Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There will come a soldier

A boy born to a family, treated with love and care, his hair a nightmare black, eyes bright as rubies. His skin clear of blemishes and marks, His smile a grin of sharp teeth and cheers. 

Who carries a mighty sword

His power unlike many in his family, able to be a formidable shield, an unbreakable sword. Able to be tough as a rock, his kind and chivalrous heart warmed all but his family when an accident occured. 

He will tear your city down

Rough-housing goes one step too far and an injury unintended. His eye, a small scar makes its home. His mother, not so lucky. Wrangling from her inner elbow to just before her wrist, an angry slice is placed. 

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord  

Ostracized by his family, fearful of his power, he was ignored. No food, water, locked in his room. Anytime he was allowed to see anyone, it was for their relief. He became their punching bag.

He will tear your city down

More scars he can count, at the age 8, he’s had enough. Grabbing his most prized possession, a Crimson Riot backpack, he packs what little clothes he owns and waits till dark. He’s called down before he can leave; hiding his things, he rushed down, to be met by a harsh slap and kick. He begs and pleads, met with more violence. He can do nothing but sit and take it. 

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord

Once he’s alone. Broken and bruised, the family have had their revenge. The lights are out, all except for the small kitchen overhead. He crawls, willing his strength, he stands. Leaning heavily on the walls and counters, he goes to his room and grabs his bag. His vision is blurred and blackening, he hurries to the kitchen and grabs what he can. Granola, granola bars, crackers and some cans. He grabs a growler mug and fills it with water, another filled with ice and a smaller bottle again with water. 

------

Rushing out the back door into his backyard, Eijirou opens the back gate into the alleyway and slams it shut. Looking around, he books it. The sun has set and he’s alone. He leaves the alley and runs, not looking back. Dodging people left and right, they only glare and yell, he ignores them. His mind is just chanting “Just get away… I need to be safe!” He runs and runs, seeing the train station. Pausing to get his card out, he runs to the closest train, not caring for location. He’s panting heavy, his hands hurt from carrying the heavy growlers, he sees an empty seat and sits. 

Flinching when someone gets too close, Eijirou hugs his stuff close, listening as the coms call locations and watches the outside blur as the train speeds past. Trees become streaks and buildings indistinguishable. “Now Approaching Mustafa Station. This is the Last Train of the Night.”

His head jolting away from the window, he gulps and grabs his stuff, hugging it close and disembarking the train, following the exit signs. He looks around, “Residential.” Taking a deep breath he starts walking. Taking random twists and turns, he walks. Past shops and bakeries, stores and a park. He walks. His feet hurt, he feels the burn in his legs from running, he keeps a vigilant eye out for his surroundings. He needs a place to rest for the night. 

He walks.

His feet carry him to a beach, or what should be a beach. It’s piled in trash and recycled goods. Going to the boardwalk, he reads a sign “ Dagobah Municipal Beach Park…” “Might be safe for the night…” Huffing a sigh, he goes to the sand and walks around the towers, some things shift in the wind, smaller pieces of trash; cans, rusted tools, cloth, tumbles down. 

“Who are you?” Spinning, he meets the gaze of emeralds and molten lava, bright and toxic. A sharpened pole of aluminium pointed at his throat, a repetitive spark coming from a palm lighting the area the tiniest bit.

“Don’t make him repeat himself.” The Emerald eyes forced, the pole inching closer to his throat.

“I-I’m Kirishima! Eijiro K-Kirishima!” He stutters, croaky and raw from crying and panting heavy. His hands grip the growlers, knuckles white. 

“How did you find this place?” The sparks glow brighter, the owner's voice gruff with anger laced in.

“I-I ran away! I h-have no place to go…” The two people looked at each other, a silent conversation between their gaze. The eyes of lava pools smap towards him, the spark cancelling almost immediately after and the pole leaves his throat.

“Follow us.”

“W-wait. Who are you guys?” The people turn to him

“I’m King.”

“And I’m Poet.”

------

Their will come a poet

A boy born to a single mom, the father leaves soon after to work abroad. His hair a bush of viridian green, his eyes as bright as emeralds. His skin a canvas of freckles. 

Whose weapons is His word

His life changed when he came of age to acquire his powers. He waited months after his 4th birthday. A quick visit to the doctors and his dreams were crushed. His power would never come.

He will slay you with his tongue

His life turned gray, the only people who supported him were his mom, his best friend Kacchan and his family. Everyone else turned on him, his teachers, his classmates, strangers in the street. Everyone questioned why Kacchan stayed by his side. 

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord

As he and Kacchan grew, people became more distant and harsh, spewing words and throwing punches when he was alone. Kacchan would protect him when he could, but he couldn’t save him all the time. He would come home battered and bruised, cuts and scuff marks. Kacchan would argue and tell him to fight back, but the boy couldn’t.

He will slay you with his tongue

One day, while the two families were gathered at Kacchan's place, playing and laughing, the boy was going to turn 6 in a week. The news was on and the adults talked amongst themselves, when a rumble shook the building. Everyone turned towards the TV to see a villain attack just down the road from the apartment building. 

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord

A flame hero was attacking the villain, no care for the damage caused. The parents held a silent conversation and quickly grabbed the children and whatever they could in small grab bags for the children; clothes, water, food, money. The building shook as the battle got closer and closer, the flurry of steps hurried. Grabbing coats and shoes, the parents hurried out the apartment, the children in toe. The heat could be felt from where they stood, their sweat staining the clothes as they tried to get away. 

------

“Mommy? Mommy What’s going on?” Izuku trembled, clutching an All Might stuffed toy to his chest

“Yea! Where the hell are we going?” Katsuki scowled, an All Might action figure clenched in his fist. 

“We need to get away quick, Endeavor’s fight is getting close and we need to get somewhere safe.”

“C’mon brat, let’s go.” Izuku locked eyes with Katsuki, their gaze filled with fear. Grabbing each other’s hand, they stayed close behind their parents. 

“Kacchan I-I’m scared…”

“Me to Zuku…” The ground shook more frequently and harder with each passing second. The parents looked down the roads and froze. 

“Mitsuki…”

“Inko…” Inko crouched down in front of Izuku and squeezed him tight. 

“We want you to know we love you both. No matter what happens.” Kacchans parents crouched as well and hugged him.  

“You gotta look after each other, alright? No matter what happens. Be good Izuku, Katsuki.” The ground shook harder as the villain and Endeavor rounded the corner closest to them, Izuku and Katsuki’s parents needed to get away. 

The villain shot up in the sky, maybe some enhancement quirk? Endeavor shot a stream of fire towards the villain, the fire close to Katsuki. He tried to cover his face from the heat when the flames licked at his hand, sparking his sweat. An explosion of sparks and smoke erupted around the two families. Screams of pain and terror filled the area. Katsuki and Izuku get flown backwards, back into the apartment building. “Mommy!!” The boys screamed, the building crumbled around them, smoke and dust filled the air.

Izuku tried to sit up, his legs and arms screamed in protest. His head thumped with pain and the air made his throat hurt. “Mommy! Kacchan!” he coughed, looking around.

“Izuku! Where are you!” Katsuki’s voice echoed, the sounds of the fight continued on. Izuku gathered his strength and stood, leaning on a cracked wall for support. He looked around, coughing. Spotting his All Might doll, he stumbles over and grabs it.

“Kacchan!”

“Izuku!”

“Kacchan! I can’t see you!” His lungs burned with smoke and ash, he stumbled around tripping over rubble and debris. He looks around, spotting the signature spiked ash blonde hair.

“Izuku!” Their eyes locked and Katsuki rushed over. His figurine tucked under his arm. They clash in a hug, fists grappling at shirts. The building groaned and creaked, more rubble flailing around them.

“W-we need to leave Kacchan! It isn't safe.” He coughed, his eyes watering. Katsuki nods and grips his forearm. They stumble and climb their way through the ruins. Finding a way out took longer than they wanted.

“Where’s mom…?” Katsuki looked around. “Mom! Dad!”

“Mommy!” He spotted his mom’s green hair and ran over. “Mommy!” He shakes her as tears fall down his face. A sticky pool of red grows around her. He looks to his left and sees Katsukis parents sprawled a few feet apart. 

“Mom! Dad! Get up!” Katsuki hiccupped, tears leaving streaks, cleaning lines of ash off his face. The pools of red grow and connect around them. 

“Mommy…?” Izuku turns his mom’s face towards his own, her eyes open and glazed over, her mouth open and red slowly pours out the corner of her lips. 

“You’ve lost villain! Surrender!” Endeavors' voices boomed, the heat of his flames slowly getting closer. 

“Mommy!” He cried, shaking her body. “Don’t leave me too mommy!”

“Dad! Now's not the time to nap! We gotta go!” Katsuki screamed.  His voice hoarse from breathing smoke. 

“Prominence Burn!” Endeavor’s yelled, pure rage and disgust laced his voice. The area around them grew hotter and hotter as time went on. Katsuki looked up and saw Endeavor shoot fire towards a villain on the ground. 

“Izuku… we need to leave..!” He panted, wiping his tears angrily. He clutched the All Might figure in his hand and stood, grabbing Izuku’s arm.

“No! I-I can’t leave her!”

“Izuku, Endeavor’s gonna hurt us! We need to GO!” He tightens his grip and tugs him away, both boys have tears streaming down their face. Izuku tightens his hold on the stuffed toy and stumbles along with Katsuki. Izuku spots the bags their parents packed, burned and singed but intact. Halting, he wriggles out of Katsuki’s hold and rushes over. He opens them and everything is still inside. 

Grabbing both, he hands one to the other boy and hiccups, wiping his tears and puts the backpack on. Coughing, the boys clasp hands and run in the opposite direction of the fight. They run as fast as their legs will take them. They stopped every once in a while, hacking and coughing. 

Soon, they arrive at Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. The mounds of trash blocked the horizon and the setting sun. “We have nowhere to go…” Izuku mumbled, sniffling and wiping stray tears. He looked at Katsuki, his eyes burning with new tears.  

“We’ll make this our new home… It’ll take time, but I don’t wanna be separated from you.”

“If w-we go anywhere else, they’ll take you a-away. N-No one would want me cause I’m q-quirkless…”

“I’ll kick people’s ass if they took you away!” Katsuki pulled him into a hug, his fist clenched around his shirt and backpack. The toy and figurine dropped to the floor as the boys cried. 

“W-We’re family n-now…”

“Family.”

------

There will come a ruler

A boy born to a volatile but gentle family. His hair a spiked blonde and his eyes a pool of molten lava. His skin held scrapes from rough play, but a never ending smile.

Whose brow is laid in thorn

His power to light fireworks from the palms of his hands, control explosions at his beck and call, he had everything he ever wanted. People told him he’d do great things, “Be a Hero!” they said. However they were only his friend because they thought he was powerful. They didn’t matter though. Only his best friend’s, Zuku, words mattered. He was his brother in all but blood.

Smeared of oil like David’s boy

Everything changed when he and Zuku were together. Zuku’s birthday was in a week and they wanted to hang out. They were playing Hero vs. Villain when everything turned for the worse. His power betrayed him and made him lose all around him, all except for Zuku. 

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord

Stuck together, they stayed alive. Those who cared for them long gone, they made their own family. They made a home in an abandoned beach, trash piled high, a perfect hiding spot. Nursing their wounds, they made it home. Finding parts and old shipping containers, they cleaned a small area and made base. 

Smeared of oil like David’s boy

A few days after the attack, he found a newspaper clipping telling of the battle. He and Zuku were told to be killed  in the explosion alongside  their parents. There were no survivors listed. They spent the next few days clinging to each other and mourning. They went back to the burnt building and saw it barred with construction tape. Sneaking behind, they grabbed what personal items they could: jewelry and one lasting picture of both families together. The edges are only slightly charred.  

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord

They made a small gravesite. Rocks and sticks in a small tower, the family picture held up by both toys. The boys found some old chains and wore the wedding bands around their necks, Zuku with his mother’s, Katsuki with his mother and father’s. They clung to each other and became their supporters, being there when everyone else abandoned them. 

------

“Hey Kacchan?” The boy in question grunting, biting his tongue in concentration as he tinkered with the shipping container’s door. “H-how are we going to be heroes if people think we’re dead?” Freezing, he turns and looks at Izuku who hunched over a homemade notebook, bounced by string and spite. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well… aren’t we still gonna be heroes? Save people like us who couldn’t escape?” His gaze looks up, locking eyes with the blonde. Katsuki grunted, going back to fiddling with the door, it tended to squeak when moving and the boys wanted the area quiet in case anybody decided to come by. 

“I don’t know. But whatever we do, we need to train. We can’t save people if we are skin and bones. Be fuckin’ pointless.”

“We should head to the library… cover ourselves and look around. Cause we need to get smart… then maybe we can find something we could do to still be heroes.”

“Alright , I’m down. Now help me with this… hold it up.” The boys made the container their home. With what little money their parents put in the bags, they bought some food and cleaning supplies, like bleach, sponges, and gloves. Before they emptied the container and cleaned it, it was filled with old rugs and boxes of clothes. Some were molded and smelly, those quickly discarded to be used as something else, they used what was still relatively clean and salvageable to make home. Some rugs were laid across the floor, the more fluffy and soft ones were piled in a corner with clothes that were too small to be used as a nest for them to sleep.

Other containers held more usable items, like some pillows and blankets, clothes that fit them and reusable water bottles. While scouring the area, they realized that people threw away anything they had no need for, like unopened water bottles, a slightly dented cooler and some old weapons, like knives. 

Their trip to the library was informative and initiative. They look at law books and books for their current grade level. Izuku being the brainiac he was, wrote all that he could in his notebook. It ranged from Japanese law to education years ahead of what they currently were. It was during this trip, when they looked through law, they found a term that made their dream of being heroes possible. 

Vigilante (n): A member of society who uses their quirk to undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.

“Zuku… this is how we can be heroes…”

“We’ll need to train… and make something to help.”

“Well, with your nerd brain that won’t be too difficult.” Lightly shoving his friend, Izuku paused, his eyes growing wide and turning to Katsuki with a look of awe.

“Kacchan… I wouldn’t get in trouble…”

“How? We’ll be against the law.”

“You would be because of your quirk… but I-I don’t have one.” Katsuki soon joined in his look of awe. Izuku was invisible in the eyes of the law and would most likely be barred from consequences. But they would still tread cautiously. That night, they fell asleep cuddled together with thoughts of how to go through the their plan to be vigilantes

------

The next two years, they trained and built gear out of the scrape and parts around the dump. The boys soon felt confident enough to leave the safe confines of their home at night and begin patrol. They snuck around in alleys and rooftops. Climbing mounds of trash and jumping from pile to pile helped with parkour. Sulking on a rooftop, they heard a scuffle. Sharing a look, they bound over, leaning over the top to see a man with his hand over a girl’s mouth. She struggled and fought, but soon went slack as the air around the man filled with a pinkish gas. Sharing a look, the boys pulled their mask over their mouth and nose and slid down the fire escape.

Katsuki jumped off and landed on the man's shoulders and wrapped his legs around his neck. Holding his breath and tightened his hold and leaned back, making the man topple backwards and onto the floor, the girl sliding down the wall asleep. Katsuki grabbed at the man’s hands as he tried to grab him, making his hand spark and heat up, burning his skin slightly.

Izuku followed behind Katsuki, landing softly on the floor and taking his weapon of choice in hand, a solid aluminum pole. Stomping on his knees, he grabbed a homemade rope from his utility belt and quickly tied up the man. The man gasps for breath as Katsuki keeps his legs tight, only releasing his hold when Izuku comes over and pinches a pressure point, rendering him unconscious. 

Once he was down, Izuku rushed over to the girl and checked her for wounds. The gas the man released disappeared during the struggle and the girl was slowly regaining consciousness. “Ma’am?” he questioned, gently holding her arm in case she panicked. 

“Wh-What happened…?” She slurred, blinking blearily and looking around.

“That man had tried to do harm to you, we stopped him. Do you have a phone on you?” Her gaze flickered over to the man, unconscious and bound, and froze. Her hand went over her mouth, a gasp and her eyes watered quickly.

“T-Thank you… um. Yeah, h-here.” Reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, she handed the phone to Izuku, who passed it to Katsuki. He quickly opened in and dilated 110. “W-Who are you..?” Both the boys froze and glanced at each other. Katsuki was the first to speak.

“I’m King.” His voice low and gruff, maybe to seem anonymous, then he walked off tapping morse code over the speaker on the phone.  

“I-Im Poet. Now, are you okay to stay here until the police arrive? We need to leave before they do. Will you be safe?”

“I-I believe so… H-He won’t escape will he..?” Her gaze flicked to the man again, cautious

“He’ll be down for a while, but we will bind him to that pole over there, at the alley entrance. You’re safe.” The lady nodded and with Izuku’s help, stood and walked to the entrance. Katsuki handed the phone back, the police still on the line and grabbed the man, dragging him harshly to the pole and tied him to the pole. 

The sirens wailed in the distance and Katsuki and Izuku shared a look and nodded. “We’ve gotta go. Be careful.” Katsuki answered and bolted back into the alley way, jumping and grabbing ahold of the fire escape, climbing and disappearing over the building edge. With a nod to the girl, Izuku followed, climbing and hiding from view. 

Reaching the top, they shared a glance and sighed. Their first save, and it was beyond successful. They stayed until the police came and left. The girl got in a cop car and was driven home. They weren’t caught and headed back  home. Once inside the safety of their confinement, they took off their masks, simply clothed lined with various other clothes for more filtration and looked at each other. “We did it…”

“Fuck yea we did.”

------

Months went by and their save count skyrocketed. They went out every night, decked in their gear and saved all that they could. They stopped rapes, robberies, muggings, fights, and soon escalated to small gang wars and circles. They built a name for themselves and soon the Mustafa Police Department were sending heroes after them, trying to stop their vigilantism. 

They slipped past heroes like Death Arms and Mr. Brave. They had a close call with Rock Lock, barely managing to escape up and into an abandoned building and hiding in the shadows. During the day when they hide their features, they overheard some heroes on patrol talking about them. “The most slippery Vigilante’s they’ve encountered.” They said, and the boys had to fight an urge to laugh. 

------

The boys were at home, fixing their gear when they heard labored breathing. Sharing a look, Izuku grabbed his pole while Katsuki walked ahead. They wove through the piles to the entrance, where a boy with hair as black as night walked on the sand and around piles. Sneaking behind him, Katsuki stood tall and sparked his hand, “Who are you?”

The boy spun around to face him, Izuku shoved the pole in his direction, nearing his throat. The boy stayed silent, his eyes wide and bounced between Katsuki and Izuku. “Don’t make him repeat himself.” 

“I-I’m Kirishima! Eijiro K-Kirishima!” He stuttered. Katsukis sparks glowed brighter.

“How’d you find this place?”

“I-I ran away! I h-have no place to go…” Katsuki looked to Izuku, who minutely shrugged. Katsuki lowered his sparks and Izuku signed ‘Abuse, bruises, help him.’ With a nod, he ended the sparks and looked at the boy . 

“Follow us.” The pole backed away and Izuku motioned the boy. 

“W-wait. Who are you guys?” Locking eyes with him, continuing to walk. 

“I’m King.”

“And I’m Poet.”

Chapter Text

Tinkering, Izuku sat on the floor of the home, his brain mulling over information on wiring and codes. He typed and typed on a repurposed laptop, the screen held on by tape and spite. The grunts of Katsuki and Eijirou sparring just outside the opening of the shipping container. Their banter and the click of keys were the only sounds filling their home. 

It’s been almost a year since Eijirou joined the duo and will be joining the two on their nightly patrols later that night. A few months into Eijirou joining them he had finally opened up about what had happened to him to make him run. Katsuki had barely controlled his anger that night on patrol and nearly burned an assaulter beyond recognition, only stopped by Izuku and his warning of someone nearby. Leaving the perpetrator bound to a stop sign, they called 110 and tapped a sequence over the microphone before hanging up and leaving. The next morning, the duo agreed to train Eijirou and get him ready to join them. 

Izuku’s typing came to a halt to the sound of a small blast and a curse from Katsuki. Looking away from the screen he sees Katsuki flat on his back, Ejirou’s knees pinning his thighs down and one arm holding Katsuki’s arms above his head, a hardened hand placed at his throat. “Yield!” He called, locking gazes. Katsuki struggled before he relaxed and groaned.

“I yield…” He grumbled, a scowl present on his face. The two stayed on the ground for a few seconds before Eijirou stood off him, offering his hand to help him up. His face split in a sharp-toothed grin. “Fuckin’ shitty hair…”

“Hey! Sorry hair dye is expensive… I know my roots are coming back!” He pouted dramatically, his arms crossed high on his chest. Katsuki took one look at him and chuckled, running his hand through his ash blonde hair. 

“Whatever…” He mumbled before walking back towards Izuku, who looked to him with a knowing smile and looked back to the screen, typing away as windows of code slid across the screen. Katsuki rolled his eyes and kicked Izuku’s shin slightly and went to their ‘kitchen’ (in reality, it was just two coolers, one holding quirk made ice that would never melt and the other was empty) and grabbed a water bottle filled with water they had boiled. He downed half and tossed it to Eijirou who was walking in, having thrown his hair back into a ponytail at the bottom of his skull. 

He finished the bottle and set it aside to be refilled and cleaned. “Whatcha working on Zuku?” He asked, sitting next to Izuku and resting his head on his shoulder, watching as he typed code after code.

“Hacking a local security system…” He mumbled, his eyes bouncing back and forth between code lines, his fingers flying across the keys without a glance. 

“Why?” 

“I want to update our gear eventually with some tech… but I want to be comfortable enough with code and such before I do it.”

“Who you hacking?”

“The small coffee shop around the corner's cameras” He hits enter on the code and the screen goes black for a second, before fluttering to life again with the camera feeds flood the screen. Four small minimized windows open and each contain a different view of the shop; one of the outside where people were seen busying about, one of the counter inside where a line is formed and a man bounces from machine to the register taking orders, one of the back door in the kitchen where a woman is making small treats, and the last in a view of the shop itself with a few people scattered around tables. 

“Damn Deku, not bad.”

“Le gasp! Katsu is actually impressed with something Zuku did!”

“Oh shut it shitty hair!” Izuku giggles at their banter and scrolls through the feeds, watching people buy sweets and beverages. Some sit at the available counters, talking with friends or family or working on laptops. Some appear to be studying. Withdrawing from the feeds, he powers down the laptop and sets it on the floor near their bed. 

Sighing, he looks towards the doors of the container, seeing the sunset lower on the horizon of the ocean. Smiling softly, he looks towards the two bickering idiots he calls family, heart swooning with calm and love at the sight. His life had been turned upside down and now he was making the most of it. Saving people’s lives with his brothers by his side. “Alright you two, we’ve got a little bit before patrol. What should we do?”

“Maybe eat? Get some fuel?” Eijirou questions, a hardened arms in front of his face as Katsuki’s hands snap and crackle as explosions go off, doing no damage to the other.

“What though? We need to do a food run soon.”

“Who the fuck cares? Let’s gear up and leave early so we can kick some more ass!”

“Of course Kacchan wants to go now. It’s still too light out. We’ll be caught.” Izuku smiles, running his hands through his bush of hair. Standing, he goes to the entrance of the container and stretches, raising his hands high then bending low, touching his toes. 

“Alright show off…” Katsuki grumbles, watching him flex and bend, stretching his tired muscles. Izuku giggles and merely turns his head to him, tongue peaking between his lips, taunting him. Eijirou chuckles at the interaction before standing and doing his stretches, not nearly as flexible as Izuku is, Katsuki a close second to him but not quite there. 

All three boys stand at the entrance of their home, looking out towards the deep blue of the ocean. The air filled with the smell of salt and trash, rusted metal, and things deteriorating. The sunsets at a slow pace, the ocean glowing a brilliant orange, reflecting the sun's rays lighting the area. Izuku and Katsuki have called this home for nearly three years, Eijirou coming to a year. This became their norm and they were content with it. They’re playing with their cards dealt and were willing to wait out for a win, no matter how long it took.

Izuku sighed and walked to the exposed shoreline in their small compound. Having cleared the area they called home long ago, the path was clear or trash and possible ways of harm. He stopped just as the water brushed the shore, nipping at his toes but not completely grabbing his feet. He took a deep breath, the cold salty air assaulted his nose, but it was comforting. He looked towards the sun as it slowly muted. The sky a wash of orange and pink, the farther from the light became a dark purple, fading to a deep blue. Soon it would all be black, the ground barely illuminated by the light of the moon and what stars could be visible.  

“C’mon nerd, we’ve gotta help Ei with getting his uniform on. We also gotta give him a name.” Katsuki’s voice called, startling Izuku from his thoughts.

“Alright…” Came his reply, his tone light. He turns and heads back to the container, seeing Eijirou’s red hair disappear behind the walls. He begged them to let him change it. He wanted nothing tying him back to his old family, and the black hair was a stark reminder of his father (who he claimed to be the worst).

Walking inside, Katsuki was getting his clothes from an old truck they salvaged. It contained a majority of their gear, like their pants and shirts, jackets and mask, and whatever small gear that could fit. Setting them aside, Katsuki grabbed the newest addition to the chest, Eijirou’s clothes. 

His clothes matched Izuku’s and Katsuki's, the only real difference was the accents of color along the sleeves and cuffs of the jackets. Izuku was a deep forest green, Katsuki a bright orange, Eijirou a wine red. Their undershirts a solid black as well as their pants, except for the thin line of color along the sides of the pants. Their shoes were black as well, repaired from being found amongst the trash.  

Their face masks were all black, but Izuku took it upon himself to hand sew patterns, his has two small clusters of dots, all green except one orange and one red that rest on the left side of the mask, the placement of the clusters similar to his own. Katsuki has an orange ‘X’ crossing over his mouth with one green and one red dot on the top left of the mask, near his eye. Eijirou has a red crisscross pattern of mesh with two squares near his right eye, one filled orange, the other green. 

Seeing the full set has Eijirou’s eyes welling with tears, smiling wide. He wanted nothing more than to follow his family and protect them on patrol. He holds the mask in his hands feverishly, admiring the sewing and the colors. “Alright! We need to give you a name!”

“Alright!” Taking the rest of the clothes, Eijirou slowly strips off his tattered t-shirt and shorts, replacing them with his uniform, Katsuki and Izuku following suit. “As you know, I go by Poet.”

“And I’m the motherfucking King!”

“I use Poet because of my analysis and way with words.”

“I use King ‘cause of my drive and ‘cause I’m the best!” Both Izuku and Eijirou roll their eyes

“What’s something that kinda fits with how we use our names, cause now we are a trio, and we work together!” Izuku giggles, running his hand through his hair before taking a green bandana and wraps it around his forehead, holding his hair back. Katsuki does the same but with orange. 

“Well… I was thinking a while ago about this…” Eijirou mumbles, adjusting his shoes, tying them tighter. Izuku makes a sound of encouragement, his eyes holding nothing but love and care as he watches him. “I was thinking… Soldier.”

“Why Soldier?” Katsuki asks, flexing his hand as minor explosions pop.

“Because I want to be… I want to be strong and provide protection for people.” Katsuki and Izuku share a look and smile wide, Izuku’s full of light and love, Katsukis a grin of pride and admiration.

“Alright, Soldier! Let’s get ready to leave and kick some ass!” Katsuki hollers, putting his mask on and putting the jacket hoodie on, tightening it to help stop it from falling. Izuku followed suit and looked towards the setting sun. 

“We’ll be fine if we leave now. Ready to test your parkour skills Soldier?” With a nod, they’re off. 

------

Climbing the mounds of trash and off the beach. They run along the ground for a few minutes, dipping into alleys and behind things when people are by. Soon they can climb up a pipe and stand on the roof. “Be wary of using your quirk, that’ll be major trouble. You can use it if they hit you first.”

“Wait why?” Soldier asked, his head tilted towards Poet.

“Because then you guys can plead self-defense. If you use it before they do, it’s illegal. It’s a by-pass of the law. Makes for fewer charges if we get caught, which is unlikely.”

“Oh, okay! Makes sense.”

“Also, be wary of the fuckin hobo, he likes to chase us.”

“Ho-Hobo? Who’s that?”

“King means Eraserhead, an underground hero who likes to chase us if he sees us. His quirk allows him to erase your quirk via eye contact until he blinks. He has a scarf like weapon that he controls at whim an-”

“C’mon nerd. We gotta patrol if we want to get sleep tonight.”

“Right sorry! Let’s go!” With smiles, the jump. Leaping from building to building, Poet and King watch Soldier free run. He jumps and flips sometimes, hardening his limps when he’s about to land too hard. They run for a few blocks when King hears a muffled scream and a bang against something metal. The three share a look and bound away. Their steps silent, they come across an alley. At ground level, they see a group of men arguing. 

“This isn’t the amount we agreed on!” A man with black hair that curls at his shoulders yell. His eyes are deep purple that looks like they're glowing a soft hue. He’s built well, with clear muscles seen through his shirt and a scar peeking from his collar that looks to travel down his left arm. A strong gust of wind swirls around him, his left-hand raises threateningly. 

“Ye it is! This was what the text said!” Another man. His hair is pale white styled in a buzz cut with a pattern of lines through the shave. It’s heavier on the top, flipped over to the left. He’s shorter than the first male and leaner with less muscle. His right arm has a bandage wrapped around his elbow, suggesting needle insertion. His shirt has two holes sliced in the back, the skin has slight bones peeking through. They shift into wings thrown up and outwards.  

“C’mon Hiroto! Let’s just drop it before we get caught!” The last man pleads. He appears more skittish and wary. His solid black eyes dart from corner to corner, his hair a silver shade, darker at the roots. His arms around hugging himself, various scars littering his arms, some old, some fresh. He’s clearly paranoid. 

“Oh shut it Gin!” The man with wings, Hiroto, snaps, and the silver-haired man, apparently named Gin. His wings flutter and hit Gin, who winced and curls in on himself more, backing up. 

Poet taps the ground three times, gaining Soldier and King’s attention. He starts signing in the pale moonlight ‘First guy seems to have some wind quirk. Maybe tied to emotions because it gets stronger the more anger he shows, Soldier might be better to fight him. H-I-R-O-T-O has a wing mutation, might not be as strong as H-A-W-K-S but maybe similar, King take him because of speed. G-I-N is very skittish, but I can’t tell what quirk. Maybe emotions, I’ll take him. He seems scared of the other two. Might be there against his will.’

The other two boys nod and crouch looking over the ledge. The men’s bickering has gotten more violent, wings flapping and lifting Hiroto slightly, the wind spins dust around the two. Gin has backed up more, closer to the alley entrance. King counts down from three on his hand and the three are off, jumping down and sliding down the wall, the fire escape, and a pipe. King jumps off the pipe and tackles the first man, landing on his back pushing him forward. Soldier jumps off the wall and lands behind Hiroto, grabbing the top of his wings and pulling. Poet swings off the fire escape and lands near Gin, blocking his escape, and stands on guard. 

King standing on the guy's back jumps off and watches him stand. “Fuckin Hell!” The man curses, spinning around with his hand outstretched towards King. Wing picks up fast and shoves him backward. He struggles to maintain balance and ducks close to the ground running towards him. Getting close, he plants his hands on the ground and swipes his leg out from under the man who’s been throwing air punches at him. The man falls back, his head landing on the concrete with a resounding thud and groans of pain. Stomping on his chest, winding him, he grabs zip ties from the pocket of his jacket and quickly tightens them around the man's wrist and ankles. One down.

Soldier pulls the wings of Hiroto down, causing the man to yelp and struggle to getaway. His wings flap and flutter violently, the ends sharp. The end scratches against Soldier who pulls the wings towards him, raising his knee and hitting the center of Hiroto’s back. He groans and struggles harder. “Let me go!” he grunts. Soldier releases one wing and grabs the man’s hair pulling his back and headbutting him. His yelp is cut off as he is rendered unconscious. Dropping his down softly, he grabs zip ties from his pocket and binds him, the same as King. Two down. 

Poet blocks the path of Gin, who yelps and shakes watching him. “Please… Please don’t hurt me…” he pleads, his hands shaking as they raise in surrender, tears slide down his face, leaving streaks of silver. 

“What was going on?” Poet’s voice is calm but stern, a sense of authority.

“H-Hiroto dragged me h-here… He j-just wanted the t-trigger!”

“What was the argument on?”

“Hiroto w-wanted to scam the g-guy, he paid him less than what was agreed. Please j-just let me go!” Gin pleaded, the silver streaks down his face and neck, staining the color of his shirt. 

“You know I can’t do that… If you are cooperative with the police you might be in the clear.” Poet’s eyes dart behind Gin as King creeps up behind him. With a hand chop to the neck, he hits a pressure point and the man falls unconscious. Poet sighs and reaches for his pockets, feeling for a phone. He hands it to King as he calls 110 and walks to the alley entrance. Poet looks to Soldier “Grab the other two and tie them to the pole over there, King’s calling the station.”

“Okie Dokie!” He grabs the two by their forearms and drags them to the suggested pole where Poet is sitting Gin up. Once all three are sitting there, a few zip ties are cuffed around them and the pole, leaving them waiting for an arrest. King finishes his tapped conversation with the station and walks back, hanging up and slipping Gin’s phone back in his pocket. 

“We’ve gotta dip soon, Hobo’s gonna get here soon.” King grunts stretching his arms. 

“Alright let’s go.” The three share a look before climbing back to the rooftops. Soldier looks over the edge once more at the three bound and sighs, a soft smile along his face. “My first night as a vigilante… saving people with my family.” He thinks before bounding after Poet and King. 

------

Their night is filled with one more drug trade gone wrong and two almost rapes. As Poet is calming the male who was almost raped, Soldier and King bound the man who squirms and argues. His voice slurred with alcohol and possible drugs. Poet hands the victim's phone to King who calls the station and has a one-sided conversation. The man is shaking and sobbing, clinging to Poet’s hand as Soldier comes by. He crouches in front of him “You’re safe now. The police will be here soon and he’ll be taken away.” His voice soft and calm, his hand open in front of him, an offering of comfort. King is rushing back, handing the man his phone back. 

They hear the soft crunch of shoes against gravel and all three eyes are locked up where a figure dressed in black looms, his hair lifting in fake wind and a red glare fixates on the three. Poet quickly looks at the shaking man, forcing his voice to stay calm. “We need to leave, the police will be here soon. You are safe and protected.” He squeezes the man’s hand in comfort before looking to King and Soldier and nods. 

The three all quickly dart away. Soldier runs deeper in, jumping over boxes and ducking between dumpsters, King follows Soldier, but goes up a fire escape on the opposing roof of the figure running away, Poet leaves through the mouth of the alley, climbing a pole a few buildings away and follows after King. Soldier once at the opposite end of the alley, climbs up a pipe and soon, all three boys are in a formation, running away. The man, now clearly seen in the moonlight as Eraserhead, jumps to follow, his captured scarf looming around him before coming to a halt at the man below’s panicked whimpers and breath. “Goddammit…” he mutters watching as the three jump from roof to roof, getting farther away. 

With another curse, he jumps into the alley and lands gracefully in front of the man, taking his yellow goggles off his eyes, his scarf wrapping back around his neck. Quick to make sure the man bound can’t get away, he sighs, before turning to comfort the man, calming from his panic attack. “There’s three of them now… goddammit, I’ll need to call Tsukauchi...” He thinks, just as the soft siren of a police car gets closer. Walking to the mouth of the alley, he sees the car pull up. Out steps two officers, both female. One is quick to go to the man and offer condolences and take his statement, the other goes to the bound man who shouts curses and threats. Eraserhead nods to the officers before using his scarf to wrap around a street light and pull himself upwards to the rooftops.

Reaching the top, he looks around and sees no sight of the vigilante. With a shake of his head, he pulls his phone out and dials Detective Tsukauchi. “We’ve got an issue."

Chapter Text

“Eraserhead? You never call me this late. What’s going on?” Tsukauchi asked, his tone curious but stern. The faint sound of typing is picked up in the call. 

“The duo’s got another member.” 

“Shit, dressed the same as the two? How’d they act?”

“I only saw the end of the confrontation. They sounded male, but with the masked they could have had a voice changer, like the other two. They were helping comfort a rape victim after having bound the assailant. They offered a hand of comfort to the man when they heard me on the roof. King had just handed the man his phone, probably calling the cops.”

“Damn, did you go after them?”

“No, The victim was going to panic soon. The trio left in a hurry when they saw me. Poet scurried out of the alley and down the road to a pipe where he climbed up, King and the new one went deeper in the alley, except for King who jumped up onto a fire escape to the roof, joining Poet. The other went all the way to the end and climbed up a pipe like Poet. Once all three were together, they ran off.”

“Fuck.. okay. Have the assailant sent to my precinct, I’ll question them and see if we can get a name. This case just keeps getting trickier and trickery…” The last sentence mumbled. 

“I’ll tell the cops. My patrol is done so I’m going to head home...do you need anything else from me?”

“No, I’m good. Thanks for the heads up.” Eraserhead hums in response and hangs up, sending a heading home text to his husband Hizashi (which is more of a reassurance than a warning), then slips his phone back into his back pocket. Telling the police what Tsukauchi said, he bounds away. Every once and awhile, he will stop and look around in hopes of spotting the trio, fully knowing they probably went to wherever they call home. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he goes home.

------

Arriving at the home, Eijirou takes off his face mask and looks at Izuku and Katsuki. “Was that Eraserhead?”

“Yup, that was the hobo.” Katsuki rumbles, taking his uniform off, digging around for his sleep clothes, which were just some thrown out sweatpants he washed. 

“What’s his quirk again?”

“Erasure. With him looking at you, he cancels your quirk and makes you fight quirkless, like me or him. However, not many people are used to fighting quirkless, putting him at an advantage.” Izuku mumbles, undressing and getting into pajamas. Eijirou nods and does the same. 

“So, how was your first night out shitty hair?”

“It felt so good. Helping people and providing comfort. Doing what you guys did for me.” A soft smile on his face as he runs his hand through his hair. Katsuki and Izuku pause and look at each other, before going and hugging Eijirou. They stand and bask in each other's warmth and comfort, the trio all happy and content.

Yes, all three have had their own heartbreak and all have felt betrayal and loss, but they found each other and helped each other. They became each other’s support system and were willing to drop everything for each other. This was their family, and they wouldn’t trade it for anything. “Let’s all get some sleep. It’ll be daybreak in a few hours and we need to run some errands tomorrow. We need the energy.” Nods from the other two, they all get into their nest of a bed, in reality it was plush rugs and blankets they found around the beach that they had washed. 

Snuggling close for warmth, they close their eyes and let the sounds of the ocean waves and the smell of salt drift them to sleep.

------

“Moon, wake up hun.” Hizashi says, nudging Shouta gently on the shoulder. He’s crouched in front of him, his long blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun, wearing grey sweatpants and a no shirt, his chest tattoo on full display. He got it shortly after he and Shouta married. It was a yin and yang symbol, except instead of solid colors, it was a yellow song bird and a panther. In the upper middle of the song bird’s side was the moon and in the lower middle of the cat side was the sun. It sat just over his heart and it was his favorite tattoo he had. 

“Hm… don’ wanna…” Shouta grumbles, burying his head deeper into his pillow, his hair sprawled across it. Their blanket on the small of his back, revealing a shirt with Hizashi’s radio station on it. 

“Moon, I made coffee.” Hizashi’s hand comes up to Shouta’s head and he carts his hand through it, gently scratching his scalp and brushing it away from his face. 

“What time is it...” He grumbles, his eyes slowly opening to look at Hizashi, who has a soft smile, ticking his hair behind his ear.

“Almost 9:30. Tsukauchi rang you a few times a bit ago, but hasn’t since.” Shouta groans and slowly pushes himself up, rubbing his face and stretches his arms above his head. Hizashi watches him and smiles, standing straight. Shouta soon stands as well and leans into Hizashi’s chest, grumbling.

“Too fuckin’ early…” Hizashi chuckles and wraps his arms around his waist, kissing his forehead. With a sigh, Shouta leaves the warm embrace of his husband and runs his hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head. “When do you have to be at the station today?”

“Around noon, then I have patrol until 7. I’ll be home in time for dinner and for you to go patrol.” He nods and kisses Hizashi softly.

“Love you Sun.”

“Love you too Moon. Now, Espresso is downstairs with Bean and they are being demanding little shits for you. I’ve already made coffee and breakfast will be done soon, just waiting for the soup to boil.” With one last kiss, Hizashi goes downstairs, adjusting the chain around his neck that holds his wedding ring. Shouta huffs and follows him.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he sees Bean curled up in a blanket on their window seal sleeping, and Espresso, who is sitting on the back of the couch, perks up upon seeing him and chirps at him. Walking over and giving her an ear scratch, he goes into the kitchen. Leaning against the door drame he sees Hizashi softly humming and stirring what smells like Miso soup, two plates of grilled mackerel on top of a serving of rice on the counter next to him. Looking over his shoulder he smiles and nods his head to the coffee pot, where a cup of coffee sits steaming. “While you have your coffee, can you set the table for me? The Miso is almost done.”

With a nod, Shouta grabs his mug and takes a sip. A hint of cinnamon and a shot of cream, just how he likes it. He sets the mug back down with a soft hum before grabbing napkins, spoons, and chopsticks and sets the table. A soft meow at the door shows Bean slowly making his way in, his tail down and swaying softly as he walks. He goes to his water bowl and drinks before blearily looking at Shouta and meowing. 

Rolling his eyes, he looks to Hizashi who is serving the soup before grabbing the plates and bowls and heads to the table. With a small prayer, they start eating. “How was patrol last night?”

“About the same, but do you remember me telling you about the Vigilante duo that I sometimes try to catch? Poet and King?”

“Yea, did you catch them?”

“No, the duo turned into a trio.” Hizashi chokes on the piece of chicken he was eating and coughs, taking a sip of water.

“There's three of them now? Did you catch a name?”

“No. They stopped a raping last night and I landed on the roof right above the alley where they were. King was on the phone and Poet and the other were comforting the victim. The assailant was awake and bound on the ground, cursing a storm.”

“God people can be such assholes. Was the guy okay?”

“Shaken and a bit panicky when the trio left after they caught sight of me. I have a feeling that Tsukauchi is calling me about them. He questions both the victim and assailant last night.” With a nod from Hizashi, they eat in a comfortable silence, the occasional meow from a cat the only sound. Soon, breakfast is done, and Shouta clears the table and does the dishes. “Go get ready for the station and patrol, I’ve got these.”

“Thanks Moon.” With a kiss to his shoulder, Hizashi goes back to their room to change. Cleaning the kitchen and having a second cup of coffee, Shouta goes to the living room. His laptop and a stack of papers to grade sits on the coffee table. Sitting on the floor, Espresso gets off the back of the couch and makes her way into his lap, curling up and purring. Giving her head scratches, he opens his laptop and grabs a nearby pen to start grading. It was the most recent test he’d given his first years. 

The sound of footsteps draws Shouta away from his papers to look towards the stairs, seeing Hizashi in full hero costume, hair and all. His wedding band tucked into his shirt, glasses resting on his nose. Hizashi comes over and leans down, kissing him softly. “I love you. I’ll be back later.”

“Love you too, stay safe.”

“I will. Bye!” He calls out, putting his shoes on and goes out the door, one last wave to his husband. With a fond sign and smile, Shouta goes back to his papers, before his work phone rings next to him.

It’s Tsukauchi.

“Eraserhead.” he answered, the phone resting between his ear and shoulder.

“Hey Eraser. I questioned the guys that came in last night and I learned some interesting things.”

“What did you learn?” Leaning against the couch, the sounds of papers rustling get picked up by the microphone. 

“Apparently the new vigilante’s name is Soldier. The trio stopped a drug deal, a couple muggings, and a few other rapes. No one actually was raped, they were all stopped before it had happened.”

“Wait, backtrack. A drug deal?”

“Yea, the precinct over handed over the case cause I’m in charge of all Trigger cases. It apparently was three men; Kohana Kioshi, Souta Hirito, and Kiyoshi Gin. Kohana and Souta had made a previous arrangement for Souta to give Kohana money for a dose of trigger, however Souta scammed him, not giving him the correct amount. Kiyoshi was brought along with Souta, unwillingly.”

“What’d the trio do?”

“They had dropped in from the roof before a fight broke out. King took down Kohana from above, landing on his back, forcing him to the ground. The man used his quirk, Wind, to fight against him, however King was too fast for him. They winded him and tied him with zip ties. Soldier took down Souta, his quirk Wings, and he used them as leverage to take him down. He headbutted him and knocked him out before tying him to with zip ties as well. Poet blocked Kiyoshi from running. He told Poet what was going on and begged to be let go. He told police he was talking to Poet when everything went black. He had a slight bruise on his Vagus Nerve, likely suggesting either King or Soldier came forward and hit him.”

“Damn…”

“Damn indeed. A tox-screen came back from all three this morning suggesting all three used some form of drug, however Souta did have Trigger already in his system with a needle injection mark in the crook of his elbow.”

“What new information did you get on the trio from the other occurrences?”

“Nothing really. All the info on King and Poet was the same. Short, thin, heavy hitters but great speed, male. The only thing new was Soldier, who fits everything with Poet and King. The only difference with them all is their colors. A green for Poet, an orange for King, and red for Soldier. Soldier’s mask apparently had a sharp toothed smile on it. Other than that, nothing.”

“Considering this was the first appearance of Soldier, they might not go out tonight, but knowing them, they still might. I’ll keep an eye out for them when I patrol tonight.”

“Alright, you do that. If Soldier is with King and Poet, their training might be the same. It sucks that we don’t know their quirks. They haven’t been seen using them at all, unless its basic strength and speed enchantments between the three.”

“I doubt that strongly though. I’ve used Erasure on King and Poet before while chasing them or their fighting. No noticeable change in their speed or strength. No reaction from Poet what-so-ever when I use it. King reacts minutely to something changing but it’s barely there.”

“Hm… some food for thought I guess. For now let’s focus on catching them.”

“Yea.. well, I’ve got papers to grade, and I bet you’ve got cases to solve, or file. Good Luck with those.”

“Same for you. Talk to you later.”

“See ya.” With a click, the call ends and Shouta sets his phone down and runs his hands down his face groaning. Espresso looks up at him from his lap and chirps, her paws slowly kneading his stomach. With a sigh, he gets back to grading.

------

“Come on Z! E! Hurry your asses up!” Katsuki calls, running ahead of them in the street. It’s a little after four pm and the trio are running errands. Considering all three boys look different, or older, from the last time anyone saw them, they didn’t wear disguises. 

“You’re just faster Kats!” Eijirou yelled after him, picking up his speed.

“Slow down you too! You’ll hit someone!” Izuku laughed, holding his homemade notebook close to his chest. “We’re in no rush!”

“Says you Z!” Katsuki laughs and runs, weaving through people and shouting apologizes. Eijirou and Izuku follow, being more apologetic than their third party. Katsuki halts at a crosswalk, panting softly and looking at the two as they get closer. The three group together waiting for the crosswalk sign to let them cross. They talk and laugh, a few people looking on fondly. 

“What’s left to do Zu?” Eijirou asks, adjusting his bandana around his forehead. He’s wearing some washed jeans and a Crimson Riot hoodie he brought with him when he first ran away. It fit better now that when he got it, considering it was from a thrift store and four sizes too big. His shoes are just some repaired flip flops from the beach

“I’ve just got to drop this notebook off at Present Mic’s station/agency and then we head home.” Izuku says. He’s wearing a blue long sleeve shirt with black cargo shorts, both from a box found in the shipping container when they first cleaned it. His shoes are a worn pair of red sneakers from a near-by homeless center. They kept a box outside with stuff free for take or to donate. 

“Do we have enough money to buy some fresh food? Some stuff is gonna go bad soon.” Katsuki asks, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He’s wearing a black shirt with kanji spelling ‘Power’ and blue washed jeans, both also from the box at the nearby center. His shoes are some from the beach, being held together by duct tape. 

“I think so…” Izuku mumbles, reaching into his shorts pocket and grabbing what money is inside. He pulls out two ¥1000 bills and one ¥500 bill and a few coins. Counting he looks up at the two. “We’ve got just over ¥2500… I think we can get some stuff for the week.”

“We can hit the ¥100 store on the way home, get some dry food.” Eijirou says as the crosswalk light turns green and the three cross, sticking close. The three oblivious to some of the concerned looks a few adults shoot at them. The three continue their walk, getting closer to Present Mic’s station/agency. They talk about food plans and other errands they need to run that can wait a few days. 

Soon, the agency comes into view and they run forwards, Izuku in front. They keep running forwards, shooting banter back and forth between them, not really paying attention. Just as Izuku gets to the building before the agency, he runs into someone, falling backwards and landing on his butt, the notebook falling on the floor. “Z!”

“Zu!”

“Oh Goodness! You alright Little Listener? Didn’t mean to bump into ya!” Groaning softly, Izuku looks up, seeing none other than Present Mic crouched in front of him, his gold classes lowered on his nose, green eyes looking at him concerned. 

“P-Present M-Mic?!” He stutters just as Katsuki and Eijirou get to him.

“That's me! But are you okay? You took a tumble there!” He smiles wide, his eyes look at him then look towards his notebook sprawled on the ground. The book opens to an in-depth analysis on the hero with a detailed drawing of him. “Woah dude! That’s really good Little Listener.” He gingerly reaches for the notebook, which has clearly been through some things. It’s flimsy and weak, being held together tape.  Standing, he reaches out for Izuku, who shakily takes it, Katsuki and Eijirou helping him, but also shocked at the voice hero in front of them.

“Y-Yes sir! S-Sorry for running i-into you! I wasn’t p-paying attention to where I-I was running.” 

“That’s alright Little Listener, I should have been paying attention as well. Where did you learn to do this? I haven’t seen this in-depth analyst in a long time!” A wide grin across his face and Present Mic looked at the three in front of him fully. 

Suddenly a few red flags pop into his mind. 

The boy he had bumped into was wearing clothes a size too big for him and were clearly tattered and dirty. His shoes had duct tape along the toe and were tied with zip ties. He had some bruising along his face and scarring on his legs. His green hair was clumped together with dirt and sand.

The boy to the right of the green haired boy had a black shirt and jeans with too many rips to be considered fashion, bruises along his arms and too many scars for a boy his age. His blonde hair has hints of dirt and he also had a bruise on his face, looking like a fist. His shoes were in worse condition than the first, duct tape on the toe and heel. 

The boy on the far left had his hair being held back with a bandana, wearing a  Crimson Riot hoodie and severely dirtied jeans with rips, bruising around the lower part of his neck just barely peeking through the hoodie. He was wearing old flip flops and had a scar over his right eye. 

The three boys clearly have something going on and it wasn’t good.

“I-I do it myself sir! It’s a h-hobby of mine. I-I was actually on the way to drop this o-off at your s-station!” he stutters, his hands grippings the other boys hand on either side of him. 

“Woah! That’s really cool! Is it just me or are there a few other heroes here?”

“T-There a c-couple of your sidekicks a-and some other heroes!”

“The nerd’s been working on it for a few weeks now. He finished it yesterday.” The blond boy says, smirking at the greenette. 

“K-Kacchan!” Said greenette blushes, smacking his arms slightly.

“Wow! And you said this is mine to keep?”

“Y-yes Sir!” He beams, and Present Mic feels his heart warm at the brightness and innocent in that single smile. He notices the boy with the bandana look to the sun, then to the other boys.

“We’ve gotta get going if we want to get food before the store closes.”

“That’s right Eichan, let’s go! It was nice meeting you Present Mic sir!” With a small bow from all three, the scurry off.

“Wai-” Present Mic tries to call after them, but they’re long gone. “Hm…” He huffs, seeing them disappear in the crowd of people. He checks his watch and sighs adjusting his glasses. “Hopefully I’ll see them again on patrol…” Putting the notebook in his leather jacket, he pops a smile on his face and continues his patrol.

Chapter Text

Sighing, Present Mic walked back into his agency/radio station, adjusting his glasses and pulling the notebook from his jacket. It was around 6:30 pm and just the end of his patrol. Synthia, an American who moved to Japan a few years ago, sits at the reception desk for the radio station part of the building. “Heya Mic! How was patrol?” She asks, her Japanese laced with an American accent. 

“Good! No villains to be seen! A few run-ins with some little listeners!”

“Oh!~ Anything interesting?”

“Actually, just before my patrol I ran into three little listeners! Three young boys and they were bringing something to the station.” Mic pulled the notebook from his jacket, handing it to Synthia. She proceeded to flip through a few pages, her eyes growing wide each flip. “This is apparently a hobby one of the boys has, short with curly green hair.”

“How old are they?”

“I didn’t get the chance to ask. They handed me the book, one mentioned something about getting food before a store closes. They looked about seven or eight. I was gonna pull up the security camera footage from the front.” This caused Synthia to look back up.

“The security footage? Why, was something wrong?”

“Somewhat. Pull it up and you’ll see why.” With a confused expression and a small nod, Synthia started typing at her computer, pulling the live security feeds. A few clicks and key words later, camera feeds from each hour are bookmarked in a panel. “I left for patrol a little after four o’clock… try that feed.” A hum and a click later, the feed from four o’clock started. With a hit of an arrow key, it speeds up slightly, the hustle and bustle of people walking hurries. Another hit and the feed speeds up again.

“What are we-”

“There! Go back a bit.” Mic asks, pointing at a little boy with a bush of green hair runs into past Mic. Synthia goes back a bit and puts the feed at regular speed. “Zoom in on us and look at the boys.” Synthia nods and does as asked, her zoom in primarily on the three boys, but you can just see Mic on the left side of the screen. Synthia nibbles her thumb and looks over each of the boys, taking in their tattered clothes, the scarred and bruised bodies. The dirty hair and small statures.

“Oh my… I can see why you found them interesting…”

“Yeah… the way they look just screams abuse. They ran off before I could ask anything.”

“Well, I have one of your side kicks send a notice to other agencies to be on the lookout for them, maybe we can help them. Did you catch any names?” Synthia asks, looking up to Present Mic. 

“The green haired boy called the blonde kid ‘Kacchan and the redhead ‘Eichan’. They must know each other rather well.” Mic recalled, still looking at the feed, watching the boys run off, him calling out a little too late.

“Trauma bond? They all look like they're abused, maybe one caught another being hit and bonded over the experience?”

“It very well could be trauma bonding… but when they talked about getting food, it sounded like they had to fend for themselves a lot of the time… maybe orphans?”

“That could be likely. Runaways?”

“Doubtful… they weren’t acting like most runaway children, they tend to be more skittish, shyer. Yes, the green boy had a stutter, but that could be explained by meeting me, or a speech impediment.”

“Okay, well, I’ve got some work to finish, and I’ll ask a sidekick about the agency notice.”

“Alright. Well, I am going to shower and head home. Thanks for the input.”

“Okay! Have a good night. I’ll leave a note for the night crew in case they see them tonight.” Mic nods and stretches upward, walking to the elevator and key carding in, going up to the third floor, the locker rooms. Going to his locker, he grabs normal, comfy clothes, his hair products, and his hearing aids. Heading to the shower, he undresses, and turns on the water, feeling the water slowly warm under his hand. Once hot enough he steps in, the water directly over his scalp. With a soft, he reaches for his shampoo, designed specifically to melt away the gel and hairspray in his hair. He lathers the cleaner in his hair and turns the faucet away, grabbing his body wash to clean his body while the shampoo does its job. 

Looking down at himself to clean was always something he enjoyed. He keeps himself clean and prided in that. His tattoos are on full display while they are generally covered by clothes. He has the tattoo over his heart in about his and Shouta wedding, a solid black speaker symbol just behind his ears with a red cross through it which gets hidden by his headphones that work in place of his aids, on his shin is a gothic looking skull surrounded by a plethora of colorful flowers with a bright yellow spotted gecko resting on top the skull, on his left hand on his ring finger is a solid black band of ink; since he and Shouta wear their rings on chains around their necks. His last tattoo is on his right side, a fluffy cloud that slowly fades into silhouette birds flying off into a distance. An angel halo over the top and a band aid type stripe in the middle of it. A tribute to his and Shouta’s lost friend, Shirakumo Oboro; died in their second year during a work study. 

Shaking from his thoughts, Present Mic slowly melts into Yamada Hizashi, a doting husband and everyday citizen. Rinsing his body then his shampoo lather hair, it dangled down his lower back, just before his butt. The reminisce of a dare from early UA with Oboro and Shouta who later joined, how long could they get their hair. Hizashi, who always had naturally long hair, grew the fastest. Oboro was a close second, until Shouta joined at the beginning of their second year. This dare continued til Oboro passed, now both Shouta and Hizashi refused to cut it any shorter than where their hair currently sits, a remeberence to their lost friend. 

Lathering the conditioner from ends to scalp, Hizashi turns the water just a bit hotter, watching the steam rise and his skin slowly turn red from the heat, not like he minded. He loved his hot shower, only to jump to freezing cold at the end. Finishing his shower, Hizashi steps out, the steam has filled the shower room as he towel dries his body, wrapping his hair in a towel as he changes. The world is an eerie silence without his headphones or hearing aids. 

Now fully dried and clothed, he slips his hearing aids in, the world slowly blooming with sound, the mixed voices of others in the locker room, footsteps out in the hall, the never ending loop of soft music throughout the entire building, except in the bunks. A soft smile on his face, he waves to the people in the locker room and heads back to the lobby. With one last wave to Synthia, he heads home with the sounds of the city around him.

------

“Hey Shitty hair?” Katsuki called, a ¥100 shopping back filled with snacks at his side. His gaze at the back of Eijirou’s head.

“My hair isn't that different from you… what's up?” he asks, spinning around and walking backwards with practiced ease, looking at Katsuki in his eyes, a soft smile on his face. 

“When’s your birthday again?”

“October 16th, why? Haven’t I told you guys that?” Izuku grabs Eijirou's arm, pulling him away from an incoming pole, rolling his eyes fondly.

“No, but you told us you were 7 when we first met. That was before October 16th.”

“Yup! What’s this have to do with anything?” Katsuki and Izuku share a look, both with soft smiles on their faces. 

“Guess what day it is today.” Izuku says, grabbing Eijirou’s hand and tugs him forward. Eijirou’s face contorts in confusion, eyebrows creased together and up slightly. 

“I have no idea. What are you two getting at? It’s about to get dark, we need to get ready.” 

“Actually, we aren’t patrolling tonight. Because a) Eraserhead saw you and it’s fun teasing the ever loving shit out of his and Detective Detector; we'll explain him later.” Katsuki butted in.

“And b) because it is October 16th, you are nine now, like us!” Izuku cheered, still pulling Eijirou forward by his arm, getting closer and closer to their home, the trash mounds slowly becoming bigger in the distance.

“I’m still confused. What’s so special about my birthday? Yeah I’m nine, so what?” Katsuki and Izuku stuttered to a stop, both looking at Eijirou head on.

“Have you never celebrated your birthday?” Katsuki asks, sharing a look with Izuku next to him.

“Not since my quirk came in, no. And that was years ago, not many fond memories after that…'' Eijirou mumbles the last sentence, his right hand coming up and lingering over the scar just above his eye. 

“That’s it! Come on fucker!” Katsuki shouted, grabbing Eijirou's hand and pulling him towards home, his pace almost running, Izuku following behind. They get to the beach in a few minutes, all three panting softly from the drag. The walk down the staircase onto the sand and weave their way through the trash piles, following their twisted maze of traps and dead ends. Arriving at the center, their blue tarp on top the sand for training folded somewhat neatly near the container doors. Izuku rushes past the two, taking the ¥100 bag from Katsuki’s hand and goes inside.

Eijirou goes to follow but is stopped by Katsuki, who tightens his grip on his hand. “He’ll be back, grabbing something” Eijirou just raises an eyebrow and nods, looking towards the container. Izuku comes back out a minute later, something hiding behind his back. Katsuki drops his hand and stands next to Izuku, who has a beaming smile. 

“Kacchan went out really early this morning and got this for your birthday present!” He beamed, his hand fumbling with whatever was behind his back. Katsuki’s cheeks flamed slightly, he scowled a bit, a glare pointed at Izuku.

“Fuck off Zuku!” He goes to swat at the back of Izuku’s head, but he ducks last second, giggling a storm. Eijirou watches on with a fond smile, eyes full of glee. 

“Okay, okay! Sorry, but anyways-” Izuku thrust a brown paper back into Eijirou’s hands, “Here!” Eijirou’s eyebrows shoot skyward, almost dropping the bag. 

“W-What?” He asks, thoroughly confused, the bag held carefully in his hands, the top folded down and closed. 

“Open it Shitty Hair, it’s your birthday present.” Katsuki said, his hands shoved into his jean pockets, shifting from foot to foot. With one last glance at the duo, Eijirou carefully opens the bag and gingerly reaches inside feeling hard plastic and fabric.

Wrapping his hand around the plastic item, he pulls it out. It’s a limited edition Crimson Riot full bodied Action figure, in his signature pose. His arms crossed over his chest with his cloak flared back. His hair gelled up and spiked. He stands on a solid red platform with the name ‘Crimson Riot’ in a darker, deeper red. Eijirou’s eyes gloss over wet, filling with unspilled tears, his mouth open in silent shock. “There’s more…” Katsuki mutters, his scowl has lessened and his eyes hold a fond light watching Eijirou study the figure.

“M-More…?” His voice stutters, slowly going hoarse from holding back tears. Clutching the statue in his hand, he sets the bag to the ground and reaches inside with his other hand, grasping fabric. He swallows and grips the fabric, pulling it out. It's another limited edition item, a blanket this time. It's soft plush with Crimson Riot front and center on the front. ‘The Chivalrous Hero’ at the top and ‘Crimson Riot’ on the bottom. The back of the Blanket it a solid crimson red in soft fur. Sewed on the bottom right on the back in black thread is Crimson’s signature. 

If he wasn’t crying before, he is now. 

“Y-you guys…” He hiccups, clutching the figurine and blanket to his chest and tears roll down his cheeks, his voice hoarse and wet. Katsuki and Izuku both rush forward, pulling their friend into their arms as he cries. His head was buried into Katsuki’s shoulder, wetting the shirt. He hiccups and sputters, trying to form a sentence but is too overcome with emotions. “H-How-- W-hat..”

“Happy Birthday Ei.”

“Happy Birthday Eichan.” Eijirou cries harder, all three boys slowly go to the ground, keeping mindful of the blanket on the sand and hold each other tight. Tears slowly come to a stop and Eijirou slowly calms. 

“H-How did you guys get these…?” He asks, voice wet and croaky. 

“We’ve been savin' for a while… saw those and had to get’em for you.” Katsuki says, a hand on Eijirou’s back, rubbing small circles and the other takes sleeve in hand to wipe the tears from his face.

“We wanted the first birthday you have with us the best one yet.” Izuku clarifies, leaning on his shoulder.

“B-But what about you guy’s birthdays? We didn’t do anything for them this year.”

“Because yours starts the tradition. Starting now we celebrate them. Kacchan is next in April, mine in July.” With a wet chuckle, Eijirou hugs them both tight one last time. 

“I love you guys…”

“We love you too.” Izuku and Katsuki say together, all three huddled together as the sun dips below the horizon, the sky a painting of blues and black and a splatter of stars. 

------

The jingle of keys and the soft click of a lock makes Shouta look up from his phone to the door, Espresso in his lap and Bean atop his feet. “I’m Home!” Hizashi says, his hair flowing against his back, still a bit damp. He’s undoing his shoes in the genkan and putting his house slippers on before he looks up and sees Shouta sprawled across the couch under a small pile of cats. The sound of the radio playing softly from the kitchen.

“Hi hon. How was patrol?” He asks, Bean lifts his head and looks to Hizashi before laying back down, licking his paws. 

“Interesting, nothing major, but met a few characters that sparks interest.”

“Good or bad?” Pulling his feet away and moving Espresso off his lap to stand, much to Beans and Espresso distaste. Shouta stretches, his shoulder and back pop, making him groan softly. “God.. my body sounds 50 but I’m 21… Christ…” he mumbles before looking to Hizashi.

“This interesting thing was bad I think… a few red flags rose.” He says, ignoring the last comment, rolling his eyes his only retort.

“Why red flags?” Shouta asks, eyebrow raised, tugging his hair back and securing it in a low bun.

“I ran into three little listeners, wearing tattered and ripped clothes, covered in a thin layer of dirt and sand. Worst part is they had scars. From what I could see beneath their clothes, they were covered head to toe in scars and bruises. Some look so fresh, like last night fresh! They were so young, couldn’t have been older than seven. Too many scars and marks for someone so young…” He pouts, his eyes downcast, running a hand through his hair, gripping it close to the skull. 

Shouta walks over and hugs his husband around his chest, resting his head on his shoulder. Hizashi melts a bit, wrapping his arms around him and holding him tight, nosing his hair with a sigh. “Anything good come from patrol?”

“Kinda… one of the boys' hobbies in quirk analysis. He and the other two were heading to the station to drop off a notebook, filled with questions, suggestions, and breakdowns of the quirks in heros. I was in there, so was a few of my sidekicks, but also Rock Lock.. And funny enough; or concerningly.. You…” This causes Shouta to startle back slightly.

“Me? How?”

“I have no idea… here.” Reaching into his back pocket, he pulls out the notebook and hands it to Shouta. It’s decent sized but clearly handmade, held together with string and tape. It’s clearly seen better days too. Fingering through it, Shouta’s eyes widen as he passes through each entry, each one dogeared. He stops at the one of himself and reads, thoroughly shocked. 

For each entry in a detailed sketch of the hero in full costume, clothing items and support gear correctly labeled. A list of strengths and weaknesses for everyone, as well as suggestions on how to counter said weaknesses. It’s clearly in the means of helping, but with the amount of correct information unprotected was worrisome. “You said the boys were around seven? And this is from one of them?”

“Yeah…” Hizashi sighs, his lips pursed, thinking.

“I’ll bring this up to Detective Tsukauchi tomorrow, or tonight if I see him. I made dinner, so let’s eat and relax before I leave.”

“Okay, can you braid my hair when we’re done?”

“Yea, just sit. I’ve already set the table. Just need to bring it over.” With a nod, Hizashi walks over to the table, Espresso chirping up at him as she weaves through his legs. With a fond chuckle, he sits at the table, just as Shouta walks in carrying two plates of tonkatsu. 

“Itadakimasu…” The both start eating, relaxing in the small tune that plays on the radio and the crinkle of cat toys from the living room. “When is your patrol?”

“Nine thirty. I’ll be back around 5’oclock. Do you go to the station tomorrow?”

“Yes but no patrol. Just maining Hands Up and doing some interviews. Some are actually from our graduating class.”

“Really? Who? Please don’t say Nemuri.”

“It’s Tensei, more notable, and a few others from B that we never really go to know. What would be wrong with Nem? She’s a doll!” Hizashi laughs

“Okay, Tensei’s not bad… Nemuri would make too many sexual jokes and then during break pester you about us and when can she visit.”

“C’mon Moon! All four of us haven’t been together since graduation! It’d be fun to catch up! Maybe we would get to see Tenya! He turned nine in August.”

“Maybe when I’ve had more than 4 hours a sleep.” Shouta challenges, his eyes hold a mischievous glint.

“Uh huh, like that’ll happen. We are planning something and you will be there, I will drag you there myself!” Hizashi pouts, pointing his chopsticks at his husband. There is a drag of silence and stillness as neither do anything, just looking at each other before they burst into laughs and chuckles, Hizashi more loud and open, Shouta more reserved.

“We’ll see.” Shouta chuckles, going back to eating. Hizashi smiles and reaches across the table, grasping Hizashi’s hand and brushing his thumb over his knuckles.

“I love you Moon.” Hizashi squeezes his hand softly.

“I love you too Sun.” Shouta squeezes back, a little more strength behind it.

Soon, both men are done. “I’ll get dishes, get a comb and hair tie ready in the living room. You pick what we watch.” Shouta says, standing and collecting their dishes before going to the sink. Hizashi stops him just before he walks away, a kiss makes home where his neck meets shoulder, just brushing the black chain that holds his ring, before walking to the bathroom to get a comb and ponytail. 

Shouta does the dishes, sleeves rolled to his elbows, his one and only tattoo on his forearm displayed. It’s lineart of Oboro’s hat from his costume with the copper lining of his goggles over front, with a soft pastel blue watercolor splash just behind it. Their friend group (Nemuri, Tensei, Hizashi and him) all have something to remember Oboro by. While Nemuri and Tensei might not have been as close to Oboro as Shouta or Hizashi was, he was still their friend and they all watched him pass.  

Shaking from his thoughts, Shouta does the last dish and dries his hands before walking to the living room, seeing his husband sitting in front of the couch, the TV turned onto some comedy show he likes with Bean and Espresso chasing a mouse on a string toy that said husband is controlling. With a soft chuckle, Shouta walks to the couch and sits behind Hizashi, a brush and hair tie to his left. He runs his hands through his hair, soft and fully dry. Grabbing the comb, he slowly comb through it, working what knots he finds; which are very little. Slowly dividing the hair from the top of his skull, he begins on a french fishtail braid.

This is how Shouta wants to spend the rest of his life. Sitting with his husband watching movies, their cats being the little shits that they are and braiding his hair. Who knows, maybe a kid in the future if their schedules allow it. 

Neither Shouta or Hizashi could ask for anything better.

Chapter Text

“C’mon Katsu! Izu! You guys are so sloooow!” Eijirou dragged out, spun around jogging and watched the other two leisurely stroll. Katsuki grunted in response.

“How do you have so much energy this morning Shitty Hair?” Katsuki asked, a soft scowl on his face and hands stuffed in his pockets. Izuku walks next to him rubbing his eyes with a yawn.

“Unlike you two, I actually go to sleep at night.” Eijirou ignores the ‘Hey!’ from Izuku and turns around walking, slowly his pace for the other two to catch up to him, a soft smile on his face. It’s the morning after his birthday, the trio woke up just as the sun was rising and decided to get on with their day early. Izuku has another notebook to deliver to a different agency and then they were going to go to the south library. 

The boys all agreed to continue their education to some degree. Once a week they would go to the library and research the things that they would be learning if they were in school. Yet since they’re self-teaching, they tend to be ahead.  If they were enrolled in schools, they would all be in 4th Grade, yet they are learning the subjects that are commonly taught in their second year of junior high. Having the ‘Home-schooling’ excuse was a wonderful thing for suspicious or curious bystanders. 

The trio walks close together, a few shops and restaurants open. The cold October air nipping at exposed skin, they huddle for warmth, Izuku in the middle and Katsuki and Eijirou to the left and right respectively. “What agency we going to Zuku?” Katsuki asks, looking around. 

“Fat Gum’s agency. That’s why we’re going to the train station.”

“The trai-- wait… how are we getting on the train? We don’t have passes.” Eijirou asks, eyebrows raised in confusion. Izuku just smiles at him, acting all innocently, but Eijirou can see the little evil and mischievous glint in his eyes and how the smile is more of a smirk. Katsuki and Eijirou share a look as Izuku giggles and jogs ahead slightly, the notebook tucked under his arm. 

“Lets go, lets go! We’ll miss the train!” Izuku says, running ahead. Katsuki and Eijirou just shrug, running to catch up to the small boy. People around watch in appreciation, jealous of the energy they have this early in the morning. 

------

Arriving at the train station, as busy as ever, the boys all walked to the turnstile. Izuku smiles smugly and reaches into his tattered satchel around his shoulder and pulls out three train cards. “These cards hold up to ten train rides.” Izuku says, fanning the three cards like a card deck in front of his face, his viridian eyes peeking over. Katsuki gapes, eyes wide, Eijirou is no different.

“How the hell did you get these? We don’t got enough funds to get this shit!” Katsuki says, gingerly taking the card handed to him, holding it like it would disappear.

“I did some stuff analysts work at the internet café and had the money set to Inko’s PO Box. Surprise surprise, it was still up and running.” Izuku said, a small sad and pensive look on his face. Both Katsuki and Izuku had agreed when they survived the attack, they would call their parents by given name, rather than ‘mom’ and ‘dad’. “There was also a few checks for child support from Hisashi in there that hadn’t been collected before Endeavawhore.” Eijirou snorts at the nickname, having been told the story of what happened, but also having seen the news the day of and the weeks thereafter. “A quick trip to a deposit box and my pocket was heavy. I stored most away for rainy days, but I knew we need these for things, so…” Izuku shrugs, a soft smile on his face. Katsuki and Eijirou both pull him into a tight hug before they pull away and quickly scan in. 

Walking to the platform, they await their train, people arriving from other trains or leaving from their platforms. A few people look their way but pay no mind (though maybe they should, three boys in tattered clothes on a school day at 6 in the morning). Their train arrives soon with a call over the intercoms and they begin the journe y to Esuha City where Fat Gum’s agency resides. 

The ride is loud, but the carts aren’t vey crowded. A few people in business attire, some parents, maybe grandparents. Izuku’s eyes bounce from person to person, his brain running a mile a minute, analyzing quirk after quirk. His right hand up by his mouth, pulling him lower lip, mouth lipping questions and details. Eijirou and Katsuki watch with fond smiles. The cityscape merges and blurs, the rattle of the train on the track a persistent sound. It stops at a few different stations, people get on and off. Izuku mutters more, eyes darting around. 

Soon, all three boys' eyes lock on a duo walking on. Two men, one with long blond hair down to the top of his butt, black rimmed glasses with orange arms sit atop his nose, wearing a band shirt from a few years ago, a leather jacket lined with fur on the inside over top with regular blue jeans and black hightops. A chain sits around his neck with a ring on it and hearing aids. The other man has black hair tied in a low bun at the base of his head, a grey scarf around neck, a black long sleeved shirt with black jeans and black combat boots. The three boys all pause and look at each other. 

Present Mic and Eraserhead.

The trio stiffen, huddling closer together, all eyeing them slightly. Their stop in another 10 minutes, with no other stops in-between. “Fuck… ” All three boys thought. Just their (non-existent) luck, the duo shit right across them, stuck in their own conversation, however, it’s in sign language.

‘Are you sure it’s them?’ Eraserhead says, looking at Present Mic.

‘Yes ----. I’d recognize the green boy anywhere.’ Mic answers, probably using the sign name for whatever he calls Eraserhead. Izuku stiffens, covering it with a shift of position and leaning on Eijirou. 

‘They look cleaner today. Little more healed if the bandage on the red-head’s wrist says anything.’ Eijirou buries his head in Izuku’s curls and rubs his bandaged wrist slightly, Katsuki sets his hand on Izuku’s knee, stilling the subtle anxious bouncing.  

‘I’m trying so hard not to act like I’ve seen them before. You saw the analyst the green boy did. To think they might be getting abused doesn’t sit well with me when I can help.’ All three boys stiffen at abuse. They knew they looked roughed up, but abuse was a little far fetched, at least to them now. Izuku clears his throat slightly.

“Hey Eichan, when did your mom say to be back by dinner? Wasn’t she making curry tonight?” Izuku looks at Eijirou, a happy look on his face. He slightly bounces in the train seat. Katsuki catches on quickly.

“She better make it spicy or I am going to fuckin’ riot!” Eijirou sputters then laughs.

“She was making her spice mix this morning before you came by, you can drown your curry in spicy stuff for all Zu and I care.” Throwing his arm around Izuku and pulling him close, a light noggie to his curls, ignoring the yelp and whines from the boy.

“Fuck yeah!” Katsuki pumps his fist up, an excited smile on his face, fake or not. Izuku wearily watches the two heroes in his peripheral who seem stunned by the excitement. 

“Eichaaan! You didn’t answer my question, when do we need to get back?” Izuku whines, still stuck in the noogie.

“She said around 5:30 so we can help clean up and set the table.” Izuku nods and melts into Eijirou’s embrace, his eyes partly closed, watching the two heroes sign.

‘Is it not abuse? They seem happy…” Present Mic signs, his eyebrows knitted together.

‘Might be bullies? Extended family? They could also just be kids who like to rough-house, like you, ----- and ---.’ Eraserhead adds, still eyeing the three boys. 

‘Bullies? You didn’t see up close how banged up they were at the station. They had fresh bruises, like night before fresh.’ 

 ‘We can’t do anything until we find them on patrols or they come to heroes. They look to be handling well enough for now. We’ll help where we can ---.’

“Hey Zu, why are we heading to Eshua again?” Eijirou asks.

“Giving Fat Gum’s agency a notebook, like we did the other day with Present Mic’s agency.”

“How long have you worked on this?” Katsuki asks, reaching into Izuku’s satchel that sits between his feet and pulls out a tattered notebook. Both the heroes perk up a bit and watch the trio, unaware they’re being watched as well. 

“About a week, the library had files on old fights and stuff. Also when we go later today, I need you guys help with picking a new agency to work on… I can’t pick between Sir Nighteyes or Ryukyus.”

“Maybe Nighteyes? Doesn’t he focus on analysis?”

“Kind of, his future sight helps with that, but he’s really picky when it comes to other people. If he finds it to be faulty, or have any doubt, you are down the drain. I don’t wanna disappoint him.”

“Well, if Present Mic talks about your notebook, he might be inclined to read it.” Eijirou reasons, all three notice the heroes' tenses. 

“I don’t fuckin care… wake me when we get there.” Katsuki grumbles, arms crossed and head back against the window. Both Eijirou and Izuku look at each other before bursting into giggles. 

“Kacchaaan’s sleepy~.” Izuku sings, a teasing look on his face. His reply is a flip of the middle finger, all it earns is more giggles. Katsuki relaxes, slipping into a conscious nap, weary of what’s around. Eijirou and Izuku form a minor conversation, watching around them, mainly Eraserhead and Present Mic. 

------

The train ride continues uneventful, cautious glances to and from the heroes. Katsuki wakes when an overhead com calls “Now arriving at Esuha City station! Arriving to Esuha City station!” Izuku grabs his satchel and they all stand, using the handle bars to stand near a door to disembark. Present Mic and Eraserhead watch carefully. The train pulls into a station and skirts to a stop, the doors open and the boys get off. 

Running off the station, Katsuki, Eijirou, and Izuku all dash and shuffle around people, getting to the exit. Now being able to completely relax, the boys sigh. “Well, that wasn’t terrifying!” Eijirou exclaims, his arms thrown upwards. 

“Let’s be glad that it was just Present Mic that recognized us. If it was Eraserhead we would be screwed.” Izuku says, adjusting the satchel over his shoulder. 

“Nice cover Zuku! That really fuckin’ tripped their theory. Abuse… Fuckin’ hell.”

“It makes sense Kacchan… I mean, we are covered in injuries. They’re heroes, it’s right to assume.” Izuku sighs, and looks around, before heading in a direction.

“We heading to the agency now?” Eijirou asks, jogging next to Izuku, Katsuki soon following.

“Yup! A few miles north of here and we’ll see it!”

------

Shouta and Hizashi watch as the boys run from the train, watching their figures disappear amongst the sea of people. “They seem to be in good hands.” Shouta says, returning to their early conversation.

“I can’t help but worry…” Hizashi says, fiddling with his wedding ring, watching as the train door closes. 

“We’ll help them when the time comes, and if they need it. They could just be kids who like to rough-house, like you, or Tensei. Hell, even Nemuri, like I said earlier. We just have to wait.” Shouta says, putting his hand on Hizashi's knee, “Let’s just get to Hosu and get this day over… I want to nap.” Hizashi just chuckles and sets his hand on top of Shouta’s, giving it a squeeze.

Chapter Text

It’s late when the boys are done in Esuha and are returning home. They dropped the notebook off with no trouble and got back to a train for the library in Mustafa, no heroes on the train this time. They spend a good few hours at the library using the free computers to learn. They learn the material they’re learning, 2nd year junior high, and then some; like stuff they want. Katsuki learns about explosives, ways to use his quirk, and stretches to help lessen the strain on his shoulders and upper back. Eijirou learns pressure points, ways to hit someone without much force and different types of flips, Izuku learns programming and hacking. 

They find paper free for customer use and they write as much as they can, restore the information as much as they can. They print what they can and write what they can’t. The prints range from exercises to mock tests of their material. They make homework's for each other, one person has the correct answers, the other two will fill it out and then have it graded. People around watch with fondness, they see three boys obsessed with learning what they can, they see three boys who are loved very much and cared for. What they don’t see are the bruises that litter their bodies from fights nights before. Where they stopped a drug deal, a man getting raped, the cuts and scrapes from failed jumps on a roof, just barely catching themselves on the ledge or a pole. 

They leave the library close to five o’clock and start their trek back to the beach. The streets slowly empty as the sun slowly disappears behind the horizon. When they reach the beach, the sun is completely gone, the sky a painting of deep blue and black and a speckle of stars. Inside, the boys change into their uniforms and leave soon after. 

------

“Poet, King, situation!” Soldier points out, leaving their formation and running west. Poet and King follow behind, reforming in a triangle with Soldier leading. The bound from roof to roof, pole to pole reaching an alley fork behind four buildings. They go to the alley in the middle, slowly as the rustle of clothes and whimpers get louder. The back alley is a dead end, and a man holds a woman by her throat to the wall. Her legs kicking and swinging wildly slowly lose their strength, her hands gripping the man's wrist and face, desperately trying to get him off and get air. Her face slowly loses color. 

The male stands tall, scales and veins of a glowing red color trail up his arms and his neck. A set of horns protrude from his forehead and arch up and down towards the back of his head. He wears black jeans and a red tank top with the arm opening sagging down. The woman is a short, petite lady. Purple hair falling from a high ponytail, a fringe swept away and to the right. Some sort of business attire fits the figure, a purse drops and most likely kicks away to the end of the alley, the continents split. 

The trio share a look before Soldier and King jump down, sliding down the wall and landing on the male. Soldier kicks off the wall and  grabs his horns and pulls back, King kicks off as well and lands on the opposing side before jumping again and landing on his arms, just above the elbow. Poet found a water pipe and slid down, slinking along the wall, his presence hidden by the shadows.  With King landing on the males arms, he drops the women, Poet jumping from hiding to catch her. She gasps for breath, sounding hoarse. She limply holds onto Poet as he helps her away from the fight. 

Soldier pulling his horns and King landing on his arms before punching his sternum has the man yelping and grunting in pain. Soldier pulls harder on the horn, his feet on the ground and dragging him backwards. He lands with a loud thump, King straddles the man's chest and delivers a punch to his nose, a loud crack and a flow of blood follows. Soldier grabs zip ties and makes quick work of tying him down and defenseless. If he makes them too tight, Poet and King say nothing. King drags him to a drain pipe and sticks him to it with another zip tie, the man sluggish from the punch and fall.  

All the while the fight is going on, Poet comforts the women. A dark bruise in the shape of a hand blooms from her throat, a deep contrast to her porcelain skin. She sits against a wall with Poet in front of her, blocking the fight from view. “Ma’am you’re safe now,” he whispers, telegraphing his movements as he holds her arm in a loose gripe, his thumb rubbing soothing slides, “he can’t hurt you anymore.” Her breathing is erratic and short, the color slowly fills her face once more. Silent tears ran down her cheeks and she watched Poet, his eyes hold a comforting gaze with her. 

He carefully reaches for her split purse and gathers the contents, handing it to her, holding her phone. “I’m going to call the police on your phone, they’ll get here and help you. Okay?” He asks, his voice soft and smooth. With her shaky nod, he has her unlock in and open the phone dial. The fight dies down behind him at the point and the police answer. 

“Mustafa Police Department, what’s your emergency?” The receiver says, but they only get a response of taps to the mic, detailing the location and situation. A sigh and a mumble of ‘the trio...’ is his only response before they say “A police patrol car will be there shortly.” Poet hangs up after, then looks to the woman, who has steadily controlled her breathing, but it now shakily and looks pale once more. “Ma’am the police will be here soon, my friends and I will stay with you until they get here, then we need to leave, okay? You are safe.” Poet reiterated as Soldier and King walked over. 

“Police called?” King asks, adjusting his hood and mask, leaning against the wall watching the alley walls for the red and blue lights.

“Yeah, however, we might need one of you to go to the street entrance and lead them to the fork, this aley doesn't connect to the main road, just the fork.” Poet says, looking to the other two. 

“Why don’t King and I both go, that way when you need to run, it’ll be easier.”

“W-Wait… don’t go...” The woman whimpers, gripping the sleeve of Poet’s shirt. More tears fill her eyes and fall down her cheeks, her eyes bouncing between the three before her. 

“I won’t leave until the police get here ma’am.” Poet says, his eyes crinkling softly like he’s smiling. “King, Soldier, go get the police and lead them here, be careful. They might have called Eraser to follow.” He looked at the woman again and gently rubbed her arm. “I’m not leaving yet.” She gave a shaky nod and gripped his short tighter. 

“Meet you at the rooftops Poet.” Soldier says, a pat to Poet’s soldier and he and King climb an abandoned ladder to the roofs before they bound away to the street. Poet keeps telling the woman comforting words and touch, blocking her view of the man tied to a pole. Who has slowly come around, no longer as sluggish.

Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps is heard, the woman much more calm now. Looking up, Poet seems Soldier and King peering over an edge, gesturing him to come. A nod, he looks back to the women. “The police are just around the corner, they will be much more help than I. You are safe, no one can hurt you anymore.” With a reassured squeeze to her arm, Poet has her release the strong grip on his shirt, and bounds for the ladder just as the police walk into the alley. They see the man bound to the wall, dried blood running down his face and onto his tank top, and the woman, calm but cowering in a corner closer to them. 

The trio watch from the roof ledge as the Police, guns drawn with flash lights out, walk towards the woman and the bound male. Two female police officers walk over to the woman, guns put away and offer her help to stand. “Let’s get you out of here Ma’am. Is that okay?” One asks, voice low and soothing, hand on the small of her back. The other gently holds his arms, steadying the shaking limbs as the woman slowly nods. She’s ushered away quick. 

Three male officers stalk towards the male, who is screaming profanities and struggling against the ties. “Let me fuckin’ go! Stupid whore!” He screams as blood, fresh and dried, drips down his nose. One officer rushed forward and puts on quirk suppressant cuffs and cut the zip ties. He’s pulled up and walks to the police cruiser.

They follow along the rooftops, watching as the two people are put in different cars and taken to the station. They share a nod and bound away, jumping and sliding between buildings, continuing their patrol. The bound from roof to roof, lamp post to lamp post. Soon aware of a figure trailing them. 

With a simple nod, they all run to a tall apartment building and scale the side, the figure following suit. They reach the top and stand close to the far edge and stand in a triangle formation.  The figure reaches the top soon after and reveals Eraserhead, eye glowing in red with hair and scarf floating in invisible wind. 

“Soldier,” he looks to Soldier, “Poet,” he looks to Poet, “and King.” he looks to King. 

“To what do we owe the pleasure, Eraserhead?” Poet says, hands behind his back, rocking back and forth on balls of his feet. “Childish…” Eraserhead thinks, scarf at the ready.

“You’re a rather tricky trio to catch.” He says bluntly, his eyes burn but he keeps the open.

“You should close your eyes Eraserhead, sir. Don’t want to worsen your dry eye. We won’t leave if you have questions.” Poet says, his head cocked to the right, still bouncing. King watches with a cautious eye, while Soldier eyes the scarf, hands at his side ready. 

“The second you go to attack, we leave.” King adds, arms crossed across his chest.

“I ask as many questions as i want, you won’t leave?” Eraserhead asks.

“Three.” The trio says at the same time, each watching Eraserhead. He just says and his eyes close in a blink, his hair falls and the scarf does as well, but his stance is still battle ready. Eraserhead contemplates, analyzing the trio in front of him. 

“Why vigilantes? Why not train for heroes?”

“They are some things that are preventing us from doing so.” Poet states.

“We want to help people.” Soldier says next.

“Some heroes don’t fuckin’ care about the villain's that hide.” King curses, arms still crossed, eyebrows furred like he’s scowling. 

“Soldier, why didn’t you join them when they had started? Why wait three years?” 

“I wasn’t in a comfortable situation, I waited til the time felt right.” He says, looking to the other from the corner of his eyes, something in the look. “Was that.. Fondness? Familiarities?” Eraserhead thinks, the trio stick close, awaiting the third question. 

“How old are you? You seem rather short.” He eyes them, their small statures and lean frames. They look rather young for someone to be running around at night and stopping fights, rapes, anything they can. He sees King tense a bit, his shoulder widen and he stands a bit taller. Soldier does the same, taking a deep bated breath. Poet seems the only one undeterred by the question, his head just tilts the opposite direction. 

“We range between the aged 8 and 23. We may be small but that does nothing to deter us from fighting for the right cause and protecting those who need it.” He sounded so sure, like the answer was rehearsed again and again in a mirror.

“Eight? That’s rather young…” Eraserhead states, watching them more closely.

Poet is the shorter of the trio, he’s more sneaky than the other two, he generally helps the victims or helps tie the assaulters up. Very rarely does Eraserhead hear of Poet stepping into a fight, but it’s said he’s got a killer punch. He isn’t to be messed with. King is not as tall as Soldier, but taller than Poet. He has rather broad shoulders and a slim waist. His legs seem strong, and he and Soldier take the brunt of the attacks. Soldier is the tallest of the trio, and a bit more built than the others, he hits the hardest and takes down the biggest of the assaulters they take down. 

“Just an age range. We could just be eighteen whose growth was stunted. You never know.” Soldier inputs. Eraserhead notes that he keeps clenching his fists, Poet keeps bouncing on the balls of his feet, and King has his arms crossed tight across his chest, shoulders tense. 

“Now you had your three fuckin’ questions. We’ve got a patrol to finish. See you never.” King grunts, blunt and to the point. 

“It was a nice chat Eraserhead-san, but we must be off!” Poet calls, cheering and full of life. He clasp hands with Soldier and King before they all take one single step off the side of the building. 

Falling feet first down a six story building. 

Eraserhead startles, scarf raised and lunging forward over the edge. He just gets to the edge, scarf shooting forward, when he sees the trio landing gracefully on the roof of the building next door. King first with a small orange and yellow lights flashing when he lands, he helps Poet land next. Poet rolls when landing, the brunt of the fall spread out, the Soldier lands next. He lands harsh, feet first in a crouch, but is perfectly fine. No winces, yelps of pain, or crumbling in pain. The roof cracks in small places, but the three turn, look to Eraserhead, scarf now limp around his shoulders and the ends shot out to help them are now against the building, eyes widen in shock. 

They giggled, high five each other, then give a small two fingered salute, before they run off, jumping from building to building. 

------

“Aizawa, you’re here early. Your patrol doesn't end for another hour or so. Something happen?” Naomasa ask, nursing his third cup of coffee, case work sprawled around his desk, the trash can filled with old papers and other coffee cups. 

“I follow the trio, they lead me to a building. They knew I was following.” Shouta says, nonchalant and blunt, his eyes betray how he feels, Anxious and confused, with maybe a side of headache. 

“What? How long ago was this?” Naomasa startles, setting his cup down.

“Just before I got here. It was at an apartment building, about 2 kilometers from here. I got to ask three questions before they ran, but that was negotiated. As long as I didn't attack, I got to ask three.” Naomasa’s eyes widen, he reaches into his desk, pulling out a thin manila folder and pulls out a case paper. 

“What did you ask?”

“I asked why vigilantes, why Soldier joined so late, and their age.”

“What did they answer?” Naomasa grabs a pen and clicks it, ready to write. Shouta sits in the chair across from the desk, leaning back, arms crossed. 

“They said they became vigilantes because they had things stopping them from being heroes. They didn’t specify what though. Soldier said it wasn’t the right time. He ‘wasn’t in a comfortable situation’ to join until recently,” he quotes, “and they said they range from ages 8 to 23.” This makes Naomasa look up from writing.

“Eight? Damn, that’s real young.” 

“My thoughts exactly. Soldier’s reasoning was that their growth could have been stunted. He gave the example age of 18.” Shouta sighs, a hand rubbing his eyes. “They damn near gave me a heart attack when they were done answering.”

“Why? What happened?” 

“They stopped at the tall apartment building 2 kilometers from here. They scaled the top and were at the edge when I got there. Poet in the middle, Soldier to the right, King to the left. I asked the questions and when they deemed that we were done, Poet grabbed Soldier and King’s hand, and they took one step off the edge, falling straight down.”

“Wait what? Just fall off the building?” Naomasa exclaims, eyes wide in shock. Shouta just nods.

“Yup, I lunged to the edge, through my capture out in hopes of saving one. However, when I looked over, King was doing something, I just saw some flashes of light, he landed softly on his feet and helped Poet roll out. Soldier just falls. Straight up lands on his feet crouched, unaffected by the, maybe 3 story, fall. They laugh then look at me and salute before running off.”

“Holy shit…” Naomasa curses, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head. 

“My thoughts exactly. King said they still had a patrol to finish, so they might still be out.”

“Okay… you done for the night?” Naomasa sighs, reaching for his coffee cup and chugging the rest.

“Yea I think so… I had a few fights break out but they were stopped quick.”

“Okay, tell Hizashi I said hi, I’m gonna go home as well. Maybe finally get some sleep.” He chuckles, standing and stretching. Shouta does the same. 

“Have a good night Tsukauchi.” Shouta says and leaves his office, hands in his pockets. He leaves the station and uses his scarf to wrap around a nearby light pole and jumps to the roof, parkouring his way home. 

Chapter Text

The day after the eventful patrol, the boys are working on their home. Cleaning away any unneeded trash into piles for reinforcement, things that can be recycled, things that can be sold for money, and things to upgrade their gear. They do this once a month as people still leave their invaluable things here. The burning sun warms the sand beneath their feet as they work. They find drift wood and make a pile to dry. Their fire sits in the middle of the compound, a small ditch rests in the middle with gravel and ashes. A pre-dried wood rest nearby with repaired lawn chairs. 

An old blue tarp rests near the entrance of the shipping container, the corners held down with heavy pieces of old appliances. A series of tunnels leave the center that weaves through piles, some lead to dead ends, some lead to exits. All are layered with traps and alarms made of bounded bottles and old chimes. 

The sun is high, Katsuki and Izuku are wandering the paths, checking the traps and setting more, or disabling them. Eijirou stays within the compound, doing stock of what they have and making a list of what they need. He sets aside their clothes that need to be washed and any items he sees that need to be fixed. 

“Eichan!”

“Shitty Hair!” Eijirou hears from outside. A smile breaks his face and he rushes out, seeing Katsuki and Izuku returning from a path. Katsuki’s shit is off and is bundled, holding something that seems to be… squirming? 

“What’s that?” Eijirou asks, walking over, the list he was making tucked under his arm. Izuku is bouncing on the balls of his feet, hands held behind his bag. Eijirou eyes the buddle of moving cloth. 

“We found this in a box near one of the entrances!” Izuku exclaimed, a wide beaming smile on his face, eyes shining with excitement. 

“Well, show me bro!” Eijirou says, looking at Katsuki, whose face is his ever present scowl, but his eyes portray his excitement. The cloth squirms and a small ‘merrow’ is heard. Ejirous eyes widen, looking at Katsuki and the cloth. “Did you…” he stutters. Katsuki just smirks and adjusts the cloth before pulling it away revealing a small kitten. 

The animal is a solid charcoal grey with darker grey tiger stripes and a white tummy leading up to under their chin. Their eyes are a bright blue, with one eye glossed over. The kitten meows once more, looking around and ears twitching. “They’re so small…” Eijirou says, leading a hand to the kitten, letting them smell. The kittens’ nose bumps and twitches against Eijirou knuckle. 

“They were in a soaked box near the stairs leading down to the sand. If they hadn’t made a noise we wouldn’t have found them. They were shakin' pretty badly and trying to leave.” Izuku explains, gently petting the top of the kittens head with their finger. The kitten meows and softly purrs, leaning into the touch. 

“I warmed my hands, not quite making explosions but enough to head my hands, and put them in my shirt. Seems pretty content.” Katsuki says, looking down at the kitten. “Seems pretty hungry too, I can feel their ribs.”

“They look about 12 weeks.” Eijirou says. “We’ll need to get some kibble and a set of dishes. A bed too… do we have enough money?” He asks, looking towards Izuku. 

“I think we do. We should leave and get that before dark. And maybe get anything else too, hit the laundry mat too.” Eijirou and Katsuki nod. 

“I’ll keep warming them while you and Ei get stuff ready. We need to be back before dark, then someone should stay with them while the others patrol.” Katsuki hands the bundled kitten to Eijirou. “I’m gonna put on a shirt and then we can leave.” Eijirou handles the kitten softly and then both he and Izuku put on some shoes. Eijirou holds the kitten in his hands as Izuku goes into the shipping container and grabs an old black storage container filled with their dirty laundry.  Katsuki soon follows in a new shirt and shoes on. 

“Let’s get going… it’s just noon. We don’t have a ton of time.” He says, grabbing the kitten and shirt, subtly warming his hands. Izuku adjusts his grip on the storage container and smiles. 

“I’ve got money in my pocket. Let’s spoil the kitten!” Izuku calls, smiling and looking between Katsuki and Eijirou. They both smile and leave down a path stepping over trip wires and false tarps along the bottom. They leave the beach and enters the neighborhood nearby.

They walk the busy sidewalks, Izuku in front holding the bin. Katsuki's cradling the kitten in the middle, and Eijirou following the back watching. They get into a lull of the foot traffic and Izuku turns around to look at the two.  “Let’s split. You two get stuff for the kitten and anything else we need. I’ll do laundry. We’ll meet there.”

“Are you sure that’s safe Zu?” Eijirou asks, face softly contorted in concern. Katsuki’s face isn’t far off. 

“Zuzu…” Katsuki’s voice is soft, eyebrows drawn together, “What if you finish before us?”

“I’ll stay there. I won’t leave without you guys. Promise!” Izuku holds the bun on his hip and then holds out a pinkie. Eijirou locks it first, giving it a slight shake. Katsuki doesn’t even grab the pinkie, he adjusts his hold on the kitten and hugs Izuku one-sided.  

“Be safe. Come back home.”

“I’ll come back.” The duo holds a gaze and Katsuki kisses his temple. Izuku hands Eijirou ¥10500. With one last glance between them all before they part ways. Katsuki and Eijirou both continue walking forward, whereas Izuku backtracks. He goes back a few stores to the laundromat. 

------

Walking in, Izuku notes it's almost empty, one woman stands near the back putting items in a dryer. She stands tall with dark blue hair held back in by a deep red headband. She wears a long flowy dress patterned with flowers at the bottom that fade away as they grow upwards and closed-toed wedge sandals that have twine on the wedge. She hums a soft tune and sways as she puts the clothes in the dryer. Izuku can’t tell who she is with her back turned. 

He’s weary, going to a washer a few stations away from her, keeping her in her peripheral. He goes to a bubblegum machine with detergent pods and inserts a yen coin. Grabbing it, he loads the washer and starts it up, before sitting on a chair directly across from it. He eyes the woman slightly and sees a pair of red glasses atop her nose. 

She finishes loading her dryer and sits on a chair in front of it. She looks to her left and then her right, sees Izuku and startles slightly. Izuku waves slightly before his eyes widen slightly, recognizing the woman.

The 18+ heroine, Midnight.

She waves back, a soft smile, but her eyes say it all. She recognizes him. Probably from Present Mic and Eraserhead. She looks around once more before looking back to Izuku. “Where are your parents hon? Seems a little young to be by yourself.”

“My parents are just down the road Kyaku-sama. They’re getting groceries. I offered to go alone!” Izuku says, voice laced with fake cheer. Acting proud to be able to go alone. 

“How old are you?” Her voice and face hold concern. 

“I’m nine years old, Kyaku-sama!”

“When are they going to come back? I don’t want to leave you here alone if they aren’t gonna be back in a while.”

“I don’t know ma’am. But I do know my friends will be here when they get back! We found a kitten and they went with their parents to get stuff for them!” Izuku adds, bouncing in his seat to display his excitement. He hopes to draw away attention from him being alone. Her face lightens a smidge.

“Really now? Where?”

“In a box in an alley, they were all alone, so we took them in!” He smiles, sitting on his hands to hide their shakes. He hopes he’s being convincing, knowing how Present Mic thought Katsuki, Eijirou and him were being abused, he figured they had told her. Especially since they’re friends. 

“That’s very thoughtful of you! I have a friend who loves cats, and he and his husband have two cats. Stickers the both of them” Midnight reaches inter dress and grabs her phone, unlocking it and opening her camera app. She stands and walks over, sitting again with a seat in-between them. 

“Really? That’s cool! What’re their names, Kyaku-sama ?”

“Oh please, call me Kayama. And their names are Espresso and Bean. Espresso is a girl and loves to be pet, where Bean is a boy and really likes to sleep.” Midnight, or Kayama, says and pulls up a picture of Present Mic and Eraserhead with a cat in each of their laps. “Espresso is in my friend's lap, his name is Aizawa, while Bean is in his husband's lap, whose name is Yamada.” She points to each respectively. 

Espresso is a deep brown with fluffy, shaggy hair. Her eyes are a deep brown as well and is asleep on Eraserhead’s, or Aizawa's, lap. Bean is also brown but with a white spot around his left eye and a white belly. His eyes are a bright green and they are standing on Present Mic’s lap, pawing at his nose.

“Cute!” Izuku exclaims. Kayama swipes through a few pictures, all with either her and Aizawa, Yamada, or both of them. “How long have you known them Kayama-san?”

“I’ve known those two since we were in high school. I’ve known Yamada a little longer than Sho-Aizawa, but we are as thick as thieves.” Kayama says, a soft fond smile on her face as she looks at the pictures. “Aizawa hates having his pictures taken, so these took some bribes.” She giggles before putting her phone away, back into her pocket.

“That’s cool! I’ve known my friend Kacchan for as long as I can remember, our momma’s are friends. We met Eichan at the beach and became friends with him! That was… I think about two years ago!” He smiles, looking at Kayama. Her red box glasses frame her face well, he notes. His mind is also running a mile a minute. He now knows the names of three pro-heroes, who doesn’t know that he knows their pro-heroes. Katsuki and Eijirou are gonna be thrilled. 

“Wow that’s a long time! Where do you boys go to school?”

“We go to Aldrea Elementary! We’re in 4th grade.”

“Woah, that’s fun. Any bullies?” Her eyes flash to a bruise on his arm before going back to his eyes, concern swirls in her eyes.

“Not really. Some kids are kinda mean… but the teacher’s handle it!” Izuku is surprised by how much he is flubbing his way through this. He can only hope it’s believable. 

“That’s good! What kinda games do you and your friends play?” She head tilts to the right, her silky hair falls over her shoulder. 

“We like to play Heroes and Villains! We all wanna be heroes when we grow up!” 

“That’s cool! Who’s your favorite hero?” This causes Izuku to stutter. Does he say her, Eraserhead, or Present Mic and see her reaction; does he let her know he knows she’s a hero; does he be truthful and say All Might? He decides quickly though, and he decided to have fun. 

“I like All Might! But my momma likes Midnight!” He looks her in the eye and winks, a subtle smirk across his face. His eyes are shining with knowing.  He watches her face go from excitement to shock in two seconds flat. Her eyes are wide and she startles back, a hand raises to her mouth that has dropped.

“Y-You know who I am..?” She stutters, still in shock. All Izuku does is nod big, a large beaming smile on his face. Her shock doesn’t lesson and that makes Izuku giggle. 

“My momma is gonna flip when i tell her!” His giggles worsen as she makes an unintelligible sentence, filled with stutters and incomplete words. 

“H-How can you tell? I’ve had very few people know me outside of uniform.” She finally forms, pure confused laced over her face like a veil. She tucks hair behind her ear and looks at him. He goes to answer before he’s interrupted by the beeping of each other's washes. Izuku avoids the question and grabs his storage bin and loads the wet clothes inside. Kayama loads her clothes in a drawstring bag, eyeing Izuku with an analytical gaze. 

Izuku loads the wet clothes into a dryer then adds a couple more yen coins to start it. He knows she is watching, trying to tell if he’s a villain, a spy, or something that can hurt her. He finishes loading the dryer and sits back down, looking ahead. Kayama crouches in front of him, blocking his view of the dryers. 

“Young man, I need to know how you know who I am. I told you my name and that’s really dangerous since you know who I am.” Her voice is stern and holds a clear warning. Her hands are holding his in his lap, maintaining strong eye contact. 

“I know because you’ve saved me and Kacchan a long time ago. You had just gotten off a patrol when Kacchan and I were stuck in the end of a villain attack.”

“How long ago was this?”

“About 3 years ago Kayama-san. I promise I won’t tell anyone. I knew it was you because you have the same eyes and body language as your two personas.” 

“Do you understand how important it is that you not share my name to anyone. Not even your friends. It could get you, or them in some trouble.” 

“Yes Kayama-san.” 

“How much longer till your parents get here?”

“I don’t know. I’m meeting them at the café a few stores down when I’m done here, if they aren’t here by then. I’ll be okay Kayama-san.” Midnight slowly nods, and she squeezes his hands. 

“Okay. I trust you. No-” She’s interrupted by the laundromat door opening and two sets of feet.

“Izu! We got th-” Eijirou starts, but stops at the sight. Katsuki’s eyes are wide, the kitten his right hand while in his left a bag of items is clutched.  Izuku recovers quick.

“Eichan! Kacchan! You beat my momma! We’re gonna meet her at the café when the laundry is done. Where’s your parents Kacchan?” Izuku stresses the ‘me’ slightly and his eyes jolt to Midnight before back to them. They catch quickly.

“The hag and Dad ran into Auntie when we were at the store. Auntie said you were here and we got permission to run ahead and meet up with you. Whose that?” Katsuki is eyeing Midnight, but both Eijirou and Katsuki know who she is. 

“Her name is Kayama! She was telling me some stories about a kitten her friend has when I mentioned the fluffball!” Izuku covers for her, but Katsuki can tell the lie but understands. Kayama relaxes slightly and waves a hello. 

“Well, I’ll be off. I feel better now that you’ve got friends with you. Behave you three!” Kayama says as she stands. With a ruffle of Izuku’s hair, she grabs her bag and waves to the other two as she leaves. Once she’s away from eyesight, all three boys relax greatly. 

“Was that Midnight?!” Eijirou whispers, walking over to Izuku who nods. 

“She was in here when I got here, putting stuff in a dryer. She was asking why I was alone and had to cover. She knows that I know she’s a hero and when you walked in, she was making sure i knew not to tell anyone. That’s why she relaxed when I lied to you.” 

“Fuck… okay. We’ll talk about this when we get home.” Katsuki sighs, walking over and handing the small kitten to Izuku. “We found out some stuff about this fluff. They’re a girl and a grey bengle. A boy whose quirk let’s him fuckin’ talk to animals saw her and freaked.”

“He was cool! He knew sign language and didn’t like to talk much, but did to her. He offered to take her if we couldn’t, but we said no. Apparently,” Eijirou looks at Katsuki teasingly, “she likes ‘the yellow humans hands.’” She quotes before spiraling into giggles at Katsuki’s faint blush. Izuku follows after. 

“Oh shush…” Katsuki scowls. “We got a collar, a small bag of kibble, a water dish, and a bed.” 

“Oh, and some toys.” Eijirou adds, grabbing the bag from Katsuki and sitting down onto the floor. 

“That’ll be fine. I just put the clothes in the dryer. We’ve got a while before they’re done. So let’s play with this little fluff ball and wait!” Izuku says sliding to the floor and grabbing the bag. Eijirou and Katsuki follow. The trio spread their legs and made a triangle before Katsuki sets the kitten down between them, blocking her in. “What should we name you?” Izuku ponders, grabbing a feather on a stick and bouncing in front of the kittens face, who immediately attacks it. 

“We should have asked the boy to ask her what she wants to be named!” Eijirou says, reaching forward and scratching the kitten's ear. Katsuki watches fondly.”

“The guy would have combusted. He was shaking with so much anxiety that it looked like he would fuckin pass out! Probably worked up a shit ton of courage to even approach us.” Katsuki snorts, taking the feather from Izuku. 

The kitten is running and bouncing between their legs, attacking either the feather and their legs. She tried to escape the triangle confines, climbing the cloth of their pants, only to be grabbed and put back. She meows and keeps playing. 

“Maybe we’ll run into him again. But we should still call her someone until we do.” Izuku says, tapping the floor with his fingers, causing the kitten to leap forward and attack, a loud mewl and paws attack his fingers. 

“We’ll figure something out.” Eijirou says as the dryer beeps.

Chapter Text

Kayama Nemuri walked away from the laundromat with thoughts spiraling around her head. Her interaction with the boys, whom she has heard plenty of from Hizashi over the phone, has left her puzzled. The descriptions that she heard from Hizashi didn’t quite fit the boys. He said they were relatively dirty, had torn clothes, and tended to have some scrapes and bruises. The boys she saw were clean, had some decent clothes on and no visible scarps, bruises, hell, no bandages were visible. 

Walking away, she clutched her drawstring bag and pulled her phone out of her dress pocket. Quickly dialing Hizashi, she holds the phone to her ear and looks back to the slowly disappearing store. “Y’ello Nem! Need somethin’?” Hisashi’s voice calls, muffled by the phone's quality, a soft meow was heard in the background.  

“Hi ‘Zashi!~ I just met your boys.” She purred, continuing her walk, slowly making her way home. 

“M-My boys?”  

“Yes! The three little boys you and Shou told me about! They were at the laundromat I’m using till my washer and dryer get fixed.”

“Oh wow! How were they? Were they al-”

“‘Zashi, you worry wort! They were fine, I almost didn’t realize it was them. I met the little green baby first, he came in with a tub full of clothes, and by himself. The other two didn’t come by til I was done!” Nemuri explained, the streets around her slowly became less busy as she got closer to her apartment building. 

“Oh! Those Little Listeners! You said you met the little green boy first?” Nemuri could hear the excitement laced in his voice. Nemuri resisted a giggle as she imagined Hizashi doing a simple little dance, jumping in place and all.

“Yea! He came in as I was loading the dryer carrying a black storage container filled with clothes, they all appeared to be kids clothes. He loaded the washer and sat in front of it.”

“Did it seem like they were all his clothes?”

“Maybe, we chatted for a while. Said he was in 4th grade with the other two boys, who he so lovingly called ‘Kacchan and Eichan’. Honestly warmed my heart!~” Nemuri cooed, arriving at her complex.

  “Hahaha, I remember them calling him ‘Z’ or ‘Zu’. What did you guys chat about?”

“Apparently, he and the other two had found a little kitten! ‘Kacchan’ and ‘Eichan’ went with ‘Kacchan’s parents to the story to get some stuff for the babe. When the other two finally came to greenie, I saw the blonde boy holding a bundle of cloth, which I’m betting is the little kitty.” Nemuri arrives at her apartment and let’s herself in, taking her shoes off in the genkan and setting her keys in a little dish by the door. The door shuts with a soft cliff. 

“Ah, fun! I remember when Shou' and I got Espresso, she was so small!” Hizashi sighs softly, voice fond. 

“Oh! Also! Funny thing, greenie recognized me! Apparently his mom is a fan of me and knew who I was!” Nemuri gasps.

“Oh shit really? That doesn’t happen, like, ever!” Hizashi gasps loudly. 

“Yea! I had asked who his favorite hero was, like a normal child, he said All Might, but then, he looked at me square in the eyes, holding eye contact and all and said his ‘momma like Midnight!’. Then the little babey winked at me. He winked at me ‘Zashi!” Nemuri stressed, her shock clear as day in her voice. 

“Oh my god! The Little Listener is a sneaky little one!”

“I was so shocked! I need to meet up with you and Shou' sometime soon, explain in more detailed what happened. I just got home from that and I need to finish some chores. I’ll talk to you later, love!”

“Alright Nem. See you later!” and with that, they hung up and Nemuri was left to her thoughts.

------

“Look at this little baby!” Izuku says, laying on the floor of the laundromat. The little kitten has climbed up his side and is now pawing at his nose. Her ears twitch as her tail sways happily. She flips between paws, hitting his nose gently and releasing soft meows. Katsuki and Eijirou watch on with fond smiles. The kitten starts kneading at Izuku's chest and he raises an arm scratching gently behind the kittens ear, causing soft purrs. 

The dryer beeps soon after, startling all three boys, the kitten as well, who ends up startling enough to fall off Izuku's chest. Izuku giggles and sits up, handing the kitten to Eijirou. He grabs the storage container and loads the dried clothes into it. They gather their things and set the kitten into the container of warm clothes. The kitten immediately releases loud purrs, rolling around in the clothes and burying under the close, leaving the tail swaying above the clothes. 

Izuku giggles and adjusts his grip on the container. Eijirou smiles and holds the shopping bag watching Izuku and the kitten. “We need to pick a name for the little fluff ball, we can’t keep calling her ‘Kitten’.” He comments as they leave the laundromat and begin their walk home. 

They share casual conversations the whole time, walking and talking. Avoiding people and weaving through the crowds, walking all the way home. The kitten occasionally meows and pokes her head out from the piles of clothes, her nose twitching as she smells the air. They giggle and laugh, tease and banter all the way home. People watch on fondly as the three boys continue on their adventure home. 

Arriving back at the beach, they walked down the stairs that lead to the sand and went to an entrance. Following the path through, they come to the center. Izuku looks at Eijirou and Katsuki, “Can one of you start a fire? Since one of us has to stay here for patrol tonight, a fire will be needed to watch over the little babe.”

“I got it.” Katsuki says walking over and placing a few dried pieces of driftwood into their pit and raises an opened palm towards it. His hands spark and smoke before small explosions sound off, catching onto the driftwood and starting to slowly burn. Katsuki sets off a few more as the fire grows, and soon it is sustainable on it’s own. It casts the shadows of the center in a soft glow of orange. 

Having left the base to get their groceries and some things for the kitten a little after noon, the laundry taking roughly two hours and the walks home makes it around dinner time; around 5 o’clock. “I’ll get something started for us for dinner.” Eijirou says, setting the bag with the items for the kitten near the fire pit and goes to the shipping container. Izuku goes to the fire pit and sets the container down, the kitten meowing constantly. 

Gently lifting the kitten from the bin, Izuku holds her in front of his face and the kitten raises a paw and sets it on his nose with a loud ‘merrow’. Izuku giggles and scrunches his nose and shakes his head slightly. He sets the kitten down on the sand and watches. She stands stock still, her little toes wiggling as she takes cautious steps. “Must feel weird for her…” Izuku thinks as he grabs the food dish she has as well as the kibble. The bowl is metal colored pastel blue with a silhouetted cartoon drawing of a cat walking following a trail of fish doodles around the bowl. It’s rimmed with black rubber on the bottom.  Opening the kibble bag, Izuku takes his hand and fills the bowl with a small handful. 

Eijirou has come back from the shipping container and is holding a few bottles of water, a few packs of ramen and a metal cooking pot with two handles. He grabs two metal stakes with hooks on top and embeds them next to the put in the sand before surrounding them in rocks to keep them steady. Then grabbing another bar and lays it across, said bar has chains with hooks ready to hold the cooking put. Eijirou sets the cooking pot on the chains and the flames of the fire licks the bottom. 

Katsuki is finishing any lingering chores around the center, picking up any fallen trash from the mounds and putting them back, re-organizing the piles Eijirou was setting this morning for recyclable, restorable, and sellable. He adds anything else that he finds. After setting down an old beer bottle in the recycle pile, the kitten walks over, still unused to the feeling of sand. Katsuki chuckles and gently picks the kitten up one-handed around the belly. The kitten just meows and dangles. 

Eijirou pours the water bottles into the pot. Katsuki walks back over with the kitten climbing across his shoulders, but gets grabbed before he can fall off and set back on the sand, in front of her food bowl.  She sniffs the food a few times before taking a piece and chewing. It’s soft kibble and easy to chew. She seems to enjoy it and starts to eat the whole bowl, clearly very hungry. 

Izuku giggles and grabs the bin, “I’m going to put these away. We need to decide who’s going to stay here with her while the others go on patrol.” Walking into the container, he goes to the shelving unit they had found and repaired. It helped three boxes of their vigilante uniforms and then the rest of their clothes were folded and stacked. Izuku could hear Katsuki and Eijirou talking but their words were muffled. Izuku set to taking out and folding the clothes and setting them on each person’s designated shelf (Katsuki’s the top shelf, Eijirou is the second to the top, then Izuku’s and the very bottom is filled with old blankets and things for the deep winter or deep summer).

A meow at the opening on the container pulled Izuku’s attention away from folding the last of the shirts. “Well hi.” He giggles as the kitten marches over, bouncing over and crawling into Izuku’s lap. She stands on her hind legs and paws at Izuku’s chest meowing and purring. The kitten is followed by two sets of footsteps as Eijirou and Katsuki walk inside. “Hey, who's going out? I’m fine with anything.” Putting the last of the shirts away, Izuku holds the kitten to his chest and stands.

“Katsuki and I are gonna go after dinner, which should be done soon.” Eijirou answers, walking over to another shelving unit and grabs their bowls and some chopsticks, as well a large spoon. 

“We’ll make it a short one, go out for a few hours.” Katsuki says, walking over to Izuku and the kitten. “We still need a name for this little fucker.” he says, reaching forwards and petting the little kitten before reaching up and hitting the top of Izuku’s head, a smug look on his face when the other boy whines. 

“Hm…” Eijirou hums. “I’m so bad at naming things, I’ll leave it to you two.” And with that, he leaves, bowls and chopsticks in hand back to the cooking pot. Izuku and Katsuki share a look before bursting into giggles.

“What do you think, Kacchan?” Izuku asks, as the kitten raises her head and headbutts his chin, meowing.  

“Queen Explosion!” Katsuki exclaims, a large smirk across his face, his hands on his hips and stance wide. Izuku burst into another fit of giggles.

“No! We can’t name her that!” He gasps, nuzzling the kitten still giggling. “Yuki?” he asks, looking at the kitten, who just blinks at him and paws his cheek meowing. 

“No, that’s so generic, everyone does that!” Katsuki exclaims then pouts. “And what’s wrong with my name?”

“It’s too mean for a little kitten!” Izuku counters. Katsuki goes to counter but gets stopped by Eijirou’s laughter from the center. The other two share a look before walking out. Eijirou is using a large spoon, dishing up three portions of ramen. “What’s so funny, Eichan?”

“You guys banter about the name. ‘Tsuki’s name made me laugh and then your comment.” Eijirou chuckles, dishing the last of the food and handing one to Katsuki, keeping a hold on Izuku’s bowl, as he still holds the kitten. 

“Well, you say you are shit at names, but do you have any other ideas?” Katsuki says, starting to eat his ramen, his posture slouched. 

“Hm… Ōkoku.” Eijirou says, a thoughtful look on his face. Izuku sets the kitten on the ground, and she walks to her food bowl, now cleared of any kibble and replaced with water. 

“Ōkoku? I like it!” Izuku says, rushing over to the drinking kitten and picking her up, who yelps in protest and paws at his face. “Do you like it? Ōkoku?” She just meows and squirms till she’s set back on the ground. She goes back to her water. “Kacchan?” Izuku says between giggles, looking at him. 

“It’s tolerable…” He grumbles, but his lips form a soft smile. Eijirou chuckles and hands Izuku his bowl and chopsticks, before grabbing his own bowl and digging in.

Chapter Text

Katsuki and Eijirou finish their food first, they clean their bowls and go in the containers to get their uniforms on. Izuku watches on, Ōkoku walks around in the sand, walking towards their training tarp and walking on. It crinkles under her step, the new texture startles her slightly, drawing a giggle from Izuku. 

Katsuki walks out first, his mask hanging off his ear, tightening the buckle on his pants. Eijirou followed after, his red hair slicked back, hidden under a dark red beanie. He looks over to the tarp, seeing Ōkoku bouncing around, happy mewls and yips as she does. He chuckles and walks over to Izuku, who still sits in front of the fire, the sun has fully set by now. Eijirou sighs softly and ruffles Izuku’s hair, “We'll be back in a few hours.” 

“Be safe, I’ll probably be asleep when you return, but I’ll try to stay awake.” Katsuki walks over, masks over his face and cracking his knuckles. 

“We’ll be fine, Nerd.” He says, bumping Izuku’s shoulder with his knee. “Take care of Ōkoku for us.”

“I will.” Izuku hums, waving as Katsuki and Eijirou leave the compound for patrol. Izuku looks at Ōkoku as she walks back over, her ears twitching as she watches them leave. She looks at him and meows softly, causing a giggle. “They’ll be back Ōkoku, don’t worry. You are stuck with me for now!” Another meow. 

------

“King…” Soldier says, jolting his head to the right, a muffled scream and a loud thud is heard. King nods and motions to lead. Soldier bounds off, king not too far behind. They were about an hour into their patrol and things had been relatively quiet. Nothing had needed to be interrupted and everyone was inside and safe. A few people lurked the alleyways and sidewalks. They run and jump between building and building, sliding down roofs and pipes to get to lower buildings. They arrive at a large open space behind a closed music shop, large crates and a few dumpsters are in there, as well as a loading bay. 

In the center of the open space, a large muscled man is holding up a girl (looking not much older than Soldier or King) with short bobbed violet hair. The man has one hand around her throat lifting her off the ground, another holding what looks like audio jacks in front of her. He tightens his hand around the audio jacks and she yelps, squirming. “L-Let me go!” She gasps, legs dangling and licking, trying to get purchase on the male but sliding away. 

“Shut it girl!” The man growled, his grip around her throat tightened, causing her to squirm more and gasp for air as her face slowly drained color. Soldier and King shared a look before jumping down. The thud they made when they landed drew the attention of the man. “The fuck? Scam!” 

“H-He--” The girl gasps, her eyes pleading, tears streaming down her face. Soldier charged forward, followed by King. Ramming into the man, Soldier hardened his arms the slightest bit. The man grunted and recoiled, dropping the girl. King caught her before she hit the ground, dashing away from Soldier and the man who had started to fight. The girl had taken a large breath and had started coughing. King had set her down behind a large pile of crates. 

“Stay.” He told her, before charging back into the fight. Soldier was in a close quarters fist fight. He was dodging left and right and down. Deflecting kicks and punches, jolting away when the man charged. The man was getting more and more agitated, his eyes dilated, going completely black. He grunts and huffs more, horns slowly grow from his temples. His body bulks up a bit, appearing larger and stronger. Soldier stands crouched, ready to retaliate. The man takes a large breath… 

Then he charges.

Full blown, head down, horns forward, charges at Soldier. Soldier opens his fist and has his hands braced in front of him, and when the man is in front of him, he grabs a hold of the horns and flips over his head, landing on his back. The man’s head snaps back with the force of the flip, Soldier wraps his legs around the man's torso and steers him into a dumpster. Jumping off his back, Soldier joins King, standing side by side in front of the dumpster where the girl is hiding, her panicked breath is heard as she curls in a ball. 

The man finally manages to escape his dumpster prison and turns to the duo, a sharp glare and a feral frown on his face. “You fuckin’ pieces of shit!” He calls, charging again, much faster than before. Soldier’s eyes widen, the man is only a few feet from them and getting closer, “We don’t have time to brace.” He thinks, before shoving King away from the horns that grow close. Soldier doesn’t move away in time. The horn slices his shoulder deeply. 

Soldier screams.

------

Eraserhead was doing a normal patrol, keeping a look out for the troublesome trio, listening to anything that might happen. He’s leaping from building to building, using his capture scarf to catch on light posts to swing. He’s about to leave a cluster of buildings when he hears a loud scream. A scream of pure pain. 

He’s quick to change directions, running in the direction of the scream. He arrives on the edge of a music shop. Behind the building in an open space, he sees something he wishes could have never happened. He sees Soldier get shoved against a wall by a man with horns on his head, one dripping with blood. Soldier’s right shoulder has a heavy slice, blood pouring down his arm and dripping off his hand. King is on the floor getting up quickly and rushing the man, palms open facing behind him. His hands then spark to life, small explosions leave his palms as he propels forward. 

With a war cry, he lands on the man and grabs the horns, still leaving explosions in his wake. He grips the horns and pulls them away, snapping his head back and is drawn in a backflip and King keeps pulling, spring boarding off and dragging him to the floor. Looking to Soldier, Eraserhead sees a young girl rush forward, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks, a hand shaped bruise around her throat as she goes to Soldier. “S-Sir? S-Sir?!” She hiccups. 

Soldier is unconscious.

This makes Eraserhead jump down. He activates erasure and launches his scarf forward, pulling King away, who is now explosion-less, and wraps it tightly around the man who is struggling and grunting. King is growling and struggling. 

“Let me the fuck go Eraser!” He shouts, his head locked onto Soldier. Reluctantly he does so, and King immediately rushes for Soldier, reading into a pocket in his pants and pulls out a small ziplock bag. Inside looks to be bandages, antiseptic, a needle and thread, gauze, and tape. Eraser watches them in his peripheral while dealing with the growling man. With a pinch to his Vagus Nerve, the man was out cold, bound by the scarf. 

Walking over to the vigilantes and the young girl, he sees King take a knife from another pocket and slice away his shirt, revealing battered skin and an angry cut with blood pouring down. The girl gasps and covers her mouth, King spares her a glance before pouring some antiseptic onto a gauze patch and squeezing it over the cut. “Soldier’ll be fine. He’s too stubborn to let this affect him much.” He says to her, but Eraserhead catches a hint of unease. “He’s scared…” He deducts. 

Soldier stirs and groans when the antiseptic pours into the wound, blood washes away slightly as King gently wipes the cut area. It’s a bright angry red with blood pooling in drops before sliding back down. “Soldier…?” He asks, still wiping away blood before putting the gauze directly on the wound and adding pressure. “Soldier, you with me?”

“‘..ing…?” Soldiers groans, blinking his eyes wearily. He hisses as King adds more pressure. He looks over King's shoulder and sees Eraserhead, hands stuffed in his pockets with a stand of his scarf still wrapped tight around the other male. Soldier stiffens and watches him wearily, more awake now. Eraserhead just nods slightly at him and keeps watching King work. Soldier grabs the soaked gauze and holds it to his arm. “King, take care of her. I’ll be fine.” 

“Sol-”

“Do it, King. We can’t take care of this here.” He stressed, adjusting himself to sit straighter against the wall. King grumbles and looks to the girl, who watches on cautiously, the bruise on her neck a deep blue and purple. 

“Is it hard to breathe?” He asks her, going over to her and checking her over. 

“N-Not r-really…” She hiccups, “J-Just m-my jacks h-hurt…” 

“Can I see them?” King asks, gingerly offering his hand out, Soldier watches on, holding the gauze still, that is slowly staining red. Eraserhead watches King interact with the girl before turning his gaze to Soldier. Sighing softly, he crouches in front of him. Soldier tenses and watches him cautiously. 

“Let me see.” Eraserhead says, nodding his head at the wound. Soldier squints his eyes at him, before reluctantly removing the blood soaked gauze. Eraserhead gingerly lifts his hand and gently touches around the slice, drawing a hiss from the vigilante. “We might need to take you to the hospital… it’s real deep.”

“No!” King interrupted, glaring at Eraserhead. The girl was clutching Kings sleeve on his arm tight, her knuckle white. “We ain’t going to some fuckin’ hospital! We can deal with it ourselves. Poet and I can deal with it!”

“Speaking of Poet,” Eraserhead looks around “where is he? He’s usually with you. He’s not hurt is he?” He levels a look at King, face blank.

“Poet is fine, he couldn’t come out with us tonight.” Soldier imputed, reapplying the gauze. Eraserhead sighs, the wound is still bleeding and Soldier is getting paler by the minute. This isn’t looking good. 

“Soldier is gonna bleed out at this point if it’s not taken care of soon. He needs a hospital.”  Eraserhead stressed.

“Fu-” King goes to yell.

“Eraserhead, it isn’t safe for us to.” Soldier interrupts, looking at Eraserhead with strong eye contact. His eyes plead and beg not to go to the hospital. A few red flags spark to life in Eraserhead’s mind “It’s not safe for them…? What the fuck does that mean?” . 

“It could get infected and you could die, Soldier.” Soldier gulps and takes a shaky breath. “You are getting paler and paler. We need to do something now.” King growls and gives the girl still clutching onto him a gentle squeeze. 

“We need to call the police and get that fuckwad outta here, get her home.” King says, clearly pained at what Eraserhead had said. “For Soldier, we will do anything to help him, but we refuse to go to the hospital.” 

“..Okay. I will call the police… And I might know someone who can help…” Eraserhead sighs and walks a bit away, pulling out his phone from his utility belt. The man is still out cold, on his back and bound. Soldier gets a different gauze soaked in more antiseptic and puts it back on his wound. The bleeding has slowed, but it’s nowhere near stopped. 

King is still offering comfort to the girl, gently rubbing her arm and holding her close. “What’s your name?” He asks her. She’s slowly calmed, but nowhere near relaxed. 

“J-Jirou Ky-Kyoka…” She stutters, she still holds a strong grip on his sleeve. “W-Will he be o-okay?” 

“I’ll be fine Jirou-chan. Like King said, I’m as stubborn as a rock.” Soldier chuckles softly and smiles behind the mask, his eyes crinkling. Jirou nods slightly and clinks her jacks together. Thin bandages wrapped around the left one. Eraserhead walks back into the group. 

“My detective friend will be here soon, he’s bringing an old friend of ours. She’s the Hero Recovery Girl. She’ll want to bring you to your home or hers because, while healing you, it will make you exhausted and you will fall asleep.” He says, hands in his pockets. “She’ll let you keep your mask on and keep anonymity.” 

“We’ll do her home.” Soldier says, his breathing has slowed, getting groggily. 

“Soldier, I need you to stay awake.”

“I’m trying…” The sound of police sirens slowly approach and get louder, until they stop getting louder and footsteps get closer. A soft click of something gets closer as well. Looking to the alley mouth, King tenses and stands protectively in front of Soldier, the girl follows, finding comfort in the duo. 

“Eraserhead, it’s good to see you dearie.” An older woman says. She walks slouched, walking with a syringe looking cane. She has an aura of respect and wisdom, she walks over to Eraserhead and gives him a onceover. Her attention then shifts to Soldier. “Oh dear!” She rushes over, King growls softly, watching her cautiously.  “Oh shush you.” She tells him, a stern look at him before she looks to Soldier.

“Hello ma’am…” He mumbles, his gaze holds a cautious gleam, eyeing her every movement. 

“Hello dearie, let’s get a look at that cut.” She puts on some rubber gloved from her coat pocket and takes away the soaked gauze. She gently pokes and feels around the cut, Soldier hissing softly at the movement. “Sorry dearie… How long has it been bleeding?” She asks, turning towards Eraserhead, drawing his attention away from the restrained male and detective. 

“I’d say a little over ten minutes… I didn’t get here until a bit after it happened.” 

“Oh dear… well, you did a good job cleaning it. Let’s get you to a bed and I’ll heal that right up. You’ll be very tired, so I suggest waiting til tomorrow til you return home.” Both boys tense at having to wait. They share a glaze of weary and panic. 

“Will he be able to keep the mask on?”

“As much as I am against it… yes he can keep it on. We just need to get him to my home soon. Tsuchachi, can you take us three to my home quickly?”

“Yes ma’am, it shouldn't be a problem.” The detective turns his attention to King and Jirou. “Let’s get you home, miss…?” He holds a hand out to take her to the police car. 

“Jirou Kyoka, sir…” She replies, looking at King, who nods for her to go and give her one last comforting squeeze. She slowly releases her hold on him and slowly walks over, fiddling with her earjacks and hunched in on herself. The detective leads her to a police officer with a cat head and he leads her to a car, the man that attacked her already in a car and has already left. She spares a glance at the duo and offers a small wave, in which Soldier returns and King gives a nod. 

“Alright, Eraserhead can you help get, Soldier, was it, to a car so we can get him to my home. I’ll heal him once he can stay in the same place for a while.” Earning a nod, Eraserhead looks at the duo before walking over, gently helping Soldier stand. He allows him to put weight on him when he stumbles, feeling light headed. 

“Soldier, want me to go with, or do you want me to go to Poet…?” King’s voice is surprisingly soft, he looks at Soldier with such fondness, so much emotion is held in those pools of carmine. 

“Come with… then go.” Soldier says, looking to King. 

“Let’s get going dearie.” Recovery Girl says, walking ahead of the three males, leading them through the alley and to the cars.

Chapter Text

Awaking to the kneading of his stomach wasn’t what Izuku was expecting. The harsh paws digging into his abdomen made him groan and roll on his side, Ōkoku meowing when she fell next to him. Cracking his opens, he sees the kitten sitting in front of his face, a still paw raised to hit his nose. “Good morning to you too…” He mumbles, stretching tall. Looking around, it dawns on him that he’s alone. Sitting up, he stays in bed but looks out the container doors. “Eicchan? Kacchan?” He calls out, now standing up. Ōkoku meowed again and jumped on the bed, walking to the opening. 

Looking around, no new footprints were in the sand, everything was as it was the night before. The sun was up, lighting the entire area. Worry began to pool in Izuku’s stomach. It was already morning and no sight of either Katsuki or Eijirou. That could mean many things, and none were of favor. Izuku’s mind ran a mile a minute, bouncing between different scenarios and ways the patrol could have gone wrong. “ Did they get caught? We’re always careful of talking, or saying personal things. If they got caught it was probably by Eraserhead, but still… Kacchan is too stubborn to let that happen, he'll blow him up if he tries… Did someone get injured? Maybe a confrontation went wrong and someone got hurt… ” Izuku’s worry pool got larger and larger, growing more and more panicked. His breath had picked up and his hands were twitching. 

Izuku picked up Ōkoku and held her close to his chest, before he padded to a pathway exiting the compound. He weaved through traps when a soft curse caused him to pause. He reached into a broken plastic bucket in a mound and pulled out a knife(multiple weapons were scattered along the paths in case someone followed). He set Ōkoku in the bucket and stalked forward, slightly crouched with the knife in front of him. Keeping to the sides of the path, Izuku peers around a corner.

“K-Kacchan?!” He exclaims, said blonde looks up, he wasn’t wearing his uniform. He was in a black shirt a few sizes too big for him, same with some beige shorts. His feet were bare and he clutched a plastic shopping bag in his left hand, his right was clenched in a tight fist by his side. His face was red and blotchy, tear streaks ran down his cheeks.

Izuku rushes forward, the knife dropped to the ground in favor of hugging the blonde. The blonde dropped the shopping bag and wrapped the greenette in a tight hug. He held Izuku with tight fistfuls of his shirt, his breath heavy and harsh. Katsuki buried his head into Izuku’s curls, taking a deep breath of the sea scented hair, slowing his harsh breathing. Izuku held the blond just the same, head between the crook between his shoulder and neck. His hands held fists of the shirt, knuckled white. 

Izuku managed to pull back enough to look at Katsuki’s face, which he gently cupped between his hands, wiping any traces of tears. “Kacchan? What happened? Where’s Eicchan?” The questions made the blonde’s eyes water again with unspilled tears. 

“We- It was an hour into fu-fucking patrol when Ei heard a noise… We went to see and it was some f-fuckin’ guy holding a girl by her neck. We went down and s-started to fight. The girl got to safety by the guy was still at l-large. H-he charged at Ei and I, but Ei shoved me… and.. An--” Katsuki slurred, tears slowly sliding down his face. Izuku used his thumb to wipe the away, keeping a calm mask on his face, whereas he was screaming and crying in his head. His family had gotten hurt while he was resting at home and could do nothing about it. 

“Where’s Eicchan..?” Izuku asked cautiously, resting his forehead against the others. 

“The guy had some fuckin bull quirk… charged at us, Ei shoved me away and took the hit. Horn cut his shoulder real fuckin bad… The fuckin’ hobo was there and helped end the fight. He called the nurse hero as well as the Detective that's for our fuckin case. They showed up and took Ei to the heroes home for healing. He’s fuckin’ there now and told me to go home.”

“Oh my god…” Izuku mumbled. “Okay… Okay, let’s get back to base, clean up, get some food in both of us. When can Eicchan leave?” Izuku said, getting his thoughts together. He took a deep breath and gave Katsuki a tight squeeze. He received a nod in return, Katsuki loosened his grip on the greenette and grabbed his clothing bag. Izuku grabbed the knife on the floor and went back down the path. Ōkoku meowed from her broken bucket, her head peeking out from the sound of approaching sandy footsteps. Izuku grabs her and puts the knife back. 

Izuku paused, holding Ōkoku to his chest. He spun around and looked at Katsuki, his face stuck in a frown mixed with a scowl, his eyes puffy and red. Grabbing the shopping bag from Katsuki’s tight grip, he tries to argue before a kitten is shoved in his face who just meows and swats at his nose. Grumbling, he takes the offered small babe, holding her close to his chest and continues to follow Izuku back to the home. 

Arriving back to the opening, Izuku turned to Katsuki, “Go lay down in bed, I’ll make some food and we’ll eat. Change into clothes that fit and keep Ōkoku company.” His tone left no argument. Grumbling, Katsuki did as he was asked, setting Ōkoku down on the container floor and walking to his set of clothes. 

Taking off the borrowed clothes from Eraserhead, he grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. The blonde took a shaky breath looking at Eijirou’s clothes, his mind began to spiral. “ God fuckin’ dammit! I can’t even do anything fuckin’ right. Ei got fuckin’ hurt cause of me. He took a fuckin’ horn to the shoulder and almost bled to death on the way to the fuckin’ nurses house! ” Reigning himself in, he shook his head and walked to their bed, face planting and clutching the pillow Eijirou claimed. Ōkoku crawled onto the bed and layed on the small of Katsuki’s back. She curled in a ball and started to softly purr.

While Katsuki layed down, stuck in his thoughts, Izuku was outside making breakfast. A small metal rack laid over top the fire, close enough for it to be hot but not enough to burn whatever was on it. What laid on said rack was a couple slices of bread, slowly warming up and toasting. Izuku sat in his own thoughts, watching the fire curl and rise, some smoke flying high into the sky and the slowing toasting bread. “ Eijirou had gotten injured… Recovery Girl had to take him and heal him. Considering that Kacchan is here now, he’s wherever either fast asleep from the healing, or she won’t let him leave without taking his mask off… I really, really hope it's the first one. ”

He continued thinking until breakfast was ready, toast with peanut butter spread on top. He takes a deep, steadying breath before walking into the container. He sees Ōkoku curled in a small ball on Katsuki’s back, eyes closed and softly purring. The blonde’s head is buried into Eijirou pillow, his breath clearing shaky and rigid. Taking knowing steps, Izuku crawls into the bed sitting cross crossed holding the toast. Setting his slice on his lap, he gently taps Katsuki’s shoulder repeatedly until the boy looks at him, his eyes are red and puffy still, no doubt going to get worse until Eijirou is home. “C’mon.. Sit up and eat.” Izuku asks, offering the toast. Katsuki grumbles, eyeing the pillow and the offered food, before deciding to eat. He sits up slow, Ōkoku getting off and curling on Eijirou’s pillow, right where Katsuki’s head had rested. 

Taking the offered toast, Katsuki slowly eats. Izuku eats as well, collecting his thoughts. “Where is Eicchan? Still with Recovery Girl?” He works his questions carefully, watching any flinch or movement from the blonde. 

“He’s still with the nurse, he was awake when I left. Fuckin’ begged me to leave. I didn’t want to, wanted to make sure they let him keep being anonymous or whatever. Said I should come back and tell you.”

“I’ll have to thank him for that. I woke up and no one was here. I was about to leave with Ōkoku and go searching for you too.” Izuku reached forward and pet Ōkoku, drawing a lazy gaze from her. Her purring has yet to stop. 

“I said I was gonna come back to him after telling you, but said he’ll meet us at the library later today. The fuckin’ nurse wants to keep him for a few or hours.” He grumbled, clearly disgruntled by the idea. 

“At least he’s in good hands. We’ll catch up to Eicchan later, if Recovery Girl wants to keep him for a few more hours, like you said, we should meet him at the library at noon. Did he specifically say library?”

“No, but he hinted at it. Said ‘college’.” It was just me and him in the room but we were cautious in case they were listening.”

“That's good. We’ll see him at noon.” Finishing their toast, Izuku crawled into Katsuki’s lap and hugged the other boy tight. The blonde readily returned with a vice grip and there they sat, holding each other tightly and providing comfort. This was the first time in a long time when any of the boys had been badly injured. 

When Izuku and Katsuki had started out as vigilantes, they were still new and had only really fought against each other. It was one of their first patrols when Katsuki had gotten grabbed by a man whose quirk made his nerves fire up to infinity and caused him so much pain when anything touches him. Izuku had to finish the fight himself and get Katsuki home. The quirk lasted a few days and Izuku did patrol by himself.  Izuku had gotten shot by a bullet that the criminals had boasted to be quirk cancelling. It might not have caused him to lose something he didn’t have but it still hurt to get shit at and have something injected into his system. 

For now the boys offered comfort and waited with growing worry until they could be reunited with Eijirou.

Chapter Text

Groaning, Eijirou slowly blinked his eyes awake. He still felt the mask resting across his mouth, his jacket sleeve had been completely ripped off when Katsuki had cut it to clean the slice. Slowly turning his head, he peered at what was left, a pale scar, the length of a credit card, made its home on his shoulder. He was no longer bandaged and he was merely staying with Recovery Girl to gather strength. 

His eyes slid along the walls of the room he was resting in, it held a few pictures, all of a woman who slowly ages through them. Slowly sitting up with a pained groan, he adjusts his mask. His hood is still covering his hair, but no doubt they had seen his firetruck hair. Looking around, he realizes he’s on a couch that is resting against a wall under a window, “Someone must have moved me…”   Hearing a soft click along the hardwood floors draws his attention to an open door. He sits a bit straighter and watches cautiously. 

In walks the women in the pictures, Recovery Girl. 

She comes in, a soft smile blesses her face. The soft click was her syringe cane. “Hello dearie. How are you feeling?” She asks, walking over to him, her smile never leaving her face. She stands in front of him and gives him once over, her gaze lingers on the scar resting on his shoulder for only a second longer. 

“Fine, ma’am.” He says, watching her every move. She may have helped him, but she can still turn him in. She motions for his hand, a questioning look on her face.

“May I?” She asks, watching him just as he’s watching him. With a reluctant nod, she gently grabs his arm and makes him move it in various directions. “Well, this shouldn’t affect many things. You’ll just have a scar there. I was able to heal it completely. I do ask that you relax on any strenuous activity for a while to be on the safe side. The slice went down to your muscle so any new activity can agitate it and affect it in the long run.” Her tone was laced full of motherly love and affection, something so foreign to Eijirou. "Well, if you follow my directions, you are free to go." She gently patted his hand and backed up, allowing him to stand. 

Standing, he adjusts his mask and hood before following Recovery Girl. Looking towards him, she says "I have some clothes in the bathroom that's right by the front door. If you would like to change so no one recognizes you, you are welcomed to. I will be in the kitchen, so I won't see you." She eyes him slightly, noticing his twitches. She notes that his eyes are darting from every entrance and exit. 

“Thank you, ma’am…” He mutters, a small nod along with a fidget of his stance. 

“You be careful now.” Recovery Girl leaves with that, walking into the kitchen and starting a kettle for tea. He quietly makes his way to the bathroom she had mentioned. It’s right by the front door, the kitchen separated by a hallway and a wall. He walks in and sees a set of clothes. A plan navy blue, long sleeved shirt along with some tan cargo pants lined with pockets. They rest neatly folded in a black reusable bag. Inside is also a black baseball cap and some socks. Looking in the mirror, Eijirou sighs, taking off his mask and beanie. His firetruck red hair is pulled back in a bun and his roots are slowly growing in. 

Shaking his head, Eijirou quickly changed, folding his uniform and putting it in the reusable bag. “I hope she doesn’t mind if I take this…” he thinks. Wearing the borrowed clothes, he puts his mask back on and hides his hair under the cap and leaves the bathroom, bag in hand. He pauses outside the bathroom and listens as Recovery Girl walks around the kitchen making tea. The soft click of her cane echoes throughout the apartment. “Thank you ma’am!” He calls out, grasping the door handle and opening. The sun is illuminating the hallway outside from a window out in the hall.

“Bye dearie!” She calls out, not leaving the kitchen like she said. “Be safe!” And that’s the last thing Eijirou hears before he makes his way out the apartment building and heads to the library. A few people are outside the apartment building, some resting on balconies, either watching the late morning hustle or tending what plants rest around. 

The street was relatively empty, a few people walking. A few parents with their children running around. Considering it’s the weekend, Eijirou is a little shocked at how few people are out. A family of three, a mom and two children, rush past Eijirou. What looks to be the youngest one; a boy, bumps into Eijirou and falls forward. Rushing forward, Eijirou catches his arm before he hits the ground. The boy yelps at the grab and flails slightly. “Are you alright?” Eijirou asks, helping the boy steady himself. 

“I’m okay Kyaku-kun! Thank you!” The boy says bowing slightly at the waist before looking back at Eijirou. The boy is short, wearing red high tops, light washed blue jeans, an All-Might graphic tee-shirt and his hair, a chocolate brown, is a fluffy mess on top of his head, his eyes the same brown with paint splatter freckles. “Kinda looks like Izu… if he had brown hair” he thought. 

“Asashi! You okay?” Looking behind, Eijirou sees a middle aged woman, the same chocolate brown hair and eyes. She’s tall, wearing a blue sheer blouse with a blue tank top underneath, black ripped jeans and heeled brown boots. Her hair is pulled back in a low ponytail. Next to her is another boy, older. His hair is dark black with blonde roots, fringed over his face. His shirt is a tank top with the sleeves hanging open along his torso and black ripped jeans. His shoes were red high tops and his ears had earrings that matched the shoes. 

“I’m otay momma!” the younger boy, Asashi, answers, a large grin on his face. He’s rocking on the balls of his feet, hands behind his back. The mother looks between Asashi and Eijirou, a look of relief flashes across her face.

“Thank you for catching him before he fell.” She says, bowing her head slightly. The boy next to her did the same.

“It’s alright ma’am.” Eijirou says, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Momma! I didn’t activate my quirk this time!” Asashi says proudly, a look of pure excitement flashes across his face. He bounces and shakes his arms in front of his chest. 

“What’s his quirk?” Eijirou asks, looking back at the mother. The other boy voices instead.

“His quirk causes your nerve endings to fire off when he touches someone, making everything really sensitive and painful.” His voice is gruff, he sounds older than Eijirou, but isn’t as tall. Eijirou’s eyes widen, really glad it didn’t go off. 

“Oh wow! Good thing you have that under control, huh?” Eijirou asks the boy, watching as he beams under the praise. Eijirou notes he doesn’t look him in the eyes, rather at his nose, but his smile and excited aura is contagious. Eijirou looks back at the mother “Well, I’ve got to get going. Good job on keeping control of your quirk Asashi-kun.” 

“Bye-Bye Kyaku-kun!” Asashi says, waving bye to Eijirou as he walks away. The mother and other boy wave as well. The family and Eijirou walks away in opposite directions. 

Continuing his walk to the library, Eijirou’s eyes bounced from person to person, opened and closed stores. He watches heroes stop every once and while for pictures or autographs, then continue on their patrol. He sees some sidekick follow along, sometimes showing their quirks off when someone asks. Children and adults alike watch with amazement and admiration, some bow and offer thanks for a rescue from a previous attack, other watch from afar with clear admiration in their eyes and soft fond smiles across their face. 

The walk to the library takes about 15 minutes of contempt but anxious silence, watching as each person look at him then continue their walk. Children running around him to catch up to friends or cling to their parents, either asking for something in a store, swinging their hands, or lag behind throwing a tantrum. Soon, the library is within sight, the large building stands tall surrounded by different types of greenery and people. Trees and bushes with lush green grass around it, people running around or laying on a blanket eating or reading a book. A large clock sits in the front wall of the library reading 11:36 in the morning. 

Taking off his mask, Eijirou looks around searching for a family blonde and greenette. He keeps looking around as he gets closer, praying that he won’t have to wait long for them to show up. As he gets closer to the staircase leading to the door, he sees two familiar shapes, huddles against each other, eyes closed. Ōkoku held in Izuku’s arms, curled in a ball with her head hidden between his arm and torso. Her tail is droopy and swaying slightly. Eijirou’s face splits into a bright smile, breaking into a sprint to get to them sooner. “Zuku! Tsuki!” He calls out, raising a hand to wave getting their attention. At the sound of their nickname, their eyes shoot up, locking eyes with them. 

“Ei!” Katsuki calls out first, breaking from Izuku’s hold and collides with him in a crushing hug. His arms wrap around his torso, holding fistfuls of his shirt, and buries his head in his shoulder. Eijirou drops the shopping bag of his clothes and holds Katsuki in a just as tight hug. A hand wraps around his waist as well and a hand comes up and rests in Katsuki’s hair, holding him close. His nose buried in the blonde locks. Izuku rushes over as well, hugging both Katsuki and Eijirou, but soon Eijirou takes his hand from around Katsuki’s waist and holds Izuku. Ōkoku is meowing loud and happy in-between them all, her paws cling to Eijirou.  “Thank fuck you’re okay…” Katsuki mumbles into his neck, tightening his hold on the other. 

The trio had stood together, basking in each other's comfort and holding each other. This had been the first time someone had gotten hurt and hadn’t been able to take care of it in the safety of their home. “Let’s get home…” Eijirou mutters, pulling away enough to see the tears welling in Katsuki’s eyes, whereas Izuku’s have already started to fall down his cheeks. Katsuki swallows harshly and nods jerkily. 

“Let’s get out of here…” He mumbles, grasping Eijirou’s hand tight. Izuku grabs the reusable bag before Eijirou can and motions to Katsuki. He walks ahead of the two, holding Ōkoku in his arms and the bag. Eijirou and Katsuki follow, the two having a silent conversation via hand squeezes. Eijirou notes Katsuki’s distressed face, which is slowly relaxing with every tight hand squeeze he receives from Eijirou. “He took me getting hurt harder than I thought…” he thinks, noticing a slight shake in his other hand. 

They walk in a peaceful silence, Izuku a few paces ahead of them, throwing a look over his shoulder making sure they’re still behind him and safe. They get back to their home in about five minutes. They weave through the trash mounds and avoid alarms and traps, walking into the center of home. The fire is in embers and there are few footprints in the sand. Eijirou looks around, Izuku walks into the shipping container, most likely to put Eijirou's uniform away. He looked at Katsuki, he had refused to meet his eye since their hug back at the library. “...Tsuki?” He asks, watching as his face twitches, eyes slowly glossing over. “What’s goin’ on in that head of yours?”

“You got fuckin’ hurt and I couldn’t do shit about it…” He mumbles, squeezing Eijirou’s hand tight, his hand slowly getting warmer than normal. Eijirou stands in front of Katsuki, holding both hands in his own, watching as he stares off, eyes unfocused and glossy with unshed tears. He takes a deep breath, his lips warble and he goes to speak again but his voice is cut off by a choked sob. The tears slowly build in his eyes until they fall, his breath picks up steadily. “I-I couldn't do shit about you gettin’ hurt!” He cries, pulling his hot hands from Eijirou and as soon as they are away, the spark and pop. 

“Tsuki, you did do something. As soon as you could, you rushed and helped me. That’s better than anything. I’m okay! I’m healthy and I’m safe. Recovery Girl said she didn’t see my face and let me leave still anonymous.” Eijirou hardens his hands, his smooth skin turning hard and jagged, and grabs Katsuki’s still sparking hands. He has tear streaks running down his face, his eyes slowly getting more red and puffy. “Tsuki, I’m okay.” He reinstates, watching as Katsuki slowly looks into Eijirou's eyes. He hopes that his eyes portray that he isn’t mad at Katsuki, that he’s safe. They must have, because soon Katsuki’s hands stop sparking and he tackles Eijirou in a hug, the two fall to the sandy floor. Katsuki sits in Eijirou’s lap burying his head in his chest and sobs.

It’s the most heart-breaking sound either Eijirou or Izuku have heard in a long time. Eijirou holds Katsuki close, his own eyes watering. He keeps his breathing steady, holding Katsuki and rubbing soothing circles on the small of his back. He slowly sits up, Katsuki’s legs wrap around his waist as he sits in his lap, his head moved from his chest to his neck, hiccups and sobs wracked his body. Izuku watches from the doors of the shipping container, his own tears falling from his face. Katsuki has never taken the people he cares about getting hurt. Not after the attack that left them alone. Eijirou looks over slightly and sees Izuku watching, and opens an arm out to him, motioning him over with a single motion. Taking a shuddering breath, he slowly walks over before breaking into a run, sliding down on the sand and into his arms, his own cries shaking his form. Eijirou’s eyes water as tears slide down his face, the people he considers family are hurting and he will offer all the comfort that he can. “I’ll never leave them alone again.”

Chapter Text

Aizawa, sitting at the kotatsu, a purring Bean in his lap, was working on an email telling his account of what happened the two nights before to send to Detective Tsukauchi. His hair is pulled back in a messy bun at the base of his skill, a few strands fall framing his face. His eyes bore at the computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he types. It’s early morning, a cup of steaming coffee sits on a cup holder. Hizashi is still sleeping upstairs in their bedroom. Once the email was done, he checked for spelling mistakes and sent it to Tsukauchi. With a heavy sigh, he took a large gulp of his coffee and leaned against the couch, reaching his hand up towards an arm of the couch where Espresso sits. 

“‘.. it isn’t safe for us…’” he quotes aloud. That single phrase has yet to leave his mind, Soldier’s voice laced with a slight fear and panic never leaving his mind “Why isn’t it safe for them… What would happen at a hospital that isn’t safe for them? I doubt they’re criminals who are trying to right their wrongs. Their morals are some of the better ones I’ve seen with other vigilantes…”   He thinks. Aizawa has worked with his fair share of vigilantes. Some have turned themselves in and ended up working as underground heroes, some even work for his friend. Others have tilted too far on the tightrope and fall into villainy, some cases worse than others. 

His phone pinging draws him from his thoughts. Grabbing it, he opens it to a message from Recovery Girl. The two have been messaging back and forth the last few days about Soldier. She was curious about why they didn’t go to the hospital and they’ve been discussing it. 

---

RECOVERY GIRL
Hi Shouta. How are you this morning?

ERASERHEAD
Hi Chiyo, I’m okay. Just finished sending a report to Tsukauchi. How are you?

RECOVERY GIRL
I’m alright. You still haven’t answered my question on why you called me for medical assistance. Why did they go to the hospital? You’ve avoided the question every time someone asks.

ERASERHEAD
I’m still trying to figure that out myself.
When I said they needed to go to the hospital, King had flat out yelled NO. I tried to press saying he needed to go. Soldier interrupted King who went to curse me out.
He said it wasn’t safe for them. 

RECOVERY GIRL
Well that is certainly troubling.
Many red flags. 

ERASERHEAD
My thoughts exactly.
King’s posture was so panicky and Soldier’s voice was cearly panicked.
Clearly*

RECOVERY GIRL
Soldier was very closed off when talking with him. His eyes watched everything I did.
Makes me wonder how the other two will act, can’t be much different.

ERASERHEAD
From the few interactions I have with the three, King is very prideful and curses like a sailor, Poet is very excitable but good when it comes to comfort, more so than king.
I haven’t had many interactions with Soldier, considering he just joined them. When he got hurt was the logest I’ve spoken with any of them in the three years I've known them.
Longest*

RECOVERY GIRL
That certainly adds more red flags…
How are we to help them?
I don’t feel comfortable with the three of them on the streets. Specially since whenI was healing Soldier, he was malnourished and had wounds that were healed wrong.
How long has it been since Soldier joined Poet and King?

ERASERHEAD
That it does, Chiyo.
I wish i knew how to help them. We have little to no information on them. We only just added a theory on King’s quirk and that was because he used it when Soldier got injured.
We have no idea on Poet or Soldier’s quirks.
Soldier has been with them since August, and it’s now nearing the beginning of November.

RECOVERY GIRL
Interesting.

---

While texting with Recovery Girl, Hizashi had walked down stairs, still in his pajamas, consisting of a worse and faded band shirt with dark blue sweatpants with his house slippers scuffing against the ground. His hair was pulled in a messy bun, strands of hair falling out, hanging around his face. He shuffled to the couch, sitting just behind Shouta, his legs trapping the other from standing. Shouta leaned his head back into the others lap, looking up at Hizashi. “Good Morning.” His voice fond, a soft smile spread across his face.

“Good morning! You’re up surprisingly early.” Hizashi beams, running his hands softly through the other's hair, scratching softly at his scalp. “Did you atleast get some sleep? I didn’t feel you come into bed last night.”

“Somewhat. I came home from patrol, no trace of the trio, can’t figure out if that’s a good idea or not. I showered and couldn’t sleep so I started working on stuff down here. I took a power nap earlier.” Shouta explains, his eyes closed, relaxing under the fingertips in his hair. He hears Hizashi sigh, his fingers stalling slightly, leaving his hair to flick him on his forehead. Scrunching his face at the flick, he opens his eyes and looks up at Hizashi, who’s looking back, a slight annoyed look across his face. “What?”

“You need to get sleep, Moon. You can’t help people if you are dead tired and mess up, resulting in injury.” Hizashi says.

“Hey, this is the first time in a long time I’ve done that!” Shouta countered, a soft scowl that’s more fond than angry present. Hizashi chuckles softly and leans down, kissing Shouta’s forehead softly. 

“Have you had breakfast yet?” He asks, getting Shouta’s head off his lap and standing, petting Espresso still resting on the arm of the couch. 

“No, just coffee, you know I can’t cook for shit.” Shouta reasons, standing as well, downing his first cup of coffee. 

“Very true… who were you texting by the way? I couldn’t tell.”

“Chiyo, talking about the trio. I’m gonna start dubbing them the Kingdom trio from now on. Their names fit it.” Shouta sighed, refilling his cup, adding a spoonful of milk and some cinnamon and nutmeg. 

“Oh! That’s right, one of them got hurt right? You haven’t told me much about what happened.” Hizashi asks over his shoulder, starting rice in the rice cooker and getting eggs from the fridge. Reaching into a cupboard, he grabs two bowls and some chopsticks. He also grabs his own coffee cup and makes himself some coffee, lots of creamer and some cinnamon. He leaned against the counter as the rice cooked.

“Yea, their newest member, Soldier, got injured during a fight. From what I saw, he had shoved King out of the way on an incoming attack and got injured himself. A deep wound on his shoulder. They both refused hospital and I ended up calling Chiyo for help.” Shouta says, his eyebrows scrunched in though. 

“Wow… Was it just King and Soldier? Usually Poet is with them.”

“Yea, just those two. Poet couldn’t join them that night apparently, they didn’t give much details.” Hizashi hums slightly, taking the finished rice and dishing the bowls while cracking an egg over top. Then adding some soy sauce and some crushed nori on top. Handing a bowl and a pair of chopsticks to Shouta, they sat at their dining table and said a small prayer. Soon digging, they ate with some small talk.

Chapter Text

“Poet! Let’s go!” King called out, Soldier running ahead, shooting concerned glances over his shoulder. Poet had been burned by a flaming trash of a human being. Endeavor had crashed into where they were fighting some drug dealers. They had everything almost handled when he came around the corner and shot a large, blazing fireball, right at Poet who was about to side kick a man in the torso to get him away. It hit Poet and the male head on, burning them both badly. 

It had been months since Soldier had last gotten injured by the man with the bull quirk, a small scar still sits on his shoulder. Ōkoku was old enough to stay at the compound while all three patrol and be okay. 

Poet was slowing down, the adrenaline slowly leaving his system as pain took over. His breath is jaded and he’s stumbling. Endeavor is catching up quick and looks to be reading another blast. King quickly turns around, activating his quick and flying forward, explosions propelling him fast enough. He grabs Poet and has him climb on his back, legs around his waist and arms around his neck, holding tight. “Soldier, just go! We’ll catch up!” King calls out, seeing as Soldier had paused, watching King grab Poet. He looks hesitant before he nods, running ahead, faster than he was with the others. Using explosions, King propels Poet and himself forward, fast, trying to lose Endeavor’s trail. Poet held loosely on, enough to stay on, but not enough to agitate his wounds. His breath was still labored and pained. 

“K-King…” Poet whimpered, voice watery and strained. 

“We’re getting away, Poet. You stay the fuck awake alright? It’s not fucking nap time.” 

“M’kay…” He mumbles, resting his head against King’s shoulder, straining to keep his eyes open. Endeavors footsteps pound against the ground, his voice booming, yelling curses and telling them to stop. Soldier is long gone, disappeared between the tall buildings. A large fire ball is shot forward, King barely has time to dodge, ducking down and falls off the edge of a building, landing a bit rough, the explosions weaken the landing. The fireball flies overhead, landing mere feet in front of them. The heat makes King sweat more, powering his quirk more.

King's wrist is slowly starting to strain with how much he’s using his quirk, the constant burst of energy and heat in his palms. Ducking between buildings, the two hide around corners and walls, Endeavor’s footsteps get louder and louder as he gets closer. Both their breath is ragged, Poet holding a hand over his mouth to silence his moans of pain. Hiding in a dark corner, King lets Poet stand behind him, leaning onto each other for support. Their dark clothing masking their presence as the flame hero marches past, an angry scowl across his face. His flames burn hot, almost blue at the bottom where their start. 

Once the hero has gone away, King and Poet slowly leave the corner, keeping watch of the hero’s slowly disappearing frame. Poet is sluggish and panting heavy. He’s blinking often and his eyes are glazed, the burns are an angry red, the skin darkened and charred in places, other places bleeding sluggishly and he’s limping. Soon enough they are far away from Endeavor, Poet is still moving slow. “Poet! King!” They hear, their heads shooting forward, seeing two figures quickly approaching. 

Soldier and Eraserhead. 

King rushes forward, but hesitates. He turns to look at Poet, who is starting to sway and blink more often. The glaze in his eyes is worse and he’s more unforced. “Ki--” he starts, but his voice trails, his eyes roll back in his head as he falls backwards. His form is limp as he falls, King doesn’t get to him in time to catch him. 

“Poet!” Both King and Soldier cry out as Poet lands harshly on the ground, blood slowly pooling around his form. King rushed to him, being the closest, and had his hands hovering over him, unsure. Soldier gets their next, standing behind King watching them both, panic ridden his form. Eraserhead gets their next, crouched in front of King, opposite side of King. 

Poet is out, completely unresponsive to the others' efforts. Eraserhead is quick to pull out his phone, dialing Recovery Girl, keeping his eyes on the Kingdom Trio. King’s breath is picking up fast, his hands are shaking and red from his quirk and the panic of Poets health, Soldier is not much better. His eyes widen and fear is clear in his red eyes. Eraserhead has the phone tucked between his shoulder and ear, voicing what’s happening to Recovery Girl. His voice is steady, laded with urgency and calm. Reaching forward, he grabs right hand, making him pause his shaking. King flinches and looks to Eraserhead who just squeezes his hand tight, a grounding hold. Recovery Girl hands up, King only catching the “See you soon.” from the end of the call. 

“Recovery Girl is on the way here. She will help him.” Eraserhead says, tightening his hold on King’s hand, ignoring the strong warmth coming from his hand. Soldier comes and sits next to King, hands fisting the fabric of his pants till his knuckles are white. Eraserhead reaches out his other hand pulling it from the fabric and making him squeeze his hand. Eraserhead notes the skin is rough and jagged, almost like a rock. “Let’s get you three off the roof so she can heal him better and get you two to safety. I’m guessing Endeavor is still nearby?” He questions. 

“Y-Yea… Poet and I-I just got away from him…” King stutters, his breath few and far between. 

“Okay, let’s get to the ground. I need you guys to keep calm. I know you are scared about Poet but what he needs is for you guys to be calm. He will be okay.” Eraserhead stresses, giving each boy a hard squeeze of the hand. Soldier swallows harshly, nodding slightly and taking a steadying breath. King just nods once, pulling his hand away and tucking his thumbs under his fingers, closing tight til the knuckle pops. 

“H-How are we getting him down…?” Soldier asks, pulling his hand away next and looking to Eraserhead. 

“I’m gonna gently wrap him in my captured scarf and take him down. I trust you two can get down by yourselves? Unless you guys are injured as well?” Eraserhead gets two head shakes in response and he nods back, unraveling his captured scarf from his neck and gently wraps it around Poets limp form. He groans and moans softly in protest, his face scrunched in pain, even unconscious.  King and Soldier stand quickly and go to the side of the building, going down a gutter pipe as Eraserhead secures Poet in the captured scarf and gets down himself. 

Getting to the ground, Eraserhead sets Poet down gently on the sideward, King and Poet have laid down their jackets on the floor, leaving them in tank tops. Their arms and exposed torsos are littered in scars and bruises. Their frames are small, two small to be seasoned Vigilante’s. Eraserhead struggles to not let his goggled gaze linger too much. 

Once Poet is down, Eraserhead looks around, seeing a black Nissan SUV rounding the corner, slowing down right in front of them. Out rushes Recovery Girl and Detective Tsukauchi. Recovery Girl's eyes immediately locked onto Poet, Rushing next to him and slowly removing the burn clothing, some melted onto the burn itself. She hisses softly and inspects it. “We need to get him to my office at UA, I’ll have the correct things to help him. Help me get him in the car.” She orders Eraserhead, gently cupping his head in her hands and they slowly move him to the back seat of the SUV.

King and Soldier are tense, watching every move Recovery Girl, Eraserhead, and Detective Tsukauchi make. They get Poet inside securely and Recovery Girl looks at the other two, “Are you two dears injured at all?” She asks, eyeing the two. 

“We’re fine ma’am” Soldier answers, squeezing King's hand. 

“Well alright. I would still like to look at you two, but that can wait till we get to UA. Let’s go.” She says after a minute of looking over them, motioning for the two to get in the car. King and Soldier share a glance before getting into the car. Eraserhead gets in as well, in the passenger seat. Recovery Girl is seated in the back seat, pulling a gauze patch from her coat jacket and starts bandaging some small cuts the litter Poets form. Detective Tsukauchi is in the driver's seat, starting the engine and driving to UA. 

They drive past Endeavors angered form as he continues to stalk the area, looking around for the Trio. King and Soldier notice him and freeze, watching his faded form fade in the distance as they get closer and closer to UA. The near empty streets make for a quick arrival to UA, and they make quick work of getting Poet of the Car and onto Med-Bots carrying a gurney that Recovery Girl have called. Standing near the entrance is also the Principle of UA, Principal Nedzu. King and Soldier completely ignore him as they rush to follow Recovery Girl and Poet on their way to the Nurses office. 

“Please be okay Poet…” They both think as they leave Eraserhead and Detective Tsukauchi with the principle.

Chapter Text

Rushing into the nurses ward, Recovery Girl has the Med-Bots set Poet on a bed in a sterile room that's closed off from the rest of the beds, his face contorted in pain, yet still unconscious. Recovery Girl turns around and looks at King and Soldier, “I’ll need you two to stay in the waiting room while I get to healing him. I won’t be able to do much with you in the room with me.” King goes to argue but Recovery Girl turns around and goes to the room, the door shutting. Soldier and King hold hands tight, their grips hurting but grounding. 

The main door of the office opens and in walks Eraserhead and Principal Nedzu. The small animal has his ever present smile on his face, small black nose twitching at the bleach and alcohol smell in the air. “Hello you two!” He cheers, scampering up onto a nearby chair and sits with his paws in his lap. His small, black eyes blink a few times, watching the duo stand watching the door to the room where Poet resides. Eraserhead steps over to the two, gently resting a hand on both their shoulders. They flinch, whipping around to look at Eraserhead. 

“He’ll be okay, Recovery Girl is good at what she does.” He comforts, gently squeezing their shoulders. Soldier slumps a bit, sighing softly and looking to King, who is still tense.  “King..?” Eraserhead asks, his head tilted to look at him. 

“I’m fine.” He spits, ripping his shoulder from Eraserhead’s grip and sits in a chair right next to the door and presses his ear to the wall—listening. He ignores Principal Nedzu completely. Soldier turns to look at the Principle, offering a small wave of greeting. 

“Hello sir.” He mumbles, walking over and sitting in the chair across from the door.

“I’m glad to see you two relatively unharmed! Any encounter with Endeavor is never any good one.” Nedzu says, his paws claps in his lap. Soldier nods silently, King gives no response. 

“He shouldn’t be in there for more than 45 minutes. You guys can stay here while he recovers, however long that is. We’ll know more when she’s done.” Eraserhead says, walking over and putting a comforting hand on Soldier’s shoulder, giving a small squeeze. 

“I’m guessing your also fuckin’ arresting us too?” King scowls, his eyes never leaving the door. “We goin’ to fucking jail?” He eyes shoot a glance at Eraserhead before going back. He sees Recovery Girl’s shadow moved from under the door. 

“Actually,” Nedzu interrupted, “I was thinking of adding a program to UA for  Vigilante Rehabilitation!” Both Eraserhead and Soldier’s head whip to the principle, King’s form tenses. 

“V-Vigilante Rehabilitation…?” Soldier asks, looking at the animal principle. “Why?”

“I’ve seen your work and have heard Eraserhead plenty of times talk about you three! You are almost as good as some Pro that run around today! I would like to get you all licences to you can keep doing what you're doing, but do it better.” Eraserhead rolls his lips, his hands stuffed in his pockets thinking. “You would learn the law and ethics. All we ask is for you to tell us who you are so this can be done legally. You would be the first people in the program.” Neduz says, his ears twitching slightly. 

“We ain’t doin’ shit till Poet is recovered.” King says, his glare that was once focused on the door now at the principle.  

“That is very reasonable. This is something that will be a big change!” He says, a smile across his face, his black eyes blinking at both the vigilantes. “Come, Eraserhead. Let’s let them be.” And with that, he jumps off the chair he had claimed and walks to the door, Eraserhead squeezing Soldier’s shoulder one last time before following the animal. 

Now alone, the boys sit in silence. King takes his gaze away from the door and looks around the room, his eyes darting from corner to corner, shelf to shelf. Standing, he goes to the Recovery Girls desk and grabs some blank printer paper and tape, going to the corners and tapes them over. “Camera’s.” He says, blocking different areas. “He’ll still be able to hear us, but he won’t see us.” Soldier nods and takes off his hoodie, his red hair pulled back with is black roots slowly showing, he also takes off his mask, holding it tight in his hand. King does the same, his mask hanging off his ear and hoodie resting against his back. 

“King, come here…” Soldier says, his arms over, his fingers flexing slightly to King. Grumbling over he walks over, crawling into Soldier’s lap and clinging to him. “You heard Eraserhead, Poet will be okay. Recovery Girl is good at what she does. He’ll be better in no time, like I was.” His arms tighten around the other, King burrowing his neck into Soldier’s neck, his breath hiccupped and short. 

“I-I knew something was gonna go wrong today… stupid gut feeling.” King sniffles, his eyes welling with tears. 

“We’ll be okay…” Soldier stresses, rubbing Kings back slightly and holding him close. They sit for a while, basking in what comfort they can give each other. Their eyes never once leaving the shadows that move from under the door. They move back and forth, standing still for small periods of time before moving again. They watch with bated breath while they wait. 

Eventually, everything stops. The show stops moving and everything goes silent. “Boys, I’m going to come out now.” They hear Recovery Girl call out and they quickly slide the hoodies back on and their masks get put back on. King gets off Soldier’s lap and stands next to him with arms crossed. Recovery Girl walks out with Poet on a gurney, his clothes are gone and replaced with a hospital gown, but his mask is gone. His green hair is fluffed out, his eyes are closed and his face is neutral, void of pain. “Hello dearies.” She said, walking over to a different bed and having a Med-Bot gently set him on it. 

King and Soldier twitch with nerves and watches with bated breath to go over. “I-Is he okay…?” Soldier asks, his hands closed in a tight grip as he struggles to rein in his quirk that threatens to cut his hand. 

“He’ll be just fine. He’s asleep because of the healing, he needs to regain the stamina and then he’ll be good as new.” She turns to look at them. “Now, I know who he is…” Soldier and King tense, eyes blown wide. “However, I won’t tell anyone until you all are ready to reveal yourselves.” She walks over and grabs each of their hands and gives them a comforting squeeze. “He’ll make a full recovery.” 

“Thank you Recovery Girl.” Soldier says, taking a shuddering breath and swallowing harshly. 

“It’s my job dears. Now let’s take a look at you two. I know you two have some injuries I’d like to look at. Peace of mind if you will.” She says, motioning them both to an empty bed near Poet.

------

“When were you going to tell me about the Vigilante Rehabilitation Program?” Shouta asks immediately once they leave the nurse office. They were walking down the hall back to Nedzu’s office. 

“I was still thinking about it! I wasn’t 100% sure about it, I wasn’t going to tell anyone until I was.” Nedzu explains, his hands cupped behind his back as he walks. The walk back to Nedzu’s office is silent, Shouta stewing in his own thoughts. 

Arriving at the office, Nedzu walks to his desk and gets in his chair before his paws drag his keyboard to him before he starts typing, pulling up the security feed from the nurse office. Aizawa walks over, his eyebrows furrowed and leaning against the wall behind the principal. Just as the feeds pull up, King is shown taping a piece of paper. His voice carries through the small speakers under the computer monitor. “He’ll still be able to hear us, but he won’t see us.” 

Aizawa makes an impressed noise, Nedzu’s eyes widen slightly. “He found those quick.” He says, pushing the keyboard away and leaning back in his chair. 

“With your curiosity stalled, can you elaborate on the program please?” Aizawa grumbles, his face tucked into his scarf.

“Why yes I can! The program will be for any vigilantes caught who have good motives. If they truly want to help the society but can’t become pro’s themselves or something is blocking the way and they find themselves becoming Vigilante’s that they can use the program and learn everything they need to be heroes. With the Kingdom Trio, as you call them, I feel that they will benefit from this greatly!” He exclaimed, a smile crossed his face. “I do hope they accept.” Aizawa sighed, rubbing his tired eyes and putting his head against the wall. “You should probably call Yamada, he’ll be worried when you don’t arrive home tonight.” 

“Probably… How long do you think until Poet is recovered?” Shouta asks as he pulls out his phone from his utility belt. 

“He should wake by morning. Recovery Girl is a wonderful nurse.” 

“Alright…” Shouta sighs, pulling up his messages with his loud husband and sends a few texts. 

MOON
Hey, I won’t be home tonight… the trio got caught in a skirmish with Endeavor and Poet was injured… I should be home late tomorrow

A few minutes later, Hizashi replies back.

SUN
Okay!! Should i bring something to you? im guessing you are at UA with Chiyo and Nedzu?
Maybe something for them too?

MOON
Yea, but it can wait til morning. Get some sleep.
Love you.

SUN
Love you too Moon! Ill see you in the morning.
<3

With an soft smile on his face, he looks back at the principal who is typing away at some program. “I’m going back to Chiyo. You’ll know where to find me.” He says walking to the door. “Tonight is gonna be a long night…”

Chapter Text

Izuku was floating. 

This he was sure of, everything was dark and he couldn’t feel the ground beneath him - he couldn’t feel anything around him. He could hear faint voices, echoes of speech impossible to make out. They bounced around him and were never in the same place for too long. He looked around and saw wisps of the voices, moving with glittering trails and pulsating in vibrant colors. The wisps had yet to stop, only getting closer and closer, but never staying still. He could faintly make out his family, Katsuki and Eijirou’s panicked and worried voices that stayed mostly to his left and right, shifting and fading. Katsuki’s was distinguishable by his color, a vibrant orange with sparks and a soft grey trailing behind, Eijirou was also easy to tell; his was a crimson red, bouncing and easy with shark edges and an even darker trail. The other two wisps were harder, one spoke with a soft voice, female. Hers was an off white, faint design shifted and flowed throughout, with soft pastel colors trailing. The last was male, rough around the edges. His was a dark grey, sparks of yellow and red followed. His trail was a soft cream grey. 

The male and female had stayed shifted in front of him, never leaving his vision as Katsuki and Eijirou shifted places every so often, going around him, above and behind. All their voices were soft and unfocused. Izuku tried to make out words but nothing was certain. 

The wisps offered the only light for the longest time. By and by, the ink black slowly shifted to a charcoal grey, getting lighter with each passing moment. Lighter and lighter the space became, till it became a white, blinding Izuku and the wisps slowly faded. The voices became clearer and clearer, words could be made out and the world made itself known

---

Pain registered first, a blinding white pain that pulsed with his heart beat. He could feel bandages wrapping his arms and sides, and hear  the hushed voices around him. He could feel his mask covering his face with a hat hiding his bush of hair. His throat hurts and his mouth is dry. Shifting a bit, he pulled at the bandages around his torso making them drag across him, drawing a pained hiss from him, which was followed by a soft gasp and hushed voices. “Poet? You with us?” He hears a soft voice call, “Eicchan…?” He thought, struggling to open his eyes. His face contorted, his eyes scrunching before slowly opening. Blurred figures fill his vision as well as a blinding white light. Closing his eyes tight again he groaned softly. “Can we turn the lights down?” 

“That should be fine.” Another voice called, before the light behind his eyelids dimmed significantly. Izuku slowly opened his eyes again, the room now darker. The figures were still blurry but were gaining focus. To his left was Katsuki, still in his uniform and anonymous, and Eijirou was to his right, also in uniform. Blinking slow, Katsuki and Eijirou rush forward, resting all their foreheads together. 

“Thank fuck your okay…” Katsuki whispered, his hands coming up and gently grabbing the side of Izuku’s neck, Eijrou’s coming up after. They hold each other for a few minutes, basking in each other's comfort. 

“I hate to draw the close for a second, but I need to check on Poet really quick.” A female voice says, her tone soft and warm. Eijirou and Katsuki reluctantly move away, allowing the female to come forward, revealing it to be Recovery Girl holding a paper cup filled with water. Eraserhead a few feet away leaning against the wall by the door, his head tucked in his capture scarf and his hair tied back in a bun. “Hello dearie.” She says, a soft smile on her face offering him the water cup. Izuku nods a hello taking the drink and swallowing it down in gingerly gulps as he watches her walk closer to the bed. “I’m just gonna do a general check up first and then check the bandages ro see how everything is healing. It shouldn’t hurt.” Nodding again, she grabs an otoscope and starts checking his ears and nose. 

The check up goes relatively smoothly, when Recovery Girl asks him to take deep breaths for his heartbeat and breathe, it hurts. He hissed slightly and winced, his chest had expanded and pulled at the bandages, rubbing his wounds across the texture. “Sorry dear…” She had apologized, doing her best to hurry with the check up. Once it was over, she had Katsuki and Eijirou help Poet take off his hospital shirt. Eraserhead draws in a hiss seeing the scars, fresh and old, littering Izuku's body. A majority covered by bandages. Eraserhead's eyes dart from scar to scar, then he looks back to Katsuki and Eijirou, his eyes raking their body. His face makes it clear that thinking.

Everyone makes an effort to ignore it, and Recovery Girl starts to slowly take the bandages off. The wound is gnarly, irritated and red. It’s partially healed from when he had first gotten here. “It’s healing alright. I can probably heal the rest of it now, you will fall back to sleep again. I’m putting more effort into healing this than other scraps and such. Do you three wish to talk before I do that? You’d be sleeping for a while.” She says, her motherly gaze flickering between the three boys. Izuku looks to Katsuki and Eijirou, raising an eyebrow in question. Eijirou answers.

“Yeah, in private if possible…” He says, looking at both adults. 

“Alright, come get us when you’re done, we’ll be in the hall.” Recovery Girl says, walking away from the bed and going into the hall followed by Eraserhead. The trio sits in a sudden silence, waiting on bated breath for someone to walk in. Izuku turns to the two and starts signing. 

‘What’s going on?’ he asks, his eyebrows furrowed and hands shaky.

“When we got here, you were rushed into the room over there,” Eijirou starts, pointing into a closed off room. “We had to wait for about 45 minutes while she worked on you. She had to take off your uniform, mask and hat included.” Izuku freezes slightly, his body tensing. “She told us she knew who you are, put she said she wouldn’t tell anyone unless we said so. She had asked us if we wanted to talk about it.” Izuku slowly nods and clicks his tongue slightly.

“Also, the rat bastard, Principal Nedzu, said he was making a vigilante rehabilitation thing. Allowing us to become full fucking heroes…” Katsuki adds, both boys swallow, watching as Izuku reacts. 

‘Do we… Do we accept…? Kacchan this is what we always wanted. What all three of us have always wanted.’ Izuku’s hands shake making his signs sloppy, he’s biting his lip and looking at both of whom he considers family. Katsuki clicks his tongue, his face contorted in thought, Eijirou is rolling his lips with a heavy sigh. ‘How would it relate to us… since we are technically minors?’ he asks, his eyes darting to the door where the two adults are talking in hushed voices. 

“I say we do it…” Eijirou says, elbows resting on the edge of the bed and holding his head up in his hands. “I mean… it’s a way for us to finally be heroes. The only thing we have to do… is just reveal who we are. I know you guys have done this longer that I have, I’ve only done this for… what, half a year. You guys have done almost three.” Eijirou adds, looking up at Izuku and Katsuki. 

“What if it changes, that they won’t let us do it?” Katsuki argues, a hardened look at Eijirou. “Since Poet and I have been doing this longer, we will have more charges of Vigilantism, me specifically. If they won’t let us join, we’ll be in jail for longer than you and we’ll be separated!” Katsuki’s voice raises, his hands gripping his knees. 

‘Relax Kacchan.’ Izuku signs, a hand going forward and grabbing his. ‘I don’t think they’ll deny us, specifically because we are minors. As much as it scares me.. I’m with Eicchan, I say we do it…’ Signing one-handed was difficult, but Izuku didn’t want to let go of Katsuki's hand. Katsuki swallows harshly, taking a deep breath before looking up at Izuku, his eyes flash many different emotions. Anger, worry, frustration, care. Eijirou stands and walks over to where Katsuki sits, wrapping his arms around his shoulders from behind and pulling him into his chest. Katsuki burrows, head tucked under Eijirou chin and his hands tightens its grip on Izuku hands.

“Okay… We’ll do it…” He sighs. All three nod and then both Eijirou and Katsuki crowd Izuku, resting their foreheads against each other and basking in their warmth and familiarity. 

“I’ll bring them back in. I have a feeling Nedzu was listening and is with them right now.” Eijirou says, being the first to pull away. 

“Fuckin’ rat bastard…” Katsuki grumbled, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. Izuku’s shoulder’s shake with silent giggles as he hides a smile behind a bandaged hand. Katsuki rolls his eyes but the corners of his mouth twitch in a fight for a smile. Eijirou is at the door and opens it slowly, inviting the adults in, and just as Katsuki had predicted, the small mammal principle walks right in. A smile stretched on his face and his beady black eyes analyzing the trio. 

“Hello Poet!” Nedzu says, hopping up into a chair and his hands are folded into his lap. “I’m glad you are feeling significantly better than you were yesterday!” His voice is high and happy, his blink are methodical. Izuku nods in response before looking to Katsuki and sighing.

‘Can you ask if I can have more water? My throat still hurts.’ Katsuki nods slightly and opens his mouth to speak, when Eraserhead walks forward, a plastic water bottle in hand and hands it to Izuku. All three vigilantes freeze, Izuku gingerly taking the water. 

“All three of us here know JSL. Nedzu and Recovery Girl can understand it better than sign it.” He says, going back to leaning on the wall. Izuku nods opening the bottle and taking controlled sips, soothing his aching throat. Recovery Girl walks to a medical cabinet and takes a key from a chain around her hips and opens it, grabbing an orange pill bottle and opens it sliding two white pills into her hand. 

“Here. Take these, they will help with the pain.” She said, dropping them into Izuku's hand and he takes them with water. “When these two are done talking with you, I’ll heal you again and you can take a nap.” She says, gesturing to Principal Nedzu and Eraserhead. 

“Have you three discussed the Vigilante Rehabilitation Program?” Nedzu asks, straight to the point. All three boys share a look before Katsuki turns to Eraserhead and Principal Nedzu, his face void of any tales of emotion.

“We’ll do it.”

Chapter Text

“Fantastic!” Nedzu said, his eyes gleaming with curiosity, his hands clasps in his lap. Eraserheads eyes widen a fraction, his gaze flickering from person to person. Recovery Girl’s form stutters from where she stood, looking at the three quickly before going back to what she was doing. “Would you like to tell us now? Or later when Poet is more healed?” He asks. The three look at each other, the adults watch in wonder as they have a silent conversation spoken in slight twitches of expression. Soldier answers.

“Now’s fine.” He says, his tone soft and tired. He takes a deep breathe before his hand comes up pulling his hood away. It drops to his shoulders and his firetruck red hair with black roots brightens the room. Eraserhead stiffens, his form straightening as Soldier takes off his masks. He offers a soft open mouth smile, his sharp teeth on full display. “My name is Eijirou Kirishima.”

King is next, his hood falls to his shoulders and his spiked blonde hair deflated from being under the hoodie. His mask comes off and his mouth is pulled into a soft from, his eyebrows furrowed. “Name’s Katsuki Bakugou.” He grumbles, eyeing the adults as they take in their faces. Eraserhead is still stock still, his eyes widening as he looks to Poet. 

Poet goes last. He takes off the beanie and his green bush fluffs, the curls bounce slightly before resting against his head. He takes his mask off and his blanket of freckles shine under the lights. “I’m Izuku Midoriya.” His voice sounded much better than it did earlier. Eraserheads shocked face is on full display, his scarf no longer hiding his face like it was before. Recovery Girl is pouting softly, eyeing all three boys' faces. “All of us are… nine years old.” Izuku adds softly, his hands clasping in his lap tightly. Katsuki reaches over and puts his own hands over top, squeezing slightly. Nedzu’s eyes flash in recognition. 

“Bakugou? Midoriya? Why do those names sound familiar?” He says aloud, looking to the two with calculating eyes. Both Izuku and Katsuki both freeze slightly, sharing a sad glance. Izuku’s eyes well with small tears and he swallows thickly, Katsuki’s face deepens, his eyes holding all his emotions. Eijirou looks at them with a sad face, eyebrows furrows in concern and he's biting his lip slightly, drawing it between his shark teeth. Recovery Girl watches with a sad look in her eyes, a feeling of knowing flashes through them. 

“Our… Our parents were k-killed when we were five and six. E-Endeavor was fighting a villain as we were leaving o-our home because the fight was getting too close.” Izuku starts, looking down at his lap and tears slowly fall down his freckled cheeks. “Our parents were c-close friends and we were together at Katsuki’s place when it happened. Our parents were rushing to get out of the house, we had small backpacks with clothes and stuff that was quickly thrown together.” He took a shuddering breath as more tears fell, he licked his lips and swallowed harshly. “We rushed out just as the fight got to us. And…” Izuku trailed off, his body racked with sobs as he quickly drew his hands to his mouth, quieting himself. Katsuki picked up for him. 

“Endeavor shot a fire stream at the villain who was just over us and it got close to me. My quirk makes my sweat really fucking explosive, now imagine that in a six years body who lacked control. I was sweatin’ buckets when it went near me. I covered my head as it got close when the flames hit my hand. My mom and dad were next to me and so was Izuku’s mom. The flames hit my hand and…” he trailed off, his hands coming up and releasing soft explosions while widening his arm length, making a mock large explosion, mouthing a large ‘boom’. His own eyes have welled up with tears that had slowly started falling. Eijirou stands from his chair, walking over to the two crying boys and wraps Katsuki in a hug while offering his hand to Izuku. 

“The news said the whole family had passed in the accidental explosion when really, Katsuki and Izuku had survived, getting blown back into the home which collapsed. The news said that they were cremated, part of the ash from the building collapse.” Eijirou picked up as he comforted the two boys. His eyes glossed over as he squeezed Katsuki and Izuku. All three adults were still, Recovery Girl’s hands had come to her mouth as she silently gaped, Nedzu’s eyes flicker with understanding and worry.

“I remember that story…” She says, her voice soft and motherly. “Why did you never go to the police?” Izuku freezes, his form tensing as he bite his lip harshly. Every adult noticed and watched in curiosity as Izuku's eyes flashed in panic.

"Um… t-the system isn't… kind to people like me…” Izuku stammers, wringing his hands nervously in his lap. Katsuki looks at him with worry and… anger? 

“People like you?” Nedzu asks, his head tilts. Eraserhead has his tilted to, his eyebrows raised the slightest bit. Izuku swallows thickly and takes a deep, steadying breath. 

“They aren’t… they aren’t kind to… q-quirkless people..” His eyes close tight and his head is tucked into his chest. Katsuki squeezing his hand tight, looking at the adults, his form tense as if he’s ready to attack if they do something wrong. Eraserhead's eyes widen, pure shock lacing his face. Nedzu’s fur stands high, his face not changing. Recovery Girl is shaking her head slightly, biting her lip with a heavy sigh through her nose. 

“You’ve been doing Vigilante work… for almost three years quirkless…” Eraserhead reiterates, his hands in his pockets shocked. “Wow…” He mumbles, shaking his head slightly. 

“Well! That is quite a shock! You all are more successful than some heroes!” Nedzu says, a soft rustle from his tail wagging against his pants. All three boys are stock still, looking at the adults with pure shock and confusion across their faces. “I can see why you stayed hidden, that certainly wouldn’t have been fun for either of you.” He adds, his ears twitching with the knowledge. “What about you Kirishima-kun? Does your family know you are doing this?” Eijirou flinches slightly, his eyebrows twitching together as he looks away. 

“I ran away when I was Seven. They um… they weren’t the nicest to me after my quirk came in.” He whispers, raising his arm slightly, pulling the sleeve up and his skin ripples, becoming rough and jagged. “My quirk came while I was playing with my mom… I hurt her real bad… and nicked myself…” His arm becomes smooth once more before he points to a small rough scar above his eyes. Izuku had reached forward and gently grabbed his arm, giving a gentle squeeze.  “They.. became rather rough with me… so one day after a really bad fight… I packed a bag and left.”  Recovery Girl and Nedzu had their faces shift to anger, clearly at Eijirou’s parents. “I ran for a long while until I found these two… and they took me in.” He finished off, his face solemn and deep. Katsuki raises a knuckle and knocks his forehead, drawing Eijirou from whatever spiral he was going down on. 

“Okay. I hate to cut this short, but I need to finish healing Izuku-kun and I have a feeling that you two,” she motions to Katsuki and Eijirou “need to get some new clothes from your home. Izuku will likely fall asleep after, I will not leave the room so it will be okay for you boys to get some things.” She says, walking over to Izuku’s bed. All three boys freeze slightly, looking at each other having another silent conversation. 

“I’ll be okay. I’ll probably still be asleep when you guys get back.” Izuku says, a soft smile on his face, clearly trying to reassure the others. They both look apprehensive and uncertain. “Go.” With a soft push on their arms, they finally reseeded. Eraserhead walks out the door, Katsuki and Eijirou follow. Nedzu says goodbye and Recovery Girl starts on Izuku’s healing.

---

Katsuki and Eijirou had pulled their hoods and masks back on when they left UA campus, taking to the roofs with Eraserhead following. “I’ll stay behind you two and follow. We will be taking some stuff to my home to leave, I have a feeling Nedzu will put you three in my care.” He, looking at the two. 

“Alright…” Katsuki said, looking at Eijirou before they both nod and dart forward, heading to the beach. Eraserhead follows easily, even pulling out his phone and sending a text to his husband telling him the news. They jump from roof to roof, swinging from light poles and pipes. Eraserhead's face furrows as they run, watching as Katsuki and Eijirou run.

They get to the beach in 10 minutes and Eraserhead pauses, looking at Katsuki and Eijirou as they get off a roof and get to the boardwalk. “Why are we here? This where you live?” 

“Yeah, stay close to us, the place is trapped to fuckin’ hell.” Katsuki says, looking at Eraserhead. They walk onto the sand and lead Eraserhead through the winding pathways of the trash mounds. He looks around, seeing things that look like they could fall at any time. The weave through the paths before they make it to the clear center. A loud meow is heard and Eijirou rushes to a shipping container, walking inside then walking out holding a grey striped kitten. The kitten watched Eraserhead cautiously, meowing at him but not moving from Eijirou’s arms. Katsuki opens his arms wide and looks at Eraserhead mockingly.

“Welcome to the Kingdom.” Then snorts a laughter before he walks over to the shipping container, pulling his mask and his hood off. Eijirou rolls his eyes petting the kitten softly. 

“This is Ōkoku.” Eraserhead nods and looks around once more. 

“I’m gonna call my husband so he can get the car over here so we can take your stuff to the house before going back to UA.” Katsuki shouts an affirmative from the container as Eraserhead pulls out this phone, dialing Hizashi’s number and walks a few feet away while the two boys pack. He answers after a few rings. 

“Hey Sho! You with the Kingdom Trio right?” His tone soft but excited, slightly groggy too.

“Yeah, and you won’t guess who they are outside of vigilantes.” Shouta smirks, his tone teasing. He watches as the two boys rush around, packing things they need. “Also, come to Dagobah Trash Beach with the car, Nedzu is gonna have us house the three for a while.” 

“Who are they?” He asks, rustling heard in the background as Hizashi gets dressed. Katsuki is going from outside to inside the shipping container holding different stuff.

“The three boys that we keep seeing, the ones who you thought were being abused.”

“Wait! Really?! Holy shit!” Hizashi exclaims, more rustling before a jingle of keys is heard. He can hear the door shut and Hizashi locking

“Yeah, I’ll let them tell you the story unless they want me to. Just get here so we can get back. Poet had stayed at UA for a healing from the Endeavor encounter I told you earlier. Chiyo is helping him out.” Katsuki and Eijirou have four different bags in the center of the clearing, one for each person  and the items for the Ōkoku. 

“Okay, well I’ll be there in… like… five minutes. See you then?”

“Yeah, Love you.”

“Love you too Moon.” Hizashi hangs up just as both boys walk over to Eraserhead. Katsuki holds two bags while Eijirou holds the last two. 

“My husband is gonna be here soon. You have everything you guys will need?” 

“Yup.” Eijirou says, adjusting the two bags on his arms and his grip on Ōkoku. 

“Okay.” With that, they leave the compound. Katsuki and Eijirou stutter at the exit and look around. Their eyes glaze over with unshed tears, leaving the place they had called home for many, many years. Hizashi pulls up the, getting out and walking over to the trio. 

“Hey y’all!” He exclaims, he stands in red converse shoes and black sweatpants with an old band T-Shirt with his regular blank, rectangular glasses resting on his nose. His hair is tucked into a loose bun at the top of his head and his hands are in his pocket except from the hand that is waving a welcoming. “Ready to get those shoes on the road? The faster we get these to the house, the faster we can get back to your buddy.” His face is holding a calm, welcoming smile. Katsuki and Eijirou nod, and the two boys and two adults walk to the car and load up the trunk. They all get in and start the drive to their new, temporary home. 

A new adventure was starting, and things could only be looking up for the better.