Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya was an odd child

Never one for the night light or door open as he slept. Never one for the bright rays and cloudless skies of summer days. He always loved the darkness. He would wrap himself with endless blankets adorned with heroes and smother himself in the embrace of shadows, the only brightness coming from his smile.

With his bright green doe eyes and that warm welcoming smile, he was once beloved in their small apartment complex. Just him and his mother against the world. The brash Bakugo’s by their side. Ruffled curls and kisses on the cheek were all Izuku needed back then to know he was okay, he would be fine.

He hasn’t felt her love since the appointment. She was busy, Izuku would tell himself, trying his hardest to rationalise it with his infant mind. She was busy and that’s why Mama made lunch for herself and not me. I’ll just wait.

It took him three weeks before he realised he would have to start making his own meals. And somehow he thought it was good. His mother trusted him to use the stove so young, to clean his cuts so young, so keep his lies hidden away so young. She trusts me, he would say every night as he fell asleep waiting for her to return from work.

The dark was safe to him. It hid away all the strange looks tossed at him, the pitying glances, the never-ending reminders.

Worthless

Null

Deku

The dark never judged. It never spoke back. It never clawed at him with barbed tipped wings or spark his skin alight. It never broke promises. Not like his friends. Not like Kacc…. Not like Bakugo.

The dark was just always there. And it never turned its back on him when he spoke like she did. Conversations were stilted and bare, never going more than a few sentences. After his fifth birthday, Izuku had realised things weren’t happening for his benefit. Not when he was told there was no money for birthday presents but he easily spotted the new dresses his mother had bought. Not when the cupboards became padlocked and his notebooks restricted.

Their modest apartment was in the wrong side of town and rent was cheap. It was apparent in the way the wooden floors creaked loudly underfoot, in the mildew developing in corner of the walls. To Izuku it was his home, his one safe sanctuary despite the monster festering a door down from him.

---

To Inko the flat was a reminder. A reminder of every time she had been denied, spat at, insulted, for the boy she birthed and loathed. She saw every flaw in the downtrodden rotting apartment, and all of it was at the fault of the sneering brat resting in his bed.

This if for the best, she told herself. She ignored the beaming grins of the heroes around her, posters plastered across each wall. The one reminder she let him have, of the thing he could never hope to have been. The worthless brat had taken everything from her and given nothing. Every ounce of her beauty, her youth, was stolen out from under her by the selfish fiend.

Sleeping peacefully, without a care in the world. Selfishly unaware of how lucky he was. Didn’t he understand how terrible Inko’s life had been? How much he ruined her? Ten years of her life lost to the null lying before her.

She couldn’t care less for the cuts and starburst wounds littering the small boy’s pale skin. Inko knew he deserved it. A worthless null shouldn’t antagonise the other children. Oh, how she wished he could’ve been more like other children, like Mitsuki’s wonderful child. That boy did such a good job keeping her worthless brat in place, with his beautiful explosions.

Inko sighed softly, a small smile playing on her lips as she imagined it. Her hands carefully brandished the blade, imagining the life she could’ve had, had Katsuki been hers instead of the null.

She was content, picturing him be the son she always wanted.

“Mama?”

The smile never left her lips as she lifted the blade.

---

Four Years Later

Shouta Aizawa sighed deeply and sipped heavily from his mug, mentally melting at the elixir and praising every being above for the delicacy he was drinking. But to every person he passed, it was simply his usual scowl paired with dry bloodshot eyes.

“Someone’s in a good mood.”

Almost every person, he groaned. “Hey Zashi.”

“New blend?” The Voice Hero asked, peeking over Shouta’s shoulder to snatch the mug. Before his fingers could even brush against the rim, they were ensnared in overlapping binds of the capture weapon. Not fazed in the slightest, Hizashi peeked over his sunglasses and winked at Shouta before leaning in and murmuring, “Careful Sho, don’t want you students seeing you tie me up.”

He refused to admit he was blushing, preferring to storm off with his face buried in his capture scarf and ignoring the protesting cries of his husband as the man now dangled from the rafters of the unreasonably high UA hall ceiling. Thank god he had a spare capture weapon in the staff room.

The new semester was starting and thankfully, he had enough time to grab his capture scarf, a coffee, and even slip into his sleeping bag before the students arrived. Shouta knew it was like trying to catch gold dust barehanded, but he hoped their were some potential students this year. The year before had been disastrous, not a single ounce of potential among any of them. They had been gone within the day.

Shouta wouldn’t stand around and march children off into their deaths. Not if they thought Heroics was about smiling for the camera and picking up the cheque. There had been too many times hero hopefuls had their ambitions crushed under his fist. But the few, the very few that lasted the time under his tutelage. Well, he can proudly say they are true heroes to him.

Before his pondering could drag on any further, Shouta looked up and grinned at just who he was on his way to see. And thankfully they already had his sleeping bag in one hand and a spare capture scarf in the other.

“Perfect. You okay to wait here until it’s time?” Shouta asked and only wrapped the scarf over his shoulders when the person nodded.

Shimmying into his sleeping bag, Shouta schooled his expression and carefully carried out the ever-graceful, ever-practiced, caterpillar crawl toward the Class 1-A door. His eyes glanced over the classroom and he immediately sighed at the lack of attention, or at least awareness of his existence. He easily spotted a girl with earphone jacks hanging from her earlobes, making no move whatsoever to use an apparent sound-based quirk to sense him. Conversations between students continued endlessly and his restraint finally snapped when he heard the word. Friends.

Shouta had friends. He had many friends, no matter what some people thought. He had a loving husband and amazing family. But he wouldn’t allow them to bond now, no. Not the first day. He would not have them become close, only for their dreams to be crushed in front of each other. No promises could be broken and no relationship ruined by a quirk if one never existed to begin with. The other teachers knew he was overly harsh the first day, it was Shouta’s right of passage. But it was not just for potential.

As an Underground Hero, you know people more than people know themselves. And in the high-stress environment of the first day at U.A., people would be too nervous, anxious, and excited to mind their behaviour. It was his job to weed out any discrimination, any blatant hatred. Nip it in the bud before it can fester. Seems like it was time to get to work.

“If you’re here to make friends then leave,” he drawled tiredly, instantly earning the attention of the entire classroom as he emerged from his sleeping bag, a jelly pouch clenched between his teeth. “It took all of you fifteen seconds to quiet down. Unacceptable. I am Aizawa Shouta, or Pro Hero Eraserhead, and I am the Homeroom teacher for Class 1-A.”

He waited approximately two seconds before flashing his quirk and the class fell silent under the weight of his glare and floating scarf. He reached into his sleeping bag and tossed a pile of gym uniforms onto the desk. “In a minute, you will grab one of these and meet me at Exercise Grounds. But first I have an announcement.”

“Aizawa sensei!” A boy said with his hand raised and body rigidly straight. Oh God, it’s a smaller Tensei. “Does this have to do with the desk beside yours? It is unlike any other classroom layout I have passed today.”

“Correct. And next time wait to be called on Iida,” Shouta groaned, internally smirking at the way the boy crumpled. Was it petty to feel this way about a teenager, maybe. But this was Tenya Iida, the epitome of stuck in the mud. It was part of his job as their teacher to fix that. “The seat belongs to another… student.”

The class looked around at each other curiously, the pained way in which he delivered the word worrying them.

“He technically has no need to be here. He has been learning from Pro Heroes for the last four years and is already training for his provisional license exam in a week or so. Unfortunately, the Hero Commission decided he was undertrained in a few aspects, including socialisation and teamwork. Which makes sense considering he has not been part of a class for the last four years.”

Shouta reluctantly nodded at Iida’s raised hand. “A private student then sir? Will our senpai be a teaching instructor?”

The man couldn’t help the smirk pulling at his lips, a sadistic baring of the teeth to the class. “Yes, he is a private student and will be helping me assist the class. But no he is not your senpai. In fact, he is the same age as all of you. Everyone please welcome, Izuku Yamazawa.”

A boy with a messy mop of green curls and freckles smattered across his cheeks walked in with a sharp yet bright grin, all teeth and too kind. “Nice to meet you all!”

Chapter Text

Shota was tired. That was nothing new, of course. The bone-ache fatigue has been set in since that day all those years ago. When friendly cheers becoming barbs that cut his soul, all for a quirk he had no choice over. In a world where power defined your standing, no one liked the person who could snatch it away from you. He learnt that first hand when his own parents had locked the door in his face and thrown his belongings out the window, when his teachers refused to meet his gaze and treat the next in an endless onslaught of injuries from his peers.

He proved them wrong though. Granted, the initial exam he did as a teenager had landed him squarely within Gen Ed., but when the Sports Festival arrived, Shouta had shown not just the staff, but the world, that he could do it. That he would be a hero, no matter how many people spat insults at him. And he had done it. He had become a hero, had found his family despite the first one leaving him.

And he found his matching piece. The one who completed him, in all his sunshine glory and ever-booming voice. Hizashi’s consistent pestering since the day Shouta had been transferred should’ve been enough to inform him, but Shouta was nothing if not stubborn and set in his ways when he was young. Being a hero was all that mattered, not making friends. No matter how bright their smile was, or how his eyes crinkled whenever he laughed that stupid irritatingly infectious laugh that sparked something in Shouta’s soul. Needless to say, it took Shouta an alarming amount of time before he realised and when he did, he locked that boy down. Grabbing Hizashi by the shoulders and saying You’re mine now before making out in the middle of the U.A. cafeteria may not have been the best idea, but they were teenagers and now they were married. Things were good.

All of that aside, Shouta was still tired. Patrol had been monotony defined. A few purse-snatchers and two break ins, the only thing to note was the mildly energy draining take-down of a pair of drunk idiots who thought an alley was a good place to hash out their dispute. Thankfully, a call to Tsukauchi had them in a patrol car before the clock hit 2, which meant he could slink home and catch an hour or two of sleep with Hizashi before getting up to grade papers.

But every plan for relaxation and comfort flew out the window, when the most earth-shatteringly important sound graced his ears.

A soft meow.

Shouta’s head whipped around at a lightning speed and locked eyes with, what was without a doubt, the weirdest cat or animal he had ever seen. And that was saying something considering he had almost daily tea sessions with his father the Rat God. He cautiously stepped deeper into the alley, to where the… creature was gracefully sat upon a pile of boxes with faded images of bread upon them. The gentle aroma clinging in the air greatly defied most alleys he had graced, so Shouta ventured that the building beside him was a bakery. Back to the matter at hand, Shouta told himself, weird cat thing to investigate.

If he was honest, it mostly resembled a Bengal cat, if it weren’t for the discoloration. Rather than deep chocolate brown and honey gold marbling of it’s fur, it seemed as someone had dipped the creature into a monochrome filter. It had a base coat of a sleek glossy black with marbled spots of metallic greys fading into glistening silver strands. Shouta had a fleeting thought that he may even cut himself if he tried stroking it. But what caught him out the most where its eyes. Large, eerily large for its head and glassy white. It seemed impossible, but Shouta could swear it seemed as if some sort of mist floated around in those glassy eyes, like two tiny crystal balls in its head.

There was one thing Shouta was certain of in that moment. He would absolutely die for this amazing thing. It meowed once more. He would kill for it.

And if his night couldn’t get even stranger, it most certainly did when a small timid voice called out, “Her name is Dusk.”

Shouta is never easily surprised. He is the Number One Underground Hero, a title not to be taken lightly. He lives stealth and breathes situational awareness. The darkness is a cloak he wears tightly and the shadows are his safe space. So, how in the ever loving fuck did someone sneak up on him, better yet, someone so young by the sound of that voice.

He most definitely did not leap around with his capture scarf grasped in his hand, quirk active and hair floating as he bathed the newcomer in the red light of his glare, dropping it instantly when he took in the kid’s expression. It was most definitely a kid, one who was way too young to be out so late and in this district of all places. His hair was knotted and tangled, and deeply sooty to match the smears all over his face. Shouta could make out what seemed like freckles underneath the dirt caking the kids face. But what confused him the most was the massive grin and beaming eyes. Yes they were hollow and deep set, yes his smile was strained under what Shouta could make out to be very dry and bruised skin, but that smile was so goddamn bright and endearing, his icy heart melted.

“Eraserhead,” the kid muttered, with an awestruck tone.

---

Izuku was having a pretty good day. He was somewhat in a happy mood when he woke up and he knew why when he looked to the busted up calendar. It was a year behind so he always did the math quickly to know what day it actually was on the date. And it meant today was his birthday. He was finally 11 years old!

One year since he learnt. One year since he moved from that house and into his… home? It felt safer than the house with Inko ever did. He learnt she wasn’t Mother and definitely wasn’t Mama. Not after that night. Not after the knife.

But even thinking about her couldn’t make him sad now. Because he had a home. Sure, it wasn’t necessarily in the safest of places, but abandoned buildings meant no neighbours and no one nosy enough to wonder why a child was living alone and leaving at odd times. He just had a routine was all. Ever since… it … developed, Izuku had come to realise a lot of things. No matter what the world did, it only every cared about quirks. That’s all it ever would come down. Whether your quirk is powerful, whether your quirk is heroic or villainous, or if you even have one at all. And Izuku, he had been handed the short end of the stick. Ten years quirkless, one year with … it. He still wasn’t too comfortable calling it a quirk. A power, yes. But a quirk?

Part of it was Izuku telling himself it was too dangerous, too volatile and unnatural to be considered similar to the rest of the population. Then a smaller part of him, the 4 year old hero worshipper who would dream of this, would remind Izuku of Dusk. Even thinking of her, he couldn’t help but smile and glance over to where she slept on the punctured sofa, her claws scrapping against seams as she slept. The cat was the best family he could ever ask for, the one part of his… power, he could never have regretted using. She understood him in a way no one did, no words had to be spoken between the two. Like right know, she lazily blinked and looked toward him, mewling softly.

Even within his bones, without needing to decipher the animalistic message, he knew she was wishing him happy birthday. He truly loved Dusk.

The day would be like any other he spent. Clean up from last night before heading to the beach. Despite having the whole building to pick from, Izuku had taken residence on the second floor at the back of the building, with the fire escape running down the one window of the apartment. Quick escapes were handy he had learnt before in the few spots he had slept at before permanently making residence in the apartment.

It was one room, simple and easy to maintain. His small mattress was tucked in the left corner on the floor with a single blanket and pillow. It was usually enough in the summer but there was no heat in the building, so winter had proven a bit more difficult. Somehow, he was lucky enough to still have water and electricity running in the building, which made making a quick breakfast on the single stove and tiny counter beside his mattress. Sure it was almost 2 in the morning, but it was breakfast, nonetheless. He sat on the sofa placed against the right wall of the apartment and slowly made his way through a portion of reheated stew he had made a few days ago that was still going. Izuku knew his entirety of one cupboard was running low which meant visiting a shop and attempting to stuff as many things into his pockets without being caught.

It's not like he wanted to steal, but he had no money. Who would in their right mind hire an 11 year old homeless child. Sure he wouldn’t tell them that, but one glance at him had most people looking away. Izuku was fine with that, he’d much rather stay in the shadows than be observed too long. But it was pointless to avoid, so Izuku scarfed down the rest of his rice before slipping out of his shorts and sliding a pair of sweatpants on and pulling an old frayed Present Mic hoodie. ‘Put Your Hands Up’ was written in bright yellow font up both arms with a simple graphic of the hero’s headphones decorating the back. It was obscene, bright, and mainly an ugly reject from the hero franchise line that accidentally ended up being produced. It was slated by the media for it’s tacky design. Needless to say, Izuku loved it.

Dusk leapt from beside him and clung onto his arm and Izuku could only sigh fondly as she situated herself around his neck, curling around him like a scarf. She purred softly, and he enjoyed the rumbling sensation as he flipped his hood up and left his apartment. Through the fire escape obviously.

---

The night had gotten away from him and next thing he knew, Izuku found himself watching a fight. He was no stranger to brawls in his area, hell the place was renowned for the illicit activities that occurred nightly in the alleys. And sure, his dreams of being a hero were no significantly… stilted, but his brain would never cease analysing.

Tall, larger build looks like a dorsal fin on his back. Mutation quirk? Shark like, no apparent gills, no other appearance of mutation. Wait no, those teeth he spat out. One of the floa… He controls his teeth. I wonder if he can control more at once, do they have to be disconnected from his gums, is it just his teeth or entire skeletal structure? Can he do it to any bones, or just his teeth? Wait can he do it to oth- Yeah he can do it to others.

Izuku watched with rapt attention as Shark Man’s opponent staggers back missing his two front teeth from his mouth, rather he has them embedded in his arm. The injured man roars and raises an arm to guard from more flying teeth his way when they suddenly dropped mid-air and clatter to the ground.

His analysis ground to a halt and it seemed the two fighting were just as confused as he was. At least, Izuku’s confusion transformed into giddy awe when he saw a familiar white scarf whip out of seemingly nowhere and wrap around the two men, binding their arms to their sides. The men were collided against each other, promptly knocking the both of them out before they were dumped on the ground.

“Dusk, oh my god, Dusk, is it him, is it him?” he whispered, receiving a mewl in response before she slinked off his neck, seemingly more interested in the boxes beside him.

And then he stepped out, and Izuku almost fainted. It might be the hero he had a whole notebook of theories on, the hero who he dreamed of being like. Right. In. Front. Of. Him.

Izuku’s panic was disrupted by the man snapping to attention at the spot beside him. Or more accurately, at Dusk. Who of course, basked in the attention, fully aware of how beautiful she was. Izuku loved Dusk, he really did, but his cat was an attention seeking drama queen who would gladly rule the world if she had her way.

Does… does the Maybe Eraserhead like cats? Izuku wondered to himself as he watched the hero approach Dusk. The man hadn’t seemed to spot Izuku yet, so he slowly walked over to the man’s side, trying to gauge a look at the man’s face in the low light. He hoped it was. Don’t get Izuku wrong, he’d be excited to talk about Dusk with someone, but it’s just… if he got to meet Eraserhead of all people on his birthday? Then maybe… maybe he could make it one more year, could keep going one more year.

Izuku shook himself, reminding himself of the present moment. The man was still utterly focused on his cat, so he what better way would there be than to strike up a conversation with the possible hero or possible stranger. And hopefully not murderer.

“Her name is Dusk.”

The man whipped around, quirk flaring and scarf flying, and Izuku almost let out the most undignified squeal. It was him, Izuku would know that red eye glare anywhere. He had watched every second of grainy footage he could find, even the ones he had to maybe not so legally access. It’s not his fault that their code had a clear open access point for him to infiltrate. Anyone could have done it, Izuku knows he’s not smart or anything. Just things seem to make sense to him a lot.

But Eraserhead, the Eraserhead, was standing right in front of him and Izuku couldn’t help but feel the universe was smiling down on him that day. Izuku grinned at the man, wanting to thank him, praise him, do something, but all he could manage was a smile and a soft, “Eraserhead.”

---

Shouta was dumbfounded in that moment. He was all but ready to relax the night away before he was stopped by the strangest and arguably coolest looking creature he’d seen and then dumbfounded by a kid knowing who he was, a kid that seemed a lot worse for wear.

“You know me?” He asked, keeping his voice steady and face blank as the red glow of his quirk died down and his scarf sunk back around him.

“Y-Yeah! I’m a huge fan Eraserhead-san, you’re so so cool, the way you fight quirkless and the way you mastered a weapon no has used since the beginning of the Quirk era. And your quirk! It’s so cool, does it work on groups? Do you negate the ability to use a quirk or the quirk factor itself? Does your hair float because of your quirk or the static of your scarf? Or do you have a latent teleki–”

“Slow down kid,” Shouta managed to finally say. He needed a moment to unpack all of that. Not only did a child who probably wasn’t even 10 years old knew who he was, but somehow had an in-depth knowledge about quirks, enough to ask a ridiculous amount of question’s he’d only ever heard his dad Nedzu ask him. Then, there was a real kicker that raised a flag to him. The kid was impressed that he fought quirkless. And boy was that uncommon in this day and age. Shouta knew first hand how those with ‘weak’ or ‘villainous’ quirks where treated, he had experienced it all those years till Hizashi cracked his walls and the Nedzu razed his biological family to the ground. When Nemuri had taught him what it meant when those butterflies fluttered in his chest at the thought of loud blondes, when Oboro… Nope, he wasn’t unpacking that all now. What was important, was that this kid, admired doing something as simple as fighting without a quirk. And if that wasn’t enough to indicate something, the kid’s appearance surely did.

Bruises and gaunt eyes, dry flaking skin and tangled matted hair. Chipped nails and scarred hands. Not to mention the silvery white skin that looked strangely like a bursting pattern peeking from the sleeves and neck of the hoodie. And, oh that goddamn hoodie. Shouta wouldn’t have recognised it unless up close. It was the prank he and Nemuri had pulled on him, pitching it without his knowledge, going behind his back to have a hundred of them produced and shipped out. All of them were recalled when Hizashi found out, all but two. Shouta had one tucked under their bed. And he had just discovered where the other was.

The universe was an odd place. Here he was ready to go home, when the universe handed him this strange kid, and his instincts were screaming at him to not leave. And who was he to not trust his instinct.

“Quite a brain you’ve got there. I’m impressed. Not many people know about me, even fewer know enough to ask the kind of things you did. You know what an Underground Hero is?” Shouta asked, already feeling like the kid knew. He was answered with a timid nod and internally Shouta raised a brow at the kid’s disbelieving awe. The kid doubted his words, doubted his praise. Yeah, he’s taking this one in.

He'd tell Zashi they’re getting a stray. Hell, if the kid knew the cats name, they were a package deal. Even better and still not technically lying to his husband. Logical as all things should be.

“As an Underground, I can’t reveal too much about myself. But seeing as I have just met pretty much my only fan,” Shouta said, the kid squeaking and hiding his red face beneath scarred hands, “I’ll let you ask me a question if you let me ask you one first. We can go back and forth.”

The boy chewed his lips timidly before nodding.

“What’s your name kid?”

“Midoriya Izuku sir. Can… can I ask one now?”

Shouta nodded.

“Do you like cats?”

“More than I like breathing. What breed is Dusk?”

“She was a Bengal. Um… Can you erase your own quirk?”

Shouta had to blink at the question. So simple, yet so many people rarely thought to ask. “Sort of. It’s a long story. Now my turn to ask,” he said, catching how the kid seemed to have relaxed somewhat. He dropped his tone to a softer one, and crouched softly, facing Izuku head on. “What’re you doing out so late Izuku?”

The kid’s eyes widened slightly, and he looked around the alley. Shouta was glad he was stood before the only exit.

“Sh… shopping?”

“At 2 in the morning?”

“Less likely to have queues.”

Shouta knew the look the kid… no, Izuku was wearing. He had worn it many times himself. One of trepidation and fear, one that knew that hoping for something was foolish because it could be snatched out from under them within seconds. It was a look that knew of betrayal and hurt. And that squeezed at Shouta’s heart more than anything. Shouta gently reached out his hand, cataloguing the way Izuku flinched oh so slightly at the movement, before carefully placing his hand on Izuku’s shoulder. Soft, steady. Just there.

“Izuku… how long have you been alone?” He knew there was no point asking if. Shouta was sure that he was alone. If he was quirkless, or had some sort of view over his own quirk that aligned with the stupid portion of the population who were quirkist discriminatory assholes, then foster homes wouldn’t be safe. So Shouta knew he was alone, well except… “And Dusk doesn’t count.”

Izuku’s lip trembled softly and Shouta wanted nothing more than to wrap the kid up, whisper sweet assurances and tell him it will be okay. But he had to wait. He needed Izuku to make this decision for himself. He had only met the kid but he’d die for him, but Shouta needed Izuku to trust him first. Sure he was a Pro Hero, but if his heart was telling him anything, this wouldn’t be just taking a kid off the streets. It’d be taking him off the streets and in. In to his home.

“A year,” Izuku sobbed out, his voice broken and small.

“You don’t have to be,” Shouta said softly.

“I do! My qui– my power. It isn’t safe… it’s evil.”

“Don’t Izuku, please don’t every say that,” Shouta said, gently tilting Izuku’s chin up to meet his eyes. “I’m a hero right? You know me, hell, you even like me for some reason?”

Izuku nodded and choked out a sobbing laugh.

“You know what people called me when I was your age. A villain. Evil. Monster.” Shouta wanted to laugh softly at how wide Izuku’s eyes were but he powered on. “And I believed them for a long time. Until someone important to me taught me they were wrong. There is nothing inherently wrong with a quirk, no matter what. It’s a tool, and it’s only evil if the person uses it for evil. Even if you did something accidentally, it’s not your fault.”

Izuku broke into wild sobs and collapsed into Shouta’s arms, crying and screaming silently into his capture scarf. Shouta stayed, his hand rubbing soft circles on Izuku’s back.

“You’re not alone anymore Izuku, I’ve got you,” he murmured as Izuku’s breathing calmed down and those bright teary green eyes looked up at him. “I’m not making any guesses but I do know there’s never a good reason for someone being on the streets so young. Which leads me to my question. Would you like to go the police station and find someone, a family member or friend who can take you in, or on the off chance I’m right and you’d rather not go back… would you like to come back to mine tonight? We can talk to the police tomorrow and sort out your situation more then.”

“Why?”

“Why what Izuku?”

“Why help me? I… I can look after myself, me and Dusk are fine. I don’t want to bother you. You’re a Pro, I’d just take up your time, I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Izuku, just because you can be fine and okay with your situation, doesn’t mean you have to be. I know what it’s like Izuku, hell I slept on a park bench for a week straight once. You don’t have to stay forever but at least stay a night. A warm bed, meal, you can use the shower too. What do you say?”

Shouta prayed to every God above and thanked them when the kid said a wobbly, “Okay Raser.”

Even he couldn’t hold in his snort.

Chapter Text

Yamada Hizashi was anxious. It was already ten minutes after Shouta would’ve finished patrol and he was usually such a stickler for his relaxing time that he would usually be home by now. But the clock ticked by and his husband was yet to appear, until his phone finally dinged, the ringtone he had set especially for Shouta.

CoffeeCat

02:12    OMW. Prep guest room. A kid. Probably permanent.

LoudCat

02:12    Thank god Sho, I thought you were dead, I was ready to call every one. How old, how bad?”

CoffeeCat

02:13    Ten maybe eleven. Bad.

LoudCat

02:13    See you soon love

CoffeeCat

02:14    <3

It wasn’t the first time either of them had activated their emergency foster licenses and took a kid in. Abusive parents, a rough school, a step-parent with straying hands. The husbands had seen it all and would drop anything to get a kid out of a rough situation. They were never permanent though. A few weeks, months at most. They always kept up to date with their previous fosters, making sure the home they were in was safe and good. They liked having monthly dinners with the six kids, all of them pseudo siblings. They were all finally happy and safe, two of them even heading to college soon. But never permanent. So if Shouta said it, it was most likely true.

Ten year olds were tricky. Stuck somewhere between childlike wonder and growing responsibility. Their lives were a tug of war between youth and the world, the time when you know it’s time to grow up. But it sounded like the little listener had already learnt that decision a while ago. With both of them being Pros and teachers, not to mention Hizashi’s radio job and the needless inheritance Nedzu had handed them, money was never really an issue.

They had a house in the teacher complex of the U.A. dorms, a homely duplex taking up the top two floors of the dorms, with only Nemuri as their neighbour. The open living room housed multiple sofas decorated with throw blankets and pillows for the naps Shouta was always end up taking after patrol, when his body was too weak to go up the stairs. The kitchen was Hizashi’s dream, with a marble countertop and island perfect for his days off when he could finally experiment with the baking recipes he had found in the week. What he was looking for however, was their cupboard of bedding hidden under the stairs. Hizashi pulled out some forest green covers, getting a gut feeling it would suit the little listener.

He headed up the stairs and to the door across from their bedroom. So far the room had been used as a study but they could just combine both of their studies into one room. The spare futon would have to do until they ordered a bed and Hizashi emptied out the drawers and cupboard from the junk the couple had accumulated over the years. Once the room had been cleaned out and dusted, Hizashi stood in front of the box of basic decorations they used to help the rooms feel less dull for their fosters.

He stared back at his own face on one of the posters. Was it narcissistic to put up a Present Mic poster before anything else. No one saw, so there was no proof. He only did a few posters of heroes, never one to assume if their little listener would be a hero worshiper or not. He settled on some safer ones that could cover the bases. Himself for kids who had the hard to control quirks, Gang Orca for those with mutation quirks, and Shota… the poster he and Nem had made themselves. That was the kids who thought their quirks were evil. Hizashi had seen many kids stay with them other than the six main fosters they had had in the past, and each of them gravitated to one of these three posters for some reason or other. He purposefully avoided the likes of All Might and Endeavour. The husbands both had their own thoughts regarding the Number One and Two Heroes, not the mention the Commission holding their leashes. Either way, Hizashi was proud of his choices and moved on to hanging some fairy lights around the ceiling and putting a cream coloured rug down on the floor. He looked around the bare room, a futon with green bedding to the left, a desk below the window on the right, cupboards and bookshelves lining the back wall opposite the door. It wasn’t much but hopefully it would be enough.

The sound of the door rattling broke Hizashi from his activities and he rushed down the stairs in time to see Shouta making hushed conversation with someone behind him.

“SHOUTAaaa,” Hizashi cheered, his quirk dying down when his husband glared at him, not bothering to hide his fond smirk though. “Is the little listener with you?”

“Zashi, meet Izuku,” Shouta said, pulling a tiny boy from behind him, with wide verdant eyes and matching curls growing in every direction.

The boy looked him up and down before squeaking out, “Present Mic!?”

Hizashi just watched as the boy seemingly passed out.

---

Izuku woke up groggily, to something batting his nose incessantly. He cracked an eye open to see Dusk sat in front of his face, peering down at him before batting his nose once more with her paw.

“I’m up,” he groaned, scratching her softly. “Had the strangest dream. Met Eraserhead and Present Mic.”

“Wasn’t a dream little listener.”

Izuku shot up, ignoring the surprised shriek from Dusk, and whipping his head around to see THE PRESENT MIC smiling at him. Two Pros, two of his favourite heroes ever and he got to meet them on his birthday. And then it all came crashing back. The conversation with Eraserhead, the offer to stay the night. He timidly turned and caught Eraserhead’s eye. Izuku’s question was hanging on his lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. Help wasn’t something for Izuku, it was for other kids who deserved it, those who needed help or weren’t… wrong.

“Izuku, can you eat curry?” Shouta asked and Izuku felt his worry break. Of course the hero noticed, he was that good. And he didn’t even worry about giving him an option, already including him in the act. That alone made something warm blossom in Izuku’s chest. He wasn’t used to it, but it felt nice, nicer than he’s felt for a while. So he held on tight to the feeling and nodded to Eraserhead. Maybe staying a night or two with the heroes wouldn’t be so bad.

---

Shinsou Hitoshi was still surprised. The Hero Course, something that had seemed so unattainable and now here he sat, watching his idol shrug out of a horrific yellow sleeping bag and address his class in the glibbest nonchalant way possible. The entrance exam had been, for lack of a better word, rough. A clear display of society’s favour toward powerful ‘heroic’ quirks with mental quirks left at the bottom of the barrel. But spite and a pipe from a robots arm was enough for him to scrap enough points to scrape into the Hero Course. He was finally one step closer to his goal, one step closer to the license that proved all those people wrong. He would be a hero no matter what.

He was pulled from his musings when their Sensei mentioned something about the desk at the front. Honestly Hitoshi couldn’t care less about the idea of a teaching assistant, just another person who would assist him. He didn’t need friends, he needed to achieve his goal and that meant taking in every word teachers said. Unless it was another insult, those would be promptly igored.

“The seat belongs to another… student.” Eraserhead… no Aizawa-sensei, said. A student? It made some sense having a third year come and help out in their class, they would most likely already have their Provisional License and experience working in agencies or with field work. But Hitoshi was admittedly astonished as their teacher continued.

“He technically has no need to be here. He has been learning from Pro Heroes for the last four years and is already training for his provisional license exam in a week or so. Unfortunately, the Hero Commission decided he was undertrained in a few aspects, including socialisation and teamwork. Which makes sense considering he has not been part of a class for the last four years.”

He was stunned. How the hell was something like this possible? Four years of training, more so than the regular student and was even recognised by the Commission. And what did they mean that he is undertrained in socialisation. Is it a solider? Some older person who’d seen hell and was ready to share their ways.

Their teacher grinned and Hitoshi could feel the class quiver beneath the toothy grin. “Yes, he is a private student and will be helping me assist the class. But no he is not your senpai. In fact, he is the same age as all of you. Everyone please welcome, Izuku Yamazawa.”

Hitoshi was silent. A hero brat then, with an all-powerful quirk, one that they probably used to skate through life. Clearly they had the U.A. staff wrapped around their finger, so impressed with what had to be a fantastic quirk, a selfish, entitled di-

 “Nice to meet you all!”

And every thought he had left his brain on account of the green curls and wide grin that seemed to brighten the room. Who could blame him when the boy seemed so small and unassuming but even Hitoshi could see the way the school blazers tightened around his biceps, barely able to contain whatever lay hidden beneath them. Needless to say, Hitoshi had never been more assured that he was gay than in that moment, and of course knowing his luck, he had to find the perfect U.A. golden child attractive.

He was lost in a daze for so long, he didn’t realise what was happening till most of the class were standing and heading toward the pile of gym uniforms on Aizawa- sensei’s desk and followed the rest of the walking class to the changing rooms.

He thumbed the material of the clothes while he thought of emerald eyes and pretty smiles.

Chapter Text

The last week had been heaven to Izuku. Eraserhead and Preset Mic had assured him that he could call them Shouta and Hizashi, but that felt too personal. Too real. If he let himself call them that, then it would feel permanent.

And Izuku didn’t get permanent. It wasn’t allowed. Permanent made it so much harder when it inevitably ended.

But still, the week had been amazing. The first night had been difficult. Endlessly plagued by memories of that night in his dreams, seeing Inko raise the knife. And then all the blood. Dusk was ready for him when his eyes flew open, curling on his lap and staring up at him with her wide eyes, grounding him, reminding him of where he was and where he wasn’t. He was with her, not Inko. But on that night, she had a companion. Eraser had knocked on the door and come in quietly.

He didn’t ask questions, he didn’t comment on Izuku’s tears or shaking form. He just sat beside him on the futon and opened his arms. An invitation, one for Izuku to take. Not forcing him, not ordering him. Just open and there. It had taken him a few minutes, but he crawled closer, and sleep had come easier with the warmth of care around him.

The next time it happened Mic had been there, with a green mug full of warm cocoa. It soothed his aching throat, rough from screaming himself awake. And then Mic asked him questions about his quirk, asked what Izuku thought about varying pitches and volumes could do in the field. Those conversations anchored him in a way nothing, but Dusk could with her quiet comfort.

Mic and Eraser had slowly latched him from floating into oblivion and Izuku was terrified of what would happen if he had drifted too far. He was awake that morning, pondering over the last week. It was good, so good. And it would hurt when they left. Izuku knew the longer it went, the worse it would be.

“What do you think?” He asked Dusk as she groomed her paws. She looked up at him mid-lick and placed her paw down. A moment passed before she trotted across the newly bought bed, the one they bought for him two days ago with a beautiful forest green bedding and pillows and leapt. Dusk landed with grace by the open door and simply walked out, throwing him a glance and a small tilt of her head. The order to follow her was felt deep within his bones. “Guess I’m telling them.”

---

Shouta was halfway to heaven, his mind drifting in that limbo state been awake and sleep before the quiet padding across the floor could be heard. He cracked an eye open from his position draped across the sofa with his head on Hizashi’s lap as the man marked English papers, and watched Dusk walk over. Shouta lazily dangled his arm over the edge and smiled softly when she bumped her head into his hand. And as always, Izuku came padding behind her, somehow softer than the cat.

“Eraser?”

Shouta took a moment to really look at the kid. Still wearing that god-awful Present Mic hoodie that the pair of them loved, much to Hizashi’s chagrin, and a pair of well fitted sweatpants. The mall trip had certainly been eventful, with Izuku literally growling at people who looked at Dusk wrong and refusing to let the couple spend more money on him than for the barest necessities. Needless to say, the pair had ordered many things online when Izuku went to sleep and just slipped them into his cupboards. But, the kid was still a ball of nerves. He almost shut down when they broached the idea of school until they told him he could do it all online. Clearly people were an issue, school was an issue, people judging Dusk was an issue, quirks were an issue. The kid seemed to love talking about them until it came to his. And Shouta wouldn’t pry till Izuku was ready.

Right now, the kid was fumbling with his sleeve and avoiding Shouta’s eye while still waiting for a response, one that Shouta realised he had gone a long time without giving. “What’s up kid?”

“Can… can we talk? All four of us?”

Shouta couldn’t help but smile. Dusk was always included in Izuku’s conversations, no matter what.

“What’s up listener?” Hizashi asked gently, setting the marking down.

Izuku awkwardly dropped himself on the cushioned armchair opposite them, the unspoken chair he had claimed in his time with them. Dusk immediately leapt onto his lap and curled up, but kept her eyes fixed intently on the pair of them. Times like this reminded Shouta that, while beautiful, Dusk could be terrifying with her empty endless stare. Izuku’s hands unsteadily stroked through her fur, gazing between her and the floor before he took a shaky breath.

“It’s about my quirk.”

---

Inko sighed softly, a small smile playing on her lips as she imagined it. Her hands carefully brandished the blade, imagining the life she could’ve had, had Katsuki been hers instead of the null.

She was content, picturing him be the son she always wanted.

“Mama?”

The smile never left her lips as she lifted the blade.

And stabbed the boy in the arm.

The screams made her smile stretch wider, a manic feral thing.

Her eyes were fixed on the gushing crimson, unaware and uncaring for the curling darkness.

She didn’t see the way the moonlight in the room dimmed.

The way the shadows seemed to stretch toward the waste of a child.

No, she was focused on the crimson.

Not on the coiling shadows defying normality. Not on the way the wisps sharpened into something crystalline. Jagged rough hunks of blackened glass upheld by clouds of black mist.

Hunks of blackened glass that hurtled toward the woman fixed on crimson.

---

“I woke up the next morning. My arm was fine,” Izuku mumbled numbly, pulling down his sleeve to show a patch of greyed smooth skin in the middle of his pale scarred skin. Shouta’s fingers dug into his palms as he processed the way the kid, his kid, recounted the first ten years of his life. The absolute horrid treatment the monster that was Midoriya Inko had inflicted upon Izuku, and final night, the final culmination of it all.

His kid, his precious kid, had almost died at her hands. And after everything he had gone through, all the hurt and agony, the universe played the sickest joke and decided to give him a quirk in that moment.

“I call it Shadow States.” A small spark had reappeared in Izuku’s dull eyes at the shift in conversation. “I change the dark.”

“Got any notebooks?” Hizashi began softly and Shouta knew this was the man he loved. If there was anything that they learnt in the last week, it was Izuku loved analysis, and his notebooks were his life. They were the only thing he took from the abandoned building he’d been staying at before. And that was another one hell of a trip they had before the mall. Their kid had been living in a health and safety nightmare, not to mention the fact the building looked one strong breeze from toppling.

Izuku nodded, and of course, he pulled it out his waistband. Already prepared.

Shouta and Hizashi huddled closer as they read over the handed over book, eyes widening as they read the in-depth analysis, the possible theories and finally, how the entire other half of the notebook was dedicated to Dusk. Shouta smirked while Hizashi gaped, his eyes wide.

“Wait so Dusk is… what is she?” Hizashi’s voice was a whimper as he stared at the ‘cat’.

“She’s a beautiful anomaly,” Shouta stated. “And I agree kid, there’s room for growth for both of you.”

And as Shouta had predicted, Izuku immediately had that doubtful questioning look on his face. Eyebrows furrowed, lips pouted and head tilted to the side. This kid had no clue what that face could do, no he was completely oblivious.

“You don’t hate me?” Izuku asked softly.

Shouta slipped off the sofa and slowly walked over to Izuku, making sure the kid could see each of his movements. He knelt before Izuku and laid his palms up, and tentatively, Izuku placed his hands on Shouta’s. He gripped the small, scarred hands gently and looked at Izuku calmly. “Do you remember what I told you the night we met? There is nothing inherently wrong with a quirk, no matter what. It’s a tool, and it’s only evil if the person uses it for evil. Even if you did something accidentally, it’s not your fault.”

He smiled at the kid and carefully wiped the tears falling down his freckled cheeks. “Mean it?”

“I never say anything I don’t mean kid. It would be illogical.”

---

Izuku rocked on his heels beside his dad, already eager for the day ahead. His capture scarf, a black-green blend, was draped over his shoulders as the pair awaited Class 1-A. It was the first year that he would be integrated with other people. Sure, he was technically supposed to start last year but then his dad had gone and expelled the entire class, so they spent the year focusing on hacking, political espionage, and cleaning crime scenes. Not the most heroic of activities but Underground heroes danced in the realm of grey, not black and white morality.

Regardless, this year he would be working with others. They may all be his age, and he may be excited about their quirks, but he was a bit nervous. He’d gotten better with his quirk and abilities, but people were still people. And Izuku couldn’t stand most people. At least he knew a few familiar faces in the class. There was Uncle Tenya’s little brother, the youngest Todoroki, and of course… Kacchan.

That was a weird one. After everything that happened the night with Inko, Izuku was sure that Kacchan would rather die than talk to him again. But Izuku was also certain he’d never have to save the explosive blonde from sentient sludge, and yet people could be proven wrong. The boy had cornered him after the heroes and medics had cleared them and when Izuku braced for the classic right-hook, he was taken aback when the blonde hugged him.

And sobbed.

Gods, he sobbed a lot.

Either way, he and Kacchan had a somewhat stable friendship now. Even if stable meant weekly sparring, followed by deep arguments over whatever pre-Quirk era movie they were watching that always ended with the two more bruised than they would be sparring.

And of course, being the overachiever that he was, Kacchan was the first one out on the Exercise Grounds. He sent Izuku a feral grin that was happily returned.

“Ready for a year of being humbled Kacchan?” Izuku asked, rocking on the balls of his feet as he grinned even widder.

“HAH?! You wanna go, you damn nerd?”

A red glare shut them down instantly. “Katsuki, do not blow up my son. Izuku, do not tamper with a walking bomb. Both of you shut up, your classmates up coming. Goddamn problem children.”

The two snickered and Izuku flashed him the finger before the building doors flew open and the rest of the class trickled in, chattering boisterously and lazily making their way over to the three of them.

Izuku spared a glance at his dad and smirked at the furious glint in his eyes.

Oh, today will be fun

Chapter Text

“Listener,” Hizashi said softly, knocking on Izuku’s door. Their son, because let’s be honest, Hizashi had already begun filing the adoption papers. Sho would sign in a heartbeat, but they’d wait till Izuku was feeling more comfortable. He just hope he wasn’t about to upend any of the comfort the three had built together with his next request.

The poor listener had looked so drained after the night’s revelations, hours spent discussing his horrid life at the hands of the bitch, Inko. But Hizashi plastered a smile on his face as he peeked through the doorway into Izuku’s room, his heart softening at the sight of Izuku hurriedly scrawling in a notebook, lying on his stomach with Dusk perched on his back and peering at his writing.

“Hi Zashi,” Izuku mumbled, eyes not breaking from his notebook. That was another thing. After the conversation last night, he muttered a quiet Night Zashi, night Sho, before heading to his room. Needless to say, Sho had to erase his quirk before his cries of joy woke the whole dorm. And that reminded him of the request.

The couple had spent the last week holed up in their apartment, with Nedzu having groceries delivered after the tense time at the mall. The rest of the staff, their family as much as Shouta would deny it, were curious. Only Nedzu knew the truth and thankfully he had expertly dodged any question tossed his way. Hizashi loved his boss as much as he feared him. All in all, the staff had questions and the couple had decided it was probably time they gave answers.

“Can we talk a second buddy?” He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Thankfully, Izuku had put up some more decorations since he woke up despite the still early hour. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and there were already hand drawn images of himself and Sho plastered to the walls. The fairy lights had been moved from the ceiling to crudely frame his favourite poster and Hizashi wasn’t even upset to see Izuku had chosen the poster of Shouta over Gang Orca and himself.

“Sure,” he said, tucking his notebook aside and looking up at Hizashi with tired eyes but a warm grin.

“Me and Sho have been sort of taking time of work this last week. And while we wish we could keep going on how we have, the U.A. are starting to ask where we are.”

“It’s fine, I can stay at home, I won’t open the door for anyone.”

“Izu, we aren’t just going to leave you alone. I know you still think you’re fine to be alone, and you are very capable for your age, but you shouldn’t and don’t have to be. Let us be there to help you listener,” Hizashi said softly, carding a hand through Izuku’s curls.

And just like Dusk, he melted into the touch. “So what do I do?”

“How do you feel about going to U.A. today?”

Izuku squealed.

---

Kayama Nemuri was not a patient woman.

And in the last week, her family had done their utmost to test it. It begun with Shouta’s cryptic texts and his sudden disappearance followed by Hizashi. Then Nedzu suddenly sent a staff-wide message saying the two were not to be disturbed, that she would be bunking with Kurose for the foreseeable future because apparently the two needed their whole dorm floor to themselves. And on top of it all, Nedzu said any questions or complaints should be directed to him, an unspoken message of ask and end up in a ditch.

All in all, she had become very impatient this last week. And very, very curios. Her and Kurose had spent endless time debating what the two could’ve been up to and as much as she loved her astronaut friend, Nemuri needed her alone time. She hadn’t had time to do her full hair care routine since she left her hair mask in her apartment. So when Shouta finally sent a message to the inner circle staff group informing them that the couple had an announcement and to specifically have everyone arrive in one of U.A.’s conference rooms in their Hero costumes, Nemuri sprinted to change.

It took four minutes that never seemed to past before she was sat at a desk, whip placed on the desk in front of her and a manicured nail tapping repeatedly on her chair’s armrest.

“Nem, for the love of all things sacred, please stop tapping your chair,” Kan groaned, rubbing his temples. “Too early for this.”

She moved her hand to the table and levelled Kan with a blank face as she tapped harder and faster against the veneer of the desk. Vlad glared back at her and Nemuri begun tapping a jaunty tune

“Nemuri,” Nedzu said simply from his perch at the head of the table, his beady eyes fixed squarely on the tablet in his paw, not a single trace of emotion.

She stopped tapping immediately.

“Everyone, I’m glad you could make it,” Nedzu chirped when the rest of the staff filtered into the room and took their seats. “We have an important matter to discuss–”

“Cut the crap Nedzu, where are they?” Mijima asked, ignoring the squawking indignation from the staff. Nemuri tossed him a respectful nod, eager to know as well.

“Your situational awareness is lacking.” The squawks were replaced by yelps as the staff spun around to see Shouta lounging in the doorway, looking as bored and disinterested as ever. “I’ve been here forty seconds.”

“You son of a–” Nemuri began, standing from her chair before she was silenced by Shouta activating her quirk.

“Before anything, I’m going to preface this now. No swearing or I choke you with my scarf. No arguments. Got it?” Only once he had seen each of them nod did Shouta step aside and Hizashi came in, holding on to the shoulders of a boy who broke Nemuri’s heart.

He was clearly malnourished, with dry skin and wild green curls. Scars littered the skin she could see past a Present Mic hoodie that brought on fond memories. But it was the absolute shock and awe on his face that truly made her heart melt. Nemuri was Midnight, the R-rated hero, 18+ to the extreme. To say she had a particular demographic of fans was an understatement. So rarely did she see that smile, the one of pure warmth, one that said I see you for who you are, and it’s beautiful.

“Guys, this is our foster son, Izuku.”

---

Nedzu was not surprised by the reactions, he had estimated what each of them would be and as usual, nothing strayed from his predictions Nemuri had melted, Kan had puffed his chest up with pride. Hound Dog and Power Loader both collapsed back into their seats clutching their chest and Recovery Girl was gently podding a frozen Thirteen, the Space Hero seemingly fixed in place by the smile.

He was thoroughly enjoying the reactions, he himself saw part of what the effect was. He shared little emotions with humans, but right now he could definitely feel the more territorial parts of his personality come forth. Seeing such a bright and happy smile on such a clearly damaged and hurt individual, it was such a striking contrast it almost hurt to observe. It was not unlike watching a dying star. Something so magnificent and beautiful yet devastating, nonetheless.

The boy, Izuku, certainly interested Nedzu. He had heard from his cub how brilliant Izuku’s analysis was, and his cub was rarely one to administer praise so easily. Look to Shouta’s expulsion rate if you made the mistake of not believing Nedzu. So when the teachers had died down from their fanfare and Nedzu deemed the young pup stable enough from his admiration of the heroes did Nedzu crawl across the table.

“Am I a mouse? Am I a bear,” Nedzu began.

“You’re a stoat!”

Nedzu froze. His cub froze. The room froze.

“Shouta. Online school?”

His cub had that pained look on his face before begrudgingly admitting, “Yes.”

“Not anymore. Izuku, young pup, you know who I am?”

“Of course Nedzu-sir, you’re the Intelligence Hero!” The young boy seemed to think over his words, glancing to Shouta who simply ruffled the boy’s hair before Izuku seemed to decide whatever it was. “I um… I have an entry in my notebook about you.”

“Wonderful pup. I would happily read it. How would you feel about having some lessons with me sometimes. You’re one of two people to every guess what animal I am on the first try. Absolutely marvellous.”

“It’s.. it’s nothing sir, really, anyone could’ve looked into it. I’ve seen articles where you say your favourite food is rabbit, and you’ve got a longer tail than a weasel, plus your height and teeth are indicators. Anyone could’ve made the guess sir, really.”

“Pup, trust me, it is not just nothing. You have an incredible skill, and I would like to help you hone it.”

“Really?”

“No world corruption till he’s legally an adult,” Shouta ground out.

“Of course not my cub, we will start with the Commission.”

Chapter Text

It was sixth months since Inko. Since the night. He refused to use… it. All it was good for was splattered blood and taking lives. But even then, he still couldn’t deny the comforts that the darkness brought him, especially now.

Life involved hopping from one alley to the next, hoping and praying there was some semblance of shelter to stave off the winter rain. Dumpsters overflowed with rancid scents and rotting trash, and ever since the sanitation workers went on strike, the chances of finding an empty dumpster to sleep in where null.

Null, he said dryly to himself, an empty laugh escaping his chapped, shivering lips. If only they knew now.

But even there as he huddled in the doorway of a building’s fire exit, making himself as small as possible to escape the never ending rain, he heard it.

A cry in the night.

Izuku cracked his eyes open and saw it across the alley from him. Huddled underneath a pile of wet sagging boxes was a cat, clearly having seen better days. It’s fur was drenched and matter and a piece of its ear was missing, not to mention how even from where he sat, he could see its ribs. Izuku weakly reached out a hand and to his astonishment, the cat somehow raised its head from the ground and locked eyes with him.

Two beings of pain and grief stared at each other.

And then he saw the gash. Thin yet deep across its side, he hadn’t seen it but its body had twisted when it rose its head. Izuku was tired, exhausted in his bones, but nothing and no one should suffer in their last moments. He mustered as much energy as he could find within himself to drag his weak body across the wet concrete. Izuku didn’t care for the stains seeping into his clothes, infecting his already festering wounds. He kept going till he could carefully prop the cat onto his lap and shield… her from the rain.

“Hey baby,” he said, his voice cracking. Izuku wasn’t sure when the last time he actually spoke was. “I’m Izuku.”

The cat mewled ever so gently, her tiny pained voice breaking him more than starburst scars or flying blades could. His fingers gently prodded till they found the faint pulse.

The pulse that was getting slower and slower.

He didn’t really know what was happening in that moment. Just that he couldn’t let her go on, not when the world had showed her so much hatred. Tears fell from his eyes and his shoulders shook but he did all could to keep her steady, to show the comfort she desperately deserved. His body ached with her pain, he knew how it felt when the world turned its back on you, left you to lick your wounds clean before you succumbed to them. He wouldn’t let it be too late for her, he couldn’t.

Izuku’s sobs rang in his mind, and he barely saw the darkness in the doorway curl around him, the shadows clinging to his skin as some misty cloak. It ran over his hoodie, covering the fabric before coating his palms. It was then he saw it.

He was frozen, watching the darkness coalesce around his skin, too shocked that the power was in use when he so vehemently tried to deny it. And then it… settled.

The misty darkness gathered in his palm and became denser, opaquely black and he gagged as it thickened unexpectedly into a tar-like goo in his hand. Before he could fling it off, the goo bubbled and somehow latched onto the open wound of the cat. Izuku cried out and tried wrenching his hand away but it was too late. The darkness was sucked into the wound, leaving his palm empty.

He stared in horror as the wound of the cat begun to seal itself over. A few moments passed where nothing happened. And her chest stopped rising. Izuku choked back a sob but floundered back when her coat shifted, the dirty mottled fur shining a brilliant silver. The thin spindly claws thickened in her paw pads and those once pain filled eyes opened to reveal dazzling white.

She stood slowly, assessing her new monochromatic form and gracefully sashaying under the rain. Izuku watched in shock and fear as water ran off her fur with ease, not clinging or ruining her coat in the slightest. The cat then turned and finally seemed to notice him. She padded forward and immediately rubbed her face against his neck, mewling softly.

Izuku jolted. It wasn’t possible, but he swore it almost felt like he heard something. A name.

“D-Dusk?”

She mewled and swatted his nose.

---

Hitoshi stood with the rest of Class 1-A under Aizawa-sensei’s intense scrutiny. He knew he should have just left when he had changed, but he figured he should wait with the rest of the class unless he wanted to talk to Sensei alone. And he would not embarrass himself in front of his idol. Or the hot TA He couldn’t care less about what Golden Boy could think.

Either way, he had made a mistake, because if looks could kill, Aizawa would have murdered them all.

“You all took fifteen minutes. That is unacceptable. Time is limited, I expect the time to be halved next time. We will be moving directly onto a Quirk Apprehension Test.”

"What about the entrance ceremony? Orientation? Guidance sessions? Are we just skipping those?" A brunette with a bob piped up.

“Welcome to U.A. where teachers decide upon the curriculum of their students. We will not waste time on trivial school activities you’ve already had in life when time could be spent bettering your self and your abilities. In middle school, you all underwent a series of tests to measure your physical capabilities. Bakugo, you scored first in the entrance exams. What was your ball throw distance?”

“Sixty-seven metres,” the spiky blonde boy grunted.

The hell kind of freak can toss that far naturally? Hitoshi screamed internally.

Aizawa-sensei procured a ball from somewhere in his jumpsuit and tossed it to the blonde guy. “Try it with your quirk.”

A feral grin overtook the boy’s face and Hitoshi managed to see Yamazawa cover his ears, which he decided to do too, before a resounding “DIE!” rang out

And was followed by an echoing boom that shook the Exercise Ground. Hitoshi barely managed to stay standing, and he watched as some kid with yellow hair was gripping onto the red hair guy’s… stone arm? Rock arm?

Aizawa-sensei merely held up a tablet reading 705.2 metres

“It’s important to know the limits you are at now, so you can move beyond them.”

“Awesome, we get to use our quirks,” the yellow haired boy said when he had finally recovered.

“How fun!” A pink-skin girl agreed.

Hitoshi couldn’t help but catch the way Yamazawa flinched at the word, before his eyes fell onto Aizawa-sensei, the man’s face contorted into a sadistic grin.

“Fun? If you think this is fun, then the person in last place will be expelled.”

And like that, any positive feeling Hitoshi had about impressing his idol was drowned in icy water. Of course, even places like U.A. would place an emphasis on physical quirks and their purpose.

“You can’t do that!” The brunette shrieked. “It’s not fair!”

“Fair? Are natural disasters fair, villain attacks fair? If you came here to have a relaxing time learning about the theory of heroism, make friends and have fun conversations when my back is turned then leave right now. I will not train a single person that does not dedicate every fibre of their being into being the best version of themselves possible. Go beyond, Plus Ultra and all that. Begin!”

Hitoshi was mentally planning if other hero schools could accept him or if he would have to suck it up and face joining Gen Ed. after one day in the Hero course, when a light tap on his shoulder broke him out his stupor.

“Hi, Shinsou right?”

Of course, it had to be fucking Golden Boy. How did he somehow have even more freckles than the last time Hitoshi stared… LOOKED at the guy. And there was no way someone’s eyes could shine that much and still look so deep and endless. Of course the perfect boy had to have perfect eyes, perfect face, perfect arms.

“Is your name not Shinsou? Oh god this is embarrassing.”

“Why?”

Really Hitoshi? Why? Of all the words to say, you choose why? What the hell is wrong with you?

“Why do I want to know your name? Well, I saw you silently freaking out over Aizawa-sensei’s speech and seeing as I know the quirks of all the class I can figure out why.”

His floundering mind suddenly singled in on the words and Hitoshi glared at Golden Boy. “Saw my quirk and thought you’d come put me in my place. I’m sure you’ll be as creative as every other person.”

And to his surprise, Golden Boy just huffed and smiled. “I don’t care about your quirk Shinsou, I had advice actually.”

Hitoshi heard Aizawa-sensei call the third pair up to do the fifty-metre run but he couldn’t tear himself from the verdant pools.

“You don’t have to trust me or like me. I know right now, no one is a friend to you. But know that quirk usage is allowed. See Iida Tenya there, just won the dash using his quirk. Bakugo Katsuki used an explosion.”

“I can’t exactly brainwash a ball to throw itself.”

“Why not have someone do it for you,” Gol- Yamazawa said before returing to Aizawa-sensei’s side.

The rest of the tests seemed to pass by in a blur of sweat, exhaustion, and pure spite. By the time the ball throw came around for the rest of the class, Hitoshi had yet to use his quirk no matter how many times Yamazawa tossed him encouraging nods. But he couldn’t put it off anymore. It was between him and the invisible girl for last place if his maths was right, and Hitoshi had fought too much to give up.

So when his name was called, he braced himself. Hitoshi looked to Yamazawa and saw nothing but support in those green eyes. He prepared for the backlash, for what his idol might say, what the other students might say. At least he knew one person would hopefully have his back. He felt the weight of the ball in his hand before deciding who.

“Hey Urkara”

“It’s Urak–” she began, before her eyes turned blank and she stood stock still. Everyone around them froze except Aizawa-sensei who observed the situation critically and Yamazawa who was grinning widely and rocking on his heels.

“Throw this ball as far as you can using your quirk.” The words slipped off his tongue like velvet, lacing his quirk into the words and he felt the moment the order settled into her subconscious, her body compelled as if it wanted to act this out all along.

A brush of her finger pads and an infinity score later, Hitoshi dropped his hold and breathed deeply, preparing himself.

“Woah, that was so relaxing!”

Huh?

“What is your quirk Shinsou, I felt like I was on a cloud!” Uraraka cheered.

“You don’t… care? I uh, I brainwashed you.”

“… Hope it’s clean now?”

Even he couldn’t hold back a snort at her pathetic joke and he high-fived her offered hand, walking back with her to stand in line with the rest of the class.

Not before the student with a tail glared at him and uttered the one word. That one word he thought wouldn’t breach the words of U.A.

“Villain.”

Of course it would happen. It was foolish to hope U.A. would be any different, why would it? The school had no need to stop favouring the more desirable heroic quirks, the physical ones, the flashy ones. They were part of the system that kept the divide between heroes and villains without ever observing the greyed blur between the two worlds. Uraraka took a step in front of him and glared at the tailed boy but what truly registered was the sight ahead. Not their teacher, who did look angry enough, but it was Yamazawa.

He had only seen the boy grin, act all sunshine and rainbows in the few hours of his first day. Slowly the rest of the class caught sight too. Because gone was the smile, the bright eyes. In it’s place was a feral scowl, all teeth and rage. His eyes were a cold toxic green, an acid you would melt in lest you stared too long. And all of its vitriol was directed on the tailed boy.

Thankfully the idiot had the gall to look sheepish at the utterance but clearly that wasn’t enough for Yamazawa because in a flash the boy was stood before them, holding the tailed boy up by the collar of his shirt.

“Care to repeat that?” Yamazawa asked quietly. “Bear in mind, quirk discrimination falls under the umbrella of reasons to expel a student. And as a Teaching Assistant, I have the luxury to recommend student expulsions. So tell me Ojiro Mashirao, would you care to repeat that? Or would you rather apologise before I explain every error in your utterance while seeing how long your tail can last in combat against bladed weapons? Is Gym Theta free Sensei?”

“It can be,” Aizawa-sensei drawled, having decided something on his tablet was suddenly more important.

Yamazawa dropped Ojiro in a heap and turned his glare to the rest of the class. “Any discrimination will be reported and punished accordingly, especially quirk discrimination. The threat I made to Ojiro stands to all of you. Threats of blades make surprisingly good motivators.”

“That’s all for today,” Aizawa-sensei said, finally looking up and in a split second Yamazawa was back, with his bright smile and brighter eyes. “Grab a syllabus from homeroom on your way home. See you all tomorrow.”

As the class was leaving, someone tapped Hitoshi’s shoulder and he turned to have those bright eyes on him, full of concern.

“Are you okay Shinsou?” He asked softly.

Damn you Yamazawa. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Leave before I pass out. From horniness or annoyance I don’t know.  “Really. And… thanks, I guess.”

“Always,” Yamazawa said with a grin before going back to Aizawa-sensei and pestering the man.

Hitoshi could only turn and head to the locker rooms, pulling the gym uniform off and his uniform back on, memory full of that bright smile and that simple single word. Always.

Chapter Text

Izuku was not a morning person in the slightest.

When you have a darkness-based quirk and spent more time awake at night than the usual person, the morning tends to become a natural enemy. So when the first day he would spend with Class 1-A would be doing the Quirk Assessment Test, Izuku was happy to just sit on the sidelines and observe the capabilities of this year’s students. He already had an entry for each student and some basic information he’d gleamed from the Entrance Exam tapes that Nedzu had kindly handed over to him. And more than one had caught his eye.

Uraraka Ochacko labelling her quirk as Zero Gravity when there was much more to it than met the eye. Todoroki Shoto refusing to use an aspect of his quirk that would regulate his temperature and make him a multi-faceted powerhouse. Hagakure Toru’s absolute belief that all she would be, all she could be, was purely invisible. But none of them caught his eye as much as the amethyst enigma.

Shinsou Hitoshi, with the incredible quirk of Brainwashing. Something that the biased Entrance Exams would not account for, but that was an issue for Tomorrow Izuku to tackle. Either way, when Izuku had holed up in his room with a mug of four espresso’s at 2am, blankets draped over his head and shoulders with Dusk sleeping on his lap, he watched transfixed as Shinou had taken a pipe and smashed his way into the Hero Course with pure determination, a fiery glint in his eye as he pulled people out of danger.

Now, don’t get him wrong, Izuku loved quirks, he loved them. He could, and had, spent hours upon hours analysing hero fights, villain takedowns, footage of back-alley deals. Written endless entries and page long breakdowns of each quirk he had witnessed. But seeing someone enter a biased exam, someone who had probably not been dealt the kindest hand in life, and still fight their way through?

Izuku was entranced with the boy.

And then came the next problem.

Izuku had never really had friends his age. Let alone even poke the prospect of a relationship with a fifty foot pole. His life was somewhat … unique. Ten years spent ostracised and ridiculed by literally everyone, almost a year on the streets with nothing but an undead cat, and then the rest of it spent with his true family, learning everything and anything he could. If Izuku then could see him now, he’d die. Izuku himself could still not believe his life is what it was.

So yeah, he has a somewhat good control of his quirk, and his dads say he’s good with combat. Even Nedzu compliments his analysis. But conversations? Friends? That’s an unknown factor to Izuku, an anomaly that terrified him. Pops had said socialisation was important for people his age, and Izuku had vehemently argued his socialised plenty. Then Dad had reminded him that chess with Nedzu and adjusting his Hero costume with Power Loader and Auntie Nem didn’t count. Finally, Nedzu had been the one to break it down for him, that this was vital to understanding working alongside other Heroes, ones that he would be working with in the future. And let no one say that Izuku wouldn’t do what it took to better his abilities.

And with that thought in mind, Izuku made his mind up. He marched forward, ignoring his Dad’s raised brow, and tapped the boy on the shoulder. “Hi, Shinsou, right?”

The taller boy looked at him and Izuku had never been gladder his Dad drilled facial composure into him, because Izuku was about to swoon.

Glistening, rich lavender eyes bore into him, piercing his soul and laying it bare for judgement. Sharp cheekbones cast deep shadows over his smooth porcelain skin, like an Adonis carved from marble. And if his heart wasn’t already going crazy, the thin silvery scars around his jaw made his heart ache.

But he didn’t respond.

“Is your name not Shinsou? Oh god this is embarrassing.”

And then the pretty boy just blurted out a strangled. “Why?”

Izuku cracked a smile, not letting the awkwardness get to him. “Why do I want to know your name? Well, I saw you silently freaking out over Aizawa-sensei’s speech and seeing as I know the quirks of all the class I can figure out why.”

And then that cute floundering look on Shinsou’s face contorted into a deep scowl, and he spat out, “saw my quirk and thought you’d come put me in my place. I’m sure you’ll be as creative as every other person.”

But Izuku took it with ease. Because Shinsou didn’t need someone who would argue with him, he didn’t need someone to scream at him. Shinsou needed the one thing he’d always been denied because of his quirk. Simple communication.

“I don’t care about your quirk Shinsou, I had advice actually. You don’t have to trust me or like me. I know right now, no one is a friend to you. But know that quirk usage is allowed. See Iida Tenya there, just won the dash using his quirk. Bakugo Katsuki used an explosion.”

He sighed gratefully when the anger seemed to ebb from Shinsou’s eyes and the taller boy’s shoulders dropped slightly. “I can’t exactly brainwash a ball to throw itself.”

And then Izuku gave him a smile he’d learnt from his Dad. “Why not have someone do it for you?”

Returning to his Dad, Izuku was a bit upset to see his advice hadn’t stuck. But he was nothing if not insistent and kept throwing encouragement Shinsou’s way. And then when the ball toss came, Izuku was thrilled.

Call-and-response based activation, is it purely vocal based? If someone where to clap after he asked, could he catch them in his hold? How many people can he hold under at once? Is there a cognitive strain to using his quirk? Can he brainwash animals? Can he brainwash himself? Is it actually brainwashing or hypnosis? What are the limits to what he can make people do? Can everyone be put under his hold? Can anyone escape his hold?

“Villain.”

His thoughts came to a halting stop and his eyes zeroed in on the pathetic excuse for a hero student that dared utter the word in his presence. It was time for his first lesson as Class 1-A’s Teaching Assistant.

---

“You stupid nerd, how the hell do you confuse baking powder for salt? You’re hopeless Zuku,” Katsuki growled, shoving Izuku out the way and reorganising the mess of ingredients on the island counter.

Their weekly ritual had started up again after the Sludge Incident. He had years of mistakes to make up for, and he started with storming up to the gates of U.A. with a container of his homemade cookies. When he had found the nearest security camera, he popped a few explosions and yelled until a teacher came by. Thankfully it had been one the nerd had always blabbed on about in the past so Katsuki easily recognised Cementoss. The surprise was hard to glean from a stony face, but not every day did a random middle schooler come demanding to see the ward of U.A.

Eventually he had been granted a guest pass and ever since then, every Monday was spent either at Katsuki’s place or on U.A. grounds, training and hanging out. After school had ended for the day, they spent an hour or so in the gym working out. Since neither the Hobo or Cockatoo were free to supervise, sparring was off limits.

And not that he would ever admit it but… Katsuki still couldn’t bring himself to go all out with his explosions around Zuku. Not since what he used to use them for. So no, he wouldn’t go all out with his quirk on Zuku, until Katsuki was sure he had done everything he could to apologise and make it up to him.

He had let his best friend get away once before and that was his own fault. Katsuki sure wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.

And as always, the nerd was reading his face like an open fucking book.

“The fuck you staring at?”

“You’re thinking too much again.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Of course Zuku knew, the nerd could tell you what someone across the planet he never met was doing in that moment. “Kacchan. We are here now. Not there.”

“Zuku… you can’t just–”

“I overheard from Kaminari and Kirishima that you really let Tail Boy have it when you were getting changed, even brought up specific laws about discrimination. Katsuki from then would never have done that. He would have agreed. Katsuki now though? He’s my best friend. And I don’t take kindly to people insulting my best friend. So put ‘em up Kacchan,” the damn nerd said with a grin, raising his fist.

Katsuki just tsk’d but grinned nonetheless and shoved the nerd on the shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, I’m amazing and you’re obsessed with me. And speaking of obsessed… I saw the way you were checking out Eyebags.”

“Eye– you mean Shinsou?”

“You got a quirkoner for him?”

“Huh?”

“A quirk bon–”

A shadowy vine wrapped itself around Katsuki’s mouth before he could even finish. The nerd meanwhile was red-faced and wide-eyed, the exact face he knew Zuku would’ve made. Katsuki popped a few light explosions over the shadows and they melted back mist, letting his cackles be heard.

“I was right!”

“Shut up,” the nerd grumbled. “Just make the cookies already. Unless the oh so great Kacchan can’t even do that.”

“Fuck off nerd, I’ll show you cookies, they’ll be the best goddamn cookies you’ve had in nerdy life you curly haired nightmare.”

“Love you too Kacchan.”

“Nah, that would Eyebags.”

“BAKUGO KATSUKI!”

---

The lights barely flickered, casting unsteady shadows across the wooden floor. Glass bottles lined the shelves of the far wall. Behind the bar stood a misty figure, dressed to the nines and gently polishing tumblers. Sat in front of him, slouched on a stool with a busted GameBoy clasped between chapped hands, was the face of a revolution.

The screen affixed to the wall crackled to life and both people snapped their attention to it.

“We have a target. Prepare yourselves.”

And it was there, in a dingy bar hidden in the Kamino Ward, that the collapse of hero society began.

Chapter Text

Shouta sipped from his thermos and eyes over the rest of the conference room. Hizashi was sat to his left, scrawling out the schedule for the next week at his radio station. To his right, was Izuku, nose deep in a notebook and from what Shouta could glance from the hurried writing, it was an entry dedicated to Hawks’ Fierce Wings. More of the staff lingered around the room, most drawn to the plate of pastries near the door. The Yamazawa family had steered clear.

If Nedzu put out pastries, he was buttering them up for something. They knew his tricks.

Most of them.

The Rat God cleared his throat, and those mingling found their seats quickly.

“Now, I’m sure you’re all curious why I’ve called another meeting so soon after we already had one after the Entrance Exams. Fear not, there are little to no changes taking place.”

“It would be illogical to have any changes take place two days before the school term starts,” Shouta drawled. “So what exactly are you planning?”

Not a trace of emotion could be gleamed from the rat’s beady eyes, but Shouta held the stare nonetheless.

“We will be having a new member of staff to teach Foundational Heroics.” The rat ignored the uproar from the rest of the staff.

Shouta was pissed too. He had his fair amount of disagreements with his… family, but he could put up with them. Adding someone new, a stranger, this soon to the start of the year? It was not a good idea, and Nedzu had to know that. So something else was going on entirely. And if the tiny grin pulling at Nedzu’s mouth was anything to go by, the rat knew just what Shouta was thinking.

Guess they’d be having a meeting later.

“Is it a retired hero?” Izuku asked excitedly, because of course his son would bypass the entire betrayal of the matter for the chance to nerd out over a hero and get a new entry into his notebooks. Having him sit in on meetings was a regular occurrence since the boy had started U.A.

After just two weeks of personal lessons with the rat, and Izuku had finally started coming out of shell more, adding that exact sprinkle of chaos to the household that Shouta or Hizashi never knew they needed. Not to mention the strides the kid made in combat, learning the capture scarf quicker than Shota had, and mastering his quirk. And, boy, what a quirk it was. If only Izuku believed in himself half as much as he did in others to use their abilities, their kid would be unstoppable.

“Not retired,” Nedzu said slyly, tapping his tablet and making the door to the conference room swing open.

“I AM HERE”

Izuku squeaked and passed out

---

After Izuku had woken up and promptly freaked out for another fifteen minutes, Nedzu had explained All Might’s purpose and two forms to the staff while Shouta slunk away to the coffee machine, keeping one eye on his kid and the buffoon. Don’t get him wrong, Shouta understood All Might as a hero, and could respect the man. But as for the Symbol of Peace? Well, just never bring it up when Shouta has had too much to drink because that’s a night wasted on debates of its impact on crime rates and Underground heroics. Only Izuku could put up with those long-winded tirades. But the kid was still a hero worshipping fan boy, and this was All Might, there was no way his kid would say something bad.

“Is it true you can only keep up your current form for two hours and fifty seven minutes at the moment?” Izuku asked with a wide grin. “You’re so cool All Might sir, doing all you do to keep everyone safe even with your injury.”

Shouta snickered at the sight of All Might’s shock.

“My boy, that’s uh… how do you know?”

“Oh, just a theory strung together from a few videos I’ve seen.”

Shouta snorted into his mug. “Few being thousands.”

“You’re worse when it comes to cat videos.”

“Problem child.”

“Young Yamazawa, if you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?” All Might questioned. Shouta studied the man carefully, waiting for any sign of malice to appear.

“Fourteen sir, and I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Before All Might could question further, Nedzu piped up. “Izuku here was taught by almost all the staff personally in a variety of subjects. I would not hesitate to say he is the most versatile combatant, on and off the field in this room. Also, Yagi, unlike you, Izuku already has a teaching license.”

“At fourteen?” All Might asked. “My boy… you are incredibly impressive, I apologise. I look forward to working with you as well.”

“All Might sir, one more thing?”

“What is it my boy?”

Shouta sighed as Izuku bowed deeply and held up his notebook. “Can you please sign this for me?”

---

Eijirou was feeling pumped. Second day of class with a bunch of amazing people. Everyone was just so…

Manly

Everyone had given it their all in the exercise yesterday, and he couldn’t be happier to be in a class of people who all had dreams they were trying so hard to achieve. Plus, he had Mina in his class. She was one of the few people in his life that saw behind the Hardening and sharky smile. They’d been together through thick and thin. He was there when the first person called her a freak, she was there to dye his hair when he had his whole breakdown a week before U.A.

She was his sister in everything but blood. But times like this made her a bit too much.

“C’mon Ei, I know you must think something.”

“I told you Mina, they’re all m–”  

“Manly, I know.” Mina sighed and twirled around him as the pair walked to U.A., the morning breeze nipping at their skin.

He happily smiled and waved at the people who recognised their uniform and cheered them on. He would be their hero one day, the hero for the everyman. A wall for everyone to lean on. Unbreakable.

“There must be someone that caught your eye. I know your type babe, and there’s a few people in there that fit the bill.”

“Mina,” he sighed. “The only person who I think is really cool is Yamazawa. Did you see the way he just grabbed Ojiro by the collar and lifted him up. With one hand. And then he was just smiling again.”

“Yeah… and, I like what he said.”

Eijirou glanced at her, watching Mina kick a stone as they walked. “Mina. Has anyone… said anything to you since we started?”

“Huh? Oh, oh no Ei, really I’m fine. It’s just… I always feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop you know? I’m still the only one in our class that looks… like me.”

“Hey. I think you look pretty cool. And if anyone disagrees,” he began, hardening his fist and raising it into the sky. “They’ll have to deal with me!”

“Thanks babe. But let’s get going, we don’t want to be late.”

---

Classes passed by pretty quickly and before they knew it, lunch was over and it was time for their first ever Foundational Heroics Class. Eijirou was saw at his desk, waiting when the door opened and Yamazawa walked in. Eijirou knew he wasn’t the only one in shock over their TA’s hero costume.

A sleek black jumpsuit with green piping running down the sides of his legs and arms. He wore black fingerless gloves, the steel capped knuckles glinting in the classroom’s light. A forest green scarf was draped around his shoulders, eerily similar to Aizawa-sensei’s, and he had sturdy looking boots laced up to his knees.A utility belt was attached at his waist with many pockets and what Eijirou made out to be handles.

Does he have knives? Eijirou wondered.

A hood hung loosely over his head and the class yelped slightly as something moved form within it. Yamazawa simply pulled the black mask down from his face and grinned at the class.

“Welcome everyone to your first Foundational Heroics class. I’ll be TA’ing the class, while your teacher…”

“IS COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON.”

The class went wild

---

“TEAMS ARE DISPLAYED HERE”

Eijirou looked up from admiring his costume, having been way to obsessed with how cool it looked and how well the support company had done on making his design a reality… compared to some of his classmates. But he shoved that aside. It was time to prove himself, Battle Trials that defined their progress for the rest of time at U.A.

He would work his hardest and do his best.

Teams:

A: Uraraka and Shinsou

B: Kirishima and Hagakure

C: Ojiro and Ashido

D: Bakugo and Iida

E: Todoroki and Tokoyami

F: Aoyama and Yaoyorozu

G: Sero and Sato

H: Koda and Shoji

I: Asui and Kaminari

Eijirou looked over at the tap on his shoulder, glancing about until he caught sight of the floating gloves. “Uh, hey, Hagakure right?”

“That’s me! You’re Kirishima huh. You ready to win this!”

“Hell yeah!” He cheered. “So how did they make an invisible costume?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your costume. It’s invisible right?”

“This is my costume,” she said happily, waving her gloves. “They said there wasn’t a way to get the DNA infused fabrics like Midnight has because we’re just students, so it’s better than nothing.”

“Hagakure,” Eijirou said softly as he slipped the top of his costume off, a reinforced sleeveless shirt, thin pads of armour laced between the fabric. He handed it to her. “My quirk rips my clothes… and they told me they would sort it out. I uh… I think you need to talk to a teacher about this.”

He couldn’t see her face, but he noticed the moment it clicked for her. He held his shirt out and she took it with a shaky hand and slipped it over her form.

“Let’s… let’s ask Yamazawa, I’m sure he’ll know what to do,” Eijirou offered, holding his hand out awkwardly. He just told himself to act like he would if he was helping Mina. Somehow it helped.

The pair made their way over while the rest of the class were discussing strategies of combining their quirks. Yamazawa saw them coming and came over, looking between the two. “Kirishima, Hagakure, everything okay? Costume change?”

Eijirou heard the soft wince from beside him, and gently squeeze Hagakure’s hand. “Um, it seems the support company made a mistake. I, I don’t want to sound like I’m blaming them or anything. It’s just I was given DNA-infused fabric because my clothes tear but they told Hagakure students don’t need it.”

“All they gave me were the gloves and boots. I… I thought that was what I was supposed to use.”

The pair watched as Yamazawa took in their words with an impassive face, only a single twitch of the eye. “I see. Yaoyorozu!”

The ponytail girl snapped to attention and dutifully walked over. “Um, yes?”

“Were you also told you would not be allowed to use DNA-infused fabric?”

“It’s not allowed for students, that’s what the information from the briefcase said.”

Yamazawa sighed heavily. “Please create a copy of the gym uniforms for you and Hagakure to use for the remainder of the training session. This is mandatory, you will both change and no longer where those costumes. Not until I have a visit to the support company.”

---

“UP FIRST TEAM A AS HEROES AND TEAM D AS THE VILLAINS”

“All Might, sir!” Iida said immediately upon the words leaving the hero’s mouth. “There are an uneven number of teams, how will this be remedied.”

The class turned to the quiet giggle from behind them. They turned to see Yamazawa standing by the ballot boxes, a single ball held between his fingers with the letter C written on it.

“I’ll be seeing you two soon.”

Ashido cheered and threw thumbs up.

Ojiro paled.

Chapter Text

“I’m glad we’re partnered up if I’m honest.”

And if Hitoshi wasn’t already having a strange morning, that would certainly have done it. His partner, Uraraka, was glad to be his partner.

“It’s easier to work with friends you know.”

He almost choked. Friends?

“Uh yeah, same.” Hitoshi said. Is that how people talk? Why am I so bad at this? Begins with M and rhymes with nuzzle. Shut up brain. “So, any strategies?”

“Um, well Bakugo seems…”

“Frustrated? Pent up?” He suggested. “A few screws loose?”

“Right on the nose. I don’t see him being the defensive type.”

“And Iida, the guy seems okay, but despite the speed, he’s rigid as hell. I don’t see him being able to really get into the role. Definitely defence.” Hitoshi looked up at the building. They had been given ten minutes to plan, well fifteen because of course Yamazawa had to save the day like a knight in goddamn shining armour, with his sunshine smile and stupidly emerald eyes, and their time was slowly ticking away. “It’ll probably be hidden on the third floor. They know your quirk so will probably have cleared the room.”

Uraraka knelt down and scooped handfuls of gravel from the pavement into her pockets. “Boom, I’ve got bullets.”

“Think you can float up and check what floor it’s on, see if we’re right?”

“I’d make myself to nauseous, I don’t want to become a liability right away.”

Hitoshi nodded, he could respect that. “Guess there’s no way but heading in. If we get to Bakugo, how confident are you in your sparring skills?”

“Not too much.”

“I’ll try and trap him then, you find the bomb. With the gravel you could trip Iida or at least incapacitate him long enough for me to get to you.”

Uraraka considered his words before she nodded with determined glint in her eye and she held her fist out to him. He bumped it with a smile before the pair entered the building. “Gonna wash some brains?”

“Weirdo,” he sighed, resisting the urge to chuckle. He couldn’t even describe how it felt, the complete ease this girl had with his quirk. Maybe… maybe friends wouldn’t be a bad thing here.

The tell-tale sounds of explosions came echoing from ahead, and with a nod, Uraraka bounded off up a nearby stairwell while Hitoshi waited patiently. He rocked on the heels of his boots, glad they’d added reinforced steel-caps to them, and to his gloves too, and of course Yamazawa had to have had the same thought, of course he knew quirkless combat.

“EYEBAGS!”

Here goes nothing.

“Must be nice having your boyfriend in the class, you ready to impress Yamazawa.”

“The fuck? The nerd’s not–” Bakugo’s voice was cut off when a hazy look appeared in his eyes and his posture went ramrod straight. Could have gotten a hold on him sooner, you just had to know if they were together.

Hitoshi approached carefully and extracted the capture tape from his belt and wound them around Bakugo’s wrists, only dropping his hold when All Might called out over the speaker’s. “YOUNG BAKUGO HAS BEEN CAPTURED”

Hitoshi immediately stepped back and braced for an impact of some sort, but Bakugo merely stared at the tape wound entirely around his wrists and gauntlets before throwing Hitoshi an assessing glare.

After almost ten seconds of a stare down, he finally spoke. “Good job Eyebags. But I’ll win next time.”

Taking the feral compliment for what it was, Hitoshi went to respond with something normal, something any person would say. “You wish.”

He had a death wish, which was the only explanation. You don’t just provoke the walking stick of dynamite, not if you wanted a guaranteed funeral. But of course, like everything else in the day, Bakugo surprised Hitoshi by grinning wider.

“Bring it Eyebags.”

“THE BOMB HAS BEEN SECURED. HERO TEAM WINS”

“Shit Uraraka!” Hitoshi tapped on his comms. “You good?”

“I’m fine, Iida uh, not so much.”

Gravel was perfect for clogging engines.

---

“So how should we do this, do we stick together or one of us go out there and the other defends?” Mina asked, stretching as she waited for her partner to respond. She wasn’t too worried going against Yamazawa. Sure, he had lots of training, but none of that could stop from melting under her Acid. And her partner seemed like a pretty good fighter. They had a chance.

“I’m going to beat him.”

“Huh?”

“Yamazawa. He’s cocky. I’m beating him.”

Mina frowned and stood, walking to the bomb Ojiro was facing and she took in the fisted palms shaking by his sides. “Hey, uh Ojiro if this is about what happened yesterday…”

“Shut up. You wouldn’t get it. Freak.”

Mina flinched back.

“TEN MINUTES OF PREP TIME IS UP, YOUNG YAMAZAWA YOU MAY ENTER THE BUILDING”

“Just stay back and don’t get in the way,” Ojiro spat, storming to the door and moving to fling it open.

But it didn’t budge.

He jostled the handled, pulled at it, even tried using his tail. It wouldn’t move. He pounded against it, slamming his hands on the wood but nothing worked.

She stood there, still, watching him. Freak. It’s all she ever would be. In a world of quirks where even having a tail was normal, she would always be a freak. Pink skin, black sclera, horns, acidic secretion.

She was a monster.

Her vision deemed, it seemed like the world was darkening around her. But then she heard Ojiro’s confused cursing.

“What’s going on with the light?”

Mina dared to glance around and saw it. The windows were slowly shrinking. No, something was covering them, a weird black film seeping from the edges and staining the glass black, trapping the light on the outside and basking them in darkness.

“Now, now,” a voice said from somewhere in the room.

Mina flinched.

Ojiro yelped.

“I thought I taught you yesterday Ojiro.”

Something brushed past her leg and Mina recoiled, slamming into the bomb

A horrid scratching sound pierced the room, nails dragging on chalkboards but amplified to the extremes. Something cold but soft, icy yet inviting wrapped around her arms and she could do nothing to refuse its hold.

The light flooded back into the room.

Yamazawa stood between them, a cat quickly slinking into the confines of his hood.

Mina gasped as she examined the black misty cloud on which she was floating. And Ojiro…

Was trapped up to his neck in jagged black crystals

“VILLAINS ARE INCAPACITATED. Y-YOUNG YAMAZAWA WINS”

---

He found her after class had ended. She was leaning against a tree, eyes red-rimmed and vacant.

“Mina,” he said gently.

“Hey Ei.”

He was a silent a moment before holding his arm out. He heard about what happened. Caught Yamazawa reprimanding Ojiro once again. She linked hers through his. “Want to come over tonight? Ma can cook?”

Chapter Text

One simple morning, that’s all I ask for, Hitoshi groaned internally, clutching his thermos tighter as he caught sight of the swarm outside the U.A. gates. Now Uraraka’s text made sense

Yeet

07:46     Look out for the mob

MindCleaner

07:55     Thanks for the heads up

He could honestly say Uraraka was the first real friend he had made since his quirk came in. Sure, his home life was… less than stellar. The current house was at least aware enough that they couldn’t do anything permanent, not with a hero hopeful under their roof. But Uraraka didn’t care, she didn’t sneer. She joked. She made a cheesy ass joke and Hitoshi was so glad.

What he wasn’t glad about was a sudden microphone shoved into his face.

“Are you a Hero student?”

“Is All Might teaching you?”

“How is he as a teacher?”

“What’s your quirk?”

Before he could even react to the bombardment, something heavy and strong landed on his shoulders and dragged him through the crowd. The reporters parted around the clearly unstoppable force that Hitoshi himself was getting taken along with. It was only when they were through the gates, did the slamming sound behind them finally break Hitoshi out of his shock. He looked behind him to see massive metal gates blocking out the press, and he looked to the side to see a sharky grin.

“Hey Shinbro, you good? I saw you getting harassed and couldn’t let one of my classmates get treated that way. Let’s head to class yeah?”

“What did you–” His mind whirled a moment. “Shinbro?”

“You’re my bro! It was super manly how you took down Bakubro yesterday, so quick! Your quirk is so useful for those quick takedowns.”

“Um, thanks?”

“Just stating facts! Come on let’s go, Sensei’s looking mad.”

Hitoshi looked over to where Aizawa was glaring at the gate, seemingly as annoyed with the press as the students were. He shrugged his shoulders and followed the other embodiment of sunshine who would be a staple of Class 1-A.

Once sat at his desk, Hitoshi promptly downed the rest of his thermos and it was no sooner that Aizawa-sensei walked in, and of course, was followed by Yamazawa. He was in the classic U.A. uniform, but while in the last few lessons, he had the green scarf around his shoulders, today was another matter. Instead of a shirt and tie, he had opted for a Present Mic hoodie that Hitoshi did not recognise at all. He had his blazer over it, but what caught his eye the most was the lump in the hood. Something was in Yamazawa’s hood.

“Five seconds,” Aizawa-sensei said once everyone had found their seats. “Good. It could be better. I reviewed the footage from the battle trials yesterday. Shinsou, Uraraka, good teamwork and breakdown of predicting enemy movements. Bakugo, learn restraint and anticipate your enemy rather than charging head on. Iida, reduce your rigidity, both mentally and physically. A hero is flexible of body and mind.”

The four of them took in the varying praise and critic with determination, prepared for the next time they could prove themselves. Aizawa-sensei went through the rest of the class until the one that had been on everyone’s mind became known. There was an empty desk in their class after all.

“I will not go into much detail here out of respect, but I will say this,” their Sensei began. “Like Yamazawa stated during the Quirk Apprehension Test, U.A. has a strict no discrimination policy. Be it sexism, racism, homophobia, and quirkism. You are all aware that Ojiro is not in this room right now, as he is currently facing a suspension of undetermined length until Nedzu approves a final punishment, pending board reviewal. I will not take kindly to people believing they are above their peers for a simple factor such as their sexual orientation, their quirk, or their appearance. Is that understood?”

Only when the entire class had made their agreement aware did he continue.

“Moving on to what the rest of homeroom will be focused on. This is a very important announcement, something that will define your future in heroics.” The class fell silent under the weight of the anticipation. “You will be picking a class president.”

---

Hitoshi twirled his pen, staring down at the blank scrap of paper. After Iida had mangled to wrangle the class into doing a vote, each person had been given a piece and told to write who they thought would be the best person for the role. His eyes glanced over the class taking in the options.

Iida. Too rigid.

Jiro. Too standoffish.

Ashido. Too loud.

Bakugo. No.

Uraraka. Was staring at him and shaking her head, mouthing no.

With a smile he wrote her name down and popped it in the hat Yaoyorozu had created.

After a final tally, Yaoyorozu had five votes and Kirishima had four.

“Congratulations,” Aizawa-sensei drawled without a speck of emotion in her voice. “Yaoyorozu is class president and Kirishima is vice president.”

“We promise to uphold the standard of the post,” she promised.

“Yeah, we will be the manliest duo!”

“M-Manly?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“Manly! Anyone can be manly, it’s a state of mind. Confident in the face of everything!”

Ashido just sighed. “Never change Ei.”

---

Students were swarming the corridors, he knew it would happen. The alarms had asked for an orderly evacuation but when had things ever gone correctly. Izuku remained where he was, perched within the vents, observing the chaos from the other side of the grate. His phone was in his right hand, the screen switching from camera to camera every few seconds, each angle of the U.A. grounds being displayed within a minute to him.

Students assumed it was the press. Izuku knew it was something more.

Then he felt that ever-familiar bone deep calling. Dusk had found something.

He twisted his body and crawled through the twisting ducts until he found her crouched before a grate, the one to the staff lounge if he remembered correctly. Shuffling to her side silently, he peered down and held his breath immediately. A man in his early twenties was there. Izuku knew all of the staff and he was not one of them. The light shined off his greasy pale blue hair and even from where he was observing, Izuku could make out the dry chapped skin. It reminded him of that year, the one in the abandoned building. He knew how that neglect felt first-hand.

A few moments passed as the stranger rifled through the contents of a disorganised desk. All Might’s desk, his mind helpfully supplied. When the man grasped a paper, Izuku’s eyes narrowed as the man used only his index finger and thumb. It was curious, but what made it odd was the way the man purposefully avoided letting his other fingers anywhere near the page.

Five-point touch activation. Destructive if he is that careful. The intruder of the gate most likely. Exit strategy would be dangerous indoors, could create structural instab–

The air pressure seemed to drop, and his eardrums popped as a purple mist appeared before the stranger. It wasn’t darkness though, Izuku knew what that felt like. This was something sentient and that much was apparent when a person walked out of it. But rather than a face, they had glowing eyes trapped within a matching misty purple form. Izuku and Dusk silently watched the pair walk back through the mist before they disappeared and the pressure returned to normal.

Finally taking a deep breath, Izuku turned and cracked a grin when he saw a faint red light glinting off Dusk’s collar. It was a finnicky design he and Power Loader had spent weeks perfecting, but her collar now functioned as a high-class tracker with a built in camera and microphone. The feed was directly uploaded to a secure server that only he and his parents had access to, and its first field test had gone well. Only when he was sure that the coast was clear, Izuku popped the grate open and leapt down, with Dusk landing on his head.

He got out his phone and dialled the third number in his contacts.

“What have you found pup?” Nedzu’s chipper voice was strained.

“There were two intruders in the staff lounge, I’ll send you the recording. They rifled through All Might’s desk for something, no idea what. I’ve got an idea of the quirks but it’ll be better discussed with the others.”

“Understood. The cover story is the press broke in, but as far as I can tell, none of their quirks seem able to disintegrate our gates.”

“It was the intruder based of his incredibly conscious tactile movements. I’m assuming a five-point activation, most definitely destructive.” Izuku froze as he mentally ran through the schedule for his classes for the next two weeks. “Will we be postponing the trip?”

Nedzu was silent a moment. “You were scheduled time off while 1-A is at the USJ, correct?”

“I’m assuming that isn’t the plan anymore.”

“How would you feel accompanying them as a precaution. Your role as the TA would do little to arouse suspicion, rather than having another Pro tag along.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be there.”

“Thank you pup.”

Lunch had come to a close and the chaos had died down by the time Izuku had sent the videos to the staff with a short burst of his analysis. He entered 1-A’s classroom and waited for the students to come filing in before announcing the news of their trip.

---

Dusk was curious to say the least. Life was interesting to her… ever since it had stopped. That night in the alley was lost to the recesses of her mind, but all the could remember was that her Master had been her saviour, and she would give whatever she could do to repay him. And if that day ever came, where her debt would be repaid, she would still remain by his side. No one else understood the shadows crawling beneath her coat much like Master.

Nuzzling her head against his neck, Dusk curled tighter around him in his hood, relishing in the shade from those infuriating fluorescents. And the noise.

Humans were pests. Simple as that. None of them were worth her time, none of them worth basking in her glory. None but Master. Oh, how she hated when his endearing mumbles turned to the common self-deprecating comments. Yes, she could communicate with him, but there were many times Dusk wished she could speak the tongue of the lesser Man, so she could ease his worries.

She would stalk all his fears and sink her claws into them if she could.

Either way, humans were pests. They had ignored her greatness in her previous life and left her to rot, they had abused and ruined her poor Master, damaging his souls. But there were very, very few exceptions other than her Master.

The first two were the new Guards.

Yes, it had been four years. Yes, she would not trade the pats from the black-haired one for anything. But neither of them would ever be held in the same regard as Master. No one could. But they had their attributes that she would deem beneficial to her and Master’s existence. The loud blonde one attempted to give her what she remembered as delicious food, until Master had sheepishly informed him of Dusk’s diet. Or lack thereof.

She never understood why Master got nervous. Dusk found it rather interesting that she herself had no need for food. Yet another reason she was above the others.

The black haired one though. He was sneaky. Dusk didn’t think something as trivial as a… red infuriating dot could trap her mind so much. Ten whole minutes spent away from making sure Master was okay because her primitive feline mind was too transfixed by what Dusk knew was just a red light. But her body leapt and twisted in the air to catch the uncatchable. And no, it wasn’t fun, no matter how much Master said he could feel the fun Dusk was having.

So the Guards weren’t too bad. They would never be like Master. But maybe they were safer than the other lessers.

The Oracle was another matter. Dusk knew the humans liked to stay in large packs, families she believed they were called. But, the apparent head of her Master’s strange new family, was one like her. Their first meeting had been interesting. Cloudy white eyes gazing into beady black. And then… he chittered. He was prey, but also predator. Enemy, but kin. Needless to say, ever since then, Dusk had decided it was better to avoid the strange chimeric creature for as long as possible. There were few enemies out there that even Dusk herself couldn’t face. Maybe Master could.

Going from the rumbling around her body, it seemed like her Master was talking. Words were always confusing to her. She could sometimes notice the emotions some humans had, they wore emotions like a mask. But with Master, it was safer. She could feel his thoughts, his intentions carved into her very being. No words had to be passed between them, Dusk knew her Master and Master knew her. He was excited but worried, a strange combination that Master hadn’t had for a while. Something about a journey to new place.

Dusk’s tail flicked nervously. Her Master would be going somewhere… without her? He hadn’t mentioned anything, but they never went anywhere separately. Before her panic could spike, she felt a soothing reassurance run down her spine and spread to the ends of her paws. Dusk settled as Master continued addressing the group of lesser humans his age. She had nothing to worry about, she would always be with Master.

Hello?

Dusk abruptly shifted in the hood, eyes twitching around. That couldn’t have been Master, the voice was loud. And, the fact that it was an actual voice.

Is… is there something there?

With an assurance from Master, Dusk slinked down the armhole of his blazer and landed on the ground silently. She eyed a girl with strange things dangling from her ears and a boy with many arms look in her general direction, but neither really noticed her.

Kitty?

Dusk’s head whipped round to the back of the room. What she had first thought was some sort of rock or climbing perch turned out to be a human. He sat low in his chair, trying to hide himself despite how open the room was. She padded over the floor, weaving around desk legs until she was sat under his desk.

Can you hear me?

So it was his voice. This lesser being was… communicating with her. She didn’t know whether to be intrigued or insulted. Only Master should have that privilege.

Are you lost? What’s your name?

She had enough of this game.

I am your Empress. Adress me as such, she demanded. You don’t deserve my name, only Master does.

W-who’s Master… Empress?

Better. Master is better than you. Better than all of you.

Is you Master our Sensei?

Fool, I’d never let that black haired human know my secrets. Master is the green saviour.

Green… Oh, you mean Yamazawa.

He is Master.

The rock boy had seemed to relax slightly. This wouldn’t do. Humans should fear and respect her, not be comforted by her. There was only one human she would ever comfort, he deserved all her attention. It had to remedied.

Rock boy, you are my new seat. You will not talk or disturb my slumber until Master collects me.

And with that, she leapt on to the boy’s lap, ignoring his soft coo as she fell to sleep.

My name is Koji, but you can call me Rock Boy if you’d like.

Chapter Text

Izuku sighed into his capture scarf, staring enviously at his dad sat happily with a thermos full of coffee in the front seat of the bus. He didn’t understand how other people his age could have so much energy halfway through the day, without having at least four mugs of double shot coffees. Was it unhealthy, yes. But it worked. At least Shinsou looked in a somewhat similar state as him, curling up in his seat trying to sink his face into the collar of the gym uniform. Izuku stamped out the thought of taking a few more seconds to just look at the boy, choosing to instead stare hard into the ground. Until someone broke him out his stupor.

“Yamazawa.”

He turned slightly and took in the person beside him. “Yes Asui?”

“Call me Tsu. I tend to just state things as they are, no use beating around the bush.” He could appreciate that. “What exactly is your quirk? We only really saw a glimpse of it in your battle against Ashido.”

“Hell yeah Yamabro, it was super manly how you took them both down!” Kirishima cheered. “Those black clouds were awesome.”

“That glass stuff was crazy,” Kaminari added.

Izuku shuffled uneasily in his seat, shooting a worried glance to his dad. Thankfully, the bus stopped, and his dad stood tall. “Quiet. We’re here, everyone off the bus in an orderly fashion.”

He gave a respectful nod to Kurose, aware of what their speech would entail. He knew that they had a giddy look on their face beneath the astronaut helmet. Rescue heroics was dear to their heart. Kurose was a special person to Izuku. Someone with such a powerful and destructive quirk who wielded it purely for safety and the longevity of others. He knew his parents meant well when they reassured him, but when Kurose told him, it was easier to believe it coming from them. Izuku was vaguely aware of Uraraka gushing to Shinsou about her love for Kurose, but Izuku was too busy pretending to scratch his ear beneath his hood to listen. He was too focused on letting Dusk nuzzle his palm, she seemed a tad uneasy.

And he couldn’t blame her. Izuku cast his eyes across facility and its various zones. Wherever there was light, so existed the dark. As long as it was there… Izuku could feel it. The first few weeks after Inko, it had been a metre around him. After his time on the streets… four kilometres. After the three years, six months, and eight days of training with his parents and family at U.A., well…

Regardless, he extended his mind, latching on to any stray sensation that was out of place amidst the various areas of simulated chaos and disaster. As Kurose was wrapping up their speech, Izuku’s head snapped toward the central plaza where he sensed the ever familiar drop in air-pressure.

“Eraserhead,” he said neutrally but loud, calling on all his weeks, years, of training. It wasn’t time for the emotion of Dad or the familiarity of Aizawa-sensei. If Izuku’s calculations were right, and they always were, these were villains. “Central Plaza, same quirk as the intruders.”

“Students behind me.” The hero pulled his goggles down over his eyes and the class and staff watched as a misty portal opened up, a few feet tall. And then it grew. Taller, and taller, and wider. It grew till it almost reached the breadth of the plaza. And then a hand reached through.

Izuku pushed down the disgust at the sight of several disembodied hands littering the young man’s body and instead focused on the shaggy pale blue hair and dried out skin, recognising him immediately. “Five-point activation, most likely disintegration of some sort.”

“Understood,” his dad replied shortly.

“Is this the first test?” Kirishima asked uneasily, looking back and forth between the villains and them.

“No, villains,” father and son said simultaneously.

“Yamazawa, with me. Thirteen, get the students out of here.”

“Damn hobo!” Bakugo roared, being dragged back by Kirishima with the rest of the evacuating class. “You can’t take ‘em on just the two of you. There’s too many and it’s too fucking bright for the nerd.”

“Don’t worry Kacchan,” Izuku said, unholstering a thin cylindrical object from his back. Clicking a button on the side, two parts extended from either ends till he was wielding a sturdy black bo staff.

“A Pro Hero is more than a one trick pony,” his dad added, raising his capture scarf as the two descended into the fury.

---

Izuku would take his last breath before admitting Kacchan was right. It was too bright in the plaza for him to use his quirk as effectively as possible, so it seemed he would have to stick to quirkless combat. But that was never a problem.

His own green scarf shot out, ensnaring itself around a hulking man’s throat. He was more muscle than man, with a gruesome scar running across the bridge of his nose. Izuku got a good glimpse of it when he reeled the man in with a tug and slammed his steel-capped boot into the man’s chin. Not wasting a moment, he used his now unconscious foe as a battering ram against three oncoming villains before finally unfurling his staff and yanking his staff out the ground. Thankfully, none of them had bothered to steal it from right next to him but he’d make them regret it.

Izuku twirled it deftly between his hands before striking out and catching a woman across the knee and punching her throat as she fell. She hacked and clutched her neck but went down with a shoulder to the back of her head. Hearing heavier footsteps than normal, he stole a glance up to see a bull-headed man, some sort of Minotaur mutation quirk bulldozing toward his dad.

His dad who was already occupied with three villains.

Izuku ran until his lungs burnt and kicked off the ground with as much power as he could muster, launching across the air. The bull-headed villain came closer into view and Izuku waited till the right moment to hook his staff around his horns and swing his legs over onto the man’s back. He hooked them around the man’s chest, and used his staff to steer the villain by the horns out of the direction of his dad.

“Ride ‘em cowboy!” He cheered out impulsively. It seemed part of the villain’s quirk let him stampede uninterruptedly, with a downside of limited cognitive capacity. The man was a dumb unstoppable trainwreck that he was riding through villains, taking down much of the crowd in the plaza.

And then he felt it.

The increasing darkness in the entrance. Blocking the doors. He stole a glance, almost losing balance but quickly adjusting himself on the bucking villain. His worst thoughts were confirmed when he saw students begin falling through misty gateways and feeling them reappear in darkened areas of various zones.

He hoped no one was alone.

---

Hitoshi was so glad he had a knife.

It was one hell of a gamble hiding it in his uniform on a daily basis, but managing to sneak it into his gym uniform was another. He knew it was technically not allowed on school grounds, but Hitoshi had learnt early on, a knife would sooner defend him than any teacher or family member would. And of course, on the one day he thought he was finally in a place he could maybe be safe without it, villains attack them.

Has Hitoshi mentioned, he hasn’t had the best of luck in life?

And to top it off, he had landed in a pool of water with a shark-headed villain swimming toward him. But as stated, he was glad to have a knife because the villain was now swimming away with a sliced nose, leaving a trail if misty red in the water. Before Shark-Head could react further a blur shot through the water and seemed to hit the man, sending him plummeting deeper. As his lungs burned even more, Hitoshi swore a pink blob moved toward him but he yanked from that thought both mentally and physically, as something dragged him out the water.

Moments later he landed on something hard and Hitoshi heaved in a lungful of air. He took a few moments to gain his bearings, looking about at what seemed to be a ship that he landed on.

“Are you okay Shinsou, ribbit?” Asui, no, Tsu asked.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said hoarsely. “Thanks, you really saved my ass there.”

The pair peered over the edge of the boat and looked at the multitude of villains gathered in the water with their eyes fixed on them. They ducked down instantly and looked to each other. He noticed her paling skin and recognised her shaking hand.

“Tsu, look at me. I’ve got your back okay, just like you had mine. We’re getting through this. Understood?”

She took a shaky, uneasy breath, but nodded. “Any ideas.”

He mulled it over a moment, peering at the myriad of villains, many with aquative-favourable mutation quirks, when it dawned on him. “They don’t know our quirks.”

“Hm?”

“That mist guy. He said they were here to kill All Might, they’re organised kind of. But they don’t know our quirks. Why would they send you here otherwise?”

“You’re right,” she said. “They should’ve sent me to the avalanche zone, I don’t do well in the cold.”

“Duly noted. Any other parts of your quirk that could help us out?”

“I can leap and stick to surfaces. My tongue extends twenty feet. I can secrete an acid like mucus and upchuck my stomach.”

“That’s… okay. Mobility. You’re clearly adept in the water and with parkour I’m guessing. Either way, avoidance is safer.”

“I can only break stone slabs with single kicks. My legs are powerful.”

“Damn Tsu,” he said with grin, “remind me not to get on your bedside. I can distract them while you sneak under and maybe take a few out. I’ll get as many under my hold as I can to ease it for you and when enough are down, we make a break for it. What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Before they could act,  massive shadow fell on them and the pair looked up to see a looming wave slice the fucking ship down the middle.

“Change of plan,” Tsu said calmly, her tongue wrapping around his torso as she leapt down, he feet crunching in a spray of blood as she used a villain’s head as a stepping stone.

Hitoshi couldn’t help but laugh through the shock as Tsu obliterated the closest villains by simply using their faces to brace the impact of her landings. He had seriously underestimated her quirk but it made sense. Frogs had to have strong muscles and skeletal structures to be adept for jumping and considering she was human sized, that muscle and bone density would have only multiplied exponentially. Guess she literally kicked robot’s to pieces in the Entrance Exams.

Before he knew it, they had made it to the shore, with the few conscious villains making a hasteful retreat to an opposing beach, screaming about rabid frogs as they swam. He couldn’t help but blurt out, “Tsu, you’re officially my new favourite hero. Sorry Eraserhead.”

“Call me Froppy,” she said with a shaky grin, her chest heaving.

“Oh shit, you must be wiped out, here hop on,” he said, turning his back to her and crouching, “pun intended.”

She slapped his shoulder playfully and climbed aboard his back. “Thanks Shinsou. Where to?”

“The entrance? I reckon we should see if Thirteen is okay, they looked pretty bad before. I imagine the others will do the same.”

“Lead the way.”

The pair carefully followed the beach until the sand gradually shifted to stone. Hitoshi stayed low to the ground as he moved, keeping his hold on Tsu strong but not enough to hurt. In case a villain leaped out, he didn’t want to hinder her more than he already had. He seriously needed to work on his combat skills, gain some muscles. Yamazawa had some really nice ones, those biceps, goddamn.

But as they came up a few steps, they saw sight that froze them in place. A towering, muscular, thing had Aizawa-sensei in it’s claw-tipped hands. It was massive, easily as tall as All Might, with the build to match. What was worse, was the exposed brain and bird beak on it’s head, and the bulging eyes. It was a freak of nature that wrenched Aizawa-sensei’s arm back with a sickening crack.

And then…

Yamazawa screamed.

Chapter Text

Eijirou was ashamed in himself. It was super unmanly what he and Bakugo had done, and the now the image of Thirteen was burned into his mind. Part of him wouldn’t keep quiet, reminding him he got in the way, that they would be fine if it wasn’t for him.

“-with me. Shitty hair. KIRISHIMA!”

Eijirou snapped from his daze to look at Bakugo, shaking off his feelings. Now wasn’t the time. Villains all around them, fires burning in nearby buildings. But he was with one of the most powerful people in the class. And if he remembered, the blonde had a sweat based quirk. The heat would only help.

“Yeah.. I’m with you Bakubro.”

“The fuck did you just call me?”

“Let’s do this Bakubro!” He cheered, hardening his arms and chest and diving forward.

Training with Mina during the summer had paid off. While he helped her work on her strength and general endurance, she had helped him avoid stiffness and improve flexibility. If he made it out alive he would definitely thank her profusely.

He slammed a hardened fist into the gut of an incoming villain and swept their feet out from under them. Grabbing a hold of their arm, he twisted until they stopped thrashing and then lent his weight on the already straining bone to support himself. With a deep breath, he lowered the hardening on his upper body and encased his foot in a layer of the unbreakable skin that swung a wide arching kick out. He balanced on the villains arm and managed to catch the jaw of two villains with his kick.

Finally letting go of the villain, he saw Bakugo run toward him and in that moment he understood. Not a word had to pass but Eijirou crossed his arms and knelt just as Bakugo leapt forward. The blonde landed on his hardened forearms and Eijirou drove his legs up despite the burn in his thighs and launched Bakugo into the air. The blonde flipped before thrusting his palms out and raining down explosions on the villains.

And all Eijirou could do was stare in wonder. Stare at soft yet sharp blonde locks, at deep fiery ruby full of passion and determination, a grin of pride and certainty in his own talents. Mina had asked him, and before he didn’t really have an answer as to if anyone caught his eye. But this? This beautiful blonde bombshell…

Eijirou was fucked.

“What’re you staring at Shitty Hair?”

Did… did Bakugo give him a nickname! He wasn’t just an extra as he had heard the blonde call others in the class. Yeah, he was definitely fucked.

“Just… such a cool takedown Bakubro!”

“Tch, nothing special.” He raised a hand at Eijirou and he instinctively hardened but the explosion he anticipated popped off a metre to his right and behind him. He turned to see a person with an apparent chameleon quirk suddenly appear dazed and smoky on the floor. “Work on your situational awareness Shitty Hair. You better not die on me.”

“You got it bro! Seems like your attack took out pretty much all of them. Should we go help our classmates?”

“Those extras can take care of themselves. These are bunch of shitty ass villains, and if they’re all this tough, they’ll be fine. Did you see the Battle Trials Shitty Hair, don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Bakugo… he was just so… MANLY!

Other people took his crude statements at face value, but Eijirou heard the care and worry laced in his voice, not to mention clear pride and recognition in their classmates’ abilities. And he didn’t even care if people said stuff to or about him, Bakugo just took it on his chin and couldn’t care less. He just wanted to succeed, be Number One, nothing else mattered. And if there was one thing Eijirou was weak for, it was someone with a lot of drive.

His first girlfriend had been a swimmer on a national level without having an aquatic quirk at all. His ex-boyfriend volunteered at the care homes and wanted to be a doctor one day. And Bakugo… his drive was unlike any other.

“So, where are we going then?”

“I’m going to take down the warp fucker.”

“Isn’t that what got us here in the first place?” Eijirou countered.

“And now we are going to make up for it goddamn it. A fucking Pro got injured ‘cos of us and I ain’t letting that purple motherfucker act all high and mighty. Fucker had a metal brace around his neck, which means he has a physical body.” Bakugo turned to him with a feral grin. “With me Shitty Hair?”

“Got it Bakubro!”

The pair sped out of the conflagration zone and made their way down the path leading to the plaza, where they were joined by Todoroki.

“The villains said they have a weapon to kill All Might,” he said with a dry monotone voice. “They were rather easy to dispose of however.”

“We’re taking out the warp fucker. With us?”

The dual-haired boy simply nodded and ran with them up the path.

They ran up the stairs.

But were stopped by a heart-wrenching scream.

---

Kyoka was not having a fun time. Firstly, she’d been unable to join her class in the Battle Trials because some jerk from Gen Ed. with a sound quirk thought it’d be funny to blast their scream through a speaker, and she had passed out from how amplified it came in through her ear jacks. And then on the first ever Heroics lesson she goes on, a field trip no less, villains just had to fucking invade.

At least she was with Kaminari and Yaoyorozu. She’d met the guy during the exams and the two had quickly bonded over their love of pre-quirk indie music and Vine, a treasure trove that somehow no one else knew about as far as they knew. If she was honest, she knew something was up with him no matter how much he denied it. So what, sue her if she looked into if U.A. supports people with A.D.H.D. and autism. She was worried for her friend. He had made enough silly comments about his dumb mode and when he couldn’t focus. Kyoka  could see right through it. Yaoyorozu she couldn’t get a read on.

Kyoka hadn’t grown up in the best of neighbourhoods. Being musicians for a living doesn’t earn much unless you’re famous or nepotism. Her grandparents weren’t rich, and her parent’s weren’t rockstars. They taught piano lessons to kids. Their family apartment was enough for her, but she had seen enough darkness in her time to know the truth of the world. So when she walked into U.A. on day one, she knew right away. Iida, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, all rich kids and most likely isolated in youth. It was easy as hell to read if you knew the language. Then you had Kaminari, Kirishima, Hagakure, Sato, the ones who used sunshine and smiles to hide their sadness. Three were the outliers of course, Bakugo, Tokoyami, Aoyama… the select personalities. But she herself, she fit in with the likes of Uraraka and Shoji. Strong when needed because the home was weak. She saw it in the three of theirs frayed second hand uniform and matching meal cards for those qualifying for the meal plan. But then there was a whole other type she noticed in the class. The silent ones. The hurt ones. Shinsou, Koda, Mina… and surprisingly enough Yamazawa. Yeah, he flashed them dazzling smiles, but Kyoka saw past all that.

Focus Kyoka, that guy has FUCKING SWORDS FOR HANDS!

She ducked under the falling blade and leapt to the left, watching in awe as Yaoyorozu thrust her palm forward and a pole shot out from her glistening skin and slammed into the eye of the blade-handed villain. Kyoka nodded her thanks and quickly stood, jamming her earphone jack into a woman trying to sneak up onto Kaminari. Honestly, her heart was racing a mile a minute, so it made sense the woman dropped in seconds when Kyoka sent an amplified vibration attack into the villain’s spine. Maybe the bitch would be paralysed.

“Oh fuck… thanks Jiro, didn’t see her,” he said with a wince and her eyes widened at the cut across his brow. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

The three of them huddled together as villains slowly surrounded them, until Kaminari uneasily piped up. “Uh, I have an idea… might not work but…”

“What is it Kaminari?” she asked.

“Can you make copper wire, like a strong and long one?” He asked Yaoyorozu while Kyoka kept the villains back by vibrating the ground, making it too uneasy to take a steady step. “Make as much as you can. Jiro keep the floor like that, we need the wire to spread around randomly.”

Yaoyorozu made a small tear in the red fabric of her costume around the abdomen and her skin glistened with light before not just a single strand but dozens of them began pooling at the ground. Kaminari’s eyes widened at the quality of the wire but he wasted no time in hurling out lengths of the wire into the surrounding area, thankful the villains were too distracted trying to stand straight to notice. Yaoyorozu only stopped producing wire when her skin was a sickly shade and her skin was slick with sweat.

“You did great, we’ve got your back now,” he said gently, grabbing the ends of the wire and making sure there was enough surrounding the ground around them. “Make sure you to stay right where you are, you two. Jiro, drop the attack.”

Kyoka gave him an uneasy look but seeing that determined look on his face, she made a silent prayer and pulled her ear jacks out the ground. A beat passed as the villains gained their bearings and then they surged forward.

Kaminari gripped the ends of the wires, wrapping them around his forearms and beckoned his quirk forth. It willed to explode outward, to just be released from the confines of his body but he begged, pleaded, and thankfully it listened. It flowed down his shoulders and through the wire, surging with new life. Wild, crackling arcs flicked off the live wires and the villains had not a second to react before the wire under all their feet had each of them shaking to their core.

Kyoka and Yaoyorozu tucked themselves in close, watching in awe as Kaminari channelled his power through the wire, with a genuine smile on his face. She knew this move, but it was longer than a second and he hadn’t gone into that silly mode of his. The theory she shared him with over text was right, he just needed to be grounded and have a source to push the power through. Can’t fry the brain if the electricity never gets to it.

His hands were smoking gently when he finally dropped the wires and the final villain had fallen. He sank to knees and heaved in breaths and Kyoka quickly ran to his side.

“M’fine. Not dumb,” he groaned.

“Nice one sparky,” she said softly as her and Yaoyorozu worked to pick him up, slinging his arms over their shoulders. The three of them walked together with Kaminari in the middle, slowly but gradually making their way back to the entrance to hopefully find the others.

But froze when an anguished echoing scream tore through the facility.

Chapter Text

That thing.

How dare it.

How fucking dare it.

First the villains, had the nerve to even enter the facility. And then, they dared to endanger his friends students. But while Izuku had been distracted breaking a humerus of a villain with some sort of Gorgon quirk, that thing made its move. His mind had been running a mile a minute since he spotted, a creature that sickened him for one reason alone.

Shadows were interesting things. People assumed they were simply created wherever there was no light, thought that he simply manipulate that absence of light. And he was happy to let people think that, happy to let them assume all he could do was melt and solidify the very concept of shadows. But his quirk, in truth, went well beyond that. Shadows existed wherever there was darkness. And within the human body, where no light dared enter lest the person was cut up, there was a lot of darkness.

So when Izuku sensed not just an overwhelming amount in that muscular behemoth, but enough to warrant it being multiple people, he wanted to throw up. Something or someone had managed to combine the existences of multiple beings into one hulking thing. It couldn’t possibly be alive, it defied logic, and he wanted to know. He needed to know.

The first indicator that there was more to it than met the eye was when the pale blue haired man said, “Seems someone tipped you off about my stats Eraserhead, you’re not getting as close as you usually do in combat. That means one thing. Time for the boss round, Nomu.”

The beast snapped to attention.

It has a name. Loyalty to the man, would taking him out calm the beast or send it on a rampage?

“Attack Eraserhead.”

Mottled purple hands the size of his head grabbed his dad fast enough that Izuku didn’t even recognise the movement until it was too late. One moment the Nomu was beside it’s commander, the next it was cradling his dad.

And broke his arm.

Izuku saw red.

---

Shouts of confusion rung out throughout the USJ facility and people dived out of the way. Students across the various zones stood stock still and watched as their very shadows, things latched to their forms, were snatched away from the bodies. In fact, it seemed as if the entire facility around them had brightened significantly, light flooding into spaces it rarely ever visited. Heads turned and followed rivers of shadows travelling across the facility, flowing closer and closer toward the plaza.

The pale haired man looked around wildly as a mass of writhing black misted seemed to float off the boundary of the plaza. Izuku raised a hand and part of the mist hanging over their heads was sucked down to his palm, settling on his skin. Izuku’s eyes were fixed on the Nomu with a glare as he ran forward. He slammed his hands together and the mist unfurled over his arms, travelling across his forearms and settling at the base of his elbow.

Izuku was ten paces away from the Nomu when the mist around his arms bubbled and settled into a thin layer of crystal around his sleeves and gloves, freshly formed shadow crystal gauntlets that were jagged along the knuckles. Izuku roared as he leapt forward, cocking his right arm back and slamming it forward into the Nomu’s chest.

Only for the gauntlet to shatter.

Before he could react, the Nomu tossed his dad aside and grabbed Izuku’s hand. He tried to pull it back but the Nomu’s grip was unyielding. He cried out as it’s claws begun digging into the soft skin of his wrist, drawing red beads to the surface. Tugging his arm back only made it dig its claws in deeper. With no other choice, Izuku swung his left arm up, hoping to catch the Nomu across the chin with the gauntlet he still had going but the Nomu hauled him into the air by his pierced hand and hurled him across the plaza.

Izuku cried out when his back slammed into a wall and the air was knocked out from his lungs. Spots danced in his visions as his body screamed for him to stay down, too much agony spasming throughout his skeleton. He could barely drag himself to hear the man complain about All Might not being here, and something about… killing students.

Izuku raised his head weakly and looked across the plaza to see Shinsou and Tsu huddled together, eyes wide. And it seemed that the man had noticed them too. Izuku could barely bring himself to move but he raised himself onto unsteady legs, drawing his staff to support himself. His eyes widened and he yelled out when the man reached out a hand, fingers a breath away from grabbing Shinsou’s face.

And nothing happened.

Izuku almost sobbed in relief when he saw his dad barely sitting up, a single red eye having saved Shinsou’s life.

“You’re really so cool Eraserhead,” the man said, his voice now booming enough for Izuku to make out from all the way on his side of the plaza. “Nomu, fix this bug.”

He saw a hand grab his dad’s hair. And smash his face into the ground. Twice. Three times. He couldn’t tear himself from watching the horror unfold.

“Stop,” he managed weakly. Not Shouta, not his dad. The man who brought him home, who held him when the night terrors became too extreme, who shared sips of his coffees without questions asked, who loved him with every fibre of his tired heroic being. “Stop it. STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

The pale haired man simply laughed but Nomu stopped, standing still and awaiting orders. “Who are you to make me do something you NPC. There’s only one of you and you couldn’t even lay a finger on my Nomu. You want me to stop? You and what army?”

Izuku was shaking where he stood, but where there was fear and worry before, all that course through him was white hot rage. Pure vitriol running through his veins and directed purely at the purple monstrosity and it’s dried out husk of a commander.

“Her.”

Izuku finally pulled his hood down, which had somehow managed to stay up throughout the fight. The man narrowed his eyes at the strange rope around Izuku’s neck until Dusk peeked her head out. And the man just laughed.

“You have a fucking cat harness on under your costume. Pathetic. What good will a cat do you NPC, my Nomu was engineered to take down All Might.”

“She’s not a cat,” Izuku growled out. “Dusk… transform.”

The cracking of bones rung out throughout the plaza as Dusk landed in front of Izuku, her small form shaking. And yet, slowly but surely, her form began to grow. Her legs thickened with cords of muscle and her spine elongated. The fur of her tail melted into a thin whip of wispy smoke and her eyes sharpened into slits. What were once thin yet sturdy claws were now thick and dripping with a black tar-like goo. And she stood tall, her head held high and muzzle pulled back as she hissed at the Nomu. It was a scratching agonising sound and the pale haired man flinched back. Izuku took a step forward, stroking Dusk’s neck. She was now the same height as him, but he knew this wasn’t a permanent fix. They probably had fifteen minutes before she had to shift back. So he wasted no time, and climbed aboard her back, pulling his staff free from it’s back holster.

The pale haired man had begun scratching at his neck, muttering beneath the hand affixed to his face. “Nomu, get rid of this NPC.”

“No.”

The man flinched at the iciness of the tone. “What did you say you brat?”

“No. You don’t get to order it around and not witness it all first-hand,” Izuku ground out. He raised his staff into the air, summoning shadows from the overhanging cloud down. They coalesced around the end and with a twist of his wrist, the mist hardened into jagged crystals. The crystallised end dropped to the ground with a heavy bang, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the ground. “You have no right to decide whether the life of others should be snatched before their time has come. Beasts following orders given by beasts following orders. Are you even the one in charge? Or are you just following endless orders being barked at you?”

Izuku’s eyes narrowed as the man stepped back, shock clear in those semi-obscured eyes.

“It’s time you see the reality of your actions. Welcome to class, I will be your teacher.”

The last thing the pale haired man saw before the cloud of darkness descended upon the plaza was Izuku’s feral grin

---

Shigaraki Tomura was panicking. Seriously panicking.

Sensei had entrusted him with this mission. It would be the first ripple in the tsunami wave that washed away the rot of hero society. Especially All Might. He was a tumour on the world, creating a cess pool of immorality. Violence breeding violence. And yet he was glorified it. Tomura was sick of the world, sick of the black and white view, sick of the fake heroes with fake smiles and fake intentions. So when Sensei had finally said it was time, that he could be entrusted with one of the Doctor’s latest projects, Tomura had been excited.

But then All Might hadn’t shown up. First glitch in the game.

And then their was that green haired NPC that was fighting with Eraserhead. But there too many kids for him to be a student according to the schedule they saw. And he was too young to be staff. Yet somehow, the brat had managed to take down a good two thirds of the villains in the plaza while Eraserhead was able to still have enough energy to take him on and avoid Tomura’s attacks. Second glitch in the game.

And then the fucking NPC brat pulled that quirk out of nowhere. Where had it been all along when he annihilated the weaklings in the plaza. Tomura had assumed that the NPC had some sort of strength enhancement quirk with the way he was laying attacks on them. Tomura swore he could’ve genuinely seen someone’s head go almost all the way round when the brat roundhouse kicked them. Third glitch in the game.

But it seemed the game had shut down completely when the brat had lowered that dome. Hence the panicking. Tomura usually kept his cool. He had been through a lot of crap, hell, he was the chosen student of Sensei. He survived each and everyone of the Doctor’s weird, required experiments. Sparred countless times with the Nomu’s he now ordered. But one thing he could never overcome in his twenty one years, was the dark. Usually it wasn’t too much of an issue. He would make out the shape of his hands, details in the room like the amount of tiles in the ceiling and how the left most row were all slightly wider than the others.

But right now, standing amidst the descended shadow cloud, Tomura could see nothing. Not even an inch in front of him. Everything was completely black, not a microscopic speck of light in sight. He felt his chest heave and breath quicken but all he could process was the lack of anything. And then it came, like it always did. Because somewhere in the back of his mind, darkness meant raised hands and a yelling man. It meant a crying woman and a sniffling girl. It meant quiet barks of something that made his heart warm. And none of it made sense. He had never felt warmth. Time before Sensei was cold and unforgiving, Sensei had told him. So why did he have memories of a horrid man before Sensei, a loving woman, a lying girl and…

Mon-chan…. Who is Mon-chan?

“Darkness makes us face our fears head on.”

Tomura whirled around to where the voice was, or at least he think he did. A dizzying sensation was slowly gripping onto him the longer he stood in the blackness.

“What does it make you see?”

He clutched his chest, his pinkie finger unconsciously raised away from his shirt. There were images flashing through his mind, like an old film reel playing on repeat. Times of happiness and anger. Somehow, it was impossible, it had to be… but somehow, it was a life before Sensei. Before the itching that never, never, never, stopped. But it couldn’t be.

Sensei doesn’t lie.

Sensei couldn’t lie. Sensei is good. Sensei is righteous. He stuttered in his mind.

“I see your shadows… they’re clear to me.”

Sensei is good. Sensei is righteous.

“You think you are Tomura Shigaraki.”

Sensei is good. Sensei is righ–

“But you are Tenko Shimura.”

---

Izuku knew the moment the young man collapsed into a mumbling heap clutching his hair that he was no longer a threat, so he turned his gaze onto the mindless beast that stood masterless. But that didn’t make it anymore dangerous. It seemed the beast sensed a disturbance in it’s master and despite the darkness, it still sensed Tenko’s presence.

Because that was Tenko Shimura and not Tomura Shigaraki. The shadows of one’s soul were easy to observe when Izuku bathed both him and his target in darkness. Mental darkness was still an aspect of his quirk that was newfound to him. Not to mention his… souls.

The approaching Nomu gained his attention and Dusk hissed at the creature. Izuku tightened his grip in her fur as she launched forward and sunk her class into it’s skin, dragging them down its arm but Izuku watched as the injury sealed itself over.

Enhanced Strength, Regeneration, some sort of Absorption or Nullification. One definite weak spot, the brain. Only option, overwhelm the body and target the flaw.

Dusk understood him before he had to worry about a thing and she pounced back from Nomu as it swung its arm. Had they still been on, it would have thrown the pair much like it did to Izuku earlier. But instead, she did something he wasn’t expected and used her back paw to cut the Nomu’s hand.

And the hand dropped to the ground.

The mindless creature stared at it a moment as it’s body worked to regrow bone and muscle, giving Izuku the time he needed so desperately. Dusk had eight minutes left in this form and her own strength was nothing against Nomu’s. He couldn’t risk her getting any more hurt or… no, that hadn’t happened since he found her in the alley the scar was still across his stomach today. So he slid off her back and despite her clear protest, dragging his crystal war-hammer with him.

“Protect Dad okay?” He didn’t dare take an eye off the Nomu’s regenerating hand, but still offering her a hand carding through her fur. “It’s slice and dice time.”

Dusk mewled softly but bounded off outside the dark cloud. Izuku vaguely heard yelps of surprise from his students, but he focused on the Nomu. Gripping the end of the staff tightly, Izuku hauled the hammer up with burning arms and swung it at the Nomu, letting go of the pole just at the right moment.

The jagged edges sticking out of the crystal hammer managed to embed themselves into the Nomu’s back. It barely turned its beaked head to stare at him with empty eyes before kicking it’s leg back to get him. Izuku instinctively raised his crossed arms and a portion of the cloud solidified into a wall, but the force of the kick was enough to blow him back a few feet. Izuku breathed deeply and prepared himself. If this worked then it would be great. And if it didn’t… All Might would have to get to them fast.

He swirled his wrists through the air and the cloud around them thickened, curling over his arms and trailing over his costume until he was covered from his feet to his jaw in writhing darkness. Izuku saw the shocked expressions of many students and thankfully, his dad draped over Dusk’s back. It was time to end this.

With a massive yell, crystal javelins shot out from the shadows surrounding his skin, thick piercing poles of blackened glass that whistled as they flew and sank through the Nomu’s skin. The first one went clean through the Nomu’s palm. The second pierced it’s chest. The next dozen made it look like a pincushion. But they kept coming. More and more, the javelins growing less aerodynamic and more jagged, less thin and more wild. Until finally, Izuku stood there in his costume without an essence of darkness left on him.

The Nomu had been pierced by dozens upon dozens of crystal javelins, a puddle of black blood oozing around its feet. Even those empty eyes were purely lifeless. But Izuku always made sure.

He pulled out his knife, the most simple of his weapons and his most trusted. He used the interlocking sections of the crystal to climb the Nomu’s prone figure before he was face to face with it, and plunged the knife into it’s brain. It seemed the Nomu had enough life left to scream its final word and with a twist of the blade, Izuku ceased it’s sounds.

He hopped off the corpse, swaying on his feet. He looked over himself, grimacing slightly at the amount of tears in his costumes and the bruises he could feel forming. It already hurt to breathe and the black spots dancing in his vision definitely weren’t his quirk. A faint booming sound came from his right and Izuku barely had energy to see Kacchan flying toward him. Behind his friend he watched Tenko fall through a purple hole but then sight was blocked by worried eyes.

“Zuku? You damn nerd, you fucking overdid it,” the blonde cursed, but Izuku could hear the worried tinge to his voice. He spared a glance down and saw the greyed skin of his fingers, as if he dipped himself in monochromia up to his knuckles. His friend just held him tight and close. “I got you nerd. Hobo’s okay too, the hairball is with him.”

“S’not hairball,” Izuku slurred.

And then the world went black.

Chapter Text

Hizashi had never been more grateful for Dusk. The second the tracker on her collar went offline, the staff knew something was wrong. Izuku would much sooner risk damaging his own equipment, put his own life on the life, rather than do anything to endanger Dusk. She was his lifeline, his best friend, she kept him going. And then each camera to the USJ facility shut down, and none of their communications went through.

And it only got worse when minutes later, Tensei’s younger brother came running down the paths connecting the varying areas of the U.A. campus. All Might had gone on ahead, why wouldn’t he, but Hizashi was shaking as he ran alongside the rest of the staff. Nem kept stealing glances at him and he knew, but his lips were pressed into a thin line.

They had to be okay. His husband was one of the most ruthless and efficient combatants he had ever faced, and their son was a ass-kicking enigma of his own. Not to mention the leaps in training Dusk herself had made. He hoped she wouldn’t need it, but her transformative abilities would definitely help against the villains.

That’s where they were running, into the heart of the storm. A swarm of villains had invaded the USJ and thanks to Tenya, the heroes were finally made aware. And as the facility came into view, with the group of injured, empty-eyed students huddled around All Might, Hizashi felt the first crack in his heart. He froze, the other heroes rushing forward to direct the oncoming police and ambulances and reassure the students. But Hizashi froze.

Because the group of few medics who had gotten there first were wrapping bandages around a weeping wound on Shouta’s head. He could barely make out his husband beneath splintered bone and mangled flesh. His breakfast threatened to spill past his lips, but he forced it down. The medics were taking care of him, Shouta would be fine. He had to be fine. He couldn’t lose Shouta, they had to be together. He couldn’t do loss again… not after Oboro. Hizashi took an unsteady breath and forced his fists to stop shaking. He recognised Kurose behind closing ambulance doors, their back looking worse for wear. His family had been put through the ringer.

The familiar sound of curses being barked out drew hit attention, and Hizashi turned to see a sight that was ever so bittersweet. There was his son, looking worse for wear. Bruised cheeks, blood dripping down his arms, and his fingers were all grey.

He went too far, Hizashi mused.

All in all, his son was not doing well and clearly the medics around him were trying to assess the damage. But of course, his overprotective Pomeranian of a best friend was not allowing a single person near the boy.

“Back of you masked freaks, I don’t care how many medical degrees you have or any of your stupid qualifications. I’m only letting Mic-Sensei check him out, so BACK THE FUCK OFF!” he yelled, crackling some weak explosions with one hand while the other made sure Izuku would not slip off his back. And even when he was somehow cursing out medics, Katsuki kept his volume in check enough to not jostle his friend.

“I’m here Bakugo. I’ll take it from here and make sure he gets checked out,” Hizashi told the medics, flashing his classic Pro Hero smile to assuage their worries. The medics left and once he was certain the other students were pre-occupied with talking to police or medics or other heroes, Hizashi turned his attention to Katsuki. “How’s he doing?”

“Bruised and banged up as fuck, but that’s not what I’m worried about,” the boy growled out, holding one of Izuku’s hands up to reveal the greying flesh closer for Hizashi to observe. “I tried some light explosions, but they won’t fade.”

“Don’t worry kiddo, they’ll only fade when he’s awake. Katsuki, are you okay?”

“I’m fine cockatoo. We all got split up, I ended up in that fire spot with Shitty Hair. The villains didn’t stand a chance.”

“I’m glad, but still get checked by a medic,” Hizashi said, holding a hand up to silence Katsuki. “I know your quirk kiddo, your wrists are probably strained to hell and back right about now. I’ll take Izu.”

The boy grumbled for a moment before handing over Izuku and walking over to the area where the medics had set up to treat injuries, not before looking back. “Let me know when the damn nerd wakes up, I’m killing him for going overboard like that.”

“Got it kiddo.” A soft mewl drew his attention, and Hizashi carefully crouched down with Izuku in his arms, peering into the bush. He smiled at the white eyes looking back it him. “Hey girl, you coming with?”

Dusk leapt from her hiding spot in the bushes and latched onto Hizashi’s arm, climbing her way up till she was sat on his shoulder, her tail curling around his headphones. Her eyes were fixed on Izuku’s battered and bruised form, a broken sound escaping her.

“He’ll be okay sweet girl. He has to be,” Hizashi reassured.

---

As soon as his eyes cracked open, Shouta tried to shoot up only to be restrained by bursting pain across his body and a pair of hands pushing him gently back down. He could barely make anything out until something touched his face and suddenly he was assaulted with a slit of light in his right eye.

“Sho? Are you okay?”

He would know that broken voice anywhere.

“Zashi,” he said weakly, his voice hoarse and head swimming in agony. “Where Zu? Kids?”

“Everyone’s okay, you did good.”

Shouta sighed softly and finally took a moment to assess his surroundings. Despite the infuriating pain radiating across him, he could make out the stiff plushness of the mattress beneath him and the scent of antiseptic clinging to the air. Not nice enough to be Recovery Girl’s office but definitely clean and uncomfortable enough to be a hospital. Which meant his injuries had to be bad.

“What happened?”

“Do you remember much?” Hizashi asked slowly.

“Plaza, villains. Leader was young, had a… Nomu?”

 Hizashi sighed softly. “Yeah… that thing. It’s disposed of now.”

“All Might?”

“Sho… do you know what exactly happened before you passed out?”

He scrunched his brow as much as he could with bandages tightly holding his body together. Flashes of the plaza shone in his mind, taking out villain after villain, a dance of dodging against their leader and then, the Nomu. Whatever it was, his quirk had no effect on it. It was clearly fast as hell, strong as hell, probably born in Hell. Shouta vaguely recalled using his quirk on the thing’s commander before everything went black.

But between it all… a glimpse of green.

“What did Izuku do?” Shouta asked weakly.

“He took it down. Alone. Dusk was looking over you and according to the students’ statements, ‘the darkness travelled to the plaza’. Sho, he drained the shadows from the entire facility to do it, practically turned the Nomu into minced meat.”

“Grey?”

“Up to his knuckles. He’s asleep right now, I was just with him,” Hizashi said and Shouta finally took a moment to really look at his husband. He saw ragged green eyes heavy with sleepless nights. “He had a concussion, three broken ribs… a fractured wrist, not to mention the amount of bruising along his spine. Neither of you have enough energy for Recovery Girl, so it’s a few more days here for the two of you.”

Shouta’s heart ached to rip his I.V. out, wrench the monitors from his hand and run to Izuku’s room, and card his hands through those unruly green curls. “How long?”

“It’s been two days.”

With what little energy he had, Shouta grasped Hizashi’s hand and tugged him forward until the blonde was nestled against his side, his head on Shouta’s chest. It was a routine the pair had gone through since their own time at U.A.

It started back when Shouta first learnt what loss truly meant. Up until U.A, Shouta had crafted walls and intricate passages to lock his heart beyond, having known first hand how much more betrayal stung when it came from those closest to you. But when his true friends, his family, were rocked with the loss of one of their own, the couple had been at lost.

Oboro… he was their light. Anyone who dared call Hizashi or Shota slur when they first started holding hands would be whipped round the face with a dense cloud. His contagious laughter filed rooms, and his smile, it was so goddamn bright. And after that day, during their Work Studies, Shouta had to witness first-hand the extermination of that light.

Shouta grounded himself with Hizashi’s presence. But Hizashi always needed something more, and right now as they laid together on the rickety hospital bed, he knew his husband was listening to his heart as it thrummed in his chest. The world was clearly in chaos, the scales of good and bad being upended, but right in this moment, all Shouta could bring himself to think of was how goddamn lucky he was for the greatest husband and the most amazing son.

Chapter Text

The box jostled on his lap as his train finally came to the stop for Mustafa General Hospital. It had been two days, and Katsuki had been messaging the Loud Cockatoo nonstop. Apparently Zuku had woken up early in the morning and Katsuki had to let out some small explosions in his room when he discovered the hospital wouldn’t allow guests until just before midday. So of course he did the one thing that could seethe his worries and rage. Upend the kitchen.

His old hag had seen how volatile he could get since his quirk came in. Nitroglycerin secreting through your sweat glands isn’t exactly the… healthiest thing. It lowered his heart rate and blood pressure, so his body pumped additional adrenaline throughout his system to combat that. The downside was his apparent increased anger. And his family did their best. The old hag may have been… an old hag, but that was his old hag and no one would dare say something about his family. Especially his dad. No one spoke badly about Bakugo Masura, lest they face the wrath of his son and wife. So when his rage got too bad, or the thoughts swirling in his mind were too loud, Mitsuki had taken Katsuki and forced him into the kitchen. She berated him with the details of the Bakugo extra spicy curry, and something about the chopping, sautéing, soft simmering, and the endless spices set something at ease in his chest.

He was only seven at the time, but every time things in life seemed to get a bit too much, Katsuki knew that the kitchen would help him destress and just exist. And when he and Zuku had finally put their past behind them, he discovered his best friend had a love for the baked goods, so he was determined to become the best baker around. He spent four weeks making batch after batch of cookies, donating them to orphanages and care homes around the neighbourhood until they were finally good enough. A month on his brownies and two and a half weeks on his cupcakes. Nothing but the best for Zuku.

And that is how he found himself walking away from the receptionists desk with a room number in his mind and a box of red-velvet cupcakes… that were obviously dyed green because his best friend was a freak. Katsuki knew he had the right door when he saw something staring at him from under the chair outside Izuku’s room.

“Keeping watch?” He asked, knowing she wouldn’t respond. Katsuki knew how Dusk felt about him, Zuku had told him enough after the hairball had tried scratching his eyes out the first time they met. But aside from their differences, they could bond over one thing. They both would rather die than see their self-sacrificial idiot fall.

Katsuki didn’t bother knocking, he hadn’t for the last four years, and the sight he entered to did nothing to deter him. Two beds were situated in what he was told was a one person room, but the people in them made it all make sense. The bed on the left was empty while the one on the right held what looked like a mummy with long black flowing locks, and a sobbing Zuku who was bruised to hell and back with his hands wrapped in thick bandages.

He grunts as the Cockatoo gives him a tight hug before Zuku finally notices they have a guest in the room.

“Kacchan!”

Katsuki dumps the box of cupcakes on the table between the two beds before hauling Izuku into his arms and crashing onto the empty bed, hugging him tight. “You selfless asshole, what the hell were you thinking? I bet under these damn things, your grey down to your wrist.”

The green haired boy laughed sheepishly, sniffling and settling in Katsuki’s grip. He never initiated hugs himself, or contact in all really, that was usually Zuku’s job. But seeing him in the facility, when the nerd had passed out in his arms… Katsuki had thought the worst. But he was here, he was real.

“… Uncle Sho, you good?”

Even with the bandages tied around his face, Katsuki could tell the Hobo had a brow raised. Silence remained steady in the hospital room, until the man weakly replied. “I will be kid, don’t worry.”

“So, what delights did you bring us now kiddo?” The cockatoo asked as his hands reached for the box, but Katsuki slapped his hands away and grabbed the box, dumping it on Zuku’s lap.

“You know the rules, nerd gets first pick,” Katsuki said, grinning at the look of betrayal on his uncle’s face.

“You wound me Katsuki. Wound me.”

All eyes turned to the teary laugh as the nerd opened up the box and took in the dozen green cupcakes, with his favourite cream cheese frosting liberally piped on at least two inches high. “Thanks Kacchan, you’re the best.”

“Damn right I am nerd. Tuck in, I’m sure the food in this place is shitty. Plus I added some multi-vitamins into the batter, because I don’t trust you to keep up with whatever the doctors give you.”

His friend had the decency to look sheepish. Whenever they sparred, Zuku stupidly refused to take any pain medication or have vitamin supplements. He still had lingering fears of… Inko. The bitch had given him placebo pills whenever he asked or just gave the nerd sleeping pills to stop harassing her. Even now, it was one of the few behaviours he had still not been able to break out of, so Katsuki did his best to keep his friend’s health in check.

“Kiddo, we’re heading to back to campus soon, the doctor is coming by to give us the discharge papers and then these two are having a quick visit to Recovery Girl. You staying around tonight?”

Katsuki nodded and the man left the room, presumably to call his old hag and let her know. Somehow against all odds, the Cockatoo and his hag, had become friends. They constantly chatted away animatedly, and it was revealed that they were the Bakugo’s of Bakugo Fashion Inc., the Cockatoo had almost burst everyone’s eardrums with his excitement. Needless to say, the two were fast friends. At least it meant he could hang with the nerd without either parents worrying about the two of them.

---

Izuku sluggishly sat up as Recovery Girl’s lips receded. He was thankful that he could finally breath without it feeling like sandpaper dragging across his lungs thanks to his newly healed ribs, and majority of the bruises had faded. But since her quirk wouldn’t work on his wrists till they were back to normal, they would be kept in splints and bandages for now. A quick check under them at the Nurse’s office had revealed that only the skin around his very fingertips were still grey so in a few days he could return to have her do a final healing session. But either way, three ribs and spinal bruising took a lot of energy to heal, and while his best friend was staying around, Izuku could barely keep his eyes open enough to even see Dusk sitting on his lap, let alone talk properly to Katsuki.

He was so exhausted, he didn’t even realise he was being moved before he cracked his eyes open and saw doors passing by them and spiky blonde hair. “Kacchan?”

“I got you Zuku,” his friend said, not even breaking his stride as he carried Izuku on his back through the empty corridors of the school. “What do you say to one of those pre-quirk films you love, some cupcakes and crappy takeaway?”

Even through the fatigue, he still managed a smile. “Kacchan’s the best.”

“Damn right.”

His eyes fluttered shut once more and they opened again when something swatted his nose. Izuku knew she wanted attention, but he could barely bring it in himself to do it until something warm was pressed into his hands. The scent was the first thing to rouse him, and Izuku managed to sit up and tiredly sip at the coffee, sighing softly as the warmth eased his dry throat. Half the mug was drained when he bothered to finally open his eyes and see that he was on his bed with Dusk beside him and Katsuki ruffling through his drawers.

“Bottom, at the left,” Izuku murmured, taking another sip. He knew what the blonde was looking for. No matter how many times he stayed the night, Izuku always had to remind Katsuki where his clothes were. The blonde grinned when he finally found his black skull t-shirt and a pair of limited edition All Might sweatpants. He grabbed the matching pair for Izuku and his Present Mic hoodie.

“Need help?” Katsuki asked, his tone softer than usual. Izuku knew he was worried, it was evident enough in the tension of Katsuki’s brow and the way he kept biting his lip.

Izuku shook his head and lethargically slipped his t-shirt off and sighed happily when the hoodie was over his skin. He took of his shorts and slid into the sweatpants as Katsuki finished changing too. Once ready, Izuku scooped Dusk up and she climbed him, resting her head against his as she curled around his neck. He flipped the hood up till she was bathed in darkness and then slid across his bed to make room. Katsuki flopped beside him and grabbed Izuku’s laptop, loading up a movie.

He wasn’t too focused on the plot, having seen the film many times before. The caffeine had done its job, and Izuku felt somewhat more awake when Katsuki handed him a green cupcake. The pair munched on the treats quietly until Katsuki picked his phone up.

“One of extras have been asking about you a lot,” he mumbled, a sly grin growing on his face. “A certain Eyebags was quick to ask how you were. Everyone else in the group chat just went on about your quirk. Interesting.”

Izuku buried himself deeper in his duvet, suddenly very invested in the battle scene playing on his laptop and ignoring Katsuki’s smug grin. “No clue what you’re on about.”

“C’mon, just spill Zuku, I see the way you stare at him in class when you think no one is lokoing.”

“Oh yeah? Care to explain why I see you do the very same thing to a certain red head?”

“So you admit to staring at Eyebags!”

“Which would mean you admit to staring at Kirishima,” Izuku stated plainly.

Katsuki promptly shut his mouth and Izuku grinned.

---

“I’m sure you’re all aware why I have asked you all to come today,” Nedzu begun, taking in the worried faces of the staff around him, sans Shouta and Hizashi. He knew his cub would make a fast recovery, but his fur raised unconsciously whenever he thought to the intruders. But he would not let his hackles be so easily agitated. “Those who broke into the USJ have labelled themselves as the League of Villains, and according to intelligence gathered during the incident, they came with the aim of taking down All Might.”

Eyes spun to face the Symbol of Peace as the skeletal man sat there with a deep look in his eyes. “I have nothing but apologies. Had I known my presence would bring these kind of attacks to the school, that it would threaten the lives of the students, I never would have come.”

“None of that now Yagi, the past is unchangeable, but the future is. And on that note, I’d like to introduce the lead detective on the LoV case, Detective Tsukachi.”

The man stood, giving a nod to All Might before addressing the staff. “Hello all, I wish I could be here under better circumstances, so I’ll get right to it. We were able to arrest just under a hundred villains but unfortunately the warp-gate villain and the one with the decay quirk got away. The body of the Nomu has been sent to the labs for identification after Nedzu informed me of suspicions that it has been bio-engineered rather than it being some sort of quirk at play.”

He handed around a stack of files before taking a deep breath and continuing. “What’s more is that the criminals we did apprehend have all been on the lower-scale of crime. Robberies, assault, battery. Not things you’d expect for villains that would attack U.A., and that leads me to believe that majority of them were recruited to act more as cannon fodder than this being a large-scale organisation at work. We’ve identified the young man with the decay quirk as the ringleader of the break in, with the warp-gate villain as acting as secondary command.”

“Additionally, thanks to Power Loader and the pup, we were able to gain camera footage of parts of the break in and learnt vital information regarding the leader. The warp-gate referred to the man a one Tomura Shigaraki, but of course, that name doesn’t exist. There’s not a single record of someone called Tomura Shigaraki in any database I have looked into. However, the young pup also used his recently awakened Shadow Telepathy to gain a lot more insight. Unfortunately, and Yagi I do apologise for this… the villain’s real name is Tenko Shimura.”

The pressure in the room increased tenfold as All Might subconsciously puffed into his muscular form, smoke trailing off his skin. “You’re certain?”

“76%,” Nedzu replied with ease, keeping his gaze on the man. “If it is true… it means he is the grandchild of Nana and did not pass with the rest of the family as suspected. What’s more is, he presents an incredibly childish personality with a sort of obsession with video-game terminology. It acts as a sort of crutch to his otherwise inhumane acts, a way of rebelling against his own actions. I would go so far as to liken it to a child acting out against a parent. Which leads me to believe that this young man, while having committed heinous acts… is not entirely to blame.”

“What do you mean?” All Might asked quietly, his face impassive but his eyes watery.

“While he is smart and powerful, the young man is naïve and unaware, presumably faced harsh discrimination for such a volatile quirk.” Nedzu said, and his other message went unsaid. The one how a certain green-haired angel could have been in the very same position had it not been for them. “I believe there is some sort of guiding hand in his actions, a mentor or teacher of some sort. He is being nurtured in villainy much like we nurture our students to heroism. And it is my hope that we can push him onto the right path. After all, we should strive to save everyone. Why shouldn’t we try to save young Tenko?”

Chapter Text

“Shinsou!”

He barely had time to react before something crashed into his back. Hitoshi’s defences immediately flared but he stopped when he noticed the tell-tale brown bob. “Uraraka? You, uh, you okay there?”

She was clinging to his back with a wide grin. “Onward my noble steed!”

“Excuse you?”

“Onward!”

He sighed heavily, it was too early for this, but part of him was glad his friend was in a good mood. They’d been texting a bit during the few days off of school, mainly lighter topics. They were still getting to know each other, it turned out they were both cat people but she preferred tea which almost had Hitoshi rethink the whole friendship thing. But then she sent him a cat compilation, and he quickly reassured himself that maybe she was worth keeping around. So with no other choice, he awkwardly walked down the school corridors to their classroom as Uraraka babbled on about how her parents had been acting since the attack, hovering around her.

“How did your parents react?” She asked.

Hitoshi was suddenly glad she had decided to make him her personal steed, because she wouldn’t see the way his jaw tightened. The fosters hadn’t exactly been happy with him, figuring that if they were attacked he must have used his quirk. And apparently, even if his life was in danger and there villains trying to kill him, in their mind he had broken a rule. The muzzle had only been taken off this morning and he was able to finally eat after the three days being locked in his room.

“The same,” he managed to say. “Hey, is that Iida?”

The pair looked over to the other end of the corridor where the boy was sat on a bench hunched over a book, hiding the cover as much as he could. But Hitoshi recognised it, he had read it himself when his quirk came in. Everyone assumed making friends would be something automatic, just introduce yourself and say something interesting enough to gain attention but not radical enough to draw stares. That was the opening line of the very book Iida was reading, and Hitoshi had practically memorised it. It seemed even boomingly loud figures that breathed rules more than oxygen could still have anxiety. He was lonely, plain and simple, and if going by the hurried way he read through the book, the boy was desperate for companionship.

Sure, his whole rule abiding demeanour could be draining, but Hitoshi almost always felt drained so what was a little more. So, Hitoshi took a breath and called out, “Iida!”

The boy looked up and immediately snapped his book shut, stuffing it into his bag and rising to a stand with his classic perfect posture. “Ah Shinsou, Uraraka, good morning. Uraraka, if you are injured you should go directly to Recovery Girl rather than homeroom, you do not want to unnecessarily stress the injury.”

And there it was. Behind the rules and rigidity, Iida wasn’t acting out of just compulsion. But care. Hitoshi had him figured wrong on day one, and he would do what he could to make up for it.

Plus Ultra I guess, he thought to himself.

“I’m all good Iida, just catching a ride to class. Do you like it, it’s the newest model of the Shinsou Travel line, limited edition with purple colouring. Only one in the world exists.”

Hitoshi kept his face blank and impassive and simply nodded. “I’m a rare delight.”

The taller boy spluttered a moment before realising the humour of the situation and his shoulders slumped.

Hitoshi smirked and figured he’d give the guy an out of the awkwardness. “We’re heading to homeroom now, want to come with us?”

Iida smiled and the three made light conversation as they walked to the room for Class 1-A, Uraraka finally hopping of his back when they were outside the door. The class filled out over the next few minutes, and their was a question hanging in the air that they were all thinking. They knew Aizawa-sensei was incredibly injured, the Nomu had really torn him a new one, so the class was curious over who’d be teaching. And then there was the whole matter of Yamazawa.

“Did you guys see him using that massive hammer thing, that was so manly!”

“And the massive shadow dome!” Kaminari added.

“A true banquet of darkness,” Tokoyami muttered.

All Hitoshi was wondering was the way he watched Yamazawa get slammed into the wall by the Nomu, like the guy weighed nothing. And Hitoshi knew that wasn’t the case, Yamazawa was surprisingly built under the baggy clothes he typically wore. But, he also couldn’t stop thinking about how even after being swatted like a fly, the guy had stood back up and went back at it. How he didn’t stop protecting Aizawa-sensei for a second. And most importantly, how he had a cat with him the entire time. A cat he so desperately wanted to meet.

The door to the classroom swung open and the class waited with bated breath to see who would be teaching them, only to gasp out in shock as the mummified form of Aizawa-sensei walked in, with a worn out looking Yamazawa. His eyes were laced with fatigue and there were splints on his wrists. Once again, the green-haired enigma was playing hopscotch with the line between acceptable uniform and fashion extravagance. The same Present Mic hoodie from before was paired with black cargo pants and bright red hightops.

“Good morning class,” Aizawa-sensei said tiredly, his eyes barely peeking out from the gap of bandages around his face.

“Sir, are you really okay to be teaching?”

It took Hitoshi a moment to realise that he was the one to have asked.

“My well being isn’t of importance. What is important however, is that your fight is not over…” A pitcher of anxiety was poured over the class. Another intruder? More villains? Another Nomu thing? “The Sports Festival is in a month and a half today.”

“All due respect Sensei,” Jiro began. “Is that really the safest option?”

“Yeah, what if the villains come after us again?” Kaminari added on, his hands fidgeting until Jiro pressed a toy into his hands.

“Honestly students, if I had my way, this whole affair would be over. But unfortunately, it’s not up to me, but… the board,” he said, with so much disdain dripping from the board that Hitoshi hoped he never had to face them, “has decided to move forward with the Festival. Yet, we only allowed it to go on with a few conditions.”

“Firstly, only family of students and Pro Heroes are invited to the event,” Yamazawa said, standing from his desk to address the class. “Secondly, this is not going to be an internationally televised event for all to watch, but rather only allowed to be viewed in Agencies across Japan. Thirdly, we will be bringing in additional security measures for the day and we will do a school-wide run through of those measures. In case of an emergency or a break in, as students you are tasked with evacuating the audience members while others deal with the villains.”

“As Yamazawa said, this event will still be shown to Pros. You will still have the chance to show your abilities, but we cannot have information about a class who have all been targeted being spread worldwide. So none of you have to worry about this interfering with your chances of gaining an internship after this. And internships themselves are vital opportunities to gain experience in what it means to truly be a hero. The Sports Festival is where you will show the Pros that you are capable. One event, three chances in your time at U.A., it’s not to be taken lightly. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” the class echoed.

“One more thing,” Yamazawa said before the class begun to prepare to leave. “I know many of you were not physically injured during the events at the USJ, but that does not change the fact that each and every one of you has gone through something traumatic. I wanted to make everyone aware of U.A.’s counsellor, Hound Dog. The Pro is fully licensed in Psychiatry and Child Psychology, and I can say, from first-hand experience, that he is incredibly helpful.”

Hitoshi watched as the words eased a few people in the class, but all it did was lock him in fear. No counsellor was ever truly helpful, or unbiased, he knew that well enough. But if it would help his classmates, then good for them.

“Yamazawa, may I ask a question?” Iida said with a raised hand.

“Pretty sure you just did but go ahead Iida.”

“I understand you are a Teaching Assistant but as someone our age and someone who has not had peers before, will you be competing alongside us?”

Hitoshi’s mind reeled at the question. He hadn’t necessarily thought through what Yamazawa would be doing. The guy was skilled, had pretty damn good quirk control, and scarily intelligent if he could be a TA at fourteen. But Iida had a point, the guy had probably never competed in the previous Sports Festivals, or any sort of group activity. But all his curiosity ended when he spotted Yamazawa’s feral grin.

“Somewhat,” the green-haired boy said.

Chapter Text

Recovery Girl had finally given him the go ahead. The splints and bandages had come off and his fingers had finally returned to their normal shade. His quirk drawback was… odd, to say the least. The greyed patches of skin that would form at random spots on his body would typically not feel a thing. If a lighter was held under them, they’d feel cold. If someone poked them, it would feel like air. He hated to think it, but the greyed parts of skin always felt… dead. Shadows and darkness were difficult things to wield, even more difficult control. He had spent months honing his talents, learning more and more about what it truly meant to manipulate the state of shadows. People saw the mist, the ooze, and the crystals and assumed that was all there was to it. And Izuku was happy to let them think that. Only his close family really knew about the exact specificities. Only they knew that darkness existed in everyone. Everyone had a piece of darkness in them, but it wasn’t evil.

Izuku had to always remind himself that darkness was darkness, darkness wasn’t evil. He only truly learnt that when he saved Dusk. When he had shattered his own inner darkness and used a piece to revive her. And now he was a part of Dusk, as much as she was a part of him. People just liked to call that inner darkness a soul. But again, Izuku was happy to let people have their misconceptions. The only person he thought would vaguely understand happened to be in Class 1-A. Tokoyami Fumikage was an enigma, both in quirk and personality. A person with a sentient being inside of them, almost akin to a sentient soul. Izuku and Dusk had had many ‘conversation’ about approaching the pair, but Izuku was worried about what would happen if they were wrong. So he would wait for Tokoyami to come first. He’d notice the boy’s interest, so a conversation would probably occur soon.

 A short hiss from Dusk broke him out of his train of thought and back to the matter at hand. It was finally time for him to get back into training after all that happened at the USJ and he had decided to start on some light parkour practice followed by a couple rounds of Gym Zeta. It was his Dad’s personally tailored gym. Each teacher had one that specialised in an aspect of heroic combat and this one focused on stealth. Izuku figured that he needed to work more on quirkless stealth combat, so he planned to set up some hologram watchmen while he ran the course, docking points for each time he was spotted.

For now though he focused on warming up, by doing a few laps around the perimeter of the gym. After four laps, when his chest was lightly heaving and his skin was sheening, he begun doing his set of stretches. If there was one thing he learnt from his family’s combat lesson, it was that flexibility and agility where better than strength. You could lift as many weights as possible but you were a lousy fighter if you were as stiff as brick wall. Izuku had even caught All Might doing a yoga session with Auntie Nem once. So he was in a split, lifting his back leg up at the knee and arched his back until his foot and head touched, when the doors to the gym opened. Only a few people had access to the gym, so he didn’t bother turning to see until he heard it.

“Oh shit.”

Izuku arched his back further, relishing in the burning strain, until he saw a flash of purple.

Oh shit.

“Uh… hi Shinsou.”

---

Hitoshi was having actually having a good day. He, Uraraka, and Iida had planned to go to a café together on the weekend, and his vote for a new cat café had won out. And his fosters had taken the other kids on a trip to Fukuoka so he had the home to himself, which meant he could go out without worry. And then the cherry on top was him managing to work up the courage to have the conversation with Aizawa-sensei since he had started the class.

He knew that his quirk was not inherently combat based, and that compared to the rest of his classmates, he wasn’t necessarily the most in shape. He had good stamina, learning to run quick from bullies did that, but in terms of muscle? Strength? That was something he inherently lacked. So, he went to the one person who knew everything about non-combat based quirks, his Sensei. And when Hitoshi had asked for some advice, maybe a workout plan, the man had surprised him by saying he would give the boy private training sessions every Friday after school as long as it did not interfere with his current studies.

That’s how he found himself heading down the path toward one of U.A.’s many gyms. This one was apparently under Aizawa-sensei’s control, whatever that meant, but he was excited. He swiped the guest pass Sensei had given him at the door and walked down the spacious corridor toward the locker rooms, taking in the décor… or lack thereof. Bare white walls and white tiles with thin strip lights. Bare, simple, logical, just like Aizawa-sensei. Hitoshi was feeling a strange need to cheer and whoop but also throw up. This was a golden ticket opportunity, and he couldn’t do anything to squander it. He had to prove himself.

So he hurriedly slipped his uniform and pulled on clothes that Sensei had instructed him to wear. Something light-weight and flexible that he could move with ease in. With that in mind, he slipped on some loose shorts and a sleeved compression top. Catching a glance at the time, he had five more minutes till Aizawa-sensei would be there, so he figured he’d check out more of the gym, especially if he’d be there for the foreseeable Friday’s.

Leaving the locker rooms, he passed by a large swimming pool and sauna, a locked door to what seemed to be an armoury, and finally a set of large double doors leading to the gym itself. He strode through them, intending to maybe do some sort of warm up, when he stopped dead in his tracks.

Because there was Yamazawa.

Yamazawa doing the fucking splits.

And not just normal splits, no. He was somehow lifting his back leg up and arching his back insanely so. And wearing the tightest red shorts Hitoshi had ever seen that clung to muscular thighs, leaving nothing to the imagination. And his fucking arms grabbing his leg, sinfully laid bare in the black compression vest.

“Oh shit.” It slipped out before he could control himself.

And then the guy had the nerve to arch his back even more to look at him. “Uh.. hi Shinsou.”

“H-Hi Yamazawa.”

The green-haired walking sin lowered his leg and brought them both in, coming to a stand, the entire move smooth and swift. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but what are you doing here? Only staff have access.”

“He’s with me.”

Hitoshi almost jumped out of his skin when Aizawa-sensei seemingly appeared right behind him.

“Situational awareness will be one of the things we have to work on,” the man said. “Yamazawa, why are you here?”

“Recovery Girl cleared me for training, I was just going to do some parkour and a few rounds of the obstacle course. I can go to another gym if it’s a problem.”

“It’ll be fine, we are only doing light sparring today. Just don’t turn the holograms into PC mode again.”

Yamazawa grinned and gave the two a lazy salute before grabbing his green scarf from the side of the room. Hitoshi watched with barely contained awe as a strand shot out to one of the metal rafters of the ceiling and Yamazawa swung himself high onto one of the mock buildings of the fake city obstacle course that took up majority of the gym. How U.A. found the budget to build multiple gyms that contained false cities was beyond Hitoshi, but he was willing to take advantage of it.

The next hour and half was one of the most difficult mental battles Hitoshi had ever had to fight. Aizawa-sensei was a ruthless instructor, a good one, but ruthless nonetheless. He gave one display of a move and expected Hitoshi to get it down. And he would have to repeat the move endlessly until he did it to Aizawa-sensei’s standards. It was tough, gruelling, but he knew it would better in the long run, so he was glad for it. What he was not glad about was that the two had decided to do said sparring drills right beside the buildings that Yamazawa was leaping effortlessly between, his body twisting and spinning in the air as his scarf spiralled around him and flew wildly but with grace.

Many times his Sensei had to tell Hitoshi to focus and thankfully the man never actually called out his actions, but he was sure Aizawa-sensei knew where he was looking. And for some reason, whenever he did, Hitoshi swore he could see a twinge of annoyance, maybe anger in his teacher’s eye. Maybe he was just protective of his TA, Yamazawa was the pride of U.A. after all.

The sparring drills finally came to a close and his body ached endlessly from the amount of times he had thrusted a fist forward and had to kick higher than his possibility. He was laying face down on the mat, sucking in lungful after lungful of breath, when his Sensei leaned over into his eye view.

“I need to take a cool, so do some cool down stretches and then head home. Make sure you eat enough, otherwise there’s no point doing all this. Understood?” Hitoshi raised a weak thumbs up and his teacher slinked off, raising his phone to his ear but the doors closed before he could hear the conversation.

A gentle swooshing sound came from his side and Hitoshi turned his head to see Yamazawa lowering down from the rafters upside down, his scarf threaded around his forearms and thighs.

“How’s it hanging?” Hitoshi asked, regretting his words instantly.

But Yamazawa laughed, a nice laugh, and with a tug of his wrist, the scarf fell from the rafters and he flipped to a standing stance letting the scarf drape over his shoulders. “Better than usual. I beat my current best time on the obstacle course.”

“What did Sensei mean when he said PC mode?”

“Ah… that would be Problem Child mode.”

Hitoshi raised a brow.

“You know I’ve been part of U.A. for a while now?”

“Sensei mentioned it.”

“So one year in, I couldn’t sleep one night so I made a coffee,” Yamazawa began, and Hitoshi nodded. Relatable content so far. “In hindsight, I should’ve had the light on because I ended up making was a concoction of instant coffee but instead of adding water, I added cold brew.”

“Oh this is going to be good,” Hitoshi said, managing to push himself up to a sitting position as Yamazawa crouched beside him.

“Needless to say I chugged the whole thing and ascended to another dimension. I had this idea of making the holograms for the obstacle course more… personable, less robotic you know?”

“Sure.”

“I ended up creating an entirely new mode of operation for every hologram in U.A., not just the obstacle course. And it made them kind of… like me? I just thought it would be helpful, but me at four in the morning running on that much caffeine… Only Aizawa-sensei, Midnight and myself have been able to do the obstacle course on Problem Child mode.”

“And you’re the Problem Child?” Hitoshi asked with a small grin.

“One and only,” he said with a sheepish grin.

Cute, Hitoshi’s mind unhelpfully supplied.

“What do your family think about this?” Hitoshi asked, curiosity getting the better of him. “You haven’t exactly had the most normal of educational experiences.”

He saw Yamazawa glanced at the door before turning back to Hitoshi. “Keep this between us?”

If Hitoshi was curious before, he was downright invested now. “Of course.”

“I’m sort of technically a Ward of U.A.,” Yamazawa said quietly, seeming to sink in himself. “Been with them since I was eleven. Never knew my dad and my… mother and I split on bad circumstances. Spent some time on the streets until Aizawa-sensei found me.”

Hitoshi’s expectations of Yamazawa shattered under the words. This wasn’t a Golden Boy he had assumed him to be. And it was starting to click into place. Even on that first day, Yamazawa had refused to accept insults thrown at him, probably because he had been on the receiving end himself. Hitoshi figured a quirk related to darkness could have some negative sort of associations, Yamazawa had probably been through his own personal type of Hell. And now Hitoshi was left feeling like a massive dick for what he had assumed about Yamazawa.

“Fuck them then,” Hitoshi said, not really even sure if what he was saying was right. “Clearly your bio parents are stupid to have left you or whatever happened. I… I’m glad to have known you.”

“You too Shinsou.”

“You,” he breathed deeply. He wanted to do this, U.A. had shown him friends weren’t so bad, so why not try it properly. “You can call me Hitoshi.”

And his heart clenched when he was graced with a sunshine smile.

“Call me Izuku.”

“I got a question… Izuku,” he said, loving how the name rolled off his tongue. “Do you have a cat? During the USJ, I mean I thought maybe I was seeing stuff but then I swear I heard the villain say something about a cat harness, and I was wonder–”

His rambling was cut off by Izuku pointing toward one of the alleys of the mock-city, where the most beautiful cat he had ever seen was slowly walking over. The silver and black marbled coat glistened in the light but he was most transfixed by the white misty eyes.

“Her name is Dusk,” Izuku said.

“She’s gorgeous.”

Dusk looked him up and down a moment as she sat near Izuku, her empty eyes somehow assessing him.

“You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen,” he whispered, lowering his head to her eye level. “I would die for you.”

The next thing he knew, she was in his lap, purring away while Izuku laughed heartily. “She approves of you, you passed her test.”

“Test?” Hitoshi asked.

“Fed her ego. She says you’re an ‘acceptable lesser’ compared to others. She means other humans.”

“You can understand her? I thought you controlled shadows.” And then the sunshine smile he was basking in cracked, and Hitoshi felt immense guilt. “Hey… I’m pretty sure there was someone once who said something about using blades to get rid of ideas that there are bad or villainous quirks. Know that I surely won’t judge you.”

Izuku smiled softly. “Thanks. Only the staff really know, it’d be nice to tell someone else.”

“Well, I’m here. Whenever you’re ready Izuku.” Hitoshi leaned back, giving his… friend, the space he needed. “It’s your quirk, you tell me in your own time.”

Chapter Text

“I guess I should start with the fact that I was quirkless until I was 10.”

Hitoshi was glad he put off drinking water, because he definitely would’ve chocked. Somehow, Izuku had only had his quirk for four years and was already on par with most Pros. That was hot impressive to say the least, but he knew Izuku didn’t need compliments, or complimentary. He just needed to talk with someone’s presence.

“Life wasn’t that great. I don’t think I had a real conversation since I was diagnosed quirkless that didn’t end in a snarky comment or a fist flying at me. Kacchan, you know him as Bakugo, we… we were childhood friends, but he eventually became one my biggest bullies. And I hoped that at least my mother would be there for me. But not so much. I was ten years old when she finally had enough. I don’t have a lot of memories of it but she attacked me in my sleep, fatally enough that… that I stress manifested a quirk.”

Hitoshi didn’t care in that moment. He saw Izuku’s hands shaking and he wrapped those scarred calloused hands in his own lithe ones.

“After that, I ran away from home. I don’t even know if she survived. I was on the streets for almost a year, and it was during that time I met Dusk,” he said with a sad smile, looking down at the sleeping cat in Hitoshi’s lap. “I was in this alley, under a doorway, in the pouring rain. I was half-asleep and almost missed her, but she was there, hiding under some cardboard boxes with a massive gash in her belly.”

Hitoshi’s eyes immediately flew to Dusk’s stomach, his heart easing somewhat at the lack of wound. And then his mind whirled at the lack of any type of scar. “How…”

“After the USJ, a lot of you witnessed a vast amount of my quirk, but not a lot of people know everything. I… I don’t know why, but I just. I want to tell you. The official name of my quirk is Shadow States. It allows me to manipulate shadows and transform them into a solid, liquid and gaseous state.”

Hitoshi nodded slowly. He’d witnessed that first hand from his position on the plaza edge at the USJ.

“The thing is… shadows aren’t just what physics say they are. It’s not just a blockage of light. There are, how do I put this, multiple forms of shadows.”

Hitoshi shuffled closer. “Like what?”

Izuku sighed deeply and his hands shook more in Hitoshi’s. He squeezed Izuku’s hands gently and smiled as soft as he could.

“People think the culmination of our being is called the soul. It’s a name that works, but to me, it’s the darkness within us. And I don’t mean like some moral darkness of good and evil, but literal darkness. No light gets in our bodies, and between all the organs and bones, the darkness fills the gaps. It’s our being, our personality. It’s as integral to our existence as the blood in our veins or the beating of our heart. And in times of… in times of great distress, I can access that darkness.”

“How so?” Hitoshi asked softly, gently brushing his fingers over one of the scars lining Izuku’s hand.

“That night when I found Dusk… I couldn’t stand to see her so hurt like that. This is just my theory, it’s the only one that makes sense. But… I think I managed to manipulate the darkness within myself, my soul. I severed a piece of it and gave it to her. She was a normal Bengal cat before but soon after she changed into how you see her. Part of me exists in her, she is a walking portion and vessel of my soul.”

Hitoshi looked down at the curled up beauty in his lap, staring wide-eyed. “Woah. Izuku… you’re amazing.”

“W-What?”

“Seriously. Fuck, I was such a dick that first day. I just assumed here you were, some prodigy who’d had the best life, with everything handed to him. But you, you’ve been through so fucking much and you’re still standing tall. You’re fucking amazing Izuku. I’m not going to assume anything about your own emotions, I know how it is to assure other people but not take any of your own advice. But I’m still going to say it. You’re incredible. You’ve been broken but came out so much stronger. I meant what I said before you know… I’m glad to have known you.”

Izuku smiled through the tears threatening to run from his eyes. He pulled his hands away to wipe his eyes, and Hitoshi briefly missed the warmth.

“Thanks Hitoshi. I’m glad to know you as well. And thanks for being here, listening.”

“Um, if you’re free this weekend, a few of us are going to this cat café on Saturday. Would you want to come?”

“Damn it, I wish I could but I’m busy,” Izuku whined. “Plus I think Dusk would kill me if I went to hang out with other cats.”

“If she killed you… wouldn’t she just die too?”

“Let’s never test that theory.”

“Agreed, can’t have you dying on me,” Hitoshi joked. “What are you up to on Saturday?”

“Oh, I’m getting my Provisional License.”

“What!?”

Hitoshi’s shriek was enough to wake up Dusk who gave him a withering glance before slinking over to Izuku and clambering up his arm till she could settle around his neck. Izuku thankfully just laughed, a warm soft laugh, and stroked her gently. “Nedzu has been putting pressure on the Commission to let me take the exam since last year, and considering my actions at the USJ, they finally deemed me ready enough to take it. But considering I’m taking it at a time completely different to the rest of the Hero schools, the Commission have apparently created a specialised exam for me with Nedzu’s help but the goddamn stoat won’t give me any hints.”

“That would be cheating pup,” Nedzu’s voice said over the intercom in the gym, startling Hitoshi but seemingly not even fazing Izuku.

“As if you wouldn’t like it for me to mess up with a Hero Commission designed operation.”

Silence, before the intercoms fired back up. “Touché pup, touché.”

“Hey Izuku, thanks for trusting me with all this. I promise I’ll keep it a secret, and if you ever want to do some quirk training or just hang out, uh, I wouldn’t mind. Plus, I’d get to keep seeing that queen.”

“Now, now, Hitoshi, you’re starting to make me think you only want me around because of Dusk.”

“Well she is part you technically. I just happen to love part of you,” Hitoshi said, before his face turned beet-red and he stood abruptly. “Well, I uh, um, I should go. Good luck with your exam!”

“Wait Hitoshi!” He dared to wait and suddenly Izuku was right in front of him, a pen in one hand, the other gently cradling his wrist. Hitoshi was silent as Izuku wrote something on his arm. “My number. I’ll text you, if my exam wraps up early, maybe I can still come to the café. If the offer still stands?”

“O-Of course. And really, good luck. Knowing you, you probably don’t need it.”

“I’m glad one of us is confident.”

“Hey, you’ll do great. And if you get your license, I’ll uh… I’ll buy you coffee for a week.”

If anyone asked, Hitoshi would deny it, but the smile that broke out on Izuku’s face warmed his soul. Or inner darkness apparently.

“Sounds like a deal. I definitely need to get my license now, you’ll save me so much money.”

“How much coffee do you drink?” Hitoshi asked, but Izuku merely threw his scarf out into the cityscape and flew off. “Izuku? Izuku, how much money are you going to make me spend?!”

Chapter Text

Katsuki did not make mistakes. Okay, granted he had made quite a few mistakes in his life, but ever since Zuku had whipped it into his head that the pair of them were okay now, Katsuki had been on a new path. One that didn’t involve mistakes. He was going to be the Number One Hero goddamn it, and that meant no mistakes could be made. His life was planned down to a T. Wake up early to fit in time for his workout before heading to U.A., study and train when he got home, relax for at least an hour and then in bed and asleep by 8:30 at the latest. Katsuki’s routine was set in stone and he rarely ever broke from it unless it was drastically important like a broken bone or Zuku was having a non-verbal day.

But lo and behold, Katsuki had somehow, against all odds, made a mistake by saying yes to Racoon Eyes and Shitty Hair about spending his Saturday. And of course he couldn’t use Zuku as excuse to get the two idiots to leave him alone, the damn nerd was doing his Provisional exam and wouldn’t be free till tomorrow. And that’s how Katsuki found himself with a twitching eye as Racoon Eyes came out of the dressing room in yet another dress she wanted their opinion on.

“Looking great Mina,” Kirishima cheered, throwing her a thumbs up.

“Are you serious Shitty Hair? You’re eyes broken or something? That colour clearly clashes with her skin tone, Racoon Eyes has cold undertones, she should go for the purple one before. This neon green looks like Frog Legs threw up on you.”

“Aww Bakubae, that’s the closest thing to a compliment I ever heard from you. Any other ideas?” She asked, holding up the array of outfits she had yet to try on.

Katsuki grumbled and snatched the pile from her, tossing aside one’s he thought would be ill-fitting or not suitable for her complexion. The pair listened in as he mumbled under his breath about shoddy seam lines and scratchy fabrics, witling the pile down to two skirts, a strappy top, and a pair of flared jeans. “Now go find some accessories, and no more of the neon crap. Go for silver and chrome, it’ll suit you more.”

Racoon Eyes just clapped and jumped before speeding off to explore the rest of the shop. Katsuki just stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed Shitty Hair, the designated bag holder of the trip. But somehow, the red head still had that stupidly warm sunshine smile on the entire time, as if none of it weighed a thing to him. It probably didn’t, even Katsuki had been genuinely surprised at times with how strong Shitty Hair could be. And yeah… maybe there were certain times, that he would definitely deny, where he wondered if the red head could… carry him.

You’re pathetic, he told himself. The future Number One Hero doesn’t do feelings. All he had to focus on was his goal and he couldn’t let himself get distracted. He always told himself that, assured himself that he didn’t need relationships or love. But deep within, Katsuki knew there was more to it. He was… afraid. Afraid that if people could actually put up with his anger and rude remarks, that if he let his heart open and let his walls fall, they would still walk away. Leave him broken. But something about Shitt– about Kirishima… it made him want to tear down his walls anyway and let the red head’s sunshine in.

“Okay, accessories secured, and I’ve paid so let’s go!”

Katsuki had been so lost in thought he almost jumped out of his skin when Racoon Eyes suddenly appeared. No he did not flinch, and no he didn’t enjoy the way Shitty Hair laughed deeply, like a rumbling in his chest that Katsuki could easily lose himself in. No, he definitely was not thinking that.

He followed behind them with his usual scowl through the bustling crowds of the mall, the screaming of children doing nothing to sate his grated nerves. Katsuki had half a mind to just take his hearing aids out and be done with it, but a smaller part of him he often refused to listen to, wanted to keep hearing Shitty Hair talk. The only answer was that that meat head had some sort of second quirk that made Katsuki think about him. A lot. Like at night just, when he was reading his romance novels and kept imagining the two of them as the main characters.

Obviously it had to be some kind of quirk.

“Oh shit,” Racoon Eyes yelped, her eyes fixed to her phone. “I was supposed to be home an hour ago!”

“Thank fuck, this place is too loud.”

And then he knew something was wrong when Racoon Eyes grinned mischievously. “No need for that Blasty, you two stay here, I know Ei still wanted to look at find some new gym gear and you’re much better suited to helping him than me.”

“Mina, what gym gear?” Shitty Hair asked but the girl was already waving and skipping away. The boy then turned and hit him with a sheepish sharky grin that did not make Katsuki’s stomach flutter, not at all. “So, uh, I don’t actually need gym stuff, but there is a new arcade that opened up. Want to go see who’s better at DDR.”

And finally, Katsuki thought this trip would be worth it. If he beat Shitty Hair to a pulp in each game, then maybe the idiot would stop making him feel things. An hour and half later though, Katsuki was humbled. Shitty Hair had turned out to be a surprisingly good opponent in multiple games. They had drawn after six rounds of DDR, and while Katsuki absolutely aced the first-person shooter games, Shitty Hair had wiped the floor with him in Mario Kart. For once in his life, Bowser had failed him, and to make it worse, the red haired idiot had repeatedly beaten him with a red Shy Guy. A FUCKING SHY GUY.

But despite it all, despite having had his pride thoroughly beaten, Katsuki had fun. The only person who he could truly compete with was Zuku, and after a while, even that got boring because the fucker eventually figured out Katsuki’s tactics and threw them back in his face with a cocky grin. But with… Kirishima, it was different. Like he almost wanted to lose, just so he could see that soft smile the red head allowed himself before immediately saying Katsuki should have won and that he only did it through some sort of fluke. As if any victory of his shouldn’t be celebrated. And being the absolute gentleman that he is, despite how his old hag denies that’s even possible, Katsuki even complimented the guy. Said his aim wasn’t that shitty and he didn’t suck as much as expected. Practically lauding it onto the guy.

It was already late afternoon when they decided to make their way out the arcade, not before Kirishima decided to stop at a claw machine. Katsuki grumbled and just leant against it, choosing to look at his phone instead. Until a plush of a bright red shark was placed on his screen. Katsuki was sort of stunned, just staring at the beady eyes of the adorable shark, with a toothy grin and an extra soft dorsal fin. Slowly, his eyes panned up to the awaiting look of the red head.

“W-What’s this?” Katsuki asked, choosing to ignore the waver in his voice.

“A thank you. You could’ve left when Mina did, and I know you hate loud places, despite being the loudest person in the mall. So, thank you.”

“It’s whatever… Kirishima.”

And of course his heart fluttered when the idiot smiled like Katsuki had handed him the moon.

---

Izuku paced back and forth, wearing holes into the floor of the waiting room. His Provisional Exam was to start in fifteen minutes, but he had forced his Pops to bring him an hour early, and he was now regretting this decision. Thousands of what if’s were circling his mind as his hands continuously clenched and unclenched on the end of his capture scarf. And to make matters worse, he had been denied access to bring Dusk. Half of him wanted to abandon the exam and turn to villainy for the pure audacity the Commission had for making him be apart from his baby. Sure she was a diva, but he was the one with separation anxiety and all he wanted to do right now was throw up and then pet Dusk as her purring lulled him to sleep.

His Pops came over, dressed in his Hero costume with his blonde hair gelled to the ceiling. The man opened his arms without a word and Izuku flung himself forward, burying himself in the familiar leather of Hizashi’s jacket. He sighed softly when a hand begun carding through his curls and his Pops begun humming a tone at a low frequency, feeling it in his bones. Izuku had learnt a while ago that his Pops could alter not just the volume, but the pitch and frequency, sometimes even the resonance of his voice. And something about the low frequency, high resonance hum helped settle him more than any verbal reassurances could.

“If I dropped a smoke bomb and disappeared do you think Dad would be mad?” Izuku asked, his voice muffled through Hizashi’s jacket.

“Definitely not mad… but he would be disappointed.”

“Ugh, uncalled for,” Izuku whined. “What… what if I screw it all up, fail miserably or end up blowing something up.”

“Then you will apply for it with the rest of first years, like anyone else your age,” his Pops assured. “Look Izu, we are so goddamn proud of you and the result of today will not change this. No one ever goes through life only experiencing success. Failure is important in helping us grow and it helps us appreciate the times we win so much more. But I believe in you kiddo, you’re so smart and strong, your quirk control is the best it’s ever been. If anything I feel bad for the Commission for having to create an entirely new test just for you. Last time they did that, it was for Hawks.”

“Like that’s not shady as hell,” Izuku mumbled, making sure he couldn’t be heard by the Commission representatives walking through the area. He and Nedzu have had multiple conversations regarding the less than moral operations the Commission had undertaken, the creation of Hawks included. Even fewer knew of who the man actually was, who the person Takami Keigo was. And Izuku was one of them thanks to a night of lots of coffee and unrestricted access to Nedzu’s servers.

“How about this then, if you do well today, we will defrost the last batch of Katsudon we have in the freezer that Katsuki made,” his Pops offered and Izuku would be lying if he said that didn’t help incentivise him.

“And if I fail?”

“In the very unlikely chance of that happening… we can still have Katsudon.”

---

The time had come. He was sat alone in a vast hall, on a single chair before a stage. Izuku was absent-mindedly playing with his capture scarf when a very tired looking man walked onto the stage and situated himself behind the podium.

“Of course I had to do this today, there’s never enough people in the Commission, let’s get this over with so I can sleep,” he began, before finally looking up at the room. “Hm. So just one of you. Hopefully this will go quicker. I am Yokumiru Mera, and I will be overseeing your exam today. Apparently, today’s exam has been adjusted due to special circumstances. Rather than the usual free-for-all, the first portion involves this.”

A screen lit up behind the Commission member and Izuku raised a brow as the phrase ‘Scavenger Hunt’ appeared.

“In a post-villain battle cityscape, a number of flags have been hidden among the debris. They are a variety of colours depending on their point worth. Red flags are worth 10 points, yellow flags are worth 20 points, and green flags are worth 30. Finally, black flags are worth 150 points but there are only three of them throughout city. To pass, you must acquire 500 points minimum. But, what is this?” Yokumiru said boredly, as a bright flashing ‘Danger’ appeared on the screen. “It seems the villains have escaped custody and are still rampaging in the city. They will attempt to deter you from your objective. Securing the villains will bring you no points however.”

The man walked off the stage and towards the exit, leaving without another word. A few moments passed before Izuku was about to look for someone or even something, when the entire room begun to shake. He shot up, grabbing his bo staff and extending it, his eyes whirling around. And then the walls fell away and Izuku was wept up in the acrid scent of smoke. Around him buildings groaned under their collapsing structures and fires roared in rubble pits. It seems the exam had begun.

Izuku ran forward, steadying his breath and hurling his capture scarf out. The fabric soared through the air and wrapped around a still standing lamppost. With a tug, Izuku flew up and at the apex of his arc, he flung out the other end to attach to another. The burning in his arms was a familiar comfort as he swung over the ruined roads, saving so much time from having to traverse it by foot. His eyes zeroed in on a spot of green to his right and he head whipped around to catch sight of the gently billowing flag, small enough he could stuff it into one of the pouches of his utility belt. Izuku adjusted the course of his descent and rolled as he came into contact with the ground, letting the impact radiate evenly throughout his body. He snatched up the flag from its spot wedged between chunks of rubble.

And then the ground ahead of him exploded in a burst of explosive sparkles.

“If it isn’t my favourite kohai!”

Shit. Fucking shit. Of course. If she’s here, the others definitely are too.

His questions were answered when a massive squid tentacle came flying from behind and Izuku had to leap over it to narrowly avoid another injury to his spine. Before he could think about another move, something grabbed his ankle and Izuku groaned as a smiling face appeared in the ground.

The villains who had destroyed the city, the ones who’s sole focus was to deter him from winning… were the Big Three of U.A.

Chapter Text

“If you stopped being so foolish and used your fire, you wouldn’t be here right now. Just like Touya, all that woman could ever do was birth disappointment after disappointment, You still cling to the ice after what she did to you. Pathetic. You could be so powerful Shoto, but you chose to be weak, to be lesser. To be absolutely worthless,” Enji Todoroki raged.

Because he wasn’t his father, he wasn’t the Number Two Pro Hero. To Shoto, the man was just someone he shared a name with.

“We continue tomorrow morning. Hopefully you’ll learn to act like you’re supposed to by then.”

He stormed out of the room and Shoto finally took a deep breath despite how it made his ribs ache and agonise the gums of his now missing canine. The man had been extra severe in training since the USJ. Once he had learnt the details of it, the man was furious to learn Shoto hadn’t been the one to defeat the creature that was made to kill All Might. Enji had said it would’ve been the perfect lesson for Shoto, nothing could withstand an onslaught of fire from the Todoroki family. Thankfully, he had been practicing hiding his injuries since his quirk came in and Touya had…

It took probably five minutes but felt like an eternity before Shoto was able to push himself up onto his knees, his eyes only seeing a blur. He flinched instinctively when something touched his cheek but relaxed at the cooling touch and knew who it was. Even through his blurred vision he could make out Fuyumi’s worried face. Her words were just ringing in his ear but he could probably guess what she was saying, something along the lines of ‘How could he?’ or ‘I’ll talk to him’, not that Enji ever listened to any one of them.

Natsuo had long given up, opting to stay at his university dorms and only stay over when Enji was away on overnight missions. Shoto found more respite in his training at school, feeling relaxed for once until it all came crashing down when he entered the Todoroki residence each night. Fuyumi still stayed, and as always, Shoto wondered how much worse off he’d be if she had moved out. Shoto loved Natsuo, his brother was amazing, but even he knew Natsuo saw their father in him. His older brother was always like their mother.

Shoto weakly steadied himself as Fuyumi helped him to stand, his vision slowly becoming more regular and the ringing subsided. She used one arm to support him around his back and the other was frosty along her palm, pressed gently against his ribs. It was the best they could do until Natsuo came over tomorrow. Enji would be away for three nights and Natsuo’s nursing degree was going well enough that he could tend to Shoto’s wounds now. Not that it made it any to deal with for any of the Todoroki siblings. It was those times when the three of them were together, as depressing as the circumstances were, that Shoto’s mind moved to Touya.

He wouldn’t tell anyone in his family, not with how taboo of a subject he was, but Shoto missed his eldest brother terribly. Before it all happened, before the quirks came in and when Enji wasn’t as obsessive as he was now, Shoto remembers a few months. Months of pure delight and happiness that he clung onto desperately. Moments of Touya showing him small fire displays of glistening azure light. His mother and Fuyumi making snowmen in summer. Natsuo turning their drinks to slushies with a single touch. But then Enji had started coming under fire from the reporters, comparing him to the great Symbol of Peace. And when the man had realised Touya’s flames were blue for their power and not some simple mutation, the torture training had begun.

“How’re your classmates?” Fuyumi asked as she helped him out his bloody burnt t-shirt, opening the cap of the burn salve.

“Fine.”

“Any friends?”

“Fuyumi,” he begun, but she didn’t relent.

“He doesn’t have eyes everywhere Shoto. What’s the worst that could happen from opening up?”

“They’d only want to be my friend because of him. Just like always, people only care about him”

“Really? There’s not a single person in your class that you think like you for you?”

Shoto was silent as cool hands applied salve to his burns. Before Enji had begun homeschooling him, back when he still went to a school, Shoto remembered people only wanting to be close to him to learn facts about what the man was like at home, what his quirl was like, what his favourite food was. Not a single question about him. No one saw Shoto, they saw a Todoroki.

And then on the first day at U.A., one of the people in his class had come up to him and just blabbered away. Shoto still didn’t know the boy’s name, but he did hear the boy talk about how interesting he found Shoto’s hair, and that he noticed one of the books peeking from his schoolbag. Apparently the boy had been reading the same series, and Shoto didn’t have the heart care enough to say he had grabbed it by mistake and that it was his sisters. The boy had continued talking until one of the girls in the class dragged him away, and Shoto was stuck with the need to ask the boy if the lightning bolt design in his hair was natural or not.

“There may be one…”

---

Hitoshi was in heaven. Kill him now and he’d be happy. A tabby was situated to his left while a tortoiseshell was purring away on his lap. Uraraka was busy cooing at a white cat while Iida was sat rigidly, his eyes peering up the black cat on his head staring right back at him. They’d been there for fifteen minutes and finally their orders came. Uraraka had gone for a matcha tea with some red bean taiyaki, Iida had gone for his favourite orange juice while Hitoshi had got a coffee, and the boys were sharing a platter of onigiri.

When they had paid for their time at the cat café, Hitoshi and Uraraka both went speechless for a moment when they saw the amount of cash their friend just had in his wallet but apparently Uraraka had no tact, because they had not even taken a bite of their food when she piped up. “So, Iida, you’re rich right?”

Iida choked on his orange juice and after a few pats on the back from Hitoshi, he managed to meet Uraraka’s grin with a nervous smile. “Um, you could say so. I come from a Hero family after all.”

“No shit, who?”

He heard Iida mutter a small ‘Language Shinsou’ but it was quelled under a new look on their friends’ face. Pride. ‘My older brother Tensei is the Turbo Hero: Ingenium. He’s my idol and inspiration, always saving those in need no matter who they are and donating majority of his salary to various charities.”

“Guessing he’s the reason you’re becoming a hero too?” Hitoshi asked.

“Yes, even before my quirk came in I always wanted to be just like my brother. What about the two of you? What led you both to heroism?”

“Ah well… money,” Uraraka admitted. “But not like how you’re thinking. My parents, they run this construction company and we’re not, ah, too well to do. Things are quite tight and no matter how much I offer to help them out on the site, they always say no and tell me to pursue my dreams. It’s so sweet of them, so I’m becoming a hero for them, so they will never have to work every again.”

“Damn, that’s real noble of you,” Hitoshi said, rubbing his neck sheepishly. “I did it out of spite.”

“How so?” Iida asked, completely innocent but Hitoshi shut down. He knew these two were friends, they’d been so kind and understanding and even he had heard Iida mutter a rather rude comment about tail boy, but the fear was still there.

But there was no time like the present to tell them, and maybe some good could come from it. “When my quirk came in… I wasn’t really accepted anymore. Not many people liked the idea that I could just take control of them. Insults were the lightest thing, and then my bio parents kind of… walked out. It was all pretty shitty, but at some point, I just couldn’t stand people calling me a villain all the time, so I thought, why not be a hero and prove them wrong?”

Hitoshi had spoken so casually that when he went to take a sip of his coffee, he was surprised when Uraraka laid a hand on his. He looked at her and raised a brow, but was further surprised by the look of worry and shock on the two’s faces. “Uh, what?”

“Shinsou, are you doing okay?” She asked gently. “That’s a lot.”

“I do not condone violence, but anyone who has said such things to you are… they are simply idiots. I for one believe you will make a fine hero.”

“What he said. If anyone else says anything, I’ll bitch slap them, quirk active and all, send them to space.”

“It’s really not necessary guys,” Hitoshi said sheepishly. “It’s all died down a bit since I started U.A..”

“Shinsou, can I ask where you are staying?” Iida asked. “You mentioned that um… your biological sperm and egg donors left.”

He couldn’t help in the snort. “You can say parents Iida, they’re dicks but I don’t care enough about them to not say the word. To answer, I’m part of the system. Been with the current fosters since a month or so before the Entrance Exams.”

“Are they okay?” Uraraka asked.

“They’re… better than the other places.”

Her eyes narrowed but she didn’t press, and he was grateful for it.

“Shinsou, if you ever need it, you may come over to my family’s home,” Iida declared, a hand on his chest. “You too Uraraka. My brother has mentioned wanting to meet you two.”

“You talk to him about us?” Hitoshi asked.

“Of course, you’re both my uh, first friends. I was excited,” Iida said nervously.

Hitoshi smiled and bumped the other boy’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry, I’m in the same boat as you. And thank you, the offer means a lot to me.”

“Wait, Iida do you live in a mansion?” Uraraka screamed, garnering stares from others in the café.

Hitoshi was glad he had these two.

Chapter Text

Izuku had approximately ten seconds to think of a plan before one of them found him. A quick shadow whip to Mirio’s face had made his friend sneeze and Izuku had escaped from his grip. But, he could hear the telltale giggling of an incoming Hado and while her quirk wasn’t exactly fast, it did make her more mobile, which meant dodging and weaving throughout alleyways wouldn’t give him the edge he was hoping for. Thankfully, his scarf had not stopped moving once in his escape, snatching out and grabbing any flag he had passed. He had barely any time to think of how many points he had, focusing on just grabbing flags and running as fast as he could. A quick glance around still told him there was too much light for Plan A to work, and the space was too small for Plan B.

Plan C it was.

A flapping of wings from above was the only warning he had to dive forward before Tamaki came crashing down to the ground, raptor-like chicken feet digging into the concrete. He had no time to awe over how cool his friend’s quirk was before the wings shed their feathers and suckers grew out of Tamaki’s skin, thick muscular tentacles now heading toward him. While it may have been too bright for his initial plan, that didn’t mean there wasn’t enough shadows for him to work with. It helped his parents had forced him to learn to fight only using his shadow. A thin vine of darkness shot out to meet the oncoming tentacle head on, the two colliding in a massive clash. Before Tamaki could react however, Izuku allowed thin stems to branch off the vine, slowly surrounding the pink tentacle. Izuku whipped at his strand and the motion travelled along the vine, continuing through to Tamaki’s tentacle. The older boy hadn’t expected the move and was caught up with the motion enough to make him fall. Izuku wasted no time in dropping the darkness and letting his shadow return to him before turning tail and running.

He could feel darkness being stripped bare by sparkles behind him and hear the beating of wings, but as always, Mirio had gone undetected. Plan C weighed on the fact that Mirio would appear. He needed his shadow. It also relied slightly more on a new move that Izuku had yet to master… but if he could get stressed enough to manifest a quirk, maybe he could get stressed enough for this to work. Maybe he should start working on a Plan D.

Izuku was weaving between alleys when he broke out into a large plaza that had somehow been free from attacks and stood tall. The whole place reeked of suspicion to him with its perfect structure, and his suspicions were confirmed when the person he’d been looking for begun rising out of the fountain in the centre of the plaza.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Nyx himself.”

Damn, Hero name and all. He’s in character. Izuku tightened his grip on his staff and kept an ear out for the other two. And it dawned on him. The plaza with it’s open layout and sun shining high in the sky had blanketed the area in light, with the barest amount of shadows around. And Mirio was in the fountain, in water. Concepts of light got tricky when water was involved. They had read him like a fucking book.

It's okay, chill Izuku. Put Plan C on the backburner for now. Time for Plan D. Improvise.

He breathed deeply and steadied himself. It was time to put his Dad’s training to the test. He was the son of the greatest Pro Hero quirkless fighter, he had a reputation to uphold goddamn it. Not wasting anymore time, Izuku sprang forward, darting across the plaza. Mirio grinned a wicked smile and dropped back into the ground. Izuku did not falter in his steps once. His friends may have anticipated his movements, but he was the one who had helped Mirio ace his Impermiation. Sure, Sir Nighteye helped partly, but it was the hours spent together in one of U.A.’s gyms with Izuku’s notebook that had gotten Mirio in his spot of the Big Three. And it was time for him to use all he knew about the trio against them. Maybe he had adopted part of his Dad’s more sadistic side, but he had his Pop’s smile, so it balanced out.

What very few people were aware of was that the area Mirio was about to appear from always had two signs. First was the gentlest of rumbling, and the second was the barest of vibration in the exact spot. Not many would pick up on it, but ten years of tracking bullies movements and three years being taught by his Dad had made his situational awareness what it was. So Izuku was prepared when the spot where his foot would land next begun to gently ripple and he felt the gentlest shaking under his boot. So, he instead rammed his staff down onto the spot just as a palm came up. Using it to his advantage, Izuku used his staff as a vaulting stick, leaping across the circumference of Mirio’s reach, and then tugged hard on the staff. Mirio came out of the ground with a surprised look, but Izuku grinned having merely used Mirio’s own momentum against him. Izuku continued his movement, and with Mirio’s tight grup, the blonde flew in an arc and slammed into the ground.

And then Izuku’s eyes locked onto the piece of flapping fabric tied around Mirio’s neck. A black flag.

Three black flags. Three villains. Of fucking course.

He snatched out a hand to grab it but Mirio grabbed his wrist and tugged, bringing Izuku sprawling to the ground. Mirio wasted no time in grabbing Izuku’s arms and wrenching them behind his back. Izuku thrashed but Mirio only tightened his grip and he could feel the burning strain in his shoulder socket. He took a mere second to think and in that time, the other two ‘villains’ had managed to arrive in the plaza. But all he could do was grin. It meant more shadows.

Mirio turned to address the others when a massive chunk of crystal grew out of his own shadow and punted him in the back. The shock was enough for his grip to loosen and for Izuku to slip his hands from Mirio. He hurriedly rolled onto his back and kicked with both his feet into Mirio’s chest. He mentally apologised as Miro’s back collided with the crystal much harder this timer, but Izuku still had a goal in mind. He didn’t relent, and swung his leg out, catching the blonde across the chin in his disoriented state. Izuku tried to grab the flag, but he should’ve kicked harder because Mirio had recovered enough that Izuku’s hand sailed through the blonde’s neck and ended up slamming into his own crystal.

Izuku wrenched his hand back and grabbed his fallen staff, hurriedly whacking away an oncoming tentacle. The next few minutes were a mess of flipping, dodging and weaving around blasts of sparkling waves, thrashing tentacles and a disappearing fool. All throughout it all though, he planned, he thought… he analysed. Hado’s quirk relied on her vitality, Tamaki’s on the food he’s eaten, and Mirio had to always have one foot solid, or he’d phase through the ground.

Wave spirals getting closer together, around 65% vitality levels left. Only chicken and squid have been seen, Tamaki’s limit is five, three unknowns. Don’t engage in close combat, claw crab punches are lethal. Mirio isn’t yet suffering from quirk exhaustion, will have to take him closer to the edge.

It was times like this that he really missed Dusk, but he knew he couldn’t rely on her. But just her presence would help. And then he felt it. Even miles away where Dad was looking after her, she had felt his worries and sent a soul deep reassurance to him. He had to clear his head. Clearly, getting anymore of the other flags would be impossible the three villains on his tail. So it seemed the black flags were his only option. And he knew who his first target would be. It was time to stop evading, stop playing the mouse to their cat. Nedzu had always told him that he was hiding, he was a lion running from the gazelles and it was time he stopped running and begun hunting. It was time to make his pride proud.

Izuku flipped up and balanced on one foot atop the spout of the fountain in the plaza, his eyes darting between Hado from his left, Mirio coming straight forward and Tamaki to his right. Izuku breathed, urging himself to remain calm before he leapt up and swung his staff just as Hado was about to crash into him. Instead he managed to land on her back while she was mid-flight and he hurriedly interlocked his legs over her waist and holding his staff in front of her neck. Izuku pulled back on either end of staff until he started to hear her cough and splutter and the control of her Wave Motion grew more erratic. With a light tug on the left end of the staff, Izuku sent Hado in the direction of Tamaki, attacking the boy with a full on assault of her quirk.

Before she could recover, Izuku hurriedly snatched a finger off her shadow’s figure and mentally thinned it into a fabric like material. He released his staff and in her moment of disorientation, Izuku yanked the scarf that was tucked into the pockets of her suit and replaced it with his shadow flag. The exam flags were a dull faded black while his was glossy and had a light sheen but in the heat of battle, Izuku hoped no one picked up on it. He loosened his legs and fell to the ground, rolling to absorb the impact and instantly getting back to his feet. Two of them were at least distracted but now he had Mirio’s full attention on him.

Time to get into his territory.

Izuku dashed to the nearest alley, Mirio hot on his tail. He had to optimise mobility over combat, so he collapsed his staff to the central pipe and holstered it to his back. Once he reached the mouth of the alley, Izuku planted his foot against the wall and kicked off, repeating the action with the other wall as he slowly ascended the alleyway. Once he was near the top, he threw out his capture scarf to latch onto a air conditioning vent hanging over the roof edge. He landed on the roof and wasted no time in assessing the alley. He had chosen one of the better ones from the choices leading off the plaza. Situated between two of the taller buildings, the alley was thin and incredibly dark, just what he needed. With a deep breath, Izuku gritted his teeth and reached out the familiar shadows bathing the alleys and threw his hands into the air. Crystalline shards began shooting out of the ground and walls, piercing through stone with ease until the entire alley became a decrepit maze of jagged darkened crystal.

He knew Mirio could get through it with ease. And that was the point. Izuku had ensured to level the playing field and now he had no need to be acutely aware of incoming attacks. Crystal vibrations were easy enough for him to pick up. So Izuku took a step off the roof and easily hopped across the interlocking shards until he was stood in the middle of the alley before he froze. Something was interacting with the crystals, and he recognised it. It wasn’t Mirio or Hado, but rather something hard and callous smashing into the base of his structure. Izuku was right, Tamaki had crabs as one of his Manifest options.

Despite his earlier reluctance to receive a pincer to the gut or a clam shell to the head, the time was coming closer to finishing, and he still wasn’t sure if he had enough flags. But if he managed to get another black one, his chances weren’t perfect, but they would be better. So with that in mind, Izuku hopped across the crystal structure toward the mouth of the alley, where the tremors were emanating from. Daring to stand atop the weakest crystals, he peeked over the edge and saw Tamaki’s white hood as he battered the base with his crustacean Manifest.

Hado wasn’t in sight but now that she had his flag, he could keep a mental eye on her as she ran over, too drained of vitality to keep flying. Mirio, however, was the continuous anomaly, flying under the radar of Izuku’s senses. Izuku pushed the blonde to the back of his mind and focused on Tamaki, unable to catch a trace of the black flag from where he was positioned. There was no choice but to immobilise Tamaki, he was their most versatile fighter. At least he had an arsenal he was standing on.

Before Tamaki’s next strike could land on the crystals, Izuku stepped back onto the roof and turned the entire structure into goo with a flick of his hand. He could practically see Tamaki’s shock as his hand sunk into the black ooze as he fell forward with his momentum and almost landed face first into the developing pool of liquid shadow had Izuku not dropped down from the roof into the part of the pool right in front of Tamaki. Wasting no time, he shot his hands forward and waves of the shadow surged forward, slamming Tamaki back into the plaza. Izuku twisted his wrists and the shadows whirled around his waist and with a sway of his arms, he travelled forward chasing after his enemy.

He threw his arms out and the waves crashed onto Tamaki, drowning him in shadows. Stray feathers and tips of tentacles broached through the surface, but Izuku never relented. Hiis arms swayed and his fingers curled as the mass of liquid of shadow was raised into the air, a swirling orb containing Tamaki. He could feel his friend struggling against the ferocious waves of darkness trapping him, and it was only when he sensed the stray part of fabric writhing about around Tamamki’s ankle did Izuku drag the boy forward. Only letting Tamaki’s right leg out, Izuku hurriedly snatched the flag of his ankle and no sooner did the intercom blare over the arena.

“Congratulations Izuku Yamazawa, you have completed the first round of the Provisional License Exam,” Yokumiru’s tired voice rang out.

Izuku released his hold on the shadows and the world around him became exponentially brighter, making him wince somewhat. He stared at his hands and grinned, only his nails had turned a pale grey, his limit was getting better. Izuku carefully approached the fading puddles of darkness to where Tamaki was laying staring at the sun.

“That was a lot of fun,” he said, offering the other a hand up. Tamaki willed his crab claws to return to normal and he took Izuku’s hand.

“Congratulations. You did really good, I could barely keep up. And all the cameras, too many people watching. Even thinking they’re potatoes doesn’t help. I just want to go home,” the older boy mumbled.

“Me too, I miss Dusk too much.”

“How is she?” Tamaki asked quietly, following Izuku through the cityscape toward the exit. Tamaki was one of the few people Dusk had come to tolerate. Not necessarily accept like she had his parents, but something about his anxious disposition seemed to put her at ease. Also there was the time he accidentally inhaled some of her hair and had sprouted silvery ears and white blank eyes. She had immediately begun grooming Tamaki’s hair, apparently still having some maternal instincts after her transformation. Part of Izuku wanted to sneak more cat hair into Tamaki’s food, but he couldn’t do that to the boy, no matter how funny Dusk’s behaviour would be.

“She’s doing good, just missing me as much as I miss her. You three should come over again sometime, it’s been a while.”

“Um… okay. It’s just… your parents are so scary.”

“Yeah, I know he has a reputation around school because of his expulsion rates, but my Dad is a softie.”

“I was talking about Present Mic. He’s so bright and loud, and outgoing. He’s like Mirio but cranked to level ten,” Tamaki mumbled. “I could never be like that.”

“Tamaki, I’ve told you once and I will tell you again,” Izuku said, grabbing his friends shoulder and stopping him in the street. “Not every hero needs to save people with a wide smile and strong personality. Look at my Dad, he’s an Underground Hero with a permanent scowl and bitch face for days. Yet, he is thanked by every single person he’s saved and has never been judged. My best friend swears more than ten people combined and hates everything, yet he is determined to be in the number one spot. You only have to be the hero that you want to be.”

“You’re too nice to me.”

“I’m exactly as nice to you as you deserve Tamaki. You’re my friend and I’m always going to be here. Sometimes I think you eat too much calcium with how thick your skull is.”

Tamaki lightly chuckled and Izuku took that as a success, his second of the day. The two eventually found the entrance where Mirio and Hado were waiting. His two upperclassman wasted no time in rushing toward him and hefting him into the ear, throwing him up and down.

“Congratulations Izu!” Mirio cheered. “One step closer to officially being Nyx.”

“Our kohai is growing up,” Hado cried, brushing away fake tears.

“Okay, okay, thanks guys,” he said between chuckles. “I can’t believe you three were in on this.”

“When the Commission were at U.A. designing your exam with Nedzu, he made the recommendation of us three, and when we would ever turn down a chance to spar the analyst gremlin,” Mirio said with a smile. “It was pretty fun all things considered.”

“I don’t supposed any of you know what my next round entails.”

Mirio and Hado mimed zipping their lips shit while Tamaki just stared at the ground. Before he could pester them anymore, the exit doors opened with the Commission representative stood behind them.

“You have a twenty minute break before the next part of the exam begins. Use your time wisely.” He turned to the Big Three, assessing them tiredly. “Present Mic has offered to take all of you back to U.A. with Yamazawa after his exam is complete. If you’d like to return earlier, let a representative know and we will provide travel.”

The tired man left and the three wished him luck before leaving Izuku with twenty minutes to wonder what the hell was going to come next.

Chapter Text

Izuku took the last ten minutes of his break in the hall to stretch his body, avoiding the aches that would develop tomorrow if he had just sat still. Thankfully he had avoided any serious injuries in the first round, just some bruises and light cuts. He had wanted to have a cup of the coffee he saw on a table near the doors to the hall, but the entire thing had been emptied into Yokumiru’s thermos and the man walked off without even tossing a glance Izuku’s way.

He was in a deep lunge with his head almost touching the ground and ear pressed to his knee when an alarm started blaring. Izuku had no time to react before the lights all turned off in the hall and he was left in the darkness.

Thank god, those fluorescents were seriously a pain in the ass.

“Oh no. It seems for the second round, villains have taken over the complex,” Yokumiru’s tired voice rang out through the intercom. “They have taken hostages. Hero-in-Training Nyx, make your way through the connecting rooms until you reach the hostage. Work as quickly as possible to pass. Begin.”

Izuku immediately darted through the darkness to where the door’s where. They had neglected to tell him how long it would take to pass, meaning an added challenge loomed over his head. He could successfully save each hostage and take out each fake ‘villain’, but if he was one second of the expected time, they’d let him know only when he had completed the course.

Because, as all always, this entire round boiled down to an obstacle course.

Yokumiru’s wording at the beginning hinted it enough to Izuku, why else would the rooms be connected to each other. Each must test a variety of his abilities all while simulating a raid on a villain’s base. A smart choice considering Izuku had never actually been in one before. One needed to be an official student to go on Work Studies, and he skipped that position and shot straight to Teaching Assistant. They knew this, clearly, so Nedzu and the Commission thought it was time to test him on things he had no experience with. Smart, but wrong. Because if there was one thing Izuku loved, it was a challenge.  

The doors of the hall opened up into a room that should have been a hallway to the parking lot. The room in its place was dark but not so much that he couldn’t see. Tiny pinpricks of light fell from the weak bulbs hanging from the ceiling, single bulbs spaced intermittently from each other. Izuku gagged gently at the faint smell of alcohol, bile, and urine in the air and he spotted scattered cards and upended chairs near a table. Must have been some sort of recreation room in the base, given by the amount of games and alcohol bottles littering the ground.

His head whipped at the whirring sound from around him and Izuku peered curiously as thin nozzles begun pushing out the walls around him, looking almost like dozens of lipstick tubes sticking out the grungy walls. Izuku’s confusion was short-lived when the ends of each object begun to glow with a bright red light before searing beams of light burst forth from them.

Izuku reeled back out of the way from a laser about to tear through his torso and having to awkwardly hold himself up in a one handed bridge to avoid being sliced and diced by the burning beams of electromagnetic amplified light.

Room one, lasers. Obviously, he huffed in his mind.

Izuku breathed deeply and pushed the time constraint from his mind, focusing on the entirety of his body as he shifted his balance and tensed his core, carefully lifting himself from the ground and twisting around three interweaving lasers. He didn’t want to risk burning his scarf or staff, so he had to rely solely on his own body to navigate the maze of burning light. Izuku’s movements were smooth and steady, ever grateful that his Dad had urged him to take up yoga. Sure, with gymnastics and parkour, Izuku’s muscular frame was lither and more acrobatic than sturdy and stiff. But yoga had improved his mobility and transition between moves had become smoother and more controlled, evidenced enough when he was able to slowly allow his hands to support his weight as he lifted his legs into the air and gently placed them against the right wall, walking on his hands the thin portion of space until he had to stop.

Because the room was suddenly filled with a gentle whirring sound.

Izuku had no time to react before the lasers around the room begun moving, horizontal and vertical lines, burning holes into the room. It started to abruptly that Izuku could only yell out as one brushed against his arm, searing through the fabric and agonising his arm as his skin blistered and bubbled lightly.

He gritted his teeth and studied the movements of the lasers, quickly letting his feet drop before they were sliced clean off. But Izuku wasn’t quick enough to survive a few light burns to his ankles as he came to a stand and he decided the time to be careful was finished and he leapt across the ground, letting the toes of his boots barely brush against the ground as he hopped to and from empty spots until he finally reached the large set of double doors at the end of the room, free of laser burns. He only hoped the next room could be better.

---

Sensory hell. Nedzu must’ve been the one to design this one, his maniacal pseudo-grandparent. Everything about it made him want to curl up and clamp his hands over his ears while squeezing his eyes shut. As soon as he had entered the room, he had immediately wanted to back out and rather get burnt by lasers again.

Thankfully, it seemed this room was abandoned as the last one, so the hostages were likely in the next room. And he was very thankful, considering Izuku did not want to have to spend even more time in this hell looking for them.

The first thing that hit him when he entered where the blaring alarms, a never ending siren that this ‘villain base’ must have to alert about heroes finding it. Couple that with the distant sounds of fighting and screams, the whole room made Izuku feel as if he truly was in the middle of an ambush on a base, other heroes around him keeping the ‘villains’ at bay while he was searching for the hostages.

And while that assaulted his ears, his eyes were offended by the flashing strobe light that never let up, constantly switching between unnervingly bright and pitch-black. He could barely get used to the constant change in light conditions before the door closed behind him with a heavy click.

And then the fog was pumped out. If the flashing light wasn’t enough to obscure his surroundings, then the fog would surely help. In the few seconds before it had started up, Izuku had been able to recognise metal shelving and crates during the strobe light brightness, and he figured the room must’ve been some sort of storage room for the ‘base’. He kept his eyes tightly shut, letting himself wallow in the intermittent moments of darkness and the shadows formed in the moments of bright unbearable light. After a around fifteen seconds, Izuku had a rough mental layout of the room and the nearest stacks to him. He took a few cautious steps forward, keeping his eyes closed and using the flashing shadows to gauge where items were around him. He reached out and felt cold metal against his skin, running his hand along a shelving unit. Izuku hurried his pace along the massive room, seemingly never ending. Izuku dared open his eyes to try and see a door on the walls far around him, barely able to make out anything around him and it didn’t help that the alarms and sounds of fighting were getting steadily louder.

Part way through he tripped over a crate laying on the ground and winced as the burn on his arm hit cold concrete. Izuku had little time to worry about that before a familiar whirring sound sounded, just loud enough to hear below the screaming and alarms. He hoped and prayed to every greater deity that existed that the Commission hadn’t brought the lasers into this room too.

And his prayers were answered in a painful rubber pellet that came shooting at him, whacking into his forehead and forcing him to open his eyes just as the strobe lights flashed, searing his retinas. One after the after, rubber pellets were fired from random spots of the walls and bounced about the room wildly. Each time one slammed into him, his muscles flared searingly, and he could already see the bruises that would polka-dot across his skin in a few hours.

Izuku gritted his teeth and decided it was too overstimulating to keep up his mental map, so he chose eye aching agony over constant tripping. Opening his eyes, Izuku whirled around until he finally spotted a set of double doors around twenty feet away. Only, before he could make a run for it, a bullet happened to shoot directly into his burn and he yelled out, feeling something having burst from the just having mottled wound. He patted his arm and felt something slick coat his fingers. Wasting no time, he squeezed the wound to staunch off whatever was leaking from his wound and hurried toward the doors, squeezing between tightly aligned shelves and precariously tipped crates.

More and more pellets slammed into him, but Izuku was determined to not let his steps falter until he collapsed into the doors. He gritted his teeth and slammed into it with his unburnt side until they flew open.

And he was bathed in heat.

---

While some people assume that when things are hot and bright, that Izuku would be at a disadvantage. Hell, he had thought that when he first took in the next room of the ‘villain base’ and saw a lava pool stretching out ahead of him. A lave pool.

The Commission had really spared no expenses.

The double doors he had crashed through had led into this massive underground cavern he now found himself in and sweat was already dripping from his skin from only being in the room for at ten seconds most. The lava was gently bubbling, filling the room with a warm glow. Izuku’s eyes trailed around looking for any clear sign of an exit when his eyes fixed on the item above him. A large metal platform suspended from the ceiling by thick cables. And looking over the edge was the face of a child. A gagged child, tears streaming from their eyes.

The hostages.

The hostages were suspended over a fucking lava pool.

Izuku took a deep breath and let his eyes wander over the rest of the cavern ceiling, analysing the entire room before he took notice of a cave-like opening and rocky overhang near the very top of the cavern, at least twenty feet above the hostages. Despite the lava’s glow, the cavern was tall and wide enough that there were plenty of shadows amidst the craggy stalagmites and stalactites. He drew ones from the ceiling closer to him, inadvertently but thankfully bringing more light to the hidden entrance atop the cavern.

His eyes trained on a sturdy looking stalactite and he threw out his capture scarf to wrap around it. Only once he was satisfied after an experimental tug did Izuku leap off the ground and wrenched the scarf tight, causing it to retract and pull him upward. He flew threw the air, keeping his knees tucked in and he braced himself as the platform came closer. With a twist and tug of the scarf, it unfurled from the stalactite and Izuku landed heavily in the platform, lightly jostling the hostages. He takes a moment to carefully observe the four people tied up. Three of them appear to be young, definitely under ten, while the fourth is a young woman and going by her clothes and I.D. tag, she was a teacher or some kind of caretaker. No immediate threats, but he wouldn’t let his guard down. He carefully undid the ropes around their wrists, not wanting to shock them by pulling out a knife. One by one, gags were removed, filling the cavern with soft sobs and gentle cries until he finally undid the caretaker’s bonds.

Izuku carefully held his hands up in a placating manner and pulled his scarf down so the could see his whole face, and he flashed them a warm, gentle smile. “Hi there, I’m Nyx. I’m here to get you out okay, so don’t worry. It’s okay to be scared Are any of hurt in any way?”

“Hiro has a cut!” One of the children piped up, holding onto the hand of one of the small boys. He was cradling his right arm and Izuku knelt down, giving Hiro a gentle smile as looked at the wound. He immediately recognised it as a simply drawn on red line, but this was an exam, and that meant he had to follow protocol.

His hands flew to one of the pouches of his suit, slipping out a first aid kit. Izuku set to work, using a gauze to dab away at the wet ink as one would for blood, the entire time telling Hiro how brave he was and that everything would be okay. Once it was ‘clean’ he wound a bandage over the boy’s arm, tight enough to secure it but not so much as to cause discomfort. He gave the boy a wide grin and wiped a tear from Hiro’s cheek before ruffling his hair.

“You did great kid, you were so brave.”

“Thank you Mister Nyx,” Hiro said in a wavering voice, rubbing at his eyes.

Izuku turned toward the young woman, giving her an assuring look. “Miss, are you able to hold onto one of the kids?”

The woman nodded and scooped the young girl into her arms. Izuku turned to the boys and gave them a grin. “How would you two like to ride in my super cool scarf. It can float.”

The two looked in awe as the two ends of his capture scarf floated about, static electricity at work, and nodded quickly. Once they were securely bundled and held close to his side, Izuku gave the young woman an apologetic look before scooping her up bridal style, easily bearing the weight of her and the little girl.

“Everyone, this is going to get a little bumpy, but I promise, I will get you all out of this.”

“We trust you Nyx,” Hiro said in a wobbly voice, his fingers clenching the staff tightly.

Please let this work, Izuku wished in his mind.

Admittedly, holding four people during the middle of his Provisional License exam was probably not the best time to try out a new move, but the villain from the pre-quirk era film had looked so cool and theoretically, it should be possible for Izuku. And yes, maybe above a lava pool was not the best place to test out a move based on pure shadow, but Izuku was confident there was enough darkness within the cavern to let his plan work.

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, ensuring he didn’t lose his grip on the scarf wound around his arms or the woman laying in them. Izuku willed the shadows to him and the hostages gasped in awe as dark mist clouds flocked toward him, collecting on his back. The mass grew and solidified until a large geode protruded from his back, glistening in the lava and filling the caverns with dots of reflected light. But he wasn’t done. No, if he wanted to turn the pay homage to the film’s villain, he needed to go one step further. Cracks spiderwebbed along the geode and it cracked into four pieces. Four thin pieces that bent halfway into hook-like claws. The two bottom pieces dug into the base of the platform and with a sharp intake of breath, Izuku adjusted the shadows on his back and lifted himself of the ground, judging his stability.

So far so good.

The bottom crystal… legs, that’s what he was calling them. The legs made an irritating screech as they bent at the ‘joint’, and he launched himself forward. He held the hostages close to his body, feeding them reassurances while they yelled. As the cavern wall came closer, the top two legs soared forward and sunk cleanly into the rock face, hooking them in place with enough strength to brace them before the bottom legs also sunk into the rock.

Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle at Hiro’s soft gasp of awe. The kids may have been actors, they could even be adults under some sort of illusion quirk, but their acting was phenomenal. He carefully begun the ascent up the cave wall, letting his crystal legs claw their way through the rock toward the exit. Until the entire cavern begun to rumble. Izuku’s eyes widened and he dared to look down.

To where the lava pool had begun to bubble.

And rise.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

The lave pool had already gained a foot and he could see the smoke from it was melting the door he had entered through. He had only been looking down for two seconds and it had already risen a significant portion. Izuku had to get moving, but it didn’t help that the rumbling of a pre-emptive eruption had caused the rock face to destabilise. Their were cracks spreading throughout and he had to carefully begin slotting his crystal legs into portions that weren’t too destabilised. The ascent was slower, and there were more than a few moments where his grip on the wall slipped, and they slipped a few inches closer to a fiery end.

With a roar, he flung the crystals out of the wall and launched them up. Izuku dissolved the lower lengths and used the shadows to lengthen the upper legs enough to latch onto the edge of the rock platform at the top of the cavern. He flung them all over the edge and only stopped when he saw the five levers, two positioned on either side of the door and one above. He carefully let the hostages down, smiling at them all.

“We made it, now we all have to work together to get out. You’re all being so brave, you’re true heroes!” He said, ruffling the hair of the kids and giving the woman a reassuring smile. “We’re all going to have to work together here, okay? Everyone is going to have to pull on one of those levers so we can open the doors. Miss, would you be able to help reach the top one, I only ask so I can help Hiro if his arm is too injured.”

“Of course Nyx, thank you.”

Together, the five of them pulled on the lever, with Hiro claiming he was big enough to handle it by himself. Only when a buzzer sound did Izuku pull the doors open and quickly glanced in to see a small plain room. He ushered them inside quickly and closed the door behind him before drawing his staff and standing with it in one handed pointed forward at the next door and the other keeping the others herded back. His blood was pumping, and his mind was running a hundred miles a minutes, contemplating what horrors this next room would bring.

“Eight minutes, twenty seven seconds,” the Commission representative said over the intercom. “The second portion of the Provisional License Exam is complete. Please head toward the waiting area for your results.”

Izuku finally let his shoulders sag and took in a shaky breath before turning to the actors and giving them a deep bow. “Thank you for taking part of the exam. I do hope all of you get some water soon, I doubt being in that heat for that long can’t have been good.”

They all smiled and waved off his concerns before Izuku took his leave. He holstered his staff and buried his face in his capture scarf. He stopped by the locker rooms and hurriedly changed out of his hero costume, carefully folding it and laying it in the silver briefcase before slotting each weapon into its indented compartment of the soft foam lining. He slid on a pair of baggy jeans and his red shoes before slipping on his classic Present Mic hoodie. Grabbing the rest of his belongings, Izuku walked to the empty waiting area and sat on one of the few chairs, fiddling with his thumbs since he'd left his phone at home that morning, until the door opened and his Pops walked in, his face emotionless and his hands behind his back.

Izuku’s pulse fell. His heart froze.

His Pops stopped right in front of him, not saying a single word.

He moved out a hand form behind his back and held it between them.

Izuku dared to glance down, and he couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

Provisional License

Hero Name: Nyx

Quirk: Shadow States

Issued: XX/XX/30XX

Chapter Text

“With homeroom duties out of the way, I have an announcement,” his Dad drawled, staring out at the class. “As I’m sure you’re all aware, over the weekend, Yamazawa undertook his Provisional License Exam and passed, making him Provisional Hero: Nyx. Following this step in his journey to being a hero, he has been granted more staff responsibilities and security clearance which leads me to the announcement. In the next few Foundational Heroics, Yamazawa will be conducting one-on-one session to undertake an analysis of your quirk and fighting style to better improve your skills. This will be a pivotal learning experience for all of you, this will be detrimental to your success at the Sports Festival.”

“Yamabro, you do analysis?” Kirishima asked excitedly, oblivious to Aizawa’s glare.

Izuku merely tiled his head and looked confused. “I thought everyone knew. You all did your reading assignments for Foundational Heroics Theory, right?”

Hitoshi and Kacchan seemed to be the only ones grinning. Around half the class nodded while others looked away sheepishly.

“It was… quite complex. I struggled to understand a few concepts,” Yaoyorozu admitted.  

“Oh, yeah sorry about, I tend to get long-winded when I write about analysis.”

“Excuse me?”

“The paper that was assigned for the reading, I wrote it,” Izuku said. “I… I thought you al knew, it has my name on the front cover. I’ve written all the papers that were reading assignments. Did… did no one know?”

“I kind of assumed it was a family member,” Kaminari said sheepishly. “I knew you were smart but those readings were just like gibberish to me.”

“Either way, I’ll be pulling you all aside to simply have a conversation and following that I’ll give you all some recommendations or book time in one of the gyms for some quirked sparring.” Izuku begun to wrap up his words as the bell rang out. “If anyone would prefer to go first or have any questions, feel free to talk to me at any point before the next Foundational Heroics class.”

“Dismissed,” Aizawa said tiredly.

---

Rock boy.

Koji looked up from where he was in a plank position. He had recently confided in Aizawa-sensei over his fears of being too weak to be a hero. Koji had half thought the teacher would agree with his apprehensions and tell him to leave and go home. But Aizawa-sensei had waited until the classroom was empty before crouching down in front of Koji’s desk and telling him, ‘not all heroes are brave, some save others while being terrified’, and something in that sentence alone had settled the bundle of nerves he’d had since the first day at U.A.

They weren’t gone, anxiety wasn’t something a few words could easily get rid of. But it did make it somewhat easier to walk into the never ending noise of the school halls and hold his head a little higher. Of course, there were instances tha still sent his heart racing with fear. Like now, as Empress came trotting over to him. He hadn’t seen her much since the first day they’d met, just a few times in class where she would lie on his lap and Yamazawa would give him a knowing smile. But this was the first time he had spotted her during one of their practical lessons.

Hello Empress. I’m really sorry but I’m training right now, I won’t be able to hold you right now.

Worry not, rock boy. You worry too often for someone too kind. Master is simply asking me to collect you.

Koji looked around confusedly. He had noticed Yamazawa come to collect other students during previous classes but couldn’t spot the Teacher Assistant anywhere in the gym.

There you go, worrying once more. You humans are so simple to understand, emotions laced into your faces. He is outside, the treeline of the woods.

He nodded his thanks to the cat before gathering his water and bag. Koji made no complaint as the cat climbed up his leg and hopped onto his shoulder. He made his way hurriedly out through the fire exit of the gym after gaining permission from All Might and heading in the direction Empress had provided. It wasn’t long before he caught sight of Izuku hanging upside down from a low tree branch, reading what appeared to be an encyclopaedia on various birds. The book was tucked to his chest as Izuku flipped down and greeted Koji with a grin.

‘Hi Koda,’ Izuku signed, patting the ground beside him. ‘How’s your day going?’

‘You sign?’ Koji asked, the surprise evident on his face.

‘My Pops and Kacchan both have hearing difficulty because of their quirks, I started learning a few years ago. Your quirk strains your voice right? You can internally communicate with animals, but you have to use your actual voice to command them?’

Koji nodded wordlessly, his hands absentmindedly stroking Empress.

‘I think your quirk is a beautiful thing Koda. I’ve seen you use a bird for surveillance, order a few wolves to track scents. But I want to ask you something Koda. How do you feel about your quirk?’

‘I don’t know. I love animals. They’re beautiful, amazing creatures. They live on instinct and desire, they can’t lie. No matter how blunt some may be, they are always honest. I am the animal boy. But I wonder, if it’s my quirk or me. Who am I without them to communicate with. I don’t talk to anyone. I don’t really exist. I’m just there existing,’ his hands shook, stilling for a moment. ‘A rock.’

“You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to,” Yamazawa said gently, the quietness blending into the gentle breeze. “But I want you to listen. I think you became a Hero because you didn’t just want to exist. Anyone with your quirk could’ve gone into veterinary medicine or zoology, but you decided to take it and turn it toward saving others. I think Koji Koda is a brave, smart, empathetic person, not just the quiet person people think he is. I think you are incredibly powerful, quirk or not. I am not here to give you strict orders or force you into things. I am simply someone who wants to help you be the person you want to be. Because I think Koji Koda is a wonderful person and will be an amazing hero.”

Empress thankfully said nothing as Koji’s tears fell into her fur.

---

“Hagakure,” Yamazawa said bluntly.

“Yamazawa,” she tried to sound cheerful, but Tooru was a nervous wreck. She’d been anxiously anticipating her one-on-one conversation. Some had come out teary-eyed, some had been pumped, a few curious. She was honestly not sure what this conversation would hold for her, but either way, she was hoping she wouldn’t leave crying.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush with this, not when I know how important it is. I’ve been studying your quirk a lot, doing in depth analysis from recordings of training and I’ve come to an almost definitive conclusion.”

“You sure know how to build suspension Yamazawa.”

“It is possible for you be visible.”

She was definitely going to leave crying.

After a gentle hug and some much needed tissues, Tooru finally breathed deep enough to actually think. She’d spent her entire life assuming she’d always be hidden, unwatched… unloved. People could talk to her, hold her, but no one could see her. See when it was too hard for words and she just wanted people to look at her weary eyes and just know she needed help. No one could understand, no matter how much they tried to reassure her. Invisibility was a blessing and a curse. Only four years of knowing what she looked like and then her own reflection had been snatched from her life. There was one day, a few months ago, where she had forgotten her eye colour. It was something so small, so trivial, but she hadn’t seen them in over a decade. It broke her and only a two hour conversation with her parents was enough to soothe part of the ache. But now, here someone was, telling her this hellish nightmare could be over. But heaven was never in reach to humans, there was always the chance to fall instead of rise. It is possible for you to be visible. Possible, not definite. It was unlikely, almost incomprehensible. But she hoped with every fibre of her being, that even if there was the slimmest of chances, that she could grasp it.

“How?” She asked, her voice broken.

“I have a theory that your quirk isn’t invisibility, but is passive light manipulation. You’re body adapts to light conditions and alters the genetic makeup of your DNA to become transparent. It has to be DNA rather than your skin otherwise your skeleton and organs would be on display. My hypothesis is that with enough work, you will gain control of this power rather than it be passive. You would be able to become visible at will, bend light to your will, cast visual illusions to your will. But it will be a lot of work, and you definitely won’t see results for a while. I won’t be easy on you and I won’t sugar coat it, but I will help you. What do you say?”

She crashed into him with a tight hug.

---

Hanta strolled into the empty gym with excitement. He couldn’t wait to see what Yamazawa had in store for him.

“You’re excited.” Yamazawa phrased it like a question and Hanta wasn’t surprised that he was that easy to read.

“Can you blame me? I have a pretty boring quirk, so I’m excited to see what you think.”

“Firstly Sero, your quirk is not boring at all. You are a master of mobility and entrapment, movement and detainment simultaneously. You can control the stickiness of your tape right?”

“Um, yeah to a degree.”

“The length? The strength and durability of it? It’s elasticity?”

“Yes.”

“The fact that you consciously have to calculate what kind of type is best suited for a situation proves you have an analytical mind. You’re more than you give yourself credit for Sero, and I’m here to help you.”

“What have you got in mind?”

“Right now, you’re operating at thirty percent of your capabilities,” Yamazawa began, opening up a notebook and handing it over, the pages lined with diagrams and scrawled notes. “You use your tape primarily for swinging and full boy immobilisation. I’d have you practice using rubble and your tape like one would use a rope dart. Convert your geographical mobility into combat mobility. I’d have you strengthen your tape until it has the tensile strength of tungsten but the elasticity of rubber.”

His excitement only ten folded. “That’s possible?”

“That depends on you. Are you ready to put in the work?”

“Hell yeah!”

Chapter Text

That night when he and his Pops finally got home, Izuku ran into the familiar sight of his Dad fast asleep on the couch with Dusk curled up on his chest. She opened an eye and instantly rose when she saw Izuku, using Shouta’s face as a springboard to leap into his awaiting arms. It had the added bonus of waking his Dad up despite the man’s chagrin. But when Shouta spotted Izuku he sat up as fast as he could in his sleep addled state and asked tiredly, “How’d it go?”

“You’re looking at the officially licensed Provisional Hero: Nyx!”

Much like Dusk, Izuku wasted no time in leaping into his Dad’s awaiting arms, revelling in the comforting smell of worn books and fine coffee that always clung to Shouta. His Dad carded his hands through Izuku’s curls, and he could practically feel the man’s small smile.

“I’m so proud of you Izu. Every day, you make me so glad I found you all those years ago. You’re already an amazing hero, but one day you’re going to be an amazing Pro and this is just one of the many steps.”

He couldn’t help but tear up at his Dad’s praises, and the absolute certainty there was in the man’s voice.

“Your phone has been going crazy, I could barely nap with how much it was buzzing.”

Izuku chuckled and detached himself from his Dad before slinking to his room with Dusk hot on his trail. As soon as he collapsed onto his bed face first, she loafed on his back and he chuckled as she felt him kneading her paws, it was weirdly soothing on his aches. He pulled his phone off charge and finally decided to brave it. It seems Kacchan had sent his number to Class 1-A and all of them had sent him good luck messages throughout the day. It seemed he’d been added to the class’s group chat which explained why his phone had always been going off. Hagakure had sent an onslaught of memes which were responded to by a flurry of Vine references from Kaminari and Jirou, promptly followed by Kacchan telling them to all be quiet. And then the messages Kacchan had sent were a whole other matter.

Kacchan

06:05     Morning nerd, good luck today. Kill those fuckers!!!

08:34     Oi nerd, if you’re free, I need your advice on what to wear to the mall

16:55     Zuku, I think fucking Shitty Hair has a second quirk or something, the fucker is giving me palpitations

16:56     How’d the exam go?

17:44     Nerd

17:45     Nerd

17:58     NERD

18:00     I stg you fucking nerd, if you don’t respond I will kidnap the furball

Zuku

18:01     YOU WOULDN’T

Kacchan

18:01     He lives

18:02     How’d it go

Zuku

18:03     *Attachment Sent*

Kacchan

18:03     FUCK YES NYX, THAT’S MY BEST FRIEND YOU EXTRAS!!!!!

Zuku

18:07     Kacchan’s the best

Kacchan

18:08     Damn right nerd

He spent the majority of his evening responding to the various messages that had been sent his way from the members of 1-A until one in particular caught his attention. One that had come in early, but he somehow missed in his nervous state in the morning.

XXX-XXXX-XXXX (Maybe: Shinsou Hitoshi)

01:44     Hey Izuku, Bakugo sent this number on the group chat. I remember you saying you had your licensing exam today. I know it’s not worth saying good luck to you, you’re definitely going to pass, but I felt like saying it anyway. So good luck. I also wanted to say my offer still stands if you’re free after to hang with me and Uraraka, or tomorrow if you’re free. I get if you’re tired and don’t want to meet, it’s all good.

Izuku promptly buried his face in a pillow and screamed, his face a dazzling tomato red as he imagined Shinsou sleep-eyed and drowsy, typing that message to him, when he could’ve been sleeping. Blushing like a schoolgirl, Izuku’s fingers flew across his screen as he typed out his response

Yamazawa Izuku changed name to ShadowCat

ShadowCat changed XXX-XXXX-XXXX to PurpleCat

ShadowCat

18:38     Hey Hitoshi, thank you!!! It means so much to me!! And guess what…

18:38     *Attachment Sent*

18:39     You’re officially chatting to a Provisional Hero!!!!

18:40     I’d love to hang but I will probably be super sore and barely able to walk tomorrow

PurpleCat

18:46     Congrats Izuku!! So happy for you!! And, it’s fine I get it, I’ll see you at school on Monday

ShadowCat

18:47     BUTTTT I was going to say, do you want to come over? I may be bed-ridden but I’d still like to hang out

PurpleCat

18:48     I’d love to

ShadowCat

18:48     Amazing!! I’ll send you my address, me and Dusk can’t wait to see you!! (ps, pls don’t freak out over who my parents are)

---

The message had had Hitoshi pondering all night and he wished he could say it was for good reasons. Call him biased, but he didn’t have the greatest experience with parents or authority figures in general. So when his crush friend had warned him to not freak out when they met, Hitoshi could only assume the worst. Were they like his fosters. Surely not, Hitoshi knew Izuku was a Ward of U.A., there was no way any of the staff would be like that. Which begged the question, out all the staff, who actually were Izuku’s parents?

He was answered when Hitoshi knocked on the door of the flat at the teacher’s dorm. Midnight had thankfully spotted him lurking outdoors and she’d already been told to expect him which is how he found himself outside, waiting for the door to open. And as it did, Hitoshi’s heart dropped. Because if anyone would be overprotective of their child, if anyone would gladly risk murder to protect Izuku it would be–

“Shinsou,” Aizawa-sensei said curtly. “Welcome to my home. Tell the others Yamazawa is my son and I’ll disembowel you.”

“Duly noted sir.”

“Izuku’s in his room right now, napping. You can go ahead and wake him up.”

Aizawa-sensei moved out of the doorway for Hitoshi to step into a large yet cozy open plan home with a living room to his right and separated kitchen to his left, and a dining table tucked away. The older man nodded to a set of stairs just beside the front door that Hitoshi had passed upon entering. Venturing upward, Hitoshi came across a few more doors until he recognised one covered in paw print and star stickers. It had to be Izuku’s

He knocked gently and upon no response, Hitoshi gently opened the door. And the wind was knocked from his lungs because Izuku looked angelic. His curls framed his face perfectly as they splayed out on his pillows. His cheeks had a rosy sheen to them despite the chill in the room and he was pouting ever so gently in his sleep. It took everything in Hitoshi to not tear his eyes off the other boy into a very loud mewl broke his attention and he looked to the foot of Izuku’s bed to see Dusk staring at him. And Hitoshi swore it was almost as if she was judging him.

Hitoshi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and avoided Dusk’s gaze as he walked over to Izuku quietly. Placing his hand on the other’s shoulder he gently shook Izuku until his eyes opened and Hitoshi was met with dazzling emerald.

“’Toshi?”

His heart wouldn’t survive the night if all it took to go mad was Izuku saying that goddamn nickname in that goddamn voice.

“Hey Izu,” he managed to say, his heart hammering. “How’re you feeling?”

“Tired. Sore. Cold.”

“I’ll bet, it’s freezing in here. Holy shit, your arm!” Hitoshi didn’t know whether to back away or cradle Izuku’s arm that sported a nasty burn in a straight line, the flesh lightly mottled and bubbling although part of it looked like it had burst at some point. It was then Hitoshi glanced over Izuku’s bare arms, and his eyes widened at the amount of small bruises peppering Izuku’s skin. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“Sensory hell. Never let the Commission of Nedzu make you a personal exam,” Izuku muttered sleepily as he sat up and slid over, patting the now empty side of the bed.

Hitoshi took the hint and slid in beside him, careful not to jostle Izuku. Or Dusk, there was no way he was getting on her bad side. “How did it go?”

“It was good overall. Capture the flag type thing for round one, and I had to go against the Big Three from U.A., but that wasn’t too bad. The second round was this set of rooms, like a fake villain base. Had to find hostages. But there were lasers, and then these rubber bullets firing while a strobe light was on. Oh yeah, and then there was a lava pool!”

Hitoshi’s mouth gaped a moment. “I want to say you’re sleep talking but this is Nedzu we’re on about. But you passed Izu! Or should I say Nyx.”

Sue him, maybe Hitoshi had laid it on a little thick when he dropped his voice and leaned in a bit but he’d just expected Izuku to laugh and shove him away, not for his rosy cheeks to turn scarlet red and for Izuku’s eyes to widen to a comical degree.

“I–”

“Boys, lunch is ready!”

Hitoshi could kill his mentor in that moment. He needed to know what Izuku was about to say, but as if reading his mind, Dusk pawed her way over the bed and swatted his face with her paw before sitting to face Izuku and lick his nose.

She seemed to purr deeply a moment before Izuku yelped out and picked her up, eyeing her with a glare. “Dusk, you heathen. Do not say something like that again.”

Dusk simply looked at Izuku, turned to look Hitoshi, and then back to Izuku before she mewled once and Izuku shrieked, dropping her.

“Lunch now. Dusk is in timeout,” Izuku stammered, rushing out his bed and pulling Hitoshi with him while the cat simply lounged on the bed, once more giving Hitoshi that assessing look.

The two picked at the array of snacks and nibbles… Aizawa-sensei had prepared. That was going to take some getting used to. Hitoshi had imagined his mentor just hanging upside down from the rafters at night in his sleeping bag, suckling on a juice pouch like some sort of cryptic overgrown bat. He never would’ve expected his mentor to have a son, let alone wear hot pink sweatpants that said ‘Juicy’ along the back. Izuku just snickered at Hitoshi’s expense, the sound warming Hitoshi in ways he didn’t know possible.

It was as he was chewing on a carrot stick that he turned to Izuku. “So what’re the plans now you’re licensed?”

“Hopefully some light patrolling with Dad, and I can start taking on more responsibilities at school. I’ve been petitioning to do some one-on-one analysis with each Hero student, but the board said only licensed heroes are allowed to give advice in that capacity, but nothing in the official U.A. policy specifies what level of licensing one has to have.”

“I love a good loophole.”

“As any good person should. Then I’m also thinking of adding a new lesson to the curriculum that’ll be mandatory for all students in their first years, including first aid, hacking and all that jazz. It’s dumb support and Gen Ed have to do the Sports Festival but aren’t offered training at school. We have the money and resources.”

“True, I always kind of planned to get into the Hero Course through the Sports Festival. I never imagined I would’ve passed the exam.”

“Noble either way,” Aizawa-sensei piped up. “It’s how I did it, but be proud you made it in through a biased exam. Not many can say such a thing Shinsou.”

“Thank you sensei,” Hitoshi murmured, shrinking under his mentor’s praise.

“Not sensei here kid. Just Aizawa.”

Hitoshi could only nod.

“I still think you’re underplaying yourself. You did so well in the Entrance Exam, the way you beat the robots off with a pipe was amazing,” Izuku said with a grin.

“You saw?” Hitoshi asked.

Aizawa snorted. “He was up all night watching the Entrance Exam footage for analysis. And he spent a good half an hour telling me all about the purple haired enigma he couldn’t get over.”

“DAD!”

Chapter Text

Izuku breathed in happily, the cardboard cup of coffee emitting a gentle steam that warmed his face in the cold evening air. He was sat in his full Hero costume, feet dangling over the edge of the roof he was positioned on, eyes trained on the streets below for any sign of illicit behaviour. His first real patrol as a Provisional Hero, Izuku could hardly believe it. Somehow, his dad had allowed him to bring Dusk along and she was nestled safely in her harness on his back, purring away tucked under his hood. He summoned a thin layer of crystals around her body. Izuku knew Dusk could care for herself, but in the off chance someone landed a hit on him from behind, he’d rather take the brunt of the attack than her.

His Dad came and sat beside him, an Izuku offered the rest of his coffee without a word. Shouta pressed a kiss to Izuku’s temple through the hood and promptly downed the rest of the coffee. He turned to look down at Izuku, sighing fondly. “If someone told me five years ago that I’d feel nervous about my son’s first patrol I’d have strangled them.”

“I still think you’d strangle someone if they suggested it,” Izuku joked, leaning against his Dad and resting his head on the man’s shoulder. “I’m nervous too. Excited, but nervous. I feel like something bad is going to happen.”

“I’d normally reassure you that everything is fine, but you’re not the average person. You’re going to be a Pro one day which means learning to trust your instincts and go with your gut. I trusted my instincts that night we met and look where they led me. Best decision of my life.”

Izuku tugged his Dad into a tight hug but the two were interrupted by a scuffling sound in the alley below, followed by shouts. The pair nodded to each other before both their scarfs shot out to wrap around an air conditioning unit behind them. Quickly rappelling down the building wall, the two landed silently at one end of the alley, staring down at the two broad men fighting one another at the other end. With a nod from his Dad, Izuku darted forward and willed the shadows around the men to separate them and within a moment, a glistening wall of blackened crystal was erected between them. The taller of the two men was already mid-punch and he yelled out when his hand collided with the wall. Izuku decided to leave that one to his Dad, while he focused on the shorter man.

He already had a busted lip and what seemed to be a steadily forming black eye, and there was a rank scent coming from his breath and clothes. Definitely drunk by the slight sway of the man’s stance. But he couldn’t be cocky. Cocky was the precipice between confident and careless. So Izuku spun the blade he was holding till it was pointed up and in a movement of blur, he had whacked the bottom of the knife handle into the man’s temple. Taking advantage of the disorientation, Izuku spun on his heel and snapped his leg out, catching the man on the other side of the head with his foot. The man twirled with a dazed face before collapsing against the crystal. Izuku turned in time to catch the handcuffs being thrown his way and he securely latched them over the man’s wrist, hauling him toward the mouth of the alley where his Dad was talking to a patrolling police officer.

Izuku stood a few steps back, not wanting to interrupt but listening raptly to the procedure he would one day follow when apprehending simple criminals and taking them back to the station. They spent the next few hours under the blanket of night, dealing with similar issues. At least a dozen of drunken brawls in the alleys between bars, people too brazen in their attempts at robberies and break ins, they even aided in stopping an attempted kidnapping before a young boy could be dragged into a van. Izuku consoled the boy as Aizawa mercilessly dealt with the would-be kidnappers, and neither of them were too worried over the incredibly injured state of the criminals by the time the police arrived. Every now and then, his Dad would call up Detective Tsukauchi to give updates seeing as they were operating in his jurisdiction. Izuku couldn’t wait to see the man again, he already had a list of new questions to ask about the Truth Detecting quirk.

Around three in the morning, the father and son pair found themselves snacking on milk bread they grabbed from a store that was still open. He drew his phone when an alert sounded and Izuku sighed deeply as he read his screen.

His Dad noticed the shift in mood and stopped to turn to Izuku, “I know that sigh. What’s wrong kid?”

“You know that analysis group I started?”

“I wouldn’t call it a group, more a mass cult following.”

“A group yes. I’ve got different topics going at once for people to chat about, but there’s been this one member recently. Some of the thing they’re talking about… like this one, ‘can a destructive quirk ever be useful?’, or ‘how do you know your quirk is your own?’. That’s only the two most recent ones.”

Shouta stared through the messages, coming to a stop at the first one. “This was just after the USJ.”

“That’s what I was thinking. You don’t think it’s him?”

“We can’t be sure.” His Dad came close and placed a steadying hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “You’re not alone Izuku. I’m with you, Hizashi is with you, you’ve got all of U.A. with you. If it is him, the questions don’t sound antagonistic, but contemplative. Maybe showing him his memories did awaken something inside of Tenko. All we can do is hope and work together for whatever the future may bring.”

Izuku simply slumped his dead on his Dad’s chest and revelled in the soft purrs of Dusk on his back. They strolled slowly but with vigilance through the streets when something seemed off about an alley they were passing. Izuku let his gaze linger on the alley, and his eyes narrowed when a dumpster nestled deeper in the shadows jostled gently.

“Eraserhead,” he called out, not tearing his eyes from the dumpster. “Some uncertain activity. Could be nothing.”

“Or it could be another stray cat,” his Dad said, appearing at his side. “Or a criminal or whatever. Best to investigate either way.”

“Are you an Underground Hero just so you can increase the chances of seeing strays.”

“Things can just be coincidences,” Shouta replied, with a slight smirk. “Plus, I thought Dusk was a stray the first time we met.”

“She’s too pretty for that,” Izuku retorted, and Dusk purred happily in agreement.

Both quietened however when they neared the dumpster. With a nod from his Dad, Izuku carefully approached the lid and took a deep breath before flinging it open and freezing. A purple eye shades darker than purple hair, and a grimaced frown hidden behind a muzzle looked back at him as Izuku’s heart shattered into shards.

“Hitoshi?”

---

It had been amazing. That evening at Izuku’s, just being in the presence of one another. His heart was doing backflips whenever Hitoshi thought of green curls and greener eyes. But as all things in his life, he could never have things go his way for too long. They’d already been mad that he had gone to Izuku’s on the weekend without asking them and that had meant a serious drawback in portion sizes for his meals. They always used the excuse that they had to feed the other kids. But said other kids were a four year old and a nineteen year old who lived with her friends.

But that day when he’d returned from school, they asked why he was late to be home, a whole three minutes past his curfew of five in the evening. And he made the crucial mistake of saying he had been out with his friends. He told the truth, that wasn’t the issue. Hitoshi had gone to the cat café again with Uraraka and Iida to plan out some joint sparring training in preparation for the Sports Festival, hence why he was running late. But, he had broken a rule. Hitoshi was allowed to stay at U.A. as long as he did not make contact with others. His foster parents would never fail to remind him that others were not allowed to talk to someone like him, someone who could steal their autonomy.

So the moment it slipped from his lips, Hitoshi didn’t need to see the rage in their eyes to know he’d made a mistake. It was only confirmed when a fist sunk into his eyes and Hitoshi flew back, slamming into the front door. His foster father stood over him, breathing raggedly and glaring down at him. The beautiful onigiri he and Iida shared threatened to come up when a foot sunk into his stomach, and Hitoshi curled into himself to avoid the pain. He could vaguely make out insults and dark threats from the man laying into him, but all of it was lost to the ringing in his ears. Everything was a bit blurry as well, maybe Hitoshi hit his head harder than he thought when he slammed into the door.

A sharp cry left his lips when his arms were wrenched behind his back and he was tugged up, tears falling when Hitoshi felt a sickening pop and his right arm proceeded to sag at his side. Bile ran up his throat and his vision swam as Hitoshi attempted to navigate the ocean of pain. But finally something came into view, and his sickening feeling ten folded as it came into view. The sharp metal contraption that dug into his skin and trapped his voice away. The muzzle was the worst thing, the thing he’d always hated. It was provided by the orphanage, and somehow followed him from home to home, a never ending companion in his disgusting lifestyle.

The leather dug into his skin and his mind was spinning. All he could think of was why. Why him? Why this? He never asked for this quirk, never asked to be treated this way. Why now? Why? Why? Why?

“Why?” He managed to cry out through the muzzle, the very action agonizing his jaw.

“Because you’re a useless disgu–”

The shrieking of his foster mother broke through Hitoshi’s daze and he stared in horror at the blank eyes of his foster father. They would definitely kill him now. He hadn’t meant to, he didn’t even realise his quirk was active but there the man was, blank and standing stock-still, awaiting his orders. Daring to turn his eyes, they widened as he saw his foster mother grabbing a blade from the kitchen and stalking toward him.

“Stop her,” he managed to say, ignoring the way the metal and leather drew blood from his jaw. Hitoshi wasted no time in turning and limping toward the front door, not daring to turn back.

He struggled to slip his feet into shoes and threw the door of the apartment open, limping down the stairs and out through the lobby into the cold night air. Hitoshi had no clue of the time, had no phone, only the ragged and bloody uniform still on his back and the scraps of his backpack threatening to spill his textbooks out. The roads were a blur to him as Hitoshi somehow stumbled through the night, half-conscious. Something was bleeding going by the trail he was leaving and the slick feeling of his shirt on his skin. But none of it compared to how bone-achingly tired he was, how much he just wanted t close his eyes and make it all stop for at least  a few hours.

Hitoshi didn’t know how long he’d been walking for until he came upon an alley. There had been a few nights in his life when he had to camp out in a space similar to the one he was in now. Nights where the other children or fosters became too much to handle. And while the prospect of lingering in so much filth with so many open wounds was unappealing, the desire to just rest a moment outweighed all his concerns. He clambered deep into the alley, knowing the deeper he went, the safer it would be. With the last of his strength he managed to weakly clamber into an open dumpster and shut it after him. He dared not breath through his nose but he did thank every greater deity that none of the bags had split. In fact, there wasn’t too much of a smell. Spotting some loose wires through the loose knot of one bag, he figured he was sleeping outside some sort of electronics store. Managing to make himself as comfortable as he could in his state, Hitoshi rested his head on a bag of wires as a makeshift pillow and let his eyes close. Until the dumpster lid flew open.

Instincts woke before Hitoshi did, and he immediately curled into a ball, hiding away his face in his arms as the light of distant streetlamps lit up the dumpster he cowered in. He knew what would come next. A barb or insult, then the incoming fist or leg. And then the inevitable flaring pain that radiated throughout him.

“Hitoshi?”

That voice. He knew that voice. Hitoshi could swear he knew it, knew the way it settled the anxiety that was coursing through him. It was gentle, caring… loving. He knew it, and he was scared to hell that he was wrong, but Hitoshi wanted so damn much to be right for once. So he dared to look, dared to let his guard lower and peek through the gaps in his arms, and something within him fully settled when he saw those green eyes.

He was safe.

“Zu?” He managed to say through the muzzle, his eyes beginning to water. Of course he came. Of course his golden boy would come, would somehow know.

His golden boy. That sounded nice to Hitoshi

Hitoshi must’ve space out at some point because the next thing he knew, thick corded arms gently scooped him up and he was a breath away from Izuku’s face. From how close he was, Hitoshi could see the worry in those green eyes, the creased brow. The gentle pout as probably a million thoughts ran through Izuku’s head. But all Hitoshi could think of was how ethereal Izuku looked, the light of streetlamps giving him an angelic halo. Calloused hands gently stroked his cheek and despite the muzzle, Hitoshi couldn’t help but lean into it and let his eyes fall shut.

Because he was safe

---

Izuku’s blood was boiling. The second he had seen Hitoshi, Izuku swore to himself that he would reap vengeance from those that did this to him. He’d had an inkling that Hitoshi had gone through more in his home life than he let on. But this all confirmed it. He was already making a mental list of Hitoshi’s injuries, dislocated jaw and vomiting blood not even being at the top of the list. Thankfully, Hitoshi had let the address of his foster parents slip to Izuku once and he was ready to take advantage of that. He was halfway through mentally planning how to get rid of two bodies when a steadying hand was placed on his shoulder. Izuku snapped his head up and relaxed only a fraction when he met his Dad’s steady gaze.

“He needs Recovery Girl. Those injuries are severe Izuku. I will take care of his foster parents, it’s clear enough what the situation is. You’re not the only one who’s had suspicions.”

“I’ll go to them,” Izuku all but spat out, and that’s when his Dad’s hand tightened and Izuku looked up to meet red eyes rather than their usual deep brown. It was then he saw massive chunks of crystal behind him melt back into the shadows and Izuku was feeling incredibly sheepish. He hadn’t gotten protective enough over someone to use his quirk unconsciously since he had once heard someone from the Support Department offend Dusk. He breathed deeply, letting his shaking settle and looking down at Hitoshi’s sleeping form in his arms.

“He needs you right now,” Shouta added. “I will keep you posted and have Tsukauchi be put on the case. Most likely, we’re getting another Ward.”

Izuku nodded and whistled sharply. Dusk immediately leapt from his hood onto the ground of the alley and in a manner of seconds, she had grown to her full size. Pushing down the memories of her fighting at the USJ, Izuku carefully laid Hitoshi onto Dusk’s back and he sat behind him, holding the other boy close to his chest as Dusk begun to walk in the other direction of his Dad. She looked over her shoulder and once Izuku nodded, she leapt onto the wall with her claws hooking her into the brick with ease. Izuku held Hitoshi tightly and kept both of them attached to Dusk with a quickly assembled harness of shadows. Once she reached the rooftop she let herself back in the moonlight before she crouched and leapt with power and grace across to the next rooftop.

Their journey of roof hopping last around ten minutes before they reached the gates of U.A. but Hitoshi had still not awakened. Not bothering to contact anyone or swipe his cards at any gates, Izuku urged Dusk forward she obliged, heading directly to the Nurse’s office. Not bothering to knock, Dusk slammed the door open with her head and Izuku carried Hitoshi onto a bed. With no sign of Recovery Girl, Izuku set about carefully removing the muzzle from Hitoshi’s jaw and carefully wiping away the blood with an antiseptic cloth.

The door swinging open had Izuku’s hand grabbing his staff and jabbing it at the intruder, but ti was easily batted away by a syringe cane.

“Careful, I’m still a licensed Hero which means I do regular combat,” Recovery Gril chided, a small smile on her face falling when she looked behind Izuku. “How bad.”

“Help him Granny. Please,” he said, his voice broken.

She nodded and the pair worked efficiently to clean his wounds. Recovery Girl, or Granny Chiyo as he called her, had taught him first aid herself. He was qualified enough to assist, but when it came time to for her to do a full assessment of his injuries, she had him leave on account of how much his hands were shaking. Only once he was outside the office and sat in the waiting chairs did Izuku finally reach for his phone that had been buzzing since they arrived.

Dad

04:23     The foster parents are in custody and will be questioned in the morning. Already spoke to Nedzu and things have been arranged. Looks like we’re getting a new neighbour.

Izu

04:24     Aunt Nem finally sorted out her emergency foster license?

Dad

04:24     Yeah. How’re you both doing?

Izu

04:24     RG is checking him over now. From what I saw, disjointed shoulder and heavy abdomen bruising, maybe a broken rib or two

04:24     He probably won’t be awake till tomorrow

Dad

04:25     And you?

Izu

04:25     Been better

Dad

04:26     He’s safe now. So rest.

Izuku knew his dad probably meant to head back to the apartment, but he refused to leave the vicinity of the nurse’s office. Instead he hunkered up in the uncomfortable chair, hiding his face in his capture scarf. Upon his request, Dusk trotted out from under the chair and stood beside the door to the office.

“Any disturbance, wake me up,” he told her. “Toshi needs to rest, understood?”

Dusk nodded once and only then did Izuku allow himself to sleep.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi woke up, having slept the best he had ever in his life. The first thing to hit him was the strong scent of antiseptic clinging to the air, the entire place singing cleanliness. The next was the plushness around his body. His memory was a blur, but he knew he wasn’t at the foster house. It’s not that he didn’t have a bed there per se, rather, it was more of a thin blanket on the ground and his folded uniform as a pillow. He’d had worse before. But the absolute comfort he found himself in, the warmth around his body, it was all mysterious. He dared to open his eyes, and despite the rest, he was still too weary to sit up. So he awkwardly lifted his head from the beauty of a pillow it was on and scanned a glance around the room.

Nurse’s office? U.A.?

And then it all came crashing back. Getting back to the house, his foster parents… the muzzle. Then he somehow ended up in a dumpster, somehow, and then…

Izuku.

His knight in dark armoured clothing. But after that, everything was a blur lost to the recesses of his mind. And now, Hitoshi was alone, somehow in Recovery Girl’s office, laying in one of the dozen of beds. A glance to his right saw the I.V. drip inserted into his arm, the bag gently bubbling as small amounts of the liquid slipping into his system. The tight feeling on his shoulder could only mean it was bandaged in place, matching the feeling around his ribs. Taking stock of his injuries wasn’t something new to Hitoshi, he had too much experience tending to his own wounds after one too many run ins with bullies, or neighbours, or just generally horrible and vindictive people. But to have the injuries cared for? It settled Hitoshi in a strange way.

Yet he was alone. Or so he’d thought. A soft mewl from his left had him turning to see Dusk’s white eyes boring into him. He cracked a smile and tried to thank her but his voice felt… distant. It had happened before, usually just after the muzzle came off, the fear of it coming back making it too terrifying to talk, his voice cowering behind the raised hands and threats for if he spoke. Selective mutism was an issue he read a lot about but still hadn’t found his way through breaking out of. But he’d learnt ways around it. And maybe it was hoping for a lot, but Dusk had surprised Hitoshi many times, so if she was able to understand him, he wouldn’t be surprised.

He weakly lifted his left hand, his right refusing to move, and signed slowly, ‘Izuku.’

Dusk assessed him a moment before she chuffed lightly. Not a moment later, the door flew open, and Hitoshi looked to see his saviour. Izuku was dressed in his usual halfway attire, smart slacks with red high-tops, a tie and shirt under his garish Present Mic hoodie and a duffel bag over his shoulder. But the massive smile and light seemingly emanating from the boy’s eyes drew Hitoshi’s attention and kept him fixated.

“Toshi!”

Hitoshi raised a hand to wave, but Izuku was across the room in seconds, wrapping his arms around him, and pulling Hitoshi close to his chest. He didn’t know whether to swoon and blush or cry out and panic, but he did what he wanted to do more than anything. Hitoshi wrapped his left arm around Izuku as tightly as possible, burying his face in the crook of Izuku’s neck, inhaling the comforting scent of sandalwood. Tears begun to slip from his eyes, and for once, Hitoshi let them flow freely, sinking into Izuku’s embrace. Strong calloused hands made their way through his gravity defying purple locks, the touch sending shivers down his spine in the best way possible.

“Are you okay?”

Hitoshi wanted so bad to stay there, in his arms and simply say yes, but words escaped him. He forced himself to tear away and looked into Izuku’s tear-shimmering eyes. This boy was his idol, saviour, friend, and call Hitoshi selfish, but he wanted more. And he so hoped, dreamed, desired the other felt the same.

He raised his hand and signed, ‘I am now. Thank you.’

And of course his dream of a man knew sign language too. Izuku smiled softly and signed back, ‘You had me worried. Want to talk about it?’

‘Do I have to?’ He asked, wishing more than anything he could put it off for a while moment.

“No,” Izuku said, his voice so soft and gentle it didn’t even startle Hitoshi. What did though, was the hand that gently cradled his scarred cheek. “We do this at your pace. For now, if you want to rest, we rest.”

‘We?’

“I’m still too pent-up to not keep an eye on you, and if I’m left alone I seriously might commit a murder on a certain two ex-foster parents.”

Hitoshi stilled at the mention, but the hand still cradling his cheeks helped to ground him as he rose a shaky hand. ‘You know?’

Izuku smiled gently. “Had suspicions for a while. Put it all together last night. You’re never going back there, okay?”

‘Zu, I can’t go back to the orphanage, I–”

His hand was held gently by Izuku and Hitoshi forced himself to look directly at the other boy. “You’ll become a Ward of U.A., the details are still being hammered out, but you’re not going anywhere.”

“He’s right,” Aizawa-sensei said as he walked in, startling the pair enough for Izuku to skirt back to the edge of the bad under his father’s withering glance. “You won’t be returning Hitoshi.”

First name. This is serious, he thought. “Who do I stay with?”

Aizawa grimaced as the door behind him opened and in sashayed one of Hitoshi’s favourite teachers, which had surprised many. Sue him for loving a woman who took people’s insults and barbs and completely flipped them on their head in her favour. Whipping the air, Midnight-sensei came to a stop at his bed and pointed a manicured finger at him.

“You’re coming with me my feisty amethyst!”

So far, so good.

---

Izuku stood to the side with  a small smile on his face as he watched Hitoshi deal with an overbearing Aunt Nem. He knew first hand how much love the woman had to give, and he was glad she now had a son, despite the circumstances that happened to his friend for it to happen.

His friend.

Izuku was beginning to think things. That wasn’t out of the ordinary, but it was usually of the analytical sense, not the wanting to murder your crush’s foster family and hunt down anyone who has ever wronged him sense. So he was a touch concerned. But other than that, he was happy. Hitoshi was being given a tour by Aunt Nem of her apartment, both boys silently thrilled over the prospect of being neighbours. She opened a door beside the guest bathroom to what Izuku assumed would be Hitoshi’s new room based on the new décor his aunt had purchased.

A king-size bed with lush black and purple bedding was tucked into the corner, with a canopy over it to block out the light completely. Izuku was definitely buying one of those soon, maybe a smaller one for Dusk to use in classrooms. A desk was against the opposite wall and a large window and balcony took up the wall opposite the door. A small set of double doors beside the desk revealed an expansive walk in wardrobe already holding a set of outfits she had selected, a few of which were too much leather and mesh for Hitoshi judging by the red face Izuku noticed. He allowed Dusk to roam freely, but his beautifully smart girl knew exactly what was needed and despite her general hostility to others, she had been around Hitoshi’s neck since they left Granny Chiyo’s office, purring away and keeping a soft smile on his face. Izuku was so proud of her.

Auntie Nem said something about making a hearty brunch and he knew that meant a spread that could feed the whole staff, which meant his dads would definitely be coming plus some other stragglers. As she was leaving, she threw Izuku a playful look and motioned toward Hitoshi. Izuku simply glared but his face went red when she started making smooching noises which had him promptly shoving her out the room with a shadow whip. Finally alone, he turned to Hitoshi and gulped. Hitoshi was in an oversized t-shirt that easily hid the shorts Izuku hoped he was wearing. Izuku knew the other boy was taller than him, but he never realised how long those legs were, with smooth pale skin.

Izuku mentally slapped himself for ogling and when he looked up, he met Hitoshi’s eyes and a soft smirk on the other’s face.

“Sit with me?” Hitoshi asked, and Izuku readily nodded.

The pair sank into the mattress and Hitoshi pulled down one of the curtains of the canopy, leaving only a thin shard of light running into the darkness. The two of them laid on their sides, simply looking at one another, Izuku saw the bandage over Hitoshi’s shoulder peeking out the collar of Hitoshi’s t-shirt, and he instinctively reached out to trace his fingers over it. Hitoshi’s breath hitched but he said nothing. He remained silent as Izuku’s hand moved and gently traced the silvery scars along his jaws and cheek.

“You’re beautiful,” Izuku said, the words slipping out his mouth before he realised it. Guess it was time to go big or go home. “I thought that when I first saw your Entrance Exam. I couldn’t stop watching, the way you fought, with so much care and determination. Such a fire that fuels you. Before I only saw a glimpse of the real you, but now, I’m starting to see the whole picture. You’re beautiful Hitoshi. Your strength, your courage, your determination. It’s so beautiful to me that you keep going. You always find a way to keep going. Plus… you’re like, really handsome too. Chiselled cheeks, beautiful eyes… whenever you smile I want to take a photo of it, because not a single one of your smiles is the same. Each time it’s a little different, like there’s millions of different parts that make you up, and I want to get to know each and every one of them. And I’m sorry if this is weird, and if you want to be friends, I get it and everything can be fine but I–”

“Izuku,” Hitoshi said, silencing Izuku with a finger on his lips. “Can I kiss you?”

“Please.”

All he could do was whoop and scream internally as soft lips brushed against him and all he could think was how amazingly lucky he was to know Toshi.

Chapter Text

Izuku was currently sat at Hitoshi’s desk sipping a thermos while he looked at his boyfriend. His boyfriend. They had confirmed it quickly after the kiss which had left Izuku in  a daze, and the two had decided to have their first date after the Sports Festival. Toshi had said he wanted to focus his time on training, and the dedication sure got Izuku going. A few people looked at them curiously, but the most notable interactions was Kacchan entering and saying he and Toshi needed to have a ‘talk’ soon, but Izuku would quickly shut down any attempt at a shovel talk that Kacchan would try and give Toshi. The other was Uraraka and Iida entering and upon seeing the pair, she declared that Iida owed her four thousand yen.

Toshi had squawked in protest at the idea of the two betting about him, but Izuku just chuckled and said the staff had apparently also placed a bet and his Pops was the one to win. But the embarrassment died down, and Hitoshi was right back to his nervous state. It was the morning and in around an hour, the Sports Festival would begin. Izuku had done his best to reassure and inspire Toshi, but he knew that this wasn’t something words could just get rid of. Izuku had apparently missed the mob that stopped 1-A leaving their classroom. He and Hitoshi had the previous day off but Uraraka and Kacchan had told them respectively about the students from 1-B and a few Gen. Ed. students who had made declarations of war, but it was the mentions of the USJ that had Izuku getting worked up. He hadn’t been with Class 1-B in a while, but it seemed some of them needed reminding of their actions, especially a snarky blonde with a Copy quirk.

He was particularly excited for his own involvement in the Sports Festival but no matter how much the class or Hitoshi begged, Izuku remain tight-lipped about what exactly he would be doing. Yet despite the excitement, the undercurrent of anxiety was palpable in the room. So Izuku did what any good TA would do and moved to the front, clapping his hands and garnering everyone’s attention. Eighteen pairs of eyes turned to face him and Izuku grinned at them all.

“You’re all going to amazingly today. I’m not going to assume you’re all fine, everyone here is probably on some level nervous or apprehensive. But I will assume this. You are all going to do the best that you can do. Do not focus on winning but focus on being the best that you can be and push beyond your own limits. From the one-to-one’s I conducted with you all, I know each and every one of you have developed in some way since starting at U.A. and now it’s time to show that to the world. Don’t bother trying to make me proud of you all, because I already am.”

The class was silent until Kirishima stood, tears streaming from his closed eyes and a fist held to his heart. “So… MANLY!”

At the sound of the bell ringing, the class slowly begun to trickle out the room until only Izuku and Hitoshi remained.

“So…” Hitoshi began. “I’m taking you to a cat café. Tomorrow. I don’t care if I have a broken arm or torn spleen or whatever, I want to take you there. And I kind of want to see how Dusk reacts to other cats.”

“It’s interesting to say the least. If you are too injured though, we postpone,” Izuku said, interlacing his fingers with Hitoshi’s. “I don’t need to be somewhere fun to enjoy myself. I just need to be with you.”

Hitoshi’s face went beet red and Izuku revelled in it. “I got to… Sports Fest… locker room, change, I have to…”

Izuku chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to Hitoshi’s cheek. “I’m heading to the announcement booth. Good luck Toshi, I’ll be cheering you on.”

---

“Bakugo.”

Katsuki froze as he adjusted the collar of the U.A. gym uniforms. Thankfully he had his hearing aids in otherwise he would’ve missed his name. He turned to see who addressed him and wanted to roll his eyes.

“What do you want Icy Hot?”

The other seemed to freeze up a moment at the nickname but didn’t let it deter him. “Arguably, we are the strongest duo in the class. But know that I will beat you with only my ice.”

Katsuki was an academically smart person, but when it came to reading people, that’s where Zuku was more experienced. His best friend could read the secrets of a stranger after just glancing at their face and that was without his weird shadow trauma projection thing. But, Katsuki had learnt a thing of two from Zuku, how certain words always revealed more than the whole sentence does. Which made him think, what the hell did he mean by only his ice? Sort of everyone in their class knew Icy Hot had a dual-wielded quirk but only used the ice side, but no one really knew why. Zuku probably did, but in that moment, it seemed the entire weight of Icy Hot’s existence rested on his shoulders.

And it was if the equation to the boy just popped into his mind. Half of his quirk is fire, Endeavour is his father, Icy Hot only ever uses ice. So there was definitely some sort of daddy issues. But Katsuki knew issues first hand. For a decade of his life, Katsuki was a bully and arguably a villain. And he knew that he still had anger he had to work through but he only got to where he was because of Zuku, the damn nerd’s bleeding heart could make anyone change. But Zuku wasn’t here right now, and Katsuki had to somehow respond in a way that maintained his pride but also let him get in touch with Icy Hot’s… feelings. Just thinking about it made Katsuki want to grimace.  

“Look Icy Hot, I don’t give a flying fuck what you say. What matters to me is what you do. So if you think I’m going to let you win this when you’re only using half of your whole quirk, then you’re a dumber fucker than I thought. Don’t even think about declaring war on me unless you’re going to give it you’re all. Not a single Pro Hero doesn’t use everything they have to save people. So bring it on Todoroki. I’m not interested in fighting an Ice Queen, I want you at your deadliest and most powerful.”

The heterochromatic boy simply took in Katsuki’s words before leaving the locker rooms without a response.

“So manly Bakubro! You’re definitely making it to the podium.”

. “Of course I will, I’m not some weak ass extra.” Katsuki refused to acknowledge how Shitty Hair’s words made him feel light and airy. But his next words must have been because of the red head’s secret quirk that drove Katsuki wild, it was the only explanation. “And I better see you there next to me.”

---

Izuku stroked Dusk’s coat gently as he situated himself between his Dad and his Pops. Somehow it was the tradition for the pair to do the announcements and commentary for the Sports Festival, sunshine and rainclouds paired together perfectly. Izuku had usually spent the previous Sports Festival’s with Nedzu conducting analysis from the chimeric stoat’s office but this year he wanted a closer view of the classes he worked with. Admittedly, Izuku had spent more time with 1-A than 1-B, but he was still excited to see the progress students made and what they had in store.

“Can I get a HELL YEAH!” Hizashi yelled through the microphone, activating his quirk and making the crowds roar, their cheers filling the spacious stadium.

Shouta groaned and Izuku giggled softly at his Dad’s displeasure.

“Welcome back to this years U.A. Sports Festival! We have an exciting day of competitions in store for you all today. Let’s get this show started. Please everyone put your hands together in welcoming the student body. The ones to have faced down villains, give it up for the Hero Class 1-A!”

Izuku couldn’t help but clap and cheer as the students walked into the stadium grounds, a few like Hitoshi waving anxiously to the cameras while Kacchan of course smugly smirked and marched onward as if he owned the place. And then Todoroki was there, not phased in the slightest by the raucous roars or flashing cameras.

“Not to be overlooked, the brave underdogs, Hero Class 1-B!”

Izuku didn’t let up his cheers, making sure the others were validated. There were few in the class who’s quirks had sent Izuku’s mind reeling, namely Tokage and of course Shihai. It took everything in Izuku to not immediately interrogate another kin of the dark. He still noticed the looks Tokoyami gave him, but Izuku was waiting until at least after the Sports Festival to pester both boys with his questions. He wanted to know if he could create portals that Shihai could leap out from or if Dusk and Dark Shadow were similar or complete opposites in their nature. To say his curiosity had yet to be satiated was an understatement.

The other classes are announced, and Midnight takes the stage, and he doesn’t miss the way she sends a reassuring look Hitoshi’s way. She calls forth the student representative              and Izuku has to stifle a laugh as Kacchan takes the stage and essentially declared war on the entire school, his confident grin staying firmly in place as hundreds booed. But Izuku could only cackle and whoop his best friend off. The students attention then turned to the screens where the Preliminary was announced as an Obstacle Race, four kilometres around the stadium. Izuku watches anticipatory as Midnight announces the start and the students rush forward.

Immediately they are squashed within the narrow corridor leading to the first obstacle, and it’s only a manner of seconds before ice covers the entire ground, immobilising dozens of the contestants. A dazzling slide of ice shot out the other end of the corridor with Todoroki riding along it with ease. A familiar burst of light followed and Kacchan came flying out the corridor with a roar, followed by Yaoyorozu who had vaulted over the crowd.

The trickle of students let by majority of 1-A finally arrive at the next obstacle, a mass of villain bots similar to the ones from the Entrance Exam. Izuku stifled a snort at Hitoshi’s grimace, and he could practically hear his boyfriend complaining about them. A pair of zero-pointers slowly advanced toward the students but Todoroki raced ahead and within a matter of seconds, froze them both in place. His Pops was rambling something about teamwork but Izuku knew he was wrong and proved right in a manner of seconds when the robots begun to tremble and the ice shattered in a dazzling mist. Had any other student been trapped under the falling robots, Izuku and his parents would’ve been on the ground in a matter of seconds. But thankfully, it was only Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, both of whom were more than capable of handling the situation. Izuku curiously stared as Hitoshi seemed to grab a metal plate from an exploded robot courtesy of Kacchan, and Izuku’s mind was reeling over trying to think why Hitoshi was bothering to haul such a large piece of metal with him. It would definitely slow him down but Izuku trusted Hitoshi’s instincts.

He chuckled softly as more and more students reached the next obstacle, the Pit^TM, and while many stopped to assess the situation, others soared ahead.  Kacchan flew over with a manic cackle, leaving starburst explosions and the scent of caramel in his wake. Todoroki had launched himself into the air with a massive diagonal pillar of ice and the pair made it over the massive drop and overlapping wires in seconds. But Izuku burst out laughing as Hatsume soared over the drop with a jetpack and shouting out merchandise lines. He had visited the Support Department at the start of term, and she was the very person who’d made his staff. No matter what people thought of her presentation, Izuku would always remain a loyal client to Hatsume Industries.

His cheeks reddened and he grinned as he watched Hitoshi crawl awkwardly, his arms and legs wrapped onto a wire with a white-knuckle grip. Izuku was happy to see that despite it all, Hitoshi was safely in nineteenth place so far. All he had to do was survive Izuku’s favourite part of the race… the minefield. Izuku cackled wildly as Kacchan ran right onto the field without care and was sent reeling back with a bright sparkling force of pink iridescent smoke. Todoroki slid along a ramp of ice into a similar fate. It took a few minutes for both boys to stop using their quirks and begin carefully making their way carefully around the small lumps in the land. It didn’t take long for more people to join and figure out what the obstacle was when pink clouds exploded in their faces.

Kacchan and Todoroki were two thirds through the obstacle when movement at the beginning of the minefield caught Izuku’s attention. He squinted slightly and was surprised to see Hitoshi squatting down and using the metal plate he had secured earlier to dig a large hole into the ground. And then it clicked. All Izuku could do was grin, he had such a smart and crazy boyfriend.

---

Hitoshi was surprised he had done as well as he had so far. He didn’t want to use his quirk in at least the first round and possibly the second if he could risk it. The less people who were aware of the intricacies of his Brainwashing, the better. Hitoshi was glad not as many people would be watching the Festival this year. Other than the hiccup in the narrow alley were Todoroki just had to freeze everyone and the freeze the fucking zero pointers. Because sure, the Entrance Exam was biased, why not just do the same thing for the Sports Festival, great fucking idea Nedzu.

Either way, thanks the bulldozer that was Kirishima and a similarly quirked person from 1-B, who kind of looked like one of the people who’d cornered their class the other day, Hitoshi was able to run through the metal rubble. Something about a rather flat yet sturdy metal plate with a rubber tube attached called out to him, and he wasn’t one to doubt his instincts. And thankfully he was right. He knew garnering attention wasn’t the point of being an Underground Hero… but part of him, an undying burning part, wanted people to see him succeed, someone that they never even expected to make it to the next day let alone all the way to U.A.

But he was going to do well in the Sports Festival, if not to prove everyone else wrong, then at least for Izuku. A tiny thought filled his mind of sweeping Izuku off his feet while Hitoshi donned the first place medal and then carry his adorable green haired wonder to the cat café, the sun setting behind them. So what if he watched a bunch of romance movies and imagined the couple as him and Izuku, sue him. And so what if Izuku was a walking tank hidden under a cinnamon role smile, but Hitoshi had enjoyed the few moments he had been able to fluster Izuku. Just that morning, he had placed his arm on the locker behind Izuku and leaned over him. Hitoshi always knew red and green either clashed or blended, and fuck, did a rosy blush blend perfectly with Izuku’s perfect green curls. So again, sue him if he wanted to win this whole thing for Izuku.

That’s how Hitoshi found himself hunkering over the ground as other contestants passed and threw him strange looks, digging into the ground wildly with a manic glint in his eye. But if this worked, then it would all be worth it. Hitoshi grinned as he dug up a third mine, carefully extracting it from the ground and placed it on the steadily growing pile of thick discs. He dared to risk a glance up and saw Bakugo neck to neck with Todoroki, but still a considerable distance from the finishing line. Iida blitzed past him and promptly fell over in a pink cloud and a few minutes later Uraraka and Tsu passed him with curious looks, but he was too busy placing mine number twelve on the pile. Only then did he take a step back, wrapping the rubber tube around his arm and using the metal plate like a shield. He took a few steps back, assessing the distance before taking a deep breath and running forward, leaping into the pile. He braced himself for a few seconds and when he heard a gentle whirring sound, Hitoshi squeezed his eyes tight and braced himself.

Before being rocketed into the air.

The wind whipped through his air as he flew upward, the metal under him shaking under the force of the explosion. All he could hear was the air whistling past him, but he dared to peak over the metal. Hitoshi’s eyes widened as he realised how high up he actually was but was giddy that he was indeed soaring past the competition. But he was beginning to fall too soon and if he continued as he did then he’d still not make it past Bakugo or Todoroki. Sure he’d get into the next round, Izuku had told him he just had to place in the top forty, but Hitoshi wanted to win. As he fell closer and closer, he noticed that Bakugo and Todoroki where still walking carefully while trying to trip one another with a sly use of their quirks rather than all out attacks. Hitoshi eyed the quickly approaching ground and the lumps still on them, tightening his grip on the rubber tube as he fell. His muscles burned as he flipped the metal sheet over his head and just before crashing into the two boys, Hitoshi managed to plant both his feet on either of their backs. They stumbled but Hitoshi knew the two could deal with his weight. He wasted no time in swinging the plate down right into the mines between their feet before he was shot forward once more.

Bakugo and Todoroki were sent flying to the sides while Hitoshi was sent rocketing forwards. The tube snapped under the pressure, and the sheet went veering away as he flew forward, closer and closer to the finish line until…

“And the winner of the first round is Shinsou Hitoshi!” Izuku’s voice came over the speakers, before a flustered Present Mic snatched the microphone back.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi was shaking off the heavy clap on the shoulder Iida had given him as a congratulations when he was full bodied tackled to the ground. Half ready to retaliate by twisting the offender onto the ground, he froze when he saw a wide grin a green curls.

“Congrats Toshi, you did so good!”

“Thanks Zu,” he mumbled, red faced and doing his best to ignore Uraraka’s giggles and Iida’s flustered attempt to somehow scold someone his age who was also a TA.

“Yamazawa, I ask that you please give Shinsou some space, canoodling is not a activity to be done in public.”

“Canoodling? Really Iida,” Hitoshi groaned as Izuku helped him stand.

“I think he’s just jealous,” Izuku said, before leaning up to Hitoshi’s ear. “How long do you think till he confesses to Uraraka.”

“I’d be such a hypocrite if I bet on that… two weeks time.”

“I bet Uraraka is the one to ask first,” Izuku added.

“And when you lose? What do I get Izu,” Hitoshi asked, leaning in and dropping his voice as he said the other’s name, and was delightfully rewarded with a flaring blush on Izuku’s cheeks. For such an overpowered fighting machine with a mind of a megalomaniac, Izuku was adorable and so easy to fluster.

“Um…”

“EYEBAGS!”

“Shovel talk or second place talk?” Hitoshi asked, not daring to look behind where the walking explosion was coming from.

“Probably both,” Izuku said and he had the audacity to giggle as he detached himself from Hitoshi. Thankfully he didn’t run off, but he did manage to swaddle Bakugo in his capture scarf before the blonde could reach Hitoshi.

Izuku whispered something in his ear and Bakugo practically growled before turning to Hitoshi. “Keep it in your pants. And I’m coming for you in the next round! You better not disappoint!”

“Gotcha,” Hitoshi said numbly with a thumbs up. To be honest, he was proud enough to manage a word under Bakugo’s burning glare. But at least it was based in protectiveness and competitiveness than overall hatred and disgust. It was strange having a rival that didn’t actually want to beat him up but actually work to excel the two of them. And he sure as hell never would’ve thought Bakugo of all people would be that person. But ever since the first Heroics practical where he caught the other with his quirk, Bakugo had in his weirdly-endearing way made sure Hitoshi wasn’t collapsing after training and made sure he was using the right form.

But it seemed majority of that progress had gone down hill since he and Izuku had gotten together, with endless promises of pain from the blonde if he ever hurt Izuku. Jokes on Bakugo, Hitoshi would rather hurt himself than ever hurt Izuku. Before he could ponder on it anymore, the board lit up displaying the results.

1^st Shinsou Hitoshi
2^nd Bakugo Katsuki
3^rd Todoroki Shoto
4^th Kirishima Eijiro
5^th Yaoyorozu Momo
6^th  Ibara Shiozaki  
7^th Kaminari Denki
8^th Mei Hatsume
…
41^st Toru Hagakure
42^nd Aoyama Yuga

Hitoshi blanched slightly as his mum Midnight took the stage, whipping her staff out at the audience. “Such brilliant performances, but only the top forty two candidates qualify for the next round. And what will that round be?”

She flourished her whip, something Hitoshi was somewhat considering using, maybe a bullwhip rather than flail. Midnight’s action had the scoreboard disappearing and rather a graphic of heroes… climbing on another appeared, with the phrase ‘Cavalry Battle’ displayed above them.

“A Cavalry Battle. The qualifiers must form teams of two to four people. Each person will have a headband displaying a point value according to your placing in the Obstacle Race. The objective is to earn points bby stealing headbands from others teams. But not purposefully making an entire team fall out of bounds or cause serious injuries.”

Hitoshi briefly rested his eyes a moment as the adrenaline crash from the last round hit him like a truck and when he opened them, he was met with manic grins and glares. “What?”

Izuku chuckled softly and pointed to the board. It was showing everyone’s point value, seemed last place had five points, not too bad so it shouldn’t be…

Only his luck had to be this bad. The one time he wanted to be in the spotlight and win for Izuku, and he was branded with a goddamn target in the shape of a ten million headband. Of fucking course.

---

Izuku snacked on a jelly pouch as he stood on the sidelines of the stadium ground, looking casual and disinterested but he was anything but bored. His eyes flittered between students, assessing their skills, quirks, and capabilities in a matter of moments, determining weaknesses and vulnerabilities to exploit. It was coming down to the three minute mark and some people had still yet to formulate a team to their likening, unfortunately one of them was Hitoshi.

He tried not to be bias, give everyone his attention, but Izuku’s eyes kept wandering back to see how Hitoshi was doing. Last he saw, he had teamed with Uraraka and surprisingly Hatsume. It seems she’d been impressed with Hitoshi soaring, literally, into first place without ever using his quirk once. They could’ve stopped at just three of them, but Izuku noticed the way Hitoshi’s eyes searched around frantically, until it seemed they landed on someone. Perhaps, Izuku wasn’t the only one of the couple who wanted to engage in some revelry in the darkness.

Kacchan had, despite his denial and refusal to accept the obvious, demanded Kirishima to be on his team and even Izuku couldn’t help but laugh at Kacchan’s flustered face when the red haired boy had easily complied. The pair were quickly joined by Ashido and Sero, making for a versatile team that would definitely vie for Hitoshi’s current number one spot in the Festival. A few teams were surprising to Izuku light Iida, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki and Kaminari, but Izuku could see the merit in students and hoped they would work cohesively rather than clash with one another.

Both Kacchan and Hitoshi gave him confused looks when Izuku decided to stay on the sidelines, but Izuku wasn’t about to explain his presence there. That was Midnight’s job.

“Unlike the traditional Cavalry Battles, this year will have a slight… alteration,” Midnight began, making students freeze and stare at her wide-eyed. “Not only will you have to focus on stealing headbands and racking up points, but there will also be a team in the Battle who’s sole purpose is to upend progress and instil chaos. Everyone, please join me in welcoming U.A.’s incarnation of chaos itself, Yamazawa Izuku.”

It seems as if only the Hero classes had passed onto the Cavalry Battle because each was a familiar face, and each of them were looking over at him fearfully as Izuku simply smiled and waved back. It was going to be a very fun Cavalry Battle.

---

Shouta was tired. Nothing about Hizashi’s incessant cheering and commentary could do anything to give him the jolt of energy a good triple shot espresso could. But his personal coffee machine was out causing chaos among the students and Hizashi would scold him again for treating their son like a coffee delivery service. It wasn’t his fault that Izuku always seemed to know when Shouta needed a coffee, his kid had a sixth sense about it. But alas, Nemuri had just announced Izuku’s secret role, and his son would be too busy for the next twenty minutes to get him a coffee, so Shouta would just have to suffer. It seemed Class 1-A and 1-B had essentially split into teams without daring to interact with one another. Judging by his son’s disdainful look, Izuku was going to teach them all a lesson.

Hizashi was roaring into the microphone and Nemuri was brandishing her whip. Izuku was grinning.

This should be interesting.

The alarms blared and teams surged forward.

---

Predictably, all teams launched in the direction of Hitoshi’s team, but Izuku stood where he was. He planned to at least give the students just under half the time to wear themselves out and rearrange the point distribution before he intervened. Dusk was propped on his shoulder, getting accustomed to the brightness of the stadium and she yelped softly as Izuku whooped happily as Hitoshi’s team shot into the sky courtesy of Hatsume’s jetpack paired with Uraraka’s quirk.

But it seemed Kacchan was dead set on this rival thing of his with Hitoshi, because he shot after them too, technically attached to his team with one of Sero’s tape. But his attempts were futile when Dark Shadow managed to swerve in and slice the tape with one of their claws, sending Kacchan falling. The blonde was quick to right his balance and propel himself back to his team with a burst of explosions. Izuku watches as Monoma steals Hagakure’s headband and Todoroki glared as two teams collided with his in attempts to take his. It seemed as the other teams had decided against going for Hitoshi’s headband while they were airborne, except for faithful Kacchan. The blonde actually managed to send out a well-aimed AP Shot, a move he and Izuku had been practicing thoroughly. The explosion sliced through the air and exploded against Uraraka’s hover boot, bringing the group hurtling down enough for a shard of flying ice courtesy of Todoroki sliced through the jetpack.

Izuku supressed the snort as Hatsume cried about her baby, focusing instead on the leader board. It seemed as though things had been fairly even so far, quite a few people losing their headbands. Todoroki and Kacchan were pressuring Hitoshi for the ten million points. It was time for him to join in the fun.

He gave Dusk one final chin scratch before she leaped from his shoulder onto the stadium ground and begun growing to her full size. Once her talons were thick and digging into the ground, and her tail was barbed with its wicked ooze, Izuku climbed onto her back. One of his hands held deftly onto her fur while the other brandished his fully extended staff. With a gentle nudge of his foot into her side, Dusk let out an ear-splitting hiss. It rattled bones and instantly drew the attention of the teams. It seemed in their excitement, they’d forgotten he was going to be involved. Time to show correct that mistake.

Dusk leaned back, rearing her haunches before leaping forward and darting into the battle, her claws tearing chunks of stone in her wake. The first team they came across was Team Monoma and Izuku wasted no time in jabbing the end of his staff into the boy from 1-B with the air quirk, nullifying the team’s defence for enough time to let go of Dusk’s fur and use a shadow whip to snatch the headband off Monoma’s head and the pair darted off before the team could even recover.

The two proceeded to snatch the headbands from each team in a matter of minutes, leaping over quirks attacks and slamming the staff into students when they were in closer combat. Izuku even managed to tell Hitoshi he looked handsome, making the boy flustered enough for Izuku to snatch the ten million headband. Kacchan as always, proved to be the most challenging, but Izuku changed his tactics. Rather than attacking the team’s defence, Kirishima, Izuku slammed his staff into Kacchan’s forearms, making his wrists spasm enough that he wasn’t able to use his quirk. Izuku wrenched the headband from the blonde’s head,

Dusk leapt over teams and carried Izuku to the edge, the pair standing on the very sideline as the teams stood stock still, the audience out right cheering and laughing as Izuku just held every headband in the air, waving it temptingly at the teams.

“It seems we haven’t been pushing you all enough in training,” Izuku taunted. “That was just too simple, wasn’t it Dusk?”

She purred deeply, deciding to inspect her paw rather than grace the teams with her eye contact.

“Let’s have some fun shall we?” Izuku asked.

Swirling his other hand, Izuku stole shadows from the stands of the stadium and encased them around the headbands in a swirling cloud of mist. He tightened his hand into a fist and the cloud solidified into a jagged crystal sphere, thin enough for the headbands to be made out beneath the black surface. It dropped to the ground, eyes from the stadium following it. With a deep breath, Izuku thrust his arms into the air and the students yelped out as their shadows were snatched from their bodies. He’d been told it was  a disorienting experience, having something you’re so used to taken away, something you never realise it there till it’s gone. His Pops had once said it’s like your own heartbeat, something you can always hear but you simply never realise.

Either way, the feeling was confusing enough that no one was able to exactly react in time as their shadows gathered in a writhing mass in the centre of the ground, ten foot tall and at least the same in width. But when Izuku splayed out his fists into open palms, the cloud sharpened into a jagged spire, growing taller and taller, past the open roof of the stadium. A black crystal tower reaching to the heavens. With a soft giggle, Izuku flicked his wrist and the crystal ball by his side holding the headbands, flew up. it whistled as it rose before finally landing at the top of the tower, nestling itself amidst the geode.

“Go fetch,” he said simply, with a smug smirk. “Five minutes left.”

Chapter Text

Izuku was proud that Hitoshi seemed to be the first to recover and come up with a plan. He watched as he yelled to Uraraka to use her quirk on him and asked Dark Shadow to guide him. Hitoshi was lifted into the air with Dark Shadow tethering him back to their team. Kacchan took the same approach as when he attempted to nab the ten million headband originally, flying up with explosions whilst Serio tethered him to the team with a steadily growing piece of tape, the length still durable thanks to Izuku’s relentless training.

Todoroki seemed to recover next and judging by his team’s startled yelps, the others weren’t as prepared. The group were suddenly shot into the air as the heterochromatic boy lifted them up on a platform of ice, racing up to meet the other two boys, The other teams were either too startled or simply not adept enough to make their way up the tower. But Izuku wanted them to at least make an attempt, show a heroic spirit. With that in mind, he allowed small chunks of crystals fall of the tower and topple to the ground. When they hit the ground, they exploded on impact into waves of black ooze that flooded the grounds. The remaining teams scuttled about as the liquid slammed into them, sending icy chills rattling down their bones.

The waves simply parted around Dusk’s paws and while the teams on the ground were distracted, Izuku looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see Hitoshi was the first to reach the crystal ball atop the tower but was struggling to heft the large object from its position. Dark Shadow, stretched to their limit, tried to help Hitoshi wrench it lose but both of them lost their grip when an ear splitting explosion shattered not only the crystal ball but also the top portion of the tower, courtesy of Kacchan. Izuku tensed as Hitoshi fell, Dark Shadow dazed momentarily from the explosion. But the daze was short living as Dark Shadow shook back to life and snatched Hitoshi from the air. Kacchan had managed to snatch four headbands and Hitoshi managed to snag three while Todoroki only managed to grab two, the rest falling to the ground.

The three airborne teams dropped to the grounds, all bracing at the chill upon contact with the shadow waves. But one candidate stood out more than others. Izuku had noticed that Todoroki had been halfway to hypothermia and that was before he launched his team up on the ice platform. Todoroki had to be freezing, and when hit the bone-chilling iciness of Izuku’s shadows, he could only imagine how truly cold the either must feel. But what shocked Izuku the most, was that when the shadows waved into his team, Todoroki’s eyes widened and for a split moment, fire erupted from his left side but they spluttered out as quickly as they appeared. From across the battleground, Izuku and Todoroki locked eyes for a moment. But it was interrupted when Hitoshi’s team came running toward Todoroki with a hand outstretched to snatch a ribbon, but the timer rang out before contact could be made.

“Time’s up!” Auntie Nem called out and the teams around him slowly climbed down to the ground. “Let’s see what the scores are.”

1^st: Team Bakugo
2^nd: Team Todoroki
3^rd: Team Hitoshi

“Only the top three teams will qualify for the one on one rounds,” Midnight announced.

Dusk prowled over with Izuku on board toward Hitoshi and his team. He hopped down and hugged Hitoshi tightly. “Congrats Toshi!”

“Thanks Zu,” Hitoshi said, his voice weary and eyes tired. “You really made us work for it.”

“Yeah Yamazawa, that was so sneaky of you!” Uraraka whined, clutching her stomach. “Haven’t used my quirk that much in a while.”

“Don’t worry, you can go see Recovery Girl now. We’re doing a break for lunch anyway so we’ve got more than enough time,” Izuku reassured her.

“Could I get a ride?” She asked, pointing to Dusk but before Izuku could answer, Dusk hissed and backed away from Uraraka. “Guess that’s a no then.”

“EYEBAGS!”

Izuku watched in awe as Hitoshi was able to dodge Kacchan in time before the blonde crashed into him, instead he landed in a heap at Dusk’s paws. Unperturbed, Dusk grabbed Kacchan by the scruff of his collar and hefted him up akin to a kitten and didn’t let go despite how much he was cursing and kicking about.

“Calm down Kacchan, just let Dusk mama you for a moment. You know she loves giving you baths.”

“Fuck off Zuku. And let me fucking go hairball or I swear I’ll find an extra strong flashlight.”

He was dumped yet again at Dusk’s paws but quickly shot up to give Hitoshi a smug grin. “Take that Eyebags. How does third place feel?”

“Pretty comfortable, ten out of ten would recommend,” Hitoshi answered with a blank face, and Izuku relished in the way Kacchan’s eye twitched. Hitoshi really was so good at pushing Kacchan’s buttons, it was a sight to behold. “And like you said earlier, I’m coming for you in the next round, you better watch out.”

“Yamazawa.”

Izuku stopped his chuckling to turn at the reason the air had turned cold, staring back at those mismatched eyes. “Todoroki.”

“We need to talk.”

“It seems we do.”

---

“Interesting.”

That was not what Shoto was expecting. When he’d first come to U.A. he had assumed he would already be leaps and bounds ahead of the other students and he was right. Very few could match up to him in terms of raw power, namely Bakugo and maybe Kaminari if he learned to channel it correctly. Even Shinsou had a tactical and analytical mind that Todoroki found himself pondering about from time to time. But seeing Yamazawa, someone their age, in the position of a Teacher Assistant set off dozens of alarms for Shoto. He knew first hand how being that close to heroes could hurt, how it burned. And in the rare moments Yamazawa changed with them in the locker rooms, the scars riddling his pale skin had spun a story that was easy enough to read. So you couldn’t blame him for thinking that the one person he thought he could confide in was Yamazawa. The other boy had heard of quirk marriages, and his expression hadn’t changed once when Shoto spoke of his life, the kettle, Touya, even his training sessions with Enji. He wouldn’t let Yamazawa’s strangeness derail his speech now.

“In the Cavalry Battle, I broke a promise I made to myself years ago. I used my fire once, but no more. I will win this festival with my mother’s ice.”

“Todoroki, I’m not going to assume to know how you feel but I know what it means to reject your own quirk. My quirk is a result of a stress-induced manifestation, courtesy of my mother. I do know what it means to be hurt by those meant to protect you, meant to nurture you. What has happened to you is inexcusable, and I applaud you for still striving to be a hero despite it. Your father does not have a hold on you and… and if you want, you don’t have to stay under his thumb.”

“…I can’t, my siblings–”

“–Will receive the same safety and protection that you will,” Yamazawa interjected. “You’ve all lived your lives under his control and his anger. I know how that feels. And when I was in your place, when I was hesitant to accept the help, someone said something very powerful to me. Just because you can be fine and okay with your situation, doesn’t mean you have to be. The training, his hatred, all of it. Just because it’s what you’re used to doesn’t mean it has to be what you always live with.”

“How?” Shoto asked, surprised his voice didn’t fail him. Part of him didn’t want to trust the hopeful chance dangling in front of him, while another wanted to grasp it tight with both hands. “No one would believe us, he’s the Number Two Pro… we’ve tried before.”

“I know someone, a family friend really. His quirk makes it pretty helpful to believe you, not to mention he’s a well decorated detective. Add on to that, I’m Nedzu’s student and have already got a whole database on the negative public perception of Endeavour that can help with the lawsuits.”

“Lawsuit?” Shoto dared ask.

“Lawsuits,” Yamazawa corrected. “If I can’t physically kill him for what he’s done, I’ll at least do it legally. Looks like you’ll be the official third Ward of U.A.”

“I will?”

“Welcome to the family,” Yamazawa said cheerfully.

Frankly, the entire reaction was beginning to give Shoto whiplash, but he didn’t necessarily regret having ever told the other his truth. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, like he could breath freely without Enji cataloguing the potential of each air intake. Shoto could live, he could breath, he could just be.

“Can I ask you something Tod– Shoto?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Do you want to be a hero? Or was that Endeavour’s doing too?”

Shoto thought deeply on that. For the last few years, being a hero meant ruthless and merciless training, it meant toppling the Symbol of Peace, it meant distancing himself from his family and possible friends. But there was a moment before that, before all the brutality and hardships when he was just a child. Before it seemed like the world turned its back on him, back when he could watch the world through rose-coloured glasses. It had been a warm day, one without Enji’s presence in the house and one where Rei’s presence was still a daily occurrence. Shoto had been watching the hero news with her when All Might was on the screen, and all he could think of was that smile. It was so warm and welcoming, strong and brave. It told him he could be safe even in his darkest times. It was the smile the hero’s smile that he pictured as Enji rained insult after insult down on him, it was the thought of All Might rescuing them that got Shoto through night and after night of injuries. But now, here someone else was battering down the walls Enji built and dragging Shoto into the light. And still, it was a hero with a smile.

“I do. I… I want to be a hero that saves other who can’t yet smile, but will one day.”

“That sounds very noble to me Shoto. But that leads me to my next question. Will you use your quirk to do it?”

“Yes, I’ll use my mother’s ice.”

Yamazawa gave him what Shoto thought was a deadpan look, he wasn’t too sure, but it seemed similar to the face Shinsou made and he had overheard Kaminari call it that. In fact, Shoto had enjoyed overhearing a lot of what Kaminari spoke of, the blonde had  a soothing voice. It was Yamazawa’s sigh that broke him from his thought.

“Shoto… You’re aware of this from our session, where you were less than forthcoming by the way, but I’m a quirk analyst. Want to know something about quirks? They are never identical. Even if it looks like it is identical to your parents, a quirk is always different in some way, shape or form. If we use my quirk as an example, I don’t know my father’s quirk, but my mother had a weak form of telekinesis. Some say I have a developed formed of that where it’s umbra telekinesis. With me so far?”

Shoto dumbly nodded.

“You’re a similar case. Rather than simply an advanced form of either your parent’s quirks, you developed an advanced combination of their quirks that create a balance and achieve temperature regulation. From what you’ve told me, I assume other than Touya, you have the hottest flames of your family. And possibly the coldest ice too. It’s not two separate quirks that are identical to each of your parents because that is simply not possible. You have one quirk, a quirk that is yours and solely yours. And if you want to be the hero you say you do, you have to learn to accept that. Because I don’t want you risking not just your life but the lives of citizens and victims because you refuse to use an aspect of your quirk.”

“I… then maybe I shouldn’t be a hero.”

“You know what I’ve heard All Might say before?” Yamazawa said, placing a grounding hand on Shoto’s shoulder. “That true heroes have an instinct in them that makes them act before they think. When my shadows hit you, instead of cowering, you activated your fire. Whether unconscious or not, you warmed yourself and others around your for survival and managed to push the shadows away at least a metre. I may have my own opinions over the it, but by All Might’s definition, you already are a hero Shoto. I just want to make you the best hero you can be.”

And finally, after what seemed like years, Shoto let himself cry in front of someone that wasn’t Fuyumi.

---

Hitoshi had his chopsticks halfway to his mouth when he stopped, and raised a brow at Izuku who was bringing a sheepish looking Todoroki behind him. “Bringing strays home already? Thought that was something people did when they at least lived together.”

“Hush you. Shoto here is a soon-to-be Ward of U.A.,” Izuku exclaimed with too much joy for what his words really meant. “Can you keep him company while I get him some lunch, you both need to eat before the next round. Cold soba right.”

Todoroki seemed lost in thought a moment before nodding and sitting at the seat opposite Hitoshi, giving him a gentle nod that Hitoshi returned.

“You’re a Ward also?” Todoroki asked.

“My foster parents were a bag of dicks, Izuku and Aizawa-sensei found out and now I live with Midnight. I’m interested to see who’s going to take you in,” Hitoshi said, noting the way Todoroki seemed to both relax and tense at his words. “They aren’t like him. Izuku didn’t have to tell me a thing. I wasn’t joking about the stray thing. He can sniff out people with issues, people ‘without homes’ and finds somewhere for them. He did it for Dusk, for me, for you. He’ll probably end up bringing in at least five more people by the end of the year.”

“I am not a stray. I am a human being.”

“It’s a figure of speech.”

Izuku returned with a tray holding a bowl of Katsudon alongside a dish of cold soba and dipping sauce. Todoroki happily accepted the meal, his shoulders becoming fully relaxed when Izuku returned. Hitoshi was right. Todoroki was definitely one of the strays.

Chapter Text

Izuku was on his way to sit with Class 1-A in the student stands with the one-on-one’s were only a few minutes away. Hitoshi and Kirishima had gone down earlier to the waiting rooms to prepare and Izuku thought to take the time to make sure Todoroki was doing okay. And as usual, when he thought others needed comfort, Izuku had brought Dusk along. The rest of the class had seen her enough that only Koda and Mina were the ones to coo. Shoto and Dusk seemed to enter some sort of stare off when Izuku stopped to stand in front of him, all three of them silent until Shoto looked up at him.

“Was she a stray? Shinsou mentioned you take in strays.”

“Yeah, she was,” Izuku said softly, placing Dusk on his lap despite the protest in Shoto’s eyes. “She was a regular Bengal cat before, badly injured. I helped her out, hence the colouration. But animals in general are great, you should ask Koda about them. I’ve been recently feeding these birds that gather on the roof of the teacher dorms. Now that you’ll be there, the four of us can go there together.”

“Four?” Shoto asked.

“You, me, Hitoshi, and Dusk.”

“Ah. Dusk, of course.” Shoto warily raised a hand and gently placed it on her coat. Izuku sent her a mental warning to be nice, and he swore that if she could, Izuku would be watching her role her eyes. “Will I be returning to the house tonight?”

“Not if I can help it. If it isn’t all sorted out by the end of the Festival, you can have sleepovers at mine until it’s wrapped up.”

Shoto raised a brow. “What is that? A sleepover.”

“Oh… my poor sweet Canadian flag. Endeawhore really did a number on you.” Izuku smiled at the soft snort the other gave. “It’s just where you stay for the night at a friend’s house, just having fun and relaxing. No training, no education. Just good vibes and great times. Me and Kacchan usually bake and sometimes play videogames.”

“Um… what are videogames?”

“Let’s just focus on the matches for now,” Izuku placated, mentally preparing the end of Enji Todoroki whilst also pondering what types of games Shoto would like. He seemed like a guy who could get heavily invested in pre-quirk games. Maybe Izuku would lend him his Animal Crossing games. It would definitely help Shoto get out of his shell.

His planning was cut short by his Pops’ loud voice blaring over the speakers.

“WELCOME BACK LISTENERS TO THE FINAL ROUND,” Present Mic cheered to the crowd, garnering screams and echoed cheers back. “I know you’ve all be excited for this one, the famous one-on-one battles. Our amazing Midnight will be overseeing each fight and our brilliant Cementoss is nearby to expertly fix any damages caused. So let’s go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!”

The crowds roared and even the students were clapping and cheering.

“First up, we’ve got the sturdy competitor, the one to already have a trademark catchphrase, Class 1-A’s, Eijirou Kirishima!” The red-head walked onto the battleground, waving at the crowds and sporting his sharky grin. “Up against, the mysterious mockingbird, the one who’s got a way with words, also from Class 1-A, Shinsou Hitoshi!”

He didn’t care if he scared of shocked the students around him, Izuku was standing on his seat, clapping and cheering as loud as he could. Yet after a moment, even Uraraka stood on her chair and cheered for Hitoshi, even Iida awkwardly raised a fist into the air despite mumbling about social decorum. Shoto gave him an assessing look for a moment before he too joined Izuku in standing on his chair and cheering for Hitoshi.

Midnight seemed to ask the boys if they were ready and after a nod from them both she raised her whip into the air. Kirishima braced himself, his stance strong but cemented in place whereas Hitoshi opted for lowering his centre of gravity, ready to spring in whatever direction he needed. If you’d asked Izuku just after the USJ who would win, he would’ve said Kirishima. But in the few weeks since, his boyfriend had made spectacular progress in his training, learning new psychological tactics to elicit response. So while Kirishima may have a combat oriented quirk and clear muscular advantage, Hitoshi was as always a wildcard that others would regret underestimating.

She dropped her whip and Kirishima’s skin hardened into it’s tough jagged state and he barrelled forward with a ferocious grin. Izuku watched intently as Hitoshi lowered himself somewhat closer to the ground and as Kirishima came in close with a fist cocked back, Hitoshi leapt into the air. He grabbed onto Kirishima’s neck and swung himself onto the red-heads shoulders. Izuku cackled, it was just how he had dealt with the bull Villain from the USJ.

But judging by the shock on Hitoshi’s face, it seemed he was having a tough time staying on as Kirishima bucked and tried to throw the other off his back. But Hitoshi interlocked his ankles and tightened his thighs. Hitoshi leant back, forcing Kirishima to stumble backward from the weight toppling his balance.

Hitoshi eyed the boundary line that they were nearing, preparing to attempt a toss before he yelled out as hardened hands dug into his thighs. Izuku watched intently as Kirishima was able to wrench Hitoshi from his back and toss his boyfriend across the battleground. But the fight wasn’t over. Hitoshi scrambled up, eyes running over Kirishima’s form and when Izuku saw his boyfriend’s beautifully feral grin, he knew Hitoshi had this fight in the bag.

 He gave Kirishima no more time to plan, running forward with the grin still plastered on. One thing he had noticed about Kirishima, was that his Hardening while able to spread across his entire body, could increase in durability and thickness. He’d seen the read head tank direct explosions from Bakugo with what seemed to be extra reinforced hands. But the downside, one Hitoshi had only noticed moments ago, was that other parts of his skin would become softer and weaker than normal. He saw it in the way Kirishima winced at simply dust brushing past his exposed ankle. Such focus on defending his entire body, that the smallest point would be his downfall.

Just before he was a few paces in front, Hitoshi thought another precaution would help him win the round. “Bakugo huh? You like ‘em feisty and blonde?”

As Kirishima’s face turned red enough to match his face, he went to retort but quickly clamped his hand over his mouth. But that is what he wanted. Hitoshi crouched and swept Kirishima’s legs out from under him and before Kirishima could even finish toppling to the ground, Hitoshi braced his hands behind him and shoved both his feet into Kirishima’s chest. He flew back and Hitoshi scampered to a stand, breathing heavily but ready to come up with another move, another plan, another distraction, something to–

“Kirishima Eijirou is officially out of bounds. Shinsou Hitoshi wins the match!” Midnight said, and Izuku could even see the fond proudness she threw Hitoshi’s way as he limped toward Kirishima.

The two boys walked out the stadium together, with Kirishima somehow still smiling despite his loss. They had arrived in the student booths and not one second passed before Izuku was wrapped around Hitoshi like a koala, screaming in his ear.

“Toshi! You did so amazing, that leg sweep at the end was perfect!”

“I know right, caught me off guard so well Shinbro,” Kirishima added, punching the air with a grin. “We’ve got to spar again sometime dude, you’re like all flippy and agile.”

“Heh, thanks. Good match Kiribro”

Kirishima’s smile brightened even more before Izuku saw Kacchan come up behind him. Tapping his shoulder, Kirishima turned. “Bakubro?”

Izuku tried ever so hard to watch as his best friend worked through his emotional constipation in that moment.

“Shitty H– Kirishima. You did good. In your fight. Don’t get pissed off or whatever. There’s always next year.”

What Izuku hadn’t expected was for Kirishima to wrap his arms around Kacchan’s waist and hoist the boy into the air, spinning him around. “Bakubro, you’re so kind!”

“Whatever Kirishima, just… just wanted to say something. I got to go prepare for my match now with that fucking Pink Cheeks. That girl is the Devil, her punches are fucked.”

“Meaning?” Hitoshi asked.

“You ever been punched by something that has no gravitational resistance?” Kacchan asked. “I swear, some of these idiots seriously underestimate her, fucking telling me to go easy on her because she’s a girl. Sexist fuckers. Have they never heard of Mirko? Ryukku? Fucking Midnight, you know, one of our fucking teachers?”

Izuku snickered softly as some of the class seemed sheepish at Kacchan’s raising words. “Either way, I’m rooting for you Kacchan.”

“Got to disagree with you there Zu,” Hitoshi said, making no move to remove Izuku from him. “Uraraka’s got this in the bag. Bakugo is right, she’s got a nasty uppercut. I like you Bakugo, but she’s going to wipe the floor with you.”

“You scared of having a rematch in the next leg Eyebags?” Kacchan asked, the familiar fiery spirit back in those red eyes.

“Not in the slightest Sparky,” Hitoshi retorted. He sat and Izuku moved to the seat beside him, turning to drape his legs over Hitoshi’s lap and leaning his head back to rest on Shoto’s shoulder. He gave Kacchan one final wave before the blonde went to prepare for his match.

But before he could focus on the battle to come, Izuku became distracted by the drop in temperature in the student booth. Izuku peered over his shoulder at the hard set glare on his friends face. “Shoto?”

“… He’s here. I didn’t think he was going to show,” Shoto said in a soft voice, eyes dead set at a spot across the stadium.

Izuku followed Shoto’s gaze until it landed on the walking trash fire. He grumbled under his breath and shot a message to his parents, giving them yet another update regarding the Todoroki Shoto situation, only hoping someone could get Endeavour off the U.A. grounds without the man making a spectacle. But that was like asking Dusk not to want attention. Nigh impossible.

“Hey. You’ve got me now. Whether my parents accept it or not, I’m taking over brotherly duties. So if that flaming asshole wants to chat, he’s got to get through me.”

“Us,” Hitoshi added. “Ain’t letting that idiot take you away candy-cane.”

The barest flicker of a smile tugged at Shoto’s lips and Izuku counted it as a win.

---

Katsuki was in Recovery Girl’s office, gently massaging his wrists from the phantom aches as he Pink Cheeks wrapped up their conversation. He was sure he’d win, but she had given him a run for his money, but he walked out with a win under his belt and a new sparring buddy for when Zuku and Eyebags were busy making out or being disgustingly clingy. Plus, she wasn’t that annoying, even being a bit of a cocky shit herself sometimes which he could respect. Maybe he could confide in her, someone other than Zuku and his Dad. Although he would rather die than admit his old man was the go to for advice on… feelings.

“Oi, Pink Cheeks. Got to ask you something.”

“Hm,” she said simply, resting on the bed next to his with a cool rag over her head and a bowl beside her. Her nausea was slowly dissipating and the pair had time before the next match considering how much damage their battle had caused.

“You like anyone?”

“Goddamnit, alright, who told you? Shinsou? Am I that obvious?”

Katsuki just raised a brow. But clearly she didn’t see.

“I mean, can you blame me? He’s so tall, and caring. I know everyone gets annoyed with how much of a rule follower he is, but it’s kind of endearing, you know? And have you seen him without his glasses on? I almost floated away when I first saw. And his voice, can you imagine that authoritative tone just commanding you to–”

“URARAKA!” He interrupted, his face as red as a tomato. “Fucking hell, you’ve got it bad. For Iida? Really? I don’t see it but good for you.”

“Wait… you didn’t know?”

“No, not till you just spewed your heart out. You’re a horny fucker Pink Cheeks.”

She threw the rag in his face and slowly sat up with a scowl, but it held no malice, and he could see the smile tugging at her lips. “So why’d you ask? Do you like someone Bakugo?”

“Fuck off. No. Maybe… no, definitely not. But how do you actually know? Like what are the signs?”

“Well,” she begun.

“Like, is it that weird feeling clenching in my heart. Because what the fuck is that? And I never get flustered right but tell me why he makes me feel like I don’t even know how to speak. It makes no fucking sense, he’s a dumbass idiot. Sure, his smile is… passable. And he’s not a total dickhead or something. But how do you know?”

“Bakugo–”

“And his fucking hair, don’t get me started. Everyone thinks it’s red, but did you know it’s actually black and if you look closely you can see the blend. Don’t get me started on that stupid fucking grin of his, always so goddamn bright and irritating. Makes me feel so weird and warm. But not warm like my quirk, makes my face warm. What is that?”

“I think–”

“Fucking Shitty Hair. It’s got to be a second quirk, right? Zuku didn’t buy it, but it’s the only explanati–” He was interrupted when a plastic bowl was thrown in his face. “What the fuck Pink Cheeks?”

“Can I talk now? Thanks. Look, I don’t understand how you don’t understand how basic emotions work so let me lay it out for you. You like Kirishima. Kirishima likes you, it’s clear as day to be honest. Do with that information what you will. Iida is about to fight soon and now that someone knows, I feel no shame in saying I want a good spot to watch. Catch you later… maybe with a certain someone on your arm, who knows?”

And with that, she left Bakugo in Recovery Girl’s office, his mind a whirl of thoughts, all of them centred around that bright sharky grin.

Kirishima… likes me?

---

The students all patted Iida’s back, some looking sympathetic while others were outright holding back laughter. The last five minutes he’d been turned into a walking display model for Hatsume Mei Industries, showing off a myriad of the mad inventor’s self-dubbed ‘babies’. Katsuki merely grunted in his direction, not truly able to formulate a coherent sentence. He didn’t think he could without somehow blabbing Kirishima’s name. Fucking Pink Cheeks had sent him sneaky grins and winks ever since he made it back from Recovery Girl’s. IT was starting to piss him off and he knew there was only one way to get her off his back. To make matters worse, it seemed that she and Zuku had somehow managed to have a conversation in the time he was away and now the fuckers were ganging up on him.

It came to a head when Kaminari and Tokoyami had left to prepare for their battle, and students begun rearranging where they were sitting. Lo and behold, Pink Cheeks practically shoved Kirishima into the seat next to Katsuki, but of course, the boy had no clue what he was doing to Katsuki by just sitting there. His presence couple with the looks from Pink Cheeks and Zuku was enough for him to finally make up his mind.

“Oi, Kiri,” he said, the nickname slipping out easily. “Hallway. Need to talk?”

“Everything okay?” Kirishima asked, dropping his voice low and fuck, if that deep voice with it’s concerning tone didn’t do something to Katsuki. Something he did not want happening in public at least. He simply nodded and practically dragged the guy into the hallway, making sure the door to the booth was closed behind them before turning his eyes fully onto Kirishima.

“I’m not good with this shit. Feelings are just strange to me. They’re something you can’t control, can’t really understand. They get in the way, make stuff more complicated and confusing than it needs to be. Understand?”

“Feelings suck, with you so far,” Kirishima said, and Katsuki was reminded that this guy wasn’t always as idiotic as he thought him to be.

“Good. And that’s why you annoy me so much.”

“Oh.”

“Not like that! See, I don’t know how to do this shit. You annoy me because you make me feel things,” Katsuki said, his voice going quiet. “Good things. Things I want more of.”

“Bakugo… are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Kirishima asked, taking a step forward. When did he get so tall, how did Katsuki never notice.

“Kiri… Eijirou, I like you. More than I’ve ever liked anyone. If you don’t feel the same, just tell me to fuck off and I’ll leave it, I won’t both–”

He was interrupted by a hand cupping his cheek and warm lips on his. Katsuki had always imagined kissing as rough, a battle of dominance and passion. But this… was soft. It was gentle, sweet but still all-encompassing. Enveloping. It was something unexpected but something he could easily get addicted to.

“Be my boyfriend Katsuki,” Eijirou mumbled, their foreheads resting together as their lips broke apart.

“Yes.”

Chapter Text

Fumikage didn’t just love the darkness like everyone assumed. The darkness was to him like oxygen was to water, like the water was to the river, the river to the sea. Darkness was a part of his integral being, a sentient aspect of his soul. Dark Shadow was the truest companion he could’ve asked for. Their cheeky, daring nature perfectly balanced his own nervous and stoic personality. They were life in the dark, his soul alive. No one ever understood their relationship. To others, Dark Shadow was just a quirk, just his power that he and thousands of others developed as children. But to him, Dark Shadow was a whole other being as well as a part of himself. He could not live without his companion, and they could not survive without him, It was symbiotic, synergistic. No one understood.

And then Yamazawa had entered on the first day of U.A.

Immediately, Fumikage had sensed something amiss with the boy, not to mention he was their age and somehow a Teacher Assistant for the class. And then in the Battle Training during their first Foundational Heroics class, Fumikage had been enraptured with the way the boy had flawlessly wielded the shadows to his will, the darkness somehow physicalising into three states of matter. And after all of that… they saw her. That mysterious and mystical cat clearly quirked by its appearance and sense of intelligence. The way she and Yamazawa interacted, silent conversations shared between the two, it felt… familiar. Like how he and Dark Shadow often spoke.

Ever since they’d witnessed the pair, Dark Shadow had been wanting to talk to Yamazawa, incessantly pestering Fumikage during class to approach the boy. And of course, the three days he had to be off school because of an illness where when Yamazawa conducted mandatory meetings with each member of the class, and his session had to be moved back until after the Sports Festival. It seemed almost impossible that someone else would understand, the intrinsic relationship with one’s own soul, but Fumikage hoped Yamazawa would.

But he couldn’t ponder on the possibilities of understanding, he had a battle to win. Across the battleground from him stood Kaminari, the blonde sporting a nervous grin. Fumikage gave him a respectful nod which noticeably eased Kaminari’s tension. Honestly, Fumikage admired all those in his class for who they were. He had bonded with Koda over a shared bird encyclopaedia, with Shoji over which of two bands were better, with Tsu over their shared animalistic instincts. Kaminari wasn’t left out either. Fumikage deeply admired how the blonde so quickly was able to move past his mistakes and failures with a smile and joke. Others laughed at his ‘whey’ mode but Fumikage knew shame when he saw it. He would laugh with the class and go on with the jokes but once it was done, Fumikage always noticed the broken look on Kaminari’s face, but the blonde kept going. That determination was admirable and Fumikage couldn’t have asked for a better opponent in his first match. If he lost, it would to someone he deeply respected.

“Are you ready my friend?” Fumikage said in a low voice as Midnight raised her whip.

“We’ve got this Fumi, I’ll cover you,” they responded, the voice echoing in his mind. If his suspicions were correct, it would be best to not let his companion out too soon.

The whip dropped and Fumikage leapt forward.

Kaminari’s eyes widened and he raised his arm to block his face from the jab Fumikage sent his way. He was relentless in his assault, letting fists fly down on Kaminari’s forearms, but he retaliated against Fumikage with headbutt. While Fumikage was slightly dazed, Kaminari was worse off. In the headbutt, he had managed to slice his cheek against Fumikage’s beak but thankfully not too deep. Still, he took the chance to sweep Kaminari’s legs from him and he leapt onto him, pinning him to the ground. Fumikage tried to keep his grip firm and dig a knee into Kaminari’s back to stop him from squirming but it was fruitless when he smelt the faint scent of ozone before Kaminari activated his quirk.

His body seized and convulsed as arcs of pain circulated throughout his body. The shock was temporary, but it left him dazed enough that he didn’t see the elbow slamming into his stomach until he was doubled over in pain, trying his hardest to keep his lunch down. Fumikage kicked Kaminari away and managed to scramble back, gaining his bearings as the two backed away from one another. Fumikage narrowed his eyes and studied Kaminari’s face intently, watching how the blonde seemed to start holding his breath.

“My friend, it’ll happen soon. I’m sorry for this but prepare yourself,” Fumikage whispered, lowering himself to the ground.

“No sorry’s Fumi,” their voice sang in his mind. “Got to keep you safe.”

“Indiscriminate Shock!” Kaminari yelled. Dazzling electrical currents flew wildly off his skin and fractured the air with it’s light. The faint ozone scent was now cloying and all encompassing. It travelled in arcs and waves over the ground, leaving cracked stone and divots in it’s wake. Fumikage prepare himself as the onslaught of electricity flowed toward him, waiting for the moment, the exact second until…

“Black Abyss!” Fumikage yelled out.

Dark Shadow screeched happily as blackness poured forth from his skin and materialised into his avian companion. In a matter of seconds, they wrapped their arms and body around Fumikage, layering and weaving their own form until he was covered head to toe in an armour of his own dark soul. The electricity crashed into them and Fumikage could feel the ache of it’s brightness on his companion, but as always, Dark Shadow’s protectiveness shielded him from the brunt of the attack. Fumikage counted the seconds tick by until the itchy burning finally relented and he called Dark Shadow back into his soul, his companion relaxing after the attack they tanked for him.

Fumikage stared across the battleground and was happy that his assumption was accurate. Across from him stood Kaminari with a dazed look and vacant eyes, weakly giving a thumbs up to seemingly no one while sporting a demented grin. He carefully approached the other and guided him past the boundary. Fumikage nodded respectfully to the crowd as they cheered but he honestly couldn’t care more about his win right now, focusing instead on helping to guide the speechless Kaminari to Recovery Girl. The electric blonde had known his limit but still tried to push further, tried to achieve more, such determination.

What revelry in the dark.

---

Izuku frowned. Something wasn’t right. Shoto had gone down a few minutes ago to prepare for his match and despite Izuku’s insistence, Shoto chose to go alone. But now, after Tokoyami and Kaminari had entered to their classes cheers and sympathy, Izuku couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Hitoshi had seemed to notice judging by how he kept a tight grip of Izuku’s hand and rubbed circles with his thumb, but Izuku was too worried to gush about how much he loved it.

And then it clicked. Across the stadium, where there was once a taken seat was now just a half melted pile of plastic.

Endeavour wasn’t in his seat.

Neither was Shoto.

The universe wasn’t on Izuku’s side at that moment, for he had not been keeping an eye on the time and now his Pops was calling Sero onto the stage and not a moment later did Shoto come walking in. And gone was the warmth they had cultivated in the last few hours, and in tis place was the familiar iciness that plagued Shoto’s heart. Endeavour had clearly done something in the moments they were alone, something to bring back the fear and anger in Shoto.

“Toshi.”

“I know Zu. I see him.”

“If he wins–”

“When,” Hitoshi corrected.

“When he wins… he will be up against you,” Izuku said gently. “I don’t want to stress you out but…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan,” Hitoshi said with a soft smile and it made Izuku’s insides all warm and fuzzy but that was upended when icicles were suddenly growing inches from his face from a whole glacier that filled the stadium. “Fucking Endeavour, flaming trash asshole.”

“You could say that again,” Izuku mumbled, tapping an icicle that could’ve very well skewered out his eyeball

---

He had been questioning everything. Sensei’s orders, the Doctor’s surgeries, Kurogiri’s very existence. None of it made sense with what he had been taught by his Sensei growing up. Society was corrupted, heroes had to be ruined and displaced, and U.A. had to fall as the institution it was…. Or so that is what he had been taught to believe.

Tomura Shigaraki.

Even his very name was under questioning.

Because of that mini-boss. Green hair and wielding darkness. Tomura hadn’t forgotten his words for a second. The images that were played to him in the darkness were constantly on his mind like a broken film reel, always constant and restarting again. Nothing made sense. It wasn’t possible, could not be possible, that he had a life before Sensei. He had been on the streets, he had been abandoned, the heroes did forget about him and left him to rot, to decay. Didn’t they?

But every night he was haunted by phantom embraces of a family he couldn’t remember and the affectionate barks of a dog he missed but never knew. His mind had been a whirl of emotions and confusion, and that’s how he found himself where he was now, in the basement of a Hero Agency in Hosu. Kurogiri had done little to question his requests, especially since the Sports Festival. Tomura was sure that the butler type Nomu knew something was wrong, but thankfully had done little to question the matter, choosing to rather fulfil Tomura’s every whim. Ever since the USJ, Tomura had been pondering the green haired boy’s words, wondering what his motive had to have been to have upturned Tomura’s entire life. He clearly wasn’t a student, his quirk was too well-honed and fighting style too polished. The only other chance Tomura would’ve had to catch a glimpse of his mysterious saviour menace was the Sports Festival, but of course that rat had made an announcement that footage would only be given to agencies and varying heroes who would want an intern or work studies student.

No one had disturbed him yet, but Tomura didn’t want to risk it so he grabbed a chair and placed it under the handle. Then replaced it with one of the sturdier armchairs. The agency was only for some low-level hero who barely made a name for herself, it wouldn’t be too much of an issue. A few clicks of a remote later and Tomura was lounging on the armchair with the Sports Festival on a low volume. His suspicions were confirmed when the boy didn’t appear in the first round at all, he was definitely not a student. But then that strange flirty hero announced the Teacher Assistant would join the Cavalry Battle and Tomura finally had a name to put to the face. Izuku Yamazawa.

Tomura… No. Tenko had a lot of questions, and he wasn’t so sure that Sensei was the one with the answers. The final round of the Festival went ignored, something about acid and the creation girl, as he simply thought back on his years living in the dingy bar. There were too many lies he was uncovering, too many times he was remembering being left alone while bruised and bleeding and Sensei had just left in a cloud of disappointment. But had had done things, unspeakable things, things that would definitely land him in Tartarus. But… he could try.

And maybe.

Just maybe.

If he reached out a hand from his hellish pit… Izuku Yamazawa would reach down and lift him out.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi was utterly, well and truly fucked. Of course, the one time he and Izuku manage to get past Shoto’s icy exterior has to be when the excuse of a Number Two hero does something to uproot all of that. And on top of it, Hitoshi was now up against Shoto in the next fight. Hitoshi had witnessed firsthand the glacial terror that managed to materialise in a matter of seconds, and 1-A’s master of mobility Sero was made completely immobile under the daunting pressure of Shoto’s raw power. Hitoshi may have wanted to win the Sports Festival for Izuku, but now he would most likely get hypothermia before he would even have the chance.

Izuku had pecked his cheek and given him good luck before moving to congratulate Mina for her win against Yaoyorozu, but now Hitoshi walked alone down the corridors of the stadium toward the student waiting room when the room started to become uncomfortable warm. Stealing a glance around, Hitoshi’s heart froze as he watched Endeavour stomp purposefully across the floor. Right towards him.

“You. You’re an interesting one. You managed to take down your opponent with skill and you performed somewhat adequate in the first round. You will be suitable competition for my Shoto. I expect you to fight hard, the boy needs to get over his petty rebellion and use my fire if he will ever surpass All Might.”

Hitoshi ground his teeth, and his lips were pressed into a thin line as the man continued spewing comments about his son’s inadequacy, each word making a part of Hitoshi crack and fester.

“He isn’t you,” Hitoshi said, silencing Endeavour’s tirade. “Shoto may beat me, he could surpass All Might and become the next Number One. He might do it all and be the greatest hero the world has ever seen. But he is not you, he is not the culmination of you nor is he the reason for your own petty failures. Shoto is a funny person, talented as hell, and one of my friends. I’m not about to let some second rate excuse of a hero to tell me or him what to do. Got it?”

“How dare yo–”

Hitoshi wasted no time in running past Endeavour toward the student waiting room where Cementoss was waiting to guide them to the battleground. He knew using his quirk on Endeavour was a risk, but Hitoshi wasn’t about to risk his life against the man. He had no clue where those words came from, but he sure as hell meant them all. Shoto will be an amazing hero, and he would do it in the Yamazawa household, not the Todoroki household. And now that he was protected by Cementoss, Hitoshi was back to panicking and regretting all his decisions, and wondering how in the ever loving fuck he was supposed to go up against Shoto.

Fuck winning, Hitoshi thought, his knee bouncing as he sat waiting. He needs help. Shoto needs to know that it’s his.

---

The phantom hand still burned on his shoulder from where Enji had gripped him. After the Sports Festival, his training would skyrocket, and the man was planning to remove him from U.A. and begin his internship early. Any offers from Izuku were gone under the crippling weight of Enji’s demands. Shoto would not risk it, not when he knew what would happen if the man discovered what Izuku was trying to do. So Shoto would take the punches and beatings, the cruel words and taunts if it meant none of them ever reached his brother friend.

Even Shinsou had managed to figure out something was amiss based on the narrowed eyes he kept sending to Shoto across the battleground. Shoto wasn’t exactly the best at reading other’s faces but since joining U.A. he had gotten better. Hitoshi’s face showed confusion and what seemed like… sadness. But that didn’t make sense.

Midnight and Present Mic were speaking but Shoto was simply thinking. He could end this match in seconds with an iceberg, trapping Hitoshi before he could move. End the fight before it begins with absolute maximum force, one of Enji’s tenets. But despite that burning ache and the knowledge of Enji’s eyes on him, Shoto couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was so lost in thought he had missed the whip dropping until Hitoshi was running toward him. There wasn’t enough space between them for Heaven Piercing Ice Wall without irreparably damaging his opponent, so Shoto slid his right foot forward and forming a three foot wall of ice. It wasn’t enough to stop Shinsou but did slow him down.

“That all Shoto?” Shinsou asked, leaping over the wall and coming within a few feet of Shoto.

He tried to shoot out another wall but gritted his teeth when Shinsou kicked his ankle roughly enough to make Shoto buckle somewhat.

“What happened? What did he say to you?” Shinsou asked, not letting up. The space was too close for Shoto to use his quirk, and he wasn’t expecting his opponent to have a decent level of fighting skills. Shoto was having to block and manoeuvre out of jabs and kicks, but it seemed to just make Shinsou madder. He wildly threw up ice walls after ice walls, not having enough space for more, but Shinsou kept leaping and grappling or diving away from them, never letting Shoto get to far. He erected a final ice wall behind him when Shoto noticed how close to the boundary line he’d gotten.

“You’re shivering,” Shinsou said, his body hidden by the maze of ice. “I get migraines when I use my quirk too much. Frostbite and hypothermia are nothing to laugh about… but you could avoid it all couldn’t you? Perfectly regulate yourself.”

“You know I can’t. I won’t,” Shoto spat out, his eyes whirling about and his breath coming out in puffy fog.

“I know what he’s done to you To– Shoto. I know what it means to be put under pain because of your quirk, something you want to reject and tear from your body. Our stories are different but the inherent truth of them is the same. And the same goes for so many others. But we are still giving it our all, I’ve been giving it my all against you but you’ve only been using half your power. You haven’t laid a hand on me yet.”

Shoto bristled and his fist became covered in ice as he slammed it into the closet wall, shattering it into glistening blue shards. He smashes more and more wall but still he cannot see Shinsou until a foot is planted into his back and he is sent flying forward into another wall, feeling his nose burst and flare with pain before something slick begun dripping down his face. He stole a glance behind him to where Shinsou was breathing raggedly, his skin goose bumped and pale in the inherent chill of the stadium.

“Why? Why’re you saying all this? Did he pay you off?”

“If you really think that low of me Shoto, then we aren’t the friends I thought we were,” Shinsou said, making Shoto’s heart ache strangely. “I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to become a hero, to be the person I needed when I was a child. Use your full strength Shoto. You can reject him all you want, but don’t let him hold you back from being the best hero you can be. The hero that little Shoto would’ve loved to watch. It’s your quirk not his!”

And in that moment, he is a child again. Before the kettle, when she was still there. Before Dad became Enji. It had been a warm day, the windows open wide while Shoto had sat with his Mum, watching a TV special about All Might. He had told the press that children should all use their quirks in their own way, even if they were inherited quirks. And his mother…. She had made him make a promise. How could he forget it after all these years. She wanted him to be the hero as he was, to always be true to himself. Not a prisoner of his bloodline, shackled by DNA. That he was fine to use his power to become the person Shoto wants to be.

The chill in the air vanished as fire erupts from left side and the stadium erupts into cheering roars, with Shinsou smiling widely at him.

“Pretty reckless of you, screwing about to help your opponent.”

“Hey, flashy quirks aren’t everything. I’m proud of you.”

Shoto allows himself to smile, ice and fire flowing from his body, a perfect elemental harmony. “Thank you Shinsou.”

“Call me Hitoshi,” he said, crouching low. “Now that you’ve accepted your quirk. “You ready for this?”

“Ye–” He was instantly enveloped in a warmth. Not the blazing burning warmth of Enji’s palms but a comforting one, a phantom blanket draped over his form and promising comfort and fortitude.

I’m sorry Shoto. I really am proud of you, and I really do want to be friends, so I hope you don’t hate me for this. Walk out of bounds.

He was aware of what Hitoshi’s quirk was, Shoto had heard some people say less than kind things about it and in that moment he was confused as to why. He was aware that he would lose this round and there were thousands of reasons he should be fighting back, but this warmth. This comfort, this protective aura that the Brainwashing brought on, it was unlike anything he’d experienced before. It was something he could finally relax into, something he could just let go of his anger and fear and just exist.

Shoto was slammed back to reality when he stepped over the boundary line to stunned silence of the crowd until….

“Todoroki is out of bounds. Shinsou wins!”

Shoto waited as Hitoshi awkwardly walked over to him, the crowds still silent except for one person that could be heard yelling and cheering, claps clearly coming from the green haired blob bouncing about in the 1-A stands.

“Hi,” Hitoshi said warily.

Shoto had seen the people in his class do a few things with their friends, and he really wanted to try one of them now. So he awkwardly threw his arms around Hitoshi and laid his head on the other’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” Shoto said softly. “I… I needed to hear all that. And if anyone offends your quirk again, I shall freeze them for you.”

“Uh thanks Shoto,” he said with a grin.

When the pair got back to the 1-A stands, they were both bombarded by Izuku hugging them tightly before checking them over for injuries, tutting when he spotted Shoto’s nose.

“I’ll take him to Recovery Girl, you rest now,” he told Hitoshi, pecking his cheek before herding him out stalls. The two walked silently a moment before Izuku broke it. “Are you okay?”

“Honestly, yes. I expected that if I failed in this, I would be scared or furious. But I feel light.”

“I’m glad. And despite the loss, I have some good news!”

Shoto looked at him with a raised brow at the door they were standing outside. “This isn’t the Nurse’s Office.”

“Granny is making her way here. I thought we should have a quick chat first with my parents.”

Izuku opened the door revealing the commentators booth where Aizawa sensei was sleeping against Mic sensei, the other man massaging his throat.

“Hey boys,” he said soft and quietly, turning his eyes to Izuku. “Now? Really? He has a broken nose Izu.”

“Please, he needs to know,” Izuku whined.

“Wait.” All eyes turned to Shoto, even Aizawa-sensei who had woken up. “Your parents are Aizawa sensei and Mic sensei?”

“Yup.”

“Oh. I assumed you were Aizawa sensei’s love child. Am I right?”

While the blood drained from Aizawa sensei and Izuku’s face, Mic sensei just laughed, his voice slightly rough. “Hilarious little listener. But unfortunately no, we adopted Izuku a while ago.”

“He could still be Aizawa-sensei’s biological father. Izuku do you remember your biological father?”

“Huh?”

“Aizawa-sensei, did you leave a woman pregnant fifteen years ago?”

“I’m gay Todoroki. Heavily so,” their teacher sighed, pointing to Mic Sensei’s face. “We’re getting off track. There was a reason you were brought here and it wasn’t to discuss Izuku’s parentage. More so… yours.”

And all the comfort he had been feeling up till that moment left in an instant. Shoto was suddenly aware of the ache of his nose and the crusting sensation of dried blood around his lips. A hand held his softly and Shoto looked to see nothing but kindness in Izuku’s eyes as he guided Shoto to one of the sofa’s in the room.

“Before we go any further, I want to let you know some things Todoroki,” Aizawa sensei began. “Firstly, would you rather the staff and I refer to you by your first name?”

After a nod, Aizawa sensei smiled.

“You’ve got it Shoto. Now… Izuku and Hitoshi have both aired their worries to me and Mic about your situation, but we would like to know more about it from you at some point. It doesn’t have to be now, we work at your pace, but we do need to know because of what we have planned.”

“Planned?” Shoto asked, and Izuku’s kind smile morphed into a sadistic grin very similar to Aizawa sensei’s.

“The legal takedown of Endeavour and media strategy to ruin his reputation and image,” Aizawa sensei said bluntly. “And in order to do so, testimonies would be incredibly beneficial. While we plan this, you will be made a Ward of U.A. and taken into Mic and I’s care. Your father signed over emergency foster rights to your homeroom teacher when he signed the paperwork at the beginning of the year, and thankfully domestic abuse counts as a reasoning to foster you. Your siblings will have a choice of moving to U.A. campus or a safehouse of our planning. Trust me when I say even Endeavour would not risk breaking in here or getting on Nedzu’s bad side.”

Izuku tightened his grip on Shoto’s hand and looked at him softly. “You don’t need to fight anymore, let us help you.”

Shoto pondered it over. This was a chance he had been dreaming for, wishing for years it could happen. But there were moments before, when police thought he lied, private tutors were too fearful to help, all chances at escape made null. Yet, something about the two teachers and Izuku’s eyes, told him that maybe, just maybe, he could trust them.

“Okay. When does it start?”

“I’ve already been in contact with Fuyumi and Natsou, they were waiting to see what you said,” Izuku said sheepishly. “Since they’re both adults but not technically old enough, they’re okay with us fostering you but they want to see you often. Not that we would restrict you or anything, I didn’t mean it like that. Just…”

“Izu, it’s fine, I’m sure he understands,” Mic sensei reassured. “Shoto, what do you say to having them over for dinner tonight? Hitoshi and Katsuki will most likely be joining us.”

“And Kirishima,” Izuku said with a sly grin. “He’s Kacchan’s new boo.”

“What is a boo?” Shoto asked.

Izuku and Aizawa snorted while Mic ran over and cradled Shoto in his arms, wailing something about ‘my precious baby’. Shoto had flinched somewhat when Mic wrapped his arms around him, expecting a tightening vice like grip, but it was just warm.

It was safe.

Chapter Text

Shoto opted to stay in the commentators booth with Aizawa and Yamada, both saying to drop any sort of honorifics when it was just them. Izuku had gone to sit with Hitoshi but Shoto didn’t want to risk seeing Endeavour and so he was happy to sit between his new… foster parents as they commentated on the fight between Bakugo and Iida. Yamada had asked who he thought would win the fight and Shoto had immediately said Bakugo. It wasn’t that Iida wasn’t talented, quite the opposite, but Bakugo could almost match his speed with explosions and it gave him far more manoeuvrability than Iida’s engines gave him.

Iida, regimented as ever, attempted to rush Bakugo with a Reciprico Burst but the explosive blonde waited patiently and leapt up when Iida was just in front of him, propelling himself over the taller boy with his quirk and kicking him square in the back. Iida floundered with his momentum and with the extra force courtesy of Bakugo, was sent stumbling over the boundary line. Bakugo gave the crowd a feral grin before begrudgingly helping Iida to a stand, the pair walking out together.

“How’re you doing kid?” Aizawa asked, handing him a bottle of juice.

Shoto accepted but kept it to the side. He’d only ever had water and tea before, and he was worried that Aizawa would be mad if he didn’t like the juice. Logically, Shoto knew that Aizawa wouldn’t do such a thing, but the fear still lingered.

“I am fine. I think. I’m not to sure, nothing exactly feels different yet.”

“I’m sure. I didn’t have the best home life when I was your age and when I finally got the help I needed, it didn’t really feel real.”

“When did it?”

“Two months in,” Aizawa said, nodding to Yamada. The blonde hyped up his commentary of Mina and Tokoyami walking onto the battleground, as Aizawa pushed his chair away from the mic and turned to Shoto. “I was made a ward of U.A. as well, but Nedzu became my parents. I was staying with him, and he was nice and caring and everything a parent should have been. But part of me was convinced it was all a front until everything else became normal again, until I felt pain again.”

Shoto nodded numbly. He knew that feeling.

“Two months into staying with him, I broke one of his tea sets. I knew how much he loved tea and I was terrified of what would happen. I was halfway through packing my belongings and having a panic attack when he found me. I honestly thought he was going to hit me before he just placed my hand onto his chest and made me follow his breathing. What I’m trying to say is, healing isn’t linear. Us taking you in won’t solve everything you’re going through, but it will lift a burden from your shoulders. All we want to do is let you live your life, give you the chance to be the kid you want to be, the one you never got to be.”

Aizawa ruffled his hair and Shoto found himself leaning into it. The man simply smiled and threw an arm around his shoulders, letting Shoto rest his head on his shoulder.

“Thank you Aizawa.”

“Anytime kid.”

His eyes began to slip close as Mina threw waves of acid at Dark Shadow and Shoto let himself fall into a peaceful sleep.

---

“Izu, make sure my funeral is nice,” Hitoshi groaned. “Lily arrangements, sombre music, the works.”

“You’re overreacting, it won’t be that bad.”

Hitoshi levelled his boyfriend with a glare.

“Okay it might be a bit bad,” Izuku said with an apologetic grin.

The fight between Mina and Tokoyami had been intense, with the two grappling as Dark Shadow swirled around shots of acid. Her flexibility was a good match up for Dark Shadow’s manoeuvrability. But somehow, Dark Shadow had grabbed Mina and tossed her at the same time she sent a glob of acid hurtling toward Tokoyami. The throw had been more powerful and Mina slammed into the walls of the stadium ground with a sickening crunch and Tokoyami screamed out as the acid hit his back before Dark Shadow intercepted. It meant that rather than the three person free for all that would’ve taken place, because neither of them were fit enough to continue according to Recovery Girl, the last round would be a final one on one. Between himself… and Bakugo.

Universe, why do you hate me? He groaned internally, catching the feral smile of the blonde across the stands. Hitoshi simply flipped him off and sunk deeper into his seat before something swatted his cheek. He looked up and saw Dusk peeking out of Izuku’s Present Mic hoodie. Izuku chuckled softly, stroking her chin.

“She says you’ll do fine. In fact she hopes you win.”

“Really?”

“She’s still a bit salty over some stuff Kacchan did in the past. She wants you to… um, shove his pride where the sun doesn’t shine. Her words, not mine.”

“I’ll do my best ma’am,” he said, giving Dusk a lazy salute. “I just hate knowing I’m still seeing him after the Festival is done. I can only take Bakugo in small increments.”

“If it helps, Kirishima will be there, so Kacchan will be… busy tonight.”

“Maybe we should be busy tonight?” Hitoshi asked, dropping his voice an octave and leaning in, relishing in the delicious blush that bloomed on Izuku’s cheek.

“Doing what?”

“I can think of a few things,” Hitoshi murmured, stealing a glance down at Izuku’s lips.

“Oi, Eyebags, calm it down you horny fucker, we’ve got a fight. Focus up,” Bakugo barked from his seat despite Kirishima trying to keep him sat.

“Damn cockblock,” he muttered, making Izuku chuckle. “That’s decided. If I have to fight him, I’m fighting dirty.”

“Give him hell Toshi.”

---

This couldn’t be happening. His brother was the pinnacle of what it meant to be a hero. He was kind, just, caring. He donated majority of his salary to charities across Hosu. Iida Tensei was one of the most noble people Tenya had ever known, the one he wanted to emulate.

And the fiend, the monster… Stain….

Paralysed. Paraplegic. No longer Ingenium.

No longer a hero.

Tenya would do what his brother couldn’t. He would end the Hero Killer.

No matter what the cost.

---

Hitoshi clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly as he walked onto the battleground, Bakugo ahead of him. Somehow against all odds, Hitoshi had made it to the final round of the U.A. Sports Festival, a feat he never could’ve imagined achieving. But here he stood, a hero-in-training, with an amazing boyfriend and perfect friends who all accepted him for who he was. Even Bakugo, the person who was likely to beat him to a pulp, was an unlikely friend. Or rivalry, depending on who you asked.

“Ready?” His Mom asked them, brandishing her whip high. She sent him a quick conspiratorial wink when the two boys nodded before dropping her whip, and the battle begun.

Bakugo immediately propelled himself forward and Hitoshi was thanking his lucky stars that he was dating his opponent’s best friend. The right hook was the expected move and Izuku had prepared him for it. Lobs of crystal shadows hurled at him were the same speed as a feral Bakugo, so Hitoshi’s agility and flexibility were working to his advantage in that moment. Hitoshi dodged to the left, forcing Bakugo to overextend himself. He grabbed the blonde’s wrist, being careful to not get close to the sparking palms and yanked hard. Bakugo toppled forward slightly but planted his free hand against Hitoshi’s leg. The searing sparks had him tumbling but Hitoshi refused to let go of Bakugo’s wrist and in turn, brough the other boy toppling to the ground with him.

They fell into a tangle of limbs, but Hitoshi was prepared. They were positioned almost upside down from another, with Bakugo’s head by his legs. Hitoshi used it to his advantage and wrapped his thighs around his neck, squeezing tightly and making Bakugo splutter. Bakugo gripped his legs, nails digging into Hitoshi’s skin, but he only tightened his grip making the blonde turn slightly blue. But then he used his quirk and Hitoshi had to wrench his legs back before they burned further. Bakugo managed to shove him back with a kick to the chest and the two scampered back to a stand, their chests heaving.

Bakugo ran forward and begun a rapid flurry of jabs that Hitoshi focused on parrying, swatting strikes away from him and disrupting their flow of movement in a series of move Aizawa-sensei had taught him. it was all based on redirection of attacks rather than purely blocking them, ensuring that his forearms wouldn’t be on fire at the end. Hitoshi managed to actually grab Bakugo’s right arm and twisted it behind his back, making the blonde yell out.

“Want to end it here Blasty?”

Bakugo remained tight-lipped, not willing to slip for his quirk, and somehow despite Hitoshi yanking his arm tighter, Bakugo managed to let out a relatively weak explosion but Hitoshi instinctively loosened his grip at the sudden heat and that was enough for Bakugo to wrench himself free and gain some distance between the pair.

Hitoshi matched Bakugo’s grin and leapt forward, feinting to the left and when Bakugo moved in that direction, he launched an uppercut, catching him in the chin. Bakugo reeled back but Hitoshi pushed his offensive, not giving his opponent a moment to propel away. He made sure that Bakugo was too busy keeping his arms up to block strikes to try and use his quirk and Hitoshi was banking on that continuing. But he underestimated how talented Bakugo was as the blonde managed to spin on his heel and kick his leg out, his foot sinking into Hitoshi’s gut.

He prepared himself for another blow but instead, Bakugo launched into the air, flying higher and higher with caramel scented explosions. Hitoshi wished he had Izuku’s capture weapon right now, maybe he could convince Izuku and Aizawa-sensei to teach him how to use it. Bakugo wasn’t likely to fall for his quirk, unless he went the unconventional route. And it seemed like it would be the only route available.

“You know,” Hitoshi called out, loud enough just for Bakugo to hear, hoping this would work. “I’m not too sure I want to do this anymore.”

Even from his spot in the air, moving from side to side with explosions to maintain his height and momentum, Hitoshi could see the confusion in Bakugo’s eyes.

“This has been fun and all, but I want a better opponent. You’re just not, how should I say this, what I deem a hero,” Hitoshi said. He did appreciate his friendship with Bakugo and if this worked, Hitoshi would definitely be apologising until the explosive blonde didn’t feel like murdering him. “Can someone like you even be a hero? A bully?”

Bakugo’s face cracked. “I–”

His eyes went glassy and Hitoshi knew he had him. “I know you can hear me, so firstly, I’m sorry. I don’t think that about you Bakugo. But I have to do this, you know I do. So come to the ground and walk out of the boundary.”

It took all of ten seconds but to Hitoshi it felt like a millennia before Bakugo took the final step and the clouded eyes faded back to their deep red. Hitoshi was terrified. Despite his flaws, Bakugo had accepted him. He wasn’t scared of Hitoshi’s quirk, hadn’t made any truly derogatory comments toward him, actually vouched for him at times. But when he met eyes with Bakugo, the blonde simply breathed deeply and nodded at Hitoshi with a slight grin. And his gaze flicked down to Bakugo’s hands.

We’re good Panda, Bakugo signed. Congrats.

That confused him a moment until it finally registered in his mind.

“Bakugo is out of bounds. Shinsou wins!”

---

The medal ceremony passed by in a blur, but the moment All Might of all people said he was proud of Hitoshi before placing the golden medal over his neck would be a memory he would always treasure. And now here he found himself, staring at the metal disc in his palm as he sat in the back of a mini van with Izuku sleeping by his side. He never imagined that Kayama Nemuri of all people owned a minivan, but his new mother was surprising him every day. Hitoshi didn’t know what to expect living with a pro would be like, let alone pro hero Midnight. But it was a persona. The two had had long conversations about it, about how an up and coming female hero of her time was pigeonholed into a misogynistic stereotype but instead of simply going with it, she weaponised it to her benefit. She took control of the industry and shook it apart, redefined what it meant to be a female hero and those who followed in her footsteps understood that she did what she did so none of them had to. His mother was a hero to thousands, and he only hoped he could live up to her legacy.

Yet despite that, he would’ve expected some sort of flashy sports car, maybe even a motorbike. But no, she genuinely drove a pale grey minivan on a daily basis. Though it was times like this where it was helpful. Aizawa-sensei and Yamada-sensei were sat in the front two seats with Dusk lounging across Shoto's lap in the seats beside them. Hitoshi and Izuku were sat behind them with Bakugo and Kirishima in the seats to their right. Their bags were dumped in the trunk and almost all of them were asleep except his Mum who was driving and Yamada-sensei who was chatting quietly with her as they rolled through U.A. campus from the Sports Stadium to the Teacher’s Dorms. But Hitoshi was still in a sort of daze.

First place. He had actually done it. Somehow, against all odds, Hitoshi was a guy with a mental quirk and some intense boot-camp training courtesy of his boyfriend who had won the fucking Sports Festival.

“Toshi?”

Izuku’s tired voice drew him from his daze. “Hey. Sleep okay?”

“Yeah, had a great body pillow. What’s on your mind?”

Hitoshi sighed softly and rested his head against Izuku’s, holding his medal up for them both to look at. “It doesn’t feel real.”

“I know what you mean. I felt the same when I got my Provisional License. Part of me was convinced in that moment that I was the scared quirkless kid always running from raised hands. But then I reminded myself of every single day I poured my heart and soul into training, I reminded myself of my family and friends who support me, the incredibly crush I had that got me a boyfriend and the cat pet mother best friend who’s never left my side. My reality isn’t one or the other, it’s both. The light and the dark. You’re experiences, all your hardships and traumas are as much a part of you as your wins and successes. It’s understandable to be shocked but know that you did this, you put in the work, and you won Toshi. You’re incredible. And seeing you fight? That’s an added bonus, you looked very hot.”

Hitoshi couldn’t help but snort as he wrapped an arm around Izuku’s shoulder and pulled him into a side hug, kissing the crown of his curls. “Thank you Izu. You always know what to say. I’m so luck I get to have you in my life.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Chapter Text

Shota’s eye twitched as a spatula was once again snatched from his hand.

“Katsuki.”

“Don’t start old man, we both know you can’t cook for shit, the blonde cockatoo is the real chef in your family. Get out of here before you burn it down, I’m cooking and if anyone wants to help drag Zuku’s ass in here.”

And with that, he was shoved out of his own kitchen. It was late afternoon, and their living room was alive with the noise of a variety of heroes-in-training, his husband and Kayama. They would have to clean out their home office for Shoto to get a room, but he was sure the teen wouldn’t mind staying in Izuku’s room in the meantime. The quiet boy had interwoven himself somewhat well, listening raptly as Izuku dissected the errors of the villain from the film quietly playing. Dusk seemed to enjoy lounging on Shoto’s left side. Shota sat next to the kid, enjoying the small smile playing on his lips.

“She doesn’t lay on many laps you know. Took a long time for her to warm up to me and Zashi,” he said gently, not disrupting the conversations in the room.

“Aizawa… he’s going to be mad. I should’ve been home now. If Fuyumi is there when he finds out...”

“Don’t worry. We’ve got your siblings in a safe house with Vlad King and Cementoss on sight to help out, plus a few squad cars with the police force. Tomorrow morning, Zashi can take you to see them if you’d like.”

“Maybe in the afternoon. I… I think I want to visit my mother tomorrow morning.”

“Of course kid. I probably won’t be here, I’ve got patrol after you problem children get to sleep. Speaking of, Izuku,” Shota said, garnering the attention of his son, “Are you coming with tonight? Hitoshi, please get my son to answer me.”

Hitoshi flicked Izuku’s ear slightly, making the boy lower his phone with a pout. “Hey, I’m watching a new hero debut. She has this amazing pocket reality quirk and–”

“Izuku, patrol tonight?” Shota asked once more. He watched Izuku chew his lip, eyes flicking between his friends and the door before Shota sighed heavily. “Fine. They can stay the night but it means we’re doing a full night patrol. We get back at four.”

Izuku cheered and Katsuki called out from the kitchen that the food would be ready soon. Maybe a full busy flat wasn’t so bad.

---

Two ribbons shot out into the night, one a dazzling white and the other a forest green but both latched onto an air conditioning unit on a rooftop. Izuku and his Dad easily scaled the roof and raced across the rooftop, the night air cutting at their skin. The thrill of roof hopping got Izuku’s blood pumping in all the right ways. He was a bit sad to depart from his friends especially during a movie marathon, but if he wanted to get used to Underground Heroics, he needed to get used to getting called in at any time for patrol or missions. They’d been out for a half hour and only came across a few light brawls that they ended quickly and were now back on the rooftops and surveying the streets below.

“There’s a reason I wanted you out with me tonight,” his Dad said softly, eyes trained on a particular alley below them. “I’ve been tailing someone for the last few days. A young girl, skittish and wary. Around your age I think, based on the few glances I’ve seen of her. You know better than others that when you’re in Underground Heroics, runaways are a common occurrence that we have to know how to deal with. That means anything from giving them someone to talk to about their issues, to adopting them and training them in everything you know.”

Izuku chuckled slightly before sobering his mood. “What’s the plan?”

“I want you to interact with her, try to gain her trust. And analyse. Don’t make it obvious but understand as much as you can what has happened to her for her to end up where she is. No biases, no judgements. No one is a criminal or villain until proven otherwise.”

“I’m ready.”

“Good luck. I’ll be right here so don’t worry.”

---

The first thing he noticed were the fangs. Thin white fangs poking into her bottom lips. And then those eyes, gleaming yellow and predatory, assessing him as Izuku came within a few feet of the glowing eyes hidden in the shadows of the alley. Those two were indication enough to him. Predatory based quirk, most likely blood based because of the fangs. What drinking the blood did to her was still an unknown, but the reasoning for her appearance on the streets was becoming clearer. Vlad King had told Izuku about his own childhood, how manipulating his blood meant he had to have it as part of his diet too to ensure he wouldn’t experience blood loss. It’s the same with how Kacchan always drank water, more than average, to supplement fluid loss from using his quirked sweat. So Izuku surmised that the need for blood was survival based more than desire based. But society rarely understood the difference, too quick to throw their judgement onto that which they don’t understand.

So Izuku didn’t go for words. Didn’t go for kind phrases and assurance of safety. Instead he carefully pulled a knife from his belt, ensuring those yellow eyes could see each of his moves. He sat cross legged and placed the knife on the ground. Izuku was grateful some of the pouches of his costume were magnetic for easy removal as he took one off and slid the first aid kit out of it, pocketing it in another. He rested the pouch open on the ground and carefully grasped the knife, pressing the blade into his palm. With a deft movement, he cut a clean line across his palm. Izuku’s suspicions were confirmed when the pinprick slits of pupils in those yellow eyes blew wide. He winced as he squeezed his palms, letting a steady stream of blood drip into the pouch. When his head was woozy and Izuku was satisfied with the amount, he staunched the bleeding with a bandage before carefully pushing the pouch of blood to the edge of the shadows.

Izuku stepped back and waited patiently, not speaking and not staring at her. Instead he focused on making sure the bandage was secured tightly and did his best not to smile when a pale hand reached out and pulled the pouch into the shadows. A few moments later, he heard a satisfied smile and those eyes dimmed slightly, the pupils thinning back to normal.

“How’d you know?”

The voice was lilting but raspy, a sense of curiosity laced into her disused voice.

“There’s a lot of physical signs about what someone’s quirk is. Your eyes and fangs gave it away. Would you like some more?”

The pouch was pushed back out and Izuku slipped the bandage up, letting some blood leak into it. Unfortunately he couldn’t give as much as before without bleeding out, but the soft thanks he received from the stranger was more than enough.

“My names Izuku. I’m a Provisional Hero, fifteen years old.”

The silence stretched before the pouch was snatched back.

“Call me Himiko.”

“Nice to meet you Himiko,” he said gently. “Can I ask you some questions.”

The yellow eyes assessed him a moment. “Only if I can ask some back.”

He nodded and smiled at her. “Do you like cats?”

“Uh… yeah, who doesn’t?”

Izuku heard a faint giggle and smiled, pulling his hood back for Dusk to poke her head out and let out a small mewl. He heard a gasp, and the girl seemed to come forward before stopping herself.

“You can pet her, she’s friendly,” he said, telegraphing his movements as he pulled Dusk onto the ground ahead of him. “And she’s willing to wait for you. However long you need.”

She seemed to last five minutes before Himiko crawled forward, reaching a tentative hand out to stroke Dusk. Her pale skin was caked with grime, two blonde buns were ratty and in disarray. Dried blood caked her lips, and her cheek were gaunt with hunger. Seeing her seemed to set Izuku back five years, to when he was in her place. No family, no home. He knew the pain, knew the agony of it all.

“Got a question for me?” Izuku asked.

“Why aren’t you… You’re not grossed out?”

“Himiko… no quirk is ever villainous or disgusting. I personally think there is merit to every quirk, every ability, no matter how simple or unique it appears. My quirk brought that little beauty back from the dead. Does that seem gross to you?”

“No!” Himiko was quick to stroke Dusk, mumbling about how pretty she was. “But you don’t hurt people. You’re not some feral… thing.”

“Himiko, ever heard of a hero called Vlad King?” He asked slowly. Once she shook his head, he opened up his phone and showed her some photos of him. “He’s a close combat hero, specialising in quick takedowns, also a teacher at U.A., but there’s one more thing. He has a blood manipulation control, and because of it, he has to consume blood as part of his diet regularly. And he’s a hero. Not a monster, not a villain. A hero.”

She studied the photo intently, her fingers subconsciously straying to her own fangs as she observed Vlad’s sharp grin with his fangs proudly displayed. Izuku knew the face she wore, true disbelief. Seeing someone like yourself managing to make their way in a world that tore you down, a beacon of hope amidst the chaos of existence.

“Himiko, I… I used to be quirkless. Until I was ten. I won’t assume to know everything that happened to you, but I know how dark this world can be to those who don’t deserve it. I only got my quirk because it stress manifested, courtesy of my mother. Hell, I even slept three alleys over from this one regularly. This is my long winded way of saying… do you want to come back with me for a night. To U.A., maybe even meet Vlad King?”

“I… I don’t know. Will you be there?”

“Of course. Can’t have my new friend feeling lonely, can I?” Himiko sported a weak grin and crawled forward, giving Izuku a tight and unexpected hug that he happily returned. “You’re not alone anymore Himiko. We’ve got you.”

---

The next hour was rather mundane, all things considered. When his Dad finally saw Himiko, rather than ask any question’s he had handed her a bottle of water and placed his capture scarf over her shivering shoulders. After a lot of deliberation, Himiko had agreed to wait another hour with them before heading to U.A. so Izuku and Shouta could finish off the rest of their patrol. They avoided the rooftops to make it easier for her, choosing to patrol on foot across the streets, stopping off at a food stand for them.

“I still eat normal food,” she explained quietly, one hand holding her takoyaki while the other fiddled with the end of the capture scarf. “But blood helps now and then.”

“Red meat will probably help too, satiate you more than a quick burst of blood for cravings,” Izuku piped up. “Like slow releasing glucose from carbs rather than having raw sugars. I gave the same advice to a boy in Dad’s class, it’s so cool, he metabolises glucose at an exponential rate and a gland converts it into adrenaline and muscular growth hormones.”

Himiko looked at him wide-eyed before turning to Shouta with a confused look. “He eats sugar and becomes strong.”

She nodded knowingly, offering the last of her takoyaki to Dusk but Izuku pushed her hand back. “You need to eat Himi, please.”

“What’s the blood hero like?” She asked tentatively, nibbling on the crispened edge of her last takoyaki.

Shouta sighed wearily. “A pain in my ass. He’s a… good person but there is something inherently wrong with the man, something I could never forgive.”

“Vlad’s a dog person,” Izuku explained. “Something Dad never understood. Despite the fact that all animals are amazing and worthy of attention and love.”

“I don’t need a loud, yapping animal that follows me around all day begging for attention,” Shouta drawled. “I already have you and Hizashi for that.”

Izuku made an offended squawk and hid behind Himiko. “Protect me Himi, the old man dared to defile my name and honour!”

---

A clattering from a street over drew their attention. Izuku looked to his Dad and after a nod, he took off with Dusk while Aizawa kept Himiko safe. Dusk clung around his neck tight as Izuku skidded to a stop at the corner of the street. There were a group of around five tall men, clearly intoxicated and swaying on their feet as they cheered and laughed.

He cautiously approached, trying to see what it was that they were crowding around. Dusk slipped from his shoulders and prowled to the left as Izuku moved to the right, stifling a gasp when he caught the sight of it. A beautiful bird, a crow with a crookedly bent wing cawed and tried to flap away from the beer cans being kicked at it. The men just jeered and Izuku’s blood froze when one of them kicked the bird hard and the rest laughed.

He wasn’t even aware what he was doing, Izuku just surged forward. He gently cradled the injured crow in his hands, blissfully unaware to the shadows coiled around the men tightly and holding them aloft, unhearing the screams that echoed throughout the alley. It was only a gentle nudging on his foot that broke his concentration, meeting Dusk’s worried gaze as she looked between him and the injured bird. He knew how the bird felt, Izuku could sense it was on the precipice, dancing between the boundaries of existence and decay. His eyes locked with Dusk, and she nodded her head. Her intention was clear but he was unsure. To split his soul once was one matter… could he handle doing it again?

Her quiet yet steady purr was an answer.

Izuku took a shuddering breath.

Darkness around him coalesced. Thickened. Pooling around his feet.

The bird cawed painfully.

The liquid darkness surged forward.

---

Shouta wasn’t antsy. He was a Pro Hero, the Number One on the Underground charts. He wielded a fearsome quirk and an even more fearsome set of specific kills that disappeared villains without a trace. Needless to say, he wasn’t antsy. But when his son darted off to take down what should have been a simple group of drunken idiots and still hadn’t returned for at least fifteen minutes, Shouta was… agitated. Not antsy, simply a touch agitated. And it seemed his new charge, and if he was honest, Vlad’s new kid, seemed to notice.

“Mr. Aizawa, are you okay?”

“You can call me Shota kid,” he said, sparing her a tight smile. “Just… worried. Izuku can look after himself, I’ve trained him myself. But he’s my son at the end of the day.”

“Is he… yours? Like actually?”

“No. I adopted him when he was around eleven. Found him in a very similar situation to you. He’s a good kid. And so are you Himiko. You’ve got people in your corner now, people who want to keep an eye on you. Izuku, me, and probably the rest of the family when they meet you. Hell, even I was in your spot once. I know what it’s like to be labelled with a villainous quirk, for your birth family to betray you. Family isn’t something we’re born with, it’s something we make ourselves, something we decide. So if you want to, join ours.”

“Aww, Dad’s getting emotional,” Izuku cooed as he came walking out the alley, Dusk trailing behind him.

Shouta’s eyes narrowed on the way Izuku cradled his arms around his abdomen and walked slower than usual. “Injured.”

“No. At least not me, technically.” Izuku carefully moved his left arm.

Nestled in his right arm was a beautiful crow, silver tipped tail wings flight feathers. Metallic sharp claws were gripped softly into Izuku’s sleeve, a match with the sleek thin beak. But the ghost white misty eyes caught Shouta’s attention, eyes that were an exact twin to those of Dusk.

“I’d like you two to meet my newest companion. Twilight.”

Chapter Text

Izuku cracked the front door open carefully and was met with the quiet hum of chatter with the slight uptick in volume from Kacchan’s remarks. Stepping into the flat, he took in the pull-out mattresses and blankets draped over the living room that housed his half-asleep friends and family. Shoto was laying with his head in Pop’s lap as Hitoshi regaled them all with a ghost story he had heard. Kacchan was sat up right, eyes gleaming and grin manic as Kirishima cowered behind his shoulder, whimpering at a particular gory turn in Toshi’s story. And Nemuri draped over the armchair, somehow braiding a part of Hitoshi’s hair while upside down.

The ghost story came to a halt as Hitoshi saw him and he was quick to abandon the comfort of blankets and rush across the room to wrap Izuku in a bone crushing hug. Izuku’s shoulders sagged as a weight eased from his shoulders. The scent of petrichor and lavender wrapped him in a comforting embrace.

“Hi,” he mumbled into Hitoshi’s shirt.

“Hey. Tired?”

“Yeah, but there’s news.” Izuku begrudgingly pulled his face away from Hitoshi’s chest and turned to face the group. “I’ve got someone… or two someone’s I’d like you to meet. Be nice, we came across them both on patrol. If things go the way I’m thinking, we’re getting a new Ward of U.A.”

“Bring ‘em in already Zuku, stop with all this mystery bullshit,” Kacchan quipped, peeking toward the front door.

“Kacchan, I’m serious. All of you, be nice and patient or I suspend you all in endless nightmares like the USJ villain. Understood?” He said with a smile. When Izuku received a series of wary nods, he fully left Hitoshi’s arms and walked to the front door, opening it to reveal his Dad and Himiko. “Everyone, this is Himiko Toga. She’s the new Ward of U.A.”

She waved timidly to the group and slowly stepped through the threshold. “H-Hi everyone.”

“Welcome to the Mad House blondie. I’m Bakugo, this is Shitty Hair.”

“Kirishima,” he corrected, waving at her. “Nice to meet you Toga! We’ve still got some snacks if you’re hungry.”

Shoto simply nodded at her, content to remain in Hizashi’s lap, leaning into the man’s touch not much unlike Dusk. Izuku was beginning to suspect his new brother acted just like a stray cat, a prospect that strangely made Izuku giddy. So what if he found animals easier to deal with than humans, sue him, Izuku could afford the legal costs.

He gently guided Himiko to one of the free spots of the couch and Kirishima handed her a jelly pouch with a grin, one of many pouches hidden around the flat. She took it returned his smile with an uneasy one of her own. She eased up somewhat when Izuku sat on the arm rest of the sofa beside her.

“This is Hitoshi, the one I was telling you about,” Izuku said gently. He’d told her a bit about his background and the whole ‘villainous’ quirk thing, and the presence of someone who understood did help convince Himiko to join. Izuku threw Hitoshi a look and his boyfriend thankfully understood, moving to sit with his back against Izuku’s legs.

“Yeah, my fosters sucked ass and now I love with Nemuri. She’s like a parent and big sister wrapped in one,” he said with ease. “They didn’t really like the whole ‘being able to control people with my mind’ thing, but here, I’m appreciated.”

Himiko smiled, somewhat more genuinely. “Izuku gushed about my quirk. On the way, he even offered to let me drink off him.”

“What do you mean?” Kirishima asked and Himiko instantly shrank in on herself.

“It’s super cool Kiri,” Izuku gushed before could Himiko could say a thing. “If she consumes someone’s blood she can transform into them! And yeah, it means she craves blood, but can you blame her? If I stay in the sun too long, I get real bitchy, then start breaking out in hives, so that isn’t fun.”

“I can relate, dry skin sufferer right here,” Kirishima said with a somehow solemn grin. “Super manly quirk though Toga, can you really shapeshift into anyone? How much blood do you need, like a drop or a pint? Sensei, can we do like a blood drive or something and see?”

“Kirishima, we are not setting up an entire blood drive. You’re startling Himiko,” Shouta said, pinching his brow.

“You’re… you’re not freaked out?” She said uneasily, letting out a shaky laugh. “I thought Izuku was lying, no one could be as crazy as him.”

“We’re not crazy Himi,” Izuku said gently. “Everyone else is for ever thinking you’re not human. Who cares if you need a bit of blood in your diet to survive? In my opinion, it’s better than some of the crap people stuff themselves with on the regular. I mean, do people even know they’re eating bugs in food dyes? Wake up people!”

A flurry of chortles and snorts rung out through the room, interrupted by an ungodly squawking sound from beyond the door, followed by a girlish yelp.

“Shit!” Izuku leapt up. “There’s someone else I’d like you to meet. Well two someone’s.”

The door flew open and Vlad King came running in, broad arms over his head as he immediately ducked under the dining table, quivering. Twilight flew in behind him majestically, spreading his metallic wings out as he circled the room before coming to a perch on Izuku’s shoulder.

“Really dude? I asked you to get him here kindly,” Izuku said exasperatedly.

Twilight cawed lowly and nipped Izuku’s ear playfully.

“Dusk is rubbing off on you already,” he muttered. “All people are treated equally. Even people who for some reason don’t like birds. Seriously Kan, get out from under there, you’re a goddamn Pro Hero.”

Vlad sheepishly climbed out from under the table and pointed a shaky finger at Twilight. “T-That thing… it’s from Hell. It’s a demon. That goddamn cat already haunted me when you first got here, now there’s another? And it flies. That’s it. I’m retiring early. Aizawa can do a forty person class. I’m taking my pups and moving. Malaysia. I can make a new start. Open a bakery. Have a good life.”

“You have dogs?” Himiko asked softly. Her eyes hadn’t left the man since he entered and she noticed the fangs poking out from his lips. Thicker than hers, protruding from his lower lips, but fangs, nonetheless.

The man turned to her and his fear eased. She noticed him looking to her lips, just as she had done to him. A small smile broke out on his face. Himiko was dimly aware of Izuku introducing Twilight to the others, but she was fixed solely on the man like her.

“I have two husky puppies. Sol and Luna. They’re only eight months old. Do you like dogs?”

She nodded softly but her attention was snatched when the man stepped closer and the waft of delicious metallic tang hit her. Her pupils dilated somewhat, and the man brought a small paper bag out from his jacket, crumpled and slightly grease-stained.

“I’m Kan Sekijiro, otherwise known as Vlad King,” he said, and recognition dawned on her. The hero Izuku had told her about. “Izuku told me a bit about you. I got you this from my favourite bakery.”

She took the offered bag and opened it to see the somewhat squished donut within. Himiko carefully pulled out the sugar dusted confection and the metallic scent got stronger. Tentatively she took a bite and her eyes widened. The crisp donut was a touch oily but the sugar and tad of salt offset it, but what really hit her was the jam filling. It was raspberry, that much she was aware of, but laced with it was the familiar taste she had craved so long. Blood, cooled and folded into the filling. Blood donuts. These incredible things existed and here it was in her hand.

“Let’s talk for a bit kiddo, I’ve got a feeling we have a lot in common,” Vlad said gently.

---

Dusk was curled in his lap while Twilight was nestled in his curls. Izuku himself was sat on his Dad’s desk in 1-A’s classroom, nodding to the students as they filed in for Homeroom after the long weekend off following the Sports Festival. Many were excited to see Twilight and greet him other than Koda who understood Twilight’s rude comments of the class and immediately retreated to his desk at the back of the class.  Most of the commotion died down when his Dad finally entered the classroom.

“Today’s Homeroom session will be dedicated to Heroic Informatics, and the subsequent code names you all must pick for the foreseeable future. This in lieu of the Internship offers made after the Sports Festival.”

He turned the screen on, displaying the students in the class ranked by their offers. Kacchan was squarely at the top with 3320 offers, followed by Toshi with 2983 and Shouchan with 2454 offers. Denki wailed about the disparity of offers, seeing as he himself only gained 12, and Jirou said something Izuku himself was thinking. Despite winning the Festival, Hitoshi had significantly less offers than Kacchan, but still, his boyfriend had done amazing.

“I will be handing out information packets later for you to all go over your Internship offers but for now, you will all be choosing your temporary Hero Names. Unfortunately, it is something I’m not particularly well-versed in, so….”

The door slammed open and in strolled Nemuri dressed in her full costume, flaying her whip at the class. “I shall be overseeing your options.”

Izuku, Dusk and Twilight all handed out whiteboards to the class and he decided to sit next to Hitoshi as the class dissolved into quiet chatter over their choices.

“So, what you thinking Toshi?”

Hitoshi looked away with tinted cheeks. “I won’t lie, it’s a bit inspired by yours, the Greek mythology aspect of it all. I’m going to save it for when I go up.”

Aoyama surged forward to the front of the class and Izuku was thankful Nemuri denied the option because ‘I Cannot Stop Twinkling’ was just absurd. His next choice of ‘Prismatic’ was much better. ‘Uravity’ and ‘Froppy’ were good choices and Izuku was pleasantly pleased with Shochan’s decision of ‘Freeze Burn’. He particularly liked ‘Saccharine’ for Sato and ‘Spectre’ for Hagakure, but finally it was Hitoshi’s turn.

He walked to the front of the class and flipped his board over. “I’m going to be Hypnos, the Hypnotic Hero.”

“Very nice choice,” Nemuri said, sparing Hitoshi a wink.

Hitoshi sat and raised a brow as Izuku begun rifling through his internship offers before placing one down in front of him. Hitoshi grabbed it and read the Hero name with a sense of shock, confusion, and excitement. “Eraserhead?”

“It’d be best right? You want to go Underground. Plus I’ll be doing my Work Study at the same time, so we’ll get to hang out while training. Maybe even sneak in some fun while we’re at it,” Izuku said with a wink.

He revelled in the blush that overtook Hitoshi’s flustered face but before his boyfriend could retort, Kacchan slammed a sheet down on the desk and grinned ferally at them. “Check it out nerds.”

Izuku looked at the name on the sheet, eyes widening. “Miruko? Damn Kacchan, that’s great, she’s a perfect fit for you! You’re both strong, mobility based and probably swear as much as each other. Match made in heaven.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see if the damn bunny is worth the hype or if she’s another useless extra.”

“What’re you thinking Shochan?” Izuku asked, his smile faltering at the cold look on his brother’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Most of these offers are just because of… him. He even sent me an offer for his own agency. I don’t know what to do. I want to train my fire… it’s probably the best option.”

“Hell fucking no Icy Hot, that flaming trash bag can go suck a bag of donkey dicks,” Kacchan said. “There’s plenty of fire-based heroes out there, or basic elemental heroes. Nerd, spill.”

“Pixie Bob’s Earth Flow, Kamai Woods’ Arbor, Cementoss’ Cement. Personally, I think go with someone else. I can work on your fire with you together in our own time. I say use this time to get to know other sides of Heroics and maybe practice on your hand-to-hand skills. I’d recommend,” Izuku said, his voice trailing off as he flicked through the thick stack of Shoto’s offers, “Ectoplasm. His ability to clone himself would force you to use your quirks insticitvely rather than consciously which is inherent to training a quirk to its full capability. Plus, despite hjs prosthetic legs, Ectoplasm is one of the best close combatant heroes out there, rivalled mainly by Dad and probably Hawks. He’d be a good choice.”

“I see. I’ll do it. He does seem like a good choice and… I’d rather train my fire with you than Endeavour.”

“No worries little bro!”

“I’m older than you.”

“Not socially or mentally, you’re not.”

Chapter Text

Kurogiri was at a crossroads, one he was truly unsure of traversing.

His charge, Tomura, had been missing from the bar for just over a week. Disappearances weren’t uncommon for the young man. Often times, he’d disappear for days on end, but return covered in dried blood and donning bags of new video games with a manic grin. Usually Kurogiri would receive strings of text that nonsensically told him about Tomura’s condition, through multiple gaming terms that Kurogiri more than often had to look up. But not a week. Never a week.

Kurogiri even had to take the meeting with Stain alone. The vigilante was less than impressed by his sole presence, clearly having expected more. The man had left disappointed, and Kurogiri was left without his charge and without the potential ally. The League was crumbling, but strangely, it didn’t bother Kurogiri.

His behaviour had changed significantly since the League’s debut at the USJ. Something about that dome of darkness had cracked Master’s protégé, became the lynchpin that led to the unravelling of All for One’s intricate weave of manipulation and lies. It was ingrained in he behaviour, into his very existence, to report such an incident to the Master.

The man had been instrumental in Kurogiri’s creation, and he knew he was a treasured tool amid the hulking Nomu within the Doctor’s vat. He knew he was just a cog in All for One’s design, one he was satisfied being. Orders were his design, the only thing he knew. Subservience to his Master was his reason for being.

But part of him, a smaller part he often struggled to snuff out, yearned to help Tomura. To let him live a life of his decision, out of the Master’s view. It was a part of him that Kurogiri could never understand. It had a bubbly voice… It called names out to him sometimes.

Zashi…

Nem…

Sho…

That part of him was the one making him turn one way down the crossroad than the other.

A week had passed without Tomura Shigaraki in the bar, in the clutches of All for One. Kurogiri only hope the young man could survive longer, long enough to find the light. He would take the brunt of the Master’s ire for as long as it took. Whatever Tomura had witnessed at the USJ was for the best.

And maybe… just maybe… Kurogiri could find the light too.

---

Shoto had been scrawling the message boards for fifteen minutes when he saw the first post. Izuku had recommended it to him, a way of finding people with lives like him without having to actually talk to anyone. Dusk had even graced him with her presence, and she was purring away gently on her lap as he scrawled through the array of posts about people’s lives and quirks.

Izuku was with Yamada, cooking something garlicky while Aizawa was marking work on the dining table. Everything had been fine and domestic, something Shoto hadn’t known he could feel, when he almost flung the laptop across the room, a faint ringing sounding in his ears.

It was dated almost five years ago, a boy telling the world about his story.  His story as the son of a prominent Pro, with a quirk that burned his body inside out and a family he left behind. It was too similar to be true. Shoto was dimly aware of Izuku calling his name, but all he could focus on was the story that was similar, oh so similar, to Touya Todoroki’s.

The faint ringing in his ears wasn’t that faint anymore, it was an all-encompassing siren that drowned out Izuku’s worried words. Touya couldn’t be alive. He was dead. The funeral was solemn, the years were cold and rigid in the Todoroki household. Shoto could feel his heart thumping, straining against his ribs in defiance of this possible impossibility. Everything Shoto had been in that house, was in the wake of Touya’s supposed death. He was moulded to be Endeavour’s heir after the first had burnt under pressure. Literally.

The ringing quieted when cool calloused hands clasped his cheeks. Mismatched eyes met tired brown ones. His heaving chest was tight, coiled in anticipation for threats he wasn’t even sure of. But then Shoto’s hand was guided to a warm chest, steady breathes felt under his warmer palm. He moved his gaze and met viridian green and a warm smile. Slowly, steadily, Shoto’s breathing begun to match Izuku’s, but Aizawa didn’t move, instead gently rubbing his thumbs over Shoto’s cheek, a tender action he hadn’t known he missed since his mother left for the sanitorium.

“Hey there Shochan,” Izuku said gently, his voice finally reaching Shoto’s ears. “With us.”

He gave a small nod, taking a heaving breath and letting his hand fall from Izuku’s chest to Dusk’s back, losing himself in her fur.

“What happened kid?” Aizawa asked, refusing to beat around the bush. He was a man of many talents, and subtlety was not one of them.

He numbly tilted his head to the laptop, and it took Izuku all of seven seconds to have read the paragraph, and three more seconds of screaming into a pillow before he faced them with a grim grin.

“Dad, Pops, please look after Shochan, I’m going to go get Nedzu to expedite the case against Endeavour. And meanwhile,” he said, holding Shoto’s hand gently. “I’m going to try and find him. If… if you want me to. I can leave this here, not look into it at all.”

“Please.” It wasn’t his usual emotionless tone. It was the voice of the little boy who cried for his brother at night.

---

 It begun small.

Students would return from the Sports Festival the next day, meaning Izuku and Nedzu had less than twenty four hours to enact a plan that should’ve taken months, but the possibility that Touya Todoroki was alive had expedited the process.

While Izuku focused on finding the missing boy, Nedzu turned his attention to the man behind the misery, Enji Todoroki.

The first step was change in public opinion. Setting off fire extinguishers within the man’s agency had been easy enough, what was even easier was organising the press that harassed the man as he left the building, skin covered in foam and flames absent. His horrific manner and treatment of the press had been caught live, yet another instance in the bubbling pot of the public’s opinion of Endeavour. A few small emails and discreet payments ensured that media networks begun discussing the hero, actually dissecting the man’s behaviour and treatment of civilians. Graphs and figures compared the levels of damages his ‘heroic actions’ to others, showing just how dangerous the man truly was. The seven o’clock evening news was already stirring the pot, Nedzu’s next step would make it overflow.

Medical records were ‘leaked’. The private doctor of the Todoroki family was easily paid off and hidden away from the man’s burning wrath. The truth of the daily abuse Touya and Shoto had been subjected to, the institutionalisation of Rei, even the personal accounts of neglect toward Natsou and Fuyumi. The relevant information was parsed and placed in the ever growing email chain between Nedzu and the Chief of Police, the pair already coordinating the arrest of Enji.

Shoto had joined the pair somewhere around two in the morning and offered to give a statement if it would help, and six in the morning had Natsou and Fuyumi arriving to give their own. The three statements were the final nail in Enji Todoroki’s grave. The small group huddled in Nedzu’s office and watched the public arrest of the Number Two Hero for child abuse, marital abuse, neglect, indetermined manslaughter, and perjury. Under the mountain of evidence, the Hero Commission had no choice but to bend to Nedzu’s will, and the chimera found great joy in watching the Commissioner struggle to admit to their wrongdoings in overlooking Enji’s sins. The man’s license was revoked.

The man may have lawyers, but the Todoroki accounts were frozen under a false tip courtesy of Nedzu that the hero could be involved in embezzlement too. The principal took the opportunity to divide the funds within all of Enji’s accounts between the children, keeping a portion aside for Touya, should he be found.

The siblings were huddled with tear tracks on their faces but lighter than they’d felt in years. Izuku didn’t want to disturb them, they needed this, needed each other. But his search had hit gold. Finding the IP address of where the post Shoto found had been easy enough, but it had just led Izuku to a library. Anyone could’ve had access to it, so instead, he focused on the account of the post, ‘BlueBoi’, a moniker that easily told him it was Touya.

He’d made two other posts, one on a message board about treating injuries where he asked about burns and another on a message board dedicated to quirk-resistant clothes. Someone had recommended a store in Kamino to which Touya had responded somewhat positively. The post was dated four months ago and gaining access to the financial records of the company had been easy enough. Izuku figured Touya would’ve paid cash, but lo and behold, a purchase from one of Enji Todoroki’s cards had been made.

The man wouldn’t have dared purchased clothes from such a cheap brand, especially items that definitely would’ve been to big for him. So there was proof enough that Touya was alive and it was him making the posts, most likely living somewhere in or around Kamino. The store didn’t have security footage but there was a camera outside on the street. The footage was on four times speed but spotting a burnt man with pure white hair was easy to spot no matter how grainy or fast the footage. Following him through a series of security cameras had been child’s play until he came across a dilapidated building, not one unsimilar from the building Izuku had temporarily lived in. He skipped to footage from last night and sighed in relief when he found footage of Touya, hooded but him, stalking into the building with an apron from a café near the building hanging out his backpack and a bag of groceries.

Touya was alive. And Izuku had found him.

Izuku needn’t worried because the second he told, the siblings were already organising travel to the building. Nemuri’s minivan managed to fit the Todoroki siblings, Izuku and his Dad. Twilight was perched on his shoulder while Dusk was kneading on Shoto’s hands, helping to stop the boy from fidgeting. The van pulled to a stop and they all exited, taking in the creaking building, one gentle breeze from toppling. And right on cue, walking back from his shift at the same time Izuku saw him return the day before, was Touya.

A coffee cup fell to the ground, it’s contents pooling around Touya’s feet as he finally saw them. His other phone was still playing the news reel aloud of Endeavour’s arrest and the charges.

“H-Hi.”

Shoto was the first to move, launching himself forward. Touya flinched, bracing himself, but rather than a fist, he felt warm arms wrapping around him. His little brother, the one Touya was convinced hating him, was here. Shoto was here. Natsou was here. Fuyumi was here. They were all here. Arms around him, cold and warm. His family.

“Hi,” Shoto said in a broken voice.

“Is it true?” Touya dared ask, his voice muffled through the group hug he was having with his siblings. “The arrest?”

“It is. All of it, thanks to Izuku,” Shoto sniffled, lifting his head but not pulling away. He gestured back to the sheepish looking green haired man. “He… he helped me. Saved me. Saved us all.”

Touya smiled gratefully at the boy. Things weren’t okay, they were far from it. But it was better. He finally had them back, and they didn’t hate him. They found him. They still wanted him.

“Do, uh, do you guys want to come in?” He asked with a wince. His apartment was a mess, and even when cleaned, you couldn’t hide that it was an abandoned building.

“Why don’t you come with us, to U.A.?” Shoto asked. “Please? Don’t… this isn’t safe. You don’t have to stay away anymore Touya-nii.”

And instantly, he was back to when they were kids, melting whenever his littlest brother used that endearing nickname. Touya had survived Endeavour, survived burning himself inside out, years on the streets, infected wounds and nights of hunger. But he could never survive the pleading look from Shoto.

“O-Okay. One night.”

Chapter Text

“I’m fine, really,” Iida said, his tone clipped and posture more rigid than normal. “I shall see you both once we return.”

And with that he turned and walked toward his platform in the train station. Hitoshi and Uraraka shared a worried glance. Ever since the news of Ingenium had hit, their friend had retreated into himself. His responses lacked Tenya’s usual boisterous exuberance about rules and regiment, his hand refused to chop the air. Then Hitoshi’s suspicions came to a head when Izuku had mentioned Iida had chosen Manual as his internship choice. The hero who patrolled through Hosu. Stain’s hunting ground.

Iida was a bull running through red flags and Hitoshi wouldn’t let his friend rampage if he had a choice.

He bid Uraraka farewell before moving to join back up with Shoto, the two having joined their classmates to see them off before heading back to U.A., considering they were interning with two staff members. Surprisingly, Kaminari was beside Shoto. The blonde was chatting nervously to Shoto, his eyes looking everywhere but Shoto. Hitoshi smirked. Young love was truly entertaining.

“Hey Kaminari. Missed your train or something?” Hitoshi asked.

“Hey Shinsou! Nah, I’m interning with Power Loader. Ever since my one-on-one with Yamazawa and what happened at the USJ, I’ve been really thinking a lot about support items. I think they’re the thing that’ll take me to the next level, ya know. Finally get me on par with the rest of the class.”

“You are strong,” Shoto said bluntly. “You’ve grown in quirk control and have become more muscular since the beginning of the year. Do not be illogical.”

Aizawa-sensei was rubbing off on Shoto already, not to mention the more than obvious flirting that was trademark Yamada-sensei. But of course, Shoto being Shoto, had meant what he said literally, and was unaware of Kaminari’s reddening cheeks and splutter.

“To U.A. we go then,” Hitoshi said, hooking his arms over the shorter boys and guiding them out of the station.

---

Denki was having the best and worst day of his life. And it was because of the exact same thing. The devastatingly handsome annoyance that was Shoto Todoroki.

It was one thing for his tragic homosexual heart to fall for the Ice Prince himself, but then it turned out he would be mostly hanging out with his crush in the down time of his Internship. It was, again, the best and worst scenario all at once. Best because he could spend more time with Todoroki and worst, because Denki was Denki, and he would probably mess up any chance he had with the other boy. And to make matters worse, Shinsou kept throwing him sly grins and wiggling his eyebrows whenever he caught Denki looking at Todoroki too long. A week with his crush and now his friend seemingly catching on was a recipe for disaster.

“So,” Denki said, louder than he’d intended. “Who are you two interning with again? I kind of forgot.”

“Aizawa-sensei for me. I’m looking forward to working on my stealth and situational awareness. Izuku still manages to sneak up on me all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I love the surprise hugs but not at three in the morning when I’m making my coffee.”

“I’ve chosen Ectoplasm. His control over his quirk is commendable and I hope to get his help in controlling my fire side,” Todoroki said in his heavenly voice.

Denki was about to ask why not simply go with his Dad, but his mouth snapped shut. Todoroki was smart. If this was the choice he took, then Denki would trust it. Their short walk through the U.A. campus came to an end when Shinsou and Todoroki stopped before a set of gates around buildings Denki had never seen. Turning his head about, Denki realised he had never seen this part of campus at all, he’d just blindly followed the two along. That said a lot about him, of course he couldn’t even keep up with simple directions.

“Um,” Denki began, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Where actually are we? I don’t think I’ve been here before?”

“Teacher dorms,” Shinsou said simply. Denki nodded, expecting them to wait for someone to come let them in. Not for Shinsou to punch in the code at the gate and open it wide for them all to walk through. Denki raised a brow, but Shinsou simply nudged him through the gate without a word.

His confusion only grew as the two boys led him with ease into the second building after the gate and this time Todoroki was the one to enter the code into the pad beside the building’s front door that allowed the three of them in. The two were moving with practiced ease through the building and as far as Denki was aware, he was told to wait on campus for Power Loader but now he was just following his friends about until they stopped on the buildings second to top floor, standing outside one of the only two doors in the corridor. Denki’s confusion peaked when Todoroki pulled out a key and somehow opened one of the doors and strolled in without a care in the world.

Shinsou snorted at Denki’s face and urged the blonde inside only to be stopped by a familiar cat and not so familiar bird. Dusk was perched on a small table near the door, assessing Denki in her usual way, while a similar looking bird was perched on her back and staring him down. And where the strange animals went, so did…

“Hey guys!” Yamazawa said, walking out what seemed to be an open kitchen into the living room they were huddled in. “Welcome to my place Kaminari!”

“Huh?” Denki said eloquently.

“You guys didn’t tell him?”

“We were supposed to?” Todoroki asked while Shinsou just grinned and draped his arm over Yamazawa’s shoulders. It was no secret they were together although Denki did wonder if this meant Shinsou was breaking some sort of rule by technically dating a teacher, but if the all mighty Nedzu hadn’t intervened, then Denki surely wouldn’t.

“Of course,” Yamazawa sighed. “Okay, before the others arrive, I’ll fill you in on the basics. You’ve been cleared to know all of this, so don’t worry about that, but please try and keep it under wraps. The people in this room are the only ones in Class 1-A that know. Keep what I say a secret, got it?”

The added hiss from Dusk snapped Denki from his shock, and he quickly nodded.

“Aizawa sensei and Yamada sensei are my parents,” Yamazawa said simply, as if Denki didn’t already have twenty questions. “Hence my surname. We don’t highlight it much, but seeing as we have a place on U.A. campus with the most rooms, you’ll be staying here during your Internship, with Hitoshi, Shoto, and I. On that note, call me Izuku, it’s a mouthful to always say Yamazawa.”

“O-okay Izuku. Cool. Sensei’s your dad. Does he sleep in that yellow thing here too?” Denki asked, one of his many questions having forced his way out.

“No I do not.” If anyone asked, Denki would deny that he squealed and yelped as Aizawa-sensei seemingly materialised behind him in the now open door. “Kaminari, your situational awareness is beginning to concern me. Do try and work on it.”

“Yes Sensei,” he said once his breathing had evened out again. “Recovery Girl?”

The elderly nurse followed Aizawa-sensei in and walked past them and up the stairs in the corner of the room without a word.

“She’s checking on a patient,” Sensei explained. “A new Ward of U.A., speaking of, you’ll be meeting the other soon enough Kaminari. I trust Izuku has already told you that all things you’ve been told on the internship regarding our personal lives and the lives of the U.A. wards are to be kept under wraps, under threat of expulsion and more?”

“Yes I understand Sensei, I won’t let you down,” he said, doing his best to look serious.

“Good. The other patient is Todoroki’s older brother, long thought dead, Touya Todoroki. The other ward of U.A. is a girl named Himiko Toga, she’s taken a liking to the support department and will be most likely at some point ask to try your blood. It’s your choice to let her, she won’t drain you. Welcome to the madhouse Kaminari. Don’t pass out.”

---

Katsuki stormed off with a scowl and maddening blush straining his cheeks as Eijirou waved madly from the departing train. It was a simple stupid kiss, but of course it had made Katsuki weak in the knees and Ei didn’t even care about the weak pops of explosions that burst in Katsuki’s palms. But he had a job to do, ace his fucking internship and take his next step to being Number One.

The address he’d been sent didn’t seem to add up to much. He’d gotten off the station and followed his phone’s direction down many left and right turns until he came to a stop outside a construction area. A building was either half assembled, or half destructed but either way, cranes and diggers were roving about the lot. The very ground shock under the construction work and his hearing aids weren’t doing much to distil other noises past the constant banging and clanging. But still, Katsuki was the best, and that wasn’t just a brag. He trained relentlessly since he could talk, signed up for any and all extracurriculars. Katsuki could dance a tango, sew a ballgown, cook a three course meal, and he’d still come out on top. No skill wasn’t worth his effort. And if it meant he had to sacrifice one of his senses to be a hero, so be it. His hearing may have taken a toll, but Katsuki simply trained his other senses. Too many people were too content to think what they saw and felt was enough. No one ever understood how powerful the senses could become.

And that was why he wasn’t startled when the wisp of an aroma drifted closer, undercutting the thick blanket of dust and cement. It was earthen, musky and damp. Like predator’s fun after a hunt in a storm. Territorial and ferocious. It grew thicker and dense, until it was almost cloying his senses. He swerved to the right and raised his palm, readying his sparks only to come face to face with a feral grin that could rival his own.

“Good reflexes Kit,” Miruko said, standing tall. “Glad to see you accepted my offer.”

“Like hell I’d turn it down. And what’s with this Kit bullshit?”

She barked out a laugh and fucking ruffled his hair. “You’re a feisty Kit, this is going to be fun. Got your shit together?”

He gave her his most withering glare and simply held up his duffel bag and hero briefcase. “Nah, left it in Timbuk-fucking-tu.”

“Good. I have no agency, so I hope you’re ready to run.”

“Fucking finally,” he said, tightening his duffel over his shoulder and blasting after and leaping and laughing Miruko.