Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Deku, duck!” Eraserhead called out. 

They were just trying to get groceries, honest! But then someone had a grand idea to try and rob the store. 

Normally, Eraserhead and Deku wouldn’t care that much, and sure, maybe Izuku was more than willing to knock the wannabe-robber a bit too roughly right then so he couldn’t really say anything at the moment, but right now, his behavior was excusable because this was a Sunday .

A fucking Sunday!   

And as soon as the robber moved to show off his gun the cashier startled and activated their quirk. Obviously this meant that Izuku and Aizawa were caught in the deep purple fog that had been emitted before Aizawa had a chance to shut off their quirk. 

Currently, with the robber trying to run and Eraserhead calling out to Deku he only did one thing; drop like a stone. 

He dropped as he watched his teacher soar through the air and jump on the criminal ( and who the fuck turns their back on a store they just tried to rob? ) and quickly captured them. 

After Izuku sent out the signal to the police and disengaged the alert that had gone out to the Hero Patrol App, he started talking the cashier down, assuring them they weren’t in any trouble before asking about their quirk. 

“Well,” they hesitantly started. “It’s obviously the fog the two of you guys were in. Did you breathe in while you were in it?”

Izuku wanted to rip the hair out of his head but kept his voice calm and his smile on as he replied. “I did. Can you tell me what will happen?”

“Right, well it’s basically a weak mind-linking quirk. So you and your father will be hearing surface-level thoughts of each other.” The cashier explained, looking sheepish. 

‘This is like pulling teeth.’ Izuku thought, trying to nod along to what they were saying, completely disregarding the father comment. He’ll think about the implications of that later, when he doesn’t need to be a hero to other people and can have a mental breakdown in peace. 

“Okay. That’s fine,” Izuku says with what he hopes to be a reassuring smile. “Can you tell me when this might wear off?”

The cashier just jerks their head into a nod. “Yes, of course! The longest I’ve ever seen it last is three days but it can wear off after a full 24 hours.”

‘Motherfucking shit.’  

“Alright. Well, thank you for your help. I’ll be going now, just to help out the police. The detective is on his way in here right now and he’ll be able to help you with next steps, okay?” Izuku says, smiling and walking away with their groceries in hand. 

‘This is going to be so much bullshi-’

“Language.” Eraserhead called out dryly, not even bothering to turn to look at his closed-mouthed student.  

‘ Wait…oh my fuck. It’s already happening. ’ Izuku looked cautiously towards his teacher. 

Aizawa handed over the robber roughly to the police and turned to stare at him incredulously. 

‘What is this kid thinking? That I can’t fucking hear him?’

‘Uhh… language.’ Izuku thought as Aizawa went to open his mouth, looking at the older man expectantly.

“...what?” Aizawa growled, already looking like the man just lost ten years of sleep. 

“Cashier’s quirk. Apparently it’s a weak mind-linking quirk that should wear off in a few days but we’ll be able to hear each other’s surface level thoughts for the time being.” Izuku summed up, feeling as tired as his teacher looked. 

‘Of fucking course.’ Aizawa thought. Izuku cracked a smile and wordlessly handed the man a few of the grocery bags. 

Together, they walked back to the school in silence, only interrupted by Izuku’s thoughts running rampant about the cashier’s quirk or when he got distracted and noticed something in between the alleyways. At least Aizawa never told Izuku to shut up. He’s not sure if his mind could even do that. The duo finally approached the dorms, Izuku grumbling to himself a bit about how Iida will react to their tardiness. 

“After you.” Aizawa said dryly. 

‘Throwing me to the wolves already? I see how it is.’ Izuku thought, cracking a smile when Aizawa’s lips twitched upwards before he hid the bottom half of his face within his capture weapon. 

Taking an exaggerated breath in, Izuku opened the door only to get hounded before he had the opportunity to take his shoes off. 

“Deku-kun! What took you so long?” 

“Mido-bro! You’re finally back!”

“Midoriya-kun! You and Aizawa-sensei are 30 minutes past schedule! This is disrespectful to a prestigious academy such as UA!”

‘I have no idea how you nap around these people.’ Izuku thought, making sure to keep his smile wide across his face as he made his way in (re: pushed those mfs at the door) and walked towards the kitchen. 

“Sorry guys! We just got caught up at the store! Don’t worry!” Izuku yelled out before disappearing around the kitchen wall, effectively slowing down the amount of questions he had to deal with. 

‘Caught up at the store huh?’ Aizawa thought with a hint of amusement. 

‘Do you seriously want to deal with more questions?’ Izuku thought back, rolling his eyes while putting the milk away. 

‘Good idea. Who's on dinner duty?’ Aizawa asked, his thoughts humming through Izukus. 

‘It’s me and Momo tonight…why?’

‘Just making sure I don’t need to have the fire station on standby.’ 

Izuku chuckled a bit to himself before starting the curry and ignoring the little comment his teacher made about the rest of his classmates in the kitchen (mostly because the man wasn’t wrong - there were only a select few that could actually cook in the dorms - mostly just the kids whose parent(s) worked all the time or the ones who took an interest).

Izuku’s mind went quiet and he hummed out a hello to Momo before washing his hands and getting to work. Making dinner with Momo is always a quiet and relaxing affair but today she seemed rather excited about something since she was humming to herself and seemed to bounce on her toes between her tasks. 

“What’s up today Momo?” Izuku asked nonchalantly, glancing over at her smiling self. “You seem…happier.”

Momo just giggled to herself and nodded a bit before turning to look at Izuku with a blissful smile on her face. Oh, Izuku is pretty sure he knows what happened. “Well…I finally asked someone out. We’ve got a date this coming weekend.”

Izuku just huffed out a laugh. “It took you two long enough. I’m happy for you.”

‘FUCK YES. IT’S MONEY TIME!’

‘Problem. Child. What is going on?’ 

Izuku just grinned at Aizawa’s exasperation. It was kinda fun having someone stuck in your head on a surface level; not too invasive, just very comparable to accidentally calling your friend and having him hear things you’d rather not share with each other. At least Aizawa wasn’t privy to all of Izuku’s thoughts. That would be weird. And awkward. 

‘Momo just asked out Jiro. I had so much money betting she would ask Jiro out.’ Izuku finally responded to his teacher, feeling his competitiveness leak through his thoughts. 

Izuku felt Aizawa laugh a bit at that, making him feel a lot better at how Aizawa hasn’t brought up the fact that Izuku usually just smiles and nods in class but has much more than innocence in his mind. 

It feels…nice. It feels like someone actually knows what his personality is and likes it. It was new and different for Izuku. Mostly because he never even knew what the difference between a friend and best friend was until he met Shoto. 

Izuku and Shoto don’t necessarily relate to each other but they’ve done enough trauma-dumping on each other for them to just understand the simple things. Like why Izuku never felt that close to his mom and why Shoto never wants to go to his house. 

But now Izuku gets to discover something new. Someone is subjected to just (mostly) unfiltered thoughts and they don’t seem to hate him for it ( what’s even better is that Izuku would be forced to know if the man really didn’t like him and so far…Aizawa hasn’t hated him ). 

So yeah, Izuku doesn't think he’ll seriously mind this…unless he gets detention. 

That would be annoying. And bad. 

“DEKU! Where’s my curry!” Kacchan yelled. Mentally Izuku is rolling his eyes at the other boy’s dramatics because who feels the need to scream at him when he’s standing right next to the fucking curry? It’s like the other boy sees Izuku and sees red. He doesn’t think he’ll ever understand it. 

‘Open you’re fucking eyes and maybe you’ll see it.’

“O-oh, Kacchan! Your curry is over t-there.” Izuku choked out, pointing towards the stove that held a much smaller pot. He saw Shoto pop up next to him, looking annoyed at Kacchan but a small shake of Izuku’s head told him to wait it out. 

Kacchan just ‘tch’ towards him and walked over to fill up his plate and bowl. Izuku idly wonders if Shoto will end up throwing Kacchan in Recovery Girl’s office during their spars on Tuesday. 

‘God I hope that shit is too spicy for him.’ Izuku let himself think loudly as he maneuvered around Shoto and went to grab his own bowl. 

‘Midoriya?’

Izuku stilled before continuing to wander over to the smaller pot Kacchan had just vacated and mentally responded to Aizawa, trying to portray his innocence through his thoughts. 

‘Yes?’

Izuku could picture Aizawa rolling his eyes as he responded. 

‘You’re not trying to kill your classmates right?’

Now it was time for Izuku to let Aizawa picture him rolling his eyes as he wandered over to the cabinets to add more spices to his curry. 

‘Of course not.’ Izuku just grumbled and mentally ranted about the other boy, subsequently forgetting about the other person in his head for a second. ‘I swear to everything holy if Kacchan could just get the stick out of his ass around me we could fucking live in peace. Seriously?! Who the fuck screams at people when food is right there? I think he should get contacts if he couldn’t actually see the pot that was next to me. And that little chihuahua of a bitch is going to fuckin-’

‘Not that this isn’t entertaining, but what are you talking about?’

Izuku just paused for a moment before realizing his teacher seriously wanted to know. That would’ve seemed odd but then again, the man was friends with Midnight and Present Mic. He was most definitely a gossip. There’s no way he wasn’t.  

‘Storytime:We made curry right?’ Izuku started, damn near grinning when he felt a slight hum coming from Aizawa, proving that the man was invested. ‘Then Kacchan comes down, screams to figure out where his food is because me and him like more spice than the average person, so it’s in a different pot and then storms away like a brooding little bitch but what he will never know is that I tend to enjoy more spice than he likes so I was just imagining how nice it’d be if I put too much.’

Izuku felt Aizawa’s thoughts still before receiving almost a humming in his mind, stronger than the other vibrations he had felt run through his mind previously. 

‘I had no idea you were a bit…vindictive.’ Aizawa thought with no malice or annoyance towards Izuku. The man was genuine in his observation, if not a bit curious. Izuku let himself laugh in his head while sporting a bright smile to his friends as he came over to talk and eat with them. 

‘I prefer petty but I can work with vindictive.’

Izuku felt amused laughter coming from Aizawa as he turned towards his friends and continued talking. Izuku had never been happier that dinner was a quieter affair than most, even if the Bakusquad felt the need to yell everything they did. 

Quietly, Izuku thinks that his friends are a bit…more…than them, but very content to relax in the quiet chaos. Izuku didn’t realize how much he liked it until he experienced it. 

After dinner and the chaos that came with cleaning up the kitchen and common room, much later on in the night, while Izuku was getting ready for bed, he heard a groan echo through his mind before Aizawa started thinking. 

‘I swear to all the gods, I will put salt in your coffee tomorrow.’

Izuku just chuckled as a long line of expletives made their way through his mind before mentally responding, taking a page out of Aizawa’s book. 

‘Not that this isn’t entertaining, but what are you talking about?’  

He felt the man’s thoughts still for a moment before Aizawa responded back to Izuku, much more amused than the previous thoughts. 

'Vlad. The man genuinely believes that dogs are better than cats which usually isn’t a problem unless someone brings up cats and then he freaks out. Most of the time we just have to nod and agree in hopes of getting the guy to quiet down. I mean, the guy hangs up pictures of his dog everywhere and consistently uses them to explain why cats cannot be better. He was just explaining the superiority of dogs to All Might after dinner.’

Izuku grinned to himself as he wrapped himself in his comforter before responding. 

‘You know…I have quite a few cat pictures conveniently printed out. The only thing that would need to be done is get them framed.’

‘...hypothetically, because I won’t be condoning pranks that happen on school grounds, Mic might have an abundance of picture frames in his apartment that could be unlocked tomorrow morning…’

Izuku’s grin widened. 

‘Hypothetically, sensei, this would just be decorating personal spaces. Nothing more to it.’

Aizawa’s vindictive glee could be felt, even through their weak connection. 

‘Then Mic and I would be happy to assist with personal touches for the offices.’

Izuku snuggled into his pillows as he thought back. ‘I think a cat picture would look nice above your coffee bars too and perhaps in the teacher’s dorms as well.’

Much quieter than Izuku was used to hearing, he heard Aizawa quietly hum, ‘I like the way this kid thinks’ and much louder he heard, ‘Me too kid. We’ll see you in the morning.’

Izuku happily replied with a quiet ‘goodnight Aizawa-sensei’ and flipped over to shut his lamp off, excited for the prospect of tomorrow.  

Chapter Text

Izuku jolted awake when he heard a long and suffering groan. It took him a few confused seconds to remember that there was someone in his head; someone who was, quite obviously, not a morning person. 

Throwing the last of his self-preservation instincts out the window, Izuku happily thought, ‘good morning Aizawa-sensei!’ and wandered around his room to get ready for the day. Izuku softly chuckled to himself as muttered, incoherent death threats came through the telepathic line. 

Honestly, Izuku thought to himself, the man is very creative with his threats and Izuku has no doubt that Aizawa would be willing to go through with most of them. Izuku is also finding out that he has no qualms with being the man’s alibi if he felt the need to go through with such threats. 

Izuku heard Aizawa mumble, ‘thanks, kid. Glad you understand’ before he turned bright red, thoroughly embarrassed, as he stumbled towards his closet. He had no idea that his muttering habit would translate into his thoughts. 

Quickly, Izuku threw on his uniform and looked at his clock, noticing he was about an hour earlier than any of the other early-morning risers. He was happy about that since no one would be questioning why his bag was filled to the brim and why he was carrying a stuffed folder with cat stickers on it. 

It also helped that this felt like a stealth mission of some sorts, though that could be due to the fact that Izuku opted to leave the dorm via his balcony instead of taking the normal way down. It was just too boring for what he was going to do. 

He quickly made his way back to the paths and briskly walked towards the teacher’s dorms. Izuku felt like he was Jason Bourne or someone from Spy Kids, slipping through the shadows and avoiding the obvious walkways he could’ve used. It was fantastic and just what he needed to start the day. 

Soon enough, he was slipping in front of the teacher’s door, rather dramatically, and before he could even knock, Aizawa swung the door open. Izuku will deny to his dying breath the half-suppressed squeal that tried to leave his throat. 

Judging by the look on Aizawa’s face, Izuku is going to have a hell of a time denying it. 

“How did you know I was here?” Izuku whispered as he walked through the door, mildly glaring at the man as he walked past. 

“You were humming the Missions Impossible theme on your way over here. I took a shot in the dark when the humming stopped.”

Izuku blushed and hid his face with the thick folder that was still in his hands as he quietly groaned. Yeah, he was never going to live this down. 

He heard Aizawa-sensei huff a breath that sounded suspiciously like a laugh and decided to walk quicker towards Yamada-sensei’s room, if only to run away from his embarrassment that seemed to accompany him whenever he was around his homeroom teacher. 

They quickly made their way to Yamada-sensei’s room and Izuku stood in front of the door, hesitating. Apparently Aizawa-sensei felt no issue with walking through someone else’s dorm apartment because the man just side-stepped Izuku and opened the door, quickly making himself at home in his friend’s place. 

Izuku watched in amusement as Aizawa-sensei made a beeline for Yamada-sensei’s coffee machine, as if the man didn’t get enough coffee throughout the day. He quickly toed off his shoes and walked hesitantly into the living area, looking around the place. 

It wasn’t a bad set-up. It seemed to be a mostly open floor plan, with the kitchen to the right, the living area front and center (with very nice windows on the far wall) and two doors on the left of the wall. He guessed one of those doors was Yamada-sensei’s bedroom, although he wasn’t sure about what the other door could be. Maybe storage. 

Either way, his English teacher had done a good job with the decorating. The warm, honey golden tones made this place look much better than Izuku thinks Aizawa-sensei’s place would look. 

Honestly, Izuku wouldn’t be surprised if there was just a sleeping bag and a coffee machine in Aizawa-sensei’s apartment. 

Suddenly, Izuku heard Aizawa-sensei cough into his coffee mug as if he was trying to hide a laugh and Izuku just decided against wanting to know what was wrong with his teacher. 

Instead, Izuku opted to walk further in towards the living room and sit down next to the coffee table that had two opened boxes sitting on top. One peak inside told Izuku everything he needed to know and promptly whipped his backpack around and off his back so he could grab his three additional cat folders, filled to the brim with random cat pictures. 

(Don’t ask Izuku why he has them printed. Just understand that no one should play truth or dare with Shinsou and Ochako. Ever.)

He sorted the folders out and looked back over towards Aizawa-sensei, who was still in the process of worshiping his coffee. Izuku just cleared his throat, getting the man to look over to him and gestured awkwardly towards the boxes. 

“Do what you want,” Aizawa waved at him, face still in his coffee mug. “I need ten more minutes.”

Izuku grit his teeth, doing his best to stop the smile on his face from growing too large before he could turn away from the man. 

Sometimes his teacher was better than a stand-up comic. 

“I heard that,” Aizawa grumbled. 

Izuku ducked his head, working harder to keep his mind blank as he filled frame after frame with obnoxious cat photos, the finished ones going back into the box since he didn’t feel the need to try and stuff all of them in his school bag. 

Before he knew it, Izuku had finished his project, all the cat photos having been framed and ready to be hung. 

He looked over towards the kitchen to see Aizawa standing there, waiting for him. 

Izuku scrambled up, box in hand. His teacher led them out of the dorms and he followed Aizawa into UA, silently stalking through the hallways as they snuck into the lounge. 

Aizawa grabbed a box of nails and a hammer from his desk and though Izuku wanted to ask, he knew better than to do such a stupid thing. 

Instead, he set the box down on the coffee table and got to work, putting up framed cat photos on every wall, wanting Vlad not to have an option of looking away. 

Don’t do too many in here, Aizawa spoke to him mentally. We need to save the majority for his classroom.

Izuku grinned at that and slowed down, following his teacher’s lead when the man set down the hammer and grabbed the box. 

He held the door open for the both of them and off they went, towards classroom 1-B. 

Once in the classroom, they worked efficiently, with Aizawa nailing into the wall in more and more absurd spots, high up or dramatically low. 

“Is it straight?” Izuku asked as he hung up another frame. 

“Yes,” was Aizawa’s reply and Izuku grinned to himself as he pushed it to the side, making sure it hung precariously on the nail. 

Smiling, Izuku was rewarded with one of Aizawa’s feral grins and turned to put up the last of the cat photos, happily humming the Mission Impossible theme song under his breath as the two made sure every section of Class 1-B had a framed picture of a cat on the wall, most of them tilted or hung upside down. 

Izuku used Blackwhip to nail high above Vlad’s desk, placing the biggest cat photo they had, perfectly straight and smirked. 

Then, the door slid open. 

“Oh my god!” Izuku cried out, ducking behind the desk in shock. 

Aizawa laughed at him, out loud. 

He was so scared he couldn’t even think about how absurd that was. 

“Ha-haa, sorry listener, didn’t mean to make you nervous,” The soft voice of Present Mic came and Izuku immediately felt his fear be replaced with disappointment in himself. 

“Hii, Present Mic,” He tried to act casual, ignoring Aizawa bent over a desk, a grin stretched across his face. “How’re you doing this fine morning?”

Present Mic grinned. “Fantastic. You’ve certainly got a designer’s eye.”

Izuku grinned back. “Why thank you.”

Present Mic looked at his watch and sucked on his teeth. “You’ve got half an hour before classes start listener. That’s when the early risers start heading over, isn’t it?”

Izuku felt his eyes widen, knowing Teyna and Momo were on their way over right now. 

“Get cleaned up,” Aizawa told him. “I’ll get rid of the box.”

Izuku nodded and hurried out of the classroom, darting into the teacher’s lounge to sneak a sealed envelope full of cat pictures in Vlad’s file labeled for today before running out and towards the dorms. 

With the help of One for All, Izuku jumped up to his balcony and snuck back into his room where he was able to put on his school uniform and refill his bag with his notebooks and pens. 

He kept his head down as he usually did most mornings, only looking up enough to offer small smiles to his classmates and walked with a group of them back into the main building. 

He slipped into the classroom behind Jirou, acting casual as he sat down and Aizawa stood from his seat. The class hushed, watching his every move and Izuku could feel the smirk Aizawa was sporting. 

Amused, the bell rang and classes began without a hitch. 

Then, of course, Izuku zoned out. Not intentionally! He just usually wasn’t awake and aware for this long before noon. Sure, he woke up early to go work out and lift, but that took no brain power, which meant his mind was still sleeping for the two hours before class. 

He squinted at the whiteboard, trying to make sense of what his teacher was writing. 

“I’m looking for a word.” Aizawa told them as Izuku blinked himself back to reality. “In the event of a natural disaster in an urban setting, what is the second step of standard hero procedure?” Then, because Aizawa craved chaos, the man called out, “Kaminari?”

“Blue!” Kaminari answered as swiftly as a person could answer before blinking and shrinking down in his seat, obviously embarrassed with his answer. 

…I pray he’s sleep deprived.

“That’s certainly one answer,” Aizawa commented and Izuku swallowed his laugh at the man’s dry remark. “Does anyone have the correct answer?”

Tenya’s hand shot up and Izuku couldn’t help but be impressed that the boy was waiting for Aizawa’s attention before he started speaking. 

“Sensei!” Tenya yelled, standing up to get his point across better. “There are two acceptable answers. First, the civilians would-”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Aizawa!” Vlad yelled, slamming open the door, the thick frame rattling a little at its unexpected abuse. 

Izuku pinched his lips together, eyes slowly closing as he shook his head at the scene. 

There’s no way…

Aizawa grunted, a response to Izuku’s baffled thoughts, you’re getting extra credit. In all my years, I’ve never gotten Vlad to break during school hours.

Izuku snapped his eyes open, staring disbelievingly at his teacher who was blankly looking at their guest. 

“Yes?” Aizawa lazily asked, the drawl in his voice pushing Vlad over the edge he was clearly already diving off of. 

Vlad shook his head. “Naw, no. Nope. We’re fighting this one out.”

Katsuki leaned forward, eyes alight and attention perfectly captured. Izuku scoffed but as he looked around he realized the entire class was mimicking the boy. 

Izuku leaned back in his chair, amusement threatening to take over his entire body. 

What time is it? 

10:38, sensei, Izuku responded without hesitation. 

In his head, he felt his teacher ponder. 

No way…

He felt Aizawa shrug. Would you rather listen to another hour of ethics and law?

Izuku pursed his lips, glancing over at Vlad. Not at all.

“Alright,” Aizawa sighed. “Grab your kids. Students are refs.”

“Gym Gamma. Ten minutes. No gear.” Vlad agreed. 

Izuku was impressed to see how quickly they hashed out details, as if they were sparring partners. 

Actually, considering the school, their occupations, and their positions, it was entirely possible they sparred each other routinely enough to know the most direct way to get the other into a fight. 

Vlad turned away and Aizawa grinned, making Izuku blink twice. 

Good deduction kid, his teacher said with a smirk. 

Izuku was left gapping as his own teacher waltzed out of the classroom, a second later the rest of the class clambering after him, not willing to miss this for anything. 

It was a rambunctious route down to the gym, with class 1-B talking enough trash to goad Kaminari into making a bet with them, Uraraka tallying up the bets against each other, only adding fuel to the fire. 

Izuku’s head was quiet, mostly because he didn’t want to disturb Aizawa right before his spar. It seemed rude to allow his mind to run wild and so, instead, he opted to keep his head quiet, only focusing on the tiles beneath his feet as he counted each crack he stepped on. 

“You’re oddly quiet,” Todoroki nudged him, startling Izuku back into himself. 

He shrugged. “I think everyone else is just that much louder.”

Todoroki pursed his lips, pondering on his words and Izuku couldn’t help the grin that sat on his face, amused with how seriously Todoroki always took his declarations. 

Make sure we don’t get company while we’re sparring, Aizawa told him and Izuku nodded before mentally agreeing with the man, ready for his mission. 

It was a quick walk to the gym, even quicker for the classes to begin betting against each other, class presidents getting involved and even Teyna not objecting to what was going on. 

Without prompting, Aizawa took off his capture weapon and Vlad rolled his shoulders. Izuku blinked, almost surprised to see what had happened. 

“Alrighttt, who’s ready to rumble~?” Sato shouted out, standing in the middle of the mat between the two teachers. 

“Pin the other for three hits and you win. Only one round,” Sato looked questioningly at Aizawa before the man nodded and he continued. “And of course, stay in bounds. Ready?”

Both teachers nodded, getting low and Sato scrambled out of the way before yelling, “Fight!”

A sea of students surrounded the mat they were on, Izuku up front to watch both men dart towards each other. 

Vlad went high as Aizawa slid beneath the man, avoiding the kick aimed towards him as Vlad avoided the man’s punch. 

The longer they fought, the more Izuku realized Vlad was fighting without his quirk. He hummed to himself. It made sense why Aizawa didn’t have his support item anymore. 

Izuku glanced towards the door, a bit nervous they’d be interrupted but honestly, he was positive Nedzu knew what was going on and since they hadn’t been stopped, he’s guessing the principal had no objections to how they were spending their time. 

Fuck, Aizawa growled as Vlad rushed him and Izuku, despite himself, tensed. 

His teacher was capable, but then again, so was Vlad. The two teachers, despite their differences in teaching, were capable on similar levels. 

Though Aizawa prioritized analysis and stealth, Vlad was fully capable of countering what Aizawa could do with his strength and technique. Both were decorated heroes, smart enough to be teachers for the heroic department of UA. 

Their differences though, those will need to be exploited for this spar to end. 

Which difference?

Izuku snapped his head towards his teacher, watching the man sink low to the ground and kick out, sweat dripping down his temple. 

Izuku swallowed. What?

He could sense his teacher’s exasperation from here. Differences. Which ones?

Izuku paused for a moment before he thought about it. 

Which difference could be exploited right now? 

Even though Aizawa was fighting without his capture weapon, Vlad was fighting without his quirk. They were both forced into hand to hand combat, something Aizawa excels at. Vlad’s been keeping him at bay because he knows this. 

Aizawa needs to get in. 

You think I haven’t been doing that? Aizawa grumbled. 

Izuku huffed. Loudly and heavily. So heavy that he took a step back to stabilize himself, blinking as he felt a force of wind leave him. 

Oh shit.

He watched as Vlad was pushed forward, losing his footing and Aizawa didn’t hesitate to use the surprise to his advantage to blitz him, taking him to the ground and holding him there, letting Sato hit the ground next to them dramatically, class A cheering animatedly after the third hit. 

Aizawa slowly let go of Vlad, helping the man back to his feet and Izuku forced himself to breathe slowly, looking down at his hands, as if they were the offending culprit. 

That’s also a difference that can be exploited, I suppose, he heard Aizawa speak, voice tight as if he was holding back a grin. 

Ohh, this was mortifying. 

I, uh, I didn’t mean to-

I won’t tell if you don’t, Aizawa cut him off, pretending as if he wasn’t speaking to his student in his head just then. 

Izuku, despite himself, smiled. 

The day went by quickly after their excitement, class A having an incredible ability to focus much better after an event captures their attention. 

It was odd to watch but still, Izuku was fond of his class, always amused with their behavior. 

After classes were over, his friend group decided it was in their best interest to head to the mall and get some fast food as well as shop for some new sneakers for Teyna, the boy having worn down another pair from his morning runs. 

And, though Izuku had a terrible track record with malls, he agreed to go along, if only for the promise of free food courtesy of Todoroki’s credit card. 

It was a quick trip to the mall. Even quicker was their beeline to the food court where they ordered plenty of food, stuffing themselves full and laughing as Tenya glared at all the people who threw away their trash but left one piece on the ground, not bothering to pick up the trash that fell. 

They walked around, finding Teyna’s shoes with no issue and decided to hang around for an hour before heading towards the exit, sighing to themselves as they realized they should get back to UA before someone assumes they’re missing. 

“I’m gonna run to the bathrooms real quick.” Izuku slowed down, grabbing his friend's attention. “I’ll meet you guys back at UA.”

“Did you want some company?”

Izuku blinked. “To go to the bathroom? I’m fine. Please. No company.” 

“Are you sure?” Uraraka asked him. “You’ll be fine?”

Izuku smiled easily. “Promise. I’ll be right behind you guys. Might grab a smoothie while I’m at it.”

With a laugh, Uraraka turned, pulling on Tenya’s arm as they walked away and towards the mall exit. Todoroki looked reluctant but followed the rest of their friends, Tsu next to him as they walked out together. 

Izuku turned and sighed as he looked around, the massive mall in front of him. He grit his teeth. The closest bathroom was further away than where he wished it was and, with all the urgency that came with needing to use a toilet, he began walking quickly down the wide hallway, ignoring the saleswomen handing out flyers for one of the shops. 

He walked quickly, sighing happily when he found his heaven and sped-walk in, finally relieving himself before washing his hands, staying for a moment to wash his face as well before heading back out. 

Refreshed, Izuku began walking, but took no more than three steps from the door and down the hallway before four fingers squeezed around his neck. 

He froze, brain going blank as it happened, more than terrified when he felt hot breath hit the back of his neck.

Izuku paused as their fifth finger was dragged teasingly along his neck, their fingernail lightly scratching him. 

“Long time, no see, little hero,” the raspy voice of Shigaraki chuckled. 

He groaned, more than exasperated at the sound of the man behind him. 

Fuck. Malls.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Shiggy!” He heard Toga call out as they entered a beaten down bar, more weathered than he’d ever seen one. There was one single window and Izuku looked out to see a statue of All Might, concrete where craters used to be and newly built shops unopened, not ready for public access quite yet. “Did you bring me back an ice cup?”

The villain dragging him along groaned like a petulant child and Izuku did his best not to roll his eyes at the man. 

Toga bounced behind them, grinning widely as she wrapped her arms around Izuku and he leaned away, facing dropping when he heard a click around his wrists. 

“Just in case,” She giggled, winking at him before dancing away. 

He looked down, more than annoyed to see quirk canceling bracelets around his wrists, preventing him from doing anything rash. 

Though he was still capable of fighting, especially since Shigaraki had let go of his neck, he was still surrounded by villains who were fully capable of taking him on. 

So he breathed and untensed his shoulders, looking around the bar to see the entire group together. 

Toga and Twice on barstools, swinging their feet and smiling, sat right in front of Kurogiri who was wiping at a clean glass. Dabi was leaned against the wall on the back wall, almost impossible to see since he was standing in the shadows. 

Mr Compress sat at a booth that had obviously seen better days with Spinner, both men playing a card game, one that Mr Compress was obviously winning. 

And Shigaraki, well, he stood in front of Izuku, staring at him as he looked around the place, seemingly waiting for Izuku to make his next move.

He walked forward, only a few steps, aware of everyone’s eyes on him and sat down at the chair they had behind their couch, the chains on the ground making him wonder if this was the chair they’d put Kacchan in the first time this had happened. 

They stared. He stared back.

Midoriya. Where are you?

Izuku blinked. Right. He had forgotten something important. He had something better than a radio at the moment. 

Hey Aizawa, I’m with uh…Shigaraki and his group.

Izuku could hear the sigh that Aizawa surely let out, almost seeing the man pinch at his nose, trying not to lose his mind as he processed the ridiculousness that Izuku had just spouted. 

With him? Aizawa asked calmly. Too calm. 

Izuku swallowed. Uhh, yes. 

Why?

Because I have quirk suppressants on me. 

Oh my fuc- Aizawa groaned, nothing disconcernable from his side for quite some time. 

Izuku internally winced at the sound, sure his teacher was going to make him run the Hell Track until he dropped the second he was safe. 

Fine. Do you know where you are?

Izuku hummed, thinking back to the route they had taken to get here. Actually yeah, I could get you super close to where we are.

It was quiet for a moment before Aizawa spoke up. They didn’t use Kurogiri to transport you?

Izuku chewed on his lip. They did, but they’re staying at Ground Zero. I actually think it’s the same bar, just rebuilt. Badly.

An exasperated scoff filtered through his mind, but Izuku smiled at the sound, knowing Aizawa would be able to figure out how to piece together a raid team and get him out of here within two hours. 

“Can you guess why you’re here?” Shigaraki finally spoke, standing in front of Izuku. 

He shrugged, crossing a leg. “You haven’t told me yet. Besides, I doubt your boss will let you tell me until he’s ready.”

Dabi snorted from behind him and Shigaraki glared at the other man. 

Interesting. 

“That’s all taken care of.”

A pause. “Taken care of?”

“Everything is fine,” Shigaraki waved off casually. “He’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“He was mean…” Toga frowned and Twice nodded along with her. 

Izuku let himself pause for a moment longer before turning his head to see Spinner and Mr Compress nodding solemnly. 

He sighed. “So you…?”

Izuku waited for someone to finish the sentence and nearly groaned out loud before Dabi finally spoke up. 

“Killed him. All for One’s dead. No more. Outta the picture.”

Izuku nodded, humming as he squinted, slowly piecing together the very simple puzzle that had been given to him. 

“I see.”

Shigaraki nodded, looking relieved. “So, you understand why you’re here?”

“No,” Izuku said bluntly. 

Dabi sighed and, again, Izuku had to wonder if the man liked to be dramatic or if theatrical gestures were simply part of his personality. 

“You know how to be a part of society,” Dabi explained, gesturing around. “And we don’t.”

He blinked. Oh my god. They kidnapped him to ask him how…not be villainous?

“Basically,” Shigaraki agreed. Oops. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. 

“You kidnapped me…” He sighed, he tilted towards the ceiling in an effort to understand this. “To ask me what to do?”

It was silent, like the group knew he was exasperated but were struggling to understand why. 

He sighed again, louder this time, and Shigaraki cleared his throat. 

“Well-”

“Yep!” Toga chimed in, cheery demeanor perfectly intact. 

Izuku felt his eye twitch. 

“I feel judged,” Dabi huffed. 

“Good,” Izuku shot back. 

The man frowned, but before he could retaliate, Twice laughed awkwardly, putting himself in front of the man and Izuku let an eyebrow raise at the interaction. 

He sighed again. 

It was absurd that they’d chosen to kidnap a hero student to ask for advice on how to be a regular civilian. Very odd to think about giving villains direction in life. 

But, well, “What do you guys need to know?” Izuku had made himself a vow to help people. That’s why he was a hero, not simply to throw people in a cell and walk away. 

So, despite what was absolutely protocol, Izuku leaned in and listened as the group voiced their concerns. 

How to hide their identity, how to get a job, what it looked like to get into higher education, how much a mailing address cost, basic things a person was usually taught by their parents. 

Izuku wrote down a few cheap places he knew of to get clothing from, and made it clear they didn’t have security in those stores so if, by chance, a hoodie was too much money, it wouldn’t take any effort to simply… have it. As he wrote, he explained how certain detergents washed clothes better to Shigaraki, trying to help the man get dust stains lifted from his clothes. 

“How do you do taxes?” Mr Compress interrupted, leaning forward. “Are you old enough to know that?”

Izuku blinked. 

Hang in there kid.

Izuku winced at the stressful thoughts of Aizawa flooding his brain. 

Uh, Aizawa?

Yeah kid?

I… don’t think they’re villains anymore.

He felt more than he heard Aizawa’s brain go blank before an overwhelming amount of thoughts hit him all at once, all overlapping and indecipherable. 

He winced, less than pleased about the migraine crashing down on him as his teacher’s thoughts only got louder and more scrambled. 

“You alright, kid?” Mr. Compress asked from his barstool, the group’s attention swiftly turning to watch him. 

He just smiled at them and waved their concerns off. “I’m fine. It’s just the voices acting up again.”

Izuku ignored the way they looked at each other at that, trying to concentrate enough to send back a clear message to Aizawa, one preferably along the lines of something like shut the ever loving fuck up.

Well damn kid, he heard Aizawa reply back to him, the chaos from before disappearing, leaving him disoriented enough to be thankful that he was sitting down. 

Sorry sensei, he responded, eyes closing as he slouched in his chair. I have no idea what you were saying just then, but I really think they’re telling the truth. 

You think the villains are telling the truth about no longer being villainous?

I think they’re being truthful about no longer being villains, Izuku corrected the man, mind unconsciously going back to the conversation the group had just had with him, the one that changed his destiny from fighting All for One later on. 

“Hero?” Shigaraki frowned at him, waving a hand in front of his face. 

Izuku rolled his eyes at the man, immediately regretting it when his headache spiked up with the movement. 

“Yes? Shigaraki?” Izuku asked, a small sigh escaping him as he spoke. 

Shigaraki’s frown only deepened. “You don’t look good, kid. Why are you so pale?”

“Have you looked in the mirror?”

Shigaraki rolled his eyes and Izuku winced, closing his own to spare himself the violent headache acting up again. 

“Migraine,” Izuku spoke through grit teeth, the white lie slipping through. “It just spiked: I’ll be fine soon.”

Shigaraki hummed but stepped back, seemingly satisfied with the explanation. 

“Well?” Spinner spoke up, obviously nervous but more scared of having no answer. “Can you help us?”

Izuku sighed, looking down, thinking about it. “Listen. I can help you get on your feet and figure out civilian life, maybe even vigilante life if that’s what you want, but getting you new identities? That’s not something I can do.”

“We’ve got that covered kid,” Dabi promised. 

Izuku nodded. “Then I gotta tell you something. On O’Connell Street, where it runs into Chutney Boulevard, there’s a warehouse. It’s…basically a halfway house for villains. For villains by villains. I can get you in there with the most discretion possible, but uhh, it’s gotta be soon.”

Twice frowned. “Why soon? Yeah, why soon? ”

Izuku cleared his throat, feeling awkward. “Well, uh, after you guys kidnapped a student, they sorta put trackers on all of us.”

He knew it was rude to lie, but it was either this or telling them he was sharing thoughts with his teacher and that seemed uncomfortable to explain, especially with so little time left. 

Dabi glared at him. “How long do we have?”

“My last check in was supposed to be a while ago. I’m guessing…”

We’ll be there in 8 minutes kid, Aizawa said, right on schedule. 

“8 minutes max.”

After that, it was a frenzy. Toga tossing her knives through Kurogiri, while the man opened up a portal for Izuku to speak through, explaining the situation to the manager and how quickly he’ll get clearance for the group as soon as he’s back with Nedzu. 

Once he mentioned his principal’s name, getting the LoV moved into the halfway house was a walk in the park. 

He sat down, crossing his legs and upon his own request, Kurogiri tied his up with some rope from behind the bar, setting a glass of juice in his hand and slipped out of the bar, leaving the place barren. 

Izuku smiled when he heard footsteps thundering outside, coming to a hard stop from the front door. 

He sipped on his juice, comfortably sat in his chair when the door was kicked in, a plethora of heroes flooding the bar, quirks at the ready for a fight. 

When he locked eyes with his teacher, his mind screamed and he groaned, his headache spiking at levels he didn’t know was possible. 

“Midoriya,” Shouta gasped out, stumbling forward as well as he could. 

Thankfully the other heroes gave him room to get to his student, more than worried to see him tied up and pale, a glass slipping from his hands and shattering at his feet as his head bent, obviously in pain. 

He winced, finally reaching Midoriya. 

“I can’t-”

Shouta squeezed his eyes shut as Izuku did, both men clutching their heads as the headache reached a peak, spikes of pain taking over their every thought. 

Shouta let his thumbs massage his temples, not hearing when Izuku dropped, passing out from the pain but he heard shouts, loud noises heightening the screaming pain, so much so his face was twisted into displeasure, hissing through his teeth. 

Then, peace. 

Shouta opened his eyes, blinking a few times to reorient himself since the world was sideways. Izuku did the same beside him, the boy gasping for air and dry heaving, somehow having been taken out of his bonds and on the ground, recovering. 

“Sho? Sho, talk to me?” Yamada spoke, quietly but panicked as he was on his knees and belatedly, Shouta realized he was laying on the ground but for some reason, he couldn’t feel ashamed about his position.

Truly, he couldn’t feel much of anything. 

He forced himself to swallow, eyebrows slowly furrowing as he tried to piece together what had happened. Subconsciously, he reached out in his mind, something to attempt to soothe his student as the boy finally calmed down from his dry heaving but Shouta was left feeling…unheard. 

Izuku turned towards his teacher, eyes wide, as if he’d just realized what had happened. 

It was quiet for a moment, long enough for Yagi and Yamada to begin fretting again. 

“That was a terrible experience,” Izuku groaned, face flushed as he began to feel embarrassment settle into his bones. 

He smiled at the way Aizawa chuckled, something telling him his teacher understood exactly how he felt. 

“An awful and dramatic ending,” Aizawa spoke, voice gravely but in clear agreement. 

Izuku cracked a grin. 

Someone helped him up and Izuku was escorted out of the bar, the heroes confusing but leaving the premise when they went through the entire bar and realized no one was there. 

Izuku was taken to the police department with a dramatic escort of too many heroes, his teacher and Backdraft at his side, not letting him out of their sight as they made their way over. 

He was brought into Detective Tsukauchi’s office where he gave a statement that lasted far too long. Tsukauchi didn’t believe the villains kidnapped him and did nothing, but he couldn’t argue with his own quirk. 

Izuku left him baffled as he headed back to UA, remembering he needed to speak to Nedzu when he could get the chance. 

For some reason he had a hunch the principal already knew what Izuku had done and, thus, it’d be better for Izuku to speak with him sooner rather than later, not wanting Nedzu to learn from anyone else that Izuku had secured the LoV a place in the hidden halfway house Nedzu himself founded. 

Once they got back to the school and into the dorms, Izuku was hounded for attention and information the entire night, so much so that he had to make up an excuse about using the restroom to escape their clutches to run up to his own room. 

Izuku grinned once his door was closed, happy to know his planning paid off, but more happy that his mind was finally, completely his own again. 

While it had been fun sharing thoughts with Aizawa, there was a sense of privacy most people expected to be given in the recesses of their own mind. 

And… Izuku thought giddily as he pulled out his phone, dialing the newest number. Now he could finally bother his new friends.

“Yeah?” They answered. 

Izuku grinned. “Hey Shiggy.”