Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

All men are not created equal. That is what Izuku learned at the tender age of four, when his best friend got his own quirk, Explosion. Everyone told him he was going to be a hero.

“When will your quirk come in, Deku?”

“I don’t know, Kacchan, it’s gonna happen though, I just know it!”

But it never did happen. Because of the 80% of the population that had super powers, or quirks, of some kind, he was part of the 20%. The quirkless. He’s even gone to the doctor many times, to ensure it wasn’t actually true, but it was. He had the extra toe joint and everything.

He had decided he was going to go again, just to make sure. After the third time, however, his mother, with an exasperated look on her face, sat him down, and told him that she couldn’t afford to take him again. Her face filled with tears, and she pulled him into her soft embrace, “I’m sorry Izuku, I’m so so sorry.” Still, in a world of heroes and villains, Izuku still felt the need to help people, to be a hero even without a quirk.

No one else encouraged him however. His peers, his teachers, the doctor, or anybody else once they found out he was quirkless. His mother was the only exception, but even then, the encouragement was only out of love and pity.

So he grew up like that. Constant resentment from everyone. Kacchan, his best friend, started bullying him (not that he realized, though, since Kacchan was the only thing close to a friend that he had). He’d use his explosive quirk to his advantage, leaving Izuku with severe burns that he’d treat himself, so as to not worry his mother.

By the time he got to middle school, the suicide baiting had started. The first time he heard it, he was leaving school, and hadn’t realized it was directed at him, that is, until the person who had said it grabbed his shoulder roughly, and spit in his face, “Hey, I’m talking to you, you quirkless Deku!” Izuku hastily rubbed the spit from his face, and turned to see a second year. In the moments following, the boy repeated it again, leaving a stunned Izuku behind. And everyday, just like clockwork, he turned around only to be grabbed by Kacchan, and given his daily beating. He returned home that night with the threat lingering in the back of his mind. The person who said it, he didn’t know them very well, so why should he listen to them. And plus, his mother cared about him, so that should be enough to go about his life.

Even as the baiting continued, he never thought twice about them. That is, until his third year of middle school, about a quarter of the way into the year, he heard those dreaded words from what he thought was his only friend.

“Oyy, Deku, here’s an idea, why don’t you go ahead and take a swan dive of the roof, and pray for a quirk in your next life.”

It wasn’t the words that broke him, but rather, the person who said it. Bakugou Katsuki, 3rd year at Aldera Middle School, and his ‘friend’ since he was born. Izuku didn’t think Kacchan would stoop that low, but he did.

When Izuku didn’t say anything, Bakugou took the notebook from his hands and charred it, before throwing it behind him out a window. Him and his cronies, then left Izuku standing there, stock still, his eyes glazed over. There was nothing in his mind as he walked out of the classroom without his stuff, and up the stairwell to the roof. He looked over the edge. ‘This height is enough,’ he thought absentmindedly. He took off his shoes and jacket, carefully folding it and placing his shoes on top of it. Minutes passed, and finally, he stepped over the railing of the school building. He took one look skyward, praying for a better life when he wakes up. His last thought before he jumped was, “I’m sorry, Mom.”

For a brief moment, he felt weightless, light, and happy. And in seconds, it was all over. He was lucky too, because his head was the first thing to hit the ground, killing him instantly, without the pain ever registering.

Chapter Text

The same day Midoriya Izuku passed, Fukuyumi Eri was born. She had bright red eyes, and a small stub of what would soon be a horn on the right side of her forehead. As she grew, her white hair did as well.

People fawned over her, told her what a cutie she was. She loved the attention, and she loved her parents. But, she felt like there was something missing. She didn’t know what that something was until, one day, when she was about four years old, and her mother was working in the kitchen.

There was the sound of glass shattering, a muffled curse, and her father put her down from where he was swinging her around like she was an airplane. She was a bit dizzy, and she hit her head really hard on the coffee table when she was waddling around.

In that moment, three things happened. The first, a flood of memories not her own, yet, familiar. The second, her father came into the room with a worried look on his face. And the third, the moment he touched her, she felt something warm swelling in her horn, a look of shock on her father's face as he vanished, leaving only his clothing behind. Her mother came in to see what the commotion was, and screamed bloody murder.

After the incident, her mother was no longer sweet and loving, and had tried to find different ways to get rid of her. It took months, orphanages wouldn't take her, saying she posed a danger to the other children. She was never taken to the police because of an ignorant belief that she couldn't get help because of an accident.

But a Yakuza group caught wind of what her quirk was through the grapevine, and was willing to take her. Her and her mother met the Yakuza leader, a man named Overhaul, with a frightening bird mask on. As Eri went over to the man’s side, looked at the doors that were closing, and knew that would be the last time she would ever see her mother again. The man, Overhaul, looked to be in his early twenties, and he seemed nice at first, when talking to Eri’s mother. But once her mother was gone, that gentleness was replaced with stone cold indifference.

She had only been in the compound a few days, being introduced to her caretakers. Along with that, she’s had time to sort through the memories. That’s when she remembered(?) something, they were memories of a little boy who wanted to be a hero, but didn’t have the power to do so. The memories of a small, plain looking boy, scorned and put down, everyday of his life. The last memory she saw was that of a darkening sunset, and the feeling of nostalgia. She vaguely remembered that this memory happened the same day she knew her birthday to be. After pondering for a while, of the many theories she went through, she finally came to the conclusion that these memories were from her past life. A boy named...Midoriya Izuku.

About a day after the revelation, however, she forgot about it, as she was being put in intense pain, as doctors crowded around her, harshly jabbing needles into her arms without care for her wellbeing. It left scars. She would sometimes pass the time by counting the scars on her arms. However, as sad as she knew it was. After merely days, she lost count.

After that, weeks went by, with the same harsh treatment. She’d died once or twice (and she had only known that because she knew what it felt like), and that despicable man, Kai Chisaki, or Overhaul, as he preferred, put her back together with his quirk. The first time it happened, she had dry heaved after it was over, along with having a panic attack. She was escorted back to her room and left alone for the rest of the day.

She had tried to escape many times. She’d memorized the hallways of the facility, desperate for a way out, and she finally found one, after weeks of trying.

As she was walking toward the lab again, she ripped free of her caretaker’s hold and sprinted to where she knew the exit was. Alarms started blaring, and she was running as fast as her legs could carry her. She made it out of the compound and through alleyways, desperate for a main road. When she finally came to an opening, she didn’t dare slow down until she ran face first into a stranger’s arms. Only when the warm, safe arms were wrapped around her did she look up. There were two smiling heroes, judging from their costumes. One of them had blond hair, a smiling face, and the number a million on his torso. The other one had bright red hair that stuck straight up, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, probably for his quirk. He too was smiling down at her. It had been such a long time since anyone had smiled at her like that. She couldn’t help the tears that came to her eyes. She had always been a crybaby after all.

“Eri.”

She froze, and turned around.

And there was Overhaul, the same intense expression on his face, and a little bit of anger mixed in. She held onto the hero a little bit more, and whispered so quietly, that the two heroes could barely hear her, “I-I just want Kacchan.” Both heroes' smiles tightened slightly at that.

“Ah, I’m sorry to bother you, but my daughter and I had just had a bit of a small argument, and she just ran off.”

Both heroes looked as though they didn’t buy it, but couldn’t call him out on it. He turned around and motioned for them to do the same. “Come now, let’s not bother these heroes anymore.”

Eri still refused to move.

“Eri.”

She wasn’t going to move, until she saw him subtly take his glove halfway off. And that spurred her, for she wasn’t one to put others in danger. She hurried back to Overhaul’s side, and stole one last look at heroes, who had looks of determination in their eyes that she’s seen often enough in the mirror. She could only hope that these would be the ones to save her.

Chapter Text

“Oyy, Deku, here’s an idea, why don’t you go ahead and take a swan dive of the roof, and pray for a quirk in your next life.”

Katsuki regretted the words the instant they came from his mouth. But there was no going back now. So he continued to completely char Deku’s notebook and threw it haphazardly out the window without looking at where it landed.

There were a couple beats of silence, where neither of the parties said anything. Until Katsuki announced that he was bored and went to leave, his two cronies scrambled after him. and left Deku by himself. He was approaching the exit to the school grounds when he suddenly got a bad feeling. He told the cronies to shove it and leave him alone for the rest of the day. As soon as they were out of sight he went back to the classroom and saw Deku’s stuff but not Deku. Alarm bells were ringing in his head as he looked out the window and saw the charred notebook sitting in the koi bond down below. The ringing grew louder, as a shadow fell over him from above.

An awful feeling had settled in his gut, and had refused to leave, when he spotted Deku on the roof of the school, eyes blank and unseeing. “Deku,” he whispered, knowing it wouldn’t reach his ears. Then, Deku looked up at the setting sun, with a smile on his face. Katsuki knew what was about to happen, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to move, frozen to his spot, he watched as De-Izuku closed his eyes and fell forward. A strangled cry left Katsuki’s throat, “IZUKU!” but it fell on deaf ears. Izuku’s head hit the ground first with a deafening snap. The rest of his body wasn’t faring any better. Mangled was the nicest way to put it.

The moment it sank in what had happened, Katsuki fell to his knees and cried. He cried and cried until he gathered up the courage to call the police, to tell them about Izuku.

When the police arrived, along with his and Izuku’s mother, he was told to give a statement as to what had happened. He left out the part of the suicide baiting, knowing it wouldn’t end well for him.

Auntie Inko was a mess, and Katsuki could see where Izuku had gotten his crybaby tendencies from. His mom did her best to console her, and he did too.

Since he felt partially responsible for his death, as the months went by, he visited Auntie Inko almost everyday. Sometimes they would talk, and she would cook some food for Katsuki, as she would always accidentally cook for two. Sometimes he would go over, and they would both sit on the couch together and silently mourn. Then she would always tell him it wasn’t his fault. Even though he’d seen it happen.

Yuuei Entrance Exams were coming up, and he felt his determination to be a hero strengthen. He knew heroes weren’t supposed to belittle other people and hurt them. Heroes were supposed to save people, and lift them up, just like All Might.

He passed the entrance exam with flying colors, as he expected (though there was the niggling doubt in the back of his mind that told him he didn’t deserve it).

He met his classmates, but it didn’t quite feel the same as it would be if Deku were here. Still though, he pushed forward. Even though he struggled with anger management issues, and still went to therapy, and faced villain attacks at every turn of his high school career, he still went on in his determination. He made friends with so many more people than he thought, and it only drove him further. Sure, he was still crass and hard around the edges, but that’s what made him Katsuki.

He’d decided to go with Dynamight as his hero name, because ‘Lord Explosion Murder’ left a bad taste in his mouth whenever he thought about it. He passed his provisional license exam very narrowly, because he couldn’t afford to not be able to do something in an emergency.

It happened when he went to do his work study at Fatgum Agency. One of the Big Three, Amajiki Tamaki. They’d found evidence of a drug called Trigger, which extremely boosted the user’s quirk, and it was very illegal. Katsuki had defeated the dude with knives all over his body. And this had led to a joint investigation with several other hero agencies, namely the other agencies of the Big Three, which included Togata Mirio, and Hadou Nejire. The other people from his class included Kirishima, Uraraka, and Tsuyu.

They were debriefed on the case with the Shie Hassaikai by the dude from Nighteye’s agency with the centipede head. Then, there was a little girl mentioned. Togata and Kirishima were out on patrol, when out of an alleyway came a small girl who couldn’t have been more than five. She had cherry red eyes, and her arms were wrapped in bandages from her shoulders to hands. There was a small horn on the right side of her forehead, and she looked scared. The faces of the two said it all. But the worst part, was that the next thing she said was,

“I-I just want Kacchan.”

While everyone else was wondering who this, ‘Kacchan’ was. Katsuki sat frozen in his seat. His eyes glued to his hands.

It was Uraraka who noticed first, and she spoke up about it. “Bakugou-kun, are you okay?”

Conversation ceased, as everyone around them was waiting for an answer. After all, it was a rare occurrence that Bakugou Katsuki was ever quiet. His hands shook, and tears streamed down his face. Everyone around them started panicking, with some people (namely Aizawa-sensei, his teacher) coming over to him, shaking him out of his reverie, wanting to know.
“This, girl, you said? I met her a long time ago, and then she disappeared. I was her only friend, and I never knew what happened to her,” he lied.

After all, only one person called him Kacchan, and that person was dead.

Rescue efforts doubled after that, because everyone knew that Bakugou Katsuki was a force to be reckoned with, and anyone that could get close enough to him to make him that emotional, had to be rescued as fast as possible, for Bakugou’s sake.

Chapter Text

Eri had endured more pain in the following days thanks to her little ‘rebellion.’ The person who had been taking care of her had been disintegrated and had been replaced with another one. Months ago, when she realized they were making a quirk-erasing drug, she’d tried to staunch their efforts, with no luck. They had already successfully made five, and they wanted to mass produce them. The thought made her shiver.

She thought back to what she had told that hero dressed in red. Kacchan? Did she know a Kacchan? She thought she didn’t, but there were these hazy images in the back of her mind telling her that, yes, this Kacchan person was important to her, somehow. With all the drama that was happening in her life, she had briefly entertained the thought that she would’ve been better of quirkless. Alas, that train of thought lasted for only a moment, because immediately after she thought, it felt as though a searing pain sliced through her temple. She let out a muffled cry, so as to not alert the guard outside her room. Okay, maybe she wouldn't have been better off quirkless, then.

Before she could do anything else, an alarm started blaring throughout the building. ‘That’s the intruder alert,’ she thought. But she wouldn’t give herself hope that it might be for her. It was probably just another petty gang rivalry, just as it always was. She must’ve lost focus of her surroundings, because one moment she was on the floor of her room(cell), and the next she was scooped up by her ‘caretaker’. He brought her to Overhaul, who then regarded her with his usual contempt. The three of them, plus one she could sense in the vents, were walking briskly toward what she knew were the emergency escape routes. She really started to panic, because her thoughts became muddled, and she really started to panic. She was thrashing around in the caretaker’s arms, hellbent on getting out of them, to try and find somewhere safe. Overhaul attempted to threaten her, but she wasn’t having any of it. She just wanted to see her mom, and Kacchan, and that red hero, and—

A loud crash startled her, and she took in the sight in front of her.

Standing there, with a solid red 1,000,000 boldly branded on his torso, was the hero standing next to the red hero that found her. T-t-they—they really came for her? She hurriedly took advantage of the caretaker’s guard being lowered to wiggle out of his arms and run toward the hero. He caught her with great care, care that she hadn’t felt in a long time. She whimpered pathetically. How would Kacchan react to this? He would probably just think s/he’s being a stupid Deku again. Wait. Deku? Who was Deku?

“Oyy! Shithead! Don’t go running off to fuck knows where without telling anybody! We’re on a need-to-know basis too, damn it!”

She knew that voice. She doesn’t know why she knew that voice. But the moment the owner of said voice stepped out into her eyesight, her eyes widened and a small memory clicked into place. She quickly let go of Yellow Man and went over to smash herself into who she knew was Kacchan. She let out a choked sob now, not wanting to believe that he was right here in front of her. He looks like he’s gotten stronger. He’s always been so strong.

Gently, he set her off to the side and proceeded to beat up Overhaul, who, while he put up a hell of a fight, was simply no match against Yellow Man and Kacchan. Eventually the other heroes arrived, Kacchan picked her back up, and the heroes tied up Overhaul, while Yellow Man, whom she was told was named Lemillion—which made sense, seeing the 1,000,000 digit on his chest—gave her assurances that she wasn’t going to be abused like that ever again.

Everything seemed fine, until they all got to the hospital to be treated for potential wounds, and she was put into a room with Kacchan, who looked as though he didn’t know what to do with himself. She got up from her bed, and went to gently tug on his sleeve. He looked up at her with a gentle expression on his face. “I, um,” she started, speaking for the first time since she was out of there, “I don’t really k-know who you a-are, b-but I think I remember you.”

Silence.

Katsuki didn’t know what to do with this child saying they basically didn’t know who he was. But there was something familiar about the girl in front of him. Something about her mannerisms that struck a chord deep in him. She looked like she wanted to say more, but kept hesitating. He let out a soft sigh and picked her up by her armpits and set her in his lap. She was so small, Jesus Christ. He motioned for her to continue, and if she wasn’t holding onto him with a death grip enough as it was, he would’ve dropped her at the next words that came out of her mouth.

“K-Kacchan? I-I don’t know why I want to ask you this, but… Am I still a useless Deku?”

Katsuki couldn’t handle it. He stood up, the child still hanging around his neck, and dropped to his knees, hugging the frightened little girl back as much as he could without hurting her. He let out a loud, wet sob that just wouldn’t stop. He held her as close to himself as possible, putting a gentle hand on the back of her head. He choked out a garbled, and snot-filled, “No. Never. You were never useless, Izuku.”

He’d suspected, after hearing the word “Kacchan” from his peer, but to actually hear it in front of him? Especially with the girl saying Deku? Of all the god forsaken words, only someone who really knew him would know that. That, and also, he hadn’t muttered that word in years.

That name. She knew that name from somewhere in her mind. But she had never connected the pieces until then.

Izuku.

A name she’d had in a past life.

A fairly recent past life, if the person in her arms was any indication.

H-he was so distraught, what made him like this?

Was it—was it her fault?

“No, no, Izuku, it was never your fault. It was mine.”

Oh, she said that out loud.

“Yeah, you did, ya nerd.”

A light blush rose on her cheeks, and a startled laugh was pushed out of her dried throat. For she hadn’t laughed in a long time. Then, copying Kacchan, she started to cry as well, letting it all out after months in that hellhole.

And that’s how the other pros found them both, lying asleep on the floor, in a never-ending hug, tear stains running down both their faces.

Chapter Text

After both Katsuki and Izuku had woken up—“It’s Eri right now, Kacchan,”—they were told to go to a conference room in the lobby of the hospital. They had been told they were discussing the options of what should happen to Eri now. Katsuki stubbornly refused to let go of him/her—let’s just go with her, for now—after that, supporting her meagre weight, for the whole walk and even when they got there. When he opened the door, every eye in the room was on them, Kirishima went up and greeted Eri, who, while she couldn’t quite smile yet, held a light in her eyes that was unmistakably happiness. Toogata also went to greet her, and she even felt comfortable enough for her to let him give her a small, delicate, fistbump.

Someone cleared their throat.

Katsuki, who had a small smile at the sight of Eri, replaced his expression with a scowl, eyes focused. It was Detective Tsukauchi at the head of the table. He gestured at Katsuki to sit, which he did without making a fuss, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room. “Now, we’re all still here today to discuss where Eri,” he gestured to said girl in Katsuki’s arms, “will go. In the meantime, if there are any volunteers, we—” Katsuki shot up with his hand (the one not holding Eri) in the air, “I’ll do it.”

He’s very certain that Centipeder is making deliberate cricket noises from the back of the room.

Tsukauchi, for all his silence at the declaration, didn’t, in all honesty, look that fazed. “Ah, yes, Bakugou, that was actually the first recommendation from the heroes on scene. This is a good thing actually, we were certain we’d have to convince you somehow.” Katsuki knew they’d come to this conclusion anyway, but he didn’t want to give them the chance to try other options. “But,” the detective started, “are you sure your parents will be okay with this? Normally we wouldn’t allow this except under desperate circumstances, but,” he chuckled sheepishly, “these are desperate times aren’t they?”

The room's mood went somber.

“Of course. My mom would be happy to care for Eri. She cared for Eri before she went missing most of the time anyway, so it’d actually be easier on her if she just stayed full time.”

The detective narrowed his eyes slightly toward Katsuki.

Shit.

He forgot about Tsukauchi’s quirk. Lie Detector, great. The detective gave him a look that said, “we’ll talk about this later.” He resumes the conference on the verdict of the Shie Hassaikai, but Katsuki didn’t really pay attention, since he already knew that they got what they deserved.

It was Tsukauchi and Aizawa that were going to escort them back to Bakugou’s house, in order to make sure the meeting goes well. Eri didn’t let go of Katsuki’s hand until they were in the car, where she settled into his lap. She hummed and played with Katsuki’s hair as they drove, humming All Might’s theme song from the show they watched from when they were kids. Katsuki didn’t bat an eye and even leaned into her touch. Aizawa kept looking towards the road, stealing baffled glances back at him in the rearview mirror.
Katsuki knew he was acting odd in the eyes of everyone who knew him, but he couldn’t help it. He could never be crass with Iz-Eri, not after-

“We’re here.”

Katsuki snapped out of his musings and looked up. Sure enough, they were parked in front of his house. He was silently nervous, as it would’ve been easier without the detective. He’s not sure what would be good, unless…

Katsuki leaned down and whispered into Eri’s ear, “Emit, Detect, False, Izuku, Nick.”

When they were little, before Katsuki had gotten his quirk, the two of them came up with a code when they were on their adventures. Knowing Izuku’s love of quirk analysis, they gave shortened versions of their observations that sound like mindless jumble for those who don’t know. What Katsuki had said to Izuku was, ‘Emitter type quirk, a detection sense for falsity, use real name as a nickname,’ and thankfully, even with her limited memory, Eri seemed to catch on.

The four of them headed for the door, walked up the steps, gave a few knocks, and waited. There was some screaming, followed by a crash and bang and suddenly the door swung open, revealing a frazzled looking Mitsuki, and Masaru not far behind her. “Oy! Katsuki, brat! You said you would get home yesterday, you lying shitfac-” Mitsuki stopped suddenly, when she finally got a look at the company. She clapped her hands together, a huge smile on her face, “Oh! Masaru, look at that! We’ve got company! What did Katsuki do this time?”

The detective as well as Aizawa were visibly shifting uncomfortably, so Eri decided to be the one to take the fall before Katsuki did. So she stepped forward, eyes downcast as she twiddled her thumbs, and puffed out her lower lip, “U-um, Auntie Mitsuki, Kacchan and these nice men said that you would let me stay with you or Mommy Inko?,” a few tears escaped her eyes, both real and to sell the act, “I don’t want to leave you or Kacchan again.” When Eri looked up again, she could see the gears turning in Mitsuki’s head for a split second, processing, before- “Of course! We would love to, baby!” Mitsuki bent down and gently pinched Eri’s cheeks and picked her up. Aizawa looked like he wanted to say something to stop her but he stopped upon realizing that Eri looked content in Mitsuki’s arms.

Katsuki looked over at Detective Tsukauchi, who didn’t seem suspicious of the interaction, and even looked satisfied with the outcome. “Well, that wasn’t too hard then. Bakugou-san, We’ll leave Eri in your care.” With that he turned around and headed back to the car. Aizawa lingered, “Bakugou, bring Eri to school with you for some quirk training whenever she’s ready,” and with that, he turned around and left as well. When they were completely gone, Katsuki breathed a sigh of relief. Mitsuki, realizing they were still in the doorway, ushered them into the living room, where Inko happened to be sitting. Eri wiggled out of her Auntie's arms, and cried (or never stopped crying) as she flung herself into Inko's unsuspecting arms. "Momma! I'm sorry Momma! I-I-I never meant to leave you! You're the best Momma!" Inko looked so lost, and tried looking to Katsuki for answers. Katsuki let out a small chuckle, startling his parents nearby, as he softly said, "Izuku, you never even introduced yourself."

Chapter Text

There was a deafening silence. Eri was looking at her feet, wondering about Inko's reaction. After a few moments, she looked up at the frozen face of her once-mother. There was a soft thump behind them, and Eri turned around to see Mitsuki half slumped to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, her eyes wide, as she stared unseeing at the floor. Masaru just barely caught her.

Inko twitched, and twitched again. The mug of lukewarm coffee in her hand shook, until she dropped it, and it shattered.

“You’re lying,” she whispered.

Eri got off of her, and stepped back. Inko paid no attention to the splattered coffee, and instead shook feverishly with her head down, crocodile tears streaming down her face.

“Katsuki, is this some kind of cruel joke? Haven’t you done enough?!” Katsuki reeled back as though he’d been physically slapped.

Her voice was shrill, “He’s gone Katsuki! Nothing can bring him back!” she choked, “No matter how much you may want to believe it,” she stopped abruptly, before mumbling, “as much as I want to believe.” Her eyes closed, and she said, louder this time, “There’s no way to come back from the dead. My son—my beautiful, darling son—he wasn’t happy here.” Soft green eyes stared up and out to nowhere.

Eri also had tears in her eyes. There was visible regret in her eyes, as she looked down to the floor and clenched her small fists on the hem of her white dress. She dug desperately into herself, trying to remember.

One particular detail stood out to her, and it struck her in a fiery burst of warmth.

“Remember?” All eyes turned toward her, and she ducked, with her cheeks going red in embarrassment, “Remember when I was six, and we were at the park? There was an injured cat right off the main path,” she smiled fondly at the memory. “I wouldn’t leave until we helped it, no matter how much you were insisting that we didn’t.” She looked up at the still-frozen Inko, who had shock written all over her features. “We ended up adopting the cat for a few weeks, before its owner finally came for it. The owner-” she sniffled, and tried to wipe off the tears that were now freely flowing down her face. “The owner was so happy, and told me that ‘a true hero even helps with the small things that everyone else skims over.’”

Eri shook, and ended up falling to the ground, “Even though I was quirkless, it was okay knowing that I at least saved one person, even if it was someone with their cat.” She couldn’t quite smile yet, but there was a shine in her eye that showed as much as a smile could.

Inko sat there, features frozen, before filling with an expression of desperate hope. “N-no. It can’t be.” She shakily stood from the couch, and walked over to where Eri was on the floor.

She gently cupped Eri’s face with her hands, as if holding her too tightly would cause her to break. “Izuku?”

Her face quivered as Eri looked up from the floor and locked eyes with her. “Mama?”

Without warning, Inko lunged forward, encasing Eri—Izuku in a hug, squishing her-uh-his-uh their body in a death grip.

“M-ama. Can’t-breathe.”

Inko didn't let go, but she softened her grip, to where Izuku could breathe again.

“I'm sorry honey. I'm so, so sorry. I should've believed in you all of those years ago. What kind of mother am I?” she garbled out the last words, as it devolved into yet another round of sobbing.

Izuku stepped back momentarily, before looking at Inko and giving the universal kid sign of ‘pick me up.’ Inko obliged, and lifted them up in her arms that way, instead of hurting their knees by being on the floor.

Inko smiled at her wonderful child, and still melted to the ground Mitsuki melted again once more and dragged Masaru down with her as she witnessed the first smile from her best friend that she’d seen in years.

She didn’t even care that her floors were now flooded with the famous Midoriya waterfall tears.

Inko planted a long, wet and sloppy kiss on Izuku’s forehead, prompting an ‘ew, mama,’ from them, and gently placed them down on their feet, before declaring, “I’m making Katsudon for dinner!”

She ran off to the kitchen, leaving everyone in a daze. Somewhere during that confrontation, Katsuki had disappeared into his room to change out of his hero costume, and he came out dressed in casual clothes right as Inko left the room.

When Izuku laid eyes on Kacchan, they ran up as fast as they could (not very fast) and squeezed the life out of his(no pun intended) ankle. “Kacchan! Kacchan!” They sniffed, the sensitive emotions they’d experienced having not left yet. “Tell me about U.A! Is it true that all the teachers are pro heroes? Did you make any friends? What are their quirks? You seemed really closed with that red-haired one! Did-” Katsuki gently put his hand over their mouth, barely making contact with their skin.

“Dinner!” Inko yelled.

Did time really pass that quickly? Or did they just get caught up in asking Kacchan questions? Hmm, probably both.

All five of them—both Mitsuki and Masaru had visible tears in their eyes when they had gotten up from being basically immobile on the floor, and immediately smothered Izuku with worries over their wellbeing and such things—sat down at the dinner table and listened to Katsuki talk about life at U.A, and all the friends he made, and his new reason for becoming a hero.

Luckily, it was found that Izuku still liked Katsudon, even though their taste buds were different.

Katsuki then got a text on his phone—a group chat of his class who added him on there—and it was filled with well meaning wishes and an announcement by Iida—their class president—about the upcoming cultural festival that happens every year.

Izuku was excited! They had heard all about it when they were younger! However, it had already been an emotional day for everyone, and that was accentuated when Izuku yawned really loudly.

So everyone cleaned up dinner and the family took every pillow and blanket from the house to make a huge fort in the living room. It only took one or two stories for Izuku to be out like a light.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s clothing was singed, and he could feel the burns marring his face. They stung. They haven't stung in years. His cheeks were soft, and lacked the calluses that were usually there. He fell on his side, and he's pretty sure he heard a distinct cracking sound. Probably one of his ribs. It hurt, just like when beatings first started.

Another burn appeared on the back of his neck, but it was gradual. It slowly faded from a healthy pink to a blistering red. Izuku itched.

He knows that touching it will only make it worse. Yet the pain of the worsening burn shot down his spine. If he wasn't already on the ground then he'd be there by now.

Fist clenched at his sides, Izuku bore the worsening pain silently. But after what seemed like hours of agony, he cried out.

No. No no no no.

Now they were going to find him! He could hear their distant laughter, jeering and throwing insults at him. But it felt like they were underwater.

Their ears were plugged. They don't know when they started crying, but they couldn't stop even if they wanted to. They were ugly sobs. Ugly sounds, but they were coming out after being packed down for so long.

They wanted to get away getawaygetawaygetaway GeT AWAY.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

They opened their eyes.

Eri was in the room they went to sleep in. But...where was Chisaki? She felt her arms, but as she felt nothing, she began to get more frantic. Where were her bandages?!

Was this a new kind of punishment? Did his patience wear thin from so many escape attempts?

They were her safekeeping. They were what grounded her when she was panicking like this. She wasn't aware she was making noise until the door cracked open.

She abruptly clapped her hands over her mouth, silencing any stray noises that escaped her. She made herself as small as possible, flinching when the door opened wider.

Chisaki was going to kill her again. And reforming was so painful.

But it wasn't Chisaki who peered their face in, it was Katsuki.

It wasn't Chisaki, but a small part of her mind told her it was much worse. She braced herself, but a searing burn never came.

There were only soft footsteps. She dared open her eyes, expecting a harsh glare of constant hatred.

Yet, there was only a sad, mournful look on Katsuki’s face. His hand reached out toward them, but stopped as they flinched violently.

There were tears glistening in Katsuki’s eyes, but he let them fall, there was no one who could be the strong one in this situation. It would only cause more pain.

There was no barrier between them, and Eri slowly opened up in their body language.

Katsuki reached them and scooped them up. They started crying on his shoulder. Inwardly, he panicked.

How'd he get himself here?

He doesn't know how to comfort crying children!

Actually, as a hero he'll probably have to do that. That's not convenient.

Chapter Text

Izuku made no sound when they cried. The tears simply fell, and that was it.

Katsuki put his hand on their hair, softly petting it as they let it all out. They eventually stopped crying, and merely sniffled instead. They pulled away from his shoulder, their eyes shining but mouth remaining in a frown.

Katsuki was determined to fix that.

He picked Izuku up again and brought them to the kitchen. He got out two tea cups and made them some tea. Sitting next to them on the couch, he proposed his idea to Izuku. “I was gonna wait until tomorrow to tell you but,” he paused, looking at Izuku’s face, “Did you want to come to U.A. with me tomorrow?” he asked them. Their eyes were wide, and they hastily nodded. Katsuki smiled back.

They stayed on the couch for a few more hours, before Katsuki had to get ready to go to U.A. Inko came down to the living room shortly after, and sat down next to Izuku, giving them a hug. They stayed there for a few minutes, before Inko let go. “I thought it was just a dream. I’m so happy it’s not.”

Izuku’s eyes remained bright, but still no smile.

Soon enough, Katsuki was dressed in his school uniform, and Izuku in a dress that Aizawa gave them. They rather liked it. It was cute. A car was there to pick them up, and Izuku being the nervous person that they are, held onto Katsuki’s hand for dear life as they entered the car.

Upon arriving at the school, they met with Aizawa, who looked intimidating, but was very nice to Izuku, so they weren’t scared.

Aizawa led them to the dorms, where there weren't many people, because it was still early enough in the morning for not everyone to be awake. It was a weekend, so no classes were actively happening.

There was a girl with a large ponytail sitting in the living room as they walked, wearing pajamas and typing away on a computer. Upon looking up at their entrance, she lit up. “Oh hello! Aizawa-sensei, Bakugou-san, and hm?,” she paused, “And what is your name, little one?” Izuku was slightly hiding behind Katsuki's legs, but as they peeked out from behind him, they nervously stuttered, “E-Eri.”

The girl, recognizing their nervousness, kept the happy exterior and said, “Okay Eri-chan! My name is Yaoyorozu Momo, but you can call me Momo, or Yaomomo, which is what everyone calls me.”

Eri’s eyes gained some sparkle. “I-I wanna meet more nice people!”

Yaomomo put her hands together gently, smiling mischievously, before saying, “Oh yes! Everyone would love to meet you!” She adopted a thinking position, “Honestly the only person I would have thought to warn you about would be Bakugou-san, but you already have that covered I see!”

Eri’s mouth twitched, but still nothing.

Leading them over to the dorm kitchens, Katsuki lifted Eri by the armpits and settled them into a bar stool. They just managed to get their upper body over the counter to see what was going on.

They watched as Katsuki took the seat next to them. He softly patted their head after he was settled.

Aizawa went to get out a binder filled with all sorts of papers. “After we do introductions, I’m going to need you to explain to me how your quirk works, if you can.” Eri determinedly nodded, taking it as serious as a war general.

There was a pitter-patter of footsteps that came from the stairway, before a blond haired boy with a black lightning symbol in his hair walked in. “Yo dudes! What is up on this fine Saturday?” He looked at their present company, “Ohh nice! What is up my dude?” He raised his hand, as if motioning for a high-five. Eri flinched, as if they were about to be hit. The boy quickly retracted his hand, “My bad! Sorry dude, guess that’s a habit I should break.” he said, using the same hand to rub the back of his head. Aizawa glared at him, “Kaminari, mind your manners. This is Eri, she will be with us for the majority of the day.”

Kaminari gave a double thumbs up. Before anything else, Eri spoke up, “It’s They, Aizawa-chan.” they added innocently. Katsuki put a hand over his mouth, most likely to stifle his laughter. Aizawa blinked…then blinked again. “They? As in nonbinary? Sorry Eri, I’ll correct myself from now on,” he said, making no mention of the ‘chan’ they added to his name.

Aizawa pulled out his phone and typed in his notes app, ‘Eri is nonbinary, remember that.’ Before going to the class group chat Iida made at the beginning of the year. He requested that people come down to the common area to meet Eri.

He let Eri know of this, and they nodded before taking Katsuki’s hand for support.

Chapter Text

Eri shrunk behind Katsuki’s legs as the first of the boy’s classmates came down. It was an exuberant boy with blue hair and red eyes. He made constant hand chopping motions as he walked. Eri sniffled and the boy stopped, freezing in his place. “Why hello there young lady! It is a pleasure to meet you! I’m Iida Tenya, Vice President of Class 1-A!” Eri, still unsure, only barely stepped out from behind Katsuki’s legs, “U-um, h-hi Iida-chan. My name is Eri,” Eri looked down to the floor, “I-I’m nonbinary, so, not a lady,” she looked back up and met his eyes! “B-but it’s nice to meet you!” Their eyes shone, even though their mouth was firmly set in a frown.

“Ah, I see! My apologies, Eri-san.”

Eri shook their head, “No! No, it’s not a problem, Iida-chan! Um…” Eri looked like they weren't going to say anymore, until they got a glimpse of the engines in Iida’s legs.

No smile, but their eyes lit up very brightly as they abandoned their spot behind Katsuki’s legs in order to run up to Iida, or more specifically, to Iida’s legs. “Woah! Are those engines? In your legs?? That’s so cool! Are they attached to your bones? Or your muscles? How fast can you go? If you’re in midair can you affect the trajectory of your movement? Can you--” They abruptly cut themselves off, blushing as they tried to hide their face. “I’m sorry! I know it’s creepy when I do that--” Katsuki stepped behind her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder, “It’s not creepy Eri, I’m sorry I ever said that.”

“Wow, never expected Bakugou of all people to be good with kids,” a new person said, having just come into the living room. Eri sniffled, but seemed to be put at ease with the casual commentary. Iida smiled at Eri, “What fascinating questions, Eri-san! I’ve never thought about the structure of my quirk before, I myself am curious now!”

Turning to look at the new person, who seemed to have tape dispensers on his elbows, Iida said, “Good morning, Sero, it is good to see you this fine morning!” He gestured to Eri in his robotic manner, “This is Eri-san! They will be with us today!” Frightened at the sudden attention on them, Eri practically squeaked and ran back to hide behind Katsuki’s legs.

Sero laughed, but it didn’t seem to be out of malicious intent. “Nice to meet you, Eri!” He smiled, before turning to Aizawa, “Also, good morning Aizawa-sensei!” The scruffy man nodded in Sero’s direction. Sero kept his smile, and went to sit down on the couch of the common room.

“Hmm? Hello! You must be Eri!” A boy with a tail said, walking into the room. He waved at her, and Eri waved back enthusiastically. They were still halfway behind Katsuki’s legs, but as they got more confident, they stepped out to the side of Katsuki.

“Eri-chan! I’m glad you’re well!” Kirishima’s voice reached Eri, whose mouth twitched as she saw Kirishima with his hair down. “Kiri-chan! Hi!” They waved at him, and they also looked up at Katsuki to see him smile at Kirishima as well, though he quickly hid it behind a neutral scowl. The beginning of a smile creeped its way onto Eri’s face. It didn’t get much farther than that, but it was progress.

Voices filled the hallway heading towards the room they were in. “Tsuyu-chan, I wonder who this ‘Eri-san’ is, must be someone important for all of us to see!” A girl’s voice said. Another girl responded, “I think it’s exciting, kero.” The two girls stepped into the room, and upon seeing Eri, their already prominent smiles lit up, as they recognized the person they worked together to save.

Suddenly self-conscious, Eri blushed a little, looking at the ground. But then, they steeled their resolve and hesitantly walked up to the two girls, farther away from Katsuki. “U-um, hi! My name is Eri, a-and m-my pronouns are t-they/them!” They blushed and looked away. They didn’t hear anything in return for a couple of seconds, so they looked up at the two girls, who practically had stars in their eyes.

“Eri-chan, it’s so so nice to officially meet you! I’m Uraraka Ochako! You can call me Ochako if you’d like! I hope we can become friends! Can I give you a handshake?” Eri’s hint of a smile grew bigger, and they held out their hand. Ochako grasped it gently, before shaking it up and down, and then letting go. The other girl, the one who looked like a frog, also smiled and asked for a handshake. She said her name was Asui Tsuyu, and told Eri to call her Tsuyu as well.

Eri didn’t quite know what to do now, so they, in a fit of bravery, grasped Ochako’s hand and pulled her back to where Katsuki and Aizawa were. Ochako let herself be pulled, and Tsuyu followed along behind her.

“Kacchan! Do you know Ochako-chan well?” Eri asked. Katsuki, to his credit, dropped his scowl when looking in Eri’s direction, which caught the two girls a little off guard. He crouched down to eye level with Eri, “What, you mean Round Face?” Eri let out a little snort, even as their mouth was in a frown still. Katsuki smiled slightly at that, before he stood up and said, “Aizawa-sensei wants to talk to you again, do you mind if I pick you up again?”

Eri shook their head, “No! I don’t mind Kacchan!” They lifted their hands up in a ‘pick me up’ motion. Katsuki grabbed Eri by the armpits and sat them down on the barstool again. As soon as he let go, Eri was kicking their feet back and forth, as they laid their hands on the counter.

Katsuki went over to the couch to sit down, letting out a tired sigh as he sunk into the couch.

Aizawa looked at Eri, who was shrinking a little under his gaze. They knew Aizawa was nice, but he was still intimidating. Aizawa, similar to Katsuki, also let out a tired sigh, but that seemed to be normal for the man.

“Can you try to activate your quirk?”

Eri clammed up, their bubbly manner quickly gone in place of meekness and fear. “O-okay,” they said quietly. Noticing the sudden shift, Aizawa said, “It’s okay. My job is to make sure the quirk doesn’t go out of control.” Eri nodded as tears started welling up in their eyes. Aizawa briefly considered that Eri didn’t know how to turn on their quirk to add onto the lack of control. That notion was quickly discarded though as Eri closed their eyes and their horn lit up.

Instead of automatically canceling it, Aizawa pushed a fully grown potted plant in their direction for them to put their hands on, “Eri, open your eyes, please.” They did, and when they saw the potted plant, they knew what he wanted them to do.

As their hands touched the plant, it rapidly started shrinking and it almost seemed like time was going backward for the plant as Eri’s quirk reverted it back to its original state. It was fascinating to watch. As the plant disappeared, the ceramic pot itself was also starting to unwind. The texture dismantled itself, and as the pot disappeared, Aizawa cancelled Eri’s quirk.

Eri themselves huffed a sigh of relief. “T-that was scary, Aizawa-chan.” They looked down at their hands in their lap, flexing their fingers as if it would make them understand their quirk any better.

Aizawa himself seemed a little surprised that Eri wasn’t as frazzled as he thought they might have been from the use of their quirk. Although it was possible that they just hid it better, being used to hiding their true emotions from captors who would try to manipulate them.

Eri themselves looked around at the other students coming into the common room, and suddenly felt nervous. They all glanced at them and Eri felt their presences swarm around themselves. The urge to hide was strong, and Eri looked up at Aizawa as they hoped to convey this.

It wasn’t hard to do so, because Eri could feel tears welling up in their eyes. “This…this is too much, A-aizawa-chan,” they hiccuped. Aizawa got up from his chair in as much of an unthreatening manner as he could, and went over to crouch down next to Eri. “Hey, it’s okay Eri-san. Nobody is expecting you to be comfortable right away. These things take time. You’ve already done wonderful so far. Don’t worry,” he comforted.

Even though Aizawa knew Eri was uncomfortable, they were here for the rest of the day, so they brought Eri to their own room and dragged Katsuki along so that they wouldn’t be alone by themselves. All of Katsuki’s classmates were warm and understanding.

The smiles they directed at them, well, Eri couldn’t help but feel like those smiles were misdirected. Eri didn’t deserve such kindness, especially to the likes of them.

Katsuki could practically read their line of thinking as they got situated, and he stopped it as much as they could. “Hey Eri, it’s okay. Nobody here thinks you’re a waste of space. They think the opposite, actually. You deserve to be right where you are more than anyone in the world. I--” he made a frustrated noise, but it was clear that it wasn’t directed at Eri, but at himself. He looked away, staring at the wall even as he said, “Words cannot describe how awful I feel at what I did to you. You deserve everything, Izu.”

Eri couldn’t help but cry at that. They were both happy and sad tears. They couldn’t smile yet, but instead they launched themselves at Katsuki in a hug as tight as their four year old body could do.

Katsuki didn’t speak, his disbelief clear at the action. He hesitantly returned the hug, gently wrapping his hands around Izuku’s back. They didn’t stop crying, and he felt comfortable enough to let a few of his own tears fall as well.