Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There's a child.

Shouta stops on the rooftop and watches. The child just sits on the curb with a small backpack. Just sits there. In the two years since he graduated UA, Shouta has dealt with a lost or missing child maybe a handful of times. But it was always either very early in his shift, when daylight was just beginning to wane, or because the police had already been informed and he had been put on the case. It's currently two a.m. and he hasn't heard anything about a missing three or four year old. So why is this small child sitting on a curb in the middle of the night?

He silently makes his way off the roof and moves closer to the child. He can now make out that it is in fact a little girl, hair in very messy and lopsided pigtails, and she's doing her very best to write something in a little bitty notebook. He creeps a little closer, not sure what exactly to do. He's not the best with kids, sue him.

After watching her for another minute or two, he finally decides to clear his throat to get her attention. She startles a little more than he thinks is normal, and those big green eyes lock onto him. "Hello…" Good start . "I’m the hero Eraserhead and I’m-”

“You’re a hero?! Really?! That’s so cool! What’s your quirk? What’s that thing around your neck? Are you a good fighter? Do you beat up a lot of bad guys? What about-” She suddenly slaps a hand over her own mouth, eyes welling up with tears. “S-sorry… I ask too many questions…”

Shouta slowly steps forward. “My quirk is called Erasure, and it lets me erase the quirk of almost anyone I look at. This is my capture weapon,” He touches his weapon as he gets even closer to her,” and it helps me catch the bad guys. I’m a very good fighter, and I do beat up a lot of bad guys.” He sits down next to her as stars shine in her eyes. “Your questions don’t bother me. Someone I know once said that questions are the sign of an intelligent mind.nYour questions mean you must be very smart.” The little girl positively beams up at him. He needs to get back on track. “What are you doing out here so late?”

Her eyes lose their light and she looks away from him. “They said I’m bad luck.”

Shouta frowns. “Who said you’re bad luck?”

“Mrs. Lady and the other kids. They said I had to go away.”

Other kids? Mrs. Lady? Who tells a small child to go away. “Where were you that they told you to leave?”

“The orphanage… They said no one wants someone like me.”

Are orphanages even allowed to kick little kids out? “What do you mean someone like you?”

Her shoulders slump more to the point that she’s almost fully curled in on herself. It takes everything in Shouta to hear the small, whispered “Someone quirkless.”

His heart breaks at her answer. He’s well aware that discrimination against the quirkless is rampant, but he hadn’t realized it reached this far. This poor kid is out on the street, on her own, all because she lacks a super power. Well that just won’t do.

“How about you come with me?”

The little girl looks up at him. “You mean it? You want me?”

He gives her the softest smile he is capable of, which isn’t saying much but he’s trying, okay? “Yes, I want you. And I’m sure my roommates will too.”

—

"Sho, that is a child."

"I know."

"Why do you have a child?"

"She needs a place to stay."

"So you brought her here? That is a child, not a stray cat! You can't just find a child on the street and decide to keep it!"

"Keep your voice down, and I am well aware that she is not a cat."

"Sho, there is protocol for a reason. You have to take her in."

"They kicked her out, Zashi."

"... What?"

"The orphanage. They kicked her out."

"Can they even do that?"

"I don't know, but they did. I can't take her back there, Zashi."

"...Okay. We'll keep her until we figure something out."

—

"Sho… Zashi… Why is there a small child eating my cereal?"

"Sho found her."

"And we're keeping her?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

—

"So, what's your name kid?" Shouta looks to the small girl happily eating Nem's cereal.

"You never asked for her name?!" The girl flinches at Zashi's volume and Shouta sends him a glare.

"There were more important factors taking place."

"More important than her name?" Nem quirks an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Nem rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to say something else when a tiny voice speaks up.

"Izu."

All three adults turn to look at the little girl who still hasn't looked up from her cereal.

"What, Sweetie?" 

She looks up at them. "My name is Izu. Midoriya Izu."

"How old are you, Sweetheart?" Nem reaches out a hand slowly, placing it over the small hand that isn't currently holding a spoon.

"Four." 

"That's good. And what's your quirk?" Nem smiles at her.

The little girl looks back down at her bowl, tears beginning to swim in her green eyes. Shouta freezes. He should have known they’d ask this question. He really should have thought this through more. Before he can interject, Izu speaks up.

"I don't got one…" She sniffles. The adults all look at each other. "Do you want me to leave now?"

"No, that's illogical." Shouta doesn't hesitate to answer.

Little Izu looks up at him. Nem gets down on the floor next to her and pulls her into a hug. "Of course we don't want you to leave."

"Yeah, little listener, you're stuck with us now."

—

The doors to the elementary school open and children of different ages begin pouring out. None of them are Izu though. Shouta's face breaks from its look of boredom to a grimace. Where is his kid?

After all the other children are united with their parents and Shouta is starting to really get worried, a little mop of green hair peeks out the front doors. He sighs with relief until he sees the tear stained cheeks, the scuffed knees, and the disheveled uniform. He meets his little girl halfway and kneels to the ground, allowing her to silently collapse into his chest and start to sob.

"What happened, Izu?" He tries to keep his voice calm and level as he asks.

"Th-they're… so… mean, Daddy." The six year old chokes out between sobs. 

"Who's mean?"

"Everyone…"

—

"What do you mean you can't do anything about it?!" 

"As I said before, Mr. Aizawa, there is just no evidence to back up these claims." The principal looks tired of the conversation as he replies.

"What about the state of her?!"

"Perhaps she fell."

Shouta glares at the bald headed man. "Surely you have security footage."

"As I also said, we do not make it a habit to film our teachers while they work." At the look on Shouta's face, the principal continues. "Look, you're still young. The responsibility of parenting a young child is a lot for someone in their early twenties. Especially when that child causes trouble and tells tall tales-"

"Are you accusing my daughter of lying ?!"

"I just meant-"

"I'm done. We are leaving and you can expect our withdrawal paperwork to arrive first thing in the morning." Shouta takes Izu's hand and promptly slams the door behind them as they leave. The moment they exit the school, Shouta pulls out his cellphone.

"Daddy Sho, who ya callin?" 

"Someone who can help." He hits the final digit and the phone doesn't even ring more than once before the call connects. "Nedzu. What was that about a teaching position?"

—

"Is Mama Nem and Papa Zashi coming with us?" Shouta helps the little girl with her backpack and holds her hand as they leave for UA.

"Not today. Though I expect Nedzu will get his claws into them eventually."

They walk for a while before Izu speaks up again. "Is Nedzu a bad person?"

Shouta stops. He looks down at his little girl and sees her big brain working through something. He bends down to eye level with her. "No, Honey. Nedzu is a hero. He's not like Mama or Papa, he doesn't have a spotlight on his heroic deeds, but he's still a hero."

"Like you, Daddy?"

He smiles. "Yes, Baby, like me. He's given Daddy an extra special job that lets me keep you during the day and teach you all the stuff you need to know. That way you don't have to go to school with mean people anymore."

Izu chews her lip for a minute and looks Shouta in the eyes. "And you pinkie promise that it's okay?"

"That what's okay?"

"That I come with you to hero school? I'm not a hero. I don't even have a quirk." The last part is whispered so quietly that Shouta almost doesn't hear it. It nearly breaks his heart. It's been two years and she is still so very hurt.

"Yes, Baby. You are absolutely allowed and wanted at hero school with me. You know that I don't care about you not having a quirk, right?" She nods. "And you know Mama Nem and Papa Zashi don't care either, right?" She nods again. "Well, Nedzu also doesn't care. He is a very special kind of hero and he knows that you are a very special little girl."

"How does he know that?" Her eyes grow wide as she asks.

"Because you're my little girl."

—

"Dad, Papa, Mama? Can I ask you guys something?"

All three twenty-five year olds look to their ten year old child. She's not looking at any of them, eyes trained to the floor and hands wringing her shirt.

"Of course, Sweetheart!" Nem is the first to answer but is quickly followed by the other two.

"Do- Do you guys think I could be a hero?"

"Of course." Shouta doesn't even hesitate.

"Absolutely!"

"You can be anything you want to be!"

Izu finally looks up at them. "Even though I don't have a special power?"

"Izu, what is the square root of pi?"

"One point seven seven two four five three eight five-"

"And what was Jester's biggest weakness during the battle at Nagasaki terminal?"

"He left his weak spot open. He has a slight case of scoliosis causing a weakness on his left side. When Tortle came at him with his signature shell shock, he left that side open and was caught off balance-"

"And how might he have won?"

"Well, the first thing he should have done was used his greater agility to his advantage. Tortle is slower due to his quirk and if Jester had used more zigzag patterns in his movements and kept Tortle to his right, the whole tide of the battle would have changed."

"Izu, you do have a special power. Your brain. You are the smartest kid I have ever met without an intelligence enhancement quirk and you study for fun. You have better analysis skills than many pros I know personally. With the right training, you could be an amazing hero, quirk or no quirk."

Izu stands there for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking straight at her caregivers. "Please train me to be a hero."

Chapter Text

Izu is lost in thought as she walks home from school alone. Usually Dad, Pops, or Mama walks with her but they had a meeting after school so Izu took the opportunity to explore the local streets in hopes of catching a hero fight to practice her analysis on. She doesn't find one but she does see plenty of quirks that set her brain firing off with theories and ideas. Maybe that's why she doesn't notice the storm drain behind her creak open.

When the sludge hits her throat, it's all she can do to keep a level head. What should she do? 

She tries clawing at the slime and muck but her hands can't gain any traction. 

She hears a voice calling her a meat suit and panic begins to set in.

She can't breathe.

She can't think.

The world goes black.

—

And then she's coming to and coughing up muck. She looks around her and sees none other than All Might. Did he-?

"AH, YOU'RE AWAKE! WELL, I MUST BE OFF! GOTTA TURN THIS GUY INTO THE PROPER AUTHORITIES!" He pats some soda bottles filled with sludge in his pockets and then jumps into the air with a gush of wind.

"He left me? Seriously?" Izu looks down at herself and frowns. She's covered in slime and filth, and if she's not mistaken, she reeks. "Pops is gonna kill me…" Thinking of her Pops, Izu checks her phone. Three missed calls and six unread messages in the family group chat. "Crap!"

She grabs her bag, also covered in sludge, and races home.

—

She tries to be quiet as she cracks the front door open, pleading with the universe that she beat her parents home. The universe didn't listen.

"You're home late."

Dad.

"Yeah, sorry… I um…"

Dad lifts a hand and stops her. "You can explain later tonight when Zashi and Nem get home. I'll call them to let them know you're safe. Go get cleaned up."

Izu doesn't have to be told twice. She hurries up to the bathroom and turns on the water for a quick bath. As she turns on the water, she feels a slight twisting in her chest. She tries to relieve the feeling with a cough, but that just makes it worse. She tries again. And again. And again. 

Now she can't stop coughing.

Her vision starts to go dark around the edges as she tries to catch her breath. Why can't she breathe? Every time she tries to take in a breath she just lets out another cough. 

She feels something wet hit her hand and she looks down to see red.

Her vision blurs.

Now she can't even cough, unable to even get air in.

She reaches for the sink.

Her face hits the cool tile of the floor.

—

Shouta hangs up the phone. Nem and Zashi almost didn't want to leave when Izu wasn't there when they got home, but with Nem's evening patrol tonight and Zashi having his show, they had to leave the worrying to Shouta. Now that she's home, he can finally let out the breath he'd been holding.

A crash comes from the bathroom upstairs. Shouta doesn't even hesitate to take the steps two at a time. It's possible he's overreacting, but he could never be too careful when it comes to Izu.

"Izu, everything okay?" He knocks on the door. There's no answer except for the sound of running water. "Izu?" He waits another moment. "I'm coming in." He tries the doorknob but it's locked. "Izu, can you hear me? Unlock the door." Still nothing. He knocks harder on the door. "Izu! Can you hear me?!" When the silence continues he makes a decision.

The door easily caves under his forceful kick and what he finds inside nearly sucks the soul right out of him. Izu is collapsed on the floor, not moving.  He kneels down next to her and very carefully rolls her over. Her lips are blue and there is blood leaking out of the side of her mouth. He checks her pulse. Nothing.

He immediately begins chest compressions. He does thirty compressions and then two rescue breaths. He keeps going, checking for a pulse after every two sets. 

"Come on, Baby Girl. Come on. Stay with me." Two breaths. "You are not allowed to leave me. Not now. Not ever." Two more breaths."Stay with me. Please. Please, Sweet Girl, please stay with me." 

After what feels like hours but is probably only a few minutes, he feels a pulse. It's slow and thready, but there. He immediately scoops her up bridal style and races to the car outside. Once she's safely in, he calls the nearest hospital and informs them of the situation, instructing them to be ready for their arrival.

He ignores many traffic laws as he speeds down the necessary streets. He peels into the hospital parking lot and barely even parks before he's outside grabbing Izu and running to the doors. Doctors and nurses meet him there with a gurney and rush her away. A nearby nurse asks him what happened but he doesn't know what to tell her. He's not even sure himself. One second she's walking through the door safe and sound and the next she's lying lifeless on the bathroom floor. What happened?

—

After being assured that they had everything under control, Shouta sits down in a family waiting area and makes two new phone calls.

"Hey, Sho! What's up? You're lucky I'm on a commercial break right now. The sets going great and my next guest-"

"Zashi, it's Izu…"

"What happened?" The change in his demeanor is instant.

"Get to the hospital. I'll explain as much as I can when you get here. I gotta call Nem."

"I'm on my way." The call disconnects.

Time for round two.

"Hey, Sho~ You know you aren't supposed to call me while I'm working, Kitten. What if you scared off a naughty little boy or girl~?"

"Nem, it's Izu. Get to the hospital as quickly as you can."

"What's happened?" Just like that, her hero persona is gone. "Is she okay?" 

"I-" Shouta's voice cracks. "I don't know. Just- just get down here." He disconnects the call.

—

The next twenty-four hours are the hardest and longest of Shouta's life. And they aren't that great for Zashi or Nem either. 

First, it takes the doctors almost two hours to stabilize Izu enough that she's not on the verge of flatlining every five minutes. Then she's admitted into the ICU and they aren't able to even see her for another four hours as the medical staff run a battery of tests to try and figure out what's going on. Once they are able to visit her, they walk into a living nightmare. The child they've been raising together since she was four in a coma, breathing tube shoved down her throat, IVs stuck in her hand and arm, and hooked up to so many beeping machines. 

But at least they can finally breathe now, right? At least the worst is over now, right?

Wrong. So very wrong.

After almost an hour of stressfully watching over Izu, counting every breath and flinching at every odd beep of the machines, they are finally relaxing. Nem leaves to get some coffee and Zashi has already begun to snore from his spot on the couch. Shouta holds Izu's hand and decides that maybe he should try and get some shut eye too. Just a few minutes of rest. He carefully lays his head down on the edge of the bed and closes his eyes.

The beeping on the heart monitor begins to pick up. The pace becomes a chaotic rhythm. An alarm sounds. Shouta throws his head up and Zashi startles awake so fast he falls to the floor. Nurses rush into the room and begin pulling pillows out from under the fourteen year-old's head. Just as Nem returns to the room, Zashi and Shouta are unceremoniously shoved out the door as another nurse brings in what is clearly a defibrillator. They watch in fear as their daughter is shocked once, twice, three times, before the monitor falls back into a normal rhythm.

Before the three friends and co-parents can re enter the room, two doctors rush past and the door is shut in their faces. A kinder nurse carefully guides them back to the waiting area and explains that someone will come get them as soon as they know what's going on. They just sit down and stare at one another, Nem's coffee long forgotten.

—

What feels like an eternity later, a young doctor appears in the waiting room and walks right over to them. The three now extremely exhausted heroes all stand up in unison. 

"Are you the family of Aizawa Izu?"

"Yes. What's going on?" Shouta can hear the harshness in his own voice, but he's really too tired to care.

“As you know, Miss Aizawa was brought in with depressed breathing on both sides and had been resuscitated at home.” The doctor nods to Shouta. “She continued to need resuscitation once arriving due to her heart continuing to give out from lack of oxygen input. We were able to clear a foreign substance from her lungs to clear her airways and put her on a ventilator to monitor her oxygen levels and support her airway. We thought she was out of the woods, but it appears that the foreign substance found in her lungs was resistant to the antibiotics we gave her and what you witnessed was the infection reaching her brain and heart. She is stable now, and we believe we’ve gotten the infection under control, but with how often she has needed resuscitation and how long she was gone each time, there are a lot of unknowns. She’s resting now, so you can see her.”

Nem and Zashi start toward the room, but Shouta has one last question for the doctor. “Will she wake up?”

“As of this moment, we aren’t sure. ANd if she does wake up, there is no telling what functions may have been affected.”

That stops Nem and Zashi in their tracks. Nem raises a hand to her mouth to stifle the sob. Zashi’s eyes water. Shouta though… Shouta must stay strong. He needs to. For Izu.

Chapter Text

Two agonizing weeks later, Izu’s parents are awoken by a cough. They look over and see Izu fighting the tube down her throat. They immediately call for a doctor who extracts the tube and checks her vitals. It takes her several moments to fully reach consciousness, but when she does, she’s rather confused. She tries to sit up, but finds she’s too weak to do so. What happened?

"Ow…" Izu clutches her throat in pain when she coughs.  She looks up to find Dad, Pops, and Mama all looking at her with varying looks of worry and concern. Mama and Pops even have tears in their eyes. She turns to Dad, good, strong Dad, to try and figure out what the ever loving heck is going on. "Dad? What…" The words just cause more coughing which causes more pain and now she's light headed. 

"Shh, go slow. Take your time."

She relaxes back against the bed that had thankfully been raised slightly so she could sit up. "What's going on?"

"You're in the hospital, Love." Mama replies, coming to sit on the left side of her bed, opposite to where Dad is already sitting. 

"You gave us quite the scare." Pops adds from where he stands at the foot of her bed.

"But, I don't remember…"

"That's okay. It might take some time. Your body has been through a lot of trauma the last two weeks, so it will be normal for you to-"

"Two weeks ?!" She jerks up only to regret it immediately. The room spins and she collapses back into the pillows.

"Be careful, Brat. We don’t need you getting a concussion on top of everything else." Dad says with affection.

"What is going on? Why do I feel so weak? Why can’t I sit up without getting dizzy? Dad, Pops, Mama." She looks at each of them in turn.

Dad is the one to finally explain. "You collapsed in the bathroom. After coming home covered in filth, you went to get cleaned up and just collapsed. When I got to you, you weren't breathing. I got you to the hospital and things just kept getting worse."

"Worse than not breathing?"

Mama looks at her with tears in her eyes. “You died, Sweetheart. Multiple times. Your body couldn’t hold on for more than an hour at a time for several hours. It…”

“You didn’t have enough oxygen. Your brain and your heart, they couldn’t function for a while. We didn’t even know if you’d wake up.” Pops stops being able to look at her, instead looking down and rubbing her blanket covered feet. She turns to Dad.

Dad who will tell her the truth no matter how painful. Who won't sugarcoat it. Who will give her a straight answer.

"Can I still be a hero?"

He looks her directly in the eyes. "I don't know."

—

The doctors run test after test, each one coming back inconclusive but in a special way? Izu doesn’t know, and she doesn’t really care. She wants to go home and make Tsukudani Onigiri with Pops. She wants to train with Dad and talk about heroes with Mama. She wants things to go back to normal. 

A nurse brings in another bowl of hospital Miso Soup and Izu wants to gag. She hates Miso soup, hospital or otherwise. It’s as she’s lifting the spoon that she notices a problem. Her hands are shaking. Then everything goes dark.

—

Izu ends up having three seizures before the day ends. That brings with it another round of tests and exams. Throughout these exams they find that her coordination is off. Like a lot. She can’t even walk to the bathroom without falling over or running into something. Her legs feel stiff and don’t move the way she wants them to and her arms act up as well. 

Then there’s the new sensory issues. Have hospitals always been this loud and overstimulating? Luckily Pops notices. He hands her his headphones to block out some of the noise before turning the lights down a bit. When she complains about the scratchy hospital gown, Mama brings her some soft sweats with the tags cut off. 

The headaches and random aches and pains start up two days after she wakes up. It starts with just simple headaches every now and then, but soon she starts having trouble with nerve pain in her hands and joints. When it happens, Mama offers to massage her and Dad chases down a nurse for pain medication. The doctors just write down the new symptoms and move on.

—

“When can we leave?” She doesn’t even look up to see her parents’ reactions.

Dad speaks up first, coming to sit down next to her on the bed. “Not for a while longer. We need to make sure that we know everything before you're released to go home with us."

She can feel tears pricking in the corners of her eyes as she refuses to look at him. “I’m so sick of being here. I’m sick of being sick.”

Mama settles on her other side, stroking her long, curly hair. "We know, Bug. We're sick of seeing you in this bed. But we've gotta wait for the doctors' all clear before we can take you home."

"And then can everything go back to normal?"

Dad sighs. "I'm sorry, Sweet Girl, but nothing is going "back to normal". We're all gonna have to get used to a new normal."

Tears really start flowing as she finally looks her dad in the eyes. “I just want to go home and keep training and help Pops cook and- and-" She lets out a small sob. "I just wish…"

Pops walks over to her and joins the rest of them at her bedside. "We wish it could be like that again too, Little Listener. Universe knows I miss having my favorite Sous chef in the kitchen with me. These two are absolutely useless!" She turns to look at her pops, a small huff of laughter escaping her lips.

"It's going to be okay though, Lovey. We'll find a new normal that will still be just as good. You're still our favorite little girl and we are still your parents. As long as we are together, we can handle anything." Mama gives Izu a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Nem isn't often right, but she is this time." That gets Dad a swat to the head that he swiftly dodges. "We're still gonna be here for you no matter what, and the rest will get figured out."

—

It’s a full week of tests and treatments, and more tests and more treatments before they get any real answers. And judging by the looks on these doctors’ faces, Izu is not going to like what they have to say. “As you all know, given how often she went into cardiac arrest and the time it took to get her back to a decent rhythm, her brain has been damaged. Her head CT and MRI show what we call an Anoxic Brain Injury.”

“What- What does that mean?” Pops’ voice is small.

“It can mean a lot of things depending on the severity. From what we’ve seen, it means she will likely struggle with headaches, trouble with some gross and fine motor skills, balance and coordination problems, trouble focusing, unusual sleeping patterns, chronic pain, and various sensory issues, as well as seizures, for the rest of her life. At this point it’s mostly a waiting game and managing symptoms as they arise.”

“What can we do?” Dad speaks with authority even as Izu can see the clear worry in his eyes.

“Before we discharge her, we will be giving you a list of possible symptoms to look out for as well as several prescriptions for medications that should help her. We also recommend that you monitor her oxygen levels and blood pressure as there may be serious fluctuations based on activity level and the severity of the brain injury. It is also recommended that she utilize a wheelchair or other mobility devices as her coordination and muscle weakness will most likely not improve and she could seriously injure herself if she were to fall.” The doctor pauses and Izu looks from them to her parents. Her parents are looking at her with such concern she has to look away. “I know this is all a lot, but Aizawa Izu is very lucky. With the severity of her brain injury and the number of times she died on us, she should be dead or in a comatose state. You have a fighter on your hands.”

“We sure do.” She looks up to see her dad looking at her with pride. She smiles back at him.

With their depressing spiel over with, the doctors start the discharge paperwork with her parents and then she is allowed to go home. Wheelchair loaded into the back of their SUV and all her meds in hand, they head off. It’s not until she sees familiar but out of place trees and buildings that she realizes something isn’t right.

“Dad, why are we going to school?”

He grins into the rearview mirror. “We have a rat to see.”

Chapter Text

Fortunately it’s after school hours when they arrive, so Izu doesn’t have to explain her condition to any of her senpais. Getting out of the car is an ordeal, Izu getting dizzy and all but collapsing into her wheelchair when Pops brings it over. Even if no one else but staff are here, she’s still embarrassed as Pops pushes her into the building. She thought it was cold at the hospital because hospitals are just supposed to be cold, but she finds UA to be just as cold, if not colder. As they walk to the elevators she ends up asking Mama for her sweater. The ride up is quiet, almost uncomfortably so given that two out of three of her parents are big talkers. It’s a relief when they make it to the third floor and head toward Nedzu’s office. The door opens before they even reach the threshold. 

“If it isn’t my favorite little pupil! What can I do for you this evening?” Nedzu speaks right to her, which is a welcomed relief after her time at the hospital.

“Um, I’m actually not really sure. Dad just said we needed to see you.” She shrugs and looks over at her dad. Nedzu follows suit, looking to her dad for answers that she’s sure the stoat already partially knows.

“As you know, we’ve been in the hospital with Izu for the last few weeks. We finally received her official diagnosis today, along with some other depressing news. It looks like Izu will be confined to a wheelchair for the foreseeable future along with needing consistent monitoring and possible treatments from a licensed doctor.” Nedzu nods along with the news, not looking at all bothered. “She still wants to be a hero even with all the setbacks, and I know that she can do anything she sets her mind to. I also know that if anyone can help her become a hero with everything she will have to deal with for the rest of her life, it’s you.”

Nedzu nods again, turning now to look back at Izu. “I have an idea, but it may not be exactly what you envisioned for your future. Are you okay with that?”

Izu looks her new mentor in the eyes. “I want to help people. Just tell me how.”

“Excellent! We shall begin first thing tomorrow!”

—

School is an excruciating experience on her way to Nedzu’s office. First, it's still freezing. Since she’s not an official student of UA, she doesn’t have a uniform. Usually she wears a graphic t-shirt and a pair of jeans, but she’s been so cold since she woke up that she’s currently wearing a hoodie over her t-shirt and one of her mama’s oversized cardigans. Then there’s teh problem of just how loud school is. Pops got her her own pair of noise canceling headphones, and she is forever grateful for them as without them the sounds of all the students walking by, the shouts and laughter, and the irritating buzzing of the lights is all a lot to take in. And of course the lights are all set to the sun because of course it needs to be excessively bright everywhere she goes now. Then, of course, her senpais see her in a wheelchair and immediately want to stop her and Pops in the hallway to find out what’s wrong. She’s always sat in on her dad’s classes while she works on her schoolwork, so of course a ton of students of all grade levels know who she is, especially the hero students. This means that everyone wants to know if she’s okay. Which is sweet, but also incredibly embarrassing. Making it finally to Nedzu’s office is a relief.

As soon as Pops pushes her through the doors, she is met with a dimmed room mostly lit up by warm toned lamps and the window behind Nedzu’s desk. It’s so calm feeling compared to the bright, loud hallways. “Welcome, Izu! And you too, Yamada. I’m so happy to see you doing so well after your stint in the hospital.” Nedzu smiles at her and she can’t help but smile back.

“What’s with the lighting in here, sir?” Pops asks as he looks around the room.

“Well, after our conversation yesterday, I spoke more at length with Aizawa about Izu’s various health concerns. I then did some research into various symptoms that could be expected and found out that sensory processing issues can be a very common symptom of an anoxic brain injury. I decided to preemptively make my office a more welcoming place for my newest personal student, making sure all sensory input is soft and easy to process. This will be one of three safe zones for her in the school so that she can be at her most comfortable as she learns.”

“Three safe zones?”

“Yes. My office is one. The infirmary, should she need it, is two. And I am in the process of turning one of the nearby classrooms into a special learning space for her to practice the skills she will be learning with me. That room will be all hers to decorate and furnish to her liking, therefore making it the third safe space.” Nedzu looks very pleased with himself, and Izu is inclined to agree with his self approval.

“You’re doing all that for me? Really?”

“Absolutely! You are to be my personal student until you graduate high school in three years and ten months. I will prepare you with everything you need to join the heroics course in ten months and then will continue to guide you and teach you as you work through high school. Your training will look vastly different than the other hero students, but your role will be one of great importance. Are you ready to begin?”

Izu takes a deep breath and looks at her mentor with steel in her eyes. “Yes, sir. I’m ready.”

“Excellent! Then Yamada, you may go. I have her from here.”

Pops nods and bends down to Izu’s eye level. “If you need me, or Sho, or Nem, just tell Nedzu and he will get us down here, okay? And don’t try too much too fast. And make sure you go to Recovery Girl if you feel short of breath or need your meds. And-”

“Pops, I’ll be fine. I can do this.”

Pops sighs. “I know. We all believe in you, Sweetheart.” He kisses her forehead and takes his leave.

Nedzu claps his paws together. “First order of business, are you able to wheel yourself independently? Mobility, no matter how limited it is currently, is our first priority. We need to know what you’re capable of first before we move on.”

Izu looks down at herself, testing her hands at her wheels and taking a few hesitant turns, moving forwards toward Nedzu’s desk and then turning slowly back around. After about ten minutes of practice, and a few moments of shaking out her stiff hands, Izu feels more confident in her ability to move herself, at least short distances for now.

“Okay, now that we have established your mobility capabilities, let's move onto the fun stuff.” Nedzu has a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“I’m ready for whatever you have planned.”

“Have you ever tried hacking?”

—

The room is unlike anything she could have imagined. Having been a classroom before, it’s rather large for the purpose it is supposed to serve. There’s a desk at the far side of the room holding three different monitors and there are two more monitors hanging on the wall above the desk. The overhead fluorescent lights are turned off and instead there are twinkle lights hanging around the room, two lamps on the desk, and a floor lamp in the corner of the room closest to the door. Then there’s a couch resting to the left of the door with a mini fridge to its left. A coffee table with a small tea set sits in front of the couch, and a basket full of blankets sits in a corner. The rest of the space is open. It’s a wonderful room and Izu can’t believe it’s just for her.

“-and the mini fridge can be filled with any drink or snack you choose, it’s just for you. If there is anything else you need, do not hesitate to let me know and I will make sure you receive it.” Nedzu stands next to her as she observes the room from the doorway.

“Why are you doing all of this for me?” Izu whispers.

Nedzu turns to face her. “Every intelligence hero deserves a lair from which to do their job. While you are under my tutelage this will be yours.”

“Thank you, Nedzu Sensei.”

Nedzu smiles at her. “Of course. Now, let's look at that case I gave you to dissect. What information can you gather with the new skill we’ve been practicing?”

Izu rolls herself over to the computer and pulls up the program Nedzu is referring to. She works under Nedzu’s guidance for about an hour before the principal leaves to handle other principal-y things and she is left to her studies in her private lair.

—

It was a completely normal day. She was practicing her typing skills and working in a program made for her by Nedzu when she started to feel light headed. The bracelet Power loader made for her to track her vitals started beeping as her heart rate began accelerating. She started finding it hard to breathe as what felt like electric shocks started pulsing through her. The next thing she knows, she’s coming back to consciousness on the floor, hyperventilating and sore. Nedzu is there and so is Dad and Pops. 

“What happened? Are you okay?” Pops is fretting while Dad gets straight to work picking her up bridal style.

“I’m… fine… think… it was… a… seizure…” She huffs between heavy breaths. And then she passes out.

She wakes up some time later in a warmly lit room. Looking around she recognizes the infirmary. Having been studying at UA since she was six, Izu is no stranger to the infirmary nor to Recovery Girl, whom she affectionately calls Granny Chiyo. However, this is not exactly how she would have liked to have come into contact with her third safe space.

“Hello, Deary. How are you feeling?” Granny Chiyo opens the curtain next to her and Izu sighs.

“Fine, but exhausted. Can I go back to class now?”

Granny Chiyo smiles at her. “Sure. Your vitals are good, and you’re conscious and talking, so I see no reason to keep you here. However, please contact me immediately if you start feeling bad.” She gives Izu a very serious look before smiling and walking over to the phone at her desk. 

Only a few minutes later, Mama walks in and smiles at her. “Ready to head back upstairs?”

Izu sighs. “Yes, please!” She reaches up for her mama and the heroine wastes no time picking her up and carrying her back upstairs to her lair.

Chapter Text

Ten months almost to the day since Izu woke up from her coma, it’s time for the entrance exams. Izu doesn’t have to take them, having already been accepted as Nedzu’s personal student and the only one currently on the intelligence track of the hero course, but she does get to watch and take notes. She’s done this for as long as she can remember, ever since she first started going to school here at the ripe age of six, but this year is different. This year matters. This year she is helping to pick and dissect her future classmates. This is a whole new experience and she is definitely not taking it lightly.

Well, mostly not lightly… It is one of her favorite assignments of the year. And joining the friendly betting pool on who Dad would most likely expel if they got in is all part of the fun!

Rolling into the observation room on sub-level two, Izu is happy to see a chair was removed from the front row exactly where she sits every year. She knew from how he has treated her thus far that the rat loves her, but this is such a small, sweet gesture that she wasn’t expecting. She rolls up and parks herself in the empty spot, waiting impatiently for the screens to become active. Pops should have just finished his grand speech, so students and teachers should be arriving any second.

The first teacher to enter this year is Ishiyama, which isn’t surprising since he just finished setting up the concrete barriers around the training grounds. He waves hello to her before taking his usual seat in the back. The cement hero is a quiet man, but when he does speak, Izu always feels wiser for having listened. The next to enter is Dad, who sets himself up in the corner with his sleeping bag. Mama follows soon after, squishing Izu’s cheek before sitting next to her. Then walks in her mentor with the rest of the faculty following behind.

“Are we all ready?” Nedzu asks as he sits down on Izu’s other side. With multiple sounds of agreement, Nedzu speaks into the nearby speaker system. “Present Mic, we are a go for the first round.”

All of the screens blink into life at the same time as Pops’ voice comes over the speakers telling the crowd of gathered students to go. They all hesitate, causing Pops to have to reiterate that there is no countdown in real life. That gets them moving and off they go, immediately starting to take robots down one by one.

Izu keeps her attention on the student-hopefuls, making sure to write down anything she finds interesting or of significant note. She writes down observed stats and possible quirk applications for heroic use. She writes about their skills and how they use their quirks creatively. 

She notices one boy with crazy purple hair somehow convincing people to move out of the way of debris and robots. A persuasion quirk maybe? There’s a boy who seems to have a different quirk every time she looks at him. A copy quirk? Those are rare and very versatile. Then there’s some idiot blowing up the whole cityscape. He will definitely need classes on property damage and collateral damage if he ever wants to graduate from UA. He gives her a weird sense of deja vu, but she’s ignoring that for now. There’s a kid with engines in his legs running and kicking various robots. He’s doing well, but his turns need major work. She also takes note of a girl apparently melting the robots with some form of acid. Interesting. Can she control the viscosity of the acid she produces? A brunette girl is using some form of anti gravity to float the robots and then let them go so they crash into the ground or, in some instances, into each other. A very neat trick, but she seems to be turning green, so the drawback must be nausea, which would be inconvenient for her.

Izu watches and writes, taking note of everything she can. Before long it’s time to release the Zero Pointer. The robot is, by definition, 0P, so seeing how they all handle the overpowered nature of the “nuisance” robot is telling of what their future in heroics will be. Will they save others at a cost to themselves? Will they try to fight it just because they can? Will they simply avoid the robot? Any reaction can be an insight into their core character.

The anti-gravity girl gets stuck in the path of the Zero Pointer, and Izu watches as many students just run past her. She shakes her head in disappointment. Not very heroic behavior. But then she sees something. Someone stops. They work to help her lift the debris. They wrap an arm around her waist and help her limp to a side street. They rescue her. She definitely wants that one in her class. She turns to Nedzu and he smiles and nods to her. 

With the halting of the Zero Pointer and the buzzer sounding, the end of the entrance exam comes. And with that, Izu begins her analysis of who should be in what class based on points gained, the creativity of the use of their quirks, their quirks themselves, and their aptitude for heroics. Nedzu told her she could hand pick some of her own classmates, within reason, as long as she gave a thorough reasoning as to why they should be in the top class.

“You ready to go, Sweetheart?” Mama leans over her chair and squeezes her.

“One second… and… done! I think that covers my notes.” Izu turns to her mentor. “I’ll type these up and give my recommendations to you by the end of tomorrow.”

He smiles at her. “That sounds delightful! I look forward to reading your notes, as always.”

Izu smiles back at him and then attempts to turn and look at Mama, who is still attached to her. “I’m ready now.”

“Perfect! I was thinking we should go out and celebrate the end of exams!” Mama squeezes her tightly before releasing her and walking around so they are facing one another. “How does that sound? Maybe get some sushi or something?”

“Hmm… What about that one street market with the delicious Takoyaki stall? It’s right next to the park and we could people watch and make up stories for the strangers we see.”

“I blame your dad for your creepy interests.” Mama shakes her head, but can’t help the smile on her face.

“People watching is a perfectly normal pass time!”

“Not the way you do it.”

Izu pouts and rolls over to where Dad is still in his sleeping bag. She bends over and pokes him in the face. “Wake up. The test is over and I picked only the most loud and annoying kids to be in your class.”

“You did not.” He says without opening his eyes.

“Oh yes I did.”

“No you didn’t. You know how I know?”

“How?”

“Because if you did, you’d be stuck with them too.” He peeks an eye open at her and smirks at her pout.

“Fine, whatever. But you still need to wake up so we can go eat.”

He sighs. “Fine. Go find Zashi and bring him to the front. I need to talk to Vlad about the new year for a minute.”

“Okay!” Izu turns and zooms off to find Pops. She only makes it to the edge of the cityscapes before she gets stopped. 

“Who are you? If you are not taking an exam, you shouldn’t be here.” The boy with the engines in his legs chops his arm at her as he scolds her.

Izu rolls her eyes. “I’m just here to get my pops. Not that it’s any of your business.” She attempts to roll herself past him, but he gets in her way again.

“And who is your father? Surely you can wait for him in a less dangerous place.”

“Who my father is or isn’t is none of your business. Now please let me pass.” She does her best to stay as polite as possible, not wanting to make herself dizzy from beating this guy into a pulp. Sure, she can’t stand or walk in a straight line without falling over, but if she trips him first, then they’d both be on the ground and she could at least get a good few lucky shots in before her stupid body starts fighting her instead. Just then, like an angel gracing the earth with its presence, her salvation comes walking out of the arena. “Granny Chiyo! A little help!”

Robot boy turns around to see Recovery Girl walking over to them. He turns to Izu with a scandalized expression. “How dare you refer to the Youthful Hero in such a casual manner! She has worked hard for her status and you should call her by her hero name or by her family name at the very least! Why, if everyone went around-”

“What is it, Deary?” Granny Chiyo smiles at Izu without even acknowledging Robot Boy. 

“Robot Boy here won’t let me pass to get Pops. Can you please tell him I am safe to go to the announcer booth and that I won’t cause trouble or whatever he’s worried about.”

He looks absolutely flabbergasted as Granny Chiyo turns to look at him. “Now, young man, please do not interfere with other students and their business. Izu is related to several heroes here and has grown up in these halls. She is more capable of traversing the campus than you are. Please head to your designated area to change and head home.”

Izu sticks her tongue out at him as he walks past her. Then she turns to thank the elderly woman. “Thanks Granny. He was being a bit of a jerk.”

“Any time, Deary. Now, go ahead and get Hizashi.”

“I will. Thanks!” Izu wheels her way to the announcer booth as the rest of the student-hopefuls make their way to the main building. Just as she makes it to the door, Pops walks out. “Hey, Pops! I was sent to find you so we could go celebrate!”

Pops bends down to give her a hug. “Sounds groovy! Let’s do it!”

—

“Ah, my favorite pupil! Come in, let’s get started.” Nedzu welcomes Izu into his office the following afternoon with his usual cheer.

“Hi, Nedzu. I finally finished my recommendations. It took longer than I expected, but once I got started, it was hard to stop.” She chuckles to herself.

“Did you at least have lunch?”

Izu levels him a look. “Did Dad tell you to ask me?”

Nedzu chuckles. “No, no, nothing like that. But you know all three of them will be knocking down my door if you start skipping lunch to finish an assignment for me.”

“That is very true. And to answer your question, yes I ate. I had some instant ramen while I worked.”

“Very well. What have you come up with?”

Izu smiles wider, excitement leaking into her voice. “I sent my document over to you when I finished. This year is sure to be amazing!”

The two geniuses talk for a solid hour and forty-five minutes about the future Heroics students. Izu speaks up about a student who didn’t quite earn enough points to pass, but showed heroic spirit with what he did accomplish. She pleaded with her mentor to find a loophole to let him in. Not wanting to let down his personal student, the two looked through the rulebook and studied every last requirement before they finally found a sufficient rule to bend to get him in. Then Izu brought up some dirt she “found” on one of the applicants that passed, and they disqualified him. With him out, she brought up some of her recommendations for who should be in which class from those who passed the exams.

“I know we’d normally put someone with this kind of quirk with Vlad King, but with the kind of fighting style he’d need to adopt, he should be with Da-Eraserhead.”

“Hmm, I see where you’re coming from, but what about this one here? Surely he’d need to be in Class 1-A as well?”

“I see your point, but have you considered that if we move this one here, then there’s plenty of room for both of them!”

“And why would we move this student to Vlad King? Remember, every decision needs to have a reason, not just because you want it to work out a certain way.”

“I know, but if you look at the stats I pulled up for him, he needs someone who can build his confidence. Eraserhead is a great teacher, but he doesn’t give out the kind of acknowledgement I think this student would need to survive in the department.”

“Ah, that is a valid point. What about…”

By the time Izu’s parents came to get her, Izu and Nedzu had perfected the upcoming rosters for classes 1-A and 1-B. Now all that is left is to make it through the summer and to the first day of school. No surprises for Izu. Yes, no surprises at all…