Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Oof!”

Steven fell onto the ground, groaning at his misfortune. He lifted his face and touched his nose—

Yep, that was broken. He quickly licked his finger and healed himself, wincing at the slightly uncomfortable sensation of his nose returning to its normal shape.

Now, onto the next question.

Where was he?

Steven remembered video calling Connie. The connection kept cutting out, so ultimately they decided to just have her drop in with Lion whenever she was free.

Then, he’d decided to do a bit of exploring, as one tended to do. It’s not like the woods were of the spooky variety or anything. As far as he could tell, they were perfectly normal woods, so he figured he might as well take a walk. If there was something dangerous, he was more than capable of defending himself.

He hadn’t expected to find some sort of shrine. A Gem structure, considering the similarities to other sites he’d explored with the Crystal Gems in the past.

In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to touch the glowing artifact in the center of the compound.

To be fair, it wasn’t the first time he’d found something similar. The Crystal Gems had done a good job of recovering unstable or dangerous gem relics from the rest of the world, but that didn’t mean they’d found everything. In the past few months of his road trip, he’d discovered more than a few inert artifacts, all of them recovered and sent back to the Temple.

Then again, none of those were glowing. That could have clued him in.

Well, that didn’t really matter right now. It was more important to figure out where he was right now.

Steven pushed himself up, rolling up from the hardwood floor that certainly didn’t bear any resemblance to the stone where the artifact was found. He made eye contact with a group of teens.

After a period of silence, during which nobody blinked, one of them yelled,

“Sensei!”

Then there was chaos.

“Quick, someone get him!”

“Iida, go—”

“Of course!”

This exchange was followed by someone with… engines in their legs? They ran out of the room almost as fast as he’d seen the Crystal Gems run, but he didn’t even have a chance to marvel at that before he was charged.

“Sero, can you—”

“On it!”

A split second later, he found himself wrapped in tape, which he was pretty sure came from someone’s elbows?

Steven was picked up and placed in a chair, and a tall girl with a coil of rope tied him to it.

“I will guard him until Aizawa-sensei arrives.”

“Thank you, Todoroki,” a green-haired teen nodded gratefully, and Steven had to interject because this really was happening much too quickly.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt… whatever you’re doing, but could someone tell me where I am?”

They all glanced at each other, and someone with tall purple hair walked up.

“Why should we tell you?” he asked.

“Well, it’s a—” Suddenly, everything became muted. Steven was vaguely aware of what he was seeing, and he could barely make out muffled voices in terse discussion, but he had no control over his muscles. This was the first thing that made him truly panic, and in his desperation he tried to activate his gem powers. At first, nothing happened, but a jolt of electricity ran through his body, and he was able to bubble himself off, causing everyone in the room to jump away from him in shock.

A few choice bubbles loosened the tape and rope that bound him, and he stood up, arms crossed in a strange mixture of annoyance and confusion. Their voices were muffled from his position in his orb, and he watched as they argued between themselves. He considered dropping the shield, to see if they were willing to converse normally, but the engine-legged teen returned with an adult, scraggly dark hair floating and body poised to attack.

Steven decided to just wait this out, and he observed as several students (because they were students, they’d used ‘sensei’ earlier, but that brought up even more questions) yelled at the man who struggled to maintain some semblance of order. After a futile twenty seconds, he sent everyone out and approached Steven himself with a cautious gait.

He raised both hands in a show of peace and willed the bubble to disappear. Thankfully, the man didn’t move to attack, so Steven figured he could try to fish for answers.

“Do you know where I am?”

The man’s eyes narrow in suspicion. “Do you not know? How did you get here?”

Steven barked out a nervous laugh. “No? I mean, one moment I was picking up this glowing amulet thing, the next I appeared five feet in the air and fell onto my face.”

An awkward silence filled the air, and the man gestured toward the door. “Come with me. If you’re telling the truth, you will get your answers.”

There was no point in fighting them, he realized. The sooner he got some answers the sooner he could figure out where on Earth he was and the best way to get back.

With a sigh, he set off towards the door. Once outside, he was led to a tall building covered in glass windows. It reminded him of the skyscrapers of places like Empire City, but this was a much shorter building. A dizzying maze of hallways greeted him once he was inside, and finally he entered an office containing two individuals—someone wearing a trench coat and some sort of furry white rat-creature wearing a suit. He stared dumbly at it, because while the last few years of dealing with gem stuff had prepared him for a lot of weird stuff, this was certainly like nothing else he’d ever encountered.

“Sit,” he was prodded once again by the man who led him here. Steven sat in the free chair, constantly aware of the man behind him. He didn’t want to fight, but he was prepared to defend himself if the proceedings turned hostile.

“What is your name?” The detective-looking fella started with no preamble.

“Steven Quartz Universe.”

“Are you a villain?”

What kind of question was that? “What…? No!”

“Do you harbor any hostile intentions towards anyone at this institution?”

“Of course not!” he sputtered.

“What is your quirk?”

“My what?” Steven had no idea what the man was talking about.

“Your quirk,” he sighed. “What is it?”

“Sir, respectfully, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

A look was shared between all of the other occupants, and the furry creature spoke up from behind the desk.

“If you have no idea what a quirk is, then where are you from?”

Steven ignored the bizarreness of speaking with something that was decidedly not human nor gem.

“Well, I spent most of my life in Beach City, in the state of Delmarva in the United States,” he answered.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Universe,” the creature replied. “Delmarva is not a state, nor is it, indeed, the name of any region in the world.”

“What?” he exclaimed. That didn’t sound right. There couldn’t just not be a Delmarva, he was there just a few months ago.

“If you don’t have a quirk,” the man who led him here asked, “then how do you explain the orb you were in?”

“I mean,” he said with slight bashfulness, “I am half-Gem.”

“Half-what?”

“Y’know, Gem.” He lifted up his shirt just enough to show off the pink diamond on his navel. “Dad was human, Mom was a Gem.”

“That doesn’t explain as much as you think it does.” The man seemed to want nothing to do with this conversation, and Steven was happy to oblige.

“Look,” he started, “I don’t know how I got here, I touch this one artifact and poof, I appear in midair. I’m just trying to find out where I am and how to get back, so if we could all just calm down and let me go, we could all move on with our days.”

“Perhaps, but your appearance here represents a serious breach of security that must be addressed,” the creature butted in. “I have my own theories on where exactly you came from, but I will require more information from you in order to confirm it.”

“Couldn’t you just, I don’t know, let me go?” he asked futilely. “I’m not a villain or whatever you called me.”

“I’m afraid not, Universe.”

He groaned and slid down in the seat. “Just call me Steven.”

===

It was an hour later that they were finally able to come to some sort of consensus. Steven had been shown a map of the world, and there were definitely a lot of discrepancies at first glance, and each one he pointed out led to weird looks from the detective (Tsukauchi was his name).

He explained what a Gem was, because it was clear that none of them had ever seen or heard of Gems. One of his ideas was to see if he could borrow a laptop or a phone—he knew Ronaldo’s blog had pictures of the Crystal Gems, but inputting the URL brought up an error page. As far as Steven knew, Ronaldo had never taken down Keep Beach City Weird, so undoubtedly there was something wrong.

The final straw was when he happened to glance at the date.

“Why does it say the year is 2186?”

Aizawa (the man who had retrieved him in the first place) huffed. “Because that’s the year?”

“No-no-no-no-no, that doesn’t make any sense,” Steven griped. “It’s 2020, not 2186. There’s no way that I time traveled and traveled to another dimension or anything, that’s way too outlandish.”

“On the contrary, Steven, I believe that encapsulates your situation quite well.” Nedzu, the talking animal (that was never going to stop being weird) lit up a cigar and lounged back in his chair. “After all, I don’t see how else one might be able to explain your sudden appearance, not to mention the clear differences in what you believe the Earth’s geography to be and what it actually is. Your… Gems are also a feature that, as far as humanity knows, does not exist in this universe.”

“I—” Steven attempted to find a reason to discount Nedzu’s claims, but as outlandish as it seemed the theory did make some sort of sense, or at least more than whatever he could come up with.

“Okay, fine, great,” he groaned. “Then could I maybe start figuring out how to get back home? If I’m gone too long, then people will start to wonder where I am.”

“Of course,” exclaimed Nedzu, “we’ll do all we can to find you a way back. For now, I would actually like a demonstration of your so-called Gem abilities. Thank you, Tsukauchi-san, for your assistance, especially on such short notice. We will be moving to Gym Gamma.”

Steven was more than a little irked by the way the creature did everything the way he saw fit, controlling everything that they’d discussed. For now, he was content to go along with what he said, since he was particularly interested in finding out what these ‘quirks’ could do. The way they were described to him sounded like real-life superheroes.

“So,” he said once they were outside. “What is this place, anyways? Seems to be pretty big.”

“This place, as you say, is the high school known as U.A., of which I am the principal of. We pride ourselves on unparalleled academic prowess and performance, and we have produced some of the highest caliber heroes and engineers, not to mention the numerous entrepreneurs, politicians, and researchers that have walked these halls.”

Steven honed in on one word. “Wait, ‘heroes’? Like the superheroes from comic books?”

“Indeed,” Nedzu confirmed. “A super-powered society requires super-powered defenders of that society.”

“Wow,” he marveled. For a moment, Steven felt like a little kid, looking at all of the superhuman things that the Crystal Gems did to protect the Earth, but this was somehow even cooler. It was like his comic books, his video games, his cartoons had all come to life, resulting in a world like this. So what if he had powers—he wasn’t a superhero, with costumes and cool catchphrases said while taking down villains! The novelty of it all even lessened the shock from discovering he wasn’t even in his own world anymore.

A wave of melancholy washed over him. His world. He wasn’t even in the same universe as his friends, his family, Connie…

They were probably worried, if they even suspected anything at all. He was on a road trip, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to go silent for multiple weeks at a time. Maybe, if he could find the artifact’s counterpart in this universe, he’d be back without anyone realizing.

Maybe.

Nedzu came to a stop, and Steven whistled in appreciation at the size of the building they were entering. On the inside, the gym was impressively large, and their footsteps echoed throughout the open space.

“Excellent. I believe it will be most efficient if you two spar. I trust you know how to fight, Steven?” the principal asked. Steven nodded in affirmation. He could use a good spar right about now—it had been months since the last time he’d trained with Connie.

He moved to stand across from Aizawa, ready to summon a shield at any moment. In a flash, the older man sprang off the ground, ending up at Steven’s right. His scarf unfurled, and Steven was just barely able to make a shield in time to have the weapon wrap around that instead of his body.

Cautiously moving away, he summoned shield after shield, bombarding the man with the projectiles. He danced smoothly through the barrage, making admirable headway. Steven decided to go for something different, summoning his bubble gauntlets as he entered a melee.

However, no matter how much strength and speed his half-Gem physiology gave him, he was no match for the martial arts prowess exhibited by Aizawa. It was all he could do to prevent himself from being cocooned in tough fabric, until he left an opening for the man.

Just before he was immobilized, he formed a bubble around himself. It shielded him from the scarf just in the nick of time, and rather than hide in the orb Steven decided to press his advantage. He willed the bubble to pop, and the knockback from that was sufficient to temporarily stun his opponent.

He rushed forward faster than any human could, landing a solid punch, but before he could go for some sort of immobilizing attack he was grabbed, flipped, and subsequently tied up in the scarf.

Steven sat there, breathless at what had just happened. That was as exhilarating as some spars he’d had with Connie and other members of the Crystal Gems, and he found that he truly enjoyed the experience.

===

On the sidelines, Nedzu peered at the young man laying on the floor. “Absolutely fascinating,” he muttered to himself, jotting down quick notes on the abilities he’d exhibited.

There was clear evidence of some sort of formal training, though there was no single specific martial art used. The creative use of his mainly protective powers was indicative of an innovative mind—under other circumstances, he would have been thrilled to be able to cultivate such a human.

Unfortunately, he didn’t belong in this world. Nedzu had never had proof of tIme travel or alternate universes, but this sort of discovery lent strong support for the multiverse theory. If only he could study the artifact that Steven claimed brought him here!

Alas, it didn’t come with him. However, if they found a counterpart in this universe, or a quirk with a similar ability, he might be able to study the mechanisms behind them for himself.

He’d hardly admit it, of course, but Nedzu was practically salivating at the prospect of being involved in truly groundbreaking research, the kind that could revolutionize the progress of humanity as a whole.

Suddenly, the future was looking a whole lot more interesting.

“Alright, I’m beat!” Nedzu looked up from his scheming to see the boy (Was he really a boy when he was as old as his third years? Eh, semantics.) laying on the ground. He didn’t seem all too tired, but the principal wasn’t willing to push. The data he’d collected so far has been more than necessary, and he didn’t want to alienate Steven. Better to ingratiate himself, as an ally and friend, for as long as he was in this world.

“Of course,” he nodded. “We can continue our discussions at a different time—it may be that the artifact that brought you here has already been found. I assume you are rather tired from your ordeal?”

“A bit,” the half-human admitted.

“Very understandable,” Nedzu allowed. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head that seemed like it would lead to a particularly entertaining series of events. He grinned viciously, and only Aizawa noticed, his soul visibly shriveling in exhausted resignation. “Aizawa-san can take you to your lodgings—I believe Heights Alliance has a few spare rooms?”

“Heights Alliance? What’s that?”

Aizawa gave a muffled groan. Nedzu cackled. Steven avoided thinking about when he’d be able to return home.

(Or if he even could.)

Chapter Text

Steven was doing his best to remain positive. That meant he needed to distract himself from any negative thoughts, which he could go over in a healthy way once he was alone.

Thankfully, this universe provided a lot of material to distract himself with.

“So, Aizawa-san! Or Aizawa-sensei? Do I use -sensei even if I’m not your student?” Steven mused.

“Just use Aizawa, kid,” the man said, and Steven would bet that he was rolling his eyes.

“Right! So, Aizawa, are you a hero? Because Nedzu said this was a high school that trained heroes, and—”

“Yes.”

“Whoa. What’s your superpower? Wait, no,” he corrected himself, “they’re called quirks. What’s your quirk?”

Aizawa turned to glare at him, but answered nonetheless. “I can cancel quirks in my line of sight.”

“So cool,” Steven gushed. They were heading to whatever ‘Heights Alliance’ was, though the path they were taking looked awfully familiar.

“Do you have some sort of hero name? Or do heroes even have their own fancy names? Maybe you’re known as Aizawa, the quirk-cancelling ninja of justice!”

Aizawa groaned audibly, and Steven made a note to turn down the enthusiasm. There really wasn’t a point in becoming a nuisance, not if he’d be staying with these people for the foreseeable future.

“The name’s Eraserhead,” he reluctantly conceded. Before Steven could comment on that, he abruptly stopped. “We’re here.”

Steven looked up at the building they were standing under, and he connected the dots. “Wait, isn’t this—”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Aizawa confirmed. “You’ll be in the same dorms as my class. I’ll show you to your room and the bathrooms, and you can clean up while I… clear up the situation with my students.”

“Right.”

On second thought, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to just go in where everyone would see him, considering they still thought he was some ‘villain’.

However, it was too late to voice this thought, as Aizawa was already pushing him through the door.

At first, nobody noticed his appearance, and he hoped it would remain that way until Aizawa explained the situation. He followed his hero escort to a stairway on the far side of the room, and they were about halfway to their destination before his luck turned sour.

“Sensei! Wha— hey, isn’t that the villain from earlier?” a girl with pink skin and horns yelled.

Aizawa grumbled. “There’s been a misunderstanding.” Turning to Steven, he said, “Fourth floor, last room on the left. There’s a small personal bathroom with a toilet and a sink, the baths are on the first floor. The closet should already have a small wardrobe. I’d recommend getting down here as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” he agreed, running off and leaving the rest of them behind. The commotion in the common room was audible until he made it to the third floor landing, and from there he proceeded to walk up the rest of the stairs.

When he entered the fourth floor hallway, he was surprised to find that there were only four rooms total. To have such a small amount of rooms, the class couldn’t be very big. Assuming there were four rooms on each side of the floor, with four residential floors, there had to be only thirty-two students max, and clearly less than that if there were free rooms like the one he was about to occupy.

Steven quietly walked to the end of the corridor, carefully opening the last door. Inside, the first things to grab his eye were a mini-fridge, bed, desk, and a closet. A door to his right led to what he assumed was the bathroom, and a set of curtains covered the windows and the balcony entrance.

With an exhausted sigh, he clicked the door shut behind him. He opened the closet to find that it contained a few t-shirts, shorts, pants, and slippers. He decided to change after he had a chance to take a shower, though he did take off his varsity jacket and slipped into the slippers.

After splashing some water onto his face, he leaned on the sink and stared at himself in the mirror. There weren’t any bags under his eyes, but if he didn’t get some sleep he’d probably be getting them soon.

Steven went over what he knew. He was trapped, perhaps indefinitely, in a universe that he didn’t belong to. His best bet was to find this universe’s counterpart for the artifact that brought him here, and even then that wasn’t a sure thing. Nedzu had mentioned the possibility of there being someone with a quirk that would let him go back, but that was purely speculation. If neither of those panned out, he would be stuck.

Permanently.

He gulped, pushing down the tears that threatened to bubble up. He could worry about what the future held later. Right now, he needed to introduce himself to the members of class 1-A, and explain to them why he’d suddenly appeared in their dorm building.

Taking one last deep breath to steady himself, he exited the room and returned to the staircase. He descended slowly, not in any particular hurry to become the center of attention yet again.

Before he came into view of the common room, he hid behind a wall and listened to what Aizawa was saying.

“...advise you to not antagonize our guest. He will be staying with you for as long as necessary. If I hear any complaints, the consequences will be swift.”

That seemed to be a good enough time to enter, so Steven stepped around the corner with a small wave and a friendly smile plastered on his face. Thankfully, it didn’t need to be faked, not entirely. He really was looking forward to meeting a class of students who were training to become real superheroes!

“Universe,” Aizawa inclined his head in his direction. “Feel free to introduce yourself. I’ve avoided telling them anything about your situation, in case you wish to leave anything out.”

Steven felt oddly touched. Here he was, an unwilling visitor in a new world, and a stranger was showing him this much courtesy when he had every reason to be annoyed. The smile that spread on his face then was completely genuine, and he turned to the students watching him from the couches.

“Hi, everybody! My name is Steven Universe, but you can just call me Steven,” he said. A sea of faces stared expectantly at him, and he was privately gushing at how young they looked. They were, what, fifteen years old? Sixteen? They were only about two to three years younger than him, but they looked so small! Well, most of them, at any rate.

“I, um, I’m not sure what Aizawa-san told you all,” he continued, “but I’m going to be staying with you all for a while! I’m technically from another universe! Or dimension? Eh, the word doesn’t matter. I got sent here by accident, and your principal is going to help me find a way back to my home.”

Hands popped up in the air, and Steven was unnerved for a moment, before he remembered that these were children (teenagers, but what’s the difference?), and they probably had a lot of questions. Settling back into the teacher-like role he sometimes played in Little Homeschool, he called on a student with shaggy, bright yellow hair.

“Wait, so you aren’t a villain?”

That question got the student in question a smack on the arm and some harsh whispered words from a girl with headphone jacks for earlobes. He could just make out her saying, “You don’t just ask people if they’re villains, Kaminari!”

Steven chuckled, and answered to put the teen’s mind at ease. “No, I’m not. I’m just a regular guy.”

“If you come from a different universe, kero, how different is it?” asked one girl with long green hair, sitting attentively in a cocoon of blankets.

“Ooh! What’s your quirk?” the pink-skinned girl who called him out a few minutes ago leaned forward, almost falling over in her enthusiasm.

“Well, I’d say it’s pretty different,” Steven shrugged. “The principal showed me a map of the world, and even that is pretty different from what I’m used to! And to answer your question,” he added, “we don’t actually have quirks where I’m from. Apparently, when I came to this universe I also time-traveled, because I was in the year 2020 just this morning.”

That announcement was met with wide eyes and an eruption of whispers, as they were clearly struggling to conceptualize the fact that Steven had come from both a different time and reality.

To be fair, Steven was too. It really hadn’t sunken in yet, and this whole thing kinda felt like a dream.

“That doesn’t make much sense,” a girl with long, dark hair and a book in her hand frowned. “Everyone who was here during your appearance saw you create a protective, pink orb around you. I don’t quite see how that would be possible without a quirk.”

“I mean,” he rubbed the back of his head bashfully, formulating a response he was reasonably certain would cause the least amount of confusion. “I’m actually half-alien.”

Steven was met with stunned silence, until a boy (the one who wrapped him in tape earlier) coughed and said, “When you say alien, do you mean something different, or…”

“Nope!” Steven smiled. “My mom was an alien known as a Gem!” He lifted the bottom of his shirt, demonstrating the pink diamond on his belly. “I can do a whole bunch of stuff with light and emotions, like the bubbles you saw earlier.”

Most of the students were just confused at this explanation, though some were nodding like it made a great deal of sense. Ultimately, most of them didn’t look like they believed him, which was perfectly understandable if you asked him. He would have a tough time convincing most people in his own world that there was a world where humans had real-life superpowers, so he didn’t really expect most people to just outright believe that he was telling the truth about the Gems.

Aizawa inserted himself into the relative silence. “I’ll remind you, yet again, to not overwhelm Universe with your questions. If there are any problems,” the man addressed him, “do not hesitate to let me know.” Turning back towards the class, he said, “Try not to stay up too late. I have important announcements to make in class.”

He turned to leave, but stopped to quietly say something to Steven. “I’ll be here to collect you early tomorrow morning. I’d recommend getting to bed earlier rather than later.”

“Got it.” The man nodded, sauntering off to wherever he stayed. Probably some sort of teachers’ dorms, if he had to guess.

Steven turned back to the students, most of whom were either having hushed conversations or staring at him. It was starting to be a bit awkward, so he did his best to defuse the situation.

“So, yeah!” He clapped his hands together. “I’ll just… be here. For a while. Don’t mind me!” He slowly backed away, whipping himself around and running up the stairs when he reached them. He gathered up what looked to be pajamas along with soap and a towel, then ran back down to the baths on the first floor. He steadfastly ignored the way some of the conversations in the common room died out as their participants chose to observe him instead.

A bit more time was spent in the baths than was strictly necessary to clean himself up, but it was doing wonders for him. He could feel the tension melting away from his muscles, and if he took some time to cry, well, nobody would know.

Steven stepped out feeling much more optimistic about his situation. Sooner or later, he’d find a way to return home, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t try to make the best of the situation while he was here. Besides, in a way, he was traveling the world. It just wasn’t his own.

He poked around until he found a room where he could put his clothes in the wash. Once he started that, he was immediately shaken from his thoughts by the rumbling of his stomach.

It had slipped his mind until that moment that he hadn’t eaten since early that morning, before he was transported here. Now, his body was demanding some sustenance.

Steven snorted, imagining his stomach actually demanding food and threatening to revolt. That’s what it felt like, at least.

Making note of the time, he set off to the kitchen area he noticed in the far corner of the common room. Standing at one of the stoves was another student, this time one he didn’t recognize from earlier.

He cleared his throat to get the boy’s attention. “Quick question—am I allowed to just take whatever I need from the fridge, or…”

The boy snapped his head up, looking awfully irked at being talked to. “The fuck are you?”

“Oh! I’m Steven Universe,” he introduced himself yet again. “Were you not here when Aizawa-san explained?”

The boy scoffed. “If I was, I wouldn’t be asking.”

“Mm.” Steven had definitely heard worse, but it still wasn’t very polite. “There’s been an accident, and I’ll be staying here for a while until Nedzu and I can fix it,” he answered as succinctly as possible. He wasn’t interested in answering too many more questions today.

The boy shuffled around, throwing a few ingredients into the pot he was watching, before he said quietly, “Don’t take shit that’s got a name on it. Everything else is free game.”

Steven brightened. Maybe he was vulgar, but there was some element of politeness, which was nice to see. “Thanks, uh… what’s your name?”

The boy sneered at the question. “Bakugou. Now shut the fuck up and stop bothering me.”

Or maybe not. Well, that was fine with Steven. At least now he knew that he could make some food for himself. The refrigerator was absolutely massive, and the inside was packed with shelves full of all sorts of food. It was honestly a little overwhelming, so he just went for the simplest option and grabbed some vegetables for a stir fry. He found a pack of noodles in a cabinet, and got to work whipping himself up some dinner. He was yawning throughout, but he managed to finish up without falling asleep over the stove.

He sat down at the bar, lazily eating his finished product. Bakugou had left about ten minutes before, after eating some of his cooking and packaging up the rest. They didn’t exchange any words after Steven’s initial question, which he didn’t mind. It was nice to be in close proximity with someone and not have an obligation to keep up a conversation.

After the fifth yawn in a minute, he decided to just hurry up and get to bed. Scarfing down his food, he scrubbed the used dishes with haste and hurried back up to his room. He could get the laundry in the morning, at any rate.

Steven collapsed into his bed, consciousness immediately giving way to slumber.

(In another universe, a girl and a lion search a forest for him.

The trail ends, and the only clue she has is a pendant.

Even in despair, she refuses to give up. He would be found.

Right?)

Chapter Text

Steven sat in the kitchen, nursing a bowl of cereal. He’d taken what Aizawa said to heart, and woke up at five in the morning, which his body really didn’t appreciate.

Still, he didn’t want to be late and keep the man waiting. He’d probably just go to bed earlier that evening to make up for it.

He had just washed the bowl when he heard the door opening. Wiping his hands off on a towel, he ran over to see Aizawa waiting with a bored expression.

“Are you ready?” he asked, without even looking in his direction. Steven replied affirmatively, and Aizawa nodded in approval.

“Good. Nedzu wants to see you.”

“Oh!” Steven perked up. “Neat.”

Nedzu was probably his best bet for getting back home. He’d explained yesterday that he had a quirk that gave him superhuman intelligence, which sounded pretty useful. He promised to scour museum databases and other sites on the internet for an amulet similar to the one that sent Steven here, and he would also keep an eye on quirk databases and police reports for a person who could send him back as well.

Steven was thankful beyond relief that he wasn’t completely without aid. He could just imagine dropping into a strange new world, in the middle of the wilderness. There wasn’t any guarantee that the artifact couldn’t have sent him to a world without any intelligent life. If that had happened, he’d have been stuck.

So, on a scale of one to ten for how he was doing, he thought he was at a solid… six? Things could be worse, but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss Connie and the Gems. Had Lion already taken Connie to the place he’d disappeared from? Did she discover the artifact? He hoped that she wasn’t a victim of it as well—though she was so smart, she probably would have realized that something was wrong and not touched it.

Steven followed Aizawa out, stretching his back and arms as he went along. The sun was just rising, creating a really beautiful image as he looked out at the horizon. He spotted a few students running across the grounds. He recognized the boy with engines in his calves, and waved at him. He received a polite nod back from him as he passed, and Steven whistled to himself as he entered the main building.

A thought popped into his mind, and he shared it with Aizawa. “Do you think I’ll be able to go shopping? If I’m going to be here any longer, I want to grab some more clothes. And it would be cool to see the world almost two hundred years in the future…”

“Maybe,” he responded. “It’ll depend on what Nedzu says.”

Steven didn’t see why he wouldn’t be able to. Sure, he was from the past, but he didn’t stick out too much. Even his gem powers could pass as some sort of quirk, if necessary. He probably should have attempted that yesterday, when introducing himself to Aizawa’s students. At least then they would actually talk to him.

Right. Deep breaths. There was no reason to work himself up over it—either they would get over their fears or misgivings or whatever, or they wouldn’t. It wasn’t a big deal, especially not if he wasn’t here for long.

“Welcome, Steven!” The door to the office opened as Nedzu greeted them, and Steven smiled back at the furry creature. “Thank you, Aizawa-san. You may return to your class.”

“Class doesn’t start for another two hours,” Aizawa pointed out.

“Huh.” Nedzu paused and stared blankly at a wall, and was only shaken out of his stupor when Aizawa closed the door. He smiled at Steven, though it seemed a little strained.

“My apologies. It seems that the night has slipped past me. Perhaps a nap will be in order at some point today.” He shuffled through the stacks of paper on his desk, finally settling on a specific packet. “Yes, here it is. I spent a bit of time going through anything matching your descriptions of… ‘Gem stuff’.”

Steven took the papers, and whistled in appreciation. There was a lot of content here. Not all of it made sense, and most of what he was seeing didn’t look to be the product of Gem involvement, but it was an impressive effort.

“I’m sure that, with your cooperation, we will be able to narrow down the list to a more reasonable size.”

He nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. I do remember the locations of almost all of the warps, at least in my world. Some probably don’t exist here, at least not in the same locations. The old Galaxy Warp is in the Tunguska Sea, and your map just doesn’t have that.”

“Tunguska Sea…” Nedzu muttered to himself. “Any relation to the Tunguska Event?”

“Possibly. You’d have to ask Pearl. She knows all about that kind of stuff.”

“Later, then,” Nedzu refocused. “What, exactly, is this Galaxy Warp?”

“Oh!” Steven perked up. “So, Gems made these warp pads that allow them to almost instantly travel between each other. The Galaxy Warp is the hub for all of the warps connected to other planets, along with the main warp to Homeworld.”

Nedzu’s eyes widened, ever so slightly. “Near-instantaneous travel? Do you mean to say that these Gems you tell me about invented faster-than-light travel?”

“Yep!” He nodded enthusiastically. “They’re pretty useful. I can… oh, do you have a map? I could mark all of the warps I remember.”

A pen and a rolled up map were pushed into his hands. “Please,” Nedzu implored.

===

It was a grueling ninety minutes later that the two finally finished narrowing down the potential Gem sites. Steven recognized none of them, but there were some that looked promising. Much of the warp pad locations were in areas of the world that were completely uncharted still, and many of them were difficult to get to without an near-instantaneous method of travel—like warping.

Steven looked over the final list. “This is good, real good. I’ll be able to check out a lot of these soon, or at least the warp pad in Korea.”

“We can make further plans at a later date. I would hesitate to rush in so quickly, as you are still acclimating to a new environment,” Nedzu explained. “Assuming you will be staying here for much longer, I’d like to formally register you with the government and the quirk databases, in order to prevent difficulties in the future.”

“And my Gem powers can look a lot like a quirk,” Steven finished that thought.

“Exactly. If I am to do this, however, I’d like a more complete description of your abilities.”

“Sure! First off, I can summon my weapon, which is the shield you’ve already seen,” he started. “Most of my powers are tied to my emotions, so this and my bubbles are a manifestation of me wanting to protect someone or something.”

“Can they break?”

“The bubbles do, but they can definitely take a beating before that. I’ve almost never had a shield break on me, I don’t think. Um… there’s also floating. I can control how fast I fall, or at all. That’s based on me feeling happy and free, like that floaty feeling you get.”

Steven leaned and rested his head on his hands, as Nedzu notated what he was saying. “I can also do shapeshifting. I don’t use it for much, but I can do stuff like lengthening my limbs or changing my age. I also have super-strength, which is another thing all Gems have.”

Nedzu raised an eyebrow. “When you say ‘super-strength’, what do you mean? What are your upper limits? Be a little more specific.”

“Mm…” Steven thought about it. He’d never tried to figure out the upper limits of his Gem-enhanced strength, though he could think of one occasion where he lifted something incredibly massive. “At my best? A few tons, though I never really checked. I’d say somewhere around a few hundred to a thousand pounds is my ‘normal’ range.”

“Interesting,” Nedzu commented. “Continue, please.”

“I mean, that’s mostly it? I have healing saliva, which is pretty useful. Oh, and one more thing,” he realized. “If I’m really stressed, I can go into my ‘pink state’. It just powers up all of my other abilities, to an insane degree.”

Nedzu looked interested. “Could you demonstrate?”

“Not really, no,” Steven sighed. “I have to be really stressed to do that, and I’d rather not destroy any buildings here. It doesn’t make me… the most stable. I’ve been practicing inducing it in small increments, but it’s slow-going.”

“Well, that’s fine,” Nedzu waved it away. “This should be more than enough to register you and prevent any problems in the future. I would like to see how your healing works at a later date, however. Was there anything else you wished to address?”

“I was wondering if I could go shopping? I need some clothes if I stay here much longer, and the wardrobe my room came with isn’t very large.”

“You’ll need a chaperone, for protection and to guide you,” Nedzu answered, “but that would be doable. Tomorrow morning, perhaps?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Excellent. I’ll be able to cover the costs as well. I’ll have one of the teachers at the dorms tomorrow at nine. Now, considering I don’t believe you have any plans for the day, I have a proposal…”

===

Steven ambled down the hall, making sure he was going in the right direction with the instructions given to him by Nedzu. Assuming he wasn’t lost, the classroom would be right around the corner.

Turning, he spotted a sign next to an enormous door reading ‘1-A’, showing he’d made it to the right place. However, he didn’t expect the trio of students camped outside the classroom.

“Hello,” he said to grab their attention, accompanied by a friendly smile and wave. The tallest one, a blond teen around his age, jumped to his feet. A shorter girl with long blue hair followed, though the third member of their group stayed on the ground and didn’t look up.

“Hey there!” said the blond teen, an easy smile on his face. “Are you here to see Aizawa-sensei?” he asked when Steven stopped near them rather than moving on.

“Yep!” answered Steven.

The blond looked him up and down, scrutinizing him. “Sorry, I don’t think I recognize you. What class are you from?”

“Oh, I’m not from any class,” Steven laughed. “There’s been a mix-up, so I’m basically a guest of the school right now. Principal Nedzu wanted me to help out with Class 1-A while I’m here, though.”

“Ooh, that sounds cool!” squealed the blue-haired girl. “I’m Nejire Hado! Our friend on the ground is Tamaki Amajiki.”

“And I’m Mirio Togata,” he introduced himself.

“My name is Steven Universe, but you can just call me Steven, I’m more used to that,” Steven said. “Wait, did you say Togata? Principal Nedzu mentioned you…”

“Did he?”

Steven passed along one of two explanatory notes he’d been given by the principal. The other was to go to Aizawa. They explained what his role in class 1-A would be, at least for the near future. According to Nedzu, he’d be spending some time with Togata, since his mentor would be helpful in finding a way back, so he got a note as well, which fully explained his unique circumstances and the fact that he had a Gem rather than a quirk.

“Huh,” Togata read the note with a mixture of incredulity, surprise, and then acceptance, pocketing it after a minute. “Well, it’s nice to meet you! And if I’m going to call you Steven, just use Mirio.”

“You can call me Nejire!” the blue-haired girl piped up. “If you’re going to be helping Aizawa-sensei, you’ve gotta have a useful quirk! What is it? What does Principal Nedzu want you to help with? Why—”

“Whoa, don’t overwhelm the guy,” Mirio held her back, and she blinked in realization.

“Oh, yeah! Sorry about that!”

“Don’t worry, apology accepted,” Steven chuckled. “Mirio can tell you more later, but I don’t actually have a quirk. Instead, I have this gem.” He lifted his shirt just enough to show it off, then put it back.

“What? What does that mean—”

“Come on in.”

“Oh, that’s Aizawa-sensei! Let’s go!” Mirio broke off from the group and entered the room. The rest followed him, and Steven watched as Aizawa died off in the middle of his explanation when he saw him. Similarly, most of his students glanced at Steven first, though they refocused on the other teens soon after.

“Universe. I assume…” he trailed off when Steven gave him the note, and he didn’t even bother reading it. “Great.”

“Everyone else, meet U.A.’s ‘Big Three’,” Aizawa said, turning back to his class. “These are the most powerful students U.A. has to offer, the closest to becoming part of the top ten even among established pros.”

“That’s right!” Mirio stepped forward and grinned. “We’ll be explaining how your work studies will work, and what they can do for you! I’m Mirio Togata…”

“I’m Nejire Hado!” she bounced up and down on her feet.

Amajiki said, in the smallest of voices, “Tamaki Amajiki.”

From that moment on, the room was in chaos. Nejire popped from one student to another, asking sometimes-inane, sometimes-insightful questions about anything and everything; Amajiki stood in the corner, facing the wall and generally looking like he was doing his best to fall through the ground; and Mirio stood in the middle of it all, going through an obviously-prepared spiel that no one was paying attention to.

It was a mess, and Steven had to appreciate it for a moment, at least until Mirio stopped trying his speech and went for a different tactic. With an ear-piercing whistle, he silenced everyone in the room.

“Okay, maybe telling you wasn’t the best option,” he laughed. “Instead, I’ll show you. Aizawa-sensei, could we move into one of the gyms?”

The teacher sighed, getting up as he did so. “Sure.”

It was a much calmer trip to the nearest gym, the class actually paying attention to what Mirio had to say this time. Steven found it interesting as well, though he had a lot of questions, such as: What was a hero agency? Heroes were ranked? What did sports and festivals have to do with saving people?

However, he recognized that it probably wasn’t the best time to ask a bunch of questions that literally anyone else could answer, so he put off his curiosity for the moment. Besides, they had already reached their intended destination.

Steven made to follow Mirio to the center, but Nejire grabbed his arm and pointed to the bleachers. “Don’t worry, Mirio’s got this.”

“What,” he began, “is Mirio even planning on doing?”

“He’s going to beat up all of the kids to teach them a lesson,” sighed Amajiki. “You c-can call me Tamaki, by the way.”

“Beat them up?” Steven asked, bewildered. “Why would he do that?”

Nejire snickered as they sat down. “To show how much the work studies helped him, and how much stronger he is than all of them.”

“Wait, how old are you?”

“We’re both seventeen, though Mirio is eighteen. We’re all third years,” she answered.

“That’s only, like, two years older than them!” Steven exclaimed. “I mean, I’m sure he’s a lot stronger than any of them, but I don’t think he’ll beat a class of nineteen by himself.”

Nejire snorted. “Watch and be amazed, new boy. And don’t think I’ve forgotten what you said about not having a quirk. I have so many questions!”

Steven rolled his eyes, but acquiesced to her inquiries with a barely-concealed smile. At least she had interesting questions. As he told her about his Gem parentage, they watched Mirio dispatch the first-years with ease. His jaw dropped more than once, especially when he watched the hero-in-training sink through the ground for the first time and reappear in a completely different place.

“What the heck?” Steven muttered. “Is he just sinking through the ground and teleporting?”

“Maaaybe,” said Nejire, with a knowing grin.

He hummed and focused on the beat down happening in front of him. The students were being taken down one by one, Mirio appearing behind each one and knocking them out with a single punch. Some of them looked pretty unpleasant, and Steven decided to heal them once all was said and done.

It didn’t really click until he noticed something. He wasn’t dodging every attack—every attack was just going through him.

“He can make himself intangible?” Steven asked, and Nejire confirmed it with a cheer.

“Mm-hmm! It’s called Permeation, and it’s really hard for him to use since you can’t breathe or see if everything is going through your face, ya‘know?”

“Oh, wow,” he murmured. That was even more impressive. He was completely cutting himself off from the outside world whenever he sank into the ground. Steven’s powers could be difficult to control, but this felt like a whole new extreme.

“Mirio worked really hard to get where he is today,” said Tamaki. “His quirk is really pretty weak, but he worked his entire life to get to where he is today. It’s… inspiring.”

Steven nodded in agreement. Finally, the last first year was taken out (green hair and green lightning crackling along his skin) and Steven got up to join the group. He crouched down near the closest victim, the girl with headphone jacks for earlobes, and said, “I’m just going to heal you real quick, if that’s okay.”

“You… what? Sure?” she stumbled, clearly not understanding what he was getting at.

He licked his finger and touched it to her arm, and though she appeared repulsed at first, her expression quickly turned to amazement as her bruises faded.

“Thanks, I guess.” She accepted his offered hand as he pulled her up. “Didn’t know you could heal.”

He shrugged. “Didn’t come up yet.”

“It’s a lot like our nurse, except she has to kiss you and it makes you really tired,” she commented.

They had a nurse with a healing ability like his? He had to meet her, then.

Steven moved on, hopping from one groaning student to another, though Steven quickly healed up their injuries. It was nice to see them looking at him with awe and curiosity rather than fear and uncertainty, though it felt a bit… manipulative? That they liked him because he healed them?

He could process that later, once he was alone. Mirio was finishing up his speech, which everyone was thoroughly paying attention to now that they realized how strong he was. Focusing on him, Steven heard the last thing Mirio had to say.

“Hmm. We still have a bit of time. Steven! Want to spar?”

He blinked. That… was an offer from out of the blue. Maybe Nedzu’s note revealed more than he knew. Regardless, he was sorely tempted. It had been a while since he’d been able to get some real combat practice in…

“Sure!” Steven accepted.

Aizawa huffed, but didn’t deny them their moment. All he said was, “You have five minutes left until next period. Don’t take too long.”

Steven cracked his neck from side to side, shifting into a combat stance as everyone else backed away to spectate.

“Alright!” called Mirio. “On the count of three.”

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

Chapter Text

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

Mirio sank through the ground, and Steven immediately went on high alert. He had no idea where he would pop up, and he wanted to be prepared. With a deep breath, he allowed some of the stress he’d been experiencing to bubble to the surface, manifesting in a pink tinge to his skin.

Much like his other powers, Steven had realized that he could control his pink state and bring it out on purpose, though it was hard to manage. The more he allowed his diamond to affect him, the more unstable he became and the more difficult it was to hold back.

Now, though, he wasn’t using very much. Just enough to give him a slight edge in this spar (and maybe he wanted to impress everyone watching—it wasn’t often he could show off).

Suddenly, he felt it. The air shifted behind him and to the right, so he rolled in the opposite direction and turned around, flinging a shield at the emerging student. Unfortunately, it just clattered on the ground behind him, and Mirio appraised him again.

“Hey, you’re pretty fast!” he laughed. “Let’s see if you can keep up.” With a smirk, he sank back through the ground, and Steven had to keep himself from swearing as he jumped straight up, avoiding a punch from below.

Rather than land, he brought to mind happy memories, and allowed himself to float. He tossed a series of larger-than-usual shields down at his opponent, but Mirio managed to boost himself up by somehow jumping off of them.

Steven backed away, grabbing the vulnerable Mirio’s ankle and preparing to throw him to the ground, but the student just slipped through his fingers, to his frustration. He could understand now why Aizawa spoke so highly of Mirio how could anyone defeat a hero who couldn’t be hit.

The solution, in Steven’s opinion, was to be faster. He fed his irritation into his powers, and burst towards the ground. Mirio attempted to kick him, but Steven formed a bubble around his opponent, the foot clattering uselessly against the pink orb. Before he could go intangible for the umpteenth time, the half-Gem dissolved his bubble and grabbed him with his newfound strength, throwing him to the ground faster than he could react.

Steven cancelled his floating completely, allowing himself to fall straight for the floor, on a trajectory to land on a stunned Mirio. However, the teen gathered his wits just in time and sank into the floor, and the floor Steven landed on formed a small crater.

That was enough to shake him, at least slightly. He’d allowed himself to go too far, and he pulled back. There was no reason to be taking this so seriously. He didn’t want to hurt the other boy, and this was just supposed to be a friendly spar.

Mirio exploded out of the ground behind him, and Steven moved to block with a shield, forgetting that any sort of blocking was ineffective. His fist went straight through the weapon, and landed a solid hit on Steven’s chest that actually made him wheeze. Mirio took advantage of this, and launched himself forward with a flurry of blows. Steven did what he could, dodging wherever possible and landing a few lightning-fast hits of his own, but neither was able to gain any ground.

Steven was still shaken by the crater he’d formed, and refused to power himself up too much for fear of losing control. Unfortunately, that meant he wasn’t nearly fast enough to solidly overwhelm Mirio like he could earlier, which meant the two boys were at an impasse.

A piercing whistle rang out, and the two fighters backed away from each other and turned to Aizawa, who was looking at them with a neutral expression.

“Time’s up, you two. Togata—you have class. Universe, you’re with me.”

Steven calmed down, releasing the energy within him. Mirio grinned and approached him with an outstretched hand, which he took graciously.

“Hah! That was really impressive! We should spar again sometime.”

Steven huffed and smiled. “Sounds good. You’re pretty slippery, yourself.”

“Togata.”

“Yes sir!” Mirio broke off from the handshake and ran off, but turned around and called, “I’ll find you later!”

Steven waved back, but frowned when he realized that he forgot to heal the boy. Hopefully he would visit the school nurse before he went to class.

Aizawa stepped up to him. “You didn’t use most of those moves when we sparred yesterday,” he observed quietly.

Steven shrugged in response. “Didn’t see the point.”

“And you saw a point here?”

“I already knew Mirio was powerful, and it’s been a while since I sparred against someone who could keep up.”

The hero’s eyes narrowed. “You could have overwhelmed him at the end.” It was a statement, not a question, and Steven turned away in embarrassment.

“I don’t—I don’t have the best control over myself when I go pink. Didn’t want to hurt him. Can the floor be repaired?” he hurriedly deflected.

Aizawa’s eyes remained narrowed, but accepted the change of topic. “Cementoss will deal with it. He can manipulate cement,” he said, responding to Steven’s next unspoken question.

Steven chuckled. “Dang. You guys have so many types of quirks for practically everything, it’s insane.”

The man ignored that. “I noticed you talking to some of my students?” They set off behind the rest of the class, who were on their way to the locker rooms to change out of their gym uniforms.

“Yeah.” He swallowed. “I was just healing up some of their bruises.”

Aizawa stopped in his tracks. “You can heal?”

“Yessir.”

The hero flared at the teen, finally turning away and muttering under his breath. Steven could just barely catch “doesn’t tell me anything” and “problem children”.

Poor guy. He seemed stressed.

===

“We’re doing quirkless spars today. Random partners, switch halfway through. The two of us will be correcting your form and giving you tips.”

Steven straightened with pride at that. They had met not even a day ago, and already Aizawa thought him knowledgeable enough in fighting to assist his students.

It was hours after the events of the morning, and Steven felt significantly better than he did after he fought Mirio. If he was being honest, it felt good to let out some of the stress that had been building up.

He’d been given the option to spend the time afterwards sitting in on their classes, but he’d never attended a formal school and he didn’t intend on starting now. Instead, he wandered the grounds, decompressing in the morning air and taking a break from everything. If he could, he would have been attempting to find the warp pads he knew of, but even that wasn’t guaranteed.

What if Gems never came to Earth? What if Gems didn’t even exist in this universe? If that was the case, then he was really all alone, and his only hopes were finding a quirk that could send him back or waiting for his family to figure it out from their end. But as much as he believed in them, he knew it could be years before they managed to reverse-engineer whatever that accursed artifact did.

Steven sighed, taking his mind off of his issues. He had other things to distract himself with, and turned to the class. Aizawa had assigned everyone to a pair, and they were all going at it already.

The nearest pair consisted of the girl with headphone jacks he’d healed in the gym earlier that morning and the purple haired boy who he’s pretty sure brainwashed him or something when he first dropped in. He didn’t know either of their names (or anyone else’s) but he’d ask as soon as he had some advice.

Immediately, he noticed some pressing issues. While both of them exhibited clear knowledge of some sort of martial arts, they were both awkward about it. The boy was tall and lanky, with long limbs that should have given him an advantage over his much shorter opponent, but he stepped in far closer than he needed to, leading to him not being able to put much power behind his blows.

The girl, on the other hand, was unsteady and unsure. The way she was fighting was similar to the way someone five times her size would fight, but on her small frame it was inefficient and downright dangerous at some points. She would be better off taking advantage of her short stature and slender limbs to fight more like Connie did—smart, efficient, never taking a hit, and only striking at the right moment.

“Alright, cut it out,” Steven stopped the spar before it could go any farther. “We need to make some changes here. Before I start, could I get your names?”

“Kyouka Jirou,” the girl answered nonchalantly.

The boy narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but acquiesced to the request anyways. “Shinsou.”

Steven nodded, preparing what he wanted to say. “So. You both have solid foundations, and it's clear you know how to fight. What you two need to work on is adapting that knowledge of fighting to your own bodies.

“Shinsou-san,” he turned to him first, “it’s clear you know a great deal of martial arts. Have you been training long?”

Shinsou blinked. “Almost a year now.”

“Then that’s really quick progress. One thing I’ve noticed that you do is you get in too close. Here, let me…” In a moment of concentration, Steven shapeshifted himself taller and skinnier to match the proportions of the student. He didn’t even notice the wide-eyed looks he was getting from the two of them.

“When you fight,” he demonstrated by approaching a wary Shinsou, “you get too close to really make use of your reach. You have height. You have reach. If you stand a bit farther away from your opponents, you’ll have more room to maneuver and you’ll be able to put more power behind your blows.”

Steven turned to Jirou. “In a similar way, you aren’t taking advantage of your body’s size.” He shrunk, now on eye level with the girl. “Jirou-san—are you a three hundred pound boxer?”

“No?” she answered with confusion.

“Then why are you fighting like one?” he questioned. “You’ve got some good foundations, but you’re too stationary, and you’re expecting your blows to hit a lot harder than you could reasonably manage.” He crouched down in demonstration, bouncing from one foot to the other. “Instead, try to keep light on your feet and focus on dodging. It’s better to land one smart blow without getting hit yourself, than to land a few hits that don’t do anything while you get hit.”

He stepped back and smiled, releasing the form. “Go back to the spar, and let’s try out what I just said.”

The two looked at each other, getting back into their fighting stances and carefully approaching. The improvements were evident from the start. Shinsou’s punches carried a lot more force now that he wasn’t cramping his arms, and Jirou was using up a lot less energy by not going for some of the more pointless hits. They weren’t perfect, but there was a noticeable difference.

“That’s perfect!” Steven congratulated them. “Both of you are already doing a lot better. Keep it up!”

He moved on to the next pair, leaving Jirou and Shinsou bewildered and wondering what had just happened.

Steven circled the room, offering thoughtful suggestions to the students he thought needed it—some of them, frankly, needed more help than he could give—and giving compliments to practically everyone, because every student was doing something right. Steven knew how much a sincere compliment could do, and he did his best to be as constructive as possible.

Some of the students were still wary of him, and that was fine. Many more were warming up to him, even asking questions that he was happy to provide the answers to.

Yes, things were certainly looking up.

Eventually, the class broke for lunch, but Aizawa called him over before he could follow them to the cafeteria. “What’s up? Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing’s wrong, Universe,” Aizawa said. “Considering you’ve been healing my students, I figured it’d be prudent for you to visit Recovery Girl.”

Steven thought. “Is that the nurse?”

“Correct. She happens to have a quirk that, at least superficially, appears to work similarly to your own healing. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I’d prefer she check it over and clear it before you go around healing anyone else.”

That hurt a bit, but Steven understood where the man was coming from. If someone was going around doing strange things to his own hypothetical students that healed them completely, he’d be a bit suspicious too.

“Don’t worry, Aizawa-san. It’s all good!” he chuckled.

Aizawa stared a bit longer than necessary. “...Sure. Go get some food first. One of my students can direct you to her office once you finish eating.”

“Yes sir, Mr. Teacher sir!” Steven did a cheeky salute and strolled out into the halls, where he could just barely see the tail-end of 1-A turn the corner. He ran after them, following them into the enormous, echoing room he assumed was the cafeteria. A line of students waited against the wall to pick up food, so he got in the queue behind them. A few weird looks were sent his way, presumably for not wearing the U.A. uniform, but otherwise he was mostly ignored.

The line moved quickly, and when it was Steven’s turn to order he realized that he had absolutely no idea what was being offered. His knowledge of Japanese cuisine was, admittedly, lacking. After a moment of panic, he decided to leave it up to chance and asked the chef for “something vegetarian”. Not even ten seconds later, he was given a bowl of dark noodles and he set off to eat it.

On first taste, he was surprised to find it sweeter than he expected, but fairly tasty nonetheless. He scarfed it down within minutes, and then left the room to find the nurse’s office. Steven didn’t bother asking one of the students, since he didn’t want to bother them during their lunches, and he was pretty sure he’d figure it out eventually.

...

Or not, because after ten minutes of wandering he bit the bullet and asked a passing teacher for directions (at least, he assumed it was a teacher—they were wearing a cowboy hat and a gas mask, so it was hard to tell).

Finally, Steven knocked on the door to the nurse’s office. “Come in!” yelled a voice from inside, and he let himself in. He found himself in a fairly large room reminiscent of Dr. Maheswaran’s office, with two hospital beds and a desk where an old lady sat, presumably the nurse.

“Hi, i-is this Recovery Girl’s office?”

“Yes, yes, you’re speaking to her,” the woman hopped off her chair and walked up to him. “What’s the matter, dearie? Did you get hurt?”

“Oh no, nothing like that,” he hurriedly explained. “I’m, well… has Principal Nedzu told you anything about me?”

“I haven’t spoken to him in days. What’s this all about?”

Steven sighed. This might be a long explanation.

===

“You mean to tell me,” Shuuzenji took off her goggles to rub at her eyes, “that you are a human-alien hybrid, with seemingly magical abilities, and that you came here from a different universe.”

“Sounds about right, yeah!” Steven nodded enthusiastically. “Principal Nedzu could tell you more, though.”

“Yes, I’m sure he could,” she muttered. Putting her goggles back on, she sighed. “Please get in one of the beds, if you would.”

Perplexed, he asked, “Why?”

“Because knowing that rat, he’ll be wanting a medical examination as soon as possible,” she gathered her equipment and nudged him into sitting on the bed.

Knowing how this would go, thanks to his experience with Dr. Maheswaran, he allowed her to run her tests. He pointed out the fact that his gem made noise, and the nurse spent a solid five minutes examining it in every way possible.

An x-ray followed these tests, and Shuuzenji nearly had a conniption at the fracture lines lining nearly every bone.

“How are you even walking without collapsing in pain?”

Steven shrugged. “Healing powers?”

The nurse just stared incredulously, though he didn’t know why. Healing powers were a perfectly acceptable answer to most of his problems.

“I swear…” she muttered, “healing powers are not an excuse to break your bones! How does your healing work in the first place?”

He frowned. “I mean, internal stuff kinda heals on its own? If it’s a bruise or someone else is hurt, I just need to get some of my spit on them.”

“The vehicle for your healing is saliva.”

He shrugged. “I could cry too, but it’s easier to just kiss them on the hand or something.”

Shuuzenji looked appalled. Steven failed to see the problem.

“Oh!” he said, remembering something. “My sweat can also work.”

She just stared at him, then shook her head as if to forget the last few minutes. “How do you even manage to break that many bones?”

Steven winced. “That’s, uh, a lot. I guess you could say I had a lot of enemies who wanted to kill me? Don’t worry, we’re all friends now!”

She took a deep breath, letting it go slowly. “Well. I want to see your healing in action, dearie, since I still have no idea how it works. I’m sure it won’t take long for one of the hero classes to send someone—”

The door burst open, two boys Steven’s age rushing inside. “Recovery Girl! I might have broken Shigeo’s arm!” yelled one.

“No, he definitely broke it. I would know,” the other confirmed.

Shuuzenji got up, gesturing towards the other bed. “Which arm is it?” Upon being directed to the correct limb, she pointed at Steven. “You. Demonstrate.”

Licking his finger, he gently swiped it along the boy’s arm. Within seconds, the patient sat up. “Whoa! I’m not even tired after that!”

The nurse looked genuinely lost, and Steven sympathized. Gems could be a lot sometimes, even if he was only half of one.

Chapter Text

“Sorry I’m late, Aizawa-san!” Steven called out as he approached the man. “Shuuzenji-san was a bit... overwhelming.”

“Hm,” he hummed noncommittally. “She tends to be like that.”

Steven laughed. “She’s nice though! So,” he started, glancing around. “What’s your class up to?”

“Battle exercises.” Aizawa motioned to the screen in front of him, which Steven leaned forward to see. He watched as a boy with green hair (he hadn’t spoken to him yet, but he was pretty sure his name began with an ‘M’) danced between attacks, pulling off an impressive display of acrobatics as he gracefully took out a boy with a laser coming from his stomach (Aoyama, if he remembered correctly) and a boy who dispensed tape from his arms (Sero, he was sure).

Aizawa leaned forward to speak into a microphone. “Aoyama and Sero have been eliminated.”

Steven’s eyes roamed, eyes catching on other screens showing off various fights. Some, he noticed, were particularly violent, and he couldn’t help but frown. It was understandable that they’d need to learn to fight; after all, they were training to become heroes, and if the villains in this world were anything like the comic books, they would be ten times more vicious. However, surely there were less brutal ways of taking down villains? If they couldn’t be talked down, shouldn’t a simple pair of handcuffs be enough for most criminals?

He voiced this thought to Aizawa. “Shouldn’t you be teaching them more than how to fight?”

The man raised an eyebrow as he turned. “What brought this on?”

“It’s just… I know I’ve been here less than a day, but everyone here is so ready to fight. Basically the moment I fell into the dorms, they attacked me and tied me to a chair.” He didn’t mention the way Nedzu wanted him to fight Aizawa barely hours after arriving. This wasn’t the time for that. “Mirio beat up everyone in order to prove a point. A-and he wanted to spar with me right after.”

“It’s not that I don’t like sparring,” he quickly backed up. “I love it! I did it a lot with the Gems or with Connie. And I don’t really know anything about how heroes work here anyway, but, wouldn’t it make more sense for you to teach them how to rescue people? Or how to talk down a villain? Or even other methods of apprehending them without using violence.”

“Most villains won’t let you find a non-violent solution,” Aizawa noted.

“I know that not everyone can be reasonable,” he countered. “But there are better ways of apprehending someone without unnecessary violence!”

The man turned his attention back to the monitors, silent. “There are,” he said quietly, “but not every villain gives you that choice. My class has already been the target of numerous attacks by some of the most heinous bastards I’ve encountered.”

This was new. The times he’d spoken to Aizawa, he was always tired and annoyed. There wasn’t this, this undercurrent of rage so powerful Steven could practically feel it radiating off of him.

“These kids are far from normal,” he continued, seemingly oblivious to what he was doing. “They’ve been the target of so much misfortune, I’ve made it my duty to prevent that from happening ever again. If they’re going to be able to defend themselves, then they need as much training as they can get.”

The rage ebbed, his gaze softening. “And besides, we can’t only teach them to fight. Rescue training is a large part of the curriculum, and beginning in their second year we introduce more non-violent approaches to hero work. So, to answer your question, of course we teach them more than how to fight.”

“Oh.” That was all Steven could say as he sheepishly backed away. He still stood by his opinion, but with all this new information he had to admit it made a little more sense. If kids this young (they were only a year younger than him but that was irrelevant) were being targeted by villains (totally different than when other gems kept trying to kill him), then it was probably prudent to make sure they could fight back.

And besides, wasn’t he even younger than them when he first started to get involved in Gem stuff? Most of which was fighting? If he complained about what these kids were being taught, didn’t that make him a hypocrite?

(On second thought, no. He didn’t want anyone to go through the stuff he did. It wasn’t hypocrisy to want to make the world a better place to live in.)

Steven set his jaw and went back to watching the feed with Aizawa, taking care to note specific things about the students’ quirks and how they fought. If he was going to be here, he would do his best to prepare these kids as best as he could.

If he couldn’t protect them, at least they would be able to protect themselves.

===

Steven stretched out on a couch in the common room, mindlessly scrolling through his phone. After the end of 1-A’s hero training, he’d declined to join them in their other classes and returned to the dorms to take some time to himself and relax.

He had originally planned on playing some guitar, until he remembered that, oh right, it was still in his car.

Which was in another universe.

So, plans derailed, he decided to just take a moment to himself. The couch was comfortable, and he could use the break. Steven also took the time to look up stuff on the internet in an attempt to fill in his historical knowledge gap.

The blond student who’d been cooking the day before was also there, wiping down windows and scrubbing the floor to a pristine sheen. Steven had offered to help out (something about house arrest, according to something Aizawa said) but all he’d received in response was a scowl.

The doors flung open with a bang, and Steven shot up to see what was happening. Nothing serious, as it turned out, just class 1-A returning from their lessons. Leading the pack was the pink-skinned girl, who scanned the room until she locked eyes with him.

“You!”

Steven blinked in surprise. “Me?”

She ran over, followed shortly after by a few other students.

“Yes!” she skidded to a halt right in front of him, at the back of the sofa. “You! You turn pink.”

What was this girl talking about? Steven glanced at his gem, figuring out what to say. “Yeah, I guess I am…”

“You’re pink! I’m pink!” She was practically vibrating in excitement. “I’ve never met anyone pink!”

Someone behind her snorted, and he could barely hear them say, “Ashido stating the obvious.”

“Huh.” A small smile spread on his face. “Nice to meet another pink person.” He stuck out a fist, expecting to receive a fist bump back, but instead he was blindsided by her jumping over the back of the couch and landing on her head, almost colliding with him.

She was soon joined by Kaminari, while the rest (Sero, Kirishima, and the invisible girl whose name he hadn’t yet caught) took a more normal route onto the neighboring couch.

“Pink buddies!” Ashido finally righted herself and tapped her knuckles against his own, her silly grin threatening to spread to himself.

From the other couch, someone gasped. Steven turned to find Kirishima grasping his chest in a dramatic manner that had those sitting next to unsuccessfully attempting to stifle their giggles.

“But Ashido! I thought,” and here his heartbroken facade cracked, unable to take himself too seriously, “—I thought we were horn buddies?”

“Kiri!” Ashido, still upside down on the couch, reached out her hand towards him. “My beloved! I’ll always be your horn buddy!”

Kirishima wiped a fake tear from his eye. “And I’ll always be your horn buddy!” He strained to meet her hand, losing balance and falling flat on his face. That was the final straw for everyone else sitting there, and the students were practically crying with laughter at their friends’ antics.

Even Steven had to laugh. He might have been a stranger to them, but that level of absurdity was too much for even him to handle with a straight face. And besides, he liked the ring of ‘pink buddies’.

“Pink buddies,” he nodded solemnly as they picked themselves up. “Finally, someone understands the perils of being too fabulous.”

Ashido squealed in delight. “Oh my god, I told you he’d get it! Universe-senpai, you are perfect.”

“Senpai?” Steven snorted. “Stars, just—just call me Steven. It’s bad enough Aizawa keeps on calling me Universe.”

“Mmm, I don’t know…” the invisible girl said. “Universe is a really cool name!”

“It’s manly,” Kirishima said, climbing back onto his seat, emphasizing the manly.

“Okay, sure,” Steven rolled his eyes in amusement, “but I’m not used to being called by my last name.”

“Of course, Steven,” Ashido said seriously. “Anything for my pink buddy.”

Something flew at him, and he caught it reflexively. Upon inspection, it seemed to be a video game controller.

“Nice catch,” grinned Sero. “We were gonna play Smash Bros—wanna join?”

On one hand, he reflexively wanted to refuse, not wanting to disrupt their group.

On the other hand, they were the ones inviting him. They didn’t have to engage with him in the first place.

Mind made up, Steven grinned sharply. “Sure, if you don’t mind losing to me.”

That got them all riled up. “Oh, you’re on,” Kaminari grinned back.

===

“Dude, what the hell?”

“Kaminari, I swear to all that is sacred, don’t do it don’t you fucking dare—”

Kaminari did.

Ashido screamed.

Steven calmly pressed buttons on the controller, uncaring about the chaos surrounding him.

“How are you so good?” Sero complained when he was hit with yet another forward smash, knocking him out of the game.

Steven shrugged, managing to take a sip of water while evading Hagakure’s furious pursuit. “Never went to school, so I had time to play a lot of games.”

Ashido slumped back. “Ugh. That sounds like a dream.”

“Not really,” Steven disagreed. “I had more free time, but I also can’t do, like, any math.”

“Saaame,” Kaminari droned. “Except, y’know, I did go to school.” He frowned at that statement. “School sucks anyways. Math is dumb—does anyone even use math? I don’t.”

“Have you ever bought anything?”

“Yeah?” Kaminari questioned. “What does that—oh.”

Steven snorted. “Exactly. It’s not all bad, though,” he shrugged. “I read a lot of books and I’m not stupid.”

With a final attack, Steven won his fifth game in a row, to the others’ frustration.

“Alright, I’m done,” he stood up and stretched. He needed to make himself something to eat.

“Finally, us mortals have a chance!”

Ashido groaned, falling into his side, but Steven just extricated her with a smirk.

“Noooo, don’t leave me…” she said, making no move to get up.

“It’s not like I’m leaving, you’ll survive without me.” He chuckled, patting her once on the head before leaving to the kitchen area.

“Uh… Asui, was it?” Steven greeted the student as she stood at the cooktop.

“Yes, but please call me Tsu, kero,” she said.

“Of course!” He smiled at her. “As long as you call me Steven.” After she nodded, he looked over to see that she was making curry. “Are you cooking for everyone?”

She nodded.

“Mind if I help you?”

“Go ahead. I think we’ll need another pot so that everyone can have some.”

“Got it,” he affirmed. Rounding the corner, he noted the ingredients that she had out. He’d learned to cook curry with Connie, and while Japanese curry was a bit different he didn’t think he’d have trouble adjusting.

Steven was halfway through making a batch of vegetarian curry when Tsu spoke up. “Are you okay?”

“What?” He looked up, distracted by the odd question.

“I asked if you were okay, kero. You seem sad when you’re quiet.”

A moment of silence later, he said, “I’m a little sad, yeah. I miss my family and friends.”

“That makes sense. I’m sorry that you got stuck here.”

“It’s—well, no, it’s not fine, but I’m sure I’ll get back soon. If Principal Nedzu and I can’t figure out a way back, then my family will find a way here.”

Tsu tilted her head. “Your family, are they half-aliens too?”

“Nah,” Steven snorted. “They’re full aliens, except for my human dad. They’re called gems, and although they’re not technically related to me they’ve lived with me most of my life. There’s Garnet and Pearl, who act like my aunts most of the time, and Amethyst is like the older sister I never had, even if she’s a few thousand years old.” He smiled wistfully.

The girl took the age comment in stride, which Steven thought admirable. Most people freaked when they found out how old gems really were. “What about your mom?”

Steven’s smile turned bitter. “She’s not around. Gems aren’t really alive, in the biological sense. Their bodies are made of light, and it’s all controlled by their gem,” he gestured to his own. “In order to have me, she had to give up her form.”

He returned to his cooking, but tensed when he felt arms wrap around him from behind. “I'm sorry. I can’t imagine being without my mom.”

Relaxing when he realized that she was hugging him, he shrugged. “I’ve made my peace with it. I have a complicated relationship with her, even if I’ve never actually met her.” He stopped, looking off into the distance.

Tsu stepped up next to him and tasted his curry with a spoon. “That tastes good, kero. I’ll call everyone down.”

Steven nodded, snapping out of his stupor, and went to prepare some plates, filling his own with his food. Tasting it, he exhaled slowly through his nose, releasing the tension from his body as he did so.

It wasn’t his intention to reveal so much, not to a stranger. But in the end, did it really matter that much? He wouldn’t be here for too long, if he was lucky. Once he was gone, it didn’t matter what he said to these people.

And besides, it was very kind of Tsu to listen to him and comfort him. First while playing video games, now while cooking… Maybe these students weren’t as suspicious of him as he thought.

“YOOO, we got curry!” Kaminari screamed as he came in out of nowhere, almost running straight into the countertop. “You’re a lifesaver, Tsu!” he yelled out.

“You’re welcome, kero!” was the distant reply.

He only noticed Steven behind the counter after he loaded up his plate with rice and drowned it all in the curry. “Oh man, did you help too? Many thanks, oh Lord of Smash Bros, giver of sustenance,” he bowed down in typical dramatic flair.

He laughed awkwardly at the unexpected strangeness of it, but ultimately played along. “Your gratitude is appreciated, young one. Rise, so you may return to spamming.”

“You guys are dorks,” Jirou snorted, stepping around Kaminari and grabbing food for herself. “Maybe you should return to studying rather than video games.”

“But I already did my homework!” Kaminari whined.

“Did you do the math problems?”

Kaminari blanched. “Shit,” he swore, running off.

“Dumbass,” Jirou shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. She turned to Steven, saying, “Thanks for the food, Universe.”

“Steven,” he corrected, “But yeah, no problem! Although, to be fair, Tsu made about half of it. And prepared the rice.”

“You still helped, and you didn’t have to,” Jirou reasoned. “It’s appreciated.”

“It’s cool.” Steven finally sat down at the bar, Jirou joining him as other students streamed around him, shouting their thanks at Tsuyu as they shoveled copious amounts of curry onto their plates.

They ate their meals as they listened to the common room roar to life, an atmosphere of comfort enveloping everyone, even if Steven wasn’t really a part of them.

(It was only a matter of time.)

Chapter Text

“Rise and shine, kiddos!”

A woman burst into the dorms, her greeting heard by no one but Steven.

Did everyone have to burst through those doors? Couldn’t they just… open them normally?

Regardless, there was no one to bear witness to her entrance, because classes had started an hour ago. Steven, with the privilege of not having to go to school, took the time to sleep for an extra hour or two.

“You’re like an hour late, I think,” he called out. “Classes started an hour ago.”

“Darn, I knew I was forgetting something,” she muttered, just barely audible to Steven.

“Are you the one taking me shopping?” he asked, hopeful for a yes. Wearing the same clothes for the third day in a row was starting to get tiring, and he was looking forward to having options in the morning.

“Depends. Is your name Steven Universe?” she asked.

“I sure hope so,” he got up and approached her, this being all the confirmation he needed.

The woman was a bit taller than him, with long, almost purple hair tied back into a ponytail. When he approached, she cooed at the sight of him.

“Well aren’t you just the cutest,” she teased, making him blush.

“I—well, uh,” Steven stammered. “T-thank you?” His voice squeaked, which made his cheeks turn a deep pink—the normal, human kind of pink, thankfully.

Apparently, his fluster was funny to her, as she giggled. “It’s nice to meet you, Universe. My name is Nemuri Kayama, but I’m also known as the pro hero Midnight.”

“Wow,” Steven’s eyes widened in wonder. “Is everyone who works here a hero?”

“More or less,” she tilted her hand from side to side. “Nedzu already told me about you. Seems like you’re stuck here, huh?”

“Yep,” he sighed, following the hero onto the grounds.

“Don’t worry, kid. The principal’s one of the smartest people in Japan. He’ll figure out a way for you to return.”

“Hopefully. Can we… not talk about that?”

Kayama was silent for a moment. “Of course. How are you liking Japan so far?” She changed the subject deftly, and Steven seized the opportunity like the lifeline it was.

“No opinion,” he answered truthfully. “I haven’t seen anything outside of the school yet.”

“Really?” she said with shock. “Well, that’s just unacceptable. Good thing I’m here to fix that!”

Steven laughed. Truth be told, he’d been so excited to go out that he had trouble sleeping. It was one thing to be told that he was almost two hundred years in the future, and he wanted to see how different the world was.

Although, it’s not like he had a reference to compare it to—he’d never visited Japan, just a brief stint in Korea with Dad.

They boarded the train, and he had trouble keeping himself from smooshing his face into the glass, watching as they flew down the tracks, the world a blur below them.

“First time?” Kayama had asked, her smirk practically audible. Steven nodded, unwilling to tear his gaze away from the buildings.

They stepped out into a bustling city center, and Steven gaped at the sight. Sure, he’d been to Empire City, which was arguably a bigger city than Musutafu, but this was a completely different experience, enhanced by the knowledge that he was in the future.

And maybe, on the surface, it wasn’t all that different-looking to the big cities back home. But as he stood there, he marveled at the sheer diversity. People of all kinds, with hair from the entire color spectrum, of all heights and sizes, and those that didn’t even look human, at first glance. Steven was glad that one of his first experiences in this world was with Principal Nedzu, because it mostly desensitized him to the concept of mutations. Rather than stare, he just admired the sheer variety exhibited by this society.

“It’s a lot, seeing it for the first time,” Kayama agreed with his unspoken statement. “Let’s go, Universe. You’ll have time to gawk later,” she hurried him, not unkindly.

“Steven,” he corrected. She glanced at him, but agreed in the end.

“Alright then, Steven. The mall is a bit of a walk. Try to stay close.”

He followed behind her, occasionally pointing out buildings or people that had to be heroes, and she took to the role of tour guide admirably. Kayama explained hero agencies as they passed by one, and she patiently answered every one of his questions.

Finally, they came to a stop in front of the biggest building so far. A sprawling shopping mall, not as tall as the skyscrapers he’d walked past, but taking up many times more space than the largest of them.

“Everything is so big,” Steven observed as they entered the atrium, echoing and reverberating with the sound of hundreds of people walking from one store to another. “Beach City has a population of, like, fifty people at most. There’s more people in one of those stores than in my entire hometown!”

Kayama whistled. “Damn. Must have been pretty peaceful there.”

“Kinda the opposite, actually,” he chuckled. “Hard to get peace and quiet when we have to deal with corrupted gems, and then Homeworld, and now we have a bunch of gems living in Little Homeworld.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like a lot, then. Homeworld?” she asked, leading him to one of the stores.

“It’s… a bit much,” Steven grimaced.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine,” Kayama rushed to clarify, “but we have the whole day and I’d say I’m a pretty good listener.”

He considered it, and ultimately decided that there was no harm. Kayama seemed nice enough—a bit like the maternal parts of Pearl and the more energetic parts of Amethyst combined. She’d done nothing but be friendly, and Steven was a good judge of character, if nothing else.

“Yeah, sure,” he exhaled for a bit, trying to find the words. “So, uh, a bit of background. The Gems are basically precious gemstones given sentience and the ability to control light…”

===

“I mean, sure, the Diamonds were basically tyrannical dictators, but they’re like my clingy aunts now.”

“I’m sure it was your charming good looks and lovable personality.”

“Aww, thanks! And yeah, basically. So they finally let Pink…”

===

“And my mom, Rose Quartz, loves the Earth so much, she starts this whole rebellion against Homeworld to protect it.”

“Sounds like my kind of woman.”

“...”

===

“And they turn everyone except for Rose, Garnet, and Pearl into these mindless corrupted gems.”

“That’s some dark shit, kid.”

“It was rough, but they’re all better now at least. Do you think this skirt looks good on me?”

“Steven, honey, it looks fabulous.”

===

“And my dad is playing this concert, and she’s the only one to show up.”

“That’s so cute!”

“I know, right? So anyways, Dad starts hanging around the Crystal Gems more…”

===

“...Do I need to worry about how much I take?”

“Nah, Nedzu can cover it. U.A.’s budget is so huge it’s honestly a joke.”

===

“And I didn’t find out for a while, but he didn’t think he could raise me well enough, not with my gem and all of that, so that’s why I moved in with the Gems.”

“I may not be a mom, but that doesn’t seem like very good parenting.”

“It worked out, and we came to an understanding not too long ago.”

===

“You play instruments?”

“So many. I got my first ukulele when I was, like, three years old.”

“Ooh, once we get your clothes, we should totally check out the guitar store here!”

“There’s a guitar store here?”

“Oh, yeah. I have a feeling you’ll like it, little guy.”

“I can shapeshift to be taller than you.”

“Please don’t.”

===

“...so then I basically get kidnapped—”

“I’m not keeping track here or anything, but it sounds like you got kidnapped a lot.”

“Looking back, yes, I got kidnapped an above-average amount.”

“Did—have you gotten therapy?”

“Mm-hmm! Pretty sure I’m missing my appointment right now, actually.”

“...”

===

“I’m not sure we’ll be able to carry all of this.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have it delivered to the school later today.”

“Or I could just take less clothes.”

“Hush. Here, try on these jeans.”

===

“And that’s how I found out that mom was actually Pink Diamond.”

“Holy sh—”

===

“And that’s how I saved the galaxy, the end,” Steven finished the epic retelling of his life story with a sigh of relief. He’d recounted bits and pieces of his life to his therapist, but never had he just been allowed to rant for so many hours.

“That sounds like a lot on your plate, kiddo,” Kayama looked at him, concern evident in her gaze, but not a trace of pity, for which he was thankful. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Not really, but it’s getting better. I’m trying to take it easy, and I was on a road trip to see the country and find myself, but then I got sent here.”

“Well, I think you’re dealing with everything pretty well,” she placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “I think we have all the clothes you could possibly need. Did you want to check out that guitar store?”

“Please,” Steven practically begged. He was itching to play any instrument, even just a single strum on a dinky acoustic.

Kayama cackled at his enthusiasm. “Hah! I love your energy. Here, it’s this way.” She gestured in a direction, and they walked side by side, both holding a variety of bags.

“Do you play anything, Kayama-san?”

“Pfft, no,” she snorted. “The closest I get to musically inclined is when ‘Zashi and I decide that no one else at the karaoke bar needs their hearing.”

“That sounds awful,” he grimaced. “Why would you do that to those poor, innocent civilians?”

“Ah, but the look on Shouta’s face makes it all worth it,” she grinned.

“Shouta?” he said. “Like, Shouta Aizawa? Do you two know each other?”

“Oh yeah,” her evil smile softened as they turned the corner. “We go way back. Don’t let him know I’m saying this, but he’s really a big softie.”

Steven snickered. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Knew I could trust you.” They came to a stop, and she pushed open a glass door. “Welcome to Manic Music! Never been here, but Zashi apparently gets audio stuff for his radio station here, and he has nothing but praise.”

“Wow, okay, I’m just…” He stepped into the store and took it all in. The place was huge, and not only was one of the walls covered in electric guitars, but there was an entirely separate room for acoustics.

A bounce in his step, he carefully weaved in between the shoppers towards that room, Kayama following close behind with an amused smirk on her face.

Setting his bags down in the corner, Steven gravitated towards the wall of instruments. So many types, brands both new and familiar, surrounded him. He wasn’t able to find any Taylin guitars, which was what his dad’s (now his) was, but he delicately picked one from a brand called Taylor.

He sat down on a cushion next to his bags, Kayama across from him and observing him (although he didn’t actually notice—so absorbed he was in the guitar).

Plucking the low E string, he tuned it by ear, the rest following in short order. Settling the guitar on his thigh, he strummed a C chord and breathed out in relief.

It sounded like his dad’s—maybe newer, and definitely a brighter tone, but it was unmistakably reminiscent of the instrument he’d spent many sleepless nights softly playing, gazing at the starry sky.

Oblivious to his surroundings, he began to softly sing.

“Wherever you may go I said that

I would always follow.

The lights, they fade, but still you stayed

That’s why I feel so hollow,

Now, I’m stuck without you.

And now, It’s like I’m split in two.”

He stared at the ground after the final chord, eyes burning. With a hasty apology and an “I need to go to the bathroom,” Steven hurried off to find an isolated place to get a moment to himself.

===

Nemuri watched as Steven ran off, her mouth agape. Yeah, it hadn’t taken her long to realize that the kid was something special, and she was expecting that to extend to his musicianship, but that was next-level. He’d already said that he wasn’t here to buy any guitars, but just because he wasn’t doesn’t mean she couldn’t.

In a hurry to finish before he returned, she got up and grabbed the guitar he’d taken, bringing it with her to the counter.

“Listen, I don’t have much time. I’d like this guitar, and if I could have it delivered to U.A. today?”

“I’m afraid that it would not be—”

“Let’s say I paid extra?”

“Certainly, ma’am. The total will come out to…”

Nemuri paid with the card she’d gotten from the principal, leaving the guitar behind the counter to be packaged and sent off to the school. Nedzu wanted the boy to meet with someone, but if she was lucky then the delivery would come before he returned to the dorms.

It would make a nice surprise for someone who wasn’t going through the best times, at the very least.

Before she met Steven, she was hell bent on doing her usual scandalous routine, to get him flustered at every turn. But then she actually saw him, and he was so precious. She didn’t like to fawn over students since it made her feel old (which she wasn’t, and everyone would do well to remember that) but she just couldn’t help it, and it wasn’t helped by his unfortunate circumstances.

Nemuri was glad that he’d trusted her enough to say so much personal junk. She was sure that Nedzu didn’t know about most of it, or else he’d have given her a more complete briefing. And, considering that, she wasn’t sure she would tell him about any of it. Not only would that be a breach of trust, but the rat would probably use the information to manipulate Steven to his advantage—he might not, but she knew he wasn’t above such tactics.

With the order finalized, she grabbed all of the bags and carried them outside the store. Steven returned a minute later, eyes red. She didn’t mention it, letting him broach the subject if he was comfortable.

“We should be getting back now,” she said apologetically. “Nedzu wanted you to meet someone, and if we want to get back in time then we should leave now.”

“Oh. Alright,” his gaze drifted back to the guitars, and only the fact that she had just placed an order for the guitar he played stopped her from giving in and letting him go back in. He reached for a few bags, and she handed them over.

“Sorry about all that,” Steven spoke, clearly embarrassed. “I didn’t, it was—”

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Nemuri saved him from his stammering. “It happens. Your song was very lovely. Is it about anyone you know?”

“You heard that?” He reddened. “Um, yeah, it is, I suppose. I was thinking of my girlfriend, Connie—although I guess she might be my future wife?”

“Fiancée? Please, tell me more!”

Steven giggled, a softer blush rising on his face that had nothing to do with embarrassment. “I already told you about her, but I was in a pretty bad place a few months ago and I kinda got this idea into my head that I should propose, even though I was only sixteen. Instead of just outright rejecting me, she said ‘not yet’, and I think that’s a good sign.”

“Oh, yeah. She’s got it bad for you,” Nemuri confirmed. Ah, was there anything more pure than teenage romance? “How’d you two get together?”

“So, and this was all a few months ago…” They set off towards the exit, stars in Steven’s eyes as he waxed poetic about his girlfriend. She ruffled his hair, and he blushed, stuttering in the middle of his tale as she cackled.

This felt right, she thought.

Chapter Text

Clothes dropped off in his room, ready to be sorted and folded as soon as he returned, Steven followed Kayama to his meeting with Nedzu and his mystery guest. His escort had no idea what was in store when he asked, so he was a bit nervous.

Why would Nedzu want him to meet with anyone? Would they be another superhero? Were they there to help him return home? Suddenly, all the good feelings of his outing dissolved, leaving a dense pit of anxiety in his stomach. Out of nowhere, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Kayama looked at him with a soft smile. “I’m sure there’s no reason to be nervous. Nedzu just might have a lead on your situation.”

“Maybe,” he said, unsure, but the pressure from her grip was grounding. With a deep breath to steady himself, he knocked firmly on the office door, and it swung open automatically.

“Steven!” the principal beamed at him from his seat, gesturing for him to come in. “Welcome back! I hope your trip went well. I just wanted you to meet someone who could assist us in the case.”

Steven stepped inside, now spotting the sharply-dressed man looking him over with a critical eye.

(Nedzu made eye contact with Nemuri, and his approving nod had her relaxing, a genuine smile threatening to spill out as she left.)

Before he could take a seat, the gangly man stood up, towering above him, and extended a hand.

“Greetings, Universe,” he said. The man’s voice was steady and even, and Steven couldn’t pick up anything from him. “Nedzu has asked for me to meet you and provide what assistance I can. My name is Sir Nighteye.”

Steven looked him in the eyes, trying to judge his intentions. Even as good as he was at judging people, Sir Nighteye was a blank slate. His schooled expression gave nothing away, so he ultimately accepted the handshake with an uneasy smile.

His grip tightened around his hand, and suddenly the man seemed to be staring right through him. Steven was about to pull himself away when the man did it himself, flinching backwards like he’d just been smacked.

“What?” Steven asked, wondering what the hell was going on. He looked back at Nighteye, but this time the man wasn’t so composed, his previous stoicism cracking to reveal… fear?

“Apologies,” he murmured, then coughed and repeated it a second time more clearly. “I was… not expecting that.”

“Expecting what?” Steven was baffled, but he put two and two together a moment later. “Wait, did you just use your quirk on me?”

“Under my direction,” Nedzu interjected. “I had Sir Nighteye use his quirk on you in order to provide us with more information.”

“Well, maybe you could have asked my permission first!” he said, agitated now. “What did you even do?”

“It’s called Foresight.”

“What?”

“My quirk,” Nighteye clarified. “You’re right—as a potential ally, I should have received your consent before using my quirk. I typically do not inform villains when I use it on them, and that suspicion was extended to you.”

“So your quirk is Foresight? Like—like Garnet’s Future Vision?”

“Like what?”

“Okay, assuming Principal Nedzu briefed you on what’s up with me—” Nedzu nodded once, “—Garnet is one of the Crystal Gems, and she can look into the future and see all the different branches and stuff whenever she wants.”

“What do you mean, branches,” Nighteye bristled. “The future does not branch. It is set in stone the moment I view it, and nothing can change that!”

“First of all, that’s very close minded,” Steven rebuked. “Second of all, you’re wrong, because I’ve literally seen those branching paths!”

“Then what you saw was not the future, boy,” Nighteye sneered.

“Ugh. Fine,” Steven stood up, turning towards Nedzu. “I don’t care if his Foresight or whatever is helpful, I’m not going to sit here when he can’t bother to respect me and my family.”

With that, he stormed out of the office, not even thirty seconds after he entered. Kayama wasn’t even gone yet—she was still at the end of the hallway, and had turned around when he slammed the door shut.

“Steven?” she asked, surprised. “I thought you were supposed to meet—”

“I did,” he muttered. “Sir Nighteye is a jerk.”

Kayama winced. “Yeah, I can see that. Never met him, thankfully.”

“Count yourself lucky,” Steven said.

She snorted. “You bet. Wanna come with me to the teachers’ lounge and meet my coworkers?”

“Sure.” It’s not like he had anything else to do.

===

Nedzu turned to the hero. “Really, Sasaki?”

He’d called in a favor for Sir Nighteye to come in and use his quirk on Steven, specifically asking him to be polite, in light of his circumstances.

“I did nothing,” Nighteye defended himself. “If he does not understand the future, and refuses to accept the word of someone who views it daily, then he should not be here in the first place.”

“Hm.” Nedzu didn’t comment, as he had long ago made clear his views on Nighteye’s philosophy. In his opinion, Foresight merely chose the most likely future, and it was only a matter of time until it failed.

“Regardless of your opinion on him, you still were able to see his future.”

Nighteye coughed into his fist. “About that…”

“What did you see?” Nedzu asked, now gravely serious.

“It’s fragmented,” he admitted. “Bits and pieces, and all of it mundane. Almost anything that could potentially be classified as an important or major event doesn’t exist.”

“Interesting,” Nedzu murmured. This was unprecedented—at worst, he was expecting the boy’s death, but this was definitely something to look into. Perhaps it was a side effect of not being fully human? An inherent level of unpredictability that made Nighteye’s quirk go haywire? It was a distinct possibility, and he filed it for further research.

“But,” Nighteye continued, “there was one thing. At the end of the month, he’s watching the news. I could not make it out, but something on it makes him leap out of U.A. grounds, and,” he swallowed, “he lands in what appears to be a raid on a villain base. The rest is unintelligible, but then it goes dark.”

Nedzu’s eyes darkened. “You mean…”

“Yes,” Nighteye nodded. “My condolences. I will send a written copy of what I saw in the coming days.”

The man left promptly, leaving behind a silent Nedzu. As much as he refused to believe in the inevitability of Foresight, it still has never been wrong before.

===

“N—Kayama, what’s up!”

Steven followed Kayama into what was, presumably, the teachers’ lounge (whatever that was). His first impression of it was that it seemed to be a place where teachers could relax. A refrigerator, a coffee machine, two couches, and a table with chairs made up the significant furniture, and the man who spoke was sitting on one of the couches.

“He’s cool, ‘Zashi,” Kayama waved his concerns away, collapsing into the space next to him. “Steven, meet Hizashi Yamada, also known as the hero Present Mic.”

“Wait, Steven?” Yamada looked at him more closely. “Like, the Steven all of 1-A is gossiping about?”

“Probably,” Steven admitted.

“Well, it’s nice to meet ya, little listener!” He grinned. “Honestly, I’m not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed that you look normal. Some of the students say the most outlandish things…”

“Oh? Like…” Kayama perked up, turning towards him as Steven took a seat on the other couch with a bemused expression.

“I'm pretty sure that Ashido and Kaminari have started a cult, as far as I can tell.”

“A whaaaat?” Steven, had he been drinking anything then, would have spat it out. Kayama, on the other hand, burst into hysterical laughter.

“Trust me, I’m not joking! These kids are mental!” Yamada waved his hands around, his voice getting progressively louder. “They were saying things about offerings to their ‘alien lord of the universe’ and it took me everything not to break down in the middle of class.”

“Lord of the—are you kidding me?” Steven buried his face in his hands, which only made Kayama laugh harder. “I thought I asked them to treat me normally!”

“Welcome to U.A., where this is normal,” Yamada said dryly.

Steven’s stomach rumbled, pulling him away from the conversation and reminding him that he hadn’t eaten lunch. “I’m going to get lunch from the cafeteria, be right back.”

===

Nemuri waited until she was sure that Steven was far away enough not to overhear, and she squealed. “‘Zashi, please, he’s adorable!”

He looked at her weirdly. “Seems like literally any normal teenage boy.”

“Ah, but that’s only because you haven’t heard his tragic backstory!” Nemuri giggled, but calmed down. “Seriously, his life’s been pretty shitty. Nedzu wanted me to chaperone him because he needed to go clothes shopping—”

“Bet you loved that.”

“Shut up,” she glared with no venom. “As I was saying, I went clothes shopping with him this morning, and apparently I did something right, since he spent the next three hours going over his life story.”

“Three hours, huh?” Hizashi whistled. “Must have been some story.”

“I’m serious!” She hit his arm. “I’m surprised he’s functioning normally. He said he’s seeing a therapist, but his life’s been complete chaos and he just got taken to another world.”

“Yeah, that sounds pretty sucky,” he said, frowning.

“But wait, there’s more! He mentioned that he likes playing guitar, so I tell him about that place you keep going on about—”

“Nemuri, please, it’s not that place, it’s a palace of audio goodness.”

She rolled her eyes. “So after we grab all the clothes he needs, I take him to the ‘palace of audio goodness’ so he can, like, screw around with some guitars and destress. And I kid you not, he just grabs this guitar off the wall and starts serenading his girlfriend-maybe-fiancée and it’s just the most heart-melting thing.”

“He’s that good?”

“However good you think he is, he’s better,” Nemuri shook her head. “He sings that beautiful little song and then excuses himself to go to the bathroom—I think to cry, poor guy. But while he’s gone, I take that guitar up, buy it with the card I got from Nedzu, and it’s going to be delivered to the dorms pretty soon.”

Hizashi raised an eyebrow. “And Nedzu let you?”

“He nodded! Like he was proud of my life decisions or something. It was so surreal.”

“Daaamn. Well, I bet the kid will—welcome back, little listener!” He switched gears the moment the door began to open, letting Steven through with a tray of lunch food.

“Hey, sorry about that!” He sat across from them once more, and swallowed a mouthful of rice before he asked, “So, Yamada-san, you’re a hero too!”

“Yessir!” Hizashi beamed. “Present Mic, the Voice Hero, at your service!”

===

After a nice conversation with Kayama and Yamada (and an hour-long nap on the sofa), Steven left the room feeling awake and refreshed. Kayama had taken the time to do some grading, and she graciously explained how that worked, since he’d never been to any school (much less a Japanese one).

They were on their way back to the 1-A dorms when he decided to say something. “K-Kayama-san, I just wanted to thank you for the whole day. It was fun shopping with you, and—well, it was—I needed…”

“I know what you mean, kid,” she smirked. “Anytime you need an ear, come find me.”

“Right! Thank you,” he repeated. It was at that moment that they entered the dorms, to a fairly baffling sight.

“Guys, are we sure someone didn’t order a package?”

“Ahem! I can confirm that no one in this class has ordered anything to be delivered to the dorms. Therefore, I suggest we report this to Aizawa as potentially dangerous and wait for his instructions!”

“God, Iida, don’t be so uptight.”

“Let’s just open it, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Cut that out!” yelled Kayama, who looked mightily annoyed at the commotion. “What’s going on?”

Everyone looked to Iida, who stood up straighter and started chopping his arms. “Kayama-sensei! The dorms received a mysterious package sometime while we were still in class, and we have been debating the correct course of action in case it turns out to be the ploy of a dastardly villain!”

Kayama just stared at him. “Did any of you think to check the shipping label?”

Iida froze, before slumping over, a stricken expression plastered on his face. “No, Sensei.”

“Next time, consider doing that. Anyways,” she said, walking up and checking the sticker herself, “this here is for Steven.”

“Me?” he asked, confused. “I’m a hundred percent sure that I didn’t order anything.”

“Might be because I’m the one who ordered it,” she said with a wink. “Go ahead, open it up! Don’t be shy!”

Steven approached the box with a bit of suspicion and some self-consciousness—every student of Class 1-A was watching him, probably to see what was inside the box.

A quick shapeshift of his fingernail let him cut the tape sealing the cardboard box. It was fairly large and rectangular in shape, and he had absolutely no idea what it could be—even the hint that it was for him didn’t help him. He was going in as blind as the rest of the students.

Opening up the cardboard flaps revealed a healthy amount of styrofoam, and as he carefully set it aside his breath caught in his throat. It couldn’t be…

Faster, now, he threw the packing material to the side. Under all of it was what certainly looked like a guitar case. A hardshell design, covered in a dark vinyl textured to look like leather. Steven didn’t even bother taking it out of the box it came in, instead just throwing open the latches and lifting the top of the case.

Inside it was exactly what he thought might be, but didn’t let himself hope for. It wasn’t just any guitar, it was the guitar. The only one he played at the store, the one that called to him over any other, the one that reminded him so much of his dad.

Steven looked up at Kayama, who was standing to his side with a sly smile on her face. “Figured you’d want it,” she said. “Nedzu approves, if you’re wondering.”

“T-this is too much,” he stuttered. “You didn’t need to—”

“I didn’t need to, sure, but I wanted to. Besides, it’s not like you won’t put it to good use.”

He stood up then and wrapped his arms around the woman, who froze for a moment before tentatively returning the hug.

When they separated, he wiped his eyes of any tears, smiling all the while. “Thank you, Kayama-san.”

“Don’t mention it, kid.”

“Is that a guitar?” someone asked, reminding Steven that he was, in fact, in a room with twenty other students.

“You play?” Jirou’s widened eyes met his, and he nodded in confirmation.

“Sick,” she replied, gaze returning to the guitar still in its case. “We should totally jam sometime.”

“Sounds fun!”

There are other questions being shouted around, both rhetorical and directed at him, but he ignored most of it. Steven crouched down, carefully lifting the instrument from its velvet cradle. A strum of a chord was all it took for all of them to quiet down.

===

(And even as Steven grew closer to the class in spirit, his family grew frustrated;

Connie, having not slept since the disappearance, finally collapsed in exhaustion;

Garnet, worried sick, split in two;

Peridot, irritated, with no progress to speak of;

Amethyst and Greg, scared, distracting themselves from their fears;

Pearl, devoid of hope, stared at the stars, in the hopes of finding the answers she sought;

The Diamonds, among the stars, clueless to the catastrophe on Earth, at least for the moment.)

Chapter Text

Steven woke with a gasp, echoes of nightmares still present and making it hard to breathe. The next few minutes were spent laying on his back until his lungs stopped convulsing and he could think straight.

This was the first nightmare he’d had since he’d arrived at U.A., something he was hoping wouldn’t happen at all. He grasped at the escaping strands of them, trying to remember why they affected him so, but they dissipated before he could do anything.

He rolled over, picking up his phone to check the time. The glowing screen stared him down, the 1:00 on its surface mocking him.

Sighing, he stood and rubbed at his eyes. His heart was pounding, and there was no way he’d be able to get back to sleep in this state. He stumbled out of his room, slowly trudging down the staircase as he made his way down to the kitchen. Technically, there was supposed to be a curfew, but he wasn’t a student here anyways so he could probably argue against it if he was caught.

Of course, upon arrival, Steven wasn’t expecting to come face-to-face with one of the students.

“Oh, Shinsou-san!” He tried for a friendly smile, but didn’t quite hit the mark. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Just Shinsou is fine,” the tall boy looked at him with a dead-eyed expression. “Nightmares? Or just regular insomnia?”

“Nightmares,” Steven admitted. He was far too exhausted to come up with a different excuse.

Shinsou hummed. “Welcome to the club.” He turned around, waving over his shoulder to follow him.

They entered the kitchen, which was illuminated by the distant emergency lights of the common room, giving a gloomy and dim feel.

“We’ve got coffee,” Shinsou told him. “Unless you want to get any actual sleeping done.”

“I’ll—” Steven yawned, interrupting his train of thought. “Sorry. Is there tea?”

“Here.” The hero student tossed Steven a box of teabags, which he almost dropped. Picking out a bag of chamomile, he turned on the kettle as Shinsou sipped at a mug of what was, presumably, coffee.

“You’re not the only one to come down,” Shinsou said, breaking the silence. “I’m usually down here since I can’t sleep anyways, but a lot of us get nightmares.”

Steven frowned. “Like, regular nightmares? Or…”

“Sometimes,” he shrugged. “Most of the time, it’s trauma. Or something. I don’t sleep long enough to get them anyways.”

Steven poured the hot water into a mug of his own, scowling as he did so. “Aizawa told me a little, but—is this normal? Do other schools get attacked like you did?”

Shinsou didn’t move to face him. “No.”

“That’s so—”

“Unfair?” he interrupted. “Or villainous? Maybe evil? We’ve heard it all before.” He snorted, a derisive, contemptuous sound. “That won’t stop the villains.”

“Why do they do it?” Steven asked. “You’re just students. What reason do villains have to target you?”

“The first time? They wanted to kill a hero. The second time they kidnapped one of us and tried to turn him to their side.”

“What?” Steven narrowly avoided crushing the mug he held, a pink tinge appearing under his eyes. “They kidnapped a child? What kind of despicable, horrible people are they to do that?”

“There are far worse people in this world than the League of Villains.” Shinsou sipped at his coffee in the ensuing silence. “They wanted me, at first.”

“You?”

“My quirk, I guess,” he shrugged. “When I was younger, my classmates were afraid of me. They thought I had a villain’s quirk. That I’d attack them, or something. I don’t know. Guess that the League assumed the same things a bunch of middle schoolers did.”

“Why would they do that?” The pink threatened to spread further, and Steven forced himself to calm down. “I mean, why would they assume you have a villain’s quirk?”

He chuckled darkly. “I don’t know. Does Brainwashing mean anything to you?”

Steven blinked, unsure how to answer the question. “No?”

Shinsou sneered. “Then you don’t get it. My quirk, everyone said it’s a villain’s quirk. That Brainwashing couldn’t be used by a hero, that I’d only ever become a villain.”

“That’s stupid,” he stated. “Just because you can brainwash people doesn’t mean you’ll just use it on everyone. I mean, one of my friends could have stolen the entire ocean. She almost did, too, but I convinced her not to. She has a lot of power, but that doesn’t mean she uses it to cause harm.”

“The ocean…” Shinsou looked at him skeptically, but shook his head. “Fine. Whatever.”

“You’re not a villain, Shinsou,” Steven restated. “You’re already more of a hero than they were.”

“Maybe,” the boy looked away, but Steven didn’t press. He blew on his tea, taking a slow sip and savoring the feeling of it running down his throat. After a minute or two, Shinsou turned back to him and said, “When you showed up, you broke out of my brainwashing.”

“So that was you,” he muttered. Shinsou raised an eyebrow, and Steven blushed. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“How?” he demanded. “You’re the second person to ever do that. Is it a fluke? Or one of your… gem abilities?”

“I don’t know,” Steven admitted. “I felt you hit me with it, and then I think my gem jolted me out of it. Maybe you only brainwashed the human part of me, and my gem was able to stop it?”

“Wait, I’m confused. Are you one person, even? You talk about your gem as if it had thoughts and feelings of its own.”

“I mean, technically?” Steven shrugged. “My gem is part of me, but it’s still technically a separate entity since it used to be my mom.”

Shinsou was not amused. “I don’t think that makes as much sense as you think it does.”

“I don’t get it either, man.”

===

“Young Midoriya! I trust you’ve gotten enough sleep?”

Izuku nodded frantically. “Yes, All Might! Togata-senpai will be introducing me to Sir Nighteye today. Actually, I’m supposed to meet with him in an hour or two.”

All Might nodded sagely. “Good, that’s good. I apologize for not being able to introduce you to him myself. As it is, I do not believe he would be receptive to my presence.”

Izuku squinted at him, but didn’t question his mentor out loud. Silently, though, he wondered if it wouldn’t just be simpler for them to apologize to one another.

The man coughed. “There’s one more thing, my boy.” He looked a bit embarrassed, though Izuku had no idea why. “I’ve heard from the other teachers that there’s been a new addition to your class?”

So that was what this was about. “Yeah. Universe-senpai is nice, I guess.”

“But?”

Izuku shivered. “I can’t help thinking, what if he’s working for All For One?”

“What makes you say that?” All Might rested his hand on his fists, looking contemplative.

“It’s just… it’s like he has multiple quirks!” Izuku said. “What if he’s an advanced Nomu? Or All For One gave him a bunch of quirks? He sparred with Togata-senpai on Thursday and, like, he didn’t beat him or anything, but he probably could have! He was summoning these pink shields, and made protective bubbles around himself, and he definitely has enhanced strength and durability, and he had some of the best reflexes I’ve ever seen, and he was floating, and—”

“Breathe, my boy,” All Might placed a hand on his shoulder. “You said he was floating?”

“A-and a lot of other things. I’m scared, I think,” Izuku admitted.

They stared off into the rising sun together.

“If it isn’t too much, Young Midoriya, I’d like you to speak to him.” Izuku sputtered, but All Might continued. “Nedzu trusts the boy, but he could have been fooled. You’re smart, especially with those notebooks of yours, and I’m sure you could find out if he truly is an agent of evil.”

Izuku blanched at the prospect, but the compliments warmed his heart as well. After all, could he really deny his dad All Might?

“O-of course. I won’t let you down, All Might!”

He laughed, a sound somehow both hearty and thin, and it was all he needed to hear.

“I’m sure you won’t, my boy.”

===

This time, Steven woke up feeling much more refreshed.

He’d talked to Shinsou for the better part of an hour, and that combined with the calming effect of the tea meant he collapsed into bed and instantly sank into a dreamless sleep.

It also meant he slept until ten in the morning, but if that was the sacrifice he paid for getting a restful night’s sleep, he’d take it.

He washed up, shaking away any residual grogginess, and with a new bounce to his step he made his way into the kitchen...

...where one of the students he couldn’t name was yelling at Kirishima and Kaminari.

The latter two spotted him, and ran in his direction. “Steven!” yelled Kaminari. “I think Bakugou’s going to kill us!”

“You dumbasses are going to kill yourselves if you keep up with the bright ideas!”

Steven walked over to look at the subject of Bakugou’s anger, and almost gagged. It looked like something Amethyst would try to eat, but give up because it was too foul for her.

Then again, she drank engine oil, so maybe he was underestimating her.

“What is this?” he turned and asked the cowering students.

“It’s bullshit, that’s what it is!” Bakugou seethed, not giving the two boys a chance to answer. “You don’t just toss in anything you can into a pan and then try to fry it, dipshits.”

“We’re sorry, Baku-bro!” Kirishima was near the point of tears. “We just wanted to try cooking something special!”

“Yeah, so special that it would kill anyone who tried to eat it.”

Steven pursed his lips and dealt with the mess, trusting Bakugou to have the situation with Kaminari and Kirishima well in hand. On one hand, it seemed a bit harsh, but on the other…

It was hard to imagine anyone could be so incompetent in the kitchen!

With the countertop cleaned, and the two boys sufficiently cowed, Bakugou grunted at him (in thanks, Steven was sure) and muttered something about being late thanks to morons.

Steven turned to them. “What were you actually trying to make?”

“An omelette,” Kaminari sniffed.

He paused. “Do you even know what an omelette is?”

“...I’d rather not answer that question.”

“Okay,” Steven rolled his eyes. “Would you like me to teach you how to make an omelette?”

Kaminari and Kirishima conferred, then answered with a unanimous “Yes.”

“Great. First of all, we should actually take out the eggs, hmm?”

===

It was a grueling lesson, accompanied by blood, sweat, and tears, but eventually Steven managed to get each of the two boys to produce a successful omelette.

Kaminari, surprisingly, managed to get one on his first (guided) attempt, but Kirishima ruined two of his before he created something edible.

Steven watched, bemused, as the two celebrated their victory against their own incompetence. It was proof that anyone could be taught anything, that it only took a bit of positive reinforcement (not that Bakugou’s method didn’t help them learn not to do what they did at first).

Shaking his head, he grabbed the breakfast that he made for himself and sat down at one of the tables. As he ate, he stared at the nearby wall, which meant he was completely blindsided by the appearance of one of the students.

“You’re pink.”

Steven nearly jumped out of his seat at the sudden interruption, and turned to see a boy with red and white hair in the chair next to him.

“You’re pink,” he repeated when Steven didn’t say anything.

“Am I?” He pulled out his phone and entered the camera to see that yeah, okay, there was a bit more pink there than he would have liked. Wow, had he been walking around the entire morning like that? Honestly embarrassing, he had to say.

“Why? You turned pink when you sparred against Togata-senpai as well.” The boy leaned closer, and Steven wondered if he had a concept of personal space.

“It just happens sometimes? Uhm, give me a second…” With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and allowed the tension to leave his body. He recognized his feelings, understood them, and let them go.

“Okay,” he said and opened his eyes, the pink gone from his face. “Sorry about that. It happens when I get stressed or something—I was angry at someone but didn’t realize.”

“Why were you angry?”

This kid was pretty nosy, but Steven internally shrugged, figuring he could indulge him (and honestly he needed a good vent anyways). “Principal Nedzu wanted me to meet a hero yesterday, and I did for like twenty seconds because he insulted Garnet really badly, and she basically raised me so I didn’t like that very much.”

“You say you’re half-alien. Is Garnet an alien as well?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, she’s technically two aliens fused together—Sapphire has future vision and ice abilities, while Ruby… she just has fire, I think.”

The boy’s eyes widened, imperceptibly. “Ice… and fire? That’s awfully similar to my own quirk.” He moved his face even closer, eyes squinting as he stared at him. “I find it hard to believe you when you say that you are an alien.”

Steven blinked. “But why? I guess it’s a bit out there, but I am telling the truth.”

“A likely story. None of your powers are connected in the slightest,” he said. “In fact, they’re so disjointed from one another one could say you have multiple quirks. And now, you even talk about one of your so-called alien friends that’s actually two aliens fused together—I’m surprised you would think me so gullible.”

“I promise, I’m seriously not from this world, you can ask Principal Nedzu.”

“Who’s to say you haven’t tricked him as well? Tell me, you say you were warped here.”

“Yes, by an ancient gem artifact!” Steven replied, exasperated at this kid’s tenacity.

He hummed noncommittally. “And yet Kurogiri, who has attacked us multiple times, is also famously known to have a warp quirk.”

Steven sputtered. “Are you trying to say I’m a villain? Or some sort of spy?”

“Yes,” he nodded. Steven was truly astounded by his audacity, and he could even feel the pink creeping back into his cheeks.

“Listen, I get it if you don’t trust me yet, that’s fine,” he nearly growled. “But I’ve been nothing but kind and supportive, and it’s really hurtful when you accuse me of wanting to harm you. If you’re going to do this, just—just leave me alone.”

Surprisingly, the boy did stand up. “Fine then, Universe. Just know that I’ve seen past your deception, and you will do no harm to my classmates or my teachers.” With that, he stalked his way out of the room.

Steven watched him leave, and he did his best to keep the rosy flush away from his skin. He only partially succeeded, and he knew that his entire cheeks would be tinged an unnatural pink for the rest of the day.

How fun.

===

It was later that afternoon when it happened.

Steven had commandeered a couch, politely turning away anybody who wanted to talk to him because he was absolutely not in the mood.

Browsing on his phone was just starting to get boring when it happened.

And by it, he meant the intrusion of a new student.

“So!” yelled a slightly manic, high-pitched voice. “I heard that class 1-A has an alien now.”

The collective groan of over half of the class almost drowned out the latter half of the sentence.

“Monoma, why are you here?” complained Ashido.

Monoma snorted. “Please. If you’d been listening, you’d know that I have only deigned to set foot in these inferior dormitories to observe if the rumor circulating is indeed true.”

Steven sank lower into the cushions, hoping he wouldn’t be bothered. He was feeling a little better, yes, but this was even worse than that other boy.

“Is it not enough that 1-A seeks fame at every step? Is it necessary to lie about something so absurd as an alien?”

“We’re not lying!” yelled an annoyed Hagakure. “And Steven’s actually not having a very good day so if you could back off that would be nice!”

“First name basis already?” he scoffed. “Truly, you all are uncultured. Allow me to prove once and for all how pointless your rumors are.”

Steven could hear Monoma’s footsteps getting closer, and he hoped that he hadn’t somehow been found. It seemed his luck ran out, however, as his head peeked over the top of the couch a moment later.

“And who is this?” he mocked. “The infamous alien of class 1-A?”

“Hi?” Steven waved weakly, hoping he would go away.

“Pathetic,” Monoma snarked. “The so-called alien can’t even bother to get up. Not to mention, he looks exactly the same as any regular human! I wonder what sort of quirk he has—”

Before Steven could react, Monoma swiped a hand down and grazed his exposed arm. In the seconds following, his expression morphed from smugness, to shock, to denial, to anger, back to shock, and finally disbelief.

“W-w-what?” he sputtered. “You’re quirkless?”

Out of nowhere, Todoroki showed up next to him. “Maybe your quirk just isn’t working, Monoma.”

He reddened. “My quirk always works! You insolent 1-A bastard—look!” He touched Todoroki’s arm and then, inexplicably, created ice from one hand and fire from the other. A quirk that could copy others? Steven would have been gushing at it, had it been any other day.

Todoroki made a small “oh” sound and disappeared to… somewhere, Monoma turning his focus back on Steven.

“So you circulated rumors that you were an alien, with incredible powers, yet you’re quirkless?” He cackled. “How disappointing. Come on, show me your little ‘alien’ powers,” he mocked once more.

Steven had had enough. He just wanted peace, he just wanted to relax, and then some annoying kid had to come in here to harass him? That was the last straw.

“I’m not in the mood, okay?” He meant to say that at a normal volume, but his agitation had apparently affected him more than he realized. The room rumbled from the power behind his words, and he stomped off to his own room in anger.

Most of class 1-A (and Monoma) stared in shock.

“Yo,” Kaminari broke the silence. “What the fuck?”

Chapter Text

Steven splashed some water on his face, leaning over the sink in emotional exhaustion. Looking in the mirror, he could see that the pink discoloration had spread to his entire face, and he swore he wouldn’t let it get any worse.

With that thought, he dried himself off and sat down on the bed—his bed, rather, seeing as no progress had been made on him returning home, meaning he might be stuck here for a very long time. He’d pulled up satellite imagery of every warp pad location he could think of, and not only did none of them give him anything useful, most places were completely different to what he remembered from home.

It was a scary thought—did Gems even exist in this universe? Clearly they never made it to Earth, and without a way of contacting them—even if they were somewhere among the stars—he would never know for sure.

He gingerly picked up his new guitar, the weight and feel already familiar in his hands. Maybe he didn’t have his therapist, so he couldn’t really work through his anger and stress like that, but music always had a calming effect on him.

Steven’s thumb brushed against the low E string, left hand already fretting a G chord in preparation. From that moment on, time blurred together. Chord progressions filled his mind, subconsciously adding embellishments whenever necessary, and his fingers gracefully danced across the fretboard by pure instinct.

It was a testament of his skill that he managed to make the next hour of guitar interesting to listen to, had anyone been listening in. Steven was shaken out of his musical trance by someone knocking at the door, and before he let them in he checked himself in the mirror.

Still pink, but no longer dangerously so. Good. It still looked as if he were constantly blushing, but that was more than manageable.

With a cautious click, Steven turned the doorknob and opened the door the slightest bit. “Yes?”

The student on the other side—Sato, he was sure—cleared his throat awkwardly. “U—Steven,” he hastily corrected, “on behalf of my classmates, I’d like to personally offer my apologies. Monoma should never have been allowed in, and he didn’t do anything good.”

He raised his arms, holding in them a tray of… cookies?

“I figured you might not be feeling too good, so I went ahead and baked you some chocolate chip cookies,” Sato smiled. “Of course, if you don’t like them, I can make something else—”

Steven opened the door all the way and shook his head frantically. “Please, you don’t have to! Really, the cookies themselves are already a little much.”

“Don’t worry about it. I bake a lot, and I can’t eat too much of my own baking since my quirk activates off of sugar,” he confided. “I do love sharing it with others, though.”

He looked at the small tray of cookies, and he had to admit that the gooey chocolate was pretty mouthwatering. “Alright, I’ll accept the cookies,” he grinned. “Thank you. It’s not your fault, or anyone else’s, really. I wasn’t having the best day to begin with, and Todoroki’s suspicion was somewhat justified. And, uhh, when I’m feeling better, would you mind if I join you in baking? Back home, my friend Lars was teaching me some things and I figured…”

“No, totally!” Sato agreed readily. “Whenever you’re up to it, if I’m not downstairs I’m on the floor above you, second room on the left.”

“Thanks, again!” Steven said, placing the cookies on the nearby desk. “It was nice of you to drop in.”

“No problem,” he waved and closed the door. Steven looked at it, touched by his act of kindness. He bit off a chunk of still-warm cookie, and almost moaned at how good it tasted. He’d have to get the recipe at some point—these were delicious.

It was twenty minutes (and four cookies) later that someone knocked on the door again. He had half a mind to just ignore them, but he didn’t want to be rude in case there was a legitimate issue (or, perhaps, someone else with a peace offering of baked goods).

Steven opened the door, only to find on the other side a student he really didn’t feel like talking to at the moment.

“Todoroki,” he schooled his expression into something resembling neutral.

“Steven,” the scarred boy replied in an equally deadpan tone. Except… was he blushing? “I came to apologize.”

Steven blinked. “I’m sorry?”

He nodded. “Yes, I wanted to say that.”

Did Todoroki just make a joke? Honestly, he seemed so ignorant of social cues (not that Steven could claim the opposite) that it was hard to tell. He just opened the door a bit wider and gestured. “Uhh, come in, I guess?”

The boy walked inside, coming to an awkward stop in the middle of the room. “As I said,” he began, “I believe I need to apologize. I was suspicious of your origins and the outlandish stories you told, and as a result I felt the need to accost you.”

“That—”

“Furthermore,” Todoroki barreled forward as if he was reading a script, the red on his cheeks deepening. “I did nothing to prevent Monoma’s harassment of you. I realize now that, even if you are not an alien as you say, your lack of a quirk combined with your previous demonstrations of your abilities means that you might as well not be of this world.”

He ended the apology with a deep bow, and Steven struggled to find a non-awkward way to respond. “I a-accept your apology?” he said, a questioning lilt entering the sentence. When Todoroki didn’t rise from his bow, Steven coughed into his fist and added, “You can get up now.”

He looked at the boy standing opposite him, and almost laughed to himself. Todoroki really didn’t mean anything bad, if the stiff, blushing mess he was right now signified anything.

Steven relaxed. “Don’t worry,” he smiled. “I know you didn’t mean any harm. I wasn’t in the best place in the first place, and I think you have the right to be a little suspicious of me. I mean, if one of you just appeared in front of me back home, I think I’d feel the same way.”

“Oh,” Todoroki said quietly. After a moment of silence, he said, “E-earlier you said something about someone you knew with ice and fire abilities…?”

“You mean Garnet?” Steven perked up. “Here, sit down,” he walked over to his bed and patted the spot next to him. “I’ll tell you all about her.”

===

“So this Garnet is actually two people?”

“Technically,” Steven shrugged. “Gems can do this thing called fusion, where they can combine their forms into one being. And that’s why Garnet’s future vision changes from Sapphire’s—Sapphire’s is kinda like Nighteye’s actually, where they both generally see the path that is most likely to occur. Then, when they fused, Ruby’s fiery impulsiveness affected Garnet’s future vision and let her see multiple branching paths depending on what she decides to do.”

“That sounds useful,” Todoroki commented.

“It is,” he agreed. “And it was all thanks to Ruby, because she reached out to Sapphire and saved her, y’know?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “I do know.”

Steven sensed that Todoroki had something to say, and allowed him to continue.

“When you said earlier that Garnet is essentially the fusion of ice and fire, I was angered. My father is the current highest ranking hero in the nation, but… he isn’t a good person. He created me to be the perfect mixture of fire and ice, an unstoppable force to overcome his legacy.”

“When you say created, what do—”

“My father’s marriage was arranged. He drove my mother mad, and because of him she gave me this scar. It’s because of him that my eldest brother incinerated himself with his own quirk. And it’s because of him that I avoided using the fire aspect of my quirk. A few months ago, Izuku reached out to me the same way you say Ruby did.”

The room was quiet in the wake of these revelations, until Steven lifted himself from where he was laying. He wouldn’t find out until later, but in that moment his eyes were glowing an unnerving shade of intense pink.

“That sounds awful, Todoroki. On a completely unrelated note, I was thinking about having a quick word with your father. Be right back!”

Before he could get up fully and launch himself off the balcony, Todoroki reached out with his right hand and stopped him with an ice-enhanced grip.

“Don’t, Steven,” he warned. “No matter my father’s actions at home, he is still the number one hero. He is still a symbol of strength, and if he stepped down the heroics industry would destabilize even more.”

The glow subsided, and Steven collapsed back onto his bed. “You’re right. Sorry, I overreacted.”

“No, it was a fairly typical reaction. Also, you wouldn’t have known where my father is.”

“Fair.”

“And you probably would have been arrested for illegal quirk usage,” he added.

“Illegal—what?” Steven asked. “It’s illegal to use quirks?”

Todoroki shrugged from his spot on the bed leaning against the wall. “In public, if you’re not a hero, yes. It’s necessary to prevent chaos from taking over.”

“That… doesn’t seem right.” Steven frowned. “And also, I don’t have a quirk.”

The other boy raised an eyebrow. “Do you think a police officer or hero would believe you?”

Steven was at a loss for words.

“You know what, fair.”

===

“Thank you!”

Steven grabbed his plate and scanned the room. Today was (apparently) one of the uncommon days where the whole class sat down to share a meal. However, he technically wasn’t part of the class, and he wasn’t sure if he should sit down among them or not.

At least, not until he locked eyes with Todoroki. The boy inclined his head slightly, vaguely gesturing to an empty spot next to him, and Steven took that as a formal invitation, claiming the seat for himself.

“Hey guys!” He greeted Todoroki’s immediate neighbors—Uraraka, Midoriya, Iida, and Tsu. The class was actually split into two tables, each with space for twelve occupants, probably since a table fit to seat twenty would have taken up quite a bit of room.

“Universe-senpai!” Iida straightened and adjusted his glasses. “As class president, I feel it my duty to apologize for Monoma’s actions! I find it inexcusable that—”

“Don’t worry about it, Iida-san,” Steven interrupted. “It’s not your fault, and I don’t think he meant to insult me. And please, just call me Steven.”

“Of course, Steven-senpai!”

Uraraka giggled at his subsequent facepalm, and even Todoroki could not suppress a snort. Steven had to admit, it was pretty funny, but it couldn't be that hard to call him by his name, right?

“So, Steven, how is U.A. treating you so far?” she asked.

“It’s not too bad,” he responded. “I mean, there’s been a few hiccups, but overall I’ve been having a decent time.” His expression darkened. “But really, I’m just hoping we can figure out how to get me home.”

“We?” questioned Tsu.

“Principal Nedzu is helping me out,” responded Steven. “I know he’s smart, but we’ve had no progress. Honestly, I’m not even sure there are Gems in this universe, or at least near this planet.”

“How does that work, exactly?” Uraraka leaned towards him from across the table, resting her face in her hands. “Like I know you said that Gems are aliens, but what are they?”

“Oh man, that’s a pretty big question,” he laughed. “It’s weird because they’re, like, technically not alive? They don’t have skin, or skeletons, or organs, or anything like that. I think the term some of them like to use is inorganic, compared to humans which are completely organic.”

Steven thought for a moment. “I guess… Gems aren’t born, not the way we are. They don’t really grow either. As far as I understand it—and most of it kinda goes over my head—Gems are created by the injection of some sort of special liquid into the ground, which absorbs all the life in the surrounding area to create a Gem that just climbs out. They already have orders and don’t need to learn anything because they’re already programmed with their assignments, jobs, and skills.”

“So they’re like computers? Or robots?” Uraraka asked.

“With thoughts and personalities and the ability to control light, yes.”

“Fascinating!” Iida exclaimed, straightening his glasses. “It is truly remarkable that there exists such a species, even if they are located in a universe different to this one. I must wonder, however, what exactly do you mean by their creation absorbing the life around them?”

Steven grimaced. “It means what you think it means. The Gem Empire used to colonize planets for the sole purpose of being able to create more and more gems. When they finish, it’s like there was never anything alive on the planet. No plants, no animals, even the ground turns brittle and lifeless.”

This killed the conversation, and he tried to regain the light-hearted atmosphere of a moment ago. “Don’t worry, they stopped! Well, I stopped them. I convinced the leaders, the three Diamonds, to step down, stop colonizing, and free any colonies from their control. They’re a democracy now, too.”

Nobody really knew what to say to that, but Todoroki came to the rescue. “Izuku, why aren’t you eating?”

Steven looked over to see that Midoriya had, in fact, not touched his plate yet. Rather, he was scribbling in a notebook, but he stopped when Todoroki drew attention to him.

“Oh, Midoriya-san, is that a notebook?” he asked, genuinely interested. “What are you writing?”

“Nothing!” he squeaked, face turning red as he hid the notebook under the table. “Just… homework.”

Iida nodded. “Indeed, homework is important, Izuku! But perhaps you should focus on eating your meal.”

“It’s probably cold now. Would you like me to heat it up for you?” Todoroki asked.

“Shouto! Please refrain from using your quirk at the dinner table!” Iida scolded, though Midoriya meekly nodded.

Todoroki just looked at him blankly. “I meant at the microwaves.”

“I see.” Iida straightened his glasses. “Carry on, then.”

He took the plate to the nearby microwaves, and then, without breaking eye contact with Iida, he summoned flames to heat the food.

“Shouto!” Iida sputtered. Across from him, Midoriya choked on his water and Uraraka was practically wheezing at their friend’s audacity. Even Tsu was softly laughing to herself, and Steven found it difficult to hide his grin at their antics. “You said you were going to heat the food in the microwave!”

Todoroki returned Midoriya’s plate (although the boy was preoccupied by his own laughter) and clarified, “I was not at the table.” It was this nonchalant statement that finally set him off, and he joined the wheezing ranks of Uraraka and Midoriya.

“And he said he would do it at the microwave, kero.” Tsu added. “He did not lie.”

“Thank you, Tsu.” Todoroki resumed eating his own food, though a glint in his eyes showed he knew exactly what he was doing.

===

Shouta peered into the common room, not sure what to expect. Whatever it was, he definitely wasn’t expecting the bright and laid-back atmosphere, not with what he heard had been happening.

The building had definitely rumbled earlier that day, though only Nedzu’s quick call prevented him from charging in to look for a villain. Indeed, he thought he’d have to do damage control (Monoma may not have been in his class, but Todoroki certainly was and he specifically asked them to remain civil at the very minimum), but he was pleasantly surprised to see Todoroki and Steven chatting like old friends.

Well. It seemed some things do work out after all.

Chapter Text

Steven stood, unsure what to do with himself.

It was almost noon, and he had certainly enjoyed spending some extra time sleeping in. Thankfully, he was uninterrupted by nightmares, and so was fairly content, all things considered.

He just didn’t know what to do.

Most of the other students were training or working on homework (specifically those who waited until the last minute). He supposed he could restart his workout routine, since he’d definitely been slacking on it. Before he could seriously consider the merits of this idea, though, someone coughed behind him.

“Yo,” greeted Jirou.

“Hey, Jirou!” Steven smiled and waved. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, really,” she responded, twirling one of her headphone jack earlobes (which were still weird). “Listen, I was wondering if you were down to jam for a bit.”

“Oh!” Steven remembered how she’d asked two days ago. “Yeah, sure! Let me just grab my guitar.”

“Cool.” She sounded nonchalant, but the twinkle in her eyes was unmistakable. “I’ll wait for you. My room’s the floor below yours.”

He practically sprinted up to his room, grabbing the guitar out of the case and running down one floor to find Jirou just getting there.

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re pretty fast, huh? Come on, first room here.” She opened the door and Steven gaped at the interior.

Inside was a musician’s dream room. An acoustic drum set, a full size digital piano, and a speaker system adorned the far wall. A bass guitar rested next to her desk, and right next to that was a whole shelf filled to the brim with vinyl records and CDs. Every inch of available wall space was taken up by posters for bands he’d never heard of. Finally, to his right rested two electric guitars, which were at least of familiar shapes if not brands.

Steven breathed in, and he could practically taste the music they’d be making here.

Jirou smirked at his reaction. “I’d say I’m jealous of your acoustic, and honestly I kinda am, but I have more than enough to keep me satisfied.”

“No kidding,” he remarked. “Uh, can I just…”

“Go ahead. You can sit on the bed, unless you want to borrow a strap.” Steven shook his head in response, content to play seated. While he tuned up, Jirou grabbed the bass—a vibrant purple color that paired well with her darker hair—and plugged it into a small amp that escaped his notice when he first entered.

She started off with a groovy bass line, and Steven let her play while he took it in. After eight bars, she started to loop, and he took that as his cue to jump in.

Perhaps an electric bass and acoustic guitar duet was a bit strange, but it worked fairly well for them. The two alternated seamlessly between rhythm and lead, mellow acoustic solos followed by lo-fi funk-like bass breakdowns melded together, complementing each other with a sort of chemistry that neither could find frequently..

“You’re pretty good,” Jirou admitted, as they transitioned to a slower, more low-key instrumental. “Been playing long?”

“Basically my entire life, yeah!” Steven laughed. “I think there’s a video somewhere where I’m like three years old and playing a ukulele as big as I was.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Was that because you were small or because the uke was big?”

“Probably the first, to be fair,” he admitted. “My dad was also a rock star. Kind of. He wasn’t very popular, and he stopped touring when he met my mom.”

“Cute,” remarked Jirou. “So is mine. Both my parents, actually. Mom was a vocalist, though she works as a songwriter now. Dad is a studio musician and goes on tour sometimes.”

Steven grinned. “Now I can tell where you got the talent from.”

“I’m not that good,” she said, a blush tinting her cheeks. “I haven’t been playing for quite as long as you, and I still need to practice with stuff like keys and drums.”

“You say you’re not that good, but you can still hold a conversation with me while playing,” he pointed out. “I know for a fact that’s a lot tougher than we’re making it seem. It took me until I was almost thirteen to do that with my dad.”

She hummed noncommittally. “I guess. Do you play anything other than guitar?” Jirou changed the subject.

“Basically everything in this room, plus ukulele. And I sing.”

“Everything, you say.” Jirou smirked. “Alright then. Your turn.” Steven set aside his guitar just in time to catch her bass, while she picked up one of the electrics and plugged it in.

In response to her challenge, Steven slapped out a syncopated bass line.

“You’re on,” he grinned.

===

Steven and Jirou left a few hours later, both of them sweaty and satisfied after one of the best jam sessions either of them had ever had.

“Fuck, I think my fingers are gonna bleed,” Jirou complained. Neither of them had stayed with a single instrument for long, cycling between the numerous options multiple times. However, none of them, not even the guitar Kayama had bought for him, really held a candle to those owned by him and his dad, those he’d spent years playing and could name every grain of wood on.

“Need me to heal them?” he asked.

She considered it for a moment. “Sure, why not.” She held out her hand, and Steven gave it a quick kiss as they walked out onto the first floor. Steven turned to ask her a question, but she was still on the stairs, hand in that same position and a blank look on her face.

“Jirou?” When he said her name, she jerked and blushed harder than he thought he’d ever seen.

“C-coming!”

Steven shook his head, already moving on past whatever that was supposed to be.

“Yeah, so, I was wondering if you would want to make that a more regular thing?”

“Like a weekly jamming thing?” she clarified, face still rosy.

“Something like that,” he answered, before an idea popped into his head. “Oh! I know! We should start a band!”

“Like with my classmates?”

“Totally!”

Jirou didn’t look too sure about that idea. “I don’t know… I don’t even think anyone here plays anything other than Momo with piano.”

“Can’t hurt to ask though, right?” Steven countered. And then, to prove his point, he called out to a group sitting at some of the couches. “Hey! Do any of you play any instruments? We’re starting a band!”

“Ooh! I can play the guitar!” Kaminari nearly jumped over the couch in his haste to answer.

“See,” Steven said to Jirou. “We already have someone!”

“Bakugou, didn’t you say you took drum lessons at one point?” Kaminari asked.

The angry blond reeled back. “Huh?”

“You heard me,” he teased.

“Fuck off, Dunce Face,” Bakugou practically growled, stomping off.

Sero yelled after him, “Come on, try playing the drums!”

“No!”

Sero grinned devilishly. “Oh, is it too hard for you?”

Bakugou stiffened. “Oh yeah? Fuck you, Flat Face, I’ll play drums for your shitty band.” His answer didn’t stop him from stomping upstairs, probably to his room.

“See!” Steven nudged Jirou with his elbow. “We have two people already!”

She made a face. “Yeah, but Bakugou’s an asshole. And Kaminari is, well…”

“I heard that!” the boy in question yelled at them.

“Kaminari’s cool,” Steven waved her concerns away.

“Uh-huh.” Jirou raised an eyebrow, but eventually shrugged and turned away. “Fine. Maybe we will start a band.”

“That’s the spirit!” Steven smiled.

“I said maybe!” she rebuked, walking off to join Yaoyorozu where she was reading.

He had to admit, it really had been fun to play with someone around his age. Maybe one day she’d want to write some songs together—now that would make him excited.

Someone was watching him. He didn’t know how he knew, but there was definitely something odd. He turned around, and peeking his head from the stairwell was none other than Midoriya.

He waved, smiling broadly, but that seemed to scare the living daylights out of him, sending him scrambling upstairs.

Weird.

Was Midoriya scared of him? It was a possibility for sure, and that was a bit disheartening. Steven didn’t want to appear scary to anyone, especially the people he was living with until he got back home.

No, that wouldn’t do, he decided. As soon as he could catch the boy alone, he’d sit down with him and have a chat. Find out what was wrong, how he could do better—that sort of thing. If there was one thing he knew for sure, it was the fact that healthy communication was vitally important.

Literally. He probably would have been dead without it.

===

Steven camped out in the common room for the rest of the day, spending part of the time playing video games with the likes of Ashido, Kaminari, and Sero—but he always kept an eye on the stairs. He wanted to be able to talk to Midoriya as soon as possible, to learn what was wrong; and preferably alone, in case the boy got embarrassed in front of his classmates.

It was late that evening, well after he’d eaten a dinner he made for himself, that the green-haired boy showed himself. Every other occupant of the room had left for their rooms, at least temporarily, so it was really the perfect time to strike.

Steven quietly got up from his sofa, careful not to reveal his presence too early and ruin his plans. Midoriya was sitting at the kitchen counter, so Steven slid into the seat next to him with a friendly greeting on the tip of his tongue.

“How’re you doing, Mido—”

Unfortunately, his immaculately planned introduction backfired when Midoriya gasped in shock and started choking on his food.

Crud, Steven thought to himself as he attempted to help Midoriya.

It was a minute or so later that the boy was finally able to regain the full use of his airways, and Steven did not stop apologizing. He probably should have expected something like this, to be fair. There weren’t many people who wouldn’t be shocked at anyone suddenly appearing next to them.

“Crap, Midoriya-san, I’m so sorry,” he muttered, fretting over him even if there wasn’t anything he could do.

“Fine, I’m fine,” Midoriya said, taking deep breaths. “It’s fine, you just startled me.”

“I can see that,” Steven responded, then winced. “Sorry, that was insensitive.”

“It’s fine,” he repeated.

“I shouldn’t have done that.” Steven shook his head. “I could have, I don’t know, warned you or something. You could have been seriously hurt. Actually, are you hurt? Do you need healing?”

Midoriya reddened and frantically shook his head. “No, I’m good! Nothing’s wrong!”

The vicious immediacy of his response was odd to Steven, and he decided now would be a good time to broach the topic.

“Midoriya-san,” he said softly, “are you scared of me?”

His eyes widened and he moved himself away as far as his seat allowed, shaking his head ‘no’.

“It’s fine if you are,” Steven placated. And really, it was. He understood the hesitancy. Gems were scary, even to the citizens of Beach City, who knew of their existence. To someone who’d never encountered one in their life? Yeah, sentient alien rocks could be a strange and terrifying thing. “I just want to know what I can do to work through it.”

“Work… through it?” Midoriya questioned.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be here,” Steven admitted, “and I’ll be staying in these dorms until we figure out a way back. And I don’t want anyone I’m living with to be scared of me.”

“Oh.”

“So I’d like to know what about me makes you uncomfortable,” Steven continued, “and then we can work on it together.”

Midoriya stared at him for so long that Steven himself began to feel self-conscious. He didn’t say anything, however, in case Midoriya was building up the courage to speak to him.

“I’m worried,” he admitted. Steven smiled at him, encouraging him to continue, but it was almost thirty seconds before he spoke again.

“All For One.”

Steven was thrown for a loop. “What?”

“Don’t recognize the name? What about Sensei? Or Shigaraki?” Midoriya’s expression grew intense.

“The only Sensei I know of is your teacher,” he responded. He’d never heard of a Shigaraki either, whatever that was.

Midoriya dipped his head and sighed. “I’m sorry, Universe-senpai, but I don’t know if I can trust you. Even if you don’t know those names, you could still be a Nomu of some sort.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Steven shook his head. “What’s a Nomu?”

As he asked the question, he noticed the way Midoriya was gripping onto his pants leg, so hard he was quivering.

“Sorry,” he averted his newly-widened eyes as he spoke. “I shouldn’t have mentioned that. It’s fine.”

“Midoriya-san, please,” Steven begged, “I promise I won’t be mad. What is a Nomu?”

He swallowed. “A N-Nomu is—is a genetically modified creature,” he started, haltingly stumbling over his words. If it got any worse, Steven was absolutely prepared to stop this immediately and help him through a potential panic attack.

“N-Nomus are m-mindless beasts,” he continued, “that used to be human. They’re—” His voice broke right then, dripping with fear and another emotion Steven couldn't quite place. “They’re p-people, given so many q-quirks t-that... their m-minds b-break and—and they b-become slaves.”

“What?!” Any thoughts of mindfulness flew out the window at that sentence. He hardly noticed his skin turn pink throughout his entire body. The way Midoriya described Nomus…

It was like the Cluster all over again. It was like the gem mutants, the prototype clusters that gave him nightmares to this day. A fear so deep, so primal, it shook him to his core.

Not again.

Preoccupied with his emotions as he was, Steven didn’t notice the way Midoriya sprang back and activated his quirk until he spoke, much more forcefully than before.

“A-and, I d-don’t know if you’re a—a Nomu or not!” he said, tears streaming down his face. “I won’t let you hurt anyone!”

By now, Midoriya was practically shaking in fear, and Steven realized that this was his fault, at least partially. Their fear, their panic, both had been amplified by his own abilities, and Midoriya’s natural skepticism had turned to suspicion and then to fear within seconds.

This realization was like getting dunked in ice water. He forced down his powers (and the residual bile from finding out just what Nomus were) and held out both palms in a peaceful gesture.

“I’m sorry, Midoriya-san,” he apologized softly. “Your description of Nomus… reminded me of something. I swear on my life that I will not hurt you or your friends.”

Green lightning flickered over the trembling figure. “H-how can I trust you?”

Steven broke eye contact. “I… I don’t know. But I’ll do my best to show you that I’m not who you fear I am,” he vowed.

He backed away, watching Midoriya’s quirk slowly die away as he removed himself from the situation.

Steven didn’t want to lie, it hurt, just a bit. Midoriya’s mistrust ran further than Monoma’s or even Todoroki’s—there was genuine fear in the way he spoke and prepared to defend himself.

Defend himself against Steven.

Well, now he just felt horrible. He should have realized that Midoriya’s mistrust was completely different from the rest. If he had known, he would have approached the conversation in a completely different way.

And now, he didn’t even know if he could fix it.

And it was all his fault.

Chapter Text

Steven peeled his eyes open, staunchly fighting the urge to let them close for longer than was needed to blink—thankfully, his blaring alarm helped him fight the call of his bed quite effectively.

Getting up before he could second-guess himself, he went through his usual morning routine. Today was his first day where he’d be assisting with 1-A’s hero training in an official capacity. He’d be under Aizawa’s tutelage outside of those times, and along with some sort of class he’d be taking on Saturdays, they would be preparing him to receive a provisional hero license.

Nedzu had explained, on the day following his arrival, that by getting said license he’d have more freedom to use his gem abilities in the hunt for a way back home. While it wasn’t necessarily circumventing the law, it did mean if anyone questioned him on what they thought was his quirk, he could just flash the card and absolve himself of any legal troubles.

Steven wasn’t fond of the idea, but accepted it as a necessity. Although there probably wasn’t a point anyways, since he’d basically accepted the fact that Gems as a race probably didn’t exist in this universe, or at least the observable universe.

Which meant he was a sitting duck. He just had to trust that his family would figure it out, no matter how long it took.

But that was another reason why he was getting this license. With it, he’d be able to defend himself and his newfound friends from villains, should it be necessary. It was a matter of practicality, and on that he agreed.

Which meant he’d be receiving a crash course on heroics from Aizawa over the next two weeks.

Yay, education.

The excitement for the upcoming day Steven normally would have been feeling was very much subdued, unfortunately. Instead, his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the previous evening and the disastrous attempt to talk to Midoriya.

Thinking back on it, practically everything that could have gone wrong did. In the first place, the way he’d basically cornered Midoriya was downright horrible. Midoriya probably felt trapped, and the way he shook was out of fear of him.

And then, despite promising to himself to remain calm, for the other boy’s sake, he’d gone full pink when he heard just what Midoriya thought he was. Thankfully, he’d gotten control of himself almost immediately, but the consequences couldn’t be understated.

Just the very thought of… of the Nomu… made the bile rise in his throat, an involuntary pink tinge affecting not just his cheeks but a majority of his face. It was the Cluster all over again. Steven still had nightmares featuring the gem mutants, and he doubted they would ever go away. To have something similar be happening in this world?

It was enough to make him sick.

His involuntary reaction scared Midoriya even more, and now he doubted that he’d ever have a chance to reconcile with the student. He wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t know how to gain the boy’s trust, especially when he had very real reasons to be wary.

He just hoped that time would prove his innocence.

Fully washed, dressed, and awake, Steven wandered into the kitchen. Unlike the other times he’d gone to get breakfast, there actually were a fair few students bustling around with their own foodstuffs. He narrowly avoided walking into a panicked Uraraka, whose mouth was filled with some sort of food as she ran back for the stairwell.

He quickly made himself a bowl of cereal (Japanese food was great, but sometimes he needed something a bit closer to home) and sat back to watch the chaos unfold as more members of the class woke up.

Kirishima and Sero were begging Bakugou to make them breakfast, while Ashido and Kaminari off to the side had accepted that it wasn’t going to happen, therefore attempting to make their own. They did get it, eventually, though they could have probably asked someone else and gotten something much more edible in far less time.

Tsu was… sitting on the wall? And eating bugs?

Oh, right. Frog quirk. He supposed that made sense. It didn’t seem weird to anyone else, so he just went back to his cereal.

Todoroki sat down next to him with a bowl of some sort of noodles. Steven greeted him with a smile and a “good morning,” and the scarred student grunted in response. A few minutes of comfortable silence passed between them as they watched the disaster that comprised his classmates.

“Is it always like this?” Steven eventually asked, when he finished his cereal. In the corner, Shinsou was drinking coffee straight from the pot.

“Mm,” Todoroki hummed in affirmation, finishing off his own breakfast. “Most of the time. Sometimes it’s louder.”

“Huh.” Steven glanced at them one last time, attention catching on Yaoyorozu, panicking as she stood over a burning pot.

Well, it wasn’t dissimilar to the chaos of Little Homeworld, that was for sure.

Todoroki asked, “Why are you awake so early? Are you joining our class for good?”

“In a way,” Steven grinned. “I’m actually going to be helping Aizawa-sensei in your hero training classes. And I figured, y’know, why not. Sounds fun, and it’s not like I do anything else all day.”

Todoroki tilted his head. “Are you not… are you still searching for a way to return to your home?”

His smile fell dramatically. “I am, but… I don’t have high hopes,” he admitted. “Even if there were Gems in this world, I’d have no way to contact them. I’m basically stuck, and my only choice is to wait for the Crystal Gems to figure something out.”

Todoroki remained silent for a long moment, but eventually placed his hand on Steven’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. It must be horrible to be without your family.”

“It is,” Steven said, holding back a tear or two. “But I have faith in them.”

===

“Hey there, Aizawa-sensei!”

“Universe,” the hero acknowledged. Steven arrived twenty minutes before the beginning of class, ready to receive his instructions for his first real day of teaching humans.

“So, what’s the plan?” Steven rubbed his hands together. “Am I leading any activities? Perhaps I’m teaching them a new topic?”

Aizawa looked at him with a deadpan expression. “Something like that. I’ll explain more when we actually do it. What I’m more interested in is your experience in teaching.”

“What about it?” Steven asked. “I think I’m pretty good at teaching. I practically ran Little Homeschool.”

Aizawa, again, just looked at him with a deadpan expression, and Steven got the unspoken question. “After we dismantled the Gem Empire, a lot of gems wanted to come to Earth. But, the thing is, most of them had basically no idea how to do… anything? Most of them had never even seen living beings—much less humans—and even more didn’t even know what they wanted to do, since everything they’d ever done in the last couple thousand years were direct orders.”

“So you were… teaching them how to have free will?” The teacher asked.

“Something like that, yeah,” he nodded. “There was also stuff like meditation, gardening, and so on.”

Aizawa huffed. “Well, be warned that what we’re doing here might be quite a bit more difficult. I fail to see how teaching gardening could be anything close to as infuriating as what I’ve had to deal with.”

Steven groaned. “You don’t understand, Aizawa-sensei. The gems are so stupid sometimes. Worse than children. But they’re also geniuses too! Like one day we were working on making high-power lasers just for fun, and the next I had to stop them from eating the flowers in the greenhouse! It never occurred to them that vegetables and flowers aren't the same things! And I’ve told them a million times, but they just don’t listen.”

“Welcome to teaching, Universe,” Aizawa nodded solemnly. “They always manage to shock you. Literally. Kaminari has stuck metal objects into electrical outlets on more than one occasion.”

Steven groaned. “Some of the gems do that too. I just—why?”

Before Aizawa could answer that, the door flung open to the one and only Iida, who paused upon seeing Steven.

“U—Steven-senpai!” he said. “I was unaware that you were joining us for today’s classes!”

“You don’t need the -senpai, Iida-san,” Steven gently reminded him. “And yes, starting today I’ll be joining your hero training sessions as Aizawa-sensei’s assistant.”

“Truly?” Iida straightened. “Then I look forward to our class and learning from you!”

The student sat down, but his presence effectively put an end to Steven and Aizawa’s conversation. They exchanged a few more words, mainly on the logistics of their lessons, but ultimately Steven leaned against the wall and politely greeted the incoming students.

Midoriya came in with Todoroki, and used his place next to his friend to both hide from Steven and shoot a suspicious glare at him.

And wow, didn’t that make him feel horrible, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it as the next few minutes went by in a flash and Aizawa called his students to order (or, as close as could be managed with a class like this).

“An announcement before we begin our morning training,” he said as the class’s volume lowered to a near-silent murmur. “Beginning today, Universe will be joining our hero training classes as an assistant to me. While he currently may not be as well versed on specific hero-related topics, you may find him to be a reliable source of help in relation to combat and rescue. Which, coincidentally, is what we’ll be working on today. Suit up and meet me at Ground Beta.”

The students scrambled to get their hero costumes, and Steven followed Aizawa out the door like an excited puppy.

===

“Alright,” Aizawa nodded as the last of 1-A disappeared into the main building. The exercise had gone well, and even if Steven wasn’t able to do much more than shout advice and provide minor healing, he definitely felt more productive than he had since he’d arrived.

“Sensei?” Steven asked, as the hero turned to face him in the now empty fake city.

“Fight me.”

“W-what?” he stuttered.

“Fight me,” Aizawa restated. “Not the way you did on the day you arrived. I want you to use your full power—no holding back.”

“Aizawa-sensei, I—I can’t,” Steven emphasized.

“Oh?” Aizawa questioned. “Are you insinuating that I’m weak? I assure you, I am highly competent.”

Steven shook his head. “I know you’re strong, but I just… I don’t want to hurt you.”

He raised his eyebrow. “So instead, you cripple yourself? What happens when you’re fighting someone who necessitates the use of all of your power? What happens when you can’t control yourself in that state?”

“I don’t—” Steven’s face felt warm, and not in the flustered and blushing way.

“What happens, Universe,” Aizawa continued, heedless of his student’s feelings, “when an innocent civilian dies because you refuse to use enough power to stop a villain? Or worse, if you strike the finishing blow because you have no control over yourself?”

“No!” Steven stumbled, the unnatural discoloration flickering over his entire body. “I wouldn’t—”

Aizawa glared. “Really, Universe? Can you promise that? Because I’ve had students fall down that path, and no matter how good your intentions are, it seems you’ll be joining them if you can’t master your own abilities.”

The intensity of his words, the way Aizawa was nearly accusing him, all of it combined was enough to get him to the breaking point. Steven screamed in anguish as the light overtook him, and with hardly a thought he rocketed forward faster than the human eye could perceive.

In a split second, a crater formed where Steven once stood, and a second one erupted where Aizawa was sent through a wall. At the moment, however, Steven wasn’t thinking about the potential injuries he might have caused. Rather, his stress-addled mind distorted the world around him, and all he knew was that the man thought he wasn’t enough, that he couldn’t protect his family—that he was a monster.

Somewhere, subconsciously, he recognized that it wasn’t true, and that Aizawa might not have meant the things he said, at least not fully. Unfortunately for the man, however, Steven didn’t have the presence of mind to realize that.

“I will not!” he yelled, running into the room where AIzawa was attempting to stand up.

“I won’t hurt my friends!” Tears streamed down his face, as he came face to face with the battered and bruised hero. “Not again!”

“I am not a monster!”

The words reverberated throughout the city, and it was this statement that shook Steven himself. All at once, he realized…

What am I doing?

He gasped, coming down to his knees next to the newly-collapsed Aizawa. The pink didn’t fade, couldn’t fade thanks to his stress, but he did recognize what he had done. He allowed the still-wet tears to drip off of his face, landing on the teacher and healing his wounds, new and old.

“You see what I mean, Universe?” Even though Aizawa had been healed, he groaned in pain as his bones knitted themselves together. “What I said was tame compared to what some villains will do…” He coughed. “You need to work on this. I will help you work on this. Just trust me.”

Steven shuddered. He didn’t want to, he wanted to get control of himself in his own way, but he knew that Aizawa was right. He grabbed his hand and helped him get to his feet.

“Yes, sir.”

Aizawa grinned. “Excellent. Let’s get started.”

===

The next several hours were spent training at a breakneck pace. Although Steven’s gem physiology (especially when he turned pink) boosted his stamina to a ludicrous degree, by the time lunch came around, even he was panting.

A few buildings were piles of rubble now, and though he apologized profusely for each one taken out by a loss of control Aizawa just waved them away, saying that Cementoss would be able to repair them easily.

But by the end, he finally had a decent grasp on his strength when stressed this much—not his speed, nor his durability, but he could carefully dial back his strength at high power in order to avoid destroying entire city blocks.

A success, if he said so himself. Even if the entire time he was constantly repeating the phrase “not a monster, I’m fine,” to himself, like a mantra.

Again, not too bad.

The only issue was the fact that now that training was over for the day, he couldn’t snap himself out of his pink state. Usually, he could just stop, take a deep breath, and allow his negative emotions to just flow out of him, or at least lower their intensity. This time, however, those techniques weren’t working, and every time he opened his eyes to see glowing pink skin served to increase his panic.

“Stop.”

By the fifth time (or was it the sixth?) he restarted this cycle, Aizawa interfered and grabbed his shoulder.

“Sit down. Relax. Get a hold of yourself.”

Steven focused on his teacher’s words, doing his best to ignore the internal monologue running through his head.

“Problem child. Listen to me. Deep breaths, in and out, count with me.

In.

Out.

In.

And out.

Slowly, over several minutes, Steven felt the energy flowing through his body begin to ebb. Pink faded, leaving behind pale flesh, and the last thing he remembered was collapsing into Aizawa’s steady arms.

===

When Steven woke up, he didn’t realize where he was or what was happening. He rubbed his bleary eyes, arched his back as a yawn forced its way through his throat, and slowly got up from…

This wasn’t his bed.

Steven instantly became more alert as he realized exactly where he was. The teacher’s lounge greeted him as he stood from the couch he’d been sleeping on. Across from him sat Aizawa, half-lidded eyes never breaking eye contact with him.

“What—” Steven coughed, attempting to get words past the dryness in his throat. “What happened?”

“You were having a panic attack,” said Aizawa. “I helped you through it, but it seemed the strain of using your powers was too much.”

Memories rushed back, and he flinched at their not-so-gentle reintroduction to his mind. “Oh. Y-yeah, sorry about… all that.” Steven averted his eyes. “How long was I out?”

“Almost an hour.” The hero pushed something towards him over the coffee table, and he looked down to see a bowl of rice waiting for him. “Grabbed this for you since I figured you’d miss lunch.”

That was thoughtful of him. “Thank you, Aizawa-sensei.” Steven was sure he was blushing (the regular kind, thank you very much) so he grabbed the bowl and got to work on eating while ignoring Aizawa’s scrutinizing gaze.

In the end, the silence was broken by the hero after a few minutes. “I do not push you out of any dislike.”

“Hm?” Steven’s mouth was full, but that didn’t stop him from making a noise of confusion.

“Your training,” Aizawa clarified. “I pushed you too far, but I’m not sorry for that. I regret the way I approached it, but ultimately we need you comfortable with your power. I won’t have you being a liability.”

Steven swallowed. He was starting to understand the way Aizawa expressed concern, and this even contained the hidden hints of an apology. With that in mind, he smiled.

“I won’t let you down!”

Chapter Text

Steven watched with a critical eye as class 1-A went against each other in an activity that combined rescue with combat and tied it all up neatly into a competition.

He hummed and docked a point off from Team A as he watched Bakugou nearly crush one of the dummy’s arms. Not the worst mistake made so far, but it could have been done better.

Jumping halfway across the field, he observed a battle between two members from both teams as they struggled to protect their own rescued dummies. Kaminari stayed back and made use of ranged attacks while Sero used his superior mobility to get in close on Sato and Aoyama.

As he watched, he frowned at the way Kaminari was using his quirk. While he was, admittedly, effective at making and controlling space, he seemed to have little control over the direction of his attacks. Now, Steven didn’t want to say that he knew the students’ quirks more than the users themselves, but every time electricity arced within a few feet of the dummies he winced.

So far, the battle was going pretty evenly with no one side having a visible advantage, but then the tide suddenly changed. Aoyama hit a lucky laser on Sero’s shoulder, knocking him back and disabling that arm for the moment. With his quirk reduced to fifty percent effectiveness, it didn’t take long at all for Sato to snatch a strand of tape and wrap Sero up in his own quirk, putting him out of the fight.

“Sero has been taken out,” Steven spoke into his mouthpiece, then turned it back off. With Sero out of the way and the other two approaching his teammate, Steven went over to free and heal the boy.

Steven planted a kiss on the boy’s injured shoulder, and Sero sighed in relief as the pain he was in dissipated within an instant.

“Thanks, Steven,” he stood and rubbed the area. “Sucks to be out like that, though.”

“You did pretty good,” Steven assured. “The way you fought almost reminds me of the Man-Spider comics.” As Sero mouthed ‘Man-Spider’ to himself in confusion, he turned to watch how Kaminari would react. He had a feeling that he would be the next one out of the game, however.

Kaminari, backed into a literal and metaphorical corner, yelled out his next attack.

“Indiscriminate Shock: One Million Volts!”

Pure electricity washed over the area, and Steven summoned a shield to protect himself along with Sero. He saw Aoyama fall unconscious at the torrent of lightning, and while Sato attempted to resist he too fell to the ground after a few seconds.

Steven tsk-ed. There was no way that attack didn’t hit both team’s dummies, and would certainly result in a considerable loss of points. The tech within them would quantify the damage at the end of the game, but he decided to talk to Kaminari once the exercise finished or he was out.

At least, that was the plan, until he saw the way Kaminari swayed and nearly fell over. That definitely was not what was supposed to happen.

“Kaminari!” he yelled out in panic. Dropping the shield, he gave the other two fallen students a quick once-over and a healing kiss before running over to the stumbling boy.

“Kaminari, are you okay?” Steven asked, but he wasn’t prepared for the response he got.

“Weeeeee,” Kaminari groaned out with a giggle at the end. Steven, caught off guard, just stared in confusion.

Sero walked up with an answer. “That’s how his quirk works,” he said regretfully. “Too much electricity at once fries his brain for a while.”

“This happens regularly?” Steven nearly screeched, already picking up the giggling Kaminari in a bridal carry. He grimaced at the idea that Kaminari would fry his brain on a regular basis just to use his quirk. “Come with me.”

He announced the removal of the three students from the exercise, quickly walking over to the outskirts of the fake city and placing the boy on a bench. Sero sat next to them, a pained expression on his face.

“Most of my classmates just think it’s funny,” he admitted, “and at first it was. But I’m worried that with how much this happens it’ll start affecting him really badly.”

Steven nodded. “Thank you for being here for him. Let’s see if this is something I can heal.” Ignoring the low ‘weee’s, he placed one hand on the student’s and one behind his head to steady his erratic movements. Leaning the boy’s head forward, Steven gave him a smooch on the forehead, making sure to stay there for as much time until he recovered.

His first clue was when Kaminari stilled underneath him, though Steven stayed where he was for another moment to ensure maximum healing. Finally, he pulled away to see a frozen Kaminari, mouth gaping and face extremely red.

“Kaminari?” he asked. “Are you okay?” Steven was about to lose hope in his ability to heal the boy’s mental backlash from his quirk until he finally managed to get a word out.

“W-what?” Kaminari squeaked, and Steven slumped in relief.

“I just healed you,” he said. “You used your quirk and fried your brain.” He frowned. “Really, you shouldn’t have done that. Sero said that you do this a lot, and I’m seriously worried that you could be permanently hurting yourself.”

“B-b-but that’s how I use my quirk!” Kaminari said. His face was still as red as a fire hydrant, but it seemed he otherwise mostly recovered his mental faculties. “It just works like that!”

Steven shook his head. “I’m sure there’s a better way to avoid hurting yourself. You were mostly doing ranged attacks during that fight. Have you ever tried getting up close?”

“Like martial arts? I don’t think my quirk helps with that.”

“Really? I don’t think so. Have you ever tried to use your quirk at a low power to keep it close to your body and enhance your hits with it?”

“I…” Kaminari’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Like a taser,” Sero supplied, and Steven nodded.

“Exactly. You’re out of the exercise now, and I want you to rest after being healed. Next class, let’s try using your quirk like that.”

“I’m not very good at fighting,” he admitted, ducking his head.

Steven smiled. “Don’t worry! I can help, and I’m sure Aizawa-sensei would want to help you too.”

“Y-yeah.” Kaminari’s gaze never moved away from him as Steven jumped off to make sure Aoyama and Sato were okay.

(Behind him, Sero sent a knowing look at his friend, and Kaminari scowled as his blush deepened. Oh, there certainly wouldn’t be any shortage of teasing.)

===

“Steven-senpai!”

Steven blinked. Really, how hard was it to just use his first name?

Although, he really shouldn’t judge. This was just how the language and culture was, he supposed.

Anyway, he turned to see both Iida and Yaoyorozu standing behind him, with an odd determination written on their faces.

“Hey, Iida-san. Yaoyorozu-san. What can I do for you?”

Yaoyorozu cleared her throat. “It has come to our attention that, perhaps, your education is lacking in certain respects.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Truthfully, Steven didn’t mind not being the smartest. So what if he didn’t know much about math or science? He was an avid reader, and he still hadn’t come across a situation where math would have helped (counting money notwithstanding). “What about it?”

The two students made eye contact and nodded. Iida straightened and said, “We come to you with a proposition. As a ward of U.A. and assistant to Aizawa-sensei, we believe that you should be brought up to this institution’s standards! As class president,” he placed a hand on his chest, “I believe—no, I know that it is my duty to offer you assistance in correcting this gap in your education.”

“We’ve already formulated a syllabus and schedule that is relatively lightweight,” Yaoyorozu jumped in, “and is fairly flexible. I’ve tutored most of my classmates in every subject, and I do not believe it would be remiss to say that my experience and knowledge will be more than enough to bring you up to speed.”

Steven looked from one student to the other. “Wow. You guys really put a lot of thought into this.”

(Both students silently agreed not to mention that they came up with the idea ten minutes ago.)

“Uh…” he continued, “Sure? I guess?” He shrugged. “I can just back out if I want to stop, right?”

“Of course!” Iida chopped his arms up and down. “All of this is clearly voluntary! I would never dream of coercing you into something you would not want to do!”

Steven looked at how earnest the two were, and couldn’t help but give in. What was the harm, right?

===

Yaoyorozu moaned from where her head was laying on the desk. Steven silently agreed, face buried in a pillow that covered up his frustration.

Iida paced, unwilling to give up. “This is fixable!” he exclaimed. “We shall rework our schedule and ensure that we spend extra time on every topic.”

“It’s pointless, Iida,” Steven said, voice muffled by his pillow. “Really, it’s fine. I'm not that smart.”

“Nonsense!” he rebuked. “Academic excellence is not indicative of your true intelligence. Your position as an assistant to our teacher is proof of that! Yaomomo, if I could—”

He grabbed a notebook from the desk and flipped through it, eventually finding a page and beginning to scribble on it.

“Alright,” Iida began. “I’d like to start from the beginning, as it seems Yaomomo and I may have made some incorrect assumptions.”

“Clearly,” Steven lifted his head and snorted. “I’m telling you, my understanding of math is, like, nonexistent. I might be able to add two numbers together. Might.”

“I don’t understand,” Yaoyorozu groaned from her defeated position. “How could your education have lapsed so much? Did no one seek to enroll you in a school? Did your caretakers even take it upon themselves to provide you with some measure of an education?”

“They did, but…” Steven thought about what the Crystal Gems considered education. “…I had more important things to worry about than math.”

“I suppose.” She didn’t sound happy, but accepted it as an answer. Finally, she lifted her head off the desk and composed herself. “Then, this is more proof than ever that we must take charge of your learning. It’s nearly criminal, the way your education was neglected, and we must seek to recover from that deficit.”

Steven was wrong. There was much harm to be found in being tutored. So much harm. The two students’ efforts redoubled, they managed to get him to sit through an hour of math before they were forced to give up for the day. His vision was swimming with numbers, symbols, and words he barely understood.

Despite the early stop, Iida was optimistic. “We made good progress today, Steven.” Oh thank the stars, he’d finally dropped the honorific. “I believe that with this start, we should have a much firmer foundation for our next session.

“Right,” Steven grimaced. “Next session.” He shook his head, dispelling his mathematical hallucinations. Even though he kind of hated that, he recognized the merit behind this sort of thing. It was the responsible thing to do, to try and become smarter. Besides, Yaoyorozu and Iida were very nice and understanding about his whole situation. And the thing was, they were really good at this. In fact…

“Say, you guys seem to be really experienced with this whole,” he waved his arms around, “tutoring thing.”

“I’m glad you think so!” Iida shot up. “Yaomomo and I have organized many tutoring sessions for our classmates.”

“Not just us,” Yaoyorozu corrected gently.

“Of course, how could I forget?” He slapped his hand against his forehead with as much vigor as he did everything else. “On occasion, Izuku and Tsu have been known to assist us. Izuku is likely the most well-versed of all of us in Hero Law, and Tsu’s experience with her siblings has made her a patient and effective teacher.”

“Oh, right!” Steven ignored the mention of Midoriya—he wasn’t sure what to do about him yet, and therefore put him out of mind. “She mentioned that last week. What about you guys?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t have any siblings, if that’s what you’re asking,” Yaoyorozu giggled. “Actually, the first time I ever tutored a peer was in preparation for our final exams a few months ago. Some of our classmates were expressing their anxiety about them, and I offered to help them, and then more people jumped on, and, well…” She blushed. “Before too long, I had essentially agreed to tutor everyone in the class, and it wasn’t until that evening that I remembered I had no idea how to do so.”

Steven chuckled at that, and she joined in. “Yes, it was a bit foolish, but apparently my teaching was satisfactory.”

“I can confirm, I’ve never had a better teacher. Literally. What about you, Iida?”

The boy jolted when he was mentioned. “Oh! Ah, yes, I do indeed have an older brother.” His eyes shone. “Tensei is fifteen years older than I am, and it was thanks to him that I even pursued the path of a hero. He i—was the greatest hero I ever knew, and he is an inspiration to me in every way.”

Steven didn’t miss the way Iida stumbled over his words there, and chewed on his lip for a second as he mulled over what to say. “He sounds pretty cool, but… did he stop being a hero? Or…”

His eyes darkened. “Tensei was injured in a battle against a dastardly villain known as the Hero Killer—thankfully, he is now in prison, but Tensei lost the use of his legs. Permanently.” He sighed. “After it became clear that there were no ways to treat the paralysis, he retired. I intend to take up his mantle upon graduation, and become a hero in his name.”

Steven was about to apologize and express his remorse for what happened, but an idea popped into his mind and he had to pause. He hesitated, but ultimately asked, “Are you sure?”

“Sure of what?”

“Have you… y’know, have you tried every option? Because, if you want, I could try—”

Iida stopped him there. “I appreciate the offer, Steven, but if Recovery Girl was unable to do anything…” He shuddered. “…I do not expect you would be able to provide any help.”

“No, see, that’s the thing,” he shook his head. “My healing, it’s—it’s super strong. I haven’t had to heal any really serious injuries here, at least not yet, but trust me when I say that it can handle almost anything.”

Although, he really hasn’t used it much on other humans, now that he thought about it. His dad’s broken arm came to mind, and of course the way he fixed Connie’s eyesight was impressive, but every serious injury his spit had healed was a cracked or shattered Gem.

Maybe, then, he shouldn’t have had the confidence he did, but he was resolute. To write off a chance without even making an attempt was like admitting defeat before trying, and Steven was not one to give up hope.

He could see the hope in Iida’s eyes, but he could also see the way it was held back. Yes, Steven could tell that it must have hurt to see his brother crippled so, and a false hope that resulted in nothing could break the fragile peace he’d made with the situation.

Yaoyorozu stood from the desk chair, and she placed a hand on the troubled boy’s shoulder. “Isn’t it worth trying, Tenya? Even if he can’t fully heal the damage, he might be able to relieve some of your brother’s pain.”

Iida mulled it over for a moment. “Yes, I suppose that makes sense,” he eventually nodded. “Thank you, Yaomomo. I’ll… I’ll speak to Aizawa-sensei tomorrow morning, see if we can set up a day and time.”

“Of course,” she smiled. “I wouldn’t give up hope just yet.”

Steven smiled as Iida looked over to him. “I’ll do my best!”

Iida nodded solemnly. “Thank you, Steven. I appreciate it.”

Chapter Text

Steven stepped into the cafeteria with a skip in his step.

He’d gone with Iida to talk to Aizawa before the beginning of the school day, and he would actually be taking the two of them to Iida’s home in just a few hours.

Personally, Steven felt an odd mixture of anticipation and apprehension. If it turned out that he wasn’t able to heal Iida’s brother, then he’d at least know his limit on healing human injuries, something he’d never really been able to test before.

Lars was… a bit more than a simple healing.

And if he was able to restore the use of his legs? Well, he wouldn’t complain about that.

Grabbing some food, he sat among the group he affectionately referred to (in his head) as the Bakusquad, given their tendency to cluster around Bakugou.

He tried to sit somewhere different each day, to spend time with as much of class 1-A as possible. Maybe once he got to know everyone equally, he could meet class 1-B…

As if summoned by his thoughts, a girl with orange hair from said class appeared, dragging a grumpy Monoma behind her.

“Sorry to bother you, everybody!” she grinned, though there was an air of menace behind it. “Monoma here just has something he wants to say, don’t you?”

She shook the boy and roughly pulled him up to his feet, and the boy grimaced. The expression didn’t last long, however, quickly melting off and replaced with sheepish embarrassment when he realized who he was looking at.

“Universe,” Monoma mumbled, and the girl nudged him with her hand. “Universe-senpai,” he corrected hastily.

“Yes, Monoma?” Steven said coldly, or as coldly as he could manage. He didn’t hold too much of a grudge towards the boy, despite the incident that occurred a few days ago. He understood, really. The skepticism wasn’t completely unfounded, but there was certainly a better way to go about expressing it than the direct confrontation that occurred.

Monoma pulled his mouth into a tight line, but eventually forced himself to say, “I’m sorry.”

“What was that?” The girl put a hand up to her ear. “I didn’t hear you.”

“I’m sorry,” he emphasized, louder this time.

She crossed her arms and looked at him. “Really, Monoma? Is that all you have to say?” She smirked. “Because back in the dorms, you said—”

He paled. “Fine, fine!” With a deep breath, he turned to Steven once more and ducked his head. “I’d like to… to apologize, Universe-senpai. I admit, it was childish of me to barge in the way I did and disrupt the peace. My decision was… hasty, made without gathering the necessary information—Ow!” He rubbed his head where he’d been whacked, grumbling all the while. “Fine. I shouldn’t have done anything like that. I should have realized that I was making you uncomfortable and done my best to be polite.”

“So, I guess,” Monoma continued. “I’m sorry for not taking your word and needlessly antagonizing you. Are you happy now, Kendo?” he said as he turned back to the girl, and she nodded smugly.

Steven wondered how to respond. On the surface, it looked as if he was being forced to give an apology that he really didn’t mean. But Steven wasn’t one to just take one look at the situation and pass judgment. And it was clear from the way that he fidgeted while speaking and the way his eyes were downcast that he was nervous about giving a genuine apology, rather than him being forced to do so against his will.

So, Steven forgave him. Simple as that.

“It’s fine, Monoma-san,” he smiled at the boy. “I get why you were so worked up. Just… maybe don’t do that again?”

Monoma bit his lip. “I understand. I—thank you.”

“Of course!” Steven scooted over and patted the seat next to him. “Do you want to join us? I wanted to ask about your quirk, since it seems really cool and useful.”

Blushing, the student flicked his eyes over to the rest of the table before stepping away. “Perhaps at a different time.”

“That’s cool, no worries!” He waved. “See you later!”

As Monoma and Kendo returned to their own classmates, Kaminari rested his chin in his hand and asked, “Dude, why are you being so nice to him?”

“Honestly, he’s probably lying,” Sero agreed. “Monoma’s an ass.”

Steven shrugged. “He could be lying, true, but what if he was telling the truth, and he was apologizing for real?” He tilted his head. “There’s never a reason not to be polite.”

Kirishima grinned, thumping his chest. “That’s so manly, bro!”

Steven paused, struggling to figure out how to interpret that as the rest giggled (except for Bakugou, but that was to be expected).

===

Aizawa glowered at the two of them, his eyes betraying a familiar mixture of exasperation, exhaustion, and—Steven would never dare say this out loud—a hint of something approaching fondness or affection.

“You two good to go?”

“Hai, Sensei!” Iida immediately began bowing in thanks, and Aizawa grumbled even as Steven found himself chuckling.

“Good.” The man turned and made his way outside, the two of them following close behind.

“I’d like to thank you again, Steven,” Iida said as they made their way to the now-familiar train station. “My brother has been the greatest inspiration in my life, and it would be truly incredible if—”

“I can’t promise I’ll be able to heal him,” Steven interrupted before Iida could continue to get his hopes up—though it seemed like it was too late for that. “I don’t know how bad his damage is, and if I can’t do anything for him… well, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

He let his sympathy show clearly on his face, and Iida remained quiet as they boarded the train and took their seats. Aizawa left, letting them know that he was going to the bathroom, accompanied with a stern glare that promised consequences if they didn’t behave themselves.

The longer Iida remained silent, the more reluctant Steven was to break it. It seemed less and less likely that Iida was just mulling his words over, and it occurred to him that maybe he was truly upset at the possibility that this outing would be in vain. Just before he could open his mouth to speak, Iida beat him to it.

“I understand that the chances for a full recovery for my brother may be… slim. I’d accepted that impossibility months ago,” Iida started, eyes hard. “But, if all you can do is ease a fraction of Tensei’s pain, then it would all be worth it.”

Steven paused for a moment, taken aback at the sheer love reflected in Iida’s eyes for his brother, ignoring the brief sting in his chest when he thought of his own family (gone, taken, lost) and the lengths he’d go for them as well.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding with a slightly strained smile. “Well, I’m pretty sure I can promise that much at least! I think. I’m fairly confident, for what it’s worth.” He stopped to collect his thoughts before he spoke again, cautiously. “Is… does your brother feel a lot of pain from what happened?”

Iida gripped his pants tightly, eyes flashing with a combination of anger and sadness. “Unfortunately. Even paralyzed, with his spinal nerves damaged beyond repair, he experiences pain on the daily. Both him and my mother attempt to hide it from me, but I know he takes medication for it.”

Steven nodded along as he listened, but the word ‘nerves’ in particular stuck out to him. He didn’t know a lot (or anything, really) about anatomy, but it reminded him of something Pearl had mentioned after Spinel attacked Earth.

It was something about… something about his dad’s arm, after it was hit with the bio-poison Spinel had brought. She said Greg’s arm was ‘nerve-dead’ from the poison, and that he was lucky to have it in perfect condition again after Steven had healed it.

Nerve-dead.

If that was what was wrong with Iida’s brother, and he fixed it for his dad’s arm, then would he be able to fix it for someone’s legs too?

He wasn’t sure, but there was a glimmer of hope that definitely wasn’t there when they first left. Still, he remained wary. His dad’s injury was fresh, mere moments after it happened. Iida’s brother’s injury was months old by this point. Would that play a part into how much he could heal?

The only other time Steven could think of when he healed an injury from a long time ago was Connie’s eyesight, and he didn’t think that qualified as an injury. Plus, he hadn’t done it on purpose. For all he knew, he had probably come into contact with a bunch of people who wore glasses without the same results.

It could have been a fluke, like a lot of things Steven did with his powers.

He looked up at Iida, sitting silent and steady beside him, sunlight shining through the train windows and reflecting off his glasses. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but Iida held in one of his hands a large travel mug containing what was possibly water.

An idea formed in his head, and he nearly gasped at the thought. Well, there was only one way to find out…

“Hey, uh, Iida? What’cha got over there?” Steven asked as casually as possible, pointing at the drink.

“Oh, this?” Iida flushed. “Ah… it’s orange juice. My quirk is fueled by ingesting copious amounts of citrus, while caffeinated drinks such as coffee and certain sodas stall my engines.”

Huh. It suddenly made sense why he’d never seen the resident purple-haired coffee dealer ever do business with Iida.

He sighed, fiddling with the opening to the mug. “To be honest… I haven’t been able to train with my brother ever since the injury, and I had a thought… well, I felt it would be best for my quirk to be in top form for today. Just in case.”

Yeah, okay. This was fine. Steven could totally work with this. He just had a few more questions.

(If this worked, he hoped Uraraka would forgive him. She’d said on more than one occasion that she liked the way Iida’s glasses made him look smart. Steven had to agree with her.)

“Cool,” he said. “By the way, how attached are you to your glasses?”

Iida blinked.

Steven rushed to clarify. “Like, do you enjoy wearing glasses?”

Iida looked thoughtful for a moment, only hesitating for a moment at the sheer oddity of the question. “I suppose I’m not particularly partial to them. I tend to forget about them when I’m in a rush, and they oftentimes break during training, which means they get frequently replaced. My room is stocked with dozens of spares, and only a third of them remain.”

Steven winced. That didn’t sound fun. He had no real concept of money, and even that made his wallet cry out in pain. Connie had mentioned more than once how expensive glasses could be.

“Okay, sick! So, let’s say, if you had the choice to fix your eyesight and never need glasses again, would you take it?”

Iida’s expression just got even more confused. “My eyesight is, admittedly, much more trouble than it’s worth, especially seeing how it hinders my activities as a hero-in-training. I think that yes, if I had the opportunity, I would like to be rid of those issues.”

Steven was practically vibrating where he sat.

“Awesome! One last thing—can I have some of your juice?”

===

When Aizawa came back, it was to the sight of Steven looking smug, and a squinting Iida sitting beside him taking his glasses on and off with the most baffled expression he’d ever seen on a student.

Damn it. He’d been gone for less than five minutes.

===

Steven was just a tad bit nervous. Not only was he trying to live up to some high expectations from Iida, he was also forced to deal with a silent and stony Aizawa.

Maybe it was, perhaps, a mistake to heal Iida’s eyesight in public, but Steven figured that no one would notice—which was right! But Aizawa still seemed to figure out exactly what happened with a single look, and now he was giving the two of them a surprisingly effective version of the silent treatment.

Aizawa stood as the train slowed to a stop, gesturing for them to follow. Steven and Iida exchanged a sheepish look, obediently following behind the hero.

Oh, stars… he just had a thought. His healing ability generally depended on how confident he was in himself—which, at the moment, wasn’t very much.

Now, he was getting worried. He just had to stay calm, just keep reinforcing his confidence in his healing. He’d done even more before, this would be nothing.

As he repeated this mantra to himself, Aizawa led the way to the Iida household, which was a very short walk away from the train station. Steven nearly walked into Iida’s back when they suddenly stopped, and he was taken aback by the size of the house. Did it qualify as a mansion? Either way, it was impressively large.

It definitely explained how Iida could afford so many pairs of glasses.

Iida spoke up first. “Excuse me, Sensei, but I believe it would be best if I went in first and explained to my brother what exactly is going to happen.”

Aizawa nodded. “Fine. Step out when you two are ready.”

Oh, crap. Iida leaving the two of them alone was the worst thing that could happen. Now Steven had no buffer between himself and the hero, and he was absolutely going to say something stupid from the tension he was feeling.

In about three, two, one…

“Aizawa, I’m so sorry for what I did on the train. I know I’m not supposed to use my powers but I just kind of… forgot, I guess, and I promise I won’t do it again and I hope you’re not mad at me!”

Yeesh. Of all the things to blurt out, he chose some word-vomit apology? Of course Aizawa was mad at him. What even was the point of that question? Now it was just going to be even more awkward, and any sort of positive relationship with the man would be ruined—

“Hm?” Aizawa turned to face him, caught unaware by his outburst. “Sorry, I was just thinking… nevermind. Kid, I’m not—I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re not?”

“Well, no, I am. A little bit,” he sighed. “Look. Do you know why we’re being so strict about your public quirk use?”

“Because the law—”

Aizawa interrupted him. “Not just the law. Universe, to any outside observer, you have multiple quirks. It just so happens that the League of Villains is well known for creating genetically modified beasts with multiple quirks.”

Steven blanched. Was he… was he talking about…

“If a civilian witnessed you using multiple quirks before you were introduced to them, then they’d accuse you of being a Nomu.” Steven flinched, but if Aizawa noticed then he didn’t comment. “And the League of Villains? They would notice, and you’d become a target. I’m not just mad, Universe. I’m worried.”

Steven nodded slowly, calming down as understanding dawned on him. His face suddenly felt a lot less warm. Did he accidentally start turning pink? Shoot.

Either way, Aizawa wasn’t mad at him, he was just scared for his well-being.

Well, now he just felt silly.

“Sorry, Aizawa,” he said, ducking his head down as his cheeks heated up. “I’ll try to be more mindful next time.”

Aizawa sighed. “Don’t worry, kid. Just—I don’t know—try not to do whatever it is you were doing in public?”

“Got it!”

Just as Aizawa was opening his mouth to say something else, Iida poked his head out of the front door and yelled, “Steven, Aizawa-sensei! The situation has been explained! Please come in!”

Steven immediately moved towards the house, not leaving time for whatever Aizawa wanted to say. He was in his own head, psyching him up for the big heal. I’ve got this, he thought. I healed Iida’s eyesight, I can totally heal his brother.

Upon entering the house, he immediately felt inadequate compared to the way the interior looked. It wasn’t as egregiously lavish as he saw on the occasional TV show, but there was an air of being well-off that shone through in the decorations.

“Tensei is right here,” Iida led them to the first doorway on the left, which opened into a large but homey living room. Iida’s older brother was reclining in a nearby armchair, but sat up when the three of them entered.

“Shouta!” The young man grinned and waved. “How’re you doing, bud?”

“Tensei.” Aizawa’s voice was about as dead as normal, but he could see his expression soften slightly when greeted by Tensei—who Steven suspected was an old friend of his. “It’s been a while.”

The older Iida snorted. “It’s been a bit hard to get out recently, can’t blame me. Is this Steven?” he said, turning to face him.

“Y-yes sir!” Steven stammered, suddenly aware that he was in the presence of a former hero. Tensei looked uncannily similar to his younger brother, especially now that he was relieved of his glasses. His face was a little older, creased with a few lines likely caused by stress, but it would be obvious to anyone that the two brothers were related.

“Relax, kid,” Tensei chuckled. “Y’know, I’m still a bit skeptical that you can really help, even if Tenya can vouch for you.”

“He healed my vision, brother—”

“I mean, if Recovery Girl couldn’t do anything…” he trailed away. “Nevermind. If you think your quirk can help, then feel free to try. No harm in that, right?”

“Right,” Steven said, shuddering as he took a deep breath. He could do this. He knew he could.

“So, what do I have to do?”

Steven shook his head. “Don’t worry. You don’t need to do anything.” He walked forward, standing next to the seated man. “Before I start, I just want to ask—would you prefer getting a kiss on the forehead, or for me to lick my fingers and touch you with those?”

Tensei chuckled. “That’s pretty similar to Recovery Girl, isn’t it? Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Alright.” Steven licked two fingers on his right hand and got ready to do the deed. Tensei moved his head forward, exposing the back of his neck to him. Right, Iida had mentioned that the injury was on the spine.

With one last steadying breath, Steven closed the gap between his fingers and Tensei’s skin, concentrating with all his might that it would work. For a moment, nothing happened.

In fact, nothing happened for several moments. Iida visibly deflated and Steven could feel himself drawing inwards from disappointment, but then Tensei gasped.

“Tenya, Tenya, come here,” he gestured, eyes still wide in surprise.

“Brother? Did it work?” Iida rushed forward, wrapping an arm around Tensei and accepting his arm around his shoulder.

“I can’t believe…” Tensei muttered, and Steven nearly jumped in excitement as the older Iida—slowly but surely—stood up with his brother’s help.

“Yes!” Steven whooped, and Tensei laughed out loud as he took his first steps in months.

The next few minutes were a blur of excitement, tears, and calls, but one moment stood out to Steven in particular. Iida, with tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, turned to him as Aizawa tended to Tensei.

“Thank you, Steven, for helping my brother.”

Chapter Text

As he sat down on the train seat, Shouta took a sip of coffee—the good, expensive kind that the Iidas kept in stock. Not to say that the coffee Nedzu had in the staff rooms was bad, but Nedzu was a tea drinker. That was all that needed to be said.

Regardless, he drank from his thermos and let out an imperceptible sigh as the warmth of the drink spread throughout his body—yes, he put cream and sugar in his coffee. He wasn’t a barbarian. Whether or not he did anything to dispel the rumors he drank his coffee black was an entirely different story.

He raised a hand and rubbed at his eyes, debating whether he needed to take out his eye drops when it occurred to him that he hadn’t used them in over a day.

No, that didn’t sound right. He definitely used his quirk in class today, and he always needed a top up after any sort of training, but he didn’t need it. His eyes felt better than they had in years.

Fuck, did Universe heal my eyes?

That explanation made the most sense, but when did…

Right. Yesterday. When he got punched with the force of a bullet train and subsequently fully healed.

He hasn’t really grasped the meaning of fully healed until right now.

Huh. Funny how that worked.

===

“Thank you, Sensei!” Iida said as Aizawa left the two of them outside the dorms.

“Yeah, thanks for taking us!” Steven echoed.

Aizawa didn’t respond, but Steven thought he saw the hint of a smile pushing its way onto his emotionless face.

Just as he was about to push open the doors, Iida grabbed his arm. “Before we enter,” he said, “I would like to make it known once again how grateful I am.”

Steven smiled sheepishly. “Hey, don’t mention it.”

Iida shook his head. “I’m sorry, Steven, but I cannot forget this. I’ve spent the past five months mourning for my brother, and his healing has happened so quickly that I imagine I’ll be thanking you for weeks. I’ve made some… rash decisions, in my grief, and to learn so thoroughly that it was all for naught is deeply unsettling.”

Looking over the taller boy, Steven took a second before stepping up and giving him a hug. “I get it. I’ve done some crappy things without thinking too, but it’s okay. You’ll work through it, and you have friends who’ll be by your side.”

Releasing him, Steven stepped back and took notice of his companion’s slightly misty eyes. “It’ll be alright, Iida.”

Iida nodded, wiping his sleeve across his face to dry his unshed tears.

“I hope so.”

Just as he was about to open the door himself, he turned and said, “And please, Steven—call me Tenya.”

Steven smiled at Iida—no, Tenya—and opened the door.

“Hey guys!” Kaminari yelled at them from the TV where he was watching a movie with a few others.

“Tenya, Steven,” Todoroki greeted from the couch, next to Uraraka—who waved enthusiastically—and Midoriya—who only squinted. “Where were you?”

Tenya coughed into his fist. “Nowhere, really. Just… visiting my brother?”

Todoroki’s gaze slid to Steven. “Then why was Steven with you?”

“Oh, uh…”

“And where are your glasses?” he asked, joining Midoriya in squinting. Uraraka just looked confused.

“Well, that’s,” Tenya mumbled, fumbling with his words. “That is to say…”

Steven took over, feeling bad for his friend. “What Tenya meant to say was that he took me to see his brother to see if I could heal him.”

Uraraka sat up. “Really?” she marveled. “Did it work?”

He lightly elbowed Tenya, who had been looking down at the floor in embarrassment. “Well, yes,” he mumbled. “Tensei has regained the use of his legs.”

Uraraka squealed, launching herself over the side of the couch to give him a hug. Even Izuku, Steven noticed, couldn’t help from gasping.

“That’s amazing, Tenya! I’m so happy for you!” She spun him around as he sputtered, the onlookers chuckling at their antics.

“And my glasses,” Tenya added once he was set down, “are no longer necessary, as my eyesight has been healed.”

Uraraka discreetly pouted in Steven’s direction (an unfortunate sacrifice, he knew), but she celebrated the development all the same. All of a sudden, she stopped and thought for a second.

“You know, I think we should have a party to celebrate.”

Tenya flushed. “Oh, that won’t be necessary—”

“That sounds like a great idea, Uraraka!” Steven interrupted, grinning widely at her.

“Please, you really do not—”

“Thank you, Steven! Come on, let’s go let everybody know!”

Iida cried out in despair.

===

When Steven entered the kitchen, Sato was already preparing a cache of ingredients.

“Oh hey,” he greeted without taking his head out of the cabinet he was digging through. “Let me just…” With a heave, he pulled the upper half of his body out of the cupboard, with a stack of cookie and cupcake trays in his hands. He grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. What’s up, Steven?”

Steven waved. “Sato! Remember a few days ago when you brought me cookies? And I asked if I could bake with you?”

Sato’s face, if it was even possible, brightened even further, and he hummed in acknowledgement, catching what Steven was saying. “Sure! Uh… can you get out the butter? I’m making cookies and cupcakes for Iida.”

Steven opened the fridge and dug out a couple of sticks of butter as Sato laid out the mixing bowls and measuring cups. “Cookies are oatmeal—because they’re Iida’s favorite—and then I found a new ginger snap recipe, so I wanted to try that out,” he continued. “Cupcakes are just going to be vanilla, with vanilla and chocolate frosting, I think.”

“I can get started on the frosting!” Steven called out. As he gathered ingredients, he talked, almost to himself. “I’ve been meaning to get back to baking.”

“You bake?”

“I used to,” he clarified. “My friend Lars introduced me to it.”

“Oh, right! You mentioned him when I came around a few days back.”

“Yep! I did some cooking before that—if you can call it cooking. Imagine an entire bag of sugar concentrated into a single meal, then double it.” He bent over, shuffling through drawers in search of a whisk.

Sato grimaced. “I can imagine. I wouldn’t complain though, considering my quirk.”

“You have… uh, a strength quirk, right?” Steven popped up, whisk in hand.

“Yeah. Activates whenever I eat sugar. Makes my decision-making skills take a nosedive, but I'll take it if it means I can be a hero.”

“Yeesh, that can’t be nice.”

He shrugged. “It’s not perfect. I can be liability sometimes, but I’ve figured out just how much sugar I can eat before I get too stupid for hero work. It works for me.”

Steven started whisking his sugar mixture, hands moving well beyond normal human limits. “I’m glad it does! This class wouldn’t be the same without you.”

A red tinge dusted Sato’s cheeks. “Huh, that’s… Thanks, Steven.”

“You got it, bud.” Steven set down the bowl of frosting, now whisked and nearly ready to be eaten. “Remind me to get some purple yams. I know this fantastic ube roll recipe. I could show it to you!”

“Sure, sounds fun.”

===

Izuku knelt on the couch, his body scrunched together so that only his eyes would be visible above the back of the couch. The target of his spying? Steven, of course.

He was baking with Sato, keeping up his strategy of charming Izuku’s classmates into forming genuine friendships with him. Izuku wasn’t sure how this played into the as-of-yet-unconfirmed Nomu’s strategy, but he observed him all the same. Perhaps by getting closer to them, Steven would be able to glean classified information and pass it along to the League of Villains? A devious plan, and exactly what he would expect a villain to do.

Aside from that, he also wondered what exactly Steven’s ploy was, by healing Tensei. Was he trying to gain allies? Maybe, by providing such a service to them, he was ensuring that they were in his debt, beholden to him until he called on them? Or perhaps there was a sinister quirk at play… did his healing spit also brainwash the people that he healed?

He decided that he’d have to talk to Hitoshi about this at some point.

Oh no, a thought popped into head. Had Hitoshi already been healed? Was he a victim too?

No, better to tell no one about his suspicions—except for All Might, of course.

The two of them met eyes, and Steven paused in his conversation for a moment before deliberately looking away.

Crap. Izuku forgot that his hair was very visible, and extended well above eye level. With his operations for today prematurely ended, he shut his notebook with a soft clap.

“What are you doing?”

Izuku jumped backward, and in his surprise he rolled off the couch and landed on the floor, all the air exiting his body as he landed on his back.

Shouto looked down on him from the couch, and Izuku did his best to cover his surprise. “Uh… nothing! Just—enjoying the rug?”

Shouto just looked at him, and though to most of 1-A this would have blended in with Shouto's typical expression, Izuku was an expert in reading his faces. This one was subtle, but it was slightly condescending, as if he didn’t believe the excuse—which, whatever, that was valid.

“Are you okay?” Shouto pressed on, ignoring Izuku’s inner dialogue.

“I-I’m fine,” Izuku wheezed, pulling himself up. “You just surprised me, I didn’t notice you there.”

He made the same face again. “I’ve been here for over an hour. Izuku, we came in together earlier with Ochako.”

Izuku silently acknowledged that as a good point, but ignored it in hopes that he’d move past it.

Shouto's eyes drifted downwards, landing on the notebook Izuku had dropped when he fell off the couch. “You've been writing in that notebook quite a bit, recently.”

Izuku’s face didn’t suddenly become pale, it didn’t. Absolutely not. He sat on the notebook, hoping that Shouto would forget about it. “It’s, uh…” he stammered, eyes wildly looking in every direction, searching for some sort of valid excuse. “I’m just… taking notes? Our last few math assignments have been tough, and I need to review…?” He trailed off.

Shouto nodded contemplatively. “You’re right. They have been tough.” He tilted his head. “I’d be happy to assist you in studying if you need it.”

He shook his head vigorously. “Oh, it’s fine! Thank you for the offer, Sh-Shouto. I have it covered.”

From the kitchen, Sato called out, “Desserts will be ready in a few minutes! Can someone get everyone down for movie night?”

Seizing the opportunity to escape, Izuku leapt from the couch. “I’ll do it!” Before anyone could say anything, he activated his quirk and shot up the stairs.

===

Steven walked into the living room from the kitchen, carefully holding onto the tray of cupcakes with both hands as he avoided any potential obstacles—namely, Kaminari and Sero attempting to steal the sweet treats directly from him, instead of just being patient and waiting until Steven set the tray down on the coffee table.

He couldn’t bring himself to mind too much though. It made for good practice dodging, especially when Sero started using his tape to try to steal the entire tray.

Ducking, he laughed as Kaminari soared above him, landing on the rug with an oomph after having launched himself from the back of a couch. As the student groaned, Steven commented with a smirk, “Nice shot! I’m sure you’ll get it soon!”

Kaminari grumbled incoherently, and he took that to mean he was fine. Sidestepping out of the way of one of Sero’s tape attacks, Steven triumphantly laid the cupcakes down on the table. Kaminari and Sero, still recovering from their latest attacks, moaned in anguish as Tokoyami instead had the honor of eating the first cupcake.

“Mm.” Tokoyami chewed his bite slowly, savoring the sweet treat even as the other two looked on in jealousy from the floor. After some torturous seconds, he finally swallowed, taking another moment before speaking. “Truly, a delectable dessert. My compliments to the bakers.” He licked his lips (beak?) and then offered the other half to his quirk—Dark Shadow, which Steven still found so cool. Imagine, having a friend that he could always talk to, so that he’d never be alone!

...On second thought, he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, given his history with his friends...

He shoved those thoughts into the Ignore For Now™ folder inside his brain. No reason to think about that right now, after all.

“Thanks, Tokoyami!” Steven grinned at the bird-headed student, as he watched the shadowy quirk devour the cupcake in a single bite. Another thought came to him—how could Dark Shadow eat? It didn’t have a stomach…

Right?

Train of thought derailed, Steven ≈sunk back into the couch, content to observe as the students of 1-A pounced at the tray of desserts. Sa—no, Rikido—he was asked to use the boy’s first name—was in the kitchen, finishing up the last of the cookies, which were going to be a hit if Steven’s taste test proved anything.

Someone walked up to him, and Steven turned his head to the right only to see Yaoyorozu standing there.

“Hello, Steven. Could I…?” She gestured at the space next to him, and he got her meaning and nodded enthusiastically.

As she carefully sat down, Steven angled himself so that he was facing her. “What’s up, Yaoyorozu?”

“Please, you can call me Momo—or Yaomomo, if you prefer.”

“Alright, Yaomomo. What’s up?” he repeated the question.

She held onto her poised position for a second or two longer, then released it in a huff and fell back against the back of the couch. “Nothing, really. I’m just a bit tired, is all.”

Steven nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I get that. Everything’s been really busy recently, huh?”

She nodded emphatically. “Yes, especially with the work-studies. I’m beginning to struggle in finding the time to relax, not when I have to play catch-up with my schoolwork.”

“Ouch,” he winced. “I can imagine. Can’t relate exactly, but I can definitely imagine.”

“Indeed,” Yaoyo—no, Yaomomo sighed. “At the very least, Fat Gum has been a wonderful mentor, and I’ve been using the time at work to bond with Kirishima and Amajiki-senpai. However, I did make some time for movie night today. Thank you for helping Sato with the baking today. The cupcakes are absolutely delectable.”

“Ah, thank you!” Steven blushed and smiled. “But Rikido did most the work, really, I just helped out and made the frosting.”

“Regardless, I appreciate it greatly,” she repeated. “Now, enough about myself. How have you been doing?”

“Eh, it’s been fine. I’m still thinking about earlier today, though.”

“Oh, your healing of Iida’s brother?”

“No—well actually, that too, but that isn’t what I was talking about. I was thinking about the whole thing in the cafeteria, when—what was her name—when Kendo was forcing Monoma to apologize to me.”

“Ah, yes,” Yaomomo smirked mischievously. “I don’t think there was a single person who missed that.”

He rolled his eyes, embarrassment just barely tinting his cheeks pink. “Yeah, thanks for that,” he responded sarcastically. “But… yeah. I don’t know. It was just on my mind, I guess? I can understand why he acted like he did at first, and the apology seemed genuine, but…” He shrugged. “Kendo seemed nice, though.”

Her eyes brightened. “She is, isn’t she? I work with her often—as the class president for 1-B, we tend to collaborate on inter-class activities.”

“I guess you’ll have to introduce me to her sometime, then!” Steven grinned.

“Yes, I suppose I shall,” she smiled at him gratefully. Already he noticed that she seemed more relaxed than she had a first, and he was glad that she felt she could come to him when felt stressed.

Which, on second thought, reminded him (if only tangentially) of the events that led to his powers growing out of control.

No, bad brain, Steven chastised himself. This wasn’t anything like that. He wasn’t forcing himself to help anybody, he was just enjoying a nice conversation with one of the students.

Nothing like before.

He shook his head, pulling himself back into the real world. Yaomomo was now participating in a lively discussion involving herself, Jirou, Kaminari, Sero, and a few others about what movie they wanted to watch. Half of them were seated on the floor or on the back of the sofa, Kaminari being the most egregious in that he was quite literally draped over the back, head hanging upside-down in between Jirou and Sero. Sato was seated on the floor in front of them, clearly taking a moment to relax and indulge in one of his own confections. The cookies had already been brought out, probably while Steven was zoning out, and every so often someone came by to take one for themselves.

Ashido whistled from in front of the television, loudly enough that she managed to grab everyone’s attention.

“Alright, can we finally get a movie on? What do we all want?”

What followed was an absolute cacophony of sound as people shouted out their suggestions. Steven couldn’t make out any suggestions among the noise, and he just pointedly covered his ears with his hands and waited for them to stop screaming.

Through the chaos, he watched as a lone figure stood up and walked up to the front, patiently waiting until everyone noticed him and quieted down.

Tokoyami cleared his throat, and said softly, “I would like to put forward the suggestion that we view a horror film. Does anyone object?”

There were some mutterings, but no one came forward.

Ashido huffed in relief. “Thanks, Fumi.” As the bird-headed boy nodded and made his way back to the couch he’d been reclining on, she clapped her hands together and faced the room once more. “Great! So! We’re gonna watch a horror movie! Let’s say… five minutes for us to figure out what we want to watch? Cool!”

Ashido’s rapid-fire speech left Steven feeling a bit disoriented, but he got the message. Around him, the groups of students broke into intense conversation as they individually tried to decide what movie to put forward. Steven just watched in amusement as they shifted so neatly from argument to civil discussion.

Back at the front of the room, the TV switched on, someone having grabbed the remote at some point. Most people were too preoccupied with choosing a movie to pay attention, but everyone quieted down when the news showed up on the screen, where some very familiar faces were pictured.

“Kiri?” Ashido shrieked at the same time as Jirou gasped and yelled, “Momo!”

Up on the television, the two students were pictured next to Tamaki and their mentor, the hero known rather appropriately as Fat Gum.

Jirou was whispering furiously into an embarrassed Yaomomo’s ear, while Ashido (and the rest of the class, really) watched the news in stunned silence. Kirishima, meanwhile, appeared to be equal parts smug and shocked.

“Earlier today, multiple criminals involved in drug-related turf wars were apprehended by Fat Gum, alongside three student interns from UA: the third-year Suneater, alongside two first-years from the famed “Class 1-A”—Creati and Red Riot.”

The images faded out, revealing in their place a series of video clips of the capture. Yaomomo—or rather, Creati—was taking it upon herself to capture some of the gang members alongside Suneater, while Red Riot was seen running after an escaping criminal.

“One of the villains was reported to have boosted his quirk with Trigger, which would have cost many lives if not for the quick thinking of Red Riot. As a result, minimal civilian casualties occurred.”

“Why didn’t you guys tell us?” Kaminari asked as the reporter paused.

Kirishima shrugged, a self-satisfied still plastered on his face. “Yaomomo and I figured we would wait to see if we made the news. Besides, Fat Gum said—“

“In related news, we’ve received reports that Ryukyu, currently the ninth-ranked hero in Japan, was involved in taking down a drug smuggling operation off the coast of Japan. Although we don’t have access to all the information, we can confirm that she was called in by the Oki Mariner Crew after their detection of the ship, and that Ryukyu herself was accompanied by three more UA students—third-year intern Nejire Chan, already on track to be ranked as soon as she graduates later this year, along with Froppy and Uravity, both first-years.”

“You two did what?”

That was Hagakure, he was pretty sure. Hard to tell when he couldn’t see who was speaking, but he’d gotten pretty good at recognizing everyone’s voice.

Uraraka blushed as everyone’s attention shifted to her. Even Tsu, who normally didn’t show a hint of embarrassment, was looking down as her classmates started to badger the two of them with questions. Sighing, Steven stood up, knowing that he had to intervene somehow.

“Hey guys, can we move on and pick the movie?” He walked over to where the remote had been placed on a table and muted the still-on TV. “I know this is all surprising and exciting,” he allowed, “but I don’t think that Tsu and Uraraka want to be bothered by all of this right now. Yaomomo and Kirishima too. Let’s leave this alone and we can ask them questions tomorrow, if they’re fine with it.”

Properly chastised, about half the class apologized to the four of them, who waved them all off. The other half had, thankfully, been as perceptive as he’d been and remained respectful. Steven caught a grateful look from Yaomomo, and he smiled back at her.

Ashido walked up to where he was standing. “Look at you, being all peacekeeper and everything.” She rolled her eyes at him, but that did little to conceal her teasing smile and tone of voice.

“I try,” Steven said nonchalantly. “I mean, I don’t, not really. I don’t want to have to do that all the time, but sometimes it’s necessary.”

Nodding in understanding, she said, “I get it. Still, thanks for calming everyone down. I’ve been looking forward to this week’s movie night.”

“Oh? What makes today so special?”

She grinned. “So, my favorite movie is Alien, right?”

Steven made a noise of recognition. “I think we have that back in my world. I remember watching something like that before.”

“Awesome. So, like, Alien, right? That’s actually where my original hero name came from—I wanted to be Alien Queen, but Midnight said that naming myself after a creature from a horror movie wasn’t very heroic.” She scoffed. “Whatever.”

“Aw, that sucks.” Steven frowned. “What did you pick instead?”

Ashido grimaced. “Pinky. I’m fine with it, I guess, but I’m really thinking of changing it after I graduate.”

Steven nodded thoughtfully. “I can talk to Midnight later, see what I can do. Besides,” he smirked, a thought popping into his head, “I’m technically an alien queen myself.”

She blinked in confusion. “Wait, what?”

“So my mom was one of the Diamonds, so she was one of the rulers of the Gem Empire, right?” He waited for her to nod before moving on.

“Since she’s not a human, she couldn’t really have a baby with my dad the regular way, so she gave up her form and kinda… became me?”

“Ew.” Ashido made a face, and Steven laughed.

“Yeah, it’s weird, but it does mean that I’m actually alien royalty.”

“Sick.”

“Sometimes,” Steven shrugged. “Anyways, about the movie?”

“Right!” She turned fully towards him and grinned deviously. “Basically, I’ve convinced over half the class to suggest the movie I want to watch. I asked Fumi to bring up watching a horror movie, so now I can just sit back and watch as I finally get my favorite movie picked, without having to do any arguing.”

Steven just stared at her blankly, as he processed all the layers to her plan. As his mind caught up to hers, all he could do was start giggling madly. Ashido joined in after a moment, and as they transitioned to full-body cackling, the rest of the class stopped their discussions to turn and stare at them.

He didn’t pay them any attention, though. He was having too much fun to care what they thought.

Chapter Text

“All Might!”

Izuku jogged towards his mentor, careful not to be going too quickly—after all, it wouldn’t do to make a certain someone suspicious if he was seen.

(Although, to be fair, how much Steven knew of his relationship with All Might was uncertain. A topic for further investigation, perhaps.)

(And besides, the sun was barely rising. He probably wasn’t even awake yet anyways.)

The former hero waved at Izuku, an unreadable smile on his face.

That was another thing, Izuku realized. While he would typically call himself fairly skilled at reading emotions and facial expressions (especially Steven’s, given how expressive he was—which was a godsend), he couldn’t read All Might at all. Maybe it was the way that his now-permanent skeletal form was just less capable of showing emotion, or some fault with Izuku himself, but regardless, he found his idol incredibly hard to read.

Whatever. He was working on it, and he was sure he could improve his results with only a few more weeks of studying All Might’s faces.

“Young Midoriya, how are you? I hope you got enough sleep last night!” All Might said when Izuku made it over to him.

He nodded vigorously in response as he set his backpack down on the bench next to All Might. In reality, Izuku didn’t get any sleep last night as he was too busy organizing his notes on Steven, but he didn’t want All Might to worry about him.

“Well then, my boy!” All Might’s grin widened.

(And to keep that smile on his face, Izuku would do anything.)

Oblivious to Izuku’s train of thought, All Might continued. “As I understand it, you’ve been busy with your internship under Sir Nighteye.”

“Ah. Yeah, I have been,” Izuku said rather unconvincingly. If he was being truthful, half of the time he was consumed with thoughts and theories about Steven. The other half was spent trying to figure out what he could do for Eri, and trying to reconcile the fact that not saving her was technically the right choice, with the reality that he could have done it.

Izuku looked up at his mentor, and realized that the older man was waiting for more of an answer. “Oh, uh, sorry! It’s—uh, well,” he stammered. “It’s—Sir Nighteye is cool. He’s very strict, but I spend most of my time patrolling with Togata-senpai anyways.”

All Might hummed in response. “As long as you’re sure you’re learning from him. Now, uh…” He coughed into his fist. “How goes your… research?”

Izuku straightened as they moved past the pleasantries. He revealed his notebook in his hand, opening it and flipping through it until he found the relevant pages.

“I’ve been eavesdropping as much as I could, but he hasn’t given away too much,” he explained. Finally finding the correct page, he pointed at a specific passage. “However, at dinner on Saturday, he explained some things about the Gems.”

All Might cocked his head. “Those are the ‘aliens’ he’s supposedly descended from, yes?”

“Right,” Izuku nodded. “But, All Might, it’s bad. These Gems, he said they were like robots, with the ability to control light, but that wasn’t the worst part. He said that in order for new—new Gems to be created, they need to absorb the life around them.” He shuddered at the next part. “All Might, he said the Gems used to colonize planets just to leave them broken and lifeless.”

All Might grimaced. “That’s rather gruesome. Is there a way you can check whether he’s telling the truth?”

Izuku shook his head. He’d tried, but as far as he could tell, Steven fully believed what he was saying. That meant that either he was a master liar, trained by All For One to use this ridiculous story as a cover, or the opposite—that Steven was exactly who he said he was.

The hero sighed. “Well, no matter. I’ll have a chat with Tsukauchi-san later. And—Midoriya?”

“Yes, All Might?”

“Don’t worry too much about this Universe boy. I’ll speak to him this weekend, see if he displays any of the typical signs that All For One’s agents do.”

“But—“

“No, my boy. You are not obligated to place this sort of burden upon yourself. I’ll also discuss him with Aizawa-san and Kayama-san, see what they have to say about the boy, since they’ve both spent substantial time with him and are rather good judges of character.”

“All Might—“ Izuku tried to argue, but…

“No, Midoriya-shounen,” he said forcefully. “You don’t need to worry yourself.” He stood up, brushing off his legs and extending a hand to Izuku. “Allow this former hero to do some investigative work of own, eh?”

Izuku bit back any arguments. He didn’t want to make his mentor mad at him… and he could honestly use the time to sleep.

“Yes, All Might.”

The man grinned. “Excellent! Now, let us head back to the dorms. I’m sure you’d like to eat some breakfast before class starts!”

===

Steven allowed himself to drift away on the couch, brain lulled by the white noise of chaos that consisted of class 1-A getting ready for the day.

Hey, he might have woken up only twenty minutes ago, but he was allowed to take a nap if he wanted to. Besides, it didn’t seem like anyone had noticed him yet. He was sequestered away in the far corner of the living room, on a couch facing the window through which the rising sun shone at just the right angle.

As he basked in the sunlight and stretched, he heard someone say, “Are you sure he’s not a cat?” He peeled his eyes open slightly to see who was standing above him.

“Hey Yaomomo, Jirou,” he greeted them. “Kaminari.” The boy he acknowledged a bit more sternly, in response to his comment. He had some self-respect, thank you very much.

Kaminari actually looked a bit sheepish when he was called out, a slight blush creeping up his face as Yaomomo and Jirou broke into laughter.

“Yeah, laugh it up, you two,” he snarked at his friends before turning back to Steven. “I’m so sorry, you weren’t supposed to hear that. I thought you were asleep, I didn’t think—”

“To be fair,” Jirou interjected, “you were acting like a cat.”

Steven rolled his eyes, knowing that they weren’t wrong. He couldn’t help it that he really liked to lay in the sun. Probably something to do with him being half-Gem and needing sunlight. Connie could probably explain it better.

Connie. A pang of hurt ran through him. It’d been about a week since he’d arrived here, and he was still no closer to finding a way home than he had been at first. Would he ever see her again? Or the rest of the Crystal Gems?

No, he would. He would. He trusted that Connie, or Pearl, or Peridot would find a way to get him back. Maybe the diamonds would be able to help them.

He just had to trust them.

“—think, Steven?” Yaomomo had just said, shaking him out of his reverie. It took him a moment to realize that yes, they were asking him something and were expecting some sort of response.

“Uh, sorry. I just sorta—” he made a gesture around his head, “—spaced out for a moment there.”

Jirou snorted. “No worries. Momo was just asking if you wanted to come to 1-B’s dorm with us.”

Steven looked at them quizzically for a moment. “Sure? Why are you guys going to 1-B?”

“Well, Momo wanted to give Kendo a late birthday present because she was busy when it actually happened a few days ago. I’m going with her because I’m her best friend and I wanted time to chat with some of them.” She turned and looked at Kaminari for a moment before continuing. “I’m not sure why he’s here, to be honest.”

He looked at her, affecting an affronted expression. “Rude,” he said dramatically.

Jirou snorted. “Please. You don’t mind.” As Kaminari shrugged in response, she turned to Steven and asked, “So?”

He rolled off the couch in response, landing on his feet and popping up. “Sure. I’d like to meet everyone, might as well do it now.”

“That’s the spirit!” She cheered. Yaomomo smiled, and even Kaminari stopped his whole ‘being insulted’ act and pumped a fist into the air.

They started walking towards the main doors, the three students keeping up a constant stream of chatter that Steven found oddly soothing. He waved at Todoroki, who nodded back, and Bakugou, who pointedly didn’t acknowledge him—although he could tell the other boy noticed him.

Well. Can’t change everyone.

He walked just behind the group of three as they made their way to the other class’s dorm building, mostly just listening to their conversation and interjecting only a few times. A lot of the talk was centered around their band, which hadn’t met yet just because they hadn’t found the time yet. They seemed to be excited though, which Steven found uplifting. He was looking forward to playing with them too, and he couldn’t wait for their first practice. As it was, Yaomomo was busy with her internship, while Bakugou was busy doing remedial lessons for his hero license.

Which reminded him—wasn’t he doing those too? He remembered something Aizawa said about him getting a hero license of his own. He’d have ask him about that.

Then another thought popped into his head—should he have brought a present? Yaomomo did, after all. Maybe he should have ran to a store nearby, he probably would have made it if he really pushed his Diamond abilities…

Wait, no. He was fine. Jirou and Kaminari hadn’t brought anything with them either, so he was fine. No reason to worry. As he relaxed, he could feel the stress leave his body and warmth rush out of his face. Jeez, was he so far gone that this was enough to throw him off?

I need to find a therapist, he thought to himself.

As they entered the 1-B dorms, Steven looked around. The dorm itself was identical to 1-A’s, in construction and furnishing. The same color sofas in the same places, arranged around the same kind of television. Where the two differed, however, was in the people. Everything was a lot more…

Well, he wouldn’t say quiet. It was still chaotic as everything, but it felt a lot more controlled. There was less “people running around uncontrollably”—there was much more of a sense of purpose and organization. A boy wearing a white headband fluidly ducked under someone reaching for one of the cabinets, whereas in 1-A that would have likely resulted in a collision and a series of hasty apologies.

“Momo!” Kendo called from the kitchen area. She waved them over and continued, “What brings you here? And Jirou, Kaminari, good morning to you too. Universe-san, I wanted to apologize once more about Monoma—”

He held up a hand. “Don’t worry, it’s not needed. He’s apologized for himself already.”

Kendo looked at him, clearly measuring him up, but eventually seemed to take him at his word. “Alright. But if he does anything else stupid, you know where to find me. Anyways, what brings you guys here?”

Yaomomo blushed. “Well, I-Itsuka, I was feeling a touch guilty still for not being able to make the time to celebrate your birthday…”

“Didn’t we already discuss this?” she asked.

“Y-yes, but regardless, I still felt guilty so I ended up purchasing you a gift anyways.” Yaomomo held out the wrapped box, which Kendo took gingerly and set on the counter. She then stepped forward to envelope the girl in a hug.

“Thank you, Momo,” she said quietly. “I really appreciate it—and I’ll open the present later.”

Steven felt slightly awkward, like he was intruding upon a personal moment, so he stepped back and took to surveying the room. Near the stairwell he spotted Monoma talking animatedly with a few of his classmates, so he waved in greeting, but when he made eye contact with Steven, his face immediately turned a deep red. When the kids he was talking to realized what had happened, they started to laugh hysterically.

Remembering what happened with Midoriya, Steven took this as his cue to step out. He wasn’t interested in creating another enemy or making anyone dislike him.

On his way back to the 1-A dorms, he saw Aizawa standing by the entrance, nonchalantly leaning against the wall. Steven waved in greeting, not wanting to bother the man with… whatever he was doing.

Really, he shouldn’t have been surprised when Aizawa stopped him on his way in.

“Universe. Clear your schedule for Saturday.”

“I wasn’t—I didn’t have anything scheduled.” Steven cocked his head to the side. “Am I doing something?”

Aizawa grinned, and his wicked smirk seemed far too close to Jasper’s for his liking.

“You’re going to your first remedial hero license lesson, along with Todoroki and Bakugou. You’re more than a bit behind with the necessary content, but don’t worry.” His smirk grew into a fully evil smile, and Steven stepped back. “I’ll make sure you’re up to speed by Saturday.”

Steven suddenly found himself very worried.

===

“I suppose that you’re the young man known as Steven Universe?”

“Yessir, although you can just call me Steven.”

“Well, Steven, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Toshinori Yagi, formerly also known as All Might. Although,” he said with a wink, “You can just call me Yagi.”

Steven shook Yagi’s hand. It felt oddly fragile as he held it, despite the way its size dwarfed his own hand.

Steven had, in fact, been doing some research into this world in his spare time, so it came as a surprise to him that he actually recognized one of those names—All Might. Throughout his research (which was more accurately described as a series of increasingly unhinged internet searches) he found it hard not to find that name referenced on nearly every hero-related topic.

All Might.

So, this man was the most accomplished Japanese pro hero of all time—and one of the most prolific heroes ever. Steven had seen pictures, and the difference was stark. The hair was pretty close, but rather than the imposing figure struck by All Might in his prime, this man was gaunt and sickly.

But he did know why the former hero had changed so much. There was this battle—the Battle of Casino? Something like that—where All Might had fought a powerful supervillain—All For One.

And this was a name that Steven had already heard before, from Midoriya. The person who had made the genetically modified Noumu.

As those thoughts ran through his head while he analyzed the situation, Yagi gingerly lowered himself onto the wooden bench and patted the space next to him. “Sit down, my boy,” he invited. Steven snapped out of his reverie and accepted the invitation, because he was fifteen minutes early and there wasn’t anything else to do, not when Bakugou and Todoroki weren’t there yet.

“I must say, I am glad that we had this chance to meet more personally,” Yagi began. “I heard from my coworkers that you’re assisting Aizawa-san with his class during heroics lessons. In addition to him for 1-A and Kan-san for 1-B, I serve as another teacher and trainer in hero strategy and combat. I would have met you in class earlier this week,” he broke to hack a weak cough into his arm, “but I was preoccupied with other duties.”

Steven nodded in understanding. “Fortunately,” he turned to him with a smile, “I will be rejoining your classes this week and look forward to working with you.”

Returning the grin, Steven said, “Well, I’m already looking forward to next week! But, if you don’t mind, I’m wondering…” He trailed off, trying to find the right words. “I don’t know what the principal told you about me…”

“Not much,” Yagi interjected quietly. “Actually,” he added, almost apprehensively, “I would greatly appreciate it if you would take the time we have now to tell me a bit about your story and perhaps clarify some questions I had.”

Steven pursed his lips together. Although the first few times he needed to explain his backstory felt almost therapeutic (especially the time with Kayama—he definitely needed to spend some more time with her), it was starting to get annoying just because of how often people asked him to do so.

Honestly, writing everything down and making a book out of it would take less time…

Regardless, Steven acquiesced to Yagi’s request. Just a quick overview, nothing more, and then he could find out what happened to him to make him so frail and ill. He could nearly hear Yagi’s bones creak and groan, and—was that blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth?

Oh, stars…

Chapter Text

Yagi sighed as Steven finally finished the (abridged) version of his Life Story™. Steven could tell that Yagi still had questions (especially given the wildly confused and mildly concerned expression that had made its way onto his face), but before he had the chance to ask any (and before Steven could ask Yagi any of his own questions) the main door to the 1-A dorms was opened by none other than one Bakugou Katsuki (who sneered, slightly, when they made eye contact), and was quickly followed up by Todoroki Shouto. Steven visibly brightened when the latter left the building, and his smile was returned—if a bit awkwardly.

“Ah, Bakugou and Todoroki!” Yagi quickly slipped on a blinding smile and stood to face the newcomers, to the slight annoyance of Steven, but there wasn’t much of a point in making it known—he’d get to ask his questions, sooner or later.

Although at the moment, it seemed like he wouldn’t get a chance until later. Yagi was already looking expectantly at Steven, beckoning him forward. “Let’s get going, Young Steven! We wouldn’t want you to be late to your provisional license training!”

On further inspection, neither did he. “Right!” Grabbing the older man’s outstretched hand, he pulled himself up to stand next to him. He didn’t really process it at first, but it dawned on him just how skeletally tall Yagi was. And there was no way he could be that skinny and tall, right? There was no way he wasn’t severally underweight, and—

Nope. Questions later! Steven thought to himself, finally managing to put those thoughts out of his mind, allowing himself to instead wonder about what exactly “provisional license training” would entail, and he couldn’t deny that he was incredibly curious.

Aizawa’s promise to get him “up to speed” was fulfilled—alongside the unspoken promise that it’d be as grueling as possible. While technically, yes, his actual time with Aizawa didn’t go any longer than the typical school day the rest of the students experienced, what was abnormal compared to them was just how long he spent studying outside of those hours.

Really, he was lucky to have time to eat and sleep.

(He hoped that this wouldn’t set a precedent for how the rest of his time in this world would look like. Maybe Aizawa was more of a sadist than Steven gave him credit for.)

Well, that wasn’t entirely fair. Aizawa wasn’t completely cruel. All of the work he was assigned (well, most of it, at any rate) was, in fact, assigned for a good reason! And honestly, he did learn a lot.

He learned so much.

He had no choice, really. Aizawa was the strictest teacher he’d ever had (especially compared to the Crystal Gems—even Pearl went easy on him). There was hardly ever any time for breaks, and the total half an hour of break time he got over the past three days (not including lunches) was spent studying anyway for fear of falling behind.

Oh stars, he was becoming Connie.

(Wait, was that even a bad thing?

He thought about how her cramming habits had affected her mental health negatively and decided yes.)

Anyway—what was he thinking about earlier? Oh right, how much he’d learned.

He learned. So. Much. If somebody wanted to know the best place to strike someone to quickly immobilize them while avoiding serious injury?

Easy.

Ever wanted to identify the most important supports that may be holding up a nearly collapsed building and how to safely remove rubble that may be blocking access to endangered civilians?

He was your guy.

Did you, perhaps, want to know about the history behind what was colloquially known as “Hero Law” and how for each hero there are, on average, anywhere between six and fifteen support staff?

Well, now you do!

And, like—that wasn’t even a fraction of all the facts and pieces of knowledge and random tidbits of trivia that just kept bouncing around in his head. He so desperately wanted to get rid of most of them but noooo, he needed to know these things because he needed this damned license for one reason or another.

Thankfully, Aizawa hadn’t seen the need to work on his more physically oriented skills. Aizawa had said that he was “mostly fine at fighting,” it was just controlling his powers that he needed to work on—stuff like keeping himself from accidentally going overboard. And the thing was, he was pretty good at that as long as he was able to keep a clear head!

So, yeah, he felt prepared.

Vaguely.

Despite all the work he’d done with Aizawa in order to get himself up to speed, he still knew very little about what he was going to be doing today. He knew there was some sort of training session—that’s what Bakugou and Todoroki were here for, and he was going to be joining them for at least part of that. But Aizawa had been frustratingly vague on what he would be doing afterwards—all he said was, “There’ll be more for you after they’re done,” with that creepy grin of his.

He’d also learned that he hated that creepy grin.

Steven watched as Yagi tried to engage Bakugou, but only managed to receive curt one-word answers and grunts. Todoroki walked up next to him and joined him in observing the other two.

“Are you getting your license as well?”

“Apparently,” he responded. “I didn’t understand all of what Nedzu said, but the gist of it is that it gives me some extra legal protections? Especially if I use my powers in public, stuff like that.”

Todoroki hummed in response. “That sounds about right. I imagine that no one would believe you if you said your powers weren’t a quirk.” He blushed in realization. “Present company included.”

Steven laughed at the teen’s growing embarrassment. “Hey, I already said it’s fine! It was understandable, especially given what you all have been through. I don’t blame you, Todoroki.”

He remained silent for a few moments more, before: “Shouto.”

“Hm?”

Todoroki coughed into his fist, his blush only intensifying. “I, uh—I’ve been thinking, and… I would like it if you called me Shouto. All my closest friends do.”

Steven grinned. “Alright, Shouto.”

===

Toshinori eased himself into the bleachers overlooking the training area. Todoroki and Bakugou are already neck-deep into the lesson, which checks out. Those two were some of the most motivated students in UA’s hero course, and he wouldn’t have expected anything less from them.

Steven, on the other hand, still remained an enigma to him. Contrary to what some of his coworkers thought, Toshinori wasn’t an idiot, and his lack of formal teaching experience didn’t mean he was completely lost. His Master’s in Social Work—obtained just after graduating from UA—spoke otherwise as to his qualifications.

Regardless, despite his decades of experience in accurately reading civilians, villains, and fellow heroes, he still had very little idea what Steven was all about. The story was certainly outlandish—if both Nedzu and Aizawa hadn’t vouched for him, then Yagi doubted he’d ever have believed it.

But then again, in a world of quirks, were intelligent rocks from outer space really that much of a stretch?

Well, there was one thing he knew for sure, and that was that Steven was certainly no villain. He would have to apologize to his protégé at some point for unnecessarily raising his suspicions, but after having a conversation and spending the ride to the training facility together, it was obvious that the boy didn’t have a single villainous bone in his body.

That being said, Steven still remained an unknown. It may very well be that his intentions were pure (and he was inclined to think so), but he decided that he would rather wait it out for a bit longer, in order to truly ascertain the young man’s motivations.

Who knew—perhaps he would prove himself as much a hero as his students.

Toshinori stiffened, as in his periphery he noticed someone moving towards him. There was no reason for anyone to be up in the bleachers with him—any heroes and HSPC employees involved would already be on the main floor, and he knew for a fact that Enji wouldn’t be appearing until the end of the session.

So, who—

“Good morning, Yagi-san,” greeted the HSPC agent, a close-lipped and formal smile plastered on her face. Toshinori allowed himself to relax infinitesimally, at least outwardly. On the inside, he forced himself to be on alert. The HSPC approaching him directly meant that they wanted something from him. Since he wasn’t a hero anymore, that meant there was only one thing they could get from him: information.

As All Might, he’d always been careful to avoid questions on the HSPC and made an effort to project a neutral opinion towards them. If he ever publicly disagreed with them on an issue, it was always in-character—like his arguments for the more humane treatment of prisoners in Tartarus. Unfortunately, the HSPC had managed to paint him as too good and forgiving, so he didn’t manage to get anything accomplished by taking that position anyway.

Privately, however, he was not a fan of the power and influence the HSPC held over heroes in Japan, nor did he approve of the methods they used to obtain that power. Sometimes, they were downright villainous in their operations, and remained grateful with every passing day that they knew nothing of One for All—the last thing he wanted was for Midoriya to become a target of not just the League of Villains, but the HSPC as well.

“Good morning.” He checked for a name tag, but found nothing of the sort.

“As you know, we are fast-tracking the creation of… Steven Universe’s license.”

Straight to business then.

The agent continued, oblivious to his suspicion. “Nedzu-san has been providing most of the information that we require to facilitate this sort of exception to protocol. However, given Universe’s rather unusual circumstances, we hope that you can understand the need for additional information.”

Of course, it’s all about him. And while Toshinori still may not have known his true intentions, he knew that Steven was trustworthy and, most importantly, good. If Nedzu, Aizawa, and Kayama could vouch for him, then he would do his best to help him.

“Of course, ma’am.” Toshinori smiled, but it was nothing like the kind and comforting smiles he gave as All Might. “I would be happy to provide any information necessary to the registration of this young man’s license.”

The agent wouldn’t know what hit her.

===

Steven followed the man—who’d introduced himself as Meru—through the door leading away from the area where Todoroki and Bakugou were training alongside several other hero students.

“Your whole situation is very strange,” Meru was saying. “Given the lack of information regarding your past and reports from Nedzu-san about your quirk’s strength, it was decided that your application would be fast-tracked, to be printed as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, sir,” he replied. The principal had briefed him the day before, on the importance of doing whatever he could to ensure he’d receive this license.

(“Typically, the Commission would never allow this,” Nedzu commented, carefully sipping on his tea. “I was forced to call in several rather valuable favors in order to get you your license so quickly.

“So please,” his emotionless gaze met Steven’s. “Do not make yourself an enemy of the HSPC. They are one of the most powerful and corrupt organizations in Japan, and it would be a rather senseless waste of resources if they took insult to something you said—not to mention the target you’d be placing on yourself.

“Do not insult them.”)

Steven had taken the warning to heart, and so he did his best to be impeccably polite when he spoke to Meru.

“However, we will not just give anyone a license. There is information you are expected to know, fighting prowess you are expected to demonstrate, strategies and tactics you should have memorized. If you wish to receive a license, then you are required to pass a series of tests.”

He stopped, opening a door to their left and waved him in. “Please, be seated. You are about to begin your written test.”

Steven took in the stack of papers placed on the desk. Yeah, it was a lot, but surely it couldn’t be that much worse than Aizawa’s assignments, right?

===

He was wrong.

It was so much worse.

Meru had taken a seat in a chair that looked far more comfortable than the one Steven was given, and told him that he had two hours to get through the entire exam, which encompassed a brief history of heroics in Japan, how hero agencies operated and what was required of them, alongside dozens of questions regarding the best courses of action in any given situation.

He wasn’t sure how he was expected to get through everything in the time allotted. In fact, had Meru not warned him about quirk usage being forbidden during the exam, he probably would have tapped into some of his powers—not much, just enough to have his super-speed kick in.

That probably would have been useful. In the end, he ended up not finishing the test on time, leaving a few of the longer written questions alone because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to answer those on time.

When the clock hit the two hour mark and Meru told him to put down his pencil, he slumped over in defeat.

If I’m lucky, I’ll get the bare minimum amount of points.

“Leave your papers on the desk,” Meru said, after a drawn-out yawn. “Someone will be around to collect them shortly. I’ll be taking you back to the main floor—when the other trainees are finished, you’ll be taking their place in order to begin the practical portion of the exam.”

“Got it.”

Steven followed the man out the door and back down the hall from where they’d come. He had to step to the side at one point, as he was nearly bowled over by a particularly frustrated-looking woman in a dark suit. Normally, he would have asked if she was okay, but just as he was about to say something she turned and glared at him with such intensity that the malice radiating from her was nearly tangible.

Getting the hint, he stayed silent and followed Meru up a flight of stairs that led to the bleachers surrounding the training area, which contained about a dozen students battling each other, supervised by what looked like a humanoid orca. As the two of them walked through the bleachers, the orca-person loudly called out commands every twenty seconds or so, which the students then responded to in their spars.

“That’s Gang Orca,” Meru said, noticing the way he was observing the goings-on down below. “He’s a top ten pro hero, and he’ll be proctoring the next part of your exam.”

Before he could respond, Meru continued. “You can wait with Yagi-san up here while they finish up.” He gestured to the seats a few rows below and Steven saw Yagi sitting there, reclining in a seat with his hands behind his head.

He made his way down the steps, leaving the other man behind. Yagi turned to him when he walked up, and Steven could see some traces of satisfaction in his demeanor.

“Ah, Steven!” He beamed at him, the smile slightly sharper than before. “I take it you’ve finished your exams?”

Steven shook his head. “Just the written one. I’m supposed to take the practical exam with Gang Orca, once they’re done.”

“I see.”

A period of awkward silence followed, neither of them sure what to say next. After a moment, they both attempted to speak simultaneously.

“I—”

“I—”

“No, you go first.”

“No, it’s alright,” Yagi shook his head, letting out a small chuckle. “I can tell you’ve had something on your mind since this morning.”

“Yeah, I have,” Steven said quietly. “I’ve just—I’ve noticed that you’re really skeletal, even considering your age and height. And you coughed up blood when we first met? I guess the answer should be obvious, but… are you okay?”

Yagi laughed, in a booming voice that belied his frailty. “No, Young Steven,” he said as his laughter faded away. “My body is not what it used to be—I suppose it comes with a multiple-decade long career as the number one hero. However, you don’t need to worry about me. My health is generally stable.”

“See, well,” Steven fidgeted with the edge of his shirt. “I don’t know what Nedzu-san or Shuuzenji-san have told you about my powers, but I can heal you.”

He shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, young man, but I’m afraid I am too far gone for any healing quirk.”

“But that’s the thing, Yagi-san,” Steven insisted. “My healing—it isn't just a normal healing quirk. If it can heal Tenya's brother, I’m sure it can help you too.”

Yagi looked around furtively. “If you insist, then we can try it, but let’s wait until we return to UA.” He looked pointedly at him. “Some things are best done away from prying eyes—or ears.”

Steven’s eyes widened in realization. “Ah. Yes, I understand.”

The older man winked. “Glad to hear it.”

He heard someone walking up to them from behind, and he turned his head to see a tall, heavyset man with a slightly pissed-off expression walking down the steps. Red-hot flames licked off of his face and costume, flickering in a fiery spectacle.

Before he could ask the man’s name, Yagi beat him to the punch. “Endeavor, how good to see you!”

Endeavor grumbled. “Can’t say the same of you.” Steven realized that this man was Shouto’s dad—likely the reason he was here, in order to watch his son.

The hero looked over, as if just noticing Steven. “Who’s the brat?” He scoffed.

Yagi placed a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “Universe here is an American transfer student, here to obtain his license.” He smiled, just a bit too wide to be genuine. “Come sit, your son’s section is nearly done with their physical training.”

“I didn’t ask you to invite me,” Endeavor nearly growled—taking a seat regardless, but a few spots away from them.

Steven couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at the hero. This was the man who had caused Shouto and his family so much pain. The reason Shouto had his scar. The reason his brother was nothing but a pile of ash.

He could feel anger slowly bubble within him, a feeling that was nearly foreign to him, save the few times he encountered someone like this.

For the next few minutes, an awkward silence settled over the group. Steven was preoccupied with calming himself down—Yagi kept trying to engage them, but Steven kept up a guise of being focused on the training down below, while Endeavor ignored the fellow hero, clearly more interested in Shouto’s progress than in conversation.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Gang Orca yelled, “Stop!” His voice had to be part of his quirk—there was no way it could be that loud otherwise. The students finished their spars, and even from the bleachers Steven could see the rivers of sweat running down their bodies. As they began to congregate and make their way towards the hallways, Shouto drifted towards the tail end of the group, trying to walk alone. However, a tall boy with close-cropped hair jogged back to him, enthusiastically gesturing as he spoke.

Once all the students were gone, Gang Orca shifted his gaze and looked straight at Steven. “You,” his voice reverberated throughout the gym. “Please make your way down here.”

He nodded once. For a second, he debated whether he should use the stairs, but ultimately decided it would be more useful to make an impression. Giving no warning, he stood up and proceeded to vault over the railing, slowing his descent near the bottom.

(Back in the bleachers, Toshinori’s eyes widened in recognition and shock.

“Nana?” he whispered.

Endeavor just side eyed him.)

Gang Orca watched as Steven approached. “Speed of descent regulation? Interesting,” he murmured. Clearing his throat, he said, “Welcome. You may already know me, but I am the tenth ranked pro hero Gang Orca, and I will be administering the practical portion of your exam.”

Steven nodded in acknowledgement. “Thank you. I’m Steven Universe.”

“Then if you’re ready, let us begin.” Gang Orca’s deep voice rumbled. Sharp teeth revealed themselves as he smiled, looking all the more creepy on his inhuman head. “If you want your license, then you will be fighting me.”

Suddenly, the extra foot in height the hero had on Steven became far too prevalent. He gulped. “You, sir?”

“That would be correct.”

“B-but you’re one of the most powerful heroes in the country,” he stammered. At least, given his high ranking, Steven assumed he had to be.

Gang Orca didn’t really have eyebrows, but the expression he made was reminiscent of him raising one. “And? I don’t see how that makes a difference. Heroics isn’t easy, kid. If you want your license, then you’re going to have to get through me.”

“Fine.” Steven steeled himself, pink bubbles popping into existence around his fists as he settled into a defensive stance.

The hero scoffed, rolling his head to crack his neck. “Unfortunately, I won’t be going easy on you. That means you can’t be passive—you certainly won’t be able to in situations where civilians are at risk.” Immediately after speaking, he opened his mouth wide and let loose a screech instantly broke Steven’s focus.

The noise was horrible. Waves of pulsing, incredibly loud squealing—for lack of a better term—nearly paralyzed him, and it took all of his focus to lift a hand to his face and create a bubble to use as a helmet.

The noise instantly became muted, reduced to barely a whisper. As Steven recovered, Gang Orca determined that those attacks wouldn’t do any more good, saying something that Steven could no longer hear. Taking his earlier statement to heart, Steven rushed forward and mounted an attack.

He tried to moderate the power he used, keeping it fairly low as a precaution, but Gang Orca batted his blows away with ease, throwing his head back in the unmistakeable motion of a laugh. Frustrated, Steven allowed himself slip just a little.

Skin tinged slightly pink, he tried for another punch. The hero blocked this one too, but the wind that buffeted from the impact and the way Gang Orca slid back a foot spoke to how much more effective his power-up was.

But not enough.

Finally realizing that his opponent possessed superhuman durability, Steven slightly loosened the tightly held reigns on his power for the second time, and his skin began to—nearly imperceptibly—glow.

This was enough power for his enhanced perception to kick in—only by the slightest bit, but it was just enough that Steven found it easy to duck under Gang Orca’s forceful swing, counterattacking with an uppercut that finally sent the the other man flying back.

Confident that he wouldn’t be trying the sound attack again, given how useless it was, Steven took a moment while Gang Orca recovered to dissipate his pink helmet. His vision lost its pink tinge, and he relished in the return of his hearing.

He watched Gang Orca push himself up, an approving and contemplative look in his eyes. After a moment spent frozen, he grinned.

“Well, that’s more like it.”

He shot forward, blindingly fast even with Steven’s increased processing speed. This time, instead of a punch, his was tackled and knocked to the ground. He tried to kick the hero off of him, but Gang Orca grabbed his legs, spinning around twice to gain momentum before launching him to the other side of the arena.

Steven impacted the wall hard enough to leave a Steven-shaped crater, dust billowing out from the area. He coughed, extracting himself from the concrete as he did so.

Fine. You want me to fight you?

His smile turned sharp.

Then I’ll fight you.

===

Toshinori observed the bout happening below him with more than a little trepidation.

“They’re, uh… really going at it, huh?” he commented to Enji. Right after that statement, Steven threw a shield that nearly decapitated Gang Orca, soaring cleanly through the wall behind him.

For once, Enji actually seemed interested in something besides his son. He too watched intently, and Toshinori could only wonder what was going through his head.

Finally, the Flame Hero spoke.

“He certainly is… powerful.” He narrowed his eyes, turning to Toshinori himself. “Where did you find this boy, Yagi?”

“That’s…” he struggled for an answer, “not something I’m at liberty to say.”

Enji raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What are you hiding?”

Toshinori sighed. “Honestly, Enji, I couldn’t tell you all of it myself. Only Nedzu knows all of it, as far as I know, and he’s keeping most of it under wraps.”

His expression darkened. “I see.” He looked back out to the arena, just in time to see Steven block one of Gang Orca’s hypersonic blasts with an oversized shield.

“I don’t know what you’re hiding, Yagi, but you won’t be able to hide it for long,” Enji cautioned after a moment. “He’s too powerful, too versatile.” He stood, clearly done with the conversation. “If he’s looking to join an agency, you can direct him to me.”

Toshinori watched him walk away, marveling at Enji’s offer. Endeavor Agency never made offers out of the blue like that. Steven really must have made an impression on him for that to happen.

Well…

He looked back at the slugfest happening below him, where the seventeen-year-old was evenly matched with one of the highest-ranked heroes in Japan.

Maybe the offer wasn’t as far out of left field as it seemed at first…

===

Twenty minutes of grueling sparring later, Gang Orca raised his hand in a signal to stop. The fight now over, Steven calmed himself down, willing his power to die down.

The last time he’d been in a spar like that had been with Jasper herself, except… this time wasn’t nearly so destructive.

It was kind of nice.

Although… as he looked around at the half-destroyed arena, he grimaced.

Probably could have been more careful.

Gang Orca walked up, stretching his arms as he did so. “Well met, Universe.” He smirked. “Suffice it to say, I’m confident you’ll be able to hold your own.”

Steven smiled. “Thank you, sir!”

He nodded. “Your license will be delivered to UA within the next few hours. You’re free to leave now.”

“Thanks!” Steven cheered. He turned around, jumping back up to the bleachers just feet away from Yagi.

“So, how was that?” he asked.

Yagi shook himself out of whatever trance he was in. “It was very impressive, my boy! Come, let’s go see what Young Bakugou and Todoroki are up to.”

Steven couldn’t get the silly grin off of his face even if he wanted to.

Chapter Text

“Your license, Universe.”

Aizawa handed Steven the thick envelope, and he nearly ripped it apart in his haste to open it. Taking out the thick plastic card, he grinned as he took his first look at it.

The picture was… meh. They’d taken the photo when he was on his way out, and he didn’t really look the best in it. Although, to be fair, did anyone look good in ID pictures?

And there, printed at the bottom, was Steven’s new hero name: Hoseki.

At first, he had no idea what he wanted his hero name to be. It wasn’t like he wanted to stay in this world for any longer than necessary (although he couldn’t say he didn’t like most of the people he’s met). Ultimately, he’d decided on something simple that described him fairly accurately.

Hoseki—the Japanese word for Gem.

Shouto looked at the license over his shoulder. “Hoseki?” he asked, humming as he contemplated the name. “I like it,” he decided.

Steven grinned. “Thanks!” He pocketed the card, making sure it was secure. From now on, he would need to keep it on him at all times—it meant he couldn’t get arrested for “public quirk use” (which was a really stupid law anyways and Aizawa half-agreed with him on that but there wasn’t anything he could do about it).

Whatever. What was important was that he had his license.

He waved goodbye to Shouto, and looked up to see Aizawa still looking at him.

Crap. I forgot he was here.

“How did the test go?” he asked.

“Not too bad,” Steven responded. “The practical test was fun—I got to fight Gang Orca!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. And the written test?”

“Ugh,” Steven nearly scoffed at the mention of the written test. “That one sucked. There were so many questions, and they gave me, like, two hours to do it so I had to leave a few of them blank.”

Aizawa stiffened. “Two hours?” When he received a nod in response, Aizawa groaned. “Those malicious fools. Kid, you’re normally supposed to get four hours to finish the written exam.”

“Oh. That’s pretty rude.”

Aizawa shook his head in exasperation. “Whatever. At least you passed. Good for you.”

“Thanks! I’m glad.” Steven grinned, and Aizawa left him be. Steven followed him out the door but turned in a direction, since he wanted to go see Yagi and see what he could do about healing him.

Yagi had also mentioned something odd, while they waited for Shouto and Bakugou to finish their lessons. Apparently, Endeavor had passed on the message that he was offering him an internship.

Offering Steven.

An internship.

With Endeavor.

Never before had he reacted so vehemently to anything, and Yagi backpedaled very quickly to ensure that he knew about the man’s own opinions on Endeavor, thank you very much, and he just felt it would be best to tell him rather than keep it hidden.

In retrospect, that felt like a real bonding moment for the two of them.

He pushed open the door to the teachers’ dorm, walking in as if he belonged and not like he was a seventeen year-old human-gem hybrid from a different universe. Kayama was lounging on a nearby couch with her head in Yamada’s lap as he typed away on a laptop, and she popped up the moment he entered.

“Steven!” She waved him over, and he stifled a giggle as Yamada did his best to keep Kayama from knocking his laptop onto the floor, nearly failing until he managed a last-second catch. He glared at her as he closed the computer and set it on the nearby table.

“Hey, listener!” Yamada greeted him, before turning to Kayama. “Nem, that’s like the fifth time this month—one of these days you’re actually going to break my laptop and Nedzu and I will not be happy.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, whatever, you love me anyways,” she said smugly, suddenly sitting up and planting a kiss on his cheek. He only rolled his eyes, and her attention shifted back to Steven. “What brings you here, kid?”

“I’m just here to talk to Yagi-san about something,” he explained. “Speaking of which…”

He looked around, suddenly realizing that no, he didn’t really know where to go now. Kayama realized his predicament, and snorted. “I got you. He should be in his office right now, just down the hall and to the right,” she gestured.

“Thank you!”

As he walked in the direction she directed him towards, hearing the two of them laughing madly as he left them behind, he thought about how this meeting with the former hero would go. He’d offered to heal him only a few hours ago, and his reception to the idea hadn’t been bad, per se. Rather, he’d just been hesitant, which wasn’t a bad sign at all.

He was still rather confused as to why Yagi had been so afraid of “prying eyes or ears,” as he had put it, but he supposed it was for the same reasons that Nedzu had warned him about them. The principal had sent congratulations moments after he arrived—as a text to his phone, which was really creepy when Steven had never given him his phone number.

He was starting to understand why Aizawa referred to the principal as The Rat.

Still, he was looking forward to healing the older man. It was obvious that he wasn’t well. Despite his bravado and the claim that his health was “generally stable,” he was very visibly weakened and in pain—especially when compared to his body as a hero.

If Steven could help him, he would do it. Maybe it was a bit problematic, a bit of a throwback to the “Steven’s here to help!” fiasco that he had no intention of repeating, but this was different. For once in his life, he wasn’t putting others over himself—he was still his own number one priority, but if he had the chance to help someone out? Why wouldn’t he take it! It wasn’t like he was going out of his way to help.

Peace of mind restored, he reached a door, confirmed to be correct by the placard on the wall next to it, proclaiming it to be the office of one Yagi Toshinori. Clearing any hesitation from his mind, he confidently knocked on the door. He could hear loud sputtering from inside, followed by Yagi’s slightly raspy voice calling out, “Come in!”

Steven cracked open the door, carefully taking a peek to make sure everything was alright before he entered. Yagi was moving around, grabbing stacks of paper and moving them in order to make room at the coffee table by the window. The older man looked up after a moment, waving him in.

“Hello, Steven! Apologies for the mess, you can take a seat while I finish tidying up. How do you take your tea?”

“Oh, thank you.” He walked over to one of the couches, sitting down as Yagi cleared away the table. “You don’t need to, I don’t want to be a bother.”

“Nonsense, young man!” The man beamed. “It would be my pleasure!” He set a tray on the table, on top of which was a full tea set.

Steven inclined his head politely. “Thank you, sir.” He poured himself some of the lukewarm tea, taking a quick sip. Thankfully, the tea wasn’t strong, and there was a slight fruity taste that belied the need for any added sugar.

Yagi sat across the table, staring intently at him. Steven couldn’t help but feel like he was being studied, but avoided making any comments. He was capable of enduring scrutiny—Nedzu was far worse, at any rate.

Finally, the former hero dropped his gaze, hands going to the teapot. “I suppose you’re here about your earlier offer?” he said as he poured himself some tea, the seamless stream of liquid disrupted by the slight tremors in his hands.

When Steven nodded in response, he sighed. “I figured as much. Tell me, what do you already know of my history?”

He sat back, attempting to recall any information he’d absorbed. “You were Japan’s highest ranked hero for the past four decades, and one of the strongest in the world. Uh…” He racked his brain for anything he could remember about his retirement. “You retired a few months ago after you were injured by a villain. That’s all I really know.”

Yagi nodded. “You would be correct. However, the injuries that ultimately led to my retirement were not sustained during that specific battle. I met that same foe before, nearly seven years ago. It was during that vicious fight that I was injured—nearly fatally. I spent months in recovery afterwards—I’m lucky to still be alive.” His eyes were clouded, face downcast as he recounted the story. “Steven, I was in an induced coma for almost a month, because being conscious would have been too much for my body. The bones in my arms were reduced to a fine powder. My lungs were damaged beyond repair. I no longer have a stomach—only the use of prosthetics and the regular application of healing quirks allows me to eat even the simplest of foods.”

He took a shuddering breath, pausing in his recollection. Steven remained silent, taking it all in. This was more serious than anything he’d encountered before—short of Lars’ death.

“The only reason I’m alive,” he emphasized, “is because I paid dozens of medical professional several billion yen to keep my condition from worsening. Shuuzenji-san—Recovery Girl—wasn’t even in the picture at the beginning because I had so little energy that her quirk would have withered me away into a corpse.

“So tell me, Steven.” His dark and sunken eyes seemed to stare straight into his soul. “What is it that you can do, that seven years and over fifty billion yen spent couldn’t?”

Steven thought over it for a long moment. The silence stretched onwards, each second with no answer increasing the tightly-wound tension between the two of them.

“I don’t know.”

Yagi looked as if he was about to have a stroke from the sheer incredulity he felt, and Steven rushed to elaborate.

“Sorry, I should have clarified. I’m not sure exactly what my healing can do. As long as I’m confident that it’ll work, then it will. Since I’ve come here, I’ve already healed Iida Tenya’s brother—he’ll be able to walk, after he goes through physical therapy. And, before…” He hesitated. “My friend died.”

Yagi started, “I’m—”

“I brought him back,” he cut off the former hero with a pointed look. “Your injuries may have been severe, but based on what you’re telling me, I’m like nothing this world has ever seen.”

The silence returned, weighing heavily on the two of them. Maybe Steven shouldn’t have mentioned Lars—it wasn’t like Yagi needed to know so much about him, and he probably just made the man uncomfortable.

“Let’s try it,” Yagi sighed, ducking his head in exhaustion. “I’m still skeptical, of course—I hope you understand—but I trust that you truly believe you can make a difference, and I would be a fool to potentially turn down this life-saving opportunity.”

Steven smiled gently. “Okay.” He took a sip of his nearly-forgotten tea. “How would you prefer we do this? I mostly heal with my tears or my saliva, although I’d rather not cry right about now.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the slightly confused face Yagi made. “It’ll probably be easiest if I kissed your hand, or just licked my hand and touched you with it.”

Yagi shook himself out of his confusion. “It matters little to me. Do whatever you think is best.”

Steven nodded. He licked his hand, making sure there was a decent amount of his healing spit on it, and offered the hand to the man sitting opposite.

“Shake on it?

Yagi stuck his own hand out, and they shook.

===

Izuku was not having a good day.

Izuku wasn’t having a good day, because he knew that every moment Eri remained in the hands of Overhaul was a moment that she was being abused, her body used over and over again in an endless cycle of pain.

Izuku wasn’t having a good day, but he knew that Eri’s day was a living nightmare.

You could have saved her.

The voice in his head mocked him, and it hurt all the more because he knew that it was right. She was right there, in his arms already. He should have just taken the chance and run for it—Togata-senpai would have helped him.

Instead, she was forced to suffer until the heroes could find the Shie Hassakai’s base of operations, and there was no telling how long it would take.

Worse still, he wanted to talk to someone—Tenya, Shouto, Hitoshi—and he couldn’t because the case was classified. At least he could still talk to Ochako and Tsu about it.

…

Maybe he should go to All Might to chat. Talking to his mentor always did manage to cheer him up.

“Izuku!” Ochako called out from where she was lounging with some of their friends. “Come over here! We’re about to pick another movie!”

“Maybe later,” Izuku replied, quickly making his way towards the front doors. Before he could make it there, however, he was intercepted by Shouto.

“Hi, Shouto!” He grinned, doing his best to put some energy in his voice. “Do you—do you need something?”

Shouto, wonderful Shouto, infuriating Shouto, replied, “We need to talk. Privately.”

And Izuku, never one to put his own needs above those of his friends, said in response, “Y-yeah, sure. We can go to my room?”

“Sure.”

He led the way, resisting the urge to look behind him and check to see if Shouto was in fact still following him.

Well, maybe talking to Shouto could still make him feel better. Even if he wasn’t exactly the person he wanted to see at that moment.

Unlocking the door to his room, Izuku made to sit on the bed as Shouto grabbed the desk chair.

“What did you need to talk about?”

“Do you not like Steven?”

Izuku blanched. That question was so far out of left field that he’d never expected it. Had Shouto noticed him being suspicious of the newcomer?

“O-of course not! Why do you ask?”

Shouto looked at him thoughtfully. “I’ve noticed that whenever you look at him, you tend to get this look.”

Izuku bit back a sigh at Shouto’s vagueness. “What kind of look?”

“You’re suspicious of him. And scared.” Shouto rattled off Izuku’s feelings on Steven with frightening accuracy, and he tried to do his best to keep his face from betraying his guilt. He wasn’t sure he succeeded. Shouto continued regardless of Izuku’s feelings.

“…and you think he’s a villain,” he concluded. “I think you’re being unfair to him.”

“How am I being unfair to him?” Izuku asked. No point in hiding his feelings, not when Shouto was able to read him so well. “I believe I’m being justifiably suspicious of him. He—he appeared out of the sky! His story makes no sense. I know quirks can be really weird, but I have trouble believing that he’s from another world! I have every right to be afraid of the very likely possibility that he’s a villain.”

Despite the rising intensity as Izuku defended himself, Shouto remained calm. “Steven has been nothing but kind to me, and everyone else he’s met. He’s been helping us in our training, he’s healed Tenya’s eyesight and fixed his brother’s paralysis. He didn’t need to do any of that. He’s trapped here and he could just spend all his time looking for a way back. But he isn’t doing that. He spends time with us out of kindness, and he wouldn’t do that if he was a villain.”

Shouto didn’t get it. “But what if he’s tricking us?” Izuku asked. “What if he’s being nice to us in order to betray us later?”

“He isn’t.” Finally, anger entered his tone, surprising both of them. There was a moment of silence as Shouto visibly calmed himself down. “Steven is my friend, same as you are. He’s been a positive influence on everyone around him since he came here. You know how powerful he is. He could have destroyed the entire building at any time, but he didn’t. Think about it, please,” he pleaded.

And Izuku wanted to consider it. He didn’t want Shouto to be wrong, because he wanted nothing more than for Steven to be the altruistic and good person that Shouto and everyone else saw him as. But Izuku couldn’t let himself believe that, because someone needed to be wary. Normally, that would be Aizawa-sensei, but even his teacher trusted Steven wholeheartedly.

Which meant that the job of watching out for his friends and family fell to him.

“I’m sorry, Shouto.”

He watched Shouto’s face as his heart cracked, just one more fracture on an already deeply scarred surface. He watched, and didn’t move, as Shouto stood and left him alone.

And for the first time since coming to UA, he was truly alone.

Chapter Text

One…

Two…

One, two, three, four!

A drum fill set up the entrance for the rest of the instruments, lush keys providing a harmonic backbone for the bass and rhythm guitar to do their thing. His eyes were closed, allowing his ears to do all the heavy lifting.

Six, two, three, four…

Seven, two, three, four…

One more count, and his fingers rolled down the fretboard, sliding up to reach the first note of the melody. Everything stopped, the tension rising by the second as silence reigned supreme—finally, he played a run that was the musical equivalent of releasing a held breath.

Steven grinned as he played, letting the music wash over him. This song was purely instrumental, a way for everyone to warm up and get used to each other’s playing styles. They traded solos, Steven handing his off to Denki, who played some metal-inspired phrases before passing it off to Momo, whose jazzier style of play worked far better than Steven expected—even if it did give him whiplash considering who she followed.

Everyone fell silent except for Bakugou, and Kyouka came in, a distortion pedal kicking in and giving her bass guitar a growl that was positively electrifying.

Pardon the pun.

Bakugou took back control with a wild solo, sticks hitting the cymbals and toms at what felt like dozens of times a second.

Finally, they came to the end of the song, a roaring crescendo that built into a flourish from everyone in the room, ending on one last chord. Everyone was left panting from exertion, sweat running in rivulets down everyone’s foreheads—especially Bakugou, who wiped off as much sweat as he could with the towel he had.

“That was sick,” Denki gushed.

Bakugou snorted, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. “Fuck yeah it was, Pikachu. Although, it would be nice if we had a vocalist.” He said the last word with a pointed glare in Kyouka’s direction.

It was a shame, Steven lamented. Kyouka was a phenomenal singer with a gorgeous voice, but she was held back by her own self-confidence issues, adamantly refusing to sing in front of anyone else.

And he understood. If Kyouka wasn’t comfortable with it, then he wasn’t going to force the issue like Bakugou was doing.

But he couldn’t help but think that it was a shame that she wouldn’t at least try.

Well. He could work on that.

Kyouka rolled her eyes even as her cheeks reddened slightly at the obvious call-out. “Don’t know how many times I have to say this, but no. Not yet, anyways.”

Bakugou scoffed. “Whatever.” He rolled his head to both sides, two loud cracks emanating, any echoes deadened by the sound-absorbing foam that was installed.

Steven smiled. Even though Bakugou had a bit of a prickly personality and refused to let himself be close to anyone in their band, he could tell that the boy did care, deep down.

Very deep down.

But even if he pretended that he didn’t want friends and wasn’t interested in making any, Steven wasn’t blind. He could see the way that he softened up whenever he was around Kirishima (haha, get it, softened up?) and he personally thought that Kirishima was a fantastic influence on Bakugou.

Kyouka huffed. “Why doesn’t Steven sing?”

“Hey, she has a point!” Denki turned towards him suddenly. “You have a good voice too!”

He shook his head. “That wouldn’t be fair to you guys—I’m not a student, and with luck I’ll be going back home soon.”

And despite the fact that he said those words, he couldn’t truly believe them, not with the utter lack of progress. All they’d done was confirm that warp pads did not seem to exist anywhere on this planet. They didn’t have the capabilities to explore the galaxy—they didn’t have gem tech. Each and every day he woke up and had to face the fact that no, he wasn’t back home, deal with the terrifying truth that he may never find a way to return, his heart aching for his family even as a new one tried to worm its way in.

Oblivious to Steven’s internal monologue, Momo nodded absently. “As long as we’re not planning on performing… actually, are we? Planning on performing, that is.”

“I know a few venues where we could get gigs,” Kyouka said as she absentmindedly strummed a few chords. “Although, we probably don’t have time for that—Yaomomo has her work study, and the rest of us are probably going to be busy with homework and shit.”

“Ugh, right?” Denki complained. “The calc homework is kicking my ass. Ectoplasm-sensei please.” He threw his head back in exasperation as he said the last word, and he accidentally banged it against the wall behind him. “Fuck!” He clutched his head in his hands, in too much pain to say anything about Kyouka and Bakugou’s riotous laughter.

Steven, fortunately, took pity on him. “Here, I got it.” A quick application of healing spit cleared up any pain, although he couldn’t do anything for the inevitable emotional damage.

===

“Sit down, my boy,” All Might scrambled to his feet after Izuku stumbled into his office. He should have felt bad about coming in so rudely—he’d barely even heard the response after knocking before entering—but at that moment it was far from the greatest source of his anxiety.

Well. Two greatest sources of anxiety, now. The first, obviously, was Eri’s predicament. Every time he closed his eyes, images flashed in his mind of what she could have been going through.

If he tried to think about something else, his mind automatically went to his conversation—argument?—with Shouto. He hated arguing with the people he loved. Case in point, he didn’t think he’d ever argued with any of his friends. Perhaps Tenya, when they’d been planning the rescue mission for Kacchan? Other than that, there had never been a single moment which could even be construed as an argument between him and one of his friends.

And now? He was scared he’d lose one of his best friends to Steven.

The potential villain.

In an effort to avoid thinking about the newcomer and their encounter from the previous week, Izuku forced his gaze up from the floor and observed All Might.

They’d been in this position many times before—Izuku sitting on the couch as his mentor bustled around his office to prepare tea for the both of them. Izuku used to try to offer to make tea instead, but All Might always refused—and when he was finally convinced to let his student try, the result was so bad that they entered a silent agreement to let the older man make the tea.

…Something was different.

Something was different about All Might. Something about the way he moved, and acted, and even breathed.

There was something, something…

He couldn’t stop the gasp from escaping his lungs as he made the connection. All Might noticed, and asked, “What seems to be the matter, Young Midoriya?”

And even as he asked, even as he walked over to the couches carrying two mugs of steaming hot tea.

Hot tea, when he used to only make their tea warm at most, given that his hands were shaky from all of his past injuries, and he was prone to small spills every so often.

Hands that were no longer shaking.

“Y-your hands…” Izuku struggled to keep his voice level, even as fear, worry, anger, betrayal clashed within him. “They aren’t shaking. D-Did you? Get Steven to heal you?”

All Might seemed to notice Izuku’s expression, and gently placed the mugs on the coffee table before sitting across from him. “My boy—”

“You said that he might be a villain,” his voice broke.

“I did,” All Might agreed, his voice soft.

“You—you reinforced my suspicions.”

“I spoke to your other teachers. They unilaterally agreed that there is no way Steven could be a villain.”

“What if he’s—”

“I also spoke to Tsukauchi-san,” All Might interrupted. “The detective interviewed him the day he arrived.”

“Then he might not have asked the right questions!” Izuku fired back. “What if he brainwashed you? What if—what if his healing spit can brainwash you like Shinsou can?”

“Young Midoriya.” All Might didn’t yell—he never yelled—but his tone was no-nonsense, the kind that silenced fans and villains alike. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is my fault. It was wrong of me for encouraging your suspicions. You have an incredible mind, my boy, but because of that you are prone to overthinking certain things—which may have led you to become paranoid in this instance. For that, I’m deeply sorry. Furthermore—you yourself should know that One For All wouldn’t let me become brainwashed, unless you’ve forgotten your fight with Young Shinsou from the Sports Festival?”

The last of his conviction nearly torn away, Izuku desperately scrambled for a last desperate attempt. “But you—”

“But nothing,” All Might rebuked. “This was all my fault—if I had just decided to talk to Steven before I infected you with my suspicions, then there would be no issues to speak of. While I can’t speak for his actions, I can tell you from my conversations with him that he has a heart as heroic as anyone’s from your class.”

Izuku fell silent, his last pillar of support crumbling. He had but two paths to choose from here. He could choose to continue being suspicious of Steven—living in fear, his relationships with his friends slowly deteriorating as Steven proved himself time and time again to be a good person, one that didn’t deserve to be the target of Izuku’s ire.

Or, he could admit he made a mistake. That his paranoia got to him. He could apologize, attempt to become friends with him and atone for all the horrible things he could now see he’d done.

Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, and when All Might moved to his couch to pull him into a hug, he realized that he’d already made his choice.

It took him a few minutes for his sobbing to subside, which All Might helped with as he held him close and murmured sweet nothings every so often. Gasping breaths rattled his chest every few seconds, but those too eventually went away.

They settled into the peaceful silence easily, as if nothing had ever changed—and maybe nothing ever had. Now, all he felt was relief—because All Might was healed. His hands didn’t shake, and he hadn’t even coughed up blood yet—something that tended to happen, on average, every seven to eleven minutes. He focused on these good things, these positive things, a small smile slipped onto his face.

Of course, every good thing that happened to Izuku just had to end in the most unfortunate way at the most inopportune time.

Case in point, just as he was about to drift into unconsciousness thanks to the warm and unnaturally comfortable embrace of All Might, he was rather rudely interrupted by a text alert on his phone. He half-considered just ignoring it, but knew that it would be smarter and safer to check it now, in case it was an emergency.

His forethought was justified a moment later, when his brain processed what he was seeing and jumped off of the couch in shock.

“What is it, Izuku?” All Might asked, his facial expression slightly marred by worry. “Has something happened?”

Even the fact that All Might used his first name didn’t faze him—his focus was locked onto the text message he’d just received.

[Sir Nighteye—17:47:29] - Location confirmed. Minato Police Department, 08:00 tomorrow. Be prepared for anything.

“I-It’s Sir Nighteye,” Izuku said. His expression darkened as he realized what this meant. “We’re raiding a villain’s hideout tomorrow.”

All Might nodded. “I see. Do you feel prepared? Maybe some last-minute training?”

“Maybe. I-I just—” Izuku made a split-second decision. “There’s this little girl…”

===

They all stared at Momo in silence, her face reddening under all of the attention that was directed towards her.

“You good?” Kyouka asked, which was a pretty justified question, considering that Momo—prim, proper, and composed Momo—had dropped her phone on her keyboard and swore for what was probably the first time ever.

“My apologies,” she hastily said, her face as red as a tomato by this point. “That was uncalled for.”

Denki snickered. “Oh my god, Baku-bro is rubbing off on her.”

“Don’t fucking call me that, Pikachu.”

“I’m with Kyouka on this,” Steven interjected before Bakugou could start an argument. “Are you okay, Momo? You seem worried.”

She waved away their concerns, after a moment of hesitation. “There’s nothing to worry about—I was just surprised. There’s been a… breakthrough involving the case that we were working on. I’ll have to be in Osaka by eight tomorrow morning.”

Denki whistled in appreciation. “Damn, sounds sick. Good luck out there.”

Kyouka glared at him. “I don’t know, it doesn’t seem very sick to me that one of my friends could get hurt in a villain fight.” As he apologized meekly, she turned to Momo. “Be careful, alright? I’ll be watching the news tomorrow morning—maybe you’ll show up there.” Her smile was returned by Momo, alongside a new red tinge to her cheeks.

“Ooh, I’ll come too!” Denki’s eyes lit up. “We can have a watch party! Steven, Baku-bro, you guys down?”

“Sure!” Steven grinned. “I don’t think I’ve seen any villains or villain fights yet.”

“Bakugou?”

“…Fine, tsch,” he scoffed.

Momo giggled. “Thank you. I appreciate the sentiment, everybody. However, I do believe it’s about time that we went down for dinner, no?”

“Sounds great.” Steven grinned.

===

Steven sat down, sinking into the unfairly soft mattress that UA had graciously provided him. His arms were a bit sore, and he knew that the calluses that had started to form on the fingers of his left hand would be gone by the next morning.

A sigh escaped his lips, motivated more by mental exhaustion than the physical kind. He did have fun today—more than he had in a long while.

So why couldn’t he stop feeling guilty?

(He knew why. Whenever he caught himself slipping and felt himself having fun, a pang shot through his heart at the thought that he couldn’t share that moment with Connie, with Amethyst, with Pearl or Garnet—not to mention Peridot, Lapis, Lars, and the rest of his friends and family.

He wasn’t doing enough. Steven was still trapped, and it was his fault that he was still here.)

And the thing was, he couldn’t help but feel affection for these kids—yes, he thought of them as kids even if he was only a year older. They were like the younger siblings that he never had. Every moment spent with them had them worming their way into his heart, inch by bitter inch.

And he couldn’t help but feel it was a betrayal.

Chapter Text

Izuku yawned, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to convince the drowsiness to leave. His last-minute training session with All Might the night before succeeded in exhausting him physically, but his anxiety about today prevented him from relaxing himself mentally.

Said anxiety was really a product of multiple factors. It wasn’t his first villain fight, not by a long shot—Shigaraki, All For One, and Stain had made sure of that. However, this time was already different because he knew going into the fight that he was going to be fighting villains. There was going to be a plan. He was forced to deal with the fact that he was going to be fighting an organized villain group in just a few hours.

The freaky nightmare he just had hadn’t helped matters either, but he didn’t want to spend too much time analyzing that.

Oh yeah, and he had to deal with that fact while knowing that another wrong move could spell the difference between life and death for Eri—because of course, he had to have started this whole situation with the one wrong move of handing her back to Overhaul.

He could attribute most of his sleep loss over the past week to that one moment. The few times he was actually able to slip into a restless version of what one might call sleep, he was plagued by nightmares the whole time.

The only way to fix this, he knew, was to save her—because anyone he could save, he would save.

It was this mantra that Izuku repeated as he rushed through his morning routine, and after he was showered, dressed (in his hero suit, of course), and fed, he poured some tea in a small travel mug and headed out to meet up with Ochako, Yaomomo, Kirishima, and Tsu.

(He wouldn’t tell Hitoshi this, but he hated coffee unless it was more sugar and cream than coffee, which wasn’t healthy anyways. Yaomomo had been kind enough to introduce him to a variety of teas with just enough caffeine to wake him up in the mornings, for which he would be forever grateful.)

Already waiting outside was, of course, Yaomomo herself. Her hands were already wrapped around her own drink, though judging by the lack of steam in the chilly autumn air, she’d largely forgotten about it minutes ago.

“Mind if I join you?” Izuku walked over, gesturing at the empty spot on the bench. This seemed to snap her out of her reverie, as she jolted slightly before recomposing herself.

“Good morning, Midoriya—or should I say, Deku?” Though she was obviously holding back a yawn, that didn’t stop the smirk from playing on her face. “Feel free to join me,” she added as an afterthought.

“Thank you, Yaomomo—or rather, Creati,” Izuku shot right back.

They shared a small smile, both knowing that their attempt at levity was nothing more than a distraction from what awaited them—although it was, at the very least, successful at slightly easing the tension.

“Did you manage to get any sleep?”

“Not much.”

“I can sympathize.”

Together they sat and sipped at their tea, words unnecessary to communicate what they both felt. Instead, they took solace in each other’s silent company, the simple fact that they were not alone in this making all the difference.

Five minutes later, Tsu—Froppy, rather—stepped outside, taking a seat next to Izuku without a word. Together they sat, joined shortly afterwards by Ocha—no, it was Uravity—and then finally by Red Riot.

Even Kirishima, typically one of the most enthusiastic members of the class, couldn’t muster up the willpower to act too energetic. He still smiled at them all, and it was as genuine as it could be, but it was lacking his regular spark—it was deadened, snuffed out, extinguished by the knowledge of what they would be doing today and what was at stake.

The monsters they would have to face.

And the price that a little girl would have to pay if they failed.

===

Steven was just finishing up his morning stretches in the common room when Denki came downstairs.

(He was trying to get back into some sort of consistent daily routine—Steven had woken up early to do his yoga, and Shoji had joined him for about thirty minutes. Bakugou was a silent presence as well, quietly making breakfast for himself.

He also wanted to center himself, especially because he was pretty sure he had invaded someone’s dream on accident last night. The details were pretty murky, but it might have been Midoriya’s? Given the green hue that he assumed was from dream-Midoriya’s quirk…

Whatever. He didn’t want to do that again.)

Steven was pretty sure he had Bakugou all figured out. Though the boy was prickly and gave off the impression to some that he didn’t care for friends or companionship, Steven thought quite the opposite. Bakugou was a victim of perpetually keeping his guard up, and in those few moments that he’d witnessed him lowering it, he could see that Bakugou was incredibly protective of his friends—those that had managed to worm their way past his defenses, that is.

Because of that, Steven couldn’t find it in himself to take Bakugou’s explosively-tempered remarks too seriously, not after seeing the way he treated the rest of the band during rehearsal.

Why, if he were prone to poking fun, he’d say that Bakugou was actually quite soft on the inside.

(Of course, he wouldn’t be saying that out loud, out of fear that Bakugou would find out and come after him.

He’d let Denki be the one to voice those kinds of thoughts.)

Nevertheless, Steven was finishing up his stretches, and Denki entered the room, yawning as he rubbed away the last remnants of sleep. “Mornin’,” he mumbled as he stumbled his way into the kitchen, digging through the cabinets until he found what he was looking for…

…A bag of shredded cheese?

He grabbed a fistful of cheese and shoved it into his mouth, and only then noticed that Steven was staring at him. “What’th the p’oblem?” he tried to speak around the mouthful of shredded cheese, mostly failing. He swallowed and continued to defend himself. “Come on, it’s not like you haven’t done it too!”

Steven vehemently disagreed with this assessment. Sure, Amethyst would do it—and she had, many times—but he at least had some standards.

“You’re literally the only one in the class that would do that,” Kyouka said derisively, although from her manner it seemed as if this was a common occurrence.

Denki rolled his eyes. “You guys just don’t have taste buds.” With that, he went back to shoving shredded, processed cheese product into his mouth. Steven decided that whatever didn’t hurt him, he could ignore.

(Although it was really starting to hurt him mentally. Reminded him of Amethyst—which hurt in a different way.)

“Uh huh. Let’s go with that,” Kyouka said, injecting a bit more sarcasm than usual into that statement. She turned away so that only Steven could see the small that snuck its way onto her face. “What were you up to?”

Steven finally got up from his spot on the rug. “Just my morning stretches,” he responded. “I haven’t done them since I—well, since I got here.”

They stewed in the awkward silence for a moment, underscored by the sound of Denki shoveling cheese into his mouth. Steven could see that Kyouka didn’t know how to respond, so he decided to relieve the tension and break the silence for her sake. “It’s been good to get back into it, though. I’ve forgotten how stiff my joints can get.”

This was enough for Kyouka to crack a mischievous grin. “What, old age getting to you already?”

And though Steven knew he could be truthful and mention that no, it was actually due to the hundreds of breaks and fractures in his bones that he can still feel the effects of despite his body healing them instantaneously, he wouldn’t. Because the kids had enough on their plate to worry about. Rather, like the normal and socially well-adjusted teenager he claimed to be, he kept up the joke.

“You say that as if I wouldn’t destroy you in a spar.”

“Oh, you’re on. Next class, you and me.”

Steven couldn’t help himself from laughing. “Sounds good. Should I call Recovery Girl to let her know to be prepared for your upcoming visit?”

“Hm,” Kyouka smirked. “You say that as if you wouldn’t heal me immediately afterwards and apologize.”

“How dare you. Remember that I’m technically your senpai.”

“You probably don’t even know what that word means!”

===

Clouds drifted across the sky, and as they covered the sun Deku couldn’t help but feel that it was a bad omen.

Or maybe that was just his stress-induced stomachache.

Sir Nighteye spoke without breaking his stride. “You understand your roles.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Sir,” both Deku and Lemillion spoke at once in acknowledgement. He knew how serious this was—assuming everything went according to plan, he and Lemillion would be staying with Sir alongside a few others, with their goal being the safe recovery of Eri.

Brushing aside his growing discomfort, he vowed to stay close to Sir Nighteye and Lemillion—a seasoned hero and his prized pupil, who he could turn to for advice at any point.

Yes, he tried to convince himself, nothing will go wrong.

===

“Any updates?”

Steven looked up from his (UA-loaned) laptop at Kyouka’s question. He was doing some light reading—mainly research into Japan’s culture, some hero research, stuff along those lines—while they relaxed in the common room and waited for Momo to show up on the news. He flipped through a few channels, stopping for a few seconds on some interesting-looking anime before returning his focus to the task at hand.

“Nothing so far,” Steven concluded with a sigh. “I’m not sure whether to be worried or relieved, honestly.”

Kyouka tilted her head in confusion. “Huh?”

“Ooh, I know this one!” Denki shouted out from the rug he was laying on. “It’s like, no news is good news, right? If they aren’t on the news, that has to mean that everything is going smoothly—so Yaomomo and the rest should be fine!”

“Let’s hope.” Although, given last night’s dream… he couldn’t help but worry.

===

“Chisaki!”

Lemillion’s scream heralded Deku’s entrance—straight through the concrete walls of the underground complex, that is.

Time seemed to slow down for a brief moment. Deku analyzed the situation, at least for as long as he could allow himself to. Eri: protect. Lemillion: ally, injured—protect. Overhaul?

Villain.

The flow of time returned to normal, and Deku’s fist collided with Overhaul’s shoulder. Jade lightning wreathed his fist as it impacted with the villain, and Overhaul flew across the room and embedded himself in the concrete.

“Nighteye!” Eraserhead bellowed, following through the opening Deku created. “Grab the girl!”

The next few seconds flew by in a whirl. Nighteye rushed to meet Eri and Lemillion, while Deku leapt forward alongside his teacher. This was their chance to take down Overhaul, now that he’d been backed into a corner by Lemillion.

Well, if only it had been that simple.

Suddenly, Eraserhead pushed him out of the way, and Deku turned to see that one of the fallen Yakuza had woken up—Chronostasis, if the sharp, extended arrow-like lock of hair was anything to go by. But… oh.

Eraserhead had pushed him out of the way, only for himself to have been sliced by Chronostasis’s arrow. Now he moved sluggishly, the effect of Chronostasis’s quirk making him useless in combat.

But then, before he could focus on that problem, Deku heard Overhaul yell out to one of the Eight Bullets, and he whirled around fast enough to give himself whiplash—just in time for him to see the villain use his quirk on his subordinate and fuse with the injured man.

It was all happening too fast to process, and Deku didn’t know what to do anymore. So, he did what he did best—analyze the situation and follow his instincts.

===

“Oh my god.”

That was Ashido, he thought. He wasn’t really paying much attention.

Steven’s eyes were glued to the screen above him, intently observing the chaos that the news channel was broadcasting. He listened to the reporter until he heard her mention the location (Minato Ward), and then tuned her out as he typed out the name into his phone’s search engine.

…Just in case.

He made careful note of where that was in relation to him, and only refocused on the news when he heard someone call out “Tsu!”

When he looked at the broadcast, Tsu, Uraraka, and Nejire were following behind a massive dragon-like creature (was this Ryukyu?), and Steven could tell that they weren’t doing too hot. The footage wasn’t incredibly detailed, but all three interns seemed to be covered in scratches and bruises.

He tuned out the noise of the class around him (because of course, they all came down to watch when the news started covering the ongoing raid), and after a moment added the reporter’s voice to that list, in favor of focusing entirely on the visual coverage of the event.

===

Sir Nighteye was dead.

Sir Nighteye was dead, and if he wasn’t dead yet then he was about to die—no one could survive with a massive stone spike piercing their torso.

But he couldn’t do anything about that, there was no time to help him, or save him, or take him to the triage station because he needed to fight Overhaul—he needed to keep him distracted so that Eri could get away (and of course Lemillion was now quirkless because the bullets were perfected)—

Deku sounded confident when he spoke, but the reality was that for the most part he did it to reassure Eri and Lemillion (and for the other part, to reassure himself). He threw everything he had into fighting Overhaul, turning One for All up to twenty percent despite the pain it caused, and avoided thinking about the fact that Overhaul had literally absorbed a person not a few seconds earlier.

He dodged as best as he could, taking a few hits from the stone pillars that were constantly being formed. He needed to keep up the pressure as best as he could, because Deku was the only one standing between him and Eri.

That is, until he heard Eri’s voice behind him.

“Eri, don’t!”

===

Denki watched the news, his attention captivated by it for what was probably the first time in his life. For once, his brain has zero problems with processing everything that was happening on-screen.

The camera’s focus was currently on Tsu and Uraraka’s team, which meant that the only friends of his that hadn’t been accounted for were Eijiro and Midoriya—they hadn’t been on the broadcast at all, so he assumed that they were already in compound before the raid was picked up by the media.

Momo, thankfully, seemed fine for the few seconds that she had been visible while the camera had panned over the area. From the time the broadcast had started with Ryukyu’s team’s fight Momo had only shown up once, working the triage station. Now the camera was focused on the massive dragon hero, who was currently digging through the asphalt—her efforts were rewarded seconds later as a large area of asphalt collapsed inwards, revealing an underground area that looked like the aftermath of a war zone.

Spires of rock jutted out from the ground, resulting in the room looking like a forest of stone—as far as he could tell from the broadcast. The first thing he noticed after that were a few figures; some standing, some on the ground. His classmates gasped when they recognized one of the laying figures as their homeroom teacher, and there were even more noises of shock when they noticed that one of the others was currently impaled by one of the stone spikes.

Denki noticed Steven’s complexion grow noticeably pinker but didn’t comment on it. He assumed it was just a result of him worrying about Aizawa-sensei and the others.

Out of the three other figures, then he only recognized one of them— that being Deku. He had placed himself in between what looked to be a young child, and some sort of horrifying monster that he had to assume was a villain. It had four arms and an ornate face mask that looked like a massive bird beak.

Although the news crew wasn’t able to capture the audio from so far away, it was obvious even from a distance that is a villain had noticed Ryukyu and her team blowing a hole through the roof. He gestured wildly at both the newcomers and Deku, and he approached Aizawa-sensei before anyone could stop him.

“What the hell is he doing,” Kyouka muttered next to him. Her confusion didn’t last long though, and she joined the chorus of worried yells for their teacher as they witnessed what could only be accurately described by one word—a nightmare.

They watched, for there was nothing else they could do, as the teacher (that was slightly more than just a teacher to some) was unmade with just a touch, his body visibly merging with the villain’s own. The monstrous figure stood after a moment, a second pair of eyes embedded just above the original ones—red eyes, that made Denki want to vomit as he ran through the implications.

He could hear the others muttering and talking about their mutual fear and distress, but he tuned them out as he turned towards Steven—Steven, who was older, more powerful, who would surely be able to put his fears to rest.

But Denki wasn’t given a chance to speak, for Steven’s glowing pink figure stopped him before he could get anything out. The older boy’s face was twisted in some strange mix of anger and disgust, and Denki found himself dumbstruck as he glanced at him with eyes that seemed to be radioactive with the intensity of their glow.

In the space of a single blink, Steven was gone, and the shards of one of the massive windows along the front of their dorm were scattered across the UA lawn.

===

Deku really thought that the arrival of backup would be a good thing, that they were finally safe, and Overhaul would be taken down. He really thought that the nightmare would be over.

It was almost as if the universe had laughed at him, harshly correcting him—no, the nightmare was only just beginning.

He kept his arms tightly wrapped around Eri, to keep her from running towards Overhaul and giving herself up. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he blinked them away as quickly as he could. Now wasn’t—now wasn’t the time to have a breakdown. He needed to keep it together for Eri, for himself.

Eraserhead was gone, the only thing left being the extra body mass that made up Overhaul and the glowing red eyes that had emerged from his head in a sickening manner.

Deku tried activating One for All so that he could jump out of the hole, but he couldn’t feel his quirk. That confirmed his theory, at least, that Overhaul was now able to use Erasure.

He communicated as much to the heroes above. Froppy’s tongue quickly came down, as a way for him to escape and retreat.

Well, that wasn’t happening. Overhaul was currently distracted, sure, getting used to his new body, but soon he’d regain focus and attack them—and he couldn’t retreat, because that’d be putting everyone else in danger.

Instead, Deku allowed Froppy’s tongue to wrap around Eri alone, and even as he muttered reassurances to her that she’d be safe with his friends, he paid careful attention for the moment…

There.

Overhaul’s new pair of eyes were forced to blink, and with how new the quirk was to him, he didn’t reactivate it. One for All surged, and Deku knew that that he had one chance to end it.

He launched himself forward at twenty-five percent, and into his arm he poured everything he had. Overhaul’s unhinged ranting told him that the villain hardly had any grip left on reality—at this rate, he’d be absorbing people left and right, and no one would be able to stop him.

Deku screamed; out of anger, frustration, fear, a sense of justice; and as his haymaker landed on Overhaul’s head with an explosion of force, his world flared pink.

===

Uravity, from her perch above the battlefield, watched in horror as Deku placed Eri in the grasp of Froppy’s tongue and turned to face Overhaul. She wondered if she could go down to get him on her own, but she knew that she lacked the stamina to use her quirk on both herself and Deku.

For a moment, time moved in slow-motion, and she was helpless to do anything but watch and worry. Deku’s charge forward seemed like an explosion, and so captivated was she that the streak of pink light across the sky escaped her notice until it landed in front of her.

She flinched at the impact, and then she realized that the thing had not landed in front of her—no, it landed a level below her, where Deku and Overhaul were fighting.

It took Uravity a moment to connect the dots, because the only thing—or person, rather—she associated with that specific shade of vibrant pink was none other than Steven Universe. She returned to the edge of the hole in the asphalt (as did everyone else with her) and scanned the disaster zone that used to be a basement for the newest arrival.

Except… something was off. There was no third figure. And, weirder still, one of the two people originally there wasn’t anymore.

Dust billowed everywhere, obscuring the heroes’ view of the area. The monster once known as Chisaki Kai laid under a pile of concrete chunks as he used his additional appendages to pick the debris off himself. Standing over him wasn’t Deku—although the same height, at first glance, on closer examination this new figure was just slightly taller, and of a much stockier build.

Their silhouette was all that was visible thanks to the dust that had been kicked up, but one thing was clear from this angle.

That was not Izuku.

Before Uravity could say anything, though, the dust cleared and revealed someone who did, somehow, look remarkably similar to Deku—at least in some respects, such as their height and general build.

He turned and looked at her. His eyes shone, like little pink diamonds given the energy of a thousand suns. She should have been scared. She should have questioned his appearance, wondered what happened to Deku and Steven (if that had been him after all…), but she didn’t.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” his voice reverberated through her bones, with an intensity that belied the casual tone of voice. The reassuring smirk that followed imprinted itself in her brain, and for several months afterward she’d find herself thinking about it when she had trouble falling asleep.

“You’re safe now, because I am here.”

Chapter Text

“You’re safe now, because I am here.”

Steven wasn’t really sure why he said that—all he knew was that it just felt right. The villain was currently buried in a mountain of rubble, which gave him a moment to get his bearings.

He knew that Midoriya was here, but as he looked around, he wasn’t sure exactly where the other boy was. Hopefully Steven didn’t crush him—that would have been hard to explain.

What was that?

…Although, it would have been easier to explain that than what was currently happening.

I think we fused.

Steven? What—why are you here? Where are you?

Disorienting as it was to hear Midoriya’s thoughts in his head, it did mean that they as a fusion weren’t perfectly in sync, and in an active battleground like this? That was more dangerous than being unfused.

He had a choice now—he could end the fusion and split the two of them apart and leave them to fight the villain two-on-one. But Steven of all people knew how a fusion was more than the sum of their parts—and certainly more powerful than both of them individually. And despite doubting their ability to work together flawlessly given Midoriya’s mistrust of him… a fusion united with one goal, one single-minded destination or task? That was enough to overcome any sort of friction.

Steven made a split-second decision, and hoped for both of their sakes that it was the right one.

Midoriya. I need you to listen to me very carefully.

I still don’t—where are—

Listen. I kind of… jumped out of a window when I saw you on the news.

You did what—

I said listen.

A terse silence followed where Steven mentally took a breath.

When I saw you on the news, I jumped out of a window.

Why would you do that?

I don't know, okay? I got angry when I saw the villain you were fighting and the girl you were protecting.

Okay, but that doesn't really explain what's happening right now.

Yeah, so... I think we fused.

What. Is that supposed to mean.

Steven (The fusion?) took a deep breath. We now share a body.

He could feel Midoriya's panic begin to set in. He cursed inwardly. That was the one thing he wanted to avoid.

Listen to me, Midoriya. You just need to stay calm.

How am I supposed to do that when you just told me that we are sharing a body—

Look, I get it. I know you're suspicious of me, but you just need to trust me. Do you want to defeat this villain and protect the girl?

Obviously.

Then work with me here. We’re fused now. You can sense my feelings as well as I can sense yours—you know I’m not a villain. I could tell you were struggling to defeat the villain on your own. Your own quirk was starting to hurt you. Do you know the phrase, “more than the sum of their parts?”

...Something like that, yeah.

That applies doubly so with fusions.

Fine. But you owe me an explanation later.

I wouldn't expect anything less.

Steven could feel the difference as Midoriya stopped fighting. It was like losing a year’s worth of tension, so he closed his (mental) eyes and took a backseat. Anything that happened now wouldn’t be him, or Midoriya.

No, it’d be the two of them together.

===

Uravity didn’t know who this was or much of what was happening at all, but what she did know was that a moment ago, Deku was standing there. One suspiciously Steven-colored explosion later, someone else was in his place.

That being said—this new figure, at first glance, bore somewhat of a resemblance to Deku. From the looks of it, they were about the same height (in less polite terms, short); however, this character was somehow even stockier than Deku. Had anyone asked, she would have sworn his legs looked strong enough to cleanly kick down trees, without the use of a quirk.

(She definitely didn’t spend way too much time staring at their legs, nope.)

Their hair, while about as fluffy as Deku’s, was much longer and tied back in a ponytail. Furthermore, it was practically white, tinted pink in a way that reminded her of Steven and his gem.

And didn’t that make her wonder—Steven had only been around for a few weeks, and she had been a bit busy with her internship to spend as much time with him as she would have liked, but she did remember… something. Maybe during dinner? Steven liked to jump around the tables and eat with a different group every day (an admirable ideal, she had to admit), so that last time he ate with her, Tenya, Izuku, Shouto, and Tsu had been over a week ago. Admittedly, she didn’t remember much of that conversation—to her embarrassment, she was rather entranced by Steven’s description of his adventures in space and had trouble thinking about anything other than that for the rest of the conversation.

Regardless, when she thought about it, she could still remember something he mentioned then, something he called… fusion?

And so, she wondered—and as she stood there and watched, a strange sensation settled over her. A feeling of absolute safety and calm washed over her, soothing all of her fears and worries.

Of course, everything would be fine. She didn’t know why she’d been worried in the first place.

===

Still shocked by Steven’s sudden disappearance, Denki hadn’t quite been processing the events on the television. He was brought back to the real world by Todoroki, who said something that shocked him even more than Steven’s exit.

“I see. They fused.”

The rest of the room positively erupted in… outrage? Confusion? Probably a mix of those two and some more, knowing class 1-A. Unfortunately, despite everyone’s pleas for some sort of explanation, Todoroki refocused on the TV.

It was only then that Denki actually looked at the news to see what was going on for himself.

“Who the fuck is that?”

===

The fusion flexed his fingers, letting his tendons and muscles stretch out. After all, he was technically just born.

There was a bit of a rocky period where he did lose awareness, meaning he was close to splitting apart. Fortunately, he was able to figure that out within himself, and he came back feeling more stable.

It was then that the fusion realized that he didn’t have a name yet. It would be best to have a name prepared, right? People would ask him to introduce himself, and he didn’t want to have to force them to endure an awkward pause as he figured something out, so it would be better to come up with something now.

Of course, it needed to make sense. And sound good. After all, it was his name, and he didn’t want to live with an unsuitable name.

Standing there, muttering to himself about names, he somehow missed Overhaul pulling himself out of the rubble—and also missed the stone spike he sent at him until it was a centimeter from his face.

When it was that close to him, he didn’t really have time to think. The fusion gave himself in to instinct, and a millisecond later found himself embedded in the wall to his right.

“Ouch…” He groaned, but he knew that a bruise (which would heal itself anyways) and the embarrassment of launching himself into a concrete wall were better than getting impaled by a stone spire as thick as a tree.

Still, that was way faster than he realized he could move. It took him a not-insignificant amount of time to dig himself out of that hole.

Makes sense, given how quickly I was able to move. I guess that’s the power of One for All, though.

He looked at his hand.

Or maybe it was gem powers.

Curious, the fusion loosened the walls on his diamond power—not all the way, but enough to make any exposed skin glow an unnatural shade of pink. Then, slowly, he powered up One for All to about thirty percent.

He knew this was higher than Izuku had ever managed to safely hold, so he was surprised to not feel any sort of strain on his body. Green lightning sparked all over his body, the viridian light providing a stark contrast against the neon pink backdrop of his hands and face.

He wanted—no, needed to investigate more, but he’d already delayed the confrontation with Overhaul for about ten seconds—about ten seconds too long, in his own opinion.

Stepping out into the open, he just looked at Overhaul for a moment. He knew he could just overwhelm him with raw power—the earlier dodge was proof of that. However, he needed to be careful doing that. Eraserhead was currently stuck in that monstrous body, and the thought of it made him want to puke.

Regardless, he still needed to figure out a way to get the hero out of there, without harming him in the process. He doubted that healing saliva would have any effect, given that technically he wasn’t hurt in the classic sense.

Them, it hit him. Eri could use Rewind on Overhaul—he remembered Izuku finding out about her quirk. However, he’d have to be sure to do it safely and avoid putting her in a dangerous situation.

That was settled, then. He had the bones of a plan and figured that the rest of it would come to him in time.

The stare down between himself and Overhaul continued, the tension rising, becoming almost palpable. They looked at each other, neither moving a muscle, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

As he looked into Overhaul’s eyes (the pair that belonged to him, that is), he found himself feeling something that neither Steven nor Izuku had felt at this intensity—rage.

Rage, for what he had done to Eri, a literal child.

Rage, for the lives he had ruined.

Rage, for abusing the power he had and somehow feeling entitled to it.

Rage, because staring into Overhaul’s eyes, he could see that there was not a single shred of humanity left to appeal to.

Unlike what either Steven or Izuku might have done, he embraced the rage, and he would use it to make a better world.

And it all started with making sure Overhaul would never again be a threat to anyone.

In an instant, the air turned sour, and he grinned sharply.

(Those spectating from above would call it confident and reassuring.

Those watching through their televisions and smartphones might have called it creepy, or even crazed.

For Overhaul, though? That smile meant despair. It represented any hope he had for victory, crushed and spat on.

He was fighting a god, and the rational part of his mind recognized that—but he was too far gone in his madness.

Alas.)

A crushing pressure enveloped Overhaul, lifting him into the air and sealing him in a semi-translucent pink orb. He barked out a laugh, his already-distorted voice muffled from inside of the bubble.

“Truly, you are a fool. No prison can hold me, or have you forgotten so quickly the curse that I bear?”

Overhaul touched a hand to the bubble, and nothing happened. He looked at him through the surface of the prison, The eyes he stole from Eraserhead glowing red, but there was no effect.

The villain may have been contained, but that was only the beginning. After all, if he wanted Eri to get close to this monster, then he needed to be thoroughly incapacitated.

As an afterthought, he turned his focus to Sir Nighteye. He was still there, a stone spire still piercing his stomach. The hero feebly turned his head toward him, eyes fluttering. Despite how weak he must have been, the shock was still clear as day.

There wasn’t time to heal him now, he decided. Instead, he bubbled him too, slicing off a chunk of the stone. With a single thought, he placed the contents of the orb in stasis. That way, he could focus all of his energy on Overhaul and saving Eraserhead, then return to Nighteye later—if it wasn’t too late.

He lifted his arm, and the bubble rose through the whole in the concrete above them. He followed it, instinctively floating and propelling himself. As he rose, he surveyed the crowd of heroes. A few caught his eye: Uravity, looking at him with an awestruck expression; Froppy, focused more on Eri as she held and comforted the little girl, Eraserhead’s goggles hanging from her neck; a battered and bandaged Red Riot, who somehow looked like he wanted to challenge him to an arm-wrestling match; and Creati, who appeared to have already figured out what was happening.

Waving at them, he concentrated and created another pink bubble, this one far larger than the one containing the furious Overhaul, about fifteen meters in radius and encompassing all of the heroes. He spoke quickly, hoping to alleviate any shock before they could process what he was doing.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” he spoke, amplifying his regular speaking voice so that everyone could hear him. “I will… take care of Overhaul, and save the heroes trapped within. You are all safe. Please clear the area and take care of the wounded.”

Surprisingly, although some did hesitate, everyone did what he asked. He wondered if he was somehow unintentionally influencing them, but he resolved to explore that hypothesis later. He watched as everyone passed through the bubble, walking through the surface as if it weren’t there. He wasn’t sure how he knew that would work, but it was just another new power that he didn’t have time to investigate at the moment (although for some reason, his hands were itching for a notebook and pencil).

Finally, once everyone was out of the area (and he willed the bubble prevent anyone from re-entering) he turned to face Overhaul once more. The villain had given up on trying to break free using his quirk, and instead was crouching the best he could, ready to make a move.

For a second, he thought about trying to save the man. For a single, fleeting instance, his instincts told him to approach him with kindness and understanding. He tossed that idea out of his mind immediately. There was nothing left to save. Some people just weren’t capable of being redeemed. And some, his mind going to Izuku’s experience with Muscular, didn’t deserve it.

Disgusted, he let the bubble containing the villain dissipate without warning. Overhaul caught himself and landed on the concrete ground that was in the larger bubble, avoiding the hole in the middle. Despite the limited amount of material to work with, he wasted no time bringing a hand to the ground, forming two spires and sending them at him from the left and right.

Almost bored, he generated two shields in each of his hands, and the two spikes shattered against the hard-light constructions. Overhaul snarled, his second pair of arms already on the ground, propelling himself towards him on a stone pillar. With a flick of his wrists, he tossed his shields at the base of the structure, destroying the support and causing the platform Overhaul was on to fall. He cursed and three thin concrete legs extended out of the bottom, stabilizing the platform once they touched ground. The platform was noticeably smaller thanks to the redistribution of material he’d forced.

He floated in the air and just watched Overhaul try to kill him. The villain lunged at him, propelling himself far more forcefully than he would have thought possible, but the fusion dodged, appearing behind the villain in an instant and kicking him down at the ground.

(To any observers, the fusion moved so quickly that it looked like he’d teleported.)

The force of the kick was staggering. Overhaul rocketed towards the ground, forming a crater on impact. A lesser person would have been killed instantly, but Overhaul’s unique self-modified physiology helped him withstand the blow.

Despite the force exerted, the fusion knew he was still holding back. His skin was shining pink, but it wasn’t anything like the radiant glow he’d exhibited in the past—and how pink he appeared to be correlated directly to how much of the Diamond’s power he was drawing upon. Likewise, he was only drawing upon a meager fifty percent of One for All. If he used more of either power, he could hardly imagine the destruction he would cause, especially without the large bubble he’d erected to contain the fight.

Out of nowhere, Overhaul launched himself out of the dust cloud, catching him by surprise. Relying on pure instinct, his right hand shot forward and caught the villain by the neck, stopping him dead in his tracks.

The fusion studied him, eyes searching for something. After a moment, he scoffed and raised his other hand, placing his palm on Overhaul’s forehead while ignoring his protests and curses. Any blows he landed from his hanging position didn’t even scratch his hero costume, and every attempt to use his quirk was met with no effect.

With a thought, the fusion’s eyes brightened until they became blinding in their intensity. Slowly, Overhaul stopped trying to fight him. The upper half of his face transitioned from angry and indignant, to uncertainty, and eventually pure fear. He struggled to escape, prying uselessly at the hands around his neck.

The fusion released him and let him fall. He was finished here. Overhaul wouldn’t be fighting back anymore. The villain tumbled to the ground and righted himself. He ran towards the large bubble and scratched at the surface, but of course there was nothing he could do. His quirk was useless, since hard-light constructs weren’t matter—at least, not the kind that his quirk could interact with.

With a snap of the fusion’s fingers, the large bubble quickly shrank. Everything passed cleanly through it as it changed size, until it surrounded only the panicked and hyperventilating Overhaul.

In a moment of pity, he did his best to make Overhaul slightly more relaxed. He still wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, but it seemed to do the trick, as the imprisoned villain slowly fell asleep.

…That wasn’t exactly the goal, but it worked well enough.

He turned around and looked for Eri who, regrettably, was required to use her quirk in order to save Eraserhead and anyone else trapped in that monstrous body Overhaul created. Upon finding her he made his way over, doing his best to project an image of confidence and, more importantly, safety.

Froppy was still holding her, hugging the child close to her chest. She stared at him as he approached, and although she may not have known what was going on, her posture was trusting, and she didn’t turn away.

When he stopped in front of her, she took the opportunity to ask, “Are you Deku?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, not quite. He does make up part of me, though. I’m what’s called a fusion.”

Froppy’s eyes widened in understanding. “A fusion… between Deku and Steven.”

“Exactly,” he grinned. “I’m afraid I don’t have time to answer all of your questions right now—I’m trying to hurry and save Eraserhead, and to do that I need to speak with Eri here.” He smiled apologetically.

Shifting his focus to Eri, he said gently, “Hi, Eri. How are you feeling?”

Evidently, she’d been listening in to his conversation with Froppy. “S-so are you Deku?”

“Half of me is Deku, and half of me is Steven, Deku’s… friend.”

(Okay, so maybe that was a lie, but he found it hard to imagine that once he was gone the two of them wouldn’t be closer than before. Fusing had a way of bringing people closer together.)

“You can call me…” He made a split-second decision. “Hoseku.”

She wriggled in Froppy’s grip. She got the hint, setting her down and letting her walk over to him. “Is—is he…”

Eri struggled with finishing the sentence, and he didn’t force her to. “Chisaki won’t ever hurt you again, Eri, or anyone else. But first,” he added, “I wanted to ask you for your help.”

She looked down, guessing what he wanted from her. “M-my curse—”

Hoseku kneeled down before and looked her in the eyes. “It’s not a curse, Eri. It’s a quirk, your quirk, and it’s beautiful.” Thinking quickly, he offered her his hand with his palm facing up. “Here, take my hand.”

Tentatively, she placed her hand in his. Some may have called the difference in size comical, but he preferred to call it adorable. He focused, doing his best to show her that he was telling the truth.

“Can you feel that, Eri? Do you trust me?” The girl hesitated, but eventually nodded.

“Good,” he smiled in what was hopefully a comforting manner. “Then trust me that your quirk isn’t a curse at all. In fact, if you think you can do it, your quirk can help save Eraserhead.”

Eri tilted her head slightly. “Eraserhead?” She brought one hand up to the goggles hanging around her neck, which he must have given her at some point. He nodded solemnly. “Chisaki used his quirk on him, but with your help we can save him. Do you think you can do that? I’ll be helping you the whole time.”

That last sentence seemed to do the trick. She nodded tentatively, and he stood up with a slight smile. “Thank you, Eri. That’s very brave of you.” Still holding her hand, he began to lead her to the trapped and unconscious Overhaul. She looked at the bubble with some confusion.

“The bubble is one of my powers,” Hoseku explained before she could ask about it. Snapping his fingers for dramatic flair, he created a small one and floated it over to her eye level. “Try touching it.”

Eri reached out towards it, softly gasping when her fingers phased through it as if it weren’t there. As she watched, he grabbed it and tossed it up, dissolving it at the top of its arc. “I can decide if people can touch it or not. The bubble around Chisaki?” He pointed. “Only he can touch it, which means he can’t get out, but we can still reach through it.” She nodded slowly, mostly understanding his explanation. They kept walking in silence, and he knelt and turned to her when they got to the villain. “Okay, Eri. I’m going to explain what I want you to do. If you think you can’t do it, then you can tell me and we can stop, and try again later. Is that okay?”

Eri didn’t say anything, and Hoseku took that as permission to continue. “Chisaki is taking a nap right now, and he won’t be waking up anytime soon. Do you think you can activate your quirk?”

“I th-think so,” she replied.

“That’s great, Eri. I want you to try and use it, then reach through the bubble,” he reached through it himself for emphasis, “and touch Chisaki. Remember,” he tried to allay her fears, “he can’t hurt you right now. I’ll tell you when to pull away, and then we can try turning your quirk off together. Can you do that for me?”

She looked down at the ground. “Th-this will help Eraser-san?”

“That’s right,” Hoseku confirmed. “Do you think you can do this?”

Resolutely, she nodded. She closed her eyes and concentrated, but nothing happened for a few seconds. Just as he was about to interrupt and offer his help, the horn on her head began to glow.

He watched closely as she slowly brought her hand closer to the bubble. This was rare, he knew. He didn’t want to rush her, so he said nothing as she managed to bring herself to put her hand through the bubble. Slowly, ever so slowly, she moved her hand closer and closer to Chisaki’s leg. She hesitated once again, mere centimeters from making contact. The world seemed to hold its breath alongside Hoseku.

Finally, she made the final push, and as she touched the villain, he was enveloped in a white light. His form shifted, injuries disappearing and reappearing as his body reverted to previous states. After a few seconds, a figure separated from Chisaki, and Hoseku was relieved to see that Eraserhead looked to be physically intact.

As he kept an eye on the girl, he whispered to the disoriented hero. “When I say so, I need you to cancel her quirk.” He didn’t wait for acknowledgement, trusting his ability to make sure that Eraserhead would trust him. Another moment, and Chisaki once again split into two figures.

“Now!”

Despite having been recently absorbed and reconstituted, Eraserhead was able to activate Erasure for a brief moment—enough to interrupt Eri’s quirk. When her quirk’s effect ended, her eyes fluttered shut. He was lucky that he had the reflexes to be able to catch her before she hit the ground.

Despite being unconscious, he couldn’t help but whisper praise to her. “You did so good, Eri,” he said softly, lifting her until she was comfortably nestled on his arm with her head tucked next to his neck. He turned to check on Eraserhead, only to see that he, too, was unconscious.

He sighed, looking upwards in exhaustion. Almost, he thought to himself.

Almost done.

Chapter Text

It took some maneuvering, but after a moment Hoseku had Eraserhead slung over his shoulder and Eri resting in his arm.

He began the walk back to the main triage station, taking the time to do a mental headcount of all the things he needed to do before he unfused.

Sir Nighteye, Izuku’s thought surfaced.

Right. Let’s get these two handed off first, Steven responded in kind.

A moment of silence, then Izuku’s next thought came back… softer. Not quite as aggressive as before.

I realize—I mean… the way I’ve been treating you… Sorry, I guess what I wanted to say is that I'm sorry. The way I treated you was horrible, and I wasn't thinking at all—which is no excuse for my actions, but I hope that you can forgive me.

Well, that was pretty out of the blue. Steven didn't know what he expected, but it sure wasn't that. He can't say he doesn't appreciate it. After all, it was Steven who sought out a friendship with Midoriya, at least at first. And in retrospect, fusion has a way of changing people and their relationships—perhaps it wasn’t quite the surprise it seemed at first.

Uh, thanks. I guess. I mean... I don't know if I can ever forget the way you treated me, but I do appreciate it. The apology. And I'm glad that you, y’know, came to your senses. Now let's get this stuff handled, so we can unfuse. I don't want to stick around here any longer than I need to.

There was silence for a moment, and then—

And, um. Call me Izuku. I—I think we’re past that point, now that we’ve shared a body.

He walked in (mental) silence, carefully cradling both Eri and Eraserhead, back to the triage area where most of the rest of the heroes had congregated.

“Here, let me take these two off of you,” one of the heroes (Bubble Girl, supplied Izuku) said. She grabbed both Eri and Aizawa with surprising ease, given her lean frame, carrying them over to two empty cots.

As Hoseku turned and began to walk back towards Night Eye, Ryukyu sidled up to him, her arm in a cast and her body bruised. “So,” she began, "Care to explain to me who you are, and what, pray tell, happened to Deku?"

"I am Deku."

"I find that difficult to believe," she said.

"I'm Deku," Hoseku said. "But I'm also more than him. I'm Deku, and I'm Steven Universe, I’m the two of them together and much more besides; you can call me Hoseku, and if you'll excuse me, I’m busy trying to stop Sir Nighteye from falling into an early grave."

He left her standing there as he continued to the frozen-in-stasis Nighteye. Izuku—and Steven, for that matter—would have hated to be so rude to a hero, Hoseku mused as he walked away. But at that moment, fused as they were, he found that, really, there were more important tasks to attend to. He knew that Izuku would be apologizing later, but he was only telling the truth.

The rest of his walk up to where Sir Nighteye was being kept in stasis was relatively quiet. It seemed that everyone else had learned it was best for them to keep their distance from him, for now. For a moment, he thought he felt someone watching him.

Finally, Hoseku came to a stop in front of Sir Nighteye. A pink aura distorted his appearance. He was fully unmoving, frozen in time by this magical melding of Steven's powers and Hoseku's quirk. This bubble was, realistically, the only thing keeping the hero from prematurely crossing the threshold of death's door. Hoseku studied the man, his unblinking, half-lidded eyes staring off into the distance—and perhaps more urgently, he studied the thick stone spire that had pierced Sir Nighteye’s torso all the way through.

He wasn't going to pretend that he liked the man. He wouldn't. Steven certainly did not, not after his rudeness and the way he insulted Garnet. Even Izuku's extremely rose-tinted glasses when it came to heroes couldn't do much to make him forget the way he was treated when he first met the man. He was rude. He was brash. He was smart, sure, and an effective hero. And so too was he impatient and oftentimes inconsiderate. But in the end, that didn’t really matter. The only thing that did at the moment was saving him. Hoseku—Deku—Steven—he was a hero, and both his parts had made a promise to always help when they could.

Sir Nighteye was in rough shape, even by his skewed standards. Idly, he wondered if his spit would heal in the same way. Really, he had no idea what was possible and what could have changed. The possibilities were endless. A fusion, not only between a human and a half-Gem, but between a half-Gem and some super-powered human? Someone with a quirk? It was unprecedented.

He decided that the first test of his powers—outside of a deadly combat situation—would be healing Sir Nighteye. To do that, he first needed to get rid of the stone spire that was currently dislocating most of Sir Nighteye's organs. But to do that, he needed to remove the bubble from around Sir Nighteye, the one that kept him in stasis. Aware of the various spectators watching from a distance but too wary to approach, he dissolved the bubble with a swipe of his hand and rushed forward as soon as Sir Nighteye started breathing again and the blood started dribbling around the edge of the stone, which—ew.

There would be no time to worry about proper medical procedure or the sterility and cleanliness of the surrounding environment. There was the inkling of a thought about perhaps taking care to keep Sir Nighteye's pain at a minimum, but he figured it was more important to ensure Nighteye's survival above all else. With that decided, he got his arms underneath Nighteye, on either side of the stone spike, and heaved upwards quickly, taking care so as not to cause further damage. Surprisingly, Nighteye didn't seem to feel any sort of pain, even though he really should have reacted somehow, given that he was conscious and giving him the stink-eye.

Something to look into later, maybe, Hoseku thought as he placed the injured hero on the ground and inspected him.

The wound was incredibly gruesome, even by his skewed standards (thanks to both Steven and Izuku). In the interest of efficiency, Hoseku didn't bother licking his hand before healing and instead went for the rather more direct route of planting a wet kiss near the site of Nighteye's awful wound.

Like magic—and perhaps it was a kind of magic—the massive, bloody, gaping hole through Nighteye's torso began to knit itself back together. Blood stopped dripping onto the ground. Organs regrew, pieces that were lost and torn beyond repair knit themselves together. Skin stretched itself out, covering the hole, leaving no mark that there ever was an injury there, aside from a pink discoloration to the newly regrown skin, like Lars’s skin tone.

And stars, the pain that coursed through his body at the thought—he almost unfused right then and there, but they held it together. Izuku would definitely have questions for Steven later.

Just a few more minutes.

Sir Nighteye didn’t say a word while all this happened, just watched Hoseku with an unreadable expression, but it seemed that after it was all said and done the events had taken a toll on his body—his eyes slipped shut, and he drifted into unconsciousness as his body repaired itself internally.

Sighing in relief, Hoseku lifted the hero again—this time more gently, now that there was no great rush to ensure his survival.

“He’ll be okay?”

Lemillion’s voice came out of nowhere, and he nearly jumped in surprise. He was smiling, true to his promise no matter what, but it was belied somewhat by the bandages and bruises that littered his body, not to mention the splint around his arm and the limp he sported. Most telling were the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

“He—he should be. I’m not sure if he would be if I wasn’t here.”

Lemillion’s smile dropped then, as his tears fell loose and he released a gasping sob at the news that yes, his mentor would be okay.

They stood quietly, looking at the hero the two (three, technically) had vastly different opinions on. Hoseku felt a bit awkward as Lemillion recovered from his brief cry. Their moment of silence was interrupted when Hoseku had to quickly shift Sir Nighteye to one arm in order to catch a stumbling Lemillion. It was a bit awkward, with how much taller both Nighteye and Lemillion were than him. Hoseku pursed his lips. “Shouldn’t you be at the triage area?”

His smile returned, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I was just there, checking on Eri. And I’m fine. I have a responsibility to my mentor,” he explained, wiping at the tear-tracks . “Needed to make sure he’ll be fine.”

Hoseku narrowed his eyes and began walking with Lemillion towards the rest of the heroes. “I’m more worried about you—are you okay? The bullet, I know you got hit—”

“It’s gone.” Lemillion confirmed with a clench of his fist. “It stings, I guess. But really, I’m not going to let a lack of a quirk stop me from being a hero.” His smile turned genuine. “I don’t intend to back down from my name. I’ll save a million people, no matter what. And if losing my quirk was the price I had to pay to save Eri, for Sir to live? That’s a price I’m more than happy to pay.”

He looked down and to the side at the fusion. “Besides, isn’t that hypocritical of you? Mister Breaks-his-bones-daily? Or so I’ve heard.” He frowned in thought. “That—you are Deku, right? Some kind of—fusion, or something, between you and that Steven kid from a few weeks back.”

“Not a kid,” Hoseku muttered. “And my name is Hoseku.”

“But I am right,” Lemillion noted.

He sighed. “Yeah, you are, but… can we talk later? Steven and Deku can answer your questions, but right now you’re walking around with a gunshot wound and by the looks of it you’ll pass out from the pain in about thirty seconds. Come on, let’s get you to triage and I’ll heal you up. You could probably use a nap.”

“Don’t need it, get th’ others,” he mumbled, stifling a yawn. “You might be right, though. We can talk later…” With that, he drifted away and suddenly Hoseku had to scramble to catch him as his full weight fell upon him.

===

Hoseku was barely keeping it together. He’d been fused for much longer than Steven had promised Izuku, and after the fighting was all well and done, there really wasn’t much synergy keeping the two of them together. 

He’d healed everyone that needed it, even the minor scrapes from people he was pretty sure weren’t part of the actual combat, but at that point it would have felt wrong to only heal some people and not others.

But now, finally, everyone was safe and no longer in danger, Overhaul was in custody, and everything was fine.

Despite ostensibly being a stranger, an unknown party that had (in an observer's point of view) done something to Deku, his display of power against Overhaul had earned him peace for the time being. He imagined that some of the heroes—like Lemillion and Froppy—did trust him outright, but others were probably suspicious or even fearful of him.

That being said, now that the fighting had ended, and he could finally hear himself think, it dawned on him that he wasn’t imagining what everyone else was feeling. It was much too strong, far too specific to just be his imagination—he reached out, experimentally, and let his mind wander to the strands of emotion that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed before.

Hoseku glanced around furtively, making sure no one was watching, and ducked around a corner where no one else was wandering about. His back hit the wall, and he felt himself slide downwards until he hit the ground. His screwed his eyes shut, but that didn’t help because he could still see them.

Strings of feeling, oh-so-tempting for him to pluck; radiant, multicolored masses of pure emotion, some fainter than others (and oh did he want to sob and scream at the unfairness of it all when he recognized Eri, so dim that he was scared to take a closer look lest he snuff it out).

Certain people stood out to him. Somewhere behind him and to his left, there was Yaoyorozu—shining silver with determination, with imperfect flecks of green anxiety, a churning river of bright yellow worry, and a deep blue need to prove herself.

The strand that connected her with Hoseku was shimmering, cycling between dark shades of purple, grey, and orange—what he instinctively understood to be admiration, uncertainty, and fear.

He pulled away and opened his eyes, letting visual stimulus drown out the fact that he could sense the fear, relief, jubilation, and everything else that everyone felt in the vicinity, but it was all so much. At the edge of his perception, he could feel something—someone that he didn’t recognize, who he was sure didn’t belong, with strands of confusion and malice?—not from any of the Yakuza, those felt different; he thought it was maybe the same person that he thought he saw earlier, but…

It was too much for Steven and Izuku to bear, because he could feel the two of them recoiling inside, and when his vision began to fade he hoped that he would come back soon.

===

It took a minute for Izuku to come back to himself as he processed all that had happened in that past… he wasn’t sure how long it had been since his facedown against Overhaul was interrupted by Steven.

He still struggled to believe that Steven had shown up at the raid, never mind the fact that he had—they’d fused together, they’d somehow defeated Overhaul, and he’d even enjoyed it.

Oh, it absolutely was terrifying at first—the confusion when his body wasn’t responding quite as he expected it to, the realization and fear when he heard a set of thoughts that were not his own, and a surprising sense of peace, because once he had come to terms with the situation, he found himself enjoying the closeness and intimacy of the fusion. And the wonder, especially right before they had unfused and he could see everyone’s emotions around him…

It was all still a bit fuzzy, he had to admit. He remembered things, facts and events that he was almost certain belonged to Steven, and it felt like an invasion of his privacy even thinking about them. The parts of the fusion when he and Steven were completely in sync felt like a dream to him, as if he hadn’t actually experienced them, just watched.

Which is technically what he did.

It took him another moment to remember that Steven was right beside him, waiting for him to finish his internal monologue.

After not saying anything, Steven broke the ice. “So… how are you feeling?”

Izuku licked his lips. His tongue was sandpaper. He tried to swallow and said, “Confused.”

Steven winced. “Yeah, that. That makes sense.” The older boy glanced around. “I don’t want to stick around too long—don’t want to get caught and questioned, y’know how it is—but if there’s anything urgent you wanted to ask, now’s your chance.”

Izuku looked away, eyes darting in any direction other than towards Steven. He took a breath to calm himself down. Then he took another. And several more. Finally, with his thoughts in some form of order, he looked down at the ground and spoke.

“I already said—thought? Sorry—this earlier, but I need to apologize for the way I’ve been treating you,” he half-mumbled, but he gained steam the further he got. “It—it wasn’t fair to you, I just judged you for—for absolutely no real reason whatsoever, just my stupid anxiety because I already almost lost Kacchan, then All Might, and I’m terrified that one day I’ll finally lose someone, and it’ll be all my fault because I couldn’t stop it, but I’m supposed to be All Might’s successor, so how can I live up to that when I can’t save everyone?”

Tears had welled up in his eyes and he had to gasp for air as his apology snowballed into a ramble and then a full-on rant.

“And it would have happened today! I was there when Sir was injured, and there is no quirk in the world that could have healed him from an injury that severe, not even Recovery Girl’s. But… he didn’t die. He didn’t die, and it was only because you showed up. How can I be a hero if I can’t save everyone? How—”

Steven cut him off at that point, having enveloped Izuku in a hug. It only took a second for him to burst into tears, returning Steven’s hug with gusto.

“I’m sorry,” Steven murmured. “I don’t know if this is too soon, but if you need to talk, or anything—I’m happy to be there for you. It’s kind of funny, how much I can actually relate to what you were saying.” Izuku sniffled, unable to hold back a bark of laughter despite himself.

“But also,” Steven continued, “I really think you could benefit from. Uh.” He coughed. “You know, therapy? Or counseling, or something.” Izuku stiffened at the suggestion, but Steven continued. “My childhood and teen years were deeply messed up, and I ended up going to therapy, which really helped me process everything that had happened to me.”

He snorted. ”Honestly, I feel like most of your class could see a therapist. And your teachers, for that matter. But, who am I to talk.”

Steven’s hug loosened, and Izuku took that as his cue to start getting up. As he wiped away the majority of his tears, he faced the older boy. “I’ll think about it,” he said at last. “But… thank you. For giving me another chance.”

“Yeah, of course!” Steven smiled widely. “Honestly, I don’t know what we would have done if you didn’t listen to me when we fused. That was an accident, by the way. Had no idea that would happen.”

Izuku stared incredulously. “I know you said that you want to leave before any of the heroes try to question you, so I’m going to save most of my questions for later. But. If you’re saying you didn’t mean for us to—to fuse, then how did it happen?”

“Well, fusion usually requires the participants to be fully in sync. Whenever I’ve done it before, it usually started with a short dance that led to the fusion.” Steven tilted his head to the side, pinning Izuku with an indiscernible gaze.

“Obviously, we didn’t do any sort of dance, but I’d say we were still perfectly in sync. After all,” he grinned sharply, dangerously, “we both wanted nothing more than to punch that villain—Overhaul, that’s what it was—punch Overhaul directly into the next life.”

Izuku blanched, and Steven burst into laughter. “Kidding! I’m kidding. Sorry, I’m a bit exhausted and it’s doing funny things to my brain-to-mouth filter. The point stands, though. We were so in sync that us colliding as we were punching Overhaul was enough to let us fuse.”

He looked around, and suddenly Izuku was self-conscious of where he was. God, he hoped no one else had seen his breakdown. It’s not like no one had seen him crying before—hell, he was probably known for it—but this was different. More personal.

Steven turned back and approached him, eyes taking on a slight pink hue. “Right. I’m going to head back to the dorm and deal with the fact that I jumped through a window in front of the rest of your class. Before I go, though…” He bent down, gently grabbing Izuku’s hand and lifting it to give it a kiss.

Izuku’s brain had to reboot. His face felt hot, and he desperately hoped that he wasn’t blushing too hard.

“Noticed you were still hurt from before our fight with Overhaul.” Steven smiled, evidently oblivious to the effect he had on Izuku. “All better now, though.”

With that parting phrase, Steven’s whole body turned pink and he disappeared into the air, with only an afterimage of the light energy expended to indicate his direction.

Izuku didn’t think those eyes would ever leave him.

(It wouldn’t be until the next morning that he would realize—the fusion (Hoseku, he’d remind himself) had used One for All.

Steven knew about One for All.

But that would come tomorrow.)