Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was storming in the early morning when he was born. The raging tempest was at such an intensity that the entire city was in a state of emergency. Lives were disrupted as the flooding obliterated houses and took out small buildings. It was the type of storm that had been unseen in Japan for hundreds of years and the city was struggling to stay, figuratively and literally, afloat. 

It was one of the reasons that everyone present during the birth found it so ironic that the baby born during that freak storm was born with literal gills beneath his ears and two sets of eyelids, like a crocodile, as well as webbed toes and fingers. Afterward, they found more differences in his anatomy, but at first those were the most visible.

It was uncommon, but not impossible, for a baby to be born with their quirk. What was incredibly unlikely and rare though, was for a baby to be born with a quirk that had nothing to do with either of the parents quirks. Such as little Izuku.

The baby was eventually found to have several inhuman attributes, aside from what was already discovered. The baby had vertical, slitted pupils and bright green eyes that emitted a soft glow, absorbing light and then steadily reflecting it back, even after the light source was taken away; though after a certain amount of time the glowing would fade. Which meant the child would most likely be able to see very well in the dark. The gills also suggested that he could breathe underwater, though the parents as well as the doctors, were unwilling to test that out. The webbing on his feet and hands would no doubt lend themselves to an increased ability to travel quickly in water.

The quirk was labeled as a random mutation and simply called ‘Reptile.’

They soon discovered that Izuku had a much higher metabolism than the average human, requiring him to consume a lot more calories. He was prone to dehydration very easily and had to drink a lot of water, which later on (after an unfortunate accident), had doctors discovering his hyponatremia. Too little sodium in his blood. Doctors discovered that Izuku needed a higher sodium intake than any ‘normal’ person, as his body required a higher blood sodium level to continue working. Izuku wouldn’t realize why this was the case until much later into his life. Over the years, this part of him affected him greatly. His body required a lot of water to keep dehydration at bay, but too much could upset his blood sodium levels. He lived in a precarious balance of salt and water.

It was also learned, when Izuku finally grew in his teeth, that they were sharp and angular, like a predator’s.

When he was older, despite what everyone told him, Izuku would think that his quirk was really cool, even though his parents must not have been happy with it, unless it was an unrelated reason that they gave him up for adoption.

Izuku was four when he was taken to the orphanage. He could still remember his mother; her soft green hair and her gentle smile, the way she sang him to sleep every single night. His father though, he could remember nothing of.

Throughout his life Izuku held onto the memory of his mother, no matter how much it faded. One day, he had promised himself, he would go looking for her, even if he had very little to go off of besides his memory and a last name.

The orphanage that Izuku ended up at was not inherently bad and the kids there were not horrible on purpose. Izuku always tried to help them, no matter what. He saw so many kids pass through the place. Sad kids, happy kids, young and older kids, traumatized kids. All of them were there for some reason or other and Izuku tried to befriend them all. Most of the time he was able to.

The orphanage wasn’t bad. No, it was the foster homes that Izuku couldn’t stand. Adults making money off of him, being paid by the government to ‘take care of him’, even though none of that money ended up going to his caretaking. The multiple homes that he ended up in were almost nothing but horror after horror. and Izuku ran away when he was seven, nowhere to go but up.

Izuku was a smart kid and had been doing online schooling since he was young, therefore he was several years ahead when he left his last foster home, giving him enough time to settle in and find a better place to stay.

That place ended up being a trash dump on a random beach that he came across after several days of wandering. For some reason, deep into the heap of garbage, Izuku found an abandoned train car. Perhaps it had been dropped from a ship and then washed ashore to be lost forever, until now. It was rusty and old, lost in the annals of history, probably left in no one’s thoughts until Izuku had found it.

Izuku thought it was beautiful.

It soon became his residence and over the course of several years, it became home. No one ever came for him.

Izuku found a way to power electricity to the abandoned train car by doing menial tasks for random people; tutoring, lawn care, tree trimming, house cleaning. Izuku was eventually able to save up enough money for a used computer and cell phone, and with these he was able to jump back into schooling, taking up right where he’d left off when he had first run away.

And still no one came for him.

Izuku wondered how many children were lost or forgotten about by the system. How many of them ran away like he had, to find somewhere to survive on their own after deciding it was better than whatever place they were stuck at? Izuku decided he wanted to be a hero. The kind that rescued children like him, a hero that children especially could really look up to. A hero similar to All Might. A hero that really had the true betterment of humanity in mind.

Eventually Izuku did try to breathe underwater, his curiosity overpowering his common sense and human instinct. He walked into the salty, ocean up to his shoulders, pausing to take in the view from where he stood. An endless expanse of water, water that held an entire world beneath it. The setting sun cast smooth, gliding rays of light across the surface of the vivid blue as the waves gently lapped at Izuku’s chest.

After a moment of appreciation for the beauty that stretched out forever before him, Izuku smoothly bent his knees, submerging his head. He felt the gills in his neck immediately flare open, several bubbles leaking out as his second eyelids slid over his orbs, nictitating membranes to protect his eyes from the water and still allow him to see. Izuku reached up to touch his gills, holding his breath as he kneeled in the water, the surface only a foot above his head.

His gills were three soft slits on each side of his neck, beneath his ears, that connected directly to his esophagus. They remained closed when he was in the air, allowing oxygen to pass beneath them without escaping. But when they were completely submerged, they opened. He had no doubt that he would be able to breathe the water, why else would he have gills?

So, Izuku’s lips parted and he allowed a tiny bit of the saltwater into his body.

It was as easy as breathing air.

Excited, Izuku took a bigger gulp and felt the liquid rush out of the gills, his body filtering the oxygen, his blood absorbing the salt and air, and then exhaling the rest out of his gills. He even felt better, for the first time in a long time he felt amazing, his blood replenished with the salt it needed for him to survive. It felt like he had been lacking a part of him for his entire life and he had suddenly found it. It was like he’d come home.

Thanks to living in a trash heap Izuku often suffered from having too little sodium in his diet, his hyponatremia getting the best of him. But, salty ocean water combatted that! His body absorbed the salt from the water, healing him in a strange type of way. It was brilliant and he decided that he never wanted to leave the water again.

Of course he had to, though. There were things he had to do. But he began returning to the water whenever he possibly could, usually staying close to land, inherently afraid of being washed out into the depths during a storm.

Because of staying in the sea so often, Izuku began to lose his taste and his sense of smell, his skin paled until he looked like a ghost and his hair became brittle, looking like seaweed in the water as it floated around his head. These changes did nothing to help some of the strange looks that Izuku often received, though it was worth it for the comfort the ocean and some of its fishy occupants provided him.

But Izuku’s story really starts when he is ten.

It wasn’t a good day by any means, but Izuku was confident it would get better. He walked with a pep to his step, despite feeling sick and on his way to one of his less ‘fun’ jobs: cleaning the insides of rich people’s houses.

In this day and age people were generally accepting of people that didn’t look completely, well, ‘human’. But there would always be those people that were unkind, the people that felt quirks like his were useless. What was the point of ichthyic features, the ability to breathe underwater and heightened senses when some people had quirks that could literally give them the ability to control metal? Metal manipulation was his client's Son’s quirk, as he seemed to feel the need to show Izuku every day that he worked around him.

Izuku let himself into the mansion sized house with a keycard he’d been given and made his way to the first bathroom. He’d learned early on in this line of work that most people preferred people like him to come, do the work, and then leave, without being seen. Like a ghost housecleaner.

He was cleaning the third bathroom on the first floor when Yasuo approached him. The boy was a few years older than Izuku and was built like a block of concrete, all wide limbs and thick bones, scalp length silver hair and shiny, silver eyes. Yasuo also seemed to think it was his life’s mission to ruin Izuku’s, even though he had never been anything but kind to the older boy. Izuku tried to be understanding for the most part, he knew that Yasuo’s dad was a pretty awful person.

It was difficult when the boy always taunted him. Most of the time though Izuku was able to ignore the boy. It was always just harsh words and he had never actually gotten physical with Izuku. Until today that is.

That day he came into the bathroom where Izuku was scrubbing the toilet. He stood in the doorway; screaming, spouting insults and rude insinuations about Izuku’s sexuality that were incredibly questionable. Izuku easily tuned the boy out, trying to get his work done. He was used to ignoring the willful ignorance of those around him.

“Are you ignoring me?!” Yasuo suddenly screeched, marching up to Izuku and grabbing him by the back Izuku’s long hair, his fist tearing at it painfully.

Izuku cried out, his hands dropping his cleaning supplies and reaching up to grab at the hand. “How dare you ignore me!” Yasuo snarled, leaning down, his breath in Izuku’s ear. He’d must have had a bad day to go this far with him. “You are nothing, compared to me! You are disgusting. You look like a fucking fish ghost!” Izuku snorted because, wow, that was one of the least hurtful insults he had ever been called.

Yasuo did not like that Izuku was amused, as he screamed angrily. “You can breathe underwater right! Then do it, you fuck!”

He thrust Izuku’s head forward, into the toilet water, holding his face in it as his second eyelids slid over his eyes. But Izuku’s gills were on his neck, and they only worked if they were also submerged, which they were not. He didn’t know if Yasuo knew this or not, but Izuku was going to drown if he didn’t figure something out. The thought was ludicrous to him. Drowning to death, even though he could technically breathe water. What a way to go.

Izuku was not a weak ten year old, years of labor had toned his muscles, but even so he had nothing on the older boy that was holding him down and he was running out of air quickly, his struggles growing more panicked by the second. His feet scrabbled at the tiled floor and his webbed fingers tried to force the hand off the back of his head. But the grip was too strong. Izuku could feel the pressure in his lungs, the urge to just breathe growing in intensity by every second that he was held there.

And then, suddenly, everything exploded.

The bathroom pipes burst apart and the entire toilet shot upward, knocking against Izuku’s chin, propelled by a pressurized stream of water. Izuku was thrown backward as Yasuo screamed. The back of his head hit the wall and he dropped to his side, stunned, the pain not even registering in his shock. His second eyelids still protected his eyes from the harsh spray of water dousing the entire room.

Yasuo was screaming obscenities as he sprinted out of the room. Izuku was frozen for several moments, astounded as to what happened, before he suddenly realized what had happened. His client was going to be so pissed.

Unless Izuku got out of there before anyone reached him.

Coming to his senses Izuku grabbed his phone from the sink and took off running, out of the bathroom, down the steps, through the foyer and out the door. Yasuo and his family lived in the rich district of Musutafu and Izuku was light footed and fast, easily leaving the house behind and disappearing into the throngs of people in the city.

He finally stopped running once he felt safe, panting from behind his soaked face mask, grumbling to himself. It was his favorite face mask as it blocked out the putrid fumes of cleaning chemicals extremely well. Of course he couldn’t smell the chemicals, having no sense of smell, but the fumes did make him dizzy and hurt his head if he breathed them in. So it was always good to keep himself protected.

A sharp noise had Izuku’s head shooting up and his eyes narrowing. He was in front of an alley, leaning against the wall as people passed by. His glowing green eyes searched the narrow area and with his ability to see in the dark he easily caught sight of the man, dressed all in black, pointing a hand covered in sharp knives at a terrified woman as she held her purse out to him, hands trembling violently.

Izuku’s body moved before he even knew what he was doing. He could feel all the water surrounding him, sewage pipes beneath his feet, humidity in the air around him, moisture in every human body around him. Izuku reached forward, his slitted pupils dilating as his fingers tugged .

Water erupted from the wall next to the villain, showering them all in freezing water from whatever restaurant was next to them, but directly hitting the villain, slamming him into the opposite wall. His head connected with a sharp, hollow sounding, thunk, like hitting a watermelon with brick, and he dropped to the ground, unconscious.

“Oops.” Izuku muttered to himself, frowning beneath his face mask. He would have to practice with this nascent aspect of his quirk. He hadn’t meant to knock the guy out!

“Thank you so much!” The woman rushed forward to grab his hands and Izuku’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you a new hero!? You saved my life!”

What?! Did this woman not realize that he was a child, only ten years old?!

“What’s your name, hero?” She gushed excitedly.

Izuku waved his hands, jerking them free of her grasp, at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing rapidly. She tilted her head at him, waiting for an answer.

Izuku froze, blinking with his second set of eyelids, before suddenly turning and running.

Izuku ran all the way to the beach, past his train car, throwing off his shoes and socks before diving straight into the water, gulping in the liquid greedily to catch his breath as he ripped off the face mask. What the heck was that?!

Izuku swam a little deeper, panting. He could control water?! Since when had he been able do that? Had it always been a part of him? He spun in place now, excited, treading water with his webbed toes while his finger tapped at his chin.

He had to try it out.

Izuku closed both sets of his eyelids, darkening his vision completely as he focused on the water around him. He could really feel it. He could feel how far it went, how deep it got, just how much of it there was. He could feel its power.

Izuku concentrated on gathering the water around his body to form a spinning funnel, smiling toothily as he thrust his hands out, propelling himself upward like a torpedo.

His gills closed as soon as he breached the surface, the water continuing it’s spiralling movement from his chest down. Izuku howled in excitement, feeling more powerful than he ever had before.

He looked at the mask that he still clutched in his right hand and remembered how that woman had thought that he was a hero. She had only been able to see his glowing, reptilian eyes, and his muscled arms, which didn’t exactly look like a childs, so perhaps he could understand why she had come to that conclusion. He bet other people could as well.

Izuku guided the water to ease him back into the ocean, thinking. He could save people. He knew that he could now, today had been proof of that. He could rescue all the lost kids! He could help people! Izuku looked at his webbed fingers. He had always thought his quirk was cool, but now...now, it was amazing.

-X-

Three Years Later

Izuku jumped from building to building, a wide grin overtaking his face beneath his mask. He’d had a great night as the vigilante publically referred to as Riptide, very few villains were out because of the heavy rain. Izuku though, he loved the rain and practically danced as he landed on each rooftop.

He’d become rather popular as a vigilante, especially into his second year when he’d grown more confident in himself and he’d begun taking on harder tasks. Eventually the public had recognized his existence and one reporter, doing an article on his quirk, had referred to him as similar to a riptide, sweeping in and taking care of the villains and then rushing away before he could be captured by police or heroes.

Izuku had freaked when he had realized that he was actually known. Riptide was a common, household name. It was such a crazy thought. He barely even did anything worth noticing.

Izuku came to rest on a rooftop one night, dropping back onto his butt and leaning on his hands, his head tilting back to let the rain water wash over his waterproof mask. The waterproofing was a new addition, but it could be helpful with how much water he slung around all the time. The mask covered his face from right below his eyes down, over his neck (under his gills) and dropping into his shirt. He wore a black hoodie and black jeans and then bright red converse. It was all a pretty cheap set up, except for the tight black mask, which was a prized possession of his. It had been hard to come by, and expensive.

One thing about Riptide though, was that no one had heard him speak until recently, when his voice had deepened somewhat. People had originally thought he was mute, but that thought went out the window when he had started teasing villains.

The articles had been hilarious.

“Rip,” a deep voice said, dropping down next to him and sighing heavily as if he was in pain.

“Dude, you good?” Izuku asked, raising a brow.

“I’m fine.” Eraserhead growled. “I hate the rain.” Izuku smiled beneath his mask and diverted the fall of rain from around the hero’s body with a wave of his hand. “If you can do that, why not just do it to yourself?” Tired, dark eyes met his toxic green ones.

Izuku shrugged, “I like the rain.”

Eraserhead sighed and dropped to his haunches, allowing himself a moment to relax. He and Izuku had known of each other for some time, finally coming into contact in Izuku’s second year as a vigilante. He’d been trying to catch him since then with little success. They’d reached a kind of friendly relationship since their first meeting and despite Eraserhead’s stiff personality, Izuku knew the man secretly liked him.

“So, how’s your loud husband doing?” Izuku asked conversationally.

“He’s fine.” Eraserhead grumbled. “He got another tattoo.”

“Wow! He’s got to have like a hundred or something now, right?” Izuku exclaimed.

“Something like that.” The hero answered with exasperation.

“I think-” Izuku was cut off as a shriek cut through the cool night air like a knife into his eardrum. “Did you hear that?” He interrupted himself, lifting his head, frowning behind his mask.

“Hear what?” Eraserhead tensed, ears straining. Another scream tore through the night, louder.

Both hero and vigilante shot forward, gliding across the rooftops, Eraserhead quite a bit faster than Izuku with his longer legs and the use of his capture gear. He reached the sound first and Izuku was close behind, dropping into the middle of a group of about fifteen guys. Two adults were on the ground, clutching at each other and cowering in fear.

Eraserhead was already in combat and Izuku was quick to protect his back. This would be the first of many times that they would fight together.

Izuku was an untrained fighter, but an experienced one nonetheless. He knew streetfighting. He knew dirty tricks and had a million bad ideas that got him through any fights he landed in, though his goal was to end the fight before it started with the use of his quirk.

Eraserhead and Riptide made a good team, the hero cancelling their quirks and then Izuku taking them out with his own, slamming them into the walls of the alley with collected bouts of rain water. Izuku loved the rain. It made fights so much easier, he didn't have to search for a source of water, nor did he have to use his own sweat  (which he’d had to do once and it was gross).

Eraserhead smashed his foot against the last thugs jaw and he dropped bonelessly. The two panted for a moment, catching their breath before Eraserhead moved to check on the couple cowering on the ground. A siren sounded distantly and Izuku straightened. “That’s my cue to leave. Be seeing you, Eraser.”

Izuku turned around but his step faltered when Eraserhead shouted out, “Wait!”

“Why don’t you just get your hero license?” Eraserhead asked, gruffly.

Because I’m only thirteen , Izuku thought, smirking.

“There’s a test, tomorrow at eight, take this card. I’ve already signed you up.” Eraserhead tossed a card to him and the cardboard sliced through the air before Izuku grabbed it, looking down at it in confusion. It was an appointment card with a location, date, time and the name ‘Riptide’. “You’re an established vigilante, but prior marks on your record can be explained away with a hero license. And the public already seems to love you, for some unknown reason.”

Restraining the urge to start laughing, Izuku looked up. “Thanks, Eraser!”

The hero huffed and waved a hand dismissively, letting the vigilante leave.

After that Izuku returned home, tearing off almost all of his clothes and running into the water. The train car was nice, he’d cleaned it up well, but the water was his real home and he was happiest there.

The water wrapped around him like a mother’s arms and the fish that were most familiar with him came up to be pet. Izuku settled into the soft sand, laying back, his long green hair floating around him. The fish happily swam through it, trying to eat the strands as Izuku laughed soundlessly. He hadn’t cut his hair in years, since he’d run away actually, and this was one of the reasons. He liked watching the fish.

Izuku was careful not to fall asleep as he relaxed. He’d made the mistake of doing that one time and never again would that happen. He’d woken up practically lost at sea and had only been able to get an educated guess in what direction he should swim in to return. He had barely made it back to land before his body had utterly given out with quirk and muscle exhaustion. It had been an awful, terrifying experience and he’d spent the next two days nastily berating the ocean as if it were a person.

He’d returned after that as if to an old friend and promised himself he would never fall asleep in the water again.

The sun began to rise, rays of light filtering into the water. Izuku sighed from his position on the ocean floor before he stood up and propelled himself back toward dry land.

The transition from the water to the land was dizzying and Izuku stumbled, his brow furrowing at the abrupt headache. He was thirsty, he hadn’t realized how thirsty he was. His muscles were cramping painfully too, as he trudged through several rows of trash to get to the train car, flinging all the water off his body and hair.

His ‘house’ was nestled in a layer of distorted metal and Izuku had to climb through to get in. Once inside Izuku took in the fairy lights that decorated the lining of the ceiling before moving toward the rear of the train, grabbing a prepackaged meal from his mini fridge to throw in the microwave. Rubbing his temple, Izuku then reached in for a bottle of fresh water.

Chronic dehydration had been an issue with Izuku for as long as he could remember. The ocean water helped his salt intake, his body somehow absorbing it, but it did nothing for his dehydration problems. He couldn’t drink salt water, he could only breathe it when he was in the water.

The microwave dinged and Izuku grabbed his meal before striding over to one of the benches, settling down and shoveling the entire, too small meal, into his mouth in several large bites. He finished and tossed the empty package into the wastebin before guzzling his water.

After that he went over to his piled Vigilante outfit and removed the card Eraser had given him, frowning as he looked down at it. Should he even go? Was there a point? He was only thirteen. Was it even possible for him to be a hero, rather than a vigilante?

Technically, you couldn’t get a hero license until you were 18, but nothing was stopping him from lying. But then, what about U.A.? Izuku had been saving up to go there for years. He’d even made a donation page for anyone who wanted to help him out without stating exactly what he was saving for. A surprising number of people liked Riptide and sent him donations, which was incredibly kind and he made sure to thank them profusely on his social media.

Those donations really were what ended up putting food in his mouth every day though. With them he was eventually able to survive without working constantly and was able to put more time and effort into his vigilante work.

That private VPN had made it possible to be able to do such things without being located by anyone nasty, and he was so glad that things like that existed. According to the VPN, Riptide lived in the middle of the Arctic ocean, which he privately thought was hilarious. He could only imagine what someone’s face was like when they tried to track him down via the IP address and discovered only a whole lotta water. Prime comedic material right there.

Izuku set aside the card, brushed his teeth and then his alarm, laying down on one of the train seats.

He had a freaking hero license to get in four hours.

-X-

The hero exam proctors believed Izuku’s forged documents and lies quite easily. He’d had documents prepared for quite some time in case a situation called for it, his quirk labelled as ‘hydrokinesis’ rather than ‘reptile’ on the papers. It had been a while since that particular quirk name had applied to him and he changed it there so it couldn’t be traced back to ‘Izuku’. His age was listed as 19, the highest he could get it and it still be moderately believable. His hero name was marked as ‘Riptide’.

Izuku was relieved they’d believed the documents, but also concerned. Was it really so easy to lie? Was that why there were so many heroes that had...less than heroic qualities, such as the flaming trash can that was currently the second place hero. Izuku vowed to try and convince the officials that ran the exam to make it more difficult to get into. Once he was more established as a hero, that is. 

The exam began and Izuku completed it without a hitch. It had four levels, the first of which was a hostage situation, which he’d faced enough times in the real world to know what to do. ‘Call the police and then rescue the hostage by any means necessary.’ The person pretending to be the villain was actually the hero Ingenium and he seemed to be having way too much fun playing the character, even going so far as to monologue.

The second level was a rescue from under rubble type of situation, and that was where ‘Riptide’ got full points. That was where he excelled. The person ‘trapped’ was a child actor and if there was one thing Izuku was good at, it was helping children and making them feel safe. It had been his biggest goal in becoming a vigilante and he had rescued hundreds in his short time, from all sorts of situations. Some of those situations had given him scars and still gave him nightmares, but it was always worth it. He never regretted a single rescue.

His enhanced hearing had easily picked up the heartbeat of the child hidden in a pocket beneath the rubble. The heartbeat was calm, not panicked like it usually would be in such a situation, and he could hear her tapping away on her phone, playing some sort of game.

The rubble was easy to remove and he was able to get his body into the hole he created. The girl looked up when he approached, shoving her phone in her pocket. He crouched next to her, eyes glowing softly in the darkness. “My name is Riptide, everything is going to be alright. Do you feel any pain anywhere?” He asked, conveying kindness.

The girl blinked, seeming surprised at how nice he was. A lot of people tended to be. “U-uh, yeah, my head hurts, and my ankle.”

“Alright, dear, I’m going to lift you up now, okay? Everything will be fine.” He asked and comforted at the same time.

She nodded, brow furrowed. Nothing was actually wrong, this was only a simulation, but she couldn’t help but feel reassured and calm. Izuku slid an arm under her legs and back, then lifted her, carefully avoiding sliding her ankle on the ground and supporting her head with his shoulder. He wasn’t the strongest, and she was only a few years younger than him he was guessing, and Izuku was not a large teen in any sense of the word. Her size was close to Izuku’s, but he carried her regardless, taking her to the medic station he’d asked to have set up when the level had first started.

As he walked he scanned the area, searching for any threats. “What’s your name, dear?” He asked, distracting her in case she was afraid.

“Hana,” she answered quietly.

“How is your head feeling Hana, are you dizzy at all?” He questioned, still checking over the area.

“No, it’s not bad.” She gazed up at him, eyes wide.

“That’s great!” Izuku responded happily. “We’re here now!”

Hana looked around, shocked. She hadn’t even noticed them moving that far.

Izuku set the girl down on a stretcher and met her eyes, checking for dilation or signs of a concussion, almost forgetting that this wasn’t actually the real thing, years of experience guiding him effortlessly. “No sign of a concussion.” He grinned, eyes crinkling. “You did such a great job, I’m proud of you, Hana. The medics are going to help you now.”

She gawked at him, short black hair brushing against her eyes. “No points deducted.” She finally said and then added, more softly, and Izuku expected he wasn’t supposed to actually hear it. “New favorite hero if you get your license.”

The third level was the hardest and that was because the use of his quirk was prohibited. Izuku had less experience fighting without a quirk and he knew he relied on it too much. He needed actual hero training at U.A. for things like that.

The level was a fight against a pro hero named Achilles that Izuku was unfamiliar with who was allowed to use their quirk. Izuku won, but he did end up with a broken arm and severe dehydration because of the hero’s quirk, both of which the on sight Recovery Girl had to fix, completely exhausting him.

She scolded him for not being able to fight better without a quirk and told him he better train more if he wanted to be an actual hero. He only grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. She shook her head at him and dismissed him for the fourth level, the written test.

The questions were simple for the most part and all very opinionated. ‘What would you say to a scared victim after rescuing them from a domestic violence situation, what would you do if you passed a burning building when you weren’t currently working, how do you feel about the state of the country right now.’ Questions like that, all easy to answer, especially when some of the scenarios had actually happened and he could call forward his own experiences for those situations.

Afterward Izuku was told he would receive the judge’s decision in the mail within two weeks and he was suddenly glad he’d made that P.O. box a year ago.

He jogged home that day, excited and happy. Whatever the judge’s decreed, it didn’t ultimately matter. He could still get his license after training at U.A.

When he reached the beach he shed his clothes and danced in the ocean with the fish until night fell.

A week passed quickly after that. Izuku was a busy person and had a lot to take up his time between patrolling, online school work, mending clothes and spending time in the ocean. He didn’t even bother checking his P.O. box until the first week had passed.

He walked to the post office, dressed in civilian clothes, jeans and a bright red hoodie, his long green hair pulled back into a low ponytail. The city was bustling, a busy of work and school for everyone.

Izuku headed into the office, waving socially at the worker inside before he opened the P.O. box. His mind was on whatever he was going to eat for dinner, his stomach rumbling almost painfully while he cursed his quick metabolism, forcing him to eat so often.

He was understandably surprised to see the Hero Commision letter sitting in the small metal box, all by itself.

Izuku picked up, turning it from side to side, as if making sure it wasn’t fake.

It was real, an embossed logo glistening in the middle of the envelope.

Izuku left the post office quickly, practically bouncing with excitement as he headed to his favorite cafe. The Musutafu Subtropical Teahouse.

Izuku rushed inside, his heart pounding in anticipation of opening the letter. At the counter he ordered his favorite drink, the absolute sugariest thing they had. It was bright green, like his eyes, and had pieces of Kiwi in it.

Sitting down with his drink and one of his favorite snakes, named Kaede, he set the letter in front of him. He was hesitant, at first, and simply stared at the unassuming letter while Kaede wrapped herself around his drink, forcing himself to lean forward to sip it instead of picking it up.

Kaede was a rat snake and about two meters long and she was a dark blue-green color. Izuku was particularly fond of her. She was very mischievous and liked to scare any of the customers who happened to see her and didn’t know that she was non-venomous. She liked to wrap around things too, which Izuku attributed to her species of snake.

The snake, wrapped twice around Izuku’s cup, found his letter and nosed it experimentally before sliding over it. Izuku laughed and pulled it out from under her, shaking it at her. “This isn’t for you!” He teased and then sighed, leaning back in his seat. Kaede followed where he’d taken the letter and moved to the edge of the table, dropping onto his legs and slithering up his chest like it was a tree trunk.

Izuku laughed at her and slid a finger over her head, between her eyes and down her neck. Snakes were so smooth and comforting, like his schools of fish back at the beach. Reptiles. fish and amphibians...he just got them. They made so much more sense than people, especially adults.

With a sigh, Izuku straightened his back and tore open the letter, upturning the contents into his hand.

A small, rectangular card fell into his hand and he blanched, heart almost stopping its incessant pattering against his ribcage. “Oof.” He swallowed thickly, turning the card to face him.

There it was, his masked face looking back at him, the picture he’d had to get taken before he’d even undergone the exam. His hood was up, his mask covering his face from below his eyes and down his neck. His eyes were a vibrant jade color, his pupils slitted. HIs hair was hidden by his hood but he kept it braided when he was in his vigilante get up, so that it wouldn’t get in the way.

He was tossing a thumbs up at the camera, despite the camera woman asking him not to. He had to add some personality somehow! His face was covered. There was only so much one could convey with only the eyes, especially in a photograph.

Next to his picture it said;  Hero: Riptide. After that it had the issued date and then the expiration date of the license. Izuku snorted at the expiration date. He still wouldn’t be 18 by the time the license expired.

It hit him then and Izuku’s eyes widened dramatically.

Izuku was a hero.

Technically, he was illegally a hero, but still…

A huge grin split Izuku’s face nearly in half and he looked over at Kaede who seemed to be trying to strangle him, attempting to wrap around his neck. She froze when he looked at her, tongue flicking out, blinking lazily. “Can you believe it, Kaede, I got it!”

“Got what?” The cafe worker, Natsu, said, approaching him with a raised brow.

Izuku looked up, smiling, subtly shoving the card in his pocket. “Oh, I passed an exam that I didn’t even study for. I am quite surprised!”

“Oh, congratulations!” The boy laughed with Izuku. “Those types of successes can feel really great sometimes. It makes you feel like your intelligence is more than you thought it was.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly right!” Izuku exclaimed.

“Here, I’ll grab you a veggie bun, on the house, for this momentous occasion. And don’t even try to say you’re not hungry, I know better.” Natsu knew Izuku well and they had become friends in a way. The boy knew that Izuku had an insanely quick metabolism and was literally always hungry. Natsu also appeared quite reptilian, even more so than Izuku with a scaled body, slitted pupils and sharp teeth. He had the ability to spit venom as well, which Izuku thought was super cool, so they got on well right off the bat.

Natsu returned shortly with two buns in either hand and a sharp smile on his face, an Iguana across his shoulders. He dropped into the seat across from Izuku and slid him the veggie bun. “Whew.” The teal haired high schooler breathed, kicking his feet up next to Izuku.

“Long day?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah.” Natsu shook his head. “But worth it. I love this place.”

Izuku nodded, taking a huge bite out of the veggie bun, his sharp teeth making quirk work of it. Izuku couldn’t taste it but it was warm and the consistency was nice. “Thanks Natsu, this was great. I should get going though, I have school work to get done.”

“Alright. It was nice to see you, Izu. Be careful out there!” Natsu accepted the pile of snake that Izuku handed to him before he waved and left the cafe.

The adrenaline kicked in then, the realization settling into his body and causing his muscles to tense. Izuku wanted to scream at the world, announce to everyone that he was a hero!

He was a real life, hero.

Maybe he could finally get an actual costume now.

That night Izuku patrolled as he always did, only this time there was no pressure to avoid any lighted areas, no fear of being caught. He felt free, as if before he’d been shackled and now he was broken out to do as he pleased. It was an amazing feeling.

Izuku stopped to rest on a rooftop, as he always did at about midnight for a much needed snack. He pulled a densely packed nutrition bar from the utility pouch tied to his leg, ripping into it viciously. There had been so many fights to stop and people to help that night, as if the city was trying to test out Izuku’s ability to actually be a hero. Because of it he was ravenous and wished he’d brought more food with him. His stomach continued to growl even after he was finished and he sighed.

Eraserhead suddenly dropped from seemingly nowhere and Izuku yelped, jerking away. “JEESH!” He screeched. “Why do you always do that?! One of these days you’re gonna give me a heart attack!”

“Your situational awareness needs to be better, kid.” Eraser deadpanned and Izuku’s heart stuttered. Kid? He’d never called him that before. Did the hero know that Izuku had lied to the hero exam proctors, that he was actually thirteen?

“Kid?” He gulped, eyes glowing from the depths of his hood.

“I saw the results from your exam. You’re only 19, though I half expected you to be younger with the way you act sometime.” The tired hero grumbled.

Izuku snorted, relaxing slightly. “What can I say, I’m a kid at heart. You could benefit from embracing your childish side too, Eraser.”

Eraserhead huffed, shaking his head before removing a jelly pack from his utility belt. He glanced sideways at Izuku as he broke the cap. “You know, you can show your face now right, you're licensed.”

“Are you curious, Eraser? You want to know what I look like.” Izuku smiled with amusement, leaning forward. “You do, don’t you?”

Eraserhead scoffed, dropping the subject. “I’m just glad I don’t have to pretend to try to catch you anymore.”

Izuku gasped, his hand going over his heart. “Pretend?!”

Eraserhead snorted, meeting his eyes, that evil grin spreading across his face. “If I’d actually wanted to catch you kid, you would’ve been done for a long time ago.”

“So, you do like me!” Izuku stood up, rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Alright, that’s my cue to leave.” Eraser repeated Izuku’s previous words with a sigh, standing up and shoving the trash from his jelly pack back in his utility belt.

“Aw, don’t be like that.” Izuku grinned.

Eraserhead shook his head and leapt off the side of the building, his capture scarf swinging him up onto another rooftop. Izuku watched him go, chuckling to himself. He looked forward to working with the man.

-X-

Two Years Later

Riptide’s popularity only grew from there, his rank climbing into the 400’s and then the 300’s, and then by the time the U.A. entrance exam approached, he was ranked 344, above even Eraserhead, which was a fact that Izuku thoroughly enjoyed taunting the man with.

His costume had changed in the two years since he’d gotten his hero license. He’d gotten stronger combat type boots (still bright red), tough black pants that were fireproof, waterproof, and slash resistant; meaning they were very hard to cut. His undershirt was made of a thin kevlar and could stop small blades, though larger ones, with more force, could penetrate the fabric. His jacket was also tough and similar to his pants with its resistances, but its difference was that it was lined with a cooling material, since Izuku suffered if he got too warm, his body too used to the frigid temperatures of the ocean.

His new mask was a high tech red and black with double filters in it. That had been a request he’d sent in when he’d been captured one time due to his inability to smell the toxin the villain he’d been fighting at the time had been steadily excreting. He’d never considered how his lack of ability to smell things could affect his hero work until then, so almost immediately after escaping he’d sent in the order for an upgraded mask.

It looped around his neck and over his ears, sparing his gills. It allowed for easy breathing while also filtering out possibly contaminated or dirty air. It was tight and comfortable, and did what it was supposed to without being bulky or obnoxious. Izuku liked it.

He also had a pouch attached to his thigh that mostly contained snacks, medicine and other healing items. He wore a red utility belt as well, keeping anything he could possibly need close at hand. That may or may not have been based on Eraserhead’s own utility belt. If anyone asked, Izuku would steadfastly deny any relation to the underground hero’s own belt.

After becoming an actual paid hero, Izuku didn’t really have to worry about money anymore. He had access to the best hero costume design companies and the funds to cover anything he could need.

But, Izuku never left the train car or the beach. It had become home, after all. He did manage to clean it up a bit though, which helped his knack of getting sick all time immensely.

Izuku was now fifteen and standing before the gates to U.A. where the entrance exam was being held. He felt surprisingly vulnerable out of his hero costume, surrounded by so many people. People his own age too, which he didn’t always have the best experience with.

A harsh gasp caught Izuku’s attention before he even went through the gates and his head turned quickly, eyes narrowing at the boy who’d made the sound, standing off to the side, off the sidewalk and away from everyone. He was tall, with wild purple hair and trembling hands that grasped at each other with anxiety.

“Dude, are you alright?” Izuku had immediately switched directions, walking over to him.

“Fine.” The boy answered, teeth gritted.

“Hmm.” Izuku hummed, frowning. “I don’t think you are. What do you need, what can I do? I have snacks, and memes, take your pick.”

The boy looked up then, snorting. “I...I’m practically having an anxiety attack and you’re offering me snacks and memes.”

“Yupp.” Izuku answered, popping the ‘p’.

The boy reached up to scratch at his neck before folding his arms over his chest. “What snacks you got?”

Izuku grinned broadly at him, revealing his double rows of sharp teeth, before pulling his book bag to his front and opening it to thrust multiple snacks at the boy; a jelly pack, a packaged roll of crackers, a box of pocky, a pack of matcha kit kats-

“Okay, okay.” The boy said. “Thank you. This is too much. Just the...kit kats. Those are fine. Thank you.”

“No problem,” Izuku grinned, shoving everything back into his bag and swinging it back onto one shoulder. “Good luck on the exam, if that’s what you’re anxious about, I’m sure you’ll be amazing!”

The boy snorted derisively. “Not with my quirk. I have no doubt I’ll fail.”

Izuku frowned, distantly noticing the crowd was thinning and they were going to be late for the written portion of the exam if they weren’t careful. “Well, what’s your quirk? Maybe I can help.”

The boy’s eyes narrowed and he seemed to be warring with himself before coming to a decision, his shoulders lifting, tense. “What do you think my quirk is?” He asked Izuku.

“Well, ho-” Izuku’s body just...stopped responding. His mouth shut, his eyes glazed over, his hands dropped and his bag slid off his lax shoulder.

The purple haired boy sighed and then commanded. “ Pick up your bag .”

Izuku crouched and picked up his bag, holding it awkwardly in one hand.

Suddenly his body was his own again and he inhaled sharply, chest expanding. The boy tensed, as if waiting for a negative reaction.

“Oh my gosh! That’s amazing. There are so many possibilities for a hero with that quirk. You could stop fights before they started! You could save so many people! You could stop so many injuries from happening! And even calm victims down I bet! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmy-”

“Wait, wait, hold up.” The boy lifted his hands, frowning. “ What?”

Izuku, eyes bright and full of eagerness, nodded rapidly. “You probably think that since your quirk doesn’t match a battle type scenario that you can’t win, right?” The boy nodded apprehensively. “Well.” Izuku was bouncing now, almost jumping in place. “I don’t think the principal of U.A. would leave the exam completely closed for non-combative quirks.”

“Everywhere online says we’ll be fighting robots. How the fuck am I supposed to fight robots?” The boy glared at Izuku who continued on, unaffected.

“You can brainwash people, right?” The boy stiffened but nodded. Izuku leaned back, looking up at the boy's purple eyes. “Instead of trying to fight the robots, find the exam proctors and brainwash them into giving you a better score.”

The boy froze completely, as if he was shutting down, his eyes huge. His mouth opened and closed, reminding Izuku of a fish. “Are you alright?” No response. “Purple kid?” Izuku reached up and flicked the boy in the forehead.

The kid flinched, blinking, before looking down at Izuku. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He choked out.

Izuku shrugged. “We should really be going, so we’re not late. My name is Izuku, by the way.”

The boy frowned. “That’s a strange surname.”

Izuku shook his head, still smiling. “It’s not my surname. I don’t have one. Call me Izuku or Izu.”

“Uh, okay.” The boy answered. “I’m Shinsou.”

Izuku beamed at him, a thousand watt smile if he’d ever seen one. “Good luck, Shinsou. I believe in you!”

Izuku jogged away, leaving Hitoshi standing there as the world he knew crumbled to pieces around him.

-X-

The auditorium was large and hundreds of people sat in the darkness, all the lights trained onto the lively hero, yelling his opening speech into the crowd from below the massive screen that demonstrated the U.A. logo. “For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my show today! Everybody say, “hey”!”

Izuku leaned forward in his seat, the glow of his brilliant green eyes illuminating the seat in front of him. “HEY!” He yelled, grinning. Several of the examinees around him looked to him with mixed expressions of disgust or confusion.

“YEAH!” Present Mic returned, his smile reaching his eyes. “Finally got one!” He slapped his hands together eagerly. “Now, I’ll quickly present to you the rundown of the practical exam! Are you ready?!”

Izuku nodded and called back, “Yeah!”

“YEAAAH!” The hero pumped both his fists in the air happily and then went on with the presentation while Izuku watched intently, unsurprised when it did end up being robots. Izuku turned to the rest of the examinees. He was on the end, separated as he was an online student, not really belonging to any middle school. He found Shinsou’s shock of purple hair easily and waved, catching his attention for throwing up a thumbs up and a wide grin. The boy frowned deeply, forehead creasing in confusion. Izuku laughed and turned back to the hero on the stage as he finished his presentation.

Another examinee suddenly stood, demanding to ask a question before stating the question and then pointing at Izuku. “And you, with the long hair, you’re being distracting to everyone else!”

Izuku lifted a pacifying hand, his smile never wavering. “Oh! Sorry about that buddy!”

“Okay, okay, Examinee number 7111.” Present Mic mollified before launching into the ending of the presentation, finally giving everyone well wishes for the exam. “Now, everyone, good luck suffering!”

Izuku laughed. He’d never met Present Mic in his hero work before, but he decided he liked the man.

The bus took their group to Battle Center C and Izuku made sure to sit next to the purple haired boy as he bounced his legs with boundless energy, snacking on his pack of  salty crackers. “That’s so awesome we’re in the same battle arena!” He said around a mouthful of food.

Shinsou looked at him oddly. “Okay, kid, I’m not trying to get into U.A. to make friends so you can just stop.”

Izuku leaned his head back, laughing. “Shinsou, you’re hilarious! Don’t you know? We’re already friends!”

Izuku patted the boy's shoulders animatedly. Shinsou leaned away from him, his countenance one of complete and utter confusion. “You...Who are you?”

Izuku snickered, popping another cracker into his mouth. “I’m the one that is going to get you up into the judge’s booth.”

Shinsou looked out the window, where Izuku was pointing as the bus rolled to a stop. An incredibly tall structure stretched out of the ground to watch over the entire battle center. Shinsou looked back at Izuku, eyes narrowed as if trying to see if he was crazy. “You’re going to get me up there? Aren’t you just like…” He waved his hand in a circle, gesturing at Izuku’s features. “...lizardy?”

Izuku grinned, lifting a hand and curling his fingers. Water spilled out of Shinsou’s bottle, coming up in a controlled stream to twirl around Izuku’s knuckles. “Nope.” His smile was dangerous, sharp and daring. Threatening.

He’d decided to use all aspects of his quirk at the exam, assuming that there wasn’t much danger of people figuring out who he was. His quirk wasn’t the most unique and no one had ever seen his entire face. Besides, it wasn’t like anyone expected the now ‘21 year old’ hero Riptide to be taking a high school entrance exam.

“Wow, uh, okay.” Shinsou shook his head clear, his eyes taking on a steely glint. “Why do you want to help me? What do you want in return?”

Izuku dropped the water into his own mouth, swallowing. “Nothing, buddy. I want to see my friend in my class, that’s all!"

“Your...your friend?! Your class?” Shinsou seemed to be having trouble keeping up with Izuku’s exuberance. “You’re awfully confident about all this.”

Izuku nodded as the bus came to a complete stop, examinees standing up around them. “Of course I am. I believe wholeheartedly that I’ll get into a hero class at U.A.” Izuku raised a finger. “But, I am not jaded. I have backup plans. I’m taking Shiketsu High’s entrance exam tomorrow as well. They stagger the dates for the exams for a reason.”

Shinsou blinked at him. “You are the strangest person I’ve ever met.”

Izuku laughed, eyes twinkling as he stood, stepping into the aisle. “Then I know I’m doing something right.” He stretched a hand out to Shinsou. “You ready to murder this exam and get into the hero course together?”

Shinsou stood on his own, ignoring Izuku’s hand who dropped it to his side, unaffected. “Fine.” Shinsou sighed, rubbing at his tired eyes. “I’ll accept your help. Even if every instinct I have tells me it’s a bad idea.”

Izuku chuckled. “Great!”

Izuku turned to file off the bus, glancing up at the sky. It was a bright day and it hadn’t rained recently, the air had quite the lack of moisture in it. This limited Izuku’s quirk. Or it would have, if he didn’t feel the hundreds of emergency water pumps spread throughout the battle center, probably placed there to put out fires from the robots if they happened.

Izuku flexed his fingers and looked up at the booth, high above him. He was going to get Shinsou up there to brainwash the judges into giving him a higher score, then bring him back down and still have enough time that he himself could take out the robots. He glanced sideways at Shinsou.

“I see Present Mic up there. As soon as he announces the start of the exam I’m going to launch you up there as well as I can. It won’t be an easy trip for you, I guarantee that. Just prepare yourself and don’t freak out.”

Everyone else was meandering about, talking to each other, while Izuku carefully watched the voice hero, waiting for his moment. “OKAY, START!” He screeched from his place on the roof of the booth.

Izuku smirked, grabbing onto where he could feel a few dozen pipes nearby. “Oh!” He suddenly remembered as he threw the barrage of water at Shinsou. “Hold your breath!”

“Wh-!” Shinsou’s words were literally drowned out as a couple hundred gallons of water slammed into him, shooting him at the booth.

“Good luck!” Izuku cackled up at him.

The rest of the students blinked at Izuku who only beamed at them and shrugged, still focusing on the water.

The exam had begun, and Izuku was devoted to destroying it. He was going to knock his score count out of the ballpark.

Chapter Text

The observation room was too small for Shouta’s liking, which was one of the reasons he arrived earlier than everyone else, giving himself a chance to get his computer ready and look through some of the applications of the exam participants for this particular battle center, setting his coffee thermos off to the side. He settled down into his seat, tucking his face into his scarf and pulled up the applications. He noted quirks, drawbacks and medical issues as he looked, wondering who (if any) would end up in his class this year, and wondered how long the batch this year would last.

He noticed one particular examinee with a quirk simply labelled as ‘reptile’ and frowned. Such a broad name could mean so many things. Sometimes quirk counselors irritated him with their laziness. What did ‘reptile’ even mean. Reptilian in appearance, in ability, in both?

The rest of the staff began filtering into the observation room, even All Might coming in to watch, much to Shouta’s irritation. He was far from fond of the man. He recognized the good he had done but he didn’t like how he went about doing it.

Principal Nezu sat down next to Shouta, his own computer booting up as Hizashi climbed onto the roof of the room to do what he did best. Yell at people.

Shouta sighed heavily, adjusting his capture scarf around his neck The last battle center had been...something, to say the least. That examinee with the explosion quirk was sure to end up in his class, he knew it. With Shouta’s bad luck there was no way he wasn’t going to be his own personal problem.

“You guys, ready?” Hizashi’s voice asked through their intercom.

Nezu glanced around the room, receiving multiple nods before he held his hand up to his ear. “We’re ready. You may proceed.”

Shouta cracked his knuckles against the desk and leaned forward to watch the students as his husband screamed for the start of the match above them. No one else had reacted right away in any other battle center and Shouta didn’t expect anyone to do so now.

He was wrong.

“Someone has a water manipulation quirk? I didn’t see that in any files.” Snipe frowned, looking down. Beside him, Nezu grinned as several pipes burst from within the center of the testing arena and exploded outward, flowing in a controlled stream toward a boy with long green hair held back in a ponytail and glowing eyes that Shouta could see even from up in the judge’s booth.

Nemuri abruptly jumped up, eyes widening when the flood of water slammed into another examinee, the force of it carrying them up and straight at them. Shouta gritted his teeth and stood, rushing to the window and throwing it open as a shock of purple hair rapidly rose toward him. Shouta sent out his capture weapon, ensnaring the boy within the torpedo of water and yanking him toward him, grabbing him by his arm when he was close enough.

The boy seemed to gather his bearings for a moment before he looked directly behind Shouta at Nezu. “I was looking for the bathroom?”

Nemuri was the one to answer. “There’s not a-” She froze, as if interrupted, and Shouta glanced back. Her eyes were glazed over and her posture dropped.

“Give Hitoshi Shinsou enough points to get into the hero course.” The boy in Shouta’s grip said and Shouta blinked back down at him, frowning. Behind him Midnight sat down in her seat and began typing.

“You’re the one with the brainwashing quirk, aren’t you?” Shouta asked with narrowed eyes, catching the boy's wince when he mentioned his quirk.

“Well, I’ve passed now. So…” The boy scratched his neck with his free hand before shrugging, or at least as well as one could shrug while hanging by one arm from a several meters tall building. “...I’ll see you all around I guess.” He tossed a thumbs up down at the boy on the ground and then another blast of water was shooting upward to retrieve ‘Shinsou.’ Shouta released his grip when the water appeared like it was going to get inside, thrusting the window shut to spare the computers and other equipment.

“Problem Children, both of them.” Shouta hissed, watching to make sure Shinsou reached the ground safely.

“Oh, I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more of both of them.” The principal said and Shouta turned, brows lowered. There was something present in the principal’s voice, something implying that he knew more than he was letting on.

Which was no different than usual and just as unsettling as always.

Shouta sighed and returned to his seat, some of the other examinees beginning to move. Shouta watched the water quirk user shoot forward, frowning. That boy was familiar, but he couldn’t place him. Maybe he’d helped him as a hero at some point? He’d helped so many people it was hard to keep track of them all. Or maybe it was the manipulation of water, maybe the kid was related to Riptide, whom he’d been spending a lot of time with recently, their agencies pretty close. Which reminded him, he didn’t remember there being any water type quirks in the applications. So, which examinee was that kid? Perhaps the annoying ‘reptile’ one.

Once again, Shouta cursed the laziness of quirk counselors.

“What…I gave him points?” Midnight seemed to be back to herself, blinking at her computer screen.

“Leave them.” Nezu said, grinning. “He passed. He’ll be in your class Shouta.”

Shouta scowled and took a chug from his coffee thermos.

This was going to be a long year.

-X-

Izuku lowered Shinsou carefully to the ground. “Alright, gotta go!” He saluted the poor boy and took off, leaving him to watch Izuku with a surprised expression, as if he hadn’t expected it to go so well.

Izuku was a little behind now, but he used his water to propel himself forward, over everyone else, riding the waves, his shoes immediately thoroughly soaked. Izuku used the tide to take out several robots as he went, short circuiting them or, when he brought more water from the pipes to join what he already had, just utterly demolishing them. Pieces of their dismembered bodies went everywhere, as did Izuku’s water. Several examinees complained when they became sodden.

Even though he still had to watch what he was doing here, it had been a long time since Izuku had just gone wild like this, flinging water every which way, taking down enemies with nary a care to the property around him. His goal was to tear apart every robot he came across (without hurting anyone of course). He had no other goal; no hostages to rescue, no villains to keep from accidentally killing, no civilians to keep from harm. It was so fun.

Izuku swept the water out, slamming it into several smaller robots scattered about. A boy with an electricity quirk tossed Izuku a fumbled thumbs up before walking straight into the path of one of the robots that he’d left for the other examinees.

With a curse Izuku swept forward and grabbed the boy around the waist, ripping him out of the way of the robot.  “What were you doing?! You could’ve been hurt!” Izuku yelled, scanning the examinee for injuries as he set him down, well out of the way of danger. An electricity quirk combined with Izuku’s hydrokinesis was a bad idea.

The boy only looked at him, a wide smile on his face and eyes vacant. He tossed another thumbs up to Izuku who only blinked at him worriedly. “TWO MINUTES LEFT!” Present Mic shouted from the top of the booth and Izuku stood.

“Alright, you, stay here. I need to make sure I have enough points.” Izuku pointed at the blonde with the black bolt mark in his hair, commanding that he stay. All he received was another thumbs up and he sighed heavily. He would just have to hope for the best.

He left the boy and forced more water toward him. He was tiring now, his focus and control flagging and his head hurting. He was sure he was going to be dehydrated after this.

It was then that the apparent zero pointer from Present Mic’s presentation made its appearance. Izuku tilted his head, slowing to a stop as people began running in the opposite direction, just like Mic had suggested they do. But Izuku had a better idea. Maybe the obnoxiously massive robot wasn’t worth any points, but it was a good chance to practice the more delicate control of his water, and Izuku wasn’t in a hurry anymore anyway.

Izuku stopped and leaned against a building as the zero pointer rumbled toward him. He lifted a hand, his fingers curling deftly as he burst every single pipe within the battle center, a whirlwind of water rising up from every area within, coalescing on the zero pointer in the middle.

A bead of sweat dripped down Izuku’s brow, deflected from his eyes by his eyebrow to run down his cheek. Izuku twisted his hand, forcing his effort into squeezing water into tiny cracks in the robot's armor, driving it up into where he assumed all the wiring and controls would be. Its head.

With a twist of his wrist, the fragile structure of the robot exploded outward, pieces of it raining down just as Present Mic announced the end of the exam. Izuku nodded, proud of himself. He stood from where he’d been leaning against the wall and a wave of dizziness washed over him. He hadn’t been drinking enough probably, or maybe it was quirk exhaustion, or did he need salt? Or perhaps it was-

“You’re mumbling, dearie. Have some gummies.” A small, old woman approached Izuku and he stepped back in surprise. “Recovery Girl?!” He practically wheezed, remembering all the times she’d been called to heal him or civilians that he’d rescued. Over the years they’d met many times, especially since Izuku had always refused hospital care, not wanting his age or identity to be discovered. He was tense, not wanting the healer to recognize him. He should be fine, lots of people had reptilian quirks and, maybe water manipulation wasn’t as common, but-

“Yes, dearie, that’s my name. Do you have any injuries? I must move on.” She was looking at him intently.

“Nope!” He gave the most reassuring grin he could and the hero raised a brow at him before gesturing for him to head out of the battle center.  “Oh, there was a boy with blond hair, I think he had an electricity quirk or something. His brain seemed pretty fried.” Izuku added before moving.

Recovery Girl blinked at him, as if surprised that he was worried about another contestant. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of him. You move on, now. The bus is waiting to take everyone back to the main campus.”

Izuku nodded and thanked the girl, before shoving the gummies into his pocket. As a diligent vegetarian he wouldn’t eat gummies, but maybe he could offer them to Shinsou or something.

“There you are.” Speak of the devil…

“Hey, buddy!” Izuku called, leaving through the large entrance and finding Shinsou leaning against the side of the bus.

“I’m not your buddy.” Shinsou scowled, straightening. “What I am, is soaked.”

“Oh, sorry about that.” Izuku waved a hand and all the moisture covering the purple haired boy’s body splattered against the concrete ground. “There you go. I meant to do that before but I was in a bit of a hurry.”

Shinsou glanced at the ground where the water had hit before smoothing down his clothes and looking back up, searching Izuku’s eyes, finally saying. “Thanks for your help.”

Izuku shrugged, smiling. “Were you able to get enough points?”

Shinsou lifted his hands, shaking his head. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll see whenever I get my letter. What about you?”

Izuku nodded. “I think so. If I counted correctly I should have gotten at least sixty points, which I believe is enough to get into the hero course.”

“Dang. That’s a lot of points.” Shinsou muttered before climbing onto the bus, Izuku following right behind him.

They sat together again, waiting on the rest of the examinees to rejoin them. Shinsou sighed heavily, practically falling into the window. “You alright?” Izuku asked, settling next to him.

Shinsou glanced up. “Hmm?” He blinked, as if surprised that Izuku was actually checking on him. “Oh. I’m fine.”

Izuku shook his head. “I do not accept that answer.” He crossed his legs in the seat so that his knee was digging into Shinsou’s leg. “What’s bothering you?”

Shinsou looked at Izuku incredulously. Izuku raised his eyebrows expectantly. Shinsou leaned back, shaking his head. “I guess I thought the tests would take longer. I’m just not ready to return back to my foster parents yet.”

Izuku’s expression immediately soured, a dark shadow falling across his face. “Come home with me then.”

Shinsou recoiled. “ What?!” The bus started forward, knocking him back a bit.

Izuku nodded, his mind made up. He’d never brought someone to his ‘house’ before, but that was changing now. Foster parents. Izuku knew all about them and he was not going to have Shinsou return to them if he didn’t have to, especially if they were bad. If Izuku had the ability to help someone, then he would. Always. “Yupp.” He said, nodding resolutely. “Yupp, you’re coming home with me. I hope you like the ocean.”

“What? What?!” Shinsou sputtered, blinking rapidly.

Izuku crossed his arms in answer, flexing his fingers. His skin felt dry, the webbing between his fingers feeling uncomfortably cracked, like dry skin. The bus pulled back in front of U.A. and they were all dismissed, Present Mic telling them that they would receive their letters in the mail within a week.

“Follow me to the train station.” Izuku nodded to Shinsou.

“There’s something seriously wrong with you.” Shinsou narrowed his eyes down at Izuku as he walked by his side. “And probably me too since I am coming anyway, without even knowing where we’re going. You could be a serial killer for all I know.”

Izuku shrugged, grinning to himself. “That’s not reassuring!” Shinsou yelled.

“Well-” Izuku stumbled, mind fogging over.

“Are you leading me to my death?” Shinsou demanded.

“No, of course not.” Izuku responded automatically, his glowing eyes hazy.

“Then what are you doing?” Shinsou sounded confused, hands shaky.

“I’m...breathing.” Izuku answered stiffly.

Shinsou facepalmed and shook his head. “Fuck. No, that’s not what I meant. Why are you taking me to your house?”

“Because, in my experience, foster parents suck. If I can help, even just a little, then I’m going to.” Izuku blinked.

Shinsou released his hold and Izuku inhaled sharply, murmuring, “That’s such an interesting feeling, it’s like, everything just jolts away. It’s like being in water, suspended with only the power of the waves to move you around.”

Shinsuo frowned. “I have...never heard it described like that.”

They fell into silence for a bit, reaching the train station and then boarding their train. They stood, Shinsou finally breaking the quiet. “How do you know foster parents suck?”

Izuku glanced up at the boy before looking away with a sigh. He shrugged, “I had several different foster parents growing up. None stuck.” Shinsou nodded and didn’t ask for him to elaborate, but Izuku felt the need to as they drew closer to the beach nearest the station. “You should probably know that I ran away when I was seven.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, his mouth dry. “And I live on my own at the beach.”

“Um.” Shinsou peered at the green haired boy in confusion, trying to figure out if he was trying to tell a joke. “Are you being serious?”

The train came to a stop as Izuku nodded, following the flow of people off. “Yupp. We’re only a few minutes away now.”

“Wait. Dagobah? The dump?” Shinsou was so confused.

Izuku hummed in answer before suddenly lifting his head. “Oh!” He shoved his hand into his shorts pocket. “Recovery Girl gave me some gummies, want them?”

“Uh, no thanks.” Shinsou wrinkled his nose at the lint covered gummies. Izuku shrugged and shoved them back into his pocket.

They came up on the beach after that and Izuku led the boy through layers of rusted metal and garbage, into a small clearing. “My oasis.” Izuku said with a smile, gesturing to the walls of debris and the abandoned train car at the end of it.

“You live in that thing?” Shinsou asked with a frown.

Izuku nodded excitedly, crossing the clearing and climbing through layers of the metal to get into the train car. He quickly shoved his hero gear under one of the seats as Shinsou climbed through. He looked around, almost as if in awe. The train car was surprisingly clean for being in a dump and Shinsou admired the obvious care that had gone into that, looking at Izuku’s fairy lights, mini fridge, microwave, the ocean blue rug that spanned the entire aisle of the train, at the pile of blankets on one seat signifying that was where Izuku slept. Either that or he slept on the massive Totoro stuffed animal at the end of one side of the train. He took in everything, even the decorative fish that hung from the ceiling on string and the hero posters taped against the curve of the ceiling where it became the walls, above the windows. Some of the windows themselves were covered in sheets of plastic and painted a calming cerulean.

“You really do live here, huh?” Shinsou whispered.

“Yeah, though I don’t actually spend a lot of time in the train car itself. Just to sleep and eat really. Most of the time I’m either in the water or...working.” Izuku moved toward the fridge, grabbing two waters and tossing one to Shinsou.

“Can you breathe underwater?” Shinsou was watching Izuku, having trouble taking everything in. He’d honestly thought the marks on the boys neck were scars but after that remark he was second guessing that.

Tearing the hair tie out of his hair and unbraiding it so that it could freely flow down his back, Izuku nodded. “Yeah, I spend a lot of my time there too. The ocean is my home.” Shinsou watched Izuku’s gaze turn to look out the window, at the surface of the water through the holes in the trash wall, a far off look in his reptilian eyes before he suddenly turned back to Shinsou. “Need lots of salt too, ocean water helps with that when I breathe it.”

“Ah, uh, okay.” Shinsou made a face.

“I have a fast metabolism, so I need a lot of food. I’m going to eat now, do you want something?” Izuku crouched to grab two of the ramen cups he stored by the fridge. Shinsou made some noise of dissent which Izuku ignored as he manipulated water from his bottle into the cups and shoved them into the microwave. He knew that wasn’t the correct way to make them, but he didn’t exactly have a way to boil water.

“So, your fosters’ suck?” Izuku asked, leaning against the microwave while it did its thing.

“Yeah,” Shinsou chugged the water from his water bottle with a grimace, thinking about what he’d have to go home too.

“Stay here.” Izuku said and Shinsou choked, spurting water from his mouth and coughing, pounding his chest.

“ What?!” He rasped, tired purple eyes looking at Izuku suspiciously.

Izuku just shook his head and opened the microwave door when it beeped. “You don’t have to trust me. But, this place is mine. No one can stop you from staying here. Come whenever you want, whenever you need to get away.” He pulled the ramen cups out of the microwave, grabbed some chopsticks and walked over to Shinsou, extending one cup toward him. “I may not know exactly whatever it is you’re going through, but even if we don’t get into U.A., this place can be yours now too.”

“You barely know me.” Shinsou took the cup absently, barely noticing what he was doing, all of his attention trained on the boy in front of him. Short in stature, long, curly dark green hair, animalistic eyes, pale slits on his neck, webbed fingers, ghostly pale skin. He didn’t seem like anything special, he just looked like another quirked kid. But, looking deeper in his eyes, Shinsou could see dedication and kindness, anger and resolution. So much more. It was like looking into a green sea of emotion, all bare for him to see.

“I don’t need to know you.” Izuku responded easily, shaking Shinsou out of his reverie as he sat down in one of the dark train seats, crossing his legs beneath him. “You need my help and I can offer it. So, I’m gonna do it.”

Shinsou shook his head, sitting across from Izuku. “That verifies it. Weirdest person I have ever met.”

Izuku grinned at him, as if that was a compliment. He scarfed his noodles down after that and Shinsou noted that he ate like an animal. Absolutely no manners. Izuku finished and then stood, dumping his trash in a white bag that hung from one the seats, shoved into the crevasse to hang down. He then tore his shirt off, causing Shinsou to, once again, choke.

“What are you doing?!” He choked out, swallowing, catching sight of the multitude of scars covering the boy's body, his mind flashing back to what Izuku had said, ‘In my experience, foster parents suck.’

“Going to go swim, of course. I feel twitchy and uncomfortable if I don’t get in the water often enough. You coming?” Izuku grabbed a purple hair brush to run through his hair, wincing as it tore at tangles and Shinsou ripped his attention away from the scars. It didn’t matter, it was none of his business.

“I’ve never-” Shinsou started but jumped when Izuku whirled around, eyes alight.

“Do NOT tell me you’ve never been swimming.” Izuku said, pointing the hairbrush at him like it was a weapon and he was threatening Shinsou with it.

Shinsou only shrugged in response, slurping his noodles. “Okay, okay.” Izuku began pacing, waving the hairbrush about as he mumbled to himself. Shinsou watched with amusement. “How do you teach someone to swim? It’s always just been part of me? Wait, wait, backtrack.” He glanced back at Shinsou who raised a brow as Izuku pointed the purple hairbrush at him again. “Do you have gills?”

Shinsou blinked. What was with this boy? “I didn’t the last time I checked…”

Izuku frowned and resumed his pacing, tapping his chin with the back of the hairbrush, his mumbles dissolving into incoherency before he suddenly glanced out the window.

“Now might not be the best time for it. It’ll be high tide soon, plus the water would probably be considered pretty cold for a normal person.” Izuku sighed.

“Does the cold not affect you.” Shinsou asked, finishing his ramen and throwing the cup away like Izuku had done.

“Not as much. I’m used to the frigidity of the ocean. Heat bothers me though. One time I got stuck outside in the summer and passed out. That was awful.” Izuku shuddered at the memory.

Shinsou wiped his hands on his pants, a dark look in his eyes. “I should probably head back anyway.”

“Stay the night.” Izuku said. “I have plenty of spare clothes and blankets.”

Shinsou shook his head. “I shouldn’t, you’ve already-”

“Will anyone miss you?” Izuku interrupted, not backing down.

Shinsou shook his head hesitantly. “They won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“That settles it.” Izuku nodded. “I will go swim, and then watch the sunset over the water with you, because it is the most beautiful thing in the world and if you haven’t seen it then you haven’t lived.”

Shinsou sighed heavily. “Fine. Whatever. I don’t care anyway.”

Izuku’s face fell slightly and Shinsou suddenly felt bad for being so curt. But Izuku shook the look from his face, smiling once again before climbing out of the side door of the train and leading the way through the dump, Shinsou following him.

Once they reached the end of the trash, where Izuku had cleared a lot of it, he removed his shoes to keep from getting sand in them. Then his baggy shorts, leaving him in only his tight, swimming shorts. “You should take your shoes off too, sand gets everywhere.” Izuku said, heading toward the water. “I’ll be back up before night falls, make yourself at home!”

And then he just walked into the water, his head of green hair disappearing beneath the waves, leaving Shinsou to watch after him in shock, his heart racing.

Eventually he did end up removing his shoes and socks, setting them neatly beside Izuku’s bright red converse. He then walked out onto the sand, still warm from the evening sun. He sat down at the end of the water, right before it would touch him but where his toes could touch it. And Izuku was right. It was freezing. He wondered how Izuku could possibly stand it.

Shinsou looked out over the water, admiring the sheer size of it. It had been a long time since he’d been to a beach, any beach at all really. His foster parents had charged him with taking care of the household for as long as he ‘mooched off of them’ and usually it didn’t leave him with a lot of extra time to do other things. Their motto was that if he was living in ‘their’ house he needed to pull his weight. Which somehow translated to doing absolutely everything while his ‘caretakers’ either weren’t there or simply watched him do it, scowls on their faces and insults on their tongues.

His cat was the only one that helped him and gave him a reason to return. She was a very mischievous thing. She was a himalayan and had the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen in any animal, he swore she had some kind of vision quirk or something with how vibrant they were. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, those eyes would suddenly appear on his bed and scare the crap out of him.

His foster parents hated her and he was afraid to leave her there alone, most of the time. Maybe he could ask Izuku to bring her here? No, he shouldn’t do that. The weird boy had already done so much for him, they’d only met that day for goodness’ sake. But he had offered and Shinsou could really use all the help he could get. But how could he trust him? He had offered his home to Shinsou, maybe Shinsou could just stay here, on the beach and in the train. It wasn’t like it would be any worse then where he was now? And his foster parents definitely wouldn’t miss him. Kimi, his cat, would definitely be happier. As long as Shinsou returned for regular check-ins, this could work.

Shinsou decided he would ask Izuku about it when he returned from...whatever he was doing down there.

Growing slightly bored after a while, Shinsou stood and stretched his arms above his head before wading out into the water a bit, rolling his pants up. The water was frigid, as Izuku had said, but it was nice and Shinsou enjoyed the feeling of the wet sand between his toes. He stood, salt water up to his knees, and wondered what it was like for Izuku living here all on his own for so many years. It was no wonder he acted so strangely if he didn’t have a lot of interactions with other people.

Something grabbed Shinsou’s ankle and he yelped, jumping about a foot in the air before scurrying rapidly backward. Izuku’s head lifted above the water, cackling maniacally as his gills closed as soon as they were exposed to the air, becoming pale and scar-like once again. 

“Got you!” Izuku laughed, climbing out of the water, his laugh dropping with a grunt as he suddenly swayed, blinking.

Shinsou lurched forward, grabbing the boys’ slick shoulder. “Are you alright?” He asked worriedly, steadying him.

“Mhm. I’m fine, this always happens. The pressure difference takes a second to get used to.” Izuku rubbed his temples, his hands dripping with water, his eyes closed as he trudged out of the water.

“You should sit down.” Shinsou said, pulling the boy over to where he himself had been sitting prior to this. “Do you go very deep?” He asked.

Izuku shook his head, dropping his hands to the sand so that he could lean back, head tilted upward, taking deep breaths as the ocean breeze dried his skin. “Sometimes.” He answered, eyes still closed. “I did today. I heard a call, there was a dolphin stuck in a stupid net again.” He scowled. “Had to use my teeth to cut through the rope and now my jaw hurts."

“Jeesh.” Shinsou muttered, glancing around at the trash heap, suddenly wondering what pieces of shit humans polluted an entire ecosystem like this. “Can I help, are you okay?”

“Could you actually grab me a bottle of water please?” Izuku whispered, eyes remaining closed. “I get dehydrated really easily, can’t drink ocean water when I’m breathing it after all.”

Shinsou stood with a shrug. “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

Izuku nodded and exhaled even, sliding down onto his back, crossing his hands over his stomach and yawning widely. His jaw ached and his teeth hurt from tearing at the rope, plus his head was hurting and he was feeling quite dizzy. He really didn’t want to get sick again so hopefully the water would help. Usually he recovered quite easily as he transitioned between the water and the land, but going so deep affected his equilibrium, or something.

Shinsou returned and Izuku opened his eyes to see him clutching several water bottles to his chest. He snorted as Shinsou dropped them next to Izuku, before sitting down at his side. “Thought you might need more than one,” he explained.

“Thank you,” Izuku answered, taking one from the pile and guzzling it,

“Have you always lived here alone?” Shinsou suddenly asked and Izuku looked at him curiously.

“Yeah.” He answered. “It’s not so bad though. I have all the marine life here. They’re my family. I’ll have to introduce you to some of them sometime.”

“That’d be nice.” Shinsou said and then they went silent for a moment, watching the sky begin to darken, the colors of the sunset turning the water into hues of orange and red. It looked like the ocean was on fire.

“Can I stay here. With you?” Shinsou suddenly blurted, turning his tired eyes onto Izuku who blinked at him.

“Of course you can, my offer wasn’t for nothing.” The green haired boy answered smoothly.

“I mean permanently.” Shinsou looked away from Izuku, at the horizon. “This place is amazing and it’s shown me how differently life can be. I don’t want-”

“Of course, Shinsou.” Izuku sat up, climbing to his knees to gaze at Shinsou. “I’d absolutely love to have you here.”

Shinsou blinked back at Izuku, his mouth opening and closing for a minute. “I’d be bringing a cat.” He added weakly. “She’s a handful and will probably-”

“I love all animals.” Izuku nodded his head rapidly, an excited glimmer in his eyes. “I’m so excited, Shinsou! I haven’t had a roommate in so long!” He jumped to his feet and began walking circles around Shinsou as he watched the boy with amusement. “We’re going to have so much fun! You can-” Izuku suddenly froze, a strange expression crossing his face as he turned to Shinsou. “Are you serious about this?”

Shinsou shuffled where he was sitting, nervous at Izuku’s sudden change in tone. “I don’t have to be if you don’t want. But, I am serious, yeah.”

Izuku nodded and then squared his bare shoulders resolutely. “Then I should probably tell you something.” He crouched down in front of Shinsou, eyes glowing. “Can you keep a secret.”

“Uh…Yeah.” Shinsou was confused. What could Izuku be secretive about?

Izuku moved to sit back down beside Shinsou, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, setting his chin on them. He was silent for a while longer, admiring the sunset. Shinsou let him be, leaning back and watching the colors. Izuku was right. It really was one of the most beautiful things in the world.

“What do you know about the prohero Riptide?” Izuku suddenly asked without looking at him.

Shinsou frowned, wondering where this was going. “Pretty new underground hero, right? I know he’s more popular than Eraserhead. That’s about all I know.”

Izuku smirked. “You bet I’m more popular than Eraserhead.”

Shinsou blinked. “Excuse me, what ?”

Izuku looked at him, smiling. “Yupp.”

Shinsou blinked again. And again. His brain was struggling to keep up. “Are you implying that you’re...Riptide? The prohero? How old are you?”

Izuku snorted. “I’m almost 16, in July I think. And yes, I am the prohero Riptide. It’s not hard to forge documents with a fake age and history.”

Shinsou leaned back, shock written across his features. “Why do you live in a dump?”

Izuku laughed, a sound like falling water, “I like it here, Shinsou. I need the ocean, though I have considered getting an apartment or something close by. But it just seems like a lot of trouble and effort that I don’t need.”

Shinsou nodded, he still didn’t get it, but oh well. This was too much and he needed to go get Kimi and his things. He stood. “Thank you for telling me. That’s...a lot. I am going to run back to my foster parents and collect my things now, though. I don’t have much. I tend to move around a lot. People don’t…” Shinsou hesitated, jaw tightening. “People don’t like my quirk.”

Izuku stood, patting Shinsou’s shoulder. “Well I like your quirk. I think it’s amazing. Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, it’s alright. You’re already doing enough for me.” Shinsou brushed the sand from his pants, moving to leave. “I’ll be back later.”

“Wait,” Izuku stood. “Have my work phone number. I usually answer, though I really should be better about it. The agency I used to be with really got onto me about it.” Izuku sighed heavily before reciting his number to Shinsou, then giving him his regular phone number too. “There.” He said. “That way you have it. I still would prefer to come with you though. It’s pretty dark now.”

Shinsou frowned but acquiesced with a tired nod. He was too exhausted to argue. He’d had such a long day, he was ready to get Kimi and get some rest, if possible.

-X-

It took several hours but eventually the two were back in the train, Izuku collapsed in the back in sweatpants and a baggy T-Shirt, yawning widely. Shinsou was laid out in one of the seats, a giant, extremely fluffy, cat curled on his chest. Izuku plugged his phone into his solar power bank, which he’d sat out all day to absorb light, and then set his alarm for the next afternoon. He could actually sleep in, as the Shiketsu entrance exam didn’t start until later. And he planned on taking advantage of it.

“Gonna sleep forever, wake me if you need me.” Izuku muttured with a sigh, buried within the giant stuffed animal.

Shinsou grunted in response and let his head fall back. He was surprised that he was actually here, shocked at the sheer amount of things that had gone on in one short day. It was unreal and he half expected it to be some strange hallucination. He hoped it wasn’t though. He liked this. This was nice.

He ended up resting fitfully throughout the night and woke up much before Izuku, who appeared to be utterly unconscious in the Totoro's stomach, hair splayed and arms curled around himself. Shinsou was also disconcerted to note that the reptilian boy slept with one eye open, one slitted pupil seemingly trained on Shinsou. He was definitely asleep though, his chest rising and falling evenly, body lax.

Shinsou got up from his bed/seat and poured food and water from a bottle for Kimi, then he drank the rest of the bottle before standing there awkwardly, wondering what he was supposed to do while Izuku slumbered on.

Eventually, Shinsou settled back into his seat, hanging upside down into the aisle and pulled up his phone browser, going through everything that existed on Riptide, the prohero.

Izuku woke before his alarm, rousing himself with a groan, alerting Shinsou to his waking. He looked over as Izuku’s face twisted and he sat up, dropping his head into his hands before reaching behind the stuffed animal for a hidden water bottle. “Headache?” Shinsou asked.

“Mhm.” Izuku mumbled, draining the bottle in one go and then crushing it in his hand. “I’mma go swim.”

And with that he stumbled off the giant plushie and out of one of the still intact windows, opening it and sliding through. Shinsou watched him go, stunned, before going back to his phone, researching things about reptiles now after going through everything he could find on ‘Riptide’.

Izuku returned with just enough time to run off for his next entrance exam and Shinsou remained behind, awkwardly sitting in the train car. It was strange, not to be worried if someone was watching what he was doing, or to sit on the edge of his seat, waiting for someone to explode with anger for no reason. It was just so...different, for there to be nothing but...calm.

Shinsou left Kimi to her food and went out to watch the calming power of the ocean.

-X-

Six Days Later

It was four in the morning and the night was illuminated by the harsh glare of the city. Izuku had been with Eraserhead for almost the entire night. All heroes were required to be associated with an agency, and Izuku’s and Eraserhead’s had requested a team up to stop a smuggling ring. It had been difficult. One of the more difficult missions Izuku had ever had, and not only physically. The mental toll of seeing the victims and getting them all out of the warehouse had been horrifying and Izuku had left as soon as he’d gotten the paperwork done. Eraserhead had chased after him and now they sat in silence on a rooftop. Izuku didn’t eat anything, like he usually ended up doing on rooftops, the thought of food making him feel nauseated.

His job was over for the night and he knew he should go home and get some sleep, but he just couldn’t bring himself to move from his spot.

“You alright?” Eraserhead finally asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

“Yeah.” Izuku’s voice was more rough then he was happy with, but there wasn’t much he could do about that aside from clearing his throat. His eyes were teary beneath his hood and he turned away to wipe at them surreptitiously.

Eraserhead sighed, sitting on the lip of the building. “Think about things that make you happy, it helps keep your mind off the job.” There was a beat of silence before the other hero thought of something. “What about your cousin, the one that applied to UA, how is he doing?”

Izuku snorted, leaning back to look at the sky. He couldn’t see the stars in this part of the city. Too much light pollution. He’d mentioned having a ‘cousin’ to Eraserhead on the off chance someone connected their quirks or appearance when Izuku got into one of the high schools (or at least as much of his appearance as people could see of Riptide since he hid most of himself). There were plenty of quirks like water manipulation or ‘reptile’ in the world. He didn’t think people would immediately connect the two of them. But he’d placed that string with Eraserhead just in case he needed to tug on it one day as either Izuku or as Riptide.

“You don’t need to try to make small talk. I’m fine. I’ll see you later, Eraser.” Izuku moved to glide down from the building but Eraserhead’s voice stopped him.

“You always want small talk.” Eraserhead stated.

Izuku shook his head, looking out at the city. “Sometimes, seeing the horrible things people can do to each other, hurts.” Izuku fisted a hand in his costume, over his heart. “It’s more than just ‘heroes and villains.’ The world is fucked up.” His thoughts went back to his mom, to all the fosters he'd had since and all the hundreds of people he’d saved in some way or another since becoming a vigilante and then a hero. He thought of the letters he constantly received at his agency and the bracelet he never took off his wrist, made by a little boy he’d rescued when he’d been called for flooding several towns over.

Eraserhead came up to his side, gently setting one hand on his shoulder. “You’re right. It is. But there are good people too.”

“I know.” Izuku nodded, before calling forth moisture from around him and using it to help himself to the ground, deciding to walk home this time, leaving Eraserhead on the roof.

The next day Izuku returned from that day's patrol with his U.A. letter clutched in his hands. Shinsou was waiting for him, sitting in the sand, the waves of the ocean lapping at his feet, his own letter sitting by his hand. He must have gone back to his foster parents to retrieve it.

Izuku sat beside him, Kimi jumping off Shinsou’s lap to rub against Izuku. “You first.” Izuku said and Shinsou nodded, tearing open an envelope, tilting his head in confusion when a disc like object dropped into the sand.

Izuku tensed when it started whirring, his experience telling him to back away. Before he could do anything though a hologram of All Might sparked to life, the loud hero congratulating Shinsou before going on to state how many points he had. Exactly enough to get into the hero course. All Might welcomed Shinsou into U.A. before flickering off. Shinsou turned slowly to Izuku, not even breathing, mouth open in shock, tall, purple hair moving in the breeze off the sea.

“Congratulations,” Izuku grinned. Shinsou laid back in the sand, eyes huge as they stared up into the fluffy clouds. Izuku laughed and patted the boy's shoulder before opening his own letter.

Just like with Shinsou’s, a disc dropped to the ground and Izuku gazed intently as All Might appeared, loudly proclaiming Izuku’s acceptance into the hero course in fourth place with 70 villain points. “But wait, there’s more!” All Might yelled with all the virality of an infomercial actor.

“Your efforts in rescuing your fellow examinees did not go unrecognized! With 13 rescue points you’ve shot forth to first place at 83 points total. Congratulations, young Midoriya, welcome to your hero academia!”

The hologram switched off, leaving Izuku with a grimace at the use of his legal last name. There had been no getting around using it, if he wanted to do everything legally, which he did.

“You got first place, holy shit.” Shinsou muttured tonelessly, unmoving from his place in the sand. “Holy shit.” He repeated, voice still flat.

“We’re in the same class.” Izuku said, looking at the papers that came with each of their envelopes. “We’ll be in 1A together.” 

“Holy shit…” Shinsou whispered, utterly in awe.

Izuku laughed.

-X-

One Month Later

The morning of their first day at U.A. dawned and Izuku was the first awake, his alarm blaring right in his ear from where he’d fallen to hang halfway off his Totoro plushie. He rolled the rest of the way off and silenced the heavy metal song that was his alarm tone, then stood and cracked what felt like every bone in his body. He moved over and shook Shinsou’s shoulder, waking him up on his way to the ‘kitchen’ to grab two vitamin waters and two protein bars for breakfast. He dropped one of each on Shinsou’s chest before falling into the seat across from his roommate and eating quickly.

“Get up, fool.” Izuku said jokingly to Shinsou after a moment, yawning and then changing swiftly behind the privacy curtain he’d installed for their use. Shinsou was next, practically a zombie in the mornings, all exhaustion and half lidded eyes with dark eye bags. They had realized early on in their residence together that neither of them slept well, both of them only getting in intermittent hours throughout the day or night. Shinsou because of insomnia and nightmares, Izuku because of nightmares and lack of time.

After getting ready they left, heading for the train station. Izuku was extremely tired. He’d had a patrol the night before and usually he’d sleep late into the day when that happened. But he couldn’t just tell his agency he had school so he was stuck continuing with the night patrols, which ended only a couple hours before he’d have to get up for class.

So, there he was, leaning against Shinsou on the train, half asleep, Shinsou himself nodding off, his head bobbing up and down against his chest until a voice loudly announced their stop, causing them both to jerk up.

“Where’s your tie?” Shinsou muttured, finally noticing Izuku wasn’t wearing one as they headed up the mountain toward the campus.

“I honestly have no idea how to tie one so I’mma just leave it off.” Izuku shrugged, fighting off another yawn.

Shinsou frowned but let it drop, lost in his thoughts as they walked. “Something wrong?” Izuku asked after a bit, looking up at the boy, his pupils small in the sunlight, the bright green overtaking everything else.

“I feel like I don’t belong here.” Shinsou said after a moment, his voice practically a whisper. He’d gotten close to Izuku over their month living together and he had even begun trusting him, talking to each other often. Izuku seemed to have a way of always knowing when something was wrong and drawing it out of him.

Izuku was silent for a minute, wearing a thoughtful expression. “You’ve gotta leave it all behind you.” He finally said and Shinsou frowned in confusion, looking over at his friend.

“What are you talking about?” He asked.

Izuku lifted his head, messy bun swinging with his steps. “People have hurt you, all your life people have tried to steal your fate by telling you that you couldn’t be a hero or that your quirk was a villain’s.” Izuku shook his head, looking forward at the building growing larger as they got closer. “You can’t believe any of it. You’re far away from that now and you need to distance yourself even further. Leave it all behind you, Shinsou. Throw it all away, it’s gone. They’ll never break you again, none of the people that hurt you. You’re going to be a hero and no one is going to stop you. Make your own fate and leave your past behind you as you pave the way to your future.”

Shinsou had stopped, frozen, purple eyes wide as he gazed at Izuku’s back. “You coming or what?” Izuku asked without looking back.

Shinsou rushed to catch up, his mind parsing through Izuku’s words. That kid never ceased to surprise him.

They made it to the massive door of the 1A classroom, the sounds of yelling going on behind it. Shinsou took a deep breath and Izuku offered him a reassuring smile before pushing the door open and taking his first step inside.

Inside, the boy with the blue hair from the entrance exam was telling off a spikey haired blonde for having his feet on the table and said blonde was screaming obscenities right back at him.

“Now, now.” Izuku raised his hands, stomach clenching. He hated when people yelled at each other for no good reason. Why couldn’t people just have calm, collected conversations? “There’s no need to yell at each other.”

The blonde’s crimson eyes swiveled over to Izuku and widened dramatically, his feet dropping from the table as he sat up.

“Deku?”

Chapter Text

The busy classroom went silent for several moments while everyone seemed to be trying to figure out what had just happened.

“Deku? That’s a mean thing to call someone you just met.” Izuku said, lowering his hands.

“What the fuck you mean, ‘just met’?” The blonde exclaimed, standing up, his hands giving off sparks. Izuku glanced at him warily. Had they met before? Had Izuku rescued him at some point? He feels like he’d remember someone like this guy. He reminded Izuku of a pufferfish.

“You know him?” Shinsou whispered in question at his side, leaning toward him.

Izuku shook his idea. “No idea who this is.”

“Deku.” The boy recoiled at his words, brow furrowing. “We used to be...fuck, we used to be friends.”

Izuku frowned, he was unsettled now. “I don’t know wha-” Something nudged Izuku’s foot and he looked down, his entire body freezing when he caught sight of a familiar face peeking out of a hole within a bright yellow sleeping bag.

“You, you…” He sputtered, stepping out of the way, his eyes huge. Beside him Shinsou was silently freaking out as well. Eraserhead was his favorite hero and he knew his and Riptide’s ‘business’ relationship as heroes, and now the man was inchworming his way into the room like he lived there.

“Sit down.” The caterpillar-like hero grumbled, squirming toward the podium. Izuku rushed to one of the two empty seats in the room, sitting behind the angry pufferfish boy, and Shinsou sat behind Izuku. Izuku was practically vibrating in his seat, eyes wide as Eraserhead introduced himself as ‘Shouta Aizawa.’ Izuku had never known his real name, but that was definitely Eraserhead. He hadn’t known he was a freaking teacher at U.A. either. He’d never even mentioned it! 

Izuku was so screwed.

Eraserhead handed out gym uniforms and then told them to put them on before they would be doing quirk apprehension tests. Then he told them all to follow him as he showed them where the locker rooms were to get changed before leaving them to it, walking through the hallways with an exhausted slump to his posture that Izuku related to on a deep level. After all, they’d been up all night together for the most part, taking down baddies and rescuing people left and right. It didn’t exactly leave a lot of time for resting.

“Dude, you alright?” Shinsou asked as they walked into the locker rooms together.

“Nope, definitely not.” Izuku returned with, his voice almost giving way to his panic.

He contemplated the problem as he changed, blinking. He could do this, this was okay. He’d mentioned to Eraser that Riptide had a cousin applying to U.A. and quirks ran in families, so for them to have the same ability wasn’t farfetched, it was fine. Everything was fine.

Everything was not fine.

“What was your score for the ball throw in middle school?” Eraser asked, peering at Izuku with narrowed eyes after they’d lined up outside. Izuku had scored first place in the entrance exam, he told himself that this was the reason for Eraserhead to be singling him out. It had to be.

Izuku, resisting the urge to fidget beneath his glare, responded, “I don’t know, I was homeschooled.”

Eraser sighed heavily before gesturing to the pufferfish boy. “Bakugou, what was yours?”

Izuku relaxed when the hero’s attention veered away from him, leaning heavily  against Shinsou. “Are you going to survive this?” Shinsou looked down at the greenette who was practically collapsed against him at this point. His friend shook his head with exasperation and Shinsou chuckled.

“It’s fine, it’s all good...this is fine.” Izuku muttered to himself and Shinsou raised a brow, patting the top of his head like he was some puppy or something. Izuku directed a glare at him.

They moved on to more tests and Izuku felt Eraser’s eyes on him the entire time. He was incredibly conscious of his actions, making sure he didn’t seem too much like Riptide and that he acted like what he actually was, a 15 year old kid in high school. He was used to acting so much older than he was that it was nice to just...be a kid, though it didn’t come as naturally to him as it used to. He’d seen too much horror to be any normal kid, but he could manage.

He was also toned down, not as exuberant as he usually was as Riptide. He had a persona as a hero that was more exciting and happy, which he knew people liked. Plus, he was thoroughly exhausted, which helped him come across as less of an exuberant disaster.

When it got to the grip strength test Izuku looked over at Eraserhead, smiling widely when he met the hero's eyes, then he leaned down and chomped the grip mechanism between his jaws and rows of sharp teeth. His score shot upward, even past where the multi-armed guy's score had been. Nearby, the red haired guy burst out cackling so hard that tears ran down his face and he almost fell over.

"Midoriya. I said grip strength, not jaw strength. Try again." His teacher was massaging his temples, as if developing an intense headache. Izuku was happy though, as he switched back to his hand. He'd made someone laugh and now that guy could possibly be his friend and the rest of the class knew the he liked to joke around. His goal was met.

Izuku ended up placing second in the quirk apprehension tests, Shinsou got second to last with the invisible girl coming right after him. Shinsou seemed relieved he hadn’t placed last but Izuku had recognized one of Eraser’s logical ruses and was not surprised when no one was expelled. He’d always thought of Eraserhead as a teacher type figure to Izuku, though Izuku hadn’t actually had a real one in a long time so maybe his ideas were a bit flawed. In the end though, Izuku thought ‘Aizawa’ did seem like a good teacher. He was always trying to teach Izuku little tips to be a better Underground hero, or help him with his fighting skills when they had time during patrols.

After the quirk apprehension tests they were back in their classroom, waiting on their next teacher. Izuku was turned backward in his seat to talk to Shinsou, who was face down on his desk, head buried in his arms.

Izuku was annoying Shinsou, tapping the back of his head, when suddenly the classroom door burst open, causing Izuku to jerk back around, tense. “I AM HERE, ENTERING THE ROOM LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”

Izuku gaped as the number one hero, All Might, grinned at all of them, hands on his hips, shoulders high and square. A power pose if Izuku ever saw one.

Most of the class seemed to be in various stages of awe and excitement as they were given their hero costumes and told to change into them, so they headed to the locker room, once again.

Izuku set the briefcase with his costume in it on one of the benches in the locker room and snapped open the tabs, lifting the lid. He’d figured out early on that his costume could look nothing like his actual, underground, Riptide costume, so he’d decided to go with something that he really wanted. His underground costume was exactly sufficient, meant to be able to blend in and be subtle, and to hide as much of his features as possible without inhibiting him. It wasn’t meant to be exciting or nice looking, it was completely designed for efficiency in combat.

The costume request he’d sent in to U.A. before classes began had been pushing what most support companies were capable of making. He’d pushed what he wanted, getting the most out of the tuition costs, and asked for the best that he could think of. And as Izuku looked over his costume, he realized that U.A. really delivered. No wonder they were the best hero school.

The costume itself was seafoam green, the color of the ocean on a sunny day. It was tight, allowing ease of movement. The top was more of a long tank top, stopping at his shoulders, keeping his muscular arms free. It stopped right below his collarbone and was very form fitting, and supposed to be strong enough to resist abrasive objects to a certain degree. It had black, subtle detailing of ocean waves along the front of it. The pants were the same color and made of the same material, a black utility belt giving him easy access to anything he could need, while being waterproof and able to withstand high pressure. Both the pants and the shirt had cooling lining sewn in to help prevent Izuku from overheating, as well.

The boots were black (since the red boots were kind of a staple of Riptide’s appearance) and stopped right below his knees. They were tough, durable, and supported his leg muscles for any running or jumping that he had to do. They were also very light, since one of Izuku’s best attributes to circumvent his small stature was speed.

He’d also asked for a high tech watch, which he was surprised to actually see in the case. It looked simple but the instruction manual for it was over a hundred pages long. It could withstand depths of the ocean, was waterproof, could make and receive calls, had a built in speaker, could connect to and hack electronics if he knew how to do it and it could even play music, which Izuku knew he’d get a great use out of. Plus it could do a lot of other things he hadn’t even asked for that he had no idea about. He’d have to read that manual, for sure.

There was also a mask that hung around his neck but could cover his face from the nose down if he needed it to. It was an air filtration mask, like Riptide’s, but this one was a dark blue with black detailing on the filters. He also had goggles that he kept up on his head. They would suction around his eyes and help protect them from debris in the water. He was usually fine to see in the water without getting water in his eyes, because of his secondary eyelids, but he knew reinforced goggles were a good idea for flooding missions and the like. He’d almost been blinded once by a road sign coming straight at him in a small village rescue. It’d left him with a pretty visible scar cutting straight through his left eyebrow.

He had his built in goggles (his secondary eyelids)  and then these ones, so his eyes were super protected. Plus, he thought they just looked cool. People tended to be unsettled by his nictitating eyelids and these would help circumvent that. They were thick paned and made with strong glass. The frames were black and blue and very strong, made to withstand harsh attacks and damage.

“Nice costume.” A voice murmured and Izuku turned to see Shinsou waiting by one of the sinks, having finished dressing. His own costume was obviously inspired by Eraserhead’s. A dark jumpsuit with a utility belt, heavy boots for protection and a mask for the lower portion of his face. Izuku had told him a mask was a good idea. Izuku had a deep hatred of airborne toxins and quirks that poisoned. Too many times had he been affected by them, and he’d honestly suggest a mask to anyone. He couldn’t stand the idea of ingesting things that he didn’t understand. Being knocked or drugged unconscious was a huge no for him and he’d fight like hell to avoid it.

“Thanks, yours is great too.” Izuku responded, lifting a thumbs up to him.

They headed out together, joining the rest of their classmates in an observation room. Once everyone was there, All Might explained the lesson and then drew lots while Izuku bounced on his toes excitedly, wondering who he’d be paired with as he looked around the room. His class was full of unique people with interesting quirks. He was especially interested in the girl with the amphibian quirk, looking similar to a tree frog and he’d love to talk to her. He’d noticed her glancing at him curiously as well. It was cool to have another person in class with a quirk that changed one’s physical appearance.

He ended up being paired with the Pufferfish, Bakugou, and going against a guy named Todoroki who was paired with...Shinsou. “This sucks.” Shinsou sighed, looking at the match ups. “How am I supposed to win against you?”

Meanwhile, Izuku was nervous, glancing at Todoroki. He was unsure of the boy's quirk, but he recognized that last name and assumed it would have something to do with fire. And Izuku did not do well when he was exposed to heat. “I wouldn’t be so sure, Shinsou.” Izuku sighed. There was also the fact that the pufferfish guy seemed like he’d be extremely hard to work with. And what was with him calling Izuku ‘deku’?

Shinsou shook his head, scowling. “And of course my team are the villains.

Izuku patted his friend's shoulder, shoving aside his own anxieties. “It’s not like that, this is just a simulation.”

Shinsou nodded, “Yeah, I know.”

All Might wished them luck and then Shinsou linked up with Todoroki before going ahead into the building, while Bakugou and Izuku waited outside. “Do you really not remember me?” Bakugou turned to look at Izuku as he jumped up to sit on the railing, waiting for the ‘villains’ to be ready. Izuku glanced at him and had to hold back a laugh. The boy reminded him so much of a puffer fish. All angry eyes and tough guy attitude. Even his costume had finlike protrusions from his head.

“I have no idea who you are.” Izuku answered. “Sorry. How do you know me?”

Bakugou looked away, his teeth gritted and fists clenched at his sides. “Our moms were best friends, so we practically knew each other from birth, we were always together. Until one day you just...you fuckin’ disappeared. My old hag hounded Inko about it until eventually she just moved, never telling us a thing. We had no idea what happened.”

“Inko?” Izuku blinked, leaning back slightly, hand tugging at his mask and brows lowered. “That was my moms name?”

Bakugou raised a lip, growling. “What the fuck? You didn’t even know her name?”

Izuku shook his head. “She gave me up for adoption, I don’t really remember anything before that.”

Bakugou suddenly looked disgusted. “Your dad...My parents always thought there was something going on but... “

Izuku looked back at the pufferfish boy, frowning. “What?”

“My old hag thought your dad was a villain. You and Inko always had so many injuries... my parents thought that he’d taken you and Inko somewhere, but they could never prove anything.” Bakugou seemed to be searching Izuku’s eyes for any semblance of memory but Izuku had nothing. There was just nothing.

He felt sick.

“How old…” His voice cracked and he flicked his tongue forward to wet his lips. “How old was I when I disappeared?”

“You were like seven or something, I don’t fuckin’ know.” Bakugou snarled.

Izuku’s world plummeted away. “S-seven?” He shook his head. “No. I was four, I don’t…” Izuku tugged harder at his mask, the straps digging into his neck. He looked up, his bright eyes meeting Bakugou’s. “I...I thought I was four when I got to that place. My memory...I remember being four. ” If he was seven why did he have almost no memories from before the orphanage? This made no sense. It wasn’t right.

The more he focused on it, the more he couldn’t actually remember the orphanage after all, the more he couldn’t remember any part of his life before he’d run away.

Izuku’s head hurt.

Bakugou was silent, staring at Izuku in confusion, as if measuring his sanity. “Heroes may enter the building!” A voice shouted in Izuku’s ear, through the com, and he winced, leaping down from the railing.

“We wasted time, now we have no plan.” Izuku sighed, trying to clear his head.

“Fuck that, we don’t need a plan.” Bakugou grinned evilly, striding toward the building’s entrance, mind obviously on the task ahead.

“It’d definitely help!” Izuku returned with, brushing their conversation under the rug for now. “Shinsou can fight, he’s been practicing, and I’m pretty sure I’m a bad matchup for Todoroki. This isn’t a good-”

Bakugou turned, swinging at Izuku who easily dodged it, bouncing back on his heels with a tilted head, confused. “Shut it, fish face. I’m going to defeat both of them. You just sit back and relax.” He hissed and then walked into the building.

Izuku blinked in surprise, sensing there was no working with Mr. Pufferfish. He was on his own. He could do this, he’d had worse odds and this was just a simulation with students. Easy peasy.

He headed inside, ears tuned in to every noise around him. Bakugou was heading up, probably assuming that they’d keep the ‘bomb’ at the top. Izuku expected Shinsou to have told Todoroki about his quirk and abilities to hear and see better than most humans, so they were probably being extra quiet and careful. The best tactic would be to sneak up on them and try to knock them out with a blast of water.

Suddenly there was a blast of frigid air and then a sheet of ice spread across the ground, enveloping Izuku up to his waist. Izuku tilted his head and glanced down. Ice? So Todoroki didn’t have fire, just ice? An evil grin spread across his face. Frozen water. How perfect.

Barely even registering the cold temperature, Izuku focused on the ice, practically feeling the dense molecules. He could move it, but it was like the difference between running on grass and running through quicksand. Manipulating ice was incredibly difficult, a lot more than just plain water.

He was able to tear the ice away from his legs though and then used the slick surface to slide through the hallways, forcing himself to stop by raising a wall when he found the Pufferfish guy frozen to the ground, his teeth chattering. “Can’t fire off explosions at yourself, can you?” Izuku sighed. He’d been able to figure out the boy’s quirk by observing how his hands were constantly sparking, especially when he was angry, which seemed to be always.

“Get me the fuck out, Fish Face, I know you can.” Bakugou growled and Izuku sighed. They didn’t have time to be arguing.

“Learn some manners, please.” Izuku said, manipulating the ice away from the blonde’s body with some difficulty, making sure not to rip off his flesh along with the ice. That definitely would not improve his mood.

Bakugou cursed pointlessly at Izuku before flying forward, propelled by controlled explosions from his hands, leaving Izuku behind. Izuku took a second to admire the precision and focus it would take to fly like that before he continued gliding forward, struggling a bit with the icy, slick steps but managing.

The ‘bomb’ was bound to be at the top, and Izuku assumed both Todoroki and Shinsou were up there waiting on them.

Pufferfish guy probably had the same idea and was making his way up, only to get momentarily halted by another sheet of ice, which he was able to avoid this time.  Which meant he could learn. Good, Izuku thought.

Shinsou waited for them in the next level up, a thick wall of ice separating them from the next room, implying that was where the bomb was. Shinsou immediately targeted Bakugou, causing Izuku to remember that he hadn’t actually told the explosive blonde about Shinsou’s quirk, having been distracted by his and Mr. Pufferfish’s apparent history. “What’s wrong with your face, fugly?” Shinsou taunted, sliding forward to aim a kick at Bakugou.

“Wait!” Izuku yelled at Bakugou, focusing on the ice around Shinsou, trying to stop him. “Don’t answer-”

“The fuck did you-” Bakugou responded to Shinsou’s insult and then suddenly stopped, his feet slipping on the ice and causing him to fall to his butt as his eyes went blank.

“ Tie yourself up.” Shinsou commanded, just as Izuku yanked at the ice underneath Shinsou, knocking him down. Shinsou’s head slammed against the ice with a harsh cracking sound as Izuku darted forward, feet scrambling.

“Izuku, come on, that hurt. I thought I was your friend.” Ignoring the boy's words, Izuku pulled the capture tape from his belt, reaching for Shinsou, hissing when the purple haired boy rolled out of the way. Izuku gritted his teeth and grabbed his friend's ankle, manipulating the ice so that it churned beneath Shinsou’s body, making it impossible for him to get up.

Izuku took the moment to grab Shinsou’s wrist, straddling him to hold his body down while Izuku tied his wrists together. Shinsou sighed, dropping his head to the ice. “Cheer up, you did well.” Izuku patted Shinsou’s cheek before getting off of him, standing up and approaching the wall of ice.

He set his hand against it, a wry grin splitting his face before he tore his hand in a downward motion, the wall bursting apart into hundreds of small and large chunks. Todoroki turned to face him, a blank expression on his face threw a barrage of ice at Izuku. He seemed to expect that to be the end of it.

“Jeesh!” Izuku exclaimed, sweeping his hand out to shatter that ice as well. His forehead was beading with sweat and his head was aching. It took a lot of effort and concentration to manipulate ice and it was really wearing on him.

Todoroki’s face twisted angrily as he threw another wall of spiky ice at Izuku, who dismantled it, taking several steps toward the boy. “We’re a bad match up, Todo.” Izuku said, smiling wide enough to show his teeth. “You’d need fire to combat me. Ice is water you know, that’s my area of expertise .”

Todoroki stiffened, frost spreading along his right side. “I’m not using his fire.”

Izuku broke another wall, tilting his head in confusion. So, he did have fire? “Are you saying you have two quirks?”

Shouto’s face dropped back into his impassive expression and the temperature dropped even more in the room. Izuku barely even noticed it, the temperature not bothering him even the slightest.

It appeared to be getting to Todoroki though, frost encroaching along his right side, his entire body shaking violently. Izuku was growing worried and he took several more steps forward. “Buddy, if you have fire you should probably use it. I’m not sure what you mean by ‘his’ but it seems like you’re not realizing that your fire is part of you, just like the ice is. It’s your quirk, of course.” Of course, fire would be a bad idea for Izuku, but this kid was hurting himself without it. If he had the ability to self regulate his body temperature, he should definitely use it. If Izuku could help him, then he was going to do it.

“You’re not going to beat me without your fire.” Izuku said, tugging at the moisture in the air to coalesce into a sheet that he slammed into Todoroki, knocking him onto his back. Izuku could have tried to drown him instead, force the water down his nose and throat, into his lungs. But that was one of his last ditch maneuvers against villains and it always made him feel like a terrible person afterward, even though he always stopped before it actually killed anyone.

Izuku reached Todoroki and bent at the waist to peer down at him where he’d fallen. The ‘bomb’ waited near them as Izuku pulled his capture tape back out of his utility belt. “I’m going to capture you.” Izuku said. “If this were a real situation you’d be defeated and possibly killed. Your quirk could save your life and others’ too, one day.”

Izuku dropped into a crouch to bind Todoroki, reaching for the boy's arm, but yelping and falling back when it erupted in flames. “EEEEE!” Izuku screeched and dived out of the way as a hot blast of flames barely missed him, the heat already melting the ice in the room and the frost on Todoroki’s body as he stood up. Izuku glanced back at him. Todoroki was panting and he had a wild look in his multicolored eyes and a horrifying grin on his face.

“Oh, fuck. I screwed up.” Izuku said flatly, just as the entire room burst into flames, driving Izuku backward and into the wall, his arms up to protect his face against the onslaught. He dropped down to the ground, gasping. Todoroki remained in the center of the room, the epicenter of the inferno raging above Izuku.

There was no way he would be able to get closer to touch the bomb. He should have grabbed it when he had the chance. Why did he have to persuade Todoroki to use fire of all things? Why was Izuku like this? Why couldn’t he just leave things that didn’t involve him alone?

The heat was beginning to get to Izuku and it felt like he couldn’t breathe, like all the oxygen was being sucked out of his lungs to feed the massive flames. He was sweating and it felt like his skin was drying out, the heat making his vision wavy and his eyeballs feel like they were shrinking in his skull. Blackness was edging along his vision too as he got to his hands and knees to give a last ditch effort to reach the bomb, crawling beneath the fire, toward it. He subconsciously searched the room for water and came up empty except for his own sweat.

Grumbling in complaint, Izuku whipped a hand toward Todoroki and all the sweat that had been coating his skin was flung at the ice and fire user. It did nothing, evaporating before it could even reach the boy.

Izuku collapsed onto his face halfway to the bomb, his limbs like rubber beneath him as his vision completely blacked out.

The fire in the room slowly faded away and Todoroki sent a burst of frost around the room, putting out any fires that he missed. He looked down at the unconscious form of the random boy, the first person to get him to use the fire side of his quirk since...since almost before he could remember.

He looked down at his hands. They were shaking, but he felt strong as he clenched them into fists. His partner, Shinsou, rushed into the room, looking concerned as he dropped down next to Izuku. “I thought you said you couldn’t use your fire.” He hissed at him.

Your fire. Everyone was saying that. None of them understood.

Todoroki turned to leave the building, returning to the observation room. He needed time to think.

-X-

Izuku felt like he was suspended in water. His limbs floating around him, the water blanketing him in cool softness, the echoing sound of the waves above him reverberating in his ears. The calls of different animals within the water sounding.

Far away, a woman's scream built up, growing louder and louder until there was nothing else, piercing into Izuku’s mind. It sounded like death.

Izuku jerked awake with a gasp, every limb spasming before he calmed down, catching his breath. He focused himself outward, letting himself become aware of the feeling of water all around him. It was always like this when he first woke up, especially if it was a fast awakening from an abnormal sleep, like this was. Most humans were about an average of 60% water and Izuku could sense all of that. He could feel that most human brains were about 85% water, he could sense the water that helped make up the blood that kept people alive. He could feel so much, including that there was someone next to him, and another person farther away.

Izuku forced himself to wake the rest of the way up, opening all sets of his eyelids and looking around the room. He had an I.V. in his inner elbow, slipped in between loops in bandages wrapped around his forearms. He blinked down at them in confusion, brows furrowed. He really, really hated going unconscious without his consent. He hated everything about it.

“Ah, you’re awake.” A woman’s voice said and Izuku looked up. Oh. Oh, yeah! Recovery Girl! He was at U.A. That should not have taken as long as it had for him to realize. The fact that he could remember his dreams was unsettling him. He could almost never remember them, and he counted on that usually. His nightmares were always fucked up, when he did somehow remember them. It was best to forget.

Recovery Girl bent down in front of Izuku, shining a penlight into his eyes as she checked for pupil reaction. “Everything is looking fine.” She said, leaning back up and crossing to the other side of the bed to remove the I.V. and check his bandages. “Class let out about two hours ago. Shinsou here has been waiting for you” She gestured to the sleeping boy on a chair against the opposite wall, carefully out of Recovery Girl’s way. His tall, purple hair was a disaster and he looked exhausted. Izuku felt guilty for making him wait.

Izuku cleared his throat, wincing when it was too dry for comfort. Recovery Girl clicked her tongue at him but got him a cup of water, explaining what had happened to him. “Todoroki’s fire hit your arms, causing first and second degree burns. My quirk took care of those for the most part, but I suggest leaving the bandages on for at least a day to minimize scarring. You were also dehydrated. Shinsou mentioned that it’s a drawback from overusing your quirk?” Izuku nodded and the woman sighed. “Your medical file is severely lacking, is there a reason for this?”

“Uh.” Izuku sipped his water, frowning. “I don’t see doctors much. Not a fan.”

Recovery Girl’s frown deepened. “Well, no matter. I want you to make a list of any of your medical issues for me, anything I could need to know. Nothing is too small. Usually I receive the entire medical history of a student when they enroll at U.A. but not you. It’s a good thing we noticed this early on, before it ended up being a worse issue.”

Izuku set his cup to the side, noticing Shinsou was rousing, his head lifting as he met Izuku’s eyes. “It’s about time.” He grumbled, yawning widely.

Recovery Girl eyed Shinsou before grabbing a sheaf of papers attached to a clipboard by Izuku’s head. “I ran your blood and found a few things to be concerned about. Please look over the list I’ve written on there and see to it that you take the vitamins I recommended.”

Izuku thanked the woman while she slid the papers into a small folder and then looked at him, a strange expression on her face. “One last thing before you head home, Midoriya. Care to tell me why the number listed for your emergency contact is Shinsou’s own cell phone number?”

Izuku tensed, narrowed eyes flicking over to Shinsou once before the slitted pupils returned to Recovery Girl. “I do care to tell, yeah.” Shinsou was the only person Izuku had trusted at least somewhat in a long time. He had no one else he could put as an emergency contact, and he’d had to put someone. Shinsou had also put Izuku as his emergency contact but he guessed they hadn’t figured that out yet. They’d agreed to be each other's emergency contacts  when filling out matriculation paperwork for their entrance into U.A.

Recovery Girl sighed heavily before standing and shaking her head. “Aizawa was right, you are a problem child” She sighed again, tapping her cane against the floor as she moved toward the door. “Alright, you two can head home. Midoriya, stop by tomorrow morning and I’ll check your arms.” She turned and exited the room, mumbling to herself beneath her breath about this only being the first day, and wondering what issues Izuku was going to cause her.

“Feeling alright?” Shinsou asked after she was gone, standing up and bringing Izuku’s clothes over. “You’re being abnormally quiet.”

Izuku climbed off the cot, surprised at his lack of dizziness. He was tired though, probably from Recovery Girl’s healing. “I’m alright, just a little out of it.” Izuku responded, taking the clothes and moving toward the nearby bathroom.

Shinsou waited outside while Izuku changed out of his hero uniform. He’d gathered all of Izuku’s things, retrieving his bag and his clothes while they’d brought Izuku to Recovery Girls office for her to heal him.

Shinsou remembered watching through the doorway from where Izuku had tied him up and left him next to a pissed off Bakugou as his friend yelled at Todoroki to use his quirk. He’d had no idea what his friend could possibly be doing, trying to get his foe to use one of the things that could hurt Izuku the most. He’d lurched up in concern for Izuku when the room seemed to explode with the bright light of a brilliant fire, so hot that he could feel the heat even from where he was.

He’d watched as Izuku fought to get to the bomb and failed, eventually passing out.

All Might’s voice in his ear had announced the villain's victory and Shinsou had leapt up, ripping out of his bindings and rushed to Izuku’s side, ignoring the practically blistering heat in the room. He’d dropped to his knees beside Izuku, hands hovering over him. He was breathing fine and both his eyes were closed, but his forearms looked like hamburger, red and glistening with burns.

“I thought you said you couldn’t use your fire?!” He’d yelled backward. Todoroki was on his knees by the ‘bomb’, looking with horror and apparent confusion at the damage he’d done to Izuku and to the room itself, before standing and leaving, movements less fluid than they had been. Shinsou felt bad for snapping at him.

Recovery Girl’s assistant robots had come to retreive Izuku soon after and then it had been a waiting game for Izuku to wake up so that they could go home. Aizawa had come to see Izuku, both him and Recovery Girl confused as to his lack of medical history, enough so they’d had to ask what Izuku knew of it. Shinsou had explained what he knew, the fast metabolism and higher salt intake as well as having chronic dehydration plus the fact  that he was tired all the time and had frequent headaches. That was about all Shinsou knew though. If Izuku suffered from anything else he hadn’t told him.

Izuku returned from the bathroom, dressed in his uniform once again and still missing the tie. His hair remained in its braid, the scar that cut through his left eyebrow shocking against his incredibly pale skin. “Let’s head home.” Izuku whispered. “I want to go swimming after today. I have a lot to think about.”

Izuku took his bag from Shinsou and slung it over his shoulder as they left the room and headed down the mostly empty hallways. “Did Bakugou say something to you?” Shinsou asked. “It seemed strange that he knew you.”

Izuku nodded, smoothing his hair down with a shaky hand. “Yeah, he said a lot, and I don’t…”

Shinsou looked over as the shorter boy trailed off, frowning. It was strange seeing him like this. He was always so vibrant. Shinsou wondered if it was his place to ask what Bakugou had said or it that would be overstepping. Before he could worry about it and just as they left the school, Izuku explained.

“He told me we were friends when we were little, that our parents were friends.” Izuku looked so confused and Shinsou felt bad that he couldn’t do anything about it. “But, he said that I disappeared when I was seven .”

Shinsou blinked. “I thought you said you had no memories of your parents, that you went to the orphanage when you were four.”

Izuku’s grip tightened on the straps of his bag. “That’s what I thought. ”

“That’s weird.” Shinsou observed as they reached the station and waited for the next train.

“He also said his mom had suspicions that my father was abusive and that he was a villain.” Izuku added, sighing and looking up at the sky. The clouds were darkening, a storm moving in.

“Could trauma have caused memory loss, then?” Shinsou wondered aloud.

“I don’t know.” Izuku whispered back, stepping into the train when it pulled up. “It doesn’t matter right now anyway.” A smile spread across his features, his eyes lighting up in that familiar way. “We finished our first day at U.A.!”

Shinsou nodded, smirking at Izuku’s renewed enthusiasm. For the rest of the train ride, Izuku rambled on about how awesome U.A. was, how well his costume was made, how cool the teachers were,  how big the building was, how neat their classmates were.

The train dropped them off and Izuku and Shinsou stopped at a cafe for something fast for dinner, eating it on the way to the beach. They picked up speed the closer they got, Izuku obviously ready to get in the water. He grabbed Shinsou’s wrist, tugging him faster. “Slow down, Izu.” Shinsou said with exasperation. “Do you even have time to go swimming? We already have homework, plus you have that list to make for Recovery Girl, and don’t you have a patrol tonight? You need to sleep at some point. ” 

“Naaah.” Izuku grinned, tugging him along.

They reached the beach and Izuku sprinted through layers of garbage, heading for the sound of the waves. He dropped his shoes at the edge along with almost all of his clothes and his bandages. Shinsou noticed he left his new watch on and hoped that would help him keep track of the time and receive any messages he needed. He’d mentioned that he’d asked U.A. to add a function like that.

Shinsou watched Izuku run into the water before diving in like a dolphin to disappear beneath the high waves. He sighed and grabbed one of his larger blankets to lay out on the sand. He set his bag down and set to work on his homework, wondering at the things that Izuku saw and did while he was beneath the water.

Izuku returned several hours later, just as night was beginning to fall. Shinsou had left the sand about an hour earlier to get inside, out of the cold and the night fall. Izuku joined Shinsou, climbing into the train car and collapsing onto his stuffed Totoro, yawning, exposing all of his shark-like teeth. “When does your patrol start?” Shinsou asked softly, getting up to carry over a bottle of water. Izuku was dry, but he smelled of saltwater and seaweed.

“Soon.” Izuku grumbled, rubbing his eyes. He thanked him for the water bottle and chugged the entire thing.

“What do you do when you’re in the water?” Shinsou asked, settling into a seat and watching Izuku as he dropped the water bottle from his lips and tilted his head at Shinsou.

“Hmmm.” He said, brow furrowing. “No one’s asked me that before.”

Shinsou frowned, “You don’t have to answer if-”

“No, no. It’s okay.” Izuku's smile was wobbly. “I feel like I could talk about it forever though.”

Shinsou nodded, spurring Izuku on. The green haired boy leaned forward, a new kind of excitement glinting in his eyes. “I do all kinds of stuff, different things every day, but today I swam with some dolphins and I have a shark friend that doesn’t like to hang out with a lot of the others, he’s a sad boy, but he’s super awesome, I named him Guren and he likes to play fetch!”

Shinsou leaned back as Izuku continued to ramble nonsensically but happily nonetheless. He’d seen that Izuku had been down today, especially after their exercise with All Might. He’d seemed different than his usual excitable attitude after waking up, and if Shinsou knew anything about his newly acquired friend, it was that talking about the ocean always cheered him up.

Eventually it was time for Izuku to get ready to leave and he stood, still rambling as he grabbed his Riptide gear and changed behind the curtain. He then went over to Shinsou, his hood down so that the purple haired boy could re-braid his hair for him. Shinsou had found early on that Izuku enjoyed Shinsou doing his hair for him after he’d offered to braid it a different way for him one time. Shinsou had had many different siblings throughout his years and had learned to take care of them in different ways, one of which was teaching himself many different braiding styles. Izuku had, unsurprisingly, liked the fishtail braid, so that’s what Shinsou did now.

Izuku pulled away when he finished, removing his watch and adjusting his black gloves. “Can’t have Eraser accidentally seeing that watch, he’d recognize it for sure.” Izuku said, succinctly ending his ocean life spiel as he pulled his mask over his face and his hood over his head. “There, how do I look?”

“Like a dork.” Shinsou stated flatly.

“You jerk.” Izuku punched him lightly in the arm, heading toward the ‘door’ that was more a broken flap of wood, metal and plastic than anything else. “I’ll be back early and get my homework done then. Don’t wait up for me, try to get some sleep Shinsou.” He paused at the door before glancing back. “Thank you Shinsou.”

And then with that Izuku left into the darkness of the night, leaving behind an exhausted Shinsou and a confused Kimi.

-X-

The night was fortunately relatively calm, at least for Izuku and Eraserhead. There had been a couple domestic disputes and a break in, but mostly stuff the local police could handle on their own.

Izuku rested with Eraserhead on a rooftop, munching on a container of plain onigiri while Eraserhead finished off a jelly pack. “So, how are you and your husband? He get any new tattoo’s recently?” Izuku asked, making light conversation. It was sprinkling lightly and he was deflecting the rain away from both himself and Eraserhead. The other hero always said that that was the reason he stuck around, Izuku was a breathing, convenient umbrella. But Izuku knew differently. He knew Eraserhead liked him.

“We’re fine and he did actually.” Eraserhead’s words were bitter, almost irritated, and Izuku sat up, facing the other hero in curiosity.

“What’d he get that’s got you so annoyed?” Izuku asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin and collecting his trash into a small bag to be thrown away later.

Eraserhead leaned back, grumbling as he looked up at the dark, crying sky. “He knows I hate working with you. I complain about you to him.”

“Aww, you talk about me? I’m honored.” Izuku grinned behind his mask.

Eraser sighed heavily. “He got a Riptide tattoo, just to annoy me.”

Izuku slapped his hands to his face in surprise. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it. Where did he put it? What is it of? OH MY GOSH, I can’t believe it!”

“I already regret saying anything.” Eraserhead sighed, standing up. “Let’s just get this patrol done. I have to get up in like...six hours...Ugh.”

Izuku smiled to himself, knowing the reason that the hero had to get up early. And then he was reminded that he as well had to do homework and get up early and his smile dropped slightly.

Izuku returned to the beach and the train car soon after that and found Shinsou awake, but groggy where he lay in one of the seats. “You woke me up.” He groaned. “It was so hard to fall asleep.”

“Sorry,” Izuku whispered, shedding his clothes and freshening up with cleaning wipes before dressing in his pajamas and dropping onto his Totoro, grabbing his book bag with his homework in it. He could see plenty well in the dark so he left the lights off for Shinsou while he worked, hoping his friend would be able to fall back to sleep.

Izuku eventually finished his homework and the list for Recovery Girl before passing out, dead to the world, utterly exhausted. His sleep was plagued with horrifying nightmares that seemed to go on forever. Nightmares that for some reason did not slip from his memory as soon as he felt someone shaking his shoulder, waking him up, as they usually would have. He remembered the feeling of being lost and alone, voices whispering in his ears, something piercing his skull while he could still feel it. He remembered so much pain.

Izuku hated when his dreams made absolutely no sense. The ones that had to do with hero work he could understand and process, at least a little. But crap like this was just...it made no sense and it pissed him off.

The shoulder shaking continued, annoying Izuku. “Fuck off.” He slurred, rolling onto his face in the plush. He was just so tired and what even was going on with his dreams recently?

Shinsou, familiar with the fact that Izuku was a completely different person when he was sleeping or near sleep (especially if he’d been having nightmares), persisted with shaking his shoulder. “Come on, we have to leave for class in like, ten minutes to catch the train.”

Izuku groaned heavily, smashing his face in further. Shinsou sighed and then grabbed the lighter boy by both shoulders, heaving him off of the ‘bed’ and onto the nearest seat. Izuku hissed an angry breath between sharp teeth, tired eyes falling shut as he fell back. Shinsou sighed and grabbed a breakfast bar and vitamin packed energy drink for both of them. He set Izuku’s on him and then sat down to eat. He’d already changed, letting Izuku get as much sleep as possible. He was worried about his roommate. Izuku wasn’t getting nearly enough rest for all the things that he was doing.

Izuku climbed to Shinsou’s seat and pushed his face into Shinsou’s side while the other boy looked down at him in utter confusion. Izuku hadn’t been a touchy/feely person since he’d met him, usually avoiding most physical contact like it was the plague. Maybe he just hated touch unless he was the instigator.

“Nightmares.” The green haired boy whispered in explanation, his eyes clenched shut.

Shinsou frowned, noting that he hadn’t drunk or eaten anything yet, the food Shinsou had gotten lying forgotten in the other seat. He lifted a hand to set on the smaller boy's head. “Something to do with your hero work?” He asked, wondering if Izuku wanted to talk about it.

Izuku shook his head against Shinsou’s side.”I don’t know. I didn’t like it.”

“I’d imagine not.” Shinsou answered, unmoving.

Izuku sighed heavily, his eyes half-lidded with sleep. “You’re like the sun, Shinsou, warm and kind. A star.” He sat up and grinned at him while Shinsou only frowned, confused by the abrupt topic change.

“I’d say you’re a lot more like a star than I am.” He answered flatly, eyes narrowed, wondering where this was going.

Izuku shook his head. “No, I’m the ocean. You’re...” Izuku narrowed his eyes and tapped his chin, thinking, before glancing back at Shinsou. “You’re Hoshi. Star. And it’s similar to your given name. Can I call you Hoshi?”

"I suppose," he answered automatically.

The ocean and the sun.

Shinsou was suddenly blushing and he hid it by looking down at Kimi, sitting next to him. He didn’t need to worry about it though because Izuku was already asleep again, having fallen back onto the seat, both eyes closed. It had only been the first few nights of Shinsou living there that one eye had remained open. When Shinsou had asked, Izuku had explained that he trusted Shinsou, that he didn’t need to sleep with one eye open anymore.

That had been quite the realization.

Recovering from that strange, practically unconscious epiphany from his roommate, Shinsou forced the half asleep boy to get ready. He shoved Izuku’s homework back in his bag from where he’d worked on it the night before for him, then they walked to the train station together.

The train ride was quick, which could be attributed to the fact that Izuku kept nodding off on Shinsou’s shoulder throughout the ride. He was still yawning when they were dropped off and headed up the mountain to their high school. “Izuku, are you going to be alright?” Shinsou asked as they entered the building, heading toward Recovery Girl’s office first so that she could get Izuku’s list and check his arms.

“I’ll be fine,” Izuku said, stifling a yawn with his hand. “I’ll just nap on you in between classes and at lunch.” He grinned up at Shinsou who just shook his head in exasperation.

They reached Recovery Girl’s office and found her tending to another student with a harsh scratch on her forehead. They waited off to the side while she healed her and then sent her on the way.

Recovery Girl turned to face the two of them, gesturing for Izuku to come sit down on the stool in front of her, lifting his arms and pulling his sleeves up, clicking her tongue. “You took your bandages off too early.” She observed and then placed a kiss on his arm, exhaustion welling in him even more.

“I had to go swimming.” Izuku explained, keeping himself upright with difficulty.

Recovery Girl blinked at Izuku and then looked at Shinsou for explanation, gleaning that they were pretty close and Shinsou would probably know what he was talking about.

Shinsou straightened from where he was leaning against the wall. “We live near the ocean but Izuku practically lives in the water. Apparently, he needs the salt or something. He’s said if he’s out of the water for too long he feels uncomfortable.”

Recovery Girl looked back at Izuku, a strange look on her face. Izuku tilted his head and cleared his throat. “I’m alright. Don’t worry about me. I brought that list you asked me to make.”

The long haired boy rummaged in his bag for a second, pulling out a notebook and ripping a piece of paper out of it to hand to the healing hero. “Thank you.” She said and handed Izuku a handful of gummies. “Eat those to get your energy up.”

Izuku waved a hand. “I’m a vegetarian.”

“There’s no gelatin in them, they’re natural.” She sighed even more heavily and Izuku took them, his pale face brightening in a blush before he shoved the entire handful into his mouth. “Go on to class, both of you, before you’re late.” Recovery Girl waved her cane at them, ushering them out of the room.

Izuku grabbed his bag and followed Shinsou out, heading down the hallway toward the large door with 1A written on it. Before they could reach it though, someone bumped into Izuku and he turned, raising his hands and spouting an apology that stuttered on his lips when he saw only a floating uniform.

“Sorry!” A feminine voice said and Izuku took one step back, remembering belatedly that there was an invisible student in their class. “Wait, you look really familiar. I know you from somewhere.”

“U-Um.” Izuku frowned, looking back at Shinsou for help. The purple haired boy only shrugged in response. “Well, you can call me Izuku.”

“I’ve definitely heard that name.” The girl said, her uniform leaning forward, as if she was examining Izuku. The air stilled and Izuku felt her eyes on him, unsettling him. How could she possibly think he was familiar and recognize his name. That was nearly impossible. Izuku barely ever talked to people as Izuku, usually only as Riptide and she wouldn’t recognize his name if that were the case.

“I don’t think you’d know my name from anywhere.” Izuku muttured, brow furrowing.

“No matter!” She suddenly said, leaning back, her voice excited. “My name is Toru Hagakure, but you can call me Toru!”

“This is Shinsou!” Izuku gestured to the silent boy beside him and Shinsou grunted in answer.

“Are you going to stand out here all day?” An incredibly tired voice sighed near them and Izuku turned around rapidly.

“Jeesh! You scared me!” He exclaimed and the underground hero narrowed his eyes at him. Izuku was suddenly hit with an intense feeling of deja vu, reminding him of his first night as a pro hero when Eraserhead had startled him. HIs situational awareness had gotten a lot better since then, but Eraser always seemed to be able to sneak past him. After all, Izuku wasn’t always actively trying to sense all the water around him. It was exhausting and draining, and he was already a tired wreck.

“Just get inside.” Eraserhead scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yes, sir!” Toru said and Izuku and Shinsou followed her into the classroom. Izuku settled into his seat behind Pufferfish boy and Shinsou sat behind Izuku as Eraserhead moved behind the podium and took roll. Izuku allowed himself to yawn, glancing out the window at the light of the sun, already daydreaming about the fact that he didn’t have patrol tonight and had so much extra time for sleeping and swimming. He just had to get through one day of school. Simple...

Chapter Text

Homeroom opened with Eraser complaining about the mass media gathered outside. Hitoshi and Izuku must have missed them since they had shown up early to see Recover Girl, and from the sounds of it, it was a good thing they had. Izuku had seen Eraser irritated before, but this was extra irritated. The reporters must have been really troublesome.

After settling the class down, Eraserhead went on to congratulate everyone on yesterday’s combat training. The reminder of yesterday had Izuku glancing at Bakugou’s back, remembering what he’d said. The strange lost memories and the fact that the Pufferfish boy somehow knew him. Izuku’s brow furrowed and he tried to shake the thoughts away as Eraserhead went on to suggest improvements for each person, then asked Todoroki to see him before lunch.

Izuku glanced back at the mention of the ‘double-quirked’ boy, blinking when their eyes immediately met and the boy looked away. He’d already been watching Izuku, his face impassive. Izuku decided then that he was going to try to talk to Todoroki sometime soon and attempt to be his friend. He obviously needed a friend or two and that was well within Izuku’s abilities.

After that, Eraser went on to tell everyone to pick a class representative before climbing into that bright yellow sleeping bag of his and leaning against the wall behind the podium. Yaoyorozu and Iida ended up tied with the same amount of votes and in the end they decided on double rep titles, instead of rep and vice rep. The rest of the class agreed that this was a good idea; even Iida, (despite saying that it was rather unconventional) agreed with the decision.

Eraser climbed out of his sleeping bag once that was decided and Izuku imagined the hero knighting the two students as the class 1A reps with a jelly pack instead of a sword and he giggled to himself, ignoring the strange looks that some of his classmates around him were giving him at the noise.

Eraserhead changed out for Present Mic after that and English class began. Izuku was pretty fluent in English from necessity. A surprising amount of American and English tourists visited Musutafu and the nearby villages, wanting to check out some of the attractions. Izuku had helped out a lot of them. He was also fluent in Japanese and American sign language (the latter was because of an incident with an American in which they had struggled to communicate). He’d decided to pick the language up in case it ever happened again. Izuku learned pretty quickly, signing up for classes and immersing himself in the cultures of the languages that he was trying to pick up.

Present Mic had seemed surprised and excited by Izuku’s understanding of English on their first day of classes and called him up to see him before their class left for lunch on their second day.

“I’ll wait by the door.” Hitoshi sighed before exiting the room.

Izuku nodded to Hitoshi before walking forward to see Mic who was grinning at him. Present Mic was a very interesting hero, one that Izuku hadn’t had a lot of chances to be around. He was very...enigmatic, and people generally liked working around him it seemed. He’d heard several of the other heroes at the agency he worked with talking about the voice hero.

“Your level of English is very proficient, and higher than I have yet to see in any other students this year. I was wondering if you’d like to be my ‘intern’ of sorts.” The voice hero got right to the point, green eyes bright behind his yellow glasses.

Izuku blinked, surprised, and one webbed finger reached up to feel along the outline of a raised gill in thought. “What would that entail?” He asked. “I don’t have much free time, I work most nights.”

“You would help me grade papers for the most part, maybe run the occasional study session for any struggling students. It wouldn’t be a lot of work but could be a good learning experience for you.” Present Mic explained in a loud voice, arms gesticulating at his sides.

Izuku shrugged and then answered in English. “Alright, sounds fine.”

Mic’s grin widened considerably and he threw his hands up as if in victory, responding in English as well. “Great!” He exclaimed. “I’ll let you know when I need you, then!”

Izuku smiled, returning to Japanese. “I look forward to it.”

He rejoined Hitoshi in the hallway and they headed toward the cafeteria together. “What was that about?” His friend asked him, looking down at him.

“Mic wants me to be his intern because I know English so well.” Izuku explained nonchalantly.

Hitoshi huffed, running a hand through his wild purple hair. “It’s only the second day and I feel like I’m already falling behind and here you are, already the teacher’s pet.”

“I can try to help you with English tonight if you want.” Izuku offered with a chuckle, pushing the doors open to the cafeteria, noting that Todoroki was already seated and alone at a table as he stepped into line for food. Izuku’s stomach rumbled at the thought of sustenance and he remembered only eating that one breakfast bar. His fast metabolism was not happy with him.

“You know you’re not going to want to help me study.” Hitoshi chided, grabbing a plate of Tonkatsu while Izuku ordered vegetarian curry with extra sodium, paying for them both despite his friend telling him not to.

“That’s probably true, but who knows, maybe I’ll get a sudden burst of energy!” Izuku answered postively, grabbing Hitoshi’s sleeve when he tried to move toward an empty table and instead pulling him in a different direction.

“Hey, let me go.” The purple haired boy scowled, brow furrowing in irritation, trying to take his arm back.

“Hi, Todoroki!” Izuku didn’t answer or release Hitoshi, instead pushing him down at Todoroki’s table. Izuku sat across from the other boy, Hitoshi at his left side.

“What do you want?” Todoroki blinked at Izuku, noodles held halfway up to his mouth, seemingly surprised that anyone would choose to sit with him.

Izuku quirked the corner of his mouth up in a crooked smile, but before he could answer someone else was dropping next to Izuku. “Hi, Izuku!”

He turned to see a floating uniform. “Oh, hi Toru! How are you?”

“I’m good. I already feel lost in English though! I have no idea what Present Mic is saying most of the time!” She chirped in a high pitched voice.

“I know, right! He’s so fast!” A brown haired girl exclaimed, sitting down next to Todoroki, the frog girl right beside her. “Oh, you don’t mind if we sit here, right Todoroki?” Todoroki stared wide eyed at the two girls, absolutely flabbergasted. “Awesome!” She grinned, as if that was answer enough to her question.

Two others joined them then, as if inspired by everyone else joining this particular table. It was the class reps, sitting on Hitoshi’s other side, despite the annoyed glance he pointed in their direction. “Mind if we sit here?” Iida asked, setting his tray down.

“Ye-” Hitoshi began before Izuku interrupted.

“We’d love to have you both!” He beamed in their direction.

“I’m Asui, but call me Tsu, kero.” The frog-like girl said to the table, after a moment.

“I’m Uraraka Ochaco.” The brown haired girl told everyone. Izuku grinned and then the rest of the table introduced themselves before losing themselves in a conversation about English.

As Toru excused herself to go to the bathroom, Todoroki glanced at Hitoshi with a confused expression on his face, the only other one that wasn’t talking, only tiredly eating his tonkatsu. Hitoshi caught his look and shrugged before shoving a piece of pork into his mouth. Izuku was just like this with everyone. He seemed to seek out withdrawn or sad people with the intention of befriending them. Todoroki would just have to get used to it.

“The past participle is usually what I struggle with.” Izuku was saying, swallowing a huge mouthful of rice. “Sometimes, what helps me is-”

Izuku went still, head tilting, his chopsticks frozen mid gesture. “Izuku?” Hitoshi asked, frowning at the green haired boy.

“Did you hear that?” He asked, voice softer than usual, lips parted to show a glint of sharp teeth as he listened, straining his ears, eyes narrowed into luminescent slits.

“Hear wha-” Uraraka was interrupted by a shrill alarm. Izuku cried out, throwing his hands over his ears, chopsticks snapping in half within his grip.

“Fuck!” Izuku yelled, face set in a pained grimace.

“There has been a level three security breach.” A voice said over the sound of the alarm, through the intercom.

Hitoshi scowled, shoveling a large amount of rice and pork into his mouth, seemingly undaunted by the alarm.

“All students please evacuate outdoors promptly.” The voice continued and Izuku groaned loudly.

“I think my brain is splitting in half.” He bent down, pressing his forehead into the table.

Hitoshi frowned while the other students at the table looked at them in confusion. “Izuku’s hearing is better than most humans.” Hitoshi explained, standing up and taking Izuku’s arm.

“Here.” Yaoyorozu suddenly said, passing a pair of noise cancelling headphones to Hitoshi who pulled Izuku’s hands down and then set the cups of the headphones over his ears.

Izuku sighed in relief, rubbing his temples. “THANKS.” He said, voice abnormally loud with his hearing compromised.

“We should follow everyone.” Iida said, watching everyone flooding out of the cafeteria doors.

“WHAT?” Izuku turned to Iida, peering at him.

Hitoshi shook his head in exasperation, taking his friend's elbow and steering him toward the door. They were at the tail end of the group now, Hitoshi keeping a tight hold of Izuku with people shoving into them. Izuku kept one hand up, holding his headphones in place while scanning the area with his eyes, his usual smile not present. He looked serious and it unsettled Hitoshi who wondered if this was what he looked like as Riptide. The boy looked ready to attack someone.

Suddenly Iida was flying through the air ahead of them, flipping through the air to slam above the exit sign. Izuku could see his mouth moving but couldn’t hear his words until Hitoshi reached over and lifted his headphones off his ears. “Alarm’s off.” He uttered, still holding onto Izuku’s elbow.

“Thanks.” Izuku answered, rubbing at his head with a wince. “Ugh, my head hurts.”

Iida explained that it was just the media that had broken in and set the alarm off and Izuku frowned. Just the media? That didn’t sound right. “It sounded like…” Izuku gnawed on the inside of his cheek with teeth too sharp to be doing something like that without ripping his skin up. “It sounded like the gate just crumbled. Or something.”

Hitoshi frowned but didn’t answer, tiredly pulling Izuku back to the cafeteria so that they could finish their food now that the crisis had passed. He was still hungry and nothing could compete with Lunch Rush’s food.

Soon after the mess of their lunch period and the rest of their classes, they were back in their classroom, Hitoshi yawning and struggling not to fall asleep. He was even more tired after such a long and stressful day. Izuku appeared to be faring just the same, leaning so far back that his head was on Hitoshi’s desk, his chair tipped back, his hair spilling all over his desk.

They had free time until the end of the day, which was supposed to be utilized for studying, but they were both so tired.

The end of the day perked Izuku up though and he and Hitoshi headed home, not noticing the contemplative look Todoroki was tossing them, as if he was theorizing something.

The front gate entrance to U.A. was wrecked and Izuku frowned at the wreckage as they passed through it. There was only a pile of dust left and that visual triggered something at the edge of Izuku’s mind, something that he couldn’t quite reach, but something he knew he should be able to. It was a frustrating feeling.

When they were most of the way home Izuku stopped to pull Hitoshi into a department store. “Wait, what are we doing?” Hitoshi sighed, fighting Izuku’s tight grip on his hand uselessly.

“I am getting you swimming shorts.” Izuku said. “You haven’t gone into the ocean with me yet, but that’s changing today because I don’t have to work tonight.”

Hitoshi blinked lazily at the greenette pulling him along like he was spare luggage until they came to a stop at the swimwear.

Izuku released Hitoshi’s hand and rifled through a table full of different types and colors of swim shorts before settling on a pair like his own; short, tight and green.

“No.” Hitoshi shook his head with a sigh, deciding this was a battle he was going to lose and he might as well let Izuku buy him clothes. But, if he was getting swim shorts, they were at least going to be regular swim shorts, not freaking spandex.

Hitoshi reached out and selected a pair of plain, dark purple, baggy shorts. “Those’ll restrict your movement.” Izuku observed, tilting his head at Hitoshi who cleared his throat and looked away, overwhelmed by his glowing green eyes.

“It’s fine.” Hitoshi answered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I won’t be swimming like you do.”

“Okay, then, if you’re sure.” Izuku led the way to the checkout station, stopping every few feet to grab something else that he apparently ‘needed’, all the while Hitoshi’s arms grew steadily heavier with the weight of random clothes for the two of them.

And then they were on their way home, stopping to eat before finishing their journey. Izuku continued on to the beach while Hitoshi fed Kimi and changed, albeit reluctantly. It wasn’t that he was afraid of being in the ocean, he was just...anxious, in general, about the idea of having all of that water around him. There was just so much of it and who knew what would be going on beneath his vulnerable body. It was a bit...stressful. But he definitely wasn’t scared.

Hitoshi finished dressing and left the train car with an armful of towels, walking out into the sand and dropping the towels at a safe distance away before stopping at the edge of the waves, looking out over the sparkling sea. The sun was directly in front of him and the air was cool with the salty breeze off the water. The sand was warm and comfortable between Hitoshi’s bare toes and he took a deep lungful of the sea air, letting it inflate his lungs until it was almost painful before exhaling evenly.

Izuku climbed out of the water then, the sun illuminating every bit of him as he stood in front of it, making him seem to flare with an inner light as he stretched a hand out toward Hitoshi, inviting him in with a wide smile on his face. Hitoshi’s heart picked up speed and he felt his cheeks warming at the sight. He blamed it on the warmth of the sun.

“Come on, Hoshi.” Izuku urged, curling his fingers, the light reflecting off the new, healing burn scars on his forearms.

Hitoshi shook his head with a sigh and stepped forward, into the chilly water, taking Izuku’s cold hand, letting himself be pulled farther out.

“It’s cold.” He said gruffly, stopping when the water reached up to his waist, trying not to let his teeth chatter.

Izuku bit the inside of his cheek, eyeing the goosebumps rising along Hitoshi’s skin. “Hopefully your body adjusts, but if it doesn’t or if it’s too cold for you we can get out. I’m not exactly the best judge of what is too cold.”

Hitoshi nodded, tensing when izuku started tugging him. “How far are you taking me?” He asked anxiously.

“Well, far enough so that I can show you how to tread water of course.” Izuku looked back at him, the light behind his head casting his face in shadow, his eyes illuminating the upper half of his face in a toxic glow. For a moment he looked dangerous.

Hitoshi grimaced but allowed Izuku to guide him forward until the water reached his shoulders, the waves causing it to lap at his chin and dampen the hair at the back of his neck. Izuku, who was quite a bit shorter, was already treading water, his webbed toes and hands helping him immensely.

Their progress halted, Izuku circled around to tread in front of Hitoshi, his eyes alight as he took both of Hitoshi’s hands. “Do you trust me?” He asked in a soft voice and Hitoshi’s heart skipped a beat. He hesitated for half a second, the freezing water moving between them while Izuku watched expectantly. Did he trust Izuku? Hitoshi didn’t think he’d ever trusted anyone in his entire life.

“Yes.” Hitoshi answered, realizing with surprise that at some point he really had begun trusting the reptilian boy. He didn’t know when that had happened. He felt like he’d known Izuku for his entire life.

Hitoshi took another step, panicking slightly when the ground dropped away and the water seemed to rise, struggling to get into his nose. Izuku released his hands and grabbed Hitoshi beneath his arms, keeping him above the water as he fought the instinct to flail.

“I’ve got you.” Izuku murmured, wincing when Hitoshi jerked a hand out and it tangled in his long hair, which was spread out in the water around them.

“Sorry.” Hitoshi gasped, his eyes wide.

“Don’t worry, Hoshi.” Izuku grinned at him. “We’ll just stay here for a moment. Kick your legs a bit, move your arms. Keep your weight above the water.”

Hitoshi tried to do as asked, leaning into Izuku while trying to pay attention to his movements. “There you go, you’re getting it.” Izuku smiled, feeling some confidence returning to his friend.

Hitoshi realized his body was instinctively trying to keep himself afloat without a lot of mental effort. It was easier than he thought it would be. “I think I’ve got it.” Hitoshi murmured, glancing at Izuku, swallowing thickly when he realized how close the other boy was. He was abruptly glad that he was too cold to blush.

Suddenly Hitoshi felt Izuku’s hand on his stomach and he gasped in surprise, lashing his arms out and latching himself around Izuku’s torso when he tried to tilt Hitoshi backward. “Ah! What are you doing?!” He gasped, clutching at Izuku who was laughing deeply. Almost cackling.

Hitoshi glared darkly at the greenette. “That’s rude, you’re laughing at me.”

“I’m not laughing at you.” Izuku grinned, a couple more giggles escaping his chest. “You’re just funny. And I was trying to get your legs back and your arms out so that you can actually learn to swim.”

Hitoshi grimaced, watching the waves hitting their bodies before answering honestly. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

“Alright.” Izuku smiled at him, eyes shining like stars. “Then hold on.”

Hitoshi’s eyes widened. “What?! What do y-”

Izuku turned them both, tilting them forward and swimming farther out with powerful movements, his body strong under Hitoshi. “Oh m-man.” He gasped, eyes huge as he held on for dear life.

The water separated around them as Hitoshi’s heart dropped to his stomach. He glanced back at where they’d come from, breath stuttering. They were so far out.

Izuku finally came to a stop and turned around to face Hitoshi whose teeth were chattering without stopping now. “What do you think?” Izuku asked, adjusting Hitoshi’s left arm so he wasn’t strangling him.

“Cold.” Hitoshi answered, his grip tight.

Izuku bit his lip with sharp teeth and then looked out across the water. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Hitoshi followed his gaze, seeing the glittering of sunlight flickering across the never ending expanse of glistening water. “Yeah,” he breathed, “it is.”

He considered saying something then, in this moment of immaculate light and sculpted sky, with the stretch of the radiant ocean around them. Izuku’s face tilted upward to let the sunlight wash over green eyelashes, bathing his face in warm rays. It was a perfect bubble of time in a busy world and he had things that he wanted to say.

He thought about telling Izuku that at some point after Hitoshi had moved in his heart had started quickening whenever they were near like this, that his stomach flipped when their eyes met. That he thought, somewhere along the way, he had begun seeing Izuku as more than just a friend.

But in the end he didn’t say anything and they returned to the beach shortly after, Hitoshi losing feeling in his feet from the harsh temperatures of the water. Izuku whipped the water away from Hitoshi’s body and spread out a towel for him, on which he collapsed, muscles aching.

Izuku chuckled before spreading his own towel out and laying down on it, letting himself air dry by the light of the fading sun.

Hitoshi found that he was surprised that the sun was already beginning to set. They must have spent longer than he’d thought at the store and then in the water. He’d lost all sense of time with Izuku.

He didn’t think that had ever happened before. Hitoshi had always been hyper aware of time passing, knowing that any second that passed that he wasn’t doing something for his foster parents would be another second of reason for them to punish him. To be able to just...have fun...it was so new to him. He’d never experienced this before.

In this moment, Hitoshi felt so far removed from all the things that caused him pain, all the hurt he’d felt in his life. It was like he was feeling his heart for the first time, every life giving beat pumping blood through his body.

Hitoshi turned his head, seeing Izuku on his back on a long blue towel, watching the sky above them, his long, seaweed-like hair spread about him. He caught Hitoshi’s movement and turned his head, his smile reaching his eyes when he found Hitoshi watching him. “I’m glad you’re here, Hoshi.” Izuku said, his voice as smooth as the water they’d just left.

“I am too.” Hitoshi answered gently, looking back up at the sky. And, he realized with detachment, he was glad. He was happy, actually, really happy for the first time in his memory. His chest was warm and there was a strength in his muscles that he’d never felt before. He felt like he was suspended in time, like this could be the entire universe, He never wanted it to end.

The sunset spread across the evening sky, lighting up the atmosphere with fire. “Feels like a dream.” Hitoshi murmured absently.

“A good one.” Izuku answered easily, the smile not slipping from his face for even a second.

They fell asleep by the ocean to the view of the painted sky above them and the sound of the tide rolling in. Just Izuku and Hitoshi.

The ocean and the sun.

-X-

Hitoshi woke up way too early, the sky still dark and the stars pinpoints of bright, dead lights in the abyss above. He rolled over to face Izuku, finding him curled up in a ball, his brow furrowed and his fingers digging into his bare arms. “Hey, Izu.” Hitoshi murmured, sitting up with a yawn, he felt gross and promised himself that he would be showering at U.A. the next time he got the chance.

Izuku didn’t respond, his breath hitching with whatever dream he was having, his forehead creasing even further. Hitoshi frowned and leaned forward to shake the boys’ shoulder. One of his left eyelids flickered up, the second eyelid still covering the orb, and Hitoshi grimaced. He’d never get used to that.

Now that he was partially awake Hitoshi hauled the boy up, one arm wrapped around his waist to sling him up and onto his back. He really was a lot smaller than Hitoshi, a lot lighter too, making the task of carrying him relatively easy.

He bent down to swipe up Izuku’s uniform which he’d just dropped in the grainy sand in his excitement to get into the water the day before, all crumpled and covered in sand. Hitoshi felt the boy’s forehead nuzzling against the back of his neck and he sighed, climbing awkwardly through the dump to get to the train car. He had to set Izuku down and make him step inside through the broken, narrow door and the boy stumbled over one of the steps, making a small, sleepy sound of discontent. Hitoshi got Izuku the rest of the way into the train car and laid him down on his giant stuffed animal bed and then he moved to his own seat to work on his homework, letting Izuku sleep as long as he could.

Which didn’t end up being much longer.

There had been times that Hitoshi had caught Izuku using his quirk in his sleep, and it was usually bad news, indicating he was fighting in his dreams or having some sort of other, possibly worse nightmare. He never remembered those, or at least that’s what he said.

Hitoshi had looked up from his worksheet when he felt a distinct change in the air, as if moisture was gathering, going toward Izuku. Hitoshi recognized what was going on immediately from previous experience and shoved his worksheet and pen to the side, walking over to where Izuku was sleeping, his face screwed up and his hands clenching against his arms.

“Wake up, Izuku.” Hitoshi murmured, shaking the boy as whatever liquid was in the fridge began causing it to vibrate. Hitoshi himself was feeling sick, his vision blurring and his mouth feeling dry. Whatever nightmare Izuku was having must have been bad if he was using his quirk on Hitoshi.

“Izu, can you at least answer me?” Hitoshi asked, tapping the boy’s cool cheek.

One set of eyelids flickered up and Izuku mumbled something in answer. Good enough. “ Stop using your quirk.” Hitoshi commanded and then sighed in relief when the pressure he’d been feeling building up in his brain faded and his vision returned to normal. “ Sit up.” Hitoshi said, feeling the slight tug at the base of his skull that he always felt when he used his quirk on someone.

Izuku sat up, his breathing even. “ Are you okay?” He asked, kneeling in front of Izuku.

“No.” Izuku answered flatly and Hitoshi frowned, releasing his control of his friend.

Izuku fell forward, shuddering, and Hitoshi pulled him into his arms, humming, trying to comfort him. “Sorry I used my quirk on you. I...I wasn’t sure what to do.”

“It’s okay.” Izuku murmured, his voice slightly muffled against Hitoshi’s chest. “I didn’t hurt you did I?”

“You didn’t hurt me.” Hitoshi reassured softly.

“My dreams have been so bad recently.” Izuku cleared his throat, holding back tears.

Hitoshi leaned back to look at Izuku and the smaller boy took the chance to wipe at his shimmering eyes, sniffling lightly. “Maybe you should see someone about it.” Hitoshi suggested.

Izuku shook his head vehemently, “No, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

Hitoshi scowled. “No, you’re not. You just said you weren’t.”

Izuku swallowed, looking away, hands tightening into fists. “I’m going swimming. I’ve got my watch, I’ll be back in time to leave for class.”

And with that Izuku was shoving aside the door and disappearing into the heaps of trash, heading toward where he felt safest, leaving Hitoshi to stare after him in concern.

Izuku returned a couple hours later and Hitoshi practically force fed him several breakfast bars and more than one full bottle of water, worried about him. Then Izuku dressed, his uniform crumbling with sand with every movement, though he knew he wouldn’t be wearing it for very long with the field trip they were taking today. Izuku figured that they would be wearing their costumes for an exercise like the one the teachers had planned.

Hitoshi braided Izuku’s hair and then they were leaving, heading to the train station. Both of them were tired, neither of them ever seemed to sleep enough. Hitoshi was just glad that they had managed to get more than a few hours of rest between the two of them. It was more than usual, even though he knew it still wasn’t enough.

They leaned against each other on the train ride, drowsing almost restlessly. Hitoshi wondered if Izuku had patrol tonight, he couldn’t remember. He probably did. He hoped they’d be able to get more sleep tonight either way, and he was definitely looking forward to the weekend when he could just sleep as long as possible without worries of needing to be somewhere at a certain time, though he could never help but worry about Izuku when he was on patrol. He’d come home hurt more than once, or traumatized by things that he had seen and refused to talk about.

Hitoshi didn’t know why he did it. Izuku was still so young, not even 16 yet, and he was already a pro hero.

Then Hitoshi thought of the braided bracelet that he never took off and he remembered all the stories Izuku told him of the people that he had rescued, the children he’d saved, and realized that he knew why. Izuku had said he used to be a vigilante, so, at least he wasn’t breaking the law anymore. Kind of.

The train pulled into the station and Izuku and Hitoshi walked out onto the platform. The city was bustling and other students in U.A. uniforms left the train as well, everyone heading for the mountain that the school resided on.

“I’m still hungry,” Izuku grumbled, veering off course and speed walking to a nearby fast food restaurant.

Hitoshi watched in amusement as the boy ordered a large mound of pancakes and scarfed them down as if he hadn’t eaten in a week. He knew Izuku’s metabolism was fast but, jeesh. He wondered how badly he’d been under eating and Hitoshi suddenly felt guilty. He needed to keep a better eye on him.

He wondered how Izuku had ever survived in that place alone without him.

Izuku finished eating quickly. Hitoshi had only ordered an espresso, which he drank on the way to their class.

The gates appeared to be fixed, Izuku noted as they stepped inside them. He remembered the pile of dust from before, now gone, and that familiar feeling of a memory that wasn’t quite there tugged at his mind painfully and he pressed a hand to his temple. “Headache?” Hitoshi asked with a frown. “Have you had enough water?”

“Yeah.” Izuku answered. “It’s fine. Let’s get to class before we’re late.”

Hitoshi’s brow furrowed but he sighed and followed the shorter boy to 1A, eyeing the sign by the door as they approached it. He never thought he would get over the fact that he was actually in the hero class. He glanced at the back of his friend, knowing that he had Izuku to thank for that. He had Izuku to thank for a lot of things.

Izuku and Hitoshi headed into the classroom and settled into their seats. Izuku was reminded of the fact that he had done none of his homework and was glad that it wasn’t actually due today.

Izuku sipped at a water bottle while observing the rest of the class talking to each other. It was so strange. He hadn’t been in a regular classroom before this in so long and it was jarring to see people getting along and talking about such mundane things as sibling problems and sales going on at stores. It was nice.

Eraserhead came into the room after a few minutes and everyone went quiet, allowing their teacher to take the reins of the class. He explained that they would be doing rescue training for most of the day. Izuku was kind of disappointed. Of all the heroic aspects Izuku had done, he felt he was best at rescues. What he needed help with was basic combat, with and without his quirk. He hadn’t had an abundant amount of combat training (only a few classes here and there) and he didn’t really have a style, like most heroes did, like Eraser himself did. Unless some sort of street style counted.

Eraser had told him so many times that he lacked useful combat skills and that one day he was going to get himself killed because of it. He’d offered to help Izuku learn but he’d refused, afraid of the hero discovering how young he actually was. It was a good thing he had refused too. He would for sure recognize him as Izuku if they had trained together on top of working together.

Izuku forced his attention back to the familiar exhaustion laced voice as Eraserhead described the different areas that they would be working with. He added that they would be being taught by three teachers this time, instead of just one, and that the training would be taking place off campus so they would have to take a bus.

After their briefing of sorts they were dismissed to change into their hero costumes and they all headed to the locker room, girls and guys splitting up.

Once inside Izuku undressed, lifting his head when he noticed someone approaching him. It was Todoroki, a slightly constipated expression on his face. Maybe that was normal for him, Izuku didn’t know.

“Those scars are from me…” He pointed to the shiny, red scars that were mostly healed on Izuku’s forearms.

Izuku glanced at them before meeting Todoroki’s eyes and shrugging nonchalantly. “Oh, it’s alright. I don’t mind, they’re just scars. They tell the story of how we became friends after all.”

Todoroki blinked in shock while Hitoshi snorted from behind Izuku. “That’s...you think…” Todoroki appeared absolutely baffled and Izuku had a feeling that didn’t happen to him very often,

Hiitoshi leaned forward to peer at Todoroki, slapping a hand onto Izuku’s bare shoulder. “You’re his friend, Todoroki. You’re just going to have to get used to it. Izu seems to have a gift for making friends with reluctant people.”

“Izu?” Todoroki narrowed his eyes at them. Hitoshi dropped his hand from Izuku’s shoulder, his cheeks warming with embarrassment. He was so used to calling Izuku ‘Izu’ that he’d forgotten it might seem weird to their classmates.

“Are you two secret brothers or something?” Todoroki was looking between the two of them, as if searching for similarities in their appearances.

Izuku laughed, pulling his costume the rest of the way on before shrugging. “We’re not brothers, Todo. We’ve known each other a while and I like nicknames.”

“I see…” Todoroki squinted at them before turning away to go finish with his own dressing.

Soon after that they were settling on the bus for the ride to where they would be doing their training. Izuku sat between Hitoshi and Tsu and across from the red haired boy and Iida, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu.

Once Izuku was comfortable he spoke to the red haired boy. Now was as good a time as any to learn the names that he didn’t know yet. “I don’t think we’ve properly met, I’m Izuku.” He greeted.

“Hi, Izu-bro!” The red haired boy said excitedly and Izuku grinned. A nickname already! “I’m Kirishima!”

“Great to meet you.” Izuku smiled widely.

“Oh, hey! You have sharp teeth too!” Kirishima yelled, jumping up.

“Sit back down.” Eraserhead growled from the front of the bus immediately.

“Sorry, sensei!” Kirishima called back and sat down before leaning across the alleyway toward Izuku. “What type of toothbrush do you use, I destroy all of mine in like...three uses.”

Izuku’s eyes lit up and he straightened excitedly. “Me too! I have to buy new toothbrushes constantly. ”

“Finally, someone gets it!” Kirishima leaned back dramatically, as if relieved.

Izuku laughed, turning when he felt a poke against his bare arm. “Can you breathe underwater, kero?” Tsu asked inquisitively, her eyes on the scar like ridges lining his neck.

“Yeah!” Izuku grinned. “I actually spend almost all of my free time in the ocean too.”

“So, are you like a reptile or an amphibian?” Kirishima asked.

Izuku traced a gill with one hand and shrugged. “Probably more like a reptile? I’m warm blooded but I have traits of all kinds of things.”

“That’s strange.” Tsu tilted her head. “Usually people with quirks like ours have one type of aspect from one specific animal. Like I’m part tree frog.”

Izuku turned partway to face her. “Oh?! That is super cool!”

“Your guys’ quirks are so manly.” Kirishima groaned, “Mine is just hardening.” He stuck his arm out and Izuku watched as it took on a form similar to a rock.

“No, that’s really awesome!” Izuku gasped, blinking. “You could use that for offense or defense. You could shield and attack, there are so many possibilities!”

“Wow, Izu-bro. You are so manly.” Kirishima sounded amazed. Next to him Hitoshi shook his head in exasperation.

They reached their destination shortly after that and they all left the bus, Izuku yawning widely and stretching his arms above his head, several bones cracking. “Jeesh, Izuku you sound like a bag of gravel.” Uraraka said, laughing.

Izuku snorted and then shrugged, joining Hitoshi with the others who were gathering around another teacher. Izuku recognized them as the pro hero Thirteen. He’d actually done a few rescue missions with them. He really liked Thirteen.

The hero began lecturing the group about the dangers of powerful quirks like a lot of people in their class had and Izuku felt his palms sweating uncomfortably. He knew how dangerous his quirk could be, how easily it would be to seriously hurt someone or even kill them. He didn’t like to think about it.

Apparently All Might wouldn’t be there like they had been told though. Izuku wondered what had happened, but figured the man was just busy. He was the number one hero after all, he probably always had something to do. He wondered why the hero was even a teacher then, if he was too busy for it.

Izuku listened to Thirteen’s speech attentively, his attention only shifting when the lights along the Unforseen Simulation Joint flickered and went out, an ominous feeling suddenly permeating the air, the fine hairs on Izuku’s arms standing on end. He narrowed his eyes, searching the area, focusing down on the center plaza when he noticed a slight distortion in the atmosphere. A dark purple hole ripped through the air in front of the water fountain and a hand appeared, almost as if stretching the portal, the water stuttering to a stop.

And then villains were spilling out of it, one after another, taking over the plaza in a haze of murderous intent.

Izuku immediately knew how bad this was. A bunch of inexperienced students in such a small area with an unknown amount of villains. Casualties on their side were more likely than not. This could too easily go sideways.

Izuku turned to Hitoshi, “Stay here, Hoshi. I have to help Eraser. Please stay safe.” Izuku took a step forward but Hitoshi grabbed his arm, a pinched look on his face.

“You too, Izu.’ He said deeply.

Izuku nodded, a steely look taking over his face as he watched Eraserhead pull his goggles over his eyes, yelling for everyone to stay put. Izuku pointedly did not stay put, moving to Eraser’s side, clicking his teeth together in anticipation for a fight. “What do you think you’re doing?” Eraserhead hissed as Izuku scanned the area, grinning widely when he caught sight of the nearby flood zone.

“I’m not letting you fight this many villains on your own. I know your style Eraser, you’d die.” Izuku said, pulling his mask over the lower half of his face.

Eraserhead narrowed his eyes at Izuku. “You’re my student, get back with the others. I’m not putting you in danger.

Izuku shrugged and moved to disobey the man, but froze when his instincts made him look back, behind him at the rest of the students. Eraserhead took the chance and leapt down the steps, leaving Izuku behind as the misty purple villain appeared behind him, putting the rest of the students in even more danger.

“Nice to meet you, we are the League of Villains.” A deep voice said, coming from within the mass. Izuku tensed, carefully rejoining Hitoshi whose eyes were wide. None of these kids had experience like he had. He could practically feel how terrified they all were.

“It may be presumptuous of us but we invited ourselves in.” The voice continued and Izuku’s eyes narrowed. How did the villains know they’d be here? What were they after?

One of his questions was answered as the villain continued talking. “We have come in order to have All Might, the symbol of peace, take his last breath.” Izuku quirked a brow up. Seriously? They wanted to kill All Might? Were they really that stupid?

The villain continued talking, the students frozen in place, and Izuku carefully sidled through the class, leaving Hitoshi behind and working his way toward Iida. “Iida,” he hissed softly, only loud enough for the class rep to hear him. “Iida, you need to make a run for it.”

“What?” Iida hissed back. “I can’t just leave th-”

“Iida!” Izuku growled. “Use your head. You’re the fastest of all of us. Please, don’t argue with me. You’re our only chance for survival. You need to get to U.A. and grab-”

Izuku was interrupted by two of the students running forward, leaping forward to attack the villain preemptively. In some cases, that might have been a good idea. But this was not one of those cases. They knew next to nothing about this villain and from Izuku’s viewpoint, he looked completely intangible. You can’t fight smoke without a game plan, especially if you're a hero wannabe duo of a rock and an angry pufferfish.

“Stop, don’t!” He yelled in warning, running forward to try to stop Kirishima and his angry partner.

“Izu!” Hitoshi called out, jumping forward to get to Izuku’s side. He didn’t want to leave Izuku alone, rushing toward a villain to try to stop their block headed classmates who seemed to think they could defeat a villain made of mist with their own hands. He needed to stay near.

There was an explosion and Hitoshi grabbed a hold of Izuku to keep from being blown back, one hand raised to protect his face. Izuku’s second eyelids were closed, protecting his eyes as he searched through the smoke, catching sight of the two students and then farther in, the villain, unhurt by the blast, but now pissed.

“That’s right, even if you are just students, you are excellent golden eggs.” The villain was saying, his voice lower, irritated.

Izuku took a few steps forward. “Guys, move! ” He yelled at the two, Thirteen unable to get a clear shot using their quirk with the two in the way. And the villain was emitting clear signs of attack as it seemed to pulsate, the mist roiling menacingly.

Thirteen echoed Izuku’s command, trying to get the two to move.

The villains' slitted yellow eyes seemed to glow even brighter as its purple mass spread out rapidly. “My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!”

“Great, sounds fun.” Izuku hissed to himself and Hitoshi glanced at Izuku in horror. His friend was glaring forward, his body coiled and tense like a live wire. Hitoshi knew, in that moment, he was seeing the pro hero Riptide, not Izuku.

Arms of violet reached out to envelope them all. Izuku turned, grabbing Hitoshi around the waist and trying to leap out of the way.

He was too slow.

They were suddenly falling together, one of Izuku’s arms wrapped around Hitoshi’s waist, the other arm trying to find water to control their landing.

Izuku made a harsh gasp of surprise when he felt nothing and then they were crashing into harsh ground, Izuku taking the brunt of the impact, shielding Hitoshi.

Hitoshi laid there for a minute, stunned, half on Izuku half off, his heart pounding so hard that it hurt.

Eventually his senses returned to him and Hitoshi leapt up, sticking a hand out to pull Izuku up next to him. Izuku’s second eyelids still covered his eyes and the other ones were half lidded and he swayed in place, face creasing with pain as he held his arm. “Izuku, what’s wrong, what-”

That was when Hitoshi felt the intense, dry heat and he looked up in horror, every time that Izuku had said that he was weak to fire and heat echoing between his ears as he looked around them.

They were in the fire zone.

Chapter Text

The heat was overwhelming and suffocating. Izuku felt like all of the air was being drawn out of his lungs and drying his skin. His head had practically exploded with pain and he was so dizzy.

Hitoshi pulled Izuku up from the ground and he uncomfortably realized that his shoulder was most likely sprained from the impact. It definitely felt like that was the case, anyway.

Izuku swayed in place for a minute. He felt so tired and his senses were all screwed up because of the heat. Why couldn’t they have landed literally anywhere else but here?

Hitoshi said something and Izuku lifted his head, blinking his human eyelids. “Hoshi.” He murmured and then Hitoshi was grabbing his uninjured arm, pulling him closer. Izuku did not relax, but he allowed Hitoshi to guide him. He trusted him.

They’d only taken a few steps when Hitoshi froze and Izuku lifted his head in concern. Villains were approaching them, finding them lost amidst the fallen ‘debris’ of the fire zone and the blaze surrounding them. A lot of villains. Izuku could count at least seven of them. And he was guessing they all had quirks suited for this type of zone.

Great .

Izuku separated himself from Hitoshi, stepping in front of him. “Hoshi, use your quirk on as many as possible, keep ‘em off my back. I can’t…” Izuku dry swallowed, wincing before shaking his head. He could do this. He had to protect Hitoshi. He was the one person that Izuku had. He couldn’t let anything happen to him.

He’d have to do what he’d promised himself that he wouldn’t again.

The villains surged forward, some of them laughing. They seemed to think that the two of them would be easy victims.

Never.

Humans had so much water in them.

The first three villains were the easiest. Izuku focused on the flow of blood and water around their hearts and slowed it enough that they passed out. That barely took any time at all, but it was long enough for the air around Izuku to begin feeling even hotter, thick, difficult to breathe. One of the villains' quirks, for sure.

And Izuku was dehydrating rapidly, his focus waning, his control flagging. He needed to get out of this dome building as soon as possible.

A villain with bright red skin and sharp horns reached out for Izuku but he ducked under the grab, high kicking the man in the side of the head hard enough to cause his body to crumple like a piece of wet paper. Another managed to land a hit against Izuku ‘s calf, dead legging him. He rolled as he hit the ground and jumped back up, now facing the opposite direction.

Hitoshi was in front of him a bit off, on the ground, a villain kneeling over him with her hands around his throat. Izuku hissed in anger. The edges of his vision were blackening and he couldn’t breathe and he could barely control his quirk at all at this point. He didn’t trust himself not to hurt someone too badly.

The villain that had kicked Izuku attacked him again, a dagger clutched in his hand. Izuku grabbed him by the wrist, not thinking before he snapped his hold upward, carpal bones cracking. The villain cried out in pain and shock and Izuku slammed the man downard, catching the dagger as it fell and flinging it toward where Hitoshi was. It hit the woman in her leg and she screamed, falling to the side, off of Hitoshi. His coughs filled the air as Izuku grabbed the villain beneath him by his hair and slammed his skull into the hot ground.

The thickening feeling of the air finally stopped as Izuku grabbed onto the water in the blood spurting from the woman's leg, contorting it. He used the blood to attack the last villain who seemed to be smarter than the others. He’d been watching them fight, trying to learn.

Izuku gave him no time to act, forcing the blood into the villain’s nose and mouth, obstructing his breathing until he dropped to his knees, face turning blue as he clawed at his throat, eyes bugging out. As soon as he passed out Izuku removed the blood, flicking it to splash to the side.

Immediately after dropping the use of his quirk Izuku collapsed forward, panting heavily for air. All in all, the villains had been surprisingly easy to defeat, even with the heat. There had been little talent there, almost no fighting or quirk skill. Izuku was too hot to think about why that could be the case.

Something grabbed his arm and Izuku rolled, lashing out with his sharp teeth. Hitoshi reeled back with a yelp of surprise.

Izuku’s head dropped back to the ground in relief. “Jeesh, Izu.” Hitoshi muttured, crouching down to lift Izuku into a bridal carry. “You got the last one, there aren’t any more. We’re okay now.”

Hitoshi adjusted his hold and began walking, Izuku’s head settling against his shoulder, his arm curled against his chest as if it was hurting him. “If I remember correctly, the building we’re in is next to the flood zone.”

“Mhm.” Izuku mumbled, still catching his breath. “You’re bleeding.” Shinsou had a laceration above his eyebrow, oozing blood.

Hitoshi scoffed. “It’s barely a scratch. I’m fine. You on the other hand…”

“I’m okay…” Izuku whispered, his throat dry and scratchy. “Just get me to the water please. I need to help Aizawa...I’m worried.”

Hitoshi’s lips thinned but he nodded.

He found the exit and Hitoshi opened the heavy metal door, walking through it. In his arms Izuku heaved a sigh as the cool air spread across his skin, inhaling the moisture in the air with visible relief, his muscles untensing slightly. Hitoshi tightened his hold on Izuku, walking through a layer of trees toward where he could see the reflection of the sun across the surface sparkling blue water.

Once they broke the edge of the trees Hitoshi hesitated. In the middle of the water he could see a ship sinking, two students, unidentifiable to him from this distance, on it. There were villains in the water surrounding them, seemingly waiting for the ship to carry the students to them, like a waiter bringing them dinner. Despicable.

Izuku had seen them too and his eyes narrowed. “Just yeet me in, Hoshi. I can take ‘em in the water.”

Hitoshi frowned but stopped at the water’s edge. There wasn’t a lot of time, the ship was sinking, the villains were closing in and people were in danger.

“Alright. Just be careful please, Izu.” Hitoshi answered, squaring his shoulders and lifting Izuku away from his body. They’d been training together since he’d moved in with Izuku and he’d gained quite a bit of muscle. He was able to swing around, using the momentum to toss the smaller boy into the water like a human cannonball.

Izuku slid into the water gracefully, his gills immediately opening as he took in a deep, refreshing breath of cool water. He was still dizzy and felt quite sick, but in the water, in his element and out of the heat, he felt immensely better. In control. Though he could feel the chemicals in the liquid and it was very uncomfortable and so different from sea water.

Izuku was able to make quick work of the villains, taking them out from beneath them and piling their unconscious bodies by Hitoshi on the land. Only one actually gave him any trouble, a villain that looked like a shark. The two students, Tsu and another guy whom he didn’t know the name of yet, were standing near Hitoshi too when he climbed out of the water.

Izuku adjusted his braid behind his back, glancing between the students. Behind him Eraserhead was battling some villain covered in severed hands and Izuku wasn’t leaving him alone any longer. “Head toward the steps.” He told the students, grabbing his own goggles and tossing them aside. He decided he didn’t want them, they only got in the way. He had built in goggles anyway. “Stay low and hidden. Don’t try to fight.”

“Izuku, no, you shouldn’t-” Tsu started.

“Hoshi, keep them back.” Izuku turned away, ignoring Hitoshi’s yell of protest and pulling water from the flood zone to glide forward, straight into the villain covered in hands. The villain had been holding onto Eraser’s elbow and Izuku had seen the blood, the skin flaking off like dust. His quirk had to be touch activated, so Izuku would just avoid it.

Simple.

Izuku slammed into the villain's chest, the gross hand on his face went flying as they fell backward, away from Eraser. Izuku controlled their impact with his water, grabbing the man's wrists and slamming them into the ground as they landed, out of the way. He glanced back quickly to check on Eraserhead, eyes narrowed, his mind processing everything as adrenaline raced through his veins. Eraserhead was busy, fighting off four other villains as he-

“Miku?” A flat voice questioned and Izuku looked down, blinking in surprise, seeing the face below him for the first time. A spike of pain seared through Izuku’s head and his hands clenched drastically as he struggled not to double over, bones creaking from his grip.

The villain below him was deathly pale with thin, dry lips and longish, grey hair. Izuku’s head hurt even more at the sight, black spots flickering through his vision. A name came to the surface of his mind, unbidden, and he spoke without thinking.

“Tomura?”

The villain suddenly jerked underneath him, one arm snapping out of Izuku’s hold to grab onto his bicep. Izuku hissed, flinging water forward as pain tore through his already hurt arm. He flipped backward off ‘Tomura’, head over heels in a messy somersault, to land on his feet in a defensive position, back by Eraserhead who had the rest of the villains defeated.

“What are you doing here, kid?” Eraser hissed, his arm hanging limply at his side as he panted, one hand gripping his capture weapon. Before Izuku could answer, the villain that shouldn’t be familiar, but somehow was, spoke again.

“Where have you been, Miku?” Tomura raised his hands, tilting his head in question. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

Izuku groaned, pressing a hand to his head. His knees shook and he couldn’t stop himself from swaying. “Kid. Get away, you need to-”

“Master is going to be very interested in this. I’ll take you with me.” Tomura said, scratching at his neck, nails leaving trails of bright red.

“No.” Both Izuku and Eraser said at the same time.

The corner of Tomura’s mouth quirked up. “You don’t have a choice.” The villains' eyes flicked upward, looking behind them and both Izuku and Eraserhead whirled around.

A hulking beast stood there, exposed brain and vicious, sharp teeth made themselves known as it reached for Eraser with black, clawed fingers. Izuku reacted quickly, grabbing the hero by the back of his capture scarf and yanking him out of the beast's reach.

“Nomu.” Tomura growled, walking to the side to retrieve his lost hand as he spoke. “Kill the hero. Retrieve the child.”

Eraserhead and Izuku jumped in opposite directions as a massive fist slammed the ground where they had just been, chunks of reddish concrete flying up. Tomura seemed to be watching in amusement as they danced around impacts, Izuku using his quirk to try to slow down the flow of blood in their opponent but with no apparent effect on ‘Nomu.’ Izuku was exhausted and dehydrated, his head aching fiercely and his quirk difficult to control. Things weren’t looking good.

“I missed you, Miku.” Tomura said, his voice dead, and Izuku stumbled, blinding pain shooting through his skull, his hand coming up to clutch at it, tugging on his hair.

“Midoriya!” Eraserhead’s voice yelled and suddenly Izuku was being violently shoved to the side, hitting the ground hard on his bad arm.

Eraserhead cried out as a snapping sound cut through the air like a slap across the face. Izuku lurched up from where he’d fallen, eyes widening, heart stopping in his chest.

Izuku’s first friend...his first mentor figure...parental figure even, had just taken a hit meant for him. It was his fault.

His fault.

Izuku roared , glowing eyes narrowing into reptilian slits as he lifted his good arm, hand clenching into a tight fist.

Nomu’s exposed brain exploded , pieces of brain matter erupting in every direction, showering around them like some twisted idea of a pinata. Izuku choked in horror, eyes wide, the body of Nomu crashing into the ground hard enough to shake it.

There was a beat of silence where not a single person spoke or moved...

What had he done...

Eraserhead looked up from where he was partially stuck under Nomu’s corpse, meeting Izuku’s slowly widening eyes, absolute terror taking over his features. A wet piece of gray matter slid off his boot and hit the ground with a sickening plop and Izuku reeled backward, his breath coming faster and faster. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t-

“YOU KILLED MY NOMU,” Tomura shrieked, charging forward spastically.

Izuku lifted his head, forcing his body to move, standing to step over Eraserhead, baring his teeth in an animalistic snarl at the villain. A purple mass appeared behind Tomura as Izuku lifted a hand, repelling Tomura away.

His control and focus slipped and Tomura hit Izuku in a move similar to the one Izuku had used earlier to get him away from Eraser. Izuku hit the ground, the back of his head colliding with enough force to bounce, making him feel like his brain was shaking around in his skull. He immediately felt hot blood pooling underneath him.

Tomura grabbed Izuku’s arm, his hand crushing over where he had hurt him before, decaying his flesh at a pace too rapid to comprehend. Izuku struggled, grunting with the effort, almost afraid to use his quirk after… after what…

Izuku wrenched his arm out of Tomura’s grasp and jerked upward, his forehead slamming into the hand covering Tomura’s face and knocking him backward. Tomura stumbled back and Izuku's stomach roiled, bile rising in his throat.

He leaned forward and vomited all over Tomura, all the pancakes he’d eaten that morning finding their way onto the front shirt of the decay villain.

Tomura looked at the green haired boy in front of him, blinking as he wiped his mouth on a shaking hand. His eyes were narrowed, as if he couldn’t believe Izuku had just puked on him.

The hand villain snarled and reached out for Izuku’s face-

There was a sudden burst of dust at the top of the stairs and both Tomura and Izuku looked up, the number one hero appearing at the top of the long steps.

He did not have a smile on his face.

Tomura stood, stepping away from Izuku, angry eyes on All Might. Izuku took the chance of distraction, leaping to his feet and gripping onto the nearest source of water, the water fountain from before bursting apart as Izuku pulled hundreds of gallons of water out of it, pointing the rapid flow toward Tomura like a fire hose.

“We need to go.” The wispy purple villain said as he warped Tomura out of Izuku’s line of fire. “With the Nomu gone and All Might here we don’t stand a chance. We can come back another time.”

Izuku pointed the water at them both, teeth grinding, breath rapid or nonexistent. Tomura scowled beneath his… face hand, looking down at Izuku as he dodged. “We’re coming for you, Miku. You’re never safe.”

Tomura stepped back into the purple mist and then all went strangely quiet, water falling through the air as Izuku dropped his control of it. He glanced toward Eraserhead, the man struggling to sit up, blood streaming down his face to drip off his chin and onto the ground. He was looking at Izuku now, a strange expression on his face as All Might leapt off the top of the steps to land heavily next to them.

He quickly shoved the brainless corpse off of Eraser and then reached out for Izuku who flinched, stepping back, eyes wide. “My boy, it’s okay now. I am here.”

Izuku’s breath stuttered and his gaze flicked over to Eraserhead. “Kid.” He was pulling himself to his feet, eyes not leaving Izuku’s. “It’s okay.”

All Might reached for Izuku again and Izuku took another step back, heart pounding painfully against straining ribs. Movement at the edge of his vision caught his eyes and he spun on his heel, prepared to hit someone.

It was Hitoshi, his tall purple hair and eye bags, usually a welcome sight, were now a harsh reminder of what Izuku had done. “Izu…” Hitoshi stepped closer, hands raised in a mollifying gesture, not wanting to use his quirk on Izuku unless he absolutely had to.

Izuku shook his head, panicking, stepping away from his closest friend. “H-Hoshi.” Izuku swallowed thickly. “I- I’m a m-monster.”

A sob broke Izuku’s chest and his knees gave out. Hitoshi lurched forward, barely catching Izuku before he hit the ground. Next to them All Might turned to check on Aizawa as Hitoshi tended to Izuku who was now in a full blown panic attack, his hands shoving at Hitoshi’s chest, his pupils blown wide and his entire body shaking. Every single breath came out in short, sharp gasps between razor-like teeth.

He was trying to get away from Hitoshi who was at a loss as to what to do. He held Izuku tightly, brow furrowed, trying to avoid touching his injuries. Izuku’s bicep looked like raw meat, blood pouring out of a gaping wound where the villain had grabbed a hold of him, only made worse by Izuku’s panicked movements.

“Izu, hey, Izu, can you answer me?” Hitoshi murmured, voice thick.

Izuku gave a choked sob, his glowing eyes wide and lost. He looked like his soul had been shattered.

“Izuku, hey.” Hitoshi tried to get a response desperately. “Izu, you’re not a monster. You helped me, you saved me. You save people every day. You’re a hero , Izu.”

Izuku moaned, shaking. “I-I’m no-”

Hitoshi latched onto Izuku’s mind like he never had with anyone else before, the usual weak connection this time felt more like a metal wall than a thread. Izuku immediately sagged in Hitoshi’s arms, head dropping backward and body going completely lax, both sets of eyelids closing. The sudden and complete control of his mind must have overloaded his system, causing it to shut down, severing Hitoshi’s connection completely. It was jarring.

Hitoshi breathed heavily, sinking down in relief as he leaned forward to bury his face in Izuku’s still wet chest.

It all caught up to him then and a shudder ran through his entire body. They’d almost died. They’d really almost died, attacked by villains and forced to fight for their lives. When he saw that monster show up from his place with Sato and Tsu at the end of the steps, he’d believed that he was getting ready to watch the person he cared about the most in the entire world be murdered.

The person he loved.

Did Izuku feel like this every night that he went out on patrol? This horrid, burning acid feeling of adrenaline super charging every sense... 

Someone knelt next to them and Hitoshi glanced up to see his English teacher looking at him with concern. He must have missed the rest of the heroes arriving. “Every-” Hitoshi’s voice cracked and he swallowed, licking his lips.“Is everyone else okay?”

“So far we have found no casualties and very light injuries aside from Midoriya and Eraserhead.” Present Mic explained softly, soothingly.

“He doesn’t like being called that.” Hitoshi said, blinking, looking back down at Izuku. Blood was still dripping from the back of the greenete’s head and Hitoshi raised his hold to cup the wound. “I don’t…”

Hitoshi shuddered again and Present Mic frowned. “Kid, I think you’re going into shock now that the adrenaline is fading. Is it okay if I take Mid- Izuku?”

Hitoshi shook his head, gripping Izuku tighter and pulling his ragdoll body against his chest, glaring at the teacher. He knew he was being weird, that he shouldn’t be acting like this, but he didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t know what to do or what he was feeling. He only knew that Izuku was all he had and he didn’t trust anyone else.

“Okay, okay.” Present Mic lifted his hands pacifyingly. “Can you carry him then? We need to get him up the steps so that he can get medical attention from the EMT’s.”

Hitoshi nodded, adjusting his grip and climbing shakily to his feet, hugging Izuku close to his body, his dead weight a lot more difficult to handle than when he’d carried him still conscious.

He stared at Present Mic for a second, blinking. “Izu...he…” Hitoshi swallowed, glancing at the mess around them, at the giant dead body laying off to the side. A violent shudder wracked his body again and his knees shook. “Izu…”

Present Mic’s eyes widened and he lurched forward, grabbing onto Izuku as Hitoshi fell, throwing up all over the ground, retching. Mic grimaced, improving his grip on his intern as he crouched by Hitoshi, the purple haired boy hacking. He rubbed the boys’ back (as well as he could with another child in his arms) until the vomiting stopped. “Can you walk Shinsou? If not you can climb onto my back. I can carry you both.”

“I can walk.” He choked out, his voice low, cracking in several places. Hitoshi seemed so lost and hurt. It was painful to watch. This was such a disaster.

Mic nodded and Hitoshi climbed back to his feet, his eyes immediately going back to the body and the brain matter scattered all around. Mic stepped in front of him, close enough to block out the sight. “Don’t look, Little Listener. Let’s get going.” Mic nodded his head toward the steps and Hitoshi turned hesitantly, walking forward, Mic following with Izuku in his arms.

They reached the top and Hitoshi found the rest of his classmates gathered, some sitting on the ground, some standing. Some were hanging on to each other, despite barely knowing one other. There were police scattered around already, questioning some of the students. Cars were pulled all the way up and their lights pierced into Hitoshi’s eyes like knives and he groaned, raising a hand to cover his eyes.

“Come on, Listener.” Mic urged. “You both probably have concussions. We need to get you seen.” And it was concerning him that Izuku was asleep.

Mic took both students toward an ambulance parked on the pavement. The medics were all over the place, tending to everyone, but when they saw Izuku and Hitoshi’s bloodied face they rushed toward him. Mic sat Izuku down on a gurney where he was immediately taken away, the purple haired boy beside him making a sound of protest.

Hitoshi was guided by Mic to sit down and he allowed it to happen, someone looking him over. “I need to go with Izuku.” He said after a moment, pushing a cold hand away from his face after a bandage had been placed over his eye.

The woman in front of him frowned. “He’s being taken back to U.A. to Recovery Girl. You can join him shortly.” She laid the back of her hand on Hitoshi’s forehead and then he suddenly felt...floaty. Disjointed.

She dropped her hand. “Make sure to get plenty of sleep tonight. And take it easy for the rest of the day.”

Hitoshi nodded absently, confused as to what exactly she had done to him though. Then Present Mic was there, guiding him back to the rest of his classmates where the police were. He allowed his teacher to move him, answering the police’s questions absently, only waiting for when the bus would take them all back to U.A.

-X-

It really was a disaster, Shouta thought with exasperation as he sat cross legged on a couch in the teacher's lounge, answering emails and making calls. He’d just gotten back from the infirmary and a healing session with Recovery Girl. Fortunately the break in his arm had been clean and would heal well as long as he didn’t use it. He had a healing gash beneath one eye and quirk exhaustion as well as the decay to his elbow to deal with, but other than that, he’d gotten out of the event rather unscathed, or at least less hurt than he had expected.

When he’d knocked the Problem Child out of the way, he’d been certain he was going to die. He didn’t mention that to Hizashi when he saw him, the man already was freaked out and stretched thin enough as is.

Shouta had checked on Midoriya quickly after waking, Recovery Girl working on him under the watchful eyes of his other student, Shinsu. The two seemed to have some sort of connection that Shouta was going to have to ask about the next chance that he got.

There seemed to be a lot that he didn’t know about the green haired boy. There was a lot to think about after what had happened. The villain had recognized the kid, calling him ‘Miku’ and then Izuku had recognized him . There was history there, obviously trauma too if them trying to kidnap the kid was anything to go by. Plus the villain had said they would be coming after Midoriya, that he wasn’t safe.

There was also the fact that he’d practically doubled over in pain almost any time the villain spoke. There was something there beyond Shouta’s comprehension that he needed to discuss with Nezu.

And he’d taken out that creature like it was nothing as soon as he’d seen it hurting Shouta. And that had definitely traumatized the Problem Child. Shouta had seen horror and panic overtake his body and mind while he was trapped, unable to do anything from beneath the hulking corpse.

After checking on his students Shouta left to go see Nezu. The Principal was incredibly busy dealing with everything, but this was important.

Though he definitely didn’t expect to receive an angry call from Recovery Girl saying Midoriya had jumped out the window and run away. She went on about all his injuries and illnesses that could become dangerous untreated and he needed to be brought found as soon as possible.

Apparently the discussion with Shinsou would be moving up to right now, Nezu coming with him.

Shouta was so tired.

He should have just expelled them all on the first day like last year. That had been such a good year.

-X-

Fragmented images obliterated an empty abyss, fracturing the peace. Dark fragments of something lost.

There was a drill, or something that looked like a drill, passing across a bright blue light, a gloved hand holding onto it as the sharp end spun in front of aching eyes.

A woman screaming.

There was vivid green and then dark blue, shattering through an inferno of blazing, crimson pain. ‘ ...your name is Izuku.’

The scream continued.

Hot metal in his veins and neon stinging. Izuku was terrified and hurting and he could hear voices. He recognized them, he knew that he did, but whose were they? What were they?

“...monster.”

There was a man hovering over Izuku. His face was covered in a bright medical mask. He held something between deft fingers, it was blurry and Izuku couldn’t see what it was. He had no control of his own muscles, no control of anything. ‘ Your name is Izuku.’

Another image. Lost hands and gaunt faces. Stretched, purple tongues hanging out of loose jaws.

Broken bodies, fragmented bone and dead eyes.

Someone sang, gentle and melancholic as the world rocked softly. Something tickled the inside of his nose and he shifted his head. He wanted to sing too, he knew the song, he could feel it within. But there was something covering his mouth, preventing him from forming any words at all.

Tears pricked, sharp behind second eyelids, unable to escape. Izuku...

“...monster.”

Flaring sun on his naked skin, sweat pouring down his body.

And the woman screamed.

Izuku awoke with a snap, lurching upward. He rolled and hit the ground, catching himself on bare feet and quick hands. He jumped up, ripping wires out of his arm and pulling water toward him. He was absolutely surrounded by medical equipment. He could see white walls and trays of syringes and medicine. Fear sent his heart into double time.

“Izuku!” A voice called as he scrambled backward, pressing up to a wall. He was breathing hard, chest heaving as blood dripped down his arm.

It was Hitoshi, standing by the door, purple hair even more wild than usual, eye bags darker than ever, eyes frantic. Izuku’s eyes narrowed, his hand scrabbling for the lock of a window behind him. “Izu. Please.” Hitoshi begged, eyes desperate.

Izuku shook his head, vision wobbling as he pulled the window pane up. Hitoshi yelled out, lurching forward, hand outstretched.

“...monster.” Izuku whispered without actually answering Hitoshi, his eyes wet. He was a monster.

And then he tipped backward out of the window.

He heard Hitoshi scream at him before he caught himself with a burst of water and hit the ground with a roll, sprinting out of view with one destination in mind. His home, his source of comfort. His safe place.

The ocean.

-X-

Hitoshi sat across from Aizawa and Nezu, his hands crossed over his chest and his tired eyes narrowed. “He’s not going to come up until he’s ready.” Hitoshi stated flatly, the principal not looking up from his tablet and Aizawa only watching him with a distinct lack of amusement.

They were in the train car after walking the beach for over an hour, finding Izuku’s fresh (easily identifiable with the webbed toes) footprints. After Izuku had run, Hitoshi had felt that he had no choice but to bring the teacher and the principal here. He was scared and worried about Izuku and Nezu had told Hitoshi that it was for Izuku’s safety. His friend wasn’t in any trouble. He’d acted in self defense and to protect his teacher. He’d only killed because he’d had to.

Izuku had always been so worried about harming people with his quirk. Now, he’d killed. He was going to need Hitoshi.

They were all concerned about him. Izuku had still been recovering from his dehydration and heat exhaustion when he woke. Then there was the head injury, the sprained shoulder and his arm… Recovery Girl had had to focus her quirk on the damage the villain named Shigaraki had done to his arm.

It was going to scar. Badly.

So Hitoshi had told them as much as he could without giving away that Izuku was Riptide. Though he had a feeling that Aizawa had a suspicion. And if the principal’s obvious intelligence was anything to go by, he knew, and had known for some time.

Hitoshi had told them they lived on the beach amidst the trash, in a train car, that Izuku had brought him there after he’d revealed his troubled home life. He told them he knew very little about Izuku’s past, only that he had lived in the train car for years before Hitoshi ever showed up. He didn’t mention Izuku’s missing memories or lost past. This reveal was big enough already and he didn’t want to break Izuku’s trust in him.

“Does he often do this?” Aizawa asked with a frown. The man’s arm was in a large cast, eyes red and dry.

Hitoshi shrugged. “Not for this long. He’s afraid of being in the water during the dark or during storms, he always comes up before it gets dark.” It was past nightfall now and Hitoshi was beyond worried, but there was nothing that he could do. It made him feel so useless. Izuku had done so much for him and now when Izuku needed him most he’d done nothing. He hadn’t been there when Izuku needed him and now the boy seemed to think that he was some sort of monster.

“Do your foster parents know where you are?” Aizawa asked next, levelling a strange look at Hitoshi who leaned back with a resigned sigh.

“I told them when I left that I was going to stay with a friend. They text me occasionally to make sure I’m alive or to tell me that there’s a meeting with a social worker to go with them to. I go and then I come back here. That’s all. It’s better this way for both parties.” Hitoshi sat up, suddenly tense, jaw clenching as he stared his teacher down. “You’re not taking me away from this. From Izuku.”

“You said Izuku had foster parents at some point, too?” Aizawa ignored Hitoshi’s near threat. “So, what happened, did he just run or-”

Nezu finally looked up from his tablet, one ear flicking. “Izuku Midoriya has never been registered with any orphanage or with child protective service. In terms of paperwork, Izuku Midoriya does not exist.”

Both Hitoshi and Aizawa stared at the animal in confusion.  “What.” Shouta said, more a statement than a question. If he didn’t exist, if he didn’t have all the paperwork, how had Nezu allowed the kid into U.A? Shouta felt like the rat knew a lot more than he was letting on. It was irritating him.

Hitoshi was frowning. Had Izuku lied to him or did he truly believe what he’d told him when they first met? What was going on? He felt like he was being left behind.

Nezu’s ear flicked again and he looked toward the end of the train car. Hitoshi frowned and then stood just as the broken door shuddered on its track and then was pulled to the side. As soon as Izuku stepped into the train car; arm hanging limply at his side, one set of eyelids covering his eyes, his hair dripping wet and his chest bare, Hitoshi rushed forward, wrapping an arm around muscular, cold shoulders. Izuku never entered the train car still wet with the sea. It was just another testament to how awful he must feel.

Izuku leaned into him, not noticing the other two people in his weakened state as Hitoshi dragged him to the seat he’d just vacated, setting him down carefully. Izuku sagged into it, his head falling back. “Izuku is usually disconcerted after leaving the water, especially after long periods of time.” Hitoshi explained, grabbing several water bottles from the small fridge. “He told me it’s the pressure difference and the dehydration.”

When Hitoshi turned back around he found Aizawa up as well, checking Izuku over who didn’t even seem to notice. “You guys can’t stay here anymore.” Aizawa said flatly, dropping Izuku’s wrist from where he’d been measuring the boy’s pulse..

Hitoshi’s hand clenched around the water bottle. “No, we have-”

Aizawa shook his head. “We can’t allow it. The villains that attacked us today were all part of a group called the League of Villains. The person Midoriya fought was the man we believe to be the leader and he specifically said that Izuku is not safe, that he is going to come after him. Do you really want to stay here, alone, in danger, with the League of Villains targeting him?”

Every impassive word left Hitoshi’s mouth even more dry and he dropped into the seat next to Izuku heavily. “Oh.” He said, swallowing, blinking away tears. “Izuku has nowhere to go. I could stay with my fosters but he can’t. You said he doesn’t even exist. Where the fuck is he-”

“Shinsou.” Aizawa interrupted, crouching in front of Hitoshi, his face softening. “You guys can both stay with me.”

Hitoshi went very still, searching his teacher's eyes. “What are you talking about?” His voice was low, nearly a growl.

Aizawa sighed, looking back toward Izuku who had slid to the side to lean against the wall. The kid was panting, his deathly pale face flushed and his wet hair limp. He definitely had a fever. Nezu was the one to answer. “I have been considering the development of dorms for some time, not only for students that have less than stellar home lives, but also for their safety. This isn’t the first time U.A. students have been targeted and it won’t be the last. This is simply the final straw. You will stay with Shouta until the dorms are constructed.”

Hitoshi set the bottle of water down and buried his face into his hands, the heels of his palms digging hard into his eye sockets. Things had been so fucking good, for the first time in his life. He’d been happy. He’d been fucking happy.

Why was life like this? Why was he always screwed over? Why did everything always go wrong?

“Kid.” Aizawa laid his cast on the top of Shinsou’s head. “It’s going to be okay. Let me prove that you can trust me. We only want what is best for the both of you.”

Hitoshi lifted his head, lip curling in a silent snarl. He’d heard those words too many fucking times, all under the guise of someone getting ready to something to hurt him, not help him.

Izuku moaned softly beside him in restless sleep, shivering against the covered window.

And Hitoshi’s mind was made up for him.

-X-

He gathered Kimi, throwing her things into his bookbag as well as Izuku’s Riptide costume as Aizawa gathered Izuku into his arms to carry out of the train car, across the beach and to his car, parked haphazardly by the side of the road near the sand. Hitoshi had offered to carry his friend, doubting Aizawa even could with his bandaged arm, but somehow their teacher managed. Hitoshi finished by gathering some of their other clothes and Izuku’s phones, stuffing them into a random canvas shopping bag.

And then, with that, he followed Nezu and Aizawa to the car, Izuku laying across the back seat with his head on Hitoshi’s lap. His forehead was warmer than Hitoshi had ever felt it, his skin clammy. Hitoshi had never seen Izuku look so horrible and it was scaring him. Since he’d known him Izuku had been this unstoppable force of nature, shining as bright as the sun, full of kindness, with a grin as wide as his face.

It physically hurt to see him like this.

They arrived at a small, one story house at the edge of the city after dropping Nezu back off at U.A. to deal with everything. The house was surrounded by a tall gate, electricity audibly buzzing through it.

A man stepped out of the house wearing black, ripped jeans and a too big T-Shirt with an unreadable heavy metal band name on it. He was absolutely covered in tattoos and had several piercings as well as bright red eyes and long blond hair pinned back with a hairclip in the shape of a skull. This must be Aizawa’s husband. Izuku had mentioned to him that Eraser spoke about him sometimes on their patrols, also adding that Eraser had never mentioned his husband's name to protect him.

“Recovery Girl is inside.” The blonde said as they stepped out of the car and Hitoshi frowned. That voice was familiar.

Aizawa grunted in response, nodding to the back seat. The other man smiled at Hitoshi in a reassuring manner as he reached into the car to pull Izuku out, missing how Hitoshi had tensed, eyes wide at the smile.

“Present Mic?” Hitoshi blinked.

The man leaned out of the car, pulling Izuku against him as he flashed a blinding smile at Hitoshi, red eyes glinting. “That’s me Little Listener.” He said.

Hitoshi’s jaw dropped. Eraserhead’s husband was Present Mic. The wildly upbeat, eccentric English teacher was a punk and he was married to Eraserhead? Present Mic was covered in tattoos, and one of them was a Riptide tattoo, according to Izuku. And he was literally cradling Riptide to his chest like a baby without even knowing it. Izuku was going to lose it.

Hitoshi’s brain was going to explode.

Oh...

That was an uncomfortable phrase now.

Hitoshi followed the two inside, Kimi in his arms and two bags slung across his shoulders. Inside Recovery Girl sat on a couch, looking over a clipboard, surrounded by medical equipment. They seemed to think Izuku would be more comfortable here than an infirmary or hospital after the way he’d reacted.

The healer stood up, directing ‘Yamada’ to set Izuku down on the couch, Recovery Girl immediately fretting over him. “Poor, stupid boy.” She mumbled. “He’s only made it worse.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Hitoshi asked quietly from behind everyone, holding Kimi tightly to him. She licked his chin comfortingly as everyone looked toward him.

“He’ll be fine, sweetie.” Recovery Girl sighed. “But it’ll take a bit of time.”

“We only have one spare room.” Aizawa grumbled, looking down at Hitoshi. “You two will have to share, though I don’t see Midoriya leaving the couch anytime soon.” Hitoshi nodded. “We also have two cats of our own, hopefully yours isn’t aggressive.”

Aizawa looked at Kimi pointedly and Hitoshi held her more tightly. “She’s perfect.” He glared at his teacher.

Aizawa glared back, eyes narrowed. “Okay, okay.” Present Mic said in English. “Shinsou, you haven’t eaten in a while right? We have sushi in the fridge but we need to get some groceries tomorrow. Hopefully that will work for now. Maybe we can get Midoriya to eat some chicken broth soon.”

“He won’t.” Hitoshi shook his head. “He’s vegetarian.”

Both teachers blinked at Hitoshi in surprise. They didn’t expect the kid with literal shark teeth to be a vegetarian.

“We can work around it.” Mic said positively. “Is sushi okay for you?” Hitoshi nodded and set Kimi down to take the tray offered to him. The himalayan immediately went off to explore, nose low to the ground and tail high.

Hitoshi ate quickly. He was hungry, but his mind kept going back to what he’d seen and it was a struggle to keep any food down at all. He wasn’t able to eat a lot, but did manage to drink some water.

Soon enough, Recovery Girl was standing up. Heaving a sigh. She’d gotten an I.V. into Izuku and covered his almost naked form with several layers of fluffy blankets. “I’m leaving care instructions.” The woman said, handing them to Aizawa. “But I have to get going. Keep him covered and hydrated, and don’t let him rip out that I.V.” She shook her head before leaving, patting Hitoshi once on the hand.

After that they were left alone, just the four of them and the cats who were all seemed to be hiding in the woodwork.

“It’s late and I’m sure you’re exhausted.” Aizawa said from where he was lying back in a love seat, looking over the care instructions. “I know I am. Let’s just all get some sleep. We can deal with the rest tomorrow.” The homeroom teacher didn’t just look tired, he looked dead .

Hitoshi nodded, letting Mic guide him to their spare bedroom, the bed already ready for him and telling him they’d be nearby and to shout if he needed anything. Hitoshi found his toothbrush in a bag and quickly brushed his teeth, sending off an email to Izuku’s hero agency for him, letting them know that he’d be absent for a bit because of an emergency in Kyoto (it was the best he could think of, knowing illness would be a bit too… convenient compared to Izuku).

After that he fed Kimi, finding, unsurprisingly, that she was somehow already best friends with Aizawa’s and Yamada’s cats. And then, not even bothering to shower, Hitoshi changed and collapsed into the bed, absolutely exhausted.

Chapter Text

It was too quiet.

Hitoshi hadn’t realized how accustomed he’d grown to the sound of the ocean waves splashing against the shore, of the metal in the dump occasionally screeching together with the breeze off the sea. He had gotten used to the sound of Izuku’s steady breathing in the dead of the night.

He tried to sleep for several hours with no success, his face shoved into a pillow that didn’t smell right, with a blanket that was too scratchy and in a room that was just too. Fucking. Quiet.

He watched YouTube videos for a bit after giving up and somehow ended up watching educational videos about the ocean, ocean life and crocodiles, trying to learn about Izuku’s life. He found something interesting called ‘tonic immobility,’ where if you rubbed a crocodile or a shark’s nose it would induce a sort of hypnotized state.

He vowed to himself to try it on Izuku when the next chance presented itself.

Eventually, Hitoshi got bored of watching videos and crept quietly out of the room, lifting Kimi off of the back of his head to set on the ground. He walked down the still hallway to the living room and found Izuku laying exactly where they’d left him. His breathing was still uneven and his face was flushed, his forehead creased. The I.V. looked like it had recently been changed though and Hitoshi felt antsy about it. If Izuku woke with that in his arm there was no doubt that he would rip it out again. He hated things being done to him without his knowledge. He had since Hitoshi had known him.

Hitoshi sat down at Izuku’s feet, leaning back into the couch and tilting his head into the soft plushness of the back of it, his eyes closing slowly as Kimi leapt to his lap. He fell asleep almost immediately....

...and then waking up in what felt like minutes, his mouth uncomfortably thick and his eyelids heavy. He groaned softly, then went quiet when something tapped his arm. He looked up to see Aizawa standing in front of him, glancing toward Izuku with a deep frown marring his face.

That’s when Hitoshi felt it; the familiar, subtle shift in the air, the collection of moisture shifting toward Izuku’s sleeping form before Aizawa cancelled Izuku’s quirk, his eyes glowing red and black hair floating.

Hitoshi woke up then, the rest of the way, sitting up and noting that there was a lamp on now, in the corner of the room to cast a grim yellow light over them. Hitoshi dropped off the couch onto his knees, scooting over to crouch by Izuku’s head. “Hey, Izu.” He murmured, tapping the boy’s fevered brow with one finger. “You’re okay. It’s-”

Izuku’s eyes shot open and Hitoshi gave a strangled yelp of surprise when the other boy’s hand flashed upward, gripping Hitoshi’s wrist in a tight grip. “...no.” He growled, dilated eyes scanning the area, his breath coming fast.

“Izuku, it’s okay, we’re safe.” Hitoshi whispered soothingly, aware of Aizawa standing behind him.

“No.” Izuku hissed again, releasing Hitoshi’s wrist to scramble at his inner elbow, panting.

Aizawa reacted quickly, folds of his capture scarf shooting past Hitoshi to restrain Izuku, the fabric looping around his torso. Izuku growled again, low and deep in his throat, his head dropping to bite at the binds, his sharp teeth tearing at the alloy the scarf was constructed with.

“Fuck!” Aizawa exclaimed, darting forward.

“No, don’t touch him, you’ll freak him out!” Hitoshi warned, jumping to his feet and stepping in front of Aizawa to gently take Izuku’s hand.

The green haired boy looked up from where he was trying to gnaw through Aizawa’s scarf, his glowing eyes flickering to Hitoshi, fever brightened. “Izu.” Hitoshi hummed, but he didn’t respond, his breathing only picking up even more.

Hitoshi grimaced, glancing back as Yamada entered the room in his plaid pajama bottoms and a black tank top, looking at them all gathered around Izuku in confusion. Aizawa glanced up, his line of sight breaking with Izuku, and several things happened at once.

Izuku kicked off the couch, flipping backward over the armrest and then twisting out of the scarf, ripping apart what bit he’d managed to bite. Hitoshi had never realized how powerful his teeth actually were, or how strong Izuku actually was. He wondered how easy his friend was on him when they sparred together.

Aizawa sent another loop of his capture weapon at him and Izuku snatched it out of the air, yanking it toward him and unraveling it from Aizawa’s neck. The teacher grunted, grabbing onto it in a strange game of tug of war. Yamada rushed forward to try to subdue him but it was too late, Izuku ripping the I.V. from his arm with his free hand and throwing it onto the ground, breathing heavily, frenzied, eyes wild.

He suddenly looked up, releasing his hold on the scarf and causing Aizawa to take a step back to adjust for the lack of pull. “No. Needles.” Izuku snarled at them, teeth bared like a cornered animal.

“Okay, okay, Little Listener.” Hizashi acquiesced, hesitantly stepping toward him. “No needles.”

Izuku took one step back, his eyes narrowing up at the blonde suspiciously. “Who’re you?” He slurred, then looked back toward Hitoshi, whose stomach flipped at how lost Izuku looked.

Hitoshi tried to funnel all the reassurance he could into his next words. “We’re safe, Izu.” He murmured. “You’re sick, so Eraserhead and Present Mic took us in.” He knew hearing the hero names would do a lot more to help Izuku than their regular names. Izuku was a lot more familiar with them. He was sure he trusted them, at least Eraserhead.

“W-wha...?” Izuku blinked in confusion, looking from Hitoshi back to Mic who was steadily getting closer and closer. Izuku took another small step back, lifting a hand to his head and groaning. “... feel awful.”

His knees gave out and Present Mic lurched forward, catching him beneath his arms. Both Aizawa and Hitoshi breathed a sigh of relief as Hizashi lifted the reptilian boy up and carried him back to the couch, directing a judgy look at the two standing there.

“What?” Aizawa scowled.

“You both suck at that.” Mic said, helping Izuku sit up against the armrest, straightening his legs out.

Hitoshi reeled back at his words as if he’d been struck, a hand to his chest. “Excuse me, I am the best at helping Izuku.” He scoffed.

Mic made a face as if he doubted them as he pressed tissues against Izuku’s inner elbow, cleaning up the blood from where he had violently removed the I.V. line again , “Then why was he-”

The blonde was interrupted by a sharp sniff and he looked down at Izuku, his red eyes widening when he saw tears pooling in his eyes.

Hitoshi’s heart stuttered in his chest. In all the time he’d been around Izuku, he’d never seen the boy cry. Technically he wasn’t yet crying, but this was the closest Hitoshi had ever seen him to it. “Izu?” He whispered, dropping to sit at his feet again on the couch.

Toxic green eyes shifted over to Hitoshi and Izuku’s chest hitched with breath. “I...I k-killed someone, H-Hoshi.” He gasped out, his right arm lifting to scrub at his eyes. “ ‘m a monster."

Aizawa walked forward then, kneeling by Yamada near Izuku’s side. “Kid, you’re not a monster. You saved my life. You did what had to be done.” Izuku looked up at his teacher, swallowing thickly. “And you should worry about getting better for now, anyway. Running away and hiding in the ocean did nothing for your health”

Izuku nodded, looking down for a moment before glancing back at Hitoshi. “Sorry for freaking out.” He sniffed again and swallowed, taking steadying breaths, centering himself.

“It’s no problem, Little Listener.” Yamada grinned, setting aside the reddened tissues and grabbing a bandaid from the open first aid kit they still hadn’t moved from the coffee table from the night before.

Izuku’s eyes suddenly brightened with that familiar light and the side of his mouth lifted as he looked toward Aizawa. “So, you’re married to Present Mic?” He sounded a lot more clear-headed now and for that they were all relieved.

Hitoshi leaned back, watching with amusement now that the immediate danger had passed. Aizawa disregarded the boy, turning on his back  with a “hmph” and walking to the kitchen.

“Ignore, Mr. Grump over there.” Yamada said, smoothing the bandage across Izuku’s arm.

“Mhm.” Izuku hummed thoughtfully, his eyes roving the blonde’s tattooed arms before he found what he was looking for and his small smile turned into a sharp-toothed grin. “That’s a nice tattoo.” He pointed with a shaky right hand to a spot above Yamada’s left elbow, on the side of his arm.

Yamada looked down, confused for a second before he realized which one Izuku was pointing at. The Riptide tattoo was a minimalist version of Riptide’s mask with blue waves passing around and behind it. Not a large tattoo, but there nonetheless. “Oh, yeah! Riptide is your cousin right?” Izuku nodded, his feverish eyes full of mirth. “I got it to irritate Sho, since he works with Riptide all the time and pretends to hate him, though I know he cares about that crazy kid.”

Izuku snorted with laughter, his head falling back and his shoulders shaking. Aizawa finally reentered the room from the kitchen, a cup of water in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. “Glad you’re so amused. Drink this water since you keep tearing your I.V.’s out.”

Izuku went quiet, the laughter fading as he grew serious, lifting his head back up, taking the cup of water with a sigh. “Don’t…” He shook his head. “Don’t do that again, don’t put things in me without telling me...don’t…” Izuku hunched forward, hands curling around the cup of water.

“Kid?” Aizawa frowned from where he’d dropped into the loveseat.

Izuku pressed a hand to his head, his fingers clenching in his hair. “Head hurt?” Yamada asked and then turned back to Aizawa. “Can we give him his medicine yet?”

Aizawa craned his neck to glance up at the clock above his seat and then nodded. Mic stood to go retrieve the medicine and Hitoshi scooted closer to Izuku, laying the back of his hand against his forehead. “You’re really warm.” He observed.

“I feel like I’m melting.” Izuku responded with a moan. “I want to go swimming.”

“No.” Both Hitoshi and Aizawa said at the same time.

Izuku shrank further into himself, frowning deeply. “It’s where I always go when I’m sick. Why is this any different? I want to see Guren.”

Shouta grimaced. The kid sounded so young, so lonely. He wondered how long he’d had to deal with being sick on his own, and he wondered how often the Problem Child got sick. How many times had he had to retreat to the ocean in times of need? Based on the sheet of paper Recovery Girl had given him with the kids' disorders and issues, he could make an educated guess that he got sick a lot, especially living in a dump.

He wondered why he didn’t live wherever his Pro-Hero cousin lived or with that part of his family.

“Who’s Guren?” He finally asked instead and Hitoshi looked up at him.

“Guren is his pet shark.” He said flatly and Shouta blinked.

“His...pet shark…” Hitoshi nodded and Shouta raised his eyes to the ceiling in exasperation.

“As soon as you start to feel better we can visit the beach.” Hitoshi reassured and Shouta’s eyes narrowed. Hitoshi glared at him, as if daring him to fight him on it. Shouta leaned forward to do exactly that when his husband returned, singing some English rock song.

Izuku blinked up at Hizashi blearily as he lowered his hand to try to give Izuku the two pills he held on his palm. Izuku recoiled when he saw them, turning his face away. “No.”

“Izuku.” Hitoshi sighed. “You need to take your medicine. You have a fever.”

“No pills.” Izuku hissed, manipulating the water from the cup into his mouth rapidly and then setting it aside, laying down and turning to face the back of the couch, his back now to everyone.

Shouta pushed the heel of his hand into his head, feeling his own headache forming. What was with this kid?

Yamada patted Izuku’s shoulder and then turned back around, still singing to himself. A minute passed and then he returned with a small medicine cup filled with a blue liquid. “Here, now, Midoriya. I have liquid medicine now, does that work?”

Izuku rolled back over and sat up, taking the small cup that the blonde offered him, his eyes narrowed. “What is it? I didn’t see you pour it.”

Hizashi glanced back at Shouta who just shrugged. They’d both dealt with many sick kids in their time as both teachers and heroes, but never had they experienced one so paranoid.

The man took the cup from Izuku and took a tiny sip of it before handing it back to the kid. “See? It’s okay. It’s just NyQuil.”

Izuku frowned, but eventually sighed and knocked back the entirety of the cup. “It should help you get more sleep. You need it.”

“I don’t-” Izuku interrupted himself, his spine stiffening, his eyes shifting over to Hitoshi.

“I already let your work know.” Hitoshi said, sensing that Izuku was thinking about the fact that he was supposed to have a patrol tonight. Aizawa narrowed his eyes at them.

“You work?” He asked.

Izuku nodded easily. “We have to get food somehow. Just odd jobs though, cleaning people’s houses and babysitting and stuff.”

Hitoshi smirked to himself. Of course Izuku had a lie ready to tell. And a job like that would be hard to trace and would explain the fact that he had very odd hours. Aizawa didn’t answer, only watching Izuku with a searching gaze before leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. “You guys woke me up early, now, I am going to nap before I have to head to U.A to meet with Nezu. And by the way class tomorrow is cancelled.” He didn’t have to go on patrol after his injuries, fortunately.

“Technically, today.” Hitoshi added snidely. It was almost one in the morning.

Aizawa grumbled, already half asleep. Hitoshi was astounded. How had he managed to fall asleep so quickly, and after drinking an entire mug of coffee no less? Some people were so lucky with their ability to fall asleep anywhere, any time, like Izuku and Aizawa.

Izuku turned against the couch to rest his head on Hitoshi’s shoulder, mumbling to himself. Hitoshi glanced down at the top of his head, noting the smell of salt still lingered and his hair was a disaster.

“You need a shower.” He muttered and Izuku looked up drowsily. “You’re making the whole place smell like rotten seaweed and salt.”

“Good idea.” Yamada said from the kitchen. “I’ll get it ready.”

Izuku grumbled, Hitoshi hauling him off the couch. He stumbled but Hitoshi kept a hold of him, an arm around his waist. He grabbed the bag he’d made of their clothes from where he’d left it in the bedroom and carried both it and Izuku to the bathroom.

“Water’s warm.” Yamada said as they entered, withdrawing his hand from the spray behind the shower curtain.

“No.” Izuku shoved his face into Hitoshi’s side when he sat him down on the toilet.

“He can’t handle too much warmth very well. Probably best for it to be what you would think would be too cold.” Hitoshi said and Izuku nodded against him.

“I’m going to brush your hair first, okay?” Izuku nodded again and Hitoshi settled onto his knees in front of the toilet as Yamade adjusted the temperature. He rummaged in the yellow bookbag until he found the hair brush and then had Izuku turn around so he could run the bristles through the rats nest he was sporting on his head.

“Jeesh, Izu.” Hitoshi murmured when the brush got caught on yet another tangle. “You should really tie your hair up or something when you go swimming.”

“Never.” Izuku answered tiredly, his head bobbing up and down as he fought sleep, making it even more difficult to brush. Yamada chuckled at their antics before leaving them to have the bathroom to themselves.

“Alright.” He eventually sighed, standing up and setting the brush aside. “Do you need my help?”

“I’ve got it.” Izuku murmured and slid off the toilet onto shaky legs.

Hitoshi frowned and nodded, heading for the door. “Yell if you need me okay?”

Izuku hummed in affirmation, pulling his shirt over his head.

Hitoshi headed out of the bathroom, leaving the door cracked just in case and joining Yamada back in the kitchen, running a hand through his own messy hair. “Shouldn’t you head back to sleep?” The blonde asked him from where he was pouring his glass of water.

Hitoshi snorted. “Bold of you to assume I slept in the first place.”

Yamada turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, the black ring that pierced it also sliding up. “Is it because you’re in a new place?” He asked.

Hitoshi shrugged. “I never really get enough sleep. Neither of us do.”

Yamada glanced back at Aizawa, sleeping with his head against the back of the love seat. “I hope that Midoriya can get better soon.” He murmured, taking a sip of water, a lip ring clinking against the glass.

Hitoshi cleared his throat and got his own cup. “So, do you like, take out all that jewelry when you put on your costume?”

There was no answer and Hitoshi frowned, lifting his head to see that the blonde was still watching into the living room. He poked his teacher in the arm and the man looked at him with a surprised expression. “Oh, sorry, did you say something? I don’t have my hearing aids in.”

Hitoshi blinked in surprise, the fact that such a well known, popular hero needed hearing aids hitting him in a strange way. “Oh.” He stated flatly.

Yamada smiled, pushing thin hair behind his ear as he sat down at the table. “I was born with my quirk. I’m sure you can imagine a baby with a screaming quirk…” Hitoshi winced, dropping into a seat in front of the voice hero. He’d been in several ‘homes’ with babies in them and did not want to imagine what an even louder infant would be like. The idea was horrifying.

Yamada nodded, tugging his lip ring absently. “I deafened or nearly deafened a lot of people, including myself.”

“That’s rough.” Hitoshi answered impassively, setting his chin on the table.

Yamada straightened, crimson eyes watching Hitoshi. “We should try to get some sleep too. I have melatonin you could take if that would help. And a fan for some white noise since you said it was too quiet. Or I have a speaker and I can play some music?”

“Can I try the speaker? Izuku really likes music too. He goes on rants all the time about how it’s the only universal language in the world.” Hitoshi said, standing up.

A wide grin spread across Yamada’s face. “I’ll have to talk with him about that.”

Hitoshi finished his water, taking a melatonin that Yamada fetched from his bedroom, just as Izuku walked back out of the bathroom in an oversized Panic! shirt and a new pair of clean, dark green swimming shorts. He yawned widely and rubbed his eyes, tilting his head, already dry hair falling across his face.

Yamada snorted, “He looks like he’s sleepwalking. I’ll get him to the spare room, you can get a shower too if you want.”

Hitoshi nodded and quickly washed his cup before taking a quick shower. Once he finished and exited the bathroom he found the house quiet and empty. Yamada must have gone back to bed and taken Aizawa with him. It was disconcerting to be in an unfamiliar home and to be the only one awake, but it wasn’t like this was his first time.

Once he was back in the spare bedroom he discovered Izuku curled up over the blankets on the bed, Kimi draped over his head and the other two were at his feet. There was also now a fan plugged into the wall, on low, and a speaker laid on the nightstand, softly playing Panic! at the Disco. Yamada must have noticed Izuku’s shirt.

Hitoshi’s mouth quirked up and he crawled under the blankets next to Izuku, snuggling into the pillows and closing his eyes, curling one hand against Izuku’s spine.

He fell asleep surprisingly quickly, one hand out to remind himself that Izuku was there.

-X-

Izuku woke up to the sound of High Hopes playing on one side of his head and purring on the other, and he was confused. He lifted his arm up to glance at his watch, shocked to see that it was past noon on the day after the USJ attack.

He dropped his hand back to the bed he was laying on and blinked up at the ceiling. He cast his mind back, remembering the timeline of events as they had happened, his mind skipping over the fight itself when a pang of agony shot through his head. He remembered waking up at U.A. in the infirmary afterward, freaking out and running to the ocean, and then after that he remembered waking up once again with a needle in his arm (though he couldn’t remember how he got there) and consequently freaking out again. And here he was, waking up again, full of doubt and confusion.

He really didn’t like all this lost time happening, people moving him when he was asleep or doing things to him that he wasn’t aware of. He didn’t like how much self-autonomy he’d lost in such a short amount of time.

Izuku hadn’t realized he’d started hyperventilating until something touched his forehead and he looked over, chest tight.

“Izu, you okay?” Hitoshi asked, shadowed violet eyes looking him over as he gauged his temperature with his hand.

“Hoshi, I’m...confused.” Izuku swallowed, leaning into the touch. “I think… I don’t know… I recognized that villain, what…”

Hitoshi sat up, pulling Izuku up to hug him, wrapping arms around his smaller form and squeezing. Izuku set his forehead against Hitoshi’s shoulder as he got his breathing under control. “What’s wrong with me?” He murmured.

Hitoshi leaned back, meeting Izuku’s glowing eyes. “Nothing is wrong with you, Izuku.” He stated, no room for argument.

Izuku didn’t respond, only leaning even more against Hitoshi, eyes closed, hair trailing down like curtains on either side of his face.

“Let’s go get breakfast, I smell food and I know you’re hungry. You haven’t eaten in over a day.” Hitoshi said, releasing Izuku and climbing off the bed, cats scattering in every direction.

Izuku slid off the bed after him, running hands through his hair, surprised at how soft it was for the first time in so long, all the ocean washed out of it. He didn’t like it.

They walked to the kitchen, Izuku humming comfortingly to himself. Yamada looked up from the stove when they walked in, smiling brightly. He was dressed in black skinny jeans and a cut off T-Shirt that showed all the tattoos that crawled up his arms and neck (usually covered by his omnidirectional speakers when he was in his her costume), and his long hair was tied up in a loose bun revealing the black hearing aids in his ears. “How are you two doing?” He asked.

“I feel better.” Izuku answered. “Thank you guys for letting us stay. I’d like to go back home now, though.”

Hitoshi paused from where he’d been pulling out a chair at the dinner table, glancing back at Izuku with a strained expression. “Izu, we can’t.” He murmured. “Those villains are targeting you now, it’s not safe to stay there anymore.”

Izuku’s face hardened and his hands twitched at his side. Hitoshi tensed, uncomfortable. It seemed like Izuku was glaring at him and that was something he’d never wanted to see.

“We just want to keep you safe.” Yamada reassured gently, walking forward to lay the back of his hand against Izuku’s forehead, frowning when Izuku flinched away.

“No.” He said. “You can’t take it away from me. That’s my home. ”

Hitoshi’s heart stuttered. “Izuku, we can-”

“No.” Izuku shook his head and then took a deep breath, his eyes closing. “My head hurts.” He finally said, in a much softer voice before stepping forward, allowing Yamada to check his temperature.

“Looks like the fever is gone, that’s good.” Yamada said. “I’ll grab some medicine for your head and then get you guys some breakfast, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

The blonde headed down the hallway, leaving the two alone. Izuku looked at the ground. “I’m sorry for snapping at you, Hoshi.” He whispered.

“It’s alright.” Hitoshi murmured. “You’re not feeling your best right now.” Izuku nodded and Hitoshi pulled him into a seat so that they were sitting next to each other.

“We’re not trying to take your home away from you.” Hitoshi said, after a second of silence that seemed to last forever. Izuku was never this quiet. “It’ll still be there and we can go back to visit whenever you want.”

Izuku breathed deeply, murmuring “ our home” beneath his breath, chest inflating, reminding himself that Hitoshi really did care. “Okay.” He answered more audibly after a second, forcing a small smile onto his face.

Yamada returned, letting them know that ‘Sho’ would be back soon while handing Izuku a bottle of medicine (apparently having learned from last night not to pour it where Izuku couldn’t see) and a cup of juice. Izuku poured himself the liquid medicine and drank it before chugging the juice.

The voice hero handed them plates of pancakes and toast for their breakfast and both of them practically inhaled their food. “Jeesh, must be good!” Yamada exclaimed from where he was eating his own.

“Can’t taste.” Izuku voiced around a mouth full of pancakes.

“What?” Yamada asked, chuckling.

Izuku swallowed. “I have no sense of taste. No smell either.” He explained, shrugging, taking another bite and talking with his mouth full. “I looked it up and apparently that happens sometimes to divers that spend too much time in the ocean.”

“Oh, that’s interesting.” Yamada took a bite out of his toast, watching Izuku with something akin to curiosity on his face. He swallowed before speaking again. “You know, Sho once told me that Riptide mentioned that he couldn’t smell either and that’s why he wears that mask.”

Izuku coughed, choking on his food, biting straight through the wood of the chopsticks he’d had in his mouth. Hitoshi slapped his hand against his back, helping him. “Uh,” Izuku hacked, rubbing his chest. “Uh, well, my whole family used to go swimming... together, we um, we always stayed in the water...a lot.... So, uh, none of use can taste or smell...” Izuku looked down at his food, shoving an entire pancake into his mouth.

“Is that right?” Yamada asked, smiling, inwardly wondering if that was the case, where the rest of the family was and why Izuku was no longer with them. There was a lot that they didn’t know about Izuku.

Aizawa returned from U.A. soon after that and collapsed face first onto the couch immediately after shutting the front door. One of the cats, the tuxedo one Hitoshi had learned was named Ken, leapt onto their teacher and began grooming the back of Aizawa’s head.

Both Hitoshi and Izuku watched as Yamada gathered a plate of pancakes to take to his husband, turning back around after a moment to finish their own food.

Not long later, Aizawa was eating his pancakes after Yamada had lectured him about the lack of nutritional value in jelly packs. Hitoshi had a feeling that it was a lecture that Aizawa received often. He himself had said similar things to Izuku about his own food intake.

Yamada was in the bathroom, turning himself into Present Mic for his patrol, and Izuku stood from the kitchen table, approaching Aizawa to stand in front of him by the coffee table.

“What do you want, Problem Child?” Aizawa grumbled.

“I don’t have a fever anymore and I feel better. I’m going to the ocean now. I need to.” Izuku stated, his arms at his sides, old scars reflecting the lamp light as Aizawa leveled a dry look at him.

They seemed to be gauging each other for a moment before Aizawa finally leaned back, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Fine.” He said, “but you’re not going alone. I’ll be waiting on the beach for you and then we’re coming right back here.”

“Fine.” Izuku nodded.

Recovery Girl visited again briefly soon after that, chastising both Izuku and Aizawa for ripping the I.V. out again. She then kissed both of them and removed Aizawa’s cast. She lectured them one last time before leaving, telling Izuku to drink plenty of water and to eat more.

After that, Izuku headed to the bedroom to change, ready to get to the ocean as soon as possible.

“Izu, are you actually okay?” Hitoshi asked, once he’d shut the door behind them, Izuku pulling the Panic! shirt over his dead to dress in a tank top.

“I’m fine.” Izuku answered, too quickly, and Hitoshi grabbed onto his mind with the answer, watching as Izuku’s arms dropped, the tank top falling to the floor and his eyes going hazy.

“Are you actually alright, Izuku? ” He asked.

“No.” Izuku answered flatly.

“ What’s wrong?” Hitoshi pushed, wanting to help but knowing Izuku wouldn’t answer truthfully unless he was under the influence of his quirk.

“I killed someone.” Izuku answered, breath hissing between teeth. Hitoshi could feel Izuku’s mind fighting him. “I keep losing time and people keep doing things to or for me without my permission.”

Hitoshi abruptly released his hold and a violent shudder ran through Izuku’s body before he collapsed to the ground, chest heaving and legs on either side of his body. “Izu, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” Hitoshi had leaned down, reaching for his friend but freezing when Izuku’s head shot up, a positively murderous glare on his face. Hitoshi’s mouth went dry and he felt all the moisture in the room drawing toward Izuku. The water bottle on the nightstand lifted and one of the cats that had been on the bed went running.

This was the second time in one day, and the second time since he’d known him, that Izuku had looked at Hitoshi with anything other than kindness. It was horrible.

“Do not… ” Izuku heaved in a breath, one hand coming up to tug at his hair, as if his head was hurting him.

All of a sudden everything dropped, the water bottle clattering to the ground, and Izuku bent forward, his forehead setting on the wood of the floor, a violent quivering tearing through him. “ Sorry.” Izuku choked out and Hitoshi finally moved again, dropping to Izuku’s side and pulling him against his chest.

Hitoshi swallowed back tears. “It was my fault, you don’t need to be sorry. I shouldn’t have used my quirk on you, I should know better, I know that it’s a vil-”

“No,” Izuku practically shouted, shuddering. “Stop it. It’s not a villain's quirk. Ugh, I can’t…” Izuku reached up, tugging at his hair. “I just wanna go fucking swimming.”

“Okay, okay, Izu, I’m sorry.” Hitoshi murmured, pulling a hand through Izuku’s curls.

“You guys alright in there?” A knock on the door startled them both.

“Y-yeah, we’re fine.” Hitoshi called back.

“I’m heading out, Sho’ll take you to the beach. Hope you guys have fun, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sho on a beach before!” There was the sound of something being thrown and Yamada laughing, his footsteps retreating.

Izuku leaned back, shoving his palms into his eyes so hard that it had to hurt. “I really am sorry, Hoshi.” Izuku murmured. “I know I’m acting weird, and I’m not okay. I should have just said that in the first place. And I know you’re just trying to help. I’m sorry.” Izuku sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on and it’s scaring me. We were okay, we were happy, and it seems like everything changed so quickly and I wasn’t ready. I just wanna spend some time where I think the best and relax a bit, and then I’ll be okay.” Izuku nodded with a determined expression on his face, as if convincing himself and then pointed a shaky smile at Hitoshi who looked back worriedly.

“Alright,” he answered, reluctantly. “And you’re forgiven, by the way, but you didn’t have to apologize in the first place.”

Izuku took a deep, stabling breath and then stood, pulling his tank top on, and then baggier shorts over the other ones. Hitoshi finished dressing as well and they found Aizawa waiting on them in the living room, in civilian clothes for the first time that they’d seen. He wore black jeans and a baggy V-neck long sleeve shirt, his hair down and partially covering his face. He still wore his capture scarf and Hitoshi wondered if he ever went anywhere without it, or maybe it was just because he was with them and Izuku was literally being targeted by the league of villains.

“Let’s get this over with.” The teacher mumbled.

They headed to the car after that, Aizawa locking the door behind them. They rode there mostly in silence except for American rock music playing softly in the background. Izuku threw open the door as soon as they arrived, the car barely even stopped all the way.

Aizawa cursed, slamming his own door shut to follow after him, Hitoshi hanging back with him. Izuku raced through the dump expertly, Aizawa and Hitoshi jogging to keep up.

They passed the train car and Izuku spared one longing glance at it before moving on and breaching the trash and reaching the clear oasis of the sand, sprinting forward and tearing off his clothes aside from his under shorts before diving in and disappearing, the last thing they saw of him was the seaweed green of his hair.

Hitoshi sighed and glanced surreptitiously up at Aizawa who was watching the surface of the water with a strange expression on his face.

The man abruptly turned and Hitoshi jumped. “Try to hit me.” He said and Hitoshi blinked.

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve seen your fighting, it’s lacking. You’re behind the rest of the students in several aspects. Try to hit me, I’ll correct your mistakes.” Aizawa sighed, tossing aside his scarf. “Might as well do something productive while we’re out here. So, try to hit me.”

Hitoshi hesitantly punched toward Aizawa’s chest and the man grabbed his arm, flipping him over his head to land on his back, all the air rushing out of his lungs as he wheezed. Above him, Aizawa grinned down at him evilly.

Hitoshi groaned, rolling to his side to get back up. This sucked.

-X-

Under the water Izuku was lying inside of an old, abandoned military ship. He was deep; deeper than he usually went, and he could feel the pressure of hundreds of thousands of gallons of water around him, and not for the first time he wondered how he wasn’t being squished. He’d never broken a bone either, which was strange and rare for his line of work and with how young and inexperienced he had been at first.

The world was dark where he was, only illuminated by the glow from his own eyes, allowing him to see. There were fish here, and they were familiar with him. Sometimes they swam up to him curiously, but most of the time they ignored him, going about their lives as fish.

Until he sang .

Izuku liked to sing underwater. His voice travelled strangely and sometimes attracted unknown species of creatures, but Izuku loved it. He loved singing, he loved when the dolphins came and danced with him and when the sharks gave him their own versions of hugs. He loved the ocean, he loved being within its soothing embrace, surrounded by the serenity of the separate world that was the Pacific ocean.

All manner of sea life responded to Izuku’s music. It really was the only universal language, connecting humans and animals and anything in between. 

High Hopes was still in his head from this morning so he sang that until Guren appeared from nowhere to rub up against him like a cat. Izuku laughed, a few bubbles trailing from his mouth.

Guren was a great white shark and usually liked to stay in the deeper parts of the water during the day, which was one of the reasons Izuku had gone out so far. He had been injured as a pup and Izuku had rescued him and he hadn’t really left the area since. And he always came when Izuku sang.

Izuku reached out, webbed fingers sliding along the rough skin, petting him. Guren continued moving, urging Izuku to swim with him, his maw of teeth tugging at Izuku’s arm without harming him. So, he did, swimming along, side by side with a great white. With his friend.

He’d always related to great whites. They had such negativity surrounding them because of how powerful they were. People always expected the worst from them simply because of their high amount of serrated teeth and their sheer strength and size. It was awful. Izuku loved Guren and trusted him completely. As long as Izuku treated him well, he knew Guren would never hurt him.

They swam lazily for a while, Izuku keeping one hand on Guren’s dorsal fin to be partially pulled along as his mind wandered. He wondered about Tomura, about the League of Villains. How could he possibly know them? And what was with his dreams, and that scream he kept hearing? And why did Bakugou remember him but not the other way around? And what was with his headaches and the weird feelings he was experiencing and the name ‘Miku’?

Izuku tried to remember the orphanage, he tried to remember all the foster parents he knew he had, but all that did was hurt his head. No memories came to the surface of his mind, only pain.

There were so many unknowns right now. Izuku felt like he’d lost control of his life and he hated it. All his life, for as far back as he could remember, he’d had complete control of everything, every decision had been his own and he needed it that way. He couldn’t stand… he just really disliked the way his life was moving right now.

Things were supposed to be getting better but he was losing track of everything.

There was a moment, not for the first time, that Izuku considered just staying there, beneath the water, with Guren. He’d die quickly, he wouldn’t last long, he knew he wouldn’t. But it would be nice, he thought. It would be soft.

He just wanted the tranquility of the sea and the life within it. It’s all he’d ever needed.

Until he’d met Hitoshi and now he couldn’t imagine life without him. Izuku couldn’t let himself screw it up, he couldn’t drive him away, no matter how much things were changing. He couldn’t make mistakes like this morning. Izuku would persevere, just like he always did, because he was strong. He had to be.

But that didn’t change the fact that whatever was happening to him was screwing his normality up. He didn’t know what was true anymore, and half the time he didn’t even know what was real. He’d lost everything that he’d made, all that he’d constructed here for himself.

He needed facts, he needed to know the truth. He needed to know who that guy was and what his dreams meant, and why-

A scream pierced Izuku’s head like a hypodermic needle and he cried out, releasing Guren to clutch his head, panting.

He took a minute to stabilize himself and catch his breath, fingers tangled in his hair.

Izuku abruptly felt the cold vastness pressing into him and he lifted his head, releasing his hair and spinning around, realizing just how far out he’d gotten, panic returning tenfold. There was nothing but inky blackness below and above him and to every side and his stomach plummeted, eyes widening behind his second eyelids. “F-fuck, Guren, what’ve you done?” He gasped, turning in a circle, panicking, hair flaring about his face.

The shark rubbed against Izuku and he turned, looking into his blue eyes. “G-Guren, please, guide me back. Please.”

Izuku was struggling to remain calm, his chest shuddering and his hands shaking. It was like he could feel every bit of emptiness around him, all of the nothing. He was cold, it was so cold and he was scared and he was alone.

There were quintillions of gallons of water beneath his body and he looked down into that pitch black abyss, feeling like something was looking back at him.

He was so small.

The shark seemed to be considering Izuku as he swam in a circle around him. Izuku tried to feel all the water around him, tried to feel where the land was, where he was actually at, but he was losing his control and he could feel everything, too much, he could only think about the fact that the Pacific ocean was the largest body of the water in the entire world and that next to none of it had been explored. There was so much weight above him. So. Much. Empty. He could only think of the fact that-

Guren nudged his arm as he made a pass and Izuku instinctively lifted his hand, laying it on Guren’s head to smooth along the ridge of his head. He just needed to calm down, like before, get his bearings.

Izuku closed his first eyelids, drawing cold water into his body, letting it pass through his gills, ignoring the hitch as his body quaked with fear and his shaking hands.

There, so far away, he could feel where home was, somehow.

Izuku opened his eyes and reached out, taking a hold of Guren’s fin, showing him which way to go. Izuku’s muscles ached and he was tired and Guren was so much faster.

Izuku wanted Hitoshi.

-X-

It was dark and Hitoshi and Aizawa had finished sparring hours ago. Now the purple haired boy paced nervously at the edge of the lapping waves while Aizawa watched from where he sat cross legged on a blanket Hitoshi had grabbed from the train car. “He should be back by now.” Hitoshi hissed. “He doesn’t do this, he’s been so different lately.” He’d been ranting to himself for some time. Aizawa had tried to reassure him at first, which didn’t help. Eventually he’d just sat down to watch tiredly.

“He loves the ocean, but he’s afraid of it. He’s never actually said it but I can tell. He told me about being washed out during a storm and that the farther he goes the scarier it gets. He doesn’t like being absolutely lost, he said-”

Hitoshi halted his pacing and straightened, eyes shifting to where he saw green by the light of the moon, a few meters away. “Izuku?”

Behind him Aizawa was standing up, Izuku appearing out of the water, legs giving out as soon as he reached the air, dropping to his hands and knees. A wave washed over him as Hitoshi charged forward, grabbing Izuku beneath the arms and pulling him upward and against his chest, gasping when he felt how cold the other boy was and how much he was shaking .

Something was wrong. Something had happened.

Aizawa was waiting with a towel and Hitoshi hauled Izuku toward the hero, his feet scraping across the sand. “W-went too d-deep.” Izuku explained, teeth chattering together as Hitoshi set him down gently on the sand under the light of dead stars. Aizawa wrapped the towel around Izuku, Hitoshi on his knees in front of him to try to help dry him. Izuku seemed in no state to dry himself like he usually did.

Izuku clutched at Hitoshi, already soaked through from dragging him out of the water. He shoved his face against Hitoshi’s clavicle, his nose freezing against his skin. “I was s-so scared, Hoshi.” Izuku stuttered, his hands tugging at Hitoshi’s shirt as he panted heavily, beginning to hyperventilate.

Hitoshi frowned, because that wasn’t a response to him and he should have said something to get Izuku to respond to him. He didn’t like using his quirk on Izuku, but he didn’t really have a lot of options.

“It’s alright, you’re safe, you’re back on land now.” Hitoshi murmured, rubbing Izuku’s back, uncomfortably reminded of when he’d reassured Izuku with similar words back at the USJ only yesterday .

Izuku was hyperventilating even worse now and nothing seemed to be helping. He wasn’t crying or yelling, he was just breathing uncontrollably quickly. He wasn’t speaking anymore. He wasn’t responding. He seemed so scared and it was unsettling. Hitoshi had never seen him so frightened, especially after returning from the ocean, the place that usually made him the happiest.

Suddenly remembering the video he’d watched in the early hours of the night before, Hitoshi decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, lifting his left hand up to almost cup Izuku’s face as Aizawa watched in confusion. Hitoshi’s right hand raised and he drew his thumb down Izuku’s forehead and across the bridge of his nose, twice.

It was almost instantaneous. Izuku sucked in a breath, blinking before his entire body seemed to give out and he fell back, eyes half lidded, Hitoshi giving a yelp of surprise before catching him. “What the hell did you just do to him?” Aizawa demanded, eyebrows raised.

Hitoshi glanced up, “you’re a teacher, should you be cussing?”

“I’m not teaching right now, I’ll cuss all the fuck I want.” Aizawa scoffed

Hitoshi snorted, looking back down at the seemingly catatonic boy in his arms. “I saw a YouTube video a bit ago about subduing crocodiles or sharks like that so…”

“You thought you’d try it on your friend?” Aizawa asked in exasperation, raising his head. “You’re both problem children.” And then more quietly, “what have I gotten myself into…”

Hitoshi raised a brow at the teacher before looking back down at Izuku who seemed to be, for all appearances, in a stupor, the glow of his eyes behind his second eyelids dim from lack of sunlight all day. It was strange.

“Let’s head back.” Aizawa sighed. “We’ve been here far too long.” He leaned forward to pick Izuku up but Hitoshi shook his head.

“I’ve got him.” He said before slipping Izuku’s baggy shorts over his swimming ones and then slinging Izuku’s arm over his shoulder and getting a hold under his legs, lifting him, wincing. Sparring with Aizawa had left him exhausted and carrying Izuku wasn’t exactly easy on sore muscles.

The trek back to the car was difficult with Izuku more of a deadweight than anything, but he managed, eventually sliding the still teen into the back seat of the car. Hitoshi adjusted Izuku’s limbs and sat down next to him with a tired sigh.

Aizawa called Yamada on the way back, letting him know what happened and to have some tea ready or something. The teacher honestly didn’t know what Izuku needed right now.

The trance or whatever it was that Hitoshi had put Izuku in faded after about fifteen minutes and he shuffled closer to Hitoshi on the seat, pushing his face into his leg, body quivering. Hitoshi lifted a hand and settled it on Izuku’s head with a soft sigh.

When they got back Izuku hadn’t stopped shaking, nor had he released Hitoshi, who had to carry him inside, setting him down on the couch. Yamada immediately brought over a cup of hot tea but Izuku didn’t take it, hiding his face in Hitoshi’s side, the purple haired boy shrugging helplessly at his teacher.

It took another hour of the two heroes distracting themselves with paperwork and Hitoshi staring at the ceiling helplessly, but Izuku finally exhaled deeply, his body relaxing slightly as he sat up, glancing around at everyone who was watching him from different places around the room. Even the cats were watching him in various degrees of disregard or concern.

“Sorry for worrying you, I’m okay now.” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck with a hand that still trembled, his breath shaky.

“What exactly happened? That seemed abnormal.” Aizawa was frowning as he leaned forward in his seat, hands folded.

Izuku whined, a low, quiet whisper of a sound in the back of his throat, barely audible, and he looked up at the ceiling, blinking away tears. “Hey, Little Listener, it’s okay to cry. You know that right?” Yamada said from his seat, his hair down and falling past his shoulders. It wasn’t as long as Izuku’s but it was still long.

Izuku looked at the voice hero, a haunted expression passing over his face before he schooled his features and nodded. “I got distracted, I guess.” Izuku shook his head, hand tugging at the bottom of his baggy shorts, still shirtless, his tank top left behind somewhere on the beach.

“What do you mean, kiddo?” Yamada’s voice was kind and understanding and Izuku latched onto that, his nails digging into his leg without noticing.

“I went too f-far.” Izuku’s breath hitched and Hitoshi put an arm around his shoulders as the boy looked at the light of the lamp in the corner of the room. “I don’t…” Izuku trailed off, shaking his head and shuddering. “I don’t want to talk about it. I feel sick, I need water.”

Izuku twisted a quivering hand and the sink in the kitchen gurgled before water spurted out of it, floating through the air and into Izuku’s mouth.

Everyone in the room frowned but let it drop, the adults weren’t familiar enough with Izuku to push it and Hitoshi didn’t want to stress him out when he already seemed stretched so thin.

Hitoshi didn’t know what he needed and it was frustrating him because he always knew what Izuku needed.

“You can talk to any of us if you need someone, Midoriya.” Yamada said before standing up and stretching, looking toward Izuku. “I’m making miso soup for dinner, I think it’ll be easy on your stomach.

Izuku nodded his appreciation and leaned into Hitoshi with a sigh as the other boy pulled a blanket down from the back of the couch and awkwardly draped it across their shoulders with the arm not being held by Izuku.

Across from them Aizawa got up with a sigh to go help his husband make dinner, two cats trailing behind him, meowing for food, the third desperately trying to trip him.

Hitoshi tilted his head to look down at Izuku. “I’m here.” He murmured softly. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, or you can if you do want to. Either way, I’ll stay right here, okay?”

Izuku breathed in, lips pressed into a pained line. There was so much on his mind, it was hard to even know what was important. “Am I a bad friend, Hoshi?” He asked and that was not what he’d meant to say at all.

Hitoshi's arm tensed before he relaxed, the corner of his mouth lifting. “Izu, you are, without a doubt, the single greatest friend I have ever had.”

Izuku smiled against Hitoshi’s shoulder, relaxing. “You too, Hoshi.”

They ate dinner on the couch, neither of them willing to move. They stayed there for the rest of the night until bed, all of the cats eventually joining them.

Yamada turned on a movie after dinner and Izuku was astounded at the picture quality of the TV.

“I’ve never seen a movie before.” The boy breathed, blinking secondary eyelids as he leaned forward with curiosity.

Hitoshi only stared at Izuku in shock. How could he have never seen a movie before? How was that even possible?

Yamada was equally concerned but no one remarked on it, letting Izuku enjoy the moment.

He needed it.

Chapter Text

Waking up the next morning was difficult. Izuku’s muscles hurt and he was so tired, and Hitoshi just kept tugging on the webbing between his index and middle finger, knowing how much that irritated him, knowing it would get him up.

Izuku yanked his hand away and opened his eyes slowly, blinking when he saw Hitoshi’s face smirking entirely too close to him. “We need to get ready for class.”

Izuku moaned, shoving his face back and into his pillow, only for Hitoshi to grab him by his arms with a heavy sigh and drag him off the bed, dropping him onto the floor. “You doubt m’bilities to sleep anywhere.” Izuku mumbled, nuzzling his cheek against the floor, eyes closing again.

“C’mon, up.” Hitoshi growled, grabbing Izuku’s arms again and lifting him off the ground, forcing his knees to lock lest he fall back to the ground.

Hitoshi nodded successfully and moved to the bags stacked against the wall, rooting through them to find their rather ruffled school uniforms. Izuku yawned into his hand before moving toward his phones on the side table. He scrolled through his notifications quickly, shooting off a quick email to let his agency know that he’d be back to work that night and that he was sorry for missing on such short notice.

After that he dressed quickly, once again tossing the tie to the side, ignoring Hitoshi’s offer to help him tie it. It was too restricting, he didn’t want it even if he did know how to tie it.

They found both of their teachers in the kitchen, Aizawa looking at his phone with a scowl on his face and Kimi on his lap as he sat at the table, Yamada looking over his shoulder, his brows drawn together. Izuku heard a whisper about something ‘not being human’ which had Izuku looking at them in confusion, before the teachers both glanced up when Izuku and Hitoshi entered the room. Izuku twisted a hand into the air, the sink creaking before water came pouring out of it for the green haired boy to drink.

“Set out cups of orange juice for you guys.” Yamada gestured at the table, stepping back away from Aizawa and moving toward the fridge.

They ate quickly, Yamada carrying a one sided conversation easily, his long blond hair spiked up into one backward horn type style, in his hero gear. His ears were covered with his headphones but Hitoshi bet that he had his hearing aids on beneath them and realized it was an interesting way to disguise them.

After eating they all piled into Yamada’s car and Izuku sat in the back, loudly messing with the lock on the door much to Hitoshi’s annoyance and he leaned over to ask him to stop, but just when he opened his mouth Izuku shot upward excitedly.

“Ooo, I love this song!” He exclaimed and Yamada met his eyes in the rearview mirror, grinning, reaching forward to turn the volume up. Aizawa grumbled, sinking farther into his scarf, his eyes closed.

In the back seat Izuku threw his arms up, voice raising with the lyrics. Soon enough both Yamada and Izuku were belting out the lyrics to some old rock song and dancing seated while Aizawa and Hitoshi pretended they were one with the vehicle.

Hitoshi had to admit though: they could really sing, and they definitely harmonized well together. It wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever heard

The two students were dropped off halfway up the hill to avoid being seen arriving all together and Izuku stretched his arms above his head, yawning. “What do you think we’ll do today?” He asked.

Hitoshi shrugged, adjusting his black backpack hanging off one shoulder. “No idea, probably something crazy. I just ask one thing.” Hitoshi sighed. “Don’t end up at Recovery Girl’s office again please.”

Izuku snorted, “I can’t make any promises.”

Hitoshi groaned and Izuku laughed as they clefted the hill and approached the gate, letting it slam shut behind them. “Look”: Hitoshi murmured and Izuku turned his head with a hum, following the line of Hitoshi’s finger to see where his friend was pointing. “Those must be the dorms Nezu mentioned.”

“Dorms?” Izuku frowned, stilling.

Hitoshi turned to face him. “Oh, yeah, you were pretty out of it when he talked about that.”

“Wait, wait. When…” Izuku took a deep, calming breath. “When did you see the principal?”

Hitoshi grimaced, scratching the back of his neck. “He was at the train car when you came back from the ocean, after the attack at the USJ. He said he was planning to create a dorm system for U.A.”

Izuku stared up at Hitoshi for a moment, face uncomfortably expressionless before he looked away and continued walking, Hitoshi following. “I really, really hate that I remember none of that.” He muttered.

Hitoshi’s frowned worriedly. “I’m sorry, Izu. You were really feverish, I’m not surprised you don’t remember it.”

Izuku didn’t answer for a moment and Hitoshi could practically see him battling with himself, fingers tapping at his sides and his teeth obviously gnawing at his cheek.

“Hey, guys!” A voice shouted and Izuku looked up, his frustrated demeanor falling away like old cobwebs at the sight of Kirishima and Bakugou walking toward them, the redhead waving while the blonde scowled, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Izuku brightened, returning the wave. “How are you guys doing?” Izuku asked once they joined them on their walk to class.

“What do you care?” Bakugo growled at the ground.

“Oh, don’t be like that.” Izuku grinned, slapping his arm in a friendly gesture. “I know you’re just pretending to act like that.”

Bakugou halted, his eyes narrowing at Izuku. “And how do you know that?”

Izuku stopped midstep, blinking, a sudden spear of pain lancing through his brain. “Nevermind.” He cleared his throat, walking again, leaning forward so that his hair covered his face. Hitoshi didn’t miss his wince of pain though.“Kirishima, how are you?” He asked.

Kirishima stopped glancing between Bakugou and Izuku in confusion and shrugged. “I’m great! You’re looking better too. We were all really worried when Yamada-sensei carried you out of there.”

“Yamada carried me?” Izuku breathed weakly, working his lip between his teeth.

Kirishima looked at him strangely and from Izuku’s other side he caught Shinsou sliding a thumb across his throat in a ‘cut it out’ gesture. “Well, anyway.” He said, looking back to Izuku. “You look better.”

“Thanks. I had a fever for a bit, but I feel a lot better too.” Izuku straightened.

They reached the classroom then and found that half the class was already there as they moved toward their seats. “Midoriya! Shinsou!” Uraraka exclaimed, approaching them, followed by Yaoyorozu, Iida and Tsu.

“Hey, guys.” Izuku smiled at them.

“The other day was crazy, right?” Uraraka shook her head. “I never expected something like that to happen, let alone on our third day.”

Izuku nodded, leaning his back against his desk, elbows settling on the top of it, Hitoshi next to him. “Yeah, it was definitely wild. I don’t know if Aizawa’ll mention it, but you guys should hit up Hound Dog to talk about it some time. It’s always a good idea to see someone about it if it’s your first confrontation with villains.”

Everyone within hearing distance stopped talking and turned to look at Izuku in surprise and he suddenly realized that that might not be something the average 15 year old would say. He always suggested talking to someone to victims when he could though without seeming like a jerk. Rescuing someone wasn’t always the end of it. Being saved took a lot longer most of the time. There was a whole lifetime of recovery afterward sometimes.

Most 15 year old's didn’t know that.

“Have you… had many encounters with villains?” Uraraka asked in confusion.

“Uh, I’ve been… I’ve seen a few attacks...” Izuku trailed off, fingers twirling in his hair.

“I see.” Iida tilted his head. “In any case, that is a good point, Midoriya. I, for one, will be seeing Hound Dog, and if anyone would like someone to go with them or if you don’t know how to go about it, just let me or Aizawa-sensei know.”

“Thank you, Iida.” Aizawa’s voice grumbled as he entered the room and everyone rushed to their seats, surprised to see that the guidance counselor was actually right behind him.

“You guys have gone through rrrr an ordeal. It is important rrr that you take care of yourrrr mental health as much as yourrrr physical. My office is by Principal Nezu’s. Come see me rrr anytime.” The wolf looking man rumbled deeply, his words interspersed with growls as if he couldn’t control himself.

“Thank you, Hound Dog.” Aizawa sighed.

“You'rrrre welcome.” He growled and then walked out of the room, teeth bared behind his mask.

“Let a teacher you’re comfortable with know at any point if you’d like an appointment with Hound Dog.” Dark eyes met each one of theirs. “U.A. might be difficult and stress the importance of realistic training, but you were never meant to experience something so daunting, so soon. Even if you didn’t fight anyone, or even if it’s months after now, counseling can help. This will be a unit later in the year and it will be covered several times throughout your time at U.A., but maintaining mental health is important. Let me, or any other teachers here, know if you have any questions or concerns.”

The class was silent for a minute, taking his words in. Izuku was grateful that Aizawa brought it up and his respect for the hero was raised even more. The man was a great teacher and hero. It was refreshing. Izuku had seen a lot of bad heroes since he’d gotten his license.

“With that taken care of…” Aizawa finally started from behind the podium, eyes exhausted and red, as always. “The sports festival is drawing near.”

Oh, yeah. Izuku had forgotten about that.

While the rest of the class started talking over each other, Izuku leaned forward, his chin resting on his hand. Was it safe for him to partake in the activities with a target on his back? Was it safe for others after he’d literally killed someone that Izuku was beginning to realise ‘hadn’t been human’?

Aizawa cleared his throat, drawing the class’s attention back to him. “Having the sports festival is showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock. Security will be strengthened to five times that of previous years.” His tired gaze looked at each one of them in turn, making sure they were all listening. “Above all, the U.A. sports festival is a huge chance. It’s not an event to just be cancelled because of villains. Our sports festival is one of Japan’s biggest events.” He went on to describe their comparison to the Olympics. He explained about the top heroes that would be watching and about chances for internships with heroes afterward. He ended with, “If you expect to go pro then the path to your future will open up at this event. No aspiring heroes can afford to miss it.”

Izuku straightened in his seat, tilting his head. That wasn’t true. There was more to heroics than fame and a high school sports festival. It might be a chance to get the attention of other heroes for internships, but surely it wasn’t as big of a deal to miss as he was making it seem.

Izuku was suddenly reminded of what school this was. The best heroics school in Japan and the hardest to get into. He thought of how important the festival was to the country, even the whole world watching in, and realized the school probably got a lot of revenue from it. Maybe that was why he was emphasizing it so much. It made sense, and it was important for the students to experience a bit of friendly competition. But Izuku thought he was stressing the importance of it a bit too much.

Class was dismissed soon after that and Present Mic entered the room excitedly, calling Izuku up to pass out papers as his intern. This was the first class really where he could actually experience being the intern and he found it exciting to share in his knowledge of the English language, helping other students pronounce some of the words and form simple sentence structures.

After that they had one more class and then it was finally lunch. Izuku stood from his seat, cracking his back and gathering his notebooks into his bookbag. “Midoriya.” A voice said and Izuku looked up, seeing Bakugou standing in front of him, by his own desk.

“Hmm?” He asked, zipping his bag up and swinging it over his shoulder, wincing when it caught on a chunk of hair and almost yanked it out. Maybe he should have had Hitoshi braid it for him this morning.

“I wanna talk to you.” The Pufferfish boy said.

“Alright, we can walk to lunch together if that works.” Izuku suggested, glancing back at Hitoshi who shrugged, waving them on.

“Whatever.” Bakugou shrugged, leading the way.

Izuku quirked his mouth up in a confused smile, following Bakugou out the door. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

The blonde heaved a breath as Izuku joined his side. “I don’t understand you and it’s pssing me off.”

Izuku raised a brow. “Well, we only just met so that’s underst-”

“That’s not true!” Bakugou practically shouted, turning his head to glare at Izuku with burning red eyes. “I don’t think you realize how close we used to be. You… how can you not remember it? Where is Inko? Where have you been all this time? And how the fuck can you control water?”

Izuku frowned. “I don’t really… I don’t really have those answers. I’m sorry.”

Bakugou went silent for a moment before continuing. “I found all our old photo albums yesterday.” He said, voice quieter than it was a second ago. “I’d forgotten how injured you were all the time. Even in pictures you can see the wounds, in every single one. ”

Izuku went still and Bakugou grabbed his arm, pulling him into an empty classroom, everyone having left it for lunch. “Where have you been, Izuku ?”

“I don’t remember.” Izuku hissed in answer as Bakugou grabbed him by the shoulder, pushing him back against the wall. “But you better get your hand off me if you want to keep it.”

Bakugou searched his eyes before lifting his hand and taking another deep breath. “I almost died ten months ago.”

Izuku blinked at the sudden admission and change of mood. “I’m… sorry? That sounds sucky.”

“I don’t want your pity.” Bakugou growled. “I mentioned it because I thought of you, right before I passed out, and I hadn’t thought of you in years , and now you’re here.”

“Hmm,” Izuku hummed. “Strange how the world works sometimes.”

“No, you’re not getting it.” Bakugou ran a hand through his hair, taking a step back. “My family thought you died, Deku.”

Izuku flinched, Tomura’s voice echoing in his mind, ‘You’re supposed to be dead’. His headache was steadily getting worse, and he resisted the urge to tug on his hair, steadying his breathing. “Bakugou, I. Don’t. Know. Okay? I just… There’s a hole, alright? There’s a place where my memories begin and before that point it’s just… blank. I just don’t know.”

Bakugou stared at him, an unfamiliar emotion in his crimson eyes. Izuku had the strange feeling that he knew those eyes and he suddenly felt like he was drowning in them and he looked away.

“Something happened to you.” Bakugou stated flatly.

Izuku recoiled, fingers tightening on the strap of his bag so hard that his knuckles whitened. “Huh?”

“That’s a lot of missing time, Deku.” He said and Izuku’s face darkened, jaw clenching.

“I know that. But what am I supposed to do about it? Every time I even think about… about it, my head..” Izuku lifted his right hand, pushing his palm against his brow bone.

Bakugou was frowning. “That’s not right.”

“I know that.” Izuku hissed and Bakugou went quiet. “Is that all? I’m really hungry.”

“Yeah, you were always hungry.” Bakugou sighed. “Let’s go.”

Izuku released a breath of relief that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding and turned to exit the classroom. They walked the rest of the way to the cafeteria together.

“You should sit with us.” Izuku said as they approached the double doors, massaging his temple as the headache began easing.

Bakugou snorted. “As if I’d sit with you extras.”

Izuku opened the door, immediately seeing that two tables had been pushed together toward the back of the cafeteria; Hitoshi, Todoroki, Iida, Kirishima, Tsu, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu all sitting with each other. Kirishima caught sight of them first and waved, yelling across the entire cafeteria. “Guys! C’mon, we saved ya seats!”

Bakugou scowled. “Damn.”

“Ha,” Izuku smirked, lifting a hand in a wave to Hitoshi as they joined the line for food, Bakugou right behind him.

Izuku ordered the same thing as last time and then headed to the table, dropping next to Hitoshi and setting his bag on the ground. “What’d Bakogou want?” Hitoshi asked, his mouth full of noodles.

Izuku shrugged and then smiled, “Nothing really. I see you’re all sitting together.”

“Yeah!” Kirishima exclaimed from next to Hitoshi. “We’re all buds now! We should, like, hang out after school!”

“That’s a good idea!” Uraraka exclaimed, setting down her chopsticks and nodding rapidly. Across from Izuku, Todoroki looked between both of them, blinking.

Kirishima grinned, showing both rows of sharp teeth. “We could go to the mall? Or maybe the park? Or we could-”

“The beach!” Izuku suggested around a mouthful of curry.

Hitoshi sighed heavily, while the rest of the class looked toward Izuku. “It’s still a bit too chilly for swimming in the ocean I think.” Iida said and Hitoshi nodded, Izuku slapping his arm.

“Maybe next time, Mido.” Uraraka gave Izuku a thumbs up and he smiled.

“I heard about an amusement park that opened up outside of Tokyo recently, kero.” Tsu suggested, one finger on her chin thoughtfully.

Kirishima looked around the table, at everyone nodding in agreement. “Amusement park it is, then.”

“I’ve never been to an amusement park.” Izuku said, blinking.

“Me neither.” Todoroki responded.

“Seriously?!” Kirishima yelled, jumping to his feet.

At his left, Bakugou scowled. “Shut it, Shitty Hair, I’m trying to eat.”

“Oh, sorry bro!” Kirishima sat back down. “You guys have never been to an amusement park?”

Both of them shook their heads, Hitoshi turning to look at Izuku, an evil grin spreading across his face.

Izuku blinked. “What’s with that face? Should I be concerned?”

Hitoshi shrugged, turning back to his food. “Nothing, I just had an idea.”

“Does this weekend work for everyone?” Kirishima asked, pulling out his phone. “Let’s make a group chat, just download this app and I’ll add ya.”

Izuku handed over his personal phone from his pocket with a shrug and then finished his meal quickly. “Tomorrow is Saturday, we could go then if that works for everyone.” Kirishima said, adding everyone to the chat.

There were several mumbles of agreement and then Izuku’s phone was handed back to him. Not much longer after that the bell was ringing, signalling that it was time to head back to class.

The rest of the day passed quickly, Yamada driving them all home. Izuku fell asleep on Hitoshi’s shoulder in the backseat and the purple haired boy surreptitiously took a picture of him while Yamada smiled at him from the rearview mirror.

He woke him up when they got back to the house and Izuku stumbled out of the car, cracking his knuckles against his sides.

They headed inside and Izuku collapsed onto the ground, starfishing, all three cats coming to lay on him as his eyes slipped closed. “Midoriya, what are you doing?” Aizawa asked flatly, stepping over the boy to go take a nap.

“Is it weird that I want to draw a chalk outline around him?” Hitoshi asked, tilting his head down at Izuku as he lifted Kimi off of the other boy to cradle against his own chest.

Yamada closed the door behind them, one eyebrow raised as he moved over to the kitchen, opening their junk drawer and pulling out a small box. He tossed it to Hitoshi who awkwardly caught it with one hand, the other arm busy cradling Kimi. He looked at Yamada in confusion and the man smiled at him.

“Just open it.” Yamada gestured at him before turning around to grab a bottle of vitamin water from the fridge. Hitoshi popped open the lid of the box with his thumb, blinking in surprise when he saw several rows of partially used and unused chalks.

He lifted his head, grinning. “You’re just gonna let me draw on your floor?”

Yamada shrugged, breaking the cap of the bottle. “Have at it. I need to get going for the radio station, Sho’ll probably sleep until his patrol tonight. Don’t destroy anything please, but otherwise, make yourselves at home.”

One glowing eye cracked open and Izuku looked up at Hitoshi with confusion. “Hoshi, what’re you doing?”

“Just nap or whatever,” the purple haired boy answered, setting Kimi aside and shooing the rest of the cats to go bother Aizawa.

Izuku shrugged against the ground and his eye slipped back closed. Hitoshi knew that he also had patrol tonight for the first time after the USJ attack and he was probably trying to get in as much sleep as possible beforehand.

That didn’t mean Hitoshi couldn’t have some fun.

Yamada gathered his things as Hitoshi crouched next to Izuku’s inert form, a stick of chalk held between long fingers. Izuku didn’t move as Hitoshi began dragging the chalk against the wood of the floor, lining his friend's body as he drowsed.

Eventually he was done and Hitoshi stood, hands on his hips, to admire his work. After a second he pulled his phone out, ignoring the almost 100 notifications he already had from the new group chat, and took a picture of the boy below him. He looked at it for a second with a smirk before shrugging and sending it to the group chat as his first message.

It wasn’t until messages started flooding in, asking why they were together outside of school, if they lived together, if they were brothers, if they were dating, if they were friends from middle school and more that Hitoshi realized it might have been a bad idea to send that picture.

He shoved his phone into a pocket without answering any of them and then moved to the couch, grabbing his bag and pulling out his homework.

Izuku woke up about an hour before Aizawa and walked to the couch, throwing himself over Hitoshi who grumbled in annoyance, leaning back so his papers weren’t bent. “Since you’re awake, make yourself useful and help me with English.”

With a heavy sigh Izuku sat up off of Hitoshi and retrieved his bag, coming back to sit on the couch next to Hitoshi like a normal person, setting his own textbook and notebook out. “Alright, let’s get started. I want to leave for work before Aizawa is up.”

“You should eat something first.” Hitoshi reprimanded, underlining the incorrect verb in sentences.

“I’ll eat on my way, it’s fine.” Izuku leaned forward. “You’ve got the wrong word there.”

They worked on homework for a while before Hitoshi quickly braided Izuku’s hair and then Izuku went back to the room to grab the bag with his Riptide costume. “I can’t change here.” Izuku muttered, entering the living room again, the bag slung across his shoulder. “This is troublesome. I wish we were back at the beach.”

“You have your phone and stuff?” Hitoshi asked, approaching from the kitchen with an armful of pilfered snacks to give to Izuku, knowing he got hungry when he was working.

“I have everything, you don’t need to worry about me, Hoshi.” Izuku took the snacks, shoving them into his bag and patting Hitoshi’s shoulder before heading to the door, stepping over the chalk outline.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Aizawa appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway, eyeing Izuku with eyes framed in dark bags.

“Work,” Izuku answered stiffly.

“Hmm. You really shouldn’t be working. Zashi and I can keep you fed and everything, you don’t need to be making money.”

“I’ll think about it.” He answered with a nonchalant shrug.

Aizawa sighed, again. “Do you need a ride?”

Izuku scratched his neck. “Uh, no, it’s okay. I can walk to the station. See you guys later!” Izuku waved and Aizawa scowled. This kid was such a problem. How was he supposed to protect him if he insisted on working.

Aizawa shook his head as the front door closed behind the Problem Child before he happened to look down and saw the chalk outline. He blinked and then looked up at Hitoshi, innocently drinking from a juicebox. “Did I sleep through a murder?”

Hitoshi cackled.

-X-

It was already nightfall as Izuku headed into the city, having changed into his Riptide costume on the way. Fortunately he was teaming up with a different underground hero he’d worked with before this time, not Eraserhead. But he knew it was an inevitability that he’d be paired with Eraser again. He didn’t know what he was going to do when he was finally asked to team up with the person that was his teacher. There was no way he wouldn’t recognize his voice now that he was living with the man.

What a mess…

Izuku joined Achilles on a rooftop just outside their mission destination. Achilles was the same hero he’d battled quirkless during his hero test. He was a tall man (but that wasn’t saying a lot in comparison to Izuku). Achilles wore tight black pants and black combat boots with silver eyelets, as well as wearing a long black trench coat over a long sleeve black, stab resistant shirt. He was also covered in piercings which distracted the eye from the other hero’s long diagonal scar that cut his face nearly in half, bisecting his left eyebrow, cutting across the bridge of his nose to end at almost his ear.

Achilles swept long purple hair over his shoulder and looked at Izuku with pure, teal eyes, even the sclera taken up. “Did you read over the mission materials?” The man asked in a smooth voice.

“Mhm,” Izuku answered, leaning over the edge of the building to survey the area. “I looked over them on my way here. Arms bust right?”

“Yeah, the agency caught wind of a trade going down tonight in that building over there.” Achilles pointed toward a nondescript, abandoned warehouse and Izuku nodded, cracking his back. “They believe there will be a heavy amount of weapons and drugs present and their quirks are mostly unknown.”

Izuku nodded. He’d read through the briefing. Most of the quirks seemed harmless enough, one being the ability to read really quickly. Izuku didn’t see that helping anyone in a battle. “Police are on standby, our job is just to apprehend the perps without destroying any evidence.”

“Easy.” Izuku muttered and the other hero looked at him dryly. “I was being sarcastic,” Izuku explained with a sigh. The other hero had never understood sarcasm or any type of irony really.

“Oh.” Achilles answered. “Well, anyway, we have a couple hours before anyone should actually be arriving so we can talk plans. While… are you eating?”

Izuku looked up from where he’d been unwrapping a pack of cheese crackers that Hitoshi had given him. “Yeah? I’m hungry.”

“Did you not eat dinner again?” Achilles sighed, sitting down with crossed legs.

Izuku shrugged. “I got distracted. I’ll be fine, I have crackers.”

Achilles sighed and went silent, giving Izuku a moment to eat, his mask pulled down but his face turned away. The other hero had never once asked Izuku why he wore the mask, or why he never showed his face. Izuku appreciated it. Aizawa was a lot pushier with it. But then again, he was a teacher and seemed to have some sort of parental drive over Riptide.

Izuku could never let him find out that he was also Izuku. The man would lose his mind.

After that they went on to discuss plans, finally settling on what they usually did for missions like this. Step one: try to take out as many as possible without getting sighted, Izuku would take the back, Achilles in the front and they’d support each other if anything went wrong (as they were bound to do). Things rarely went according to plan when you were a pro underground hero.

Step two: (if they made it that far), Achilles would use his quirk to disiorent them and then Izuku would swoop in when they were distracted and use his own quirk to swiftly knock them all out.

Simple plan, but if nothing went wrong, it should work just fine. They’d done things like this more than once before.

Eventually there was movement below them and the two heroes stood, Achilles’ coat billowing out behind him and Izuku’s hood ruffling in the breeze, the full moon behind them casting them in distinct white light.

They each put in their ear pieces then, tuning them into each other before splitting up, moving in opposite directions. Izuku ran across rooftops, ducking between industrial wreckage before leaping onto the back end of the warehouse and climbing up the slanted side.

There were many broken windows and Izuku crouched over a medium sized one so that he was obscured from sight, but he could still see inside. It was a large, mostly empty area, the ground covered with many layers of moldy saw dust. There was a wide plastic table in the middle of it, like one you could buy cheaply at most department stores. On either side of the table were two groups of people, one group dressed in business suits, the other wearing what Izuku had come to expect from thugs, more along the lines of scrounged rags and ripped up jeans.

Izuku’s advanced hearing could pick up the sounds of an argument, one woman in a business suit, tattoos peeking out of her collar and sleeves, had one of the thugs on his knees in front of her, her grip on his wrist twisting it to the side. Izuku ignored that for the time being, noting the stragglers, wandering around the area, making sure they wouldn’t be interrupted, securing the perimeter. And by the way they acted Izuku could tell none of them could see in the dark.

Unlike him.

They were easy to take out, nothing going wrong as Izuku took out the last one with a tranquilizer gun he carried on his belt. He piled up the bodies out of sight and then held a finger to his ear, making sure he was out of hearing range before he whispered, “I got all the stragglers. How are things on your end?”

There was the fuzzy sound of feedback and Izuku frowned, tapping the earpiece before a gunshot echoed in the air around him, the light of it brilliantly bright in the night.

Izuku cursed and shot forward, pulling water to him, prepared for a hard fight.

It had turned to chaos inside quickly, thugs and business people alike fighting, guns firing in every direction. Off to the side, Achilles was crumpled against the ground, an arm against his middle, the woman from before standing over him with a gun to his head.

Izuku cursed again, lifting a hand, closing his fingers. The woman cried out, a hand going to her head as the gun tumbled to the ground. Izuku gritted his teeth, pushing the image of an exploding brain from his mind as both thugs and business people charged him.

There were a lot of them and Izuku did not have the element of surprise. He fought viciously and carefully, a careful eye on every person without a physically presenting quirk. He targeted the unknowns first, tranquilizer darts flying as he knocked weapons from hands. A lashing wind built up around Izuku, his hood flying back as someone used a weak elemental quirk on him before he took them out, body dropping like a puppet onto the ground.

Izuku was doing well, but with how outnumbered he was it was only a matter of time before it went sour.

As Izuku spun, roundhouse kicking a thug in the head, someone got a hand on him and his vision went black.

Taken by surprise Izuku lurched backward, the contact breaking and his vision returning, just in time to see the woman’s finger from farther away close on the trigger of her gun, pain immediately flaring in Izuku’s arm as a bullet skimmed his flesh.

Izuku hissed, eyes narrowing as he lifted his hands, lip curling beneath his mask. Fuck this. Monster or not…

Izuku was taking them out.

All at once they dropped to their knees, clutching at their heads or hearts, someone pissed themselves and another screamed.

Izuku could feel the water in their blood, coursing through gray matter and pulsing through their bodies.

“You…?” The woman gasped roughly, hands tangled in her blond hair.

Izuku hissed, his hand clenching. The woman’s eyes went hazy and she collapsed to the side, along with every other villain in the room.

Izuku heaved out a gasp of breath in sharp relief, his vision wavering slightly until he blinked and shook his head, pressing a button on his earpiece to get the police to enclose on his position, his voice connecting with one of them, letting them know Achilles was down as he dropped next to the man.

His hand dropped away from his ear and Izuku lifted the other hero’s coat, examining the damage. Achilles’ eyes were closed, forehead creased and arm tight over his middle, covering any wound. All the black probably hid a lot of blood as well but Izuku could see it gathering on the ground beneath him.

Izuku frowned, leaning forward to tap his partner's cheek. He needed to see if he was awake enough to figure out the damage.

Achilles’ blue eyes snapped open at the contact and his bloodied hand shot up, Izuku releasing a sharp yelp as it closed around his throat, and he was slammed into the ground, head bouncing before everything went dark…

...Izuku knew Achilles’ quirk. It’d been the first thing he’d learned about the man before they’d partnered for the first time. He knew it was a five point touch quirk that turned one’s worst fears into their own reality, launching their minds into a waking nightmare.

Izuku knew about it, he’d seen Achilles use it on villains and perps many times, but the hero had never used it on him.

Until now, on accident.

The quirk only lasted five minutes, unless Achilles pushed himself, but to Izuku, it felt like forever.

There was raw pain, every nerve on fire as nails dug into his skin, a satin voice whispering in his ear, his eyes the only thing that could move but still unseeing. No muscle reacted. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t taste or smell and he was burning. He could only hear that voice and the agonized screams echoing behind him.

And then there was nothing, a savage nothing and Izuku couldn't see, hear, feel… he couldn’t do anything.  

His skull broke in half, he felt his muscles revealed, stripped, body broken, bones grinding, eyeballs swelling.

He was torn apart over and over again.

Izuku’s body lurched to the side, his hand flashing up to rip his mask down as vomit spewed from his mouth. There was a hand on the back of his head, keeping him steady, and he could feel wetness on the back of it. He must’ve hit the ground hard if he was bleeding.

Wiping a hand across his mouth Izuku looked up, eyes wide as he panted shakily. Achilles was crouched over him, lips pressed in a thin line, head turned toward him, though it was always hard to tell where exactly he was looking with his eyes completely shrouded in blue.

“The police and paramedics will be here any minute.” The hero said flatly, face framed in bright purple hair as he kept a hand pressed against the back of Izuku’s head. Izuku realized that yeah, he could hear the sirens, close.

When he made no move to get up Achilles sighed, lifting a hand from his waist and pulling Izuku’s mask up. Izuku flinched, reaching up to adjust it, eyes flicking up to Achilles’. He’d forgotten…

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” He said, referring to how young Izuku so obviously was.

Izuku blinked. “But you’re a hero, you’re obligated to tell.”

Achilles looked away, eye twitching. “I don’t do a lot of things that I’m obligated to.”

Izuku frowned but before he could ask more about that the room was flooded with the police.

It was an organized mess after that. Izuku and Achilles were both taken to sit on the back of an ambulance, side by side. Achilles wasn’t as wounded as Izuku had thought he was, and Izuku’s own wounds were taken care of easily, his arm cleaned and wrapped and his head bandaged.

They were left alone for a bit, everyone else running around to deal with all the people they’d taken out.

They sat alone in silence for a minute before Achilles spoke. “I’ve never said…” he began quietly, his hand tightening on a water bottle, the plastic crinkling. “I never mention it to anyone, but I see what everyone sees… when I use my quirk on them. I see their worst nightmares. A lot of people are afraid of normal things… I’ve seen falling, dying, drowning, bugs, abandonment, thunder… things like that…”

Achilles finally turned, depthless blue eyes seeming to stare into Izuku’s soul. “I thought I’d seen it all. But, Riptide, I have no idea what that was. And you don’t either. I could feel that…” Achilles frowned deeply, looking up, into the dark sky. “You’re lost.”

Izuku tensed. “What… what do you mean by that?”

Achilles shook his head. “Be careful, Riptide. Oftentimes, things are lost for a reason. Sometimes it is best that they stay gone.”

Izuku looked at the hero in nervous tension before Achilles was made to leave, the wound in his stomach bad enough for the hospital. Izuku watched the ambulance leave, an uncomfortable pit in his stomach that hadn’t been there before.

Izuku debriefed with his agency and then ducked into an unmanned 24/7 automated convenience store to change, hiding the bandage under his hair, and covering his arm with a dark jacket.

And then with that he headed back to Hitoshi, glad that he was done with this long night.

-X-

Izuku found Yamada at the kitchen table when he entered the house, fresh from the shower, his long blond hair wet and trailing down his back. He took one look at Izuku and stood, chair scraping against the floor. He strode forward, throwing an arm around Izuku and pulling him into an awkward hug.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Izuku frowned, voice muffled until he turned his face away from the man’s middle. Yamada was too tall in comparison to Izuku, at least half a foot taller, probably more.

“You looked like you needed a hug.” His teacher said, stepping away and looking down at him. “Rough night at work?”

Izuku frowned, shrugging off the hand. “It was fine. Thank you for the hug. Where is Hoshi?”

“Shinsou?” Yamada raised a brow at the nickname but seemed to understand who he meant. “He’s asleep in the guest room. He said you guys have plans early tomorrow morning?”

Izuku slapped a hand over his face. “Aw, crap, the amusement park.”

Yamada smiled. “Well, you better get some sleep, kiddo.”

Izuku nodded, waving good night to the man, wondering if Eraserhead had returned from his own patrol yet or not and hoping his had gone well if he had, or was going well if he hadn’t.

Izuku took a quick shower, washing away sweat and blood and then rewrapped his wounds and brushed his teeth, sighing when he broke yet another toothbrush.

He pulled on a baggy T-Shirt that covered his bandages and shorts, then crossed the hallway to climb into bed next to Hitoshi, who woke the second he touched the mattress, grumbling.

“Sorry.” Izuku murmured, falling onto the pillows. He couldn’t help that his friend was such a light sleeper, but he still felt bad about it.

“H’was work?” Hitoshi mumbled, rolling over so that they were facing each other, his purple eyes hazy with sleep.

Izuku quirked the corner of his mouth up in a grimace and Hitoshi woke up a bit more, frowning. “Bad night?”

Izuku shrugged. “It’s okay, You should get some sleep since apparently we’re going to an amusement park tomorrow.”

“Mhm.” Hitoshi answered, yawning. “You sleep too. My alarm is set, I’ll make sure to get you up.”

“Okay,” Izuku caught Hitoshi’s yawn, rolling to his stomach and pulling a pillow over his head.

It took him a long time to fall asleep and when he finally did he was plagued with horrifying nightmares.

-X-

A hand against his head woke Izuku up and he moaned, smacking his hand upward without actually hitting anything. “Your head…” A voice murmured.

“...nnnnn.” Izuku pushed his face into the sheets, eyes remaining closed.

“Okay, okay.” Hitoshi said softly. “I’m going to go get you some water and medicine, I’ll be right back.”

“Hmm,” Izuku hummed in response, the bed lifting as a weight left it. Izuku immediately fell back to sleep, grumbling when he was woken again, seemingly right away.

An arm snaked underneath him, turning him over and sitting him up. Izuku’s eyes cracked open and he winced at the sunlight streaming in underneath curtains, right across his face before Hitoshi settled his body in front of it. “It’s liquid excedrin or something. I watched Yamada pour it. It’s safe.”

Izuku grunted in response and leaving his eyes closed he lifted a hand, feeling a small cup pressed into it. He knocked it back and then handed it away, taking the cup of water next and chugging the entire thing. He felt Hitoshi’s hand prodding the back of his head and he hissed in pain, jerking his head forward and away.

“Sorry, sorry.” Hitoshi murmured. “You don’t have a concussion again, do you?”

“No,” Izuku responded, handing the cup back, now empty.

“Hmm.” Hitoshi frowned. “Are you still okay to go to the amusement park? Everyone wants to meet at the front gate in three hours but we don’t have to go.”

“Mhm. I can still go. I’m sure my head’ll be better by then.” Izuku leaned forward, his forehead falling against Hitoshi’s shoulder. Hitoshi lifted his hands to settle on Izuku’s arms to push him back but flinched when Izuku hissed in pain.

Hitoshi frowned, lifting Izuku’s T-Shirt sleeve and seeing the bandage, speckled with red. “Just brushed with a bullet, it’s okay.”

“Jeesh, Izu.” Hitoshi murmured. “Stay here, I’ll grab fresh bandages from your bag.”

“M’not going anywhere.” Izuku sighed, leaning back down into the bed, relaxing. The blankets were soft and he was so comfy. He droused, half asleep and barely aware as Hitoshi returned, manhandling his body and pushing his shirt up. Izuku didn’t react as the boy cleaned the gash and wrapped it securely.

Hitoshi let Izuku rest for a little longer, padding to the kitchen, stepping over the chalk outline to rustle in the fridge for ingredients to make Izuku a big breakfast. The boy didn’t eat nearly enough.

-X-

Izuku was fully awake, fed and happy on the train ride to the amusement park. They shared a pair of headphones, Izuku singing under his breath and buzzing excitedly in his seat, looking up things about the amusement park and messaging people in the group chat. Apparently they had managed to invite the entire class, so a lot of people were going to be there. Izuku was understandably excited.

The train pulled into the station and Izuku grabbed Hitoshi’s hand, pulling him off quickly, the boy practically vibrating.

Hitoshi took his hand back once they departed the train, shoving them into his pockets as they walked the rest of the way to the park. He could see the roller coasters stretching into the sky and Izuku was looking up, his eyes glowing brightly, even in the light of the morning.

It was still early, and it was chilly. Hitoshi wore ripped jeans and a dark blue jacket, zipped up with the hood pulled over his unruly hair. And Izuku (who rarely got cold) wore baggy dark green shorts and a black tank top with a shark head on it, showing the smattering of scars across his entire body, as well as revealing the bandage covering his right bicep. Hitoshi had braided his hair before leaving and it trailed down his spine, easily reaching his butt.

Hitoshi huddled further into his jacket when a breeze blew by and Izuku glanced at him, eyebrows raised. “How are you cold, it’s so warm?” He asked.

Hitoshi looked at him in bafflement. “Dude, it’s cold. How do you possibly survive when it actually starts to get hot?”

Izuku shrugged. “With difficulty and lots of water. Come on, let’s hurry up, I can see some of them already gathered by the front gate.”

They walked the rest of the way there, Izuku practically skipping at his side until they reached the rest of the group.

They all may have recently met each other, but going through a traumatic experience seemed to have brought everyone closer together. Several of them cheered when Izuku and Hitoshi walked up.

“Hey!” Izuku waved, joining them, Hitoshi hanging back, yawning.

They greeted each other, talking about the different rides as they waited for the rest of the people that were coming. Kirishima, Bakugou, Uraraka, and Kaminari arriving last as Iida spouted rules and guidelines about the park.

They headed into the park as a group, Izuku buying both his and Hitoshi’s tickets the second he looked away. He sighed, but knew not to say anything about it. Izuku had more money than he knew what to do with most of the time and Hitoshi knew from experience trying to get him not to buy him things never worked in his favor.

They entered the park almost right as it opened and Izuku looked around in wonderment. He leaned in close to Hitoshi, hands on the straps of his bag. “So, do you just like… get on those?” He pointed up at one of the rollercoasters, the screams of the riders sounding as it plummeted down an almost parallel incline.

“You probably don’t want to start with that one.” Kirishima noticed Izuku pointing and stepped closer.

Hitoshi curled his mouth in a smirk. “Nah, let’s start with that one.”

Izuku nodded rapidly, dancing on the balls of his feet.

The class split up into two groups then, one half going toward the smaller coasters and the others heading to the larger ones, Izuku’s group beelining to the biggest one in the entire park.

Izuku practically died of laughter when he saw that it was named Riptide.

Hitoshi had to explain it wasn’t named after ‘the hero,’ it was older than his debut, but it was so named because it blasted across a large pool of water, spiked wings on the side of the seats catching the water and flinging it up at the occupants in a mist. It didn’t get people too wet so it was alright despite how chilly it was.

They stored their bags in lockers and then their group jumped into line, Hitoshi and Izuku right in front with Bakugou and Kirishima behind them and the rest after that. “Are you even tall enough to ride this?” Bakugou smirked at Izuku.

“Are you even brave enough to ride this?” Izuku retorted easily and the other boy scowled angrily.

Izuku flipped Bakugou off playfully and then let Kirishima deal with him, turning to watch with interest as the people in front of them climbed into the seats and the workers checked them over before it took off with a blast of wind that knocked him backward into Hitoshi in surprise.

“Wooow,” Izuku breathed, turning to watch it leave, ascending the first incline as Hitoshi steadied him.

“Excited?” Hitoshi asked, amused.

Izuku nodded, turning back around as the next track car pulled up, braking, the occupants climbing out.

The gates lifted, letting them in and Izuku and Hitoshi climbed into the front, pulling the lap bar down until it clicked into place.

The attendant gave the usual, slightly bored speech and then they lurched forward, Izuku wincing when the back of his head bumped against the seat cushion. Hitoshi hoped he was feeling alright. He still didn’t know what had happened the night before.

Izuku giggled when their seat tilted back, the first to begin rising upward. Hitoshi felt his stomach flip as they scaled the mountain of the first climb. He turned his head, watching Izuku as the boy looked around in awe. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so high up.” He whispered over the sound of the grating chains pulling them, his eyes huge, their glow incredibly bright, exposed to the light of the morning sun.

They reached the top and their movement paused for a second, the creaking of the chains that pulled them utterly silent, the world hanging in motionless suspense. Hitoshi’s eyes didn’t leave Izuku as the green haired boy looked over the edge of the seat, fingers tight on the lap bar. His head lifted, gazing out across the world.

He could see the ocean, a bright blue line in the horizon and he inhaled, a sharp breath.

Suddenly the seats began moving again and the two tilted over the edge, Izuku gasping. “Oh, man.”

Hitoshi grinned, still watching Izuku’s reaction, pulling his phone out to grab the quickest picture ever before shoving it safely back into his zippered pocket.

Then the seats plummeted and Izuku screeched . At first, Hitoshi thought it was out of fear, but then he saw his friend's mouth spread in a huge smile, sharp teeth showing, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes from the wind. The boy threw up his arms, screaming and laughing almost manically.

Behind him Bakugou was cursing and Kirishima was laughing. Hitoshi could hear Ashido screaming and Kaminari howling.

Watching Izuku’s bright eyes, his wide smile… Hitoshi realized for the second time in his life that he was happy.

He hoped this day lasted forever.

-X-

The class met back up a couple hours later for lunch. It had gotten warmer as the day went on, Hitoshi losing the jacket, now in his black T-Shirt that had a cat on it, paws up and flipping the world off with the words ‘fluff you’ written below it. It was one of the first things Izuku had gotten for him and he loved it.

Hiding from the heat outside, the class piled into a large building with several food vendors inside, everyone gathering different food and meeting in the middle, taking up several tables.

Izuku sat in front of Hitoshi, sharing an entire pizza with him and Hitoshi watched as he ate strands of his own curly hair for the third time in a row.

“Ugh, the rides really messed up my braid.” Izuku complained, trying to smooth the escaped hair flat against his head.

Hitoshi narrowed his eyes in thought before the corner of his mouth lifted. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

Izuku shrugged, shoving a large bite of cheese pizza into his mouth, sharp teeth easily ripping into it.

Hitoshi left the building, turning to the right. He’d seen them earlier, in passing, and knew one would help Izuku’s problem.

He made his purchase after finding the store again and then Hitoshi returned to the class, bag in one hand. Izuku looked up as he stopped at his side.

Hitoshi pulled the object from the bag, lifting Izuku’s head up with one hand on his chin. He then slid the black cat ear headband onto his head and Izuku blinked, lifting a hand to feel the tips of the ears, his head tilted adorably.

“What is this?” He asked, a slice of pizza drooping from his other hand.

Hitoshi pilfered his phone from his pocket and snapped another picture. And with that others began noticing what was going on, Hitoshi sitting back down.

“Oh. My. God. ” Ashido exclaimed. “Mido, you’re so cute!”

Izuku lifted his head, blinking. “Cute, what? And when did everyone start calling me Mido?” He shoved the rest of his droopy pizza into his mouth.

“That’s your name now.” Kaminari said with a laugh, shoveling his own food into his cave of a mouth.

Izuku chuckled, looking back toward Hitoshi. “Thanks for getting me these, Hoshi. Now I can eat without getting hair in my mouth.”

Hitoshi nodded in response and set about finishing his own food.

After that they mostly relaxed, doing a few arcade games and a couple smaller rides. Izuku ended up really disliking the ferris wheel, hanging tightly onto Hitoshi’s arm the entire time until they got off and then vowing never to get on one again. He said it was too slow and too high, though he’d had no problem with any of the rollercoasters.

They all parted ways a little before it got dark, Hitoshi and Izuku walking to the station together. Izuku was practically dead on his feet, eyes half lidded and head bobbing up and down as they walked.

“You don’t have to work tonight do you?” Hitoshi asked worriedly, one hand on Izuku’s elbow to steer him out of the way of another group of people who he’d seemed like he was going to walk straight into.

“Hmm?” Izuku yawned widely. “Mhm, oh, no, I don’t. They gave me off for a couple days to recover from last night. They’re a pretty nice agency. Really understanding.”

“That’s… good.” Hitoshi murmured. “What happened last night though, Izu?”

Izuku tensed, frowning before relaxing with a sigh. “I can’t, Hoshi, sorry. All I can say is… it was a bit of a nightmare .” Izuku snorted to himself with laughter and Hitoshi felt like he was missing something important.

They made it back to the Yamada-Aizawa house within another hour and a half, Hitoshi having to carry the boy after he’d fallen asleep on the train and refusing to move.

He kicked his foot against the door, unable to open it with Izuku asleep on his back. Yamada was the one to open it, Aizawa probably already out on patrol.

“Wow, is he alright?” Yamada asked, stepping aside to let them in, shutting the door behind them.

“Yeah, just tired.” Hitoshi answered gruffly, walking to the couch and dropping Izuku bodily onto it.

“Heeeey,” Izuku grumbled, eyes opening, extra luminescent from all the sun they’d absorbed during the day.

“Hey, yourself.” Hitoshi answered flatly. “I am exhausted. I’m going to bed. You should too.”

Izuku sighed heavily and rolled off the couch, landing face first on the wood floor with a heavy thump, Yamada laughing loudly in the background as the reptilian boy forced himself to stand up, stretching his arms behind his back.

They bade Yamada good night, the man still laughing at their antics, before they both took turns changing in the bathroom and then collapsed onto the bed. Literally, for Izuku, one arm and half his hair hanging off the side of the bed.

Hitoshi laughed and then he, too, laid down, closing his eyes, the memories he’d made playing behind his eyelids as he fell into darkness.

Chapter Text

In the weeks leading up to the sports festival Izuku mainly worked with Hitoshi, training him and helping him to build up muscle and practice his fighting style. Sometimes Eraser joined in, or Yamada, but when it was just Eraser, Izuku tended to find some excuse to go in the opposite direction. He was already toeing a thin line of the hero finding out about his Riptide identity and Izuku really didn’t want that to happen.

Technically he had broken the law by lying on those documents, though he could always say that it had been absurdly easy, throw the hero commission under the bus. The country certainly wouldn’t like knowing that it was so easy to become a hero, so easy to lie .

No hero liked the HC anyway, they were all a bunch of money mongering criminals in Izuku’s limited experience, and he couldn’t imagine what it was like for heroes higher up in the rankings.

Izuku spent a lot of time at the beach too, but Yamada or Eraser always went with him, Hitoshi too, though Izuku started to feel like a bother, constantly asking to go swimming. But, it was difficult for him to be away from it for even a day. His body and mind were used to it. His body needed the salt and his mind needed the sea.

It hurt to be away, and he missed Guren and the other creatures in the calming waters.

The closer they drew to the sports festival the more advertisements Izuku began to see all over Musutafu and the surrounding cities. It was a wonder he hadn’t noticed them so much in previous years, the advertising was really all over the place. It was almost exciting, knowing that he was going to be taking part in it.

Hitoshi was nervous about the event, though he was trying not to let it show. Izuku could tell by the stilted way his speech got whenever they broached the topic of the fest and the way he avoided even looking at the signs. Izuku did his best to make sure his friend was prepared.

The class also went on more outings together, spending a surprising amount of time together and getting closer than Izuku ever would have thought he could with a class of high schoolers. They were all so nice and understanding.

He took the class to the Reptile Cafe once, showing them all of his favorites there (which were all of them, but that was beside the point). Tsu particularly liked it and Izuku spent a lot of time showing her Kaede and how pretty she was and how much she liked him. There were frogs there too, the reptile cafe having several different amphibians along with all their reptiles.

Izuku was happy and he could tell that Hitoshi was too. He may not spend as much time beneath the waves as he used to, but it wasn’t completely a bad thing. He hadn’t had human friends to spend time with before, and he realized that he really liked it. He liked making people smile and laugh, he liked watching his classmates try to break Kirishima’s Hardening with random objects they found as they went about the day. Uraraka slammed a fence post across his back one time on their way back from a movie. Sero tried throwing him through an abandoned building’s wall, only for the redhead to run back out, shirt torn, cackling so hard that he showed all of his sharp teeth.

The class also liked to test Izuku’s teeth, bringing him different things to bite through and asking him to tell stories of things he’d used his teeth for. He’d never realized how weak regular, human teeth were until his classmates acted surprised when he told them about tearing through fishing nets with nothing but his teeth, or biting pieces of metal in half. Even compared to Kirishima, who had the sharp teeth but not the durability or jaw strength that Izuku had.

Izuku was different, but he didn’t mind. It gave him something to make his new friends laugh about.

He was also glad to be around when the class asked Hitoshi to use his quirk on them for the first time, his face paling and eyes widening in absolute surprise. He was reluctant at first and he later told Izuku that people used to try to get him to use his quirk on them to do bad things or to get him in trouble, classmates especially, though people outside of classes did it too.

Eventually though they were able to persuade him to try to get Bakugou under his quirk and to do things that were entirely unlike him, like going to buy ice cream for Izuku, which he accepted graciously, dropping into a teasing bow in front of Bakugou and making everyone laugh.

At one point Hitoshi had the angry blonde get down on one knee and propose to Kirishima who laughed so hard he dropped to the ground, wheezing and crying. It was always astonishingly easy to get Bakugou to respond to him. All Hitoshi had to do was insult him and he answered every. Single. Time.

It never got old.

Eraser was the one to tell Izuku that he was supposed to be the one to deliver the welcoming speech for the festival but Izuku immediately denied it. When his teacher tried to push him into doing it, Izuku steadfastly told the man not to expect him to do it, give the chance to someone else or have no one do the speech at all.

Eraser went completely silent after that and Izuku walked away before he could respond, the conversation over. He wasn’t risking someone recognizing his voice, and he also just… really didn’t want to do it.

The thought of giving a speech to so many people made his skin crawl and he didn’t know why.

And then, finally, the morning of the sports festival arrived. That morning Izuku woke up easier than he usually did, actually excited for the event. He’d promised himself to take it easy and have fun. He had no desire to win or to out himself as Riptide. Izuku’s only goal was to enjoy some cordial competition with his friends, and perhaps indulge in his budding rivalry with Bakugou, who seemed to need to use a rivalry as an excuse to make friends with him, which Izuku was fine with. Teasing Bakugou was one of the most amusing things he had ever done.

He and Hitoshi had lifted the guest room bed up, shoving it against a wall, and had turned the entire floor of the room into one big sleeping area. They had piled up layers and layers of blankets, Eraser and Yamada even buying them a giant futon when they noticed what they were doing. They had laid that out and then covered the entire thing in blankets, Izuku buying about a hundred pillows, so many that you couldn’t even see what was beneath them anymore.

It ended up being close to a million times more comfortable than his giant Totoro back at the train car, and usually about that much harder to get him to leave its comfort as well. Except for that morning, when for a change he was the one dragging Hitoshi excitedly off the futon and out the door, the purple haired boy groaning the entire way.

Both Yamada and Eraser were there that morning, the blond hero already in his hero getup as he made them rice and vegetarian bacon (and then fish for everyone else in a separate griddle.)

“Are you guys ready for the sports fest?” Yamada turned to them as Izuku shoved Hitoshi into a seat, his head thunking against the wood of the table.

“No.” Hitoshi said at the same time that Izuku said,

“Yeah!”

Yamada laughed, turning back around to finish off making breakfast before gathering plates and dishing it out.

“I’m sure you’ll both do great, you’ve trained and practiced so much. I believe in you guys!” Yamada cheered as he set plates in front of them both, giving Izuku a huge glass of vitamin water and Hitoshi a mug of black coffee, which Izuku could never understand how anyone drank. It was black. How could people drink black things? It looked so unnatural.

Hitoshi forewent his food to lean back in his seat, clutching the coffee between his hands like a lifeline as Izuku practically inhaled his food. “Thank you Yamada!”

“No problem, Listeners. I should warn you both though that there will be a lot of people at U.A. today. We have incredibly increased the security from previous years, so there will be many heroes in attendance as well as a higher police presence and more staff volunteers than ever to manage the crowd and keep an eye out for anything fishy. Just as a warning, I know you especially, Shinsou, don’t like crowds.” Yamada said, sitting down across from them as Eraserhead ambled into the room from behind them.

Hitoshi merely grunted in response, taking a swig from his coffee and then sighing, shoulders relaxing. Izuku made a face at his friend before finishing his food, almost choking on it with how quickly he ate.

After that they dressed in their regular school uniforms, Izuku noting that Hitoshi had surreptitiously placed the horrible red tie on the folded pile. Izuku blasted it out of a window with a short burst of water as soon as the other boy left to go change.

Hitoshi sighed heavily when he came back and saw Izuku changed into his uniform sans tie, but didn’t comment on it, having come to expect these things from the other boy.

Yamada and Eraser dropped them off at the train station, telling them they had some other stuff to take care of before homeroom began. Izuku buzzed excitedly next to Hitoshi on the train, the purple haired boy huffing in annoyance, one hand on the pole next to him for balance since all the were seats taken.

“How do you have so much energy?” Hitoshi hid a yawn behind his hand, sliding eyes shadowed with darkness over to Izuku.

“I’m excited,” Izuku exclaimed, tilting his head with a smile.

Hitoshi leaned his forehead against the pole, purple eyes meeting his. “I can see that, Izu.”

The train arrived shortly after that and the two students walked up the hill toward the building.

“Looks like the dorms are done.” Hitoshi murmured, looking toward the construction area off to the side of the main building. “I wonder when they’ll be having us move in.”

Izuku scowled. “They better let me visit the beach.”

The corner of Hitoshi’s mouth quirked up. “I’m sure they will. And I’m pretty sure U.A. has a pool.”

Izuku made a disgusted face, as if he had seen something particularly disgusting. “Pools suck. They’re not real, they’re full of gross chemicals that hurt my skin and they feel weird and it’s not the same.”

“Alright, alright.” Hitoshi chuckled. “I’ll help make sure you get ocean time.”

Izuku looked up at Hitoshi, blinking. “Really?”

Hitoshi raised a brow. “Of course, Izu. That’s what I’m here for.”

“Nah, you’re here to be my mule.” Izuku said, letting Hitoshi walk ahead.

Hitoshi looked back. “Huh?”

Grinning, Izuku took a running start, only giving Hitoshi enough time to brace his feet as Izuku jumped into the air, landing roughly on his friends back. Hitoshi yelped as Izuku’s chest connected with his bag and his hands jerked up, grabbing Izuku around the ankles, Izuku’s arms circling around his neck. “What the fuck, Izu?!” Hitoshi yelled as Izuku shoved his face into Hitoshi’s messy hair.

Izuku laughed, throwing up an arm and lifting his head. “Onward steed!”

“You’re ridiculous.” Hitoshi grumbled, adjusting his hold, jumping lightly to fix Izuku on his back.

“Oh, I know.” Izuku grinned, laying his face back down, his cheek against fluffy purple hair.

They reached the gates of U.A., shoving through vendors and people milling about already, pushing their way into the building at the same time as several others from their class.

“Forget how to use your legs, nerd?” Bakugou glared.

“Why walk when Hoshi can carry me?” Izuku hugged Hitoshi tightly, the other boy grumbling obscenities beneath his breath, Kirishima laughing at their antics.

They made it to class in time and Hitoshi set him down so they could take to their seats, Izuku singing to himself while they waited on Eraser. There was an air of nervous energy about the entire class. Many feet tapped the ground, many legs jittered and more than a few students were talking animatedly with each other, speculating about what they would be doing. The consensus was that everyone would be weeded out as they went through the first matches and then whoever was left would be doing one on ones, as it went every year. Though no one really knew how the first matches were going to go or what they would be.

Eraser arrived to class and had everyone quickly change into their gym uniforms, hero costumes not allowed to make everything fair. Izuku could feel eyes on him the entire time he was changing in the locker room and that continued even as they headed to the waiting room for the festival.

“Stay here, Hoshi, I’ll be right back.” Izuku patted Hitoshi’s knee and got up, crossing the room and dropping down next to Todoroki who’d been sitting alone, staring at Izuku.

“So, what’s going on?” He asked casually, pulling his braid out of the back of his gym shirt.

Todoroki cleared his throat. “You made me use fire.”

“Your fire?” Izuku raised a brow and Todoroki grimaced, looking away.

“I have… gone a long time, promising myself I wouldn’t use it.”

Izuku chewed the inside of his cheek with a frown. “Well, I’m sure you have a good reason for feeling like you shouldn’t use it, but I think it’s a bad idea if you’re serious about being a hero. A hero needs to use every advantage they have, every tool at their disposal, because if they don’t, they will die, Todoroki. And it will be gruesome.”

Todoroki blinked at Izuku in confusion. “You say that you like you have experience in that matter.”

“Uh,” Izuku cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. Why did he keep backing himself into a corner like this? “Well, my cousin is a hero so, I am pretty familiar with the hero… life.”

Todoroki’s eyes narrowed nearly into slits. “Hmmm.”

“Ah, well, uh, you should totally use your fire, Todoroki. And if you ever wanna talk, hit me up, you’re in the group chat and you’ve hung out with us. Just grab me anytime!” Izuku stood, nodding. “Anyway, good luck in the festival!”

And then he fled back to safety, dropping back beside Hitoshi with a light groan. Hitoshi cracked open an eye from where he’d been resting. “Seems like that didn’t go well?”

“No, I’m just an idiot.” Izuku sighed.

Hitoshi snorted. “You said it, not me.”

“Hey!” Izuku punched him in the arm while his friend smiled evilly at him.

They were called forth soon after that and Izuku felt a thrill of excitement race through his veins. It had been a long time since he had felt so pumped for anything. He had been thrust into the world of heroes so quickly that he hadn’t taken the time to really enjoy the process of learning , and he’d never been able to actually act his age before he’d joined U.A. Despite already being a hero, coming to this school was most certainly the best decision he’d ever made.

At least, that he could remember.

The classes were announced and then they all gathered in front of the podium where Midnight, the R rated hero surprisingly doing the announcing from below, called Bakugou up as the second place title holder of the entrance exam. The blonde scowled at that, storming up to the podium.

His speech was less than eloquent, Izuku could say that much. It was literally just a spiteful comment about how he was going to win and then turning around to face away from the crowd, staring straight at Izuku who just smirked at him.

“There’re so many people.” Izuku whispered to Hitoshi as Midnight started describing what the sports festival actually was as Bakugou rejoined the class, as if she was trying to intimidate all the participants while also hyping up the viewers. Izuku didn’t really care about any of that, instead looking out at everyone.

“Why do you think they like watching this? It’s kind of messed up if you think about it.” Hitoshi said. “Watching a bunch of high school students pretty much beat each other up for no other reason than for ‘internships’.”

Izuku shrugged. “I think there is a bit more to it to that, for them watching at least. U.A. is the best hero school in the country. Everyone that graduates from here has a future pretty much guaranteed in that field. The people want to see what future heroes will be protecting them and even their children, their families. People have a lot on the line when it comes to the heroes in this school. There’s more to it than just ‘us and them’.”

Hitoshi was watching Izuku, a strange expression in his eyes. “You’ve experienced a lot, haven’t you, Izuku?”

Izuku shrugged, cheeks warming. “I guess. When you’re…” Izuku looked around, at the closeness of the other students and then glanced back at Hitoshi. “When you work where I do, you see a lot of unfortunate things. But you can sometimes see the good in people, the strength of fire deep down in souls that have been crushed beneath a villains’ foot, only to spring back up to defend another.” Izuku lifted a hand, held in a fist. “Anyway, people like to see the heroes that will eventually protect them from the dark in the world. So, let’s show ‘em how strong we are.”

Izuku suddenly blinked, looking away, only just now noticing that everyone in his vicinity was watching him, shocked expressions on their faces. “You really should have done the welcoming speech.” Kirishima said with widened eyes and a smile. “Would’ve been a heck of a lot better than this guy.” He craned a thumb backward, pointing at Bakugou.

“Tch.” The blonde snorted and turned away from them angrily.

Izuku shrugged, tilting his head. “Oh well. We better pay attention now though, Midnight is spinning the thing.”

“The thing?” Hitoshi raised a brow. “You mean the wheel?”

Izuku smiled. “Yeah, that thing.”

The other boy shook his head before turning to face the front as the lottery wheel finished turning, the spoke settling on ‘Obstacle race’. Midnight explained the rules and Izuku was surprised to learn that it was pretty much an anything goes race, quirks and all. It was kind of worrying, with all these students. He hoped no one hurt themselves or each other. Though he imagined it was pretty much an inevitability and that was why they had given Recovery Girl an entire spare infirmary in the stadium.

Only the first 42 students that crossed the finish line would be allowed to move on to the next match, it seemed. But that was okay. Izuku was pretty sure he would make it, but even if he didn’t, he would still enjoy watching everyone else and cheering on his classmates from the sidelines.

The eleven classes were made to gather in the starting tunnel and Izuku stood next to Hitoshi, fingers twitching at his sides. Everyone was going to rush that small area at the end of the tunnel and it would be a stampede. Izuku needed to think of a way to get himself and Hitoshi past everyone.

There wasn’t a lot of water in the air, since it hadn’t rained recently and wasn’t going to rain anytime soon.

Except for the tons of water within water bottles in the audience.

Izuku smiled to himself and turned to Hitoshi as the lights began clicking off, signalling the countdown. Hitoshi glanced down at him and frowned. “That’s your ‘I have something planned,’ look, what are you doing?”

“Do you remember the entrance exam?” Izuku smiled, watching the blood drain out of the other boy's face as his hand lifted, prepared to grab onto the water as soon as the bell sounded.

“Izu, no…” Hitoshi shook his head, lifting his hands. “You don’t need to-”

The last light flashed off and Midnight yelled a resounding “Start!” and Izuku grabbed onto the water, not all of it, only as much as he needed. You could do a surprising amount with very little and he needed to save as much as possible for the matches that would come.

Because confidence was rising in him and he had no doubt that both he and Hitoshi would be in them.

A yelp escaped Hitoshi as the water slammed into them both, carrying them up and over the crowd of students pushing toward the exit of the dark tunnel.

Izuku laughed, hands out at his sides, knees bent and feet buried in water of many colors, all churning and mixing as he rotated it rapidly, one wrist turning slowly as he kept the water moving.

Letting them fall through the liquid to land on the ground, Izuku turned to Hitoshi. “Good luck, I’mma go on ahead now!”

Hitoshi saluted sarcastically and Izuku laughed, turning back around and running forward. He barely made it a step as Todoroki shot past him, icing his feet to the ground without even looking at him.

Izuku sighed, turning his attention to the ice and removing it quickly, also forcing Hitoshi’s away in the process, only glancing back at him long enough to toss him a quick thumbs up. Then he was shooting forward happily, excited to have all this new water.

Colossal, lumbering robots were the first obstacle. Todoroki reached them first, freezing them easily. Izuku manipulated the ice around them carefully, his forehead beading with sweat under the fierce sun and his intense concentration as he brought them all down safely away from everyone, shattering them into pieces as he carried himself forward, slipping by their broken remnants.

Bakugou sailed overhead, passing over the light of the sun, his shadow falling across Izuku before he passed, almost hitting Todoroki as he slammed into the ground directly ahead. The blonde aimed a spare blast at the boy with the bicolored hair.

All three of them reached the abyss nearly at the same time and Izuku paused at the edge as the other two shot forward, Bakugou practically flying over it and Todoroki sliding across iced ropes skillfully. Izuku imagined he must have a lot of ice skating practice to be able to do that so well without falling and vowed to ask the other boy about it. Izuku had never been ice skating before, he imagined it would be fun.

Izuku looked down into the abyss, grimacing, an uncomfortable pit in his stomach, aware of all of the others approaching rapidly and he glanced back. Hitoshi was literally being carried forward around the mess of the robots by one of their classmates, Shouji with the multiple arms, who didn’t even seem to be under the effect of Hitoshi’s quirk.

The purple haired boy caught Izuku’s look and smirked, patting the top of Shouji’s head. Well, Izuku had told him to use all their resources and their other classmate didn’t seem like the type to deny someone who asked for help, even for something like this.

Izuku turned back around and with a deep breath pulled more water toward him, now close enough to distinguish from everything else the shouts and yells of complaint as people in the audience lost their water bottles or other watery liquids, all of it from that section of the stadium shooting toward Izuku to carry him up and over the abyss, carefully not looking down.

Yamada’s voice announced the minefield just as the other two students reached it, Izuku closing in behind rapidly. He really had nothing to fear from a minefield, sailing over it in his bubble of controlled water.

But he wasn’t pushing himself, not really caring to draw all that attention to himself by getting first place, so he allowed himself to save some energy.

Todoroki passed the finish line first, then Bakugou and Izuku crossed together .

Izuku landed, shuffling to keep his footing, glancing back at Bakugou who turned an intense glare toward him, eyes so red they looked like they were on fire as Yamada announced a tie for second place between the two of them.

Izuku lifted his hands up in a placating gesture. “Heeey, double second place is great, right!?”

“No, it fucking isn’t, Deku.” Bakugou hissed, charging toward him, hand fisting in his collar.

Izuku stiffened, eyes narrowing. “What did I say about putting your hand on me.” It wasn’t a question.

It was a threat.

Bakugou seemed to search his eyes for a moment before backing off. “I will beat you in the next match, I don’t care what it is, I will come out on top.”

“Okay, Bakugou.” Izuku relaxed and smiled easily, tension dropping away. The other boy only cursed and stormed away, always so furious.

Izuku waited patiently for Hitoshi to join him at the end of the tunnel, absently twirling a stream of water between his fingers as he sat down in the astro turf.

It didn’t take long for Hitoshi to run through, no longer with Shouji. The other boy paused at the end of the tunnel, bending over, hands on his knees as he caught his breath.

Izuku stood up with a smile, dropping the water to be absorbed by the ground. “Hoshi! You made it in time for the next match, good job!”

Izuku slapped his friends back excitedly and Hitoshi looked up, still in the process of catching his breath. “What place did I get?” He asked, swallowing.

“Like, 28, I think.” Izuku said confidently, nodding his head.

“That’s not bad.” Hitoshi straightened, brushing his hands off, slapping them together.

“Not bad at all.” Izuku responded and then nodded to all the people gathering in front of the podium where Midnight was. “We should join the others, I think the rest of the 42 are coming in.”

Hitoshi and Izuku joined the other students in front of Midnight, searching the crowd for the rest of their class. It seemed that almost all of them, if not everyone, had made it into the 42.

The rest of the students finished the obstacle course as the rest of them waited and then they were all made to stand aside, organized by their classes while Midnight hit the lottery wheel once again. Izuku was nearly jumping up and down in excitement as the wheel spun and Hitoshi reached over, grabbing his arm to hold him in place with a sigh. “Don’t make me hypnotize you.”

Izuku looked up at Hitoshi with narrowed eyes, lifting a hand to cover his nose. “You wouldn’t.”

Hitoshi shrugged, smirking, before turning his attention back to the wheel as it slowed to a stop, the spoke settling on ‘Cavalry Battle’.

“Hmmm.” Izuku tapped his chin. “I have a feeling that this wasn’t as random as they’re making it out to be. First we had an all for themselves type deal, fighting each other in a way to reach the end. Now, we’re all going to have to work together. There’s a reason for that, for sure.”

“Probably.” Hitoshi shrugged. “But it doesn’t really matter though.”

“I suppose not. We’re going to be on a team right?” Izuku raised a brow at the taller boy.

Hitoshi snorted. “Of course we are. Who do you think I am?”

Izuku grinned as Midnight announced that the person who got first place would be worth ten million points.

All eyes went to Todoroki who did not have any outward response, his eyes sliding cooly over everyone else as they sized him up like he was their dinner.

Izuku quirked his mouth to the side in a crooked frown.

Midnight declared that they had ten minutes to choose their team and Izuku immediately approached Todoroki, having accurately predicted that very few would want him on their team since he would definitely be targeted first out of everyone.

“Hey, wanna be on our team?” Izuku asked, gesturing between himself and Hitoshi.

Todoroki narrowed his eyes and Izuku could practically see the gears turning in his head before he nodded.

“Alright, three could work, but four would be-”

“Need a fourth?” A voice asked and Izuku turned around, spotting an unfamiliar boy with sly eyes and blond hair.

“I also came to offer my services.” Another voice said, coming up behind the blonde. A girl with veins for hair.

“Me too!” Yet another voice shouted, running up to them. A girl with pink dreadlocks and wild, excited eyes. “My babies could help you so much, and being on Ten Millions’ team would do wonders for advertisement."

“Um.” Izuku scratched his cheek, looking between the three of them, his eyes settling on the blonde, an uneasy feeling gathering in his chest.

“Monoma Neito of 1B. Copy quirk.” The blonde said, gesturing emphatically, his eyes never leaving Izuku’s.

“My name is Shiozaki Ibara. I can manipulate the vines of my hair as I wish.” The other girl explained earnestly, glancing at Monoma strangely, as if she didn’t understand why he was there. “Also of 1B.”

“Support student, Hatsume Mei!” The pink haired girl cheered, jumping in front of Shiozaki and leaning in close to Todoroki who frowned deeply at the invasion of his personal space.

“Shiozaki, I feel like your quirk would benefit our team the most.” Hitoshi said bluntly, glancing at Izuku and Todoroki to gauge their reactions. Izuku shrugged. As long as it wasn’t Momoma. That kid gave him the creeps.

Todoroki nodded as well. He wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of being used as advertising and he was also getting a strange vibe from the other one. He’d come to trust his instincts, and they said to go with Shiozaki. She seemed to be the most sincere of them all.

“Are you sure you’d like to be on our team though?” Izuku asked, tilting his head. “I guarantee we’ll be targeted first.”

“I believe this will be a salutary way to extend a bridge between our two classes.” The girl said, a hand over her heart, head raised toward the sky.

“Right…” Todoroki blinked.

Monoma and Hatsume left and Izuku watched Monoma’s receding back with curious eyes, humming to himself thoughtfully. What was with the other kid?

“Who will be the rider?” Shiozaki asked and Izuku turned his attention back to the group.

“Well, Izuku is the shortest.” Hitoshi observed with a smug expression.

Izuku looked up, betrayed. “Hey! I’m nearly the same height as Shiozaki.”

Hitoshi shrugged and Shiozaki spoke up. “Be that as it may, I believe Todoroki will be the best as the rider as he is the one that will be targeted. With us supporting him as the ‘horses’ we can control where he is at all times and keep everyone away from him.”

“That’s a good point.” Izuku nodded. “What do you think, Todoroki?"

“Fine.” The other boy answered.

The rest of the groups formed quickly after that, Izuku and the others forming plans for every possible scenario that they could think of. They had a lot of powerful quirks on their side, Todoroki himself was pretty much a powerhouse.

“I’m weak to fire.” Izuku suddenly said, during their planning. “You probably caught that during our battle, so I’ll be rendered useless if you use your fire too close to me.”

Todoroki let out an even breath, bicolored eyes meeting his own. “I won’t use the fire unless it becomes necessary .”

“Your fire,” Izuku corrected with a smile and Todoroki sighed. “And thank you. I don’t particularly enjoy overheating.”

“I’d imagine not.” Todoroki answered dryly.

They finished their planning and then the groups were made to take various spots around the field, all evenly spaced out. Izuku was in the front, his own band around his head as he held Todoroki’s feet, carefully balancing him behind. He removed one hand, checking to make sure Todoroki could still balance and was glad to note that he could. Which meant Izuku could still freely grab onto water. He could control water without the use of his hands but it was a lot more difficult and required quite a bit more concentration. His hands added a way to channel the commands from his brain to the liquid, almost like a point of contact. It made it easier.

Izuku grabbed Todoroki’s foot again, tightening his hold. “Ready?” He asked and received grunts of affirmation in response.

Present Mic yelled for the match to start and Izuku winced, the hero’s voice almost painfully loud with his enhanced hearing.

Immediately almost everyone targeted Todoroki and the rest of their group. Their rider threw up a wall of ice, separating them from everyone else, creating their own little corner in their field, the white line to their backs.

“I can get us up in the air whenever we need.” Izuku said, eyes on the ice in front of him, noting the explosions lighting up through it from the other side. “But I don’t know how long I can hold it, with how many we are. It’s your call, Todoroki.”

“Okay. Wait for my cue.” Todoroki responded and Izuku nodded, consciously pulling water from a large section of the attendees toward him, slowly and carefully, more methodically than before. He held it there in preparation, heart jittering in excitement, sweat dripping down his cheekbone.

He was going to overheat at this rate, he needed to be more careful. He’d have to make sure to drink lots of ice water or something after this, maybe run for U.A.’s pool and take a dip, chemicals or not.

“Now!” Todoroki yelled, just as the ice burst apart and Bakugou, riding on Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero’s shoulder barreled through.

Izuku forcibly yanked on the water and Todoroki wobbled from the harsh movement. Izuku gritted his teeth, leaning to the side so that the boy didn’t fall off. They would automatically lose if he touched the ground.

The water puddled under their feet and Izuku lurched his hand upward, their entire group lifting sharply into the air, Shiozaki giving a short gasp of air at the sudden shuddering.

“Oh dear,” she whispered. “I get very motion sick.”

Hitoshi turned to look at her, deep bags beneath his eyes giving him a very dry, serious look. “If you puke on me, I am dropping us all.”

“I won’t.” She almost sounded offended at that.

Up front, Izuku was panting, hand shaking as they crossed the battlefield. Beneath them Bakugou shouted loudly, throwing himself into the air, propelling himself toward them on what would have seemed like pure anger alone if not for the obvious explosions detonating on his palms.

Hitoshi leaned to the side, looking past the water beneath his feet. “What the fuck is wrong with your face?”

Apparently this was the time Bakugou learned not to answer Hitoshi because he shut his mouth, flying straight at Izuku, stretching out one hand as he got close, fire popping along his palm.

Izuku ripped away a section of their liquid platform and flung it at Bakugou, covering his face and holding it there. The blonde cursed, his words garbled as Shiozaki whipped out her vines, knocking him aside, back to the ground.

“Izuku?” Hitoshi voiced his concern to the front, feeling the group sagging to the side.

“I’m fine.” Izuku hissed through his teeth. “I’m dropping us over there.”

Izuku nodded his head toward the emptiest section of the field, most of the other teams now distracted momentarily, fighting each other. His control was flagging as he lowered them as carefully as possible, and they ended up dropping a foot or two to the ground and Izuku grunted, wiping his brow on his shoulder as they landed. “Sorry!” He shouted backward, his arm back and his hands tight around Todoroki’s ankles.

“Keep moving.” Todoroki commanded and Izuku smiled.

“Aye, aye Captain.” He said and pushed forward, absently noting his dizziness. Yeah, he was definitely becoming dehydrated. The first match and this one had been a lot of quirkuse and it was taking a lot out of him. Maybe he should have taken some of their planning time for the cavalry battle to drink some water, but then they wouldn’t have had the time to plan and where would they be now, if they couldn’t plan? They would probab-

A sharp tap to his shoulder had him jerking his head up, craning his neck around to see Todoroki watching him. “Ten minutes left. We can do it.” He reassured flatly and Izuku nodded, looking back in front of them as he moved. He’d probably been mumbling or something.

Just a little bit longer.

Todoroki threw up another wall of ice, blocking another group from getting to them. Izuku could hear frustrated shouting from behind it but he didn’t recognize the voices.

Izuku suddenly straightened, an idea forming as he kept them moving. “Todoroki, can you make thin layers of ice or is it all the same thickness?”

“I can alter thickness, why?”

Izuku grinned sharply. “Coat me in a thin layer of ice, I am getting too hot. And then I’ll be more protected if you do have to use your fire.”

Todoroki didn’t answer but Izuku felt the ice forming across his skin, relieving against the heat of the warm, early May day.

“Thanks.” He shouted and then picked up speed, humming to himself, a song beneath his breath, his heart beating against his ribs like a drum, pulsing in his ears. A battle rhythm.

It felt like the world was trembling as more groups attacked them from all sides except for the side with the white line that signalled the edge of the battle field.

Todoroki fought them off with his ice, shielding their group. Shiozaki sent anyone that got close away with her whiplike vines of hair and Hitoshi even managed to get one person from another group to grab their rider by the ankle and toss them straight over the white line to land in the dust.

They were doing well, ultimately. Not a single one of their bands had been stolen and they’d been able to make it this far completely with deflection.

And then Iida’s and Bakugou’s group caught up to them all at once and they were cornered.

Izuku caught the sound of Iida’s engines starting up at the same time that Bakugou flew forward, off of his group, reaching for Todoroki’s headband.

“Fire, now!” Izuku nearly roared.

Todoroki barely hesitated, grunting as he threw an arm out, a wave of fire passing over Izuku’s head as he created a barrier of flames in front of them.

The ice covering Izuku’s body immediately cracked and melted and he hissed as the heat dried his eyes and skin, his chest aching and his dizziness growing worse.

A bell rang out across the field and Izuku sagged in relief, Iida’s group coming to a stop nearly back where they’d started and Bakugou dropping ungracefully onto his face, Sero not bothering to catch him.

“SHOUTO!” A loud, deep voice rang out across the field and every single person looked up to see the number two hero, Endeavor, standing between two sections of the stands, hands gripping the bars in front of him.

Izuku glanced over at Todoroki, absently noting the carefully impassive expression on his face.

Narrowing his eyes, Izuku carefully closed the fingers of his right hand into a loose fist, grabbing onto the water nearest the flaming ‘hero’ from the audience. Whistling casually to himself, Izuku dumped it all on the man, his flames immediately going out, eyes widening in shock before he turned and fled.

Todoroki turned to Izuku, eyebrows raised. Izuku shrugged nonchalantly before turning away as the scores were announced, Todoroki’s group comfortably in first place, having lost not even a single headband.

He nodded in satisfaction and turned to Hitoshi, leaning against him. “I need water.” He said. “Lots of it. And a pool.”

Hitoshi sighed and faced away, showing his back to Izuku who hopped on with a grin.

They headed to U.A.’s pool, Hitoshi stopping to grab a bag of snacks and water bottles.

Izuku missed the way Todoroki’s eyes followed them the entire way, as if he’d had something he’d wanted to say.

They made it to the pool, Hitoshi messaging Aizawa to let him know where they were, just in case, as Izuku slid into the water with a sigh. He left his head and neck above the water, just allowing the water to cool him down.

Izuku crossed his arms on the edge of the pool, taking a bottle of water from Hitoshi as the other boy sat down in front of him, crossing his legs. “Don’t overwork yourself in the one on ones.” Hitoshi sighed, picking up two to go bento’s and setting one next to Izuku, popping the top off his own and snapping his wooden chopsticks apart to chow down.

“I’ll do my best.” Izuku answered, opening his bento and scarfing the food down after chugging the water, absolutely starving.

“I saw you weaving a bit.” Hitoshi said, eyeing Izuku warily. “You need to be careful. It’s hot out today.”

“I know, jeesh.” Izuku muttered around a mouthful of rice, no manners whatsoever. “I know my limits. I’m not gonna push myself too far.” Izuku pointed a chopstick at his friend. “You worry too much, Hoshi.”

“I don’t think anyone could ever possibly worry too much about you, Izuku. You’re too reckless for your own good. Someone needs to worry about you.”

Izuku snorted and buried the rest of his food behind sharp teeth, chewing rapidly and then sinking into the water as soon as he was done.

Hitoshi leaned over the side of the pool. “Hey, won’t you get a cramp since you just ate?”

He could see Izuku’s wavering form at the bottom of the pool but the boy only tossed him a thumbs up in response, green eyes bright, hair floating about his head and gills opened.

After they finished their meals and consumed their water, and Izuku was adequately cooled down, they headed back to the field as the lineups were announced.

Izuku face-palmed as soon as he saw who his first match was with.

“Good luck, buddy.” Hitoshi said woefully, patting Izuku’s back.

Bakugou fucking Katsuki.

Izuku was fighting pufferfish boy for his first one on one.

What had he done for the universe to curse him so.

Izuku would go before Hitoshi, but after some of the others in his class.

Before they parted ways Hitoshi patted the top of Izuku’s head with a smirk. “See you soon, Izu. Good luck.”

Izuku nodded with a confident smile and then returned with, “See you soon, Hoshi.”

And with that Izuku headed to the waiting room to think of a good way to fight explosions with water, glancing back to see Hitoshi’s receding back before moving on.

His match came around sooner than he was ready for it, but he told himself he’d gone into wrose fights with less or no time for preparation before, he would do fine. And it wasn’t like he really cared if he won or not, it was just that so many people were going to be watching. He wasn’t used to that. He was accustomed to working under the cover of night, with no one around to watch him. This was very… different, broadcast to the entire world. Everyone would be able to see him.

When Izuku walked onto the field, a hand raised to block the sun as he winced, he immediately searched the student section of the field for Hitoshi. He found him easily, his shock of tall purple hair standing out in the middle of everyone else.

His friend gave Izuku a small wave and Izuku returned it as he took his spot on the opposite side of the field of Bakugou, standing up straight, his arms at his sides, already scanning the crowd for water. It seemed some people had caught on to what he was doing and had brought him water, many kids even up front holding water bottles and excitedly yelling for Izuku to take it.

It brought a smile to Izuku’s face.

Across from him Bakugou was glaring at him as Present Mic announced them as opponents, the voice hero describing Izuku as the Waterborne hero in training, Midoriya Izuku. Izuku kind of liked that name and decided to keep it in mind for the future.

It was right as Present Mic yelled for the match to start that Iuzku felt a sting on his neck, his hand flashing up to grab whatever bug had just stung him. They were outside after all and he was sweating. There were bound to be bees out.

But what touched his hand when it connected with his neck was not a bug at all, and he ripped the slender, steel needle from his neck in confusion, holding it in his palm, eyes wide as he took in bright red fletching.

Then Bakugou was there, swinging at him and Izuku jerked backward, barely avoiding the blast.

“W-wait.” Izuku blinked rapidly, his vision already wavering.

Bakugou must have heard something in his voice because he faltered and jumped back, eyes narrowing at Izuku and then widening when he held up his hand, showing the dart. “Someone…”

Izuku stumbled backward with a groan, hand going to his head.

Somewhere farther away Izuku heard Midnight shouting something.

The world spun, the sky falling, the ground rising to meet it.

Izuku stumbled back once again, his knees giving out… Or... No, his knees hadn’t given out.

Looking down, heart pounding achingly loud in his ears, Izuku saw his body sinking into a cool mass of dark purple and an innate, deep set fear rising in his chest, adrenaline like electricity ripping through his veins as he grabbed at the ground around what could only be a warp gate.

“Deku!” Bakugou nearly screamed and Izuku looked up, strands of long green hair escaping his braid to frame desperate eyes.

The blonde was the closest of anyone else, sprinting across the ground with little boosts of explosions from his hands. Izuku reached a hand out, the other clutching at the ground as he mentally tugged on whatever water he could, anything to help him.

Bakugou’s palm slapped against his forearm and closed around it, grasping tightly. “I’ve got ya.” He gasped out with a grunt. “You’re not getting away from me again.”

Izuku closed his fingers around Bakugou's arm, trying to help the blonde pull him out. He could feel the boy's slick, glycerine sweat against his arm, hear his own rapid pulse in his ears, hear the crowd panicking, chaos erupting. He could see Bakugou’s narrowed crimson eyes and gritted teeth, lips curled up in a determined grimace.

Time was slow, Izuku’s vision darkening, his strength bleeding out of him. There were tears in his glowing eyes as Bakugou heaved.

And it was working, and the other heroes were almost there, approaching from every side. It was going to be alright.

But then Izuku felt a rough arm encircle his waist and he cried out, instinctively releasing Bakugou. He couldn’t let him be pulled into danger with him.

But Bakugou’s grip was tight as the pressure around Izuku’s waist suddenly pulled, yanking them both into the darkness.

The last thing Izuku saw was Hitoshi leaning over the fence of the stands, held back by their classmates as he screamed Izuku’s name...

... and then shadows closed over his eyes and as much as he fought, Izuku could not stop the darkness from taking him.

Chapter Text

The League of Villains provided everything the blonde could possibly need for the mission that they had been assigned. The blowpipe easily folded to fit in their uniform where it now sat, waiting for the right moment to be used.

Their mission was simple. Strike Midoriya during his first one on one match. Though how the LoV knew that the boy would even make it that far was unknown to them as they waited, but it didn’t matter. They would complete their given mission successfully, as they had each one before it.

They’d managed to infiltrate the school without being found out, and settled themselves into their class surprisingly easily. They’d provided the class schedule to the League, which in turn provided the teachers’ whereabouts, i.e. All Might’s. They’d completed every mission as requested.

No one suspected a thing.

Heroes were so stupid, so lost in their own ideology of good and evil. It was never that simple in the real world, outside of fighting ‘villains’ in the streets for publicity. Those were movie motions and the villains always lost.

But outside of the hero/villain warfare and the obscene focus on their public persona’s idiosyncrasies, ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ weren’t actually like that, that simple . The world was never as simple as good and evil. How could it be? How could U.A. teach that?

The League of Villains was a means to an end and the blonde would do whatever they had to to get what they wanted, no questions asked. They’d proven that long ago.

The ‘villain’ loaded the blowpipe in the tunnels as they walked toward the light of the field and the stadium. No one could see them.

Midoriya stood before them, unknowingly heading for his capture. Heroes watched all around, convinced no one would possibly interfere with this event. They were all idiots for having such a public event after the attack on the USJ. The LoV had a warper for goodness’ sake. Broadcasting their students’ exact whereabouts on live television was begging for trouble, and all for the sake of money. Everyone knew that’s why they were still happening. To showcase their students power and training to get all those donations from their sponsors.

Who were the real villains here, honestly?

The blonde shook their head and lifted the blowpipe, aiming carefully, like they’d been taught, a deep breath swelling within their lungs. As soon as Present Mic’s obnoxious voice announced the start of the match the blonde let the dart fly, lips curving up in a grin when they saw the green haired boy snap a hand to his neck, letting them know that the dart had landed accurately.

With a satisfied nod the blonde folded the blowpipe back into their uniform and turned around to head back to their class as chaos erupted behind them.

Mission success.

-X-

The sky was too bright for Hitoshi, stinging his eyes, but he watched the match getting ready to start in front of him regardless. Izuku was announced and then Bakugou, the both of them walking forward to face each other on opposite sides of the field, right in front of the white lines.

Present Mic yelled for the start of the match and Hitoshi watched as Izuku’s hand immediately jumped up to his neck, an unidentifiable look on his face from this distance.

Hitoshi sat up with a frown, brow furrowed. “Shinsou, what’s wrong?” Uraraka asked from next to him but Hitoshi didn’t answer, slowly standing as Bakugou attacked Izuku, his friend doing nothing but dodging and then holding a hand up with… something red?... in it. Was that blood?

Bakugou seemed to hesitate and that raised alarm bells in Hitoshi’s head, his body standing to approach the fence, hands raising to grip at it tightly, heart rate increasing. Something wasn’t right.

Down below Izuku suddenly stumbled backward, hand on his head and Hitoshi’s heart skipped a beat, some of his classmates coming to his sides as they too noticed that something was wrong.

Hitoshi hadn’t known how bad it was until it was too late.

That same purple, swirling mass from the USJ spread beneath Izuku’s feet and he began sinking rapidly. Hitoshi stopped breathing, already climbing over the gate, eyes zeroed in on the scene playing too far away. Hands grabbed at his arms, one on his leg, tugging it back. Hitoshi didn’t make a noise, fighting against his classmates, struggling to do something, anything, through the panic rising like a red tide within him.

Explosions sounded from below, louder than the sudden shrieking of the crowd and the yelling of the heroes scattered throughout the stadium.

Hitoshi watched in fear as Bakugou darted forward on the power of his explosions, throwing out his right hand and wrapping it around Izuku’s forearm. Hitoshi grunted, shoving someone aside and straining forward.

It seemed like Bakugou was going to pull Izuku out of the purple mass and Hitoshi watched with wide eyes as Bakugou pulled, heels digging into the ground. He could see on Izuku, even from this far, the hair falling out of the braid that Hitoshi himself had made that morning. He could see the fear in Izuku’s eyes and the desperation as his free arm tried to aid Bakugou in pulling himself out of the hole.

But something happened, Hitoshi couldn’t see what, but suddenly they were yanked the rest of the way into the warp gate, disappearing completely.

Hitoshi jerked forward, chest on fire, screaming.

“IZUKU!”

-X-

The whole disappearance had happened in a matter of seconds and Hitoshi’s world would never be the same.

Time moved in a blur after that, events seemed to happen outside of Hitoshi’s plane of existence.

As soon as the warp gate closed over Bakugou and Izuku, Hitoshi went limp. He and his classmates all went sprawling onto the cement ground, Hitoshi all loose limbed and flat, eyes looking toward the sky. He couldn’t feel anything, not even his classmates pulling him up. He couldn’t hear the screaming, or see the stampede of people fleeing from the stadium as the class lifted Hitoshi onto Shouji’s back in a strange allusion to their first match.

Hitoshi didn’t feel Shouji wrapping him in his tentacle arms, didn’t even notice the protective darkness of being held within them. He didn’t hear Uraraka crying or Iida trying to reassure her, he didn’t hear Kirishima explaining to Todoroki what had happened as he joined them from wherever he’d been. He didn’t hear Aizawa finding them, making sure they were all there…

… well most of them.

Hitoshi didn’t even notice when Shouji unveiled his arms and Aizawa pulled him off his classmates broad back and set him down. He didn’t see or hear Aizawa telling everyone to get ahold of their guardians, telling them to have them come get them all now. The rest of the sports festival was cancelled, and they could expect school to be closed as well, at least tomorrow, maybe more.

It wasn’t safe.

The rest of the students gradually left, casting concerned glances at Hitoshi. Several of them seemed to be in shock. Uraraka left in the arms of her father, her face shoved into his chest. Kirishima’s moms both pulled him into their tight grips before guiding him away. Tsu’s older brother wrapped his arms around her and nearly lifted her as he took her away to comfort and safety.

Everyone had someone.

But Hitoshi’s someone was gone.

Aizawa spoke to him but Hitoshi didn’t hear anything and then the man was gone.

Hitoshi wasn’t alone for long, Yamada gently opening the door and then walking softly toward Hitoshi, pulling him into a hug that Hitoshi couldn’t feel. After that he was pulled up, taken out through the back way, avoiding the press and the onlookers, and he was piled into the passenger seat of Yamada’s car.

Yamada drove them away, windows tinted for privacy. He might have been talking or there might have been music playing, but either way Hitoshi didn’t know.

They reached their destination at some point and Yamada crossed in front of the car, gently guiding Hitoshi out of the car and taking him toward the house, through the gates and the fence and then unlocking the front door.

Hitoshi stopped in front of the door, once inside, as Yamada turned around to relock it. When the hero turned back around he found Hitoshi utterly still, completely unmoving, and he stepped to the side, glancing at the boy's face in concern.

The dead look in his eyes was slowly clearing, his gaze focusing on something ahead of him and as Yamada turned his head, he realized belatedly what it was.

Hitoshi took an unsteady step forward before his legs gave out and he crashed heavily to his knees in front of the white of the chalk outline, a sharp gasp forced out of his chest.

Yamada crouched next to him, turning the boy to face against his chest, Hitoshi’s hands dragging against the ground as a sob choked up out of him, barely enough air for breathing, let alone crying.

Hitoshi hadn’t known the voice hero for very long but he clung to him now regardless, like a man on a sinking ship, hanging desperately onto the life raft.

“It’s going to be okay. We’ll find him.” Yamada whispered, hugging him close as the cats came out of their sleeping spots, feeling Hitoshi’s despair. Kimi’s incredibly soft fur brushed against his wrist with a high pitched ‘meow,’ and Hitoshi crumpled like a sheet of paper, howling.

His ocean was gone.

-X-

They landed in a mess of limbs but Katsuki was fast to react, disentangling himself and leaping up, palms sparking, heart racing. “What the fuck kinda NPC are you?” A voice demanded and Katsuki’s head jerked to the side, seeing that villain from the USJ attack as his eyes scanned the area rapidly.

Katsuki glanced back down, seeing another villain in a waistcoat and mask, standing up and brushing his pants off before bowing and moving to stand at the edge of the area. Deku didn’t move from where he’d fallen on his side, and Katsuki quickly looked him over, checking for signs of injury. His breathing was even, the triple pale lines on his neck closed, his eyes shut, his long braid limp on the floor.

He appeared uninjured, only unconscious. So that was something at least.

“What the fuck do you want with Deku?” Katsuki growled in response, stepping closer to the smaller boy, lifting a leg over him protectively so that no one would be able to get to him without first going through Katsuki.

The white haired guy from the USJ attack stood up from his stool, glancing to the side as another man stepped forward out of the shadows.

Katsuki’s mouth went dry at the sight of the man, followed shortly by a smaller, much older looking man. The bigger one, tall, had some kind of industrial trash can looking headgear covering his entire head, pipes twining around his neck. He was menacing, his presence felt like pure dark intensity and raw evil.

Katsuki fought the feeling, he was good at that. Anger was the most powerful emotion in existence and he had it in spades. It could overcome the fear that he most certainly didn’t feel.

“What the fuck do you want with Deku?!” He repeated with a snarl, fingers spread, palms popping nonstop with miniature explosions to keep the sweat flowing.

“Bakugou Katsuki.” The man said deeply, voice muffled behind the heavy mask but not losing an ounce of intensity despite that fact.

Katsuki tensed, glancing down at Deku and nudging him lightly. He needed to wake up, this was bad. There was no way Katsuki could get them both out of there.

“How do you know my name?” He hissed, eyes flicking, taking in the room more in depth, looking for exits. They appeared to be in some factory type building. It was dark and Katsuki couldn’t make much out, but he could smell metal and dust and salt, and something else, something chemical underlying the harsh iron smell. He could practically taste it. “Where are we?”

“I know a lot about you, Bakugou.” The man said, ignoring the second question and making a tiny movement with his head that had the old man in the lab coat scurrying forward, straight toward Katsuki and Deku.

Katsuki fired off a warning explosion, pointing his palm to the ugly motherfucker. “I’d stay back if I were you.” He warned, baring his teeth.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to harm the good doctor.” The trash can headed man said and took a step closer.

“This kid wasn’t supposed to come with Miku.” The white haired bastard complained, stepping back from his stool, kicking it across the room angrily before striding toward Katsuki, lifting a hand up. “I can just kill him if you want, Master.”

Master? Kill him?

“Not fucking happening!” Katsuki snapped his hand up, his palm detonating, a larger explosion than before. It didn’t hit the guy, his evasion was too fast.

“No need to kill him, Tomura.” The man in the industrial mask murmured decisively. “You’ll be compliant, won’t you, Bakugou.”

Katsuki gritted his teeth so hard he felt them creak. Too close to him, the doctor guy was rooting around in his pockets. Leaning against the wall, the first mask guy was examining what looked like a blue marble in his hand while the ‘Tomura’ guy seemed to be pouting, turning away from Katsuki to go grab the stool he’d kicked.

Katsuki didn’t know where to look, where the most danger was.

Turned out, it was the doctor. He pulled something from his pocket and flung it at Katsuki who instinctively lifted an arm to cover his face or knock whatever it was away. The thing wrapped itself around his wrist and then clamped down painfully. Katsuki grunted, lowering his hand to look, his other hand reaching over to tear at the thing.

“Oh, I wouldn’t.” The doctor said with a demented smile. “You’ll rip your radial and ulnar arteries. And I’m sure you know what would happen then.”

Katsuki stilled, looking up at the doctor and then back down. It looked like some sort of metal and leather cuff covered in rivets, several inches wide and quite thick too, very bulky. Katsuki could barely move his wrist.

The doctor approached again and Katsuki immediately tried to blast him, only to freeze when his quirk didn’t work .

The doctor smiled and waved a hand and then suddenly Katsuki’s arms were grabbed and he was yanked backward, away from Deku as the large trash can head man stepped forward, lifting the limp, green haired boy up in one smooth motion. “Are you ready to prepare Mikumo, doctor?” The man asked as the doctor started forward, following behind as the trash man carried Deku away.

Katsuki cursed loudly and creatively, attempting to jerk out of the other’s grip, but the white haired bastard tapped a finger against his arm, disintegrating the fabric covering it before lifting it back up. “Don’t try anything.”

“Fuck that,” he snarled, lashing his elbow back, straight into the guys throat.

“You little shit,” ‘Tomura’ coughed, hand at his throat, the other reaching for Katsuki’s fce.

“I’ve got this, Shigaraki.” A new voice said and Katsuki turned just in time to see the marble guys’ hand grab his arm and then darkness...

… before he was thrust back into the world, falling roughly onto hard, cold ground. “Enjoy your stay, young Bakugou.” The masked marble man said before shutting a heavy metal door, leaving the room Katsuki had fallen into illuminated with one sickening yellow light embedded in the ceiling.

Katsuki jumped up, punching the door, trying desperately to use his quirk but to no avail.

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, fingers twitching uselessly at his sides, Katsuki turned back around, taking in the room. It was small, probably about 12 by 12 feet, a cube. A metal toilet was bolted to the floor in the corner, a rusty sink next to it and a metal shelf jutting out of the wall with a dirty blanket on it off to the side.

Katsuki shuddered, realizing for the first time that he was a prisoner and they had Deku .

Katsuki took a couple steps forward, away from the door, turning so that his back hit the wall before letting himself slide down slowly. He leaned his head back against the wall, brows drawn together.

He would figure this out. Of course he would. He’d survived that slime monster and he could survive this.

Katsuki lowered his head between his knees, arms limp at his sides, the cuffs heavy and his wrists aching.

What was he going to do…

-X-

Heat on his skin and pain in his head, a voice in his ear. “ Your name is Izuku. ”

The world warped, like the air above a flame, and Izuku was dropped into a pit of thick, cold water, sinking, and he couldn’t breathe. His hands clawed at his throat, leaving behind vivid red lines.

“ Izuku.”

Pain in the base of his skull and hot metal in the front, coalescing in the middle to form a whirlpool of agony.

His vision cracked, like shattered glass, and Izuku was falling, arms and legs above him as he plummeted, the breath torn from his lungs.

He hit water like it was concrete and it fell like his spine snapped on impact, his head cracking and his vision going black…

… Izuku came awake slowly, bits and pieces of a buzzing noise and white light filtering in as he blinked his second eyelids, lifting the first. “Hoshi…” he murmured and frowned when there was suddenly a face in front of his own and a rough hand on his chin, forcing his head up.

He all at once remembered what had happened and panic bloomed through his chest like a burning wave washing over him.

“You’re awake? Your metabolism must be faster than I had remembered. You haven’t been eating right have you? Who is Hoshi?” The grip turned his head from side to side, the person staring into Izuku’s eyes with some peculiar goggles covering their own. They were too big, thick, triple paned with dials on both sides.

“What?” Izuku pulled his head back, frowning when it lolled on his neck unbidden, nausea rising in his stomach. His tongue flicked forward, wetting his lips. “Where am I… what…?

The man stepped back, smiling, and Izuku took him in fully. He was short and bald, with a bushy white moustache and those weird, thick goggles that seemed to cover half of his face. His hands were also covered in medical gloves and he wore a bright, white coat.

The sight of him sent a bolt of pain straight through Izuku’s frontal cortex and he groaned, hunching forward, attempting to reach for his face but his arms meeting resistance. He glanced to the side to find that he was restrained to a metal chair and his eyes widened. He looked back up, chest hitching and the man tutted. “What did she do to you, Mikumo, hmm?”

She? She who? Mikumo? Izuku’s eyes flicked around the room, calculating, looking for something to help him. The room was large and filled to the brim with cabinets and medical equipment. There were examination tables with lamps above them lined near the wall, nearest Izuku. And the place didn’t have any windows at all, no sunlight could reach him here.

There was no sun at all. 

There were tanks of some glowing liquid near the other wall, ominous and frightening. They were absolutely covered in cable and wires, light green. Toxic looking, sparking a hollow feeling in his chest.

Izuku’s head was splitting in two and his stomach was rolling.

He knew this place.

The doctor looking man stepped toward, drawing Izuku’s attention back to him as he opened a metal filing cabinet and pulled out a box and a small, clear bottle. He set the two items on a rolling table and pushed it toward Izuku while he watched him, heart picking up speed.

Izuku called on his quirk then, he could feel all of it, all the liquid, a huge mass of water nearby, but able to do nothing and his heart accelerated even more. It’d been a long time since he had felt so helpless.

The doctor stopped at Izuku’s side, looking down at him with a crooked toothed smile. “Don’t worry, Mikumo. I’ll figure out what happened in that brain of yours.”

“N-no, what… please, what’s going on? Where’s Bakugou?” Izuku tugged on the restraints roughly, biting through a chunk of his cheek when it hurt , like blades digging into his wrists. And he felt so nauseous. What had been in that dart?

The man sighed, pulling a syringe from the box and filling it with the unknown liquid from the bottle. “This is unlike you, Mikumo. It’s a good thing he’s not here to see you like this.”

“Who?” Izuku leaned away, breathing heavily, trying to fight as the doctor stepped near his arm with the syringe. “Stop, stop, just stop!” Izuku’s muscles tensed, heart beating painfully against his ribs, quick with fear as he wrenched at his wrists, barely even noticing the pain in his desperation to get away from the syringe.

As Riptide and even before, as a vigilante, he’d been captured more than once, especially when he was younger and inexperienced, but he’d always managed to get away before they could do so much as remove his mask. He’d never felt so… helpless before. He hated this, he hated everything about this.

“Don’t worry, Mikumo.” The doctor jabbed the needle into Izuku’s arm, holding him still. “I’ll take care of you.”

The doctor removed the needle and set it aside, humming something painfully familiar to himself as he took his spot behind Izuku once again, the buzzing sound resuming.

Izuku’s chin dipped and his head rolled to the side, as if he no longer had any control of his muscles. Unconsciousness grabbed at his mind like the undertow, threatening to pull him under and drown him. He thought of Hitoshi and hoped he was safe, that he was okay after seeing Izuku be taken.

For however long or short it had been since they had last spoken, Izuku already missed him like he was the sun.

The last things Izuku saw before the darkness overtook everything were chunks of long green hair falling through still air to rest on the ground next to the bolted down chair legs.

-X-

They didn’t allow watches, or any type of device, during the sports festival, so Katsuki was without his phone or any other way to gauge what time it was. The walls were bare and flat, no window for the sun, and there was no clock on the wall. There was no way for him to figure out how much time had passed.

Katsuki had, as a rule, been incredibly careful with every second of his time throughout his life, planning things down to the minutiae. He went to bed early and got up before even the birds, and from then on he knew what to do, be it jogging or other forms of exercising, then a large meal (if he could persuade his ass of a mother to make anything, since he wasn’t allowed to cook). He planned it all, and to have time taken away from him made his blood boil, his anger rise, and he wanted so desperately to destroy.

After his near death almost a year ago, he’d been forced into therapy, and he’d been given coping mechanisms for such feelings. But thinking about those only made him more infuriated.

Anger could be powerful and useful in certain situations, but right now it was impeding him. His anger held him back, he knew that. It kept him from thinking straight, from using his mind to its full capabilities. He knew that, but it was still incredibly frustrating.

Katsuki pushed a huff of air through his nose and tried to go through what he knew of the League of Villains and of Deku and why they could possibly want him.

He’d known Deku since they were born; his mom and Deku’s mom were close since high school. The two kids had been pressured to be friends and that’s why Katsuki had hated Deku, for the most part. He hated anything he was forced to do by his mother.

But Deku had been dedicated to being his friend growing up and had followed him everywhere with those stupid, weird eyes and all those bruises. It had taken Katsuki too long to notice that the wounds the other boy always sported were something more than just injuries from playing.

Katsuki had never met Deku’s father and neither had his mom, but he’d heard her talk to Inko about it, trying to get information from her. He’d heard the words ‘villain’ and ‘child-abuse’ mentioned several times during that phone call.

It wasn’t much later that both Inko and Deku started disappearing for longer and longer amounts of time. Deku was pulled out of their school and put into homeschooling.

Or that’s what he was told.

Katsuki was the last one to see Deku. They’d been playing at the park that day, just the two of them, Tsubasa and the others too busy. Deku had been strangely subdued and when Katsuki demanded to know why he didn’t want to play heroes and villains, Deku had said it hurt to move too much. At the time, Katsuki hadn’t understood it and he’d been angry. He’d pushed Deku into the sand and called him ‘a wimp’ and ‘weak’.

He’d thought about that a lot, afterward.

The next day he and Inko didn’t show up for their Sunday dinner, or the next, or the next. Weeks later they eventually went to their apartment and found it a mess, Inko on her knees in the middle of it, crying, covered in vivid purple and black bruises, her hair short, like Katsuki’s.

Katsuki had been sent to wait outside but he’d been able to hear the muffled yelling coming from inside.

Inko disappeared too shortly after that and the apartment got new tenants and Katsuki didn’t see Deku again until that first day of class. He’d thought he was dead.

They all had.

Seeing him again had brought back all that worry from before and that made him mad. And then he learned about Deku’s missing time and the League of Villains coming after him and here they were. They obviously knew him, he’d heard that trash can head guy call him ‘Mikumo’, whatever the fuck that meant.

Katsuki was missing a lot of the facts, but he was smart enough to connect Deku’s missing time with these guys.

The whole situation was pissing him off, had pissed him off.

Given his lack of a watch or any other time telling device, there was no way for Katsuki to guess how long had passed before the marble guy made an appearance again. The masked man unlocked the metal door and strode in, a blue marble held loosely in his hand.

Katsuki jumped to his feet, hands in fists at his sides. He wanted to lurch forward and grab the stupid mask and bash the fuckers head against the steel shelf thing. But, despite his rage, Katsuki was smart enough to guess what exactly that marble was.

The man spared Katsuki only a light glance before stepping forward to set the marble on the shelf and then moving back. “We’ll bring you both sustenance shortly, though unfortunately Mikumo can’t have solids for now, so you’ll only be getting Dr. Garaki’s potion to keep Mikumo from ingesting anything he shouldn’t.”

Then the man left through the door, shutting and locking it heavily behind him. Almost immediately the marble on the shelf shattered and Deku took its place, limp and unconscious. The man’s words about the food were pushed to the back of Katsuki’s mind when he saw the state of Deku.

Katsuki gritted his teeth at the sight of his friend rival. He lay on his back, his head turned toward the wall, left arm trailing off the ‘bed’, the back of his hand flat against the floor and trembling slightly. His skin seemed paler than before, but that could have been a trick of the disgustingly yellow light. He still wore his gym uniform and the dark blue also did nothing for his pallid skin tone.

But the thing that Katsuki noted the most was the distinct lack of Deku’s long green hair. It was now cut on the top, a floofy and uncontrolled mess, and then on the bottom it was cut almost to his scalp. Where the hair was shortest, Katsuki could see scars, pale lines against his skull. Old and deep. He could also see a strange metal device against the back of his head amidst the scars and he shuddered. What were they doing to him, what did they want with him?

Katsuki started forward, dipping at the waist to trail fingers over the device, frowning at the reddened, swollen skin around it. It looked painful and new.

“Deku.” Katsuki stated, grabbing the other boy's shoulder and shaking it. His skin was cool, even through the fabric of the uniform, and he wondered what Deku’s normal temperature was, what he needed to look out for.

Katsuki shook his head and gripped Deku’s shoulder again, squeezing. At that the boy moaned, turning his head at the pace of a snail, his throat working as he struggled to swallow. “Baku…” He rasped, voice a whisper.

“Yeah,” Katsuki growled. “Wake up, we need to figure out what’s going on. I need to know what you know, this all has to do with you and your past.”

“Mhm.” Deku blinked those gross second eyelids and Katsuki stepped back, giving Deku room enough to breathe as his hand lifted from the ground, bracing against the metal to lift himself into a sitting position. His head rolled against his shoulders and his eyes closed, his forehead creasing. “I feel awful.” He pressed a hand to his head and then gasped, eyes flashing open as he patted at his hair, eyes flashing over to Katsuki in fearful questioning.

“Yeah, it’s gone. And there’s a weird metal thing on the back of your head.” He explained flatly, moving to sit back down against the other wall, watching Deku carefully as his hand dropped farther down, fingers exploring the round metal embedded in his head.

His hand suddenly dropped and he didn’t move for a moment, lips pressed into a thin line, eyes half lidded as he stared at his legs. He looked absolutely pitiful.

Katsuki gave him a minute before speaking. “They said they were ‘preparing’ you. And they called you ‘Mikumo’.” Deku flinched and Katsuki hesitated, frowning, watching as a pale hand lifted back up to green hair.

“I think I’ve been here before.” He whispered softly from the bed.

Katsuki snorted. “No shit.”

Deku turned his head to look at him, green eyes still glowing from the sunlight they had absorbed during the sports festival what felt like days ago. Katsuki wondered how long it would take for them to go dull.

“I’m remembering things.” Deku said after a moment, dropping his hand again and sighing, turning so that his own back was to the wall and he was facing Katsuki. “I think… I think we need to plan. We need to figure out a way to get out of here as soon as possible because…” He trailed off, jaw clenching.

Katsuki leaned forward, forearms on his knees. “Because what?”

Deku shook his head. His face looked weird without the long hair. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do anything soon.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Katsuki narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t know what they’re preparing me for… but…” Deku swallowed again, lifting his knees to his chest. “We need to take whatever it is into account. You might have to escape without me.”

Katsuki scowled, lip curling. “Who the fuck do you think I am?”

Deku met his eyes, teeth grinding. “If you can get out and bring someone back, it would save us both.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “You’re smarter than that, damn nerd. If I got out they’d move location with you. Obviously.”

Deku’s shoulders dropped. “Oh, that makes sense.”

“Of course it does.” Katsuki stood, beginning to pace. He felt like a caged animal, he needed to move. “I can’t use my quirk because of these cuffs. I’m guessing you can’t either.” He pointed at the boys’ wrists and Deku shook his head. Katsuki nodded, “So, we’ll have to fight quirkless. That doctor said I’d bleed out if I tried to take these off, though it could be a bluff. I might try anyway.”

“No!” Deku swung his legs over the bed, standing, eyes widening. “You can’t try that! What if it’s not a bluff. You could die!”

Katsuki frowned. “I’m not an idiot.”

Deku stared at him for a moment, his eyes seeming to search Katsuki’s before he found whatever he was looking for and he dropped back onto the metal with a sigh. “Man, I feel bad.”

Katsuki looked at the boy, taking in his complexion, the darkness growing under his eyes, the slouch of his shoulders, the short, sad hair. Before this, Katsuki hadn’t even known hair could look sad.

“What’s going on?” He asked with a growl.

Deku shook his head. “I’m dizzy. I don’t know if they know…”

“Know what?” Katsuki glared. The way Deku spoke infuriated him. “Spit it out. I need to know everything you do, especially if something happens.”

The nerd leaned back once again. “I get dehydrated easily and I need a lot of salt. It’s called hyponatremia. I don’t know if that’s why I’m feeling like this, could also be my fast metabolism.” He shrugged.

Before Katsuki could answer him, a small section at the bottom of the metal door slid aside and two cylindrical containers were pushed in before the metal slid back into place, nearly melting into the door. Katsuki walked forward, picking them both up and examining them. “Cups of liquid.” Katsuki tossed one to Deku who caught it, brow furrowing.

“Just liquid? They’re not feeding us?” He asked, trying to open the top.

“That one masked guy said you’re not supposed to have solids or something, that you could only have some doctors’ potion. Dr. Garaki I think.”

Deku froze at the name and Katsuki watched closely as something like recognition and then fear flashed through his eyes. “You remember something.” He stated.

Deku blinked and then looked at Katsuki, mouth opening and closing. “I know him… I know that doctor and that name, he …” Deku’s chest hitched and he leaned forward, holding the unopened cup against his chest, face pained. When he spoke again his voice was weak, barely even a whisper. “He’s going to hurt me.”

Katsuki stared. He hated this… this not knowing, he hated being stuck in the dark on whatever was going on. He couldn’t imagine how Deku felt.

Katsuki was going to have to be the hero here. He’d come after Deku for a reason, after all. He wasn’t going to fail. He was stronger than anyone…

Katsuki straightened and walked forward, snatching the cup from Deku’s hands, ignoring the irritated look Deku sent him when he did it. “You’re dehydrated. I don’t know what this is, but we need to drink it anyway. I’m thirsty too and we need as much strength as possible.”

Deku nodded as Katsuki figured out how to unlatch the top and handed the opened cup back to the reptilian boy. He opened his own and then took a test sip, grimacing. It tasted like pond sludge and trash juice. He looked back toward Deku but frowned when he just chugged the entire thing, a haunted expression in his eyes.

Noticing Katsuki’s grimace Deku glanced at the cup. “Does it taste bad?”

“Tastes like fuckin’ boiled gym socks and rotten plants.” Katsuki answered.

“Oh. I can’t taste.” Deku sighed and then finished the cup, setting it aside, leaning back against the wall.

“Next time someone comes in we attack.” Deku said with a sigh and Katsuki briefly noticed the exhaustion rimming his eyes as he sat back down against the wall. “We need to at least attempt an escape before we’re too weak to try at all.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki said, agreeing.

Izuku went silent for a minute and Katsuki decided to speak up. “I’m strong, even without my quirk. And you’re fast. We can beat these assholes.”

Izuku’s mouth quirked up in a half smile and he looked over at Katsuki. “Who knew you could be reassuring?”

“Shut up, loser.” Katsuki answered halfheartedly, taking a drink of his shit water and forcing himself to swallow, holding back his gag reflex with not a small amount of difficulty. “If it’s that marble guy with the mask, try not to get touched.”

Izuku made a short sound to show he’d heard before lying down on his side. He was facing Katsuki but his eyes were hazy, not seeming to see him at all, as if he was lost in thought. Katsuki sighed but leaned his head back against the wall, looking upward at the high ceiling.

It was too quiet, the only sound was Deku's soft breathing. He usually slept with his headphones, death metal blaring in his ears. This sucked.

He let his eyes close, arms in his lap and his knees up, subconsciously protecting his stomach. He tried to sleep.

He’d need all his strength.

-X-

Katsuki woke to the sound of metal on metal, a key in a lock, and he shot up. Deku had heard it as well, already on his feet and moving near the door, narrowed eyes meeting his own. He nodded once to him, and Katsuki stood in front of the door, preparing himself.

It was the marble dude again, his masked head tilting at Katsuki in confusion as he walked in, before turning rapidly to see Deku leaping upward, planting a fist into his face. The mask snapped in half, flying in opposite directions, his body jerking backward as Deku dropped to the ground.

Katsuki flew past him, into the hallway, planting a heel into the marble man's stomach, satisfied at the grunt of pain the villain gasped out. But then his ankle was grabbed as he tried to take it away and he only had time to give half a curse before he knew no more…

… and then he was dropping to his ass, a harsh breath forced out of his lungs at the impact. The marble guy, now maskless, stood at the door, rolling a marble around his fingers as he glared down at Katsuki.

“Attack me again,” he said, an undercurrent of anger riding on otherwise smooth words. “And I will ask Dr. Garaki to remove your hands.”

The door slammed shut, leaving Katsuki absolutely alone, the echo of the door resounding in the small area like a bell.

An unknown amount of time passed after that, giving Katsuki a lot of time to think. The threat of taking his hands weighed on him. His hands were his quirk, they’re what made him so powerful. Without them he would be worthless… useless. He couldn’t let that happen. He needed to be smarter.

Hours passed, or more, Katsuki wasn’t sure, before Izuku was brought back. The marble man carried him in his arms, not even bothering to put him in a marble this time. The doctor was with him as well, shutting the door behind them, locking them all in the room together. Katsuki stood against the wall, legs braced, ready to defend himself but unwilling to attack.

Not with the way Deku looked.

His body was absolutely limp as the marble man laid it on the metal shelf. His eyes were completely closed and his breathing wasn’t even, his body shaking violently, tremors running through his muscles spastically. The bruises beneath his eyes were darker and his lips were parted, showing sharp teeth as short, ragged puffs of air escaped him intermittently.

“Grab Bakugou please.” The doctor said once Deku was set down and the marble man stepped toward him, giving him a warning look. Bakugou bared his teeth before the man grabbed his arm... and then his eyes were opening in a different room and he was shoved backward into a seat, restraints attached to the cuffs on his wrists.

“What the fuck do you want from me?” Katsuki growled, heart beating a rapid tempo in his chest as his eyes flicked about.

“Mhm, just checking some things.” The doctor said. “You’re here so I might as well make a file on you.”

The doctor went on to measure Katsuki’s vitals, typing everything into a laptop he had sitting on a push table. He took Katsuki’s blood and stuffed the vile into a machine, then looked into his eyes, moving back when Katsuki tried to head butt him.

He cursed at the man the entire time, but he seemed to be ignoring him, doing test after test, none of them very invasive. He really only seemed to be wanting basic information.

Katsuki took in the room too, distinctly noting the massive, human sized tanks against the wall full of a putrescent colored liquid. The room smelled of alcohol and bleach and it was sickening on Katsuki’s empty stomach.

“Alright, last thing.” The doctor said, pulling a device from his white coat and grabbing Katsuki’s arm with his other hand after programming something into the base of the machine. “This may hurt a bit.”

And then with little warning the device was pressed into Katsuki’s forearm, his hands clenching and jaw snapping shut so hard he bit the side of his tongue and blood flooded his mouth.

The pain only lasted a second and then Dr. Garaki removed the device, leaving behind reddened skin and some sort of mark that looked like a… a barcode.

A tattoo.

A brand .

After that Katsuki was made to eat a dry sandwich and he was marbled again, returning to normal in the room once again. A new container of liquid sat next to him, another one beneath the metal shelf where Deku still laid, unmoving.

The door was shut and Katsuki looked down at his arm with a grimace. He laid his palm over the brand, jaw working. The skin hurt and it felt raw, like a bad sunburn.

Ignoring the cup, Katsuki stood, approaching Deku and removing his palm from his forearm to roll the other boy over. Deku didn’t even make a sound but Katsuki glimpsed a brand on his right forearm as well and his stomach clenched. There was a bandage on the back of Deku’s head as well, over where the device had been before, and Katsuki flitted his fingers over it. He felt hardness beneath the bandage, signifying that the device was still there.

Katsuki sighed heavily and sat down next to Deku’s legs on the metal, studying the barcode on his own arm. It was all black, a collection of dark bars and strange symbols above them, not numbers or kanji. Katsuki didn’t recognize them and wondered if it was some made up language the doctor used. Some sort of filing language.

The thought disgusted Katsuki.

“...nng.” A familiar voice grunted and Katsuki looked to the side as human eyelids lifted and then reptilian ones slid to the side, slitted pupils sliding to meet Katsuki’s eyes. “K-Kacchan?”

Katsuki’s eyes widened and he shot to his feet, standing over Deku. “Deku? Do you remember?”

The boy groaned and rolled to his side, wrapping arms around his head, fingers burying in his short hair. “...nnn.”

Katsuki frowned, wanting answers but finding that he was worried, unknowing what the doctor had actually done to Deku and frustrated that he couldn’t do anything.

A few minutes passed with Deku unmoving from his ball form, arms staying wrapped around his head, hands clenched so tight in his hair that his knuckles were white. Katsuki had noticed as well that he’d been given food when Deku had not, only those drinks again when he came back. It seemed Deku was not being allowed to eat still, which probably meant they had more things planned for him.

Katsuki hated everything about this.

Eventually starting to unravel Deku looked up at him, jaw clenched and eyes wetter than normal. “I want Hoshi.” He murmured, voice hoarse.

Katsuki gritted his teeth. He knew Deku called that purple haired freak ‘Hoshi’. He’d heard it many times during their classes, or sitting together at lunch, or during their many group outings...

“Well, he’s not here.” Katsuki said unkindly, voice rough at the memory of spending time with friends. He would never take that for granted again.

Deku looked away, dropping his head down against the metal with a thud and a ragged, shuddering sigh. He didn’t speak for some time and Katsuki finally had to break the silence. “What did that doctor do to you?”

Deku closed his translucent looking eyelids, the corners of his eyes creasing. “I… don’t know.”

“How can you not know?! How can you know so little?!” Katsuki stood, lifting his hands in the air. “Do you know anything?!”

He looked back at Deku and then almost felt bad for his outburst when he saw Deku’s hurt expression. “Bakugou… please…” Deku sat up, eyes still closed as he leaned his head against the wall, wincing when the back of his head connected with the metal. “Just please don’t. You don’t realize how… what this is like for me. I feel like I’m capsizing, sail shredding, bow dropping too low. I don’t feel like the ocean… I’m the sinking ship.”

Katsuki didn’t answer, only frowning as he dropped back to his spot across from Deku against the wall, watching him closely as he went on. “I’m doubting my entire life. I’ve got… I’ve got like…” Deku opened his eyes, gesturing to his head. “I have conflicting memories and I keep hearing this voice. I don’t know what anything means but I’m trying, Kacchan. I don’t know what to do or what is real, I don’t know what’s happening. I feel like I’m drowning in my own… my own mind. I’m scared… I’m scared of so much and I don’t even know why … I want this to be over… I want to go h- home. ”

Deku ran a hand across his face, still shaking considerably. “You called me Kacchan again.” Katsuki muttered, after a long second of deafening silence and Deku looked at him through trembling fingers.

“What?”

“You did.” Katsuki crossed his arms over his chest, the fabric of his shirt rubbing uncomfortably over his brand, the skin and muscle sore, like someone had punched him with brass knuckles right in the middle of his arm.

“I don’t even know what that name means.” Deku dropped his hand, closing it into a fist in his lap.

“You had trouble pronouncing my name when you were really little.” Katsuki explained gruffly. “You shortened Katsuki to Kacchan because the ‘Tsu’ was difficult with your sharp teeth. You always cut your tongue on them with that pronunciation.”

“...oh.”

“Yeah.” Katsuki had thought that Deku had remembered that, but it seemed like he hadn’t. But he was obviously getting some memories back. Something was happening.

He didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“I’m so tired.” Deku finally sighed. He sounded utterly exhausted.

“You’ve slept for…” Katsuki hesitated. He didn’t know for how long, he had no idea how long had passed. It was pissing him off. “You’ve already slept a lot.”

“I know.” Deku laid down on his side, eyelids closing. “It’s not like there’s anything else we can do anyway though.”

Katsuki didn’t answer, watching as the other boys’ breathing changed, chest hitching occasionally. In sleep his body still shook.

In life Katsuki always knew what was next, what he had to do to reach a specific, self-set goal, and he followed each step perfectly so that he got what he wanted.

But now… Now, he didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t know what was going to happen to them…

-X-

The next morning they took Deku again… but this time they didn’t bring him back.

Chapter Text

The sea lapped at the sand, soft murmurs of a salty ocean breeze whispering through the air. Seagulls glided overhead and they yelled their song, loudly… obnoxiously. The piles of trash were high and somewhere within there was the sound of something metal scraping roughly, the tinny noise background music to the cold waves of the ocean. It was familiar, it was supposed to be comforting.

It was anything but.

Hitoshi sat on the sand close to the water, the seat of his pants soaked and his face lifted to the wind. His skin was covered in goosebumps but he didn’t care. His eyes leaked down his face and over his lips, tears seeping into his mouth.

They tasted like the sea.

He was alone here. He hadn’t been able to sleep last night, unsurprisingly. He refused to go into the bedroom and had instead curled up on the couch in the living room with all three cats crowding him.

Neither Mic nor Aizawa slept either, taking turns leaving and returning, afraid to leave him alone. But it was wrong to think that it was possible to continue like that with their jobs and they made him promise to call them if he needed anything before they left for their hero things, hopefully to figure out where Izuku was and to plan a rescue.

Once they had left Hitoshi had sat in the living room, staring at Kimi as she forcefully shoved her head against his chin.

The silence of the empty house was the loudest thing he’d ever heard.

So, Hitoshi left, letting his feet carry him at a run until he collapsed on the beach, miles away.

He hadn’t moved in hours despite his phone ringing in his pocket over and over again. He sat on the wet ground, letting the cold water wash against him, his body shivering as his thoughts danced the movements of zero sleep and all the grief of one who has lost their first and closest friend.

That day of the exam, friendship had been the absolute last thing on his mind. He’d been an anxious mess, unable to slow down, thinking about all the ways he was going to fail, all the ways his foster parents were going to bother him about not being good enough for U.A.

He’d been close to a full blown attack when Izuku strode right up to him offering memes and snacks. Who even did that?

Hitoshi had been so confused and cautious, waiting for the ball to drop, waiting for this short, long-haired reptilian kid to tell him what he wanted from him.

It’d never happened.

Hitoshi hadn’t gone there seeking friends. He’d left his house that day expecting to bomb the entrance exam and nothing else. He hadn’t expected all that had followed to happen at all.

He hadn’t expected to come to this beach and develop a crush on that small boy. A crush he still hadn’t told Izu anything about. Izuku had done so much for Hitoshi and he had never once asked for something in return.

Hitoshi remembered that one evening in the sea, the reflection of the setting sun in the water and Izuku’s soft voice.

Feels like a dream … a good one...

Hitoshi collapsed into himself, his tears turning into gasping sobs as he clutched at his chest. Where was he? Where was Izuku, where was the ocean to his sun, who had gotten him so far…

He felt so useless . Izuku had saved him in every possible way… he was everything to him… and Hitoshi hadn’t been there for him.

To see him falling into the warping pit of darkness in the middle of the sports field… the scene played over and over again behind Hitoshi’s eyes and he just couldn’t stop crying .

He was so tired, all the way to his bones.

Aizawa eventually found Hitoshi and persuaded him to leave the safety of the sand and come back to their house. Hitoshi came blankly, reluctantly. This was the only place that truly felt like his, the place he felt was home. The place that Izuku considered home. Deep down he thought Izuku would just show up, turning the corner of the train car with a wave and a sharp, teasing grin, as if he wasn’t gone.

They’d been driving for some time before Hitoshi realized that they were moving randomly around the city and not actually going back to the house.

It wasn’t long after he’d realized this that Aizawa spoke up. “Riptide didn’t show for patrol last night, according to his agency.”

Hitoshi’s shoulders fell and his head bumped roughly into the cool window. It was raining now and he thought how accurate that was. It felt like the entire world should be crying right now.

“Look.” Aizawa sighed. “You don’t have to say anything. We’re going to find him, Kid.”

A hot tear escaped the corner of Hitoshi’s eye and he wiped at it furiously without answering, sniffling. He’d forgotten about Izuku’s patrol last night… he should’ve remembered, for Izuku, he should’ve done something. Now Aizawa and Mic knew and it was his fault. He couldn’t even do that one thing for him. What kind of friend was he?

“Kid.” Aizawa repeated and Hitoshi’s eyes slid to the side, seeing the teacher looking at him sideways, hands on the wheel. “It’s going to be okay.”

Hitoshi closed his eyes, his forehead creasing, as if in pain.

He’d never trusted adults. He had no reason to now.

They were the ones that had failed them.

-X-

His head hurt.

Technically it hadn’t stopped hurting, but in this moment, as he was dropped into a chair and restrained once again, it had never hurt so much. It felt like his brain was expanding in an attempt to escape the cage of his skull.

There were movements on the edges of his vision but Izuku ignored them for the most part. Prioritizing was important, in a situation like this. He could do that. He’d always been able to do that, when he was here…

“Mikumo.” A voice said and Izuku looked up, frowning. A man sat across from him. He’d never seen him before, but somehow he was uncomfortably familiar, even with that weird mask on his head. It stretched dowardward, creating a collar of tubes over his jaw and neck, maybe to help him breathe or something. And he wore a plain black suit, like your average villain really, minus the head gear.

“Why are you wearing a trash can?” Izuku asked bluntly, unaware that Bakugou had thought the exact same thing.

There was no answer for a moment and Izuku took the time to take in the situation. He was in the same room as each time before. The fluorescent lights were bright from the ceiling and the light was a spear in each eye, his head aching like nothing else, and he was hungry, and his quirk was still acting weird, but otherwise he was fine, or as fine as one could be in his shoes.

Speaking of shoes, he wasn’t wearing any, which sucked. He’d liked those black converse that he’d worn to the sports festival, perfectly worn and comfortable. Everyone knew that new converse took ages to actually become comfortable. Of course he preferred to be barefoot, generally, but that was when he felt safe. He didn’t want to have to attempt an escape barefoot.

And his gym uniform was gone, leaving him in just his swimming shorts that he’d been wearing beneath him. It did not bode well for him.

There was a hiss of air and the doctor was buzzing around, almost a blur with the way Izuku’s migraine was acting up, but Izuku looked up anyway. He needed all the information that he could possibly get.

It was all he could do.

‘The man previously wearing a trash can’, was now ‘the man that looks like a potato’.

Izuku lifted the corner of his mouth as the doctor connected a bunch of machines to the man, the trash can headpiece off to the side on a metal table. “So that’s why you were wearing the trash can, huh?” He stated wryly, one brow raised. “You’re secretly a potato.”

Izuku hadn’t slept before, when he’d told Bakugou that he was going to. He’d needed time to think, without the doctor weirdo leaning over him and poking him with things.

And he had, he’d thought a lot. He’d been overwhelmed by his fear at first, as Izuku felt most people would be in this strange, terrifying situation. But if he’d learned anything in his life, it was how to use his fear as a weapon. Izuku was strong, always had been, and he could get through this like everything else.

He would see Hitoshi again.

Definitely.

He just had to keep telling himself that.

The doctor was the one to respond to Izuku calling the man a potato. “How dare you call Master a- a potato!” The old man snapped, stepping forward.

“It’s fine, Kyudai.” The potato man said, unmoving. He really did look like a potato though, and an ugly, partially rotten one at that. His face was completely scar tissue, even over his eyes. Only the outlines of his eye sockets could be seen. His mouth was a thin line beneath the oxygen mask that had been placed over his face. “I am aware that my appearance is not normal.”

The man leaned to the side, placing his head on his open palm, and Izuku dry swallowed. He felt fear and he was worried about that doctor, now approaching him with a small push table, a laptop on it.

There was movement behind him and Izuku tried to turn only for a hand to fall onto his shoulder, holding him in place. He gritted his teeth prepared to argue when he felt a strange tug at the base of his head and a gasp escaped him as he instinctively leaned away, the hand on his shoulder tightening.

He fought the urge to groan, his eyes clenching shut as the pressure in his head increased.

“Hmmm.” The old man’s voice said, Kyudai or Dr. Garaki or whatever he went by, as the sounds of a keyboard clacking filled the large room. “You were right.”

There was no answer for a moment and Izuku forced an eye to open a slit, catching sight of the potato man watching him intently. How did Izuku know him? How did he know any of these people? It wasn’t right, they were villains, he shouldn’t know them. When had he been here before?

“His frontal cortex was interfered with. There is scarring, indicating implanted memories over a period of time, unlike our own.” The doctor hummed thoughtfully to himself, leaning forward over the laptop as Izuku’s heart rate increased significantly.

What?!

“It seems to go quite deep, this will take some undoing, it might not be possible at all.” The doctor explained.

“I trust in your capabilities, Kyudai.” The other man said and Izuku lifted his head, blinking as he tried to even his breathing.

“Who are you?” He gasped out, somehow managing not to stutter. Who am I?

The suited man tilted his head, mouth lifting in a twisted veneer of a smile. Izuku decided he hated it, he hated that smile. It reminded him of something that he couldn’t think about.

“I am old, boy.” The voice answered evenly, and Izuku grimaced. That wasn’t an answer at all. “Everyone, even me, needs a hobby.”

But the man went on. “In over a century of life, I’ve had many offspring. None of which were as receptive as you. They all perished, unfortunately.”

The man didn’t sound like he thought it was unfortunate, or that he cared at all. But where was he going with this? Was he implying that… that Izuku was...

“After many failed experiments and several advancements in technology, my physician here discovered certain methods of gene splicing and quirk introduction during prenatal development that could result in truly interesting outcomes, if only they survived.” The man waved a hand dismissively, sighing. Izuku’s eyes did not leave him. He felt like he was going to throw up.

“It takes a certain carrier of the offspring to withstand such treatment, of course.” The man’s smile twisted up even more and his head turned to face Izuku directly. Izuku had the distinct feeling that despite his eyes being completely gone, he could see into Izuku’s soul. “And your mother was the strongest I’ve ever had. She was able to take in several quirks during her time here before the accident, though it seemed a fault of mine to allow her to have whatever she wanted.”

The strongest he’d ever had.

Izuku really felt like he was going to throw up now.

“I am seeing evidence of unused neural pathways.” The doctor muttered, almost interrupting the other man’s monologue.

“... Interesting.” He responded with what seemed like curiosity, and Izuku shrank back. What did that mean? Why did everything have to be so vague?

Izuku flinched when he felt something prick his arm, eyes flashing to the side, barely able to restrain his panic. His thoughts were moving too quickly, he couldn’t process all this, it was too much.

“Don’t do that,” he growled, tugging at his wrists, ignoring the pain.

The doctor only grunted in response, pulling the needle from his arm and returning to the laptop. What the fuck was in him now?!

“What is your name?” The doctor said after a moment of watching whatever was on that screen.

Izuku lifted his chin, glaring. “My name is Izuku.”

“Hmmm.” The man hummed. “You fully believe that to be true. Interesting.”

“It is true.” Izuku hissed.

There was a rasping sound and Izuku blinked, turning his head. Was that… The suited man was laughing.

“She always liked that name. Izuku. I should have seen this outcome.” He chuckled.

Okay. Okay. Anger was beginning to overpower Izuku’s fear, he could handle that. That was easier.

He straightened in his seat, swallowing back bile when his empty stomach tried to make itself emptier. He hadn’t even consumed that last drink thing that had been in that room with Bakugou. And he was shaking and dizzy and nauseous and…

No use focusing on things he couldn’t control... Prioritize… Gather information, process, learn.

“So, what is this? Are you saying that I have false memories? Are you implying that I am your… offspring?” ‘Child’ felt wrong, ‘offspring’ felt even worse.

“You are of my blood.” The man answered ominously.

The doctor spoke again before Izuku could respond to that. “What is your earliest memory?” He asked of Izuku.

Izuku slouched, too tired to remain upright for any longer. His earliest memory?

A flash of bright red and the feeling of heat on his skin flared across his mind along with a burst of pain and he nearly doubled over, clenching his eyes shut, hands forming into fists.

“Remarkable.” The doctor breathed and began typing rapidly, while Izuku caught his breath. Something wet dripped down his nasal cavity and he sniffed, swallowing.

“What is your quirk?” The doctor continued, ignoring Izuku’s pain.

Reptile? Hydrokinesis? What was…

Another burst of pain and the other man was laughing again. The world was spinning and Izuku felt like his body was moving with it, his body sagging back against the seat. His nose leaked now, across his mouth, and he just knew it was blood. It was too thick to be anything else.

His body was growing heavy, his muscles losing feeling, his bones weighing him down. He could barely move.

Still staring intently at the laptop, the doctor continued to push him. “Who is Tomura?”

“Fuck you.” Was Izuku’s smooth answer to the doctor before turning his gaze to the amused man in the suit with difficulty. “And you should go jump into a farm field, you potato fuck.”

Maybe not his most elaborate insults, but really, he wasn’t in the most creative state of mind at the moment.

The doctor didn’t seem to care, leaning back away from the laptop and looking over at him, eyes full of scientific curiosity behind those paned goggles. “Who is your mother?”

Izuku gritted his teeth, tightening his jaw. No answer was the best answer.

The doctor nodded. “That’s enough for now. I think we can proceed with the rest, the injection is taking effect.”

What?

Dr. Garaki approached Izuku’s back and placed a hand against his head, pushing it down as Izuku felt some of the pressure in his head lessen. The doctor gathered a cord that Izuku hadn’t noticed before, looping it to place in a bundle on the table next to the laptop. Had that… Had Izuku been plugged into that laptop via the thing in his head?

“I know the best approach for the tank now.” The doctor told the potato man, moving to collect another small table, wheeling it over to Izuku. “Firstly I will try to repair the scar tissue and activate the unused neural pathways while fixing the complex sensory and neural functions unique to his brain, which ultimately should aid in his memory recovery. And then I can set about restoring him to your standards.”

“Good.” The man said but Izuku missed it, eyes wide as the doctor looped a mask over his face and spread a salve on his neck, over his gills.

“Your gills were always a pesky thing to deal with.” The doctor sighed. Izuku tried to lean away but his body just wasn’t reacting to him anymore.

There was another prick in his arm and then the pressure returned to the back of his head, pain in his arms, chest and neck.

Izuku realized belatedly that he was now skipping in and out of consciousness, losing small bits of time, patches of light in the dark the only sign that he was waking at all.

Things were happening to him and he was losing track of it all. The doctor would be right next to him and then next to the laptop, then at his side, removing the cuffs on his wrists. He immediately tried to use his quirk but once again only felt the water nearby, unable to do anything with it. He was too tired, too weak, too heavy.

And he could no longer speak, or move at all, except his eyes.

Then he had his largest skip, opening his human eyelids to peer through what looked like thick glass, unknowing when he had even gotten there. His second eyelids flashed open and his eyes widened. He struggled, or he tried to, panic shooting adrenaline through his veins, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t do anything.

Behind the glass, a meter or two away, was where he’d just been, the doctor at the laptop and the suit man in his chair.

The doctor tapped one button and immediately cold flooded across Izuku’s webbed toes. He couldn’t look down but he could feel it creeping up, over his feet and then his ankles, his pulse quickening in fear.

His eyes flicked around, trying to see. 

He couldn’t… remember…

The liquid passed his waist, cold, and Izuku felt darkness pushing at his mind, sleep clawing its way forward.

There was another gap in time and all of a sudden the liquid was at his neck, his gills remaining closed, fresh air rushing into his lungs from the mask over his face. It reached upward and the fear of drowning pulsed through Izuku’s heart, despite the mask, despite his gills. Despite everything he’d ever done, Izuku feared drowning. He feared dying.

A tear squeezed out of the corner of his eye, hot against his cold skin.

Please…

The liquid covered his face, pale green from this angle, but he knew it looked toxic from the outside.

He could see outside of the glass but only just barely, especially with the blur in his vision from his migraine, second eyelids covering his eyes and everything else that was wrong with him. He could see the doctor leaving the laptop, walking forward to tend to the potato man, Izuku pretty much forgotten now.

No one expected him to fight.

And he couldn’t. Izuku couldn’t do a thing. He was helpless, body full of unknown chemicals, surrounded by some liquid that he knew nothing about.

He was so alone.

Izuku could do absolutely nothing as the dark filled his vision, the world falling away and memories taking him in their forceful grasp.

-X-

Tenya was having the worst few days of his entire life.

The sports festival seemed like a catalyst for his life falling apart, everything good tumbling away like tree blossoms in the wind. He’d watched as two of his closest friends and classmates were taken, then he’d gotten the call from his mother about his brother being nearly fatally injured by the Hero Killer.

Now, Tenya sat in his brother's hospital room as Tensei slept. In the corner of the room the news was playing, doing absolutely nothing for the dark whirlpool of emotions churning in his gut.

U.A. was under fire from every direction. To have allowed two of their top hero students be kidnapped right out from under them, during the most publicized event in Japan, in what was supposed to be the most well protected school in the country, was Bad, with a capital B. The press was hounding the school and all the heroes associated with it, demanding answers.

Aizawa was on the screen, as the homeroom teacher of the two lost students’, trying and failing to answer their questions. Tenya had only known Aizawa for about a month, but even he could tell that the man was exhausted, more so than usual. His eyes were bloodshot and the darkness beneath his eyes were more like the dead of night than mere shadows.

Tenya wondered if Aizawa had slept at all since Midoriya and Bakugou had been taken. He knew he himself certainly hadn’t.

With a sigh, Tenya looked back toward his brother, leaning back in his chair. Tensei was asleep, a mask over his face, clouding with each breath. A blanket was pulled over his chest and his arms were at his sides. The chances of him being able to use his legs after he woke up were low.

Tenya was tired and bitter, worried and angry. He didn’t know what to do with himself, what he was supposed to do with everything that was happening. He’d tried to call Shinsou, knowing how close he and Midoriya were, but there had been no answer. The group chat had gone crazy for a bit with everyone checking on each other, and especially Shinsou and Kirishima, the two closest to Midoriya and Bakugou. But after Shinsou hadn’t answered and Kirishima had only sent a small message reassuring everyone that he was fine, they had stopped messaging each other.

The group chat was quiet now, everyone dealing with the problem on their own, but Tenya couldn’t help but feel lonely. Usually he would go to his brother during times such as these, but he couldn’t even do that. He couldn’t blame his classmates for not checking on him more either. The entire thing with his brother and the Hero Killer was being overshadowed by what had happened at the sports festival. And Tenya wasn’t bitter about it or anything, but he was…

He didn’t know what he was.

-X-

Katuski paced the room angrily, fists clenched at his sides. He felt like he was going to wear a path straight into the cold, hard floor, and he found that he liked that idea. If it inconvenienced these bastards even a little bit then all the better.

Deku was gone and Katsuki didn’t know what to do about it. No one had been to see him in what felt like days, but was probably only hours. He hated the feeling in his chest, this tight, constricting worry . He always played the confident, outgoing, rage monster, but he felt so far from that right now that it was difficult to remember what it was to be Katsuki .

He missed his friends and he wanted out of this fucking place. He didn’t know where Deku was, or what they were doing with him, or why they wanted him in the first place. He didn’t know what his history was with these people or why he was suddenly remembering things.

Katsuki felt lost on a wave and all he had was his anger to ride on, so he held onto that with everything he had. He embraced his fury like an old friend, because otherwise… he didn’t want to think about what could be happening.

A rough creaking had him whirling around, the large metal door sliding open and the doctor stepping in, along with the marble guy. “Sit down.” The marble guy said and Katsuki bared his teeth, but did as asked when the man's maskless eyes flicked to his hands.

“Where’s Deku?” He growled at the doctor as he slapped a compression cuff around his arm.

“Mikumo is currently indisposed.” The doctor answered easily, looking down at his arm. “Blood pressure is low, I’ll make sure more food is brought for you.”

The doctor leaned back, taking the cuff with him, looking down at Katsuki with a curious expression on his face. “You remind me of my grandson. Well, great something grandson, but that is besides the point. He is making a wonderful Nomu.” The man leaned down closer, close enough that Katsuki could smell the last thing he ate on his breath. Something spicy. “I bet you would make a great Nomu as well, Bakugou Katsuki.”

“You’re talking about that thing that was at the USJ, the thing Deku destroyed.” Katsuki questioned carefully. He was walking a fine line right now and he knew it, but he needed all the information he could force out of this guy.

“An unfortunate end.” The doctor sighed. “There aren’t a lot of things I can do to protect the brain in such a case, save for maybe completely changing the composition of the blood, and that is messy and ends in failure every time.”

Katsuki was smart, he knew he was, and he knew the implications of what this ‘doctor’ was saying. He turned people , turned his own grandson, into monsters called Nomu. And he was suggesting that he’d failed a lot, he’d killed a lot. And he wanted to turn Katsuki into one?

Is that what they were doing to Deku?

He really needed to get them out of here.

“What are you doing to Deku?” He stood, his heart in his ears.

The doctor narrowed his eyes at him before turning away. “I am making him better.”

And with that he turned and left, the marble guy following close behind. Katsuki was left alone once again.

He needed to do something soon. He needed a plan.

-X-

Izuku...

Mikumo turned his head rapidly, short curls flaring about his head as his mother ran up to him, scooping him up in a happy embrace and twirling him about. He threw his arms out, laughing as he soared, his mom’s strong grip beneath his armpits.

He was set down, bare feet in green grass and he curled his toes into it, relishing in the feeling of the short blades against his webbing. “I brought you something.” His mom whispered, kneeling in front of him and pulling something out of her pocket.

Mikumo’s eyes lit up and he reached forward excitedly, grabbing onto the slightly crushed packaging of a melon pan. His favorite! His mom always knew what he liked most.

He dropped to his butt, folding his legs, and his mother did the same in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders and pulling him forward slightly as he ripped apart the plastic. He mostly ignored his mom as she adjusted herself closer, pressing her forehead against his own. She whispered things beneath her breath as he stuffed his mouth full of the melon pan, the sweet taste covering his tongue as the soft texture expanded with his saliva.

Izuku...

She always did this, and he always had such a horrible headache afterward, but it was okay because his mom took care of him. She would give him his favorite snack and let him sit on her shoulders, hands in her hair as she carried him down the hill to the sea wall, walking across it like it was a boundary. The never ending ocean on one side, the green hills and sakura trees blowing their pink petals on the right. He knew where the right side led, knew that it always ended with pain. But where did the left go?

Where did the sea end?

Mikumo turned his head, setting his chin on the crown of his mom’s head. “How deep is the sea?” He asked softly, watching the sparkles of the sun in the water. He wanted to catch them even though he knew it was just a reflection, or refraction, or whatever Kacchan was always saying.

His mom laughed, a bell like sound that made his chest warm. “The ocean is as deep as the sky is wide.”

Mikumo frowned in confusion and turned his head to look up at the sky. It was just… blue; fluffy, white clouds drifting lazily across the expanse of cerulean. “Does the sky ever end?”

“Nope!” His mom grinned, patting the hand that he had shoved into her hair.

“So then the ocean is always?” He sat up straighter, looking at the sea in a new type of awe.

There was a short silence that seemed filled with something adult that Mikumo never could understand. “Yeah, the ocean is always.” His mom answered and for some reason there was sadness in her voice. Mikumo frowned, setting his head back down.

This happened sometimes, he’d say something or his mom would see something and a darkness would fall across her face, like a blanket. He hated it, but there was always one thing he could do to help when her voice was sad.

“I love you, mama.” He said as happily as possible.

His mom lifted him from his shoulders, swinging him around to face her, smiling, head tilted. “I love you too, Izuku.”

-X-

Mikumo sat on a cold table in nothing but his tight swimming shorts. It wasn’t the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last, he knew that. He was strong and he reigned in his tears as Dr. Garaki handed him two innocuous pills without any explanation as to what they were. The other man hated when Mikumo asked questions, so he didn’t say a word, shoving them into his mouth and taking the cup of foul tasting liquid to help him swallow them.

“Good boy.” The doctor said and Mikumo turned his face away, taking a deep breath to steady his chest. He wished his mom was here to give him a hug. “Lie back now.”

Mikumo did as asked, the frigid metal radiating through his back, into his muscles.

He closed his eyes when he felt the bug sting like feeling of a needle going into his arm. He was going back into the tank. He hated the tank, but the doctor said it was important if he wanted to be strong and protect his mom.

And that’s all Mikumo ever wanted to do, the doctor knew that. The darkness had covered his mom’s face so much, her voice sad a lot more often. No longer was a simple ‘I love you’ working. Mikumo had to be stronger to make the shadows go away.

Master said so.

-X-

They sat side by side on the sea wall, both of them holding melon pan. Mikumo was tired and he leaned against his mom, eyelids drooping shut, his snack nearly dropping into the sand below multiple times before he snapped his hand back up.

“Can we go home?” He asked softly, voice laced with sleepiness, even though it was broad daylight. His head hurt.

“You are home.” His mom answered and Mikumo lifted his head from her shoulder to look at her in confusion.

“No, I’m not?” He didn’t understand why grown-up’s were so weird sometimes. This wasn’t home, his bed wasn’t here. Or his blanket.

His mom gestured to the water in front of them, that hurting expression back on her face. “The ocean is always?” Mikumo asked, tilting his head, trying to figure out whatever lesson she had decided it was time to teach him.

His mom sighed, dropping her hand before turning to face him, jaw tight, green eyes staring deep into his. “The ocean is home.” She said. “You must go there if something ever happens. The ocean will protect you, it will keep you safe.”

She took his face into her warm hands, making sure he understood. “If something happens?” His mom pursed her lips and he was frightened to see tears in her eyes, gathering at the edges. “Mama?”

“Promise me, Izuku. If I ever tell you to run, that you’ll come to the ocean. You won’t go to our apartment. You’ll go home. You’ll go to the ocean and never come back. Never.”

Mikumo Izuku drew his brows together. “But Mama, I don-”

“Promise me.” Her grip tightened against his head, almost painful.

“Okay, mama. I promise.” Anything to make her happy again.

She sighed in relief, her hands dropping to pull him into a tight, comforting hug. “You have to keep promises, Izuku. Run to the ocean. Run to home.”

“I will. I love you, mama.”

“I love you too, Izuku. More than you could ever know.”

-X-

Mikumo (or was he Izuku) jerked back, falling to his tailbone painfully, a cry escaping him.

Tomura was older and faster and grabbed his wrist. He jerked back, away from the other boy. “Tenko please, stop.” He begged. “I don’t want to play anymore!”

Tomura hissed angrily, eyes narrowing. “Don’t call me that. My name is Tomura now.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Tomura lurched forward and he crawled backward, yelping, feet scrambling against concrete. “I’m sorry!”

“I’ll make sure you never say it again!”

Mikumo Izuku turned and ran, nearly tripping over his own bare feet in his desperate attempt to get away.

If he got to the water he would be safe.

The ocean was always.

-X-

He didn’t know what his name was anymore.

He was so tired, and Kacchan was being mean. He’d been more and more awful lately and Izuku was just so tired. His bones ached, everything hurt. Kacchan wanted to play but he could barely move.

He wanted to see his mom but he couldn’t go h̷͓̙̖̻͓̄̇̂̆̕̕ó̶̢̩͎̯̥̺̟̽̅̆̚͠m̷̢̙͈̦̜̭͋͂ͅȇ̴̩̻̟̺̼͐͋̃́͒͒͝.

His body hurt and his head always felt like an egg, like it was cracking apart. Sometimes he imagined that his brain was a yolk and that it was going to spill out of his ears.

He wondered what Kacchan would do then, if he would care, or if he would laugh. It did seem like it would be funny, yellow egg yolk coming out of his ears.

His mom was more distant lately too and he couldn’t help but feel like he’d done something wrong. She was hurting, he could tell, and he wanted to help. He tried so hard to help.

It was never enough. He wasn’t strong enough.

He was broken.

-X-

“Go home Izuku!”

She was screaming and the world was falling and his head was pulsing with pain, the back of it felt like a sledgehammer had been taken to it.

Who was she? Where was he?

There were flames everywhere, he was burning up.

The woman was stuck and Izuku took a step forward, dizziness swarming his vision, making him fall. Something hot and metal connected with his face and he cried out, rolling to the side. The pain in the base of his skull and the hot metal in the front coalesced in the middle to form a blazing whirlpool of agony.

“Izuku, please…” The woman coughed, a shaking hand over her mouth.

Izuku crawled over to her, trying to help, tugging at the charred beam that lay over her body despite the blood that now dripped down his face, his eyebrow split evenly in half.

Her chest looked funny. It looked hollow.

The woman lifted her hand and it connected with his head, knocking him back forcefully. “GO!”

The command echoed painfully in his head and he turned, his legs lifting him up and pushing onward. He paused at the door, looking back. Through the thick smoke he could see her. Her hair was short and green, patchy. She was crying, a hand stretching toward him, blood running from her nose.

Go…

Izuku turned and ran, bare feet slapping pavement. The air suddenly rippled with something violent, like a shockwave, and his head pulsed. He pitched forward, his arm catching him before he face planted.

It held up. He had strong bones, maybe. Did he?

Izuku pulled himself back up and he forced his feet to move, to run.

The ocean is always. The ocean is h̵̛̫̻̫͖̺̬͓̞̘̩̪͉͓̹͉͖̤̓̿̈͂̀͒̒͌̔̾͘͜͠͝ơ̴̧̻̻͈̣̖̺͈̠̭̫͍̗̝͖̹͈̞̜̅̈́̿̈̆̃̑͌̎̄̀̉̈̄̎̆̄̓̐̚͘̚͝͝͝m̶̧̛̟͓͍̟͇̭̀̊̋̑̐̀̃͂̀͑͘͝ͅḛ̴̢̯̠̩̱̝͔͔̯͇̜͓̖̼̹̿̎̿̇̑̽̓͆̀͆͛̎̂̋̈̐̇̿̾͑͌̌̎̚͝..

That’s where he was going.

-X-

ᵗʰᵘᵈ

thud

thud

First eyelids slipped open and the noise halted. Izuku glimpsed spiky blond hair and crimson eyes before his eyelids started sliding closed again.

“..no...k...wake...WAKE UP!”

Eyelids opened again and he blinked. He needed to… Something was wrong? He should… Why was Kacchan here?

He blinked again, shadows dancing at the edges of his eyes. Bakugou was pointing at Izuku, then at his palms, then at something red he held in one hand.

Izuku flicked his eyes up sluggishly, seeing Bakugou angrily bang a hand against the glass that surrounded him.

He looked scared.

Was the ground shaking?

Izuku was tired.

“D… ot sleep!” Bakugou screamed, hitting the glass again desperately. He stared up at Izuku for a moment before his eyes brightened. “i’s waiting… he… HOSHI IS WAITING FOR YOU!”

Izuku sucked in a breath, first eyelids opening the rest of the way. Hoshi?

Bakugou did the same movements again, pointing to Izuku, then his hands, then the red thing…

That was a lighter.

And Izuku knew what nitroglycerine in combination with a lighter meant.

Izuku forced his head up and it was like lifting the weight of the sky itself. He sent feelers out, sensing the water all around like before, there was a great amount of it below.

But he couldn’t do anything with Bakugou’s sweat, it wasn’t… he couldn’t…

Bakugou shook his head and slid his palms across the glass, as if he was greasing it up.

Oh.

Oh.

Bakugou stepped back as far as possible and then lifted his hand with the lighter clenched in it, staring up at Izuku who gave a hesitant nod. He was awake, he understood. He turned his head as much as possible into his own shoulder to protect his face.

Bakugou took a deep breath, clenching his teeth visibly through the murky liquid before turning his head.

His hand seemed to twitch with movement and then bright light exploded in front of Izuku’s eyes, cracks blossoming across the glass as he watched. The echo of the detonation from within the tank was horrible, seeming to slam into Izuku’s skull with intense vibrations.

The flare faded and Bakugou dropped the lighter to the ground, lifting up a fallen metal table from the ground. His hands tightened around the metal legs before he slammed it into the center of the cracks.

It only took one hit and the effect was immediate.

The glass shattered . All of the liquid inside flooded out, all the cords connected to Izuku going taut and then snapping out of him as he fell forward, carried with the tide.

He slammed into Bakugou’s chest and they both went shuffling backward, Bakugou falling back but catching himself before dropping down, setting Izuku against the wet concrete and tearing the mask off his face. “..eku...Dek...Izuku!”

Izuku gasped, coughing, chest hitching, eyes focusing on the fingers snapping in front of his eyes. “Izuku, we need to get out of here. Something is going on, I don’t know what. It’s chaos, my door broke and I rushed here. Can you move?”

Izuku had never heard his childhood friend speak so quickly before, or sound so hurried.

The ground shook around them, almost like an earthquake.

“Can you move?!”

Izuku met Bakugou’s eyes, lips parting, “I-.”

Something huge burst through the roof, slamming straight through the ground right next to them.

Bakugou shouted, grabbing onto Izuku’s waist as they rolled in an uncontrollable descent toward the new hole. The thing that could now be identified as a massive foot, lifted back up through the hole, dripping water back down before disappearing.

But the damage was done.

Bakugou’s hand scrabbled at the concrete for purchase, nails tearing, cursing loudly as he clutched Izuku close to him.

“Hold your breath…” Izuku warned, his voice a rasp and catching in several places, barely audible. He could feel so much water beneath them.

They fell, and for a second, it felt like they were suspended in midair, like maybe everything was going to be okay…

But then they hit the water hard. It felt like Izuku’s spine snapped from the impact, black water closing over his face and he instinctively breathed in, only to realize his gills hadn’t opened and he inhaled a mouthful of water straight into his lungs.

His hands lifted, clawing at his throat, fingernails tearing at the skin over his gills and he felt something flaking away. He distantly remembered the doctor smearing some sort of salve over them before he’d been put into the tank.

A grip tightened around his chest and he was hauled upward, head flinging out of the cold water.

Izuku choked, coughing up thick, cold water. “Fuck!” Bakugou’s voice yelled. “T-try to hold on to me!”

Hacking, Izuku obediently lifted a hand, weakly catching it on the waistband of Bakugou’s pants. They were moving, water carrying them. Bakugou was barely keeping them above the water.

“Can’t you do anything?!” He hissed in Izuku’s ear, the muted glow of his own eyes reflected in crimson irises. “It’s fuckin’ sewer water, Deku. Do something!”

Izuku lifted his trembling left hand in an attempt to use his quirk, head lolling against Bakugou as the boy clutched him even closer to him, small nails digging into his bare chest.

Pain lanced through his brain and his vision blacked out…

… His eyes slowly opened again an unknown amount of time later, a grip across his waist tight enough to hurt.

“K-Kacc…”

“Don’t fucking do that again.” Bakugou gasped out. “Grab onto me, there’s light ahead, I think we’re going to fall.”

Izuku glanced to the side, taking in the slick walls of what looked like a sewage drain for the first time. And ahead of them, at the end of the pipe they were in, starlight could be seen, but other than that it looked like open air.

They were almost there.

Izuku lifted his right hand that had fallen when he’d passed out and wrapped it around Bakugou’s waist as tightly as he could, groaning when it hurt his skin, as if it were overly sensitive. “It’s alright, I’ve got you.” Bakugou whispered over the sound of rushing water as the night grew closer. “I’m not letting you go.”

Izuku looked up, meeting his eyes and swallowing.

His chest hurt, lungs aching from coughing up all that water. His head pounded and his skin itched, his gills tingled painfully and his veins seemed to pulse.

But he had the person he had once considered brother, and maybe still did. Somehow.

They reached the end of the pipe and Bakugou clutched Izuku tighter, inhaling deeply and holding his breath.

They were pitched out into open air beneath the light of a silver moon. Bakugou grunted, wet hands sliding against Izuku’s bare skin, struggling to hold onto him as they plummeted.

They crashed into the coldest water of the ocean, back the way he came, and before Izuku blacked out once again, words in a familiar voice echoed through his head.

The ocean is always.

The ocean is ‘ home’.

Chapter Text

It took far too long to get any leads at all on the whereabouts of Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku, especially when taking into account that they had no records of Midoriya’s existence in the first place. The entire situation was frustrating.

Shouta had been a hero for a long time, but he had never felt so desperate to get a lead on a particular mission. Anything could be happening to those boys and he was just here, safe and sound. He was their teacher and a hero. He needed to be better than this.

How could he have let this happen?

He’d been all over the place since they had been taken while the police and heroes actively searched for anything in relation to the missing boys.

He’d been to more than a few meetings at U.A. with Nezu and the rest of the staff. Hizashi ended up being the one to propose the idea of a mole during one of these meetings and Shouta had to grip his hand beneath the table to calm him down. Of the two of them, Hizashi had always been the more emotional, the more easily riled up. But the entire school was walking a thin line right now, there was only so much it could handle and between the media and the public and the students’ safety they were all juggling a lot.

They needed to remain as calm and collected as possible, so Shouta gripped his husband's hand, knowing how angry he could get.

And the idea of someone within their own school, targeting the children in the place they were supposed to be safest, infuriated him. Shouta too, but he met Hizashi’s eyes and tried to convey sincere calmness, though it probably just came off as exhaustion. The voice hero forced himself to take a deep breath and leaned back in his seat with a sigh.

The discussion ended up drawn away from that topic and what to do continuing on; strengthening the schools defenses, more firewalls on their important information, a closer eye on the students, postponing the internships, finishing the dorms, talking to all the parents to begin getting the students moved in as soon as possible in case more were targeted. And of course allowing the police whatever they needed during their investigation.

They also reviewed the footage from the sports festival several times over, catching sight of the red fletching of the dart that hits Midoriya before he disappears into the warp gate. Upping the contrast of the video shows them that the dart comes from directly behind Midoriya, from within the tunnel that he had exited from several minutes beforehand.

Midoriya obviously hadn’t expected it at all, he’d thought he was safe. He should have been safe.

Shouta could see the boy he’d grown familiar with tense all over again, only this time in HD on the flat screen instead of in the commentators booth so far away. It was somehow worse, like this. He could see as confusion drew the kids features together when he pulled the dart from his neck and looked down at it. He could only watch as two of his students dropped into the darkness once again.

Those meetings weren’t fun but they needed to happen.

And then there were his meetings with the local police department, struggling so hard to gather intel on where the League of Villains’ base was at. Shouta did what he could, telling them as many times as they needed everything he remembered from the USJ attack.

There was more than that too. The Underground hero workload had adjusted to Riptide being on a ‘Leave of Absence’ (probably called in by Shinsou) and other underground heroes were filling in the gap. Though one particular hero came to Shouta with concerns, one he’d worked with a few times named Achilles.

The man was even more aloof than Shouta, and that was really saying something.

“The kids.” The blue eyed man said with no preamble or unnecessary greetings. Honestly, the other hero was a breath of fresh air to Shouta. “The ones missing from U.A. I’d like in on helping locate them.”

And all of a sudden Shouta knew that this innocuous, lesser known underground hero knew. He knew Riptide was Midoriya. How was another question, but regardless, Achilles knew.

“You can probably see Detective Tsukauchi at the Musutafu police department.” Shouta answered, eyes narrowed as he watched the hero.

Achilles met his eyes, long purple hair down to frame his face. Shouta was usually really good at reading people, but he couldn’t seem to pin this guy down. What was he thinking? Did he know something that Shouta didn’t?

“Thank you.” The hero finally said and turned away to walk out of the agency as if he’d never been there in the first place.

Shouta was at a loss for most of the Riptide stuff. Shinsou had never actually stated that Midoriya was Riptide, but it all added up.

Coming to terms with it was something else entirely. Midoriya was 15 years old and Shouta had been working with him for years. He would have been so young the first time they’d met when the kid was still a vigilante, like, five years ago.

That would have made the kid ten . A vigilante at ten years old and Shouta had just let it happen, had worked with him. And he had a pro license, which Shouta had prompted him to get! Everything had failed this boy, including Shouta himself as well as the Hero Commission and the rest of the freaking country.

He and Hizashi had discussed it and decided to wait to do anything about it until they had found the boys and made sure they were safe and sound. It gave Shouta a bit of time to think about it, to come to terms with. Something had to be done about it, just… not now.

It was a lot to ponder on and Shouta was tired. He legitimately could not remember the last time he’d slept. Between everything he’d been doing there just hadn’t been enough time to fit in even a nap.

He got home after his last meeting at his agency completely on auto pilot, he couldn’t even remember unlocking the door.

And of course Shinsou was nowhere to be found so Shouta had to call Hizashi to tell him to go back to the beach after his own meeting to pick the boy up. Lately he’d been going to that disgusting beach at every possible chance. It was irritating, but Shouta could understand why. Midoriya and Shinsou had been inseparable since Shouta had known them and they both seemed to have major trust issues, and Shouta and Hizashi were still relatively new. To return to the only place the boy felt safe was understandable, even if it got on his nerves.

It was very clear that Shinsou didn’t trust them. And Shouta couldn’t really blame him. Shouta knew he had failed them all as their teacher and as a hero.

But he wasn’t going to fail again. He refused.

Hizashi agreed to pick Shinsou up and Shouta walked forward, dead on his feet. He grabbed the cat food and nearly dumped the entire package into their bowls, overflowing them onto the floor while the cats practically danced in excitement, rubbing against his ankles. One of their own cats, Catapedamania or Cat for short, meowed at him in a low voice, watching him with judgemental eyes.

Shouta set the empty food package back down with a tired blink, casually flipping the cat off before turning to head to the bathroom to take a shower. His body seemed to have other ideas though, changing direction unbidden halfway to instead walk toward his bedroom where he collapsed face first onto his bed and passed out without even removing his capture weapon.

-X-

The sun rose as Tomura paced the room of their Southern Japan base, one hand scratching at the dry skin of his neck while the other twitched at his side, mumbling to himself while the rest of them looked on nervously.

Master was gone because of that stupid piece of shit. This was such bullshit. How had the heroes discovered their base? Why had they even come for those NPC’s? They hadn’t even cared about Tomura, barely even noticed he was there before Master sent him away and let himself be captured.

Because there was no way he would have been captured against his will, not when he still had so much to do. If it hadn’t been for that ridiculous hero with that stupid nightmare quirk...

Master would never leave Tomura like that. Not when they weren’t ready yet, when he wasn’t ready yet. He wouldn’t accept it.

And that fucking doctor…

Tomura dug into his neck deeper, his uncut nails carving into his flesh, lines of blood tracing hot paths down his throat.

Fucking Miku . He knew he should have killed him when he had the chance, when he was still just a sniveling thing to step on and boss around.

Tomura was going to get him back, of course. And he would show him exactly why he should fear Shigaraki Tomura, show him exactly the things he could do with his quirk.

Show him exactly what the doctor could do under Tomura’s command, without Master telling him what he should and shouldn’t do.

With a smirk, Tomura dropped his bloodied hand from his neck and grabbed his phone from his pocket, holding it up to his ear after dialing the familiar number.

The voice picked up instantly.

“What’s next?”

-X-

Once again, Hitoshi was in the sand.

He had his legs pulled to his chest, his arms wrapped around them and his chin on his knees as he watched out over the sea. It was calm today and it wasn’t raining right now

It was strange, thinking about how things were going on as normal, as if his whole world wasn’t in pieces. As if he himself wasn’t broken, as if there was sunlight.

He’d never told Izuku how he felt, just pushing it back and pushing it back. Now, what if he never got the chance?

Hitoshi remembered the last thing he’d said to Izuku before leaving him to head to the stands to watch his fight.

Before they parted ways Hitoshi patted the top of Izuku’s head with a smirk. “See you soon, Izu. Good luck.”

Hitoshi’s friend nodded with a confident smile and then returned with, “See you soon, Hoshi,” before walking away.

Hitoshi pulled himself into a tighter ball, breath catching against his ribs. He needed to hear Izuku call him Hoshi again, he needed to hear his voice. He needed his best friend back.

He didn’t think he could cry anymore, his head ached and his nose was stuffed, his face red.

‘See you soon…’

Apparently he could cry more.

Huh, who knew.

Yamada found him on the sand alone soon after that and dropped to his knees at his side, dirtying his hero costume. “H-he said…” Hitoshi gasped out without looking up, face hidden behind his hands and shoved into his legs, shoulders quaking.

Yamada rubbed his back comfortingly. “It’s going to be okay.” Yamada whispered.

“How?! Hitoshi practically screamed into his legs. “It’s been a week. So much… anything could have h-happened to him.”

Yamada frowned deeply before settling back onto his butt with a weary sigh. “I shouldn’t say this, but we have a lead…”

Hitoshi’s head shot up, swollen, red eyes meeting Yamada’s who gave him what was probably supposed to be a comforting smile. “A lead? Did you find him?”

“I really can’t say more than that.” Yamada shook his head, glancing toward the ocean and then back at the boy that he wanted to help so much, forcing what he hoped was a reassuring tone to his voice. “Just… try to remember that we’re heroes and we’ve dealt with things like this before. It’s going to be okay.”

Hitoshi wrapped his arms around himself and shook his head. “I don’t trust heroes. I don’t trust anyone but Izu. He... he lived in that train car alone for who even knows how long and no one helped him, but he was still so… kind. No one has ever been so nice to me and he’s gone. ”

Hitoshi wiped his nose across his shoulder, sniffling. It was getting warmer too, and he knew how much Izuku hated the heat. He wanted his sun to come home.

He hoped he was doing alright.

-X-

Deku was gone for days and Katsuki was alone for almost the entire time, giving him too much time to think about all the mistakes he had made in regard to Deku when they were children.

One of the first was probably giving him the nickname ‘Deku’, all because of the name ‘Izuku’. Inko had told Katsuki when he was young not to call him ‘Mikumo’, even if Izuku said that’s what his name was. She had been so demanding about that, grabbing Katsuki’s shoulders, commanding him to never call him ‘Mikumo’.

Katsuki hadn’t understood why, only focusing on the fact that ‘Izuku’ was an easy name to make fun of, an easy name to turn into an insult.

Why had he been such a piece of shit?

Izuku had obviously been going through more than Katsuki could ever comprehend.

Katsuki would make it up to him and he could start by dropping the name ‘Deku’ and getting him out of this fucking place.

The doctor didn’t visit him again but sometimes the marble guy did, bringing him food and giving him mild threats while Katsuki demanded to see De-, Izu- Midoriya… Ugh, this was harder than he’d thought it would be. ‘Midoriya’ just sounded so wrong .

Katsuki must be losing it if he was thinking about this shit like it was a fucking math problem.

He was worried about Izuku and very near trying to break out of his own cell regardless of the possible loss of his hands or life anyway. He had to do something .

But then Katsuki received his chance.

He’d been working out, as he had taken to doing to pass the time, when the entirety of his cellhad shuddered and he lurched up, immediately settling into a defensive posture.

Were the heroes here? Had they discovered where he and Deku were? Or was something else happening, maybe a rival gang of villains or something? It didn’t fucking matter.

Apparently, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking ‘Deku’ though. Fuck, he was such a shitty person.

Before Katsuki had a chance to react to the shaking of the cell more than lurching to his feet the entire room convulsed roughly, almost knocking him down. The structure of the ceiling ahead of him caved in partly, warping the metal of the door with a violent, grating screech that had Katsuki shrinking away from the sound, covering his face as dirt and debris rained down from above.

When the noise finally faded and he straightened, dropping his hands away from his face and looking up, eyes peering through the cloud of dust, Katsuki saw the bent metal of the door.

He didn’t give himself time to hesitate, lurching forward and slamming his body into the door. It gave, but he was for sure going to have a massive bruise on his shoulder later and his sports festival jacket had ripped.

Katsuki burst out into a hallway, lights lining the walls flickering. He paused, leaning against the wall and looking both ways. He was slightly dizzy and he couldn’t stop a light trembling in his hands. For the most part he was fine though, no injuries and he’d been eating, but not nearly as much as he was used to, resulting in that little bit of dizziness when he moved too quickly and the shakiness in his hands.

Nothing he couldn’t handle.

But he was out. He needed to be smart about this. He needed to find Izuku and get them both out while avoiding all the villains.

Easy.

Katsuki walked forward silently, turning right when he saw that the left only dead ended. He reached the end of the hallway and peered out into what looked like the main chamber where they had landed their first day in this wretched place.

He had an idea as to where that annoying Deku was, as much as he hated the thought. But everything the doctor had said before had Katsuki drawing the conclusion that they had probably put him in one of those tank things, maybe trying to turn him into a monster of some sort.

The thought was sickening, and Katsuki hoped that wasn’t the case, or if it was that he could reach him before anything drastic happened to him.

He hoped…

Katuski ran, having no idea how to get back to that room since he’d been marbled the one time he had seen it. He burst into empty room after empty room, the entirety of them empty of people. He hoped that everyone was gone, distracted by heroes or whatever was happening. He worked up quite a sweat and hated the fact that he couldn’t do anything with the amount of it pooling across his palms in a sheen, nearly dripping.

The stupid cuffs were still tight around his wrists, keeping him from using his quirk, and it was infuriating. His body still produced the nitroglycerine but without the use of his quirk he had no way to detonate it, no way to produce the sparks that activated the chemical his hands naturally made.

After wandering around for far too long Katsuki found what looked like a lounge or resting area for the villains. Several loveseats and couches sat around a coffee table, a counter with a coffee pot and a microwave perpendicular to them. Katsuki turned around to leave the room like he had every one so far before freezing in the doorway, foot halfway out, slowly rotating back around with narrowed eyes to see something he’d barely noticed at the corner of his peripheral.

His vision zeroed in on the coffee table, the overflowing glass ashtray in the middle of the dark wood top, and the red lighter that sat next to it.

Katsuki jolted back into the room and swiped the lighter from his pocket, clutching it in hand and then sprinting out of the room.

Why were there no villains around? Where were they? Why was everything shaking so much?

It didn’t matter. Just take advantage of the chance while he had it. He just needed to find Deku, get out. Find Deku, get out.

He could do it.

It took him way too much time to find the room. Katsuki felt like he’d run several sports festival fields several times over before he discovered the large double doors leading to the room he’d been looking for. The shaking had only grown worse and there was the thought in the back of his mind that the entire place might collapse, killing them both before Katsuki was able to find the other boy.

When Katsuki discovered the double doors though he immediately knew he was in the right place. He could smell the antiseptic before he even edged the doors open carefully, cautious of anyone inside. He wanted to throw the doors open, but despite what the rest of his class thought, he was smart enough to know when the odds were against him and to be tactical. Especially after everything that had happened.

Katsuki had seen and done a lot of things in his short lifetime. Or at least he thought he had. He’d just turned 16 in the last couple weeks (he didn’t actually know how long ago it was now. He had no clue how long he’d been in this place). In his 16 years, he thought he was prepared for anything.

He was wrong.

He was far from prepared for the sight that awaited him when he opened one of the doors.

All of the breath was sucked from his lungs, his mouth going dry as he saw the tank in the middle of the grouping of them at the back of the room, full of the toxic looking green liquid with his childhood friend floating within it, connected to what looked like dozens of different cords, a translucent mask over his face, eye closed, skin deathly pale and shortened hair drifting above him

Katsuki took a few steps forward, eyes wide, hands dropping to his sides. It was a good thing there was no one else in the room because he would have barely noticed as he walked forward, pausing in front of the tank with horror filled eyes.

Deku looked horrible and so, so different, even taking into account the murkiness of the foreign liquid and the mask over his face.

Katsuki forced himself to turn away, swallowing thickly, shoving dark thoughts out of his mind as he searched for something to break the glass with, wondering if it was even okay to get him out of the tank. Would it shock his system or something? What was even happening to him in there?

He realized he didn’t really have a choice but to get him out when the ground itself seemed to ripple, nearly throwing Katsuki off his feet, a section of a pillar tumbling down to crush a filing cabinet beneath it on the opposite side of the room.

They were not safe here.

Katsuki found a laptop on a metal table and opened it, blinking spots from his eyes away when the bright light nearly blinded him.

Password protected. Of course.

Knocking the laptop and everything else off the table, Katsuki grabbed the table by one of its legs, dragging it over to the tank.

Inside of it, Deku’s eyes were still closed, his arms and legs slack, the cords connected to him holding him in place. Katsuki could see the sites where they were embedded into him bruising. They were probably needles and he didn’t want to think about what was happening. He didn’t want to think about any of this.

Katsuki rapped his knuckles against the glass, forehead creasing when there was no response. He took to slamming the side of his fist against the hard tank and shouting as loudly as possible, confident that there was no one nearby at this point.

At first he didn’t think it was even possible for the other boy to wake up, that whatever was in him was too much, that it was keeping him asleep. But then Katsuki watched as his human eyelids lifted, albeit only slightly. But it was still movement, which Katsuki could only just barely see through the liquid.

He managed to get Deku awake and convey to him his plan before smearing his explosive sweat against the glass trapping his friend and then detonating it with the lighter. His hearing was already going out, according to Katsuki’s doctors, and had been for some time, but it hadn’t been so bad that he needed hearing aids. He wasn’t so sure that would be the case after that explosion so close to his right ear. Who cared… as long as they got out of here… that’s what mattered.

Katsuki dropped the lighter and lifted the metal table he had dragged over to grip tightly in his hands, meeting Izuku’s eyes from within the murky liquid, repressing a shudder. He couldn’t imagine how awful it was.

After Katsuki’s near death with the sludge villain in middle school… well, he just didn’t cope well with any form of liquid immersion. Even baths freaked him out, though he would deny it to anyone that asked, usually even himself. He couldn’t admit to any form of weakness.

Katsuki inhaled deeply and then slammed the top of the table against the center of the spiderwebbed cracks in the glass.

He’d expected to have to hit it a couple times, so he was caught off guard when the glass easily shattered and all the liquid came rushing out, carrying Izuku with it, the needle, cord things audibly snapping free of his body, his head jerking as he fell forward, the cord attached to the metal at the back of his head yanking out roughly.

Katsuki threw the desk rapidly to the side, opening his arms and allowing Izuku to slam into his chest with a grunt. Izuku’s nearly naked skin was cold and slippery, and his weight carried Katsuki back a few steps before he caught his balance and immediately bent to set the other boy down, examining him clinically, all thoughts of his meagre first aid lessons flashing across his mind like a neon billboard.

He’d set Izuku on his back and the boy was utterly limp against the ground, his masked face turned to the side with closed eyes, his chest barely moving with breath. Katsuki noted the absence of the cuffs as well.

All the sites where the needles had been torn out of his body seeped blood, thin streams of what looked like phosphorescent blood dribbling across his body, a muted glow beneath his skin as well, as if his veins themselves were lighting up his body from the inside.

Glowing blood wasn’t the only new appearance and Katsuki hesitated, stomach churning as stinging liquid dripped from his own chin from where he’d caught Izuku.

The boy's hair was longer than it had been when he’d been taken from their room, but not nearly as long as it had once been, only as if his bodily functions had been accelerated. It was more bush-like than ever before except for the bottom which remained close to the skin, probably because of that metal device still implanted in his head.

The most distinct changes though were the spiny, toothlike… scales that littered his body in patches, like three pronged arrowheads with the middle prong being the longest. Katsuki could see them on his neck around his gills, and on his abdomen, legs, arms, shoulders and in patches on his ribs. His nails were no longer short and blunt like Katsuki’s, but instead sharp and pointed, like claws.

There were also gaps near his gills and to the side that Katsuki could not remember being there before, but then he hadn’t looked so closely at Dek- Izuku’s gills since he was a child. They could have been there before and Katsuki wouldn’t have noticed. But he somehow felt like they were something new, something different.

When Katsuki forced himself to pull the mask off Deku’s face, snapping his fingers in front of him so that both eyelids slid open, Katsuku could see eyes that looked less human than ever. The pupils were narrow slits, the color of his irises more vivid, even with their glow muted, a yellow at the top that seemed to fade into a glowing, neon green at the bottom. They were animalistic and so inhuman.

Katsuki’s mouth was moving even before he could take any of these developments in, demanding to know if Izuku could move.

He didn’t look like he’d be able to and Katsuki was trying to figure out how he’d be able to carry the boy while also defending them without a quirk if it came down to it.

Turned out, he didn’t have to worry about that. The giant foot crashing through the ceiling and through the floor was completely uncalled for and came out of nowhere, deciding his next course of action for him.

And Katsuki easily recognized it as Mt. Lady’s foot. The hero .

Weren’t they supposed to rescue them, not make it worse ?

More important things to worry about right now, such as the floor tilting viciously, the two of them sliding unstoppably downward toward what appeared to be a pitch black hole. Katsuki grabbed onto Deku, heart racing, holding him tightly with one arm while his right hand clawed at the concrete of the ground, trying desperately to catch something, anything to help them. He cursed angrily when his fingernails tore against the harsh ground, pieces of medical equipment and tables rushing past them, causing Katsuki to roll out of the way with their bodies to avoid being hit.

Izuku made an inhuman, hissing noise and Katsuki glanced at him as they fell. “-old your brea…” The voice came out almost too quiet to hear, especially with the ringing in Katsuk’s ears and the quavering to the words, but Katsuki got the gist of it. He sucked in air to hold in his lungs despite the disgusting feeling of fear coiling in his gut at the idea of why he needed to hold his breath.

Don’t let it be water.

And then they were dropped out into open air and Katsuki was reminded of the roller coaster they’d ridden what felt like years ago, only this was so, so much worse. His stomach felt like it was left far above as they plummeted through hot, humid air, his grip on Izuku so tight that he bet he was hurting him but couldn’t bring himself to loosen up at all.

They hit liquid so hard it felt like solid ground and Katsuki was barely able to keep his breath in his chest as he sank beneath the surface, eyes closing instinctively, terror like daggers on his skin as the memory of the slime villain tore at his mind, the memory of it killing him.

The feeling of Deku jerking spastically in his grasp brought him back to himself and he shoved his way toward where he thought the surface must be, hauling Izuku along with him like a deadweight.

They broke free and Katsuki gasped in a breath, gagging when the smell of raw shit filled his nose, his eyes opening to look over at the green haired boy as he hacked up a lungful of what could only be sewer water, seeing harsh red lines on the areas of his neck unprotected by scales. It seemed his gills were fine though and Katsuki briefly wondered why he’d clawed at himself at all if he could breathe underwater.

Maybe it had something to do with breathing sewage, which they seemed to be in.

Katsuki shouted for Izuku to hold onto him, still catching his own breath and trying not to vomit as a weak hand hooked onto the waistband of his pants, Izuku still coughing wetly. He’d inhaled this stuff.

That wasn’t good at all.

Izuku wasn’t any help as Katsuki struggled to keep both of their heads above the sewer water, the taste of bile at the back of his throat.

“Can’t you do anything?!” He hissed, hoping the other boy could hear him, panic tearing at his chest as he glanced down at the pitch water up to his chin, nothing but shit below his feet. He kept remembering the feeling of thick sludge filling his sinuses, clogging his throat, seeping into his eyes and ears.

He hated, hated, hated this, he needed it to stop.

 “It’s fuckin’ sewer water, Deku. Do something!” Please.

The other boy made a familiar movement with his left hand in an attempt to help, his head falling against Katsuki’s shoulder as Katsuki held him more tightly, his free arm paddling at the water in an attempt to keep them afloat in the rapidly moving slurry.

And then Izuku suddenly gave a choked gasp in the back of his throat and went completely lax, both hands dropping, face almost sinking into the water again as Katsuki screeched a curse, hauling him up, Izuku’s head lolling backward, his weight and Katsuki’s exhaustion making him extremely difficult to manhandle.

Katsuki tried to look around, brows drawn together, chest heaving as he took rapid breaths through his mouth, trying not to smell the stuff. He couldn’t see a thing. He hadn’t realized how much the dim light of Deku’s eyes had helped him see.

He couldn’t see anything now that the other boy was unconscious and the knowledge bothered him more than it should have.

He pushed it to the back of his mind with everything else at the moment, he could freak out later, and he shook Izuku. “Deku, hey!” He shook him a bit harder but there was no response.

Katsuki closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing and slow his heart rate while taking stock of the situation.

They had escaped (no thanks to the heroes), but now they were in some sort of sewage drain, being carried along to who knows where. Izuku was unconscious, injured and sick and any number of other things wrong with him that Katsuki didn’t know about, including the fact that he literally hadn’t eaten anything since they’d been captured combined with what Katsuki knew was a stupid fast metabolism. Plus the numerous changes to his body.

Katsuki didn’t know what to do and the thought scared him.

They drifted along for some time, Izuku not moving at all, Katsuki’s arms numb from the cold and from Izuku’s weight. His arm ached where the new tattoo was, the skin stinging, and he imagined this mess was pretty bad for it. He hoped it’d healed enough since the bastard had forced it on him to not become infected.

Which reminded him that Izuku was covered in open wounds from the cords in that tank.

Fuck.

It wasn’t until Katsuki found his eyes drifting shut that he abruptly and all at once realized he could see something and his head lifted. He could see the glistening walls of the sewage pipe and the shine of moonlight off of the shitty water.

He lifted his head and could see what seemed like a hole. The end of the drain they were in.

Shit, that was open air.

“Deku. Hey, wake up. Now.” Katsuki shook Izuku harder than ever, eyes wide, pulse picking up.

“K-Kacc..”

His voice was ragged and broken and trailed off, but Katsuki didn’t give himself time to think about it or the fact that he was calling him ‘Kacchan’ again. He tightened his grip on Izuku, ignoring the feeling of something slimy sliding across the back of his hand.

“Grab onto me, I think we’re going to fall.” He forced out, eyes on the rapidly approaching hole, hoping Deku was aware enough to understand him.

He must have been because one hand returned to its spot against his pants, a light, hitching moan resonating from him, quite animalistic in its sound. Katsuki gritted his teeth before responding. “It’s alright, I’ve got you.” Memories of their childhood played through his head, of how much he had failed him, of not saving him at the sports festival so long ago. “I’m not letting you go.”

They reached the hole and Katsuki’s hands clenched, probably causing even more bruises on Izuku, but that was not a concern of his at the moment.

He braced himself.

The force of the water pitched them out over dead air and Katsuki gasped, glimpsing the ocean’s horizon before their bodies rotated in midair, turning upside down and then slamming into cold water.

Katsuki tasted salt on his tongue, eyes flashing open, the glimmer of the moon through water a beacon of light as he held onto Izuku and turned himself, getting his legs under him and paddling upward, his free arm pushing at the water, lungs straining, legs kicking.

He broke the surface first and pulled Izuku up after, breathing heavily, teeth chattering as the force of the water from the pipe continued to push them further out to sea, nothing Katsuki could do to stop it, only hold on to Izuku’s once again limp body tightly and keep them from drowning.

When the rush finally started to slow down he turned his head to face Izuku, the other boy unconscious yet again, looking as pale as ever before under the silver light of the moon. The scar that bissected his left eyebrow looked clearer than Katsuki had ever seen it, a thin, pale line that ended above his eye and started in the middle of his forehead.

He looked… pretty bad. There were deep shadows beneath his eyes and the wounds from the needles in the tank were still oozing glowing blood and now inflamed. Katuski couldn’t imagine what had gotten into them from their romp in the sewers of wherever the hell they had been, plus where they were now. Plus Izuku’s newly tattooed skin as well, appearing warped beneath the surface of the water where his arm floated.

At least all the crap had been washed away by the ocean and who knew, maybe the salt would clean the wounds or something. Katsuki had no fucking clue.

Katsuki couldn’t hope for much and wiped at his face with his other hand, looking away from Izuku to scan their surroundings. It was dark, only the light of the moon and stars to guide his eyes as he searched for land, growing more and more desperate.

He could see the land but it was so, so far away, barely a line in the distance, and he wondered how they could have possibly drifted out so quickly unless a riptide got them.

Was that even possible? Maybe the tide had pulled them out. He was tired.

“De… Izuku, wake up.” Katsuki breathed. Maybe if he tried again… maybe he could get them to land, maybe they could get someone's help, maybe they could get home.

Katsuki shook the other boy’s shoulder, grimacing when he groaned, low, his cheek sliding against Katsuki’s shoulder, just above the line of the water with no answer.

Katsuki swallowed, the taste of salt filling his dry mouth, and adjusted his hold of Izuku. He was tired, his muscles ached, and his head hurt, but he was strong, he could withstand it.

He would withstand it.

-X-

Izuku didn’t so much wake up as stumble reluctantly into consciousness, head pounding so much that it was a wonder his eyeballs hadn’t leaked out of his skull. He could feel water around him, cool against his skin, except for his left side, pressed against something at a different temperature than his other side.

His eyes flickered open to harsh sunlight and he groaned, throat stinging. Everything hurt, literally everything. He didn’t think he had ever felt such evenly spread out agony before. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what was wrong aside from the fact that it was bad and that it hurt so freaking much,

“De… Izuku.” A voice rasped and Izuku lifted his head slowly, heavily, his hand coming up to rest against his forehead, wincing when strangely sharp nails scraped at his hairline.

He opened his mouth to speak, but as soon as he inhaled a wracking cough ripped through him and he bent forward, head hitting a wet chest, hand lifting to clench at sodden fabric. There was an arm around his back, holding him in place, keeping him from folding into himself as it felt like he was coughing up a lung, his entire body quaking.

The coughing fit passed and Izuku went boneless, the other boy he now remembered as being Bakugou cursing and keeping him above the water while he recovered, breathing heavily.

He felt too hot and too cold at the same time, his muscles ached and his stomach burned . Everything hurt, so much. He wanted to go back to Hoshi.

“Izuku, stay awake. I can’t…” Bakugou’s voice trailed off and Izuku forced himself to lift his head once again, taking in lank blond hair and half-lidded eyes, shaking arms and chattering teeth.

“Baku-” He coughed again, hacking up something foreign in his chest out into the water and groaning.

“Fuck.” Bakugou cursed and he was grimacing when Izuku glanced back up at him. “You’re sick.”

Izuku wiped his mouth on the back of one shaking hand before dropping it back into the water and leaning against Bakugou’s shoulder, his muscles barely responding to him. “Where a-are we?” He voiced hoarsely.

“The middle of the fucking ocean.” Bakugou aggressively responded. “You’re sick, injured and I’m exhausted. We’re on our own. We need to figure something out soon because I... “

Bakugou closed his mouth, lips a thin line. Izuku looked away, taking a deep breath.

It was the ocean, the water. His home.

He could do something about this.

Hesitantly he lifted a hand to his gills, recoiling when he felt something foreign he hadn’t noticed before, eyes flashing up to Bakugou. “They’re scales or some shit.” Bakugou sighed, looking like a drowned rat more than a pufferfish at the moment.

“How did… why do I…” Izuku closed his eyes, calming his breathing. He felt so nauseous.

And that’s when Izuku realized something, when he noticed he was feeling something… some pull , like a magnetic tug in his blood and his head, his neck.

“Ba-Bakugou, help me clean my gills, the-” Izuku coughed, covering his mouth, eyes watering, body shaking. He was cold.

There was something wrong with him.

Bakugou cursed but did as he asked, their feet hitting against each other as they both tried to stay afloat, Izuku’s webbed toes helping them both, lessening the demand on the other boy.

The blonde released Izuku, using one hand to stay above the water and the other to clean the seemingly waterproof salve gunk away from his gills that the doctor had put there. “I’m going to see if it w-worked.” Izuku choked out before dropping below the water before Bakugou could react.

The water was clear and Izuku’s gills opened immediately, allowing him to inhale deeply. Izuku sighed in relief at being able to breathe again, water passing over his gills and filtering out, salt entering his system like always, though with everything wrong, providing little to no help.

But there was something. Izuku could feel … something, he didn’t know what. It was so strange, like sound waves bouncing off of him but not sound at all, more like… vibrations?

Izuku twitched, an idea forming in his slowed down synapses like pudding going through fabric.

He surfaced, instinctively reaching up to push his hair away from his face, but flinching when there was just… none there.

He ignored it.

Priorities.

“Well?” Bakugou growled, almost panting, face laced with exhaustion.

“I need to go d-deeper.” Izuku coughed out, palm on his bare chest. Even breathing was painful. His entire chest cavity felt like it was filled with wet cotton.

Bakugou frowned. “No, you can barely move. You can’t-”

“Kacchan.” Izuku interrupted, voice as strong as he could make it. It was nowhere near ‘strong’ but it got Bakugou’s attention, his crimson eyes snapping to Izuku’s. “It’s our o-only chance. You d-don’t…” Izuku swallowed, measuring Bakugou’s expression before lowering his voice. “I d-don’t think I c-can stay awake for long... and y-you don’t look like you can c-c-carry us much longer.” Izuku coughed, wiping at his eyes. Speaking was not easy.

“Fuck you,” Bakugou snarled in answer, looking away.

But he didn’t deny it. Izuku knew how easily it was for muscles to cramp and tire while swimming, and he bet it was so much worse for someone who wasn’t used to it. He couldn’t imagine how Bakugou was feeling right now, especially having had to carry Izuku with him for… he didn’t even know how long it had been.

“It’s our only opt- option.” Izuku cleared his throat with a cough, running a hand through his hair absently, chest hitching when he was once again reminded of how much was gone. “This isn’t…” Izuku swallowed thickly, fear swelling in him at the thought of everything that had gone wrong before he pushed his memories and emotions back.

Once again, priorities.

He was tired.

Bakugou treaded water for a minute, eyeing Izuku, probably taking in his absolute lack of anything resembling clear-headedness and strength. He knew he probably didn’t look great, but Katsuki still had those cuffs on, not that his quirk would be a lot of help in this situation anyway. Their only chance to get out of this was with Izuku. Katsuki had done his part. It was Izuku’s turn.

“Okay.” Katsuki sighed, voice laced with exhaustion. “Just… come back, damn nerd.”

Izuku nodded. “Stay h-here, try not to drift t-too much. I’ll be back… Kacchan.”

There was the sound of a snort before Izuku dropped below the waves, gills opening, inhaling water evenly as he turned his body, kicking his feet despite the pain in his muscles and swimming straight down.

Izuku didn’t know exactly what had happened to him or what was going on. Maybe once he had a chance to slow down and recover some he would be able to think about it, but for now he was just glad that he was alive at all, and he was desperate to stay that way. Desperate to help Bakugou and to find the shore.

There was only one way he could think of to do that.

Neither Katsuki nor Izuku were strong enough to do much of anything right now. There was no way they would get anywhere without outside help.

Izuku honestly didn’t think he would last much longer at all. He needed… He needed to get back to Hoshi.

Izuku swam down, stopping periodically when his muscles cramped and his body refused to move, head pulsing. He would catch his breath, eyes closed as he fought the pain, and then pushed on, his senses tingling with the feeling of small amounts of electricity in the water, somehow easily detectable to him now.

It didn’t used to be like that. Something was different. He was different.

He was so scared.

Izuku felt so much beneath him, and now so much above, that feeling of something watching him again, but he couldn’t go anymore. His muscles just… refused to continue, leaving Izuku suspended in the dark abyss. He could feel it all and nothing in every direction. There was so much and so little.

There was a pit in his chest, the feeling that this was where he belonged, but also… not . He… didn’t want to be here. He wanted to go home, he wanted…

Izuku unfolded from himself, belatedly realizing he had pulled himself into a ball at all. He hurt so much.

He only needed to do one thing.

Izuku took a deep breath, letting the coldest water wash past his gills, chills running through his body. He was definitely sick, usually this deep wouldn’t bother him at all, but he felt like he was freezing .

He was probably less than a hundred meters down, still at the level where the sunlight could reach.

He hoped it was far enough.

He hoped it wasn’t too far. He didn’t know if he had the strength to get back to Bakugou on his own.

But if this went the way he wanted, he wouldn’t have to.

So, before he passed out again or worse, Izuku lifted his chin and opened his mouth, hands in fists as he poured everything he had into his vocal cords.

He felt the vibrations of his own voice in the water, a screaming song that he recalled at the back of his memory, lyrics landing on his tongue without thought.

A song his mother sang him, so long ago.

The water seemed to be electrified with his sound, waves of vibrations radiating out from him in every direction, taking absolutely all the energy he could possibly give before his voice broke and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

“Take me… home.” He gasped before he was claimed by the abyss.

There was nothing left in him.

-X-

Freezing to death had never seemed like a way that Bakugou Katsuki could ever go out. He made explosions . That’s… who he was, it’s what he did.

His entire life he had been praised for his quirk, held at a higher level than everyone else.

What was he now except what felt like a chunk of ice, lost at sea with no sight of his only company? He was the most alone he had ever been in his entire life. He thought he knew fear, he thought he’d experienced terror with the sludge villain. But this was something completely different.

It had only lasted a few minutes before someone had finally acted and helped him that time with the villain. He’d almost died, but it had been… fast. Out here he was just so… He was so, utterly alone. The ocean was so, so big and he had never been more aware of that than he was now. It felt like he was the only person in the entire universe and that’s the way he was going to die. Alone and frozen.

Forgotten and left to be consumed by...

Katsuki’s breath stilled in his chest, eyes widening. In front of him a grey fin split the surface of the waves and Katsuki’s first instinct was to get away , by any means necessary. Run, or swim, or whatever. Just fucking book it, alarm bells of danger ringing in his head.

But then the shock of familiar, scarred, ghostly pale skin surfaced in front of the fin and he paused.

He had to say… when he’d gotten up the morning of the sports festival, he hadn’t expected it to lead him to viewing his nearly naked, unconscious,  ̶b̶r̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ friend, riding on the back of what appeared to be a great white shark. Its head remained below the water but as it passed in front of Katsuki, he could see one bluish eye watching him.

Izuku was draped across it like a corpse, in front of its fin and right behind its gills, his head and legs in the water, his back to the sky. Izuku wasn’t moving and Katsuki suddenly realized that this had been his plan.

A fucking two ton shark.

Yeah, whatever, this was Katsuki’s life now.

The shark continued moving past him and Katsuku cursed. “Fuckface, get back here!” He forced his body forward, grabbing onto the fin despite everything within him telling him ‘ bad idea’ .

The shark didn’t even react at his rough grasp and Katsuki somehow managed to get his body lifted, and a cramping leg up and over the shark so that he was straddling it. He groaned, nearly collapsing as the strain released from his body, the pain in his overused muscles somehow increasing now that he could finally relax them.

He let his body fall forward, to the right of the fin, throwing an arm across Izuku’s back and pulling him closer, keeping an iron grip as at the sharks side, Izuku lifted his head from the water, glancing up dazedly at Katsuki and giving a shaky smile. His lips parted as if he was trying to say something, but nothing but a grating rasp escaped him and he broke into a coughing fit, collapsing back into the water.

Katsuki grimaced, tightening his grip as the shark picked up speed, his own eyes beginning to fall shut. He just hoped this shark knew where it was going.

There wasn’t much he could about it if it didn’t.

With a groan, Katsuki leaned all the way forward, setting his forehead against cold ribs, both arms across Izuku’s back protectively. The other boy’s body felt feverish, his wounds still leaking, his body shaking. Katsuki didn’t know how much longer Izuku had…

“Shark, whatever you’re planning…” Katsuki rasped, lifting his head weakly to look at its head beneath the waves, “You better hurry.”

There was no outward response and Katsuku dropped his head, trying to force his eyes to remain open but ultimately failing, sleep taking over.

Chapter Text

The mission began without a hitch, as most do. It wasn’t until a few minutes into it that it all went to shit…

As most missions do.

The pro heroes Achilles and Eraserhead had been put together as a team, since they were the only underground heroes coming along on this mission.

Sin, better known as Achilles, waited behind with Eraserhead as the spotlight heroes charged ahead, storming the palace, metaphorically.

Their job was suppression and neutralization for any villains that might happen to escape, that way the evacuation of all the nearby civilians could proceed safely by the police and the other pro heroes that the public was comfortable with, like Present Mic.

It wasn’t the job that they wanted but it was the one that they fit, and they would do it regardless of what they wanted. That was one of the things Sin liked about Eraserhead. He didn’t complain and he did what was asked of him. He could see the big picture of things, unlike a lot of heroes that Sin had had the misfortune of working with.

Because of their position though, the two heroes had a great view of everything beginning to go wrong.

The majority of the heroes were inside and they could hear the occasional scream and see several flashes of light, but otherwise, at first, it was normal.

Sin stood from his crouch as an entire wall of the large warehouse burst apart, the muscled form of All Might exploding it into pieces as his body was catapulted through it, disappearing into the dark city. Another hero, Mt. Lady, was thrown out immediately afterward, body rolling, unconscious across the ground before a man walked out of the hole the number one hero's body had created, large and imposing. He dragged a limp form behind him by the back of their costume and from next to Sin, Eraserhead leaned forward with narrowed eyes, hand lifting to tighten preemptively around his capture weapon.

It was the villain Detective Tsukauchi had told them to be the most cautious of during their briefing, warning them not to engage. All for One. All Might was supposed to have been in charge of him, he was the only one capable of actually fighting him apparently.

Eraaserhead was jumping forward before Sin had a chance to consider their options and he cursed beneath his breath, immediately following the other hero, lagging behind when Eraserhead used his capture gear to swing forward. Sin’s own support items didn’t consist of much to use in the way of mobility. His large coat was filled with weapons of varying sizes and strengths; from grenades of all sorts, to poison laced throwing knives and electromagnetic field generating discs and many things in between. Sin was a walking armory.

He threw one of those discs now, but the large, black suited villain crushed it beneath a foot as if he didn’t even feel the electricity that buzzed in the air from it. He only looked over at them with a head covered in some sort of gear, as if they didn’t even matter, as if they weren’t a threat.

Sin was smart enough to know when a battle couldn’t be won and when the time was to retreat, but this was not one of those times. Not when the villain held one of their own unconscious teammates in s harsh grip.

Aizawa swung forward, obviously aiming for the hero that looked to be Best Jeanist, his clothes crimson coated denim. Sin moved to the side, understanding with ease the task he’d been given by Eraserhead.

Distraction.

Sin could do that. He was good at that.

The rest of the heroes seemed to be indisposed at the moment within the building, and All Might was still missing, hopefully picking himself up from wherever he had landed. Sin may not like the other hero, but he couldn’t deny All Mights’ capability when it came to fighting villains. Their chances of success, or even survival, against a villain that Sin had been told could steal and store quirks were not high without the number one hero. But, for now, it was up to Sin and Eraserhead. They’d just have to do what they could.

Sin generally relied on his speed and unpredictable movements, as well as his many weapons, to win his fights. He’d been trained in a technique no one in this country had ever seen, and it always showed when people underestimated his physical prowess just because of his appearance. There was a reason underground heroes tended to hide their bodies beneath their clothing, unlike a lot of the flashier villains, like All Might.

Sin charged the villain known as All for One, knowing full well that he stood next to no chance against him when it came to their quirks. For Sin to activate his quirk, he had to get all five fingers of one hand on him, which was going to be difficult when this guy had an unknown amount of all types of quirks. To do that, and taking into account the environment and the downed hero in the man’s grasp, a frontal assault was his best option.

Though the situation was far from comfortable.

The villain lifted a hand and Sin dropped low to the ground instantly, a life of experience helping him avoid what looked like black spears shooting from an ungloved hand. “You’re a quick one.” All for One voiced deeply, swinging the hand with Best Jeanist in it at Eraserhead, which the dark haired man dodged at the last second, an angry expression on his face, eyes glowing.

Could he even erase that many quirks at once?

Apparently he could, because the spears disappeared and he took a step back, as if out of frustration, turning to face the erasure hero.

Sin took the moment of distraction and of the quirks being gone, diving forward while the villain's head was turned, but All for One somehow realized what Sin was doing, his body angling back toward him. He flung a suited arm out, connecting with Sin’s chest painfully, several ribs cracking within his chest.

A normal person would have been knocked away, but Sin was not a normal person. He lifted his legs in one easy motion, wrapping them around the arm and hanging onto it upside down, stretching his own arm up to grab the man’s exposed skin, one goal in mind.

Sin took a harsh breath in short preparation before closing his hand around the wrist, the familiar pain of someone’s else's fear washing across his mind, goosebumps rising across his skin, cold barbed wire slithering up his spine.

He gripped onto the arm, but nothing could stop the sheer strength and force as he was flung to the side, legs ripping away from AFO as he shot through the air like a bullet.

He was going straight toward a building, it was going to kill him… He wasn’t like All Might… he was...

“Achilles!”

His vision whited out as the bright uniform of Mt. Lady suddenly seemed to sprout out of the ground, his body slamming hard into her chest, all the air leaving her in a whoosh as she stumbled back, foot crushing part of the building.

She lifted a large hand, catching him as he dropped and he landed with a grunt onto her open palm, visions playing out in his head, eyes glowing bright blue with the activation of his quirk. “Get him now.” He choked out, hands clenching into fists, chest burning. “He’s under my quirk.”

Mt. Lady nodded, knowing his quirk and its limits, crouching to set him down against a pile of rubble where he gritted his teeth against the onslaught of his own mind. What even…?

The vision played out like it was real, more cemented in reality than any Sin had ever seen., other than his own.

In front of him, Mt. Lady was charging into battle, Kamui Woods exiting the building from behind, screaming that all of the other villains had just disappeared, consumed by some strange black sludge. And Sin could see All Might in the distance, flying back into the battle like a shining star.

But All for One was fighting mechanically, almost as if his body was acting on its own, his mind distracted.

Sin was the only one that could see it, watching with widened eyes as Best Jeanist was flung away, Eraserhead wrapping his capture weapon around him, catching him as All Might slammed into All for One violently, Mt. Lady sweeping Eraserhead and Best Jeanist up to get out of the blast zone.

Sin had been watching all of that unfold on the surface, while also watching the number one villain’s greatest fear unfold right in front of him.

Seven figures stood in a silent line, like a firing squad. Their bodies were so real, so solid looking, like Sin felt like he could walk over and touch them. They were all different, and all had some horribly vivid fatal wound on them.

All for One’s helmet was blasted away as All Might reached him, revealing eyes focused on the realistic apparitions as one of them stepped forward. It was a woman, black hair coated in viscera, blood dripping from her chin in steady, dark streams, mouth a gaping maw as her jaw hung off a partially dismembered skull.

Despite this, her demonic voice rang out clear and true across the broken field.

“ We’re waiting on you, boy.”

Another man approached her side, long hair that looked like it used to be white but was now scarlet with blood. A fist sized hole in his chest exposed the ventricles of his still heart as he continued walking forward. All for One was still fighting but with his eyes on the figures, all of them approaching now.

“ You are going to feel everything that you did to us, times a thousand, for your entire afterlife, big brother.” The man leaned in close to All for One as he threw All Might into a mound of debris. The villain took a small step back, barely even noticeable, but still there, eyes locked onto the dead man’s face as behind him, the firing squad of the dead marched forward in time with the beating of Sin’s heart.

“ You will feel our pain.” The man spat, reaching toward the villain’s face with a hand coated in his own gore. It touched All for One, bloody fingers leaving streaks of crimson on a scarred face. “ You will-”

Mt. Lady charged forward in two massive leaps and swung a foot out, connecting with the villain and punting him straight into a building, calling for All Might to get his ass up and finish the job.

Sin leaned his head back, swallowing thickly. His own fight had been short, but he felt wrecked. The vision was no longer a hallucination on the battlefield and instead finished playing out in his mind, those figures torturing All for One in his own mental image of hell.

Fuck. Sin was going to be seeing that for a while.

After All for One was defeated and when the medics and the media closed in, Sin slipped away, arm across his broken ribs, not even noticing the pain as he stepped forward, through the wreckage of the hole.

He heard light footsteps following him and turned, peering through a fringe of purple hair to see Eraserhead running up to him, dried blood streaking his face. “You’re going looking for them aren’t you?” He asked gruffly and Sin simply nodded, not one to waste words.

Eraserhead grunted in response and both of them went forward, ignoring their wounds in their search for the missing boys.

Later on, a real search would begin, a manhunt by police and heroes alike after they’d figured out that the kids hadn’t been taken with the rest of the villains, but for now, the two heroes scoured the destroyed building.

It took some time, both of them walking in silence, Present Mic eventually joining them in their search. They stayed together, looking in every room until they discovered a wide chamber, a chasm torn into the floor and what looked to be medical equipment strewn everywhere. There was a laptop against the far wall, shattered, like someone had thrown it.

Past the hole, a broken, glass tank of some sort could be seen, strangely colored blood on parts of the ground in front of it and a foot sized hole in the roof above.

“What the fuck…” Eraserhead hissed, looking around the room, lip curling up.

Achilles ignored Present Mic reaching forward to grab Eraserhead’s hand, instead stepping further into the room, the ground creaking with his weight. His lips thinned at the sight of what were obviously bloody nail prints from someone being dragged across the broken concrete of the ground where it was almost parallel with the walls.

The scene painted a horrifying picture. It was painfully obvious that the heroes had not rescued the kids at all.

Sin leaned over the hole, sniffing, the thick, hot scent of sewage cloying his nasal cavity.

From behind him, Eraserhead pressed a hand to his face before reaching into a pouch at his belt and removing a cellphone, calling in the detective and forensics for the scene.

Meanwhile, Sin looked over at the tank on the other side of the room, the memory of what he’d told Riptide echoing in his head. He couldn’t help but feel he should’ve done more.

Sin had seen that tank before, when he’d accidentally grabbed Riptide. The other hero, the child, had literally been put into his greatest fear here.

Sin should have done something more.

-X-

That same night, Hitoshi laid on the couch, alone in the Yamada-Aizawa house, staring at the chalk outline with tears rolling slowly down his face while he repeated a mantra to himself in a barely audible whisper. “It’s going to be alright, it’s going to be alright, " it’sgoingtobealright…”

The repeated words did nothing to reassure him. The pain tore at his heart like it was being clenched in a vice, the fear twisting his stomach into knots. Kimi stood from her spot his chest as he rolled onto his back and meowed in a high pitched voice, lying across his eyes and purring loudly enough to vibrate his brain.

In the dark of Kimi’s fur Hitoshi couldn’t stop seeing it all, flashes of the worst things his imagination could conjure, of Izuku and Bakugou dropping into the dark warp gate, of whispering to Izuku as he walked away, ‘see you later, Izu.’

Hitoshi sat up, lifting Kimi from his head and mumbling an apology to her before setting her down on the couch cushion where she stayed, looking up at him with knowing eyes. Hitoshi stood up, moving toward the alarm system on the wall, disengaging it before slipping on his shoes and walking out the door, hearing the beeping from behind him as it started the timer before it reset.

With tired steps Hitoshi exited the house and walked across the long driveway before opening the fence and locking it behind him. He waited a second, making sure the safety system reengaged before he started walking, converse slapping the pavement of the empty street, slowly picking up speed until he was running, chest heaving, stomach churning, nose pouring, heart burning.

He hadn’t gone to the beach since Yamada had brought him home the night before and they’d found the cat bowls overloaded. They’d moved through the house until Yamada had discovered Aizawa face first in their bed, so deeply asleep he might as well have been unconscious.

Hitoshi knew they were going through a tough time too and that they were doing all they could, so he’d tried to make breakfast for them that morning instead of running to the beach. But he’d burnt the fish and set a dishrag on fire. His lack of sleep and painful emotions did nothing for his already crap cooking abilities.

Hitoshi just... hurt . He hurt more now than he ever had in his life, and he had been so hurt, so many times before. He couldn’t...

He ran to the beach again. It took forever and his body ached and he threw up twice before he reached it, but he made it there. He made it home.

Hitoshi trudged into the familiarity of the train car, yanking his shoes off and grabbing a blanket before forcing his way through the other side of the structure. He climbed through the broken door and stepped out onto the sand with bare feet, feeling his toes sink into the grainy texture as memories of so many other times he’d done this exact motion flashed across his mind's eye, only with Izuku, not alone and in despair. Not feeling like his chest had been hollowed out by a pumpkin carver.

Hitoshi swallowed, holding Izuku’s blanket against his chest. It smelled like him, like the ocean; salt and seaweed and ocean air. And then he thought how weird that was, thinking about Izuku’s scent, and shook his head, approaching the waves as the sun rose. He threw out the blanket and sat down on it, pulling one leg up and wrapping his arms around his thigh and setting his forehead against his kneecap, his right leg curled beneath him.

It was warm out, even though the sun was only just rising, and his worry for Izuku increased even more, somehow. His friends’ body ran cold and he couldn’t handle heat. What if… what if he was put outside without water? What if he was overheating right now, while Hitoshi relaxed on the beach?

Hitoshi drew into himself, trying not to think about the what if’s. He ‘d been down that road too many times since the festival, thinking about every scenario until he could see nothing but his best friend in the worst places he could imagine. It only hurt him to think like that, but it was so hard not to.

The sun spread hot rays across the sea, piercing through the morning haze, dowsing Hitoshi in harsh light. He winced at the burn to his retinas, but stared at it anyway. How could he ever be like a star, like the sun? He felt so… useless right now. What was the sun without the ocean? What was the sun when it couldn’t take care of its sea?

He stayed there for hours , watching the sun climb the sky, the air growing warmer and warmer until he had to shed his jacket, dropping it onto the blanket and trying to take deep breaths. He was debating calling Aizawa or Mic to see how this mission they were on that they couldn’t tell him about had gone, hoping that it’d had something to do with Izuku.

But before he could make up his mind, something caught his attention in the distance and he frowned, lifting a hand over his eyes. There was something moving in the water?

It was just… greyish against the waves, moving with the flow, but distinctly different.

Hitoshi stood so quickly that the blood rushed to his head and he swayed as he looked out over the water, his attempts at deep breaths forgotten as his chest barely moved. It looked like something swimming toward him before turning against the waves, two things seeming to drop from it, a pale figure resurfacing and moving forward.

All at once… Hitoshi realized .

He lurched forward, almost tripping over his own feet as his right dragged against the ground, numb from the position he’d been in. Hitoshi sprinted full out across the sand in a controlled stumble. He made it to the water and then slogged through it as if it didn’t scare him at all. Because right now, it didn’t. He barely even registered it around him as he stretched forward.

The form of his blond classmate made itself clear as he swam toward the shore, teeth bared and white in the glare off the water, brows drawn together, eyes sunken and face pale. He was still in his gym uniform from the sports festival, though it was now faded and torn in several places, the sleeves more tattered than even Aizawa’s usually were.

Where was Izu, why wasn’t Izu with him?!

Hitoshi stopped when the water reached his shoulders, never wishing that he knew how to swim as much as he did now. He was only able to watch, wide eyed and silent, as Bakugou got closer, until Hitoshi could make out the color green beneath the surface of the water and everything else fell away.

“T-take ‘im.” Bakugou rasped in a voice like broken rocks as he made it within reaching distance

Hitoshi didn’t need to be told twice as the other boy came even closer, his gaunt face becoming clear.

Hitoshi stretched his arms out beneath the water, taking a hold beneath limp, freezing arms and dragging the weight forward, out of Bakugou’s trembling grip.

Izuku…

He was here, he was really here. Hitoshi could feel his icy skin as he pulled him up and above the water…

“Izuku?!” He gasped, eyes widening even further and filling with tears as he caught a glimpse of short curls.

Before he could take the rest of him in, Bakugou dropped like a stone beneath the waves and Hitoshi grunted, lashing his hand out and catching the blonde around his bicep, hauling him up and then wrapping one arm around the other boys waist, holding Izuku against his other side.

Why was Izuku so limp… He felt like a corpse , cold and still.

“Come on, we’re so close to the shore.” He growled, tightening his hold on both of them, ignoring a soft curse from Bakugou as he turned them around, adjusting his hold.

Bakugou tripped when his feet connected with the ground beneath the water, like he’d forgotten how to walk, and Hitoshi kept him up, gritting his teeth, mind racing at lightspeed. Was he hallucinating?! How long had he gone without sleep? Was this even real? Was this actually Izuku?

They reached the shore and Bakugou only made it a few more steps before his knees gave out and he collapsed face first onto the sand with a low groan, carrying all three of them down. “Okay, okay.” Hitoshi swallowed, releasing Bakugou and setting Izuku carefully down on his back.

Izuku’s head lolled to the side, lips parted to show rows of sharp teeth. He breathed through his mouth rapidly, chest moving shallowly and quickly. His hair…

… his hair had been cut, leaving it short, lank locks curling around his face, still dripping with the sea. His hair was such a big part of Izuku. To see it gone was… absolutely horrifying. One of Izuku’s favorite things had been swimming with his long hair down or letting Hitoshi braid it before patrol or class. Why…

There were more changes. Scale-like patches decorated Izuku’s ghostly pale body, along with wounds oozing glowing blood. His nails appeared to be sharp, like claws and his skin glowed, as if from the inside.

“Hos…” Bakugou choked out before coughing, head sagging down, eyes clenched. “He needs… hospital.”

“Fuck, yeah, okay.” Hitoshi grabbed at his pockets, yanking his phone out and tapping the home button. “Dammit!”

He’d waded into the ocean with his non waterproof phone, not even thinking. He was such an idiot.

Hitoshi dropped his phone to the sand, sitting up on his knees and peering across the beach. The train car… Izuku should have several phones stored in there.

“Can you wait here for a minute?” Hitoshi looked down at Bakugou whose red eyes turned to him.

“Go.” He snarled, voice distinctly less than threatening.

But Hitoshi did as requested, leaping to his feet and running forward, toward the train car and throwing the door open, breaking it even further as he launched himself inside, stumbling to his knees in front of the compartment that Izuku kept all of his Riptide stuff in.

He shoved the sliding door over, ensnaring a bag in his grasp and yanking it toward him, a bundle of electronic equipment spilling out. He rooted through it quickly, heart pounding in his ears as he searched for something that worked. Anything.

Finally, something lit up and Hitoshi grabbed it, almost dropping the archaic phone before pulling up the dialer and hitting 119 before holding the phone to his ear and standing, knees cracking. He went running out of the door that now hung loosely on its hinges and sped back across the sand as the dispatcher answered the call.

Hitoshi relayed what information he could to the guy on the line, words tumbling out of his mouth like a jumbled mess of nonsense. He hoped he made some sort of sense as he dropped onto the sand next to Izuku, one hand closing around Izuku’s wrist to remind himself that this really wasn’t just a conjuration of his own mind.

Bakugou was sitting up now, but swaying slightly, eyes half lidded, and he had moved near Izuku’s legs. “He breathing?”

Hitoshi’s heart stilled and he dropped the phone, leaning forward to lay a hand across Izuku’s frigid heart. His chest moved, albeit only barely, and Hitoshi exhaled shakily. “He’s breathing.” Bakugou grunted in response and Hitoshi glanced at him.

“Can you walk at all? We should…” Hitoshi swallowed nervously, lifting his hand to Izuku’s neck in preparation to lift him and feeling roughness scraping against his palm where scales protruded from his skin. He shook his head, focusing on the problem at hand. “We should try to get to the road, for the ambulance.”

“Of course I c-can walk.” Bakugou grumbled, teeth still chattering, and pushed himself to his feet to prove it. He immediately fell back onto his hip with a groan, eyes clenched shut.

“Take it easy.” Hitoshi commanded. “I can’t carry you both.”

“Fuck you.” Hitoshi ignored the comment, ignored how much relief those two words made him feel, knowing that the two were close. It hadn’t set in yet, and Hitoshi didn’t know what was going to happen when it did.

He just…

Hitoshi shook his and turned to Bakugou. “I’m going to stand with Izu, you can use me to stand and lean on, okay? We’re going to have to take the long way around because I don’t think you can make it through the train car.”

“F- fuck…” Bakugou trailed off, wiping a hand across his face and panting. “F-fine.”

Hitoshi nodded and swiped the phone from where he’d dropped it, quickly telling the dispatcher what they were doing and then shoving the blocky flip phone into his pocket. He then slid his arm under Izuku’s legs, moving the other behind his shoulders and lifting to his knees with a grunt, and then the rest of the way up. Izuku was quite short compared to most guys, especially Hitoshi, being nearly a whole head shorter than him. But he was packed with muscle, even after whatever had happened to him, and Hitshi struggled with his weight for a moment before nodding down to Bakugou.

“Okay.” He told him and Bakugou grabbed his pant leg, using Hitoshi to pull himself to his feet. When he was standing he leaned most of his weight into him and Hitoshi braced himself in the sand, giving the blonde a chance to catch his breath, looking down at Izuku’s head, hanging back like a doll’s.

Hitoshi’s stomach twisted and he shrugged a bit, shifting Izuku’s head onto his shoulder so that he didn’t look like... that.

When Bakugou seemed to have his breathing under control Hitoshi started walking slowly, making sure the blonde could keep up while using Hitoshi as a human crutch.

The long way around was just that. It avoided the massive piles of trash and had a clear path carved into it that Izuku had made to carry large things to the train car, but it was out of the way and difficult to maneuver while carrying one person and with another leaning completely against him.

They were halfway there when a low, animalistic groan vibrated from the boy in his arms and Hitoshi paused, looking down. Izuku’s eyes were partly open but hazy with near unconsciousness. Hitoshi gasped when he saw how bright his eyes were, so very green, the slitted pupils blown wide.

Izuku made a high pitched, coughing sound, almost like a bark, before jerking in Hitoshi’s grasp, limbs jumping spastically. “Shit.” Hitoshi dropped to a knee, Bakugou echoing his curse as he fell with him.

Izuku made the rough noise again, wheezing in air and straining against Hitoshi’s hold before erupting into hacking coughs, too weak to move much at all, the fingers in his right hand dragging against the sand. “His side, put him… on his side.” Bakugou rasped. Hitoshi glanced at him and then did what he said, setting Izuku on the sand and turning him onto his side.

Izuku didn’t respond to the manhandling, coughing roughly, and Hitoshi watched in horror as harsh red speckled the ground in front of his mouth.

Hitoshi rubbed Izuku’s sun-reddened back, wincing when his skin caught on the new scale things that now decorated his entire body in patches. Izuku hacked up blood a few more times before going lax once again, second eyelids closed, but the humans ones still half open.

“Izu?” Hitoshi murmured, rolling him onto his back. Izuku looked up dazedly but didn’t make an attempt to answer. He was barely breathing and he was so out of it… Hitoshi was scared.

“Okay, let’s try again.” Hitoshi murmured, glancing to the side to check on Bakugou who sat on his knees, hands buried in the sand and eyes closed. “Bakugou, come on.”

The blonde made a noise that might have been a curse as Hitoshi gently took Izuku back into his arms and lifted him up, making sure Bakugou took his spot back at his side before continuing down the path. Bakugou stumbled more than once, nearly dragging them down, but Hitoshi remained upright through sheer fear of harming Izuku even more if they fell.

Bakugou latched onto his arm, barely even cognizant any more as he mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. Hitoshi pushed on, focusing on the sounds of sirens in the distance.

They somehow managed to reach the edge of the sand before Bakugou dropped like a rock, eyes closed, hitting the ground with a rough thump.

Hitoshi grimaced, crouching to set Izuku down, also unconscious again.

He didn’t budge at all as Hitoshi pushed short curls away from his closed eyes, his own heart racing in his chest. This was Izuku, he was really here…

But he was… What had happened?

There were new, light spots by his gills, above and to the left of his collarbone, almost covered in those sharp, greyish scales. And those wounds that bled phosphorescent blood… Hitoshi had seen Izuku’s blood before… it hadn’t done that before. And even in the light of the sun, he could notice a muted shine to his body, as if his veins themselves glowed beneath his skin.

And his hair… Hitoshi ran a hand through the mess, fingers catching in tangles. It was dry and salty, covering his ears and almost to his neck, but the back of his head seemed to be shorter where…

Hitoshi gasped, leaning down, turning Izuku’s head to the side.

“What the fuck?!” A corrugated piece of metal jutted out of the back of Izuku’s head, surrounded in reddened, swollen flesh.

Hitoshi gagged, hands shaking, fighting against incoming panic, bile crawling up his throat.

Two ambulances roared to a stop at the road in front of them and Hitoshi looked up as people unloaded from them, running to them with stretchers. Hitoshi instinctively leaned forward, arm crossing Izuku’s chest to pull him closer, desperate not to let him go.

“Kid, it’s alright.” A woman with cerulean hair gently pushed Hitoshi’s hand away, more medics moving over to Bakugou.

Hitoshi rocked back to give them room as they did their thing, eyes not leaving Izuku, and when he tried to follow them into an ambulance and they denied him, he could only watch as they drove away.

Hitoshi fell onto his butt on the side of the road, barely noticing, eyes wild and chest spasming.

Had all that… had that actually happened? Everything had moved so fast.

Hitoshi’s hand fumbled in his pocket, shaking so much he could barely open the phone, searching for a contact, hoping it was there because he didn’t have the number memorized.

Eraserhead .

There. Hitoshi hit the contact and dialed the number, holding the phone against his ear, his left hand clenching in his wet shirt, over his heart. His entire body was shaking.

“Who is this?” A low, annoyed voice asked. Familiar.

“A-a-a.” Hitoshi leaned forward, gasping, eyes closing and chest heaving.

“Kid? Shinsou?” The voice was more alert now. “What’s wrong? Why are you on this phone?”

“Ai...zawa.” Hitoshi choked out through his panic, eyes filling with tears. Izuku was gone again, but he’d been here… he was here... How did he speak again? How did he tell Aizawa? How did he convey his need to get to the hospital?

“Kid, just focus on my voice. Try to slow your breathing. Match mine, okay?” The voice on the other end faded into the sound of deep breaths and Hitoshi coughed, trying to make himself match the pace, if only so he could just freaking talk. He needed to get to Izuku and to do that he needed to speak. “Okay, Shinsou, good job, you’re doing great."

Hitoshi wiped at his mouth, smearing sand across his cheek from the dampness in his hand where it’d been in his shirt. “Found Izu…” He forced out, eliciting a shocked inhale from his teacher. “And B-Bakugou. They’re… they… ambulance got ‘em and… I’m at the beach… can you?”

Aizawa seemed to figure out what he was attempting to say. “I’m leaving now, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Don’t move, kid, and stay on the phone.”

Hitoshi nodded, sinking further into the sand, tears dripping down his face now. There was the sound of speaking from the phone, but not to him, and Hitoshi ignored it, still trying to keep his breathing even, forehead lowered into the grainy sand, focusing on the feeling of it against his skin. It was scraping and harsh, but it was something to grab onto, a feeling to concentrate on.

“Hey, Little Listener.” Yamada abruptly sounded from the phone and Hitoshi turned his eyes, tapping the speaker phone option and setting it down, wrapping both arms around himself. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“They came out of the ocean.” Hitoshi breathed, eyes closed again. “They… he… Izu wasn’t…”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright.” Yamada’s voice was soothing and Hitoshi latched onto it. “We’re on our way. You should see Sho driving right now, Shinsou, he’s like a bat out of hell.” Shinsou snorted, calming down a bit, shoulders relaxing slightly.

“He even stole a police car.” Yamada continued, rambling, and Hitoshi was grateful for it. He knew Yamada was aware of what he was doing, distracting him with jokes, but he was grateful just the same. “He charged the Detective and demanded his keys, which the man smartly gave him. Then he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the car without even telling me what was going on!”

“Izu…” Hitoshi muttered, trying to explain.

“Yeah, he told me now, Listener.” Hitoshi swallowed, more awareness returning to him as his pulse began to settle into something nearly normal.

“They both just w-walked out of the ocean.” Hitoshi’s voice picked up, throat grating. “Izuku is so different and he looked nearly d-dead. Bakugou was carrying him, but he was… he wasn’t great either…”

“Okay. We’re almost there. We’ll go straight to the hospital, okay?” Yamada asked carefully.

“Yeah.” Hitoshi answered, taking a deep breath and leaning back to look up at the sun.

His ocean was back… but what now?

What now...

-X-

They were told nothing.

Yamada was sitting with Hitoshi in the waiting room, visibly restraining himself from hugging Hitoshi after he’d jerked away at his first attempt. Aizawa was gone, meeting with Nezu in an attempt to figure out a way to get in to see Izuku as his teacher or something, since he had no family.

Hitoshi meant nothing to the hospital as his emergency contact since it was only through school, but Hitoshi hoped Nezu ot Aizawa could pull some strings or something.

They sat in hard plastic chairs, not even sure where they should be. It’d been hours now and Hitoshi needed to see Izuku. He felt like he was falling apart, his ribcage crumbling to pieces, leaving his heart exposed and open.

Yamada was still in his hero costume, but his hair was down and his contacts were out to show his crimson irises. His directional speaker was also gone, revealing the tattoos that inked around his collarbones and all over his neck. He looked like a mix of hero and punk civilian. It was strange.

They’d been in to see Bakugou in the children’s ward for a minute, with permission from his parents as they’d been called by the hospital immediately. But he still hadn’t woken up and they’d left his parents to be near him alone.

But Izuku had no one.

Yamada leaned forward, mouth opening to say something, but before he could Aizawa and a plain looking guy in a tan overcoat were walking through the automatic sliding doors, Aizawa with his hands shoved into his pockets, the lower half of his face buried into his capture scarf. The other guy, who Hitoshi assumed to be a detective, smiled at Hitoshi as they approached, remaining standing as Aizawa, the man’s eyes bloodshot and shadowed, dropped into a seat next to Yamada.

“Nezu is working on paperwork now so that we can see him. With everything going on, it shouldn’t actually be too hard to get in. He was able to get some information though. He’s good like that, but don’t ask how he did it.” Hitoshi leaned forward, eyes boring into his teacher, demanding info.

Aizawa sighed, leaning back. “Midoriya has… a lot wrong with him. He’s too weak for surgery but he’s going to need it. Right now he’s in the ER and unconscious, so you don’t have to worry about him being afraid, Shinsou. He’ll probably be asleep for awhile.” Hitoshi leaned back, frowning, mind racing.

“Oh, and Bakugou is awake, which is why Tsukauchi is here.” Aizawa grumbled. “We need to know what he knows.”

Hitoshi shot upward. “I’m coming.”

“Kid-”

“I’m coming .” He snarled back. He was sure he looked pretty bad too. He hadn’t really slept in over a week and he couldn’t remember the last time he actually brushed his hair, plus he was still covered in sand.

“He can come as long as the Bakugou’s are okay with it, it’s alright.” The plain guy said with a comforting smile and Hitoshi decided right then that he liked him.

They all stood, Aizawa sighing like it was the way he breathed now, and Tsukauchi led the way to the children’s ward.

Hitoshi was once again struck by this area of the hospital.

It was ocean themed. He knew Izuku would like it. The hallway floors were blue with white stenciled in sharks and other sea life. The walls had painted on kelp and fish, coral and whales. It even relaxed Hitoshi to see.

They entered Bakugou’s room to find him sitting up in his bed, his mom and dad silent beside him but watching him with strange expressions on their faces.

“Hello, Bakugou, my name is Detective Tsukauchi. How are you feeling?” Hitoshi shut the door behind him. The room was a bit cluttered now with so many people, but he wasn’t leaving for anything. He needed to hear what had happened.

“I’m fucking fine. Where’s the nerd?” Bakugou’s voice was low, and far from sounding alright, but he was awake, an IV connected to him, several blankets covering him. His fingers twitched incessantly over the blanket. There was a barcode like mark on one of his forearms that had Hitoshi’s stomach churning.

“He’s still unconscious but he’s being well taken care of.” Tsukauchi reassured. “Are you able to go over what happened after the sports festival?”

Bakugou went silent, looking at each of the people in the room, ending with his parents before snapping his eyes back to Hitoshi. “It’s not good.”

“I need to know.” Hitoshi said, squaring his shoulders. “I’m the only that Izuku trusts. I need to know so that I can help him.”

Bakugou narrowed his eyes before looking back at the detective. “Fine, but I’m only saying it once.”

“That’s perfectly fine, I’ll be recording if that’s alright?” He looked toward the other two Bakugou’s and his mother nodded.

Tsukauchi thanked them, sitting down at the chair on the other side of Bakugou’s bed and removing a small, electronic box from his chest pocket, placing it on the bed and hitting a button. “My quirk can tell if you’re lying or telling the truth. I am required to let you know that. Could you state your name, please?”

“Bakugou Katsuki.”

“Thank you.” Tsukauchi nodded for the others to take their seats and the three of them squeezed onto the small couch against the opposite wall. “Okay, Bakugou. Start from the beginning please, when you fell through the gate with Midoriya.”

And he did, taking breaks for drinks of water. He told them everything while it was still fresh, Hitoshi listening in growing horror, his knowledge of Izuku’s past changing and growing.

By the end, Bakugou’s voice was nearly gone, finishing with less detail than before, scowling when he mentioned Mt. Lady’s foot destroying the room they’d been in before finishing with being washed out into the ocean and Izuku calling a shark to carry them to shore, mentioning how he’d used his gym uniform’s jacket in an attempt to protect Izuku from the sun. Then adding that the shark wouldn’t get too close to land and he’d had to pull Izuku off of it and carry him the rest of the way.

Hitoshi finished with his end of it and then Tsukauchi thanked them and cut off the recording, the room falling into an uncomfortable silence.

Aizawa’s phone ringing interrupted it and the man breathed in relief, leaving the room to answer it.

“Izu’s going to be alright, isn’t he?” Hitoshi asked the detective, eyes practically begging for some type of answer.

The man’s eyes softened. “I know about as much as you do, but with a friend like you, I’m sure he’ll have great support.”

Hitoshi frowned. ‘Friend’ didn’t seem good enough. It didn’t cover how much Izuku meant to him. It just… felt weak.

The detective turned to Bakugou’s parents. “This was a traumatizing event. Both children will need all the support they can get.”

“Fuck you, ‘m not a child.” Bakugou hissed and the mother lifted a hand but Tsukauchi narrowed his eyes at her and she dropped it with a sigh. Hitoshi frowned, glancing at Bakugou who had leaned back, closing his eyes, as if tuning out the rest of the room.

The door opened once again, Aizawa stepping in. “I can go see Midoriya.”

Hitoshi jumped up, mouth opening, but his teacher interrupted him before he could even speak. “Just me, Shinsou. For now.”

“But-”

Aizawa shook his head. “Once he’s out of the ICU, Shinsou, you can see him. Once he’s not in danger of…” His teacher trailed off, frowning, the shadows beneath his eyes seeming to deepen.

Hitoshi blinked. “In danger of what ?”

Aizawa’s lips thinned. “Nothing. I’ll be back soon. Za- Mic, take Shinsou back to the waiting room please.”

Hitoshi watched his teacher leave, Yamada’s arm coming around his shoulders to guide him out of the room.

When they were at the door, Hitoshi paused, looking back. “Thank you, Bakugou. For taking care of him.”

Bakugou cracked an eye open, just a sliver of red showing. “You don’t need to thank me, purple hair.”

Did he even know Hitoshi’s name? Oh well, it didn’t matter. ‘Purple hair’ was at least an improvement from Mind Freak.

Hitoshi nodded to the boy and let Yamada guide him out of the room, releasing his shoulders as they walked down the blue hallway.

They passed in front of a small gift shop and Hitoshi paused, glancing to the side before feeling for his wallet. It was there, but he hoped his card wasn’t destroyed from the ocean water.

He broke off from Yamada, heading into the gift shop before returning with a white bag. “Get something for Midoriya?”

“Yeah,” Hitoshi muttered, clenching the plastic handle in his hand.

They headed to the waiting room and Hitoshi collapsed into one of the couches. “We could head home, Listener. You look like you need rest.”

“I’m staying here.” He responded tonelessly, leaning against the armrest and closing his eyes.

“I thought as much.” Yamada sighed, sitting down next to him.

Hitoshi set the bag on the floor at his side and then pillowed his head on his hands. He didn’t think he was going to fall asleep. There was too much on his mind. He couldn’t stop seeing Izuku, laying on the sound, deathly pale skin, short hair, sunken eyes, covered in wounds.

He didn’t think he would ever forget it.

-X-

“Problem Child. Kid. Shinsou.”

Hitoshi’s eyes snapped open and he shot upward with a gasp, eyes flashing around before landing on Aizawa, standing over him, one brow lifted at his reaction.

He must have fallen asleep then, but… He lifted his head.

“Izu?” He met Aizawa’s tired eyes.

“You can see him now.” Aizawa answered and Hitoshi wheezed, caught in mid exhale at Aizawa’s declaration, hand pressing against his chest as he scrambled off the couch, kicking Yamada in the arm accidentally and waking him up.

“Calm down, he’s not going anywhere.” Aizawa muttered, grabbing Hitoshi’s arm when he nearly fell over.

Hitoshi got his feet under him, snatching his bag from beside the couch. “Is he awake?”

“No, but he might be soon.” Aizawa said, dropping his hand and stepping forward, Hitoshi following at his side as they re-entered the children's ward. “Make sure you’re ready.” Aizawa mumbled.

“For what?” Hitoshi asked.

Aizawa shrugged, stopping in front of a door near Bakugou’s, labeled ‘Midoriya Izuku’. Hitoshi took a deep breath, walking into the room behind his teacher as he opened the door, the man immediately moving toward the couch at the end of the bed and falling into it, eyes already closed.

Hitoshi lifted the bag to his chest, chest tightening at the sight before him. Izuku lay on his back in the bed, a blanket pulled up to his waist, arms to his sides and turned up so that the IV could access his inner left elbow. His skin was pale but his face was flushed, his hair seeming more green than ever in contrast.

He wore a light blue hospital shirt and bandages decorated most of his arms and neck. His eyes didn’t look as sunken in as they had on the beach but he still didn’t look great, a breathing mask over the bottom of his face clouding with every exhale. He looked so, so small.

Hitoshi stepped forward, the heart monitor beeping in the background as he stumbled into the seat by the bed, setting his bag on the ground. The room was ocean themed, like everything else. The walls blue and painted with fish and sea plants, the floor a lighter, muted turquoise shade, comforting in its soft colors.

“Izu…” Hitoshi swallowed, reaching out to touch Izuku’s hand but hesitating when, between two bandages, he could see some sort of dark tattoo, like a barcode on his skin, in his skin, strange symbols above the bars, just like Bakugou’s. The thought of them having been branded against their will was sickening but Hitoshi shook the thought away, fighting the urge to vomit and instead laying a hand against the back of Izuku’s.

His skin was cool, and now that Hitoshi thought about it, this room was quite a bit colder than the rest of the hospital. Someone must have realized that Izuku’s general temperature was cooler than most people’s. Hitoshi though was actually rather chilly and wished he had a jacket. It had to be like 60 in the room.

The webbing between Izuku’s fingers was a pale, transparent green and Hitoshi gently pulled at it out of habit. Hitoshi’s habit of doing that had always annoyed Izuku and it was usually a surefire way to wake him up for class or patrol if his alarm didn’t get him. Hitoshi didn’t even realize he was doing it until the hand twitched and Izuku made a soft, grumbling noise under his breath, brow furrowing gently.

Hitoshi jumped when the hand twitched, then looked up at the noise, scooting his chair forward. “Izu?”

Izuku turned his head lightly, mouth turning downward beneath the mask and his fingers tightening in the sheet before his first eyelids fluttered open. “Hey, Izu, hey.” Hitoshi murmured softly, taking Izuku’s hand, feeling it close around his own in a weak grip.

“-shi.” Izuku rasped in a painful sounding voice and Hitoshi grinned, vision going watery with tears, a sob building in his chest.

Izuku was here and he was alive .

Hitoshi didn’t realize until that moment how terrified he’d been of Izuku turning up dead, of being alone again.

He fought the tears, lifting his left hand to push hair away from Izuku’s face. It was short in the front now, just the right length to get in his eyes. He knew Izuku was going to hate that. 

“Yeah, it’s me.” Hitoshi whispered and Izuku mumbled something, eyes closing again, his head leaning into Hitoshi’s touch.

“What was that, Izu?” Hitoshi asked softly, realizing offhandedly how strange it was for Izuku to lean into his touch like that. He’d never been afraid of physical contact, but Hitoshi had never seen his friend seek it out like that. For some reason it made his heart ache.

When Izuku’s eyes opened again, the second eyelids sliding to the side as well, Hitoshi’s stomach flipped when he saw shining pools of vivid, gradient eyes, vibrant yellow fading into toxic green, reptilian pupils small and thin. They were depthless and mesmerizing, like the ocean, and Hitoshi felt like he could drown in them just the same.

“M-mis...d you.” Izuku coughed and Hitoshi swallowed back the urge to scream and cry all at once, instead checking to make sure Aizawa was still asleep before climbing onto the small bed, stretching one leg out next to Izuku, the other hanging off, his upper back settling against Izuku’s pillow.

“Ho… sh-shi.” Izuku’s voice was a low, stuttering moan and he pushed his head against Hitoshi’s arm, his right hand lifting weakly with Hitoshi’s still clasped in it to hold weakly against his chest.

“It’s okay, now.” Hitoshi murmured, his right hand crossing his body to wrap around Izuku, careful of any wires as he turned, pushing his face into Izuku’s hair. It smelled like the ocean and it was just so... Izuku .

Hitoshi closed his eyes, tears leaking from the corners to drop into the green curls.  “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

Izuku’s grip tightened and his pulse picked up on the heart monitor, a high pitched keen leaving his throat. “Shhh.” Hitoshi murmured, lifting his hand to cradle Izuku’s head against him, ignoring the feeling of cold metal against his fingers. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He wondered why the metal hadn’t been removed yet, but figured it had something to do with how ill Izuku was.

Hitoshi was afraid to know what it was.

“I w-was so…” Izuku coughed again, shoulders shaking, his masked face shoving harder into Hitoshi, almost painfully. Hitoshi bore it. He’d bear it all, for his ocean.

A shudder ran through Izuku’s small form and he relaxed into Hitoshi’s hold with a broken sigh, forehead sliding a few centimeters down Hitoshi’s shoulder as he fell back asleep. Hitoshi balanced himself, adjusting his hold and his position on the bed so that it wasn’t so awkward.

He untwined his hand from Izuku’s, instead wrapping it around his narrow shoulders and pulling him so that his head was on Hitoshi’s chest instead of his arm. He dropped his right hand to hold the cold one, and laid his head on Izuku’s, closing his eyes tightly.

It was all too much and he couldn’t stop the shuddering sobs that wracked him, only able to keep them quiet as he buried his face in fluffy hair, his entire body shaking with the silent crying. He didn’t even know why exactly he was crying.

He was relieved that Izuku was back with him again. He was worried for him, and scared about everything Izuku had gone through. He was afraid of the changes made to his body and mind, of his unknown history with the villains that had taken him and of... everything really. Hitoshi was just so, so… emotional .

Hitoshi had never been the most emotional person. He felt things in turn, generally dealing with the world apathetically. He was unused to just… Feeling. So. Much. He didn’t know how to deal with it, he didn’t know what to do.

The only thing he did know was that he hadn’t really been able to sleep without Izuku, but now that he was finally here, in Hitoshi’s arms, safe and sound...

...Hitoshi could finally rest , knowing that he could protect Izuku if anything were to happen.

Izuku had rescued him, all those months ago. So much had happened since the day of that entrance exam. Izuku had given him a home . Not just a house, but a home, his very first one, and Hitoshi had moved in along with Kimi. He’d since seen so many sides of Izuku, a crush growing.. So much… so much had gone wrong, but things had gone right too. They’d been happy and they could be happy again. Hitoshi truly believed that. Hitoshi would make sure he could see Izuku’s smile again. He would make sure to keep him safe.

He’d never felt so close to anyone else in his entire life. Hitoshi had no experience with such strong feelings, with the desire to protect.

He’d never been so close to love.

Yeah, Izuku had rescued Hitoshi, but now it was Hitoshi’s turn to rescue him. His turn to bring Izuku home.

-X-

Shouta woke to see Shinsou in the bed, holding Midoriya against him, face lined with tear tracks where it laid against the head of bushy hair. They were both asleep, limp against each other, heart monitor beeping steadily.

Shouta sighed, leaning forward to clasp his face in his hands. Bakugou and Midoriya were back but…

This wasn’t over.

Chapter Text

The sky was never ending and seemed to glow with the most vivid of cerulean, melting into the azure of the sea.

Mikumo laid on his back on the sea wall, his right leg settling off to the side of it, his head on his mom’s legs as she smoothed her hand through his curls. His neck hurt from laying in the same position for too long, but it was nothing compared to the other aches and pains radiating throughout his body and mind.

He was just glad to have some sort of rest, especially knowing that he’d have to go back there soon . He was happy to be able to spend time with his mom, to have one moment of just… silence, with nothing but the feeling of his mom’s warmth on his always freezing skin and of the sound of the waves pushing at the shore, one after the other. This was the only place that he felt at peace.

With his mom was the only place he felt at home.

His eyes were half lidded and a huge yawn rippled through him, his legs stretching out, both knees cracking painfully. His mom chuckled at his full body stretch and put her hands at her sides, leaning back to look up at the steadily darkening clouds.

“There’s a storm coming,” she murmured with a soft sigh.

Mikumo pulled himself up, swinging his legs to the side so that they dangled over the sea wall. The air smelled of rain and the wind was picking up, his hair lifting around his head.

“You know, you were born during a storm, Izuku.” His mom murmured thoughtfully, her head still turned up to the sky. She seemed pensive, worried about something. Mikumo felt bad that he wasn’t smart enough to figure out what it was.

“Like this storm?” Mikumo asked instead, crawling forward so that he could wrap his arms around his mom in an attempt to comfort her just like she did him.

“No, that storm was much different than this one.” She answered, clearing her throat as if there was something in it. She wiped at her eyes, her sleeve dragging across her cheeks. “That storm was so much worse.”

“I’m sorry.” Mikumo whispered. He felt like he’d done something wrong, like this was his fault. The storm before and the storm coming for them now.

“Oh, honey.” His mother whispered, stretching an arm around him and pulling him closer, looking down at him. “You have nothing to be sorry for, okay? You are so brilliant and I love you so much. Don’t you know that?”

Mikumo smiled, setting his head down on his mom’s shoulder and tightening his arms. “I love you too.”

His mom tilted her head back and wiped her face again, soaking up the moisture dripping down her cheeks. “Must be starting to rain. We should get going or he’s going to be mad that we’re late.”

Mikumo shuddered, but watched as his mom dropped down from the sea wall and held her arms out for him. He slid to the edge on his butt and then let himself fall off the side, absolutely trusting that he would be caught.

He dropped into a warm embrace, an arm circling around his waist to hold him against his mom. “You’re still so small.” Her comforting voice whispered in Mikumo’s ear and he leaned back with a pout.

“No, I’m not, I’m getting bigger.” He asserted, lifting an arm to show his muscles.

Inko smiled, scraping her hand across his scalp, messing his hair up. “Sure you are.”

She didn’t sound like she believed him and Izuku leaned back down, setting his head on her familiar shoulder. She smelled like home; like chocolate and roses. A smell that was all hers.

Usually he’d demand to walk, but he was just so tired now and he was grateful for the reprieve. His legs hurt, as did his head, and it was nice to just let his eyes close and to allow himself to relax before what he knew was coming.

He didn’t bother mentioning to his mom that it wasn’t raining yet, and that he knew those had been tears on her face.

-X-

Consciousness seeped in slowly, breaking his dream apart like so much fragile glass.

His chest rumbled uncomfortably, an unfamiliar vibration, and Izuku’s first eyelids slid open before blinking groggily, his head turning on its own while he continued to wake up.

“Izu?” A voice murmured in question, sounding far away. “Can you hear me?”

Izuku’s chest rumbled again, a sound like a cross between a growl and a deep grumble, and he tried to clear the thick sludge of his mind, licking his dry and cracked lips. There was brightness digging claws into his retinas and he didn’t want to open his eyes all the way to face it. “Hey, Izuku, it’s okay.”

Izuku frowned as the reassuring and concerned tone of voice registered. Was that…? Where was he?

He blinked his second eyelids away, wincing at the flare of light, peering through it to see pale blue walls, pictures of fish ‘swimming’ across them and he reached outward, his arm dropping when he didn’t have the strength to hold it up.

What happened? What was going on? Why did he feel so numb ?

“Midoriya.” Another voice sounded and Izuku’s growling intensified immediately, filling the room threateningly.

“Oh, wow, okay.” A warm grip settled across his arm and Izuku flinched, trying to pull away and sit up at the same time, but his hand fell through open air where he’d tried to support himself and he yelped, a sharp squeak before he was falling backward through open air.

Izuku’s arm was snatched and he was pulled back up easily, a shock of purple flaring across his vision.

His body seemed to give out and he closed his eyes against it all, his eyes creasing in preparation for pain. There were hands on him, manhandling him, and he let them for the moment as he fought to recall his last memory, but it was just… blank. He knew he expected to be hurt, to be prodded and stabbed and injected and harmed.

He could remember Bakugou… and so much fear … he could remember struggling to breathe and then… it was just blank.

Izuku tried to take a deep breath, eyes still closed, brows drawn together. His mind felt muddled, his senses dulled unbearably. His tongue felt thick and dry, and his body radiated feelings of wrong .

He was afraid.

Izuku opened his eyes again slowly, peeking through second eyelids to see the purple hair once more and then the white of a small room, the sight of medical equipment immediately making itself known.

Izuku inhaled cool air sharply, eyes opening the rest of the way, his pulse doubling as he shrank backward. His thoughts were lethargic and did not feel like his own, and he was trying so hard to fight past it. It was like attempting to swim through syrup.

There was an IV stand next to him, connected to his arm, probably the source of the slow crawl of his thoughts. There were white walls and a table with a computer off to the side. A partially open closet with a white coat hanging out of it.

And he could feel tight lines against his cheeks, a strap around his head.

Mask.

His hand lifted, unfamiliarly sharp nails dragging against the skin of his face before settling against rough plastic, panic rising in him. Notagain, notagain, notagainnotagain.

Please.

He didn’t want to go back in.

There was a voice speaking, but Izuku tugged at the mask, eyes stinging. It wasn’t as bright in here as before, as if someone had shut window curtains or something, but what light there was still stung at his eyes, like pinpricks of needles against the orbs.

Izuku swallowed dryly, nails digging beneath the plastic, a high pitched noise growing in his chest, vibrating up his throat as he yanked the wretched thing off his face, his nails leaving shallow scratches across his skin.

All of a sudden he was enveloped in a tight hold, his body pulled forward to fall against soothing warmth. Izuku turned his face, rough fabric rubbing against his forehead and cheek. His wrist was taken, the mask still clutched in his hand, and Izuku didn’t respond or move in anyway. He allowed himself to be held, body trembling, confusion clouding his mind.

Where was he? Was this real?

This felt like Hoshi. This sounded like Hoshi.

Izuku sucked in a breath that was too hot, causing his chest to tighten, a wheezing cough pushing out of him as his eyes clenched shut.

“Izu, you’re safe now. You’re with me, Hoshi... Aizawa is here too and… The mask needs to stay on, okay? And the IV needs to stay in too. You’re… pretty sick, Izu.”

It was really him.

It was Hoshi.

He’d… He was here.

Arms tightened even more around him and Izuku lifted a shaking hand, shoving his face into the hard planes of Hitoshi’s chest, fingers tightening in a soft shirt, his nails dragging against the cotton. The embrace around him was protective, like there was danger of being torn apart, like Hitoshi would never let him go.

Things were getting a bit clearer now but he still didn’t understand… he didn’t know what had happened… he didn’t know…

But it was okay. It was fine, as long as Hoshi was here. It would be okay because Izuku trusted him. Hoshi wouldn’t let them do anything to him. But… where were they? Hitoshi couldn’t be… they couldn’t be there .

“Izu?” Hitoshi rubbed his back gently, arms tensing around Izuku as he pushed his unmasked face even harder into the other’s chest. His own lungs felt like they were taking up too much space in his chest, his heart pattering rapidly against his ribs. His arms were bandaged and he could feel…

Izuku suddenly jerked back, eyes going wide. He met purple orbs full of surprise as his hand dropped away, clenching in the soft cloth of bedsheets, his breaths quickening.

His right hand lifted and Hitoshi realized what he was doing at the same time that Aizawa did at the end of the room.

“Izu, wait.”

Aizawa stood, striding across the room as Hitoshi grabbed for his wrist. Izuku flinched away from Aizawa, shoving himself backward, yelping when his arm gave out and he almost tumbled off the bed again.

His teacher’s hand jerked out to grab him but Izuku’s jaw snapped open, head moving more quickly than anyone had expected it to be able to at the moment. Sharp teeth sank into warm flesh, dragging Aizawa to his knees as Izuku fell off the bed, onto the floor, taking Aizawa with him as the man tried not to tear his hand even more.

Blood bubbled between Izuku’s teeth and someone touched his arm, softly. He growled in warning, not releasing his grip, eyes flicking around the room. “Shinsou, hit the-”

“Already did.” Hitoshi’s voice was thick, as if near tears.

“Good, stay back.” Aizawa murmured, voice strangely calm.

“He’s not an animal .” Hitoshi forced out, hands around his middle, and Aizawa shook his head.

“Just stay there.” Aizawa looked back at Izuku, eyes strangely kind, lifting his left hand so Izuku could see exactly where it was. “I’m not gonna hurt you, kid. Shinsou would kill me before I did anything to bring harm to you.”

Izuku’s eyes slid to Hitoshi who nodded, wiping his nose. “He’s fuckin’ right. I know exactly where I’d hide the body, too.”

Aizawa turned his head, blinking at the purple haired kid in concern before sighing and looking back at Izuku. “Do you think you could release my hand please?”

Izuku hesitated, eyes narrowing. He took in tired, dark eyes and messy black hair. Even with his neck bare of his scarf this man was known to Izuku, this was his teacher. This was Eraserhead, the man he’d known for years. “Please,” the man repeated gently, unmoving.

Izuku finally lifted his head, teeth detaching from flesh, one tooth remaining embedded behind in his teacher’s hand. “Kid, it’s going to be-”

“Hosh-shi.”

One grating stutter was all it took. Hitoshi vaulted the bed like an olympic athlete, grabbing Izuku and crushing him against his body. Izuku clutched onto him, closing his eyes, coughs ripping apart his chest.

Aizawa stood as the door opened, one nurse and a doctor entering. Aizawa approached them, letting them know what had just happened while Hitoshi wiped blood from Izuku’s mouth with a bundle of wetted paper towels he’d gotten from the sink.

The nurse quickly sat Aizawa down to look at his hand, saying something about how dirty mouths were and how sick Izuku was, mentioning that everyone in this room was going to need preventative medicine. Hitoshi didn’t care, dropping the paper towels onto the floor and pulling Izuku against him, the boy holding onto him with sharp tipped fingers, still hacking, as if he couldn’t get enough hair, fighting for each and every breath.

The doctor called another nurse before she circled around the bed and crouched in front of the two boys on the floor. She’d retrieved the mask from the bed and handed it to Hitoshi who took it carefully, slipping it back over Izuku’s face, his chest tightening when Izuku whined pitifully.

“It’s okay.” Hitoshi rubbed Izuku’s back, feeling rough scales beneath the fabric of his hospital shirt and restraining the urge to cringe. “It’ll help you breathe.”

His breathing already seemed better, even from just a moment. Izuku was coughing less and his chest expanded more without catching.

Hitoshi watched the doctor carefully as she seemed to scan the two of them with calculating eyes. The doctor was small and short, with black hair and yellow eyes. Two yellow horns also poked out at the tops of either side of her forehead, near her hairline. Her eyes seemed kind enough but Hitoshi wasn’t about to release Izuku to her when he seemed so… scared.

Izuku was shaking in his grasp, his second eyelids closed completely. “Could you let him go, please?” The doctor asked. “We need to run a few test now that he’s awake, and-”

“No.” Hitoshi shook his head. “That’s not a good idea.”

“You can’t be with him for these tests. There are several factors present that impose a great risk to Midoriya’s health that need to be taken care of as soon as possible.” The doctor stated clearly, medically. Her tone was gentle, but it was as if she didn’t care, as if she was just reading out of a book.

Hitoshi narrowed his eyes and then lowered his head, whispering by Izuku’s ear. “I’m sorry. Just for a second. She’ll see.”

Hitoshi lifted his arms from Izuku, sitting the green haired boy up before standing and stepping away.

That keening noise came back, Izuku’s claw like nails scrabbling against the linoleum as he tried to force himself to stand, eyes roving from person to person but always coming to settle on Hitoshi.

“He’s gonna rip his IV out.” Hitoshi warned flatly, watching as the IV line tangled around Izuku’s foot as he shakily began rising.

The doctor’s eyes widened and she reached out. “I wouldn’t.” Aizawa voiced from the other side of the room, still with the nurse, an absolutely exasperated look on his face.

Izuku growled viciously, baring sharp teeth at the doctor, one tooth already moving into place from where he’d just lost one to Aizawa’s hand.

Hitoshi stepped forward, deciding that enough was enough.

Izuku fell into his arms, his chest still rumbling with a low growl.

Hitoshi was hurting. Izuku was so… different. Not just physically. He’d never been so… cautious or afraid. He was always so outgoing and… happy.

Hitoshi lifted his chin, arms enclosing around Izuku as he helped him back to the bed, aware of his shaking legs. This was temporary , he told himself. Izuku had just… he’d just… Hitoshi just needed to be there for him. That’s all he could do. No matter how much it hurt. He would protect Izuku no matter what.

Izuku kept a hold of Hitoshi's arm, the growl dying down, his human eyelids drooping to be half lidded. Hitoshi sat down next to him on the bed and Izuku leaned against the purple haired boy as the doctor started doing her thing, stating everything that she was doing while Izuku watched with ocean eyes, hissing at her more than once.

Despite what Hitoshi had said to Aizawa, he couldn't deny that Izuku was a bit more… animalistic. He didn’t even know what all this was, the noises, the scales, the eyes. All of it. He didn’t know what to think about it or what to do.

“Alright, I think we’re done for now.” The doctor finally said, holding the clipboard against her stomach. “Midoriya?” Izuku glanced up, head lifting slightly. He’d been struggling not to fall asleep. “Would you like a rundown on your chart?”

At his hip, Hitoshi stiffened and from the other side, Aizawa straightened, watching the doctor. “If you’re uncomfortable, I can ask everyone else to leave so it’s just the two of us.”

Hitoshi winced when Izuku’s grip tightened, claws piercing through his shirt to scrape against his skin. Hitoshi imagined that Izuku didn't have much of an idea about the changes to himself. Based on what Bakugou had said… Izuku hadn’t really had a chance to think about everything, let alone even see all of it.

Everything was such a mess.

“J-jus’ Hoshi.” Izuku murmured and the doctor frowned, glancing at Hitoshi who mouthed, ‘that’s me,’ to her.

She nodded and stood, knees cracking. “Alright, everyone but these two out.”

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at her but nodded, and with a sigh, stood to leave. His hand needed stitches anyway and it wasn’t like they were going to that in there. Plus he needed to have the wound cleaned better and any number of other things. Human mouths were full of bacteria, not even counting the fact that Izuku was so sick.

As Aizawa and the two nurses left, Hitoshi helped Izuku get more comfortable on the bed. The boy seemed to be having trouble remaining awake and Hitoshi couldn’t help but wonder if he would even remember any of this. He didn’t seem to recall the first time he’d woken.

Whatever was in the IV seemed to be doing just as much harm as good, combined with the obvious trauma of all that had happened to him. Hitoshi was just so worried.

“Okay, Midoriya, are you sure you want… Hoshi? In here?” The doctor asked and Izuku growled at her.

Hitoshi ran a hand over Izuku’s arm before meeting the doctor’s eyes. “Just call me Shinsou.”

“Ah, right. Okay.” The doctor nodded. “Anyway, I should have said this already, my apologies, but my name is Michi, and I’ve been assigned as Midoriya’s doctor. I’ll try to go over things quickly and in few words, alright?”

Hitoshi nodded, glancing at Izuku. His friend’s face was turned against him, the plastic of the mask rubbing against his chest. His breathing was more normal than before, but he still seemed to be struggling, his chest occasionally jumping as he coughed.

“When he first came in he was very malnourished and dehydrated, both of which would have been bad enough without the most extreme case of salmonella I have ever seen, which we believe he contracted from his time in the sewers. We’re also working with severe pneumonia and a blood infection. Which is why you as well, Shinsou, will need preventative medication after this.”

The doctor stood at the end of the bed, glancing at the clipboard before looking back up at them, eyes narrowing. “We couldn’t give him a blood transfusion because of the irregularities in his blood. It was too likely that his body would react negatively to it. Any mistake, any issue, when he first arrived, would have been too much for his body to handle. Midoriya’s immune system is compromised. We must proceed carefully.”

Had Izuku really been so close to...

“How long…” Hitoshi swallowed thickly, squeezing Izuku’s shoulder. “How long will this last?”

The doctor’s mouth turned downward on one side before she pressed her lips together. “He’ll remain here for at least a few more days while we work through the illnesses with quirks and medical aid, and then he can recover at home if that’s what he wishes. But, there’s more to it than that. I’m sure you’ve noticed the…” Michi reached up to touch the back of her head and Hitoshi winced, recalling the feeling of cold metal against his fingers.

“It needs to be removed but the procedure will be quite invasive. The device is connected directly to his spinal cord, touching the base of his brain. Cerebrospinal fluid is fed into it and it is constantly taking in new information and it appears to have been transmitting it, though it’s no longer doing that. I’ve never seen anything like it, no one has. It’s…” Doctor Michi trailed off, clearing her throat, as if pushing down her awe of whatever had been done to Izuku in favor of bedside manner.

She was pissing Hitoshi off.

The doctor went on. “As long as Midoriya is strong enough, the removal is scheduled for two days from now. I will not be conducting the surgery. That will be left to a brain surgeon flying in from Germany sometime tonight.”

The room went uncomfortably silent and Hitoshi realized, absently, that he wasn’t breathing and forced himself to take in air. His hands were trembling and he fought to control himself. Izuku was silent, still shaking, and awake, but otherwise unmoving.

Hitoshi breathed deeply, closing his eyes for a second to center himself before looking back at the doctor. “What about everything else. What about his scales and nails…”

“Ah, yes.” The doctor straightened, looking relieved. “There is nothing inherently harmful, that we know of, about the other changes to his body. Though, we have no record of what his normal was before… all this.” Hitoshi frowned, brow furrowing, remembering what Nezu had said about Izuku having no documentation.

“His scales are most similar to placoid scales, like that of many sharks,” the doctor went on. “The claws on his feet and hands are similar to many reptiles. His eyes are unique and brain imaging shows that a large portion of his brain is dedicated to the function of his vision, edging out his ability to taste and smell. The visual portion of his brain has grown over the other two senses, unlike anything in any human I’ve ever seen without a solely visual quirk. Midoriya is completely unique. There has never been anyone like him, and there never will be again. That’s for sure.”

“What does that mean? ” Hitoshi sighed. He was developing a headache and this doctor was irritating him to no end. She was just too interested in Izuku, too awed by it all. Hitoshi just wanted Izuku to be okay, he didn’t care about all… all this crap. He just wanted his ocean back.

“It means that treating Midoriya is more difficult.” Doctor Michi straightened, eyes leveling on Hitoshi. “His body may be different, but he still has a lot of human characteristics. His mind is still human and you seem to be the only person he trusts. There is no one on his abysmally short records, no family at all. The only person he has listed is you, through his high school no less. He’s going to need you. Are you prepared for that?”

Hitoshi leaned back, scowling. Who did this doctor think she was? “I’ll take care of him.” The derogatory insult he was thinking of went unsaid, but he felt like the doctor heard it anyway and she nodded.

“Alright, I think that’s enough for now. I’ll speak to one of the nurses. Someone should be coming in soon to change his bandages and IV, and to check you over as well. His vitals aren’t where we want them, but hopefully they can settle soon. Though, it doesn’t help that we don’t know exactly what his normal is. We’ll be monitoring him very closely, and checking in more often than anyone will probably want.”

“As long as he can get better, I don’t care.” Hitoshi stated, voice low, and doctor Michi nodded.

“Good. With Midoriya’s mental state where it’s at, you’ve been allowed to stay for as long as you’re willing. I’ll be in again tomorrow morning with Midoriya’s neurosurgeon to discuss plans. Since he has no emergency contacts or family, he needs to agree to everything on his own.” She deposited the chart back at the end of the bed before heading for the door, glancing back. “I’ll be sending up some food for him, try to get him to eat. He needs it.”

“Wait, he doesn’t eat-” The door shut and Hitoshi fell back with an annoyed sigh. “-meat…”

Hitoshi glanced down at Izuku, noting that he still hadn’t moved. “Izu? Are you alright?” Dumb question. Hitoshi was an idiot, why would he-

“Hoshi…” Izuku rasped.

“Yeah?” Hitoshi ignored the flutter in his stomach at the nickname, at the reminder of Izuku being so near, of being back .

“I n-need to see.” Hitoshi went still, heart pounding. He was so caught up in his surprise that he missed the beginning of Izuku pulling away, shifting his legs out in front of him slowly. He was wearing hospital pants but his feet were bare, and Hitoshi heard his sharp inhale and the following coughing fit when he saw his toes, now tipped in sharp claws instead of regular nails.

Hitoshi lifted a hand, rubbing Izuku’s back, face pained. This had to be too much for Izuku. This would be too much for anyone. It was too much for Hitoshi.

Izuku recovered from his coughing fit, shaking harder now than before.

He was holding his arms out and looking down at them, at the patches of scales, at the bandages, at the brand .

The heart monitor at the side of the bed was getting faster and Hitoshi was growing more desperate. He pushed Izuku’s arms down, holding onto his wrists. “Izuku, it’s okay. You don’t need to worry about all that right now, it’s okay.”

Izuku looked up, eyes pooling with tears that didn’t overflow. “Who am I?”

Hitoshi flinched back, blood rushing loudly in his ears before he took a deep, calming breath and scooted closer to Izuku. He was on his knees now, at his side in the middle of the bed, both of Izuku's small wrists clutched in his hands, his fingers completely encircling them. “Izu.” He whispered, the corner of his mouth lifting in a wry smile. “Don’t you know who you are? You’re my ocean, right? And I’m your sun.”

Izuku gasped, eyes widening, both eyelids drawn aside to show eyes as deep as the ocean itself, green and yellow, his pupils expanded and shimmering with unshed tears. “You’re my…”

“Sun.” Hitoshi repeated, more cemented this time, leaving no room for argument.

A shudder ran through Izuku’s body and he folded forward. Hitoshi released his wrists, taking Izuku’s shoulders and pulling his small body against his chest. Izuku didn’t make a sound, letting Hitoshi pull him, adjusting his legs so that he was curled against Hitoshi completely, safe in the circle of his arms and legs.

Hitoshi swallowed back his own tears, hugging Izuku, shoving his face into short, poofy hair. It was soft and salty, if a bit grimy. It could honestly use a wash or two or three.

Hitoshi blinked, turning his head so that his cheek was on the crown of Izuku’s head and he could be heard. “Izu, would you like me to wash your hair?” The boy had always loved Hitoshi playing with his hair, braiding it or brushing it. Maybe this would be familiar, maybe it would remind him of who he really was. 

Izuku stiffened and a long second went by before he hesitantly nodded. Hitoshi relaxed, cradling Izuku against him once again.

A nurse did end up coming back, carrying chicken soup, which Hitoshi was quick to send away with a scowl and a request for vegetable broth and hair washing items. Izuku had fallen asleep against him, his body quivering even in sleep, brow furrowed, the occasional growl or whine escaping him.

When the nurse finally came back she carried a tray of food, a bag hanging from her arm. She apologized for the earlier mistake and introduced herself as simply Aoi and then set the tray down and asked to change Izuku’s bandages.

Hitoshi sighed, but tugged on the webbing between Izuku’s fingers to wake him up, knowing it was important that his bandages be changed.

Izuku grumbled, turning his face into Hitoshi and pulling his hand away from him. Hitoshi smirked, grabbing it before Izuku could hit beneath him and he tugged on the webbing again. “Wake up, Izu. Your bandages need changed.”

“No.” Izuku muttered and Hitoshi chuckled. There was at least one thing that hadn’t changed.

Hitoshi turned the other boy away from him so that his back was against his chest, and lifted Izuku’s arms up on his own so that the nurse could change the bandages. Izuku growled as the nurse began unwinding the white strips from his arms and Hitoshi could feel the vibration against his chest, low and threatening.

But the nurse was quick, baring Izuku’s healing wounds to the room, to Hitoshi.

There were scars, including the one from the USJ on his bicep where that one guy had grabbed him, and then all the ones that he had received from working as Riptide. Or maybe not. Maybe some of them were from something else, something in Izuku’s past.

There was so much Hitoshi didn’t know.

The fresh wounds themselves were more like puncture marks, deep and still healing, glistening with glowing blood. Despite that, they looked so much better than when Hitoshi had first seen them, when he had pulled him by the arms from the sea.

“I need to get his shirt off.” The nurse said apologetically and Izuku’s eyes opened, narrowing.

“Are you sure?” Hitoshi asked, watching Izuku carefully.

“He has wounds on his spine and back as well.” She said, expression softening. “I need to see them.”

Hitoshi frowned but helped Izuku to the front of the bed. The nurse reached forward to remove the shirt and Izuku’s growl intensified, his lip curling up. “Wait, wait.” Hitoshi held up a hand, remembering what happened to Aizawa vividly. “I’ll do it, it’s fine.”

The nurse raised a brow but stepped away as Hitoshi gripped Izuku’s shirt on either side, pulling it over his head without so much as a peep.

It was almost frightening how much Izuku trusted him compared to everyone else.

Or maybe it was just doctors and people trying to touch him.

Was Hitoshi the only person that could touch him without the threat of being bitten?

Getting his shirt off was difficult, and the nurse guided him verbally in removing Izuku’s mask and working around the IV lines. She promised to get a backless shirt for him after this, to make the process easier. Apparently it should have been done anyway, and Hitoshi caught her complaining about this hospital’s inadequacy beneath her breath, which somehow made him feel better.

After the trouble of wrestling the shirt off, and without his mask, Izuku was having difficulty breathing. There were spots of red high on his cheeks and his breaths were ragged and wet sounding. He was bent forward slightly, hair in his eyes, and Hitoshi moved it away after quickly strapping the mask back on.

Izuku coughed and the nurse pressed a stethoscope against his back with a frown as Izuku shuddered at the cold feeling. Hitoshi watched the nurse questioningly and she shook her head, pasting a bright smile on her face before grabbing the chart and writing something down.

“Let’s get this over with.” She exclaimed and Izuku leaned away from her, into Hitoshi.

“I’ve got him, go ahead.” Hitoshi said, holding on to Izuku like he would a wild cat that he was afraid would attack something.

With a start, Hitoshi realized that that was exactly how he was treating Izuku, and how the other boy was acting. Like a feral cat, and treating him so, was working. Izuku was barely talking aside from the animalistic noises. He was lashing out and biting, wild.

He was so obviously terrified .

Hitoshi used to feed a bunch of feral cats outside of one of his foster family’s houses; splitting up fights sometimes and building small areas for them to sleep in. Izuku was acting just like them.

Hitoshi hated every second of this. He wanted Izuku to heal so he could get them home.

The thought of Izuku being like a feral cat was painful and Hitoshi tightened his hold as the nurse quickly removed sticky bandages with deft hands, touching his skin as little as possible.

She let the wounds get some air while she checked over everything else, Izuku visibly getting more and more upset, his hand lifting, bunching Hitoshi’s shirt in a shaking fist, the keening sound returning. A noise of despair.

Nurse Aoi eventually leaned away. “Okay, Midoriya. Can you tell me if anything is hurting?”

Izuku didn’t answer, eyes clenched shut. Hitoshi frowned. “Izu, it’s alright. I’ve got you, remember? You’re not alone.”

He’d never be alone.

There was a moment of silence where there was nothing but the sound of the machines within the room.

To Izuku, it was too loud, but at the same time he could feel the silence. He could feel everything deep in his body, like a hollow stinging, and he just wanted it all to go away.

He felt like he’d lost control of everything, all at once. He felt weak and helpless. He felt like he was fighting a tide, pushing and pushing with everything he had.

But there was nothing in the world stronger than the ocean.

Izuku swallowed, biting at the inside of his cheek as his grip partially relaxed and he exhaled unevenly, eyelids lifting. He turned his head, looking at the nurse sideways, scanning her for a sign of danger, for a sign of familiarity, looking for any semblance of the other doctor. The one that…

Izuku whined, closing his eyes again and swallowing. Hitoshi said something else that Izuku missed and he forced himself to calm down, to look past the fear, to look at things objectively.

He channeled Riptide.

His eyes opened all the way as he took stock of his body to answer the nurses’ question. He really didn’t feel much pain, all in all. He mostly felt numb, which he thought was worse. He’d rather feel what was going on with his body than not know. The only pain that he did feel though was…

His hand raised from the bed toward the base of his skull and the tips of his nail, claw things glanced across metal. Goosebumps raised across his skin and he shivered, looking toward the nurse.

“The site on your head hurts?” The nurse gleaned from his movements and he nodded tentatively.

“Okay, I can get you something for that, but it’ll sting at-”

Izuku shook his head rapidly, a growl burbling from his chest. He didn’t want any more injections or pills or medicine, he didn’t want anything else in him that he didn’t know or understand. It was already too much, this was already-

“Okay, Midoriya. We won’t do anything else without your consent alright? You’re in control here.” The nurse’s voice was soft, kind, and Izuku looked up in surprise, second eyelids blinking once, then again.

He hadn’t expected that. He hadn’t expected for a doctor of all people to… be nice.

He nodded in answer, lifting his arms on his own, albeit with difficulty, so that the woman could rewrap them. Her touch was gentle, and she was careful not to touch his wounds. Her movements were slow and calculated, making sure that Izuku could see every move she was making.

He was surprised that she was willing to be so close to him after he’d literally bitten his own teacher and a hero. Hitoshi too. Why would anyone be willing to be near him? He was… he was a monster, he wasn’t human . Izuku didn’t know what he was anymore. He didn’t even know who he’d been before.

He was asked to turn and the nurse listened to his lungs again before cleaning the wounds and taping bandages over his back. By the time she was done another nurse had brought in a backless shirt and Hitoshi helped him get it on.

The nurse checked a few other things, Izuku having difficulty staying awake, jerking away anytime she got too close while he was drifting. Eventually she finished and apologized for bothering them, telling Izuku to try to eat something and get some rest and then switching her attention to Hitoshi.

“For you, I have a quirk-enhanced Immuno-booster, to prevent you from getting anything from Midoriya, which you need if you’re going to be staying with him.” She removed a capped syringe from her pocket and Izuku immediately growled, tired eyes narrowing.

Hitoshi patted his shoulder. “It’s okay, Izu, I don’t mind shots.” Izuku glanced up at him, growl tapering away. He shook his head and grabbed onto Hitoshi’s arm. “Izuku, I promise it’s okay.”

Hitoshi lifted his left arm for the nurse, nodding to her to go ahead, feeling the drumbeat of Izuku’s heart against his arm as he pressed in close, obviously not liking what the nurse was doing.

Hitoshi made sure to show no outward sign of discomfort as the nurse finished, pulling the needle out of his arm and dabbing away the pinprick of blood with a cotton ball. “All done.” She smiled. “I’ll be going now. I’ll be here all night, please don’t be afraid to call if you need anything. There’s a button next to the bed.”

She smiled at them and exited the room, leaving them alone.

Izuku breathed out, eyes closing, forehead pressing against Hitoshi’s arm. “Izu? Are you… do you need anything?”

Hitoshi’s voice was hesitant, as if he was afraid of harming Izuku in some way with his words, and Izuku hated that. He didn’t want Hitoshi to feel like he had to be careful with him.

So he opened his eyes and turned to look up, gesturing vaguely at his hair. He liked the idea of Hitoshi washing it. He wanted some semblance of normality, even if it was just Hitoshi washing his hair. He just wanted something normal.

Hitoshi smiled kindly and nodded. “I’ll wash your hair for you, Izu.” He stood, grabbing the bag from the counter where the nurse had set it and found small bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and a small bowl for water as well as a few towels.

Hitoshi grabbed a chair, pulling it up to the sink before glancing back with a frown. Izuku sat in the middle of the bed, head drooping, eyes half lidded. Hitoshi could wheel the oxygen closer, but the heart monitor couldn’t be moved that he knew of. Could he move the IV?

No matter what, Hitoshi was going to figure this out.

He set the materials out and adjusted the back of the chair against the sink, before crossing the bed to grab the IV in one hand and the oxygen tank in the other. Izuku watched with tired eyes as he dragged them both to the other side, by the sink, so that the lines would reach. Then he went back, eyeing the heart monitor. He noted the handle on the top and raised a brow before shrugging and grabbing it, hauling it off its stand and bringing it around to set against the wall.

Hitoshi turned back to Izuku, hands on his hips, triumphant. The corners of reptilian eyes crinkled in an almost smile and Hitoshi exhaled evenly. He’d get that smile all the way back if it was the last thing he did.

He walked forward and lifted Izuku into his arms, the other boy squeaking in surprise, but letting Hitoshi carry him to sit on the chair. Izuku sagged back, trembling. Hitoshi frowned and returned to the bed, grabbing the blanket to drape around Izuku like a shawl. He tucked it behind him, against the sink and pushed it around his neck, over his gills.

Izuku blinked lazily up at him and Hitoshi suddenly wished he had his phone to take a picture. He just looked so cute, wrapped up in the blanket, looking up at Hitoshi…

Hitoshi’s stomach swam with feelings and he grimaced, stepping to the side of the sink and starting the water, letting it get warm. “Let me know if it’s too hot, okay?” He mumbled.

“Mhm,” Izuku hummed in response, letting Hitoshi guide his head back.

Both sets of eyelids closed at the feeling of Hitoshi’s palm on his forehead and Izuku sighed. He was glad that his friend was near, that he had someone that he trusted. He didn’t know what he would do if Hitoshi weren’t here.

Warm water hit Izuku’s head and he flinched, not expecting it. He could sense the water, but he hadn’t been focusing on it. He was so tired.

“Sorry, you alright?” Hitoshi asked, the faucet shutting off. Izuku only hummed an affirmative and Hitoshi frowned, pulling Izuku’s bangs back, turning the water back on.

He wetted all of the dark curls, watching Izuku for any sign of discomfort. When there were none, Hitoshi grabbed the shampoo, dumping a small amount onto his palm and then slathering it through Izuku’s hair.

A deep, quiet rumble reverberated through the room and Hitoshi blinked in surprise, looking down at Izuku. He hadn’t moved, eyes closed, mask fogging with breath through parted lips. The rumble changed with each breath, louder on the exhale.

Was Izuku… purring? Did reptiles purr?

Hitoshi really needed to learn more about all these changes. He certainly hadn’t expected Izuku to purr .

The idea of Izuku being like a feral cat increased significantly.

Hitoshi scrubbed gently at Izuku’s scalp, working the suds of the shampoo through all of his hair before rinsing it all out and then grabbing the conditioner for his hair. It was going to be so soft after all this.

The purring faded as Hitoshi got the conditioner washed out and he looked down. Izuku’s pulse was steady and his breathing was nearly even. His body was lax with one arm folded across his lap beneath the blanket, and the other hanging at his side. He had fallen asleep.

Hitoshi sighed and quickly finished his hair, grabbing a towel to dry it, gritting his teeth at memories of Izuku drying his long hair with his quirk, splashing Hitoshi with the water and laughing at his annoyed expression.

Those times weren’t gone. They would come again. They just had to get through this sickness and surgery and then go home. Just a few more days.

Once his hair was dry enough Hitoshi lifted Izuku into his arms with ease, his body still covered with the blanket. Izuku hissed out a breath, eyes slitting open to show muted light behind second eyelids. “It’s alright.” Hitoshi murmured, carrying Izuku to the bed. “You should eat something before sleeping, I probably should have gotten you to do that first. Do you think you could handle some vegetable broth?”

Izuku’s mouth turned downward in a deep frown and his eyes opened the rest of the way. “Please, Izu. Will you try?”

Izuku’s shoulders sagged as Hitoshi set him against the back of the bed. “Okay,” he whispered softly and Hitoshi nodded with relief, turning to grab the food tray from the small table, setting it across Izuku’s legs. “You eat too,” Izuku murmured, a shaking hand fumbling with the spoon.

“I’m fine.” Hitoshi answered and Izuku glared at him knowingly.

Hitoshi sighed. “Fine, okay? There’s a menu around here somewhere, I can order something from the cafeteria.”

“Hospitals have cafeteria’s?” Izuku whispered, spooning broth into his mouth and swallowing with a grimace.

“Yeah,” Hitoshi sighed, turning around to search for a menu. He found it on one of the side tables and grabbed it, turning back to sit down but freezing when he saw Izuku sitting absolutely still with a hand on his stomach, all the blood draining from his face.

His eyes flicked up desperately and Hitoshi moved. He grabbed the tray from his lap, setting it aside, then snatched the small trash can from next to the sink and made it to Izuku, thrusting it into his hands and tearing his mask off just in enough time for him to vomit into the can.

Hitoshi made a face but didn’t leave, turning his eyes up and away as he rubbed Izuku’s heaving back.

Eventually it died down and Hitoshi removed the trash can, grabbing some paper towels to wipe Izuku’s face , whom he noticed was shaking worse than before, chest stuttering. His pulse was accelerating and he was giving little coughs.

“Izu?” He tossed the paper towels into the trash and grabbed the oxygen mask back up, affixing it to Izuku’s face as small tears pushed out of the corners of his eyes.

Izuku fell back against the back of the bed and Hitoshi climbed into it, pulling his friend against him. “Thank you for trying to eat. I’m sorry it made you sick.”

Izuku shook his head, chest working as he struggled to get his breathing under control.

“I- I’m broken.” He breathed and then coughed violently, groaning.

Hitoshi’s stomach flipped and he shook his head. “No, no, you’re not, Izu. No.”

This wasn’t what Hitoshi wanted. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

Why did this hurt so much?

Izuku seemed to choke on the air and Hitoshi leaned to the side, hugging Izuku. He took a deep breath. “Izuku, you are the strongest person I have ever known. You are not broken. This is just a bump in the road, alright? You can do this. You have me, too. I’ll help you through it all. I’m not leaving, no matter what. Don’t let this tear you down, you don’t need to do this alone.”

‘With every new wave, another must go.’

Izuku’s chest hitched, burying his face into Hitoshi’s chest, keening. “You know it’s okay to cry, right?” Hitoshi whispered. This wasn’t the first time he’d told Izuku that. He’d never seen him actually cry. “Let it go, let it out. Just cry.”

Izuku shuddered, hands lifting to grab onto Hitoshi’s shirt over his ribs. He keened in the back of his throat as tears began pouring out of his eyes. His chest swelled with a choked sob and he felt Hitoshi’s arms tighten around him, holding him upright, in a protective embrace.

Hot tears coursed down his cheeks, deflected by his mask to drip off his chin, and he clutched at Hitoshi with all of his strength. He could feel his claws, dragging at the fabric of his shirt. His clawed toes pushing at the bed sheets, his scales rubbing the blanket strangely. His eyes burned with the room’s light and his own tears. His gills felt off and he could feel every sound in the entire hospital, every movement, every voice, every bit of all of it.

It was just. Too. much.

So, for the first time that Izuku could remember.

He cried.

-X-

Sometime later, after Izuku had calmed down a bit and had gotten his breathing under control, Hitoshi grabbed the bag he had almost forgotten about from the side of the bed.

“I got you something.” He whispered and Izuku cracked open his eyes.

“Hmm?”

Hitoshi set the white bag down and reached in, removing the gift. He set it down on Izuku’s lap and the boy’s eyes widened dramatically. “It looks like Guren.” He whispered softly and Hitoshi smiled, watching as Izuku picked the shark, stuffed animal up and held it under his chin.

He looked over at Hitoshi, his eyes glowing and bright, the yellow and the green beautiful and mesmerizing. “I love it.” He whispered, squeezing it, eyes closing once again. “Thank you.”

“I thought you might.” Hitoshi murmured, glad Izuku’s eyes were closed so he didn’t see Hitoshi’s cheeks reddening.

Hitoshi laid down next to Izuku as the other boy settled on the bed, surrounded by wires and machines.

They were quiet for a bit. The lights were off and it was dark outside, though the room itself was lit with the muted glow from Izuku’s eyes and body. He was like a too-large night light.

It was somewhere around midnight and the hospital seemed asleep. Hitoshi wondered how Aizawa had gotten them to let Hitoshi stay. He’d probably told them Izuku would attack everyone without Hitoshi there. Which was definitely true.

Izuku did not like hospitals or doctors, that was for sure, but after what Bakugou had said, Hitoshi couldn’t blame him.

Izuku mumbled something and Hitoshi looked over. “What?”

There was no answer and Hitoshi raised a brow. He was already asleep and dreaming. He hoped they were good dreams, but he’d be here for him if they weren’t.

He would always be here.

-X-

He was running, arms swinging and legs pounding at the ground.

His heart was a staccato rhythm in his ears, blood rushing down one side of his face.

The light of a raging fire blazed all around.

Pain.

Blood trickled down his right arm in a steady stream, dripping off the ends of his claws, splattering against the ground in glowing droplets.

A hiss pushed past sharp teeth and Izuku pushed himself harder, feeling the water…

Desperation to be faster, just a little faster.

Somewhere in the distance…

Hitoshi screamed.

Izuku rounded a corner just as a body hit the ground with a sickening thump….

… and everything went white.

Chapter Text

The nurse finished stitching and bandaging Shouta’s hand, dismissing him with an irritated look on her face when Shouta denied the aftercare instructions or counsel with the doctor. He’d been injured enough times and in enough different ways that he knew how to take care of himself afterward. This wasn’t the first time he’d been bitten by a person, sharp teeth or otherwise, and he was sure that, unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the last.

Hizashi had other ideas, standing as soon as Shouta walked back into the waiting room, stark white bandages obvious against the dark of his hero uniform. “What happened?!” The loud man screamed and Shouta flashed red eyes at him in a glare, causing him to raise his hands in apology, but ignoring the irritated looks cast his way by the others in the waiting room. He was accustomed to those.

“Sit down,” Shouta commanded gruffly and dropped into the seat Shinsou had been in before they had gone into Midoriya’s room.

Hizashi abided Shouta’s request and sat down at his side, reaching forward to lift Shouta’s hand in a careful grasp, running a thumb across the edge of the bandages gingerly and then looking up at Shouta, waiting for an explanation as to how he got injured in a hospital of all places.

Shouta sighed, allowing Hizashi to hold his hand in a rare, public display of affection. “It was the Problem Child.” Shouta finally explained, head tilting to lean against the back of the seat, heavy eyes closing. Just for a second… just a second, he wanted to rest. “He bit me, but I don’t think he realized what he was doing. It was all instinct, like a cornered animal.”

Hizashi made a startled noise, red eyes going wide as he looked over at his exhausted husband. “What happened ?”

“He bit me when I tried to touch him, to help him because he was falling off his bed. That kid has quite the mouthful.” Shouta grimaced. “He lost a whole tooth in my hand.”

“Oh, wow.” Hizashi raised his brows, releasing Shouta’s hand and leaning forward. “He’s sick though, right? I don’t really know a lot, but he is sick? Did you get the wound cleaned and everything?”

Shouta opened his eyes to scowl at Hizashi. “Yes, of course, I got it cleaned.”

Hizashi raised his hands again, “Sorry, I was just checking.”

Shouta shook his head, running a hand down his face. “I know, I know. Sorry. I’m just tired.”

“Well, we can’t sleep just yet, unfortunately. We need to talk to Tsukauchi and Nezu is calling for another meeting, and I also wanted to talk to you about Bakugou.” Hizashi stood up, stretching a hand out to grasp Shouta’s forearm, ignoring the other man’s deep grumble of complaint as he pulled him up.

“Alright, fine.” Shouta shoved his hair behind his shoulders. “Say what you need to on the way to Nezu. I’ll text Tsukauchi to meet us somewhere between U.A. and there to reduce the amount of trips.” He spoke with a groan, shadowed eyes seeming to sink further into his skull with every word, the deep bags beneath them seeming to be attempting to take over his entire face.

“Good plan.” Hizashi answered, all too aware of the depth of his husband’s exhaustion. “Neither of us is awake enough to drive, so we can take the train.”

Shouta nodded. They hadn’t slept in… was it two days?

“Ugh.”

“Let’s stop at home before anything else.” Hizashi suddenly said. “I want a shower first and to get out of this costume. We don’t technically need to be in costume for these meetings do we?”

Shouta smirked. “Must suck to have leather and twelve pounds of hair gel as part of your uniform.”

Hizashi pouted, shoulders dropping. “Not everyone can pull off pajamas for their hero persona.”

Shouta only shrugged, texting Nezu to let him know to call the hospital to make sure Shinsou was allowed to stay with Midoriya. He did not want to deal with the repercussions if the kid mauled a nurse, and it seemed the other boy was the only one that could keep him calm. And he didn’t doubt Nezu could get it done.

That rat was scary sometimes, but he always got the job done.

They finished walking to the train station, leaving their car at the hospital.

It was halfway there when Hizashi had a brilliant idea and turned to look at Shouta with an eyebrow raised. “What?” Shouta scowled, having been nearly asleep standing up, drowsing against Hizashi.

“What if we just… video called in for all these meetings? I’m sure everyone would be understanding with everything going on.” And Shouta looks like he’d murder anyone within five feet , but he didn’t say that part. He felt like the large empty bubble of space around them on the train spoke volumes, despite there being no other open seats.

Shouta stared at his husband with a dead eyed look before saying flatly, “Zashi, you are brilliant and I love you,” and taking his phone out of his pocket to text both Nezu and Tsukauchi to let them know what they wanted to do.

Hizashi only blinked in surprise before turning to look out the train window, a huge grin splitting his face.

Once home they bathed quickly and dressed, Aizawa in his most comfortable pair of pink sweatpants and a business shirt on, while Hizashi literally wore only his underwear with a business casual top on.

Their laptops sat on the living room table, waiting for the chime of the first meeting beginning. In the meantime, Hizashi cooked a meal somewhere between an early breakfast or a late dinner while Shouta went through paperwork, texting Achilles to update him on everything, knowing the other hero would appreciate it. He seemed to care about Midoriya/Riptide for some reason that Shouta didn’t know about.

They were from the same agency though, maybe he had found out about him somehow, probably by accident. The thought irritated Shouta. He’d worked around Riptide for so long and had never known. Of course, he’d realized he was young but… jeesh.

“So, Bakugou.” Hizashi began and Shouta grunted in response, letting him know he was listening. “Well, I noticed a few things with his parents, and with the little listener himself.”

Shouta glanced up at him, frowning. Hizashi had good instincts and they were very rarely wrong, especially with the small details in people. There was a reason he was the hero many people called for delicate tasks.

“What do you mean?” Shouta asked carefully.

Hizashi paused over the stove, thinking. “I don’t know. I just think we should keep an eye on him. There’s repressed trauma there for sure, plus, after everything that just happened… I guess I just don’t like the way his parents were treating him… and the entire situation...”

Shouta leaned his head into his hand. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ll watch him. Midoriya too… everything that Bakugou said… there’s a lot going on behind the scenes with that kid, we need to keep him safe. The League of Villains isn’t done with him, not after everything, even with All for One captured. There’s something bigger here, something I’m missing.”

Hizashi turned to face his husband, a concerned frown on his face as he crossed the room to stand behind Shouta’s chair, leaning forward to wrap his arms around him. “What about the laptop?”

“It’s still being analysed. It’s going to take time.” Shouta answered deeply, voice irritated.

Hizashi hummed thoughtfully, tightening his arms. “It’s a lot, isn’t it?”

Shouta gritted his teeth, closing his eyes. “Yeah.”

“Do you wanna know what I think?” Hizashi’s voice was low and comforting.

“Of course,” Shouta muttered.

“I think, especially for Shinsou and Midoriya, we should focus on the ‘teacher’ aspect of our jobs. Leave the heroing to the rest. These boys don’t have anyone else, I think we should focus on taking care of and supporting them. I’m worried about them. I haven’t even seen Midoriya.”

Shouta was silent for a moment. “Nezu is working on getting us emergency guardianship of Midoriya, but there are a lot of laws for that kind of thing in Japan. And him technically not even existing is not helping at all, in fact it’s making it more difficult. Shinsou though…” They’d already spoken to his foster parents, and the adoption agency, and the Home… Hizashi and Shouta had talked about and decided on it, but it was more difficult than they’d thought it’d be.

Staying in their house was one thing, but adoption was a completely different world of paperwork and trouble.

“Yeah, I know.” Hizashi sighed, straightening and twisting to crack his back. “I think we should-”

From the living room both laptops dinged and Hizashi sighed, walking forward to turn off the stove. “Let’s get these meetings over with.”

Shouta stood, moving into the living room and dropping to sit in front of his own screen, scowling. He adjusted himself and then answered the call.

Greetings were made, and then Nezu began with little warning, knowing how busy everyone was.

“The dorms are complete and we are going to begin moving the students in this weekend.”

The idea of a full nights’ sleep grew more and more fleeting by the second.

-X-

Izuku snapped awake with a full body jerk, eyes flashing completely open to flick from side to side, chest heaving.

“Izu, hey, hey.”

Izuku jumped, head turning to see Hitoshi sitting up sleepily, watching him with concern, half of his hair smashed down from where he’d been sleeping.

It was bright and his eyes burned with the light. His chest hitched violently and his skin pricked, an uncomfortable feeling of pins and needles across his entire body. He could feel blood dripping down his arm like it was actually there, more of it matted in his hair, and he could still hear Hitoshi screaming in his ears like a siren.

And he could see… he could see him-

Tears flooded Izuku’s eyes and he lifted his hands, hesitating. Hitoshi didn’t wait, closing the distance to pull Izuku against him. “Everything’s okay.” He murmured softly. “I don’t know what you were dreaming, but you’re safe now, alright?”

Izuku nodded against Hitoshi’s chest, focusing on keeping his breathing even and slowing his heart down, the blare of the heart monitor annoying to his sensitive hearing.

Hitoshi’s touch against the exposed scales on his back was a strange feeling, one he wasn’t used to, but he focused on that, allowing the feelings to disperse. Allowing the dream to fade away like fog. Just a dream. Just a dream.

The scales themselves didn’t actually have a lot of feeling, but he could feel the pressure and the drag of Hitoshi’s touch. Izuku didn’t know how he felt about all of it, the scales and the claws and… there was more than that, he knew there was. He could feel things beneath the surface of the skin.

And there was the way he could sense everything, every little thing that seemed to be happening in the hospital, every vibration and movement. Every whisper. He could feel sound .

There was no denying that being in that tank had changed him, just like it had every time before..

 But it hadn't finished, Bakugou had interrupted and Izuku just… he could feel how wrong it was, how wrong he was.

Izuku groaned, shaking his head, and Hitoshi murmured something comforting to him. What would he do without Hitoshi here? Where would he be without his friend?

And all because he’d found him at the entrance exam and offered him memes and snacks. Life really was strange, wasn’t it?

The two held onto each other through the rest of the morning without really speaking much. Izuku didn’t fall back to sleep, just keeping his grip tight on Hitoshi to remind himself that they were both here, they were both safe. Reminding himself that he wasn’t alone.

Nurses checked on them every hour and Izuku growled at them each and every time, especially when they tried to touch him or when they changed I.V. bags. He never answered their questions and just buried his face against Hitoshi for the most part, tracking their movements with his quirk.

It was after the sun came back up that the doctor from the previous day returned, this time with a man alongside her and Izuku flinched, shoving his masked face against Hitoshi’s clavicle hard enough to make him wince.

Hitoshi looked up at the two dryly. “Whatever you want, get it over with so you can leave.”

The doctor from before scowled at Hitoshi. “You’re in the presence of one of the greatest surgeons Europe has to offer, you could-”

“Do I look like I fuckin’ care?” Hitoshi interrupted and the doctor's jaw snapped shut, even as the surgeon leaned his head back in a loud guffaw.

Izuku peeked his head out of Hitoshi’s chest in confusion at the loud sound. “I like this kid. Anyway, Michi, I’ve got it from here, you don’t have to stick around.”

The doctor blinked up at her colleague with a frown, eyes flicking over to Izuku and then back. “But-”

“I’ve got it Michi, go on. You have so many patients that need your help, I can take care of young Midoriya here.” Hitoshi watched as the other man practically pushed the protesting doctor out of the room, the door falling shut behind her.

The surgeon wiped his hands against each other as if ridding himself of something particularly gross while mumbling something in a foreign language beneath his breath.

He abruptly turned back to the two of them and smiled. “Hello, it’s great to meet the both of you. My name is Dr. Heiler. My quirk is a simple intelligence quirk. I understand Midoriya here needs a bit of help?” He spoke in a distinct German accent, but his Japanese was clear enough.

Izuku tensed at his words and Hitoshi tightened his arm around his shoulders warily. The man raised a brow, looking them over. He was short and rotund with bright cheeks and smile lines around his eyes and mouth. He had black hair and soft, dark, green eyes. He looked like a trustworthy person, but Hitoshi had made that mistake before.

“We had a meeting when we arrived to discuss the best options for you.” Dr. Heiler jumped right into the source of his presence, pulling a chair away from the sink and sitting in it backward at the side of the bed. “Unfortunately, with the delicate nature of the removal, there aren’t many options but-”

“I just want it gone.” Izuku murmured and the doctor went silent for a moment, eyes zeroing in on the small boy clutched within the embrace of his friend. He saw so much pain, so much fear, and the desperation to be elsewhere.

“Would you like me to just go with the option that I believe is the best?” Dr. Heiler asked more gently and Izuku nodded. It wasn’t that Izuku trusted the doctor, it was just that he knew next to nothing about the object itself or about what’d had to happen to him for it to be put in and he just…

… he just wanted it gone so he could stop worrying about it and go home.

He just wanted to go home.

“Alright.” The doctor said. “I’ll gather the paperwork for you to sign and then, as long as your vitals remain steady enough, I see no reason why we can’t do this tomorrow morning.”

Hitoshi’s heart skipped a beat and he blinked in surprise. “You’re… you’re removing it tomorrow?” That was so soon , he just got back. Was it even safe?

The doctor stood, tapping his finger tips together. “I don’t see why not. I’ll make sure to have the paperwork sent up, and in the meantime, no solids, Mr. Midoriya. Try to get some more rest and relax. I’m sure that’s difficult, at a time like this. But believe in us. It’ll be okay.”

Izuku glanced up and hissed between rows of sharp teeth at the doctor who only smiled back at him, undisturbed, then left with a wave.

“Izu.” Hitoshi sighed, running a hand through Izuku’s soft, fluffy hair. “It’s probably not a good idea to hiss at your surgeon.”

Izuku grumbled, shoving his face back against Hitoshi’s chest without answering.

“Do you wanna… talk... or anything?” Hitoshi asked quietly, running a hand through Izuku’s hair absently. “You were making a lot of noises in your sleep and… so much has happened. If you need to talk about anything, I’m here, alright.”

Izuku lifted his head away, his hands dropping to his legs as he leaned back, fingers twitching. There was so much going on now. His head felt like a mess, and he couldn’t make any sense of anything, he couldn’t tell the difference between memories and dreams or visions or… he didn’t even know how to begin talking about any of it in a way that could make sense. Because none of it made sense to him.

So he just said what he was sure of. “I don’t… remember a lot of things.” He said quietly, holding his hands up to look at the webbing between his fingers. “I don’t know what is me and what is… other.”

Hitoshi lifted his arm, taking Izuku’s hand in his own, sliding his fingers between Izuku’s to rest above the webbing. “This is all you, even if it wasn’t before, it is now. And that’s okay. It’s okay to change a bit, but you’re still you, Izu.”

Izuku shook his head. “That’s not it. I don’t… I’m not… I can’t…”

Izuku growled beneath his breath and Hitoshi frowned. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“No, you don’t-” Izuku froze, eyes narrowing and head tilting, pupils thinning.

Hitoshi looked up. “What is it?” He asked, glancing around the room, searching for any sign of danger.

“I don’t want this.” Izuku suddenly said and dropped against the bed, shoving his face into Hitoshi’s leg, much to the purple haired boy’s confusion.

He lifted a hand to pat Izuku’s head just as a sharp knock shook the door, resounding around the room. Hitoshi frowned and grabbed the blanket, pulling it over Izuku since he seemed to want to be hidden right now.

“Come in.” He shouted and the door edged open to show the entirety of class 1A minus Bakugou.

“Oh.” He murmured as Iida stepped into the room, a whte bag in his hand. Uraraka followed close behind, then Tsu and Kaminari and Kirishima and Shouji and Tokoyami and everyone else, one by one, into the much too small room.

Hitoshi felt Izuku’s hand clutch against his leg, five claws piercing his pant leg to prick at his skin, and he looked up, taking a deep breath. “Izuku isn’t feeling the best, but thank you for visiting.” Hitoshi said, laying an arm over Izuku’s form carefully.

“Sorry for imposing.” Iida said, bowing before setting his white bag at the end of the bed. That was when Hitoshi noticed that almost everyone else also had one of the white bags from the gift shop, each one of them carefully setting them down on the bed and in chairs. They were also being abnormally quiet for a whole class of teenagers gathered in one small spot, and Hitoshi bet that Iida had spoken to them about it. He’d have to thank him.

“We’re so glad you’re back, Mido, and Bakugou too. We’ve missed you. We were all so worried.” Uraraka had tears in her voice and Izuku leaned his head away from Hitoshi, lifting his eyes above the top of the blanket.

He flinched, hard, at the several loud gasps from his classmates at the sight of his eyes and he ducked back beneath the blanket.

Hitoshi grimaced, looking over the students. “Izuku has… changed a bit.”

“Yeah, thanks for the warning!” Kaminari yelled and Hitoshi felt the vibration of a deep growl against his leg.

Kirishima punched Kaminari in the arm before stepping forward. “What matters is that Mido is back! Us shark teeth bros have to stick together, no matter what! Right?”

Izuku gritted his teeth beneath the blanket, eyes open and bright in their own light within the pocket he rested in. A second passed and then he took a deep breath, lifting his head above the blanket and sitting up, but still leaning against Hitoshi. He took all the comfort from his friend that he could get as he lifted his hand in a small wave, mouth turned downward beneath the oxygen mask.

The class wisely didn’t move toward Izuku, some of them taking seats but most of them remaining standing.

“Sorry, Izu-bro, I can’t stay long, I need to run some weekend errands for my parents.” Kirishima grinned apologetically. “But I hope you feel better!”

“It’s the weekend?” Izuku’s frown deepened beneath the mask and the class went silent, blinking in surprise.

“Y-yeah, it is.” Kirishima answered. “Anyway, I’ll see you soon, hopefully in class, yeah?”

Izuku nodded hesitantly and the red haired boy left. “I should get going too, I wanted to visit Bakugou as well before I head home. Hope you feel better, Midoriya!” Mina waved goodbye and followed Kirishima out the door.

Others left with her until it was only Iida, Uraraka and Todoroki. Everyone else seemed to realize how uncomfortable Izuku was with the room being so crowded and were kind enough to give him his space.

No one had commented on Izuku’s physical changes, instead just focusing on how happy they were that Izuku was back, and both Izuku and Hitoshi began to relax.

Uraraka brought over everyone’s gifts, sitting cross legged at the end of the bed while Todoroki and Iida scooted chairs close to the edge, at Izuku’s side.

Izuku took the first bag that Uraraka offered him and removed an octopus plus with slightly shaking hands. Hitoshi grabbed the empty bag, dropping it onto the floor as Izuku set the plush on his legs, looking down at it with a strange expression on his face.

“Shouji got me this, didn’t he?”

Uraraka cackled , arms around her belly as she howled with laughter. “He did, yeah!” She practically shrieked, folding into herself as her shoulders shook with the force of her laughter.

Hitoshi watched the corner of Izuku’s mouth lifting and couldn’t help his own small smile from reaching his features. Maybe all the class at once had been a bad idea, but having friends around was obviously doing good for him.

Izuku left the plush on his legs, next to the shark plush from Hitoshi, and opened the next bag, removing a strange oblong shape with amorphous blobs floating inside.

Izuku grimaced, brow creasing as he looked up at Hitoshi who quickly took the object away, setting it on the desk. “I think it’s a jellyfish nightlight.” Uraraka looked between the two of them. “Ojirou picked it out. What’s wrong?”

Izuku looked down at his empty hands, wincing when the heart monitor signaled his distress.

“I think it reminded Izu of something that happened.” Hitoshi murmured, rubbing Izuku’s back as he lifted his hands to press his palms into his eyes, focusing on his breathing.

“I’m okay.” He whispered, voice rough, flashes of light behind his eyelids. Memories trailing through his mind, as if to tease him with pain. “Which one is next?”

Izuku dropped his hands and Uraraka forced a slightly strained smile onto her face, brown hair falling forward as she grabbed her own bag from the floor and handed it to Izuku who thanked her. He reached into it, withdrawing another plush, but this one was of a mermaid and Izuku exhaled evenly.

It was colorful, every color of the rainbow in its tail along with long blue hair. “It’s beautiful, Uraraka. Thank you.”

The girl blushed and Iida took the moment to hand his own bag forward, this one not from the hospital. “I brought you something I thought would be helpful during a hospital stay.”

Izuku opened the bag and pulled out a book shaped device, frowning in confusion. “It’s a Reader.” Iida explained. “It’s loaded with some of my favorite books. I got a new one some time ago so I thought you would like to have that one, especially if you have to stay here much longer. I know how dreary long hospital stays can be.”

Blinking in surprise, Izuku lifted his head. “Thank you.” This obviously meant quite a bit to Iida, so therefore it meant a lot to Izuku to receive it. But he did wonder why Iida had been in the hospital a lot, though he didn’t think he should ask. It wasn’t his business.

“I didn’t know what to get, and I know you like graphic shirts, so… here.” Todoroki interrupted the weighted silence by pushing a white bag toward Izuku who glanced at the other boy and then shoved his hand into the bag, removing a tank top. Hitoshi helped him lift it up, holding it in front of him so he could see the design.

‘ Water you doing?’ The shirt read in blocky lettering with a serene image of an ocean scene beneath it.

Izuku stared at the shirt in surprise for a second, then another, in silence, blinking.

Then he lost it.

Izuku snorted loudly, clapping a hand over the mask, eyes crinkling. Hitoshi glanced at him in shock, surprised at his reaction. Izuku bowed his head, shoulders shaking.

“Is he… crying?” Todoroki asked in concern, halfway lifted out of his seat.

Izuku shook his head, another snort erupting from him. “W-water you doing?!” He gasped out loud before snorting once again, one hand over his mask, the other against his chest, eyes closed.

Hitoshi leaned back, mouth stretching up in a smile that fought for control of his face. “Holy shit, Todoroki you genius.”

“I don’t understand.” Todoroki’s brows pulled together.

“Ocean puns, you dolt. Or water puns.” Hitoshi shook his head, his grin widening. “How did I not think of this?”

“Todoroki you really are a genius, you-” Uraraka froze when a hacking cough sounded, all eyes going to Izuku.

Green curls bent low and both Iida and Todoroki gasped at the sight of metal exposed at the back of his head. Izuku didn’t realize they could see, focused on fighting for breath through his coughing fit, triggered by his weak laughter.

Hitoshi smoothed a hand comfortingly down his back, across his spine and his scales. His own claws scraped against his chest and his other hand clenched in the bed sheets as the other three watched on worriedly.

Eventually it passed and Izuku swallowed a groan, rubbing his chest.

“We should probably go.” Uraraka frowned and Hitoshi glanced at her with a shrug.

“S-sorry.” Izuku forced out, eyes cracking open.

“Don’t be sorry, Midoriya. You’re healing.” Iida said. “We should be sorry for imposing on you for so long. Good luck with the rest of your stay.”

“Yeah, get well soon!” Uraraka jumped up, gathering the trash to throw away for them.

Todoroki nodded to the two on the bed and then the three were gone, leaving Izuku and Hitoshi alone.

“Feeling okay?” Hitoshi asked quietly.

Izuku leaned his head against Hitoshi’s shoulder, closing his eyes once again. “You should e-eat, Hoshi. I know I c-can’t. But you should.”

“Okay. I will.” Hitoshi answered softly and Izuku hummed in satisfaction at Hitoshi’s response, his breathing slowly returning to almost normal.

The day must have been too much already because he fell asleep on Hitoshi’s shoulder within seconds, heart monitor finally steady and his body still.

Hitoshi sighed, setting Izuku down against the bed and then reaching for the phone to call up some food just like he’d promised.

-X-

Izuku woke up a few hours later, alone and scared.

He sat up, heart pounding for no apparent reason, eyes wide.

It took a second to register the feeling of water running nearby, the sounds of a shower, and he slowly relaxed, looking around the hospital room.

It’d been straightened, and a folder of papers laid on the bed in Hitoshi’s spot. Izuku frowned, reaching out to grab it, opening it to reveal plans for the next morning. He saw diagrams of his skull, of the object embedded in it, of the makeup of his brain.

And then the comparison to a ‘normal’, human brain.

Izuku signed what he had to with the pen inside the folder and then snapped it shut, shoving it aside and gathering all the new stuffed animals against his body, burying himself in them with tears in his eyes. He didn’t like seeing the pictures.

When Hitoshi returned from his shower, that was how he found Izuku; head hidden beneath a pile of plushies and the blanket. The only sign of him was the presence of wires, snaking into the pile.

Hitoshi finished drying his hair, it poofing back up in a gravity defying move when it dried, and then he climbed back onto the bed. He noted that the folder one of the nurses had brought in was in a new place and moved it to the desk before settling against the back of the bed, watching the Izuku lump with a concerned gaze.

One reptilian eye peered through the layer of stuffed animals and Hitoshi smirked. All of the rest of the class had set their gifts on the bed and they’d almost all been stuffed animals. It seemed Izuku liked them.

“Tired?” Hitoshi asked.

There was no answer for a moment and the crocodile-like eyelids blinked sideways. “My surgery is soon.” Izuku whispered into the room.

Hitoshi went still. “Yeah.”

“Will you be there?” Izuku asked, voice quiet, as if he was afraid of showing that he wanted him there or that he was scared.

Hitoshi wanted to brainwash everyone that had ever hurt Izuku to walk into the ocean and then swim straight down until they could no longer move.

“I won’t let them hurt you.” Hitoshi answered instead. He doubted he could be there for… for it, but he trusted that the doctors wouldn’t do anything to hurt Izuku at least. Or… he wanted to…

If they did hurt him… Well, Hitoshi would show how villainous his quirk could truly be.

His words seemed to reassure Izuku because he partly climbed out of the stuffed animal cocoon to lay next to Hitoshi tiredly.

Hitoshi hesitated, looking down at the boy curled up against him. He could say something, right now. He could do it. It wouldn’t be hard, he could just say that he really cared about Izuku or that he loved him or…

No, that wouldn’t work. He was literally getting ready to go into surgery in like… Hitoshi glanced at his watch… nine hours.

Nine hours.

Hitoshi’s stomach flipped and he leaned back, head thumping against the wall.

Izuku was already asleep again next to Hitoshi, hands curled against his chest, body glowing softly in the dark of the room.

Hitoshi sighed, closing his eyes to give an attempt at sleep.

Should he even tell him at all? Did it even matter? Izuku was so… he just…

Behind his eyes Hitoshi could so well picture that day at the beach with the sun setting and Izuku’s bright green eyes and that sharp smile, his hand outstretched toward Hitoshi.

What should he do?

Hitoshi didn’t end up falling asleep that night.

-X-

It was nine in the morning and Hitoshi paced the waiting room much to the annoyance of everyone else in the room.

Yamada was there but apparently Aizawa was out talking to everyone’s parents about moving the students into the dorms, their erection apparently having been completed in the last few days.

Yamada tried to calm Hitoshi down, but nothing worked.

The nurses had come early that morning and Izuku had freaked out when one of the nurses had stuck something into his IV. Hitoshi’d had to hold Izuku tightly to keep him from biting the nurse who’d scurried out, literally with her tail between her legs at Izuku’s snarling.

Hitoshi had watched as Izuku slowly grew more and more… blank , and he hated every bit of it.

Then they took him away and Hitoshi was kicked out of the room for cleaning and now here he was, pacing.

For hours.

“Shinsou, how about we go get something to eat?” Yamada offered. He was completely in civilian clothes. He wore black ripped jeans and a heavy metal band shirt that he’d explained the name at great lengths to Hitoshi in an attempt to distract him. His tattoos showed and his hair was down, his eyes a bright red. He received a lot of looks for the exact opposite reason as when he was in his hero gear.

“Not hungry.” Hitoshi answered flatly, picturing way too vividly what they were doing to Izuku at that very second, making bile rise in his throat.

Yamada sighed, eyes following the line that Hitoshi stepped, back and forth, back and forth. “He’s going to be fine, Little Listener.”

Hitoshi shook his head. “You didn’t see him. You haven’t seen him at all , since he got back. You don’t-”

“Shinsou.” Yamada interrupted, voice a bit more stern, making Hitoshi’s eyes snap over to him. “He’s going to be just fine. Do you know why?” Hitoshi shook his head slowly and Yamada grinned. “Because he has you.”

With a groan, Hitoshi shook his head and dropped into the seat next to Yamada, long legs stretched out in front of him. “That’s so cliche.”

“True though.” Yamada answered.

“How much longer is this surgery?” Hitoshi sighed, thinking it had to be done soon, with how long he’d spent pacing.

Yamada glanced at his watch, remembering how long Shinsou had said it was supposed to take when he’d first found him pacing in here. “About six more hours I think, based on what you said.”

Hitoshi’s groan at that had the entire room shushing him.

-X-

Izuku was afraid when he fell asleep, afraid of what would happen to him.

Afraid of where he’d go.

His eyes had slipped shut with Hitoshi’s presence all around him and he woke up scared and so, so hot.

A bubbling mumble breached his lips and immediately there was a hand in his hair, brushing through it. He could feel the pull of short curls, the light resistance against his head tugging at his scalp.

Izuku’s eyes slid open to bright light and he winced, turning his head, the world spinning like that cursed ferris wheel. His vision was blurry but he could see what looked like a cloud of purple and he strained toward it with a groan.

There was sound, but it seemed far away and Izuku growled, finding softness beneath his hand and head and collapsing into it, breathing heavily. It was like his lungs just couldn’t get enough air, like his heart was working too hard.

And his body felt too heavy, like he was sinking into the plush beneath him .

“It’s okay.” Hitoshi’s voice whispered soothingly near Izuku’s head. “Your fever returned after the surgery and you’ve been in and out of consciousness. You lashed out at a nurse and they brought me back in.”

That last part was said with a smirk in his voice and Izuku leaned even closer, trying to force his eyes to become clear, trying to remember what had happened. He hated it so much. He hated not remembering, not being aware of what was going on to him.

“W-wh…” He coughed, body going lax.

He must have passed out or something because next thing he knew he was once again flat on his back, sounds reaching his ears, vibrations passing through and over him.

He inhaled cool air through his nose, frowning. His head hurt, a steady, painful pulse with every beat of his heart, and his muscles felt like he’d somehow managed to strain every single one of them. He felt like a jellyfish, all loose limbs and squishy skull… except, jellyfish didn’t have skulls, but they still had bells, so Izuku’s… bell...

The sounds of hushed voices broke Izuku’s half-asleep, strange mental dialogue and he opened his eyes the rest of the way, blinking the sleepiness away. He laid there for a moment, completely still.

He could remember. He could…

Sound began trickling more and more to his senses and he focused on it.

“Well, I can stay with him at the house.” A familiar voice was saying, and Izuku turned his head, taking in long blond hair and tattoos, then dark clothes and darker hair. “Shinsou won’t leave him, so I can watch them both. It’s alright. You can worry about getting your class moved into the dorms.”

There was a heavy sigh and the rustle of fabric. “He’s not going to be happy about missing more class.”

Izuku blinked, vision clearing a bit more. He could see Hitoshi curled up on a couch at the end of the room, his head pillowed on his hands. He wore jeans and an oversized dark purple sweater, the sleeves over his hands.

“He can be unhappy about it.” Aizawa muttered and Izuku’s eyes slid back to the two, sitting in two chairs off to the side of the bed he was in. “He’s not going back yet. His fever just broke and he-”

Aizawa broke off as Izuku began trying to sit up, brow furrowed. “Hey, Little Listener, didn’t realize you were awake.” Yamada exclaimed, reaching over to help him.

“Don’t-” Aizawa started.

Izuku growled, a rumble deep in his chest. Predatory.

Hitoshi’s eyes snapped open and he sat up so quickly it was like a zombie rising straight out of the afterlife.

He was on his feet before Izuku could even process what he was doing, crossing the room and climbing onto the bed, pulling Izuku against his chest, the aura of calm surrounding him, emanating from Hitoshi.

“Hi.” Izuku whispered, voice slightly hoarse.

“Stop getting sick.” Hitoshi mumbled drowsily into his hair, arms snaking around him.

Izuku’s fingers twitched. “How did… what… is it gone?”

“It’s gone, Izu. They got it.” Hitoshi’s hand settled gently against the back of his head and Izuku leaned into it, the pressure uncomfortable, bordering painful, but wanted just the same.

He was relieved. “Can I go home now?”

Hitoshi leaned back, pushing hair away from Izuku’s face, a smile tugging at the side of his mouth as he looked down at him. “Soon. I’ll get you home, soon. Now that you’re awake, I think they just need to check some things and then we can go.”

Izuku leaned forward with a relieved sigh, his forehead settling against Hitoshi’s shoulder.

He was going home.

-X-

It took what felt like forever, with a lot of warnings from the doctors and nurses, and with too many people trying to talk to Izuku while he just growled at them, but eventually they were able to get out of that wretched place, to head toward home.

It wasn’t the home that Izuku wanted, of course, but they were getting out of the hospital and that’s what mattered.

Yamada drove them back alone, Aizawa busy with dorm things. The two teens rode in the backseat, Izuku curled on his side, head on Hitoshi’s legs. His back was to Hitoshi and the other boy could see the bandages matted to the back of Izuku’s head. They had to stay on for a bit, especially after the fever that had weakened his body after the surgery. They had to be careful that he didn’t get sick again.

It was going to take some time for Izuku to return to full health, but Hitoshi would take care of him. He wouldn’t let anything hurt him. He would give him all the time he needed and make sure he was safe.

“We’re here.” Yamada announced as they pulled up to the house, stifling a loud yawn behind a hand.

Izuku didn’t move and Hitoshi leaned forward, tapping the icy cheek of his friend. “Izu, we’re here. Up. Come on.”

“Nnnnn.” Izuku mumbled sleepily, hand tightening against Hitoshi’s leg who just sighed.

Yamada opened the back door for them and Hitoshi squirmed out from under the smaller boy, then grabbed his legs and pulled him toward him, pulling him up against his chest to carry, grunting with the effort.

Yamada smirked at them before shutting the car door and leading the way to the house. Hitoshi cradled Izuku against his torso, the boy happily snoozing away, knowing that his friend would carry him wherever he needed to go.

Hitoshi grumbled but he was pleased about it. He was just glad to be back with Izuku, back where they belonged.

Glad that he wasn’t alone.

He carried Izuku inside, the cats immediately hounding them.

Hitoshi glanced at the chalk outline before setting the smaller boy down on the couch, careful not to hurt him.

Izuku lifted his first eyelids, glowing light piercing through the reptilian ones. “Tired.” He mumbled, yawning to show the rows of sharp shark teeth, more than there used to be.

“Sleep then.” Hitoshi shook his head. “You’re safe.”

Izuku sighed, eyes closing again and breathing evening out. His oxygen mask was gone now and so was his fever. With the strength he’d recovered from sleeping so much after the surgery and the healing his own body had done to rid himself of the sickness plaguing him, Recovery Girl had visited to heal him that afternoon, tiring him out even more. But because of the healing hero, he looked better than ever.

His eyes finally had their complete luminescence back again and his skin was bright, glowing within the room. He was talking more and stuttering less. He hadn’t walked much yet, or done much of anything really, but Hitoshi felt like it wasn’t much longer before that happened. He might never return to ‘normal,’ but he could become okay again, soon. Hitoshi would make sure of it.

Hitoshi sat up, grabbing a blanket to pull over Izuku’s sleeping form. One of Aizawa and Yamada’s cats jumped up to lay on his side.

“Hungry?” Yamada asked from the kitchen, shoving something into the microwave.

Hitoshi shrugged, cracking his back as Kimi screamed shrilly at his feet to be held.

He was glad to be back.

-X-

They’d moved Izuku to the bedroom some time ago after failing to get him to wake up and eat anything and now the house was silent. Aizawa had returned and both heroes had promptly passed out in their room in an attempt to catch up on several days worth of lost sleep.

It was getting late and Hitoshi sat beside Izuku on the floor bed, leaning against the wall. He’d tried to sleep, like everyone else in the house, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong the second he fell asleep. He couldn’t stop himself from checking on Izuku every five minutes just to make sure he was breathing, that he was still there .

There was that fear within him that he was going to look over and Izuku would be gone, vanished into nothingness, forever this time.

But he was there every time, glowing softly in the darkness of the nearly empty, quiet bedroom. He lay curled on his side, hair in his eyes and knees pulled near his chest.

He’d been happy to get out of the hospital clothes and now wore dark sweatpants and the shirt that Todoroki had gotten him.

Hitoshi was tired and worn out from the past however many days, but he just couldn’t sleep. He tried laying in different positions, he’d tried drinking water, or tossing a blanket over Izuku’s light, or playing music… but no matter what he did his mind just wouldn’t settle down.

And maybe that was for the best.

He should have expected what happened next. Izuku had had nightmares even before all of this, it only made sense that his sleep wouldn’t be calm after everything that had happened.

But Hitoshi hadn’t expected it, somehow. Izuku had slept fine for the most part in the hospital, but now that he thought about it, Izuku had probably had some level of quirk suppressants in him, as well as any number of other drugs and things for all the sickness and wounds.

He didn’t now.

Hitoshi was lying down in another attempt to sleep when a low, feral growl reverberated around the room, like something from the depths of the abyss, and pure, primal fear raised in Hitoshi’s gut.

He rolled over and sat up, scooting closer to Izuku who had tightened around himself, hands clenching against his chest, eyes squeezed shut, his breathing faster than ever. He almost seemed to glow even brighter, like his phosphorescence was pulsing with his own quickened heart rate, and Hitoshi put that to the back of his mind to think about later.

The air within the room seemed to thicken with humidity, the smell of a storm brewing, and pressure increased in Hitoshi’s head as he scooted forward, hesitantly reaching out to Izuku.

There was a quiet anticipation, horrible for all that it implied. Everything was different, but at the same time, nothing was different.

Hitoshi didn’t know what to do.

His hand fell softly against the side of Izuku’s head. “Izu.” He murmured, as gently as he could muster. “Hey, Izu, wanna wake up? I’m here.”

He pushed short green hair away from Izuku’s eyes as both eyelids shifted up and to the side, the yellowed light of his eyes illuminating the blankets in front of him.

Slitted pupils slid to the side and Hitoshi froze, every muscle in his body tensing, his hand hovering over Izuku’s head. That was not… This was not...

Izuku snapped upward, hand closing around Hitoshi’s outstretched wrist and sharp teeth snapping in one sharp movement, slamming him back against the blankets, one knee by Hitoshi’s hip, razor teeth descending toward his neck.

Terror ripped through Hitoshi’s head and he screamed, “IZU, STOP!”

Everything stopped .

Izuku was unmoving over Hitoshi, wrist gripped almost painfully in his hand as Hitoshi stared wide-eyed beneath him. His eyes had paled as he looked down, as if waiting for another command, and Hitoshi could feel that pressure signalling that his quirk was active.

“I-Izu, let me go.” Izuku released his wrist, still straddling him, and Hitoshi winced, rolling his hand around. “Sit back, and drop your quirk.”

Izuku obeyed, eyes hazy and unfocused. Hitoshi’s stomach flipped and he cringed. Izuku hadn’t responded to him at all, how had he...

Hitoshi released his own quirk and Izuku collapsed forward, sucking in a breath, clarity returning to his eyes.

He heaved for breath for a moment, as if having nearly drowned while Hitoshi had a mini panic attack.

He’d used his quirk on him… without a response.

Izuku looked up at him through his hair, sharp teeth exposed with his panting. Hitoshi reached forward and Izuku flinched back, face pained.

“Izu, I…” Izuku shook his head rapidly, jaw clicking shut.

Hitoshi gave him a minute, his hand dropping. The air was back to normal and so was Izuku’s light, but there was something else… Some heaviness to Hitoshi’s skin.

“I almost hurt you.” Izuku whispered, breaking the silence.

“But you didn’t, it’s-”

“It’s not okay.” There were tears in Izuku’s voice as he wrapped his arms around himself and sniffled.

“Izu…” Hitoshi resisted the urge to lean forward and hug his friend, sensing that this was a delicate situation. “I’m not afraid of you.”

Izuku looked up, eyes pools of swimming, glistening light. “Maybe you should be.”

Hitoshi’s chest hitched and his own eyes pricked with tears. “Izu, no. Can I hug you?”

Izuku bit his lip, blood immediately beading his skin from his teeth, and he nodded, bushy hair shaking.

Hitoshi flew forward, gathering Izuku to him in a vicious grip. He buried his head in soft hair, fingers tightening against the fabric of his shirt.

“I’m s-s-sorry.” Izuku moaned, his forehead pushing roughly against Hitoshi’s clavicle. “I d-didn’t- I… I tried to…”

Izuku cried, for the second time, descending into rough sobs while Hitoshi held him rooted down to the Earth.

Hitoshi clutched his shirt, wondering what he should do, wondering how in the world he’d managed to brainwash Izuku without a verbal response. He didn’t even think Izuku had noticed that… He didn’t mention it, so Hitoshi left it alone for now. Maybe it was just a fluke, a random occurrence from his desperation.

But something told him that that wasn’t the case.

Izuku eventually calmed down, and leaned back, wiping at his face, smearing blood across his hand and cheek.

“Wait there.” Hitoshi murmured and jumped up to rush out of the room, tripping over a pillow into the hallway and then freezing like a deer in headlights when he found Aizawa standing at the end of it, capture scarf held between both hands and eyes narrowed.

“I heard you yell.” He searched Hitoshi with his eyes, as if looking for an injury.

Hitoshi shook his head. “Izu had a nightmare, I’m fine but he bit his lip pretty bad, I’m just getting some tissues.”

The teacher glanced down at his still bandaged hand and frowned, setting his scarf down on a small table in the hallway. He then pushed his way past Hitoshi and made his way to the bathroom, rooting around in the cupboard until he removed a small first aid kit, standing up with a grunt and gesturing to Hitoshi to lead the way.

So, he did, pushing the bedroom door wide open against a mound of pillows. Izuku was still in the same place, his head bowed and his legs on either side of him, fingers kneading a partially shredded blanket beneath him.

“Hey, Midoriya.” Aizawa started, crossing the blankets on bare feet to kneel at Izuku’s side. “Let me see your face.”

Izuku inhaled shakily and lifted his head. Hitoshi winced at the smear of blood across his chin and cheek, and his red, puffy eyes, but Aizawa didn’t outwardly react at all. He bent to the side, grabbing a small package from the kit and ripping it with his teeth to remove a wet wipe.

Hitoshi stood awkwardly to the side as their teacher cleaned Izuku’s face, the green haired boy not even moving, only watching Aizawa carefully, neither of them speaking.

“Fortunately, you didn’t bite it all the way through. You shouldn’t make a habit of biting your lips with those teeth, though.” Aizawa finally said when he cleared all the blood away.

Izuku frowned and looked toward Aizawa’s hand. “They’re sharper… they weren’t… they’re different than they used to be… and there are more ...”

Aizawa stilled and Hitoshi stiffened, grimacing. What wasn’t different at this point?

“Kid.” Aizawa sighed, upturning a small bottle of alcohol onto a new cotton ball. “Bakugou told us a lot of what happened, about the tank-”

Izuku flinched back so hard that he almost fell backward. “No.” He shook his head from side to side, hair whipping about, and Hitoshi decided it was his turn now, dropping to Izuku’s side and grabbing onto his shoulder, making Izuku look at him.

“You’re safe.” He declared with strength, and Izuku stilled, blinking.

He deflated, exhaling shakily and leaning into Hitoshi. To his other side, Aizawa sighed and handed Hitoshi the cotton ball with alcohol and he lifted it, letting Izuku see it before he dabbed it against his lip, ignoring the reptilian growl that Izu voiced at the stinging sensation.

“We’re going to have to discuss what happened.” Aizawa muttered and Izuku’s eyes slid over to him, his expression darkening, the air growing heavy. His hand lifted, grabbing Hitoshi’s wrist, pulling it away from his face.

Hitoshi watched him, goosebumps rising along his skin. He didn’t like the look in Izuku’s eyes.

“They changed me.” Izuku hissed, staring straight at Aizawa. “They hurt me, again . I keep seeing things and… the voices are in my ears all the time. ”

Izuku released Hitoshi’s wrist, bending in on himself, that feeling in the air fading as Izuku sniffed.

“Problem Child.” Aizawa watched Izuku with narrowed eyes. “It’s okay.”

Izuku shuddered and took a deep breath. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Aizawa answered. “No one expects you to be okay after everything.”

Izuku flinched, looking away. “I do.”

Hitoshi frowned in confusion. “Well, you shouldn’t. If it were me, would you expect me to be just fine?”

Izuku sat up straight, eyes wide and trained on Hitoshi in horror, his breathing picking up. “You don’t… you can’t have anything to do with this… this isn’t… Hoshi, you don’t understand.”

Hitoshi blinked, not expecting such a reaction. “Alright, alright, I’m sorry.”

Izuku shook his head, eyes closing as he took another deep breath. “I don’t want to be like this.”

“Midoriya…” Aizawa started but Izuku shook his head.

“It’s okay. I just… I want to see everyone. I want to go back to class.”

Aizawa smirked. “I told Zashi that you would want to return as soon as possible. You’ve missed a bit of class, Shinsou too. So, I think you can move into the dorms tomorrow and return Monday as long as you don’t participate in any physically straining stuff. And as long as you don’t attack anyone.”

Izuku gave Aizawa a dry look and the man grinned and shrugged before waving his injured hand of an explanation. “That was your own fault for trying to touch me.” Izuku muttured and Hitoshi snorted, loudly. Izuku glanced at him, the corner of his mouth lifting.

“There is something else we also need to talk about soon.” Aizawa said and Izuku glanced at him in confusion, meanwhile Hitoshi knew exactly what it was and began edging backward.

Aizawa leveled a clear gaze on Izuku.

“Riptide.”

Chapter Text

Black eyes met glowing orbs.

“Riptide.” Aizawa said flatly, his voice seeming louder than it should’ve been in the quietude of the nearly empty room, especially with the way Izuku could feel the vibration of the other’s voice almost as if it were his own.

Izuku stiffened at the unassuming word, eyes twitching over to Hitoshi in confusion before shifting back to his teacher. “My cousin…”

Aizawa sighed heavily, turning his eyes up toward the ceiling, face accentuated by the deep shadows beneath each eye. “Not now, not right now. I’m too tired for this. Both of you, go to sleep, and don’t kill each other.”

Izuku looked away bashfully, jaw tightening, and Hitoshi grimaced. Aizawa paused at the door, looking back at them with narrowed eyes. “Do I have to worry about you two killing each other?”

“No, we’re fine.” Hitoshi answered too quickly.

Aizawa frowned at them, eyes flicking from one to the other as if parsing through the hidden context in Hitoshi’s words. Eventually he just shook his head. “I mean it, get some sleep. You’re moving into the dorms tomorrow.” He exited the room then, leaving the door open, muttering something under his breath that Hitoshi couldn’t hear but had Izuku growling quietly to himself.

Hitoshi wondered if Izuku even noticed the subtle noises he made to himself; the growls and the hisses, the snarls and whines. Were they just unconscious noises or did he realize what he was doing?

Hitoshi turned to the other boy, noting how tense he seemed, how his hands were still clenched in the shredded sheet beneath him, his eyes turned downward as he scowled at the ground. His lips were a thin, pale line, and his forehead was creased in consternation. The lines of his gills seemed darker than before, less scar-like, especially with the scales around them, crawling up his neck and over his shoulders.

“Izu, it’s not your fault, you know that right? You can’t help having nightmares.” Hitoshi whispered, scooting closer, laying his hand over Izuku’s, feeling his frigid skin, the slight shaking that remained even out of the hospital.

The other boy took a deep breath, brow furrowing. “I think there’s something wrong with me.”

That was not what Hitoshi needed Izuku to be thinking right now and it was just… it wasn’t true, not in the way that Izuku was thinking. Not in any way.

“No,” Hitoshi retorted, a bit too harshly, and Izuku’s head lifted in surprise. “You’ve been hurt, but there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Izuku turned his attention to his hands, lifting them in front of him. Pieces of fabric and fuzz stuck to his claws from when he’d been digging at the blankets and sheets, and Hitoshi was once again taken in by how sharp they looked. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to just suddenly have claws . How could a person be changed so drastically, so quickly, so physically ? What else had been done to Izuku that Hitoshi didn’t even know about yet? What else was there?

A shudder ran through Izuku’s entire body before Hitoshi was leaning forward to grab him around the shoulders, pulling him against his chest, one hand lifting to cover Izuku’s despite the claws. “You’re still you, Izu. I’ll tell you that as many times as you need. You’ll always be you, no matter what happens or what has happened.”

Izuku exhaled evenly and steadily, shoulders dropping. “Thank you, Hoshi. I… I’m sorry I-”

“No, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Hitoshi spoke soothingly and released Izuku, shaking his head. “ Nothing. Okay?” Izuku hesitated but nodded unconvincingly, before whispering.

“Does Eraser know? About me being Riptide?”

Hitoshi grimaced. “I think he figured it out when Riptide didn’t show up for his shift. It’s my fault, I didn’t call in for you, I should’ve-”

“That wasn’t your responsibility.” Izuku shook his head, eyes turned downward. “I think… I think it was only a matter of time. Riptide is… it wasn’t… I need to call in, I need to go in... I don’t even know… and Achilles is probably...”

Izuku had descended into rambling in incomplete sentences, making no sense. Hitoshi decided it was enough for now and sighed, interjecting into his mumbling. “Alright, now, we should go to sleep. I can see how exhausted you are, you should re-”

“Hoshi.” Izuku interrupted, voice low, one hand lifting to run through his short broccoli-like head of hair. “I’m afraid. ”

Hitoshi leaned back, eyes widening. Of course, of course Izuku would be afraid to sleep after what had just happened. If it were Hitoshi, and if he’d been the one to almost hurt Izu in his sleep…

Fuck …

“Listen.” Hitoshi made his words even and comforting and as clear as possible as Izuku looked up, meeting his eyes. “I stopped you, right? Don’t worry about hurting me, I won’t let it happen. Okay?” Izuku stared at him, unmoving, eyes glistening. Aizawa had shut off the light when he left and now Izuku’s glow illuminated the area all around their bodies.

His pupils were dilated in the dark and slitted, the iris a vivid, toxic green, fading into the yellow of his sclera.

They were absolutely mesmerizing.

“Okay,” Izuku finally sighed, laying down onto his side, one finger prodding gingerly at his torn lip with a pout. “I don’t like my teeth.”

“I’m sure you’ll get used to them.” Hitoshi answered, finally relaxing as well, laying on his back and crossing his arms over his stomach.

Izuku didn’t answer and Hitoshi looked over, finding the fluffy headed boy scratching at a bunching of scales on his forearm with his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. “Izu.” Hitoshi said flatly, making his friend look up. “Stop that.”

Izuku huffed, turning over onto his other side and Hitoshi rolled his eyes before closing them.

He had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a long day.

-X-

“Up, up! Time to get up! We have things to do, places to be, people to see!”

Yamada was yelling from somewhere within the house and Izuku hissed into his shark plushie, hugging it tighter against his face. Close by, Hitoshi made a random gasping noise that Izuku barely noticed, his consciousness floating in that limbo between sleep and awake.

“Izu, wake up.” Hitoshi’s voice broke into that limbo place and another hiss escaped him, one eyelid cracking open, light filtering in through his nearly translucent second eyelid, purple eyes staring at him.

Izuku was comfortable. The place beneath him was soft and he could breathe without the aid of a mask finally. His head didn’t hurt and he wasn’t too hot. His muscles didn’t feel like they were being strained through a meat grinder and he finally felt safe.

He really didn’t want to move.

“Izu, you need to take your medicine and you need to get a shower before we go, everyone else is already in the dorms, we’ll be the last ones there, and Aizawa and Yamada want us to get there before… Izu?” Hitoshi trailed off as Izuku slowly sat up, blinking his other eyelids to the sides rapidly, pupils thinning at the light, showing more of the green and yellow. He had a strange, dazed expression on his face, and his short hair was wild, sticking out in every direction.

“Not a shower.” He murmured distantly.

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow. “Why-”

“Too small… it’s like…” Izuku trailed off, grimacing and Hitoshi winced.

Oh.

Izuku shook his head. “Can you wash my hair again?” His eyes had brightened once again, losing their haze as he looked up at him and Hitoshi felt like he was melting beneath that look. He felt like his very soul was turning into mush with those bright eyes breaking his body apart.

He was drowning in Izuku’s gaze.

“Of course.” He responded softly, realizing he’d been quiet too long. “Come on.”

They got ready quickly, Hitoshi washing the fluffy, green hair while Izuku hummed an unfamiliar song, Kimi laying in his lap while his head was bent backward in the sink, Izuku’s eyes closed.

Those weapons of mass destruction hidden behind double eyelids.

After that was done and after his own shower, Hitoshi dressed in plain jeans and a T-Shirt. Izuku though, just left on the tank top and pulled on a pair of shorts before gathering all the rest of his things into a bag, focused on stuffing all the new plushies in with his clothes while Hitoshi smirked at him. There was no way they would all fit, though Izuku seemed determined to get them all in.

It was only after he accidentally ripped a plush starfish nearly in half with his claws that Izuku gave in, shoulders drooping and hands hanging sadly at his sides, stuffed animals and starfish stuffing spilled all around his bare feet.

Hitoshi retrieved more bags from Yamada just for Izuku’s blankets and stuffed animals, and once they were full, they crammed everything into the car and then returned to the house for everything else.

They came across another problem when they were preparing to leave, Hitoshi pulling on his shoes by the door while Izuku stared down at a pair of older shoes that Hitoshi had grabbed from the train car when they had first come here. “Everything okay?” Hitoshi asked with a concerned frown.

“My red shoes are gone…” Izuku sighed, the corners of his lips turned downward. “And I haven’t… How am I supposed to wear shoes?” He gestured downward to his feet, toes curling inward slightly, claws leaving grooves in the wood by the organized pile of shoes. Those claws would definitely not be fitting inside a pair of regular shoes.

“Ah.” Hitoshi mirrored Izuku’s frown. “Well, you don’t like things on your feet anyway right? I’m sure we can find a way around it later, but for now, you have an excuse not to wear them.”

Izuku was silent for a moment, Hitoshi watching him carefully while the other boy flexed his fingers at his sides, eyes trained on his own feet. “Yeah, okay.” He finally said, squaring his shoulders.

Hitoshi frowned, the facade that Izuku was wearing like a mask obvious to him. He was hurting, but Hitoshi didn’t know what to do about it. He added, “and if there’s anywhere dangerous you need to walk, I’ll just carry you.”

Izuku lifted his head, smirking. “You’ll carry me, huh?”

“Yes.” Hitoshi answered resolutely and turned back to finish tying his shoes, ignoring the heat pooling in his cheeks.

Once they finished with everything else and had finally gotten Izuku to eat something (though it was barely anything at all, and it was just another thing Hitoshi was going to have to watch), and once Izuku had taken all of his medicine at Hitoshi’s urging, they loaded themselves into the vehicle, Kimi held carefully in Hitoshi’s arms. Apparently animals were allowed in the dorms as long as they were well taken care of and didn’t affect any of the other students’ studies, which was good because Hitoshi wasn’t about to live anywhere without his cat.

Izuku and Hitoshi sat in the back of the car, Izuku leaning against the window with a scowl.

“It’s too hot.” He sighed, pressing his forehead against the cool glass.

Hitoshi glanced at Izuku worriedly and Yamada reached over to crank the air conditioning in the car up. Izuku caught the movement and scooted over into the direct line of the air, breathing deeply.

Izuku was tired and hot, and he wanted to be back in his floorbed, but he couldn’t help but be excited at the prospect of seeing all of his classmates again. Before, when they’d come to see him in the hospital, it had been overwhelming. But now he hoped that it wouldn’t be too much for him. That they wouldn’t be too much for him.

“You guys go ahead up.” Aizawa said drearily, once they’d arrived. “We’ll get someone to get your stuff to your rooms, it’s not like you have a lot anyway.”

Izuku blinked at Aizawa in confusion as he stepped out of the car. “Rooms? There are more than one?” He didn’t like the idea of not sharing a room with Hitoshi.

Of being alone.

Hitoshi circled around to Izuku, tapping his shoulder and Izuku turned to peer up at him. “That’s how dorms are, Izu. Each student has their own room and then one big bathroom, I think.” Hitoshi glanced at the teachers who nodded, shutting their own doors, the slam echoing in the parking garage beneath the school.

It was clear, again, how little Izuku truly knew of the real world outside of his beach boxcar.

Aizawa led the way, Yamada heading in the opposite direction to tend to some other things. Izuku and Hitoshi walked side by side behind their teacher, Hitoshi holding Kimi in his arms. She seemed comfortable, glad enough to be held, her body practically ragdolled against Hitoshi’s chest, too bright eyes taking the sky in.

Izuku couldn’t help but be a bit nervous about this whole situation. His classmates didn’t know the full extent of his changes, they’d barely seen anything really… And how was he supposed to react about it all when technically he hadn’t either? How was he supposed to control all these instincts that he had? How was he supposed to be him ?

He didn’t even know who that was. He didn’t think he ever did.

They broke out into the light, leaving the shade of the garage, and Izuku hissed, lifting a hand to shield his eyes, lip curling up.

“Izuku, it’s still spring, it’s not even that hot or bright yet compared to what it can get to. We haven’t even switched to our summer uniforms yet.” Hitoshi looked down at the shorter boy worriedly. If this was how he reacted when it wasn’t even hot yet, what would summertime be like?

“I hate the heat.” Izuku growled. “Summertime is the worst time. I’m used to spending all of my late spring and summer at the bottom of the ocean. I always head down as soon as it starts to get warm. I don’t like this.”

Hitoshi adjusted Kimi to one arm and patted Izuku’s shoulder comfortingly. “Maybe you can ask Todoroki to make you some ice or something.”

Izuku looked up excitedly. “That’s a good idea, I’ll do that.”

“Alright, this is it.” Aizawa sighed heavily, halting in front of them and gesturing upward at a huge H shaped building with 1-A written on the center of it in huge blocky, white lettering over the massive double doors. Greek pillars twined up alongside the front of the doors, holding up the outstretched portion of the building. “Heights Alliance is your new home.”

Izuku grimaced, eyes growing distant and haunted, second eyelids sliding partway over them, and Hitoshi tapped him again, frowning. “You okay?”

Flinching, Izuku turned. “Oh, yeah, I was just… remembering something.” Hitoshi narrowed his eyes, but before he could say anything more Izuku was walking forward, near Aizawa, heading for the building and Hitoshi had to hurry forward to catch up.

“MIDORIYA AND SHINSOU ARE HERE!” A familiar voice screamed before they even had a chance to open the door and Aizawa heaved a sigh, closing his eyes for a second, as if to prepare himself before opening the door. He looked like a man getting ready to walk into battle.

Izuku nearly cheered when the air conditioning hit him and he walked right into it, relaxing at the escape from the heat. That was, until he saw his classmates running toward him at full speed and a low, predatory growl rumbled up out of his chest, uncalled for, and everyone slid to a stop.

Hitoshi sidled up to Izuku’s side, taking his elbow. “It’s okay, it’s just the class.” He whispered, looking up when a familiar blond head pushed through the group of stunned students.

“Midoriya.” Bakugou stated flatly.

“Bakugou.” Izuku relaxed again, though only slightly. “You’re here. I’m glad. I haven’t seen you since…” Izuku frowned, practically wilting.

“Yeah.” Bakugou shook his head. “Things were stressful. People are stupid. No one knows…”

Izuku nodded stiffly, somehow knowing exactly what Bakugou meant without him actually saying it. Hitoshi didn’t understand any of it and it irritated him. He wanted to be able to be there for Izuku and to help him, but how could he when he didn’t even know half of what was going on, when he didn’t even know what Bakugou meant?

What was he supposed to do?

Bakugou turned halfway to face the class, lip curling up. “Back off, all of you. Give ‘em some room.”

“Yes, as Bakugou said, everyone return to where you were.” Iida chopped a hand against a palm, making sure all the students went back to whatever they’d been doing before Hitoshi and Izuku arrived.

“Can I trust you to show them around, Iida.” Aizawa directed what could have just as much been a glare as it could have been a deadpan expression at the taller class representative, Yaoyorozu busy corralling the students and making tea.

“Of course, sensei.” Iida bowed and walked right up to Izuku and Hitoshi, Bakugou meeting Izuku’s eyes over Iida’s shoulder before turning his back and walking away, joining Kirishima and Ashido in what seemed like hanging fairy lights up around the common room. Though he wasn’t helping, insomuch as he was yelling at them on the correct way to do it.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll give you the tour of the place that will be our home for the next three years.” Iida said, as stiffly as always but trying to be welcoming. He just came off sounding too much like he was trying to sell the place to them.

No one was in their uniforms, it being Sunday morning and they all looked surprisingly… domestic in regular clothes, as Hitoshi looked around. “I’ll show you to your own rooms first, Shinsou, if you’d like to drop your cat off.”

“Her name is Kimi.” Hitoshi responded, nuzzling his face into her soft fur.

Iida nodded. “Kimi then, my apologies.”

Hitoshi shrugged, glancing at Izuku who had taken to staring into the distance once again, eyes glassy and unfocused. “Izuku?”

What had done it? What kept doing this, there had to be something...

Izuku slid his eyes to Hitoshi but they remained hazy, like he was lost in thought, and Hitoshi waved his free hand in front of his face until he blinked, leaning back. “Hoshi, what are you doing?”

Hitoshi’s frown deepened and Iida cleared his throat, getting their attention. “Sorry.” Izuku muttered, resisting the urge to bite his lip or cheek, his hand touching the mark on his lip from where he’d nearly bitten through it the night before.

It was strange to be amongst his classmates, like everything was normal when it just… wasn’t. He couldn’t even wear shoes, his feet bare against the wooden floor of the dorm building. His senses were changed and heightened even more, the class obviously trying to be quieter but still overwhelming him.

Everything was different than it had been before. Izuku kept hearing them too, the voices of his dreams, spilling into reality. Or at least that’s what it seemed like. He couldn’t be sure anymore, he just… He’d always had dreams that seemed too real to be anything but memories, but they’d never crossed into his waking time before now. They’d never been so solid .

He hadn’t told anyone what the potato guy had said to him either, he’d barely had time on his own to think about it. Plus they’d told Izuku that the potato villain had been captured, and Izuku was unsure how to feel about it. There was just so much to figure out and Izuku didn’t understand his own feelings or thoughts. There was so much to figure out, so much to think about, and Izuku didn’t know how.

Because, based on what the man had implied when he had Izuku restrained to that chair with that doctor… He’d heavily implied that he was Izuku’s father … and Izuku hadn’t told anyone yet. And then… that dream he’d had, before he’d first woken up with the villains... he was only just realizing that it had been somehow precognitive, because the exact thing that he’d dreamed had happened, with the falling into the sewage and the pain and the feeling of his gills not working .

Drowning .

And then the dream with Hoshi and there was just-

“Izu!” Hands grasped his shoulders and Izuku reacted, growling, ducking away, claws held out at his sides, prepared to swipe at a moment's notice, instinct overriding everything else.

All around, everyone had stopped moving and were watching him. But it wasn’t silent, it was never silent to Izuku, not anymore, and he couldn’t control his breathing and it was too much.

Hitoshi handed Kimi to Iida who was watching in shock as the purple haired boy lifted his hands and stepped closer, Izuku’s eyes on him. The air felt heavy, thick against Hitoshi’s skin, the humidity rising quickly, making it difficult to breathe. It seemed Izuku had several instinctual defense mechanisms when he believed himself to be in danger, even when there was no threat at all.

Hitoshi had to be very careful. Izuku would never forgive himself if he hurt him.

“It’s alright, you’re safe.” Hitoshi said, edging closer, watching Izuku’s claws at his sides, the way he bared his teeth, the wild look in his gradient eyes.

He’d gone from calm and fine to… this , so quickly. Hitoshi had recognized that look in his eyes, he should have done something sooner. This was something he was going to have to watch out for.

“Izu?” Hitoshi whispered questioningly, ignoring the way he knew Bakugou was creeping up behind him, wanting to tell him that he had it handled, that it was fine despite how on edge everyone had suddenly gotten.

Izuku growled again and Hitoshi stepped within reaching distance, lifting a hand. Izuku flinched, eyes following his movement as he set his palm against Izuku’s head, thumb settling against the bridge of his nose before he carefully lowered his thumb, sliding it gently up and down until Izuku’s knees gave out and Hitoshi slid forward smoothly, catching him in his arms as if he’d done it a million times.

The class released a collective breath as Hitoshi lifted him into his arms, standing upright and carrying his limp form to the couch, several of their classmates scurrying out of the way as Hitoshi laid him down.

“Looks like we’ll have to postpone that tour.” Hitoshi sighed, adjusting Izuku’s arms and turning him so that he was on his side instead of staring blankly up at the ceiling with hooded eyes.

“What just happened?” Kaminari gasped out in shock, breaking everyone else’s silence.

Hitoshi shook his head, glancing at Iida as he set Kimi down next to Izuku’s head on the couch armrest. “I think he’s been having a bit of trouble distinguishing things.” Hitoshi answered.

“What was that movement you did?” Iida questioned, looking down at Izuku in confusion, taking in his near catatonic state. “To pacify him, what was that?”

Hitoshi looked up to see the entire class watching him and he reached up a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Ah, it’s uh, like a shark thing I guess. Or crocodiles too I guess? A lot of animals respond to it, and so does Izuku. It’s called tonic immobility and it’s like hypnosis, I guess?”

“That seems…” Yaoyorozu spoke but trailed off, shaking her head. “How long does it last?”

Hitoshi shrugged. “This is only the second time I’ve had to do it, but the first time was like fifteen minutes.”

Yaoyorozu nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll make you both some tea for when he… wakes up.”

The rest of class settled back down, the danger passed now, most of them quitting whatever they had been doing to sit on the other couches or to rest on the floor. Bakugou sat on the couch perpendicular to the one Izuku was on, near his head and Hitoshi settled near his feet.

The TV was shut off by Uraraka before she took a deep breath, eyes going to Bakugou who narrowed his eyes at her. “When we visited at the hospital, there were… things that seemed to bother Izuku and I’ve noticed that Bakugou, you too, have things that set you off. I think it would be helpful for the class to know what to stay away from so these things don’t happen.”

“Shut the f-”

“That’s a good idea.” Yayorozu interrupted the blonde, entering the room with a mug in either hand, crossing around the side of the couch. “It would be good to know potential triggers to avoid. For everyone actually.”

She handed one mug to Hitoshi, setting the other one on the ground in front of Izuku who didn’t even move, eyes half lidded and glowing, face slack as if he were sleeping. “I don’t know what got him this time though.” Hitoshi sighed. “I’m trying to pay attention, but…”

Yaoyorozu lifted her shirt slightly, a notebook and a pen forming in a shower of sparks that faded before they hit the ground. “We could write everyone’s name down with triggers beneath them. I can leave it in the common room and we can all add to it as well if we want?”

A soft grumble came from Hitoshi’s side and he turned at the waist, setting a hand on Izuku’s bare foot, watching his eyes blink clear and flick around the room before finding Hitoshi, one hand coming up to cover his nose. “You did it a-again didn’t you?”

Hitoshi patted Izuku’s foot, taking a sip from his mug as Bakugou reached down to grab the other one. “Drink your tea, nerd.”

Izuku sat up and hesitantly took the tea from Bakugou, looking down into it as he sat up, scooting closer to Hitoshi, leaning into him. Yaoyorozu sat down on Izuku’s other side, the notebook on her lap, opened up to the first page as she wrote her own  name. “Here.” She began, Izuku peeking at her. “They’re not triggers exactly, but I really don’t like when people tease my physical appearance or hero costume for being revealing. Or when people make assumptions on my intelligence.”

She scribbled that down, the rest of the class listening in. “It’s really unmanly for people to judge others based on appearance.” Kirishima agreed from next to Bakugou.

“I don’t like being catcalled.” Uraraka interjected and Yaoyorozu turned a page, writing Uraraka’s name at the top and then getting what she said down.

Izuku looked away, still holding the mug, shrinking further into Hitoshi, grip tightening around it. “Izu.” Hitoshi whispered, their classmates continuing to talk. “Are you uncomfortable, do you want to go?”

“I’m okay.” Izuku murmured but Hitoshi sighed, disbelieving his friend, but wrapping his arm around his shoulders in an attempt to help before lifting his head. “Iida, can you show us where our rooms are?” He asked and the mug suddenly shattered in Izuku’s grip, making him jump, leaning back.

“I’ll clean it up!” Yaoyorozu pushed the notebook to the side as Izuku stared down at his hands in what seemed like shock, before Hitoshi set his own mug down and took them, lifting Izuku upright. Ceramic tumbled to the ground at Izuku’s feet and Hitoshi winced, guiding him away.

“Watch your step.” Hitoshi said and Izuku nodded quietly, placing his bare feet around the broken shards safely.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

“It’s alright.” Hitoshi murmured and guided Izuku the rest of the way out of the mess, the class abnormally silent, as if they didn’t know what to do or how to help.

So, a lot like how Hitoshi himself felt.

The two of them followed Iida as he led the way to their rooms, taking them toward a flight of stairs that they climbed quietly.

“Your rooms are next to each other.” Iida explained as they reached the first floor of the dorm rooms. “Midoriya, your room is against the outside wall and then Shinsou’s is right here.”

They stopped in front of a regular wooden door and Iida turned to them. “Your stuff should have been brought up already the back way. So, just let someone know if you guys need anything, or if you want to finish the rest of the tour.” Iida turned to Izuku, still sticking close to Hitoshi, staring off into the distance until he caught Iida’s gaze and looked toward him.

“Yeah?” Izuku asked, tilting his head.

“Sorry if we overwhelmed you.” Iida said, bowing at the waist slightly. “Bakugou reacted similarly when he first came in, I would have thought that the class would have learned.”

Izuku shook his head rapidly, lifting his hands. “No, no, it’s okay. The class didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just… me.”

Iida straightened, meeting Izuku’s eyes with his brow furrowed. “It’s not your fault, Midoriya.”

Hitoshi nodded. “He’s right. It’s okay to be a little lost, okay?”

“Yes, we are all here for you. Even though we’ve only known each other for a few months you are like a little brother to me.” Iida stated seriously and Izuku leaned back, a hand rising to his chest.

“I am not little.” Hitoshi smirked, patting the top of Izuku’s head who glared at him. “Besides, I bet I’m older than both of you.”

“You don’t even know when your birthday is.” Hitoshi rolled his eyes. “Only that it’s in July, and mine is the first, so I’m older than you.”

“Mine’s in August.” Iida frowned. “But, you are still like a little brother, because you’re so small.”

Izuku hissed, taking a step forward and Hitoshi grabbed him by the back of his shirt, hauling him back, grinning.

“I didn’t know you could even joke, Mr. I’m-from-an-elite-school.” Hitoshi teased, dragging Izuku closer, moving toward his bedroom door, tossing Iida an appreciative smile. He knew what the other guy was trying to do, and it was obviously working to distract Izuku.

Iida turned to leave as Hitoshi pushed the door open, pulling Izuku inside and shutting the door behind them, releasing Izuku’s arm who walked a few steps forward, looking around. The room was a nearly empty cube, a few boxes lining the walls alongside a bare bed with several blankets sitting in a folded pile on a dresser. There was an empty closet and a balcony with closed glass doors and dark curtains covering it to block out the sun.

Izuku crossed his arms, pouting as he looked side to side. “Everyone keeps saying this is our new home, Aizawa and Iida and…” He trailed off, sighing, scraping his toe claws along the ground, leaving grooves.

“Hey, stop that, you’re already messing up the floor.” Hitoshi grabbed Izuku’s shoulder, tugging him toward the bed, pushing him to sit down.

“Good.” Izuku practically snarled, teeth showing. “I don’t like this place. We had to go to Eraser’s and Mic’s place and now we have to be here. This is so dumb, I want to go back home.” He looked toward the balcony doors and Hitoshi stiffened, dropping to sit next to his friend. He half expected Izuku to just… leave, to jump up and bust through the glass to flee to his ocean, never to return.

To leave Hitoshi.

“This is…” How to go about this without saying something wrong… “This is part of high school,” he decided on. “A lot of high schools have dorms, and we’re not too far from the beach, plus there’s the U.A. pool, remember you were in it during the… the…”

Hitoshi grimaced and Izuku looked directly at him with those depthless eyes, some unidentifiable emotion layered within them, as deep as the ocean. “During the sports festival.” He finished without inflection.

Hitoshi blinked. “Um, yeah. The sports festival.”

There was a beat of silence and Hitoshi studied Izuku. His eyes had turned downward, their glow muted in the artificial light of the room. His legs hung off the edge of the bed, feet not touching the ground, his claws just barely skimming the surface of the wood. His arms were crossed over his chest and with the low cut of his tank top and with the shorts he was wearing, Hitoshi could see so many of his new scales. Patches of them littered his entire body.

They were around his gills in groups, creeping up his arms and legs, on his jaw and near his ears. There were groupings on his shoulders and… and now that Hitoshi was looking more closely, he would have sworn there were some in places there hadn’t been the day before, and some missing where he thought there had been some.

“The pool stings my skin.” Izuku finally said, seeming to deflate, leaning against Hitoshi. “I’m tired.”

Maybe he could put in a request to Aizawa or Nezu to purify the pool with salt instead of chemicals. Hitoshi made a mental note to do just that, the next chance he got.

“Yeah, you probably are tired. You’ve barely been eating anything and you’re still recovering.” Hitoshi sighed. “I’ll make the bed for you and you can rest.”

Izuku nodded and slid off the bed for Hitoshi to make it and walked over to the balcony, sliding the glass door aside to step out and look out over the school. There was what looked like a greenhouse nearby. Izuku could feel the humidity gathered inside from here, so different than outside. It was a clear day and Izuku bet it smelled nice. He bet if he could smell like Guren could, he’d be able to breathe in the scent of the greenhouse.

He wondered if it had roses.

On the balcony, even just on the second floor, the wind blew through Izuku’s hair and he shuddered at the foreign feeling. It was short, so short, and he could the breeze against his scalp like before, like when-

- He was Mikumo and he was standing on the top of the sea wall, arms out to his sides, his face blank.

One side, trees and grass and pain.

On the other: home.

“Izuku!”

And he turned, but he was too slow, the wind picked up, knocking him back and a high pitched yelp ripped apart the air as he fell.

He breathed in roses and chocolate before his back slammed into the sand, all the air rushing out of his lungs.

Someone screamed-

- ”Izu!”

Izuku was on his back, eyes wide, a blanket of cerulean stretching above him, fluffy clouds rolling by.

He thought he caught a familiar shape in one of them.

“Izuku!” The sky was blocked out by violet eyes and hands closed around each shoulder. “Hey, Izuku, breathe.”

Oh, yeah. Breathing was a thing.

Izuku sucked in a lungful of warm air, a tremor rising to his muscles like a tide, his teeth suddenly chattering.

“Fuck.” He was lifted, an arm beneath his knees and another under his shoulders and he was carried out of the wind. His back connected with something soft and he shuddered, eyes rolling to the side as Hitoshi pushed his hair out of his eyes, palm on his forehead, checking his temperature.

“Feels like your usual normal.” Hitoshi muttered. “I’m going to get Aizawa.”

He turned away but Izuku’s hand snapped up, snagging his wrist, and Hitoshi turned. “It’s okay, I’m fine.”

“No! You’re not fine!” Hitoshi shook his head and Izuku could see the fear in his eyes. “You passed out, that’s not normal, that’s-”

“I didn’t pass out.” Izuku tightened his grip on Hitoshi’s wrist but pulled himself up into a sitting position, actively taking deep, even breaths.

Hitoshi looked at him doubtfully. “You collapsed like a puppet, Izuku. That’s. Not. Normal.”

Izuku grimaced, pressing his free hand against the side of his head. “I didn’t pass out, I just… I saw something.”

Hitoshi tensed, frowning. “You… saw something? What do you mean?” He came back to sit next to Izuku, the bed only half made now.

“Do you remember what I said to Eraser last night?” Izuku asked, eyes partially lidded. His head was aching.

“About hearing and seeing things?” Hitoshi asked carefully.

Izuku nodded, chest expanding with a forcefully deep breath. “Sometimes, lately, I see things or even just hear things, during just… normal stuff. I always had weird dreams but now… it’s… like…”

His eyes squeezed shut, one hot tear finding its way out of the corner of his eye, by his nose, and Hitoshi was embracing him. Izuku released his wrist, bunching his hands in the front of his shirt, his control of his breathing slipping.

“Shhh, it’s okay.” Hitoshi murmured, rubbing his back, his other hand coming up to slide through his hair soothingly. “It’s going to be alright.”

Izuku sniffled, leaning back to wipe his eyes. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Izu. I’m here for you. I’m not going anywhere, ever. I’ll always be here.” Hitoshi’s voice was certain, concrete in his words. A guarantee. A promise .

Izuku nodded. “I’m trying my best to…” Izuku shook his head, swallowing thickly, looking down to see small patches of dark scales on the back of his hands. Who was he?

“Hey, Izu.” Izuku looked up at Hitoshi’s deep, soft voice, seeing a crooked smile and kind eyes. “I think you’re doing amazing.”

Izuku smiled, it was small, but it was there. “Thank you, Hoshi. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Hitoshi snorted, standing up. “Me neither.” He fixed the sheet of the bed, stretching it over the mattress and then guided Izuku to lay down, tossing a thin blanket over him that he immediately kicked off.

“Too hot.” He grumbled, rolling to his side and grabbing for the blanket to hold against his chest instead.

“I’ll ask Aizawa for a fan or something, or see if there’s like a thermostat in here maybe?” Hitoshi frowned, standing the rest of the way up and looking around the walls.

“There!” Nice, so each room had its own thermostat. Hitoshi walked over to the small electronic box on the wall and hit the down arrow several times until it was much lower than he himself would have enjoyed.

“Thank you.” Izuku slurred, already halfway asleep and Hitoshi smiled fondly.

“No problem. I’m going to go find you some food, cause you’ve eaten almost nothing. I’ll be close, okay?” Hitoshi raised a brow.

“Mhm.” Izuku murmured, his face nestled into the balled up blanket.

Hitoshi sighed and headed out, shutting the door gently behind him, walking downstairs the way Iida had shown him, turning the corner to the common room. Everyone was back to normal for the most part, the mug cleaned up. A few of his classmates were putting up groceries and plates and utensils in the kitchen, while Mina and Sero had taken over hanging up lights in the common room.

“Shinsou!” Uraraka stood up from where she was crouched on the floor at a chest, organizing what looked like board games within it, others catching sight of him now as well. “How’s Mido?”

“He’s napping.” Hitoshi explained, stepping further into the room. “He’s been pretty tired since he got back, and he’s not eating enough, so I’m going to find him something to eat.”

“I can do it.” Bakugou stood from the couch, leaving Kirishima and heading toward the kitchen.

Hitoshi shrugged, dropping onto the couch with a sigh and calling over his shoulder. “Nothing with meat in it! That includes jello!”

“Fuck off, I know!” Bakugou retorted loudly and something crashed in the kitchen, one of the girls yelling.

Hitoshi snorted, leaning back into the plush softness of the obviously new couch. It even smelled new, and Hitoshi wondered how long that would last with a class of teenagers living here.

“So, are you and Mido related or something?” Kaminari asked from the floor, his phone in hand as he craned his head to the side and back to look at Hitoshi, blond hair obscuring one eye.

“No, jeesh, Todoroki already asked this.” Hitoshi grumbled, rolling his eyes upward in exasperation. “We’re just friends.”

“Dude, friends don’t hold hands and hug each other like that.” Kaminari pushed his hair back, raising a brow.

Hitoshi scowled, but before he could answer, Kirishima was interjecting. “Yeah they do! Bakugou and I do stuff like that all the time!”

Kaminari face palmed while Hitoshi blinked, glancing back where Bakugou had obviously not heard, busy at the stove, scowling down into a pot, a strange expression in his eyes.

With a frown, Hitoshi stood, leaving behind the rest of the class to argue about social norms and social constructs and what was ‘manly’. Hitoshi didn’t care, though he did believe friends could do those things.

He just wasn’t exactly in a place to argue about it when he actually did have feelings for Izuku.

“You okay?” Hitoshi asked the blonde when he entered the kitchen, noting that Jirou and Yaoyorozu noticed him coming in and seemed to think they were intruding or something, leaving what they were doing to join the escalating debate in the other room.

Bakugou didn’t answer and for a moment, Hitoshi wondered if he’d even heard him. But then he responded, “I’m fine.” And then he grabbed a plastic ladle from the counter next to him, stirring the pot more vigorously than was needed.

Hitoshi dropped into a seat at the table, deciding he, too, would stir the pot. “I know we barely know each other, but if you ever want to, you can talk to me about… any of it. Izu… he’s been… You said what happened but there’s a lot I don’t know.”

Hitoshi studied Bakugou’s back, the tensing of his muscles beneath his tight black tank top, the rising of his shoulders, the slight trembling in his hands, the smell of burnt sugar rising in the air over the scent of heating vegetable soup.

Maybe he was going too far. He didn’t even know Bakugou. He didn’t know any of his classmates really. They’d all just been thrown into this so quickly. They’d hung out outside of class of course, but that was just Hitoshi hanging back and following Izuku for the most part. He was the social one. He was the one that had found Hitoshi, he was one that made more friends.

Izuku was the hero , Hitoshi was just-

“I don’t think either of us really knows it all.” Bakugou said, voice uncomfortably flat. “I pulled him out of that tank and he looked half dead. He was so fucking different and I don’t know what they were doing with him, or why they wanted him. I don’t know shit. I keep trying to think . Could I have done anything more? Could I have gotten us out before he went in? Could I have prevented him from being taken at all?”

Bakugou hunched over the pot and Hitoshi remained silent, at a loss for words. “He tried to tell me something was wrong, but I tried to hit him. I didn’t realize that he’d been hit with that dart thing until it was too late. I didn’t do enough , I should’ve-”

“Bakugou.” Hitoshi stood up, eyes narrowed, teeth grinding together before he spoke again. “None of it’s your fault. You got both of you out, that’s what matters. Now it’s just… time to pick up the pieces.”

“Fuck you.” Bakugou sniffed and wiped at his face, still turned away from Hitoshi who swallowed thickly.

“Maybe you should come see Izuku.” Hitoshi murmured. “Maybe it would help.”

“I… Not yet.” Bakugou shook his head, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet above his head and spooning a bunch of soup into it. “I think he just needs you right now.”

“What about you?” Hitoshi frowned.

Bakugou went still, liquid sloshing out of the ladle he clenched in one shaking hand. “Kirishima.”

“I see.” Bakugou turned, eyes slitted, a bowl full bowl in one hand and a ladle white-knuckled in the other.

“You don’t see shit.” He scowled, pushing the bowl at Hitoshi.

Hitoshi took it, the corner of his lip lifting wryly. “I think I do.”

Bakugou was like him.

“Just get this to your guy.” Bakugou sighed.

Hitoshi hesitated, a question occuring to him. “You knew him as a kid, right? Was Izuku vegetarian, then?”

“No.” Bakugou answered tonelessly, the conversation over as he yelled into the living room, asking in a not-so-polite way if anyone else wanted any soup.

Hitoshi took the bowl, searching the drawers for a spoon before heading back out and up the stairs, thinking.

Something had to be done.

There was more beneath the surface than Hitoshi could help with. And then there were the feelings, the fluttering in his gut, the warmth in his chest when he looked at Izuku. There was so much going on right now, and Hitoshi didn’t know what was the right move.

But he’d almost lost Izuku, for good.

He needed Izuku to know how much he cared for him, more than just friends. What if something happened… what if Hitoshi didn’t get the chance to…

Hitoshi gently pushed the door open, finding that Izuku hadn’t moved, still on his side, blanket clutched to his chest. His eyes shined softly through his eyelids, the phosphorescent blood coursing through his veins lighting up his body in a warm glow. His hair fell to the side, messy and all over the place.

Moving forward, Hitoshi set the bowl on the dresser, sitting on the bed at Izuku’s feet with a sigh.

The other boy mumbled something beneath his breath, shifting onto his back and yawning widely, giving Hitoshi a great view of his multiple rows of razor teeth before his jaw snapped shut and his eyes opened, meeting Hitoshi’s tiredly.

“Hoshi… how long was I asleep?” He stretched his arms above him, breathing in deeply. It was nice to see him able to breathe so well again.

“Only like half an hour or so.” Hitoshi answered, retrieving the bowl and handing it to Izuku once he’d sat up. “You should eat that.”

Izuku grimaced. “I’m not hungry.”

“You really are. Your body needs food. I know that your metabolism is fast, and you’ve barely eaten anything.” Hitoshi leaned forward. “Please try.”

Izuku stared down into the bowl silently before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, then opening them, reaching for the spoon and lifting it into his mouth, grimacing.

“Is it okay? Bakugou made it for you.” Hitoshi said, watching him carefully. Maybe he should have made sure to have a trash can or bag or something ready, just in case.

“It’s fine I guess.” Izuku mumbled, swallowing. “My head hurts.”

“Shit, I forgot your medicine.” Hitoshi cursed, standing up.

“It’s okay.” Izuku answered around another spoonful.

Hitoshi shook his head. “They probably put it with all your stuff in your room. I’ll be right back. Drink your soup please.”

Izuku made a high pitched grumble of complaint that Hitoshi took as acquiescence as he left his own bedroom for Izuku’s next door.

They hadn’t even seen his yet, but it was a lot like Hitoshi’s, just more blankets and stuffed animals piled on his dresser, overflowing onto his bed, some tumbled to the floor.

Hitoshi grabbed the bag from the foot of the bed that he himself had put Izuku’s medicine in that morning and headed for the door, pausing and then returning to the bed and snagging the shark plush from the midst of the other stuffed animals.

He shut Izuku’s door behind him as he left, switching the light off. He honestly didn’t see Izuku using his own room all that much. They’d shared a room/train car for so long now, that Hitoshi didn’t think they’d be happy separated. And he’d just come back.

Yeah, that room would probably remain how it was for a while.

Hitoshi walked the few steps to his own room but paused in front of the door, holding the shark plushie to his chest, the bag hanging from his other hand in a tight grip.

Things were changing rapidly. There’d been the USJ, which had been fucking terrifying. He could remember his horror at seeing Izuku collapse, his legs moving for him as he reached out to catch him.

He remembered Izuku running away, dropping out of the window.

And somehow, even before then, that time at the beach, debating telling Izuku his feelings.

They could have died at the USJ and Izuku wouldn’t have known.

He hadn’t mentioned anything afterward, dealing with one thing at a time. Izuku had been sick and they’d had to adjust to living with their teachers and then there’d been the training for the sports festival.

There hadn’t been a good time and Hitoshi still hadn’t said anything.

And then the sports festival and Izuku had almost been lost to him again.

There just wasn’t going to be a right time, a best moment. There wouldn’t be a perfect chance.

They were training to be heroes and there were so many unknowns, so many things changing faster than Hitoshi could even realize. It was like hanging out of a window of a bullet train, the world whipping by as he tried desperately to slow it down before it killed him.

There was one thing he could do, one thing he could control.

Hitoshi wanted to, he needed to do this. He needed to talk to Izuku.

Hitoshi took a deep breath and opened the door.

Chapter Text

The room was musty, smelling of stale sweat and spilled alcohol. Old incandescent light bulbs barely lit the dingy bar from above. One light, back in the corner, flickered occasionally, giving a sickening, dilapidated ambience to the place. The barstools sometimes broke and the bar itself was cracked and full of holes from an unbelievable amount of fights breaking out within, going unrepaired each time.

This wasn’t the League’s only bar, even just in this city, but it was by far Tomura’s favorite. It had a certain air to it that reminded him of growing up, of being young and full of rage. This was one of their oldest bars. Master had owned it long before he’d gotten Tomura, and he’d spent a lot of time here when he’d been younger.

And everything was just the same as it had always been, down to the pictures of their ‘family’ on the walls.

Even one of little Mikumo up on the wall, pinned beneath one of a smaller Tomura. There were none of Master though. He’d always had an aversion to having his picture taken. Or at least, for as long as Tomura had been around.

Usually, when they were here, it was because they had some business nearby, since Kurogiri did have a limited range for his warping, even if it was a relatively large area that he could do it in.

That was accurate for now as well. Tomura was usually not the sentimental type, though he did feel more comfortable in this place than in others, especially after the only person he’d ever seen as any type of real father figure had been taken from him. Which meant he was here for two reasons. The first being, he wanted that small connection with his master.

The second: revenge.

He was currently pinned to the floor of said bar, one serrated knife next to his face, the other embedded in his right shoulder, both arms out to each side. Of course, this was not something he would usually stand for, but as it seemed, his body was immobile.

He was pissed.

This ‘Stain’ was spouting nonsense like it was his nindo, like he was some sort of all knowing, always right, ninja.

Tomura saw nothing but a child who wouldn’t listen .

“This society is overgrown with fake heroes, where the word itself has lost its true meaning, and the criminals who wave their power around idly should all be purged.” The man was saying as if he wasn’t a villain himself, as if he wasn’t going around waving his own power around, killing whomever he deemed deserving.

Tomura wanted to show him how much of a criminal he truly was, he wanted to lay his hand on the fucker's face and watch his body crumble into nothing. He wanted to see the fear in his eyes as he watched the face of death approach him.

But Tomura was angrier at someone else. He could put aside his rage for the moment, knowing that he could use him to get to the person he wanted to kill the most.

Mikumo.

Instead of killing the man, he wrapped the palm he could safely move around the blade of the knife within his shoulder now that he could actually move, feeling that thrill rush through his veins as he reduced it to its most basic form.

Tomura lashed a hand out toward the man’s face, not with the intent to kill, but only to scare. And it worked.

Stain jumped back farther and faster than Tomura’s slow attack warranted, caution in the other man's eyes.

“We don’t have a healer, are you going to take care of this?” Tomura scowled, climbing to his feet and gesturing toward his newly injured shoulder.

Annoying .

“We have opposing views, I will bring no more harm to anyone here, but I will not help you kill children.” Stain said resolutely, a new blade already in his hand so that he was holding two out in front of him defensively.

Tomura’s face twisted in an off putting sneer. “Many of the heroes you’ve killed could be considered children in the public’s eyes. Wasn’t your youngest only 17? A recent high school graduate?”

“My ideals are infallible, you cannot sway me.” Stain retorted, lip curling.

Tomura leaned against the bar, radiating a casual, yet imposing, aura. “The one you call a child, is a hero.”

Stain stilled, eyes narrowing, and Tomura continued. “It’s true. Once our memories began returning, it wasn’t difficult to figure out, with how close we once were. We can help each other. You desire to kill these false heroes, don’t you?”

Tomura grinned, an expression more similar to a broken grimace than anything else. It was a look he’d been told could curdle milk, a dark visage that made adults and babies alike cry. It was the last thing so many had seen.

“How does Riptide sound?”

Stain smiled.

-X-

The curtains were still pulled aside and sunlight filtered into the room, rays of light warming the wooden floorboards in front of the bed where Izuku currently sat, the bowl in his hands as he stared off into space.

Hitoshi hesitated, the door wide open, one foot over the threshold. One stray ray of light shined right across Izuku’s face, almost changing the color of his eyes in its radiance. It muted the glow, covering it up in a way, but brought out the fade of color in his eyes, illuminating the change of green to yellow. Hitoshi could see it wasn’t as distinct as he’d thought, the green almost being absorbed by the yellow, creating a chartreuse in the middle rim of his iris before shining like the most vivid of yellows.

The patches of scales on his face looked more green than ever, when before they’d seemed lighter. Izuku was sitting up straight, and the closer Hitoshi looked, the more he noticed that Izuku’s hands were shaking and he frowned, remembering what he’d gone into the other room for.

“I brought your-” He started, stepping the rest of the way into the room, but freezing when Izuku’s eyes snapped over to him, his grip on the bowl tightening, a single crack immediately spiderwebbing across the side, soup gathering along it to form a small droplet.

“Sorry, it’s just me.” Hitoshi voiced, walking forward and shutting the door behind him. Izuku’s eyes followed him as he set the shark down on the bed sheet next to him, and the bag against the ground. He fished around in it, pulling out a bottle of water and Izuku’s medicine, setting both down next to the plush.

He glanced down at his friend, standing in front of him. He’d felt so resolute before, so sure that he needed to tell him his feelings. But was now really the time?

He exhaled slowly, swallowing. There’d never be a perfect time. He needed to say it now before…

Before he tempted fate to make it too late.

“Were you seeing something again?” Hitoshi asked softly, pulling yet another soft blanket from the bag. This one was Hitoshi’s old favorite, soft and comfortable. It had also been a gift from Izuku a few months ago, when he noticed Hitoshi had been freezing in the train car every night.

It was really warm, and also sported a pun that Izuku had laughed about for a week straight.

‘Fish sleep on a river bed.’

It wasn’t even that funny, but Izuku loved it, so of course so did Hitoshi.

“No,” Izuku answered, blinking and turning his head to watch Hitoshi. “I was just thinking.”

“What were you thinking about?” Hitoshi asked with a worried lilt to his voice.

Izuku shrugged, closing his eyes, forehead creased. Hitoshi pressed his lips together in a frown before standing, setting the blanket aside and reaching for Izuku’s bowl. “Can you not eat anymore?” It was only halfway gone, if that.

Izuku shook his head and Hitoshi sighed, taking the bowl and setting it on the desk next to the bed. “Okay, well, will you take your medicine?”

Izuku’s eyelids lifted and he nodded, observing Hitoshi as he grabbed the bottle back up and poured the liquid into the cap, handing it to Izuku who knocked it back, then snatched up the bottle and manipulated the water into his mouth to wash it down.

He stuck his tongue out, making a ‘bleh’ noise and Hitoshi laughed. “You can’t even taste, why ‘bleh’?”

“It’s still gross.” Izuku answered, pushing the small medicine cup onto the desk, next to the bowl. “I still don’t like it.”

Izuku chugged the rest of the water and leaned back on his arms as Hitoshi sat next to him, chewing on his cheek.

There was a silence between them, and for the first time in a long time, it felt awkward to Hitoshi. Or maybe it was his own anxiety at what he was about to say. Silence between them hadn’t even been awkward when they’d first met, why would it be now? Hitoshi was definitely imagining it. It wasn’t like…

Did Izuku even feel at all similarly as Hitoshi? He knew Izuku liked him as a friend, and he definitely didn’t mind touching him or hanging on him or being carried by him or sleeping on him… but… did he-

“Hoshi?” Izuku asked, his head tilted in Hitoshi’s direction, eyes alight with his inner fire.

“YeAhH?” Hitoshi’s voice cracked more than once and he flinched, clearing his throat. “Um, yeah?”

“Are you okay?” Hitoshi inhaled sharply in shock, choking on his own spit, immediately hacking.

Izuku’s eyes widened and he patted Hitoshi’s back. “Hoshi, what happened? Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, you just caught me by surprise. You’re asking me if I’m okay, when you’re… when you’re…” Hitoshi gestured to Izuku, wincing when Izuku’s face hardened, his hand dropping from Hitoshi’s back.

“When I’m what?” He asked flatly and Hitoshi’s heart skipped a beat. No, no, no. This isn’t what he meant, this isn’t what he wanted. What should he do, how did he fix this?

“Stressed, Izu. You’ve gone through a lot. You’re still going through a lot.” Maybe Hitoshi shouldn’t put his feelings on that pile of stuff Izuku was going through.

Izuku deflated, eyes pointing toward his feet. “Yeah, I... Yeah.”

Hitoshi frowned, leaning back on his hands against the mattress. He didn’t know how to do this. He didn’t know how to form his feelings and thoughts into words, he didn’t know how to convey what he needed Izu to understand. “How are you feeling?” He asked instead.

Like a coward.

Izuku glanced up and shrugged, forehead creasing. “I don’t feel like me. Even… even my heartbeat doesn’t feel like my own. I don’t even know what I look like anymore, and I can’t-”

“Wait, wait.” Hitoshi sat up straight, eyes widening, casting his mind back. “Have you… have you not seen your reflection yet?” In the hospital Izuku had avoided the bathroom unless he had no choice, and he could’ve just… not looked at the mirror. Hitoshi had been washing his hair, he hadn’t gotten a shower or a bath.

He really hadn’t seen himself.

Izuku grimaced and picked at a patch of scales on his knee. “I haven’t… I don’t want to… I want to keep that image of myself, I don’t want to be… nnn.” He raised his hands to cover his eyes, the base of his palms digging into his sockets, his claws curling into his messy hair.

Hitoshi wanted to cry.

“Izu…” Hitoshi started, voice strained.

“I know I should.” Izuku rubbed at his eyes viciously. “And you keep saying I’m me no matter what. But I don’t even know who that is, so I don't know what that means. I don’t know… Hoshi, I keep… I don’t know how to explain it.” Izuku groaned and Hitoshi wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Take your time, Izu. I’m not going anywhere.” Izuku nodded, scrubbing at his face for another second.

“Thank you, Hoshi. I’m so glad you’re with me.” He murmured and Hitoshi’s stomach flipped, blood rushing to his face.

“I-Izu?” It was his voice but he couldn’t remember telling his vocal cords to do anything.

Izuku lifted his head, leaning into Hitoshi. “Hmm?”

Hitoshi’s mouth opened in surprise, as if he hadn’t actually expected Izuku to answer him. But of course he would answer, why wouldn’t he?

Fuck, Hitoshi was spiralling. He needed to just… he should just-

“Izu, I like you.” Fuck! He was such a damn idiot, what was wrong with him?! Why was he like this?!

Izuku tilted his head. “Well, I’m glad? I like you too, Hoshi.”

Hitoshi leaned away, running a hand down his face in distress and Izuku turned to face him, folding his legs on the bed. “No, I mean, I like you.”

Izuku tipped his head forward. “Yes? I like you too?” Izuku brows drew together even further and Hitoshi groaned loudly.

This was such a fucking disaster.

“Izuku…” Hitoshi closed his eyes for a second, gritting his teeth, once again remembering how absolutely sheltered Izuku had been on the beach. He needed to be more clear.

“I think… I’m in love with you, Izuku.” He opened his eyes in just enough time to see Izuku stiffen, gaze searching Hitoshi’s, slitted pupils dancing back and forth.

“Hoshi…” He started, tone measured and careful. “I’ve loved you for a long time. What do you mean… I don’t think I understand.”

Hitoshi took a deep breath, trying to steady his rapid pulse. “ I… you’ve seen couples right? You’ve had to’ve, I don’t know how to…” Izuku’s confused frown was deepening and Hitoshi was growing more frustrated. He was realizing more and more this was a mistake. What had made him think that this was a good idea when Izuku was already dealing with so much. When he didn’t even know what Hitoshi was talking about.

Hitoshi had no idea how to convey to Izuku what he meant. There was no possible way to…

Well, actually…

There was a bad idea.

“Hoshi, what are-”

Hitoshi halted the words with his own mouth, pressing his lips against Izuku’s, tasting vegetable soup.

If he couldn’t explain how he felt, then he’d have to show him.

Izuku made a surprised, gasping sound in the back of his throat, leaning away so that Hitoshi hovered awkwardly in front of him, their eyes almost level with each other.

Hitoshi could still taste the vegetable soup.

“Wh- I don’t… Hoshi, I don’t understand.” There were tears in Izuku’s voice and Hitoshi mentally cursed.

He’d fucked up.

Before he could say anything though, Izuku was continuing, eyes steadily getting bigger. “I don’t know what you’re wanting from me? I don’t understand, I don’t think you realize. What is- I’ve never seen - I’ve noticed couples, I’ve rescued them, I’ve seen what it is, but I didn’t- I haven’t- I can’t-”

“Izu.” Hitoshis interrupted, lifting Izuku’s chin with a finger, making him meet his eyes from where his gaze had drifted downward again. “I’m not trying to rush anything, okay?” The reptilian hero hesitantly nodded and Hitoshi went on. “My goal here was just… it was just to let you know how I feel about you. I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I’ve considered telling you a few times. But then, the sports festival happened and I… I didn’t know if you’d come back , Izu. I went to that beach every day, I missed you so much .”

Izuku’s eyes were filling with tears but Hitoshi didn’t stop, his palm rising to cup the side of Izu’s chill face. “When you were gone, there was this hole in my chest. I didn’t know what to do or how to cope. I spent every second wishing you were next to me again, wishing you were home .”

Izuku hissed in a breath between his teeth, eyes wide. Hitoshi could see himself reflected in the sharp green of his irises.

“I did too, I thought of you the whole time. I just wanted to come home to you.” Izuku’s entire body shuddered and then…

… then he fell apart, right into Hitoshi’s arms.

And like Hitoshi had promised, he didn’t let go, even as Izuku sobbed, claws digging into his skin, as if he’d forgotten they were there. It didn’t matter. Hitoshi barely noticed the pain.

He didn’t care.

-X-

When Izuku’s tears had dried and the sun had ascended the sky, leaving the room engulfed in suppressed shadows, Hitoshi finally spoke again.

“You don’t have to say anything. I only wanted to let you know.” The words, before it was too late, went unspoken, but they hung in the air between them, for both of them to hear. Heavy.

Izuku only nodded. “Okay.”

It wasn’t the reaction Hitoshi had expected, but it made sense and Hitoshi wasn’t disappointed. He was honestly glad to get it off his chest, at least a little bit.

He wasn’t quite sure if Izuku knew what he meant or not, or if he just needed time to think about it. It was hard to tell with Izuku most of the time.

“Well, do you want to stay here or head downstairs to try to see the class again?” Hitoshi asked.

Izuku tilted his head to the side. “I want to go swimming.”

The corner of Hitoshi’s mouth twitched in an attempt at a smile. Of course Izuku would want to swim. That was just so… him.

“Is the pool okay? Even though it stings your skin? What about your wounds that are still healing?” Hitoshi watched as Izuku stood, wobbling slightly with closed eyes and a frown.

Hitoshi really needed to get him to eat more, but at least he’d taken his medicine. He was glad that he’d made sure to remind the doctors of Izuku’s aversion to pills or any medicine that he didn’t see come straight from an unopened bottle, which they’d learned several times during his stay at the hospital the hard way.

Izuku answered with a shake of his head, curls dancing about his cheeks before his shoulders dropped. “I guess I can go see everyone, since I left so quickly.” He turned to Hitoshi, a dark expression in his eyes, a hand against his nose as if remembering. “Don’t let me hurt anyone.”

Hitoshi grimaced. “Izu, you’re not going to-”

“Hitoshi, please.” Izuku interrupted with a sigh. “Just… don’t let me hurt anyone. I can’t…” He trailed off, shaking his head and then turned back to Hitoshi. “Let’s go, I’m sure they’re worried. And I never thanked them for all the stuffed animals.”

Hitoshi nodded, noting the distinct change of topic but following along nonetheless as he left the room and headed downstairs. His claws clacked against the wood flooring with every step, and Hitoshi winced, wondering what the school was going to do about the destruction that was sure to follow from having Izuku here.

His first actual residence now that Hitoshi thought about it. They hadn’t exactly spent much time doing anything besides sleeping at the Yamada-Aizawa’s and the train car was nice and all, but it wasn’t exactly a real residence. This was supposed to be their home, not just a living place.

Hitoshi doubted it could become that.

The common room was more empty this time when they arrived and Izuku relaxed. He loved his classmates, but he was glad they weren’t all there to overwhelm him again.

Kaminari looked up from his spot on the floor when they walked around the couch to sit down, an ashamed expression on his face. “Hey, sorry man, if I made you uncomfortable or anything at the hospital, or here.”

Izuku shook his head, dropping nearly soundlessly onto the couch where Hitoshi had laid him before, when he’d been immobilised. Kimi was still down there, curled up next to Kaminari, but she stood up, stretching languidly and then crossing over to lay on Hitoshi’s legs when he sat down next to Izuku.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Izuku reassured with a small smile. “I’m just a bit off, lately.”

Kaminari sat up, a serious expression crossing his face. “That’s okay, Mido. You’re allowed to be a bit off, you know? No one expects everything to be exactly the same as it was before the sports festival.”

Izuku practically recoiled at his friend's words, a sharp tooth piercing through a chunk of his cheek as his jaw clicked shut. He didn’t want his friends to expect him to be different. He didn’t want to be seen differently. He… was Izuku. Right? He was no one else.

Izuku took a deep breath, lifting his head. “Thank you, Kaminari. Anyway, what are you doing?”

“Oh!” Kaminari glanced at his phone, held loosely in his hands, then looked up at the two on the couch, Hitoshi settling against the armrest tiredly. “I’m just playing a game.”

“A game? On your cell phone?” Izuku tilted his head and Kaminari blinked up at him while Hitoshi turned the rest of the way to face him.

“Mido, don’t tell me you’ve never played a game on your phone.” Kaminari breathed, as if it was something sacrilegious to say too loudly.

Izuku lifted an eyebrow at the blonde. “I… didn’t realize that phones had games? Like, board games? I’ve played those with-” Izuku stiffened.

When had he-

“Anyway.” Hitoshi quickly leaned forward, hands slapping together loudly, snapping Izuku’s attention to him and out of the fog of his own mind. “What game is it, Kaminari?. You should show us.”

Kaminari seemed to catch what Hitoshi was trying to do, standing up and crossing the middle of the common room, dropping into the small space between the two of them and holding his phone up so they could both see.

“This is just a mindless game, you just like, collect money and spend it for better advancements and then it moves on to the next level where things are more expensive. It’s never ending entertainment!” Kaminari demonstrated leveling something up, a tinkling noise sounding, probably to induce endorphins, make the player crave that noise subconsciously, to keep playing.

Izuku leaned forward, grumbling when his hair fell into his eyes and he had to push it back. Kaminari tilted his head back at the noise. “You know, Midoriya...”

A voice sounded from the other couch and all three guys looked up at Yaoyorozu who’d so far been reading silently. Now, she had lifted her eyes from her book and was watching the three of them. “My family has a hairdresser we’ve used my entire life. She has a quirk that can cause hair to grow.”

Hitoshi’s eyes widened at the same time that Izuku tensed, hand still holding his bangs back from his hair.

“I’m sure if it’s your family, it’s way too expensive for-” Kaminari started, but Izuku was quick to interrupt.

“The price doesn’t matter.” He stated flatly, back ramrod straight. “I have it.”

Yaoyorozu blinked in surprise. “I was going to offer to pay anyway.”

Hitoshi watched Izuku drop his hand, hair falling forward again, his eyes wide as he stared at their class representative. “When can I see her?”

Yaoyorozu blinked and then stood, slipping a hand into a skirt pocket and withdrawing a phone. “I’ll make a call.”

She walked away, heading for the front door and closing it behind her, leaving the rest alone.

Izuku turned to look at Hitoshi from behind Kaminari’s back, and for the first time since he’d gotten back…

Hitoshi saw a glint of excitement in his eyes.

They headed back to the room a bit after that, after Yaoyorozu had come in and told them that her mom was getting into contact with her family’s hair dresser.

Both of them were tired, and Hitoshi wanted to actually do something with his room. He wanted to make it more homey. It was nothing like the train car, of course, but maybe it wouldn’t be awful.

Izuku laid on the bed as soon as they entered the room, yawning widely and grabbing the shark plush to lay his head on. Hitoshi crossed the room and sat Kimi down next to Izuku’s feet. “Are you napping again?”

“Yeah, I’m tired.” Izuku responded easily, eyes closing as Kimi jumped to his side and walked along his body to lay obnoxiously across his head, purrs loud enough to fill the entire room.

Hitoshi turned away to begin decorating the room, pushing the memory of Izuku’s lips against his own, from his mind. It would help no one to think of such things at the moment. Instead, he began opening bags and boxes, putting things away.

Eventually, he ran out of things to do and moved on to Izuku's room, cleaning things and putting them up, despite knowing that Izuku would probably rarely even be in the room.

He came across Ojirou’s night light gift and hid it in the back of Izuku’s empty closet, throwing a spare blanket over it and piling some more clothes over it for good measure. The look in Izuku’s eyes when he had first opened the gift had been so haunted. Hitoshi had no desire to see it again.

Izuku didn’t have a lot of things, so Hitoshi was able to finish quickly, gathering an armful of stuffed animals and heading back to his own room to find Izuku unmoved, Kimi still draped across his head.

Hitoshi smiled and then sighed, once again wishing he had a phone to take a picture. Maybe he should just suck it up and ask Izuku to get him one. He seemed to have so much money that he didn’t even blink when given the idea of making large purchases like however much this hairdresser was going to be. Hitoshi didn’t think that Izuku even knew how much money he had.

He’d surely have no problem helping Hitoshi, but that didn’t mean Hitoshi wouldn’t feel bad about asking or needing help.

He needed a phone though, for class, to communicate with his classmates, for emergencies.

It was quite the problem, that was for sure. If only he’d thought to get it out of his pocket before charging straight into the sea. Though, to be fair, there hadn’t been much of anything else on his mind when he’d seen Bakugou.

The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon when Hitoshi finally finished everything, stepping out onto the balcony and lifting his head to the wind as it ruffled through his hair. He wondered what had sent Izuku to the ground earlier when he’d been out here. What had reminded him of something harsh enough to make him drop like a puppet? Had there even been anything? Was there anything Hitoshi could do to avoid it? Should he ask Izuku about what he was seeing when these incidents happened? Would that help him?

And what if he was in a fight or something when it happened? What if Hitoshi wasn’t there to help him?

Hitoshi pressed his face into his hands, shoulders lifting as he held back tears. He recalled the horrifying sound Izuku’s body had made when he collapsed bonelessly, a harsh ‘thump’ as his bare flesh hit the cement of the balcony, his eyes halfway open and unseeing. It was different than when Hitoshi used his quirk on him, different than when he was immobile from the shark thing.

It was just… scary.

Hitoshi didn’t want to see it again.

But he didn’t have a choice in that, did he? If he was going to be supporting and helping Izuku, which he was , then there was nothing he could do.

Izuku rested for a while until Mina called them down for their first dinner all together. A bunch of the class was gathered in the common room, playing a game of Hero Clue and the rest were placing piles of plates out and pouring drinks while Bakugou cooked two different pots of food, both of them distinctly different colored.

Izuku paused at the juncture between the common room and the kitchen, looking between the two with a confused expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Hitoshi asked, both hands on Kimi’s paws to keep her steady from where she was draped around his neck.

“Nothing.” Izuku answered vaguely. “I don’t know, it’s just… weird, to be around…” A shudder ran through his body and Hitoshi stepped forward, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“Wanna sit down?” He suggested.

“Join us in Hero Clue!” Mina yelled from the floor of the common room and Izuku looked toward her. “It’s the underground hero version! It even has Aizawa-Sensei.”

Izuku stilled, before a crooked smirk spread across one side of his face. Hitoshi smiled and watched Izuku excitedly join Mina, Kaminari, Kirishima, Hagakure, and Aoyoma.

Hitoshi set Kimi down on the back of the couch, watching Izuku make a gasping noise when he realized that not only was Eraser a character option, but so was Riptide.

He seemed to be continuously flummoxed by his own popularity. And the class didn’t even know.

They were going to have to do something about ‘Riptide’ though. The public and his agency still thought he was just on vacation or something. A ‘leave of absence’ could mean a lot of things, but it had gone on for a while now. Hitoshi didn’t understand how they weren’t already bothering Izuku about coming back, but he was sure there was a reason for it. He could remember Izuku mentioning once that he’d never had a sick day or missed a patrol or anything, maybe that was why they were being lenient with him.

Or maybe he just had friends in high places looking out for him. That would make sense too.

Which made Hitoshi wonder if there was anyone else that knew that Izuku was Riptide, besides him and Yamada and Aizawa.

“Food is done!” Uraraka yelled from the kitchen and Hitoshi sighed, turning to gather some for both him and Izuku, pausing at the counter where the seasonings and utensils were set out. After a moment of thought, Hitoshi just grabbed the entire salt shaker and brought it to Izuku.

They paused the game of Clue and everyone settled down in various places around the entirety of the common room and kitchen. Everyone was there, not a single member of 1A was missing.

The talk was loud and happy. The rooms were cluttered too, but in a comfortable way. Kaminari sat on the back of one of the couches, legs on either side of it as he held his plate carefully in one hand, talking to Jirou who sat on the couch part near his feet. She was laughing, eyes shining.

Bakugou could be heard cursing from the kitchen at Kirishima who was only laughing loudly, in raucous guffaws. Tokoyami was conversing with Shouji about what seemed to be worldly things, both of them lost in an in depth conversation about the point or lack thereof of paper money many years ago, when electronic currency economically and environmentally made more sense.

It was a strange conversation to be going on, but whatever. Hitoshi sat down on a couch, watching as Izuku came to join him, taking his plate.

“Brought you salt.” Hitoshi said, handing away the shaker which Izuku took gratefully with an excited noise as he upturned the thing over his plate, shaking it vigorously so that more and more salt fell onto his plate.

Hitoshi winced, just imagining what that would taste like. Maybe it was for the best that Izuku had no sense of taste, with how much salt he was currently dumping in his food.

“Midoriya.” A voice said, just as Izuku was lifting a pair of chopsticks to his mouth. His eyes flicked over to Yaoyorozu. “My mother called me back. Our hairdresser was very interested. She’s willing to meet after the end of the day tomorrow, after class. She even said she’s willing to come here to make you more comfortable. It’s very rare for her to make house calls, so you should-”

She went on for a bit, but Izuku was no longer listening, one thought echoing around and around in his head.

He was going to get his hair back.

-X-

Hitoshi and Izuku stayed in the same room that night, but Izuku couldn’t sleep. Instead he waited until Hitoshi finally fell asleep and crept out onto the balcony. He climbed onto the wall and threaded his legs through the cement bars of the railing and hung off the side, his stomach against the top and his arms hanging off of it.

He could still feel the wind in his hair, against his scalp, and he closed his eyes, Just letting himself feel it.

He was getting brief remnants of old feelings, flashes of adrenaline in his gut for seemingly no reason. He could somehow smell, though he could barely recall what it was like to be able to smell. He could taste melon pan, flaking against his tongue. He could hear gentle whispers in his ear, the sounds of his name in a soft, feminine voice that was so familiar but not.

He wanted to know, he needed to know. He felt like there was something missing, like there were so many important things he should be thinking about instead of just worrying about his hair.

And suddenly his eyes were leaking and he didn’t know why. He never used to cry at all, and it hadn’t been something that bothered him. He just… didn’t. But after Hitosi had gotten him to cry once he just couldn’t seem to stop. He cried at anything and everything now. He didn’t know how to quit.

Izuku didn’t end up sleeping, spending the entirety of the night watching the stars and listening to the wind.

Hitoshi woke up, unsurprised to find Izuku on the balcony, only calling him back inside to get ready for their first day back in class.

Izuku was watching Hitoshi gather things for a shower, sitting on the edge of the bed, brow creased. “Can you wash my hair again?” He asked softly, noticing Hitoshi looking at him sadly. He didn’t need a shower. He could clean himself just fine with wipes and Hitoshi did well enough with his hair.

“Of course.” Hitoshi answered and they headed to the bathroom.

They found it was more like a large locker room, even housing lockers and partitioned, walled off showers with an entire wall of sinks.

But Izuku immediately backed off before entering.

He’d seen the row of mirrors, one after the other over each sink, his heart immediately picking up painfully, his stomach churning, bile raising in his throat.

“I can’t .” He said, backing away as Hitoshi looked back at him in confusion, then noticed his line of sight. The row of mirrors facing into the room, not showing them. Yet.

“Hoshi, I can’t. Please.”

If he didn’t look, if he didn’t see… he could pretend nothing was different. His hair was going to be back to normal by the end of the day, but there was no way he could just… remove his own scales. He couldn’t just cut his claws off, could he? And there was absolutely nothing he could do about his glowing skin.

He didn’t want to see. He couldn’t.

“Okay, okay, Izu, it’s okay. You don’t have to do anything.” Hitoshi had dropped his things, pulling Izuku against his chest. He hadn’t even realized he’d begun hyperventilating. “We can do it in the kitchen.”

So, that’s how several of their classmates found them. Hitoshi scrubbing Izuku’s scalp, his head in the sink and Kimi on his chest despite the water running. Bakugou walked in to see them like that and didn’t even blink, moving past them to grab a breakfast bar from a box next to the fridge and glancing at Izuku knowingly before leaving to eat in the common room.

Iida lectured them on how unsanitary it was but Izuku only flashed a sharp smile at him and the class rep left them alone with a stern reminder to clean up after themselves.

Hitoshi finished and went to get his own shower while Izuku was left alone in the kitchen to find something to eat.

He didn’t know if he should cook something or find something that was already ready, like Bakugou and his breakfast bar.

He figured he could try making rice. He’d never cooked anything before, but it couldn’t be that hard. Bakugou had made an entire meal the night before pretty well.

How hard could it be?

Turned out, pretty damn hard.

Hitoshi returned from his shower to find half the class screaming, a fire blazing from the stove while Izuku stood on the middle of the kitchen table, whipping water from the sink toward the inferno and cackling while Kirishima tried to smother the flames in his rock like form.

Hitoshi stood in the doorway amidst the chaos, absolutely blank faced.

He was right in assuming packing this many teenagers with powerful quirks in one small area was going to cause some problems.

-X-

“Internships.” Aizawa began, once the class got settled down. “We’ve postponed them for long enough, but now is the time. We can’t put off everything forever. This is still a hero school and you still need to learn. So, we will be proceeding with them as normal. As today is the first day of the school week, I expect your choices to be in by Wednesday and then you will leave on Friday in place of class. They will last until next week.”

Their teacher reached into the podium, removing a large sheaf of papers. “Since the sports festival couldn’t be completed, the offers from pro heroes are more lacking this year, but there are still plenty to choose from. And for those of you who didn’t receive any offers, there’s a list of 50 or so to go with. This is not required of course, but for those that choose not to go, you will remain at UA for standardized testing.”

Aizawa grinned evilly before handing the papers to Iida and Yaoyorozu to pass out. “And make sure to put in any requests for changes to your hero costumes before Wednesday as well to give the support department time to get them done before you leave.” And with that, Aizawa exited the room, giving them time to look their options over.

Izuku got his small stack of papers and turned to face Hitoshi, scanning their lists of offers together. They didn’t match up. At all.

They didn’t have a single offer in common.

“What the hell? Aizawa sent an offer?” Hitoshi muttered quietly into the back of his hand, head leaning forward against it as he read.

Izuku was staring at his own paper, eyes widening. “Oh my gosh, I got an offer from Gang Orca. Ohmygosh, ohmygosh.”

Kaminari leaned over, looking at them in surprise. “You got an offer from one of the top fifteen heroes?!”

Izuku nodded, glancing at Hitoshi, a strange feeling passing over him. “We’re going to have to be separated.”

Hitoshi grimaced. “It’s a bad idea. You can’t go five minutes without getting into some sort of trouble when I’m not around.”

Izuku smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“Oof, man. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to say that?” Kaminari shook his head. “That’s just asking for bad luck.”

The class was a loud mess, discussing all the opportunities they’d have interning with actual heroes. Izuku was just… he didn’t really know how he felt about it. The idea of interning with a hero he’d only seen in passing and had been reading about since his vigilante days was exciting. Because he was definitely going to choose Gang Orca, Izuku felt like he was a hero that he could really learn something from.

But the idea of being away from Hitoshi was… scary .

“Uwabami is on here.” A voice broke through Izuku’s thoughts and he sat up, glancing over at Yaoyorozu and then standing.

She looked up as he approached, looking down at her list, searching for a specific name and then smiling when he saw it. “Can I give you my opinion?” He asked, shifting his gaze to her.

“Of course, Midoriya.” The girl answered smoothly.

“Call me, Izuku.” He said, leaning into her desk, eyes shining. “Uwabami is more of a limelight hero, and by that I mean, she really likes attention. She’s a good hero, I’m not disputing that. That is, when she is actually doing any hero work.”

Yaoyorozu blinked in confusion. “Call me Yaomomo then. And what do you mean?”

“Oh, just that Uwabami is more often found catering to fans and stroking her own ego than heroing.” Izuku stated. Many of the students were watching them now, moving closer.

Izuku went on. “I mean, if she’s who you want to go with, no problem, but I suggest... “ Izuku tapped a finger over the name ‘Fatgum.’

“Fatgum is an amazing hero and really nice. He’s all about body positivity and support for everyone. I think you’d love him and he’d be a great fit, since your quirks are actually quite similar as well.” Izuku was nodding excitedly, while the class listened in in surprise. Kirishima in particular had his eyebrows raised in interest and Todoroki was also very curious, a deep-in-thought expression on his face.

“How do you know so much about these heroes?” Yaomomo asked.

Izuku shrugged, glancing at Hitoshi whose head was laying against his desk, eyes half closed as he watched Izuku’s antics tiredly. He was used to Izuku nearly outing himself and endlessly by it.  “I’ve done a lot of research on heroes, I guess, like, um, a hobby. Yeah.” Izuku gave a small smile that shined trustworthiness.

“Hmm.” Yaomomo nodded. “Well, I’ll take it into consideration. Thank you.”

Before Izuku could answer Mic was throwing open the door to the classroom and announcing himself with glee, calling Izuku up to pass out a pop quiz.

-X-

That evening, after class, Izuku waited with Hitoshi in his room. It was going to be the two of them and-

Two sharp knocks against the door had Izuku lifting his head. He’d felt her coming up, but knowing she was coming filled him with a strange feeling he’d never experienced before. Something nervous and excited at the same time, his heart pattering against his ribcage, a forceful thump carrying his phosphorescent blood faster through his body.

“Come in.” Hitoshi shouted and the door slid quietly open, revealing a tall woman with a shaved head and big, bright lavender grey eyes that reflected a calm serenity, like a quiet pool. She wore black slacks and a dark shirt with an emblem of scissors over the breast pocket.

She gave a small bow and stepped into the room, smiling, eyes going straight to Izuku who had stood from his chair once the door had opened.

She carried a square case in one hand but her other was bare, reaching it out to shake Izuku’s. Her skin was very warm when he closed it around hers and he quickly withdrew it. Izuku had never liked shaking hands, but as a hero it was something he had to do. He’d gotten proficient at doing it quickly and then backing away.

“I heard a little bit about what happened, and I am so glad I am able to help in any way, Mr. Midoriya.” The woman said in a deep voice, and Izuku grimaced.

“Just Midoriya, or Izuku, is fine.” He answered, pulling up a chair while Hitoshi didn’t really move from the bed, watching with calculating eyes.

“My apologies. Anyway, you can call me Yuu. Is there a style you wanted today?” The woman gestured at the chair and Izuku sat down, rays of evening light falling across his body from the balcony windows.

“No, just back the way it was.” Izuku closed his second eyelids to center himself.

From the bed, Hitoshi spoke up while Yuu draped a strange, thin fabric around him. He shuddered when it fell across his gills. “It was really long. Like, down to his waist, and really wavy. I couldn’t really see a part in it, even when I braided it.”

Yuu made a humming noise from behind Izuku and slid a hand through his hair. He shuddered again and his body moved before he could control it, leaping out of the chair and ripping the fabric off, breathing heavily, chest emanating a feral noise.

Yuu raised her hands, face blank as Hitoshi leaned forward to gently take Izuku’s wrist. “You’re not in danger, Izu.” He murmured.

Izuku turned his head, feeling Hitoshi slide his hand into his and letting his own fingers close around it.

“Here, come here.” Hitoshi slid off the bed and guided Izuku into a sitting position on the floor, shoving the chair aside. Hitoshi dropped in front of him to take both hands, holding them between their bodies.

Izuku took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready now. Sorry for my reaction.”

He hadn’t even really realized it was bothering him that much until it was too late. But for a moment, it’d felt like he was back there. That she was the doctor, hands against his head, cutting his hair to put that thing into his head, attaching cables to his brainstem, to-

“It’s no worry at all.” The woman said, crouching onto her knees behind Izuku. “I need to touch you for my quirk to work, is that okay? I’ll be as quick as possible, though waist length may take a couple minutes.”

“It’s okay.” Izuku answered, voice rough, both sets of eyelids closing as Hitoshi rubbed a thumb against the back of Izuku’s hand, watching him with concern.

“Let me know if you’re uncomfortable or want me to stop at any time.” Yuu said and then her hands were in Izuku’s hair and he was repressing every instinct within him that was telling him to turn around and tear out this person’s throat that dared touch his hair.

“Yesterday, when you were napping, Kimi fell asleep on your face.” Hitoshi suddenly said and Izuku swallowed thickly, focusing on the sound of Hitoshi’s voice instead of the strange dragging sensation against his scalp. “I thought she might wake you up but she didn’t. Oh, and you’re lucky. I put the litter box in the closet, since she can’t just go in the beach sand anymore. And at the… other house, I could keep the litter box far away, but in this small room it smells soooo bad. You’re lucky that you can’t smell it, cause man does it reek.”

Izuku snorted breathlessly. He’d never been called lucky for that before.

“I think she’s getting along with everyone else though.” Hitoshi went on. “Kaminari especially likes her, and it’s so cute, cause every time he puts her down from holding her, her fur sticks all up from his constant slight output of electricity, and then she spends half an hour grooming it all back down.” Hitoshi shook his head, chuckling. “She’s obviously annoyed by it but she keeps going back to him to be cuddled and pet by him, it’s so funny.”

“Alright, all done.” The hair dresser’s voice said and Izuku cracked an eye open in shock. He could see Hitoshi’s violet eyes, the sun setting behind him where he faced away from the doors of the balcony, highlighting the vivid purple of his hair.

He was smiling. “Izu, it looks amazing.”

“I’m just going to trim it a bit. It’s difficult to make it all even with my quirk.” Yuu said over the sudden sound of rustling and Izuku tensed, hands tightening in Hitoshi’s.

“I think it looks perfect already. I don’t think it needs any trimming.” Hitoshi quickly voiced.

“Are you sure?” She asked hesitantly and both Izuku and Hitoshi nodded. “Okay, then. Well, next is my favorite part. I have a mirror if you’re ready to see.”

Hitoshi opened his mouth to voice a fast ‘no’ but before he could say anything Izuku was straightening, the area around his eyes tightening. “Okay.”

“Izu?” Hitoshi murmured worriedly. Izuku turned, pulling one hand free.

“Are you sure, you don’t have to?” Yuu asked, suddenly concerned at Hitoshi’s reaction to Izuku’s agreement.

Lavender grey eyes searched Izuku’s for discomfort but he shook his head. “I want to see.”

Yuu pressed her teeth together but nodded and reached into her square bag, withdrawing a fancy, handheld mirror. Izuku opened his hand and she carefully pressed the handle into his palm, face down. He could feel the chill of the ceramic rim against his webbing and he took a deep, shuddering breath…

… and then he lifted the mirror.

He stared blankly at an unfamiliar face and it looked right back at him. Who…

The handle shattered in his grip, shards piercing his palm, the top of the mirror clattering to the floor.

“Fuck.” Hitoshi cursed, jumping up. “I’m sorry. We can-”

“Don’t worry about payment.” Yuu interrupted, gathering her things back into her bag. “At least this time. But I’ll leave my card on your dresser and let you guys have some space. Please don’t be afraid to get a hold of me.”

She gave Hitoshi a haunted look, a tired, knowing look in her grey eyes. “Both of you are in for a lot with your chosen careers. Hair shouldn’t be a worry. Please let me know if you ever need my help again.”

And with that she rushed out, giving them what they needed. Space.

Hitoshi grabbed his blanket from the bed, throwing it over the remnants of the mirror handle before taking Izuku’s wrist and trying to tug him up. His palm was bleeding and he needed to get him up to clean it.

But Izuku didn’t budge and his eyes oh so slowly shifted to Hitoshi’s.

His voice was broken, cracking, and Hitoshi felt a piece of his soul flake away with the next thing Izuku said.

 “It’s not me.” Izuku choked on his breath, body quaking. “It’s not me.”

Hitoshi watched as Izuku’s eyes filled with tears, his entire body trembling. “Izu-”

“NO!” Izuku wrenched his wrist out of Hitoshi’s grip, climbing shakily to his feet, hands clenching and unclenching, blood dripping freely down his palm and collecting at his claws to form incandescent droplets that burst apart against the wooden floor.

“Izuku, you’re hurt, please-”

“NO!” His voice was jarringly loud and Hitoshi grunted, the air thickening, his vision blurring. Someone shouted outside the door as Hitoshi’s water bottle went flying across the small room to explode against the wall, water firing off in every direction.

Izuku was holding his hands out in front of his eyes, panicking, glowing tears streaming freely over his cheekbones, collecting in the spaces where scales connected in patches on his chin. Izuku yelled wordlessly, lifting his hands to his face, claws pricking at his skin, blood smearing from his palm onto his cheeks and Hitoshi suddenly had a too vivid picture of what could happen.

And then he made a split second decision that was probably not the wisest, considering it all. But Hitoshi wasn’t thinking. He just needed those claws away from Izuku’s face. He was picturing what they could do to his eyes.

He tackled Izuku and they both slammed hard against the ground, an inverse of the other night when Izuku had held Hitoshi down.

The purple haired boy straddled over Izuku, hands around his wrists, trying to force them away. But Izuku was screaming and writhing beneath him, not breathing, pupils blown wide. And he was so much stronger than Hitoshi, despite their size difference, the tips of his claws piercing the sensitive skin beneath his eyes.

“IZUKU, SLEEP!”

Green eyes rolled into the back of a head that bumped into the wooden floor, Izuku’s entire body suddenly going as limp as the dead.

The entire room went suddenly silent, a sharp ringing sounding in Hitoshi’s ears. His head pulsed with it.

Hitoshi gasped quietly before rolling onto his back next to Izuku. He was shaking hard enough that his teeth rattled together. He couldn’t breathe, he could barely see, darkness on the edges of his vision. He didn’t know if it was from something Izuku had done with his quirk, or because he was currently losing his shit.

The door burst in with the sound of an explosion and the smell of burning wood and caramel. “What the fuck happened?!” Bakugou snarled from the middle of the room, hands sparking at his sides.

“I-” Hitoshi made a choked sound that originated deep in his chest, his own voice hoarse and unclear.

He glanced at Izuku to his left, unmoving, barely breathing, blood smeared across his face...

And then he rolled to his side, away from Izuku, and screamed into his arms, sobbing violently as Bakugou looked down at the both of them, the rest of the students that slept on this floor behind him.