Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Insider information has always been the goal of the League of Villains' operations. Working in the shadows, it was very difficult for them to gather what they needed to properly take down the so-called hero population that protected the world.

The secrets that were being kept needed to be let out into the open, and the league yearned for what the heroes were keeping from them. Up until recently, that ability to gain the inside scoop was impossible.

That was until the purple smoke rose to the air, and the league was able to get what they wanted.

All for One had heard murmurs while undercover about a boy who could control others with just his mind. A quirk like no other that had manifested itself in a young child. But they were just rumors, no evidence had been provided to send a necessary manhunt after this foundling, so the child was pushed to the back of his mind, saved for a rainy day.

Which did not make its way out until many years later

The news was what caught the leader's attention again when the police reports spread like wildfire on a dead prairie. A young teen orphan boy was caught using his quirk to steal food from a local market; that quirk was mind control.

Sinister plans grew in All for One's head when he caught wind of the story, knowing that his major plans were just about to get rolling in his favor.
—
Hitoshi thought that he was born with only the purpose of harming others. His parents rejected him after his quirk manifested, causing them to lose all trust in their kid. They handed him over to the system so that their hands were whipped clean of the problem.

He still remembers the day when his father walked into the police station holding onto his hand.
His father told him to take a seat in one of the waiting room chairs as he went to talk with one of the officers.

The secretary gave the purple-haired boy a sad smile after he heard the words that Hitoshi's’ father reported to the man because he was there in words too quiet for the little boy to hear.

An officer called Hitoshi's father back to an office, leaving the young boy to sit in the bland, gray-colored waiting area.

He remembered that the chairs were a moss green, and the floor was covered in black carpet, the kind that is usually in churches and meeting rooms in hospitals.

Hitoshi's legs hung off the edge of a chair, kicking back and forth while he waited for his father to return. The man, whose eyes he had, and his father who had the same- lilac colored hair, only now with more flecks of grey.

He watched the hands on the clock move slowly by as the longer of the two made a full rotation around the face. The sounds of a door opening caught the attention of the young boy and also the receptionist, who looked to have lost all color in his face when Hitoshi’s father walked out of on the offices.

His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, but they did not look over at the boy. Instead, they were kept on the ground as the man walked out of the front door that the two had only just entered a little over an hour ago.

“Hitoshi Shinso?” The officer who had just talked with his father called to him.

—
He was put into the system, bouncing from foster home to foster home, only staying for a few weeks at most until his foster families became too afraid of him to keep him around. He had heard whispers behind closed doors of how he was too dangerous to be kept around. In one couple that he stayed with, the wife insisted that he was put on Quirk suppressants if he was to stay with them.

Hitoshi remembered the conversation that he had had with them. The wife and husband sat down in two kitchen chairs across from him as he sat still on their faux leather couch. He remembers it always made a god-awful crunching sound when you sat on it, almost like a rubber ball being squished.

“I know that we are still getting to know each other Hitoshi, but we have been aware of your special quirk, and we were wondering if you would take quirk suppressants or a quirk suppressant collar, just so that we can have an equal level of trust with you as you can have with us.” The wife said as she rubbed her hands together. Hitoshi could tell that they were clammy by the way they sounded as she rang them in her lap.

He just stared at the young couple who he knew were only fostering him so that they could seem like good people. Good people who took on kids who were left at police stations by their parents because they were too dangerous to be around. Good people wanted to give a normal life to a kid who was troubled in the system, but only under the condition that they were heavily drugged. Hitoshi had learned that there truly were no good intentions in people who tried to help him.

The quirk worked like this, when he asked someone a question and he got a response or even a word out of the other person he could brainwash them into following his orders for a short bit of time. Well, that was the description on his paperwork that came with him to every single foster home that he went to. So to have a place to stay longer, he learned to shut his mouth; if he did not talk, then his quirk would not work.

The young woman sitting across from him was a redhead who had a smile that was always fake, and her husband was a brute with a receding hairline at the age of 28 and an ego that was larger than he.

Hitoshi looked at the scene that played out in front of him, rolled the words they had just asked him about over in his head, then got up off the couch and went to the guest room. The room that he was supposed to call his own. Instead, he just grabbed his backpack that kept all of his belongings in and proceeded to open up the window and climb out.

He abandoned the ship, which was not his first time, but this also was not his first foster house. There was a routine that went with it, they would wait until tomorrow morning till they called the cops, and then when he was caught instead of bringing him back to the house he was taken back to the station where a social worker would come and talk with him and try and arrange a new place for him to stay. Then rinse and repeat the cycle.

However, this time, the cycle was different because when Hitoshi walked out of one of the cells where he stayed the night. A person was waiting for him. He looked to only be a few years older than him with red eyes and dry skin. He did not look like he was a social worker, hell Hitoshi thought that he looked like he had only just graduated high school.

“ Hitoshi Shinso, this is Tomura Shigaraki. He is the son to your new foster family. You will be going to stay with them for a long term-” The social worker talked on about the other bullshit that she was supposed to say but Hitoshi did not listen. He learned that it was better not to acknowledge talking.

The social worker reached her hand out towards the older boy while saying thank you to him, but the only thing he did was give her a head nod and grunt, not even attempting to raise his hand as the worker soon then retreated hers.

Hitoshi followed Shigaraki out the police station doors with only his backpack in tow as they climbed into a big fancy black car that had a slow rumble when the engine started.

It was not until they had left the parking lot that the older one spoke for the first time, “You don't talk to me, or else with one touch I will turn you to nothing but dust. But I can't do that, the boss says that you're going to be important to the operation. You and your special quirk are needed.”

Hitoshi noticed that the man driving was not touching the steering wheel with his thumb. He assumed that the older boy also had a powerful quirk that scared a lot of people, but this did not feel like all the other foster family interactions that he had been stuck with before. This one felt dark, and Hitoshi could almost feel the negative intentions behind it.

The rest of the ride was quiet; the older boy did not talk nor play any music, and the car wound its way through the rolling hills and through towns. It pulled up to a small bar, which confused Hitoshi.

Out of all places, why here?

“Wait in the car kid I'll be right back” and the other left taking the keys with him and disappeared into the building. Hitoshi waited, taking a look around the car.

The leather seats were clean and did not have any cracks in them. The center console had a handful of CDs in it, mainly older '80s and '90s music. When he opened the glove box, he discovered a gun lying inside, along with a little black case that seemed to have some sort of casting in it for the gun. Hitoshi was taken aback by this; foster families, for the most part, had to pass tests and background checks along with reports on weapons, medical drugs, and any liquors. So, having a gun out in the open raised red flags for who these people were.

Who was this boss?

That was when the door to the bar opened back up, and the older flakey-looking boy appeared alongside him, a shadowy figure that looked more like a void than anything.

And that is when he saw what they were carrying.

The quirk suppressant collar.

“Out of the car, brat,” the older boy croaked.

And Hitoshi followed the order, swinging his bag over his shoulders and leaning his neck forward to accept the collar; now, this was familiarity.

Many foster families who took on troubled kids with strong quirks were provided with a collar that would produce a shock if the quirk user tried to summon it. It was a powerful shock that, most of the time, knocked the user out cold for a little while, so it was very effective. And it had been used on Hitoshi in every single foster home he had been to, whether it was right when he stepped in the door or if it was later when the owners of the house would start to feel uncomfortable around him, so he had grown adapted to the collar.

Though a side effect of the collar drained a person since it was stopping a biological aspect in their quirk. And for him, it was in his mind, so it drained him mentally, causing a permanent look of tiered eyes and a sleep deprived state.

He felt the metal snap around his neck and heard the familiar chime that it made notifying others that it was activated. The cold metal caused a sudden drop in color in Hitoshi's face since the effects started immediately.

“Seems like you know what this does, so I won't bother telling you. Now come on, we have work to do.” The taller boy started to walk into the bar again, and as Hitoshi followed, the void of a person sandwiched him in between the older boy and itself. There was a dark vibe that surrounded the building, but there was no other choice for him but forward.

—-
The halls were empty and quiet during the early mornings of the UA school day; only a handful of pro heroes who also worked as teachers for the school were in the building this early. But for Shota, it was just another day. His schedule consisted of working at the school for aspiring heroes during the day and being a pro hero at night as he owned and operated an agency with his partner Hizashi or better known as Present Mic.

However, this morning was different as the head of the Hero Commission had requested to meet with him, along with Principal Nezu, about something important since that was the only reason the commission came to the school.

Shota pulled his unruly hair back into a low bun as he straightened the collar of his suit before he entered the meeting room. Both of his bosses were going to be present, so he had to look like he had just gotten done with a 6-hour shift for the night.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by his 2 different bosses who looked to be talking over cups of coffee that were sitting on the wooden conference table along with Detective Tsukauchi who was leaning against the wall holding a manila folder that looked to only contain a few sheets of paper.

“Ah, Eraserhead, great to see you will Present Mic be joining us as well today?” Nezu questioned with a very jolly tone in his voice for it only barely being 5 in the morning.

Both of the pro heroes had been sent requests for this meeting, but Hizashi was working 3 jobs, which meant that there was a difficult struggle. Plus, since the two lived together, Shota would just relay the information to the other later.

“No, he will not be. He had something come up, but I will make sure that everything from this meeting is told to him as well.” He said before taking a seat across from the others at the table.

“Okay then we can get started, Detective Tsukauchi.” The commission gestured to the scruffy man who also looked like he was running off of 2 hours of sleep for the day.

“ We have a special operation case that was specifically chosen for you and other pro hero Present Mic. We at the station have asked the help of the Hero Commission and Princalpal Nezu if you two were specifically used for this case due to the use of your quirks along with your stealth and work hours.” He took a look from person to person as he said this, then dropped the tan folder open on the table. And out poured a few documents and pictures.

“This is a stealth mission where we need you to recover information relating to both the Yakuza and the League of Villains. With insider information, we know that the Yakuza have something that the League wants. And we can't let them get their hands on whatever it is.” The detective continued.

“And what is it that we are recovering?”

“That is the thing we don't know, all's we have is the identification documents of where some information is being kept. And they reason why the Police cant just handle it is because we also know that the Luege also has information about the storage of these documents and will most likely be going after them as well, so we need you to gather what they are looking for first.” The detective said letting the words marinate in the air.

“Why can't your plug for information take care of this?”

That's when the commission finally stepped into the conversation. “Because we can't risk our undercover spy being caught. It would be devastating for both sides of this war.”

Shota leaned forward and looked over the documents in front of him which contained the bare minimum of information. Just a location of where the documents were thought to be caught and an estimate of what they were supposed to be looking for. It was something about a rewind of power and a quirk effector.

“So that is why they wanted me.”

The quirk that Shota had was very unique, it gave him the ability to take away the quirk of anyone that he looked at, causing them to become Quirk less. So, if this was a battle of quirks, the hero that could take away the other persons, then surely, he would come out on top. Not only is his quirk useful, but he was also shifty when it came to combat and attacking when others didn't expect it.

And with the use of his partner Hizashi they were a pretty good pair for this mission since the others quirk dealt with his voice, causing him to become extremely loud which was able to stun his enemy.

“You will have to get in and out as soon as possible with this mission. The time of operation is at 9 tonight. We need this information to stay in our hands and not fall to the league at any point.” The Detective noted.

“And what about classes, I do have to teach a class full of the future of our safety and my agency, I can’t just leave patrol.”
“We already got Subs for your classes today so that you can rest or prepare for the case same goes for Present Mic. Along with the fact that was also have sidekicks from another agency close by to handle your patrol for tonight.” Nezu added to the conversation.

Shota gave a thought on the arrangement taking in all that had already been provided to ensure that this moved smoothly. An operation that has had this much thought in such a short matter of time means that it is crucial, to not only the hero commission but also to the safety of quirk users in general.

“I will talk with Present Mic on this right away and we will set out for this case quickly and stealthily tonight, you can have my word that we will uncover what is going on. Can I take this with me? “He gestured to the papers that were out in front of him.

The detective gave him a nod of approval. With a bow, Shota left the conference room, scanning over the papers again so that he could make sure that he did not leave anything out from the first glance that he took at them. He made his way down the hallway and out of the building towards the small house that was on the grounds of the school.

The sun was only just starting to change the horizon to a different color. It would not fully bloom from the hillsides for another quarter of an hour or so. Meaning that the walk to the little brick house that he and Hizashi called home was mainly lit by lamps that illuminated the campus of UA along with a handful of stars that drank up the darkness of the night sky.

When he approached the house, he noticed that all of the lights were still off, meaning that Hizashi was still asleep after coming home from their patrol a few hours earlier. Unlocking the front door to the cottage Shota slid off his shoes and tugged at his tie, releasing it from the strangle that it had on his neck, and tossed it on a chair while he made his way back towards the bedroom so that he could change the rest of his outfit for something more comfortable.

Cracking the door open, he heard the noise of a stir of the bed sheets. In the dark, Shota got ready for bed, hoping to get a few hours of sleep before he had to wake up and go on this mission. But for now, he was going to slide back into the sheets of the bed next to Hizashi and rest until, hopefully, late afternoon.

He heard a mumbled as he climbed into the right side of the bed which was still unkempt from when he last got up. “From you coming back to bed I guess that there is a mission tonight so I'm just going to go back to sleep.” Hizashi mumbled into his pillow.

Shota closed his eyes, knowing that he would explain everything in a few hours when they would wake up.

Chapter Text

When the couple finally rolled out of bed for their mission that day, it was very melancholy. The sun was just starting to descend from its peak in the sky, and the two pro heroes discussed the mission over warm cups of coffee in their shared kitchen. The only noise between them was the sound of hands signing words in communication.

Due to how powerful Hizashi's quirk was, it rendered him mostly deaf. If he wore hearing aids, he could pick up a large majority of a conversation, but he had difficulty using his quirk since he would be able to hear himself. So, for the most part, when he was on a mission with Shota, he did not need to wear them since, over the years of knowing one another, they had learned sign language together to communicate.

The coffee was hot and woke them up for the day even though it was the late afternoon. The sound of one of their cats moving throughout the house caught their attention as Shota's eye tracked the grey cat as it moseyed through the kitchen to rub against his leg.

The first thing that the couple did after they got married years ago was adopt a cat together and to this, they now 10 years later have a light grey cat named Kimchi who as Shota put it, was the laziest son of a bitch cat he had ever dealt with. All he did was sleep in the sunny parts of the house, bathing in the warm light, and take chairs as his own to sleep in. Then, about 2 years ago, they added another cat to their little family, a grey and orange long hair whose name was Screech. She was more energetic than the Kimchi, but she took well to the older feline, and the two have been inseparable since, meaning that if Kimchi was going to get head scratches, then Screech was going as well.

Now, it was just the couple and the two cats enjoying the sun's light as it shone through the windows. Quietly pouring over the small amount of information that was recorded on the white pages that were spread out over the wooden table where the two were just coexisting around one another.

The paper held only a minuscule number of details on the mission that they were supposed to be leaving for in only a few hours from then. The black ink on the page told of a ” tool that the Yakuza were utilizing to create a way to almost change time when it came into contact with a quirk user. There was no description of this tool or how they used this quirk, but it did tell of where the Yakuza was storing more information on this case. There was a lab on the south side of the city that was being used as an extra base or what could be a lab for the scientist behind this tool.

Shota and Hizashi were going into this mission almost blind with what they were supposed to recover. For the most part, they were just trying to gain any more information that was present or if they could take whatever this tool was.

Although they were running into this mission like a chicken with its head cut off, they were prepared for whatever outcome they were supposed to provide. They were partners after all, years of fighting side by side. Through thick and thin, they have survived and overcome all that has been thrown at them.

When the hands on the clock hit 7, the two finally cleaned up from their very late lunch and knew that it was time to start heading out for their mission. Hizashi and Shota were both dressed in their hero costumes, and Shota wrapped himself up in his binding cloth, a tool that he had used since his quirk did not alter his physical ability. So when he got into U.A., he adopted using the cloth to help him when it came to fighting.

The faded white cloth snuggled around his neck in a fashion that suited his dark demeanor very well; it also was one of the two parts of his hero costume that has not changed since his days of doing work studies. The other piece of equipment was a golden set of goggles given to him by a dear friend that should have been high up on the hero charts if it weren't for an incident that Shota blamed himself for during his teen years of high school.

The blue-haired boy with a sparky attitude should have been joining the two of them on this mission tonight, but as fate has it, there was no mercy for the kind. Now, the two pro heroes had to deal with this problem of being down a member of their original team.

“Shota the car is ready to go. You ready?” Hizashi asked as he placed a pair of honey-yellow sunglasses on the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, I am.” Slipping on the goggles, he became the pro hero Eraserhead, and Hizashi was the pro hero Present Mic. The two left the little cottage of a house that supplied them with every comfort and normalcy of a life that they could have.
—
There was not much to talk between the two, only light talk of the mission and what they wanted to add to the house. They could talk for hours if they wanted to, but today, the ride was filled with music like it normally was. Hizashi loved music and for the most part there was always something going weather it was in the car, at home, at work there was always music going. Which seems like an oxymoron for someone who was mostly deaf to love music, but it was what made Hizashi, Hizashi. The late 70s, 80s, and 90s were the main genre that he chose to listen to, although he played anything for background noise. Even at night, there was a soft ambient music that played off of a speaker in the two pro heroes shared bedroom.

Shota did not mind the music; he loved Hizashi, and he knew that the music was what made him feel relaxed in a mission, so he never stopped the other man from playing what he wanted. In the work force they were not married, not to the eyes of the public, not to the students that they taught. Only a handful of people actually knew that for the past 10 years, the two had been married or even in a relationship.

The two had been best friends since their first year at U.A. and had been inseparable since then. After graduation, the two moved in together since there was no point for the two to separate since they had always planned on starting an agency together, and when they both accepted teaching roles at U.A. to help the next generation of students and heroes. When the school offered them a place to stay since they were teaching and working as pro heroes, they just moved in together since that is what they had always done, even though at that point they were already married. There was no mixing of their personal life and work; it was a liability anyways, even though it did not matter to either of them. They would do what they had to for the safety of others, and if worst came to worst, they knew that there would be no hard feelings. They understood that their job was difficult and that their feelings towards each other would not get in the way of a mission, or that is what Hizashi thought.

If it was up to Shota he would sacrifice himself every time for Hizashi, if it were himself or Hizashi to live he would always pick Hizashi. Thats just the kind of person that he was.

The car continued to roll down the pavement as the pair made their way towards the lab that they were looking for.

The sun had finally set during their trip down to the secret location. Leaving the sky painted in a deep blue and hibiscus purple right where the sun had just dipped below the west side of the horizon. Stars were playing a game of hide and seek with the clouds that were drifting overhead. The birds had gone quite and the only sounds was that of the wind and busy city that was to their backs.

Pulling the car into a parking space roughly around 2 blocks away from where this secret lab might be. The two pros prepped for the night ahead. Hizashi was doing some vocal warm-ups so that his voice was ready, even though this mission was supposed to be a stealth mission. And Shota blinked around the eye drops that he brought with him in his eyes to help prevent dry eye from happening.

“Alright, we need to get in and out. We should split up so that we can gather as much information as possible. I'll take the upper wing can you take ground level.” Eraser asked while adjusting the binding cloth so that way it would be ready to go for the mission.

“Yeah, yeah, and I even brought some of the best classics to jam out to while working.” Mic pointed to the set of headphones that he was slipping in his ears.

An interesting part about his quirk was that he did not need to hear people but felt the vibrations of their voices in the air. So, listening to music actually helped him focus on being able to detect people even in the dark. Kinda like an echo location.

“ Alright, if nothing stops us then we will rendezvous back here at 12:00.” Eraser said as he set an alarm on his watch so that he could meet back at the right time.

Then pulling on his goggles and Mic locking the car as they both stepped out. The two heroes where ready to embark on their mission together.

“Better see you here,” Mic commented with a grin on his face.

It was a phrase that they have used every time they went out on a mission and had to meet back up. “Better see you here” basically meant to them, stay safe and I love you.

“Better see you here,” Eraser shot back in return before vaulting himself up onto a rooftop so that he could get a birds-eye view to keep an eye on Hizashi's blind spots as he made his way down allies.

The night had a slight chill to it, but the cold did not bother the men while they were at work. With the street lights and moon lighting up their path, their minds were only focused on the mission that was in front of them. Swift movements over the building roofs were all that could be seen of the Eraser hero as he was like a bullet in the night in how he cut through the darkness. Nearly silent as he made his way towards a window of an older building, which they believed was their mark as a hidden lab.

No lights were on as far as Eraser Head could tell when he jumped from the closest building to the ledge of a window of the other which was assumed to be the lab. Before slinking into the slightly dilapidated building Shota shot a look down the street to make sure that he could still see Hizashi.

When he caught a glimpse of the voice hero's shadow making its way slyly through a close-by ally, Eraser Head entered the building to get started with the mission that lay ahead.

Chapter Text

Hitting the hardwood floor, Eraser scanned the area around him, it looked to be a regular business office. Only a few desks looked to be operated during working hours, but nothing looked strange. A few lush plants were scattered around the office space, and there looked to be some papers laid out on the desks.

Pulling open some filing cabinet drawers, Eraser came to the conclusion that the area that he came into was just a regular office, so what he must be looking for would be in a different wing of the office building.

Silently opening up the exit door to what looked to be a main hallway, he scanned each office entrance closely to anything that looked out of the ordinary when looking in on at the place. A business that might not sound real, an office space that looked as though no one truly occupied. There were a million small details that could lead him down the wrong path, but he only needed one that could be the one he was looking for.

After scanning through the top floor he hopped the steps and made his way to the next floor down. Mic should be in the building by now so if he finds anything on the ground floor then it would save a lot of time and stairs to climb.

The second floor contained much larger offices, only about eight in total. An accounting firm, a small law office, some caller collection agency, and when Eraser hit it, the success with his searching brought a smirk to his face. It was what looked to be a mental health counseling center, but upon further inspection, a place that was supposed to bring comfort looked very shabby and thrown together. Plus, when looking through the glass that was outside of the office space, it was apparent that there had been no one inside for a while, or at least anyone who should have been there.

Pulling out a lock pick, the hero shimmied the latch and waltzed his way in easily.

The receptionist desk did not even have a computer at it, and the plant that was probably used as a decoy to show life working around the office was dead, with the potting soil dry as a bone. Further into the clinic, it looked as though the place was abandoned, or if it needed to be cleared, and it could be quickly. No decorations and nothing on the desks; only a few had computers.

A bustle of noise came from outside of the dark office that he was walking through. It did not sound like it came from this floor, so Eraser guessed that Mic had moved to the floor below him to further his search.

He pulled out a flashlight from one of the many pouches that were on his hero costume. Eraser started his search for details throughout the office, pulling open filing cabinets which definitely did not contain information about mental health, though there was information on a person in here.

A young girl.

The information on her claimed that she was 6 years old, along with other medical information, such as height, weight, and eye color, but the part under quirk was redacted. The more he dug through files, the more he realized they only contained copies of basically the same information and all about the girl, though some had more detailed portions that dealt with quirk genetics and sample codes of her DNA. He spent over an hour scanning the office to find anything that had to deal with the rewind bullet or any of the science behind it.

But nothing came up.

Only medical records and pictures of tiny arms with IVs and needles going into them to collect blood. There were white and red blood cell counts along with information about skin graphs and organ transplants.

All for one person.

This kid.

Who did not even have a name placed on any of the documents, just standard medical practice information and a number.

What the hell was happening here? Was all Shota could think of.

Even if this was not connected to the case, this child was in trouble with what looked to be human experiments being done on her.

Shota's blood boiled. How could someone do this to a little kid? Running tests and experiments on her.

Scrounging through a few more cabinets, Eraser found a notepad that looked to track an experiment working or not with a random string of numbers running on the X and Y axis. An x on where Eraser guessed the two numbers did not work and a checkmark for where they did.

Shota tore the sheet off of the note pad and then folded up a half dozen papers that he had deemed the most important and shoved them into a pocket.

This whole situation made him feel sick; who would let this happen to their child?

Shota had always had a soft spot for kids; he was a teacher, after all. But because of how he grew up, with the difficult time he had with his parents and others due to how terrifying his quirk was, he grew afraid of having kids himself in fear that he might be the cause of some trauma to them. Besides, his job was far too dangerous to have a family; having a husband was one thing to worry about when it came to his line of work, so having kids made things difficult.

But there was still apart of him that wanted the love of the family of his own.

Hizashi had brought up the idea a handful of times but they both came to the conclusion that it was not fair to a kid, if they did not want to be apart of their hectic lives. Both Hizashi and Shota worked multiple jobs, and their lives were very dangerous after all since they worked as pro heroes which meant they constantly had targets on their backs for villains.

A shuffle sounded from behind him, as the Hero became hyper aware of everything around him. Slowly, he reached up towards the cloth and tangled his hands in the fabric in preparation for a fight since he knew that now he was not in the office alone. There was a faint sound of movement again, but the perpetrator was too slow.

Shota had already mapped out the movements of the other person and he was quickly able to land a well-timed, blow, sending the other back into the wall. The second person in the room with him hit the wall with a thunk, causing a sizable dent in the plaster and the sound of a groan due to the impact.

Eraser activated his quirk, allowing him to take away any quirk that the other might have.
—
Hitoshi had been assigned this mission by the league since he was their spy for the most part, but really he was just the errand boy.

His mission was to find information about a girl that the Yakuza had custody off that apparently had a tremendous quirk. And with this quirk, it affected how others quirks were able to use their quirk(or something like that).

He really did not get all of the details, he was just told where to go and what to look for but there was no talk of pros being here to look for the information as well.

Sloppy, lazy league not telling me that the pros would be here looking for the same thing I am.
Hitoshi Thought as he regained his base back to his feet.

He hoped that his quirk would work since he was not much of a fighter on his feet.

He personally liked to battle with his words.

“So, the heroes sent some pros to pick up some paperwork how kind of them to pay you for suuuuuuch an honorable task.” Hitoshi knew that the best way to get a person to talk was to piss them off so that is what he planned to do.

“You sure seem confident for a kid, I was not aware that the leauge recruited this many kids to do their dirty work for them. Is Shigaraki to scared to show his face again.” Erasure retorted his quirk still in action with his gaze locked on the purpled hair teen that stood in front of him now. He was slightly shorter then Eraser and he wore dark clothes and a mask over his mouth.

And at that moment, the kid looked shell shocked.

My quirk is not working. What the hell is happening?
Hitoshi had never had this happen before. His brainwashing was always able to handle even the strongest of quirk users. Even Shigaraki or Kurogiri could not stop it. Although both times he used it on them, it ended with him being the test dummy for different quirk suppressants.

That's when his eyes finally adjusted to see who he was dealing with. Even though the older man had responded to the question that Hitoshi asked, it was clear that he could ask a million more questions, and they would not work since the hero that was right in front of him was Eraser Head.
—
Hitoshi had always looked up to him due to the hero's quirk being as destructive as his own. The Hero in front of him was someone that Hitoshi had seen as an inspiration growing up, even keeping up with the news on him while jumping From foster home to foster home.

He remembered hearing on TV about a new young up-and-coming hero who had the ability to take away the quirk of anyone he faced. Now, that hero was in front of him, the off white binding cloth floated around his head ,and his gaze was locked on his target witch was Hitoshi.

Shit, shit, shit I can’t leave here empty handed or else the boss will put the collar back on and probably a strong beating from one of the higher ups of the leagues. Though if I get captured, I doubt that they will come after me, but that means a life in a high order prison with a suppressant on all of the time.

So Hitoshi did all that he knew, which was to keep talking in hopes that he could get a glimpse of time when the others quirk was not in action.

“ Well, maybe I have just what the league needs to gather those papers that you pocketed.”

“Sorry for this, kid.”
And with a swift motion, the Eraser Hero lunged forward to tackle him.

With a yelp, Hitoshi managed to duck the attack and move back into the shadows.

“You knew if you just asked nicely, I would have just talked with you. But I guess a fight is what you want. And I was over here thinking heroes did not like violence.” his voice bounced around the office obviously confusing the hero as to where he was hiding.

“If a talk is what you want, then a talk is what you will get-”

“Gotcha”

Since Erasure could not see Hitoshi, that meant that his quirk could not work on him.

“Now I’m going to ask you to hand over those papers and leave this office.”

And just like he said, the pro heroes handed over a stack of papers that contained information on medical record of this girl that the Legue found so intriguing. And the older man then turned and started to head for the door. And Hitoshi moved towards a window to make his escape.

“HOLD IT!” a booming voice shouted, causing everything around Hitoshi to rattle.
His ears were ringing.

But oh this is the perfect match up for him.

Hitoshi knew Present Mic was a hero who had to use his voice to fight him.

While Hitoshi was regaining his balance after the shockwave of sound that knocked him off of his feet. He saw the blond man grab the arm of the other hero causing him to trip the brain washing that he had placed him under.

“So they sent two pro heroes after this information. It must be pretty important then.”

“AND WHAT YOU ARE AFTER?” The taller of the men replied, still causing Hitoshi to crumple under his strong vocals.

But the blond was not under his trance.

“Leave!” He shouted, but it did not work, so he booked it towards a window to escape.

And just as he got to the window a tight squeeze of white cloth wove around his arms and torso.

He was being dragged backward.

“No, no, no. Please, no. I can’t go through it again. Please stop”

And everything went black.

Chapter Text

The teenager crumpled in Shota's arms as he was out cold from the hit to a pressure point on the back of the head. Shota bound the boy's arms and legs as well as placed a strip of tape over his mouth in case he woke up.

His knee joints popped as he lifted the young teen into his arms in a cradle and made their way out towards the exit where Hizashi was sitting down leaning against the door frame.

“What the hell happened” he mumbled in a softer voice then what he normally uses as he looked up at Eraser.

“I think the kid has a brainwash quirk. You, okay?” he had to nearly shout since his hands were full holding the knocked-out teen.

Hizashi nodded and grabbed the door frame to help himself up to his feet.

“Are you good, Since I mean he did jump yah?” Hizashi chuckled softly

“You're losing your touch their Eraser. No longer the spring chicken I knew all those years ago. Getting surprised by a lippy teen.”

Shota just rolled his eyes watching his partner get up to his feet. “We have to see what we are dealing with. I say we bring the kid to the station and have Detective Tsukauchi have a go at him so we can get info behind why he was here since he works for the league and also wanted the files that we were also after.”

“You think that is a good idea? I mean he’s pretty dangerous with a brainwash quirk. We don’t understand how strong it is. And who is this kid anyway? Did the league open up its own high school now, seems like their recruits are getting younger and younger by every mission we meet them at.”

“What other choice do we have? He might have good information, and we can't just leave him here. And he said something before I turned the lights out.” He signed to the blond.

The boy's pleads rang through his head “No, no, no. Please no I can’t go through it again. Please stop” What was he scared of?

“What did he say?”

“Never mind we will get our answers later”

—

The bright lights were the first thing that Hitoshi registered as he woke up, the white, fluorescent lights made him feel cold then the rest of his scenes came to him and his brain started to freak out.

His mouth had duct tape over it and his hands were chained to a metal table in hand cuffs same with his legs under the table. In front of him stood two men, one looked to be a tired police officer who was talking quietly to the other who Hitoshi recognized was the Eraser Hero. The Officer was playing around with something in his hand which Hitoshi quickly recognized by the shape.

A Quirk Suppressant collar.

“I guess villains and heroes think the same when it comes to powerful quirks” Hitoshi thought

He struggled with the restraints, eyes in a panic as the feeling of being restrained brought back harsh memories from his time with the league.

If you choose to use that quirk of yours again you will pay a bigger price then being chained up for a few days. Voices echoed through the teens head.

His panic caught the attention of two men, the Eraser Hero whipped out the binding cloth wrapping it around the struggling kid who continued to look around frantically like a wild bird who had suddenly been caged.

Hitoshi tried to yell for some way for it to stop but there was nothing that could be communicated to the adults only mumbled words into the abrasive tape.

The officer made his way over to the struggling teen and ripped away the tape from his mouth then raised his hand with the collar in it to the kid's neck.

“ Nopleasedon't” it was a panicked fast slur of words

Shota saw tears glassing over the kids' eyes.

“Sorry kid but it's for all of our protection,” the detective said and snapped the collar on.

Prongs dug into Hitoshi's neck and suddenly he was sucked back from his panic and slumped in the chair accepting defeat.

His ears rang then the familiar beep of the collar activated. It was over this collar was not going to come off again now was it?

He felt the binding cloths loosen and then return to their owner who was speaking now with almost a surprised tone. “This is not your first time with a Quirk suppressant collar.”

“Is that a question or a statement?” Hitoshi did not even look at them, he was embarrassed because he was stuck now.

“Well, seeing that you did not try and activate your quirk after and receive a shock means that you know that you have had one of these on before.” The hero crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, well when you have a quirk that people have always feared then you get a few rounds of having a collar around your neck for weeks on end”

Shota winced, he knew what that was like. Growing up, people feared him and his quirk since it took away from others, they always said that he would be such a good villain with it. And when he got accepted into U.A under the hero course it shocked the community.

“Then you know we have to do this for your safety and ours” the police officer spoke now “I'm going to ask you some questions now and you have to answer truthfully” The officer now took a seat across from the teen.

“And what if I don’t?”

“You don’t have a choice”

The detective had a very handy quirk when it came to his line of work. Whoever he talked to had to tell the truth with whatever question he asked.

“As you know that collar around your neck prevents you from activating your quirk, but my quirk can affect you all the same. So I’m Detective Tsukauchi and I’m going to ask you some questions regarding, who you are, and what you were doing to gather some documents from Eraserhead over here.” He gestured to the hero who now was leaning his back on the wall watching all this happen.

The detective pulled out a pad of paper and a pen.

“Alright then lets get started with some simple questions. What is your full name” he clicked the pen and brought it down to the page.

“Hitoshi Shinso” The words came pouring out of his mouth, there was no controlling them.

“Alright Shinso, how old are you?”

“16”

“What is your Quirk?”

“I can brain wash people, but only if I ask them something and then they respond. If they don’t respond, then I can’t brain wash them.”

The detective nodded and wrote down what Shinso had just said on the yellow notepad. The other man on the other hand had his eyes glued to him as if he were a very interesting book that he was picking apart in his head.

“And who are your parents”

“I don’t remember, I was left at a police station when I was 6 because of my quirk and have been in foster families since”

The detective glanced over his shoulder at the hero and then back at Hitoshi.

“What were you doing last night when you had your run-in with Eraserhead?”

“I was told to gather information about a little girl before the hero commission could get their hands on it.”

“Why did you need this information?”

“The boss told me to get it, so I did”

“And who is the boss?”

“Shigaraki”

Hitoshi knew that he would be hunted down for sharing this information but there was nothing he could do to stop what he was saying.

“And what was this information of?”

“I don’t know they just sent me to get it, some girl” He was getting stressed

Now the Hero moved from the corner and called the detective over then whispered something in the others ear.

When the detective returned, he moved his hand around the page of notes that he had taken and then looked back to the teen.

“Shinso how are you connected to the League of Villains?”

“After I ran away from a foster family when I was 12, Shigaraki picked me up from the station and the social worker told me that I was going with him. And… they did some things to me that made me fearful to leave. But they allowed me to use my quirk” His eyes shifted to the ground.

They may have been able to tell the truth but not the whole story and memories flooded his mind.

The detective went to open his mouth but then a hand was placed on his shoulder.

“Detective Tsukauchi I think we got what we need for today” The Hero had come over from the corner.

The two men left the interrogation room with the boy in there so that they could talk.

“He had enough we can try again later but something was scaring him, and I don't think it was us” Shota had mentioned glancing back to the room they had just left.

“I respect your decision. I’ll run this information; it sounds like Shinso was used to do the League dirty work that they did not want to waste any of their strong fighters on.”

Soon the detective left leaving Shota all alone by himself in the precinct with his mind only on the scared teen in the other room.

How much of himself he saw in the kid.

A teen that was feared by the world due to the quirk that they were delt.

Being seen as a villain because of something that both of them could not control.

Glancing back through the window of the interrogation room a young kid sat defeated already while chained to a metal table. Something in Shota hurt for him, there was something about him that was so familiar or maybe it was something that he did not have that felt so familiar.

He took a seat in one of the un-used chairs that the detectives used and pulled out his phone and texted Hizashi who he let sleep in that morning since it was not a school day and they still had their route covered by sidekicks for the next few days while they handled this case.

To: Hizi-BeeGee
Good morning my love, there is fresh orange juice in the fridge along with some yogurt and berries. I fed the cats already and watered the plants. I'll be at the station for the day with the kid so don't wait up for me for dinner. Love you

From: Hizi-Beegee

Thank you, love you too. And I may have fed the cats again :(
They looked sooooooo hungry.

Shota chuckled to himself as Hizashi sent him a picture of their cats basking in the sun with satisfied looks on their faces as if to show that they knew what they had done.

—-
Hours passed at the precinct and the day was starting to come to a close. Shota had been grading some papers that he brought with him to waste time. He was in the middle of reading through Tenya's paper when he heard the familiar cadence of steps from the detective coming his way.

Putting down the red ballpoint pen he looked up to see a manila folder stuffed with papers being gestured out towards him.

“Did some digging, and pulled everything there was about Hitoshi Shinso. I did not read much but it is pretty messed up what his parents did. All of his records stopped being recorded around age 12 so right when he would have been placed with the league.”

Shota opened the folder and found a handful of newspaper clippings about a runaway kid from a foster family. The quirk records showed his initial quirk evaluation. There was a large chunk of documents about his time in the system that were binder-clipped together.

“Is it ok if I take these home to look them over tonight that way, we can get started first thing tomorrow?” He asked the detective while flipping through the pages.

“Feel free, you are still a large part of this case because now that we got the kid, we can maybe start to piece together the story of what the league and the rewind tool have in common.” The detective said with a yawn. It was clear that he had been working at this all day and needed to go home as well.

“Thanks, I want to see what parts everyone plays in this mission.” He closed the folder and placed it in his bag along with a handful of graded papers he had lying on a desk that he had settled at for the last few hours.

—-
It was around 11 pm when Shota closed the door to the small brick house. There was a cozy warm orange glow from some lamps that Hizashi left on.

Making his way through the house he found the cats curled up and asleep in the guest bedroom which they had claimed long ago was theirs. Shota made his way back to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee which was still hot in the pot from when Hizashi made it before he left for the recording studio to run the radio show. He would not be back until nearly 3 am if everything ran smoothly.

Pulling out a chair He pulled out the papers again and spread them out on the wooden kitchen table next to his cup of coffee. Sorting the papers into different piles, one for the Shinso family, one for Hitoshi, and the last all of the papers that were collected nearly two days earlier about the little girl that the league was after for some reason.

The room was to quiet for his liking and before diving into the work that he had laid out for himself he wandered on over to the record player he had gotten for Hizashi on his 30th birthday and pulled out a vinyl from Prince. The record turned and started to play the tune of a familiar song that he had probably heard a million times but once more would be just fine.

Chapter Text

The night had drifted by fast and soon the sun was starting to say hello through the front window of the hero's household. Rubbing his eyes Shota was fully invested in the life of the kid, he stood in front of what felt like only a few hours ago.

Hizashi came home around 3:15 am and kissed on the cheek Shota then proceeded to pass out in their bed from the long day that he had ahead of him and unlike Shota.

Hizashi had to go work at U.A. and train some of the newer teachers that were joining the staff. And Shota's, day was going to be spent at the precinct talking with the indigo-haired kid and the detective.

—
In his research in the late hours of the night, Shota discovered some gruesome things about the Shinso family, right after the kid manifested his quirk his parents grew too afraid of their kid and dropped him off at a police station surrendering him to the foster care system as if he were just some dog and not their child.

With the records Shota was given, found out that Hitoshi's parents, left the country shortly after abandoning their only kid and there have been no records of them since. With an educated guess, he would think that they fled knowing that they did not want to be associated with their kid to any extent, so they ran and erased their names from all forms and points of contact back to him. Hitoshi entered the system at 6 and moved through 23 different houses in 10 years. Out of the 23 houses, Shinso ran away 4 times all of which were from the ages of 11 and 12.

In the other houses, 10 of them returned the kid to the system with a range of excuses that all covered the main issue which was they feared him. They were afraid of his quirk and what he could do so in fear they did not let him have a comfortable childhood. Then the final 8 houses Shinso was taken away and the foster parents were stripped of their license due to child abuse or neglect.

In the folder that Shota had there were several images taken that showed bruises, black eyes, a broken nose, and in all of the abuse cases markings around his neck where a quirk inhibiting collar had been left on for a long period of time.

There were photos of a kid who was taking punches just because he was born with something that he could not control.

The medical record ended when he was 12, the same age when he was recorded to go into his last foster family. This one had requested to have him in their household. And that was all the information that was given because shortly after Shinso left his social worker was mysteriously killed and his case was never followed up on since he had always been a problem child. All of the papers about the rest of that foster had been destroyed and to the world, he too vanished in a purple haze. Since then, there has been no new information about what he went through over the past 4 years.

Shota gave what he had learned to the detective when he showed up for the 2nd part of his mission, to figure out what they were going to do moving forward.

—
Hitoshi did not sleep. He never did when he stayed at the police station. The beds were uncomfortable, and he was always cold no matter what. The prongs on the collar dug into the skin of his neck which had already been scarred from years of suppressant collars being used on him.

The night officers walked past him like he was an animal in the zoo because from the outside he was just a 16-year-old kid who had been sitting in a cell for over 24 hours with no contact. There was a sign out on the front of his cell that read: DO NOT TALK TO INMATE

Don't talk to him or else he will hurt you

The words rang in his head. So many people feared him without even giving him a chance, for years and years he had heard the same things about him,

You’d make a good criminal

You are no hero

Don't talk to him

The words that have haunted him all of his childhood have seemed to grow with him.

“Shinso Hitoshi?” a cop called and approached the door.

Shinso would have made snarky comments about how the officer was not supposed to talk to him, but it did not matter because deep in his heart he knew what outcome was coming for him. There was no way in hell that they were letting him go back to his old life, so he had 2 options.

1.) Tell them nothing and go to federal prison for the rest of his life.

Or

2.) Admit all of the secrets of the League and get shipped off from one foster family to another, for the next 2 years with the possibility of being found and killed by the League for disobedience.
Either way, he was screwed, and he did not care.

He followed behind the officer knowing that he was probably going back into the interrogation room. But instead of turning into the cold room that Shinso had spent hours in yesterday they continued to walk to what looked to be a breakroom for the officers.

The room had a few couches, tables for eating, a full kitchen, and there was a man sitting in the room not in any uniform or anything. He had an all-black outfit on, his black hair was wild and curly, and in front of him were a stack of papers and a coffee cup.

“Aizawa your request.” the officer said as he gestured for Shinso to enter

And he did but with much precaution.

“Hitoshi Shinso, come on in and take a seat.”

The teen did so by taking the chair right across from the man.

“Now this is only going to work if you trust me, and in return, I'm going to trust you.”

The pro hero looked at him. The man's shoulders were relaxed, and he seemed to be calm.

“Shinso, I'm going to take that suppressant collar off you because I know that it can hurt like a bitch, and I trust you in having a civil conversation with me. I thought in here would be easier than in the interrogation room, plus you are not chained or tied up. I will be asking you a few questions and if you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask them.”

Then he reached forward and snapped the collar off with the fob to unlock it.

It slipped off of Hitoshi's neck and he felt immediate relief. Since he had his quirk back now his hair no longer drooped and a rush of chemicals that ran though his body moved to his head allowing his hair to do the crazy thing that it had done since he was a kid which is stand up on its own.

The pro hero gave him a curious look as he watched the purple strands of hair rise in the air.

“My hair does this because of my quirk, I’m not doing anything it's just something that happens.” He looked down at the table, he did not know what to do. On one hand, there was the hero that he looked up to for years sitting right across from him, and on the other he was scared that in a few hours his life would return to the hell that it once was.

“No, it's nothing. It's just… you reminded me of someone” Shota said as he studied Hitoshi.

It was like Shota was sitting in front of a mirror. The dark circles under the eyes, how his hair rose on its own under his power.

“Shinso, did you like being a part of the league?”

“No, not really, they treated me like shit. But at least they did not treat me like a monster. They allowed me to use my powers, and they weren't scared of me unlike everyone else.”

“And others treated you like a monster?”

“Well, I take it that you and your police buddies figured out that my parents were too afraid of me to raise me, so they dumped me into the system. I did not even get a proper goodbye. And in foster care, they wanted me on suppressants constantly or they returned me since they did not have any trust in me. I was not allowed to live a normal life it felt like I was always in a box.”

“And how do you want to live your life?” Shota leaned back in the kitchen chair he was sitting in.

Across the table he saw the wheels turning in the kid's head as he obviously had an answer to the question that was just asked but did not want to share.

“Not as the monster.” It was the summarized version of what he wanted to say. And he knew he could not say the full thing to the pro's face.

When Hitoshi was little, he wanted to be a hero, everything about heroes were amazing to him. They took down villains who hurt people, they were looked up to and anyone could be a hero.

Or so he thought.

In all of the different elementary schools and middle schools he went to during his time in the foster system everyone's reaction to him was the same.

You’d make a good criminal

You are no hero

Don't talk to him

And so, he started to believe it. He was no hero; he was just a monster.

“Shinso I'm going to ask you about the league now and I want you to tell me what you know”

The boy gave a head nod.

“What did the league send you after? What was your mission?”

Now, Hitoshi could have lied or made something up, but there was no point. He might as well tell them what he knows.

“I was not told anything about the case, I was told that I was supposed to break into that office and take the files that portrayed to the little girl that was on them. The Yakuza is keeping her somewhere because she is important for some operation that they are doing. And the boss told me to make sure I grabbed all the information about her. My guess is so that heroes could not get their hands on it.”

“So it's the Yakuza that has the girl and the League wanted to destroy the evidence.” He tented his hands together, resting his elbows on the table.

“Thank you for your information on the case it will be very helpful. Though I do have some questions regarding your time in the League if that is ok.”

With a nod of his head, he waited for the Pro hero to ask him the question

“You said your time with the league was not the greatest. What happened and what was your roll in the group. I know that you were chosen by the group when you were 12 and for the past 4 years im guessing that is where you have been.”

“Yeah, I was hand-picked by All for One because of my quirk. Apparently, he heard somewhere that I could brainwash people, and he thought that I would be helpful for them. At first, they kept me under sedation so that I did not use my quirk on them. And then they started to take me places and in return, they would take the collar off if I did their dirty work for them. Small things, like making people leave or getting them things. Since I have never really had proper training with my quirk it does not have that long-lasting effect. But I got the collar off and over the years the more I did for them the more freedom they gave me. If I gathered information or was a spy I could walk around freely. You know like go outside and stuff. But If I used my quirk without their permission then that's when I was punished.”

He started to dance his feet around on the ground, it was obvious that he did not have a comforting memory from any real part of his childhood.

His gaze changed off of the boy when he said that Shinso was no longer looking at him or the ground. He was staring off out the window where their looked to be a scrappy-looking orange tabby cat that was scrounging through the trash. The animal looked to only have 3 legs, but it was still fishing through the mess for old food.

The two of them sat in silence watching the cat as it scrambled around with an old sandwich.

“You like cats?” Aizawa asked as the gears in his mind began to turn.

Chapter Text

After he met with Shinso, Shota had an array of memories and thoughts rushing through his head. Of course, he would need to talk with Hizashi before acting on these, but there was a sprig of something brewing.

“Detective Tsukauchi,” Shota called after the other tired man once he saw that the teen had been returned to his cell.

“Yes, Eraserhead?”

“What is going to become of the kid? Where is he going to go since I mean we can't leave him here forever when it comes to this investigation.”

“Well, I’d say ask the hero counsel and see what they would like to do with him since he is a part of the League of Villains. So probably a juvie until he ages out and then moved on to federal prison.”

“But the kid was taken into the League without knowing and he had to stay due to threats. He was used as a weapon for them. It would not be fair to send him off for the rest of his life because of something he had no control over. He has scars on his neck from where pronged quirk suppressant collars have been used for an extensive amount of time.”

Shota did not think that the kid deserved the prison system for the crimes that he had forcibly committed. Yes, it was wrong but he had no choice, it was between living a miserable life that was always threatened or using his quirk to help the League.

“The foster care system forgot about him so he believed that they gave up on him, and he had nowhere to go. When he was placed in houses beforehand he knew that he would either be returned or be placed in a new home. And in this case, there was no place to go. He had a roof over his head and food. The bare minimum for survival.” Shota sighed and took a deep inhale. “The Kid is not proud of what he has done, he just wants people to not see him as a monster.”

“We can always send him back into the system, but the League got their hands on him once and not being under supervision he could go back to them out of fear or just a comfort of normalcy,” Tsukauchi said as he ruffled his hands in his coat pockets. “I'm going to leave this up to the Hero Commission to decide his fate. It's fine to stay here for another 24 hours but after that, we need that cell to open up.”

“I'll be in touch with them this afternoon. And we will get something sorted out. Thank you, detective.” And Shota quickly made his way towards the exit.
—
There were very few occasions when the Eraser Hero called the Hero Commission to a meeting. He did not like to deal with the higher-ups and preferred to keep things to himself, but in this case, he needed permission from them.

Jogging through the halls of the school he also asked the Principal to join them as well since he also had a say in this decision.

Entering the conference room that they were just in a few days earlier he caught his breath and started talking about his plan to the small group that he called together.

“I would like to ask the Hero Counsel about becoming a foster parent to Hitoshi Shinso, and for Nezu to allow him to attend the school if he passes an entrance exam. That way we can keep a close eye on him and continue the case with him in safe custody. I would take all responsibility for the kid in this situation, I feel as if it would be best instead of shipping him off to a random foster home where the league might be able to get their hands on him again.”

“And what about this child's powerful quirk? Is that not a risk?”

Of course, the commission was up to date on all of the small details of the case such as Shinsos.

“I can erase his quirk if something gets out of hand, and if he uses it on me then another person could interfere since he can only control one person at a time. Also in a school for kids with powerful quirks, he is not the hardest to deal with.”

“I believe that all students should be able to have a chance at a good education and be given a chance. If Shinso passes the entrance exam he may join the school in whatever class he chooses. I have confidence in our staff that they could handle the child to make sure that there is no interference with the League since we have had some incidents in the past.” Nezu said, referring to what happened to Shotas class 1-A.

“As for making sure he is not a spy and will betray us-” One of the heads of the commission started but was quickly cut off.

“Then I will take the punishment, I will resign my position and serve time for the crimes that the boy commits.” Shota was stern in his voice.

“Very well, we will approve you for taking on the full responsibility of this teen. The paperwork will be sent to the station that claims he will be moved to the custody of Eraserhead -”

“Shota Aizawa. Not Eraserhead.”

“Fine- Shota Aizawa for the time being.”

“And I will set up the entrance exam test to be taken next week,” Nezu said

“Thank you, all of you. This will not be something you regret.” Shota added

Now there was only one more person that he needed to talk with.
—
Hizashi was in his office grading some papers when Shota walked through the open door.

“Erasure What's Up?” He said only taking a second to glance up from the paper he was marking up.

“We need to have a talk. Can I close this?” He gestured towards the door.

With a head nod from the blond, Shota turned and closed the door so that they had their privacy.

“What's wrong?” Hizashi could tell that something was up with his husband, he looked almost nervous “Is it something with the case?”

“Yes, I took full responsibility for the kid. If he does anything then I told Nezu and the Hero Commission that I would take the punishment. They are sending papers down to the station tomorrow for me to sign to gain responsibility as a foster parent.”

“Is Shinso okay with this?” Hizashi asked

“I don’t know. I needed to ask you before I asked for the kid.”

“My love, I will always follow whatever path you take, and if you trust in this kid then I trust in you. I would be happy to open up our home to him, it's just so different.”
He reached out and touched Shotas cheek with his hand.

A small "Thank you" was signed to the blond.

—-

For some reason, Shota had a bubble in his gut when he and Hizashi walked into the precinct the next morning. Leading the way to the breakroom Shota planned to talk with Shinso about the arrangement that was being made for him.

It was not long until one of the officers led Shinso into the room and handed Aizawa a stack of papers and a key fob to the collar.

The tired teen took a seat in the same chair he sat in the day prior and glanced back and forth between Hizashi and Shota.

With a click of a button, the collar fell off of the neck of Hitoshi, who then took it the rest of the way off his neck from the limp state it was in as it dangled around his neck and shoulders.

“Shinso, I'm here to ask you a few more questions, and this time I brought my partner Hizashi with me. If you remember he also was with us when we first became… acquaintances.”

“Yes, I tried to brainwash you but it did not work.” Hitoshi looked down at the ground. His ears were red hot with embarrassment.

“You're all good kid, I'm hard of hearing so I probably did not hear you ask me a question so you could not get in my head.” Hizashi shot the teen a smile and then pointed to the hearing aids in his ears.

“Now-” Shota jump-started the real conversation that the three of them were there for. “Shinso, as you know, you were in illegal custody of the League of Villains. And after doing some digging through what you told us along with the help of the different questions that Detective Tsukauchi drilled you through, the hero commission concluded that you are not guilty enough to be placed in a juvenile detention center.”

Hitoshi's eyes lit up at this information for only half a second then they lowered back down, “So that means I'm back in the system then?”

It was like an alternate ending to a choose-your-own-adventure book where every outcome ended in failure to finish the book with a happy ending.

“Yes, so we are here to offer a proposal. Would you like to stay with Hizashi and me until further notice? You would attend U.A. high school if you take and pass an entrance exam.”

Hitoshi was shell-shocked by this news, he had another chance. Like a video game that gave him an extra life.

—
Shota led the way to the house talking calmly to the purple-haired teen as he approached the front of a brick house that was tucked away in a far back part of the U.A. high school property.

Aizawa explained to Hitoshi that all of the students lived on campus at the high school. He could not live in a dorm right now due to the whole foster issue, so he would stay in the same house as Aizawa and Hizashi. So that he technically still lived on campus. And he was also told that after a little while if he wanted to and if the commission allowed it he could transfer to the dorms.

They entered the house and for the first time in a long time, Hitoshi felt warm. The house was cozy and glowed from all the lamps that made it feel comfortable. No dark damp rooms, drafty spaces, or broken glass anywhere. He did not have anything to bring with him so Hitoshi just stood off to the side of the main entrance and waited for the rules to be laid out and the quirk inhibiting collar to be snapped on his neck.

“Kimchi, Screech!” Hizashi playfully yelled out into the house and soon a duo of cats came racing to the front near the open door.

“We have two cats, the Grey and Orange one is Screech and the blueish grey is Kimchi,” The blond said as 8 paws scrambled on the hardwood floors.

In all of the other foster homes, they did not have pets since they thought that Shinso might cause trouble with them since he was labeled a difficult kid. Leaning down he held his hand out and the cat who they called Screech came forward and rubbed into him letting out a small purr as she did so.

“Shinso-” Aizawa started to talk as he wanted to show the teen the rest of the house.

“Sorry, I won't do it again.” He quickly snapped up

“No-no you’re ok the cats are happy with it don't worry. I was just going to show you where stuff is.” Aizawa said noting to himself that he was to be more careful with his words so that he did not startle Hitoshi.

He led the kid around the house showing him where they kept things for food, and how he could pick out music to listen to and then to what Hitoshi thought would be the guest bedroom of the house.

“It was kind of rushed but we asked for some essentials for you, but I was thinking maybe tomorrow we can actually go out and get some stuff for you.” Shota said while he leaned against the doorway.

The room was beautiful, there were a few plants that were next to the window. A desk and a few shelves full of books. The dresser was adjacent to the bed and had a TV on top.

And the bed itself had a basket resting on it.

Walking over to the basket. He found a large array of gifts, towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, a razor, floss, a comb, and some soap that smells like pine trees. An all-black backpack that had school supplies in it, pens, pencils, and notebooks. A metal water bottle, an all-black hoodie, some socks, a pair of Bluetooth headphones, and a phone.

“If you don’t like any of it it's ok, like Shota said it was rushed and we did not really know what you liked,” Hizashi added while rubbing the back of his neck

“You did all of this for me? Can I use it?” Hitoshi looked in shock as he turned back to the two pro heroes. Sure foster families had gotten him things before when he stayed with them but nothing this nice.

“Yes?” Aizawa answer

“Thank you very much. Though I may ask, when am I supposed to wear the quirk suppressant collar?” It was routine at every foster house, so might as well rip the band-aid off.

“you don’t have to wear one,” Aizawa said

“But I have to? That's a rule with new foster homes. I have to wear one due to my quirk since it is marked as extreme.”

“Not necessarily, I mean my quirk is like a suppressant, so you don’t need one.”

“Oh, thank you” Hitoshis heart jumped in his chest at this information.

“It's no problem kid if you have any questions or need help with anything like setting up the phone let us know. We put our contacts in there already so we can leave you to settle in if you would like.” Aizawa said

As they left the room Hitoshi felt a tear escape his eyes, it had been a long time since someone had treated him with this much kindness.

—
Hitoshi was left to himself in the bedroom. It was much nicer than most of the other places he stayed. To be honest, he was not even sure how some of those places passed inspection, then again Hitoshi thought that near the end they were just trying to pawn him off on anyone who would take him and supply a roof and at least some food for him.

From outside of the door, he heard the sound of soft music playing a classical piece and every once and a while a cupboard would be opened up along with the sound of pans clashing. He wandered around the room, the soft grey walls did not have any holes, the bed was not lumpy, and when he opened the closet, he saw a beautiful sight. There were a handful of sweatshirts hanging up, all mostly muted colors, grey, black, cream, white a light lilac color, navy blue. A few of them had patterns on them he carefully pulled out a navy blue crewneck that had a vintage logo of U.A. on it and laid it on the bed to wear later after food and a shower.

He slowly placed his things away for now (not like he had much) and finished setting up his phone which he really did not do much since he had no one to contact so he just downloaded a handful of apps that he used on his old phone.

It was odd that he was sitting in the house of two pro heroes, not only that but one that he looked up to so much when he was younger. Erasure Head was just becoming a hero and now he was his foster parent.

Then a soft knock came from the door

“ umm… a.. Come in” it felt odd since this was their house they should be allowed to enter and leave when they pleased.

It was Aizawa

“Hey, just wanted to tell you that we have some food ready, you don't have to eat it if you don't want to, we can make something else or order something. But you can join us if you want or eat in here or if you're not hungry. Whatever you feel comfortable with.” For a pro hero he really knew how to connect with those who were not so privileged as he was.

“Uh yeah, I'll join you guys,” Hitoshi said and followed the middle-aged man out into the kitchen where it looked like a whole feast was set up. Food was set out all over the table, different rice and fish dishes, cooked vegetables, and fruits. Everything looked so good, and three places were set.

“Hey Shinso come here” the call came from the living room, it was Hizashi. “What type of music do you listen to? I've got it all here so feel free to pick something out, we usually always have music playing in this house.”

Hitoshi bent down and started to flip through what looked like hundreds of records that were neatly organized by artist, and when he made his way down the vinyl there was one that stuck out to him. It was the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.

“Is this one, okay?” He held up the record to the blond.

“Oh my god kid, I'm going to be outnumbered in this house now!” He took the vinyl and set it on the record player letting the first track to start. The volume was just loud enough to be heard as background noise, but he could still hear it and enjoy it.

A shout came from the Kitchen “Good choice of music, I never get to play that album as much as I would like.” It was Shota

“My heart is breaking for you, corrupted by this.”

“We don't have to listen to it- I can find-”

“Don't worry you’re good, I like the music choice, this one here is just a stick in the mud when it comes to anything he thinks is not “ real music”. Aizawa said poking his head out of the kitchen for a second

“BECAUSE IT IS NOT GOOD MUSIC” Hizashis voice was jumping up a level

“Hizashi take it down a notch” Aizawa reminded his partner

Hitoshi liked the bickering back and forth between the two, it was not like they were truly fighting, it was more friendly.

It had been a long time since Shinso had a sit-down meal with people when he was with the League, they never did stuff like this. Food appeared but so did people, they would filter in and out, the food was never this good most of the time it was stuff that was halfway to being expired and a lot of cheap booze. Liquor and cigarettes littered throughout the main buildings they occupied.

Aizawa and Hitoshi talked to each other and to Hitoshi, they mainly talked about music and their jobs. Hitoshi did not talk much, but he never really did since most people never let him talk, so he sat quietly listening to the conversation and the music that played softly in the background.

Once he finished with his plate Shinso did not know what to do, every family he stated had different rules for what they wanted to do with cleaning up after dinner.

“Mr. Aizawa, Mr. Yamada. What would you like me to do with my plate and to help clean up dinner?”

“You can leave it for now we got it tonight you just relax. And places you can call us Hizashi and Shota you don't need to be so formal.” Hizashi spoke up

So being excused from the table Hitoshi left to go back to the bedroom that he was staying in and decided that he should probably shower since it had been a good 3 days since he had. Taking all of his products into the private bathroom that he had connected to his room and took a look around. All of the sink cabinets were filled with just about anything a person could need, soaps, scrubs, hair ties, face masks, cotton pads, Q-tips, Chapstick, lotion, and much more.

It took him a little bit before he figured out how to turn the shower on to a warm temperature and quickly stripped and stepped into the steam.

The water washed over him and a stream of brown dirt flowed the bare skin of his legs from all the grimness he must have built up since the fight he had with his now foster parents. He raked shampoo through his purple hair and used the body wash. It was nice to feel clean, it was like a layer of skin was being taken off with every sudsy pass he took over his skin. It was refreshing.

—

After the shower, Hitoshi threw on a pair of sweatpants and the vintage-looking crewneck then climbed into bed and switched on the TV. With the league he had shared a room with Twice and he was a shitty roommate since it was basically like living with two people.

But now he was by himself. He could hear the two men still out in the kitchen cleaning up dinner and laughing about something, the sound of happy people brought him back to a time long ago when his parents still wanted him. Switching on a show about true crime, he was just about to slip under the covers when a flash of something caught his eye.

It was a paw sliding under the door. And it was an angry paw at that, a cat definitely wanted into the room and there was no changing its mind.

Popping off the bed Shinso made his way over to the door and cracked it open and immediately two blurs of grey sprinted past him and launched themselves onto the bed and curled up next to each other.

This obviously was the cat's room, so he left the door cracked in case they wanted to leave and went back to the bed to settle in for the night.

—-

“You think that he is comfortable?” Hizashi said as he put away a set of glass cups “We did not do anything wrong, right? I have not heard from him in a while. Do you think he is ok?”

“Hizashi, he seemed fine. Probably just really tired. The kids have been sleeping in a prison for the last three days, so I bet he just went to bed. But if you want, I can check on him to see if he is asleep and if not, we can see if he wants to play a game or something.” Shota said as he dried off the last plate and handed it back to his husband to put away.

He then wiped off his damp hands with a tea towel and made his way down the hallway towards the spare bedroom- Shinsos bedroom, he corrected himself. He heard a soft mumble from the TV playing a show and the door was cracked open.

He softly knocked on the door just in case the boy was still awake to give him a slice of privacy. Even if the door was open.

“Shinso?”
He got no answer,

Slowly opening up the door the rest of the way he saw a sight that made his heart skip a beat for a second.

In the dark room with only the glow from the TV the Indigo-haired teen lay asleep under the covers wearing a sweatshirt that was from when Aizawa and Hizashi both attended U.A and both of the cats were curled up next to him.

It was a sight that he wanted to keep forever, it was calm, and it reminded him of something that he never had.

Closing the door, he returned to the living room and sat down on the couch next to his husband had made a cozy spot for himself and a book.

“He okay?” the blond said as he leaned his head on Shotas shoulder

“Yeah, he fell asleep with the cats. I think he might warm up to us, it will just take some time.” Shota said

“He reminds me of the emo kid you used to be. It's like you have your own mini Aizawa. Is that why you wanted to take him in? Or is it because he reminds you of someone too?”

“Shirakumo… I think that those two might have gotten along. He had a similar heart to Hitoshi"

And there they sat with only the music playing in their now not-so-empty house.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi woke up with a jolt, frantically clawing at his neck in an attempt to rip off a quirk-inhibiting collar that was not there. The room was unfamiliar, and everything was spinning. What happened to him? It took a second before his eyes adjusted to the surroundings around him.

The TV was on auto play and another episode of the show he fell asleep to was still chirping. Flashes from the screen filled the dark room with a hue of light. Two sleeping balls of fuzzy were curled in the crook of his legs, slightly letting out puffs of breath. Shinso picked up his phone and checked the time.

2:38 am

His brain was in too much of a rush to fall back asleep; it was like a state of panic, of fight or flight, and every hair on his body was on edge. He knew he was on one of the world's most secure campuses, so why was he so nervous?

Being careful not to disturb the cats, he swung his legs over the side of the plush bed. He decided that a glass of water was what he needed since his throat felt like a desert. Cursing himself, he knew that he should have filled up his water bottle before he fell asleep that he did not have to sneak out of his room.

Carefully, he crept his way into the kitchen, using his skills from the league to be silent as he made his way down the pitch-black hallway.

Reaching into the cupboard that Aizawa was where all the glassware was stored, he pulled out a glass and then walked over to the sink to fill it up. Taking a long pull of the water is exactly what he needed right now, the liquid slowed his brain down from the million miles that it was running and quenched the thirst that he had.

Then a sound from the other room caught his attention. It was a faint humming sound that was coming from the living room. Shinso looked at the kitchen clock that shone a faint blue coming from the oven.

2:41

Maybe he was just really sleep-deprived, but Shinso swore that he could hear a subtle hum. Moving from the kitchen over to the entrance of the living room he saw sitting on the couch was Hizashi, who had a set of headphones on and was reading a book using the yellow glow from a lamp as his light.

The movement of Shinso sticking his head in the living room caught the attention of the blond.

“Shinso! Is everything alright?” He closed the book he was reading and looked up at the boy

“Sorry, no, I was just getting water,” Shinso said meekly

“Wait, one second, I could only make out that you said sorry.” Then, leaning over to the coffee table, the pro hero picked up a set of hearing aids and placed them in his ears. “That's my bad, I thought you would have been out for the night, so I took these out.”

“I did not know you wore hearing aids. Is it because of your quirk?”

“Yeah, I did not have too much control of it when I was younger, so I blew my eardrums out, and now I'm considered hard of hearing. Most of the time have these in,” he gestured to the hearing aids, “But I take them out when I'm at home, or just with Shota, since he knows Sign Language, but I’ll be keeping them in now in case you need me.”

Oh

"Thank you. You don't have to do that for me. Shinso signed. He had taught himself how to sign when he was younger to communicate since talking was not really an option for him in most places."

"Do you know sign language?" The blonde signed back

"Yes, I taught myself when I was younger. Since you know, no one wanted to talk to me."

"I'm sorry about that, that was similar to what I went through, but no one understood sign language until I met my best friends, and they learned for me."

A sad mask washed over Hisashi's face

"Are you okay?" Hitoshi asked

"Yeah, I'm okay. I was just thinking about someone."

He paused for a beat, then blinked his eyes a little more as he took in the teen standing right in front of him.

"That sweatshirt, you know that it used to be Shota's. He gave a small laugh, but it was not his to begin with; it was my friend Shirikumos."

Hizashi thought back to the blue-haired kid who had so many different ambitions and goals. His heart was set on saving people and taking on the bourdon of making his friends smile. And in the end, he achieved his goal of helping others, but it came at a cost of his own life. And now in front of him there was a kid that had nothing except the scars on his neck to show for his trials he had overcome.

"Is it okay if I wear it? I just found it in the guest room, and since I don't have a change of clothes right now, I put it on." He finished his sentence, then brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck, something of a nervous tick that he seemed to have.

"On your good to wear whatever, most of it is old stuff from Shota's emo days that he never really grew out of." He let out a small chuckle

"How long have you and Aizawa known each other, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, I have known that grumpy ass since we first joined U.A in class 2-B. We met through an old friend of ours. We were inseparable. Right after high school, we started our own agency and then life just sort of moved from there. Teaching jobs came and then, when we were 21, we eloped and now here we are."

"Wait, you two are married?"

This got Hizashi busting out laughing.

"Yes, we are married. Did Shouta not mention that? "

"Well, he said that you were his partner, but I just assumed because of the no wedding rings or no last name change that it meant like business partners."

"Oh, I'm going to have to have a chat with that man. Don't feel bad, you are not the first, not probably the last, person to think that."

Shinso joined Hizashi on the couch a safe distance away from one another, but there was still a sense of comfort in Hitoshi as he sank into the fabric. It was a very squishy and soft

Suddenly, a blanket was quietly and literally thrown on him. He looked over at the half-deaf man, who seemed to suddenly be oh so very occupied with his book and whistled in a soft tone.

Hitoshi relaxed into the couch with the blanket weighing on top of him. The early morning was calm, and there was nothing to worry about, so with heavy eyes, he drifted off to sleep.

—
There was a Hizashi-sized indent in the bed that was missing what Shouta woke up. The space was not even warm, meaning that he had not been in the comfort of their shared bed for a long time. Until he remembered who was also sleeping under the same roof.

Shooting up out of bed Shouta raced out of the bedroom to the guest room.

“Shit -shit- shit” only 2 cats laid on the bed and a disturbed pile of blankets lay on the mattress.

Darting from the spare bedroom, it was in the living room when he found the sight. On one end of the couch, curled up under a blanket, was a purple-haired teen. And on the other end snoring lightly was his blonde.

The time was barely past 6, but he knew that Hizashi would kill him if he did not wake him up for work. The pro hero gently ran his hand through the blonde's hair, causing him to stir.

“Five more Minutes Sho” a sleepy mumble came from his mouth

“Nope, you've got to get up. Other kids need your help today.”

“And what about you, hmmm? You have a class full of them. Don’t they need you too?”

“No, I have extended paid leave so that I can deal with the case besides Hitoshi, and I will probably head out today and get what he needs for school.”

“Why can't I be the fun parent?”

“Oh, you will be the fun parent when it comes down to it, don't worry, that job will be yours. But for now, I need you to go to work so that we can keep a normal routine. I will be back at work as soon as Hitoshi takes the exam.”

“Fine, you win, but I'm letting the kid sleep in. He really needs it. I thought he was going to pass out last night when I was… Never mind”

“Zashi? What did you do?” in a low voice as not to wake the kid

“Oh, nothing, it will be our little secret,” He signed instead of talking back

And with a wink, he got up off the couch and made his way to the kitchen, pulling out his phone and typing something.

—-

Hitoshi once again woke up in a strange place, it was not with the league, it was not in a bed, but instead it was a couch. That's when memories of last night awakened in his mind.
He lunged off the couch and stretched out his back. The sweatshirt that he had worn the night before kept him nice and warm; it felt so soft, too, like it had only ever been worn a handful of times.

Walking into the kitchen, he found Aizawa sitting at the table with a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose, looking over pages of paper.

“Good afternoon, Shinso,” The man said, leaning back in his chair as the teen approached him.

“Good afternoon?” He took a look at the clock and saw that it was almost 1 in the afternoon.

“I am so sorry; I did not know the time I fell asleep on the couch.” There was worry in his voice.

Were they going to get mad? Was there a schedule that needed to be had that he did not know about? Was-

“Yeah, Hizashi let you sleep in, and wanted me to tell you to keep last night's talk a secret from me. He is at work right now, so I was wondering once you got ready for the day if you would like to go out and get some stuff for school?”

Hitoshi looked over what the scattered across the table, and saw it was the documents that he had tried to take just a few days prior. All the Information about the case that the heroes knew where laid out over that table. Information that he would have died to get but now he was here with the people he was trying to steal from.

“Shinso?” Aizawa questioned with more concern in his voice.

“Oh- sorry- yeah, that sounds good, let me go get ready.” There was a twang of embarrassment in his voice as he stumbled to get the words out.

He moved his way back to the room that he was given, still eyeing the paper on the table. Guilt washed over him, he could have killed one of them if he really wanted to. His quirk had so much power behind it, and yet here he was on the verge of a breakdown because he was just doing a job to survive.

The cats had left their stop on the bed when Hitoshi found his way back to the guest room. The TV was turned off, and the windows were open to let in some air through the curtains.

He combed through some of the clothes that were sitting in the closet, picking out a few pieces that he liked. A pair of black jogger sweatpants, a new pair of socks, the light purple hoodie that he spotted the day prior, and on top, since it was still cool out, A sheep fleece-lined brown jacket. It was the only one in the closet, so even though it did not match with the rest of the outfit it was all that he had. Pulling the coat out of the closet, he noticed that there was a patch on the front right over where a person's heart would be. And in a fun electric font, it read

“Loud Cloud”

It almost looked as if it would have been a part of a costume, Hitoshi thought maybe it was Hizashi's, since the loud would make sense, but not the Cloud part.

It did not matter that he needed a coat, and this was all that was in the closet.

He finished getting dressed and ready, then walked out of the guest bedroom that he was occupying.

“You ready to go, kid?” Shouta then looked up from his work at the table

When Hitoshi saw the expression on Aizawa's face he would have thought the man had seen a ghost.

“Yeah, umm, is everything ok, Aizawa?”

“He reminds me of the emo kid you used to be. It's like you have your own mini Aizawa. Is that why you wanted to take him in? Or is it because he reminds you of someone, too?”

His husband's words echoed in his ears from the night before. God, this kid. He saw so much of his long-lost friend in the sleep-deprived eyes of a teenager. Even though he could see the resemblance between him and his younger adolescent self, it was like looking in a mirror at his soul of the kid from way back in the day and the one standing in front of him now.

“I just thought you were someone else for a second there. That was my best friend's jacket, and you looked like him when he wore it when he was younger.”

“Do you want me to take it off, I just picked it out since it was the only coat in the closet.”

“Nah, I think he would have wanted you to wear it. Now let's get going.” He rose from his chair, and the two headed out the front door.

The purple and blue hair bleeding together in Aizawa's mind

Chapter Text

The whole plan was to let Shinso settle into the quote quote-unquote normal life that Yamada and Aizawa were trying to give the kid before they let him take the U.A. entrance exam, but the purple-haired teen had other ideas.

The morning rolled on through, and the idea was that Yamada would stay home with Shinso for the day while Aizawa taught for the day, but when the couple walked into the kitchen, they saw the tired-eyed teen staring up at them from a plate of eggs and toast.

“Morning, Hitoshi. You’re up early.” Aizawa walked over to the coffee maker, which was set to have hot coffee ready for him in the morning

“Yeah, little listener, you're with me today. You could have slept in.” Hizashi added in, his voice not as animated as it usually is.

“I want to take the entrance exam today. And I did not know when class started, so I just woke up early and waited.”

“Today?” The dark, broody man turned his attention to Hitoshi with a confused look.

“Yeah, I'm ready and I don't want to get behind on anything.”

“Shinso, don't you-” Hizashi started

“What do you want to apply for?” Aizawa cut his husband off

“Hero course, but I can also try for general studies as a backup.”

“I'll let Nezu know, and you can come with us today.”

And that was all that was said between the three. Hitoshi went back to eating his breakfast, Aizawa sipped on his coffee, and Hizashi scrolled on his phone to look for any updates that might have happened in the night relating to crime and or pop culture.

—

The three departed from the house around 6:30 and quickly made their way through the campus. The lamps illuminated the concrete pathway to the main building, and the two adults walked side by side, quietly chatting to themselves while Hitoshi trailed behind the two like a kicked puppy.

A draft of warm air wafted in, then when the three strolled into the glass building.

It was so large, every corner had state-of-the-art technology, and teachers roamed the hallways with sleep still in their eyes, but they were not just teachers. They were some of the greatest pro heroes Japan had.

Simple greetings were passed from one hero to the next as they moved through the halls, but only double glances were cast as Hitoshi passed by. He felt like a sitting duck as he walked through the halls of the school.

Soon the two adults split down different corridors.

“You will take the entrance exam in my classroom. It should be quiet in there for you today since class 1-A is out doing field work this week,” Aizawa said, not even tossing a glance over his shoulder to address the meek kid behind him.

“Hizashi is Present Mic here, and he is an English teacher. If you pass, you will have him and also me for homeroom.”

He abruptly stopped walking in front of a large red door that had 1-A scrolled next to the entrance.

Hitoshi had heard about U.A.'s class 1-A. It was the best in the world for its renowned hero course. Only the best of the best got to sit in those seats and have a shot at becoming a pro-hero.

Aizawa pushed the door open after unlocking it, and the two were greeted with a dark, empty classroom.

“Take any spot you want. I'll be right back. I have to go grab a copy of the exam and my sleeping bag so I can nap while you take the test.”

So, Hitoshi took the spot right in front of the large desk that had a plaque that read Shota Aizawa.

The classroom was quiet except for the faint buzzing sound that came from the overhead lights. The desk he had chosen had scribbles of pencil lead in the linoleum top from students in the past.

Hitoshi dug through the backpack that was given to him by the two pro heroes and found a pencil.

Aizawa returned, emerging through the door at the front of the hallway, carrying 2 thick packets of paper in one hand and a mustard-yellow sleeping bag in the other.

He slapped the two thick paper packets down on Hitoshi's desk and made his way back to his chair.

“Alright, the top is for the hero course, and the bottom is for general studies. You have 90 minutes for each test. You may use a calculator and a pencil or a black pen.”

“If you have any questions then that sucks because I cannot help you, when the bell rings, you don't have to worry about my students coming into the class. When this minute is up, you may begin one of the tests.”

The second moved incredibly slowly, the hands on the clock moving ever so closely to the next minute.

“And begin.”

—

Hitoshi worked through the first test, scribbling down answers and scratching off the dots. He jotted down the last answer only seconds before his time was up.

“And Time.” Aizawa then reached over the top of his desk, gesturing for Hitoshi to hand over the first packet.

“You have a fifteen-minute break before the next test begins; you are free to leave the classroom, but you must be back in the allotted time. Your first test will not be graded until the completion of your second test.” Aizawa added in knowing that it was a lie.

“Can I start the second test now to get it done and over with?”

“Nope, you have to wait. It is what all the other students have to do when taking the entrance exams.”

So, instead of getting restless and sitting in one seat for the remainder of the time, Hitoshi climbed out of the desk and made his way towards the door.

“Is it okay if I look around then?”

“As long as you are back in time, yes, it is okay.”

The teen left the room, slipping through the door out into the bright sun-filled hallway. The large glass windows filled up the opposite walls.

Hitoshi basked in the warm sun as he walked his way down the hallways. He kept close to the windows to let the beams of light hit his face. It had been a long time since he had been in a proper school, and it felt strange to walk down a hallway.

Classes were in session, and the echo of different voices bounced through the hall: science, math, history, foreign languages, and there were even specialty classes for different classes of students. The different wings of the school were split into four different wings, each for the four main courses. Hero, Support, General Studies, and Business courses were all offered at the prestigious high school. It made Hitoshi feel small in comparison to the skyscraper of a building that surrounded him.

That's when a hand slapped and landed on his shoulder.

“My-my, what do we have here? A new kid, let me guess. You’re trying to get into the hero course?”

It was a teenager, probably one of the students in the hero house, judging by the outfit he sported. His blond hair lay flat on his head, and he was dressed in what looked like a stagecoach outfit. Small silver pocket watches twisted between the fingers on his hands, and his presence felt oddly familiar.

“The name Monama.”

He curled his head to the side as he stepped closer to Hitoshi.

“And you are?”

“Um Shinso, Hitoshi Shinso.” He looked back at the blonde, who was already bored with the conversation.

“Well, Shinso, let me tell you the hero course is no walk in the park, and only the best like myself can get in.” He continued to make his way down the hall past Hitoshi, letting his words brew in the air.

That's when the doubts started to come back and swirl around in Hitoshi's head. His palms were sweaty, and suddenly, every point of contact his clothes made with his skin irritated him. The what-ifs started to filter through and block all the logic in his brain.

What if I fail the test? what if I upset Eraser Head and Present Mic? What if I am still seen as a monster by the others? What if the league finds me? What if I just left?

That one stuck out to him.

There were still a little less than 9 minutes till he had to get back to the classroom, but that also meant that there were 9 minutes of a head start.

—

Shota looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it had been fifteen minutes since Shinso finished his last test and that he should be back by now. But given the benefit of the doubt, he had just gotten lost through the halls of the school, it had taken Shota a few days to get used to the school when he was first accepted.

He waited a few more minutes until he made his way out of the classroom, scanning the halls for any sign of the purple-haired teen, but there was no sign.

Shota's heart rate started to elevate slightly. Sure, kids had gotten lost before on trips, but Shota always found them. Like a shepherd tending to a flock of sheep, he always had an eye on his students, and when one went missing, it caused him anxiety for failing at the one thing he promised the world he would do.

And that was protecting people and making sure nothing bad happened ever again to those in his care.

His pace started to pick up as Shota started to jog down the hall, making his way towards the exit.

—

Hitoshi had taken off out of the building and off the campus grounds into the city. He hadn't lived on the street before, so this would be nothing new for him.

Plus, now that he was older, he could possibly pass for 18. He was standing close-ish to 6 feet, making him also look older, though he lacked facial hair. Some peach fuzz might grow after a few days, which might help.

The sun was warm on the top of his head as Shinso snuck his way down the busy early afternoon street. People walked every which way, the aroma of food spilled down the pavement, and there was every sort of sound imaginable.

Vendors calling out into the street, the aroma of food danced around every corner, and adults of all ages shuffled along picking through the city center.

But that is when the thoughts started to swirl around Hitoshi's mind.

They are going to be mad at you.

You let them down.

You will be returned like all the other times

This is why no one wants you
Freak

Monster

His breath started to hitch, and his hands looked for anything to ground himself. Pulling at his sleeves, pinching his arms, biting the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood on his tongue.

There were too many people around for Hitoshi to concentrate on just one thing he needed to get away: go somewhere quiet, somewhere dark.

Scanning his surroundings, he picked a scrap-filled alley that was marked off by a chain link fence. It was not the safest idea, but it would get the job done.

Hitoshi climbed up, then vaulted over the top of the fence and landed on the other side silently. The sun was blocked by the buildings that were on either side of him, and the noise of the street started to funnel out.

Leaning back against a wall, Hitoshi collected his breath and thoughts as the cool brick from the building soaked into his skin. When the Earth stopped spinning, he opened his eyes to investigate the scraps of junk that floated around him.

A torn-up couch, a lot of cardboard, some old tires, broken bottles and a whole lot of useless crap.

Well…almost useless.

Leaning against the wall, there was a bike that looked like it had been left to sit for years; everything was rusted, the tires were flat, and it was missing pedals. Someone had come through and stripped the thing for parts years ago. It was abandoned.

And that is when Hitoshi got an idea.

—-

As soon as Shota stepped outside the building, he knew that he needed to calm down. Something caused him to skip school, so he needed to figure out what went wrong.

Was it something I said?

Did I do something wrong?

Was it too soon to let him take the test?

He was starting to spiral. Hizashi always said that Shota was his own worst enemy. Pulling out his phone, he tapped the screen and called Hizashi. Even though it was a school day and he was teaching, he knew that Hizashi would know that it was an emergency. (Sorta)

What's wrong? Are you ok?

Yeah- I lost the kid!

What! How did you lose him? He was in your classroom taking a test.

You see, he had a break, so I let him go explore, and now he is gone.

You think the league took him?

No, too risky to take him on campus, even though Shigaraki is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I believe he learned his lesson from what happened last time he tried.

So, you think he just ran away?

Not exactly, I have a feeling that he will be back since I don't think he would just leave in the middle of the day. He's run away before, so he knows what he's doing. If he is not back by 9 tomorrow morning, I’ll go out and find him. I think he just got stressed and took off.

Shota, we sound like all of his other foster parents; they decided not to look for him as well.

The only difference is I know he’s coming back. I’m headed back to the house to wait it out. I finished grading his first test, and he passed the general studies exam with flying colors.

Alright then, if anything, and I mean anything, happens, let me know. Ok. I've got to go. Better see you there.

I love you, too.

With a click, he hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket. The outside air felt good on his face after being cooped up inside all morning.

Before long, Shota was sliding off his shoes in his house and greeting the cats with a hello. It was a waiting game from here between him and Shinso. He knew the kid would come back, it's just how he was going to handle things when he did return home.

Shota could be stern when it came to his classes, but this was not his student. Well, not yet at least. And he knew that Shinso had trauma when it came to foster families, so He was wading out into new water.

—

It was nearing 1 in the morning, and Hitoshi had finally reached the outskirts of the U.A. teachers' housing. He had carried the bike frame back to the house, and seeing from a distance, it looked like all the lights inside were turned off, so if he was lucky, he would be able to sneak in without the two heroes knowing.

He knew that he should never have returned, but he knew he would be able to take whatever punishment was given him. New foster parents are usually hit or miss when it comes to punishment. Sometimes it's just a talking to, and others it’s a full-out beating, and Hitoshi has experienced both sides of the spectrum and everything in between.

The garage would be the quietest since it was the furthest from the two heroes' bedroom, plus he could drop the bike off on his way in. The side door into the garage was unlocked, so that was nice, so that he could finally drop the bike off, but when he went to open up the door that connected the garage and the house itself, it was locked.

“Fuuuuuuck,” Hitoshi whispered to himself

He was going to have to go in the front.

One thing that was mentioned to Hitoshi was that the front door was always unlocked. Because, as Hizashi put it, “Who do two pro heroes have to fear?”

Slowly, ever so slowly, Hitoshi approached the front door. The doorknob was chanting his name as he reached for it.

Twisting the handle, he carefully pushed the door open, holding his breath as he did to not make a sound.

So far, so good. He slipped his body through the small crack of the open door. And softly closing the door behind himself.

His eyes adjusted to the dark as he let out a breath before starting to sneak through the house towards the guest room.

He was passing through the kitchen and making his way down that hall when he was stopped in his tracks.

“Shinso.”

“Well shit,” Hitoshi muttered under his breath as he turned and looked where the sound came from and saw Aizawa sitting at the kitchen table in the dark. “I really can't explain. I talked to this kid at the school, and he said that I had no shot of getting into the school and I needed space, so I ran, and then I found this bike and I brought it back and I thought that I could sneak in without you noticing.” He rambled on in fear that if he stopped talking that he would be yelled at. He held his breath, scared of what Aizawa was going to say to him.

“You're going to be tired tomorrow, considering today is a school night and you have a test to take tomorrow.” He sighed, then got up from his chair. "And next time, you have to tell someone you're leaving. You scared us half to death. Hizashi thought something bad had happened to you.”

He patted his shoulder as he passed by.

“Goodnight, Shinso, see you in the morning.”

And the teen with wild indigo hair stood in the dark kitchen all by himself.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi woke up to a buzzing on his chest.

It seemed as though Kimchi was curled up on top of him, sleeping peacefully. The sun had yet to peak through the curtains that covered the window, meaning that he had only slept for a handful of hours.

Not ideal for the first day of school.

Slowly, he crept out from underneath the sleeping cat and made his way towards the guest bathroom that was attached to the room.

Flicking on the bright light in the bathroom, he took a look in the mirror at the face that was staring back at him. Wild purple hair stood on end, floating like a halo around his head, and dark circles under his eyes blended into his skin.

The face that looked back at him was not someone he liked to see.

After getting freshened up and ready for the day, the last part was for Hitoshi to get dressed, and for that, he needed his uniform. The grey and teal looked pressed and neat, hanging in his closet as Hizashi had picked up a suit for him yesterday.

He had never worn a suit before, but after a few minutes of struggling to put the neat fabric on, he deemed himself to look half presentable. Although there was still one problem.

The tie.

Hitoshi had spent the last 15 minutes in front of the mirror with a YouTube video playing of how to tie a tie since he had never learned. He never needed to, and the people he was around never did. He only has very faint memories of his father wearing a tie when they attended his great-aunt's funeral.

He had to think of how other boys his age had to learn to tie ties. And then it hit him like a brick.

Other boys had a dad to teach them.

Glancing at the clock, he noticed he was running out of time; they were going to have to leave here soon and…

“Shinso?” A soft knock came on his door. It was Yamada. “You ok? We have not seen you all morning, and I just wanted to make sure you're ok and awake for school."

“Uh yeah, come in, I was actually about to come downstairs. Um-Yamada? Can you help me with something?” He called from the bathroom. Turning to face the blonde, he noticed that the pro hero was dressed in a relaxed outfit instead of his hero costume. His hair was pulled back into a low bun, and he donned a pair of slippers. “Don’t you have to teach today?” Hitoshi asked as he glanced at his foster parent up and down.

“Yes, but I don’t have to teach until later, all my classes are in the afternoon today, so I can stay home. What do you need help with little listener?”

“I need help with my tie. I was never taught, and the YouTube videos were not helpful.” He said very meekly. It's not something he should feel embarrassed about, but he was. Hitoshi hated asking other people for help since for he knew it would come back and bite him in the ass. He was taught by the league that if you ask for help, then you are in debt to the person who helps you. He did not want to have to owe anyone anything, yet here he was, pathetically asking for help. He cursed himself; he should know better than this.

“Of course! I usually don't wear ties, neither does Shota, but I don't think I will ever forget how to tie one since I attend U.A. and had to wear the silly thing every day.” he moved his way over to the teen. Being this close, Hizashi noticed that Shinso was pretty tall for his age. Most first years have yet to hit their growth spurts yet but looking at Shinso, Hizashi would guess that he was hitting around 5’10 (177.8 cm). And he was still growing. He made note that he will probably max out around 6’1- 6’2 (185.4 cm- 187.9 cm) and that he needs new clothes in the upcoming year in preparations for said growth spurt.

“Alright, now let's see.”

The two spent a few minutes tangling and twisting their hands around the necktie. Hitoshi watched and copied the actions of what Yamada was doing and soon enough the knot of tie was center on his neck.

“Thank you. Yamada.” Hitoshi said while looking in the mirror. To see the handiwork that Hizashi

“It's no problem- and Shinso, if you ever need help with anything, you can come to us. We might seem scary, but I'll tell you that both Shota and I are more than willing to help. Now let's get going, you have school.”

—

School was not as different from the day before, so he had to sit in the principal's office while he took the test he had not taken the day prior. And for the rest of the day, it was just like any orientation. Making sure he knew where everything was, the school cafeteria, nurse, commons, and library- Nezu was his guide for it all, and right after lunch, the white rodent led Hitoshi to the locker rooms.

“Now, Shinso, when you go into the locker room, you will find a blue, red, and white training uniform. Please put that on and meet me back out here.”

“Am I in trouble for something?” The teen asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“No-no, that is not the case, you see hero course students must pass a physical test as well as a written exam. And Aizawa filled me in on your quirk already, as we are both well aware of the outcome when your opponent does not talk back, so we fixed up a different exam for you.”

"Do I get to know what the test is?” Hitoshi was now interested in what the other had to say after he brought up the entrance exam.

“Nope - to keep all things fair, you will not be told until the test has started.” Nezu raised his paw to emphasize his point to Hitoshi. “Now go get ready.” His voice was all cheery and bubbly, making Hitoshi question what test would lie ahead.

—

After changing into an extremely uncomfortable tracksuit suit Hitoshi found Principal Nezu waiting outside of the locker room like he said he would be.

“All ready for your test.” Nezu picked up on the small talk that they had before Hitoshi left to go change.

“Yeah, I want to get it over with.” As he stretched out his arms and back as the principal led the way down the twisting halls of the school. Cracking his knuckles and jaw, he swung his shoulders back, feeling the muscles of his back roll around, getting warmed up and stretched out.

Nezu led the way through a tunnel and into a large pavilion. Around them stood buildings that touched the sky and a layout of a city street. The cars were driving around like it was another day, and some people bustled about chatting.

“ALRIGHT ALRIIIIIGHTT. LET'S GET THIS TEST A RUNNING!”

Hitoshi recognized that voice. Whipping around to see, sitting in an announcer's box up high in the concrete stadium were Yamada and Aizawa.

“I WILL BE YOUR AMAZING HOST TODAY ACCOMPANIED BY CLASS 1-A’S HOME ROOM TEACHER. SHOTA AIZAWA! NOW LISTEN UP I'M GOING TO EXPLAIN THE RULES ONCE AND ONLY ONCE.”

Scanning the arena, Hitoshi did not see anyone else dressed like him, and by the time he turned to ask Nezu what was happening, the small mammal had vanished.

“THE RULES ARE SIMPLE; THERE ARE TARGETS SCATTERED AROUND THE ARENA- YOUR GOAL IS TO TAKE THEM DOWN. EACH TARGET IS GIVEN A DIFFERENT POINT VALUE, WHICH IS HOW YOU WILL BE SCORED, AMONG OTHER THINGS. IF YOU SCORE OVER A CERTAIN NUMBER, YOU PASS.” Yamada's voice echoed off the buildings.

Seems simple enough, Hitoshi thought as he took in his surroundings. When up from the ground popped attack robots ranged anywhere from 10 feet to 50 feet tall.

“Well shit.” Hitoshi has a strong quirk that no person can resist, no matter how strong they are. If they answer back to his question, they are under his control. But there is the catch: these are not people, they are robots. His quirk won't work on them.

—
A rumble chases its way through the ground as the robot's rampage through the fake city laid out before him. The ground starts to crack under the weight of the metal beast as their feet scraped along the concrete.

“Quick, everyone needs to evacuate the area,” Hitoshi yelled at the crowd of people. If he could not take these things down, he would at least keep everyone safe.

People were running every which way, and even though Hitoshi knew that the people were actors and people who worked at the school, their emotions felt so real. Everyone was yelling and running around like chickens with their heads cut off, causing Hitoshi to panic. Robots were moving closer to the crowd of people, and the young aspiring hero needed to act fast if he was going to save all of these people and also pass the test, but there was nothing he could do about them.

“Get out of here- everyone needs to leave, I can handle this, you need to get out of here!” Hitoshi's voice barked at the crowd, scaring them to run faster as the concrete city around them started to crumble due to the movements of the massive robots.

Hitoshi was going to try to hide somewhere so he could make a game plan, when he was tossed out of his thoughts by a yell.

Well, more of a scream.

It was a woman cornered by some fallen rubble and boxed in by one of the robots. She cowered in the corner while the metal beast moved closer to her. The talons that were its hands reached for the woman till they were abruptly stopped.

And planted in the palm of the bot was a steel pipe. It did not do much, but it was enough so that it would draw the focus onto Hitoshi. Quick thinking on his part saved the civilian's life, but it also meant putting his at risk.

“GO-GET OUT OF HERE.” His throat strained while keeping all the focus on him. He could feel sweat drip down his back and adrenaline pump through his veins. He still needed to clear the area of people and robots.

Ducking through the legs of the robot, Hitoshi swept the area for other people. Helping a few to their feet and finding several ways to give himself time openings by distracting the robots. The minutes that passed felt like hours in his head.

“HEEELLLPPP” A shrill cry called out, catching Hitoshi's attention.

It was a little girl who had been caught under a piece of rubble. Trapped, and she was stuck deep under the piece of fallen concrete.

Hitoshi rushed over to analyze the situation. “Hey- I’m here, I need you to breathe.” He demonstrated a deep breath in and out to help calm the girl. “Where are you stuck?” He needed to know how bad it was, and so that maybe he could get her out of the rubble.

“I can’t move anything from under my hips.” Tears streamed down her face as her hands clawed at the ground in front of her. Fingers were bloody from scratching at the cement in hopes of trying to move.

Trembling footsteps shook the ground, and that's when Hitoshi realized that a bot was moving in on their location. His face paled as he realized that in seconds that they were going to be squished.

The little girl must have seen Hitoshi's shocked face and reached out towards him since she too understood what was going to happen.

“Don’t leave me,” she sobbed

“I won’t, I promise.” Scooting towards her so that his body shielded the sight that was looming behind them. “I won’t leave your side.”

The footsteps grew louder in his ears, and he held on tight to the little girl. Even with squeezing his eyes shut, he could sense when the giant's foot blocked out the sun and was about to crush them. He held his breath waiting for the inevitable to happen.

1…

2…

3…

But it never came.

Hitoshi had been all caught up test that he forgot that it was a test.

Glancing up, he saw that the robot's foot was propelled in mid-air. And that the little girl in his arms had crawled out from under the concrete with ease.

“Oh… Yeah… It was just a test.” Hitoshi murmured as he surveyed the space around him. The concrete buildings began to melt away from around him as Cementos pulled them back, and the robots all retreated. The “citizens” came into view, and Hitoshi could tell that they were all laughing and chatting with one another.

“HITOSHI SHINSO, IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOARD, YOU WILL SEE YOUR FINAL SCORE.” Mic's voice echoed through the speakers

His body shrank as He knew that he did not take down a single bot while fighting in the fake city. And he saw a board lit up with colorful zeros for the number of points scored for each robot. But the numbers started to fill up the space.

“Due to heroic acts and other strategies used in this test, along with a pro hero recommendation. The principal has made a decision.” It was Aizawa's voice this time.

“Hitoshi Shinso…” Now Nezu had the mic.

“Welcome to U.A.”

—

“Congratulations on passing your tests, you will be admitted into the hero course and join my class, 1-A, next week when they return.” Shota shuffled alongside the teen. As much as it did not seem like he cared, Shota was very proud of Shinso and how much he was able to handle, even with the lack of training he had.

“If you would like, we can start putting in extra time with learning your quirk and how to use it. Also, I was thinking since you are like me and don't have a physical advantage when it comes to fighting, to introduce a weapon of some sort to help you with combat.” Shota only said that to keep the kid. No- his kid is safe.

“Yeah, it would be nice to train that way, I can catch up sooner with the rest of the class. And um Aizawa-” Hitoshi's voice had softened and become meeker.

“Hmm”

“Could I join you on missions?” He spat the words out of his mouth. “As a work study, you know, since I'm not sure if this Hero thing is for me.”

“I will have to think about it and talk with Hizashi, but I will let you know.” A small smile settled on his face as the pair made their way through campus.

—-

They talked about a lot of different things, and Aizawa was very good about getting Shinso to open up and talk to him. Turns out the kid has a lot to talk about if you let him. Mainly questions. He had a lot of questions on his mind.

Getting home, the place was still empty. Only the cats greeted them at the door.

“Zashi won't get home until late since he has patrol tonight. I tried to get him out of it, but the interns would not take another shift.” Which was true since they said that it was a teenager that they were now raising and not a newborn.” I’m going to make some dinner; would you like to help?”

“Can I?” Hitoshi asked as if the question of whether he wanted to help was wrong to ask him.

“I asked, didn't I?”

They ended up working diligently alongside one another in the kitchen. A hum from a record playing in the living room joined in with the sounds of pots and pans being hustled throughout the kitchen.

Talking away the thirty minutes it took to make the meal, Shota learned more about the teen and how he had come to be in the situation that he was in. It was not much detail since he did not want to talk about all that happened to much. Shouta could tell that the kid still not trust him fully so telling the whole story was a risk that he knew not to take.

The meal they ate was pleasant, and the night continued to rattle on until- IT happened.

“Oh shit”

It was the sound of a glass breaking as it was dropped on the floor. Aizawa had been washing the dishes, and Shinso was drying and putting away until the glass cup slipped from his grip and shattered on the floor.

“Shinso, are you-” Aizawa raised his voice over the running water to see if he was alright.

Panic set in. Hitoshi's heart dropped to his stomach, and before he knew it, he was running.

Out the door and into the woods behind the house. He needed to run.

“Shinso you little fucker, just because you won't talk doesn't mean you are entitled to break our shit! You are just another mouth to feed!”

The voices came back. In past experiences, foster parents did not take too well to him messing up. And the breaking of the glass brought back a rough memory of when one of his old foster fathers gave him a very rough beating that ended up causing him a broken rib when he was 9. With the experience he had, he knew that hiding in a room was not a good option; they almost always had keys or would just pick the lock to get to him. Staying put meant he would have to take the beating. Using his quirk meant either being kicked out of the house and placed somewhere new or the collar. So, over the years, he learned that the best option was to run. To stay away for a few hours or days and wait until the smoke cleared for him.

Right now, his job was to get away as fast and as far as possible. Barrie's bushes ripped his hands as he pushed them aside. The night had set in, and the sun had gone to sleep; only the stars and moon helped him make way through the woods.
Branches snapped at him, and his feet were getting beaten up from not having any shoes and fleeing so fast. He knew how this worked, and he needed to create space for himself and the foster parents. he could not look back, just kept running and hid once he was deep enough away.

That’s when he heard the branches behind him rustle

And then a tight white cloth made its way around him, squeezing him in tight, and then he was on the ground.

“Hitoshi, are you ok?” the voice was Aizawa's, it was soft and undemanding.

Shinso had started to hyperventilate from being chased, and the tears were welling up in his eyes. Hitoshi also knew that if you are caught and can't fight, curl into a ball and protect yourself

“Please no, I'm sorry I did not mean to, it was a mistake.”

“Shhh, shh, Toshi-Toshi. I'm not mad, and I'm not going to hurt you. I need you to breathe, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry I had to use the binding clothes, but you would not respond to my calls.”

He stayed curled up in a ball, he knew how this went.

“It's ok, we can just sit here for a little bit too, but I'm not going to leave you or hurt you.” That's when he reached out and started to release the clothes. His hands were gentle as he unraveled them as the two sat together.

Then Aizawa spoke.

“When I was growing up, I was told I had a villain quirk. That no sane person would use my quirk for hero work. And for the longest of times, I believed them. I spent my younger years never using my quirk, and the only reason I got into U.A. is my grades, along with the fact that I was put in under recommendation. I never did figure out who recommended me, but it gave me hope since someone thought that I was not a monster and that I could be a hero. I met my best friends at U.A., and I saved almost everyone, and when I had the chance to go big, I chose not to. I wanted to stay an underground pro hero and save people who needed it without the fame of the spotlight.”

Hot tears ran down Hitoshi's face as he sobbed in fear of the adult who was sitting next to him. His hands clawed into his skin to ground himself, but it was not working. He was going to be taken away. The one chase he had at a good life he fucked it up and now this is where he is at.
“But you're not bad. I am. I was a villain- I worked for them; I tried to hurt you.” Pulling his knees up to his chest

“You were just trying to survive, and I will not hold that against you.”

“Why not? Why not treat me like any other villain in the same situation? It's not like I'm going to make much out of myself. I'm no hero?”

“You're right, you're not a hero. And I could treat you like any other villain if I were in your shoes, but I'm not. You were forced to do what you did; you had no other choice, and it was against your will. But I know that there is something that is in your heart that tells you otherwise. I've only seen it once before in a person, and they turned out to be the greatest hero I know.” Aizawa said. He noticed that the teen had stopped shaking

“Who?” Dull, hazy lilac eyes looked up at him.

“His name was Shirakumo, and his hero's name was Loud Cloud.”

“He could make anyone talk to him, and his quirk allowed him to make these pretty cool cloud things. His heart was like yours, even though you guys really don't have a lot of the same interests. Hizashi says that you are like the old version of me, but in reality, you are more like another version of him.”

“You really think that?” his voice echoed in Aizawa's ears

But Shota was not sure whose voice it was.

With a blink of his eyes, it was just Shinso sitting in front of him. His Shinso

His kid.

“Yeah, I do.”

Chapter Text

It’s been a hot second but some things have happened. 1) I graduated high school! 2) I got stabbed in the stomach!!! That was not fun to deal with. 3) A fucking tree fell on my car and totaled it. So I’ve been dealing with a lot and have had no motivation to write but I’ll try when I can. Thank you all for your support. See you again.
- Monthz