Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"This is normal chat."

This is thinking / written letters.

This is telepathic chat.

" This is Parseltongue. "

The first time Midoriya Izuku noticed him was back at the quirk counselor clinic. With all of the four years old intelligence he owned, an unknown man that stood behind the lazy doctor should be counted as strange. He had dark wavy hair, pale skin and electric green eyes with a perpetual tired expression fixed on his non-Japanese face. A pair of ugly glasses sat on his nose. 

Izuku thought his eyes were playing a trick on him. So, he blinked and blinked but the man was still standing there, watching without anyone knowing. His eyes were glowing like emeralds on Inko's wedding ring. When the clock struck ten, both green eyes met. The man tilted his head to the left, thinking. Izuku mirrored the action innocently which made the man's eyebrow rise.

You can see me . Can you hear me too? said the man without moving his mouth. A deep voice reverberated directly into Izuku's mind.

The young boy nodded from his perch on Inko's laps, "Uh-huh."

A smile grew on the ever tired face, the void of wrinkles clued Izuku that he was not really an adult. The foreigner walked forward, with no concern of distortion his stomach was making when it touched half of the doctor's body. The boy gasped. 

"Izuku?" called Inko tentatively, "The doctor is going to tell us the result."

I'm Harry. May I call you 'Izu-chan'?

Again, the boy nodded more eagerly. Inko ruffled her son's curly hair with oblivious fondness. Harry nodded sharply before walking to stand beside the parent and child duo. His body flickered from time to time and only solid to the child's touch. Izuku felt the tough scales on his jacket and watched their fascinating colors under the light.

The doctor sighed and got Izuku's attention back, "Better to just give up. He's quirkless."

Inko came defensively, "A-are you sure? How come? I-I mean, is there really no chance for my Izuku to show a quirk?"

"You see, Ma'am. The necessary joints in his pinky toes simply do not exist." 

The doctor then jumped to a weird explanation how much his quirk factor was not enough to grow without such joints, especially with weak quirks within his DNA from both parents. At that point, Inko looked distraught and started to feel guilty. The boy however was near to have a heart attack. Izuku turned to look at Harry, in need of denial that the doctor was lying. However, the man was simply watching the doctor in silence, hair drifting like a leaf on calm water.

Quirkless…

Izuku did not like what he heard. Everyone had a quirk or two but why don't I? Can I still be a hero without a quirk? 

Izuku tugged Harry's sleeve, trying to get his attention. The man flinched but never stepped away. Instead, he clasped his hand around the smaller one then continued watching. The warmth of skin contact grounded Izuku while Inko started bawling and hugging her son as if he had died.

Harry disappeared when they finally exited the clinic.

...xxx…

The second time Harry showed up was when Kacchan pushed Izuku from the sand-mountain with an explosion. Izuku cried from the sheer amount of pain on his shoulder. Suddenly, Harry was already  holding the boy's body so he wouldn't injure his back. No one could see him so Izuku looked like he managed to suspend his torso half-way on air.

Careful , was all he said as he hovered his hand on the places injured by Kacchan's explosion. The pain eased as if they're being erased slowly. Izu-chan, I cannot remove scars.

Then Izuku proceeded to fall on his butt. Kacchan and the other children laughed at him. Calling him names and bad words. He grimaced when Kacchan 'bestowed' him with a new name; Deku. Not that he put any concern of being called 'useless', he had a more pressing problem to solve.

Is Harry my dad?

...xxx…

A few weeks later, Midoriya Hisashi video-called the Midoriya household. It was the very first time Izuku was actually aware how his dad's face should be. If not for the freckles, he looked nothing like his son. Inko explained that his dad was the head technician for the international dry-food industry. Hisashi was so good with his job, he was often sent to other countries to coach new factory staff.

His dad quirk was breathing flame. 

Harry didn't breathe fire but had healed him. Also he could not be seen by others while Hizashi could be. Izuku grudgingly accepted the proof Harry was not his dad. He wondered where the man had gone again. 

That night while Inko and Hisashi were having another shouting, someone was petting Izuku's head until dawn.

...xxx…

His fascination of All Might was firm and laced with utter stubbornness. Izuku really wanted to be a hero, just like him. A hero who can keep on smiling while helping oh so many victims. 

Of course, the biggest question was Harry's existence. Over the course of five years, the man had come in, swept Izuku from the ground, healed him then gone again every time the boy's injuries were to the point of bleeding. Izuku had built pain resistance quite a bit after being exploded or shoved around every other day. His skin was constantly in pain, it became numb. He analyzed how that could be turned as his strong point.

One day, he was writing in a journal about a fresh-bunch of heroes on a swing when Harry-nii appeared once again.

The tall man, with ruffled black hair and green eyes, was watching again from across the playground. Izuku tried his best not to squeal 'niichan!' out loud, especially when no one could see the man. 

Not today. People saw Harry entering the area because his leather long-coat was not exactly a good choice under the heat of summer. The older moms looked between Izuku and the stranger then something just 'clicked'. They looked so much alike they could not be unrelated. Izuku shyly waved his little hand at him, Harry-nii waved back with an easy grin. The boy knew perfectly how much protected he was from any harm at the moment. Even from Kacchan.

It was odd to see Kacchan backed away when Izuku approached a foreigner with such familiarity. He wondered if his friend had never seen Hisashi's photo. Kacchan's mom is Inko's best friend in their highschool after all.

Izuku went home with one hand clutched his bagstrip and the other in Harry's. After the playground was hidden by buildings, Harry's body began to flicker then the boy's grip on him hardened.

"Everyone saw you!" hissed Izuku.

Yes.

"How? I thought only I could…"

You wanted them to see me.

Izuku hummed to ask to elaborate.

Things are changing too fast. It might harm you. I have to interfere.

The nine year old boy was not a genius but he knew something bad happened. Harry would only show up when he was injured. So, for the man to actually be visible for others to see… 

"Harry-nii. Will you tell me what you are?"

Izu-chan… I am not a living human.

"Oh." That was not an answer he was expecting but Izuku had a feeling he's a poltergeist all along.

Let's see… The closest modern term would be a companion quirk. I heal you then gone when not needed.

"Companion...quirk? Wait! You mean, you're MY qui--" A hand closed his mouth.

The closest term. I am not exactly born from within you but I am connected to you regardless.

"But you said, you're not a human."

I was.

"So.... A ghost?"

A companion.

He had been labeled 'quirkless' for a long time, Izuku could not help but excited to find out more about his quirk. Forget to mention, companion quirk was as rare as having two quirks or more. He wondered if that was the reason why everyone in the clinic thought he was quirkless. Misinformation.

He couldn't wait to tell his mom!

With Harry in tow, Izuku jogged to Midoriya's apartment. He used his key colored red, white and blue with an All Might keychain to open the front door. Before he could say 'I'm home,' he saw a single letter was placed by the shoe cupboard. The boy's mind came to a halt. From their angle, both could see Izuku's name was written neatly by Inko's handwriting.

There's no one here , said Harry after a thought, frowning.

He gingerly pushed Izuku inside then closed the door behind softly. Seeing the boy frozen, he put his hand on the thin shoulder which flinched.

It's for you. Do you want me to read it?

Izuku pressed his lips thin, eyes opened wide. His mother never left a letter like it was a final thing to do before she went out. The look on Harry's eyes made him tremble.

"Did you know…?" asked Izuku to his companion. Did you know why Mom left a letter for me? That's why you picked me up openly, isn't it? Izuku couldn't say those words but he looked up pleadingly. Harry kept on watching without blinking.

I have to interfere.

"Oh." It was the same as a confirmation.

Harry's frowning face turned blank. Picking up the letter, he walked through the apartment as if he had been haunting it for years then proceeded to sit on a beanbag in front of television. (Actually he was more hovering on it than actually sitting.) He then patted his laps indicating for the boy to sit there. Izuku watched with a half-amazed and half-frightened expression. He had never seen a male adult inside his home and that Harry was his quirk. A man only he could see.

I sound like a crazy person.

Climbing on his lap, Izuku leaned on Harry's warmth only the child could muster. After settling on half-leaning on his side, half-facing the letter, Izuku huffed. Nodding to himself, Harry opened the unsealed letter. There were a few pages within but only the first page was handwritten entirely.

Dear Izuku

I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I wanted to help you but there was nothing else I could do. It was too much for me to handle without your father's help. To tell you the truth, Hisashi and I divorced a few months after you're declared quirkless. He stopped any child support then moved out of the country entirely. That was why it was becoming overwhelming for me to keep up. If only I were stronger, I would never do this to you. I do not wish for you to be in foster care either, especially after hearing oh so many tragedies happened to quirkless children there. Perhaps, this is for the greater good.

By the time you read this letter, I will already be out of reach. If you remember the things I taught you about cleaning and cooking from last month, it was so to help you. However, if you forget at some point, I left a journal of detailed instructions in my room. You don't have to worry about bills since they will be paid automatically from an account until you're seventeen. There will also be 15000¥ left each month for your food and school needs. You know that you were signed at Onodera schooling complex until middle school.

It would be best if you continue to live here. I really do not want you to become a victim of foster care. If anyone asked about me, tell them that I was away working. This is so no one would bother us any further or worse take you away. 

I know this is going to be hard for you, Izuku, and I am not the best mom ever around for doing this. Someday you will understand that I cannot be blamed entirely.

Please, do not try to find me. You are old enough to understand how everyone will see us. You are smart and tough enough to look after yourself. If you wished to have a pet, you could. I left an adoption paper within this letter with my signature inside.

I always love you, forever and more.

Midoriya Inko

After reading, Harry felt a pulsing energy coming from the boy. Aah, he was detaching himself to analyze the situation.   Instead of yanking the boy out of disassociation, he waited. Watching. It was an injury Izuku needed to learn to live with, so he would be stronger and wiser. That letter was a literal attack on Izuku's emotional self. He knew it would be a fair trade for the future but the boy was not even ten! Even so, Harry could not interfere with what Life had chosen herself for the poor boy. Next time they met, Harry would choke that bitc--

A loud sob bubbled out.

Izuku cried loudly to Harry's neck who breathed softly, secretly relieved that the boy managed to break himself out of a mental breakdown. The man, then, hugged and kissed the boy's forehead, trying to give every comfort he could. Harry really wanted to help Izuku. More than ever. He must become a constant the boy obviously needed. His eyes lingered on the adoption paper. Japan has an odd sense of rule when you adopt a pet, it must be included as their actual child in their system. For him, it was a cheat sheet. 

That was the day Midoriya Harry, older brother of Izuku, entered the fray.

...xxx…

The coming of a foreigner into their neighborhood was not something Bakugou Katsuki could ignore especially when Useless Deku always tackled the man and squealed loudly. Deku had never introduced them but Katsuki was pretty smart to see their relationship by blood. Surprisingly, the foreigner-face was not as tall as Katsuki's dad. He had the same creepy eyes as the younger Midoriya and barely ever blinked. Worse version of Deku's puppy eyes. His bird nests called hair were almost identical, with Deku's was dark green forest and the older man's was midnight ink. Unfortunately, their face structures were completely different. Deku called him 'niichan'. So, half-brother or cousin. Not that Katsuki would know the answer, Deku had never talked to him again. The man's expression only changed when Deku was nearby. A small smile then a frown, before he sat with Deku then green small sparks glowed on wherever his hand had been. Deku showed a stupid face of giddy before once again tackled the man who accepted the assult like an indestructible rock. Katsuki could not comprehend that those tackles were actually hugs.

Deku had stopped following Katsuki after the man's first appearance. At that time, he got angry for being ignored by a Deku for some stupid stranger but then his instinct started blaring 'danger!' His body had curled to himself as if trying to hide from those green eyes. He was so close to stealing defenseless Deku and started running from the Death incarnation itself. Katsuki did neither. His thinking processes came to a halt as if being shoved violently. By the time he realized what had just happened, Deku and his 'niichan' were long gone.

He spluttered curses with his face blazing red.

Now… Now, Katsuki ignored their existence entirely. Deku had avoided him as much as he missed his constant friend. Every time his mom asked about that stupid quirkless, Katsuki would simply snarl and explode something nearby. That way the topic was violently shoved away. The memories of Kacchan and Deku gradually vanished from both children.

...xxx…

Chapter Text

Being a deity had its positives, he knew how to delude their situation as logically smooth as clouds. Strangely shaped and completely out of reach. As Master of Death, he had many examples of liars and smugglers stories to create an entirely new identity.

Harry introduced himself to their neighbours as a novelist and part-time cook back in England. That he was an eighteen-year-old dropped out to keep up the financial problems before Inko took him in. He swiftly lied about how he was Izuku's second cousin from his mother's side before being officially adopted after his parents died. 

With such a complicated backstory, anyone who heard that would believe without second thoughts. It seemed Inko's fame as a very caring mother for her quirkless son had helped immensely. Harry was not happy that he had to rely on a woman who ditched her small child all alone. He could not wait the day Karma decided to visit her.

His priority would always be Izuku.

The boy in context was looking his way with a suspicious face. Harry could almost hear the gears clicking inside his brain. At first he was not planning to lie but Izuku chose to follow his mother's words to a T. He never said his disagreement with the boy's choices. He acknowledged his position as an older, legal-aged sibling would avoid the danger of being sent away or separated. Not that mortals could stop Master of Death from his chosen child.

Master of Death was the one judging soul's lifetime and its punishments before passing through to the next realm.

For the longest time, Harry was trapped between the living and the dead with an eternal body of eighteen years old. When he lost his mortal body for defeating the Most Feared Dark Lord, humans stopped being able to see him. Unfortunately, he was once a human therefore longing for social interaction. It pained him when he realized he could not interfere with the living anymore. Because that was not his responsibility, His only purpose was to judge someone after they died.

After decades overseeing humanity's sins, Harry Potter forgot how to show emotions.

He remembered when quirks started to appear as the population of humans at its peak, reaching a total of fifteen billion. A shining baby born in china. That showed Life's playful interference all over. Their technology development made a back turn and the death toll became higher. The game of Dark and Light began once more. The vicious cycle of blaming the other side of the coin while stubbornly kept doing immoral things. 

Then a man called himself All-for-One made an entrance. 

Harry was not happy. It was Voldemort all over again with immortality bullshit and extra powers on heaven's scale worldwide. Life, another deity responsible for mortal's daily lives, was so full of herself when she announced All-for-One would be her trump card to decimate half of the human population. In horror of how much paperwork in future he would do, Harry had to give All-for-One's brother a blessing; A Heredity Quirk named One-for-All which only grew stronger by how many holders died. Unfortunately, not even two holders later, All-for-One fought the third One-for-All holder. The aftermath was a mess and Life was laughing. She thought it was a surprise present for her to play with, she allowed them to grow.  Harry did not know whether to cry or laugh.

It was like watching a game of cat and mouse. The people of quirks began to enforce rules around the usage of their quirks in and out of the public's eyes with a tinge of political control. The history of world wars turned into a savage fairy tale. People began to change their morals to fit with the new environment. Almost without no one aware, the dream of leaving the planet entirely became a far away echo. Technology turned into a side accessory for Heroes to wear. Meanwhile, All-for-One adopted the villain side as his hometurf. Turning himself into an untouchable super villain with a hobby of killing whichever group he was interested in, including Heroes, as he waited for the next holder of One-for-All to show up. It was like that until All Might managed to injure All-for-One heavily. As the eight holder, he had all seven people behind his punches. 

The number of people dying has decreased tremendously after that, that Harry had some free time. True, ever since All Might patrolled the streets people were dying less, meaning less work for Harry to do. 

He decided to watch a frail boy with large green eyes who had endless determination brewing. He listened to the way Izuku guessed about heroes. Harry had been careful not to be sensed by the hyperactive child. Turned out those big green eyes were as dangerous as they looked. While the people around him declared his 'quirklessness' as a sickness, Izuku would look around to find Harry. The boy had an unknown quirk and no one ever tried harder to find out the truth. Not even Inko who slowly felt hatred towards her own son for all the trouble everything had become. The Midoriya household disassembled into a painful divorce which somehow managed to be hidden from everyone but Inko and Hisashi. Inko was blaming Izuku for her own faults but she managed to put on her 'nice' face to the world including Izuku while planning her perfect escape.

Harry noticed how she pretended to never see how injured her son was or that he was screaming from nightmares. She would put on a headset and simply ignored her son as if nothing bad was happening outside of her bedroom. She could sweeten her words with encouragement of how Izuku was smart and strong enough to look after himself.

He knew she would leave Izuku sooner or later.

What a mess. Harry looked at the boy but all he saw was himself crying in the fetal position. He knew how invested his feelings towards that one living human. A niggling warning sparked behind his mind for being too involved. 

The boy's soul sang.

...xxx…

Midoriya's Apartment

Izuku stopped coming to the playground entirely when he was in his fifth grade. He declared he had to start his training to be a hero. Harry suggested a dancing class.

"Why dancing and not martial arts?" asked the boy. "I still want to be a hero, you know."

Harry spoke very softly, "Your body is flexible enough to learn gymnastics skills and we don't have enough money to send you to a dojo yet. In the meantime, you'll learn how to move your body as flexible as possible. That way you won't be a one trick pony when we have enough money to send you learning to beat the hell out of someone's face."

Izuku agreed with that logic. "I guess… I don't have to be exactly like All Might. After all my quirk is you ... and your power isn't about punching people at all. Maybe a hero like The Healing Girl? Wait, then why learn to fight at all?"

Switching to a telepathic voice, Harry looked troubled. ...Izu-chan. I can only reduce your injuries and not actually heal them. Those burned scars all over your body are proof of that. You won't die as easily when I'm around but you can still absolutely die from brain damage.

"Oh! You mean, we can't heal others? That's a bummer."

Speaking of quirks, when do we change your quirkless status?

"Do we have to? I mean, it has been years and no one suspects a thing about us. I know we have to do that before registering for the UA entrance exam but… I really don't want my mom to be in trouble. We need her to show her approval to the quirk counselor, you know. You saw how she left me behind."

I remember , said Harry without moving his mouth. If they were going to open the secret, people would realize that Izuku had been all alone in the house for years, only with his companion quirk to help around.

"Is it weird for me to miss her?"

Harry shook his head then watched Izuku, not pity but understanding. That was something Izuku always loved about him. He understood and did not interfere with most of Izuku's life choices. Being a quirk of his, Harry could not actually take a part time job but he excelled in helping Izuku to learn new things. He even managed to reduce the hyperactive side of him to a soft mumble. It was still a work in progress until he stopped mumbling entirely.

Izuku leaned to Harry's shoulder. The immortal man made a space for his little companion to sit on his lap. They were the epitome picture of father and son.

We have time until eight grade.

"Then what will happen to us? Foster care? I prefer to just… stay."

Time will not wait, Izu-chan.

Izuku knew this perfectly. Harry had warned him multiple times about how their secret would be known. That he must be ready for the consequences it may bring, especially if Izuku planned on stepping into the Heroics circuit. They would know over the night.

Time is never friendly to anyone but they will help you be wiser.

Izuku looked away. Then an idea struck his head.

"Hey, Harry. I think I've got an idea… something I can learn without any real costs. We can even bail out whenever we want."

What is it, Izu-chan?

"...We're going to watch heroes fighting!"

Harry should have not allow it.

His little brother's idea of watching heroes fighting was to go patrol the night himself. Well, together with Harry but still a stupidly reckless idea. It reminded him of a twelve-years-old Ronald Weasley and a flying car. Disastrous scale of danger . Harry had to hide every cooking knife in their home inside Izuku's jacket. The boy was about to refuse but Harry managed to firmly tell him,  Just in case .

The boy stupidly thanked the stoic man. Harry wanted to bash his own head for trying too much in his play as being Izuku's guardian. He realized how Izuku became dependent on him for social interaction, self-defence to schoolwork and that was not a good sign. The boy needed to learn how to have his own confidence with and without quirk. Playing as an agreeable quirk was a fault on his side. He really wanted to roll the boy in pillows and locked him away in his bedroom. That was what a guardian should have done to their reckless thirteen years old child.

Somewhere in Musutafu

Under the moonlight, Harry and Izuku climbed a five-floors-tall building, the shortest one compared to other buildings in Musutafu Prefecture. They kept close to the shadows. He heard a battle nearby, no, above them.

Izuku squealed inside when he heard a very familiar voice of Present Mic pushing a reptile-looking villain across tall buildings. There was another person with the hero while the villain got two, one was already constrained. His eyes shone and the stream of mumbling started. Beside him, Harry sighed then clasped Izuku's mouth without stopping the mumbling entirely.

"Oh God! That's Present Mic! His quirk is his voice and he's very loud! He can push people around with his voice only. Even at night, he chose to patrol away from any residential area so his quirk doesn't harm civilians. I can see it's affecting anyone with hearing! He could easily take down people from afar or push enemies away from him!"

What about his weaknesses? Do you think there's a way to stop him?

"Well, if the air around him was thin, I don't think he could make any sound. He isn't good at surprise attacks despite excelling it himself. His body isn't as powerful as his voice. Huh… Strange. Doesn't that mean he is physically not that good at fighting? Wow, it's amazing how he can get a hero licence with a quirk like his. I see. That's why he always chooses to be a support back-up. He needs someone to be his offense while protecting others from afar."

Remember his scores in rescue assists.

"Right! Present Mic fame as a radio host helped people to actually listen to his directions! Do you think he is going to have a sore throat after screaming that long then had to host a program? Ah, I guess those support tools around his neck helped to control. But what would happen if it was destroyed? Will his voice stay on that high pitch forever? That's scary!"

Izu-chan, try not to shout.

The boy grimaced. The shine in his eyes was gradually vanishing. He looked up to his companion then cutely whispered, "Sorry, Harry-nii."

Harry smiled. What about the other hero? Do you know him?

Tilting his head, he could barely see the other hero. Izuku started to climb an emergency stairs on the next building to get a clearer sight while Harry floated through the stairs upward. It was then they saw a scarf captured the last villain. A man with dark long hair, yellow goggles and black clothing had jumped midair. 

"Whoa!" shouted Izuku. Harry failed to close the child's mouth in time.

At that sound, the man's head turned to their direction immediately. Izuku flinched then his body turned rigid. Seeing a panic attack coming, Harry focused on being visible and holding Izuku from behind immediately. Trying to be the steady present Izuku needed. They must escape before the hero caught them but to comfort the boy away from his hyperventilating was on higher priority.

"Izu-chan, breathe. Follow my breathing. In, out. In, out. Good boy. In, out," murmured Harry while turning the boy's ear to his chest so the boy could focus on his fake heartbeats. He knew Izuku wouldn't listen to any of his telepathic voices when he was like this. Harry kept chanting the same sweet nothings into the child's hair. Gently he removed one of the knives from Izuku before turning its blade, ready to attack.

"Breathe in, out. That's it. Are you alright now?"

Right when Izuku nodded, the unknown hero landed on their stairs. Two pairs of glowing green eyes turned at him from the shadows. Red eyes stared back albeit tiredly. Anyone could almost hear him saying, a teenager and a child, riiiight.

"What are you two doing here, brats? This is an office building and not a playground." A gruff voice slipped from the hero.

Izuku in panic stepped back, whimpered. Harry showed no changes in his expression while he held the boy firmly.

"We will go home," stated Harry clearly. His Japanese was thickly accented. Then he turned to Izuku who was still leaning on him while he secretly slipped the knife back to its place. "Let's go, Izu-chan."

The boy nodded frantically.

"Wait."

Harry knew when they were busted. Life must be laughing now. He almost cursed out loud because the knife accidentally reflected moonlight and was considerably noticed by the hero. Making a decision, Harry turned to face the man suspiciously slowly while holding Izuku princess-carry style.

They must not tell lies to Heroes, especially an underground type. Remembering the agreed rule, Izuku pouted a little.

"Yes, Hero?" asked Harry, devoid of expression.

"You need to put the boy down and come with me."

Great, now he thinks I'm kidnapping Izuku. Harry kept a rigid face unlike normal humans. Eyes unblinking. "Why?"

"Put the boy down…"

"But Izu-chan needs to go home. You told us yourself. Right, Izu-chan?"

Izuku, being a smart cookie, copied Harry's rigid expression with the eerily unblinking wide eyes, small hand clenched on. "Yeah, Harry-nii. It's almost midnight. We have to go to sleep."

Seeing that he had no law to use to stop these boys, The Hero decided. "Then, it is fine if I accompany you, right? Night is not exactly safe for teenagers to walk around without an adult."

Izuku and Harry answered together, "Go ahead."

...xxx…

Eraserhead was pretty disturbed by these two children and after being an underground hero for a few years, it's alarming. The older foreigner-like teen called 'Haari', while the younger local-face one is called 'Izu'. Their unnerving green eyes and stoic faces never faltered once, gave away their brotherhood. The knife he saw in a glimpse was the home kitchen kind which now not-so-hidden under Izu's jacket. The thought of a young boy holding the sharp blade instead of the older one was making his stomach squirmed. He needed to speak to their parents about it.

"What's your hero name?" asked Izu while squirming in his brother's hold. They had passed two blocks of the office district. "I've never seen you before! Are you an underground hero? Is that why you're wearing black?"

"Izu-chan…" sighed 'Haari', breaking his stoic expression.

Ah, Hero fans. He knew how to deal with that kind.

"Were you watching our fight?" asked Eraserhead instead of answering.  At the boy bobbing head, he lectured, "You shouldn't have stayed that close. Things could turn worse than anyone expected and we don't want civilians to be victims."

'Izu' frowned, "Yeah, I know that but I have to see them myself."

Eraserhead quirked an eyebrow at that turn of phrase. On the other hand, 'Haari' nudged the boy's head with his nose with a blank face.

"We're too close. I cannot always heal you, Izu-chan."

"B-but you said I have to get more data to be better in analyzing quirks!"

"Yes," said 'Haari' as if it's going to explain everything wrong with their choices. He turned to face Eraserhead. "I am sorry about this. We're going to be more careful from now on."

He hummed. "I am Eraserhead. What are your names?"

The older one looked down on his brother who already nodded. Haari softly answered him, "He is Midoriya Izuku and I'm Harry, his companion quirk."

Eraserhead had to stop their steps. Hand held on Harry's arm while his mind was reeling with implication that the boy was basically all alone on that building. He wondered aloud, "You aren't siblings."

The quirk tilted his head then started to walk again. It was not hard for Eraserhead to pick up his pace since he was taller than Harry. Izuku blinked then thinned his lips to a straight line, found a new fascination on his jeans.

"No, we aren't," said Izuku, looking defeated. "Harry-nii can reduce most of my injuries and have a physical body of an eighteen-years-old whenever I want to. He cannot always be in this form. Sometimes he had to disappear to recover his power back."

Eraserhead eyes twitched. A quirk? Really? Looking at Izuku, he could feel the pounding echoes of the quirk factor. An emitter type. He really wanted to test it immediately but he held himself back. Harry was glancing at his direction with a similar air of disassociation although it's distinctly inhuman. Eraserhead stared back fully only to feel no pulse of quirk factor from Harry. Even quirkless had some sort of pulse.

The clue was the word 'inhuman.'

Harry scoffed and Izuku turned at him with an imploring look. The quirk stared directly to the boy's eyes as if they were having a silent conversation. One that Eraserhead was not invited.

"...You can disabled quirks!" gasped Izuku suddenly, "I've heard about you before. The underground hero who specialized at capturing villains! So, that scarf's the famous capturing tool, huh? So cool! You had to use it to compliment your weakness in the offense side of battle. Your goggles are for hiding where you're looking 'cause you can only disable one quirk at a time. So you put villains to the same ground as you then proceeded to fight quirkless which you're VERY capable of! Meaning multiple enemies is a big no-no for you. Also you can't keep up in a prolonged battle--"

Harry politely shut the boy's mouth, who continued to mumble which gradually became more vicious and morbid.

That got his attention, alright. "How did you know about me that much?"

Loyal to his emitter, Harry did not answer and let no more words escape Izuku's lips too. The boy pouted for being stopped before asking to be put down.

"This is our apartment. Thank you for walking us home, Eraserhead-san." Both Izuku and his quirk bowed politely.

Eraserhead forgot to talk to Midoriya's parents about the knives until the next morning. He had a headache coming.

He found a Problem Child who wasn't his student. Yet.

...xxx…

Chapter Text

Izuku returned into his apartment room, unlocked the door then immediately shut it. He let a shivering breath and leaned on the door. Harry, not even mad for being locked outside, traversed the wall then made all three knives hovered out of the teen's many pockets before proceeding to enter the kitchen. Seeing that, Izuku flinched.

Harry also could do telekinesis?

….No, it's nothing unusual. Harry-nii had been able to hover things around without any prompt from me before. Why am I shocked at this? 

Izuku didn't know what to think. There were times he wondered if his sentient quirk was hiding things from him. He remembered how Harry frowned at the idea of going outside at night as if he knew something bad would happen. 

Izuku looked down at his hands. 

If he must analyze himself, what was the most absurd thing that happened? What was the empty feeling meant? Had I ever got a side effect from whatever Harry-nii is doing? Every quirk has their own strengths and weaknesses, their source of power and their limitations. These are the very basic laws of quirk evolution. Sure, Harry-nii had to disappear sometimes but it was never on my own violation. As if he was actually a real person who was pretending to be---

His shoulders shook. He had to stop himself from thinking more questions. Harry-nii was his sentient quirk who was much smarter and calmer than Izuku ever in his entire life. He was never quirkless. Harry said so himself. Izuku had to trust Harry with no way around.

A hand fell on his left shoulder. He gasped but he didn't look up, his eyes stayed focused on a small crack on the floor where his shadow and Harry's joined.

Do you want me to answer them? The vibration of voice inside the freshly teenager's mind made him flinched. 

Izuku clenched his fists. "To answer what?"

Your questions.

A sweet fragrance swirled gently in the air. Harry put a cup of warm chocolate on the floor between them then sat down. Izuku remembered Harry taught him it was a way to entice someone to their comfort zone while decreasing their defense system… or something about making the atmosphere of neutral territory? Almost the same. Why did he need to push such a situation? Sure they just got caught by a hero and almost broke Izuku's happy family facade. But why did it make Izuku feel so...

Stop, Izu-chan. You'll hurt yourself again.

At that warning, Izuku finally faced Harry. He gulped. The eighteen-look-alike displayed a deep frowning face.

I've told you, haven't I? I am not exactly yours as much as you aren't mine. First and foremost, your quirk established our connection, allowing me to interfere with the living.

"Harry-nii… are you a person?"

...I was a person.

"Have you died?"

Yes, I was eighteen.

"But you aren't a ghost."

The older one hummed. He pulled Izuku's hand, led them to the cup then gently made the boy hold it. Warmth was blooming quickly in their hands.

Should I explain more? It is fine if you aren't ready. Within this room we have Time on our side.

Silence, then, sang loudly. The boy needed a distraction and quick! He took the cup then sniffed it out of habit. Tasting the brown sweetness, Izuku sipped on his cup quietly. While his body distracted, his train of thoughts started to run.

It was painfully obvious Harry was not human, less a cognitive representation of Izuku's mind. Izuku was supposed to be his emitter so, by that logic, their knowledge should be similar. In truth, Harry knew way more than a normal boy capable of knowing. The way Harry addressed aspects of the world were unique. How Time would never wait for you but it was the best healer for most injuries. How Life was not spiteful but very easily bored while playing games of Fate. How Harry could not interfere with the living but Izuku. They strangely sounded like talking about people.

Izuku was itching to analyze.

Harry's green eyes shone dimly. You may start with something I am bound to. You've known that for a while.

"...A set of rules," mumbled Izuku, "you're bound to them. Interfering with humans seems intolerable for people within these rules. Somehow I deviated from these rules. A quirk of my own. Making me the only human you can interfere without problem. I've become a way for you to interact with this side ."

Harry stared without any sign of movement.

Wetting his lips, Izuku continued, "That's why you choose to be my companion. Protecting me became a must. And yet, if Life decided to crush my life, you stayed away. No, you never actually pointed out what choices I should have made. I don't… I can't understand why you're doing all of these. Every time I hurt, you'll heal me. Never interrupting Kacchan from hurting me in the first place. Even after everyone could see you… you'll simply heal me. Not that I'm not grateful to be saved."

Okay, you're going in a circle. Harry huffed a laugh. My bad. I should have explained to you better. About my true existence.

The moment Harry grabbed Izuku's shoulder, they were stretched into a very Tiny hole then Izuku somehow already sat on his bed with the chocolate cup secured within both hands and Harry leaned to the bedside while sitting lotus pose. Coughing in sudden need of air, Izuku curled on himself.

"D-did we just teleport t-to my bedroom?!" asked the boy with high pitch at the end.

Harry hummed.

Flabbergasted by the casual response, Izuku looked… no, observed him with widened eyes. So many questions were shouting inside his head, he could only sputtered nonsensical words.

"I was," started Harry with actual vocal, "...born in England, 1981, with special abilities. At that time quirks were not yet known publicly and were not part of genetic hereditary, sort of. We called it differently and it was a taboo for us to show even a glimpse of what we could do in front of Muggles, normal people. Basically, I was a member of that secret community."

The moment the boy heard the year, he gasped. That's almost a thousand years ago! No wonder Harry often said 'nearest term known'. Next thing that came out of his mouth was even more surprising, quirks were already there too but were hidden? All he had learned from history class was the first quirk appearance was about three hundred years ago and not a thousand. Harry then proceeded with the tale of an orphan youth that was hidden from the secret community despite having a serious amount of 'special power'.

"I didn't know until my eleven birthday that I'm a wizard."

"H-huh? Wait, so you're saying that wizard is real?! Then is magic real too? Like sparkling waving wand stuff and unicorns and dragons were real too?" Izuku took a deep breath. He managed to squeak, "Are all of your skills so far also you doing magic?"

"Some when alive. Healing spells were after."

Oh, right. He died at the age of eighteen.

Harry glanced at the boy, unblinking. "Throughout my short life, my head was wanted by a serial killer, the most dreadful Dark Lord known for decades. We had two wars with him going, first before my birth then when I was fourteen. The moment I set foot back on the magical side of Britain, I was always in constant danger because of Him. At seventeen, I had to run away with my friends while trying to find and destroy the Dark Lord's way to stay immortal. Many died throughout the whole mess until the war was focused on The Magical School, Hogwarts then I died by The Dark Lord's hand as prophesied. The next day, He was killed by the other candidate of that prophecy.

You want to know why I am still here and not going to the afterlife realm. The only reason was that I, unknowingly, collected three specific things during the last year. The invisibility cloak, The Elder Wand and The Resurrection Stone. All three make The Deathly Hallows."

Izuku tilted his head, unfamiliar with the terms. Harry took a paper and pencil from the boy's supply then drew an odd triangular symbol with a circle and a line dead center while explaining about the Deathly Hallows' tale.

"Legend says they were from Death itself and if you have all three, you will be The Master of Death."

"...Master of Death," repeated Izuku. His eyes were unfocused. "I was right. You're a deity. A God? I don't think that's the right word. More like… an Omnipresence of Death?" The boy, then, stood up. He opened his mouth but no voice came out. He drank all of the chocolate with eagerness. When it was empty, the cup was placed on the coffee table by the bedside. Despite calming down, he still did not say anything.

"Izu-chan?"

He raised his hand, a signal to stop. "I-I need to process all of these. There is so much… information. Uhh, can I- May I write some of them on my notes? I know it's a very world breaking scale of secrecy. Sooo…"

"Of course."

"And, uh… I might ask you more questions? If that's okay?"

This time, Harry tilted his head to a side. "You aren't angry with me."

"W-what? No! Why s-should I?"

"I blatantly lied to you about being your companion quirk."

Izuku scratched the back of his head. "Oh, right. That too. I guess, seeing a deity can actually be my quirk. I can't say for sure because Harry-nii is the only one. No other deity has ever tried to meet us, right? You've been with me since I was a baby. So saying you're my companion quirk isn't that far off from the truth. This is going to be bad if we aren't wording our explanation right to the Quirk Counsellor."

Listening to the boy reasoned, Harry was amazed. What a brilliant mind, it's unnerving. Another niggling warning occurred. Midoriya Izuku's soul sang brighter within the pitch dark of Harry's aura.

He shivered.

...xxx…

UA - Teacher Office

Aizawa Shouta needed to sleep.

It had been three days after meeting the odd brat with that quirk of his. The boy who knew a lot about Eraserhead who had been hiding from the press since his debut. Sure, as a hero, he could simply barge in their home and interrogate their mom but it was not morally and socially condoned. Especially when the boys had done nothing bad. He was just that close to look through Midoriya Izuku's Public Data.

He did not tell anyone about their encounter despite Present Mic, Yamada Hizashi, was with him that night. It was not his best friend's business. Hell, it was not his own business. That boy was returned home safe and sound!  

The boy had a knife, alone, in the middle of the night… who insisted on watching the hero-villain fight with his own eyes for whatever reason. He knew too much about me, an underground hero, for a normal fanboy should. If that doesn't sound like an attempt on criminalism or vigilantism, what else? Was he studying that fight? For what purpose? 

Shouta sighed to his scarf then leaned on his chair. 

Midnight and Snipe whose tables were nearby stopped at whatever they were doing to glance at him. The R-rated heroine jerked her head obviously at the Underground Hero while Snipe shrugged his shoulders unrepentantly. Midnight, also known as Kayama Nemuri, shot a glare to the other teacher before took out her phone to type;

Midnight

[Get your ass HERE!]

[  ¯\(°_o)/¯ ]

[Eraserhead is even more restless than normal.]

[He already had his whole class expelled last April! What else can make him like that again?]

Present Mic

[WHAT?! On My Way!]

Midnight

[Hurry! \( ö )/ ]

As soon as she sent it, a rapt footsteps grew louder and louder before the teacher lounge's door was opened wide, showing Present Mic screeching.

"WHAT IS THIS I HEARD, SHOUTA?! YOU'RE BEING RESTLESS? THAT'S BAD OMEN!"

"Omaigod why," hissed Eraserhead as he rubbed his forehead. In the background, Midnight snickered at the evolving scene and Snipe slipped out of the room.

Hizashi proceeded to swagger towards his best buddy. "SOMETHING IS BOTHERING YOU! You've been making those weird faces since last monday. BUT FIRST, want some coffee?"

"Please."

Nodding, Present Mic moved to the other side of the room. Seeing a chance, Shouta glared at Midnight accusingly. She propped herself to lean on the divider between her desk and Shouta's, a pen on her left ear, then grinned.

She declared, "I just don't want another twenty some kids got thrown out of Heroic dept. this semester."

Eraserhead continued glaring.

Present Mic returned with three hot cups, expertly held on their handle. At that point, most teachers were already leaving for their next classes. The trio had a free period until lunch. They gathered around Eraserhead desk often because of their similar schedule especially since the underground hero had no 1-A class to teach anymore this year.

"ALRIGHT! NOW. SPILL!" said Hizashi.

Nemuri sipped on her cup.

"...It isn't really a problem. Well, a bit. I don't have any real proof to deal with," started Shouta slightly unsure. "Remember our last night patrol?"

"The reptile Trio, right? You sent Mic first to send them to the police..." Nemuri blinked. "Did they escape?"

Shouta shook his head, "It isn't about them. When I tried to capture the oldest one, I saw two people nearby. I didn't tell Hizashi because they're… civilians. Teenage boys to be exact. He needed to focus on the villains so I had to be the one to control other situations."

"Well, if they're just civilians, why are you being so worked up?" asked Hizashi.

"They had a kitchen knife with them."

Nemuri's eyes glazed slightly. "Teenage boys with a knife at midnight at an office building? I can see why you're sweating over them."

"Technically, it was a boy with some kind of sentient quirk. It looked like an older version of himself if he was born in Europe. Meaning…"

"THE LITTLE LISTENER WAS ALL ALONE?! That's not good! Did you walk them home?"

Eraserhead nodded. "I didn't get to meet his parents before they ran up to their apartment."

"How old is he?" asked Hizashi, leaning forward.

"Younger than our first year. Maybe still in elementary. His quirk, however, had a body age between sixteen and nineteen. Although, they acted way older than their looks. Before you ask, yes, I know his name. No, I'm not telling."

Nemuri scoffed in fake annoyance. "Of course, you won't. Did you even try to find his public info? Just in case…"

Raising his hand, Shouta put his thumb and his index finger in front of his head, almost touching. "I was this close."

"Oh, The Greatest Question of All Time for Heroes! Where does the line of privacy end?" sobbed Present Mic extravagantly.

If Shouta sipped the coffee noisily, the sound was covered by these laughing hyenas he called friends.

Nemuri being the instigator of that conversation narrowed her eyes and smiled unpleasantly. "So, what are you going to do to the poor innocent kid?"

"You know very well I cannot do anything to someone outside UA's connection."

"Well now that's not true." She licked her lips wet, "Outside of the rules, staying right at the gray lines, we all know that's your specialty! What's going to stop you?"

Eraserhead leaned back in his chair, scowling. She doesn't even know about the boy's observation skills.

...xxx…

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku, fourteen, sat in his newly established classroom 2-E. Since their local middle school had no competitors nearby, the students total was high. Despite that, Izuku's status as the only quirkless in their school spread faster than fire, amplified by the fact he held the top score since fourth grade. He was jeered, ignored and avoided for most of his days.

Izuku dreaded the day he had to update his quirk info. He was already in eight grade and UA admission was nineteen months away.

He hated how society judged a person for something he couldn't control, something they're born with. If everyone knew about his quirk, they would judge him for something else. The amount of unfairness after hearing the stories of ancient humans from Harry was also heartwrenching. It was like an endless circle of 'bad things'. They kept coming in various ways. Some abruptly, some very slowly and some actually planned in a madness of a well-meaning phase. 

He was obviously influenced by Harry's nihilistic attitude.

Suddenly, the door slammed open. Bakugou Katsuki with a permanent scowl as his face locked on Izuku who pretended to be listening to his earphones. He clicked his tongue before going to his assigned table, by Izuku's right. It had been awhile since they were in the same class, Izuku realized.

If he had a say, Izuku was proud to say Katsuki grew taller than him and showed well-formed muscles for arms. Must be from his quirk drawbacks, explosions.

"Oy, Deku," snarled Kacchan.

"That is not my name, Bakugou," snarked Izuku back.

"Finally have some spines, Deku? You're still a stupidly useless quirkless nerd."

"Says the guy ranked second."

"FUCKING SHITHEAD! I'll fuckin' kill you!"

Sighing, Izuku stopped pretending and turned his body fully towards Katsuki. His eyes were shining eerily as he opened both arms up. "Go ahead. Kill me. It's not like anyone here will stop you."

Harry hovered behind his back invisible to anyone's eyes but Izuku. If the boy glanced back, he would see a deep frown on his face.

Katsuki, being sixty percent animalistic, flinched. He sensed a dangerous aura but couldn't pinpoint from who. It was not bloodlust or murderous, heck, not even hatred. One true Death. It vanished not a minute later.

Confused, he growled low. Suspiciously alert at his ex-childhood friend.

He was not expecting Izuku to be readily attacked and stayed at ease. Sure he had actively put Deku down to his place in the past but now being told challengingly by the boy himself, Katsuki was having second thoughts. He disliked how the word 'kill' rolled on Deku's tongue as easily as saying 'It's going to rain'.

The green eyes narrowed and his smile twisted.

"Don't you want me to stop trying to be a Hero? Don't you want me to know my place as a Useless Quirkless Idiot? It's easy, right? All you have to do is to put your hand on where my heart is then BOOM! You had trained multiple times already, why not go further? And If my ribs somehow managed to keep it safe, you can keep on exploding--"

"Shut up."

"--until they break and my heart will be entirely vulnerable. Only then you can topple me to where I should be. Because no one should EVER be above The Great Bakugou Katsuki. Oh no. It won't be counted as murder because I'm being smarter than you is already a crime, meaning I'm a villain. A villain that needed to be put down."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

Feeling a bit reckless, Izuku rubbed Katsuki's hair lovingly. "It's okay. Don't worry. Everyone won't bat an eye. They will congratulate you for beating the useless quirkless villain. You'll still be able to go to the UA. Maybe even with a recommendation."

Then the familiar blast bloomed.

Harry was angry and rightfully so.

He knew the long peace would end eventually and Izuku was already so tired of being looked down undeservedly despite not being bullied physically as much anymore. He retaliated to the wrong person. The human known for his explosive personality, Izuku's childhood friend, Bakugou Katsuki. He had seen how Bakugou always acted around and any mention of his little brother.

Then Izuku acted stupid.

Then an explosion.

Of course everything ended with explosions when we're talking about Bakugou. Harry wanted to strangle both children while feeding them with so much sugar they would be too full to get emotional. Ugh, hormonal teenagers. How many times did he need to heal burns from their fights only? Hundreds.

Unfortunately, the current explosion was bigger than the last time. Harry emerged immediately, breaking his own rule of interference, to pull the broken body of Izuku. Bakugou's eyes widened, shocked at losing control of the quirk and also at a familiar figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He was about to shout when their new classmates caught his arms, trying desperately to stop the fight.

"Izu-chan," murmured Harry softly.

The boy coughed a bit. Part of his uniform burned along with the skin underneath. Angry red flamed from the base of his neck, center of chests to left arm. Harry ignored the voice of adults coming in, as he put his hand over the injuries. 

"You! What are you doing to him? Where are you coming from?!"

Harry closed his eyes, focusing his magic to reduce all of the inflamed skin. The burned flesh was much deeper than he could reach without surgery. A quarter of Izuku's left lung was bruised too. Small light emitted from his hand before he opened his eyes again.

"...I cannot heal him fully. The burning reached his left lung," said Harry calmly to no one in particular, "he needs to go to hospital."

"Burning? What are you talking--"

"Call an ambulance."

Someone behind the shouting adult responded, "On it!"

He turned to Bakugou who was gawking. Harry's face unchanged. The brat blinked unaware of the panic around them. He was obviously trying to reconstruct what just happened from memories.

Finally, a teacher came. She stopped at the sight of Izuku being cradled by a man with a glowing hand. The angry red on his skin was changing to pink then pale white scars.

"Can someone tell me what happened here?" asked the teacher, completely disturbed but stayed in control.

It was a student with a long eyes quirk who answered, "Uhh, we aren't sure. One moment De-uhh, Midoriya was talking with Katsuki. Then suddenly BOOM! Then that man appeared and proceeded to catch Midoriya from falling. I think he has a healing quirk or something… his hand has been glowing for ten minutes straight but it barely made a dent of those burns."

The teacher snapped her attention to Bakugou. The only student with Explosion quirk. "Bakugou, go to the Headmaster's office. We're calling your parents."

Still in shock of what he had done, Bakugou walked out.

"And we need to call Midoriya's mother too."

Harry shook his head. "No, there's no need. I'm his legal guardian."

"...And who might you be, sir? You may have been trying to help our student but you've trespassed a private building."

Unsure what to say, he silently asked Izuku who was barely coherent.

Izu-chan, an ambulance is about to come. Should I introduce myself now?

They knew the truth would be discovered as soon as they reached the Hospital. Izuku's eyes moved to meet him before he nodded firmly. No going back now.

Right on time huh? Eight grade.

Harry breathed in. "Midoriya Harry, Izuku's companion quirk, specialized in self-healing, at your service."

...xxx…

Detective Tsukauchi was the one who answered a call from the hospital. An accident happened in the local middle school and a student was greatly injured. They said the preparator lost control of their quirk which 'accidentally' burned the quirkless top-scoring student on their first day. Both were immediately separated. Well, the injured one was taken to the hospital while the other was sent to their headmaster. The strange things were no one could get a hold on the victims parents and a stranger showed up suddenly and titled himself as a quirk of that quirkless boy.

The headache started there.

No one could separate the man, 'Harry', from the boy. When they thought he was under a quirk suppressant, the man vanished. Later on, they found the man sat by Midoriya's supposed bed even though the boy in context had yet to come out of surgery. The man was captured once again but no one was able to move him. He did not say a word or even look at their way. He simply stared to where the boy laid, unblinking.

A human-lie-detector was obviously needed to crack the puzzle. Since it was related to a quirk problem, he contacted a quirk counsellor and arranged a check up for the boy. Tsukauchi arrived half an hour after the call. With the help of nurses, he went to the boy's room. It was supposedly for six people but the whole room was emptied because of 'Harry' odd existence.

Midoriya Izuku was put on the furthest bed away from the entrance. Meanwhile, 'Harry' sat on a chair by the boy, held a face of tranquility as if his hands were not handcuffed to the bed and nothing to fear. His face was clear on sight.

Tsukauchi hesitated. A foreigner… I should've told Toshinori to come with me. Reading someone with different base language as himself often resulted with misinterpretation. He had to play by the nose for now. There were still ways to know if someone was lying after all. Just in case, he started a recording via his phone.

He cleared his throat. "Midoriya Harry?"

The man did not respond.

"I'm Detective Tsukauchi. If it's alright, we need to talk," he continued, "Your name was registered within the Midoriya Household as the adopted son of Midoriya Inko. Is this correct?"

"That is true," responded Harry softly.

Not a lie. "Yet the government has no other documents about you. No birth paper, no quirk registry, no graduation, no immigration. Nothing. As if you aren't actually recorded within our system except from the adoption paper."

"That is true," he repeated.

Still no lies. "Then, can you explain to me who you are?"

At that accusing tone, Harry finally faced the detective. Calculating. "...Your quirk won't work on us. Call Eraserhead if you have to. Nothing will change… I will stay here until Izu-chan says otherwise. We cannot be separated."

Eraserhead? That's new.

"You know an underground hero. Was he aware of you?"

Harry glanced at the sleeping form of Midoriya Izuku. "We met years ago."

The way he addressed himself as 'we' was another concern. Tsukauchi could see how Harry firmly believed himself as part of the boy, that he would not derived from his supposedly owner's choices. Was it possessiveness, obsession or overprotective? He could not dissect the answer solely from Harry's eternally calm demeanor. The man might be a genius actor or downright a sociopath to keep constant tranquility even in front of a police. He was captured and handcuffed twice already and he did not even flinch once. Tsukauchi became hyper-aware of the possibility Harry was a super villain only the darkest world knew about.

A movement made Tsukauchi and Harry turned their heads. The youngest was waking up. Soft clicking sound echoed then Harry was already petting through the dark curls. Tsukauchi didn't notice since when the handcuffs were dangling on the bed handler and not on Harry's. 

A small whine arose before a mumble of "Harry-nii…"

"Good morning, Izu-chan," greeted the foreigner with a touch of smile.

Tsukauchi noted how Harry showed emotions only to Izuku.

"Anywhere hurt?"

The boy looked thoughtful then shook his head. He whispered, "Mostly sore. A bit itchy on my left side. That's about it."

A partial lie. Ah, my quirk is still working on the boy then. Phew.

Harry nodded. "I managed to salvage most of the deep burning from actually breaking your pores and nerves in that area. How's your lung?"

Not a lie.

"Uuh, fine, I guess?" The boy scratched behind his head and only then noticed the detective. "O-oh! Um, hello sir."

"Hello, Midoriya-kun. I am Detective Tsukauchi."

"...Um, Why are you here? S-sorry. I mean no offense." The boy moved nearer to the self-proclaimed quirk who ruffled the dark curls away from his face.

A case of codependent maybe? "The hospital reported your accident to the police after they couldn't contact your mother. Also that… Midoriya Harry-san refused to leave you."

Izuku sighed tiredly as if he had explained himself multiple times. "Mom is away working. It's been just the two of us for years anyway. We knew it counted as child abandonment but we didn't… want to be sent away. We're doing fine on our own despite the obvious lack of 'adults' supervision. Harry-nii is enough. He basically has been with me as long as I could remember."

Ooh, boy. The fact this fourteen years old was able to explain so clearly proved they had prepared all the answers for their backgrounds. From the sound of it, he was not under the influence of Stockholm syndrome. No fear of being betrayed. Midoriya Izuku trusted his 'Harry-nii' more than anyone else. What a naive child.

"Is it true that Midoriya Harry is your quirk?" asked Tsukauchi, who decided to change the topic.

"Harry-nii is Harry-nii. He keeps me as healthy as possible. He may have otherworldly quality but he is as sentient as we are."

Tsukauchi nodded in acceptance. What a strange paraphrasing. The boy was trying to protect the foreigner and it showed. He was not lying but what he said was not the whole truth. They omitted something the detective was yet to understand. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Harry-nii isn't a human. He is my companion quirk no one ever knew because no one could see him!" shouted Izuku. "It's only in recent years I could make everyone else sees him! At that point Mom was a-already--!" A frustrated growl emerged from the teen's throat alarming the passerby.

The detective felt bad. Izuku was telling what he perceived as truth but it did not make sense for other people. He may not be an expert on profiling but his instinct as a detective made him worried. The quirkless orphan, at some point, was deluded to believe that this man was indeed his quirk. Wait, does that mean it's a kidnapping case too? He was utterly confused.

Unfortunately, their conversation was interrupted by concerned nurses for the boy's stress right after being burned by his classmate. I have to ask about that too on a later date. He still had to examine the recording result.

Through all of it, Midoriya Harry watched from the sideline. Green eyes dully unblinking.

...xxx…

Chapter Text

Getting a call from Tsukauchi was not a usual occurrence, Yagi Toshinori also known as The Number One Hero, All Might, wondered if his friend was troubled. With a practiced swipe, he received the call.

"Hello, Naomasa-kun. Is something the matter?" asked Yagi immediately.

"Hello, Toshi. Do you have free time this ten o'clock? I need your input on… a case."

"Fortunately, I do!" He smiled widely. "Where are we meeting? Your office or the usual cafe?"

Naomasa silenced for a moment. "Cafe. We'll choose where to go after we meet."

Solid plan as usual. "Alright. See you."

--click.

All Might wondered why Naomasa sounded more scared than his usual sharp tone. He said something about a case. Knowing his friend, it must be related to children. Any cases related to underage civilians always managed to crack the detective's mask of indifference after all.

Alright, time to finish up the patrol!

...xxx...

The establishment was within a residential area by the narrow alley. No transportation bigger than a bicycle could enter them. So it was rarely known but to the neighbours. That's why it's pretty famous between Underground Heroes and Vigilantes, dubbed as neutral territory. There were a few open tables at the entrance, several cubicle seating on the northside and upper floor towards the terrace area.

When 10 A.M. came, Yagi in his skeletal form had chosen the cubicle in the deepest. A cup of red tea was set in front of him. A bell rang, Tsukauchi entered it and looked around. His eyes found the very tall friend a second later then he turned to the waiter to make an order while pointing at his friend. After it's done, the waiter started to be busy and Tsukauchi stalked to where Yagi was.

"Come sit down. How're you?" greeted disguised All Might with a bright smile.

The detective tilted his head as he sat across the table. "Could be worse. Been here long?"

"No, I just finished my patrol quota today."

The waiter came with a cup of black coffee and two glazed donuts then put them in front of the black haired man. Naomasa nodded his thanks to the waiter who bowed slightly and returned to his post. 

All Might subtly leaned in. "...So, what did you want to ask about?"

Sipping on his cup, Naomasa looked down. "First, for your information, my quirk can misinterpret when I'm facing a person with non-Japanese as their mother tongue. The current case I'm handling is connected to a foreigner pretending as a quirk of a quirkless teen. He is quite adamant about it too. That's why I need someone else to break the language barrier while I focus on feeling his mind."

I guessed right, it's related with children. "Pretending to be a quirk? Now that's a first." Yagi blinked in a thoughtful way. "So, you wanted me to ask him a few questions? I can do that."

"Thank you, Toshi." The detective sighed longingly. "...Before we go, I have to contact someone first."

...xxx...

At lunch time, Eraserhead was called by UA's Headmaster, Nedzu, in a coded message. It seemed to be a police officer trying to find him as soon as possible privately. He wasn't thrilled. Usually, he wouldn't accept such vague requests outside of his agency and in short notice. Although, for a person trying to contact him via The Sadistic Nedzu, he must be suicidal or from a higher rank.

Clicking his tongue, Aizawa abandoned his nap time. This better be good.

As soon as he arrived, he rapped knuckles on the door and waited for an answer. The squeaky voice told him to enter. He twisted the handle then pushed. Inside, a spacious room with burgundy carpet and wide glass-window, was Nedzu himself and two males. A black-haired man in suit, an emitter quirk. It was Tsukauchi Naomasa, the local detective of Musutafu area. Eraserhead glanced at the last person sitting next to him, a skeletal male with bright yellow hair. He sensed a sluggish pulse of quirk factor but couldn't pinpoint which type it was.

He greeted them with a small bow.

"Ah, Aizawa-kun! Please sit down! Sit down. There's someone in dire need of your assistance. You've met Tsukauchi-kun, correct?" said Nedzu.

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Good. Good," he repeated himself with an unreadable smile. "Next to him is a friend of his, Yagi Toshinori. Detective, if you please…"

Tsukauchi held a rigid body language of 'at ease' which was ironically not. He turned in his seat towards Eraserhead, ready for serious business. "First, I have to let you know that everything within today's conversation is part of an ongoing investigation. It must stay a secret from the public."

Eraserhead agreed. He knew it was simply a formality that Tsukauchi had to say before gathering information from witnesses and professional opinions but hearing it first-hand he already knew he wouldn't like it.

"We are currently handling a case of child abuse, quirk illegal usage and possibly kidnapping. The victim is… Midoriya Izuku, fourteen years old, registered as quirkless. It started when a classmate attacked him in their classroom which resulted in the victim's quarter of upper body badly burned. The ambulance was called in after a trespasser appeared to heal the victim."

That's… bad. He was feeling vaguely familiar with that name too. Instead of giving out his mind, Aizawa said, "I don't see why you need my help. My specialties are within the range of lesser villains and vigilantes."

The skeletal man hummed in agreement. Eraserhead tried his best not to glare at the unknown variable.

Tsukauchi took a deep breath and pulled a photo of a man with black wavy hair and electric green eyes from his pocket.  "After an interrogation, the trespasser named you as someone who knew of his presence. He insisted that he was Midoriya Izuku's quirk despite all of the facts registered said otherwise. Do you recognize this person?"

"Green eyes… Is his name 'Harry'?" Aizawa received a nod. "Yes. I met him and a boy about three years ago. It was so bizarre, I needed a month to forget. They acted as if they were siblings but I am still unsure of what their relationship was. I remember I couldn't sense any quirk factor from this 'Harry'."

"So this man is… quirkless?" asked Yagi carefully.

"No. Even a quirkless still has a glimpse of pulse at least. 'Harry' had none. He was so unlike humans, I don't think he's alive in the first place." That's one of the reasons I couldn't get over it , and stayed unsaid.

"Anything else?"

Aizawa had to think for a moment. He wondered if it would help the investigation, "Midoriya Izuku somehow knew about me then analyzed my quirks and how it affected my fighting style within a few minutes. He's extremely precise."

"Well," cut Nedzu suddenly, "that's interesting. It may be safe to say that 'Harry' is really a sentient quirk. Enough to drop the 'possibly kidnapping' from your case entirely. I presume he refused to leave Midoriya Izuku? Yes, that is the logical instinct of a quirk to have. They will try to protect their emitter. What does the victim's parents have to say?"

Tsukauchi shook his head. "Unfortunately, both the hospital and the police could not contact either of them. Later on, Midoriya Izuku admitted that his mom had left him five years ago. The father is out of the picture even before that. We found their divorce papers."

"Child abandonment… so that's the 'child abuse' part, huh. Meaning he may have built distrust of adults, using his quirk to pretend his life stayed unchanged. The boy is pretty good at being hidden that long from the law and order. A mark of a good spy."

"We are trying to piece all of the evidence to pursue the mother. There's a big chance she's currently living under different names and left Japan already," argued Tsukauchi slightly offended.

"Ah, then the next question, what will happen to the boy?" responded Nedzu casually. 

Aizawa glanced at the headmaster. The boy would be put within the foster system obviously. Although, as Nedzu had noted, Midoriya would and could simply disappear once more. His distrust of adults might become stronger if they forced him without a constant to ground him. How he was still registered as quirkless showed that he hid Harry's true existence. Meaning, everyone thought he was a poor quirkless kid for his entire life. He was badly burned; he needed to go to the hospital for heaven's sake! Bullied by peers, that's for sure.

"It is going to be hard but he is still underage. He will be under our protection for the time being," admitted Tsukauchi darkly.

Aizawa snapped, "And then what? Put the child back with the woman who abandoned him for the last five years? Or to the father who has gone MIA even longer? Or to the relatives who don't even notice their disappearance? He had been hidden this long to avoid being removed from his home. He needed a stable and committed guardian. I'm sure, the boy cannot handle being alone any much longer. He would break."

Yagi and Tsukauchi glanced at each other. They knew by law Midoriya Izuku would be put under the protection of foster care. Whether he was going to be separated from 'Harry' or not, the boy would no longer be allowed to stay alone. If the boy was truly good at analyzing someone as secretive as Eraserhead, people would start to notice. Both good and bad. The boy would be anyone's fair game. Yagi personally disgusted at the thought of holding the boy from freedom but someone must, preferably a hero.

"Anyway, was the attacker received punishment for it?" huffed Eraserhead. "We've been talking about Midoriya but I didn't hear anything from you about the other boy."

Yagi startled then glanced at Tsukauchi questioningly. This time, the detective ignored his friend in favor of staring at Eraserhead.

"...What?" asked Aizawa. Eyes narrowed.

"Their Headmaster decided to keep the punishment within the school rules since Midoriya had no official guardian to sue either the school or the Bakugous. Seven days suspension last time I heard," explained Tsukauchi.

"Fantastic," snarled Eraserhead. "Are you saying not only the boy was badly injured, he had to pay his own hospital costs and he will meet his bully right after he's healed? You have the gall to be more focused on whether the boy is quirkless or not. This is getting ridiculous."

Wisely Tsukauchi glanced away and stayed silent.

The headmaster sipped on his cup. Nedzu watched the humans contemplate the boy's future. He was pretty sure Eraserhead would take Midoriya Izuku in if there's a glimpse of people taking advantage of the boy's mind. On the other hand, as the smartest creature within the room, Nedzu could develop such ability the most.

"Then, I can provide Midoriya Izuku's health insurance without problem, right?" said Nedzu suddenly at Tsukauchi.

The detective nodded but Yagi looked understandably worried.

"If I may ask the reason why?" asked the disguised All Might.

"I want the boy to stay within UA," declared Nedzu. "He has been tortured by humans to fit their own advantages. From all of his school reports, he is always on the top three. The boy is smart and persistent. Not to forget his analysis. Such skill must be protected from the wrong sorts."

Eraserhead sighed. Of course that's what Nedzu is going to focus on. He understood where the boy would be nurtured was important. Anyone could take advantage of the boy's skill set with little consequence.

"And I want to ruin that school of his."

Tsukauchi gaped at Nedzu. "I didn't just hear that. You know I'm still a government employee, right? I cannot know you're planning blackmail."

"Precisely! As soon as Midoriya Izuku is under my protection, I will send an official sue of Onodera Elementary and Middle School for ignoring multiple abuse of a student. I'm pretty sure ninety percent of the staff had been ignoring the bullying. As far as I've heard, the preparator doesn't even get a slap on his wrist. Right, Tsukauchi-kun?"

Clenching his fists, Tsukauchi half bowed at the only creature in the room, "Seeing a possible foresight does not mean you can do anything illegally, Headmaster Nedzu."

"Please, I'm The Headmaster of UA. Finding small data is my expertise. I didn't use it to harm without proof, you see. Still, I need to meet the child first. He should be free right now. What do you think about Aizawa-kun? Want to see your fanboy at long last?"

Eraserhead smirked.

"Then it's settled!" grinned Nedzu.

...xxx…

Chapter Text

In a hospital room, Harry was standing in front of an open window. Green eyes stared at something even Izuku refused to know. He just stood there like a mannequin, making the nurses too nervous to enter the perimeter alone. They had to come in pairs.

The sun was halfway to the horizon. The sky was on its way to twilight. From where Izuku sat, Harry's back seemed to be broader as the sun outlined his body. They wondered if Harry was actually bored.

A flicker.

Izuku simply glanced at his companion then gave a nod before continuing writing in his Quirk's Analysis Journal. He had a fantastic interview with the nurse that could produce minor healing substances from her hair which must be recorded to be analyzed further.

Harry turned his heels and finally moved away, turning into scrawls of ripped satin then vanished right through the door similar to a magical creature known as Dementor*. The Master of Death had a duty nearby which usually involved some soul resisting their fate. The hospital had oh so many dying souls. Today had four souls already in need of assistance. From what Harry explained to Izuku, he normally would send his 'angels' to send souls to their rightful place but because he was nearby, he went there by himself.

After the revelation of Harry's identity, he told many tales of Souls Unfinished  Business and, yes, he said them with capitals. As the last judge, Harry must decide what punishment, by their own belief, needed before they entered the afterlife. Souls always resisted and might even escape for a couple of decades yet, they would always return to him in the end. The boy's mind was filled with the truth beyond heroics and villains. Of human legacies and destroyed historical events. Of wars and blind faith. The end is inevitable. After all, no one escaped Death.

He was nurtured to be open minded and be unassuming. To always see from many perspectives and to see from his own believe, all at once. Subconsciously aware that Harry was mentoring him to be his successor. Izuku didn't hate the idea of it. His giant scythe was really cool looking!

...xxx...

Whilst he's daydreaming, Tsukauchi had knocked on the door and entered the ward with two men and a creature followed behind. The detective was surprised to see no hair of the possibly sentient quirk. His eyes easily flew to the frail-looking boy on the last bed. They had removed the heart monitor and the bandages on Midoriya's face. He sighed softly. His green eyes were glazed as if half-asleep and they were unmoved from a worn-looking-book on his lap. Pen had slipped from his right hand with its nib uncovered. 

The boy hadn't noticed their arrival.

"Good Afternoon, Midoriya-kun," greeted Tsukauchi.

Snapped awake, the boy jumped a bit. He blinked the sleepiness away before his face flushed. "A-afternoon, sir. Is there something I can help you with?"

Eraserhead rose an eyebrow, lips twitched. The boy barely grew from the last time he saw him. His wide green eyes were bright and filled with curiosity, contrasting to the darkened crack of skin by his jaw. From the parts of the body he bore, the boy was thinner than average. The hero could see bones nudged his skin in a similar way with the skeleton man standing on Aizawa's right. There was not much color on the sickly pale skin to determine what emotion Midoriya tried to hide. 

"It is more what we can help you with. Before we start, I want to introduce you to these gentlemen." Tsukauchi walked further in, letting both heroes on display. "I heard you've met Eraserhead and on his left is Nedzu, Headmaster of Yuuei Highschool. At the back is Yagi Toshinori, a friend of mine, from All Might Agency."

In another lifetime, Izuku would squeal very loudly (OH MY GOD, THERE'S SOMEONE FROM ALL MIGHT AGENCY! ERASERHEAD CAME TOO! WHY?! OH GOODIE, CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPHS??) but being in constant touch with Harry, the boy was numb. He politely bowed on them with a serene expression that was not as tranquil as Harry's. It still managed to make the three humans uncomfortable.

When Izuku's eyes subtly brightened, the dust on air seemed to glide slower than normal which Nedzu noticed very well. It shone like stars around the dark halo of wavy hair around Izuku's innocent face. Yuuei Headmaster hummed, interested.

"It is an honor to meet such esteem heroes." Izuku paused here. "Midoriya Izuku is me. If you're looking for Harry-nii, he had to step out for an hour or two."

"Ah, yes, I was wondering…" responded Tsukauchi in a placated tone.

"Harry-nii deemed I won't sustain any harm for a while. At least he trusts the hospital enough to leave me. He's such a mother hen."

Eraserhead huffed in disbelief. "I can still feel your quirk actively pulsing, Problem Child. Do you want to do this the hard way or just talk plainly?"

Tsukauchi glanced at the hero. He had not detected any lies coming from Midoriya nor Eraserhead. Surely, the boy stopped emitting when his sentient quirk wasn't around.

Izuku blinked slowly to Eraserhead. "Do what? I-I don't understand. Why are you called in? Not that I'm not happy to meet you again, sir, but seriously, why? I am in control of m-my quirk, thank you very much!"

Oh, wow. Tsukauchi watched on as the boy's nervousness leaked out. He saw mixed signals even without his quirk beeped a 'LIE' out loud. What is the boy playing at?

"Oh?" Eraserhead narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Then please explain why I was informed that you're not only registered quirkless and had been alone for how long God knows with only your quirk, no one knew about , for help. Why didn't you tell me three years ago?" I could have helped you sooner, was left unsaid.

"...m's said…" mumbled the boy. Izuku looked away. Defensive.

"Yes?"

"Mom said I would be sent to an orphanage if anyone knew. I… I just… I can't… After declaring quirkless, no one ever stopped them from hurting me. I had no one but Harry-nii. Harry-nii said it's wrong but Mom's last letter… I know I'm stupid. I shouldn't have listened but I just can't bring myself to… to…" Izuku took a deep breath. "The moment I fix my quirk registry, everyone will know and that will be a bad end for me. True, Harry-nii warned me that somehow, someway, the truth would come out whether I like it or not. B-but I just can't not follow my mom's words, can I?"

Listening to the whispery confession, the adults felt a twinge in their heart. The boy had been holding in a lot and never reached out for help. As if he believed no one would even care about his well being. The letters must have traumatized him.

Tsukauchi spoke up, "Do you keep that letter? It may help for the case."

"...My mom won't be harmed if I give you the letter?" asked Midoriya, eyes brimming with tears. "If there's a way she won't get harmful persecution?"

The child had a bleeding heart on his sleeve. The adults weren't sure what to answer such pleading.

"No." Suddenly, Harry walked out the wall behind Izuku, a black hooded cloak hugged his body and something, suspiciously looked like a giant scythe, dispersed. He frowned at the tears on his little brother's face but made no movement to comfort. Startled, the guests changed their stance into battle-ready.

"Harry-nii!" relief drenched in Izuku's voice. "They want Mom's letter."

"Hm, is that so?" responded Harry simply.

Tsukauchi and Nedzu gestured a 'stand-down' to the others. Eraserhead being the only one in a friendly term with both boys walked to the other side of the rooms, nearing the companion quirk. Yagi awkwardly scratched his elbow, trying to stop the itch to yank back Eraser. On the other hand, Nedzu's instinct to be submissive flared but he knew that Harry would be the one to find if he wanted to die in peace.

Unconcerned by others, Harry phased through the coffee table and the IV stand to hover at Izuku's left side. He kept his arms away from the boy while saying, 

"She will die by sickness very slowly and be tormented. Paralyzed physically while cancer causes havoc from within that she'll beg for dead. It's the least fitting for what Midoriya Inko planned to do and successfully did to you. She will die alone and ugly from drinking habits she'll pick up eventually." And I will deny her entrance to my domain as long as I see fit. So, it doesn't matter whether you give the letter or not. Her Karma is overwhelming.

Izuku flinched.

Tsukauchi trembled at the intensity of the quirk's voice. Such hostility. Although it was said in a surprisingly polite manner, the humanoid quirk stood by his emitter carefully not touching anyone unlike the last time he came. On the other hand, Izuku rubbed his tears away while stealing glances at the other Midoriya with calculating pout.

"She's my mum," mumbled the youngest.

"She's a bitch," replied Harry sincerely. His intensity was clearing away. "You told me that so many times."

"Yeah, I did…" Izuku sighed then told Tsukauchi, "Okay, fine. The letter is in my home. I'll give you when I'm out of here."

Gulping, Tsukauchi gathered his wits. "Hello again, Harry-kun."

Harry turned to face the detective but stopped at Yagi instead. He tilted his head. The disguised All Might felt too self-aware for being stared at.

"Ah, Izu-chan, look. That is an example of Half-Life," said Harry while pointing at the tallest man rudely but his face showed gratitude in contrast. "If not for those who died before him, he would already be within my arm. Oh so near but so far away."

Izuku gasped. "N-no, Harry-nii! Don't say that out loud!"

Yagi coughed. "Pardon?"

Harry nodded as if he agreed with Yagi for whatever reason. "Guess the blessing still needs to take more of your soul before it requires a fresh source. Thank you, human. I appreciate your hard work. I will make sure you can die from old age."

Everyone was alarmed by this except Izuku who was sighing tiredly. All Might reeled backwards because this supposedly humanoid quirk implied he knew about One-for-All being a hereditary quirk and vaguely mentioned about his supposed death was coming. He was frightened and excited at the same time to find someone had prior knowledge of it, then wondered if it's because he was a quirk himself. He didn't sound as if he was an enemy and that's a plus in Yagi's head. Tsukauchi, being the other one who knew about All Might, became angry for his friend because Harry just blabbered someone else's secret in front of unrelated figures and questioned the quirk's real ability.

Eraserhead hummed. Somehow, he was feeling an intense deja vu.

"Uh, You're welcome?" Yagi responded, confused.

"I'm sorry, Yagi-san! Harry-nii doesn't usually talk this openly," pleaded Midoriya while bowing deeply then turned to his fake brother with a glare.

Harry shrugged.

Nedzu clapped his paws. "Now that everyone is here. Why don't we start the actual topic? Yagi-san has several questions for Midoriya Izuku's quirk. If it's alright, Eraserhead and I will be your stand-in guardian for today."

"Thank you, H-Headmaster. I, uhh, I agree with those terms," stuttered the youngest. Harry nodded along.

Yagi cleared his throat then took a step forward to sit on the only chair nearby. The others moved away slightly to make space. Tsukauchi had his attention at Harry only, suspiciously full of anguish. Izuku sat straighter as he nervously watched The Master of Death smile at the one who helped his paperwork reduce for the past twenty years. That smile surprised both Tsukauchi and Izuku.

"Hello, I'm Toshinori Yagi ," started All Might in English, "From your physical characteristics We assumed you're from Europe."

"You're not wrong, Mr.Yagi. I thank you again for your retribution to the livings." Harry smiled wider. "Don't be so alarmed. These people can be trusted with your 'secret' as much as it's necessary."

Unsure what to expect, Yagi tried again with the list of questions Tsukauchi had made him memorized. "Are you truly Young Midoriya's quirk?"

"It's more accurate to say his quirk is able to generate me into the realm of Living. I have been with him since he's a baby and no one else was generated, we deemed ourselves as companions."

"...Can you tell what creature you are?"

To everyone's surprise, Harry chuckled. "Ask me again when you enter my realm."

Yagi stilled. It's not 'if' but 'when'. He had a bad feeling about that statement. He stole a glance at the human-lie-detector who blinked twice, signaling for 'not lying'. He took a deep breath before continuing asking. Cold sweat drenched his back.

"Are you aware about Young Midoriya's mother leaving?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Inko was planning to go since Izu's six birthday. As soon as she got enough money, she escaped." Harry paused a moment. "I could not interfere with humans' choices. Only to Izuku. We are talking like this is already making my little brother tired."

Surprised, his focus turned to the boy. True enough, Midoriya's breathing sounded heavier and sweat gleamed his forehead.

"I-it's alright. I can handle it," said Izuku with a tired smile.

"Dear child, are you fluent in English?" inquired Nedzu.

The boy wriggled his fingers and said, "Yes, Harry taught me french and Latin too. While I'm pretty good with English, I'm still a newbie for the other two. Oh! And I can read ancient runes of Greece, I guess? My kanji isn't perfect either."

"That is impressive," Nedzu smiled. 

"I-it's nothing really."

Eraserhead was suspicious that the headmaster was trying to distract the boy while his quirk was questioned. Meanwhile, Yagi continued his task while Harry answered them nonchalantly as if there was no disturbance at all. The questionably honest smile was still on the sentient quirk lips at the skeleton man.

After a few more questions, Yagi nodded to himself. "I see. Then what do you know about All-for-One?"

Harry tilted his head then he started ruffling Izuku's head. "Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno is an old saying about responsibility and loyalty from a story titled 'Three Musketeers'. An unofficial motto of Switzerland. Nevertheless it is an ancient knowledge to be curious about, Mr.Yagi."

It wasn't a wrong answer but it didn't back up what Harry had implied at the start. He knew that Yagi noticed what he did not say. He was in complete control of the conversation. Harry chuckled at Yagi’s inner struggle to ask more without others listening in.

The boy twisted his body so he could stare at his companion deadpanned. "What are you talking about?"

"I think that's enough. Thank you for the answers." Yagi had no choice but to stop asking.

Harry's smile bloomed wide like a cheshire cat. Later, I'll explain in details.

The Master of Death turned to Izuku before ruffling the boy's fluffy hair. Leaning to the comfort, a small humming sound escaped his lips then Harry vanished to the others eyes. Poof. Just like that. The adults turned their head to Aizawa who seemed unalarmed and his eyes weren’t red.

"Eraserhead?" called Nedzu.

"No. He deactivates on his own."

Izuku tilted his head towards the detective. "Umm, Sooo… is there anything else I can help you with? Like… Like telling me the reason why UA's Headmaster came down personally to some random case? You are pretty infamous for your dislike of… you know, humans? I know why Eraserhead is here but not you. Uhh, I mean no offence."

"It is not an offence if I admit those truths!" Nedzu laughed off-key. "Well, I've heard so many good things about you, Midoriya Izuku. Such an intriguing smart mind. So many possibilities! This is something I cannot leave alone. Since no one has a claim over you yet, I shall be the first!"

"Lay a claim?" Izuku blinked. He could not believe what he was hearing and Harry showed no concern of anything. Not helping, Harry-nii!

Eraserhead chuckled. "...for being your legal guardian."

Gasped, the green eyes widened even more. He pulled the blanket tighter to his chests unconsciously. "W-what?"

Nedzu hummed. "At this point, you have only two choices; to be under the police protection or to run away from law. Many will come and try to get you and you can no longer return to your home. Yuuei can provide you with legal protections and a place where you can develop more of your skills. I simply give you a third choice: to accept guardianship from me. Of course, you will have to stay within my school. You want to be a Hero with or without your quirk, right? Isn't it like a dream come true?" He did not say that he needed to keep Harry within a constant watch.

"This is entirely dependent on your choice, Problem Child. We aren't going to force you to do anything without your approval," Eraserhead said while glaring at his boss.

"I… I…" is this direct recruitment? Is this really happening? Am I hallucinating? Izuku took a deep deep breath then pinched his cheek. Ow! Okay, not dreaming.

"We'll come back when--"

"I accept."

...xxx…

Chapter Text

Onodera Middle School, five days ago...

As the producer of nitroglycerin for sweat, Bakugou Katsuki was never this dry. His face was pale and teeth rattled slightly while the Onodera Middle School Headmaster made him sit in an air-conditioned room. His body naturally sweat easier than anyone meaning he was constantly drenched. In a room as cold as The Headmaster Office, Katsuki shivered more than he should. At least, that was what he believed.

Today, Deku broke his self-control like paper. He never once lost control of his explosions. He had trained everyday after school to make precise and much smaller sparks until his arm muscles sore because he knew very well he could blow a building if he's not careful. The lessons taught were all about avoiding and not how to react if an 'accident' happened.

Katsuki wanted so badly to put the fault in the other boy because they both knew perfectly well how destructive his power was. Deku dared to say those bullshit at his face with a challenging face. Taunting . The scene was still clear in his head. He had reached out his right arm and moved it towards that smug face before he… let go. No gradual spark he often powered up in warning. The explosion was brighter and louder than ever, his body stumbled backwards from its sheer power. 

When the light disappeared, he saw his ex-childhood friend's skin boiled red and eyes glazed unfocused. All of the cloth on his left shoulder torn and a very red hand-shaped bruise bloomed on Deku's pale skin with circular shapes of scrubbed skin around it. The image of red on skin burned in his eyes. Deku was helpless and motionless in the foreigner-face's embrace.

Katsuki stared blankly to the table across his seat. Breath caught.

I did that, was all he managed to think .  

He remembered his ears rang after the fact that he barely heard what those extras said. A temporary deafness was not something unfamiliar to him. His left ear was busted a few years back. At first he didn't notice that he was shouting for the last week until his dad pointed it out. Not that he would ever admit such weakness by wearing hearing-aid.

His mind blurred but he had willingly walked to the headmaster's office and had not said a word. The teacher who was following him glared at his back openly. His mother was called in. 

Of course they called the old hag after I fucked up like that. Dad won't know what to do to me anyway.

He dreaded that it would be marked on his pristine school transcript. Bakugou Mitsuki might insist her son needed to be punished for losing control. Yeah, she will.

After what it felt like a lifetime for Katsuki, Mitsuki marched through the opened door and went to check her son for any injury, completely ignoring the headmaster and the teacher. When she found none, her eyes narrowed, which was answered by Katsuki with a snarl.

"What did you do this time?" asked Mitsuki full of authority.

For once, Katsuki did not want to respond. He flinched but he kept his mouth shut.

"Bakugou-san, please have a seat first," said The Headmaster calmly.

Mitsuki sharply faced him before sitting down beside her son, hand around Katsuki's shoulders protectively. "What happened? Did this stupid boy do something reckless again?"

"YOUR son," started Katsuki's teacher furiously. "just EXPLODED his classmate before the class even began because a petty ARGUMENT. I never thought he would attack his quirkless friend like that."

Mitsuki's hand on Katsuki's shoulders tightened. No need to even ask who was the quirkless mentioned. The headmaster gestured for the teacher to exit the room. The order was followed. At the soft clicking sound, Mitsuki turned at her son with a disappointed glare. 

"Did you, Katsuki? Did you attack Izuku?" Her voice trembled slightly at the end.

"...I did," admitted Katsuki softly.

"Why?" Her voice was gentle unlike any other time she was angry at him. Katsuki twitched in need of escape from her mom's increasingly tighter grip. Anger rolled off her body odor.

Katsuki looked away.

"...Katsuki," growled Mitsuki warningly. She was best friends with Inko for a long time even if they hadn't talked for almost six years now. She knew sweet Izuku personally. Green eyes, wide smile, the incarnation of purity. To think her own son attacked such a precious child was just too much. She should have brought Katsuki to some shrink years ago.

"The nerd talked shits at me. Saying that I could go ahead and kill him like anyone would care. Well, bullshit through and through. It's stupid. I got angry."

"Izuku said that? Why the hell did he even think you would kill him in the first place? You know he's quirkless! He can't protect himself from those explosions. He's your friend!"

"No, Old Hag! He's a useless quirkless nerd! He shouldn't have taunted me like that."

"And you allowed yourself to burn him alive? You reckless brat! Then what happened to Izuku? Has anyone called Inko?"

The headmaster cut in, "The injured student had been sent to the hospital. We don't know the details of his injuries but it shouldn't be that worrying. I believe it's simply minor bruising."

Katsuki's eyes widened. What the fuck is he talking about? There's no way a boiled skin that large is a minor injury.

Mitsuki sighed in relief. Oh, only a bruise.

The Headmaster smiled benevolently. "Bakugou Katsuki, you have such an inspiring quirk. As long as there was no repeat of this accident in the future, Midoriya's parents would agree to keep it quiet. Calm down, you won't get a mark for accidental usage of quirk too. Oh, and you must know, you have to stay home for the next week."

What. The. Fuck.

...xxx…

Five days into his suspension, Katsuki finally managed to crack the puzzle of Headmaster's doing and he hated it. He was pitied for losing control.

No! How dare he! His pride shouted. 

Jumped out of his bed, Katsuki started pacing in a circular wave. Hands were dry but he wished they were a bit sweaty so he could make more sparks. He needed a distraction from the boiling anger from the pit of his stomach. Intellectually, jogging around the neighborhood was a good option but he struggled to even allow himself to feel accomplished. In his head, he believed that he should be punished for severely injuring a defenseless classmate. He wanted to be a hero, damn it! That fat man only wanted to sweep the problem under the rug so his school stayed perfect. Katsuki disagreed. He had been acting bad but no one punished him for all his faults.

Red marks on the skin blazing.

Deku's eyes went wider.

A flash of sickening memory seemed to be coming often. He couldn't remove the sight of the furiously red hand-shaped injury nor the smell of burning flesh.

Green eyes glazed. His face was pale. Deku's shoulder was… 

It was so red. 

Burning aflame.

Boiling. 

Red. 

Katsuki shuddered and heaved. Pushing bile back to his throat, he put his head between his legs. Vividly remembering about first-aid he read somewhere. He needed to calm down. He knew he was too smart to always follow his emotions. Deku was once his childhood friend. Both boys had ten years experience for his explosion quirk and personality. They knew how powerful it could be. In his mind, the fault was still on Deku for taunting him but he should have better control over his emotions.

Stood by the door, Katsuki willed his guts ready to march down for some lunch then he heard them. His mom shussed his dad. Her frantic voice alarmed the boy further. 

He opened his door softly.

"...-can't find Inko. No one is allowed to…"

"Sshh… We-we'll find… She might just be busy!"

"I already asked their neighbours… Police got called in. No one saw… Inko might already… Izuku had to…"

The more he listened the more dread in his stomach grew. Katsuki might be a bit slow in the emotional department but he was still ranked second in his school. Aunt Inko is missing? But what about Deku? Katsuki chose that time to walk closer to the stairs. His father was facing away from him while standing between the kitchen and the living room. His mom walked into view, hands on his back gently.

"He's a Midoriya. He will heal in time," said his mom panicking.

His dad sobbed. "It's obviously not minor, Mitsuki! That Headmaster lied! It's been three days and Izuku was all alone in that hospital. They had to… they needed to operate his left lung and do a skin graft but they couldn't do anything without Inko's permission. He was sedated for most of the time so he wouldn't feel the pain. When he woke up, the police filled his free time and no one else was allowed to enter his room. We aren't even listed as a family friend to Midoriya, you know."

Skin… graft? Like a plastic surgery? Katsuki knelt on the stairs, creeping downward very slowly. Practically soundless.

Mitsuki turned on her heels, clenched on a towel. "Is that why we weren't allowed to visit him?"

His dad fell on the couch while his fingers rubbed between his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Izuku doesn't even have a health card or any insurance. All he ever had was the vaccine checklist when he was four. We are never registered as his emergency contact."

Katsuki clenched his fists. Four years old, before Deku was announced as quirkless, huh.

Mitsuki gasped. "W-what are you implying? That my Inko refused to take that sweet boy to his monthly check? That Inko is ashamed for having a quirkl--him? She wouldn't hurt a fly, less her own son!"

"Mi-Mitsuki. Don't be so loud!"

"I was her best friend! She always talked to me before! But why? Why did she stop? Is she actually trying to find Hisashi? It's been ten years…"

Katsuki had no memory of Deku's father, only his name. So he was not surprised if the bastard ran away or even died years ago. His thoughts wandered to the other Midoriya, Foreign-Face. His parents didn't mention anything about him which was weird because his mom usually knew everything and anything about Midoriya. Adopted or half-sibling should be a big trophy Deku's mom would tell the old hag. There were some missing clues and Katsuki needed other sources.

Suddenly, the entrance bell rang.

The adults and Katsuki jumped. Silence grew louder. Mitsuki walked to the entrance path only to find her son on the stairs, half-way sitting. The boy huffed.

His mom twitched, "Oh, you're awake."

"I'll get it," Katsuki replied quickly.

At the second ring, he opened the door and immediately furrowed his eyebrows. An older teenager, pale skin and pale hair color, stood with a slouch stance and one hand hovered on the bell button. Katsuki was not sure if the rings around the teenager's eyes weren't made up, they're rather crusty-looking. That skin was obviously the driest skin Katsuki had ever seen in his life.

"Bakugou Katsuki? The photo matches," The teen said with a husky voice.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Me? I'm looting for my side quest."

Mitsuki followed behind her son. Only to see black mist enveloped the most treasured love and vanished into thin air, leaving the pale teen and her alone. Before she could say anything, a hand grasped her face, two fingers on either side.

The young man's eyes glinted under the shadow. When Mitsuki met those eyes, her instinct to fight back flared, which of course, unacceptable. He scowled.

"Who are you? You're not in the bitch's list," demanded the stranger.

"The hell? Y-you came to my house and-"

"Some irrelevant NPC, huh. Well, game over for you!"

All five fingers pressed on her cheeks.

...xxx…

"Ah." 

A sound escaped from Harry. Izuku hummed questioningly. The Master of Death was on his favorite spot by the window while Izuku sat half-way out of his bed in the hospital. 

They had been moved to a personal room after signing legal guardianship changes which allowed Izuku to sit wherever he wanted without disturbing other patients. The boy made a habit of walking around the floor while holding his IV stand by himself because of boredom. It would be fine if there was no dead-looking guy hovered behind his back, which instantly scared every child and adults within the ward all the same. 

When no answer came for Izuku, the boy walked across the room and tugged his companion's sleeve. Harry turned his face slightly.

Someone you knew was ready for my realm , he whispered telepathically.

Izuku closed his eyes, lips thinned then he asked, "...Is it mom?"

No.

"Then, don't tell me."

Harry watched his boy for a moment before he agreed vocally, "Wise choice."

They stood by the window and watched as Moon ascended to her throne for a long lonely night.

...xxx…

Chapter Text

Izuku fidgeted. 

Nedzu had moved them into the UA's building. The new room, at the fifth floor, was much smaller compared to the previous one but large enough to hold a single bed with several monitoring equipment around and two cupboards. There's a door led to the bathroom near a rather wide window. Each furniture was colored gentle cream while the floors and walls were dark wood. It made the room rather dark even with bright bulb overhead. They said it'll be his temporarily until the doctor gave a free pass.

This is already much better than the depressing white in the hospital.

The rain knocked from the other side of the window with a polite rhythm, coming heavier each minute passed.

Nedzu and Eraserhead had come in with another doctor, saying that he needed to hear what was about to be explained. Harry hovered at his favorite spot by the window but was watching them openly. Being fluent in situational control, Eraserhead leaned on the bed to effectively hide Harry's intense staring from everyone else. The UA's Headmaster nodded his approval even if he still shivered a bit because he did not need to be reminded of his animalistic side all day long. Izuku huffed a little when he saw his companion stubbornly stared at one point without moving a muscle just for the heck of it, lips tugged upward a bit.

Clearing his throat, the doctor tried his best to ignore the being by the window and flipped the papers. Their attention, except Harry's, turned to her.

"Your test has come out. We managed to save your lungs with a reconstructed quirk. By the end of this week, you should be able to breathe normally again," the doctor paused to see a glowing smile bloomed on Izuku's face. "However, the damages to your skin are quite deep. Last time the skingraft we've taken from your right bottom and thigh could only cover the worst parts which are your chest and shoulder. The nerves will feel numb for the first three months. Next is the skin of your neck, shoulder blades and face will need an extra treatment. I'm sorry to say these injuries will leave prominent marks."

Izuku yelped in embarrassment at the mention of his bottom. He had heard the plan of taking his own skin to be grafted on the burned skin that could not be healed. In short, a plastic surgery. He already guessed he would lose the nerves on those parts but compared to the flaming hot before, it was a great improvement. Three months would not be that long. Maybe the older Midoriya would accelerate the recovery process too.

"Harry-nii, what do you think?" Izuku asked.

Master of Death turned his head to the youngest in a snap. The adults flinched at his sudden move. Dark green eyes roamed at Izuku's bandaged limbs and face before he said, "Lungs shouldn't be a major problem. The new skin's attaching well. Nerves can be restored and trained. The scars however…"

"Ah, more badass scars! Lovely," pouted Izuku.

Harry flicked the boy's forehead. "Reactivation of your nerves shall be my top concern. It can be done over a full moon." He frowned before ruffling the hair further. Izuku proudly accepted his comfort.

Nedzu hummed, "So, it'll be done next week. Is there any significant reason for the full moon and your healing effect?"

At that question, the Master of Death turned his back completely on the headmaster. Acting as if he didn't hear. Izuku huffed then repeated Nedzu's question which Harry answered with a nod. 

Eraserhead rose an eyebrow thinking how that quirk needed to fake talking to the boy for a simple conversation with others. Such limitations were worth noted and might become troublesome. Now that he thought about their first encounter, Midoriya Harry barely looked at him when they were talking. That he had to hold his emitter closely, in fear it might weaken him.

"Scars are there to remind you to not let mood swings take the steer out of your life whenever," said Harry vaguely.

"Stop being stupid. Got it," translated Izuku with a nod.

Harry sent him an unimpressed look. 

At a moment of silence, the doctor bid goodbye and left the perimeter as swift as a snake while the heroes each took a small chair available for visitors to sit. Harry, now, hovered by Izuku's bed with half of his body pass-through it, lotus pose and hugging the youngest from the side. His unblinking eyes stared back in full force. Such display was not shocking for the adults anymore, even if it was still unnerving.

"I'm sure we can rehab your social responses." Nedzu smiled winningly. "From what we gathered, you taunted your main bully to quote 'kill you. Not that anyone would care ,' end quote. A good lawyer can twist that little slip as proof that you asked to be harmed. That you requested especially for Bakugou Katsuki to explode your body."

Izuku gasped. "I didn't mean it that way! I was really done with his attitude. I'm not- I don't- That's just-- Ugh. Look, we have an extreme dislike towards each other. Almost enemies."

"Izuku asked. He granted," said Harry unhelpfully.

"More like consensual manslaughter. You may have suffered from injuries but from other's perspective, you seemed to demand to be harmed," Nedzu explained with a bubbly tone.

Eraserhead cut in. "Without the right back up, you'll end up in a mental constitution instead." 

"...I will what? I-I'm not crazy."

"That's what we're trying to avoid. Worst case scenario." Aizawa paused to meet the younger green eyes. "Do you understand why you need our help?"

The boy thinned his lips but nodded anyway. He did not fully understand the politics behind it. So far, he noticed that whether he's sent to an orphanage or to a mental constitution, Nedzu would interfere somehow. The headmaster wished for him to understand many outcomes and consequences from his case alone. Izuku barely trusted these heroes but he had no other choice. He was desperate to be happy. True, Izuku wanted to be a hero like Allmight. That dream had become very far away from his palms then suddenly these people put it on his lap. Just with a snap. 

It felt like a trap. Izuku carefully folded his hands around his stomach, pulling his IV slightly but no fear appeared on his face.

Eraserhead continued, "The police have yet to contact the Bakugous but a few nurses told me two adults from that family came yesterday. They were refused entry for the obvious reason… Not to mention about other discoveries after investigation."

"Was one of them called Mitsuki?" 

His tone, however, was a statement and not in question. The tall hero folded his arms together and noticed Izuku tense shoulders when the boy said that name. Izuku’s eyes flickered to Eraser, waiting.

"Yes, do you personally know her?" The long-haired hero asked.

"Ah, umm… Aunt Mitsuki used to be close with mom. Said they're highschool besties. Sometimes when I was in preschool." Izuku looked down at his twiddling thumbs. "She stopped after they announced my quirklessness ."

A frown etched on both heroes' eyebrows. They heard clearly how Izuku said 'quirkless' was in disgust. They decided not to point it out. 

Harry's body flickered.

The boy gasped then immediately reached out to his quirk's arm, eyes blown wide. Despite the obvious panic, Harry simply hummed and patted the fluffy green hair.

"Not yet!" said Izuku. Especially when I'm opening all can of worms!

Harry shook his head. "Know when to stop, Izu-chan. I'm always watching."

The wide green eyes glanced at his would-be-guardian then him again. He was not ready to interact with these people without Harry as filter. From the look the immortal was sending him, he had read his mind and disagreed. A firm hand caught Izuku's arm, made him released Harry to vanish freely. When he looked up, Eraserhead's red eyes blazed disapprovingly at his.

No fair! He erased my quirk. Izuku pouted.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. "Problem Child. He told you to stop."

"Yes, I heard," he snootily talked back. "A-anyway, Bakugous has stopped coming all together despite the fact that they're acting like our family friends. I don't know if Aunty knows Kacchan and I stopped being friends in our third grade. All I know she forgot about us, Midoriya, before my headmaster called her."

Nedzu hummed neutrally.

Eraserhead let Izuku's arms free then tilted his head inquiring, "So, what will you do if they want to take you in?"

The boy blinked. He didn't think Bakugou wanted to do anything with a burden like him. Hell, he did not think anyone sane wanted to adopt him. His own mother had abandoned him as soon as he could manage the household at the tender age of nine. The UA headmaster only wanted Izuku for his quirk. Maybe. That was what the boy had gathered from their conversation.

Of course, Harry was not included in that theory because they were companions. They needed each other with or without liking his real self.

With a stoic face, Izuku answered, "No. At this point, they are as strangers as you are to me. UA's protection sounds much better anyway."

"That settles it! Then we can sign the adoption paper right now! Without a legal guardian, we only need your sign and mine," announced Nedzu in a gleeful tone. "Eraserhead shall be our witness."

"What?" "E-excuse me?"

"It is obvious, isn't it? You distrust that family and will refuse to be placed there, right? We can use your admittance for the judge to contemplate. Adoption can be an undeniable proof you choose us over them."

"H-hold on!" 

"Yes, Child?"

"...My admittance ? Are you recording us now?" Izuku thinned his lips. "S-since when?"

Nedzu simply showed all of his white teeth and pointed at a security camera. "First lesson, patrol the perimeter. Remember that, Midoriya Izuku."

...xxx…

He couldn't remember.

Katsuki could not say clearly why he laid on the cold floor made of dark stones, alone in a room that held several coffee tables and comfortable looking sofas. A bar? No one nearby or in sight, he noticed. The blonde tried to move only to feel unable to do so. Both arms and legs were bound with itchy ropes. 

Anger bubbled up. Who the fuck dares to kidnap me? 

His mind was reeling furiously confused. A deep sigh. He had to slow down and make an imaginary memory lane. Old hag and I were talking and then the bell rang. So, I opened the front door… A sudden headache penetrated. He growled and hissed. Darkness… mist? Yeah, that's about right. Only after being engulfed with that mist, Katsuki must have been unconscious. Oh, right. Someone actually came to his home and politely rang the bell to kidnap him in daylight. The teen scowled. His kidnapper must be confident in their safety to do something that stupid. 

Fortunately, his skin can still produce sweat, meaning whoever captured him did not know how to control his quirk. They did not even lower the temperature, seeing there was actually an AC on the wall where a backdoor was. It was turned off.

He gritted his teeth, ready for impact.

With three small sparks, the ropes around his arms ignited before shriveled and snapped. His skin burned slightly but it was not as scalding as it should be. As soon as his arms were free, they tore the one on his legs too. The ropes are inflammable, it proved more how these villains were not prepared to contain him whatsoever. He silently prayed it was not deliberate.

Now unbound, Katsuki rolled to put his arms and legs hidden under the shadow of dimmed bulbs. Just in case his kidnappers burst into the room suddenly. He assessed the situation and area he needed to break out wherever it was he currently in. 

His instinct all flared up, telling him someone was watching his every move. A hidden predator but Katsuki was also a predator. Mouth full of strong teeth flashed in a sneer on the teen’s face. 

His eyes flickered to dark corners between the ceilings and the walls, wondering if there were hidden cameras. The windows were sealed with planks. He flicked its surface and a nice knock echoed. Made of oak wood. He could burn these. He repeated the action to the walls, cupboards, doors and the bar. The display of many bottles behind a dark polished bar were mostly alcohol. His eyes narrowed, most of these items were inflammable. That's good news for the explosive boy. Katsuki could weaponize all of those things plus debris.

He scoffed. They underestimated his bravery to flambe their place while still inside it. He would definitely burn everything down just to show that he could then make his heroic exit.

Stalked to put his back to a wall where he could watch the entrance door and the backdoor, he focused his attention to every sound and movement behind the walls because there were actual people outside. His instinct was on high alert, ready to pounce if anyone opened either doors. Two sets of footsteps, one was proper and light while the other was tell-a-tale sneakers screech. Still sounded heavier than children's footsteps. 

Both were coming from the backdoor. 

Katsuki quickly rubbed his palms together, making them drenched and warm enough to blast off a wooden door. There were two choices in front of him; blast the entrance and make a run, or blast his kidnappers right on their blindside. Both options were reckless and either way loud enough to gain attention from everyone . 

Thank fuck it’s a hot day.

...xxx...

Chapter Text

With Katsuki

Previously...

Katsuki quickly rubbed his palms together, making them drenched and warm enough to blast off a wooden door. There were two choices in front of him; blast the entrance and make a run, or blast his kidnappers right on their blindside. Both options were reckless and either way loud enough to gain attention from everyone. 

Thank fuck it’s a hot day.

...xxx…

He hid the other pieces of wood in his hoodie pocket. After making sure it’s drenched enough nitroglycerin, he arched his arm back then threw. Crackling fire exploded mid-air. The blonde teen slipped under a table near the door that looked like the entrance. When the explosion hit the backdoor, loud yells raised immediately.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Fire engulfed the mostly wooden furniture within seconds. When both doors were opened, flames built larger and, as Katsuki planned, they instinctively stepped backward. With his body on all four, he shot out for the door. Red eyes met widened red eyes. The guy with silver hair and cracked skin growled as he tried to kick the boy but Katsuki was already gliding away. Fire sparked on his feet pushed the boy to the bar table.

“WHAT THE HELL KID?!” shouted his kidnapper, “You blew up the place!”

Damn it, I missed my only chance. Katsuki put a defensive stance, unaffected by the rising temperature around him.

"Did you explode yourself?" The young man pointed at the teen's red wrists. His voice showed no real emotion, not even a mocking.

Katsuki scoffed. "None of your business."

Instead of getting angrier, Handsy laughed in glee. “Crazy brat. I should have guessed you're a pyromaniac with those red flags on your paper. Nice job on starting your villain backstory by the way!”

Katsuki couldn’t help but growled, “I’m not a villain!”

The mist man who wore a clean suit sighed behind him. When did he-- “Please do not burn down my shop,” they stated politely (?) before their body transformed into a large cloak of dark mist. Water flowed out of the darkness, stopping the flame effectively from spreading more. They turned back to their humanoid form in a classy style.

The boy moved away so both adults were in his line of sight. “Why did you take me?”

“Bakugou Katsuki,” started the mist man, “We, League of Villain, are currently the middleman between you and your new master. Your destructive potential has been recognized.”

“League of Villain?” The boy scoffed loudly. “You people are just some extras who wanted to play a greater game than you ever get. Another pebbles in my steps. I WILL BE THE NEXT NUMBER ONE HERO!”

Handsy growled loudly, “Aargh, never mind. I hate this brat! Good thing that another player called a dip on your head. Oh, she never said anything about you staying unharmed. Hey, Kurogiri! Put him somewhere he can’t burn anything else. Maybe that new thermal room.”

With a nod, suddenly the mist man disappeared. Katsuki lost his footing. 

“FUCKERS, NO ONE IS GOING TO KEEP ME! I’LL KILL---!!”

All turned dark.

...xxx...

At Bakugou's Family Apartment

Tsukauchi was not happy. He was in desperate need of black heavy coffee. The bullying case was going downhill faster than he could believe. Still, it happened. He had received a report of kidnapping and a full-blown murder right in a civilian home. From the fact no other apartment got attacked, it was a planned criminality and the cherry on top of it the victims are Bakugou family. He had high hopes that Bakugou Katsuki was not kidnapped but ran away.

Bakugou Masaru, head of the family, was the one called in. He was completely distraught to find his wife dead on the entrance door and his son disappeared without a trace. There was no sign of break-in anywhere. The detective immediately put the father as the main suspect. Unfortunately for Tsukauchi, Masaru told them that he heard the doorbell before Mitsuki Bakugou walked to check who rang. He could not see the door directly from where he was sitting but then he heard his wife shouted after the door was opened. Everything was said truthfully.

The detective reluctantly put Masaru out of the suspect list. He really wanted the case to be a running suspect and the father wanted to hide his only son away. The only soothing for his heart was the fact Masaru was put in the police post for protection.

He had walked in the homey flat which was already decorated with police lines. The entrance where Mitsuki was found was covered in ashes. If the report was correct, it would be the effect of a quirk in the line of fire or anything related to turning something into ashes. Endeavor's face popped into his head but he shook his head.

Focus, you have a bully kidnapped and his mother dead. He grimaced at his own thoughts.

Tsukauchi noticed how emotionally involved he was with the Midoriya versus Bakugou case and needed to find someone else to handle the kidnapping case. Problem was only the current victim was the suspect of another active case. It was just obvious he had to be involved with all the information he gathered and confirmed even if he was not the lead investigator. 

“What a mess,” said someone from behind him, “No indication of forcing entrance?”

Turning his heels, a familiar ninja-like hero trudged in from an open window in the living room. Shinya Kamihara, or more popularly known as Edgeshot, was the ranked fifth of Japan’s Pro Heroes who specialized in enclosed areas battle. Tsukauchi was glad his request for the hero to come was not flatly denied like Sir Nighteye and Hound Dog. He had told the hero how the missing victim was a suspect for another on-going investigation and why there was no apparent lead investigator.

Tsukauchi led the hero to the stairs front. 

“None. The most prominent fingerprints on the door handle is the kidnapped victim and not the mother. We theorized the son opened it after they heard a doorbell then promptly taken; Without any trace of struggle, we assumed either Katsuki Bakugou was walking out on his own accord or a teleportation quirk was involved.” Tsukauchi pointed at the ground where a vague silhouette of late Mrs. Bakugou was drawn. “From the husband's testimony, the mother shouted at whoever was standing beyond the door frame. She lost her face and life right after. Hearing a body fell, the husband ran and found her.”

“...I am guessing your quirk did not pick any signals from his statement.” Edgeshot's personality was similar to Eraserhead without the sarcastic bites. He had a cool head and sharp eyes for details. “And the result of the ashes? By a quick glance it was not from fire but I cannot say more than that.”

With a blank expression, Tsukauchi pulled his phone and opened the related e-mail. “We found Mrs. Mitsuki Bakugou’s own DNA in it. It is outside the realm of possibility by normal means. The ashes is proof of another quirk involved.”

Edgeshot shot a look at the detective. “Multiple people. Obviously, a planned kidnapping. The mother was possibly not included in that so they killed her. They didn’t know there’s another person inside. It didn’t matter if the son disappeared on purpose or not. We need to find him soon either way.”

That analytical mind was the reason why he chose Edgeshot for the investigation. Kamihara spoke in terms of underground more fluently than anyone (except Eraserhead. While Aizawa’s a duck in the water for any underground cases, he had other responsibilities as a UA teacher.) The ninja heroes had a good number of cracking missing person cases despite being a famous hero.

“As you well know, I cannot take the lead of this investigation. Edgeshot, will you take the head?”

He nodded knowingly, “I suspected so. As long as you are still part of this team, it is my honor. I shall contact my agency for confirmation of our agenda.” 

Tsukauchi immediately introduced the hero to the team. Kamihara went to talk with the other policemen and made his own observation. After overseeing it was going as effectively as they could, the detective bid farewell. He had a child to inform him his case was delayed.

...xxx…

Without anyone knowing, Harry walked in the room. He wanted to greet the female Bakugou but her body was already moved. A frown grated on his nose. He was sure he felt she’s ready for the next great journey every soul would get. Thumping the blade of his scythe downward, he glided to where policemen and a… ninja, strangely enough, were discussing a double case of homicide and kidnapping. He paid them no mind because he could not interfere anyway. The moment the blank face detective bid farewell, Harry read his surface thoughts.

Bakugou… missing… mother dead… no forceful trespassing… escape plan? The master of death nodded to himself for the confirmation. Yes, it was Bakugou Mitsuki who had died and apparently murdered in cold-blood. She should get a quick end, then. That’s good to hear but where did her spirit go?  

A rare worry gripped his chest. 

Someone was interfering with his access across a few runaway spirits. He wondered if another omnipresence had decided to make their move. Has Izu-chan's power grown stronger? Strong enough to reach beyond the living realm?

Only one way to find out.

...xxx…

Somewhere within UA Academy

Cloak by darkness and scythe of souls at his left hand, Harry stepped through the dimensional veil and found himself in a new wide room. The sunlight was warming from a large window, caressing flower pots lined nearby. It was almost odd to find a room devoid of any electronics. Slowly he turned around to find the youngest Midoriya and Headmaster Nedzu sitting around a tea table, middle school papers towered in between. The creature flinched and his smile plastered frozen. In comparison, Izuku jumped off his chair and ran toward his companion quirk.

“Harry-nii! You’re back!”

Master of Death let go his scythe which vanished in glimmering dark mist before he gathered Izuku in his arms then stood up. The green haired boy flushed red and struggled to be put down. Instead of hearing the plea, Harry nuzzled his head on the thin shoulder. Sensing something strange, Izuku paused before he stole a glance at the headmaster discreetly. He desperately wanted to ask what happened because Harry did not usually let people know how affectionate he could be.

“Izu-chan,” Harry responded slightly off beat. “Is the tea to your preference?”

“What? Umm, it’s tasty…” Harry-nii wanted to be distracted with idle chatter .

Harry nodded but Izuku was not sure if it was for his answer or his thoughts. He hugged the man tighter before he was let go. Izuku walked back to his seat with a humming sound escaping Nedzu’s throat.

“Yes, sir?” Izuku reacted instinctively. “You look like you have questions.”

“Indeed, Midoriya Izuku. May I ask you to forward them? I have quite the list.”

Nedzu meant that he wanted to interrogate Harry. Izuku cursed inward to be trapped as a third wheel again.

It was a shock when Harry shook his head. “There are things better unbeknown. Another is hindering me.”

“Another?” Izuku heard the capital ‘A’ in his tone.

“It doesn’t matter. You have a guest coming. The blank face.”

“Detective Tsukauchi? How do you know that?” Nedzu managed to slip into their conversation. He was determined to be included.

“Saw him on the way,” Harry said to Izuku vaguely. The boy rightfully thought the detective was at a place where someone died. Maybe a homicide case? He tilted questioningly at Harry but The Master of Death refused to answer. He, then, remembered that the man had mentioned someone Izuku knew entered the realm of Death.

Izuku popped an ‘Oh’ sound. "I'm obviously not going to like what he had to say."

"Indeed" Nedzu agreed as his hand began activating two hologram screens from the floor. Multiple windows opened and closed in speed before Headmaster stopped at a particular thread from Hero Network. "Ah, fascinating."

"Indeed" echoed Harry airly.

The boy was too afraid to ask. He did not want to know who died and turned into a case which made Nedzu widen his grin. Shivered. Unfortunately his curiosity was boiling inside of him, making him tremble visibly. His glimmering green eyes shone brighter and dust started to twist around his feet. I need to know. I need to know.I need to know.I need to know.I need to know.I need to know.I need to know.I need to know.I need to know.I need to know. Ineedtoknowwhattheheckhappened?! 

“What happened?!” Izuku's question bursted out. Both Harry and Nedzu lips twitched upwards.

Suddenly a small alarm pinged softly. 

“How about we hear directly from THE legal source?” 

Nedzu did not even see his hands as he gave permission for Detective Tsukauchi to enter the UA perimeter and opened the necessary pathway and mobile robot for him to follow. 

“And now we wait. How about another cup?”

Izuku sighed, “Yes, please.”

By the time two cup of tea piping hot and ready to be consumed, a knock signalled the detective’s arrival.

...xxx...

Chapter Text

Note

"This is a normal chat."

This is thinking/written letters.

This is a telepathic chat.

*This is ghost talking.*

...xxx...

The headmaster of the UA, Nedzu, had less morale than Japan's morality scale. Human's part of it anyway. He witnessed and experienced what sane civilians should never. The case of bullying was only a tiny echo of humanity's current madness.

Quirk. What a rubbish notion.

Having a quirk was the reason why his life turned its head and tail; why he lost his home in the forests; why the destruction of main cities was his only answer for extremists. Society had created a new stratum based on the new power. History had been rewritten to hide how many people were killed for having a quirk. How many wars started for less. Humans were regressing despite gaining superpowers. Nedzu must not say those words out loud. Oh no. If he did, he would be an outcast and called a villain. He worked hard to gain his current power in heroic and in politics, thank you very much. As a headmaster of a prestigious school, he could be directly involved in children's development and minimized anyone from turning out like himself, abused and trigger-happy for mass destruction-- Cough.  He had simply mess with his students and staff members' minds as an alternative.

When he heard about a human child being bullied, abandoned, and had a stranger pretending as his quirk, Nedzu put down his feet. It was too fascinating to decline the puzzle. He, soon, pulled all of the child's golden reports and the cold note of his "quirkless" status and his "chronic liar" reports. The child was highly intelligent and had no mention of a friend. There was even a note of how emotionless the child could be. Dread squirmed under his belly. How long had humans neglected this boy? Nedzu was sure he had to stop the child from falling to villainy.

He knew how tempting it was to break the current society. He had a feeling Midoriya Izuku was smart enough to go through it. All Might would cry and that wasn't a joke.

Then, THAT appeared.

The moment he met THAT stood close to the malnourished boy, Nedzu wanted to cry himself. THAT was supposed to be a simple child's tale his mother used to lul the headmaster. He was not supposed to be able to materialize and seeping the life out of such a fragile child. To make things worse, Midoriya Izuku trusted no one but THAT for years already. Midoriya listened to THAT's raspy voice as if THAT was his God and no question asked.

THAT was introduced as Midoriya Harry.

Detective Tsukauchi suspected him as a person pretending to be the child's quirk and had been manipulating him emotionally. A Stockholm Syndrome, he reasoned. Nedzu disagreed mentally. The Headmaster knew from the first second THAT entered the hospital room, Harry was of Greater Being. Nedzu's mouth shut quickly from saying it out loud.

From observation, none of the humans fully understood the danger THAT brought. Yes, they felt uncomfortable but did not realize how close they were with Death. He felt envy for their bliss.

A week ago, Nedzu successfully gained custody for Midoriya Izuku in the pretense of protection. He never mentioned it was the protection of others from Harry's influence. Even he was already affected by his allure of merciful end after standing nearby for a period of time. Headmaster wondered if Harry's promise to All Might could be trusted. Death by old age was rare to happen for a Hero. 

It was almost like a dream.

...xxx...

Little Izuku, who supposedly fourteen but looked no older than ten, brought Harry to the chair so he could sit on his lap. He easily fitted between the long and thin arms of THAT as if that was his safest place in the world. Which, Nedzu realized, actually a logical choice.

No one could fight Death's gaze.

Izuku held on his notes to his chests. He was staring at the door where a knock was coming from. Nervousness and giddiness roll out from his skin in trembling excitement.

"Come in, Detective," Nedzu greeted while pressing a yellow button on his secret panel.

Tsukauchi walked briskly with a blank expression as always to their position. Harry looked down at the green hair with a comprehensive grim. Izuku snapped his face to the older man and his emotion cooled down before vanishing completely. 

O-ho. Nedzu wondered if both Midoriyas could talk telepathically.

Detective nodded to each person in the room before immediately announcing. "Your trial on Tuesday will be delayed until further notice."

"The reason?" Nedzu asked.

Tsukauchi breathed in deeply before saying, "Bakugou Katsuki was kidnapped from home and his mother became a casualty. We are handling the situation as carefully as we can."

Izuku's eyes widened, almost jumping off his seat. "What about uncle? Nii-chan, do you know something?"

"I do not interfere with the Living," said Harry. He did not show any particular concern that the child’s ex-friend was in danger but he was desperate about something close. From observation alone, Headmaster caught the underlined meaning.

"O-ho," Nedzu sounded his thought. "So you DO get involved with the souls of the dead? Is that how you know about All Might's power?"

None of his questions were answered. Of course. Harry made a point by facing away from the adults. The detective seemed annoyed but he was not surprised either because Eraserhead had explained how inhuman Harry was compared to them. So, for him to know the supernatural aspect of the world was still within his image. Nedzu would not be surprised if THAT was truly THAT in real life. Wait, it just made himself confused.

Izuku, being the good boy he is, inquired as well. "Harry-nii. Do you know immediately if someone's soul left its body?"

The quirk paused then looked at the child with a complicated glare, only being responded with a cute pout. The struggle to defy was real. Izuku’s eyes glimmered with water and disappointment drenched out.

“Please answer vocally, Harry-nii.”

"...Yes."

Izuku sent a sunny smile to Harry.

Tsukauchi and Nedzu looked at each other and nodded. Yes, they can communicate mentally. Also, how much Midoriya Izuku managed to weaponize his cute face and wide eyes even THAT dreaded to say no.

The headmaster was above giddy. Here they were, with a child that could control The Greater Being to his every whim.

They were very fortunate the boy was not on the road of the world’s destruction. It may change after studying under him but what can humans do to stop us? Nedzu cackled, Tsukauchi flinched at that sound.

"What do you do with them? The souls, I mean."

"My task is to judge and guide souls to the afterlife."

"Why do you not interfere with the living?"

"Tsk. The living is outside my responsibilities."

Did he just click his tongue? Interesting. Nedzu sipped on his tea slowly. Izuku seemed to be having fun.

"What is your official title?"

"Master of Death."

Izuku nodded firmly then turned to face Nedzu directly. He stated, "Now you've heard his true nature, you do not need to be afraid of Harry-nii. He cannot interfere with anyone but me. And it’s mostly for healing too!"

“Anyone?” Nedzu repeated subconsciously. Again, the things they left unsaid. That did not say about manipulating un-living matters which was as bad as knowing this was an actual Master of Death sitting not two feet away from you. He became certain it was a good move to keep the boy under his clutches before villains even heard a mention of him. Nedzu glanced at the detective but the man did not seem to notice it yet. 

"So, you knew about Bakugou Mitsuki's death." The detective looked at the companion quirk strangely softer. 

At that question, Izuku’s breath hitched but he still repeated the statement with wet eyes. Harry hummed positively then hugged the boy who was, then, sobbing quietly. Both Nedzu and Tsukauchi glanced at each other, they forgot how young Izuku was. He would be sad to hear someone he knew died and that his companion hid that very fact. The Master of Death rubbed the child’s back in circles while Izuku hid his drenched face into his overly large robe.

They had to wait until the child stopped crying.

The Greater Being admitted suddenly, "Your quirk has been getting stronger, Izu-chan."

At that comment, the child paled. The Headmaster frowned at that reaction. Why is he scared of his quirk getting stronger? Isn't it a good thing?

"Her soul did not reach my realm," said Harry coldly, "she was supposed to."

"Your...realm? The afterlife?" asked Nedzu but he shook his head, "first, we need to understand how Midoriya Izuku's quirk works. You mentioned many things but we need a clear cut explanation."

The child swallowed dry air, "I kinda… I can generate omnipresence around me?"

Excuse me? Very carefully, Nedzu put down his cup.

Izuku grimaced then twiddling his thumbs. "Err… umm. Since I was a toddler, I can see Harry-nii while others cannot. An omnipresence that isn't supposed to be able to affect this side. At first, my power was just enough for Harry-nii to heal me without people noticing. As I grew older, my quirk became stronger and managed to generate Harry-nii to everyone's eyes in a limited time. We thought I could only generate a single being but..."

"Now you theorize that your quirk grows. Strong enough to generate another being."

"And that being is interfering with Aunt Mitsuki's soul. Yes, sir."

Tsukauchi paled then he massaged between his eyebrows. Izuku watched him with concern as if he did not just throw a bomb into the room. Well, this situation is above everyone’s paycheck including mine, Nedzu thought. Unfortunately, the chance of another THAT being generated into the real world was out of tangent for their main topic but could not be swept away entirely.

“So, who is the leader for Bakugou’s kidnapping case?” asked Nedzu, trying to keep the topic on its course. “The information might need to be… ah, filtered to protect our source. You understand.”

“Edgeshot agreed to take the head. I do not know if he will come here himself but Midoriya is indirectly related to the case.”

Izuku’s eyes brightened at the mention of the hero. “Umm… Is this okay? I-I mean to discuss a case with u-umm… me? Technically, I am still a civilian.”

“You are a civilian.” Nedzu nodded at him. “But you are also UA's headmaster personal student which means we can count this as your study field.”

“Ahh… study field?”

“I’ve gathered you wished to be a hero. Am I wrong?”

Izuku hesitated. “I-I want to be a hero!”

Nedzu calmly waved. “Then, it settles. Why don’t we use this as your first analysis problem to solve? If you manage to crack it, Bakugou Katsuki can be released free. I’m sure the experience of being kidnapped alone is enough punishment for what he did to you.”

“Headmaster Nedzu! I do not just hear that!” hissed Tsukauchi. “This is inappropriate for his age to--”

“I-I will do it! We need to help Kacchan as soon as we can! Right, Harry-nii?” Izuku nervously blinked his wide eyes to the other Midoriya.

No one would believe the whining sound Harry made. He was so whipped. Nedzu and Izuku cackled.

Tsukauchi took a step back. “Oh God, there are two of them...”

...xxx…

Floating. 

Flowing. Glowing.

Translucence. Untouchable.

Looking down at her almost transparent hands, Bakugou Mitsuki sighed. She realized how dead she was. It was a quick death with almost no pain. It may be because she died from a heart attack instead of being decayed. With all of her will to protect her only baby, she held on the hand that killed her and followed them to the darker side of the city, the slum, then through the stupid portal. They arrived at a dinky bar which was pretty decent for villains to gather. The room was dark without the window opened to complete the malicious vibe.

It was not a shock she found the room was full of ghosts. Some were crying, some were shouting and some were staring. Mitsuki wanted to puke when she saw a couple of translucent children sitting on the bar, watching her inquisitive.

She wanted to kick and punch and bite the handyman when he shackled her child with old ropes which a bit silly if he knew what Katsuki’s quirk was. It was a bit relieving to know he slept through the whole ordeal… and not screaming profanities to these people which could result in his immediate end. 

*Are you alright?* asked one of the ghostly adults.

Then, every ghost in the room put their attention at her. Mitsuki did not know what to answer but she pointed at her baby being dragged by both males to the other side of the room. A burly male ghost nodded. He seemed friendlier than the other adult ghosts.

*Is he your son?* asked the burly ghost. 

Mitsuki growled, *Yes, he’s being kidnapped from our front door!*

*Tch. They’re getting brave. Did you die recently?*

*...About two hours ago.* She mentally counted which got a whistle out of him.

*Well, if you’re going to be here, better get comfortable. You can call me Vigilante.*

Mitsuki frowned. *That’s not a name.*

*I don’t remember my name. All I know is that I was a vigilante. Many of us were tortured by these bastards until we cannot recall our real name anymore.*

*Oh! I’m sorry. It must be hurt…*

*Yeah, no kidding. So, what do you want to be called?*

*I’m…* Mitsuki glanced at Katsuki, lolled to the side with hands behind his back, bound. She tried to pat his hair only to pass through. Her heart clenched tightly. *...Mother. Please call me Mother.*

*Of course, Mother. Welcome to the ghost assembly.*

...xxx...