Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Miss Midoriya, please pay attention." Her teacher calls, interrupting her train of thought.

"The answer is 42." Izu doesn't even look up from her notebook.

"...What?"

"The equation. On the board. The answer is 42."

"I- I haven't even explained the concept yet…"

Izu looks up for the first time. "And the answer is 42." 

The teacher says nothing else, just staring dumbfounded as Izu stares him down before turning back to her notebook. She's almost done with the calculations for Kacchan's gauntlets and she won't let some idiot teacher mess her up. Nitroglycerin is dangerous at the best of times, she can't afford to let a single variable go unknown. She can hear her teacher, she never bothered to learn his name, go back to his lesson. A few of the kids around her make rude comments, but she's too engrossed in her work to care to listen.

Before she knows it, the bell is ringing and class is dismissed. She turns to pack up when her notebook is swiped off her desk.

"Look what the useless Deku has! Hero notes for the future? Like you'll ever be a hero!" There's derisive snickers from the other students that have gathered around her desk. Tengan Juro. The biggest idiot in her class, but also just the all around biggest in her class. He has a mild goliath quirk and he enjoys lording over everyone else. Izu looks to her teacher but, as expected, he ignores everything going on and heads out the door. "You should just do everyone a favor and off yourself!"

"What did you just say?!!" Ah, Kacchan is here.

"It's fine, Kacchan. Let's just go." She makes to grab her notebook back when Tengan holds it higher above his head.

"Aw, does the wee little Deku need her scary dog to save her?" He laughs.

Izu sighs out a mumbled, "It's your own fault now," just as Tengan gets a supercharged blast to the face, Kacchan leaping off a nearby desk to reach.

"I'll KILL you, Bastard!!" And the fight continues. 

Izu rolls her eyes and bends down to pick up her notebook from where the bully dropped it. The teacher has already left by this point and everyone else is enjoying the scene, so it's really up to her to stop this fight. 

"Kacchan! I said let's go! You can beat up the idiot later. Right now I need you to get your stuff so we can go. I finished my calculations." She gives a devious smile with that last sentence.

Kacchan looks up from where he's sitting on Tengan's chest, fist in his shirt and hand raised to blast him again. "Seriously?! You've been working on that for ages! Are you finally ready for the final draft?!"

"Yep, so hurry up!" And it doesn't take another word from her before he's off the big oaf and pulling her out of the classroom.

—

After sharing her latest data and promising to get the blueprints completed long before the entrance exam, Kacchan and Izu part ways. He heads toward his house while she heads toward the beach. There are a couple beaches in the area, but the beach Izu prefers is the one that had become an illegal dumping ground a few years back. There's a ton of old electronics and appliances that she likes to scavenge for parts. She usually spends a couple hours out here moving the garbage around and searching through to find any working parts. She'd only really gotten serious about it about a year ago, right after her mother died and she needed to find a way to keep social services at bay. Turns out, if they can at least find "evidence" of an adult living there, they don't much care to look closer into the case of the quirkless orphan. 

Today though, she's looking for a specific part for her security system. She has the entire apartment rigged with traps and one of her more advanced traps is starting to malfunction. She searches through the garbage, moving an old dryer out of her way like it weighs nothing more than a basket of laundry, and finally finds an old radio. The sound mechanism looks to still be in working order too! She snatches it up, along with a few bits from the dryer, you never know when you'll need something, and heads back home.

As she walks, her backpack on the heavier side, she falls into old memories. Memories from only a couple weeks after her mother died…

Kacchan waves goodbye to her as she heads toward home, though it hasn't really felt much like home since Mom died. She'd been sick for a while and had saved up enough for Izu to live off of for at least a year or two, so Izu wasn't wanting for money, just the warmth of her mother's embrace. A tear slips down her cheek and she softly sniffles, completely unaware of the sludge coming up behind her from out of a nearby sewer.

It attacks her and keeps talking about using her as a meatshield, but all she can focus on is the feeling of suffocating. Of not being able to breathe. Is this how her mom felt at the end?

A rush of wind and suddenly she's crouched on the ground and coughing up sludge from her lungs. She was rescued?! She looks up to see All Might standing over her, laughing and saying something about having been there just in time or whatever. She's having trouble focusing right now.  He turns as if to leave, and Izu suddenly grabs onto him. She's not sure why, maybe to ask him a question or for more help. Whatever the reason, suddenly she's flying through the air with All Might. 

He notices her and touches down on a rooftop. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I MUST-" He begins coughing up blood and then in a poof of smoke, there stands a much smaller, very frail looking man. He looks so saddened, and before Izu can even comment, he starts in on how he was wounded in battle and how he must hide his inferior body so the public can have their Symbol of Peace. Lots of words that Izu only half hears as she still feels like puking from the sludge in her throat. But as he's talking, an idea filters into her mind.

"Can I be a hero?"

He startles out of his speech, looking at her. "What?"

"Can I be a hero, even without a quirk?" This was her last chance to finally have some hope. Her mother is gone, her best friend believes in her, sure, but his family doesn't. No adult does. Heck, the kids at school tell her all the time she'd be better off dead. That she wouldn't even survive the training. She'd just die trying. But All Might is always saying how anyone can be a hero. So, surely he'll tell her to keep believing in herself. If anyone will give her hope, it has to be the number one hero.

"I'm sorry, but no. There's no way you can be a hero-" he keeps talking but she doesn't hear any of it. This is it. This is where her one all consuming dream finally dies. Huh, it doesn't hurt like she thought it would. Maybe it's the shock from All Might being the one to finally kill it?

Before she knows it, All Might is gone and she's alone on the roof. She's not sure how long she stays up there contemplating her life and where she'd go from here. He didn't even ask her if she had any other skills, you know? Just assumed she was worthless like everyone else and told her no. What does she do now? The sun is just beginning to set when she finally feels well enough to leave. One problem, the roof access door is locked. Solution: scale down the outside of the building. She'd been working on some traction shoe attachments and gloves, and she just so happened to have brought her prototype with her to show Kacchan. So, she does just that. She puts on her gloves, stretching her fingers to make sure they fit right, and attaches the shoe modifications. The building is pretty high, but Izu is too numb to care. She makes it down without incident, storing her gadgets back in her bag, and then begins to wander off to who knows where.

That's when she hears the explosions.

Izu shakes her head of the thoughts. She did manage to save Kacchan, and she gained a new dream after that day, but the pain is still there. The wound still fresh even after all these months. She makes it back to her apartment in no time, fixing her trap with the insides of the radio and working on a few other gizmos she has in progress sitting on what used to be the dining room table. After that it's some ramen for dinner and early to bed.

Of course her insomnia wakes her up three hours later and she's up, getting dressed. She pulls on an old hoodie, a pair of black leggings, and her only pair of combat boots. She grabs a few miscellaneous gadgets, for self defense, and heads out the door.

She is not a vigilante. Does she go for walks at night in not so great areas? Yes. Does she intervene when she sees trouble? Maybe. Does she run from cops and heroes when she sees them? Okay, yes. But she is definitely not a vigilante. She doesn't go looking for trouble, but she's not going to just stand by when someone needs help either. Vigilantes are wannabe heroes and Izu already gave up on that dream. Plus, vigilantes have people looking for them, and no one is looking for a nobody like her.

—

High on a nearby rooftop, Aizawa Shota watches the vigilante only known as "Nobody" walk past. 

Chapter Text

The newest, and most likely youngest, vigilante on the scene in Musutafu is only known as "Nobody" given that, when asked for their name by the people they've saved, they just reply, "oh, I'm nobody special." From what Shota can tell, they've been around for about six months and they have no intention of stopping any time soon. Based on witness accounts they are most likely female and below the age of eighteen, meaning a teenager has been fighting and winning against grown adults. Their quirk is still unknown, hence why Shota was assigned the case. Obviously it isn't any kind of obvious mutation, but that doesn't rule out much.

Shota sticks to the shadows along the rooftops, keeping Nobdy in sight and following to see where they go. They definitely don't behave like any vigilante he's ever met. While it's true that Shota has tracked Nobody's activity back almost six months, he's only been on their case this past month. What he's discovered during his short investigation is that Nobody doesn't follow a specific patrol route, doesn't leave any sort of calling card, and doesn't have a set uniform. Heck, he's only about eighty percent sure the person he's following is Nobody. He's narrowed down through a month of observations and investigation that Nobody seems to always start from this part of town before their route becomes absolutely random. Given the size description and that the young person is traveling by themselves, alone, this late at night, this has to be Nobody. Probably. Most likely. But that twenty percent of doubt is what keeps Shota from confronting them right now. Instead, he follows and he watches.

It's nearly three hours of walking and careful observation before anything substantial happens. The kid is still just wandering around the city, not seeming to have any real destination in mind, when a gunshot and a scream are heard a few blocks away. Shota watches as the kid doesn't hesitate to start running. Shota of course follows after, both to follow this suspected vigilante and to be a hero. But because of his being on a rooftop on the opposite side of the street from the crime, the kid reaches the scene first. By the time he makes it over there, he's not even needed anymore.

The kid, for some reason, is holding a gun in one gloved hand and what looks like a small cattle prod in the other. A grown man is lying on the ground, groaning, and a young woman is leaning up against one of the walls. The kid tosses the gun away from both themself and the man lying prone on the ground before immediately walking over to the woman.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" A young, feminine voice breaks the odd silence.

"Wh-who are you?"

The figure rubs the back of their neck. They laugh awkwardly and reply, "I'm nobody, really. Just someone who wanted to help. But, are you okay? I heard a gunshot. Did he hit you?" The kid starts to look over the woman.

"N-no, he missed me. I th-thought I was gonna die!" The woman bursts into tears and the kid seems at a loss for what to do. They awkwardly pat the woman on the shoulder a few times, whispering something softly to her. 

Shota is completely lost in the scene in front of him until he notices the man on the ground start to move again. He's just about to intervene when the kid spins around and kicks the bad guy in the face, instantly knocking him out and most likely breaking his nose. The girl, as Shota can now see her face fully, sneers down at the limp man on the ground. She then looks up and locks eyes with Shota. Her eyes go wide.

"Uh, hello…" She kinda waves at him before she spins around and starts climbing the freaking wall?! Shota only hesitates for a moment before he follows after her, using the nearby fire escape to gain altitude. He does call in the police to let them know of the scene below and to let them know he's in pursuit of a vigilante, but after that he's singularly focused on chasing down this kid.

—

Crap! Crap! Crap! That was freaking Eraserhead! Freaking Eraserhead is following me!! Izu can't help but freak out about her current circumstances. What kind of luck does she have that she is now being chased by one of her favorite heroes? She really can't decide if this is the best thing to ever happen or the worst. Okay, maybe not the worst, but it's probably not good either. She thinks she's finally almost lost him, having made a sharp turn and started running in the wrong direction, when she feels something tighten around her, trapping her arms at her side. She is then pulled back across the rooftop and sat in front of the one and only Eraserhead. 

"I swear I'm not a vigilante." He just frowns at her. "Really! I just don't sleep well at night, so I took a walk and I just happened to find that lady getting hurt! I couldn't just not help her!" 

"And you brought weapons on this innocent walk of yours because…"

"Self defense reasons. I'm a teenage girl walking alone at night. I need to be able to protect myself."

"Mhmm… Do you often take walks alone late at night?"

She can feel her eyes widen. "N-no…"

"That's funny, because I have evidence that a teen matching your exact description has been seen in this area nearly every night for the last six months."

"Okay, I may take walks a lot, but I'm not a vigilante! I swear I just go for walks!"

"And do you often come across crimes on these walks?"

"It's a dangerous area…"

"And you fight the people you see doing the crimes?"

"Someone should stop them…"

"But you aren't a vigilante."

"When you put it all like that, it sounds bad, but I swear I'm not! At least, I'm not trying to be one."

Eraserhead crouches down in front of her. He seems to be thinking about something as he just stares at her silently. She's not quite sure what to do, so she just chews her lip and looks anywhere but those intense eyes.

"I believe you."

Her jaw drops. "You do?"

He smirks, leaning back on his heels. "Yeah. You'd make a terrible liar."

For some reason she pouts at that. Her face just makes his smirk widen.

"You know, you didn't do half bad with that guy back there. How'd you get the gun away from him?"

Izu looks at the hero in shock for a moment before she realizes he asked her a question. "Oh, um, my left glove has a magnet in it. I can set it for certain types of metal. I have it preset for the most common metal found in weapons, steel and steel alloys. It's pretty powerful and I can turn it on and off with this button." She wiggles her hand and uses her thumb to point at the little button on the back of her pointer finger. "I made these gloves a while back to help with scaling walls, but after one too many fights with people who were carrying metallic weapons, I thought a magnet might be handy." She shrugs.

The hero nods in understanding. "What about that nifty little cattle prod? Did you make that too?"

Her eyes light up at the question. "Yeah! You noticed I designed it after a cattle prod! Its function is to act as more of a long range taser, but a tad more severe. One tap with this baby in just the right spot and it's lights out! I made it retractable into this rubber casing so I don't accidentally electrocute myself." She laughs a little nervously. "Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I? You're probably very busy, Mr. Eraserhead, sir. Why don't you just let me go and I'll head straight home. No more night time strolls for me. Deal?"

Eraserhead huffs out a laugh before his face grows serious. Yeah, she should have known it wouldn't be that easy. "I'm impressed you know who I am, but it's not gonna be that easy. You've earned yourself a reputation, you know?"

"I-I have?"

"Mhmm. The vigilante Nobody. Quite a unique code name too. Makes it hard to talk about you. 'Nobody saved someone.' 'Nobody is at it again.' 'I'm chasing Nobody!'" 

"I didn't mean to give myself a name! I swear!"

"Don't worry, Kid. I figured that out a long time ago. You were being genuine when you told those people you're 'nobody'." 

She doesn't look at him as she nods.

"Since you're a kid, I guess i can let you off with just a warning this time," she perks up, "but I'm going to have to speak with your parents about this." 

Izu goes white as a sheet. "That's really not necessary!"

The hero shakes his head. "I'm afraid it is. I'll escort you home so I can explain to them the importance of not letting you wander around alone so late at night. I will also be making them aware of the activities you participate in while on your little walks." 

Eraserhead helps her up and unwraps his capture weapon. He then eyes her for a second before wrapping his scarf around her waist again, letting her arms remain free but creating a kind of leash around her. "Can't afford for you to get lost." He smirks.

It takes them an hour and half to make it back to her apartment and Izu still has no idea what she's gonna say to save herself. The walk here was silent, but almost comfortably so? The whole time she kept trying to come up with a cover story, but she couldn't figure anything out. At least, nothing believable. And now they're walking up the steps of her building. Now they're closing in on her door. Now he's unwrapping his capture weapon from her as she turns the key in the lock. She takes a careful step in, but when Eraserhead follows, he is immediately punched in the face by a very large cushion and shoved out the door.

Right. Traps. You'd think she'd have remembered to mention that. Oh well. She shuts and locks the door before he can regain his bearings and then she runs to hide in her room. Avoidance is a viable strategy, right?

Chapter Text

Okay, so maybe avoidance is not a viable strategy. At least, not when the pro hero Eraserhead is what you are trying so desperately to avoid. When no one came to his knocking, he knocked down the door. When no one came to investigate the broken door, he wandered into the living room. Izu watched on her many cameras as he walked carefully throughout the apartment, now on high alert for traps. He made his way through the kitchen and the communal living space, seeing all her carefully laid out evidence. "Yes, Mr. Social worker, my dad is just still at work. No, he just stepped out for a moment to pick something up from the store. I definitely live with a caring and responsible adult. See those adult sized slippers by the door and the place setting for two and the filled ashtray? An adult definitely lives here. No worries!" He walked right past every piece until he stopped at the master bedroom. The one room Izu couldn't bear to even look at, let alone trap and maintain. He'll definitely notice the dust covered bed that hasn't been slept in and the lack of male clothing and… he's gonna know.

She doesn't have cameras in that room, so she just has to imagine the way he looks as he searches the room. He doesn't spend long in there though, as she watches him leave out of the room less than ten minutes later. He finds the bathroom, only one toothbrush, and finally he's at her door. She waits in silence, her eyes screwed shut, waits for the moment he kicks the door in. She holds her breath.

There's a quiet knock on the door.

Izu opens her eyes. 

There's another knock.

She carefully uncurls herself from her desk chair.

A quiet voice whispers, "May I come in? I promise, I just want to talk to you."

She can feel her throat dry as she calls back, "S-sure. Come- come in."

Eraserhead eases the door open and walks carefully into her room. He spots her sitting at her desk, so he quietly makes his way to her bed and sits down. "You live alone, don't you." It's not really a question.

"Yes…" She pulls her legs back up and curls into herself, setting her chin on her knees. 

"How long?"

"About eight months. Mom died and Dad left when I was four. I'm okay though. I'm pretty good at taking care of myself."

"I don't doubt that. I take it social services fell for your little tricks? The slippers and the ashtray?"

She gives a small huff of laughter. "Yeah, they don't really look too hard when your file begins with the word 'quirkless'." She expects something demeaning or just in some way negative to leave the hero's mouth. Something to prove how useless she really is.

"Would you like to come stay with me for a bit?"

That was definitely not what she was expecting. "What?"

"It's really only temporary until I can figure something else out. It's getting late now and I need to get home, but I can't legally leave you here now that I know you are alone. I don't fully trust social services on a good day, but after what you just told me- thank you, by the way, for your honesty- I really don't trust them to handle this properly. So, my only real option here is to take you with me until I can figure something else out. Sound okay to you?"

Izu stares at the hero with wide eyes for a moment before she slowly nods. 

He smiles at her. "Good. Pack a few things and I'll wait for you in the living room." He stands up and leaves the room, going to sit on the couch and mess with something on his phone.

Izu stares after him for a moment before she grabs a bag and starts tossing clothes into it. What is happening right now?! She grabs a different bag and starts tossing some of her gadgets and a few notebooks inside. Am I seriously going to stay with Eraserhead?!! She stops for a moment, looking around at her room before nodding to herself and heading to the living room. 

"Um, I'm ready." She calls to him quietly to get his attention.

He looks up from his phone. "Good. I already have a police officer friend coming to wrap up your front door since I had to kick it in. He should be here any minute. Let's go." 

—

It turns out that Eraserhead lives a few streets over from Izu, so they are able to walk the entire way to his apartment. Given that it's about two in the morning, it's a pretty quiet walk and neither one of them makes a move to break the silence. The apartment building they walk up to isn't very ornate or large. In fact, it's down right ordinary, especially for the home of an elite hero such as Eraserhead. That actually makes sense, though, given that he's an underground hero. Izu follows behind the hero as he walks up the stairs to the third floor and stops in front of a door. He unlocks it in one fluid motion and holds the door open expectantly for Izu. She looks to the ground and follows him inside obediently. 

"This is the living room. That over there is the kitchen. The bathroom is down the hall, first door on the left. My room is the first one on the right and at the back of the hall is-"

Eraserhead is interrupted by the loud yawn of a teenage boy who just walked into the room. He's tall, quite lanky, and his purple hair looks like it laughs in the face of gravity on a good day. He has dark eye bags under his eyes that rival her own and faint white scars on his nose and cheekbones. As he stands in the hallway that Eraser had just gestured to, his expression changes from one of boredom to one of shock and then it goes straight into bewilderment.

"Um, hello. Dad, who's this?" The boy's voice is deep and silky and oh boy does it do things to Izu's concentration. If he doesn't have a voice related quirk, Izu will burn her notebooks.

Eraser looks down at her and Izu is suddenly struck with the realization that she never actually told him her name. "Uh, I'm Midoriya Izu… Hi." She does a little wave.

He looks at her for a moment, then back to Eraserhead. "Are you collecting stray kids as well as cats?"

Eraser actually laughs. "Nah, this is just temporary. Remember that vigilante case I got put on?" The boy nods. Eraser throws his arms to the side, gesturing at Izu as if presenting her. "Meet the vigilante, Nobody."

"I'm actually not a vigilante. Just an insomniac with a penchant for late night walks through crime heavy parts of town. All fights and/or rescues were completely accidental." She tries for an innocent smile. 

"Uh huh, right. And she's here now because…"

"Because social services sucks."

The boy nodded like that was explanation enough, which maybe it was? "Well, I'm Hitoshi. Welcome to the Aizawa Home for Insomniacs." The boy smirks.

Izu is definitely in trouble now.

Chapter Text

Eraserhead ends up setting out a futon for her in Hitoshi's room. Being that they are both insomniacs and it's almost six a.m., neither one of them actually sleeps once he leaves. Instead, they decide to both sit on the futon, facing one another, and do what any sane pair of people would do after first meeting each other: trauma dump.

"So, your mom died?"

"Yep. She was sick for a while though. Doctors actually never really figured out what was causing it, but it just got worse and worse until one day, poof! She was gone. Is Eraserhead your actual bio dad, or?"

"Nah, my parents took one look at my quirk and kicked me out. Foster care is an absolute nightmare for kids with villainous quirks though, so I ran away. A lot. One night I stumbled into Eraserhead. After a couple times of him finding me in not so great shape and social services not doing anything about it, he just decided to adopt me! That was like six years ago."

"Yeah, I don't even want to imagine what foster care would be like for someone who doesn't even have a quirk. I'm just glad no one ever looked past the living room on home visits. Is foster care how you got those scars?" Izu points toward his face. He sobers a little, looking away from her.

"Yeah, they, uh, they liked to put a, um, a muzzle on me." He touches the white lines on his skin.

"That's messed up. Wanna see what the kids at school did when they found out about me?" When Hitoshi turns to look at her, Izu pulls off her hoodie, revealing her short sleeve shirt. Her arms are covered in curved, overlapping gashes and patches of burns, all at different points of healing. "Kacchan got moved to a different class for fighting in our third year of elementary school, so the bullying got worse after that. Now he makes sure to get to my classroom immediately after the bell rings."

Hitoshi stares at her arms quietly for a good few moments before looking back up at her face. "Who's Kacchan?"

Izu pulls her hoodie back on. "Oh, he's been my best friend since we were in diapers. He sorta hated me for a little while after I was diagnosed. But after he saw a bigger kid push me off a bridge and into a creek, he decided he needed to protect me until I got strong enough to protect myself."

"It's good that you at least had someone in your corner. That's more than a lot of people can say."

Izu nods. "That's true." She looks at Hitoshi, at the scars on his cheeks and across his nose. "I can be that someone for you? If you want?" Hitoshi doesn't react at first. "You wanna be a hero, right?" He nods. "Well, I can make you some gadgets and help you, like, train and stuff! I'm sure Eraserhead is already training you and stuff, and he's definitely better than anything I can add, but I can still help! I can help you with support items! Or I can help you design your suit! Or-"

"You really think I can be a hero? Even though you don't even know what my quirk is?"

"Well, sure. Why wouldn't I?"

Hitoshi stares at her for a moment, his eyes seeming to search her face for something. "Brainwashing. I can brainwash people. I ask them a question and if they answer, I can make them do whatever I want."

"That's amazing! Do they remain conscious during it?! Or is it like a trance?! Is it like hypnosis?! That would have so many applications! What qualifies as a verbal response? What about non-verbal responses? What about-"

"Hold on, wait…" Hitoshi waves his hands in front of her face to get her to stop her mumble stream.

"Oh, sorry. I tend to get carried away by other people's quirks. I know it's super creepy. Sorry." Izu blushes and averts her eyes, instead turning her attention to the blanket in her lap.

"It's not creepy." Izu looks up at him, eyes wide. "I just don't understand. You don't think my quirk is, I don't know, spooky? Like, a villain's quirk or something?"

"Of course not! A quirk is just a tool to be used however the user sees fit. It can't be good or bad. It just, is. It's neutral." She gives him a crooked smile.

He sits back, leaning against the bed next to them. "Wow. I mean, Dad is always telling me that my quirk isn't as bad as everyone says, but to hear you say that… wow." Izu gives him a wider smile, and he returns it with a small one of his own. "So, uh, what kind of support equipment do you think I could use?"

—

Shota finds his son and the young vigilante the next morning at about eight, both seeming to have passed out on the futon. Given that it's a weekend, he decides the insomniacs could use the rest and just shuts the door again with a smile he doesn't even need to hide.

—

Both teenagers are up by about ten in the morning, neither looking well rested but awake nonetheless. Hitoshi heads straight for the coffee machine and Izu is quick to follow. Once she's downed her first mug of the bitterest coffee she's ever had, she realizes that Eraserhead is sitting at the kitchen table watching them and seemingly avoiding the stack of papers next to him.

"Glad to see you two up." He then takes a judgemental sip of his coffee. What he's judging them for, Izu has no idea. Maybe that's just his face? She shakes off the thought and turns to Hitoshi who just glares at the man before sitting down at the table. Izu follows him and plops down in a chair. "So, since you're up and you've had some of my coffee," that look was definitely aimed at his son, right? "It's time we discuss the situation."

"And you're sure that we can't just take me back home and pretend none of this ever happened?" Eraserhead just stares at her without blinking. "Right, I'll take that as a no then." She slumps a little in her chair and holds the mug close to her chest.

Eraserhead sighs. "I know you were doing a fine job of taking care of yourself, but you're still technically a child. You shouldn't have to take care of yourself. So I've spent the morning making some calls and-"

Whatever he was going to say is lost when the front door loudly bangs open and two new voices begin speaking loudly.

"Where's the new Little Listener?!"

"Where's the new Baby?!"

A male and female voice, each of unknown origin, speak at the same time before a blonde man and dark headed woman each enter the room.

"R-Rated Hero: Midnight?! Voice Hero: Present Mic?!"

"We're not even in costume…?" Present Mic stares at her for a moment in confusion while Midnight just starts clapping.

"The new baby is smart! Oh, I love her already!"

Eraserhead rubs his temples. "Nem, I already told you, she's not a baby-"

"But she's my baby!" And then Midnight us running forward and grabbing Izu, hugging her close.

"Um, what?" Izu strains to look around Midnight and at Eraserhead. 

He looks up at her. "As I was trying to tell you before I was so rudely interrupted, I have a friend who has agreed to take you in. Midoriya Izu, meet Kayama Nemuri, also known as the pro hero Midnight."

Izu's eyes widen as she turns to look at the woman who is only just now releasing her, still holding her shoulders though. "You're gonna… me? You want me?! "

Midnight pouts a little. "Of course, Love Bug! Why wouldn't I?"

Izu turns to look at Eraserhead. "How much did you tell her?"

"Everything."

She turns back to Midnight. "And you still want me?!"

Now Midnight might legitimately be pouting. "I don't think I like that tone. What about you should make me not want you?"

"Uh, let me count the ways. One," she lifts one finger up. "I'm quirkless, big red flag on the adoption records right there. Two," another finger is added. "I am a manic mechanic who builds gadgets from garbage scraps. And three," one last finger goes up. "I am an incurable insomniac who goes on late night walks that may or may not lead to some simple, very minor crime fighting of a not so legal variety." She raises an eyebrow at the woman. "And you wanna take on all of that?"

Midnight puts a hand on her hip and lifts a finger. "One, who cares about quirks? My quirk literally puts people to sleep, I have a best friend who bursts eardrums and another best friend who removes them. That's a terrible reason not to take care of a literal child . Two," another finger. "Manic mechanic is literally the best rhyme and alliteration I have ever heard. I am going to put that on a plaque and hang it on your bedroom door. And three," one last finger. "You've already met the worst insomniac I know and his equally sleepless child. Insomnia and crime fighting are nothing new to me. Wanna try again?"

"Okay, you have made some very valid points, I'll give you that. But, you're serious? Like, really and truly serious? Like, 'I will die on this hill' serious?"

"Yes, I am absolutely, positively, excruciatingly, will-die-for-you serious."

Izu finally relaxes her shoulders, which she didn't even realize had been tense up to this point. "Okay. Okay. Um, so… what's Present Mic doing here?"

"Well, my place isn't exactly ready for me to bring home a new baby, so…"

"We're going SHOPPING!" 

Chapter Text

Okay, so it probably doesn't need to be stated, but Midoriya Inko very rarely took her daughter shopping. Like, almost never. At first just because Izu was a very energetic child who would wander off. Then because Izu was not only energetic and prone to wandering off, but now she definitely wasn't going to develop a quirk to defend herself if she got lost or someone took her. And then finally Inko was just too sick to even go shopping herself. So, to say going to the mall with three pro heroes and a kid her own age is going to be an experience is an understatement.

Izu walks through the doors and is almost immediately hit with the urge to touch everything . Looking around her, there is just so much to analyze and look at and just see . Clothes made with mutation quirks in mind. Stores of gadgets and clothes and shoes and Ah! So. Much. Stuff!

"You okay, Little Listener?" Present Mic laughs to himself.

"Yeah, Mom just never let me go shopping with her. She was always worried someone would kidnap me or murder me or something." Izu shrugs. "She pretty much bought everything for me up until she died, so I've never actually been, like, clothes shopping? Or really, anything other than grocery shopping? I get all my building stuff from a garbage dump. This is all just really overstimulating, but in, like, a good way? I think? I don't know, I just know I want to go everywhere ."

Present Mic's smile drops a bit but Midnight just interlocks arms with Izu. "Then let's get started!"

They start clothes shopping and quickly figure out that, given the fact that Izu has basically had the same wardrobe since she was four, the only thing changing being size, she has absolutely no idea what she wants.

"What look are you wanting to go for? What do you want people to think when they see you? Your wardrobe should be an expression of who you truly are, so Midoriya Izu, who are you? Are you cute? Are you sassy? Are you punk rock? What are you?" Midnight smiled patiently at Izu as she thought. 

"What if I don't care what people think of me? Like, what if I want people to see me and not really know what to think? I don't know… that's probably stupid." She glanced away toward where the guys were all standing around looking lost in the clothing store Midnight had picked out.

"That's not stupid." Midnight ruffled Izu's already quite messy hair. "It is a thinker though. Hmm, don't know what to think…" She places a hand on her chin and looks around like she's searching for something. She apparently finds it because not even a second later she grabs Izu's hand and drags her to a store across from the one they had been looking in. "I think I know exactly what you'd like!"

They walk into a store with dark lighting, and skateboards and band tees on the walls. Midnight drags her over to a section with sweaters that all have some form of hole or tear in them. 

"See anything you like?" Midnight is almost vibrating.

Izu grins. "Oh yes."

—

Shota steps up to Nem as they wait for Izu to exit the fitting room. "So all knowledgeable one, did you figure out your "baby's" aesthetic or whatever?" His tone could not be drier.

"Oh yes I did." She returns with utter glee. It is important to note at this moment that Kayama Nemuri is currently dressed in a fitted, baby pink sweater dress, matching floral print leggings, and pristine black booties. Her hair is meticulously fixed into a high ponytail with artfully cut bangs. Her purse is a well known designer and so are all of her other accessories. Basically, she looks like a typical wealthy mom on the prep school PTA. 

This is mentioned because at this exact moment, Izu steps out of the dressing room wearing a black and white checkered, too-long sleeve shirt under a black, distressed t-shirt with a picture of a melting broken heart on it tucked into a dark green, pleated skirt with various chains and belts attached to it, heavily distressed tights and a pair of platform combat boots. Her frizzy mess of hair has been shaved on the left side and the rest has been bleached at the ends. When they got that done, Shota has absolutely no clue. She's also wearing makeup(?) all of a sudden, her eyes lined in smudged, thick black eyeliner. 

"She's my little grungy trash baby and I adore her!"

—

Izu is having the time of her life and it's only one p.m.! After shopping around a few other Midnight approved stores they stop for lunch and Izu has the best Katsudon since… well, you know. And now they're shopping for her bedroom! She's getting a whole new room and everything! She tried arguing with Midnight that she could just take some stuff from her old apartment but after mentioning the whole "haven't updated the decor since she was four" Midnight insisted they go shopping for what she called "age appropriate" decor. So now Izu is just marveling again at how much pure stuff is in these stores! 

She eventually picks out a new loft style bed that comes with a built-in desk underneath and a cool new comforter set with a techno pattern on it. Then they find a matching dresser and Izu thinks they're done, only for Midnight to steer her toward the posters and knick knacks. So. Much. Stuff!

"Are you sure it's okay for you to buy all this stuff for me?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't it be okay?" Midnight looks at her as she hands her credit card to yet another cashier.

"I don't know. Stuff is expensive and I guess…" Izu sighs. "I guess it's just weird to think of someone wanting to buy stuff for me, you know? Like, my mom had to buy stuff for me cause, you know, she was my mom. But even she didn't do anything like this for me. I've been wearing the same style of clothes since I was four and my mom never once asked if I'd like to change up my style or my room. It just feels… kinda wrong? Like I've tricked you somehow into thinking I deserve all of this?"

Midnight thanks the cashier and hands the bags to Present Mic, who it appears was brought along on this trip solely so Midnight would have someone to carry stuff for her. She then grabs Izu by the hand and gently pulls her to the side, sitting her in a soft chair right outside the store.

"Izu, I want you to listen to me carefully. I'm sure your mother was a wonderful woman who did the best she could for you. She certainly raised a fine young lady," Midnight raises her hand to keep Izu from interrupting her. "I know I've only known you for less than a day, but I can already tell you are one of a kind. Even from the little Sho was able to share with me, I know you are a passionate, creative, caring, and vibrant young lady. And whether or not your mom could see that, I see it in you. You are going to do great things one day. You deserve the world and I am just grateful that I can share even a fraction of it with you." Izu knows from the look on Midnight's face that her own face has her disbelief written all over it. "I know you don't believe a word of what I'm saying right now, but that just means I'll have to convince you. Luckily for me, I get to keep you, so I've got plenty of time to do just that! Now, where should we go next? What else does my beautiful little baby need?"

"Um, I could really use some more notebooks?"

Midnight smiles. "Then notebooks we shall get!"

Chapter Text

After buying her not just new notebooks, but a whole set of colored pens, highlighters, colored pencils, and a new backpack made from the highest grade canvas material on the market, they leave the mall in favor of visiting a nearby hardware store and furniture outlet. Midnight insists they buy paint for Izu's room in whatever color she wants, which ends up being a deep shade of red, and then a whole new furniture set. Izu is now the owner of a full bed, a new dresser, a nightstand, and a massive desk with matching cozy chair. Next stop, Midnight's house.

Or, Midnight's mansion?

Izu and Midnight pull up to a gated street where an armed guard grants them access. They then drive down a winding street lined with every style of architecture Izu can imagine before pulling into a driveway. The house, or mansion in this case, is understandably massive. What's surprising is that the house is almost western in design and completely pink. Like, Barbie doll dreamhouse pink. Who is this woman? 

"Welcome home, Baby Doll! I can't wait to give you the grand tour!" Midnight grabs most of the bags from the backseat and heads inside, Izu rushing to follow behind. 

There's a kitchen with a private chef that works six days a week, with a day off on Sundays. There's actually a whole staff that works at the house everyday except Sundays, with three maids, a gardener, and a maintenance man who is on call most of the time. There's a large living room, a smaller sitting room, a theater room, a game room, and then rooms that seem to serve no purpose other than just existing to prove how outrageously amazing the house is. 

"And these will be your two rooms with an adjoining bathroom. And here-"

"I'm sorry, my two rooms?"

Midnight laughs. "Well of course, Silly Goose! One is for sleeping and one is for inventing! I'll have my guys bring in a work table and bench this week and we can spiff it up with all the tools and accessories you'll need to make your creations! Shota said you had some pretty impressive gadgets already, so I can't wait to see what you come up with when you have the proper materials!"

Izu is absolutely flabbergasted. Who the absolute heck is this woman and why is she doing this?!

"Because I want to, Silly!"

Oops, that wasn't supposed to be out loud…

Midnight pulls Izu over to a little couch that's just sitting in the hallway for no freaking reason and sits down, pulling Izu down with her. "Izu, Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me here. I may be a prohero and woman who is mostly known for her sex appeal, but I have a secret only my closest friends know. Would you like to hear it?"

"Sure, if it's alright…"

Midnight smiles softly at her. She holds both of Izu's hands in hers and looks her directly in the eyes. "I have always wanted to be a mom, but due to an injury I sustained early in my career, that was never going to happen naturally. Adoption agencies don't look too favorably on a woman in such a dangerous line of work, especially a single woman. And yet, I still wanted to be a mom. I've always said if the universe gave me a baby, I would love that baby to the ends of the earth and support them with every fiber of my being. And today, the universe gave me you."

Izu feels herself tear up a little.

"Now, I know you already have a mother and you lost her way too soon. She loved you and you loved her, and nothing I do will ever change that, and I would never want it to! But who says you can only have one mom? Izu, Darling, if you'll let me, I would like to adopt you. To think of you as my own and to always be here for you. I promise I will support your dreams always, that I will protect you with my very life, and that I will love you unconditionally, forever. You will be my baby and I will be your second mom. Never diminishing your first mom, but just completing the work that she's not able to do anymore. Is that okay with you?"

Now Izu is downright sobbing. And Izu doesn't cry! Okay, so maybe she cries sometimes , but she hasn't cried like this since, well, since Mom died. "W-why me? I'm- I'm an absolute gremlin! I-I have no m-manners! I'm always covered in dirt, or grime, o-or soot! I'll make your house filthy! I'll probably end up blowing something up or… or something! I'm reckless and irresponsible! You shouldn't want me! Nobody wants me! My own mom only wanted me because she was my mom , but I knew…" Izu begins to whisper as she comes to some realizations she had been suppressing for years, "I always knew, deep down, that I was never the daughter she wanted. She loved me, but I'm not what she would have chosen… you know, if she could have chosen." Izu looks back up at Midnight. "But you can choose! You can choose and you shouldn't choose me! I'm a dumpster fire of a person with an attitude and- and-"

A hand lifts from hers and reaches out to wipe at her cheeks. "And you deserve the world. I can't speak for your mother, whatever she felt or thought is not for me to know, but I can speak for myself. You are everything I would want in a daughter. You're confident and sassy. You strive to do the right thing and to help others even when it isn't technically legal," they both let out a small laugh. That hand continues to caress Izu's face as Midnight continues. "You are strong and beautiful, not to mention extremely clever! You are an amazing person inside and out and I for one am absolutely stoked to see what you become! You're gonna be the best of us, I just know it!"

Izu completely breaks at the soft exclamation and Midnight pulls her in for a tight hug. They stay that way for a good few minutes until Izu calms down enough to pull away first.

"Now that all the emotional stuff is out of the way, what do you say we paint that room of yours?" Midnight grins.

—

The remainder of Saturday was spent painting and setting up Izu's sleeping room. The furniture was delivered right before dinner and then Midnight and Izu spent some time together getting to know one another before going to bed way past Midnight's normal bedtime.

Sunday is then spent setting up Izu's wardrobe of brand new clothes. Midnight insisted on a fashion show and they laughed together the whole time. Once the new clothes have all found homes in her dresser and closet, Izu stops to look at herself in a mirror. Her outfit and fun hairstyle send happy shivers down her spine. She feels so… herself. It's amazing what picking out your own clothes can do. But as she looks at her new appearance, an idea forms.

"Hey, Mama-Midnight?" She shouts down the hall.

"Yes, Sweet Bean?" Midnight calls back before waltzing in through Izu's open bedroom door.

"What's your stance on piercings?"

They exchange mischievous smiles.

—

After the whirlwind of a weekend Izu had, getting up for school in the morning is a real trip. She makes sure to properly clean her new piercings: one in her left eyebrow, one in her septum, one in each nostril, and three in each ear. Then it's time for her new routine of smudging on some eyeliner before throwing on her uniform and pulling on a pair of platform combat boots. She has breakfast with Midnight before the hero drops her off at school.

Everything is great! At least until she spots Kacchan. 

"What the absolute he-"

"Language, Kacchan."

"I'll language you in a minute! What happened to you, Deku?! I haven't heard from you all weekend! I called your house and the line was disconnected! I went over there and some idiots were cleaning out all your stuff! What happened to your grandma? Did she die or something?! Are you going into foster care?! ARE THOSE PIERCINGS?!"

"Thanks for noticing, Kacchan. We really need to work on your observational skills." Izu rolls her eyes good naturedly before pulling Kacchan into the building so they can make it to class.

"Whatever. What happened to your hair, too?! What is happening?! I leave you on Friday perfectly intact and now you're- you're-"

"I'm fine, Kacchan. I'm… me. This," she gestures to herself, "makes me feel like myself, like really myself, for the first time in a long time."

He rolls his eyes but takes a breath. "Fine, whatever. You look… fine I guess."

"Thanks?"

"But what about everything else? What happened to your grandma? Why aren't you at your apartment? Where have you BEEN?!"

Izu sighs. Where to start? "If I tell you, you can't get mad."

Kacchan glares at her. She glares back until he huffs. "Fine."

Izu takes one more breath and thanks her lucky stars they both always show up to school so much earlier than everyone else. "Okay, first off, I lied."

"About what?"

"All of my grandparents are either dead or senile. Or quirkist. I've been living by myself since Mom died." She raises her hand as she sees Kacchan start to ask her a question. "I was not going to bother your family with my situation. Your parents did enough helping my mom pay the medical bills so she could save up money for me, I wasn't going to burden them more. I know you're gonna say I'm not a burden but we both know your mom would have killed me the first time one of my gadgets exploded." He nods reluctantly. "So I just made sure whatever social worker came by thought my dad was still around and it was all fine. Unfortunately I got caught over the weekend doing some… not so legal stuff. I'll explain that part later. But to make a long story short, I'm now safely in the custody of someone who wants to adopt me. So everything is fine, I'll be getting a new cell phone soon, and then you won't lose contact with me again." She tries to smile but Kacchan is still glaring at her. "What?"

"I need to meet them."

"...What?"

"I need to meet whoever the f-" she glares at him, "heck thinks they can adopt my baby sister without asking me first."

"First of all, you are only three months older than me. And secondly, if I tell you who it is you have to swear not to tell anyone." He huffs. "Swear, Katsuki." He looks at her with wide eyes before going back to his usual annoyed face and grumbling a small "fine". She nods. "Good. It's pro hero Midnight."

Kacchan stares at her blankly for a full minute before bursting out laughing. "No, seriously, who is it." When Izu just glares at him, his laughter tapers off. "Quit lying, Deku. Who is it?" More glare. "Seriously." 

"It's the R-Rated Pro Hero Midnight. She has a giant mansion that's painted barbie doll pink and a full staff of people. She said I can call her mom or Kayama or Nemuri, but that's too weird so I'm just calling her Mama Midnight right now. She even drove me to school this morning."

Kacchan stands there for a moment, eyes going almost glassy.

"Kacchan?" She waves a hand in his face. He doesn't even blink. "Kacchan? Katsuki? Bakugou Katsuki? Hello? Do I need to call your mom for tech support?"

No reaction.

"Okay, cool. Auntie it is!" She reaches into Kacchan's pocket and pulls out his phone, pulling up the contact name Old Hag, and hits call.

"Hey, Autie? I told Kacchan a secret and now he has just stopped working. I was hoping you could be my tech support?"

Auntie Mitsuki laughs and gives her some advice before making her promise to come over for dinner this week. Izu agrees and hangs up, sticking the phone back in her best friend's pocket. "Okay Kacchan." She steps up to him and smacks him as hard as she can on the back of the head. Considering she can almost lift a fridge, she hits him pretty hard.

"What the frick, Deku?!"

"You wouldn't move!"

"So you smack me?!"

"Your mom said to!"

"You called the Old Hag?!"

"You. Wouldn't. Move!"

Kacchan rolls his eyes and huffs before lightly smacking Izu on the head and turning to head to his classroom. "See you and your new mom after school. I'm coming over."

Izu rolls her eyes but accepts his self-invite.