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Chapter Text

Shouta fumbles for his phone, fingers slapping down against his mattress until he stretches and he starts to hit his bedside table. He vaguely remembers placing his phone down there before he face-planted on his bed, finally goddamn able to get some sleep.

So much for that.

It's still dark, and he squints at his phone-screen that's lighting up the room. He doesn't bother to check the caller I.D, because his eyes hurt too much already, and he just clumsily swipes across the screen to answer before he rests it on his cheek.

Only very few people have this number, and all of them know not to call Shouta right now.

"What," he grunts out, half-muffled by the pillow that he's still sunken into.

"Sorry to wake you, Aizawa," Naomasa says to him, though he hardly sounds apologetic at all. They both know that there's no other option if Naomasa is taking the risk to call him when he's clearly stated he's knocking the fuck out for the week.

Shouta sighs heavily. If only he ever bothered to consider actually putting his phone on silent.

They both know Shouta will never do that, though.

Shouta mourns the loss of his sleep, but it's a familiar gravestone he weeps at. He forces himself to sit up, fingers pressing into his eyelids to try and ease some of the irritation that feels like it's drying out his eyes.

"Why're you waking me?" Shouta asks, after Naomasa doesn't bother to offer the information himself. It's not unkind — though he's annoyed at losing his sleep, he knows Naomasa wouldn't call him over something trivial. Whatever Naomasa needs, it's important.

"The operation that Shirakumo was part of had kids involved," Naomasa replies tiredly, sounding all too weary. They're all tired of finding children tangled up in this dark and twisted side of the world.

"Of course it did," Shouta sighs.

He mentally goes over the information he knows, snippets trailed down to him by Oboro and Hizashi as they've worked for days on end to see this mission through. Investigating the underground black market trade, trying to find traces of illegal mythical creature and human trade. He didn't know that they'd be raiding tonight, but he doesn't know nearly as much as he should.

He's been busy too, but he's not nearly as involved as he used to be out on the field. And Oboro and Hizashi are hardly ever around anymore, so their chances to catch up and discuss their missions have become very limited.

"We've been able to relocate most of the kids to safe places tonight, but we've got one that we don't have sufficient resources to deal with," Naomasa explains, and Shouta starts to piece together why Naomasa has turned to him now.

"And it's urgent?" Shouta prompts — he's not disbelieving of the importance of this call, but he can't imagine why Naomasa's force doesn't have the proper equipment to deal with whatever situation has arisen with one of the children.

Naomasa understands Shouta's prompt, as he explains after a brief moment of pause. "One of them is a mermaid. His structure got damaged during the raid, and we don't really have the capacity for a proper environment for him right now. We can't even transport him, at the moment."

Shouta blinks in surprise. It's the combination of the late hour and the unexpected nature of the call — he finds it hard to find anything surprising in his line of work, especially as he now has Hitoshi and Eri living with him.

But Shouta also thinks there might have been no chance of ever preparing to hear that they've managed to find a mermaid. They're creatures that are thought to long be extinct, and there's only ever been whispered rumours of their appearance in the black market.

But only ever rumours. No one has ever been able to confirm a sighting of them, and they've never found them in any of their many, many raids.

"Jesus," Shouta breathes out, his head already starting to hurt with an oncoming headache. "Entirely mermaid?"

"Yeah, we think so," Naomasa laughs mirthlessly. He's likely seen the mermaid with his own two eyes, but still, Naomasa sounds like he can't quite believe it either.

"How long until the structure can't hold out anymore?" Shouta asks, already standing up from his bed and shuffling around the room, phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear. He'd put it on speaker if he wasn't nervous about accidentally waking Eri, who's been plagued by night terrors lately.

It's a cold night, and he reaches for the jacket he's thrown over his chair. On the other end of the line, Naomasa sighs heavily.

"We tried to stop the water from draining, but it's too damaged. An hour, max, before there's problems with oxygen intake. The water seems like some type of specialised mixture, and we don't have the time to figure out what components have gone into it," Naomasa replies.

"Alright," Shouta says lowly, taking a moment to once again press his fingers into his eyelids before he drags his hand down his face, trying to forcefully awaken a little more. He's exhausted, already pushing his limits, but there's no other choice. "I'll head there now, what's the address?"

Naomasa lists it off, and then they end the call. Shouta slips out of his bedroom as quietly as he can, but unfortunately has to make his way to Hitoshi's room anyway to lean down and gently try to stir him from his sleep.

He’s glad that it’s a Sunday, at least, and Hitoshi will be able to sleep in to make up for the disruption.

Hitoshi blinks at him sleepily, Shouta catching the movement thanks to the moonlight coming through the window.

"Aizawa?" Hitoshi grumbles out, eyes squinting. His eyebrows furrow, and he sits up, already concerned.

"I've been called in to help with a kid," Shouta explains, and Hitoshi blinks slowly as he lets the words sink in.

Hitoshi knows how this goes — only a couple of years ago, he'd been one of the kids in a raid. Shouta was actually part of it, not called in specifically to deal with Hitoshi, but Hitoshi knows what the situation means.

"Okay," Hitoshi says sleepily around a yawn, already moving to stand up. "I'll keep an eye on Eri."

"Thanks," Shouta replies with relief, stepping back to let Hitoshi make his way to Eri's room. Hitoshi doesn't need to do it, but it seems like the two of them have taken to sharing a bed when Shouta is out for more hours of the night than he's home for.

"Yeah," Hitoshi says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Good luck."

Shouta grunts in appreciation, and they quietly part ways in the hallway. Shouta puts on his shoes and treads quietly out of his apartment, heading down the building. He checks his phone for the time before he gets into his car, mouth twisting as he sees the 04:17 flashing right back at him.

He's tempted to call Oboro or Hizashi, just in case they have any more information, but he figures they're both tied up with things right now if they haven't already reached out to him. They're likely dealing with relocating the other kids, making sure they're settled in and safe for the night as they run through the medical checks and safety procedures.

They've all done it enough times, but it hardly gets any easier to deal with young, traumatised kids. With a heavy, sinking heart, he wonders how young they are this time.

But pity and sorrow won't do anything to help in this situation, and so Shouta takes a deep breath and tells himself to approach this rationally. Emotions are not rational — not right now, not until he can understand if they're something the child might need.

He pulls up to the address, and Naomasa is already standing outside the building waiting for him with his arms folded. He approaches with a nod in greeting.

The building is a large warehouse, nondescript amongst the other buildings with similar structures. The front door is guarded by two people, meaning this is a small team involved so far.

"He's very quiet right now. We're not sure if he understands us at all," Naomasa explains once Shouta steps out of his car and locks it.

"You haven't gotten in someone who can communicate?" Shouta questions, and Naomasa shakes his head as he starts to walk.

"No one in the circle can translate what we thought was a dead language, and this is too delicate to start bringing in people outside of that," Naomasa replies. "He's not responding to anything we're trying, but he did try and attack Tamakawa before he realised we were trying to get the chains off him."

Shouta's heart drops a little when he hears about the chains, but he takes a steadying breath. It's been a while, maybe, but he knows what to expect with these kinds of cases. He knows all too well what these kids look like, what kind of situations and scenarios they've been subjected to.

"After that, he's just been unreceptive to any communication," Naomasa continues, leading Shouta through the doors. It leads into an open space, and Shouta's stomach clenches as he sees the all-too-small rows of cages, now empty but certainly were not previously, but Naomasa leads him to the side and opens up a door that leads into a staircase.

Naomasa leads him down, their footsteps echoing in the eerie, quiet hum of the building.

"This might not work on a full mermaid," Shouta says, now that they're essentially alone. Naomasa sighs knowingly.

Shouta can cancel out the abilities of those with abilities from their heritage. He can cancel out Hitoshi's ability with his voice, the serenading and hypnotising ability of a siren that's been passed through one of his grandparents. But, mostly, Hitoshi is human. Most of the time, the kids that they save are all too human, just with a mixture of abilities passed through old, rare heritages.

Sometimes, they get kids that are something a little more. Closer to half. But Shouta's abilities can still work on them — disengaging their other side, and making them something close to entirely human as he nullifies their abilities.

Shouta knows that if this works, somehow, then he will be wrapped up in this case for a while. If Shouta leaves the close proximity of a person, a measly one hundred metres away from them, for over an hour, then their abilities will return.

If Shouta’s ability works, and he can shift the mermaid, then he will need to make sure the mermaid remains shifted, until they can figure out a viable solution for him as a mermaid.

If this works, then Shouta might very possibly be tied to this mermaid for a while.

"You're our best option, right now. Our information on mermaids is lacking at best, and none of it is helping us right now." Naomasa replies. "If your ability can give him human aspects, like lungs that can take in oxygen, then that's a win for us."

"I can't change someone's biology, Tsukauchi," Shouta reminds him.

"I know," Naomasa says, finally coming to the bottom of the stairs. "But it's an old folks-tale that mermaids can shift, and I'm hoping your ability can help us along with that."

Folks-tales all start from somewhere, and this is the only starting point they have right now to go with. Shouta pushes his hair back from his eyes tiredly, and follows along as Naomasa opens up the door.

It opens to a small room, the lights clinically bright and making Shouta's eyes sting. There's two other people in the room, and Shouta has to squint a little as he places one of the figures as Sansa. The other is someone he's seen around, but he's pretty sure they came out onto the field just after Shouta stepped back from it.

Sansa's eyes flicker to the door in front of them, and Naomasa walks to stand in front of it. He pauses, like he's bracing himself, or giving Shouta a moment to collect himself.

Shouta doesn't need it — he's seen a lot of things, too many things, in the field. He remembers them every night, and he's not the only one in their house that can't stop dreaming about the horrors he's seen.

And he's only ever seen them. Hitoshi and Eri have lived them.

But he appreciates it, because it gives Shouta a considerate warning that the sight on the other side of the door will not be an easy one to stomach.

Naomasa opens up the door, and a light immediately turns on and floods the room in brightness. There, in the middle of this terribly bright white room, is a tank. No less of a cage, however.

It's only the same to the ones on the floor above them in size. It's too small to contain the living being inside of it.

But it's different to those metal bars and cages. This is built with thick, reinforced glass. One side of it has been dented in, and the glass is cracked and damaged. There's been an attempt to seal it, but there's water still dribbling through the cracks, and there's already a large pool of water on the ground beneath.

Also on the ground are dark, ugly chains. They're thrown to the side, discarded for now. Shouta's eyes go back to the tank, and he spots the small circular anchor at the bottom of the tank that the chains are meant to attach to.

The water has a strange shimmer to it, like there's a tint of gold intertwined with it. It is not regular water, that much is clear to see from here.

And there, inside of it, is the mermaid.

He looks like a young teenager, but Shouta isn't too sure if the ageing is any different for mermaids. His tail is a bright shock of green, long and curled up against the tank that is clearly too small for him. There's marks along the tail, the red scratches a contrast to the green they're scraped into. He's tucked down, keeping his entire body below the slowly falling water line as much as he can.

His eyes are on Shouta, narrowed as he assesses the new presence in the room. When Shouta meets his eyes, they stare at each other, the mermaid refusing to look away.

Naomasa moves, and that's what finally breaks their eye contact. The mermaid's eyes flicker over to Naomasa, carefully watching, but still unmoving.

"This is Aizawa," Naomasa introduces, and Shouta watches the mermaid's expression carefully to see if there's any flicker of understanding. But the mermaid's face remains wary, no sign of changing expression. "He can cancel out most abilities from heritages. We're hoping he'll be able to help the situation."

The mermaid's eyes flicker again to Shouta, but only for a split-second. Still, there is no sign of recognition or reaction to Naomasa's words.

Naomasa turns to Shouta. "Good to go?"

Shouta gives him a small shrug. "Sure. But there's no promise this will work."

Naomasa nods.

Just for a moment, the scene in front of Shouta feels like more of a picture. Everyone is still, unmoving, as they size each other up and just wait for the next move.

Shouta looks over the mermaid, and he turns his attention into the usual feeling that's locked inside of his own core. He focuses on engaging it, staring down the mermaid, and he feels a promising waver of a string float through the centre of himself.

He tugs hard on that string, like he usually does when he wants to nullify an ability.

Suddenly, the stillness in the room is overthrown.

The water in the tank starts to swirl almost violently. The bright green of the mermaid's tail is lost amongst all the movement, like there's a small tornado inside of the remaining water in the tank, and there's only a blur of green and sudden, bright shocks of pink rushing through the water.

It lasts for maybe half a minute. The mermaid is panicking, moving and thrashing like he's trying to escape the tornado, but there's little they can do now to try and calm him. The mermaid keeps himself below water, but all the movement has only made the water pour out of the tank at a higher intensity, and Shouta can only hope that this works.

The tornado slows, the swirling water slowly untangling itself until it's almost calm once again. The mermaid is still thrashing, but his movements cease once the water is no longer swirling around his tail.

The only green remaining in the tank are from the mermaid's hair and eyes.

Where there was once a bright, long tail, there are now very human legs.

For a moment, it is a picture once more.

All of them stare at the two human legs in the tank. The mermaid is staring at them in shock, and the only movement is made by him as his fingers hesitantly and slowly move towards the skin there.

When his fingertips make contact, he gasps.

The problem is, he is still underwater.

He is no longer in the form of a mermaid. When he inhales, he can no longer breathe underwater.

"Shit," Shouta curses, already rushing forward and stepping up the small step-ladder that is by the side of the tank. The mermaid is panicking, floundering around, hands wrapped around his throat in panic.

The tank is just slightly too large, and Shouta can't reach the mermaid even if he tries to. He doesn't take another second to think about it — he wraps his fingers around the edge of the tank, and he hauls himself inside, careful not to land on top of the mermaid as he splashes down. The water is low enough that when Shouta stands, it only comes a little bit above his hips.

The mermaid is staring at him with panic and anger, and Shouta barely has a second to react before the mermaid is rushing towards him, hands extended out like he's going to try and tackle Shouta down and drown him.

But the mermaid does not know how to move without a tail, and his feet slip as he touches the bottom of the tank. Shouta takes the chance to thread his arms underneath the mermaid's armpits and haul him up, getting his head finally above water.

The mermaid does not breathe. He thrashes, eyes narrowed with distrust and betrayal as he tries to escape Shouta's hold.

Shouta's heart aches, because he can't even explain why he's doing this. He knows this must be unbearably confusing and Shouta hates that he has to act without sparing the time to be considerate to the mermaid's feelings.

"Hey, hey, come on," Shouta says, hoping that his tone will somehow be able to convey that he's just trying to help. "You gotta breathe, come on."

The mermaid, as expected, still does not understand him. Shouta has to tighten his hold, making sure the mermaid doesn't slip back down and into the water. The mermaid tries to claw at him, eyes narrowing viciously, and he's getting used to his legs with alarming speed, attempting to kick off the bottom of the tank and kick at Shouta. Shouta has to lift him just a little, not giving him the leverage to do so.

Still, the mermaid refuses to breathe in.

When it becomes clear that Shouta isn't going to let go, the mermaid's eyes start to lose some of their vicious edge. Now, likely getting dizzy from loss of oxygen, he just looks so incredibly lost and confused.

Why? Why are you doing this to me? The mermaid seems to be asking with his eyes, his jaw clenched tightly like he's trying to not say a thing aloud.

"Breathe, come on," Shouta says, a little quieter now, purposely trying to use some of the softness in his tone that he knows will send Eri to sleep when she asks him to read a bedtime story. "Kid, you gotta breathe."

Shouta makes a show of taking in a big, deep breath, and then exhaling it. The mermaid doesn't seem to care about the motion, still too panicked, and Shouta would be concerned about an oncoming panic attack if it wasn't likely that the mermaid would forcefully make himself unconscious before it has the time to hit.

Shouta makes the movement again, and then again.

The mermaid's eyes stare at Shouta's chest, and then his throat. And then he looks down, looking at his legs.

Shouta's still concerned he's about to fall unconscious — but at least if he does, then his body will subconsciously take in a breath. At least he'll be breathing.

Just before it seems like it'll get to that point, the mermaid takes in a small, sharp breath.

He holds it, and his eyes are starting to lose some of that wild panic now that he's realising the air isn't choking him.

Shouta purposely demonstrates an exhale, because the mermaid is still reluctant to actually breathe properly.

Hesitantly, the mermaid copies him. His legs have stopped kicking and splashing up the water, which now comes up to Shouta's mid-thigh at best.

"There you go," Shouta soothes, realising his own heart has been beating frantically. He takes in some more measured breaths, but now that the mermaid has realised he can actually breathe above the water, he's doing so at a frantic pace like he's trying to make up for all the oxygen he deprived himself of in his panic.

The mermaid sags, his weight dropping. Shouta readjusts his grip, making sure the mermaid doesn't slip down into the water again. The water would be unlikely to cover his head even if he does sit down, but Shouta doesn't want to risk anything.

Once the mermaid's breathing starts to calm down, he seems to start processing what's actually going on. He looks down, watching as his legs swish in the water — both, at the same time. He frowns, eyebrows furrowing in concentration, and then manages to just kick one of them at a time.

Now that he's not overwhelmed with panic, now that he's actually focusing on making the movement, it's not nearly as messy or as desperate. His legs move slowly with intention, like he's fascinated.

The mermaid looks up, and makes a noise at Shouta. It sounds like a high trill, tongue clicking in noises that Shouta would have very little hope of ever replicating.

Shouta gives a small, slow shake of his head, demonstrating that he doesn't understand the language being spoken. The mermaid huffs, his legs still slowly swishing in the water.

He wriggles in Shouta's grip, clearly intent on doing something. Shouta's pretty sure he's not going to be attacked again, and even if he was, he's pretty sure he can take a mermaid that doesn't quite know how to use his two legs separately.

Gently, he lowers the mermaid so that he'll be able to stand. He keeps his hands hovering, just in case there's another slip. The mermaid's knees bend awkwardly, almost folding completely as he tests putting his weight entirely down on his feet, but he fortunately manages to remain standing.

He looks up again at Shouta with wide eyes, and the clicking noises he's making sound almost like a laugh of disbelief.

"I'll be back in a moment," Naomasa says to the room, and both of their heads turn to watch him walk out of the room. The mermaid's head tilts inquisitively, and then he looks back at Shouta suspiciously.

Shouta puts up his hand in a placating surrender gesture. He's truly at a loss for how to communicate the entire situation and their intentions with him — because it's a lot. And considering the current predicament that they're in, Shouta's certain the mermaid has every single reason to distrust him.

"It's alright," Shouta still says anyway, once again hoping his tone can get across now that they're not in the midst of the throes of panic. "We're here to help."

The mermaid chitters shortly back at him, and Shouta desperately wishes they had some type of way to communicate. As they wait for Naomasa to return, Shouta watches as the mermaid bends his knees, and then watches as he almost topples over as he tries to lift one of his legs. The scratches that were etched into his tail have transferred over, wounds and scars decorating his legs.

He's almost worried some of the newer wounds will reopen, and that's what gets him to move and focus on helping him.

"Woah, woah, okay, slow and steady there," Shouta says, more for his own benefit. The mermaid glances up at him, but seems to be determined to try and get the hang of picking up one leg at a time.

Shouta holds out his arms when it seems like he's going to topple over again, and the mermaid's face flashes in irritation. But he takes hold of Shouta's arms to balance, and Shouta watches as that irritation quickly fades into determination.

He manages to stand on one leg at a time, and then he lets go of Shouta as he tries to do so on his own. He manages to do so, and his lips split into a satisfied grin.

The moment is interrupted by Naomasa opening up the door again, and the mermaid startles, almost tripping over as he tries to hide. Shouta steadies him just enough to make sure he doesn't fall, but otherwise drops his hold quickly enough to try and make sure it doesn’t seem like he’s trying to restrain him.

Behind Naomasa trails in Sansa. Naomasa holds two towels, while Sansa carries in a blanket and a jacket.

It's a bit of a process trying to get the mermaid out of the tank. Shouta hauls his way out first, but it's soon discovered they can't really pull the mermaid out by grabbing onto his arms. Shouta has to get back into the tank, and then lift up the mermaid so that Naomasa and Sansa can help pull him up and bring him up and over the tank.

It's a very long process. Shouta tries to explain what he's going to do to the mermaid before he does it, but their understanding of each other's communication is still non-existent. Still, the mermaid doesn't struggle as he's lifted up, so Shouta supposes something must have translated.

The mermaid is definitely not familiar with feeling dry, as he almost starts to work himself up to a panic attack again because of it. It takes a while for him to calm down, and understand that he's okay if he's dry.

Eventually, he hesitantly copies the movements Shouta made to dry himself off, but it's awkward and stiff as he replicates trying to dry his hair. His hair is still dripping, starting to curl now, and eventually he just gives up and lets the towel hang around his shoulders in the same way that Shouta has.

"We should get him checked out," Naomasa says, looking over to Shouta as he does so. "Just to make sure he's definitely okay after shifting."

"Yeah," Shouta agrees.

The mermaid's head is whipping back and forth between them, like he's trying to discern their words, but it’s clear that he still can’t.

Walking is definitely not on the cards — not tonight. With the mermaid's health on the line, they don't try and wait to teach him how to walk, and especially not with the obstacle of stairs immediately outside the room.

They communicate by what feels like charades, but eventually they're able to wrap the towel around the mermaid's hips and put his arms through the jacket. Shouta is the one to pick him up, piggy-back style just to make it easier while going up the stairs.

It's really not easy, because Shouta is exhausted and the mermaid is not all that light. He thinks it's going to be worse, though, but the mermaid seems to understand to hold on tight and keeps his weight forward as Shouta starts to climb the stairs.

Naomasa checks in with him, ready to swap out if needed, but Shouta makes it to the top of the stairs. Naomasa explains that most of the medical team they've brought in have left, but there's still a couple that are trusted to stay around and help out with the mermaid.

Chiyo is one of them, and she tuts as she spots the figure on Shouta's back. She already has a small little set-up established, the usual kits she has for moving jobs, and Shouta lowers him onto the temporary chair that's acting as a medical cot. The mermaid remains docile, letting himself be moved, but he's watching all of them warily and his fingers are clenched like he's prepared to claw at them if he needs to defend himself.

"He doesn't understand human languages," Shouta informs her, and she gives a small nod. They've seen plenty of children before with communication issues; non-verbal, deaf, or those that speak different human languages.

"Any problems?" She asks Shouta.

"Inhaled some water," Shouta says, and she nods with a small frown.

"Poor deary," she sighs, and makes sure she gets the mermaid's attention as she talks to him, making sure her hands stay in view. She runs over some checks with him, making sure that his breathing is okay and that the water hasn’t affected him.

The mermaid gets a little hesitant as she pulls out some devices to check blood pressure. She demonstrates it on herself first, wrapping the band around her arm, and he gives her a small nod once she takes it off and gestures to him.

He makes a cut-off noise of surprise when the band starts to constrict, but Chiyo calmly speaks to him. Her tone must help, as he's cautious, but he doesn't try to fight against her and any more of the checks that she goes through.

"His blood pressure is a little high, but that's likely from the stress of the situation," she relays to them. "I believe the shift doesn't have any adverse effects on him. Like all the others, he's dehydrated and hungry, but there doesn't seem to be any internal issues."

Her eyes linger on some of the marks on his legs. Smoothly, she heals some of the worst of them, and Shouta watches as the boy blinks down in fascination, actually moving for the first time since he's been placed down. He sits up, looking over his legs and poking at the parts where the wounds have healed over.

He makes an inquisitive noise, head tilting as he looks at Chiyo. She smiles at him — and there's no pity in her gaze, just a tired kind of resignation. They've seen terrible things in these cases, and as far as the whole night has gone, this is hardly one of the worst of them.

All the children are alive and physically okay, and sometimes that's simply what they'd call a good outcome.

As Chiyo continues to do a final check, Naomasa pulls him aside. It's not like the mermaid seems to understand them, but Naomasa is just being careful.

"We're obviously going to try and replicate the formula with the water, and make sure we can safely take him back home, but until then, we're going to need you," Naomasa says.

Shouta nods, already having expected it. Once he activates his ability, he can hold it for as long as he wants to, just as long as he's still close enough to them. He'd already known from the moment Naomasa had called him that this would be a long task.

"I'm sorry, as I know you have Shinsou and Eri to deal with," Naomasa continues, looking genuinely apologetic. "But we're... well, out of our depth here, right now."

"I can take him," Shouta assures, and Naomasa gives him a tired smile and pats him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Aizawa," he says, and they head back over to Chiyo and the mermaid.

Chiyo clears him, and with that settled, Shouta is left to figure out how to deal with the fact he's going to be housing a mermaid in his already busy home. They'll work it out — they have to, really, but Shouta's head hurts just a little as he tries not to let it feel overwhelming.

Naomasa carries him back to Shouta's car, bundling him into the front seat. The mermaid is quiet and lets them do so, eyes wide and inquisitive as he looks around at the world and inside the car.

Naomasa goes to buckle up his seatbelt, but the second it goes over his chest, the mermaid starts to panic. Naomasa immediately retreats and holds up his hands, eyes glancing over to Shouta to help.

Shouta gets his attention, clearly demonstrating as he clicks his own seatbelt over himself. And then he unclicks it, showing how to do so, reaching across to the mermaid's and pressing his in as well. Eventually, the mermaid lets them click it in, even though he’s tugging at it to stop it pressing so tightly on his chest.

"We'll be in touch. Thanks again, Aizawa," Naomasa says, closing the door as gently as he can.

Shouta turns down the volume of his radio, because he saw the way the mermaid jumped in surprise as the engine started up. He doesn't want to overwhelm him — and anyway, Shouta's own head is pounding, and he doesn't need the extra stimulation either.

The mermaid is almost restless, twisting and turning in his seat as he looks out at the world passing by the window. It's still dark at this hour, deep into the winter, and Shouta turns up the heating.

He runs through a mental checklist as he drives. He'll need to get supplies, extra clothes, and — god, they're going to have to teach the mermaid a hell of a lot about the world and how to function as a human. Like walking, now that he has legs he can use.

Some kind of way to communicate is the priority, but Shouta's not entirely sure how to go about it right now.

He'll have to tell Eri and Hitoshi what the deal is, and he'll have to make sure none of them overwhelm each other. He'll probably have to have someone with the mermaid just to guard him for the moment, even though it feels a little too close to feeling like the mermaid is a prisoner in his home.

But until they can communicate that they're here to help, Shouta can't be certain that the mermaid won't try and take off, and then it'll just be a whole lot more dangerous for him if he does so.

It's going to be a lot of work. Fuck, Shouta is so tired.

One night at a time. One hour at a time.

He can do this.

He pulls up to his apartment building and switches the car off. The mermaid watches him warily again, no longer distracted by his fascinations of the car or the scenery going by. Shouta unclips his seatbelt, and watches as the mermaid copies his movements.

Shouta gets out of the car and walks around to the other side, opening up the passenger door. He feels bad about doing this, but it's just too late into the morning and Shouta does not have the patience right now to try and teach him how to walk on his own. Especially not on the paved roads, where there's the risk of getting scratched up, and he's only covered in a blanket and a jacket.

"Alright, come on," Shouta says, projecting his movements as he slides his arm underneath the mermaid's knees and around his back, hoisting him up in a bridal carry to lift him out of the car. He shuts the car door and locks it, then heads into the building.

It's difficult putting in the building code and getting into the elevator, but Shouta manages to do it out of stubborn determination. If he puts down the mermaid now, he's also not entirely sure he'll have the strength to pick him back up. He puts in his apartment keycode, opens up the door and winces as he accidentally knocks his elbows on the doorframe.

He's really hoping that it doesn't wake up Eri or Hitoshi, but he knows how lightly they sleep. He puts the mermaid down once they're both inside, letting him lean up against the wall while Shouta slides off his shoes.

The mermaid scuffs his feet against the floor, looking around both earnestly and critically. His eye is on the door, and Shouta sighs inwardly. He'll definitely have to stay up to keep an eye on him.

Eri's bedroom door cracks open, and both Shouta and the mermaid whip their heads around to look at the noise. Hitoshi peeks his head through the door, squinting blearily.

"Dad?" Hitoshi asks tiredly, and Shouta feels his shoulders almost melt with both relief and fondness.

"Hey," he whispers.

"That's the kid?" Hitoshi questions, sliding out of the bedroom and shutting the door behind him, meaning Eri has thankfully managed to stay asleep.

"Yeah, um," Shouta swallows down something like a laugh. "Yeah. He can't walk, or understand us, so."

Hitoshi whistles low and impressed. "Jeez."

When Hitoshi walks up to them, Shouta watches as he engages in some kind of stare-down with the mermaid. The mermaid has straightened up, head tilting as he sizes up Hitoshi.

Then, the mermaid makes a clicking noise again. It's not as sharp or as frantic as when he was panicking — this is a little softer, something closer to his clearly curious nature.

"Oh," Hitoshi stops, eyes wide. "Oh shit. You shifted a mermaid?"

Shouta meets Hitoshi's eyes. "How'd you know?"

It's not a question made out of suspicion. It's genuine curiousity, and also a whole lot of confusion.

"It's... ugh," Hitoshi groans, running a hand over his face. "Um, it sounds kind of familiar to like, siren? But not quite. And I can kind of just... feel it. He probably can too."

Hitoshi's hand rubs over his chest, the spot where Shouta usually feels that tug and pull inside of him when his own ability can reach out to someone else's.

The mermaid makes another noise, but seems to deflate once he realises that Hitoshi still can't understand him. Still, some of the tense energy that's been wound tight around him seems to melt, his gaze no longer lingering on the doorway or any other escape routes.

Hitoshi's presence is, hopefully, working as some kind of reassurance. Shouta's hoping that's what he's taking from this, anyway.

"I'm going to set him up in the guest room and keep an eye on him," Shouta explains, hand gesturing to one of the closed doors down the hallway. "I don't know if he'll sleep, but..."

Hitoshi nods, hovering close as Shouta once again puts the mermaid on his back and carries him over to the spare room. Hitoshi stands in the doorway, watching the scene, and then once the mermaid has been laid down on the bed, steps close to Shouta.

The mermaid seems fascinated by the bed at least rather than suspicious of it, fingers twisting in the bedsheets and curiously bouncing on the mattress. It'd be amusing to watch, if Shouta's heart still wasn't thinking about that too-small tank and the chains on the ground.

"You need to sleep," Hitoshi mutters. "It's fine, I'm up now, I won't be able to sleep again anyway. I'll keep watch out in the main room."

Shouta immediately shakes his head in refusal. "No, you should head back to sleep. I'll catch up later."

"No you won't," Hitoshi refutes, and then bodily starts to shove Shouta out the room. "Seriously, I got it. You needed sleep like two days ago. Eri's getting concerned about 'healing the bruises under your eyes'."

"Can't believe you would use Eri against me like that," Shouta huffs, and Hitoshi snorts.

"Not my fault your weak spot is the size of her," Hitoshi replies, managing to push him out the door. "Seriously, go to sleep. I'll wake you up if I need you."

There's no convincing Hitoshi otherwise. He's still worried, but he trusts Hitoshi enough that he'll be able to manage the situation while Shouta shuts his eyes for a couple of hours.

He falls down on his bed, setting an alarm for a few hours away. His dream of catching up on sleep by a twenty-hour coma is out the window, but a few hours is better than none. He manages to drift off, dreaming of tornadoes and swirls of green.

Shouta's alarm goes off, and he groans as he slaps it down. He lies in bed for a few moments, letting his memories come back to him.

Now that the adrenaline of the situation has worn off, he's going to really have to deal with the situation he's got a newly-shifted mermaid in his house. He groans again.

Hitoshi appears in his doorway, and Shouta sits up immediately.

Hitoshi raises his arms. "Hey, no, it's fine. He's finally asleep, Eri just got up though. I heard your alarm, and was going to let you know you could probably cash in a couple more hours."

Shouta rubs at his eyes. His brain is already too awake, running over a mental checklist of what he'll need to sort out. He's still tired, but it's nowhere near as debilitating as it was a few hours ago. "It's alright, I'm up. I'll have to talk to Eri about this anyway."

"Yeah," Hitoshi agrees mildly, then steps further into the room and takes a seat at the end of Shouta's bed.

"How was he with you?" Shouta asks, and Hitoshi gives a small shrug.

"Super restless. I did, um, have to show him how to go to the bathroom though. And put some pants on him. But uh, other than that, not too bad," Hitoshi replies, his cheeks redder than Shouta has ever seen them before. He pauses, looking down at his lap, his flustering overturned by something more solemn. "I understand what he's feeling, but... I can't imagine not being able to communicate. Honestly, I think he's doing really well. I wasn't expecting him to sleep at all."

"Me either," Shouta admits. "But I doubt he got much sleep at all when he was in the... ah."

"It's alright," Hitoshi assures, looking up. "How many were there?"

"I think ten," Shouta sighs heavily. "He wasn't with the rest, and they were relocated before I got there."

Hitoshi nods, biting down on his lip. It's likely that the mermaid's presence has brought forth unpleasant memories for Hitoshi, as it likely will for Eri, and Shouta knows he's going to have a lot to deal with in the next few days.

Hitoshi takes in a breath and squares back his shoulders, already piecing himself back together. Shouta bites down on a fond, sad smile. His kids are all too strong, unbeatable and unbreakable despite the world's attempts to prove otherwise.

"I'll make breakfast," Hitoshi says, standing up from the bed. "Do you think he'll eat it? Oh god, what do mermaids even eat?"

Shouta picks up the hair-tie from his bedside table and ties back half his hair, keeping it out of his face. "Well, let's try and find out."

Hitoshi leads the way out, and Eri gives Shouta a tired wave from her place on the couch. He goes over to her, not entirely certain of what he's seeking, but she throws her arms out and gives him a hug, and he suddenly feels a whole lot more settled and calm.

"We have a guest?" She asks, and Shouta sits back on his heels as he looks towards the guest room door. It's ajar just enough to let them see in, and for the mermaid to look out if he wants to do so. He seems to be asleep though, tucked under the blankets which are rising and falling steadily.

"Yeah kiddo," he says gently, turning over his thoughts as he considers what to say.

"Not Uncle Oboro? Or Uncle 'Zashi?" Eri questions, impatiently waiting for Shouta to reveal who it is that they have in their house.

"No," he confirms, and looks back at her. "He's from one of Oboro's missions. One of the kids there."

She immediately frowns, eyes going wide with empathy and sadness. "So... like... like 'Toshi and me?"

"Yeah," he replies with a hum. "Kind of."

"Like... like 'Toshi, or like me?" she asks, and it makes him pause.

A human with heritage, or an experiment?

"Neither of you," he replies, and she blinks in surprise. "He's entirely a mermaid."

He's not too sure about Eri's knowledge on the topic of mermaids. Some topics she knows all too much about, and in some rather basic topics her knowledge lacks. It's a gamble, with how many years she grew up in a laboratory — they've taught her some things, but also not the typical things children her age should know.

Still, she gasps in surprise, which shows that she must know something about the rarity of mermaids. "Really?"

"Yeah," he nods.

"Wow," she breathes out, clapping her hands together once in wonder. "They're really rare, right? They were always trying to find one..."

Her voice trails off, her eyes clouding over in the typical way that happens when she's thinking about her past. He puts a hand around her arm, grounding her.

"He doesn't understand us, so we have to be careful about how we speak and act, okay?"

She nods with fervour. "Okay!"

He brushes back a strand that's fallen out of her braid. "Alrighty kiddo. He's asleep right now, so let's be quiet."

Her eyebrows furrow together in confusion. "He's not."

Damn, Shouta thinks, and immediately turns to look through the guest doorway again. There, the mermaid is sitting up, staring right back at Shouta.

And then, when Shouta blinks, the mermaid just breathes out and flops back down on the bed and tugs the blanket up higher. Shouta's almost bemused by the action.

"Quiet time," Eri whispers determinedly, nodding again.

"Seems so," he replies in the same volume, and then stands up and heads over to the kitchen to check on Hitoshi.

He's cooking something simple, and he plates up something straight into a container and lets it cool down on the bench.

"He can have it when he wakes," Hitoshi says, head gesturing to the container. Just as he plates up the rest, he puts the container away in the fridge.

"Good idea, thanks," Shouta says, and Hitoshi gives him a grunt of acknowledgement and then pushes his bowl across to him. They all sit around on the couch as Eri quietly turns on the television, all watching together as they eat.

Shouta needs to go out and buy some clothes and other necessities for the mermaid now in his home, but he's hesitant to leave now that he might wake up at any time. He doubts he'll let himself be restrained to just the bed this time, either.

He ends up going online, putting together a cart of items that Hitoshi and Eri help him pick out. They keep the materials on the lighter side, clothes that aren't too restraining but also ensuring that he'll be warm enough in the winter apartment. Shouta's apartment usually runs on the warmer side anyway with the heaters he keeps on, just because Eri isn't a fan of the cold.

They pick out some unscented soaps and other toiletries, as Shouta has seen children become overwhelmed easily with all the different scents that are usually in the world. Unscented items are always a go-to when it comes to children still adjusting.

His items will arrive tomorrow, so the timing isn’t too awful or inconvenient. They’ll be able to make do for today. Just as the order is confirmed, he gets an incoming call from Oboro.

"Yo," Oboro opens with once he answers, bright and cheery.

Shouta grunts at him, because he doesn't quite understand where Oboro gets the energy from. He imagines Oboro is running on the same amount of sleep as him, as they likely just missed each other on last night's scene, and Oboro's likely been wrapped up in dealing with all the rest of the children.

"Thanks for coming in," Oboro says, and Shouta huffs.

"I don't need the thanks," Shouta replies, because he's kind of getting tired of hearing it. This is something he does — it's something anyone in his position should do. There shouldn't be thanks in the bare minimum.

Oboro laughs. "Yeah, yeah, play it cool. I know you probably crashed out before you were called in. How's the kid going?"

"Asleep right now," Shouta replies, and Oboro whistles in the same way that shows he's given the habit to Hitoshi.

"Impressive," Oboro says. Then his voice drops, lower, like he doesn't want to be overheard: "How'd he go with shifting?"

"He's... getting used to it. Panicked at first though," Shouta answers, and Oboro hums.

"Well, that's to be expected. I'd guess that Tsukauchi is looking into any translators, but... I don't like the chances," Oboro says.

"Neither do I," Shouta replies. "It's fine, we'll work it out. How're the rest of the kids?"

"They're doing as well as we can expect. They're all with Nedzu at one of his safe-houses, and we're working on getting them all back home if we can," Oboro replies.

It's going to be a long journey. Most of the time, they find, home is no longer safe for them. Sometimes, those that should have been their 'home' were the ones to hand them in. Considering the tightness wrung in Oboro's throat, he's going to guess that's likely the case for some of them.

"How long were they being held?" Shouta asks, and Oboro clicks his tongue.

"It's a mix. This group has been working for a while to build up... let's say a 'highly rare collection'. A couple were a few days. Some a few months, as far as we can trace," Oboro replies.

"Jesus," Shouta breathes out. He knew that Oboro was working on a big job, but he's been keeping it incredibly down-low.

"Mhm," Oboro replies. "Looks like I'm going to be in town for a while."

"You're staying?" Shouta questions, genuinely surprised. Over the past couple of years, Oboro's really only stayed in the country for a few weeks. He's always tracing down leads around the world, and it means he's travelling more often than not.

"Yep," Oboro replies, popping the word. "This was our biggest case in a while, and there's a lot of threads to tie up around here. Anyway, I assume your guest room is taken up, and you have a lot on your plate already. But if you need any help, just let me know. I'll probably be stuck on paperwork anyway, so I have time."

"Right," Shouta says, eyes flickering over to the guest bedroom door. "Thanks."

"Hey," Oboro says, his voice even quieter than before. "Would you mind, ah, putting Eri on?"

Last night's case was a lot, and Shouta has only seen one of the children involved in it. Without a further word, he walks over to Eri and passes the phone over to her.

"Uncle Oboro," he says, and her face lights up as she takes the phone with both hands and speaks excitedly.

Eri talks to Oboro for a while, excitedly detailing mundane things that he knows is putting a fond, relieved smile on Oboro's face. She passes the phone over to Hitoshi at one point, and though Hitoshi appears disgruntled about it, he's on the phone for the same amount of time as Eri.

Just as the phone call is wrapping up, Shouta passes by the hallway and sees movement in the guest bedroom. The mermaid is starting to stir, and Shouta heads into the kitchen and takes the container from the fridge. He puts it in the microwave for just enough time to warm up the food, but not long enough to risk it being too hot, and then fills up a cup of water.

Hitoshi passes the phone back to him, and then digs out a plastic spoon and fork and rests them on top of the food.

Shouta raises an eyebrow, interested in Hitoshi's choice, and Hitoshi gives a small shrug.

"If I was him, I'd be looking for a weapon," Hitoshi replies honestly, and Shouta nods. It's why he's chosen a plastic cup for the water over a glass one. "And also, I honestly doubt he knows how to use chopsticks."

Shouta nods again. God, they have a lot of things to try and teach, if the mermaid is wanting to learn.

They wait until the mermaid sits up in bed, and though he watches them unblinkingly as they walk up to the door, Shouta still knocks on the doorframe. Eri is trailing behind them, though she stays in the hallway at Hitoshi's direction as they push the door open further.

Shouta tilts the container in the direction to demonstrate the reason for their visit, and the mermaid's eyes study the food with both interest and suspicion. Shouta puts them down on the bedside table and gestures to them, and the mermaid pulls himself up on the bed to get a better look.

He flexes his fingers out, and then wraps them around the cup of water. He peers into it, and then sniffs it, mouth twisting a little.

And then he holds it up to Shouta and tilts it towards him, eyes narrowing with a question.

Shouta's stomach twists, because he knows why he's being so cautious. He's likely had his meals or drinks tampered with during his time in captivity, and Shouta takes it out of his hands without a fight. He takes a small sip from the cup, and then demonstrates the fact he's swallowed it down. He holds it back out to the mermaid, who cautiously takes it back.

The mermaid's eyes look between Hitoshi and Shouta quickly, and then he uses both hands to tip the cup back and take a drink. Shouta almost feels his shoulders slump forward in relief.

Shouta goes to leave, wanting to give the mermaid some privacy to eat, but there's a small chittering noise that gets his attention. The mermaid picks up the container, and then holds it out to Shouta with the same questioning look.

Right, of course, Shouta scolds himself, annoyed he didn't think to do it earlier. He takes it easily, using the spoon to scoop out some of the food and takes a small mouthful. The mermaid is watching him closer this time — not so much in suspicion, but now in curiousity.

Shouta tilts it back towards him, and watches as the mermaid regards the cutlery for a moment before his fingers grip it with uncertainty. He's trying to mirror the grip that Shouta had, and though the movement is clearly not familiar to him, he's able to get enough food on his spoon to take a mouthful.

Just as Shouta goes to turn again, the mermaid lets out another little noise. Shouta's just quick enough to catch the way his eyebrows are raised, staring down with impressed wide-eyes as he looks at the food.

His eyes snap up to Shouta the second he realises he's made a noise, and Shouta thinks a small, amused tilt manages to uplift the corner of his lips. He walks out of the room, and Hitoshi follows right behind him. Eri is still in the doorway, peering in curiously.

"He likes it?" She whispers, though her voice is likely loud enough for the mermaid to hear. It seems he does, because his eyes are watching them carefully as he pushes the food around with the spoon.

"I think so," Shouta replies back at the same level, and gently ushers her away from the door. "Come on, let's leave him to eat in peace."

It'll be difficult figuring out the boundaries here. After being rescued, Eri liked to stay as close to Shouta as possible, while it took Hitoshi a long while to actually like anyone in his space. He thinks the mermaid is closer to the position of Hitoshi, as he's still rightfully distrusting of their intentions, so he's hoping his intuition is right when it's encouraging him to give some personal space.

He gives it half an hour, and then he heads back into the room. The container has been finished and placed back on the bedside table, and the water has only a mouthful left. Shouta makes the decision to leave it by the bedside, because he has a feeling he knows what the mermaid is testing.

Shouta's mouth opens, reflectively going to say something, but then he closes it when he remembers that anything he says is probably just going to mean a whole lot of nothing. Even if he uses hand-gestures, there's no guarantee their intention will communicate properly.

Humans, at least, have a universal language. Thumbs going up or down, and head shakes or nods, usually mean the same thing for everyone, but there's no way for Shouta to know if that extends to mermaids.

He picks up the container and then takes it into the kitchen, and then fills up another cup of water to bring back with him. He places it beside the previous, and the mermaid watches him closely, but he seems to relax slightly.

Now that he understands that Shouta isn't going to limit his water supply, he takes the first cup and finishes it, and then surprisingly hands it straight to Shouta.

"Um, thanks," he says in reflex, though the words are lost in translation. The mermaid's tongue swipes across his lips, and he makes strange shapes with his lips.

His tongue clicks, and his brows turn down in frustration. And then he makes more of a hum, rather than a click, and Shouta stills.

"Um," the mermaid mimics, sounding a whole lot more human.

His voice is pitched low, scratchy and slightly strange, likely trying to copy Shouta's own tone. Still, the effort is impressive, and takes Shouta entirely by surprise. He can't help but smile a little, and then realises that the mermaid is copying that, too.

No — no, not quite. He's not copying Shouta when he's smiling. It's not the same kind of surprised lift to his lips. It's more self-satisfied, and Shouta now knows that at least humans and mermaids share the same natural affiliation and intention in regards to smiling.

And then, the mermaid turns in the bed, and swings his legs over the side of the bed. He's giving Shouta a challenging look, daring him to try and stop him.

Another test, Shouta figures.

"Oh, woah, okay, hang on," Shouta says as the mermaid goes to push himself up, hurrying to put the empty cup down so that he has both hands free. He stills with Shouta's words, but he doesn't lose the challenging edge in his gaze.

Shouta stands in front of him — not close enough to be threatening, he hopes, but close enough that he'll be able to reach in case he goes down. The mermaid sits and waits, and Shouta makes a gesture to try and encourage him to try again.

Slowly, he does, getting to his wobbly feet. He almost falls forward, putting too much weight there as he pushes himself up, but he manages to right himself before Shouta has to steady him. Finally, he straightens up, his entire weight on his two feet.

He makes a low chittering noise, though it seems like he's talking more to himself than to Shouta. He looks up at Shouta like he's waiting for something, though, and seems to be annoyed that Shouta isn't able to figure it out from the look alone.

The mermaid huffs, and then lifts up a leg and moves it forward. He goes too far, and Shouta has to step forward and put his hands under his armpits, getting him to shuffle back so that he's standing upright again with his feet both under him.

It feels a little ridiculous, but Shouta steps back and shows him very slowly how to lift and then place down a foot to walk forward. He walks slowly, back and forth, in front of the mermaid, trying not to feel too ridiculous about the whole situation.

The mermaid is watching him carefully, eyes following every movement. Shouta eventually comes to a stop, and only thinks for a moment before he holds out his hands with his palms facing up. It takes a bit of fumbling, but eventually he manages to convince the mermaid to hold onto him for balance.

The next step goes a little better. His knees are wobbly, new muscles he's not used to using or putting weight on, but Shouta takes most of his weight to try and help. The mermaid rocks back and forth, but manages to lift his back leg. It only comes far enough to stand with his front one, getting both his feet under him again.

Shouta takes a step back, and the mermaid takes in a deep breath before he tries again. This time, he manages to get his back leg to follow through.

They manage to increase the amount of consecutive steps the mermaid takes. They just walk around the room, until eventually the mermaid comes to a standstill and his grip loosens up from Shouta's own.

He bites down on his lips in determination, arms balanced by his side as he takes his first actual step on his own. He manages to get three before he stumbles, and Shouta steps in just to make sure he doesn't go down entirely. The mermaid chitters, but Shouta isn't sure if it's in frustration or excitement, so he's careful to keep his face blank as he helps him stand properly.

Regardless, the mermaid is determined to get the hang of it, and he tries again. This attempt goes a little better, and he catches himself on the chest of drawers the next time he stumbles. Shouta isn't too sure how long they're in here, but eventually Eri knocks on the doorframe before peeking her head in.

The mermaid stops, looking over Eri. He's already seen her, but this is the first time they've properly interacted with each other.

Eri remains in the doorway, not moving even though she's visibly bursting with excitement and curiousity.

Slowly, the mermaid begins to smile, and Eri gasps and grins right back. She still doesn't move forward, even though she's basically rocking back and forth on her heels eagerly.

The mermaid's knees suddenly buckle, and he's able to keep himself up with the drawers, but his eyes flicker to the bed. He pushes up, and then walks over to the bed and basically folds down onto it.

He's closer to Eri now, and he's got all of his attention on her. He smiles again at her, and she gives him a small wave. He raises his hand and copies the motion, and Eri laughs with delight.

Hitoshi appears behind Eri, and the mermaid's eyes go between Hitoshi, Eri and Shouta as he seems to think something over.

Eri walks into the room, and though Shouta stays in his spot, he makes sure that he'll be able to step between them and make sure that he'll be able to defend Eri. She stops just out of reach of the mermaid, looking up at him with bright eyes.

She points to herself, and introduces herself: "Eri."

She then points to Hitoshi and Shouta, saying their names aloud. The mermaid is listening, head tilting as he thinks it over. She points back to herself, and says her name clearly again.

And then she points at the mermaid.

He blinks at her, and then he points back in confusion.

Hitoshi covers an amused snort.

She points to herself, and says her name again, and then points to Hitoshi and Shouta and does the same, and then she points back at the mermaid.

Fuck, Shouta thinks, what if they don't have names as mermaids? What the hell does this conversation look like to the mermaid, in that case?

The mermaid's hand has lowered, but then he points it up again at Eri. His tongue runs across his teeth, and then he opens his mouth.

"Eh..." He manages, and then swallows it down and clears his throat. "E-ri?"

She claps her hands together in excitement, nodding. "Eri!"

"Eri," the mermaid repeats, this time a lot closer. He's copying her voice now, higher than his attempt with Shouta, inflicting the type of childish excitement that Eri's speech has intertwined in it.

Hitoshi's amusement has been entirely wiped, staring with surprise at the mermaid.

Eri then points to the mermaid, her expression clearly asking him a question. He points back to himself, and he says a word quickly. He slows it down, guttural noises and clicking accompanying it.

Eri hums, then tries to copy it. The mermaid smiles, and then repeats the word again, slower. Eri tries it again, pulling faces as she tries to get her tongue to click in a way that she doesn't quite know how to do.

Honestly, Shouta would hardly be any better with his own attempt. He doesn't want to startle the atmosphere though, so he remains quiet and lets Eri and the mermaid try and communicate their names.

The mermaid shifts his pitch a little, and Eri hums.

"Ku..." She says, humming as she tries to repeat the rest of the word. Eventually, she settles on something close to "Deku", and the mermaid repeats it as well like he's trying it out.

Eventually he nods, satisfied that it's close enough to his usual language. He points to himself, and says: "Deku."

Shouta gives him a cursory nod in acceptance. This isn't enough for Deku, though, as he points at Shouta.

He figures his given name will probably be easier to pronounce, and Eri had already been pronouncing that one when pointing at him, so he sticks with it. "Shouta."

"Sch..." It sounds garbled, like the word is being dragged over gravel. Deku points to him again to pronounce it, and after listening to it again, manages to say something that's much closer to 'Shouta'.

Deku then points to Hitoshi, who winces in sympathy. His name is definitely the most difficult out of all of theirs, and he says it slowly. Deku tries, but it sounds something more like 'H-chk-shi'.

Hitoshi breaks it down, saying each syllable slowly and waiting until Deku manages to say each part before he puts them together. These are clearly not sounds that Deku is used to, and his tongue still clicks at times when it should be softer, but it's a considerable effort. Shouta doubts he'd be half as good at trying to speak the mermaid's language as Deku is at speaking Japanese.

Now that they have a foothold for conversation, it turns out Deku is, in fact, incredibly curious. He points to the cup of water beside him, and waits for one of them to explain.

Eri comes over, naturally wanting to take over and be as friendly as possible to their new guest. She points at the cup and states the word, getting Deku to copy, before she points inside and says water.

"Water," Deku says, turning the word around in his mouth. He hums it over, and then pronounces it in his own language, and smiles encouragingly as Eri tries to copy. Shouta's not entirely convinced that anyone will be able to speak the language of the mermaids, and his hopes for a translator go from low to almost nil.

Still, it's a promising sign that Deku is clearly fascinated and interested in the language, and Shouta is going to have to look into how, exactly, he'll go about teaching a mermaid how to speak Japanese. He has some children's materials for Eri, but he'll probably have to start right from the beginning, and he gets on his phone and looks through some options for books and guides.

He’s got some of his focus on the phone, but most of it on the room, carefully listening and watching as they all interact.

Eri and Hitoshi have taken to answering Deku's pointed gestures, getting him to repeat the words. His speech is getting clearer, getting used to the human language with almost frightening speed. Shouta is naturally wary as Eri seems to gravitate closer to Deku, but Deku hardly seems to notice himself.

Deku is clever, though, and while Shouta does hate that he's gone through such things, he's also all too aware that Deku is very far from home, and he has been hurt. Shouta has to watch for any leverage he might take, because, honestly, Shouta probably would do exactly that if he was in Deku's position.

But Deku just gives Eri warm smiles and is the most relaxed Shouta has seen him, and though he's still on guard, he'd also be honestly surprised if Deku did try and take Eri hostage for leverage.

Shouta orders some food for them, because he doesn't exactly want to head into the kitchen just in case Eri will slip right back here and try to talk to Deku. She understands well what Deku has gone through, and she's understanding when it comes to Hitoshi, but Shouta does worry that she won't consider Deku might just try and use her as leverage in his situation.

He sticks to a vegetarian meal for Deku, because it saves him from having to try and figure out the diet of mermaids. He has absolutely no idea what they eat, and maybe it's fish, but also maybe it's not at all. Shouta doesn't really want to upset him by accidentally serving him some of his dead friends.

It's an early dinner — closer to a mix between lunch and dinner, but Shouta's bodyclock is already screwed to hell anyway. And he hears Deku's stomach grumble at one point, though he doesn't seem to notice it himself.

It takes a while for the food, and in that time Deku pretty much gets through as many items in the room as possible. He finishes his cup of water, and Eri points to it and asks: "Water?"

"Water," he confirms, and she takes the cup from his hand and goes to the kitchen to fill it up herself.

Deku is swinging his legs back and forth on the side of the bed, staring down at them in wonder. He doesn't seem too interested in pressing for any more words right now, so they wait in relative quiet before Eri walks back in and hands him the cup.

Deku hesitates as he takes it, and Shouta is prepared to take the cup from him and take a sip just to reassure him there's nothing laced in it. But Deku just looks up at Eri with a small smile, and he tilts back the cup and takes a sip.

He makes a chittering noise as he places down the cup, but none of them can quite figure out what he's trying to communicate or trying to translate. He realises it too, because he just pulls a face, but otherwise doesn't try and explain it.

The food arrives, and Hitoshi goes to the door to get it. Eri encourages Deku to stand up, and gets him out of the room. Hitoshi seems surprised, already having planned to head back into the room, but stops and waits as Eri leads Deku to the living room.

Eri pulls out a seat for him at the dining table, and Deku looks in confusion between Shouta and Eri. Shouta takes the precedent and pulls out his own chair, and demonstrates sitting down on the chair. Deku's knees wobble slightly as he tries to copy, but Eri helps him get down and take a seat.

Hitoshi places the food on the table, pulling out his own chair. Shouta goes through it and places all the containers around, putting the vegetarian option right in front of Deku.

Deku's sniffing the food with curiousity, head dipping down a little too close to the table to be respectable. But he's a mermaid, and Shouta isn't really going to give a shit about proper dining etiquette being misused anyway.

Besides, as Hizashi likes to tell him, he's never in a place to talk about proper meal etiquette. He's only taken to it for Eri's sake, but most of the time, he's in his sleeping bag with cup noodles and jelly pouches.

Shouta gets up to get some bowls and a spoon — metal, this time, because they only have the one plastic set, and he knows that in terms of weapons, Hitoshi and Shouta both outnumber Deku when it comes to using the ones on the table. He sits down, distributing the bowls, and then slides the spoon over to Deku, while the rest of them split their wooden chopsticks that came with the delivery.

Deku watches them, not touching his own spoon. Eri and Hitoshi seem to realise not to touch the vegetarian, but it makes Deku more suspicious about it.

So Shouta takes some, and puts it down in his bowl. He gestures for Deku to do the same, eyes looking down at the bowl. Maybe that's a few too many steps, especially for someone that is still learning how to use a spoon, but he supposes he'll switch up his approach depending on how Deku reacts.

And Deku seems to take it as a challenge, as he scoops out some of the rice and puts it down on his bowl. He watches the rest of them, and Shouta purposely eats some of the vegetarian dish, which seems to be enough to get Deku to do the same. He takes only a small mouthful, making a small noise again as he tastes the flavours.

Quickly, he's distracted by the taste of the food rather than being suspicious of it. He finishes his bowl quickly, but hesitates as he goes to scoop up some more from the container. His eyes flicker to the other containers, clearly intrigued.

Oh, god. Shouta should've thought more about this.

Shouta pulls out his phone and types in fish, and then shows Deku the image, pointing at one of the containers he's eyeing off. Deku's fingers reach for the phone, eyes wide with fascination at the screen, but Shouta pulls it back out of habit.

Deku shrinks a little in his chair, and Shouta feels guilty for it. He moves the screen a little closer, showing Deku the image again and pointing to it.

Deku seems to realise the purpose of the image, as he looks between the container and the phone before he picks up his spoon and takes some from that container.

Well. At least that answers that.

"Mermaids eat fish?" Eri asks, and Hitoshi smothers his laugh behind a bite of food.

"Seems so," Shouta replies, because it's not exactly like he can deny it. Fuck, he hopes all those mermaid movies she likes don't depict them as friends.

"Makes sense," she says seriously with a nod.

Well, alright then. He’ll take it.

Usually, there's a bit more conversation when they're all sharing a meal, but they're all overly aware of the fact Deku likely won't be able to follow along. So they eat quietly, and Eri and Hitoshi help him clean up the containers and dishes while Deku is still seated at the table.

He seems lost now that there's no meal in front of them, unsure of what to do. Eri goes into the guest room at one point, and Deku watches carefully. She comes back out with the empty cup, and then gestures for Deku to follow her from the table.

He looks to Shouta for a moment, but he doesn't wait for permission. He gets to his feet after some effort, and then follows as Eri leads him into the kitchen. There, she shows him how to get water out of the tap, and passes the cup back to him.

His head tilts, and he leans down over the counter to inspect the sink. He flicks the tap on, making sounds as he plays the water levels, completely fascinated. Shouta lets it continue for a minute, and then says Eri's name. She gets the hint, gently getting him to turn off the tap so that no more water is simply washing down the drain.

And god, shit. Shouta's going to have to show Deku how to wash up.

That, he decides, is a problem for tomorrow, when he actually has the unscented soaps on hand. Right now, he needs to make sure Eri goes to bed at a reasonable time as she has school tomorrow. It's still earlier in the night, but he's sure that she'll be up for a little while in an attempt to keep conversing with Deku.

He's right. She shows him the television, skipping between channels, and shows him how to do so as well. He settles on some foreign movie, watching with wide-eyes as there's overdramatic fights and explosions playing out on the screen in front of him.

Hitoshi sits down as well, and Shouta supposes he can let Eri stay up for the rest of the movie. It won't be as much of a problem as he thought — food has done the trick to make them drowsy, and even though Deku slept for a while today, his eyelids are looking suspiciously heavy as well. His body is likely just starting to crash, trying to take the moments that it can to properly rest and refuel after so long in that cage.

Naomasa texts him, and Shouta relays the day's events and all the milestones they've accomplished.

Naomasa seems highly amused as soon as he finds out that Deku has taken to walking and trying to talk, and says 'well, looks like you'll have your hands full.'

Promising to keep Shouta in the loop about any developments in the whole case, or specifically about mermaids, the conversation comes to an end. The movie does too, and Shouta has to go over to the couch and let Eri know it's time to get ready for bed.

She's the most resistant Shouta has ever seen from her — and it's not because she's scared of having nightmares or anything, like it sometimes is, but it's literally just that she doesn't want to leave Deku.

Hitoshi eventually has to usher her into the bathroom to wash up, promising he'll head to sleep with her even though it's earlier than his usual schedule. Though, considering he had been up so early, Shouta supposes it's not too strange.

Deku seems nervous now that he's the only one on the couch, and Shouta gestures to the guest room as an offer — purposely not as an order, because he doesn't want Deku to feel like it's a command, but rather just a suggestion.

Deku nods and gets up from the couch. His legs are a little wobbly, all the time sitting down clearly getting to him, but he's steady soon enough. He picks up his cup of water, and walks into the kitchen and refills it from the tap. He holds it closely, like he's guarding it, and heads into the guest room.

Shouta follows him, because he realises that the room is dark. He makes his presence clear, footsteps loud enough to be heard, and can see Deku looking at him from the hallway light. He reaches over and flicks on the room light, then flicks it off again in demonstration.

Deku stares at it, and then heads over to the light. He flicks it himself, staring perhaps a little too intensely straight into the light, before flicking it again to turn it off.

He stares at Shouta inquisitively, and then points at it in question.

"Light," Shouta replies, and Deku clears his throat and attempts to repeat it. He's getting quicker on catching onto words and sounds, because he gets it quickly with a decisive nod.

"Light," he says, and then flicks it on. Looks at Shouta.

Shouta isn't too sure about the intention, so he waits for Deku to try and elaborate.

Deku flicks the light off again, and says "Light...?"

"Off," Shouta answers, hoping it’s the right one for whatever question Deku is asking of him. Deku hums and repeats it, and then flicks it on.

"Light..."

"On," Shouta confirms, and Deku nods.

He flicks it again, muttering 'off' to himself, and then steps away from the light switch. He looks over to the bed, but he doesn't head there. Instead, he turns on his heels, and he heads to the bathroom, keeping himself balanced with a hand on the wall.

Hitoshi is just coming out of the bathroom, and he makes a questioning noise, but Deku just makes some gestures that seem to mean I can do it, so Hitoshi leaves and shuts the door behind him.

Shouta finds himself hovering. Maybe he's expecting the sound of Deku crashing into something and falling over, but it never seems to come. Hitoshi is standing with him, but Eri comes up beside him and tugs him to come into her room to sleep.

"You all packed for school tomorrow, kiddo?" Shouta asks, crouching down to get on her level.

She gives him a nod. "Yep! All ready."

He reaches out to ruffle her hair. "Good job."

"Can I say goodnight to Deku?" Eri asks, just as Shouta is about to send her off to bed.

"Okay," he agrees easily, because he thinks it'll probably be good for both of them. They all wait for Deku to come out of the bathroom — and his memory must be good, as he even remembers how to flush and apparently wash his hands, though Shouta can hear him play with the tap again for a bit.

Eventually he steps out, and Eri walks up to him with a wave.

"Goodnight, Deku!" She says, and his eyes flicker uncertainly between Eri, Shouta and Hitoshi.

"G...Goodnight?" He copies, questioning, and she nods. She claps her palms together and then rests them on one side of her cheek, acting out the motion of sleep accompanied by fake-snoring.

"Sleep!" She explains, opening her eyes.

"Sleep," he responds, copying the motion to make sure he's certain. She nods again, confirming it.

"Goodnight!" She says again, and he licks his lips. It seems he doesn't quite understand the intention of goodnight, but he's clearly trying to connect it in his brain.

He gives her a wave, and says "goodnight" as well, and she grins at him before she turns around and tugs Hitoshi off to her room.

Deku is repeating the two new words under his breath as he walks back to the guest room. He stops at the door, clearly intending for Shouta's attention.

Standing in the hallway still, he closes the guest room door.

"Door?" Deku asks, making sure he's got the right word. Realising he’s got Shouta’s attention, he continues. "Door off?"

Shouta's look of mild confusion must be obvious, as he opens up the door.

"Door on?"

"Ah, no," Shouta shakes his head. Deku hums.

"Ah, no?"

Shouta shakes his head, hoping to restart but it's hard to even state no, restart, when Deku doesn't even know yet what 'no' means. They definitely need to get to that.

Shouta reaches out for the door, and Deku steps back and lets him.

"Door," he says, then closes it. "Close."

"Close," Deku repeats.

Fuck, this is overwhelming for Shouta, he can't imagine how much information Deku is trying to store and remember in his brain right now.

Shouta opens the door, and says: "Open."

Deku nods, and then repeats the actions and the words to make sure they align.

Shouta nods, and thankfully this must be something that still transcends species, as Deku makes an expression that means he understands.

Deku copies the movement and points to himself questioningly.

Shouta copies it, and says, nodding his head: "yes."

"Yes," Deku repeats, nodding his head now like he understands.

When he shakes his head, Shouta explains that it means "no".

"No," Deku says strongly with a smile.

Well. It's certainly progress. Shouta suspects Deku would keep him around for more questions, but he yawns, and Shouta hides an amused smile.

"Sleep," Shouta says, gesturing to the bed.

"Bed," Deku argues, clearly remembering the word, and Shouta snorts in amusement.

"Yes. Go to sleep," Shouta says, which loses Deku as he figures out the words in-between. But he seems to get it, because he nods, and then heads over to the bed. He sinks down easily into it, clearly tired and ready to crash out.

Shouta stands at the door, and waits until Deku's attention is on him before he makes a purposeful gesture towards it in question.

"Open," Deku says with a nod, which Shouta isn't sure if he's surprised to hear or not, but he nods and leaves it so. He walks out, leaving Deku alone in the guest room, and heads out into the main room.

He does the dishes, and then sits down on the couch and reads through some reports. Even if he fell asleep in his room, he knows he'd wake up if Deku tried to move out of the apartment and especially if the front door were to open, but he finds that he'd rather stay out on the couch for the night.

Eri and Hitoshi's safety are his priority, though he doesn't think it's suspicion that leads him to stay out on the couch. It's just that he's closer to reaching any of them if he's on the couch and they need him.

And if he truly thinks about it, then he knows that it includes Deku as well.

Chapter Text

He ends up getting a few hours of sleep, waking up and showering just before Eri and Hitoshi's alarms go off. Eri is reluctant, for the first time, to head to school, but Shouta promises that Deku will still be right here when she returns home.

Deku doesn't wake for another few hours, his body definitely catching up on all the sleep he's likely been forfeiting. It's good, as it means that Deku is at least feeling safer here than he did back in captivity, but Shouta's also concerned about how low the bar for that is.

Eventually, closer to midday, Deku actually has some movement. Shouta waits out on the couch, half his attention on reading through some news and half of it on Deku.

Deku takes a while to get up and out of bed, but eventually manages to make his way out to the main room. He's looking right at Shouta, hovering in the doorway.

He makes a clicking noise, and then clears his throat and shakes his head and tries again.

"Shouta," he says, pointing to him. Shouta nods in confirmation. "Good...night?"

His voice is settling into something like his own natural tone, now, no longer quite copying Eri or Shouta’s own voices.

Shouta has to bite down on a smile. "Good morning," he gently corrects, and Deku huffs, but his shoulders remain up. He's frustrated, but he's determined.

"Good morning," Deku repeats, and Shouta echoes the greeting back to him.

Shouta stands up and heads to the kitchen, and hums as he looks over his food. They don't really have lots of options, not for lunch, as Eri and Hitoshi usually just get it at school and Shouta tends to stick to jelly pouches.

So he pulls out cereal, figuring the sugar will at least help get Deku's levels up. Deku is following him, staring right at the box in question.

Shouta pours two bowls and fills them with milk, because he figures it's just going to be easier to show rather than explain. When he passes over the spoon, Deku seems to figure it out.

He taps at the spoon in question, and Shouta tells him the word for it. Then he points to the cereal, and Shouta goes for the broad spectrum of just calling it 'food'. Deku nods, and gets to eating.

His eyebrows pull down and his lips smack together after the first bite, clearly not familiar with the taste on his tongue. Shouta lets him quietly work through his feelings on his own, methodically eating through his own cereal.

There's clearly a lot that Deku is eager to learn, but Shouta knows that the amount of information and communication is going to be a long process to work through. Deku is picking it up remarkably quickly though, already repeating words and doing so correctly just by going from his memory.

Besides, as they wait for any progress on Naomasa's end, it's not really like Shouta has much else to focus on. His entire job right now consists of looking after Eri and Hitoshi and monitoring Deku.

There's a knock at the door, which startles Deku. Shouta soothes him, but remains silent as he treads to the door and peeks through the peep-hole. It's just the delivery for his bulk order yesterday, and he opens up the door and signs off on it, thanking the delivery man before hauling his packages inside.

Deku has taken to standing, having watched the interaction from the hallway. He's looking at the packages with curiousity, and Shouta manages to get them all inside and lays them out on the floor.

He cuts them open and pulls out clothes from the first couple of packages. Deku has taken a seat down on the floor as well, though it takes him a moment to figure out how to fold his legs to allow him to do so. Deku is watching curiously, inspecting the clothes from a careful distance.

Shouta unfolds some of them and holds them up. He thinks he's got the right sizing, but he was guessing for a lot of it. He unfolds a pair of loose sweatpants, and he notices Deku starting to pick at the fabric of the ones he's currently wearing. When Deku realises he's got his attention, he points to the fabric with a question.

"Pants," Shouta explains, and Deku's mouth twists. It's clear he's not a big fan of the fabric on his legs, but when Shouta unfolds a dark green pair of sweatpants, he seems a little more interested.

He points to himself in question, and Shouta nods. For you.

Deku holds out his hands, and Shouta passes the pants over. Deku feels out the fabric, twisting and tugging at it. Shouta puts a couple more items near him, shirts and a jacket and jumper, and Deku takes those too and inspects them. He attempts to put the jumper on, but puts it on backwards, and Shouta has to try and explain how tags go at the back.

It seems to get through, as Deku inspects all the clothes and then slides them on, this time all the right way. It looks a little ridiculous, all the different styles layered in such a way, but he figures that no one's around except Shouta to judge anyway. He seems to overheat soon enough anyway and strips them all off.

He attempts to re-fold them, and honestly, doesn't do a terrible job at it. Meanwhile, Shouta is unpacking the rest of the boxes, pulling out books and study materials. When he places down a notebook, Deku immediately takes interest in it and reaches for it, swiping it before Shouta can even really push it over to him.

He looks around for something, and Shouta pushes over the pack of pencils that have also been included. Deku takes those with a hum, and then immediately flips open a page and starts to scribble.

He grips the pencils easier than the spoon — not exactly properly, but with enough indication that shows he’s worked with similar objects before to draw with.

Oh, I should've done this earlier, Shouta thinks, watching as Deku colours over the page. From what Shouta can see, he's not attempting to write anything — he's sketching out images on different pages, flicking through them. Then, he passes the notebook over to Shouta.

He's sketched out different objects around the house, things that he knows the name of. Shouta tilts his head, and Deku passes him the pen.

"Door," Deku says, pointing down at the page where he’s drawn a depiction of one. Shouta tilts his head, staring down at it, and then it clicks.

He rifles through one of the packages, pulling out a spelling book that's aimed towards pre-school children. He flips to a page with the phonetic lettering laid out, and he writes down the words for each object that Deku has drawn. Deku compares each word to the lettering in the book, and then points to each one and gets Shouta to sound them out.

He's taking notes, though they're not exactly making sense to Shouta. He's not too sure if mermaids have a language for writing, and he's still not sure after watching Deku try and study the new language.

Deku flips to a new page, and starts to write some familiar letters. Shouta watches as he mouths out the words, sounding them out as he writes. He scribbles them out a few times, but eventually seems to settle on his final words, and then flips the book over for Shouta to read.

There, almost perfectly, are the spellings for Shouta, Eri, and Hitoshi.

Shouta makes a symbol to represent close, and then takes a new coloured pencil and marks the corrections. Deku takes the pages back and studies over it, and he's taken to chittering and talking to himself as he works on the new words and figuring out where he went wrong.

Then, he flips the page back to Shouta, with the word Deku written. Shouta nods, and Deku grins at him.

He's taken to studying more of the letters again, sounding them out, and then ropes Shouta into getting to pronounce the combinations of letters. He nods to himself, filling up the notebook with rapid progression.

He flips the page back to Shouta, where Deku is once again spelled. But underneath, there is a new spelling.

"Izuku?" Shouta asks, and Deku nods, pointing to himself before making the same close gesture that Shouta had just made.

"Your name?" Shouta asks, and then grimaces as he realises it's not really a question he'll be able to understand. He spends the next couple of moments trying to explain the meaning, and it seems to work.

"Yes. Izuku," he says, pointing again to himself. "Your name Shouta."

Jesus, Shouta thinks, impressed. It's starting to feel like it'll be very little time before Izuku manages to grasp the fluency of the language, considering his progress in a mere day.

He thinks Izuku's natural curiousity has something to do with it, as it's clearly a big aspect of his personality. And not to mention his stubborn determination and passion.

It makes for a combination that keeps them on the floor for basically the whole day. Shouta is only able to get up to get a jelly pouch, passing one over to Deku, and some glasses of water for them. Izuku continues to write and draw, flipping through the pages of the book and getting Shouta to try and explain anything he doesn't understand.

There's pictures and drawings in the books, and more than once Izuku stops on the image of a creature like a dog or cat and has to try and figure out what they are, exactly. Shouta eventually just starts showing him videos of these things, which seems to work well enough.

When Izuku gets through the book and learns all the new names, he turns back to his notebook and starts to draw again.

Shouta's stomach sinks as he realises what Izuku has taken to depicting. There, on the page, are sketches of bars and cages and small figures sitting inside of them.

Izuku points at them and makes Shouta sound them out for him.

Cage. Bars. Lock. Chains. Muzzle. Fire. Blood.

And then Izuku draws himself, in the tank, and Shouta goes through all the different words involved there. Water. Tail. Mermaid. Legs.

"Legs," Izuku repeats to himself, poking at the new body parts of himself. Shouta tries to dissect the kind of tone that Izuku uses, and it sounds like fascination more than any type of resentment, but Shouta isn't too hopeful that those emotions will stay around.

Hitoshi and Eri walk through the door, and Shouta's back aches as he's suddenly reminded of just how long he's been sitting on the floor for. He groans, stretching, and Hitoshi and Eri both take off their shoes and wander over curiously at all the pages and drawings strewn around the room.

Izuku lets them, even flipping back to the page where he wrote out their name and shows it to them. Eri beams, and Izuku smiles back too.

He also shows them the closer spelling of his name, and both of them nod and accept it easily.

"We weren't the only ones at school, huh?" Hitoshi asks, amused, as he looks over all the papers. "Jeez, I think he did more work than me."

"I think he's done more work today than a pre-school child does in a month," Shouta replies, getting up from the floor. He's been sitting for way too long, and he's aching and stiff. His back can't do this for long periods anymore.

"You..." Izuku says, but he trails off, and Shouta catches a glimpse of the frustration that tends to cross his face when he can't find the vocabulary to communicate properly.

He's talking to Eri and Hitoshi, and he points to the front apartment door, head tilting in question.

"Oh. School," Hitoshi answers, and then realises that the word means nothing to a mermaid who's just started learning the language within the day. "Ah, shi- um."

He bites his tongue because Eri's right beside him, though she doesn't seem to be listening. She gestures for the notebook, and Izuku passes it over easily, and Eri flips to a new page and draws a rendition of a classroom.

Again, it doesn't really mean much to Izuku. Eri ends up engaging in a long game of charades, trying to explain that what Izuku is doing now is what they both did, just in another room with many other students.

There must be a similar concept for mermaids, as it doesn't seem to take all that long for Izuku to understand. He nods along, scribbling down notes in his notebook. Once Eri and Izuku seem to come to an agreement about the concept, Izuku ends up flipping through the notebook to show Eri his progress.

"Oh wow," she says, managing to get it entirely out of Izuku's hands so that she can flip through it at her own pace and under his watch. "These are really nice drawings! You must be an artist."

Izuku blinks blankly at her, and she presses her lips together and reaches for a blank piece of paper, starting to draw her best rendition of an artist drawing on canvas. Izuku flusters, head ducking down in embarrassment, and it just seems so entirely human.

He's seen glimpses of Izuku's personality throughout the day, but a lot of it is lost under their lack of communication and the fact that Izuku still is not entirely trusting, and neither is Shouta. It's easier to see it now, though, more moments slipping when he talks to Eri.

Hitoshi is watching them with interest, though he's trying to look like he isn't by fiddling with his phone. Izuku's eyes flicker to him with interest every few minutes, but neither of them really engage each other in conversation.

Shouta thinks that'll change soon enough, once Izuku is a little more confident in speaking. There's things he clearly wants to say but is unable to, and it seems like he's bursting to the brim with questions and curiousity. Shouta is sure that once he finds the words, he won't be able to stop them.

He decides they're done for the day — though it seems like Izuku has the energy and the curiousity to keep him sustained for a long while, Shouta thinks that he's learned enough for today. Any more, and he'd likely be pushing the limits of his memory. And besides, Shouta's back is currently very stiff, and he definitely needs to work that out.

He starts to pack up the materials, and Izuku bites down on a noise that's likely a protest.

"We'll pick it up tomorrow," Shouta promises, and though he knows his words are definitely lost on Izuku, it's clear that Shouta's tone is working now to get across his meaning. Izuku settles slightly, still carefully watching.

Shouta tidies up the materials, but does not reach or touch Izuku's notebook. He just neatly packs most of it up so that it's no longer spread all over the room, and makes sure to keep it within reach and within eyesight, so that Izuku knows it's still there and not being taken away from him permanently.

Hitoshi and Eri stay out in the main room, pulling out their homework to work on it. Usually Hitoshi goes to his room, but he sets up on the dining table beside Eri and gets to work quietly. Izuku sits down with them, curiously looking over their papers. Eri passes him her sheets once she's done with them.

Though Shouta has said they're done for the day, Izuku seems to appreciate the sheets of paper he's being given, and Shouta isn't going to take that away from him. Eri enjoys sharing her work, smiling with excitement whenever Izuku smiles or builds up the confidence to speak.

Shouta figures they'll be fine on their own, so he goes into his bathroom and goes for a shower. Then he remembers that they'll have to work out how to wash Izuku, and he considers his options of either a shower or the bathtub in the other bathroom.

He splurged on an apartment big enough to have one, having moved when he acquired Eri, because she was a little funny sometimes with showers. She's fine with them now, but she'll still occasionally ask for one — and honestly, Shouta's become a fan of them too.

That'll probably be easier for Izuku to wash in as well, but Shouta is also a little worried about how Izuku will cope with being surrounded by water.

He sighs, tilting his head up and letting the warm water run through his face and down his face. Maybe he'll ask Hizashi for some tips about communicating, because the thought of trying to explain the purpose of a bath to a mermaid seems... well. Ridiculous, he would have said, two days ago. Now that he's faced with it being a reality, it's more like it's just another obstacle he'll have to face.

Considering how fast Izuku is picking up on their language, Shouta knows that at least these obstacles are nowhere near as large as he first considered them. Now he knows they're manageable, and if they're not now, then the speed at which Izuku learns guarantees they'll be able to pass them easily enough in time.

He keeps the hot water pounding down on his back for perhaps a little longer than he first planned, but eventually he steps out and starts to dry off, thoughts still racing with all the things he needs to sort out. He needs to figure out dinner, and then call Naomasa to debrief him on everything he's learned today and also find out if there's any updates.

After he gets changed and is back in the lounge room, he walks out to find the three of them have moved. They're sitting around in front of the television, once again letting Izuku pick the channel and watch the contents with interest. Satisfied, he goes back into his room and calls up Naomasa.

There's no updates on figuring out the chemicals in the water — they're still waiting on lab results, and it's a tedious process that they can't speed up because he wants this to go through as few people as possible. Shouta tells him about the terrifying speed Izuku seems to be learning, and Naomasa is relieved to hear it.

The sooner they're able to communicate, the easier it will be to help Izuku out.

"We managed to get a couple of the kids back home," Naomasa says. "You know Enji Todoroki?"

"Yeah," Shouta hums. He's well known in the community, as the connection to his heritage is rather impressive, and he works in the public eye. It's hard not to know him.

"Yeah, well, they got one of his kids. The youngest, the one with nekomata heritage," Naomasa explains with a sigh. "Enji coming to us was actually the reason we got any leads on the ring to begin with. But it still took us a while to find him."

But the fact they managed to get a hand on any of the Todoroki family shows that they were indeed going for high-profile targets. Perhaps the kid was too much of a high risk to take and they underestimated that, but it's still a worrying sign that they had the means to get their hands on so many powerful heritage children.

And a fucking mermaid.

One that's now in Shouta's apartment. Christ.

"And the rest of the kids?" Shouta prods, because he can’t quite stop thinking about the rows of cages in that building.

"I'd say it's the usual procedure, but... it's not. A lot of these kids were sold by their family, and considering their heritages... well, the commission wants to keep a closer eye on them," Naomasa explains, and Shouta nods to himself. He'd expected that much. He's sure he's being watched by the commission right now as well.

"Aizawa..." Naomasa trails off, leaving words left unsaid. Eventually, he just says: "Thanks for taking him."

Naomasa, no doubt, has had to fight for Shouta to take him — even though, logically, it is their best option right now regardless.

Naomasa cares about the kids, while the commission tends to forget they're just children that deserve to go home. The commission would rather keep them in reach and under their watch, and Shouta has no doubt that if the make-up of the water chemicals wasn't such an issue, Naomasa would have had a much, much harder time trying to get Shouta to take him.

At the end of the day, Naomasa and Shouta will fight to get them home. If Izuku was directly in the commission's hands, then 'going home' would have been a mere fantasy.

"Yeah," Shouta replies. "No problem."

Naomasa almost laughs, because they both know this whole situation has quite a number of problems, but he manages to hold it back. They end the conversation, nothing left to be said today, and Shouta hangs up the phone and walks out of his bedroom.

There's a bit more chatter coming from the three on the couch, and Shouta is glad to hear that Izuku is one of the voices as well. He keeps pointing at things on the screen, and Eri and Hitoshi jump in to give him an explanation as best as they can.

Shouta gets to making dinner, grimacing as he goes over the contents in his fridge. He'll have to get his grocery shop delivered, and at least he'll be able to charge all the excess costs to the commission.

He'll have to make do with all the ingredients he has, throwing together what he can. Hitoshi comes in at one point to taste-test and make some rice. The cooking has also piqued Izuku's curiousity, as he wanders over and watches from a careful distance, head tilting as he stares at the food cooking in the pans on the electric stovetop.

Hitoshi turns to Shouta, with a sly grin on his lips. "I'm going to show him fire."

"Hitoshi," Shouta sighs in warning.

"Just with a match! You have them, right?" Hitoshi questions, though he's already moving straight to the cabinet that Shouta keeps them in.

"Hitoshi."

"I'll be nice about it! I just want to see his reaction!" Hitoshi tells him, digging through the drawer until he triumphantly pulls out a box of matches.

“Izuku,” Hitoshi says, even though Izuku has been watching his frantic movements closely this whole time anyway.

It takes Hitoshi a couple of tries to strike the match, but he manages to get a flame going. Izuku’s eyes widen in wonder, and he reaches out for the flame immediately.

“No, no!” Hitoshi hurries to warn, making sure to keep it out of his reach. The fire flickers dangerously, but manages to stay ignited.

Izuku flinches, and shrinks into himself, and Hitoshi immediately has a guilty look on his face.

“Look, Izuku,” Hitoshi says, voice a whole lot kinder now. He mimics touching the flame, not letting his finger actually touch it, and then hisses and acts out like he’s been burned.

Izuku’s wariness melts away in confusion, now baffled at the sight of Hitoshi pressing his finger on his lips.

Hitoshi has to shake out the flame, and Izuku’s eyes track the match. He reaches out for it again, tentatively, and Hitoshi hands it over.

Izuku’s hand hovers over the blackened charr of the matchstick, not quite touching, but he can likely still feel a bit of the heat radiating from it.

“Alright, let’s not encourage Izuku to burn himself,” Shouta says, and Hitoshi sheepishly puts the matches away.

Izuku’s attention is on the match for a while, but eventually focuses back on the food.

Eri points out all the different ingredients and names them, and it's starting to seem like despite Izuku's endless curiousity, he's now starting to hit that limit of information he can absorb. His eyes are basically spinning along with his thoughts, and Shouta manages to distract Eri just enough to give Izuku a little bit of breathing space.

When they sit around the table, Izuku stares down at his spoon and then looks at Hitoshi's chopsticks. He points to them, and Izuku isn't pleased enough with just knowing their name, as he shakes his head after Hitoshi says it.

Izuku points to himself, and then back to the chopsticks.

Hitoshi blinks. "Ah. Um."

He looks to Shouta for guidance, and Shouta takes a moment to consider before he gives a small shrug and gets up to go back in the kitchen and pick out another set of chopsticks. If Izuku wants the challenge, then Shouta does not want to deny him of something he wants if he can have it.

He gets out a wooden set, leftover from a time he'd gotten take-away, and he splits them before he passes them over to Izuku. Izuku gives him a nod, and then carefully studies Hitoshi and Eri holding the chopsticks before attempting to grip them himself.

His grip is clumsy and awkward, too close to trying to hold the chopsticks like a pen. Hitoshi takes it upon himself to slowly show Izuku how to grip the chopsticks, placing down each finger and watching Izuku try and copy the movements.

It's difficult trying to get him to make small adjustments, as Hitoshi can't explain and Izuku can't understand. But he seems to pick up enough, finally gripping the chopsticks a little easier.

Hitoshi reaches down into his dish and shows him how to use them, and Izuku air-mimes the movements, so intent on copying the moves that his mouth opens at the same time as Hitoshi's despite the fact he has no food.

Hitoshi gestures for him to go ahead, and Izuku does his best. His chopsticks slip, and the food usually falls off the chopsticks before he can properly grip it. When he does manage to grab some, he loosens his hold too much and it falls back down into the bowl before Izuku can get it in his mouth.

Izuku groans, but he doesn't give up. He's clearly taking this as a challenge, and he seems intent on completing it tonight. They all usually finish their meals rather quickly, but they're all in silent agreement to eat slower and give Izuku more of a chance and less pressure to finish his own.

He manages to eventually, his grip naturally adjusting and getting better as he gets used to it. He's still much slower and clumsier in comparison, and they do finish their meals before him despite how slow they've been eating, but it's considerable progress.

After the last mouthful, he grins and places down the chopsticks, chittering with a smile. Realising quickly that he's not making much sense to them, his hand comes up to slap against his mouth, ears going red.

"Good," Shouta says with a nod, giving Izuku a small smile when it takes Izuku a moment to remember what good means.

"Yes?" Izuku asks, and Shouta nods again.

"Yes."

Izuku's hand lowers, but thankfully the smile remains on his face. He's staring down at his food, apparently embarrassed by the compliment and the attention.

Eri and Hitoshi clean up the dishes, and Izuku isn't too sure of what's really going on, but he still follows them into the kitchen to watch them as they put them in the sink.

Eri then goes to wash up while Hitoshi and Shouta do the dishes together. Izuku watches them, still at that careful distance, but close enough to see what they're doing. Hitoshi picks up a towel, drying the dishes that Shouta washes, making quiet conversation about Hitoshi's day at school.

They finish up, and Hitoshi glances back at Izuku, hesitating.

"So, um. Washing up, with him..." Hitoshi hedges, and Shouta exhales a deep breath.

It's the mundane things, he thinks, that are going to be some of the hardest.

"Yeah, I was just about to try and figure that out," Shouta answers, and Hitoshi glances between Shouta and Izuku for a moment.

"I'll, uh, help," Hitoshi offers, and Shouta is grateful.

Explaining to Izuku exactly what washing up is turns out to be quite the task. Hitoshi impressively mimes washing himself up, but it means little to someone that's probably never used a soap product before and has never had reason to.

Izuku stares at both the shower and the bath, eyes widening as Hitoshi turns on the shower just to demonstrate.

"Water?" Izuku asks, just to confirm, and Shouta nods.

"Yes," he replies. Izuku stares at the shower, head tilting.

He walks out of the bathroom, and they both follow him. He heads to the kitchen and over to the sink, pointing at the detergent that Shouta had used and then points to the drying rack.

Izuku then turns around and points to himself in question. Shouta decides to just nod, because he thinks that Izuku is trying to compare the shower with himself to the dishes and the detergent. He thinks.

It seems to satisfy Izuku, even though he still seems a little confused as he heads back into the bathroom. He looks around it again, and his gaze remains on the bath.

He points to it. "Water?"

After confirming it does relatively the same thing as the shower, he seems a lot more interested in it. Shouta decides to plug it and turns on the taps, then makes sure that there's all the things they need beside the bathtub. Izuku and Hitoshi stand together and watch the water fill up, and eventually Hitoshi rolls up his pants, but gets Izuku to take his off.

"I'm just going to help him in," Hitoshi explains, checking the temperature of the water before he steps into the bath. He holds out his hand for Izuku, and Izuku takes it after a moment of consideration.

Hitoshi gets him to sit down in the water, and Izuku does so. There's not enough room for Hitoshi to do the same, but now that Izuku is safely down in the water and hasn't slipped, he sits down on the edge instead.

Izuku's hands skim through the water, a furrow between his brows and he begins to bite down on his lower lip. It's clear that he's lost in thought, and it's obvious to make the connection why.

Izuku is covered in water, but his legs do not change. He stares at them like he's waiting for them to, but Shouta still has that grip over his form, and he's not going to test if Izuku can breathe under regular tap water. Izuku sinks down in the bath, shoulders hunched, clearly feeling lost now that he's so different in such a familiar element.

Hitoshi looks at Shouta. "It's okay. I got it."

Shouta stops his question of you're sure? before it slips from his lips. Hitoshi is clearly certain of himself here, and Shouta trusts him to know that. "Alright, I'll get him some clothes."

Hitoshi nods, and Shouta goes to pick up an outfit for the night to place on the bathroom counter, and then leaves them be. Just as he exits, Eri peeks her head out of her room, giving Shouta a sheepish, shy smile. He immediately walks over to her, and she presses her lips together as she gathers her courage.

Eventually she holds out her hairbrush. "Will you, um, do my hair?"

He usually does, after she washes it, but she's still always a little nervous to ask despite the fact he's glad to do it. He gives her a smile, and gestures for her to follow him out onto the couch. She grabs a pillow off the couch and places it down on the floor, sitting cross-legged on it as she switches on the television.

She passes him back the brush, and he works on untangling her hair. She's not the most gentle with it after washing it, likely a habit picked up from Shouta in all honesty, and he probably needs to curb it. Still, her hair untangles, and he starts to braid her hair back now that it's mostly dry.

Hizashi has taught him how to do it, and Oboro usually tends to practise on Shouta's hair because Hizashi's always has so much product in it. They're both trying to teach Eri to do it as well, as Shouta manages to mess up whenever he does it on his own hair — but he's definitely getting better with Eri's.

When he finishes, she hums happily and presses her fingers over the bumps and ridges in her hair before she grins. "Okay, now you!"

He nods obediently and they swap places. Eri has to get on her knees even though she's on the couch, because Shouta is still just a little too tall for her to properly get the pieces. He closes his eyes and is contempt as he feels Eri brush through his hair.

She's halfway through attempting a braid of her own when the bathroom door opens up. Hitoshi walks through the door first, and Izuku follows, shuffling ever-so-slightly as he passes through the doorway. He's still got that clouded gaze that he adopted once he stepped into the bathtub, his fingers clenching at the fabric of his pants with his eyes cast down.

He looks up though, likely feeling Shouta's eyes on him as he meets them immediately. Izuku has a second to take in the scene before him — Eri kneeling on the couch, strands of Shouta's hair between her fingers as she crosses them over, with her own new hairstyle.

Izuku's head tilts slightly before he ducks it again, the moment lost. Shouta doesn't move because he doesn't want to disrupt Eri's work, but thankfully Hitoshi is beside Izuku and encourages him to walk down the hall and into the guestroom.

Eri finishes up on his hair, and she's undoubtedly getting better at it now. She's carefully kept all the strands away from his face, and has tied it back so the top half comes into a small bun. He thanks her, and they both sit around on the couch for a little while longer just to watch some television together.

Hitoshi wanders out and heads back to the bathroom, properly washing up now that he's not focused on helping Izuku. Izuku takes a while to wander out of his room, holding the empty cup that had been beside his bedside.

Shouta stands up and heads to the kitchen, and Izuku takes it as a gesture to follow him. Shouta passes him a new cup first, and then takes the old one to put in the sink to wash up tomorrow.

Izuku fills up the cup on his own, holding it with both hands as he takes a sip. He looks a little more refreshed now, that melancholic ache no longer so visible on his expression and dragging his shoulders down. Shouta heads back over to the couch, leaving it open if Izuku wants to come sit down as well.

He doesn't — he chooses to stay in the kitchen, sipping his water until most of it is gone, and then fills it up again. Once he has, he walks over to the couch, but does not sit by or on it.

"Goodnight," he says instead, and they both return it. Eri gets up as well, even though Shouta hasn't prompted her that it's time for her to head to bed. She says goodnight to Shouta, giving him a small hug, before she heads down the hall and knocks on Hitoshi's door to bid goodnight to him as well. Izuku hovers behind a little awkwardly, a little too far for Hitoshi to likely see him, unsure of if he should say goodnight as well.

Evidently he doesn't, and eventually heads into his room as Eri heads into hers. Neither of them shut the door, and Izuku does not turn off the light at his bedside.

Hitoshi wanders out eventually, not sleeping as early as the other two. They both sit quietly with the television on as background noise, both scrolling through their phones.

It becomes clear, after just a little too much time, that Hitoshi is going to have trouble sleeping tonight. Shouta gets up and decides to brew some tea, setting out two cups for the both of them. It seems like it'll be a difficult night for them both.

Shouta usually struggles after a night where he's slept well, like his body just can't get used to two-days worth of sleeping decently. It'll take him a while to wind down, and it's clear something has managed to wind up Hitoshi as well.

He passes over the mug of tea to Hitoshi as he sits back down on the couch.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Shouta asks, and Hitoshi knows that it's not something he has to answer if he doesn't want to.

He hums though, hands wrapped around the mug and keeping it close to his face, which means he's thinking about what to say.

"Just got a lot of memories popping up," Hitoshi sighs out eventually, taking a small sip of his tea. "Things I haven't thought about in a while."

Shouta nods — it's been the same for him. He can't help but remember how Eri and Hitoshi were when they first came to him, trying to draw on that experience to help him navigate this current one. He knows it's what they've been thinking of, remembering, too.

"I just..." Hitoshi breathes out. "I really can't imagine going from that to... this, when you can't... when you don't know the language and you have a whole new body. It must be terrifying, yet he seems to be holding up.... well, a lot better than I did, I think."

"You held up exactly how you needed to," Shouta answers with a small shake of his head, not wanting Hitoshi to dismiss his own reactions to the situation. "Everyone's different. And you and Eri reacted in different ways once you knew you were safe as well. The difference is, right now, he doesn't know that he's safe yet. He's just doing whatever he can now to survive."

Hitoshi sits quietly, letting Shouta's words sink in and reflect on them. His mouth twists, and he looks to the door of the room Izuku is staying in, eyes half-lidded as he contemplates over his thoughts.

Eventually, he sinks back, curling tighter around the mug of tea. "I guess so."

Shouta doesn't enforce Hitoshi with a bed-time, but he does gently remind him that he does need to get up early for school. Hitoshi lingers around for a little longer, but soon picks up their mugs and puts them in the sink.

"Goodnight, dad," Hitoshi says with a wave, and Shouta raises his hand lazily in acknowledgment despite the fact he always gets a burst of warmth and energy whenever Eri or Hitoshi call him as such.

He's still restless, so he does a little grocery shop online to be delivered tomorrow. Until they can introduce Izuku properly to the outside world, Shouta won't be getting out of this apartment much, and he resigns himself to the fact a lot of things will now be getting delivered.

He might be able to send Eri and Hitoshi out together if they want anything extra, and he'll make sure to slip some extra money to Hitoshi to do so. It's with this thought that he falls asleep on the couch, dreaming of a grocery store with rows and rows of tanks of water.

The next few days pass by in a similar fashion.

Eri and Hitoshi head to school, and Shouta spends the day with Izuku, teaching him materials that he's basically burning through, a month's worth of content learned in mere hours. He makes lunch for both of them, and it seems that Izuku has taken a particular liking to chicken.

There's a lot of pointing in the household now, a lot of questioning noises and frustrated grunts. Izuku is still learning how to piece together his words — and every new word he learns just brings forth many, many more questions, once he figures out how to ask them.

Four days in, Izuku follows him into the kitchen — properly now, no longer with that distance he so carefully keeps, and picks up the hand-towel and starts to dry dishes that Shouta washes. He remembers where most of the dishes belong, and he'll ask "where?" if he doesn't.

Chiyo also comes by, just to check on his health, and gives Shouta an approving nod once she finishes checking him over.

"He's looking much better," she says with relief. "He's going to be lacking in vitamins, especially D. But his heart-rate is much better now, as is his overall health."

She gives Shouta a couple of different medicines, like a mix of vitamins and immunity boosters, but she says he's taken the shift well and there seems to be no further issues.

She does, however, state that Shouta also definitely needs to go outside, and orders him to take daily walks, and to bring Izuku along with him if he's worried about the time-limit or leaving him alone.

Shouta thinks it over — Izuku is quite confident with walking now, and though he's still building up his muscles to get used to it, the time he can stay standing is increasing every day.

So the next day, after doing his best to explain to Izuku the plan, they head together out of the apartment and out of the building. Shouta doesn't plan on walking for long — just down a street or two, just to get Izuku more exposed to the outside world, as well as see how he holds up doing so.

Izuku is still suspicious of the world around him, but he is also in awe of it. His gaze is constantly wandering, mouth open as he takes in all the different sights. Thankfully he doesn't seem too overwhelmed, more excited than anything, as he walks beside Shouta.

He doesn't ever move away from Shouta, even though Shouta would probably let him go a few steps ahead of him. But Izuku stays stuck to his side, shying noticeable from other people walking by them. Shouta keeps Izuku closer to the walls for that reason, acting as a barrier between him and other people.

If something gets his attention, Izuku still doesn't stop to admire it. Once Shouta realises Izuku is staying beside him, he's the one to stop and let Izuku admire whatever it is that's caught his attention, letting him have a moment to regard it without worrying that Shouta is going to leave him alone.

He's extremely fascinated by trees, reaching up to touch one that's planted on the sidewalk. They've been in all his study books, plenty of diagrams and pictures about trees and other types of nature, and Izuku has always regarded them with fascination. Now, right in front of him, he's incredibly excited to properly touch the leaves and bark and feel the texture under his fingers.

"Wow..." Izuku says softly, a word he's learnt from Eri.

They don't stay out much longer, because Izuku's excitement is beginning to shift into feeling overwhelmed and Shouta can see it happening. So he walks them back home, and Izuku is basically buzzing in his skin once he's back through the apartment door, going straight to his notebook to start drawing things.

Izuku is suspicious of the world, and clearly of other people, but he’s also doing his best to learn all about it — and right now, he trusts Shouta enough to teach him.

Shouta finds little moments, glimpses where he catches Izuku smiling and talking to himself, unaware of those around him. Or — not unaware, because Izuku always seems overly aware of every presence around him, but more like he just doesn't mind. He's letting them glimpse at his real moments, the true moments of wonder and awe.

His notebook fills quickly — by the end of the school week, he's needing another one. Shouta orders in a couple more, and also manages to find some old study books and schooling content from Eri's previous years. Izuku is happy to study and learn more about the world around him, though he seems bashful as Shouta hands everything to him.

Every day, Naomasa messages him with an update, which is usually a grand total of a whole lot of nothing. Sometimes another kid finds a home. Sometimes they manage to get results back from the lab, but they're still breaking down the components, because there's certain elements they can't identify properly. Or, rather, they just don't quite exist above the sea.

This continues on for a few days, and into the next week. Near the end of the week, just before Eri and Hitoshi come home from school, Shouta takes the moment of privacy while he has it to approach a topic he hasn't in a few days.

Now that Izuku can communicate to an extent, Shouta decides to show him an image of the ocean and underwater on his phone. Izuku takes it and scrolls through the images, mouth twisting.

"My home," he says with a nod, but passes the phone back with a troubled look on his face.

"Yeah. Do you want to go back there?" Shouta asks him, and though he went into this conversation suspecting an answer, Izuku’s reaction has made him pause.

Izuku shakes his head. "No."

"No?" Shouta prompts, and Izuku huffs.

"Not..." Izuku's eyes scan over the room. "Not... safe?"

Shouta nods, to show that Izuku has used the word correctly. But it brings forth a worrying slew of other questions, and he probably needs to record them for Naomasa to note down and put on record, but he'll deal with that later.

"Why not?" Shouta asks, and Izuku seems to shrink in on himself.

"Mermaids..." Izuku sighs, head tilting back as he looks up at the ceiling. "I wasn't fast enough. Strong enough. I was too..."

Shouta waits patiently for Izuku to find his words.

"Wanted to be... different. I wanted to be human," Izuku finally continues, and his gaze drops down to look at Shouta seriously. "So the mermaids... left me to humans."

"To... those humans? The ones that had you in a cage?" Shouta asks, fury twisting his stomach and tightening his throat.

Izuku's eyes dart away from his own, and he nods slowly. "Yes. They… found me.”

Shouta exhales, pressing his fingers into the corner of his eyes. Quietly, whispering it so that Izuku doesn't hear it, he says: "Shit."

"Don't want to go home," Izuku says quietly. And then, sadder and softer: “I can’t.”

"Okay," Shouta replies decisively with a nod. "Okay, we won't make you."

"Really?" Izuku says, eyes wide and he slowly turns back to look at Shouta. "But you want to... take... children home?"

"Only if they want to go home," Shouta responds, realising Izuku has probably been listening in to his conversations with Naomasa and picking up on his words much more than he thought. "If it's not safe for them to go back, then we find them a new home."

"New home..." Izuku repeats slowly, like he's dissecting every angle of the words.

"If that's what you want," Shouta says, and Izuku presses his lips together and thinks.

"Yes," Izuku says, giving Shouta a small, shy smile. "It is what I want."

It is the first time that Izuku has told Shouta of something he wants.

"Alright then. We'll do our best," Shouta says, and that's that for now.

He texts Naomasa with the new information. Naomasa will still be looking for the water components, just in case anything goes wrong and Izuku ends up as a mermaid again, but now they're no longer entirely focused on finding Izuku's actual home to return him to it. Naomasa will come by to visit within the next couple of days, because there's things they need to discuss.

Just as he finishes texting Naomasa, Hitoshi and Eri return from school. With them, they've brought back small treats and candies with different flavours. They seem to be intent on laying them out in front of Izuku, and getting him to rank his favourites now that he understands numbers.

Izuku seems to be enjoying it as well at least, closely studying all the packaging and trying to figure out the different tastes. Shouta's probably in for a scolding from Chiyo when she comes to check up on him about keeping him on healthy, sustainable foods, but it's worth it to see the three of them smiling together.

A new home, Shouta thinks back on. Currently, he's the best option for Izuku as he's controlling his shift, but it's not a good permanent solution. It's not even a promise, and Shouta had basically foolishly given it regardless, because he'd wanted to reassure Izuku.

But the fact is, Shouta won't be able to hold onto Izuku's shift forever. There'll be a time when they're separated, when Shouta is gone for more than an hour, and Izuku will need the water. Izuku doesn't want to return to the ocean, but it also might be the only place he can go.

Keeping him in a tank is inhumane, and there's no conceivable way they could create one big enough not to be. Izuku wants his legs, but he might not be able to keep them forever.

Shouta will do his best to try and think of something, though, because Izuku had seemed so hopeful, finally stating something he wants. And Shouta is going to do his damned best to uphold that.

Thankfully, Izuku has learned what the word guest means, as they've used it before with Chiyo. But it is a little more difficult explaining to him who the visitors are going to be, if they're not Chiyo.

He does manage to communicate that one of their visitors is going to be Naomasa, as Izuku has a sketch of him in one of his notebooks, so Shouta points him out and relays his name.

But it turns out Naomasa is bringing over Yagi Toshinori of all goddamn people, because apparently Shouta is probably going to be interested in what he has to offer to the case. That's certainly intriguing, as Shouta can't quite imagine what he's going to be doing with the man most well-known in their field, and well-known and beloved by the public.

Honestly, he didn't even think that Toshinori dealt with these kinds of cases at all. He has no idea what the hell ties Toshinori into everything, and why Naomasa is bringing him into his home.

Still, Izuku doesn't seem too nervous as Shouta explains that they're going to have visitors come to see him. Hitoshi and Eri are at school, and though Shouta would've preferred them to be here to help ease Izuku's anxieties around different people, it also seems like Naomasa intends for this visit to be private.

Naomasa knocks on the door around the time Shouta expects him to, and he stands up from his chair at the dining table.

"Good?" Shouta asks Izuku, just to make sure, and Izuku gives him a nod.

"Yes," Izuku confirms, making no move to get up from the table.

Shouta opens up the door just partially, and Naomasa raises his hand in greeting. A man stands behind him, and Shouta almost asks who the hell Naomasa has brought with him, when he realises that this man — this skinny, hollow man, has the same glint in his eyes that he's seen in Toshinori’s.

"Well," he says. "You look different in photos."

Toshinori laughs, though it sounds a little like he's choking on his spit. He seems sheepish, which is strange considering his usual stature and demeanour that he portrays in the media. And Shouta has heard plenty of stories about Yagi Toshinori, and there are very few men that Shouta would dare challenge to a fight, and Yagi Toshinori is probably one of them. He's heard more than enough about him.

"Hello, Aizawa. Thank you for letting me come by," Toshinori says, and he's definitely got the same voice that Shouta knows him to have, but the projection of his voice isn't booming like it usually is. "You'll have to forgive my change in appearance, it's... ah, complicated."

Fuck, isn't everything in Shouta's life?

Shouta glances behind him to make sure that Izuku is still calm enough before he cracks open the door in invitation.

Naomasa and Toshinori barely open the door further as they slip inside, and Toshinori shuts the door gently behind him. They slide off their shoes, keeping them neatly at the side, as they enter Shouta's home.

Shouta keeps careful watch of Izuku, tracking his expressions and movements, making sure he isn't too anxious with the visitors. But Izuku's head has snapped up in interest, and though Shouta expected him to regard Toshinori with suspicion, now he's just staring him wide-eyed in wonder.

Huh, Shouta thinks to himself. Maybe even Yagi Toshinori makes the news underwater.

Toshinori is looking right back at him, and they're both just silently regarding each other. Shouta's really not too sure what's happening. He looks over to Naomasa, who's looking right back at Shouta, giving him a gesture to just wait.

Izuku tilts his head and clicks his tongue. Shouta actually hasn't heard it in a couple days, and for a second he almost thinks Izuku has suddenly forgotten how to speak Japanese.

And then Yagi Toshinori, a hero amongst humans, clicks right back, and then continues.

He's not just mimicking Izuku. He's actually speaking, his tongue managing to make the sounds that Shouta, Hitoshi, and Eri have struggled to try and copy for days now as they try and learn basic sounds from Izuku.

"Fuck me," Shouta mutters. He looks over to Naomasa again. "I thought you couldn't get a translator?"

Naomasa gives him a smile and walks over to stand by him, both of them watching as Toshinori and Izuku talk excitedly to each other in a language that no one else can understand — not above land, at least.

"I didn't exactly know Yagi could speak it until a couple days ago," Naomasa responds. "Turns out, Takami found out about the case. Honestly, thinking about it, I believe he's likely the reason I could even fight to get Izuku in your care."

Shouta nods, thinking over the words. Keigo is a well-known case of the commission keeping hold of one of the rescued children, using and building him for their own whims rather than focusing on reuniting or giving him a loving home to go back to.

Shouta's run into him a couple times, and though Keigo seems well-adjusted and surprisingly optimistic in his approach to cases, Shouta has also caught glimpses of his sharper edges. Keigo works under the commission quite loyally, but he is also sceptical of them, and will always do the best he can for the children rather than the commission.

"Anyway, he reached out to Yagi, because somehow he knew that he spoke the language of mermaids," Naomasa explains, gesturing to the man in question. He's taken a seat at the table with Izuku, and they're both talking deeply to each other.

"And is Yagi..."

A mermaid?

"He just knows the language," Naomasa replies, cutting in slightly. "He says he picked up the language from his mentor, but he's a little more secretive about that."

"I see," Shouta says, because it doesn't seem like Naomasa is going to have any of the answers to Shouta's questions.

Eventually, Izuku and Toshinori turn to look at Shouta and Naomasa, and then Toshinori turns back to Izuku and asks something. Izuku raises his hand in a so-so gesture, and Toshinori nods contemplatively before he turns back around and gestures for Naomasa and Shouta to join them on the table.

"I explained to young Izuku here about the commission, as well as our roles involving these kinds of cases," Toshinori explains, and his voice naturally flows easily over Izuku's name, giving it the proper pronunciation that Eri is still working on. "But it seems he's picked up on most of it, anyway."

"Yes, I have learned a lot," Izuku chimes in, and Toshinori’s eyes widen in surprise for just a single second before he calms his expression.

"Well, my boy, it seems you were understating your ability to understand the language," Toshinori laughs.

"I have to learn more," Izuku replies, though his cheeks are reddening under the praise.

"He's picked it up very quickly," Shouta says, directing it towards Toshinori. "Much faster than I can learn his own."

Toshinori’s tongue clicks, more just in thought rather than actually speaking in the language of mermaids. "It is a difficult language to learn. I had... well, the benefits of knowing similar languages, let's say. Without that foundation, it is definitely a struggle."

Shouta looks to Izuku, who is smiling as widely as he does when Eri gives him a particularly nice candy. He looks relaxed, happy now that he has someone that can understand him if he gets stuck with his Japanese.

"I'm just sorry I did not hear about this case sooner," Toshinori says, shaking his head slightly. "It must have been quite difficult, between all of you."

Izuku looks uncertainly to Shouta, and then lowers his eyes and does not respond. It is up to Shouta to speak, then.

"It was definitely a learning curve," Shouta admits, tapping his fingers against his arms as he folds them. "But the speed at which Izuku learned to communicate definitely helped."

Toshinori nods. "I hardly think I'll be needed to translate, but that's not quite the reason I came here to begin with."

Shouta tilts his head, a gesture for Toshinori to elaborate.

Naomasa steps in to speak. "Yagi has some more insights into the components of the water, as well as the shifting."

Shouta supposes this must be very private information — Naomasa is treading carefully, and he hasn't told Shouta about any of this over the phone. This is not information that Naomasa wants to hand over to the commission, but he is readily giving it to Shouta.

"Mermaids do not, exactly, live in the ocean," Toshinori says, his fingers tracing circles on the table like he's drawing a diagram. "Rather, mermaids live in a world beyond just the ocean floor."

Shouta suppresses a shiver. He's always disliked the ocean.

"It's almost like there are certain portals they can control and swim through," Toshinori continues, and now his fingers tap down on the table. "Typically, they don't go between the worlds, as they can't quite breathe our regular seawater. They can, for a couple of minutes at a time, but it would be like standing on top of a mountain with no oxygen. It's simply not viable for those mermaids, and this is why we do not find them in our waters."

Those mermaids, Shouta takes note of.

It seems Toshinori picks up on him noticing, as he gives Shouta a wry smile at the corner of his lips.

"You see, those mermaids can't shift into humans. It's not possible for them — their bodies are not made to breathe the same oxygen," Toshinori explains, and Shouta is pretty sure his brain goes entirely blanked, wiped entirely of thoughts except for one word.

Toshinori pauses, and Shouta thinks it must be for dramatic effect, because what is he meant to say to that revelation?

"What?" Shouta asks, aloud, because it's all he can offer.

"It's a very rare, and very old gift, for a mermaid to be born with the ability to shift between worlds," Toshinori replies. Definitely for dramatic effect, goddamnit. "If there'd have been any other mermaid caught, the broken tank indeed would have been a problem for their oxygen intake."

"So... he's fine in normal seawater?" Shouta hedges, and Toshinroi nods.

"In more danger because of the humans, but yes, he would be physically fine," Toshinori answers. Naomasa does not seem surprised by this information, and Shouta wonders just how long he's known about it.

"And he can potentially shift on his own?" Shouta asks, and looks over at Izuku, who's looking down at his legs contemplatively. He doesn't seem to know the answer, either, and Shouta is just glad that at least someone at this table doesn't seem to already know the answer.

"Potentially," Toshinori answers. "This I know less about, but I know it can be done. I believe you are the reason he is currently shifted, correct?"

Shouta nods. "Yeah."

"I think it is something one must learn, so if you were to loosen your control, he would likely be unable to shift back on his own right away," Toshinori replies.

"So I can practice with... the seawater?" Izuku pipes up in question, and Toshinori nods at him.

"Indeed, my boy," Toshinori says. "It just might be difficult getting the privacy to do so."

"There are private strips of beaches..." Naomasa says in thought, his fingers resting on his chin. "It might be difficult with the commission watching us, I'm sure that I could find something, if you're interested in doing this, Izuku."

Izuku looks over to Shouta, and he slowly nods. "Yes. Shouta cannot... leave, because of me, correct? I will learn."

"Well, you are a fast learner it seems, my boy! You will have no trouble at all," Toshinori tells him with a big smile, clapping his hands together once in encouragement.

"I can probably get Takami to pull some strings," Naomasa adds, mostly speaking to himself.

"Just keep us updated," Shouta says, pulling Naomasa out of his whirlwind of thoughts before he can get lost in them. "If it's too dangerous, we'll consider other options."

"What, like bringing buckets of seawater into your bath?" Naomasa laughs, shaking his head.

"Actually," Toshinori jumps in. "Regular water should be okay, too."

"A bathtub is too small for a mermaid," Naomasa sighs, pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose. "Aizawa, you are not putting a mermaid in your bath."

Shouta raises his hands. "I literally never said anything about using my bath. You're the one talking about it."

"Yes, because I know you were thinking about it," Naomasa responds.

Guilty.

"I was not," Shouta lies, though he folds his arms and looks away.

"Bath is okay," Izuku says quietly. "It's... I like it. Nicer than the tank."

"Oh jesus," Naomasa groans. "See, this is why you're not going in the bath, Izuku. Your standards are shockingly low."

"We're going to the beach," Shouta says, to both Izuku and Naomasa to calm him down.

Izuku taps at Toshinori's arm, getting his attention. He seems embarrassed, and his voice slips into his first language as he talks to Toshinori.

Toshinori laughs well-naturedly after a sentence, and says his name. Izuku repeats it, then nods to himself, and then continues to speak. The next couple of sentences make Toshinori appear more serious, humming as he thinks of a reply.

They go back and forth for a bit, and Naomasa looks over to Shouta and speaks quietly.

"He really has picked up the language fast, huh?" Naomasa mutters, and Shouta nods.

"Unbelievably fast," Shouta admits. His writing skills are lacking slightly, as he's more focused on learning how to speak and string his sentences together, picking things up from how he hears them. But still, his writing ability is nothing to scoff at — days of progress look like any child's many, many years.

"And how are Eri and Shinsou? How's he with them?" Naomasa asks.

Shouta knows he's smiling, and he ducks his head slightly to hide it. "They're good with each other. Hitoshi's siren heritage went a long way when they first met, and Eri... well. Easy to say they adore each other."

Naomasa nods, and settles back into his chair. "That's good. Have you heard at all from Shirakumo or Yamada?"

"Here and there," Shouta replies, hand coming up in a so-so motion. "I haven't introduced them yet to Izuku. Other than Chiyo, you've been our only guests."

"And will you? Introduce them?"

It seems like Naomasa is digging for something a little deeper, and Shouta's head tilts as he regards the words.

"Most likely," he responds, because it's the truth. If Izuku desires to stay with him, then in due time, they will meet each other. As long as Izuku's mind does not change, then Shouta's answer has no reason to either.

Naomasa nods to himself, and the topic ends. But Shouta picks up another one.

"How's the commission? With him?" Shouta asks, head bobbing forward to gesture to Izuku.

"I think Takami did a hell of a job getting them to look away," Naomasa mutters. "They don't know about the history of mermaids, nor the fact that Izuku might be one of the only mermaids who can shift, and we're hoping to keep it that way. If they find out he's able to do it on his own... well."

Shouta nods. He doesn't like the chances of being able to keep Izuku out of the commissions personal playpen if they were to find out.

"To them, it looks like we're still trying to figure out the components of the water," Naomasa continues. "It's going to be a problem if they see him shifting on his own. It helps with Takami looking over this, at least, and now Yagi."

"Yeah," Shouta mumbles. "Kid's got some good people looking out for him."

Naomasa pats his shoulder. "He sure does."

Izuku and Toshinori seem to finish their conversation just around the same time, and Izuku has that same, stubborn determination set into his features that he tends to get when he's focused on finishing a goal.

"What were you two discussing, hm?" He asks, curious, though his tone is light-hearted enough that he knows Izuku won't feel pressured to actually answer.

"Shifting!" Izuku replies excitedly, but he immediately settles, muttering to himself, switching between languages. Shouta manages to catch grasps of different words, but they don't mean much on their own.

Toshinori laughs in amusement. "We were discussing how to help Young Izuku shift. Unfortunately, I don't know much about it myself, and I don't think my advice will be of much help."

"No, no!" Izuku immediately jumps in to refuse, head shaking. "It helps!"

He thinks that if Izuku wasn't still whirring so clearly with so many different thoughts, apparently enlightened by the conversation, he'd probably be stringing a lot more words together in a rush. But it's all Izuku can say before he clicks his tongue, and then groans, shaking his head.

Toshinori leans over and ruffles his hair, and then speaks to him in the language Izuku is more familiar with.

The assurances seem to work, but Izuku's cheeks are still a little puffed like he's worked up. But he doesn't seem as annoyed by his slip-ups in his speech, so Toshinori's words have helped him.

"Alright, we have to wrap up here," Naomasa says, standing up from the chair. "Thanks for having us, Aizawa."

They all follow, standing up from the table. Izuku seems to be stuck, deciding on if he should hover beside Shouta or Toshinori.

Toshinori takes notice, and he crouches down to speak to Izuku, slipping back into their language together. Izuku seems reassured at least, and he doesn't seem so torn to watch Toshinori and Naomasa leave.

"I'll keep you updated, of course," Naomasa says in parting. "Say hello to Eri and Shinsou for me."

"Next time, you're welcome to visit when they're home," Shouta says, and Naomasa nods.

You can trust them with these secrets.

"Noted. Take care," Naomasa says understandingly, and heads towards the door.

Toshinori stays behind for a moment, walking over to Shouta.

Shouta speaks up first. "Thank you for coming. Being able to translate will mean a lot."

"Honestly, I'm a little rusty on the language," Toshinori replies, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. But there's a hint of sadness in his tone that Shouta picks out. "There's not really many places to practise it, so this was good for me, too. It's nice to speak the language again. Anyway, in case you or Young Izuku need anything, I'll give you my details."

Shouta passes Toshinori his phone, and he can pick out that Toshinori isn't all that good with technology as it takes him a while to work out exactly how to add a new contact. Shouta is patient though, and eventually Toshinori passes back the phone with the new contact.

"I will most likely see both of you soon," Toshinori says, and then follows Naomasa towards the door with a wave.

The door shuts behind them, leaving both Izuku and Shouta alone once more.

Izuku is basically bouncing on his feet, and Shouta huffs in amusement. He is overwhelmingly glad for Toshinori's presence, though — they haven't been stuck trying to communicate anything too drastic as of late, but having the chance to properly translate likely means a lot for Izuku. It definitely brings a sense of relief for Shouta, knowing that Izuku can share his familiar language with someone else.

And the fact that Izuku has a chance to shift on his own — that's promising. It is a little worrying to think of the fact that if they'd caught any other mermaid, they really would have struggled as Shouta's ability would have been useless, and Shouta's not glad that they caught Izuku, but... he is relieved that he was able to help Izuku, in the end.

And it'll be good for Izuku to be able to shift on his own. It'll mean he isn't just relying on Shouta, and he'll be able to shift on his own at will. It also means that Shouta will be able to get back to work, eventually, able to help in future missions if he isn't just holding back Izuku's usual form.

"He's very kind," Izuku says suddenly, slightly surprising Shouta.

"Hm?"

"The man with black hair," Izuku explains.

"Tsukauchi," Shouta reminds, and Izuku nods and repeats it to himself determinedly.

"Yes," Izuku says. "He is nice. Even the night I was in the tank."

Shouta's pretty sure that Naomasa had likely looked more stressed, than anything, in the midst of such an intense case and dealing with a mermaid in a cracked water tank. Today, Naomasa had been a lot calmer, his usual friendly demeanour properly on display without all the stress.

Still, Shouta supposes Izuku's usual definition of kindness is likely not the same as most, well-properly treated people.

"He is nice," Shouta replies in agreement. He's certainly surprisingly optimistic for their line of work, and though some days it grates on Shouta's nerves, it's also sometimes exactly what he needs. What everyone needs, really.

While Shouta's thoughts continue on the trail of Naomasa, Izuku's seem to lead elsewhere, as he speaks up on a new topic.

"We're going to the beach?" Izuku asks him, hopefully.

Shouta gives him a small nod. "When we get approval from Tsukauchi, yes."

"Approval..." Izuku repeats, thinking.

"A 'yes'. We have to make sure it's safe," Shouta explains, and Izuku nods in understanding.

"Okay!" Izuku says excitedly, looking down at his legs.

"Izuku," Shouta says, because there's a thought at the back of his mind now that he can't quite let go of. Naomasa said that Toshinori has learned the language from his mentor, but it doesn't quite explain Izuku's first reaction upon seeing Toshinori. "How did you know Yagi would understand you?"

"Ah," Izuku says, settling down. "Like Shinsou, he has... um. Like a feeling. Here."

Izuku splays his hand over his chest.

"Like he's a siren?" Shouta questions, and Izuku shakes his head.

"No, not quite. It's... like when mermaids are around each other. But his was... different. I don't know," Izuku huffs, fingers digging in slightly to the fabric of his shirt. He can't explain the feeling in Japanese, but Shouta isn't quite sure if he'd be able to quite explain it in his first language either.

"Okay," Shouta says, not wanting Izuku to work himself up about explaining it to him. Toshinori is certainly a mystery, and Shouta isn't a fan of those — but if he's helping Izuku, then Shouta is prepared to let some of his reservations go for now.

Whatever secrets Toshinori has, it's clear that they are deeply personal. And right now, they're not important for Shouta to know, or to dig into.

Chapter Text

It becomes a bit of a waiting game.

Naomasa is busy at the best of times, and there's likely more on his plate than ever to deal with. Izuku seems to have even more energy, but he throws himself into studying with a renewed sense of vigour and determination.

Which is saying something, considering Shouta thought his levels were always at a high amount to begin with. But now Izuku is asking even more questions, like he finally has the bravery to do so with some of them.

He's certainly feeling more comfortable in the apartment, which is certainly helped along by Hitoshi and Eri. He's started to try and learn cooking, which Hitoshi has taken charge in, because Shouta isn't exactly the best at planning out meals.

He has gotten better, really, mostly for Eri's sake. But Hitoshi just nudges him out of the kitchen and drags Izuku in with him, and Shouta doesn't argue with him. Besides, Hitoshi seems to enjoy it, and Izuku seems to be grateful for their time together in the kitchen as well.

Shouta is curious, though.

There’s been something he’s been thinking about, albeit reluctant to approach. Izuku is doing better, and he doesn’t want to accidentally set off anything.

But Shouta also wants to make sure that he understands certain things. So, just as Eri and Hitoshi leave for school, Izuku turns expectantly to him, waiting for Shouta to set out the materials for the day.

Shouta doesn’t do that — not immediately. He has to approach this first.

“Izuku,” he says, which helps to abate some of the confusion on Izuku’s face at the new change of plan for the day. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, but I want to ask.”

Izuku nods to show that he understands, and Shouta takes a deep breath before he goes ahead.

“Yagi mentioned that mermaids can create and control portals between worlds, correct?” Shouta asks.

“Correct,” Izuku repeats, but then his face twists. “Most… correct?”

“Mostly correct?”

“Yes. Not all mermaids. Only the… older?” Izuku explains.

“The older mermaids?”

Izuku nods.

“Not you?” Shouta asks, a feeling sinking in his chest.

“Not me,” Izuku confirms.

“Izuku,” Shouta says, and maybe he uses it as a delay, maybe he doesn’t want the answer to this question. But he has to ask — he has to know. “Did the mermaids know you could shift?”

Izuku shakes his head. “No. I did not know.”

“And they didn’t either?”

Izuku hesitates, his facial expressions shuttering, flickering between different ones before he reluctantly speaks. “They did not know.”

“They closed the portal on you, didn’t they?” Shouta asks, stomach sinking just as it has been whenever he thinks about the situation.

The mermaids did not know Izuku could shift. They didn’t know he could breathe in the seawater. They closed the portal, and they left him there to die.

“I… do not know,” Izuku whispers, though by the way his fists clench and his eyes scrunch, Shouta thinks that Izuku is all too aware that it is a high probability.

“Okay,” Shouta says, and the heaviness in his stomach is turning into anger, because he doesn’t know the nature of mermaids or how their societies work, but he cannot ever imagine there being a cause to abandon someone so young and leave them to die.

Izuku closes off, his expression going carefully blank, and Shouta does not push him. He just puts the materials on the table in front of them, and gets Izuku to focus on learning.

It’s a heavy, heavy realisation that sits between them. Shouta doesn’t share it with Hitoshi or Eri, but he also knows they share a certain solidarity between them that only they understand.

Finally, a day later, Naomasa calls him. Through a coded message, he slips in a location for Shouta to note down. When he traces them back, he comes up with a small, secluded beach area.

It's an hour away by car, which is a little inconvenient, but Shouta supposes it'll be a good way to get Izuku to see some of the world and get out of the apartment. Besides, it's not like they do much else other than just sit in the apartment and take their daily walks.

Izuku's able to walk up to an hour now, and he's quickly pushing the limit of that. The car might make him a little restless, even.

But it's currently their best location, other than the bathtub, and Naomasa has ruled that out anyway. Which, fair enough, because Shouta doesn’t know how he’d handle seeing Izuku in yet another container that’s just all too small for him.

He’ll probably just be reminded of the cage. And then of the fact he was left to die. So, yeah, no bathtub.

Shouta lets Izuku know they can visit the beach tomorrow, and Izuku absolutely lights up in excitement.

He tells Hitoshi and Eri that he'll be going, just in case anything happens and they're not back in time before they are from school, and they're both disappointed that they're missing out on going to the beach.

"It'll just be for a short while," Shouta tells them. "For now, I just want to work on getting him comfortable with shifting. Once he gets a handle on it, I'm sure he'll be excited to bring both of you as well."

They both reluctantly agree, and Shouta knows he owes them a lot more of his focus than he's been able to give. It's just difficult, with his timer only lasting an hour, meaning he can't quite give either of them any time alone personally with them. He's done his best — he's taken Eri on walks to the mart and quick visits to the playground, but Hitoshi has mostly taken on the role now of doing that.

And he's done the same with Hitoshi, though instead of playgrounds there's just quick visits to a cafe and some help with his homework. It doesn't feel like enough though, not to make it up to them — especially as Shouta is their only legal guardian.

Well, maybe on paper, he is their only legal guardian. He messages Oboro and Hizashi, and asks if they'll be able to have a free day to take out Hitoshi and Eri. It's been a while since they've all seen each other, and Shouta knows they'll all be happy to meet up.

Thankfully, both of them have the coming Sunday free, and Shouta tells them to keep it that way. It's not too far away — today is a Thursday, so it's only a matter of a couple of days.

He doesn't tell Hitoshi and Eri, not just yet. He knows their line of work too well, and he doesn't want to get any hopes up in case any emergencies come through. He'll tell them Saturday night, and hope nothing comes up in those few hours.

He does tell Izuku though, the next day, when they're on their way to the beach. Izuku is openly more curious about the car now that he's no longer as confused about his whole situation, and Shouta patiently explains all the buttons that Izuku is basically itching to touch.

"We're probably going to have visitors in two days," Shouta tells him, once Izuku seems to have a lull in his questions about the vehicle. Izuku turns to him curiously, and Shouta continues. "One of them had a hand in your investigation, but I don't think you've met him."

At least, he hasn't seen the sketch of him in Izuku's notebooks. He's sketched out, now, all the faces he remembers — some are of the other kids, though their faces are always blurry, with very few identifiable features, and Izuku says that he only got a quick glimpse of most of them before they were divided.

One of them has half-split hair, and Shouta knows enough to tell him that's Shouto Todoroki, but the name means very little to Izuku. There's other sketches as well, like the people that helped him, and the ones that didn't. With his permission, Shouta takes photos and sends them off to Naomasa, who confirms their identities and the fact they've been rescued or apprehended now.

All apprehended except one. The very one that Izuku has drawn a few times now, the details of his face drawn sharper than the others.

He’s one of the main leaders, Naomasa had told him. But they are still working on finding him.

"Friends?" Izuku asks, and Shouta taps his hand on the steering wheel and nods.

"Yeah, but don't tell them I said that, alright?" He turns his head to look over at Izuku, to check he's caught the joking tone, and thankfully Izuku's lips curve up as he nods.

"Alright," Izuku agrees, even though he is most definitely lying. His sense of humour is starting to properly come through now, at least, and it's a good sign that he's comfortable enough to share it.

"Are them..."

"They," Shouta corrects, and Izuku nods before continuing.

"Are they like you?" Izuku asks.

"Like me?" Shouta repeats, tapping at the wheel again. There’s a few angles Izuku is likely looking at, but there’s hardly any angles they actually have similarities in, so he figures it’s a safe enough answer to say: "No, not really."

"They don't... They are not kind?" Izuku asks, and Shouta almost splutters.

Jesus. This kid's goddamn standards for what he considers kind are a shocking reminder of what he’s gone through so recently. If Shouta is the kid’s baseline for ‘kind’... then yeah, he definitely needs to meet some new people.

"They're much kinder than me," Shouta replies, and he manages to catch Izuku's small frown out of the corner of his eyes, like he doesn't believe Shouta. "I haven't lied to you yet, have I?"

Izuku mouths over the word 'lied', and then shakes his head. "No."

"They are nicer than me. Better with kids, too," Shouta lists, and Izuku hums. He's got no reason not to believe Shouta, but he still doesn't seem convinced. "Sometimes they're loud."

"Noisy?"

"Yes," Shouta confirms. "Especially Hizashi."

"Hizashi... Oh! Shinsou has mentioned him before," Izuku says, tapping his chin in thought. "He is... blonde?"

"He is. Did Shinsou show you a picture?"

"Yes," Izuku replies with a nod. "Also a picture of... woman with long hair."

"That would be Nemuri,"

"Nemuri," Izuku repeats slowly, getting used to the name. "Is she the other visitor?"

"No," Shouta replies, shaking his head slightly. "She's working undercover at the moment. The other visitor will be Shirakumo Oboro."

"Hair?" Izuku questions.

"Light blue, almost white," Shouta answers. Izuku takes a couple of seconds to think, and then he sits up straight, an answer likely coming to him.

"Hm... Sy... clouds? The cloud creature?" Izuku gestures up to the sky.

"Sylph," Shouta confirms. "Yes, that's him."

Izuku nods. "They have talked about him."

"I would have thought so," Shouta responds. "But they'll be taking Eri and Hitoshi out for the day."

"Okay," Izuku replies, looking back out the window. He doesn't seem upset or anything of the sort, but rather thoughtful. There is quiet between them in the car, only the sounds of the engine and the low volume of the radio.

"You said they are better with kids," Izuku says after some time, turning his head to look back at Shouta. "Do they also have kids?"

"Only in emergencies," he replies. "Just for a night or two. Right now, I don't think so."

"Why?" Izuku replies, and he's leaning now in his seat, a little closer to Shouta.

"Why? Uh, because they work on relocating the kids back home," Shouta answers, not too sure what it is, exactly, Izuku is now asking. "They're usually wrapped up in missions, and Oboro usually goes abroad."

"Abroad?"

"Travels to other countries," Shouta replies, and Izuku nods at this explanation. He's picked up on geography quite well, and Shouta supposes that probably has a lot to do with knowing his way around the water even with such minimal exposure to the actual ocean on their side of things.

"Did you go abroad?" Izuku asks.

"Yes, a long time ago. Now, I stay here, and work on local cases."

"Because of Eri and Hitoshi?"

"Mhm."

"But… your friends are better with kids?" Izuku presses.

"They are," Shouta confirms. "Kids love them."

"But they do not have any?"

"None of their own, no," Shouta replies.

"They are better with kids, but you have Eri and Hitoshi?"

Ah. Shouta thinks he's starting to understand now.

"I do," Shouta replies, thinking about his next words. "It was a rational decision. They did not have homes they could safely relocate to, and my abilities were a suitable countermeasure to their own."

"But now they can control their ability," Izuku points out, and Shouta slowly nods.

"Yes, they can," he responds, and Izuku seems like he's about to press on further, but he closes his mouth and settles back down properly in his seat. Shouta keeps waiting for him to work up to ask another question, but he spends the rest of the car ride just waiting for a moment that never happens.

"Oh!" Izuku says, leaning forward in his seat with his eyes wide. "The water!"

It's splayed out before them, no buildings or hills obscuring their view of it now. Izuku doesn't take his eyes off it, looking on with excitement.

Eventually Shouta pulls up to the coordinates that Naomasa has passed on, his phone ending the navigation, and Shouta turns off the engine and stretches his arms up as much as he can in the car.

"Alright, let's see how this goes," he says, and opens up the car door. He knows Izuku is watching to copy him, so he's a little slower than usual, but Izuku manages to get out of the car on his own.

Izuku does, however, forget the seatbelt. He goes to turn his legs out and place them on the ground, but he's stopped by the restraint. He flounders for a second with a surprised noise, but he doesn't seem like he's panicking. Shouta waits to see if he'll figure it out on his own, and Izuku seems to do so within very little time.

They both act like it didn't happen, and Shouta walks to the boot of the car to get out the bag that contains two towels, as well as a change of clothes. Izuku's currently in board shorts meant for swimming, but Shouta really has no idea how that's going to go with the whole tail thing, so he's also gotten a long stretch of fabric that can act as a wrap around his waist.

Shouta's got his own clothes for swimming, just in case, but he really hopes to stay out of the water. It's rather cold, which means no one else is really considering the beach — and they wouldn't here, not on this private strip, but it does work as a guarantee that they won't be stumbled across.

"Follow me," Shouta says, locking up the car and walking down a small, narrow path. There's some sudden drops, but Izuku handles them well enough that Shouta hardly has to worry. He might have to, on the climb back up, but he'll get there when they come back to it.

They eventually flatten out to a small strip of sand, the waves crashing about fifty metres away from where they stand. Izuku basically runs ahead of him, getting closer and taking in a big, deep breath, and throws out his arms with laughter.

"Take off your shoes before you get them wet," Shouta says over the small gust of wind, and Izuku turns back to him sheepishly but basically skips his way back up to where Shouta has placed down the bag. "Here, change into this."

Izuku listens, and Shouta turns away as Izuku changes and manages to figure out how to wrap the fabric around his waist. Shouta double-checks their surroundings, making sure there's absolutely no other signs of people around them — but the small strip of sand is empty of footprints except for their own, and Shouta suspects it has been like that for a while.

He makes sure the bag is out of the way of the tide rising, and then slides off his own shoes before he follows Izuku to the water. He only stands up to his ankles, refusing to go any further as the chill of the water makes his toes curl.

Izuku doesn't seem to mind it at all though, as he steps into the water confidently. He makes it a few more steps, and then looks back at Shouta with a smile.

"It's…strange, being in the water like this," he admits with a shy laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Mhm. Just let me know when you want me to drop the shift," Shouta replies, and Izuku's hand drops as his demeanour changes. He's no longer shy, tentatively excited — he's determined, now. He walks until the water comes up to his waist, the fabric spreading out in the water around him, and then he lets himself drop, the water coming up to his shoulders as he sits down in the sand.

"Alright," Izuku says, giving him a thumbs-up.

Shouta blinks, and after so long holding onto Izuku's shift, it's almost strange to tug back on that feeling in his chest, slowly unravelling the tight ball of string that feels like it's been knotted up inside of him.

The water begins to react, a small tornado appearing under the water. Izuku remains steadily above the waves though, as it's not dragging him down — it's just wrapping around him, slightly jostling him, but not enough to properly disrupt him.

Shouta watches carefully, studying Izuku's expression. Izuku is just staring down at the water, his hands curiously poking the tornado. He seems calm enough though, so Shouta stands and waits.

Eventually, the water calms, and there are no longer legs below the water. There's a tail, stretched out before Izuku, and he looks back at Shouta and grins at him.

Shouta raises an eyebrow, trying to cover the way his heart is starting to pick up in pace.

The beach is fine. The water will be okay. Toshinori and Naomasa have guaranteed him as much — and if it's not safe, then Shouta will be able to shift Izuku back. He'll be fine.

Izuku takes in a breath, but he splutters immediately, and he quickly ducks the lower half of his face below the water. Shouta can see bubbles rising from the breaths he takes, and Shouta lets the tight feeling in his chest loosen properly. It's fine — Izuku is fine.

Realising it as well, Izuku suddenly moves, going further into the water. They've already talked about making sure Izuku doesn't go too far — and he stays relatively close to the surface, Shouta able to catch glimpses of green as he properly swims. It's from his tail, as he dives through the water, but it's also from his hair, when he occasionally peeks his head up to look back at the shore.

Shouta raises his hand, making a thumbs-up, and then turns it down in question. Izuku raises his own hand and gives a thumbs-up, answering Shouta's question on how he's going.

Shouta steps back from the water and sits down on the dryer part of the sand, but keeps his feet outstretched and touching the small waves that wash up on the sand. He knows this time is meant for Izuku to be figuring out how to shift on his own, but Izuku is clearly joyous in being reunited with the ocean, and Shouta is reluctant to put an end to that.

So he keeps quiet and stays on the beach, ignoring the cold gusts of wind that seep through his clothes. He can basically hear Izuku's excited laughter echoing through the waves, and he does not disturb it.

He’s all too aware that if he wanted to, Izuku could swim away and simply leave Shouta here on this beach. He could leave all the humans behind, and he’d have every right to do that after everything he’s gone through.

Shouta wouldn’t blame him. If he was in Izuku’s position, he’d likely take the chance, wouldn’t he?

Maybe not, he muses. If his family had thrown him into the sea, fully prepared to accept that he’d drown, maybe he would stick it out with the mermaids.

Fuck, his heart is aching again.

He takes a deep breath and listens out for the sounds of Izuku in the water, his laughter still echoing close-by. He hasn’t left yet.

He thinks back to the car ride, and the unspoken questions and thoughts that Izuku seems to have. It’s easier to reflect on than other topics he keeps circling back to.

Izuku has a point, he thinks, questioning Shouta about his ability with kids and his work. And he knows what Izuku had been leading into questioning: if Hizashi and Oboro are better than Shouta with kids, then why are Eri and Hitoshi still with him?

At first, it had just been the logical decision to match up Shouta's ability with Hitoshi's. Hitoshi had grown into his abilities, had learned how to control it, and yet neither Hitoshi or Shouta had ever really thought about any other options once that had happened. Hitoshi had stayed, and Shouta had wanted him to, and that had been that.

When Eri had come along — well, Shouta was already staying on local cases, and his workload was already easing up, and it'd just made sense to take Eri as well. And it'd made sense for her to stay, because Hitoshi and Eri had grown attached to each other, and — well. That'd been that.

It had been his choice to accept them, but it had been their choice to stay.

And when Izuku learns control over his shift, then what? What will Izuku's choice be?

It's a question that isn't Shouta's to answer.

Eventually, Izuku comes back closer to the shore, army-crawling his way closer when the water becomes too shallow. He keeps the lower half of his face below the water, and Shouta stands up and makes his way to stand beside Izuku, looking down at him.

"Have you tried shifting yet?" Shouta asks, and Izuku hesitates before he shakes his head, looking a little guilty.

Shouta just nods. "Do you want to try?"

Izuku, realising Shouta doesn't mind that he's just spent all that time just reacquainting himself with the water rather than trying to shift back into a human, takes a second for himself. And then he nods.

"Alright," Shouta says, and stays standing beside Izuku.

He watches as Izuku's tail swishes in the water, making sand rise up and swirl around him. His fins occasionally lift up out of the water, and Shouta watches the hypnotising movements as Izuku tries to figure out how to shift.

Izuku seems to go through some movements. At one point, he tries holding his breath, his fingers curling into fists. It doesn't seem to work, and Izuku just lets his face fall forward and splash into the water, and bubbles rise up in a way that means Izuku is definitely grumbling.

He moves his tail more actively, lifting half of it out the water. He holds it there for as long as he can, before Shouta starts to get worried about the wind and sun drying it out, before Izuku lets it fall and splash down into the water.

It does, unfortunately, strike Shouta. He closes his eyes and wipes the seawater from his lips and the bottom half of his face, shaking out his hands before he wipes them on his jumper. Izuku makes a type of gurgling sound, and Shouta can recognise it enough to understand sorry.

"It's fine," Shouta dismisses, even though the water now on his skin is making the wind feel so much more striking.

Izuku's hand wraps around his ankle, and the feeling of it is almost like slimy seaweed tangling around him. Shouta makes sure he does not shudder, even though he strongly dislikes the feeling of anything slimy.

Shouta looks down and meets Izuku's eyes, who's staring at him with a certain kind of intent. He's waiting for Shouta to reply to something.

Shouta tilts his head slightly. "You want me to shift you?"

Izuku nods his head, and Shouta follows his request. The water once again acts strangely, tangling itself around Izuku's lower half, before it settles, and there are now legs in the place of a tail. Izuku sits up and takes a breath.

"Sorry, I know the purpose of this is for me to do it," Izuku says in a rush, going on before Shouta can stop him. "I just... I have no idea how to do it. I don't know what to feel. Or what to... do."

"Hey," Shouta does manage to cut in, voice firm but not unkind. "Don't apologise for not being able to do it right now. This isn't something anyone can teach you to do. This is something you have to learn on your own, and that's going to be difficult. It's going to take time."

Izuku mutters under his breath, frustrated at himself still, and Shouta sighs.

"Problem child," he says, and Izuku's muttering stops, confused for a moment about the sudden nickname. "You learn things at a terrifying pace, and I know you're holding yourself to that same standard. But this isn't like learning a language. You're being taught that. You have help. For this... Unfortunately, there's no one that can do that. So it's going to take time. I know this, and you need to understand this."

Izuku sighs, but he's not arguing back or muttering, which means he is taking something onboard.

"Okay," Izuku finally says, and lowers himself back down. "Shift me back, please."

Shouta does. Izuku is not able to shift himself back.

Eventually, it starts to get too cold, as the sun starts to lower and the tide begins to rise, the waves getting a little more abrasive. Shouta can't quite put it off any longer, and eventually gets Izuku's attention by bending down and placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder.

Izuku's head peeks up.

"We should probably head back," Shouta says. "We can come back and practice another day."

Izuku's shoulders slump, but he nods in agreement, and Shouta shifts him. Izuku gets his head above water in that time, and gets his legs under him. Shouta holds out his hand to help him stand up, and though Izuku's knees wobble as he gets used to standing again, he stays upright.

"You good?" Shouta asks, and Izuku shakes out his legs.

"I'm good," he says, a little breathless as exhaustion seems to cling to his frame, and walks out of the waves. They both head over to the bag, and Shouta passes him over a towel to dry off with.

Izuku manages to get away with not wearing shoes, saying it's going to be easier for him to climb back up. Shouta can't argue that, because Izuku isn't exactly fond of shoes half the time, so he leads the way up and makes sure Izuku is following him.

He helps pull Izuku up some of the steeper inclines, but eventually they manage to get back to the level of the small road. Shouta shakes off the sand that's still in his sandals, and though he doesn't bother trying to get Izuku to put his shoes back on as they head back to the car, he does keep his eye out in case there's any glass or sharp rubbish on the ground.

"Oh," Izuku says, once they climb back in the car. "It's gotten late."

"Mhm," Shouta hums, texting Hitoshi as he speaks. "We'll pick up food on the way back."

Shouta turns on the car once he sends the message, and Izuku is rather quiet on the way back, his chin resting on the palm of his hand as he looks out the window in thought. Shouta doesn't disturb him, and just keeps his eye out for any particular places that they prefer to order from on the way back.

"Alright, anything you want in particular?" Shouta eventually breaks the quiet, pulling into a space to park. Izuku blinks, like he's just realising where he is, and Shouta gives him a few moments to work out an answer.

"I— no, thank you," Izuku replies, and Shouta mentally makes a note of chicken. He likes chicken, even if he will not ask for it.

"Alright," Shouta says. "Stay in the car."

Izuku gives him a thumbs-up, surprisingly demure, and Shouta presses his lips and does not voice his concerns as he gets out of the car to head into a small restaurant. It's quiet, the hour is still quite early to be getting dinner, but that's all the better for Shouta.

He leans against the wall of the restaurant and waits, knowing that they will at least finish the order fast. He glances back out the window occasionally, where the car is in view, but Izuku has just taken to staring back out the window again in thought.

Shouta knows he's frustrated, and it's frustrating not being able to help him. He knows this frustration will turn into fuel, but it just might take a bit of a nudge to get Izuku back onto that path again.

He'll be able to help with that, at least, when Izuku has ridden out the worst of the frustration inside of him.

The restaurant does finish soon enough and passes him over a bag of food, and Shouta thanks them before he heads back to the car. Izuku isn't too far out of it, as he doesn't startle when Shouta opens up the car door, and he takes the bag from Shouta's hands to hold it safely as they head back home.

Eri and Hitoshi are sitting on the dining table when they walk back in, and Eri gets up excitedly and heads over to them.

"How was the beach?" She asks brightly, and Izuku crouches down and gives her a smile. It's not the full, whole-hearted one he sometimes gives, but it's still wide enough to make sure Eri doesn't worry.

"It was good!" He says, and as he does so, it's like he remembers all the better parts about being there, like he's suddenly remembering his joy when he first entered the water again.

"Did you get your tail back?" She looks up at him with wondrous eyes, and he smiles at her.

"I did," he says, and pats at his legs like he's demonstrating the tail that was just there.

"One day..." she trails off nervously, only encouraged by Izuku's smile. "One day, can I see?"

Izuku looks at Shouta, like he's asking permission, and Shouta just turns his head in a clear demonstration that this answer does not depend on him. Instead, he looks to Hitoshi, who's doing his utmost best to look like he's not listening carefully to the conversation.

"I would love for you to," he replies, and she's so excited that she wraps her arms around him.

He laughs and picks her up, despite the fact she is definitely past being the age of that — but Izuku is deceptively strong, as it turns out, and it's little problem for him despite her size. Shouta takes the bag from his hand that isn't balancing her and places it down in front of Hitoshi, who rifles through it and distributes all the containers to their usual seats.

Their usual seats. Izuku has one now, at the table. A spot on the couch he prefers, and one they tend to make room for when he comes out. And though the guest room tends to be used from Hizashi or Oboro when they're between missions and need a place to crash, it's now definitely becoming Izuku's room.

It's up to Izuku, he reminds himself. Once Izuku can control his shift, then it'll be up to him as to where he wants to go. Once he's no longer forced to stay so close to Shouta just because of his abilities.

Hitoshi knocks his foot against Shouta's leg, raising his eyebrow from across the table. Shouta raises his own in turn, and Hitoshi just huffs and rolls his eyes, but doesn't press him any further.

It gets Shouta out of his head at least, though he remains quiet as he lets Eri, Hitoshi and Izuku talk amongst themselves. Izuku always has plenty of questions about school, but this time Eri — and Hitoshi, when he pipes up because his curiousity can't quite be sated — asks just as many about the trip to the beach.

Shouta washes up the dishes on his own, dismissing any attempt at help, because he wants to keep letting them talk amongst themselves. They talk until they tire, until eventually Izuku says he needs to go wash up because his hair is getting stiff from the seawater.

Izuku's voice has gotten livelier over the night, at least, and that frustration that had been so evident in the car seems to have now begun the shift into determination.

It might still take some time, but for now, when they all head to bed, Shouta is proud of the progress that Izuku has made today.

There's a knock on the door, and Eri basically runs over to open it up.

"Zashi! Oboro!" She cries out, grinning up at them.

"Hey little listener!" Hizashi says, opening up his arms for a hug. She bounds into them, and then into Oboro's a moment later. Hitoshi walks over to them casually, both their bags on his shoulders, and gives both of them a fist-bump in greeting.

Shouta remains on the dining table with Izuku, not quite leaving him alone to greet Oboro and Hizashi. Hitoshi glances back at them, and then makes a decision as he steps aside to let both of them properly inside.

Izuku looks over to Shouta, and then resolutely takes a deep breath and slides the chair out and stands. Oboro and Hizashi both look over to Izuku, both smiling warmly but ultimately waiting for him to make his approach first.

"Hi there," he says politely, bowing in greeting. And then he looks up to Oboro. "Um, you were part of the investigation, right?"

"I was," Oboro smiles at him.

"Thank you," Izuku says, and Oboro flaps his hands around.

"Ah no, really don't thank me! I'm just glad to see you're up and walki— uh. Um."

"I'm glad to walk," Izuku graciously says, and Oboro laughs and clasps his hands together.

"Great! Well, I'm glad to see you're doing well. Sho's treating you to lots of good human food, right?" Oboro asks, and Izuku seems to lean into Oboro's bright energy as he steps closer. Oboro easily throws his arm around Izuku's shoulders, and Izuku doesn't mind in the slightest.

"He is," Izuku replies happily.

"Oh? Any favourites?" Hizashi asks, and gets a reply from everyone in Shouta's household.

"Katsudon," they all say together, because it seems like Izuku's stomach is endless when it comes to that dish.

"Hah! Good choice," Hizashi cheers. Oboro's arm slips from Izuku's shoulder after giving him a pat of comfort.

"Alright, well we'll be heading off. You guys want to see a movie, right?" Oboro asks, turning his attention back to Hitoshi and Eri, who nod in agreement.

Hitoshi leaves with a wave, but Eri comes over and gives Shouta and Izuku a hug in parting. Oboro and Hizashi flick them both a thumbs-up, and then the door closes behind them.

"They're... going to watch a movie?" Izuku asks in confusion, turning to Shouta. "Can't they do that on the television?"

"They're going to the cinema," Shouta explains, and pulls up an image of his phone. "Movies generally run first at the cinema for a couple of weeks when they're new, and then they become available on the television."

"Isn't that a television?" Izuku asks, pointing at the phonescreen.

"It's a projector actually. Which, yeah, I guess is just a very big television," Shouta responds.

"Oh," Izuku says, rocking back on his heels as he nods. "Okay."

He looks a little put-out, and Shouta tilts his head.

"Do you want to go to one, problem child?" He questions, and Izuku hums.

"It's... that's lots of seats, isn't it? Lots of people," Izuku replies.

"It depends on the session. Usually, they're not ever full, unless it's a premiere night."

"Premiere..."

"Um, first time it's being shown to the public."

"Right," Izuku nods. "Then... maybe, one day? If that's okay?"

Shouta hasn't even thought about it, not really — Izuku's just been able to learn so much of the language and of the world around him, even in the small sections a time that Shouta exposes him to, and Shouta forgets the smaller things like this.

The cinemas are a normal thing for teenagers that are Izuku's age. A usual outing for Hitoshi, when he goes out with his friends.

These things might be mundane for the rest of the people around Shouta, but for Izuku, this is a whole new experience. This is something he's learning about for the first ever time.

"Yeah, we should be able to arrange that," Shouta replies. "How about next week? I think there's a superhero movie showing..."

"Really?" Izuku asks excitedly. He's taken an extreme liking to them, and they've become his go-to when he tries to find something to watch on the television.

"I think Hitoshi has watched it already, but I'm sure he'll come along if you want to go," Shouta muses, and Izuku just seems even more excited, muttering to himself rapidly, switching between languages.

"Anyway," Shouta says, stretching up. "While the house is free, do you want to head to the beach again?"

He didn't suggest it yesterday, as Izuku still seemed conflicted about how he felt from the trip. But now, Izuku just nods, fists clenching.

"Yes please!"

"Alright, go grab the towels from the dryer. I'll get the rest of it together," Shouta says, and Izuku scampers off to do exactly that. This time, Shouta packs sunscreen, because it's slightly warmer today, and he's also learnt his lesson — despite the chill in the air, his nose has still gone a little pink from the last time at the beach.

During the drive over, Shouta finds himself explaining to Izuku a bit more in-depth about all the different stores inside of shopping malls. Now that he remembers most of them will all be new experiences to Izuku, he goes into quite a bit of detail about them all.

Izuku is especially enamoured by the arcades, taking Shouta's phone just to type in and look up the different kinds of games and consoles. Eri and Hitoshi have shown him small handheld devices, and Hitoshi has definitely mentioned arcades before, but now Izuku properly has the details and the visuals to accompany the information.

"Wow..." Izuku says, and taps through Shouta's phone to look up more stores. "It's so big!"

Shit, yeah, maybe Shouta really is slacking on showing Izuku more parts of the world. He supposes Izuku will be able to handle it now, at least — he probably wouldn't, a couple of weeks ago, but now he's become more exposed and used to parts of human society.

When they get to the beach, Izuku takes the lead on going down the path to reach the small strip. He hurries to pull off his shoes and tie the fabric around his waist, and wades into the water.

"Okay!" He calls out, looking back at Shouta. Shouta lets the shift go, and Izuku settles right back into the water with ease.

What does not come with ease, unfortunately, is Izuku shifting. He's still left near the shore, trying in a vain attempt to shift but to no avail.

Eventually he flops over onto his back, and raises his hand in a signal for Shouta to shift him back to human. Izuku remains human, not even minding as the waves gently splash across his face as he remains lying on the sand and looking up at the sky.

"Shouta," he says into the open air, and Shouta grunts in the signal for him to go ahead. "When you... shift me, what does it feel like?"

Shouta moves a little closer, taking a seat on the sand, just out of reach of the waves.

"Well, when I grab onto someone's abilities... it's like there's a thread. A piece of string. If I grab onto it, it's like I start to pull it towards me, and wind it up inside of me until it's a tight ball," Shouta explains.

"A... ball of string?"

"Mhm. Sits right between my ribs," Shouta answers, and Izuku's own fingers come up on his bare chest to press against that spot on his body.

"Here?" He asks, pressing on his sternum.

"Yep."

"And when you want to let go of their ability?" Izuku questions, now flipping over so that he's on his stomach, keeping himself up with his elbows as he looks at Shouta just a little further up the sand.

"I pull on the end of the string and unravel it," Shouta replies. "I give the string back to them, I guess."

Izuku hums, and then flips back over. His fingers come back up to trace his sternum, lightly pressing in.

"I don't feel it," he says eventually.

"I wouldn't really expect you to," Shouta responds, shaking his head slightly. "Your abilities are not mine, after all."

"But you can make me shift," Izuku retaliates, and Shouta shrugs.

"Sure, but I can't really make you shift from human to mermaid. All I can do is let go of your, uh, mermaid form that I’ve got bundled up. But if I don't have it to begin with, then I can't make you."

"So if I shift into a human on my own..."

"Then you'll need to figure out how to shift back into a mermaid. I can't help you in that scenario," Shouta confirms, and Izuku's hand falls from his sternum and splashes back into the water.

"Of course," Izuku sighs, and then suddenly hauls himself to sit upright. His hands swirl through the water. "But if there's no string, then what do I unravel?"

Shouta remains quiet, because he doesn't have the answer to this, and he doesn't want to prod Izuku in the wrong direction accidentally if he attempts to try.

In the end, Izuku does not manage to shift on his own today either.

Izuku still seems frustrated — and, well, if Shouta stops to get them some ice-cream before they head back, then it's purely because it's warm today, and his black clothes have made him overheat.

The movies don't happen, not that following week, as the superhero movie has just finished its theatrical release. Izuku brushes it off though, because his focus has turned entirely to shifting.

"Let's go when I shift," he says to Shouta. "As a..."

"Celebration?"

"Yes! Let's go as a celebration when I am able to do it."

So that's the agreement for now.

Oboro and Hizashi come over a lot more, now that Izuku is familiar with them. They still take Eri and Hitoshi out, either together or separately, and just let them get out of the house for more than the hour that Shouta can offer.

They usually come over, or come home, with something interesting for Izuku to have. Sometimes it's food, like fairy-floss, or sometimes it's small plush toys and other small trinkets. They're slowly filling up Izuku's room, placed out on-top of the drawers as a treasured collection.

One day, Izuku takes a while to approach Shouta about something that he's clearly thinking over. Shouta basically watches as over the course of the day, Izuku talks himself up — and down — from asking him something.

Eventually, he just turns to Izuku, and says: "What is it?"

"Ah," Izuku flusters, realising he's been caught out. "Um. I was... wondering if you could... If I could speak to Yagi?"

Toshinori's contact still sits in Shouta's phone, but has not yet been touched. Izuku has not needed any translation help, and he also hasn't brought up Toshinori until now.

"Of course," Shouta says with a small shrug, and pulls out his phone, ready to pass it over so Izuku can text him.

"Oh," Izuku says, and licks his lips as he pauses nervously. "Um, I wanted to call."

Right, Shouta's an idiot. Izuku can text, but of course he'd prefer to talk to Toshinori.

"I'll ask him when he's free for one," Shouta promises, already pressing Toshinori's contact for the first time and sending a message to let him know Izuku wishes to call.

Toshinori's reply takes a little under an hour, and says he's available now, if Izuku is. So Shouta passes Izuku the phone, after calling up Toshinori, and then leaves the room to give Izuku some privacy to talk. Not like Shouta would be able to understand much, anyway, but it's the principle of the matter.

The call lasts about just over an hour, and Izuku hands back Shouta's phone with his eyes clearly spinning from so many thoughts.

"Thank you," Izuku says, and his fingers are already tapping at his sides like he's anxious to write.

"Was it helpful?" Shouta asks, and Izuku nods with a jolt.

"Yes! Yes, I— I think so. I hope so," he says, and Shouta nods and leaves him to it.

Shouta takes Izuku to the beach as often as he's able — some days it's only short, a couple of hours at most, but Izuku appreciates it, and so Shouta does not mind the drive. It gives time for Izuku to study anyway, and he's getting better at memorising roads and other structures.

And if Shouta is tired, he's taken to just laying his towel out on the sand and taking a short nap. It's slowly getting ever so slightly warmer, and the small trace of sunshine usually lulls him to a light doze. He's too alert to let it go any deeper, and he's still usually rather aware of his surroundings, but it's good to help any edge of tiredness.

It's such a time, their second visit after the call with Toshinori, where he's got another small towel over his face so that he doesn't burn as he naps, when he hears the water making interesting noises. Usually Izuku splashes around, and he's gotten used to the different sounds — like when Izuku is actually trying to get his attention. But this is different, and Shouta slips the towel off his face and sits up.

And there, just skulking in the water close to the shore, is Izuku. He's got his back to Shouta though, looking at his tail, and Shouta soon realises why.

Because it's not a tail for much longer. The water is splashing around him, and Izuku's tail splits into legs.

The piece of string falls away from Shouta's grasp, no longer in his reach.

He did it.

Izuku shifted.

Izuku kicks one of his legs up, admiring it in the water, before he suddenly whips around and looks to Shouta. He basically hurries to his feet, running over to Shouta and kicking up a ridiculous amount of sand in his excitement.

"I did it! I did it!" Izuku shouts, and then almost trips right over his feet and falls. Shouta manages to get up in time to steady him, stopping him from face-planting right into the sand.

"You sure did," Shouta replies with a proud nod, which is his and his alone to know about. "What made you do it?"

Izuku looks back at the water, staring at the small waves crashing over each other.

"I guess it was... kind of like your string? But different. But there's definitely something, in my... chest? Yeah. Something there. I had to try and focus when you shifted me, and try to understand what changes, and..." Izuku starts to ramble, his tongue clicking like he's trying to slip back into his first language out of habit. He manages to speak mostly Japanese, though he's speaking so fast that Shouta can hardly keep up. "Yagi told me about... ah, I guess it was different in the end, but I just had to make sure I could get that feeling. And I think I still can! I can still feel it. It's just different now, with legs."

Izuku kicks out his legs, like he hasn't spent most of his time lately with them. But Shouta supposes he can understand how they feel different, now — it feels different for Shouta now too, now that Izuku is before him with legs and human but that feeling in Shouta's sternum has not appeared. There's no string to unravel, and there's no string to grab onto either.

It's up to Izuku now, entirely, to shift back.

"Do you want to try?" Shouta asks him, nudging him in the direction of the water.

"Do we have time?" Izuku asks, and Shouta nods.

"Sure," he responds. They do — and they can be a bit later today, anyway. They try to get back in time for dinner usually, but Eri and Hitoshi will understand anyway if they're home past their usual time.

Izuku heads back into the water, sitting down where he usually does once he gives Shouta the go-ahead to shift him. And though Izuku looks back at him, there's no signal to give. Shouta is not the one holding the shift, this time.

It takes Izuku half an hour to shift. He almost forgets about the fact he needs to breathe underwater, because he's staring at his tail in surprise, until he suddenly chokes on the air he cannot breathe.

He basically throws himself forward, and he looks a little like a fish out of water, Shouta will admit. But he adjusts himself soon enough, once he's no longer panicking about his breathing.

This is it — Izuku is finally getting a handle on his shifting. Now that he's done it both ways, Shouta is sure that he'll be able to get the hang of it in no time.

This time though, today, he gets Shouta to shift him back into a human.

He basically drags himself up the beach, exhaustion clinging to his frame. Shouta hasn't really seen him like this before — no matter how long he swims, it's like the water invigorates him usually. But now he's basically crawling back up the sand, and he flops down without a care as he finally manages to get up to where Shouta is sitting.

He groans, and Shouta places a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"

"Tired," Izuku rasps out. He sits up slowly, wrapping the given towel around himself to dry. "Shifting is... tiring."

"It probably just takes for you to build up an endurance for it when you do it yourself," Shouta says, slowly packing the bag up. "But now that you've done it, you're already working on it."

Izuku just grunts, because he seems to be too tired to formulate any type of response. Shouta's a little concerned he's going to have to carry Izuku back up to the car, but Izuku manages to get enough energy to do it himself.

It's a quiet ride home, as Izuku falls asleep on the way back. Shouta stops to get some food, letting him nap inside the parked car as he waits. He texts Naomasa a coded message as he waits for the food, just to let him know that Izuku has managed it, as well as Oboro and Hizashi.

After all, they're also in the plan now to 'celebrate' Izuku being able to shift. Shouta supposes he's going to have to accept he's getting dragged to the cinema to watch a superhero movie — that's alright, though. Cinemas can be decent places to nap.

He doesn't text Hitoshi, though, as he will let Izuku tell them himself. When he gets back in the car, Izuku blinks himself back into awareness, giving Shouta a sheepish smile as he's passed over the bag of food.

"Ah," Izuku says, and his tongue clicks a couple of times like he's getting his jaw moving again. "Mm? Katsudon?"

"Yep," Shouta replies, setting off on the drive home. "We're a bit late, but I'm sure Eri and Shinsou will forgive us when you tell them why."

That seems to get Izuku to liven up, as he suddenly remembers what he's accomplished today. He's back to his usual energetic levels, beating Shouta up the stairs in his excitement to spread the news.

"You guys are back late," Hitoshi says once they're through the doorway, his tone curious.

Shouta remains quiet, and lets Izuku speak for both of them.

"I managed it!" Izuku reveals, eyes basically creasing up with his smile. "I finally managed to shift!"

Eri hugs him in excitement, happy for him.

"'Finally', he says, like mere weeks is a long time to figure out how to change your form entirely," Hitoshi rolls his eyes, but he nudges Izuku in the side with his elbow to make sure Izuku understands his sarcasm.

"Oh! Oh! This means we can go out to the movies, right?" Eri asks, turning between all of them with wide, pleading eyes. Hitoshi and Shouta both look at Izuku, leaving him to the reveal.

Realising it's up to him, Izuku thankfully takes charge. "Yes! I think so!"

"Yay! There's a new movie coming out too, this is great timing!" She says, taking Izuku's hand and leading him over to the table so they can start eating.

Izuku lets himself get pulled along, listening to Eri without argument — not like any of them could to begin with anyway.

Just a couple of days later, thankfully Hizashi and Oboro's schedules line up for an evening, and they head to the shopping mall together.

They split up into two cars, Hitoshi heading over with Hizashi and Oboro, while Shouta drives Eri and Izuku. It's not too far, but it is a couple of streets past the ones that Izuku is familiar with, and he stays glued to the window as he watches the new sights.

They're nothing really too new, not until they properly hit the shopping mall, but Izuku is still in awe of it all anyway. Eri is chattering excitedly, even though the hour is a little later than they usually head out — they're avoiding the crowds, just to make sure no one gets overstimulated, and also giving Izuku a bit more of a chance to get used to such an area.

"Oh! We have to get popcorn!" Eri says, clapping her hands together.

"I've had popcorn before," Izuku gently reminds her, because she usually only takes on that tone when it's something that Izuku hasn't tried yet. They're very quickly running out of things for Izuku to try, at this rate, especially as Oboro and Hizashi keep coming over with gifts.

"No, no," she refutes, shaking her head in denial. "It's different!"

"It's... different?" Izuku's eyes drift over to Shouta for confirmation.

Shouta gives a small shrug. He's really not the person to ask when it comes to these things.

"Ask anyone else to explain why," he advises, because he's really not sure how to. Izuku just hums in response and will likely do so.

Just as he thought, once they reach the cinema, Oboro throws his arm around Izuku's shoulder and lays out exactly why cinema popcorn is so different to home-made popcorn.

"It's just part of the experience!" Shouta can hear Oboro saying, once he catches up with them. "The taste of hot, fluffy popcorn through the previews that quickly goes cold, with too much salt and too many kernels at the end... ah, that's the stuff."

"Okay," Izuku says, and blinks down at the bucket that has suddenly appeared in his hands. He picks out a piece and eats it, humming contently as he does so. The prices of the cinema make Shouta grimace and remind him why he prefers to stay home, but he supposes it is a celebration.

He allows all of them a large slushie, but he makes sure to buy bottles of water for them as well.

"Aw, look at you!" Hizashi says, a little too loudly and a little too directly into Shouta's ear. "You know, they say three kids is so much harder than two, but you're doing just fine! Look at those three, they're just adorable!"

Oboro, Eri, Hizashi and Izuku are walking ahead, with Oboro leading them into the cinema. Izuku keeps glancing back, like he's making sure Shouta and Hizashi are following.

"Hizashi," Shouta sighs, adjusting his grip on the bottles of water. Hizashi takes one, even though he's balancing his own popcorn and drink.

"And three is a great number, don't you think? Like us!" Hizashi continues on, ignoring Shouta's small warning.

"It's not up to me if he stays," Shouta reminds him, and Hizashi gives him an unconcerned wave of his hand as he laughs, and Shouta sharply shushes him to make sure the group ahead don't overhear.

"He could decide to go back to the water," Shouta says, though the last word sounds strange on his tongue.

"And he could have chosen that a while ago, but he didn't," Hizashi counteracts. "Come on, Sho, admit it! Three kids."

"Yamada. He can shift. He could go anywhere he wants to. I don't know why he'd choose to stay here," Shouta replies, and Hizashi stops walking.

Shouta doesn't even bother looking back at the dramatic expression Hizashi is likely pulling. Hizashi just huffs and catches up, basically stumbling over himself to do so before Shouta reaches the cinema door.

"Sho, are you serious? Are you seriously asking why he'd choose to stay?" Hizashi asks him, and Shouta just crosses through the cinema doors and turns to shush Hizashi petulantly.

"Ah shit," Shouta says, realising something. "I forgot to tell him to be quiet in cinemas."

It’s the little things like this that Shouta can tend to forget — things he’s just used to knowing, not even thinking that it’s something that has to be taught.

Their eyes both sweep over the cinema — there's not many people, as intended, but there's still a few. Oboro is already seated, waving at Shouta and Hizashi like they somehow would miss the group of them.

Shouta takes his seat, and passes down the bottles of water. Izuku is sitting close enough, so he leans forward over Hitoshi and gestures for him to do the same.

"You have to be quiet in cinemas," Shouta tells him, and Izuku just nods.

"I know! Oboro told me," he whispers back, and Shouta nods and leans back, settling into his chair. Hizashi tilts the bucket of popcorn towards him, but Shouta just shakes his head and crosses his arms, and closes his eyes before the movie even begins.

He doesn't fall asleep, not properly. He's listening out, though he knows Oboro and Hizashi are aware and alert. But he's listening out for Izuku, waiting in case Izuku needs an out.

But Izuku is just quietly saying things like wow under his breath, and crunching on popcorn, and seems to be enjoying it. So Shouta settles, but he does not sleep.

He really does not know what happens in the movie — but that's okay, as Eri and Izuku excitedly talk together and summarise it once it finishes, going through their favourite moments.

"And the explosions! They were so loud," Izuku says, dramatically clenching a hand to his heart. "I could feel it!"

Eri laughs and agrees. She's managed to make her way onto Oboro's back for a piggyback, making her just a little above Izuku's own height. Oboro has to hold tightly, as she keeps excitedly waving her arms around, the late hour and movie having boosted her usual energy levels.

Shouta's sure she'll crash out by the time they're home, so he doesn't mind. And everyone seems to be enjoying it, Izuku hardly even realising he's being walked a little further into the mall.

"Oh!" He finally says, looking around. There's light displays on, twinkling lights as the date for Christmas approaches. A lot of the shops are closed for the day, but there's still some food places open.

"Are we feeling hungry, kiddos?" Hizashi asks.

"Crepes," Hitoshi suddenly says, and clearly the excitement is even getting to him now, as his voice has risen past his normal deadpan. He flushes once he realises it, but he doesn't back down on it, pointing to a stall.

"Oh! Yes, yes! Izuku, you haven't had one before yet, right?" Eri asks, patting Oboro excitedly like she can point him in that direction.

"I don't think so?" he draws out, eyes narrowing as he tries to read what they are. "Oh, I have, I think!"

"Only the simple one," Hitoshi says, and he's the first one to make his way over to the board. "But there's plenty of other toppings."

"We usually can't bring them because they'll melt by the time we get back," Hizashi says, pointing to some of the ones with cream.

Izuku looks over the board, eyes widening as he looks at all the different choices. Oboro pays for Eri and Hitoshi's, while Izuku stands in front of the board and tries to make a decision.

"Strawberries are usually a good choice," Shouta says quietly, stepping up beside Izuku and starting to recognise there are, perhaps, too many options for him. And Izuku seems to like strawberries, gravitating towards them when there's different options available to him usually.

"Are you getting that?" Izuku asks, looking at him.

"Sure," Shouta sighs to himself, and orders and pays for two strawberry loaded crepes.

Hizashi just grins knowingly at him after Shouta holds a crepe of his own, but thankfully keeps his mouth shut.

He does, unfortunately, snap pictures. And he makes sure to get Eri, Hitoshi, and Izuku in amongst them, as well as a few selfies.

"Don't worry," Hizashi says, scrolling through the photos once he's done taking them. "I'll send them through."

"Please don't," Shouta says flatly in response, but Hizashi just grins and sends them anyway.

And if, a few days later, when Izuku takes Shouta's phone to look up something, he sees the picture of all of them with crepes in their hands and with some of them (Oboro, Eri, Izuku) with cream on their noses and smiles, then that's only for the two of them to know.

Perhaps Shouta regrets introducing Izuku to Oboro and Hizashi.

He definitely regrets it one night, when Izuku has been spending a while alone in the bathroom as he's taking a bath, and Shouta suddenly hears a big splatter of water sound suspiciously like it's just been washed all over the floor in a sudden wave.

"Don't tell me," he grumbles, rolling out of bed and meeting Hitoshi in the hallway. Eri's just gone to sleep, just managing to miss the sudden chaos.

Shouta knocks on the bathroom door, and is relieved when he hears Izuku make a panicked splash in the water. However, he does not reply, and Shouta shares a look with Hitoshi.

"I'm going to open the door, alright?" He calls out, but he still gets no response.

The door isn't locked, so Shouta twists it open — and, yep, there's water all over the floor.

There is also a mermaid in his bathtub.

"Christ," he says, running a hand through his hair, not even sure how to begin processing the sight before him right now. Hitoshi follows him in, silent for a moment in stunned awe, but then he is suddenly smothering something like a laugh behind his hand.

Izuku is peeking out over the rim over the bathtub, which is thankfully still full enough for him to keep his head below water. He looks apologetic, but that's not exactly enough to mop up the water now all over Shouta's tiles.

"You really listened to Oboro," Hitoshi snickers, and Shouta whirls around on him.

"Shirakumo?"

"Oh, um," Hitoshi's amusement has faded now that he's realising Shouta is not so. "He kind of... asked why he doesn't just try in the bath?"

"He knows why," Shouta groans, slapping a hand over his eyes and pulling it down his face.

Izuku's hands are wavering around in the air, like he's saying no, no!

"Shift back," Shouta sighs, turning back around. Izuku's long tail is spilling out over the bath, and Shouta doesn't want to learn what it takes to dry out a mermaid. Izuku lowers his hands and closes his eyes, like he's focusing, but it's after a couple of minutes that Shouta realises he's not going to be able to.

"I'll do it," Shouta says, and Izuku nods. Shouta pulls on the string, and Izuku eventually folds back into the bath, more water splashing out.

He’s going to have to drop it when they’re back at the beach, no longer allowing Izuku the choice to shift on his own, and he feels a little guilty for it now.

"I'll, uh, go get the mop," Hitoshi says, walking out of the bathroom.

Izuku's basically turning red from head to toes from embarrassment, and he peeks out again over the edge of the tub. "Um, sorry. I really didn't mean to."

"You didn't mean to...?"

"No," Izuku says, shaking his head, and Shouta knows he's telling the truth. "I wasn't — I mean, I guess I was kind of listening to Oboro, but not really! He was just teaching me about calming myself down and focusing on shifting, and I was practising that, and I didn't mean to shift!"

"Alright," Shouta sighs, because it sounds reasonable enough. And it seems to have been an accident — and, at the same time, something for Izuku to learn from. "Just... you know how to mop, right?"

Izuku nods. "Yeah! Yep, I'll clean up."

Shouta gives him a thumbs up, and walks out of the bathroom just as Hitoshi walks down the hallway with the mop in hand. Hitoshi enters, and Izuku tells him not to worry as he'll clean it up himself, and Hitoshi walks back out, looking a little dazed — the amusement has sunken away, and now Hitoshi is blinking at the wall.

"Man," he says, leaning against the wall. "So... mermaid. Right. I think I forgot about the whole tail part."

"That's kind of the whole point of, you know, 'mermaid'," Shouta says in response, and Hitoshi's lips quirk up.

"I guess so," Hitoshi replies, and then pushes his hair back from his face. "That sure is a fucking tail though, huh?"

"It sure is," Shouta says in agreement, not even bothering to call Hitoshi out on his swearing.

There’s a moment of quiet, only the sounds coming from Izuku in the bathroom.

“Eri’s going to love seeing that,” Hitoshi breathes out with a small breath of laughter.

"Yeah," Shouta agrees, because Izuku has already brought up to him about possibly bringing Hitoshi and Eri along the next time they're able to.

Hitoshi moves back along the hallway, and knocks back on the bathroom door. "You all good in there?"

Izuku makes a squeaking noise, and Shouta's almost worried Hitoshi has just startled him into slipping. But Izuku seems to be alright, as he calls out a yeah, I'm all good!

"He did it by accident," Shouta reveals, when Hitoshi makes his way back along the hallway and closer to him again.

"Accident?"

"Mhm. Didn't mean to," Shouta sighs. "So let's hope he doesn't do it when he's not near a body of water."

"Yeah, shit," Hitoshi whispers. "Did he say what brought it on?"

"Something Shirakumo told him, because of course it was," Shouta gruffly replies.

"Huh," Hitoshi replies, contemplating. "Well, um, as long as he doesn't do it on dry land, then it should be alright?"

"Let's hope so."

"You'll be around anyway," Hitoshi says, elbowing him in the side before he heads back into his room for the night. "He'll be just fine."

Shouta can only hope so.

"You're sure about this?"

Izuku nods in reply. "Yeah!"

"Alright," Shouta says, and stands up straighter from the way he's been slouched over on the kitchen counter as he talks over it to Izuku. "I'll let them know they can come today, then."

Despite the fact there's going to be more of an audience than Izuku is used to coming to the beach, he seems confident. Shouta supposes he can understand why — Izuku has gotten his time down to shifting in five minutes, now, and he's built up to four shifts in two hours before he's exhausted. All the beach visits over the past couple of weeks are paying off, and Izuku is pushing himself at a rapid pace, just as he does for everything.

Soon enough, Eri and Hitoshi are sitting in the backseat of the car, and Shouta now has five towels packed. He's got an extra one, because he's learned it's better to just have it on hand — especially if Izuku is shifting so much, and prefers to dry off in between.

And Shouta can always use the extra towel as a makeshift pillow, anyway. He won't be dozing, not with Eri coming along, even though Izuku kind of acts like an overqualified lifeguard anyway. Still, Shouta's not going to let that make him complacent.

Izuku helps Eri down the narrow and steep path once they arrive, sure-footed now. Shouta sets out to sit at his usual spot, laying out his towel. Izuku takes off his shoes and changes, and Eri and Hitoshi also kick off their shoes as well.

Holding Eri's hand, Izuku walks confidently into the water. Eri squeals as the coldness hits her, and Hitoshi also hesitantly hangs back, also not too excited about the chill of the water that's currently splashing against his ankles.

Izuku just laughs and calms Eri down, and then turns around and holds his hand out to Hitoshi, as well. Shouta can hear Hitoshi sigh even from his current distance.

Still, Hitoshi reaches out and takes Izuku's hand, and wades into the water with them. Izuku lets go to sit down in the water, while Eri is just managing to still touch the sand. Hitoshi stays close to her, now taking hold of her hand that Izuku has let go of, and both of them stay close to Izuku.

Shouta is intrigued about how this will go — how long it will take Izuku to shift. He hasn't done it voluntarily in front of anyone but Shouta before, and Shouta wonders if there'll be any emotions that might interfere with Izuku's usual timing.

But Izuku is faster than usual. It takes only a couple of minutes for the water to start swirling. Eri gasps loudly, and Hitoshi takes a step back, but Izuku just reaches back for them with a smile.

"It's okay," Izuku says, over the sound of the waves. "The ocean will not hurt you."

Hitoshi stays, but he does not take a step closer. He keeps Eri close, both of them watching with fascination as the water begins to swirl around Izuku's legs.

"Oh my god!" Eri shouts, clapping her hands as there's suddenly a tail swishing in the water. She lets go of Hitoshi in her excitement, and tackles Izuku down — he's already got the lower half of his face in the water, but now his entire head goes under as Eri crashes into him.

Hitoshi is just staring at the tail — he's seen it once before, but now he's properly looking it over. His concern about the coldness of the water seems to abate, as he ends up crouching down to get a closer look.

Izuku carefully turns himself around, keeping his head in the deeper end of the water, but letting his tail stretch out amongst the more shallow end of the water. It allows for Eri to get a little closer without worrying about keeping her wandering deeper, and she does so carefully, keeping a considerate berth from Izuku's tail.

He lifts it up out of the water though, and indicates for her that it's okay to come a little closer. Her hands reach out, and she makes sure she gets approval before she reaches out to stroke his tail.

Hitoshi doesn't touch, but he does seem interested, watching the tail like he's hypnotised by it. And when Izuku keeps it out of the water a little too long, Hitoshi splashes him with water.

It makes Izuku's tail swat lazily at Hitoshi in retaliation.

Naturally, it devolves into a splash fight.

Shouta has no idea on what logic Hitoshi and Eri are using, thinking they can battle with a mermaid, but it's amusing to watch as they all get soaked. Izuku is gentle with Eri's splashes, but he is not so kind when it comes to Hitoshi.

Much to Shouta's enjoyment, he watches as Izuku slinks up in the water to Hitoshi after he stands, and his hands wrap around Hitoshi's ankles and suddenly pull him down into the water. Hitoshi ends up on his ass, and then gets splashed right in the face by a wave.

He's glad he's not involved, and he's definitely glad he's far enough that Hitoshi doesn't hear or see his quick laugh. Eri does laugh though, and he's sure Izuku is laughing too, under the water.

"Bet you won't be so tough when you're shifted!" Hitoshi shouts out dramatically, kicking his legs once he notices Izuku creeping closer to him again. "No, no! You shift right now, you coward! Face me on the sand!"

Eri has draped herself on Hitoshi's back, and she's laughing loudly, simply enjoying watching Hitoshi yell at the water and Izuku circle them. Izuku won't make any type of dramatic move with Eri clinging on, but he does still splash them a little.

And then Izuku shifts, just as he manages to get behind Hitoshi and Eri, and quickly gets his feet under him.

"Eri!" Izuku yells out in warning, and she listens without thinking, jumping off Hitoshi's back and into the water. Hitoshi is a little too slow at turning, and Izuku manages to tackle him down into the water.

He comes up spluttering, but he quickly gets his footing under him and starts to wrestle with Izuku. Eri's cheering on the sidelines, and Shouta isn't exactly sure who for.

Hitoshi manages to push Izuku back up into shallower waters, until Izuku is in water that's lower than knee-deep. It means he's lost his advantage to shift now, as the water isn't deep enough, and Hitoshi tackles him down.

They go rolling, both of them dripping wet and flicking water out of their eyes and spitting it out of their mouths.

It goes back and forth. Izuku is trying to get into deeper waters again and shift, but Hitoshi is doing his utmost best to keep him in the shallow waters.

Eri eventually tires and comes to sit beside Shouta. She's still laughing at them, tackling each other down into the waves, but she rests her head on Shouta's shoulder as it seems she spent most of her energy trying to keep up with them.

Shouta's keeping track of Izuku's shifts, and Izuku has now just made his second shift back into a human, meaning it's his fourth overall. He should be tapped out now, especially as he's doing it so much faster than usual, but —

Izuku shifts again, when he gets the upperhand in the water, his tail splashing in the waves and soaking Hitoshi once more. Hitoshi's tiring now too, because he wrestles free and gets back up the shore by basically crawling his way up there. Izuku crawls up too, but he's keeping his head below water, watching Hitoshi carefully.

But it seems he's finally hit his limit, because he just shakes his head at Hitoshi when Hitoshi makes a come hither motion, foolishly trying to go for another round despite the fact he's got his hands on his knees and he's basically panting.

Shouta sighs and stands up, Eri following close as he walks up to where the waves just reach the sand. Hitoshi walks up to him, and then sits right down, resting his arms on his knees and dropping his head down to take some deep breaths.

Eri pats his back in consolation. "You did really well!"

Hitoshi gives her a thumbs-up, and that's all the energy he has.

Shouta wades a little further into the water, letting it just cover his ankles properly, and Izuku's eyes blink innocently at him. Too innocently. He knows he's overdone it, and Shouta knows he definitely has a sheepish expression on his face that's covered by the water.

"Do you think you can shift if we wait around?" Shouta asks him, and Izuku tilts his head slightly to listen better, and then thinks it over.

Izuku turns to look up at the sun, gauging where it is in the sky, and he blows out some bubbles as he thinks.

He gives a shrug — nothing nonchalant, but just the best gesture he can give for I don't know.

Shouta tends to prefer letting Izuku shift back to a human on his own terms, as Shouta wants to give him the chance to shift back into a mermaid when he wants to, rather than when Shouta drops it. It's not like Izuku really should be doing it anywhere else other than their beach visits, which Shouta is present for, but Shouta would just rather that Izuku has as much control as he can.

"We have time," Shouta says, sticking his hands in his pockets. "So let's see how you go, hm?"

Izuku nods. Eri wanders from Hitoshi's side, back into the water, and she sits down in the water and scoots herself closer to Izuku.

"I'll stay with him!" She reassures, and Hitoshi groans and gets up from his spot on the sand, and also wanders back in.

"Truce?" Hitoshi asks on his way in, and Izuku tilts his head in question, unsure of the word. "Um. No more, for now?"

Izuku gives him a thumbs-up in agreement, also just as exhausted. Hitoshi sits back down, and tilts his head up to the sun. Shouta wanders back up the beach to sit back down on his towel — he will not be getting any part of him wet other than his feet, and he knows it's only a matter of time before Hitoshi or Eri try to convince him otherwise.

He picks up his phone, and without really thinking about it, he takes a photo of the three of them in the water. The angle and the water mean that Izuku's tail can't be seen in the photo, and it just looks like he's just lying low in the water with his legs out of sight. He forwards it to Oboro and Hizashi, and then puts his phone away.

Giving it an hour, he eventually wanders back over. Hitoshi and Eri are playing in the water lazily, both of them gaining back some energy. Izuku is a little deeper now, but he comes back in when Shouta walks up to the water.

"We'll head off soon," he says, and Izuku gives a small nod, and then pinches his thumb and finger together. Close. "Alright. Ten minutes."

Izuku's gesture changes into a thumbs-up. He doesn't go back out into deep water, but he does turn on his back and look up at the sky from underneath the water.

Shouta does stay a little closer this time, but just far enough out of reach that he's out of the splash-zone from Hitoshi and Eri — and that includes Hitoshi's attempts to actually splash him.

"I'll get Izuku to splash you," Shouta threatens, and Hitoshi snorts but leaves Shouta be.

Ten minutes pass, and Shouta goes back to the bag to pack up everything, and passes over the towels to Hitoshi and Eri to dry off with. And, sure, he does so slowly, giving Izuku just a little more time.

It pays off.

Izuku shifts back, though he's clearly exerted from the attempt. He sits up in the water, and then sits there for a while, getting his breath back. Hitoshi holds out his hand and helps haul him up, and Eri passes him over his towel.

Hitoshi and Shouta focus on helping Eri get back up the path, but Shouta also watches Izuku. Thankfully he has the energy to clear the climb, but by the time they get back in the car, Izuku basically leans right over on the window and falls asleep immediately. Hitoshi and Eri aren't far behind.

As it's becoming something of a ritual, he finds a restaurant to stop in and order from. Hitoshi blinks himself into bleary awareness when the car stops, looking around at the other sleeping passengers before looking over at Shouta questioningly.

Shouta gestures to the restaurant just in front of them, and Hitoshi gives him a nod and quietly makes his way out of the car with Shouta. It's silent between them as they head in, Hitoshi still slightly drowsy and only half-awake as Shouta orders the food.

They both move without speaking to the window, making sure they have a view of the car. Eri and Izuku remain asleep — and Izuku knows well enough by now that even if he does wake up, he'll easily find Shouta in the restaurant closest to the car. Still, neither of them wake up, and Shouta hides his amused yet fond smile by ducking his head down into the collar of his jacket.

"He's seriously strong," Hitoshi muses quietly.

Shouta's figured as much, with the more mundane things that Izuku shows his strength in, but he definitely witnessed it today while he was wrestling with Hitoshi. Hitoshi generally sticks to a good exercise and strength regime, and as far as Shouta knows, Izuku isn't at the moment.

Even if he was previously, it's impressive that he still has that much strength after weeks of inactivity. But some heritages allow for it, and Shouta figures that a full creature like a mermaid probably has more strength than the average human.

"Mhm," Shouta agrees, but is stopped by speaking any further as their order is called. Hitoshi takes the second bag, and they head back to the car. Hitoshi stays awake for the rest of the ride home, but he seems lost in his thoughts for the most part anyway, so the rest of the ride home is as quiet as when it began.

Izuku and Eri take a bit of prodding to stir once they arrive home, but eventually they manage to wake up and head up to the apartment. They decide to wash up quickly first, as they're all covered in sand, mostly just rinsing off for now. Eri takes a little longer, as she opts to try and wash out the tangles in her hair, and she comes to sit at the dining table with a towel still wrapped around her hair.

"Would you be able to braid it later, please?" She asks Shouta, and nods easily.

Izuku seems interested in the interaction, and Shouta looks over at him. He's caught Izuku watching him braid through Eri's hair before, as well as practising on his own when he thinks Shouta isn't looking — but he never quite shakes out the evidence properly, half-plaited strands in amongst the rest of his hair.

And so, when they finish eating, Shouta quietly asks if Izuku would like to learn. Izuku looks a little flustered at being caught, but he nods eagerly, and sits beside Shouta on the couch as he walks him through how he does Eri's hair. Hitoshi is sitting on the other couch, looking interested in his phone but Shouta knows he's just swiping his thumb up and down on the same page.

"Here," Shouta instructs, picking out three strands from one side of Eri's hair. "I'll do this side, and you can mirror it."

Izuku does try, at least. His strands are loose, and fall out the further down Izuku gets, but he seems to be understanding the motion at least. It's just getting his fingers to cooperate with him.

"Oh dear," he says with a laugh, once he's at the end. "I'm sorry, Eri."

Shouta's already tied his end off, but Izuku doesn't tie his end up. Eri grabs hold of it to stop it from falling out any further, and gets up and goes over to the closest mirror. She's grinning widely, admiring both sides of her hair.

"It's better than my attempts!" Eri consoles, and Shouta catches Hitoshi subtly rolling his eyes.

Shouta has caught Eri doing her hair just fine on her own, but she just acts like she can't quite get the hang of it. She's always quite shyly pleased with herself as she sits down on the floor at Shouta's legs, getting him to do it, and thinking he doesn't know about her plan all along.

Shouta's not going to call her out on it.

She asks for the hair tie so that she can tie it off, and Izuku looks a little panicked.

"Um, I don't think... I think you should maybe get Shouta to re-do that side!" He suggests, and she just finishes tying off the other side with a self-triumphant hmph!

"Why?" She asks, happily running her hands over that side of her hair. "This is your side! Why would I take out your efforts?"

"Because my efforts are, um," Izuku fumbles for a word, eventually coming up with "messy."

"I like it!" She declares happily, and Izuku has no hope of arguing any further with her.

Hitoshi pats Izuku's shoulder in mocking consolidation. Izuku just sits down on the couch in defeat, but there's a happy smile on his lips, and he keeps looking at Eri's hair with something like wonder.

"How're you feeling, problem child?" Shouta asks, because he didn't get the time to check in with Izuku directly after the beach.

Izuku stretches out his fingers. "Good, actually. I mean, tired, but the first shift felt like it didn't take anything out of me this time! And even though I used up more energy than usual, I was still able to shift that last time."

Shouta nods. "You're progressing well."

Izuku's hands loosely clench into fists, and he stares down at them. "Yeah," he says softly. "I guess so."

"Don't know how you have so much energy," Hitoshi says with a yawn. "I didn't think shifting took anything out of you with how you were rough-housing."

"Ah," Izuku rubs the back of his neck. "It came a lot easier today, actually. I thought I'd have to be calm and focused to make it happen so fast, but..."

"Oh! If it was faster today, then we helped?" Eri asks, wandering back into the room.

"I think so," Izuku replies with a smile.

Eri turns hopefully towards Shouta. "So we can keep coming to the beach?"

"You have school mostly every other time," Shouta reminds her, but then sits back on the couch and gestures to Izuku. "Regardless, that's not up to me. He's the one you gotta ask."

Eri nods, and walks over to Izuku with a shy smile. "Izuku, would it be okay to keep coming? When we can? And if Hitoshi wants to come as well?"

Hitoshi waves his hand vaguely, which is basically the symbol of his for yeah, sure.

"I'd like that," Izuku replies, and both their smiles grow.

And so, just like that, the following Sunday, they have an outing again all together to the beach. And by that time, Izuku has already added one extra shift to his usual counter.

Izuku can shift on his own, now.

It means he is not restrained to being by Shouta's side. There is no longer a time-limit of an hour that they can be separated — now, there is no ball of string inside of Shouta, waiting to be untangled. Izuku has grasped his own, and now, realistically, he no longer needs Shouta to help him remain human.

Shouta brings it up to him, on their trip down to the beach. He's been working himself up to saying it all morning, and this is something he can't back down from. Izuku deserves to know what his options are, and he deserves to be able to make a choice. Now that he's no longer tied to Shouta, he's able to do whatever it is he may want to do.

"Izuku," Shouta says, and intentionally stops himself from tapping at the steering while like it'll help release some of his nervous energy. He doesn't want to seem nervous, or to give any emotional indication as to how he feels. He does not want to pressure Izuku, one way or the other. This is his choice to make.

"Mhm?" Izuku replies, turning his head lazily. He'd been zoned out, thinking to himself, and Shouta almost feels guilty for disrupting it.

"We should probably discuss some things, now that you can shift on your own," Shotua says. Izuku just nods, like he's been expecting it.

"Okay," Izuku says softly, though he is not as nervous as Shouta had been expecting.

Shouta thinks he's already made up his mind. He's already got his answer for whatever question Shouta might just ask.

"Well, you were situated with me because of my ability. But now you don't need that to help you remain human, and it means that if you want, we can work on relocating you. This can be back to the water, or to somewhere on land, where it'll be safe," Shouta explains. "We might need to do some under-handed things, just to make sure the commission doesn't trace you back and figure out your abilities, but I'm certain we'll be able to handle that."

"If I want?" Izuku asks, and Shouta gives him a small nod, trying to tamper down the blossoming hope. Not yet. There's no guarantees just yet.

"Yes. At the end of the day, this is about what's best for you. And that means what you want to do," Shouta replies, glancing over at him for just a second.

Izuku looks out the front window, his arms crossed over himself, and a small smile on his lips. It’s quiet between them for a few moments, and Shouta has to focus on his breathing so that his fingers don’t go tightening around the steering wheel.

"I want to go to the arcade with Hitoshi," Izuku eventually says. "I want to go with Oboro and Hizashi and ride a rollercoaster. I want to get better at braiding Eri's hair."

"You can do that," Shouta reassures. "You can always come back-"

"I want to stay with you," Izuku cuts in, before Shouta can go on any further. He sinks down a little in his seat, realising he's cut in. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Shouta responds, because it is. He didn't want to figure out the logistics of trying to get Izuku back every few weeks, like he was a divorced parent with no custody rights of the kid anyway. God, he'd hate that. "That's more than okay."

"Really?" Izuku asks hopefully, now turning in his seat to look at Shouta. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, problem child," Shouta replies, and reaches over to ruffle Izuku's hair. "I'm more than sure."

"But... won't it be more difficult for you?" Izuku asks hesitantly, though he doesn't sound entirely discouraged.

"It'll be easier," Shouta replies honestly. "It means our story with the commission doesn't change. If you're thinking about costs, don't. I get paid well enough to look after Eri and Hitoshi alone, and I'm getting bonuses to cover your expenses too. On top of that, if you decide you want to go to school or anything, they cover that too."

"School..." Izuku trails off, obviously letting his thoughts wander as he considers the idea of it. "Really?"

"The most difficult thing about you, problem child, would be figuring out what school grade you belong in," Shouta says.

"And driving two hours to the beach..."

Shouta shrugs. "We can move a little closer to the beach, or closer to the station that goes directly there. Commission will cover that too. Perhaps a place with a bigger bath."

Izuku lets out a small breath of laughter at that. "But if you move... Eri and Hitoshi?"

"As long as we're near a station, getting to school won't be an issue. Hitoshi only has two years to go, so it'll just be waiting that out, and then we can enrol Eri to a closer high school," Shouta reasons.

Izuku's mouth still twists though, not entirely satisfied. "But-"

"Problem child," Shouta says, cutting in before Izuku starts on a spiral. "I can get the commission to build a goddamn tank in a warehouse, if that's what you'd want. I'm telling you, you're not difficult. We'll work something out for you with the water that everyone can be satisfied with. And we want to do that, because we want you to stay with us. Got that?"

Izuku swallows something thick.

"Got it," he says quietly, and the conversation comes to an end as Izuku goes back into thinking deeply.

Izuku had his answer when they first started the discussion, but it seems he faltered once he realised Shouta's was the same. Now, he’s almost doubting himself — truly wondering if it’s the best solution for everyone in the equation.

Shouta will do his best to build up Izuku’s confidence and reassurance, because there is absolutely no chance the answer will ever change.

It's Izuku's idea — for Shouta to talk alone with Hitoshi and Eri about having him stay.

"I just want to make sure they're okay with it," Izuku had told him, wringing his hands nervously. "And without the pressure of me sitting there, listening to their answers. And you'll tell me if they have any concerns, right?"

"Sure," Shouta had replied, just to appease him, even if the whole conversation was going to be rather pointless.

And so, now here he is, with Eri and Hitoshi on the dining table and Izuku in his room with the door shut, giving them privacy to talk alone.

"So," he starts with, casually, because he honestly doesn't have many doubts going into this conversation at all. "Today, Izuku and I talked about the fact that he has the option to relocate, now, if that's what he wants to do."

Immediately, Eri's face falls, and Hitoshi is also frowning, his fingers clenching tightly around the edge of the table.

"Does he want to?" Eri asks softly.

Shouta shakes his head. "No. He wants to stay here. With us."

Eri and Hitoshi's shoulders fall forward in relief. Eri's frown turns into a smile, and Hitoshi's grip has loosened up from the table.

"You told him yes, right?" Hitoshi questions, though it's more of a thinly-veiled threat.

"Of course," Shouta replies, waving a hand in the air dismissively. "But he wanted us to discuss it first, to make sure we're all in agreement."

"Yes!" Eri says, leaning over the table so that she can be a little closer to Shouta. "Yes, I agree!"

"Yep," Hitoshi says, and then leans back to look down the hallway, where Izuku's bedroom door is in his view. He looks like he's about to get up and go knocking and drag Izuku out here, so Shouta puts his hands on the table.

"Wait," Shouta tells him. "He won't be pleased if we don't properly go through everything first."

"What's there to even go through?" Hitoshi mutters, but stays seated.

"Logistics wise, the beach is currently quite a distance," Shouta explains. "So I proposed that we can perhaps move closer to the beach, or closer to a station with a direct line to it. This will be after you complete high school, Hitoshi. But Eri, this might mean moving in the midst of yours."

"I don't mind," she says easily. "I'm good at keeping friends! And I can make new ones."

Hitoshi rubs at one of his eyes, and Shouta understands — it's surprising, sometimes, to have Eri's optimism shine so brightly in their house. Neither of them are quite used to her way of thinking.

"Okay," Shouta says placidly. "But Izuku wants you to think hard about this, so make sure you do it for him, okay?"

Give him no room to doubt.

"Okay!" She replies, even though she seems a little confused by the request. "But we won't be moving that far, will we?"

"No, not really," he replies, because in the grand scheme of his life, the distance of an hour is barely one to be noticed. "But for you, it's a big change. It will be for all of us."

"But we'll all be together?"

"Yes," Shouta replies, and that seems to be enough for Eri.

Still, she respectfully remains quiet, like she's trying to think of any problems for Izuku's sake. Hitoshi gets up, though he pauses to give Shouta a questioning look. Is it alright now?

Shouta nods at him, and Hitoshi heads down the hallway to knock on Izuku's door.

"Hey," he says, leaning against the doorframe once Izuku opens up the door. "Want to visit the arcade?"

"Right now?" Izuku asks, surprised.

Hitoshi shrugs. "I mean sure, but tomorrow might be better, if you want to spend more time there."

"O-okay! Yes, please, let's go tomorrow," Izuku replies, and Shouta doesn't have quite the angle to see it, but he can imagine that Izuku's eyes are shining in excitement.

"Alright," Hitoshi says, and pushes himself up from the doorway. "Door open or closed?"

"Are you, um, all done talking?" Izuku asks, and Hitoshi hums.

"Yep," he replies. "Not much to discuss, when we want you to stay around, so."

"Oh," Izuku says, and yep, Shouta can definitely imagine his eyes shining now.

"So. Open or closed?"

"Um, I'll come out," Izuku says, and Hitoshi nods and turns around, and Izuku follows him out. Eri jumps down from her chair and wraps her arms around Izuku's waist, almost barreling him over in the hallway despite Izuku's strength.

"You want to stay with us, right? Right?" She asks excitedly, and he smiles down at her and crouches down so that he's closer to his level.

"Only if it causes no problems for the rest of you," Izuku replies quietly, Shouta just barely catching the words.

"No! No problems," she reassures, even though she is the least likely of them all to know about them. She folds her arms seriously at him, a small pout on her lips. "It'll only be a problem if you don't stay."

He laughs in surprise, and holds out his arms for a proper hug. She easily folds into him, but does lean back at one point to poke him in the chest.

"No problems, okay? Please stay," she quietly says, and ducks her head into Izuku's shoulder. "Please."

His hand rubs up and down her back, and his eyes look over Eri to meet Shouta's.

Shouta just gives him a half-smile, and then turns his head away. Eri has all the answers that Izuku is asking for, anyway. On his phone, he pulls up Naomasa's contact.

It's been a while now, since he's applied for the custody of a child that's technically under the care of the commission. It might be a little more difficult, this time around, as the commission will likely not want to hand over the control of Izuku.

But there's also Naomasa, Toshinori, and apparently Keigo, in Izuku's corner.

He sends a text to let Naomasa know his intentions, because hopefully a head's up will give him a bit of an edge when he actually starts to file the application. Naomasa, only three minutes later, sends back a simple reply.

Great. I'll look into it.

Indeed, perhaps it won't be so difficult, after all.

While Naomasa starts the ball rolling, things change slightly in the household.

Izuku goes out alone, without Shouta, to the arcade with Hitoshi, and he comes home with no less than three giant stuffed toys. He gives two to Eri, but keeps the giant, soft fish for himself.

"How'd he manage that?" Shouta asks Hitoshi, when he flops beside Shouta on the couch.

Hitoshi's eyes just gleam with amusement. "I don't even know. But he's definitely coming with me every single time now."

Over the days, Izuku becomes slightly more reassured and confident with every single one. He's exploring more parts of the world — not quite yet just on his own, but at least with people that aren't just Shouta.

Things change, because now Izuku goes out with Eri and Hitoshi. Now, he's not just stuck following wherever Shouta goes.

But things are still relatively the same. It's easy with Izuku, and the changes with him have always just been easy. Always easy for Shouta to adjust for, despite everything.

They go to the beach, just the two of them, and Izuku pushes the limits as much as he's able to. He's getting better, faster, able to shift more times before he's too exhausted.

It's Friday, and Izuku is excitedly drumming his fingers on his lap as they drive up. He's reading over a history book, and Shouta has no idea how he's managed to develop that skill without becoming completely motion-sick, but he's not going to make Izuku aware it's even a possibility.

"In the water, sometimes I'd find things," Izuku tells him, and though his book is still open, he's not quite paying attention to it anymore. Shouta glances over, and he sees the depiction of an old ship on one of its pages. "Human things. I found a ship, once, even. But I think that's what got me caught, in the end."

"Why's that?" Shouta asks, and Izuku hums.

"I'd been keeping my visits pretty short, but that time... I was exploring for too long. It was too much of a risk for the other mermaids, and they weren't happy that I was bringing back human items into the realm. And I guess they were right, because not long after that, I got caught when I went back to the ship. Anyway, I guess I got my wish to look at a functioning, floating ship," Izuku replies, with a small shrug like he's not bothered by it, even though his fingers have curled tightly around the book he's holding.

"If you're still interested in ships," Shouta says carefully, because this isn't something to say I'm sorry for, even though he is sorry that Izuku has had such an experience. "There's a maritime museum that we can visit. And we can always drive down to the docks, to get a closer look. Understandable if you're no longer interested in them, but it might be good to have some... better experiences with these things."

Shouta glances over to see Izuku biting down on his lower lip, tugging at it thoughtfully. His fingers have taken to tracing the ship currently on the book's page.

"That might be nice," Izuku whispers, ducking his head down. And then it whips to the side, his eyes wide as he stares at Shouta. "Wait. Could I see a plane, then? Is there a museum for them?"

"Um," Shouta says, slightly whiplashed by the change in Izuku's demeanour. "Probably?"

"Cool," Izuku says to himself, nodding slightly. "I don't really understand them, and it'd be really interesting to see them up close!"

Shouta does not think planes are interesting, but that's also because he's gone on so many in his life, flying back and forth for missions. He doesn't miss going on them in the slightest.

But this is something he takes for granted, a normal commodity in his life. For Izuku, they're inventions that he's only ever seen up in the sky — very, very far away from the world underwater.

"I don't understand them either," Shouta replies simply with a half-shrug. "But sure, we can probably arrange that."

"Thank you!" Izuku says, and it's nice not to hear him ask really? Are you sure? I don't mind if we can't, please don't put yourself out of the way to do this for me.

Izuku turns back to his book, the conversation over, and Shouta supposes he'll just spend the time on the sand looking up different museums. Maybe, in future, they can arrange a short trip — Izuku seems to be okay off the ground, as he greatly enjoys being lifted up by Oboro's clouds. Flying shouldn't be too much of an issue, but there's really only one way to find out for certain.

Later, later. They'll need to get documents for Izuku, a passport, and other sorts of legal documentation they don't quite have yet. They've gotten most of it at least, the commission doing their usual work to integrate him into the world silently. It'll just take some time.

They get to the beach, and Shouta sits down on his towel and turns the brightness of his phone up, ready to delve into his research.

Izuku makes his way into the water, and the familiar splashes echo around their small, secluded space.

After about half an hour, Shouta lowers the brightness down on his phone, and he focuses on his other senses. Something isn't right.

His eyes immediately go to Izuku, but Izuku is still just in the water, his tail coming up as he dives into the waves. He's probably diving for shells, or chasing around small schools of fish — he brought one up to Shouta, at one point, to show it off. Thankfully, that was the only time he'd done that.

Izuku is fine.

But Shouta has not gotten this far by ignoring his intuition.

He does not give away the fact that he has noticed something amiss, because he has a deep-rooted gut feeling that he is being watched. He sends a message to Naomasa quickly, just the two words: Beach compromised.

It'll be enough for Naomasa to send someone to get Eri and Hitoshi from school, and to make sure they don't go back home just yet, and so Shouta can't let himself worry about that right now. He has to focus on getting Izuku out of the water, and getting him somewhere safer.

If they're being watched, then Shouta needs to run on the assumption that these people know exactly who they're looking for. Izuku is currently safe in the water, but now it is not a guarantee.

And there is only one path in and out of this section of beach by the means of walking. It'll be best for them to get out of it, and to get to a more open area. The longer they spend here, the more information the person or people watching will be able to gather.

So he pockets his phone, and walks over casually to the waves, making sure his body language does not give away that something is wrong.

Izuku takes a couple of minutes to notice him, apparently distracted by something under the water. He shifts into a human, swims the slight distance it takes for him to be able to get his feet properly on the sand.

Izuku tilts his head, because Shouta doesn't usually come up to the waves this early. He gives Izuku the time and the privacy to enjoy the water to himself, and only comes over when he's checking on Izuku's physical health after shifting.

"Don't react. Being watched," Shouta says, making sure only Izuku will be able to hear it over the waves. He's pretty sure they're being watched from above, somewhere up on the cliffs, but he's not going to risk it.

Izuku's eyes immediately widen, but he visibly stiffens, stopping himself from looking around.

"Who? Where?" He asks, following Shouta back up the sand.

"Don't know yet, but we're not risking it. Dry off, we're going to head back up," Shouta says, and Izuku nods and does so quickly, pulling his pants on in record time.

Shouta won't have time to properly sweep the car for any bugs or trackers, but he's confident enough that he'll be able to lose any trails. He can rendezvous with Naomasa, or anyone else available, and switch vehicles and get it sorted from there. He's not confident with the area around here, and he doesn't want to risk running into any further people. The sooner they can head out of here, the better.

They pack up and head back up the trail, and Shouta keeps Izuku in front of him just to keep sight of him at all times. He hasn't caught a glimpse yet of anyone watching, though he's keeping an eye out for them. He's certain they're still watching, but they're just staying out of sight. Hopefully, this means they're far enough that they won't be able to obstruct the path as they leave.

Once they're in the car, Shouta opens up the glove compartment and pulls out the spare phone he keeps in there. He presses a phone number into it, one he memorised long ago, puts it on speaker, and passes it over to Izuku to hold as he pulls out.

It almost rings through, Naomasa making sure the call isn't being traced, before he picks up.

"Oboro says hey," Naomasa says upon greeting, and Shouta nods to himself with the reassurance, eyes sweeping across his mirrors and the road. Oboro's heading over to Eri and Hitoshi. "You're driving?"

"Yeah," Shouta replies, cautious in case there's any bugs in the car.

"Any photos of the view?" Naomasa asks, and Shouta grits his teeth. Eyes on the target?

"No," he responds, though he knows they had eyes on him. Naomasa, thankfully, knows well enough to trust Shouta's intuition as well.

Shouta takes different paths — ones he doesn't take home, but ones he knows will lead him back onto main roads, not giving himself any chance to get lost. He's at a disadvantage, not knowing the area as well as he'd like right now, so he's going to get somewhere he's more familiar with.

Naomasa stays on the line, though he's covering the mic and instructing people around him.

Shouta looks in his rear-view mirror, and he narrows his eyes. They're a couple of cars behind, but they drift slightly to the side, like they're trying to see ahead of them.

Shouta turns up the radio, and glances for a moment at the phone in Izuku's hand before he reaches across and hits the hang up button. Izuku tilts it towards him, but Shouta shakes his head.

"Text that number," he mouths out, looking down at the phone purposely as a gesture. Izuku bites down on his lip and looks down at the screen, and Shouta — fuck, Shouta probably should've introduced him to his own phone, or something. He's too used to teenagers knowing their way around devices, but Izuku's never quite gotten the chance to get familiar with texting before — he only ever calls Toshinori, after all, and usually Shouta sets it up for him.

Thankfully, when Shouta glances over next, he sees the empty chat screen appear. Izuku glances over at him, waiting for instructions.

In case they have bugged the car, Shouta doesn't want to tip them off into realising he already knows he's got a tail. They'll back off too early, and Shouta won't have lost them where he wants to, and it'll give them the chance to catch up again.

Shouta reaches his arm out, and starts to draw the symbols on the dashboard slowly, giving Izuku a chance to recognise them. Once Shouta finishes spelling it out, Izuku points to his legs in question, and Shouta nods.

Tail.

Izuku sends it to Naomasa, and Shouta glances back in the rear-view again. They're still keeping careful distance, but Shouta is certain that if he were to take four lefts, this car would still be right behind them.

Not just a wanderer, who stumbled across the beach, and accidentally caught sight of them. This is someone with intention, following right behind, and they were ready to move quickly.

Shouta takes a couple of difficult turns, but they keep behind. They're following quite well, and if Shouta's skills weren't what they are, then they'd likely easily go unnoticed. They're good, and that's worrying.

Izuku taps him on the arm lightly about twenty minutes later, and Shouta glances over to see Izuku showing him the phone. Naomasa has sent forth a location — disguised as just a chain-cafe name, but Shouta knows the true location behind it.

Shouta is forming a plan, making his way back onto roads he knows well how to navigate. He keeps an eye out for that car, but otherwise keeps his turns rather unremarkable, not giving their tail the slip that he knows they're behind. Shouta needs to lose them at an exact point, and get to the meet-up location before they can trace them back again.

His heart-rate starts to pick up as he approaches that point. He's not nervous, not really — even if this plan doesn't work, he'll be able to work with Naomasa on a new one. But his brain is cycling through the points that someone knows. Someone knows about Izuku, someone is following them, and now they are at risk. Even if Shouta loses them today, there's no guarantee on the safety of their usual locations now.

There's no point worrying about all that right now though, so he takes a deep breath and focuses on the present. He's got to lose them now, and that's all that matters. The details come later — just as long as Izuku is safe.

"Hold on," he grits out, though it's lost over the too-loud radio. Izuku clutches onto the passenger door handle though, as Shouta makes a sharp turn and speeds up down a street, turning again at a split before the tail has a chance to see which way they go.

He doesn't slow down until he's certain that he's lost the tail, and he starts a mental clock in his head. They're five minutes out from the location. It's going to be too risky to bring the car up to that exact point, but he drives in as close as he's able to. He parks the car, and Izuku's head whips around to him when Shouta pulls up the parking brake.

"Out, out, follow me," Shouta hurriedly instructs, and Izuku just nods, his arms wrapped around the bag. "Keep the bag in here."

Shouta's taking absolutely no chances. The bag of clothes and towels and Shouta's phone can be sacrificed as long as they're safe.

Izuku would probably hesitate to follow that instruction any other time, but he basically throws it to the ground as he clambers out of the car, almost forgetting his seat-belt in the process. Shouta reaches over and hits the clip, and Izuku thankfully doesn't stumble as he rushes out.

Shouta locks the car, and then starts to jog down a path. It won't be able to be followed by a car, and there's no footsteps to trace along the pavement. He stays on the pavement as long as he can, and then splits off and starts to walk along grass and dirt. They're going to leave tracks, but they'll hopefully be far enough anyway that by the time they're followed, it won't matter.

Izuku follows closely, glancing behind him every few metres like he's expecting someone to jump out behind them.

"They're not going to get you, kid," Shouta finds himself saying, keeping his eyes forward but his focus around him. "I won't let them."

"I know," Izuku breathes out, though he's still on high-alert and clearly anxious.

Shouta spots a car in a parking lot, and someone in dark clothes leaning up against it. They look like they're just having a quick smoke, but Shouta recognises the agent as someone on Naomasa's team. Their head turns to them as they come closer, and they incline their head into the car as they snuff out the cigarette, quickly folding their way into the driver's seat.

"We're getting in the back of that car," Shouta says, head gesturing to the one in question.

"Okay," Izuku confirms, and picks up his pace.

Shouta can hear two footsteps running — distant, but quickly making ground. He pushes his legs to go faster, and basically throws himself across the car to get to the further side, throwing the door open and getting inside. Izuku opens the other side not a moment later, falling in.

The car speeds off before Izuku or Shouta even have the chance to put their seatbelts on.

"Sorry," Sansa apologises from the driver’s seat, voice purposely light — likely mindful of Izuku, not letting his tension show. His driving calms down once he hits main traffic, and Shouta pulls on his seatbelt now that he has the chance, making sure Izuku does as well.

"Oboro?" Shouta asks, pulling the battery out of his spare phone as he speaks.

"With Hizashi, they’ve got them," Sansa confirms, and Shouta breathes out a sigh of relief, reassured that Eri and Hitoshi are alright.

"Any leads on the tail?" Shouta asks, and Sansa nods, eyes flickering into the rear-view mirror to meet Shouta's.

"Yeah, we're pretty sure it's that last guy in the ring," Sansa replies.

Well, fuck. He's managed to escape Naomasa's team finding him for this long, so Shouta isn't too impressed that he's stuck his head up now and taken his chance to get Izuku.

"We haven't confirmed it," Sansa continues, giving Shouta an apologetic smile. "But considering we were closing in on this area for his location, well..."

"So you knew he was around here, and you didn't warn us?" Shouta hisses, and Sansa's apologetic smile doesn't waver.

"We didn't think he was that close, or that he'd make a move," Sansa replies, and Shouta tries to tamper his agitation. Naomasa would probably wait until the last possible moment to warn them, just to try and draw the guy out, but he does believe Sansa — they would have been warned if there was belief he would have striked.

Shouta presses his fingers to his temple, and rubs small, deep circles into the skin. Fuck.

"We'll get your car picked up," Sansa says, and Shouta nods, having expected as much anyway. At least they'll make sure it's not bugged. "We've got teams following the tail now, of course, and we'll get you reunited with Eri and Shinsou. Hopefully this will be sorted out by the day's end."

"Hopefully," Shouta grumbles, sinking down into his seat. Izuku, in comparison, is sitting ram-rod straight in his own, glancing out the windows with intense frequency.

Shouta waits a few minutes before he speaks again.

"So, it turns out there is an aviation museum rather close to us," Shouta says, and Izuku's gaze snaps to his own. It takes a couple of seconds for Shouta's words to register though, as Izuku still looks on edge until he suddenly blinks, shoulders loosening slightly.

"There is?" Izuku asks.

"Well, about a thirty minute drive, but it's actually only about an additional ten minutes when heading from the beach," Shouta replies, and is glad to see Izuku's tension slowly start to lift from his frame, no longer as highly strung or paranoid.

Right now, they're with the people that can help them best. Eri and Hitoshi are safe, and Izuku will be too — the people around him will protect him, and Shouta is certain of that. Even if they'd been caught up to, Shouta would've fought with everything he had. There was no chance he was letting them take Izuku again.

"Ah," Izuku says with a small nod.

Sensing he's about to lose Izuku again, he continues on the topic. "Eri got really interested in helicopters, for a whole week a while back. I'm not too sure if the museum would have them, but she'd probably like going there. And they always have historical stuff, things from decades ago, and Hitoshi likes that kind of stuff. And Shirakumo — well. He loves that kind of stuff. His element, quite literally."

Thankfully, it seems like Izuku gets distracted by Shouta's words, as his expression starts to shift.

"Does Hizashi like them?" Izuku asks, and Shouta gives him a lazy shrug.

"He somehow always seemed to enjoy our long plane rides, so I say he would," Shouta replies.

"Wait," Izuku says, leaning over to the middle seat and closer to Shouta. "You've ridden on one?"

"Too many," Shouta grumbles, but Izuku's now latched onto this with excitement and curiousity.

"How many?"

"I literally could not count them. At least, like, fifty?" Shouta replies, because that sounds like a reasonable number.

"Fifty times?" Izuku repeats, disbelieving. "What? Really?"

"Haven't I told you I worked abroad?" Shouta asks, and Izuku's head tilts as he thinks, and then his mouth opens slightly in an 'ah'.

"You went by plane?" Izuku questions, and then he shakes his head and starts to mutter to himself. "Wait, no, of course. Humans use plans most often when travelling abroad, and it's the fastest option. You were there for missions, so obviously going abroad would be by plane."

Izuku is now, at least, mostly focused on the concept of planes. He's not just looking out the windows for any threats, but he's also scanning the skies and following a plane's trail.

Shouta's a little on edge, not having a means of communication to Eri or Hitoshi, but he trusts Naomaso, Oboro, and Hizashi to keep them safe. Still, he doesn't like not having a phone to contact them and just make sure — but Sansa does, and if there's any updates, then Sansa will know about them.

Sansa drives carefully but cleverly, and after about another forty minutes of driving, Sansa eventually pulls into a sidestreet, just beside an apartment block. Sansa checks his phone and scrolls through it for a moment, and then nods and turns around from the front seat.

"We're clear, let's head inside," Sansa says, and leads the way into the apartment building. He leads them to the elevator, and it only goes up a single floor before Sansa steps out and leads them inside of an apartment.

Immediately, Eri and Hitoshi are on their feet, hurrying over to greet them at the door. They're both still in their school uniforms, and their school supplies are the only sign of the apartment having any life in it at all. It's just an ordinary, empty safe-house, by every other means.

Hizashi and Oboro are sitting at the small dining table, and they both give a wave as Izuku and Shouta properly step into the apartment. Shouta is very grateful for their presence, because they're likely the only reason that Eri and Hitoshi seem rather calm as they walk up to greet them, just glad to be reunited.

"I'm going to join the investigation," Sansa says, still lingering at the door. "There's a new phone on the table there, Aizawa. Tsukauchi or myself will keep you updated. Ah, Aizawa, do you still have your car keys by chance?"

Shouta pats down his pockets, and throws the set of keys to Sansa.

"Thanks," Shouta says, and Sansa nods his head and leaves quietly.

"You were seen?" Hitoshi asks, looking worriedly between Shouta and Izuku.

Shouta nods. "There was someone at the beach, and we were followed on foot by at least two people."

Hitoshi whistles. "Yikes."

Hizashi snorts in mild amusement at the reply, clearly intent on keeping the mood light between them all. It won't be too hard, at least — they're all together, and that's a big reassurance and comfort for all of them. Izuku might be a concern, and Shouta will be keeping a close eye on his emotions.

"Well, this is cosy," Oboro says, leaning back on his chair as he stretches. Shouta just rolls his eyes at him, while Hizashi just laughs again. They manage to rope Izuku, Hitoshi, and Eri into conversation though, so Shouta takes the time to sweep the apartment, checking out the space.

There's two bedrooms — one with two single beds, and when Shouta opens up a cupboard, there's a futon set rolled up inside of it. There's only one bathroom between them, no bath, but it'll be enough to make do for the hopefully short time they're temporarily in the apartment.

When he comes back in, they're all still engaged in conversation, and he takes stock of the food that's in the cupboards. There's only long-life items, unused cleaning items and a small amount of dishes. Not enough to cover all of them, but they'll probably have to order delivery anyway for dinner.

Shouta really hopes that this won't last longer than a few hours.

Unfortunately, the update isn't good. It comes a few hours later, when Hizashi makes the call to just order dinner for all of them and get it delivered to the front desk.

"Sorry," Naomasa says immediately, which is not a great start. "We've lost him for now. We managed to get his accomplice, but... this might take more than a few hours."

Shouta groans, glad that he's taken this call in the other room, and rubs his head. God, he doesn't even have a hair-tie to tie back his hair.

"We've got your car, and we'll make sure to give it a sweep, as well as your phone. Unfortunately, we don't want to take the risk right now of getting anything from your apartment, but if you send a list of things you need, I can get it sent over by tomorrow," Naomasa explains.

"Alright," Shouta says gruffly, leaning his head back to look up at the bland, white ceiling. He's just glad that it's the weekend, and he doesn't have to think right now about Eri and Hitoshi's schooling.

"Sorry again, Aizawa. I know this is frustrating," Naomasa says, and Shouta sighs and closes his eyes.

"It is, but don't bother apologising. I only caught onto it because of instinct, but he stayed well out of my sight otherwise. Besides, being a big part of that ring, I'd assume he'd be good at hiding," Shouta replies, and tilts his head forward again.

"We'll get him," Naomasa assures, and Shouta grunts.

"I know," he replies. "Just keep me updated."

"Of course," Naomasa says in parting, and the call disconnects.

He walks out of the bathroom, and his expression must give him away, as any hope lingering on anyone's faces is immediately stifled.

"Aw man," Hizashi says in sympathy. "No dice?"

"Not yet," Shouta replies, putting the phone down on the table. "They got his accomplice, but the main guy has gone under radar again."

Oboro winces. "Damn."

"They'll find him," Shouta says, and looks over at Izuku as he says so. Izuku just nods, his fists clenching loosely over his lap.

Hizashi and Oboro stay the night with them. They're just as worried, and they're also just as paranoid as Shouta — though Shouta is sure that Naomasa has done his job well, there are also never promises that an area is completely safe. Especially not when a man is hunting down one of his kids.

"I'll take the couch," Shouta says, already making himself comfortable on it.

Oboro pulls a face. "You're going to mess with your back."

"I used to literally sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag," Shouta reminds him.

"Point," Oboro mutters.

"We can take shifts," Hizashi offers, glancing at the apartment door. Oboro nods in agreement.

"Yeah," Oboro says. "I know you're probably not going to want to sleep, Sho, but you're going to need at least some. This might end up being a couple nights, you know?"

"I know," Shouta huffs.

"Alright, so shifts it is!" Hizashi says, leaving no room for argument. "Shouta, you can take the first shift. I'll take second."

Oboro groans at his early wake up time, but otherwise doesn't argue. They head into the bedroom together, Hizashi leaving a reminder that he'll be back out in about three hours to swap out, and Shouta just waves him off.

He spends the hours just scrolling through the phone that he's been left with, carefully listening out and watching for any movement. He can hear the elevator stopping every time on the floor, and he holds his breath and waits every single time, waiting for those footsteps to stop outside the door.

They always continue on, though, no presence lingering outside their room. He's wound up by the end, when Hizashi comes out, rubbing his eyes tiredly and trying to purposely be quiet as he walks as to not disturb anyone.

He sits down on the couch with a silent yawn, stretching his arms up.

"Go on," he whispers, trying to get Shouta to move off the couch. But Shouta just looks over and glares, and Hizashi throws up his hands in surrender. "Fine, but you'll be getting in there for some sleep at some point tonight."

After a few minutes of silence, Hizashi gently elbows him in the side.

"How're you going? With it all?" Hizashi asks. "And like, seriously. Not just how you think you're expected to be with the kiddos."

Shouta folds his arms and sinks down into the couch. "Fine, really. Yamada, you know I'm well aware of what these jobs are like."

"'Yamada,'" Hizashi echoes with a sigh. "Fine, I'll ignore your attempts to put up some distance like that'll help me stop worrying. How do you think the lil ones are going, then?"

Shouta dips his head down. It's all his thoughts have been revolving around, stressing about how they'll handle it.

"They're all going to be more worried for each other than themselves," Shouta replies quietly.

"Mhm," Hizashi agrees. "They're good kids. They care a lot about each other."

Shouta nods.

"Izuku's going to feel guilty for all of it," Shouta huffs.

"Right. I guess it would be hard not to feel like that," Hizashi says. "So you're probably just going to have to focus on reassuring him."

"Yeah. It's what we've been working on doing anyway, to make sure he knows he can stay with us," Shouta responds, and Hizashi nods. Shouta's been keeping Oboro and Hizashi updated with the whole process, because it means he's going to be taking a further step back from work to deal with it all.

"Well, I reckon it's been working," Hizashi says, folding his arms behind his head. "He seems a lot happier lately, you know? He'll bounce back from this. It'll be easier once the guy is caught."

"Yeah," Shouta replies, and closes his eyes. "I guess I'm worried about what happens if they don't catch him within a reasonable timeframe."

"Then we'll probably be here for a while," Hizashi says casually, but then he looks over the apartment again and frowns. "Well, you will be. But we can figure out what to do with Eri and Hitoshi's schoolwork. I mean, they might be alright anyway, if they're just tracking Izuku."

"But until we know for certain, then we can't assume that," Shouta looks over at Hizashi, who gives him a shrug of agreement.

"Yeah, but we'll find that out soon enough. You know Tsukauchi will do his best, and his best is damn good."

"Mhm," Shouta says, and looks back down at the television that has nothing playing.

"I'm sure it'll be sorted soon. But whatever happens, we'll deal with it, right? I know the little ones are resilient, after all. They'll be just fine,” Hizashi assures.

Hizashi then elbows Shouta in the side, and makes another attempt at trying to get Shouta off the couch. He sighs when Shouta once again doesn't move.

"You know, it won't do them any good to be worrying about you," Hizashi tells him, and Shouta turns to give him a look. Weaponising his kids against him is a damn dirty play, and Hizashi knows it. "Seriously, Sho. Go sleep. I've got this."

Hizashi gives him one more nudge, and Shouta sighs as he stands up. Hizashi manages to cover up his self-satisfied expression before Shouta can see it, but Shouta knows it had been there.

As he walks down the hallway, he pokes his head into the bedroom where Eri, Hitoshi, and Izuku are sleeping. The futon is rolled out on the ground, but there's no one lying on it — instead, Eri and Hitoshi are sharing a bed, managing to curl up around each other on the single bed. Izuku is asleep, sprawled out across the other bed, and they're all thankfully asleep.

He'd been worried that they wouldn't be able to, but it seems like the events from today have taken a toll on their energy. Reassured, he makes his way into the other bedroom. Oboro is dead to the world, not even moving as Shouta slips in on the other side and shoves at Oboro to get him over his half of the bed.

He doesn't feel like sleeping, and there's restless energy still brimming under his skin, but Hizashi might just tie him to this bed if he gets up to wander around. So he closes his eyes, focuses on the sound of Oboro's steady breathing, and manages to pull himself under into sleep.

It's only when Hizashi walks into the room that he stirs, blinking blearily at the shape of Hizashi shaking Oboro awake to get them to swap out on shift. Oboro grumbles, but when he realises Shouta is beside him, he quietens immediately and slips out of bed. Hizashi crawls into the space Oboro left, and he throws an arm around Shouta's waist like he's trying to keep Shouta down in the bed.

If Shouta had the energy, he'd shove Hizashi's arm off and get up out of spite, but he's still half-asleep and definitely lacking the energy to do so much. He blinks, once, twice, and then falls right back to sleep.

Chapter Text

They stay in the safehouse for another two nights. Eri and Hitoshi get the days off school, though Shouta doesn't really have the materials in this apartment to really teach them. They've already completed all their assigned homework for the weekend anyway, and there's nothing Shouta can really do to expand on it.

Instead, they use their materials to teach Izuku about their different topics, in an attempt to pass the time.

Time goes slowly, because there's not a whole lot to do — they've gotten some necessities delivered, as well as a change of clothes, but that's about it for now to cover the emergency stuff.

Naomasa texts in the afternoon, finally.

"The car's been cleared," Shouta relays to the rest of them as he reads the new message. "And for now, so has the apartment. They've lost the trail of him, but he's also apparently lost ours, so we should be alright. Eri and Hitoshi, you'll have an escort to and from school from the commission, and anytime we want to go out."

Hitoshi groans, but he knows there's no use complaining about it. It's for their own safety, anyway, and should hopefully only be for a little while. This is a better outcome than not being allowed back home at all.

"We're getting picked up in half an hour," he adds, scrolling down to read the next message. That gets them excited at least, eager to leave the apartment they've been stuck in for almost four days straight now.

They spend that time cleaning up the apartment, and then there's a knock at the door. Sansa stands before them, and gestures for them all to follow back down and out of the building.

"Here," Sansa says, passing back Shouta's phone. "It's all good, no signs of being traced."

Shouta nods, and the relief is immediate. He doesn't care much for the actual device, but there'd been photos on there that he hadn't transferred elsewhere, and they'd been at the back of his mind during the past few days, because it felt like a shame to lose them.

They get down to the street and Sansa unlocks a car. It's not Shouta's own, though he hadn't expected it to be — they wouldn't risk driving it around this area, when their suspect knows all too much about it. Shouta sits in the front seat, and Sansa relays how the investigation has gone.

"We're pretty certain he won't move too far from the area," Sansa says softly, though the car is quiet enough that they have little hope of this conversation not being overheard by those in the back. "He was bunkered down here before, and he'll likely stay around if he thinks that Izuku is around here too."

"Mhm," is all Shouta says, looking out the window so that he doesn't turn to look back at Izuku.

Sansa and Shouta fall quiet on the drive back, while Eri picks up the conversation as she speaks to Hitoshi and Izuku quietly. She knows well of the danger they're in, unfortunately all too aware of it at her age, but she's doing her best to liven the spirits of those in the car with her.

He flicks Oboro and Hizashi a message, to let them know it's safe to contact this number and that they'll be returning home for now, even though they likely know already.

They return home, and Sansa parts ways with them before Shouta can open the front door.

"We'll keep in touch," Sansa says, and walks back towards the elevator. "We'll get your car back to you as soon as possible as well. Take care, you four."

Shouta gives him a lazy salute in acknowledgment, and opens up his apartment door. He'll have to change all the locks and keypad codes, and he'll get to that once the three kids are settled back inside.

Eri immediately heads to her room, and Shouta can hear her talk to some of her plush toys, declaring she's missed them and that she's sorry for leaving them alone so suddenly. Hitoshi just bee-lines straight for the fridge, and Shouta warns him not to have any cold caffeinated drinks at this time of the evening, which takes some of the wind out of his sails.

Izuku lingers close to Shouta, not quite setting out in the direction of any room or appliance in particular, though Shouta spots his eyes lingering on the notebooks he's left stacked on the dining table. Shouta puts a hand on his shoulder, and then gives him a gentle shove in that direction, because he thinks Izuku's going to start trying to apologise to him right now.

And he knows Izuku has been itching to write, or draw in his notebooks. If they'd had to stay any longer at the safehouse, Shouta's requests definitely would have included some stationery.

Thankfully, moving him in the direction of the notebooks seems to work, and Izuku heads over that way without argument. He sits down at the table, and he reaches out for a pen immediately, already flipping to a new page. Shouta's not too sure what he's writing about, because he's never looked unless Izuku has purposely shown him what's inside, so he keeps his eyes averted.

"It's nice to be home," Hitoshi says, flopping down on the couch with a groan as he stretches. "Really nice."

"Sorry," Izuku immediately says, his pen lowering, and Shouta curses inwardly. Damn, so much for avoiding the guilty apologies that aren't required.

Hitoshi flaps his hand around. "Literally not your fault that some psycho hunter dude is trying to kidnap you again."

"But because of me-"

"Izuku, Jesus, dude," Hitoshi grumbles, and he lazily rolls his head around to look back at Izuku. "I've got some homework for you: please work on not apologising for things that aren't your fault. You know you'll upset Eri."

Izuku does falter at this, and though his mouth is open, it seems like it's more in shock rather than like he's working up the words to refute Hitoshi.

Hitoshi turns his attention to the television, and he flicks it on. "Alright, I've got some shows to catch up on, no one bug me."

This warning does not extend to Eri, as she wanders out of her room with one of the plush toys that Izuku won from his first time at the arcade, and curls right up on the couch with Hitoshi and prods him into cuddling with her.

Despite the fact they've all been in each other's space for the last few days, it's not enough for them to want to willingly separate just yet. It's like they all know they're in a precarious position, and they’re all too aware of the threat that they could lose each other if they don't stay close.

Shouta goes through the kitchen and gets rid of any products that have unfortunately gone bad in their time away. Their milk was already close to expiring, but now Shouta just holds his breath and pours the small remainder down the drain, and adds it to his mental grocery list of items to replace. There's a few pieces of fruit and some vegetables, but overall it's not too bad.

It's just nice to not be surrounded by non-perishables. And Shouta has jelly-pouches, which he suspects Naomasa had taken off his requested food items when they were at the safe-house. He's not too hungry, but he still has one for the sake of it, just because he finally has them in reach once again.

They all settle back in relatively quickly, comfortable now that they're properly back in a familiar space. They still don't have the freedom to leave when they want to, but having the option with lookouts is certainly better than just being cooped up with no other option in the safehouse.

The night passes, and in the morning, Eri and Hitoshi get ready for school. There's a knock at the door, just before they usually leave, and Shouta peeks through the peep-hole to see Oboro standing there, hands in his pockets as he rocks back and forth with a grin.

"Good morning!" Oboro says, all too cheerily when Shouta opens up the door for him. He's tempted to shut it right in Oboro's face, but that's also because he hasn't had his coffee yet. Probably.

Stifling his early morning irritation, he steps aside and lets Oboro inside. It lifts the spirits of Eri and Hitoshi at least — Eri had been reluctant to leave for school because she didn't want to leave Izuku, and while Hitoshi was more or less the same, he also definitely just enjoyed getting some days off school.

Izuku walks out of the room, rubbing his eyes as he hears the commotion.

"Oh, sorry kiddo!" Oboro says, in the midst of a hug with Eri. "Did we wake you?"

"It's alright," Izuku yawns. "I usually get up earlier."

Shouta knows he didn't sleep well last night, but the bags under Izuku's eyes aren't too dark, so he knows he managed to get in a few hours at least.

Oboro hums in reply, and walks over to ruffle Izuku's hair. "Alright, but sorry again! You should take the time to live every kid's dream of getting to skip school, you know?"

"You're telling me," Hitoshi grumbles under his breath, heaving his bag over his shoulder.

"I want to go to school," Izuku mutters, somewhat shyly. Oboro laughs good-naturedly.

"Man, I don't know how Shouta ended up with two kids that are nothing like him," Oboro muses, and then clicks his fingers and gives finger-guns to Hitoshi. "You, though. You're the spitting image."

"Um, thanks?" Hitoshi says, and then looks over to the door. "We gotta go, or we're going to miss the train."

"Right, right! See you later kiddo," Oboro says, and ruffles Izuku's hair one last time as he herds Eri and Hitoshi out the door. "Catch'ya, 'Sho."

Shouta gives him a nod, and then shuts the door behind him. He suspects he'll be seeing Oboro and Hizashi quite a bit, over the time it takes for the commission to track down their guy.

"You didn't like school?" Izuku questions, contemplative as he stares at Shouta.

Shouta gives him a shrug. "It wasn't really for me, I guess. I found a better purpose outside of it."

"Huh," Izuku says, thinking it over. "You were good at it though, right?"

"School? In the academic sense, sure. My grades were decent," Shouta replies. "Why?"

"You're a good teacher," Izuku admits, and it takes Shouta by surprise.

He shakes his head. "Your experience with teachers is very limited. Believe me, I am not of standard."

Izuku frowns at him, and then folds his arms. "Hitoshi says you're better than half of his own."

Shouta groans. "That's because he's like me. That's a mix of the fact he doesn't like some of his subjects, and therefore doesn't like that he's assigned work in them, as well as the fact his personality isn't agreeable at times with other people's. And he's also had bad experiences before with teachers."

"Bad experiences?" Izuku presses, and Shouta takes a deep breath.

"Yeah. Listen, problem child. What we've experienced in the world... a lot of people will never understand that. Due to their own experiences and view of life, they end up with a different understanding of things. A lot of them don't like Hitoshi's abilities," Shouta explains grimly. He knows Izuku will, at least, understand where he's coming from — Izuku has had his own experiences of similar nature, after all.

"I see," Izuku replies softly, thinking it over with a frown still on his face. "So teachers were mean to him because of it?"

"More or less," Shouta answers. "He doesn't have teachers like that anymore, at least, but he still struggles sometimes in that environment."

"You're understanding," Izuku suddenly says. "You're patient, and you explain things well. Even when I could hardly talk or understand your language, you found ways to communicate with me. You taught me so much, and you always help me. I... I know I haven't had much experience with teachers, but I think you're definitely 'of standard'."

"Heh," Shouta can't help but say, taken by surprise. The compliments leave him a little off-kilter, almost like he's winded slightly from them. "Well, I guess it helps to have a good student."

Izuku smiles at him, and though Shouta is mildly nervous that Izuku is going to try and recite more of the qualities he seems to enjoy in Shouta, thankfully he doesn't continue.

"Well, we have a couple of days to catch up on," Shouta says, and Izuku nods in agreement, already sitting up straighter in his seat.

They pass half of the day like that, Shouta giving Izuku more materials to study, and Izuku entertains himself with all of them. Shouta logs onto the commission's network and gets himself up to date with more investigations.

Just before Eri and Hitoshi are due to come back home, Izuku's pen stills. He remains quiet for a couple of minutes, and Shouta finds himself shifting his attention to that, waiting for Izuku to speak.

"We won't be able to go to the beach again, will we?" Izuku asks, tone carefully neutral to avoid giving away his true emotions about it.

"Not until he's caught," Shouta admits, because there's no use hiding the truth. "Not back to that particular strip, at least. I'm sure Naomasa will be able to find another location."

Izuku presses his lips together, but does not say anything more as he nods in acceptance, and there is nowhere else for the conversation to go.

A week goes by.

The commission has yet to catch the man. Eri and Hitoshi are still being escorted to and from school, and if they ask to go elsewhere.

Currently, it's a little too risky for Izuku to go out in public.

"We've caught some things through the network," Naomasa sighs to him over the phone, two days after they'd gotten back home. "But now that they know Izuku can be on land, it seems like they've got people looking for him. I'm sorry, but you'll probably need to keep him home until we can dismantle their network."

Izuku doesn't seem to be agitated by the house arrest, but he does seem to be getting more reclusive, more withdrawn as the week goes by. He's getting sadder as the days go by, and his energy levels are decreasing. He's completing his usual studies with half the effort and passion, and he spends a lot of the time doodling in his notebooks or looking rather, well, lost.

Eri and Hitoshi do their best to cheer him up, asking him if there's anything he'd like for them to get while they’re out. He usually declines, but they still come back with things they know Izuku typically enjoys — fairy-floss, and even some cinema popcorn even though neither of them have gone to the movies.

Oboro and Hizashi do their best as well, but it's clear that Izuku is just becoming more aware of the fact he isn't allowed out with them, and it's dampening his spirits. Shouta stays with him most of the time, only leaving to give Izuku some personal space when it seems like he needs it, and also because Oboro and Hizashi drag him out to make sure he gets some fresh air.

As the week comes and goes, Izuku opens up one of the notebooks he's been particularly attached to. Shouta doesn't mean to glance over and catch sight of it, but he sees Izuku scribbling down different drawings of things underwater. Small shells, coral, adrift pieces of seaweed. His heart clenches, and he gets up from the table to retrieve his phone, and he sends a message.

Izuku isn't allowed out, but certain other people are allowed in. So the next day, Toshinori appears in the doorway, and Shouta stays with them for ten minutes before he leaves, giving the two of them privacy to talk alone, even if Shouta doesn't understand their language.

It seems to lift Izuku's spirits slightly, as his smile starts to get back some of its usual radiance, and as he speaks, his words are getting back some of their usual speed with his excitement.

When Shouta returns after an hour or so, bringing back food for them all, Izuku hands are moving along as he talks, some of his usual animation finally coming back to him.

It's a relief, getting to see some of that usual life back in Izuku's form. Izuku hasn't gone this long without going outside, not since the first few days he'd been with Shouta, and he definitely hasn't gone this long without shifting either. It's clear it's taking a toll on him, even though Izuku always thanks Shouta every night for looking out for him.

Toshinori's visits become daily, usually an hour or so. The best replacement that Shouta can give him, unfortunately, for their usual walks or their time at the beach. After the fourth day, Toshinori quietly pulls Shouta aside.

"I am worried for young Izuku's health," Toshinori admits, whispering the words even though Izuku is respectfully not paying attention to them.

Shouta notices himself biting down, ever so slightly, on the inner part of one of his cheeks. He smooths it out with his tongue, trying to tell himself to calm down. He's been worried about Izuku's health too, after all — it's not surprising that Toshinori has picked up on this either.

"His mental health?" Shouta asks, just for clarification, and Toshinori takes a deep breath.

"Yes, but there is also the component of his physical health as well. Mermaids tend to deteriorate rapidly in their physical health if their mental health is unwell, more so than humans," he explains. "A captured mermaid... there was one, long, long ago. They did not last even a week."

Shouta's brain feels like it is suddenly full of static. Wiped clean. He leans back in his surprise, and then forward, harshly whispering.

"Izuku was caged for longer than that," Shouta hisses, alarmed.

"Indeed," Toshinori says, and he is not quite looking at Shouta's eyes now. "He is a fighter, as well as having curious tendencies about humans. His ability to shift might have also played a role in how long his body can last. Regardless, it is not good for a mermaid's health to be like this for long. And Izuku is not used to spending this long without shifting, I would suspect. It may help if he can shift, even if it is merely the bathtub."

Shouta presses his fingers into the corner of his eyes. "Right. Okay. Thank you for telling me."

Toshinori puts his hand on Shouta's shoulder. "He will be fine, Aizawa, he is just extremely stressed about the situation, but the situation will be resolved soon."

"I sure fuckin' hope so," Shouta mutters, finding himself glancing back at Izuku. He looks okay, his head down with Hitoshi's headphones over his ears, head bobbing along slightly to the music playing.

Toshinori pats his shoulder, and then lets his hand drop. "You care for him, and that is enough."

"Not just me," Shouta says, following Toshinori as he stands up.

"No," Toshinori says softly. "I suppose not."

Toshinori crouches before Izuku to get his attention, and gives him a farewell for the day.

Not long after Toshinori has left, Shouta sits beside Izuku.

"You can shift in the bath," Shouta tells him, not offering it as a question for Izuku to refuse. "Just make sure to mop up any water that spills, so that no one slips."

Izuku has stilled, not even blinking as he stares at the wall in surprise.

"Um," he manages to say, swallowing down something in his throat. "Is that okay?"

"I just told you it is," Shouta says, heart clenching at the fact Izuku is so hesitant to do so even with permission, and it's clear that he's only just holding back his excitement at the thought of shifting.

Even if it’s the bath, where he does not have nearly enough room or freedom.

Shouta mentally curses himself out until he's hollow, because he should have noticed. He should have offered this long, long ago. Of course Izuku misses shifting — of course he is missing a part of himself. Izuku is not only trapped in this apartment, but he is also trapped in his human form that he has not spent his entire life knowing.

"Thank you," Izuku whispers out, already looking over to the floor of the bathroom like he's imagining it already. Shouta nudges him off the couch.

"Go on, it's fine to go now," he says, and Izuku looks back at him with a sheepish smile before he scurries into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Shouta listens out for the sound of the taps turning, and the water filling up the tub.

Minutes later, there is a splash and a small clatter, possibly Izuku's tail knocking something off the edge of the bath.

"You all good in there?" He calls out regardless, just in case.

"Yes!" Izuku's bright voice yells back. "Yes, sorry, all good!"

"Alright," Shouta says, just so that Izuku isn't left without a reply, and turns his attention to looking into more investigation files.

When Izuku does come out of the bath, he looks a lot better. His skin no longer looks as pale, and it's like he's managed to take a walk in the sunshine even though he has not been able to for almost two weeks. His smile is more of a grin, and it's clear that even in the bath, the shift has helped tremendously.

The next day, after Eri and Hitoshi find out about the bathtub shifting, they come back home the next day with two bags between them. In one, given by Eri, they have small bath toys — picked out by her as well, most likely. Sinking toys like pieces of coral, and floating ones like fish and squeaky ducks, and Shouta isn't sure how Izuku is going to manage to fit them in the bath alongside his tail, but Izuku still looks incredibly excited and loves them, so he's not going to question it.

Hitoshi's bag contains a variety of different items. One large, almost oversized, fluffy towel, because they've all recently discovered Izuku quite likes the texture of similar fabrics. There's also small snack-packs of dried seaweed, and Izuku lights up and immediately goes through one of them.

"Thank you so much," he says, almost tearing up in his gratitude.

"We'll get you back to the ocean soon enough," Hitoshi replies, basically throwing the words over his shoulder because he doesn't really like hanging out in the room with turbulent emotions. "So hopefully this helps for now."

"It does," Izuku swears, and Hitoshi's smile is a proud and private one.

"When we go to the beach again, we'll get lots of other things!" Eri promises. "Like... like beach-balls, and snorkels, although you don't need those, but it'd be fun to swim out underwater with you!"

"Snorkels..." Izuku repeats, thinking, and his eyes light up as he remembers. It's been a while since they've gone over what ordinary humans require to swim in the ocean. "Oh! Yes, and then I can show you all the nice places!"

Shouta is going to have to remind Izuku that most snorkels can not go underwater, but he's not going to disrupt the joyous atmosphere that's now in the room, so he just remains quiet and watches as Eri and Izuku both talk excitedly about visiting the ocean next time.

It's not ideal, but they're doing the best with what they can currently offer, and Shouta just hopes that for now, it is enough.

Somehow, Shouta finds himself roped into lessons with Toshinori and Izuku about their language.

"I do not think I am actually even capable of making that noise," Shouta says, when Izuku repeats a strange series of clicks that Shouta can't quite figure out how to replicate with his own tongue. At this rate, he's starting to think mermaids have different tongues, as well as entirely different mouths.

"Nonsense," Toshinori dismisses with a laugh.

Shouta sighs, because he knows by now that he's not going to be able to get out of this. Besides, it's an honour to get to learn a language that very few have ever known, outside of mermaids themselves — an honour, but fuck, it's a difficult one to actually figure out. "Break it down further for me."

Izuku is patient, demonstrating how his tongue twists as best as he can. Shouta feels a little ridiculous trying to mimic it, but thankfully it's only Toshinori and Izuku that are seeing him pull such faces.

That doesn't last long.

Once Eri and Hitoshi find out that Shouta has had lessons in the language, they demand their own lessons. So Toshinori now comes over later in the day, still early enough that he can talk privately with Izuku, but late enough that he's still around when Eri and Hitoshi both finish with school. With proper time dedicated to it, they start to all pick it up a little better than their previous attempts.

It's still going to take them a very long time — none of them quite have the affinity for different languages like Izuku has, as it turns out he's now also working on his English as well. Naturally, he's excelling at that as well, and Hizashi is absolutely loving that.

By the time Naomasa texts him next, Shouta is almost competent at making a majority of the different alphabetical sounds in Izuku's first language.

The next update, at least, is promising. Naomasa says they're closing in, and hopefully this will all be put an end to soon enough.

The news invigorates all of them, getting them excited. Eri and Hitoshi don't mind their followers, as it's usually Oboro or Hizashi accompanying them, but they do miss having Shouta and Izuku tag along with them.

"Let's go to a cat cafe," Hitoshi says.

Izuku almost blanches. "I don't think cats like me very much."

He's had some experience with them, as Shouta sometimes takes him to go visit some of the stray cats around the block and feeds them. They're very interested in Izuku, usually watching him closely and hungrily. One of them has gone to bite Izuku, though, so it's made Izuku a little apprehensive of the creatures.

Eri laughs, and innocently says: "They'd like you a lot! I think you'd smell like fish to them."

"Oh my god, Eri," Hitoshi wheezes, and Shouta has to hide his own amusement by putting a hand over his mouth and acting like he's not on the verge of laughing as well. Eri doesn't quite know what it is that she's said for a few moments, until it suddenly clicks, and she whirls around to face Izuku, completely mortified.

"I don't mean that you're a fish!" She desperately tries to rectify, though Izuku just seems more lost than ever. "I just— um! Cats have a better sense of smell, you know? And they might be able to smell that you, um, have a tail! Like... not like a fish, but... also kind of similar to a fish."

She's deflated by the end, slumped over, resigning herself to her comment. Izuku is just blinking at her, still confused.

"Do you think that Tamakawa can smell it?" Hitoshi asks into the open air, and Shouta has to look up to the ceiling. God help him.

"Hitoshi!" Eri whispers, and hits Hitoshi on the arm. "Stop it!"

"You started it!" He points out in retaliation, and Shouta breathes out a long stream of air. It trembles slightly, and it takes everything Shouta has in him not to laugh.

"Behave," he warns firmly, managing to get himself under control and thankfully sounding strict enough that both Eri and Hitoshi cease their back-and-forth.

"Cats like fish?" Izuku asks, and fuck. Drop it, problem child, for your sake.

"They do," Shouta replies, and quickly moves the topic along before it can devolve again. "Izuku, is there anything in particular you'd like to do once you're allowed back outside?"

"The beach," Izuku immediately says, and immediately his cheeks flush red, a little embarrassed by being so quick to speak.

Shouta nods. "Of course. Anything else?"

"Crepes," Izuku adds. "I'd really like another crepe."

"We can do that," Shouta assures. "While we're out, we should also get you things to properly decorate your room. Things you want."

Izuku's eyebrows furrow. "I have everything I want?"

Shouta exhales a long stream of breath, reminding himself that he can despite the fact it feels like he’s been winded. This kid.

"Oh, but you can pick out new bedsheets!" Eri says excitedly, turning to Izuku and grabbing his arm. "Whatever colour you like! You can get different patterns, or even a photo!"

Izuku blinks. "I can... do that?"

"Of course!" She replies. "You can get new pillows, and new clothes you like, and..."

She turns to Shouta, then, waiting for him to add to the list.

"We can start with small things," he says, because he knows it's best to minimise the chance of Izuku feeling overwhelmed. "It is usual for teenagers to start deciding what they like, and how they would like to decorate their space. It's your room, after all, so you are welcome to change or keep whatever you like."

"I see," Izuku says, stunned, but his eyes are widening as he thinks of all the possibilities before him now.

"It'll be fun!" Eri declares, and Izuku nods because he knows better than to doubt Eri.

"It won't be long now," Shouta finds himself saying, even though he doesn't usually like to make promises he cannot guarantee. But he trusts that Naomasa will handle this, for Izuku's sake, and he trusts that this is a goal that will be seen through.

Thankfully, he's proven right.

Two days later, late at night, Naomasa calls him. Shouta picks up, and carefully makes his way out of the room without disturbing the three that have fallen asleep in their various positions across the couch while watching a movie together.

"Thought you'd like to know," Naomasa greets him with, and his voice doesn't have that usual tight tension running through it, and Shouta feels hope begin to sprout. "We've dismantled the network, and we've caught him."

Shouta breathes out in relief.

"Thank you, Tsukauchi," he says, because he's been waiting for this, but now that it's here, he almost doesn't quite know what to do. He'd been expecting the call to come through during the day, perhaps, when Izuku was around him to share the moment. But right now, Izuku is asleep, limbs tangled up with Eri and Hitoshi's own, and he is deeply asleep.

Now, it is only Shouta awake, the only one in this household that knows the news that they've all been holding out for.

"We'll keep some look-outs in the area, just in case, but you should be all clear to go back to your normal lives," Naomasa’s voice comes through the phone, startling Shouta from his thoughts.

"Got it."

"Goodnight, Aizawa," Naomasa ends the call with, and Shouta hangs up and pockets his phone, and takes a moment to let it sink in.

He's tempted to let them sleep for a little while longer, but the way they're currently sleeping is definitely not good for their backs. So he gets to waking them, carefully moving away the bowl of snacks that are resting a little too close.

They all start to wake together, one movement causing a chain reaction, and they all stretch and groan and blink at Shouta still half-asleep.

He is very, very glad that it is a Saturday night, because it means they have the entire Sunday to do whatever it is they wish.

And Shouta knows exactly what's first on the priority list for all of them.

"Hey," he says, and he can't quite hide his smile. "How does going to the beach tomorrow sound?"

Izuku shoots up at that, narrowly avoiding hitting his head with Hitoshi's. Whatever tiredness had kept his eyes half-lidded has disappeared entirely, and he's wide-awake now.

"Really?" Izuku asks, disbelieving.

"Mhm," Shouta confirms, knowing his pleased smile is still on his lips. "We're in the clear. They've got the guy."

"About time," Hitoshi says, and falls back to lie down again.

"You get to go back to the beach!" Eri cheers, though some of her words are slurred in her tiredness. Izuku laughs, and opens his arms for Eri to fall into them. She does so easily, a wide smile on her face as she clutches him tightly. "I'm really happy."

"I am too," Izuku whispers to her, and presses his face into her hair as he tucks her closer.

Shouta lets them have the moment, but it looks like Eri and Hitoshi are about to fall right back asleep, so he stands up and holds out his hand. "Come on, problem children, let's go to bed and get there a little earlier, alright?"

He almost fears that Izuku won't get any sleep with the amount of energy he now suddenly has, considering he basically bounces to his feet, but Shouta supposes there's not really much he can do about it. Regardless if Izuku gets that sleep or not, he will be wanting to leave as soon as possible, and Shouta can't blame him.

Izuku carries Eri to her bed, gently dropping her down on it. Following them, Hitoshi also manages to stumble to his feet, but he heads straight to his room and folds right back down onto the bed.

Shouta lingers in the hallway, and as he suspects, Izuku heads right to him once he's done putting Eri down to sleep.

"They really got him? They got everyone?" Izuku's voice is quiet, not wanting to disturb Eri or Hitoshi.

"They did," he answers. "Tsukauchi just called. They've dismantled his network as well."

"So... I'm safe?" Izuku tentatively asks.

Shouta reflectively looks at the wall, thinking for a moment. It won't help him to lie, he decides.

"We're going to try and make sure you are, yes. These underground networks sometimes have webs that we aren't aware of, and we can't let our guard down just because we've broken one down," he replies, and Izuku nods along, biting the inside of his cheek. "You are a mermaid, after all, and we can't disregard the danger that puts you in. But we're going to do our best to make sure they never, ever, touch you again. Do you believe me?"

"Yes," Izuku says, without hesitation. Shouta raises his eyebrows — not in doubt, but just encouraging Izuku to properly think about the answer. Izuku takes a moment, and then nods as he repeats his answer. "Yes, I believe you. I know you'll do your best to keep me safe."

"Good," Shouta says. "Because I will."

Izuku smiles and ducks his head slightly, and Shouta resists the urge to ruffle through his hair.

"I should probably try and get to sleep," Izuku says, head gesturing to his door. "Thank you again, Aizawa."

"You don't need to thank me," he sighs, because protecting his kids — well, that's the bare minimum. Of course he'll provide that. He shouldn't be thanked for it.

"I know," Izuku replies, and then slips inside of his room. He closes the door slightly, but not completely, and Shouta hears him get into bed and settle. He's surprised Izuku is going so willingly, but Shouta reasons that he's probably just going to sleep to make tomorrow come even sooner.

So Shouta does the same, setting an alarm for an earlier start than usual, and goes to sleep.

Izuku is basically bouncing in his seat as they drive again to the beach. Naomasa has cleared it, saying the beach should be safe, but they should just be aware of their surroundings. He'll look for more spots, he promises, but he's a little tied up with the whole case at the moment.

And Shouta doesn't have the time to wait, so he heads to that same, familiar strip. Izuku rushes ahead once the car is parked, though he slows down and helps Eri down the trickier path anyway.

"Just go," Shouta tells him, taking hold of Eri's hand. "We've got her."

Izuku looks between the water and Shouta, and his mouth opens like he's about to ask a question, one last request for permission, and Shouta just gestures his head to the water. Go.

Thankfully, Izuku listens. He basically throws off his shoes as he runs to the water, and it makes for an amusing image to try and watch him take off his pants as he runs. He doesn't even waste time with the usual fabric, and throws his clothes back in the sand as he runs right into the waves and dives into them.

Izuku hasn't been able to practice much, with his shifting — the bath doesn't provide much space, after all, and constant shifting just disrupts all the water and makes it more difficult to keep his head under, as he's told Shouta.

And yet, by the time he dives into that first wave, his legs have become a tail before they've even followed the rest of his body.

Eri and Hitoshi are grinning widely, all of them pleased to see Izuku so happy. They take a little more time to get into the water, making sure they're covered in sunscreen, and help Shouta lay out the towels and bags. Eri pulls on a sunhat, and she takes Hitoshi's hand as he walks into the water.

It's significantly warmer than the first time Shouta first came here, and though Hitoshi still has a full-body shiver the moment the water touches his feet, he doesn't hesitate nearly as much to wade into it. Probably because Eri is pulling him along, and Izuku is circling his way back around to them as well.

Izuku's laughter echoes up amongst the cliffs, and he happily pulls Eri and Hitoshi a little further into the water to swim with him. Their laughter joins his own, all of them happy and together under the bright, shining sun.

Eri and Hitoshi come out to reapply their sunscreen, and they manage to coax Izuku out of the water to apply a layer of his own. He has the tendency to tan, rather than burn — and he's probably protected on some level, from the sun, being a mermaid and all, but Shouta also isn't going to play around with it.

Hitoshi passes Izuku a towel to wrap around himself, and Izuku walks back up the sand with a beaming grin lighting up his entire face. His hair is dripping, and he hasn't gotten a haircut in a while, and the curls are long and dripping down onto his face and shoulders and covering his eyes. Still, he hardly seems to mind, and just shakes out his hair, and Eri laughs as it sprays her.

Shouta packed some food as well, because he had the feeling they'd be here a while today, and he manages to get them all to sit and take some bites of the fruit while it's still relatively cold from the ice-packs.

Izuku's eyes hardly ever break away from the waves, like he's trying to paint the memory of this moment into his mind forever.

The sight of it brings forth a conflicting storm inside of Shouta. He’s glad to see Izuku back in the water, and it’s clear that Izuku is happy to be back in it too. It’s clear that his soul still resonates so deeply with the water, back in his first home.

Shouta feels hesitant at the thought of separating Izuku from it again, now that he’s seeing Izuku back with the water.

He makes a quiet promise to himself, that he won’t let Izuku go this long again without the opportunity to go into the ocean. But he worries now that Izuku might just be thinking the same — that it might not be worth returning to the land, now that he’s been stranded on it for so long.

It’s Izuku’s choice, and Shouta tells himself that he needs to accept that.

"We should definitely buy that beach ball," Eri says, watermelon juice dribbling down her chin and fingers. Shouta doesn't bother getting her to wipe it off — she'll be back in the water soon enough, anyway.

"Or some kind of watersport ball. Beach volleyball?" Hitoshi suggests.

"Pretty sure that's played on the sand," Shouta says, and Hitoshi gives a small shrug.

"Close enough, I guess," he mutters, and lies back down on the sand. He's like Shouta, in the way Shouta knows he'd prefer to lie up on the sand and nap rather than splash in the water, but still Hitoshi gets up when Eri and Izuku do, and he follows them right into the water as well.

Izuku tires himself out, a couple of hours later. Hitoshi has ended up beside Shouta, lightly dozing on his towel, and Eri is building a sandcastle right near the line of the shore. Izuku eventually walks out of the water, exhausted but satisfied, and helps Eri finish off the castle before they both head back up to Shouta and Hitoshi.

"Your shifting is still at the same level," Shouta remarks, having kept count over the day, and Izuku nods. "That's good."

"Yeah," Izuku replies, visibly relieved. "I was worried, but... I guess once I've got a handle on it, I can manage it no matter how long it's been."

They pack up, and Hitoshi stretches out with a groan and eventually gets moving as well.

"Slushies. I'm craving a slushie, right now," Hitoshi says on their way back to the car.

"Are you, now?" Shouta asks rhetorically, voice neutral enough even though he's already thinking about which way to drive to hit a place that sells them.

"Mhm," Hitoshi drawls. "Maybe some ramen. Oh, wait. No. Crepes."

That's a bit of a switch, as Hitoshi does usually prefer the saltier foods after the beach, and though he likes sweet drinks, he usually doesn't lean to sweeter foods.

Shouta knows why he says it, though, because he's noticed Izuku straighten up slightly, no longer letting that exhaustion weigh down on his shoulders so much. He's perked up in interest, and he spots the self-satisfied smile Hitoshi is now sporting out of Izuku's sight.

"We'll see," Shouta says, except they all cheer, so clearly Shouta needs to work on being less transparent when it comes to them.

When they finally make it back home, tired out and full from crepes and other small treats that Shouta had let them get, because Izuku had wanted to wander a bit now that he was properly out once again in the world, Eri crawls on the couch and takes a nap. Hitoshi isn't far behind, though at least he makes it to his bed.

Izuku sits with Shouta at the dining table, eyes bright. The water and sunshine have done him wonders, and he's basically goddamn sparkling right there in the middle of the apartment.

"I just... I wanted to ask," Izuku says, and that brightness is starting to dim now because of his nerves coming through.

"Anything," Shouta prompts, when Izuku seems to trail off, unsure of how to pick it back up.

"With... The ring that kidnapped me are all dealt with," Izuku states, though he flicks up the end of his sentence like a question, so Shouta nods.

"Yep," he says, when it takes Izuku a moment too long to pick up the rest of his sentence.

It seems to get Izuku back on track, thankfully.

"And I'm... still welcome to stay?"

"Yes," Shouta replies easily and firmly.

"With you?" Izuku elaborates.

"Yes. With us," Shouta repeats, and gestures around him. Though it makes something ache inside of him, there's something that he's been thinking about, since he caught Izuku looking out at the waves like he was trying to memorise them. "However, this is your choice in the end. Izuku, if you want to resume your life back in the ocean, you can do that. It's your option."

Izuku lets out a breath.

"I missed the ocean a lot," Izuku admits, and he clasps his hands together on the table and stares down at them as he wrings his fingers over each other. "I... I really did. The last week has been hard. But... once I was back in the water, it didn't quite... it didn't quite feel like home, anymore. Or... no, it does. It feels like a home, a place I know well, but I don't think it's my only one anymore. I don't think it's the most important one."

Izuku is clearly nervous as he admits these words, and he still doesn't quite look up at Shouta as he says them, or as he finishes.

Shouta makes sure he's finished before he leans forward, and he lightly clasps his hands over Izuku's own.

"This is your home, too, Izuku," he reassures, and tries not to let the overflowing tidal wave of relief flood his words. He doesn’t quite think it works.

Izuku looks up, eyes almost hidden behind his curls, and he gives Shouta a warm, slow-growing smile.

"Home," Izuku says, in the same way he used to repeat words when he first heard them, like he was testing them out, pulling apart their structure. "Home. Yes. This is my home. You are my home."

"As you are ours," Shouta responds, eyes flickering purposely over to Eri, who's soundly asleep on the couch, and then over to Hitoshi's bedroom door. He used to close it, but Shouta has noticed he hasn't done it nearly as much since Izuku came into the house.

"Thank you," Izuku says, and he ducks his head — not to hide from Shouta, not really, but just to give a moment to collect himself. "I— thank you. For everything."

"You're part of our family," Shouta gently reminds him.

Izuku's hands move slightly, jostling Shouta's own. He moves them until he can grip Shouta's hands, holding tightly, as his head ducks further into his chest. His next breath is shaky, watery. Shouta sits with him as he breaks, ever so slightly, as everything finally crashes over him.

And sits with him as his resilient, strong, brilliant kid, builds himself right back up again.

Izuku rarely goes to the beach alone these days.

He doesn't go quite as often, anymore, either. He's got school, and has made an almost alarming amount of friends there, and is otherwise just busy with study or social events to make proper time to make the drive. So they don't make the trip as often as they used to, and when they do, they always have someone join.

Usually, it's more than one person. Most often, it's Eri and Hitoshi, who come along pretty much every single time.

Hizashi and Oboro join in too, when they can. They're both getting busier again with more work, new leads to follow, more networks to chase down. Shouta is the same, though he hardly goes far from his home now. Only when it's an emergency, which always seems to be in the ridiculously early — or late, depending if Shouta goes to sleep — hours of the day.

Izuku's taken an interest in Shouta's field of work, too. Shouta suspects that in future, Izuku will end up working in it, or relatively close to it. But there's years before Izuku will make that decision.

Toshinori has taken to coming along to the beach, too. He visits Izuku often, and Shouta is getting a little better every time at understanding their conversations. He's hardly fluent, but he suspects it's going to take a long time for that to happen.

When Toshinori comes with them, he does not get into the water, not properly. He will sit at the edge of the water, the waves crashing against his feet, but he will not ever properly enter it. Instead, he will look at the water before him with some kind of melancholic longing, and Shouta would almost think these visits would hurt him, if it weren't for his large smile and laughter when he watches Izuku play in the waves.

A shoulder knocks into his own as a person takes a seat beside him, and Shouta tilts his head as Oboro sits close.

"Keigo says congratulations on the adoption, by the way," Oboro tells him, all too amused. Shouta's not even surprised that the news has already spread, and that he's apparently not the first to know about it.

It probably wouldn't have happened without their help, anyway, so Shouta is grateful for them.

The final approval has just come through within the last ten minutes — when Izuku gets out of the water, Shouta will tell him. But right now, it's just a light, happy feeling he's carrying in his chest, looking at his three kids messing around in the water together.

His family is whole, complete. Officially and legally, now.

"Tell him thanks," Shouta says, because he'd like to do it in person, but he never seems to be able to come across Keigo when he's called in.

"Already did," Oboro replies, stretching out his legs and drinking in the sunshine.

They are rarely at the beach alone, but it is even rarer to get every single person that is part of their family like this all together.

Hizashi and Toshinori are playing with Izuku, Hitoshi, and Eri all together. Oboro has just taken a small break from it all to sit beside Shouta, not letting him be alone in this moment of happiness.

"Bet on paying the ice-cream if he cries?" Oboro asks lightly, and Shouta nudges Oboro, perhaps a little more strongly than he should.

"I'm not going to bet on my kid," he huffs.

"You just know you'll lose if you take that bet," Oboro replies with a laugh.

Like Oboro has started a chain-reaction, everyone else starts to head up the beach, walking back over to where Shouta has been lying all this time.

Izuku is walking over to him, sure-footed and confident with every step.

Oboro gets up, just to give them the moment to talk quietly between each other, and Shouta is grateful enough to him that he'll end up paying for that ice-cream anyway.

Izuku smiles at him.

Here, before him on this beach, is his family.

"Izuku,” Shouta says, unable to help but return Izuku’s smile. “I have something to tell you."