Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You didn’t need to come with me, master,” Shigeo said, even though they literally just exited the train station. Any other person would have insisted more urgently earlier onto the venture. “I knew I was going to take two hours in the train, but this is way out of your way to the office.”

Reigen waved him off as they crossed the road. “Nonsense, Mob. What kind of master doesn’t see his student off before such an important test?”

Shigeo didn’t know much about masters and students to answer that, but Reigen did have a point, considering he used to see Shigeo off to school before major exams. He kept his mouth shut.

“Besides,” Reigen cut in. “I’m going to be meeting up with a client here in Musutafu. I might be done around… when did you say your test was ending?”

“I didn’t,” Shigeo muttered. “But we’ll take five hours, probably.”

“All that time for a test? That’s a little much.”

“Master, I’m applying for a Hero school, it’s not going to be just a written test.”

It took them a few more minutes before they arrived at the intimidating gates of Yuuei High.

Reigen chewed that over for a second, sweat dripping down his cheek before laying a hand on Shigeo’s shoulder. “Hey. It’s going to be intense in there, maybe even more intense than your sportsfest last year. Don’t push yourself too much, okay?”

Shigeo nodded imperceptibly. Like most of Reigen’s advice, he didn’t know where this was going. He’d expected intensity. Shiketsu was its own monster when he took the entrance exam there too.

Maybe he shouldn’t mention that to Reigen, though, since he seemed hellbent on accompanying Shigeo to this entrance exam.

“Before you take names in there, Mob,” Reigen started, stopping. Shigeo glanced at him and paused to show that he wasn’t zoning out like usual. “I want you to remember what a hero really is. Do you remember?”

Of course, he did. “Someone who helps.”

Reigen grinned, proud. “Good job, kid. I’m really proud you’re going through with this.”

“Master, the light’s turning red.”

Reigen strode to the other side of the street, Shigeo stumbling after his wide steps.

With a push from behind, Reigen said, “Go on, be the first Quirkless ESPer hero.”

“Yes, master. Good luck with your client, as well.”

 Kageyama Shigeo, known to some as simply “Mob,” wasn’t one to dwell on his answers, specifically test answers. In his last two years in middle school, he was admittedly a bit of an airhead, especially in second year. But to be distracted today of all days?

Well, Shigeo thought, it wasn’t as if Ritsu forced him to apply to another school that wasn’t in his original plan. Yuuei, one of the most selective Hero schools in Japan, was actually his third choice.

Shigeo had wanted to attend somewhere close to Salt Middle, so that he could stay close to Spirits and Such and the rest of his friends. As it turned out, the original members of the Body Improvement/Astronomy Club were dispersing all over the prefecture. The only people left that Shigeo could talk to in person within Seasoning City were Hanazawa and Tome. Ritsu didn’t count since Shigeo lived with him, and Dimple rarely ever stayed over anymore, disappearing for weeks unless Shigeo told him of an upcoming event and appearing with more spiritual energy than he last had.

Things were quickly changing, leaving Shigeo scrambling in the dust, trying desperately to catch up, like his first day running with the Body Improvement Club. Keeping with the trend of things, Ritsu sat him down one evening, brochures and pamphlets in hand, and said, “It wouldn’t hurt to try, brother.”

That’s why Shigeo was distracted, anxiously reviewing test answers as he dressed up with the other applicants in the room that Yuuei High provided. He’d seen the glint in Ritsu’s eyes, felt the hope in the way he leaned into Shigeo’s space to point at campus benefits for three of the most prestigious Hero schools in Japan.

He didn’t want to let his little brother down about Yuuei like he most definitely had with Shiketsu.

So, had he gotten that formula down? He walked into the bus that Present Mic said would lead them to their respective test areas. He couldn’t appreciate the vastness of the campus provided, the grandeur that other applicants seemed to be resisting to gawk at.

He stared up at the sky, eyes passing over the tall walls that bounded their test area. Had he written that Shogun’s name correctly? Oh, Hanazawa had taught him that the kanji was written a certain way but for the life of him, Shigeo couldn’t remember exactly how.

The alarm started with Present Mic’s shout. Shigeo put his larger barrier up as debris flew around him, making sure to make a solid radius around himself in order to clear the road for other passing applicants.

He wiped at the sweat forming beneath his bangs, unsticking them. He grimaced, flicking the sticky droplets away, sending a stray robot flying as he jogged through. Oh, hadn’t he missed squaring that variable before dividing?

He bit at his bottom lip, eyes passing over other applicants. Explosions rang around the fake city that served as their test area.

Heroics applicants in general, not just in Yuuei High, were his direct antithesis: passionate, intelligent, and eccentric in every way. Perhaps the only thing they had in common were burgeoning expectations and the will to do good.

Plain ole Mob, zoning out in the middle of a test, startled when explosions came a little too close to his barrier. He startled so bad, in fact, that his barrier flickered before disappearing completely. Debris flew at him almost immediately, but the closest explosion limited his vision.

The smoke cleared. Blond, spiky hair stood out in the grayness of the area. Another applicant walked off the decimated robot, turned away from Shigeo.

“Hanazawa-kun?” Hadn’t Dimple said he was going to look for him earlier? Where was Dimple?

“Ha?”

Shigeo had known Hanazawa for the better part of two years now. He was blond, had actual spiky hair that he kept short after the incident with the 7^thDivision, but had gentle blue eyes, not this piercing red. And his voice was a mellow, light thing, not this gruff, angry growl.

“Oh,” Shigeo surmised, finally realizing that this wasn’t Hanazawa. “Excuse me, I thought you were someone I knew.”

Not-Hanazawa blinked, then stood straight. They were a head taller than Hanazawa, but their hunched fighting stance set them at the same height. They squinted down at Shigeo, brows furrowed so tight that Shigeo feared that maybe their face had stuck like that, like his father had once told him.

“Are you fucking with me?”

Shigeo had no idea how to answer that but leaving questions unanswered was rude. “Um—”

Crash! A glint of metal. Shigeo raised his arms over his head again, his barrier agreeing to go up with them now. A quick look told him this robot had a three painted on its side before he watched it crumple on impact to his barrier.

“Right,” Shigeo muttered. “I’m in a test.”

Not-Hanazawa whirled around to glare intensely at him. Subconsciously, Shigeo fortified his smaller barrier out of defense. They growled, “Quit stealing my points.”

“I wasn’t—”

But they were already gone, explosions following them a few feet ahead. Shigeo thanked his lucky stars that he’d remembered to lower his larger barrier before the other applicant bumped into it. He’d had his fair share of scary strangers getting even scarier once they were humiliated.

Exhibit A: Hanazawa before Shigeo befriended him.

Crash! Boom!

Right. The practical. Shigeo had to focus.

“Five more minutes!”

Shigeo had five more minutes to focus.

Robots littered the streets. He put his larger barrier back up, reinforcing the one closer to his skin, but widening the weaker one’s radius so that he could sweep the debris to the sidewalks. Any moving robots were crushed with startled jump and a whispered apology.

A grunt sounded from ahead. Shigeo searched, and found a purple-haired (dyed?) applicant attempting to pull a bent stop sign off its shorn base.

Remembering his master’s words, Shigeo approached the applicant. “Do you need any help?”

The applicant turned to look at him, then simply stared. Shigeo tried not to be rude and tell the applicant that they were short on time.

When Shigeo shifted his stance, the applicant said, “Sure.”

“What are—My master told me to always ask people first,” Shigeo stammered, pulling at the pole. “What pronouns do you use?”

The applicant pulled with him. Three tugs later, they had a stop sign. Shigeo didn’t think he’d use his reps from Body Improvement for a stop sign. As expected of Yuuei.

“Boku,” the applicant answered, holding the pole with both hands. “Thanks.”

Shigeo nodded, “Me too. And it’s no problem.”

A wave of robots poured down the streets, followed by the clamoring of applicants, calling moves. Shigeo always did find that irrational, if only a little cool since it reminded him of the cartoons that he and Ritsu would sometimes still watch.

“I’ll take this side,” the other applicant said, pointing to his left. Shigeo nodded.

He lifted a hand, gathering energy as far as he could feel that didn’t have any applicants in the way, then brought it down swiftly, crushing a long line of robots down the main street. He clenched his fist for good measure, in case they were still alive, then swept them to the sidewalk.

He turned to see his new friend dodging, looking for an opening. He looked really cool but seemed to be panicking. He mustn’t do well under pressure, then. Shigeo understood. “I can raise the robots so you can stab them.”

He nodded at Shigeo, though he didn’t look too pleased about it. His grimace reminded Shigeo of Ritsu letting him open a jar of bean paste when they were kids, especially when he’d promised their mother that he could do it.

“Don’t worry, I’m not taking these points,” Shigeo reassured, raising a robot up with a hand and a flow of psychic power. “I’ll tell them these are yours.”

“Are you sure?” his friend asked. He didn’t seem offended that Shigeo had just insinuated that he’d be mad about helping, which was good. He stabbed viciously at the robot until it stopped moving. “Doesn’t the practical hold more value than the written?”

Shigeo hadn’t thought of that. Had he been worrying about Shiketsu for no reason then? With a shrug, he gathered energy around his finger and lifted the robot over to the sidewalk with all the others. What kind of hero would he be if he didn’t help someone that needed it?

“I don’t mind,” Shigeo insisted. “I failed the written anyway, probably.”

The applicant huffed, bemused, but didn’t ask any further.

 Dropping the nth robot about to attack him and his new friend, Shigeo blinked as Dimple flew in from one of the fake buildings, looking vaguely impressed as he assessed the destruction surrounding them. Shigeo had been doing his best to clean up to keep himself from feeling too bad about using his powers to destroy.

“Hey, Shige. Teruki’s in area A. How many’ve you got?”

Shigeo shrugged. “Wasn’t counting,” he whispered.

His friend snickered, having heard only Shigeo. He looked bemused. “Weird flex but, okay.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Dimple flew past Shigeo’s head, circling his friend’s instead. “What a weird kid with a weird hair color. What’s his power?”

Dimple had the tendency to call people weird despite hair color variations being the simplest thing now. He also kept calling them powers instead of Quirks, an outdated term. Shigeo had gotten too used to it to start correcting him now.

They jogged down two more blocks, Shigeo continuing to clear the roads, listening for any movement from other applicants or barely-functioning robots. They’d been stopping to help injured applicants to safe alleyways as they went combed through the fake city.

“One more minute! Hussle, hussle, hussle, little listeners!”

“Why does he call you guys that?” Dimple wondered. Shigeo didn’t know either, so he repeated the question to his friend.

“You don’t know Present Mic?” he asked instead of answering.

Shigeo shrugged. “I only know some stuff from what my friends have told me. My master doesn’t like to dwell on Heroics much. I just know that he’s a hero with a night job, he’s really loud, and looks like a cockatiel.”

His friend snorted. “Yeah, he kind of does.”

“There!” Dimple shot ahead of them, little arms gesturing wildly forward. He was pointing down an alley. Shigeo waved his friend over, sidestepping obstacles with some difficulty. Shigeo trained his endurance and strength in Body Improvement, but his hand- and foot-eye coordination was shot.

Maybe he should ask Hanazawa, since he liked to play football and biked in his free time.

Stumbling out of the alley, Shigeo started clearing out the roads again, going back to their routine. Explosions echoed throughout the city. Shigeo hoped he didn’t have to see not-Hanazawa again.

Dimple scoffed, muttering something about flashiness and noise. Then, he chortled, delighted when Shigeo’s friend echoed his sentiment unintentionally. “I like this kid, Shige.”

Shigeo nodded. He liked his new friend too.

“Thirty more seconds!”

An arm shot out at them, robotic. Not expecting it, Shigeo fortified both his barriers, cutting a piece of the arm and dropping it on himself inside the radius. He squeezed his eyes shut out of reflex, but the impact to his skin-barrier never came.

He blinked, then found the stop sign bent into disrepair on the road ahead, his friend cradling his ankle.

“Ah!” Shigeo stepped forward, hands hovering. The robot, now minus one arm, swung again. Shigeo waved it into a building, kneeling down to check at his friend’s ankle. “Where does it hurt? What happened, I wasn’t looking. I’m sorry.”

Dimple hovered around them, “I saw, he just swung so hard at that thing, he pulled something, probably.”

“What’s your name?” Shigeo asked, fearing the worst, barely listening to Dimple.

“Shinsou Hitoshi. I’m fine, dude, just twisted a little too far. I’ll live. Are you alright though? That thing hit you in the face! How are you not injured!”

Shigeo wilted, guilty that somehow not getting hurt compared to Shinsou was his fault. Before he could answer, the ground shook. With wide eyes, he assessed himself, verifying that it wasn’t coming from him. He felt a little lost, but not out of control.

What?

“An earthquake?” Shinsou muttered.

“Shigeo, you guys need to run.”

Shigeo glanced at Dimple, who was gawking up at something beyond them. Turning to see what it was, Shigeo found himself thinking, if Yuuei had all these resources then how come Musutafu isn’t the capital of Japan right now?

Towering over them, a few meters ahead, was a giant robot, pushing at buildings as it made its way down the street and towards them. On its side, a large zero was painted.

“Here comes the gimmick-bot, little listeners! Be careful!” Present Mic announced unhelpfully.

Shigeo grabbed Shinsou’s arm and pulled it over his shoulders, breaking into a jog, forgoing niceties in the need to drag them away from danger.

Reminiscent of Reigen, one step from the robot was enough to catch itself up to Shigeo and Shinsou. Shigeo, who greatly disliked flying, did not want to be sick on an injured friend, so he turned to Dimple.

“Take him. We’re not going fast enough to get away from it.”

“Shige, just fly—”

“Dimple.”

Shinsou was looking at him weird but Shigeo didn’t think it mattered. Dimple begrudgingly possessed him before he could ask what Shigeo was on about.

“Cool,” Dimple said in Shinsou’s voice. “He’s a little less scrawny than he looks. I can walk through his sprain, but it’s going to get worse.”

Feeling frustration getting to the surface, Shigeo gathered enough energy to raise a hand and Dimple-Shinsou with it. “Land safely,” he warned, before pushing Dimple-Shinsou away.

He reinforced his barriers thrice over, facing the robot. Grabbing a large piece of debris with his energy, Shigeo prayed to the gods that his psychic hand-eye coordination wasn’t as shot as his physical one and, with a breath, flings it between the robot’s eyes.

Without looking to see if it worked, Shigeo turned and sprinted for his life.

Dimple better have landed Shinsou safely. 

Shigeo thought maybe if he had a cap on his emotions, he probably had a cap on how many people he could interact with in a day before getting emotionally exhausted. Limping with Shinsou to Recovery Girl wasn’t too complicated but approaching Present Mic to say that he had to share his points with Shinsou was, especially with the volume of some of Present Mic’s words.

Texting Hanazawa to meet at the front gates, Shigeo thought that maybe hanging out with loud blonds was supposed to be this exhausting all the time. Pulling at the cardboard in his uniform’s raised collar, Shigeo sighed.

“Hey!”

Shigeo turned towards Yuuei’s doors, spotting Shinsou’s purple hair approaching. “Hey, I didn’t catch your name.”

Shigeo blinked. He knew he was forgetting something. “Kageyama Shigeo. Most people just call me—”

“Mob! How was it!”

Shigeo looked away from Shinsou as Reigen strode towards the gates. He wasn’t allowed entrance, the form had specified, so Reigen stopped just at the awning with an expectant look. “It was fine, master. This is Shinsou-san, I helped him during the practical.”

Reigen smiled down at Shinsou. “Reigen Arataka, world’s greatest psychic. Nice to meet you, Shinsou.”

Shinsou shrugged after considering that information. “Nice to meet you too, Reigen-san. Well,” he turned back to Shigeo. “I’m heading home. Mind if we exchange numbers, Kageyama?”

Shigeo fished his phone out of his pocket, handing the flip phone over.

Shinsou took it with a bemused squint but didn’t comment. Shigeo supposed it was a bit too battered and old, but it was sentimental, and a lot less fragile than the newer model Mitsuura from the Awakening Lab had gifted him and Ritsu last Christmas.

“Taka-ji!”

Shigeo didn’t have time to look for the source of all the commotion before a blur of brown and maroon barreled past him and Shinsou and tackled Reigen.

“Occhan, you’ve grown so much, sheesh! Like, super heavy!”

A thud told Shigeo that ‘Occhan’ hit Reigen somewhere. “You shouldn’t tell a girl that! It’s rude.”

Reigen chuckled, putting them down, then wincing as he rubbed at his shoulder. Shigeo bit at his lower lip. ‘Occhan’ blinked, then turned to see Shinsou and Shigeo. “Oh! Where are my manners! I’m Uraraka Ochako. This sleaze-ball is my uncle.”

Shigeo thought maybe she shouldn’t be calling Reigen her uncle and a sleaze-ball in the same statement but nodded anyway. “Kageyama Shigeo, his student.”

“Ah, you’re Mob-kun! It’s nice to finally meet you! You’re sort of like, my pseudo-cousin at this point, y’know!”

Uraraka was really loud, but not as loud as Reigen’s cough. Shigeo glanced at him, frowning at the thought that he might be smoking again.

“I’m Shinsou Hitoshi. I just met them both.”

“Which reminds me,” Uraraka said, pointing a finger at Shinsou. There was a pad around the tip of it, Shigeo observed. “Have you seen a kid with green hair walk past here?”

Green hair? Shigeo partially understood Dimple’s fascination about eccentric hair colors now. Maybe it was just Musutafu, though, since Seasoning’s weirdest hair color was probably Reigen’s.

“Mob, she asked if you’ve seen the kid.”

Shigeo blinked, then shook his head. “Sorry, I zoned off. No, I haven’t seen someone like that.”

Uraraka deflated. “I hope he gets in.”

Shinsou stepped away from them at that, handing Shigeo his phone back. “I need to catch my train. It was nice meeting you all. I hope we all get in.”

Shigeo bowed in lieu of a goodbye.

A hand dropped on his shoulder, startling him, then Hanazawa stepped up beside him, clad in Salt Middle’s uniform. “Who was that?”

“Hanazawa-kun!” Both Shigeo and Uraraka said. Dimple hovered after Hanazawa, latching onto Reigen’s head like a tired cat.

“Hey, you both. Hello, Reigen-san.”

“’Sup.” Reigen flipped his hand out of his pocket and produced his own outdated phone. “Let’s go get some food, my treat. Tell me over dinner how you guys did.” 

“You helped another applicant?”

Shigeo nodded numbly, smiling at the general feeling of making new friends, cradling his glass of milk like a lifeline. Oddly enough, though he was tired, there was some part of it that he thoroughly enjoyed, and the feeling of making new friends had just caught up to him.

“If I don’t get in, it will be worth it.” He said, eyes never leaving his glass of milk. “No one was seriously hurt, it’s a relief, but I’m worried about that other applicant Uraraka-san mentioned in her and Hanazawa-kun’s test area. They said he broke his limbs.”

“Limbs, plural?” Ritsu sounded worried. “Who’s Uraraka-san?”

Shigeo jolted up from his seat, blinking widely. “I almost forgot! Ritsu, Uraraka-san is in Seasoning tonight till tomorrow. If you’re free, we can show her around with Hanazawa-kun on bikes and everything.”

Ritsu nodded, hand out to make sure Shigeo didn’t spill his milk. Shigeo smiled wider. Good watching out, Ritsu. “Okay, yeah, I’m free tomorrow, but who’s Uraraka-san?”

“She’s master’s niece.”

“You met his niece in Yuuei?”

“She applied. She has a gravity manipulation quirk.”

“Then how come Reigen-san is Quirkless?”

Shigeo shrugged. He wasn’t going to ask them that.

“Never mind that,” Ritsu said. “You really shouldn’t help other applicants. Yuuei’s Heroics is really selective, brother. What if you land in General Studies?”

Shigeo shrugged. “That doesn’t bother me. That’s what I’m going with anyway if I don’t get into any Heroics course.”

Ritsu frowned, and Shigeo leaned forward to poke at the worried furrow of his brow. “Your face will get stuck like that, like that loud applicant.”

“That’s not a real thing, brother.”

But Shigeo had seen it.

There was a comfortable silence as Shigeo sipped at his warm milk, slowly getting drowsier as he emptied it. “Shinsou-san told me that the practical was a better chance at getting into Yuuei than the written. I’m still pretty sure I flunked Japanese History and Algebra, even though I did fine in the practical.”

Ritsu took a moment to mull that over. Then, “When are the results coming out for all three?”

“Salt High comes out with results next week, but Shiketsu and Yuuei’s come out the week after. I’m the most confident with Salt High right now, even with the practical.”

“I’m sorry, then, brother.”

Shigeo looked up from his milk. “For what?”

“Pushing you into it?”

Huh? Shigeo was sitting up now, eyes trained on his brother. “What are you talking about?”

Ritsu didn’t answer. Instead, he stood and exited the dining room without looking at Shigeo. “Remember to empty out the dishwasher before adding your glass in.”

“Okay, but Ritsu—”

“I’m turning in. Good night.”

“… Good night.” 

Shigeo thought maybe doing push-ups during this conversation was a bad idea, but he was a bit anxious about Salt High’s results coming in on Saturday, and, well.

“And little brother hasn’t spoken to you since? But he seemed fine when we met up with Uraraka-san yesterday.”

Shigeo couldn’t shrug in the middle of his eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth push up so he just said, “He only talked to me if it was needed.”

Hanazawa thought that over, then asked, “Shouldn’t Dimple have pointed that out?”

“Probably thinks I’m mad at him for not landing Shinsou-san safely during the test. And he knows to keep his mouth shut around Ritsu. Wouldn’t hesitate to exorcise him.” Eighteen, nineteen, twenty.

Hanazawa hissed through his teeth, shutting Shigeo’s copy of Caped Baldy with some reverence. Shigeo glanced at the cracked spine of it, remembering the first time he held it in his hands, sitting in Spirits & Such, one summer day three years ago.

Despite being able to get to fifty without a sweat now, Shigeo stopped at twenty-five in order to talk to Hanazawa properly, his white shoe tapping restlessly on the floor at the absence of bodily movement.

Hanazawa had transferred to Salt Mid for his last year of middle school. Shigeo hadn’t questioned his motives the first time, and Hanazawa didn’t seem to want to explain the decision without prompting, so on the last legs of their third year, Shigeo has yet to figure out why exactly Hanazawa left Black Vinegar. He just knew that ever-fashionable Hanazawa didn’t look right in a gakuran, so the tie-dye/neon something shirt underneath always complemented it.

“Maybe,” Shigeo fumbled. “Maybe Ritsu thinks that I didn’t want to pursue Heroics. Because he suggested it and he thinks that I… went with it to humor him?”

 Hanazawa hummed. “Well, didn’t you?”

Shigeo blinked, stilling.

“I remember you mentioning that you were having difficulties deciding for the future. Then out of the blue, you apply for two of the most prestigious Heroics schools in the country like you were past it.”

Shigeo chewed over it. Then, “Is it so bad?”

Hanazawa pulled at his uniform collar, unbuttoning the whole thing after some contemplation. “Pardon?”

“I’m his big brother,” Shigeo muttered, eyes trained on the neon purple undershirt. “Is it so bad that I want to be a Hero for him? A Quirkless ESPer Hero.”

Hanazawa grimaced. “You’re not—”

“I am, Hanazawa-kun. We are. Psychic powers don’t give us Quirks. Being born with one does. I’m just a Quirkless ESPer and so are you.”

“I hate that you downplay that, but I see your point.”

Shigeo paused.

Hanazawa laughed. “I do, I swear! You didn’t think you wanted to be a Hero till Ritsu expected, right? And now you do want to, for him. I was in that position not so long ago, y’know. Didn’t think I wanted to be a good person till you showed me up for it.”

“Yeah…” Shigeo hardly thought that destroying Black Vinegar’s campus could be considered showing him up for it,but he saw Hanazawa’s point.

“But little brother wants you to be a Hero for yourself, not because he’ll look up to you for it.

Shigeo lowered his gaze, fingers fidgeting. His sweat was starting to dry, and he was starting to feel a little gross.

“You don’t know,” Hanazawa started, “maybe Yuuei or Shiketsu will help you control your powers better.”

The silence was comfortable, only overtaken by occasional shouts of fight on! from the athletic teams practicing on the oval. Shigeo’s gaze lifted from the shadows in the room to the clouds outside, watching them blow past. It must have been a nice spring breeze out there.

A towel dropping on his head jolted him out of the clouds, looking to see Hanazawa’s finger lifted, his face sheepish.

“Thanks,” Shigeo muttered, wiping the sweat off as much as he could.

“Maybe,” Hanazawa started after some moment. “Little brother is upset that you’re not excited or happy about it like you usually are when you try things on your own accord.”

Shigeo wiped down his face, reveling in the feeling of the threads on his face. When he was somewhat dry, he looked up at Hanazawa. “I don’t want to get his hopes up too high. He already seems to think I should be doing all I can to get in.”

“And yours won’t?”

Shigeo blinked.

Hanazawa leaned both elbows on his knees, now eye level with Shigeo. He handed Shigeo a bottle of water from the table, then asked, “If you don’t get into Yuuei or Shiketsu, you won’t feel the least bit disappointed?”

Shigeo cracked the bottle open, making a face when it was room temperature, but sipping anyway.

Hero school wasn’t his first option but if he got in, he’ll most certainly give it his best. Being a Hero seemed exciting, the prospect of glory and popularity could and would stroke anyone’s ego, no matter how humble. Shigeo liked being helpful and being able to control his powers to help other people seemed like a worthwhile endeavor.

And really, he wanted to be someone like Reigen or like Caped Baldy, someone who had control over what they wanted for the betterment of others, someone children, with or without ESP, could look up to. He wanted to be depended on, trusted.

But he could be those things without a Hero license or using his powers.

“I think,” Shigeo started, capping the bottle. “I think I’ll have to get over it. It wouldn’t be healthy to dwell on something I have no control over.”

Hanazawa nodded. Shigeo couldn’t help but smile at that.

A year ago, Hanazawa probably would have pushed him into changing his mind. Now, after spending more time with him, Hanazawa finally found it in him to trust in Shigeo when he spoke his mind.

“You’ve really changed, Hanazawa-kun.”

Hanazawa seemed to freeze. It was odd, Shigeo observed. Despite being still, Hanazawa was always in motion, and it was noticeable when he wasn’t actually moving.

“That,” Hanazawa stammered. “Means a lot, coming from you, Kageyama-kun, thank you. Also, I meant to ask, do you want to be roommates?”

Shigeo nodded, still smiling to himself. Wait.

“What?”

Hanazawa laughed, then said, “Yuuei and Shiketsu are both a two-hour train ride away. Are you sure you’re going to survive the commute there every morning and evening if you do get in?”

Shigeo appreciated that he said if instead of when. He didn’t think of it like that either. If he got accepted, he’d have to wake up early and sleep late every night. Just thinking about the loss of sleep made him sweat, so he moved to wipe it off.

“I mean, yeah,” Shigeo stammered. “I… I’d have to ask my parents, but I think they’d be okay with it. Are you sure about it though? I don’t want to be a bother.”

Hanazawa tutted, then moved to clean up his things from the table. “I wouldn’t have asked if I was going to be bothered by you, Kageyama-kun. You’d still be helping me with rent and groceries and all that, so really, you’re doing me a favor.”

Shigeo liked the sound of that. “Of course.”

Hanazawa shrugged his book bag on. “Then it won’t be. A bother, I mean. Shall we go? Are you finished with your reps?”

Shigeo blinked up at his friend, then pushed himself up off the floor. 

It’d been a while since Shigeo had stepped into Ritsu’s room. With past events, usually it was Ritsu who went to his room instead of the other way around, but due to recent events, well…

The room was plain, a bed with blue blankets, frame pushed up against the wall. Desk on the other side of the room, flanked by a closet and a bookshelf. Ritsu, in the neatness of his room, was by his desk, turned away from Shigeo.

Shigeo thinks it just runs in the family, plainness, normalcy. Kageyamas made up for it with personalities and Quirks. Ritsu and he were Quirkless, but they were loved and had ESP to make up for it.

“Ritsu?”

“I’ll take my bath in a moment, brother.”

“I wanted… I wanted to clear things up. Is it okay if I sit on your bed?”

Ritsu breathed out, a burgeoning sigh held back with surprising restraint. Shigeo tried not to be swayed by it. After all, Ritsu felt and expressed himself a bit more intensely.

“Sure.”

Plopping down Ritsu’s neat bed, Shigeo watched as Ritsu turned around in his seat. He looked fine, if a bit sadder than normal. He seemed to have been writing on some notebook, a journal perhaps, or his notes from school. Ever so diligent, Ritsu.

“I’m not upset, in case you thought I was,” Shigeo started. In the past year and their last few disagreements, it seemed they both had the same issue of assuming one was upset at the other. Another thing that might run in the family. “It’s okay for you to be since I keep doing things that might not get me into a Hero school, but if I don’t, I don’t want you to get hurt about it since it’s out of our control.”

Ritsu looked at him, not wide-eyed with surprise or furrowed-browed with confusion, just eyes-anywhere with hesitation and maybe guilt. His shoulders were tense enough to reach his ears.

“I also wanted to tell you that you didn’t push me into applying for Yuuei or Shiketsu. You suggested them and Ketsubutsu, but I went because I wanted you to look up to me.”

Ritsu met his eyes then, now wide-eyed with surprise. “Brother, I… But I already do.”

Shigeo smiled, “Thanks, Ritsu. But is it just that?”

Aversion, again. “Are you sure you’re not disappointed in me?”

Shigeo shook his head. “You looking out for me makes me happy. I just want you to be okay if I don’t get in.”

“It’s your future—”

“But will you still love me if I don’t become a Hero in that future?”

“Of course!” Eye contact, furrow-browed but with determination instead of confusion. Tension poured out of his form immediately, leaning towards Shigeo.

Shigeo put a hand on his shoulder, mostly to keep it un-tensed, but somewhat to mirror Reigen. “Then if I can’t be your Hero, I’ll be your older brother.”

Ritsu smiled back, almost leaning into Shigeo’s touch.

“Now, please, Ritsu, take your bath before the water gets cold.”

Chapter Text

When the letters arrived, Shigeo hadn’t really given it a second thought.

He’d been accepted to Salt High the week before, the school calling him before classes started in the middle of a conversation with Inugawa, Onigawara, and Hanazawa in the halls. He’d told his parents and Ritsu when he got home, then texted Reigen, Tome, Shinsou, and Uraraka once he was ready for bed.

They all took it well, especially Uraraka and Reigen. In text, Shigeo could see how really close they were as relatives.

So, that morning, when his mother left the letters for him on the dining table before leaving for work, Shigeo expected Ritsu, who rose earlier, to make Shigeo open it at that moment.

“Are those the results?” Ritsu asked, pointing his chopsticks at the letters by the end of the table.

Shigeo leaned forward in his seat; eyes still blurry with sleep despite having freshened up. “Yeah, for Shiketsu and Yuuei. Should I open them?”

Ritsu chewed at his omurice, glancing between his hands, food, and the letters. Shigeo understood. Sometimes he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t bend cutlery either. At the very least, they could reform stainless steel, but chopsticks required a lot more precision and wood glue.

“I think that’s up to you. Do you want to bring them with you just in case you want to do it after school?”

Shigeo sipped his orange juice. “I could. Maybe… Let’s meet up at the office after school? I’ll make sure Hanazawa-kun brings his own letter so we can open it together.”

Ritsu gave him a private smile. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Shigeo wasn’t as anxious to see his results as Ritsu, Hanazawa, and Reigen were. If anything, he was as worried about it as the Body Improvement/Astronomy Club was.

That is to say, not at all. Whatever happened, happened, after all.

It all came to a head when they all gathered at Spirits & Such. The sun was close to setting outside, light peeking through the blinds. The office smelled of the usual scented candles and incense, the marker on the door flipped to say they were closed.

With two wax-sealed envelopes in his hands, Hanazawa standing to the left of his seat, Ritsu kneeling at his right, and Reigen seated expectantly on the ominously creaking coffee table in front of him, Shigeo could feel the weight of the situation slowly sink his way into his stomach.

Dimple flew into the room through the blinds, startling Shigeo from his trance.

“I’m back, open ‘em, Shige.”

To stall, he answered, “Ah. Welcome back, Dimple.”

Ever impatient, Ritsu batted at his knee, kneeling up to get a better view on the letters. Shigeo laid the heavier one, Yuuei’s, on his lap.

Cracking open the seal on Shiketsu’s, his sweaty fingers snagged at the letter inside, folding it open on his lap.

“What’s it say?” Dimple hovered around Shigeo’s head, trying to get a better look.

Hanazawa leaned in further, “Kageyama-san, we would like to inform you that—”

“—your application was… accepted!” Ritsu shot up, pushing at Shigeo’s knees with such happiness in his eyes, Shigeo couldn’t help the smile on his face despite the nerves. “Brother, you got into one of the top Hero schools in Japan!”

Shigeo’s clammy hands shook as he laid the letter down on his lap, next to Yuuei’s envelope. He could barely read the letter, flustered. Upon realizing this, Shigeo figured that the anticipation had finally gotten to him.

He was nervous now.

“Congratulations, Kageyama-kun!” Hanazawa sat on the seat arm, leaning heavily on him. “I knew, of course, that any Hero school that turned you down would have to be blind to not see your potential.”

Reigen laughed. “Don’t let all that praise go straight to your head, Mob. Though I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“He deserves the praise because it’s true,” Ritsu muttered, mirroring Hanazawa as he stood to sit on Shigeo’s right.

“Open the other one,” Dimple shouted over their banter.

Flushed from all the praise, Shigeo fumbled a little too obviously with Yuuei’s heavy letter. He felt Ritsu turn to him.

“Everything alright, brother?”

Shigeo nodded, shakily cracking the seal open. “Just realized how nervous I was.”

“Don’t worry, Mob, it’s really like Teru said,” Reigen reassured. “Yuuei would have to be blind to not accept you.”

Shigeo sighed through his nose. He appreciated the sentiment, but it didn’t make him any less nervous. He wasn’t even sure why exactly he was so shaken about this. Just this morning, he was fine!

Was it the others’ well wishes when he’d told them of his worries? Was it the new friends he’d made at the entrance exams for Yuuei? Was it the disappointment he’d told Hanazawa that he had to get over if this wasn’t an acceptance?

Trying to stall again, Shigeo looked at Hanazawa. “Where’s your letter, Hanazawa-kun?”

Hanazawa blinked, then turned to gesture over his shoulder. “Somewhere in my bag, I think. I figured… uh, maybe we should do things one at a time.”

Shigeo nodded. He admired Hanazawa’s patience.

Once more, Ritsu batted at him, on his shoulder this time. “C’mon, brother.”

Finding all other methods of stalling expired, Shigeo fumbled to reach into the envelope, confused when he didn’t feel a letter. Fishing out the item, he found that it was a disk instead. He settled it onto his sweaty palm, growing more confused by the moment as he stared at it.

A flash of light.

Shigeo jolted, fumbling to catch the small disk. Three auras wrapped around the disk, his being the most noticeable in the panic. Reigen looked with a look Shigeo could discern as fond.

A screen of light came to life above the disk.

A hologram.

“As expected of Yuuei,” Shigeo muttered.

Hanazawa snorted.

On the screen was a disheveled man with long hair and the longest scarf Shigeo had laid eyes on. He looked like he’d rather be elsewhere than filming the pre-recorded announcement.

“Good day, Kageyama Shigeo. I’m Aizawa Shouta, and I’ll be your home room teacher this coming semester.”

“Oh,” Hanazawa and Ritsu said. Shigeo agreed.

Oh.

Reigen stood abruptly, pumping his fist. “We’re getting takoyaki after that, kids.” He started walking around the office, likely gathering his things, but all three teens were focused on the hologram.

Aizawa had since walked off-screen or seemed to attempt to. Someone from behind the camera was talking to him, “That’s just the first one, Eraser-san. Perhaps you could explain the rest of his results.”

“I’m only covering all nineteen of my class and then I’m leaving. That is the deal.”

“Yes, but again, Kageyama-kun is only the first one.”

Aizawa heaved a sigh, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “Fine.”

He turned back to the camera, glaring. “Kageyama, your test scores were almost abysmal. I suggest you get a tutor or adapt quickly when the semester starts. Your practical scores.” A screen popped up behind Aizawa, showing a ranking of names and numbers categorized by VILLAIN and RESCUE.

Shigeo’s name was on the top spot, ninety points in total.

“They’re a record-breaking high, earning you the top spot on rankings which I still find irrational. Forty-five points each, thanks to your insistence on assisting applicant Shinsou Hitoshi. Congratulations. I expect you in April.”

The video cut off.

Shigeo blinked. “I’ll be going to Yuuei, then.”

“Just like that,” Dimple deadpanned. “Some hobo asked you to come and you’re going.”

Ritsu stood with a sigh, walking away from the seat. Shigeo stared after their retreating figures. “But he’s expecting me.”

“That is why,” Reigen, now by the door, gesticulated as he loudly announced, “We should get takoyaki!”

“Your treat?” Hanazawa smirked, shouldering his bag.

“Of course.” Reigen squinted at him. “Only one for all of us, but Mob can get two.”

“But, Hanazawa-kun,” Shigeo called out. Ritsu handed his bag over. “Thanks, Ritsu—what about your test results?”

“We’ll open them over takoyaki. I’m starved after all that good news!”

Shigeo nodded. He hoped Hanazawa got in as well.

Taking Aizawa’s words to heart, Shigeo started reviewing all of the material he couldn’t understand in the past three years of middle school. He moved half of his training in the morning, then the other half after school after studying. In that way, he was only going to finish his reps for the day, if he finally understood the material he set aside for himself for the day.

Oftentimes, he asked Hanazawa to help him with more complex problems he couldn’t solve by himself. Some days, Saruta and Inugawa joined them. Other days so did Sagawa and the newer members of the Body Improvement Club. Most days though, and the oddest was when, Takenaka Momozou joined them.

Shigeo hadn’t really gotten to know him since their farewell New Year’s trip to the mountain for Tome. He seemed to not have wanted to hang out with anyone from the Astronomy Club anymore after the alien encounter, but Shigeo nodded at him when they passed each other in the halls and Takenaka seemed to think that Shigeo wasn’t so bad himself.

“It’s for my part-time job,” Takenaka explained without prompting, which meant he’d somehow heard Shigeo through his noise-cancelling earphones. “My sister started a cram school from home, and she said she’d be paying me if I helped her teach kids Math on my spare time. It… helps that I can use my Quirk when they skip steps or whatever.”

Shigeo nodded; eyes trained on the makeshift activity booklet Hanazawa was checking beside him. So far so good. He really admired Takenaka’s commitment too.

“It’s just for pocket money, Kageyama, don’t stress it so much.”

Hanazawa snorted. “Is he thinking things about how he admires your tenacity or something? That’s just how he is, he’s very humble about himself though.” He slid the booklet across the table to Takenaka, where Shigeo could no longer fret over whether or not he got his answers right.

Takenaka made no move to respond. Shigeo fidgeted with his mechanical pencil, “Hanazawa-kun teaches kids too.”

Hanazawa waved him off. “I used to. Mitsuura-san disbanded our group long ago because we were all graduating from middle school. Sometimes we all still text each other for help.”

Shigeo gave him a small smile. It was good that Hanazawa still found time to hang around people other than him. “That’s goo—”

“Good job, Kageyama.”

Shigeo blinked, then glancing at his booklet, then at Takenaka, who was currently sliding it towards him. “What?”

“You finally understand concepts from things you should have known before you got admitted to Yuuei.”

“And Shiketsu. And Salt Hi—”

“We get it, Kageyama’s great,” Takenaka stood abruptly. “I have to go. Cram school’s about to start. Have fun with whatever Hanazawa’s planning.”

He left the club room without another word, leaving Shigeo and Hanazawa blinking after him.

“What was he talking about?” Shigeo asked, looking towards Hanazawa, who was a bit pink in the face.

“I— uh, ca—we can talk about it after your training. Your parents will be home tonight, right? We can talk then.”

“Oh,” Shigeo said. “I’ll tell Ritsu we’re having you over, then. I’m in charge of dinner tonight, so we might have to stop by the farmer’s market if Ritsu hasn’t already.”

“I’ll text him.”

“And you’re sure that your parents approve of this?” Ritsu stressed the word sure like he was trying to convince Hanazawa of something. Shigeo wasn’t sure what exactly it was though. Almost crumpling the stapled print-outs of apartments in his hand, Ritsu slapped them down on the table.

Hanazawa shook his head fondly. “You should know I already live alone, little brother.”

“It’s Ritsu.”

“Gesundheit.”

Ritsu threw his hands up, hysterically shouting, “What the hell does that even mean!”

“Ritsu,” Shigeo said. His name was enough to get him to calm down, and now was no different. He watched as Ritsu sat back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, pouting. “Hanazawa-kun and I talked about this already. I agreed to do it since Yuuei is two hours away and commuting would be hard on my studies. We just need Mom and Dad’s approval.”

Ritsu deflates at this, looking sullenly at Hanazawa. Hanazawa only shrugs, blessedly keeping the conversation civil, if only for Shigeo’s sake. There’ve been instances when Ritsu, in a fit of immaturity, made to punch Hanazawa’s face after a conversation like this. Shigeo couldn’t understand what ran though his little brother’s head sometimes, but he hoped, sincerely, that he grew out of thinking that violence could solve disagreements.

The oven timer shrilled, jolting Shigeo out of his thoughts. He pushed himself off of the counter and checked the rice on the stove, rushing enough to use his powers to lift the lid. Dad still hadn’t fixed the rice cooker, so they were confined to old-style rice cooking.

“Rice is done. Can you set the table?”

Slipper-clad footsteps padded in from behind him as he put on gloves to properly hold the pot. To his surprise, it was Hanazawa instead of Ritsu.

“Hanazawa-kun is a guest,” Shigeo stressed with enough inflection in his voice to sound stern. “I was talking to Ritsu.”

“Let me help, it’s the least I could do since you guys wouldn’t let me help with the curry.”

The doorbell rang through the speaker by the kitchen sink.

“I’ll get it,” Ritsu called out. “It must be them.”

With a small huff, Shigeo pointed to which drawers Hanazawa needed to open and carried the pot to the table.

“We’re home! Food smells good, Shige,” Mom called out.

Shigeo set the rice down and made sure to double-check if they had enough chairs for Hanazawa, replying, “Hanazawa-kun is over for the night, we made enough for tomorrow!”

“That’s great, was Ritsu behaved while you cooked?” Dad teased. Shigeo smiled as Ritsu made a sound of protest down the hall.

“Good evening, ma’am, sir. I’m grateful for your hospitality,” Hanazawa said with a low bow as the Kageyamas all gathered to the table.

“Are you here to court one of my sons?” Dad asked, mock seriously. Shigeo felt his face flush, embarrassed enough by the sudden question that he couldn’t hazard a look at Hanazawa. Ritsu made a face from behind their parents. Mom smacked Dad’s arm.

“It’s a delight to finally meet you, Hanazawa-kun. Shigeo has said nothing but positive things about you since last year. I almost thought the boys made you up since they’ve never invited you over.”

Hanazawa laughed at that. “Please, obasan, call me Teruki.”

“And you’ve talked about this before asking us?” Mom asked, sorting through the print-outs with her reading glasses perched dangerously close to the edge of her nose. Shigeo pointed a finger at her and lifted it from the other side of the table. She mumbled a thanks.

“Yes, we have. I offered before the results for Yuuei came out and Ka— ah, Shigeo-kun said he’d have to ask you before agreeing wholeheartedly.”

Hearing his given name from Hanazawa was odd, but not bad odd. He thought maybe Hanazawa would have chosen to call him Mob instead, but he seemed rather against the nickname, despite Shigeo’s reassurances. People rarely referred to him by his given name outside of family, after all.

“And your apartment right now?” Dad asked, leaning over Mom’s shoulder to get a good look. He mumbled as he pointed at an option, approval in his tone.

“The lease is about to expire in a week since we’ll be graduating. Shigeo-kun seemed pretty confident you’ll agree, when I asked but it’s totally fine if you don’t approve, I have my savings backed up.”

“What a practical young man,” Mom commented, approval in her tone clear as day. Shigeo agreed. “You should learn to be like Teruki, you both.”

“Sure, sure,” Ritsu answered from the kitchen. Shigeo hoped that wasn’t sarcastic.

Hanazawa, now a bit pink in the face, waved off the compliment. “It’s only because I’m used to it, auntie. Not a big deal.”

“Oh, if you only knew,” Dad mumbled. “Those two regularly bend spoons like no tomorrow and you barely even bent one tonight. That’s a big deal to us, as their parents. We’ve been told, of course, that you’re an ESPer as well, correct?”

“Yes, uh, Shigeo-kun and I had a rough start, but he was the first ESPer I’d met.”

Mom nodded. “He’s mentioned, yes. See, that’s why we’re so impressed you’re so mature, Teruki, it really is inspiring.”

Ritsu wiped his hands off a towel, then floated a tray full of juice over to the table. “How come you guys are so nice to him,” he quipped.

Shigeo bit down a smile. “Ritsu,” he warned.

Mom swatted at him. “Don’t play coy, Ritsu. You know why.”

“In any case,” Dad interrupted, giving Hanazawa and Shigeo a conspiratorial look. “You two would be fine on your own?”

“We will,” Shigeo said. He was only a bit surprised to say that he wholeheartedly meant it. “Hanazawa-kun and I can handle ourselves. And we can come back for holidays and on Sundays, if we don’t have homework.”

“No worries, Shige, we were going to say yes anyway,” Mom reassured. “We’re just making sure Teruki knew what he was getting into.”

“Oh, no, please, Shigeo-kun would probably be the more responsible one of us,” Hanazawa said. “He’s been like that since we’ve met, I don’t expect it to change just because we live together.”

Shigeo couldn’t help but be amused at the shock that came over Mom and Dad’s faces at that statement. Ritsu looked smug from where he stood by the end of the table, beside Hanazawa, sipping at his juice.

With a nod, Dad slid over their choice over the table. “Then it’s agreed.”

“Make sure you call tonight,” Ritsu told him.

Shigeo hummed, then nodded for good measure. There was just not enough reassurance to give to Ritsu when he was fretting like this, so he gave in. “I’ll try to get Hanazawa-kun to help me with the video call feature so I can show Mom and Dad and Dimple.”

“Remember to unpack.”

“Hm.”

“And don’t forget to make Hanazawa set his alarm extra early before school starts, I know you hate using your alarm.”

“Ritsu, I’m already used to waking up early for my runs. I’m coming back on the weekends.”

“And holidays?”

“No. Just the weekends,” Shigeo laughed when Ritsu made a sour face, pulling him in by the arms for a hug. “I’m joking. Be good for Mom and Dad while I’m gone, okay?”

Ritsu huffed, but hugged back tightly, he was smiling, small but pleased, before jogging into the open car door Reigen held open for him.

Shigeo stood by the entrance to the building, looking on as Reigen double-checked that Ritsu and Tome were strapped in as he shut the door after the former.

“Man, your parents picked just the right location, huh,” Reigen said, finally straightening to look at Shigeo properly. “Who’d’ve thought that Occhan chose to dorm at the same complex? Lucky break.”

Shigeo nodded.

“Well, Mob.” There was a finality to those two words that made Shigeo falter. He reached out, grabbing at Reigen’s cufflink. “Hm?”

“I—Travel safely. I’ll see you when I can as well,” Shigeo mumbled, eyes on his feet.

He could hear Reigen shifting in his stance. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by the smell of incense and green tea, Spirits & Such embodied by his master even in his casual clothes, Reigen’s arms around him in a hug.

“You’re making me really proud, Mob.” A pause, then, “No, you’re a Hero student now. Can’t have that. You make me proud, Shigeo.”

Shigeo blinked, then slowly lifted his arms to hug back. For once, without the nickname, Shigeo could feel a flurry of positive emotions: happiness, elation, relief, validation. All of them swirled around just one thought, and all the energy and contact made him pass it on to Reigen like a lucky charm.

Words clogged around his throat, words he couldn’t quite express yet. Instead, he said, “I’ll miss you, Reigen-shishou. I’ll text a lot.”

Reigen pulled away, an odd smile on his face. Shigeo supposed if he imagined it just the right way, he could see the tears forming with that smile. “I’ll hold you to that, Shige.”

A humble genkan opened up to a small hall before opening to a living, dining and kitchen space. Hanazawa’s room was next to the bathroom, and Shigeo’s was the closest to the kitchen, right next to the closet.

In their small apartment, unpacking was doable in a day.

Before leaving, Ritsu, Reigen, and Tome helped as much as they could with unpacking the boxes in the open areas, leaving the bedrooms to Shigeo and Hanazawa.

Shigeo packed all his personal things into two boxes, one for his desk, and another one for his clothes. His futon had been left at home, so as a birthday gift, Ritsu bought him a new one with a heavy blanket, just how Shigeo liked.

So, his dilemma was: Why was there another box in the middle of his room?

Perplexed, Shigeo approached. The cardboard was plain. Had one of Hanazawa’s boxes been put in his room accidentally?

“Hanazawa-kun?” Shigeo called out. He stood from his perch and came out to see Hanazawa tidying up in the living area, or making a mess of it, seeing all the DVDs on the carpet in front of his television. “Do you have all of your boxes?”

“I do, why?”

“There’s another one in my room, but I don’t know what’s in it.”

Blinking, Hanazawa abandoned his activity, which seemed to be sorting through the orders in some manner. Shigeo didn’t mind, so long as he cleaned up after. He led Hanazawa into his room, where the offending box sat on his new futon.

“Want me to open it?” Hanazawa sat on the floor then turned to him, holding up an energy-wrapped finger.

Shigeo nodded, plopping down next to him, rubbing his fingers together.

Packing tape ripped as Hanazawa ran his finger over the slit and gingerly opened the box. Shigeo leaned in to see what it revealed.

“… books?” Hanazawa reached in to pluck a single piece of paper placed over the books. He turned it over, then gave it to Shigeo. “It’s for you. Read it.”

Shigeo took it from him, confused. Sure enough, it was addressed to him… in Reigen’s handwriting.

“It’s from master.”

“Reigen-san? Oh, well. Go ahead and read it, I’ll look through this.”

Shigeo unfolded the letter, noticing the shape of the origami he’d taught Reigen after learning it from Ritsu years ago. Nostalgia and fondness mixed and reached up until it was skin-deep and making his hair float.

Reigen’s handwriting was exactly how he spoke. Fluctuating and stylized but conveyed simple meanings and letters. It was messy, with words crossed out and written, and crossed out again. But Shigeo could still read it.

Mob,

Advanced happy birthday. Oh, and think of this as a graduation gift, too. Don’t expect too much though. This is all I can afford to give you so if you do something amazing at school and I haven’t treated you for food, don’t be too surprised, okay?

Anyway, about this box.

I remember the first time you came to my office, our first case together, and the first time you taught me how to fold paper like this. I’ve never been known for my precision, and as my student, you would know, but you taught me how to be careful and gentle, and for that, I’m grateful.

Do you remember the first time you read these comics? They got you through some boring times in the office, some tough times too, like when clients would start telling me off about being Quirkless. Sometimes, then, you’d apologize to me. You’d say, “I’m sorry I didn’t defend you.” Or, sometimes, “I’m sorry you had to hear that.” Most of the times though, you’d say, “I’m sorry that they think I have a Quirk and you don’t.”

I’m sure you remember those times. But do you remember what I’d always tell you afterwards?

Quirks aren’t a gift or a blessing. They’re just like psychic powers. They are a skill you have to hone and learn, muscles you have to train for. On that vein, Heroism isn’t grandiose. It’s messy, sometimes stupid, and will get you in a lot of trouble.

Morals are what keep Heroism and Quirks from turning into Villainy. Using your skills to get you through tough times to just help someone? That’s what makes you a hero. Didn’t Saitama say so? You’re doing this because you want to.

You made me realize I was a Hero, Shigeo, even if only to you. I hope these will remind you, always, what you taught me.

Reigen.

“Kage—Shigeo-kun?”

Huh? Shigeo looked up, then saw, well. He didn’t, because everything was blurry. Then, as the back of his hands rose to touch his eyes, he realized that he was crying.

“What is it, are you okay?”

Shigeo nodded, sniffling. “This was a touching letter. They’re Caped Baldy comics, right?”

Still a bit alarmed to see his friend crying, Hanazawa nodded. “I think he gave you all of his copies. Are you— I have a spare bookshelf in my storage locker, I’ll have it over tomorrow? Do you want me to put these away for now?”

Shigeo nodded, again, not really able to do much else as he tried and failed to stop weeping. “Thank you so much, Hanazawa-kun. I’ll cook us breakfast tomorrow as thanks.”

Hanazawa smiled then, still a bit concerned, Shigeo thought, but reassured that he was going to be just fine. “You can call me Teru, now, we live with each other after all.”

“Teruki-kun.”

Teruki laughed. “Okay, Shigeo-kun.”

Chapter Text

“So, let’s clear something up, because when Taka-ji told me to remind you about it, I didn’t get it completely. You and Hanazawa-kun are… Quirkless,” Uraraka counted off on one padded finger. She was walking ahead of them, looking behind every now and then to check if they were still there.

Shigeo nodded, so did Teruki. Together, they walked to the station. In Shigeo’s pocket, his new phone vibrated, probably a message from his mother about how he looked in his uniform for the fifth time.

Maybe he shouldn’t have sent that picture before going out.

Uraraka seemed ignorant of Shigeo’s predicament as she counted off another padded finger. “You’re both psychics who manipulate psychic energy to do what you do.”

They nodded again.

Uraraka turned, walking backwards now, pointing at Shigeo. “And Taka-ji told me to remind you, Mob-kun, not to tell everyone that you’re Quirkless today because that might risk some… unsavory results in class.”

With some hesitation, Shigeo nodded. He didn’t like the prospect of lying and will probably tell the truth out of habit, but he understood why Reigen was against telling the truth even in Yuuei. Shigeo has witnessed what others will do to Quirkless people, albeit toned down, inside Spirits & Such. Sometimes, if he were a bit too honest about it, strangers would give him unsavory looks.

Though part of Shigeo reveled in the fact that those strangers considered him as Quirkless as his extra pinky toe joint, he still felt bad, feeling empowered about something Reigen and most of his friends in the Body Improvement/Astronomy Club suffered for on a daily basis.

Uraraka turned back around, then slowed down until they were all caught up with each other. “What else can you guys do then?”

Teruki paused at that and didn’t answer until they got in line for the train, more focused on getting to the right station. As the morning rush filled the station with students, workers, mothers, and children, Shigeo thanked his luck that his roommate knew his directions, keeping his eyes on his feet as the atmosphere grew heavy with the humid air of too many bodies in one place.

“I can control fire, solidify energy, lift things without touching them, fly, see ghosts, exorcise ghosts, and sometimes I can augment my strength and speed with energy,” Teruki finally answered as the PA announced the train’s arrival in two minutes.

Uraraka turned to Shigeo, eyes burning with curiosity. “Uh,” he started. “Everything he said. I can fix things too. And heal others. It works on plants if I want.”

Uraraka made a noise of awe, then held off any more comments as the train came.

“So, you’re like, blunt about the truth, right, Mob-kun? Like, you just can’t help it?”

Teruki nodded vigorously. Shigeo couldn’t even protest, so he shrugged.

“Good, same,” Uraraka said as the train arrived. They got to sit as the train filled, but Shigeo stood to give someone else his seat.

As the train started moving, Uraraka pointed out, “You know, all of your powers? That’s like, fifteen different Quirks in one. What do your documents say?”

“Energy manipulation and telekinesis,” Shigeo mumbled. Someone’s elbow was digging into his back. He stepped forward to ease it off but, to no avail.

Teruki shrugged, “Mine says pyrokinesis. It’s convincing if I fumble since I only learned two years ago.”

“Wah, so cool,” Uraraka trailed off. She stared up at Shigeo, gaze searching. Shigeo wasn’t sure if he was sweating because of the crowd or because of Uraraka’s look. “Guess I have my work cut out for me with Mob-kun though.”

“You’re taking this incredibly well, Uraraka-san,” Teruki noted, ignoring her jab at Shigeo’s hopeless honesty. Shigeo had to agree with Teruki though. He remembered when Tome and the other members of the Astronomy Club wouldn’t believe him until he had to show them, and those were to a group of other Quirkless kids, sans Takenaka. “How come?”

Uraraka snorted. “It’s a big world out there. Nothing’s new under our sun anymore.”

Shigeo regarded that comment as he watched the scenery roll by, ignoring the buzz of the crowd, the clattering of the handles on the bars above, and the hum of the train on the tracks. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He thought of Ritsu and all the other kids at the Awakening Lab and the 7^thDivision. He thought of Asagiri Minori and Mogami Keiji.

Nothing’s new under the sun anymore.

He couldn’t help but agree. 

“Are you sure you know where we’re going, Uraraka-san?”

Uraraka didn’t reply, merely forging on ahead, chin up and turned away from Shigeo and Teruki, who were trailing behind him.

If the train was cramped to the point claustrophobia, Yuuei was large. A little too large. It was hard not to feel just the least bit unimportant in its halls as Shigeo, Teruki, and Uraraka walked past ceiling to floor windows and doors.

Sharing a look with Shigeo that he couldn’t understand, Teruki quickened his pace and caught Uraraka by the arm before turning to another group of students they were passing by the hallway. They seem to be older, or at least from another department.

“Hello, excuse me, can we ask for directions?” was Teruki’s question, about as polite as Shigeo had heard him talk.

One of the students mumbled, “How polite. Sure, where are you bunch off to?”

“The first year Heroics classrooms,” Uraraka interjected. Shigeo glanced at her to see that she was giving Teruki a displeased look, as displeased as the rosy cheeked girl could get.

“Just down this hall and up the stairs. A and B are generally next to each other, you can’t miss it.”

“I see,” Hanazawa said. “Thank you, senpai, we’ll get going now.”

“Wah, you heard that? I’m a senpai! Well, best of luck, you guys!”

After their goodbyes, Uraraka grumbled, “You could have just said we could ask for directions, Hanazawa-kun.”

Teruki snorted, “You and your uncle aren’t far off in personality sometimes, and something tells me you’re similar here too.”

Shigeo didn’t catch what Teruki meant, but he had to agree regardless. Uraraka did seem like a pretty good person as well.

They got to the rooms without another incident, Teruki saying goodbye to them. Then, it was just Shigeo and Uraraka left.

“Mob-kun?”

Shigeo looked at Uraraka as they stepped away from 1-B.

“Are you nervous? You’ve been awfully quiet since we got here.”

“I’m not very talkative, Uraraka-san,” Shigeo replied. But, after a moment of deliberation, said, “I am a bit off, though. I’m not used to not stopping by a getabako before going to class and it’s a little too… much.”

Uraraka hummed, then set off towards 1-A. “That’s fair. Yuuei is pretty Western, huh? I wonder what kind of rich person had this whole thing built, huh?”

1-A’s dauntingly tall doors were wide open when they arrived. Shigeo couldn’t help but wonder how they got those open. When he and Uraraka rounded the corner, Shigeo could spot the loud bespectacled teen from the entrance exams, and a messy-haired person with startlingly red shoes. More importantly though, he spotted a tall, dark figure carrying something yellow in his arms approaching from down the hall.

“Uraraka-san, we should head in,” Shigeo said, tugging at her sleeve. Uraraka paused from where she seemed to be in the middle of calling out to someone. “Aizawa-sensei’s here.”

“Who?”

“Our homeroom teacher.”

Uraraka cursed, then grabbed Shigeo by the hand before pushing into the room. “Teacher’s here!”

That got the rowdy bunch of kids inside the class to settle in. Having been left by Uraraka, Shigeo froze, looking around the room with all its colorful and eccentric students settled in, sweating. His hands shook and his legs felt a little soft in the joints. Vacant seat, vacant seat, vacant seat.

A student with a messy ponytail waved him over, pointing to a seat in front of them. Shigeo jogged over, almost tripping on another student’s foot. When he glanced, he thought it was Teruki, then remembered the angry student in the exams.

They were classmates?

Shigeo settled in behind someone with green hair, the same messy-haired person from the doorway. Against the light, his hair had looked black. Had this been the person Uraraka was looking for after the exams?

The bell rang, and the door, which had been left wide open, revealed Aizawa, looking more disheveled than he had in Shigeo’s acceptance hologram. He still wore that giant scarf and stark black tracksuit. He walked into the room until he settled on the teacher’s desk. His glare looked over the somber, silent classroom.

“Kageyama.”

Shigeo jolted at being called out all of a sudden. “Y-yes, sir?”

“Next time don’t tell your classmates I’m approaching. It will do them good to notice the time, or me, for that matter, on their own instead of relying on the bell or someone else. Understood?”

Shigeo didn’t understand, but instead of being honest, like Uraraka and master had told him was bad in certain situations, he settled with, “Yes, sir.”

“Same goes for you, Uraraka.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’m your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Pleased to meet you.” After a moment, Aizawa held up what Shigeo had long recognized from watching reruns on TV when Ritsu was in a mood as Yuuei’s PE uniform. “Put these on and meet me in the field in ten minutes.” Then, he promptly left.

Shigeo blinked after him, then stood when the other students started to.

“Thank you,” he said to the person behind him. They smiled, nodded, then walked off.

Shigeo watched the array of students going out of the room, following behind as fast as he could. There was a student with pink skin, then one that had no skin at all. Another student was about three heads taller than everyone else, and with six arms. Someone shorter than Shigeo had the head of a bird, and someone else had two hair colors. The loud student from the doorway who now sat in front of Uraraka was two heads taller than Shigeo too.

“As expected of Yuuei,” he mumbled under his breath as he craned his neck at the taller students.

Someone tall and with red, spiky hair swiveled around, grinning with sharp teeth at him. Shigeo’s eyes fell immediately to the scar on his brow. “Right? PE during orientation? Yuuei’s really something else.”

Shigeo nodded, not knowing what to say to that.

“I’m Kirishima Eijirou,” he introduced himself. “You’re Kageyama, right? The homeroom teacher said so.”

Shigeo bowed his head. “I’m surprised Aizawa-sensei remembered. I’m Kageyama Shigeo. Though most people just call me Mob.”

Kirishima raised both brows at that, blinking. “Like NPCs? That’s cute. Are you a gamer?”

Shigeo shook his head. The only time he played video games was when Ritsu invited him to play. “People just don’t remember my name very well. I don’t mind much anymore.”

Kirishima hummed, then slung an arm over Shigeo’s shoulders, reminiscent of the way President Musashi and Tome used to do. “I’ll call you Kageyama, then. That’s more manly.”

Shigeo smiled. He liked that. “Thanks, Kirishima-kun.”

Shoulder-to-shoulder with Kirishima, they trailed after 1-A’s other students, who were led by a small robot. It similar the robots from the exam, the medical ones. Except this didn’t keep screaming it was a medic bot, just kept shouting at them to head this way, please, don’t disturb the other classes.

Kirishima peeled himself off of Shigeo when they got through the doors.

The male locker room was as spacious as any other place in Yuuei, it seemed. All the lockers were labeled with a name and were color-coded. He found Teruki’s in blue, then, found his in red, next to a blue one belonging to a Kaibara Sen. On his other side, was a blond-haired teen with a black streak running through their hair like lightning. Their locker, red, said their name was Kaminari Denki.

“Man, I was really looking forward to orientation,” Kaminari griped as they stripped off their uniform. “Do they have pools? Indoor gyms? What if they have like, a crazy library!”

Shigeo nodded, sympathetic. He got lost easily, so he would have appreciated it if they got the tour first before anything. Sadly though, it was out of his hands. He took his uniform off and folded it on the bench before opening his locker for his school-mandated PE uniform.

“I don’t know, man, maybe Aizawa-sensei is planning something fun!” Kirishima answered from behind them. Shigeo shrugged on the jacket over his usual white tee. Maybe Kirishima had a point.

“How come you know his name?” Kaminari asked, turning around to kneel on the bench as they struggled with their pants.

“Kageyama over there told me about it. Right, Kageyama?”

Shigeo turned briefly to nod, then went back to toeing his sneakers off to fit his pants on. “He told us before he left class though.”

“Oh, I wasn’t listening.” Kaminari and Kirishima admitted simultaneously, then burst out into laughter.

With a huff, Shigeo said, “He was in my acceptance… hologram.”

“Oh, man, I got Cementoss on mine,” Kaminari commented. “Er, well, Ishiyama-sensei? Are we supposed to call them by their Hero names or their actual names?”

“Actual names, I think,” Kirishima pointed out. “Present Mic was on mine and he introduced himself as Yamada-sensei instead.”

“Who did you get?” Kaminari asked, elbowing another student. Shigeo finished shoving his feet back into his beat-up sneakers and looked up to see that it was that green-haired kid who sat in front of him.

“Uh, All Might…” they said, scratching at a freckled cheek as they got their shirt over their head.

“So cool! What did he say his name was!” Kaminari jumped, leaning into his space.

Shigeo stood, then touched Kaminari’s shoulder. “Don’t crowd him, Kaminari-san.”

“Whoops,” Kaminari mumbled, backing off a bit. The green-haired kid looked to Shigeo with equally green eyes and thanked him. Shigeo shrugged before leaving the locker room.

“Mob-kun!”

Uraraka bounded over, avoiding the robot guide as it swerved around to capture everyone’s attention. “That was tough, huh, getting called out on the first day?”

Shigeo hummed. “I don’t like that I’m not supposed to tell anyone he’s coming, but I understand why he wants to. He really is a teacher.”

Uraraka nodded, eyes sometimes looking towards the door to the other locker room. Steadily, other students walked out.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Shigeo asked, stepping back from Uraraka to see if she was looking at someone in particular.

“No, no, I’m just, uh.” Uraraka waved her hands out, Shigeo really could see her relation to Reigen when she did that. Her hands flopped down to her sides with a huff. “Okay, yeah, I was waiting to talk to that freckled kid from the exams. Just to thank him, y’know? Ah, there!”

Aforementioned freckled kid didn’t seem to notice them as they walked away, muttering about something or other. Shigeo looked to Uraraka who gave him a shrug.

Aizawa stood in the middle of the field, statuesque and a little surreal against the backdrop of the open sky and field. His large scarf floated in the wind.

“We’re here to test your Quirks,” Aizawa said once everyone settled down. He looked like he needed sleep. Shigeo wondered if he got enough.

“But, what about the entrance ceremony, sir?!” Uraraka jumped up, her hand shooting straight up like the loud boy who sits in front of her does sometimes.

“No time to waste if you want to be heroes.”

Aizawa went on to explain the rules. Standard physical fitness tests but, they’re allowed to use their Quirks. Shigeo, who intrinsically believed that he was Quirkless thought, well, there was really no improving himself apart from his current prowess from the Body Improvement Club.

Uraraka elbowed him. “That means you get to use your psychic powers, Mob-kun,” she whispered.

Shigeo glanced at her, then nodded. That made much more sense.

“Kageyama, how far could you throw in middle school?”

Shigeo blinked, then looked back at Aizawa. “Thirty-eight meters.”

Aizawa raised a brow at him, then pointed him to a circle, handing him a ball. “Throw this with your quirk. Do whatever you need, just don’t leave the circle.”

Shigeo held the ball with his hand, then let his energy flow down his arm. He’d seen Teruki do this enough to know how to do this. Stepping into the circle, he visualized his energy boosting the force behind his movements, just as Teruki had done so.

“Give it all you’ve got,” Aizawa instructed.

Winding up, Shigeo threw it, then watched as the ball broke through a few clouds, rocketing away from campus.

“Did he throw it?” Someone asked from the crowd.

“Yeah, it just tore through clouds, man, didn’t you notice?”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

Beep!

Shigeo turned to see Aizawa showing him and the class what seemed to be a phone screen, the numbers counting up and up and up, until it became an infinity symbol. “It broke through the atmosphere. That ball’s bound to hit an asteroid in space,” Aizawa commented as if this was completely normal.

Shigeo was concerned it was going to hit an alien, remembering the aliens the Astronomy Club had met. He hoped it wouldn’t hit anything.

“Should I pull it back, sensei?” Shigeo asked as he stepped out of the circle.

Aizawa paused, blinked, then grinned. It looked a bit creepy with all his hair on his face, but it wasn’t unfriendly. “Not necessary, Kageyama. Get back in line.”

Chatter broke out, some cheering, then Aizawa glared over the class. “This isn’t a game. You’re spending three years to become Heroes, not play around.”

The class silenced at the sudden shift in mood.

“Right,” Aizawa said after a moment, then slowly grinned. “Whoever scores the lowest gets expelled. Welcome to Yuuei’s Heroics course.”

In the end, Shigeo got the hang of using his powers for things like the long jump (where he ended up flying instead, with an unfortunate period where he wasn’t sure if he needed to burp or upchuck breakfast), and the side-steps (where he did upchuck his breakfast). He was concerned he’d have to replace any broken equipment, but Aizawa assured him that it was all insured and completely normal at Yuuei.

He didn’t need to use his powers for the distance run, though. That was just for fun.

In the end, it was all a ruse anyway. Shigeo didn’t appreciate that Aizawa had to lie about the stakes for their tests, but he found it amusing that everyone felt just a little bit embarrassed about believing the lie.

Though they were dismissed for the rest of the day, someone had the bright idea to meet back at the classroom so they could all introduce themselves like back in middle school orientation. Shigeo came with, since Uraraka didn’t seem to want to go home just yet.

Once everyone was gathered, the loud boy with the engines in his legs wrote on the board: Name, age, and Quirk.

Names came and went. Hagakure seemed to settle for large gestures like Reigen, if only to make up for her lack of visible features or tells. Aoyama’s Quirk made him easily nauseous, something Shigeo could relate to. Asui demanded that everyone called her Tsuyu-chan, and Midoriya struggled a bit with having to explain his own Quirk, trying not to cower at the one who sat in front of him, Bakugou. They seemed to know each other, considering the nicknames.

When it was Shigeo’s turn, he turned to the board for a guide, thankful that the loud boy, Iida, had put it there. “My name is Kageyama Shigeo, most people call me Mob. I’m fifteen years old. I’m m—”

“Mmmulti-talented!” Uraraka exclaimed, her English impeccable, in Shigeo’s opinion. He frowned, confused.

She gestured to her throat and mouthed, Quirk, Shigeo made a panicked sound, realizing his error. He’d been about to say mu kosei, Quirkless. “Uh, thanks, Uraraka-san. My, uh. My Quirk is energy manipulation and telekinesis. It’s nice to meet you all.”

No one seemed to mind Shigeo’s fumble. Kaminari and Kirishima found it ‘adorable,’ which was beside the point. It was a flurry of names thereafter, Yaoyorozu introducing herself with a mature tone of someone brought up with manners. Todoroki, Tokoyami, Shoji, and Kouda were among the quiet bunch that Shigeo had to strain to hear. Iida was as loud as always, though.

And their orientation let out, Shigeo was a little on the hungry side, ambling down to the cafeteria with Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida. They were an odd bunch, he thought, until he realized they were all in the same area for the practical exams and were openly talking about it.

Uraraka regaled Iida with the tale of Midoriya’s toppling of the zero-pointer, with more sound effects and as if Midoriya and Iida weren’t there with her to witness it.

“Mob-kun here supposedly toppled their zero-pointer too!” She added suddenly, gesturing wildly. “Shot a rock straight through its face! Bam! Whoosh!”

Shigeo frowned. “I still feel bad for breaking that robot. It must have been expensive.”

“I’m impressed you both saw through the points system though,” Iida said, his hand gestures stiff as they moved down the line for food. “I didn’t know there was a different angle to it until my brother told me.”

Midoriya shook his head, a bit pink in the face. “I didn’t—uh, I didn’t know either, I just figured that someone had to save Uraraka-san. What about Kageyama-kun?”

Shigeo shook his head. “My friend was injured, and I figured leaving the robot to walk all over buildings for someone else to deal with would be counterproductive.”

Someone tapped at his shoulder from outside the line, then Shigeo looked over to see Teruki. “Ah, Teruki-kun.”

“Where were you during the opening ceremony?” He leaned over the bar beside Shigeo, then waved over at Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida. “Hey, you three.”

“We were doing a fitness test in the field,” Shigeo answered. “Do you want anything? I’m already in line.”

“Some melon bread and whatever seems good. I’ll save you guys a seat!”

“Sure thing, Hanazawa-kun!” Uraraka called out.

When they got out of the lines, Shigeo felt around for Teruki’s aura, then felt it flare to meet his. Turning to maneuver to the seats, he was surprised to see someone else sitting with Teruki.

“Shinsou-kun,” Shigeo called out as he and his friends approached the table. Shigeo floated Teruki’s tray over to him, then slid into the seats to make room for Iida. “I didn’t know you knew Teruki-kun and I knew each other.”

Uraraka snickered at the statement as she sat next to Shinsou.

“I didn’t,” Shinsou replied, chewing at his straw. “He just seemed pretty chill. You guys friends or something?”

“We’re from the same middle school,” Teruki answered for them. Shigeo nodded.

“Ah, like Deku-kun and Bakugou!”

Midoriya chuckled nervously, scratching at his cheek. “Yeah, uh. Kacchan and I aren’t as close anymore as we were in kindergarten. But we… know each other?”

“He doesn’t like you very much,” Shigeo pointed out, chewing his food. “Your nickname sounds nicer when Uraraka-san says it.”

Impossibly, Uraraka’s cheeks got pinker. “Hey! Don’t set me up like that!”

Teruki laughed. “He meant it as a compliment, Uraraka-san.”

“Not you too!” Midoriya exclaimed, covering his face.

To diffuse the embarrassment, Uraraka said, “It just sounds like dekiru, you know.”

Shigeo swallowed, then sipped at his milk. It kind of did sound like that. It was fitting, especially with Midoriya saying he was a late bloomer.

“What does it actually mean?” Iida asked. “If you don’t mind saying, that is.”

“Oh, uh.” Midoriya didn’t seem keen on answering that.

Shigeo spoke up. “You don’t have to tell us. We can just talk about the test.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Midoriya said, looking very much like he didn’t think it was. “It uh, it was a joke from when we were kids. Kacchan said the kanji on my name looked like you could read it as puppet. Because I couldn’t do anything on my own. So, he started calling me it until it stuck.”

Shigeo frowned. “That’s not very nice of him.”

Uraraka nodded, “I liked dekiru Deku better.”

Teruki bumped shoulders with him, smile knowing. “Don’t go getting into that Bakugou’s business now, Shigeo-kun, you might cause trouble.”

Shigeo put food in his mouth and chewed, not wanting to promise anything. Whatever happened, happened, after all.

“Oh, we forgot any formal introductions,” Teruki said after a terse silence overtook their table. “I’m Hanazawa Teruki from 1-B.”

Everyone set to introducing themselves to each other, then went back to discussing middle school and a host of other things Shigeo kind of zoned out for. When the bell rang, they stacked their trays and plates together.

“Are you guys free to go home?” Teruki asked, eyeing Shigeo’s book bag.

Shigeo nodded. “Aizawa-sensei said we’re allowed to go, we just stayed after the test to introduce ourselves. Do you still have things to do?”

Teruki nodded back, looking displeased. “I wanted to make dinner for us tonight, but we still have guidance sessions and such.” With a wave of a hand, he smiled again. “I’ll cook dinner when I get home. I just hope we don’t let out later than scheduled.”

Shigeo shook his head. “I can cook for us tonight, I don’t mind. Is beef stew okay?”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Shigeo-kun.”

“You can invite Shinsou-kun over, if you want. I’ll be sure to give Uraraka-san some as well.”

“Of course. See you, then!”

“See you.”

Once Teruki and Shinsou parted away from their group, Shigeo turned back in time to see all of his friends staring at him.

“I know you guys live together, but that was pretty domestic,” Uraraka said, after a while.

Shigeo looked at her, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You do seem a bit too familiar with each other,” Iida commented, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Are you dating?”

His face heated up at the comment, remembering when his dad made a comment like that. His hair puffed up with invisible wind. “N-no, it’s not that! We’re just close friends, Uraraka-san.”

“Ah, Kageyama-kun!” Midoriya grabbed his shoulder, keeping him anchored. Uraraka was straight up cackling now. Iida looked bemused but was willing to let the topic go with an apology.

Uraraka was panting from laughter. Shigeo could perfectly see the resemblance between her and Reigen as she dramatically wiped away a nonexistent tear from her eye. “Ah, Mob-kun, if you were just close you wouldn’t be blushing so much!”

Shigeo kept his mouth closed, concentrating on keeping himself on solid ground before his motion sickness got to him.

“Aw, you’re pouting!”

They got down orientations the next day, with English, Modern Literature, and Mathematics leading their schedule. Yamada-sensei seemed to have a good grasp on the topic since, he said, he held a podcast and a radio show for both English and Japanese audiences. Ishiyama-sensei explained Literature in a soothing voice that relaxed Shigeo’s eardrums after English, and he was surprised to be able to follow the opening lesson Ectoplasm-sensei gave during Mathematics.

He should thank Takenaka after class. Maybe Teruki had his number?

During the break, he looked to see if Class B were there, but they seemed to be gone for the moment. “Ah, you shouldn’t use your Quirk outside of class, young man.”

Shigeo blinked, then looked towards a tall, broad man with wideset muscles. Shigeo thought back to President Musashi for a moment, hearing his voice comment on the muscles in the back of Shigeo’s head. He processed what the person in red, white, and blue costume—a teacher—had said, then looked down to where his shoes were no longer touching the ground.

“Ah, I didn’t notice. Sorry about that, sensei. Um,” Shigeo kept his eyes on his shoes, then gave the high awning to Class B’s door a glance. “Is Class B out?”

“They just finished class with me, young man, and should be back soon. Are you looking for someone?”

Shigeo nodded. “I was going to talk to Teruki-kun, but, well, classes are going to start anyway, so.” He gave the teacher a bow. “I’ll be off now.”

“Wait,” the teacher called out. Their eyes shone blue with energy. Shigeo looked at them then, the hulking figure with the v-shaped bangs slicked back. An icon most students would know as All Might. Shigeo let out a noise at his realization.

“Y-yes?”

“You’re from Class A, right?”

Shigeo nodded. “Um, we have Foundational Hero Studies next. Are you going to be teaching, All Might-sensei?”

All Might paused, then nodded. Shigeo nodded back then turned to go back to his classroom. “I’ll go back to class then.”

They were told to change into their costumes once the rowdiness died down. Shigeo was a bit anxious to see how his and Ritsu’s design for his costume held up, but looking at Iida’s costume, he thought maybe Yuuei did a good job making his.

As he put on the surprisingly durable and comfortable white undershirt that came with his all-black ensemble, Shigeo found himself pleasantly surprised. He took a photo for good measure, sending it to Ritsu with a they did a good job with our design, ritsu :0 attached to the image. When he checked his message notifications, he found that Teruki sent him his own photo, with his own red and black, fire get-up.

Once they were at the test area, Shigeo looked around at his classmates. Uraraka’s costume, she said, was a bit too tight, but Shigeo thought it looked good on her. Iida looked like a robot, which vaguely suited his stiff gestures. Midoriya’s was a humble, teal tracksuit with a hood to cover his eyes, kind of like from pre-Quirk hero comics that Master Reigen used to show him.

“Your costume reminds me a bit of Spider-man, Midoriya-kun,” Shigeo commented.

Midoriya flushed, scratching at the back of his head as he laughed nervously, “Thanks, Kageyama-kun. Your costume looks really cool too. I like the pink gloves, it’s a nice pop of color.”

Shigeo clenched his hand into a fist, “They’re very comfortable.”               

Midoriya held a hand out then made to touch his glove, squeezing between fingers. “Wah, you’re right! That’s really soft. Will they be okay?”

Shigeo nodded. “The note in the suitcase said it was made out of durable material. As long as I stay away from open fire, I would be fine.”

Class started with All Might’s booming laughter once more, their deep voice loud in the open area as they explained, not without interruption, the rules of the test.

Indoor battles to keep them on their feet and thinking, capture or defeat the Villain before the time runs out. Shigeo frowned at the thought of having to fight but kept it to himself. No one else seemed to be as bothered as him, though Kouda did seem a bit nervous.

Pairs were picked off, Shigeo partnering with Yaoyorozu. The taller girl waved at him with a smile.

“It will be nice to work with you, Kageyama-san.”

“You too,” Shigeo answered, half-listening to the pairs being listed down by All Might.

Uraraka and Midoriya seemed to be squared off with Bakugou and Iida. Shigeo frowned. He hoped Midoriya would be okay. He honestly hoped no one will get hurt, considering yesterday and Midoriya’s track record with injuring himself.

“Would it be okay if we strategized while we watch, sensei?” Yaoyorozu asked, hand raised politely.

All Might nodded, “It would be practical of you to do so, young Yaoyorozu. Everyone follow suit. Comments on the ongoing battle will be given after each round so prepare for that as well.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yaoyorozu turned to him. “So, your Quirk is energy manipulation and telekinesis. I’m curious about the first one. What does that entail exactly, Kageyama-san?”

Shigeo picked at his gloves. He hadn’t expected Yaoyorozu to remember a detail like that from yesterday. “I can control the energy around me to do anything. I can make barriers and heal. It doesn’t have any major consequences unless I use too much energy though, or unless I get overwhelmed.”

“Amazing, your Quirk seems directly connected to your emotions,” Yaoyorozu mumbled. She turned to point at someone in the class. “We’ll be up against Jirou-san and Kaminari-kun. It will be convenient to not be heard or touching the ground. Can your barriers stop sound?”

Shigeo shook his head. “Only muffle it. You can create anything, right? Can you make padding for our feet, do you think?”

Yaoyorozu smiled, “Yes! That’s very practical of you, Kageyama-san.”

They continued to plan as the timer counted down for Teams A and D. When the battle started, noise died down as they watched the battles without sound. At times, the sound of Bakugou’s explosions rang out from the building and into the viewing area, making Shigeo more and more worried for his friends.

After one particular blast seemed to wipe out three cameras in a row and a few windows in the building, the aftershock longer than the previous. All Might was now openly scolding Bakugou through their earpiece, and it took Shigeo a moment, as Yaoyorozu held onto his shoulder for support, to realize that the aftershock that still shook them was coming from him. His aura, hard to miss as it was an odd looking pink, purple, and blue, was completely ignored by his classmates despite it engulfing the whole viewing area.

With a deep breath, Shigeo buried his worry as deep as it could go. Slowly, the shaking calmed down, though slight tremors could still be felt every time his classmates’ voices raised in protest or an explosion shot out from the building.

“Kageyama-san, is everything alright?” came Yaoyorozu’s inevitable concern. Shigeo shook his head, his hands raising to guard his ears.

“They’re getting hurt,” Shigeo mumbled, eyes squeezing shut as if that would help block out the sounds. “Yaoyorozu-san, this is just a training exercise, right? They should pull out Midoriya-kun and Bakugou-san, they’re hurt.”

For a moment, nothing happened after he said that. The explosions continued. And then, further away from Shigeo, “All Might-sensei, this is too much senseless violence for a close-quarters battle. Midoriya-san already got injured yesterday. What will Recovery Girl say?”

Shigeo’s eyes shot open, carefully keeping his gaze away from the screens where Midoriya was probably getting pummeled for a training exercise. All Might took a moment, their expression pinched as it was, in its perpetual grin. Another explosion rang through the viewing area.

All Might turned away from Yaoyorozu, hand to their earpiece. “Young Bakugou is disqualified due to excessive and unnecessary violence after multiple warnings. If you continue, you will be brought to the disciplinary office along with your homeroom teacher post-haste. This is your final warning, Bakugou.”

The explosions stopped. Shigeo looked up at the screen to see Bakugou standing stock still, his hands akimbo from down the hallway, where the only camera on that floor was left. Midoriya stepped out from the room with shaking legs and ran up to the bomb room.

When Bakugou arrived, everyone was silent, some openly glaring, others ignoring him completely with forced disinterest. Shigeo merely stared.

Bakugou was injured and was making no moves to follow the medic bots that had been called on after All Might’s announcement. Should Shigeo feel bad for inadvertently getting him pulled out of the exercise?

“It’s not your fault, Kageyama-san,” Yaoyorozu reassured him. Shigeo blinked, then glanced at her. How had she known that he was worried about that? “You were right, and I don’t know if All Might-sensei just made a rookie mistake, but it is good that it stopped while we were ahead.”

Shigeo hummed. He had no idea how to answer that. He went back to staring at Bakugou, and when Team A won the battle and Midoriya was being brought off-site, Shigeo made his way towards Bakugou as the crowd began gathering around All Might for the commentary.

“What do you want, Bowl Cut?” was Bakugou’s sullen but not angry question. Shigeo had known him all of two days and he knew that all the posturing, yelling, and cursing was just how Bakugou expressed himself. Onigawara was the same, when you didn’t know him.

“You’re injured.”

“Yeah, duh. You should see the other idiot.”

“Midoriya-kun isn’t an idiot. And neither are you. You’re both still learning. Besides, shouldn’t you get healed?”

Bakugou, then, turned to glare at him. Shigeo found his eyes startlingly empty, despite the intensity. “Shouldn’t you be minding your own business? Fuck off already.”

Frustration was slowly rising to the surface, effectively replacing the despair and anger from earlier. “Get healed first, or I’m healing you myself.”

“God, take a hint, asshole,” Bakugou pushed off from where he was standing, making to walk away, but Shigeo was quick to grab him by the arm and transfer his energy. “What—”

“There,” Shigeo said, letting go of Bakugou’s arm. Bakugou’s face blanked, but Shigeo turned before that could morph into anything else. “Just because someone else is more hurt doesn’t mean you won.”

“You told him that?!” Uraraka hissed. “Holy shit, Mob-kun, I didn’t know you had it in you. How’d he react?”

Shigeo glanced at where Bakugou was in the corner of the viewing room by himself. “He’s still quiet, but he looks a lot less tense. I feel kind of bad for telling him off, but he was being difficult and I kind of lost my temper.”

Uraraka scoffed. “The measures boys go through for their goddamn egos, I swear. I could hear some of the stuff he and Deku-kun were shouting earlier and honestly? That guy’s in over his head, I’m surprised you got through to him, or even wanted to.”

Shigeo sighed. “I didn’t. I just didn’t like that he was injured more. Purposefully hurting someone with your Quirk is illegal.”

He kept half a mind on the match between Teams H and J. Sero and Kirishima seemed to be handling themselves well against Tokoyami and Asui, and he mostly focused on the battle when Yaoyorozu confided with him. It was fascinating how well Tokoyami and Asui worked together though.

“We’re allowed to use our Quirks on each other during class, but we should be using them to disarm, not break arms, that’s what I think,” Shigeo added, glancing at Uraraka, who seemed to find his turn of phrase funny.

On his other side, Iida hummed in agreement. “That is true. I don’t mind that Bakugou-kun and Midoriya-kun have bad blood, but if they end up hurting each other and forget professionalism, it’s more than a little concerning. What if Uraraka-kun or I got injured in the middle of that?”

“Does throwing up count as an injury?” Uraraka grumbled. Shigeo shook his head as an answer. “Then, well, it’s a good thing we didn’t get injured. Though that oden from Lunch Rush-san… What a waste…”

Iida chuckled. “It’s a good thing that the ones repairing the building are robots.”

Shigeo hummed. “Oh, speaking of oden. Uraraka-san, Teruki-kun said he was preparing hotpot tonight. Do you want to come over for dinner?”

“Ah, that would be great, Mob-kun, but are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.”

Reigen had told him to give Uraraka extra food, especially on school nights. Apparently, penny-pinching ran in the family. Shigeo shook his head. “Teruki-kun likes to cook a bit too much because he thinks I eat a lot. Leftovers for breakfast isn’t appealing to me, especially not after a morning run.”

“Hero team H wins!” shouts All Might.

Shigeo watched as the teams made their way down the building for their commentary. “Iida-san, you’re invited also, if you want. Maybe Midoriya-kun too.”

“Like a house party!” Uraraka whisper-shouted. “I hope Ritsu-kun doesn’t mind, I know he likes to call you during dinner.”

Shigeo smiled at the mention of his brother. “He won’t mind. Ritsu always asks about school anyway, and he’d love to meet you all.”

“Excuse me, who’s Ritsu-kun?” Iida interjected.

Shigeo looked up at Iida, “My little brother. He’s in his third year of middle school. He likes to call me while he does homework just to check up on me.”

Iida nodded, “I’d have to call home to say I’ll be a bit late, but I would be delighted to come over, Kageyama-kun! I hope Midoriya-kun can make it as well.”

Shigeo turned to look out at the screens showing the debris from the battles. “Yeah, me too.”

“You can make me float, right, Kageyama-san?” Yaoyorozu asked as they set the final box down to effectively hide the giant, ticking papier-mâché bomb from the entrance. The sound of Villain team C gave Shigeo a bit of a negative vibe, but as this was just a training exercise, the actual goal was to protect the payload, or so Ritsu would say.

Shigeo nodded. “I don’t like using it on myself, but I can make myself hover, if you think making padding is a bit too much energy.”

“That would be more practical, not that your idea wasn’t sound. Is making me float floors down too much energy for you?”

He shook his head. “Not too much. Destroying some floors might, though, so I hope you don’t want me to do that.”

Yaoyorozu made a sound that was a mix between a scoff and a giggle, and it made Shigeo smile to himself. “Just drop me when I tell you, and we’ll be good.”

Their timers beeped, and All Might said into their earpieces, “Your trial begins now. Good luck, teams.”

Yaoyorozu gave Shigeo an upwards gesture, and Shigeo took the hint and pushed a bit of his energy towards her, making her float. He watched, with some fascination, as she pulled a stick out of her thigh and rowed her way out of the room.

Pulling himself up, Shigeo sat, legs crossed, in the air near the bomb, two barriers wrapped around it to muffle the ticking. Whatever noise it’ll make, Jirou-san will hear, Yaoyorozu had told him earlier.

He closed his eyes and felt around for the floors below. He could feel his energy carrying Yaoyorozu down multiple flights of stairs from the fire exits, and the bee-like buzzing of Kaminari’s voltage capacity. They were on the third floor, and Yaoyorozu was converging.

A few beats later, Yaoyorozu whispered, “Now!”

Shigeo retracted his energy, keeping it at bay around Kaminari’s area in case Yaoyorozu needed it.

A few grunts and shouts were heard through Yaoyorozu’s active mic. Shigeo kept his eyes closed. “Don’t injure anyone,” Shigeo whispered.

“Kaminari Denki has been captured!” All Might announced. “Please evacuate the building, young Kaminari.”

“It was nice fighting with you,” Yaoyorozu told Kaminari. Shigeo couldn’t hear if Kaminari answered, but he did hear Yaoyorozu say, “Too bad Jirou escaped.”

Shigeo opened his eyes, then reinforced his skin-barrier just in time as he heard the first heartbeat and watched the wall to his left crumble with the bass. His hand shot out, holding Jirou down and throwing the capture tape into the mix.

“Villain team C wins! Good job, young Kageyama, young Yaoyorozu!”

Shigeo dropped all barriers, then made his way towards Jirou with an energy-wrapped finger in order to break her free from the tape.

“Are you injured?” Shigeo asked, concerned as her face contorted into a wince. With some help from Shigeo, she was finally free from her capture tape. “This was a bit much,” he admitted. “Sorry about that.”

“I’m okay, just a bit bruised up,” Jirou admitted. “You can heal, right? I overheard from Kirishima earlier, about Bakugou. I’m okay, Kageyama. No need to heal me.”

Word spread fast in Class A, it seemed. Shigeo deflated, relieved. “That’s good. That was a good sneak attack though, Jirou-san.”

“Are you kidding?” Jirou laughed. “You barely reacted.”

“That’s just how I look.” Shigeo tapped at his earpiece, then said, “Good work, Yaoyorozu-san. Your plan was perfect.”

“Our plan, you mean. I couldn’t have done it without you, Kageyama-san.”

Uraraka leaned back in her seat on the train home, next to Iida and Midoriya, who seemed a little better after Shigeo gave him a burst of energy. “Man, what a rough day! Can’t wait to pass out after a shower.”

Shigeo agreed as he held onto the pole, staring out the passing scenery as the sun slowly began to set. His new futon, though not as comfortable as the one at home, would probably feel cloud-soft after all the regular and Hero classes.

He fished his phone out of his pocket to see if Teruki had any updates. They’d gone over their class schedules last night over Ritsu’s call, and it seemed that Class B alternated schedules with A, so Teruki was home early tonight.

True enough, Teruki’s last message was thirty minutes ago, when Uraraka, Iida, and he visited the nurse’s office to invite Midoriya with them. hotpot for four is ready!! also, the shelf came in today, the movers got lost around mstfu, apparently. i got bored of hw so i organized ur caped baldy collection, the message read. Attached to it, was a picture of the purple shelf next to the balcony doors, next to the bathroom. Teruki posed with his usual peace sign, lavender sweater on.

Shigeo grinned. thanks a lot! :D i’ll take a picture of it later for master,he sent back. Then, as an afterthought, he added,any requests for breakfast tomorrow? you can only have it if you do your homework though!

Teruki didn’t take long to answer. :P omurice!!!

“Look, he’s probably texting Hanazawa-kun,” Shigeo heard Uraraka whisper conspiratorially. Shigeo leaned forward to squint at her. “Ah, so scary.”

Midoriya laughed. “Don’t tease, Uraraka-san, he might uninvite you from dinner.”

Uraraka gasped, “No! No, no, I’m so very sorry, Kageyama-goshujinsama, I won’t tease you about your love life ever again!”

Without a word nor breaking eye contact, Shigeo leaned back in his seat.

Teruki leaned Shigeo’s phone by the rice cooker at the counter by the edge of the dining table, double-checking to see that the surface was dry. “Ritsu-kun, we have friends over! Everyone say hi to little brother while I give you your servings!”

“Hey, Ritsu-kun!” Uraraka shouted, as Midoriya and Iida waved shyly.

Ritsu leaned forward, his response a bit late due to the internet speed. He squinted at his phone screen, then grinned, waving. “Hey, everyone. Let me guess from brother’s texts. Midoriya-san is… Freckles-san. Iida-san, I’m assuming like, Ingenium, right? Iida-san is Glasses-san over there.” Midoriya threw him a smile and a thumbs up as Iida clapped his hands enthusiastically. Shigeo mirrored him, albeit more subdued.

Ritsu’s laughter was tinny but loud through the phone speaker as the ruckus died down.“It’s nice to meet you all. What’s the occasion?”

Shigeo struggled to think of just one reason. “Classes started today. We met All Might.”

Ritsu didn’t lean away from homework, but Shigeo could see his excitement in the way he froze for a moment before asking, “Really? How, I mean, how was class with the number one Hero?”

Shigeo thought for a moment as Midoriya and Iida accepted their bowls from Teruki. All Might was blond, like Teruki, blue-eyed too. They liked to dress bright colors, was incredibly Western, and spoke formally.

“They were loud.”

Uraraka burst out in to laughter at the silence that followed his summarization of their Foundational Hero Studies teacher.

“He’s not lying,” Iida mumbled. Midoriya could only shake his head, chewing.

“What happened in your FHS class, though,” Teruki asked, genuinely curious as he filled their glasses with water. He was careful not to bump Shigeo’s phone from where it was propped up against the rice cooker. “Class B did much of the same thing, but I don’t think to the same extent as yours, with people getting injured.”

“People got injured? Isn’t that a bit much for a class?” Ritsu made an admonishing sound with the click of his tongue. “They did this during the exams too, Yuuei is such a hazard! Are you guys alright?”

All three of their guests nodded, a bit bemused by Ritsu’s fussing. Shigeo couldn’t help but feel just the least bit embarrassed to have his friends subjected to Ritsu’s brand of mother-hen-ing.

“That’s what I said earlier,” Shigeo interjected. He couldn’t help the way his tone turned a bit serious as he said so. “It took a few minutes for All Might-sensei to realize that, though.”

“Kageyama-kun told him to disqualify Kacchan?” Midoriya asked, though seemingly more to himself. Midoriya had the tendency to talk to himself. It didn’t distract Shigeo much from class. Usually he explained things to himself and it helped when Shigeo couldn’t understand what exactly was being explained in front.

Shigeo shook his head. “I told Yaoyorozu-san he should pull both of you out because it was getting too much, then she told him. I was a bit overwhelmed at the time. I was worried about you guys, even Bakugou-san.”

“He was,” Iida cut in. “He told off Bakugou-kun and healed him.”

“Eh! That was you as well, Kageyama-kun?!”

Uraraka made a noise of protest, then put her bowl down to speak with her hands. “Guys. We’re telling it out of order. Sorry, Ritsu-kun, we’re a little tired.

Ritsu chuckled, leaning back in his chair, a pencil spinning between his fingers. “It’s no trouble, Uraraka-san. It’s nice to see everyone react to how my brother is.”

Shigeo didn’t know what he meant by that, but he supposed he should have taken more offense to the statement.

In a Reigen-like gesture, Uraraka waved both of her hands out in front of her and started, “So, the exercise was this…”

The food was good, the conversation kept going, and in the end, Shigeo had to do the dishes, but he didn’t mind. Soon, Ritsu asked Shigeo to be careful, saying something about student council meetings. Shigeo wished him a good night and hung up.

Iida left first, being picked up by his brother in what looked like a company car around seven. He thanked Teruki and Shigeo profusely before leaving. Midoriya had to catch his train but said he might be able to stay longer the next day, if invited. Uraraka, who wanted to shower and pass out, as she had so eloquently put it, went downstairs a few moments after Midoriya.

The dishes were all dry by the time Teruki came out of the bathroom, knocking at Shigeo’s door to say, “I’m turning in. There’s still some hot water left, if you want a bath before bed. Milk’s in the fridge.”

“Good night, Teruki-kun,” Shigeo called out.

“Night.”

When all was said and done, Shigeo slipped into his pajamas with a breath of relief. He received a message before setting his alarm, from Ritsu, who should have been asleep by now, if he was going to the student council meeting the next morning. The message simply said, it’s nice to know you have friends.

Smiling to himself, Shigeo replied, it is. good night, ritsu.

Chapter Text

Shigeo gazed wistfully at the comfortably snug face of his homeroom teacher as he dozed off in his yellow caterpillar of a sleeping bag. It wasn’t that he was up all night or something, he just wished he could be asleep especially after the overwhelming hubbub around the front gates this morning.

Regardless of that, Shigeo’s problems were the least of the slumbering Aizawa’s worries. There was going to be a field trip that Friday and they were getting the Saturday off after it, and Shigeo was looking forward to it, but Aizawa wanted to have someone in charge, hence…

“We should put it to a vote,” Iida suggested, plopping a box made by Yaoyorozu on the teacher’s table, surprisingly gentle even though his voice was as booming as it always was.

Shigeo spun his pen in his hand, pondering his choices.

Midoriya was friendly and smart, people definitely liked him, especially after their first Foundational Hero Studies class, but he wasn’t assertive enough when it concerned himself. If Shigeo learned anything from Mogami and Asagiri, it was that being too forgiving or pliable to transgressions could lead to getting used. Yuuei was still too foreign for Shigeo at the moment, so he didn’t know if this environment wouldn’t foster that, but he didn’t want to risk it.

Iida was a stickler for rules, and Shigeo definitely should vote for him since he seemed eager to take the role on, but so did everyone else in class. Just because Iida wanted the position didn’t mean he should get it. He had the gumption for leadership, even if he didn’t inspire it much from the rest of the class, but he could learn to be a little less… susceptible to Uraraka’s silly ideas as well. Shigeo was a bit too much of an older brother to fully pull back on the fact that he knew that Iida was a little brother, no matter how much taller he was.

Uraraka was carefree but seemed willing to take any responsibility given to her. Shigeo thought she and Master Reigen were probably alike in that regard, but also remembered when Master Reigen made some questionably impractical decisions during his time of employment. Shigeo had no problems with penny-pinching, but sometimes Reigen pushed it. He hoped Uraraka wasn’t the same.

Yaoyorozu, on the other hand, was smart and prim and proper. During their partnership for FHS, she was receptive to ideas but willing to be blunt and practical in spite of formality. She knew all of her classmates’ names and Quirks since their orientation and was one of the top scorers in the fitness test. That, and she was the top recommended student.

Shigeo stopped spinning his pen and wrote her name down before he could double-guess himself.

He got up, making sure not to trip on Bakugou’s feet this time as he made his way across the room to pass his ballot. Surprisingly, before he got across Bakugou’s seat, the blond’s feet corrected themselves to move out of the way.

Shigeo locked eyes with the boy for a second, and Bakugou took that moment to raise a brow at him, then avert his eyes.

Odd.

When the voting was done and Iida was tallying up the results with Yaoyorozu, Shigeo took it upon himself to zone out for a moment.

He was getting home early today so maybe he should prepare something. They still had some leftover katsudon from that morning, so maybe Shigeo could reheat it and add something else. Maybe he could make some miso? Oh, he could look for a takoyaki stall on the way home, even, get a little something for dessert. Ice cream, perhaps?

“The votes are up.”

Shigeo looked towards the board, unsurprised to see Midoriya and Yaoyorozu tied. Midoriya, on the other hand, seemed a bit too shocked about it. As did Bakugou.

“Settle it with jan-ken-pon!” Ashido suggested. Yaoyorozu nodded at the idea.

“Midoriya-san, if you will,” Yaoyorozu smiled, fist out. She didn’t seem too unbothered by the idea of being president or vice president. Midoriya was shaking in his red shoes though.

Uninterested with the proceedings, Shigeo scanned the board, and was surprised to see that someone voted for him. “I wonder who did that,” he mumbled.

Tokoyami cleared his throat from next to Shigeo, catching his attention. “I believe it would be someone who did not vote for themselves,” he replied. His voice was deep, soothing. Shigeo wondered if it was always like that or if his throat was more human than his head.

Nonetheless, he nodded, scanning the board to see who hadn’t received any votes.

There weren’t very many. Todoroki had no votes, but Shigeo didn’t think it would be him. He hadn’t spoken to the other student yet, and Shigeo hasn’t noticed him much apart from his very strong ice Quirk.

There were Iida and Uraraka, who probably voted for Midoriya, and…

“Bakugou-san?”

Tokoyami coughed, the sound between a squawk and a gasp. Shigeo leaned into the aisle to pat his back out of concern. “Everything alright?”

Tokoyami waved him off. “It’s just surprising. Bakugou doesn’t seem like the type to…”

Shigeo let his eyes trail towards the blond who, as usual, had his feet up on his desk. A cursory glance at Aizawa told him he wasn’t too worried about getting caught.

The best of three rounds of jan-ken-pon were over quickly. Yaoyorozu was won class president and representative, with Midoriya being her vice. Aizawa, by then, had woken up and told them he didn’t need any other officers, just the two, but it was Yaoyorozu’s choice if she wanted to appoint anyone in any positions.

After that, class was dismissed for lunch, and Shigeo was all but relieved to finally have the situation resolved without a fight starting because of Bakugou’s outrage.

“Eh, but you wanted the position so much, Iida-kun!” Uraraka pointed out. Shigeo eyed the grain of rice stuck to Midoriya’s chin, then raised a sliver of energy with a finger to flick it back into the bowl. Uraraka, who had noticed, smiled fondly at Shigeo before rolling her eyes.

Iida was doing a bad job covering up his disappointment, eyes trained on the table. Shigeo supposed it was a bit self-centered of the majority of the class to vote for themselves, but he couldn’t oppose it much since it was only their second week.

“Just because he wants it doesn’t mean he deserves it,” Shigeo cut in. All three heads turned to him with surprising speeds. He added, “Is what Iida-kun is probably thinking to himself.”

Iida nodded, cradling his glass of orange juice. “I’m aware of the responsibilities, and I do believe I can achieve them, but voting for myself is self-centered, and you, Midoriya-kun, are not.”

“Midoriya-kun voted for himself as well though,” Shigeo pointed out again. He kept his eyes on his bento this time, a bit unnerved with all the eyes on him.

“What’re you guys on about?” A hand dropped to Shigeo’s shoulder, but he’d felt Teruki the moment he entered the cafeteria, so he wasn’t as shocked by the sudden feeling.

Uraraka pointed at him, “Have you guys voted for your class representatives yet?”

“Can’t say we have,” was Shinsou’s reply. “We don’t have homeroom today. Why?”

“Aizawa-sensei had us vote because there was going to be a field trip this Friday.”

Teruki slid in beside Shigeo, his own bento in hand. Shigeo shifted closer towards Uraraka to make room for him on the bench. “Jeez, spoiler much, guys.”

“It’s getting announced tomorrow, anyway,” Shinsou deadpanned.

Shigeo huffed a laugh, but it was barely audible if you weren’t listening for it. Teruki was, it seemed, as he bumped shoulders with Shigeo.

“Who’d you vote for?” Teruki asked seemingly just Shigeo, with the way he was speaking low.

“Yaoyorozu-san,” Shigeo admitted, hoping Iida wouldn’t take offense. A quick look said he wasn’t, to his relief. “But there was something weird I noticed when the results came out.”

“What do you mean?” Midoriya asked.

Shigeo chewed over his words and his food, unsure of how to phrase it without making it sound like it was a bad thing. “Bakugou-san voted for me.”

Midoriya exclaimed in surprised, or was it Uraraka? Shigeo could never differentiate between their shouts sometimes; he was starting to wonder if Midoriya was secretly related to Reigen too. “Kacchan did?!”

Iida cut in, “How did you know? The voting was anonymous.”

“He didn’t vote for himself, and I knew Todoroki-san and I voted for Yaoyorozu-san, like you and Uraraka-san voted for Midoriya-kun.”

“My, Taka-ji really has rubbed off on you,” Uraraka commented in her usual airy voice. It made Shigeo a bit wary since she used the same tone to make fun of him and Teruki sometimes. “Such a sleuth, Mob-kun.”

Shigeo flushed. “Thanks.”

“That’s so unusual,” Midoriya trailed off, still stuck at the thought of his bully voting for Shigeo. “I’ve never known him to rely on anyone but himself.”

“Maybe it was because you healed him during FHS,” Teruki suggested.

“Or told him off,” Uraraka added. “You left a huge impression on his ego.”

Before Shigeo could ponder over that, an alarm sounded through the cafeteria.

“Security level three has been broken. All students, please evacuate in an orderly fashion.”

Uraraka put her food down. “Three?”

“As expected of Yuuei,” Shigeo commented. Only an institution this rich would have more than one security level. Iida seemed to agree.

“Where should we be evacuating?” Teruki asked, scratching his head. “What a vague announcement.”

“Maybe we should head back to class,” Shinsou suggested as they made their way to the writhing mass of panic going on.

When Shigeo looked over, he realized that his classmates had long been absorbed with it. “Ah, they left me.”

“Let’s just stay here till it dies down.” Teruki sat down one of the now-vacant chairs, watching everyone panic.

“There’s Iida,” Shinsou said, pointing at the square boy. Shigeo followed his finger to see Iida float into the air and bump into the exit sign, wincing in sympathy.

He made to point at Iida as well, making a surge of energy zip through the crowd to hold Iida still. Iida’s glasses, which were also floating, followed after.

“Nice range,” Shinsou commented. Shigeo shrugged.

“Everyone! Everything is fine!” Iida shouted, standing like he usually does, hands stiff as he gestured around. It just looked like he was standing on thin air, his engine-shins out from where his pants were rolled up. “It’s just the press. There’s nothing to panic about! We are in Yuuei, please behave in a matter befitting of this institution!”

“He speaks like such a rich kid,” Shinsou pointed out. Shigeo couldn’t really help but agree.

Then again, Ritsu had pointed out that Iida was the Ingenium family name. “He’s Ingenium’s little brother, I think.”

“Huh, no wonder.”

Society could advance to have space travel along with superhuman abilities, but they could never advance to make car rides less nauseous. Shigeo kept his head against his seat, eyes closed. He was thankful for Asui letting him hold her hand.

“My baby brother gets motion sick a lot as well, kero,” she explained. “It helps to have something to hold onto, in case you get too dizzy.”

“You have a brother?” Shigeo whispered. Most of the classmates he’d spoken to were either younger siblings or only children. It was nice to have someone to relate to about these things.

“Kero, I have two younger siblings, Samidare and Satsuki. They’re both in grade school now,” Asui told him. It was the most she’d talked apart from giving Shigeo a helping hand and some advice.

Shigeo hummed, a small smile coming to his lips. “I have a brother as well. He’s graduating middle school this year. Ritsu’s really smart.”

“Will he be attending Yuuei, kero?”

Shigeo shrugged. “He can. I think he’d be the type to attend college before his debut. Something with the environment, y’know.”

“You share the same Quirk?”

He nodded. “He doesn’t have energy manipulation, I think, but he might develop it in a few months. He’s a late bloomer, grew up Quirkless.”

“Kero, like Midoriya-chan.”

Shigeo groaned softly when the bus lurched, slowing down. “Are we there yet?” was his whispered question.

“No, kero. Then again, Aizawa-senseididn’t really tell us where we were going,” she croaked, though not queasily like Shigeo had. That’s just how she spoke. “Do you need a bag, Shigeo-chan?”

Like Dimple, Asui had the knack for acting a bit too familiar with other people. Coming from an alleged century-old spirit, it wasn’t as comforting as Asui’s little habit. Eyes still squeezed shut, Shigeo checked in on himself before answering, “…I don’t think so, Asui-san. Thank you.”

“Call me Tsuyu-chan, kero.”

“Ts-tsuyu-san, is it really okay to keep holding your hand?” His palms were getting a little sweaty, and every lurch the bus made had him squeezing a bit too tight. “I can manage just fine I just didn’t know the bus ride was going to take so long.”

“What seems to be the problem here?” was Aizawa’s tired question. Shigeo opened his eyes to squint up at their teacher. Asu—Tsuyu nodded up at him in greeting.

“Shigeo-chan is a bit motion sick, sensei. Are we close to our destination, kero?”

A bit might be generous, Shigeo thought. He shouldn’t have eaten too much breakfast this morning, but Teruki made pancakes and Shigeo had asked for seconds.

“Hang in there, Kageyama. We’ll be there in a few minutes. In the meantime.” Aizawa turned to the front of the bus, his voice raising in volume to address everyone. “I expect everyone to be on their best behavior when we arrive. And do not stray far from the group. Don’t make me pull another suspension card.”

“Yes, sir!”

True to Aizawa’s word, they stopped after a few minutes. Shigeo was relieved when the bus didn’t move any further, then held onto Tsuyu’s shoulders on the way off the bus.

“Mob-kun, you did well,” Uraraka cheered, slapping a hand on his back in good spirits. Shigeo’s eyes widened as his feet left the ground. Iida grabbed onto his pink gloves with his black ones, and Shigeo was forever thankful for the non-slip material on Iida’s costume design. “You didn’t even throw up once! This calls for celebration!”

“Uraraka-san, please put him down before he actually throws up,” Yaoyorozu admonished.

“Sh-shit. Release! I’m so sorry, Mob-kun!”

“I’m okay,” Shigeo wheezed, not sounding as okay as he wanted to sound. “Where are we?”

Iida looked silly, blocking the sun with his hand on his forehead despite the fact that he was wearing his helmet. He was still holding Shigeo’s hand. “It seems to me that they’ve brought us to some sort of stadium. Maybe it’s going to be like Foundational Hero Studies.”

Shigeo frowned at the thought of fighting after almost throwing up. “I hope not. Sensei said it was rescue training.”

“Head inside and you might actually find out. Double time, class,” Aizawa deadpanned from the front of the group. That gave Class A the incentive to make their way up the stairs to the arena-looking building and make their way in.

Occasionally, Midoriya would look back over their group from the front, next to Yaoyorozu. Sometimes, he would go back down to wave people back in line. Shigeo smiled a bit, his nausea fading as they went further up.

It was nice to see him working so diligently. The feeling was something akin to what he felt when Ritsu would tell him something about student council back in Salt Middle.

Pride.

“He’s working really hard,” Shigeo told Uraraka. She smiled, watching Midoriya as well.

“Yeah, and he was so against it to begin with. It’s ni—wait a minute. Are you—oh my god, you are! You’re older brother-ing Deku-kun!”

Shigeo didn’t get why he was being defensive, but he was. Maybe it something to do with that tone, that same tone she used whenever she insinuated something between him and Teruki.  Maybe it was because Tsuyu let him talk about Ritsu on the bus. Either way, Shigeo insisted, “No, I’m not. It’s just really nice that he isn’t consistently soft-spoken. It would be bad if he were vice rep and still be—”

“Uh-uh, no, you’re totally older brother-ing him. I can’t believe it, Mob-kun, you really miss Ritsu-kun that much, huh?”

“Of course, I do,” Shigeo mumbled.

Before Uraraka could tease him any further, shouting started as Class A finally entered the facility. “Is this Universal Studios Japan?!” someone exclaimed.

Shigeo wondered if Class A could light up an entire village with the amount of enthusiasm they had.

The facility was Yuuei-level huge, so really, Shigeo wasn’t as impressed as he should be. It’s already been two weeks and it seems Yuuei just liked to be twice as big as everything else in Japan as if to make up for something.

There were different sections visible, breaking off from a wide rotunda in the middle of the building: an area with water, three smaller domed arenas, a landslide, and a whole bunch of things Shigeo could only slightly bring himself to care about.

Seeing more stairs, Shigeo couldn’t help but sigh. The sight of someone who looked like an astronaut made Shigeo perk up with interest though.

“There’s the flood zone, the landslide zone, the conflagration zone… Every disaster and accident you can think of is in this facility I build myself,” they started. “I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.”

Midoriya shouted, “It’s the space hero Thirteen!” Uraraka cheered with him as they started chatting on about facts about the Hero.

Aizawa approached Thirteen huddling in hushed conversation. Thirteen held up three fingers, but other than that, Shigeo couldn’t make out what was being said, especially with Aizawa’s mouth covered with his scarf and Thirteen’s face completely covered.

“Let’s get started.” Aizawa turned to them, voice annoyed. Shigeo hoped no one did anything to anger their homeroom teacher. Aizawa didn’t seem like the hour-long-angry-lecturing type but they were better safe than sorry.

Thirteen fumbled, stepping forward. “Before we begin, I have a… few points. Maybe three, or four… As many of you know, my Quirk is called Black Hole. It can suck in and tear apart anything.” That was one way to start a talk. Shigeo could only frown as he remembered what remained of Black Vinegar after Teruki had knocked him out three years ago. Did it cause that kind of damage?

“…My Quirk could kill easily. I’ve no doubt that there are among you who have the same abilities,” they continued. Shigeo kept his eyes on his slip-on shoes. When Thirteen started talking about laws, he couldn’t help but grit his teeth, knowing that the lie on his documents may as well mark him a Vigilante or a Villain. “… We must never forget that it only takes one wrong movefor people to die.”

Shigeo felt his guilt build up steadily under the surface. It wasn’t too dissimilar with nausea. It churned his stomach all the same. “In Aizawa’s test, you learned your potentials. In All Might’s, you learned the danger you can pose to each other. Today, you will learn to use your Quirks to save lives. Your abilities aren’t meant for harm. I hope you leave today with the understanding that you are meant to help people.”

Shigeo nodded, eyes still on his feet. He could do that. He’s been trying to do that for the past few weeks now. He hoped he could keep pulling this off for the rest of his stay at Yuuei. For his friends and for himself. He clapped his hands when his classmates broke out in applause.

A blip. Swirling colors of purple and black.

Shigeo blinked, head swerving towards the surge of energy, then walked over to the edge of the landing next to Aizawa. Aizawa turned to look with him, confused. There was something down in the plaza, in the distance. The dot of energy swirled bigger and bigger, until one by one… people started pouring out of the pitch black.

“Sensei, do you see that?” It seemed like an innocuous question, but Shigeo couldn’t risk looking weird just in case it was a spirit.

“Yes.” Then, after a moment, “Yaoyorozu, gather your classmates and make for the entrance. Do whatever you can to call for reinforcements.” Aizawa’s tone was authoritative, stern, booming. Shigeo backed off from the railing and reinforced his skin-barrier out of reflex.

“What is it?” Midoriya asked as he helped direct his classmates towards the exit.

Shigeo glanced at him, still pace rushed as his walk broke into a jog. “Villains.”

The aura from the field slid near the entrance. Shigeo shot his own out from where he stood beside Midoriya, fearing the worst. He made a barrier around the dark and purple before it could fully form.

A person with a noncorporeal body stepped out of the mist or was seemingly made out of it. They poked at Shigeo’s barrier, then jolted, as if shocked. Shigeo would have apologized if he weren’t so certain that these were Villains.

“Impressive. As expected of the best Hero school in Japan. That aside, greetings. We are the League of Villains,” the person said, waving a hand around in explanation. “Forgive our intrusion, but we’re here to kill All Might, the Symbol of Peace. If you could just step away from the—”

Shigeo lifted his hand and shot the person up, up, up, then stuck the barrier to the ceiling. “Keep moving, everyone,” he said, putting a hand on the small of Midoriya’s back and pushing him, with a little telekinetic help. Midoriya stumbled but kept going.

“Good job, Mob-kun!” Uraraka cheered as she sprinted after the rest.

“Kageyama-san—” Yaoyorozu seemed to have noticed that he wasn’t moving to catch up, jogging back to him. Shigeo shook his head and shooed her with his other hand

 “You have your orders from Aizawa-sensei, please call for reinforcements. I’ll hold them here for as long as I can, so hurry.”

Yaoyorozu hesitated, but nodded, not before tossing him an earpiece from her hand. “To keep in touch.”

Shigeo slid it over the shell of his ear, then turned back towards the plaza, lowering the person from the ceiling, then floating up to meet them halfway.

The darkness dissipated from the bubble form of the barrier, revealing the Villain in their formal-looking suit. With the deep bass of their voice, they asked, “What’s your name?”

The haze of shock keeping him calm was dissipating. “I’m not introducing myself to a Villain who’s willing to hurt children to kill a Hero. You could have just caused a ruckus elsewhere,” was Shigeo’s cold response. He wasn’t angry yet, not like he was with Dimple all those years ago, nor with Asagiri only a few months back, but he was getting there.

“Of course,” they replied. “My name is Kurogiri.” Black mist. A bit too literal, but Shigeo took it. “I’m not really in charge of hurting your friends, young man. I am merely in charge of delegating you to those who are.”

“So, you condone it? How are you better off, leading us to the slaughter?”

Kurogiri sat down in the barrier. He shrugged. “I suppose I am not. I am under orders to do so.”

“Are you being forced into it?”

Kurogiri shook his head. Probably. Shigeo’s only signifiers were the yellow glow of his eyes. “I’m merely doing my job.”

“That’s barely an excuse, Kurogiri-san. There are jobs that don’t involve violence against children or people in general.” Shigeo didn’t think this was getting all the way through to Kurogiri’s misty head. “Someone I know makes money tricking people into believing that their stress is an evil spirit that needs to be exorcised and charges them for a massage. If no one hires you, make your own job.”

Kurogiri sighed. “Then what do you suppose I do? I’ll be marked a Villain when I get arrested, and I will be carted off to imprisonment, no matter what I’ve done.”

Shigeo couldn’t find it himself to feel for Kurogiri’s situation, considering how incredibly avoidable it was to begin with, but he didn’t know the Villain’s whole life story to be able to judge him for that. Instead, he settled for saying, “Did you think of that before you joined the League of Villains?”

“I suppose I didn’t.” Kurogiri blinked, then stared down at his lap.

“It's good that you've changed your mind, Kurogiri-san,” Shigeo said, standing up. 

Kurogiri made a sound as if he was chuckling. "Just like that? I could be lying just to get you out of my hair, young man."

That was true. "Are you?"

Kurogiri shook his head. "Certainly not, but you should learn to be more assertive to those you disagree with."

Shigeo wasn't one to be assertive, normally. He learned his lesson from Mogami and Asagiri, certainly, but that didn't just explain away the existence of Shigeo's very powerful psychic powers. And anyway, it really wasn't in Shigeo's best interests to get criticized by a Villain. “Well, at the end of the day, you still almost hurt me and my friends in order to kill a Hero doing their job. So I can't really let you escape, because you might teleport all your friends out of here.”

“What—”

Shigeo flicked his hand down, watching the bubble barrier fall faster than gravity could account for, then pop when it reached the entrance floor. He slowly descended into the crater it made, eyeing the unconscious Kurogiri in the middle of it.

Thirteen stood still, looking like a deer caught in headlights when Shigeo spotted them. “Do you have any Quirk-suppressing restraints, sensei?”

Thirteen seemed to blink before stumbling forward to put some cuffs on Kurogiri’s hands and feet. “What did you do, student?”

“It’s Kageyama. I knocked him out, after speaking to him. Are the reinforcements here?”

“I-in a few minutes, Kageyama-kun. Good job, you can go see your classmates now. I’ll go and help Aizawa.”

“Are you sure, sensei? I can heal.”

Thirteen seemed to think that over for a moment. Shigeo shifted in place, hands twitching with every sound and clash coming from the fight in the plaza.

“I won’t fight if I have to,” Shigeo added, hoping that would appease Thirteen. “Promise.”

“Okay,” they said, sounding like they regretted it the moment they said it. Shigeo understood. He didn’t want to have someone walk into a fight either, but Aizawa needed some form of backup. “Just be careful and tell Aizawa what you’re there for or else you might get yelled at.”

Shigeo didn’t waste another second, jumping off the first stair with a telekinetic push. He put up a barrier around himself with enough energy to solidify it, then landed in an area thick with still-upright Villains. They flattened around him, perplexed and just a little bit surprised, then started beating at his barrier when they realized what it contained.

Shigeo ignored them, walking forward through the crowd. Some Villains took to trying to bum rush his barrier, but ended up jolting back when Shigeo, just a bit stressed, made to strengthen the barrier a little forcefully.

When he found Aizawa, he was in the middle of hurling one Villain at three, bringing them down like bowling pins. Shigeo winced in sympathy but ignored it to call out for his teacher. “Aizawa-sensei, I’m here to heal you.”

Aizawa faltered, then ran towards him. Shigeo let him into the barrier, then grabbed onto Aizawa’s hand, which had grabbed his arm roughly the moment he came into Shigeo’s reach. “Kageyama, I told you and the others toevacuate.”

Shigeo had to speak fast, especially with the way the crowd around them was getting more volatile. “Sorry, sensei, but I asked Thirteen-senseifor permission and they gave me the go signal.” Shigeo held his other hand up in a thumbs up. Shigeo let go of his teacher’s hand. “You’re healed now. You can stay here if you want to rest before fighting again.”

Aizawa paused, then let go of Shigeo to pat himself down. “What, how?”

Shigeo huffed. This was all in his file. “I gave you enough energy to heal you. I have a lot of it. Are you going to stay and rest, sensei?”

Aizawa didn’t reply, hanging his head. From behind the slits in Aizawa’s goggles, Shigeo could see, faintly, his teacher blinking sluggishly. “Are your eyes dry? I thought healing you would have fixed that…”

Aizawa shook his head. “It’s okay. Don’tdrop your barrier for anyone but me. I’m going.”

“Stay safe, sensei,” Shigeo called out after him, then walked away from the thick of the battle, waving away any Villain trying to break into his barrier now and then.

His earpiece clicked. “Kageyama-san? Thirteen-sensei said you went back inside. Is everything alright?”

From Yaoyorozu’s end, he could hear Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida shouting. Yaoyorozu hissed something Shigeo couldn’t hear, but the trio’s outbursts quieted. He hummed. “I just stayed behind to heal Aizawa-sensei. Is everything okay over there?”

“Kaminari-san already called for reinforcements. Are you sure you’re fine in there?”

Shigeo nodded, then remembered that Yaoyorozu couldn’t hear him. “I’m fine. They can’t break through my barrier anyway.”

One silver-haired Villain with hands all over their body sprinted towards him then smacked right into his barrier, loud enough that it made a sound around Shigeo. “…Was that a Villain?” His friends started shouting into the earpiece again.

“Yes. They just bumped into me. Are you alright, Villain-san?”

They didn’t respond. Shigeo leaned a hand out of his barrier to pat at the Villain’s… very greasy hair. “Sorry.”

It didn’t take long until reinforcements came. Aizawa was a little worse for wear, but one brief touch from Shigeo helped.

“Are you alright? What did you do? Oh, Kageyama-kun, you shouldn’t go running into danger like that,” Midoriya fussed, hovering his hands around Shigeo, unsure of where to touch. Shigeo really couldn’t help but remember Ritsu now.

Curse Uraraka for pointing it out.

“I talked to the Villains’ teleporter then knocked him out,” Shigeo said. He tried his best to sound reassuring, but the mere statement seemed to only make Midoriya go paler. “Then I went over to Aizawa-sensei to heal him. It’s alright, they arrested everyone anyway, right?”

Midoriya pouted. Shigeo felt like if he pointed that out to Midoriya, he’d deny it. “That’s not what I mean, Kageyama-kun. That was really reckless of you, what if you got hurt? What will Ritsu-kun say?”

Shigeo wanted to tell him that Ritsu would trust him more, but that secret was supposed to be kept tight under wraps. Midoriya didn’t seem to be looking for an answer though, so Shigeo looked away to see if all of his classmates were fine. Some were conversing by the plant boxes around the USJ, looking concerned. Others were either asleep or looking bored out of their minds.

Iida seemed to have fallen asleep, but there was a pinch of worry to his face. Uraraka, who had only finished telling him off before Midoriya had found him, was trying to maneuver Iida in a more comfortable position by the plant boxes.

When he deemed them alright, he made his way towards the crop of police gathering in the sidelines. One of them wore a beige trench coat, which told Shigeo, possibly, that this was the detective. “Excuse me, officer? Are the Villains alright?”

The supposed detective turned, then looked down to see him, surprised. “Pardon?”

“I asked if the Villains were alright. Some of them got roughed up during the fights, I don’t think Recovery Girl is here yet.”

“Do you have a healing Quirk?” the man asked.

“Kind of,” Shigeo mumbled. He wasn’t really in the mood to explain what his abilities were again. “I don’t mind if there aren’t any injured, I just wanted to make sure they’re okay before they got arrested.”

“That’s very kind of you, young man. I’m Detective Tsukauchi.”

Shigeo hadn’t asked, but it was impolite to not introduce himself back. He nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, officer. I’m Kageyama Shigeo. Now, please, are there any people injured?”

Tsukauchi laughed, then led Shigeo towards the trucks and ambulances. “There are a few that the medics can’t handle. I would rather you leave it to them but since you’re so eager, here they are.”

Shigeo spotted the Villain who bumped into his barrier, then made his way down to them.

“Ah, careful,” said one of the medics in charge. Shigeo paused to look at them. “That one has a contact Quirk that’s always active. Disintegrates something when he touches it with all five fingers. I’ll have someone with Quirk-suppressing cuffs to come over so, if you could just wait.”

Shigeo, who perpetually had a skin-barrier on him, didn’t wait. He crouched down beside the gurney to transfer some of his energy to the Villain.

They gasped the moment Shigeo touched them, rushing to sit up. They grabbed onto Shigeo, all five fingers closing around the barrier mere centimeters around Shigeo’s actual arm, red eyes glaring from their fringe of greasy silver hair. The medic from before was yelling now.

Nothing happened.

“What…” His voice was hoarse with disuse. Shigeo could hear the heavy metallic sound of someone dropping a pair of Quirk-suppressing handcuffs.

“You bumped into me earlier, I just came here to make sure you were okay after that,” Shigeo stated. Then, with a more scolding tone he’d grown used to using on Ritsu, “You shouldn’t have attacked children if you wanted to fight All Might-sensei, you know.”

“Who—you’re that brat. How come you’re not…” The red eye squinted at Shigeo’s arm, but Shigeo forced them to look at him with a small vine of energy. He wasn’t done talking yet.

The anger-like feeling from earlier that had been shoved down in order to prioritize Aizawa was rising to the surface now. Talking to Kurogiri had diffused some of it, but this Villain, who seemed to be the ringleader, hadn’t heard from him yet. “All Might-sensei’s just human too, I don’t get why you had to bring all these other people in harm’s way just for one person. It’s very degrading. What do you think the rest of us are? What does that make you, if I wanted to anger your boss and killed you to trigger him?”

“What are you on about?”

“I’m saying that if you want to fight All Might, talk to them first then settle it your and their terms. It’s unprofessional to pull someone into something without consent, my master said so.” With a quick look over his shoulder, Shigeo retrieved the Quirk-suppressing handcuffs with another vine of energy, pulling towards the Villain’s hands and locking them. The Villain didn’t even notice, eyes trained on Shigeo, a red that was darker, bloodier than Bakugou’s or Shigeo’s.

“Kageyama-kun, that would be enough,” Detective Tsukauchi cut in. Shigeo turned to see him eyeing the Villain’s hand, the one that was on Shigeo’s arm. “Thank you for helping our medics. Your class’s bus has arrived. Since the officers seemed to have interviewed you already, I would like to personally wish you a nice weekend.”

Shigeo stood up, the Villain letting go of his arm without resistance. Tsukauchi said a lot of things, but he heard one thing. Please leave.

Shigeo left.

When the door to his house opened, Shigeo wasn’t surprised to feel Ritsu nearly tackle him. “Brother, thank god you’re safe! I saw on the news and—oh, Hanazawa-kun, Midoriya-san. And…”

“Yaoyorozu, class pres.,” she introduced herself. “You must be Ritsu-san.” Before Ritsu could get a word in edgewise, she raised a hand and said, “We’re just here to drop off Hanazawa-san and your brother. We were tasked to personally drive them here for their safety. School will start back on Monday.”

“He’s fine,” Midoriya cut in, talking directly to Ritsu. “Ka—Shige—Um, Mob-kun, I mean. He did some pretty reckless things that I suppose you should hear from him yourself, but otherwise, we all got out of there safe.”

“We’ll be off, then,” Yaoyorozu said with a bow, hand settling on Midoriya’s shoulder.

Shigeo turned, still in Ritsu’s arms, and waved them off as they closed the gates behind them. “Thanks for the ride, Yaoyorozu-san. Stay safe.”

“What was Midoriya on about?” Teruki asked.

“Let’s talk about it over tea,” Ritsu said before Shigeo could answer, finally peeling himself off of his brother. “Mom and Dad aren’t home yet, but they’ve been notified as well as Reigen-san.”

Right, Shigeo forgot that Reigen was one of his emergency contacts.

Hanging their uniform jackets by the coat racks and replacing their shoes for slippers, Shigeo led Teruki down the hall to the living room. Despite only having been a week since he’d last been home, Shigeo couldn’t help but feel like it’s been years since he’s last been here.

The smells were familiar, almost comforting but much more noticeable now, the smell of lavender from the diffuser in the living room mixing with the wax for the floor. He supposed every home had its own smell, and their apartment in Musutafu wasn’t any different.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Ritsu asked. “There’s still some of Dad’s congee left, if you want something filling.”

“Are you okay in the kitchen now?” Teruki teased. Ritsu raised a brow at him, then at Shigeo, who inclined his head as if to say, well?

Ritsu huffed. “Yeah, they wouldn’t leave me by myself if I wasn’t.”

“I want some,” Shigeo said, trusting Ritsu. “I used up more energy than usual today, so I might turn in earlier. Is Dimple home?”

“No,” Ritsu said, grabbing a bowl and a ladle from the cupboards without looking. “He hasn’t been home in a few days. I think he’s been staying at Reigen-san’s.”

“He didn’t mention,” Shigeo said, fishing his phone out of his pocket to scroll through his and Reigen’s texts. He gave the ones from his friends a passing glance. He’ll deal with those when he was fully energized. “Last time he texted me was before I went home last weekend.”

“Maybe he’s busy,” Teruki suggested.

Ritsu walked into the dining with two bowls of congee, two cups of tea following behind him. Teruki accepted his bowl though he hadn’t asked for it. Shigeo and Ritsu knew about his appetite, so they never really questioned it.

“Enough about Reigen-san though,” Ritsu said, sitting down next to Shigeo. “What happened?”

Shigeo, usually tight-lipped about these things, was tempted to not tell Ritsu. The urge was there, really, but something about the past few hours dissolved his filter. This wasn’t a situation that Shigeo had handled and caused himself. This was an event that came out on the news, and he’d rather Ritsu hear it from him than worry him further.

“We were attacked by Villains during our field trip. I got to talk to one of them who tried to attack us, and he seemed to just be taking orders from someone else as well. I told him off, knocked him out, then went to heal Aizawa-sensei after.”

Silence, then. “That’s it?” Ritsu huffed. “Midoriya-san had his hackles raised for no reason.”

Shigeo shrugged. “I think he just felt helpless and worried. You had to be there, I guess. No one else but Uraraka-san actually knows what the full extent of my powers are, and they know I’m usually against violence.”

Teruki nodded, slurping loudly at his congee. Swallowing, he said, “Barely-trained telekinesis and energy manipulation isn’t enough to keep a normal teenager calm in a Villain ambush. Midoriya must’ve thought you were going to get hurt since you’re supposed to be only just starting to use your powers for real now.”

Shigeo supposed that was true. He pushed his congee around. What if Aizawa asked him what was going on? What if someone other than Uraraka caught on? Leaning forward to finally eat his congee, the contents spilled on the table.

Shigeo blinked, then looked at his spoon, twisted and malformed. Ritsu chuckled, before handing him a rag for his spoon.

Teruki gave him a look but said nothing.

The bell rung from where it hung by the doorway.

“Welcome to Spirits & Such, I’m Reigen Arataka, the greate—Ah, Shige, wait. Shigeo!”

Reigen rushed over his desk as swiftly as he could without tripping. Shigeo barely had his hands out before Reigen crushed him with a hug. “I was so worried when I got the messages from Yuuei yesterday afternoon about how you were brought home after Villains attacked you at a field trip. I was in the middle of a case! I was out of range for a few hours until last night! Are you alright? Is Occhan?”

“We’re alright, master. No one was hurt apart from the Villains yesterday.”

“Oh, thank heavens, you’re safe. You’re all safe. Shigeo are you sure—I’ll get some tea ready. Sit down, sit down.”

Shigeo let himself be manhandled to his usual seat, watching Reigen expend nervous energy in order to calm himself down. This was familiar, calming, a bit therapeutic, considering Shigeo only ever started moving in order to really exhaust himself.

“Blend, blend. Blend? No, teabag. Wait, just loose leaves,” Reigen mumbled as he set the teapot over the induction cooker in the corner of the office. “You’re okay with chamomile, right, Mob?”

He smiled at the slip up. It was nice to hear his nickname from Reigen again. “Yes, master.”

“Okay, okay. So, I’m sure Ritsu already gave you the whole first degree—”

“It’s third degree, Reigen-shishou, and not really. I told him what happened before he had to.”

“And I’m sure you barely—Wait, you did?”

Shigeo nodded.

Reigen dropped down on the other seat, ignoring the ominous creak it emitted. Most things in the office emitted ominous sounds, usually. “Huh. You’re not one for sharing without prodding, usually.”

Shigeo didn’t really know what to say to that.

“What’s changed with this, then?”

Shigeo pondered over it. Pondered so long that the pot wailed before he could answer.

“Well,” Shigeo started, watching Reigen pour him a cup and accepting it once it was handed to him. “It was already on the news anyway. I didn’t see why not.”

“It made the news? Huh, maybe I should pay attention more.”

Maybe Shigeo should as well.

“Well, I don’t want to pry it from you again. Nothing bad happened, right?”

Shigeo shook his head, then blew on his warm cup of tea, breathing in the calming scent. “Just a few pig-headed Villains. I talked to two of them, though the first one was more frustrating. He was convinced that condoning violence was a lucrative job.”

Reigen made a noise that Shigeo couldn’t quite pinpoint, but Reigen looked baffled and annoyed, all the same. “Label him a Villain, then I’m not surprised, but as a person? Who stoops that low?”

“That’s what I asked him as well. He didn’t seem very stuck to his values, but since he tried to hurt my classmates and I, I had to knock him out before letting him go.”

Reigen winced. “I guess he had it coming, considering.” He sipped at his tea, then blanched, dropping the cup. Shigeo caught it on instinct.

“You should really learn not to drink fresh tea so fast, master,” Shigeo said, setting the cup down on the table before Reigen.

Reigen grinned, sheepish.

Shigeo smiled, fond, then it dropped.

Reigen hummed. “Something on your mind?”

That was it, the question Shigeo had been waiting for. Once, he dreaded it, because expressing himself was hard, but Shigeo didn’t want to ask Teruki or Uraraka something like this. Maybe Midoriya, but that meant that Shigeo had to give him some form of context, or omit some things, and lying wasn’t really his strong suit, despite his experiences with Ritsu years ago.

“Teruki-kun told me something yesterday, about how, if I just started in Yuuei, I should only be starting to get a grasp on my powers. But yesterday, I did a lot of things that might risk people finding out… So, I was wondering, shishou, shouldn’t I just tell everyone that I have ESP? That’s what’s on my mind.”

Reigen sipped at his tea, slowly this time. Shigeo knew he was qualified to answer this question, as the only Quirkless adult Shigeo really knew. He didn’t want to push any heavy topics on anyone, but Reigen had offered, time and time again, to give him advice.

“You’re not afraid they’ll kick you out?” Reigen asked, gaze piercing. Shigeo tried not to break eye contact. “People treat you differently when they know you’re different.”

Shigeo hummed. “But didn’t they already accept me?”

“Your documents lie, though.”

“All Might-sensei told us that the documents can change, based on developments on your Quirk.”

Reigen’s brows raised in surprise. “All Might teaches you?”

Shigeo nodded. “That was on the news as well, just last week. Anyway, they said something about element-based Quirks, but I can’t recall. Just that we can change our costumes to suit our abilities once we’ve noticed the developments, they said.”

“That seems logical. That’s a little different to this case. I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high, just in case they don’t like it. Try telling the people you trust first, then maybe your homeroom teacher. Akizawa, was it?”

“Aizawa-sensei.”

“Yeah, that person.”

Shigeo nodded again, taking a few gulps of his warm tea, then putting it down on the table. “Thank you for the advice, master. It really helps to have your insight.”

Reigen stood, then patted him on the head as he walked past. “It’s no trouble, Mob. Uh, Shigeo. Anyway, it’s about time we get to work, hm?”

It was uncharacteristic of him. Usually he would give Shigeo a few more moments to think over the advice given to him.

Having nothing better to do, Shigeo shrugged. “Yes, master.”

Chapter Text

Shigeo shifted on the mustard yellow couch in the teachers’ lounge. The cushions were comfortable, don’t get him wrong, but being inside faculty rooms almost always set him off. Like he wasn’t supposed to be there.

“Kageyama, you’re not in trouble,” Aizawa stated, setting a cup of tea down on the table. He wasn’t doing much to convince Shigeo otherwise though.

Shigeo waited for him to continue, taking the green tea into his hands to focus on something other than his current situation. Shigeo looked around the lounge.

There was a tall, skeletal person with a shock of blond hair and an aura not unlike All Might’s sat in the corner of the room with their laptop. Instead of settling down on the stool across Shigeo, Aizawa sank down on the cushion next to Shigeo.

Shigeo couldn’t make eye contact with someone this close, so he locked his gaze on the table in front of him.

“You scored first in the entrance exams,” Aizawa started.

What did that have to do with anything? If Shigeo was the type of person who cursed, he’d have let loose a string of curses by now. But he wasn’t Bakugou or Uraraka, or maybe even Ritsu or Dimple. He was plain ole Mob who was internally panicking with every passing tick of the clock situated over the doorway of the teachers’ lounge. He hummed, to be polite.

“Then you’re aware that you’re required to make a speech at the beginning of the sports festival this year.”

Shigeo deflated. Okay, this wasn’t about the USJ.

Then, “P-pardon?”

A speech?!

Oh, a spirit must have cursed him during the job yesterday, that was the only logical explanation to this. That or Aizawa was pulling another logical ruse joke.

Shigeo was not laughing.

“I’ve talked to your previous homeroom teacher from your middle school and they said that your public speaking skills were on par with your Math scores. I can’t say I’m surprised, considering how soft-spoken you are, but what did surprise me was when you tried to run for student council and stood speechless for five straight minutes.”

Shigeo flushed with embarrassment, his hair floating. Aizawa leaned back, the throw pillows floating, as well as the couch and the center table. The person in the corner of the room blinked, then stood, looking like they were calculating just how they were supposed to help in this situation.

“A-ah. Sorry.” Shigeo willed himself to calm down, lowering them as gently as he could.

“Get that under control,” Aizawa ground out, once they were back on the floor.

“I’ll try. I’m sorry.”

Shigeo took a sip of his tea. As did Aizawa. The person from the corner of the room scratched at his gaunt cheekbone. “Aizawa-kun, you shouldn’t spring something like that on the young man.”

Ah, wasn’t this person actually All Might? That certainly explained the smidge of blue aura that they had. The blond hair, blue eyes, deep voice. Heck, even the yellow pin-striped suit, its jacket hung on the seat they were sitting on. They were a little on the thin side, but Shigeo could still see the muscle build-up from the forearm exposed by the rolled-up sleeves of their button up, despite that.

“I’m telling it as it is. Mind your own business, Yagi, we’ve talked about your meddling.”

Yagi—All Might chuckled, then settled back in their seat. “Of course, of course. Excuse me, I’ll just keep working here.”

Shigeo stared at them, then looked away, remembering his manners.

 “Kageyama.”

Shigeo sank into the cushion behind him, looking at the cup of green tea in his lap. He almost forgot about that.

“I’m not going to force you to do the speech. Hell, I don’t even want the sports festival to proceed, considering the ambush last week,” Aizawa was getting a bit heated now. All Might coughed into their palm, effectively catching Aizawa mid-rant.

Shigeo watched the exchange of looks as Aizawa took a deep breath. “My thoughts on the matter aside, if you think you can do it after a week, then I will let you. Ask your friends for help. If you need it, ask a teacher. Just not me. I’m not one for public speaking either.”

Shigeo nodded. Maybe he can ask Ritsu to help.

“You can bring as many people as you want to the festival for free, just make sure to list all of them down and give the list to Yaoyorozu so we can process it. I’ll announce this later, but since you’re already here, you can go ahead and start planning your list now. Just make sure none of them disrupt the proceedings.”

Oh, well, he’s definitely asking Ritsu for help now. “Y-yes, sir. Is that all?”

Aizawa sipped his own cup of… it smelled like coffee. Shigeo wondered, really, if Aizawa got a healthy amount of sleep. “You were directly involved in the USJ incident even though I told you not to involve yourself. That was altruistic but reckless so please don’t involve yourself in such things until you get your provisional license. Still, I think you deserve to know about this. Shigaraki Tomura escaped from jail yesterday.”

Shigeo blinked. “Shigaraki…?”

“The ringleader of the attack. Silver hair, lots of hands? Tsukauchi says you healed him.”

Oh. Well, that was bad, but Shigeo wasn’t sure why he was being told all of this.

Aizawa sighed, then took a gulp from his mug of coffee. “I’m telling you this because he knows you by face now and might go after you. Rest assured, Heroes will be assigned to patrol your neighborhood for any suspicious behavior.”

“Did Kurogiri-san…”

Aizawa shook his head, leaning forward to place his mug on the table. “Kurogiri stayed in his cell. At the moment, he’s mysteriously gone Quirkless.”

“Quirkless?” Each statement coming from Aizawa left Shigeo more confused than he was before.

A cough broke him out of his thoughts, coming from All Might. They waved off Shigeo’s concerned glance, going back to their laptop. Aizawa continued, “It seems like he’s willing to change, but we’ll be monitoring his behavior until his trial.”

“Oh.” Shigeo ran his fingers over the ridges of the cup in his hands. This was out of his hand. Regardless of his safety, he felt as if he shouldn’t have been told about it to begin with. “I-is that all, then, sir?”

“That’s all. Your classmates will either be in the training grounds or the fields this morning for training. Good luck, Kageyama.”

Shigeo gulped down the rest of his green tea, then stood, bowing. “Thanks for having me, Aizawa-sensei, All Might-sensei. See you later.”

Sports festival training, for a whole week. How ordinary of Yuuei, even if they were going to televise it nationwide.

Shigeo walked along with Teruki, who wanted someone to spot him and Shinsou for some Quirkless hand-to-hand. Though he supposed getting the basics down on hand-to-hand was useful in the path towards being a Hero, Shigeo’s mind was elsewhere.

Specifically, on the speech. Again, the festival was going to be televised, and Shigeo didn’t want a repeat of his second-year speech, thanks very much, Aizawa, for bringing that back up again.

“How do you even know hand-to-hand combat, Shinsou?” Teruki asked as he, once more, was flipped on the mat. There wasn’t a hint of annoyance or frustration in his voice, which Shigeo was proud of. He really has grown.

Shinsou pulled him up. “My Quirk isn’t really for combat purposes. I took some self-defense classes in middle school, then just upgraded to martial arts when I knew I was applying for Yuuei. Still just a green belt though.”

Shigeo clapped to himself. How admirable. “That’s so cool, Shinsou-san.”

“Want some pointers? Just for self-defense, I know you hate fighting,” Shinsou asked, making his way towards the bottles of water Shigeo had set aside for them.

“If it’s not too much,” Shigeo said, handing Teruki his bottle of water. “But maybe some other time. I have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Like what?” Shinsou asked, pouring what remained of his water to the back of his neck. “You still have homework you haven’t passed or something?”

Shigeo shook his head. Ritsu and Teruki regularly ganged up to make sure he didn’t do that anymore. “I’m supposed to prepare a speech for the festival. I want to figure out what I want to say before I ask Ritsu for help, that’s all.”

“Oh right,” Teruki cut in. “You scored first on the entrance exams.”

“I didn’t know that was a thing,” Shigeo mumbled. “I thought they just let the class representatives decide or something.”

Shinsou flicked lightly at his forehead. Shigeo brought a hand up to rub at the spot. “Don’t sweat it, Kageyama. Just give them something about sportsmanship, doing their best, add in a little Plus Ultra, and you’ll be fine.”

Teruki chuckled. “Shigeo-kun has terrible stage fright.”

Shigeo inclined his head towards Teruki as if to say what he said, still rubbing at his forehead.

“Fraternizing with the enemy! I knew there was something fishy about you, Hanazawa!”

All three of them whipped their heads around to look at the source of the outburst. A sandy blond-haired student made their way towards the group, his PE uniform jacket tied loosely around his waist. He was pointing dramatically at Teruki, which was really rude of him.

“Buzz off, Monoma,” Shinsou deadpanned.

“He’s my roommate,” Teruki stated, equally unimpressed at his classmate’s antics.

“That’s worse! This, this plain-looking student is from Class A! It’s almost the sports festival, you guys should know not to socialize with the competition!” This Monoma fellow seemed the most like Reigen in Yuuei so far, more than even Uraraka herself.

“Then doesn’t that mean we shouldn’t talk to our classmates either?” Shigeo asked. “We’re all competing in the same games, after all.”

Monoma paused.

Shinsou started snickering. Teruki gave Shigeo a fond look. “He’s got you there, Monoma. Seriously though, calm down. If you lose this year, you still have two more years to lick your wounds.”

An orange-haired person started walking towards Monoma, looking equal parts tired, annoyed, and apologetic. They raised a hand, fingers stiff, then it grew larger, “Don’t be so confident I’ll lose, Hanazawa, I—”

Monoma hit the floor the moment the hand came to the back of his head. Shigeo made to move forward, to check if he was okay, but the student waved him off.

“Thanks, class pres.” Shinsou waved. “Real lifesaver.”

“I apologize if he bothered you,” Class B’s president said. “We’ll go back to training now.”

“Good luck, Kendou!” Teruki called out.

“You as well,” Kendou called back, dragging Monoma away by the collar of their white tee.

Shigeo frowned, “Will Monoma be okay?”

“He’s normally like that,” Teruki waved off. “Really, Kendou’s told him to tone down the antagonism for your class, but he seems set on his ways.”

Shigeo hummed, staring after them. “What a poor fellow.”

Slowly, the mats started garnering attention, mostly from Shigeo’s friends who’d been looking for him since they were given the go signal to scatter around campus for training. Shigeo had left his phone in his locker, so he didn’t know that they were looking for him.

They gathered at the mats in the indoor gym, Shinsou teaching everyone self-defense, conferring with Yaoyorozu, who was a red belter in karate. Shigeo, who stuck solely on self-defense moves, mostly stuck to what Shinsou taught him.

Shigeo tried to flip Midoriya over like Shinsou had demonstrated, but Midoriya was heavier than he looked. Denser too. How hadn’t he noticed all this muscle?

Midoriya pulled away with a jump, then turned to kick him. Shigeo jumped over the sweep, surprised at his own reflexes, then crouched low to rush at Midoriya’s legs.

That toppled them both over. Uraraka and Iida cheered from the sidelines while Tsuyu clapped with Yaoyorozu. Shigeo stood and rolled his shoulder, leaning down to pull Midoriya up.

“That was some quick thinking, Midoriya-kun.”

“Thanks,” Midoriya laughed, breathless but jovial, nonetheless. “Your reflexes are really good too.”

He hummed as they made their way off the mats. Shigeo thought maybe his body just got used to Dimple’s possessions. Reigen had said something about Dimple using him for some athletics during his six month-thirty minutes with Asagiri.

“That was better,” Shinsou said as Shigeo approached. “But next time, if you can’t flip someone over your shoulder, try using your body’s momentum and bring them down with you.”

That was a lot of information really quickly. Shigeo nodded, though he didn’t completely understand.

“He means that if you can’t lift someone, roll with them,” said Dimple. Shigeo made a sound of understanding.

Then blinked.

Shigeo glanced towards the soft green glow of the spirit, confused.

“’Sup, Shige. Missed me?”

Teruki made an aborted sound from behind him as Dimple waved at him as well.

Uraraka looked between them. “Are you guys alright?”

Teruki waved his hand, dismissive, “No, I was just—um, my sneeze didn’t push through.”

Shinsou snorted at that.

Shigeo sighed, then walked off somewhere isolated, telling his friends he was going to the water fountains outside for some fresh air when they asked. “Dimple, is everything alright?”

“What, I can’t visit a friend who’s so busy he can only come home during the weekends? That’s cold even for you, Shigeo.”

Shigeo stared at him.

“Oh, fine. Though I really did want to visit. Reigen’s not at work today.”

Shigeo paused, looking directly at Dimple. He knew not to do so in public, but this was more important than his reputation. “What do you mean?”

Dimple raised his hands in defense. Shigeo wasn’t mad at him though, he just wanted to know what he meant. “I came by his place before seeing you, talked to him for a bit. He’s not sick, but he said something about there being no point anymore, seeing as business was going so slow. I didn’t get much of his point.”

Shigeo thought that over. Reigen didn’t seem off yesterday, his usual gesticulating self. He’d even bought Shigeo a snow cone while they waited for the bus home from their out of town case.

“I’ll call him when I get home,” he decided. “How have you been, Dimple?”

“Oh, you know, been wandering here and there, haunting Villains, eating other evil spirits. I was actually by the office in case Reigen wanted to give me a job but, well.”

Shigeo nodded. “Well, you can hang around, just don’t harass anyone. If anyone sees you, just ignore them. Please?”

Dimple made a deflating sound. “Like any of these wimps can see me.”

“Dimple.”

“Yeah, yeah. Fight on, Shigeo.”

“Again, and I hope you don’t want me to stress this more than I have to, Bakugou, but keep destruction of property to a minimum, if you can help it. Midoriya, you know what I have to say about your injuries as well. Get that under control if you don’t want Child Protective Services called into Yuuei.”

Shigeo was only half listening to Aizawa’s comments, his eyes outside trained on the clouds outside the window. Dimple floated up from below, phasing through the window to circle around his class. “Nice, does that kid have red and white hair? You have some weird friends, kid.”

Shigeo ignored him, save for a quick glance to make sure the spirit wasn’t harassing Todoroki, who was napping on his desk. “Oh! That one has horns!”

“What the fuck,” Bakugou grumbled.

Shigeo’s eyes flickered towards the teen, who glanced around from his seat, then caught on Aizawa glaring directly at Dimple.

Shigeo wasn’t one to curse, again, that just wasn’t his style. But he could help the soft and gentle “fuck” that escaped his mouth when he realized exactly what he had just done.

He took a sliver of energy, keeping its connection to him thread-thin, then wrapped it around Dimple’s hand tugging lightly. Dimple looked towards him. Shigeo glanced wildly at his classmates, then at Aizawa, hoping Dimple understood.

“Oh, crap. See ya.” Dimple flew out of the window without another word.

“Aizawa-sensei?” Ashido cut in. “You awake?”

“Class dismissed,” Aizawa sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose. “Shouldn’t have drank that coffee.”

Everyone stood, except for Bakugou, who was still glaring outside the window where Dimple disappeared. “I wonder what that was about,” Midoriya mumbled, grabbing his uniform jacket from the back of his seat. He turned to Shigeo, tired smile on his face. “Go ahead without me, Kageyama-kun. I have to go talk to someone and it might take a little longer.”

Shigeo waved goodbye as he gathered his things from his desk.

“Bowl Cut, you saw that, didn’t you?”

Shigeo paused, then shoved his notebook into his book bag. “Saw what, Bakugou-san?”

Bakugou squinted at him. Shigeo couldn’t help the sweat beginning to drip down his face. He thanked the gods for his resting poker face and watched as the hope bled out of Bakugou’s eyes.

“Never mind.”

Shigeo breathed out slowly, trying not to openly show his relief at being left alone.

It was just one surprise after another, today.

A squeak made him look up, especially since it sounded like it came from Midoriya, and especially since Monoma seemed to be at the door of their room, along with a few other students who seemed to be from different departments.

“H-hello,” Midoriya nodded his head. “Are you all looking for someone?”

Monoma stepped forward into his space. “Yeah, I’m looking for the competition! All I see here is a bunch of pushovers!”

Oh, great.

“Monoma-san,” Shigeo said, approaching as he hung his uniform jacket over his shoulder, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. “Please leave before Kendou-san gets here.”

Monoma seemed to falter at that, “D-don’t act tough, Hanazawa-kun’s roommate.”

“It’s Kageyama.”

“Whatever! You may have bamboozled me earlier, but you can’t push away my declaration of war just because you think you’re so tough, fighting Villains on your own. Your self-importance is laughable!”

Midoriya made a noise of disapproval. “We didn’t fight Villains.”

“They were after All Might and tried to hurt us to catch their attention,” Shigeo corrected, getting a little annoyed. “Please leave, Monoma-san.”

He faltered further. Shigeo stumbled as someone bumped him from behind, then blinked when Bakugou bumped up against Monoma as well on his way out.

“Move out of the way, extras.”

Midoriya shrieked, as well as Uraraka. Iida shouted, “You can’t just call people you don’t know ‘extras,’ Bakugou-kun, it’s rude!”

Monoma made a shrill sound of protest, glowering after Bakugou’s retreating back. “What arrogance! As expected of Class A. No one in Class B would behave so crassly—”

Kendou’s hand came down on the back of Monoma’s head for the second time that day. They peeked into the class room, other hand raised in a one hand gesture. “I’m so sorry, again. I’ll tell Kan-sensei immediately, so he won’t bother anyone.”

“It’s okay, Kendou-san,” Shigeo said. “I hope he understands.”

“You and me both,” Kendou sighed. “Well, see ya!”

Shigeo bowed after her, then made to leave the classroom. Iida and Uraraka caught up to him after a moment.

“Is Deku-kun not coming with?” Uraraka asked.

Shigeo shook his head. “I think he had to talk to someone. He didn’t say who.”

“Probably All Might-sensei,” Iida suggested. “They talked earlier as well, before lunch.”

“Oh, I wasn’t with you guys then. Did he say what All Might-sensei told him?”

Uraraka thought about it, then shook her head. “He just seemed oddly quiet afterwards. But I think he’d tell us if something was up, you know? It’s Deku-kun!”

Shigeo put his phone down next to the lined yellow paper on the center table, he propped his head up on his hand.

Reigen wasn’t answering his calls or texts so he might be out of range again. Ritsu, according to his text, got roped into another student council meeting. Midoriya might be taking a nap, Iida was busy with homework, and Yaoyorozu seemed to be outside with either her friends or her parents.

Shigeo supposed he could just ask for help tomorrow morning.

The front door clicked open. “I’m home! Dimple’s with me.”

“Yo, Shige. Nice place.”

“Welcome back,” he called back to Teruki. To both of them, he asked, “How was the rest of your day?”

Teruki bounded into the kitchen for some water, like he usually did. He took a sip from his glass, leaning on the counter overlooking the living area. “Not much else happened on my end. I think Monoma got a stern talking to after class, though.”

Shigeo hummed, tapping his mechanical pencil on the paper. “He tried to pick a fight when we were dismissed. Kendou-san had to retrieve him after it.”

“Well, that explains why.”

Shigeo looked above his head. “What about you, Dimple?”

Dimple, who was poking at the pull string for their living room light over Shigeo’s head, jerked backwards in surprise. “No one else saw me. I didn’t think you passed your energy around so freely.” He swung around to float in front of Shigeo’s face, grinning. “Mind if I could borrow some?”

Shigeo shook his head. He pointed the tip of his pencil at the spirit. “I passed energy to heal, and it was just two people. If I gave you mine, you’ll start hypnotizing people again, and we already talked about that, remember?”

Dimple dropped down on the center table dramatically, deflating. “Just for a little bit, Shigeo,” he whined. “C’mon, you never let me do anything fun. I promise I won’t bother that Teruki-rip-off in your class even though he seems like fun to mess with.”

“Who?” Teruki asked.

“He means Bakugou-san.” To Dimple, he said, “Ask me to do something with you when I’m free, then we can do something fun. Just don’t harass the people I’ve given energy to.”

“So, Eraserhead and Bakugou?”

Shigeo hummed. “They were both surprised when Dimple dropped in during homeroom earlier.”

Teruki laughed. Shigeo swiveled around in his seat. “It’s not funny. Aizawa-sensei could have figured it out if Dimple didn’t notice. You know how he gets when I’m in class.”

“I’m sorry,” Teruki said between laughs. “It’s just—I could have paid to see the looks on their faces.”

Shigeo huffed, turning back around to stare at his still blank, lined yellow paper.

“What’re you doing?” Dimple asked.

Clothes ruffling. Teruki was taking his uniform off in the hallway again. “His speech, probably. Don’t bother him.”

“Another speech?” Dimple drawled. He rolled around the table, picking his nose with his little finger. “Man, good luck gawking at another crowd. Humans really never learn.”

“Dimple! I said don’t bother him! Don’t make me exorcise you!” Teruki shouted from his room.

Shigeo dropped his head on the surface of the table. He wished Ritsu was out of his meeting by now.

“The new kid in class is the one from the 7th Division,” Ritsu said, looking a little haggard as he admitted the fact. “He seemed really keen on making friends with me, but really, I was just wary he was there to just kidnap me, or something.”

“You mean that kid who called me a coward?” Shigeo asked between sporksful of Chinese food.

Ritsu nodded. “His name’s Suzuki. Or at least I think it is. It might just be a fake name.”

“What’s his Quirk?” Teruki asked. “Or is he just Quirkless as well?”

“Didn’t think to ask. I’ve been avoiding him since he arrived. Thank heavens he didn’t sit next to me.”

Shigeo hummed. “Well, if he tries to make friends, it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

Ritsu paused in the middle of writing something on his desk, then looked directly into the camera. “Really, brother? His father owns the super-secret ESPer group that kidnapped and almost killed us.”

Shigeo shook his head, pointing his chopsticks at his phone. “Isn’t that unfair of you to make judgements of him based on what his father does? What if he was against kidnapping us in the first place? Didn’t he help out at the end?”

Ritsu sighed loudly, the sound of it crackling from Shigeo’s phone’s speakers. “Of course, youwould say that, befriending Hanazawa after he almost killed you.”

Teruki made a noise of protest from where he was eating his food. Shigeo sighed.

“Ritsu.”

“Fine! Fine, I’ll keep it in mind. But if I get kidnapped again…”

“You won’t.”

“You’re two hours away! How would you know!”

“Because you’re my little brother and you’re smart enough now to not get kidnapped. If Suzuki-kun plans on kidnapping you, call me, master, or the police.”

Dimple whistled. “Damn, Ricchan, you just got older brother’d.”

Shigeo gave Dimple a glance, then went back to his food. Had he been hanging around Uraraka? “Anyway, Ritsu, can I ask for a favor?”

“What, with Math homework? I thought Ectoplasm was a better teacher than Yamamoto.”

“He is, but that wasn’t what I was going to ask for,” Shigeo said. “The sports festival is coming up and I need some help with the speech.”

“Because you scored first on the entrance exam, I forgot about that!” This was public information? How did Shigeo not know about that before today? “Wait, are you sure you’re okay with speaking in public?”

“That’s what I was asking earlier,” Dimple grumbled from somewhere in the living room.

“Dimple,” Teruki hissed.

“Dimple’s there? I knew ghosts didn’t show up on cameras! Dad owes me three-hundred yen.”

“I think I can manage public speaking this time. It’s just… last time, I was a little forced into it.”

“And you aren’t now?” Teruki asked. “You said you didn’t know that this was a thing before today.”

“I didn’t, but Aizawa-sensei gave me a choice on whether or not I could do it, and I said I could.” Shigeo thought about it longer, then added, “Probably.”

Ritsu took a bit of time before saying, “If you’re sure, brother.”

“I am,” Shigeo said, firmly this time. “I’ll send you my drafts when I have them. Shinsou-san already gave me some ideas on what to write.”

“Sure thing, brother. Good luck. Fight on.”

Shigeo’s joints ached a bit with the familiar warm fatigue of a good day’s work out. It made him just a bit sleepy. But that didn’t matter much, because instead of dozing off until they reached their stop, Shigeo was checking his phone on and off, waiting for one particular notification.

“Something wrong, Mob-kun?” Uraraka asked, hand clutched on the strap between them. Shigeo held onto the pole on his other side. The train rocked them both back and forth. “You’ve been staring at your phone for an awfully long time. Is it Ritsu-kun with your speech?”

Shigeo shook his head, slipping his phone into his book bag. He didn’t know what he was hoping to accomplish, waiting like this. “It’s Reigen-shishou. He hasn’t been answering my texts and calls all week. At first, I thought it was because of work, but Eku—someone told me he hasn’t opened the office since Monday.” Shigeo turned to her, leaning on the pole, “What do you think’s going on with him?

“I don’t, I mean.” Uraraka stammered, taken aback, her free hand coming up in a shrug. “If we’re going to be honest, you’d know better than I will. I only knew him growing up, and maybe sometimes when he comes over for the holidays to do uncle things, y’know? Is it unusual for him to take a week off or something?”

Shigeo nodded, watching the scenery pass by. “I’ve known him for six years, but I’m a bad judge of character.” He glanced at Uraraka. “I have a hard time reading people’s intentions. Or at least until I grew up a little. In those six years, it’s hard to even make him take a day off.”

Uraraka raised a brow at him. “You, a bad judge of character? You told off both Bakugou-kun and a Villain, and you’re a bad judge of character? I don’t believe you.”

“Well, Bakugou-san and Kurogiri-san aren’t really Master.” Shigeo defended. Bakugou might have been mean, but at least he was more upfront. Kurogiri, on the other hand, didn’t really have much of a direction to be someone Shigeo would call manipulative. “He is a little more… complicated.”

“Because he lies so much, even he believes it,” Uraraka deadpanned. She sighed, leaning her head on her outstretched arm. “I forgot about that. And you met him when you were ten, right? That explains why you’re still calling him Master to begin with.”

Shigeo sighed as well. Uraraka didn’t have to phrase it so harshly, but he couldn’t deny much of it. He just stayed on with Reigen because the man had a good moral compass on him, despite the dubious decisions he made sometimes. Reigen gave him good advice. Reigen helped people who needed it and rarely even asked for money after, even if it didn’t benefit him, if only just to keep Shigeo or the client comfortable and happy.

“He is my Hero,” Shigeo admitted. “I hope he makes it to Yuuei tomorrow.”

Uraraka didn’t have anything to say to that.

“Representing the students is Kageyama Shigeo from Class A!”

It was a testament to Shigeo’s growth and worry that he hadn’t needed to use the bathroom before this.

He stepped away from his friends towards the stage next to Kayama-sensei, bowing low towards the crowd. He could hear the crowd of first year students buzzing with chatter behind him, but louder still was the crowd of people in the stadium.

Somewhere out there was Ritsu, the previous Body Improvement/Astronomy Club (sans Takenaka), and hopefully, Reigen. He could pinpoint where his brother was in the crowd, of course, to his left, front row seat.

He could feel Ritsu flare his aura in what he could interpret as a show of support. He’d stayed the night before, slept in Shigeo’s room like they used to as kids, even helped Shigeo make their bento that morning. Shigeo let his own aura flare in response, his nerves finally getting ahold of him as the mic hovered in front of his lips.

“Thank you, Kayama-sensei,” Shigeo said, inclining his head to nod at his Modern Hero/Art History teacher. He liked her regular school day clothes better than her battle outfit though. Kayama smiled at waved at him before gesturing for him to go on.

“To my fellow students on today’s sports festival,” Shigeo started. He could hear the flatness of his voice through the speakers throughout the arena. There was nothing he could do about that. He clenched his hands into fists by his side to keep them from shaking. “May we compete with the spirit of sportsmanship, good will, and fairness. May we look back at recordings of this sports festival a year later with—with smiles on our faces as we… see the progress we’ve made.”

Shigeo looked along the line of seats next to where he knew his brother was. He glanced at the drone homing in on his face. He turned to look at it, hoping Reigen was watching somewhere.

“And… In the words of someone important to me: Quirks aren’t a gift or a blessing. They are muscles you have to train. They’re not important. May we use our skills and what we’ve learned to help each other.” Shigeo paused, then, on second thought, added, “Go beyond.”

The crowd around him didn’t hesitate. “Plus Ultra!”

Shigeo smiled, then bowed. “Good luck, everyone.”

Chapter Text

Shigeo pushed his way through the sea of Yuuei PE uniforms forming by the entrance, towards Teruki’s familiar aura. He muttered apologies left and right, hoping his elbows weren’t that sharp. This was urgent, after all.

He remembered the intensity in Todoroki’s gaze as he spoke to Midoriya earlier, and he’d pushed it aside as he looked through the cue cards Ritsu brought for him just in case. When he’d asked, Uraraka said it was a declaration of war of some sorts, or a confession of love. It was hard to get anything straight out of Uraraka sometimes.

The gist of it that Shigeo thought was true though was that Todoroki told Midoriya that he wasn’t going to hold back on anyone, and that implication in itself was troubling.

“Teruki-kun!” Shigeo called out, letting his aura stretch out to pull at Teruki’s. “Over here!”

It took a few more elbows to the gut before Teruki was in front of him. “Shigeo-kun, your speech was amazing.” Teruki said, head close to his ear so they could have some semblance of privacy.

Shigeo nodded. He kept his voice low. “Thank you. Uh, can I ask, how do you use energy to make things warm?”

Teruki pulled back a little to look at him, curiosity burning in his eyes. “Why are you asking?”

Shigeo tried not to bounce on the balls of his feet, eyeing the crowd and Kayama from where she still stood by the stage. “I think my classmate is planning something for the obstacle race. I want to make sure he at least gives everyone a chance when he does so. It will be a bit cruel for everyone else, if I don’t do anything.”

“I can do it, Shigeo-kun,” Teruki offered. “You can count on me. Just tell me what you’re planning.”

Shigeo took Teruki’s hands and shook them, hoping that he could express himself better to effectively show Teruki his gratitude. “Thank you, Teruki-kun. I need you to heat the floor when the race starts, as far forward as you can reach.” Eyes widening at a thought, he added, “I’ll give you some of my energy after the race.”

“There’s no—”

“I know,” Shigeo smiled, stepping away from his friend with a wave. “It’s as thanks. See you on the other side, Teruki-kun.”

Shigeo was right. Todoroki iced the floor the moment the race started.

Fortunately for Shigeo, he had his skin-barrier on. He kept jogging ahead, spotting Yaoyorozu and Iida and a bunch of his other classmates ahead of him. He could feel heat licking at his heels, Teruki doing what he’d asked from behind or ahead.

“Here comes the first obstacle!” Present Mic screeched through the speakers.

The ground shook, tripping up some of the other contestants. Shigeo caught them with a hand and a wave of energy, jogging through the crowd of fumbling students. Large, box-like things loomed in the distance, shaking the ground with every movement.

The exam bots.

Ice crept up, the draft blowing down the field. Soon, the robots were encased with ice. Someone whooped in victory, but Shigeo kept his emotions at bay, eyeing the cracks that ran up the new glaciers.

Sure enough, the ice gave easily as soon as Todoroki’s red and white hair disappeared under the robot’s legs. Expletives rang out through the field.

Shigeo put his larger barrier up, charging it with more energy than he usually did. Then, just as he was running through the chaos between students and robots, he left the barrier, then extended it as long as he could without making it weak.

If Teruki was following behind him, he’ll lead the others through the small tunnel of energy. Shigeo didn’t have time to stop and check because the next obstacle came just around the bend. A ravine with ropes and standing islands came between Shigeo and the next obstacle.

This was to his advantage, of course. He didn’t see how he could help others much here, but in the middle of jumping between the islands with some telekinetic aid, he corrected some students who, once reaching the ropes, fumbled to keep balance, trying to be subtle about the amount of energy leaving him. No one else may have a sixth sense in Yuuei’s first year batch, but Shigeo didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention.

Good thing Bakugou was ahead of him.

The next obstacle was what gave him the most dread.

A whole stretch of bare land extended ahead of him, flanked by a fence and some trees. Next to it was a billboard that said there were mines. Mines. He could feel Ritsu’s aura somewhere inside the stadium, flaring in and out with what Shigeo could assume was worry.

Shigeo couldn’t help much here either. He hoped the other students were quick to think on their feet like Midoriya. He gave himself a little platform over the ground but kept running. When he reached the middle of the field, a seeing the tunnel ahead, he started in a dead sprint, just like Sagawa taught him for their last year in Salt Middle.

He finished fifth, collapsing on the grass. Medic bots shot about to and fro, handing students cold bottles of water. Shigeo grabbed two. When he looked up at the rankings, he was happy to see all his friends make it just behind him.

“Kageyama-kun!”

Shigeo looked towards the source and saw Midoriya looking a little dirty but otherwise unhurt. “You did amazing! And that tunnel you left in the robot obstacle was really nice of you.”

Shigeo scratched at the back of his head, not standing up quite yet as the students piled into the open field. “I didn’t really know how else to help for the rest of the race. I did tell Teruki-kun to help with the ice floor earlier.”

“Ah, Hanazawa-kun did that! I should thank him as well!”

Speaking of Teruki. The blond ran through the entrance, followed by some of his own classmates.

Shigeo waved his hand over his head, flickering his aura. Teruki bounded up to them without pausing, then plopped down next to Shigeo, breathing heavy. He was just as dirty as Midoriya was. Shigeo had to wonder what those mines really did to get to even usually composed Teruki

With a small laugh, Shigeo poked at Teruki’s cheek, sending him the bit of energy he promised.

“You finished faster than your last race,” he wheezed, turning his head to give Shigeo a smile. “Good job. And thanks for the boost.”

Another body plopped down on their patch of grass. Shigeo turned to see it was Shinsou. “Everything okay, Shinsou-san?”

“Kill me.”

Midoriya giggled. Shigeo leaned forward to pat him on the head. He didn’t give Shinsou his energy though, cautious of causing another incident with Dimple. The spirit was in Musutafu and Yuuei indefinitely and Shigeo didn’t want to risk anything in case Dimple came when Shinsou was over.

Uraraka took to draping dramatically over Teruki’s lap when she arrived. Teruki whined about her getting sweat all over him, which started a bit of a petty wiping fight between them that ended up in the both of them starfish-ing on the grass.

Iida, who seemed to have been looking for someone, stood by their growing pile of sweat and exhaustion, his shadow looming over their group.

“Iida-kun, don’t move from where you’re standing!” Uraraka ordered. Iida turned, then froze when Uraraka shouted, “I said don’t move, your shadow! The shade!”

Iida crossed his arms, then brought up one hand in his usual scolding stiff gesture but was cut off by the announcement.

“And that’s it for the first challenge!” Kayama thwapped her whip against the stage. “All forty-two contestants move on to the next round. Let’s have a look at the roster!”

Midoriya cheered. “We all made it in!” Then, just as quickly, he deflated, “Ah, wait, Kouda-kun isn’t on the board…”

Shigeo scanned the boards and found it to be true. It might be too much to hope that all their classmates made it into the second round, but some part of him held up the ideal. He hoped Kouda wasn’t too down about it. “Kouda-san must have tried their best,” he told himself. Uraraka and Midoriya nodded.

Shigeo grabbed onto Midoriya’s legs, then squeezed imperceptibly. “Muscles,” he mumbled, then tried to wave the thought away. He twisted his arms around behind him and felt the other two hold onto him, then onto his shoulders.

“Are you sure you can do it, Mob-kun?” Uraraka asked. Shigeo huffed, adjusting Midoriya’s weight slowly off of his shoulders, then towards the net of arms they’ve made behind him. He tested the weight. He could do this for fifteen minutes.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

“We can swap places, still, Kageyama-kun,” Midoriya said, looking like he didn’t want to be on top anyway, but the jetpack was secure on his back and the ten-million headband was tightly wrapped around his head, holding his unruly hair back from his face.

Shigeo shook his head, hoping he didn’t seem too pig-headed for not taking the out. Midoriya placed him in front for a reason, that being he came in fifth place and had a long-distance Quirk. “I can manage. If I get too tired, don’t be scared when I make you float for a few seconds. Just grab me so you won’t float too far.”

Midoriya took that information and nodded, probably nervous or still strategizing despite already having explained the plan. Shigeo turned back to face front. He thought maybe the reason Midoriya’s hair was so curly was because of all the harebrained schemes he came up with on the fly. Certainly, explained why his own hair was so straight.

When the countdown began, Shigeo realized just how spot on Midoriya’s thinking and understanding of the other students was. Every single team turned towards them at the same time, unnervingly in sync like a collective hivemind. Shigeo breathed in, then out, then veered right when Midoriya pushed down on his right shoulder blade.

The moment the fifteen minutes started, it was like one of those wildlife documentaries Dimple always put on when Shigeo woke up in the middle of the night, cradling chamomile, trying to blink away his lost six months. A British voice in the back of Shigeo’s head said, in English, the hunt was on.

Shigeo used his energy to pull them away at the last possible moment.

They had to keep moving, keep safe, that was Midoriya’s plan. He extended his skin barrier to their whole three-man horse.

Midoriya said, “Going up!” and Shigeo could do nothing but clutch tighter at the arms behind him as they lifted off the ground, without a hitch with a little help from Zero Gravity.

He did his best to ignore Present Mic’s commentary as Midoriya pulled them towards somewhere with a little less people as fast as the jetpack and propeller shoes could bring them without getting two out of three of his carriers feeling sick. Judging by the hand tightening on Shigeo’s left shoulder, Uraraka was waning.

“Going down,” Shigeo shouted as he pulled them to the ground. The jetpack clicked off, leaving it to the propellers to soften their landing. When they hit the grass and started jogging, Uraraka whispered a small release!

Midoriya’s weight settling firmly between their arms.

“Stupid Deku!”

“Here he comes,” Shigeo heard Midoriya mumble. Uraraka snickered.

“What’s his deal?” Hatsume Mei, their third ‘horse’ and the only Support student in the whole cavalry battle at the moment, sounded horribly curious about it. Somehow, he felt a twinge of sympathy for whenever Bakugou and Hatsume next interacted. She could be a bit invasive, much to everyone on the team’s discomfort, but she insisted on joining the team to show off her gadgets, and Midoriya wanted to take in all the people he could to help their chances of winning.

Shigeo raised a weak barrier when a group, Teruki and Shinsou’s, got a bit too close. Midoriya winced, hissing in sympathy as Teruki and Shinsou hit the barrier headfirst.

“Nice save, Kageyama-kun!”

“Sorry, Teruki-kun, Shinsou-san,” Shigeo called out as they ran past the group.

Teruki laughed, rubbing at his forehead. “I’ll get you for this, you’ll see.”

“Don’t ignore me, you freckled little shit! Get the fuck back here so I can murder and loot you!”

Shigeo frowned. He hoped Bakugou wasn’t getting anywhere close to the drones on the field. And if the blond’s group did, he hoped the drones didn’t have mics. “Children watch this,” Shigeo muttered, mostly to himself, but Uraraka couldn’t help but laugh anyway.

Ice crept up the field, leaving the grass with a clear film of ice, barely visible to people who weren’t looking.

Midoriya yelped when he spotted it, but Shigeo didn’t have to lift them all up again as Teruki’s aura passed around their barrier and erupted in flames, clearing it away.

“Thanks, Hanazawa-kun!” Uraraka shouted from behind him.

“No biggie!”

Before he could respond, Shigeo felt a surge of pent-up energy coming from behind them. Electric. With a bit of panic edging his tone, he shouted, “Midoriya-kun, up!”

“Roger,” Midoriya shouted back, then they lifted, just in time as Todoroki’s group, completely covered by a large cloth apart from Kaminari, let out a wide radius of electricity.

“Yikes,” Hatsume laughed, barely audible from behind the jetpack. “Maybe melting that wasn’t such a good idea.”

Shigeo hoped Teruki cheated and used his barrier, even just a little, so that no one got hurt. He knew the voltage wasn’t too strong, but for heaven’s sake, this was a school competition, not a Villain fight. “Where to next, Midoriya-kun?”

Explosions.

“Incoming!” Hatsume shouted.

Shigeo pulled them down, abrupt and a bit like one of those rides Shigeo had gone on as a kid just to appease Ritsu. He forced down the ghost feeling of upchuck that came with it.

“I’m going to beat the shit out of you, Bowl Cut!”

A long line of what appears to be tape shot out from the ground, then pulled Bakugou away.

“Looks like he’s changed targets,” Hatsume commented a bit too much like a shark documentary commentator or Tome when she’s found a person with a weird haircut. Shigeo swallowed more than bile at the thought of Bakugou targeting him.

“M-mob-kun, put us down,” Uraraka pleaded, voice weak.

Shigeo lowered them gently, if only to keep him and Uraraka from throwing up.

The chaos kept up for ten more minutes. Barrier, propel, pull, push. And if they stopped in a corner with Shigeo’s barrier up for a minute just to let Uraraka throw up behind them, that was no one’s business, especially when Shigeo kept a brave face on while he continued pushing down breakfast.

The last one minute, when the teams finally started taking interest on them once again, a lot of them running around without headbands on, Team Midoriya found themselves dumbfounded as they watched the wreckage on the field.

Water and half-melted ice made the field slippery. Bakugou shot out into the sky time and time again, pulled back down by Sero’s tape. Monoma seemed to have stolen all their headbands.

“This is such a shit show,” Uraraka mumbled. Shigeo couldn’t help but agree.

A glacier blocked their view, crackling into abrupt existence like a spirit, and Present Mic’s commentary wafted in with the cold. “An isolated showdown between Class A’s giants at the final minute! Shouta, what do you teach these kids that makes them so competitive?!”

Aizawa made no comment, which was well and good considering Shigeo had to face the fact that Todoroki’s team had Iida leading all of them with rollerblades.

For the second time that month, Shigeo whispered, “Fuck.”

He sent all the energy he could through their skin barrier as Team Todoroki charged towards them, Todoroki’s left hand outstretched for Midoriya’s headband. Midoriya miscalculated, veering closer to Todoroki’s hand rather than away from it. Heat, like the haze from a bonfire two feet away, emanated between them but before it could culminate into anything, an explosion sent glacial debris flying everywhere.

Team Todoroki stumbled to catch their head and keep formation as Team Bakugou joined the fray.

“Not so fast, Half and Half bastard! This herd of idiots is mine!” Bakugou had multiple layers of headbands loosely hung around his neck, his grin menacingly white and eyes menacingly red. One of his hands was smoking from recent use.

“Like hell we are, asshole!” Uraraka taunted.

“Whey!” Kaminari added.

Shigeo was starting to feel his energy deplete now, finally. He sent currents and currents through their skin barrier, hoping that it’ll stop Bakugou at the last possible moment. And when Bakugou shot a hand out to touch Midoriya, he jolted back, glaring at the outline of energy surrounding them, then settling for Shigeo.

“You. Bowl Cut, quit it!”

“That’s not how the game works,” Shigeo answered. “Please, stop harassing us.”

“That’s not how the fucking game works either, idiot!”

That was how the showdown ended, with Present Mic shouting much more thrilling commentary than the stalling argument Shigeo gave Bakugou.

Team Midoriya kept all four of their headbands, as did Team Todoroki. Team Bakugou accumulated more headbands than they had at the beginning, but remained at third place, with Team Hanazawa coming in at fourth.

Shigeo sighed in relief, dropped all the barriers he didn’t need, then his hold on Uraraka and Hatsume’s arms.

Midoriya yelped as they all collapsed to the ground, quickly dissolving into near hysteric laughter (Midoriya) and loud shouts in celebration (Uraraka, Kirishima, and Yaoyorozu). Midoriya was weeping, but his smile was wide and bright, and it made Shigeo smile as well.

“Brother, that was so impressive, especially when you were all in the air and you pulled down just in time when that other guy—”

“Bakugou-san.”

“Sure, and you pulled the group down and he missed you!”

“He did.”

Uraraka snickered, balancing her lunch tray with one hand and a large cup with the other. “You guys are adorable. I didn’t remember Ritsu-kun being this… lively during calls.”

“Me neither,” Teruki added, then went back to the conversation he was having with Shinsou and Iida about specialized fashion for emitter type Quirks. Iida seemed engrossed enough to be waving his arms around. Shinsou looked bemused but nodded along.

“It’s good to be lively every once in a while, especially when Kageyama’s so inspiring,” Gouda added, sipping from his own large cup from where he sat by the edge of the table, next to Tome.

Shigeo hoped Gouda’s drink wasn’t one of those shakes Sagawa had been taking in middle school.

Ignorant to Shigeo’s line of thought, Gouda continued, “Just three years ago, he could barely catch up to our group on a kilometer jog, and now he’s in Yuuei ranking in the top ten like it’s no big deal! I had no doubts on your potential, but you’ve really exceeded expectations, Kageyama.”

From the other side of the table, Iida started clapping, loud, catching other people’s attention as they passed or looked on with curiosity. Shigeo scratched at his cheek. “Thank you, Gouda-shach—Gouda-san.”

“I like that Iida fellow over there. Real enthusiastic. Nice muscles too.” Gouda pointed out, voice lowered so that Iida couldn’t hear, then offered his drink to Shigeo from across the table. “Want some? It’s mango apple shake.”

Shigeo leaned forward for a sip, then hummed at the sudden sweet cold touching his tongue. “That’s really good.”

Ritsu had suddenly fallen quiet beside him. When Shigeo hazarded a look, he was staring down at his bento, chewing, looking just a bit pink in the face.

Shigeo elbowed him as gently as he could. It wouldn’t do good to waste bits from the bento they worked hard on making that morning. “I told you to bring a friend along. I could have just told Yaoyorozu-san or covered their ticket for them.”

“I’m not bringing Shou to one of the most prestigious Hero schools in Japan and I’m definitely not letting you be responsible for what he does while he’s here, he could destroy something,” Ritsu grumbled. He leaned over to steal one of Shigeo’s takoyaki.

Shigeo let him, internally mourned the loss of his takoyaki, and willfully ignored the fact that Ritsu was on a first-name basis with the boy he was so sure was going to kidnap him just a week ago.

“I didn’t say you had to bring Suzuki-kun,” Shigeo replied, then leaned forward to sip on Ritsu’s red iced tea as revenge.

Ritsu squinted at him. Exasperated, he pointed out, “You know I don’t have friends, brother.”

Shigeo raised a brow at him, unnoticeable under the fringe of his bangs, but he could see that Ritsu saw it anyway.

“I don’t!” he insisted, looking a bit frazzled.

“What about Kurosaki-chan, Hoshida-kun, Gou-kun, and the Shiratori brothers from the Awakening Lab?”

Ritsu pouted, choosing instead to keep eating. He muttered something under his breath as he chewed. Shigeo didn’t catch all of it, but he definitely heard something about not having contact.

Shigeo shook his head. “You can make friends you want to hang out with, Ritsu,” he insisted. “You just have to try and make it work.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“It isn’t. You know how hard it is for me to talk to people.”

“And yet you still did such a good job on that speech,” Midoriya cut in, finally back from wherever Todoroki dragged him away to. His eyes scanned their table, his smile not reaching his eyes. Shigeo could see the look in his eyes but wasn’t able to read it. He slid next to Shigeo, dog-print furoshiki in hand. “Who all have been introduced to each other?”

“Midoriya, right?” Gouda asked, then stood to shake his hand. “Gouda Musashi, I was Kageyama’s club president in middle school.”

“I knew his hair was green!” Tome shrieked. She stood to hit Kijibayashi, who was seated on the table beside theirs. “Pay up, Haruto. I need it for a telescope.”

“That’s Tome-chan,” Shigeo cut in. “That guy she just hit is Kijibayashi-senpai, and beside him is Inugawa-kun, and Saruta-kun. They’re good friends.” The former Astronomy Club members waved at Midoriya, who bowed his head politely.

Onigawara, finally walking back from the bathroom, sat down on the bench beside Gouda. “Man, the restrooms are packed.” He slouched down on the table, then whined when Gouda tried to push his food towards Onigawara.

“That’s Onigawara-kun. He used to be in my club as well.”

“Nice to meet you,” Midoriya said with a nod. Onigawara raised a brow at the sudden introduction, then raised a hand to wave.

“Say, Midori, do you know—”

“It’s Midoriya, Tome-chan,” Shigeo corrected.

“Whatever, Mido-kun, do you know anything about aliens?”

Midoriya observed their exchange, bemused, undoing the furoshiki holding his bento. “I don’t… know much? Just whatever the NASA’s been showing recently. Black hole research is kind of a weird spiral of links I fell into.”

Tome hummed, squinting at Midoriya.

To offer context, Shigeo said, “Tome-chan likes aliens.”

“Because they’re cool,” Uraraka pointed at him from next to Ritsu, then put her hand up just in time as Tome swirled around to give her a high five.

“This one gets it,” Tome said. “You need to make more friends who have the same interests, Mob.”

Ritsu grumbled, “Says the one who’s been heckling Reigen-san for a job.”

Just as Shigeo had forgotten, it all came crashing back.

He sighed, watching as Tome and Uraraka hit it off on a talk about Reigen.

As complete as this group was, he was still missing Reigen, who could probably talk their ears off while they all ate, talking about one thing or another.

“Kageya—Shigeo-kun?”

Shigeo blinked, then looked over at a concerned Midoriya. “Everything alright?”

“You can call me Mob, I don’t mind,” he said, trying to avoid answering the question. “My name’s a bit of a mouthful.”

“I’ll settle for Shige-kun,” Midoriya teased, looking like he knew exactly what Shigeo was doing. Just as quick though, his expression sobered. “Seriously though, are you okay?”

Shigeo grabbed Ritsu’s red iced tea, ignoring his brother’s half-hearted whining, and sipped. “I could be better. I just… we’re missing someone. It doesn’t feel right that he isn’t here.”

Midoriya nodded. “I know how you feel. My mom couldn’t make it today, because she had a shift at the hospital till just this morning. She’s watching live from home, though. Called me just before I got here.”

Shigeo handed the iced tea back to Ritsu, who snatched it with a pout. “Reigen-shishou’s been avoiding me. I don’t know if I’ve done something wrong or if… if he just doesn’t want to talk to me anymore?”

Midoriya frowned, putting his chopsticks down. Shigeo waved it off, “No, keep eating, we still have a few more minutes before the other events start.”

“I’m not joining, it’s okay if I hold off. Shige-kun.” Alright, Midoriya seemed serious with sticking to that nickname. Shigeo didn’t mind. “Can you think of anything that might factor in to Reigen-san not talking to you?”

Shigeo shrugged. “I guess… I’ve been a bit too busy with school. Since the school year started, he doesn’t text me as much and, well, I drop by on Sundays. But that’s it. He won’t even pick up the phone anymore.”

Midoriya hummed. “That does sound unusual. Anything else?”

What did he mean? Shigeo didn’t really think it could be anything else. Sometimes maybe he considered Spirits & Such a chore instead of a hangout like it was supposed to feel like. But he didn’t let Reigen in on those feelings.

His mind went back to the letter, now in his room, stuck with holographic tape on the blinds above Shigeo’s desk. “He’s Quirkless. That affects him, more than me,” Shigeo mumbled. “All of my friends in middle school were Quirkless, apart from Teruki-kun and this girl I used to like, Tsubomi-chan. She moved away for third year though.” They all banded together, the Quirkless.

Midoriya raised his brows, then seemed to sober up for a moment, before turning to him. “Maybe Reigen-san thinks he’ll be holding you back and he’s distancing himself just so your reputation won’t get ruined by the fact that you’re friends with someone who’s Quirkless?”

It didn’t sound much like Reigen, Shigeo thought, but his selflessness shown in the idea and that was a kernel of truth Shigeo could swallow, no matter how bitter it was. Reigen always made exceptions for Shigeo that he never really thought off until Reigen showed him.

Shigeo nodded. If it was true, then they really needed to talk.

“I hope he doesn’t think I’d care about that,” Shigeo mumbled. He could feel the sadness just at the surface under his skin. “I don’t really care about my image like that. He taught me to help others because it’s what right. He’s part of the reason I’m even here.”

Midoriya gave him a sad smile, then patted him on the back, picking his chopsticks up with his other hand. “I think that’s just one of those things he has to hear for himself. So, in case he’s watching today? Work hard, Shige-kun.”

Shigeo nodded once, twice, then met Midoriya’s gaze, his sadness melting into determination. “Thanks, Midoriya-kun.”

Midoriya laughed, the sound light, uplifting. “It’s weird that I’m informal and you’re still calling me Midoriya-kun. Just call me Izuku.”

“Izuku-kun.”

Izuku snorted, then went back to his food.

Quickly, Shigeo leaned forward and stole a pork cutlet, popping it into his mouth quickly. In retaliation, Izuku snatched his last takoyaki. When Ritsu squawked in indignation, a toothpick poised to steal it, they burst out laughing.

“This is a bit overkill,” Tome said. “Hey! Peppermint-san! Chill the fuck out!” She snorted, then turned to Shigeo. “Get it? Because of the—oh, you get it.”

Shigeo didn’t really get it.

The ice crackled, akin to the fire Quirk Izuku always said Todoroki had, looming over the crowd on the right side of the stadium. Steam rose from the battle area as Present Mic announced Todoroki’s win.

“Do all people with Quirks do this?” Tome huffed. “There’s showing off, then there’s just being a show-off, you know?”

Shigeo shrugged. “Todoroki-san doesn’t seem like the type to be a show-off. I think he’s just… competitive to a fault?”

“Right, you should have been there when brother said someone broke their limbs during the entrance exam,” Ritsu pointed out. “Like, who does that? I know it’s hard to get in, but if you break your limbs before you get in, what’ll happen when they accept you?”

Izuku scratched at his cheek, eyes dropping to his shoes. Shigeo elbowed Ritsu, then nodded towards Izuku.

“Ah, Midoriya-san, that was you? I’m so sorry, that was really rude of me.”

“It’s okay, Ritsu-kun. You’re—I mean, you’re not wrong. It’s just. I’m kind of new to my Quirk myself, I’m not sure how it works just yet, so I keep… breaking bones.”

Ritsu looked taken aback by that. Tome leaned in between Shigeo and Izuku, throwing her arms over their shoulders. “What’s your Quirk, Mido-kun?”

“Mido… Ah, it’s kind of like augmented speed and strength. I’ve stockpiled a lot of energy growing up, I guess. And I’ve never used it before because my body wasn’t strong enough to handle it yet.”

Ritsu sucked a breath through his teeth. “That’s rough. Shouldn’t it feel natural though? Like, maybe you’re just forcing all that energy in one place instead of letting it flow all around your body then easing the power how you see fit?”

Izuku paused, then blinked. He turned to stare at Ritsu, then looked away, muttering to himself.

“Ah, he’s gone,” Tome mumbled, looking slightly impressed. “Good job, Ritsu.”

Ritsu snorted. “All in a day’s work.”

The PA sounded overhead, Present Mic’s voice finally out of the speakers. Aizawa’s voice replaced it, “Midoriya, if you’re not in your part of the arena in ten minutes, you’re disqualified.”

But Izuku kept on mumbling.

Tome poked at Izuku’s side, eliciting a yelp. “Mido-kun, your fight’s next.”

Izuku shrieked, then broke into a dead sprint outside their viewing area.

Shigeo shook his head fondly, then looked towards the roster to see who he was up against.

Shinsou’s Quirk was voice-activated, Shigeo knew, and Shinsou rarely ever used it around them. Teruki told him it was because Shinsou used to be profiled for whatever his Quirk could potentially do, was told things like it was a Villain’s Quirk.

It hit a bit too close to home, when Shigeo thought about it.

There were negative consequences to Shigeo’s powers, and limiting himself instead of practicing control, in hindsight, definitely wasn’t one of his brightest ideas, but it was all he could think of so that he wouldn’t hurt anyone again.

Shinsou was using his Quirk now.

When the battle started, neither he nor Izuku moved from their positions on either side of the battle area. The cameras showed him grinning, sweat glinting, eyes squinted. Izuku, who’d known what Shinsou’s Quirk was during training last week, and who’d been one of the first to express displeasure with Shinsou’s self-esteem issues, kept his mouth shut.

But his fists were shaking as he stepped forward once, twice, then broke out into a sprint. It was a full-out brawl and Shigeo thought, I can’t watch this.

This was Quirkless hand-to-hand, but Shinsou was having a hard time talking while defending. Izuku broke first. Started to shout but froze mid-sentence. Shigeo could see Shinsou say, “Walk off the stage.”

Izuku turned and started walking away, back to his side of the battle area. Shigeo was conflicted. He didn’t know who he wanted to win. He wanted his friends to stay uninjured during the fight.

“Turn around,” Ritsu whispered beside him. Shigeo glanced away from the screens to look at his brother. “Turn around, Midoriya-san.”

Wind picked up.

Shigeo grabbed Ritsu’s arm, but when he looked down at the battle area, it was clear of Ritsu’s aura, apart from the foreign energy shining from Izuku’s hand.

His finger. Just like in the Quirk assessment test. Just like All Might’s glow, but a soft green specific only to Izuku instead of All Might’s blue.

Izuku ran back towards Shinsou, who looked baffled, but held his stance. It was a messy brawl, brought to an end as Izuku flipped Shinsou over his shoulder in a roll.

Ritsu stood in his seat and cheered at the top of his lungs.

When the fight between Kirishima and Ashido started, Shigeo had been caught by a teacher in the visitor stands and had been told to go back to Class A. Shigeo took a moment to give his friends a quick farewell and as well as wish for them to have fun during the festival. When Ashido eventually won, Shigeo finally left the visitor stands.

Tensions were high in Class A’s viewing area as the battle area was repaired due to Kirishima’s swings and Ashido’s acid. Most of his classmate were discussing notes, like in FHS, instead of enjoying the event like the others.

 “Are you sure you’re alright?” Iida fussed.

“It was just a finger, Iida-kun,” Izuku waved off, the said appendage wrapped in bandages. “It’s already healed in fact. It’ll be fine.”

Shigeo wasn’t as worried about Izuku’s finger as he was with what had been said in his fight with Shinsou. “Izuku-kun.”

Izuku turned, then waved him over. “Oh, hey! What brought you back?”

“Got caught by Kan-sensei. Can I ask what Shinsou-san was saying?” Shigeo asked, because there was no way he was getting this to just come up in conversation. Izuku seemed like the type who could talk Shigeo in circles like Reigen did. “You seemed upset down there, I got worried.”

Izuku shrugged. “The usual self-deprecating stuff. And then some... some stuff 'bout how, since I had a flashy Quirk, I wouldn’t get what he was going through. I mean, I guess he just said those things to rile me up and get me to talk, but it seemed like he meant it.”

Shigeo chewed that over. He wasn’t as close to Shinsou as Teruki was. He’ll have to ask later what Teruki thought. “I hope he doesn’t,” he tells Izuku. “That’s no way to deal with getting villainized for your Quirk.”

Izuku couldn’t say anything to that.

“She’s lucky I only had to touch her to get her out of there,” Uraraka grumbled, cradling a cold bottle of water to her forehead. She wasn’t injured as much as she was… angry, annoyed, a little bit tired. Izuku laughed nervously.

They were in one of the waiting rooms below the viewing areas, sitting with Uraraka while the fight between Kaminari and Class B’s Nigenreki waged on above. Shigeo could feel the surges of electricity two floors down.

“If she wanted a sales pitch, she could have just told me before doing that!”

“Hatsume-san can be a little… much,” Izuku gave her. Shigeo nodded, though they both knew that that was an understatement.

“At least it’s over,” Shigeo offered. “Who are you up against next?”

“Oh, Mina-chan. She won against Kirishima-kun, right?”

Izuku made a high-pitched noise. “That sounds like such an exciting fight! Good luck, Uraraka-san. I’ll be taking notes.”

Uraraka giggled, “You better. If you didn’t, I’d be asking what’s wrong.”

Shigeo looked between them, then inclined his head, “Notes?” Did they have a quiz after the festival that he was supposed to know about? Oh, Ritsu was going to be so mad if he had forgotten about it.

Izuku turned to him, then gave a bunch of rapid gestures that reminded Shigeo of Iida, Reigen, and Uraraka simultaneously. “A-ah, you didn’t know about the notes! I have, uh, I take notes about everyone I’ve met or looked up to. Their Quirks and skills and stuff. It used, um, I used to do them for when I grew up to be a Hero, but now I just can’t get rid of the habit. It helps?”

Shigeo nodded. Ritsu wrote journals, had volumes upon volumes on his desk. When Shigeo had asked once why he did them, he said it calmed him down. “You find it relaxing?”

Izuku leaned back, blinking in thought. “I suppose it does. Really, it just keeps me focused since my thoughts get a little jumbled.”

“It’s the anxiety,” Uraraka whispered, though it was loud enough for Izuku to hear.

The door clicked open.

Shigeo twisted around in his seat on the floor to look at who it was.

Yaoyorozu met his gaze, then looked at all three of them. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Yaoyorozu-san, welcome,” he greeted. “We just came to see Uraraka-san.”

Izuku laughed. “Guess we got caught up in conversation.”

She nodded. “You can stay, I don’t mind. But a teacher might find you three here, so if I were you, just go back to the stands before you get in trouble.”

“Sure thing, class pres!” Uraraka answered.

On their way back to the stands, a large person with flames on his face and shoulders walked past them, then paused. “You, the green-haired one.”

Izuku froze. There was a look on his face, dark, angry. Shigeo looked between him and the large person, wondering if they knew each other. Uraraka tapped him on the shoulder then whispered into his ear, “That’s Hero Endeavor. Todoroki-kun’s dad.”

Shigeo glanced at her, then at Todoroki’s dad. The tall man had the red hair but none of the fairness and subdued grace Todoroki usually had. He supposed he could see the resemblance in the way they stood, tall and proud, power evident in their stance.

“You’re going up against my Shouto, right?”

Izuku didn’t answer, uncharacteristically rude. Shigeo stepped up beside him, “Yes, he is, sir.”

Todoroki’s dad glanced at him, then back at Izuku. Ah, so Izuku’s rudeness wasn’t unfounded. “I watched your previous match. In power alone, your Quirk is like All Might’s.”

“W-what are you talking about?” Izuku asked, not looking at Todoroki’s dad. Shigeo couldn’t say he agreed, considering Izuku broke his bones every time he used his Quirk, but Izuku and All Might were a bit close, now that he thought about it. Something about the energy.

“My boy Shouto has a duty to surpass All Might. His match against you will prove a valuable test so give it your all and give him a good fight.” Todoroki’s dad moved to turn and keep walking.

Izuku’s shoulders were shaking. “I’m not All Might,” Izuku said through his teeth, glaring at the floor. Uraraka reached out to grab his hand, looking worriedly at Shigeo.

“Of course, you’re no—”

“Right, of course I’m not,” Izuku said, then let go of Uraraka’s hand to glare at Todoroki’s dad over his shoulder. “And Todoroki-kun isn’t you. Stop trying to compare us.”

Todoroki’s dad turned, hand coming up as if to reach for them. Shigeo stepped between him and Izuku.

“Please just go back to the stands, Todoroki-jisan. Enjoy the sports festival,” Shigeo said, then bowed low. “I apologize for any misunderstandings, but we all just want to see our classmates succeed.”

“Shige-kun…”

“We’ll be off now,” Shigeo said, then grabbed Izuku’s free arm as he turned. Together, he and Uraraka dragged Izuku away from Todoroki’s dad.

“What was that about?” Uraraka asked, looking between Shigeo and Izuku, before settling for Izuku. “Did Todoroki-kun tell you something during lunch?”

Izuku nodded but didn’t say much else. Shigeo could feel his hackles raise and felt nothing to anchor them. That was an odd exchange, but he took one thing away from it.

“If you think something is off about Todoroki-jisan, you have to tell someone,” Shigeo stressed. He felt annoyance bubbling up his throat, familiar now, hearing the blankness in his tone and the heat rising to his cheeks. “Grownups like him shouldn’t speak to children like that, and if he speaks like that to strangers’ children, who knows how he speaks to Todoroki-san in private.”

“That’s not any of our business,” Uraraka pointed out, sounding just a bit wary.

Shigeo let Izuku’s arm go, then stopped abruptly. When they both looked at him, he said, “You’re right. But if we’re going to be Heroes, we’re going to have to make it our business, especially when the people who need help say they don’t need it, or maybe can’t express themselves properly because of their circumstances. Grownups who hurt children in any way are the lowest kind of people.”

Izuku and Uraraka stared at him, dumbfounded.

Shigeo took a few calming breaths, closing his eyes. His hands were shaking. He didn't know what came over him. Maybe it was the stress of the cavalry battle catching up to him, or the fact that he just wanted to speak to an adult he could trust. That didn't justify an outburst like this though. Once he was calm, his hair came back down from the invisible air that was going through it, his feet hit the ground.

“Izuku-kun, just please promise me you’ll tell Aizawa-sensei if it’s something that important. Don’t mind whatever Todoroki-san told you he’d do to deal with it. He’s just a kid, he shouldn’t be dealing with that kind of treatment alone.”

“O-okay, Shige-kun. I’m sorry.”

Shigeo opened his eyes, then gave them both a slow, sheepish smile. “I should be the one sorry for snapping like that.”

Uraraka leaned into Izuku’s space, shaking Izuku’s shoulder. “Right? I forgot he was an older brother for a moment. He was so soft-spoken around Ritsu-kun earlier.”

“On the left side, the smartest student in Class A, Yaoyorozu Momo!” Present Mic announced over the speakers. Shigeo glanced at one of the speakers in the corner, then nodded.

“We’re missing Yaoyorozu-san’s fight. Let’s go.”

“Sure, Mob-aniki,” Uraraka teased.

“I thought we were pseudo-cousins,” Shigeo replied, exasperated.

“But Mob-aniki has a nice ring to it!”

“It really doesn’t.”

“Is he…? Kacchan’s pulling an endurance battle,” Izuku mumbled, squinting down at the battle area with an intense look on his face, his hand not stopping from his notes. Shigeo admired his work ethic, really. He could never take notes without looking at what he was writing.

Flames danced around the battle area, making it hard for Shigeo to see what was really happening because of the sudden flares of energy and light. From this far, he could even feel the heat licking at his cheeks with every gust of hot air.

If he were to listen to what Izuku was saying, it was illogical for Bakugou to prolong this fight, especially with the strain on his sweat glands. Teruki only ever used a quarter of his usual energy to fight with fire.

“Teruki-kun doesn’t know how to fight offensive,” Shigeo pointed out, trying to even the playing field in Izuku’s note-taking. Teruki wasn’t one to use brute force without telekinesis backing it up because he could only pack so much in one hit. “He’s not trained in hand-to-hand, just what Yaoyorozu-san and Shinsou-san taught us.”

“Oh.” Izuku sounded almost disappointed by that, eyes still on the battle area. The fire died down a bit, just enough for Shigeo to spot Teruki ducking over a punch with enough momentum to bring Bakugou back around to hook his foot around Teruki’s and pull. Teruki dropped to the floor, then held a hand out, engulfing them in flame, then an explosion, then they were gone from Shigeo’s vision again.

Izuku hummed. “He’s not going to win against Kacchan, in that case. Kacchan took taekwondo when we were kids. He’s a black belter.”

Shigeo winced. He hoped Teruki got out of this alright. He seemed to be holding up alright without using his telekinesis-assisted hits.

“Kageyama-kun, our fight is next.”

Shigeo blinked, then looked up at Iida’s looming form by the stairs. He glanced over at Izuku, who was focused on the battle, then stood.

“Good luck, Iida-san,” Shigeo said as they made their way towards the hallways that separate them. “I hope I can give you a satisfactory fight. I know you want to make your brother proud.”

Iida glanced down at him, then nodded. “I’m sure you will, Kageyama-kun. Brother’s at work right now so he won’t be able to watch until we get home. He’s posted in Hosu and they’ve been tracking down the Hero Killer for a while now.”

Shigeo nodded. He hasn’t heard of the Hero Killer yet, but they sound like a menacing Villain. “Well, I hope he’s being careful. See you in the battle area, Iida-san.”

On the way to his waiting room, he spotted All Might in their smaller form. Shigeo bowed his head as he passed. “All Might-sensei.”

“Young Kageyama.”

As Shigeo passed, All Might made a sound of shock, then jogged to catch up with Shigeo. “K-Kageyama, may I speak to you for just a moment?”

Shigeo paused, then glanced towards his waiting room. “Alright, but my match is starting soon.”

“It will be quick. I just… Good luck on your match.”

“Thank you.”

“And I just wanted to ask… how exactly did you figure it out? I’m sure you won’t tell people that I am… this way right now. It’s not an open secret, you see. I like to keep things private.”

It took him a moment before he realized All Might was talking about their smaller form. Well. Shigeo knew what secret identities were. Reigen had let him read vintage comic books, after all. He nodded, “I won’t. I’m sure someone so popular as All Might appreciates their privacy. Shall I call you Yagi-sensei instead when you’re powered down?”

“I would appreciate that. But still, young Kageyama, how did you… realize?”

Shigeo hummed. “You look the same, I guess, just smaller. And the way sensei speak gives them away. Other than that, I can see that you and Izuku-kun have the same kind of energy, and you still have a little of it even in this form. Does that make sense?”

“Oh, energy manipulation, right?” Yagi asked.

“And telekinesis, yes.” Shigeo huffed, not liking the lie even just to answer a question as simple as this.

“Right. Well, I appreciate the time you took to have this conversation, young Kageyama. I wish you luck in your fight.”

“Hanazawa-kun is incapacitated! Bakugou-kun moves onto the next round!”

Shigeo flared his aura for a second, checking to see if Teruki would respond, hoping he would. Though faint, it was there, proud and bright yellow. Shigeo breathed a sigh of relief through his nose. He turned to look at Yagi, bowing, “Thanks, Yagi-sensei. I’ll do my best.”

When Iida’s shin-engines made a loud revving noise, Shigeo poised himself, knowing that using a barrier was just a cheap trick now. He had to evade Iida and push him off the stage, somehow.

Just as Iida shot out from the middle of the field, Shigeo used his telekinesis to assist his jump.

“Iida-kun is out of bounds! Kageyama-kun wins the match!” Kayama-sensei announced.

Shigeo blinked, then turned to look at where Iida was definitely out of bounds.

“Ah, Iida-san,” Shigeo floated back down, jogging up to him. “I’m so sorry, I said I was going to give you a fair fight. And I just…”

Iida moved to stand. Shigeo leaned down to pull him up the best he could, looking Iida over just in case he had any injuries from that.

“No, Kageyama-kun, you did exactly what you were supposed to do,” Iida said, smiling though it didn’t reach his eyes. “You did your best.”

Shigeo blinked. The tables were a little turned around right now. He was supposed to be the one consoling Iida, not the other way around.

“It’s okay, really. I’m just a little disappointed in myself,” Iida said, grabbing him by the shoulder to lead them off the stage. “I’ll do better next time, right?”

Shigeo nodded, then put a laid a hand on Iida’s. Making sure to make eye contact, he said, “You better. Next time, we’ll have a good match.”

Chapter Text

Shigeo left the restroom in a rush when the shaking started.

If it was an earthquake, he had to get to Ritsu.

Navigating the halls towards the visitor’s areas, he rushed down the stairs to where Ritsu was, but froze as he gawked at the match going in the battle area.

“Kageyama, that’s your friend, right?” Shigeo could hear Onigawara ask from the seat next to him. Shigeo gave him a slow nod. Onigawara let out a low whistle.

Izuku was moving differently.

The energy from his Quirk emitted a hazy, electric aura around him as he zipped around spikes of ice and mini-glaciers in the battle area. He fumbled after a few dodges, rolling away when he got a bit too close to the edge. He punched through one, his hand now visibly bleeding, then kicked them away from him, aiming viciously at Todoroki, who could do nothing but surround himself with blocks of ice.

Ritsu had been right. Izuku had been focusing all his energy in individual parts of his body.

This, the grace and speed with which Izuku wielded his Quirk, this was how it was supposed to function. But there was something to the fumbling desperation in his movement as he dodged the glaciers Todoroki was throwing at him.

Izuku stopped in one spot yelling, his face red with the strain and anger.

Todoroki, on the big screen was shaking. Ice crept up his darkening fingertips. “He’s getting frostbite,” Shigeo muttered. “Why doesn’t he use his fire?”

He remembered Todoroki’s dad in the hallways.

Flame Hero Endeavor, according to Iida, has been ranked second after All Might for years now.

My boy Shouto’s duty is to surpass All Might, Todoroki’s dad had said. Combined with Todoroki’s refusal to use the other part of his Quirk, it was slowly dawning on Shigeo what exactly had set Izuku off, and just how much help Todoroki really needed.

“Brother, your powers.”

Shigeo whirled to look at Ritsu, who was now standing next to him, shrouded in his own aura, then realized that he’d been floating Inugawa, Tome, and Kijibayashi while he was lost in thought. Shigeo blinked, then slowly lowered all of them, bowing in apology once that was done.

Ritsu pulled him back to the top of the staircase, a tense hand around his arm. From their vantage point, Izuku and Todoroki had stopped fighting, just talking to each other now.

“Is everything alright?” Ritsu asked, still not letting go. “It’s unlike you to lose control like that.”

It’s been happening more and more recently, Shigeo thought to himself. It didn’t take much to get him riled into losing control of his powers anymore. It felt like Yuuei was built to make him stressed every other class period. But he didn’t want Ritsu to worry.

Dismissal was on the tip of his tongue when, suddenly, an explosion racked through the whole stadium. The crowd roared, fear in some voices, excitement in others’. Humid air washed over the stands, fire shooting out from the battle area. Somewhere in the midst of it all, Shigeo could hear Todoroki’s dad cheering his son from another part of the visitors’ area.

Izuku had gotten through to their classmate, it seemed.

“Midoriya-san sure is something else,” Ritsu commented.

Shigeo hummed, shrugging Ritsu’s hand off his arm. “He’s just passionate. Well, I’m heading back. I just came running because I thought there was an earthquake. I’ll see you later, Ritsu.”

Ritsu glanced at him, then back down at the match. “We’ll talk later, right, brother?”

Shigeo nodded. “When I get home.”

Lies like these were easier to swallow than lies about his powers.

“That was so cool, Midoriya!” Sero shouted when Izuku finally came back from the nurse’s office. “I didn’t know you could move like that! You didn’t even break any bones by yourself this time! Most of them was because of Todoroki!”

Izuku laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of his head. “Thanks, Sero-kun. Shige-kun’s little brother told me something before the fight started that helped me realize how to properly use my Quirk.”

“Shige-kun…” Sero paused. Then looked towards Kirishima, who pointed down at where Shigeo sat. Sero looked over, then jolted when Shigeo waved at him. “Oh, Kageyama! Wait, you have a little brother? I didn’t know you and Midoriya were so close.”

“Ritsu’s over in the visitors’ area,” Shigeo said, ignoring the comment about how close he and Izuku were. He was slowly adjusting to it himself, realizing just how fast he’d been making friends since Yuuei started. “He’s really smart. I’m glad you learned something from him, Izuku-kun.”

Izuku plopped down on the seat next to him. “Too bad I still lost though,” he sighed. “Just when it was getting exciting too.”

“That was a really explosive fight,” Kirishima leaned over the empty seat before them. “More Bakugou’s league than yours though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Todoroki use his Quirk like that before. He really meant that declaration of war thing, huh?”

Izuku nodded, expression sobering. Down in the battle area, Ishiyama was slowly repairing the battle area for the next fight, Bakugou and Kaminari’s.

Shigeo elbowed him, “He wasn’t underestimating you, you know?”

Izuku sighed. “I know.”

“You both did your best and had fun. That’s all that matters.”

Izuku laughed softly, gesturing to the battle area. “We did. Kind of wrecked the place too.”

Shigeo nodded, leaning back in his seat.

“Go on, Mina! Don’t let her touch you!” Kaminari crowed from above Shigeo, Iida, and Izuku.

Kirishima thumped one of the seats. “Bakugou trained you for this! C’mon!”

“Bakugou-kun?” Iida muttered, looking over his shoulder to glance quickly at the blond, who was watching the match quietly beside Kaminari. “I didn’t know he was the teaching type.”

Shigeo had to agree. Ashido was evading Uraraka well. Parts of Uraraka’s pants were dissolving slowly as the match progressed, and he feared it might land on her skin somehow.

On his other side, Izuku snorted, muttering, “Kacchan doesn’t teach, he preaches.”

The mental image of Dimple possessing Bakugou, robes and blushes and all, came to mind. It didn’t add up. “Like a preacher?”

Iida gave a hearty laugh, booming like his voice usually was. It shocked Shigeo to hear but it was pleasing either way. “I don’t think that’s what he meant, Kageyama-kun.”

“No,” Izuku giggled. “I meant he preaches like he knows better.”

“Ah.” Shigeo thought that over. “So, he’s patronizing.”

Izuku made a game show sound and made a circle with his hands.

One by one, rocks floated over the battle area, as Shigeo put his focus back on the fight. Uraraka ducked over Ashido’s high kick, then shot an open palm out to catch it.

Ashido stumbled back into a roll, close to going over the edge of the battle area. Uraraka ran after her, stumbling into her space.

“Mina!” Sero nearly shrieked.

“Tone it down, kero,” Tsuyu scolded.

“Sorry,” Kaminari said. Then, “No! Mina!”

Uraraka had managed to push Ashido by the arm, standing back to watch Mina slowly float above her. She ducked under another splash of acid that Ashido sent after her in retaliation. She jumped, then, pushed Mina up further with her fingertips.

“Ashido-chan is currently incapacitated. Do you forfeit?”

Ashido shook her head.

Uraraka, unphased, brought her fingers together. As Ashido fell, with both hands, Uraraka grabbed her by the ankle, and spun her thrice, before sending her flying out of the ring, flicking her hands out rapidly, trying to shake off the acid residue from Ashido’s ankle.

“Ashido-chan is out of bounds! Victory goes to Uraraka-chan!”

“Looks like whoever wins between you and Yaoyorozu will be fighting Uraraka-kun,” Iida pointed out with a stiff hand gesture, inclining his head to look at Shigeo properly.

Shigeo eyed at the roster and tried not to start sweating in his seat.

“Hey, Shige-kun, you’ll be fine,” Izuku said. “You just have to do your best, right?”

Shigeo nodded, more focused on keeping his powers from going haywire again than continuing the conversation.

In the lull of their conversation, Iida started vibrating. Shigeo jolted as their seats shook with him, Izuku yelping, “What the heck!”

Iida slowly reached behind him and fished his phone out.

“Oh, it was his phone,” Izuku muttered. “Who is it, Iida-kun?”

“My mother,” Iida said, glancing at the screen. He stood to make his way out of the stands. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to take this.”

“Say hi to your mom for us,” Shigeo told him.

“Alright! Save my seat.”

Shigeo stood as well, after a moment. “I’m up next, I’m going down to the waiting room. When Uraraka-san gets here, congratulate her for me, okay?”

“Sure thing, Shige-kun! Good luck!”

Reigen had taught him that men who hit women were the biggest losers in the world.

And while he’d learned his lesson with Tsuchiya in the 7th Division, it was still hard to wrap his head around having to fight two of his closest female friends.

The door to the waiting room clicked open. Shigeo looked up to see Todoroki by the door.

He made a surprised sound, then looked up at the door number. “What are you doing here, Kageyama?”

Shigeo put his hands in his lap. “My fight is up next. I’m up against Yaoyorozu-san. Are your wounds healed, Todoroki-san?”

Todoroki reached up to play with his hair. “Midoriya was more hurt than I was. I’m fine.”

That wasn’t what Shigeo had been asking. Instead of saying that, he gestured to the seat across him. “Take a seat. I’ll be out soon; I’m just waiting for the announcement.”

Todoroki took the seat without argument, leaned forward with his elbows on the table. After a moment of silence, Todoroki asked, “Is he always like that?”

“Hm?”

“Midoriya, I mean.”

“Always like what?”

“Aggressively pushing you to be better?”

Shigeo blinked, taken aback.

“Next contestants please make your way to your designated areas. The match will start in ten minutes.”

Shigeo glanced at the speaker, then stood. He made his way to the door. “I can’t say Izuku-kun is aggressive. I guess he was just… in the heat of the moment. He’s just doing what we’re all supposed to be doing.”

 “What’s that?”

“Pushing each other to be better.” Shigeo held onto the doorknob for a moment, then looked at Todoroki. “Hope to see you next round, Todoroki-san.”

Todoroki blinked at him, slowly, catlike. Shigeo never noticed that he had different eye colors, but it was fitting. “You as well, Kageyama. Good luck.”

Well, Yaoyorozu was a black belter, so fighting her in close quarters was going to be a moot point. Shigeo wasn’t aiming to lose almost immediately. He wanted to give her a fair fight, the way he hadn’t given Iida.

Yaoyorozu smiled at him when they climbed onto the stage.

“You guys know the rules! Let’s not delay this any further, shall we?” Kayama said. “Fight!”

Shigeo reinforced his skin barrier and stood as Yaoyorozu pulled a pole out of her arm and ran towards him. He braced his feet against the concrete, hoping that the worn soles of his shoes didn’t give now of all times.

Yaoyorozu swung, the pole hitting his barrier as it hovered just next to his cheek. Shigeo grabbed the pole, then twisted it, pulling.

Yaoyorozu didn’t give, pulling back. With a pulse of energy, Shigeo pulled it easily away the second time, then swept it under Yaoyorozu’s feet. She jumped.

Shigeo held her up there, then yelped as something fell out of her stomach. He contained it with a barrier as it started to smoke, then threw it off the stage before he could inhale anything.

He braced himself as Yaoyorozu pulled out a pellet gun, then started shooting at him. He dropped her, still standing on the same spot he’d been since the beginning. “Is that even allowed on television, Yaoyorozu-san?”

She laughed as she stood, then created a handful of sticks. “I was just biding time.”

She threw them at Shigeo, running. They stopped mid-air, but she didn’t. The sticks exploded in a blinding light. Shigeo jumped, energy propelling him higher than he expected.

He blinked the light out of his eyes but opened his eyes to see Yaoyorozu crouching with a crossbow in her hands. He didn’t know why she kept pulling out weapons if she knew they wouldn’t hurt him, but she said she was biding time, so he let her.

He dropped back down into the battle area. As soon as he hit the ground, copper lines were dropped by his feet. A hum.

Electricity.

He jumped again, looking at Yaoyorozu. “That’s really dangerous.”

Yaoyorozu grinned, then said. “Like I said. Just biding time.” She pulled something out from her navel. “You can’t dodge this one though, Kageyama-san.”

For the first time that day, Shigeo’s thoughts aligned with what Present Mic was announcing.

“A rocket launcher?!”

Yaoyorozu fired three shots. Shigeo was careful to stay within bounds as he dodged the rockets. He pushed two into the third one and watched as it exploded off bounds. Yaoyorozu fired a fourth before Shigeo realized her game.

With a burst of energy, he snatched the rocket launcher from her hands and hit the rocket with it, watching it explode only a few meters away from them. Yaoyorozu put her arms down from where she watched the carnage, then grinned at Shigeo.

 “That was very clever of you, Yaoyorozu-san.”

She laughed. “I couldn’t believe it worked that long. If you could do the honors, Kageyama-san.” She held her arms out. Shigeo shook his head, then lifted a hand up to make her float out of bounds.

Kayama cracked her whip against the concrete. “Yaoyorozu-chan is out of bounds! Kageyama-kun moves onto the next round!”

Shigeo walked with her off the stage.

“That was really fun,” Yaoyorozu said. “Thanks for that, Kageyama-san.”

Shigeo shrugged. “I’ll admit, if I hadn’t realized sooner, I would have lost. That was close.”

Yaoyorozu giggled. “It really was. Next year, maybe you won’t realize that quick.”

He was glad it didn’t feel bad, fighting Yaoyorozu. They were on friendly terms, and there were no hard feelings. He hoped his match with Uraraka was like this. Shigeo nodded. “I’ll look forward to it.” 

Todoroki wasn’t using his fire again. Izuku cheered loudly in the lull of his and Bakugou’s match, “Don’t lose!” His voice loud enough to break. “Come on!”

Bakugou jumped, then propelled himself further and further up, until he started to spin mid-air. Todoroki, surrounded by ice, slouched, his left side starting to burn. His flames lifted up with Bakugou’s momentum, creating something of a large twister of flames.

Shigeo leaned by the entry of Class A’s viewing area and knew, the moment Bakugou touched down, that Todoroki wasn’t going to win. He bit at the inside of his lip.

“That’s too bad.”

Shigeo jolted, then looked to see Uraraka standing next to him, looking down at the battle area. “I was actually hoping to see him knock Bakugou-kun down a few pegs.”

Shigeo considered that and the somber way Uraraka said it. He looked back at the screens as the mist cleared. Bakugou stood over Todoroki, hoisting him up by the collar. Todoroki was passed out.  And soon, Bakugou followed as Kayama approached.

“Todoroki-san needs more time after talking to Izuku-kun. Something happened during their fight and their talk during lunch, something about his Quirk and Todoroki-jisan. That’s what I think.”

“Todoroki-kun is out of bounds so Bakugou-kun moves on to the finals!”

“We should go,” Shigeo said, pushing away from the doorway. “Get somewhere quiet while Ishiyama-sensei fixes the battle area.”

“Mob-kun, wait.”

Shigeo paused.

Uraraka looked him in the eye, then said, “I want to win in our fight. I want to win with my own abilities.”

Shigeo hummed.

“Fight me seriously,” she said. “Hand-to-hand, Quirkless, just so we’re fair. Whoever taps out first has to forfeit.”

Shigeo considered that.

He didn’t like doing hand-to-hand, and he definitely didn’t want to hit Uraraka. But Uraraka wanted something they were on equal ground on, and the least Shigeo could do was abide to her terms. “Are you sure about this?”

Uraraka’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean? I can take you, y’know, you’re like a stick compared to Iida.”

Of course, he was a stick compared to Iida. Iida was practically a giant. Shigeo didn’t rely much on his powers, but he was definitely not the most athletic or bulky student in Class A. He’d lose in a no-powers brawl regardless of who it was, no question.

Shigeo shook his head. “Never mind. Uh, sure. I’ll do my best, Uraraka-san.”

She grinned, then hit him on the arm. “See you in the ring, Mob-kun.”

Shigeo could practically feel the bruises that were going to form on him later on.

Two minutes into their fight, and Shigeo was already nearing the edge of his part of the battle area. It was hard to break out of the stream of kicks and punches Uraraka was bringing down on him.

In the middle of her spin for her kick, he took the chance to grab her foot, wincing, then kicked her other knee. Uraraka collapsed in a heap, then rolled away. Shigeo ran towards the middle but didn’t move to attack her.

“Mob-kun, you said a fight!” Uraraka shouted. “You’re all defense!”

Shigeo clenched then unclenched his fists.

He didn’t want to say he didn’t want to hurt her. He could remember the surprise on Tsuchiya’s face, then the way she admonished him through his tear-blurry vision, explaining that it was offensive that she wasn’t being fought fairly. Uraraka seemed like the same kind of person who’d say the same thing. What Shigeo feared was if she said it with the same expression.

Uraraka charged for his middle, shouting, “Hit me!”

Shigeo jumped, then leapt over her, using her back as leverage for his foot. She hit the concrete with a thud, and Shigeo fought down the panic rising up his throat. He could do nothing for the guilt sinking into stomach.

“Okay, now that was just dirty,” Uraraka said, crouching.

“Sorry,” Shigeo said as he floated himself down. “Panicked a bit.”

Uraraka grinned. Then charged at him again.

Shigeo parried every hit aimed for him, then went low to elbow Uraraka in the stomach.

The crowd around them booed. Shigeo winced, but kept going, muscle memory from Dimple’s possession training kicking in as he punched up at Uraraka’s chin, before spinning to kick at her side. She skidded dangerously close to the edge of the battle area.

“Finally!” she choked, then started coughing.

 “Who hits a girl like that!” Someone from the audience shouted.

Aizawa’s voice rang out from the speakers but Shigeo wasn’t listening anymore. Uraraka pushed herself up from the floor, spitting out blood.

Blood.

Shigeo’s eyes caught onto it, then at Uraraka, who was looking concerned, bloody, and blurry.

He brought his hands up to hide his face. How humiliating. On live television, too. Reigen could see this. His parents could see this. Ritsu was definitely watching this.

“Mob-kun?”

“I don’t want to fight you anymore, Uraraka.” The tears kept running and running, but he didn’t remember when they started to pour. “I’m—I know it’s disrespectful to you, but… your uncle said that men who hit women are the biggest losers in the world. I know I said I don’t mind fighting you like this, and I know you want a fair fight but… I-I’m really not underestimating you. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to beat you up.”

“Mob.”

Uraraka’s calloused hands pulled his hands away from his face. When Shigeo looked at her, she was smiling. There was blood running down her nose, coming out of a split lip. Red stained her teeth. Her hair was floating up, away from her face in an invisible wind and slowly, her split lip closed right before Shigeo’s eyes. “Just push me out of the ring.”

What.

“Eh?”

Uraraka scoffed. “You win. Look at you. You’re barely scuffed and I’m already bleeding. Well, was bleeding. I was just about to call the fight off anyway.”

Shigeo blinked the rest of his tears out of his eyes. “But you… wanted to win. Uraraka, you don’t—”

“Midnight-sensei?”

“Yes, dear?”

“I forfeit the fight.”

“Are you sure?”

Shigeo tried to fight out of her grip, tried to catch her attention, but then she said. “Yes, ma’am, I’m sure,” and Kayama announced his win.

Uraraka wrapped her arms around his shoulders, squeezing him for a moment before stepping back, grabbing his arm. “Taka-ji taught you right, Mob. But he hasn’t taught you enough just yet.”

Compliant with confusion, he didn’t resist when she started walking them off the battle area. Shigeo didn’t get it. Why did she do that?

He leaned his head back to look at the roster, then froze when he realized his shoulder was wet.

Uraraka was crying.

Shigeo jolted, then leaned in to see Uraraka wiping away her tears. “That’s why you’re still his student, Mob. You both haven’t learned to say what you want upfront.”

Shigeo didn’t know what to do. “I’m sorry.” It was all he could say.

“I’m the one who should be sorry!” Uraraka was full on sobbing now. “I knew you didn’t like to fight, but I asked you to anyway!”

“I’m supposed to fight you,” he argued. “It’s a one-on-one match, Uraraka, I’m supposed to take you seriously.”

Uraraka sobbed, then giggled, sniffing. “Can we just.” She wiped at her nose, then met his eyes briefly, before looking elsewhere. “Can we just say we both did something bad and take it?”

Shigeo nodded, then reached out to hug her again. She sobbed louder, hands coming up to clutch at the back of his jacket.

“We, we need to get off the field,” Uraraka sniffed. “Present Mic-sensei’s making a drama out of us. Can you believe it? Me? Liking boys?”

Shigeo huffed, then let her step away from him. “He does like to say weird things while announcing.”

“Well,” Uraraka said, voice teasing. “If it’s a boy like Mob-aniki, I don’t mind going straight.”

Shigeo just stared at her.

She snorted, then yelped when snot came out. “Tissue! Tissue!”

As much as he liked to listen to Izuku and even Ritsu ramble on about Hero fights they’d seen somewhere, he usually just blanked out in the middle of them. Shigeo, who was incredibly against conflict and fighting, could see what people finally meant when they said Heroes had different fighting styles.

Iida was straightforward and truthful, one-track minded but viciously fast. Yaoyorozu, taking her time, made dozens of little surprises that were part of a bigger plan she’d worked through.

Bakugou was like that as well, though Shigeo hadn’t expected him to be. Every explosion was carefully placed between silences, serving a role in the major goal: beat Shigeo out of the battle area.

The second the round started, Bakugou propelled himself up with one explosion, then let out a bigger one to cross the space between him and Shigeo, wasting no time with setting off one explosion after another on Shigeo’s larger barrier.

He supposed he could see the point to Bakugou’s conviction. The goal was either incapacitate or push the opponent of bounds, and Bakugou was doing both at once.

With a wave of his hand and a surge of energy, Bakugou flew away from his barrier. Another explosion launched Bakugou back to the middle.

The blond crossed the distance in a sprint, then set to wailing on him again. One, two, three, four explosions, two on each side. Shigeo’s ears started ringing, an alarming reprieve from Present Mic’s commentary and the crowds surrounding them.

Briefly blinded by the close-quarter explosions, Shigeo shut his eyes, then felt a breeze in front of him. Where had Bakugou gone?

Two rumbles, then a hand was in his hair, the other clenched on the sleeve of his uniform, then he was off the ground.

Bakugou had thrown him over his head by his hair and his clothes. Despite the blinding sun burning above them, Shigeo reoriented himself.

He was inches above the ground, inches away from the edge. Had he reacted any slower, he would have gone off-bounds. His stomach churned, momentum finally catching up to him. He lowered himself down on the ground, then walked back into the battle area.

Bakugou wasn’t far, back turned to Shigeo, shoulders shaking. The ringing finally dissipated with an unpleasant popping feeling, like when they were driving down from the mountains.

The cheers from the crowd were starting to reach his ears now, then slowly, as Shigeo finally reached Bakugou, he heard Aizawa through the speakers, “—he’s overused his Quirk. If Bakugou uses it any more, it might deal some lasting damage.”

“Bakugou-san?” Shigeo reached forward to touch him, his aura already flaring. His throat was constricting around something hard to swallow: worry.

Bakugou jolted, then ran forward before turning to Shigeo, one hand up, the other holding onto his wrist, and letting out a smoky pop. His face was contorted into a wince, but his eyes, as intense as always, were gilded in pained tears and held in a hateful glare. “Don’t fucking heal me, Bowl Cut, I will kill you.”

Bakugou didn’t seem in good condition to beat up Shigeo, but he was a black belter, so Quirk or no Quirk, maybe he really could. Shigeo didn’t lower his hand. “You’re hurt though.”

“Do I have to fucking spell it out to you, asshole? We’re in the middle of a fight!” Bakugou waved his arm around in a wide gesture. “Either beat me or fucking forfeit!”

Shigeo stepped back.

“Yeah, you finally fucking get it through your thick coconut skull, Bowl Brain? Have you even been trying this whole match at all?”

“You’re hurt,” Shigeo said.

Bakugou was hurt and Shigeo wasn’t, barely even motion sick anymore, ears no longer ringing. The guilt that he thought was finally gone, after his match with Uraraka, was back, sinking in further and further in his stomach. How was he giving Bakugou a fair fight? Shigeo didn’t even want to win, much less beat someone up. He was even trying his hardest not to go all out.

All his fights have been bad, all this time. Uraraka was too nice to be frank about it.

Bakugou gave him a blank look, “Is that all you can say?”

Shigeo turned to where Kayama was. “Kayama-sensei?”

Kayama stepped up, hand on her hip. “Yes, dear?”

“I forfeit.”

Shigeo felt Bakugou clutch at his collar for the second time during the fight, but Bakugou wasn’t throwing him down now. “What the fuck are you doing, Kageyama?”

His surname growled through Bakugou’s voice sounded menacing, but Shigeo was too guilty to care. Uraraka, Iida, and Yaoyorozu all lost, and he hadn’t even given them a fair fight.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a fair fight.”

“Then give me one, asshole, I told you that so you’d fight me properly, not so you could forfeit! God, you’re a bigger dumbass than I give you credit for!”

“I should charge for emotional abuse,” Shigeo muttered, looking up at the sky, remembering Reigen and the scam and the vase he broke. “Bakugou-san. You won’t let me heal you so I can give you a fair fight, but you won’t let me forfeit because I didn’t give you one. What do you want?”

Bakugou threw him roughly on the ground, then kicked him, hard. Shigeo could feel both Teruki and Ritsu’s auras flare in worry. “Quit psychoanalyzing me and fight, Kageyama!”

Shigeo sat up, then stared up at Bakugou through his bangs. “Answer the question or I’ll forfeit, Bakugou.”

Bakugou made a face like he’d swallowed something sour, avoiding Shigeo’s eyes.

“Kageyama-kun? Are you forfeiting?”

Bakugou did nothing but clench his fists. Shigeo stood up, then put a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder, passing his energy over, before turning to Kayama and nodding, “Yes, Kayama-sensei, I’m sure now.”

Kayama gave him a soft smile, then announced Bakugou’s win to the roaring crowd.

Bakugou was motionless during the awarding, a stillness that set off even Yagi in their large form. He received the medal with a blank look on his face, as well as Yagi’s stiff hug and gentle words. Todoroki, on Bakugou’s other side, looked like he wasn’t mentally with them just yet.

After the photo shoot and Yagi’s final words, Shigeo bounded up beside the teacher as they exited the arena.

Shigeo nodded at Yagi as he fell into step, noting the overexaggerated smile on their face turn more genuine. “Congratulations, young Kageyama. I heard from Aizawa-kun and a rather bulky high schooler from the stands that you’ve come so far from your middle school records.”

Shigeo nodded, sighing. “Thanks, All Might-sensei, but… I didn’t give everyone a good fight like I said I would. I feel like I don’t deserve this.” He lifted the heavy silver medal away from his chest.

“Hey, chin up. You also said in that speech that you’d help everyone you could. You were right, you know? Being a Hero is helping everyone you can. And it seemed you helped young Midoriya and though it doesn’t seem like it now, even young Bakugou.”

“How?”

Yagi ruffled Shigeo’s hair. “You listened to what he said and told him what he needed to hear.”

Shigeo processed that as they walked into the stadium halls then watched, with some curiosity, as Yagi deflated after a few turns into the building. He looked up at Yagi. “How did you know about what I said to Bakugou? I barely hear anything from the stands most of the time.”

“Nemuri-chan—ah, Midnight-sensei likes to gossip.”

“Oh. Well, I’ll see you next week, Yagi-sensei.”

“You as well, young Kageyama. Have a nice weekend!”

“You too.”

Everything was smaller than he remembered.

The last time Shigeo had been to Reigen’s apartment, he was ten years old, about to get on the bus for his first ever out of town assignment. Reigen had forgotten something in his apartment before they bounded off, but the excitement from that day made Shigeo smile even six years later but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what Reigen really forgot.

Reigen’s room was the second door from the right staircase. As Shigeo approached the staircase, he spotted a litter of white kittens. They made him pause, reconsider. Omens, Reigen always said, were always to be reconsidered.

They were a little filthy, dust coating their coats, and yet it reminded him of a day in an empty lot, milk box in hand, yowling, a box cutter. He watched the memory from behind a glass, a zoo exhibit of aborted movements and sounds.

He crouched down as the kittens crawled over to him, fumbling and crying. He ran his fingers over their soft little heads. “I can’t stay,” he whispered to them. “I have to deal with something. I’ll come back.”

He stood, walked up the stairs, then looked back down to make sure they didn’t follow. He waved goodbye at them, tiredness making it easier for him to smile down at them before he braved the steps to Reigen’s door.

He’d texted ahead, called too, on the train home. He made Ritsu and Teruki go ahead and go home without him. “I have an errand to run,” Shigeo told them. Ritsu didn’t seem to want to believe it for a few seconds, but Teruki put a hand on his shoulder, squeezed.

Teruki knew about Shigeo staying up the night before, and the night before that, tired with worry over the speech and with Reigen.

Shigeo rang the bell, once, twice, then waited patiently at the door step. Hoping Reigen wasn’t asleep or something, that he’d read the text. The texts, plural. Shigeo just wanted to talk, wanted to know what was wrong.

The door made a series of clicks before it let Reigen out. He looked as tired as Shigeo felt, wearing a statement shirt and boxers with All Might’s face on them. “Mob.”

“Master,” Shigeo said. This was the first he’d spoken to Reigen in a week. Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe Reigen was just taking a rest from him. “I texted ahead.”

“I saw, come in. I saw your, well, I saw everything. And your sports festival.”

Shigeo stood by Reigen’s meek little genkan, making no move to remove his worn, neon yellow shoes just yet. “Then you…”

“Yeah. I’m… Hey, I read something funny online,” Reigen interjected. “Did you know other countries stopped televising sports festivals because it attracted pedophiles?” He let out a little breathy laugh, then quieted when Shigeo didn’t laugh with him. He hummed. “Wrong audience for that joke. Well. I’m—”

“I think of you as my Hero,” Shigeo said, without prompting, cutting off. This was the bluntest he’d been to Reigen without a hint of exasperation edging his tone. “I know you already know that. But someone I know told me today that there are just things that you have to hear in person. So… Master. As your friend, I hope you know that I think of you as a good person, nothing else.”

Reigen nodded, then leaned on the wall before sliding down to sit by the edge of the genkan, by Shigeo’s feet.

“I used you.” His voice was so small, nothing like the wily tones of the world’s greatest psychic, Reigen Arataka. This was just Reigen Arataka, the person who’d just spent a week ignoring every call and text Shigeo left him. “You grew up thinking I had powers, Mob. I’m nothing but a Quirkless nobody. That’s what all our angry clients say, but you gave me the power to deny that. Without you there at the office, I don’t… I don’t remember why I stayed. I was about to quit before you met me six years ago. Your stay was just prolonging the inevitable.”

“Master.” Shigeo knelt by Reigen’s slumped form, hands on his lap.

“Not your master.”

“Reigen-san, then. You were watching the festival, right?”

Reigen gave a weak nod, eyes on the floor.

“Did you see when I was talking to Bakugou on the battle area? I disappointed him and all my friends today. I didn’t give them my best when they tried so hard to beat me, even Uraraka.”

Reigen snorted. “Occhan left me an angry voice mail after that one, told me I did a bang-up job teaching you, whatever that meant.”

Shigeo shook his head. “Another time.”

“Right.”

“Bakugou didn’t give me a compromise. He hurt himself when I didn’t fight him, and he wouldn’t let me heal him so we could start over. When I tried to forfeit, he wouldn’t let me because I haven’t given him a fair fight yet. So, I asked him what he wanted, and he didn’t answer me.”

Reigen looked like he didn’t see where this was going. Shigeo thought that was fair. Reigen didn’t really know who Bakugou was. Shigeo was getting to his point though.

“I think I finally understand what he couldn’t tell me just yet. He’s kind of like you.”

“Hey, I didn’t beat you up.”

“No, I mean he wanted to earn his way into victory. On his own terms. You want to earn your way into being my friend, right, Reigen-san?”

“Oh,” Reigen said. He went back to looking at the floor. “Well, yeah, I mean.”

“Reigen-san,” Shigeo huffed. “You’ve been my friend for six years already.”

“But I—you—what?”

“I called you master because it was awkward to ask for your name the second time around. I forgot after you told me the first time.”

“Wha—Mob!”

Shigeo laughed. “It’s a joke! Now, will you please answer my texts and calls when you can? I can ask my parents if they know of any job openings, if you don’t want to open the office back up just yet. Or I can ask All Might-sensei—”

“He-hey, no, that’s too much, kid. I’m an adult, I can handle myself,” Reigen waved off, finally pulling himself up off the floor. “Geez, you get to second place on a national event, and you start getting all bossy, huh?”

Shigeo shrugged, then pushed himself up off the floor as well. “I deal with a lot of nosy classmates. I think I just acquired the skill.”

“You’re hanging around a bad crowd.”

“You consider your niece a bad crowd?”

“Snark! You didn’t used to do that when you were ten!”

“I’m sixteen, Reigen-san.”

“Bah!” Reigen raised his hand, turning his head away. Shigeo smiled. He was slowly dropping back into his usual dramatic self. “You’ve known me for six years; I can’t have you calling me Reigen-san like I’m my mother! Call me Arataka!”

“Arataka-san.”

“Mob!”

“But it’s too informal! I didn’t even drop the honorific on Uraraka’s name until after we cried on national television.”

Arataka didn’t reply. He was smiling at Shigeo now. “Hey. Give me a few minutes to freshen up, I’ll treat you to some ramen near your place then drop you off. How’s that sound, Mob? For old time’s sake?”

Shigeo toed his shoes off. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Chapter Text

Shigeo supposed he should have listened to Ritsu more when he gushed about Heroics.

Sure, when Aizawa had announced it during homeroom last week, he’d listened, but it was the kind of listening reserved for when Arataka got a little too impassioned about a topic that Shigeo couldn’t relate to. Most of it involved zoning out.

So, when the results for the Hero agency drafts came in, Shigeo had to pause to think about what all that entailed, especially since he was leading with more than four thousand cases. “I’m surprised it’s all even throughout the top ten,” Aizawa admitted as he scanned the list. “I expected the top two to get more fanfare than that.”

Was more than four thousand Hero agencies requesting for Shigeo not enough?

As everyone in class murmured about in excitement, the door slid open as Kayama-sensei came. To check if the Hero names they were choosing were going to be sensible, apparently.

Boards and markers were handed out. The longer he stared at the blank board, the more similar it felt to staring at a blank document and its blinking cursor.

Fifteen minutes to think of a name.

He really did wish he thought more about what enrolling to Yuuei meant, instead of just going with the flow of things. He wasn’t one to think ahead, really, and it was hard to see himself as the kind of Hero that would be popular enough that people would know him on sight. Maybe he wanted to be, even just a little, but what would people even call him then?

“What’re you thinking of, Shige-kun?”

Izuku was leaned far back in his seat, leaning his chair on Shigeo’s table, poking Shigeo on the nose with the end of his marker. Shigeo pushed it away, then put his board down on his table with a sigh. “I can’t really think of a Hero name. I usually run my ideas by Ritsu in case they sound dumb.”

Izuku hummed, then said, “Let me hear them, then, I’m kind of dry on ideas right now anyway.”

Shigeo gave him a look that he wished looked doubtful enough. Izuku set his chair back down then pushed it up against Shigeo’s table so he could sit sideways, his board and marker on his lap. “I was thinking, y’know, as a kid I was a really big fan of All Might’s, and I used to make all these sidekick names. It seems pretty silly to go with now that I think about it though.”

Shigeo nodded. “People might compare you to them if you do that. What kind of Hero do you want to be, Izuku-kun?”

“The kind that helps?”

Shigeo shook his head. “We’re supposed to do that already. What kind of help or maybe…? Why do you want to help?”

Izuku let his head lean back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling in thought. In the corner of Shigeo’s eyes, he could see Dimple’s green light roaming the aisles, flying low in case someone could see him. Shigeo expanded his energy to give Dimple a quick tug but otherwise, didn’t look at him.

“I want to help because… Well, I know there are children out there that are losing hope, I guess? Whether it’s because they’re Quirkless or because of circumstance or profiling. And I want to be the kind of hero that, when they see me or hear my name, they feel like they can push through.”

Wow. Izuku was so noble. Shigeo couldn’t help but feel impressed and proud to know someone like Izuku. He muttered, “The Hero that can do it. Deku.”

Izuku blinked. “Whoa, that’s a really good idea, Shige-kun—that’s. You run those kinds of ideas through Ritsu-kun as well? That was so smart!”

Shigeo shook his head, scratching at his cheek. “It just came to mind. It was something Uraraka said, that one time, remember?”

Izuku nodded, then uncapped his marker to scribble down the name. “Now then, what about you, Shige-kun? What kind of help do you want to give?”

Shigeo already knew what to say to that, but he couldn’t put it to words.

He thought about Caped Baldy and his moral-driven story about helping people when no one else could anymore. He thought about Arataka, who helped him through tough questions and guided him through his life. He thought about Ritsu, who he had to be a good older brother for. What kind of help did Shigeo want to give? Who did he want to help? Why did he want to help?

A Hero who guided others to the right path, unassuming and humble, but was able to provide a solution to a problem more than a few people couldn’t think of.

Shigeo put his marker to the board, then turned it to Izuku, who was just coming back from explaining his own Hero name to the class. Shigeo hadn’t even noticed that they were beginning to present their names. He should have been paying close attention.

Izuku sat back against the wall again, looking at Shigeo, then at his board. “Shige-kun, you done? No, actually, you get up next.”

Shigeo’s arm was grabbed, then he was pulled to stand. He blinked. “What?”

Izuku patted his arm, “Explain your Hero name. C’mon, Midnight-sensei will give you advice.”

That pushed Shigeo to walk the few more steps to the front of class, carefully stepping over the snoozing Aizawa. Kayama-sensei smiled at him. “Kageyama-kun! Congratulations on second place!”

“Thank you, sensei. Um…”

“Right, what’s your Hero name, dear?”

Shigeo hesitated but put his board down, front facing, on the desk. “Um. The unconditional Hero, Mob. I want to be the kind of Hero that doesn’t pick who deserves to be saved, guides everyone to the right path and… um, is just like everyone else? If everyone remembers, I talked to a few of the Villains during the ambush and, um, I changed their minds, a bit, about some of their opinions.

“Villains are people too. And I want to be the kind of Hero that doesn’t just put them into custody, I want to make them realize what they’ve done and let them…change after,” his voice had tapered off, the longer he spoke, carefully keeping his eyes behind the back of his board.

“What if they commit murder?”

The question came from Iida. Shigeo knew because he’d know that booming voice anywhere, in any part of the room. It was impossible not to. Shigeo looked up to see a stony look on Iida’s face. “Um.”

“If the Villain took something important like a life, do they still deserve that kindness?”

“Iida-san, we’re Heroes. Or, well, going to be,” Shigeo replied. By rote, he recited, “A Hero’s job is to assist the public and the police, not incite justice. That’s the court’s job.”

Thank goodness Arataka always went on about the amount of Vigilante justice going on around Tokyo and the greater Kanto region. Shigeo was sure his legs were shaking.

“Well said, Kageyama.”

Shigeo jolted, then blinked down to see Aizawa zip himself out of his yellow caterpillar sleeping bag. He stood and kicked his sleeping bag aside, patting Shigeo on the shoulder to make him go back to his seat. “I don’t want to cut this session any shorter than it has to be, but I suppose we had to have a bit of a talk about this at some point.”

Shigeo settled down in his seat, realized he left his board on the table, then pointed his finger to float it over as Aizawa talked. “Heroes are public servants. We are supposed to serve the people and protect them from harm. That also means we are supposed to uphold the laws that bind everyone. No extrajudicial violence, no murder, and especially no vigilantism. That was a good question, Iida. I might have to talk to you after class.”

“That was everyone, wasn’t it?” Kayama asked, looking around the room. When no one said anything, she shrugged, then dapped Aizawa’s shoulder. “We were done anyway, Eraser. Good job, everyone! I hope you get used to those names before your internships start because the agencies you’ll be picking will be calling you by them.”

Shigeo supposed it was a relief he didn’t have to get too used to it.

“Your internships start in a week,” Aizawa announced. Then, from one of the drawers on the teachers’ desk, he pulled out a thick stack of papers. “I’ll be handing out the personalized lists of agencies to those who were drafted, and a list of forty agencies willing to draft interns to those who weren’t. Every agency will have their own specialty, so choose wisely. You have until this weekend to choose.”

“Your explanation was so cool and inspiring, Shige-kun! Wah, I should have thought more about what my answer was going to be.”

Shigeo sipped at his milk. It seemed whatever he told Izuku, he’d just continue slathering on the praise. Uraraka seemed to agree though.

“I was so focused on thinking about mine I didn’t hear everyone’s,” Shigeo sighed.

Yaoyorozu, who decided to sit with them that day, perked up. “I listed them all down and noted their reasons. Do you want to see?”

Shigeo blinked, then nodded, watching as Yaoyorozu pulled out a leather-bound journal from her book bag.

“Sometimes I forget just how many rich kids are in our class,” Uraraka commented. Yaoyorozu chuckled, but slid the journal across the table, the page open to where the list was.

“Creati, Red Riot… Explosion—Ah, Bakugou still hasn’t decided.”

Izuku snorted. “Had to make him do it twice too.”

“That’s too bad,” Shigeo commented, then squinted to see one of the little notes Yaoyorozu added to the list. “Yaoyorozu-san says his name could be something like Ground Zero.”

“It’s a suggestion,” she said. “And it makes some sort of sense from what you and Midoriya-san have told me about him.”

He hummed at that, then looked up when Iida put his tray down on the table silently, next to Uraraka. Behind him, Teruki and Shinsou approached with one furoshiki each.

“Was your talk private, Iida-san? You seem troubled by it,” Shigeo asked. Iida was troubled enough to be uncharacteristically quiet today.

“It’ll stay between all of us,” Uraraka assured.

Iida looked up from his tray, then nodded. “Maybe after class. Three of you?” Izuku and Uraraka nodded. Shigeo inclined his head but didn’t pry.

Yaoyorozu shrugged when Shigeo glanced at her. Teruki took his usual place next to Shigeo, Shinsou sliding in next to Yaoyorozu.

“What’s with the tension?” Teruki asked him.

Shigeo didn’t even know how to answer that, so he avoided doing so by eating his food

“Oh! Before I forget, I can’t believe you both chose your nicknames as your Hero names,” Uraraka pointed out, looking between Izuku and Shigeo. “I think in some alternate universe that’s like, not allowed because of privacy laws or something.”

“You guys picked out Hero names already?” Shinsou cut in. Shigeo slid Yaoyorozu’s journal towards him in answer. “Holy shit, thank Class A for that spoiler, Hanazawa.”

“We are forever indebted,” Teruki bowed with a flourish of gestures as he stood to go around the table to look over Shinsou’s shoulder. “That is, unless Monoma’s going to cut in again to go on about how Class A stole the spotlight during the sports festival, yadda, yadda, yadda. Lucky for us and Kendou-san, he’s been quiet since Kan-sensei talked to him.”

Someone bumped the table with their hip. Shigeo looked up to see that, well, it was Monoma. Holding a glass of what looked like wine. He squinted. Was that allowed?

“Don’t think I’m done with you lot yet, Hanazawa,” he hissed at Teruki, face sour, then scurried off when he spotted Kendou in the distance.

“Is he always like that?” Yaoyorozu asked Shinsou and Teruki.

Shigeo and the rest of their group nodded. They’ve all had their fair encounters with Monoma during the week that lead up to the sports festival.

“I think he just needs someone to disagree with,” Shigeo commented, eyes on Monoma’s retreating back. Ritsu’s had moments like that before, when he antagonized Arataka but no one else, not even Shigeo. In hindsight, it did seem like it was because Ritsu was afraid of stressing him out.

“Ah, can I…? The internships,” Izuku cut in. “We have until the weekend to pick our agencies for the internships. Has Kan-sensei told you guys about that?”

“He mentioned it before the festival,” Shinsou replied. “I’d be surprised if I get any draft picks though.”

Izuku huffed, almost pouting. “Shinsou-kun! I’ve told you about this, haven’t I?”

“I knew I was forgetting something,” Shigeo muttered. “What did you guys talk about during the battles? I hope there’s no hard feelings.”

Shinsou shook his head. “I don’t think I’m going to manage staying mad at Midoriya. His motives are too altruistic for that.”

“Deep,” Uraraka muttered, nodding sagely.

Izuku shoved food into his mouth, blushing.

“I was mostly getting a rise out of him,” Shinsou explained as he picked at his food. “From what Hanazawa told me, Midoriya is a little too overprotective about his friends so I used that.”

Izuku harrumphed. “That’s no excuse to talk badly about yourself.”

“It worked though,” Shinsou said, grinning. It was a bit identical to Aizawa, in Shigeo’s opinion.

“Anyway,” Izuku emphasized by waving his chopsticks around. “Agencies for our internships. We all got a lot, even though Shige-kun took most of it, I think.”

Shigeo sighed. Izuku steadily ignored this and the fact that Teruki seemed to be elbowing Shigeo for the details. “Do you think we could decide together? I’ll be doing research for the hundred I got, and I think tomorrow’s homeroom and FHS is free time for it and that’s about the same schedule for all of us. Meet you guys at the library for it?”

There were resounding sounds of agreement all over the table, even from the somber Iida.

Of all the places Iida could have taken them for this, Shigeo was glad it was a park near his and Uraraka’s complex.

The sky was the color of blue that meant the sun was just about to set and they all bought ice cream from the truck near the entrance. All four of them sat by the fountain, Shigeo staring up at the sky as he licked at his ice cream. The sound of the running water was relaxing, and the breeze was cool due to the shower that happened just before they exited the train station.

It’s been a while since he’d hung out like this, remembering Emi from Seasoning, and all the times he just took the time to himself to watch clouds by the open canal.

“Firstly, I just want to apologize to all of you, especially Kageyama-kun,” Iida started. Shigeo snapped out of his trance and listened to the uncharacteristic hesitance in Iida’s voice. He couldn’t exactly look at Iida, since they were all sitting beside each other, but he supposed Iida did that on purpose to make it easier on himself. “I’ve been distancing myself without thinking about… I should probably start at the beginning, sorry.”

Izuku said, “It’s okay, we’re listening.”

“Right. Before, when my mother called during the festival, it was for an emergency. Which was why I had to leave before it ended. Brother… Tensei was attacked by the Hero Killer.”

Shigeo hummed, lowering his ice cream to his lap so he could speak. “You told me about that before our match started. He was in Hosu to arrest… Stain, was it?”

“Yes. And he… was gravely injured in the process. Stain got away with it. Tensei has been in the hospital since and he…” A sniffle. Then Iida was sobbing. “He can’t be Ingenium anymore. It’s all that Villain’s fault. Tensei can’t even walk.” He broke off, whining as he cried.

Shigeo and Uraraka stood, concern hung over the air as Izuku ran a hand over Iida’s back in consolation. Shigeo grabbed their ice creams, now almost done anyway, and threw away what was left. Uraraka moved to sit on Iida’s other side, setting his bookbag by the foot of the fountain. Shigeo, with nowhere else to go, knelt by Iida’s feet, reaching out to hold Iida’s hands.

“That’s… we’re sorry to hear about that, Iida-kun,” Izuku whispered. “We understand why you might want to keep away for a while after that kind of news. I’m surprised you even went to school today.”

Uraraka leaned over to take Iida’s glasses off, placing them on her lap. “Time alone is good for grief, but we’re here if you need us, okay?”

Iida nodded, wiping at his eyes. “Tensei said he… he wanted me to carry on the Idaten agency and… his Hero name. But I couldn’t—I don’t deserve that,” Iida sniffled. Shigeo reached into his pocket and handed Iida a handkerchief.

“You’d want to earn it, right?” Shigeo asked. Iida nodded, accepting the kerchief but not doing anything with it. “That’s understandable. But don’t you think if Tensei-nisan already gave you the name, you’re worthy of it already?”

Iida sniffled, blinking blearily down at Shigeo. “I… suppose. But I don’t feel like I am.”

Shigeo hummed. Izuku nodded, then said, “Then earn it, Iida-kun. Do everything you can to make Ingenium your name. What kind of hero is Iida Tenya’s Ingenium?”

“Y-you’re right. You’re right, of course!” Iida pulled his free hand away from Shigeo’s grip, wiping his tears away properly with the kerchief. He chuckled as Uraraka put his glasses on for him. Good, he was laughing again.

Iida stood, then pulled his friends up with him, gathered all three of them into a tight hug. “I’m sorry I tried to push you away. And thank you. I was… I was in a dark place, and what Kageyama-kun said this morning snapped me out of it a bit. Aizawa-senseiknew, of course, but once I told him about it, he explicitly forbade me from interning in Hosu which was even more sobering.”

Iida put them back on the ground, then bowed, low, saying, “Thank you very much! I’ll try my best!”

“Iida-kun, there’s really no need for that,” Izuku stammered, pushing Iida upright by the shoulder. “We’re friends, after all.”

As the sun set, all four of them exited the park and even assisted Shigeo with groceries on the way home.

“I hope you guys don’t mind if Todoroki-kun came along,” Izuku said as they walked out of the classroom. Todoroki was trailing behind him looking as blank as Shigeo’s face usually was. “I invited him because he said he had nothing else to do.”

“Hey,” Todoroki greeted with a hand raised in greeting.

“You’ve already decided?” Yaoyorozu seemed surprised by that. “As expected of Todoroki-san.”

Todoroki shrugged. “Helps when your old man is practically a walking encyclopedia about this stuff. Just have to sift through all the trash talk.”

Shigeo nodded fixing his book bag over his shoulder.  Todoroki’s dad was a veteran pro, after all, no matter how surly he seemed upon first impression.

They were just about to go down the first set of stairs when someone called out, “Kageyama.”

Shigeo turned to see Aizawa waving him back to class.

He blinked, then said, “You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up with you when I can.”

Izuku looked at Shigeo, then at Aizawa, then nodded.

Todoroki stared a bit longer than that though, eyes squinted. Izuku shook his head, looking exasperated as he grabbed Todoroki’s left arm and started down the stairs. “See you, Shige-kun!”

“See you,” Shigeo called after, then walked back to the classroom.

Aizawa leaned on the door frame, waiting. When Shigeo stopped in front of him, he crossed his arms. “I’m on your list of agencies and it seems rational for me to tell you why while you’re still considering your options. I want to train you and your friend Shinsou since neither of you seem to like using your Quirks for combative purposes. Am I correct?”

Shigeo nodded, shifting in his stance, trying not to feel awkward as Aizawa took his time speaking. “My only warning is that I work at night, so I’ll likely be training you earlier than most agencies would. Consider the option, then submit your form by tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir. Should I tell Shinsou-san as well?”

“Hm?”

“We’re meeting up at the library to consider all our options together. Should I tell him then?”

Aizawa stared down at him, then huffed. “Do whatever you want. Don’t work too hard. The library closes by five.”

Shigeo nodded, then bowed. “I’ll be going now. See you tomorrow, sensei.”

“Eraserhead, huh?” Shinsou muttered, sifting through the papers that Izuku and Todoroki had printed for their research. “What’s his Quirk?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Uraraka whispered. “You guys don’t have Aizawa-sensei for any of your subjects, right?”

Shinsou shrugged. “I think Gen Ed has him for Social Studies. Right, Hanazawa?”

Teruki, who was sifting through the papers with a single-minded focus, gave a noncommittal hum. As did Iida, who wasn’t really who Shinsou was talking to, but was polite enough not to keep Shinsou hanging without a response. Yaoyorozu made a soft sound of wonder.

“Sensei didn’t seem like he’d be the type to teach non-Heroics courses,” Yaoyorozu commented, looking over her shoulder just in case the librarian caught them talking. But it seemed the librarian was a bit too preoccupied with whatever Izuku was speaking to them about.

Shigeo wondered if Izuku regularly visited the library, with how enthusiastically they were gesticulating as Todoroki looked back and forth between them as if watching a tennis match.

The sound of papers shuffling brought Shigeo's attention back to the table. Iida put his papers down then leaned across the table to mutter to them, “Brother told me once that Aizawa-sensei, Midnight-sensei and Present Mic-sensei were the only people in their batch who went to college.”

Both Uraraka and Yaoyorozu made a noise of wonder at that.

Shigeo had to agree with their bafflement. Aizawa seemed to be one of the most serious Heroes he’s met all his life. He definitely didn’t look like the type to apply for college and delay his public service.

Iida tapped his capped pen to his chin, looking up to the ceiling in thought. “If I remember correctly, Midnight-sensei took Psychology, Present Mic-sensei took Broadcasting and Music, and Aizawa-sensei took Philosophy and Sociology? Or just Philosophy, I'm not so sure anymore. I think that’s why the Principal Nezu lets them teach other compulsory courses.”

“Iida-san, how do you know all this?” Yaoyorozu seemed intrigued, if a little too curious. It reminded Shigeo of the twinkle that Tome got in her eyes when she talked about aliens. Yaoyorozu didn’t seem like the type for gossip, at first glance.

Iida smiled, then leaned back into his seat. “Brother graduated in the same class as them. They used to hang out a lot together at out house. He couldn’t keep contact with them after they debuted though.”

Uraraka stood, leaning over Shigeo to whisper-shout, “So, you’ve met our teachers before and probably have embarrassing photos of them, and haven’t told us?! Iida-kun!”

Iida raised a hand in his usual stiff gesture, but instead of swinging it around like he usually did, he made small waves, his arm tucked in close to his body. When his pen fell off the table, Shigeo carefully placed it back with a sliver of energy. “Uraraka-kun! Calm down! I simply haven’t done so because it would be a breach to their privacy.”

“What’s going on here?”

Todoroki and Izuku came back with another stack of paper. Shigeo had to wonder which one of them paid for all of those, then remembered Izuku saying this was mostly just for the hundred that drafted him.

Uraraka swiveled away from Iida towards the pair, “Iida-kun knew Aizawa-sensei, Present Mic, and Midnight before he started school and didn’t tell us!”

Todoroki hummed at that. Izuku merely inclined his head. “Well, they did graduate the same batch as Tensei-san. It would make sense for Iida-kun to know them.”

“How do you just know that?” Shinsou asked, incredulous.

Izuku flushed. “Uh, well… the Yuuei sports festival?”

“That was fourteen years ago, Midoriya, you couldn’t have seen that on TV.”

“He probably has notes on Tensei-nisan,” Shigeo finally cut in. “Didn’t you say you had notes on a few Heroes, Izuku-kun?”

Izuku nodded, movements jerky, before settling down on his other side to sort through his notes. “Anyway, um, Shige-kun, have you settled on an agency yet?”

“Aizawa-sensei offered to take me and Shinsou-san in,” Shigeo said, skimming through at the ninety whole pages of his list of agency drafts woth an uncaring eye. “But I want to see if there are any agencies that I can go to that specialize in healing. Can we pick which agency we go to base on the day or do we have to stay with them for a week?”

Shigeo really did wish he’d listened more when Aizawa was explaining this last week.

Uraraka said, “We have to stay with them for a week, Mob. Were you zoning out when this was explained?”

Shigeo tried not to fidget as his sweat dripped on the back of his neck. “Um…”

Yaoyorozu giggled at that. “At least he wasn’t asleep like Todoroki-san was.”

Todoroki huffed from where he was looking through the pile Iida and Teruki had abandoned. “It’s not my fault Aizawa-sensei has that kind of voice. At least I knew what to do.”

“After asking me what sensei was talking about.”

“So, what is his Quirk,” Shinsou asked, looking just a bit harried. Shigeo felt for him. His friends usually liked to talk in circles.

“Erasure,” Izuku answered, looking a bit sheepish himself. “He doesn’t like to broadcast what it does since he’s an underground Hero, but he can nullify any Quirk apart from mutant-type Quirks on sight, basically. He doesn’t use it much, like you with your Quirk, so I can see why he would want to take you and Shige-kun in.”

Shinsou nodded.

“He did say we rarely use our Quirks for combat, and that he wants to teach us because of that,” Shigeo pointed out.

He watched as Shinsou leaned down to write on his form.

Shigeo’s stayed blissfully blank.

When it seemed like Shinsou wasn’t going to ask any more questions, Izuku turned to him. “Right, what was your question again?”

“Heroes who specialize in—”

“Healing, right,” Izuku cut in, recalling with the wave of his finger. Shigeo nodded.

Izuku paused then, pensive. He rubbed his thumb and pointer finger on the edge of the piece of paper in front of him. “Well, I don’t think Recovery Girl was in any specific agency when she was active. She was more of a field medic? You could ask her after school who she knows might take in students who specialize in healing?”

Shigeo nodded. “Are there any agencies that are hospitals then? Like on-call doctors.”

Izuku blinked, then hummed. It seemed to Shigeo that he was holding back the urge to start muttering to himself. “You know, there probably should be, in our day and age. But I don’t think they could have drafted you, considering they drafted us for our combat and strategic performances in the festival. Sorry, Shige-kun.”

Shigeo sighed, then moved to stand. “No, it’s alright. I’ll go ask Recovery Girl now. Teruki-kun.”

Teruki shot up from where he was looking through pages on his side of the table. “Yes?”

“If I run a bit late, could you come get me from the nurse’s office?” Concern came over Teruki’s face at the question, Shigeo waved his hand out, shaking his head. “I’m not injured. I just have to talk to the nurse.”

Teruki blinked, then laughed softly, “Oh, alright. I'll make sure to do that. See you later, Shigeo-kun.”

Shigeo nodded, then walked away. “Bye-bye.”

Uraraka whisper shouted, “Bye-bye!”

Shigeo hadn’t expected to see the principal in the nurse’s office.

He hadn’t realized, at first, that it was the principal, of course. But when Nurse Shuuzenji told him to take a seat on one of the beds, Nezu suddenly said, “It’s me, Nezu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly... I'm the principal!”

Shigeo lowered his head in half a bow as Shuuzenji flitted around the room doing who knows what, “It’s very nice to meet you, Nezu-kouchou.”

“How polite! Chiyo-sensei, our third years could learn a thing or two from Kageyama-kun over here.”

Shigeo almost asked how Nezu knew him, but then he realized it must have been from the sports festival. Strangers just knew him off the bat now because of that. Shigeo didn’t really know how to feel about all the attention now that he had it.

Shuuzenji ignored them, saddling up next to the bed Shigeo vacated. “What seems to be the problem, young man?”

Shigeo blinked, then shook his head, “No, I was actually here to inquire about something for the internships.”

Shuuzenji made a sound of interest, then turned to grab her wheeled chair from where it was in front of the principal’s seat. She hopped up onto it, then gave Shigeo her full attention. “I’m listening, go on. What about your internships?”

“I was wondering if… you knew of any agencies or Heroes who specialize in healing, or at least have Quirks that are close to it . Any who are willing to take in someone for their healing. Izuku-kun told me earlier that you didn’t have an agency when you were active, Shuuzenji-sensei, but he told me to ask just in case you had connections to other people.”

Shuuzenji hummed, then leaned back in her chair. “What’s your Quirk, dear?”

“Mu—ah, energy manipulation and telekinesis. I can transfer some of my energy to other people to let so that they can heal themselves.” Shigeo tried not to sweat. He could feel Nezu’s eyes boring into the side of his head. Whether or not it was just his imagination was relative, because Shigeo was scared he’d get busted.

“Kind of like mine. When I heal, I enable the person’s body to use up their energy to heal, making them feel tired afterwards.” Shigeo hummed as she said this. He wasn’t exactly asking for that information, but it was impolite to stay quiet. Shuuzenji made a displeased sound. “I don’t know, young man...”

“What do you mean?”

“Most of the people I know have healing Quirks don’t work in Heroics. I’m the only licensed Hero with a healing Quirk to this day because they’re all still in medical school or are in residency still, getting their doctorates and all that. Nezu, do hospitals take in Heroics interns?”

Nezu hummed, then shook their head. “Not that I’m aware of just yet. Maybe in the future. You might be quite the pioneer, young man.”

Shigeo nodded at that, then looked back at Shuuzenji. “I see. Well, that was all I came to ask. Thank you, Shuuzenji-sensei.”

“Wait.” Shuuzenji shot a hand out, then jumped down from her chair. She passed by Nezu, who handed her a piece of paper, then went deeper into the office.

Nezu sipped at their tea, smiling amicably at Shigeo.

She came back with a clipboard and a pen, the piece of paper clipped on it already. “Who’s you’re second choice for internships for now, Kageyama-kun?”

Shigeo blinked. “Aizawa-sensei’s my only other option so far, ma’am.”

Shuuzenji hummed, then tapped her chin with the pen before uncapping it with her teeth and writing something down on the clipboard. A few scribbles later, she recapped the pen and told him, “Shouta works at night, so you’ll be available then. I can refer you to an Emergency First Response night course for a week with some of our third and second years. It’s an hour long, if you’re really interested. It will be free, since it’s your internship and I’ll make sure to inform Shouta to add it in for your credit. Sound good?”

Shigeo’s jaw dropped as Shuuzenji handed him the paper from the clipboard. He held his hands out for it, eyes scanning the form. He  stood and bowed, low, “Thank you very much, Shuuzenji-sensei! I’ll give this to him tomorrow.”

Shuuzenji patted him on the head, then pushed him gently up by the forehead, reaching into her coat and holding out a fist. “You’re a good student, young man. You’ll make a great Hero. Here’s some gummy bears to go.”

“Thank you very much. I’ll be off then.” Shigeo said, folding the paper into his uniform jacket pocket so that he could take the gummy bears, walking to the door, then bowing again as he exited. “Thank you for this, Shuuzenji-sensei, Nezu-kouchou.”

Nezu chuckled. “I didn’t do anything.”

Shigeo had seen them hand over the form, but he didn’t push it, closing the door behind him.

“Who are your picks, Uraraka-san?” Yaoyorozu asked from her seat, her uniform jacket on the seat behind her. Shigeo sat on her table, his jacket off as well.

Satou, Shoji, Todoroki, and Izuku made way for their conversation as Uraraka rolled her sleeves up.

“Gunhead, Thirteen, and uh… Oh! Miruko!”

Izuku made an excited sound from where he was leaning on Todoroki’s desk. “The Rabbit Hero? She drafted you?! She just debuted a month ago, that’s so impressive, Uraraka-san!”

Shigeo had no idea who that was, so he just clapped his hands softly in support.

“What about you, Yaomomo?”

The girls have all started the trend of calling each other by their first names or by nicknames just this morning, and it was disorienting for Shigeo a bit due to the abruptness of it.

Yaoyorozu smiled, a bit sheepish. “At first, I was going to take Uwabami’s offer, since my parents claimed that it was good for publicity. But Midoriya-san’s research pointed me to Fat Gum’s agency. It really was an inspired decision. My other choices Ryukyu and Snipe-sensei.”

Shigeo blinked, looking down at Yaoyorozu. “Snipe-sensei? With the guns?”

She gave him a cheeky smile. “I may have had a little too much fun during our match.”

“Yeah, that was really wild, Yaomomo!” Sero shouted from his seat. “Who’d’ve thought you’d pull out a freakin’ rocket launcher? Almost gave us a heart attack!”

Shigeo could relate.

Yaoyorozu giggled. “That was the plan!”

Shigeo sighed, “As expected of Yuuei.”

“What about you, Shige-kun? Who did you pick?”

Shigeo turned to see Izuku and Todoroki’s expectant looks. “Oh, uh, I settled for Aizawa-sensei. Shuuzenji-sensei gave me a week-long night course for Emergency First Response to go with it.”

Izuku’s interest quickly turned to concern, just like Teruki’s did when he’d told the other  boy last night after dinner. “Can you manage that much work?”

Shigeo shrugged. “It’s not too much. I want to learn to help people, after all. Aizawa-sensei wouldn’t agree to it if he thought I wouldn’t be able to manage it. What about you and Todoroki-san?”

Izuku seemed a bit conflicted with Shigeo’s answer but ultimately chose to answer his question instead, which was a relief. “I was recommended to someone, so I’m taking their advice.”

“Was it All Might-sensei?”

Izuku started sweating, “W-why do you ask?”

“You guys are close,” Shigeo pointed out. “I’m sure others have noticed, right, Todoroki-san?”

Todoroki nodded. “They really are. Actually, I think—”

“Th-that’s enough, Todoroki-kun!” Izuku scrambled to put a hand in Todoroki’s face, but Todoroki evaded, causing a bit of a ruckus as the smaller of the two doggedly tried to keep the other from talking any further. “Anyway! Who did you choose, Todoroki-kun!”

Todoroki grabbed both of his arms, then stepped into his space to make him step away. Shigeo watched them from where he sat on Yaoyorozu’s desk.

Yaoyorozu was patting his arm, making faces at him, most of which he only understood as excitement and amusement as she glanced at Todoroki and Izuku. It was almost akin to Uraraka’s face when she teased him about—oh.

Izuku was flushed to the tip of his ears now, Todoroki smiling down at him. “I chose to intern with my old man. I mean, he might be an ass, but he’s still the number two Hero.”

Izuku’s face sobered. Concern came flooding in again. It was fascinating to watch the emotion flow into Izuku’s features sometimes, how easy they came to be. “Todoroki-kun…”

“I’ll be fine. He can’t hurt me in front of his sidekicks, it’s bad publicity.”

Shigeo froze.

Izuku glanced at him for a second, then looked away again. Guilt, now, came with the furrow of Izuku’s brows.

So, Izuku hadn’t told Aizawa yet, much less anyone else who needed to know. Had he told Yagi, maybe? Had they told Aizawa for Izuku?

Aizawa chose to walk in at that moment, making it hard to pull Izuku aside and ask questions. Shigeo let Izuku pass in front of him on their way to their seats. Before Aizawa spoke, he leaned forward and muttered, “We’re telling Aizawa-sensei after this.”

Izuku didn’t respond, apart from the tension hiking his shoulders up to his ears.

Shigeo was trying to calm himself down, keep his emotions girdled and snug under his reigns.

Aizawa led them to the faculty lounge which, fortunately for them, also held Yagi. Had this been any regular trek to the lounge, Shigeo would have wondered if this was just where Yagi chose to spend their time, but tension was rising into a migraine behind his eyes and Yagi was probably one of the only people who could calm both Izuku and Shigeo down, Aizawa being the other.

“Talk,” Aizawa said as he slid the door shut. Izuku fidgeted, his eyes on the floor. Shigeo was upset enough to keep his chin up and look Aizawa in the eyes. “What’s your concern with Todoroki Enji?”

“I’m not as aware as Izuku-kun is about Todoroki-san’s predicaments right now, sensei,” he disclaimed, voice low in forced calmness. “But from what I’ve observed and heard offhand, it seems that Todoroki-jisan regularly abuses Todoroki-san in guise of training him to be better than All Might.”

Izuku flinched, which was really all Shigeo had to see to cement his ideas.

Aizawa crossed his arms, looking between the both of them, leaning against the door. “Go on.”

“Todoroki-san admitted, earlier, that he was going to intern for his father because he’s the number two Hero. He said that his father wouldn’t hurt him because sidekicks were present, and it was bad publicity.”

“That was a joke… probably.” Izuku mumbled.

Shigeo turned to stare at him, watched as he started tearing up. “Didn’t you promise to tell Aizawa-sensei?”

Izuku sniffled, then nodded. “But, it really isn’t any of our business.”

“Todoroki-san told you. It is your business now.”

“Midoriya.”

Izuku hazarded a look at Aizawa, looking like he needed to take a seat before he started breaking down.

Shigeo clenched and unclenched his fists, restless. Guilt and anger mixed in his chest, fitting to burst under his control, but he'd told Aizawa he'd try to get it under control, so he was going to.

“What did Todoroki tell you? Don’t leave out details, this is important.”

Izuku bit at his lip.

A hand, large, bony settled down on Shigeo's shoulder.

Yagi nodded at Shigeo when he looked. “Let’s all take a seat first,” they said. “C’mon, young Midoriya. I’ll go start the pot and get us something to drink. Coffee, Aizawa?”

Aizawa waved them away, leading Izuku to the couch.

“I’ll help,” Shigeo mumbled, stepping away from Aizawa’s reach. “I need something to do.”

Yagi didn’t turn him down, pointing Shigeo to where the pot sat on an induction stove not unlike the one they had in the Spirits & Such office. Shigeo grabbed the pot and headed over to the water dispenser to fill it up. The lounge, empty and quiet as it was, didn’t do much with minimizing Izuku’s volume as he explained.

“Todoroki-kun pulled me aside after the cavalry battle because he almost used his flames on me. He talked about how Endeavor married his mom to make a child with a Quirk that could surpass All Might. It took them until Todoroki-kun to get it right.”

There was a bit of clattering from where Yagi stood, hands shaking as they put creamer into Aizawa’s mug. The clattering was from the teaspoon hitting the porcelain, their bony hands shaking, their lips white with how pressed flat they were.

“When Todoroki-kun developed his Quirk, Endeavor started training him for hours a day, and his mom would try to defend him and get hurt in the process. Until one day she snapped and… poured boiling water over his face.”

Shigeo froze, staring down at the filling pot of water. He bit down a curse as the pot spilled over, leaning away from the dispenser to pour some of the water onto a potted plant.

He set it on the stove as quickly as he could and clicked it on before settling down on the chair by the table Yagi had used last time.

Yagi sat across from him, glaring down on the table as they listened.

“Todoroki-basan is in the hospital. Has been since Todoroki-kun was a kid. He’s started visiting her recently, on Sundays. He says Endeavor doesn’t train him much anymore since school started, but there are still… instances.”

It took all of Shigeo’s will not to jolt when the kettle started whistling. Yagi shot up from their seat to go get it, leaving Shigeo with nothing to do but look on as Aizawa ran a hand down his face, trying to think of how to tackle the information Izuku just gave him.

Yagi walked into their space with a tray of steaming cups and mugs a few moments later, handing a cup of tea to Izuku, then coffee to Aizawa.

Aizawa accepted his with a grumble, holding the mug with two hands as he looked at Izuku. “And you were willing to keep this from me. Why?”

Louder now, more stable, Izuku said, “Because I forced his hand during our match already and pushed him. He wants to improve his situation by himself, and I… I trusted that he could do it.”

“You promised me,” Shigeo cut in from his seat, barely acknowledging the cup of tea that Yagi nudged towards him. His voice was blank, but his heart was beating wild, angry. He wasn’t mad at Izuku, exactly, but he was frustrated, worried. “I told you Todoroki’s just a kid like us. He shouldn’t have to deal with that by himself no matter how much you trust him to handle it.”

Izuku wasn’t looking at him when he said, “I’m sorry. I just. He trusted me with this secret, it felt wrong to tell someone after all the trouble he went through. But I didn’t think it through. You’re right, Shige-kun.”

Shigeo could feel his heart slow down as he took deep breaths. “Right. Sorry for snapping.”

“It’s justified,” Aizawa cut in, putting his mug down on the center table. “This has opened a case. I’m going to have to talk to Todoroki about this. But next time, Midoriya?”

Izuku looked up from his tea, teary-eyed, apologetic, and a little scared.

“Next time, you tell me when something like this happens.”

Izuku gave a small nod, then took a sip of his tea, sniffling.

Shigeo sighed then wandered over to hand Izuku his handkerchief. Aizawa didn’t watch this exchange, chugging down more of his coffee, still hot, then standing to leave.

“Finish your drinks before heading back to class,” he ordered. “I’m going to have to formally file this. Tell Todoroki to meet me in the office during lunch break.”

Shigeo watched his teacher leave, his scarf trailing behind him.

“I feel responsible for this,” Yagi blurted out.

Shigeo turned to look at them, then walked over for his tea. “How so, sensei?”

“Enji-kun… we weren’t close friends, but I didn’t really think of him as a rival. I didn’t think he’d…”

“It’s not,” Shigeo interrupted. He thinks maybe this is the rudest he’s been to any teacher in Yuuei. “Your fault, I mean. Todoroki-jisan knows what he did and should know how to deal with the consequences of it.”

Silence engulfed the faculty lounged as all three of them sipped at their drinks, each distracted by their own thoughts.

Shigeo noticed the pattern now, and he hoped it didn’t continue as the year progressed. But since Yagi was already here…

“There seem to be a lot of people who use other people to get to you, Yagi-sensei.”

Izuku coughed, as did Yagi. Shigeo turned to look between them, wondering if he’d said something wrong.

Yagi brought out a tissue and spat into it, folding it away from Shigeo. “Th-that’s quite the observation, young Kageyama.”

“It’s hard not to see it. Most of them aren’t above using children to upset you. No offense, but I’m beginning to wonder if it was a safe idea for you to teach here, if this continues. It’s putting a lot of kids in harm’s way.”

“Sh-Shige-kun…”

Yagi put a hand up to wave away Izuku’s concern. Shigeo continued, “I do mean no offense, really, but it’s just concerning.”

Yagi nodded. “That’s a valid opinion, young Kageyama. You’re quite observant. Sadly, I’m confined to just teaching, since it’s hard to keep up my persona for days like I used to, with the amount of uh, energy I have.”

Shigeo hummed.

“Wait,” Izuku stammered. “Shige-kun knows?”

Shigeo blinked.

Yagi nodded again, smiling sheepishly, “He figured it out before the festival. Something about energy, I think?”

Izuku paused, then made a sound of realization. “Because of the energy manipulation!”

It took a moment, but Shigeo realized that they were talking about Yagi’s secret identity. “Oh, that. Yeah, it wasn’t hard to figure out even without the energy though. Yagi-sensei behaves pretty much the same on and off the job.”

Izuku huffed at that, then started chuckling. Yagi couldn’t help but laugh as well. “I can’t really argue with that. But anyway, I think if I keep you boys here any longer than I have to, Aizawa-kun might carve something onto my desk as payback.”

Right. Their subject at this moment was… English. Shigeo chugged his tea, then bowed. “Thank you for the tea, Yagi-sensei. Izuku-kun, let’s go. Yamada-sensei’s probably going to shout at us.”

That had Izuku chugging fast.

 They got shouted at anyway.

Chapter Text

Shigeo grew up knowing not to expect much of anything from anyone. It saved him from disappointment, especially if someone he didn’t know started talking to him specifically just to ask for something.

Of course, he still had moments where he couldn’t help but get carried away, like when Onigawara wrote him that fake confession letter, or when Mezato called him up to the roof to talk him into becoming the student council president, or even when Teruki asked him to be his roommate.

Another one of those moments was now, when Aizawa walked ahead of him and Shinsou through Musutafu’s station, handed them two commuter PASMOs, and led them to the Jouban line without a word.

As they walked past countless vending machines and the terminals, Shigeo only belatedly realized that Shinsou and he could have paid for their own tickets.

“Is your agency in Tokyo, Sensei?” Shigeo asked instead, determined to keep Aizawa from spending anything on him in the future. He secured his costume’s suitcase in the gap between his shins and the seat he was on. The bag that held his things and change of clothes was small enough to keep on his back. Shinsou, sitting next to him, kept both suitcase and bag on his lap, scrolling through his phone like most other people on their cart.

Aizawa hummed his assent. “I based there since I’ve lived there all my life. We’re headed to Mic’s station in Shibuya.”

Shinsou perked up at that. “Present Mic has his own radio station?”

Aizawa glanced down at them both, face as blank as always. “We’re not headed there to sightsee, but yes. You two know which trains to take back to Musutafu?”

Shigeo thought about that for a moment, trying not to feel pressured when Shinsou nodded immediately. He’s never been to Tokyo before, and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to parse through the station maps. He could barely do so with Teruki and Uraraka guiding him to the nearest station to Yuuei every day.

Odd as it was, he was more used to taking the bus than the train to go anywhere. He shook his head, frowning.

A gentle nudge of his arm had Shigeo looking at Shinsou. “It’s okay, Kageyama, I live in Saitama anyway, so we're taking the same lines there. I’ll come with you, going home,” he offered. Shigeo could see from his seat that Shinsou was watching videos of cats on his phone. “I’ll teach you which trains to take later.”

Shigeo nodded. He tried not to show how amused he was. Shinsou was a little hard to take seriously when Shigeo knew just how much time he spent watching cat videos online both when they were texting and in real life. “That’s very kind of you Shinsou-san. I won’t be going home immediately after though. I still have night classes after today, so I just need to know how to get back to Musutafu station, really.”

Shinsou paused, then, “I forgot about those.” He put his phone down on his lap, rearranging himself on the seat so he wasn’t sliding down. “Are you sure you can handle that after training every day, Kageyama?”

He mulled that over. Aizawa and Shinsou weren’t the type of people he could say something indefinite to, and they would definitely notice if Shigeo were to try and change the subject. Personally, he didn’t think much of having to have night classes on top of what was probably going to be combat training. Though he will probably get tired, as he had in the Body Improvement Club, he was confident that his desire to learn first aid would cancel it out somehow.

“I’ll push through,” Shigeo answered. It was the only definite answer he could give Shinsou. “I know Aizawa-sensei will probably work us hard with combat training, but I want this.”

His answer was followed by the ambience of the train, the continuous clattering of handles against metal and the murmur of some people.

Aizawa took a deep breath, then leaned back against his seat, closing his eyes. “Just don’t push yourself, Kageyama.”

“Yes, sir.”

“One of you wake me up when we get to Ueno.”

Maybe Yuuei was just normal-sized and Shigeo just got used to how meek Seasoning was compared to the whole of Japan, because Shibuya was as crowded and busy as it was humongous. The mere sight of the skyscrapers, once they made it out of the subway station, made him feel insignificant. More than he normally felt, anyway.

“Don’t get lost, you two,” Aizawa called out. The hustle and bustle around Shibuya didn’t die down even on a school day, it seemed, as Shigeo had to look over people’s shoulders to try and spot Aizawa’s scarf or dark costume whenever he lagged behind.

Shigeo jogged after then, grabbing onto the hem of Shinsou’s uniform jacket sleeve for good measure.

Present Mic’s radio station wasn’t much to look at. On first glance, it seemed like an apartment complex, not too different to Mitsuura’s Awakening Lab. Being in a city district, it seemed to blend in more, look unassuming.

Shinsou made a sound as they entered the building. Immediately upon entry, there were rooms for television and radio broadcasting set up with soundproof walls and high-end equipment. Shigeo let go, jogging to walk side by side with him. “Something wrong, Shinsou-san?”

“I don’t know, I guess I didn't expect that Present Mic’s station would have other programs instead of just the Put Your Hands Up thing,” Shinsou said, peering into one of the rooms. “Didn’t Iida say he was a Broadcasting major?”

“Tenya tell you that?”

Shigeo looked to see Aizawa looking over his shoulder, standing at the end of the hallway. He pulled Shinsou with him as he nodded his assent.

“Knew it was going to happen sooner or later,” Aizawa sighed. He started walking again when Shigeo and Shinsou caught up, climbing the first set of stairs they encountered. “Hizashi took Broadcasting and Music for himself. Heroics was mostly just something he did out of guilt. He gave up his position here for teaching though.”

“What about you, Sensei? Iida-san also said you went to college before debuting.”

Aizawa shrugged. “Don’t I seem the type to study first, kick ass later?”

Shigeo blinked at the sudden informal language but pressed on. “You do, but you seem so serious about being a Hero.”

Shinsou hummed. “Did you actually debut after college or was that all something Tensei-san thought you did?”

Shigeo glanced at him, confused.

“We don’t know, maybe he was attending college while doing his job. I mean, what money did you have to pay for a double major in college, Aizawa-sensei ?”

Aizawa grinned down at them. “Do I look that sleep-deprived?”

Shinsou nodded. Shigeo still didn’t get it but Aizawa did look like he needed sleep, so he nodded as well.

Aizawa huffed, the closest thing to a laugh Shigeo’d probably heard from him yet. “Maybe I did. Don’t tell Tenya though. I don’t want two Iidas fretting over me. One is enough to deal with.”

The gym, when Aizawa opened the door to it with his own set of keys (did he usually go here instead of somewhere else?), was probably just as high-end as all the recording booths and rooms downstairs. There was a rock-climbing wall, a whole set of treadmills, weight equipment, mats, and a freaking boxing ring .

“Kageyama, you’re drooling,” Shinsou teased. When Shigeo turned to him, he had his phone out, aimed at Shigeo.

Shigeo wiped at his mouth and found nothing damp nor wet. He scrunched his nose at Shinsou in his attempt of a fake glare. “Quit making fun of me, it’s just… really cool to have all of this in a radio station.”

“This is standard,” Aizawa dismissed, making his way across the room. “After all, this is a Hero agency.”

Shigeo paused at that. All the oddities were staggered. The fact that Aizawa and Yamada were both based in Tokyo, the keys to the gym, the intrinsic knowledge that Aizawa had about Yamada.

“Sensei , did you make all of this with Yamada- sensei ?”

Aizawa raised a brow at him, pausing, before turning around and saying, “No comment. Get suited up, we’re doing stretches in five.”

Combat training consisted mostly of Aizawa teaching them what he deemed to be the most useful kata in any martial art he specialized in which, much to Shinsou’s surprise and Shigeo’s endless respect and admiration, was a lot: kendo, shorinji kempo, karate, jujutsu, aikido , and jeet kune do.

“I didn’t learn all that in a day, don’t get ahead of yourselves,” was a sentence Aizawa repeated multiple times throughout training. Shigeo believed him, but it seemed that the words were directed towards Shinsou more than him.

Aizawa treated them for lunch, saying something about neither of them asking him for a break. Shigeo was grateful for the offer but still offered to pay for his own, despite Aizawa already paying for it with his credit card.

“It’s really no trouble, Kageyama, I’m not hard for cash considering I have two jobs,” Aizawa waved off when Shigeo approached him with his rubber frog coin purse.

“Oh,” Shigeo lowered his coin purse, turning to put it back into his book bag.

Aizawa sighed. “Fine , you can pay for yours. But next time, it’s free.”

“There’s going to be a next time?” Shinsou asked, tone teasing.

Aizawa gave him an unimpressed stare.

Shigeo was mostly just happy he could pay his teacher back.

“Food’s here, Boss! Where should I—oh, Shigeo, Shinsou-kun, what’re you guys… Oh. Right.”

Shigeo looked towards the doorway to the gym, eyes widening at the sight.

Arataka was balancing three bottles of soda and a plastic bag of takeout, clad in his usual formal wear, but instead of his gray suit jacket, he was wearing a peach cardigan, an ID hanging from his neck.

“Arataka-san! What are you doing here?” Shigeo asked, walking towards him to grab the takeout. Partly because he was starving, but mostly because it was only polite to help someone who definitely looked like he needed it. He mock-froze once the food was in his hands, trying not to grin when he asked, “Are you a Hero, Arataka-san?”

Arataka laughed, giving him a slap on the shoulder. “Don’t even joke. You know I’m Quirkless, Mob. Don’t be ridiculous. I was a Broadcasting major in college. There was a position open and they were kind enough to take me in here so… here I am.”

“Like Yamada-sensei? That’s amazing, Arataka-san! You should have told me over text, I would have brought you something for lunch today…” Shigeo trailed off, grabbing his food from the bag to hand over to Shinsou.

“And you two know each other how?” Aizawa asked, grabbing his share of the takeout. He glanced between Shigeo and Arataka, suspicion in his eyes.

Shigeo blinked, then turned to Arataka.

He couldn’t just say that he met Arataka at his consultation office asking for help for his powers because he thought Arataka was a psychic as well. At least, he thought he couldn’t, considering that was a bit too much to say at once and required a lot more explaining. Shigeo was hungry and he wanted to eat.

Arataka waved his hand, blasé, his other hand coming up to pat the top of Shigeo’s head. “It’s kind of embarrassing actually. You know how I used to be kind of a life coach. Shigeo here actually came up to me asking for help with controlling his Quirk ‘round six years ago? I was hardly qualified considering, well… Quirkless. But I couldn’t just turn him down with that face, y’know?”

Shinsou raised a brow at that, giving Shigeo a look. Shigeo shook his head imperceptibly, hoping he would understand it as don’t ask just yet. When Shinsou kept his mouth shut, he counted it as a victory.

Mercifully, Aizawa nodded in understanding, turning to sit down on one of the benches by the boxing ring. “Well, you can stay here and chat or go elsewhere, Reigen. I’m taking a nap after eating. We start in two hours.”

“Sure thing, Boss.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Man,” Arataka stressed, sipping at his soda. He took a messy bite of his burger, then pointed at Shigeo, not minding the pieces that just fell out of his food. They were in the nearest Mobdonald’s from the station/agency, which was conveniently just down the street. Three of them sat by the windows, Arataka next to Shigeo next to Shinsou. “I knew my new boss looked familiar. I wouldn’t have guessed Yamada-shachou was your homeroom teacher, Shige.”

Shigeo hummed in confusion. Yamada-shachou ? “You saw Aizawa-sensei in my acceptance letter, remember?”

“I did not, I was too busy figuring out how to pay for our takoyaki the moment he basically said you were in,” Arataka said with a shrug. Then he froze, glancing down at both Shigeo and Shinsou. “Did you just say Aizawa?”

“Did you just say Yamada?” Shinsou countered, looking the most intrigued Shigeo had seen him ever since they’ve met. He knew, of course, that all of his friends were naturally inquisitive (maybe even borderline gossipmongers), but it was still refreshing to see an expression on Shinsou’s face that wasn’t blank, bemused, or unimpressed.

“Holy shit, I just outed my boss to his students,” Arataka mumbled in a stream of words so fast Shigeo wondered how they came out of his mouth without him spitting anything. “Can you, uh, can you guys just not mention it to him?”

“Wait, so they’re married?” Shigeo blinked, looking wide-eyed between Shinsou and Arataka. “I thought they just owned the agency together.”

“That is the opposite,” Arataka admonished. A crumb fell out of his mouth, so he reached up with his other hand to cover his mouth. “The opposite of not mentioning it, Mob. I am under a non-disclosure agreement. For all I know, Boss could have me dead in an alley in seven hours.”

Shigeo huffed. “Aizawa-sensei’s not yakuza, Arataka-san. He’s a pro Hero.”

“Yeah, well,” Arataka waved off, taking another bite of his burger. “You never know—hey, are you texting? What did I just—”

Arataka leaned back and pulled at Shinsou from behind Shigeo, pulling Shinsou by the hood of his Hero costume. They didn’t get to change out before leaving, wanting to give Aizawa some peace and quiet after they ate lunch together.

Shinsou huffed, batting at Arataka’s hand. “Let go, dude, I’m not texting.”

Shigeo looked over his shoulder. He was definitely texting.

“Bald-faced lie, I can see your silly little stickers on that sticky, cracked phone screen, young man. This is an invasion of privacy! You better not be texting your friends about this. I will lose my job. Mob, help me out here.”

With a sliver of energy, Shigeo plucked the phone out of Shinsou’s hand and into his, looking over Shinsou’s chat. It was open on a group chat named, in English, mob short for mobert and Shinsou’s message seemed to be you guys are never going to and stopped there. Feeling just a bit mischievous, Shigeo opened the camera option and started recording, pointing it at Shinsou.

“Shinsou-san, you shouldn’t gossip about Aizawa-sensei ’s personal life. If he plans on sharing with us, he will,” Shigeo scolded, feeling Arataka’s arm return to his seat. “Aside from that, Arataka-san should think of his words before saying them as well.”

“Hey! I genuinely didn’t know, okay!” Arataka defended. Shigeo stopped recording then sent it to the group chat.

Shinsou snatched his phone from Shigeo’s fingerless gloves with a mock sneer, then looked at his chat. He frowned. “Great, now Hanazawa’s sending me burn stickers. Can’t wait for Uraraka to see it too.”

Shigeo shrugged. “What’s the group chat for? My name’s on it but I never got added.”

“It’s so we can talk about you without bothering you because we know you almost never use your phone unless it’s the weekend.”

Oh, well that seemed very considerate of them.

Arataka, once Shigeo was finally facing front, sipped on his soda, looking at his wristwatch. “You have half an hour, boys. Anything else you want to do? My break ends in ten minutes, so you’ll have to watch the time if I leave.”

Shigeo stood with him, cleaning up after all three of them. As Shinsou drained his soda with long gulps. “I don’t know what you do in the office, Arataka-san, is it difficult?”

Arataka shrugged leading their way out of the Mobdonald’s once they were done, “It’s less boring than my last office job. I’m the new guy so they mostly just send me to get them coffee and food. I mostly check over script outlines, see if it all flows well for the program. They say that job usually goes to Yamada-san, but since he’s teaching, most of its delegated between me and another coworker.”

“Which Yamada-san?” Shinsou asked, eyes back on his phone as they walked down the street. It was a wonder he didn’t trip.

Arataka hummed seemingly in warning, eyes squinted at Shinsou. “Drop it, kid, I swear.”

“He’s joking, Arataka-san,” Shigeo placated.

Arataka harrumphed. “Well, I’m not laughing.”

Shigeo could feel every single one of his joints. It was that kind of exercise fatigue that he’d slowly forgotten as runs became longer and longer and weights became easier to lift. They’d gotten down a lot of kata that day, and Shigeo was sure that if it weren’t for his pent-up energy, he’d be feeling all the bruises for days.

As he let Shinsou lead him from station to station and waved goodbye once he got to Musutafu Station, Shigeo was glad he took that long shower after training, even if it did hold them up. Just thinking about sitting, listening to a lecture for an hour straight made him want to drop his head down on a desk already.

Yuuei was different at night. Not all the floors had their lights open, and the plaza leading up to the entrance of the main building looked more daunting than they did in the day.

Shigeo, who used to frequent sightings like abandoned houses, cursed forests, and haunted tunnels, wasn’t phased by all the shadows. He was more nervous about entering a class with no one but seniors around him.

He wished, so bad, that he’d invited at least one of his friends with him. Iida would have loved this.

The class room wasn’t unlike Class A’s, which gave him more relief than he thought it would. The desks and lockers in the back of the room were the same. The seniors were tall. Most people were taller than him on a regular basis but seeing a room full of high school seniors made him gulp down his general annoyance at his own height.

“Oh, look, a new kid! A first year! Weren’t you the second placer in the first-year events?”

The source of the spring of questions was a long-haired senior floating a few feet off the ground. When they noticed Shigeo noticing, they dropped down and smiled wide at him, flipping their blue hair over their shoulder. “I’m Hadou Nejire from Class 3-C. Hey, so when did they start enrolling first year students into night classes? I didn’t know that was allowed!”

Shigeo blinked. It seemed he had to answer these questions fast. He bowed. “I’m Kageyama Shigeo from Class 1-A. I got referred by Shuuzenji-sensei for my internships. It’s nice to meet you, Hadou-senpai .”

She laughed, the sound bubbly and high. “Senpai, get a load of that, Amajiki! Kageyama’s a real neat one over here. He’s got such a childish haircut. Hey, do you cut it yourself?”

Shigeo shook his head, grabbing his bangs in thought. Was his haircut really childish?

“Please don’t harass the first year, Hadou…” Amajiki, a dark-haired person with pointy ears said from his seat in front of the teacher’s table.  “I think Kageyama-kun just wants to get to his seat.”

“Take any seat, kouhai, things are lax in night classes!” Hadou said, skipping on back to her seat. Shigeo nodded, then took the one closest to the door.

None of the seniors bugged him after that, though it seemed that Hadou bugged a lot of other students on the regular. Amajiki stayed in their seat as the rest filed in one by one, looking different kinds of exhausted. The classroom seemed just about full, with twenty students, but all the noise came from Hadou and the students she bugged.

“As expected of Yuuei,” he mumbled to himself. By seven, Kan, the bulky man in red that Shigeo had just recently known as Class B’s homeroom teacher walked in and talking died down.

“It’s the start of a new semester. You all must be here for partial credit or for actual interest in the topic of Emergency First Response,” Kan started. “Before anything starts, who here has a Quirk that allows them to heal?”

A few students raised their hands, as did Shigeo.

“You lot have a direct advantage over the rest of this class, but I assure you that what I will be teaching for the next week will have nothing to do with that, so you lot better not be queasy about personal space or blood.”

Shigeo didn’t know if that was a jab at him, but he didn’t mind since Kan started class immediately after.

“Please make sure to get enough sleep, brother, I know how you are when you focus on something,” Ritsu reminded as Shigeo finally stepped into the apartment complex for the night.

“I will, Ritsu. But please, don’t stay up too late just to call me. You have school tomorrow. I can call around six, next time, okay? But I’ll be going through tunnels.” He crossed the lounge and pushed call button, putting his suitcase down to rest his other arm for a bit.

“No, brother, it’s okay. Just text me if you’re not free for the night. I’ll understand.”

Shigeo smiled, “Okay, thanks for understanding, Ritsu. Hey, can I ask, is Dimple over there right now?”

Ritsu hummed, then there was papers rustling in the background. “I don’t think so. If he isn’t at yours or here at home, he’s probably at Reigen-san’s. Do you need something?”

“Just a little favor. Can you tell him to drop by in case he’s over this week?

“Sure thing, brother.”

The elevator finally came to the ground floor with a ding! Shigeo leaned down to grab his suitcase again. “I’m going into the elevator now, good night, okay? Thanks, Ritsu.”

“It’s no problem. Good night, brother.”

He hung up. The elevator trip was short, since they only lived on the fifth floor. Most days, Shigeo would take the stairs, but he was too tired for that now.

The lights were on as he slipped his shoes off by the genkan , calling out, “I’m home.”

“Welcome home,” Teruki called back from living room. Shigeo put on his uwabaki and made his way to the kitchen. He let his energy run amok as he unbuttoned off his uniform jacket and pulled his tie loose, letting the glass float towards him, already full of water. “How was your day?”

Shigeo drained his glass after a few gulps, taking a deep breath. He turned to see Teruki’s head popping out from one of the couch cushions. “Tiring. Aizawa-sensei taught us martial arts. And apparently, Arataka-san works for Yamada-sensei’s radio station? I think I’m more tired by my night class than training though.”

Teruki hummed in response, hugging a pillow to his chest. Behind him, the TV was on a news channel, but was on mute. “Sounds like you’d want to head straight to bed after a bath, then.”

Shigeo’s body physically craved at the mere prospect of a bath and his futon, but he resisted, putting his glass into the dishwasher and making a beeline for the couch. He plopped down next to Teruki, clutching his own pillow. “I do, but I can hold off for a few more hours, I guess. How was Endeavor Hero Agency?”

Teruki waved a hand out, “It was a lot less daunting. Since you told me that thing with Midoriya, it was kind of hard to be more objective about some of the things he’s said? But he really went the extra mile to accommodate me today. He didn’t seem like the type, y’know?”

Shigeo hummed, leaning his head on the cushion, mirroring Teruki. “What’d he do?”

“Gave me a tour, told me about his sidekicks, yadda, yadda, yadda. Tomorrow, he said, he was going to give me the breakdown of how he solves cases with the police. He goes all over Japan, but he said we’d be going down to Hosu tomorrow to try and look for that Hero Killer, I guess?”

Shigeo closed his eyes. “Please be careful, Teru. That Stain fellow is some bad news. You heard about Tensei-san?” He yawned, reaching up to cover his mouth as he did. His eyelids were heavier when he tried to look at Teruki, only coming up halfway. “Got paralyzed from the hips down. Don’t want that to happen to you. I know Todoroki-jisan likes to, hm, overestimate children’s abilities under his care.”

“Don’t worry, Shigeo-kun, I’ll know not to run straight into danger.”

“I’m not worried about that… ‘m worried about you getting in danger because of…”

Shige’s eyes shot open, vision blurry until everything came to focus.

The living room wasn’t any darker, the TV still on, still on mute, casting lights on him and the rest of the area. Across him, lying down on the cushion next to Shigeo, was Teruki who was asleep.

“Teru-ki,” Shigeo fumbled. “Teruki.” He reached a hand out, shaking his friend awake.

Teruki blinked profusely, brows furrowing. “Wha?”

“We fell asleep on the couch.”

“What time is it?”

Shigeo squinted at the TV. It was on the news channel, so it had the time on the lower left side. “Around eleven. We got two hours of sleep.”

“Oh, I guess we did,” he chuckled, voice raspy from sleep. “Sorry about that. You should take a bath then sleep, then. I’m sure you want to change out of uniform.”

“Alright,” Shigeo said, watching Teruki stand and stretch. He hadn’t noticed that Teruki was wearing his pajamas already. Had he been waiting up for Shigeo? “Good night, Teruki.”

“Good night, Shigeo.”

Yamada was in the next day, his hair down and wearing non-leather clothes for once. He looked a lot smaller without the directional speaker by his neck, which wasn’t much considering he was still technically taller than Aizawa and, therefore, Shigeo.

Shigeo greeted him a good morning on his way up to the gym, already dressed in his workout clothes. His Hero costume, just washed and pressed, was folded neatly in his suitcase. Yamada, who was watching one of the broadcasts from outside the window, blinked down at him.

“Who…”

“Kageyama Shigeo, I’m from class A. I’m here for my internship,” Shigeo reminded. It seemed only polite seeing as Yamada seemed to have a hard time figuring out why Shigeo had just walked into his studio. “Everything alright, sir?”

“N-no. Have you seen Shouta—uh, Eraserhead anywhere?”

“I just got here, but he told me and Shinsou-san to meet him at the gym.”

Yamada scratched at his chin, then stepped away from the window overlooking the broadcast. “I’ll come with you. So, what’s he been teaching you kids?”

“Combat training, mostly.”

“As expected, I guess. He hasn’t been too hard on you?”

Shigeo shook his head. Aizawa had been the furthest thing from ruthless with regards to their training. He had this huge first aid kit larger than both of Shigeo and Shinsou’s suitcases combined always open on a stool next to the boxing ring while he let Shinsou and Shigeo duke it out in the ring.  “He’s been really nice to us.”

“That’s a relief,” Yamada said as they made it to the second floor, walking ahead to open the gym for him. “Most students would probably say he works you too hard. I don’t know if you’re just nicer than most or if you have really good stamina.”

Shigeo flushed. “I don’t think so, Aizawa-sensei just knows to ask when Shinsou-san and I need to take a break, is all. I could barely even do the four-kilometer run during the festival…”

“Kageyama, you’re early,” Aizawa called out from where he was slouched in his usual seat by the boxing ring, laptop resting on his lap, a stack of papers on the floor by his feet. His long hair was up in a bun, clad in hot pink sweatpants and a dark blue sweater. He didn’t look up from his work, pushing up a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. “I said seven, it’s barely six-thirty in the morning. Did you get enough sleep?”

Shigeo nodded, then, seeing that Aizawa wasn’t going to look up, said, “Yes, sir. I usually get up this early for a run. I figured I could use the treadmills here instead so I wouldn’t run late. I hope that would be alright, Sensei .”

Aizawa hummed. “It’s fine.” Finally, he looked up from his work, slipping the glasses off his face. He froze, taken aback to see his husband standing beside Shigeo. “’Zashi. Don’t you have to be in Yuuei?”

Seeing as this wasn’t any of his business anymore, Shigeo made to walk for the treadmills.

“My classes don’t start ‘til ten. Anyway, more importantly.” Shigeo felt himself getting pulled back, cartwheeling for balance until he was standing in front of Aizawa again, flustered. “When did we have kids , Shouta?”

Shigeo’s brows furrowed, trying and failing to turn to look at Yamada, who was now holding the top of his head. “Yamada-sensei …”

Aizawa wiped a hand down his face, heaving a heavy sigh. “Hizashi, just go the fuck to work and leave Kageyama alone. If you bring this up again, I will lock you out of the house.”

“But Shouta! Babe! He’s literally your clone! If he had a little more hair, he’d practically be you.”

“Sensei,” Shigeo cut in. “I really do just want to go work out now. Please let go of my head.”

Yamada, who Shigeo now knew as someone who occasionally had incredibly silly moments (not unlike Arataka and the rest of his friends) on top of being highly intelligent and someone he respected, gave a melodramatic sigh, withdrawing his hands. “Thwarted by my own husband and his mini-me. I see how it is.”

Shigeo walked towards the treadmills and made sure to stretch, ignoring most of the conversation that came afterwards by plugging in his earphones (a gift from Teruki!) opening the music app (something Ritsu helped him set up), and setting his phone down by the treadmill’s controls.

Iida had added him into Shinsou’s group chat that morning, saying something about it being rude to exclude Shigeo. Shigeo told them, i didn’t mind not being in here since shinsou-san said it was because i never picked up unless it was the weekends anyway .

Uraraka responded to that quickly, total bullshit but im glad you bought into it. SOME of us here have our reasons!!

Teruki sent a sticker of Todoroki’s dad wagging a disapproving finger at her message. Todoroki came in to send a photo of his own screen deleting that sticker from the chat. Uraraka sent a series of w’s that Shigeo had finally come to understand as her lazy way of laughing in-text.

Shigeo could already feel the amount of vibrates his phone was going to let loose. He hoped at the very least that they’d all stop when the day officially started.

He chewed on the onigiri from the bento he brought as breakfast, the milk box on the floor next to where he sat. He set his phone down in front of him as his friends messaged one by one.

Teruki sent, todo your old man’s sending us to hosu today. wish me luck :( :( :(

r.i.p. hanazawa, Shinsou replied, finally online. He added, tokyo’s super chilly this morning. @kageyama is sensei there yet?

Shigeo put his bento down carefully in exchange for his phone. yes! he’s been here since before i arrived. i think he hasn’t slept :’( but i think yamada-sensei dragged him off for sleep earlier.

:0 , were Uraraka, Teruki, and Shinsou’s responses.

did he say something about you being aizawa’s son , Todoroki sent. Shigeo huffed, then sent a sticker of All Might laughing.

Midoriya popped in, as if summoned by the All Might sticker. i feel like my body wants to die, what’s good. when did shige-kun get here???

hi izuku-kun! iida-san added me just this morning. where are you guys settled, by the way?

He put his phone down again, sipping at his milk. Uraraka and Todoroki were in Shinjuku. Iida and Teruki seemed to be in Hosu for the day but their agencies were from outside the prefecture. Izuku was just two stations away from Musutafu.

shinsou-san and i are in shibuya, at yamada-sensei’s radio station/hero agency. aizawa-sensei has keys to the gym on the second floor and they have a boxing ring and a rock-climbing wall! it’s all very high-end :) , he sent, looking up and around the gym.

they know, kageyama, Shinsou replied. i sent that video from yesterday.

???

the one where you were drooling .

Shigeo huffed, sending a frustrated-looking cat sticker back at Shinsou.

“Don’t look down, Shinsou-san. Keep this on your nose,” Shigeo instructed, handing the tissue over to Shinsou with shaking hands. “I’m really sorry.”

“I get it, Kageyama, that’s the fourth time you’ve apologized,” Shinsou said. Shigeo could do nothing but watch the bobbing of his Adam’s apple as he spoke. “Where did you even learn to stop bloody noses like these?”

Shigeo, who definitely should not tell him and the hovering Aizawa that he learned to nurse Arataka’s bloody noses, barely composed like he was now, during rough days around bigoted clients, could only say, “Emergency First Response classes.” The lie felt sour in his mouth, but he couldn’t just say that without risking Arataka’s integrity with Aizawa.

Shinsou hummed, “Keep forgetting that. Really though, you could have just let Aizawa- sensei patch me up if it was going to upset you like this.”

Shigeo lowered his eyes to his lap. Shinsou was propped up against one of the corners of the boxing ring, Shigeo kneeling in front of him. They were both wearing workout clothes instead of their Hero costumes, on Aizawa’s instruction that they weren’t going to patrol until tomorrow evening anyway.

“I wanted to make up for kneeing you in the face,” Shigeo mumbled.

Shinsou swallowed, loud in the silence. Shigeo wrung his fingers, his shoulders tense. Shinsou said, “Well, why are you still apologizing?”

“Reflex?”

Shinsou snorted, then yelped, his other hand fumbling. Shigeo handed him a few more tissues, harried and flustered. “I’m so sorry, oh gosh.”

“Put us down then!”

Huh?

Shigeo blinked down at the ring, a few feet below them. “Oh, I—shit.”

“Did you just curse? In English?”

Shigeo slowly let himself seep his aura back in, taking deep breaths. It took a few seconds, but gravity took hold of them gently.

“You’re such a mess, Kageyama.”

He knew but Shinsou didn’t have to say it, no matter how fond he sounded.

“I thought I told you to get ahold of that,” Aizawa admonished gently, crouching down beside them.

Shigeo couldn’t meet his eyes. “Sorry, it just acts up when I get emotionally overwhelmed.”

When Shinsou’s nose finally stopped bleeding, letting Shigeo gather all the soiled tissues, Aizawa stated, “You’re really are an anomaly, Kageyama.”

Shigeo didn’t know what to say to that other than, “How so, Sensei?”

Aizawa plopped down next to Shinsou, leaning his back against the ropes. “You exhibit phenomenal control over your Quirk when in battle, but in everyday life, you lose control over a few simple things.”

Shigeo couldn’t really call his conflicting emotions ‘simple.’

Sure, when viewed from the outside, it did seem like Shigeo had just lost control of his powers because Shinsou snorted blood out of his nose, but that was disclaiming his feelings about hurting him, about the memory of nursing Arataka’s bloody noses overlaying Shinsou’s, and about seeing his friend hurt but waving it off.

The thing was, Aizawa didn’t know all of that. He only saw Shigeo’s powers as a Quirk. A muscle that’s seemingly already trained well enough to keep Shigeo from getting injured all eight rounds in the sports festival, well enough to keep Villains out of his barrier for fifteen straight minutes, well enough to heal Aizawa multiple times a day.

Quirks don’t react to emotions, nor do they work on their own accord. They were deliberate and a little less complicated than psychic powers.

Shigeo knew he’d been forgetting something. The misunderstanding between him and Arataka aside, he should have known to remember something as important as this.

“Sensei,” he called out.

Aizawa looked up at him, then pointed somewhere behind him. “The trash bin’s by the weights.”

Oh, the tissues were still in his hand. Wanting to say it before he lost his courage, he let his energy wrap around the tissues and flung it to the trash bin. “Allow me to explain my abilities further tomorrow. Shinsou-san, I’ll tell you as well. But, um… I hope you won’t react too negatively.”

Shigeo glanced at the clock by the doorway. Almost six in the evening. He had a class by seven.

“I can’t make any promises, Kageyama,” Aizawa said, his eyes intense in the way that it meant something but for the life of him, Shigeo couldn’t read it. “Anyway, you’re dismissed for the day. Get home safe. Remember, tomorrow, we meet up by four and again, Kageyama, you’re excused from Kan’s class until Friday, but it’s your choice if you want to go one last time on Saturday.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright, lightning round,” Kan said. “No raising hands just shout your answers. Except you, Nagisa, no one wants their ears to bleed.”

“Sensei!” whined Nagisa, a second-year General Education student with the head of a snake. Some of their friends laughed.

“Alright, let’s start with a good one. So, there’s been an earthquake and they finally drag the patient out of the rubble, what do you do?”

“Check the area!”

“Good, Hadou. What next?”

“Ask if anyone knows them,” Shigeo mumbled. Someone shouted it after he had, relieving him of the ever-present anxiety of having to think about whether or not he should raise his hand to answer.

“Yes, and?”

“Check if they’re conscious, see if their breathing, then if they’re in shock.”

“Too quick in succession, Kageyama,” Kan pointed out, amused. “Give the others a chance. Nonetheless, very good. It’s good to see our only first year knows what’s going on in this class, eh, Toriyama?”

The student in question squawked in indignation, literally, because they were literally a large bird-like senior. Shigeo fidgeted with his hands, pleased to have given a good answer despite everything.

He was learning.

“This place gets even more homey the more I visit,” Dimple’s voice wafted from inside the apartment. The sound of a spoon clinking against a mug sounded out from the kitchen.

“I’m home,” Shigeo called out weakly, toeing his shoes off on the genkan. He left his suitcase and bag there, foregoing his slippers as well, as he made to plop down on the empty dining seat and table.

“Welcome home,” Teruki said, putting a mug down in front of him. Shigeo hummed, cheek mushed against the table, looking out at the living area.

“Is that milk?”

“With honey. How was your day?”

“I gave Shinsou-san a bloody nose,” Shigeo grumbled, hands blindly fumbling around the table for his mug. It was pushed into his palm after his third cycle around the table in front of him. “I patched him up afterwards but I still kind of feel bad about it.”

Teruki hummed. “The hazards of combat.”

Shigeo couldn’t help but remember the last time Teruki and he fought, the knives barely missing Teruki’s head, the snarls, Teruki’s hands wrapped around his throat. It made him feel even more tired than he already was.

“Hey, Shigeo,” Dimple said, hovering in front of him now. Shigeo gave him a brief nod. “Ritsu says you need a favor?”

Shigeo shot up from his slouch, blinking up at Dimple. “Ah, that’s right! Dimple, are you busy tomorrow?”

Dimple made the spirit-with-no-limbs approximation of a shrug, “I’m already here, kid. Where are we goin’?”

Shigeo debated whether or not he wanted to give Teruki any context.

It really wasn’t any of his business but Teruki, once Shigeo looked, was giving him this expectant expression that had him rethinking, grabbing for his mug of milk and honey and smiling at the sweet mildness of it. Teruki knew not to judge him now, how could he forget? Teruki had been with him through thick and thin, patient and accommodating.

Calmer, he looked between his two friends and said, “I’m going to tell Aizawa-sensei and Shinsou-san I’m Quirkless tomorrow.”

And while Teruki do anything but blink at that, Dimple made a long sound of amazement at that. “That’s kind of a big deal, right? Reigen always make such a huge deal out of making you not say you’re Quirkless or whatever. What’s the occasion?”

Shigeo played with the handle of his mug, fiddling his thumbs. “I asked Arataka-san for advice, of course. He did say I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high with how they’ll receive it but… we’re in for an eventful year, you know? I can feel it. There’ll come a point where neither me nor Teruki will be able to explain away how we use our powers. I can feel it.”

“What, like, you’re clairvoyant now?” Dimple asked, sounding derisive but genuinely curious at the same time. It was the source of most of his, Arataka’s, and Ritsu’s disagreements, to be honest.

He shook his head. He looks up at Teruki, noting the unusual blankness on his face, “Don’t you feel it? I don’t want to seem overly superstitious—”

“You’re literally a kid with psychic powers, you are talking to a ghost —”

“But since this year started, it all feels like everything’s changing. Like the air is sharp. We got attacked by Villains three weeks ago, Dimple, and now two of my friends are going about their internships where the Hero Killer was last found.”

“Was this what you meant last night?” Teruki cut in, concern sharper than the way he interrupted.

Shigeo inclined his head. “Last night?”

“When you said you weren’t worried about me running into danger, you cut off because you fell asleep,” he reminded him. “You didn’t finish what you were saying then.”

“Oh.” Shigeo couldn’t recall for the life of him what he’d been about to say at that moment. “I guess that was what I meant. I just feel like if I don’t tell Sensei and someone other than Uraraka now, it’ll only get worse. I mean, Bakugou-san will probably figure it out sooner or later, if he spots me and Dimple talking even once .”

“You mean that kid with Teru’s hair?” Dimple snorted. “He can’t touch me.”

“He can, I gave him my energy.”

Dimple, who has no blood, made the ghost approximation of going pale. “Okay so that changes things.”

“So, you’ll go?”

Dimple scoffed, “Like I wasn’t going with you to begin with. You’re going to Tokyo, right?”

Shigeo nodded.

“I’ll be there. Must be a nice place, with so many people.”

“It’s really loud,” Shigeo mumbled, sipping at his drink. Teruki chuckled, bringing Shigeo’s attention back to him. “How was your day, Teruki?”

Teruki froze, then inclined his head. “When did you drop the honorific?”

Shigeo blinked, then rewound all of his words prior to that question. “I can’t recall. Should I…?”

Teruki put a hand up, waving. “No, no, it’s okay,” he laughed. Dimple scoffed, then excused himself from the apartment. “I was just surprised. Guess that means I can call you Shigeo now.”

Shigeo hummed, sipping at his milk. It was cold enough to drink by now, so he drained it.

“Well, Endeavor explained the whole process, had Chief Tsuragamae brief us. He’s uh, the chief of police in Hosu.”

He made an amazed sound from the back of his throat, still drinking.

“Then we patrolled away from the inner-city agencies just so it wouldn’t feel like we were intruding. We got stopped for autographs a lot. Someone even took a selfie with me. Anyway, Endeavor’s calling me in late tomorrow so we can patrol at night. Don’t wait up for me, okay?”

Shigeo paused at that, then shook his head, “I’m coming in late as well. Aizawa-sensei told us to meet him around four.”

Teruki gave him a personal smile, the kind that softened his eyes a bit. He’s seen Teruki smile like that at Shinsou sometimes as well. “That’s great! We can have breakfast together again. I found this bakery at the end of our usual jogging route on the way home yesterday.”

Shigeo smiled, the kind he only gave if he put something up to his mouth. In this case, it was Teruki’s mug. He laughed when Teruki yelped, realizing what just happened.

“That’s sneaky, Shigeo,” Teruki admonished, but his pout was a little more amusing than it was reproachful. He held his hand out for his mug. Shigeo didn’t give it back, leaning back in his seat for some distance. “You’ve been hanging around Shinsou too much.”

Dimple, who had since floated over to the living area, called out to them, “He’s always been like that, he’s just been nice to you so far.”

Shigeo didn’t feel embarrassed by that even a bit.

The door clicked behind all three of them.

“Is this private enough?” Aizawa asked.

Dimple looked around, then floated up to poke at one of the soundproofing foams on the wall. Shigeo kept his focus on Aizawa and Shinsou, rubbing at his fingerless gloves to abate the shaking. It was weird to do this while they were all dressed in their Hero costumes, but he didn’t have any control over that. “If you’re sure no one’s going to use the booth, Sensei , then yes.”

“Alright. Well, patrol starts by five so if you could just get on with it.”

Right.

Shigeo cleared his throat, a signal for Dimple to stop messing around. Dimple floated back down, plopping into Shigeo’s hair. “I’m Quirkless,” Shigeo said. Ripping off the band-aid always seemed to be the only way to get on with things like this. “And before any questions, I just. I can explain. Um. I’ve been Quirkless since I was a kid. My doctor can prove it.

“What I’ve been using this whole time are psychic powers, which I’ve had since I was three, I guess. I can control it but since it’s powered by my emotions, sometimes it gets out of hand. Growing up, I rarely used them in everyday life to prevent accidents, especially when I get too overwhelmed. I’ve suppressed my emotions because of it, but sometimes it… yeah. I’ve hurt people before, destroyed things when I break down, essentially.”

The blankness on Shinsou and Aizawa’s face was near identical in its incredulousness.

“Can I say something now?” Shinsou asked.

Shigeo nodded, not pointing out that he already had.

“Are you pulling our legs? What kind of bullshit is that?” Shinsou spat. Shigeo tensed but didn’t say anything. “You were second in the sports festival, threw everyone around without even touching them. Now you’re telling me you’re Quirkless and you’re, what, an ESPer?”

Shigeo nodded, pulling at the hem of his shorts.

Aizawa, calmer, pointed out, “Your documents say telekinesis and energy manipulation. Are you saying they’re lying?”

Shigeo nodded, shifting in place. “I’m sorry about that, but my parents and Arataka-san came to an agreement that it would be easier on me if I didn’t tell people I was Quirkless. Growing up, I’ve seen and been told what not to say to adults who might react badly to me. Arataka-san, in the time I’ve known him, has been hurt on the job multiple times when people found out about him.”

“Prove it,” Shinsou said, stating exactly what Shigeo was hoping for. “I don’t believe you.”

He looked up. “Dimple.”

“Roger that.”

Aizawa’s raised brows and Shinsou’s horrified face was indicator enough that Dimple had made himself visible to the two. “Aizawa-sensei , Shinsou-san, this is Dimple. He’s a spirit I met two years ago. He’s a friend.”

“Hey.”

Then, Shigeo closed his eyes and let his consciousness subside. He felt his body suck away from him, limb from limb, like a draft of strong air rushing from under him, pushing his skin up. He floated up, up, up. He opened his eyes to look down at himself, pulling at the poncho of his costume, cheeks unnaturally red.

Shinsou gawked at his spirit from where it hung over him and Aizawa.

“Kageyama?”

Shigeo manually moved his head up and down, floating closer to Shinsou and Aizawa. Dimple rolled Shigeo’s body’s neck, grimacing with his lips.

“Where’s the other one?”

“Right here,” Dimple said with his voice, raising a hand in greeting. Shigeo’s normally calm and formal inflection was gone, replaced by Dimple’s brash tone and informal wording. His face twisted into a smirk. “I didn’t just leave you guys when Shigeo left his body, why’d you think he had me come over?”

“I-I think that’s enough demonstration,” Shinsou said, glancing between Dimple and Shigeo. “Go back, it’s disturbing to hear you refer to yourself as oresama .”

“Brat.” Dimple snorted. He looked up at Shigeo, a hand on his hip, pointing at Shinsou. “See, this is why I liked him, Shige. Purple hair and just spite . Anyway.” He threw his arms up, grinning. “Catch.”

Then, he left Shigeo’s body, having Aizawa step forward to catch it as Shigeo slotted himself back into his own body.

He opened his eyes to the foam ceiling of the booth, Aizawa cradling the back of his head, and Shinsou standing over them.

“Was that enough proof, Shinsou-san?” Shigeo asked, pushing himself up from the floor with a nod to Aizawa.

“I’m not fully sold,” Shinsou said, making Shigeo deflate.

“Are you kidding?” Dimple screeched, pointing one little finger in Shinsou’s face. “The kid just left his own body like, right in front of you, and you still think it’s energy manipulation or whatever the hell he said his powers—”

“Quirk.”

“—were? Shut up, Shigeo, I’m trying to help your case here—”

“This makes more sense,” Aizawa said, effectively cutting off Dimple’s tirade. “I always wondered why I couldn’t erase your Quirk before.” He had? Shigeo never saw Aizawa attempt to do so before. “So, that incident at Black Vinegar Middle School was you?”

Shigeo blinked, his train of thought screeching to a stop. “The… incident?”

“I think he meant when you passed out and went crazy,” Dimple supplied. “Yeah, that was him. He repaired it anyways.”

That wasn’t what Shigeo was worried about right now. “Sensei, how did you know about that?”

Aizawa went quiet for what felt like an eternity. Shigeo stared up at his unchanging face, expecting, waiting.

“I was investigating you. I did tell you you were an anomaly.”

Shigeo still did not know what to say to that.

Aizawa, probably seeing the cluelessness behind Shigeo’s blank face, sighed. “I was trying to understand, Kageyama. Because you knew the League of Villains were coming at the USJ before anyone else did, you single-handedly defeated one of them, talked and convinced a Villain to turn away from a life of crime, and Tsukauchi said you went and had a conversation with the ringleader afterwards. The evidence was stacking against you and as your homeroom teacher, it was my job to see to it that any suspicions were resolved.”

Wait. “So, you asked for me for the internships because you thought I was a Villain?”

Aizawa nodded.

Shigeo didn’t know what was more intense: his disappointment or the dread that dropped into his stomach with it. Hindsight really was 20/20. He should have told Aizawa the Monday after the USJ incident instead of pushing it aside for his speech and his problems with Arataka. “I-I’m not working for the Villains, Sensei , I was… it really wasn’t anything like that.”

“I figured,” Aizawa shrugged. “You seemed like a good kid anyway. I thought maybe you were just manipulated into Villainy.”

Did Shigeo seem that gullible to Aizawa? He clenched his fists, pushing them behind him.

The booth plunged into silence, unnatural with how silent and compressed everything was inside the booth. Shigeo, who really just wanted to change the subject now, asked, “Are you both convinced now? Because that was all I wanted to say.”

“Who else knows?” Shinsou asked. Shigeo tried not to sigh, letting his nails dig in a little too deep into his palm.

“My family, a few of my friends from middle school, Arataka-san, Uraraka and Teruki.”

“Alright,” Shinsou said, caution in his voice. Perhaps he finally read Shigeo’s blank tone as something bad. “That’s all I wanted to know. Let’s go?”

Aizawa opened the door and led them out.

Aizawa, Shinsou, Dimple, and Shigeo split up earlier in their patrol.

Aizawa told them that they had express permission to use their abilities in case of an emergency, but all they really had to do was make sure that nothing hinky was going on.

Dimple, who really did want to roam Tokyo and probably didn’t want to distract Shigeo from his task, said he’d meet Shigeo back at the apartment. “You only get to be around one of the most modern things once as a century-old spirit! I’m gonna go haunt some people. See ya!”

Shigeo told him not to get exorcised, and that’s when Arataka walked up beside him, dressed in warm clothes, a cup of milk tea in one hand, and a cup of coffee in another. “Yo, Shigeo you seemed a little lonely, I’m here to be your sidekick for the evening. How’s it going?”

Shigeo sighed, accepting the milk tea offered to him, then watched his breath fog up just a little in the air in front of him.

“That’s deep. What’s bugging you?”

“I told Aizawa-sensei and Shinsou-san that I was…”

“Quirkless, mm-hm,” Arataka finished, seeing that Shigeo was too hesitant to say it. “So, it went badly, I assume?”

Shigeo shook his head, taking a sip of his milk tea. It was strawberry-flavored. “It went well. It was just… something Aizawa-sensei said after that kind of caught me off guard.”

“Well?”

“He thought I was… in partnership with the Villains from the USJ.”

Shigeo could only brace himself so much from the outburst that Arataka ripped from his throat. He was louder than the cars passing by the street, making people look at them weird. “Is he kidding?! You were in mortal danger for that whole field trip and he suspects you to be part of it?”

“Arataka-san, please calm down, you might get us in trouble.” Shigeo really didn’t want to have to explain to a police officer why his legal guardian was disrupting the peace.

Arataka harrumphed, waving the hand that held his coffee in an outward motion, “It’s just ridiculous! Is that what people with Quirks just assume everyone is like just because you treat people differently?”

Shigeo masked his sigh by drinking more of his milk tea. It did help ease the feeling off his chest, seeing Arataka react the way he reacted. He just wished Arataka was a little less loud about it.

“He told me why… and he said I was good.” Shigeo gave the next block a cursory sweep, making sure nothing was happening while he was distracted. “I understood why he thought I was a Villain. I just thought… that he chose to teach me this week because he liked me, not because he thought I was up to something bad.”

Arataka was silent for a moment. “You took night courses, right?”

Shigeo looked up at him, blinking.

Arataka smiled, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Occhan told me. You really need to go back to bothering me with your texts, kid.”

“I’ll try,” Shigeo mumbled. It was hard to get back into the habit of texting with, so much going on. “But yes, I took Emergency First Response classes this week.”

Arataka nodded, pointing at him, “Then do better where you want to. You don’t need to impress the Boss to be a good Hero, remember?”

Shigeo felt a smile stretching over his lips, “I just have to help.”

“Exactly.” Arataka whipped his hand out, checking his wristwatch. “What time do you finish patrolling?”

Shigeo hummed. “Around seven. He said we didn’t have to meet back up with him if we didn’t find anything bad going on.”

“Just a few more minutes then.” Arataka pushed forward, then turned to him. “I’ll be at the train station by eight. I’ll meet you there?”

Shigeo nodded, then waved goodbye. “Thanks for the milk tea, Arataka-san.”

Arataka threw a hand out to wave at him, still walking ahead. Shigeo watched his back until he turned the corner towards central Shibuya and the underground mall.

“Snatcher!” came a shout. Shigeo jolted, eyes scanning the street ahead of him, then behind him.

A person with what seemed to be a fox’s head was sprinting full speed ahead, a wallet in their hand. Shigeo, mumbling an apology under his breath, solidified a piece of energy by their feet, then caught them with a vine of energy wrapped around the back of their shirt when they pitched forward.

He jogged up towards the person, keeping them in mid-air. He plucked the wallet out of their hand with another vine of energy. “Are you alright? I hope I didn’t startle you too bad.”

“Are you the one doing this, brat?” They growled. “Oh, you better wish I don’t reach you.”

Shigeo looked behind them, finding someone with messy pink hair, round glasses, and a dark seifuku huffing, more angered than tired, really. “Is this yours?”

“Yes! Thank you so much.”

“It’s alright. Please stay safe.”

They walked off immediately afterwards. Shigeo returned his attention to the snatcher, setting them down by the opening of an alley so that they were out of the way of any pedestrians. “Please don’t run away. I’m a Hero student on my internship, but I won’t call the police if I don’t have to just yet. I just want to know why you stole that person’s wallet.”

“Huh? Why the hell would I tell you? Buzz off, just call the cops.”

“No,” Shigeo insisted. “Calling the police for something that can be resolved through talking could be bad for you. Why did you need money so bad that you had to steal?”

They sighed but said nothing.

“My name’s… Mob.” He remembered protocol. They were supposed to use Hero names, but he wasn’t used to referring to himself as Mob after so long. “What’s yours?”

“Sorry… for doing what I did. I’m Gitsuya,” he replied, voice calm and quiet, a sheer contrast to the growl in his throat earlier. Shigeo wasn’t a hundred percent sure that was his real name, but he nodded anyway.

“Gitsuya-san, why do you need money?”

Gitsuya kept his head lowered, then slid down to the floor, hanging their arms by his knees. “I… don’t have a place to stay. I got kicked out of my house for… something. I’ve been staying at a capsule hotel for a month now, trying to survive.”

“Have you graduated high school?”

“Yes.”

“Applied for jobs?”

Gitsuya didn’t answer. Shigeo crouched, then knelt by his feet. He was grateful for the built-in kneepads in his costume. “Gitsuya-san, if you need it, even if you don’t like the work, you have to do it. For yourself, at the very least, just enough to get by.”

He grabbed his wallet, plucked two things out of it, returned it, and folded everything neatly before placing it on both of his hands, just how Arataka taught him. Palms up, offering Gitsuya Mitsuura’s business card along with six thousand yen. “For a capsule hotel for two nights and some food. If by the third day, you still don’t have a job, call this number, ask for Mitsuura-san, and tell them the older Kageyama said to call. They’ll know what to do, but only if you try to look for a job.”

Gitsuya blinked at the proffered objects, then at Shigeo. “You serious, Mob-kun?”

Shigeo nodded, meeting his beady eyes the best he could. He’d have to remember to text Mitsuura for that favor, but that’s a problem for later.

Gitsuya sniffed, then brought his arms up to wipe at each side of his face. Bowing his head as he plucked both things reverently from Shigeo’s waiting hands. He held them close to his chest, not even bothering to check the card over. Shigeo didn’t mind much, just glad that Gitsuya accepted it.

“Thank you, thank you so much. How can I—”

Shigeo stood, smiling. “Don’t repay me. Get yourself a job, Gitsuya-san. You’ll get better.”

“Then I offered to massage him. I think he would have taken it, if we weren’t in the middle of a staff meeting and—”

Shigeo was jolted out of zoning out when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Giving Arataka a polite nod, Shigeo reached into his pocket to check.

It was a text from their group chat, a message with nothing but a location marker coming from Izuku. Some random street in Hosu.

“Everything alright?”

Shigeo locked his phone, looking out at the glass doors of the train. The cityscape crawled by as the train zoomed back to Musutafu. “Izuku-kun just sent an odd text. For some reason, it worries me.”

The last thing Shigeo expected to happen was rushing to Hosu early in the morning, his hair rising and falling in invisible wind, barely being able to prevent himself from practically flying to Hosu General Hospital. He was sure he’d made several things float in his train ride, but he didn’t care much for that.

Dimple was hovering over his shoulder when they exited the train station, he could vaguely remember, but not when Shigeo walked into the hospital, rushing to the nurse’s station.

He didn’t know where he found his composure, asking the head nurse for Todoroki, Izuku, Iida, and Teruki’s room, but he didn’t demand things while in this state, still subconsciously and rather miraculously held back.

Teruki’s aura flared the moment he got to their floor, and Shigeo was trying very hard not to let his knees give out with utter relief, briskly walking towards their room and slamming the door open with a blast of energy without a second thought.

“What in the—Oh, Shige-kun!”

“Kageyama-kun!”

Shigeo grabbed the person closest to him, which happened to be Todoroki. He hugged, tight, then looked over his friends, hands out in worry. He wasn’t the most tactile person, not by a long shot, but worry clouded his every action, relief leaking out in increments, making the fluorescent lights sway and flicker above them.

Todoroki’s arm and head was bandaged (both of which he thankfully did not touch it), Izuku’s as well. Iida seemed to be the least injured and…

“Teruki… I’m… what happened?”

Teruki gave a silent chuckle, waving his hand up from where he reclined on his hospital bed, eyes a bit glazed over. He wasn’t bandaged, only a bit bruised, but his aura was waning a bit, and his chest was bandaged a little too severely.

“You should see the other guy. I heard he got arrested.”

“He got stabbed in the stomach last night,” Izuku mumbled, hands fidgeting. “Iida-kun found him in an alley, protecting a local Hero from Stain. I found them, then Todoroki-kun found me.”

Shigeo nodded, eyes passing over Iida and Todoroki’s eyes, the sudden middle-distance glaze, then at Izuku’s. Whatever happened in that alley was haunting them, evident by their eye bags and subdued tones. Iida and Izuku would usually be lively this early in the morning.

Shigeo took one of Izuku’s non-injured hand, squeezing. “It’s fortunate that you all found each other before anything…”

“Agreed,” Iida said. “That’s all that matters, I suppose, that we all survived it.”

Shigeo didn’t want to think about whatever that entailed. He dropped Izuku’s hand to step forward, holding the back of his own under Teruki’s chin. High fever. Likely due to overuse.

He gazed into Teruki’s dazed blue eyes, noting the unhealthy blush on his cheeks. He withdrew his hand but kept it hovering. “May I…? I can’t heal your stomach fully, but maybe I can...”

“Okay, it’s okay, Shigeo. C’mon.”

Teruki held a hand out, letting Shigeo hold it as energy eased between them. Teruki sighed in relief.

“Energy manipulation,” Izuku mumbled. “That is… weird.” This was directed at the healing process as Teruki’s bruises vanished before their very eyes, the blush on his cheeks dissipating with it.

“Certainly,” Iida said, not quite able to mumble like Izuku could.

Once that was over, Shigeo turned to see his friends, taking a deep breath.

Izuku stepped back scratching at his cheek, as did Iida, who sat down on his bed. Todoroki wasn’t looking anyone in the eye, pulling at his scrubs.

Shigeo raised a brow at all three of them, hidden underneath his bangs. “When are you guys getting discharged?”

“Sometime today, if my fever broke,” Teruki answered for them. “They’re all getting discharged before lunch. There’s not much else to do with us here but let us heal.”

Chapter Text

Shigeo put his controller down with the finality of someone who knew that, no matter what, he was going to lose at Smash Bros.

The internships, thank their luck, ended just as Golden Week began. This mostly relieved Shigeo because of two things:

Firstly, he wanted to catch up on the sleep he kept missing.

Don’t get him wrong, Emergency First Response with Kan was incredibly fulfilling, but going home at eight every night and leaving at five every morning wasn’t exactly a schedule Shigeo wanted to keep, thanks very much.

Secondly, everyone needed a break. Shigeo needed a break from Aizawa; Teruki, Todoroki, Iida, and Izuku needed a break to recover their wounds; and Ritsu needed a break from being a responsible student council member because Shigeo missed him dearly.

“Best of five, brother?” Ritsu asked, smile genuine but mischievous.

Shigeo shook his head fondly. “I’d rather keep my video game dignity intact.”

“That exists?” Dimple asked in passing, probably rearranging whatever he could get his ghostly hands on.

Shigeo huffed at that and the delighted laugh coming from Ritsu. Smash Bros. always did bring out the worst in the pair of them, right next to watching game shows. Shigeo wasn’t one to mock people, trash-talk was mostly Ritsu’s thing, but it was good to see him have fun.

The door clicked open, “I’m back.”

Shigeo sat up. “Teruki, welcome back. Come play with us. Ritsu’s trying to humiliate me.”

Teruki let out a laugh from the genkan, then appeared from around the corner in thin clothing, holding a bag up. “Sure thing. Before that though, I have ice cream.”

Ritsu was fast to get up. Shigeo bit down a grin. Ever the sweet tooth, Ritsu.

“I take back everything.” Ritsu said, pulling out a mini-tub of cookies and cream ice cream and the small spoon that came with it, plopping down on the couch. “I’m glad you’re over for the holidays.”

Shigeo stood to retrieve his share from the bag, then put Dimple’s on the center table. The ghost could eat, but he could only manage to hold something for so long.

Teruki had long since healed from his stomach wound, now permitted to cycle and exercise whenever he so pleased. A fact that he exploited a lot since Golden Week started.

A miraculous recovery, the doctors called it. When Shigeo had asked as they both sat on the couch, the night Teruki was discharged, clean and re-bandaged, unable to sleep, Teruki said he couldn’t cauterize his own wound.

“Midoriya told us later on that we weren’t able to move because of Stain’s Quirk. Something about ingesting blood in order to immobilize us. But at the time I was stabbed, I tried to move before I could lose any more energy trying to heal. Couldn’t move and the pain was just everywhere.” Teruki stared out of the balcony doors, blue eyes blank as he sank down even further on the couch cushions. Shigeo offered an open palm, one Teruki took and squeezed, his hands shaking.

“You don’t have to tell me if it—”

Teruki turned to him abruptly. The intensity in his eyes almost made Shigeo flinch, familiar and wrong in Teruki’s expression. “I’m not as traumatized about it as the others are. Claw’s done worse to me than that Vigilante-wannabe ever did.”

“That doesn’t make it hurt less to think about,” Shigeo pointed out, squeezing his hand. “It just makes it more recent.”

Teruki quieted at that. He lifted his free hand to wrap his energy around the mug on their center table, floating it into his grasp.

“Can you promise me something?”

Teruki looked at him, drinking his chamomile. He hummed for Shigeo to go on.

“Next time you get caught in a situation like that… do everything you can to get yourself and everyone else out of there. Everything, not just fire.”

Slowly, Teruki put his mug down on his lap, staring at Shigeo. “I… but, what if—”

“Villains won’t hold back on you in the field. What point does it make for you to hide your abilities anymore?” Shigeo pushed on, hoping he wasn’t being rude. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t keep your psychic powers a secret, I’m just saying that you… you should use them when you need them.”

Silence. Shigeo expected that.

What he didn’t expect was for Teruki to start crying, then laughing.

Flustered, Shigeo let go of his hand, worried he’d done something. “Wh—Teruki, why are you—?”

Teruki shook his head. “No, no, I just. I just remembered that this was exactly what I was trying to tell you when we were rescuing Ritsu, but you didn’t want to budge on it and Reigen-san had to save us from the 7th Division. I think, in that alley, I was waiting for my Reigen-san to save me from Stain...”

Shigeo didn’t know what to say to that nor what it meant, coming from Teruki.

He still didn’t.

“Do you not like chocolate, Shigeo?” Teruki asked, holding out his own tub of ice cream. “I have strawberry. I don’t really mind what flavor.”

Shigeo paused, noting that Teruki was now sitting by Dimple on the center table. With a shrug, he sat down on the couch next to Ritsu. “I like it, I was just thinking about some stuff.”

“Is it midterms?” Ritsu asked. “Because I’m thinking about midterms and it fucking sucks.”

“Don’t curse,” Shigeo scolded.

“Sorry. I meant thinking about midterms and it makes me want to kill someone.”

“I don’t think crimes are better than cursing,” Teruki chuckled. Ritsu aggressively shoveled his cookies and cream ice cream into his own mouth, the action itself seeming violent for no reason.

“He’s been hanging around that other ESPer a lot,” Dimple said, licking at the inside of his now-empty tub. He always did eat fast. “Shou, wasn’t it? They get really creative with the cursing.”

Ritsu sat up, then shot a vine of energy out to smack at Dimple.

“Ritsu.”

“Sorry, brother,” Ritsu mumbled, not sounding very apologetic. He was pink in the face and Shigeo knew exactly why but he knew not to poke at a hornet’s nest.

Teruki, however, had no such sense of self-preservation. “You’re blushing.”

“Shut up, Hanazawa.”

“Is he cute, at least?”

Not a single expression on his face, Ritsu grabbed a fistful of throw pillow and lifted it menacingly. “Choose your next words carefully.”

Not a single expression on his face, Shigeo put his hand on Ritsu’s and pushed the throw pillow back down on the couch. “Ritsu. Teruki.”

“Sorry.”

Dimple guffawed, waving his little spoon about as he laughed himself teary. “You’re right, Shigeo. Psychic power definitely doesn’t give you the ability to do everything. That is a talent, kid.”

“I know this is sudden, but I saw all your birthdays in the roster when Yaoyorozu-san had me hand them over to Aizawa-sensei before the internships started, and your birthday is during the midterm exams, Shige-kun!”

“Yes, it is,” Shigeo said, careful not to jostle his earphones as he unrolled the futon. He was getting a bit sleepy. Muscle memory activating. “What about it?”

Teruki, already laid down on his futon, reading a book moved aside when Shigeo knelt to fix his blankets.

“Well, there’s this beach nearby that just reopened last summer and I… I don’t know, you guys could come down. I don’t really know when Hanazawa-kun’s birthday is but…”

“April 13,” Shigeo supplied. He carefully ignored the glance Teruki gave him. “We threw him a surprise party that weekend, before the USJ.”

“Oh! Was that when Hanazawa-kun got his new tungsten ring?”

Shigeo hummed. “Bought it for him.”

“Are you talking about me while I’m right here?” Teruki asked, turning another page. He didn’t seem as offended as his question sounded. Shigeo merely inclined his head, not saying anything.

“Oh, that was really nice of you, Shige-kun. Anyway, do you like swimming? I can have my mom cook us a big lunch and all that.”

“That’d be nice, but isn’t that too much trouble, Izuku-kun? I can just tell my parents to give me extra money, I’ll treat you guys to some food, then we can go to karaoke after, if you’re not too tired from the beach.”

“That sounds great! I know a place nearby. I’ve never gone in, but I’ll see about the rent prices. So, we’re going to the beach, then?”

Shigeo nodded. “Send me the address. I’ll go check it out tomorrow, if I can.”

“I can come with you! I’m kind of really proud of that beach. It used to be a dump site until it got cleaned up.”

“Sure. Send me your address too, let’s meet up. See you tomorrow, Izuku-kun.”

“See you tomorrow!”

Shigeo heard the call click to an end, finally laying down to pull his phone out of his pajama pants pocket by the earphone jack. “We’re going to the beach, I think. Sometime this week, if we can manage it.”

“Seasonal,” Teruki commented. “What’s the occasion?”

“My birthday’s during midterms, Izuku-kun offered up a beach we could go to.”

“And you offered food and some karaoke?”

“As long as everyone gets to have fun.” He sat up to plug his phone against the wall socket, laying it down next to Teruki’s. “That’s really all that matters to me.”

Teruki hummed. “That’s nice. You’re turning… sixteen?”

Shigeo nodded, laying back down on his futon. “Feels the same.”

“Age is just a number,” Teruki pointed out. He yawned, turning another page. It was something about aliens that Tome had recommended they read. Shigeo wasn’t much for novels, really, but Teruki seemed to be liking it. Something about a doomsday button and some American teenager getting forced to choose between pushing it or not. He zoned out when Teruki told him it wasn’t an action novel. “The only way of seeing your own progress is looking back, I guess.”

“Right.”

Two years ago, Shigeo wouldn’t even have dreamed of becoming a Hero. The profession was just too violent, too excessive. Seasoning City didn’t have much when it came for crimes. The most violent it got was when delinquents started stuff like Salt Middle School had with Black Vinegar.

“You’ve gotten really far, Shigeo.” Teruki snapped his book shut, then shoved it under his pillow. His tone was mostly matter of fact, blasé. “It’s gonna be really hard trying to catch up to you.”

Shigeo furrowed his brows. “There’s no competition. We’re all still learning.”

“I suppose so.”

Silence. Then, darkness. The glow from the bulb took a while to dissipate, unlike the yellow flash that was Teruki’s energy turning the lights off.

“Teruki, before we go to sleep.”

Teruki hummed, urging him to go on. Shigeo couldn’t see his face, exactly, but he knew Teruki was probably already half-asleep.

“You’ve never told me about your parents before. Where are they?”

His air conditioner hummed in the silence that stretched between his question and Teruki’s answer. The darkness slowly sank into his vision, his eyes adjusting. He could see his ceiling light and the light trickling in through his curtains. Beside him, he could only see the valley between his and Teruki’s futons.

“Out of the picture,” he eventually replied. Shigeo could hear sheets shifting, could see Teruki turn to his side. Shigeo moved to do the same so that they were face-to-face. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you, but I’ve been told to keep it a secret, like with our Quirklessness. It’ll have people talking, bullying me. I’m emancipated from my parents. I used to live with an aunt in Shinjuku, but I moved out here when the Claw kept attacking me.”

“Then why don’t you visit her for Golden Week?”

“Well… She only really took me in knowing who my parents were. They weren’t very… they viewed things in a different light. She was willing to let me stay with her but wasn’t too torn up to let me go either. Just as long as I didn’t get arrested, she said. She’s sent me allowances. My apartments so far have just been things I’ve saved up for.”

Shigeo hummed. “She doesn’t call or anything?”

“Not unless I used her credit card. I don’t really do that anymore. Been living the simple life.” Teruki chuckled. His eyes finally adjusted. Now he can see the smile on Teruki’s face. “You taught me that, I guess.”

Shigeo smiled back. “I suppose. I’m glad you trusted me with this information, Teruki. And it’s good that you’re comfortable enough to stay with my family. I guess I didn’t really know much about your background like that because I never asked.”

“And I never told,” Teruki pointed out, eyes closing, smile trickling off slowly. “I didn’t want you to think differently of me. I wanted you to know me, not what happened to me.”

Shigeo studied his face then, the eye bags, and the way his lips were always playing on a smile. “I wouldn’t think differently of you because of that. Those things made you the person I know now.”

Teruki’s eyes shot open, as did his mouth. Not that Shigeo was looking.

“Shigeo… I. Can I tell you something?”

Shigeo nodded.

“I haven’t told anyone this before,” Teruki whispered, most likely to himself. In more of a mumble, he said, “I guess, I did when my aunt took me in, but no one, since middle school started. I, uh.” This stuttering was uncharacteristic. Whatever this was must be making him nervous.

True enough, Teruki stared down at the floor between them, avoiding his eyes. “I’m not with my parents because of a hate crime, I guess. Someone accused them of being terrorists, and a Hero arrived to arrest them. Things got… a little rough. They hate Quirks because of it, and they thought I was bad when my powers came in. The last straw was when I… came out as trans.” His voice had gotten smaller by the last word, but in the quiet of his room, with nothing but the air conditioner cutting through their conversation, Shigeo heard it loud and clear.

“Oh, well, that’s unfair of them.” Shigeo surmised. In reality, his emotions were brewing up a storm: rage, frustration, sorrow, empathy. He showed Teruki none of these. In a moment of vulnerability, all Shigeo should show was support. “I’m glad you got away from that, but I’m still sorry it had to be that way.”

Teruki exhaled, loud, too quick to be a sigh, but too shaky to be a laugh. His hand reached up to wipe at his face. Shigeo hadn’t even noticed him shed a tear. “I didn’t know why I thought you’d react negatively to that, Shigeo. I feel bad for doubting you.”

He was right to doubt Shigeo, who was filled with negative emotions right now, none of them aimed at Teruki, but what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

Shigeo reached out between them, palm up. Teruki put his hand in his without hesitation. “It’s alright,” he mumbled. “I think it’s a natural to brace for impact when you open yourself up like that. We expect the worst out of everyone, but we shouldn’t let that shape how we think of each other.”

This time, the breath that came from Teruki was definitely a laugh. Shigeo smiled.

“Sorry for intruding,” Shigeo said as he slipped out of the slippers he’d deigned to be comfortable in the beginning rush of heat, as summer crashed in from spring. Izuku handed him the uwabaki.

“My mom’s not here right now, afternoon shift,” Izuku explained as he left Shigeo by the genkan to go check on something inside the apartment. “Make yourself at home, I’ll just be a minute, I need to do something real quick.”

Shigeo’s only ever been to Arataka’s rental building or Teruki’s old apartment. Though he knew that most of his classmates in Yuuei were affluent, barring Uraraka, the Midoriyas didn’t seem to be on the rich side either, choosing to reside in a danchi.

The air smelled vaguely of creamy coffee, probably something either Izuku or his mom brewed before Shigeo arrived.

He slipped into the proffered uwabaki to look around.

It felt lived in, he supposed. Izuku’s mother didn’t seem to be home much due to work, same as Shigeo’s parents, but somehow even though Izuku went to school six days a week and his mom wasn’t home during that time, it felt alright. Nothing stale or old. Like time froze inside the apartment while they were out.

“Sorry if it’s not much,” Izuku called out from what he assumed was the bathroom. “It’s kind of embarrassing, y’know, I’ve been to Shige-kun’s house and your apartment with Hanazawa-kun, and our place isn’t much compared to either of yours.”

“I don’t mind,” Shigeo called back, sitting down by the dining table. “Our house wasn’t really ours until I turned twelve, and Teruki and I share the rent on our current place.”

Izuku walked out of the bathroom, looking damp. “You moved around as a kid?”

Shigeo shook his head. “We were renting it from my uncle. He gave it to Dad when he and mom finished their masters.”

“That’s really cool! What courses did they take?”

“Mom was in IT, and Dad took Japanese Literature. He’s a professor in Seasoning State, and Mom’s in some big company I don’t really remember. Oh, and they won’t be coming to the beach with us, by the way. Mom has a company outing and she’s taking Dad with her.”

Izuku shook his head, “That’s fine, it’s your birthday party. Well, advanced birthday party.” He nodded towards the exit. “Anyway, let’s go?”

Shigeo stood from the table.

“Does your mom work overtime often?”

Izuku gave him a sad smile as he sat down by the genkan to fix up his laces. “She said it’s the least she could do. Yuuei’s really expensive, even with the scholarship. She keeps insisting that we’re doing fine though. We didn’t use to have this problem when we were still neighbors with Kacchan.”

Shigeo hummed. “What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Izuku stood, kicking the back of each red shoe before grabbing his worn yellow bag from the corner. Shigeo opened the door for him. He let Izuku lock the door before they made for the stairs.

“Recession came, Dad flew out for a better job, then things got kind of wonky between them.” Izuku shrugged, curly hair bouncing with each step they took. “They got a divorce when I was four, so I don’t really remember much of him apart from what Mom says. We moved here after a few more years but he still sends me money. Laws and stuff. He’s back in the Philippines now.”

Shigeo nodded. “That’s unfortunate for their marriage. But I’m glad it didn’t leave much of a negative impact on you.”

Izuku shrugged, then jumped the last step of the last set of stairs, waiting for Shigeo by the landing. “It’s not much. Though, can I tell you something a bit personal?”

Shigeo nodded, touching his arm briefly so they could start the walk to the beach. The danchi casted shadows on the sidewalk, but the heat caused waves over the bitumen in the distance.

“Mom keeps saying it’s the least she could do, supporting me to go to Yuuei. But… she could ask me to ask for less, y’know? At least until we could pull through, leave this danchi, get a house. I would have gone to apply to some cheaper Hero school instead. But she kept pushing me when the results came back. I think… she’s guilty about something she told me when we got the news that I was Quirkless.”

Shigeo hummed. “Right. What did she say?”

Izuku looked up at the sky, eyes glazed over as he retold the memory. “I’ve always wanted to be a Hero, but when we got the news, I… I asked her if I could still be one even without a Quirk.”

An answer was on the tip of Shigeo’s tongue. Of course, he could. Heroes came in all shapes and forms, with the will to help and better people around them. But Izuku wasn’t done talking.

“She said she was sorry. Started crying, didn’t answer my question. I didn’t know what she meant. I still don’t. She told me she’d given up hope for my dream, that she was in rock bottom at that time. But sorry doesn’t mean I couldn’t, right? It just means she thought I couldn’t.”

It was admirable, the amount of hope Izuku dealt out for a dream everyone thought was impossible. “You really wanted to be a pro Hero, huh?”

Izuku glanced at him, then nodded. “It was my all-cure. I wouldn’t have been weak in Kacchan’s eyes if I could be a pro Hero. We wouldn’t be stuck there if I could be a pro Hero. We wouldn’t have needed Dad to work abroad and split up with Mom if I could be a Hero. It was just right. But I was just a Quirkless nobody.”

That was exactly what Arataka said when Shigeo spoke to him.

Shigeo held his hand out, like he had with Teruki last night, a show of support and a much better way of expressing his intent instead of staring Izuku in the eyes as they talked.

Izuku looked at it, then grasped it, slowly, carefully. His hands were rough, calloused, hardworking hands. Gentle. Just like he was. Shigeo said, “Izuku-kun, you don’t need to have a Quirk to be a pro Hero. Just because that’s what people around you say should be, doesn’t mean that you have to abide by some unspoken rule about what you want to have.”

He remembered that evening clearly. The unnerving look of the smile masks, the haunting laughter, the anger that rose in him, and the regretful shame that had him running to Spirits & Such. He’d felt like a failure, for not experiencing a happiness most people felt in the act of just laughing, for shoving his emotions down the furthest it could go inside him just so he wouldn’t lose control.

He remembered Arataka’s words, blasé and matter of fact as he bit through a whole double cheeseburger. Shigeo hazarded a look over at Izuku, nerve gone fast when he saw the furrow between Izuku’s brows. “You’re the protagonist of your own life. If you really do want to be a pro Hero, then go be one. Having a Quirk is relative to that. You don’t have to have a Quirk to learn how to do your best to help people. You just need a drive and to give your very best. Like Aizawa-sensei. At least, that’s what I think.”

“That’s… sweet, Shige-kun,” Izuku said, squeezing his hand as it swung between them as they walked. “I wish I’d heard that when I was a kid. Or that other people and Mom felt that way as well.”

Shigeo took a deep breath as they finally reached the end of the residential area. Izuku led them to the left, their walk continuing. “Can I tell you something personal, then?”

Izuku chuckled, looking off to his other side to wipe away at the tears that were definitely in his eyes. “Go ahead. After all of that, I think it’s just fair.”

“I never… I feel it’s unfair to give you advice like that, or that I receive advice like that as well. It feels like… I haven’t felt enough bad in my life for it to apply to me, even though I know that’s not true.”

“What do you mean?”

“My powers, for the longest time, hurt and inconvenienced people just because I existed in their lives. So, I stopped being. Avoided friends, avoided Ritsu, I shoved all of my feelings inside and never let them out. I stopped using my powers for anything. I felt them, but I didn’t show anyone who got close enough to see them because I could have hurt them. I was a Quirkless nobody before Yuuei.”

“A…”

Band-aid. Just rip it off, Shigeo thought. Without hesitance, he said, “I’m Quirkless, Izuku-kun.”

Izuku froze, stopping their walk. The breeze flew past, gentle but chilling even under the sun. Izuku wrenched his hand from Shigeo’s, and Shigeo watched it clench into a fist. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“I’m not joking,” Shigeo told him, making to step forward but deciding against it.

Izuku took a deep breath, then looked to the side. For a split second, he glanced at Shigeo, then around them, then pulled Shigeo into a narrow alley. “I’ve already told Todoroki-kun something like this, but you can control yourself, Shige-kun. You’re the only one who can, because it’s your power.”

Right. He still thought Shigeo’s powers were a Quirk. “I don’t have control over them. You’ve seen it, with Uraraka-san, with Todoroki-jisan. I haven’t even shown anyone even a fraction of what I could do in Yuuei, and I will never because they’ll only hurt someone.”

“Then, what are we, a joke to you?” Izuku hissed, looking angrier than Shigeo had seen him since they met, not even in his match against Todoroki. “We’re all doing our best to hone our skills there and you’re here saying you won’t even try. It’s a Hero school! They’re supposed to make you surpass your current limitations!”

Shigeo shook his head. “No, no. We’re getting off-topic. I am Quirkless. I’m not telling you that I’m choosing to be or that I have no powers, I am telling you that I am Quirkless and that my abilities aren’t a Quirk.”

“What?”

“Psychic powers,” Shigeo said. It sounded lame, but it was the truth. The incredulous look on Izuku’s face, bordering on rage, told him that he wasn’t impressed by Shigeo’s answer. It made his stomach churn; his frustration was teeming as well.

“ESP, whatever you want to call it. I’ve had it since I was three. They’re triggered by my emotions. I’m saying that I’ve tried to control my emotions and it didn’t work. They aren’t a Quirk.”

“You… This is impossible.” Izuku leaned against the wall behind him with a deep sigh. “ESP isn’t…”

“It’s real.”

“It hasn’t been proven!”

Shigeo sighed, then looked around the alley.

He spotted a tree branch hanging over them, leaves a stale green, still yet to bloom despite being past spring. It was dying. “What do you think energy manipulation means?”

Izuku raised a brow at him. “You can absorb and transfer it?”

“Can it grow plants, by that definition?”

“No. Plants only absorb energy to make food for itself. It’ll only keep it alive.”

Shigeo nodded at the tree branch hanging over them. Izuku glanced up at it, perplexed.

He let his energy seep through the branch, overpowering its cell growth like he’d done to the roots and seeds in Arataka’s office summers ago. He pushed the tree into working faster, faster, outpacing its regular flow. He watched blossoms peak out, bloom, and shower over them as sudden oranges made the branches creak with their weight.

Izuku gaped, silent. It unnerved Shigeo a bit, to hear him this quiet. Izuku held his hand out, reaching up to pluck at the orange nearest to him.

Shigeo shot out and pulled down his arm. “Don’t eat them. They’re bound to taste awful. I forced the tree to make that too fast.”

“But… that’s a waste.”

Shigeo shrugged. “They’ll never rot.”

“Really?” Izuku blinked, “You’ve done this before, haven’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

“On a farm once, to escape a spirit trying to kill me and Arataka-san. Then another time, when he wanted to grow cherry tomatoes in the office.”

“A… spirit.”

“They exist. Bakugou saw one.”

“Kacchan?!”

Before Shigeo could explain his side of that particularly troubling equation, his phone rang. Nodding at Izuku, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw that it was Ritsu calling.

He answered, “Hello, Ritsu?”

“Hello, brother. Dad says to ask if you’re inviting Midoriya-san over for lunch, once you’re done looking at the beach?”

“Oh, we’re not done yet. We got a bit… sidetracked. We’re nearly there, I think, so I’ll have to ask him. What’s for lunch?”

“Pasta. Hanazawa’s helping make it.”

“Okay, I’ll text you once we’re done. See you, Ritsu.”

“See you, brother.”

Shigeo pocketed his phone, then gave Izuku a smile. “Right. Want pasta for lunch?”

It took them a few tries before they freed the ice box from where it stuck to the leather of the back of the driver’s seat. The sun had just risen and the rental van, without its air-conditioning, wasn’t needed from where Arataka parked it. The sea breeze came in, relieving Shigeo of the sweat that began forming at the nape of his neck.

“How did you even get this thing stuck in there, Reigen-san?” Ritsu asked, kicking the now free box. Shigeo handed their bags over to him and stepped back to let Teruki shut the back of the van.

“Brute force,” replied Arataka, giving his biceps one pat each from opposite hands. He struck a pose, body lowered, hands outstretched, “And psychic power.”

Suzuki snorted; hands shoved into the pockets of his shorts. “Whatever lets you sleep at night, old man.”

Ritsu snickered with him at that.

Shigeo huffed. He approved of Ritsu inviting the other boy, but if he knew that it was at the expense of him, Suzuki, and Teruki collectively antagonizing Arataka, he would have thought twice about it.

Teruki bumped his hip against Shigeo’s, catching his attention. He grinned, plopping a sun hat over Shigeo’s head. “Let them have fun.”

Shigeo, for the first time in his life, rolled his eyes at someone who wasn’t Ritsu. This surprised Teruki so much he ended up laughing a little too loud.

“What, what happened?”

“Shigeo rolled his eyes at me.”

“What? No, really? Mob, you never do that to me,” Arataka pointed out.

“Do you want me to?” Shigeo asked, bending down to pick up the beach towels and the large black umbrella Suzuki brought with him. When Arataka didn’t answer him with anything other than an exaggerated harrumph and a mumbled ‘teenagers,’ he turned and walked down the stairs and onto the sand.

“So, this is what the beach is like, huh?”

Shigeo looked over his shoulder to give Teruki a look. “You’ve never been to the ocean before?”

Teruki shook his head, still scanning the beachfront. Shigeo waited for him to start walking so that they could walk, side by side, to where the water lapped up against the shore.

“Not even for field trips?”

“Always headed for the mountains,” Teruki sighed.

In any case, it was hard to imagine Dagobah Beach as anything but the diamond in the rough it was now, a white sand beach with little to no visitors hidden behind the slabs of concrete of the residential area of Aldera, Musutafu.

Izuku said there used to be a trash heap so high, it blocked the view of the horizon the beach showcased now. Most people thought that the beach was still like that, it seemed, because it was the beginning of summer and no one but couples populated the shoreline.

They stopped beside where the docks led to a gazebo. Teruki grabbed the umbrella from him, opening it as Shigeo laid the towels down. “My aunt doesn’t like leaving the city, so I pretty much grew up inland. I’ve seen the ocean on television, I guess, but not much else.”

Shigeo knelt down to smooth out the towels. “Well, is it everything you thought it was going to be?”

Teruki hummed as he stabbed the end of the umbrella into the sand, patting it upright with the bottom of his slippers. “It’s… more peaceful from when it’s depicted in shows? Usually the ocean seems like it’s a bad thing, tsunamis and monsters just walking over to the shore. This is nice.”

Shigeo thought maybe it was just the type of movies Teruki watched that really informed him of that. To be polite though, he nodded, sitting down on one of the towels and scooting over so that Teruki could sit down beside him.

“Mob, I didn’t know you were bringing Taka-ji along!”

Shigeo put his hand on the sand beside him to turn and see Uraraka walking down to them, carrying the ice box all by herself. Behind her, Arataka, Ritsu, and Suzuki walked up with the rest of their bags.

“We needed someone to drive us here,” Ritsu said.

All five of them ignored Arataka’s protest to that statement. Uraraka asked, “Who else is coming?”

Shigeo sat sideways, his knees touching Teruki’s thighs as he counted the names off on his hand. “Iida-san, Shinsou-san, Izuku-kun, Todoroki-san, Yaoyorozu-san. I invited Tome-chan, Onigawara-kun, Kijibayashi-san, Inugawa-kun, and Saruta-kun as well, but Onigawara-kun said he might not make it because of some last-minute homework thing. Gouda-san said he won’t be able to make it, as well as Sagawa-kun and the rest of the Body Improvement Club. Takenaka-kun was invited as well but he didn’t see the message, last I checked. And Tsuyu-san said she was busy.”

Arataka scratched at his chin. “How many people did you invite to this thing, kid? We’re not all gonna fit into one karaoke room at this point.”

“Not everyone can come,” Shigeo pointed out. “But I made sure I didn’t exclude anyone.”

“He would have invited his teachers if he had their numbers,” said Dimple, popping out from under the sand. Shigeo blinked down at him, not moving his head.

Uraraka shrieked, “What the hell is that?!”

“Huh?! What do you mean ‘what’?! Who! I am a who!” Dimple yelled, floating up to be at eye level with Uraraka.

Uraraka jumped back, dropping the ice box on Arataka’s foot, causing Arataka to jump back. Shigeo let out a vine of energy to pick the ice box up from Arataka’s foot and onto the beach towels.

“Dimple, you shouldn’t surprise people like that,” he scolded, opening the ice box for a bottle of water. “Uraraka hasn’t seen you before.”

“It’s just good fun, Shigeo!”

“Y-you know what that is?” Uraraka whispered, like Dimple might not hear her despite standing a foot away from him. “Mob, what the heck?”

“This is Dimple. He’s a spirit.”

“Wah,” Uraraka crouched down to get to eye-level with Dimple. “I’ve never seen one before.”

“Do not poke me,” Dimple warned. “I’ll possess you.”

“Dimple.”

“Okay, I won’t, but don’t touch me, missy,” he added.

Uraraka snorted, “You trained or something?”

“I see, you really are related,” Dimple deadpanned, staring up at Arataka. “You’re both insufferable.”

“So,” Uraraka cut in, looking around the group, pointedly ignoring Dimple’s last statement. “You’re all psychics? Last I remembered, Taka-ji wasn’t though!”

“That’s a long story,” Teruki said, his tone just a tad nervous. Shigeo could understand. He didn’t like recalling how Arataka got his sixth sense as well.

Suzuki put his hand up in the air much like Shigeo always saw Iida do in class, stiff and robotic. His grin was large, and his blue eyes were shining with excitement. “I think someone should introduce us all to each other.”

Ritsu rolled his eyes, “You’re the only one who Uraraka-san doesn’t know here.”

Shigeo added, “We should wait until everyone gets here first. In the meantime, we should put on sunscreen so we can start swimming.”

“Shige-kun!”

Uraraka and Arataka stepped away from each other to look at Izuku, who was approaching, flanked by Todoroki, Iida, and Yaoyorozu.

“Ah, he brought the rich kid club,” Uraraka muttered. Ritsu snickered, then laughed, loud. On reflex at the sound, Shigeo smiled.

“Izuku-kun, I’m glad you could make it,” Shigeo said, his tone flat.

“I planned this, of course I did,” Izuku responded, tone equally flat. Dimple shot out, floating around the newcomers, poking Todoroki’s hair once more. Invisible to the four, Uraraka looked odd trying to stifle her laughter at the sight of the spirit making fun of Todoroki’s hair. “I ran into these three on the way here, and I think they ran into Kacchan?”

“We did,” Iida confirmed. “He said something about heading north. He had hiking gear with him.”

“Yeah, he does that,” Izuku waved off. “I think he’s bringing Kirishima-kun with him this time.”

Yaoyorozu made a sound of intrigue, almost teasing. Shigeo shook his head at that. She really was quite the gossipmonger.

“Well, we just got here,” Arataka explained. With a wave of his hand, he pointed to himself with a thumb. “I believe I haven’t met the lot of you just yet. Rei no kai —”

“Arataka-san,” Shigeo cut in. He could hear Arataka finishing that and raising more questions than his friend didn’t ask. Did Arataka regularly introduce himself as the rising star of the spirit world to everyone or was this just the force of habit?

“Right, right. I’m Reigen Arataka, Occhan’s uncle and Shigeo’s friend,” Arataka mended with a wave of a hand.

Iida hummed, bringing a hand to his chin. Todoroki raised a brow at him, face blank and incredibly judgmental from where Shigeo sat.

“Is this the master you liked talking about, Kageyama-san?” Yaoyorozu asked, looking up from her phone. “How did that happen?”

That was a rather rude way of asking it. Bless her innocence, she couldn’t read the mood either, or so Shigeo thought. “He used to be my…”

“Life coach! Kind of like a watered-down Quirk therapist,” Arataka nodded to himself. It sunk in that this was how Arataka came up with excuses on the fly. He’s never seen it in real action until he’d seen it aimed at his friends.

Uraraka snickered.

“I see,” Iida commented, polite.

“It’s the ocean!”

Shigeo barely blinked before Tome ran past them, kicking up sand as she went. Kijibayashi, Saruta, and Inugawa jogged after her. Each carried their own bag and one of Tome’s, looking exhausted already.

“Get in the water, what are you all waiting around for?!” Tome shouted, her shoes in her hand, kicking around the shoreline with her feet in the water.

“Shinsou-san,” Shigeo answered simply.

“I’m here.”

Izuku yelped, making Shigeo look to see where Shinsou slipped an arm over his shoulders.

“Was that an All Might reference?” Ritsu muttered. Suzuki shrugged. Uraraka nodded profusely from where she was still crouched by the ice box.

“I guess, we aren’t standing around for anything,” Shigeo turned to look at Tome. “Maybe you should lay your things down first though, Tome-chan.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Tome said as she approached, taking her bag off her shoulders.

It was a relief to get into the water, after all the sunscreen set in. The waters were colder than Shigeo anticipated, but the sun and the breeze that came with it balance it out.

Once the swimming commenced, Suzuki was effectively introduced to everyone.

It seemed that the excitement in his eyes from earlier was because he was a huge fan of every single one of Shigeo and Teruki’s friends, having watched the sports festival live while at school. Ritsu scolded him for that, still very much a student council member and class representative even though he was on break.

“You’re not allowed to use your phone when you’re in class, Shou!”

Suzuki scoffed, “You were gone for the whole day to watch it in person, don’t fucking try me, Ritsu.”

He was stuck on Izuku at the moment, who was willing to fanboy over some of the other contestants with him. Most of their conversation topics comprised of Bakugou and Tokoyami’s Quirks, which Suzuki just decided were really cool and would have been amazed to see them on a one-on-one match. Todoroki sat beside them on the shore, letting the water lap at his feet as he listened in on them.

“I told you to bring him along during the festival,” Shigeo told Ritsu, both of them chest-deep in the water, elbowing his naked side as he talked. Ticklish, Ritsu swatted at the water and splashed saltwater at Shigeo’s face on reflex.

“Ah, sorry, brother!”

Instead of responding, Shigeo brought a hand up, then, with a bit of telekinesis, brought it down to the water, causing a small wave to push Ritsu back.

“Brother!” Ritsu shrieked, wiping away the water dripping over his face.

Shigeo brought his hand up again. “You started it.”

“It was an accide—!” Another wave caught them both off-guard. When Shigeo finally got to look, Teruki was guarding his face as Ritsu sent wave after wave at him.

“Water fight!” shouted Inugawa. He scrambled ashore, then grabbed his bag. A few minutes later, he pulled out a water gun. “Prepare to meet my greatest weapon!”

Tome laughed, following suit, whipping out an even bigger water gun from her own bag. “You’re weak, Mameta!”

“Please,” dismissed Yaoyorozu, who laid her hand over the skin just under her bikini top, then pulled out the biggest water gun with a cheeky grin. “You’re all no match.”

“Hey, no fair!” Uraraka shrieked as Yaoyorozu, Tome, and Inugawa started pumping water into their guns. “What about us commoners, huh?”

“No Quirk usage, please! We are outside school premises! Yaoyorozu-kun, that is against the law!” Iida shouted from where he was neck-deep in water, goggles glinting like his glasses usually did. He spluttered as pale arms came up around his shoulders and pulled him down into the water.

Shinsou cackled as he climbed onto the taller boy. “There are no rules in the ocean, Iida!”

Suzuki laughed, high and free, and ran towards their flock of now semi-drowning high schoolers.

When Shigeo finally managed to break away from the chaos, he was effectively just as wet as he was before, eyes stinging just as much. He was out of breath and smiling as he watched his friends, old and new, splash water at each other. It made it easier to forget, seeing them like this, that they were Heroes-to-be. No Villains, no Quirks, just the water in hot weather, and good ole fun.

“You look really nice when you smile.”

Shigeo blinked then looked over to see Arataka by the beach towels, a can of cola in his hand and a pair of pink framed sunglasses on his face.

“I don’t mean anything weird by that,” Arataka defended, when Shigeo gave him a look. “Just an observation. I never really got to see you smile that much when you were in middle school.”

Shigeo considered that as he sat down just by the edge of the beach towels, letting the sand underneath him stick to his swimming trunks.

He supposed middle school really did seem so far away, now that midterms were near. It was hard to think that only a few months ago, he would have gawked at the thought of inviting around fifteen people to his own birthday party. He was still freshly shaken by Mogami’s influence back then, and though it was nothing but a distant memory now, Shigeo found that it still surprised him, sometimes, how many incredible people he knew in his life.

“So, how has life been since your internships? I think… wasn’t Hanazawa at the hospital a few days ago?

Shigeo nodded. “He got cornered by the Hero Killer.”

Arataka hummed. Then shouted, “The Villain?! What happened?”

Shigeo shook his head, mostly to flick water at Arataka’s outburst. When Arataka yelped, he replied, “It’s classified. I’m legally not allowed to say anything else.”

“I am,” Todoroki said, lying down on the sand close to the beach towels. He hadn’t gotten up to join the water fight that was still going on, choosing to stay on the sand. “We took down the Hero Killer. Me, Iida, Midoriya, and Hanazawa.”

“You are children,” Arataka pointed out, stern as he could be. “Where were the pros?”

“Off being pro elsewhere,” Todoroki mumbled, rolling over so he could look at Shigeo and Arataka upright. It reminded Shigeo a bit of a cat, then he remembered that Todoroki regularly did that. Remind him of a cat, he means.

“Unprofessional, if you ask me,” Arataka huffed. “Leaving the arresting to the children. I get that you were all there for experience and work immersion, but that’s taking it a bit too far.”

“You haven’t heard, Reigen-san?” Izuku trudged out of the water, his curly hair dripping over his face. “It was on the news. They said it was Endeavor who defeated Stain.”

Now that Shigeo had context, Izuku’s contempt for Todoroki’s dad was justified.

Shigeo bit back a frown. “Arataka-san doesn’t tune in on the news much,” he explained, much to Arataka’s chagrin, judging by the pout on his face. “Why Todoroki-jisan though? Weren’t there other Heroes on the scene?”

“They couldn’t explain away all the fire used in the area,” Todoroki offered, scorn clear in his voice. “Hanazawa and I used a lot that night. Really, he was just cover so that it doesn’t get out that a bunch of kids took down the Hero Killer.”

Shigeo hummed at that. Arataka made a scoffing noise, hand swatting around his face in a motion that may seem normal without a sixth sense but was really because Dimple kept trying to take the sunglasses from his face.

Dimple yelped as one of the gestures hit him in the face before sulking on elsewhere, probably to harass a crab or something. With that said, Arataka offered, “It doesn’t deny the fact that they let you kids handle the whole thing. Honestly, you four should have taken the credit for it even if you are minors.”

Izuku put a finger up, already raring to explain why. “But—"

Arataka shook his head, then cut him off. “No, see. It was self-defense! You’re allowed to use your abilities if a Villain is trying to murder you.”

Shigeo nodded. Arataka really did dish out some good advice sometimes.

“He’s right,” Todoroki said, pointing up at Izuku. He slid his gaze over to Arataka. “Hanazawa used his Quirk for self-defense. But, the rest of us didn’t, until much later. Which means we provoked him. And then beat the shit out of him. Police say he had internal bleeding and a concussion once that was over.”

Arataka snorted, “Like they’ll actually try that guy in court. Did you hear about a court case for him? Or that some public prosecutor is going to defend him?”

Todoroki and Izuku shook their heads.

“That’s because they already did that. I don’t watch or read much of the news, so really, that was the only way I knew about the Hero Killer in the first place. He’s a fugitive fleeing from custody. Meaning, they’re imprisoning him for life without a trial anymore because he’s been tried before and escaped before they could mete out the punishment. You guys just agreed to let Todoroki-kun’s dad take all the credit here.”

Silence.

“But!” Arataka added. “That’s fine. You guys are still in your first year. They’ll probably teach you guys criminal law in the coming years. You’ll all make it up there someday. And when you do, be sure to be assertive about things like that! You can’t have the media saying it was some other dude that did all the work, if you really want to get to the top spot.”

“Taka-ji!” came Uraraka’s call.

“What?!”

“Come swim with us!” Tome answered, sounding like she was planning something.

Arataka sighed, but didn’t deny his niece and her new friend, moving to stand and take his shirt off. “Mob, guard our stuff.”

There were no other people on the beach, he wanted to point out, but Shigeo scooted onto the beach towels and under the umbrella all the same. Izuku and Todoroki’s gazes followed Arataka as he made for the water, screeching when he felt how cold the temperature was.

“I see how he was your master for a long time, Shige-kun,” Izuku observed, his tone sounding much like the tone he took when he was talking about how incredible everyone’s abilities were in class. “He’s really wise, even though he’s Quirkless.”

Shigeo raised a brow at that. “Being Quirkless doesn’t have anything to do with wisdom. It’s about life experience. Arataka-san said so.”

Arataka’s voice was distinct, even though it was muffled by the sound of water just washing over him as every single high schooler currently in the water, minus Iida, started splashing him with water. Everyone was laughing, Dimple and Ritsu being the loudest. Even Arataka was laughing as he attempted to exact his revenge somehow.

“I suppose so,” Izuku answered eventually.

Downtown Musutafu wasn’t too hard to enjoy even if they were all sticky with dried saltwater. The karaoke place Izuku brought them to, thankfully, had rooms large enough to contain all fifteen of them. Tome was the fastest one to add her songs in, followed by, oddly, Shinsou.

Ritsu and Shigeo manned the menus, making sure to keep their orders within the budget their parents gave them. Arataka was in charge on calling in their orders, also in charge of singing back-up with Uraraka, when needed.

Dimple blew into the mic every now and then, freaking out Todoroki, Izuku, Yaoyorozu, and Iida a bit. Having mercy on them, Shigeo gladly took the initiative of having to explain what exactly was happening.

“That’s my friend, Dimple. He’s having fun.”

Dimple made an audible popping sound as he made himself visible to them, and around half the Quirkless population in the room jumped in their seats, as well as most of those who had Quirks.

“That has to get old sometime,” Shinsou muttered, sinking into the cushions with pink-eared embarrassment.

Arataka shook his head, “It really doesn’t, trust me.”

“W-what…?”

“Who!” Dimple corrected, getting up in Izuku’s slowly paling face. “You humans always call us ‘what’ and ‘that’ like we’re all just things to you! I’m a spirit!”

“It can talk,” Todoroki pointed out, making Ritsu snort at the look of exhaustion on Dimple’s face. Uraraka wasn’t even trying to stifle her giggles.

“How do you know… him?” Yaoyorozu asked, cautiously glancing away from Dimple to refer to Shigeo. “That seems… I mean, he’s a spirit.”

“He tried to brainwash me into laughing and I exorcised him,” Shigeo explained, knowing how occult it sounded but not knowing any other way to put it. “To be fair, I got mad.”

“And I made him get mad,” Dimple offered. “It’s all water under the bridge. Now I’m convincing him to start a cult with me.”

“Has been for the past two or three years now,” Ritsu emphasized. “You have to realize he’s not falling for it at some point.”

“Time is relative when you’re dead,” Dimple dismissed.

“Mood,” Shinsou said, which Shigeo really did not get.

“We’re going in circles,” Uraraka cut in. Shigeo blinked. “Mob, explain what’s going on. Full context, no stops. Everyone who knows about Mob’s powers, continue singing!”

Right. Well.

It was easier to explain his Quirklessness and ESP when it was around cool drinks and finger foods all over the table. Shigeo didn’t have to go as far as leave his body to explain what his powers really did and how they functioned. No one cut him off because Ritsu was there to direct it back on topic, as was Teruki.

Shigeo really wouldn’t know how he’d take it if he were subjected to Iida’s continuous line of questioning by himself.

Shinsou was up there with Uraraka, singing some random American song that Shigeo could barely make out the words to, with how fast it was going. Tome and the rest of the former Astronomy Club were cheering as loud as they could, mostly gesticulating how impressed they were with the performance.

 “So, when the door slammed open in the hospital room before Shige-kun arrived, it was completely unintentional?”

Shigeo brought his focus back to the conversation, looking at Izuku. He shrugged. “Probably. I was kind of… too worried to consider whether or not I should have done that. Most of the time, I’m aware of when I lash out, but recently it’s been…”

“Look, Shigeo, that’s normal,” Arataka eased. Dimple made the ghost approximation of a nod, eyes closed as he floated around their group.

“How is anything about this shit show normal, honestly,” Suzuki cut in, cradling his glass of orange juice. “Older brother over there lied in his official documents, got into Yuuei, and effectively just made it so it’s impossible for him to leave by proving his potential. And now, the powers he used to have such a tight leash on are getting trigger-happy.”

Ani-san? Was that a play on Teruki’s otouoto-kun gag with Ritsu?

“Hey, don’t be melodramatic, little guy,” Arataka scolded. He forged on, ignoring Suzuki’s protests about his height, “What we’re saying are two different truths here. I’m saying that it’s normal for Mob to lose control of his abilities every now and then, especially since,” Arataka puts a hand up, counting off the reasons on his hands, “He moved out of his house, transferred to a school where he knows nearly no one, is forced to fight every now and then, and has to constantly adjust to keep up with his classmates. Puberty really just tops that off too, you know. You and Teru-kun are in a tough spot, emotionally.”

Arataka took a sip of his cola, licking at the inside of his mouth. Iida looked just a bit displeased at Arataka’s table manners but says nothing. “As kids with powers that are incredibly compliant to your emotions, you lot,” he points at Ritsu, Teruki, Shigeo, and Suzuki, “should know to be conscious of how you are emotionally. Check in on each other, help each other out. And you lot.”

Arataka leans out of their small space now, referring to Todoroki, Izuku, Iida, and Yaoyorozu. Uraraka and Shinsou made it just in time to overhear, handing their mics over to where Tome and Inugawa were standing. Arataka waved them over, “You lot with the Quirks should know to check in on these guys every now and then, because they will check in on you when you overuse your Quirks.”

Iida nodded, his face intense. “Kageyama-kun especially, since he heals us.”

“You can heal?” Suzuki swerved to look at Shigeo, his own face intense. “That’s awesome.”

Shigeo shook his head. “It’s not really healing; I just give them my energy so that they can heal themselves.”

“His documents say energy manipulation,” Yaoyorozu muttered, hand to her chin. “Impressive, Kageyama-san. You can get away with using all of your abilities with that description.”

“You know,” Izuku started, with that exact tone that told Shigeo that he was going to start near waxing poetic about something. “Shige-kun grew an orange tree yesterday without even looking.”

Arataka hummed. “You’re improving, Mob. Last time, it was just a cherry tomato.”

In the end, his friends took it just as easily as Uraraka had, and that was really a pleasant surprise for Shigeo. Todoroki even mentioned how he always believed in spirits, effectively starting a rather heated discussion with Shinsou, who seemed to be a firm non-believer despite the fact that Dimple was using his hair as a nest.

The karaoke continued. Izuku and Iida sang a song from some old All Might cartoon together. Uraraka pulled Arataka in to sing and dance to some Korean song Uraraka used to rope Arataka into, and even managed to get all of the former Astronomy Club to dance with them. Yaoyorozu sang some English song about sleepovers that had Uraraka and Teruki cheering a bit too loudly.

Shigeo didn’t fully understand a lot of them, but the songs sounded good and they were all having fun.

“You should sing too, Shou,” Ritsu urged, elbowing the boy beside him. “I’ll record you.”

Suzuki scoffed, looking affronted at the idea. “I’m only singing if you and your brother sing.”

“What?”

“It’s okay, Ritsu,” Shigeo said, standing up and offering a hand out to Ritsu. “It’s just us here, there’s nothing too embarrassing. We can sing something you want.”

It was all for naught anyway, because for some reason, when an old sounding American song started playing through the speakers, the mic in Arataka’s hands, everyone reacted nearly negatively.

“No! Please, Taka-ji!” Uraraka begged.

Tome rag dolled, draping herself dramatically over Kijibayashi, Inugawa, and Saruta’s laps as the song’s intro continued. Shinsou plugged his ears with his fingers. Izuku buried his face by Todoroki’s shoulder, the tip of his ears pink and his shoulders shaking with what Shigeo could only assume was laughter.

Suzuki was cackling at Ritsu’s side, who looked like he was this close to shoving him off, glaring up at Arataka.

Shigeo didn’t really get it. Neither did Iida and Todoroki, it seemed, by the way they were getting flustered at the sorry states of their friends.

“We’re no strangers to love,” Arataka sang, his English accent impeccable as it always was. His singing voice was awful, though. “You know the rules and—”

The lights flickered, as well as the song. Arataka glanced at the screen behind him as it flickered back to life, then out at Teruki, Shigeo, Suzuki, and Ritsu. “Alright, which one of you did that? It’s not funny, that could have reset our time and we’d have to pay more.”

Shigeo perked up at that, knowing they were down to the barest bones of their budget, shooting Ritsu a worried look. His brother looked just a bit sheepish.

“Now, Ritsu,” Shigeo scolded, brows furrowing. “You could have just got up to skip the song for Arataka-san.”

“Hey! That is not the point I was making,” Arataka cut in. Shigeo ignored him.

“Sorry, brother,” Ritsu mumbled.

The phone rang, and Arataka strode over to answer it. Shinsou unplugged his ears and gave a sigh of relief.

“What happened?” Izuku asked from behind Todoroki’s shoulder.

“Ritsu got pissed and sabotaged that old guy’s really bad singing,” Suzuki replied.

Uraraka crossed the table to give Ritsu a high five, all palm, no fingers.

Arataka hummed, then said, “Yes. Yes. That would be appreciated. An hour more, you say?” He glanced down at his wrist watch. “Alright. Hold on.” He turned to Shigeo, covering the receiver the best he could on his chest. “How long do you guys want to stay?”

“Are we getting kicked out?”

Arataka laughed, “Nope, in fact, the whole building blacked out for a second because of your brother and now we’re getting an offered extension. I have to get home though, and I still have to drive all of you back home to Seasoning.”

“It’s five o’clock,” supplied Teruki, when Shigeo started patting down his pockets for his phone.

“You have work?” Uraraka asked, concern clear on her tone. It was Golden Week, even people with Arataka’s job were supposed to take a break.

Arataka shrugged, “Just some freelance stuff online.”

“Oh,” Shigeo said. “Well, I guess that’s enough fun for today.”

Multiple whines emanated from Uraraka, Suzuki, and Tome at the same time, complaints of how early it still was.

“I’m not leaving you guys here and I have express orders from Shigeo’s dad to drive you back home one by one, if I can manage it,” Arataka said with finality. “Clean up.”

“That won’t be necessary, Reigen-san! I will be picked up around seven at Uraraka-kun’s apartment,” Iida explained.

Yaoyorozu nodded, “I’ll be staying at Iida-san’s tonight before going back to Nagoya tomorrow. How about you, Todoroki-san?”

Todoroki shrugged. “My father’s not home right now and my sister’s out of town till the end of the week. I might just walk around a bit before heading home.”

“I’ll come with,” Izuku offered. “My house is not too far from here and Mom’s not home yet.”

“Or,” Suzuki cut in, pointing at Izuku and Todoroki. “Since Ritsu’s mom and dad are out of town and Todoroki obviously hates his dad too which, same, we can all just have a sleepover at Ritsu and his brother’s place!”

“What, don’t just invite yourself over!” Ritsu protested.

“I don’t mind,” Shigeo said, raising a brow at Ritsu who seemed to be on the verge of insisting that they don’t have a sleepover.

“Me neither,” added Teruki.

Izuku seemed to be thinking about it. Todoroki’s face was blank but had the hints of tacit agreement. Shigeo didn’t mind much. He’d never had a sleepover before. Of course, Teruki didn’t count since he was Shigeo’s roommate.

Arataka held a hand up, effectively silencing everyone. Shigeo was just a tad impressed by his ability to do that to a group of teenagers he mostly met today. “Alright, who needs a ride outside of Musutafu?”

Tome, Kijibayashi, Saruta, Inugawa, Shigeo, Ritsu, and Teruki raised their hands. Arataka considered them, then nodded. “We’ll fit. Not if Midoriya-kun and Todoroki-kun change their minds though. How about you, Suzuki, Shinsou?”

“I’m getting picked up too,” Suzuki explained with a wave. He turned to Izuku and Todoroki, “You guys can ride with me, if you guys change your minds.”

Somewhere in the back of Shigeo’s head, a voice whispered, he better not kidnap them.

Ritsu muttered. “Do not fucking kidnap them, Shou.”

Shou scoffed, offended. “They’re normals and celebrities. I’m not kidnapping them!”

Shinsou answered, “I’m riding in to Saitama. I can take the train.”

Arataka hummed, then nodded. “We can all walk you to the station then head to the van to get home. You okay with that?”

Shinsou nodded.

“Well!” Arataka shouted, clapping his hand. “That settles it. Shigeo, anything to say before we all leave?”

Shigeo nodded, glad that Arataka asked before he forgot.

He stood, then bowed, low, his hands on his knees. “I appreciate that you all took the time out of your vacations to come to my birthday celebration, everyone. This was the first time I’ve had this many friends in one place, so it makes me incredibly happy to see all of you today. Thank you very much.”

There was a sniffle.

Shigeo looked up to see Izuku wiping at his face.

“S-sorry, I just. I feel the same. Don’t mind me, I’m kind of a crybaby.”

Uraraka cooed, as well as Tome. Todoroki offered Izuku his handkerchief.

Tome stood, then picked up one of the empty glasses on the table, the ice cubes rattling around her glass. “To Mob!”

The rest followed suit, much to Shigeo’s embarrassment. “To Mob!”

“That’s cute, they all called you by your nickname,” Arataka observed, his grin teasing as he ruffled Shigeo’s hair.

“That’s his Hero name, Taka-ji,” Uraraka deadpanned.

“Eh?!”

“Exactly!”

Chapter Text

In the middle of drying the dishes, Teruki asked, “Are you free this Sunday?”

Shigeo didn’t even hesitate or look up from separating the things that fit into the dishwasher with the things for the rack. “Yeah, why?”

Teruki hummed, drying his hands on the teal apron he bought at a surplus before coming back from Hosu. “That pro Hero we saved in Hosu sent me and the others amusement park tickets as thanks, and they say it’s for until next Saturday, but I don’t think we can manage to align schedules. Iida and Todoroki are visiting family, and Midoriya said he’ll be—”

“At the hero convention, yes, he mentioned.” Shigeo nodded. Izuku could barely be talked down from not talking about the convention before he and Todoroki left the Kageyama household for Musutafu the other day.

Teruki nodded, untying the apron and hanging it up by the fridge. “So, should we go? I can text your little brother and his friend as well. Shinsou already turned me down…”

Shigeo shook his head, smiling. “No need to list down who can’t come, Teruki. I’ll come with. It’s been long since I’ve been to the amusement park anyway, and I’m sure Ritsu and Suzuki-kun will love it. Suzuki-kun especially.”

“Oh,” Teruki breathed out. He pulled at his sleeves, chuckling. He was looking a bit pink around the ears. “I thought it was going to be harder convincing you.”

Shigeo inclined his head in confusion but didn’t pry. He hummed. “Just as long as you don’t make me get into any fast rides on a full stomach.”

Teruki laughed. “I’ll remember that.”

The theme park was Zoo Dreamland. It had a savannah motif and not a lot of people were there. Shigeo supposed it wasn’t that people disliked it because of the motif. It was just that most people would be headed to the beaches or the mountains this early into the summer, try to chase down the cold while they still could.

“Holy shit, look at that!”

“Language,” Shigeo scolded.

Suzuki paused, then grinned, sheepish. “Sorry, right. Anyway, look!”

Shigeo looked. 

Suzuki was pointing at a horse-driven carriage ride. He jogged up to it, forcing Shigeo to go after the excitable boy before he could do much of anything. Suzuki didn’t really want to ride, it seemed, asking the person who held the reigns if he could pet the horse.

Shigeo observed from a considerable distance, curious.

The boy who’d saved them from the 7th Division didn’t seem much, now that Shigeo knew him a little. Suzuki seemed to want to be good friends with Ritsu. He loved animals (hell, he’d gotten so excited, he grabbed the wrong Kageyama to the petting zoo) and he was enthusiastic in everything he was interested in, like wrestling, Hero research, or Smash Bros.

This wasn’t at all what Shigeo expected from the son of the president of the organization that kidnapped Quirkless children on the regular.

“What?” Suzuki asked, done petting the horse now. The carriage carted away beside them. “You hungry or something?”

Shigeo shook his head, then smiled. “Not really. I was just thinking.”

Suzuki hummed, nodding.  “Well, if you want to pick a ride or some attraction, we can go there next. I’m pretty sure I’d just go back to that petting zoo and steal something if you don’t pick anything.”

Right. Suzuki also had an affinity for crime. 

Shigeo hoped Ritsu hadn’t picked up any of that, somehow. His brother had a good head between his shoulders, but Shigeo knew firsthand what kind of trouble Ritsu could be pressured into doing.

“Suzuki-kun, you…”

Suzuki hummed, turning to him. 

“You… look out for Ritsu at school, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“My brother. He doesn’t tell me much in way of his own life apart from when he has fun with you, Suzuki-kun.” Shigeo shoved his hands into the pockets of his school windbreaker. “But I know he won’t tell me about any problems he thinks is his fault.”

Suzuki rubbed at the nape of his own neck, staring at Shigeo. “How would you know he isn’t upfront about everything?”

Shigeo shrugged, inclining his head as he smiled. “I’m his brother. I’ve done that to him too. For the longest time, he knew nothing about me because I didn’t tell him, and that made him fear me, get anxious for me. I don’t want that to happen again.”

“So? What are you saying?” Suzuki stepped back. “That I should tell you anything he tells me?”

Shigeo, taken aback, blinked. “N-no, Suzuki-kun, I wouldn’t do that to him.”

“Then what?”

“Be there for him,” Shigeo said, then nodded, reinforcing it in himself. He looked Suzuki in the eye, hoping the other boy saw the sincerity there. “I can’t be there for him. And if he doesn’t trust me, I want you to be someone he does, in my place.”

Suzuki doesn’t reply to that, doesn’t break eye contact. He stared at Shigeo, calculating, until Shigeo broke their staring contest.

He looked around, spotting the gift shops (their last stop, Teruki said earlier), a carousel, a Ferris wheel, a slow and low rollercoaster ride, and a whole line of amusement park game booths. The thrill rides, cafeteria, and story rides were on the other side of the amusement park.

His eye caught on one of the prizes hanging by one of the awnings: a large stuffed frog. On another booth was a little stuffed Saitama. He let out a gasp.

Suzuki mumbled something Shigeo couldn’t hear, then let out a laugh. “Good eye, older brother!” He grabbed Shigeo’s arm and started pushing through crowds. “Let’s go win that!”

“We can’t carry all of this, Suzuki-kun,” Shigeo muttered, the bottom half of his face buried behind his stuffed frog. In his free hand was the little Saitama.

Suzuki had his own problems, mainly the fact that he had two giant stuffed animals that were almost half Shigeo’s size and he was having a hard time carrying them.

“There you two are.”

Shigeo waved with his free hand as Teruki and Ritsu approached, looking just a bit disheveled. “Hey. How were the rollercoasters?”

“Great.” Ritsu was practically beaming. “When the line dies down, I’m thinking of going again. Ah, hey—what the hell, Shou?!”

Suzuki made Ritsu hold his large stuffed rabbit. “Hold that for a sec, I gotta…” He shoved his hand in his pocket, tongue out in concentration as he tried to retrieve something from his cargo shorts. He made a noise of triumph not much later, pulling out what seemed to be a black folded-up drawstring bag.

“That’s not gonna fit in there, idiot,” Ritsu spat, shoving his cheek past the stuffed rabbit’s. It was a waste that Shigeo couldn’t grab his phone for a picture.

Suzuki only shrugged, “We’ll see.” He shook the drawstring bag out of its folded form, then opened the bag as wide as it could.

“It won’t!”

Suzuki put the stuffed cat inside the bag, tail-first, then it’s feet, then torso, and despite having fit the whole thing in, the bag did not stretch or bulge further than the size of Suzuki’s outstretched palm.

“That’s…” Teruki trailed off. “Is that a cursed bag?”

“Enchanted,” corrected Suzuki.

“You can do magic?!” Ritsu shouted, only to be shushed by Suzuki’s finger. He made a face, then made to bite it before Suzuki took it away and grabbed his stuffed rabbit.

“It’s a gift from one of my travels. Pops had me handling a division up in Hokkaido, and one of the local magicians who had a psychic kid that was kidnapped gave me this as thanks when I rescued their kid.”

“Rescued?” Shigeo asked. Was Shou a Vigilante? Heck, would that even count as Vigilantism if Shou wasn’t technically using a Quirk or undermining any government authority?

Suzuki shoved his stuffed rabbit into the bag, and it remained the same. He held a hand out for Shigeo’s toys, which Shigeo gave him willingly. “Yeah. Pops keeps trying to bond with me by having me oversee his divisions or whatever. Whenever he does, they close down though. Odd, right?”

“Why sabotage him like that? Don’t you like, have the same ideals?” asked Teruki. “You think having powers makes you better, right?”

“I think having powers forces you to be better,” Shou corrected with a finger pointed at Teruki. That said, he pulled the strings to shut the bag, shrugging it over his blue, white, and pink letterman jacket. “My dad thinks having powers means we should be our own class of super humans above people with Quirks. Honestly, I just think he needs to get laid and loosen up.”

Ritsu made a face, “Really? About your dad?”

Shigeo raised a brow at that. Suzuki shrugged, “I know for a fact he doesn’t get laid while he’s preparing for world domination, man. He’s really monogamous. He and Mom aren’t even divorced, remember?”

“Anyway,” Teruki cut in, glancing around. “As interesting as this all is, do you guys want to head to the cafeteria?”

“Oh fuck, yeah, let’s go.”

“Language.”

“Right, sorry.”

“Shigeo, we really didn’t need to go on the teacups,” Teruki muttered, rubbing between Shigeo’s shoulder blades as he sat down on one of the benches.

He shook his head. “Teruki wanted to ride it, I just… didn’t think we could spin that fast when I turned the dial.”

Teruki chuckled, then handed him a bottled water. Shigeo took it with a pained smile, then proceeded to chug down what was left of the already opened bottle. “Alright then, next time, we’re sticking to more stationary rides after lunch. That is, well… if you want—”

Shigeo took three deep breaths before saying, “I want to. Today’s been fun so far. Thank you for inviting me, as well as Ritsu and Suzuki-kun.”

Teruki waved his hand out, dismissive. “No, it’s really my pleasure to have you three here. I… don’t think this would have been fun with your friends over instead of you guys. I’m not exactly super close with Todoroki, Iida, and Midoriya.”

Shigeo raised his brows at that. “Izuku-kun and Iida-san like you. Todoroki-san, I don’t know much, but if you’ve been texting with him for a few months now, he probably sees you as a friend too.”

Teruki shrugged, then made Shigeo move over on the bench. “I don’t know. I’m not really… good with making friends. You said so already, remember?”

Shigeo could. Vaguely. He knew Teruki used to use his powers on people to manipulate his chances with them and knew that Teruki didn’t like looking back on that side of himself anymore. 

“Teruki, why did you transfer to Salt Middle for our last year in middle school?”

Teruki blinked, leaning back against the bench. Under the shade of the tree beside their bench, his friend looked tired as he thought about middle school. Shigeo couldn’t blame him. Middle school seemed so far away, now that he was in Yuuei, like his problems were larger, harder to hold on one hand and observe in the quiet of his room at night.

“It was hard, being alone.” Teruki was looking out into the crowd, not at Shigeo. “I denied the feeling for so long that when you pointed it out to me, it just felt so… overwhelming. I couldn’t handle another year of it.”

Shigeo hummed, turning over what he’d been told. “I’m sorry you had to feel that.”

Teruki turned to lock eyes with him. “It was necessary. I wouldn’t be here with you without it, right?”

Shigeo smiled, then bumped Teruki’s knee with his. “Right.”

“Okay!” Teruki shot up from his seat beside Shigeo. “Wanna try the Ferris wheel next?”

Something blocked his sight from the rack of fridge magnets, covering his head.

“Is that too tight, brother?”

Shigeo turned, pushing it away from his head. “It’s not but… what is this?”

Ritsu pulled it away from his eyes, smiling. “It’s a bucket hat. They had a bunch a few aisles over.”

“Oh. Are you buying it?”

Ritsu nodded. “It’s for you.”

“Ritsu—”

“No, I mean it! For your birthday!”

Shigeo huffed. Over his little brother’s shoulder, he spotted Suzuki holding a rubber chicken, grinning over at them. “Alright. Well, I think Suzuki-kun wants to show you something. I’ll take a little while. I have to pick what magnet Mom would want for the fridge.”

Ritsu glanced over his shoulder and sighed. “Alright. Later.”

“Later.”

Shigeo deliberated between the magnets once more, trying to get used to the extra warmth on his head. One was a bright yellow jungle piece that didn’t look too far off from the bright pink Singapore magnet they had on the fridge at home. The other was a wooden one, with the carvings of an elephant, a monkey, a rabbit, and a bear on it.

“What do you think?”

Shigeo looked away from the magnets once more, seeing Teruki wearing a headband with panda ears on them. He huffed out a laugh. “It’s cute, Teruki.”

“Well.” Teruki scratched at his cheek. “I’m thinking of getting something else with it.”

Shigeo hummed, then stepped up next to Teruki, looking over the sunglasses rack. He grabbed one with blue, angular frames and slipped it onto Teruki’s face. He reached up to angle the mirror down on them properly.

Teruki hummed as he regarded his reflection, then nodded. “Good choice.”

Shigeo didn’t really know if it was a good choice, but if Teruki said so.

Suddenly, the shades were on him. “Very handsome.”

That time, Shigeo really did laugh. “Sure, Teruki.”

“I’m not kidding! Go on, take a look.”

Shigeo humored him. He looked kind of awkward, wearing a Yuuei windbreaker, a khaki bucket hat, and angular sunglasses. He gave Teruki a bemused smile. “I don’t know, Teruki… I think your fashion sense can’t fix this.”

Teruki waved him off, slipping on a pair of neon pink sunglasses from the rack. “Nonsense, we’re getting them. Oh, and, I like that yellow magnet one better. Let’s go pay.”

Shigeo stuck the wooden magnet back onto the rack as Teruki pushed him off to the side. “Wait, I need to get something for Ritsu first.”

“Oh, okay.”

They went to the next aisle. For a moment, Shigeo was stuck between a bear mug and a dark blue, velvet-y baseball cap. After much deliberation, they walked to the cash register where Suzuki putting all of his purchases down. Passing by, Shigeo shoved the baseball cap on Ritsu’s head.

“Fit good?”

Ritsu reached up to run a hand over it, then smiled. “Perfectly! Thanks, brother!”

“I knew you told me you guys lived together, but I thought you guys were just pulling my leg,” Suzuki said as they entered the apartment. Shigeo went ahead to retrieve their uwabaki from the closet.

“We still come back on Sundays and holidays,” Teruki’s voice drifted into the apartment, bemused. “Is it so bad?”

Suzuki was quiet except for toeing his shoes off, accepting his uwabaki when Shigeo finally turned the corner to hand them over. “No. It’s just really neat. Sorry for intruding!”

“Sorry for intruding,” Ritsu echoed, quieter as he slipped into his uwabaki as well. “Okay, Shou, how exactly does your enchanted bag work?”

“Patience, grasshopper,” Suzuki taunted in English. He walked over to the living area, then plopped down on the floor, opening his string bag on the floor.

Shigeo and Teruki went over to the kitchen to grab some glasses, juice, and a tray to serve it with. Suzuki shoved his hand into the bag, then said, “Stuffed frog.”

He pulled his hand out and, with it, came Shigeo’s stuffed frog. Bounding over with the tray of juice, Shigeo smiled, setting the tray down on the table to grab his stuffed frog from Suzuki’s hand.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. H-hey!” 

This outburst was because Ritsu had grabbed the bag, shoved his hand into it, and said, “Saitama.” He pulled out Shigeo’s stuffed Saitama with an awed, open-mouthed smile. “That’s so cool! How much can you fit into this thing?”

“You’d be surprised,” Suzuki said, grabbing a glass of juice. “Go on, you guys try.”

Teruki sat down on the couch, hand outstretched for the enchanted string bag. One by one, he retrieved his and Shigeo’s purchases. It was still early out, and they needed to get all of their stuff before Suzuki’s ride gets here to pick both him and Ritsu up to get home.

“You guys have Flying Dead Pig but not Shark Boy and Lava Girl. This is a disaster.” Suzuki mumbled, squinting down at the DVD collection beneath the television. It was mostly for show, Shigeo knew, because neither he nor Teruki had the time to watch anything after school between homework and sleep and the hours on end calls with Ritsu.

“I’ll have you know, Suzuki.” Teruki pulled out his pink sunglasses and putting them on. “I have the better, pirated stuff on my laptop.”

“That’s illegal,” Ritsu muttered.

“Only if you get caught.”

Shigeo picked up a glass of juice, watching as Teruki pulled out the blue sunglasses. “Well, you guys can’t watch any contraband tonight because we all have school tomorrow.”

Suzuki let out a groan, sliding down to the floor and underneath the table. “You’re such a party pooper, older brother.”

“He’s right,” Ritsu interjected, then pushed to stand off. He made his way around the table to grab one of Suzuki’s arms, but the other boy kept on being difficult. “Get up, Shou.”

“Both you brothers, party poopers,” Suzuki groaned. Then, his phone started ringing. “And there’s our ride! I want to watch shitty movies!”

“Language.”

“Crappy movies?”

Shigeo nodded. Suzuki’s phone kept ringing.

“I want to watch crappy movies!”

Ritsu dropped Suzuki’s arm, then crouched down to snatch Suzuki’s phone from his pocket, answering the call. “Hello, yes, Serizawa-san? It’s Ritsu. Yes, yes, we’ll be right down. Thank you.”

Suzuki scrambled up, grabbing his string bag. “Seri’s here! Did you get all you needed?”

Teruki took stock of their new knick-knacks then sent Suzuki a thumbs-up. Suzuki didn’t waste time and dashed off. “Thanks for letting us stay and for the trip today, it was fun. See you guys this Sunday!”

Ritsu sighed, pocketing Suzuki’s phone and going up and after him. “Sorry for intruding, brother.”

“Hey, I live here too.”

“Hush, Hanazawa.”

Shigeo hummed, then asked, “Who’s Serizawa-san?”

Ritsu shrugged. “He’s been driving us everywhere since Shou’s dad came back from America last week. I guess he’s a bodyguard or a family friend? I don’t know.”

He nodded. “Well, have a safe trip. Don’t stay up too late, okay? Teruki, did you take the magnet?”

“No.”

“Alright. Give Mom and Dad the magnet, okay?”

“Alright, see you, brother, Hanazawa.”

“See you,” Teruki and Shigeo answered as Ritsu walked off towards the genkan. From the couch they could hear Ritsu grumbling about Suzuki making a mess in the genkan as he put his shoes on and left.

In a brief oversight, Shigeo forgot that almost all of his classmates were ripped.

Don’t get him wrong, he knew that a lot of them were fit. Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, and Bakugou’s Hero costumes were revealing, as was Ashido’s. But even Todoroki, who according to Yaoyorozu had the reputation of being the prettiest boy in class, was more jacked than Izuku was, and Shigeo kept forgetting that this was just his life now. Surrounded with beautiful people and their muscles.

It was a constant reminder that, though he’d come a long way when it came to body improvement, he still had a lot of ground to cover.

Now he didn’t want to seem like a creep, but it really was all he could notice since entering the class room.

Like any other high school in Japan, Yuuei required their students to change into summer uniforms once the season turned. Summer came around just in time this year that Shigeo didn’t have to push through the day cloying in his sweat, wearing his winter uniform. 

Thus, with the shorter sleeves of their newly minted summer uniforms, Shigeo couldn’t help but stare at all the guns in class. It felt like everything was turning against him.

“Kero. Did you get tanner, Ochako-chan?”

Shigeo blinked his focus back to the fact that he was seated on Todoroki’s desk, looking on as his friends flocked together by the backdoor of the class room.

Uraraka turned to look at Tsuyu and beamed, “Yeah! I honestly thought I was going to start peeling like a fruit but hey! Apparently, my skin can take a lot more than that.”

“How envious,” Yaoyorozu said from her other side, drawing Tsuyu’s attention. “I can never get that tan.”

“Did you go to the beach for Golden Week?” Asui asked, bringing a finger up to her chin. “I was at the beach as well, but mostly for my internships.”

“Wah, you got to sail around with um… Selkie-san, was it?”

“Kero,” was Tsuyu’s affirmative.

“That’s so cool! And yeah, I went to the beach with Iida-kun and Deku-kun and the others. Yaomomo was there too. It was for Mob’s birthday.”

Shigeo waved when all three girls looked towards him, synchronized even in the way they blinked. Izuku snickered from somewhere to his left. “Was that rehearsed, you guys?”

“It was Shigeo-chan’s birthday? Kero.”

“Will be,” Todoroki pointed out. Shigeo looked down at the younger boy as he loosened his tie, then away again. Focus, Shigeo. No staring at muscles. “Your birthday is on the twelfth, right?”

Izuku walked past in front of him, mumbling an ‘excuse me’ as he went, giving Shigeo even just a glimpse of his arm.

Shigeo hummed his assent to Tsuyu, choosing to keep his eyes trained on his fingers this time. It was rude not to look at people directly while he was talking, but he really couldn’t manage running his eyes over biceps and muscles today. “Exams are right around that time, so Izuku-kun helped me plan something. I tried to invite you, Tsuyu-san.”

“Kero. You just asked if I was available. You didn’t tell me it was your birthday,” Tsuyu pointed out.

Shigeo shrugged. “I wasn’t going to invite you if you were busy. So, how was your internship, Uraraka?”

Uraraka brightened at the reminder, then held one of each of Yaoyorozu and Tsuyu’s hands. Shigeo was just relieved that she took the bait without question. “Oh, you guys, Miruko-san was so amazing. She taught me how to fight. When those, those things from the League of Villains, from the news, attacked Hosu, she brought me with her to take them down and—”

Shigeo’s head shot up from focusing on his fingers, squinting at Uraraka. “The League of Villains were in Hosu?” the and no one told me was deeply implied, because suddenly Iida was frozen mid-conversation with Sero, as was Izuku from where he was showing Todoroki something in his notes.

Shigeo wasn’t really entitled to the information, considering the trauma all four of them were in, but Teruki hadn’t told him that they were there, and Izuku, Todoroki, and Iida hadn’t said anything after Golden Week. He was sure he wasn’t told to keep from worrying, especially after what Arataka had told them, but he didn’t appreciate not having been told by at least one of them.

“Oh, didn’t you hear? It was on the news all Golden Week!” Uraraka said, fishing her phone out of her pocket. Then flipping it over to show what seemed to be a news report. 

Hero Killer and League of Villains spotted in Hosu, allies? read the headline. A grainy photo of what looked like Stain standing over… something and what seemed to be Izuku stood side by side with another grainy photo of Shigaraki Tomura on a rooftop of some building.

“I don’t watch much television, no, I just know that Stain kills Heroes because he thinks it’ll help weed out the worse ones from the real ones. Ritsu said so,” Shigeo mumbled, squinting at the phone, kicking his legs against Todoroki’s desk. Todoroki withdrew his hands from the desk behind where Shigeo sat as he did so. “How do they say that they’re working together though? The Villains that ambushed us didn’t seem to be the type for terrorism.”

“What’s this, what’s this! Are we talking about the Hosu thing?” Kaminari cut in. When Shigeo turned to look at him, he seemed to process what Shigeo had said, making a face. “Didn’t they break into the USJ and try to kill us though? How is that not terrorism?”

Izuku hummed, bringing a hand to his chin, in thought. Shigeo tried not to sigh in relief. He knew how to explain, of course, he just didn’t know how to structure it properly to be understandable. Izuku could, no doubt about it.

“I think what Shige-kun means, correct me if I’m wrong, is that Stain had a clear purpose and goal while he was killing. The League of Villains were just at the USJ to kill All Might. They didn’t exactly say why or how.”

Kaminari hummed. “I guess you’re right.”

“Was that right?” Izuku turned to Shigeo. 

He nodded.

“But that doesn’t say they’re not working together,” Kaminari pointed out.

“That doesn’t say they are either, kero. Shigeo-chan is right. Just because they were in the same city causing mayhem at the same time, doesn’t mean they were doing it with each other.”

“Kind of like how when we do team work with Bakugou.”

Side-part Bakugou turns from where he seems to be throttling Kirishima to walk up to Kaminari. In Shigeo’s opinion, the side-part suited him. It reminded him of vice president Tokugawa. “You talking shit, Dunce Face?”

The front door slid open. Shigeo pushed off of Todoroki’s desk and briskly walked to his seat.

“Stand!” Yaoyorozu shouted, as usual. “Bow!” Shigeo bowed, scooting into his seat. “Sit!”

“Morning, class, I see we’re all back in business,” Aizawa said in his usual deadpan. He took a deep breath. “This’ll be short, I will be out of your hair as soon as I announce this so, Kaminari, stop shaking your leg and Hagakure, you are invisible, but your clothes are not. Bakugou, wake her up.”

Once that was done, Aizawa put his hands on the table, looking over the class with his usual bored glance. Shigeo found that it wasn’t so hard, meeting his eyes even after he told the truth. “Please be informed that you will be graded according to your assigned Hero Agencies’ reports on your conduct and performances during your work immersion. This will be your midterm grade for Foundational Heroes Studies, according to All Might, so no written exam. The rest of your exams start in two weeks, so I will be assisting your subject teachers with monitoring your grades and addressing any problems you might not be aware of.”

Kaminari whooped, as did Kirishima and Ashido. A glare from Aizawa gets them back to their best behaviors. “That being said, the rest of your subjects will be adding additional points from your performances in the festival to your exam grades, not much else. So please, keep up with your studies. And Kageyama.”

Shigeo jolted, “Y-yes, sir.”

“Assist your classmates. Our resident idiots could learn a thing or two from your improvement in Mathematics.”

He blinked.

“Dismissed. And since All Might is late yet again, I will be accompanying you all to Ground Gamma, so I suggest you all hurry and grab your costumes before the shuttle leaves in fifteen minutes.”

Fitting all eight of them inside Izuku’s living room seemed to be an impossible task, but it worked out in the end. Shinsou took out all the snack foods he brought and put it on the center of the room before they started the study session. 

Uraraka, Teruki, Shigeo, and Izuku sprawled all over the floor around it, each of them surrounded by books and notebooks. Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Shinsou were on the dining room table, and Todoroki was sleeping in the middle of the pile of bags by the couch.

They’ve been at it since school let out, none of them wearing their summer uniform polos and blouses anymore, just undershirts and tank tops in the meager air-conditioned living room of the Midoriya’s apartment. It’s been quiet since Izuku and Shigeo started munching on the chocolate bars, Uraraka hoarding almost all of the chips while the rest of them grabbed whatever. 

Uraraka broke the silence by going, “Deku-kun, can I borrow a highlighter?”

“What color?”

“Whatever hurts your eyes the most.”

There’s a sound of something hitting a palm with incredible speed. Shigeo kept his focus on his math problem, trying not to feel too self-conscious every time his calculator clacked too loudly as he used it.

“Is this an All Might highlighter?”

Shigeo glanced up at that, and, sure enough, found All Might’s costume design wrapped around the small cylinder that was Izuku’s highlighter.

“You should see his room,” Shinsou perked up from the table, not looking up from his book. “Total shrine. It’s kind of concerning, to be honest.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t open doors in someone else’s home,” Izuku scolded, but it sounded weak and his face was completely red. “It’s invasive.”

“I was looking for the bathroom,” Shinsou deadpanned.

“The door has my name on it!” Izuku protested.

“There’s no shame in admiring a Hero and buying their merch,” Teruki cut in, his book hovering over his face as he laid down. Huh. Shigeo hadn’t thought of using his powers like that before. “They’re commodified due to publicity and All Might-sensei is the Symbol of Peace.”

“R-right,” Izuku muttered, hiding his face in his arms from where he was lying on his stomach.

“Hanazawa-kun is correct,” Iida said, chopping at air. “I grew up with my brother’s merchandise as well.”

“But isn’t the agency kind of like, your family’s business?” Uraraka pointed out. “I don’t think you really had much of a choice. Deku-kun probably bought this with his pocket money.” She waved the highlighter around in her hand.

“I think it’s alright as well,” Shigeo cut in. “Izuku-kun admires All Might-sensei for his morals, not his merchandise. I do the same.”

“Oh?” Izuku perked up in interest, scooting ever so slightly towards Shigeo. “Who’s your favorite Hero, Shige-kun?”

Shigeo pushed himself up to sit, then fished his phone out of his pocket. His lock screen, as it always had been, was Saitama. “Caped Baldy.”

Uraraka cooed. “Oh, I remember reading Taka-ji’s comic books. I miss that so much!”

“Eh?”

“He’s fictional,” Shigeo explained, lowering his phone to his lap. “They stopped distributing volumes long ago, but Arataka-san gifted me all of his copies. He’s a Quirkless hero who can beat his opponents with one punch.”

Izuku let out a loud gasp, then sat up, fishing his phone out of his pocket as well, probably looking up the comic book as he spoke. “It’s vintage, right? I’ve never heard of anything like that before! That’s so cool!”

Shigeo smiled, nodding. “It is. I can let you borrow the first volume after exams, if you want.”

Izuku nodded profusely, his curls bouncing, his eyes bright, and his smile even brighter. “That sounds great, Shige-kun! I can’t wait to read it!”

“Yeah, well, you’ll have to,” Shinsou called out. Shigeo agreed, nodding.

The door to the apartment clicked open, the sound of it loud throughout the room. Teruki dropped the book on his face, immediately on alert. “Izuku! I’m home—oh?”

Izuku stood and stepped over the still-sleeping Todoroki and Teruki on his way to the hall. “Welcome home, Mom! My friends are over to study for midterms, I hope that’s alright. I tried to text you, but I think you were busy.”

Iida stood, followed suit by Shinsou and Yaoyorozu. Izuku’s mom was a small woman, with Izuku’s hair and eyes, dressed in green scrubs. Izuku was holding grocery bags, which she was probably holding earlier. 

Shigeo leaned forward to shake Todoroki awake, Uraraka and Teruki sitting up as well.

“Thanks for having us over, Midoriya-san,” Shigeo said, bowing. The rest of his friends, bar Izuku, repeated the sentiment with nods and bows of their own. “Sorry for intruding.”

Izuku’s mom looked around, hand on her cheek, then started tearing up. “There’s so many of you, oh dear. Izuku, you have so many friends!”

Ah, so the waterworks were hereditary. 

Izuku laughed, then hugged his mom. “I do. You know most of them, right?”

She nodded. Then, she bowed back. “I’m Midoriya Inko. Please, make yourselves at home. It’s so nice to finally meet all of you in person. Izuku tells me a lot of good things about all of you. I believe it was Kageyama-kun who let him sleep over last week?”

Izuku retreated to the kitchen with the groceries. Shigeo scratched at his cheek nodding, feeling just a bit flustered that someone would talk positively about him to their parents. “I’m sorry if we made Izuku-kun stay up and out so long.”

Inko smiled, waving her hand, “Nonsense, it was your birthday celebration, wasn’t it? He had fun. Right, Izuku?”

“Yeah! Shou-kun was really hard to beat on Smash Bros.”

“That’s because he was cheating,” Todoroki grumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest, blinking the sleep slowly out of his eyes. 

“Oh dear, I’m sorry if we don’t have enough uwabaki for all of you,” Inko said, looking down at Todoroki’s mismatched socks, then around at the others’ feet as well. “We rarely ever get this many visitors at once.”

“No need, Midoriya-basan,” Teruki dismissed politely. “We’re the ones who came on short notice.”

“Well, will you all be staying for dinner? I can order in.”

Shigeo hummed, “If it’s not too much trouble. We can cut the bill with you.”

Inko shook her head. Izuku finally walked out of the kitchen, pudding cup in hand and spoon in mouth. “It’s no trouble, Kageyama-kun. It’s the least I can do—Izuku! You’ll spoil your dinner! And your diet! That was my pudding cup, you know!”

Izuku grinned, not looking the least bit sheepish. “I want pizza.”

Inko huffed.

Yaoyorozu, bless her soul, offered her… house(?) for the next study session, the Sunday before midterms. She seemed excited to host guests and offered to help teach their classmates.

As did Izuku, and Iida. Todoroki said he had nothing else to do that day, after visiting his mother in the hospital, and he didn’t think he could study at home. Various reasons aside, the end of it was that all of their friends just decided to come with to Nagoya.

“Thanks for having us, Yaoyorozu-san.” He put his bag on the lower level of the cart Yaoyorozu was pushing their tea and biscuits in, rolling his shoulders from the strain. 

He’d packed all the books they needed and a few notebooks just in case. Good thing it was arms day, because he’d been straining to carry the backpack for over an hour because he, Teruki, Uraraka, and Izuku got lost on the way to Yaoyorozu’s… house.

“It’s no trouble, Kageyama-san,” Yaoyorozu dismissed. “I’m happy to have friends over. I rarely ever get to, considering how busy everyone is.”

“Are your parents alright with this?” Shigeo asked, more out of courtesy. “I didn’t see them on the way in. Are they out of town?”

Yaoyorozu nodded. “Business trip. I’m just here with the help. I’m positive everyone will be at their best behavior today as to not cause any trouble for the help.”

“As expected of the top three,” Uraraka narrated seemingly to herself. She squinted around, observing, even going so far as stepping off the covered path that Yaoyorozu was leading them through. “A mansion in the middle of Nagoya. Really, I should have expected this.”

“Uraraka-san…” Izuku called as she started to walk too far.

“It’s all so clean too!” Hagakure near-shouted as she ran her fingers over one of the pillars. The only way Shigeo could notice was, of course, because of the shadow she cast over each and every pillar, along with the bracelet that floated where her hand was supposed to be. “I don’t think I can manage to keep a place this huge clean!”

“I don’t think you can manage to keep anything clean,” Bakugou grumbled. Hagakure squawked in indignation, her accessories nearly flying as she twirled around to look or glare at Bakugou.

“He’s got ya there, Hagakure,” Sero pointed out, laughing as she got into his space and hit him for it. Aoyama swerved off the covered path, tight-lipped as he dodged one of Hagakure’s loose aims.

Spotting Shigeo looking at him, he whispered, “How violent.”

Shigeo nodded in agreement.

They arrived at a gazebo inside the Yaoyorozus’ garden. If it counted as one, considering the glass windows and door and the air conditioning it came with. It was equipped with soft-looking cushioned seats and a large round table. As their classmates filed in, Shigeo took stock of all who came.

For all intents and purposes, he really was just here to study and help his classmates the best he could. Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, Hagakure, Aoyama, and Sero were the bulk of it. His friends, of course, wanted to come along since they said they learned better while hanging out. 

The mystery in this whole thing was…

Bakugou sat down by the entrance, hands in his pockets, observing the gazebo as Kirishima took their bags aside and rambled at him about one thing or another. 

Shigeo tried not to stare, but this was just… the first time he’d ever seen Bakugou without loose pants, and he didn’t know that the other boy could just wear fitting pants and maybe it looked good but Shigeo had no time to dwell on that because Bakugou was turning to look at Yaoyorozu and saying, “How many square meters do you think an average Japanese house has?”

“Five thousand,” Yaoyorozu answered, as if by rote. Hagakure squeaked, and Aoyama let out a laugh. Shigeo was no math whiz, but he was pretty sure that that was too big of an estimate to be considered average. “Why are you here again, Bakugou-san?”

Bakugou inclined his head at Kirishima, who sat next to him, waving at Yaoyorozu. “This idiot invited me.”

Shigeo frowned at that. 

Bakugou scoffed, “Hair for Brains invited me. Happy, Kageyama?”

Izuku squeaked, and almost all Bakugou’s friends started speaking at once from where they sat across the gazebo but Bakugou silenced them all with a glare.

Uraraka, who had no such self-preservation, stage-whispered from across the gazebo, “He called you by your name, Mob!”

“I heard,” Shigeo said, very close to just rolling his eyes at everyone overreacting. “It’s really not a big deal. We should get started.”

“Right,” Yaoyorozu started, composing herself with a wave of her hands. She put her business face on, Shigeo could always tell by the way held her chin up. “Before anything else: ground rules. No violent use of Quirks. If you need to use the restroom, tell me or else you might get lost. Yes, the food is free, and no, you may not look around. We are here to help you study and not much else. Clear?”

“Yes, class pres.”

“Any questions?”

Kaminari’s hand shot up.

“Yes?”

“How come these guys are here?”

He was referring to Teruki and Shinsou, who were silently munching on the biscuits from the cart. Shigeo hadn’t even noticed them coming close to grab any.

Shigeo pulled at his tank top, twisting the hem of it between his fingers. “I invited Teruki, and he invited Shinsou-san. Will they be a problem, Kaminari-san?”

Kaminari leaned back in his seat. “Nah, was just wondering. We might have a hard time differentiating him from Bakugou from behind though so uh,” he looked at Teruki, “try not to turn around, dude.”

Shinsou snickered, but otherwise kept eating. Teruki sighed.

“I look nothing like him,” Bakugou said, glaring.

“That I can agree with,” Teruki permitted.

Shigeo might not be the worst teacher after all, considering Kaminari seemed to be taking well to how he was teaching things.

Doubting his own skill, he asked, “Are you sure you didn’t get this before, Kaminari-san?”

“God, you’re so formal, it’s killing me,” Kaminari muttered. “Yeah, you’re actually pretty good at this. I didn’t know shit about you apart from the fact that Aizawa seems to favor you in class so, color me surprised.”

Shigeo blinked, then scratched at his cheek. He had no idea what flustered him the most in that statement, so his powers just decided all of it flustered him and made a few loose papers fly off. Ashido yelped, standing to try and catch a few, but Shigeo shot a few vines of energy out and put it all back in place before she had to jump up for any of them.

“Since when do your powers include a light show?”

Shigeo paused. He looked at the source of the question and asked the heavens why it always had to be Bakugou. “Pardon?”

Bakugou squinted at him, so uncharacteristically silent, it was making Kaminari squirm, then rolled his eyes. “You never make sense, Kageyama.”

“Thanks. I think,” Shigeo mumbled. He fiddled with the pencil in his hand, then slid Kaminari’s paper between them. “Anyways, Kaminari…-kun?”

“Just drop the honorifics, man!”

“Not happening,” Izuku said from across the gazebo. He was teasing. “You haven’t reached the required amount of EXP to unlock that option yet, Kaminari-kun.”

Shigeo pouted as Kaminari laughed, bemused. “Alright then. What did you want to say?”

“Just that… you forgot to subtract here,” Shigeo said, pointing out the number where Kaminari made the mistake. He didn’t give it back to Kaminari, deciding instead to say, “You seem to have a hang on it already, you just have to take your time with the processes, so you won’t miss small things like this.”

“Right, right. Thanks, Kageyama. You’re a big help.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” Shigeo dismissed. “Do you have anything else you need help with?”

“I don’t suppose you can help me memorize things for Modern Hero History?”

Shigeo shook his head. He was bad at that as well. “Izuku-kun might help, or uh. Todoroki…-kun.”

“Is it really that hard for you to use informal honorifics?” Shinsou deadpanned.

“No, I just… don’t want to assume anything.”

“We’re all friends here, Kageyama!” Kirishima pointed out. “Heck, we call Yaomomo Yaomomo.”

They made a sound argument. “Alright. What do you guys want me to call you?”

Everyone clamored for favor, telling him that under no circumstances did they want any additional honorifics, if Shigeo could handle it. Bakugou was quiet and uninterested with the proceedings, as he always was, unless he was literally trying to hammer a point into Eijirou’s head. As were Teruki and Izuku, who were the only people in the room Shigeo was on a first name basis with.

“Alright then… um. Izuku-kun, I think uh, Denki-kun needs help with Modern Hero History.”

“Oh! Okay then, come sit over here.”

Shigeo gathered his things as Denki did, moving to stand with him, then a hand came down on his shoulder. He turned, expecting Teruki, but getting Bakugou instead.

“Not done here yet,” he muttered. “Hair for Brains doesn’t get lesson four yet and I don’t think I can…”

“Oh.” Shigeo sat back down, waving Denki away as he scooted a bit closer towards Eijirou and Bakugou. “If I can help. What seems to be the problem?”

When Shigeo got back from the bathroom, guided by Momo, the last thing he expected to see when he walked into the gazebo was this.

Izuku held his hands up, placating as Bakugou grabbed him by the collar. One of his arms were outstretched behind him, keeping Hitoshi and Ochako away, Teruki standing right behind them. Tenya was standing between Bakugou and Izuku as if officiating something. Eijirou stood behind Bakugou, holding one of his arms back, pulling, his own arms sharp in its hardened form. The rest of the group sat bored on the table as this happened. Todoroki was asleep on one of the tables.

The room smelled vaguely of smoke.

“That’s enough,” Momo ordered, tone scolding and disappointed. Shigeo wondered briefly if she knew how to handle younger people as well, despite being an only child. “What is the meaning of this?”

Tenya and Izuku immediately back off from Bakugou, withdrawing their hands to their sides. Kirishima softens up but pulls Bakugou as far away as he could manage with Bakugou resisting. 

“Bakugou-kun made a lot of rude comments about Kageyama-kun and ended up upsetting Ochako-chan, Hanazawa-kun, and Shinsou-kun,” explained Hagakure. It took Shigeo a few passes around the gazebo before he could locate her, sitting next to Ashido and Sero.

“Bakugou-kun ended up using his Quirk when Uraraka-kun got into his space,” Tenya added.

“I tried to break it up, but Kacchan kept insisting you were… that Shige-kun was part of…”

Teruki sighed, loud. “He kept pushing that Shigeo was in on the USJ attack and when Midoriya tried to punch him for saying it, Kirishima had to step in.”

Shigeo bit his lip, then looked at Bakugou who was staring directly at him. He nodded, blinking. He elbowed Momo weakly.

She sighed, reaching up to touch his arm briefly. “What did I say about Quirks?”

Tenya, ever polite, answered sullenly, “Not to violently use them.”

“And what was Bakugou-san doing?”

“Nothing that would have hurt more than a broken nose,” supplied Bakugou, earning approximately six glares, all from Shigeo’s friends. He still hasn’t looked away from Shigeo. “Not like Deku hasn’t had any worse.”

“Oh, screw you,” spat Hitoshi. “You call yourself a Hero, doing that?”

“How is that any better than lying about how your Quirk works?” Bakugou scoffed.

Ochako stepped around Izuku, looking angry. Izuku didn’t stop her. “That is not—” 

“Enough,” Shigeo cut in, his voice echoing oddly around the interior of the gazebo. He realized, belatedly, that this was because of a surge of power rising in his throat.

A wave of silence came after. Ochako took a deep breath, then walked back to her seat, cheeks even more flushed than usual due to anger. Shigeo stared at every single one of his friends until they walked back to their seats, sullen but silent.

“Everyone, please get back to studying. Bakugou.”

Bakugou, who hadn’t moved from where he stood, crossed his arms, the only indication that he was listening being when he inclined his head.

“I need to speak with you, in private.”

Teruki’s aura flared in Shigeo’s peripheral, behind Bakugou. He sent Teruki a look, hoping it was enough to convey trust me in just three seconds of contact with Teruki’s worry, then turned to leave the gazebo.

The outside was warm. Nothing too stuffy, considering Shigeo was in nothing but a tank top and some cargo shorts. Cicadas wailed, hidden between the trees and the underbrush in Momo’s garden. Bakugou took a deep breath from behind him as they stepped into the shade.

He made sure to face Bakugou properly, despite his nervousness. He knew no one was going to mention anything about the taller boy’s hearing aids, and Shigeo certainly wasn’t going to break that silent rule, but Shigeo spoke softly and he wanted Bakugou to catch everything he was about to say.

“I’m not mad about what you said because I know where you’re coming from and how I must look,” Shigeo started. He realized, a bit too late, that this was Bakugou he was speaking to, not Ritsu. Still, “Aizawa-sensei already told me what he suspected and I’m sure that’s what you think too. That’s not it though. I’m just an ordinary student with one big secret.”

No response.

 “I don’t have a Quirk.”

Cicadas wailing, trees whispering, and, “Then what the hell is it? Because you clearly can’t fucking control it unless it’s for something life-threatening.”

“Ever heard of ESP? It’s emotionally triggered, half the time.”

Bakugou stared at him, calculating, just a bit dumbfounded. It made Shigeo squirm in place, but this was necessary. Bakugou was the first person Shigeo passed his energy onto and it was done in anger, annoyance, concern. This explanation was long overdue.

“So, you did see that snot-nosed thing flying around class. And you knew it was haunting me.”

Shigeo nodded. “That was a friend of mine. I’m sorry for lying to you about it, but I wasn’t ready to tell anyone quite yet. If it's any consolation, I did get him to stop messing with you.”

“Who else knows now?”

“All of my friends, my family, and Aizawa-sensei. You.”

“Okay. Alright. Now, why the fuck are you telling me this after I accused you of being a Villain?”

Shigeo blinked. “You’re—”

“No, I don’t give a shit about your powers, Kageyama. I give a shit about the fact that you think you’re on some moral high horse and you have to save everyone. I’m not interested in your charity.”

“And I’m not giving you anything,” Shigeo pushed. “I treat you like this out of respect, Bakugou, because I know you’re not the kind of person you make yourself out to be. I’m trying to be your friend.”

“We’re not gonna be friends, Kageyama. I’ve made sure of that.”

Shigeo huffed, brows furrowing. He willfully kept his anger in check, but he was beginning to feel it bubbling up under his skin, threatening to let loose. “Don’t make decisions for other people. You’re not entitled to that.”

“Me?!” Bakugou huffed, hysterics turning on high as he walked in a circle around Shigeo. Bakugou got into his space, breathing heavy, his eyes intense as ever, but there was something there, searching. “I cost you first place in the festival for being a little shit, I’ve been terrible to your little cronies, and I’ve done nothing to prove that I even want to be friends with you and now you’re saying I’m the one making decisions for other people? How the fuck do you know I even want to be friends with you anyway!”

He only had one answer to that. “Because you listened to what I had to say, and you believe me.”

Bakugou backed off, shoulders tense with pent-up aggression. “What the fuck did I say about you psychoanalyzing me, Kageyama?!” His shout echoed around the garden, loud enough to be heard inside the gazebo, probably.

“I’m just answering your question,” Shigeo retorted, feeling his anger crest, hearing it even in his tone. “If you really didn’t want to be friends, you wouldn’t be interested in anything I had to say to you just now. It’s not that deep, Bakugou.”

Bakugou took three deep breaths. Shigeo counted. It seemed to be taking everything for Bakugou to not have a physical outburst right now. Shigeo tried not to feel just the least bit guilty or annoyed at that.

“You are infuriating,” muttered the blond.

“Okay,” Shigeo said. He couldn’t really do much about that. “You too.”

A breeze blew past them, ruffling his hair. He brought a hand up to fix his hair, squinting up at the light that passed through the leaves above them. The sky was as blue as it can be, the clouds crawling east at ants’ pace.

He took his time, calming himself down, counted up to ten then back to one, over and over again; traced shapes in the clouds until his mind lulled and his heartbeat stopped ringing in his ears. 

He felt like he was back to normal when he asked, “Are you okay to come back inside now?”

Bakugou huffed, “You could have just gone ahead of me.”

“I had to calm down too.”

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Isn’t it just weird that they posted our grades just as Parents’ Day came,” Denki hissed, shaking Mina by the shoulders. “Sensei wants them to see how bad we did! Coincidence? I think not!”

“I’m sure we didn’t do that bad,” Eijirou assured his friends. “After all, Yaomomo and Kageyama helped a lot.”

Bakugou grunted, shoving his large gauntlets under his desk.

“A-and Bakugou too, of course!” Eijirou mended. “We can’t forget the great efforts of O-Baku-sama.

“Like I care if you include me on your list of damn tutors, Hair for Brains. What’s matters is your dumbass passed!”

“Hey, Bakugou’s right,” Hanta cut in, his helmet in his hands. “He barely taught you anything.”

Shigeo hadn’t done too bad, grades-wise. His point average wasn’t stellar, but it wasn’t as abysmal as his performance in middle school. He was in the middle of the rankings for Class A, which was the best he’d done in a while.

His grades aside, he was a bit nervous.

Mom came. This was a complete deviation from what Shigeo expected.

Usually it was Dad, and the sudden change in variables caught him off-guard enough that it was kind of making him feel like everything was going to go wrong today. The system, growing up, was that Dad came to Shigeo’s parent-teacher school events and Mom came to Ritsu’s. 

That and Mom and Arataka weren’t on the best of terms after the last time Arataka rushed to school for an emergency faster than she did. She always was competitive to a fault.

“Nervous, Shige-kun?” 

Shigeo groaned, pulling at the little poncho his costume came with and trying to get it over his head.

Izuku chuckled nervously, pulling at his white gloves. “Same here. Like, Mom’s met you guys, but she isn’t super aware of what happens here at school. I tell her, but she doesn’t know, you get me?”

Shigeo didn’t really get him.

“Who came for you today, Todoroki-kun?”

Todoroki put his sling bag into the locker behind him, then swiveled around in his seat to face them. “My older sister did. She insisted.”

“You have an older sister?” Shigeo unburrowed from his poncho, open to distraction. “What’s she like?”

“She’s an elementary school teacher.”

“And she still came today?” Izuku asked, smiling. “That’s good, I guess. You matter to her.”

Todoroki shrugged, looking just a bit unnerved about being personal. “It’s no big deal. She said she wanted to do it.”

Shigeo sighed, leaning against the back of his seat. “What I wouldn’t do to have Ritsu here instead of Mom.”

“Why not, Mob-kun?”

Momo slid past the back of Todoroki’s seat, dressed in her Hero costume as well. Shigeo still wasn’t used to her calling him Mob, but if he was going to use it as his Hero name, he’d have to.

“Mom and I aren’t… close. Ritsu’s more her favorite. And I’m Dad’s. We don’t really hate each other for that, it’s just how it works. It’s odd that they had her come instead of Dad. It feels… off.”

“Let’s all look at the bright side, guys!” Uraraka pulled up Iida’s chair, then stood on it. Everyone in class turned to look at her. “Every single one of us has to read our letters to them! And we get to watch them cry!”

Shigeo wasn’t sure if that was much of a bright side at all.

A Villain attack. At Yuuei. Again. 

For heaven’s sake, was Yuuei really that easy to get broken into? Now Aizawa was dead and this freak was here prattling on about how they didn’t get accepted into Yuuei, and Shigeo had to calm the hell down before the rest of their parents died as well. 

Before Mom did.

“Mob-kun, can you get them away from the cage?” Momo whispered as their classmates extracted the Villain’s monologue.

Shigeo nodded, spotting the worried look on his mother’s face and the way Arataka was clenching his fists. None of the other Class B parents were there, it seemed, so maybe Arataka had gotten lost. “I can grab the Villain and the top of the cage, easy.”

“Not the whole thing?”

Shigeo shook his head. “They might try to hurt our parents.”

“Right, right, good thinking,” Izuku added in, worrying at his gloves. Shigeo could see his fingers shaking. “We uh. I think Todoroki-kun can keep them up with some ice so, just do your thing, alright, Shige-kun?”

Shigeo nodded, then broke apart from the huddle. He caught the tail end of Bakugou shouting, “Let’s blow this guy to kingdom come!”

“Slow down,” placated the Villain. “Or have you already forgotten about the hostages?”

“Like hell,” Shigeo muttered, then sent a surge of energy through the field. Wind picked up from behind the class, startling them. The cage creaked. The parents ran towards the sides of the cage to keep it even.

He righted the cage, then grabbed the Villain from the sides, wrapping them in energy and pulling them up, up, up until—

Creak. Clang!

The roof of the cage snapped off, then wrapped around the Villain like a rolled-up carpet. The parents gasped collectively at the speed with which it happened. Ice shot out from Class A’s group and formed underneath the apple core crater holding the cage up. Shigeo walked towards the cage, thoughts running amok but his heart unbearably calm.

He kept a tight grip on the Villain, lowering them down until he was eye level with them. “If you could just please repeat yourself, Villain-san. What were you saying about why you were here again?”

“Were you not listening, little Hero?” The Villain didn’t seem very impressed by the fact, but Shigeo couldn’t tell much by their mask. Their voice though… seemed familiar. As did their aura. But Shigeo was too infuriated to try and figure out why. “I’d expect just a bit of respect coming from you, boy.”

“Excuse me, Villain-san,” Shigeo deadpanned, lowering the Villain even further with the tight squeeze of his hand. They groaned, silencing. “But I don’t really have much respect for people who think terrorism and murder is a good form of protest to the Board of Education. If you have a problem, don’t take it out on children, understand?”

“Kageyama.”

Shigeo paused, turning to look over his shoulder.

“…Aizawa-sensei?” 

Perhaps the Villain had been lying about killing their teacher. 

Shigeo froze at that, then retracted the sheet of metal from the Villain, who started coughing once they hit the ground. Shigeo turned his back to them, staring up at Aizawa through his bangs, hoping for once that someone saw that Shigeo wasn’t just looking, but glaring. 

Loudly, he said, “This was all a test.”

“Yes, it was. Glad you caught on,” Aizawa said over the protests of his classmates and the laughter of their parents. “And before you get all mad about it, your parents were aware and didn’t protest.”

“You don’t speak for everyone, Boss,” called out Arataka, taking Shouji’s hand out of the crater of ice. Shigeo had no idea why he was here, but he wasn’t about to question it just yet. “I was readily against potentially traumatizing a group of children to prove a point, thanks very much. Experience is a good teacher, but this is stretching it.”

Aizawa raised a brow at him but didn’t say anything.

Shigeo took a deep breath, then another.

“Shigeo?”

Shigeo’s shoulders slumped at his mother’s voice, then at her arms around his shoulders, her chin on his head. “It’s alright, honey. We’re okay. It was all pretend, baby, see? I’m fine.”

Shigeo turned in her arms, nodding, practically melting as he buried his face into her shoulder. “I was scared,” he whispered. Then sniffled, then started sobbing. “I don’t want you to die. I didn’t know it wasn’t going to be Dad, and I didn’t, I…”

Mom laughed, pushing him away by the shoulders. “Shigeo, I came here because your father is a bad actor. And if it was just Reigen-san here, he’d probably just tell you upfront and ruin the exercise.”

Shigeo wiped at his face, nodding, just a bit ashamed about having to cry in front of his classmates, but the knot in his chest felt odd, where it stayed. “Arataka-san is a bad liar…” He still didn’t know what Arataka was doing here, but he didn’t want to question Mom at the moment. “And so is Dad. Okay.”

“Alright?”

Shigeo nodded, wiping the dampness off of his pink gloves. Mom tutted, putting a hand up to inspect Shigeo’s face, then his costume. “Look at you. You’re almost a Hero now.”

“Almost?”

“You’re still missing some spunk, silly,” Mom teased, putting a hand around his shoulder as they made their way back to the group, where Aizawa was giving out his evaluations of the exercise. “You’ve still got a long way before you go pro.”

“Bakugou, your negotiating skills are awful. But it is a good thing that Kageyama, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Midoriya, and Iida came up with a plan before things got too hectic.”

Momo stepped up, holding her mother’s hand. “Now wait just a moment! Wasn’t that a bit much? Someone could have gotten hurt!”

“We were prepared for the worst so, no, not really. Besides, pros are no strangers to danger. You should get used to it.”

“You guys are in first year!” Arataka whined, making Inko giggle nervously.

“Reigen-san… I think we should let Eraserhead do his job as he sees fit.”

“Were you scared? For your mother, Yaoyorozu?” Aizawa asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Yes, sir.”

“Words alone cannot describe your love for family,” he started, his deadpan delivery somehow executing on the emotion this speech needed. “When faced with losing them… A proper rescue demands all your abilities to execute, but emotion will cloud your judgment. We had your parents attend today for this specific reason, under the guise of Parents’ Day.”

Shigeo clenched his fists. He couldn’t have imagined what would have happened if Ritsu were the one here instead of Mom.

“As Heroes, you have to remember that the people you are saving are not individuals. They too have families. Every life counts. And though this was an incredibly efficient and amazing rescue, it still could have gone better. You all passed, considerably better than what I thought you would have done.”

Shigeo hummed. He wasn’t listening anymore. 

It took a few seconds to sink in, but then he twisted out of Mom’s arms, to look around for the Villain’s aura. “It was…”

“Shige-kun?”

Shigeo looked over to where Izuku was with Inko, who was walking towards the Villain in question.

“Yagi-sensei.”

Yagi jolted, then waved at Shigeo as Inko came up to speak to them. “Thank you very much for saving me back there!”

Yagi bowed, saying, “Nonsense! I just did what was right, ma’am. No need to thank me.”

“Mom! They’re headed for the buses, Shige-kun and I’ll catch up, alright?”

Inko nodded, bemused, but let her son push her off towards the buses. “If you’re sure, sweetie.”

Once she was gone, Yagi breathed a sigh of relief. “I knew Aizawa-kun shouldn’t have done that. Reigen-san was right. I feel bad for fooling you, kids.”

Shigeo shook his head. “Aizawa-sensei had a point, as well as Arataka-san. I just feel silly, now, not figuring out that it was you all along, playing Villain.”

Yagi took their mask off, a sheepish grin on their face. “I’m not surprised. You actually scared me a little there, young Kageyama.” They rubbed at the side of their stomach, chuckling. “Goes to show that ‘logical ruses’ really won’t work with Class A, this year. I should tell Aizawa-kun.”

“Please,” Izuku begged, looking tired. “I don’t think our hearts can take any more. And it’ll put really bad stress on Shige-kun for no good reason.”

Yagi nodded, serious. “Well, I hope I’ll be enough to convince him of that. And for him to let Reigen-san keep his job at Yamada-kun’s station…”

“He’d do that?” Shigeo asked, worried now. “Fire Arataka-san for this?”

“I hope not,” Yagi answered. “I can’t rule it out just yet, but I’m hoping Aizawa-kun knows better. Anyhow, you kids did a great job, rescuing the parents like that.” They gave the two boys one thumbs up each, smile proud. “Real tough Heroes.”

A tell-tale sniff told Shigeo that Izuku just turned on the water works.

Before Shigeo could say anything, the bus let out a loud, long beep from the entrance. 

“Shit!” came Yagi’s English expletive. 

They sprinted out of the fake cityscape together.

Chapter Text

Shigeo settled into his seat, trying not to let on just how tired he was feeling. He was starting to regret the extra time he set in for pouring into his lessons last night, paired with his run earlier this morning. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

“Hey, Mob, you want this?”

Shigeo blinked the bleariness away from his eyes to look up at Hanta’s grinning face. The other boy was holding out a thermos and its cover to Shigeo, both steaming.

“It’s oolong,” he supplied, when met with Shigeo’s confused stare. “Caffeinated.”

“Oh, thank you. Is it good?” Shigeo asked, cradling the cover in both hands. “I’m usually told to drink more calming teas, so I won’t get stressed.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty okay. I’m kind of vanilla about my tastes, so I add a lot of honey to everything,” Hanta dismissed. “This is pretty watered down on caffeine, so you’re fine.”

Shigeo hummed. He sipped at the tea. It was good, sweeter than he expected. “Why water it down?”

Hanta shrugged, sitting down on top of Tokoyami’s desk. “I get really bad night terrors when I get too high-strung, so my moms put me on a caffeine limit when I started middle school.”

Shigeo smacked his lips, trying to convince himself that the caffeine was taking effect. Arataka used to tell him that most medicines were like that. He just had to believe it was working. “I’m sorry to hear that, Hanta-kun.”

Hanta dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. “It’s normal for me now. Just takes me a while to fall asleep. I don’t seem it, right?”

Shigeo smiled, shaking his head, then drained the cap of oolong. He handed it back to Hanta. “Well, thanks for the tea anyway. I really needed the pick-me-up.”

“No problem, dude! Anyway, if I hadn’t given you my tea, Kaminari was bound to take it, and I don’t think I can handle an even more caffeinated Kaminari today.” He screwed the cap back on, kicking his legs against Tokoyami’s desk. “Hey, so finals are coming up in a few… days? Are we going to Yaomomo’s to review again?”

Shigeo paused to think about it. He loved studying at Momo’s, even though Nagoya was a long way from Musutafu. Though the last time they went was emotionally taxing, Shigeo thought he could probably handle it this time, studying with Bakugou again. 

“I’ll have to ask her,” he replied eventually. “Later during lunch, maybe? I’ll tell her to text you, if she says yes.”

In a total role reversal from his humble beginnings in Yuuei, Shigeo was blasé about the written test and worried about the practical that Aizawa had informed them of after the whole fiasco of Parents’ Day. 

Unlike Sero and the others, he wasn’t so sure it was going to be robots again, considering the teachers knew that an exam like the entrance exams would put some of their students to a disadvantage. Teachers like Yamada, Aizawa, and Kayama would be remiss to do that to a near quarter of their Heroics students. That would surely leave a lot of them out of the training camp they had after finals.

Just to be clear, Shigeo absolutely wanted to opt out of the training camp. He wanted to go back to Seasoning City, be with his family and have fun with his friends instead of doing more Hero training, but he signed up for this, and he was sure that if he opted out or failed out of a sense of longing to play Smash Bros. with Suzuki and Ritsu during his very free summer schedule, Ritsu would probably maim him himself.

So, they had their next study session at Momo’s, with Sero and the others, met her parents, and were instructed to study in the grand hall this time.

What kind of a house had a grand hall?

This time there was no strange antagonism coming from Bakugou, which was relieving. It was just the lot of them asking each other questions and then fooling around because someone, Shigeo forgot who, brought Uno cards.

Knees touching knees, they made a circle on the floor of the grand hall after putting all of their things away. Shigeo was taught how the rules worked and they began playing. 

Fifteen minutes into the game, Bakugou was set to put down his final card. Izuku and Kirishima had valiantly shouted uno, but Bakugou was faster than any of them. And louder. Shigeo could only hear him when they made the call and couldn’t correctly decide whether Izuku or Bakugou spoke first.

And so, his final card came.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Half-and-half,” warned Bakugou. 

Todoroki did nothing but raise a brow at Bakugou beside him, then put down the plus four card from his deck. Denki and Eijirou roared. Momo put a hand up to her mouth. Tenya muttered, “Oh no.”

Bakugou put his last card down as gently as Shigeo had ever seen him done, then twisted around to tackle Todoroki, who seemed to have anticipated the move. Hagakure shrieked in laughter. Ochako cheered Todoroki on. 

Shigeo watched as Tenya and Izuku tried to break the pair up, wondering if this level of aggression was normal for a game of Uno. The phone aimed on the fight in Hitoshi’s hand and the utter delight in Denki’s laughter ringing around the grand hall told him otherwise.

The next day, all seven of his group of friends went to Tenya’s house in Tokyo to study as well. 

Tenya had invited them, expressing that his mother wanted to meet all of them after all the times they’ve hung out.

she also wants to thank all of you for what you did before our internships, Tenya had sent over their group chat, which now included Momo as well.

It was a jumble of exclamation marks, crying stickers and GIFs, and mashed together English alphabets, but Shigeo got the gist that they were all honored to go.

The Iida household was a lot simpler than he and Ochako had expected. Idaten seemed to be such a popular Tokyo-based agency that neither of them could have imagined such a simple upper-middle class house in middle-class neighborhood.

When Shigeo took the honors of ringing the bell, they were answered with an older, not-bespectacled version of Tenya who sat on a wheelchair.

“Ah, Tenya! Your friends are here! Come in, come in! Oh, I’ve only ever seen you guys on TV, except for Uraraka-kun, Yaoyorozu-kun, and Todoroki-kun.”

Izuku was practically vibrating as they were led from the genkan to the living room, introducing themselves as they settled in.

Hitoshi did the honors of temporarily brainwashing Izuku to calm him down enough so that he could introduce himself and had to deal with getting shaken when Izuku came to, even more excited because Iida’s father, the former Ingenium, crossed the room on his phone and unaware of their presence.

“Tenya! Go get the uwabaki! Are you still cleaning your—oh, here he is, man of the hour.”

“Sorry for taking long, brother!” Tenya came into the room to accommodate them, apologizing to his brother purely by rote, a bunch of indoor slippers in his hands. He handed Izuku’s over with a reprimanding finger. “Izuku-kun, please calm down!”

Shigeo watched as Tensei waved to dismiss his scolding, handing out the slippers to the people he could reach. “Don’t horde your friends, Tenya, they seem pretty nice! Which one was the one who intimidated you again?”

Tenya? Intimidated by any of them with that height? Shigeo slipped into the uwabaki and stood aside for the others in the hall, stepping around Tensei’s wheelchair. He helped Tenya collect their things as they stepped out of the genkan one by one.

Handing Izuku and Hitoshi’s bags over to Shigeo, Tenya attempted to shut his brother up physically. “B-brother, that’s really unnecessary—” 

Whoever it was, it was probably Todoroki.

Tensei laughed as he pushed Tenya’s hands away from his mouth. “I wanna know! I gotta take notes, I can never phase you when I tell you off and he didn’t even tell you anything! He just got into the hospital room and you all got quiet.”

“I believe that’s Kageyama,” Todoroki said from where he helped Izuku set the shoes aside.

Shigeo turned to look at him from where he was leaning against the wall, then at the Iida brothers, confused. “Me?”

“Ah! You!” Tensei turned himself around, holding a hand out for a shake. He froze once he got a good look up at Shigeo. “Wait, aren’t you the kid who won second place at the festival? No wonder! It’s nice to meet you, Kageyama-kun!”

Shigeo scratched at his cheek, not knowing what to do about getting recognized by a high-ranked Hero after being looked up to by one’s little brother. He stared down at the outstretched hand, then shook it once he realized what he was supposed to do. “Y-yes. It’s nice to finally meet you as well, Tensei-san…”

Ochako made a sound that Shigeo dreaded and knew as her teasing voice, finger to her chin in mock wonder. “Didn’t you call him Tensei-nisan before?”

Shigeo squinted at her, and she squinted back.

Tensei squeezed his hand. “That’s really sweet! It’s okay, I give you my blessing.” He seemed genuinely touched, but in Shigeo’s opinion, if anyone was interested, if some random teenager just called him brother out of nowhere, he’d be properly creeped out, thanks very much.

Tenya started waving his hands everywhere, flushed and practically steaming from the ears. “Brother!”

They were relegated away from Tensei and the entrance by a harried and flustered Tenya. Ochako and Hitoshi seemed to be enjoying themselves but didn’t openly tease Tenya for fear of getting an earful. Teruki was decidedly trying not to get dragged into whatever the two were laughing about, sticking to latching onto the sleeve of Shigeo’s shirt like he might get lost in the meek Iida house.

Tenya’s room, when they all managed to squeeze into it, was as systematic and organized as Tenya seemed to be. That is, until Tensei crossed the hallway singing, “I had to answer the door because he had to shove all his mess piles inside the closet!”

Tenya responded by slamming his door shut and avoiding everyone’s eyes. “Let’s start studying before my brother says anything more incriminating.”

Ochako and Yaoyorozu giggled conspiratorially from Tenya’s bed, already making themselves at home while the rest of them looked for places to sit. Hitoshi sat on a swivel chair, typing away at something on his phone.

Shigeo decided that he liked Tenya’s brother. Seeing them interact and tease each other made him miss Ritsu so much that Shigeo decided he might call his own brother later.

Not much studying was done after Hitoshi eventually found his way near Tenya’s closet and found the aforementioned mess piles inside.

When they got a free day for reviewing the next day, Shigeo and Teruki decided to stay home. Dimple dropped by every other hour, saying that the building had a few straggling spirits and ghosts that he could snack on. Despite such claims, Shigeo could hear him humming and hawing around the apartment, likely looking through Teruki’s personal stuff or reading comics. 

Shigeo couldn’t tell because he was trying to cram as much Modern Hero History names inside his head while also trying to keep remembering the Modern Art History names that he memorized the days before. And the mathematical formulas that he memorized some of those other days before.

In the middle of that afternoon, Hitoshi had Teruki and Shigeo take the short train ride to Saitama City, where he lived, and took them to a cat café, claiming that they both needed a break because Teruki was beginning to sound delusional over their texts. 

Bored even though he chose to tag along, Dimple stole snacks from all three of them, harassed some cats, and left.

At some point in the week, because the days were honestly starting to blur by in Shigeo’s memory as the reviewing period continued, Arataka stopped at their place on the way to his shift in Shibuya, and dragged Shigeo, Ochako, and Teruki out of their apartments for some takoyaki and a stroll down Dagobah Beach. 

It refreshed them, even if Arataka didn’t want to buy them more snacks afterwards. 

The last and oddest in the list of visitations was Suzuki, who gave them a bag full of skincare products including but not limited to peel-off masks, facial washes, lotions, a few bottles of nail polish, and others. The younger boy cited Ritsu’s worry as his reason for the gifts, though he said that he paid for all of the products and mentioned nothing of it to Ritsu. 

Shigeo thanked him profusely regardless of his reasons.

Wanting to try anything Teruki was enthusiastic and excited about, he called up their friends, and all eight of them spent the last night before finals in the Yaoyorozu mansion in Nagoya, because she offered, this time without Bakugou and his friends. 

They watched four movies, ate a lot of popcorn, and didn’t touch or talk about anything school-related. Shigeo brought the first few volumes of Caped Baldy with him to introduce the others to the comic series, and after dinner served by the few helpers that insisted that they all had something more nourishing before bed, they all talked about how weird the art style was and that they saw Shigeo in the character he loved the most. 

Later into the night, when no one wanted to go to bed just yet, they bounded into a large bathroom and tried the things Suzuki bought. Teruki, Ochako, Hitoshi, and Momo painted each other’s’ nails, while Shigeo, Todoroki, Izuku, and Tenya tried their best braiding their hairs as they let the masks dry off properly. 

Teruki let his music play in the background. 

When they were all settled into their futons on the floor of the wide room Momo had kept them in for most of the night, Shigeo found himself smiling as he fell asleep.

Overall, it was the most relaxing sleepover Shigeo had ever been to, if not the first one he’d been to. He’d held sleepovers now, twice, since stepping into Yuuei, but never the other way around until then.

It was a good first.

And when they all got to school the next morning, Shigeo was more than ready to face an exam than he’d ever been in his last sixteen years of living.

Nothing, not even clairvoyance, would have prepared him for this.

Shigeo’s doom was foretold in the form of Yuuei’s principal. More specifically, when Nezu popped out of Aizawa’s scarf, Shigeo knew it was only going to end in shit.

“Various circumstances have demanded a revision to the exam format!” 

Shigeo averted his eyes upwards, asking the gods why they gave him the false confidence if they were going to pull this kind of stunt anyway. As he tried to drown out the principal’s voice with the sound of the buses idling as the announcement went on, he caught the words “pairing up” and “fighting one of your teachers” and muttered to himself, “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Why couldn’t they have just made things easy?

Tokoyami twisted around to squint at Shigeo, then went back to listening to the principal and Aizawa continue the announcements. An odd feeling settled into Shigeo’s wrists, stomach, and knees as the announcements went on. Belatedly, as he broke into a nervous sweat, he realized that it was the cold touch of nervousness.

“None of the battle areas will be off-campus,” Aizawa said with finality, catching Shigeo’s ear. He looked back at the group of teachers as they started to move towards the buses. “But let’s not waste any more time. Get going.”

Tenya waved him over, shouting, “Shigeo-kun! Over here! We must head out immediately!” 

A voice in his head that sounded mysteriously like Ochako said, look on the bright side, at least you weren’t paired up with someone as difficult as Bakugou to defeat someone like Aizawa-sensei.

Shigeo jogged up to pace with Tenya’s stride as they boarded the bus. 

As the door hissed open and Tenya led the way in, he asked, “Who are we—”

“Hey, you two!”

It was Kayama-sensei, sitting cross-legged on the seat behind the driver’s in her Hero costume. 

Shigeo nodded at her in greeting, then looked up at Tenya, hoping that the taller boy saw the utter dismay on Shigeo’s face through those little holes in his helmet.

Tenya dropped a hand on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. Shigeo wasn’t the least bit reassured. “Midnight-sensei, what will we be doing for this test?”

Kayama laughed. “Right, I almost forgot you were so stiff about the rules. Take a seat first, we’ll start moving shortly. I heard from Shouta that Kageyama-kun here gets motion sick easy, isn’t that so?”

Shigeo nodded, embarrassment peaking over his dread. It was a bit weird to be known as the kid who gets motion sick on the bus. “Will it be a long drive? I might not get sick if I don’t move too much.”

Kayama waved in dismissal, her bracelet-cuff clacking with the motion. “It’ll take a minute, give or take. Really, just choose a seat so I can tell you both what’s going to go down.”

Tenya led them to one of the bench seats in the middle of the bus, the closest one to Kayama’s without having to choose the seats next to or behind her. Shigeo gave him a confused look, pointing exactly at those seats.

In a low voice that Shigeo hadn’t been sure Tenya could manage until today, the taller boy explained, “So she won’t hear us when we start strategizing.”

Shigeo hummed, then looked at where Kayama was smiling at them, sitting sideways on her seat.

“Okay.” She clapped, her cuffs clanking together. “So, the exercise is to capture me or run away from me within thirty minutes. If you need a bit of roleplay to get you motivated, think of me as a Villain. Please, do your very best to beat me. Go wild, go crazy. Have fun, alright? This is a test, so if you hold back, it’ll affect your grade, so to speak.”

Shigeo was fine with average grades so long as he wouldn’t hurt anyone. A voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Dimple said, you could just heal her afterwards, and he ignored it like he would if Dimple were actually present to say it.

Tenya gave a stiff nod, then asked, “Just to be clear, Sensei, it’s really no holds barred?”

“Absolutely none,” Kayama reassured. She grabbed something from behind the seatback and waved it at them. “We’re supposed to use these weights to give you guys a bit of a physical advantage. Though I can run in heels and I definitely can’t run after Tenya-kun over here, I still have the benefit of years of battle experience. That being said, it’s okay to run away.”

Shigeo froze at her words, then gave a stiff nod in response. Tenya thanked her and she waved them off, no problem. Shigeo’s mind was elsewhere though.

Something settled in his stomach, something heavy that he couldn’t understand. It wasn’t dread anymore. All he knew was that those were the same words Arataka had told him, that night, when he rescued them from the 7th Division. 

When things go south, it’s okay to run away!

When had he forgotten about that?

“Shigeo-kun, we need to come up with a plan.”

Shigeo blinked out of his trance, looking up at Iida. “Right.” He still felt odd, but he could do nothing about it at the moment apart from trying to keep himself as calm as he could.

He turned in his seat to face Tenya a bit, knee against knee on the bench. “Can you think of anything, Tenya-kun? I’ll try to help, but I’m not very good with strategy.”

Tenya seemed to be taken aback by that, though his expression was unreadable under his helmet. Shigeo wondered if he kept it on out of comfort or if he’d just forgotten to. “What do you mean? You come up with good plans all the time, Shigeo-kun.”

Shigeo shook his head, confused. “I’m usually full speed ahead with anything. I just go with what others tell me to do because I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“But in the indoor battles…”

“That was Momo-kun.”

“At the sports festival?”

“Izuku-kun got us through the cavalry battles, and I really was just holding back on everyone during the matches. I’m sorry about that.”

“Then… you don’t know what to do?”

Shigeo bit at the inside of his cheek, hands fidgeting in his lap. He kept his voice low, just to be sure that Kayama really wasn’t hearing anything, “I rarely do. But I feel like, this time, one of us has to run away. I’m not entirely sure if I can block out Kayama-sensei’s Quirk and I don’t want to gamble it. I’m pretty sure you can with your helmet, but I don’t know if you can take her in a fight either. That’s what I think.”

Tenya brought a hand to his helmet’s chin, in thought. “You’re right, as always.”

He wasn’t so sure about that as always tacked on at the end, but he didn’t contest it. 

“You can’t just cuff her…”

“Because you might not get any points.”

“And we can’t just run for the exit together…”

“Because it’s a villain scenario and one of us has to stand ground.”

Tenya hummed, one long rumble coming from deep in his being. It vibrated against Shigeo’s side. 

Finally, he said, “I think I can come up with a plan for this.”

Shigeo put a hand on Tenya’s lap and patted. “I’m sure you will, Tenya-kun. I’m counting on you.”

The first thing Tenya made sure to do was try to get Shigeo in character. 

He didn’t really get it, but he played along. The situation, along with the environment they were dropped into (a ruined cityscape that had debris in every corner), was that Kayama-sensei was the Villain sent to set off a bomb.

“I’m okay with role-playing, Tenya-kun, but we don’t really have a bomb,” Shigeo pointed out.

Tenya huffed, finally taking his helmet off. He shook the hair out of his eyes as he tried to think of a way to simplify his thought for Shigeo. “It’s you, Shigeo-kun. Your powers are the bomb. She’s going to try and set you off.”

The fear that washed over him like a bucket of ice over his head made Shigeo’s knees buckle just a tad, not gonna lie. “H-how can you tell?”

“Well, Aizawa-sensei knew about your abilities, didn’t you say?” Shigeo nodded once, then again, more certain this time. 

Tenya waved a hand out as if to say, there you go. He continued, “This has Sensei written all over it. He’s trying to test us. So, what I think will happen...” Tenya sighed, turning to look over at where Kayama was walking in the distance to where she was supposed to be positioned. “Is that she’ll attack you by telling you that she’ll be attacking me and keep me from the exit. Don’t buy it, alright? She can’t catch up to me, so it’ll be impossible for her to do so.”

Something about that made Shigeo eve more nervous. And it wasn’t the fact that Tenya was saying all of this as a matter of fact. “Aizawa-sensei doesn’t seem the type to do that.”

Tenya shook his head. “That’s why he’s not the one with us. You’re known to get mad at someone using someone else for some nefarious plan. Remember the USJ? Parents’ Day?”

And the situation with Todoroki’s dad, Shigeo thought to himself. He took a deep breath and let out a weary sigh.

It really was a good thing Aizawa wasn’t the teacher they were paired up with. And that Tenya saw right through the ruse almost immediately. Shigeo would have walked right into it.

“What if she does attack you?” Shigeo asked, trying to cover their bases. The tremble of his voice betrayed his nerves and concern though. “She might knock me out and… that might get bad.” 

He didn’t want Tenya to see that part of himself for as long as he possibly could.

Tenya paused at that. “I trust you, Shigeo-kun,” he said eventually, putting a gloved hand on his shoulder. There was a smile in his voice, Shigeo could tell, which was exactly what he was dreading. “You will have to trust that I can handle myself as well.”

Shigeo clenched and unclenched his hand, feeling the weight of the handcuff hanging by his utility belt. He tried to stop his fingers from shaking with the nervous energy simmering under his skin, so he put his hand over Tenya’s. “I’ll… I will. Good luck and stay safe, Tenya-kun. Please.”

“You as well.”

“Everyone in position?” A disembodied voice asked. Shigeo looked around the area, trying to look for where it came from. It sounded a lot like Nurse Shuuzenji. 

Tenya plopped his helmet back on, making sure to secure it.

Shigeo tried to shake the jitters off of his wrists.

“Let’s begin the final exam. Ready… Go!”

Tenya took off, the sound of his engines virtually silent. Approximately ten blocks away from Shigeo’s position, a steady stream of pink mist started floating towards him already. With some telekinesis and a reinforced barrier, Shigeo sprinted for the mist with the same speed as Tenya, hoping that his barrier held and kept the mist outside.

Psychics couldn’t attack and defend at the same time, Teruki had told him once. Initially, Shigeo didn’t understand him. His skin barrier was perpetual, held over him like a thin sheet over his entire body. He’d rarely gone through a day without it, at least not deliberately.

He eventually realized what Teruki meant when Koyama had abducted Ritsu right in front of him. 

But Kayama-sensei wasn’t Koyama. She wasn’t a psychic who could control psychic energy and break Shigeo’s barriers. She was Kayama Nemuri, Hero Midnight, and the moment Shigeo went unconscious in front of her, everything could go wrong.

Locating her inside the sleep mist was easy. 

Unbeknownst to him and his other classmates, energy absorption and transfer required him to identify energy on sight. He used to think it was only with psychics, but apparently not. Given how he’d discovered it in the middle of a sleep mist, he definitely wasn’t complaining.

The mist didn’t enter his barrier, thank heavens. Not a single whiff of it in his barrier. 

Forming a barrier around Kayama was easy enough, but Shigeo couldn’t cuff her without knocking her unconscious or stepping into her space and risk knocking himself unconscious. The mist dissipated, and Kayama stepped forward, smirk on her face, probably knowing both of those things as a fact.

He could wrap the barrier around her like his own skin barrier, but what if Tenya didn’t get any points because of it?

“Oh? Good one, Hero. But how are you so sure your buddy is fine?”

Shigeo resisted telling her that he wasn’t, but that was the thing about trusting Tenya. If he focused enough, he could feel Tenya inside the walls of their ruined cityscape area. He wasn’t moving, but the plan was for Shigeo to keep Kayama distracted, not the other way around.

What was going on with Tenya?

“Hold onto something,” Shigeo told Kayama. Without warning, he pushed and jumped up onto the rooftop of one of the intact buildings, floating the bubble containing Kayama with him.

“K-kageyama-kun, I can’t…” 

Shigeo pulled back from his jump, hesitating as he turned to look at Kayama. She was clutching at her throat, looking to be suffocating. He took a step towards her.

“Sensei?”

“Can’t… breathe…” He froze mid-step, staring at her as she dropped to her knees, wheezing. 

On his radar, Tenya wasn’t progressing, and he had no idea why. 

If this ended up being a trap, she would definitely catch up to the other boy no matter how fast he was. 

His poncho floated into his vision, telling him that his emotions had bubbled up from under his skin and grabbed the reigns on his powers again, but he paid it no heed.

Help his partner for this exam or help the suffocating teacher right in front of him.

Kayama hit the floor of the rooftop, unconscious. 

Shigeo wasn’t a hundred percent sure if it was an act or not. No one has ever suffocated inside his barriers before. The last person he’d trapped inside a barrier like this was Kurogiri and he was primarily made of mist. 

All he was sure of was that Kayama was on the floor, Shigeo may have been potentially suffocating her this whole time, and Tenya wasn’t running away anymore.

He dropped the barrier, knowing, hoping that Kayama didn’t notice. If he could end the test now, he could see if Tenya really was alright. A breeze flew past that made him bodily shudder. 

He fumbled for the cuffs by his belt and stepped forward with wobbling legs and trembling hands. As he knelt, there was the sound of ripping cloth.

Pink mist floated into his face as the wind blew in his general direction.

He gasped.

And came to in some other part of the ruined area.

Shigeo made to stir, but realized that he was standing upright, one of his shoes were missing, and he wasn’t on the rooftop anymore. His shoulders tensed, his breath hitching.

He had the barest idea of what had just gone down and just the spark of that thought had him starting to breathe heavy, looking around, frantic. Ruin and debris littered the city, but he didn’t know if he’d caused it or if this was deliberate.

He stepped forward, opening his mouth to call out, but winced when he felt something twinge with pain on his face. He brought a hand up and felt the warmth of a swollen hit to his face. It was going to bruise later, for sure.

“Kageyama…-kun?”

Shigeo jumped, looking around. “Kayama-sense—”

He froze.

Kayama was barely standing, favoring a leg and clutching her side. She stared at Shigeo, dumbfounded and unmasked. She was bleeding in multiple places, her costume torn indiscriminately. 

Had Shigeo done that?

Over her shoulder shone the gaudily decorated exit gate for their test area, barely intact and looking like the entrance to some deranged horror-themed amusement park. Under it, stood Tenya with half a helmet in his hand, looking just as, if not less, beat up as Kayama. 

Had Shigeo done that?

Shigeo unfroze when their teacher nearly collapsed, catching her with whatever energy he could still use, which was a lot. Where he got it from, he didn’t know.

He bounded over to her, looking her over as she hovered mid-air, trying to keep his composure and stay objective. This was part of his last practical for Emergency Response, and he’d be remiss with his studies if he’d forgotten it in a moment of stress. 

To his relief, apart from the bleeding, Kayama seemed to be fine. 

As he hovered his hands around her, he said, “I’ll heal you now.” Just to make sure she didn’t flinch, to make sure she knew what he was doing, unlike he had when he…

He flared his aura, his emotions appreciating the reprieve as he transferred his energy to Kayama, as well as Tenya. He looked neither of them in the eye. 

Questions swirled in his head. What happened? What did he do while he was unconscious? How did he and Kayama get from the middle of the city to the edge of it?

Had he hurt them?

He didn’t ask any of them, tight-lipped as Tenya silently led the way outside of the exam area.

He feared the answer.

The bus ride back to the main campus was full of tense silence. 

Shigeo curled up in a seat in the very back and let unshed tears fall silently. He was not sure if he could handle being near Tenya and Kayama just yet, and he was doubly doubting he wanted either of them to see him crying like this. Thankfully, neither of them approached him. 

He supposed he had to tell Kayama about his powers now, if Aizawa hadn’t already. 

But before that, he had to just, let it out. He will if he had to, just not yet, he thought and kept thinking. Not yet.

He didn’t even know if he and Tenya really passed. Maybe Tenya had gone through the gate while he was unconscious. That was all well and good. He probably wouldn’t be able Tensei with the guilt of endangering his little brother like that as well as ending up failing him because of his… 

And it wasn’t like he didn’t want to know if they’d passed, it was just that asking about the result entailed talking to either Tenya or Kayama or talking about their performances during the test.

Not yet. 

But he had to deal with it eventually. He couldn’t just not talk to one of his closest friends, and it was disrespectful to not even try to apologize to Kayama for attacking her even though she was just doing her job. 

The bus arrived at the main campus faster than it did when they were heading to the exam area. Taking a few deep breaths and decisive swipes under his eyes, Shigeo steeled and braced himself.

Stepping off the bus after Tenya and Kayama, he sighed and opened his mouth to ask what really had happened but was cut off when a very disheveled Momo plowed into him, arms squeezing his shoulders. 

He righted them with a cushion of energy as he was caught off-balance, giving Momo a bewildered look.

She was near hysterical, mumbling and muttering more than Shigeo had ever seen her. Momo was usually so composed that it threw him for a loop to see her so… fretful. “Mob-kun, are you alright? We didn’t get to see what happened! The cameras kept getting destroyed after you were knocked out by Midnight-sensei’s Quirk, and Recovery Girl asked us to leave the viewing room when she got the cameras back up again. Oh, thank goodness you seem fine, but—”

“Momo-kun… Too tight.”

“Sorry!” She peeled herself off of Shigeo, her hands hovering, then gravitating so that she could hold it in front of her, fidgeting as she shifted from foot to foot, eyes roaming Shigeo’s costume with thinly-veiled worry. “I’m just…”

“Shigeo-kun.”

Shigeo looked up and locked eyes with Tenya. He was covered in dust and had some blood smudged below his cheek, but Shigeo knew he was healed. This was just the first time he’d gotten a good look at him. There was an intense look in his red eyes that Shigeo had difficulty discerning and it made the tears come back up unbidden.

He could feel his anxiety peak just a little over the edge, causing his poncho to hover just a few inches away from his chest. “I-I’m sorry for what I did,” Shigeo muttered through his sniffles, trying very hard not to avert his eyes. “I’m so sorry. You weren’t moving and I—”

“I was waiting for you,” Tenya cut him off, his voice stern but gentle. “I thought maybe you’d catch up with me after wrapping things up with Midnight-sensei.”

Shigeo’s tears didn’t stop there. They kept gushing out of him like his life depended on it. Tenya had expected him, waited for him. Shigeo came, but…

“I’m so sorry, Tenya-kun…”

Tenya stepped forward and gathered him in a hug. It was janky and a bit filthy, but Shigeo had no right to complain, leaning his head against Tenya’s armor.

“It’s alright.”

“No, it’s not. I scared you. I hurt you!”

“You did.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Did you do it on purpose?”

Shigeo jolted, stepping away from Tenya. It was easier to look up at him now. “No. No, I didn’t. I… Kayama-sensei knocked me out and I was just so freaked out because you weren’t moving and—”

“Then stop apologizing. Did you mean to do it?”

 “I didn’t mean to,” Shigeo complied, eyes drifting down to his feet. He felt himself meaning the words. It made him feel just the least bit lighter than he was feeling the whole bus ride back. “I was… Tenya-kun wasn’t moving and I wanted to check up… but I trusted you! I figured if I cuffed Sensei, I would have been able to check if you were alright since she was already unconscious. But…”

“I was acting, Kageyama-kun.”

Kayama walked up to their group, Todoroki trailing behind her looking a bit roughed up. “I can’t say just yet if you’ve passed, but I can tell you that you don’t have to act tough for your friends. You were going to check up on me even though I was acting as a Villain for your test, right? Don’t lie.”

Shigeo squeezed his hands into fists, but Tenya took one of them and held on. He looked up at him, then back at Kayama, nodding at her words but staring at her shoes.

“As a pro, I applaud you for your kindness. Not many pro Heroes would do so.” Kayama crouched down to level with Shigeo’s eye sight. She fixed her hair. “But as a teacher, I have to tell you that your unconsciousness wreaked a greater havoc than whatever a Villain could have done. I’m not mad or disappointed, I just want to ask you why that’s the case so that I can understand how to deal with it.”

Momo grabbed his sleeve, then his forearm, squeezing in support. Shigeo took a deep breath.

“Did... Aizawa-sensei tell you about my powers?”

She nodded.

He squeezed Tenya’s hand, trying to keep his sobbing down. He took his free hand from Momo’s grasp on his arm to wipe at any snot or tears. He croaked, “My abilities are entirely dependent on my emotional stability. They respond to what I want to happen, given that I want it to happen enough.”

“I… see. So, you really wanted to see if Tenya-kun was alright.”

He nodded. “The same thing has happened before, but I didn’t think it would… happen in the middle of a test.” He bowed to his waist. “I’m really sorry, Kayama-sensei. I ended up hurting you because of that. For damages caused, I’m willing to accept failure, ma’am.”

“N-now, Kageyama-kun…”

“Mob-kun, that’s not…”

“Don’t joke about that!” Tenya shouted. He stepped forward and grabbed Shigeo’s arm, getting him to look up. There was a shine in his eyes. “What you did was indiscriminately destructive, but it was born out of concern for my sake! Sensei! If you’re failing Shigeo-kun then I… You will have to fail me as well!”

“Tenya-kun.” Shigeo’s voice was low, forced calm and reprimand. He wanted to cry. “No. It’s my fault.”

“He’s right.”

Aizawa walked up, eyes closed and supported by Todoroki as he approached. It seemed, somewhere in the middle of their conversation, Todoroki had walked off to grab their teacher.

“But, Aizawa-sensei!” Momo protested.

“I will hear none of it,” Aizawa dismissed, silencing both Tenya and Momo without even opening his eyes to glare at them. “Kageyama caused damage of his own volition. Regardless of intentions or consciousness, his powers are his responsibility. I’ve told him countless times to get it under control and he seems to have done so, but the moment Nemuri knocked him out and he went berserk, all of that progress amounted to nothing.”

Shigeo couldn’t deny anything. Aizawa was just voicing every bad thought in his head, increasing its volume tenfold by merely speaking. It was just concerning how his tears seemed to have started back up again.

“You failed your practical, Kageyama. Iida managed to make it to the gate before things got too hectic. Recovery Girl told me that everything died down just as you heard the gates announce your pass, meaning you were, in some form, conscious.”

Shigeo wasn’t, but he couldn’t speak up or tell Aizawa that. It was like his voice was gone. Tenya’s grip tightened further and further until it started to hurt, but he welcomed it. It was the only anchor he had from another breakdown. 

Wordlessly, Todoroki stepped to his other side, handing him a kerchief and leaving Aizawa to Kayama’s care.

Somehow, that made him feel better. He took it gingerly, nodding his thanks to the younger boy as he dabbed away at the tears the best he could. They just kept coming though.

Aizawa and Kayama retreated to the Nurse’s tent by the parking lot, leaving him with Momo, Todoroki, and Tenya as he tried to stop himself from crying.

He sniffled, then, as Momo stepped into his space to force his face down onto her shoulder, started sobbing for real, his emotions causing wind to pick up around them but do not much else. “I’m sorry. I don’t… I can’t control it. I can’t. I don’t know how.”

The nonslip material to the palm of Tenya’s glove was familiar as it rubbed comforting circles on his back and squeezed at his hand. He hadn’t let go throughout that. “I know,” he replied. “I know, I forgive you, Shigeo-kun, but there’s really nothing to apologize for. We’re all still learning. Aizawa-sensei is just... harsh because he’s worried?”

“Worried he might hurt someone else?” Todoroki chimed in.

Momo hissed something at him that Shigeo couldn’t quite catch. He did catch her saying, “You know that that was incredibly harsh of Aizawa-sensei.”

Shigeo sniffled once more, then pushed away from Momo with the shake of his head. “No, Aizawa-sensei is correct to be harsh. He wants me to get better control and be a better Hero. He thinks what he’s said was necessary.”

“There was a better way to phrase everything that he just said,” Tenya stressed, telling Shigeo that whatever transgression they thought Aizawa gave him was too harsh. Tenya always had the utmost respect for their teachers, Aizawa and Yagi being the one who garnered it the most. This was the Tenya equivalent of shit-talking their homeroom teacher and he couldn’t say he wasn’t shocked to hear it, especially now.

“He doesn’t have to sugarcoat it for me, guys. This isn’t the first time someone’s been critical of what I’ve done,” Shigeo said, then blew his nose on the kerchief. He folded it and turned to Todoroki. “I’ll wash this before giving it back.”

Todoroki put a hand up. “No need. I have a steady supply of that coming from my brother because he doesn’t know what I like.”

Shigeo paused at that, taken aback. “You have a brother as well as a sister?”

“I’m the youngest of four, Kageyama, I’m pretty sure that’s public knowledge.”

“I don’t read the news much. I didn’t even know your dad was a pro Hero until Tenya-kun and Ochako-kun told me.”

Todoroki looked at him as if he’d grown two heads and honestly, Shigeo couldn’t really do much to disprove that, so he just shrugged.

Momo sighed, then shook her head, a fond smile on her face. “Looks like you’re back to normal.”

Teruki peeled his fever patch off, exchanging it for his mug of tea. Shigeo handed it willingly, looking for any signs of fatigue. Teruki didn’t want to accept any more energy from Shigeo tonight, considering they were both pretty knackered from the practicals. 

Shigeo appreciated it, really, but would appreciate Teruki not being sick more, but he couldn’t always get what he wanted, right?

As Teruki sunk into the couch cushions, sniffing. Shigeo made room for his feet. Together, they sat in relative silence as the evening grew late. The TV wasn’t on, but Teruki’s laptop was on the coffee table playing some soft music.

“Hey.”

Shigeo hummed, just enough to tell Teruki he was listening.

“You didn’t tell little brother what happened in your test.”

Shigeo shook his head, taking a sip. “I didn’t.”

“Failed, huh?”

Shigeo nodded, laying his head down on the cushions. He let the music wash over him until the song ended and the new one came in its place, a heavy, slow beat accompanied by some slow melodies that had him feeling light outside but empty inside. “I lost control again. Didn’t want Ritsu to worry about it. He has exams too.”

“Should I even ask what happened?”

He shrugged. “I was passed out for most of it, so I don’t know how reliable you think my account is going to be.”

Teruki made a soft sound, like a scoff. “Do you think most of what you did was your fault?”

“I was told not to think that by everyone there, apart from Aizawa-sensei. I don’t know who I’m supposed to believe now.”

Teruki is the one who falls silent then. Shigeo let him, letting the song take him. Music had never been quite emotional experiences to him until Teruki started playing something a little somber and slow like a whisper with all the might of his laptop’s speakers. 

“When we were… when we were in the 7th Division, and everything was going to shit, and I kept telling you to fight. Shigeo, could you have blamed me for telling you that?”

Shigeo blinked a few times, then brought his mug up to his lips as he took a sip. “No, I… not really. You were desperate to get us out of there, and you turned to the only person you thought could manage to do so?”

“Do you think you do that too, but with your powers?”

“Pardon?”

“Like, not consciously. Usually you let it all play out, you can control it most of the time, but when things get really tough, before running away, you always hesitate, right? Has something happened that makes you think that the only thing that can get you out of a helpless situation is to use all of your psychic powers?”

Music. Focus on the music.

Shigeo closed and opened his eyes sluggishly. He wasn’t drowsy, he just… needed to. In the calmness of the room, Shigeo felt safe. There was that zoo exhibit feeling again, glass separating the danger of blood on concrete, blood on his hands, and Salt Middle’s gakuran growing blacker soaked through. The neighborhood walls were damaged. Debris everywhere. Ritsu laid whimpering at his feet, bleeding from his head, telling him that it hurt, brother. It hurts.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Teruki said, nudging Shigeo’s foot with his. “I’m just asking to try and help.”

“I know. I’m… trying to phrase it the right way.”

“Okay.”

It took Shigeo ‘til the end of the current song to say, “The first time was when I was ten, before I met Arataka-san. We were on our way back from our grandparents’ when a bunch of middle schoolers stole our pochibukuro. Ritsu wanted it back but they tried to beat us up and one of them knocked me out. When I woke up, they…”

His words trailed off. Teruki could probably guess what he meant. Shigeo certainly wasn’t going to describe it. Remembering it distantly and saying it out loud were two different monsters.

For a moment, they just breathed, backs to the cushions, feet tangled with each other. Shigeo’s tea was cold enough to chug but warm enough to be a comfort. He wished talking about his memories was always like this. Relaxed, told over soft music and chamomile as Teruki’s warmth seeped into him from his feet upwards.

“You’ve been holding yourself back since before you were ten, then.”

“I think so… I can still remember when my parents used to make me calm down because I kept causing accidents. Even if it was just Ritsu and I rushing to the TV for morning cartoons. I think I just… shut down to stop inconveniencing people. Got tired of apologizing because I didn’t know how to control it without having to control myself.”

“Did Reigen-san help?”

Shigeo nodded. “A little. I didn’t know how to express myself, and he taught me how to do it without having to keep my powers on a too tight leash. They were suddenly just any kind of talent and I was just me. Quirkless and young, y’know?”

“So, your real problem is you’re repressing it because you can’t control it, but you can’t un-repress it because you don’t know how to control it.”

“Or how to… do that. Yeah.” Teruki hit the nail in the head. Shigeo was impressed. Teruki always had been smart, but it was amazing how attuned he was to what Shigeo thought.

Teruki hummed, then put his empty mug down on the coffee table with a vine of energy. The light of it wasn’t as bright as usual, but it was getting there. Shigeo was just glad that he was well enough that it didn’t seem to be hurting him anymore. 

“Well,” Teruki started. “I do know a fellow psychic who has enough power that he doesn’t have to limit himself but can use them without exploding.”

Shigeo pushed himself closer to Teruki with a few wiggles, holding his mug with both hands. He knew Teruki was alluding to himself, but he had to shake up the mood somehow. “Really? Who?”

Teruki laughed. “I know when your joking now, Shigeo. It’s me! I’ll try and help you control them the best I can. On one condition.”

Shigeo inclined his head.

“Come to summer training camp, and I’ll help you train with supervision. That way, it’ll be safe. How’s that sound?”

Well.

Originally, he had wanted to go back to Seasoning. The training camp was only one week, but after finals and the results and everything that had gone down this semester, he just wanted to play video games with his brother as Dimple trash-talked Ritsu for him. Maybe Suzuki would come over to play with them. Ritsu had mentioned that Suzuki had somehow convinced their designated driver Serizawa to play video games with them whenever they could.

Shigeo just wanted to stop being a Heroics student for a few weeks.

But it could wait.

“It sounds great. Do you have outdoor gear?”

Teruki let out a nervous laugh. “Uh, about that…”

Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall had its grand opening a few minutes away from Aldera, in the Musutafu town proper’s downtown area, Kiyashi. It was in construction during Shigeo’s birthday, and Denki and the others had messaged about wanting to go there to buy supplies for the training camp together.

The thing was, Shigeo had told everyone he might not even go to the training camp. He was depressed when he’d said so, comforted with hugs by his close friends in class.

So, imagine fifteen or so loud teenagers shouting and yelling in the middle of the open plaza when Shigeo announced that he might come with them to the trip because Teruki asked him to and, well, he was at Kiyashi to help him shop.

“Everyone, please settle down,” Shigeo said, his hands up in a placating manner. “We’re going to get kicked out. Please…”

Having mercy on him, Izuku and Momo started shushing groups of their classmates.

“It’s good that you’ve changed your mind, Shige-kun,” Izuku commented as everyone finally settled down to normal outside speaking voices. This was the first time they’d talked since school yesterday. Shigeo didn’t even know how his exam went with Bakugou. “It wouldn’t have been the same without you there.”

He scratched at his cheek. “I wouldn’t know about that… I’m sure Momo-kun or Tsuyu-san would have kept you all in line if I wasn’t there to.”

Ochako let out a hearty laugh, slapping a hand down on Shigeo’s shoulder. “Bold of you to assume Yaomomo wouldn’t get involved in any bullshit we might have done without your jurisdiction, Mob.”

He sighed. He knew, but she didn’t have to say it.

“Anyway, we were planning to split up groups to shop for things based on what we needed,” said Eijirou from where he stood with Tenya at the head of the group. “Do you need anything?”

Shigeo shook his head. “Teruki’s the one who needs the most things. I mostly just need to do some groceries. Teruki.”

Teruki looked up from where he was pulling up his list on his phone. “I need some mosquito lotion and a lot of fireproof clothes, to start with.”

“Oh, I know just the stop,” Eijirou chirped. “Bakugou lets me shop with him sometimes and I’m pretty sure I saw a branch of theirs on the directory. You can come with me then. Anyone else who needs clothing or shoes comes with my group.”

“What about you, Shigeo?” Teruki pocketed his phone. “Are you sure you don’t need some extra stuff?”

“Some toiletries, maybe,” Shigeo said. “If you can get any, buy me some as well, could you?”

“Okay! That just leaves….”

“So domestic…” murmured Ochako. Shigeo twisted around to give her a look that had both her and Mina giggling.

“We’ll meet here by three!” shouted Tenya, gesturing around to point at the general area. “Please make sure to remember so that Momo-kun does not need to call you all one by one. We must ensure everyone’s safety before anything else!” 

With that, the groups dispersed. Shigeo walked off to the direction of the grocery store he’d seen on the way in.

He’s heaving the paper bags out of the shopping cart when a hand blocks his vision. Shigeo paused at that.

There’s only one person he knows with greasy silver hair, red eyes, and cracked skin, and they’re supposed to technically be in custody.

Shigaraki Tomura escaped from jail.

“Shigaraki-san, wasn’t it?” Shigeo asked. “You’re supposed to be in jail.”

Shigaraki shrugged. “Escaped. Been biding time. Need help with those?”

Shigeo blinked rapidly at that. Was it technically bad to accept help from a criminal? “Do you need help with anything? I won’t be obligated to call the police if you don’t cause trouble, but…”

Shigaraki let out a throaty chuckle. “You have some weird morals for a Hero, Kageyama Shigeo.”

Right, so they’d watched the sports festival as well. “Mob is fine. Again, do you need help with anything? Because I need to meet up with my friends in…” Shigeo shifted the bag off of one hand and fished his phone out of his pocket. “Around thirty minutes.”

“Just wanted to talk to someone not idiotic,” Shigaraki said, exasperated. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Shigeo said, surprised to say that he meant it. “I’m glad you asked instead of involving hostages this time. I suppose you’ve learned. There’s that café.” He gestured with his chin towards the café across the mall. “And uh, yeah, I think I need some help with these.”

Shigaraki grabbed one of the bags from the cart, their pinky fingers aloft as they did so. That one has a contact Quirk that’s always active. Disintegrates something when he touches it with all five fingers. He wondered if it ever got difficult doing things like showering or eating.

He grabbed his phone again and sent Teruki a quick text. Talking to someone questionable. if no update in 5mins, call 110 and tell momo-kun. not urgent, not hostaged, but theyre an escaped convict.

A message buzzed back almost immediately. ok, it said. who?

leader of usj attack. wants to talk. we’re at the café in front of the grocery store.

ok. be careful!!

Shigeo sent back a thumbs up sticker and put the paper bag down on the table as they reached the café. “Do you want anything, Shigaraki-san? I still have pocket change for two cups of… something.”

“No need,” they replied. “I won’t take long.”

Shigeo insisted, “I’ll pay, it’s alright.”

Shigaraki took a deep breath. “Fine, get me whatever you’re having.”

“You’re not lactose intolerant, are you?”

“No.”

Shigeo grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and went to buy them some bubble tea. He was relieved to see that Shigaraki hadn’t run off with the groceries. He’d hate to have to explain that he’d left their groceries to a Villain and didn’t think that they’d steal.

“Here.” Shigeo slid one of the cold, sweaty cups across the table once he settled in. 

Leaning down to grab something from their groceries, he resurfaced with a rubber band. “I didn’t know what you wanted so. Also, here’s something to tie your hair back with. What did you want to talk about?”

Shigaraki took a sip of their bubble tea, made a sound at the back of their throat, eyes widening. “No, I don’t nee—I don’t know how to—”

With a vine of energy, Shigeo tied Shigaraki’s hair back from under their hoodie. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s really hard to talk to someone like that. Anyway.”

“Right.” Shigaraki trailed off. They shook their head. “You’re so weird. I forgot how weird you were.”

“You’re saying weird a lot.”

“So I am,” Shigaraki deadpanned. 

They stirred their tea with their straw in silence, staring out at the crowd with those blood red eyes. Shigeo sipped at his tea patiently. 

Finally, Shigaraki started, “You know… I usually hate everyone and everything. Comes with being in the lowest rungs of society and having to deal with idiotic Heroes. But what really pisses me off right now is that bastard Stain. I mean, what’s so great about him?”

Shigeo blinked, swallowing. The Hero Killer? Again? He sighed. “Nothing much? He’s a terrorist who evaded authorities for five years.” He remembered Ritsu mentioning that once last week. Or was it Arataka? He wasn’t so sure anymore. “Why do you ask?”

“Have you seen the news?” Shigaraki asked, voice seething. Luckily for Shigeo, they didn’t notice him shaking his head. “The asshole’s the talk of the nation right now. They think he’s in league with us! He didn’t even try to work with us! He even stabbed me!” Shigaraki brought their arm up, pointing at their hoodie sleeve. 

Shigeo leaned forward. Sure enough, there was a bandaged stab wound and a hole on their black hoodie sleeve. He frowned. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Shigaraki-san. I mean, it’s good he didn’t get in league with your… group, considering he is a terrorist but… he shouldn’t go around stabbing people he disagrees with.”

Shigaraki grumbled, dropping their arm to sip sullenly at their tea.

Shigeo took that as his chance to talk. “Well, I’ve talked about this with my friends. The League doesn’t seem like the type to be associated with people like him, so I don’t see why other people think so. I don’t really know what you stand for, as… the League of Villains. I think that’s why people think he’s part of your group. Because they have no idea what you stand for.”

Shigaraki smacked their lips. “Easy. We want to dismantle society! Bring down the Symbol of Peace.”

Shigeo nodded chewing on a pearl, then leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Yes, but what does that mean? Why dismantle society like this? Why bring down just All Might-sensei? Personally, well.” Shigeo licked at his lips grabbing at one of the tissues that were given with the drinks to wipe off the stickiness. 

“Personally, I don’t care much what you do, just as long as you keep your issues with Heroes with licensed pro Heroes. But the Hero Killer very clearly stood up for his ideal of what was a Hero and how Heroes today don’t stand up to that standard, or so I hear. He doesn’t pick specific people or ideals from specific Heroes, I guess. It sounds odd, but people relate to him because of that. Or, well, at least that’s what a good friend of mine told me once.” Teruki wasn’t feeling a bit too chatty about what Stain did in that alley, but he definitely disagreed with a lot of what Stain had to say. Shigeo found that relieving that he listened. 

He crumpled the tissue and wiped the moisture on the table, looking up at Shigaraki. “Does that make sense?”

Shigaraki hummed, chewing the thought over, as well as the pearls from their tea. “Not really. Stain and I both hate Heroes as they stand right now.”

“You just hate All Might the most?”

“Yeah, basically.”

Shigeo turned that over. Man, his teaching skills were really being pushed here. “How do I put this… Shigaraki-san, is there something in life that you just really understand?”

 “I like video games.” Shigaraki shrugged.

Well, Shigeo didn’t really like video games, but he wasn’t totally lost here. “Well… do you play your video games in Japanese or in English?”

“Japanese. Kurogiri didn’t really teach me English, and Sensei said it wasn’t necessary.”

Sensei? Shigeo stored that thought for another time. “Alright. Then, that’s it.”

“What?” The way Shigaraki’s forehead creased in confusion would have been amusing if it weren’t for how dry his skin looked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’m saying, you choose Japanese because you understand it. Yes, you can identify some words in English and know what they mean, but you can’t read or speak it completely. Overall, understanding the game is what’s most important. It’s like your group and Stain. You’re both Villains, but people like Stain better because they—”

Shigaraki swallowed, patting the table as they pointed their other hand at Shigeo. “I get it! That’s! Wow… that’s really simple, actually.”

“Yeah.” Shigeo was glad they finally got it He was starting to lose hope there for a second.

“So, I just need to let people understand what the League of Villains stand for? That’s it?”

Shigeo shrugged. “Preferably, you’d go back to jail, Shigaraki-san. You technically haven’t been to trial and if you quit while it’s early, it would be easier on you in the long run.”

Shigaraki sneered. “Square.”

Shigeo raised a brow at that. He expected to be called worse for telling someone to go back to jail but okay then. “I’ve told you, if you want to protest what’s happening, protest it. Hurting someone because you don’t agree with them is just uncalled for.”

“Whatever, Kageyama.” Shigaraki stood. “Thanks for the bubble tea. And for talking to me. You’re still weird, for a Hero student, you know?”

Shigeo shrugged. He grabbed his phone from his pocket. It’s been seven minutes. Teruki would have called the cops by now. “I don’t know what you mean. What do you think Hero students are supposed to behave like?”

“Overeager to have me arrested and won’t give me the time of day? If I were to talk to your pal Midoriya Izuku, I would have to threaten to take someone hostage or take him hostage, y’know?”

Shigeo sighed. “I thought I got through to you with the hostage-taking.”

Shigaraki snorted. “I can’t take you hostage, you’re practically immune to me. Oh! Did you know you had a cult and a whole delinquent following?”

Shigeo blinked. Really? Of all the people to find out about it, it was Shigaraki?

Shigaraki rummaged through their pockets, then held a phone out to Shigeo’s face. The caricature of himself, crudely drawn, stared back up at him on a professional-looking website. “Psychic Helmet Cult,” Shigaraki chuckled. “They were clamoring for attention when you came on television, but Yuuei effectively blocked them out. I’m surprised you haven’t run into any of them, White T-Poison-san.”

Shigeo would have hated explaining that to his friends, so really, it was a win-win that Yuuei blocked the cult out. “I don’t… really like identifying with what either of those… groups think I am. That was a long time ago, and they saw me when I was upset and ended up worshipping that.”

Shigaraki made a sound of intrigue. “A backstory? I’ll figure you out just yet.” They shuffled from foot to foot, shoving their phone back into their pocket. “Well, I’ve got to go before Sensei gets worried. What about your friends?”

“I still have a few minutes. Will you be walking back, or will you be teleported back?”

“I’ll probably just be walking. Sensei doesn’t much care how long I take unlike Kurogiri did. See you.”

Shigeo hoped not. He grabbed his phone once Shigaraki turned around.

called cops. they directed me to a tsukauchi-san? was Teruki’s first text. 

The second was people in west side and second floor evacuated now. cops surrounded building, sent out someone with telepathy quirk to tell citizens not to panic on first floor.

The final text was just as Shigeo pulled out their chat. please be there when the police come in.

Shigeo typed, safe. shigaraki-san walked off. didn’t teleport. police might intercept them. i have our groceries, but i gave them a rubber band for their hair. look out for energy in case they get teleported out and point police there. theyre headed for main entrance.

Shigaraki doesn’t evade police but gets teleported out of the situation before it could escalate into a full-blown fight with a pro Hero. Shigeo had felt it from where he was directed from the east exit to the ambulances. It felt like Kurogiri’s energy but… wrong, somehow. Like there was something askew with the way it swirled, jagged and fumbling.

He was escorted to a police vehicle and was driven to a station near Kiyashi.

An officer with a cat’s face introduced himself as Tamakawa and led him around the bullpen. They sat him down on a cubicle not far into the bullpen in the station. 

“We will be recording your account for documentation,” they recited by rote. “You may agree or disagree to do this at your own accord. Should we bring in a guardian or parent of yours?”

Shigeo shook his head. “It’s fine. I just need to tell you what happened, right?”

“Yes,” Tamakawa said. “But really, if you want someone here with you, we can call in even just your homeroom teacher. Eraserhead came to the scene as soon as he heard his class was there.”

That only made to solidify his dismissal. “It’s alright, really. I just want to get this over with before the stuff I bought goes bad, Tamakawa-san. If you don’t mind.”

Tamakawa chuckled at that. “Okay. Well, your emergency contact will be here shortly to sign off on your account. It’s part of protocol. They wouldn’t be on the tape or present for this, but they will be authorizing your account for the case. Would that be alright?”

Oh, he hoped Arataka didn’t make a big deal out of this. “Yes, that’s alright.”

Footsteps sounded closer and closer.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Detective Tsukauchi greeted as he sat down in front of Shigeo. “Did you guys start already?”

“Just finished briefing him about what he had to and could do,” Tamakawa answered. “Haven’t started recording yet.”

Tsukauchi nodded, settling into his seat. He gave Shigeo a nod in greeting. “I’m starting to think you really aren’t too scared of the League. Most children would have been freaked out, talking to a high-profile criminal like that.”

Shigeo hummed, swirling the water from the cup Tamakawa had given him. “Shigaraki-san’s not scary. What’s scary is that they think they have to be violent to get what they want.”

“What does he want then, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Reform. Not much else. I don’t think they really know what they want either. They want to change things and how everyone worships Y—All Might-sensei.”

“What was that?”

Shigeo paused, then met Tsukauchi’s eyes. “The All Might worship sets Shigaraki-san off. I don’t really understand why, and they definitely won’t tell me. Someone’s enabling them though.”

“Hm?”

“They mentioned a sensei? Their doctor maybe, or maybe a mentor. I think that’s who they meant, the person who stole Kurogiri-san’s Quirk.”

Tsukauchi straightened up at that, leaning forward in interest. “Stole… how could you tell? Maybe they just had a similar Quirk, this Sensei and Kurogiri-san.”

“No, the energy… was definitely Kurogiri-san’s. But it felt like someone was using it wrong or too much. Kind of like when someone borrows your laptop and presses too hard on the keys. That aside, Kurogiri-san is in custody, Aizawa-sensei said so, and he was Quirkless when they found him.”

Tsukauchi leaned back. “Kageyama-kun… Kurogiri’s dead.”

Shigeo blinked. “What?”

“He’s been dead for, oh. Since before the festival? I don’t know why Eraserhead told you he wasn’t, and I think I know why, but we did technically find him Quirkless in his cell. We couldn’t identify him physically, but test results matched him in the post-mortem.”

Shigeo looked down at his hands, feeling the world shift around him just a little. Aizawa had lied. This wasn’t the first time, of course, and Shigeo wasn’t really partial to having been told confidential information like this. He didn’t understand why Tsukauchi or Aizawa told him anything anyway.

But Kurogiri…

“Why?”

Tsukauchi took a deep breath. “We don’t really know either. I guess he wasn’t needed by the League anymore?”

“No, why are you telling me this? Isn’t this confidential information?”

Tsukauchi fell silent at that. He didn’t know if the looks Tsukauchi and Tamakawa were exchanging meant something, but he couldn’t really focus on that, his thoughts being drowned by the rumbling in his head. He didn’t know if it was the blood rushing through his ears that was deafening him or the air-conditioner on blast inside the bullpen.

“I suppose… I don’t know. You were the last person he talked to us about, when... He was doing alright; told us you talked some sense into him. But in the jail break, they… I guess whoever’s talking up Shigaraki thought that Kurogiri was a loose end.”

Shigeo took a deep breath. Two. No, three. No outbursts, he thought to himself. Not in front of the policemen. He had to wait until Arataka got here to break down about this.

“How can people just treat others like objects?” Shigeo asked, mostly to himself. He clutched at his knee, nails digging in. “It’s despicable.”

Tsukauchi sighed, bringing out a recorder and laying it down on the table between them. He pressed to start and leaned forward in his seat. “I will be recording your account of the events that transpire earlier this afternoon at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. I, Tsukauchi Naomasa, will be interviewing you, Kageyama Shigeo. Your witness will be Tamakawa Sansa. Do you agree with the recording of this account, Kageyama-kun?”

“Yes." 

“Alright. Let’s start with what happened, then, so you can get out of here.”

Chapter Text

Shigeo spent most of the trip further inland and up the mountains resolutely asleep. He’d learned his lesson from the USJ and was not willing to suffer through hours of land travel feeling upchuck in the back of his throat again. 

Given that he was unused to sleeping in after his morning workout, the migraine that came every time he came to was inevitable, but it wasn’t completely unbearable. He’d drink water, check his messages, send Teruki some candid photos of sleeping friends as well as photos of himself, then go back to sleep.

For his own sake, he took the wheel seat in the back like he usually did with Arataka.

Sat beside him and as well as the one to wake him this time was Aoyama, who had motion sickness that rivaled his own and took up a bit of an oath of solidarity when Aizawa and Momo assigned their seats to them with that in mind. “We’re at a pit stop, it seems, mon amie,” Aoyama mumbled, hand on Shigeo’s arm. “Aizawa-sensei says to do our business as we please.”

Shige blinked his eyes into focus, looking out the window to see a valley of trees and the cheap cement of the layby they were parked in. 

When Aoyama said pit stop, he half-expected a gas station or at the very least a local eatery. Then again, his experience with pit stops were limited to trips inland with his family or clientele trips with Arataka.

“Where are we?”

Aoyama shrugged. “I was just as asleep as you before Yaoyorozu-chan woke me up.”

Shigeo stretched, feeling his joints pop and lock all at the same time with familiarity. Together, he and Aoyama fumbled their way down the messy aisle of the bus and exited to the windy cliffside layby their classmates gathered around on.

Their bus was the only one there.

Hm. Pit stops usually involved everyone during school trips.

Maybe Class B was running late?

Belatedly, it came to mind that he’d already gone to the bathroom. He should go back to sleep in the bus.

Commotion by the front of the crowd drew him away from his thoughts. 

Two people, clad in what seemed to be marching band outfits with large cat gloves and cat ear headbands, posed. From the back, he could hear Izuku muttering but couldn’t decipher his buzzing.

“What’s happening?” Shigeo asked, tapping Shouji by the arm (the lowest one on their left).

An arm twisted backwards, an eye searching then finding him. Another arm followed, this one having a mouth on it. “The Waipushi are here to train us.”

“Excuse me, who? What?” Aoyama said, an unreadable look on his face and a bit of laughter in his voice. 

Shigeo didn’t get it.

“The Wild Wild Pussycats,” Kouda answered, their words a near mumble. “They’re a Hero group that have a cat-theme, I guess? I think I heard Midoriya-kun mentioning how they’ve been in the ranks for decades now. I know there are four of them, but there are only two of them with us right now.”

Shigeo hummed. He didn’t really get the hype, but it was good to know that Heroes could make teams like that. It solved Shigeo’s problems with Heroes who shouldered every responsibility by themselves like Yagi or Aizawa probably would.

One of the Waipushi crouched and sent a surge of energy all over the layby. Shigeo took a step back, then grabbed onto both Aoyama and Kouda.

Kouda turned to look at him. Aoyama grabbed back at his hand, confused. “What—"

The earth lifted beneath them.

As he lifted all three of them, he spotted Ochako’s energy near the front of the group, closest to the ground.  Tsuyu was safe in the middle. “Ochako-kun! Tsuyu-san!” He called out.

“Right, touch everyone!” Izuku yelled from the bottom of their falling group. After a moment, “That sounded wrong, sorry!”

Tsuyu moved fast, tongue wrangling them all together in mid-air. Gravity hitched as Shigeo was pulled into the tight bundle of class A, then spread his energy out to cushion their fall.

“Holy fuck, we’re okay,” Denki choked out as they reached the ground safely. 

Ochako, blessedly, did not puke her guts out, but did let out a loud groan of release as Tsuyu let them all go. Izuku started in on her, commenting things about how he didn’t know that Ochako’s Quirk could spread out from the point of contact like that.

Shigeo fumbled for the ground, holding his barrier up as the land from the cliff side rained over them.

“Everyone okay?” Iida called out.

Hanta let out a breathy laugh. “I’m still alive!” 

“What happened?” Shigeo asked, finding Momo and Izuku looking towards him as he dropped his barrier with a burst, pushing the earth out of the way.

Bakugou sighed. Eijirou chuckled nervously. “Training’s begun? No way of starting training without throwing a bunch of kids off a cliff, right?”

“Reach the facility by three!” shouted one of the Waipushi from the cliffs. “Anyone late will not be given dinner!”

“Then we better get moving,” Shigeo mumbled. 

Light caught his peripheral. He turned to look.

He froze, breath hitching. Like in Honeido, bursts of weak energy surrounded their clearing, the leaves rustling with stirred air. It was the same energy that uprooted the ground on the cliffs. 

Loud enough for Izuku and Momo to hear, he said, “We’re getting surrounded.”

“You heard him!” Momo shouted throughout the group, voice commanding. Her uniform’s bottom three buttons were unbuttoned, and she pulled out what looked like an automatic rifle from her riff. “Heavy-hitters move around the ones who can discern where the enemy is. That would be Kyouka-san, Shouji-san, and Mob-kun. Long-ranged Quirks, partner up with short-ranged Quirks. Double time, people!”

Eijirou was holding onto Bakugou’s arm, concerned look on his face. Shigeo approached. Eijirou sighed, then looked up at the cliffs, his face going hard not because of his Quirk, but because of uncharacteristic anger. “Aizawa-sensei left him without his combat aids.”

Shigeo considered that, then held his hand up, concentrating on the tiny black and orange aids he knew was probably on the bus. He closed his eyes, ignoring the fact that the energies were closing in on their location, sent up by the Waipushi member by the cliffs. 

Something slapped into his hand. When he opened his eyes, he handed it over to Bakugou and Eijirou. “I hope it didn’t get damaged.”

Bakugou stared at it, then at him, eyes calculating and confused as he gingerly took his own aids off and grabbed the ones in Shigeo’s hand. “How…”

“Don’t mind it,” Shigeo pushed off as soon as Bakugou started snapping his hand by his ear, testing. “We need to get moving before those things from that Waipushi get here.”

“God, you’re so manly. Right! Let’s go, class A!”

A roar rang through their group as the heavy hitters—Todoroki, Izuku, Tenya, Tokoyami, Kaminari, Bakugou, and Eijirou—gathered around him, Jirou, and Shouji. 

Momo, Tenya, and Izuku made sure to take note of where everyone was at all times, making sure to keep everyone moving towards where both Kaminari and Shigeo knew the goal they were staying at was.

Class A made it to the facility before sunset, but Shigeo knew it was already past three. There was no way all that forest didn’t take at least six hours. Everyone was filthy and sweaty in the heat of mid-noon, but no one got too hurt, at least not under his watch. Jirou and Bakugou even accepted healing without protest, this time around. 

Somewhere in the middle of it all, their heavy hitters ended up encircling their whole crowd as they moved throughout the unstable terrain.

The facility, once they arrived, was of Yuuei standards. Meaning it could definitely have held all forty-two students in the Heroics department and more. 

They came onto the grounds just as Class B’s bus arrived.

“I see you’ve already started,” came Kan’s booming voice as Momo and Izuku led them all towards where Aizawa and the still-incomplete Waipushi gathered. Shigeo stood on his tiptoes to spy if Teruki and Hitoshi came out of the bus. “Still holding on, class A?”

A weakened but nonetheless loud roar of agreement came from the middle of their group, mostly from Eijirou. Shigeo wondered where he got the remaining enthusiasm, after hiking through all that forest, but seeing him and Bakugou fighting off earth monster after earth monster and not complain about the terrain reminded Shigeo that they’ve hiked together before.

And that he had more room for self-improvement when it came to his stamina.

“So, the dinner thing was a lie,” one of the Waipushi said, the blond one. “As our warm welcome, we’re going to cook you guys a meal once during this whole week of training. Tomorrow, you’re all on your own, so please, brush up on your knife skills and try to regulate groups who will or will not be cooking meals.”

“Ragdoll and Tora are already in there cooking up a storm,” added the brunet. “Good job, Class A! We thought you guys would make it here even later than this. We started, what, 9:30, right? That took you all six hours to do, which is definitely impressive of students at your age.”

“Isn’t it bad to make us work past the six hours though,” Ochako muttered, hand still clutched at her stomach from where she leaned against Shigeo. She’d ran out of juice around hour five.

Shigeo shrugged his free shoulder. “I guess they don’t really consider this work since it’s training camp.”

“Talk about militant…”

“Sensei, Kouda needs water,” Shouji spoke up, one of their hands raised. 

Aizawa made sure to look over the crowd to confirm this claim. “Right, food’s in the dining hall. I believe everyone’s going to fit there, even if Class B also needs to eat. Vlad?”

“Right. Who’s hungry, class?”

“Not Monoma!” responded Hitoshi, followed by a series of grunts that Shigeo could only assume was sanctioned petty fighting.

He honestly just wanted to eat.

“Who’s this, sensei?”

Izuku had somehow migrated from the middle of their group to where a child stood beside the Waipushi. They were dressed in shorts, a button-up, and a hat with horns on them.

“Oh, that’s my nephew.” The brunet smiled, hands on their hips. “Kouta, introduce yourself.”

Izuku bent at the knee, hand out for a handshake. “Hi, I’m Midoriya Izuku, from the Heroics course. Nice to meet you…”

Shigeo watched as Kouta reared their arm back and punched Izuku straight in the balls. He jolted, losing Ochako for a moment, then stepped forward with Tenya to assist Izuku as Kouta ran off. He gave Izuku a quick burst of energy, then helped him stand.

The Waipushi responsible for Kouta gawked, looking between Izuku and Kouta, but did and said nothing. Tenya was a little less held back about shouting at children. “Why’d you punch him in the junk, kid?!” 

Shigeo couldn’t help but smack him on the arm for it. Tenya gave him a look that shouted protest at the scolding, but he gave Tenya nothing but a look.

“I can’t abide jerks who want to be heroes,” Kouta answered, barely turning around.

Shigeo nodded, taking a deep breath. “You really shouldn’t punch people you disagree with. Much less in the balls.”

Laughter broke out from both classes, reminding Shigeo of their audience. It reminded Kouta of them as well, squinting around before glaring at Shigeo. “Wouldn’t you know, wannabe Hero?”

Shigeo raised a brow at that, then glanced at Aizawa. They’ve had this talk before. “I don’t hit people who don’t hit me first, Kouta-san. You really just need to apologize for punching Izuku.”

Looking chastised, Kouta looked between him, Tenya, and Izuku. Without saying anything, he stormed off inside the building.

As Shigeo struggled to keep his focus on note-taking, Aizawa sat by one of the empty chairs beside Monoma, who deemed himself too good for the crowd that formed Class A’s remedial group.

Luckily for Shigeo, it wasn’t a crowd he didn’t know. They were all mostly from Momo’s tutoring group: Eijirou, Denki, Mina, and Hagakure sat around him, borrowing and sharing their supplies with each other. It seemed they’d forgotten to bring school supplies for the trip and had to make do with helping each other take notes. 

Aizawa had clarified, when he announced it, that everyone cleared the written exams no sweat. But the material Aizawa was teaching was new, and fortunately Monoma, Shigeo, and Hagakure brought their own materials to write with.

Really, this just all meant that they were all just here because they failed the practicals. Shigeo wasn’t so sure about why the others were here, nor did he want to ask lest he bring up something unpleasant. He didn’t want to recall why he failed his test either anyway.

Aizawa sighed. “You know… You guys actually did a good job for finals.” He was waiting for them to finish jotting down notes and for some reason he thought this was going to help. Maybe Aizawa was more tired than Shigeo gave him credit for. Or maybe this was just Aizawa in his element, during the night: talkative and inquisitive. “I didn’t really expect you guys to pick up too much on your written exams after midterms, but color me surprised.”

“Aw, sensei, that’s sweet,” said Hagakure. “Of course, we’re not stupid! We have you as a teacher!”

Aizawa raised a brow at that, then reached up to tie his hair into a bun.

“I think that’s giving Sensei too much credit, Tooru. Yaomomo and Mob-kun helped out a lot too!”

“Yeah, Mina’s right,” Denki pointed out, spinning around to hold a fist out to Shigeo. “Pump it, Mob.”

Shigeo blinked down at it, then bumped it with his own fist.

“Wish we could have had tutorials for our practicals too,” Eijirou sighed. 

Aizawa stood from his seat as he snapped the band into his hair, peeking outside the doors, then turned to give them all a look. “Okay, Kan’s not here and I don’t mind Monoma snitching so much, but I want to get real with you guys for a second.”

“You mean that wasn’t your most vulnerable?” Denki mocked. That much earned him a side glance from Aizawa that had him gesturing to zip his mouth shut.

“I mean it when I say you guys did a good job. Even in your practicals, and yes, Monoma, I’m also speaking to you. You guys were more cooperative than any professional worth their paygrade outside of Hero school right now. You strategized, which is surprising given who your opponent was, Kaminari, Kirishima. Nezu-kouchou was impressed, given how he defeated you.”

“That feels like such a cop-out, sensei, we got obliterated out there,” Eijirou cut in, uncharacteristically ornery about the memory. Shigeo couldn’t blame him. He didn’t want to think about his failure either.

Aizawa hummed. “I’m not a numbers kind of guy, but I’ll tell you what. If you lasted more than five minutes in a staged showdown against the principal, who has High Spec, then I can say for certain that you made your best strategy. You all did your best against trained professionals pretending to be Villains.”

Shigeo put his pen down and leaned back against his seat. Hagakure seemed to still be taking her notes, as well as Monoma. That meant Aizawa was going to take as long as he wanted with this real talk session.

Man, if Aizawa were this uplifting to him when he got out of the exams, he wouldn’t have minded it either. 

So much for being Aizawa’s favorite.

“Kageyama.”

Shigeo glanced up at him, quick and dismissive. He was too tired for niceties. “Yes, sir?”

Aizawa crouched down beside his seat, looking up at him instead. Shigeo could barely remember Arataka going on about establishing a visible power perspective between people in order to establish a sense of ease with a client.

“What I said to you after the exam was… harsh and a... uncalled for. I’m sorry about my behavior.”

“You were acting out of worry.” Shigeo didn’t say for whom, but he supposed it didn’t matter. It wasn’t a cop-out for Aizawa as much as it was a fact. Shigeo had accepted that.

Aizawa shook his head. “Don’t justify my actions for me. I know what I did and what I told you was unfair. You already told me about…”

Shigeo grabbed his pencil again, settling with spinning the thing between his fingers in order to distract himself. “I’m going to fix it.”

Aizawa didn’t look like he was done, but Kan chose that moment to reenter the makeshift classroom, saying, “This facility looks small, but the bathroom is a trek, guys.”

Despite all the drama that Shigeo, for the life of him, could not catch up to, a late snack and a soak in the springs was enough to make him feel like he could sleep on his feet. Tenya, bless his heart, was kind enough to pull him along to where he needed to be.

“Where’s Izuku-kun?” asked Tenya. Shigeo leaned on his arm; his eyelids heavy. It didn’t help that Tenya was really warm.

“Management office with the rest of the Heroes. He found that kid fast asleep in the dining hall earlier and carried him over,” Todoroki responded. He sounded as monotone as ever, but his voice was softer, tired as well.

“That’s nice,” Shigeo mumbled. “Will he take long?”

“I don’t think so.” Tenya’s voice was awfully quiet now that he was talking to Shigeo directly. “He’ll be in for the night if I have anything to do about it. We’re here for training, as much as we’re allowed to have fun.”

“I’m sure Izuku-kun will be back soon,” he tried to reassure. “We’re all really tired from this morning. I’d be surprised if he isn’t, with all the jumping around he did.” He yawned, eyes squeezing.

Bare feet slapping against wood sounded from behind him. Then, “Shigeo, you should be in bed.”

Shigeo hummed. Teruki’s hand pulled at his arm on his free side. 

“We have to get up bright and early tomorrow for training, remember?”

“You’re right. Are our classes sleeping in the same rooms?” Shigeo cracked his eyes open, letting go of Tenya’s arm as Teruki pulled them apart. His friend was dressed in a rather form-fitting shirt and short shorts to bed tonight. He’d seen class A’s rooms and knew, of course, that they were sleeping with no air-conditioning, so this attire wasn’t strange for him. Shigeo himself had only a baggy shirt (from Dad) and shorts on. 

He’d just never seen Teruki in these kinds of clothes before, really. Even his cycling attire was different.

“Hm? Oh, no. It just seemed like Iida and Todoroki wanted to stick around and wait for Midoriya before bed. Your rooms are by the boys’ baths, right?”

“Yeah. How did you enjoy them?”

“Uh, the onsen? Didn’t. I, um… The only person in class who knows that I’m trans is Hitoshi. Tora-san, one of the Heroes, let me use the ofuro they have somewhere else.”

Shigeo nodded. “Was that alright for you then?”

“Oh, yeah,” Teruki chuckled. “I was never one for sentou or onsen growing up anyway.”

Shigeo hummed, then leaned against Teruki. “That’s alright. It would have been nice for you to enjoy the open-air baths though. It’s like a really warm swimming pool. Maybe you can sneak off when everyone’s asleep.”

“Don’t let Iida hear you say that.”

Shigeo wheezed out a laugh before pausing as they arrived by Class A’s rooms. He reached for Teruki’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze. “Good night, Teruki. See you tomorrow.”

He didn’t see if Teruki responded. Shigeo yawned, wide enough to cause tears, and slid the door open before stumbling towards the pile of futons in the corner and dragging it over to the corner.

He was asleep the moment his head hit his pillow.

Shigeo considered himself blessed for having an early and fast jogging routine. His friends were less fortunate in that regard, really. He’d already had two glasses of whatever fruit juice they had in the pantries and had done his laps around the facility when Aizawa deemed it time to force his class out of bed at around five thirty in the morning.

Tenya was more agreeable than most to the wake-up call. A little less fixed up than he usually was, but he was definitely not as zombie-like as Todoroki or Ochako. Izuku, who was probably the last one awake of all forty-two of them, seemed completely normal despite the fact that he was probably up late.

“What could be so important this early in the fucking morning?” Todoroki croaked, face buried in Tenya’s arm. Uraraka took the other.

“Why am I the designated person to lean on?” Tenya wasn’t really whining. Shigeo could see it from the tips of his ears.

“You’re comfy and tall,” replied Ochako. “And you’re really reliable!”

“Warm,” said Todoroki.

Tenya huffed, then straightened his glasses. 

Izuku said, “Aizawa-sensei said something about Quirk training last night, I think.”

“And where were you?” Shigeo asked.

Izuku scratched at his cheek, sheepish. “After I helped with uh, Kouta-kun, I called my mom, then I called Oru—um, I mean, Yagi-san.”

“About what?” Todoroki mumbled, then yawned. “Who?”

“Kouta-kun, Mandalay-san’s nephew? He punched me in the balls yesterday.”

Ochako snorted. “You called your mom about that brat punching you in the balls?”

Izuku sputtered, starting and stopping as he tried to formulate his answer on that. But before he could answer, Aizawa stopped them in the middle of the clearing. “Morning, kids.”

There was a whole bunch about training and something about a provisional license because of Villain uprisings. All Shigeo could really notice was how nice the sky looked this early in the morning and the discernible lack of spirits in the surrounding mountain area.

When he and Arataka went hunting for the tsuchinoko there was energy all around them. Not just in the trees or the animals that lived around the mountain range, but spirits and ghosts that existed in the general area.

Everything was clear, silent. Weird.

“Kageyama.”

Shigeo jolted. Class A parted to give him a way to Aizawa, who stood by the head of the group expectantly, arms crossed as he waited for Shigeo to approach.

When Shigeo moved to step forward, Aizawa threw something at him. He caught it with some difficulty but thankfully did not drop it (maybe his hand-eye coordination was improving).

“The ball from the assessment?” It was by no means familiar in Shigeo’s hands. He had it all but one minute before it flew off into the galaxy. “Sir, if I may… I might not be the best one for a demonstration…”

Aizawa blinked at that. Then nodded. “Right, yeah, my bad. Hand it over to Bakugou.”

Bakugou did not wait for Shigeo to hand it over to him, snatching it away from Shigeo’s hand and stepping towards Aizawa to give himself some space. 

“Do your best,” Shigeo called out as Hanta and Mina cheered for him. 

The only warning Shigeo had of the oncoming explosion was the impressive stance he pulled and the loud shout of go to hell! 

He applauded through the ringing in his ears. Aizawa put up his tablet as everyone adjusted through the explosion’s aftereffects, showing the result as it counted up, up, and up.

Bakugou walked back to his place. The tablet stopped at 709.6 meters. Shigeo applauded again, then slowed to a stop when he realized no one else was doing so.

“That’s not much further than before…” Hanta pointed out. Shigeo, for the life of him, could not remember the exact number Bakugou got for the initial Quirk assessment test, but he was inclined to believe Hanta if he did.

“Yes, you have been through a lot, these past three months, but only your techniques and minds have matured. Well,” Aizawa paused, thinking his phrasing over. “And your bodies, a bit. But your Quirks haven’t met up with the pace…”

And that was where Shigeo lost focus on what was being said. 

He really wasn’t supposed to be concerned about these things. He’d already told Aizawa. If they were just going to be doing Quirk training for the rest of the week, this will have been all for naught.

At the very least, he could go for a soak in the open-air baths any time.

Aizawa had him on standby in case anyone got injured, but mostly pushed him towards Eijirou and Ojirou, who were tasked to do considerably more lethal hand-to-hand. Shigeo was mostly just in charge of dodging anything Eijirou or Ojirou threw at him, using his barrier to defend attacks he couldn’t, or try to catch either of them off-guard.

It doesn’t take him long to work up a sweat after all the ducking, rolling, and blocking. Getting Ojirou to go down was easier, but Eijirou’s defense made it harder for Shigeo to do it without threat of injury.

It’s not until seven in the morning that Class B finally joined them in the clearing, tailed by the Waipushi.

Shigeo wasn’t confident enough with his hand-to-hand abilities to look away from what he was doing or listen in on any conversations others might be having, but he supposed that Aizawa, Kan, Tora, Mandalay, Ragdoll, and Pixie-bob would say something if it was important (and damn if he wasn’t proud of himself for managing to remember all those names at the same time while also pinning them down to their faces. He just met these people!)

He ducked under Ojirou’s tail as it shot out for him, then rolled to the side as Eijirou barreled towards him, shouting. He wheezed out, “Don’t call out your attacks, Eijirou-kun,” before jumping up with a little telekinesis and stepping over both their heads.

“Shigeo!”

Shigeo landed on the dry soil, looking towards where Hitoshi and Teruki were waving him over. He looked over his shoulder and found Kan and Aizawa preoccupied with Izuku.

“Go ahead, young man,” said Tora, waving him off with a paw. “I will tell your teachers to follow if needed and handle these young men here.”

“Please do, Tora-san. Thank you!”

“No problem.” Then Tora went back to shouting at Izuku to do better. Shigeo shook his head as he jogged on over to his friends.

“I told Kan-sensei about my uh, thing this morning during breakfast,” Teruki started, a grin on his face. “And he said it’s alright.”

“Congratulations, Teruki,” Shigeo responded. Then paused. He gestured to his chest. “You mean about the… or about our…” he gestured around.

Teruki blinked, then laughed out loud. “No! No, no. That’s—oh my god, imagine me coming out to him. No. I told him about our abilities, and he gave us the go signal to practice apart from the group since Ragdoll-san will be seeing over us with her Quirk anyway.”

Shigeo nodded, then huffed out a breath. “Okay. Okay, that’s good. Well. I’ll go get myself some water then I’ll go tell Aizawa-sensei?”

“Good, great plan. I’ll wait here so we can go somewhere else together, okay?”

“God, you’re a mess,” Hitoshi commented as Shigeo bounded off to the water station. He didn’t catch the rest of it, didn’t turn to see what it was about. He grabbed one of the bottles by the bench next to Mandalay and Kouta. 

He downed it, then took a moment to catch his breath. He tried not to feel awkward about the weird tension between the aunt and nibling as he took his time. 

Once he was done, he headed over to where Aizawa stood by Ragdoll, almost comical when standing next to the green… aquamarine? Odd-haired Hero in their colorful Hero uniform. It was like looking at superheroes from two different genres.

“Sensei,” Shigeo called out. “May I speak to you in private?”

Ragdoll whipped around to look at him, Aizawa doing much the same at a normal pace. “You’re… Quirkless.”

Aizawa raised a brow at them. “So?”

Ragdoll put their paws up. “No reason. Go ahead, I’ll just call for Mandalay if you guys need it.”

With the forty-seven or so people in the clearing, the safest bet was to walk back to Teruki before Shigeo could ask for permission. Hitoshi, according to Teruki, had already walked off to the cave Tokoyami had gone into to train his Quirk.

“Hanazawa, Vlad hasn’t assigned you anything?” Aizawa called out.

“Actually, sensei, that’s what I wanted to talk about. Um.” Shigeo couldn’t help the stammers. “Teruki and I are going to train our powers elsewhere. Kan-sensei already gave Teruki the go signal, we just wanted to tell you before we went to another clearing to train.”

Aizawa blinked, then glanced between the two of them. “Hanazawa knows?”

“He’s my roommate,” Shigeo said, just as Teruki said, “I’m psychic too.”

The awkward silence that followed after was just as, if not more, than unbearable than the silence between Kouta and Mandalay. 

Shigeo cleared his throat. “Right, um. Teruki can manipulate his powers to create flames. It’s actually a low-energy-costing technique, in my understanding, but… yeah. It would be kind of counterproductive to have us Quirkless students pretend to do Quirk training.”

Aizawa raised a hand to rub at his chin. “You didn’t tell me this, why?”

“Not my secret to tell, sir.”

“Not your business to pry for either, with all due respect, sir.” Shigeo could only furrow his brows at Teruki’s subtly antagonistic tone. 

Aizawa nodded, then sighed, deep, heavy. “I suppose that that’s fair. Vlad knows?”

“Only found out this morning, yes,” Teruki answered.

Aizawa gave him a look, then turned around to look over the clearing of students practically crying out in pain. 

Shigeo could only wonder how much strain this kind of Quirk training could do to one’s body, having no Quirk himself. 

“I’m coming with you.”

Shigeo blinked, glanced at Teruki who was giving him an equally surprised glance. “Sir, we don’t—”

“It’s not a request, Kageyama. I’m not leaving you two training alone in the forest without someone looking after you. It’s protocol. I’ll just be there to make sure neither of you make a mess or burn anything down.”

Shigeo and Teruki shared a look. With a shrug, he said, “Alright, sir.”

“I’ll lead the way,” said Teruki.

It was past noon, and they just finished their break after Teruki helped Shigeo how to make fire out of energy, and Shigeo figured out how to turn that fire into electricity, and they both practiced growing plants together. 

Shigeo hadn’t figured out how to manipulate sound energy just yet, but they were getting there.

Thankfully, Teruki hadn’t run out of energy. Though technically Shigeo should have himself to thank for that.

Huh.

 “I think your sensei just came with us to nap,” Teruki muttered almost conspiratorially. He pulled Shigeo down to sit with him in the middle of the clearing.

Shigeo glanced to the side where Aizawa was, meters away, lounging under the wide shade of the oldest tree Shigeo had ever seen. He looked back towards Teruki and shrugged. “He can do what he wants, I guess. How do you suppose we go about doing this, though?”

Teruki straightened in his seat. “Right. Well, to recap: you can’t control what you keep repressing, right? Right. So, I have… three things.” He held three fingers up for emphasis. “Or… two, really. It all depends on what’ll happen.”

Shigeo hummed his affirmative, then nodded for good measure.

“I can’t really approach this like we’re the same level so maybe… we work it the way Reigen-san would?”

“How’s that?”

“Spiritually? Well, emotionally. Uh. I’m going to try help you deal with your emotions so that you won’t end up pulling at your powers when things get tough. That sound good?”

Shigeo sat back a little, regarding Teruki carefully as he chewed at the inside of his cheek in thought. It wasn’t that he would mind too much? He just didn’t wake up today expecting Teruki to try and uproot about seven or so years of repressed emotions.

But if it was going to get them closer to helping him control his powers, well…

With a deep breath, Shigeo nodded. “I trust you. You wouldn’t want to try something… with the intention of hurting me.”

Without hesitation, Teruki shook his head. “No, I won’t. So… okay. Let’s start with working backwards?”

“Hm?”

“Let’s do what you don’t do. Well, not necessarily like that, I mean, you did tell me you’d do it because you trusted me but uh… you repress your emotions to keep ahold of your powers, right?”

Shigeo nodded.

“What if you let it out?”

Shigeo blinked. “What do you mean? You’ve seen it let out before. That’s what happens. Well, at least when it happens while I’m unconscious.”

“No!” Teruki laughed. “No, like, uh… how do I phrase this… Remember when you passed your energy over to Reigen-san?”

“Yeah?”

“What if you did that, like, all the time?”

“Pass my energy around?”

“No, like, feel the emotion fully and just be. Like a…”

“Like when you turn a faucet on?”

“More like a lighthouse,” Teruki pointed out. “Use all your powers all the time but stay where you are and just turn it off when you need it.”

“I already do that though. My problem is that I don’t control it when I use it too much. Like, there’s a storm in the lighthouse and I can’t spin the light around because the storm does.”

Teruki hummed, bringing his hand to his chin. “I never really thought about it like that. You’re right. Well. Let’s try it for experiment’s sake?”

Shigeo swallowed. “If you say so.”

“Well. What’s an emotion you’re sure wouldn’t hurt anyone?”

An emotion that wouldn’t hurt anyone?

He looked up at the tree line beyond Teruki. Worry might offend someone. Anger, hatred, and sadness were out of the question. Courage was reckless. Happiness could get a bit too much, but it was an easy answer and maybe he was taking too long answering again, he knew he always did that.

“Happiness. Wait.” Shigeo hummed. “Gratitude.”

Teruki made an awed sound. “Good choice, Shigeo. Can we try that? Try to remember things that made you feel that and let’s see what happens?”

Shigeo nodded, clenching and unclenching his fists. He hoped this went well.

He closed his eyes.

The week after Mogami and Asagiri, Shigeo had gone around appreciating and thanking everyone around him and everyone that had gotten him to that point in life. No one knew, of course, what happened in Asagiri’s consciousness. Dimple barely knew how long he was in there. 

But Shigeo could remember the desolation and misery fresh for a whole month until he found that he didn’t worry about it so much anymore. He’d buried it under club activities, clients, and high school entrance exams.

He thought about quiet walks to school with Ritsu. Onigawara and Inugawa’s banter every morning, Mezato badgering him for an interview, the relief of pouring water under his shirt after workouts with the Body Improvement Club, the smell of freshly brewed tea at Spirits & Such, ramen and takoyaki with Arataka, Dimple’s rambling before bed.

He thought about ice cream at the park, Tenya’s warm hugs, Ochako’s playful banter, the callouses on Izuku’s hand in his, Momo’s fretting, Hitoshi’s cat memes, the sound of Ritsu’s humming pop songs over dinner calls, and Teruki’s milk and honey.

“Shigeo.”

He opened his eyes.

He’d expected things to float, so when he saw Teruki upside down in front of him, he wasn’t terribly surprised by it. Mostly just sheepish.

What he didn’t expect was the waist-high grass and dandelion sprouts all around them.

He pressed down on his emotions and the flow of energy that came with it. He righted Teruki back in front of him. “Sorry… Are you alright?”

Teruki waved him off. “Was that all of it?”

“All of what?”

“Your gratitude.”

Shigeo shrugged. “I think it was actually still just building up. Too much, right?”

Teruki made a face at that. “Your emotions are never too much, Shigeo. That was beautiful. You’re allowed to emote just like everyone else no matter the results. Really, the problem isn’t with your control over your powers, but I’m grateful for your cooperation with that. Nice work.”

Shigeo blinked. With a soft snick and the smell of cut grass as a breeze flew by, Teruki set aside the grass stalks and dandelions away from them. It took a while for his vine of energy to snap back into their space.

“No… problem?”

“Alright,” Teruki clapped his hands together. “How do you control your energy when you’re conscious of it? Like, how does it feel when you use them?”

“Like I want it to happen,” Shigeo shot back, surprising even himself with how certain he felt and how fast he answered the question. 

Teruki laughed. “So, you just want something to happen and it happens?”

Shigeo shrugged. “Remember Suzuki-kun’s enchanted bag?”

Teruki nodded.

“Watch this.” Shigeo held his hand out and thought about the towel he had in his luggage. It took a few seconds, but ruffling leaves were their only warning before the towel flew into Shigeo’s hand. Aizawa shot up from his nap, looking around suspiciously.

“What?”

Shigeo shook the leaves off his towel and tried not to laugh at Aizawa’s sudden panic. “Nothing, sensei, still training.”

Aizawa squinted at them, before leaning back against the tree, arms crossed.

“Did you just summon your towel?” Teruki hissed, then started laughing breathlessly as he spoke. “We’re like, half an hour away on foot from the facility! Shigeo! That’s fucking amazing!”

Shigeo wiped off the sweat on the back of his neck. “It’s not really much. I did it with Bakugou’s battle aids yesterday because Aizawa-sensei didn’t tell us we were doing something strenuous.”

He didn’t glance towards Aizawa to check if the man had heard. Teruki made a face like he was pleased with this but ultimately said nothing.

“You never cease to amaze me, Shigeo,” Teruki admitted with so much fondness, it had Shigeo scratching at his cheek, hoping he could pass off his blush with the heat beating down on them.

Teruki’s expression stayed fond, but muted as he nodded. “Alright. Back to what my main question was going to be: When you lose control like during the finals, you feel like something’s holding you back from letting you do what you want to do, right? 

He nodded.

“This makes your energy go on fritz because they’re responding to how hopeless you feel, right?”

Shigeo nodded.

“Is there anything else you might feel before that happens? Aside from the hopelessness, I guess.”

Shigeo slumped with a sigh, fidgeting with his fingers. Teruki reached between their space to hold onto his hand. Shigeo gave him a smile. Teruki gave him an encouraging nod and squeezed his hand.

He remembered the otoshidama, his first meeting with Teruki, his battle with Koyama, with Mogami. One thin thread connected all of those incidents together and all the incidents between. He who suppressed his emotions when out in public and only used it for clients…

“I wanted to help someone. Or save them.”

Teruki squeezed his hand again. 

He stammered, started and broke, before, “Maybe. Well. I can’t… fix that for you, Shigeo. Because there’s not really a problem with your powers. You’re perfectly fine as a psychic, you always have been. You’re practically the best one there is. My guess is, you’ve mostly been losing control recently because… you want things and you don’t know what they are or how to go about getting them. It’s alright to feel that way.”

There was something about the way Teruki said that that had him glancing down at Teruki’s mouth, then his neck, before, chastised by his own morals, Shigeo’s eyes landed on their conjoined hands.

He nodded. “Right. It’s okay to want things and feel… weird when you don’t’ get them.”

“Correct. Losing control is alright, Shigeo. I do too. And so does everyone else. It’s completely normal.” Teruki squeezed his hand again, shaking it to make Shigeo look him in the eye. “I am here for you, okay? We’re here for you. So maybe… instead of losing hope when you can’t save someone... Try to ask for help. Stall. Maybe take a moment to breathe and do what you think is best.”

“When things go south…”

Teruki smiled. “It’s okay to run away.”

Shigeo nodded again. Once, twice, and thrice for good measure. “I’ll try.”

Teruki grinned, then pushed himself up to sit on his knees, then stood all without letting go of Shigeo’s hand.

Shigeo pulled himself up when Teruki stood more solidly.

“Now,” Teruki started, letting go of Shigeo’s hand to place both of his on his hips. “I think I can figure out how to do sound energy.”

Chapter Text

“We didn’t really find out how to do sound energy today either…” Shigeo trailed off, trying to sound too disappointed. “At the very least, Teruki didn’t get a fever this time. It was hard to explain to Aizawa-sensei yesterday that Teruki wasn’t that overworked after training.”

Tenya nodded, gingerly working the peeler on the potato like Shigeo had taught him. “Is that. Well, is that normal for you guys?”

“Fevers? Only if we get too tired.”

“I meant the figuring things out together, but I’m concerned now. How are the fevers normal?”

Shigeo shrugged, to both questions. He put down the peeled potato into the clean wash basin and grabbed a washed carrot from the other. “The longest I took to break a fever was two days, the first time I… lost control. I was ten years old though. Nowadays, I think it’d break in twelve hours tops. It happens when I lose too much energy.”

The Class B students that were with them looked at each other, probably confused about whatever they were talking about. Shigeo felt bad for leaving them out of the conversation, but if Teruki hasn’t told anyone outside of Kan and Hitoshi about his powers then Shigeo definitely wasn’t going to tell.

“You live with Hanazawa, correct?” said the one with black skin. 

Shigeo bowed politely. “Kageyama Shigeo, Class A. And, yeah, he and I were from the same middle school.”

“The whole of Class B has been made aware, at this point,” they said. “If not because of Monoma, it’s because Hanazawa can hardly shut up about you sometimes. I’m Kuroiro, nice to finally meet you in person. You remember Shouda from his match with that lightning guy, right?”

Shigeo didn’t, but he bowed at Shouda nonetheless.

“This is Kamakiri,” Kuroiro pointed at the person beside him. “If this one starts asking questions, don’t—”

“So, you and Teru like, a thing?” Kamakiri squinted at him, leaning in close. “Like, you’re on a first-name basis, you train alone together, live together, have lunch together. What’s your dea—”

“Shigeo!” Teruki called out from the furnaces. Shigeo tried to look around for him, not wanting to answer any of Kamakiri’s questions no matter how impolite it was, but Todoroki and Izuku were blocking the way.

“I’ll handle this,” Tenya said, grabbing the carrot and the peeler from him. “Go ahead, Shigeo-kun.”

“Okay, thanks, Tenya-kun. It was nice meeting you as well, Shouda-san, Kuroiro-san, Kamakiri-san.” He bowed and scurried off before he heard anything Kamakiri had to say about that quick escape.

As Shigeo made his way towards the furnaces with the Class B students…

“You have to back up words with actions, I think.”

“…of course. You’re right.”

Todoroki lowered the pot of water he was holding, looking down at Izuku as he spoke. “Why would he care what a stranger has to tell him? I’m not sure what you’re trying to get out of him, but you shouldn’t butt into something personal. You have the tendency to do that, surprisingly.”

Shigeo huffed. “Well, that’s unfair of you to say.”

“Shige-kun!” Izuku pushed himself up, having stumbled in surprise from where he was crouching by a furnace. “Um. Please tell me you didn’t hear that.”

Shigeo ignored him, looking up at Todoroki. “Izuku-kun only told Aizawa-sensei about your dad because I made him promise to. If you’re going to call someone nosy, it should be me.”

Todoroki could only blink at him. 

“I’m just gonna…” Gingerly, Izuku grabbed the pot from Todoroki’s hands and put it on top of the furnace. Shigeo barely gave him a glance, waiting for Todoroki to say something.

“Why?”

“Why should I tell a teacher that you’re being treated badly in your own home?”

“Why did you think it was any of your business?”

Shigeo inclined his head. “It honestly wasn’t, but I can’t just have that knowledge and do nothing about it. That would make me complicit to the abuse your father put you through and that’s unacceptable. No one should get away with that kind of behavior, least of all a pro Hero.”

“Now, now,” Izuku stood, putting one of each of his gloved hands between them, hovering but not touching. Shigeo felt no hostility from Todoroki, only blunt curiosity, but to let Izuku keep his wits, he let it be. “I need one of you to light this furnace. Shige-kun, could you do it or should Todoroki-kun?”

Surprising them both, Todoroki bowed to his waist, hands on his thighs. Izuku stepped back, pulling Shigeo with him. 

Todoroki said, “Thank you. Both of you.”

Shigeo blinked, glanced at Izuku, who now held his hands up in a surrendering gesture, then looked at Todoroki. “What for?” he asked.

“For making Aizawa-sensei force me out of that.” Todoroki stood back up, looking each of them in the eye with his usual sincere intensity. “I’m not actually supposed to tell anyone just in case I get bullied for it, but I got emancipated… It’s only been a few months, but I think that was enough to make me completely reanalyze the type of shit he put me and my siblings through, growing up.”

“Well, we might have told sensei, but everything that came after telling him was all his actions,” Izuku cut in.

“I moved in with my sister,” Todoroki confessed. “Aizawa-sensei and Present Mic-sensei made it so the bastard would still support me financially despite everything.”

“He’s supposed to do that,” Izuku pointed out. “I would know. My dad does the same thing and he hasn’t even seen me since I was a kid.”

“Really?” The way Todoroki asked it made him sound so amazed.

Shigeo smiled. “Well, congratulations anyway, Todoroki-kun.”

Todoroki scratched at the back of his neck. “Well—”

“Shigeo!”

Teruki bound up to them, looking frazzled and smudged in soot. “I’ve been looking for you. Bakugou broke something yesterday that I think you could fix, can you—Oh, are you guys busy?”

Shigeo shook his head. “Not really.”

“We could use some flames though,” Izuku chuckled, gesturing to the furnace. “Before Tenya-kun catches us fooling around.”

“No problem,” Todoroki and Teruki said before setting the logs on fire with one hand each.

Izuku let out a laugh, a completely unintentional one from Shigeo’s experience, most likely due to nervousness. The logs went up in flames, the pot of water collateral as it started boiling almost immediately.

“Whoops,” Teruki said, then lowered the temperature. “There. That should do it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to borrow Shigeo for a minute.”

“I’m so excited for that test of courage later,” Mina said through mouthfuls of beef stew. 

Shigeo could barely keep his eyes open until that moment. A test of courage? But… “Mina-kun, don’t we have remedial classes?”

Mina, Eijirou, and Denki all froze at the same time, then eerily turned their heads towards Shigeo. 

Bakugou reached up in the familiar gesture of turning his hearing aids off and continuing his meal. Shigeo made to glance around the table for help, finding Ochako choking down her laughter and Tenya chewing his food as he looked on, curious but ultimately quiet. Izuku was nowhere to be found yet again. Todoroki didn’t even pay them any heed, wolfing down his food just as fast as Momo and Teruki were.

Mina started weeping then, which made Shigeo nervous. “Um, did I—was that the wrong thing to say?”

Mina wailed. “I was looking forward to it! Mob-kun! Why! Why would sensei get our hopes up like that! How could he be so cruel!”

Shigeo put his bowl of rice down on the table, not knowing how to deal with this. Where the hell was Izuku when Shigeo needed him here to try and console the others? “Wh-when did he say that, exactly?”

“He didn’t! Pixie-bob-san did just this morning! During training!”

“Ah, sorry, Teruki and I were training elsewhere, I must not have heard them say that… but I do know we’re supposed to keep our remedials up until the end of the week. Sensei told us that, remember…?”

Hanta turned from behind Mina and patted her on the head. “Aizawa-sensei really did say that, you guys. Even I wasn’t thrilled about you guys missing out on it.”

Shigeo frowned. Now he wanted to see what they had on hand for the test of courage. He wasn’t really a superfan of horror. Ghosts and spirits and monsters weren’t as terrifying after he grew used to his powers, but the quick adrenaline he got from jump scares were fun sometimes.

The lack of spiritual energy in these mountains still made him feel off though , like they’ve been all exorcised. The last time he remembered this kind of thing happening was…

“Shigeo?”

Shigeo snapped back into focus, looking up at Teruki. “Yes, what?”

“Something on your mind?”

Shigeo took a moment to chase his last train of thought, then spotted Aizawa in the corner of his eye. He pushed himself out of the benches. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back. I need to do something.”

“Are you done eating?”

“Yes, if you can—”

“I’ll bring these to the sink for you.”

“Please. Thank you so much, Teruki.”

He made a beeline for his teacher, trying to widen his mind’s eye around the valley they were in, the rising panic helping him hone this relatively new ability. No spirit energy from anything animate. Just plants and the earth.

“Something up, Kageyama?”

“I feel something off, sir,” he mumbled. “Something’s wrong.”

“You’re not excused from remedials unless it’s contagious, kid.”

Shigeo shook his head, vigorously, glancing around. “No, not that. Spiritually, sir. It feels. Like the…”

“Like what?”

“The USJ.”

Aizawa blinked down at him. “What.”

“Before the incident there was… it’s hard to explain,” Shigeo whispered.

“Then try, Kageyama, because I will have to call in reinforcements in case of a breach. Just tell me.”

“Before it happened, everything was dull. I remember it.” Shigeo wrung his hands together. “At first I thought it was just because I was still motion sick. I felt nothing for a kilometer. Just plants. No animals, no spirits, no energy. The electricity in the building was off as well. That was before Kuro…giri-san…”

“Hey.” Aizawa knelt down, hands on Shigeo’s shoulders. “How wide is it now? That radius.”

“It’s over the whole valley.”

Aizawa’s eyes sharpened. Footsteps approached them from behind, but Shigeo was trying not to remember things from the police station in Kiyashi, about Kurogiri’s death, about the League of Villains, about how Shigaraki had said see you with certainty and familiarity.

“What’s going on here?”

“Vlad, give the principal our coordinates.”

“What—why?”

“Just do it,” Aizawa said through gritted teeth. He dropped his hands from Shigeo’s shoulders. “Just… just do it. Everything goes as planned for now, but it’s better we’re prepared even if it’s just a hunch.”

That diverted Shigeo’s attention away from his panic, guilt replacing it. Kan walked away, fishing something out of one of the things on his belt. “Buh—uh, that’s too much trouble for a hunch, sirs. I’m—”

“You knew they were coming last time as well, Kageyama. I’m sure you remember what came of that. If they’re here like you say they are, then I’m more than inclined to trust your judgment. I’m just glad you told me before it escalated.”

“O-okay, sir.”

“Now, call your fellow flunkies, it's time for remedial classes.”

Fires roared over the forest. 

This was in the middle of Kan stressing which body parts to aim for to disarm an opponent. Shigeo had shot up from his seat, head turned towards the exit.

“Kageyama, what is it?”

“Fire. All over the forest.” He could barely hear his own voice, his mind’s eye trying to locate all forty-two energy sources outside, classes A and B, the Waipushi, and Kouta. He’d never extended his energy this far and thin before, but his dread was building, fueling him. The lights flickered as part of him tapped into the circuits around him.

Fifty-two. Fifty-two licks of energy among the fire.

“And Villains. Around ten of them spread around the camp.”

“Ten Villains? Is this what Aizawa—” 

Everyone! We’re under attack by two villains but there might be more out there. Those who can reach the facility, evacuate immediately! Do not engage with the enemy! This is not a drill!

Shigeo focused on that voice as Aizawa left the classroom. Mandalay’s telepathy Quirk. He always did wonder how telepaths could do it, so he traced the energy back to her. 

A tree of energy came from Mandalay’s location outside, its roots and branches connecting every student she could. 

So, it was just connecting energy on people and thinking really loudly, right? Shigeo bit at the inside of his cheek.

He let some energy float over Eijirou, enveloping his head. Can you hear this?

“Yeah, buddy, why?” Eijirou turned around, confused.

Shigeo raised his brows at that.

“Who you talking to, Kiri?” Mina turned as well.

He could not believe that that worked. 

“Kageyama.”

Might as well, then.

Shigeo tuned them out, reaching out to all forty-two of the lights he recognized outside the facility. If everyone can hear me, there are ten villains out there, two of them just set fire to the forest near the facility. Something just started spreading around the test of courage area as well. Please regroup, keep an eye out, and stay safe.

“Are Mob-kun’s eyes always that bright red or am I imagining things?”

He dispersed his energy and kept his hold on Teruki’s. Remember what we talked about. Use all of your powers, Teruki. You better come back to me.

Teruki’s energy surged for a moment, an affirmative.

Who’s the other telepath in the facility? came Mandalay’s question.

Denki made a confused noise. “We have another telepathy Quirk user? Monoma, is it you?”

“No,” Eijirou grabbed at Mina’s arm. “It’s Kageyama, c’mon, how didn’t you guess that?”

“You could do that?!” Mina shrieked.

Shigeo shrugged. “Just learned how to. Anyway, we should rearrange the chairs just in case…” 

He probed outside once more. Tenya, Ojirou, and Satou were heading back to the facility. The Villains weren’t getting any closer from where they were setting things on fire, but… Aizawa intercepted a Villain just outside the front entrance. “Just in case someone might be injured when they get here.”

“Good thinking.” Kan fished a set of keys out of his pocket. Fumbling with it, he held one particular key up and gave it to Eijirou. “Go by pairs. Ashido, Kirishima, get the first aid kits from the management office down the hall and head straight back. There will be four of them stacked behind the large desk in the corner.”

Shigeo started moving the chairs, Hagakure and the rest following suit. He kept his mind’s eye outside, keeping an eye on the clashes. He had no idea what was happening, but it wasn’t looking good. Kurogiri’s energy surging and deploying two…dark pulses of energy had him clenching the wood of the desks.

The only thing that took him out of his head was Tenya arriving with the others, intercepted by Mina and Eijirou with the kits.

“Aizawa-sensei defeated a Villain outside, we think,” Ojirou said, voice less composed as he seemed. His tail hung over his shoulder. “He just ran off afterwards and told us to stay in here.”

“And we should,” Kan said with finality. “Leave it to the pros for now, kids.”

When the door clicked shut behind the new group, Shigeo set to looking over the newcomers for injuries, letting the others clear out the center of the room. Monoma and Denki were told to retrieve all the first aid kits they could find in luggage and rooms inside the facility. 

Shigeo continued to track the happenings outside every other minute.

While Shigeo handed Ojirou and the others something to clean themselves with from the kit, Izuku’s energy surged over the fires, Kouta and a Villain were with him. 

Out of panic, Shigeo grabbed at Tenya’s arm, probing at Aizawa’s energy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Izuku-kun’s in trouble with Kouta-san. I have to tell sensei.”

“No!” Tenya gripped back at him. “Tell… tell Tora-san. If someone like Izuku-kun can’t do it, Aizawa-sensei’s not cut out for that kind of fight either. Get a heavy hitter.”

Shigeo looked at him, then diverted his probing towards what he felt was Tora, who was busy with two other Villains. Izuku-kun and Kouta-san are on the cliffs to the left of the facility, up against a powerful Villain. Please help them, Tora-san.

Is this Kageyama-kun? Mandalay shot back. Tora’s on his way. Thank you for telling us.

Tenya settled with gripping his hand, supporting the best he could. Shigeo squeezed back as he watched the energies rush through the forests with a far-off gaze.

Minutes after Izuku, Tora, and Kouta separated from the defeated Villain, and the Waipushi and Aizawa dispersed all over the test of courage area, students came slowly trickling back into the facility, smoke masks on and off, most barely hanging on, having inhaled too much of whatever was outside.

Even after receiving treatment, some of them remained unconscious. 

Shigeo could only heal them but couldn’t take the poison from their systems. The only one who could do that was Kan, who was their glorified bodyguard at the moment, but didn’t hesitate to help pull out whatever poison there was. 

He had Ojirou, Monoma, Mina, and Eijirou helping him patch the students up the best they could. Anyone who wasn’t too tired and could stand the sight of blood.

When Denki came in, Kan ordered him to contact Yagi, as well as Yamada. 

When Uraraka and Tsuyu came in, Shigeo let Tenya fret over them, because amidst this hubbub inside the class room, a Villain started approaching their facility.

“This should be fine, Tsunotori-san,” Shigeo reassured, patting the other student’s hand gently as he pulled away. “If you could excuse me. Hagakure-kun, take my post, please.”

“Roger that!”

He stood, catching Kan’s eyes and nodding subtly. He knew that Eijirou and Tenya were on the edge, right now. Next to Izuku, Todoroki, and Bakugou, they were the most willing to charge recklessly into battle, and he didn’t want to set off a chain reaction in case Monoma, Kamakiri, or other Class B students were like that as well. 

Kan walked to the teacher’s table, pulling away from one of the students who were unconscious, intercepting him. Shigeo whispered, “Sir… one of the Villains is headed towards the facility. But… I’m pretty sure it’s a fake.”

Kan’s voice was not as low as Shigeo’s. “A fake?”

Tenya shuffled over, whispering loudly, “Like the one Aizawa-sensei fought by the entrance?”

Kan bit at his lip, then got up. “You both are in charge while I’m gone. Lock the door behind me and do not open it for anyone else.”

“Yes, sir.”

They watched Kan duck out of the door and hurry away. Shigeo clicked the lock shut.

Mandalay announced the moment he did. Students, to ensure your safety, you are permitted to fight back. I have also been informed that Bakugou Katsuki is one of the Villains’ targets, so whoever is with him, please ensure that he avoids conflict and head towards the facility post-haste. Kageyama-kun?

Shigeo jolted, then intercepted Mandalay’s energy for a more private conversation. Yes, Mandalay-san?

Who’s with Bakugou-kun?

Shigeo closed his eyes and concentrated. Every time he spread his focus out onto the valley, it was getting harder and harder to focus on individual energies. Teruki wasn’t hard to miss. Todoroki and someone from class B was there as well, all four of them facing off against a Villain. Tokoyami was too spread out but he had Shouji and Izuku…

Teruki, Todoroki-kun, and someone from Class B is there. Tokoyami-san, Shouji-san, and Izuku-kun are nearby as well.

There was a moment of silence where Tenya lead him away from the doorway. Alright, can you tell Midoriya-kun to head back?

I can certainly try but I don’t think he’ll listen to me.

That’s what we thought. Don’t bother, then. Tell me where they are and tune out. Eraserhead says to conserve your energy unless needed. If Midoriya-kun comes back, you may need to heal him.

Yes, Mandalay-san.

He looked over the valley with his mind’s eye. He and the others are farther down the path from the clearing you were just in with Aizawa-sensei.

Alright, thank you. Stay safe.

Shigeo snapped his energy back into the room, as close to him as he could right now without it running amok with worry. If he restrained himself too much, things might start floating. He tried not to lean too heavily on the teacher’s table for fear of Tenya’s fretting.  

A Snickers bar landed on his lap. 

Hitoshi slid onto the table next to him, leaning on his shoulder. “I know you’re using too much, no matter how much Teru says you’re infinite on energy. Pace yourself out some, dude. Do we have water, Iida?”

Shigeo took the candy bar and unwrapped it, taking a few bites. “Thanks. There’s a fountain just outside, but we have to wait for Kan-sensei to get back.”

“So, I guess you’re planning on telling everyone about your powers now,” Hitoshi pointed out, no doubt trying to ease the tension by distracting him. He dug his pointer finger into the side of Shigeo’s head, grinning. “You can’t energy manipulate thoughts, y’know.”

Shigeo shrugged. “If this is the way it comes out of the bag, I don’t think it’s much of a loss.”

“I can assure you it will all work out just fine.” Tenya leaned against Shigeo’s other side, propping him up and squeezing him between them. “We’ll vouch for you, Shigeo-kun. Look at all these students you’ve saved already. Do you think all twenty-four of them would be able to come back here if you hadn’t helped out? Yuuei would be at a loss without a Hero of your caliber!”

Before Shigeo could dismiss most of those statements, the door clicked. 

He jerked away from his friends, pushing off the table, and squinted at the opaque glass window as he walked up to it.

He froze, turned, put up a barrier around the door and shouted, “Take cover!”

The door broke into splinters, showering the perpetrator with debris as everything bounced back outside.

A person in a trench coat poked at his barrier, barely reeling back from the electricity it emitted. “Shigaraki did tell us about you, but I couldn’t believe it even if he had. White T-Poison, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Shigeo sent a burst of electricity through his barrier again. “Please leave, Villain-san. Your target isn’t here.”

“On the contrary, you are one of our targets, ura-banchou. Come on out and we won’t hurt your other friends.”

“If Shigaraki-san told you about me, you wouldn’t be threatening me with hostages,” Shigeo deadpanned, easily shoving his panic further down with anger taking its place.

 “Who are you?” asked Shinsou.

The Villain chuckled, bringing a hand up to their pierced and bruised face. “I’m—”

“Leave the facility,” Shinsou said, voice crackling with energy. Mind control. Shigeo was familiar with it, but he never learned from Dimple, never wanted to. 

The Villain turned, then, was abruptly pulled away. A couple of thuds and a squelch made Shigeo’s Snickers taste sour in his mouth.

“Kageyama.”

Shigeo stepped forward, peaking around the corner of the doorway. Aizawa stood over a patch of mud on the floor. From the fake, no doubt. Behind him, Kouta shook from where he stood. 

“Where’s Kan-sensei?” he asked, wary of another fake though they emitted Aizawa’s comforting red energy.

“I sent him out to brief the others, but this thing got in ahead of me.” He gave the mud by his feet one last stomp, barely breaking eye contact with him. “The fires have spread out too wide, I need you to help me and Kouta put it all out. He has a water Quirk.”

“But what about the—”

“Most of the Villains have retreated north to escape. The Heroes have arrived.”

Shigeo stepped out of the room but kept his barrier up around it, just in case. He spread his mind’s eye over the valley once more. 

Yagi was by the entrance now, in his All Might form, carrying Shuuzenji to them. Others were in teams, gathering up students and defeated Villains.

“Young Kageyama! You’re safe!” Yagi said, genuine relief in their bombastic Hero voice. Shigeo waved them off, Aizawa shushing them as well.

Mandalay, Tora, Pixie-bob, Todoroki, Izuku, Teruki, Bakugou, Tokoyami, and Shouji were the farthest from the facility, surrounded by Villains and unnervingly unknown entities that Shigeo didn’t like the feeling of. Teruki and Bakugou were awfully close to the Villains’ side, and another one of not-Kurogiri’s portals were open right by them, looming.

“Let’s get moving,” Aizawa ordered. “All Might, carry him and follow the fire.”

Shigeo let himself be carried; mind’s eye focused on the energies in the distance. He diverted a quarter of his focus to absorbing the heat energy for himself, too stretched out to feel motion sick as All Might jumped them around the forest.

“Kurogiri-san’s dead. How could they be…”

Yagi made a displeased sound. “His Quirk was stolen.”

“I know, but that’s supposed to be impossible,” Shigeo muttered. Villains were getting thrown around. Izuku’s energy kept waxing and waning. Teruki and Bakugou were subdued, oddly, suspiciously, worryingly. Tokoyami flared, even over Todoroki’s flames. 

The Villains were engulfed with dark red energy, Dark Shadow’s.

“So is this whole ambush.”

That was fair. 

The heat from below him and Yagi faded until it was nothing. Shigeo patted and pulled at Yagi’s shoulder. He pointed towards the conflict in the distance.

“They’re over there. Get us over, quick. Tokoyami’s energy is going haywire. We have to—”

“Hold on.”

Shigeo held on, closed his eyes, kept his mind’s eye on the horizon. It was less nauseating that way. They flew over the forest, no problem, crossed in two single jumps by All Might. When they arrived, Shigeo scrambled off of him and flicked his mind’s eye off to prevent confusion.

Dark Shadow retreated into Tokoyami, who was curled in on himself and protected by Shouji and held back by Todoroki. The Waipushi warded off two gigantic, half-naked Villains approaching their side of the clearing. Izuku, oh, Izuku…

Shigeo scrambled across the grass to get to him, hands hovering. “Izuku-kun, oh my god, your arm’s in a splint. Is the bone set?”

“Yes,” he croaked, one eye squinted open, the other swollen shut. Otherwise, he wasn’t as banged up as Shigeo thought he was going to be. He transferred a burst of energy over and stood, assured that Izuku will heal by himself.

Todoroki roared, eyes on the portal. “The marbles! That’s Hanazawa and Bakugou!”

Shigeo’s eyes widened, looking wildly around. The Villains were running around save for one with a top hat and the Villain from the facility. Somehow, Shigeo knew this was the real one.

“All Might and White T-Poison,” they said, eyeing them both. They shot a hand out, smoke emanating from their palm. “Back off and we won’t hurt your friends.”

“I’m a target as well, right?” Shigeo’s energy surged, grabbing at the energy from the Villain’s Quirk, from not-Kurogiri’s portal. It grew smaller and smaller, and the Villain stared at him in shock. “Let them go and I’ll come with you peacefully.”

They stared at Shigeo, then turned to their partner, bumping their shoulders together. “Tactical retreat, Compress.”

“Roger that, Dabi.” Compress threw one of the marbles at Todoroki, who scrambled to catch it.

Compress jumped into the depleting portal and tossed the other marble at Dabi. Shigeo shot a hand out, pulling at it telepathically. 

“Take it from me and I will break it, Bowl Cut, don’t try me.” Dabi had one foot inside not-Kurogiri’s portal, fist clutched around the marble. 

The marble de-compressed as Dabi put their other foot inside of not-Kurogiri’s portal.

They had their hand around his throat. 

Blond, spiky hair, and a horrified look on his face. 

Fire shot out of the portal. 

Shigeo ran.

“Teruki!”

The portal closed.

Shigeo very nearly exploded. 

There were injured in the area, though, which served as his brain’s warning bells. He turned tearful, hopeful eyes to All Might, to Mandalay. Izuku stood, propped up by Todoroki. Bakugou coughed and heaved on the ground, tended to by Pixie-bob.

“Shige-kun…” Izuku said. Shigeo looked at him, tears clouding his vision. Dried blood made lines down his face and mouth and nose. He was a right mess. “I’m so sorry…”

Shigeo exploded.

Worry branched out over the valley, grabbing strands of energy where he could take it, farther and farther and farther—

Bright yellow like a beacon, panic and helplessness over two cities away, thrown up by not-Kurogiri’s portal. Teruki, I’ll find you, just wait for me, okay? was Shigeo’s final thought as he dropped.

Chapter Text

When Shigeo woke up, he didn’t want to be awake. 

His mouth was a desert and there was a migraine beating like a wild animal in the cage of his eyes and forehead, a fever forcing dried tears out of them. Shigeo squinted up and saw faded lights on a white ceiling, coming in from outside the window.

Night time.

He shut his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

The migraine woke him up again, but he couldn’t open his eyes. 

The light beyond his eyelids colored his sight red and that meant Shigeo would be assaulted with a bigger headache if he opened them. The room lights, perhaps? Or maybe it was morning.

There was a cool hand on his forehead, then it ran its course, combing through his scalp, front to back. 

The feeling of someone caressing his scalp distracted him enough to lull him back to sleep.

He was just thirsty this time. 

Shigeo opened his eyes and it was day time, noon from the looks of the sun outside the window. He was propped up, not lying down, dressed in hospital garb. 

He blinked, then suddenly pushed himself to sitting in alert. Sadness, guilt, shame, and worry built up in him.

There was only one reason he’d wake up in a hospital when the last thing he remembered was being surrounded by trees, flashes of anxiety, and the sound of Bakugou retching and coughing.

A door slid open. Shigeo turned his head slowly to locate it.

Instead of finding more white paint, his eyes stuck on a yellow hoodie, and Ritsu, who was wearing it.

“Brother, you’re awake! I’ll um, call the nurse—”

“Water,” he croaked out. 

Part of him was relieved to have said this. Ritsu looked between what was probably the nurse’s station down the hallways and his brother, before deciding that his brother was more important than hospital protocol. 

Shigeo didn’t think he could take being alone right now. He had no idea what had happened before he’d woken up, and it helped to have someone here to just be with him.

Ritsu poured his brother two cups of water, knowing just on instinct that Shigeo wouldn’t verbally ask for a second one. “Thank god you’re awake. It’s been around twelve hours since you got admitted.”

Shigeo plucked the cup from shaky fingers and gulped down the water with surprising speed. He let out a breath as took the next one. He sipped this one. “How long since my fever broke?” Because what else could he be in a hospital for?

Unbeknownst to Ritsu, he was ticking off a lot of boxes on Shigeo’s list of theories just by saying, “Mom said you broke it around your third hour here, so that’s around maybe four in the morning because it’s already mid-noon.”

“Did I…hurt anyone after I…?”

Ritsu shook his head. “Midoriya-san said you were out of it after they took…” 

Fuck, Izuku was there? Trying not to show his panic, Shigeo asked, “What? Who took what?”

Ritsu’s eyes widened. “You don’t remember?”

Shigeo shook his head. “It’s all fuzzy. I remember…having beef stew, then I was in remedial classes, and then…”

Teruki.

The League of Villains took Teruki.

Shigeo’s breath hitched. 

He could remember the energy (wrong, wretched, stolen) swallow Teruki whole, the horrified look on his face. Bakugou’s dry-coughing rang loud in his ears, a ghost experience both abrupt and immersive. He didn’t like it. Why hadn’t he snatched that marble out of Dabi’s fingers? Why hadn’t he risked it?

It’s been twelve hours since Shigeo got on a comfortable bed, now drinking water his brother gave him, and Teruki was out there with a group so hellbent on getting labeled as terrorists because Shigeo hadn’t done what all he could do, because Shigeo gave Shigaraki the idea. 

Just wait for me, okay? he told Teruki. 

What the hell was he still doing in bed?

“I’ll… go get the nurse now.” Ritsu stood, refilling Shigeo’s cup and turning to leave.

Two cities away. That was his estimate. The trip from Yuuei to the Waipushi property took around four hours on a bus, so that meant that the League of Villains had Teruki hostage between Yuuei and camp. It wasn’t in Tokyo or Musutafu.

“How are you doing, Kageyama-kun?” asked the doctor as they walked in. Shigeo stared up at them. He hadn’t even noticed them come in.

“I’m fine, sensei. How are the others?”

“Most of them didn’t need medical care,” they relented. Shigeo knew, from the odd Internet search here and there during his internships, that doctors weren’t obligated to tell a patient details about other patients that may have been involved in the same accident or even. “I believe that was largely thanks to you and your classmates’ efforts to administer first aid. Nonetheless, the ten that were poisoned are still confined here. They’ll be awake in a few hours.”

Shigeo nodded, thumbing at the cup in his hands, trying to keep himself from panicking. The doctor flitted around the room, grabbing the clipboard by the foot of Shigeo’s bed. They checked a couple of things, scribbled this and that as checked Shigeo’s pulse.

“Can you recall how you got here?”

Shigeo nodded. “It took a few minutes after waking up.”

“Hm. Odd. Were you knocked on the head before passing out?”

“I think maybe after I passed out. But you should ask, um… All Might-sensei or Izuku-kun or Todoroki-kun, if they're here. They were near me when I did.”

The doctor clicked their pen, then pocketed it. “Okay. Detective Tsukauchi will check on you shortly, now that you’re awake. You need to make a statement about what happened. I believe you’ll be okay enough to be discharged this afternoon, so make sure to tell your little brother or your guardian before leaving.”

Arataka was here? “Alright, thank you, sensei.”

With that, the doctor left, keeping the door open.

Arataka walked in shortly after, looking rumbled and tired in a tank top and khaki pants. “Mob, oh thank heavens, you’re awake.”

Arataka wrapped him up in a tight hug, squeezing as he muttered things on the top of Shigeo’s head. It helped to calm him down, just a bit. He couldn’t help the swelling guilt in his gut with every bit of comfort and relief he felt.

For every second he sat here was another second leaving Teruki with the League.

The door clicked shut behind him. Shigeo peeked around Arataka’s shoulder to see Suzuki, Ritsu, and a tall, curly-haired person in a formal suit, not unlike the ones Arataka used to wear for Spirits & Such. They were holding an umbrella, not yet tidied away as the strap waved around with the motion of their fidgeting.

Shigeo turned to glance outside the window. It wasn’t sunny or rainy though. How odd.

“Good morning, older brother,” Suzuki greeted as he turned back to them.

“It’s mid-noon,” Ritsu muttered.

“Good day, older brother.” Suzuki elbowed Ritsu in the side, causing a small fight between them. Slowly, Shigeo’s nerves trickled away into nothing, but the guilt settled like juice powder on the bottom of a pitcher.

“Hello, Suzuki-kun, and... 

The person beside Suzuki jolted, glancing nervously down at Suzuki then at Arataka. When they didn’t say anything, Shigeo followed it with, “Ritsu.”

“Well, go on, just forget about me, I’m just right here!” Arataka grumbled, pulling Shigeo back into the hug. Shigeo huffed, but did not push away.

“What are you all doing here?”

Arataka finally stepped away at that, putting his hands on his hips. “Now what the hell kind of question is that? You end up in a hospital days after I sign off papers about you talking to some wanted criminal at a milk tea place in Kiyashi, they tell me someone was kidnapped, and you ask me what I’m doing here? What have they been filling your head with in that Hero school that you forget how worried I would get?”

“Now, now, Reigen-san… maybe he’s just woken up,” the stranger reassured.

Ritsu sighed. “Brother, this is Serizawa-san. A family friend of Shou’s and his dad’s employee. Technically only our family and Reigen-san are allowed to be here, but Shou insisted on coming with and told the staff that Serizawa-san was our uncle so that we can come to visit you.”

“Oh,” Shigeo surmised. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Serizawa-san. And thank you all for coming to visit me. I’m alright though… It’s just…”

Arataka nodded, expression sobering. He turned to Ritsu and the others. “Right. You three, out.”

Ritsu spluttered, stepping forward. “What? You can’t just—”

Shigeo shook his head. “Do as he says, Ritsu. I just have to make a statement for the police. It’s protocol. I’ll be out by this afternoon. Arataka-san will be with me, so don’t worry.”

Grumbling, Ritsu let himself be escorted out of the room by Serizawa and Suzuki. “See you, brother.”

“See you.”

When the door clicked shut behind them, Arataka sank into the seat beside Shigeo’s bed.

Shigeo fumbled with his now-empty cup of water. “Can I trust that, when I tell Detective Tsukauchi what happened at the camp, you won’t freak out?”

Arataka stared at him, contemplating. Shigeo supposed it was fair for him to keep Shigeo waiting after all the times he took so long to answer questions like this, but it really didn’t help with the anxiety, which was slowly building up again.

Seeming to have considered that, Arataka answered, “I’ll try not to. But I can’t promise anything.” 

 “I can tell you before I tell them, if you want,” Shigeo offered.

Arataka waved his hands up, shaking his head. “I’ll wait for the detective to get here to find out what happened, Mob, it’s no big deal.”

“I insist—”

“Seriously, Shigeo,” Arataka cut off, “save it for when he gets here to record your account. I don’t want you to relive that whole thing twice just because you want me to know ahead.”

The door opened before Shigeo could protest further. 

By the doorway, Tsukauchi leaned away, talking to someone else. “Thank you,” he threw over his shoulder, likely talking to the doctor that was in charge of Shigeo.

To his surprise, Aizawa and Yagi trailed after Tsukauchi, dressed in their usual attires: Aizawa in his Hero costume, and Yagi in a fitting white button-up and slacks. 

“Oh, good,” Tsukauchi said, finally noticing Arataka. “Your guardian is here. Nice to see you again, Reigen-san.”

“Not with these circumstances,” Reigen shot back.

“Certainly.”

“Quit the niceties,” Aizawa snapped. He looked tired. Him and Yagi both looked incredibly exhausted, like they hadn’t slept the last fourteen hours Shigeo was passed out due to overuse-induced exhaustion. “Just do whatever it is you came here to do, we don’t have time for this.”

Tsukauchi shrugged, then laid the recorder down on Shigeo’s lap, already rolling. “Alright then. I will be recording your account of the events that transpired last night at Ayado Valley. I, Tsukauchi Naomasa, will be interviewing you, Kageyama Shigeo. Your witnesses will be your teachers Yagi Toshinori and Yamada-Aizawa Shouta, and your guardian Reigen Arataka. Do you agree with the recording of this account, Kageyama-kun?”

“I do.”

“Alright. Where were you at nine in the evening, Kageyama-kun?”

Arataka grabbed his hand and squeezed it as he rehashed the events the best he could. Tsukauchi sometimes cut in to give Shigeo facts about what had transpired outside of the facility, like the perpetrator of the miasma that swept across the test of courage area that had sent ten of his schoolmates into their hospital rooms, or the identity of the Villain responsible for breaking Izuku’s arm, who just so happened to be the Villain that killed Kouta’s parents.

Once he was done, Tsukauchi settled into the usual additional questions. “Now, if I’m to understand, your registered Quirk is energy manipulation and telekinesis, but that’s a lie, right?”

Shigeo nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“So, your telepathy?”

“Learned how to do that on the spot,” Shigeo surmised.

“And, what is your Quirk, exactly?”

Shigeo mumbled, “I don’t…” but trailed into silence when Arataka waved him off mid-sentence.

“That’s relevant to the investigation,” Arataka pointed out.

Aizawa grunted, glancing at Tsukauchi, then looking down at Arataka “No, it’s not. But I think full cooperation will help get us the best results here, Reigen. Unless Kageyama gets arrested, none of this will be given to anyone else. Is that correct?”

Tsukauchi nodded, then turned to Arataka. “Quite so. Reigen-san, I understand your concern, but it is vital that we understand how everything works so that we can make sense of what happened and address them while planning the rescue.”

Arataka paused, running his thumb over the back of Shigeo’s hand as he did so. Shigeo squeezed back, hoping that Arataka understood it as reassurance. “And it won’t go to any higher-ups? Because I know an organization that want their hands on Shigeo and a whole host of other people, his family, his friends, if they find out what he’s capable of. He said so himself, that Dabi fellow recognized him from a past that that Shigaraki person dug into. It’s invasive and it might put him and a lot of other Quirkless kids in danger.”

Tsukauchi raised his brows on that, “I’ll have Sansa whip up a non-disclosure agreement that we’ll have you and the Kageyamas’ sign later on, if that will help. It’ll be here by the time Kageyama-kun is discharged.”

“Please, if you could.”

Tsukauchi nodded, then looked back at Shigeo. “Now, if you could repeat that, what’s your Quirk, Kageyama-kun?”

“I don’t have one, sir. I’m Quirkless.”

When Yagi opened their mouth, looking just this close to protesting or questioning that, Aizawa and Arataka held one hand up each to stop them from doing so. 

“W-what do you say you can do, then?” Tsukauchi asked.

“I’m an ESPer,” Shigeo said. He let go of Arataka to count on his hand. “I can levitate, do telepathy now, telekinesis, transfer and absorb energy in any form, control energy in any form, see energy if I close my eyes, uh…”

“You can do that out-of-body thing,” Arataka offered.

“Yeah, I can leave my body and possess someone else, I can exorcise and speak to ghosts. Teruki and I were training for heat, electric, and sound energy just before he got, um…”

“Taken.”

Shigeo nodded, unable to help the way his throat dried at the reminder.

“So, you and Hanazawa-kun are ESPers?”

Wow, Tsukauchi was taking this way too well. Shigeo expected more resistance to the idea from the no-nonsense man. “As well as my brother, Ritsu and his friend Suzuki-kun, and Suzuki-kun’s dad, and…”

“Can they all do what you can do?”

“Oh. No, um. Teruki mostly learns from observing other people using their powers, but he mostly makes flames and explosions. Ritsu only found out about his powers two years ago so I’m pretty sure he only knows how to do telekinesis so far, and I don’t really know much about Suzuki-kun and his dad to say much about them.”

Yagi finally blurted out, “That’s not a real thing.”

Arataka gave them a blank look. 

Aizawa snorted. “I once saw Kageyama leave his own body and get possessed by a ghost.”

“I’ve been with this kid for seven years now,” Arataka added. “I’m pretty sure that none of the things he’s able to do should be real things at all but hey, here we are, interviewing him because one of the world’s impossible things happened: someone kidnapped a student from Yuuei.”

“Well, I’m not really here to prove anything,” Tsukauchi cut in, though there was a look of significant doubt over his features as he glanced from Arataka and Aizawa, then turned back to Shigeo. “I’m just here to gather the information for the case. So, Kageyama-kun, has your being an ESPer ever affected your stay in Yuuei? Like, have there been people going after you, or…?”

Shigeo furrowed his brows at that, inclining his head. “Tsukauchi-san, the League of Villains attacked us at the valley. It wasn’t Claw or that cult or… or the kids from middle school. They did it to make a point to the public, because I told Shigaraki-san that no one took them seriously because they can’t be understood. They want the public to know that All Might and glorifying Heroes needs to go away and that that’s what they want.”

“Right, you mentioned all of… that in our last interview,” Tsukauchi pointed out. “Except… Claw. What is that?”

Arataka cleared his throat, but Shigeo stopped him with a hand before he could say anything.

“Claw is an ESPer organization that’s been kidnapping Quirkless children for two decades now. They kidnapped my brother and his friends two years ago, and Teruki, Arataka-san, and I had to break them out. Teruki was living alone in middle school just to keep his aunt safe from their attempted abductions as well. Suzuki-jisan is the director of the whole thing.”

“Quirkless children?” Yagi asked. “Why them in particular?”

Shigeo was quick to answer this one. “Psychic powers don’t equate to Quirks. They only happen in Quirkless people. But again, they weren’t the ones behind the attack at the facility. That was entirely the League of Villains.”

Silence enveloped the room.

Shigeo looked at all three men, then at the way Yagi was wringing their hands at the foot of his bed. 

Taking a deep breath, Shigeo said, “I know where Teruki is.”

“You do?” Aizawa, Arataka, and Tsukauchi pressed, leaning towards Shigeo.

“Please give him some space,” Yagi said.

All three men backed away.

Shigeo blinked. “I do… I’m not a hundred percent sure where, but he’s in a city between Yuuei and the valley, underground, and incredibly scared, the last I saw. I promised him that I’d be there to find him.” He looked up at Yagi. “Yagi-san… you’ll be part of the team rescuing him, right? Can I…?”

“No,” Aizawa and Arataka shot down.

“You are a minor and you are not getting involved in an operation like that no matter how good your powers are,” Arataka lectured.

“You’re not licensed, and you’re not allowed to help unless you want to get arrested,” Aizawa added.

This was the most Shigeo had seen both of these men agree on something before, and it was probably the most inconvenient timing in his life. 

Well, his best friend getting kidnapped aside. 

Shigeo clutched at his blankets, his hands shaking. “I don’t have to look for him myself, please. I just need to be there when he gets rescued. I can stay with the medics and heal people! I won’t even fight anyone!”

This was the most Shigeo had begged to be involved in something in his life.

Well, wanting friends aside.

Arataka visibly backed off at that, leaning back in his seat. He’d never been hard to argue with before, in Shigeo’s experience. 

In that moment, he really did wish Arataka and Aizawa were more alike, because Aizawa shook his head, adamant. “That’s too risky.”

“He’s technically allowed to do that,” Tsukauchi pointed out, not helping Aizawa’s case in the slightest.

Yagi cleared their throat. “He’s coming with.”

Aizawa whipped around to, no doubt, glare at Yagi, but the taller, thinner Hero didn’t back down. It was the first time Shigeo had seen Yagi use their seniority over Aizawa before. “He said he’ll stay with the medics and heal people, Aizawa-kun. I trust him.”

“And if he gets involves? He’s one of the League’s targets, Yagi, unless you forgot. Shigaraki knows him, in and out of school. He’s not exactly the most invulnerable person you’re going to be deploying into that field. If he gets kidnapped too, will you be taking that responsibility?”

Yagi didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”

As the two Heroes stared each other down, Tsukauchi stopped the recording and cleared his throat. “That’s all the information I need from you, Kageyama-kun. I’ll be seeing you in a few hours, hm?”

“You’re moving in that fast?” Arataka asked.

“The sooner the better,” Shigeo muttered. “I have to be there. I promised him.”

“You’re not his homeroom teacher, Yagi,” Aizawa stressed.

Yagi took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of their nose. They pulled their hand back and swept their hanging bangs aside, pointing a finger at Aizawa. “Look at him, Aizawa-kun. Take a good look at young Kageyama and tell me if he’s going to listen to you, given even the smallest chance that he’d be able to save young Hanazawa himself.”

Aizawa clenched his jaw, before slowly turning his head to look at Shigeo. 

Shigeo stared defiantly back up, keeping his face blank but the set of his shoulders tensed. Yagi was right. Given even the smallest incentive, whether by Ritsu or by his classmates, Shigeo would go after the League of Villains himself.

“I’d rather have him in a group of professionals than get himself into worse danger if he were to go at it alone or with his other classmates,” Yagi pleaded.

Aizawa crossed his arms, sighing. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

Yagi looked away, making their way towards the door. “You better get going, Aizawa-kun. You have a press conference to meet up for, don’t you?”

They had a portable TV in the medical van, and it was tuned into the decoy program, or so Yagi had called it. 

It was a press conference, held by Principal Nezu, Kan, and Aizawa. They were to allay the fears of the public by telling the media what needed to be said: that Yuuei had messed up the whole training camp despite the safety measures they’ve pulled to avoid getting ambushed by the recent terrorist group, the League of Villains.

It was probably the first time Shigeo had seen Aizawa with a cleanly-shaved face and make-up.

The rescue operation started the moment the conference did, hence being called the decoy program. Yagi, Tsukauchi, and a few members of the rescue team were convinced that the League would be tuned into it, that their defenses would be down. The dispatch team would be another decoy, taking down the Noumu, a bunch of multi-Quirked experiments made by the same sensei that stole Kurogiri’s Quirk and killed him in prison.

Why do they keep telling him things about this? He just wanted to see his best friend safe and out of Shigaraki’s hands. He wanted none of the drama about two hundred-year-old Villains with vendettas against All Might and human experiments made to kill All Might. 

He wasn’t emotionally equipped to handle any of it. He was just a sixteen-year old Hero student in his first year.

 “Toki-san,” Shigeo called out, exiting the ambulance. The press conference was going slowly as Nezu kept the reporters at bay. 

Toki was a tall young woman in her early twenties, or so Shigeo assumed. She was a nice lady, accommodating. Shigeo liked her and the way the clock, which also served as her face, looked. 

She stepped away from her co-workers just as he walked up to them.

“Yes, Kageyama-kun?”

He gestured behind him, then turned, glanced back around at her. “I. Uh, is there a restroom around here, somewhere?”

“Oh,” she looked at her friends, who all shrugged back at her. She put a hand on her hip, swinging back at Shigeo. “I don’t think so, dude. Maybe look around? If you do it fast enough, none of the police could catch you if you pee on a wall somewhere,” she quipped.

Shigeo flushed. “I can hold it in, then. Sorry to bother you.”

“Hey, you’re not bothering anyone! And don’t keep it in! I may not be a doctor yet but that’s an order, Kageyama-kun.”

He walked away, from Toki and the other EMTs, away from the van.  Maybe he could do his business elsewhere.

The streets were empty, long, and looming in the dark away from the backup flood lights they brought for the operation. Shigeo didn’t mind the dark much. He could feel spirits and ghosts looming inside the abandoned buildings of downtown Kamino.

Looking both ways as he walked up to a wall, Shigeo whistled as he did his business. 

It was a bit on the chilly side tonight. Luckily for him, the other EMTs had an extra jacket they could lend him. He shivered as he finished up and wiped his hands off the seat of his pants before zipping himself up.

He froze. Not because it was cold, necessarily, but because then came a sudden rumbling.

Bright yellow light burst as a wall crumbled silently open, sending debris and rubble everywhere, washing the alley in the light of midday for around four seconds before fading. Shigeo squinted through the sudden blinding light, feeling relief whirlwind inside him.

Shigeo would know that light anywhere.

“Teruki!” He shouted.

A wild scramble sounded through the alley. Shigeo raised a hand and waved the dust away with a brief burst of energy.

“Shigeo,” came a wheeze. Teruki stumbled out of the debris. 

His face lit up, then wheezed out a laugh, shaking his head and a torrent of dust from his hair. He stepped towards Shigeo, then ran to tackle Shigeo in a tight hug. “I just figured out how to do sound energy.”

The total irrelevance of that statement to Shigeo’s relief made him shake his head. He couldn’t help but giggle, and then Teruki couldn’t help but giggle. They were just a couple of giggling high schoolers hugging in an alley in Kamino, forehead to forehead as they laughed, and laughed, and laughed in the middle of that dark alley, relief letting Shigeo transfer Teruki some energy. 

If either of them were teary-eyed, neither could see all that clearly anyway.

Zap.

Or something like it, not audible or visual, but it was something that called their attention. They pulled away to look for it but stayed in each other’s spaces, arms linked. 

It came from inside the building Teruki had come from or, more specifically, under it. It wasn’t electricity. It was built up, packed tight, like…

“Teleportation energy…” Shigeo whispered. Teruki whipped around to look at him.

He’d never seen nor felt it that concentrated before, like it barely made the wavy energy of Kurogiri’s portals, or the portals made by Shigaraki’s sensei. It was clean, direct, and incredibly powerful. Around it, came several licks of energy, like candle flames, weak but enough to light a room. 

It was all the same energy, like borrowed from one person. Not the one who teleported them there, but someone else not present.

Shigeo had only seen so many of the same energy gathered in one place before, and he knew there was only one group capable of that.

He grabbed Teruki’s hand, pulling as he pulled them slowly away from the danger. “It’s like from the 7th Division. Forced psychics.”

“You mean Claw?” 

Shigeo nodded, almost dazed as Teruki walked up beside him. Neither of them bothered to stop touching each other. “Claw is here. We have to go. We have to warn the Heroes.”

“Claw—Wait, there were Heroes in there?”

Shigeo threw an incredulous look over his shoulder. “Teruki, when I said I’d find you, I wasn’t going to do it alone.”

“Y-yeah, I knew that, but you pulled in our teachers?”

Shigeo shook his head. “I’ll explain later, okay? Right now, we have to—”

An explosion of energy, Yagi’s Quirk bursting in the seams of a room a few buildings away.

There was a muffled boom that came with it. 

Dabi’s Quirk’s energy was the source of it, it seemed. Kurogiri’s stolen Quirk was nowhere to be found, meaning that All for One wasn’t anywhere near the dive bar. 

As Dabi’s Quirk continued to roar and the concentration of the battle started dividing as Heroes and Villains dispersed underground, Shigeo couldn’t help but be reminded of the night of Teruki’s abduction, the fire that spread out of the forest. He bit down on his lower lip.

“Are you seeing—er, well, sensing all of this?” Shigeo asked, glancing over at Teruki. “That’s them. They were trying to rescue you.”

Teruki tightened his grip on Shigeo’s hand. “Yeah,” he chuckled. The kind of chuckle that sounded nervous, coming from him. It was vulnerable, like he usually was around Shigeo. “Ma-maybe we, I mean. Maybe you should tell them I’m out of there already?”

Oh, good call.

Nodding, Shigeo took a deep breath as he reached out for the rescue team and League of Villains’ energies inside the dive bar hideout.

This is Kageyama Shigeo speaking. Everyone in the dive bar, please get out of there as quick as you can. Hanazawa Teruki has escaped and is safe already, so if you could please stop fighting. There are other unknown Villains approaching that can and will kill any and all Quirk users inside that building indiscriminately, and you can do nothing to stop them. I am dead serious. Please stop fighting and evacuate immediately. 

When they reached the ambulances, Toki and the others swarming them, Yagi and Shigaraki walked out, shoulders hunched, trailed by the rescue team and the League of Villains. The police aimed guns at the League immediately, but Yagi held a hand up as they led the way to the ambulance.

“No one shoot! Young Kageyama.” Yagi knelt down to their eye level. “Where are these other Villains you speak of? And how did you get ahold of Young Hanazawa?”

“Why are we taking orders from children?” asked someone from the rescue team, probably Todoroki’s dad. Shigeo almost forgot that he was here.

“I escaped through the room they put me in,” Teruki chimed in, cheerful, ignoring the comment.

“You little shit,” Dabi ground out. Todoroki’s dad mumbled something that sounded like it was sharing the same sentiment. Compress and another Villain in a black and white suit held both of them back. “You’ve been a pain in the ass ever since we grabbed you. You’re not even the brat we were after and you—How did you get out of those Quirk-suppressing binds?”

Teruki did nothing but raise a brow at them, not the least bit threatened nor inclined to answer. Dabi drew a hand back, energy pooling into his fingertips. Shigeo casually snuffed it.

Behind them, the droning of the decoy program went from the sound of Nezu’s voice to static.

He whirled around to watch as the static cut off. Behind him, he felt Yagi stand to full height.

“We are the ESPer organization, Claw.” A suited person with bushy eyebrows and red hair was on television, making what seemed to be an announcement. They had the same blue eyes as Suzuki, which lead Shigeo to believe that this person was Suzuki’s dad. 

“Isn’t that…” Yagi trailed off.

Shigeo nodded, then said, “Yeah, it’s them.”

“The balls on these people, honestly,” Teruki mumbled.

The announcement continued, “We are making our broadcast with our powers. This is only a small portion of what we’re capable of. I have even bigger news for you: this power can be used as an effective weapon as well.” 

Shigeo flinched. 

“Is this guy joking?” Dabi chuckled. He could feel grudging agreement echo around the groups.

Voice low and serious, Teruki said, “Afraid not. I’m guessing that’s the director of the organization that’s been kidnapping Quirkless children for a decade now, myself and Shigeo included. He wouldn’t be here right now to save you all from certain death if we weren’t so lucky.”

Shigeo pulled at his hand, effectively shushing him.

“It is highly advised that you do not oppose us,” warned Suzuki’s dad. “We plan to conquer this Quirk-obsessed society with our psychic powers and take down the incompetent Hero society that cannot even keep mere children from a juvenile group of criminals hidden under a dive bar in Kamino Ward.”

“Psychic powers?”

“Shit. They’re here. Everyone, please pack up and evacuate!” Yagi turned around the rendezvous area, waving policemen into their cars and medics into the ambulance they were standing behind. 

“We’re staying,” said Todoroki’s dad, his flaming eyebrows practically the least threatening thing right now. The rest of the rescue team agreed, each and every one looking more and more determined.

“No, you’re not. We have infiltration point B to worry about,” Yagi said, their voice low. “Endeavor, take the lead and go to point B to help out Jeanist and Mount Lady just in case All for One releases the Noumu.”

“Wha—”

“Now, Enji,” Yagi commanded, making no room for argument.

Todoroki’s dad glared at Yagi for a few blinks, before turning around and saying, “Let’s go. We’re taking one of the vans. Detective, with us!”

It took a moment, but the medics and police started moving the moment Endeavor led the group of Heroes away from them, causing a state of motion around what remained of the rescue group and the League that served to set Shigeo off more.

Yagi turned to the rest of them, “League of Villains, we’re going to fend those fellows off for as long as possible if these civilians can’t leave before they arrive.” They turned to Shigeo and Teruki. “That includes you two as well.”

“Wait, hold up,” called out Dabi. “We’re not taking orders from you, and we’re definitely not going to fight a group of weirdos just because some kid told you it was dangerous.”

“Yeah, no, we’re not,” Shigaraki added. Compress agreed, as did the rest of the League with nods and murmurs of agreement.

It really showed their emotional maturity and situational awareness at that moment. It reminded him of the 7th Division and the speech Arataka gave about entitlement and serving society. 

It was also really hard to take Shigaraki seriously with the haphazard way their hair was tied into a bun, a solid bunch of their hair still in their face despite the effort.

But Shigeo had no time to revel in or be angered by either of those things. 

Squeezing Teruki’s hand to calm himself and putting his free hand on Yagi’s arm to calm them, he said “We’re not leaving you here, All Might-sensei. Most of them are weak, but they are many.”

Teruki nodded at that, stepping up. He added, “With those numbers, they can do maybe half of what Shigeo was able to do to you during Parents’ Day, maybe even more. Or so I’ve been told.”

A bead of sweat dripped from Yagi’s forehead to their cheek, the shadows on their face turning severe.

With finality, Suzuki’s dad said, “The first step…will be rendering your precious Heroes powerless. Tonight will be the start of a brave new world! Enjoy it.”

Teruki cursed at that, looking away from the television. “All Might-sensei, with all due respect, we’re running out of time and Shigeo’s the only person who can protect all of us in this situation.”

The announcement static cut back into the press conference just as the medics started shuffling into the ambulance past the League and their group, wheeling in some of the heavier equipment into the back. 

Kan was standing now, Aizawa off the stage and looking around the crowd, no doubt looking for the one responsible for cutting their feed off.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the conference room. 

A person appeared on stage, dressed in a blazer and some slacks, but wearing a casual red shirt underneath. They had slicked back hair and a laidback stance and grin. Their eyes were closed, and Kan was at their feet, looking unconscious.

The next second, they were behind Aizawa, but they hadn’t jumped. They hit Aizawa, then he was down as well.

“Shit,” Yagi hissed. “What the hell is that guy?”

“He’s teleporting,” Shigeo mumbled.

Teruki made a shocked noise, not quite a gasp, but it dripped with disbelief. “Like from earlier? That guy was just here!”

“That’s so cool!” squealed someone else. Shigeo hadn’t met them yet, and he supposed he didn’t really want to, considering they seemed more concerned about this person’s abilities than the room full of civilian reporters and pro Heroes being attacked by some random teleporter.

“What is the meaning of this,” came Nezu’s loud and nervous question. The teleporter had lifted them up in an instant, but Nezu fought back the best they could, but the teleporter kept evading claws and kicks. “Put me down immediately! Who the hell are you?!”

In a jovial tone, the teleporter announced, “I am a member of the ESPer organization, Claw. Principal Nezu of Yuuei High School, you are hereby abducted!”

And then they both disappeared.

Shigeo shut the TV off with a vine of energy, then pushed away from the ambulance. He watched, with some finality, as Toki slammed the doors shut. The other Heroes of the rescue team, Todoroki’s dad included, led the line of vehicles away from them.

 He whirled around to glare up at the League and All Might.

Teruki nodded, taking initiative and speaking up for him. “We really have to get moving now. Claw’s starting to move, and we don’t know where that guy brought the principal.”

As the ambulance drove off, Shigeo let go of Teruki’s hand and pushed past everyone, making his way towards the dive bar.

“Where are you go—young Kageyama! You are not allowed to leave the civilian area unless you want to get suspended for three days, Aizawa-kun’s orders!”

Shigeo huffed, loud and incredibly frustrated. The medic jacket they gave him floated around him like his Hero costume’s poncho as he turned back around. “There are a group of ESPers approaching the dive bar just as Suzuki-jisan announced where it was. That means that they’re here to abduct Teruki from the Villains and to keep us from looking for Principal Nezu.”

“All Might-sensei,” Teruki cut in. “I believe he’s saying that they’re our only lead on where we’re going to find Claw and where they brought the principal.”

Shigaraki made an odd noise, cutting into their flow of conversation. “This is insane. Insane! ESPers! Organizations that kidnap Quirkless children and high school principals! A Heroics student being stronger than this big lunk!” They gestured to Yagi’s large form. “You’re all crazy!”

Crack!

The ground between him and the League cracked. 

The police vehicles drove away, but not without pausing for a moment to watch the tension between Shigeo, the Villains, and Yagi. Shigeo stood there, fuming, barely even sheepish for getting so annoyed, he broke concrete.

“We don’t have time for this,” Shigeo stressed, talking through grinding teeth.

His phone rang. 

Turning back around to walk into the dive bar, he fished it out of his pocket and answered without looking at who it was. “Yes, hello.”

“Older brother,” Suzuki greeted. “Hey, so I know where my pops is holing up.”

Shigeo forced the door to the dive bar open with his energy as he walked into the building. “I’m kind of in the middle of something, Suzuki-kun, can’t you—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re in the middle of rescuing Teru. I found out from Reigen. He had us all rounded up the moment my pops made the announcement. We’re all on our way to Musutafu right now to try and minimize the damage however we can. That group of psychics in the bar? It’s a distraction to keep All Might preoccupied.”

Shigeo stepped over overturned stools and broken tables with some wariness. “How do you know that?”

“Oh, Reigen kind of absorbed Serizawa into this group even though Seri’s like, one of my dad’s top men. Like I said, they’re driving us over to Musutafu now!”

A group of psychics raised their hands at him as he entered the bar proper, various broken and sharp things aimed at him. Shigeo shoved all of those down into places unoccupied by anyone and pushed near all of them to the ground except for one.

“Wait, what whole group?”

“Remember the 7th Division?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, the Scars regrouped and they hang around Reigen now, I guess. They all work at Present Mic’s station too? I don’t have all the details. I highly doubt they work for a pro Hero though.”

Well, Shigeo had to pull that story out of Arataka at some point, when he wasn’t busy trying to keep everyone from dying. He pulled the last psychic standing closer to him with the crook of his finger. “And where is Claw holding Principal Nezu?” he asked them.

“Oh, they’re at all at Yuuei with a few of his… associates. Listen… I have to tell you something.”

“I-I won’t tell you!” the psychic spat back.

Shigeo sighed. He put the psychic down, then broke the front of the bar with his pent-up frustration. The whole front of it, by throwing furniture until it crumbled off. “Suzuki-kun, I’ll have to call you back. I have to get these guys somewhere safe and make sure they don’t hurt anyone while we make our way to Musutafu.”

“… Alright, but don’t take too long! And stay safe! Ritsu will wring both our necks if you don’t.”

“I’ll try. Keep Arataka-san off the wheel. Later.”

Shigeo hung up, then pulled all ten of the psychics out of the rubble with him. “Ya—All Might-sensei! Do we have ten more handcuffs?! I know where they’re holding the principal! Suzuki-kun told me.”

When he walked towards the group, shaking rocks and dust off his shoes, he was met with Teruki’s smug grin and around eleven gawking faces. Shigeo just about rolled his eyes until Kurogiri’s energy rang through the air.

“Oh, what the fuck now?” Shigeo muttered, almost to himself, it seemed, because Teruki let out a surprised laugh at his statement. “Shigaraki-san, tell your sensei to get a raincheck, we have more pressing issues to deal with. Claw is in Yuuei—”

And then they were engulfed in not-Kurogiri’s portal.

Chapter Text

Shigeo put up a barrier around them, one as strong as the one that knocked Shigaraki out during the USJ ambush as Shigaraki’s sensei’s portal spat them out in a place Shigeo couldn’t recognize this late into the evening.

They were… in the middle of a field with fake grass, awash in searing white lights and surrounded by ten to fifteen people, psychics from the feeling they gave off in Shigeo’s radar, cleaner energies, the ones he’s grown used to, weak ones with the same psychic energy as the ten inside his barrier at the moment, and stronger ones, seven or eight dispersed around the field and the stadium itself.

It wasn’t just any field either, it was the field of the four-kilometer-wide Yuuei arena, where they held the sports festival.

On the stage he made his speech on stood three figures, one that held almost all of the energy dispersed around all the weaker psychics, one who held too many Quirk energies, stolen, and one with just one Quirk energy.

The strongest psychic stood on-stage, clad in a blue-black suit. That was Suzuki’s dad, with the red hair and the wild eyebrows. The other was Shigaraki’s sensei. Well, at least Shigeo thought they were. They were dressed in a plain black tuxedo with some kind of machine hooked up on their neck, their face almost nothing but scar tissue smoothed over. The last one was a doctor, with a wacky-looking bushy mustache and a lab coat on. He supposed this man wasn’t as important as the rest but was needed for Shigaraki’s sensei’s assistance.

Behind the three of them was Nezu trapped in an animal cage, dehumanizing as it was out of place in the middle of everything. Whether they noticed Shigeo and the rest arriving, they didn’t react.

“Oh, are you fucking kidding me?” asked Dabi, sounding just as frustrated as Shigeo felt. “Man, I did not sign up for this shit. Hey, whitey, you better be able to get us the fuck out of here.”

“All for One,” muttered Yagi, their voice shaking in an emotion Shigeo couldn’t identify from them. 

“Sensei! What’s the meaning of this!” Shigaraki demanded, stepping up next to Shigeo, glaring up on the stage. Shigeo could see the panic and fear in their eyes from behind the hand-mask on their face.

“Oh, so we’re fine,” said one of the other Villains, a tall, lizard-looking person that Shigeo felt like was introduced to him at some point, but he forgot their name. “That’s the sensei guy that’s always on the TV.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t sign up for crazy weirdoes teaming up with this Sensei guy, huh?” Dabi sneered. “These two are enough insanity to deal with on a regular basis.” They pointed at the black-and-white Villain and a Villain dressed in a winter seifuku.

“I see you also have ESPers on your side, All Might,” cut in Suzuki’s dad, voice and face mostly blank. “As expected of Yuuei, I suppose.”

“No, they weren’t supposed to have any,” said the one in black (All for One?) “But considering the amount of Quirkless in the general populace, it would have been inevitable, I suppose.”

“That’s fine,” Suzuki’s dad hopped off the stage, walking up to the barrier. The crowd parted as he walked right in front of Shigeo and Shigaraki. A hand grabbed his, and he knew in an instant that it was Teruki’s. “Kageyama Shigeo, right? Shou has spoken about you and your little brother.”

“Nice to meet you, Suzuki-jisan,” Shigeo said, because it paid to be nice to people who seemed very strong, and because he really didn’t know what to say. “I can’t say Suzuki-kun has said anything positive about you in return.”

That made Suzuki’s dad sigh. “I suppose that can’t be helped,” he said. “We have never been close.”

“Is it because you regularly neglect him and have him check on kidnapped children during his free time,” asked Teruki, voice defiant and loud. Shigeo tightened his grip on the other’s hand.

Suzuki’s dad’s face did not change as he raised his hand and popped Shigeo’s barrier, easily. It exposed them to the arena. Shigeo carefully did not drop his hold on the ten psychics currently in his energy’s grasp.

“We’ve no quarrel with you, sir,” spoke up Compress from behind the group. “We’re just here because of Sensei’s teleportation.”

The person in black answered, “You’re here because Toshinori is too large to make a portal under without taking anyone else.”

“And you can’t control a Quirk that isn’t yours, despite it already being months since,” Yagi spat back. “You’re getting weaker, All for One.”

“Hush, Toshinori. The adults are speaking,” All for One retorted, sitting down on the edge of the stage. From where they sat, Shigeo could hear the hissing of their machine. “Tomura, please step away before we have any collateral. We really do just need Toshinori for this.”

Shigeo grabbed Shigaraki’s hand, his skin barrier activating the moment he did. 

He blinked, more surprised at his own action than the fact that he’d forgotten about the active Quirk thing, before shaking his head. He glanced between All for One and Suzuki’s dad, holding two hands in his and ten psychics and a barrier with his energy. 

God, he could feel the exhaustion that was going to hit him later.

“Don’t ask what for,” he whispered to Shigaraki. In a louder voice, he told Suzuki’s dad, “Can we talk to Yagi-sensei just a moment before we step away?”

Suzuki’s dad turned around to look at All for One, who shrugged, kicking their feet in the air. When Suzuki turned back to look at them, he shrugged as well. “Do as you please, take your time. We’re ahead of schedule anyway.”

Pushing all ten of the psychics in his grasp far away from them, he turned to the group and wrapped some energy around them to form a huddle. Dabi and three other Villains protested to the sudden manhandling, but ultimately, no one said anything.

He said, “It’s been a good run with you guys.” He thought.

No one respond to what I say, it’s a distraction. They’re willing to let all of us go for in exchange for All Might. Both Shigaraki and Yagi nodded at this. Shigeo nodded back. “I appreciate your cooperation considering what transpired tonight.” Our chances of actually escaping this are slim to none but I’m going to set a distraction and free Nezu-kouchou, just trust me. And whatever you do, don’t panic.

He looked around the group, meeting the eyes of everyone that had been dragged into this. “Look at this, a group of Heroes and Villains not trying to kill each other. Most of my friends would probably think this is a deliberate prank.” Claw is primarily for and about Quirkless psychics, so it isn’t fair to involve you all in this. I suppose, somehow, Suzuki-jisan acknowledges that, even though he’s sided with All for One. He will let you off given that you believe that Quirks don’t equate to power and that Quirkless people are powerless.

“Well, isn’t it?” Suzuki’s dad asked. “That Quirk users and the Quirkless can just coexist like that when the Quirk users themselves are divided?”

Shigeo ignored him, despite the fear. What if Suzuki’s dad could hear him? What if they were all just pretending to not hear? But so far, no one’s made a move yet, and he knew for sure that Quirk users couldn’t read psychic energy, so he was definitely safe from whatever All for One had up their sleeves.

He just hoped none of the psychics present were telepaths as well.

I don’t have a plan, Shigeo admitted. Several people dropped their heads at this, looking hopeless. But I do have some suggestions. 

Offensively, your Quirks have no use in a room full of psychics. Teruki’s shoulders tensed. Shigeo smoothed it out with a few strokes. Compress-san, if you could maybe marbleize as many people as you can and have someone else run away with you, some of you might be able to walk out of this in a hurry. “Even if you did take the wrong person and attacked a group of children on a peaceful school trip, I’m glad we can just be here without trying to kill each other.”

Compress nodded, patting Dabi’s coat, which had a ton of pockets. Shigeo nodded back. He looked at Yagi and tried to convey as much regret on his face as possible. “I hope you can all forgive me for dragging you all into this.”

He pulled them out of the huddle, his grip on Teruki’s hand vicelike now as he stared up at Suzuki’s dad’s bored face. Teruki, can you blind them?

Teruki squeezed back imperceptibly. Confirmation. 

On my signal, then. Shigeo braced his energy, letting it flow out with anxiety the way he’d done with gratitude. He imagined himself adjusting to that amount, like wearing gloves that reached up to his elbows, not quite like the coiled-up vines of energy Koyama had when he and Shigeo fought, but like an extension of him.

“You’re very strong,” Suzuki observed, looking him up and down with what Shigeo assumed was his version of a mind’s eye, so to speak. “Say, what can you do?”

Shigeo shrugged. “Not much. Telekinesis and a whole bunch of stuff.”

“Really…” He sounded intrigued, which Shigeo dreaded but begrudgingly had to endure. 

Anything to stall for time.

In the lull of everything, Shigeo’s phone rang, causing several people in their group to jolt, Shigeo included. He looked at both Villains sheepishly as he let go of Shigaraki and Teruki. “Uh, excuse me for a second. I think this is Suzuki-kun.”

Without looking away from either of them, he answered the phone. “Suzuki-kun, hey.”

“Say what’s up if you’re in trouble.”

“What’s up?” Shigeo said, avoiding anyone’s eyes.

“Shit. Okay, so my dad has the same abilities as you. Only difference is he’s accumulated about a decade’s worth of energy in his body and the moment he starts using it, he won’t be able to stop. He has a ground crew in charge of telling him where his top men are at all times and uses them to communicate with the others, meaning he knows exactly where Serizawa is and where we are. We sent him and Reigen in there to do something else, but I think they’re going to head over there anyway. Is All Might with you?”

“Yes, they are. Thank you. Sorry for not answering your call sooner. Hold up.” He looked up at Suzuki’s dad. “Suzuki-jisan, I think Suzu—um, Shou-kun wants to talk to you.”

“What?! No, I don’t! Older brother, no—Ow! Hey, okay! Tell him Ritsu wants to talk. Quit fucking hitting me!”

“Oh, um.” Shigeo definitely did not want Ritsu to talk to Suzuki’s dad. “On second thought, he says Ritsu has something to tell you?”

Suzuki’s dad nodded. “Yes, he’s a reasonable young man, that one.”

Teruki, now.

Shigeo closed his eyes and felt around the sudden burst of bright yellow on the field. A vine of his energy broke the cage that Nezu was in, and he pulled it all right back in, as well as a bunch of Teruki’s energy along the way before anyone noticed.

Hoping Suzuki’s dad didn’t see what he’d done, Shigeo blinked his eyes open to see all of them rubbing at theirs. 

“I think it’s going to rain soon,” Shigeo mumbled, earning a couple incredulous looks from both ends.

He heard a scurry on wooden floorboards, then saw All for One standing, looking around the stage. “That was a trick!” All for One said, not even turning around to speak to them. “One of them let the rat go.”

Shigeo elected to ignore that.

Suzuki’s dad stared between him and Teruki, then took the phone from Shigeo. He looked over his shoulder to what Shigeo could assume was the ground crew and said, “Wake Shimazaki up, will you?”

He brought the phone to his ear and said, “Hello, Kageyama-kun. Yes, a good evening to you as well. Are you with Katsuya?”

All for One was off, looking around the stage. When Shigeo checked behind him, he found that they were four Villains short and that Shigaraki was scratching at their neck, looking to be hyperventilating.

“No? Where do you suppose he went?” Suzuki’s dad asked.

Shigeo let go of Teruki’s hand and reached out to comfort Shigaraki, making sure they saw his hands before he touched them, reinforcing his skin barrier. “Shigaraki-san, breathe. We’ll be okay. We’ve got help coming.”

“Whoops. Looks like he’s breaking down,” commented the seifuku-clad Villain. Shigeo seriously didn’t like them, if they’re mocking Shigaraki about this right now.

Someone else cooed, stepped forward, their hands to their chest. “Shigaraki-kun, it’ll be alright. We’re here for you.”

Shigaraki shook as he whispered back at Shigeo, “Help? What help? Look around! All Might is right here and he’s not doing anything! He can’t do anything! None of us can! Sensei is going to get us all killed because he made the wrong call with this guy. He didn’t promise me this. He promised me that I’ll get what I want. He didn’t tell me this was part of the plan…”

Shigeo pulled them down to sit on the grass, making sure to seat them properly.

“Hm, I see. I suppose I’ll have a talk with him once he gets here,” Suzuki’s dad chimed in on the phone.

Shigaraki started, shaking their head when they let Shigeo pull their hands away from their head. “I should have just stayed with Kurogiri. Shouldn’t have had him killed. God, I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, Shigaraki-san.” He tried to sound as soothing as possible. He was nervous, scared, and just nearly as hopeless as Shigaraki, but he wasn’t going to show it. He couldn’t. “We’re going to get out of this, alright? There’s no need for Heroes. We can save ourselves; we just have to keep our heads together.”

All for One chuckled from the stage, only slightly drawing Shigeo’s attention from trying to calm the older teen down. Teruki boxed them in and blocked All for One out by crouching down in front of Shigaraki’s view. “Toshinori, you should take notes from that kid. Reconsider your image, y’know.”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, of course. Your brother is safe, Kageyama-kun, I don’t know why you’d think otherwise,” Suzuki’s dad continued, ignoring everyone and everything as he looked around the stadium.

Shigeo would argue otherwise if he didn’t know that it was a plan to distract Suzuki’s dad until Serizawa could get here. Well, maybe Suzuki really was a positive influence on Ritsu.

Shigaraki’s breathing finally slowed, pulling one of their hands away from Shigeo and peeling off the hand that covered their face. They weren’t completely calm yet, shaking just a bit as they stared down at the chalky white palm. “I hate this… I hate everything. I should have died with them. Should have just died with Kurogiri.”

Shigeo slowly reached out, as to not surprise them, then pulled the hand away from Shigaraki’s grasp. “Well, that’s too bad, Shigaraki-san. No one’s going to die here tonight. Alright? Take long, deep breaths and try to block out anything negative. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for Kurogiri-san.”

Zap.

Shigeo looked over Shigaraki’s shoulder to see the principal’s abductor, frozen stock still at the edge of the field, their eyes still closed. They seemed very strong from where Shigeo stood. Definitely not stronger than Suzuki’s dad or him, but stronger than most people he’d met.

“Excuse me just a second, Kageyama-kun,” muttered Suzuki’s dad. Louder, he called out, “Shimazaki, the principal escaped. If you could just get him back, please, that would be very much appreciated. We’re going to execute the next step in a bet.”

Shimazaki didn’t say anything, just stared some more before zapping away once more.

Then, at the other end of the field, Shigeo felt a large presence approach, larger than Shimazaki. 

It was vaguely familiar, but Shigeo couldn’t quite pinpoint who he’d sensed it from before. He prodded it a bit and got a flare in return, like Teruki had the night of his abduction.

“See, Shigaraki-san?” Shigeo whispered, fixing a few strands away from their face with a vine of energy. “Help’s already here. No one’s dying tonight.”

“Katsuya, why did you leave Shou and Kageyama-kun at the gates?” Suzuki’s dad asked, sounding sterner, the first sign of emotion he’d heard from the man. “What if one of the stupid cronies thought they were enemies, huh?”

Shigeo glanced around just enough to spot Serizawa, fidgeting with his hands as he made his way towards the stage.

“Oh, no, I-I don’t think they would—”

There was a murmur, then Serizawa’s panicked whispering, followed by, “Suzuki Touichirou, nice to finally meet the boss of such an outstanding man and the father of a very energetic young boy. My name is Reigen Arataka, mutual friend.”

Shigeo felt relief flooding his senses, passing itself off to the whole group except maybe for Yagi, who knew that Reigen was just as Quirkless as they were. Regardless, Teruki was grinning, and it was infectious enough to get Shigeo to give into the shaky smile that fought its way onto his lips.

“What’s your business here?”

Shigeo felt a tapping on his shoulder, then looked to see that Touichirou was handing his phone back. He let go of Shigaraki and took it, then looked at Compress and Dabi. Don’t make it obvious to All for One or any of the other psychics but you can start gathering now. Serizawa-san and Arataka-san are here to distract them.

Or so he hoped.

“I can’t believe this shit,” he heard Dabi murmur.

Pointedly, Shigeo ignored them, leaving Shigaraki seated on the grass as Teruki rose with him. “Arataka-san, Serizawa-san.”

Arataka gawked, then stumbled. “Mob! What are you doing here?”

“We were rescuing Teruki,” Shigeo started. Teruki stood to greet them with a wave, leaning into Shigeo’s space. “And then All for One teleported us here because they needed All Might-sensei.”

“Oh god, All Might is here?” asked Arataka, looking at Serizawa, then spotting All Might. It wasn’t very hard to miss the red, blue, yellow, white on a person as tall as Yagi. “Shit, Serizawa, you didn’t tell me All Might was going to be here.”

“But I did…”

“Yeah, but generally when people tell me that, it’s like saying Santa’s going to be at the Christmas party, y’know? He-hello, All Might-san!” Arataka chuckled, waving erratically at All Might. “Nice to finally meet Shigeo’s teacher.”

“Listen, kid,” All for One cut in, tone derisive. “We’re kind of in the middle of something. Tomura, didn’t I tell you to get away from there?”

Shigeo finally brought all his attention to their group to find that there only six of them left. It took some real effort to not bring attention or react to that. He found that it was easy, except for the fact that there was a spot of blood on the floor and one of the Villains was standing in as a fake psychic.

Would Touichirou not react to that?

Shigaraki moved to stand, taking Shigeo’s hand.

“Why doesn’t your Quirk…?” All for One made the eyeless equivalent of squinting down at them from the stage, inclining their head to the side with a touch of curiosity. “Fascinating.”

Shigaraki made no move to walk away from their group, away from All Might, or pull away from Shigeo. Without all the hair and the hand on their face, Shigaraki stared impassively up at All for One and said nothing.

It was probably the most intentional and willful thing Shigeo had ever seen them do aside from hitting his barrier back at the USJ.

“Well, now we’re just waiting for Shimazaki to bring back the principal,” Touichirou sighed, walking back to the stage. “Ground team tell Hatori to get us started. The rest of you may leave. Oh.” He turned back around, staring down at their group with a finger aloft. “But before I forget.”

A motion, cloying and thick, struck him like a fish in a torrential wave. He was familiar with the feeling, but not to this extent, used to taking and giving, but not to the feeling of being robbed. It pulled, and pulled, and pulled.

A blast of the motion came from Touichirou’s finger, red, and flew towards Shigaraki and the rest of the League, enough to grab at some of Shigeo’s and Teruki’s energies.

He raised a barrier and pulled every single member of the League, Serizawa, Arataka, and All Might away, close, and safe. He kept it going and going, anything to keep Touichirou from taking everyone’s life energy. 

The lights in the stadium blinked in and out as multiple people yelped around him in belated surprise.

 “What are you doing?” came Touichirou’s blank question.

Shigeo glared up at the stage, voice lowering as he kept all of his emotions into keeping their barrier up. “Are you fucking kidding me? What are you doing?”

“Why, I’m doing the right thing,” he responded, his voice giving Shigeo no room for argument lest he wanted to seem ridiculous. It infuriated a part of Shigeo, and it helped reinforce the barrier further. “These are Villains, Kageyama-kun. They were holding your friend Hanazawa over there hostage just a few hours ago until you were teleported here. Why are you protecting them?”

“Yeah, that doesn’t make sense to me either,” Dabi spoke up, “But keep doing whatever the hell it is you’re doing, Bowl Cut.”

“Just because they’re criminals doesn’t mean you can sentence them as you so please,” Arataka retorted. “You’re a civilian, for fuck’s sake, that’s not your job to decide!”

“Sensei…”

Shigeo blinked, then looked towards the stage. The doctor in the lab coat was down, as was All for One. Neither of them were moving. He looked around.

The ground team was down, as well as the rest of the other psychics that were with them this whole time, silent through the whole ordeal. The energies Shigeo had felt from them were gone.

His vision blurred. He was sure they weren’t tears because he felt nothing but the pain of being robbed of energy and absolute hatred for the amount of entitlement Suzuki Touichirou thought he was owed. 

He couldn’t help but see Ritsu lying on neighborhood pavement telling him that it hurt, over and over and over; couldn’t help but remember the exhilaration mixed with shame and anger as he tore through every ghostly fiber of Dimple’s larger form; and the searing reality that he’d wanted to use these powers, that people needed him to use them and thus, so did Shigeo.

Shigaraki fought against Shigeo’s psychic grip, growling, completely lost in anger and grief, but Shigeo couldn’t let them go, not when doing that meant that Shigaraki would die for sure.

Arms reached out over him and Teruki, a plastic umbrella open and easing the pull of Touichirou’s energy. Shigeo turned.

The first thing his eyes lock onto is Teruki’s smile, the way his brows wrinkled with some effort of giving Shigeo his powers, then looked back over at Touichirou, sweat starting to form by his brow as the grip on his hand tightened.

He looked away again to look at Serizawa, whose tears were free-flowing, mouth open to gritted teeth as his lips teetered down bit by bit, painting his face with a bit of horror.

Shigeo rubbed at the back of Teruki’s hand, trying to transfer the feeling of comfort somehow, knowing it wouldn’t work. With some fumbling he said, “Serizawa-san… I’m sorry for—”

“No,” Serizawa cut in, his tone the most stable Shigeo had ever heard since they met, which wasn’t a long and drawn-out meeting. It spoke volumes, really, how big of a change this was. “I chose to do this, Kageyama-kun. I’m choosing to help.”

“Traitor,” Touichirou called out. Serizawa didn’t wince as much as he made a whole-body flinch. The barrier wavered. Arataka supported him by the arm. “After all I’ve done for you, taking you out of isolation, hiring you into my cause, trusting you with the things I have planned out. This is how you repay me, Katsuya?”

Shigeo twitched. The barrier surged. Teruki yelped, as did everyone else around him. Serizawa made a confused sound in the back of his throat. 

Shigeo’s anger was a palpable taste in his tongue now, as loud as the beating in his ears. He’d never snarled at anyone before, not like Teruki or Ritsu, but he supposed whatever his face was doing, this was it. “You better be fucking with me for real, then, Suzuki-jisan. You’ve not only endangered multiple people tonight, but your trying to justify using other people for your cause as a favor to them? You’re pitiful.”

Touichirou is silent for a moment before dropping the probe of energy. Shigeo’s burst out around and behind him, but none of it went towards Touichirou, returning everyone’s energies to them.

Suddenly, he was in front of Shigeo. He didn’t teleport, he jumped. He grabbed Shigeo’s hair with one hand and slammed him down on the grass.

It didn’t hurt as much as Shigeo thought it would have, meaning his barrier came up on the last minute. Arataka shouted, as did Serizawa and Teruki and Shigaraki. Shigeo didn’t let up his hold on them but did push them farther away from him and Touichirou before releasing them.

“You and I have the same power,” Touichirou ground out, as he grabbed a fistful of Shigeo’s shirt and punched him with enough energy and force that it actually connected with Shigeo’s jaw very painfully. There was a disturbing glint in Touichirou’s eyes as he spoke. “I have to get rid of you before you defeat me.”

“Kageyama-kun!” Serizawa shouted.

“Shigeo!” followed Teruki’s worried voice.

“Shut up, roaches. If you want to be useful, stay there ‘til I run out of juice,” Touichirou answered.

Shigeo coughed up the hitched breath that got stuck, then crouched before rolling away from the kick Touichirou tried to deliver. As much as he could, he avoided Touichirou’s attacks with ingrained training from class. It was easy to. 

Touichirou had no battle training of any sort.

Shigeo had around five months’ worth of it now, and he wasn’t the least bit confident in any of it, but hell if he wasn’t going to try and defend himself and every casualty in this arena.

With enough energy to heal a whole person focused all over his skin-barrier, Shigeo shot out. Touichirou jumped, floated, before shooting down at him. Shigeo evaded, then grabbed Touchirou’s arm and shoulder at the last moment and throwing him bodily over his shoulder, momentum and muscle memory letting him pull through the entire maneuver.

“Serizawa-san! Arataka-san!”

Shigeo kept his eyes on Touichirou, standing between him and the group of people that needed to be kept away from him. “Evacuate everyone immediately! Don’t let anyone in here!”

“What about you!” Arataka shot back. “We can’t just leave you here!”

Shigeo forced all of his anger and determination to keep everyone safe into the barrier he put up just as Touichirou came at him with a hand raised, energy gathering in his palm. It worked but caused a cloud of dirt and dust to go up around them as the barrier cracked and shattered, causing Touichirou to stumble.

“Just do it!” Shigeo shouted back. “He’ll take everyone’s energies or kill you himself if you don’t leave right now!”

“Reigen-san, just trust him!” he could hear Teruki shout. “Shigeo, you better get out of this in one piece!”

Shigeo clenched his fists as Touichirou walked across the dust cloud. “I aim to.”

“You’re pathetic,” Touichirou said. He didn’t attack Shigeo again, which was good, but it seemed like he was rearing to monologue. After his evening, Shigeo honestly did not have that kind of patience left up for grabs. It was just going to be the same crap about entitlement over and over again. 

“You’re the one Shou keeps going on about, I suppose. The psychic that got into Yuuei High School. Do you really think they consider you more than worthless?”

“You didn’t really care until you realized I could beat you,” Shigeo retorted, trying not to show that Touichirou’s comment smarted. It was something he’d been insecure about for a long time and Touichirou just hit the nail in the head. “So, I’m not inclined to take insults laced with your immaturity.”

“Immaturity?” Touichirou inclined his head, eyes squinting. “Watch your words, child.”

“And you’re what, in your forties and you still believe that killing people you disagree with is a plausible solution? Grow up,” Shigeo sneered. “You’re just as worthless to this society as we are to you. You’re not special!”

Touichirou reared his arm back.

Shigeo ducked just in time to evade the punch, then pushed away. He whirled around and kicked Touichirou in the back, just how Aizawa taught them.

Touichirou stumbled, landing on his hands on the fake grass. His shoulders shook with the thunderous volume with which he shouted, “What do you know?!”

Shigeo straightened up as the older man turned to him, the polar opposite of the composure he’d shown earlier.

Touichirou glared up at him. “What do you know about worth in this society. You’re in a Hero school, being taught by the very people that kick us down. They treat people like me like the scum of the earth, just because we don’t have something they have. Well, I’m done with that. I’m more powerful than any of them combined, and they can’t stop me.”

“You’re one to talk,” Shigeo muttered, voice low. 

Touichirou froze at his statement, still as a statue.

Shigeo glared down at him. “Neither of us know anything about that. You have powers too! You’ve gone this far with a group of people you forced to respect you, only to use them. You’ve become exactly what you’re trying to fight. It’s not a good look for you to say you have altruistic motives. Just stop!”

Touichirou nodded, pushing off the ground with slow steps. 

As weird as fighting his friend’s dad was, the laughing was weirder, once it started. Touichirou’s laughter was disturbingly hollow. It felt like he was compensating for something with the slow clapping as well. Shigeo couldn’t deny the fact that it grated on him as he stood there, uncomfortable, trying to sort through his emotions and the discomfort of waiting for Touichirou to finish.

When he seemed to have finished, Touichirou said, “Amazing. You really are a worthy opponent, reading my intentions like that.”

A near torrential flood of energy poured in and out of the older psychic simultaneously, ribbons of it catching wind, blowing dust into Shigeo’s eyes. He put a barrier up to keep Touichirou in his line of sight. 

“I’m really not here to fight you, Suzuki-jisan. You just need to turn yourself in!”

“You’ve already exposed my lack of interest for the Quirkless idiots that came with me. I don’t care what they call themselves or what they can do. They’re all below me.”

Oh god, was he doing more villain-monologuing? 

Shigeo already despised the guy for how he dealt with the Villains earlier, and this was really cementing the deal on that, but what was Touichirou doing?

“You can’t expect I’d let you walk away from this alive now that you know,” was the last thing Touichirou said before making a running jump at him.

Training with Aizawa, Shigeo was taught to use keep his efforts and energy just a little above his lower limitations. There was, of course, no way for Aizawa to know that this meant different things for Shigeo, but it had sunken in either way. Shigeo had to use just enough ESP to incapacitate Touichirou without having to maim or kill him.

Just like the sports festival. 

He was already in the right venue for it. Might as well.

His senses fired simultaneously, an entrance and an exit to the room of his energy preserves. 

Behind Shigeo, Touichirou’s energy engulfed something and pulled before a loud crash sounded and the creaking and groaning of the thing stopped just as the older psychic dropped—sixty-on-a-freeway fast, the fastest Shigeo knew he could go without lethally injuring someone—into the concrete.

When it seemed like Touichirou couldn’t get out of that hole just yet, Shigeo whirled around to check what it was—

Bang!

Shigeo hissed, jumping back on one foot as he cradled the other. The bone below his skinny little knee had hit the corner of the stair to the stage hard enough to cut his skin open. He tried not to curse as he shook it off, looking back at the hole in the concrete.

Touichirou floated out, eyeing him. “You’re so frail,” he observed. His suit pants were tarnished and shredded, nearly just shorts now. He was neither fine nor wounded, so Shigeo supposed that was a win for him. “But you have an infinite well of energy. How is that?”

Shigeo held his hands up, trying to be placating instead of initiating another attack. “Please, just stop it before either of us get seriously—!”

Zap.

Shigeo’s eyes widened, dread dropping faster than Touichirou had into the concrete. He didn’t turn around, watched with increasing horror as Touichirou turned to the crowd (Shigeo knew it was a crowd, a crowd of psychics he knew, one of which he most definitely sent away to keep safe earlier).

Gradually, he started building a barrier around those psychics, letting it grow stronger and stronger at this distance and with Shigeo’s stretched out attention.

Apart from being told to keep energy-output to a minimum, Aizawa also taught him to always focus on the enemy and what their goal was. Multiple times. Most of the time sending Shigeo’s or Shinsou’s face to the mat. 

Touichirou had no such qualms about this particular rule in battle, which struck him as odd. “Back to redeem yourselves, batteries?” he taunted the crowd of psychics. “I could help you prove yourselves right now, if you could all just come down here.”

Either Touichirou was that confident in his ability to defend himself or he was underestimating the sixteen-year old psychic.

Nevertheless, it worked in Shigeo’s favor.

A tug came to the back of his mind as he pulled all of his energy back in, calming himself down as he pushed his energy and emotions below the surface. When that was settled, he started moving around Touichirou.

“Oh, we’re here to prove something, alright! We’re going to prove that there’s strength in numbers and that you’re just one person.”

Kageyama-kun? You can hear me, right? Oh, please tell me it’s working now.

Shigeo tried not to jolt or yelp, biting at his bottom lip as he kept his pace silent and steady, getting in closer and closer. Mandalay-san? Are you in here with them? Please send them back out!

Who? No, I’m not in there with you, I’m out here with Hanazawa-kun and someone calling himself your master. Your brother and his friend are here as well.

Shigeo kept his knees solid despite the sudden overwhelming feeling of wanting to collapse in a heap of relief. Thank heavens. Please don’t let them in.

Reigen-san doesn’t even want anyone on-campus unless they’re ESPers. All Might-san and Eraser are trying to keep it like that. Anyway, focus. I’m contacting you with the boys’ help, I just want to let you know that Suzuki-kun and Hanazawa-kun have a plan, and that um, you know you’re being broadcasted on national TV right now, right?

He was?

For a brief moment, Shigeo pulled away from circling Touichirou and scanned the stadium. True enough, he found active camera drones, piloted by psychic energy.

“You roaches, beat me? Don’t make me laugh, Katsuya. Not even Shimazaki can scratch me now.”

Shigeo ignored them. Does, uh, does that mean you heard everything as well?

Yes.

Well, shit. Alright then. What’s their plan?

Don’t you already have one right now? What’s your plan? What are you doing?

Shigeo desperately needed some peace and quiet right now, if only just to hype himself up for what his plan really was. Tell them it’s master’s plan. Ritsu will know.

There’s a moment of silence, a bit of reprieve. 

Slowly, he stepped around the debris, closer and closer to Touichirou until he was within arm’s reach.

You’re not winging it! Kageyama-kun, stop! We have a plan!

Shigeo jolted, then before he could fumble, jumped up to grab Touichirou in a chokehold.

What are you doing?!

Shigeo gritted his teeth. “Shut up,” he ground out.

Touichirou grabbed both of his arms, fingers digging into the slippery fabric of his EMT jacket, deep enough to get ruts into Shigeo’s arms, probably little moon-shaped things that’ll last for hours before fading. 

Shigeo floated himself up, kept his feet away from Touichirou’s until he decided to choke Touichirou by pulling him up as well.

“I’m really sorry about this, but you left me no choice,” Shigeo mumbled, slurred and fast in his panic. “I tried to reason with you, let you surrender. I’m not hurting you, I just need you to stop talking or at least pass out because they already caught you admitting things on national TV, and now you’re basically going to get sentenced for life if you keep saying more and I don’t want that for Shou-kun. Please.”

Another torrential wave of energy burst out of Touichirou, then again, thrice, four, five times. Touichirou pawed at him as he steadily tightened his grip the farther up they went. He could see the whole stadium now, glimpses of the sight from behind Touichirou’s squirming.

The stadium lights flickered, intensified enough to blind him, then exploded into darkness. The concrete beneath them rippled destructively, causing dust clouds as tall as skyscrapers. More and more of Touichirou’s suit came peeling off with the bursts of psychic energy.

He could feel his barrier for the psychics hold up around it all. It let him focus on holding onto Touichirou as the waves kept coming.

That’s not going to work. They’re planning to overload Suzuki with energy, that’s why all the psychics went back in. Shigeo, please, this may be our only option.

That’s going to kill him. His body might not be able to take it. I don’t think I can even take it.

“They’re going to kill you,” Shigeo whispered. It was less a warning for Touichirou as it was a fact. He forced himself not to feel remorse-regret-guilt-shame at the moment, lest he gave Touichirou an energy boost. “Please, I don’t want to kill you. You have a son, please.”

Touichirou’s arms fell limp, then his whole body.

Shigeo let go, keeping Touichirou afloat.

“Suzuki-jisan?”

“I’m past that now,” wheezed the old man. “I’m past trying to be someone for Shou. He doesn’t need me, and I don’t need him.”

Anger surged again. It came quick and fast tonight, and he didn’t think that was a good thing, but instead of giving Touichirou a boost, it gave him a boost by stealing some of Touichirou’s. He couldn’t help feeling angry, really. He pushed away from Touichirou and, after a lot of deliberating, started surrounding both of them in layers of barriers, letting go of the one for the psychics below. 

He glared up at Touichirou.

“Will you stop it already?” Shigeo asked, forcing himself to stay in place, clenching his fists. “Just stop! This isn’t about you anymore. This is about your son and every victim you’re claiming with this dumb—whatever it is you think you’re doing. I don’t want to let them kill you, and no matter what he says, Shou-kun doesn’t want you dead either. I don’t care what you think. You need to grow the hell up and be a better person!”

Touichirou rushed him, but Shigeo dodged at the last moment, elbowing the older man on his side, watching him slide down the barrier wall, breathing heavily.

“What the hell do you even know? Why are you so angry?”

“Because he’s my friend and these are innocent people you’re terrorizing! Shou-kun deserves better than some deadbeat man-child like you, and there is literally no need for you to be doing any of this just because you can. Do you think you can just take over the world? By yourself? With that? No one will follow you or want to be around you because they’ll be too afraid of you. I would know.”

“Oh, you would? And what if I don’t even want anyone around me anyway?”

“Yeah, I would,” Shigeo deflated, taking a deep breath before sliding down the other side of the barrier wall. “My brother was afraid of me for so long because of these powers. I’m afraid of me, of what I could do if I wanted to. I isolated myself and became nothing but a husk of a person until I found people I could relate to and I put in the effort.”

Touichirou snorted. “I could beat you.”

“If you beat me, will you have won anyway?” Shigeo retorted. “You’ll have half the world hunting you down because of the damages you’ve caused and the people you’ve probably killed. If you beat them, you’d have no world to take over. You’ll feel just as empty and lonely as you are right now. There is no version of this where you win, Suzuki-jisan.”

Touichirou twitched.

Nothing could film them up here anymore, nothing could reach them. Mandalay’s thoughts couldn’t pierce Shigeo’s barrier no matter how much psychic energy she leeched off of Teruki and the others.

It was just Shigeo and Touichirou.

“If I don’t keep releasing all of this energy…” Touichirou stared down at his hands. 

He was glowing. Literally. Shigeo hadn’t even noticed in his anger. The stadium lights’ final hurrah did a number on his eyes, apparently.

“What’ll happen?”

“Worse than two nuclear bombs.”

Shigeo inhaled sharply. Like juice powder at the bottom of the pitcher Teruki always put in the fridge every night, his anger and panic settled into distraught calm. “Did you think this would solve feeling lonely?”

“I… did it because I could. I don’t need a reason. I don’t need anyone, least of all you.” Touichirou finally looked at him, right at him, not a faraway stare like he’d been doing since they met. No matter how intense his eyes were, eerily similar to Shou, he was checked out. “You’ll just drag me down.”

“To where?”

“Your level.”

“And where is that? What’s my level? What’s so bad about it? And what will I be dragging you down from?”

“I…”

Shigeo shifted around to sit down properly, dusting off his trousers and running his fingers over the marks Touichirou had left on his jacket, his forearm.

This situation reminded him, eerily, of his talk with Kurogiri. 

Will Touichirou die in prison as well?

The thought didn’t even get him to flinch.

“I despise you,” Shigeo admitted, with all the vitriol he could muster. Despite any of it, it still didn’t show in his voice. “You’ve killed and kidnapped countless civilians even before I met you. You’ve been a terrible father to my friend. You have no respect for the lives of others. I can see Shou trying hard to get you back, going through all these errands, overseeing your divisions for you and setting kids free because you’re doing to those kids what you’ve done to him, and you do nothing for him in return.”

“Then—”

Shigeo held his hand up to silent him. He found it trembling. Not because of exhaustion or anxiety, but because of the anger he thought he’d pushed down. He took a deep breath, two deep breaths.

“But as a person and a Hero-in-training, I do have to care about you,” he ground out. It was the truth. “I can’t watch you get killed by the enemies you’ve made knowing full well that you could change your ways like I have. If you’re going to get yourself killed, then I’m metaphorically and literally going with you.”

Shigeo reached out between them and took Touichirou’s hand, slowly absorbing Touichirou’s energy.

It tasted cold. 

Felt calculating.

And so overwhelmingly lonely. 

A self-inflicted isolation tinged with expectance. 

It expected betrayal, expected loyalty. 

It expected the good and the bad. 

It expected to be felt. 

It expected to be shoved down.

Shigeo couldn’t help the tears that blurred his vision. He never could, and it wasn’t going to stop him now. This was how Suzuki Touichirou felt when he took and gave people energy. 

Shigeo was aware that it was Touichirou’s emotions, but what of the people he gave energy to? Was this how he could convince them to stay with him? With a sense of existential anxiety and dread?

“What have you done to yourself, Suzuki-jisan?”

“What? What are you doing?”

Shigeo tightened his grip, then started letting out the energy like Touichirou had been doing. Below them, lights to buildings and houses flickered. The trees on campus rustled with wind and growing movement.

“What—you’re siphoning it out? It took me years to gather all that!”

Shigeo’s grip was now vicelike. His anger rose again. “And for what,” he ground out. “For you to do this to yourself? Do you have a death wish?”

Touichirou snarled, trying to pull away, but their hands were melded in the energy transfer, the constant output of pent-up sadness, paranoia, and isolation, the desire for something bigger.

The output was starting to chafe at something in the back of Shigeo’s mind, and as he felt this, pain blinded him. There was a noise that came muffled to his ears, loud and guttural.

It was him. He was screaming out in pain.

Shigeo pried his fingers away from Touichirou’s hands, then knelt up, engulfing him in a hug. They were going to die in here. Worse than two nuclear bombs. He let the pain and energy wash out of him.

“I have my brother to come back to. My friends. Nn—Teruki’s waiting,” he choked out, clenching at Touichirou’s blazer with a white-knuckled grip. The pain. It wouldn’t stop. “I want to talk to him. I want to hug him like this. I want him to feel safe. I want to make sure he is. Suzuki-jisan, did you have someone like that?”

He was crying again, close to sobbing now. But if he sobbed, he’ll start screaming again.

He was so, so scared of dying.

Touichirou sighed, then lowered his hands around Shigeo’s waist. He was hugging back or mirroring an approximation of it. It was the hug of someone who’d forgotten what it was like or how to do it. 

Or was it that Shigeo was beginning to go numb with pain?

“My wife.”

Shigeo pulled away with some effort, sitting arm to arm with Touichirou with a stumble. They were still up in the air, but it was only a matter of time before Shigeo passed out from the pain of the power drain. He clenched his jaw with the effort of not screaming out. “What happened with her?”

“I… This happened.”

“You pushed her away,” he choked out. He was curling in on himself now. It felt like Touichirou was cradling him, but he wasn’t sure. His eyes were shut tight, a reflex born out of trying to shut out the pain. Part of him was absorbing the energy now, converting it into his own before filtering it out below them.

Some of it stayed.

“I never apologized.”

He couldn’t take it anymore. He screamed.

“Why stay? Why not let them kill me?”

He screamed and it echoed in his ears, then it all popped.

Their barrier broke but wind didn’t rush up against them.

“If I ran away, then who’d be here to try and save you—”

They weren’t hurtling to the ground just yet, but Shigeo fell anyway.

Chapter Text

Darkness.

Emptiness came into view, his form reflected on a water-like surface beneath his feet, echoing the pitch black around him endlessly. He looked around, not too concerned for the abruptness of it all, calm, collected.

“You’ve grown.”

Shigeo turned to see who it was and then everything clicked into place.

He was unconscious. It didn’t feel like he was in peril on the outside. He was just…passed out. Maybe asleep. He had no goal in here but to be himself, because it was him. This was what it was like inside Kageyama Shigeo’s head. Darkness and an endless flood of emotions mixed together that he couldn’t filter.

“Mogami-san, you’ve escaped?”

Mogami laughed, looking younger than he’d last seen him. He sounded less…vengeful. He felt like it too. “I wasn’t tethered to that Matsuo fellow’s little cursed camera roll, no. He whips me out for the important stuff, lets me feed on energy. It just so happened that he brought me in with him today.”

“What happened?”

Mogami shrugged. “Didn’t get much context. But you shot out a lot of energy this time. Makes me wonder what you were thinking, doing that. Quirk society won’t appreciate your efforts of trying to turn Quirkless people into psychics, y’know.”

“That wasn’t—”

“That’s the media’s version of the story right now. I hear the police and the rest of the government have been releasing information in little increments. What I’m more impressed with was how you dealt with that Suzuki fellow though.”

“Oh.”

“People can’t change that fast,” he pointed out. “They shouldn’t. Isn’t it bad that you’re changing people left and right like that?”

Shigeo inclined his head, eerily calm despite the evil spirit in his presence. Maybe that was Mogami eating his energy as they spoke, maybe it was just because he wasn’t scared of Mogami no matter how scared he was of the memories Mogami made. “I don’t change them. They choose to. I just point out the flaws in their plans and they somehow agree with me after. What comes after is something they did of their own volition.”

Mogami hummed. “You really are amazing, Kageyama Shigeo.”

“Thank you, Mogami-san. Not just for this, but for helping with the energy.”

Mogami turned and walked away. “Whoever said I was here to take your energy? I was just visiting.”

Then why was he so calm?

He was in the hospital again.

Had he even left?

He opened his eyes and felt them sting mildly, puffy and dry because of tears he didn’t remember shedding. When he swallowed, he winced at the dryness of it.

It was dark in his hospital room, but the moon lit up just enough for Shigeo to see that this wasn’t his room, not the one he’d stayed in. Had they moved him in his sleep?

Talk about déjà vu.

He could see figures, on the floor in sleeping bags and futons, on the extra beds in the corner of the private room, on the couch. There was something warm on his left hand, even though his arms were on top of the blanket.

Fingers, chipped paint on long nails. A soft hand and a shock of blond hair laid by his side. It felt surreal, looked surreal. 

He’d seen Mogami in his dreams (was it a dream?) and woke up to another hospital room.

It felt like there was a gap in his memory.

With his free hand, Shigeo reached out to touch the hair, running his fingers through it.

The person hummed, then shuddered. Their head shifted, then blinked up.

Shigeo smiled, sliding his hand down from hair to cheek. “Teruki.” He couldn’t help the way even his whisper cracked with the dryness in his throat.

Teruki blinked a couple of times, before his eyes widened, looking around the room. “You’re awake!” he hissed. “I—how are you feeling?”

“My eyes are a bit sore and I’m really thirsty.”

“R-right, I.” Teruki moved to push away, but Shigeo kept his hold firm on Teruki’s cheek.

“No, I’m alright,” he said. “Let me just. Let me have this.”

Teruki leaned back in, letting Shigeo cradle his cheek with a look Shigeo couldn’t decipher. “I…”

“I’ve had the shittiest week,” he admitted crudely, softly, pulling a laugh out of the other boy. It was quiet, but loud in the amount of people sleeping in his hospital room, even with the ECG. He didn’t even look to see if they’d woken anyone up.

“I can tell,” Teruki teased. “You’ve been in the hospital for a fever twice this week.”

“I’m glad you’re safe. I was so… so scared that you’d… that you’d think that no one would save you. I mean, you escaped on your own, I’m sure given enough time to recover, you could have gotten out of that unscathed but…”

Teruki’s expression sobered. He reached up and held Shigeo’s hand on his cheek, shaking his head. “You told me you’d find me. I knew you were going to.”

“I was so worried about you.”

“So they’ve told me.”

“You shouldn’t have to save yourself all the time.”

“I know.”

“That’s good.”

“Alright.”

When had they gotten so close? 

They were forehead to forehead now, Shigeo leaned down, Teruki halfway standing to meet him. Shigeo closed his eyes, rubbed circles on Teruki’s cheek.

“I want to kiss you,” Teruki said, every word letting air caress his cheeks, gentle. “Is that bad?” It was as much a confession as it was asking for permission.

Shigeo tucked his fingers under Teruki’s chin and leaned in further to lock lips. 

He had no idea what he was doing, but he knew he wanted it. 

He’d wanted it when Teruki comforted him after the exams. He’d wanted it since the night Teruki came out to him, hands joined together between their futons. He’d wanted it since they fell asleep on the couch during the internships, when Teruki stayed up late just to ask how his day had gone.

He’d never wanted something so selfishly and unconditionally before. Self-improvement provided a sour taste in his mouth before he had to realize that it was necessary. Acceptance of his own abilities was an even harder pill to swallow. But wanting Teruki... it was as easy as breathing.

Ever since Mogami, Shigeo had tried to broaden his horizons, keep his eyes on the bigger picture. He’d push himself to improve at Yuuei every day but in the end, he always came back to one person. He’d lean on one person after everything, no matter what.

When they pulled away, Teruki’s breath hitched. 

Shigeo opened his eyes, dropping his hand from Teruki’s chin.

“Was that…?” He wanted to ask if it was alright. Teruki had said he might kiss Shigeo, but Shigeo hadn’t thought to ask. “Sorry, was that alright?”

Teruki pulled him back in by his arm.

This kiss was deeper. It poured out more emotion than…

The gap in Shigeo’s memories filled abruptly, a light switching on. 

Everything came back to him, but Shigeo was safe now, in the satisfying but ultimately wet motions of Teruki’s chapped lips. He mimicked the movement, storing those memories for later, and felt Teruki smile against his lips in return.

It made him inconceivably happy to feel that. Shigeo leaned into it.

The ECG picked up rate. A snort sounded out from inside the room. 

Then, “Wha—? Oh.”

Both Teruki and Shigeo jolted away from each other, Shigeo more than Teruki, really. 

The lights flickered on though no one touched the light switch. The ECG rate went higher than was humanly possible, then, as Shigeo calmed down and his cheeks flushed and he found Arataka and Ritsu sitting up from the futons on the floor, staring at them, everything flickered back to normal. 

Darkness engulfed the room once more. The ECG beeped out steady heart rates, if a bit faster than what it was earlier.

Arataka shook with the effort of stifling his laughter. 

Ritsu snorted. 

Arataka’s shaking laughter broke out as Teruki huffed but didn’t protest when Shigeo pulled at him, burying his face in Teruki’s back. Slowly, people started waking up due to the noise. Mom and Dad were there, and so were his friends.

“Shige-kun! You’re awake.”

“Mob!”

Mom started shushing people one by one, saying it was the middle of the night. She stood from the bed and clicked the lights on and said she’d get the nurse.

Teruki pulled away from Shigeo. “I’m going to get you some water.”

Shigeo nodded, hiding his face behind his hands now. “Please. Thank you,” he mumbled.

After the doctor gave Shigeo the all-clear and told him he’d be released on a more reasonable hour, everyone did their best to contain the noises of their celebration.

No one said anything about him, Ritsu, Izuku, and Arataka crying once he’d gotten over his embarrassment at getting caught, but Tenya didn’t escape the teasing when his glasses started fogging up and neither did Ochako. 

No one said anything about the fact that Shou wasn’t there either, what happened at Yuuei, or about when school was going to start up again.

It was almost like they were avoiding it. 

He didn’t hate it, per se. He wasn’t against being coddled like Ritsu was. He supposed it was because of Mogami, really, because there was no way he could take love for granted now. But he didn’t like it a hundred percent.

It felt like they were hiding something from him, protecting him from something they thought would hurt him. Like when Tenya, Izuku, and Todoroki didn’t tell him that the League of Villains attacked Hosu while they were fighting Stain.

After the whole ordeal with Kurogiri and All for One, Shigeo found that he didn’t mind it too much. Sure, there was a hum of anxiety every time he noticed that they were avoiding it, but if they deemed it something worth hiding from him, he trusted them.

When things eventually died down again, because they all woke up at some ungodly hour before the sun rose, their friends left once they were done smothering him with worry and well-wishes. Shigeo endured it all in good nature until his hair was irreparably disheveled, his cheeks started straining with smiling for so long, and he was warm all over after all the hugs.

“Why did you all wake up so early anyway?” asked Dad, yawning very loudly.

Remembering why, Shigeo felt his face heat up. He shared a quick glance with Teruki, who stayed right at his side throughout all the impromptu celebrations, and smiled. Teruki bit his lip, but he was smiling as well, a small, shy thing that anyone else would think was just being polite.

Ritsu was smiling too, but there was a more mischievous twinge to his, making his eyes look especially sharp when he patted Shigeo’s knee from where he sat at the end of the bed. “Well… actually, I think I heard some weird things around the room.”

Arataka nodded sagely at this. Shigeo’s embarrassment was a balloon filling up with helium. “It was pretty dark, I couldn’t exactly, um. Make out what it was, per se. It was something small like… it sounded like chu.”

“Chu?” Mom chimed in, looking horribly concerned.

Shigeo turned to bury his head in his pillow.

“Yeah!”

“Oh dear, maybe it’s mice,” she said.

“That’s unsanitary,” Dad pointed out. “What kind of a private hospital has mice?”

“I-I’m sure it was just Shigeo trying to g-get water!” Teruki cut in.

“Yes, he must have been very thirsty,” Arataka said.

Heaving a great sigh, Shigeo mustered up his most pitiful voice and said, “I’m tired…”

“My, alright,” Mom said. “Ritsu, get the lights, let’s all give your brother some time to rest. We’ll be back with your clothes, okay? When are you getting discharged again?”

“The doctor said six, dear,” Dad supplied.

Mom nodded. “Of course. Ritsu, get the car going, will you?” She tossed the said keys to Ritsu, zipping her bag back up. “We’re going to rest up at home and then bring you a change of clothes in the morning.”

“Okay, Mom.”

“Say goodbye to your brother, Ritsu.”

Ritsu walked up to Shigeo’s side and pulled him in for a hug. After a second, he whispered, “You and Hanazawa better not do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Shigeo pulled away a little, brows furrowed. “You’re not even—”

“Shou,” was all he said, raising a brow at Shigeo. With that, he pulled away completely and waved goodbye at everyone before leaving the room with Dad.

When his family left, Arataka finally spoke up.

“I’m just going to congratulate you both. That’s all I have to say. It was a long time coming, but I’m glad you got over whatever your funk was, Teruki.”

“But I didn’t—”

“It’s really great that you just went for it.”

“I kissed first,” Shigeo admitted.

Teruki made a noise that was neither a protest nor anything Shigeo could identify, so he classified it as embarrassed. “What, it’s true.”

Arataka snorted. “I believe you, Shigeo. Really, guys. Congrats. I have to uh, run home and do that freelance thing.”

“Arataka-san.”

Shigeo wanted to keep his memories in as much as anyone did, keep the whole mood of the room happy and not address the events of the previous nights. He really did. 

But he couldn’t take not talking about what had happened anymore.

Arataka paused from packing his futon into the bag, patiently waiting for him to speak.

“Shou-kun told me you worked with those psychics from the 7th Division.”

Arataka nodded, “I do.”

“At Yamada-sensei’s station or…?”

“For the freelance work.”

“What exactly is this freelance stuff you do?” Teruki asked, gesturing for Shigeo to move over. Shigeo scooted away to let Teruki sit with him. “I’ve been meaning to ask since little brother brought it up the other night as well.”

Arataka scratched at the back of his head. “Well… basically it’s Spirits & Such. We’re just… lying low.”

“Lying low?”

“Because of the exact reason why we had to help out with whatever damages Claw caused during the attack,” he explained with a wave of the hand. “The Scars are… still a bit unstable, and it was hard to get them to unlearn the violence and give back to the families they’ve hurt, get used to society while still using their powers, but we’re managing somehow. And we still do exorcisms to get by.”

Teruki hummed. “So, it’s kind of like an afterschool club. An afterwork club?”

Shigeo nodded along. “Do they like working freelance with you?”

Arataka gave them a soft, quiet smile, something Shigeo rarely got to see, even in private. “No one really likes having to grow up and do the things we didn’t want to do. But we’re all works in progress. The upside is, I never get lonely.”

“The downside?”

Arataka thought of that for a moment. Before he answered, he pushed himself up to stand, shouldering his bag on. “They won’t leave me alone. Remember when I took you two and Occhan out for ice cream? I wanted a break from them, honestly.”

There was something there, something Arataka wasn’t saying. Ever since their rift during the weeks that led up to the sports festival, Shigeo couldn’t help but be more attuned to the things Arataka didn’t want him to notice.

He understood, of course, that this was just how Arataka was trying to cope with their distance, like how he opened up more to Teruki nowadays because he thought it would be unfair to ask Arataka for advice if he knew the older man wouldn’t be able to help with such a distance. 

Arataka wasn’t the type to open up even back then either. But he never outright omit or lie when Shigeo asked, mostly just redirected the attention elsewhere.

Instead of pointing it out in front of Teruki, Shigeo said, “That’s good to hear, Arataka-san.”

“That they won’t leave me alone? Yeah, definitely.”

“Oh, you know what he meant,” Teruki added, sounding a bit annoyed.

“Sass!” Arataka exclaimed. He looked at Shigeo, eyes looking genuinely more expressive now. “Was this where you got it? Unbelievable! No wonder. Well, I know when I’m unwanted.”

“Arataka-san…”

“I’m kidding.” Arataka waved a hand around as he made his way to the door. Shigeo felt that he wasn’t, but he didn’t know what to say. “I’m leaving you two here, but you guys better keep it PG unless you want to get kicked out, Teru.”

Teruki groaned. “Goodbye, Reigen-san!”

“Goodbye, good night, and good morning!” Arataka said before flicking the lights off and leaving.

Both Shigeo and Teruki sighed. At the sound, they looked at each other and laughed.

“Hey,” Shigeo greeted as Teruki leaned back against the pillow next to him. 

“Hey yourself,” Teruki retorted, a fond smile on his face. “We should be asleep, you know.”

Shigeo hummed. They should be. Shigeo especially, considering that he’d just broken his fever. But there was too much going on inside his head. Arataka, Touichirou and the Claw, Ritsu and Shou, his friends, his classmates, his powers now exposed to nearly everyone in Japan.

Teruki shifted around on the bed to face him, careful not to knock against him too much. 

Shigeo merely turned his head to face him.

This close to Teruki’s face for the second time of the night, his mind decided to wander down the now very noticeable path of his feelings-induced fixation on Teruki’s lips.

They’d kissed.

To be specific, Shigeo had kissed Teruki, and Teruki had kissed him back.

It was surreal. But despite that, it was the loudest thing on the forefront of his mind. 

The events that transpired around Touichirou and the Claw played behind the glass sheet again, the zoo exhibit of his memories protecting him from everything he felt about it. Questions were trapped behind the glass as well, bright and burning, and Shigeo ignored them.

He had kissed Teruki and Teruki had kissed him back.

“What are you thinking about?”

Shigeo shifted to turn towards Teruki now, mirroring him. “Things.”

Teruki hummed.

Shigeo continued, “I feel like, if I stop thinking about what… how we kissed, it’ll go away. Like this was all some messed up fever dream and when I wake up, I’ll have to face reality without ever…”

Silence, not entirely uncomfortable with the thoughtful look Teruki shared with him, followed that. If Shigeo closed his eyes or stared long enough into Teruki’s, he could hear the beats and tunes of Teruki’s playlist, a comfort he subconsciously sought.

“Alright then,” Teruki mumbled. Their voices have gone quieter and quieter in the emptiness of the room, trapped in the space between them. “Want a distraction?”

Shigeo felt his face flush. “Um.”

“N-no, not like—! Oh gosh. I meant, uh, just, talking about something else.” Teruki picked at invisible pieces of lint on their pillow, eyes averted. “…to stop you from worrying.”

“Oh.” Shigeo let out a breathless chuckle. “Yeah, okay, that sounds good.”

Teruki huffed, shaking his head, before shaking in silent laughter. “We’re so—”

“Awkward, yeah,” Shigeo completed, his cheeks starting to strain with all the smiling. “But it’s good. It’s… we’re both clueless about this, that means we can figure it out by ourselves.”

“Okay, okay,” Teruki cut in, finally settling down. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m all about romantic platitudes and waxing poetic. Would that, uh, would that be daunting to you?”

Shigeo blinked, “Not really? I mean, daunting how? Teruki is Teruki, that’s it.” He grabbed Teruki’s outstretched hand in the space between them. “However you show your affection is just how you are and I like you how you are.”

Teruki squinted at him.

“Teruki?”

“You’re too sweet, Shigeo.”

“What, should I stop? What did I do?”

They continued like that for a while, laughing and whispering in the darkness of the room. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure when they fell asleep, but he was sure that when they did, it was with smiles on both of their faces.

“Thank you for your account again, Kageyama-kun,” Tsukauchi said, slipping the recorder into the pocket of his coat, which was folded over his arm. He nodded at Mom and Dad from across the table, at Arataka, who stood at the kitchen, then at the solicitor that they’d brought in for the interview.

Shigeo still wasn’t a hundred percent sure why they had to call in a solicitor this time. Sure, Attorney Young had explained to him that it helped to be cautious in these cases, but there wasn’t really much she could do if Tsukauchi chose to arrest him.

So, he asked.

“Why did we have to bring in a solicitor?”

Attorney Young nodded, looking like she was gathering her thoughts. She met Shigeo’s eyes over the frame of her glasses, her blue sclera turning green under the old yellowing lights in the Kageyama dining room.

“Because you can tell the court everything,” she started, not at all minding that Tsukauchi was still there. “But in case Suzuki Touichirou or the government press charges on you, we need to watch how we tell them the truth.”

“Why would they press charges?” Shigeo asked, looking at Arataka, then at Tsukauchi. His parents couldn’t meet his eyes for some reason. “It all seems very apparent, considering it was all broadcasted on national television. Right?”

It seemed, though, that Tsukauchi was the only person who would answer him. “You defended and protected one terrorist group from the leader of another one. Not only that, you’re a psychic. Just like the Claw. Just like Suzuki Touichirou. If someone presses charges against you, they will criminalize you and your actions with those facts. They’ll criminalize you for more, if they pull out your previous accounts of encounters with the League of Villains. 

“It doesn’t matter how it all turned out in the end. If they press charges, you’re lucky if you get community service and we could direct you to working with Heroes. If worse comes to worst, you could get tried as an adult for a crime you didn’t commit.”

Oh. Well, that sounded bad.

Shigeo nodded numbly. “Okay. Well, I hope for the best in this. Thank you for dropping by for us instead, Tsukauchi-san.”

“Not a problem at all. Do you have any questions about, well, everything else?”

“Whatever happened to Shigaraki-san and the others?”

Tsukauchi hummed, looking up as if trying to remember what exactly the police have to account for the League. “I think they’re all in custody right now? They brought in all the collaterals from inside the stadium and the campus. We have All for One and his doctor, a bunch of the psychics as well.”

“What about Se—”

“I think that’s enough!” Arataka cut in. “It was great to see you again, Tsukauchi-san.”

Tsukauchi eyed Arataka for a moment, then shrugged. “And you as well, Reigen-san. I’ll be off now.”

“Thank you very much, you two, I’ll see you off,” Mom said, taking Tsukauchi down the hall with a guiding hand.

Shigeo turned to Arataka, brow raised. “What was that about? Do you…”

Arataka kept silent, listening intently. When he heard the door click shut, he turned back to Shigeo. “I’ll tell you about it when we meet up with Shou tomorrow at Mitsuura-san’s.”

Shou was with Mitsuura?

Shigeo wanted to ask further, his burning curiosity probably showing on his face, but Arataka gave a few hard glances at Attorney Young from where she sat across the table as if to say not in front of the solicitor. 

With a fumbling yet begrudging nod, Shigeo let it go.

There was the rumbling of a car turning on outside the house. Attorney Young brought out a pad of paper from her things, clicking a pen. “Kageyama-kun, if you mind, I’d like to be prepared in case there might be complications to the case.”

“Complications?”

“Are there…” Young seemed to be turning the words over in her head. She spun her pen deftly between fingers. “Is there any case there might be other scandals or incidents relating to you that may be brought into the jury?”

“Well, there’s the fact that he’s a psychic,” Arataka pointed out.

Young inclined her head, gesturing to keep them going.

Mom walked back into the kitchen-dining, fiddling with her thumbs as she joined Arataka by the counter.

Shigeo turned it over.

What other things could people think was bad due to the fact that he’d caused them with his powers?

“Well, there is the time I met Teruki,” Shigeo pointed out. “I’m sure it was all over the news here in Seasoning. My homeroom teacher has brought it up before.”

“Teruki-kun?” Mom parroted.

Shigeo scratched at his cheek. “Nearly three years ago, when I was in my second year, Teruki was still attending Black Vinegar Middle. I was doing my club activities when I was lured out to a nearby park and the Black Vinegar gang thought I was their enemy or something, so they brought me to their school until my senpai came and tried to take me back.”

“Wait—” Arataka said.

Shigeo pushed through, staring at the grain of the wood of the table, “Teruki was the urabanchou of Black Vinegar. Y’know, when gangs have front leaders, backup, and then backup for the backup. He was the last.” Onigawara had explained these hierarchical things to him once, and it was nice to see him so passionate about something violent without engaging in it. “He was the first psychic I met in my life, and I was that to him too, I guess. He… tried to fight me.”

“What happened?”

“I passed out while he was trying to fight me. When I woke up, the school was destroyed.”

“That was you?” Mom said, stepping forward. Dad put up a hand, Shigeo saw in his peripheral, to keep Mom from touching him.

Shigeo fought the urge to flinch. This was the first time any of his parental figures heard about how he and Teruki met. “It wasn’t Teruki’s fault. We were just… There was a misunderstanding. We’re alright now. More than alright, we…”

No, that was too much revelation for his parents today.

Shigeo looked up, resolutely keeping his eyes on Attorney Young. “Anyway, that’s one. After I…won against Teruki, both Salt Mid and Black Vinegar gangs looked up to me and caused a bunch of the gangs in Seasoning to start rumors. They know me as White T-Poison. I wear it under my uniform all the time, so I didn’t really have a choice about it.”

Attorney Young, the image of professionality, nodded, jotting down a few things on her pad before looking at him. “Anything else?”

“There’s also… Ah, he’s not here. But… when I was also in my second year, I almost got taken in by a cult led by an evil spirit. I set them free but they caught a glimpse of me and started looking for me. Now, they go by Psycho Helmet Cult.”

“You’re the god of your own cult, oh god,” Arataka groaned.

Shigeo whipped around to look at him. “I didn’t make it! They gathered themselves. I’ve told Dimple multiple times to disperse them, but he still…”

Arataka pointed a finger at him, “That’s because Dimple’s exploiting them. You should have just met up with the leader or something a long time ago and told them to disband.”

Shigeo deflated at that. “Well… they’ve been aware of me since I won second place. And Shigaraki-san already found out about both of those things by themself. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else brought it up.”

“You mean to tell me,” Mom started, her voice on edge. “That a Villain knew about both of these things before us. Shige—”

“Now, now, I’m sure Shigeo has his reasons,” Dad placated. “He would have told us—”

“No,” Shigeo cut in. Both his parents turned to him. There was intensity in his mother’s eyes, and something desperate in his father’s. Shigeo couldn’t help the guilt that dropped like a rock in his stomach. “I’m sorry for not telling you any sooner. I would have kept this from you for as long as I could. I wasn’t proud of what I did in either of those incidents, but I don’t regret doing them. Some part of me…”

Shigeo swallowed, looking back down on the table. “Some part of me wanted to keep it quiet to keep Ritsu from finding out. But he was the first to find out in the worst possible way. To compensate, I guess, I still wanted to seem like the perfect son in your eyes…”

“What worst possible way?” Mom asked. Her voice shook with some wariness and something Shigeo couldn’t pinpoint. 

“Just before my second year ended… Ritsu got his powers and started trying to hone them. He posed as me against gangs trying to summon me for a fight. He drew the Claw’s attention. I was there when he got kidnapped, in an alley full of gangs and an adult psychic.”

“Ritsu got kidnapped?”

“I’m responsible for that,” Arataka stepped in. “Not the kidnap, I mean. I’m responsible for telling you what happened.”

Shigeo opened his mouth to protest, but Arataka cut him off with a hand gesture as he explained everything he found out from Teruki, Ritsu, and Shigeo that evening to Shigeo’s parents. 

Attorney Young kept jotting down notes until she filled up a whole pad and had to make Arataka pause as she turned the page.

“Those psychics from the 7th Division of Claw,” Attorney Young said, pointing a finger up as a student might during a class discussion or a journalist might in a press conference. “Are you aware of where they are, Reigen-san?”

“No,” Arataka lied. “I suppose they’re trying to do their best in society now, quiet about their… involvement, somehow.”

“Have you told any of the police this?”

“No.”

Attorney Young nodded. “That may work in our favor. That means the police aren’t aware of your involvement to the Claw and that means that they can’t bring it up to the jury. Can we call in Hanazawa-kun and Ritsu-kun in case we need a witness account?”

Shigeo shrugged. “All Might-sensei was there as well, but really, everything that happened between me and Suzuki-jisan was publicized anyway, so I don’t see how we need to bring in witnesses if everyone saw the broadcast.”

“That’s true,” Dad pointed out. “There’s no mistaking what Touichirou-san wanted and what Shigeo wanted in that whole thing. You can dig through pasts and everything, but it all comes back to the fact that Touichirou had his people paint the town red, so to speak.”

Attorney Young hummed at that, making a note on her pad before looking up at his parents. “We can go at it like that. I have a few ideas of how we can run this to keep the blame off Kageyama-kun. We’ll see. Our goal right now is to make sure nothing else gets ahead of us about this case. That responsibility falls to everyone in this room and what the police want to divulge to the media.”

Mom nodded, eyes seemingly focused on Attorney Young’s notes. “We have to keep information about this to a minimum. Tell no one unless they already know, okay, Shige?”

“Yes, mom.”

Well, at the very least the people that mattered already knew. 

Arataka had asked the Kageyamas if he could treat the boys for a day-trip outside before they deigned to hide Shigeo from the prying lenses of the press. He reassured them that they had a place to sleep and that they will keep contact just in case, then walked all three boys (Ritsu, Teruki, and him) across the open canal to one of the few privately-owned high-rise apartment buildings in Seasoning City.

The first thing Shigeo did when he saw Shou again was walk up to him and hug him tight.

The second thing he did was apologize.

He hunched, burying his face on Shou’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry about what you had to deal with. If we had known that he was like that, if—if... I... Ritsu and I wouldn’t have treated you so badly when we met you.”

“Whoa, hey, big bro, calm down,” Shou placated, hands hovering over Shigeo’s sides. His jaw was rubbing against the top of Shigeo’s head, which meant that he was looking towards Ritsu for help. “I, uh. I didn’t tell you or Ritsu. Or anyone else other than Fukuda, Higashio, and Otsuki. My old man’s horrible for treating everyone like disposable spoons, I’ve known that for a long time.”

Ritsu scoffed.

Shigeo shook his head, pulling away to settle his hands on Shou’s shoulders. “I’m not talking about you telling us. I'm talking about how we didn't look out for you. He's selfish. He let it get in the way of his family. He didn't think what kind of effect it'll have on you. I hope you realize that you’re not responsible for getting them back together or trying to understand him.”

Shou stared at him for a moment, eyes going back and forth like they were reading something on Shigeo’s face. “I see.”

“You see?” Teruki deadpanned, a smile in his voice. 

Shigeo couldn’t turn to ask what it was about because Shou shrugged him off, averting his eyes. He said something in English that Shigeo couldn’t catch with how harried he was about the interaction between Teruki and Shou, but he walked towards Ritsu saying, “You really left an impact on him.”

“On who?” asked Arataka.

Right, Shigeo had almost forgotten about everyone else in the room. The Scars of Claw’s 7th Division. They all dressed properly for the occasion (whatever it was) and none of them had their eponymous scars anymore. Shigeo wondered if those were all cosmetic.

Shou sat down the center table, his hands inside his jacket pockets. “My old man, who else?”

“The president, when we found him…”

Shigeo twisted around to look at Seri—

Wait, was that Serizawa?

Gone was the curly, slightly greasy hair and the umbrella he always brought with him. Serizawa stood by one of the stools of the minibar inside the room, clad in a navy blue suit with a black tie. He was clean-shaven and his hair was cropped short.

He looked younger than Shigeo had seen him.

“He was,” Serizawa stammered, rubbing a finger on the counter of the bar. His inflection, gestures, and words cemented it in Shigeo that yes, this was, in fact, Serizawa. “He apologized to Shou-kun and I. Said he treated us really badly. Us and the whole company and Hideko-san. That we had a right to not want to see him ever again.”

“Nothing about pressing charges?” asked Ritsu.

Serizawa glanced at Shou, then shook his head. “He’s going willingly into that court without a lawyer. He won’t even defend himself. He… he’s—”

“He’s repenting,” Shigeo finished for him. All heads turned to him. He didn’t fold into himself. “Better late than never, right?” He gave Teruki a look.

Teruki shook his head with a sigh through the nose. He stepped around Shou to grab at Shigeo’s hand and squeeze. He didn’t say anything else.

Silence passed up until Arataka brought his hands up and clapped to bring everyone’s attention to him. “Alright, everyone!” he started. “I brought us all here to tell you something important. We’re being tasked with renovating.”

“I thought this was an exorcism gig,” Shou mumbled.

“This is Spirits & Such, Shou-kun. Note that ‘and such.’ It’s not just spiritual stuff here. No! We are going to be hiding in the cover of the night with the help of Psycho Helmet Cult with fixing the buildings destroyed by the Claw.”

“What?” Ritsu stepped forward glancing between Arataka and Shigeo, incredulous. “Are you crazy—the cult that’s looking for my brother? We’re working with them?”

This was as much of a surprise to him. Shigeo shrugged. “My only real question is how Arataka-san got them to help us.”

“They were all too pleased to help when they recognized me from the broadcast, really,” Arataka admitted. “That and Dimple came in to talk to them.”

“Did he apologize to them at the very least?” Shigeo asked. He hasn’t seen the spirit around since, well. Since his birthday.

Arataka gave him a look as if to say uh, you think?

Shigeo expected as much. It was going to be hell to deal with.

Arataka walked up to the minibar and pulled out a whole bulletin board from under the counter somewhere. “I already divided us into teams, so remember who all you’re going with, talk about how you’re going to do it, and just try and get to know each other so that I don’t have to repeat any of this later on if you guys forget.”

Shigeo supposed it was just his karma, when he opened the door to their dorm and was tackled into the hallway by a vibrating Ochako on his chest, squeezing him to near death.

“Ochako…kun. Let… go.”

Ochako let up, pushing away from him and standing to pull him up to his feet. “No! Suffer! I haven’t heard from you in days!”

“But Teruki was—!”

“Teru-kun was a recluse without you! He chose to stay cryptic all week and I had to resist breaking into your place just to see if you were here!”

Well, he supposed Teruki did have a hard time keeping secrets that weren’t his. He looked over Ochako’s shoulder and spotted Tenya, Izuku, Momo, and Todoroki. 

Izuku was weeping, but not full-out sobbing, so Shigeo supposed the situation wasn’t as bad as Ochako made it out to be.

“W-well, everyone come in, then.” Shigeo stepped aside and pulled Ochako with him, making sure that everyone followed his lead on where to put all of their outdoor shoes. “We don’t have any uwabaki yet but I don’t think Teruki minds either. He’s out buying some stuff right now.”

His friends shuffled into the living room, murmuring sorry for the intrusions and oohs and aahs. HE veered right to start the tea and grab his phone to inform Teruki. 

His boyfriend (were they boyfriends? Shigeo should ask) was actually out buying some of his monthly period stuff and milk, not at all dressed as extravagantly as Teruki usually did. It was only fair warning to tell him they had people over.

“Do you guys like green tea? We’re fresh out of milk, or else I’d serve you guys something cooler for the weather.”

“Green tea is fine,” Uraraka shot back. “We really just wanted to check up on you. I suppose I should have invited you over instead of dropping in, but I don’t think I can fit everyone in my apartment right now.”

“It’s alright,” Shigeo reassured as he put the kettle on. 

He leaned onto the counter, looking out over the living room. “I haven’t seen any of you guys since the hospital, and I was kind of grounded after, uh. The whole thing with Claw.”

Izuku made a noise of protest. “You saved everyone and you still got grounded?”

That was exactly what Shou said. Shigeo bit down on a smile at Izuku’s roundabout concern, inclining his head with a shrug.

Todoroki huffed, resting his head on one of the throw pillows. “I’d like to see you walk into a Villain situation without a plan and not get grounded when Inko-san finds out.”

Momo hummed at that, pointing a finger at Izuku, “Todoroki-kun is correct. Any of our parental figures would be incredibly frustrated if we knowingly put ourselves into a situation that could endanger us.”

Shigeo scratched at his cheek, “It’s a lot more different than that but, uh, yeah.”

Before anyone could ask about that, the doorbell rang, then the kettle started whistling.

“That must be Hanazawa-kun,” Tenya said, moving to stand.

“I’ll go get it,” Izuku offered before pushing off the floor to jog to the door before Tenya could protest. When Shigeo looked over the group, over half of them were taking their seats.

With a huff, he said, “Thank you, Izuku-kun. I’ll have the tea ready in a moment.”

There was a bit of a ruckus in the hallway. 

“Oh, hey, Midoriya! So that’s why Hitoshi told me he was going to be late. Well. I’m home, Shige!” Teruki called out.

“Welcome back.” Shigeo spooned the loose leaves into the kettle, careful not to spill or look away from what he was doing. “Did you get the milk?”

“Yes, I did.” A hand snaked around his waist, chaste and passing, but it was enough to jolt him out of concentration.

He looked up to give Teruki a pointed look, who merely shrugged airily and plucked the milk jar from his bag. He mumbled, trying to keep their conversation private despite the unsubtle audience they’ve gathered. “No one been giving you trouble?

“Not yet. They just got here. Did you get your pads and stuff?” Shigeo tried not to glance to his side. Was…was Momo’s phone out?

Teruki took the jar back and turned around to put it into the fridge, “Don’t really use the plastic pads anymore. Just needed stuff to clean the ones I have. You need any help out here before I put mine in the wash?”

Shigeo looked down at the pot, which was probably halfway done damming those leaves, then shook his head. “I’m alright. Just take your time and—”

“Mm, right, I’ll put yours in the wash anyway. I know you’re out of pullover hoodies. I’ll just be a minute in my room.” Just because he was Teruki and he was dramatic, he turned to everyone and said, “Don’t do anything fun without me, okay?”

“I’d argue you were doing something fun just now,” mumbled Ochako. There was a soft slap, then Momo and Ochako giggling. The phone had since been out of sight.

Shigeo sighed, and put all of the cups and mugs on the tray before pouring it all in to serve.

“Sorry for the wait,” he said, not begrudgingly. 

No matter how many times they teased, Shigeo wouldn’t mind. It was a wonder they’d even stayed this long with him. It was a bit of a thrill for him, knowing they’ve been around and solid for this long.

Tenya and Todoroki took a cup each, as well as Momo. Izuku and Ochako didn’t seem keen on drinking it while it was fresh.

“So, what did you guys want to check up on?” he addressed, crossing his legs as he sat down by the coffee table next to Izuku and Ochako. “Just me and Teruki or…?”

“Oh, no one’s been too active in the chat lately,” Tenya pointed out. “Right? None of us have checked up on each other since…”

Since Touichirou.

“Hey, I have,” protested Izuku.

“Me too!” Ochako added.

Momo leaned over to reassure them, “I don’t think he means sharing memes, you two.”

“Oh.”

“Well, let’s start with, um…” Shigeo looked around. “Who wants to start first?”

Todoroki raised a hand in a wave. “I’ll go. I think I haven’t told everyone apart from you and Midoriya anyway. So.”

Todoroki told them about how things were going with his sister, Fuyumi, and his brother, Natsuo, in their new home down a few blocks near Musutafu station. How Natsuo had already set fire to the kitchen once, and how Fuyumi always came home with sweets in any form: juice, cakes, donuts.

“It’s a wonder you haven’t gotten a little on the soft side, aside from the cheeks,” Ochako teased, poking at her own cheeks. “It’s cool that it’s just you siblings too! I wonder what that’s like.”

Shigeo hummed, as well as Tenya. Shigeo said, “Well, Ritsu and I are very self-sufficient. He’d probably want me to play games with him after school if we both didn’t have afterschool clubs.”

“Brother and I would be able to get by as well,” Tenya added. “Though, it would be difficult seeing as neither of us… uh, are very adept in the kitchen.”

Ochako snickered, delighted by that. “Didn’t you have Mob teach you how to use the peeler at camp?”

“You did very good with it, Tenya-kun,” Shigeo praised. He really did, considering how Shigeo himself still had the scars on his knuckles from the first time he did it when he was six.

Izuku hummed, finally grabbing his cup of tea with a little smile on his face. “Of course Shige-kun would say that.”

Ochako made an abrupt noise of victory, startling near everyone as she shot up and slammed both of her palms on the center table in a gesture reminiscent of Tome. “If Todoroki-kun lives with his siblings now, does that mean we can drop by your place at some point? Like, just to visit?”

Todoroki blinked at that, then looked to Tenya and Momo for help, both of whom seemed to only be starting to realize how much they liked that idea as well. Izuku wasn’t much help to him either. 

Shigeo shook his head, not unkindly, much to the younger boy’s relief. “Todoroki-kun will invite us over for dinner if Fuyumi-san and Natsuo-san let him invite us over, guys. Who’s next?”

The doorbell rang before Tenya could get a word in edgewise.

“I’ll get it! I’m on my way out,” Teruki called out.

Shigeo shot back. “Thank you!”

“Hitoshi, welcome! The tea’s ready, everyone’s in. Just need to put these in the wash, don’t mind.”

“Why are you chipper, it’s creepy.”

There was a thud down the hallway, then Hitoshi’s choking laughter.

Shigeo shook his head fondly. “Come in, Hitoshi-kun. The tea’s getting cold. Teruki, please just put it in the wash and join us.”

Hitoshi walked in. “Hey.”

Shigeo moved over as Izuku made space for Hitoshi between him and Ochako, sitting with his back to Todoroki’s knees. 

Hm, perhaps they should get another couch. Or a longer one, if they were going to have this many guests around. Hitoshi maneuvered around the couch to hand Shigeo one of the dining chairs.

“Oh, thanks.” He should have thought about that, really. “Well, we were all just talking about Todoroki-kun’s new living conditions. Apparently his brother burned something in the kitchen already?”

Teruki padded in from behind him, grabbing the other chair to take the space next to him. He was dressed in that novelty tie-dye pullover hoodie Tome gave Shigeo (that Teruki started using around the apartment because it seemed right, so Shigeo let him) and one of his old track pants. “Is this about Natsuo-san leaving a spoon in the microwave?”

Izuku snorted. “He did that? How does Teru-san know?”

“He did,” Todoroki confirmed, inclining his head. “And I suppose it’s because I texted Hanazawa the pictures.”

“Didn’t know you were that close,” Shigeo mumbled, raising a brow at Teruki, who shrugged.

“He texts back the fastest,” Todoroki reasoned out, hands up in defense.

“That’s fair,” Hitoshi interjected.

The tea ran out fast, after that, as everyone started sharing things about recent events. Tenya told them about how Tensei finally started accepting requests for him to speak in forums and such, and how he began teaching Tenya some new tricks on how to use his Quirk. 

Momo had finally started officially training under Fatgum and was working on her diet to finally gain the weight she needed for combat. Todoroki joked about sharing some of the sweets Fuyumi keeps bringing just to assist on that.

Ochako said there’d been a huge shipment of supplies from their construction business but even her father didn’t know where it was going. “I think it went to all the properties damaged in the attack,” Ochako whispered conspiratorially.

 “Right, isn’t that weird, how they replaced everything almost immediately?” Izuku asked. “I mean, Japan’s always been efficient in rebuilding after a calamity but overnight? How did they even manage that?”

“I think,” Todoroki cut in. Izuku seemed to stifle a groan at that. With a pointed glance and a louder voice, Todoroki continued. “I think that they sent the psychics in to repair what damage they caused as a part of their sentence.”

That was a good guess. Almost got it right. 

Teruki smiled amicably before saying, “That sounds like a great idea, Todoroki-kun. Maybe they did. I suppose it’d only be fair, if they did let them do that.”

“Speaking of the incident.”

All eyes turned to Izuku who, by sheer growth in character, didn’t shrink back against Todoroki’s knees. He sipped at his lukewarm tea, calmer than Shigeo had ever seen him before. “Did you guys catch what happened with All Might?”

The concern in Momo’s voice, Shigeo thought, mirrored the sudden surge of worry everyone in the room suddenly felt. “Why, what happened?”

“Someone caught footage of him… powered down, so to speak, during the incident. He was by the campus gates with Aizawa-sensei and everyone else when it happened.”

Shigeo, for one, was not surprised by this. Ritsu and Shou had brought it up, but Shigeo wasn’t all too concerned about it because he knew they’d be able to keep a secret. It was, however, a wonder that reporters got close enough to Yuuei while his battle with Touichirou raged on.

“Did they upload it?” Shigeo asked, his voice sounding blank with forced collectedness.

Izuku seemed to sense this, as he shrank suddenly, thumbing at something on his phone. “His agency kept taking it down, but people kept reuploading it. Mostly just non-fans, actually, people who don’t really like him that much. His fan-following respects him too much for that.”

“That’s incredibly uncalled for!” Tenya exclaimed. “That’s—it’s invasive and rude! All Might has done so much for everyone and this is how they behave?”

“I’ve seen it actually,” Hitoshi admitted, looking just a bit too relaxed for the amount of worry that radiated off of him. Or maybe Shigeo was projecting. “I wasn’t actually surprised he wasn’t a hulking mass of muscles all the time. If he was, you’d think more people catch him around Musutafu, considering how often he does small jobs around here. It is bad that people keep reuploading it though.”

That was fair. It still had Shigeo worried. If the League were keen on attacking Yuuei when they didn’t know Yagi had that kind of feature to their Quirk, what if other Villains got encouraged by Yagi’s emaciated form? What if more Villains started attacking Yuuei?

Was it even safe in Yuuei anymore? Don’t get him wrong, he knew all the teachers there were doing their best to keep the students safe. Yagi, of all people, would place near reckless importance on the lives of their students over their own.

“Shigeo? You alright?”

He blinked, then looked at Teruki, whose hand was gripping him. He hadn’t even noticed when everyone stopped to check on him.

“Oh, yeah. I’m alright, just got a bit lost in thought, is all.”

Everyone went back to listening to Izuku talk about the state of things with All Might and how his mother was taking it. 

Well, everyone save for Teruki, who continued to look at him like he was trying to understand a problem. Voice barely a mumble, very close to Shigeo’s ear, he asked, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Shigeo nodded shakily. Everything felt a little lopsided and crooked. Shigeo had no idea why. 

He met Teruki’s worried eyes. “Just thought of something a bit concerning,” he replied, voice just as low. “It’s all too fresh to talk about though, so, maybe some other time.”

Teruki nodded at that, then leaned down to grab the kettle and the stray cups and mugs from the table. “You don’t really have to. Anyone want any water?”

The thing was, Shigeo was aware that he was hard to read. There were times that even Arataka, who’d known him for six years, couldn’t get a good read on him when he was annoyed or frustrated about something. At times, the way he got frazzled about how he was supposed to express his feelings got misconstrued as thoughtfulness or nervousness.

When Teruki served the pitcher of iced water from the fridge, it was finally time for Shigeo to share updates about himself and there it was. The Pause. Whether it was of hesitance, nervousness, or all manner of negative emotion, Shigeo couldn’t choose, but it definitely made him feel even more awful that he still wasn’t talking.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” Tenya reassured. As good-natured as it was, it served to grate on whatever nerve Shigeo didn’t even know was there.

“I’m fine. Really. I just don’t know what I’m legally allowed to talk about.”

“If you’re sure—”

Tenya cut off at the pointed look Shigeo gave him. The constant avoidance of the topic was grating on him, he realized. The secret was grazing against his insides with the feral need to break out. He wanted them to know. Nobody save for Arataka, his parents, and Attorney Young knew the whole story. It felt wrong.

“My parents had me get a solicitor due to Suzuki-jisan.”

The noise in the room died. The intensity and abruptness of which made Shigeo’s skin itch, but there was nothing less uncomfortable than the sudden determined-worried mix on Izuku’s face.

Telling them was just asking for trouble.

Shigeo, for once in sixteen years of his life, wanted it.

“They told me he might press charges against me. I highly doubt it, and Shou-kun has shared my sentiments, but it’s been kind of…stressing me out. I had to tell them—my parents, Arataka-san, and the solicitor. I had to tell them some things that I didn’t want to tell them… at all.”

“What do you mean?” Teruki took his hand again, locking him in with gentle, soft fingers, reassuring and supporting. “What did you tell them?”

“How we met,” he told him, his voice cracking. “How Dimple got me in trouble. How Ritsu got taken a few years ago.”

Teruki looked confused. “You… you haven’t told them anything for that long?”

“Wait, you weren’t out to your parents?” Hitoshi asked. 

It made Shigeo want to laugh, for whatever it was worth. If it was, at all, something like that, maybe Shigeo would have felt less guilty. Shigeo shook his head, “No, not that. It’s just. A lot of personal stuff that I’d rather they didn’t find out. Like what Aizawa-sensei talked to me about when I told you guys during our internship.”

“We’re telling it all wrong here,” Ochako interjected, hands out in a placating gesture. “Mob, how did you and Teru-kun meet?”

Shigeo looked at Teruki in askance. This topic was personal to the both of them, but Teruki more so. It was a past Teruki wasn’t keen on remembering around better company, considering all the things he’d told their friends about middle school was about their last year in Salt Middle.

Teruki squeezed, a small smile on his face. “I’ll do it.”

And so Teruki’s side of the story, something Shigeo’s only heard of once, on the same couch three of their guests were occupying, after their final exams. It felt so long ago, both the final exams and the events of second year.

Teruki spoke of the call he got, and the way he defeated the Body Improvement Club. With as much theatrics as Teruki could muster (which was quite a lot), he threw himself into the storytelling of it all, even the way he flinched away from Shigeo’s handshake.

None of such details went into their fight.

It spoke a lot about how much Teruki didn’t look upon his past violence fondly, that he cataloged the damages wrought to the building, but none about the damages he attempted to inflict on Shigeo himself. 

Of all the people Shigeo expected to be unsurprised by the events of Shigeo’s fatal mistake and Teruki’s even worse mistake, Hitoshi was definitely on the top of the list. So, when Teruki was done telling everyone what happened, Shigeo wasn’t all that taken aback when Hitoshi nodded and asked him, “So this was what Aizawa-sensei was talking about? When you destroyed the school?”

“And repaired again,” Teruki added hastily, just as eyes were widening in shock. “He was crying, when I got back down from that whole whirlwind.”

“Back…down?” Izuku asked.

Todoroki leaned forward to show them something on his phone. It was on a news site, featuring an article. Local private school went up into the sky, unauthorized renovation? the title read. Below it was a GIF of Black Vinegar Middle School being flung into the sky and sucked back down into a Black Vinegar Middle School-shaped structure. 

Oh, if only, Shigeo thought. If only it was just unauthorized renovation.

“Was this it?” Todoroki clarified.

He nodded.

Ochako knelt up, leaning over to look at it.

Tenya didn’t need to look. Shigeo found it hard to, but he met those red eyes regardless. Tenya knew what it was like, when Shigeo passed out in battle. Arguably, Tenya knew it worse than Teruki had.

Tenya wiped his hands on his lap. “You were crying, Shigeo-kun?”

“I was.” Shigeo tapped a finger on the back of Teruki’s hand, a metronome of anxiety. “I… That was my second unconscious outburst since…ever. My first time was… I was trying to get Ritsu and I out of trouble. We were children, ten and nine. When I came to, everyone but me was injured fatally. I was convinced that I could change myself. That I could tamp down on all of that power by not using it.”

“What you said about being virtually Quirkless,” Izuku chimed in. “You were suppressing your powers for four years because you were scared it could...”

He nodded. “When I saw what I’d done to Teruki’s school, I… broke down.” Teruki gave his hand a squeeze, then pulled him close to let him lay his head down on Teruki’s shoulder. Shigeo let himself be pulled in, had to, really. “I couldn’t change myself. I was beyond help at that point. The least I could do was use it for some good.”

“And you repaired it…” Momo added.

Shigeo shrugged with his free shoulder. 

“Why didn’t you tell your parents?” Ochako asked. “I mean, I don’t…it’s none of my business, and I don’t really know your parents but… if they know about your powers they might…”

Shigeo smiled. It tasted bitter. “It was selfish. I was ashamed. I wanted to do at least one thing right by me, and I couldn’t manage to do it. It felt like, if I told them what I’d done, I’d be proving all those years they told me I could hurt someone right.”

“I mean, they were,” Hitoshi insisted with a shrug.

Shigeo could feel a lot of glares turn to his purple-haired friend. Hitoshi didn’t seem all too cowed. “I’m serious. Just because Kageyama has weirder powers, doesn’t mean he can’t hurt someone. Listen, dude, you’re not special. All of us can kill a person, if push comes to shove. Sure, you destroyed Hanazawa’s pride—”

“Hey.”

“—and yeah, you might have fucked up that whole school. But hey, no one died, you didn’t want to do any of it, and you were passed out for a majority of the vandalism.”

“Destruction of property on that scale doesn’t count as vandalism anymore,” countered Todoroki.

Hitoshi ignored him, staring right up at Shigeo, sideways as it was, since he was still laying on Teruki’s shoulder. “You’re comparing your outbursts or breakdowns or other with a crime as grave as the Hero Killer’s. That’s unfair on you, dude.”

“That’s correct!” Tenya shouted, because Tenya was intense like that. “I applaud Hitoshi-kun’s skills at explanation—”

“I was just speaking my mind.” Hitoshi scratched at the back of his neck, the tips of his ears pink with praise.

“As well as his sentiment! Shigeo-kun, the actions you take while you are under any kind of influence—conscious or unconscious—should always be remedied by teaching you to avoid going under any influence!”

Izuku inclined his head, confused pout on his lips. “So, you have to teach him to stop going unconscious in battle?”

Teruki laughed, loud in Shigeo’s ear. “No, I don’t think he meant it like that. It’s alright… right, Shigeo?”

Shigeo pulled away from Teruki’s shoulder and smiled amicably. “Teruki and I trained with our powers recently and he gave me some advice on how to stop getting myself into that kind of trouble, if push comes to shove. I just have to sort through my emotions.”

Momo hummed. “Have you ever considered a therapist?”

“No, not really. I don’t think medicine would…”

Momo shook her head. “That’s a psychiatrist. A therapist would be more… hands-on, rather than giving you prescriptions. Unless you need it, of course! I can refer you to one, if you need it.”

“Oh, me too,” Hitoshi added. “Just, uh, text us for the deets, or whatever.”

Oh, well. Shigeo glanced at Teruki. Teruki raised his brows at him and nodded, an expectant smile on his face.

Shigeo looked back at them and nodded. “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”

“Alright, so before we get a move on!” Ochako shrieked abruptly, shooting up from her seat. “Mob! Are you and Teru-kun finally dating! It has been months.”

Well, this was going to be one hell of a summer break.

Chapter Text

On their morning jogs in Seasoning, Shigeo never left his route around the open canal.

The open canal, for all it sometimes reeked, depending on the season, was windy and managed to almost always be tranquil. Even sitting by the grass just to look at passing clouds relaxed him.

It was strictly for this reason that Shigeo still took this old route. On the Sundays he and Teruki were home, sometimes Onigawara was there too, and they play it up by doing their old chant.

Despite the season and the sun beating a stinging barrage over his back early in the morning, Shigeo made no exception when their official break started.

“Hey, want to get a snack?” Teruki asked, nodding over at the small store by the end of their route. Shigeo used to be brought here whenever he collapsed during training, when it began. It made him smile a little.

“Sure, I have some money, I think. Do you want anything?”

Teruki laughed. “That’s my line.”

Shigeo wiped at the back of his neck with the towel he brought with him. “Well, what do they have?”

Teruki ducked in through banners, then through the shoji screen doors of the little store, a bottle of water in his hand. Shigeo followed suit, eager to get out from under the sun.

The store was as he’d remembered it: packed and cluttered with snacks, candy, and little toys. The change and money box was on the counter, and there was a bell for if anyone wanted kakigouri.

On the front of the wooden counter was a poster that told them that they were selling botchan dango in preparation for the coming festival.

“Ah, it’s almost Tanabata, right?” Teruki asked, ringing the bell. “Maybe we should ask the others if they’re celebrating.”

Shigeo looked around and crouched to look closer at bottles of blowing bubbles and little yo-yo’s. “Ochako-kun and Arataka-san are in Nabari for the summer though. Should I ask them as well?”

The storeowner, a measly old lady that reminded Shigeo very much of Nurse Shuuzenji—not just because she used to look after him but also because she gave off that same vibe—greeted them both. “Good day, sirs. What will it be?”

“Good morning, miss!” Teruki greeted. He gave Shigeo a quick glance as he said, “I’m thinking two servings of dango?”

Shigeo nodded.

“One serving of kakigouri. Strawberry, if you have it. Oh, and two bottles of water.”

Shigeo walked to the screen doors again to sit on the bench by the front as Teruki made his purchases.

Teruki managed to bring them their snacks by himself, not the least bit bothered by having to balance it all to sit with him. “I think…” he said, settling down next to Shigeo on the bench. “It’d be amazing to spend Tanabata with Uraraka and Reigen-san in Nabari. Think about it! We could buy some yukata, pack some clothes. We could invite the others in case they want to go sight-seeing or something. It’ll be fun!”

Shigeo considered it as he picked up his skewer of dango and nibbled thoughtfully. It did sound fun, but where would they stay? Would his parents be coming with them? Would they be driving or taking the bus or taking the train?

“Maybe we should ask Arataka-san first,” he said, almost absentmindedly as he finally bit off the whole piece. “It would be rude to suddenly pop up in Nabari for no reason.”

“Of course, of course. You’re right,” Teruki said, offering Shigeo a spoonful of his strawberry kakigouri. Shigeo leaned in for it and hummed in approval as the vivid sweetness of it battled out the somewhat subdued flavor of the chadango. “We can call him later. Do you think your parents would come with?”

Shigeo swallowed briefly as Teruki stabbed a bit at his kakigouri, looking just a bit pleased. Shigeo scrunched his nose in thought. “I don’t know. They might not be available, even though all Dad is doing is attending seminars. But I don’t really want to bring them anywhere for Tanabata either. It feels…I don’t know, it feels weird.”

His parents weren’t one for outings, and Shigeo had never brought his parents out for outings with Arataka specifically. Having all three of his parental figures present for Attorney Young’s briefings and his interview with Detective Tsukauchi was weird enough.

Teruki hummed as the tower of ice on his kakigouri was downed to a manageable size. “That’s alright. We do have to look for someone to drive us or see us off though.”

Shigeo nodded, popping the second dango on the skewer into his mouth. “I’ll see what I can do about it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be too bad for a first date, right?”

Teruki cleared his throat. “First…”

Shigeo glanced at him. “Oh, isn’t it?”

Teruki colored at that, averting his gaze. “I mean, it could. I just. I guess, it just caught up to me, how intimate it might seem, having a date during the festival.”

Shigeo reached out to pat him on the knee. “We’ll have fun. You said so yourself, right? I’ve forgotten when the last time I went to a festival was. I can ask Momo-kun if she knows someone who sells, or should I leave that to you?”

Teruki made a noise as he popped the spoon out of his mouth. “Mm, yeah, I’ll get on that.”

On a whim, and mostly because he could, Shigeo reached out with a vine of energy to keep the bowl of kakigouri in place and leaned in to kiss Teruki. When he licked at his own lips, he could taste just a bit of the strawberry flavoring.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Mob, I miss your cooking so much!” Ochako cried as she snatched the phone away from her uncle. She perked up suddenly, dodging an errant hand. “Oh, hey, Teru-kun, I see you’re getting comfortable! How are the in-laws?”

Arataka gingerly grabbed the phone from his lively niece with a look Shigeo knew was only mock withering. “Occhan, don’t tease. Mob was trying to ask me about something. Go on, kid.”

“Um,” Shigeo said. He gave Teruki a brief glance, who seemed to find the elbow to his sweater very interesting all of a sudden. “Would it be alright if we invited the others and celebrated Tanabata there in Nabari?”

Arataka gave Ochako his own glance, then looked back at the camera. “That sounds good to me, I mean, have you asked your mom and dad?”

Shigeo nodded. “They don’t mind, so long as you’re okay with it. Dad’s out of the country for the week, and Mom says she’s going north for a meeting, so Ritsu, Teruki, and I would be left here for the festival anyway.”

“Well, I can’t drive you here…” Arataka trailed off, glancing to the side in thought. Then, he snapped his fingers, hand flailing in the way Shigeo knew he was going to suggest an idea. “You’re in luck. Hideo, Occhan’s dad, actually brought up a client of theirs who wants an exorcism! I said I was on holiday, but, well. I might be able to get Serizawa to come drive you guys down.”

“Really?” Teruki cut in, finally parting from his sweater. “That’s great, Reigen-san! I mean, we still have to look for a place to stay, it’d be a bit much if we all just dropped in there without—”

“You don’t have to!” Ochako said, popping up from behind Reigen’s shoulder. “I just texted, Yaomomo said she’ll be thrilled to come and that they have a house here somewhere in Kamimitani, but if you guys drive in, she’ll be there ahead of you guys.” She jumped a bit, then held her phone out to the camera. “Oh! Todoroki-kun says he and his siblings are in Shizuoka with their relatives right now!”

Teruki whipped his phone out to look at the group chat. “Oh, you’re right! I hope we’d fit in at Yaoyorozu’s. There’ll be a lot of us, if Todoroki’s coming with his siblings.”

Ochako laughed. “Yaomomo thinks houses should be Yuuei-standard sized. You guys will be fine.”

Shigeo leaned over his shoulder. “Did she say if it was alright?”

Teruki hummed, then turned over to let Shigeo read over his shoulder. 

I would have to ask my parents! sent Momo. But I’ll be thrilled to be able to celebrate Tanabata for once.

Shigeo made a confused noise. “She hasn’t celebrated Tanabata before?”

Ochako chimed in with, “Tooru-chan and I tried to convince her to come to Ennichi with us once, but she said she wasn’t allowed to because of the festival food.”

That didn’t make much sense. Ennichi was about more than just festival food.

“We actually saw her with Todoroki-kun, but you didn’t hear it from me,” Ochako added. 

Arataka gave her a dry look. “Should you be gossiping about your friend like that?”

“Oh, it’s harmless. She told us she couldn’t go but she showed up with Todoroki-kun? It’s odd!”

“But aren’t he and Izuku-kun…?” Shigeo paused, then thought it over. Should he tell Ochako something like this? He knew, of course, that Ochako could keep a secret, but she also always teased him about Teruki before they got together.

Teruki reinforced this by shaking his head at him.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” he answered. He turned back to smile at Arataka and Ochako. “We’ll see you guys tomorrow then?”

“Of course! Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Bye, Mob! I’ll miss you! I’ll go ask Mom where we can find a tailor before you guys get here. Have a safe trip tomorrow!”

There’s nothing to soothe Shigeo to sleep.

His seatbelt dug into his collarbone, the only sound in the vehicle came with the crackling of tire on asphalt as Serizawa drove them further and further away from Saitama. They’d picked up the Midoriyas and Hitoshi, and they were just on time.

Serizawa was good at his job, whatever it was.

“Not sleepy, Kageyama-kun?”

Shigeo hummed, trying not to jostle Teruki much as he shrugged. “I’d get a headache, if I did. It’s not much trouble. I’m usually awake at this hour anyway.”

Serizawa made a curious sound. “Early riser?”

“I have to go on runs in the morning.”

“Ah.” 

“What about Serizawa-san?”

“Me? Oh, well. Ka—uhm, Suzuki-san, well. I’ve gotten used to it since Reigen-san uh, hired me.”

There was something rather endearing about the way Serizawa, a grown man, stuttered around him. Shigeo wasn’t trying to be mean about it, of course not, but it reminded him a bit of himself back in middle school. “Arataka-san lets you start early now?”

“Oh, he actually makes me open up while he’s in Tokyo for his day job. The other psychics and I do rotations for clients, if there are any.”

Shigeo made a sound of wonder, making sure to be a bit soft about it when Teruki suddenly tensed in his sleep. “That’s a lot of responsibility. How are you taking it?”

Serizawa’s fingers drummed on the wheel, but Shigeo didn’t need to see that to feel the sudden anxiety that flooded his senses. He tried to give off waves of reassurance and comfort. Beside him, Teruki hummed softly, as he often did between naps.

“It is a lot of responsibility, isn’t it.” Serizawa chuckled. “I don’t know what Reigen-san was thinking, giving me—I mean, Muraki-san would probably have a better time helping with the clients, but, well, I mean—” 

“I’m sure you’re doing great. I used to be put in charge of clients. It’s something to get a hang of.”

“Kageyama-kun?”

Shigeo stifled a laugh. His amusement still seemed evident in his tone though. “Do I not seem the like? It was a bit difficult when we started. I just had to offer them tea and make sure to count the change. If we were out, I was supposed to deny snacks but drink the tea and look out for evil spirits.”

Serizawa glanced at him, then very carefully flipped on the signals before changing lanes. The sudden pickup in speed had him squeezing slightly at Teruki’s knee. “You make it seem easier than it is.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

“What is it they say about hindsight again?”

Teruki sniffed. “It’s twenty-twenty.”

Shigeo hummed. “Oh, you’re awake. Did I wake you?” He withdrew his hand from Teruki’s knee. “Oh, was it when I—”

Teruki shook his head, then settled back against the headrest. “Heard you trying not to laugh. Anyway, the saying’s hindsight is twenty-twenty.”

“Right, um.” Shigeo blinked, trying to remember why he was just about to say that. He looked back at Serizawa, then said, “Ah, yeah. Hindsight, twenty-twenty. It didn’t feel very fun when I was serving clients, sometimes the tea wasn’t even that good.”

Teruki laughed at that. Serizawa smiled a little.

“But,” he continued. “Well, once it’s over, it just ended up feeling like it wasn’t worth the anxiety. Usually, they just wanted to be in control of something.”

“Because they’re scared of the spirits.”

Shigeo nodded.

“That’s… comforting,” Serizawa said.

“How’s it any different to Arataka-san counting on you to comfort someone?”

They get to an intersection, having to wait by the stop sign. There’s nothing but gravel in his ears again before Serizawa answered, “Well, I guess it isn’t. You’re really smart, Kageyama-kun.”

Shigeo opened his mouth to protest this, but then Teruki cut in, “He is, he really is. He won’t admit it though.”

Shigeo really won’t. It wasn’t that he was humble about it, but mostly because he thought that if he were smart, he’d have to admit to it and people would turn to him for advice. If he failed any expectations, it might make them feel bad, then Shigeo would end up feeling bad. He said, “No, I won’t.”

“Well, I say you are,” Serizawa insisted. Shigeo appreciated that, but he did hope the older man didn’t expect too much out of him. He’d hate to disappoint. “And, uh, do you… do you know why Reigen-san would make me drive you guys up to Nabari? I mean, apart from him being… not here to do it himself, y’know.”

“Shou does say you’re a good driver,” Teruki chimed in, twisting around in his seat to rearrange himself. He sat straighter, looking over Shigeo’s head. “I’ll be honest, though, I just think he’s sweet on you.”

Shigeo elbowed him.

Serizawa stammered, which really was a bummer because Shigeo had hoped he hadn’t heard any of it. His ears were slowly turning pink, glancing every now and then away from the road.

“You think he—”

Teruki sank into the seat next to Shigeo. “You’re kind of like Shigeo, here. It just makes sense if Reigen-san took a liking to you.”

“Me?”

“Kageyama-kun?”

Teruki waved his hand around reeling in his words. “You’re both really powerful psychics who are constantly under stress and social anxiety. At least, from where I’m standing. I don’t mean it as a bad thing, it’s kind of endearing, but Reigen-san met Shigeo when he was a kid and you guys are the same age! That and they’ve had kind of a falling out, lately, didn’t you.”

They had, Shigeo could admit to that. He couldn’t speak much for Arataka though.

“What happened?”

Well, there was the fact that Arataka thought Shigeo would forget about him and that he didn’t think they were friends with each other. Instead of airing all of that out to not only Serizawa and Teruki, but potentially also Ritsu, Shou, Izuku, Inko, and Hitoshi in the back, he said, “It’s complicated.”

“…Right. I should probably ask him myself, then.”

“Exactly, spend more time with him,” Teruki teased. And Shigeo knew he was teasing because he was very close friends with Ochako, and Shigeo discovered that with huge groups of friends, it was inevitable that they’d pick up each other’s mannerisms somehow, and Teruki had just done a very creepily accurate impression of Ochako’s teasing tone. “Tell him all about how you drove all up to Nabari for him.”

“Teruki.”

“I’m joking! I’m joking… but seriously, try to talk to him, he probably really likes you.”

Serizawa heaved a deep sigh then shrugged. “Noted.”

The oddest thing that Shigeo noticed about traveling was that the world was the same everywhere.

The township of Kamimitani near Nabari City made him feel… nostalgic, in the sense that he could imagine himself growing up there. It wasn’t reminiscent of Seasoning nor Saitama nor Musutafu. There wasn’t much of foliage in their cities, so Shigeo couldn’t really compare it to that. Despite its differences, he could still see himself and Teruki running around the block, or him and Ritsu coming to the shrine for their New Year fortunes.

The town felt old, peaceful, and natural. The Yaoyorozu property wasn’t disruptive of that nature. Their property in Nagoya was actually an oasis because of the cityscape that surrounded it. 

This one wasn’t as grand as the manor though. In fact, it was traditional. It looked like the kind of house that had a Zen garden inside just because.

It, of course, had its own parking lot. There was a blue sedan in it when they eventually arrived, as well as what seemed to be a large red van.

“Oh, thank heavens we arrived,” sniffed Inko as she stepped out with Serizawa’s help. When Shigeo glanced at her she, thankfully, wasn’t crying. “That was a good six hours of driving!”

“And not once did Shige-kun get motion sick!” Izuku added with a laugh.

Shigeo shook his head, giving Izuku a look. “It was because Serizawa-san drove good.”

“Damn right he did,” Shou laughed. “I slept like a baby! There’s a reason he was the only paid—whoop, never mind.”

“Please don’t curse,” Shigeo mumbled, leaning heavily against Teruki.

There was the sound of a screen door opening and shutting, then, “Everyone, good afternoon! Oh, do you need help with the luggage?”

Momo, in sheer contrast to the incredibly old and traditional house, was dressed rather casually in her singlet and shorts. Behind her stood someone Shigeo only recognized in photos before, from when their friends came over in Musutafu before the break started.

“Oh, there’s so many people,” was their bubbly remark, pushing their glasses up the bridge of their nose. “I’m Todoroki Fuyumi, here to help!”

Serizawa’s polo and khaki pants made for a good contrast when compared to Fuyumi’s shirt and jeans. Shigeo couldn’t imagine what it would have looked like, if they’d driven here with Serizawa all suited up, though he doubted that Serizawa left it behind since Arataka told him the trip was for a job.

“I’m, uh, Serizawa. K-Katsuya. It’s nice to meet you. Here’s um, some.”

Momo was busy snatching one of the bags away from where Hitoshi was trying to keep it from her. “You’ve been in that car for six hours, let us handle it and relax! Fuyumi-san and I brought you uwabaki just behind that door, now go!”

Shigeo didn’t need to be told twice, though he did feel bad for leaving the luggage to them.

Where were Todo—Shouto and Tenya?

“Everyone! Good afternoon!”

Well, there was Tenya.

The screen door slid open to reveal Tenya kneeling on the floor. “It is great to see you here! Thank you for setting this up for us, Shigeo-kun! My brother is with me as well, in the kitchen with Natuo-san and Shouto-kun!”

“Tensei-nisan is here?” Shigeo said.

“You call Ingenium ‘Tensei-nisan’, brother?” was Ritsu’s disbelieving comment.

Shigeo shrugged. “We have met before, didn’t I tell you?”

“Holy fuck, Ingenium’s here.” Shou mumbled.

“Same,” Izuku said, shaking Shou by the arm in excitement. Beside them, Hitoshi rolled his eyes.

Shigeo stepped out of his shoes and brought them with him, helping Teruki up into the hall with a hand. He turned to Tenya. “Which way’s the front?”

Tenya looked up, then pointed down the hall. “Just head straight down. Once you’re done, Fuyumi-san and Momo-kun will show you guys to your rooms. Every room has its own bathroom so there’s no worries about hogging or anything.”

“How big is this place?” Izuku asked. “I feel like Mom and I would get lost in here just looking for an extra futon.”

“That’s exaggerating,” came Shouto’s voice from the other end of the hall. “It’s not that huge.”

“To be fair, Shouto,” Fuyumi said, mumbling excuses as she pushed past everyone, one bag in each hand. Shigeo grabbed Ritsu’s, then his, much to her chagrined look. “To be fair, I don’t think anyone’s lived in a house as big and traditional as Dad’s or this one.”

“I haven’t,” Shou said. “This is the first time I’ve seen a house this old and Japanese, to be totally honest. You think it’s haunted?”

“It could be!” answered Momo as she hauled in a few bags by herself, looking barely winded. “It’s been with my family for generations. I certainly wouldn’t question it if it is. Then again, you boys would know immediately, wouldn’t you?”

Shigeo nodded, still a bit too impressed by her heavy-lifting to speak.

“This way, then,” she said, when no one else answered, squeezing through the group to lead them into the manor.

“Well, it doesn’t feel haunted at all,” Teruki remarked, lying down on the tatami mats.

They’d just finished lunch, with Inko interrupting Natsuo and Tensei’s cooking just to commandeer the stove and cooking them enough food to last till dinner. Right now, everyone who wasn’t going to come downtown to meet with Ochako and Arataka was winding down. 

Shigeo, for all he wanted to see his friends, wanted to take a nap, if he were honest.

He sat there, sifting every now and then through his bag, pretending to check if he had brought everything in the smaller bag he was supposed to bring into town.

“They did say they found a tailor, right?” Shigeo asked. “And that we were heading there today?”

Teruki hummed.

“Can’t I just send my measurements over and have you pick the yukata for me? I trust your taste.”

Teruki turned to him then, lowering his phone. “Why, you want to nap or something?”

Or something.

“Yeah.”

Teruki considered that for a moment, just staring at Shigeo as he laid there. “Well, you did get up extra early to make sure Ritsu and I had everything and skipped your jog this morning.”

“Mhmm.” Shigeo glanced up from his bags. Teruki was dragging this out for amusement, wasn’t he?

“And you did stay up on the trip over to make sure Serizawa-san’s GPS kept working.”

“Right.” Yeah, he absolutely was. Shigeo pushed his bags to the side and crawled up to Teruki until his head was hovering over Teruki’s face.

Teruki grinned. “Then you did make sure that—"

“Teruki.”

“Yes?”

Shigeo sighed. “Fine, I’ll come with you.”

Teruki reached up and pulled at his cheeks, nothing painful, just enough to squeeze them. “Are you sure? You said you were sleepy!”

“If I fall asleep, you’ll be responsible.” He was kidding, of course. He’d go along with anything Teruki wanted to do, given it was practical or fun.

Teruki pouted for it, which made Shigeo huff out a laugh. Too late. “You really don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” Teruki almost scolded. “I know you really are tired.”

Shigeo nuzzled at his palm, then brushed his lips against it. “I’m fine, really. I can push through. Don’t expect me to run after any of you though. If Serizawa-san or Tenya-kun offers to carry me, I can and will accept.”

Teruki chuckled, sort of, presumably at the mental image of Shigeo being carried to chase after a group of other high schoolers. “I can carry you myself.”

Shigeo sat back on his knees, staring down at Teruki.

His incredulity must have come across because Teruki raised a brow at him. “I can! I’ve been doing weights in my room every morning!”

Shigeo reached out and prodded his arm. “I’m not so sure…”

“You’re just saying that to make fun of me.”

He kind of was.

Shigeo rearranged himself so that he and Teruki lied down on the tatami mats together, shoulder to shoulder. He put both of his hands on his stomach, staring up at the ceiling. “I trust you, you know, but considering how Serizawa-san and Tenya-kun are built, I trust them more because I have put on a little weight since then.”

“Have you?” A telltale prod on his side. Then, another. “I don’t think you have. You don’t seem like it.”

Shigeo nodded. “It’s all the training.”

Teruki hummed, amused.

“We should probably pack up.”

“Probably.”

Neither of them did.

“Hey, Teruki?”

“Yeah?”

“Are we boyfriends?”

There’s a moment where Shigeo thought Teruki wouldn’t answer. But that wasn’t quite it. For the past few years, Teruki had been growing as a person, being mindful of himself and his behavior around other people, especially around Shigeo. It wasn’t a self-centered thing, it was just that Teruki had always been friendly towards him, and it only started feeling completely genuine around the time they had gone home after rescuing Ritsu.

Arataka had brought them to a ramen shop, just to get some food into them and to get Shigeo a new uniform from downtown Seasoning. Teruki, who had been looking after him since he passed out in the alley, had finally gotten comfortable enough to speak up about the events of that night.

“I really do admire your restraint and kindness, Kageyama-kun,” Teruki had told him as Arataka lined up to pay for the uniform. “If I had been in your situation back there, I would have ended up doing something I’d regretted, in your position.”

There was a bit of a haunted look in his eye, now that Shigeo had thought about it. In hindsight, of course, that probably meant that Teruki had already done something he’d regretted. He might have fought or killed someone to keep him and his aunt safe and was thinking back on it, or he’d done something he regretted back at the 7^th Division’s base. Shigeo didn’t know. He still didn’t.

The Shigeo that was standing with him then, as Ritsu buried his face into his shoulder blade, didn’t know what to do with that information other than say, “Thank you, Hanazawa-kun… You didn’t have to help me get my little brother back, but you did. It was really nice of you.”

The Shigeo that was lying down on his back next to Teruki on the tatami mats could only think that even though that was two years ago, he was still scared that this was all just a hoax. That maybe he’d deluded himself into being friends or something more with such a nice and admirable person like Teruki.

“Do you want us to be? I’m not entirely aware of what else we should be, since we know that we like each other.”

Did Shigeo like Teruki?

Shigeo turned to his side, laying his head down on his arm as his eyes traced over Teruki’s form.

He tried to remember what it was like to like Tsubomi and tried to compare it. With Tsubomi, just the mere sight of her in the halls made him feel like his heart was jumping out of his chest. He’d look at her, at how beautiful she was that day, as she was every day until she moved schools, and felt… inexplicably happy.

Teruki, he knew, had his bad days. There were days, in the past few years, where Shigeo was shown the ugly side. The sneering and backhanded comments he’d throw behind people’s backs back in middle school. He certainly didn’t have to be classmates with Teruki to know that it still sort of happened in Yuuei, considering he was close friends with Hitoshi, who was a bit of a snark.

Despite these times though, it didn’t deter Shigeo from feeling at ease around Teruki. He knew Teruki. They were the same. They were both threatened by that tiny bit of insecurity that their powers were all they were, and they were both striving to be more every single day.

That, he thought, was probably more than what Tsubomi ever was to him. A friend, an equal, someone he knew enough that he’d man the stove if he saw even the slightest bit of discomfort on Teruki’s face. Someone who knew him enough to step in and give support when he was starting to feel agitated.

Did Shigeo like Teruki?

“I wouldn’t mind being Teruki’s boyfriend, that’s what I think,” Shigeo murmured, mostly to himself. “Would you?”

Teruki, who was now lying on his side to face him (he might have moved while Shigeo was doing all that thinking), gave him a smile, the kind that started at the lips and furrowed the brows in such fondness, Shigeo wasn’t sure where it all came from. 

He shifted closer, then gave Shigeo a chaste kiss.

“I wouldn’t mind being your boyfriend either, Kageyama Shigeo.”

The door behind them slid open. Shigeo jolted back from Teruki, sitting up. “Shigeo-kun, we must be ready—Oh! I am… so sorry.”

Shigeo took a breath. “Don’t worry, Tenya-kun. We’ll be with you shortly. At the parking lot?”

“Y-yes! Sorry for interrupting. Excuse me.” The door slid shut again.

Teruki was trembling. Shigeo could feel it from where his knee was vibrating against Shigeo. What drew him to look was the gasp, then the laughter.

Shigeo pushed him with his knee. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

After leaving the seamstress’s shop, it seemed that the only catch was trying to decide which shrine to visit for the festival.

They stop by a café near Nabari Central Park and, after a lot of protesting from Arataka (who wanted to pay for everyone’s orders), decided that the non-students of the group could split the bill on all their orders, depending on what they were.

Five slices of cake and a cup of something to drink later, Arataka spoke up, looking to Ochako for confirmation.

“We live up in Yurigaoka,” he said, pointing at some general direction with his cake fork that Shigeo couldn’t help but follow. “The closest and largest shrine is Urufushine, but I’m more partial to that than Ebisu since it’s a wider area than Ebisu.”

“There is that one next to Uda River, it has such a nice view and it just feels like a hug,” Ochako points out. “It’s like, right next to Kamimitani.”

“There’s one in Kamimitani, the one we drove past this morning,” Teruki cut in.

“Shirayama?” Momo asked. “Oh, it’s just for the mountain god, I think. They put streamers up every other festival, but they never really hold events there.”

Multiple hums of understanding rang around the table, loudest of all was Shou’s, who kept sipping at his coffee. Ritsu was looking at him warily.

Should they really be giving Shou caffeine, Shigeo wondered. Or Izuku, for that matter, who already seemed to be vibrating in his seat on the table with Natsuo, Shouto, and Fuyumi.

“The one next to Uda has snakes, Occhan,” Arataka said flatly.

“Yeah, but there hasn’t been an incident in years.”

“That doesn’t really inspire any confidence, kid. I love the shrine by Uda, used to go there in high school, but the snakes…”

“Wimp,” inferred Shou, who got a stern-looking pointer and a squint from Reigen and a snort from Teruki and Ritsu.

Inko giggled. “Now, now, I can see why Reigen-kun is concerned, and I’m sure you kids can handle yourselves in the dark, near the river, with all those snakes that could be slithering on nearby.”

Izuku choked down on his laughter.

Shouto said, “Well, if she puts it like that.”

“I say we vote,” Hitoshi pointed out, pushing his chair far enough that it made Shigeo use his powers. “I vote snake shrine.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t call it snake shrine,” scolded Serizawa, who seemed bemused by Shigeo’s nervousness and pushed Hitoshi’s chair back to regular stance. 

Hitoshi gave him a brief glance, then said, “Those who want to go to the snake shrine raise your hand.”

Predictably, Ochako’s hand shot up. Shouto’s did as well, though he seemed to be doubting this because of Fuyumi’s good-natured look. Natsuo’s hand also shot up, which earned Fuyumi’s glare.

“I kind of want to go to snake shrine too,” said Tensei. “But… I don’t think I can go to any shrine, considering…” He gestured to his wheelchair.

Arataka put a hand on his chin.

Serizawa put a hand up, glancing nervously at Shigeo. “Maybe we should… um, see both shrines first, before deciding. None of us have been here for long, so maybe they’ve set up more no-barriers type things like ramps and such.”

“Oh, that’s very nice of you, Serizawa-san,” Tensei said, shaking his head. “But, there’s really no need—”

“Nonsense!” Arataka cut in, slamming his hand down on the table dramatically, as he always did. “You guys drove up here for Tanabata, we should spare no efforts to have everyone enjoy it.”

“Yeah!” cheered Ochako and Shou, then were promptly shushed by Inko, Tensei, and Fuyumi. There was something about getting shushed from three different adults that had Izuku snorting very loudly, for some reason, which just snowballed as ten caffeinated high schoolers fell into a pit of laughter.

Shigeo looked over his shoulder, fidgeting with the sleeves of his yukata. “What if someone recognizes us?”

It was a right fit. The seamstress seemed to work well under duress and multiple orders. Tanabata season always was a peak season for occupations like that.

They’d settled for the snake shrine. That is, Uda shrine, by the river. There were, in fact, more no-barriers type things all around: benches, ramps, rails, and even new restrooms. They also had, and this was much to Reigen’s chagrin because he really did like it even though Uda wasn’t his idea, an amazing view overlooking the river and the fireworks display.

Teruki tugged at his arm but stopped just by the edge of the crowd, brows knitted in thought.

It wasn’t like he’d been thinking about it all evening. He’d noticed all the murmurs and pointed fingers. He didn’t necessarily like it, but no one had stopped him for a photo or even just a word yet. He knew the possible conversation topics: either Yuuei or Touichirou, and he didn’t think he wanted to talk about either.

“Has someone recognized you?”

“Yeah, a lot. I don’t… I do want to watch the fireworks, but if we’re not busy with something like a booth or food, they might… you know…”

Teruki hummed. Then, “Do you trust me?”

Without missing a beat, “Yes.”

Teruki pulled at him, then made his way towards the side of the overlook. He fell in beside Shigeo when they reached the edge of the overlook next to the tree line, then grabbed his waist. “We’re jumping.”

“What?”

“On three.”

“Wait.”

“One, two—”

“Teruki!”

“Three! Jump! Shigeo, jump!”

They leapt and landed on the rocks of the riverside. Shigeo knew, of course, because he held his breath and looked fearfully at the ground as it met them.

“See, not so bad, right?”

“Nn—Next time, tell me if we’re doing something like that instead of just asking if I trusted you, please.”

“O-of course, Shige, sorry.”

Teruki leaned back against the wall of the overlook, geta clattering against the rocks. The river didn’t so much as roar as it did whisper as it flowed. Shigeo, hand still clasped in Teruki’s leaned back shoulder to shoulder next to him.

They had a few minutes before the show started.

Teruki took a deep breath, then gave a happy sigh. “This has probably been the best Tanabata. For a moment there, I almost forgot about Claw and Yuuei.”

“Oh,” Shigeo said. “I’m—”

“Don’t be sorry. It was bound to happen, and, well, I’m glad it was you.”

Well, that didn’t make much sense.

Teruki met his gaze, amused. “I’m not alone in this. You aren’t either. ESP, Quirks, Heroes, and Villains. We’ll be there, helping each other.”

Shigeo hummed, then fumbled with one of Teruki’s fingers. “Like our own heroes.”

Teruki laughed, but the sound was drowned out by the fireworks, the river’s whispers, and Shigeo’s lips.