of questions for him. Izuku shifted a little, the dull ache at Shinshoku-sensei’s passing flaring up again.

“He… had a Quirk similar to mine,” Izuku said carefully, seeing Aizawa go still in his peripheral vision. “I knew almost nothing about how to control it or use it when I got it, or even what it really was when it first came in. I was completely in the dark, and… it was dangerous. To me and others. My guardian’s Quirk was nothing like mine either, so he had no idea how to help me. So we found Shinshoku-sensei, and he taught me what he could.”

“That’s cool!” Kaminari leaned around the Kirishima to see Izuku better. “Lucky you could find someone then, if it was that important to learn more about it. What is your Quirk, anyway? It doesn’t sound like a very common one, and rare Quirks are always cool.”

Izuku wasn’t quite sure how to answer that, given the circumstances. Thankfully, he didn’t have to.

“Not everyone likes talking about their Quirk, Kaminari,” a tired-sounding voice came from further down the table. “He specifically didn’t mention it, has seemingly been under protection for years, and is part of an active case right now. Learn to read the room.”

“Right, sorry Deku!” Kaminari exclaimed, looking a little sheepish. “I got excited is all, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

Izuku waved a hand, not taking offense. Glancing over to the person who had interjected on his behalf, Izuku had to blink at the sight of the teen that met him. He glanced between the teen and Aizawa for several moments, shooting a sense of surprise towards Shoma.

You’re getting this too, right? he asked.

Yeah, I see it, the spirit said, sounding a little surprised himself, but mostly amused.

A snort drew his attention again to Katsuki, who had sat down with his own meal by now, after having given bowls of food out to the others. There was an amused expression on the blond’s face, and he leaned in to call down the table to a different student.

“Yo, Raccoon Eyes,” he called out, “You owe me two thousand yen. Deku here caught the connection between Sensei and Mindfuck immediately. That makes five people now!”

“Darn it!” Ashido sighed. “I’ll get it to you after dinner. I really thought it would be harder to tell! Shinsou-kun isn’t even related to Sensei, he’s just his protege!”

Izuku turned to look back at the tired, purple-haired teen who looked some odd cross between entertained and annoyed - it actually reminded him a little of the way Dumpster had looked at Izuku when he’d tried to say hello to the cat earlier that afternoon. The teen turned to face Izuku with a heavy sigh.

“We didn’t meet earlier,” he said in a slight drawl, no doubt brought on by the exhaustion lining his features the same way it lined his teacher’s. “I’m Shinsou Hitoshi, hero name Psyren. Yes I’m Sensei’s student, no I’m not his kid, no I’m not some other relation of his. Nice to meet you.”

“That common of questions, huh?” Izuku huffed, lips curling up, studying the teen’s features. Something about them seemed familiar.

“You have no idea,” Shinsou groaned, rolling his eyes skyward. “And don’t even get started theorizing about anything if Todoroki is around.”

“Noted,” Izuku said distractedly, before it suddenly clicked. “Wait, you’re the kid with the mental Quirk who won the Sports Festival! Your matches were amazing - you have something similar to mindwashing, right? Verbal trigger? I always get excited when I see unusual Quirks show up; I’ve never seen one like yours get that far in the final rounds since I started watching! I was hoping to get to see you compete again this coming year, your Quirk is so cool and perfect for heroics! You’ll probably get really far with it - I’m happy you’ll get the training you need now. While you could make it up through internships and experience, better to get it now by transferring into the program, right?”

Shinsou blinked, looking startled for the first time since Izuku had seen him. He stared at Izuku for a long moment, eyes wide, before seeming to realize he hadn’t responded yet rather abruptly.

“Ah, yeah,” he said stiltedly, cheeks flushing lightly pink as he looked away. “Brainwashing. As you can imagine, not many people are fond of it, and its not the easiest to do entrance exams with. Needs a human aspect. You - you really… don’t mind it?”

“Why would I mind it?” Izuku asked, perplexed, his brow furrowed. Shinsou just blinked at him, wide-eyed, but Izuku didn’t know what the teen was so surprised by. Uncommon and rare Quirks were super cool to learn about and see in action. Hell, he’d be interested in meeting the spirit who gave the Quirk even, if there wasn’t a risk of it trying to eat him at some point. A spirit either strong enough to give the rare Quirk or clever enough to think of it was dangerous for sure, but fascinating nonetheless.

Don’t even think about it, Shoma said firmly from Izuku’s shoulder. Izuku smothered a pout and flicked a short glance towards the onibi.

Spoilsport, he huffed.

Ah yes, making sure you don’t get eaten is such a bummer, Shoma snarked, but fell silent when another voice piped up.

“Deku, Deku, look!” Eri came running up beside him, cutting off Shinsou who had opened his mouth to finally respond, holding out her bowl of food. “Eraserhead-san showed me how to put together my own bowl of katsudon! Well, after we found out I’m not a fan of jelly. It’s… squishy.”

“Jelly?” Izuku asked, confused, before glancing down into the bowl. “Wow, Eri, that looks great! You have a good eye for putting things together nicely.”

Eri giggled at his words, before glancing back at Aizawa who had apparently gotten up sometime during the conversation and was dishing out his own meal. She leaned in and lowered her voice, and Izuku leaned in to hear her whisper obligingly.

“Eraserhead-san likes jelly pouches a little too much I think,” she said softly, though a few students around them heard the quiet whisper too and snorted. Izuku put a hand over his mouth to hide his grin at the unintentional call-out of the pro hero. “I think Mic-san teases him for liking them so much.”

“Good to know,” Izuku finally laughed, helping Eri up onto the chair between himself and Aizawa, who had rejoined them. The man eyed the pair suspiciously, but visibly decided whatever antics the two were getting up to weren’t worth getting involved in.

Izuku made short work of his meal from there, but wasn’t sure if he should get up and return to the apartment, or if he should stay and wait for either Aizawa or Yamada to be polite. So, he eyed the stack of grading Aizawa still had, and crept his hand across the table to snag some and the pen Katsuki had tossed aside earlier to keep going over the references on Aizawa’s behalf.

He wouldn’t presume to grade the assignment without knowing the prompt or the material they’d gone over in class, but he could at least help make sure the references were accurate and good choices for the teacher.

The other students filtered in and out of the room around them as they finished, and Izuku took care to pay attention to Eri as well. When the little girl finished her meal, Izuku set the papers aside so that he could turn his attention back to her.

“Would you like to play a game, now that dinner’s over?” he asked her. Eri’s eyes lit up for a moment, before her shoulders slumped as she bit her lip.

“I… I don’t know any games though,” she said softly, voice just loud enough to be heard. Izuku almost felt the need to clutch his chest to make sure his heart hadn’t just fallen out of his chest. He also felt a whisper of rage at the lack of childhood she’d experienced so far.

“That’s okay, I can teach you a few I know!” he exclaimed quickly, hoping to ease the uncertain expression on her face quickly. “Is there a kind of game you’d like to learn? There’s no wrong answer, and if you end up not liking something, we can switch games. There’s cards, movement games, board games - though I don’t know if we have any here.”

“We do,” Aizawa interrupted, not looking up from his papers.

“Ah, in that case, we can do quite a few things!” Izuku said, smiling gently at Eri, who was beginning to look a little overwhelmed with choices. At her continued hesitation, he decided to help her out. “How about this, why don’t we try a few easy card games, then go from there?”

She smiled and nodded in response, looking a little relieved that she didn’t have to choose. He helped her off the chair then took their dishes over to the sink to quickly wash and dry them. He then led her over to the living room, where there was an unoccupied area, and dug a pack of American-style playing cards out of his bag once they’d gotten settled.

“Now, the first game a lot of kids learn with these cards is Go Fish. There are other kinds of cards too, but these are the only ones I have on me right now. Feel like trying it out?”

Eri picked up the rules fast, and they played several rounds before Izuku introduced a few new games to her, to see what her favorites might be. He himself preferred a few of the games that required more strategy than the games he was showing her, but it made him happy to see her smile and having fun with the simpler games she was only just learning.

He was glad she was having fun - he didn’t know a lot about her background, but from the little he’d been able to put together from the pro heroes, Eri herself, and Ohatsu-sama, it wasn’t the kind of life any little kid should have had. If a couple card games here and there, and helping her get a better hold on her Quirk could help ease her burdens a little, that’s what he’d do.

She was actually picking the games up pretty quickly too. Maybe he’d start teaching her harder games soon, and if she wanted to, maybe how to cheat at a few of them. If she picked up the games as fast as she was now, she’d have the makings of a good card shark before long - and that was a talent that everyone should learn at some point, just in case, in Izuku’s personal opinion.

They were in the middle of a round when the door to the dorms opened, but Izuku didn’t pay it much mind, assuming it to be just a student. That is, until a familiar man’s voice cut through the sounds of the other students.

“Ah, Aizawa-san, how is your evening?”

Looking up, Izuku saw the same gaunt man from earlier standing in the hallway, near the entrance to the kitchen. Peering past the doorway, he saw Aizawa looking up from his (now greatly reduced) stack of grading with a rather exasperated expression on his face.

“Yagi. What do you want?”

“Just checking in!” the man hurriedly said, holding his hands up placatingly with a slightly awkward grin. “I won’t be long, I know it’s just been a long day for you and wanted to see if I could do anything to help.”

“No. Was that all?”

Whatever Yagi said next went right over Izuku’s head, though, as the shimmery form of a spirit made its way onto the first plane. Izuku blinked, watching as subtly as he could to avoid offending the spirit. It took them a moment, before they abruptly came into focus, and it took everything in Izuku to not gape, even as he stared wide-eyed - his card game with Eri completely forgotten at this point.

Shoma… he whispered as quietly as possible, feeling the surprise of the onibi push up against his own.

I know, hold on, the spirit said, just as softly. There’s a chance she hasn’t noticed you’re here, no need to draw her attention if she hasn’t.

Luck of course was not with them, though, and Izuku could only freeze as the eight-tailed kitsune turned her attention to them. It felt like a physical sensation as she weighed them both with her gaze - bypassing Shoma shortly and focusing her main attentions on Izuku. After a long moment of silence, she spoke.

You are this generation’s Connection, she said, her voice underthreaded with a yipping-growling sound that spoke of her fox-like form. Her body language gave little away, staying unnaturally still and unexpressive as she stared at him. I’ve been looking for you.

Instinct took over at those words, and Izuku snagged his bag and bolted to his feet, the playing cards falling from his hands to the floor. Casting an alarmed glance at Aizawa through the doorway, he sprinted down the opposite hall towards the stairs, heading towards the teacher’s apartment.

If he could get to the apartment, he could ward his room. In fact, that should have been the first thing he’d done when he got there, he mentally scolded himself. Being here had made him complacent, had distracted him from all the instincts that had previously kept him alive and relatively safe.

Maybe he hadn’t overcome his hero-worship as much as he’d thought, because he’d been relaxing like he was safe here, when he knew that the heroes here wouldn’t be able to touch the spirits, even if they could notice they were there at all.

Izuku made short work of the stairs, bursting into the upstairs hall with little care for the door banging off the wall as he passed through. He made to run to the apartment, only to pull up short at the sight of the kitsune sat neatly in front of the door, one of her tails curled across her paws.

Now, if you are quite done , she said, this time a hint of annoyance in her tone though her body language remained the same as earlier, I need to speak to you.

Chapter Text

Izuku just stared at the kitsune, unable to speak. Shoma’s flickering against his neck was the only thing keeping him from panicking at the moment, because kitsunes didn’t do this . They were high level spirits that rarely ventured onto the first plane, especially after they got a certain number of tails - it just wasn’t worth the energy expense. He’d make the comparison of them being the dragons of the material plane, if it wouldn’t be so insulting to dragons who were pretty much the ‘top dogs’ of the spirit world and didn’t care about the material world at all much, these days.

Except - dragons also didn’t care about humans much. They were powerful enough that not much could threaten them and get away with it, and most still around were ancient by now, so the fleeting nature of mortality didn’t interest them much. Izuku could count on them to leave him alone generally, so long as he left them alone.

He was kind of like a butterfly - interesting to look at, but ultimately inconsequential to them and forgotten shortly. Izuku liked being a butterfly, it meant he was left alone.

Kitsunes, on the other hand, delighted in mortality for all that they didn’t interact with it often in the modern day. But it often didn’t turn out favorably for whatever mortal they decided to make their plaything, so while they were often powerhouses (especially if they chose to power their tails well), they were much more dangerous in the immediate moment to him, like a cat letting a mouse run just to pounce again to repeat the cycle.

And this one had apparently taken an interest in him and sought him out .

You said you needed to speak to me, he said warily, eyes narrowing as he watched every twitch of movement the cream-colored and red-marked kitsune made. Why?

You are the Connection, the kitsune said, lazily licking a front paw as one of her tails flicked behind her. That is reason enough. You may call me One for All.

One for All? Izuku asked. While spirits weren’t limited to specific names - he’d met one who’d chosen to go by a curse word, finding it amusing especially because of his discomfort at the time, and another who was very attached to a specific string of numbers - most chose to use a human name or a title when interacting with humans. While One for All didn’t sound much like a title he’d heard before, he had a feeling it was related.

The human-given name of the abilities I pass on, she said, placing both paws firmly on the ground again as her gaze pierced through him once more. Though the name didn’t get popular until a century ago. Before that, it was known as The Quirk, and before that, the Meta Ability. I much prefer the current name.

Wait, Izuku said, mind whirling at the new information. You gave the same Quirk often enough and consistently enough for it to become known under the same name?

No, One for All said, my first bonded passed their bond to the next, who passed it to the next, and so forth. The power growing each time, and the name developing with each new bonded.

And bypassing the need for spending the energy to connect the bond each time through the planes, Izuku breathed, eyes wide at the implications of that. By having the people themselves spend the energy to do it, you don’t have to. And likely due to the first Quirk either being or including the ability to pass itself along. That’s genius .

Thank you, I thought so myself, the kitsune said, sounding rightfully smug at her stroke of ingenuity. It took a lot of effort - I had to swallow the spirit of the stockpiling ability forced upon my first bonded to make it work, you know. Before that, I was just a normal fox spirit; after swallowing it, I gained enough power to become a kitsune and had the strength to hold the bond during the transition.

Izuku wasn’t going to touch that information with a ten-foot pole, even though he was now desperately curious about the process of the kitsune transformation. Did they always have to eat another spirit to become a kitsune? Could they gain enough power on their own to transform anyway? Or did it have to do with the energy transfer of the defeat of another spirit, and the extra ‘meal’ was just a bonus?

He had questions. But, Shoma would be glad to know that he also had some sense of self preservation after all these years.

Alright , he said carefully. What does this have to do with me specifically?

You are the Connection , the kitsune said again, giving him a look that told him she thought he was a bit of an idiot. You have responsibilities you’ve been neglecting.

Responsibilities? Izuku glanced at Shoma in question, only to find the spirit as confused as he was. Upon catching his glance, Shoma gave the impression of a shrug.

I am a low-level spirit, he said. I’ve never been important enough to know about things like that - it was ‘beyond my paygrade’, to borrow a human phrase.

Upon seeing their conversation, the kitsune’s tails stilled their swaying, and her eyes flicked between the two for a long moment. She tilted her head to the side and seemed to come to realization.

You don’t know about your responsibilities? she asked, sounding slightly surprised.

You heard Shoma, Izuku said with a shrug. He didn’t know, and I haven’t exactly been able to learn from anyone about this. The last person who could even remotely tell me about being a Connection could barely see spirits and died years ago. I’ve gotten this far based on what little he could teach me and what I’ve been able to figure out on my own.

One for All seemed to be about to say something else, when the door to the stairwell behind Izuku slammed open with a bang, making him jump a foot in the air with a yelp as he turned to face the newcomer.

Aizawa stood there, hand on his scarf and eyes glowing red as he scanned the area. The lines around his eyes eased as he saw Izuku standing there, but he remained tense as he looked around. Behind him was One for All’s human, the thin blond man Izuku had met earlier. He must be more than he seemed, if he had a centuries-old kitsune’s gifted ability, but he’d have to think about that later.

“Kid, what’s wrong?” Aizawa demanded, moving to stand beside Izuku. “You went running like something was chasing you, and you clearly didn’t make it into the apartment. What are you seeing?”

“Aizawa-san, what-”

“Shut up, Yagi,” the dark-haired man interrupted harshly. “Kid?”

Izuku hesitated for a moment, at the presence of the blond man, before abruptly deciding he didn’t care what the man heard him say. He’d never see any of these people again after this visit was over, and the only two who mattered with his access to help Eri were Aizawa and Yamada who he’d already explained things to. It didn’t matter what he said in front of this newcomer, so he’d say whatever he wanted.

“A kitsune followed… Yagi-san? in and told me she’d been looking for me,” he said, keeping his attention on One for All, who had a visible expression on her face for the first time since he’d seen her. Though, seeing a human expression of surprise on her fox-like features was vaguely unsettling. “Spirits looking for me, in my experience, has never been a good thing so I ran.”

“Is she still here?” Aizawa said, looking around the seemingly empty hallway tensely, and Izuku felt a new presence joining them suddenly. The prickle at the back of his neck told Izuku the new spirit was behind him, but he was unwilling to take his eyes off the kitsune at the moment.

Shoma?

It’s Hayami, you’re fine, the onibi reassured him softly, able to be his second pair of eyes, to help him gague the threat levels around him as usual. I think she’s here because Eraserhead is so agitated and there’s a high-level spirit nearby.

“Yes,” Izuku responded to Aizawa. “She’s in front of the door. She was telling me about herself a bit, but told me I apparently have responsibilities I’ve been neglecting. That’s when you came in.”

“Right,” Aizawa said, red glow fading from his eyes as he realized there was no immediate danger. He blinked, then continued with a sigh. “Alright. We should probably finish this conversation inside, if she’s willing to let you in. Bakugou’s got Eri for now and Yamada’s going to be at the other dorm for a while longer. Yagi, you staying or leaving?”

“I -” the man stuttered, clearly taken aback, before he cleared his throat. “Staying, I suppose, though you’ll excuse my ignorance of the situation.”

A glance at Hayami showed the proud tatarimokke was glaring daggers at the kitsune, and Izuku hurriedly turned his attention back to the kitsune in an effort to try and descalate everything before anything happened between the two spirits.

Can we move this inside? he asked. I have a feeling we don’t want people listening in on this.

The kitsune considered all five of them for a long moment before rising to her feet. Giving him a sly side-eyed glance, the multi-tailed fox spirit turned to face the door, her tails curling through the air behind her in an unfelt breeze.

Yes, she said, as her gaze shifted towards the tatarimokke. But if the owl tries anything, I will eat her.

She grinned a foxy, sharp-toothed grin at them, before bounding forward and through the door into the apartment beyond. Izuku’s shoulders slumped as soon as she was out of sight, the kitsune unnerving him in a way he wasn’t used to with spirits after all this time. He had a feeling the effect was intentional on One for All’s part. Hayami’s beak clattered angrily beside him, but he did his best to tune her out as he turned to Aizawa again.

“One for All said she’ll speak to me inside,” he told the man, noticing but ignoring for the moment the way Yagi tensed and spluttered beside them at the sound of the kitsune’s name. “She also basically threatened to eat Hayami if she… attacks? Insults her? It’s hard to tell what counts as ‘trying anything’ with spirits, so make of that what you will.”

If she tries, I’ll tear her to ribbons, Hayami hissed, clearly unimpressed with the threats of the kitsune. Which, Izuku admitted, was rather impressive given the respect kitsunes seemed to have from most other spirits due to their strength. Pluck her fur, dull her claws.

“Can she be trusted?” Aizawa said, taking in the information with minimal pause, to his credit. Izuku latched on to the distraction from the agitated tatarimokke gladly.

“Absolutely not,” Izuku said promptly. “She’s a fox. Now, let’s go.”

Izuku walked up to the apartment door and waited impatiently for Aizawa to unlock it for him. The man was clearly hesitant, but did so shortly, and Izuku led the way inside. They made their way to the living room, where Izuku suddenly came to a halt upon seeing the pale-furred kitsune sitting in the middle of the room, her blood-red markings creating an almost hypnotic effect as her fur waved in place.

“Deku?” Aizawa asked, unable to stop scanning the space, despite knowing he was unable to see what Izuku was. Izuku gestured as politely as possible to where the kitsune was sitting, to give the man a reference of her position.

“You might want to sit down,” he said to the men trailing behind him. Above him, Hayami flew across the room to perch on a nearby shelf, as Shoma settled into his customary place on his shoulder to listen to what the kitsune had to say. “I have no idea how long this will take, and I think it’ll be peaceful. I’ll try to remember to speak in a way that you can hear though, if that helps.”

Hesitantly, Yagi and Aizawa sank into the cushions of the couch, both eyeing the space where One for All sat warily even though one had no idea what was happening and neither could even do anything to her if the kitsune decided she’d had enough and attacked.

If you’re ready, One for All said, somehow conveying a surprising amount of passive aggressive energy for a spirit not moving any of their facial features or moving. You’re supposed to be helping us.

“What?”

It’s your job to help us when we need it, the kitsune said again, a corner of her lip lifting to reveal a glimmer of a fang. To care for the ways our world and yours are bound. You’ve been ignoring your duty to us, to go… gallivanting around to do what you will.

“I do help though,” Izuku said, frowning and beginning to get a bit defensive. “I’m not just playing all day, I have to take care of myself, and when I’m not doing that I help fix the problems caused by bonding - things that hurt the people, things that don’t quite mesh right, knots in the bonds that drain energy. What else do you want me to do?”

Deal with threats to the balance, the fox-like spirit snipped. You’re only dealing with inconveniences, not real problems.

“I doubt the people involved feel the same way,” Izuku muttered under his breath, thinking back to the very deadly side effects of some Quirk mismatches he’d encountered in his time at the hospitals. What does that mean exactly?

What do you mean?

I mean, what exactly is considered a threat to the balance? Who’s involved, what are some of the issues, are there any signs of the balance being messed with? Izuku asked, huffing as he crossed his arms. I didn’t even know there was something wrong, how do you expect me to fix it if I can’t tell something is there - much less when I don’t even know it’s my responsibility to fix?

One for All paused in her irritation, blinking at him and tilting her head to the side, tails continuing to wave behind her in a false wind.

You said that before - that you do not know your responsibilities. Why?

“What do you mean, why?” Izuku burst out, throwing his hands out in exasperation. “All of you seem to think I know everything about this - I’ve figured out what little I do know mostly through trial and error!”

Nobody taught you anything? the kitsune asked, seeming perplexed. You have no mentor? You do not have an innate understanding of your role in anything?

“Who would have taught me?” Izuku demanded. “Shinshoku-sensei knew a little, but he could barely perceive spirits, much less teach me anything more detailed than the basics! Shoma is a low-level spirit, he doesn’t have higher-level knowledge! I am the only one I know of who can interact with you the way I can, why would I know anything ?”

“Kid, everything okay?” Aizawa interjected, eyeing both Izuku and the space in front of them all cautiously, hand on his capture weapon, for all the good it would do against an invisible and intangible spirit.

“Fine,” Izuku huffed, waving a hand dismissively as he kept his focus on the kitsune. “Just some misunderstandings. Don’t worry about it right now, it’s fine.”

One for All considered him for a moment longer, before dipping her head, looking up at him through the red patches of fur above her eyes. Izuku watched as she held the position for a moment longer, before raising up again, her posture slightly more relaxed than before.

My apologies, Connection, she said, as if the acknowledgement wasn’t rocking Izuku’s perception of reality and how spirits generally behaved. It seems rumors have been exaggerated when it comes to you. I also had not put together the fact that you are the most recent Connection with the fact that you would not have anyone to teach you, given the lack of Connections the past few generations.

“There have been others?” Izuku blinked rapidly at the information. He hadn’t expected he was the only one ever, but One for All was making it sound like it was a lot more common than that. Something traditional even, if there was supposed to be several Connections in relatively recent history.

Traditionally, there has been at least one Connection per generation, One for All said. That cycle has been… broken, the last few generations.

“Why?”

There has been a great disruption, the kitsune said, tone somewhere between disturbed and sorrowful. It has upset everything - the balance between the spirit world and the material world alike has been thrown off. It seems that includes the formation of Connections as well.

“Kid?” Aizawa said, and Izuku realized that the others weren’t getting much out of his side of the conversation given that One for All was saying the most important parts. Glancing towards the two pros, he saw Yagi staring intently at him, a hint of confusion in the lines of his face, and Aizawa’s intense gaze demanding answers with poorly concealed worry.

“One for All is saying that I should have been trained by a previous Connection,” Izuku said, glancing back at the spirit for a moment and ignoring again the way Yagi’s gaze sharpened at the statement. He’d have to address that soon, but the spirit in front of them took priority. “But apparently a few generations ago the balance of the worlds was thrown off and it’s impacting a lot of things. Apparently it’s also my responsibility to help fix it.”

“The worlds?” Yagi finally asked. Flicking his gaze towards Aizawa, Izuku realized he hadn’t actually explained this aspect of everything to the dark-haired man either.

“There are four planes of existence,” he explained as concisely as possible, knowing a more detailed description would take longer than they wanted to spend at the moment. “The first is the material plane - it’s where we live, where matter exists, and all physical properties interact with each other. The second is the mental plane - where thoughts and dreams form, where spirits can interact with us without spending the energy to manifest physically, and where I can see and communicate with them in the bleedover between the first and second.”

“I’m following, I think,” Aizawa said slowly, eyes narrowed, while Yagi only looked more lost. Izuku mentally shrugged - he wasn’t here to explain things to the blond man anyway.

“Right, so after that is the third plane,” Izuku continued. “That’s where spirits live, and that’s their domain. Nothing material can pass through, except in rare circumstances. Holy objects that are more spiritual than material in energy. People, on days where the bleedover between planes is strong - I’m sure you’ve heard stories of people accidentally getting trapped in the spirit world after crossing over unknowingly. Places, where there is strong spiritual significance tied to them - like shrines, significant places of nature, cultural locations, places of significant grief. Lastly, people like me, Connections, who are so intertwined with the spiritual side of the scale that we can tip back and forth easily, or at least with a bit of practice.”

Silence met him for a long moment, as both adults took in the information. Hayami ruffled her feathers silently behind him, betrayed only by the way her energy shifted around them, and Izuku was surprised to realize he wasn’t nearly as wary of having the owl spirit at his back as he had been before.

“What’s the fourth then?” Yagi asked, interrupting his thoughts, looking curious still despite his confusion.

Izuku licked his lips nervously at the reminder, turning his head a little so that Shoma’s flames could flicker across his face reassuringly. He didn’t like thinking about the fourth plane much.

“Things from the material world can’t go there,” he said a little dully, staring a little vacantly across the room as he remembered what he could about it. “Or if they can, they shouldn’t. That’s the plane where forces of nature exist. Things like Time, Gravity, Space, things like that. Things we aren’t supposed to fully comprehend, and there’s only a few we even know about at all, like the ones I mentioned. The rest are beyond our ability to perceive, from what I can tell.”

Breathe , Shoma reminded him, and it pulled Izuku out of his head, the heavy memory of the boundary between the third and fourth planes falling back for the moment. He shuddered once, the physical movement shaking off the last traces of the memory.

“If anyone from the material plane ever did go there, they either didn’t make it back or they weren’t in any condition to share what they learned,” he continued, turning his attention back to the adults, to see them on the edge of their seats like they were about to go to him. “We have no real records of it, though it’s been suggested in certain circles that the universe originated from there. I don’t know about that though, I only have heard rumors from the stronger spirits able to take a peek. The closest I ever came to it myself was when I was too young to know better, and I was lucky to not have actually tried to go there, simply approaching the bleedover. I didn’t go back, and you couldn’t pay me enough to even try.”

The two other humans in the room blinked at the influx of information, until Aizawa sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face, leaning back into the couch with a weary expression.

“Every time I think I have a handle on things,” he muttered in a low enough voice that Izuku wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear that. Raising his voice, Aizawa continued. “Alright. Putting that aside. The spirit. One for All? She said there was a disturbance.”

“Right,” Izuku said, startled that he’d gotten so sidetracked from the original discussion. 

Turning back to the fox spirit, he redirected back to their conversation. The kitsune seemed a little amused this time instead of annoyed, and Izuku felt himself relax a little at the realization that she probably wasn’t going to harm him. Then again, historically amused kitsunes meant they were enjoying toying with whatever mortal caught their attention, so maybe he should have been more worried at being a source of her amusement.

The disturbance? she asked, flicking an ear. Her eyes stared at him unblinkingly, but such was the case with many spirits, and by now Izuku wasn’t very offput by it.

“Yes, what exactly is the disturbance?” he asked, frowning a little as he thought back to all his interactions with the spirit world recently. He hadn’t noticed any difference, so either whatever it was effected everything more insidiously, or he was simply that out of the loop, as far as he could guess.

The Abomination has been taking spirits and harming them, One for All said, teeth baring at the thought of whatever she was speaking of. With their energy, The Abomination has even affected the material world.

“The Abomination?” Izuku asked, not knowing what she was referring to.

An affront to nature itself, she growled, markings looking more like splashes of blood in her anger, rather than fur, and it was suddenly all too easy to picture her consuming another spirit whole. A violation of the bonds between the spiritual and the material, and something that cannot be allowed to continue. It is the cause of the imbalance, and the reason for the lack of new Connections, until you.

“It stopped the Connections? How?” Izuku asked, glancing at Shoma, who glowed a little brighter in worry. “I thought Connections happened due to bleedover from the other planes during birth.”

There are many reasons why a Connection can be born, the kitsune said. But The Abomination is why so many were not . The Abomination is a corruption of a bond, what tied a person - the previous Connection - to their spirit. Their corrupted bond has thrown everything out of balance.

“Wait, The Abomination is related to the last Connection?” Izuku gaped at the new information, until a sudden thought suddenly struck him. “Wait, is that why so many spirits want to eat me?! Because they blame me for the previous Connection’s… corruption? Or they’re mistaking me for them?”

“Spirits want to do what ?” Aizawa burst out, eyes wide, causing Izuku to wince. That was not exactly the best way to introduce someone to that concept.

“Yeah… they do that sometimes,” he laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “They like the energy we produce - they can’t easily gain it on their own, and we produce it, so. You know. Free buffet? Most tend to ‘feed’ off our ambient energy though, which works fine, so it isn’t the most common thing since it takes energy to manifest enough to eat us. It’s a whole thing.”

“What is the source of this corruption?” Yagi asked, frowning a little at whatever he’d managed to gain from Izuku’s side of the conversation.

At Yagi’s words, One for All seemed to gain a mischievous glint to her eyes. Rising to her feet, her tails poofed out behind her, markings looking more like fur again than bloodstains. Grinning a foxish grin at them, she spoke.

If you would like a clue about The Abomination and its corruption, she said slyly. Ask my bonded about All for One .

With a bounding leap, her form shimmered, and she disappeared from sight, causing Izuku to flinch in surprise. Upon realizing that she’d retreated back to the third plane, he threw his hands up in exasperation with the trickster spirit.

“Seriously?!” he groaned, glaring at the spot she’d previously been. “All that, and she just leaves? This is why I don’t mess with trickster spirits! They know so much, but love telling you absolutely nothing!”

I wouldn’t say she said nothing , Shoma said, like a traitor. She actually said more than I expected, and gave you a pretty direct clue to get more information. She must be getting either desperate or impatient for the issue to be resolved, if she was being that direct with you.

Pausing, Izuku realized the onibi was right. One for All really had answered more of his questions than most spirits did - and even moreso for a trickster who liked playing games with those they spoke to.

That probably meant the situation was more serious than she’d fully let on though.

Izuku turned to face Yagi, frowning a little at the gaunt, skeleton-like man seated beside Aizawa on the couch. There had to be more to the man than he’d seen so far, in their few interactions. For him to react to One for All’s name meant something - he wasn’t sure what exactly, since it was apparently the name of his Quirk as well, if the kitsune had been telling the truth about that. However, the spirit had also directed him to speak to the man directly.

“The kitsune told me to ask you something,” Izuku said abruptly, eyes narrowed at Yagi thoughtfully. The man’s expression took on a hint of wariness, as he shifted in place.

“What did you need to ask, Deku-shounen?” he asked, aiming for lighthearted but falling just barely short. It probably had to do with the fact that he was watching Izuku just as carefully as Izuku was watching him.

“What exactly is All for One,” Izuku asked, watching as Yagi paled and his face slackened in surprise, “and why is that name so close to One for All’s?”

Chapter Text

“Before I begin,” Yagi said slowly, looking a little cornered but there was a glint in his eyes that Izuku didn’t trust. It was the kind of glint that a predator had, knowing they were getting cornered and determining how much they really wanted to get free. “May I ask where you learned those names?”

“No.”

Izuku watched closely as Yagi blinked, clearly not expecting the blunt refusal. The blond sent a glance towards Aizawa, whose attention was sharp even through his clear exhaustion. Catching the look, the dark-haired man looked vaguely offended and reared back a bit.

“Why do you think I’m bailing you out of this? You asked and he said no,” Aizawa said, settling back into the couch as Dumpster emerged from somewhere in the room to curl up in his lap with a quiet meow. “I’m rather curious myself now, why you know those names.”

Yagi’s mouth opened and closed several times, before he sighed. He stood up, walked over to lock the door and glanced out the windows before sitting down again. Fixing them both with a serious look, he lowered his voice.

“What I am about to tell you is a matter of international security and must not be shared with anyone who does not already know,” he said, and Izuku abruptly felt like he should not be here for this conversation. “Several hundred years ago, a man was born with a powerful Quirk. He was able to steal and give Quirks, and he went by the name All for One.”

“Like One for All,” Izuku breathed out, mind piecing information together as fast as he could. Yagi tipped his head towards him in acknowledgement.

“Exactly so,” he continued. “They are ‘brother Quirks’, so to speak. Where All for One’s Quirk allows him to steal Quirks, One for All is a Quirk able to be passed from one person to another. It was originally passed from All for One to his brother, as a simple stockpiling Quirk. Little did he know that his brother had an invisible Quirk allowing him to give his Quirk to someone else. The two combined, creating One for All - a Quirk that gets stronger with each user.”

“And where is ‘One for All’ now?” Aizawa asked shrewdly. Yagi hesitated, and during the pause, Izuku glanced towards Shoma.

One for All is here with him, Shoma mused, both of them watching a series of decisions play out across Yagi’s features. She is attached to him, so…

“Sh- the Quirk is with you, isn’t it?” Izuku said aloud, not really asking. Yagi’s expression shows surprise, then resignation. “You have One for All now. But a spi- a Quirk that strong wouldn’t be given to just anybody. Who are you, exactly?”

Yagi stared at him for a long moment, before releasing a heavy sigh that ended with a light cough. Looking between him and Aizawa for a breath, the man ran a hand over his face.

“What I reveal to you next… I already told you this is a matter of security and to not share this,” Yagi said solemnly. “I knew I could trust Aizawa-san with this, due to our shared profession and Nedzu-san’s approval, so he already knows part of it. Can I trust you as well, Deku-shounen?”

Izuku had to smother a laugh at that question, though he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curling up in wry amusement.

“Who would I even tell?” he asked, spreading his arms out helplessly in a show of how few people he actually had around him these days. He wasn’t completely sure what expression he was making, but it had both adults watching him intently. “But yes, you can. The amount of secrets I’ve kept for and from people over the years could fill a library.”

There was a slight frown on Yagi’s face, and Aizawa’s expression was unreadable. Eventually, Yagi sighed.

“Very well,” he said, rising to his feet. “Please, do not be alarmed. For, I am here!”

Before Izuku’s eyes, Yagi’s form warped, inflating until his frail frame suddenly had bulging muscles and he was closer to seven feet tall rather than his usual much shorter height. His gaunt features filled out too, though his eyes still remained somewhat shadowed.

Reacting instinctively, Izuku sprang backwards to crouch on the nearby coffee table, unthinkingly letting out a hiss like a startled cat. Shoma flared against his neck as well, his flames growing warmer in his surprise as he prepared for a confrontation out of habit. Bristling, Izuku stared at the suddenly transformed man in suspicious shock, wracking his brain to try and figure out how he missed that the man was a spirit and how it was possible for him to be visible and solid on the material plane for so long.

“Deku?” Aizawa asked, interrupting his analysis and frowning a little at his reaction. “Is there a reason you are uncomfortable with All Might in this form?”

Izuku’s brain sent out an error message for a moment as he ran that question back again. Blinking rapidly, his hackles lowered a bit as he looked at the man anew. He’d been so startled by the transformation that he’d somehow missed that the man was his old idol, All Might. How…?

“Where does the extra mass come from?” he muttered quietly, narrowing his eyes at the pro hero again, for an entirely different reason this time. “The conservation of matter and energy would make such growth impossible without a Quirk helping, and One for All already confirmed that wasn’t the case - but she also ate at least one other spirit to gain its abilities, so if she did that to others then it’s possible… Do you have any other abilities than strength and possibly transformation?”

Startled at both the abrupt mood swing and the sudden question, All Might jolted a little.

“Ah, not that I am aware of,” the man said hesitantly, looking rather perplexed at the direction the conversation had gone. “Though One for All is an unusual Quirk, so it is not out of the realm of possibility that there are other abilities yet to be unlocked.”

Izuku grumbled a bit at the lack of clear answer. Shoma nudged him.

You might want to let Eraserhead know you haven’t been abused by anyone , he stated drily.

Izuku blinked, coming out of his contemplation to see the hero still eyeing him with some concern. Realizing that he’d asked a question earlier, Izuku ran the conversation back to remember what it was, wincing when he remembered the words of the question itself.

“I am not and have never been harmed by a grown man, but I thank you for the concern,” he said wryly but sincerely, turning his attention towards Aizawa, who looked relieved but a little curious still. Izuku clarified, “His transformation just took me off guard - in my experience someone changing shape so suddenly has been something to be wary of.”

Realization took over Aizawa’s features, and the pro hero relaxed. Yagi, on the other hand, looked more confused, and even somewhat suspicious.

“Who have you seen transform that has been a danger?” Yagi asked, carefully. Izuku paused, considering the hero for a long moment as he debated whether or not to explain the whole situation. Deciding that anything he really needed to know, he could ask Aizawa, he decided to answer simply.

“Quirks,” Izuku said, amused at the startled look the other man had. Aizawa rolled his eyes in his peripheral vision, but a slight smile pulled at his lips at the game Izuku was playing. “So to speak. They can be tricky things sometimes, never staying the same.”

Izuku let himself laugh at the expression All Might was wearing, before hopping off the table and rising to his feet. He stretched his arms out in front of him, then pulled his marker out of his pocket.

“Is it cool if I write on the walls of the room I’m in, or would you prefer I use tape and paper instead?” he asked. Aizawa blinked at the shift in topic.

“I’d prefer paper, but why are you wanting to write on the walls to begin with?”

“One for All showing up reminded me that I probably should have warded my space the moment I got here,” Izuku explained, as Aizawa stood up to go fetch some paper from a nearby cabinet. “I should set it up now though - there’s a lot of spirits around, with all the heroes in the school, and I’m not sure that the next one wanting to talk will be as friendly.”

“Spirits?” Yagi asked, only to be ignored by Aizawa and given a mischievous grin by Izuku. It wasn’t often he was able to mess with people about the spirits, and even though he felt a little bad, it was admittedly rather entertaining. Though, All Might was not an unintelligent man, despite how oblivious he sometimes came off. Izuku was sure the man would piece things together rather soon even if it took longer due to the lack of direct explanation - he hadn’t been subtle, after all, with his ability to talk to spirits or talking about them around the hero.

“Here, use these,” Aizawa said, passing him a stack of blank pages. Izuku nodded at him in thanks, beginning to move towards his space and slinging his bag over his shoulder again. Izuku had just taken a step when something about Aizawa’s demeanor caught his attention.

“Was there something else?” he asked the man curiously. Aizawa paused for a moment longer before nodding.

“If you aren’t opposed, I would like to watch the process,” the underground hero admitted. He held a hand up as Izuku opened his mouth, “I know, I won’t be able to read any of it, but I would like to listen to you describe it all anyway and watch your actions. Even if I can’t understand it fully or replicate it, I can still learn the theory.”

“Um,” Izuku blinked, “sure. I’m fine with it.”

Aizawa stood and motioned for Izuku to lead the way back to his room. The dark-haired teacher motioned for him to pause partway down the short hall, entering what Izuku assumed to be his and Yamada’s room for a short moment. When he reemerged, he had a thick roll of tape in his hand, shrugging slightly at Izuku’s curious look.

“You asked about drawing on the walls - I assume that means the papers will need to be held up somehow,” he explained, as they continued walking. Glancing at Izuku sideways, “I didn’t want to find out you’d tucked glue away somewhere, and figured I should be proactive.”

Izuku spluttered in offense at that, before Shoma sent an impression of amusement towards him.

What was your plan then? the small onibi asked, resting in Izuku’s hair. You don’t actually have anything to hang those up with.

“Shut up, both of you,” Izuku muttered, catching the twitch of the teacher’s lips in his peripheral vision as Shoma laughed. I hadn’t thought that far ahead - sorry if I’ve been flustered by all of this.

So long as you’re aware, Shoma hummed, floating along and through the bedroom wall to enter ahead of them. Izuku and Aizawa followed close behind, and Izuku tossed his bag nearby but still within easy reach as he sank to the floor in a crouch.

He spread out the papers, took a glance at the room itself again, then pulled out his marker and began drawing lines. Aizawa perched on the end of the bed, watching the process. The man was clearly interested to note when exactly his eyes stopped being able to read the Script Izuku was writing. Up to a certain point, Izuku knew that it was clear lines on a page, then after that point the symbols became just a blur. While he could read it the whole way through, Shinshoku-sensei had made sure to let him know where that point was.

“The symbols change from writing to Script when they become infused with spiritual power,” Izuku said a little absently, answering the unasked question as he grabbed the stack of finished papers and began hanging them up on the walls with the tape. He finished quickly, then went back to making more. “I still don’t understand the process fully myself, but something about sacred writing makes it more spiritual than material? All I know is it’s possible for everyone to start the process - which is why talismans and the like can work for people, but aren’t always reliable since they’re only parts of a whole - but you have to be connected to the other planes to finish it. Mostly because we can see it, but also because we’re closer to it.”

“Hmm,” Aizawa hummed, curiously peering at the pages again and squinting once more when he couldn’t see them right. Izuku smothered an amused smile; Aizawa didn’t seem like the type to be comfortable with not knowing things, which is part of why Izuku felt comfortable just info-dumping on him now that he knew about spirits. But, that didn’t mean it wasn’t funny to watch him get… almost offended over not being able to read this.

They sat in silence for several long moments as Izuku worked to ward the space, the walls slowly filling with paper the longer time went on. Distantly, Izuku heard the sounds of the door opening in the other room, followed by voices. It seemed like Yamada had returned, and judging by the softened quality of voices, Eri had probably fallen asleep downstairs.

Izuku did feel a little guilty over having left her so abruptly, and resolved to apologize and make it up to her tomorrow after their Quirk session.

“Deku,” Aizawa began almost hesitantly into the silence, his tone instantly raising Izuku’s guard as the green-haired boy paused in writing Script on the pages to look up. “I am required to ask. I have given you - and still am - as much time as I can, but you have to know that by law I’m required to at least try and contact your family, now that we know you are alive.”

“You won’t find anything on me,” Izuku said immediately, walls up and metaphorical hackles rising. “I checked. My missing person case was dismissed, and anything that opened since then will have me listed as dead due to how long it’s been. I’m no longer on any registered lists, I have no listed address, I don’t even have a solid online presence since I bounce my IP address and have no personal accounts anywhere.”

“... That wasn’t my point,” Aizawa sighed, letting a hand run along Dumpster’s back as the cat slunk into the room to investigate what was happening and jumped up on the bed beside him. “You’ve gone this long going undetected by no doubt far better searchers than I am, I have no doubt you could evade us as well if you so chose.”

Izuku blinked, not having expected that direction of conversation. Studying the man a little closer, he found himself slowly starting to relax again. Aizawa’s expression wasn’t sharp and studying, the way it would be if he were trying to pry personal details out of him. Instead it was weary, with undercurrents of concern and slight regret.

“Why did you want to know, then?” he asked, genuinely curious now that he knew it wasn’t what he’d been expecting.

“Because,” Aizawa said, turning serious eyes to him, “if I had a child who went missing one day when they were little more than a toddler, who nobody would search for from the sound of things, and I found out they were alive ? There isn’t a thing in this world that would keep me from them, or a word that would describe my relief from the pain of that loss.”

Izuku was silent in the wake of that response, not sure what to say. He felt guilty for leaving his mother with no note (he couldn’t write one even if he’d wanted to, yet) and no hint that he was okay. Of course he did. But it was necessary and he’d come to terms with the decision years ago. Except, now, the full impact of what he’d put his mother through was hitting him all over again, thanks to the hero in front of him.

“I never wanted to hurt her,” he said softly, biting his lip and looking down at his lap and fighting down the burn in his eyes. Shoma stayed a silent weight on his shoulder as support. “I knew it would, but it wasn’t safe for me to be with her, and she never would have let me go if she’d known. It’s barely safe for me now .”

“But you aren’t alone now,” Aizawa countered, quiet sympathy in the lines of his form even if little of it showed in his face. “You have people who know the truth and believe you, you have spirit allies, and you know more than you did as a child to help keep you safe.”

There was a long moment of silence as Izuku considered what Aizawa was saying. He chewed on his lip until it was raw, and Aizawa let the silence continue to give him the space to process all the points he’d made.

“I won’t tell you the rest, not yet,” Izuku said just above a whisper, before meeting . “And you won’t share this with anyone else, except maybe Yamada and only when you know there aren’t spirits nearby or other people. I need that to be a Promise - the kind you make and aren’t able to break. He’ll need to do that too if you tell him.”

Aizawa studied him back for a long moment, before slowly nodding his head and shifting so he was facing Izuku more directly.

“I Promise to not share what you share with me now with anyone but Hizashi, and only when we’re alone. If I ever feel the need to share it with someone else, I’ll ask you first for permission,” Aizawa said, clearly not fully understanding what Promising really meant, but certain in his intention. It would be enough for it to take, though, when talking to someone as entangled with the spirit world as Izuku was.

“Alright,” Izuku said quietly, before glancing towards Shoma in confirmation. The small onibi pressed the fact that they were alone to him, and Izuku took a deep breath, turning his attention back to the hero. “My real name is Izuku. Only a few people know that name, and only one spirit does. Names are important - they’re how you gain control of people, if you’re a spirit, which is why I don’t share mine with almost anyone. Maybe one day I’ll share the rest of my name with you too - then you’ll be able to track down the rest of my life from there. I understand you’re required to try and find me, but I’m also hoping you understand this is a rather unique situation. I’m… I’m trusting you to not try and track it down now. Don’t make me regret that.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Izuku,” Aizawa said after a moment, letting the tension pass. A slight smile was on his face, and it looked as strange as it did humanizing on the man.

Hearing his name aloud in the first plane was startling enough to be embarrassing. Izuku was abruptly self-conscious and turned back to his task of warding his room, ignoring the flush across his cheeks. Being seen was awful , how did people do this every day? How did people deal with their names being said all the time, too?

Shoma snickered quietly, drifting from his shoulder to examine the Script Izuku had already written around the room. Izuku knew it was flawless - Shinshoku-sensei had drilled him on Script sigils more than anything else knowing their importance - but it never hurt to be certain.

“How long did it take to learn all this?” Aizawa asked, clearly changing the subject, which Izuku was grateful for. “I know I can’t see the complexity or differences, but assuming these are all different from what little I caught at the start, there’s a lot of them.”

“Each wall is the same,” Izuku said, glancing up at the cascading lines of Script around them. “But each page is different. I’m not sure what you’d consider similar, and they’re all linked through being Script, so it’s hard for me to fully differentiate them either. They all kind of flow together anyway, and by putting them in different combinations, you’re just… changing the flow.”

“So to ward…?”

“It’s like diverting a river,” Izuku mused aloud, sweeping his marker across a new page. “If you’re swimming away from a fish in a huge and wide river, you’ll either be eaten or drown then be eaten. But, if you can part the waters, even a little, then you can stand on solid ground and either be safe or have a chance to fight back depending on the fish. Make sense?”

“Enough,” Aizawa acknowledged. “What exactly is the water in this scenario? Unless that’s taking the metaphor too far, of course.”

“Everything is energy,” Izuku said, pausing again to sit back on his heels and fully immerse himself in this explanation. “You, me, matter, thoughts, spirits, dreams, consciousness, all of it. It takes a lot of energy to be material, more than you’d think. It’s easier for energy to just… not. That’s why spirits rely on energy more to interact with us and why it matters so much to them - they are much more aware of and involved with the energies of the universe since their natural state isn’t matter. Belief is actually a transferable form of energy - it goes from the first material plane to the second semi-material plane to the third semi-energetic plane. Possibly to the fourth energetic plane too, but that’s harder to tell since it’s so unknown still. Anyway, that’s why belief and whatnot gives spirits power, it’s just energy transfer.”

“Right,” Aizawa said, reaching up to briefly pinch the bridge of his nose. “Let’s pretend I fully understand that. Continue.”

“So, the point is that this,” Izuku waved a hand at the pages of Script now lining the walls, “is a form of energy too. This just makes the… flow , so to speak, change and then stay a certain way. And that certain way prevents spirits not aligned with it from entering the material space whether or not they enter the first plane or stay in the second or third. The rest of the energy just flows around this area, meaning they can’t get in. So Shoma can get in, for example, because he’s included in the warding, but Hayami couldn’t because she isn’t.”

“And Hayami is my spirit, so to speak?” Aizawa clarified. Izuku nodded.

“Yes, she’s the one I mentioned before, a dark grey and black tatarimokke whose eyes glow red when she uses her abilities or feels something strongly,” he said. “Daiki is Yamada-san’s, and he’s a blue glowing heron with gold eyes. Ohatsu-sama is Eri’s, and they’re a silver-grey dragon with dark blue eyes. For now at least - spirits don’t have to take the same form all the time, especially if they’re powerful like Ohatsu-sama is.”

“Why is Eri’s spirit given an honorific?” Aizawa asked, watching as Izuku went back to carefully tracing unreadable symbols across the pages scattered around them. “You call the others by name without one, but hers gets one.”

“Dragons are a different tier than others,” Izuku commented absently. “In all honesty, sometimes spirits like kitsunes - like One for All - get them too, but usually only when they’ve reached their full nine tails. Once she does, I’ll be calling her One for All-sama, if I’m still around by the time it happens, even if it’s a little awkward of an address due to her name being a title rather than a more human name.”

“So dragons are… rulers then?”

“No,” the green-haired boy immediately denied. “There’s no real hierarchy like that in the spirit world - well, not the way you’re thinking anyway. Power and age determine a lot, and dragons are almost always the strongest and oldest, so they’re most respected. But if a spirit is strong enough, it can hold metaphorical territory kind of like how feudal lords did, and they can make deals with weaker spirits to serve under them in return for protection, resources, etc. Honestly, spirit world politics are a lot - it took me years to understand it to the extent that I do, interacting with it daily, and even now I still don’t understand the full of it. Shoma helps where he can, but he gets overlooked a lot for being an onibi, so even he doesn’t know everything.”

“Hmm.”

Aizawa’s questions eased off, and they sat in a comfortable silence, aside from the faint sounds of marker on paper. Izuku continued hanging up pages, until his walls and ceiling were fully covered in the unreadable symbols. Shoma checked each page as it went up, making sure the right ones went in the right places, but had little to correct. This was one of the things Shinshoku-sensei had drilled Izuku on repeatedly, and he could probably ward a room in his sleep by now.

“You talk about your teacher a lot,” Aizawa commented, before his words were clearly chosen more carefully. “How long ago…?”

“A few years now,” Izuku said, pausing as his eyes blurred from the remembered pain of his loss. He took a deep breath and eased the emotions back to levels where he could set them aside again. “We weren’t… close, not like you are thinking. But he was all I had, was the only other person sharing even a fraction of what I was experiencing, and he taught me enough to save my life even if he couldn’t teach me everything I needed.”

“Even if you weren’t close, losing that kind of connection still hurts,” the hero said in a tone that was almost soothing. Quietly, “Sometimes especially if you weren’t close but wanted to be.”

Izuku capped his marker a little harder than he needed to, grabbing his last stack of papers and sticking them to the wall a little more forcefully than necessary, but still careful not to rip them. His hand lingered on the wall after sticking the last one on.

He let out a short laugh - a little amused, a little wry, a little bitter.

“You see more than most give you credit for, huh, Aizawa-san?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at the pro hero whose expression now had an undertone of concern. “I almost want to get mad, but of course you have sharp eyes with your ability, and I’ve practically been laying my past out on a platter for you almost since we met. I shouldn’t be surprised. Yeah, I wished we were closer, but he knew he didn’t have long and kept his distance on purpose. I think. He wasn’t exactly the most open person in the world.”

“Then I’m sorry for that lost opportunity anyway, for the both of you,” Aizawa said firmly, his tone still soothing. “But I’m glad he was able to help you anyway. And I’m glad you were able to figure out the rest enough for us to meet.”

Izuku blinked rapidly for a moment, unused to such sincere sentiment being stated to his face and even more surprised that it was coming from the usually unexpressive hero. Then, it was abruptly too much in the wake of all the other conversations and emotions that had been coming up throughout the rollercoaster of a day, and he turned his face away, throat clicking.

“...Thanks,” he said softly. “And me too.”

Seemingly realizing that Izuku had reached his limit for the day, Aizawa cleared his throat and stood, moving towards the doorway. It was a clear attempt to give Izuku a bit of space, and it was appreciated.

“I’ll check on Eri and Hizashi,” the man said as he stood in the doorway, peering down the hall to make a brief grimace. “And kick out Yagi. Get some rest, we can talk more in the morning. If you need anything like toothpaste, mouthwash, whatever, feel free to use the extras in the cabinet under the bathroom sink - they’re all unused.”

Just before Aizawa disappeared from view, Izuku hurriedly spoke.

“I - thank you, for all this. I know I was just here for Eri, but. I’ve appreciated it still, all of this, and being able to talk about everything and be believed,” he said. Izuku bit his lip for a moment, before blurting out softly, “I’m also… really happy to have met you finally. You’ve - you’ve always been one of my favorites.”

Abruptly embarrassed and done with emotional talks, Izuku hurriedly stood and closed the door, catching only a quick glimpse of Aizawa’s startled eyes before they were hidden from view. He breathed through the embarrassment for a moment before sighing and moving towards the bed.

Shut up, he said, sending a glance up towards Shoma. I know you’re smug, you don’t have to send it to me too.

But how else will you know that I told you so? the onibi said with faux-innocence. I told you having human companions to talk to was a good idea, and you doubted me. You should know by now that I’m always right.

You are not, Izuku refuted, sitting down on the soft bedspread and holding a hand out to Dumpster when the cat he’d unintentionally closed in with him eyed him warily. Dumpster’s lopsided expression said he wasn’t buying whatever Izuku was selling, but that he was willing to humor Izuku for the moment. He sniffed at Izuku’s fingers, then looked away unimpressed to stare at Shoma’s bobbing flames in a way that said he knew something was there but that he couldn’t quite see it.

I am enough for it to count, Shoma insisted. You round up all the time, I’m certain with the percentages it would even out to always.

Sure it would, Izuku flashed a grin towards him, until it was broken by a yawn.

Get some rest, Shoma said, lowering to hover over the bed. You are warded, you have an actual bed and shelter for once, and you have used a lot of energy today. Rest. You’ll no doubt need it for tomorrow.

Izuku gave in, knowing that Shoma was right. He quickly and unobtrusively got ready for bed, darting out into the bathroom and spending as little time out of his warded room as possible since the last thing he needed was another spirit encounter that night. When he returned to the room, Dumpster had migrated to his pillow and clearly wasn’t interested in moving.

He resigned himself to sharing for the night, hoping not to get clawed for his impudence at sleeping so close to the proud cat, but trusting that he’d remain friendly. It wasn’t like he’d never slept in more precarious places either.

Exhaustion swept through him the moment he was lying down, and Izuku realized he was more tired than he’d realized as the day caught up to him. It wasn’t long before the Script on the walls got blurry even for him, and a comfortingly familiar blue glow hovered above him, growing dimmer and dimmer with every blink.

Chapter Text

Izuku stared at the mess of bonding threads before him with a frown. Over his shoulder, he felt the heavy gaze of the dragon watching him, reading the signs he didn’t even know he was giving off. Finally, he sighed, turning to look back at the large spirit behind him.

I’m not sure what to do with this , he said apologetically. There’s a massive amount of energy tied up in this, which is probably why you’re so wea- I mean why you’re so tired all the time.

Izuku winced internally, knowing it was bad manners at minimum to call a spirit weak, and especially so when the spirit was a dragon. Even if the spirit in question was actually weaker than they should have been. Ohatsu-sama huffed a quiet breath, sending steam out from their nostrils.

You can speak the truth, the massive spirit said quietly, looking at the mass of now-untangled threads binding them to Eri. I am not as I should be. Is there a way to detach only one side of the bonds, so that they could return to me?

Maybe, Izuku said, staring at the bonds with narrowed eyes. I’ve never tried before. In theory, it should work? I’ve seen evidence of severed and frayed bonds before. It should be possible to detach them too.

Take one and try, Ohatsu-sama said, flicking their tail to separate one thread out from the others. There is little more you could do to me that has not already been done, in regards to the bonds. There is no harm in experimenting.

Are you sure? Izuku asked, glancing over his shoulder at the dragon. I don’t want to…

Hurt me? The dragon asked, amused at the suggestion as Izuku trailed off, realizing the same thing. With a single bond, again, there is little a child like you could do to truly harm me. Any discomfort is well worth the knowledge.

Izuku took a deep breath on the material plane, feeling it hone his focus in the second. Reaching out, he grasped the thin thread tying Ohatsu-sama to Eri. Feeling it out, he tried to figure out how to separate it on one end while leaving it intact - and where it wouldn’t harm or damage either party.

Do you remember that old computer you tinkered with a few years back? Shoma asked quietly, prompting a vivid memory of frustration and grimy fingers prodding at small technological scraps scavenged from a mountain of garbage on a local beach. Remember the wires?

And oh, that was an idea.

Grasping the thread gently, he tugged, all the while picturing the thread ‘unplugging’ from Eri’s end, to be coiled back up within Ohatsu-sama. It took a few moments of careful, consistent pressure, before the bond went slack, seemingly releasing from Eri and drifting back towards the dragon. It stayed some definition of solid in his mental hands, before it seemed to dissipate into nothing.

Did that work? Izuku asked, turning back to the dragon.

They blinked, flexing their claws for a moment. After a bit of consideration, the dragon met his gaze again.

I believe so. It was the weakest bond we had - one of the last that demon caused , they said, meeting his eyes again. We are damaged enough it is hard to tell, but I did not feel any discomfort, nor did I sense anything wrong with the disconnection.

Izuku turned his attention to the first plane for a moment, checking for any alarm or discomfort from Eri and the others there. All he heard was quiet and curious murmurs and steady breathing from the girl in front of him, so he turned back to the more spiritual side of the planes and refocused on the dragon again.

There’s nothing wrong on the material plane either, so I don’t think it hurt Eri either , Izuku said, turning his attention back to the mass of threads nearby. Would you like me to… continue? You can point out which ones I should work on next, so that I don’t do too many or the wrong ones.

I shall show you , Ohatsu-sama agreed, blinking their eyes slowly.

The next while passed like that, with Ohatsu-sama showing Izuku where to focus his efforts and Izuku carefully detaching the extra bonds. Some of them were like the first, requiring ‘unplugging’, so to speak. Others, he found, needed to be dissolved or ‘untied’. Each was different, formed from slightly different circumstances, and they all needed to be handled gently and carefully to avoid hurting spirit or girl.

You are pushing too far again , Shoma said softly, interrupting Izuku’s focus. Glancing at the mess of threads still left to sort through, Izuku hesitated, before giving in to Shoma’s words. It rankled to keep leaving a job undone, and he kept having to remind himself he was attempting to undo years worth of damage and it would take time.

Feeling himself sigh on the first plane, Izuku finally released his hold on the more spiritual planes, sinking back into the first and losing his awareness of the others. Abruptly, he felt a minor headache set in, and his posture slumped in weariness.

Small one? Hayami asked, peering down at him with red eyes from her perch on the back of the couch. It was the closest Izuku had seen her to the material world in the entire time he’d known her, but the sight of her and the nickname was rapidly becoming familiar.

Despite her initial stand-offish nature, Hayami had seemed to grow attached to Izuku over the past few days. She’d been present a lot more and interacted with Izuku more frequently. Daiki wasn’t around as frequently - he actually seemed to be the opposite of his human, quieter and less outgoing than his counterpart. He was cordial when he was around, and clearly had some form of attachment to Hayami, but seemed generally disinclined to involve himself much in the activities of others as far as Izuku could tell.

I’m fine , he said, flicking a glance at her, before turning his attention to the humans in the room with him. “Now that everything’s untangled, Ohatsu-sama and I decided to try and start fixing the bond itself. It’s slow going, but we made some progress. You weren’t uncomfortable at all during the process, right? I tried to check in as best I could while doing it, but I’d like to be sure.”

His last words were directed at Eri, who paused to consider her response. Thankfully she hadn’t been upset with him for leaving so abruptly several days ago, just worried about whether or not he was okay. He was still trying to make it up to her anyway, since she deserved nice things. After a long moment though, she shook her head.

“It wasn’t uncomfortable,” she said softly, glancing up at him shyly. “I think I feel better now though. I feel less… itchy?”

Her slight frown showed that wasn’t exactly the right word, but Izuku knew exactly how difficult it was to translate non-physical experiences into physical descriptions and got her general meaning.

“Good,” he said, stifling a yawn. Cool ceramic pressed into the back of his hand, and Izuku glanced over to see Kacchan holding a bowl of mixed nuts, chocolate chips, and dried fruit out to him. Blinking, he took the bowl and offered his old friend a small smile at the gesture.

The past few days, he’d noticed those in the know - and especially Kacchan - passing him food after every session with Eri. The single time he’d refused, he’d also not slept well the night before and gotten so dizzy he’d almost passed out. Now none of them would let him stand up without a snack after his Quirk sessions with Eri.

He’d tried to refuse out of politeness a few times, but eventually Aizawa had given him a Look and he’d caved to their wishes, to Shoma’s snickering amusement. 

Eat , the onibi prompted, and Izuku dutifully crunched down on some of the mixed nuts. Are you feeling okay still? I’ve been trying to keep a better watch on your energy levels .

I feel fine, Izuku reassured - a little disgruntled at all the attention but also pleased at the care his friend was showing. Ohatsu-sama’s help has been keeping me from burning as much energy as before, when they couldn’t do anything.

“Shoma around then?” Yamada asked, looking around futiley for the blue spirit. Both heroes had gotten pretty good at noticing when Izuku was having quiet conversations with the spirits around them over the last few days. Katsuki had taken it as a challenge, but still sometimes got tripped up over whether or not Izuku was lost in thought or actually talking to someone.

Izuku nodded to Yamada, his mouth full, waving a hand over his left shoulder at his friend. Yamada smiled a little. 

“He really likes hanging around you, huh? Especially on your shoulders.”

“He’s been with me for pretty much a decade now,” Izuku said softly, after swallowing his food. He glanced over at the small ball of flames and smiled. “I found him, what, a few weeks after I ran from home? He’d gotten caught on an incorrectly drawn talisman on the roof of a building. It was supposed to ward off spirits, but a wrong line meant it would trap them. It was weak enough most spirits could pull free on their own, but Shoma was low-level enough it was taking him a lot longer. So, I helped him get free, and we’ve been friends ever since. Shoulders are an easy place for him to perch, to stay with me.”

“Why did he stay with you instead of leaving?” Aizawa asked from the nearby chair, before frowning a bit at his words. “I didn’t mean it the way that sounded - but from what you’ve said, most spirits don’t seem to stick around much.”

“It’s fine,” Izuku laughed, leaning back a bit and eating some more of his snack. “Shoma was curious, really. And he’s low-level enough anyway that he didn’t stand to lose much by not building his energy in the spirit world. So, he stayed long enough for us to become friends, and then he just never left.”

Luckily for you, Shoma teased, his flames tickling Izuku’s ear. You’d have been incredibly lost without me there to help guide you.

I’ll admit that any day , Izuku said, tone fond. He ate the last of his snack and put the bowl on the table. With his hands newly freed, Dumpster jumped up into his lap and curled up imperiously. The aloof cat had taken a shine to him the past few days, having grown used to Izuku from sharing space with him overnight when they both slept.

“I’m surprised Dumpster took to you so quickly,” Yamada said, looking a little impressed at the the way the grey cat was purring contentedly in Izuku’s lap while being pet. “It took weeks for him to even look at me.”

“That’s because you are loud enough to deafen us, much less him,” Aizawa grumbled, from where he was seated, his face tucked into his scarf. Yamada proved his point a moment later by squawking in outrage at the insult, and Izuku smiled at the exchange, even if he too winced at the blond hero’s volume. He pet gently at Dumpster’s ears and cheeks, and the cat half-closed his eyes in satisfaction as a silent purr began rumbling through his body.

He and Eri listened to the playful argument for a while while Katsuki worked on homework nearby, surveying the others every now and then with a narrow-eyed gaze that occasionally turned into an eyeroll. Katsuki was mellower than he’d been when they were kids, Izuku had noticed, and he wondered at the change even as he was glad for the familiarities that still remained.

Izuku gave Dumpster a final stroke, before carefully shifting the grumpy cat off of his lap and into the nest of blankets beside him. The cat side-eyed him in distaste, but settled into the blankets with only a small mrrp of discontent, seemingly having accepted the offering.

Grabbing the small dish that had held his snack, Izuku made his way into the kitchen, quickly and efficiently cleaning the bowl and setting it to dry on the rack nearby. As he turned to go back to the living room, his eyes caught on a manila folder resting on the edge of the counter that wasn’t there earlier that morning.

It was resting open, revealing what seemed to be a series of documents and photographs within.

Izuku frowned at the file’s contents, eyes scanning it quickly. He knew he probably wasn’t supposed to read it, but it was out in the open, he was curious, and he’d been ignoring rules on the material plane for too long to truly start caring now. It didn’t take long for him to piece together what the case file Aizawa had been working on lately was about.

There were a few names that stood out, along with horrific descriptions of experiments and personnel. There were pictures too - of the facility in question, a few weapons, the few members they managed to take into custody - and, blood-chillingly, of Eri herself when they first found her. 

So, that’s what this case was about.

Izuku felt the embers of his rage spark to life again within his chest as his eyes moved towards a photograph of a man wearing a bird mask reminiscent of the mask of a plague doctor.

“That’s confidential.”

The abrupt words came with the file being pulled across the counter away from Izuku. The green-haired boy startled at the sudden motion, his rage draining away abruptly in his shock, and he looked up to see Aizawa looking sternly at him, his hand over the documents.

“Sorry, I - I wasn’t trying to pry,” Izuku stuttered, fighting the instinct to take a step back. Aizawa eyed him for a moment then sighed, and his expression smoothed a little.

“It’s not entirely your fault,” he admitted. “I should have put this away as soon as I got home, but I got distracted hearing you were in a session with Eri. That’s on me.”

Izuku blinked at the man a few times, shoulders slowly relaxing from their stiff position as the sudden tension eased. Shoma flickered at the skin of his cheek, and he tilted his head into the sensation for a moment, taking a breath to fully relax.

His eyes drifted back towards the file, where the barest edge of the man in the plague doctor mask could still be seen.

“He’s the one who’s been severing bonds? Like the one I fixed for Mirio at the hospital?” Izuku asked distantly, staring at the photograph. He looked so ordinary, if a bit fastidious, and he doubted he would have looked twice at the man had he passed him on the street. That was possibly the most alarming thing of all - he’d grown used to being more sensitive to his surroundings due to his spiritual inclinations and the help of Shoma. But there was nothing outstanding about the man at all, aside from the mask, which he no doubt didn’t wear out and about or he’d have been found a lot sooner.

“Yes, he’s the head of the Shie Hassaikai, who we rescued Eri from,” Aizawa said, mouth tightening almost imperceptibly, even as he flipped the folder fully shut to hide the contents from Izuku’s gaze. “We were able to get her out and arrest about thirty of his people, but both he and a few of his key people managed to get away in the chaos. It seems he’s resurfacing.”

“You should take me with you,” Izuku blurted out impulsively, a little surprised at the words himself, but growing more stubborn in the statement the more his words sunk in. “When you go to get him, I mean. I’m Quirkless so he can’t take anything from me. I can affect Quirks through spirit bonds. I - I could probably… separate him from his Quirk. Similarly to how I reconnected the ones he broke. If I had enough time.”

Izuku couldn’t help the way his words came more haltingly as he spoke about the taboo thing spirits had been accusing him of for years. He’d never willingly separated someone from their Quirk before, or even messed with Quirks beyond smoothing out damages - and more recently, reattaching them and detaching extra bonds. But severing bonds was an awful thing to do to people and spirits alike, and Overhaul was doing that indiscriminately with no regard for the potential effects of what he was doing. Even if he was now suggesting doing the same to the man, himself.

“Absolutely not,” Aizawa said sharply, looking up from his files to set a stern glare upon him. “You are untrained, a teenager, and a civilian. None of those things make me even remotely inclined to bring you on a raid mission of a group of yakuza - much less yakuza as dangerous as the Shie Hassaikai.”

“The only reason he is so dangerous is because of his Quirk,” Izuku argued back. “I can level that playing field, so that the heroes can then focus on the bullets he made using Eri’s genetics. That’s what happened to Mirio, right? And the experiments in the file were referring to?”

“And how will you get close enough to do so?” Aizawa snapped, turning to face him fully, in light of Izuku’s stubborn stance. “Every time you have interacted with a Quirk it was in a relatively controlled environment, and took multiple minutes to accomplish after getting close enough to draw upon the person you were working with. You would not have that luxury in the middle of a raid.”

“I don’t always need the Script. Besides, repairing things is a lot harder than destroying them,” Izuku said softly, eyes serious as he stared the pro hero down. “You should know that better than anyone, as a hero. Sometimes ruining something only takes a second. That’s why you only accept the best of the best as your students, right? Because a split second is all it takes, so you have to make sure they’re good enough to never risk that second.”

A quiet, gutteral noise came from behind them, and Izuku glanced over his shoulder to see Katsuki and the others hovering in the doorway to the kitchen, no doubt drawn by the raised voices. Returning his gaze to Aizawa, he could feel the burning eyes of the others bouncing between himself and dark-haired hero. For a single moment the underground hero looked incandescently furious, before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly calming himself down.

“My answer is still no,” Aizawa said firmly, opening his eyes again and looking at him steadily. “You have not had training, and by your own admission while arguing with the spirits a few days ago, have never taken a Quirk or bond from someone before. I am not bringing a child into a dangerous situation on a maybe. If we get him into custody, we can revisit this conversation then, when the environment would be controlled and much safer.”

Izuku wanted to continue arguing, but even having only known the hero in person for about a week, he knew there was no way he was changing Aizawa’s mind. Huffing in irritation, he turned away from the man, stalking across the room and past the small crowd listening in to sink back down onto the couch and snap open a book he’d been chipping away at for a few days now. He stared at the words without comprehension - too lost in his own head to process the words.

Briefly, he considered the idea of sneaking out to follow the hero for the raid anyway, as there was little the man could do to stop him - especially if he slipped into the spirit world to do so.

You know he’s right , Hayami’s voice interrupted, and he cast his glower upon her instead. You have never taken a gift from someone before, and rightly so. While I agree that severing a bond would be easier than repairing one, it would still leave you vulnerable. And making sure you are safe could cost my human his focus in a crucial moment. You would then be responsible for any harm that befalls him after that. Is that something you could live with?

The harsh words and somewhat menacing tone towards the end were enough to shock Izuku out of his irritation, as he could all too easily picture them occurring. Aizawa letting him go along, second-guessing his decisions and hesitating to stay near him to protect him. Aizawa refusing to let him come, and being surprised and distracted by his presence if he came anyway. Any number of heroes assigned to protect the teenage civilian among them, losing their jobs, lives, mobility, or any other number of things to keep him safe.

I know you want to stop it, Shoma said softly beside him. And avenge Eri and Ohatsu-sama’s suffering. But you know we all have a point. Rushing into a confrontation just because you can is reckless, and you know better than that. You are letting your outrage at his abuse of bonds blind you, and you are letting your affection for Eri cloud your judgement.

The words burned, but Izuku couldn’t deny them. Gritting his teeth, he slowly let himself accept Shoma’s words as he’d grown used to doing often throughout the years. He’d had to come to terms with his own faults years ago, and Shoma had been acting as an alert to them for just as long. Hayami’s rebuke took a little longer to take in, but he forced himself to consider both of their words carefully. Accept them. Integrate them to his approach and mindset moving forward.

It grated on him to do so, but after a few minutes of pressing the issue internally, he knew they had a point. He hadn’t survived this long being reckless, and he wasn’t looking to pass on any time soon - or to be the reason anyone else did either.

Flicking his eyes away from the spirits again, he found that the others had migrated back to the living room and were hovering again. Eri and Yamada looked a little hesitant, while Katsuki was staring thoughtfully at him with a slight wrinkle to his brow. Aizawa’s eyes were cautious and calculating, reading who knew what from Izuku’s body language and expressions.

“Sorry,” Izuku muttered, directing his words towards the hero.

Aizawa’s gaze scanned him for a moment longer, before he relaxed again, expression turning a little knowing.

“It’s alright,” he said, sinking back into his chair again. “The instinct to help is admirable, but action is only helpful when the one acting is prepared. But, I understand the instinct all the same. I wouldn’t be a hero otherwise.”

Izuku blinked, realizing that perhaps Aizawa understood him better than he’d thought. Further regret at their earlier… spat, sank into him then. The pair of heroes had taken him in, however temporarily, for the time being, had given him a room and food, had listened to all his stories, and he’d in turn snooped and picked a fight.

He wasn’t known for his impulsivity, but he thought perhaps the combination of talking to One for All and seeing the damage done to Eri had stressed him to the point where he felt the need to act more than he was used to. But, that was still no excuse.

A quiet chirp broke the easy silence and all eyes turned towards Aizawa where the man pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Izuku could practically see the hero go grey in front of him at whatever showed up on the screen, and Katsuki snorted, beginning to put his stuff away.

“What did the fu- er, fudging idiots do now?” he asked, after sending a quick glance at Eri. Izuku smothered a grin at the abrupt censor, amused that Katsuki wasn’t willing to swear in front of his teacher’s kid in front of the teacher himself.

“You don’t want to know,” Aizawa sighed, standing up and looking world weary as he did so. “Hizashi, come with me, I’ll explain on the way. Eri, it’s time for your visit with Asui-san, if you still want to go? I know she was wanting to show you some games today.”

“I’ll go!” Eri smiled, hopping up off the couch and running to grab her socks and the house slippers everyone wore in the dorms.

“I may as well come along too - as they say in English, they’re my f-udging monkeys, so it’s my shi- uh, circus whether I like it or not,” Katsuki grumbled, still stumbling over swears as he swung his bag over his shoulder. He turned to Izuku. “Did you want to come, Deku? I’m warning you now, the Idiot Brigade are a handful and there will be chaos.”

“Maybe later,” Izuku smiled, before holding up the book in his hands. “I’ve been trying to finish this for a while and things keep coming up. I think I want to take some time to try and finish it today.”

“Fair enough,” Katsuki shrugged. “I’ll come get you for dinner then.”

“Probably for the best,” Yamada chimed in. “You’ve been spending a lot of energy the last few days, it’ll do you some good to rest up some more.”

Eri came running back into the room, and Izuku ruffled her hair, before the crowd shuffled their way over to the door. Aizawa paused, glancing over his shoulder at him for a quick second.

“If you need us for any reason, we’ll either be downstairs or in the main building, depending on the situation,” he said. “If you can’t find us still, just ask one of my students - they all have my number and can message me.”

“Alright,” Izuku agreed with a nod, smiling a little at the man. He was glad they had gotten over any lingering tension from earlier - he hadn’t known the hero long, but he didn’t like arguing with him all the same.

With that, the four others finished shuffling their way out of the apartment, leaving behind a quiet silence, aside from the slight hum of electricity and the soft breathing of Dumpster next to him. The door shut and latched with a click, and Izuku was left alone with the spirits.

Izuku turned his attention then to Hayami as soon as the front door closed. He set aside his book, and frowned a little. He bit his lip as he hesitated to ask what he was thinking of, knowing he was about to touch upon a second touchy topic for the day.

Ask whatever question you have, Small One, Hayami said, fluttering down to perch in front of him. Knowing you now, I am unlikely to take offense as I would have when we first met. Whatever it is must be important, if you were willing to mislead the others the way you did.

Please take this the right way, he started hesitantly. But what with everything One for All told me, and the situation with Overhaul, I think I need to ask. What do you know about All for One, and what do you know about how to sever bonds?

Chapter Text

“The one good thing about being on my own was not having to go to school,” Izuku grumbled, leaning back in his chair. “And where do I end up? Back in classes.”

You aren’t actually needing to do the work , Shoma pointed out.

“Shut up and deal with it, nerd,” Katsuki griped back quietly. “Sensei needed you and the kid here today, and Nedzu is too curious for his own fucking good.”

“ Ugh ,” Izuku complained, flopping forward to rest his chin on his hand. Sighing, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a battered and worn journal that was stuffed so full of extra pages that it looked a little strained at the seams. “Do you have a pen?”

“Don’t you ?” Katsuki asked, slapping a spare one into Izuku’s hand as he looked at the journal with poorly concealed curiously. “You have literally everything else you own in that fucking bag, how do you not have a damn pen?”

“Probably,” Izuku said, unbothered, snatching the pen before Katsuki could change his mind. “Can’t be bothered to find it right now.”

You are testing the loud one’s patience , One for All noted from where she was curled up beside him, her voice sounding both a little judgemental and a little amused.

“That’s a little bit of the point,” Izuku said under his breath, causing Katsuki to glance back at him again suspiciously. Izuku gave him an innocent look back, which Katsuki clearly didn’t believe in the slightest. But, he decided to turn around and focus on his work again.

A glance to the side showed One for All with her mouth open slightly, giving a silent foxy laugh at his mischief. Shoma had settled in his usual spot on Izuku’s shoulder, and Izuku could feel that he was focused on the journal as well.

Opening the journal, Izuku was met with a combination of informational entries, journal entries, drawings, sigils, and more all written in a mix of Script, English, and Japanese to encode it. The notebook itself was a mess of details - describing everything he knew about different kinds of spirits, the planes, warding and talismans, and a record of his own experiences and experiments. It was an absolute disaster organizationally, but Izuku had been working on it long enough that he knew it by heart and could probably recite it in his sleep.

Are you writing down our experiments with Ohatsu-sama?

And what One for All has been teaching us , Izuku said. It’s the first time anyone has actually been able to tell me more about what being a Connection means. It’ll be useful to have - and if I ever manage to meet the next one, then having a written record of everything would help them. It definitely would have helped me.

There really are no other written records of this? One for All asked, looking up at him curiously, her red markings catching the sunlight coming into the classroom from the windows and shimmering a little. 

None that I could find, at least , Izuku confirmed, his hand writing quickly on one of the few remaining empty pages. He may have to get a new journal soon - he’d add what he could to this one, but there was only so much paper this one journal could hold, even if he’d extended the journal’s life with loose notebook paper stapled in, sticky notes taped down, and paperclipped articles added in.

I wonder if the previous Connection lost them, or never found the writings of their predecessors , One for All mused, eyes tracking the small kappa spirit hovering near a girl with frog-like eyes and too-loose limbs that Izuku thought he remembered was named Asui. The other spirit seemed to be avoiding making any kind of contact with her, focusing only on their human. One for All’s mouth opened again in that silent laugh of hers before turning her attention back to Izuku. I was not yet in existence for all of it, but I do know you are not the first to have recorded your experiences like this, and in the past, Connections could make deals with spirits to find the next generation’s and teach them.

I wonder what happened then , Izuku muttered.

It was hard not to feel bitter when hearing about those who had come before him, and the amount of help they seemed to have gotten with their abilities and learning how to navigate them. It didn’t sound like they’d needed to take the drastic measures he’d had to - leaving home, his friends and family, to live homeless and on the run constantly to avoid being found by spirits who wished him harm.

Even now, staying at Yuuei with those who knew about his abilities and believed him, it was grating on him. All of his instincts were starting to rear their head, several days into this, telling him it was time to move and that he’d already been found several times by spirits strong enough that he shouldn’t have even hesitated to get out.

But.

Shoma had a point, that it had been too long since he’d been able to be around people. He also couldn’t deny that it was nice for someone to actually believe him about his experiences. After he’d tried with his mom, Katsuki, their classmates and teachers, his doctor … Well, once they’d decided he was mentally ill and his mom had been injured, he’d given up on that really fast. Since then, the only person he’d told was Shinshoku-sensei, and that was after the other man had revealed himself first.

Izuku also couldn’t just leave Eri like she was. Especially after having seen the state of her bonds with Ohatsu-sama. He’d been helping with bonds for a long time now, and hers was by far the worst he’d ever seen.

So, here he remained, even though it was making him twitchy.

The other students had started filtering into the classroom by now to join Asui, Katsuki, and the intense boy named Iida Izuku had seen off and on at meals. Their conversations stuttered a bit at seeing Izuku himself in the empty desk behind Katsuki, leftover from some poor student that had apparently been expelled early on and never replaced. Eri herself was spending time with Hound Dog, as the man had a mostly empty schedule for the day, and they were all hoping he might be able to slowly start her psychological treatment for the trauma she’d endured.

They eyed Izuku and his conspiracy-theory level journal with open curiosity, but most seemed to notice Katsuki’s glower right next to him and decided to leave him be for the moment. Izuku became doubly glad that One for All had decided to stick by him, as he tensed upon noticing that several students also had their spirits following them around today.

Asui’s kappa was still young and not much of a threat anyway, but a few of the others - like the large ape-like hibagon following Shoji around, and the nurikabe flickering in and out of sight following Hagakure - seemed to watch him with hungry and angry eyes until they caught sight of the large kitsune laying at his feet. After that, one by one, they each decided to simply pretend not to see him and keep their distance.

It was as nerve-wracking as it was kind of hilarious. Now that Izuku had allies in high places, he was off limits, it seemed.

“Oh! Deku-kun, have you joined our class?”

Izuku glanced up and saw that of the other students, it was Uraraka who had apparently braved Katsuki’s glare to approach. A flash of dark fur briefly drew Izuku’s gaze to her shoulders, where the short snout of a fuuri peeked out from behind her. Upon making eye contact with him, the tanuki-like spirit blew a short gust of wind at him before ducking away to hide somewhere on Uraraka’s person again.

“Ah, no, I haven’t,” Izuku said hurriedly, hoping the girl hadn’t noticed the way his hair had moved without a tangible breeze in the room. “Aizawa and Yamada couldn’t leave me behind today and Nedzu wanted to speak to me anyway, apparently. So, it just made sense for me to tag along for a bit then meet the principal in his office when it was time to see him.”

“That’s a shame,” Uraraka said, looking genuinely disappointed for a second, before brightening again. “Any idea what you’re going to talk about? It isn’t common for Nedzu to want a one on one meeting with anyone - especially since you aren’t actually a student here.”

“I have a few ideas,” Izuku said after a moment, thinking back to both his work with Eri and his conversation with All Might recently. It wasn’t likely the stoat hadn’t heard about either of those by now, given the trust both Aizawa and All Might seemed to place in him, nor how smart he was. “Nothing for sure, though.”

Uraraka opened her mouth to no doubt ask him another question, but Aizawa’s abrupt appearance in the doorway instantly silenced her, and she scurried over to her seat, so that she was already sitting at her desk by the time Aizawa reached his teacher’s podium.

Izuku was a little impressed with the efficiency Aizawa seemed to have integrated into his classroom.

He listened idly for a bit, but once Aizawa’s lecture turned into actual class material, Izuku turned his attention back towards his journal. He’d been interacting a lot more with spirits than usual recently, so he had a lot of information to add about tatarimokkes, aosagibis, kitsunes, and dragons - specifically the famed Ohatsu-sama, which was astounding itself as it wasn’t often spirits got strong and famous enough to be known by name.

There was a lot to add, and that was without even mentioning everything else. It was surprisingly peaceful to just sit in a classroom and write about the things in his life. Izuku wondered if this would have been his life, in another lifetime. Would he still have kept a journal? Would he still be sitting in this classroom at Yuuei? Would he and Katsuki still have been friends?

It was hard to imagine, how different his life might have been had he not been touched so strongly by the spirit plane. So many factors of his life would have been different that it was almost impossible to identify them all. He could have had an entirely different fate, been a different person in another life.

You’re moping again .

No I’m not.

We both know better, Shoma said, floating down to his desktop, and Izuku subtly ran his fingers through heatless flames. It’s no use musing on what could have been. All we can do is work with what is, no?

You’re right, Izuku said with a quiet sigh. It’s just hard sometimes not to. Especially when I keep being confronted with the life I could have led had things gone differently.

Do you regret this life? Shoma asked curiously. This was another way that spirits differed from people, Izuku had found. Spirits didn’t really do ‘what-ifs’ in most cases, Izuku had found. Being unbound to the material plane, and being forced to use so much energy to interact with it each time they chose to, they tended to interact with the material world as it was and didn’t really understand the problems of those bound to it in full.

You? Never, Izuku said, putting his pen down for a moment to cup the small onibi in his hands. You’re my best friend, and easily the best part about this. The next best probably being the ability to help people who otherwise might suffer for the rest of their lives due to bond issues.

But you have been tired , Shoma stated quietly, cutting to the heart of the issue as usual. More tired than I have realized, as you have been tired for almost as long as I’ve known you, haven’t you?

Izuku didn’t have the words to protest that statement and remained silent. Shoma flickered more brightly for a moment.

Then, the small ball of blue flames said softly, it is good that you now have a chance to rest.

“Deku?”

Izuku’s gaze jolted up to Aizawa’s dark eyes. The man himself flicked his eyes briefly to his desktop in the general vicinity where Shoma was, and Izuku knew it still irked the man that he couldn’t see the spirits that Izuku was interacting with each day.

“Ah, sorry, did you ask me a question?” Izuku stuttered, taken by surprise at suddenly being addressed in class. A glance to the side showed the students were working on their own assignments either alone or in quiet pairs, which explained why Aizawa wasn’t busy teaching yet.

“You may want to pack your things up,” Aizawa said, bringing his attention away from the empty space where Shoma was to look at Izuku directly again. The teacher took a large gulp of the coffee Izuku just noticed he was holding and sighed tiredly. “Nezu asked to meet with you around ten this morning, I believe. It’s currently ten minutes until then, and it takes at least five minutes to get to his office from here.”

Blinking, startled, Izuku saw that the clock confirmed what Aizawa had said. He stared at it in silence for a moment, before jolting forward to get his things together again and zip up his backpack again. He hadn’t realized he’d been working on his journal for so long.

“Oi, Deku!” Katsuki barked, seeing his pen disappear into Izuku’s backpack. “That pen is mine!”

“Mine now,” Izuku chirped, dancing out of the way of Katsuki’s swiping grab with a mischievous grin and dodging One for All as best he could at the same time. The fox spirit might be friendly for now, but he wasn’t willing to test that yet.

With a wave at Aizawa and enjoying the fact that Katsuki couldn’t retaliate further in front of the strict teacher, he made his way into the hallway before either could do or say anything else to him about the minor theft.

Izuku walked quickly through the hallways, not wanting to be late and knowing that he still wasn’t fully confident in navigating the school yet. The school was the definition of over the top, but it was sleek and clean in a way that impressed Izuku just as much as it ever had when thinking about the school. If he’d held onto his dream of being a hero, and if he hadn’t been technically Quirkless, he may have even aimed to come here himself.

Regardless, as Shoma pointed out, that wasn’t something that was part of this lifetime.

He almost missed the right hallway, but Shoma caught the mistake right on time, and they made it to Nedzu’s office doors just in time. The doors were ridiculously tall, especially given the size of the principal himself, and just as ostentatious and over the top as the rest of the school.

As he approached, Izuku lifted a hand to knock, only for the doors to shift before he even managed to make contact. With a slow, long creak they opened to reveal the interior of Nedzu’s office. There were bookshelves lining the walls, as well as curious items and keepsakes here and there as well.

The focus of the room, though, was clearly the large, sturdy desk framed by the view from the entryway, where Nedzu was seated and looking at him expectantly. There was an empty chair across the way from him, that Izuku assumed was where he was supposed to sit for their meeting

“Ah, Deku-kun,” Nedzu said, paws folded on his desk as Izuku stepped forward into the room. “Thank you for joining me. Please, have a seat.”

Izuku hesitantly sat down in the plush chair across from the principal, eyeing him a little warily, as he wasn’t sure what exactly the purpose of this meeting was yet. One for All did a graceful leap up onto the desk’s corner, watching curiously. Shoma seemed to have decided to wander his way along the shelves lining the walls of the office, apparently inspecting the books and gadgets the principal deemed worthy of collection.

“We have not had the opportunity to speak much, since your arrival here,” Nedzu said, pulling a tea service out from… somewhere. It was already prepared with a steaming teapot and two waiting cups on the tray, as well as a few add-ins that Izuku assumed were there in case someone took their tea differently than the traditional way. “I apologize for that; there has been a lot going on. Would you care for some tea?”

“... Yes, please.”

Izuku was then handed a cup filled with a cup of freshly brewed tea. Izuku held the warm cup between his hands and breathed in the steam. From the color and smell, it looked like it had been brewed from a higher quality sencha green tea, and he took a slightly nervous sip. It tasted better than any other tea he’d had before, and Izuku unintentionally savored the taste even as he sipped at the drink again.

“Now, I’m sure you are wondering why I have called you here,” Nedzu continued, seemingly unbothered by Izuku’s silence. “There are in fact several reasons! The primary one being curiosity. It is uncommon to come across one with a gift such as yours - in fact, it has likely been well over a hundred years since the last person quite like you was born, yes?”

“How did you know that?” Izuku’s attention abruptly sharpened, and his eyes narrowed at the stoat chimera. “I haven’t told many people about that. In fact, I can count that number on one hand. So, which of them told you without permission?”

“None of them!” Nedzu said, with an unbothered smile. “I did some digging of my own after inferring some information after being given the basic overview by Aizawa and All Might. I uncovered a few interesting things I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on!”

The stoat chimera then pulled a short stack of items out from the same place he’d somehow gotten the tea service from and placed them on his desk. Izuku eyed the principal warily for a few moments, before leaning forward to take a look. The first was a thin book with writing that seemed to be done by hand, bound within a crude leather cover and looped twine - clearly bound in tetsuyousou style binding. The accordianed pages were stained and worn, and the cover was torn in a few places.

What was most striking about it, was that the writing was almost entirely done in Script.

Izuku’s hands were abandoning his tea on the desk and darting out to grab the thin book before he’d even fully registered what he was seeing. He would have been worried about being rude, but if everything else fell apart and he had to run, he’d be taking this with him, so there was no way it was sitting in front of him a moment longer without being in his hands. He wasn’t asking permission to handle this.

Flipping through it in a cursory scan, his hands gentle against the worn pages, Izuku looked through the various headings and titles. There were notations about classes of oni, various remedies for something called ‘spirit poisoning’, and general musings and theories about the spirit plane. It seemed it wasn’t a journal from another Connection like Izuku, but it was still a journal from someone touched by the otherworld all the same, much like Shenshoku-sensei was.

All at once, he felt so very connected to the world he felt very alone in navigating - reminded of his own journal resting in his backpack that he’d been working on only moments earlier. Here, he held proof in his hands that someone else had done something exactly the same, in their own way.

“Where did you find this?” he asked softly, carefully folding the pages back the way they were before and looking back at the chimera curiously. His hands didn’t leave the journal, though, unwilling to risk parting from it after only having just found it.

“It’s apparently from the attic of a woman who had no idea what she had,” Nedzu offered easily, sipping lightly at his tea. “Apparently her grandfather always claimed he saw spirits, but he was not believed for the obvious reasons. He passed recently, and they were selling and giving away most of his possessions - the journal was a lucky coincidental finding. The other two items come from similar sources.”

Reminded of the fact that there were items other than the book, Izuku looked at the desktop again. A thin, wooden haraigushi wand was there, its shide bound tightly for easier transportation. It looked rather unremarkable when Izuku first glanced at it, but closer inspection showed clever uses of Script scattered among the simple decorations lining the handle, hiding in plain sight. Beside it was a necklace made of a single comma-shaped pendant, a magatama. Izuku looked it over for a moment, but didn’t see anything setting it apart from an ordinary necklace, and looked up curiously.

“I acquired these items because they stood out as unique to me,” Nedzu explained, catching his confusion. “The book was obvious, as I could not make sense of what I could see or read the rest at all. I believe you call it Script? I was told that the haraigushi wand was actually functional at purifying spaces of other entities, and I thought I could make out similar patterns as Script hidden within its decorations. The pendant, however, I was less certain of. I was told the magatama was made of an unknown material and was functional as well - though I did not have a chance to truly test it before our meeting despite my suspicions of its authenticity. If it is a fake, it is well done.”

Izuku looked at it closely again, before holding it out to One for All for her inspection as well.

What do you think? Anything special about this, or just hearsay ? he asked, watching as the fox spirit leaned down from the desk and sniffed at the pendant delicately. Shoma floated his way over as well, hovering a little over the pendant as he flickered, curious about the new items.

It does not have any unusual energies I can sense , One for All said dismissively, turning her attention back to Nedzu. I am more interested in the creature here. He does not appear to have a spirit bond, young Connection, despite being famous in the material plane for having been gifted a spirit ability. Had you noticed?

What? Izuku asked, shocked but trying to keep it off his face as he put the pendant down. He was almost tempted to address that comment immediately, but he knew better than to risk making an enemy of the principal of Yuuei. “I ah, don’t think the pendant is real, sorry. I’d have to inspect and test the haraiguchi wand before saying for certain it works as you were told, but the Script looks legit. The book is real too.”

“Fascinating - and disappointing but not unexpected,” Nedzu said, not looking very disappointed at all. “The book was really what I was after when I went looking for to begin with, so the effort was ultimately more than successful!”

“Do you… need help figuring out how to use them?” Izuku asked carefully, a little uncertain about why exactly he was here still, beyond confirming the authenticity of these items.

“Oh, no! These are for you,” Nedzu stated simply, as if that wasn’t wild news to Izuku. “While you are staying with us, I thought we might be able to help you grow - we are a school after all, and what kind of principal would I be if I didn’t provide you the proper materials to learn?”

“These are mine?” Izuku asked, hating the way his voice sounded abruptly childish and unable to keep himself from clutching the journal closer to himself. “I can keep these?”

“You may, as they were obtained for you.” Nedzu’s energy quieted a bit as Izuku did his best to process and temper the emotions that rose up from that. Once Izuku seemed a bit more composed, the chimera continued. “Truthfully, I was just curious about you - and of course wanting to see if there was anything else we could do to enrich your time with us at Yuuei. After all, our motto is not ‘ Go Beyond ’ for nothing!”

Izuku swallowed down the lingering lump in his throat, his finger stroking over the journal in his lap gently. Taking a deep breath to finish settling, he looked up again.

“No, everything has been great, thank you,” he said softly. “Thank you, for the gifts. I don’t know if the information in the journal will be new, but regardless it’s - it’s something that belonged to someone like me, even tangentially. I haven’t really had that before, so thank you.”

“Of course! I imagine the original owner would have preferred no other outcome for his work. It is a shame about the pendant, but it is yours as well regardless,” Nedzu said, looking over at the other items. “Perhaps it can be a sort of good luck charm, in spite of it having no connection to the spiritual.”

Lifting the necklace up again, Izuku studied the white pendant for a long moment, before giving a small smile and draping the cord around his neck. Shoma drifted in front of him and bumped into it a few times curiously, before sending a sense of his approval and wandering off to continue exploring the office.

Glancing back up at One for All, Izuku hesitated, reminded of her earlier comment. Nedzu seemed to notice immediately that Izuku was uncertain about something and straightened in his chair.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked. Izuku bit his lip, before slowly shaking his head.

“Nothing wrong, exactly,” Izuku said carefully. “Just a comment One for All made, that I’m not sure I should bring up.”

“Ah, she is here then?” Nedzu asked, following his gaze to the general area the fox spirit was - the kitsune towering over him from her perch on the desk, where usually she was about the same height. Nedzu himself paused for a moment. “You may share it, but I may not choose to elaborate upon it. Is that acceptable?”

“Yeah, of course,” Izuku said, feeling a little more relieved. “I… don’t know the best way to put this. She says you don’t, ah, have a spirit bond? But I know you have a Quirk, so…”

“I see.”

Nedzu remained silent for a long moment, his more human expressions falling away slowly and leaving him as unreadable as his stoat base usually would have been to the average person. Izuku was abruptly aware that the principal no doubt acted more human to put the people around him at ease, but that he was a chimera at the end of the day. While he was a little wary, Izuku was probably the person most used to interacting with those who had non-human intelligence than any the principal would likely find anytime soon.

“I was created by scientists wanting to test the extents of genetics,” Nedzu finally said, his face as unreadable as before. “In the age of Quirks, genes became especially important, so for a few decades there were permissions to perform highly unethical studies in the effort to get ahead of the potential issues Quirks could bring to the population. I won’t go into further detail about everything that entailed. However, I must admit that my suspicions were about fifty-fifty about whether or not I had a spirit bond, when you first came forward with your abilities.”

“May I ask… why?” Izuku asked quietly, incredibly curious, but not wanting to overstep himself. “You have a Quirk, but you didn’t think…?”

“Let me ask you this - do Quirked animals have spirits bound to them?” Nedzu asked. Izuku blinked, thinking over what he knew.

“Not that I know of?” he asked, glancing at One for All who, between the two spirits in the room, was more likely to know the answer, as Shoma would have told him if he’d known before. Blinking slowly at him, One for All shook her head. “One for All says no.”

Animals may gain their own abilities by becoming saturated in spiritual energy , the kitsune expanded, before beginning to groom a paw. If we are speaking technically, they do not have ‘Quirks’ as you would define them, as they do not have a bond, even though they display similar changes.

Huh. That was interesting. And, a topic for another time, no matter how tempting it would be to talk to the old spirit about the differences between spirit-granted abilities and Quirks. Shaking himself a little, Izuku turned his attention back to Nedzu just as the principal began speaking again.

“As I suspected, then. Therefore, as I am technically an animal, I was uncertain I would have such a bond.”

“But you figured you might?” Izuku asked, not really liking the look in the chimera’s eyes.

“If I do not have a bond making me more intelligent,” Nedzu began, eyes flat and beadier than Izuku had ever seen them so far, “and I am notably unique among animals with unusual abilities, then I had to ask myself where my intelligence comes from exactly. I have access to my creators’ notes, and have conducted my own tests. The chance, if my suspicions about the bonds were correct, was fifty-fifty.”

It took a moment for Izuku to fully register the implication that Nedzu was making, and once he realized he was mute in shock. He had heard about the Yuuei principal’s scattered past, given that it had made headlines, but what the principal had avoided saying was a whole other level of awful that Izuku wasn’t sure what to do with the information.

Before he could say anything though, the older-style phone on Nedzu’s desk abruptly started ringing, putting a pause to the discussion happening and breaking the tension that had built within the room. Blinking, both mortals and spirits turned to look at the phone in unison.

“Ah,” Nedzu said, turning to reach for it as his human mannerisms came back so immediately it was almost jarring. “I imagine I know what this is. Moshi moshi?”

Izuku waited for a long moment, fully thrown from the various directions this meeting had gone, as Nedzu listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. Nedzu made a noise here and there to show that he’d been listening. Eventually, he spoke himself.

“Yes, I shall inform them and they should arrive soon. Thank you for your call.” A moment after hanging up, Nedzu looked over at Izuku. “That was the police. It seems that a recent operation of Aizawa’s in cooperation with them succeeded. If you could go get him and Yamada, I would like to speak with you all in my office shortly. It appears that Overhaul is now in custody.”

Chapter Text

Izuku stared through the one-way glass at the man who went by the name of Overhaul. Like in his file, he looked shockingly ordinary for someone who had caused so much trouble for the heroes and police alike.

When he’d first heard that the man had been in custody, Izuku had first thought he’d been getting told because someone had lost their quirk because of him, and that they needed him to come in and try to fix it for them. He wasn’t an official hero after all, nor was he technically on the case.

It turned out, that because he was working with Eri to help heal her from the damage Overhaul had done to her, that he was allowed to learn a little more about him now, in case the information helped him to help her. It was an interesting set of permissions and loopholes that Izuku didn’t want to focus on for long on the off chance it gave him a headache.

Regardless, he was here now, looking at the man who had caused not only Eri pain, but Ohatsu-sama as well.

“Keep your head,” Aizawa murmured to him, not unkindly. Izuku took a deep breath, blinking slowly at the man in the other room.

“I’m fine,” he said back, equally as soft. In the corner of his vision, he caught a glimpse of Aizawa side-eyeing him for a moment, before seeming to accept his answer as legitimate. The hero then settled a bit, turning his focus back to the interrogation that was beginning.

Izuku let the words wash over him, registering them but not really focusing in on them. Tilting his head slightly, he let Shoma’s slight heat warm his cheek. The onibi’s flames tickled his skin, and he felt a little more centered.

He’s not as worried as he should be, he said to Shoma, looking at Overhaul. He’s under stress, but not as much as he should be if all of his operations just collapsed around him.

What are you thinking?

There’s more to the story than we think, Izuku said, narrowing his eyes. But I don’t even know what questions to even ask.

Neither, it seemed, did the officers. The pair in the interrogation room seemed to be getting frustrated, even if they were mostly able to hide it behind professionalism. After a little longer of this, though, they both stood and made their way out of the room, leaving Overhaul cuffed in the room alone.

Aizawa followed their path with his eyes, before turning to look at Izuku.

“I need to go debrief with them,” he said, seemingly gauging Izuku’s expression. “I’d take you with me, but even though you have clearance to be here, you don’t have clearance for the rest of the case. Will you be okay in here? There’s also a break room I can take you to first. Regardless, we should be back shortly.”

“I’ll be fine here,” Izuku said mildly, meeting the man’s gaze evenly. Aizawa searched his expression carefully for a moment more, before nodding and moving to follow the other officers who had already left the observation room, leaving Izuku alone in the room.

Alone for the first time since entering the precinct, Izuku finally allowed himself to study Overhaul in full. The man still seemed unsettled, but there was a vague sense of smug amusement about him now that he’d annoyed the officers enough to leave him alone.

After a long moment, Izuku glanced around carefully, and saw that there were no cameras in the observation room. He knew there were in the interrogation room, but that didn’t matter yet. He took a deep breath to center himself, and carefully uncapped his marker while it was still in his pocket, keeping the lid just on enough still so that it wouldn’t mark up the inside of his hoodie.

Think this through , Shoma said softly, resting on his shoulder as usual. Once you make a choice, it can’t be unmade.

I know , Izuku said, taking another deep breath. But I have to do this, even if it is risky.

With one more glance at the door to make sure nobody was coming back yet, Izuku stepped into the third plane.

The spirit world met his gaze when he blinked. It was almost hard to put to words, because it looked very similar to the material world in some ways, but entirely foreign in others. Izuku also knew that there were colors and shapes here that his human mind could neither perceive nor comprehend. The result was a little dizzying, and Shoma took his accustomed place under Izuku’s right palm, guiding him through the place where humans were never really supposed to go.

Time and distance were weird in the third plane - neither bound as much by the laws of reality as the material plane. As such, it felt like Izuku had walked seven kilometers in three steps across the course of a half hour.

In actuality, when Shoma flared to let him know it was time to step back to the first plane and Izuku blinked back into the material world, he knew he had only gone a few meters in the span of a couple seconds.

Overhaul looked at him with wide eyes as Izuku stepped up to him, bringing his marker out of his pocket. Before the man had a chance to react, Izuku grabbed his head and began rapidly drawing Script on his cheek. It felt weird not doing it on a hand, but the man was in anti-Quirk cuffs, and he wasn’t about to free him enough to draw on his hands just out of preference.

The villain in front of him… screeched, for lack of a better word, as the marker continued to come into contact with his skin. He squirmed, but being unable to go far, the hold Izuku had on him kept the writing from getting messed up. Izuku remembered absently that one of the officers had mentioned that Overhaul had a phobia of some kind about germs while they were waiting for the interrogation to begin.

Well, Izuku wasn’t exactly going to lose sleep over it. It was annoying to work around, though, and it probably was drawing attention he didn’t need right now.

He heard shouting from elsewhere in the precinct but stayed focused as he put the finishing touch on the Script. He rapidly scrawled the matching symbols on his own hand through rote memory, before immersing himself in the other planes.

Izuku knew he only had a short time to work, before those on the first plane would catch up to him. He didn’t waste time, reaching out to snatch the thread tying Overhaul to his spirit. After all the practice he had separating ties between Eri and Ohatsu-sama, it wasn’t all that difficult to begin pulling the tie loose.

However, there was one factor that he had forgotten to take into account.

With the sound of rattling bones, a ten meter tall skeleton came clawing its way up the thread tying it to Overhaul. Its teeth chattered as it approached, its eyes glowing with an eerie white light. A sense of malice accompanied it, the giant skeletal youkai able to be sensed through the second plane even without words.

Overhaul had a freaking gashadokuro attached to him.

Izuku ducked down right as one of its massive hands swiped for him. Its teeth rattled again in fury as it missed grabbing him. It was no wonder Ohatsu-sama had gotten injured fighting this thing - its sheer size alone was a threat, on top of it basically having the equivalent of razor fangs and claws.

It was only his long hours of practice at detaching bonds from Ohatsu-sama that let him retain his hold on the bond as darted to the side. He was vaguely aware of Overhaul watching him in baffled outrage on the first plane, but the bigger threat was the spirit on the third.

Deku… Shoma warned, darting up to weave his way in and out around the skeleton’s head in an attempt to annoy or distract it enough to give Izuku time to work.

I know, I’m working on it, Izuku murmured back. With how sharp and long its fingers were, and how sharp its teeth were and how strong its jaw was, he could understand how Ohatsu-sama had become so injured fighting with it. Securing his grip on the bond, he began pulling. The gashadokuro renewed its efforts to grab him, and Izuku found himself darting between the first and third planes to get around the issue of the first plane’s walls, when he needed to dodge grabs or bites from it.

It was hard - he’d never stepped between planes so many times in such a short span, on top of holding onto a bond that he was trying to manipulate. A headache was rapidly growing deep within his head, the pressure growing behind his eyes. He ignored it as best he could and continued to pry the bond loose one bit at a time.

The skeleton screeched its displeasure, accompanied by a chilling chattering sound as it batted at the small blue onibi making himself a menace. The next swipe towards Shoma was too close, Izuku decided.

Fully ignoring the pain of the action now, he yanked at the bond, feeling it almost rip as he pulled. It lingered for one long second more, before dissolving into nothing in his hands, sending him reeling as he was suddenly pulling against the thin air.

Deku, move!

The warning came a second too late for Izuku to fully dodge, as the gashadokuro managed to land a glancing blow against Izuku’s side, sending him crashing into the nearest wall with a yelp. His side burned, and he felt something in his shoulder give, but he stood up quickly already focused on the spirit again.

He tried to think quickly. He didn’t have the time to ward the room, nor did he want to do so in front of Overhaul, who was still screeching something at him from where he was attached to the interrogation table by his anti-Quirk cuffs. He’d already shown too much of the spirit world to the man, and might end up revealing more to him before this was done.

Move!

At Shoma’s snapped command, Izuku ducked and rolled. A hand full of sharp skeletal fingers passed over his head a moment later. He wouldn’t be able to keep it up forever. If the skeleton got another hit in, he wasn’t sure he’d get as lucky as he did before. Walls wouldn’t work against spirits either - that was how he’d gotten inside the room, after all.

Any ideas? he asked Shoma, scanning the room.

Yes, the spirit said, continuing to dart in and out of range of the skeleton. To not do it this way in the first place. And to not get eaten.

Not helpful!

Nedzu’s gift, the spirit finally relented. The annoying one.

Izuku knew immediately which one the onibi was referring to. After receiving the gifts from the principal, and while waiting for transportation to the police precinct, Izuku had stored away the journal but started messing with the haraigushi wand. It wasn’t difficult to figure out how to unwrap the bindings on the shide, and before long it was fully out and ready to experiment with.

It had almost… buzzed, in his hands, in a way that he could immediately tell made Shoma irritable. A single, testing flick of the haraigushi wand down the hall had sent out a light pulse of energy undetectable to anyone else, but that had been enough to send a low-level spirit accompanying a nearby student back to the third plane. Izuku had put it away again shortly after, not wanting to risk annoying the spirits of potential hero students any more than he had to.

Now, though.

He didn’t have his backpack with him, but he knew where it was. It would be a risk entering the third plane again while the gashadokuro was after him, but with Shoma’s help he thought he could get to it and grab the wand before the skeleton could get to him.

Guide me? he asked, preparing to step between planes of existence once more.

Always, Shoma said, swooping upward to draw the skeleton’s gaze away from them, before darting back down to Izuku. But hurry!

The moment he made contact with the onibi, Izuku stepped back into the third plane, instantly running in a way he usually avoided, in case it brought him somewhere he didn’t want to be. Between one step and the next, Shoma yanked at him, and Izuku stumbled his way back into the first plane. He collided with a locker loudly, before gathering himself again to frantically get it open.

His backpack and a jacket sat inside, and he snagged the pack. He roughly yanked the zipper open as he took hold of the haraigushi wand. Taking care not to damage it, he pulled the ties off the shide. The loud clattering of bones sounded behind him, and Shoma ducked behind him.

Spinning around, Izuku waved the wand through the air in a broad arc. He stared into the open maw of sharp teeth and glowing white eyes several meters from him. The gashadokuro was close enough that a few seconds more, and it could have eaten him whole. Everything felt frozen, and Izuku stopped breathing as the wand’s buzzing got stronger.

A second later, the gashadokuro screeched as it abruptly disappeared - forced back to the spirit world, along with any of the other spirits in the area he was facing.

Ears ringing, Izuku stood still. His heartrate was racing, and his breathing a little thready. Each began to stabilize again as it went longer without the spirits returning. The room itself now felt a little like the wand, though in a lesser way.

Abruptly, Izuku noticed the few officers in the room staring at him, wide-eyed.

Shit.

Yelling from the hallway drew his attention, and seconds later the lead detective for the Overhaul case came storming around the corner, followed by an incensed Eraserhead. Izuku took a step back as the man came over to him, brandishing anti-Quirk cuffs in one hand as he began berating Izuku.

He didn’t register much of it, too distracted by his recent escape and his attempts to protect the haraigushi wand - and maybe even get it back in his backpack for protection. He managed to slip it back into the bag in the midst of everything, as the officers apparently didn’t care much about that at the moment.

The detective apparently got tired of shouting at him, and reached out with the cuffs. Izuku took a step back, abruptly aware again of what was happening around him.

“Detective, hold on a moment,” Aizawa said. He didn’t look pleased still, but he held onto the officer’s shoulder nonetheless. “You can leave an officer with Deku, while we have a chat. He won’t go anywhere.”

Aizawa’s gaze remained narrowed on Izuku as he spoke, and he knew that if he stepped even a toe out of line that there would be hell to pay with the underground hero later. He gave a subtle nod in response as a second officer came up to him with narrowed eyes, taking hold of Izuku’s arm as Aizawa and the lead detective stepped into a nearby office.

Izuku felt incredibly uncomfortable with being held in place, but had no way or excuse to get out of the hold without causing more problems for himself.

Raised voices were heard fading in and out, coming from the office. Izuku’s stomach twisted a little, at the tone both men seemed to be taking. This was such a stupid plan, and he’d known it at the time, but he hadn’t been able to do anything else. He had to handle Overhaul as the Connection, and this was a way to do that.

The detective’s office door opened again, and Izuku saw Aizawa stalk out of the room. The detective followed close behind, casting a glare at Izuku before storming down the hall where Overhaul was. Izuku blinked after him, before turning his attention back to Eraserhead as he came over to them.

“Come on, we’re leaving,” Aizawa snipped, taking an firm but painless hold on Izuku’s upper arm as the second officer released him, and leading them both out of the precinct. Izuku squirmed in his grasp, but Aizawa held firm until they made it to the back entrance of the building.

“Let go of me!” Izuku protested, irritated at being restrained the way he was, before finally managing to slip free of the teacher’s hold as they stepped outside.

“I brought you with me because I trusted you to handle yourself,” Aizawa hissed at him, turning to face Izuku directly as they stopped walking. “Instead, you attacked a villain while inside a police precinct , under camera surveillance, and took his Quirk away in front of witnesses! I thought you were trying to keep your abilities under wraps, and I certainly thought you had more sense than that! You are incredibly lucky that I managed to talk them out of pressing charges!”

“You don’t have to agree with what I did,” Izuku snapped back, eyes narrowed. “I am not your subordinate, and you were not the one to call me here to begin with. I am here because I am healing Eri, and you seem to forget that when I am finished with that, I’ll be gone. I am not your responsibility , Eraserhead. Besides that, no cell could hold me unless I wanted it to, and I no longer exist to the wider public regardless!”

“ You -” Aizawa started, his hair rising up as his eyes flared the same red as his tatarimokke’s, before Izuku cut him off again.

“I am beholden to laws older than humanity itself,” Izuku snarled, refusing to back down, drawing the pro hero in front of him up short before he could respond. “I don’t care if you don’t think they are moral or just, because those laws and the spirits who follow them don’t care. I was required to deal with the issue, when what he was doing was messing with the spirits. Especially when the spirit he attacked was one as old and powerful as Ohatsu-sama is. I don’t think you understand just how important things like that are, because you’ve only just learned about them, and I know I haven’t told you everything. So, you’ll forgive me if I’m not sorry I dealt justice upon him in accordance to things so powerful and ancient that you can’t even comprehend them.”

“But while you are in human society, with human people, you are beholden to our laws as well,” Aizawa said, voice as firm as his gaze. Izuku bristled, but said nothing. “As such, should you break any laws again, I will ask that you be removed from the broader case entirely. Depending on what it was, I may even be forced to make an official report on it. Do not make me do that. This was a courtesy, not a right, and it will be removed if you cannot be trusted with it.”

Izuku stared at him incredulously for a moment, before making a sound of frustration. He spun around, intending to walk off and maybe even make his own way back to Yuuei, when a sharp sting from his side had him freezing in place. Hissing, Izuku grabbed at his ribs, feeling a hint of confusion over why the motion had hurt.

Aizawa stepped towards him, one hand halfway lifted between them. His frown had softened from the sharp expression it had been before.

“Are you injured?” Aizawa’s tone abruptly held none of the ire it had up until that point, replaced with an urgent concern that had Izuku blinking from the emotional whiplash. The man was staring at his torso, his eyes slightly widened from surprise.

“What?” Izuku asked, looking down himself.

Oh. Yeah, that would do it.

A bright red stain was slowly creeping across his shirt above his ribs on one side. It was larger than he would have expected, and he watched with an almost detached fascination as the stain kept slowly creeping out further and further. His mind went back to when he was swiped - apparently it had done more damage than he’d thought it had.

“Did Overhaul do this to you?” Aizawa demanded, reaching out to carefully lift the side of his shirt to reveal the jagged gash stretching across his ribs. “Where else are you injured? Is it just your ribs?”

“No, this wasn’t from Overhaul,” Izuku said distractedly, trying to take stock now that he knew he needed to. “Um, I think the rest of me is okay? My right arm feels a little funny though.”

Aizawa looked like he wanted to say something, but refrained in favor of reaching out to carefully poke and prod at his arm. None of it hurt, but it did get a little more uncomfortable when Aizawa touched the shoulder itself. Taking note of that, the hero felt around the shoulder joint, only to frown a moment later.

“Your shoulder is dislocated,” he said.

“It is?” Izuku craned his neck to look at it carefully. Now that he looked at it, it did seem a little off. “Huh, I hadn’t realized I was thrown that hard. Damn it.”

“You were thrown?” Aizawa asked, finishing the last of his assessment.

“Yeah, it must have happened when I got swiped,” Izuku said, frowning down at his torso. He’d liked this hoodie, and now it might be stained with blood. He swung his backpack around, glad he had already managed to get it from the police lockers he’d been forced to put it in.

He’d fought the officers on that, not wanting to give up his necessary supplies and tools in case of an emergency, but his need to deal with Overhaul mattered more. He’d managed to sneak his sharpie in anyway, but he had been twitchy without it.

Reaching into the bag, Izuku pulled out his limited first aid kit. He drew out some antiseptic wipes, then lifted his shirt as he looked at the cut on his side. It was slowly oozing blood, but didn’t seem too dangerous. Okay, he could fix this.

But first, he had to fix his shoulder. Taking a bracing breath, he carefully started lifting his bad arm up, ignoring how weird it felt. A quiet sound of alarm had him freezing as he looked towards Aizawa, who looked a little disturbed.

“What are you doing?”

“Fixing my shoulder?”

“That’s not -” Aizawa said, before clenching his jaw and visibly calming himself down. “Just. Let me do it.”

Izuku blinked at him, before doing a weird aborted shrug as he remembered the injury and let the man take hold of his arm. Aizawa took hold of it carefully but firmly, and Izuku wasn’t quite sure what he did exactly, but soon after he shifted it there was an audible pop and a sharp burst of pain. The feeling almost immediately faded to a dull ache, thankfully.

He winced and carefully rolled his shoulder. While it would probably be achy for a few days, it no longer had the weird feeling that it did before, and Izuku was pretty sure that it was fixed now.

“Thanks,” he said, genuine if a little begrudging still from the previous heightened emotions. Twisting around, he used his newly-fixed arm to bring the hem of his shirt to his teeth while his other hand grabbed the antiseptic wipes he’d set aside earlier.

He opened the package one-handed, snagging a wipe and just managing to swab it along his side with a muffled hiss when Aizawa made a frustrated sound and took it from him. Izuku glanced up at him with a frown, making a confused and slightly annoyed sound of his own around his shirt.

“I looked away for a second,” Aizawa grumbled, finishing his task of cleaning up the wound. He dug through the first aid kit and pulled out some gauze and a bandage. “Stop trying to patch yourself up alone. Just give me a minute and I’ll do it for you.”

“I don’t need you to,” Izuku said around his shirt, unable to keep a hint of bitterness from their argument from seeping into his tone. Aizawa paused for only a moment, flicking his now-dark gaze up to Izuku with an unreadable expression.

“Let me anyway,” the underground hero said simply, before continuing to treat the swipe along Izuku’s side. They sat in a silence that was slightly uncomfortable on Izuku’s end, given that he couldn’t get a good read on the man. Every time he thought he could predict him, Aizawa turned out to have other intentions than he expected. “How did you get injured, then, if it wasn’t Overhaul?”

“His spirit,” Izuku sighed, taking his shirt hem out of his mouth with a free hand now that he didn’t need two hands anymore to patch himself up. “He had a massive gashadokuro attached to him that took offense to us separating them. I didn’t account for that. It was dumb - I haven’t made a mistake like that in years. I was rushing it, trying to get in and out, and both of us completely forgot about it.”

“Shoma too, then?” Aizawa clarified after a pause. When Izuku nodded, the man frowned. “When you said spirits wanted to eat you, I suppose I didn’t fully realize that meant they could hurt you without ever entering the - you called it the material plane?”

“Yeah,” Izuku confirmed, watching curiously as Aizawa placed a bandage over the slice, smoothing down the edges so the adhesive would stick. He shifted a bit, testing the hold, before dropping his shirt back down and putting his first aid kit away in his backpack again. “They can… kind of bleed over? It’s hard to explain unless you can see and feel it. I guess you could compare it to tidepools? You can step into the ocean without ever leaving the shore, but you have to find the tidepools first and make an intentional effort to step in. I don’t have a better metaphor for it, but it partially crossed over to protect the bond.”

“Right,” Aizawa said, after a moment, sighing. “What’s a gashadokuro, again?”

“Think giant, bloodthirsty skeleton. This one was… about the size of a three story building?” Izuku swung his backpack onto his back again as Aizawa motioned for him to follow him as they made their way around to the side of the building where they’d be meeting the car from Yuuei for their pickup. “They’re formed from soldiers who died and never got funerary rites - and sometimes people who died from famine. I wonder if that’s part of why Overhaul was so obsessed with cleanliness, since they tend to start forming once their bodies begin to rot.”

“So spirits start out as humans?”

“Not always. Some come from nature, or animals, or items,” Izuku said, still a little unsure what Aizawa was thinking. “But enough.”

“And the haraigushi wand you were holding, I assume that got rid of it,” Aizawa said, looking tired as the car came into view. They both got into the back of the vehicle, and the driver began taking them back to Yuuei. “Is there a chance it will follow you?”

Izuku glanced at Shoma uncertainly. The onibi bobbed for a moment, before sending him the sense of a negative.

“Shoma doesn’t think so,” Izuku said, warily glancing back at Aizawa. “Spirits don’t tend to enjoy being banished, even ones as strong as that one. It shouldn’t come back for a while, and then it would have to find me again on top of that.”

The hero hummed in acknowledgement, pinching the bridge of his nose. Izuku shifted, feeling a little guilty at the position he’d put the man in, when the other had been nothing but accommodating to him so far. He didn’t agree though, that he shouldn’t have done what he did, but he didn’t like being at odds with Eraserhead.

“I needed to do that,” he said quietly, seeing the way the hero went still at his words. “I don’t know how else to explain that I had to do that, the same way you have to do your job even when it causes you problems. But, I am sorry that you ended up getting dragged into that, and that I couldn’t warn you ahead of time. You would have tried to stop me, or it would have gotten you in trouble if I had.”

They sat in silence for several long minutes. The only sound being the rumbling of the car as it drove, as the privacy screen blocked the sounds of the driver.

“You are a Problem Child,” Eraserhead finally said, tone tired as he glanced over at Izuku. “I don’t understand your reality yet, and how it interacts with ours. I’m trying, but I can only learn about and help with what you let me. I can only give you the safety that you allow me to.”

Izuku didn’t quite know what to say to that.

“I’ll try to be more upfront,” he eventually said softly. “When I can.”

“That would be appreciated,” Aizawa sighed, falling silent again for a moment. “In case you wanted to know, after you left Overhaul’s room, between him demanding antiseptic he let slip that this would only be a temporary setback.”

“What?” Izuku said, his head snapping over to look at Aizawa. “What did he mean by that?”

“He mentioned that everything would be fixed soon,” Aizawa said. “I don’t know how he knew you took his Quirk, but he mentioned the name All for One in the middle of all that. So, we now have an official connection between the two.”

Chapter Text

There was yet another detective in Principal Nedzu’s office when they arrived, and Izuku eyed them warily, wondering if the police had changed their mind about not arresting him. He was seated beside All Might though, currently in his small form, which made Izuku think that perhaps the man wasn’t here for Izuku after all, but the hero instead.

“Ah, young Deku,” All Might said, with a slight smile. “It is good to see you again, though I wish it had been under better circumstances.”

“All Might,” Izuku greeted back, causing the detective to suck in a shocked breath, glancing over at the man demandingly, in the way only a long-time friend could. That explained a bit, then. “Who’s your friend?”

“Ah, this is Detective Tsukauchi, an old friend of mine,” All Might introduced. “He’s known about my, ah, other form for years now, and has been unofficially helping me with All for One’s case.”

“Yagi, who is this?” the detective’s voice was polite enough, but the look in his eyes demanded answers. Izuku understood - from the man’s perspective, they were discussing two state secrets with a previously unknown teenager.

Yagi opened his mouth, before glancing over at Izuku for permission, something that Tsukauchi didn’t miss, given his abruptly raised eyebrows.

“I go by Deku,” Izuku took over, not wanting to deal with All Might trying to figure out how much to say and what was off limits. “I’ve been helping Eri get better - the girl from the Overhaul case. I was at the precinct just now, for the interrogation, where he mentioned All for One by name.”

Tsukauchi’s eyebrows didn’t lower as Izuku spoke, his sharp eyes searching. Izuku was pretty good at reading body language after all this time dealing with spirits, who were more expressive than people, while also showing fewer tells. The detective’s screamed suspicion, even if his demeanor was light.

“You must have a pretty useful Quirk, to be called in for such an important case while so young.”

Izuku heard Yagi and Aizawa’s sharp breaths, before he let his own smile stretch a little too wide in response. The detective was fishing, but he had no idea where he’d cast his line. He sent out a light sensory feeler, nudging at Shoma to see what the spirit got from the man.

“Quirkless, actually,” he said, watching the surprise flash across the detective’s face. The onibi nudged him back just as he finished his own examination of the man. “Just like you.”

Everything in the office froze for a long moment. Tsukauchi let out a slow breath, his eyes flicking towards the others in the room for a short moment, before a slightly strained smile appeared on his face.

“I think you must be mistaken, ah, Deku,” he said, laughing a little. “My Quirk is called Lie Detector, it tells me when people are telling the truth. I’ve been using it on the force for years now.”

“And yet,” Izuku said mildly, knowing that the other adults in the room knew he could find proof of his claims. The fluttering of wings sounded as Hayami landed on Aizawa’s shoulder nearby. “Hayami, I wasn’t expecting you to join us.”

I could hear the screeching of that gasharokuro all the way from the spirit world, you foolish child , the owl clacked her beak angrily as the others shifted in the awareness that they’d just been joined by another - and the detective looked confused and a bit cornered still. Are you harassing the other humans now too? I would have thought you’d had your fill of picking fights today.

He’s exhausting to deal with , Shoma agreed dryly, and Izuku nudged him off his shoulder in mild protest. The small onibi fluttered around in annoyance while the tatarimokke gave a hooting laugh.

“Well, you are as interesting as ever, Deku!” Nedzu exclaimed, breaking the tension. “Though, as an educator, I must ask that you not, shall we say, out any other staff members here at Yuuei or that we are working with in the future. As I’m sure you’ve experienced yourself, it is not always the safest thing for such information to be revealed.”

“Sorry!” Izuku grinned, only half meaning it. He didn’t take joy in outing the man, but he was tired, annoyed, a bit in pain still, and knew nobody in this room would really care about the man’s Quirk status given their reaction to his own. “I’ve just had a bad day with the police so far, so you’ll excuse me for not wanting to deal with the attitude of one more.”

“Did something happen at the station?” All Might asked, brow furrowing in concern. Aizawa blew out a sharp sigh beside Izuku.

“‘Something happen’ is an understatement,” he informed the rest of the room. Casting a short glare at Izuku, he continued. “Overhaul is now Quirkless, a building-sized bloodthirsty skeleton monster attacked Deku here, and I was only just able to prevent the kid from being arrested, because all this happened inside the precinct itself with witnesses and cameras alike.”

Another long silence filled the room, and Izuku still felt he was justified in his actions, but he did feel a bit embarrassed over how much of a mess he’d made of that whole issue.

“Right, Aizawa-san, I would like a fuller report of that later,” Nedzu said, moving them along again, despite the look on Tsukauchi’s face saying that he’d really like more of an explanation. “Regardless, we now have confirmation that All for One is indeed active again, and that is to be our focus for this meeting.”

“Where was he before?” Izuku asked, mind whirring as he thought back to everything he’d heard about the man until now. Most of it boiled down to diluted information passed along like an urban legend - hell, some even reached all the way back to the dawn of Quirks.

“Injured,” Yagi said, lifting his shirt briefly to reveal an injury that looked gruesome even by Izuku’s standards. “We had a fight that got censored from the public’s awareness. He injured me so that I have my time limit now. I injured him enough to force him into recovery for almost the past decade.”

“If he has ties to the Shie Hassaikai,” Izuku said slowly, bits and pieces coming together in his mind as he tied mental strings between data. “Could it have to do with Eri?”

The adults in the room froze, before more than one of them frowned thoughtfully. Tsukauchi pulled up a few files on the tablet he pulled out of his back, and Nedzu drummed his fingers on the desk.

“It makes sense, right?” Izuku asked, glancing between them. “If the Shie had her first, then he could have been offering a service in return for access to her for healing reasons, if she can reverse time on injuries. If they didn’t already have her, then perhaps he tipped them off about her, in return for either access or information on their research with her Quirk. We already know he’s got an in with Quirk doctors.”

“We do?” All Might asked.

“Why wouldn’t he just take her Quirk for himself if it was so valuable?” Tsukauchi asked at the same time, with a frown.

The duo paused, looking at each other briefly, before returning their attention to the rest of the room. Izuku blinked at them, casting a look at both Aizawa and Nedzu, waiting or either of them to answer. Aizawa still looked thoughtful, but not as though he had the answers, much to Izuku’s surprise. Nedzu, on the other hand, was watching Izuku with an expectant and pleased look in his eyes that made Izuku a little unsettled.

“Well, Deku? Would you like to answer their questions?” the chimera asked with a small smile.

“Not anymore,” Izuku muttered under his breath, causing Aizawa to snort softly beside him. Raising his voice, he turned to the other two, deciding to answer Tsukauchi first. “He can’t take her Quirk because Eri’s Quirk doesn’t work on herself. She can only affect her surroundings and others, so if he took it then he wouldn’t be able to heal himself. I suppose he could take it and give it to someone else, but it’s difficult for Eri to control her own Quirk. He’d just be wasting time having one of his minions learn how to control a foreign Quirk well enough for the precision needed to heal him but not deage him at all. Especially because he couldn’t be sure he’d still keep the Quirks he’d obtained since then, if he deaged to a younger body. Safer to let the Shie figure out the details for him.”

Tsukauchi blinked at him for a moment, before nodding. Izuku caught the subtle shift in his body language that spoke of reluctant respect. He moved on to Yagi’s question, not sure what to make of it.

“As for us knowing he has an in with the Quirk doctors, haven’t any of you been reading the news over the last five years?” Izuku asked, incredulously. When even Eraserhead raised an eyebrow at him, Izuku sent an exasperated glance towards Hayami and Shoma, then elaborated. “Statistically, the number of kids going missing in the last five years has gone up. Some of those are flukes, but over eighty percent of them are kids with Quirks that might make a villain take interest - especially if that villain could take that Quirk for himself. The only way to find that many kids with good Quirks so soon is through a database, and the only ones with access to that kind of database are Quirk doctors or the HPSC. If it’s the latter, then we have a much bigger problem and would probably be more aware of him by now, so Quirk doctors.”

“Did you put that all together on the car ride over here?” Aizawa asked, after a beat. “While injured and after having a massive nosebleed from overstraining your abilities while fighting a skeleton monster?”

“No, it was after we got to the school and my nosebleed stopped,” Izuku said, looking up at him and tilting his head to the side. “Why?”

“No reason,” Aizawa said, sending a pointed glare at Nedzu.

“I mean, the HPSC are sketchy as hell anyway,” Izuku said, glancing between them, a little unsure what the problem was. “They’re definitely doing some kind of Quirk trafficking and have been on my radar for a while now, but I’ve had bigger problems, so I haven’t really dug much deeper into them yet? If I get a chance, I can share what I find, but I only have suspicions right now, so if you do think it’s them I won’t be much help.”

Aizawa said nothing, but his eyes narrowed a little further at Nedzu, who simply smiled in response.

“We shall leave the HPSC to be a future fascinating conversation,” Nedzu declared, that gleam in his eyes back again as he glanced at Izuku. “In the meantime, we shall focus on the information we have regarding All for One.”

We’re back to that dkafiodn? Hayami asked with a clack of her beak. Izuku blinked, the insult she’d said at the end coming across like jumbled sounds to him. It happened occassionally, with spirit words that didn’t have a good translation to Japanese - or any other language he was remotely familiar with. With words like that, he usually just got the gist of what it meant, rather than words, which was how he knew she’d said an insult even if he didn’t know what it meant.

Why do the spirits have such a strong reaction to him? Izuku asked, eyeing her glowing red gaze a little warily, not wanting to set her off. I get he’s stealing Quirks, which is a big deal, but the amount of hatred for him… there has to be more than that.

You don’t know? One for All’s voice at his side made Izuku jump as he looked down at the eight-tailed kitsune. She settled in, tucking her paws beneath the masses of her tails as she looked up at him, the red markings on her cream fur looking more like blood once more.

Know what? he asked, a little wary of the answer given her appearance.

I suppose you wouldn’t, if you didn’t know the rest, the fox concluded, studying him with an unreadable look in her eyes. Your villain - he was the last Connection, before he perverted his role and figured out how to extend his lifespan unnaturally long, breaking the chain.

“He what ?”

The abrupt silence from the rest of the room let Izuku know the others had continued talking while he’d been distracted by the spirits. He paid them no mind though, turning his gaze over to Shoma next.

“Did you know about this?”

I am an onibi, Shoma said, with the mental equivalent of shaking his head. Spirits don’t bother to talk to us much, much less one as small as me. You know this. It’s why I wasn’t eaten sooner - I’m weak enough to not be worth noticing to most that could do me harm.

You did not know, child? Hayami asked, sounding surprised. As a Connection, I thought you knew your own history. I know you did not know your responsibilities until recently, but I did not know that extended to history too.

Nobody tells me things! We’ve established this! Izuku said, throwing his hands out in offense. Now, is somebody going to explain to me how All for One was the last Connection? Or am I meant to figure that out on my own?”

“Deku, you’re doing it again,” Aizawa said, drawing Izuku’s attention. “Care to share with the rest of us what the others in the room are saying?”

“All for One is apparently a Connection,” Izuku said, flushing a little as he realized he’d been mixing verbal and mental speech. “The last one, who messed it up for everyone after him. He’s extended his lifespan somehow, he was supposed to be dead several generations ago, apparently.”

“How long?” Tsukauchi asked sharply, looking up from his notepad where he’d been taking notes on the conversation. At their looks, he explained, “I’ve been helping All Might look into All for One’s activity. I’ve also been trying to learn more about him, but there’s nothing recent about someone with his abilities. I’ve looked back on the history of other users of the Quirk as best I can, but a lot of it has been lost to time.”

Izuku eyed him warily for a moment, before glancing down at One for All. The kitsune looked up at him consideringly, before baring her teeth in a foxish grin as her many tails swirled around her.

I suppose it would have been around the time that your kind call the Dawn of Quirks. She said simply. Your villain was one of the first to discover his power which made it easy to hide in the shadows, as it was not a very visible gift.

“One for All says he was alive at the Dawn of Quirks,” he repeated, after blinking for a moment. He looked back up at the others. “I didn’t realize he was that old. I guess that explains why he’s gotten so strong.”

Tsukauchi looked intensely curious, but visibly held back his questions, sending a stern look to the other adults in the room even as he made note of that on his notepad. After he did, he paused, then sighed, looking up.

“I suppose we should talk about if there’s anything to be done about All for One,” Tsukauchi said, looking up. “Learning about him is good for the short-term, but there needs to be a plan of action in the long-term. All Might isn’t able to fight him for long, anymore, and he’s only gotten more Quirks available to him since their fight - especially if Deku here is to be believed.”

“Should I stay here for this?” Izuku asked, glancing between them all. “I can’t imagine there’s much I’m able to do to stop him. I’m not a hero or hero student. I don’t even have a Quirk, so I’m not sure what I can do here.”

“You have a unique perspective,” Aizawa said, casting his gaze sideways at him. “You might catch something or have insights that we might not. If you are comfortable with this, I would appreciate you staying.”

“Anyone care to share what this unique perspective is?” Tsukauchi finally asked. Izuku was a little impressed with his restraint up until now - he hadn’t exactly been subtle in referencing his secrets.

However, silence met his statement as the other three turned to look at Izuku. Izuku thought about answering truthfully, until his eyes drifted down to his notepad and he remembered that Tsukauchi was a member of the police force.

The silence stretched even further. After a few uncomfortable moments, Tsukauchi sighed again, tapping his pen against his notebook a few times.

“Right. Well, if you all think he’ll be of help, then he can stay,” he said tiredly, apparently not willing to fight them on this. Izuku was used to that being the response to him. Tsukauchi rubbed at the bridge of his nose briefly before continuing. “We have someone on the inside, who’s managed to infiltrate the outskirts of All for One’s operations. We have news that in the next few weeks they’ll be launching an attack on Kamino Ward. All for One may very well be coming along.”

“He’s been hiding in the shadows for years now, why would he emerge now?” Aizawa frowned.

“We don’t know for sure - our mole isn’t in deep enough to be consulted with matters that important, but we think he wants to draw out All Might for some kind of grand finale fight,” the detective said, looking a little worried as he glanced towards his friend.

“To steal One for All or to take revenge?” Izuku asked, glancing sideways at the kitsune, whose markings were bloodstained again. She was still grinning, but it was a cold grin that sent a shiver up his spine.

“Probably both,” All Might acknowledged, looking a little uncomfortable. Izuku nodded thoughtfully.

“What would you propose then, detective?” Nedzu asked, folding his… paws? Izuku wasn’t sure the right term to use for the principal. “Confronting him directly? Foiling his plan? Evacuating?”

“I don’t know,” the detective shook his head, looking between them. “It depends on what resources we’d have to potentially face him. If we can get enough heroes mobilized to face his minions, then we might be able to fight him directly.”

“I’m not as strong as I was,” All Might admits, cautioning them from getting ahead of themselves. “I don’t know if I would be able to face him directly anymore.”

“Deku, would your abilities help at all?” Nedzu said, turning to glance at him. Tsukauchi glanced over at Izuku as well, and Izuku felt the sudden attention of all the adults in the room on him.

He felt… twitchy, feeling so many eyes on him, and it took him a moment to realize that Shoma had settled on his lap and had been letting his flames lightly lick at his arms. As his attention shifted down to the onibi, he realized that One for All had pressed her nose to the side of his leg, the cool touch from the spirit slowly seeping into his awareness.

“Deku?” Aizawa asked, a note of concern in his voice.

“Sorry, lost in thought,” he dismissed quickly, refocusing his attention back on the conversation at hand. “I don’t know how much I can do, but I think I need to. If he was a Connection, then that brings him into my jurisdiction regardless.”

Aizawa made a disgruntled sound, and Izuku’s eyes cut across to him, reminded of their argument earlier that day about that very same issue. It was clear that the hero was thinking of the same thing, and how Izuku had gotten injured from the skeleton - and how many laws Izuku broke due to rules he couldn’t ignore.

“I don’t like this plan,” he said, eyes flashing in time with Hayami’s as the tatarimokke screeched her displeasure for only Izuku to hear. “You are untrained, a minor, and your skills require you to get close to whoever you use them on.”

“I ask again, what skills are those?” Tsukauchi murmured under his breath, clearly not really expecting an answer at this point in time. It was just as well - Izuku had no intention of spreading the news of his abilities further than he had to.

“We don’t know that for sure,” Izuku pointed out. “It’s just everything that I’ve tried so far has been up close. For all we know, I could do lots of things from far away.”

“There’s nothing to support that idea,” Aizawa countered, and Izuku’s eyes drifted towards Hayami perched over his shoulder.

“I could always work with Shoma, Hayami, and One for All on it,” Izuku said, flicking his gaze to each of the spirits as he talked about them. After a moment of thought, he added, “I could probably ask Ohatsu-sama too, if I’m careful about it. She’d probably know more about what’s possible than the others combined. I’d ask Daiki, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like me much - he’s a little standoffish.”

He doesn’t dislike you, Hayami interjected, preening her feathers. He just sees no reason to interact with the mortal realm, even for a Connection. He doesn’t like it much, here.

And you do? Izuku asked, genuinely curious.

It’s interesting, Hayami said simply. You mortals live your lives so much faster than we spirits do, and your lives are so different. I like to observe.

“That doesn’t change the other things I mentioned,” Aizawa pointed out.

“I’m involved regardless of my age or how prepared I am,” Izuku said. “I know you’d prefer if I was an adult or a hero student, or something. But I’m not, and we have to work within those parameters. I’ve been dodging death on a regular basis since I was around five or six, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. I don’t think a single man is enough to do me in, when I’ve faced so much worse.”

A long pause met that statement, Aizawa apparently unable to refute that even if the expression on his face said that he very much wanted to. After another moment, Nedzu cleared his throat to break the light tension hanging over the room.

“Right, then All Might will be our first strike, and Deku will do what he is able to,” the chimera said, glancing at Izuku for a moment as he said a little pointedly, “as safely as he can.”

“And we’ll call in however many heroes we can, to both provide assistance against All for One and to deal with any of his people that he brings with him,” All Might added, a determined look on his face.

Izuku wasn’t sure if he realized that his free hand was hovering lightly above the place where he’d been wounded before.

“What about the civilians?” Tsukauchi asked, tapping his pen against his notebook. “They shouldn’t be made to be caught up in this.”

“But if we’re too obvious about evacuating them, All for One will know that we know his plans,” Aizawa said, tapping a finger against the arm of his chair himself. “We also can’t leave them there, though. Not only will they be put at risk, but they’ll also get in the way of the heroes fighting All for One and his forces.”

“If we could get enough heroes to work with us,” Nedzu said slowly, eyes narrowed in thought, “we could potentially have them pose as civilians. That would make things appear normal, to any villains planning to attack, but it would keep all the actual civilians out of the way.”

“Would the heroes be able to be relaxed enough to pretend to be civilians?” Aizawa asked. “Their hero gear could also be a problem. Some of them are pretty obvious, and others need specific equipment to fight well. Civilian disguises could complicate that.”

“The ones who require more visible gear and uniforms could remain indoors,” All Might suggested. “I don’t know how many we would have, but I imagine at least the underground heroes will have been trained on infiltration strategies, right Eraserhead?”

“They would be,” Aizawa acknowledged. “But most underground heroes are best at fighting from the shadows. I’m not sure how many of them would be a good fit for fighting out in the open like that. Both our training and our Quirks are built more for surprise attacks and hidden work.”

“So we’d need enough limelight heroes to participate to let the underground heroes to retreat once the fighting itself actually starts,” Tsukauchi said, making a note of that. “Do we even know if we have enough heroes that can be pulled off the streets to join in on this? If all the heroes in the area suddenly are gone, that’s just as obvious as all the civilians missing.”

“I’d have to make some calls,” Nedzu said, glancing at his computer and tapping a few keys to pull up some window or another. “I have some favors I can call upon, and any hero in the top ten would be allowed to be given the full story, of course.”

“Deku, you’d be staying back until we were able to better assess the situation,” Aizawa said, turning back to Izuku. “If there was an opportunity for you to do your… job, I suppose, then we could bring you in closer.”

Izuku startled a little, at being remembered all of a sudden. Then he considered the suggestion, and reluctantly agreed that Aizawa had a point. If he was in with the heroes, they could be more focused on protecting him than on the fighting around them. That could get people killed, if they weren’t careful.

“That sounds like it could work,” Izuku said, nodding. Aizawa looked so relieved for a second that Izuku would have been offended. Except, he admittedly didn’t have the best track record when it came to playing it safe, since Aizawa had met him.

Given the events of the past few weeks, nobody would ever guess that Izuku had spent the last ten years or so playing it incredibly safe and staying under the radar. It was how he’d made it this long, after all. Since meeting Eri and the heroes, his life had gotten much more complicated and he’d been taking more risks than he had in the last five years combined.

“Good,” Aizawa said, before turning his attention back to the others. “So, Deku will talk to those he can, and develop whatever plans he can there. We’ll reach out to the heroes, making sure that they’re prepared for the coming fighting, even if they don’t join us. Though, we’ll obviously hope that they do. Tsukauchi, your people will keep us as apprised as possible about what All for One’s plans are, and if they change at all between now and the attack.”

“We can do that,” Tsukauchi agreed, looking a little more determined now that they had more of a solid plan they were working from. “I’ll let my superior know - not necessarily about the details behind All for One, but definitely about there being an incoming villain attack. I’m not sure who is part of his network, and his whole story sounds a little like a fairytale to people who don’t know better.”

“I know that feeling,” Izuku murmured, though he’s pretty sure only Aizawa and Nedzu heard him.

“Alright, so we have a plan then,” All Might said, looking between them all. “This time in a few weeks, things with All for One will be finished, one way or another.”

Izuku exchanged an anticipatory glance with the three spirits around him, as Nedzu leaned forward, grin slightly feral.

“Well then, gentlemen,” the principal said. “Let’s get to work.”