Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tuesday

“Yeah! This is New York! The city of dreams! What’s stopping you?” Izuku breathed out softly, looking around the city he had been visiting since he was four, finding a new appreciation for the bustling streets and atmosphere. 

“Nothing.” 

After Izuku’s dramatic declaration of change, the group started planning. They crowded around the small table outside the coffee shop, all staring down in anticipation at the notebook Izuku had procured, pencil posed over the blank page. He looked up. 

“What, exactly, am I doing again?” Kai snorted into her coffee. 

“Whatever you want babe.” Izuku drew a blank. Whatever I want to do? What do I want to do? He gently set his pencil down, voicing his thoughts. 

“I’ve never really thought about it. Middle school was hell and I didn’t want to give them any more ammunition against me than they already had, and once I got to UA I was so happy to have friends that I just focused on what would please them. I don’t really know who I am, I guess.” Oogie snorted. 

“Well that’s not depressing at all .” Kiki smacked him. 

“Shut-up or I’ll bully you.” Oogie waved his cane around proudly. 

“You can’t bully me, I’m blind!” They stared at him. 

“Hun,” Ama started gently. “That’s why he’d bully you.” Before the conversation got any deeper into the acceptability of Ogawa joking about being blind versus other people joking about him being blnid, Kai brought the conversation back to Izuku. 

“Look around you! What do you see that you think looks pretty?” Izuku glanced at the people flowing around them, much like the energy currents he had just practiced seeing. There was an orange haired lady walking down the street, and he wrinkled his nose at the thought of stripping himself of one of the few things he liked about himself, his hair color. 

Another person caught his eye, black lines of ink swirling and dancing up and down their arms. Izuku was intrigued, but he also didn’t think his mom would be happy if he came home sporting something like that. A glint of metal drew his eyes to a group of young adults loitering together outside the apartment complex, waiting for someone. He smiled as he stared at the group. 

“I think I found what I want to do first.” 

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From there it was easy to compose a list, all the ideas lending themselves to the next, and Izuku was actually excited about the upcoming weeks. Eventually the group was pulled apart by their respective parents, but promises were made to meet again as soon as they could and Izuku set off on his first mission. 

Convince his father, Midoriya Hisashi, that Izuku knew what he was doing and actually wanted to do this. He created battle plans and strategies as he keyed into the apartment his father owned, opting to take the stairs instead of being enclosed in the elevator. He pulled out the apartment’s key, unlocking the door and walking in, shucking his shoes off in the foyer out of habit. 

“Dad! I’m home!” His father poked his head around the corner of the kitchen entrance, a brilliant grin breaking across his face. Although he loved both of his parents, there was just something about his dad that he saw mirrored in himself, a tendency to be more easy-going and prone to split-second decisions. 

After he was diagnosed as Quirkless, word quickly spread across town and many places refused to higher Hisashi, citing the high insurance rates for a Quirkless son. His parents’ marriage, although pleasant, was because his mom had gotten pregnant not because they were in love. Hisashi decided that he would take a job offer in America and they quickly decided on a living schedule and he’d been bouncing back and forth between America in the summers and some holidays and Japan for the school-year and other holidays.

“I’ll never get used to hearing that,” Hisashi admitted, stepping fully through and swinging a dish towel over his shoulder. “Would you mind watching dinner for a second?” Izuku smiled and nodded, easily taking over the stove. 

He had never got used to making traditional Japanese meals, preferring to eat it. But American food was, for the most part, simpler and basically just throwing everything together to let it cook. There was a pot of spaghetti keeping warm on the stove, the smell of garlic telling him that there was bread in the oven. He got it out and let it cool slightly, throwing together a salad and setting the small four-person table that sat to his left. 

By the time his father returned Izuku was happily shoveling his food down, his plate filled with the noodles, another with a salad, and what seemed to be half of the loaf of bread sitting beside him. His father laughed at him as Izuku tried to thank him for the food with his mouth full. As they ate, Izuku regarded the man that he seemed to take after more and more each day. 

His father’s hair was black, as his own roots were prone to be, but just as curly as his. He was a dark honey-brown that Izuku could only hope of dreaming in the summertime, but they were eerily similar. The same nose, eyes, Izuku was quickly approaching almost the same height and powerful build, though he thought that he might surpass it, given his hero training. 

“I grew another inch,” he offered and Hisashi shook his head in exasperation. “All Might said it happened to him too, when he was in America. Said something about the food offering me more of the nutrition I need to grow.” 

“You’re still growing too. I’ve been thinking, I work with a dietician and I’ll see if she can get you in for a consultation and we can get something figured out for you.” He shook his head once again. “You’ll eat me out of house and home at this rate. And I still can’t believe you know All Might .” Izuku grinned, thinking about his dad’s reaction, over video call, to Izuku’s Sports Festival performance. It wasn’t something he’d soon forget. Although he did feel guilty about not revealing the full extent of his Quirk, he had plans to do so at New Year’s, which his family celebrated together. 

Nervousness filled him again, as he set his fork down, shifting in his seat slightly. 

“I’ve been thinking too,” he offered, watching his dad’s reaction. He seemed to sense a shift in Izuku’s tone, looking up and setting his own fork down. He quirked his eyebrow. 

“Oh?” Izuku nodded. 

“Yeah. I’ve never really done anything, you know, appearance wise, and I was thinking that I could maybe change something, I don’t know, because me and the pals came up with a few ideas, and you wouldn’t even have to worry about anything, just signing the papers because I’m not 18 yet, and I still have some money leftover from selling my merch, and I’m totally sure that mom wouldn’t mind because, you know, I don’t want to do anything crazy and, like, I would be safe about it because UA still has a dress-code, but I just-” his dad cut off his ramble, laughing. 

“I was wondering when this would happen. I went a little crazy at your age too.” His finger traced the edges of the tribal-esque tattoo winding its way down his arm. He leaned back, a smile across his face as he crossed his arms behind his head, looking for all intents and purposes like the cat who got in the cream. 

“Just run it by me first, and I’ll pay. Think of it as an early birthday present.” Izuku launched himself at his dad, hugging him tightly, lifting him out of the chair slightly. 

“Thanks dad!” He chirped, running further into the apartment to his room. It was much like his room at UA, but it was clear someone only lived here part-time. Weights were cluttered in one corner, and pictures were taped haphazardly on the walls. He slid into his rolling chair, sending him over to his desk where his computer was. He opened the laptop, quickly navigating to the chat with his friends. He called them, and they quickly picked up. 

Izuku grinned. 

“So what’s first on the list?” 

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Friday

Three days later found them in a shady-but-  not-shady-enough-to-be-actually-shady-but-shady-enough-to-give-it-some-spice tattoo shop, a woman staring suspiciously at the form Izuku had given her, his father signing off for the day’s plans. 

“And you’re sure that your father signed this, not one of your little friends?” She questioned, making Izuku shift nervously from foot to foot. But before he could answer the woman interrupted him. “Just kidding! I don’t actually care. So what can I do you for, green bean?” Izuku blushed but pulled up a picture on his phone.

“I was thinking of something like this.” She nodded, humming in thought. 

“Yeah, that’ll look good with your face structure, not too much but enough to be there. Do you want it all at once?” He nodded and her eyebrow raised slightly. “How’s your pain tolerance?” Kai snorted. 

“Don’t worry about that, he’ll be gold.” The piercer eyed Kai warily but continued all the same at his encouraging smile. 

“Did you think about the jewelry you want?” Izuku, nodded pointing down at a few pieces displayed in the glass case they were talking over. She pulled out the pieces he had indicated, before walking away, still talking to Izuku. 

“Sorry, but you can only bring two people back. We’ll be in room three when you decide.” Izuku looked back at his friends, but they were already involved in a 5-way game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Eventually, Kai and Ama won, cheering before pulling Izuku towards the back. 

“Is it really safe to leave them out there, alone ?” He questioned as they pushed him into room three. 

He was ignored. 

The piercer simply pulled on a pair of gloves, picking up a pen. 

“Pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er.” 

45 minutes later, the three emerged from the room, and Izuku was relieved to find that the front of the store was still standing. Tsukii and Kiki were yelling at Oogie, waving their phones in his face while he cackled madly. They looked up at the three, crowding Izuku in the blink of an eye. 

“Did you get it? Let us see!” He smiled shyly, pushing his hair back from his ears. In his first hole on both ears was a simple black stud, only his right having a second hole with a silver stud, and only his left having a small hoop further up in his cartilage. In his nose was another hoop that he gently touched. His friends smiled. Kai swept her hair back, exposing her left ear. 

“Now you match the squad.” 

“It feels strange,” he admitted, eyes crossing slightly. “It’s there but I don’t really feel it.” The piercer spoke up. 

“That’s the Quirk healing. Those areas will be numb for a bit, then slightly sensitive, but after about a week you’ll be good to change the jewelry if you want. And man, you really didn’t flinch.” Izuku grinned, flexing his more mangled hand slightly, drawing her attention to it. 

“I’m used to worse.” She rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, no kidding.” He paid her, tip and all, the group hollering their thanks as the group filed out of the shop. They took off in a random direction. 

“What next Zuzu?” Oogie questioned from his place on Izuku’s arm, all the technology around them offering too much information and blurring his “sight”. Izuku ran his hand through his unruly hair. 

“I kind of want a haircut, but everytime I go somewhere they never know what to do with my curls and end up making it wonky.” His mind flashed to the woman who had flat-ironed his hair before cutting it when he was 12. He hadn’t been back to a salon since, relying on his mom trimming it with the kitchen scissors. 

“You just haven’t gone to the right places.” Tsukii told him, running a hand over his own curly hair. The twins probably had hair the closest to his own, Tsukii’s sides shaved short but the top left long, often pulled into a bun on the top of his head. Ama’s hair was slightly curlier than her twin’s in a bouncing, gravity defying, halo around her head. 

Tsukii stepped to the front of the group and led them through the busy streets. They eventually made it to a quieter part of the borough, Tsukii stopping at a nondescript corner store, pushing the door open and making it chime cheerfully. 

“Hey, hey hey!” He called, being met with a responding greeting. They filed inside, Izuku looking around curiously. It was a small barber shop, soft music filling the air and plush seats sat before mirrors and individual wash stations. It was cozy, for lack of a better word. There was one man inside, sweeping the floors, that looked up as the group came in. 

“Welcome!” He called, looking back at Tsukiyomi. “What’re you doing here, Yomi? You’re not due till next week.” Tsukii gestured at Izuku. 

“He’s never had someone who specializes in curls work on his hair, so I figured I’d take him to the best place I know.” The man set his broom away, patting Tsukii’s head as he stepped past him and grabbed Izuku’s own head. He titled it back and forth as he studied Izuku’s hair. He suddenly felt embarrassed.

“You flatter me Yomi. You’re right though. His hair seems to be a solid 3A, almost a 3B.” He felt Izuku’s hair, frowning slightly. “Man, someone really butchered it. What do you use to wash it?” He questioned, guiding Izuku to a chair and wrapping a cape (or whatever it’s called) around him. 

“Um, 5-in-1?” That was the wrong thing to say. 

Some time later the group stumbled back into the street, Izuku holding no less than five new products to try and the firm promise to throw out his old stuff as soon as he got home. The breeze across his now exposed neck made him shiver, but his new haircut left him grinning. 

It was shaved on the sides, but not as harshly as Tsukii’s, fading up into longer curls on the top. He’d never noticed his hair before, aside from annoyance as it grew long enough for him to beg his mom to trim it, but now he could feel them bouncing with every step he took. He let out a gasp. 

“I have to show Kacchan!” He shoved his belongings at Kiki, who grumbled but didn’t drop them. He snapped a quick selfie, angling his head to show off the new jewelry, flashing a peace sign, and sending it off to Kacchan with a satisfied nod. 

“You look hot!” Kai cheered him on. “I’d fuck you!” Izuku’s mouth moved before he thought about his words. 

“Oh, are you offering?” He stuttered as he comprehended his words, backtracking as quickly as he could. “Oh God! I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking, please don’t be mad, it just came out, I-” He was cut off by Oogie’s solemn hand on his shoulder. 

“I’ve been waiting for this day,” he intoed. “I knew you had something sarcastic going on up there.” The group quickly moved on, sensing Izuku’s awkwardness. They walked around for a little while longer, but their own lives eventually called them back. Izuku and Kiki walked back towards Izuku’s apartment, Kiki having agreed to help him more with his Quirk. Izuku looked at the sky. 

“It’s hard to believe we’ll go back in a few  weeks,” he admitted softly. “Normally I always come alone, and I’ve never really had anything to look forward to in either country, except my parents. Now I don’t wanna go back because I’m scared I’ll lose whatever I created here.” Kiki frowned, socking Izuku’s arm lightly, as the group was prone to do to each other. 

“Don’t worry about it. You have us now, and we won’t let you get lost again.” Izuku smiled at him. 

“Thanks Kiki.” The rest of the walk was quiet, and soon they were standing in front of Izuku’s door. He pushed open the door, calling out his greeting, the boys meandering into the kitchen. 

They were met with the sight of a woman pressing a kiss to Izuku’s dad’s cheek, soft music twirling in the background and candles light on the table. They caught sight of the boys and everyone froze. The woman blinked. 

“Akira?” 

“Mom?” 

“Dad?” 

“Izuku?” 

The two adults made eye contact. 

“Fuck.” 

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Saturday

“Let’s go to Goodwill,” Oogie said into the quiet room, each teen occupying their own own piece of space together in Izuku’s bedroom. Izuku cocked his head. 

“Goodwill?” He immediately felt judged. 

“You’ve never been to Goodwill?” Kai demanded, standing and grabbing his hand to (try to) drag him out of the room. “Stand up you dense bitch! We’re going Goodwill hopping!” He laughed, the words clearly holding no malice. He, and the others, stood, and Kai’s form blurred slightly before seeming to melt down into a small brown mouse. 

Her Quirk gave her the physical characteristics of a mouse, hence the ears and nose, though she could repress them further and appear fully human. “ It feels funny, so I don’t do it often ,” she had admitted once. It also allowed her to transform into a mouse, as she was prone to do. It made her anything but mousy though. 

At her insistent squeaking Ama leaned down, cupping her hands and allowing her friend to hop into them, placing Kai on her head; it was a trait they had picked up from watching the movie Ratatouille . Recently, Ama was her favorite person to lounge on because of the girls own Quirk. 

It allowed her to harness the energy of the sun, controlling the beams and giving her slight healing abilities, though she had described it as “nurturing” something. She also seemed to absorb the heat from the sun more, her hair creating the perfect napping place for Kai’s mouse form. 

Tsukii’ Quirk was almost exactly like his sister’s, but with moonlight. Instead of having a “nurturing” aspect his Quirk allowed him a weak control over water and a slight power-up in the moonlight. Also in contrast, he almost always was cold. The two were the only other members of the group that aspired to be heroes, and attended a hero school; though, Tsukii was to be an underground hero and Ama was to be a limelight hero.

“Lady May: The Sunrise Hero!” Ama had proudly told him when he asked. 

“ Marauder: The Sunset Hero. ” Tsukii had said quieter, but just as proud as his sister. 

The group filed out of the apartment, and Izuku sought out his dad to let him know where they were going. He was in his study, hurriedly tapping away on his computer. 

“We’re heading to Goodwill, dad.” He turned in his chair, though he looked anywhere but his son’s face. 

“Sounds good. Just text me and let me know what’s up.” Izuku smiled, nodding his head and heading out with a quick “ love you ”. His dad had yet to meet his (or Kiki’s) eyes after the boys had caught their respective parents together (though they knew it could’ve been worse, so much worse ). In all honesty, Izuku was happy. He knew his parents didn’t marry for love, but for necessity. They were good to him, and good to each other, but they didn’t make the other happy. He was also excited. 

“ I’ve never had a brother before ,” he had told Kiki later while in Izuku’s room, eyes sparkling. “ Except for Kacchan, but he’s just like a bad fungus.”  

Of course, he didn’t tell his dad that. The man deserved to stew in Izuku’s apparent displeasure for a while. 

It took them a short subway ride, Izuku used to hopping the turnstile, as were the others, no one looking at them twice, and a few minutes of walking to reach their destination. Izuku walked through the doors, instantly covering his nose. 

“Yeah,” Oogie said to him, handing him a face mask like the ones common in Japan. “You need to wash anything you buy before you wear it.” He then grabbed Izuku’s hand, leading him over to the shirts, running his hands over them, occasionally pulling one up into the line of sight of a near-by security camera. 

They spent a bit browsing the first store, building Izuku a few new outfits before quickly buying their items and leaving for the next Goodwill. They laughed in each store, pulling out ridiculous shirts and outfits, strutting around in them as if they were on a runway. Kai attempted to con Oogie into buying an ugly Hawaiian shirt, causing a small fight to break out. Kiki and Izuku told them about their parents dating, and Ama bought them matching bucket hats, both white with the words “RETURN TO STUPID” and “STUPID” emblazened on them. 

Izuku couldn’t decide which he liked more so Tsukii chose for them (he got “RETURN TO STUPID” and loved it). Hours later they were wandering slowly back home, the sun setting and everyone unnaturally exhausted and tired, except for Tsukii, who seemed to perk up the closer the moon got to rising. A flash of gold in a small shop’s window caught Izuku’s eye, and he turned to look at the display. He dropped his bags, causing his friends to look questioningly at him. 

He was back out in a few minutes, admiring his hands. He displayed them to his friends, also gesturing at his neck.  

“Very nice.” Kiki approved. On Izuku’s right middle finger and ring finger were two gold bands, one smooth and the other faceted as if it were carved out of stone. There was one on his left index finger, made to look like interlocking links of a chain that matched the necklace sitting softly around his neck and the bracelet also on his left wrist. 

“I’ve always hated my hands,” he admitted softly, staring down at his crooked fingers. “I don’t regret what I did with them, but they’ve always been ugly to me.” Tsukii rached out, gently touching the scars on Izuku’s hands. Izuku shivered but didn’t pull back. 

“You saved lives with these hands,” he said gently. “They bring happiness and comfort and protect. Hands like that could never be ugly.” Izuku smiled brightly through his tears. They were on their way once again, Izuku occasionally flexing his hands to catch the moonlight on his rings. 

“Well,” he said some time later. “Now I’m really poor!” 

Chapter Text

Tuesday

“So, my aunt is having a party this evening.” Kai remarked one day, as Izuku and his friends lazed around his apartment, none of them having changed out of their pajamas yet. It had quickly become their default hang-out place, due to being only a train ride away from just about anywhere they wanted to go. 

Plus his dad always had good snacks laying around, so that was a contributing factor as well. 

“A carne asada ?” Izuku questioned, setting aside his square glasses. It had been quite a surprise to find out he needed them for reading, but with his mom’s history taken into account, he figured it made sense. Kai gave him a suspicious glare. 

“Yes, a carne asada . How do you know that, I didn’t teach it to you?” She gasped dramatically. “Are you cheating on me? Learning your Spanish from another?” He rolled his eyes as Kiki ‘ tsked ’ at him disapprovingly. 

“No, my friend Sero took me to one not long after I met you guys. It was fun.” Kai frowned slightly. 

“Sero? Sero Hanta?” 

“Yeah!” Izuku answered excitedly. “Do you know him?” She scoffed. 

“Of course I know him, that’s my idiot cousin. I can’t believe I didn’t think to ask if you knew him.” Izuku shrugged and snagged an apple slice from Ama, who bared her teeth at him, practically snarling. He raised an eyebrow. 

“Bad day?” She moodily crunched an apple slice. 

“She didn’t get any coffee before we left this morning,” Tsukii said by way of answer. Izuku nodded and made his way to the kitchen, raising his voice slightly to continue his conversation with Kai. 

“We’re in the same class together at UA; 2-A. We weren’t super close last year, but he’s friends with Kacchan.” He pulled out a bottle of cold brew coffee from the fridge, quickly mixing two cups the way he liked it. He wandered back in and set one in front of Ama with a smile. 

“Let me know if you don’t like it, I’ll drink it. We also have hot coffee.” She darted up from her place curled into the corner of the couch and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek in thanks, plopping back down and greedily chugging it. 

“I remember the party you were talking about. I would’ve been there, but the babysitter bailed last minute so I had to ‘sit for Mama. You probably met her, she’s Hanta’s tía , his dad’s sister.” Izuku awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. 

“Yeah, so the thing is that I only remember three things from that night: Abuela crying because I ate literally all the food and she didn’t have any left to give me, Sero’s mom teaching me to bachata , and drinking way too much.” 

“I didn’t know you drank,” Tsukii stated bluntly, making the other four wince. As growing teenagers, they had gotten into their fair share of trouble and fun, seeing it as a responsibility to the long legacy of idiot teens before them. Ama and Tsukii wanted a fun way to relax from hero school, Oogie did it if they did it, and Kai felt morally obligated to drink them all under the table anytime they did. But they were avoiding that very subject with Izuku because they didn’t want him to feel pressured into doing anything just to make them like him. Izuku shrugged, sipping his coffee as he played with the ratty hem of his sweatshirt, laying back on the floor as he stared at the ceiling. 

“I didn’t really, until Kaminari and Mina snuck a couple bottles of bottom-shelf wine into the dorms as a beginning of the year celebration. It was fun, and I liked it, but Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki never really approved so I didn’t do it as often as I could have.” The others nodded, processing the information as the group fell into comfortable silence. 

Kai started talking about her tía’s party coming up, everyone agreeing that it would be fun and that they should go. The apartment fell into another comfortable silence, each person doing their own thing. Eventually it was broken by Kiki, who had been watching Izuku frown and flex his hands in the air for the past 15 minutes. 

“What are you doing?” Izuku sat up, his hands limply resting in his lap. 

“It’s going to rain tomorrow,” he offered. Ama scoffed, her mood only slightly improved. 

“Fucking peachy. How do you figure, weather-boy?” 

“Bones,” Izuku said without any malice, holding his hand out for inspection. His crooked fingers were slightly swollen, the skin at the edges of his scars looking painfully taunt and the scars themselves inflamed. His hand trembled lightly. “They always hurt before it rains.” 

“Oh.” Ama’s voice was small. 

“Do you have any cream for the pain?” Izuku nodded at Kiki, making to stand to his feet but he was stopped. “I’ll get it, just tell me where it is.” Izuku blushed slightly but gave him directions to where it was kept in the bathroom. Secretly he was grateful, it would have been difficult for him to grip anything with his hands the way they were. Kiki returned, sitting gently in front of Izuku and motioning for his hands. He deftly rubbed the cream into his fingers, Izuku sighing appreciatively as he relaxed further, tension seeping out of his shoulders that the others had barely noticed. But, just as quickly as it left, it came rushing back. 

“Anymore?” Kiki asked, holding up the tube of cream. 

“Yeah, but I have to take my sweatshirt off to get at them. I’ll just do them later.” Oogie whistled, grinning crookedly. 

“Come on pretty boy, no one’s going to mind if you take off your shirt.” Izuku hesitated, and Ama smacked Oogie on the back of his head. 

“What he meant was that we won’t mind if you want to take off your shirt. I’m sure it would be easier to have help. But do what makes you comfortable.” Izuku hesitated once more before making up his mind and pulling his sweatshirt off. He hissed in pain as his joints shifted and grinded together, the fabric pulling roughly along the irritated skin criss-crossing up and down his arms. He balled the fabric up in his lap, clenching it as tightly as he dared to, lest he undo Kiki’s hard work. There was a sharp inhale as he angled towards Kiki, fully showing off the extent of his right arm, by far the worser of the two. 

“Yeah,” he answered the gasp softly, still not looking up. However, the next words were nowhere near what he was expecting. 

“Ok but like, can you share your work-out regime? Please? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many abs on one person since All Might.” Tsukii’s words startled a laugh out of Izuku and he looked up at his friends. Kiki’s tongue was poking out slightly as he concentrated on his feather-light touches on Izuku’s arm, occasionally muttering to himself. Tsukii was pouting slightly, his own shirt raised as he glanced back and forth, comparing his core to Izuku’s. Oogie snickered, his phone out and probably recording his friend’s distress, but a small smattering of red coated his cheeks. Ama was blushing as well, eyes firmly planted on the last of her apples. Kai just stared at Izuku in what appeared to be anger, but he knew to be playful annoyance. 

“Realy?” She demanded. “I’ve been struggling with getting the anatomy of my drawings right for ages , you literally could’ve spoken up at any time! Then I wouldn’t have to look at shitty pictures online.” Izuku smiled fondly at his friends. He knew he was built like a brick shithouse, One For All demanded nothing less, and he had only been growing in his short time in America. He wasn’t complaining, it made him the go-to cuddler in the group and his affectionate friends were more than happy to try to make up for his more touch-starved years. But, it was always nice to be complimented and have that verbalized. 

Kiki laid a light touch on Izuku’s arm, slightly to the right of the scar from his fight with Muscular. 

“What’s this one from? I’ve never seen it? Come to think of it, I’ve never seen the ones outside of your hands.” Izuku nodded slightly. 

“It helps if I wear compression sleeves. I wear them basically all the time, unless I’m showering. This one is from the summer camp.” He faltered slightly. Of course, his friends knew the basics of his past, he had told them when he told them about One For All. This, however, was the first time anything specific had been brought up. He didn’t know how to go about it. Tsukii languidly held out a slender pen. With a start, Izuku recognized it as one similar to what he often saw in Kaminari’s hands. He reached out, grabbing them smooth metal and studying it as Kiki moved on to his other arm. 

“It won’t smell?” He questioned, glancing at the clock on the wall. Tsukii shook his head, a fuzzy smile appearing on his face. 

“Nah, but we can open a window just to be safe.” Izuku thought for another minute before shrugging with his free shoulder, a pleasant cold already seeping into his joints from the cream, raising the pen to his mouth. He pressed the button, pulling on it as he did. It was disconcerting, feeling the warm smoke, that tasted strangely of strawberries, travel into his mouth and then his lungs, but he sucked in a breath of air after. He held his breath till he was sure he wouldn’t cough, exhaling and watching as the traces of smoke left his mouth. He did it once more, twice, before the pen was pulled from his fingers by Kiki. 

“Calm down there bud, this is your first time.” Kiki hit the pen, and it was quickly passed around to the others. They chatted about inane things for a bit, Izuku slowly relaxing as a pleasant cloud filled his head. It reminded him of Shinsou’s brainwashing, but instead of isolating himself from the rest of his thoughts, this cloud simply obscured them till Izuku couldn’t remember what he was worried about in the first place. He blinked slowly, suddenly finding himself back on his back and staring up at the slowly spinning ceiling fan. There were voices around him but he didn’t bother trying to decipher them, instead closing his eyes and enjoying the swaying of the world around him. 

Some time later the smell of cheesy, greesy, pizza goodness filled his nose and he cracked his eye. He was still on his back, though a blanket had been spread on his legs and a quick glance at the clock showed that it was several hours later in the day. Bright golden eyes and curly hair invaded his personal space, Ama smiling brightly at him. 

“Welcome back, space cadet. How’re you feeling?” Izuku blinked a few times as he sat up, rubbing a hand through his hair. He scooted towards the coffee table, head still slightly fuzzy and significantly more relaxed than earlier, and accepted the proffered plate of pizza from Oogie. 

“I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep till I looked at the clock. I just felt really mellow and then boom, I was out.” Tsukki snorted.

“I gave it to you to help you calm down, but damn I didn’t mean to knock you out.” Izuku just shook his head at Tsukii, grinning slightly. 

“It’s fine.” He took a bite of his pizza, looking around curiously. “Does that happen to everyone?” Ama shook her head. 

“It honestly depends. Weed can be an upper or a downer. I know my first time was at a house party and the mood around me affected how it hit me. You were with people who you trust and it was calm, so it’s not strange that it relaxed you so much.” She glared at Kiki. “ Especially considering how many times you hit it.” Kiki held his hands up. 

“In my defense, he is a big dude. And I didn’t think he would just go for it like that.” He hummed thoughtfully into his drink. “I wonder how he would react to a Juul or something like that.” Izuku perked up. 

“Oh! I know that! Kacchan has one, he said he got it from Mina.” Panic flooded through him and he waved his hands in front of him. “You can’t tell anyone I told you that, Kaccahn would kill me if he knew I told someone else.” Oogie just smirked. 

“And here I thought you hero school brats were rule-followers.” Izuku relaxed slightly.

“I really don’t think anyone in my class is a ‘rule-follower’ except Uraraka, Todoroki, Iida, and Asui. I know for a fact that Mina, Kacchan, Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and basically the entire class drink; but the former are probably budding alcoholics.” He gave a small laugh as he remembered Bakugou passed out with a barely-finished bottle of wine in his hands at the beginning of the year party. 

“Kaminari, Sero, and Shinsou all have dab pens, and smoke, and I think Shinsou has a vape but I’m not sure. Sato makes edibles and sells them, and I’m like 99% certain I saw Momo buying from him once but we’ve never actually talked about it. Shoji and Tokoyami are the ones who normally sneak the alcohol in for Mina’s parties, and basically everyone goes to those.” Kai cut him off.

“As much as I love hearing about UA’s party scene, we need to get ready to go otherwise we’ll be late.” 

“Do you guys even have clothes to change into?” Izuku asked curiously. “I thought we just heard about it this morning.” 

“My mom dropped by earlier with your dad to let us know they’d be on a date, and she brought me a bag. They both said we could stay over at Kai’s house. Tsukii and Ama just had a driver bring them something for them and Oogie, and Kai is going to change when we get to her house.” Izuku started gathering up the empty pizza boxes, placing all the slices in one to go in the fridge. 

“What’s the plan?” 

“We’ll be heading to my house first to drop off our bags and then to my Aunt and Uncle’s house with my mom. It’s only a few blocks so we should be good to walk, though I might have my cousin drive us back if he’s sober.” Izuku smiled, excitement flowing through him. 

“Sounds good! Who wants to help me pick out an outfit?” Tsukii, Kiki, and Oogie offered, considering the fact that they would be changing in Izuku’s room while the girls took the bathroom. They ended up choosing a pair of raggedy jeans, a black tank top, and a multi-colored button up shirt that he left undone. He slid his compression sleeves back on, deeming it having been long enough that he wouldn’t rub off any of the magic-working cream on his scars. The three other boys ended up having similar outfits, something Oogie was unaware of till the girls started giggling at them. 

The trip to Kai’s house was quicker than Izuku expected, but it might have been due to the fact that he had become engrossed in a debate about the best pre-Quirk era book with Tsukii. From the train station it was literally a walk down the stairs and a turn to the left to reach Kai’s house. Oogie whistled lowly. 

“You guys live right beside one of the only above ground train stations in New York? It must have cost a fortune .” Kai shook her head as she fished a key from the bottom of the hanging pot on her front porch. 

“Not really. People don’t want to live under the train tracks because it gets really noisy. Luckily this is kind of far away from anywhere people want to go so it’s never busy. We can deal with the trains.” As she closed her front door behind the group the rumbling of the train heading away from the station was abruptly cut off, making Izuku regard the door curiously. 

“Is this noise-cancelling?” Kai nodded, leading them through the house. 

“Yeah, because the lot was so cheap my parents had a little bit more money for the house and that’s what they did. It works pretty well in my opinion.” Kai directed them to the living room as she went upstairs to change her clothes. The energy from the nap he had earlier kept Izuku on his feet, and he examined the picture frames on the mantle. 

There were quite a few of only Kai and an older man, with no visible Quirk, but there were also a few of a complete family and three other kids. Kai was the oldest, the other oldest boy looking to be about 3 years younger than her and the other two boys being twins about 6 years younger than Kai. Kai and her mother were the only ones with the mouse-like qualities, but her oldest brother had what looked to be a powerful Kangaroo tail and the twins had the large front teeth and flat tail of a Beaver. 

“What are her parents’ Quirks?” Izuku asked, Kiki answering him. 

“Her mom, Rocio, has the same mouse mutation as Kai, but Kai can shift and her mom can’t. Her dad, Matias, can shift into any animal he touches within a week.” Izuku frowned, turning to look at the others who were in various states of relaxation on the furniture. 

“Kai’s mom is Sero aunts, right? How did Sero get a tape Quirk and Kai get a mouse Quirk?” Kai was the one who answered that, clomping down the stars in a pair of heavy combat boots. 

“She’s Sero’s dad’s half-sister. Their shared parent, abuela , who you met, had a Quirk that allowed her to manipulate organic objects to a certain degree. My abuelo had a Quirk that let him talk to rodents and Hanta’s abuelo had a Quirk that let him secrete various sticky substances from his elbows. Abuela decided that each kid would keep their father’s last name, hence Sero.” Izuku nodded, setting the picture back down and following Kai out of the house. 

It had gotten noticeably darker, only the flashing lights from the railroad overhead lighting their way. A few minutes into walking Izuku could hear the deep pounding of a bass, the music growing louder and louder the closer they got to their destination. There were various cars parked outside of a house, not unlike Kai’s own, people standing around in the yard, either dancing or talking.

Kai called out a greeting as she got closer, a resounding cheer going up as people clambered to welcome her. Introductions were quickly made, names that Izuku knew he would forget whirling through his head. The others’ names were called out in greeting as they walked into the house, reminding Izuku once again how long they knew each other before they met him.

The music was even louder in the house, Izuku catching every fifth word or so. There was an entire table filled with food, the sight and smell of it making his mouth water, and another one laden with glass bottles and surrounded by coolers. Kai ignored them, weaving into the kitchen only to emerge moments later pulling a man that Izuku recognized from the pictures in her house. 

“Dad,” she started, gesturing at Izuku. “This is Midoriya Izuku. We met in Japan, and his dad lives here in New York too. Zuzu, this is my dad, Matias Herrera. Izuku held out a hand, smiling as the shorter man shook it enthusiastically.

“ ¡Encantado de conocerte, Midoriya! Is Kai treating you well?” Izuku meaningfully rubbed his shoulder, giving Kai and teasing smile. 

“She can be a little rough sometimes, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Kai punched him on his shoulder, almost the exact same spot he had been rubbing, making him laugh. “Kidding! Kidding. She’s great, I really owe them a lot.” Kai’s father nodded knowingly, taking a slow drag from his cigarette. 

“They’re a good group of kids.” He responded, making Kiki “ awwww ”. 

“ Tío, eres demasiado amable .” He teased, making Kai’s dad wave his hand. 

“Bah, be quiet you flatterer.” He met each kid’s eyes carefully. “Feel free to help yourself to anything here, I’d rather you have fun around people I trust. Don’t do half the things I would do, definitely don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, and if the heroes come you’ve never even heard of alcohol. With that being said, knock yourselves out!” Tsukii rubbed his hands together wickedly, making his way back to the bottle filled table. 

“Don’t mind if I do!” Kai drug Izuku after Tsukii, and they all gathered around the table. A few moments later, everyone but Izuku had a cold bottle or red cup in their hands. They looked at him expectedly. 

“Ok, so. I don’t know what any of this is.” Ama giggled, tossing an arm around his shoulder and pulling him down to her height. 

“My friend, I am going to impart to you some very important wisdom that my mother gave to me: beer before liquor, never sicker; liquor before beer, you’re in the clear.” Izuku frowned at her. 

“That sounds fake, but ok.” Ama scowled at him, shoving a chilled glass bottle with a red cap at him.

“Just shut-up and drink, Zuzu.” Izuku twisted the cap off, tossing it over his shoulder, clinking bottles with the others, a bright smile overtaking his face. 

“Cheers!” 

-----------------------

Sometime, and many drinks, later Izuku found himself outside, laughing along with some random people as they talked in broken Spanish and English, Izuku occasionally slipping back into Japanese. He swayed slightly, his center of balance feeling as it had been shifted slightly left-off-center. Kiki and Ama were rolling joints, laughing at Kai trying to teach a stumbling Tsukii how to dance for what they said was the hundredth time. Kai sighed, patting Tsukii’s shoulder in apology. 

“Sorry pal, you’re just rhythmically challenged. We all have our flaws.” Tsukii sniffed, chugging the last of one of many drinks. 

“I just wanted to be able to dance!” He wailed, laughter following his words as Kai dad guided him to sit in a chair and offered him a white stick from his red box. 

“It’s ok, hijo . I was challenged too.” Izuku plucked the lazily smoking cigarette from Tsukii’s fingers, it suddenly looking like the most appetizing thing ever, taking a pull of the acrid smoke before passing it back. 

“Watch and learn bro, watch and learn.” Izuku grabbed Kai’s waiting hand, one linking together his other resting on her hip as she did the same to him. They glided together, Izuku silently counting in his head as Kai matched his steps. 

Left, two, three tap. Right, two, three, tap. Outside, middle, tap. Outside, middle, tap. Once more, outside, middle, tap, outside, middle, tap. Forward, two, three, tap, and slide back. 

Kai laughed. 

“I can hear you thinking from here!” She called over the music. “Relax! Just have fun!” Izuku nervously grinned but did as she said. He continued dancing with her, laughing when eventually they stumbled over each other. He flopped down beside Tsukii at the table, panting slightly, Kai laying out over Ama. Oogie and Kiki applauded them and Izuku gave a sarcastic bow. Izuku tilted his head back, letting the party wash over him in a cacophony of weed, trumpets, and the laughter of his friends. 

“Your phone’s ringing,” Kiki said, prodding him. Izuku looked down at his phone, the name ‘ Aizawa ’ taking a moment to register in his brain. When it did, panic washed over him and he slammed his finger on the decline button. That made him panic even more. 

“Fucking shit-” he swore, grabbing his phone and stumbling to the first quiet place he could think of. He slammed the door of the random car behind him, his phone already dialing his teacher back. 

“Sensei!” He yelped as soon as he heard the man pick up. “ ‘m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, it was an accident-” his teacher cut him off before he could spiral into a fully developed ramble session. 

“ I really don’t care. This is a courtesy call reminding you of our mandatory, classwide, summer check-in at 3 PM. ” Izuku muddled his way through a bit of mental math. They’d got to the party around five, and it was currently 11 PM, making it 1 PM on Wednesday in Japan. He had less than two hours till the meeting. He gave a silent sigh.

“Sure thing, sensei. I’ll be there.” He could could Aizawa’s dry humor. 

“ You really don’t have a choice, but I’ll see you then .” As soon as the phone disconnected the door to the car flew open and his friends piled into the car, jostling him around as they shoved Ama and Tsukii in the backseat, Kai jumping in her mouse form from Ama’s hair to Izuku’s hair. Kiki and Oogie shared the front seat, and someone else slid into the driver’s seat. 

“ Hola, me llamo Angel, y soy os conductor este noche . Don’t worry, I’m unfortunately sober as fuck. Let’s go to McDonald’s!” He cheered and Izuku’s friends cheered with him. Izuku did as well, his drunk brain being swept up in the excitement before he remembered the phone call he just had. He groaned loudly. 

“You guys, I have a mandatory class meeting in literally two hours and I’m drunk as shit.” Ama tried to pat his shoulder,missing several times before giving up and giggling.

“Hey, hey, it’ll be ok. You’re not acting drunk so just keep doing what you’re doing.” They were cut off by a loud and catchy song filling the car, the windows rolling down and a sunroof opening up. His friends started singing along, and Izuku decided to take the easiest route and sing along with them. He could worry when they got to McDonald’s. 

He set up on the headrest of the seat he was in, hanging out the top of the car as he laughed delightedly into the wind. He threw his arms out wide, his shirt whipping around him as he sang along to a song he couldn’t remember the name to. They slowed at a stoplight, a hand patting his thigh getting his attention. Tsukii handed a joint up to him with a mischievous smile and Izuku was too far gone to care. 

Furious chittering reached his ears as Kai hung down from a strand of his hair in front of his face. She continued squeaking at him as he just drunkenly laughed. 

“I can’t understand a word you’re saying,” he informed her seriously, as if it were a weight secret. The light turned to green and he gently grabbed her, placing her in the pocket of his shirt. “Hold on tight!” They were off again, the streetlights providing fleeting pinpricks of light. Eventually they reached a busier part of New York, the traffic inconsistently stopping and starting. Izuku shared several conversations with random strangers on the sidewalks and in other cars, each one seeming as important to him as if they were solving world hunger to him. All too soon, the ride was over. 

They pulled, cheering once again, into the parking lot of the McDonald’s. Izuku deemed it easier to go out the top of the car, using his upper arms to pull himself out and then hopping down to the ground. They stumbled through the parking lot and into the dining room, it was basically empty save them and the employees. Kai jumped from Izuku’s pocket, shifting half way and rolling when she hit the ground. She sat for a moment before snorting and scrambling to stand up. She did, her and Oogie leaning on each other so much that if one fell the other would as well. Izuku’s stomach roared at him, and he made his way to the counter, leaning heavily on it and squinting at the menu. 

“Fuck, I’m starving,” he groaned, a quick glance at his bank account telling him that he didn’t have the money to be starving. That was quickly remedied by Tsukii slamming a thick black card down on the counter, clapping a hand to Izuku’s shoulder. 

“It’s one dad,” he said. “Go wild, bud.” Izuku stared at him for a moment, hearts in his eyes, before turning back to the underpaid cashier. He rattled off his order, going on for several minutes. The cashier slowly woke up as his order continued, eventually wrapping up with three apple pies. 

“Is that all?” The cashier asked, glancing at his friends who were trying and failing to hit Angel’s Juul discreetly. Tsukii waved them forwards. 

“And whatever they want too.” After everything was ordered and paid for they plopped down in a large circle booth, thirstily slurping on their drinks. Izuku checked the time on his phone before doing a double take. 

“Shit, shit shit,” he cursed, patting his pockets for his earbuds before they were handed to him from Oogie, who had them stored in the fanny pack strapped across his torso. “I love you,” he promised him, quickly connecting them and pulling up the email that had been sent with instructions. Not a minute before the check-in started he logged in, immediately assaulted by the familiar sounds of his class. There were a few calls of welcome to him (none from his former friends funnily enough), but silence fell as his teacher turned on his camera. 

“ Wow, you’re all still alive, ” Aizawa deadpanned, making Izuku snort. He was distracted by the large trays of food he ordered arriving. He eagerly dug in, the workers lingering and staring as he practically inhaled it. The calling of his name drew his attention to his phone, seeing his classmates staring at him, some barely holding back laughter, as his teacher waited expectantly. Izuku, still munching on his fries unmuted himself. 

“Sorry, what was that?” There was laughter at his question, and he just gave an easy grin, opening his next sandwich. 

“ I asked what you’ve been doing to further your hero career this summer ,” Aizawa droned. Izuku’s mind went blank before his mouth started spouting bullshit. 

“Oh, yeah, totally! So I’ve been working on some new things with my Quirk, they’re really progressing nicely-” beating the hell out of trash on random beaches - “I’ve been, um, marketing with some people that I feel like would benefit me and be useful to know-” if you count his dad’s coworkers as helpful, then yeah, sure - “and really just trying to figure out my brand, you know? What I want to offer to the world.” Self-discovery, hell yeah . Aizawa nodded, and the class moved on. 

As Aizawa eventually wrapped up the meeting, reminding them about the summer homework, and Izuku couldn’t log off quick enough. He sighed, popping the last of his fries into his mouth. 

“That was so stressful.” Angel waved a hand. 

“Take it from a pro, they’ll never notice.” Izuku’s phone started buzzing and he looked down, seeing a message in the groupchat he had with the Bakusquad, Momo, and Jirou (who were honorary members). He groaned, burying his head in his hands. 

SIMPS & PIMPS

KAMINARI: Izuku was GONE AF he was in the stratosphere and i’m here for it

mans had zERO fucks to give

SERO: idk who he thought he was fooling lmaoooo

MOMO: oh, to be young, drunk, and eating McDonalds rn 

BAKUGOU: only idiots get caught

MINA: gang gang Midobro, gang gang

Chapter Text

Wednesday

“We’re getting cars for our birthday,” Ama said one afternoon as they sat in a peaceful little coffee shop. Izuku was working on his summer homework, the black glasses perched on his nose only adding to his “diligent nerd” vibes. The twins sat beside him, Tsukii alternating between working and kicking Kiki moodily for talking too loud, and Ama not even bothering to pretend she was focused, alternating between holding her cold drink to her head and scrolling through her phone. Kiki, Kai, and Oogie sat on the other side of the table, Oogie working like Izuku as Kiki antagonized Tsukii and Kai scrolled on Ama’s phone with her.

Tsukii continued his twin’s conversation. 

“Dad feels guilty for missing our birthday last year so he’s getting us cars this year.” The twins’ father was a ridiculously rich movie star, choosing to bury his kids in money and gifts as a “sorry” for never being around to give them love and affection. It gave them the means and time to do what they wanted to, but Izuku knew that seeing him interact with his own father made them slightly sad sometimes. 

“Do you know what you want?” He asked, and Tsukii nodded, turning his laptop around to expose what he had been working on, which Izuku had foolishly assumed was work. On the screen sat a completely blacked out car, all sleek lines and glossy paint, obviously built for speed. Just looking at it made Izuku feel like he had lost money. Kiki whistled lowly. 

“That’s a beast of a car.” Tsukii nodded smugly. 

“I’ll be 17, so I think I deserve something nice.” 

“Finally,” Izuku teased, causing Tsukii to stick his tongue out at him, Izuku was the oldest one of the group; his birthday was the earliest, causing him to turn 17 just days before he met the group. The others’ birthdays were in the latter half of the year. “What about you, Ama? Have you thought about what you want?” She slid her phone into the middle of the table. 

On it was a yellow motorcycle, composed of the same sleek lines as her brother’s car. It, too, was built for speed. 

“Can you even drive that?” Oogie questioned, and Ama nodded. 

“I told dad that was what I wanted as a joke originally, but he was serious about it so he got me lessons and stuff. Since we’re pro-heroes in training we got special clearance to get our licenses early that will transfer back to Japan.” Kai laughed. 

“Tell your dad to feel free to buy me a car any day.” Kiki and Izuku jokingly agreed, Oogie muttering about how “ just because I’m legally blind doesn’t mean I can’t drive ”, and turning back to their respective work (or avoidance of work). A few minutes later Ama spoke up. 

“He said he would, and asked if we wanted to meet at the dealership when we go to get ours?” Izuku startled so badly he nearly knocked his mug off the table, it only being saved by his Quirk containing the liquid and setting the cup upright. 

“Ama,” Kiki started slowly. “It was a joke.” The girl shrugged, playing with her fingers on the table.

“He said it would come out of our Christmas budget for you guys, but it’s honestly whatever. Mans has more money than he knows what to do with, and even if he buys all this it would barely put a dent into what he has saved and invested.” Tsukii nodded, joining in. 

“She’s right. It’s pocket change to him. He could literally support all of us for the rest of our lives and still have money to send the next two generations to college. And that’s just in his bank account .” 

“You can’t just spend that much money on us!” Izuku protested, head spinning as he added zeroes in his head, the number growing bigger by the second. Tsukii turned to face him. 

“Why not? You guys are the first people who have been friends with us because you want to be friends with us. Everyone else just hears our last name and tries to leech. You don’t want this to be spent on you, but we do, so let us. Please.” There was silence as they considered it for a moment, before Kai shrugged. 

“Well shit, if you guys are insisting.” Kiki nodded hesitantly, and everyone looked at Izuku. He worried his lip for a moment before nodding as well. 

“But if you guys buy me anything else for as long as I live, I’ll literally kill you.” They laughed and Ama shooed them away, looking genuinely happy as she packed up her things. 

“Go convince your parents, and I’ll send the address and details to the group chat. We’re going tomorrow.” She took a moment to smile softly at the group. “This really does make me happy, guys. I would write you into his will if I could.” Kiki rolled his eyes but smiled at her. 

“As long as you’re sure you want to do this. We’d be friends with you either way, money or not.” They said good-bye, each member starting towards their respective homes. Izuku’s head had barely stopped spinning as he entered the apartment, belatedly calling out his customary greeting. His father called a greeting to him from his study. 

Hisashi was a businessman in Japan, but when he moved to America he became a personal trainer, quickly moving up the ranks to work with pro-heroes and athletes alike. He worked from home a few days a week, creating plans and studying data from his clients, then applying that in his meetings with them at their respective training centers.

“Why are you home so early?” Hisashi questioned worriedly as Izuku plopped onto the small sofa in his office. “I thought you kids would hang out all day?”

“Ama and Tsukii’s dad wants to buy me, Kiki, and Kai cars.” His father stared at him for a minute. 

“ What ?” He questioned, voice faint and making Izuku sit up. 

“I know ! It’s crazy. We were just talking about the ones he wanted to buy the twins for their birthday, and Kai made a joke about how he could buy her a car any day, and Ama decided to ask and said that he said he would do it! As a Christmas present!” His dad was contemplative for a minute before speaking up. 

“Do you think he would adopt you?” Izuku laughed and chucked a pillow off the couch at him. “I was joking!” His dad protested, laughing as well. “That’s very generous of him. Do you have a ‘thank you’ speech planned?” Izuku stared at him in disbelief. 

“You’ll let me?” His dad shrugged. 

“I don’t see why not. Your mother and I were concerned about how we would be able to afford one, and here one is being offered to you. It would be rude not to accept.” His tone was cheeky, but his words were serious. “I’ll pay the insurance on it till you graduate and get a steady income, but you are a new driver so don’t get anything too-too crazy.” 

“Well,” Izuku started, an idea already forming in his mind. “I do have an idea of what I want…” 

-----------------------

Thursday

The next day found Izuku waiting awkwardly in a dealership filled to the brim with fancy people, which made him glad that he was wearing one of his slightly more fancy, newer outfits. It was a loose and flowy white button-up, the top two undone, and tucked into a pair of black jeans, with his red shoes. He fiddled nervously with his rings as he waited for the rest of the group to show up, cursing his innate ability to be early to awkward situations. They walked through the door, instantly putting his nerves at ease. He took a moment to observe Mr. Inoue as he walked towards him. 

It was easy to tell why he was famous, his features perfectly symmetrical, from his flared nose to piercing blue eyes. His skin was darker than his children’s, but blemish free, and his hair was reminiscent of his daughter’s. When he smiled he had the same left dimple of Tsukii, and he carried himself so confidently that it left Izuku wondering if he should salute or bow to him. Instead, Mr. Inoue just clasped his hand, bowing slightly. 

“You must be Izuku!” He exclaimed in perfect Japanese with a voice deeper than Izuku’s own father, shaking his hand with gusto. “Ama and Tsukii have told me about you, I’m so glad they have another pro-hero in training to talk to!” Izuku grinned awkwardly at him, slipping easily back into his native language. 

“It’s nice to meet you too. You really don’t have to do any of this.” Mr. Inoue waved a hand in front of his face, stepping back slightly. 

“Don’t even think about offering anything in return. I like to spoil my children, and their friends. Plus Kai already offered me her first-born child, but two is enough for me, thanks.” They laughed, and he wandered away to talk to a salesman. 

“Did you really?” Izuku asked questioningly, and Kai nodded solemnly. 

“My dad said that he would disown me if I didn’t.” 

“I offered to be his butler,” Kiki grinned, “But I’ve been friends with them for so long that he knows I’d be shit.” 

“My dad asked if he could adopt me,” Izuku admitted, glad that he wasn’t the only one whose parents were slightly crazy. Ama tapped her chin thoughtfully. 

“Now there’s an idea, then you really could be in his will.” Izuku stared at her, and Tsukii punched his shoulder. 

“ Kidding . Now come on, they’re ready for us.” They walked towards the salesman and Mr. Inoue, both of them smiling. The salesman started walking and talking to them. 

“Since the little Inoues got custom rides, their’s will be last on the list. Mr. Inoue has decided to just let you roam the lot, and see if there’s anything that strikes your fancy. Don’t worry if you see something you like, but not the color. We have an in-house Quirk mechanic that can fix that for you free of charge. Do any of you have an idea of what you want? I can lead you to the general area.” Kiki, Kai, and Izuku looked at each other awkwardly, Oogie snickering in the background at them. Kai spoke up first.

“I was thinking something similar to Tskuii’s? But maybe with a drop-top?” She looked worriedly at Mr. Inoue. “If that’s alright, of course?” He waved his hands genially. 

“Anything you want. I’m just the credit card.” The salesman laughed slightly, walking them through the lot to a group of cars, motioning at them.

“We have several different brands here. If you have any questions just ask me. Unfortunately, since you do not yet have your license, we can’t let you test drive but my Quirk is called ‘Projection’ so I can holographically simulate what a drive would feel like.” Kai nodded, walking about each of the cars, inspecting them closely. 

Izuku couldn’t tell what she was looking for, and after making eye contact he realized that she didn’t know either. He snorted, but disguised it as a cough when the salesman looked at him.

Eventually she stopped in front of a black car, very similar to Tsukii’s, but it was matte and slightly more streamlined than his. 

“I like this one,” she finally said, kicking the ground shyly. The salesman nodded, jotting down the details of the car before turning to Kai and Izuku. 

“What about you boys? Any ideas?” Kai and Izuku shared a look, having texted earlier to discuss it. 

“We actually want the same thing,” Izuku started, launching into a description as the salesman nodded thoughtfully. 

“I think I have just the thing.” He led the way back into a building, pulling open large bay doors and leading them through rows of motorcycles. “Since you guys are different sizes, you’ll need different sizes of bikes. And of course, we have different brands and styles and such.” He stopped about halfway down a row, pointing at one side then the other. 

“These are the smaller ones, and these are the bigger ones. Just pick out whatever you want. With each bike comes a custom, in-house-made, set of riding gear.” Izuku browsed through the bikes, eventually one catching his eye. He slowly approached it, studying it. 

It was sleeker than Ama’s, obviously made to be more aerodynamic. The seat was slightly higher off the ground, but his feet still laid flat as he sat on it. It fit snugly between his thighs, and he leaned over the front, his body stretching out and grasping the handlebars. 

“That’s a Sports model. It’s made for speed and sharp turns, but is still solid and comfortable enough to ride moderately long distances. It’s generally lighter to allow for more speed, but you’re on the upper end of the size spectrum so yours will be a bit heavier and slightly more study. It’ll take a little bit off of the initial acceleration, but you won’t lose control as easy.” 

Izuku nodded, absorbing the information and looking across the aisle to see Kiki stradling a bike of his own. It was a slightly different build, not as laid out and sleek as his own but still fairly aerodynamic. The salesman nodded at Kiki. 

“That’s a Standard model. Ama’s is a special mix between the two. While not as fast as the Sports model, this one is built for more comfortable rides and handling. It’s more universal, you can attach bags if you want to, or even have a second person. However, you can also lean in as if it were a Sports bike, just not as much.” 

The two boys made eye contact, and grinned fiercely at each other. Ama cackled wildly. 

“Oh no,” Oogie murmured, hiding his face in his hands. 

“Oh yes ,” the three replied. Kiki and Izuku slid off of their bikes and Mr. Inoue clapped his hands. 

“Now that we have that settled, we can go get Tsukii and Ama’s rides, and hook you three up in the accessory shop!” He gleefully herded them out of the room as the salesman gave directions to the workers, who carefully rolled the bikes out of the warehouse. 

The salesman walked to a different building, and Izuku could see the bikes they had just picked out being rolled in a side door. They entered and he started coughing as the smell of pain assaulted his nose. 

“You’ll get used to it in a minute,” Mr. Inoue commented, walking towards the only other vehicles in the room. They were exact replicas of the pictures Ama and Tsukii had shown in the coffee shop. The windows on Tsukii’s car were so dark he couldn’t see in them and as he peered closer he could see small flecks of silver in the paint. Ama’s bike was a pretty yellow that complemented the car, and Izuku was seeing a trend in their “Sun and Moon Quirk, twins, ying-yang” personalities, but he chose not to comment. 

A man approached them, wiping his hands on his paint covered apron and lifting a pair of goggles, leaving a comical, goggle-shaped patch of skin free from pain splatters. 

“Hi! Do you guys want anything done to your rides?” The three looked at Mr. Inoue who raised his hands and looked away. They launched themselves at the man, the excitement of their reality finally setting in. Somehow he understood their babbling, nodding and jotting down notes before walking to where their new rides were positioned. He started mixing paint but they were quickly hustled into another room as the man started airbrushing Kai’s car, the paint kept in clear, crisp lines away from the windows and mirrors by his Quirk. 

Ama and Kiki, easily the two most fashionable in the group, began pulling jackets and helmets off the rack and handing them to Izuku to try on. Eventually he ended up with a black leather jacket, twin bands of red and green on one arm, a new pair of black boots, and gloves, and a rounded black helmet with a tinted visor. Ama’s was similar, the only difference being a plain black jacket and a yellow helmet. Kiki chose a white helmet with black designs on it, but a plain black jacket, gloves, and boots. Mr. Inoue shooed them back out the door as he approached a desk, pulling his wallet from his back pocket. 

Izuku stopped short in front of their parked vehicles, his eyes practically filling with stars. He gently ran a hand over the dried paint, marveling at the design the painter had perfectly captured. 

“It looks similar to your Quirk.” Tsukii commented, having already seen his car before. Izuku looked up at him and nodded. 

“Yeah! I’m thinking about registering it as official support gear, so I wanted it to match.” Ama’s eyes widened as she looked at her own bike. 

“I didn’t think of that, I should do that too!” Izuku let out a breathy laugh, running a hand through his hair. 

“This is so fucking cool,” he whispered. “So cool.” The others agreed with him, but his eyes caught Oogie’s slumped form in the corner, the other boy dejectedly kicking the ground with a scowl on his face. Izuku let a wide smile across his face as he called out to his friend. “Oogie! Do you think you could control the tech in the cars?” Oogie cocked his head to the side before walking over to join them, his eyes moving across the cars in a way that Izuku knew meant he was using his Quirk. A similar smile crossed his face. 

“Probably! It would be just like driving it, except not.” He crossed his arms, a finger tapping at his lips as he thought. “I could hook up some kind of network in the helmets and then I would probably even be able to jump between them and the cars.” Oogie’s eyes sparkled and Izuku turned away to hide his smile as his friend began rambling about the tech he would use. Kiki sidled up beside Izuku. 

“What would we do without you?” He questioned fondly, and Izuku just shrugged, looking anywhere but his friend. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

-----------------------

Saturday

As it turned out, a prerequisite to owning a car was actually being able to drive it. Mr. Inoue had arranged for storage in one of the garages he owned, as well as driving lessons and certifications, though Izuku had refused to let him arrange for transport back to Japan. Izuku had a few more pieces of hero merch he was willing to part with to fund the transfer. 

The group of teens, and their parents, had gathered at what looked to be a repurposed airplane landing strip, attached to the garage their cars were housed in. The kids were receiving lessons and practice in the large open space from one of Mr. Inoue’s private drivers while their parents all mingled and grilled food. Izuku quickly got used to riding the bike, and was now experimenting with the different angles he would have to use for turning. 

He zipped up and down the tarmac, skidding and sliding and turning so far that his knees brushed the ground. Each time he whipped by he could hear his dad whooping and hollering for him while Kiki’s mom, Daitan, scolded his father. He heard roaring to his left and right and he looked up, seeing Kiki and Ama flying along beside him. The prototype transmitter that Oogie had installed in their helmets crackled to life. 

“ Watch this !” Ama’s delighted voice poured through, her bike speeding up as she shifted her weight backwards, her front tire popping off the ground. She held it for a few seconds before gently lowering it back down. The three turned in a large arc instead of the hairpin turns Izuku had been previously doing. Izuku saw people waving them down from where their parents were located, Tsukii and Kai already parked there. 

“Looks like the food is ready,” Izuku spoke into the microphone. They angled towards the others, rolling to a halt and sripping off their protective gear, which was just barely bearable with the wind whipping around them. Each of the adults held some kind of beverage, Tsukii and Oogie passing water bottles to the newly arrived teens, though Tsukii was eyeing the cooler of beer regretfully. 

“A toast!” Mr. Inoue announced with glee, raising his can. “To a good day and even better friends!” The others quickly agreed, plates filling up and being emptied again and again. There was talking and laughter (especially from Oogie’s mom [not to be confused with his ofukuro in Japan] and Kai’s dad, who were apparently close friends) and contentment filled Izuku as he gazed around the tarmac at the people who had come to mean so much to him in such little time. His eye caught his father’s, who smiled meaningfully at him. Izuku shot the man a thumbs up, elbowing Kiki. 

“What?” He asked, and Izuku just nodded towards his father, who was standing up from the tables that had been folded out. “ Oh ,” Kiki said, pulling out his phone to start discretely videotaping. Izuku’s father cleared his throat several times, drawing attention to himself. He began speaking. 

“Even though I didn’t know many of you before this summer, I have been blessed to have you in my life. I have also been doubly blessed, because your children have shown my Izuku what true friendship is. As a father, I couldn’t hope for my son to have better friends.” Izuku sniffed as a hearty “ hear hear! ” went up around the table. However, his father wasn’t finished yet. 

“I might even go as far as to say that they have become a family, as each of you have become to me. However, there is one way that this family could be even better.” Hisashi turned to Kiki’s mom, who had been staring at the man with fond eyes that became even wider as the man fell to one knee in front of her and pulled a small box from his pocket. 

“Kato Daitan, will you marry me?” The woman sobbed, covering her mouth with both her hands as she nodded. 

“ Yes !” She finally got out, throwing her arms around Hisashi as a brillant grin overtook his face. Cheers once again went up as the ring was slid onto her finger, Izuku and Kiki among the loudest. Although they had just found out about their parents dating a few weeks ago, they had been dating for almost a full year. Both boys had been overjoyed when Hisashi had sat them down one day and asked how they felt about it, immediately agreeing; Izuku, despite his teasing his father, was happy to see the man find someone he wanted to share his life with (having Kiki as a step-brother was just a bonus), as was his mom who had known about Daitan from the beginning. 

However, in the midst of the congratulations and cheers, Kai’s father, Matias squirted up at the sky, before pointing. 

“What the fuck?” Heads whipped up at his words, gasps sounding. Quickly approaching them was a large passenger aircraft, entirely too low to the ground. Oogie and his mom immediately jumped into action, the woman pulling out a radio from the seat of her truck, placing her hands on both sides of it in concentration as Oogie began communicating with the pilot. She had a Quirk that allowed her to enhance any piece of technology she had contact with, so she was probably increasing the distance the radio could work at, Oogie doing the rest. The others quickly started packing away the food and drinks and throwing the tables and chairs into various cars. 

“It’s an emergency landing,” Oogie said, having just finished conversing with the pilot. “They can’t make it to the airport for some reason so they’re touching down here. He said that everything should be good.” They watched with bated breath as the plane swooped overhead, so close the wind made Izuku’s hair rustle. It continued on, getting closer and closer to the ground. The radio crackled back to life. 

“ Mayday, mayday, this is aircraft N-4736. Emergency landing imminent, landing gear is jammed. Requesting medical and fire to this location, we’re gonna have to land belly-up. Please confirm. ” Izuku’s blood ran cold as Matias said “belly-up” was using the bottom of the plane to land, because their tires wouldn’t emerge. They stared at the radio as it crackled silently, the pilot once again asking for confirmation of emergency services. 

There was no response. Izuku looked up, making eye contact with Ama and Tsukii. They nodded in deference at him, and he jumped into action, quickly pulling his protective gear on.  

“Oogie, get on that radio and tell the pilot to maintain his height for as long as possible, try to patch him into my helmet. Tsukii get emergency services here now , throw All Might’s name around if you have to, I don’t give a damn. Ama, you’re with me.” Each person he called out nodded in affirmation, Ama donning her own gear as she swung onto his bike behind him. 

“Izuku, no!” Izuku’s dad called, the fear in his voice making Izuku pause and look up. He slid his visor up, giving his dad a grim smile. 

“Sorry dad, duty calls.” He roared off on his bike, quickly gaining on the airplane, who seemed to be maintaining his height. Izuku’s earpiece came to life with Oogie’s voice. 

“ Zuzu, I have Captain James on the line .” 

“Captain James this is Hero Deku, from Japan. Can you hear me?” He received a grunt of affirmation. “What’s the situation Captain?” 

“ The vertical stabilizer and rudder stopped responding, we can’t control our yaw. It was supposed to be a simple emergency landing, but the landing gear won’t come out either .” Izuku nodded, though he knew the Captain couldn’t see it. They pulled closer to the back end of the plane, the edge of the tarmac fast approaching. 

“Here’s the plan Captain. I’m going to get as close to the middle of the plane as I can, and support it. I need you to slow down as quickly and safely as possible, and order everyone as close to the front as you can.” 

“ You’re going to be our wheel? Are you insane ?” Izuku gave a slightly manic smile.

“Possibly. Can you do it?” It was silent, then- 

“ This better fucking work .” Izuku relaxed slightly, speeding up to find a good hand-hold around the center of the plane, now barely a few yards above him. 

“Ama, crawl around in front.” The girl did as he asked, smooth and barely adjusting the course of the bike as she settled in front of him, the plane inching further downwards. “Take over the bike. As soon as I say, peel off to the side and head back.” The girl nodded in affirmative, taking the bike’s handlebars from him. Izuku lithely crouched on the seat of his bike, trying to keep his center of gravity as close to Ama’s as he could, Quirk crackling to life. While he had been practicing his new techniques he didn't feel confident enough in using them in the field, except his new and improved Full Cowling (the one where he didn’t risk blowing his limbs to shreds). He reached up, the plane barely settling into his fingertips before he yelled at Ama. 

“ Now !” She jerked the bike to the side, leaving Izuku dangling from the underside of the plane. He looked down, the ground suddenly much closer than it had been. “Oh fuck.” His feet slammed into the ground, tearing up the tarmac and leaving a furrow in his wake. He braced his legs, arms groaning as he kept a desperate hold on the entire plane. He glanced behind him, gently lowering the tail-end of the plane to the ground. It skittered and bounced, Izuku still keeping his firm grip on the plane as it began to slow. 

Soon, his feet didn’t have enough momentum to keep tearing through the tarmac, forcing him to take large, slightly hopping steps to maintain his hold on the plane. They careened to a stop, Izuku shivering and trembling as he bore the full weight of the plane on his shoulders, He gently lowered the nearly destroyed tail end of the plane to the ground, walking his hands forwards till he could grip the nose of the plane, setting it as close to the ground as he could before dropping it. 

He heard sirens quickly approaching but, ignoring his own aching joints, he took a bunny hop up to the opening door of the plane. He landed gently, ducking inside and removing his helmet. He did his best to give a reassuring grin to the passengers. 

“Hey guys, sorry about the rough landing. There was some asphalt in the way.” There was a beat before startled laughter broke out, a slightly terrified edge to it as it swept through the cabin. Izuku’s smile became much more relaxed as he noticed there were no injuries. “Come on, let’s get you guy out of here.”  

One large blow-up slide, about a million tearful thanks, and a few starry-eyed autographs later Izuku was finally surrounded by his family again. His father wrapped him up in a large hug, alternating between berating him and fanboying. Fatigue crashed into Izuku as he stepped closer to Kiki, drawing his attention. 

“I think I’m going to pass out now.” There was a startled yelp as he collapsed, but Izuku was too far into dream-land to care. He had one final thought before his brain blacked out. 

I hope my bike didn’t get scratched .

Chapter Text

Tuesday

Izuku tore down the interstate, the wind cutting around him and nipping at his skin beneath his jacket. He looked down at his phone, perched on a stand between his arms, a monotone voice providing directions directly into his helmet. He had got a text not too long ago, just a pinned location in the groupchat from Kai. Obviously his mind had gone to the worst situation and he had practically flown out the door of his empty apartment and onto his bike. 

It was about an hour from where he lived, just on the outskirts of the Bronx, a slightly more sketchy part of town if he remembered correctly. That just made him set his jaw and pour  a little more speed into his bike, weaving between cars and ignoring the various revved engines of people wanting to race him. What seemed like hours later, he pulled into the packed  parking lot of a nondescript building, easily picking out his friends’ cars and bikes. He warily approached the small building, surveying the blacked out windows and glowing neon signs.

The door flung open, loud music and yelling assaulting his ears and he ducked as something came flying towards him. He rolled across the ground, popping up and readying himself to fight before his ears finally connected to his brain. 

“Don’t ever show your ugly face here again!” Was being furiously shouted by the four-armed woman in the doorframe, her hands rubbing together as if to dust them off. The thing that had been thrown at Izuku, which he could now identify as a piss-drunk man, had actually not been thrown at him, but rather in his general direction. 

There were various cheers of support for the four-armed woman, and he could pick out his friends’ voices in the mix. He stepped closer, trying to look around the woman’s broad frame. 

“Kai?” He called. “Kai!” A bright exclamation was his only warning before his arms were filled with the exuberant girl, chatting away happily in a strange mix of English, Spanish, and Japanese. He held her at an arm's length, frantically checking her over to make sure she was unharmed. “Are you okay? You had me scared, just dropping your location like that!” She stepped back, giving him a wide grin. 

“I’m fine! I didn’t mean to worry you, but I explained in the groupchat what was going on.” Izuku, shook his head, pulling out his phone and looking at it. 

“No, you didn’t.” She shrugged blithely, wrinkling her nose. 

“Whoops.” She grabbed his hand before he could get a word in edgewise, pulling him inside the now closed door. They passed the stern form of the four-armed woman, who pressed something to the back of his hand and gave Izuku a once over and a glare that seemed to dare him to cause any trouble. Kai pushed Izuku into a round booth, flashing, colorful, lights making him take a second to see the rest of their group already there. There was all different sorts of food on the table, and his friends cheered happily to see him. He gave a confused smile. 

“What the fuck is going on? Where are we?” Tsukii smiled at him, happily munching on a fry. 

“Remember Kai’s cousin Angel, the one who took us to McDonalds that one night?” Izuku winced, a phantom headache shooting through his head. 

“Barely.” 

“Well,” Ama continued. “This is his bar and he’s unveiling the newest attraction tonight so he invited us out to see it.” Izuku sat up straight, panic lacing through him. 

“A bar ? You guys, I can’t risk being caught here! I would be in so much trouble-” He was cut off from a ramble by Oogie gently patting his arm. 

“Don’t worry, this is a special bar. If you’re under the legal age you get marked by the bouncer and the bartenders won’t sell to you. But you can still come and play pool, dance, or just eat some good fucking food.” 

“The four-armed woman?” Kiki nodded. 

“That’s Carol, isn’t she great?” The yelp the man had let out as he was chucked out of the building filled his head. Before he could answer someone else approached their table, causing his friends to cheer once more. 

“Izuku!” It was Angel. The man’s face was flushed and a limp towel hanging over his shoulder as he barked orders at the workers scurrying around, comfortably in his element. “Glad you could make it.” They clasped hands, Izuku grinning easily at the man. 

“Thanks for the invite, though I still have no idea what’s happening.” Angel’s eyes glimmered as he slid into the booth, stealing Kai’s cup away from her and taking a long pull of it. 

“I’m adding a little something-something special tonight, and I figured you guys would enjoy it. It’s being unveiled at midnight, so feel free to relax and have fun till then.” He stood up, surveying the table. “I’ll have someone bring you guys some more sodas over, feel free to try anything on the menu, it’s on the house!” 

There was more cheering as he left, a waitress quickly appearing to take Izuku’s order before disappearing just as quickly. He finally took the chance to properly look around the bar. It was filled with smoke and flashing lights, but had high ceilings that made it seem larger than it actually was. The bar was bustling, a rectangular window providing a glimpse into the equally busy kitchen. The wooden dance floor was in a small depression, their table on the edge and allowing them to look over it, and it was already fairly full as the DJ played some upbeat music from a small stage. In another corner were some pool tables, which seemed popular. A large sheet hung from the ceiling, concealing one side of the room and what Izuku assumed was Angel’s big surprise. He turned back to his friends, their conversation lulling as they ate. 

“So, you guys come here often?” Ama shook her head. It’s pretty far away from all of us, and we didn’t have a way to get here before last week, so we only come once when we visit in the summer.” Izuku nodded looking around again, before giving a small smile. 

“It’s pretty cool.” Kiki’s eyes blew wide open. 

“Isn’t it? Just wait till later when all the dancing songs start playing.” A familiar song started playing, and the entire building filled with cheers as people flocked to the dance floor. Kiki looked taken aback. “Or right now, that works too.” Izuku’s grin grew wider as he stood up, sliding out of the seat and beckoning his friends. 

“Well? Let’s go!” They eagerly went to the dance floor, Kai and Izuku opting to drop down over the railing instead of taking the stairs, and Izuku started singing along, alongside with what seemed to be the rest of the bar, pointing at his friends and dancing as they hurried over, laughing at his antics. 

“ All the shawtys in the club -” Tsukii cupped his hands and sang the answer. 

“ Let me see you just -” Izuku swayed from side to side, eyeing Kiki who joined him in singing the next part. 

“ Back it up, drop it down -” 

“ Let me see you just- ” 

“ Get low and scrub the ground -” 

“ Let me see you just- ” 

“ Push it up, push it up- ” 

“ Let me see you just! ”

He faced the direction that the rest of the dance floor was facing, adjusting his pants at his thighs in anticipation of the next part. 

“ Wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble. Yeah! ” The entire dance floor took a collective leap forwards, everyone doing some sort of shimmy with their upper body. A hope back was next, following along to the music. Izuku angled to the left, rolling his hands and tapping his foot before angling his body right and repeating. He danced forwards and then back, turning slowly to the other side.

It wasn’t a hard dance, only seven steps, but it was a cult-favorite. There was a wolf-whistle from beside him and he looked to see Ama, a large grin stretching across her face as she mirrored his moves. 

“Damn Zuzu, show ‘em how it’s down!” He laughed, putting a little more flair in his moves, rolling his body slightly as he rolled his hands to the side. They danced for a few minutes, the dance floor becoming slightly less empty as people got tired, before the DJ gradually transferred into another song, this one just as popular. 

“ We’re gonna get funky! ” The bar shouted, clapping along to the song. “ To the left ,” the song commanded, everybody sliding to the left, then back, and hopping in place. They followed the music, laughing at each other when someone went left when they were supposed to go right. Eventually it got to Izuku’s favorite part, and he grinned over his shoulder at his friends. 

“ How low can you go? ” The song questioned, and Izuku started bending backwards at his waist, knees bending as he went lower. “ Can you go down low? ” Eventually he folded, practically laying on the floor, much to the delight of the people around him, whooping and cheering as he and a few others showed their flexibility. “ Can you bring it to the top? ” Izuku gradually made his way back up in a show of strength, once again standing upright and finishing the dance with his delighted friends. 

The next song was one vaguely familiar to him, and from Kai’s cheers one she knew, and he easily fell into a fast-paced dance with her, feet flying and hips swinging as they danced alongside several other partners on the floor. Somehow they ended up trading partners and Izuku was now dancing with another boy his age, the two laughing as they swung and twirled around each other. Kai made her way back to him as the song ended, feeding into another one. 

They were panting and sweaty, and Izuku motioned back towards the table, receiving a nod. They rejoined their friends, everyone catching their breath for a moment before Tsukii sighed dreamily. 

“I love this place. Where else can you dance to old rap, the Cha-Cha Slide , Spanish and-” he cocked his head, listening for a moment, “-country songs?” Izuku grinned, standing up beside their booth, stomping his feet in time to the music, kicking out in front of him for a count then crossing his feet, kicking again, and stomping in time to the music. He sat back down, tossing his head slightly. 

“You’ve never danced to this song?” He got headshakes all around, and he shrugged, reaching for some chips. “It was pretty popular back in the day.” 

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Kai said, slurping noisily on her drink. “But how are you so good at dancing? Even when I was teaching you to bachata, you caught on super quick.” Izuku rubbed the back of his head. 

“I was part of the dance team in the UA Festival, and I really enjoyed it, so I kept up with it. I took some classes with Mina on the weekends. It’s actually pretty helpful for coordination and stuff.” Oogie shook his head, raising his cup in Izuku’s general direction. 

“To Zuzu! May he continue surprising us.” There were hearty agreements and Izuku sputtered and hid his face as they teased him. Hours passed as they alternated between sitting and observing, playing pool, and even attempting to karaoke a song. They migrated towards the large sheet as it approached midnight, talking and socializing with the other patrons there. 

It’s fun, being the only sober ones. 

They all quieted as Angel came to the front, a large light pointing at him as he raised the microphone in his hand. 

“Thanks for coming out everyone! I trust you’re all having a good time?” Cheers met his words and he grinned. “That’s what I like to hear! Now, to get to what you all are here for- probably.” Kai and Tsukii started stomping their feet, imitating a drum roll, the whole building soon shaking from the stomping feet. Angel raised his hands, the stomping stopped and he jerked the release for the sheet. 

“Say hi to Brutus!” The lights behind the sheet clicked on, illuminating the new attraction. There were gasps and Izuku jumped, suddenly faced with almost-glowing red eyes. It was a reddish-brown, covered in thin black stripes and a tasseled black saddle. It slowly rotated, occasionally bucking. 

“Ho-ly shit ,” Ama whispered, eyeing it. “He bought a mechanical bull, the crazy motherfucker.” Angel sidled up beside them, a shit-eating grin on his face, and they watched as the first patrons tried to ride it, some barely last seconds before they were tossed into the padding around it. 

“Isn’t it sexy?” Kai punched him, a crazed grin on her face. 

“I can’t believe you actually did it! You’ve got to be insane!” Angel just cackled, before starting. 

“Is that Izuku?” The teens’ head snapped to look where the green-headed boy had just been standing before looking towards the bull. The boy in question was sitting on the bull, one hand gripping the hold tightly and the other raised in the air. A determined grin sat etched in his face but his eyes were lit up and sparkling in joy. The bull started moving slowly, Izuku easily keeping up with its movements, body loose and flowing. It started jerking and twirling harder, losing its pattern, and he looked up with a grin at the crowd that was watching him. He released his hold, both hands in the air as he stayed seated with only the strength of his legs. 

“He’s gonna fall!” Kiki cried out, seeing Izuku’s leg’s loosen their hold right as the bull jerked upwards. Instead of going flying like so many other patrons had, the boy just used the momentum to go upright, his feet planting firmly on the bull’s back.  

He gave what could only be called a ‘watch-me’ grin, stepping across the bull’s back in time with it’s whirling and bucking, jumping up and using the bull’s momentum to do some fancy footwork. The crowd in the bar went wild, cheering and videotaping him. He faced his friends, feet halting, though his body kept moving in time with the bull. He bent over slightly, hand reaching out to them. 

“Ah hell no!” Oogie protested, Tsukii shaking his head empathetically, and Kiki motioning to the phone he was videoing with. Ama and Kai both took a step forward, but then looked at each other. 

“You go ahead-” Ama started, only to cut off with a yelp as her outreached hand was grabbed, as was Kai’s. The two girls flew through the air, landing on Izuku’s broad shoulders as he held them up on the still moving bull. Curses flew through the air as Ama sank her hand into his hair, eyes wide in fear. Kai just laughed, arms flying open wide as she did her best to match the swaying of the bull. When it became clear that he wouldn’t be launched off, even with the two passengers, the operator slowed the bull, allowing Izuku to gently jump off. He crouched setting his friends on the ground, accepting the cheers and shoulder-pats from the crowd with a slightly manic grin on his face. 

Ama clung to her twin as she adjusted to being on solid ground again, Kai excitedly bounding around as the next person went to ride the bull, spurred on by Izuku’s show. Tsukii exchanged a look with Kiki, who was furiously typing on his phone. 

“He’s going to go viral, isn’t he?” Kiki looked up with a wide grin, flashing his phone at the other boy. 

“Now he is.”

Thursday

“I feel like you’re angry at me,” Izuku admitted, looking between the serious faces of Ama, Kai, and Oogie. 

“I’m not angry,” Oogie started. “I’m just disappointed.” Izuku shifted uncomfortably in his seat. That was the exact same line his mom had pulled on him when he was a kid and it got him every time. Except now it was his friends crowding him at his table as the sun barely rose above the New York skyline. 

The reason for his friends’ actions was rather simple: Izuku had snuck out. Except it technically wasn’t sneaking out because his dad was on a short trip to the countryside with Kiki’s mom to celebrate their engagement (which he had encouraged), so it was only him in the apartment. Izuku had decided to use the time to practice his Quirk without interference, which constituted disappearing to the trash covered beach he had been frequenting the past few days at midnight. 

However, he had accidentally left his phone behind and forgot the time, which wasn’t that big of a deal, unless you had five friends that liked to randomly show up at your apartment at the crack of dawn right as you were staggering through the balcony doors covered in sweat and smelling like trash. 

“I didn’t mean to leave my phone behind,” Izuku admitted, feeling slightly out of his depth. “I just forgot it and didn’t feel like turning around to get it.” 

“You still could’ve let us know where you were!” Ama protested. “We texted and called and everything, but you didn’t answer. When Kiki let us in with your spare key we almost went crazy till you came through the windows!” Irritation flashed through Izuku, but he pushed it back down. These were his friends, they were just looking out for him. 

“I can look out for myself.” Try as he might his voice was still stiff, his friends’ words hitting a little too close to the wound caused by his former UA friends. “I don’t always get in trouble when I’m out.” That seemed to do the trick, causing Tsukii to let out a large sigh from his place at the small coffee table in the living room. 

“You guys are being too difficult.” He said. “Ama, Oogie, Kai: knock it off. Izuku’s a big boy, he can take care of himself. We don’t have to be up each other’s asses twenty-four-seven. Izuku, no one ever said you go looking for trouble, we just care about you. It was a little shocking to not find you where we were told you would be.” There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, then Izuku snorted out a small laugh, relaxing slightly. 

“You’re right, Tsukii. I’m sorry you guys, I guess I just don’t like people trying to control me.” He gave a rueful smile, the expression being mirrored back at him. 

“And we’re sorry too,” Kai said. “We were just worried, but Tsukii is right. We good?” Izuku nodded, doling out fist bumps across the table. 

“Yeah, we’re good.” Izuku stood up, stretching out and wrinkling his nose. “Let me go change and then we can go get some coffee.” 

One shower, a change of clothes, and a cup of overpriced coffee later found the group lounging on the side of a nondescript fountain in a fairly busy portion of New York. They were currently divided on how they wanted to spend their last few days. 

Ama and Kiki wanted to go shopping once again, Tsukii wanted to take their cars and bikes out and show them off, Kai wanted to take it easy and relax, Oogie wanted to see what all the fuss was about with some of the more well-known places in New York (which none of them had ever been to see surprisingly enough), and Izuku was just happy to go along with whatever. The budding argument between Tsukii and Oogie ground to a halt as a group of teens, not much younger than themselves, ran up to Izuku, chattering excitedly. 

“What the hell? It’s really you! You guys, look! It’s the guy!” Izuku’s face was torn between blushing and confusion as he stared down at the small group that had formed around him at the girl’s words. 

“What?” 

A phone was shoved into his hands, a video already playing. It was shaky cellphone footage of him zipping along the side of an airplane on his motorcycle, helmet concealing his features. He disappeared underneath the plane and not moments later did the bike come racing back out, the driver noticeably smaller and more feminine. 

There were loud exclamations and shouts as the camera jerked and shook, noise filtering through the small speakers. Eventually, it calmed, the passengers of the plane looking around in a daze before one of the doors hissed open, a figure appearing in the square of light it provided. Izuku watched as he removed his helmet, his spur-of-the-moment joke about asphalt making him cringe. He expected the video to stop after the flashy stuff was over, but it continued showing how he helped each passenger out, making sure everyone was as well as they could be. 

The Captain had clapped him on the shoulder, laughing heartily, and the video ended on a frame of him smiling and laughing with a passenger, throwing up a peace sign for a picture they wanted to take. A calm sort of confidence flowed through him as he stared at himself; something about looking at himself in the third person made something clear to him. 

No matter how much he struggled, how many times he faltered before standing back up, if he could even save just one person, it would all be worth it. Every tear, every scar, every ache and every heartbreak, they all lead him to this one moment.

And he loved it . 

He smiled at the girl who gave him his phone, large and toothy, letting out a slight chuckle. 

“I think I might have to work on my witty one-liners,” he admitted, the small crowd that had gathered around him rolling with laughter. Stars grew in the girl’s eyes as she shoved a napkin and pen in his hands. 

“Can I get your autograph? Please!” He suppressed a giggle, wondering if that’s what he sounded like asking for his teachers’ autographs, before taking it and uncapping the pen. He hesitated for just a moment before drawing a quick signature. 

Previously, he had just signed the Kanji for ‘Deku’, but now he wrote the name in English, zig-zagging a lightning bolt through the middle of it as an afterthought. He scrawled a quick ‘Plus Ultra!’ underneath it and completed it with a smiley face, handing the napkin back to the girl. Something about it felt right, more comfortable than just the two symbols that made up his name. It felt more representative of who he was: the name Deku came from Kacchan, a misreading of his name, but it was written in English, which had become a huge part of his life when his dad had moved away. 

Simply put, it fit him. 

He visited with each person that had gathered, smiling and laughing with them. Some were just people who had seen a commotion and came over, others were aware of the video and wanted to meet a future pro-hero. Eventually it was just Izuku and his friends once again, the green-haired boy flopping down in exhaustion and finishing his coffee in one large pull. Kiki gave a delicate cough. 

“Now might be a good time to inform you that that isn’t the only thing you’re famous for.” Izuku flipped his head over the edge of the fountain, staring at Kiki upside down. 

“What else would there be?” Kiki held his phone out by way of explanation, a video overlaid with music showing him riding the mechanical bull at Angel’s bar. It was basically his entire stint, the video ending with him crouching down to let Ama and Kai off his shoulders, his face split open with a large grin. The number of likes had progressed into the millions, various comments making him alternate between blushing and laughing. He handed the phone back to Kiki, covering his red face with his hands. 

“Kiki!” He whined, peeking at the boy from between his fingers. “Why would you do that? Oh shit, what if someone from Japan sees it?” As if waiting for his words, Izuku’s phone buzzed repeatedly, his face going from too-red to too-pale as he looked at it. “It’s Kacchan.” He answered it, immediately drawing the phone from his ear. Loud cackling could be heard, coming from more than one person. 

“Deku you dumb bitch!” Katsuki roared, but his words were gleeful. “How did you get so famous?” Izuku just groaned again, switching to Japanese to talk to his friend. 

“It wasn’t my idea.” There was muttering in the background of the call, a muffled shuffling, before Mina took over the call. 

“You go and live your best life baby, don’t let Blasty get to you.” He snickered, thanking the girl and talking with his friends for a few more moments, promising to meet up with them as soon as he got home, then hanging up. He sighed once more, rubbing a hand over his face before pounding a fist into his other hand, barely noticing the sting caused by his rings. 

“Alright! We might as well enjoy our fifteen minutes of fame while we have it. What’s the game plan?” Oogie snickered, rubbing his hands together with a manic grin. 

“Why, I am so glad you asked, my dear Zuzu.” Izuku gulped. Suddenly, he wasn’t glad he had asked. 

“The plan is this: introduction videos.” Izuku cocked his head to the side. 

“Introduction videos?” Oogie nodded but Ama spoke. 

“Like the ‘thirty second trailer’ videos?” Oogie nodded once more. 

“Why not? Zuzu got famous just by being himself, so we should show who exactly he is!” Tsukii jumped up, fist pumping in the air. 

“Well, let’s go!” Izuku shook his head but stood up, throwing his trash away and following his friends back towards his apartment, eagerly joining the conversation about what he wanted shown in the video. 

-----------------------

Hours later they sprawled about his living room, delivery on the way and windows cracked, Kai napping, Tsukii and Kiki playing cards, and Ama working with Oogie on the video. Izuku had just got off the phone with his father, the man promising to be back early the next day in time to see him off at the airport, and zipped the final pocket of his suitcase. He gave a huff, flopping down on the floor beside Tsukii, peering first at his cards then at Kiki’s. He gave a private grin before stretching out. 

“Everytime I go somewhere I swear my suitcase gets smaller when I pack to go back. I ended up having to leave some clothes here.” Ama nodded sagely. 

“It’s worth it to just take your favorite stuff back and forth and leave the staples at each place.” Oogie gave a definitive sounding clack of a key and cracked his fingers. 

“Finally done!” They crowded around him, Tsukii nudging Kai awake and showing Kiki his cards, smirking when the other boy cursed. “I just put us all in one video so we can ride off of Zuzu’s popularity.” He gave the greenette a smile to show that he was joking but Izuku just shrugged. “Without further ado.” He pressed play and Izuku leaned forwards slightly. 

The song was upbeat, but not anything notable, something popular. It started with a picture of them all in Japan, casually hanging out together, then quickly shifted between pictures of each of them alone. Just when Izuku was wondering if they were really that boring, the sound cut off with a record-scratch, freezing on a group photo. 

“ Cut the cameras ,” the sound said, and Izuku recognized the voice as one of the rising pro-Heroes in America, the sound byte probably pulled from one of her interviews and incorporated into the sound. “ You, are you dumb? ” A faster song started playing, the music rapid and sounding like something that would play in a chase scene in an old cartoon. 

Pictures and videos flashed across the screen, each one cartier than the last. There was Kiki, Izuku, and Oogie in their boxers jumping into a fountain in the dead of night; Ama and Tsukii fist-fighting in Times Square; Kai curled up in a shopping cart as she was pushed by Tsukii, racing against Ama and Izuku with another cart. 

There was a clip from Izuku riding the mechanical bull, and then one of Tsukii doing donuts in his car, flinging up smoke. There were short clips of them hanging off of each other, making strange faces at the camera, followed by clips of one of them doing something stupid, like Izuku with a pair of sunglasses on upside-down, a tie tied around his head, chugging from a bottle of milk, Kai laughing at him. A short clip of Izuku hanging out the top of Angel’s car appeared, followed by a picture of him flexing his arms and yelling at the camera, green lightning jumping around him, then another picture that was taken directly after showing him in the midst of a scream as Kiki poured a cup of ice down his shirt. There was a short clip of Izuku and the twins in their hero costumes, fighting each other in a 2-on-1 battle. 

The video ended with a picture that Izuku recognized as being taken by Kai’s father, showing them all slouching around the table at the house party a few weeks past. The music cut out, and there was silence for a few moments. Izuku sniffled, the only warning he had before he burst into tears. 

“Is it really that bad?” Oogie cried out, hands flitting about worriedly. “I can change it!” Izuku shook his head, burying it in Oogie's shoulder as the other boy patted his shoulder. 

“I’m just so glad I met you guys,” he sobbed. Ama laughed, ruffling his hair. 

“We’re glad we met you too, Zuzu.” 

Friday

Izuku sighed, looking forlornly out the window as his dad drove him to the airport. It was finally time to go back to Japan, but for the first time in his life he didn’t really want to. 

“Don’t worry,” his dad said, making Izuku look towards him. “You’ll be coming back next summer.” 

“I know,” the teen responded, twiddling his fingers. “But I just feel like I’m leaving something behind.” The car swerved, his dad yelping and cars around them honking at them. 

“Did you forget anything?” Izuku laughed at his dad, shaking his head. 

“No, no! Not that way. I just- it feels like I’m in a dream and going back to Japan is going to make me wake up.” His dad exited off the interstate, quiet for a few moments. 

“You are your own person.” He finally started, making eye-contact with Izuku at a red-light. “The things you did here, the memories you created, they make you who you are. No one and nothing can take them from you.” Izuku gave him a soft smile. 

“Thanks dad.” The remaining few minutes of the ride was silent, his dad eventually pulling around to the drop-off portion of the airport. They got out, taking out Izuku’s bags and saying their good-byes. Both of them shed tears, Izuku waving at his dad as the man drove off, laughing as other cars honked at his dad’s erratic driving as the man tried to wave backwards at him. 

Izuku sat down on his suitcase, pulling out his phone to let the others know he was there. In just a few moments he was joined by Kiki, then the twins, Oogie not long after, and Kai running up from a van filled with crying and yelling family members. Izuku stood up, stretching out and then looking down at his friends. 

“You guys ready to go?” They stood up, Kiki pulling out his phone and grinning. 

“Let’s take one more picture!” 

“No!” Kai moaned, uselessly fluffing her hair. “I look like shit right now.” Oogie cocked his eyebrow at her. 

“Right now?” He questioned, making the girl snarl at him. 

“Why you-” She lunged, but Izuku was ready, used to her from his time spent with them and his time with Katsuki. He caught her around the waist, easily hoisting her thrashing body off of the ground. Ama and Tsukii each held one of Oogies arm’s, though Tsukii was on the verge of collapse from how hard he was laughing at some of the blind boy’s retorts to Kai Spanish insults. Oogie was shaking his cane at Kai, only spurred on by Kiki’s encouraging “ you gonna let her get away with that?” Izuku reached his other arm out, sweeping the pink-haired boy into a headlock. 

“Quit inciting violence!” He scolded the boy, Kiki just grinning innocently up at him. 

“Smile!” Kiki held his arm out, cocking it to get them all in the frame, rapidly snapping a picture. He easily detangled himself from Izuku, brushing off his clothes and helping Ama separate Kai and Oogie. 

“Let’s go before we miss our flight!” There was a rush to gather their luggage, Izuku bowing and apologizing to the people around them that had been staring at their fight. They rushed inside, easily finding their way through customs and security, barely making it through their gate on time. 

They piled into the plane, Izuku in a window seat, Tsukii beside him, Kiki on the aisle, Ama on the aisle in the row beside them, Kai in the middle, and Oogie in the window seat. The plan shuddered into the air, the attendants going through their spiel of safety information, Izuku’s mind unwillingly flashing to the stunt with the plan he had pulled the week before. 

His phone buzzed, making him look down at that. It was a picture sent in the groupchat by Kiki, and he opened it. He smiled faintly, looking up at his friends. Tsukii was passed out snoring, Ama was bothering an attendant for food, and Kai was fighting with Oogie about switching seats with her because “ you can’t even see out of the window Oogie !” He looked at Kiki, the other boy smiling back at him. 

“Did you really pay for in-flight Wi-Fi just to send that picture?”