Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Y’all are really not gonna like what I have to say at the station!” he singsonged.

“Kid. Right to remain silent and that shit. Shut up.”

“Wow, Eraser. Cursing in front of a child. Who would have guessed!”

“Siren. Shut the fuck up.”

Izuku sat back in his seat with a pout. His wrists were starting to ache where they were cuffed behind him. “I would have done it if you asked nicer you know.”

“I highly doubt that.”

Izuku huffed an annoyed breath. “Thanks for the confidence.”

“Siren,” the detective piped up from the drivers seat. “Please. Will you please be quiet?”

“Yes, sir!”

He held in a laugh at Eraserhead’s offended expression. It would be even better-well, worse for those two-once they were at the station and they found out that he was quirkless.

You see, Izuku decided a few months ago that he was going to be a vigilante. It would help him as training to be a hero. Especially since he could not possibly get in trouble for it.

It was the government’s fault for not fixing the loophole.

So, he became a ten-now eleven-year old vigilante. He did not at all try that hard to be popular, or to have a specific calling card. But, thugs had taken to calling him ‘Siren’. He was not exactly sure why. All he did was mumble while he took them down. How did that become the equivalent of some mermaid?

He let Eraserhead pull him out of the cop car and into the Police Station. He held in a snicker at the surprised looks that he was sent. No one would expect someone as tiny as him to be arrested. Especially not decked out in black clothes, a cloth face mask, and fingerless gloves.

He heard a voice whisper, “That’s Siren?”

Izuku really was not aware he was so popular.

The Detective led him and Eraserhead into an Interrogation Room, and his hands were uncuffed, then recuffed in front of him, connected to a bar on the table. The Detective settled in a chair on the other side of the table in front of him while Eraserhead leaned in a corner.

“Now. I didn’t get to properly introduce myself earlier. I’m-”

“Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa of the Musutafu Police Department.”

The Detective stared at him in surprise.

“The kid did that to me, too. Even mentioned what agency I freelance under,” Eraserhead stated.

Tsukauchi just cleared his throat. “Right. Anyways. What is your name so we can contact your parents?”

Izuku chuckled. “No.”

Tsukauchi sighed. “Kid. We need to call-”

“And I said no. You’re actually holding me here without need. You can’t legally charge me as a vigilante.”

The Detective’s left eyelid twitched.

“Oh! Does that mean lie or truth?! That’s interesting that there’s a physical reaction too!”

“…What?”

“You’re quirk. Your left eyelid twitched just now,” Izuku stated, watching the man’s eyes closely. “Must mean lie. Didn’t twitch that time.”

Tsukauchi stared at him in surprise again. This was probably going to become a repetitive thing for the man.

Eraserhead hid his mouth in his scarf. Probably hiding an amused smirk.

“Now, I’m spurious about why your quirk registered that as a lie. There is a loophole in the vigilante law.”

“Which is?”

“It doesn’t apply to the quirkless!” Izuku stated matter-of-factly. “The law describes vigilantism as ‘illegal quirk use without a hero’s license’.”

There was no twitch that time.

“You’re telling the truth?” Tsukauchi wondered a loud, turning to look at Eraserhead, who just shrugged with a blank expression.

“Of course I am. Now, why did your quirk register me saying you can’t charge me as a lie?”

“Probably because you’ve used a quirk, kid.”

Izuku frowned when the Detectives eyelid held no twitch. “That’s impossible,” Izuku stated, growling when the eyelid twitched again. “Your quirk is broken! I have the freaking toe extra joint that declares me quirkless!”

No twitch that time.

I have the toe joint! I can’t have a quirk. I can’t get my hopes up for that again!

Tsukauchi turned to Eraserhead with a lost look. “She-“

“He.”

“What?” the man asked.

Izuku shuffled awkwardly in his seat and tried to emit confidence. “I’m a boy. I know it doesn’t look it ‘cause my mom won’t let me cut my hair. But, I am a boy!”

He felt a knot untwist itself when Tsukauchi’s eyelid did not twitch, letting out a relieved breath.

He felt Eraserhead’s eyes piercing into him instead of the ground, and looked up to see the man looking at him with a fair amount of anger in his eyes. He was about to feel betrayed by his favorite Underground Hero, when he lifted up his capture weapon to show a safety pin with beads connect to his costume.

“Don’t worry kid. I get you.”

Oh. It was at my mom, not me.

He nodded before averting his eyes to stare at the table in between his arms.

“Thank you. Sorry for interrupting you.”

“I-It’s fine,” the detective stammered, probably not expecting the apology. He turned back to Eraserhead and seemed to choose his words carefully. “He isn’t lying about the toe joint. But every time quirklessness and him are brought up, it registers as one.”

Izuku stared at the detective in disbelief. “How could I possibly be lying about that?! I have the medical diagnosis! That’s what I’ve had registered since I was four!”

Eraserhead shook his head. “Kid. You have practically caused many villains to go through minor psychological trauma. There is no way you could do that without a quirk.”

“I don’t know why those villains are over reacting when I literally just talk to them! Half the time I’m just mumbling about their quirks and-” 

His voice cut out and a cold feeling settled in his chest. Before he could start hyperventilating, the feeling went away. He turned to Eraserhead, who’s hair was just settling down.

“What-what did you-what did you do?!” Izuku stuttered, terrified it would happen again.

The Hero sighed. “I erased-“

“No! I know how your quirk works. It erases the quirk of those who aren’t already physically changed by their quirk or whatever. I want to know how you removed my voice!”

Izuku’s hands were ringing together with anxiety. He could not even begin to process what had happened. Even if he had a quirk, which was unlikely, how did the hero do that!

~§~

“Tsukauchi, I’m gonna uncuff him.”

“What? Why?!”

“He’s having a panic attack and the cuffs could hurt him.”

Shouta took the cuffs off of Siren, who immediately stood up, knocked back his chair, stumbled backwards over the chair, and then curled up in a ball against the wall.

“I don’t think the cuffs would have done this much damage.”

“At least he didn’t pull his arm out of socket!”

Shouta slowly made his way over to the boy, crouched, and tried to get his attention.

“Hey, Siren,” he slightly cringed, wishing the boy would tell them his name. “I’m going to count the 4, 7, 8 pattern. Can you follow that with me? Good. Now in, 2, 3…”

Shouta spent a couple minutes breathing with the boy before he fully sat cross legged on the floor.  He offered one of his hands, and had to hide a smile when the boy shakily took it.

The kid’s breathing was back under control, if maybe a little wheezy. 

A kid this young surely wouldn’t need to yet, would he?

“Kid, I need you to be honest. Are binding right now?” Shouta asked.

The kid gave him a fearful glance, before nodding. “Yeah, but I don’t own a binder.”

Shouta nodded with a slight grimace. He had personal experience dor how unsafe that was. “Alright. I’m going to take you to the restroom while Tsukauchi gets you a sweater from lost and found. Okay?”

The boy nodded again, probably recognizing it was easier to go along with it than to fight.

After the minor problem had been resolved, they were back to square one. They were sitting at the interrogation table in their respective seats.

“Kid, we are going to have to call your mom eventually.”

“Even if you did, she would try to bubble wrap me and hide me. Then I’d just come out so I could get kicked out and actually have to fight crime to survive,” the kid stated. It was said with anxiety and desperation.

“And you know she would kick you out, how?” Tsukauchi asked. He sent a look over to Shouta.

The kid was telling the truth.

“Let’s just say my childhood best friend didn’t get the nicest response for asking my mom to call him by his name.”

An idea came to mind, and he turned to the detective, who perfectly understood what he meant.

“No.”

“But if we-”

“He’ll just cor-”

“But he can explain-”

“What’s going on?”

The two turned to Siren, having forgotten that he was even in the room.

“What’s going on is that I’m going to call Nedzu. He could help us figure out your quirk and once we figure it out, we can have you put in the Rehabilitation Program for Vigilantes.”

“I’ve actually never heard about that. What is it?”

“Basically, it’s only really used for adults to get them properly trained and receive a license. It also places a hero, usually the one that caught them, in charge of them.”

Tsukauchi sighed. “And I don’t want Eraserhead to do so because Nedzu-”

“Is a stoat obsessed with world domination and I’m an unnecessarily smart kid who knows too much?”

“What do you mean by ‘stoat’? Why is that ringing up as true?” Tsukauchi questioned. 

Siren seemed to curl into himself. “Well, it is quite obvious that that is the main animal he is. And likely with his torture he either was genetically modified as larger or had some other slightly bigger animals thrown in and I should probably not be so nonchalant about someone elses trauma so I’m gonna shut up now.”

The two just stared at the boy before sharing a look.

“I’m gonna call Nedzu…”

“You should cal Nedzu…”

As Shouta raised his phone to his ear, he could not help but hide a chuckle. Of course they had to have a smart problem child.

Hopefully I won’t have to fight Nedzu for placement. I’m sure that my partners would let me bring home a stray if it isn’t a cat again.

“Eraserhead! To what do I owe the pleasure of this late night call?”

Oh. He had forgotten how late it was. Oh well.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Just that we have a vigilante that didn’t know he had a quirk, because he has a toe joint. But, I definitely erased something. And I’m fairly certain that you would try to corrupt the kid anyways.”

“And what makes you say that?”

Shouta sighed. “When me and Tsukauchi were discussing whether or not to call you, the kid called you a ‘stoat’,” he could practically feel his boss’ evil grin. “And, to put it in terms I am comfortable saying: upon further prompting he suggested that you were only so much bigger than said animals because of genetic modifications or being mixed with maybe a larger animal.”

The line went silent for a good minute. Tsukauchi just gave him a look that he only shrugged to.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

With that, the principal hung up.

“I guess we wait.”

It was not a long one. He took that time to text his partners.

Dry Eye:

Hypothetically, if I brought home a stray…could we keep it?

Loud Blonde:

You know we have too many cats, Shou. We could turn it into a cat cafe that lets the cats be adopted after you nurse it to health tho.

Why did his husband have to be perfect?

Dry Eye:

Not that kind of stray…

ChainsnWhips:

Shou, you can’t kidnap a child

Dry Eye:

Not even one threatening to come out just so he can stay fighting crime?

Loud Blonde:

Kami, the poor listener

ChainsnWhips:

Damnit Shou

Dry Eye:

So…that’s a yes?

ChainsnWhips:

We’re already clearing the extra room.

He hid a grin in his capture weapon that Tsukauchi definately saw.

Soon the principal was there, and he decided standing on the table was the best way to observe the boy.

“It is extremely interesting to me how you were unaware of your quirk for so long. What is it that villains have nicknamed you?”

The kid looked a little distraught. “They’ve taken to calling me ‘Siren’, which is weird because I’ve tried making my voice deeper.”

Nedzu nodded. “I see how that can be concerning, but personally when I heard the name ‘Siren’ I saw less of the focus on a ‘female’ creature and more of a lure for for the wicked to meet their doom.”

The kids eyes filled with tears, and he moved to rub them away. It made Shouta glad that he had called Nedzu to see the kid.

As Siren calmed down, Nedzu turned to Shouta and Tsukauchi.

“Have you had him try to use his quirk yet? You said that something had happened?”

Shouta shrugged. “When I used my quirk he lost his voice.”

Nedzu nodded. He turned back to Siren. “Siren, would you be willing to try to use your quirk on me?”

“I-I mean,” the kid stuttered. “E-Even if I di-id have a quirk, I wouldn’t even know how to use it!”

“I understand your concern. Eraserhead explained to me that you have the toe-joint,” Nedzu agreed. “However, we do have some facts. There is the small percentage of people who have quirks even though they do in fact have a toe-joint. And it seems that you fit for the fact that most people with this abnormality tend to have more mental quirks. Their bodies just don’t see the need to follow through with the average evolution since the mind is evolved enough.”

Nedzu paused to let that sink in for the boy. Honestly, Shouta himself felt the need to process it. 

“S-So…if I really do have a quirk, then how do I trigger it?”

Nedzu grinned. “What do you normally do when you encounter a villain?”

“I-I guess I analyze the situation and the quirks. Although, when I analyze I tend to mutter. I guess my muttering will sometimes distract villains enough for me to defeat them.”

“Well! That makes this easier! Analyze my quirk, but do it with the intention of using power instead of just analyzing!”

“O-Okay…”

Shouta and Tsukauchi watched on as the kid started his mumbling. It honestly was pretty captivating to watch the kid do his analysis and throw his heart into it.

It was strange to say that Shouta almost felt like he was being sucked in by Siren’s words. Like he just wanted to keep listening.

Like everything else disappeared-

He shook his head and covered his ears, fighting whatever had just happened to him.

The kid yelped, and he could feel awareness return fully to himself.

“Fuck, kid. ‘Siren’ was way to accurate.”

“I didn’t want to stop listening, it was so weird,” Tsukauchi muttered.

Nedzu nodded. “Indeed! Most mental quirks do not work on me, but you seem to have an extremely powerful quirk to your advantage!”

The three of them finally focused on the kid, who looked like he wanted to curl up in a ball again.

“I-I could feel it that time…And when Eraserhead broke the connection-or I think tried?-I could feel it and had a chance to strengthen what control I had, but I was so startled that I just let go.”

The kid started breathing a little harder. “So…is the rehabilitation program still available?” he joked. 

Nedzu nodded. “Yes! I should be able to pull some strings for you to be placed despite being a child! I imagine you wanted him to be placed with you, Eraserhead?”

Shouta nodded. “That would be preferable.”

“Great! Now, we only have to contact your parents! We could probably work out a partial custody agreement-”

Siren frowned at that, but seemed confused by his own disappointment.

“Have I said something wrong?” Nedzu asked.

Siren hesitated for a moment. “My mom won’t let me transition, but she’s still a good mom?”

Tsukauchi lightly flinched besides Shouta. 

“Kid. I’m gonna ask you a few-probably difficult-questions. Are you okay with that?” Tsukauchi offered

“Okay…”

“Has your mom ever neglected you?”

“I…in what ways?”

“Has she not fed you?”

“She makes sure there’s food in the fridge to feed myself.”

“True. What about emotionally? Does she ignore your feelings or make you feel like you can’t be having a bad day around her?” he asked, clarifying at the kids confused look.

“But! She works a lot! I can’t make her worry about me when she needs to sleep or go to work!”

Eraserhead held back a growl, not wanting to interrupt Tsukauchi.

“Did you come to that conclusion on your own?”

“I-no? There were a few times that she asked me to calm down on my own cause she was tired? But-”

“Calm down?”

“I…I cry a lot for stupid reasons. And, I have a lot of panic attacks.”

“True. Now. Has she ever abused you physically?”

The kid actually had to stop to think.

“No? Before D-my father even left because of my diagnosis, he would hurt me for not being perfect and she would just tell me to get better and the pain would stop? But she wouldn’t participate?”

Tsukauchi flinched again. “Kid. I need you to know that my quirk relies on fact, not belief. And when you said ‘no’, it registered as a lie. Why is that?”

Siren was startled. “But, it couldn’t have been abuse! She was just punishing me because I was too stupid to get away from bullies! And maybe she was a little rougher than a nurse should be cleaning my wounds when I was younger, but that was all punishment I deserved!”

Shouta’s eyes darkened with anger and sorrow. “Kid. I need you to understand that being punished for doing something wrong and excessive force to the point of abusive are two completely different things.”

“Like-Like how Endeavor is considered a bad hero?” the kid asked, after a moment of too long silence. “He tends to go overboard with the villains he faces, often leaving civilians injured in the wake of his fights. You’re saying what my mom di-does is kinda like that?”

He hated how good of an analogy the kid had made.

“Yeah, Siren. Kinda like that.”

The kid’s face grew pinched, and Shouta hated to see the kid cry for the third time that night. He offered a hand to the kid over the table and was glad when the kid-if hesitant-grabbed it. 

Tsukachi cleared his throat. “Now, we have enough to pull you out of your mom’s custody with a chance of her earning it again over time. Any questions?”

“I would be placed in Eraserhead’s custody?”

“Yes.”

“…Could I possibly get my hair cut too?”

Shouta nodded. “Sure. I’ll take you first thing this afternoon after we both get some sleep.”

“Thanks! Um. I don’t have any more questions.”

“Alright. Can we get your name, now?” Tsukauchi asked hesitantly.

“M-My family name is M-M-Midoriya.”

Tsukauchi frowned a little, and Shouta could understand the kid’s hesitance.

“Can I get a first name too, Siren?”

The kid tensed. “I don’t like it.”

Shouta nodded. “That’s okay. You can write it down if you need. Did you have a different name in mind?”

The kid neither tensed up more, nor lightened, which Shouta took as a good thing.

“…Izuku. You can call me Izuku.”

Shouta gave the kid’s hand a small squeeze. “It’s nice to meet you, Midoriya Izuku. My name is Aizawa Shouta. You should probably know if I’m going to be your guardian.”

The kid’s smile made the admission well worth it.

Chapter Text

He knew he was muttering up a storm, but he was not quite capable of stopping himself. For one, he was pretty sure Eraserhead-well-Aizawa was about to adopt him. Which, was kind of a dream come true, but terrifying all the same. 

Second, his mom was going to have him removed from her custody.  How was she going to react? Would she be happy? Mad? Sure, she had not exactly been acting as a traditional mother in a few years. But that did not mean she did not want him?

Third, he was certain that Eraserhead had partners? He did not want to be a burden on them that was just suddenly thrown into things-

“Kid. I need you to pay a little more attention to your muttering.”

“Ah! I’m sorry! I know it’s creepy and annoying!”

The hero just gave him a look from where he was walking beside him. “No. I mean that the biggest trigger we have for your quirk is your muttering, so it will be a little hard to get anywhere if I’m accidentally caught by it.”

“Oh.”

Aizawa seemed to actually struggle for a moment with the right words.

“I was actually planning to talk to you about that. But you guessed it? Why do you think I’m married? Let alone to more than one person?”

“…It’s gonna sound stupid.”

“I promise you kid. Anything you point out might be important for us to keep in check.”

Izuku nodded a little hesitantly. “It’s just, you’re a little meaner when you insult Present Mic and Midnight in terms of what I’ve seen at sports festivals,” Izuku said, rushing to hurry and expand. “And normally most heroes would even have a slightly fragile look in their eyes, but they almost take your insults as a challenge. Then there is Midnight, who only ever listens to you when she’s being told she’s going overboard.”

Aizawa snorted. “Yeah, right-”

“No! Really! It tends to very fractional, as if she’s slowly letting up on her hero personality.”

Aizawa nodded, making Izuku feel a little better.

“Honestly, I think Present Mic is the most obvious.”

“How’s that? Zas-Mic tends to be pretty good at putting up a work wall.”

“Yeah, but he’s hell bent on annoying you in the mean time.”

“…And I’m so used to it that I just view it as normal. I see.”

“Probably. Uh. This is it.”

They had reached an apartment building. It was about two am, so mom would be home in about an hour. Izuku paused to give Aizawa a chance to change his mind.

Aizawa only nodded toward the entrance. “Lead the way.”

They reached the door of the apartment, and Izuku took a breath before unlocking and opening it. He walked in with Aizawa, who did not seem that surprised by how nice the apartment was, which almost made Izuku feel worse, but he had to focus.

They were here to have him finish packing in time for his mom to come home and have things explained.

Izuku first made sure to grab his school supplies and notebooks. To him, those were the most important, even more than clothes.

Next, he started grabbing his hero merch. He wanted to keep all of his All Might figurines because a lot of them were expensive and some of his posters. That would be all.

Then he moved onto clothes. He had a minimal amount and was not sure what Aizawa would say when it came to them. So far the Hero was just using Izuku’s duffle bag and spare backpacks to pack what Izuku had decided was important.

“Aizawa-San? Should I grab all of my clothes?”

Aizawa looked up from where he had been reading one of Izuku’s notebooks, which made him flush in embarrassment. They were not that good. Aizawa might realize he should just leave him-

The hero stood up and walked over to Izuku’s closet and leafed through a couple shirts before grimacing.

“It’s up to you. I prefer comfy clothes while Zas-Mic and Midnight prefer to look pricey. The more you grab the less time Midnight will force you out shopping.”

Izuku nodded and decided to grab at least two weeks worth of clothes.

He moved onto his photos he had on his desk.

“Aizawa-San?-“

“Kid. Aizawa is fine. I don’t care for formalities much unless others do. So don’t unless you want to. I don’t c-mind otherwise.”

He took a breath. “Okay, Ai-Aizawa. Um. What you said about my mom?…Does that apply to friends, too?”

Aizawa finally looked up to see the kid shaking with clenched fists staring at the floor.

“Yeah, kid. It can apply to friends, too.”

That broke a dam that did not seem to be the one Aizawa was hoping to break.

“E-Even if I’m being an-n-noying and mumbling. Or if I offer Ka-him help and he-he thinks I’m looking down on him. Or because I’m-“

Izuku smashed his palm over his mouth.

Aizawa stood up, but it did not at all feel threatening. “Because you’re what, Izuku?”

Oh, being called his name should not make him so happy in a moment like this. 

“Because when you realized you were a boy and told your friend your name and he changed it to reminded you that you’re just a D-Deku?”

Aizawa almost startled back, causing Izuku to curl in on himself. 

This was it. He finally found out I’m-

Arms wrapped around him.

“I’m sorry kid. But everything you’re describing is exactly what I told you earlier. Your mumbling is smart and if you’re not using your quirk I’m sure it would be intelligent as hell. Helping out your friend means you care. He shouldn’t have seen it as anything otherwise. And you’re definitely not useless. We usually let vigilantes stay out on the streets, but we wanted a chance to turn you toward hero work while you were young. Okay? You’re more than anything those bullies called you.”

Izuku clung to the man and sobbed. The rug was pulled from under his feet for the second time that night, which probably was not the mentally healthiest thing, but he knew in the future he would have rathered it then instead of later.

Izuku was able to calm down a little quicker though. He was not okay by any means, but he was good to continue. He grabbed his pictures and helped Aizawa pack the last of his stuff.

A ping came from Aizawa’s phone. 

“Mic is here with the car. I’ll take a few bags down by fire escape since your mom is sure to get back soon.”

Izuku nodded and went out to wait on the couch. While he waited he could just faintly hear Aizawa come back from the first trip, chuck a couple out the window, and then take the last of the bags.

The only way he knew some were thrown was a shout of, “Watch out with the heavy ones!”

Izuku stifled a chuckle that was quickly silenced by the panic from a noise and having to instead shove down said panic. He could hear his mom walking up the steps, and he really wanted Aizawa there with him.

Luckily, the man appeared just before his mom did.

“Iwa? Are you awake? Honey? Why are all the-who are you!?”

Izuku jumped up. “Mom! This is Pro Hero Eraserhead. I’ve mentioned him a few times.”

She nodded, still concerned. “Why are you here in the middle of the night? Did a villain attack happen?”

Aizawa took that as his cue to speak up. “I’m here on behalf of the Musutafu Police Department. About two hours ago-” the man made eye contact for a split second before continuing. “I-Iwa had been arrested for vigilantism over the last six months.”

Izuku knew until he said anything that it was safest to let Aizawa use the name his mom called him. It did not make it hurt any less though. 

The hard set lines that were hidden as concern on his mom that he could see were not helpful either.

“Iwa!? How could you? You know you’ve been falling behind on your school work!”

It’s not my fault the teachers won’t grade me right.

“Ma’am. There’s more if you’ll let me continue?”

His mom gave Izuku one more-was that hate?-stern look before turning to the Hero with a softer look. “Sorry. Yes. Continue.”

“Because of Iwa being arrested, she’s been placed in the rehabilitation program. It’s basically probation when it comes to kids. The thing is, that she’ll be removed from your custody during the time she is in the program.”

Izuku sucked in a few calm breaths. Aizawa was only doing it to keep him safe. Not because that was how he felt.

“Why would Iwa need to be placed in such a program? Also, doesn’t that program usually help vigilantes become licensed heroes? My husband went through it when we were younger. Iwa’s quirkless. What’s the point?”

Aizawa gave her a blank look. “Just because Iwa is quirkless, doesn’t mean she can’t be a hero.”

Oh. I know I have a quirk now, but I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that.

“No she can’t? She’s absolutely worthless! She can’t do anything! Hell! I’m surprised she even survived a single night vigilanting! Let alone six months? Did she lie to you?”

Izuku ignored the tightening of his chest. ‘She’. So many times. I got to hear ‘he’ and got so happy, but now I have to hear ‘she’ over and over and-

“No. We have video evidence.”

Mom let out a huffed breath. “Just leave her here! I’m sure I could punish her properly enough to teach her what she did was wrong.”

“And what would that entail?” Aizawa asked, voice and face revealing nothing, but Izuku could practically see his eyes burning with rage.

“Her figurines taken away? No TV? Maybe no dinner for a week. Definitely a good beating.”

Izuku was not able to hide the breath that was punched out of him. Aizawa won’t leave me with her? Right?

He was about to start pleading with Aizawa when the man legitimately growled.

“With that, I’m more inclined to encourage the police file papers to make your loss of custody more permanent. I have a strong influence amongst them, so can you honestly tell me that you really believe she deserves that for trying to help people?”

Mom had a strange look in her eye. “You mean, I can get Iwa off my back by just promising to beat her? Is there a paper I can sign? Yeah. I think she deserves that. She already makes me suffer. I get paid less just because she’s my daughter-”

“Son,” Izuku blurted.

His mom turned to him with a glare. “What?”

“If you’re going to give me up that easily, you might as well refer to me correctly,” Izuku stated, wondering where the confidence came from. “I’m a boy, Mom. My name is ‘Izuku’. Not ‘Iwa’.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah. You can keep it. I don’t want it.”

Izuku felt pain stab him right in the heart, and knew he just needed to escape the walls that were closing in on him. He was out the door before he started thinking about running.

~§~

Damn it. Hopefully Zashi would catch Izuku for him. For now, he just focused on pulling papers out of his capture weapon. They had a feeling this might happen, and prepared the paper work for her to voluntarily give up custody.

That did not mean they were just gonna let her walk free. But, they could let her think that for now.

“Here. If you sign these, the kid won’t be back at the end of their probation. All I’ll need are the kid’s documents once your done.”

The woman just shrugged and signed her way through the pages before handing it back. She went to the kitchen for a moment, before coming back and handed Shouta a couple of papers.

“Thank you. I’ll be out of your hair now.”

With that Shouta stalked out. He ran to where Zashi was parked, only to find the kid wasn’t with him.

“Where’d he go?”

“What?”

“The kid! He ran out having a panic attack and I had to stay to finish up paperwork! I assumed you’d catch him!”

Zashi was about to respond when he heard a whimper. Kami. This kid would kill him.

Shouta walked slowly into the alley, Zashi a few feet behind him. He scanned up and down the alley while keeping a hand in his capture weapon. He heard another whimper coming from behind a dumpster.

“Izuku? Kid? Hey, there you are. What can I do, kid?”

“Just leave me here. You h-heard her. I’m worthl-less. I’ll just get in the way.”

Shouta’s heart shattered from where he crouched. “Kid, I can’t do that. It’s illogical to just abandon the people you care about.”

The kid’s head shot up. “B-But!-”

“But nothing. Your mom and your friends don’t see what I can. And I see a kid who wears his heart on his sleeve and cares too much about others. I see a hero, Izuku.”

Izuku started sobbing harder, and seemed to be restraining himself.

“Ai-Aizawa-SS-S-Aizawa. Can I have a-another hug?”

Shouta just held his arms out instead of answering, and the kid immediately shot forward and held on with a nearly bruising grip while his crying was starting to become more of wailing. Shouta almost stumbled back, but was caught by Zashi.

The kid ended up passing out in Shouta’s arms, so he picked him up and got in the car with Zashi.

“The listener has gone through a lot, huh?”

Shouta nodded from where he sat. The kid refused to let go of him in his sleep, so he sat in the front with the kid in his lap. He made the excuse that since it was night there would be less cars, but he needed to be close to Zashi. Izuku’s case brought up a lot of bad memories. 

He brushed his fingers through the kid’s hair. He hoped the kid kept it long enough for the curls to show. They were honestly adorable. 

“Yeah. I think the worst was the last breakdown. He impulsively came out after she * sigh * she called him worthless and implied-no said that she’d beat him. She called him ‘it’ and said she didn’t want him anymore,” Shouta took a breath to make sure his anger did not wake up the kid. “I think that’s the first time she ever expressed that she didn’t want Izuku in front of him. At least verbally. It fucking broke him.”

Zashi sucked in a breath. “Yeah, I can get that. I remember when that happened to me,” Zashi whispered, chuckling with self-deprecation. “I don’t think I spoke for like a week.”

Shouta nodded. “My parents never said it. I kinda wish they did. It would be easier to get over that way.”

They were silent the rest of the ride, just listening to Izuku’s silent snores.

Nem met them outside when they arrived, almost squealing when she saw Shouta carrying the kid.

“He’s adorable! Take him inside! We can handle the bags!”

Shouta was given no choice, just pushed to head into the apartment.

He went in and put the kid on the couch, deciding he would react better to being in the livingroom than a random room. He grabbed a blanket from the top of the couch and draped it over the kid. Hopefully he would sleep for at least a couple of hours.

He would if his partners would stop being loud assholes. He turned to the door with his eyes blazing red, causing the giggling idiots to quiet down.

“Sorry, Shou. We’ll be quieter,” Nem whispered, causing Shouta to let up with his quirk.

“Sorry. I just want to make sure he stays asleep.”

 “We get it, Shou. We were just excited about the Little Listener and forgot, so it was good for you to remind us.”

The two left to put the bags in the kid’s room before coming out sit on the stools at the counter.

“What are we doing about work tomorrow? Or I guess, in three hours?” Nem asked.

Shouta sighed. “Nedzu was able to get my classes covered for the next week since I already have lesson plans in case of raids. He said that he just needed you two to come in today and get plans for however long you needed. He said you should be able to come home after lunch though, if you wanted to.”

The two nodded. 

“Why did Nedzu answer your email so late?” Zashi asked.

Shouta chuckled. “I had actually called Nedzu because the kid didn’t even know he had a quirk.”

“What?!” the two exclaimed, just barely a whisper.

“Yeah. Toe joint and everything. It turns out that the nickname he got from the villains is accurate, too,” Shouta said with a considering look on his face. “He was called ‘Siren’. Which is almost exactly what his quirk is. Nedzu helped us to be able to get the kid to use it. If the kid starts muttering, though, be wary. He doesn’t quite know how to control it and that’s how it’s been used in the past.”

Shouta had to stifle a laugh thinking about earlier.

“Why are you laughing?”

“He knew we were married before I even said anything.”

The two just stared at him with open jaws, causing him to cackle.

“He said that at the Sports Festivals is the only chance he’s had to see it but,” he finally calmed down a bit, taking a breath. “That my insults are worse towards you two and that you respond as if they’re challenges and not insults.”

Nem nodded with a hand on her chin. “You know, he’s not wrong. You do throw worse insults that I just find funny.”

“He also said that you only seem to listen to me when you’re told you’re going overboard with your hero persona.”

Zashi nearly spat out the drink he had taken.

“No! I don’t-”

“That’s what I said! But he pointed out that you seem to more subconsciously take it down a notch little by little.”

“I-Well-Ugh.”

Zashi just mutely laughed. 

“Wh-What’d the Listener say about me?”

“He said you were the most obvious, for one.”

“Wait, how? Zashi is literally the best at holding the work wall!”

“I said that too, and Izuku agreed. But he also said, ‘Yeah, but he’s hell bent on annoying you in the mean time.’”

Nem just laughed at Zashi’s offended expression.

“You two should try to get a little bit of sleep. I’ll hang out here with the kid.”

They nodded, giving him a kiss on the cheek each despite his (admittedly fake) protests. He gave them one last affectionate glare as they left the room.

He turned back to the kid, who had a cat curled into his side now as he slept soundly.

“Keep him safe, Mochi,” the hero said, just getting a green blink back from the black cat.

He gave a ruffle to Izuku’s curls then settled in his sleeping bag along a wall where he could see the kid. 

Welcome home, Izuku.

Chapter Text

There was a rumbling coming from his stomach and a noise from the kitchen. Mom must be making breakfast.

Wait. The rumbling isn’t stopping and Mom doesn’t make me breakfast anymore? 

He opened his eyes and forced himself to look around instead of just jumping up like he would have instinctually.

Okay. A list should help:

One, this isn’t my house.

Two, there is a cat sitting with me. It’s kinda cute.

Three, the person in the kitchen is definitely not my mom.

He suddenly remembered the events of that morning.

Oh. I’m at Era-Aizawa’s house.

He gave the cat some pets before lifting it into his arms and against his chest so he could sit up, finally able to see Aizawa in a caterpillar? Maybe a sleeping bag. Oh, well.

He got up, still holding the cat, and walked up to the counter. He now could see Present Mic making breakfast with his back turned to him. He seemed to be in his hero costume, but his hair was down.

“H-Hello,” Izuku stuttered, trying to sound as polite as possible, but the hero did not answer him, which caused Izuku to feel as if he had done something wrong.

“Don’t worry, kiddo!” a voice called from the hall, Izuku responding with a jump. “He’s just not wearing his hearing aids!”

Izuku nodded toward Midnight, whose hair was in a messy bun, wearing her hero costume but without the handcuffs. He noticed a strange bracelet on her right wrist in place of the usual handcuffs. Izuku watched her as she walked around the counter and tapped the Pro’s shoulder, who lightly jumped before smiling to Midnight.

“Hello, beautiful!”

Midnight chuckled with a blush, raising her hands into view and signing what looked like ‘kid awake’ before pointing to Izuku. The man followed her pointing and turned with a grin.

“Hey, Little Listener! Do you like pancakes?”

Izuku nodded, while trying to remember the sign for ‘yes’.

“Don’t worry about signing, Little Listener. I can lip read fine enough.”

Izuku nodded again, feeling bad anyways.

Present Mic turned back to the stove as he had a muscle spasm and jerked his head. Izuku had one right after, which was odd to the kid.

Midnight gave Izuku a considering look before she shook her head.  She instead mentioned, “I see Mochi has claimed you.”

Izuku nodded again before grumbling sleepily, “He’s cute.”

She nodded at his statement.

“Are you guys getting ready for work Midnight-san?”

“Oh, you can call me Nemuri or Kayama. I’m fine with either. But yeah. We need to go in for a few hours before Nedzu can cover our classes. Then we’ll have time to get to know each other!”

Izuku started shaking his head. “It’s fine, Kayama! I don’t mind being left alone for a few hours. Actually, I have school anyways, but-”

“I’m sorry, kid, but you’re not going to school today.”

Izuku spun around to see Aizawa getting out of his sleeping bag.

“Why not?”

The hero just sighed and stumbled over to the counter next to Izuku, settling on one of the stools.

“Part of your parole demands that you be within my general vicinity, for one. That’s not my main concern though. You also didn’t get nearly enough sleep last night, and you just got your life literally turned upside down. I want you to have time to process that before you go back to school.”

Kayama nodded her head to what Aizawa was saying, which Izuku agreed to without much more fuss.

Aizawa reached his hand out to pet Mochi, not really seeming to be conscious of his actions, which Izuku found adorable. He was too busy watching the pro with an amused smile to notice Kayama take a picture until he heard a shutter.

“Wait! But I’m still in last night’s clothes! Why?” Izuku whined, making Kayama giggle.

“Because you two look cute like that! Don’t worry though. Shou will get me back later.”

She turned over to Present Mic and showed him the photo, who immediately started cooing. Izuku just hid his red face in Mochi’s fur to avoid the two.

Present Mic gave Izuku a plate with two pancakes on it as Kayama went to grab the syrup. 

“T-Thank you…P-Present Mic-s-san?”

What should he call him? He was the only one that Izuku had never learned the civilian name of, and even then, the other two had encouraged him not to use their hero names. It was easy to assume that Present Mic would feel the same.

“Feel free to call me Hizashi or Yamada! And you’re welcome, Little Listener!”

Izuku felt a little less tense now. He ate his pancakes slowly while the others all started to eat as well.

“Izuku. Are you still wanting to get your hair cut today?” Aizawa asked with a tired voice, not looking up from petting Mochi.

“I-I mean, you don’t have to! I’m sure I could cut it myself? You don’t have to spend the money on me!”

“I’m gonna cut your hair myself, sweetie. We can’t just throw money at a hair cut!”

Aizawa shook his head. “If you don’t have experience you could end up with a really bad hair cut. I tried to do the same and regretted it. And between all of us having at least two jobs-Zashi having three-we have more than enough money to just get you a hair cut.”

Kayama and Yamada nodded, making Izuku feel better even though the guilt did not go away.

“Okay.”

Izuku enjoyed the silence as they sat and ate together. Something Mom didn’t like. Yamada seemed to enjoy not wearing hearing aids and not having to deal with the stimulation from such. Kayama was not exactly enjoying the silence, but not hating it either, seeming to just be existing. Aizawa seemed to be the most at peace while just drinking his coffee and slowly eating the pancakes Yamada served him. It was nice to just sit and be surrounded by people who would not care about the fact that just yesterday he was just a quirkless kid.

Quirkless Deku.

Yamada and Kayama both stood to finish getting ready at about the same time, setting their plates in the sink before walking down the hall. Kayama, however, gasped and stopped in her tracks, with Yamada running into her.

“Wait!” she exclaimed, gaining Izuku’s and Aizawa’s attention while looking right at Izuku. “Izuku, would you like to see your room?”

“I have a room?” Izuku asked with confusion.

“Of course you do kid! Let me grab my hear aids really quick and we’ll show him!”

Izuku was not quite sure why it was such a big deal. It was just a room? He understood now that of course he would have a room in the throuples apartment. But he was not quite able to see the reason.

He joined them at the door to his room, and could not help but feel nervous. They were making this such a big deal. What if he reacted wrong? Or if they thought he was ungrateful?

Kayama and Yamada were practically vibrating next to him while Aizawa just looked bored.

“Go on and open it!” Yamada exclaimed, his quirk activated in excitement.

Izuku took a breath and opened the door.

Oh.

He understood why now.

“Do you like it? We could always paint the walls if you want. If you prefer different furniture we could do that as well…” Kayama continued to ramble as Izuku looked around.

It was a little bigger than his old room. There was an accent wall that had been painted by the landlords. There was a nice desk. 

There isn’t a scorch mark hidden by a poster.

It was so new. He almost felt overwhelmed.

“We will have to get you a bedframe. Can’t just have you laying on a mattress on the floor!”

“There’s nothing wrong with sleeping on the floor.”

“Shou, you aren’t gonna corrupt the Little Listener.”

“What do you think?”

Izuku turned to Aizawa. “It’s so new…”

Yamada walked over and put an arm around Izuku’s shoulders. “Yeah. I understand that. But know that anything you want to do with it is up to you! Now, you want to see how I do my hair?”

~§~

Shouta was grateful for Zashi being so quick to distract Izuku from his panic. Instead, the kid was giggling while watching Nem put gel and mousse into Zashi’s hair while Zashi was complaining.

“You’re yanking on knots!”

“I am carefully untangling your hair you brat! And! I thought you-!”

“Nem! The kid!”

“Oops! Sorry Zuzu-”

They all froze, even Shouta from where he stood in the hall.

“Is it okay that I call you that? It’s okay if it isn’t.”

The kid thought for a moment. “I think it’s okay. I just haven’t gotten a nickname that was supposed to be an insult in a while.”

Their hearts collectively shattered at the kids statement. 

“Well, as long as it’s okay! Don’t be afraid to tell me if it starts to not be okay, alright?”

“Okay. Also, don’t be afraid of making jokes around me. The kids in my grade might be worse than you!”

“As if!”

“You are not about to try to prove you make worse jokes than eleven year olds!”

“Try and stop me, hobo!”

It was impossible to stay mad while listening to Izuku’s laughter. It was an adorable sound while the kid’s nose crinkled. Shouta did however hide his surprise at the kid ticing right after he did a ‘itch head with shoulder’ tic. That would be something to mention to the other two.

They said goodbye to the two before they each took a shower, Izuku going first. Shouta sat in the living room as he waited to take his own.

They were going to have to have a talk at some point. Izuku was probably going to be skittish and not know what he was or was not allowed to do, so Shouta made a mental list of all the things the kid might be concerned about eventually. Like: the fridge, the TV, maybe even the cats? They had to talk about his vigilanting. Letting the kid go out and do vigilante work was not safe. But, it had more than likely been the kid’s crutch in that bitch’s house. Could he take that away without hurting him?

When it came to talking to the kid, he would have to ask the kid if he was still hoping to go out or not. Shouta could possibly make some sort of acception in the kid’s favor.

Shouta heard the bathroom door open, and saw Izuku walking out in a black long sleeve with a baggy white t-shirt over it that had the word ‘socks’ written on it. He was also wearing sweatpants, walking out towards the living room while looking a bit shy.

“Hey, Izuku. I’m gonna take a shower now. Feel free to watch TV or whatever.”

Izuku nodded, and Shouta passed him and took his own quick shower. After it, he put on a dark grey t-shirt, and pink sweatpants. He came back out to the living room to see Izuku sitting on the couch while petting Mochi and watching the news about a recent hero fight.

“Can you turn that down? I wanted to talk to you about a few things,” Shouta said, sitting on the opposite side of the couch from the kid.

Izuku nodded with a slightly anxious look and just turned the tv off. “I’ll get distracted if it’s still on,” Izuku said in response to Shouta’s confused look.

“Gotcha. Now, first, ground rules. If you’re hungry or thirsty, go ahead and get whatever you want. Like, don’t go overboard, and if you aren’t sure feel free to get a second opinion. But, you have free reign with the fridge. If we really care about our leftovers, we right on sticky notes, so that should help with knowing what you can or can’t eat. If you make a list, we can start making sure we have your favorite snacks and drinks. Good? Questions?”

The kid shook his head, looking relieved to have that explained.

“Good. Now, you should have a bed time for the sake of being a kid and getting enough sleep. I’m sure that isn’t ideal, but it’s the best thing we can do to get rid of those eyebags.”

Izuku gave him a playful glare and stuck his tongue out, making Shouta hold in a chuckle. 

“Anyways. Most schools start around 8:30, so you should be in bed around nine most nights. Good by you?”

Izuku sighed. “Yeah. That’s fine.”

“Good. Now, we have to talk about your vigilantism.”

Izuku pouted while looking down at Mochi, but it was less manipulative disappointment and more sad. “You aren’t going to let me keep viglianting, are you?”

Shouta sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Yes and no.”

Izuku’s head shot up with a crack. “Huh?”

“You shouldn’t be going out and fighting crime. It isn’t safe, and you’re a kid. You should have time to be a kid. But, I also know that doing so has been what made living easier for you, and I can’t just take that away from you.”

Izuku gave him a confused yet hopeful look. “What does that mean?”

“That means, that once or twice a week, I will let you come patrol with me for a few hours. Only after I’ve trained you to be safer and you can’t go out while on probation. Which, that lasts for about two weeks because of how short of a time you were out vigilanting.”

Izuku bounced up and down, only stopping when Mochi meowed in protest. “Really?”

“Yes. You will  listen to all rules while we’re out, but I will let you keep vigilanting.”

Izuku smiled wide. “Thank you!”

Shouta smiled, ruffling the kid’s hair. “Of course. Now, the closest salon doesn’t open til ten, so I’m going to take a nap. You probably should too.”

 Izuku nodded, although he seemed unsure of himself.

“You’re free to sleep in your room, but if you want to nap on the couch, that’s fine too. I’ll be in my room, so knock if you need me.”

Shouta walked away, seeing the kid decide to lay down on the couch with Mochi on his chest. Cute.

Soon enough, Shouta and Izuku were sat in a salon flipping through the style magazines. He knew Izuku might try to refuse a haircut if they went where Nem and Zashi liked to go, so he took Izuku to a cheaper place.

“See anything you like?”

“Not ye-”

Shouta glanced over to see Izuku staring at a specific page.

“Do you want that one?”

Izuku nodded shyly.

It was a picture of a dude with an undercut and curls on top. 

“Alright. Just show the stylist the picture when they call you up, okay?”

Izuku nodded, and they did not have to wait long.

“‘Izuku’?”

“T-That’s me. I was wanting to get this haircut?”

The stylist looked at the picture before turning to Shouta.

“Are you sure you’re okay with your daughter getting this kind of haircut?”

He could see Izuku’s heart shatter. Shouta stood up and set a hand on Izuku’s shoulder.

“Yes. I am perfectly okay with my son getting the haircut he wants,” Shouta said, admittedly a little louder than needed, so he ended up getting the attention of the other stylists. He noticed a slight sneer in the girl's face. “However. Not by you. We will wait for a different stylist to be available.”

“Excuse me a moment. Hi! I’m the manager. Is there a problem?” a woman asked after coming over from her own client.

“His daughter-”

“I told you that Izuku is my son . You shouldn’t make the same mistake twice.”

The manager started seething. “Are you kidding me, Sumi? I already gave you a second chance! You can leave for the day. We’ll discuss your termination at a later date. Now get out!”

“You can’t just fire me!”

“I can and will! Now gather your things!”

The stylist grunted in anger before going to the back and storming out. The clients in the waiting room started cheering as she left.

“I am so sorry about that! I don’t know why she thinks that’s okay! Some people. Anyways. I’d like to personally do Izuku’s hair once I’m done with my client. Is that alright?”

Shouta turned to Izuku, who had a blank face for most of what went down. He had a few tears running down his face, but nodded.

“I’d like that…”

She gave Izuku a sad smile and peered at the magazine in Izuku’s hand.

“Oh! That would look absolutely perfect on you! Shouldn’t be too much longer. Okay?”

Shouta nodded. “Thank you. Come on, Izuku. Let’s go sit.”

Shouta sat and held Izuku by his shoulder in an awkward hug. He stopped himself from running his hands through Izuku’s hair, wanting to comfort him but knowing it might do more harm.

“I-I’m-You called me your son?”

He had hoped Izuku would wait to ask about that. “Yes, Izuku. You are in my care now. Most people would qualify that as you being my kid.”

Izuku seemed to tense up.

“Oh…”

He said something wrong. What did he say wrong? Izuku looked disappointed.

“And, I personally see you as my son. No matter how short of a time we’ve known each other. At this point someone would have to fight me to take you away from me.”

Izuku started giggling. “I don’t think they’d win,” the kid said, peering up with a grin.

Shouta grinned back. “They wouldn’t. That’s the plot twist.”

Izuku giggled a little more at that before looking a little shy. “So, it’s okay if I see you as my dad? I don’t think I’m ready to call you that, but if-”

“Izuku, kid. I would be honored if you considered me your dad. And you don’t have to call me anything. Whatever you’re ready for.”

Izuku nodded. “Thank you…Sh-Shouta.”

Shouta couldn’t hide the smile that grew. “Of course, Izuku.”

The manager finished with her client a little after their clarifications.

“Alright, Izuku. Are you ready?”

Izuku nodded and got up and went to the chair she assigned him to.

“Hey, dad. Just wanted to apologise again for my employee.”

Shouta sighed. “Aizawa is fine. And it’s alright. I just remembered myself in his shoes. Sorry about that if I went a little overboard.”

The woman had an understanding look. “I get it. My first haircut after I came out was nerve wracking. I can’t imagine how the kid feels.”

Shouta hid his surprise. “Thank you for handling it.”

“Of course. Also, did you want to record the first cut? Some kids like to watch it, and I imagine someone else is missing out on getting to see the kid see himself?”

This woman is literally a God Send.

“Yeah. Just let me know when it’s time.”

The woman went back to start parting Izuku’s hair, making sure he liked where she was parting it. She then tied it off.

Shouta snuck up as she waved him over discreetly.

“Okay, Izuku. I’m going for the first cut?”

Izuku took a calming breath, and then nodded.

“Okay.”

She started cutting and Izuku started getting emotional. Shouta could not deny that he was getting emotional, too.

“And…Done!”

She held up the piece, and Izuku finally started crying, reaching back to hold it. She handed it to him and Izuku stared at it.

“It’s really gone,” the kid whispered, relief clear in his voice.

“Yup. Are you ready for me to continue?”

Izuku spent another second looking at the piece before nodding.

“I’m ready.”

She continued cutting the hair until she finished the undercut. She moved onto the top and worked with Izuku to make sure it was the length he wanted. She also decided to wash it and style it, having Izuku face away from the mirror once she was done.

“Time to see you, Izuku!”

“Yes!” he exclaimed, vibrating with energy.

When she turned him around Izuku stared at the mirror before looking at Shouta, who had his phone out again.

“That’s me…”

Shouta nodded. “It looks good on you!”

Izuku launched himself out of the chair and wrapped his arms around Shouta. “Thank you!”

“Kid. I just walked you here. I’m not the one who cut it.”

Izuku shot away and hesitated with the woman. She held her arms out, and Izuku shot into her arms with nearly the same energy as he did with Shouta.

“Thank you so much!”

She just rubbed his back. “Of course, Izuku.”

Izuku finally pulled away, and stood a little straighter than he had before. 

They went to the front and Shouta turned to the woman. 

“How much?”

She just shook her hands. “That one is on the house.”

“Surely-”

“Nope! I won’t accept any payment! You two just go have a good day. Alright?”

Shouta nodded and left with Izuku.

~§~

“So, Nem and Zashi should be getting off soon. Do you want to meet them for lunch?”

Izuku nodded, excited for them to see his hair. 

Shouta hid a smile at the kid’s enthusiasm.

“Good. They should be done by the time we get back and after you wash off the hair. We can go to a place I know.”

Izuku just smiled as they got on the train.

He was quick to shower once they got back to the apartment. He spent a while just staring at his hair once he was dressed.

“Izuku! We need to leave soon if we want to meet Nem and Zashi in time!”

“Sorry! I’m done!”

Izuku ran out and started putting on his shoes. 

“It’s fine, kid. Just wanted to make sure we left on time.”

Izuku looked up at Shouta, who had put his hair in a loose bun. 

“I know. I’m just excited to see how they react to my hair!”

Shouta gave him a smile. “They’re definitely gonna squeal when they see it.”

The man did not lie. Izuku assumed the only reason his ears were not ringing was because Shouta probably had his quirk in use before they even saw.

“Izuku! Your hair is so you! And it’s probably soft! Can I feel?”

Izuku nodded and let her feel his undercut with a giggle, the weird feeling causing a muscle spasm. He missed the look the three of them shared.

“So, where are we going?” Izuku asked.

“Why don’t you head inside and see, Little Listener!” 

Izuku nodded and opened the door. He was immediately met with a couple meows. He started giggling and immediately collapsed to the ground to pet some of them.

He was none the wiser about Kayama taking photos nor Yamada practically crying at how cute the scene was. He was also unaware of Shouta paying for all of them.

Once Izuku was ready, they moved to a booth and ordered some drinks.

“Hey, Izuku, can I ask you a possibly weird question?”

Izuku looked up from the cat in his lap. “Sure! What was it, Kayama?”

She took a second to choose her words. “Do you have tics?”

“…I don’t know what that is.”

“Here! I can probably trigger one in myself. Just give me a second, Little Listener!”

Yamada seemed to go into his head for a few seconds before he had a muscle spasm. Just like that morning, Izuku had one right after.

What was weirdest, was Shouta having one as well.

“That’s what we’re talking about, kid.”

“I thought those were just muscle spasms?” Izuku questioned, extremely confused.

 “Do they stop after drinking water or massaging the area?”

Izuku shook his head.

“They can be muscle spasms, but I think it’s more likely that they’re tics, Little Listener. Personally, I have Tourette’s Syndrome.”

“That’s the thing that can cause you to make sounds and movements, right?”

“Yes! Good job! More accurately, they are misfires from the brain, causing said sounds and movements. They are also known as ‘tics’.”

“I have Tourette’s as well. It was kinda funny when me and Zashi would set each other off in class though. Nedzu was always annoyed in the good way.”

Izuku nodded, processing what they explained. “And you think I might have Tourrette’s?”

Kayama shrugged. “You could. There are other reasons people tic though.”

Shouta nodded. “Some do because of their anxiety. I’ve heard of ADHD meds causing them. It depends. But you’ve noticed them? When do you say they are the worst?”

Izuku spent a second thinking. “I’ve noticed I have more on the days that I’m bullied the least, cause I tend to spend the entire day waiting to be attacked. And recently on the days after one of my pa-”

He sent Shouta a look. 

“They know you were a vigilante. You can talk about it.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “On the days after a good string of patrols they’d be worse.”

“Probably because you were tired, Zuzu. We also only noticed after you did it earlier in front of the cafe. I also noticed it this morning when you mimicked Zashi.”

“I did as well while we were watching Zashi’s hair get done, and you mimicked it then, too.”

Izuku felt bad. “I’m sorry for copying you guys.”

“No!” Yamada exclaimed, shaking his hands for attention. “It’s something that you can’t control! You aren’t copying us so you don’t have to apologize!”

“Okay…”

“We can take you for a formal diagnosis once things are settled.”

“Isn’t that expensive?”

Kayama chuckled. “It could be. And even if it was, we would still take you because you deserve a chance to have an official diagnosis. But, the government pays for heroes and their kids to get therapy and get legal diagnosis’.”

Izuku nodded. “Okay. Um…Who am I technically going to be registered under?”

The three shared looks.

“We haven’t had a chance to fully discuss it, but you’ll be under my custody because I’m the hero your placed with, but after the most recent development, we’d like to possibly adopt you. We would discuss it more in depth then.”

Izuku gave them a bright smile. “You guys want to adopt me?”

“Of course we do, Little Listener!”

“That was always my plan, Zuzu.”

“It would be illogical not to.”

Izuku got really excited. “When that happens, could I take the last name of whoever is officially adopting me? Wait. Which of you guys are actually married?”

They all chuckled. 

“We aren’t legally married, Zuzu. We just had a ceremony and officially named each other as husband or wife. So no matter what a piece of paper says, these are my husbands!”

“And, sure! Although, are you really gonna want to get rid of your family name?” Yamada asked.

Izuku frowned. “My-My da-biological dad wasn’t very good, so I don’t want to be tied to him. And I don’t think my mom would like me tied to her.”

The three nodded. 

“I think that would be perfectly fine then, Zuzu!”

Shouta’s phone pinged, causing the hero to check it, and then groan.

“Who told Tensei?”

Both Yamada and Kayama pointed at each other. Shouta glared, his hair just threatening to rise.

“Okay! So I may have bragged about Zuzu to Maijima.”

“And I might have to Kan.”

“And Ecto.”

“And Snipe.”

“And-”

Izuku was full on cackling by the time Shouta had them stop.

“And did one of you text Tensei?”

 Both of them shook their heads.

“Well, Ishiyama would have to get back at me for the last hole I blew in a wall.”

“Kami, Zashi!”

“What’s *giggle* What’s so bad about your friend Tensei knowing?”

Shouta sighed. “He said, and I quote: ‘Yo, Eraser! When am I gonna get to meet y’alls kid? Is he the same age as Tenya?’”

“Tenya turns eleven in August, so Zuzu is just a little older.”

“That’s not the point and you know it.”

Izuku was back to cackling.

“I’m okay with meeting your frie-”

Oh. But would they know I’m a worthless Deku-

“Izuku. You don’t have to meet him. He’s just gonna be a pain and tease us-well specifically me- for having a heart after all.”

“It’s just-” he sighed. “I am a little scared because of what you made me realize.”

He saw clarity flash through Shouta’s eyes while the other two just sat confused.

“I can promise that Tensei is nothing like I described as ‘bad’. He teases us for the sake of messing with us, not to hurt us. And he cares about our safety and happiness.”

Izuku felt himself relax. “Then, yeah! I’m okay with meeting your friends!”

“I only brought up Tensei-”

“Even you should know that Nedzu is going to make us bring Zuzu to UA for him to corrupt or participate in fucking with the students.”

Izuku is pretty sure he should not be as happy as he is to know Nedzu would want to see him again.

Shouta just groaned and slammed his head into the table, making Izuku giggle at his dramatics. Yamada and Kayama joined him in his laughter.

They soon ordered some lunch, which Izuku was very excited about getting to see the menu, laughing with Yamada at all of the puns.. It was not too long after that when he started nodding off and falling into Shouta’s side. The man encouraged him to fall further into his side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and combing his fingers through Izuku’s hair.

“Tired, kid?”

Izuku just nodded.

“Go ahead and sleep. We’ll wake you when it’s time to go.”

He was out even as he heard the shutter of a camera.

Chapter Text

Izuku flapped his hands a little before freezing and tucking them into he sleeves. He felt like too many eyes were on him, and like he needed to physically shake them off. 

He jumped a little when Yamada’s arm looped around his, looking up to see the man giving him a sad smile. Yamada was wearing a simple plain black t-shirt and dark blue jeans with a belt that seemed to be more for style that necessity. He had chains hanging from his belt loops, yellow converse, and his hair was down.

“You doing okay, Little Listener?”

Izuku shrugged. “Too many people.”

Yamada nodded. “I get that. But, don’t be afraid to let yourself relax however you need to. If anyone says something,” he held up his fists and made a comically stern expression, “I’ll beat them up.”

Izuku giggled at the way his arm was pulled with the man’s fists. “But you’re a hero! Won’t you get in trouble?”

“No one will recognize it’s me if I don’t use my quirk!”

Izuku just laughed more.

They had finished up their lunch at the Cat Cafe, Whipped Cream & Whiskers, and went out to the nearby shopping mall to buy furniture, bedding, and clothes for Izuku. Izuku was excited, but there were way too many people out for a wednesday afternoon during the school year.

Izuku looked at his other two guardians. Shouta still had on the grey t-shirt from earlier, but he was wearing black sweatpants and sneakers now. He had half his hair up in a messy bun. Meanwhile, Kayama was wearing an off the shoulder lilac dress that had long sleeves and was very flowy, stopping just above her knees. She also had on black heels, and her hair was half up like Shouta’s, but there were a few braids involved in her bun. She also had on lilac pearl earrings and her glasses.

Izuku was wearing a striped black and white long sleeve that hugged his neck, and was wearing a ‘Put Your Hands Up Radio’ yellow short sleeve on top. He had on black cargo shorts, and his typical red shoes.

He noticed that Yamada had an industrial piercing with chains hanging from it when the man tucked his hair behind his ear at one point. Izuku just stopped himself from trying to touch it out of curiosity.

“Did you want to see my piercing, Little Listener?”

Izuku nodded shyly, at which Yamada leaned down a little, and let Izuku feel the chains a little before pulling his hand back and flapping it with a giggle.

“That’s cool!”

“Thanks, kiddo!”

They walked into the first store, which was a furniture store, to get Izuku a bed frame, desk, and dresser. He wanted to protest them getting him stuff, but just let them drag him into the store. He did get a little excited at the idea of having a desk bed though.

“You want that one, Zuzu?”

“Yeah! I like heights, and that makes their more room!”

“Alright! Lets get it added to the order list.”

He ended up finding a nicer dresser, desk, and a few shelves for his room. He spent a while makin sure the desk chair he chose would be comfy.

The next store was a clothing store, and Izuku was struggling to let himself get clothes.

“I already have enough though!”

“You have what, twelve outfits? Nope! Absolutely not, Little Listener! No child of mine will have such a small variety!”

Izuku sighed and grumbled, “I thought I would have to worry about Kayama, but no!”

Shouta smirked at Kayama’s offended look.

Izuku got a good ten shirts, pants, and two new pairs of shoes. Both pairs were red to Kayama’s fashion expert disappointment.

They went to another store and got Izuku a couple sets of bedding and blankets. 

“Can…Can I get a lot of pillows?” Izuku asked shyly.

“Sure! Do you like having your head propped a certain way?”

“I…It feels like a nest when I have a good amount of blankets and pillows…”

Let us just say, Izuku did have to remind the more chaotic two that there was, in fact, a way to have too many. He did manage to find a cool pillow that was black one way, but when you flipped the decorative pieces, it said “fuck off” in extra swirly cursive. Shouta got one too.

Shouta steered them into a merch store. “I saw you staring when we passed earlier. Go ahead, kid.”

Izuku smiled and made a beeline for the posters that were organized by hero. He spent a good few minutes picking out posters for Present Mic, Midnight (he found a less sexual one to Shouta’s surprise), Hawks, The Wild Wild Pussycats, and Thirteen. He pouted when he could not find an Eraserhead one.

“We can just look on Etsy later, Little Listener. There’s a few people he saved that have helped the creators make posters for him.”

He also got a couple sweaters for each of those heroes as well.

They finished up and loaded their groceries into the car. Since it was still early, the store would be delivering the furniture they ordered, and was set to arrive at three pm. Izuku was strangely excited to build the furniture. That was sure to be a mess.

Speaking of mess, apparently the car had a middle seat in the front, the glove box and cup holders could flip back to open up the seat. They got the car because of that fact, so no one would have to sit alone in the back. Shouta sat in the back with Izuku though. Yamada was the designated driver because he was better at paying attention to the road than Kayama and Shouta. Izuku was slightly surprised by that, but quickly understood when Kayama kept turning around to talk to him and Shouta kept watching the people that drove by.

They reached the apartment right before the delivery people, and cleared Izuku’s room so that they could build the furniture there. They decided that best choice was to build the bed first.

“You gave me the piece labeled ‘H’ when I asked for ‘E’.”

“It looked like an ‘E’, Shou!”

“It really didn’t, Zashi,” Kayama said.

“Screw you.”

“You want to?”

“Child.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry, Zuzu.”

Izuku just cackled from where he was using a screwdriver to tighten what Shouta had instructed him to.

Finally, the bed was up, and they were struggling to coordinate lifting the mattress onto it so they could finish adding the final railing.

“Why is this mattress so heavy? I swear it wasn’t this bad,” Kayama whined.

“You’re currently lifting it over your head. Of course it’s gonna be heavy,” Izuku sassed.

“Fuck off, Zuzu.”

“PedOPhIlIa?”

“Zuzu!”

Shouta started laughing and nearly made them drop it.

They did the dresser next, which was not very difficult, but was frustrating for Shouta when he could not get the drawers to slide in. Everyone else could, but he struggled and refused to get help.

The desk was about the same, just needing to have the legs screwed on. Izuku got a simple desk that he could raise so that he could stand when he wanted to. He got a lot of shelves to display his figurines and put his notebooks on too. The posters were easy to find places for, and his clothes were put away once they had gone through the washer and dryer.

~§~

When they were done, Izuku smiled as he looked around his room, running and climbing onto his bed and looking down at his guardians. He giggled at them having to look up at him.

“I love it!”

“That’s good, Izuku. Would be bad if you didn’t.”

“You want to hang out in here for a bit, Little Listener? I’m gonna go get started on dinner.”

“Can I help?”

“Sure!”

Izuku scrambled down and joined Hizashi as they walked into the kitchen. 

“I was going to make some katsudon, sound good?”

Izuku’s expression brightened. “I love katsudon!”

Gonna have to keep that in mind. Hizashi thought.

“Awesome! Now, let’s get started!”

Hizashi quickly learned that Izuku had a good amount of experience cooking, just unsure of where things were and letting Hizashi take the lead. Izuku was quick to follow directions, though, which Hizashi was not sure if they found it adorable or if they were proud of Izuku for his reaction times. Probably both.

Sitting at the table, Hizashi smiled as Izuku smiled and swayed in his seat happily. The kid stole their heart, and honestly, they did not want it back.

Chapter Text

“Zuzu! I need your assistance!”

“Coming, Nemuri!”

Izuku got up from where he had been lying on his stomach and watching a villain fight on MeTube while writing analysis. He nearly tripped over Tofu, a maine coon that Shouta had found in a take out bag while on patrol, as he walked to his bedroom door. He had to fix his basketball shorts, black long sleeve, and white tee that said ‘T-Shirt’ because of how he was laying.

He had been with the three for four days now, and he could not be happier. He started helping Hizashi out every morning with breakfast, the man teaching him a little bit of sign at Izuku’s request. He had also taken to working with Nemuri a few times when she was grading her student’s costume designs. At one point he managed to get Shouta to wrestle with him after managing to poke the man enough times to retaliate.

All in all, he was starting to like living with the heroes.

He stepped into the living room to see Nemuri holding sewing tape with a big grin. She had her hair up in a tight ponytail, wearing a pair of fitness leggings and a blue, loose tanktop.

“Zuzu! I need to make some measurements for you!”

He was quite used to her randomness by now. “Sure!” he uncaringly replied, already walking over and waiting for instruction. “Why did you need to measure me though?” 

“I wanted to design you a suit for any hero balls we might go to!” she practically shouted, starting to measure the width of his shoulders. “You are going to be the most dashing prince! I can already tell!”

Izuku blushed and held his arms up for her to measure his sides. “Thank you, Nemuri. You don’t have too, but I’m sure if you make it it would be perfect.”

She chuckled and booped his nose. “Aw! You’re gonna make me blush! Now arms all the way up-”

They spent a good ten or twenty minutes on the task, Izuku’s arms a little sore from how long he held them up at some points.

It was only ten in the morning, so they had about two hours before they had to leave and meet Tensei and his little brother for lunch at the Iida household. Izuku did not let them tell him what hero Tensei was, because he wanted to try and figure out who he was. He did have them put the notebook with his analysis on said hero in Nemuri’s mini backpack. Sue him for wanting to possibly get an autograph and possibly have some questions answered.

Shouta had gone back to sleep after breakfast and Hizashi was humming while grading some English papers. He wore his hair up in a bun, while also wearing sweatpants, a yellow shirt with the logo of his radio show on it, and a small pin that was a singular light blue gemstone?

“Hey, Hizashi?” Izuku asked, causing Hizashi to change his tune to an inquiring hum. “What does that light blue pin on your shirt mean? Or-does it have a meaning?”

Hizashi’s pen halted on the page he was writing on, and Izuku could see the shock and light fear on his face.

Why is he afraid?

He could also feel Nemuri still behind him where she was finishing up the last of her measurements.

“Did I say something wrong? You don’t have to-”

“No! No, Little Listener. I guess, I’m not used to having positive responses to the meaning, so I’m working up the courage, ya dig?” he almost stuttered out, his common phrase lacking its usual confidence.

“You don’t have to explain it then!-”

“Zuzu, sweetheart, do you know what the term nonbinary means?”

Izuku turned to her and spent a moment pondering. Wasn’t that something that came up when I was researching trans stuff?

“I’ve seen it a couple times when doing research for what I felt as a kid, but I’ve never actually looked into the meaning.”

Nemuri smiled, but it was less happy and more self-soothing. “Well, nonbinary is a term that refers to a whole spectrum of people who don’t feel like or only like a girl, but also don’t feel like or only like a guy. They are something else, inbetween, sometimes considered a third gender. You understand so far?”

Izuku spent a moment trying to get his mind to register it. “So, they are trans like me?”

She smiled a little brighter. “Exactly! They are people who don’t only identify with the binary genders!”

“That sounds confusing,” Izuku finally said. “And it almost makes me…sad? I think? Because I know it was hard just to research what I was feeling because I couldn’t put it into words. Imagining how much harder it would be for them…hurts…me?”

Nemuri hummed. “Yeah, I think I get what you’re saying, Zuzu.”

Hizashi took the chance to speak. “Another thing is that they sometimes use pronouns that aren’t he or she. These pronouns are called ‘neutral pronouns’ and ‘neopronouns’. However, people who identify as girls or guys and not under the nonbinary umbrella can use these pronouns as well!”

Izuku nodded. “And I’m guessing all of this has to do with your pin?”

“And my bracelet, Zuzu,” she answered, holding up a thread bracelet that was woven with purple, black and gray threads.

Izuku studied the bracelet before looking between the two.

“So, what pronouns do you two use?”

The two practically melted at the nervous question.

“I use he/him and they/them pronouns. My pin signifies when I prefer he/him over they/them, as I prefer to use they/them most of the time. I also identify as demiboy, which I explain as being a boy and something else tied together as one.”

Izuku nodded before a light scowl appeared on his face. “They/them is slightly confusing me,” he was unaware of the breaths the two sucked in. “Would I say ‘they is Hizashi’ or ‘they are Hizashi’?”

Hizashi released the breath. “It would be ‘they are’, Little Listener! Same grammar rules apply!”

Nemuri lightly chuckled. “My pronouns are she/her and xe/xem. Kinda like they/them in the way grammar rules work, but they ring a little more right in my head as to why I use them! And I identify as femme. Not a girl or strictly nonbinary. Just a feminine human!”

Izuku nodded, starting to understand a little more. “So, when you wear your bracelet it means you prefer xe/xem?”

“Yep! Good catch, Zuzu!” 

Izuku smiled. It made him happy that he got to learn so much from his guardians. Made sense since they were teachers.

They hung out until it was time to leave, soon making it to the Iida household. 

“You ready, kid?”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. Just a little nervous.”

“Don’t worry, Zuzu!” Nemuri exclaimed while turning from the passenger seat to look at Izuku. “They’ll love you!”

I’m not very nervous about Tensei liking me.

They rang the doorbell and were answered by a tall, blue haired man opening it. 

“The lovely trio! And you must be Izuku! How are you?”

Izuku smiled shyly from where his head was peeked out, the rest of him was hidden behind Hizashi.

“I-I’m good.”

“Glad to hear it! Come on in! Tenya should be in the living room waiting for us.”

They left their shoes at the genkan and walked down the hall to the livingroom. A boy just barely taller than Izuku with blue hair, a polo, khakis, and a pair of wire-frame glassed had stood up as they arrived.

“Hello! My name is Tenya Iida! Wh-”

Izuku yelped slightly at how forward the boy was and hid further behind Hizashi instead of behind and to the side. He clutched the sides of Hizashi’s shirt to make sure he stayed in front of him.

“Hey, hey. Izuku. It’s okay,” Hizashi spoke quietly, attempting to comfort Izuku without dislodging him from where he felt safest.

Shouta crouched down next to Izuku and put a hand on his back. “Sorry, Tenya-kun. Izuku is a little shy. Do you mind being a little quieter?”

The younger Iida brother nodded from where he stood on the other side of one of the couches. “Of course!” he exclaimed, although quieter and a little softer. “I apologize for scaring you.”

He bowed as he spoke, making Izuku a little less tense. 

“I-It’s okay. It’s nice to meet you Iida-kun,” he replied, a little louder than a whisper while only slightly peeking out from behind Hizashi.

“It is nice to meet you as well-uh-”

“Izuku is fine. I don’t use my family name much.”

Iida nodded, although he seemed to refrain himself from something else. “Then you may call me Tenya, Izuku-kun!”

Izuku giggled, making the adults sigh in relief.

He’s kinda cute.

Izuku pushed that thought from his head and forced himself to walk over to Tenya and hold out his hand. Tenya, a little surprised, smiled and shook Izuku’s hand.

The adults melted at the sight.

They settled on the couches, Tenya and Iida-san on a couch along the wall to another room, and Izuku and his guardians on the wall by the hallway. Izuku tucked himself between Hizashi and Nemuri, fiddling with the rings on Hizashi’s right hand.

He finally took a moment to observe Iida-san, taking in his build and demeanor. Anything that could give clues to who he was. It clicked when he locked eyes onto the holes with metal lining in his right elbow.

The man chuckled. “You figure it out? The trio told me that you wanted to figure out my hero persona instead of being told.”

Izuku practically started bouncing in his seat. “Y-You’re the Turbo Hero Ingenium! You’re able to move fast because of the engines in your elbows and you have your own agency! I-In Hosu! That’s so cool! I-”

“Zuzu, you’re starting to sing.”

They came up with that as a way to let Izuku know that he was using his quirk in more of a positive way. Shouta specifically liked the idea of ‘confusing others’ too.

“What do you mean by singing, Pibling Nemuri? And what was, well, I don’t know how to describe that,” Tenya inquired, peering curiously from the left of Iida-san.

Izuku lightly shrunk in on himself. “I-It’s my quirk. I didn’t know I had it until a few days ago, so I’m not in much control of it yet. But it’s kinda like a siren song? It makes you-from what we understand-fully focus on what I’m saying and ignore all outside stimulation.”

“That’s really cool, Izuku-kun!” Iida-san exclaimed, not looking at all bothered by Izuku’s loss of control.

“Thank you, Iida-san.”

“Just call me Tensei.”

“O-Okay.”

Izuku eventually had Nemuri pull out his notebook for an autograph and to ask a couple questions, before he wrestled his fanboying in and let the conversation flow to other topics. A ding soon rang from the kitchen.

“That would be lunch! Let me go check on that! It should be ready though!”

Tensei left, leaving the room in slightly awkward silence.

“So! Izuku-kun! What middle school will you be moving onto? I will going to Somei!”

Izuku shrugged. “I assume I’ll be going to Aldera? That’s the next as I do go to Aldera Elementary.”

Nemuri grabbed onto Izuku’s hand to get his attention. “We’re gonna be discussing a middle school for Izuku. Seeing which is the best in our area.”

Oh. Shouta must have said something about my frie-bullies.

Izuku nodded and gave Nemuri as understanding of a look as he could. She understood though and relaxed, giving him a small smile.

“Understood! I still hope that we can be friends despite our separate schooling!” Tenya asked, his arm doing a small chopping motion.

Cute boy wants to be my friend?

He heard Hizashi giggle at his stunned look, and he gave him a betrayed look, causing him to start hiding cackles.

“Yeah! School doesn’t separate friends.”

Quirks, however…

Tenya smiled, and just afterwards Tensei came back from the kitchen.

“Alright, lunch is ready! I hope you like katsudon!”

Izuku bounced up, ready to sprint to the dining room, but also shy enough that he waited to be able to hide behind Hizashi again. Maybe it was becoming a habit, but Hizashi just had the perfect posture to seem tall and confident, which Izuku found safety in.

The adults shared fond looks. Unbeknownst to Izuku, Tensei had asked what Izuku’s favorite meal was, hoping to help the boy feel a little less nervous. It seemed to work just as he had hoped.

They had all settled down at the table when Tensei spoke up.

“I overheard you guys discussing middle school earlier, and one of the support item team members has a daughter Tenya and Izuku-kun’s age that goes to Nabu, which is a joint elementary and middle school. Might be a good choice for Izuku that’s local with the possibility of a new friend?”

Nabu? Why are my instincts screaming to say yes? Is it because Tensei-kun suggested it? No. It’s something else. I think others would call it a ‘hero instinct’? 

Why do I feel like there is someone who requires my help at Nabu?

As Izuku came out of his pondering, he noticed his guardians nodding at the suggestion.

“It is on the drive to UA. It would make it easy for us to drop Zuzu off some mornings.”

“We’ll have to see about it. Probably do a tour of the school after summer break. That starts the week after next, doesn’t it?”

Hizashi nodded to Shouta’s question. “Yeah. We’ll be back in time to wish the Little Listeners goodbye a couple days before break.”

Tensei tilted his head. “You’ll be back?”

Shouta nodded. “We took a week off to settle Izuku in. Wanted to make sure he was comfortable before we left for-”

His eyes widened fractionally in a way that Izuku was still learning to notice. This time it meant that something was wrong?

“The camp,” Shouta stated before anyone could question what was wrong.

Yeah, something was wrong.

“The camp,” Hizashi and Nemuri parroted with light concern and complete understanding.

Tensei’s eyes were a little sad. “You have first years this year, don’t you?”

The trio nodded solemnly, leaving Izuku more confused.

“What do you mean by ‘the camp’?” Izuku questioned, Tenya nodding to the question.

The trio exchanged gazes, before Shouta was the one to speak up.

“First year students go to a week-long-overnight-training camp during the second week of summer break,” Shouta stated, waiting for Izuku to nod in understanding. “Their homeroom teacher also goes with them.”

“You have first years this year, don’t you?”

“Oh.” His dad Shouta was going to be gone for a whole week soon. And he would not get to see, or likely talk, to him for a whole week.

“Yeah, kiddo. I’m sorry that it has to be so soon.”

“I-It’s okay! I’ll still have Nemuri and Hizashi to keep me company! You’ll just have to deal with me asking you a million questions when you get back!”

Shouta just chuckled. “I’m counting on it, kid.”

Izuku forced himself to focus on something else for now, looking away from Shouta, his eyes catching on the gleaming glint that came from Hizashi’s pin.

“Tensei-kun? Wh-What are your pronouns? Mine ar-are he/him.”

Tensei looked a little surprised by the question while Tenya looked at him with a confused gaze before realization set in.

“Oh! Mine are he/him as well!”

Izuku smiled to the man before shifting his gaze to Tenya, who looked almost jealous while fiddling with his chopsticks, causing his bracelet-that Izuku just noticed was even there with blue and gray beads-to shift a bit.

Maybe?

“Um-m, Tenya-kun? M-May I ask yours as w-well?”

Tenya’s head shot up, although he kinda shrunk a little. A hand on his shoulder from Tensei helped him to take a breath and regain his confident posture.

“M-My pronouns are he/th-they!”

Izuku nodded before point to his own wrist. “And your bracelet? You prefer they/them right now, right?”

Tenya’s head shook, a light blush settling over. “N-No, Not quite. It represents me preferring he/him. I mostly prefer they/them.”

Izuku nodded. “Makes sense!”

Lunch was quickly finished after that, and the trio plus Izuku left to their car. Izuku’s phone now held two new numbers.

He was excited for whatever came next. It may be shaky, but the foundations of trust and hope were sure to support his excitement long enough for them to solidify.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Little Listener?”

“What’s up, Hizashi?”

“I just had a thought and-when was your birthday?” the pro asked, their head nearly touching the floor while their knees were hooked over the back of the couch. They had Izuku’s feet rested on top of their stomach since the boy was sat at the other end.

“Oh! It was last thursday, the fifteenth.”

“Last-What?” Hizashi exclaimed while partly using their quirk and practically rolling off the couch in their shock. They almost took Izuku with them, but the boy managed to yank his feet away just in time.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s the absolute worst! We missed your birthday!” the man-enby? The enby-child wailed from their spot where they now lied on their front on the floor.

“You guys didn’t even know I existed,” Izuku retorted, rolling his eyes and settling himself back into the couch, not paying as much attention to the game on his phone anymore.

“That’s no excuse!”

Izuku just snorted in response, allowing the hero to flop on his legs when they moved back to the couch. 

It was now sunday afternoon, and Shouta was taking a nap with the cats in the sunlight from the window while Nemuri was on a jog.

“Why did you little shits decide to wake me up?”

Well, he was not napping anymore.

Izuku giggled. “It’s not my fault that Hizashi is drama royalty!” he argued, feigning annoyance.

“For one, I am now using that term, my brain had the happy at the name. For two, we just barely missed our baby’s birthday!”

The man tilted his head back to look at Iuku. “When was your birthday?”

“The fifteenth.”

“Of this month?” the man questioned, just barely hiding his surprise.

Not you too, Shouta.

“Yes, I am a cancer baby.”

Shouta nodded his head before resting it as it was. “Yeah, Zashi’s dramatics make more sense now. I’ll allow it.”

Izuku groaned. “Why?!”

Shouta just chuckled. “Because we care about you, Izuku. We want to share these kind of things with you.”

That made his heart skip a beat and brought tears to his eyes. He really wanted a hug now.

Hizashi seemed to catch on to his need, because they scooted up the couch and wrapped Izuku into their arms with the boys nose pressed to the base of their throat. Shouta also got up, albeit with a groan of sore joints, and settled behind Izuku, wrapping his arms over both his and Hizashi’s hips and the other over his own head to comb through Izuku’s curls.

The love in that moment had him releasing his happy tears, not crying, just feeling.

“You guys had a cuddle pile without me?!”

Izuku giggled as Nemuri walked over and settled on top of the three of them, causing Hizashi and Shouta to groan in protest.

“Nem, you’re covered in sweat.”

“You can’t be serious, right? My sweat is hidden by the gas shield!”

Specifically she meant the thin body suits she wore at all times when not in long clothing or her hero costume. It kept her from accidentally using her quirk on anyone. It luckily was not too much of a hassle for her sometimes when she got really sweaty or overheated because she did not do either easily.

“Nem! You won’t believe this!”

“Hizashi, it’s not a big deal.”

“Yes it is! The Listener’s birthday was last thursday!”

The woman held herself up to better look at Izuku. “We missed your birthday?!”

Izuku just groaned and buried his face further into Hizashi’s chest.

“Come on kiddo! I’m sure you could understand how we feel! I mean, Zashi’s was the seventh!”

Izuku stiffened. “That’s not fair for you to use against me,” he whined in annoyance, although lacking any actual heat behind the words.

“Too bad, Izuku.”

Izuku aimed a heel kicked at Shouta’s shin, and the man was too lazy to move his leg away.

“You wound me.”

“Good-AH!” he yelped, flinching away from the hand that tasered his side, causing Hizashi and Nemuri to laugh.

Nemuri forced herself up, at that point Izuku noticed with a blush exactly where her chest had been. 

“Nem! Why!”

“They’re soft and you know it.”

“Ugh!”

Once she stood, she pulled herself into a stretch. 

“I’m gonna go take a shower, and then we’re all gonna go out so Izuku can pick out a cake and us three can pick out gifts for him. No objections!”

Izuku and Shouta groaned while Hizashi exclaimed their agreement. The former two were not big fans of going out in public, but both were thinking of what gifts they could possibly get.

Quickly enough, they had driven to a shopping district with a bakery or two and multiple stores. Izuku was glad that there was so much outside space instead of being indoors like the mall they went to before.

“Alright, Zuzu! Here’s some money for the cake, and some because I’m sure that you’re bound to try and find something for Zashi!”

“U-Um, thank you! B-But I have my own money! A-A-And I don’t plan to buy that expensive of a gift! I wouldn’t need all of this!”

“Hush, kid. We aren’t expecting you to spend it all. It’s just for you to have a good budget. And after the trip, keep it. It can be an allowance I guess, but it is good for you to have money on you in case of an emergency, okay?”

Izuku sighed, knowing he wasn’t getting out of it.

“Okay…”

“Alright! Let’s plan to meet up here when we’re done with our shopping!” Hizashi exclaimed before dashing off.

“H-They have too much energy.”

“You’ll learn to absorb it eventually, kid.”

The three that were left all separated, Izuku heading straight to a bakery and browsing the cakes. 

“Hi! I’m Jun Shoji! Feel free to ask me any questions!”

Izuku nodded to the multi-armed man. “Thank you, Shoji-san. Um, would you be willing to write on a cake? My p-guardians just learned when my birthday was and are making me get a cake.”

The man chuckled. “Sounds like something I would do. But, sure! What would you like it to say?”

“Probably ‘Happy belated birthday Zuzu and Zashi!’ One of their birthdays was the seventh, so I’m making them suffer as well.”

The man cackled. “Another thing I would do! But, sure! Just-Oh, hey, Mezou! Thanks for making that delivery for me!”

The bell above the door dinged as a kid Izuku’s age walked in with wings made of different bodyparts?

“Of course, dad. Oh, hello! Welcome to the shop! Hope you find something you like!” the kid said from a mouth on the end of one of his wings, his eyes seeming to smile since his face was half covered by a mask.

“H-Hello. And, t-thank you! You’re quirk is really fascinating!”

A light blush appeared just above the mask. “Thanks! I’m still learning different things about it, but I hope my quirk helps me be a hero one day!”

Izuku started vibrating in place. “You’re quirk would be perfect for hero work! So, I’m happy to hear that! You could easily be helpful for information gathering and standing watch for if anything could go wrong in raids! I-Oh! Sorry! I think I started singing.”

The kid lightly shook his head to help gain his focus again. “It’s okay. And, thank you for your observation! Was that your quirk?”

Izuku nodded with a blush. “I have kind of the ability of a Siren Song? Basically what we understand right now is that I can make people only focus on my words, but I’m hoping to expand and see if I can create delusions in people’s minds like an actual siren,” Izuku explained, keeping focus on not accidentally using his quirk again.

“Is that why you called it singing?” Shoji-san asked.

“Yeah. My guardians suggested it so it sounded nicer than telling me I was losing control of my quirk,” Izuku agreed.

The man nodded. “Sounds about right! Anyways! I have a list here of unfrosted cakes we have in the back, so feel free to choose one and a frosting flavor plus color. It will be a bit of a wait if you decide to go that route.”

Izuku walked over and peered at the list. “That’s okay. I plan to go buy my guardian, Zashi, a gift as well, so that works with me!”

Izuku decided on a red velvet cake with a lightly dark green frosting and pale yellow words.

“Oh! Is there anyway you could write it in english? Zashi is an english teacher, so I think they would find it hilarious!”

The man chuckled. “Sure! I know enough to write that I believe! Just let them know that I probably ended up using a translation search engine at some point.”

Izuku laughed. “I will! How much will that be?”

“Oh! It will be…”

Izuku left the store and headed to a gift shop to get some ideas for a gift. It was while browsing through the isles when he found three amazing mugs:

A yellow mug with a shooting star and the words: ‘World’s Best Pop-Star!’

A black mug with white letters saying: ‘I’m the cat-dad. (I might also have a human child)’

And a pastel purple mug with cartoony glasses saying: ‘Parents make rules, but I don’t play by the rules ;-)’

These would be perfect for mother’s and father’s day! But Hizashi and Nemuri aren’t exactly a dad or a mom. They’re more, just parents? How do I celebrate them while respecting their genders?

Izuku pulled out his found and typed, ‘Parent day for non-binary parents?’, and was shocked by the result.

July 25th? That’s today!

Without letting himself panic at spending his parents guardians money, he grabbed all three of the mugs and headed to the front to pay. 

“Aw! These are adorable! I forget that we have so many mugs.”

“Yeah. I saw them and just thought, ‘Perfect!’”

“I get you. Now that will be…”

Izuku headed to the next store that caught his eye and walked inside. It was similarly another gift shop, but a little bigger. He started browsing again.

A back massager? No. I think they prefer when Nemuri gives them back massages. A hair clip? I don’t know if they like to do their hair?

Then he saw it. It being a necklace that was made out of more of a fabric string. It had a silver, star-shaped locket attached that had enough room to hold a photo, and he thought of the selfie he had taken of him and Hizashi the other day. 

Izuku had been laying on the couch while Hizashi was sat at the table doing some grading with their hair down. Izuku angled the phone to where Hizashi was focused and looking down, while Izuku’s head and shoulders were in the picture, himself holding up a little finger heart. He had sent the picture to Hizashi, who decided to save it as their home screen.

I did see a print shop a few stores down…

Izuku was only another twenty minutes before he was meeting up with his guardians.

“Hey! Sorry I took so long!”

The three just chuckled. 

“That’s alright, Little Listener! And I see you bought a bit of stuff?” the enby asked with a teasing air.

“I saw some stuff and forced myself to buy it before I over thought it.”

Nemuri squealed. “You’re so cute! And the cake! Can I see it?”

Izuku nodded with an evil grin and held it out for her to open, after which she practically started cacking.

“Zuzu! You’re so evil!”

“What did the problem child do?”

She just gestured to the cake, making Shouta and Hizashi actually look at the cake. Shouta hid a snort as a cough into his elbow while Hizashi started to whine.

“How could you, Little Listener!? I mean, it’s clever. But, why?!”

“Pay backs a bitch.”

“Who corrupted our baby?!” 

“I literally have no filter, Zashi. You really expect the problem child to not catch onto my lack of care?”

“Well! Ugh!”

Izuku just cackled and followed them to the car. 

Once they got to the apartment, Nemuri pulled out some candles and they started singing to Izuku with the cake on the coffee table. Izuku joined in just to mess with Hizashi, and made them join him in blowing out the candles.

“Now, presents! Mine first!”

Nemuri pulled out a shopping bag, and a shipping box?

“One of these I was planning to wait another few days to give you, but might as well for the birthday celebration!”

Izuku rolled his eyes and opened the box first, which had been resealed with a single piece of tape. Inside was-

“Y-You g-g-got me a binder?”

Nemuri looked a little sheepish. “I got you a nude color and a forrest green, because I didn’t know which you would prefer. Shou had mentioned you already felt the need to bind, so I wanted to get you a safer-”

Izuku launched himself across the couch and into Nemuri’s lap. 

“Thank you thank you thank you thank-”

She chuckled and squeezed him tight. “You’re welcome, Zuzu.”

He pulled away not too much later, lightly rubbing away a few tears and settling back in his original spot. He pulled over the shopping bag and pulled out a nice journal with a leather cover. They were a couple other different kinds of journals in the bag as well.

“I thought you might like to write your analysis in a nicer notebook, you know? We could also work on creating a code for you as you get even better at your analysis, just incase anyone gets their hands on it, you know?”

Izuku loved the way she said that. The small implication that he was already good made is heart swirl. It was a little easier to accept compliments, even in the few days he had been living with the heroes. 

“Thank you! Especially for getting me different kinds!”

“Of course!”

“My turn! My turn!”

“What if I wanted Shouta to go next?” Izuku teased the floundering hero.

“W-Well-I mean-Th-That fine if that’s w-what you want-”

“He’s teasing you, Zashi. Just go.”

Izuku cackled as Hizashi pouted. 

“You’re lucky I’m too excited to refused to give it to you.”

“Oh, no. Spare me,” Izuku deadpanned, causing Shouta to laugh.

Hizashi stuck out their tongue and handed over their own shopping bag. Inside was a medium sized, forest green axolotl squishmallow.

“I’m not sure why, Little Listener, but it kinda reminded me of a siren? I don’t know if that makes sense?”

Izuku smiled and pulled the axolotl into his chest to read the name.

“Kami the name is Archie that’s so cute!”

Hizashi scooted a little closer to look at the tag. “I didn’t know they had names.”

Izuku nodded. “They all do, but not all of them have the best names. Once I saw a bunny squishmallow in a store with the name ‘Blake’ and decided that if I ever got one I would call it ‘Buh-lock-que’.”

Shouta’s head ticed backwards as he shouted, “Son of a bitch!”

Izuku jumped, having at first mimicked the physical tic. “What?”

He sighed and put his head in his hands as Nemuri and Hizashi started cackling.

“Because of the loud blonde on your right being obsessed with memes as a kid, my tics started to be triggered by them. So if you start a meme, I’ll probably finish it.”

Izuku looked at the other two a little concerned. “And it’s okay to laugh?”

Shouta shrugged as he sat back up. “I don’t mind as long as it’s not mean spirited.”

Izuku nodded. “Okay. Um. Your turn?”

Shouta just picked up his bag and handed it to Izuku. Inside was- following a color pattern it seems-a green butterfly knife with a dull blade.

“You fidget a lot, so I thought having something that could help with dexterity in terms of battles might be something you would appreciate.”

Izuku started lightly playing with the knife already, and could see why Shouta got him a dull blade when he immediately caught it by said blade the first time he flipped it.

“Thanks! This is really cool!” he exclaimed, turning to give the man a tight hug. 

Shouta patted his back and hugged with just as much force. “You’re welcome, kid.”

Izuku pulled away and started lightly fidgeting with the knife as he fought nervous energy.

“So, I got extra things because while in a shop I noticed somethings that reminded me of all of you. Which led to me finding out that today is parent’s day, so here you guys go.”

He handed each of them their mugs, which had been wrapped protectively in tissue paper.

“Ah! Little Listener! This is so perfect! I’m definitely taking this to the station with me!” Hizashi exclaimed, throwing their arms around Izuku.

“This is such a pretty color, and this literally is me as a parent. Thanks, Zuzu!” Nemuri said, cackling.

Shouta stared at the mug for a few moments, before he gave a single snort and wrapped an arm around Izuku’s shoulders. “Thanks, kid.”

Izuku smiled to them all before pulling out a small, black box and turning to Hizashi.

“This is what I got you. I hope you like it.”

“I’ll always love it if it’s from you, Little Listener!”

Hizashi opened the box and started cooing. “Awe, a locket! We’ll have to take a picture for it!”

Izuku just gave them a smile. “But we already did!”

Hizashi tilted their head. “What?”

“Just open it!”

Hizashi pulled the locket out of the box before opening it, then just staring at the photo. Izuku got a little worried.

“Do…Do you like it?”

Hizashi turned their head towards Izuku with a tear rolling down their face. “Oh, baby, it’s perfect.”

Izuku started tearing up and pulled Hizashi into a hug, both of their shoulders shuddering lightly in repressed sobs of happiness. Nemuri and Shouta watched on with tears in their own eyes (plus a phone to capture the moment of course).

The two stayed like that until they were both ready to let go, separating with little sniffles.

“Let’s cut the cake, yeah?”

They all chuckled and went to the kitchen, Izuku happy to have first pick of a piece. He took a bite as the others were getting their own slices, and felt his eyes start tearing up.

Again, with the water works?

Izuku struggled to chew his food as he got more emotional. His mom-Inko? He did not know whether or not it was okay to demote her. But, she had not gotten him anything for his birthday. It was not at all a surprise, as she had stopped when he was eight, but it still hurt. This year, he had gone to a bakery before his patrol and bought a cupcake, blowing out the candle alone on a roof top.

Now, he was surrounded by people he just met that made the day so much more important than had ever thought it to be.

“Little Listener? Are you okay? You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it?”

Izuku shook his head and forced himself to swallow the small bite he had taken. “I-I haven’t celebrated my birthday with anyone in a few years. It’s-It’s really nice.”

The three all had varying expressions. Shouta looked murderous, Nemuri sad and teetering on angry, while Hizashi gave him a look of understanding.

“Of course it is, Little Listener. You deserve to celebrate it and be happy.”

Izuku tried to hold in tears and sobs as he nodded, but quickly felt the dam break as tears leaked despite his best attempts. His guardians-no-his parents surrounded him in a hug and let him breakdown.

They spent the rest of the night together, all with their hearts a little fuller.

I’m home.

Chapter Text

Izuku fidgeted with his butterfly knife, trying to calm himself down while simultaneously releasing excited energy. His parents had to take him with them to UA, since he was not allowed to be away from Shouta just yet because of the probation. Izuku was not at all complaining, however. He spent a good hour after they told him that he would be joining them at the school singing, and his parents had not been willing to stop him because of how adorable it was. 

Now, he was in the car on the way there with many of his notebooks stuffed into his backpack, terrified of whether or not his parents coworkers/fellow Pro-Heroes would like him. He was just an eleven year-old who was obsessed with heroes and quirks, after all. What could they like about a kid who would pester them about their quirks? Who would take terrible notes as if it made a difference for a worthless-

“Izuku, kid, focus on me please. Hey, it’s Shouta. Hey, hey,” the man was sat in the back seat with him, and started to notice he was falling into a panic attack. “Hey, copy my breathing, okay? In…Out…In…Hey, Love. What’s wrong?”

Izuku clutched onto Shouta’s hand that was on his chest, and the man’s capture weapon with the hand that was placed on Shouta’s chest, his butterfly knife pressing uncomfortably in his hand. Shouta started using that nickname for him every once in a while, and it never failed to make warmth bloom in Izuku’s chest.

“I started thinking about meeting the teachers.”

Shouta gave him a playful glare. “Love, don’t worry about them. If they don’t like you: for one, that’s impossible. And for two, they know we know how to hide bodies, so.”

Izuku giggled at Shouta’s shrug at the end of his assurances. But, in some weird way, he did feel a little better. His parents were good at that. 

They arrived at the parking garage of the school and started walking up to said building. Izuku held onto his butterfly knife as he tailed Hizashi, missing Hizashi signing to the other two about Izuku being like an adorable duckling.

They arrived at the teachers lounge with Izuku firmly behind Hizashi, clutching their shirt like he had at the Iida household. After a few seconds he chanced a peak around Hizashi. The room was mostly empty, the only teachers in the room being Ectoplasm, Power Loader, and Vlad King. 

Izuku looked to his right and up to Shouta, and received a nod of encouragement. He sidestepped enough to not be directly behind Hizashi and did a slight bow, stopped by his arm that was still attached to Hizashi.

“U-Um-m. Hi, Ectoplasm-san, Power Loader-san, and Vlad King-san,” he mumbled, looking up and seeing them all giving him looks of surprise. 

“Well, your parents told us you knew a lot about heroes,” Vlad King exclaimed. “But they didn’t tell us how impressive it would be! You really didn’t tell him?”

Nemuri shook xyr head. “He didn’t want to know who was a teacher here, wanting to instead figure it out himself!” xe proudly stated.

The three heroes nodded. 

“I heard you like to analyze heroes,” Power Loader stated, waiting for Izuku to nod. “Can I see mine? I can answer some questions if you’d like, too?”

Izuku smiled and looked up to his parents for permission, who all gave him a smile of agreement. He finally let go of Hizashi and walked over to the coffee table in the room, kneeling and putting his backpack on the table before opening it. He rifled through and pulled out one of his notebooks, quickly finding the few pages dedicated to the pro and setting it out for him to look at.

Power Loader started reading Izuku’s notes while his parents started moving around the room in what possibly could be their usual routine. Izuku did however keep awareness on where each of his parents were.

“The little pronoun section is adorable,” Power Loader whispered to himself. “Mine are ‘he/him’ by the way!”

After the lesson he had with Nemuri and Hizashi, Izuku went back in his notebooks and added a section for when he could possibly meet Heroes in the future.

“I never considered how my quirk would work against pressure points! That’s clever!”

Izuku nodded with a blush. “I tend to always focus on how quirks would work at close combat first before expanding to long range. So I tend to focus on adding quirks to existing fighting styles, just like imagining more of Shou-” 

Izuku cut himself off and turned toward Shouta, who was at the coffee maker drinking out of the mug Izuku got him, with a questioning head tilt.

“While at UA, mostly around the students, it would be best to refer to me as ‘Aizawa’ and those two as their hero names.”

Izuku nodded and turned back toward Power Loader. “Sorry. Anyways, I imagined your quirk paired with more of Aizawa’s fighting style and that’s how I got to the pressure points.”

Power Loader nodded, obviously more than surprised at how easily Izuku communicated with his parents, and at the kid’s analysis process.

“I-I have notebooks for you two as well? Well, not total notebooks, but sections in said notebooks.”

Vlad King nodded and walked over while Ectoplasm hesitated, looking a little shy.

“Don’t worry, Ectoplasm-san. I think your quirk is really cool! It doesn’t scare me or throw me off at all.”

All three of the heroes were surprised by Izuku’s easy deduction, and the parent trio could see the moment the ‘must protect’ settled into each of them.

“Th-Thank you for the assurance, Izuku.”

Izuku just gave a sunshine grin and pulled out the notebooks with the other two heroes’ analysis.

“Hey, kid? You have an autograph section for me?” Power Loader questioned.

Izuku went bright red, reminding the heroes of a strawberry.

“Y-Yes? I just think you’re really cool and,” he takes a breath when he catches the heroes’ eyes starting glaze over. “Sorry, that was my quirk. But, I just think you’re really cool, and if I ever got the chance to meet you I would have asked for an autograph?”

The three heroes stared at him in shock, whether it be his admission or his quirk Izuku did not know, but he started playing with his butterfly knife under the table because of it.

“I have a pen over on my desk, let me go grab it real quick, okay?” Power Loader said quietly, before walking away to grab said pen.

“Kid, I must say, this is really impressive! Your breakdown of my quirk and fighting style show a deep understanding that is important for heroes! Good on you! Maijima, can I use that pen?” Vlad King praised.

Izuku blushed a little more before watching as all three of them signed his notebooks. It made Izuku giggle a little when Ectoplasm decided to sign his notebook with his teeth instead of one of his hands, which made the three smile.

The door opened, and Izuku whipped around to see Snipe walking in while staring at his phone. The man eventually looked up and noticed Izuku staring at him.

“Oh! You must be the little one-er-I guess quite literally, but ya get what I mean, yeah?”

Izuku chuckled at the man’s awkwardness. “I get you, Snipe-san.”

Snipe’s head moved a little backwards in surprise. “’m not used to kids as young as you knowing who I am, so that was a neat surprise!”

Izuku just ducked his head and blushed.

“It was even more impressive when the kid just listed off our names when they all had first arrived.”

Snipe nodded. “Love that! Now, what’re those notebooks y’all are looking at?”

“Th-They’re my analysis journals. I’m fairly certain, may I see that one, Vlad King-san?” Izuku asked, getting a nod and a notebook passed back to him. “Yes! It is this one. Here is your section if you would like to see?”

Snipe nodded and moved to join them, following most of the same patterns that the other three had. This was the pattern the rest of the teachers followed as they came in.

Soon, Izuku was receiving a forehead kiss, a hair ruffle, and tight hug as his parents had to leave for their classes, leaving Izuku nearly alone with the exception of Snipe, who didn’t have a homeroom class. He was not the only teacher without a homeroom class, but those teachers decided not to stay in the lounge. 

He was asked not to wander, but was given a map incase he did anyways. He was also instructed to wear a cloth mask for said wandering. As well as a schedule of what classes his parents had and when. Nemuri had second period off, Shouta fourth, and Hizashi fifth.

He spent the entirety of homeroom adding to his notes before he got a little anxious. Maybe some kind of separation anxiety? He had no idea how to explain it other than feeling like he was not close enough to his parents. Worse, he felt uncomfortable wandering the halls to find them. But how-

He noticed the vent above one of the desks. His phone had a compass, so possibly if he figured out north and made a compass rose on the map, he could possibly sneak his way above one of their classes? Shouta was the closest, so it was a matter of figuring out how to get there. 

As he was about to prepare to get into the vent, he received a text.

unknown (possibly r@+g0d?):

Good plans! They would work perfectly! However, would you prefer a map of the vents instead?

*media attached*

Izuku hid a snicker and observed the vent system map. It made it a lot easier to see where he would be.

The Child:

Thanks, Nedzu-san!

Izuku stood and put on his backpack and plain black facemask, then went and got on top of the desk that would lead to his escape, luckily tall enough to reach the vent cover.

“Hey, kid. What’re ya doin’?”

Shit! Forgot I was being watched!

“Uh, escaping?”

Snipe gave him an unapproving look. “With ’o’s permission?”

Izuku grinned and held out his phone. “Nedzu-san!” Izuku chirped.

Snipe looked at the text before sighing. “If your parents try ‘n pin this on me, make the excuse of goin’ when I went to the bathroom, please? Matter-o’-fact, ’m goin’ right now to have deniability. Don’t fall.”

With that, Snipe left the room, leaving Izuku snickering. He quickly opened the vent before jumping and pulling himself up, happy that he had not lost any of his muscles from acting as a vigilante for those few months. He closed the vent after himself and looked at the map before checking which way to go. 

The vent was fairly big, which was nice to be able to crawl comfortably in. He figured that Nedzu could probably walk normally in the vent. He reached Shouta’s class in a little under five minutes, and once he got to the right vent, he looked down and could see his dad him instructing a full class. 

Must not be Shouta’s. He mentioned having expelled a couple kids.

He noticed his parent stiffening. He must have noticed me! I have to let him know it’s me.

He pulled out his butterfly knife and opened and closed it in the tune that Hizashi like to hum, and he saw Shouta relax. The man spared a look to the vent that clearly meant, ‘You little shit.’

Izuku stifled a giggle and laid down in the vent, feeling safer now that Shouta was nearby. He ended up falling asleep listening to Shouta’s lecture.

~§~

Shouta heard a noise coming from the vents, and he almost ignored it. It was not uncommon for Nedzu to roam the vents. It was unusual, however, for whoever was in there though, because they did not move like Nedzu.

He prepared himself for either an attack, or for himself to check the vents. He was figuring out the best way to go about it when he heard the clacking. It was that tune that Zashi would hum in the mornings.

Kami, Izuku. You goddamn problem child.

He sent an unamused look to the vents, and had to hide a smile at the muffled snicker that escaped the vent. He could not lie about the anxiety that lowered at the fact that Izuku was closer now instead of farther. He had become attached. Sue him.

He had done all of this without stopping his lecture.

He heard Izuku shift in the vents, and could barely hear the kid’s slower breathing. He must have fallen asleep. Good.

At five minutes until the end of class, he ended his lecture.

“Nishioka, you can either stay seated or stand, but I need to access the vent above your desk.”

The student nodded and decided to stand. The third year class was more than used to Shouta’s weird habits at this point. They were not, however, prepared for Shouta to drag a masked, sleeping boy out of the vent and into his own arms in a cradle.

“What in the-” the student stopped speaking when Shouta glared at them.

“This kid is a ward of the school. He’s supposed to be staying in the teacher’s lounge, but he obviously escaped. You might have the chance to see him again. We’ll see. Now, stay here. Wait for your next teacher. Goodbye.”

With that, Shouta left the room. He snickered at the conversations that started as soon as he closed the door. 

“What am I gonna do with you, kid?”

Izuku just snuffled in his sleep and curled in closer to Shouta’s capture weapon, making the man sigh in fond annoyance. He made his way to the teacher’s lounge, hoping that Nem would be there by the time he arrived.

Xe were not, so Shouta settled on the couch, still holding the kid as he waited for xem. He did not wait long though, as xe came in a few minutes after the end of first period.

“Why are you holding Zuzu?” xe asked, surprised to even see Shouta.

“Kid escaped to my class by vent. He fell asleep there so I brought him here to be with you.”

Xe giggled at the kids shenanigans and held xyr arms out to take Izuku, helping to remove his backpack in the process. Xe eventually took Izuku and laid down on the couch with Izuku on top of xem.

Shouta stretched before leaning down to give Nem a kiss on the cheek and Izuku a kiss on the forehead. He also decided to take picture of the two while Nem was distracted playing with the kid’s hair. 

“Shou, you better send that to me.”

He chuckled before heading to his next class. He suffered through the next two classes, only the thought of getting to spend fourth period and lunch with Izuku getting him through it.

He learned via a text from Zashi that the kid had paid them a visit as well, which was especially amusing. It also made him happy to have arrived in the teacher’s lounge right as Izuku was dropping down from the vent.

“Problem child, why?”

Izuku stilled and relaxed in the same second before turning around with a shit eating grin.

“Because Nedzu-san encouraged it?”

Shouta sighed. “Of course he did.”

Shouta just walked over to the couch, set up his sleeping bag, laid in it, then held out his arms. Izuku caught on immediately and ran-bounced really-to join Shouta, dropping his backpack beside the couch and assisting in pulling up the zipper over the two of them. He put his head on Shouta’s chest and purred as Shouta combed his hand through Izuku’s curls. 

“See any interesting quirks in Zashi’s class?”

Izuku shrugged. “There was a student who had what looked like kelp for hair. What was interesting was how it didn’t act as normal kelp out of water, but as if it was still in the water with a lot of volume and not plastered to the sides of their head. It would be cool if they could manipulate the kelp or photosynthesis from it or something.”

Shouta nodded. “They must be in one of the gen ed classes. I haven’t seen them more than possibly in the halls. You’ll have to ask Zashi about it.”

Izuku nodded. “Also, aren’t third year english classes supposed to mostly be in english?”

Shouta looked down at the kid with a curious glance. “Yeah, they are. Why?”

The kid just shrugged again. “I could understand everything that was said during the class. I couldn’t tell if they were actually in english or just speaking japanese because I kept nodding off to Hizashi’s voice.”

That’s interesting.

Shouta wiggled up his phone to his face and started to text.

“That’s weird. I only remember enough english for moments when Zashi forgets what language their speaking in.”

DryEye:

Hey, Izuku said something interesting. You were speaking in mostly english during third, right?

“That would be hilarious to see happen.”

LoudBlonde:

Yeah, I was? What did the LL say?

“It is. Sometimes they’ll even struggle to just go back to speak japanese.”

DryEye:

You’ll understand at lnch. When you see Izuku, talk to him in english though. I want to test something

Izuku started cackling at that, finding such an idea hilarious.

LoudBlonde:

Okay, you cryptic weirdo

Lunch came quick enough, and Zashi and Nem met them in the lounge so they were all together when they went to get food. 

First, however…

“ Hey, Little Listener! How was chilling in the vents. ”

Nem gave Zashi a confused look as Shouta made sure the video he was sneakily recording was catching what he was hoping to.

 “ It was fun! You have a really comforting voice, so I kept almost falling asleep, ” Izuku replied, in perfect english.

The trio all looked at Izuku with surprise on their faces.

“ What? Did I say something? ”

Shouta just started cackling as he ended the video.

“Little Listener! Why didn’t you tell me you were fluent in english!?”

Izuku went to answer, but was overwhelmed by the two different sentences that were trying to escape as one. “ I -I’m not?”

Zashi shook their head. “You were just speaking in straight english just now!”

Shouta held up the video he took to the kid, Izuku’s eyes widening comically as he heard and saw himself speaking english.

“Oh. I’ve been teaching myself english as a side hobby since I was five, but I didn’t think I had done so well!”

“I thought your side hobby was analysis, Zuzu?” xe questioned with a head tilt.

“I can’t analyze fights 24/7 because even I get bored. So, I ended up teaching myself some basic JSL and english. I stopped with JSL though because of a threat I got from the friend I was learning it for.”

Zashi started jumping up and down just like a little kid. “No wonder you’ve been so quick to learn during our breakfast lessons! It’s already partial muscle memory for you! And you’ve already learned a second language! Which makes learning a new one less difficult!”

Shouta kept his quirked eyes on Zashi during his excitement, knowing if he did not their ears would be ringing.

Izuku started giggling and absorbing some of Zashi’s energy, making both Shouta and Nem smile at the chaotic duo.

“Okay, kiddos, we should probably head to the cafeteria now to get some lunch!” Nem teased, making Zashi pout and Izuku cackle even harder.

Izuku was soon staring with stars in his eyes at Lunch Rush as he gave him a plate of katsudon. The trio found Izuku’s awe adorable.

“W-Would you be willing to sign my notebook, Lunch Rush-san?”

The pro, while obviously startled, smiled back at Izuku. “Of course! I don’t want to hold up the line, though, so don’t dilly-dally!”

Izuku bobbed his head up and down as he pulled out the notebook with Lunch Rush’s section, and they were soon on their way. 

After lunch, they parted ways, albeit Zashi and Izuku staying in the teachers lounge. Shouta heard something about a JSL lesson as he left for his class, knowing Izuku would be in good hands.

~§~

Izuku smiled as he crawled through the vents to Nemuri’s class. The lesson he had with Hizashi was fun! It made him happy that he was still learning despite not going to school. 

Guess having teachers for parents works!

He arrived at Nemuri’s class and started clacking his butterfly knife. He watched as xe grinned and pulled out xyr phone. Izuku felt his phone vibrate and saw the message xe had sent.

PurpleParent:

Hey, Baby Broccoli!

Izuku hid a snicker and listened in on Nemuri’s class. Xe were discussing the work xyr class had done on their final exams. Izuku found it fascinating to hear what exactly were on the exams for Nemuri’s classes.

He checked the time and saw it was five minutes from the end of class. What better than to literally drop in on a hero class?

He quietly opened the vent that was towards the back of the class and stuck his head out. He caught Nemuri’s eye and was ready to back out if xe said no. Xe, however, only gave him an evil grin.

He flipped down and landed nimbly on his feet before sprinting to the front of the room to hide behind Nemuri, causing quite a chaos of limbs trying to catch him and bodies jumping away from him.

Nemuri was cackling by the time he reached xem.

“Okay! Class 2-B! I’m sure you’ve already heard about the cryptid ward of UA. This is him. Kami, that was perfect, kiddo.”

Izuku grinned underneath his mask as xe ruffled his hair. “Thanks, Midnight-san. That was really fun!”

Xe just chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Which class are you going to next?”

Izuku gave xem an evil grin and ushered xem in close to whisper in xyr ear. 

“I was thinking of paying the stoat a visit.”

He gave xem no time to react before he was running back through the class and hopping from a desk to the vent before pulling himself and the cover up with a snap.

“Oh, I’m in big trouble.”

“Why would you be in trouble, Midnight-Sensei?”

“Let’s just say the ward has yet to be corrupted by a certain someone-and would you look at the time! I need to go to class 1-D. Bye!”

Izuku chuckled as he made his way to Nedzu’s office. Should he just drop in? No. That would be rude. He can drop into the hallway though! He did just that a hallway away and walked the rest of the way. He had stayed a moment trying to figure out how to close the vent, when it did so on it’s own.

So, Nedzu knows I’m on my way. Good!

Izuku stepped up to the door and knocked before he could stop himself.

“Hello, Izuku-kun! Come on in! I’ve made tea! Would you like some?”

Izuku smiled and walked on in, waiting for the door to be closed before he took off his mask. “Sure, but I like an absurd amount of sugar in my tea. I’m not a fan of the bitterness.”

“Of course! We all have our own tastes! I should have some already on the table if you’ll take a seat?”

Izuku nodded, putting his backpack in front of the couch before sitting down.

“While you add your sugar, may I read one of your journals?”

Izuku nodded, thinking for a second before setting the bag on the coffee table. “Take your pick! My analysis of you is in book seven, but you can read more than one if you’d like.”

“Perfect!”

Izuku had only taken one sip of his tea by the time the principal had skimmed-read?-through three of his notebooks.

“These analysis are at a much higher level than what I would have expected of someone of your age! I’d say you’re even better than most first years here!”

Izuku blushed. “I-I’d hope they be good! I’m working on believing in my own ability, and I’ve been analyzing heroes and sometimes villains since I was four, so I’m glad to know you think so highly of them, Nedzu-s-k-kun?”

The stoat grinned. “Yes, ‘kun’ please! Many of the teachers call me ‘Sensei’ since I was once their teacher, and the students call me ‘san’, so it is refreshing to hear something new once in a while!”

Izuku nodded. His parents, especially Hizashi and Shouta, were like that.

Thinking of Hizashi, however.

“Nedzu-kun? May I ask you’re pro-pronouns?”

The principal gave him a soft toothy grin. “I personally don’t care about the societal expectations of human pronouns when it comes to myself. Use ‘he’, use ‘she’-I don’t mind,” Nedzu said in a whimsical voice. His gaze slightly darkened though. “However, the one I have no tolerance for the use of ‘it’.”

Izuku nodded, feeling as though he could relate to the stoat. “I understand what you mean by ‘it’. A lot of my bullies liked to insult me for being-well-what we all thought was quirkless by calling me ‘it’. That definitely wasn’t the worst insult, but an insult none the less.”

And she did too.

The principal solemnly nodded. “I understand. Now! Would you like to play a game of chess?”

That’s how Izuku’s parents found him after school had ended. On his third cup of tea and fifth round of chess. He lost every game but kept smiling in happiness at the beginning of each round.

They had no reason to fear any sort of corruption just yet. But that was not a long term hope they could keep if Izuku kept playing chess with the stoat.

Chapter Text

Izuku sat on the couch in the living room playing Animal Crossing on the Switch Hizashi had gotten him after he mentioned interest playing a few of the games. He was not paying close attention, however, as he was excited for the next day at UA. He wanted to harness his chaotic side with the students and test them, but how could he do that?

First, an identity. What would they call him? How would he go about telling them who he was without using his name? Could he use his mask?

“Hey, Shouta, Nemuri, and Hizashi?” he asked, sitting up and looking at them over the back of the couch.

“Yeah?”

“What’s up, Little Listener?”

“Whatcha need, Zuzu?”

All of them responded from their places grading the last of the tests their students had taken. Hizashi and Nemuri had looked up at him while Shouta continued staring at his paper.

“When you think of me, what animal do you think of?”

They all developed their own expressions of consideration, But Shouta’s was the first to be replaced by an evil grin.

“A bunny.”

“A bunny?” Izuku parroted.

“Yeah. You bounce a lot when you’re excited. And, you’re tiny. So, a bunny.”

Izuku was not sure whether he should be offended or not. 

“Oh! Shou! That’s perfect! I hadn’t thought of that!” Nemuri exclaimed.

“I was gonna say a duckling, Little Listener, but I gotta agree with Shou.”

Izuku tilted his head before his eyes widened in realization. “Oh. I get why I’m a duckling now.”

“Yeah. It’s adorable!”

Izuku blushed and turned back to his game.

“Why did you ask, Izuku?”

Izuku chuckled. “I was thinking of painting a kawaii animal smile on my mask to give the students a name for me.”

Shouta groaned and let his head flop onto the table. “I told you not to let Nedzu corrupt you, didn’t I?”

“If I remember correctly, Tsukauchi-san was trying to make sure he couldn’t and you encouraged it.”

Hizashi and Nemuri laughed at his offended grunt.

“So, what, just have them start calling you ‘bunny’ instead of ‘the cryptid’?” Nemuri questioned.

“I don’t know. It would be funny for them to be hearing about me from other students, and then out pops some cutesy kid with a bunny nose and whiskers on their mask.”

“Can’t forget the cheek-lip-things and buckteeth,” Shouta added, still flopped into the table.

“Of course not!” Izuku agreed sarcastically.

Hizashi got a thought and cackled a little. “Have them call you ‘Bunny-chan’.”

Izuku’s eyes widened and he started laughing himself. “Yes!”

Nemuri simply rolled xyr eyes. “Here. I have some fabric paints you can use. Let me go grab them-”

Izuku skipped as he held onto Hizashi’s and Nemuri’s hands while walking up to the school the next. While he would enforce the fact that he was not a toddler, he definitely loved when the two would swing their arms and pull him up into the air every once in a while. Being 4’5” had its perks.

Their was less fanfare as he walked into the teacher’s lounge this time. Although, he did make Hizashi and Nemuri walk more in front of him because of shyness as he had the day before. He ended up forcing his way onto Shouta’s back and laying his head on the man’s shoulder after he dropped his backpack off at Nemuri’s desk. Shouta had simply grunted and ruffled his curls a little as he drank his second cup of coffee for the day.

Today, Shouta had first off, Nemuri had fourth, and Hizashi had sixth. It made things more entertaining in getting to pop into classes. He heard Nemuri and Hizashi mentioning his plan to the other teachers. They were in charge of giving him a list of who was and was not okay with him popping in and causing havoc for a few minutes.

He brought out of an unexpected nap when he felt Shouta combing his hand a little more forcefully through his hair. 

“Love. I need to head to Homeroom. If you want to stay there you need to put on your mask.”

Izuku nodded and held out a lazy hand for his mask, but easily lifted his head instead when he felt a pair of hands putting it on for him. He smiled up at Hizashi in thanks, getting a forehead kiss in response. He felt Nemuri hug his back, and leaned his head on top of xyr’s before he laid his head back down on Shouta’s shoulder.

He smiled sleepily to himself. Out of the three classes he visited yesterday, Class 1-A was not one of them. It would be funny to see their reactions to their stoic teacher walk in with a child attached to his back.

And it was. Almost the entire class stared with wide eyes at the two.

“It was only two seconds this time. Maybe you’ll be more help with their attention.”

Izuku giggled from his place and settled his chin on the shoulder instead of laying. He gave a little wave, and only a couple students waved back. Shouta carried on discussing the final exam of the semester, giving pointers and ways to improve to students throughout. 

Robots? Izuku thought to himself. Doesn’t seem too practical. Wonder why they did those.

“Don’t go planning, I-Bunny-chan. Nedzu is bound to have a different test for you.”

Instead of feeling properly chastised as the students were sure to have expected, Izuku instead started bouncing in excitement. 

“That’ll be fun! I hope Nedzu-kun makes it an in-depth analysis on an obscure Pro!”

The class all gave him looks of fear. 

“What the actual-”

“Language. I don’t care, but a few teachers would get mad at me for not stopping him from getting more corrupted.”

Izuku cackled, and looked at the time. “Can I race you, Aizawa-chan?”

Shouta grimaced and looked at the time. “Sure. It’s above me, so do you want a boost?”

“I got it!” Izuku exclaimed before he scaled Shouta and stood on his shoulders to try and reach the vent cover. “I can’t reach it! It’s easier when I jump,” he pouted.

Shouta rolled his eyes and threw a length of his scarf up to open the cover, making Izuku smile. He easily jumped-lightly cause he cares about hurting the man-and caught onto the edge of the vent, the class collectively gasping in fear for his potential of falling. Izuku simply pulled himself in before hanging his upper half out and unlatching Shouta’s scarf from the cover.

“Thanks, Aizawa-chan! Hope to terrorize you again, 1-A!”

With that, he heaved himself up and closed the cover. He did not go right away, waiting until Shouta actually left the class to start racing him.

“Did he say ‘terrorize’?”

“He did?”

“I-What?”

“I’ll answer one question. I don’t think the problem child has much patience when it comes to the ‘race’.”

There was a silence as Izuku assumed students raised their hands.

“Matsuo.”

“Is he your kid?”

“He’s a ward of the school. What a waste of an already answered question. Goodbye.”

Izuku cackled and started bear crawling through the vents, not sure if he would actually make it before Shouta. He was fairly certain he disturbed a couple of classes on the way though. He made it to the right cover and quickly opened it and let himself fall to hang by his hands right as Shouta burst through the door.

Izuku smiled. “It’s a tie!”

Shouta let himself smile. “I guess so. But, ‘Aizawa-chan’?”

Izuku cackled as he dropped onto the desk, closing the cover. “If I’m gonna be cutesy and go by ‘chan’, might as well go full out, right?”

Shouta just sighed and closed the door. He flopped onto the couch and let Izuku crawl on beside him. “I guess. Still annoying.”

Izuku felt a little insecure at the man’s response. “I can call you something else if you-”

“Hey, none of that, brat. Keep up with the game, I’m just being a pain. Alright?”

Izuku relaxed and nodded. “Okay…Aizawa-chan!”

“Oi!”

Izuku cackled as hands attacked his sides. 

It was not long before second period started, and Izuku started making a loop of classes. He looked at the schedule he had and started making a plan of attack while sitting in the vent above the teacher’s lounge..

“Snipe asked me to not during fourth, Ecto during second tomorrow, while that one business teacher sneered at the idea of me disturbing their class. So, don’t hit up any of the classes during their teaching periods because I don’t want to deal with them being a bitch.”

His phone went off, and he pulled it out.

r@+g0d:

Will you visit me again during seventh? I wanted to make sure to schedule a time in advance on your itinerary.

Pup:

Of course! Would you like me to visit you during seventh tomorrow, too?

r@+g0d:

Yes, please!

Izuku giggled as he wrote ‘corruption time’ during seventh period for both days. His parents were sure to hate that.

He quickly made his way to Ectoplasm’s class, 1-B funnily enough, for tormenting. He let himself hang upside down with only his hooked knees holding him from behind Ectoplasm. He made sure to unlatch it loud enough for the man to hear.

And hear he did! He promptly looked down with a sigh.

“Hello, Bunny-chan. I honestly should have expected this.”

“You should’ve, Ecto-chan! Hello, Class 1-B! I’m here! You’re resident cryptid! I am giving you the chance to ask three questions! Ecto-chan is in charge of picking who gets to ask though!”

Ectoplasm sighed in relief. “Thank you for letting me, Bunny-chan. Now, questions? Miyoshi.”

“What’s your quirk?”

Izuku sneered a little from where he was still hanging. “I hate that question. Quirks don’t make a person, by the way. Until last wednesday at approximately 12:30 am, I thought I was quirkless. It wasn’t until a Lie-Detector quirk and the assistance of Nedzu-kun did I even learn I had a mental quirk. Because of my ‘misdiagnosis’-which is bullshit-sorry-and implies that I had a sickness-I was bullied relentlessly for years for being perceived as lesser. So, until your school proves to me that they are not quirkist, I will not be answering that question. Next question?”

Ectoplasm nodded in agreement. “Well said, Bunny-chan. Uesato.”

“Why ‘Bunny-chan’?”

Izuku giggled. “Before I answer that, I want to reiterate that I am a ward of the school, but I do have appointed guardians. One of my main guardians said that’s the animal they think of when they think of when they think of me. The other option was a ‘duckling’!”

The class nodded, and it was then that Izuku started feeling the effects of hanging upside down for so long. 

“I need to stand. Give me a second.”

Izuku reached up and let his legs slip out before letting go and  landing on the ground facing the chalk board. He turned with a wobble and nodded to ectoplasm to choose the last student.

“Yabe. Last question. Make it count.”

The kid scrambled for a second before blurting out, “What’s your favorite color?”

Izuku giggled at the student’s panic. He hopped sideways and held up a foot. “That would be red, Yabe-chan!”

Izuku looked at the time and saw that he had managed to only spend about eight minutes talking to the class.

Perfect! Better than I thought!

“Now! I do have to get going. More classes to terrorize. Have a nice day, Class 1-B! Be good for Ecto-chan! Bye, Ecto-chan!”

Ectoplasm gave him a soft smile. “Goodbye, Bunny-chan.”

Izuku decided to walk to the next class, wanting to stretch his legs as he walked. Next was Class 2-A, being taught english by…Hizashi! He walked up to the door and knocked before opening it and popping his head in.

“ Hello !”

Hizashi looked at him in surprise. “ Hey, Little Listener! I would’ve expected you to take the vent? ”

Izuku shook his head with a giggle and let himself in. “ I spent to long upside down in Ecto-chan’s class. Is three questions okay? ”

“ That’s fine! ” Hizashi turned back to the disturbed class. “This little listener is ‘Bunny-chan’! He’s the ward that visited your sister class yesterday! He’s giving you the chance to ask three questions.”

“I won’t be telling you which ones I’ve answered already, by the way. I want to see what tends to be people’s first reactions and questions are and make an analysis with Nedzu-kun! Mic-chan will be choosing who asks! Take it away!”

“Gotcha, Little Listener! Nomi?”

“Uhh, how old are you?”

Izuku went to answer but instead turned to Hizashi for confirmation. 

“I…don’t know if you should answer that.”

Izuku’s phone buzzed.

r@+g0d:

It should be fine! They’ll have graduated by the time you join UA!

Also, I encourage you to call me ‘chan’ in front of the students! (p^-^)p

Izuku nodded with a chuckle. “Nedzu-chan said it would be okay! I’m eleven!”

A shudder went through the class at the change in honorific, and Izuku held in a cackle.

I see why he told me too!

“Ushioda,” Hizashi picked with a nervous giggle. Seems it affected them as well.

“Uh, why did the school take you in?”

Izuku pondered answering for a second. “Parents kicked me out and I ended up getting in trouble with the police. UA ended up getting involved. That’s all I’ll say on that. Next question?”

“Kamei.”

“What is your quirk? I’m sure it had to be a strong one if you got taken in by the school?”

Izuku sighed in annoyance. “You, ma’am, are and idiot. I won’t apologize for that statement. Anyways. Until last wednesday, I had been quirkless. Nedzu-cha is aware of my damning of a misdiagnosis. He is also aware of my quirk that I’m pretty sure some would call villainous! I told 1-B this, and now I’ll let you know: I will not be answering the question on what my quirk is until your school-students, not Nedzu-chan-proves itself to not be quirkist! You, Kamei-chan, have put a point under quirkist. One point for bad!” Izuku referenced. He turned to Hizashi with a pout. “ Now, Mic-chan, will you give me a boost? ”

The enby chuckled and held their palms out for Izuku to stand on, easily lifting him above their head. 

“ Yes! It’s easier to reach it! ” Izuku exclaimed, unlatching the vent cover and pulling himself up. He peeked his head out one last time. “ Bye, Class 2-A! Be good for Mic-chan! Bye, Mic-chan! ”

“ Bye, Little Listener! ”

Izuku closed the vent and decided to stay back and see if there was a discussion about what he left on.

“What’s got his tail in a twist? You just wanted to know his quirk?”

Oof. Bad.

“Yeah! And he mentioned it being ‘villainous’? I don’t feel safe with him here!”

Izuku felt a stab in his chest. That one kind of hurt.

“Kamei, I want to ask what you think one of All Might’s punches at full capacity could do to a building,” Hizashi asked, Izuku being able to hear hints of rage.

“It would probably destroy it, why?”

“And the surrounding ones. And kill any of the people inside. Any quirk can easily be perceived as ‘villainous’, it's only a matter of whether or not the person uses it for evil that matters. If you are going to have such perceived notions about Bunny-chan, I really hope he never tells you his quirk. Now, let’s get back to work.”

Thanks, Hizashi.

Izuku sighed. He really needed some comfort. Maybe he could swap classes and visit Nemuri next? Yeah, xe were teaching Class 1-D. He could easily pop in. 

And he did! He put his head out and waited for Nemuri to notice him, not quite feeling up to causing too much chaos.

“Oh! It’s my turn? Yay! 1-D, this is Bunny-chan! Come here, kiddo!”

Izuku nodded and dropped himself down from the vent before quickly walking and standing behind Nemuri, holding onto xyr arm. Xe gave him a sad look and jerk xyr head for him to climb on xyr back. He smiled and quickly did so, latching his arms around xyr neck. 

“Now, I’m sure you’ve heard muttering about the UA ward. He’s decided to introduce himself to as many classes of UA as he can, and you guys have your turn now! Is it three questions? Yeah, you get three questions. Who wants to go first? Murata.”

“I hate to waste one of our questions this way, but are you alright, Bunny-chan?”

Izuku shrugged. “ Quirkist assholes, ” he signed where Nemuri could see.

“Bunny-chan signed ‘quirkist assholes’. Did you tell them what it was?” head shake, “Oh, mentioned what perception says?” nod, “Ah. Feel free to stay as long as you need!” xe exclaimed, ruffling his hair with him leaning into the affection. “Now! Kuno?”

“Uh…I’m gonna change my question to…What’s your favorite food?”

Izuku grinned. “Katsudon!” he quietly exclaimed, getting fond looks from the class.

“Alright! Last one! Hase!”

“Who’s your favorite Pro?”

Izuku bit his tongue from saying his instinctual answer. Remember, he’s your spite reason. “It’s Eraserhead! Sorry Midnight-chan.”

Xe smiled at him. “No hard feelings, Bunny-chan! Teasing will happen though.”

He just sighed in fond annoyance. He noticed the classes heads all tilted in confusion. 

“I’ve never heard of him,” the student, Hase, mentioned.

“That’s funny, Hase-chan. He’s one of the teachers here!” Izuku exclaimed with a chuckle. “Although, he’s mostly in charge of teaching hero students. He might every once in a while sub one of your classes in the next few years. I’m gonna take a nap. Wake me when it’s time for third, Midnight-chan?”

Xe chuckled in response. “Sure. Sleep good.”

Izuku nodded, quickly falling asleep with the help of Nemuri’s hand in his hair and the rumble of xyr voice.

~§~

Hizashi growled as they left their class. How dare they say such evil things about their baby! They know Izuku was listening, too. They heard him start leaving after they lectured 2-A.

LoudBlonde:

Anyone have eyes on Izuku? I need to give him a hug.

WhipsNChains:

I actually have him on my back. We can meet up in between 3-A and 1-C

LoudBlonde:

Thanks

Hizashi quickly made their way to where Nem had directed them, seeing the duo soon. They held their arms out, and Izuku quickly wrapped himself around Hizashi’s front.

“I’m so so so so sorry, Little Listener! I should’ve done better! I-”

Izuku shook his head against Hizashi neck. “You corrected them. You made sure they knew they were in the wrong. That’s all I can ask. This hug helps, too.”

Hizashi chuckled a little, holding Izuku a little tighter to try and erase the shame rolling through their chest.

“I’m guessing the ‘quirkist assholes’ were your class?” Nem asked.

Hizashi nodded. “It took all of my self control not to embody Shou and expel them all. The little shits.”

Nem nodded, and chuckled. “I would not be surprised if Shou actually had if it happened in his class. Feeling better, Zuzu?”

Izuku shrugged. “I regret staying back and listening in.”

Hizashi sighed. “Yeah, sorry again.”

“You keep apologizing and I’ll duct tape your mohawk.”

Hizashi had to let their brain actively reset at that threat. “Who taught you that one?!”

“No one. I saw a meme once that suggested that you keep your hair up with duct tape.”

Hizashi sighed in exasperation. “Of course people would think that.”

“Hey, what’s the hug for? I was curious,” Shou asked, holding up his phone as he walked up.

“Some kids were assholes when Zuzu suggested his quirk could be perceived as ‘villainous’ in Zashi’s class. Zashi wanted to apologize and now Izuku’s threatening them with a duct tape hair do.”

Shou’s head jerked a little as he held in an obvious verbal tic at the explanation. “I see. And they all still go here?”

“Unfortunately,” Hizashi answered. “I will be giving them a quirk discrimination lesson the first time I see them after break though.”

“Good. Now, I hate to break up the affection and threats, but class starts in three minutes, and I want some Izuku brand affection.”

The three all chuckled, and Izuku unlatched himself from Hizashi and let himself be passed onto Shou.

“I swear. You act as if I’m some drug being passed around!” Izuku cackled.

“You are, you brat. I can already feel the hit kicking in.”

“Shouta!”

Hizashi smiled at the fake argument. “Okay, give him back! I wanna hold him a little longer until he leaves for another class in third.”

Shou sighed. “Fine. Hope this doesn’t disturb your schedule too much.”

Izuku shrugged as he latched himself back onto Hizashi. “I’ve missed revisiting 2-B and 3-A. Although, all 3-A saw of me was Shouta pulling me out of the vent? That’s about it. I can reschedule them. Who do you have next, Hizashi?”

“I have 3-A, actually. Guess they get their revisit!”

Hizashi gave a kiss on the cheek to Nem and Shou and let them give some final affections to Izuku before walking the two of them to Class 3-A.

“Love you, Little Listener.”

“Love you too, Zashi!”

They smiled at the usage of their nickname and opened the door to the class right as the bell rang.

“ Hello, 3-A! You might recognize Little Listener from yesterday! They’re here to answer three questions! Who wants to go first? ” Hizashi asked as Izuku shuffled himself from Hizashi’s front to their back. “ Hokama! ”

“What-”

“ Don’t worry. I’m fluent-apparently-in english! I can answer any question asked in english. Consider this a test! Go ahead, Hokama-chan! ”

The student was obviously startled by Izuku easy response. “Uh. Wh-What can we call you? ”

“ Oh, that’s unfair to qualify as a question used. I’ve given that information away for free to other classes! You can call me ‘Bunny-chan’ ! ”

The girl nodded. “ Do I get to ask a new question then? ”

“ Yup! ”

“ Okay. What do you think of UA? ”

Izuku smiled. “ It’s huge! It’s definitely interesting to see so many students that are aspiring to be heroes! Even the ones who aren’t, too! ”

Hizashi smiled fondly at Izuku’s answer. “ That’s nice to hear! Now, Kuwahara. ”

“ Do you want to be a hero? ”

Izuku nodded shyly. “ I’ve wanted to be a hero since I knew what they were. My aspirations have changed since then though. I definitely want to go underground when I go Pro! Maybe semi Limelight to speak on quirk discrimination! ”

The class nodded at his answer, all finding his answer extremely mature for his probable age. 

“ Uramoto. ”

“ Will you be on campus next semester? ”

Izuku shook his head. “ I should be in school by then. My guardians are looking to transfer me to a new school, but we’re waiting until next semester for that! I might pop by on half-days/teacher work days though! ”

Hizashi nodded. That iss probably what the three of them would end up doing. “ Okay! That’s it for questions! You gonna stay here or move on? ”

“ Move on! Goodbye, Class 3-A! I hope to see you some day as Pros! Um, I don’t know your name, but I need to use the vent above you. ”

Nishioka nodded and stepped to the side as Izuku gave Hizashi one last hug and hopped down before walking over and hopping on to the desk, hopping to open the vent, then jumping and pulling himself in. 

“ Bye, Mic-chan! ”

“ Bye, Bunny-chan! ”

The vent closed, and Hizashi watched as all heads snapped to them. They held their hands up in defense.

“ Hey! I won’t be answering anything the little listener didn’t get asked. You can find out from rumors what other questions he was asked! ”

The class collectively pouted.

“ Now! Your exams! ”

Groans filled their ears, and they held back a chuckle.

Hope the rest of you torments go well, Izuku.

~§~

Izuku hummed as he made his way through the vents to the hallway before Nedzu’s office. He wondered what the stoat would have planned for the day.

He knocked on the door and smiled at Nedzu. “Hello, Nedzu-kun!”

“Hello, ‘Bunny-chan’! I would like to apologize, but I do not wish to receive the same threat you gave to Yamada!”

Izuku chuckled. “It’s not your fault, so I probably would’ve made the same threat. But, I appreciate the gesture!”

Nedzu smiled. “Of course! Now, I thought you and I could plan a quirk discrimination lesson that can be taught here! It would be nice to get your input, and I honestly feel as though this is something I should have started doing years ago!”

Izuku smiled as he started adding sugar to his tea. “I would love to assist you with that, Nedzu kun! What do you have in mind? By course? By year? Maybe by both course and year to better cater toward the best teaching needed?”

Nedzu nodded. “Most definitely the latter! It would be good to have maybe assemblies for students that are required separately by the course and year! Any specific topics you would suggest?”

Izuku shuffled a little uncomfortably. “Maybe discuss suicide rates for the seperate discriminations? I-I personally know that the quirkless one is really high.”

Nedzu nodded solemnly. “Yes. That would be important. Numbers and actual occurrences might help to get through to the students. We could also have testimonies given by certain teachers?”

Izuku nodded. “Yes! While some might think the teachers are exaggerating because they are pros now, it might help if maybe teacher like Ectoplasm-san could talk on the discrimnation they face for the way their quirk makes them look. Maybe even N-Midnight-san could discuss harassment as a female presenting hero!”

Nedzu clapped his paws. “I agree! And, while we might require permission from your parents, would you be willing to talk on the quirkless side of things?”

Izuku hesitated. Can I consider myself quirkless anymore? Do I have a right to say I’ve been discriminated against for that reason despite having never been?

Nedzu caught on to his internal dilemma. “While, I understand that you were never actively quirkless, you still were seen through that lens. Your quirk is easy to hide, and with some earplugs you would easily be quirkless in a fight. I think it is fair for you to talk about the discrimination you experienced while you had been theoretically quirkless.”

Izuku nodded, feeling a little relieved. “Then, I would love to! I want the students to understand that discrimination is no joke. And, if me telling my story helps them understand, then I want them to hear it!”

“Good. Now, we can discuss this more in-depth at another meeting! Would you like to play chess again?”

Izuku nodded. “Yes please, Nedzu-kun!”

Izuku smiled as he lost the first game.

Maybe one day I’ll beat him!

Chapter Text

Purring made its way into Izuku’s awareness, waking him up from the nap he had been taking with Shouta in the sunspot. He blinked his eyes open and turned his head to glance back at Shouta, who’s eyes were closed, but Izuku could tell he was awake. They had nothing pressing that day, so Izuku popped his back, flipped so his face was in Shouta’s neck, popped his back the other way, then settled back against the man to fall back asleep.

He tried to at least. 

A knock rapped against the door, making Izuku whine in annoyance and stick his nose deeper in Shouta’s neck. He could feel the man’s chuckles vibrating into his chest, making him feel like he could fall back asleep quickly.

The door opened.

“Tsuka! What’s up?” Hizashi asked, letting the man into the apartment.

Izuku huffed out a breath, but refused to remove himself from where he was comfy.

“I actually came to have Aizawa and Izuku sign some papers. Is it a bad time?”

“Yes,” Izuku deadpanned, earning another chuckle from Shouta.

“What did you-I’m getting up, kid. Fine,” Shouta rolled his eyes at Izuku’s refusal to let go of him, and just picked Izuku up and walked over to Tsukauchi. 

Izuku, not at all embarrassed like the little brat he was, wrapped his arms and legs around Shouta and rested his head on his shoulder. He relaxed further because of Shouta rubbing his back with his palm.

“What did you need, Tsuka?” Shouta asked.

“Izuku’s probation is over, so you and Izuku need to sign the foster papers and adoption application.”

Izuku’s head shot up, and he winced a little when his ear caught on Shouta’s. “You guys were serious about that?”

They had not discussed the possibility of adoption since the first day he had been with them. He had started to think they had said that to get him to agree with the probation easier. He let himself run with the idea, and he thought it was bad that he had let himself start thinking of them as his parents. Was he wrong? 

He received a sad look and two offended ones for his surprise.

“Of course we were serious about adopting you, Little Listener! Why wouldn’t we be?”

Izuku felt a little uncomfortable and started unwrapping his legs from Shouta’s waist, the man assisting and setting him softly on the ground. Izuku looked down at the ground where he stood and twisted his pointer finger.

“I-I don’t know. I…found it hard to…believe? That you would want me?”

  The two gave him sad looks.

“Hey, Nem? Can you come here?” Hizashi called, earning padding footsteps.

“What’s up-? Oh! Hey, Tsuka! Is he the reason I was called out?”

Izuku continued staring at the ground, missing Nemuri’s worried glance.

“Kind of? Little Listener doesn’t believe we want to adopt him.”

“That’s offensive,” Nemuri stated, making Izuku look up, wanting to apologize. “What? I don’t have good taste?”

What?

“Exactly! To think the Little Listener expects me to not get attached to him after he was so worried about making sure I could understand him!”

“Hey, Little Listener! Do you like pancakes?”

Izuku nodded, while trying to remember the sign for ‘yes’.

“Don’t worry about signing, Little Listener. I can lip read fine enough.”

Izuku felt his breath hitching. They’ve known that they wanted me to be their kid since that early? Tsukauchi’s eyelid didn’t twitch. They’re really telling the truth?!

“Yeah! How could I let go of the kid who is able to make even me uncomfortable by joking back!”

“Why is this mattress so heavy? I swear it wasn’t this bad.”

“You’re currently lifting it over your head. Of course it’s gonna be heavy.”

“Fuck off, Zuzu.”

“PedOPhIlIa?”

“Zuzu!”

Why isn’t his eyelid twitching?! They can’t…Not with me!

“Definitely can’t let go of the kid that sassed me for cursing and made Tsuka speechless twice in just under five minutes.”

“Kid. Right to remain silent and that shit. Shut up.”

“Wow, Eraser. Cursing in front of a child. Who would have guessed!”

“Siren. Shut the fuck up.”

“I would have done it if you asked nicer you know.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Thanks for the confidence.”

“Siren. Please. Will you please be quiet?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Now. I didn’t get to properly introduce myself earlier. I’m-”

“Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa of the Musutafu Police Department.”

“The kid did that to me, too. Even mentioned what agency I freelance under.”

“Thank you. Sorry for interrupting you.”

“I-It’s fine.”

Izuku felt himself start hyperventilating. The proof is there. Literally everything they said is true, proven by Tsukauchi’s quirk. Why can’t I accept it?

He felt hands loosely hold onto his arms, and he shook his head. Too much too much too much-

They let go. A voice filtered in through his panic.

“Sorry, love. Will you breath with me? Yeah? Thank you, love. Now, in…out…in…out…”

Izuku followed the voice until he could actually register what his eyes were seeing. Shouta was kneeled in front of him, while Hizashi and Nemuri were kneeled to be in his view, but not crowding.

“Why?” he croaked.

“Why we want you?” Shouta clarified.

Izuku nodded. 

“I don’t know why. I can explain when it struck. But, I can’t explain more than just knowing that you’re my son . I just know that you appeared in my life, and I knew that I couldn’t let you go, because you’re my kid .”

His eyes welled with tears, and he looked up to Hizashi and Nemuri, not believing that all three of them could really feel the same.

“You have no idea how hard it was for me to refer to you as ‘the ward’ instead of as my kid, Zuzu. I wanted to brag about my handsome and smart son so many times during class.”

Hizashi nodded. “When the students had said those things about you, my first thought was legitimately, ‘How dare they say those things about my son .’ I couldn’t fathom anyone saying anything bad about you because your just my perfect kid .”

He felt sobs ripping through his chest, and quickly fell into Shouta’s arms when they opened for him. He felt Hizashi and Nemuri join one by one, wary of how he had been overwhelmed earlier. It was perfectly what he needed in that moment.

Once he had calmed, he felt Shouta’s fingers comb a little stronger through his curls to grab his attention.

“So, I hope you take this well. But…Would you be okay with us adopting you, Izuku?”

Izuku nodded and felt the tears well up once more. “Yes yes yes yes yes yes please!”

His parents laughed, although he could feel tears slipping down some of their cheeks and onto his shirt. Had they been worried? Well, My initial reaction probably made them worry.

As he signed the sections he directed to by Tsukauchi, Izuku felt happiness pool into his chest.

I really am home.

Chapter Text

It was the night before Shouta was supposed to leave for the training camp, and they all decided to have a meal together. It was mot unlike what they would usually do. In the two and a half weeks that Izuku had been living with the trio, they always ate at least one meal a day all together. This dinner felt different, however. More important. 

Izuku was terrified of messing it up.

He had been running on the high that came with the reassurance that these three were his parents, but that five day high quickly faded at the thought of what Shouta would depart right after.

Sadly, the adoption would not be processed until well after Shouta came back from the training camp.

Izuku no longer felt the roaring happiness from that moment. No, now he only felt fear and anxiety, and he hated how unreasonable it was for both to be so high.

“Alright, Listeners! Dinner is ready!”

Izuku had felt too shaky to help with dinner, fearing hurting himself or Hizashi. When he had stuttered out an apology for said feeling, Hizashi only gave him a forehead kiss and thanked him for being honest. It was a little jarring when he knew his mom-no, Inko. She is not a parent of his-would have guilted him into helping.

A lot of things the trio did was different from what he knew, and it was hard to accept that.

“Zuzu, you aren’t the food!” Nemuri teased, gently pulling his lip from his mouth. She had explained before that she did not want him to have any scarring in his lips, something she had from the habit herself. 

He had felt guilty when she explained herself. Parents shouldn’t have to explain themselves for the things they do, so why did she? Why were her actions so much more different from his mo-Inko’s?

He gave her a small smile and joined her and Shouta to the table, where bowls had been placed. The bowls held a soup! Izuku did not mind soup. It should be delish if Hizashi made it!

Oh.

There were mushrooms and tofu in the soup. Izuku would not consider himself picky, but there were a couple of foods that Izuku absolutely could not stand. And those were a big two.

I can do this! It’s for Shouta! I can eat the damn mushrooms and tofu!

Izuku sat at what was now his spot. The three had originally had the square table pressed against the wall with the extra chair originally in the storage room. When they got Izuku, though, they had pulled out the table and dusted the chair. The first time they sat at the table together, the trio sat in their usual spots. Izuku had gone to sit down when Hizashi offered to switch him places. He assumes his parent was concerned about possible claustrophobia. But, Izuku had declined, stating that being near the wall made him feel safer and less like someone could sneak up on him.

The trio quickly began to eat their soups while having a conversation about…socks? Oh, apparently one of Shouta’s student’s had claimed socks were unnecessary for the training camp if he was just planning to wear crocs, and Shouta had nearly expelled him on the spot. Izuku just listened and fiddled with his spoon.

He noticed a small glance to his hands from the left, where Shouta was sat against the other wall. He had nodded his head in agreement to Izuku’s fears-no! No going in his head! Shouta noticed he was not eating! He must have thought he was ungrateful for the meal Hizashi prepared!

He forced himself to take a scoop of the soup with both a mushroom and a piece of tofu on his spoon. Maybe if he ate them together it would not be as bad? He put the food into his mouth and chewed once before freezing and stiffening as imperceptibly as he could, his widening eyes hidden by his down-hanging bangs caused by him tilting his head forwards to better hide his disgust.

Oh, kami. It’s so much worse.

Izuku trembled as he forced himself through another chew, repressing a gag.

“Izuku? Kid, are you okay?”

Izuku did not deserve the soft words spoken by his precious father-figure. No. He was ungrateful and needed to show the opposite.

He used his free hand to sign ‘fine’ to Shouta, a word he learned from Hizashi three days ago at breakfast.

“Zuzu, you don’t look fine. What’s wrong, baby?”

No! Stop being so kind! I don’t deserve it!

He shook his head and signed the word again, forcing himself to chew a couple more times. 

“Listener, you look like you’re about to vomit. Please. Just go spit it out. I promise you won’t hurt me doing so.”

Izuku shook his head harder, the signing getting a little shakier. He could no longer tell if he was trying to convince them or himself anymore.

See! He stopped calling me my nickname! He’s disappointed in you!

“Listener. Please. It hurts me to see you suffering like this. Please, just go spit it out, Izuku.”

Oh no.

Izuku got up and sprinted to the bathroom, just making it before he vomited. 

No! You ungrateful little-

“Hey, kiddo. It’s okay. Let it out. It’s alright.”

Izuku noticed himself sobbing along with a hand rubbing up and down his spine. Of course his parents were comforting him now. He was ungrateful and a disappointment for putting them through this.

“‘m bad!”

“No, no you’re not, Izuku. You just don’t like certain foods. And that’s okay! There is nothing wrong with that!”

“Bu-made!-”

Izuku could imagine Shouta nodding. “Yes. Hizashi did make dinner. And I very distinctly remember you thanking Hizashi for dinner. And it’s not that you didn’t like what Hizashi made, is it? I’m guessing you just didn’t like something that was in it?”

“T-The mushro-oms and t-tofu…”

“And despite knowing your dislikes, you still tried the food. And I’m proud of you for trying it. But, I wish you would have not made yourself sick. It’s okay to not like things, okay? It’s what makes you human.”

Izuku sobbed harder and pulled himself away from the toilet, going to wipe the spit off his chin.

“No, Zuzu. Let me,” Izuku felt something rub over his chin and bottom lip, and the texture made him assume it to be toilet paper. “There we go! Now, do you want to brush your teeth? Yeah? Alright, let’s get you up!-”

Soon, they were all sat on the couch-well, the trio were. They had Izuku lying across all of their laps, his head pillowed on his hands in Hizashi’s lap, with a hand on his ankle in Shouta’s.

“‘m sorry, ‘izashi.”

He felt more than saw Hizashi’s head shake. 

“I don’t accept it, Listener,” Izuku felt his heart drop. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for! There’s nothing wrong with not liking certain foods! I mean, I can’t stand the taste of eggs.”

Nemuri nodded. “Yeah! And I absolutely can’t stand the texture of potatoes. Which is weird because I LOVE french fries. I don’t like potato wedges because of texture either, so it might be the fact that the fries are deep fried-OH! THAT’S WHY THEY ARE CALLED ‘FRIES’!”

Shouta snickered. “That’s not a good thing to have just realized at twenty-six.”

“You can fuck right off a cliff. I am still twenty-one at heart.”

“Why twenty-one specifically? Why not eighteen?”

“I don’t know! That’s just the glory age in those american movies!”

“That’s cause they can finally legally drink, Nem-Nem.”

Her expression went soft, loosing its fake annoyed look. Izuku had only called her that a few times, not completely satisfied by the nickname. She loved it anyways.

“Well, then at least I’ll be young and having fun!”

“That just makes me think of the one pre-quirk songs, what was it?” Hizashi pondered, spending a second looking up to help himself remember.

“Isn’t it like ‘Girls Wanna Have Fun’?”

Hizashi looked down at Izuku in surprise. “You know pre-quirk music?!”

Izuku shrugged. “I don’t actively search for it, but if there is a song on your radio station that I like, I add it to a playlist.”

Hizashi barely restrained himself from bouncing up and down, and then paused. “Wait, Listener-” he stopped himself, noticing Izuku’s pout, and felt a little mischievous. “Little Listener?” 

Izuku went bright red and hid his face in Hizashi’s stomach.

“Aw! I didn’t know you preferred when I called you that one! I thought it might seem a little demeaning so I was trying not to.”

Izuku looked up with a frown. “I don’t know. It made me feel cute and special. I know you call most kids that, but the way you say it made me feel…important?…To you?”

Hizashi smiled down at Izuku. “Well! Then I’ll just have to keep calling you that, Little Listener! Anyways, my show plays really late at night most of the time. Why were you listening to it and not sleeping?”

“It’s hard to sleep when you can’t.”

“I second that.”

Nemuri and Hizashi just shook their heads fondly.

“We’re gonna have to try and fix that! Insomnia doesn’t just go away, so we’re going to see what’s best for you!”

Shouta rolled his eyes. “Going back to the food thing, earlier. I’m basically a human garbage disposal. I eat anything.”

“Except nuts,” Nemuri pointed out.

“Nut’s are dry and disgusting. The only exception is nut butter.”

Izuku chuckled at the disgruntled look Nemuri gave Shouta.

Maybe things were not the same, and it was fair to find it scary.

But it was also okay to find it lovely.

Chapter Text

The three of them hid in a classroom to watch the bus, with Class 1-A and Shouta inside, depart for the training camp. And Izuku, was not at all ashamed of that fact that Nemuri was holding him on her hip, his head resting on her shoulder as Hizashi rubbed his back. He was also not ashamed of the tears rolling down and falling off the tip of his nose.

This was gonna be a long week.

Day 1:

Izuku laid in the sunspot on the floor with Mochi-found by Hizashi behind their radio station-, Tofu, and Milkshake-a grey Snowshoe cat that Nemuri found in an alley after getting a muffin at her favorite bakery (no one knows how she came up with the name).

Nemuri and Hizashi were in the dining room, giving Izuku space. He presumed they thought he might prefer to deal with the anxiety of Shouta leaving on his own.

They were not wrong, but they were not right either. He wanted comfort, but felt if either of the two talked to him he might break.

Shouta had left his spare capture weapon in Izuku’s room, and at that moment he was cuddling it to his chest while also fidgeting with it. He left it with a note that read:

“ Hey love. I know this week might be a little hard, so I hope this makes it a little easier. If you want to learn how to use it, I can teach you when I get back.

~Shouta ”

Izuku sniffled a little, having finished crying only about an hour ago. An hour after Shouta had left.

He’s not leaving me. He’ll be back soon. 

Day 2:

Izuku was giggling as Hizashi retold antics that they and his other two parents had gotten into during highschool, passing the time while the two made a batch of cookies. Izuku struggled to let go of the capture weapon despite Hizashi being near, so he had it wrapped around his upper arms and chest to not get it dirty. Every once in a while, one of them would tic and the other would mimic, which furthered Izuku’s giggles and brought some from Hizashi.

“And one time! Oboro had-”

Izuku looked up when he realized that Hizashi had cut themself off, seeing the pained look in their eyes as they clutched the countertop.

“Who’s Oboro?” Izuku asked, being careful to sound more curious than questioning.

Hizashi chuckled wetly. “Shirakumo Oboro was a friend of ours-me, Nem, and Shou-back in U.A. He was one of our-of my best friends.”

Izuku could tell something was wrong. Hizashi said was. They could have just ended things badly, but that did not explain the mourning in Hizashi’s eyes.

“Do you wanna talk about him? It sounded like you were gonna tell a funny story.”

Hizashi closed their eyes for a moment before wiping them with their first pointer-finger knuckle. “Yeah-uh…in second year, Oboro had found a cat that Shou had found on his way to school,” Hizashi said, starting to roll a ball of dough with Izuku. “Apparently, Shou found him and gave up his umbrella so that the cat could stay out of the rain. Oboro, like the weirdo he i-was, decided to bring him to school, join the class late and climb in through a window!” Hizashi exclaimed, causing Izuku to giggle and gasp. “As if that wasn’t enough, he decided to change out of his wet clothes into gym clothes IN THE MIDDLE OF CLASS! It was kinda funny though, because I could see Shouta blushing and trying hard not to look at Oboro. He used his cloud quirk to cover himself when he was changing his underwear.”

Izuku gasped. “A cloud quirk? That sounds so cool! Was it like normal clouds made of gas? Or were they solid?”

Hizashi shrugged. “A little of both? He constantly used them to move around when he didn’t feel like walking, but I’m pretty sure they were just made out of water vapor or something.”

Izuku nodded. He had more questions about the guys’ quirk, but decided not to ask them. 

“Did he keep the cat? Did he name it?”

They nodded. “He and Shou decided to share ‘custody’ of the cat, but Nem was the one to name him. That was actually around the time that we met her, too. She took away the cat, since animals weren’t allowed at school and it was ‘her job as a third year to keep us out of trouble’. She asked all of us our favorite food, and decided on ‘Sushi’ since that was what Oboro responded.”

Izuku nodded. “Did Shouta keep Sushi after…?”

Hizashi nodded. “Yeah, Sushi died a few years ago, though. He got old and passed away over night. I think I cried for like a week,” they joked.

Izuku wiped his hands off on his apron and gave Hizashi a hug, surprising them before they returned it. 

“I would’ve liked to meet him. He sounds like he was a cool dude.”

He felt Hizashi’s breath hitch.

“I think he would have liked to meet you, too.”

Unbeknownst to the two, Nemuri was on the other side of the kitchen wall listening, covering her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. 

If only you could have lived long enough to meet him, Oboro. You would have been a great dad.

Day 3:

Izuku’s hands were shaking. They had been since he woke up and remembered that Shouta was at the camp.

He’s coming back.

It was stupid to worry. He knew that. He was sure that if he held the spare capture weapon tight enough it would get through to him.

Shouta’s coming back.

Nemuri and Hizashi noticed right away that he was not doing that great when he came out for breakfast. They had set up a movie day and told him about random quirks they had seen during villain fights.

Shouta has to come back.

At lunch, they had gone to the cat cafe. Izuku spent most of the time cuddling Shouta’s favorite cat there, a Birman named Princess.

Shouta wants to come back.

After lunch, Hizashi and Izuku practiced their sign. Hizashi always told Izuku how proud he was of his progress every time, and he seemed to praise Izuku extra to make him feel better. It definitely worked, but…

Shouta knows I need him to come back.

At dinner, all three of them worked together to make Katsudon. It made Izuku happy to make it, but he spent the entirety of the meal staring at the empty seat.

I need Shouta to comeback. And he will. 

Right?

Day 4:

He noticed Hizashi’s and Nemuri’s concerned glances. It was hard not to. It was also hard not to yell every time they did.

He just wanted to get through the day without hurting them. And he felt too guilty to deal with his anger how he usually did, because it would almost seem like it was Shouta’s fault. That was not at all the case, but he could not shake the guilt that came with the thought. So, instead he decided to try to use Shouta’s capture weapon on a plastic cup-Shouta was too sleep deprived for glass and Hizashi would be too tempted to use their quirk on them-that was set on the coffee table as he stood in the open space of the living room.

It was not the best idea in terms of a distraction.

He spent about an hour trying to use it without tangling himself up in it. The next hour was spent just trying to hit the cup. Since then, he was trying to grab the cup, getting hit in the face multiple times.

He huffed out a growl. It was not the best choice when angry, but he spent so long trying that he was not about to give up now.

“Hey, Zuzu! I have lunch ready! It’s time for a break!”

He barely contained a yell, instead clenching his fists and forcing himself to release a slow breath that did not help in the slightest.

“Hey, Zuzu?” Nemuri asked, entering the livingroom. “Did you hear me? Lunch is ready!”

He scowled, trying to calm himself down before giving a single nod.

“Cool! Make sure to leave the capture weapon on the coffee table so-”

“NO! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!” Izuku yelled, immediately regretting it afterwards and covering his mouth. The rage was still there, but it was smothered by shame.

Nemuri only gave the lightest of flinches before nodding. “Okay. You can keep it on. Just try not to get it dirty. After lunch we’re gonna go somewhere, though. Okay?”

Izuku nodded. “Okay…”

A short drive later, Izuku and Nemuri stood in a gym at UA that had a weight lifting equipment. Nemuri pulled a punching bag out of a closet and hung it on a hook.

“Do you know how to make a fist?”

Izuku shrugged and held up a fist.

“Good. And throwing a punch?”

Izuku demonstrated such.

“Your stance is a little off. Feet wider, shoulders a little tighter. Try again…Good. Now put on the gloves and do as you want.”

With that, she walked over to a rack and started setting it up for back squats. Izuku was confused, not quite sure what was expected of him.

There’s a punching bag and she made sure I could punch? Maybe she wants me to use it?

Izuku stared at the gloves and the bag for a few more moments before he started hitting the bag with a few punches.

That…feels…nice?

He felt his anger start filling him again, thus starting to hit harder. After a few minutes of punching, he felt noises escaping his throat, low and feral.

It got to the point that he missed, skimming the side of the bag and flopping to the floor. He flailed his arms for a second in pseudo punches before letting one of his arms fall across his eyes, lying limp on the ground. His chest started to shake with sobs.

He felt a presence settle on the floor to his right and take one of his hands to hold it tight through the glove. He gripped it as tight as he could and cried, near wailing. The presence made no noise, just holding his hand tight as he broke down.

Once he was ready, he looked over to see Nemuri staring up at the ceiling, tears slowly falling down her cheeks.

“N-N-Ne-em?”

She turned her head and gave him a small smile, before rolling onto her side. 

“Yeah, Zuzu?”

He looked down at their clasped hands before looking back up at her eyes.

“I m-mi-miss him-m.”

She gave him a sad look. “I do too. I miss him a lot too.”

She held up her free arm, at which he threw himself into her arms and sobbed more. She rubbed his back and quietly soothed him.

Please come back.

Day 5:

Izuku was okay. Like, actually okay. Which confused the hell out of him, considering the train wreck of the last few days.

He was okay, so why was his head ticing to the right every other minute.

At one point, he locked himself in the bathroom, because he could tell that his tics were triggering Hizashi. He thought it was not fair to him. Especially since he could tell that Hizashi and Nemuri were struggling more today than the previous ones.

He felt selfish for wearing the capture scarf wrapped around his arms, but he could not bring himself to offer it to them.

I’m a bad kid. No wonder Dad-

Izuku’s eyes widened as a gasp tore from his lips, sitting up from where he had been lying on his bed just staring at his ceiling, throwing his butterfly knife in the air. The butterfly knife hit his thigh and bounced onto the bed, and if he was not so distracted he would have been glad it was fake.

Dad. Dad? Shouta? 

“I already thought of him as that, but to call him that?” Izuku whispered to himself.

But, is that fair to Nem and Zashi? I don’t feel like that for them, do I?

Izuku thought back to the last week, to how Hizashi had been there to distract him with learning and baking. How he spent his evening telling him stories of an old friend. Of a guy that would have possibly also been one of his guardians if he hadn’t-

Hizashi trusted him enough to tell him about Oboro, which warmed his heart.

He thought of how Nemuri had them watch pre-quirk movies, knowing that Izuku loved those movies. Especially the ones including magic. He thought about how xe took him to UA just to release the anger that was hiding how he really felt. How xe gave him time to release said anger, even in tears, but also made sure he was not alone while in pain. How xe laid on the ground with him for a good hour, letting Izuku decide when he was ready to get up.

They acted like parents. He thought of them as parents. Would they like parent titles? Like ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’-

No.

Shouta was ‘Dad’. And while Hizashi could also be considered his ‘Dad’, Hizashi was not his ‘dad’? And Nemuri was not his ‘Mom’?

I don’t think I could trust another ‘Mom’.

He pulled out his phone and typed “ nonbinary parent names ” into the search engine. The first link was a website that said it had a list, and he decided to click on that. He went through the list, and nearly hit the back arrow when he saw one of the last names on the list:

“ Zaza ”

“Hey, Zuzu!”

“Zuzu! Food time!”

“Zuzu, can you come here?”

It was the perfect name for Nemuri. He looked at a photo on his desk that had him asleep on top of Nemuri with xem kissing the top of his head.

“That’s Zaza,” he whispered to himself, and felt the heat of happiness the feeling of that’s right pool in his chest.

Yeah, that’s xyr name. I hope xe like it.

Izuku looked through the list again, frowning when nothing stuck out for Hizashi. He looked through ten different links, before throwing his phone onto his comforter when he found nothing. He covered his face with his hands and flopped backwards into his pillows, letting out an exasperated groan into his hands. He flinched when there was a knock on his doorframe.

“Hey, Zuzu. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Izuku mumbled, nearly whined, through his hands.

His bed dipped and a hand combed its way through his curls.

“If what nothing then you wouldn’t be hiding like that. Also, we should take you for a haircut later. Your undercut is growing out.”

Izuku was glad xe brought that up. He was starting to feel dysphoric whenever he saw the noticeable length, but felt bad about asking for a haircut.

He let his hands fall to his chest. “That sounds like a good idea-Nem?”

He saw xem looking to his side at his phone, that was still on and open to the original list he had found.

He yelped and grabbed his phone, shutting it off and backing into the corner, away from Nemuri, with it clutched into his chest.

“It isn’t what it looks like!”

Nemuri had an expression that he did not understand on xyr face.

“You were researching parent names?”

There was a lilt of something in xyr voice.

“I-Well-I don’t-* sigh* I was trying to find names for you and Zashi.”

He stared at his socked feet, avoiding xyr eyes.

“Why were you looking up parent names?”

Izuku shrugged despite knowing his own intentions. “You and Zashi aren’t…binary? So, I wanted to find something that would respect that.”

“And you were annoyed because you couldn’t find anything?” Nemuri asked, although it sounded more like a statement, full of that emotion that Izuku still could not place.

“W-Well, I found one for you…” he shyly answered, getting quieter by the end of the sentence.

Xe gave him a small smile.

“What was it?”

He blushed and opened his phone, scrolling, holding it out to xem, and pointing to the name. Letting xem hold his phone to read the description.

“I-I’ve wanted to do the double syllable for you since you started calling me ‘Zuzu’, but I could never come up with a good nickname. And ‘mama’ didn’t fit, even outside of you being femme. So, when I saw it, I-well…I thought it was perfect?”

Izuku slowly shrunk as he explained. It was only after he had finished and heard a sniffle, that he looked up.

Nemuri was staring at his phone with tears flowing from xyr eyes. 

“I’m sorry!” Izuku exclaimed, reaching his hands out in an attempt to comfort, but afraid to touch. “I don’t have to call you that! I’m sorry if-”

“No! No. Zuzu. It’s okay,” Nemuri interrupted, grabbing hold of both of his hands after dropping his phone. “Izuku. It is quite the opposite. I’d love for you to call me ‘Zaza’.”

Izuku stared at xem incredulously. 

“Really?”

“Really.”

Izuku breathed in a deep breath to calm his tears, before thinking fuck it and diving into xyr arms.

“Zaza!”

Xe clutched him to xyr chest. “Oh, Zuzu. I can’t explain how happy I am.”

Izuku just cried, clutching xyr shoulders. It took him a while before he could bare to pull himself from Zaza’s arms, wiping away his tears.

“Now, how about we put our heads together for a name for Zashi, yeah?”

Izuku nodded with a giggle. Although, he was quick to sigh.

“I couldn’t find anything for Zashi. I looked through so many lists and articles and found nothing!”

Zaza tapped xyr chin in mock consideration with a hum.

“You know, every once in a while, Zashi will go on a tangent about that mug you got him.”

Izuku thought of that mug and smirked. That mug really fit the pro.

I’m the Pop-star!

Pop-star…

“Pops!” Izuku squealed, loving the name. “It’s perfect!”

Nemuri-Zaza grinned. “Now that we have that out of the way, I’m guessing you don’t need help with one for Shou?”

Izuku gave a sheepish grin. “I’ve considered Shouta my dad for a while now. I just realized that I felt ready to call him that too.”

Zaza nodded. “And that’s what brought on this afternoon research?”

He nodded again.

“Well, do you wanna go ask Zashi?”

Izuku smiled, about to say yes, when…

“Isn’t he having a bad day? I don’t want to push this on him.”

Nem-Zaza shook xyr head. “This would be the perfect thing to cheer him up!”

Izuku nodded, scooching to get off the bed. He followed xem to the livingroom, where Hizashi was lying on the couch with his eyes closed. Though, Izuku could tell he was not asleep by the lack of snoring, so he lightly flopped himself on Hizashi, avoiding his hands as they moved to settle on his back.

“Hey, Little Listener!” Hizashi croaked, not quite as peppy as usual.

“Hey, I-uhh-I wanted to ask you a question?” Izuku asked, tapping his thumbs together and staring at the pin on his shirt.

“Go ahead!”

Izuku sucked in a breath, looking back at Nemuri-Zaza for encouragement. When he received a nod, he turned back to Hizashi.

“Can-Could I-Can I call you ‘Pops’?” Izuku asked, chancing looking up at his face about a minute after he asked.

Hizashi had a stunned look on his face, that was slowly morphing into a teary smile.

“You want to call me ‘Pops’?” he asked.

Izuku slowly nodded with a shy smile, causing him to hug Izuku tight with a shout.

“Of course! I’m Pops, Nem! I’m Pops! I-” he laughed in happiness, kissing the top of Izuku’s head.

Izuku smiled into his neck. “You’re ‘Pops’, Pops!”

Hizashi just cried a little harder and hugged Izuku tighter.

Dad will come back.

Day 6:

“Zuzu, honey, why are you doing so much cleaning?”

He gave her a shy smile. “I wanted to make sure Sho-Dad would be comfy when he gets back tomorrow!”

Nem-no-Zaza gave him an amused smile, staring down at him as he wiped down the coffee table.

“Were you ever able to grab the cup, by the way?”

Izuku’s eyes widened before he nodded. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed his designated practice cup before running to his room to grab the capture weapon. He put it on as he ran back, putting the cup down on the table. He did not notice Zaza pulling out her phone to record him as he rolled his shoulders and concentrated. 

He threw out a loop, that successfully grabbed the cup, before pulling it back to himself a catching it in his non-dominant hand.

“Good job, Zuzu!” Zaza cheered, putting away her phone. 

Izuku beamed at the praise. It made the mild anxiety in his chest calm for a moment…then he remembered that there were leftovers in the fridge that needed to be thrown out.

He failed to see nor hear Zaza sigh before walking out of the livingroom.

Izuku had just finished washing his hands after throwing out the trash, when a pair of arms wrapped around his torso and lifted him up. He yelped before dissolving into giggles at Hiz-Pops gnawing at his neck.

“No! Don’t eat me!” Izuku shouted, before laughing more when Pops threw him onto the couch and started attacking his sides.

“But, Little Listener! You look absolutely scrumptious! Not even a tiny-little nibble?”

Izuku was laughing to much to respond.

Eventually, Pops relented, and rolled them over so that they laid to cuddle on the couch.

“You’re mean, Zash-Pops.”

Pops let out an offended gasp. “How dare you accuse me of such a heinous crime! I simply wanted a snack and you refused me!”

Izuku giggled and tiredly tucked his head under Pops’ chin. “But, I didn’t wanna be your snack! I’m not food!”

They gave a hum. “I guess you’re right. I relent. You are not food.”

Izuku smiled, his breathing slowing as he verged on the edge of sleep. “Zaza?”

“You want Zaza to join us or where is she?”

“Both?”

“She’s in the room, but I’ll text her that we’re taking a nap and ask her to join us.”

Izuku hummed, drifting a little bit before a warmth settled behind him.

“Hey, Zuzu. I heard we’re taking a catnap?”

He nodded, letting her settle behind him before he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Day 7:

Izuku was vibrating with energy. He barely stopped himself for looking for anymore cleaning he could do.

Dad’s almost home!

Zaza had gone to pick Dad up, being the one who was least likely to ruin Izuku’s surprise. When Izuku had suggested that, Pops had been offended but understanding.

“I’ll have you know, you are completely correct, but I do not stand for this slander!”

Izuku just laughed when the admission had been followed with crossed arms, a stomped foot, and a pout.

The door creaked open and he could hear Zaza’s loud voice. He turned from his place on the couch to see Dad walk in just after her. 

He jumped up and ran around the couch.

“Dad!”

Chapter Text

Day 1:

Shouta sighed at the screaming of his students, just wanting to be home.

“Wow, Aizawa-kun! I’ve never seen you look so unenthusiastic after sending your students to the gulag!” Tiger exclaimed.

Shouta just sighed again.

“He’s just sad he can’t be home with his-”

Kan was quickly shut up by the pro’s scarf wrapping around his face.

Pixie-Bob laughed at the action. “Come on, Zawachan! We all know about you and your mates! It makes sense that you would miss them!”

“ That is not the only- ”

At this point, Kan was asking to become a mummy.

Shouta gave him a glare. “I was going to explain,” he glared. He released Kan, but made sure the momentum made him hit the ground. “We adopted a kid.”

The four all gave him looks of surprise.

“Not just any kid-hey! Ever heard of ‘Siren’?!”

As Tiger tried to stop Shouta from trying to murder Kan, Ragdoll let out an excited squeal.

“You mean that vigilante? You adopted her-”

“Him,” Shouta corrected, a little venomously.

Tiger nodded in understanding. “I understand the hostility, Aizawa-kun. I would probably respond the same! Keep up that protective spirit!”

Shouta just walked back to the bus, not wanting to talk more.

I’m coming back, Izuku. I promise, love.

Day 2:

Shouta glared at the students who had given up after the first hour. It was called hell camp for a reason. And, he knew very well that the kid’s were faking exhaustion for a break. 

They could have just asked.

Day 3:

“You’re telling me, not only did you sneak out after curfew, but you also snuck INTO THE GIRL’S BATHHOUSE?!”

“Yes?”

“Remind me to expel you when we get back to UA. You’re officially on probation. Luckily they have a solitary cabin. Lots of spiders-”

“SENSEI, WAIT! PLEASE!! I’M AFRAID OF SPIDERS!!”

Day 4:

Shouta felt a shock jolt through him at lunch, and gave his food a suspicious once over.

“I’m tempted to make food myself at this point. Even Nem’s cooking is better than this.”

“You know the rules, Aizawa-kun!” Mandalay exclaimed.

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Kan choked on his food at his blunt yet obvious pouting.

“Spitters are quitters!” Pixie-Bob yelled.

“I’m not gay! That’s Aizawa-kun’s department!”

“So, you and Majima aren’t fucking. Guess I owe Zashi 500 yen.”

Ragdoll and Tiger fell off their chairs laughing at Kan’s distress.

“I said I’m not gay! Not that I’m not fruity!”

Day 5:

Shouta walked to the dining yard with a weird feeling. 

“You seem distressed! What’s wrong, Aizawa-kun?” Mandalay asked.

“I think I can feel my kid having an existential crisis.”

“I…wasn’t expecting that to be your answer.”

Shouta simply shrugged in reply.

Don’t worry kid. I’m almost home.  

Day 6:

“Just because today is your last official day, doesn’t mean you get to slack off. I will make you chase the bus.”

“Yes, Sensei!”

“That was a bit harsh, Zawachan!” Ragdoll exclaimed.

“Apologies. Just itching to get back.”

“Do not worry, Shouchan! I’m sure your kit will be excited to see you!”

“I know he will. I just miss them all.”

“Aww!”

Few more hours. Just a few more hours.

Day 7:

“Dad!”

Shouta looked at the kid in shock.

“Did-Did you mean to say that?”

Izuku shuffled his feet a little anxiously. “Yeah. I realized that I was ready to call you ‘Dad’ on Friday.”

No wonder I could feel his anxiety.

“You really want to call me ‘dad’?”

Izuku nodded, and Shouta did not even try to stop himself from wrapping his kid in his arms and holding him close.

“Oh, Izuku.”

“Dad!” the kid cried, shoving his face in the man’s neck. “You came back.”

“I’ll always come back. Always.”

Chapter Text

Izuku sighed as he flopped on the ground. Training with Dad was fun, but so so tiring. At least he got to choose to be on the ground this time for his break. Then, a water bottle bounced into his shoulder.

“Drink up, Little Listener! We’re doing quirk practice next!”

Izuku groaned, but picked up the water bottle anyways. He was thirsty despite his whining.

He sat up and looked at Pops in contempt. He was excited to do quirk training, do not get that twisted. He was also suffering, and it was easiest to blame Pops for it.

“Don’t look at me like that, Little Listener! Come on! Try and use your quirk on me while I’m fighting it.”

That was the hard part. He had been working for the last two days to recognize what emotions or scenarios he was influencing, but it was difficult to use it while his parents were fighting it. 

He stood and brought his mind to the place he could feel the connection begin. “You’re going to feel sad. Sad to the point of letting go. So sad-” and he continued along that track. Trying his hardest to influence what he was saying. He could feel the connection wavering, until Pops basically defeated it. “Ugh! This is impossible!”

Pops sighed. “It’s gonna feel that way for a while. That’s why we’re training! To help you get better control! And to make it stronger! Try again-”

“I had a potentially ridiculous thought,” Dad interrupted. “Your quirk works similarly to a siren’s hypnotic singing. So…what if you sang instead?”

Izuku gave him a look. It was not the worst idea. But, the idea of singing to use his quirk was…almost embarrassing.

“Ooo! I like that idea!” Zaza exclaimed from xyr corner.

They all turned to Izuku with expectant expressions, and Izuku felt his cheeks burn red as he stared at a crack running along the floor of the gym.

“It’s not…the worst idea,” he said, struggling to get the words out.

He missed the glances of worry his parents shared.

“You don’t have to, Zuzu.”

“No! I…I * sigh * It feels…like my…brain…is saying no?” Izuku struggled, still refusing to look at any of them.

Pops hummed in consideration. “Does it feel like there’s a wall that was made that makes it feel impossible for you to try it out of the assumed inevitable embarrassment?”

Izuku finally looked up and met Pops’ eyes in surprise. How did they…?

“Exactly like that,” Izuku breathed.

He saw Dad and Zaza nod out of the corners of his eyes.

“That’ll be a little harder to work against, Love. So, if we go along that route, I’ll have to make sure: Do you want to try?”

Izuku pondered the idea, trying to look around the immediate shutdown of: 'That’s embarrassing. No.'

“It would be cool to just kind of, Ariel away the bad guys? I…I want to try it. If maybe to help my confidence if it fails?”

Dad smiled. “Good. For that…I’m not sure where to start or how to help,” he admitted.

Zaza clapped with glee. “I can start with this one! First, we need to get you more comfortable with singing in front of someone! I imagine trying to in front of all of us at once is the most overwhelming, right?”

Izuku nodded shyly. He could not even imagine just out and singing in front of all of them. Even the size of the room they were in was playing into his anxiety.

“Well, there’s where we start! Who do you think you would be most comfortable singing in front of?”

Izuku struggled for a moment with just the idea of not offending them with his immediate answer. Dad would not judge him, but his apathetic demeanor would throw him off and make him worry he was doing bad. Zaza would be ecstatic to hear him singing, but xe were not afraid to give him pointers of how to do better with things, and he did not think he could handle that at that moment. 

That left:

“Pops?” Izuku near whispered.

 Zaza and Dad nodded in understanding while Pops looked at him in surprise.

“Well, thanks for the trust Little Listener! But, I am confused as to why you feel the most comfortable with me?”

Izuku shrugged with an anxious look. “I don’t know. When we’re doing sign lessons, your…praises always make me feel better when I mess up. It just…feels…easier to believe that you won’t judge me? It’s not like I think you guys would! I-”

“-just have more proof when it come to Zashi. Don’t worry, kid. We get it. You aren’t hurting us by feeling safer.”

He was thankful that Dad was so good at saying exactly what he needed to hear.

“Awesome! Now…where do you think you’ll feel safest?” Pops asked, unsure of themself.

Izuku pondered the question. “I…don’t know.”

“Isn’t there a sound proof room at your station, Zashi? Might be a good place?” Zaza suggested.

Izuku liked the idea, and nodded to Pops’ questioning look.

“Great! I’ve been wanting to show you my station anyways!”

Soon, the two were at Pops’ radio station, and Pops had to make sure to hold Izuku’s hand to make sure he did not get lost. Meanwhile, Izuku was trying to look at everything he could.

“Wait, you really brought the mug here?”

Pops nodded excitedly. “Yeah! You have no idea how many times I just barely stopped myself from rambling about you when I take a sip during the show!”

Izuku blushed at that, but could not deny the warmth that pooled in his chest.

They eventually reached the room that they had come for, settling into the comfortable chairs set up in the room.

“Why do you have a sound proof room? Aren’t the usually for recording music?”

Pops chuckled. “Usually! However, there is that every once in a while that I get a call in that makes me just want to scream, ya dig? Thus, this room was born! It’s also helpful for when I interview heroes.”

Izuku nodded. That did make a lot of sense.

“So, first order of business! You mentioned ‘singing the bad guys away like Ariel’. You mean The Little Mermaid, right?”

Izuku nodded. “I don’t know if it’s weird to feel that way, but it feels easier to imagine focusing on holding one long nice note instead of possibly stumbling over words?”

Pops nodded. “I get it. So, maybe we can work on singing some longer note songs together before we move onto you only singing along, then no music. Sound okay?”

“Together?”

“Ah. Uh, I thought it might make it a little easier at first if you weren’t the only one singing?” Pops answered. “Was I wrong?”

Izuku shook his head. “No. That actually would be easier. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Gotcha! Now, let me make a list of a couple songs off the top of my head, and you can tell me which ones are okay/not okay/you don’t know them. Cool?”

Izuku nodded. “Cool.”

“English songs okay?”

“Most likely?”

Eventually, they were onto the first song, which just so happened to be a pre-quirk song that Izuku adored despite not being quite sure what it was about.

Pops said that they would be singing, and Izuku was free to join and drop off whenever he wanted/needed. He felt like he could join once it started shifting from verse to chorus.

“ These wounds won't seem to heal, ” Izuku started, earning a grin from Pops, encouraging him to continue a little louder “ this pain is just too real. There's just too much that time cannot erase. ”

Izuku tried to join the second verse, but felt his voice cut off without his permission. 

“ It’s okay, LL, ” Pops signed. They kept singing and did not push Izuku to try to much harder, which was exactly what he needed. 

It was during the bridge that things twisted.

He had joined again at the build up to the chorus, this time a little stronger. He quickly lost himself to his favorite part, the bridge, and did not notice Pops had stopped singing with glazed eyes.

“ …I held your hand through all of these years. You still have- Pops?”

Pops’ eyes returned to their usual yellow-green, and they had to try to contain the sobs that were fighting to escape. “Sh-Shou was definitely right. I couldn’t fight that. Can I have a hug, Little Listener?”

Izuku nodded numbly, and let Pops pull him into their lap as they lightly cried. He struggled to process what happened.

“Did…Did I start ‘singing’ during…?”

He felt Pops nod.

“Yeah. It was during the bridge. I felt it hit me, and I tried to let you know, but it was powerful as heck. I could barely register you were singing along to a song and not actually in pain/me in said pain? I don’t know. Sorry I stopped singing with you.”

Izuku shook his head. “It’s okay. You weren’t doing it on purpose.”

Pops sniffled a little and pulled themself away and held Izuku by his shoulders. “What’s wrong, Little Listener?” they asked, noticing Izuku’s worried eyes despite his blank expression.

“I know it wasn’t my fault like it wasn’t your fault you stopped singing, but I still feel bad? I feel bad that I caused you to hurt because I got too into that song. And I also feel…scared? Like, I know my quirk is…powerful. It just scares me that it could-can be so-for lack of a less repetitive word-powerful too.”

Pops nodded. “I felt like that too. It was one thing to know I could be loud. It was another to watch all of the windows shatter in the gym at UA.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “That sounds terrifying.”

Pops smiled. “It was. Then Nedzu started cackling about taking money from the Commission, so it made things easier.”

Izuku chuckled. “He would be happy about that. Just, are you okay now?”

“I’m doing much better now, Little Listener!”

Izuku took a moment to pull himself away from Pops and do a full body shake, as if he was shaking of the panic and worry from the last few minutes. He would not have dared to do that in front of anyone before, but he had watched Pops-even Dad-do that enough times for him to feel a little less insecure about doing so.

He noticed Pops do a few head jerks out of the corner of his eye, feeling strangely happy that he was not the only one physically releasing stress in that moment.

“Alright! Are you up for trying again? It’s alright if you want to call it a day?”

Izuku nodded. “I think I can do a few more together? Not necessarily using my quirk or anything! Just…what we had been doing?”

“Don’t worry, Little Listener. I wasn’t expecting anything other than confidence building. Not quirk training! Now, lets find a happier song-”

~§~

Hizashi took a moment to sigh once they got home. Izuku had needed to spend time alone in his room after the confidence lesson, and they did not blame him.

They felt bad about lying to the kid. They did not want him to panic over them still feeling the affects of his quirk. Especially since he had been careful to not use his quirk again, terrified of accidentally using it on Hizashi again.

They flopped into the couch and tried to undo the knot in their chest. Of course, they had to go ahead and choose the one song that reminded them about Oboro. And as luck would have it, it had to be the one song that Izuku lost control to. They do not blame Izuku at all, simply hating the coincidence. Their pretty sure Izuku has no idea what the song is about, which made it easier to lie about being okay when it just enhanced a pain they already felt often.

“What’s wrong, Zashi?” Nem asked.

“Izuku accidentally used his quirk during the bridge of ‘My Immortal’,” they answered simply, knowing their partners would understand.

“Oh shit,” was Shou’s remarkable response.

“That’s…and it’s still…?” 

Hizashi nodded into the couch. They leaned into Shou’s hand as he combed his fingers through Hizashi’s hair. Hizashi turned their head to face the two, who were kneeled besides them.

“Anything you need, Zashi?” Shou asked softly.

The dam broke.

“I miss him,” they stated quietly, tears welling up. “I should be over it. I’ve accepted it. But like that stupid song, I still feel like he’s here and like I can’t get over him being gone.”

Shou picked himself up and tucked himself besides Hizashi on the couch. Hizashi turned to meet him, quickly tucking their head under the shorter’s chin as sobs rumbled through their chest. They felt Nem slot xemself besides them, xyr fingernails scratching soothingly into the back of their skull.

They let themself cry, silently wailing into Shou’s chest. The two just held them tight, and that was all Hizashi could handle in that moment as it was.

The two held them long after they had finished crying, letting the final tears run their course.

“Hey, I know it wasn’t my fault, but-oh.”

Shit.  

Hizashi did not think they could speak right then if they tried even add their quirk in the mix.

“Hey, Zuzu,” Nem answered, pulling away to talk to Izuku, but keeping xyr hand connected to Hizashi’s shoulder. “What’s up? Or, I guess, what’s wrong? Your fault?”

Izuku stared guiltily at the ground. “Pops isn’t doing okay because of my quirk, huh?”

Nem sighed. “Do you know what that song you two were singing is about?”

Izuku shrugged, picking at his nails. “I don’t know. I never really paid attention to the lyrics. I just thought it was pretty.”

Nem chuckled sadly. “It definitely is very well sung, but…The song is kinda seen as a song about someone who you loved who passed on, but you still feel their presence, or even not quite being able to let go of them and completely heal from that death.”

There was a silence as Izuku processed what xe said. Realization shined in his eyes once he had. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Zashi is struggling a little extra from the after affects because they identify with the premise of the song. It just made them think about it a little too hard.”

Izuku nodded. “I’m sorry, Pops.”

Hizashi shook their head. “ Not your fault. Bad coincidence. ”

“Still sorry.”

Hizashi sighed, and waved Izuku over to join the cuddle pile. The boy was hesitant, but joined anyways, settling himself on the three of them once Nem had rejoined xemself.

“I swear, kid. You’re like the perfect weighted blanket.”

“I second that.”

Izuku giggled lightly and cuddled a little deeper into the trio. 

Things would be alright for the four. They always would be.

Chapter Text

Izuku was in maybe the fifth store so far. Why, might you ask? He was trying to find a birthday present for Tenya. And he could not find anything.

“Izuku. Tenya really isn’t that complicated of a kid. Anything you find that makes you think of them will make them happy.”

“But, I can’t find anything that makes me think of Tenya-kun, Dad!”

Dad just sighed, probably not sure how to help Izuku. 

Izuku kept searching through the store. It was not until twenty minutes later that he stopped.

“You thinking of getting Tenya a friendship bracelet?” Pops asked.

Izuku shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel like it’s a little cliche, but I want to make sure they know that I care? That just because we’re going to different schools doesn’t mean we can’t be friends? I remember they only passively mentioned it. But, I thought the idea would be nice?”

Pops nodded. “Well. Do you want to buy a premade one or make them one?”

“I can make it?”

“Yeah! If we buy thread, you can knot and weave it in a pattern. Here, let me pull up a picture.”

Izuku stared at the picture when Pops showed him it. 

“It’s perfect!”

“Awesome! Now, lets go pick out some colors.”

Izuku ended up making the same bracelet five different times, trying to make sure it was perfect.

“Hey, Pops? Should I make one for myself?”

“If my friend make me a friendship bracelet, I’d want them to have one too that ties us together.”

Izuku made his own only once, having the pattern perfect after so many times redoing it.

Izuku stared at his gift as they rode in the car the day of the party, trying to calm his anxiety.

“This is Tenya’s first birthday without their parents,” Zaza said. “Poor kid.”

“Shame on them for not supporting the Little Listener or Tensei.”

“Honestly. If they try to show up, I might just-”

“Shou!”

Izuku was certain he was not supposed to hear that. 

So me and Tenya-kun have something in common.

“We’re here!” Pops called.

Izuku shook his hands a little, trying to stop his anxiety from clouding his focus. Today was Tenya’s day. And he was not about to make it about himself.

Tensei opened the door with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. “Hey! You made it!”

Pops nodded. “Of course! Where’s the Little Listener?!”

“They’re in the livingroom. Come on in!”

Izuku quickly took his shoes off and followed the adults through the hall, seeing Tenya sitting on the couch rubbing their eyes.

“Hi, Tenya-kun!” Izuku said, trying to make them feel better.

Tenya jumped. “Oh! Hello, Izuku-kun, Uncle Shouta, Pibling Hizashi, and Pibling Nemuri. I did not realize you were already here!”

“That’s alright, Tenchan!” Zaza exclaimed, earning a fond sigh from them as they all settled along the couches.

Izuku decided to sit on the two seater next to Tenya, earning a smile from them. His parents sat on the other couch as Tensei sat on the other side of Tenya, easily fitting beside the small kids. 

“Do you wanna open your gifts now or later, Little Listener?”

Tenya looked a little shy. “Y-You just got here. Should I not-?”

Dad chuckled. “It’s your birthday, Tenya. You decide what you want to do.”

Tenya blushed. “Then, now please?”

Zaza cooed. “Awe, your always so polite! Open mine first!”

Izuku chuckled at xyr insistence and Tenya’s startled expression. Tenya opened it and started bouncing lightly in excitement.

“It’s the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series!”

“I remember you like the Percy Jackson series, and thought you might like the guys other books. Online it was described as a continuation of the Percy Jackson books.”

Tenya nodded excitedly. “It is! Thank you!”

Izuku smiled. “I’ll have to read the books if they make you so happy.”

Tenya gasped. “Yes! I’ve wanted to talk about them with someone, but Tensei only talks about how hot Dionysus must be.”

“Hey! All I’m saying is that the movie did him dirty!”

Tenya rolled their eyes at that.

“Open mine next, Little Listener!”

Tenya nodded and accepted the giftbag, sighing when they pulled out a tie that had oranges on it. “Pibling Hizashi. Why?”

Pops just laughed at that. “Oh come on! You know it’s clever! But that’s not the only thing in there.”

Tenya shot them a suspicious glance before looking in the bag again, this time pulling out a giftcard to Barnes & Noble.

“Seems me and Nem had the same thought process.”

Tenya smiled. “Thank you, Pibling Hizashi.”

Dad was next, who said nothing and just held out a small giftbox. Tenya opened it and gasped.

“You got me keychains of you all and Tensei?”

“Yeah. I was able to find an Etsy shop that made things of me. I know you’ve been trying to find stuff.”

Tenya smiled brightly. “Thank you, Uncle Shouta!”

Izuku was next, and he felt bad. His parents gifts made a lot more sense than his. He almost wanted to refuse to give it to them. But, he took a breath and passed it to them. “Here, Tenya-kun. I hope you like it.”

Tenya gave him a smile as they took it, and Izuku looked away with a blush. He turned back after a moment spent calming down to see Tenya just staring into the box. 

“I’m sorry! I know it’s not that good! I-”

“No! No,” Tenya exclaimed, holding the box a little closer to themself. “I l-appreciate it! I…was just surprised. Which…Which one’s mine?”

Izuku blushed. “Yours is the green one and mines the blue one. I thought it would be nice to have the bracelet that resembles the other.”

“I agree! Will you help me put mine on?”

Izuku nodded and quietly helped Tenya tighten the bracelet around their wrist, before Tenya did the same for him.

“Thank you, Izuku-kun.”

Izuku smiled. “Of course, Ten-kun!”

Tenya sighed at the nickname, causing Izuku to cackle. Tenya did not correct him, though, so he knew that they really did not mind it.

“Now!” Tensei clapped, “Time for lunch! We can have cake and ice cream afterwards!”

“What’s on the menu?” Zaza asked.

“Beef stew!”

Izuku giggled at Ten’s happy bounces. 

“Little Listener? Are you not gonna wear my gift, too?”

“No, because it’s illogical.”

Pops just gasped in offense while the others laughed.

Ten mentioned when they were all sat at the table eating that they and Tensei had been sparring a lot more.

“Oo! That’s fun! I’ve been training with Dad, Zaza and Pops more too! I started getting the hang of Dad’s capture weapon too!”

“You’ve been training with Uncle Shouta’s capture weapon?”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah! It’s so hard! It took me like ten straight hours just to grab a cup and catch it!”

Tensei gasped at that. “Wait? You got the hang of that faster than Shou! It took him like a week!”

Izuku gave him a confused look. “You shouldn’t lie, Uncle Tensei! I can’t have done it faster than Dad.”

“He wasn’t lying, Izuku.”

Ten looked excited. “We will have to train together then!”

Izuku grinned, brushing away the left over self-doubt. “Yeah! That would be fun!”

After their meal, they all had slices of carrot cake and orange sherbert ice cream.

“Ah, Izu-kun?” Ten asked with a blush after dessert. They were both hanging out in Ten’s room.

“Yes, Ten-kun?”

“Have you gotten any better with your quirk? I’ve been curious about it since you first accidentally used it.”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. I’ve actually been-uh-actually singing when I use it? I have more control and it’s stronger that way.”

Ten nodded. “So, what exactly can you do with it?”

“I can paint illusions in people’s heads or influence emotions. Why?”

Ten blushed. “Could you possibly use it on me? I’m curious about what it feels like other than when it made me…focused on listening to you?”

Izuku nodded. “Sure! Anything specific?”

Ten spent a moment looking for words. “Could you possibly make me laugh? I haven’t really been able to let myself do so in a while. I…kind of miss the happiness in that moment.”

Izuku gave Ten a sad smile. “Of course! Just, give me a second? I’m still working on my confidence.”

Ten nodded. “Of course!”

Izuku cleared his throat and took a deep breath before he started his singing. He watched as Ten listened closely, and both felt and saw them fighting a smile.

He sent Ten a thought telling them to stop fighting it, and smiled when they jumped a little with a gasp that helped a giggle escape. Ten blushed as a smile broke along their face, and even more giggles escaping. Izuku started singing a little stronger to get Ten to start laughing, smiling when they finally did.

It was such a pretty sound. Ten sounded so happy and clutched their stomach with a wide smile. Izuku got distracted by it, not noticing that he stopped singing, just staring at Ten. He blushed when they met his eyes.

“Thank you, Izu-kun. It was nice to let loose like that,” they said with a blush. 

“Of course! Now, I was wondering if I could borrow the first Percy Jackson book from you? You’ll have to give me a rundown of your book borrowing rules if yes.”

Ten grinned widely. “Yes! I would love to let you borrow it. And as long as you do not return it destroyed, it will be fine. I personally dog-ear my books, so I do not have much in terms of do’s and don’ts.”

“That’s so  cursed that you dog-ear them, Ten-kun! Absolutely revolting!”

“Hey!” they exclaimed with an offended giggle. “It’s not that bad!”

“You’re right. It’s worse!” Izuku exclaimed, throwing his wrist to his forehead in a mock feint before flopping back onto Ten’s bed.

“Your dramatics are illogical.”

“Your dog-ears are illogical!”

They just laughed, and soon Izuku listened closely as Ten gave him a summary of the pre-quirk book.

“It’s about a kid our age who learns that his dad is the greek god Posiedon! And he learns that because he is actually a demi-god, that he has special powers. And, you learn that demigod children of the same parent do not always have the same powers, so they are somewhat similar to quirks! But, he ends up having to go on a quest to save his mom because he was blamed for a crime he did not do since him even being alive was a crime!”

“Why’s that?!”

“I…should not say. It will give too much away!”

“Oh, come on, Ten-kun! You can’t leave me hanging like that!”

“I have already said too much!” 

“Fine. Who’s your favorite character then?”

Ten blushed. “My favorite is Annabeth. She’s a daughter of Athena.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Izuku teased, earning a scowl from them. “Anyways, who do you think I’d like?”

Ten spent a moment pondering. “I think either Percy or a character you meet in the third book.”

“Oh come on! More refusing to expand on things?”

“I can’t say much about him! Literally anything I say about him is a spoiler!”

“Ah!”

Izuku smiled, later as they were leaving, saying goodbye to Tensei and Ten. He blushed for a moment before holding his arms out to Ten, who blushed as well and hugged Izuku. He pointedly ignored the coos Zaza, Pops and Tensei made. 

He let go and cleared his throat. “Bye, Ten-kun.”

“Goodbye, Izu-kun! I hope we can possible meet up during the school year!”

“Yeah! Maybe study sessions at the cat cafe?”

“Sounds good!”

He climbed into the car with a smile, playing with the ends of his bracelet.

“So…Study dates?” Pops asked.

He just hid his red face in his hands. “I hate you.”

“What? Little Listener! Nooo!”

He smiled into his hands. Maybe someday they could be.

Chapter Text

It had been about two weeks since Dad had come back from camp, and Izuku only found himself getting closer to his parents. He was really glad that they decided to adopt him.

Speaking of which, the official adoption would be happening in only two days. He was both excited and terrified for it.

His parents had been setting up tours of the nearby schools throughout the next week, which was slightly terrifying for Izuku, but he trusted his parents. They at least promised to get his quirk registered by the end of summer break at least, wanting to give Izuku time to learn about his quirk and name it.

He did not mention the fact that he was certain that he was going to choose Nabu to finish off his Elementary years and start his Middle School years. He also did not mention that he already was certain what he wanted to name his quirk.

Izuku was, instead, out watching hero fights. He liked to go on walks anyways, since they were always calming for him. Analyzing battles had just been a plus.

He heard shuffling in an alley as he passed it, and decided to stop and see if he could give any treats to some of the alleycats .

They’ll let me bring home a sick one, I’m sure. Whipped Cream & Whiskers practically relies on us to get them cats.

As Izuku squatted with an open palm out to a skittish cat that was hiding under the dumpster, he felt his inner vigilante voice scream. He dodged to his right, watching as a knife swiped right through where he just had been.

“You’re a fast one! And look at your curls! They are adorable! I can’t wait to have your blood!”

Izuku stared at the girl, who couldn’t have been much older than him, practically coo over his hair.

What the fuck?

“Is there any way you won’t try to take my blood? I already don’t eat enough, so I need all the blood my body can make.”

“Nope!”

Izuku dodged another knife slash, trying to figure out the girl’s style.

She’s going random…Keeps rambling about blood…She’s not a serial killer she just has quirk induced blood lust!

Izuku swore as the girl managed to cut his shoulder. He realized he really did not have any other choice, and started singing.

He was glad that he pushed through and kept trying despite what happened with Pops. That entire situation almost got to him, but luckily his parents were there to talk him out of it.

He sang like The Little Mermaid-Pops’ made him watch it when he had first arrived and no he did not cry he did -and used his quirk to make the girl think he was running down the alley, then got behind her and jammed his fingers into a pressure point on her neck- thanks Dad -to knock her out. He quickly checked her for more knives, then took his jacket-that he carried if he had to take his binder off before he could get home-out of his backpack and used it to tie her arms behind her back.

I should text Dad, Zaza and Pops.

BabyAriel:

So, I found this stray…

I’MPOPS:

Ha. I remember that’s how Shou told us we were adopting you.

Zaza:

Aw! Send a picture of the kitty!

BabyAriel:

…

CatFather:

Izuku, you didn’t…

BabyAriel:

Do y’all still want that picture?

I’MPOPS:

I’m gonna regret saying yes…

Zaza: 

‘Y’all’? Zashi! You corrupted the baby!

BabyAriel:

*image*

Zaza:

Zuzu…Why is she tied up like that? 

CatFather:

Yeah, she can easily escape that. Put her arms in the jacket and tie the sleeves so that it’s more like a straightjacket.

BabyAriel:

(ｏ’ｖ｀ｂ)ｂ

Zaza:

That’s not what I meant!

I’MPOPS: 

Send your location, LL. We can head over while you explain.

BabyAriel:

*location sent*

So I stopped in an alley to give some treats to the cats

CatFather:

As one does.

Zaza:

Stop encouraging him Shou. 

BabyAriel:

And I had a moment where I just knew I was gonna be stabbed

Zaza:

Zashi said: I don’t like what that suggests

BabyAriel:

You won’t like what happened then

Zaza:

Zashi: Goddamn it

BabyAriel:

Anyways

I dodged and sure enough:

A knife

CatFather:

Good instincts

BabyAriel:

I’m pretty sure she just has blood lust from her quirk, cause she wasn’t that good at attacking me

Zaza:

That isn’t as comforting as you think it is Zuzu

BabyAriel:

┐(´д｀)┌

But I sang her to thinking I was running away and knocked her out.

By the way, how long does the neck knock out one last?

CatFather:

With her and the blood lust? Probably only about ten minutes

BabyAriel:

You guys should be here in the next five, right?

Zaza:

Pulling up now, Zuzu

Izuku walked out into the mouth of the alleyway, and watched as their blue car pulled up in front of it. His parents all quickly got out of the car, with Pops specifically jumping out of the car and running to give him a hug.

Izuku hissed as their jacket roughly rubbed the cut.

Oh, yeah. Forgot about that.

“What’s-? Little Listener! Why didn’t you tell us you got hurt?”

“I was more focused on not dying to be honest.”

Pops just sighed and pulled him to the car while Dad and Zaza went into the alley. Pops pulled out a travel first aid kit and started cleaning up Izuku’s cut.

“Luckily, it isn’t too deep, so a gauze bandage should be fine. We’ll take you too Recovery Girl later if you want.”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah! I wanted to ask Granny Chiyo about her energy gummies!”

Pops just rolled their eyes. “I didn’t know you called her that.”

“She doesn’t know I do either.”

Pops cackled at that. They were about to say something when Izuku got distracted by Dad and Zaza coming out of the alley, the girl thrown over Dad’s shoulder.

“Of course. My child finds the serial cutter that’s been evading cops for the last year. Of course,” Dad said.

Izuku gave him an impish smile. “Like father like son!”

Zaza started laughing at that. “In three different ways too! Of course you both managed to find kids and call them strays!”

The third way went unspoken. Dad rolled his eyes while Izuku cackled.

“We’ll take her to the hospital instead of the station, since they can give her some blood to take away some of the insanity that comes with blood lust. I’ll text Tsukauchi on the way.”

With that, they piled back into the car. Dad sat in between Izuku and the girl for when she would inevitably woke up.

“Ow,” she whined. “Why’d you hit me?”

“Why’d you cut me?” Izuku shot back, although it lacked heat.

“Zuzu-”

“I just wanted to see your blood! I’m sure it would have been just as adorable as you!”

“That’s not a good reason, but we can deal with that later. What’s your name?”

“Little Listener-”

“I’m Toga Himiko! What about you?!”

Izuku ignored Zaza and Pops. “My vigilante name is ‘Siren’.”

“You’re Sirenchan! Dabichan told me about you!”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “You met Dabi-kun? Is he okay?! He hasn’t done anything bad recently, right?”

Toga shook her head. “No! I mean, he did ask me if I wanted any drugs. Which is so not cute!”

Izuku chuckled. “That’s not the worst thing he could be doing.”

Toga shrugged. “I guess. But, can I have your blood now?!”

“You can’t have my blood, but we can get you blood later.”

“Great! Although, I’d prefer yours!”

“Alright! We’re here!”

Toga looked out the window and started shaking her head.

“No! No! I can’t!”

“Toga-san, why not?”

“They’ll send me back! I don’t wanna go back!”

Dad grabbed her shoulders, and ignored when she bit him. “That’s rude. But, if I promise that they won’t send you wherever ‘back’ is, will you let us get you checked out?”

“No! You’re lying!”

“I don’t lie. That’s illogical. But, if I am lying, I’ll give you some of my blood?”

“Shou! Why would you-?!”

Dad ignored Pops and met Toga’s eyes. “Will you trust me?”

She gave him a scared look. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“Not really, but, we can make sure they don’t cuff you to the bed?”

“Deal!”

Dad helped her out of the car, and the five of them walked into the hospital. Zaza went to the desk while the rest of them stood in the waiting room.

“Can I be untied?”

Pops gave her a worried look. “If we untie you, will you attack anyone?”

She looked down. “I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.”

“We can do it once your in a hospital room, okay?”

“Okay,” she huffed.

Zaza walked back. “We can head back now. Room 112.”

They all followed xem through the halls and into the room, Pops making sure to close it once they were all in.

“I’ll untie you now, Toga. If you feel like your about to lose control, let me know. My capture weapon should help.”

She nodded and let Dad untie her, rubbing her arms before climbing on the bed.

“Now, you need blood because of your quirk, right?” Dad asked, taking charge for the group.

Toga nodded. “I need to drink blood pretty often, or else I start dying? I don’t know. But, when that happens my brain flips a switch and I can’t stop myself from attacking people to get it. Which, is so not cute.”

“And, what is your quirk?”

She frowned. “When I drink someones blood, I can turn into them. I copy their clothes too.”

Izuku stopped himself from asking her the questions that started zooming through his head, clenching and unclenching his hand while wishing he had one of his notebooks.

“You have a notes app on your phone, Zuzu.”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah!” he quickly pulled out his phone and started typing out his questions and ideas, stopping himself from muttering with the point of listening instead.

“Anyways. Do you know how much blood you need to drink?”

She shrugged. “I’ve made it on like four mouthfuls once. Although, that only lasted about a week. I think that was only because it was type O.”

The four nodded.

“So, you probably need about half a cup of blood a week.”

The four all turned to Izuku when he muttered that, causing him to blush.

“I was curious how much I tend to drink per swallow once.”

Zaza started cackling at that admission.

“So, we’ll just ask them to bring you a blood bag. Can you tell what type blood your drinking?” Dad asked.

Toga nodded proudly. “Yeah! O tends to last me the longest, and B the least. Although, AB tastes best.”

Izuku typed all of that, deciding that if Toga did not get arrested that he would help her with her quirk.

A doctor soon came in, and Toga held out her arms to Dad, who quickly caught on and wrapped his capture weapons around her arms as her pupils started to widen.

“Hi! We have a bag for Toga here. Do you need to ingest it or have it go into a vein?”

Toga started biting at the capture weapon around her wrists. “I drink it! Now! Please! It smells good! I-Let me go!”

Dad held her back as she kneeled on the bed to try and get away.

“I’ll take that from you, ma’am. We’ll let you know when she’s done, and if Detective Tsukauchi comes in, just send him in please,” Zaza comforted the slightly startled doctor.

The doctor left quickly, and Zaza held the bag out to Toga, who snatched it and quickly bit straight into it. Her fangs pierced it easily, and she started chugging the blood. Pops went pale and turned around, while Izuku watched with fascination.

Once she was done, she sat back on the bed and panted, looking as if she could feel the blood flowing through her. After a few moments, though, she started crying. Dad let her go when she did.

“I’m sorry for attacking you, Sirenchan! I didn’t want to hurt you!”

Izuku looked at her with sad eyes, and ignored Zaza and Pops protests as he walked to the bed and wrapped her in a hug.

“It’s okay. I know it's hard to control the affects of a quirk sometimes. I struggle with that too.”

She hugged him back and sobbed into his shoulder, slowly calming down and pulling away. 

“Why are you being so nice to me? I’m a villain!”

Izuku shook his head. “Are you trying to be a villain? Or have people just told you that your quirk was evil?”

She stared at him in shock. “Everyone’s told me that I’m evil! Mom and Dad kicked me out when I bit them too many times! And, they locked me in a room a lot at the home! I ran away when I heard them talk about muzzling me!”

Izuku could see Pops lightly flinch towards the end, at which Zaza wrapped a comforting arm around him.

Izuku gave her sad eyes. “So, you don’t want to be a villain?”

“No! I just am!”

“No you’re not,” Izuku stated firmly, surprising her. “I can honestly think of so many ways that you could use your quirk to be a hero, if that’s what you wanted to be. You have fangs and a cutesy personality, so you could easily get a nice job at a Cat Cafe. Your quirk is not evil, and neither are you.”

She started crying again and threw her arms around Izuku, causing him to fall back and her on top of him. It drew surprised shouts out of his parents, but Izuku just smiled sadly as he rubbed her back.

The door opened, and Detective Tsukauchi walked in looking at a clipboard in his hand.

“Hey, you guys asked me to-What’s happening?”

Dad started cackling, not giving the poor guy an answer.

“Sorry about him, Tsuka-kun. But, I found a stray!”

“A stray that tried to kill him-”

“She apologized for it! And, she just wanted my blood! Not to kill me!” Izuku yelled at Zaza, holding Toga a little closer to him protectively.

“Oh. He’s already adopted her as his sister, hasn’t he?” Pops asked.

“Yep,” Zaza answered, not sounding as disappointed as xe were obviously trying to.

“Let’s get you back on the bed, Togachan.”

She got off of him and offered a hand while she sniffled, rubbing tears away with her sweater paw. She got back on the bed and stared at the detective, holding tightly onto Izuku’s hand.

“I’m Toga Himiko!”

“I’m Detective Tsukauchi. I’m still not sure why I’m here?”

“She’s the notorious ‘serial cutter’,” Dad deadpanned.

Tsuka stared at her with wide eyes before nodding and shuffling papers on his clipboard. “How old are you, Toga?”

“…What’s today?”

“It’s August 27th.”

“Okay! I just turned twelve!”

Izuku pouted. “You’re older than me? Damn it.”

“You thought you were older than her, Zuzu?”

Izuku nodded. “Her cutesy style made her seem a little younger than me.”

“That’s fair.”

Tsuka wrote a few things down on his clipboard. “Alright. So, Toga. My quirk is Lie Detector. It lets me know whether or not your telling me the truth. Are you okay with me asking you a few questions knowing that?”

She nodded. “That’s okay!”

“Good. So, first, why did you attack…”

“I told her my vigilante name, but Zaza’s called her my nickname a few times in front of her. So, your guys’ call.”

Tsuka nodded and looked to his parents for an answer. 

“Calling him ‘Izuku’ should be fine,” his dad answered, getting nods from Zaza and Pops.

“Okay. Why did you attack Izuku?”

She looked down at the bed sadly. “I didn’t want to. All my brain let me think was ‘blood’, and I felt like I needed to get it.”

“Quirk induced blood lust,” Izuku offered.

Tsuka nodded. “True. Were any of your attacks not because of that?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think so? My memory is a little hazy because of it, so I don’t think I actively attacked anyone on purpose.”

“True. Now, where were you last staying?”

“…If I answer, do I have to go back?”

“That depends on why?”

“They would hit me a lot and lock me in a room when I would bite them during those ‘blood lust’ moments. They only let me drink blood like once a month, which kind of made me start to starve? But, I ran away when they started discussing muzzling me.”

Tsuka nodded with a slightly angry look. “All true. I can easily say that you won’t have to go back. Instead they’ll be arrested on multiple charges in terms of child abuse.”

“Thank you. I was staying at with Oshita Yoshio and Momoko.”

“True. And they were your foster parents?”

She nodded as an answer.

“True. Now, because of your age and reason, they will more than likely rule for you to be required to be placed with a Pro Hero as you attend mandatory therapy to help with your blood lust. Any questions?”

“Will they accept an offer for placement, or do they assign?” Dad asked.

“Shou!” Pops exclaimed.

“You know as well as me that we can’t separate her from Izuku.”

“I do, I just wasn’t expecting you to be so forward about it!”

“I’m okay with being the one she’s placed under,” Zaza offered. “Use the argument of my quirk helping for blood lust moments for her to get placed with us.”

Tsuka nodded. “I’ll bring that up. Now, she does have to come to the station until the papers are processed and we have a hearing with a judge, but I can easily have her put in an interrogation room instead of a cell. Is that okay with you, Toga?”

Toga’s eyes were brimming with happy tears. “I’m okay with that! Thank you Sirenchan’s Zaza!”

She held her arms out toward xem, and Zaza’s eyes went soft as xe quickly bounced over and let Toga wrap her arms around xem.

“You can just call me ‘Nemuri’, Toga.”

“Call me ‘Himiko’ then!”

Izuku smiled at the scene, happy that his pseudo-sister was bound to become his actual sister.

I guess I won’t be an only child anymore! Izuku jokingly thought to himself.

“Alright. Let’s head to the station. I’ll have to have Toga ride with me, but one of you can join her?”

Izuku raised his hand. “Me!”

His parents laughed at his enthusiasm and let him join Tsuka and Toga to the car.

“You’re not gonna cuff me?”

“You’re not proving that I would have to by coming willingly. So, no. I won’t.”

Toga nodded, and got into the car when Tsuka opened the door for her. Izuku quickly followed, and settled beside her.

Welcome to the family, Toga.

Chapter Text

Shouta shook his hands lightly to get some of the anxiety coursing through him out. Today was the day that the adoption was supposed to go through. Today was the day that Izuku was legally theirs. It was the day that Izuku was legally registered as Aizawa Shouta’s son .

Today was the day that Midoriya Iwa became Kayamawa Izuku.

“So, who’s family name did you want to take, Zuzu?”

“Actually, I was thinking of something different? I made a list of possible combinations of all of your guys’ last names?”

“‘Aiyada’ has a nice ring to it, Little Listener.”

“‘Aizayada’? That’s a mouthful.”

“Yeah, that’s why that one has an ‘x’ next to it.”

“Is that also why there’s a star next to ‘Kayamawa’, Zuzu?”

“Yeah…”

“Kayamawa Izuku? That flows real nice!”

“You want that one, kid?”

“Yeah!”

Shouta smiled when he felt Izuku attach himself to Shouta’s back.

“You nervous?”

He felt the boy’s nod.

“Don’t worry. There’s no way anything can go wrong, alright?”

“Alright.”

The two soon stood before a judge, watching the man shuffle through papers.

“Now, do you, Midoriya Iwa, accept Aizawa as your adoptive father? To become Kayamawa Izuku?”

Izuku nodded. “I accept both things!”

The judge turned to Shouta, who felt a ping of anxiety shoot through him.

“And do you, Aizawa Shouta, still wish to adopt Midoriya Iwa.”

“With all my heart.”

“Then! As of this day, Sunday August 29th, Kayamaza Izuku has become the legal son of Aizawa Shouta!”

It happened. It actually happened!

Shouta’s usually dry eyes welled up with tears that he let fall. He felt Izuku ram into him, and held onto the kid tightly. Nem and Zashi ran over and slammed into the two of them, both crying their eyes out. He waved over Himiko, who stood awkwardly off to the side, not wanting to interrupt the moment. He smiled when Izuku giggled from her latching onto him.

Izuku was repeating ‘thank you’ over and over as he cried into Shouta’s shirt.

“You’re ours now, Zuzu!”

“Thank you for accepting us, Little Listener!”

Shouta smiled down at the kid and leaned down to press a kiss into his hair. 

“Okaerinasai,” he whispered.

He felt Izuku give out a fairly violent sob before the kid sucked in a breath. 

“Tadaima.”

~§~

Izuku was glad that his parents had only set up tours of three schools. He was not that glad that they had all been set for the same day.

The first school had been the farthest from the apartment. He would have to wake up early to take the bus, or curse his parents with waking up earlier to take him on their way to UA. They had also refrained from expressing that Izuku had been misdiagnosed as a test, and he could feel the principal’s look of disgust when the man thought the five were not looking. 

Yeah, no.

The second one had not been too bad, but Pops had stiffened while looking over the photos of classes. Izuku and Himiko looked as Pops was explaining that they had to get going for an appointment, and his sister pointed out that one of the kid’s in the photo was wearing a muzzle. He took a picture for evidence while the principal was distracted.

Izuku never asked about Pops’ reaction. He knew that if he asked, Pops would explain it. But, Izuku did not feel the need to know and wanted to let Pops decide when and if they were comfortable talking about it.

That school would more than likely be shut down, anyways. 

Finally, they were at Nabu. The principal did not look at him in disgust. She even seemed legitimately appalled at the fact that Izuku had been mistreated at his last school. And, when they finally revealed his misdiagnosis, she seemed to be sad at the mishap and not a sick sort of relief.

It was almost too perfect. 

By the end of the day, all four of them agreed that Nabu was the best fit. And Izuku was glad that he did not have to explain that weird feeling he had at the Iida’s.

~§~

Izuku bounced lightly in his seat as he waited to be called up. He was finally registering his quirk! Pops just gave him an amused smile.

“You excited, Little Listener?”

Izuku nodded, his head bobbing up and down so fast that his hair slapped his forehead.

“Kayamawa Izuku?”

Izuku popped up and grabbed Pops’ hand, pulling on it as he started to try and run to the quirk specialist. Pops laughed and walked calmly behind him, letting himself be pulled by the overly excited Izuku.

“So! We’re registering your quirk! Any idea when it manifested?” the specialist asked.

Izuku thought for a moment, trying to think of any moment his mom had been affected by it. He suddenly remembered her asking him not to speak too much in the car when he was five, that it made it hard for her to focus on the rode.

“I think around five!”

“Alright. And what does it do?”

“When I use my voice, I can control people? At least, I can influence their emotions and perception of reality!”

“Is it voluntary?”

“Yes.”

“And, what would you like to name it?”

Pops shifted a little at that. Izuku refused to tell them the name he chose, wanting it to be a surprise. 

“Siren’s Lullaby.”

“That sums it up well!”

He saw Pops smile out of the corner of his eye, and he felt glad that he liked it.

“Alright! I’ll get this paper work done, and you guys should receive a letter with your official registration document in a few weeks!”

“Thank you!”

Izuku bounced as he walked with Pops, holding his hand. He was just so happy, and could not stop himself from releasing that energy.

“That was a good name for it, Little Listener. Paying homage to your vigilante name?”

Izuku shrugged. “I don’t think I would have named it that if the comparison wasn’t already there. But, I really do think it was a good explanation!”

Pops nodded. “I get you. But, why didn’t you just name it ‘Siren’?”

“I think I want to use that as my hero name! And I didn’t want it to be repetitive.”

“I get that! I think you’d be an awesome hero with that name!”

“Thanks!”

Chapter Text

Izuku walked into the office and waited for a schedule and his textbooks to be given to him. Once they had been, they told him that Hatsume, the girl Tensei had mentioned, would be there soon to show him to class. 

He sat patiently in the available seat, and watched as, eventually, a girl with pink dreadlocks and yellow eyes ran into the office. The girl ran up to the secretary as quickly as she zoomed in.

“Ms. Oyama! I’m supposed to be showing Kayamawa around? Is he here yet?”

“He’s sitting right over there. Be gentle with him, please?” the secretary almost begged.

Hatsume spun around and zoomed her eyes in on Izuku. It seemed as if she actually had zoomed in on him, going by the shape of her pupils.

I have to ask her about that!

“Kayamawa Izuku? I’m Hatsume Mei! My mom mentioned that you were a friend of Tenseichan?”

Izuku giggled at the nickname of his uncle. “Yeah. My parents went to school with him!”

“Awesome! I’ll show you to class! And, we’ll see if I can show you anything on the way!”

“Okay!”

Izuku followed her as she walked him through the halls, listening as she told him about where things were and stories that she remembered related to those places. 

“Your pupils are cool. Is it part of your quirk?” he asked after a long enough silence passed.

“Yeah! My quirk is ‘Zoom’! I can zoom in on things! I can only zoom in about three kilometers, but I think I can get it farther the more I use it!”

“That’s really cool!”

“What about you, Kayamawachan?”

“Mine is ‘Siren’s Lullaby’! When I chose to, I can use my voice to alter peoples perception of reality and influence their emotions!”

“Woah! That sounds awesome! And, the name is so clever!”

“Thanks!”

They reached the class right before the bell rang, and Hatsume left Izuku at the front with their teacher.

“Alright! Class, this is our new student, Kayamawa Izuku. Why don’t you tell us a few things about yourself.”

“Uh, sure. Uh, I like to analyze hero fights. I have an older sister, but that’s a new development. Um, that’s about it!” Izuku exclaimed, looking to the teacher and waiting to be assigned a seat.

“And, your quirk?”

“…I don’t see why you need to know that.”

“We all explained at the beginning of the year, Kayamawa.”

“So? You know the saying, ‘if your friends jumped off a bridge’? And, I hope to become an Underground Hero one day. It’s better that not too many people know my quirk.”

The teacher nodded in surprise. “I guess I see your point. You can go sit besides Shinsou. Raise your hand, Shinsou.”

A purple haired boy in the back raised his hand with an apathetic expression, and Izuku walked down the isle to sit next to the kid. As he did, he could see red marks lining the boy’s face.

Those look a lot like Pops’ scars…

“Alright! Pull out your math books…”

When the bell for lunch rang, Izuku tried to talk to Shinsou, but the kid ran out of the class.

“He doesn’t really talk to anyone, Kayamawachan. I’m not sure why,” Hatsume explained, walking over to Izuku.

“I wanna try to.”

“Good luck! Let me know when you do so I can try to befriend him too! I haven’t done it myself because I’m a bit loud, and I don’t think he’d like that right away,” Hatsume expressed sheepishly.

“Okay. How about now? Let’s go see if we can find where he eats lunch!”

“Yeah!”

Izuku and Hatsume ate their respective lunches as they searched for the boy. Izuku even checked all of the restrooms during their search. Finally, they found him sitting at the base of a tree, hidden by one of the buildings.

“Hi! I was wondering if we could eat lunch with you?”

The boy scowled and tucked his legs into his chest.

“Is that a no? I’m sorry if we made you uncomfortable-”

“ Why are you trying to talk to me? Did they not warn you about my quirk? ”

Izuku blinked in surprise. “Why would I need to be warned about your quirk? Did you not here my spiel at Mr. Saito? I don’t care for forcing anyone to tell me their quirk or explaining mine. I think they are cool, and I like analyzing them. But you don’t have to tell me it.”

The kid gave him a suspicious look. “ Even if I have a villain quirk? ”

Izuku was the one scowling now. “No quirk is villainous. It’s the person, not the quirk. My sister has a quirk that she got wronged for because people thought it was villainous. Hell, I used to be bullied because I have the stupid toe-joint and no one thought to double check if I had a quirk! So, I really don’t care about your quirk. I just want to be your friend!”

Shinsou looked from him to Hatsume, who just nodded. 

“I’ve wanted to be your friend since you transferred here, but I was scared of scaring you off! But, I hope you might consider me too?”

Shinsou stared at the ground for a moment. “Brainwashing. I can control you if you respond to me.”

Izuku started bouncing. “That’s so cool! Imagine using that for hero work! You could stop hostage situations! Or even get civilians to evacuate quicker! I wonder how it would work on panic attacks! I’ve always wondered that about mine, but my parents haven’t had a panic attack around me, so I haven’t had a chance to try and-am I singing? Shit.”

He watched the awareness return to Hatsume and Shinsou, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment when they looked at him with surprise.

“I’m sorry. I only found out I had a quirk two months ago. I haven’t quite mastered not using it when I ramble.”

“That was so cool, Kayamawachan!”

“You think I could be a hero?”

Izuku nodded and tilted his head to the side. “Of course! Anyone can be a hero if they put their mind to it and work hard!”

The kid nodded with a lost expression. “It’s not to late into lunch. You guys can sit,” he muttered.

“Okay!”

Izuku and Hatsume sat down, leaving a good amount of room for Shinsou and not quite sitting in front of him.

“You understand sign, Kayamawachan?”

Izuku nodded. “My Pops’ quirk is causing them to go deaf, and I originally started learning it for an old friend who’s quirk was bound to do the same. So, Pops has been teaching me!”

“That’s cool! I should probably learn! My babies exploding is bound to make me go deaf one day!”

“Babies?” Shinsou asked incredulously.

“My inventions! I want to be a Support Engineer like my Mom!”

“That’s awesome! I’ll have to go to you in the future!”

Hatsume nodded chaotically. “Oh! Can you direct your quirk? Like, if you used it on me would it affect Shinsouchan?”

Izuku shook his head. “Maybe in the future I’ll gain that control, but after practicing it with my parents I haven’t been able to.”

Hatsume nodded. “I wonder if your quirk works through technology! Cause a directional speaker like Present Mic’s might help!”

Izuku shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I’ll have to test that.”

Shinsou picked at his nails, and Izuku could tell he wanted to say something.

“It’s okay to speak around us, Shinsou-kun. I could interpret if you’d like?”

Shinsou looked a little hesitant. “ I know you mentioned not wanting to talk about it, but I was curious about your quirk? ”

Izuku nodded. “I don’t mind explaining it to you! That’s just more of a knee-jerk reaction caused by the immediate ridicule I got when I would have to explain that I was quirkless. I don’t really understand the importance of quirks. So, I was more offended that I was expected to say it then being asked about it.”

“ Oh. That makes sense. ”

“Yeah. Anyways! I named my quirk ‘Siren’s Lullaby’. Basically, I can alter someone’s perception of reality or influence their emotions!”

“ And is it called ‘Siren’ because it’s vocal? Is that why you called it ‘singing’? ”

“Yeah! I called it ‘singing’ because that’s how my parents tell me that I’m using it when I don’t realize. The connection is a lot stronger when I sing too!”

Hatsume smiled. “I was wondering why you called it that too! That’s so cool!”

Izuku nodded.

“ I have noticed you don’t say ‘Mom and Dad’? Or even ‘Mom and Pops? Why ‘parents’? ”

“Oh. That’s because I have three parents! Dad, Zaza, and Pops!”

“Is Zaza your step-parent?”

Izuku shook his head. “No. They’re all together,” he answered like it was obvious. He forgot that it was not common to have three parents.

Hatsume and Shinsou gave him looks of confusion. 

“Sorry, uh. They are all in a polyamorous relationship. Basically, instead of two of them being married, all three of them are!”

“ That’s a thing? ”

“Yeah! Well, they can’t all get legally married-which is stupid. But Polyamory has been around for centuries!”

“ That’s interesting. ”

“Yeah!”

The bell rang, and they all walked back to class together. Izuku specifically was grinning wide.

I made friends!

Chapter Text

“Hey, Pops? Can I ask you a question that you won’t want to answer?”

Hizashi turned to Izuku with wide eyes, sitting forward a little over the tablet he was looking up bigger apartments on. “I guess,” he answered carefully. “Is it okay if I don’t when I know what it is?”

Izuku nodded vigorously.

“Okay. What’s the question?”

Izuku hesitated. “My friend, Shinsou-kun, has marks that look a lot like your scars? I was wondering what they were from.”

Hizashi felt the breath be knocked out of him. He heard the water that was running from the kitchen tap be turned off, and he saw Shou’s hand pause where it had been reaching to open the cat food. He was glad that Himiko was in her’s and Izuku’s shared bedroom.

“Those…You said Shinsou had some too?”

Izuku nodded carefully.

“Are they fresh?”

“Yeah. They always seem to be red more in the morning.”

Hizashi nodded, feeling a light trembling running through his upper body. “My…scars…were caused by being muzzled as a kid.”

Izuku inhaled sharply. He could see the gears turning in his head. 

“Oh.”

Hizashi couldn’t blame him for his response. “Yeah.”

“That means Shinsou-kun might be…”

Hizashi nodded. “Probably.”

A frown settled over Izuku’s face. “I can’t prove it unless he tells me or if I see proof, huh?”

Hizashi shook his head. “Not really, no.”

Izuku nodded and walked away, presumably to his bedroom. Going by a door closing, he had.

Hizashi put his head in his hands and let his trembling turn into shaking. The chair next to him scraped for a moment, and he could smell Shou’s calming coffee scent.

“Are you okay, Zashi?”

He shook his head. He was not used to muzzles being brought up so often, and this was the third time in less than three weeks.

“You wanna go cuddle?”

He nodded at that. Being surrounded by his favorite people sounded exactly like what he needed.

~§~

Izuku woke up to a thump a few nights after the question, and looked through the street light lit room to see Kokochan curled up in the corner of her bed, shaking.

“Kokochan?” he asked, slowly getting up from his bed.

“Stay away, Izuchan! I took too long to tell them I needed blood. I don’t want to hurt you!”

Izuku shook his head. “You can just have mine-”

“NO! No!”

Izuku slowly made his way over, grabbing his pocket knife on the way, before slowly forcing his way behind her and hugging her close to him. He started singing softly, only lightly influencing calmness, feeling as if he would betray her otherwise. He made quick work of making a not too deep cut along his forearm, and held it just under her nose. She quickly grabbed his arm and started sucking over the cut. He just kept singing as he softly brushed her hair away from her face.

When she started to slow down, he influenced her to fall asleep, and once she had, he softly took his arm away before laying her down.

“Good night, Kokochan.”

He used his shirt to dry his arm as he climbed back into bed. He did not feel any regret. He just wanted her to know he trusted her, and hopefully she would learn to trust herself as well.

The next morning, he was quietly eating cereal when Zaza grabbed his arm.

“Izuku, please tell me this isn’t what I think it is,” she asked quietly. She ended up catching Kokochan and Pops’ attention too.

He gave her a confused look when Himiko started shaking her head.

“No! Izuchan didn’t do it to hurt himself! I accidentally woke him up in the middle of the night and he gave me some of his blood because I waited to long to say anything.”

Oh. She thought I-

Zaza sighed in relief, letting go of his arm. “Good. Although, we’re gonna have a talk about that later, Mikochan. Thank you for helping her out, Zuzu. You can’t do that everytime, but thank you for making sure she was okay,” she said, Pops nodding to her statement.

Kokochan nodded. “Yeah! Thank you, Izuchan!”

Izuku felt himself start trembling as guilt settled in his chest. “I feel bad,” he blurted.

The three turned to him, all with different amounts of confusion.

“I-I’m lying? I did that to help Kokochan,” he reiterated. “But…There’s a reason it was so easy?”

The three all nodded, and Izuku felt himself shrink.

“Mikochan, are you finished? I want to talk to Zuzu, but I think it’s best if it's us, right Zuzu?”

Izuku felt the guilt rise in him again, but nodded. “I…I’d prefer not to talk about it in front of Kokochan. I’m sorry-”

“Don’t you dare be sorry!” she snarled. “You are allowed to not tell me things, Izuchan. I may be concerned, but that doesn’t give me a right to know. Okay?”

Izuku nodded. “Okay…”

Kokochan stood and set her bowl in the sink before going to their bedroom and closing the door.

“Before we start talking about anything, I want to tell you that I’m sorry Zuzu.”

He shot her a confused look. “Why?”

“There were better ways to express my concern than in front of everyone at the breakfast table. I could’ve talked to you privately. I’m sorry about that.”

He did appreciate that sentiment. “Thank you.”

“Is it okay if we go get Shou, Little Listener?”

Izuku shook a little. “He’s tired though?”

“He cares too much about you to let that stop him. Do you want him here while we talk about it?”

He could not deny that having Dad there would make him feel better. It also made him feel slightly bad that he was obviously closer to him than the other two.

“It would.”

“Ok. I’ll go wake him up. Finish your cereal and put your bowl in the sink, Little Listener.”

Izuku nodded, forcing himself to eat the rest despite his stomach churning. His bowl was in the sink by the time Pops’ and Dad came in. Dad made a beeline for the coffee pot and poured himself a mug first.

“All Zashi told me was that we had a family meeting? What’s up? And why isn’t Himiko here?”

Izuku looked down, feeling his throat constrict.

“This is about Izuku. Mikochan is in the room, but she knows what it’s about.”

Dad nodded, finishing his first cup and pouring a second before he finally sat at the table.

“What’s up, kid?” Dad asked, sounding as if it was not a big deal, but also soft and encouraging.

“I kinda…admitted to…hurting myself?”

Dad’s eyes widened in surprise, and he set down his mug on a coaster. “Can you explain why?”

Izuku was not expecting that. He was honestly expecting to be scolded, or to get in trouble. Maybe just get a slap on the wrist and told not to. Not to be asked ‘why’.

He felt himself struggle for air. “I…feel angry,” he answered slowly.

“When you feel the need?” Zaza asked.

“All the time,” he rushed out, holding his hands in between his thighs and sitting stiff as a board. “I always am so angry. I don’t know how to let it out. And it just builds and builds until I get terrified that I’ll hurt someone so…” he sucked in a desperate breath and let out a gasp.

“So you hurt yourself instead?” Dad finished, earning a nod from Izuku. “Why are you angry?”

He forced down a scoff. “I’m angry for a lot of reasons. My mom not supporting me? That doctor doing one test and damning me? My best friend torturing me for something I couldn’t control? Knowing what Kokochan went through and knowing that I can’t change that? Knowing that I can’t do anything to help Shinsou-kun? I think about all of that all the time, and I just feel so angry all the time. And, I don’t want to hurt anyone so I hold it down until I take it out on myself.”

He did not look up, terrified of their reactions. Their disappointment-

“I was like that for a while too, Little Listener. Still am, a bit.”

Izuku’s head shot up, and he stared in shock at Pops. “You did?” he breathed out.

Pops nodded. “I went through a lot of similar shi-things. And I always suppressed it until I took it out on myself. I got better, after starting at UA. I learned better ways to cope with it. Started going backwards after Oboro died. Luckily, Nem and Shou were there to stop me before I went too far.”

Izuku stared at the table in shock. “I didn’t know other people would…understand? I thought you guys would assume that…”

The three shook their heads.

“If anyone understands that there are more reasons, it would be us, Zuzu.”

He nodded, feeling himself start shaking and sobs building in his chest. Why am I crying? He could not find an answer that made sense to him.

“Space, proximity, or contact, kiddo?”

Izuku sobbed out, “Contact.”

His parents immediately moved to comfort him. Dad put his hands out and let Izuku grasp onto them tightly. Zaza scooted her chair so that she was next to him and could wrap her arms around his torso. Pops walked around the table and settled comforting arm around his shoulders, using his other hand to comb his fingers through his curls.

None of them spoke. They just held him with silent comforts as he broke down. It was a long time before his tears ran out, and by the time they had, his hands were cramping from where they still clutched Dad’s.

“‘m s’rry-”

“Just like Mikochan said earlier. Don’t be sorry. You needed that moment, and we’re more than happy to give you it.”

Pops massaged his hands once he had pried them from Dad’s, Dad just wrapping his around his somehow still warm mug.

“Now, we can either have a movie day and leave the rest of this conversation for later-and by rest I mean other coping habits-or! We can have it now and still have a movie day,” Pops stated.

Izuku let himself consider it. “I don’t think I can handle this conversation for much longer.”

Pops nodded. “Copy that! I’ll start collecting blankets for a nest! Do you want Himikochan to join us?”

Izuku nodded. “Yes please.”

“I’ll go get her,” Zaza offered, getting up and walking down the hall.

Dad joined him into the livingroom, where the man set his mug on the coffee table and pulled Izuku into a hug.

“I’m proud of you, you know that? It’s hard to talk about that kind of stuff. Much less admit to it. I’m proud of you for trusting us enough to tell us.”

Izuku held Dad tight, burying his face into the man’s stomach. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Izuku.”

“I have the blankets! Shall we make it a fort as well? Or just a nest?”

“I’ve never been in a fort,” Kokochan mentioned.

Izuku gasped. “We have to make it a fort then!”

“The prince has spoken!”

He smiled once he was settled in the nest, later, with Dad curled above them asleep, Zaza on his right, Pops on his left, and Kokochan laying across their legs. 

It was…

Perfect.

Chapter Text

“Dad. You can’t pretend to be asleep to get out of helping!” 

Silence.

“Dad!” * flops * “DaaaaAAHD!”

Izuku shrieked as he was absorbed into the sleeping bag. It quickly turned into laughter as hands attacked his sides.

“Why wouldn’t you just let me sleep?”

“Because we have to move! Stooop!”

“Nope. This is your punishmEENT!”

Izuku laughed as he attacked his dad back. He could not go anywhere, so might as well get him back.

“That’s creepy as shit, you guys.”

“Dohohon’t behe a babYY, Pohohopsss!”

“Let the child go, Shou. He’s right. We are moving and you know that you will get annoyed if we do more work than you.”

“Fihine.”

Izuku let out residual giggles as he curled in on himself after being freed from the sleeping bag. He flinched away from the hair ruffle Dad gave him, half expecting more tickles. He quickly relented though, as it was his favorite form of affection he received from the man.

He slowly stood and looked around at the furniture that had been piled into the livingroom. They were loading them onto the truck first, then the boxes.

He yelped as his sides were tasered, pouting at a snickering Kokochan. “So mean!”

“I’m sorry, Izuchan! Forgive me?!”

“There shall be none!”

“No!”

The parent trio just rolled their eyes at the siblings, more than used to their antics. They were terrified for when the cat fights would finally start. It was surprising that there had been none in the three weeks the two shared a room.

“Alright! We’re starting with mattresses! Let’s go!”

It took about an hour and a half to load everything, dreading unpacking. 

Izuku took one last look at his old room in the apartment before they left, sad to leave the first place that had been a home for him for the first time in years. But, as the saying goes, ‘Home is where the heart is’. And his parents and sister were just in the livingroom waiting for him. He would be okay.

He held in tears as he walked into the livingroom, gratefully accepting the hugs he was offered from Zaza and Pops, getting a hair ruffle from Dad.

“Now, let’s blow this popsicle stand! Yes, I’ve always wanted to say that!” Pops exclaimed, earning giggles from the siblings.

Pops drove the truck with Zaza while Dad drove Kokochan and Izuku in the car.

“I’m surprised Pops trusted you to drive.”

“You can walk.”

“Bet-”

“Izuchan, don’t-”

They reached the new apartment-well, it’s a townhouse-around the same time as the truck, making it easy to start unloading.

“You to can build your furniture together, but for the love of god, do not try and build Izuku’s bed without help!”

“Yes, Zaza!”

“Yes, Ririchan!”

They ended up putting the legs together out of boredom, leaving the taller parts for the adults. Together, they were able to build the furniture in their rooms in just under two hours. It was just another two for each of them to unpack their boxes and put away clothes, knick-knacks, and hang posters. Izuku honestly spent a good hour just organizing his books the way he wanted them.

He now owned his own collection of the Percy Jackson series, having just gotten started on the Heroes of Olympus Series after deciding to read the Kane Chronicles first.

The two left their rooms to see the furniture unorganized in the living room, boxes piled in the dining room. It was easy to tell that three had gotten distracted by their own room going by the undignified shouts.

They set up the couches and coffee table carefully. They also found it easy to find a good  spot for the TV stand, setting up the plugs easily. They worked together to remember the set up of the last apartment when putting away the dishes. They felt it was best to was them just incase box fluff got on them. The dining room table was easy as well, making sure that Dad’s preferred chair was by the wall.

They were chilling in the livingroom by the time the trio came out.

“This is why you can’t be trusted to unpack, Zashi.”

“I just wanted to know if my hair shared your cup size!”

“Exactly! Your hair is barley a C cup, let alone equal to my gloriously painful G’s!”

“Oh f-Heeeyy kids! Done unpacking? That’s weird. I though we just piled everything in here.”

“You did. We were bored so we did the living room.”

“And the kitchen!” Kokochan exclaimed. “We did the dishes too, just incase they had fuzzy’s. Oh! The Brita should be full by now. Do you want water, Izuchan?”

“Yes, please!”

The three just stared at them in shock. 

“How did you get all of that done, Little Listeners?”

“Boredom and mental instability.”

“Hell yeah!” Kokochan exclaimed as she returned from the kitchen, high fiving Izuku after she gave him his water.

“Huh. I guess we can get started on your bed then.”

“We already did the legs! Just needs the tall people things!”

Izuku laughed at the exasperated groans that came from the parents.

All in all, a good day!

Chapter Text

Hitoshi sat in his usual spot at the tree. He was still a little uncomfortable with his friends- I fucking have friends, what? -being too close, so Kayamawa and Hatsume always made sure to give him room.

“Hey, Mawachan? I just remembered that you said you just got an older sister? Was she adopted?”

Kayamawa looked unsure about how to answer. “No? I mean, we just met her about a month ago. So, the adoption hasn’t gone through yet. Even then, I don’t think we can start to adopt her until her probation is over.”

“ Probation? ”

Kayamawa laughed. “Yeah. We actually met cause she tried to stab me!”

He laughed at their looks of horror. “Don’t worry! She wasn’t trying to kill me! You know how quirks can have drawbacks?”

Hitoshi and Hatsume nodded.

“I can get dry eye and migraines from mine.”

“ Headaches and insomnia for me. ”

“Exactly. Her’s is that she has to ingest blood regularly. If she doesn’t, she starts starving and goes into quirk induced blood lust. She’s getting better at controlling it already, but that’s why she attacked me.”

The two had looks of consideration.

“ What about you? ” Hitoshi asked curiously.

Kayamawa shrugged. “I’m not sure? The longer I use it the more exhausted I am. But, that’s pretty common. And, my quirk already like, made my throat capable of handling singing. I haven’t really found a specific drawback.”

Hatsume had an excited gleam in her eye. “So! What have you learned to do with your quirk?”

“Recently, I started using it to help my Dad sleep. He has insomnia too, so Pops and Zaza will have me gang up on him to go to bed. I’ve also been getting better at only using it on one person when multiple people are around.”

Hitoshi could not help but be slightly jealous about that. “ I really wonder if your quirk could help me sleep. I miss it. ”

Kayamawa chuckled. “We still have twenty minutes of lunch if you want to take a nap? I know Sumechan has been dying to see me use my quirk.”

Hatsume nodded excitedly, while Hitoshi looked down in consideration before nodding shyly.

“Okay! Do you want to like, lay on my lap? Or just lie down there?” he asked with a small blush.

Hitoshi blushed as well. “ The…first one. ”

“Okay! Let’s get you settled first then.”

Hitoshi settled his head on Kayamawa’s thigh, jumping a little when the boy put his hand in his hair. The boy quickly removed it, and Hitoshi hid a pout at the loss of heat.

“Sorry! It’s a habit with Kokochan. Is it alright if I touch your hair?”

“ It is okay. ”

“Okay! Now, I’m gonna use it now. Ready?”

Hitoshi nodded, closing his eyes as Kayamawa started singing. He felt exhaustion roll over him, and felt himself slowly being tugged down into sleep. It scared him a little, but he heard Kayamawa remind him what was happening in his head. So, he let himself fall into the peaceful darkness. 

It felt like hours later when he was being shaken awake.

“Come on, Shinsou-kun. Lunch ends in a few minutes.”

He blinked and sat up, rubbing his eyes a little as he stretched. He felt like that had been the best sleep that he had had in years.

“Thank you,” he whispered, not really realizing he had been speaking and not signing.

“Of course Shinsou-kun!” Kayamawa said with a big smile.

The bell rang, and the three of them gathered their things before heading to class.

“If you would like, Shinsou-kun, I can try calling you and helping you sleep tonight? I still don’t know if my quirk works like that, so you would also be saying yes to possibly being disappointed. But, would you like me to?”

Hitoshi felt worried. “ I can not speak at my house… ”

I can’t speak because they put that muzzle on me.

Kayamawa frowned a little. “I hate parents like that. But, that’s okay! You can always text me answers instead while I sing?”

Hitoshi relaxed at that. “ I would like that, then. ”

“Great! Text me when you go to bed and I’ll call you to help you sleep! I usually go to bed around nine, but whenever is fine!”

Hitoshi nodded. “ Okay. ”

Later, Hitoshi was lying on his bed, tears rolling from his eyes as he tried to ignore his bruises. 

I didn’t mean to speak. I just got so used to it with Kayamawa and Hatsume.

He sighed, well, breathed harshly out of his nose. He checked the time and saw that it was only 8:34.

That’s early. At least it’s before Kayamawa goes to bed.

He grabbed his phone and earbuds from where they were hidden in a secret pocket of his backpack.

Shinsou-kun!:

I’m ready to sleep now if you still wanna try?

Kayamawa Izuku:

Yeah! Let me just go to my room and away from the noise! 

Kokochan and Pops are arguing about whether Britney Spears or Beyonce is the better pre-quirk artist.

Shinsou-kun!:

Those two are two different levels? How can they argue which is better?

Kayamawa Izuku: 

That’s what me and Zaza were trying to tell them XD

Anyways, I’m ready to call, you?

Shinsou-kun!:

Yeah. Can you call tho?

Kayamawa did not answer, just causing Hitoshi’s phone to start vibrating in his hand and his ringtone to play in his earbuds. He quickly answered.

“Hey! You ready to test it? I was thinking that maybe I could try to influence an emotion or something first before we actually try using it to help you sleep. Is that cool?”

Shinsou-kun!:

That’s okay!

“Great! Now, I’m gonna try to influence like, extreme happiness? You might be too calm right now for there too be much of a difference to do calm like I usually do first.”

Shinsou-kun!:

That makes sense. I’m okay with that.

“Alright! I’m gonna start now.”

Shinsou-kun!:

Okay.

Hitoshi listened as Kayamawa’s voice filtered over the phone. It was really pretty and made Hitoshi feel relaxed despite the use of the boy’s quirk. He felt his chest start to warm and a smile take over his features. He was not sure why, but he felt a giddy giggle bubble out of his throat, but he was too happy to stop it.

It worked!

He noticed Kayamawa’s singing stop, and noticed that the feeling did not go away. It felt weird and unusual, but so nice at the same time.

“Did it work? I could’ve sworn I just heard you giggle, which I wasn’t trying to do, but I think I did by trying too hard.”

Shinsou-kun!:

It worked!

“It did? Yes! Okay! You ready to sleep? Do you have your alarm set? Cause it tends to make Kokochan sleep for at least ten hours if she isn’t woken up sooner. And, I don’t know how early you need to wake up.”

Hitoshi went to his alarm app and quickly double checked that his alarms were set.

Shinsou-kun!:

They are.

“Good! Now, go ahead and get yourself comfortable. I’m gonna sing for a few minutes, but if I end too early, let me know.”

Shinsou-kun!:

I will. I’m ready.

“Cool! Now…”

Hitoshi let his eyes slowly settle as he listened to Kayamawa’s singing. He felt the exhaustion and pull again, but he was less afraid that time. He just let himself be pulled under easily, feeling a smile fill his face once more.

Goodnight, Kayamawa. Thank you for being my friend.

~§~

Izuku listened for a few moments to Shinsou’s deep breaths, smiling every time he heard the boy lightly snore.

Adorable!

“Goodnight, Shinsou-kun,” he whispered. “Sleep tight.”

He hung up before running out into the living room, ignoring the still happening argument.

“My quirk works over the phone!”

The three turned to him with different amounts of surprise.

“That’s awesome, Little Listener! How’d you find out, though?”

Izuku bounced up and down. “Shinsou-kun has insomnia, so I offered to try and use my quirk to help him sleep if it worked, and he wanted to let me try! And, at first I just tried to make him really happy, and I got to hear his adorable giggle. Which, I wasn’t trying to do. But! It turned out it worked! And so, I was able to help him sleep!”

Kokochan started giggling. “‘Adorable giggle’? Does my little brother have a crush?!”

“I’m less than a year younger than you!”

“And yet it still counts! And you’re shorter, so double points!”

Izuku blushed scarlet as Zaza started cooing.

“Aw! My baby has his first crush?!”

“Shinsou-kun isn’t my first crush!”

“So, you admit that you have a crush on him?” Kokochan teased.

“Poooops! Make them stooop!!”

Pops just chuckled. “Alright, alright! Leave the Little Listener alone before he turns into a strawberry.”

Izuku just hid his face in Pop’s shirt.

“Alright. It’s bedtime for you two anyways. Come on! Go brush ya smelly teeth.”

“Yes, Zaza.”

“Okay, Ririchan!”

The next morning, he bounced as he walked into the school, having been dropped off by his parents and Kokochan-who was required to stay with Zaza until the end of her probation, so she just did online work in the corner of Zaza’s classes. The four of them were running late to a before school meeting, which Izuku thought was hilarious.

He got through the front doors when he got a text.

Shinsou-kun!:

I ned hrlo

Pls

Izuku frowned in worry.

Kayamawa Izuku:

You need help? Where are you?

Shinsou-kun!:

I dont knw

Jusst ran

Kayamawa Izuku:

Okay, if you click the info button by my name, you can share your location to me. Can you do that for me?

Shinsou-kun!:

*location sent*

Kayamawa Izuku:

Okay. I’m on my way. Can I call you?

Shinsou-kun!:

Pls

Izuku put the phone to his ear, listening as it was answered on the second ring. He heard slightly muffled, ragged breathing. He started walking faster.

“Hey, Shinsou-kun? You want me to help you breathe? Or use my quirk?”

Shinsou-kun!:

Quork

“Okay. I’m gonna start singing now, okay?”

He heard a whimper on the other end, but did not get another text. He pushed down his panic, and started singing despite the lack of response. He sang the entire time that he practically ran, not wanting to give Shinsou the chance to start panicking again until he got there.

He ran into an alley and heard his voice coming from the otherside of the dumpster in the alley. He hung up, feeling bad when he heard Shinsou whimper.

“Shinsou-kun? It’s Izuku! Well, Kayamawa. Shinsou-kun?”

He rounded the dumpster quickly, and had to fight down searing hot anger. Shinsou was wearing a muzzle, and blood was rolling down the sides of his neck because of it. Izuku crouched in front of him.

“Hey, it’s okay. Can I get closer? To try and get it off?”

“ Lock. Metal straps. ”

“Them fuckers really thought of everything, fuck! No-don’t worry! I’m not mad at you. Fuck, how am I-?”

Izuku racked his brain.

Dad, Zaza, Pops, and Kokochan have probably already started the meeting. And, Sumechan doesn’t wake up til last minute. Who can I?-Tsuka!

“Alright. I’m gonna call a friend of mine-well, I consider him an uncle. He’s a Detective, and he can get you out of that and make sure you never have to wear one again. Is that okay?”

Shinsou gave Izuku a fearful but trusting look before nodding.

“Awesome! Okay, let me just-Tsuka…”

“Kid, why this early?”

“Uncle Tsuka! I need help! My friend has-his-he’s locked in a muzzle!”

He heard a clatter and a small ‘shit’ muttered over the phone. 

“Okay. I’m on my way. Send me your location. Do your parents know yet?”

“They’re in a meeting. You know that Nedzu-kun blocks their phone signals during them.”

“Yeah, the little-yeah. He does. What kind of muzzle is it? I can possibly bring something to take it off when I get there?”

“He told me it has a lock and metal straps.”

“What kind of lock? Is it part of the muzzle or like a hook one?”

Izuku turned to Shinsou. “What kind of lock?…You don’t know?…Can I check?…Thanks…It’s a hook one.”

“Okay. A lock pick should be fine then. Send me your location and keep me on the line.”

“Okay!”

Izuku did as the man asked before putting him on speaker and setting his phone down.

“I should have a gauze in my backpack, Shinsou-kun. Is it okay if I wipe the blood?”

He got a shaky nod from Shinsou.

“Thank you. How much longer, Uncle Tsuka?”

“Only about five minutes. You two doing okay?”

Izuku let out a shaky sigh, feeling the anger trying to rise. “I’ve been better. I’m sure Shinsou-kun has too.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t the best question. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You’re just worried.”

“Thanks, Si-Izuku.”

Izuku let out a small laugh. “Nice save. I haven’t told Shinsou-kun about that yet.”

“You can’t legally get in trouble anymore, so feel free.”

“Thank you!”

Shinsou gave him a confused look.

“I don’t think I ever mentioned, but I was adopted. Back in July, so a little over two months ago. Anyways, my parents adopted me because I was a vigilante who was known by the name ‘Siren’.”

Shinsou’s eyes widened. “ Really? ”

“Yeah. Dad turned me in, discovered I had a quirk, threatened to get myself kicked out by coming out, and then he decided to adopt me through the ‘vigilante reform program’ or something like that. Fun times!”

“I don’t get how you find that fun, kid, but go off.”

“Oh, fuck off!”

Shinsou lightly laughed at the exchange, which made Izuku relax a little.

“Anyways. Since I did the two week probation, I no longer have it on my record! I still go out and help people, but now I make sure not to use my quirk. Because, vigilantism is legally seen as illegal quirk use without a license!”

“ That is cool. ”

“Yeah!”

Izuku tuned into a car stopping, and turned to see Tsuka coming out of a cop car.

“Uncle Tsuka!”

“Kid. Is he over there?”

“Yeah.”

Tsuka walked into Shinsou line of sight, and the boy slightly curled in on himself.

“Hi. I’m Detective Tsukauchi of the Musutafu Police Department. Is it alright if I get that off you? I’m sure I could give the pick to Izuku and he could figure it out, but it might be faster if I do it?”

Shinsou looked at him a little worried before nodding and pointing at Tsuka. 

“Thank you. Can you turn for me please? And Izuku, can you use your flashlight? Thanks.”

The man quickly used the pick to undo the lock in seconds, before taking the muzzle quickly, but carefully, off of Shinsou.

“Alright! I have a first aid kit in the car, and Izuku can treat your wounds on the way to the station. Is that okay?”

“ Why? ”

“Why am I taking you to the station?” a nod, “Because I want to make sure the people who put this on you get the punishment they deserve. And, it’s a little safer there than this alley.”

“ Okay… ”

“Okay! Let’s get to the car.”

Tsuka stood and let the kids lead the way to the car, Izuku opening the door for Shinsou. Once they were both in the car, he got in the front and started driving.

Izuku pulled the first aid kit out from under the passenger seat before pulling out a gauze and isopropyl.

“Just the gauze? Or is it okay if I use the isopropyl too?”

“ Both is fine. ”

Izuku nodded, pouring a little on the gauze before lightly wiping away the blood. He apologized every time Shinsou winced or hissed in pain despite the boy’s assurances.

“Uncle Tsuka? Should I put a bandage on them?”

Tsuka looked back in the mirror for a second. “I don’t actually know. If it takes too long to stop bleeding then maybe. But for now, just leave it open until your Pops can tell us.”

Izuku nodded, and saw Shinsou’s confused look. “My Pops was muzzled as a kid too. I didn’t say anything cause I didn’t know what to, but I knew you were being muzzled just about since I first saw you.”

Shinsou’s eyes widened, before they darkened in anger.

“ If you could, why did the teachers not say anything?! ”

Izuku sighed. “I don’t know. They probably didn’t really care because of the stigma with certain quirks. I remember they didn’t say anything when I was being used as a punching bag for being quirkless.”

Shinsou just huffed through his nose, his jaw being shut tightly. Izuku carefully moved his hands to lightly rub his lower jaw. 

“Gentle. You can crack your teeth that way. We’ll have to get you checked by a dentist just in case, cause I’ve seen you wince while eating certain foods.”

Shinsou let his jaw relax a little, but still kept it shut. Izuku smiled at him a little, dabbing the spots where Shinsou’s cuts were still lightly bleeding.

“Thank you for texting me. I’m happy you trusted me enough to ask for help.”

Shinsou’s eyes welled with tears and he looked down, shoulders slightly shaking. Izuku very lightly pulled him to rest his face in the crook of Izuku’s neck, and the boy let him, lightly holding onto Izuku’s shirt.

“We’re here. You can come into the room since you were technically a witness, Izuku. Don’t worry.”

He felt Shinsou sag in relief against him. “Thank you. Come on, Shinsou-kun. I think I can get Sansa-kun to give me a donut for you if you want. You haven’t eaten, have you?”

Shinsou shook his head, letting himself be tucked into Izuku’s side, seeming to try to shrink. When they got in, Izuku was easily able to get Sansa to let him take a donut after seeing the way Shinsou stared at him in awe. Shinsou took the chocolate donut and nibbled on it as they walked. 

Tsuka took them to his office instead of an interrogation room, which Izuku greatly appreciated for Shinsou’s sake. He noticed Shinsou’s slight grimace, and the way the boy held his hand, and got him a couple napkins to hold the donut with instead. Shinsou nodded his head in thanks.

“Alright, Shinsou? I’m gonna ask you a couple questions, but before that, you should know my quirk. It's called ‘Lie Detector’. I can tell if you’re lying or not. Are you okay with me still asking you questions?”

Shinsou almost seemed relieved at that and nodded, setting his half eaten donut on the arm of his chair. “ Work on sign? ”

Tsuka nodded. “If you need to sign, you can, yes. My quirk works on sign.”

Shinsou nodded again.

“Okay! Now, first question: What is your full name?”

“ Shinsou Hitoshi. ”

“True. Age and birthdate?”

“ Eleven as of July first. ”

“Of course you’re older than me!” Izuku exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “I swear! The only thing I have going is being older than Ten-kun!”

Shinsou just looked amused at Izuku’s outburst. 

“Calm down, Izuku,” Tsuka said without any heat. “That was true. Now, who are your current guardians?”

“ Oshita Yoshio and Momoko. ”

Izuku started choking at that. “I thought you were gonna be arresting them!”

Tsuka looked just as surprised. “I had a second case come up and handed the case to a lower officer. I think she was probably paid off. I’ll make sure to do it myself this time.”

“Good.”

Shinsou just looked at them in surprise. “ What do you mean? ”

“Did you ever had a foster sister named ‘Toga Himiko’?” Tsuka asked.

“ Why? Is she okay?! She has not been back in- ”

“Woah, woah! Shinsou-kun! She got adopted by my parents!”

The boy sagged back in relief. “ She ran away last year. I used to let her drink my blood when she needed to. I should have realized you were talking about her. I just thought it was a coincidence. ”

Izuku nodded. “Must have been the same for her. She said her memory isn’t the best, and I’ve mentioned you a lot. So, she must not have noticed.”

Shinsou nodded. 

“Um. That was all true. I don’t technically need your statement since Toga’s was enough evidence as it was, but would you like to add anything?”

Shinsou thought for a moment. “ They were not feeding me enough, and made me put on the muzzle as soon as they got home. If I spoke they would hit me. This morning, they said my punishment for speaking yesterday was having to go to school wearing it. ”

Tsuka nodded with his brows furrowed. “True. Thank you. Now, I’m gonna call Izuku’s parents-who do you think first, Izuku?”

“Pops. They can make sure I took care of Shinsou-kun’s wounds better, and since they're the English teacher, they can escape easier.”

Tsuka nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, too. Anyways, Shinsou, I’m gonna call Izuku’s parents and the school since I’m technically one of Izuku’s emergency contacts and can clear him for the day. Anything you want to ask or need?”

Shinsou looked down to think for a moment. “ Water? ”

Tsuka nodded. “Izuku can show you where to get some. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

“ Okay. ”

Izuku offered his hand to Shinsou after he stood, and the boy took it with a small blush. Izuku just swung their arms as he walked them to the dispenser. He let go to let Shinsou fill a paper cup a few times.

“Okay! Let’s head back. Pops should be here any minute,” Izuku’s eyes widened. “Pops is a Pro Hero too, by the way. Um, all three of them are.”

Shinsou’s eyes widened. “ That’s insane. ” 

Izuku nodded with a slight chuckle. “Just letting you know because they’re a Limelight, so you’ll more than likely recognize them. Just wanted to give you a small warning!”

Shinsou nodded. “ Thanks, I guess. I would probably have freaked out. ”

“Oh, you’re still gonna freak out. But, hopefully it will be less surprising.”

Shinsou just rolled his eyes as they walked back into the office. 

“Hey! I was able to excuse both of you from school, although Shinsou will need a note when you go back on monday,” he said, laughing at Shinsou’s confused look. “Izuku finds school to be extremely important for some reason. So, it’s just a habit to care about it a little more.”

Shinsou giggled at Izuku’s offended look.

“I care about school a reasonable amount!”

The other two just laughed at him. Shinsou was about to sign something when the door opened.

“Hey! Ran all the way here. Where’s the Little Listener?”

Izuku started cackling at Shinsou’s wide eyes. The surprise was better than he expected.

“Izuku! Be nice to the Little Listener! I’m sorry about him!”

“ It-It is fine… ”

Pops’ eyes widened when they realized that Shinsou was signing. “ Is it alright if I check over your cuts, Little Listener? ”

Shinsou nodded shyly, and Pops quickly walked over, but used slow movements to check over the wounds.

“Some of them are infected because of constantly being opened, the…the ‘thing’ was probably never properly washed. Otherwise, good job, Izuku.” 

He felt slightly guilty for the pride that came from that.

“ Now, me and Tsukauchi are gonna go talk. Is that good with you Listeners? ”

Izuku and Shinsou nodded, letting Pops and Tsuka step out of the room.

~§~

Hizashi rubbed a hand down their face once they and Tsuka were out of the room. “I fucking hate everything about this.”

“Same. Now, we need to figure out rehoming?”

Hizashi almost answered on instinct, before remembering the events of the night before. “I would love to take him. Hell, Shou and Nem might be offended if I don’t. It’s just…Izuku has a crush on the Little Listener.”

Tsuka nodded, and his expression filled with an emotion that Hizashi could not place. “I might have a solution for that.”

Hizashi’s head tilted to the side. “You do?”

“I’ve been thinking of adopting for a while, just wasn’t sure if I’d be any good at it. But…”

“You saw Shinsou and knew he was your kid?”

Tsuka stared at them with wide eyes. “How’d you know?”

Hizashi chuckled. “I was too tired to properly react when I first met Izuku, but when he woke up and was struggling to remember sign so that he could talk to me? I knew he was my kid. And, I remember thinking that I would never think of Himikochan as my kid, because I was mad about her hurting Izuku. But, she surprised me. She saw my scars and asked if she could give me a hug, because I had been strong where she couldn’t, and she wanted to thank me. I almost sobbed when she did that. Sometimes it takes a bit, sometimes it’s right away. But, I think you should ask him.”

Tsuka nodded. “Thank you. I needed that. But, I also needed to apologize. It would’ve been preferable to do so for all three of you at once, but I’ll say it now.”

“Why?”

“I put someone else in charge of going through with the charges on Toga’s foster parents, and it turns out they never followed through, because those are also Shinsou’s foster parents.”

Hizashi felt the breath be knocked out of them, starting to chuckle in anger. “You couldn’t have known-”

“But, I could’ve double checked. I should have double checked. I’m sorry for not doing so.”

Hizashi nodded. “Thank you. I guess? But, we should get back to the kids. I don’t know when you get off, but I can keep Shinsou at UA until you can pick him up? I only requested to leave until lunch, so I have to go back eventually.”

Tsuka nodded. “That would work. I get off at three today, so that should give me time to file the case and get started on arresting them. Thank you.”

“Of course!”

They walked back into the room to see Izuku teaching Shinsou how to play with his butterfly knife. Luckily it was the plastic one.

“Izuku, why?”

Izuku and Shinsou jumped, the latter not catching the knife and letting it clatter to the floor.

“Cause why not?”

Tsuka started chuckling at Hizashi’s despair.

“Anyways, Shinsou, I wanted to ask you a question. Is that alright?”

Hizashi pulled Izuku out of his seat and to a different corner to give the two some space and privacy.

“Why, Pops?”

“Just watch.”

“ Sure? ”

“Okay. I was wondering if it would be alright with you if I could be your guardian? That was a weird way of asking. But, we’re going to be removing you from the Oshita’s care. Would you be okay with staying with me?”

Shinsou stared at Tsuka in surprise, and Hizashi could feel Izuku start bouncing in excitement.

“ You want to foster me? Were you not able to pull up my file and see my quirk? ”

“Should I be worried about it?”

“ People call it a villain quirk… ”

“Are you a villain?”

“ No… ” Shinsou answered, a little suspicious. 

“Then it’s not a villain quirk.”

Shinsou was surprised at that. “ Okay. ”

“You’re okay with me fostering you?”

Shinsou nodded. 

“Thank you. I’m not off until three, so you’re gonna spend the day with Mic and Izuku. Is that alright?”

Shinsou nodded again, seeming a little confused, but not saying anything. 

“Alright! Grab your bag, Little Listener! We’re heading to UA!”

Shinsou’s eyes widened.

“I mentioned they were an english teacher. Where did you think they taught?” Izuku joked.

“ I do not know! UA certainly did not come to mind! ”

Izuku laughed. “Hurry up though! I haven’t been able to torment the students in a couple months. I think some of them might miss the cryptid ward.”

Hizashi chuckled at that. “I’ve actually had a few students ask what happened to you! I think I should have your mask in my office. I can text Nem and ask xem to make you a mask as we head over. Izuku’s has a green bunny smile on the front. What would you like?”

“ I do not need- ”

“It doesn’t matter if you need it. It matters that Izuku will want to drag you through the vents to terrorize the students, and they need a way to differentiate you guys.”

Shinsou started cackling at the vent part. Hizashi thought it was adorable. 

“ Purple cat smile? ”

Hizashi smiled. “Perfect! I’ll let xem know!”

Hizashi smiled as they walked behind the boys on their way to UA.

I’ll be okay with this one having Izuku’s heart.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi watched as Kayamawa easily pulled himself into a vent using an opening in the teachers lounge. 

“Come on, Shinsou-kun!” Kayamawa exclaimed, letting his top half hang out. “I’ll help you up!”

Hitoshi shook his head with a giggle. He stepped onto the desk that Kayamawa had used, and let Kayamawa pull him up into the vent.

“ How are you so strong? ”

“I’ve been vigilanting for the last eight months, training for two years before that. And, I’ve been training with the help of Pro Heroes for the last two. You build some strength when that happens.”

Hitoshi shook his head in disbelief. “ I have to join you some day for that. ”

Kayamawa bounced in excitement, scaring Hitoshi who feared the vent would collapse.

“That would be awesome! Kokochan just joined us in training too, so that would be cool! By the way, we’re going to Midnight’s class, because that’s where Kokochan is.”

Hitoshi was surprised at that. “ Thank you. ”

Kayamawa smiled. “I had a feeling you’d want to see her. Now, let’s go!”

They crawled through the vents for a few moments before Izuku had him stop before a certain one. He quietly opened the vent, and hung his upper half out again, which made Hitoshi fear that he was gonna fall. 

“Midnightchan??” Izuku asked in a slightly whiny voice.

“Yes, Bunnychan?”

“Can Pupchan join us in the vent? I promise I won’t take her too far!”

“Hi! Bunnychan! Can I please join him!”

“Us?”

“I have a new friend! Kittychan!”

Hitoshi felt his face flush at the nickname.

“There’s a new cryptid?” one of the kids asked.

Hitoshi saw Kayamawa’s body shake, and figured that he was probably nodding.

“Uh huh!”

“Can we meet them?”

“Let me ask!”

Kayamawa pulled himself up and gave Hitoshi a questioning look. 

“ I do not have to speak, right? ”

Kayamawa shook his head. “ Either me or Midnightchan can interpret for you. ”

Hitoshi nodded hesitantly. “ Okay. ” 

“ Great! ”

Hitoshi nearly yelped as Kayamawa let himself flip out of the vent. 

“You can just pop your head out, Kittychan! You don’t have to join me down here.”

Hitoshi looked through the vent, and bit his lip behind his mask. He was glad that it was soft and loose. “ Make sure I do not fall? ”

Kayamawa nodded.

Hitoshi angled himself so that he could slowly lower himself out of the vent, hanging for a moment before letting go.

“That’s who Kittychan is!” a voice yelled, and a familiar head of blonde hair slammed into him.

“Pupchan!”

“Don’t worry, Midnightchan. They know each other already.”

Hitoshi wrapped his arms around his foster sister, tucking his face into her neck. “You’re okay,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry for scaring you. They…They were talking about doing it to me too, and I couldn’t be as strong as you.”

Hitoshi nodded. “It’s okay, Himikochan.”

Himiko let him go and rubbed her eyes. She kept a wrist wrapped around his forearm though.

“Sorry about that, Midnightchan. We haven’t seen each other in a year, and I missed him.”

Midnight looked confused, at which Izuku simply signed, “ I will explain later. ”

“I swear, you guys come up with the best animal nicknames. Although, Pupchan’s doesn’t make a lot of sense,” one of the girls stated.

Kayamawa tilted his head to the side. “But it does! A baby bat is called a ‘pup’!”

The class said a collective ‘oh’, all looking at the vampire like smile on Himiko’s mask.

“Are you a ward of UA too, Kittychan?”

Hitoshi shrugged. “ Basically. ”

“Kittychan doesn’t talk much,” Kayamawa explained. “But, he said ‘basically’.”

The class nodded, not pushing the topic.

“Anyways, can we please take Pupchan into the vents with us?”

Midnight gave them a soft smile. “Sure. Not too far though. And try not to be too loud.”

“Yay!” Himiko exclaimed.

Izuku backed up a bit, getting a running start and jumping onto a desk before jumping up and catching himself on the edge of the vent. He pulled himself up quickly, before he leaned out with his hands out stretched.

“ I do not think I can jump high enough. ”

“I can give you a boost, if that’s alright?” Midnight asked.

Hitoshi nodded, letting her pick him up and lift him high enough to latch onto Kayamawa’s hands and being pulled up. Once he had been pulled in, Kayamawa leaned down again and lifted a giggling Himiko into the vent before closing it.

They crawled to the corner before the vent opening, and settled in an awkward circle, all letting their masks hang from an ear.

“ I can not believe this entire time you have been talking about Hitochan! ”

Kayamawa chuckled. “ I know! I have talked about you around Shinsou-kun too, but I never said your actual name, so he never caught onto it being you! ”

Himiko giggled at that, before tilting her head. “ Not that I am against it, but why are you here, Hitochan? ”

Hitoshi frowned. “ They did not take it off this morning, and I freaked out and texted Kayamawa, and he called Tsukauchi. Now, Tsukauchi is gonna be my new foster dad? ”

She nodded. “ I thought Tsukachan was supposed to arrest them? ”

“ He put someone else in charge of it, which I do not blame him, because Dad took down that drug ring the same night. But, that person did not actually do their job and he thinks they got paid off, ” Kayamawa explained.

Himiko growled. “ I want to stab them. ”

“ No stabbing until after your probation. ”

Hitoshi’s eyes widened. “ Wait! You said your older sister tried to stab you, was that Himikochan?! ”

Kayamawa silently laughed while Himiko blushed. 

“ Why did you tell him about that?! ” she signed before slapping Kayamawa in the shoulder a few times.

“ Hey! I find it funny now! And, at the moment, it was the perfect thing to make the two think I was insane! ”

Hitoshi nodded. “ It did. He laughed while saying it. ”

Himiko sighed and smiled. “ I am happy you are safe now, at least. I wish I said something when they took me in. ”

Hitoshi shook his head. “ Kayamawa already told me that your memory was not the greatest when it came to back then. I do not blame you, nor accept any apology you might make. ”

She sighed. “ Fine. How long until you have to leave? ”

“ Tsukauchi is picking me up around three. ”

“ That means we get five solid hours to terrorize the hero students! ” Kayamawa signed with an evil smile. “ Do you want to do that, Shinsou-kun? ”

Hitoshi had a thought make itself present, and decided to follow through. “ Call me ‘Hitoshi’. And, sure! ”

Kayamawa bounced in excitement. “ Call me ‘Izuku’! Or even a nickname! But, let us make a plan! Should we walk in with Midnightchan to xyr next class, or just calmly leave the vent and join the class after the bell? ”

Himiko cackled. “ Second one! I can walk in with xyr like normal too! ”

“ Should we tell her or just do it? ” Hitoshi asked.

Izuku shook his head, his curls bouncing with the movement. “ Xe prefer when we just do chaotic things and do not tell xem so xe have deniability. Also, xyr pronouns right now are xe/xem, not she/her. ”

“ Pronouns? ”

“Do you not know about having different pronouns?” he asked, getting a head shake from Hitoshi. “It’s easier to explain with my voice than my hands. First, to understand pronouns, I need to know if you know what ‘trans’ is?”

Hitoshi shook his head again.

“That’s fair. So, technically, I was born with the body of a girl, but I realized that I wasn’t actually a girl in my heart? You follow?”

Hitoshi nodded. He could slightly wrap his head around that. 

“Good! So, as a girl, I had been referred to as ‘she’, but when I ‘trans’itioned into a boy, I wanted to be referred to as ‘he’. ‘She’ and ‘he’ are pronouns that someone can use no matter their normal relation in terms of gender.”

Hitoshi nodded, somehow understanding despite Izuku making zero sense.

“Now, there are some people who identify under the term ‘nonbinary’. Nonbinary is basically an umbrella term to represent a whole lot of genders that people might feel better describe who they are in their heart. Nonbinary is seen as being neither a girl or boy, a mixture of one or the other, or even something in the middle. People who identify within that umbrella will often use pronouns that aren’t ‘she’ or ‘he’, but they don’t have to not to. Any questions so far?”

“ Why is it making so much sense? ”

Izuku chuckled. “I will get to that existential crisis at the end of the lesson. Anyways! Pronouns that people who identify under nonbinary might use are neutral pronouns, neopronouns, and/or binary pronouns. Neutral meaning neither ‘guy’ or ‘gal’, like ‘they/them’, which can be used as singular. Neopronouns are pronouns that you wouldn’t hear in everyday life, like ‘xe/xem’, ‘zie/hir’, or even ‘it/its’.”

“ Why would someone want to be referred to as an object? ”

“Some people use ‘it’ as a way to reclaim ‘it’. Transphobes, which are people who discriminate against trans people, like to use ‘it’ as an insult. Some people also might be overly existential and feel like the pronoun settles that fear. Anyways! Binary pronouns are pronouns that refer to the ‘two normal genders’,” Izuku said with a scowl. “Which are girl and boy slash man and woman. Those pronouns are…”

“ ‘She’ and ‘he’? ”

“Good job! Now, you were asking why all of this made sense?” a nod was earned. “Often times, people who aren’t ‘cis’-which is someone who identifies with the gender forced upon them at birth. Anyways, someone who isn’t cis tends to have an easier time understanding. Or, people with mental disorders.”

“I’m the second one!” Himiko said excitedly, causing Izuku to laugh.

Hitoshi spent a good moment thinking about everything he learned. He thought about how it would apply to himself.

“ How do I know if I am not ‘cis’? ”

“Either gender dysphoria or gender euphoria. Dysphoria is like, when you see a manhole cover turned so the line isn’t lined up correctly. It’s similar to the pain that causes. But, in terms of how you look or are referred to. Meanwhile, euphoria is feeling like the way you look or the way someone refers to you is right and perfect in that moment.”

Hitoshi nodded. “ I do not think I have dysphoria? How do I tell if I have euphoria? ”

Izuku thought for a moment, then turned to Himiko.

“This is my friend, Hitoshi. They’re a really nice person with a nice heart.”

Himiko nodded. “Yeah! They’re the best foster sibling someone could ask for! They care a lot about me.”

Oh. That. Oh.

The two turned back to Hitoshi, who was slightly smiling.

“Would you like us to refer to you as ‘they’ for the rest of the day so that you can figure out whether or not you really like it?”

Hitoshi nodded a little shyly. “ Yes, please. ”

“Cool! The bell’s about to ring now. Ririchan is going to Class 2-F next!”

Hitoshi gave her an amused look. “ ‘Ririchan’? ”

“Midnightchan’s real name isn’t ‘Midnight’. You know that, right?” Izuku asked.

“ Oh. ”

Himiko and Izuku laughed at that, before Himiko left to join Midnight to h-xyr next class.

“Alright! Onto scaring the shit out of 2-F!”

~§~

Nemuri smiled as the boys dropped out of the vents before calmly joining Mikochan in the corner.

“Midnight-Sensei. Are you just going to ignore that?”

“Ignore what?” xe asked, faking naiveness.

“Can we at least get the new cryptid’s name?”

“Oh! He’s Kittychan!”

Nemuri noticed the way the kid’s nose scrunched, and xe could tell it was from the pronoun and not the alias.

“Anyways! Let’s move on to class!”

I’ll ask those two about it later.

Later finally came when they were all in the car, driving home.

“So. Who was ‘Kittychan’?”

The two laughed at Shou’s confused scowl. The man decided to sleep during lunch, missing meeting the new cryptid.

“Who?”

“It was Hitoshi-kun! Well, I just got to call them that. But, you guys know them as ‘Shinsou-kun’. But, this morning they texted me for help, and found them in…an alley wearing the muzzle. So, I called Uncle Tsuka because I knew you guys were in that meeting. He came, took the muzzle off, took us to the station, called Pops to come help, then decided to foster Hitoshi-kun. After that, Pops took us to the school since Hitoshi wouldn’t be able to properly handle going back to school after that morning.”

Nemuri blinked for a few moments, processing all of that. “Tsuka’s fostering him?”

Zuzu nodded. “Yeah, Uncle Tsuka asked them after Pops made sure that I cleaned their cuts right. By the way, Hitoshi-kun prefers they/them now.”

“Now?” Zashi asked curiously.

Mikochan nodded. “Yeah. We corrected them when they used wrong pronouns for Ririchan, and found out that they didn’t know about all that. After we explained, they had a moment of wanting to try different pronouns, so we used ‘they/them’ for them throughout the day. They expressed before they left that they definitely preferred they/them. They weren’t completely sure how they felt about he/him, so we just offered to refer to them as ‘they’ until they got a solid understanding.”

The three pros nodded at that.

“Well, good job teaching the Little Listener?”

“Thanks, Pops!”

“Thank you, Hizashichan!”

Nemuri smiled. Xe were proud of xyr chaotic gremlins. And they knew it too.

Welcome to our wacky family, Kittychan.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi hugged Himiko back tightly, feeling their chest tighten at the thought of having to leave her again. The only thing that made it easier was Tsukauchi promising that they could see her again soon.

“Can I have a hug too, Hitoshi-kun?” Izuku asked sweetly.

Hitoshi blushed, but nodded and held their arms out. Izuku squealed happily and dove under them, nearly knocking Hitoshi off balance. Himiko just giggled at the chaos.

Izuku let go fairly quickly, and Hitoshi waved goodbye.

“Bye, Hitochan!” Himiko exclaimed, waving back.

“Bye, Hitoshi-kun! See you at school!”

Hitoshi walked with Tsukauchi to his car, which was a normal car instead of the police car he had pick Izuku and Hitoshi up in.

“I only used the police car so I could speed,” Tsukauchi admitted, catching Hitoshi’s confused head tilt.

Hitoshi nodded and carefully got in the front seat.

“So, I stopped by Oshita’s and got your things already and dropped them off at my apartment. The spare room I have is not the most spacious, but I’m sure we- or you if you would prefer -could figure out a good arrangement for your furniture. We’ll need to go shopping this weekend to get you a dresser and room decorations though. Or just going online instead if you would prefer not going out.”

Hitoshi nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the man’s care. “I do not need decorations. I am sure whatever you have already is enough,” they signed at a stoplight.

Tsukauchi smiled teasingly toward them. “I asked what you wanted. Not what you needed. You do need furniture, and I want you to choose what you prefer. You’re not hindering me or burdening me by getting what you want.”

That’s nice to hear in theory, but what about in a week? The first time I accidentally use my quirk on you? When does that get taken away?

Hitoshi just nodded, and sat as still as possible for the rest of the ride.

“Alright! Here we are!”

Hitoshi carefully walked in at Tsukauchi’s insistence, and took off their shoes at the genkan. They walked in a little farther to be out of his way, and waited for him to tell them what to do.

Tsukauchi hummed and clapped his hands together, albeit quietly. “So! I’ll give you a quick tour. Go over ground rules, and you can do whatever you want after? I mean, within reason, but-Let’s just start the tour!”

He led them through the living room and to a short hallway. “So! On the left here is the bathroom! Straight ahead is my room. And your room is this one on the right! Feel free to put your backpack in there if you would like! This is just a small little hall closet. I don’t have much of a reason to use it other than towels and cleaning supplies.”

Hitoshi dropped his backpack off like the man suggested and followed him back through the living room and to what he assumed was the dining room and connected kitchen.

“That’s the apartment! Any questions?”

Hitoshi shook their head, and sat at the table at the detectives urging.

“Alright, so, ground rules. I would like you to try to get to bed at a reasonable time each night? I know that might be a little harder with…whatever you got going on up there,” he stated, waving a hand up toward his head.

Hitoshi held back a snort at his bluntness.

“Kami, am I bad at this. So, otherwise! Watch as much tv as you want as long as your homework is done. If you’re hungry or thirsty, go ahead and get whatever you want from the kitchen. I’ll try to make a meal schedule so you can know what is or isn’t for dinners.”

That small acknowledgement help Hitoshi release a fear they did not realize they had.

“Lastly. If you’re gonna have anyone over after school, just text me in advance. I usually work day or graveyard, so I should be here mornings and nights to make sure you guys don’t get hurt. If you’re going to anyone’s house after school, I would prefer if I’ve met their parents. I obviously know Izuku’s and Himiko’s parents, so that’s already fine. I don’t know if you have any other friends?”

“One. Hatsume Mei.”

“Copy that. You ever want to go to her-her? Her. You ever want to go to her house after school, let me know so I could drop you off and make sure they won’t murder you or something.”

“I think Hatsume-kun would murder her parents before they could murder me.”

“That’s…fair. Lastly, chores. I do not expect you to do anything more than cleaning up your own messes. If your having a couple of rough days or even weeks, I understand you falling behind on that. But, my mess is my mess. Your mess is your mess. I will help you out when need be. And if you ever feel the want- want specifically not need -to help me out with messes that would be appreciated.”

Hitoshi had a hard time wrapping their head around that.

Not…in charge…of keeping the house spotless?

“Now, any questions?”

Hitoshi instinctively stopped their hands, and reworded their question. “What is my punishment for speaking?”

Tsukauchi flinched in disgust. “I know that is what you expect, and I’m sorry for my reaction. It is just so foul that you think- not even that. Basically trained to see that is a normal thing to be punished for. But, you won’t get punished for speaking. And, before you ask, I will not be punishing you for accidentally using your quirk on me. A quirk is a natural part of you. You should be given the chance to get activation under control.”

Hitoshi scowled and stared at their hands. They struggled against yelling- well, loudly signing their displeasure at the detective’s lies.

Izuku trusts him? And Izuku’s kinda like me? Not exactly, but he can understand. If he trusts Tsukauchi-san, maybe I can too?

Hitoshi nodded to Tsukauchi’s statement, and struggled for a bit to accept it. Tsukauchi gave them space to process their thoughts, and moved into the kitchen to start on dinner.

“Any requests? I can- potentially -whip up a favorite?”

Hitoshi’s head tilted. “I do not know?”

“Don’t know your favorite food?” Tsukauchi asked, earning a nod from the kid. “Well, you can always start learning somewhere! Let’s have some udon as that’s actually the only thing I see enough ingredients for. Kami I need to go shopping. Make a list of some snacks or breakfast foods you like or wanna try. I’m gonna have to go to the store tomorrow, and I don’t wanna force you to come along.”

“It is alright,” Hitoshi signed calmly. “I am not a fan, but I will be okay.”

“Copy that! Also! Make a list of decorations you’d like as well. Some hero posters aren’t sold in store, so we’ll have to go online.”

“Tell me about it!” the kid exclaimed, surprising Tsukauchi. “I have searched so many hero merch stores and I can never find anything for Eraserhead!”

Tsukauchi smirked. “I imagine you had fun meeting him today?”

“Meeting him? When?!”

Tsukauchi paused. “Was there by any chance a yellow cocoon while you were eating lunch at UA?”

Hitoshi nodded.

“Yeah, he likes to take naps in that disgusting thing. But, I imagine that’s the only reason you didn’t meet him with Izuku’s other two parents. He’s a teacher at UA.”

Hitoshi nodded, calming down a little to zone out a the table when a realization struck.

“Wait, Eraserhead is one of Izuku-kun’s parents?!”

Chapter Text

Himiko finished her work early for once, which left her bored in Ririchan’s first year design class.

“So! For this next assignment, I would like you all to design a costume for a hero with these requirements: has to be monochromatic- preferably purple -involves some sort of cloak, and properly compensates for their quirk. The quirk they have is called Magnetic Fields. It lets them redirect magnetic objects by changing the their field to either attract or reject said item.”

That sounds cute! I wonder if their cloak could be used to enunciate their magnetic field by working as a force field?

Himiko hummed quietly in consideration and pulled out a notepad that she had for scratch work. She started with the costume under the cloak, and got distracted by another student’s question.

“Is their magnetic field created by mental focus or like erupting from their skin? And, do they specialize in any weapons?”

“Their magnetic field is a combination of mental focus and skin, in a way? They can focus balls of magnetic fields to shoot from their hands, so I imagine they could do so with other parts of their body. And, you get to decide what weapons you think would be best in regards to their quirk!”

Himiko nodded, and edited the clothes. She gave the hero a crop top that left a perfect amount of room from the rise of the pants to potentially shoot out magnetic fields in bad situations. She specified the jeans having the same material as leggings, and also added them having metal woven in that the hero could use for magnetizing. She gave them steel toed combat boots, along with shin and arm guards. There were also holsters on the heroes thighs for guns or knives, along with a utility belt. She drew a little grappling hook that she also wrote a little note stating that the hero could magnetize to land perfectly every time.

The cloak was based off of, the Teen Titan, Raven’s. She also used her computer to find hues of purple that could be used to tie the design of the costume together, even specifying a color of the laces for the combat boots.

“That’s really good, Pupchan!”

Himiko jumped at Ririchan’s voice, looking over to see the her peering over her shoulder to look at the costume Himiko drew.

Himiko blushed. “It’s certainly not that good!”

Ririchan made a considering expression, before she held out her hand for Himiko’s costume idea. Himiko held it tight for a second, before letting the woman take it.

“Class! I would like you to tell me what you think of this design?”

One of the more outspoken students answered first. “That almost seems like a final draft! Maybe more protective items could be added, like fingerless gloves or longer sleeves. But that is a solid design!”

One of the only boys in the class spoke up as well. “I like how neutral it seems. I could definitely see a guy, girl, or anyone else wearing that!”

The student next to him nodded excitedly. “And the hues that were chose! That are basically perfect!”

Himiko’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked down at the pencil in her hand. It was that good?

“Thank you for your thoughts! Pupchan was feeling a little insecure about her design,” Ririchan stated, smiling fondly toward the blushing Himiko.

“You designed that?” the outspoken student asked, wide eyed. “I thought maybe a first year from last year had made that!”

“Yeah! That’s really good! Did you want to join the design course?”

Himiko felt a little overwhelmed. “I was just a little bored, is all. I like cute things, so I thought of how cute the costume could be?”

“It’s good to have a strong suit when it comes to design,” one of the students stated. “It’s good for heroes to trust those who make their costumes to make it the way they would like it!”

Himiko smiled. “I think I’ll consider it,” she stated. “I know my…friend wants to go here. It might be nice to join them.”

Himiko accepted the drawing back and started doing more to add to the drawing. She added the gloves like the one student had suggested, but put a fold that could easily snap down from the force of a field emerging from the palm. She made the sleeves longer too, and gave them swirly yet staticky designs that only appeared in certain lighting or if you focused.

As the bell rang to signify the end of the school day, she had drawn the costume onto an actual person instead of just the articles of clothing. Looking at it, she smiled. She really did enjoy designing the costume.

“Pupchan, time to go,” Ririchan stated, collecting her things.

Himiko nodded and followed her out of the classroom, looking down at her design as they walked to meet up with Hizashichan and Shouta.

“Midnight?”

“What did you need, honey?”

“Do you think they were right?” she asked insecurely. “Do you think I could do design?”

Ririchan smiled warmly down at her and looped an arm around her shoulders, hugging Himiko into her side. “I think you already have an eye for design. So, with practice and dedication, I think you definitely could do design.”

Himiko smiled, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She shoved her face into Ririchan’s side and let herself be led to the other two.

“Hey you two, what’s-everything alright?” Hizashichan asked.

“Pupchan’s just a little happy right now. Wanna show them your drawing?”

Himiko nodded shyly, and held out the drawing without looking. Once it was taken, she took a couple breaths before peaking at the two.

“This is really good, listenerchan! You made this during Midnight’s class?”

Himiko nodded again, glancing over at Shouta who was still looking at the drawing. She had a harder time bonding with the man for some odd reason, so she was mostly worried about his reaction.

“The grappling hook was a good touch. I don’t know if you thought of it, but the knives could be used the same way. Even the bullets in the gun.”

Himiko smiled, feeling relief flood her. “Thank you.” She was definitely going to see if Ririchan could teach her how to sow so that she could get some practice.

~§~

Izuku smiled, happy to see that, for once, Hitoshi’s marks were not as red. He wondered if Hitoshi and Tsuka had gotten-wait why is Hitoshi walking straight towards him?

“Why didn’t you tell me who your dad was?” Hitoshi whined when they got closer, standing right besides Izuku in the mostly empty classroom.

The only other people were a kid closer to the front and Sumechan, who had stolen the seat in front of Izuku to copy homework. Izuku usually let her do so since she was smart enough to understand the work, but cared more about inventing on the weekends. And inventing always meant she forgot to do her homework.

“Why are you annoyed about not being told who Mawachan’s dad is?” Sumechan asked, still quickly writing down the answers for their math homework.

“Because! I-ugh!”

Hitoshi sat in their seat, defeated, looking unsure about their want to complain.

“They’re complaining because they got to meet Pops and Zaza, who are both Pro Heroes,” Izuku whispered, chuckling at the way Sumechan’s head shot up. “But, didn’t get to meet Dad because he was napping. It was on Friday when we weren’t at school.”

“Yeah! And Tsukauchi told me who your dad is. And, not only is your dad also a frickin’ Pro, he’s literally the one pro I look up to the most!”

Izuku blanked at that, before letting out a sputtering laugh. “That makes two of us!”

“Huh?” Sumechan asked, wanting to have more context as she moved onto her science homework.

“My dad is a Pro who has a ‘villainous’ quirk whilst also fighting mostly quirkless. And before I got my quirk, I latched onto the ‘quirkless fighter’ part like a lifeline for the sake of my hope.”

“Oh! And the villainous part gave you hope too, Shinsouchan?”

Hitoshi nodded, pausing after a moment. “By the way, you can call me Hitoshi, Hatsume-kun.”

Sumechan smiled. “Really? You can call me Mei then! You too, Mawachan! What about Hitochan?”

Hitoshi blushed and looked away. “Sure, Meichan.”

Izuku giggled at how adorable Hitoshi’s blush was and at Sumechan’s equally adorable squeal. “Feel free to call me Izuku, Meichan.”

“You got it, Zukuchan!”

More kids came into the class, so Meichan quickly finished her homework before Mr. Saito arrived.

At lunch, they all sat at their tree and hung out in silence. Mondays were usually quiet days for those three, even Meichan. Though, she usually slept during lunch since she had not gotten much sleep over the weekend. This time she had Izuku use his quirk on her so that she could fall asleep a little faster, as well as out of curiosity. She had fallen asleep with he head on Izuku’s high while hugging his leg.

Izuku’s phone vibrated, so he softly shuffled to get it out of his pocket.

Ten-kun:

Izu-kun! I was wondering if you would like to hang out after school on Wednesday? We have a shortened day at Somei, so I would have time to take the train to meet you somewhere?

Izuku:

I’d love to! I believe we have a shortened day at Nabu, too. So, let me just ask my parents and I’ll get back to you on that. Would Whipped Cream & Whiskers work?

Ten-kun:

Yes! Going to the café would be lovely! Let me know if you are able to and we can set a time!

Izuku:

( ＾＾) ｂ

Izuku smiled at his screen and quickly sent a text to the family group chat before putting his phone back down and locking eyes with a smirking Hitoshi.

“Who has got you all happy?” Hitoshi signed teasingly.

Izuku blushed. “My friend Iida Tenya. Their brother is friends with my parent’s, and basically like an uncle to me? I do not know. Anyways. Ten-kun was just asking if I wanted to hang out on Wednesday since we both have short days.”

Hitoshi smirk never left their expression, making Izuku blush even darker and look away. He missed the jealousy that flashed through the other’s face in doing so.

“Where do they go to school?”

“Somei in Hosu.”

Hitoshi nodded and shoveled a bite of food in their mouth. “How is Himiko doing?”

“She is fine! She misses you already and nearly snuck out just to go see you. But, she eventually pouted and agreed to give you space to settle in at Tsuka’s apartment.”

Hitoshi nodded. “Tsukauchi is very…different from what I am used to. It is hard to believe that anything remotely positive he says is even close to true.”

Izuku nodded sadly. “I get that. It took a couple weeks for me to even get close to comfortable speaking at my preferred volume. Especially the first time I did not like something Pops made for dinner.”

Hitoshi winced in understanding. “We are both messed up, huh?”

Izuku giggled. “No kidding.”

Izuku’s phone buzzed, and He saw that Pops had given him the go ahead to hang out with Ten on Wednesday. Izuku ignored the teasing that followed and just let Ten know he could go and asked when the train got in from Hosu.

Ten-kun:

It arrives in Musutafu at 1pm. I should arrive at the café at 1:20pm. Does that work for you?

Izuku:

Yeah! It’s a date!

Izuku sent the message, set down his phone then realized what he did. He snatched up his phone and saw that he had sent his message, and it had been read.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck-

“Izuku? Izuku?! Hey! Calm down! Hey! Can you answer a question for me?”

Izuku flapped his hands a little, struggling to stay still for Meichan’s sake. “Hi-Hito-”

Izuku felt his mind go blank and peaceful. He did not hear anything but a voice instructing him to calm his breathing.

Coming back to himself, he saw Hitoshi kneeling in front of him, their hands held out to steady Izuku if need be. Their breathing was a little too fast and they seemed panicked.

“Hitoshi-kun? What’s wrong? Are you panicking? What’s-”

Hitoshi shook their head. “Quirk. Scary. Not used to good reactions.”

They triggered themself just to help me?

Izuku carefully grabbed hold of Hitoshi’s hands. “Breath with me?”

Hitoshi nodded and mimicked the deep breath Izuku took. Said breath helped Izuku as well, as he had remembered why he had been panicking in the first place.

They both calmed down, and separated from each other.

“What happened?”

Izuku just sighed and opened up the text message screen and showed it to Hitoshi, who’s eyes widened in understanding.

“Accidentally too straight forward with your crush?”

Izuku fell back in dismay, covering his eyes with his hands and jostling Meichan, who did not even stir.

“Toshi!”

Hitoshi just giggled and pulled Izuku up using his bent arm.

“They are not my crush!” Izuku signed hurriedly. “They are just a friend! A really really cute friend, but a friend!”

Hitoshi rolled their eyes. “Sounds like a crush to me. Are they the reason you wear that bracelet?”

Izuku blushed and covered the woven jewelry as if to hide it. “Maybe? Look, they were vaguely worried about us being friends despite going to different schools, so I made it for them!”

Hitoshi’s eyes could power a city with how much they were rolling at Izuku’s bullshit.

Izuku just sighed and started shaking Meichan. She did not wake in the slightest. Izuku sighed again. He started singing, seeing as she was not going to wake up otherwise.

Meichan shot up quickly, quite nearly smacking her forehead into Izuku’s. Izuku screeched and just barely avoided her doing so.

She sniffed harshly and looked around. “Is lunch over?”

Izuku nodded as he held his chest and panted. Hitoshi was laid flat back on the ground howling in laughter.

“Let’s go then!”

~§~

“Tensei!”

The man turned to see his little sibling panicking, and quickly rushed over to the kid as they walked into his office at the agency.

“Tenya! What’s wrong?”

Tenya held out their phone. “What does he mean?!”

Tensei took the phone from Tenya’s shaking hand, and read the conversation. He then smirked, causing Tenya to start looking frustrated as smoke puffed out of their engines.

“What does he mean, Tensei?!” Tenya whined, looking desperate.

Tensei chuckled and handed back the phone while ruffling Tenya’s hair. The action always helped the kid calm down because they got more focused on fixing their hair than the situation at hand. Along with making them sigh in frustration, which led to a deep breath being taken.

“I think Izuku was trying to be smooth by accident. Probably freaked out after he sent it.”

“’Smooth’?”

“Aish, this kid. Yes, ‘smooth’. As in…how do I explain the definition of smooth give me a sec…’completing a task with grace and fluidity’. Urban dictionary, you have failed me. Basically he was kind of flirting with you.”

Tenya blushed darkly and shut down. Tensei just chuckled and directed Tenya to sit on the couch in his office for when they were ready to people again.

Tensei smiled and pulled out his phone, dialing Mic.

“Tensei? What’s up?”

“Your kid is so frickin’ adorable let me tell you what happened-”

Seems Hitoshi was not the only one teasing Izuku that day.

Chapter Text

Izuku was doing flips to let out his extra energy as he chased after his dad. He would make exceptions on his ‘not on school nights’ rule on nights where Izuku just could not fall asleep.

There was a clatter in an alleyway nearby, so the two of them made their way to check on things. Izuku’s eyes widened when he peered into the alley, and quickly started climbing down into the alley despite Dad trying to call him back.

“You brat.”

Izuku quickly knocked one of the guys off the other, putting himself in between them.

“Hey, Dabi-kun. What did you manage to do this time?” Izuku asked, letting a smirk slip into his voice.

“Why do you assume it was my fault, kid?”

“Do I have to remind you that you are a child as well?”

“Yeah, but I’m older than you.”

Izuku glared at him, before he dodged a knife from Dabi’s attack. “So? Are you gonna answer my question?”

He sighed. “He didn’t want to pay my price, so he tried to take it anyways.”

“It being?”

“Weed.”

“Kami, you druggies. You rarely even have good shit.”

“Exactly! It’s not even the good kind!”

“How do you know what ‘the good kind’ is, Siren?” Dad asked, wrapping the other in his capture weapon.

“I haven’t done it, if that’s what you think I’m implying,” Izuku clarified, holding his hands out. “I was just bored after meeting Dabi-kun and decided to research drugs and stuff.”

Dabi’s eyes widened at the sight of the underground hero, and started crawling backwards, still on the ground. Izuku noticed his panic, and held his hands out.

“It’s okay! You only sell not do, right? They can’t charge you!”

Dabi nodded slowly, and stood up warily. Izuku knew he was ready to bolt any second.

“So, what led to a kid being out at night selling drugs?” his dad asked, letting Izuku stay between him and Dabi. Izuku was thankful for his friend’s sake.

“Having a bitch for a father can do that,” Dabi shot back.

“Fair,” Dad agreed. “Now, I can’t just let you stay on the street so if you come with us to the station-”

“Hell, no! I’m not about to go back to that abusive asshole! I already have to deal with the guilt of leaving my siblings with him. I ain’t about to go back now when I just escaped!” Dabi yelled, starting to cautiously back up.

“And you won’t,” Dad stated. “If what your saying is true, I can have you talk to a detective on the police force. He has a lie detector quirk that can help us get your siblings out of there too.”

“Yeah, right. He’s a hero. No one in their right mind would go against him,” Dabi laughed pitifully.

Dad let loose a cheshire cat-like smile. “Good thing both me and the detective are constantly sleep deprived.”

Dabi snorted. “Even if he’s the number two?”

Izuku’s head snapped to Dabi, and his eyes widened. “He announced that you were dead!”

“I’m supposed to be dead. I only survived out of spite,” he stated with a shrug.

Dad let out a soft, surprised chuckle. “Of course. Of course you manage to find those kinds of stray’s, Siren.”

“Like father like son?” Izuku grinned.

“Fuck off.”

“*le gasp*! How dare?!”

“So, are you gonna let me go now?” Dabi asked.

“No. We’re going to take down your father and help you and your siblings.”

Dabi nodded. “Alright. Just know, I will expend any resource I can to getting away if your lying.”

“Fair enough.”

Youngest:

…

So, we found a stray…

Pop-arazzi:

Little Listener I SWEAR-

Chapter Text

Izuku shook his hands, trying to fight the anxiety that was building. He knew that this was just him and Tenya going to hang out as friends. Just friends.

He could not fight the little voice in his head that was expecting it to be more than that.

He paid for both his and Tenya’s time at the café and ordered a drink, sending a text out to Tenya asking if they would like Izuku to order them something. He quickly did when once Tenya answered.

He smiled at the kitten that climbed into his lap, petting the gray, fluffy cat. The kitten climbed up his chest and started batting at his nose, making him giggle.

“Izu-kun?”

Izuku looked up and smiled. “Ten-kun!”

Tenya smiled and slid into the booth across from Izuku, taking a sip of their drink once they were settled.

“How’s Somei been?” Izuku asked, tilting his head and smiling at the cat that climbed onto Tenya’s shoulders.

“It has been interesting! I recently befriended someone in my class, Yaoyorozu-kun. She knows a lot about chemistry for someone our age!”

Izuku hummed. “That’s so cool! I can’t wait until we start learning about chem in school. I want the excuse to light something on fire.”

“Izu-kun,” Tenya sighed, resting their head in their hand, causing Izuku to giggle.

“Although, Dabi can just help me with that. He can use his quirk in small amounts if he’s careful.”

“Dabi?” Tenya asked, tilting their head as the scratched the neck of the cat on their shoulder.

“He’s my new brother,” Izuku explained. “You know about Himiko, right?”

Tenya blinked in confusion, so Izuku started telling the story of how he got his siblings.

“And, yeah! Dabi’s the most recent! And, Hitoshi ended up getting taken in by uncle Tsuka.”

“Uncle Tsuka never told me!” Tenya exclaimed. “He visited Tensei last week too!”

“Ah. He took him in literally just on Friday. Very recent.”

Tenya nodded and hummed. “That makes sense. Have you made any other friends?”

“Yeah! My friend Mei! She’s an inventor and plans to join the support course at UA.”

“It will be intriguing to get to know her then!” Tenya proclaimed, chopping one of their arms in excitement…

…slamming their forearm right into the table.

“Fuck!” Tenya exclaimed, cradling their arm.

“Ten-kun! Are you okay?!” Izuku asked, running around the table to Tenya’s side.

“I am fine, Izu-kun. I will probably just develop a bruise,” they explained, looking up at Izuku.

It was at that moment that they both realized just how close their faces were. And time froze as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“Did you really say ‘fuck’?” Izuku asked, perfectly destroying the moment.

Tenya blushed deeply, wincing when they hunched their shoulders in embarrassment. “Blame my brother for that. He curses a lot, and it seems to be rubbing off on me.”

Izuku cackled and went back to his seat. “There’s nothing wrong with cursing Ten-kun. You used it in a way to express your pain, which is the best that can be expected from a kid.”

Tenya sighed. “I guess. It is just so…improper.”

Izuku smiled teasingly. “You know you don’t have to be ‘proper’ 24/7. It’s okay to let yourself relax outside of a proper setting.”

Tenya paused, and Izuku watched as they actively seemed to blue screen. He gave them a moment to process, figuring that this might become a common occurrence with his friend.

“I guess you might be right,” Tenya finally said after a few minutes. “I will work on finding a way to let myself relax as you say I could.”

Izuku smiled. “Maybe.”

They sat in comfortable silence until Tenya had to leave, making plans for them to hang out with their friends from their respective schools to join them as well. Izuku blushed deeply as he pecked Tenya on the cheek before running off, leaving the other kid frozen in their spot as he ran home.

Ten-kun:

You left before I could give you a kiss back, you jerk!

Chapter Text

Hi there! Your favorite writer MidnightRaven221 here! It's been a while!

We said We would only be going on a two month hiatus in what, October of 2021? Well, May of 2022 is definitely two months later!/j

Anyways! We're back. Had somethings happen in our personal life (as you can see by the usage of plural grammar...one of those things was discovering we're a system back in March-). As it is though, me, the resident writer (Nex) am ready to start writing again.

(Annus will claim it's because one user just recently went through and commented on 21 different chapters of Siren and gave me motivation, but its definitely mental stability!/j)

(Annus: It's really not)

As it is though! I'm back! I'm going to spend the next week working on rewriting Siren to a new standard that I feel like would make more sense, and making a new Siren's Lullaby to post the rewritten/new chapters in. I have the first chapter done already (Wrote it before I made this note), but I'm going to wait 'til in-between my jobs tomorrow to post it with hopefully a couple others. So, yay!

Hope y'all are looking forward to me being back!

Sincerely,

Nex 💀

Chapter Text

Hello my patient (is that the right one? tf-) readers

Recently someone left a comment that really got the writing brain going (I think it helped that I was also in a non-fanfic writing mood as well), and I’ve been working on ideas and outlines for this fic again (NO PROMISES)

I am forcing myself to reread what I’ve rewritten (idk if I ever posted that) and cringing so hard-
I was a year younger when I wrote some of that- Why does it feel so bad- Why do y’all read my stuff? I love you guys so much don’t get that mixed up-

Anyways. I just needed to say that. If all goes well I will be posting a new chapter of this fic in a different fic because idk if I mentioned it before, but I realized that this fic should be “Siren’s Beginning” and the *next* should be “Siren’s Lullaby” (I’m on PDT btw, so I still got five hours to write and post tehe)

And I totally fixed my writing block by swapping the statuses of All Might and AFO /tehe/. What I had been planning had me stuck and I couldn’t continue, so I’m excited to bring my thoughts/actual story to you guys, because I checked my statistics and y’all love my ‘self indulgent adoption fic’ the most (idk why but something about that line in the comment *SPOKE* to my little writer critter in my head (its the worm from the Labyrinth…or the cater-worm Khalil from veggie tales)

ANYWAYS
I HOPE YOU GUYS GET A NEW CHAPTER AND DONT GET A MISPLACED HOPE
I LOVE YOU ALL

(I have no caffeine in my body, what the fuck is up with me rn-)